Out of the Cage

Kenros has a disturbing nightmare and finally tells LJ what the Remquists are.

Chapter 5: The Remquists

"Damnit, damnit, damnit!" I yelled.

"What're we gonna do now Kenros?" asked LJ.

"We gotta turn back around. That crystal must be back on Earth; it had to have re-entered the atmosphere."

"Yeah, most crystals are indestructible. I just wish we could find out...was that crystal radioactive?"

"Are you kidding me?! I'm surprised your kidneys haven't fallen out yet!"

"...Anyway...I got this Geiger counter so we can just track the particles in the atmosphere and find out where it landed."

"Wow, you actually thought of something smart for once. OWW!!" He threw a wrench at my nose!

"Well, from what the counter says, that crystal must be close. I just hope no more Dittos--"

"Splixsons!"

"Whatever. As long as they haven't found the crystal yet, we should find it in a few hours."

I yawned and scratched the back of my head. "Y'know what? I'm exhausted. Let's just sleep on this until later in the morning."

LJ sighed. "Yeah. I'm a little wiped out too. I'll wake you up in a few hours."

(Kenros' Dream sequence)

"You betrayed us...you betrayed us..."

"You're not my friend...you're not even my brother...you're nothing."

"NO!! No! This...this was not my fault. I--" I couldn't find the right words.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!! YOU KILLED YOUR OWN FAMILY!"

"SHUT UP!! I didn't mean for this to happen! Please, believe me!"

Someone laughed evilly behind me.

"Yessss, you were the one who doomed your family. You killed your family, you killed them all."

"You crustacean bastard! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT KILLED THEM!! GIVE ME BACK MY FAMILY!!"

"I can't. Not until you realize what you've done. You'll have to live with the guilt that you killed them and millions of others. And there's absolutely nothing you can do about it!!"

"No! NOOOO!!"

(End Dream Sequence)

"No!" I yelled, waking up panting.

"Damnit...why can't I stop having the same dreams? I know it was my fault but...I never wanted this to happen. I'm sorry..."

8:00 a.m.

Both of us woke up and started stretching, looking around at all the fauna and tropical plants.

LJ abruptly asked, "You know, you still never told me what your doing here."

"No I didn't. If we could just--"

"When I was five, some people broke into our house and raped my mom. I couldn't really do anything to stop them; I was tied up and gagged. And it was kinda weird, cause I was happy that the rapist revealed his name to me and I saw his face. So...I waited 12 before I hunted the man down with a metal baseball bat."

"What d'you do to him?"

"Uhh...let's just say he can't even blink without shaking now. Anyway, I went to prison for three years for 'battery' and when I got out, I really didn't care. It felt good just to beat the crap out of that guy."

"So you became a mercenary."

"Something like that. Now I can beat the crap outta people and get paid for it."

I sighed heavily and scratched the back of my head.

"There, I've told you something about my personal life. Now it's your turn."

I stares at him and sighed.

"You know that guy named Tetrax?"

"That Diamondhead mercenary who worked for Vilgax?"

"Petrosapien!"

"Whatever, damn."

"We met each other on planet Petropia shortly before it was destroyed. He introduced me to some crustacean...thing called Pyrilz. After that we went our separate ways: I worked for Pyrilz, and Tetrax for Vilgax. I spent months working for that lobster freak, putting together this almighty weapon that could help him conquer the universe. But I didn't care; I was getting paid well. ...That's was the biggest mistake I could ever make."

"What happened?"

"He attacked my home planet, like Vilgax did with Tetrax. Only, he didn't just blow it up. Pyrilz sent every crustacean soldier he had and issued a genocide: Anyone with fur that howled at the moon with jaws was killed. It didn't matter who, women or children, they were all slaughtered."

"And you just stood there?!"

"Of course not!! Half of the creatures working with me were Loboans! We were all outraged and we tried to kill him right on his battleship. But many other alien species loyal to him went against us too. One of them was my brother. Another two were personal friends of mine."

"Did your family survive?"

It was that question that almost made me whine like a puppy.

"...No. My brother and my friends were killed by Pyrilz and my family didn't make it off the planet."

"..."

"I'm scared just to fall asleep; I always have the same nightmares! Ghosts of my family blame me for their demise and they're right! It's all my fault...OWW!!"

"I'm sorry I threw a wrench at you, but get real! You had nothing to do with your people's slaughter, you had no idea Pyrilz was going to do that! How can you seriously blame yourself--I mean, how?!"

"I helped him in the first place..."

"That's not the point! Why--why did he even attack your home planet?"

"CAUSE HE'S AN ASSHOLE!!" I angrily shouted.

"...That's it?"

"He's a sadistic asshole, that's all there is too it. There was a chance when I was wounded, on the ground defenseless and my brother and friends were recaptured. He could've let them walk away or even keep them prisoner...but he looked at me, smiled, and personally gunned 'em all down. Then he said. 'Let's see what you do now.' Do you get it now? He is responsible for all those deaths...just so he could see what will happen next!"

"That's doesn't necessarily mean--"

"He shot one of his own men's brains out just to see if it would kill him or not!"

I sighed again, trying to cool down.

"What did you do?"

"I've been spending the last 200 years of my life--"

"Whoa, wait...is that in dog years or...?"

"Human years. I'm over 200 years old."

"Damn!"

"And I've spent much of that time looking for this one crystal. It'll lead me towards the others and I'll finally stop that bastard from doing this again."

"You know, here on Earth, we have a saying: Revenge is a dish--"

"--Best served cold, I know. This isn't just about revenge. I've told you already that this guy is a sadist and he has done to several other planets as to what he did to mine. His cronies are just popping up here for no reason. What happens if your family suffers the fate of mine?"

LJ's eyes grew wide.

"Tetrax redeemed himself when he saved the universe from the exploding Omnitrix watch five years ago. Hopefully I can do the same. I just want to stop him before it's too late again."

"...That's a lot to get off your chest."

"Doesn't mean we're still friends. I still deem you expendable."

"Thanks dude, that makes me feel so much better."

"...I never said I hate you now, did I?"

LJ smiled a bit, sighing with relief. I guess now he doesn't have to worry about me eating him alive.

"So now you know about the Remquists."

"Yeah. Well, let's go find this crystal before I tell you I went to school naked in the 8th grade."

I stopped walking and smiled at him.

"Don't you d--don't you dare tell anyone!!"

"Sure I won't."

"Was that sarcasm?"

"I don't know, was it?"

"Damnit, Kenros you are not going to tell anyone about this!"

"Sure I'm not." I said, walking past him.

"Kenros? Kenros!! Ken--Oh shit."