Stranger From the Sky, chapter 12

Pain

Omega turned to Kitten. "We'd best go." She trailed along with him, still wondering what to do about the emotional bomb building up inside him…

Athena lay on the table, in a relaxed position. All around her were circular devices, similar to those of an Earthly CT scan, albeit spaced further out, designed to induce the proper wave function into her brain. "Comfortable?" Killer Moth asked.

"Yes, Mr. Moth. At least, so far." The devices were not all that close to her; they didn't have to be, so she had some room to move.

Kitten and Omega watched from behind the force-saturated transparent partition that had been set up between the rooms. Kitten noticed that Omega's face showed considerable concern. "How did you break the Lord's control, anyway?" she asked him.

"I honestly do not know. I only know that I did, and that thereafter, no single Lord was able to command me, that is, until my execution, which was a somewhat different thing."

"How so?"

"There were several Lords there, combining their power. I suppose they overcame my resistance." He paused, his expression darkening. "I would still like to get my hands on this Natal, again."

There went that emotional bomb thing again. Again she could feel the emotional outburst building up within him; she glanced at her father, but his back was to them; he was concentrating on the work. The thought, the random, stray thought occurred to her that maybe she should just take him away, just get him out of the area. Maybe take him back to the room for some fast sexual activity. It was the only thing she could think of, on such short notice, to release some of this raw energy that she could feel building up. But she knew he wouldn't leave, not while they were running this hoped-for deconditioning procedure on his friend. She put her hand on his arm. "It's alright, 'Mega, to feel that way. I mean, she is-or was-your friend. For her to be used so….it'd make anybody angry. I mean, it makes me angry, and I barely know her."

Killer Moth and Alpha began the procedure. At first, there was no sign of any effect on Athena. Then, her body began to convulse, twisting around as though she were in pain. She gripped the sides of the condensite table hard enough to leave finger impressions. Her expression was one of someone in agony.

The convulsions became more violent. "She's having some sort of seizure! Alpha, what do we have to contain her?"

"Contain a Prime warrior? The strongest substance we have, that won't interfere with the process, is condensite." He frowned in concentration, and several thick, metallic-looking bands formed around Athena, holding her down on the table.

Or, rather, trying to. Such was her strength, that the condensite bands began to stretch and tear in some places. More bands formed in their places, to be torn even faster. Her eyes were open but unseeing, and she projected heat beams upward, towards the ceiling, causing it to explode as though from a thunderbolt, raining rocks down upon the laboratory and its equipment.

Omega leaped forward. By this time, Athena had broken entirely free of the condensite bands, and was contorting into such extreme shapes that it looked as though she might break her own back. He leaped up on top of her, and wrapped his legs around hers, his arms around hers and her upper torso, holding her still with his own body, with his face only centimeters from her unconscious one.

Again the heat beams lanced out—but this time, they encountered Omega's own face. "NNNnngghhh!" His head rocked back; after all, Athena was a Prime warrior, the same as he was, and those beams hurt.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, but was probably only a few minutes, her convulsions began to subside. The machinery around her continued to function; even in her convulsions, it was programmed to follow her head, at least, to a degree. They continued to hum…..

She finally subsided altogether. Still, Omega maintained his position, holding her as still as he could….

The machines clicked off. Killer Moth looked at Alpha, who nodded. Kitten entered the room. "Athena? Are you alright?"

Athena was gasping again, a reflex from a time when Osirans needed to breathe. She seemed to take a moment to examine her surroundings, then noticed Omega on top of her. "Get off of me!" she growled.

He climbed off of her. "I think it safe to say, the operation appears, at least initially, to've been a success." He moved away from the table. It might've just been Kitten's imagination, but he seemed unsteady, somehow.

Kitten approached the table. "Athena? What, I mean, what do you remember?"

Athena's heart-shaped face took on a thoughtful look. "I am not sure. I remember….the chaos wave….I tried to save the others, but it was too late…I awoke here….and he was here." She glared at Omega.

"Okay, everybody." Kitten took charge. To both Omega and Athena, "You both come with me. Come on, I won't take no for an answer." So they followed her down the hallway, with Athena all the while glaring suspiciously at Omega, into the room assigned for Athena. To Omega:"You sit here," said Kitten, then turned to Athena, "and you sit here." It was right next to Omega, their hips actually touching. She sat, but started to hitch away. "You stay right there, dammit!" Wide-eyed, Athena obeyed. She wasn't too sure what "dammit" meant, but such was Kitten's tone of voice that Athena found herself obeying automatically. And finally Kitten herself sat down on the other side of Athena. "Now, Athena. Let's go back a little ways. Okay? You served the Lord Natal, didn't you?"

"Y-yes, I did, but what does that have to do with-*"

"We're getting there. Now. Tell me about that. Were you ever subjected to any kind of, like, 'special' conditioning or anything?"

"Yyyyeesss," she admitted slowly, "There were rumors of uprisings. It was thought best if the warriors serving the Lord Natal were to undergo some special reinforcement conditioning, so as to ensure compliance." She shrugged. "It…made sense."

"You're free of that conditioning now, or should be. In fact, you should be free of all conditioning, to obey any of the Lords. So now tell me about it, this service of yours to the Lord Natal. What were some things it required you to do?"

"Obey without question, but all conditioning required that." She frowned, as if something had just occurred to her. "We were to see to the Lords' personal needs-*" And here she stopped, a horrified expression coming over her lovely face, her mouth agape. "Their p-personal needs. They—they—they did—" She found she couldn't go on.

Omega put his arms around her. Such was the horror of her memory, that she didn't even notice. "It's alright, Athena. Not that what they did was alright, but you're alright. What happened was bad, okay, it was beyond bad, nobody can deny that, but it's in the past. It's over with. Not only are those Lords dead, their whole universe is dead. So it's as over with as it can possibly be. But if you dwell on it, it never will be, not for you. So don't dwell on it. Look to the present, and the future. You've friends now, friends who'll stand by you, who'll never leave you nor mistreat you, or think less of you for what happened. I know this for a fact: I happen to be one of them. I don't care if you consider yourself my friend or not, that's not important. I am yours. And no matter what, I will always be your friend. Do you understand?" She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. And for the next full hour, both he and Kitten sat there with her, with Omega's arms wrapped around her, and Kitten's wrapped around them both as best as she could, not saying anything, just being there, letting her know she wasn't alone. Kitten rubbed Athena's upper arms in a supportive gesture. Athena didn't have the words, whether in Link or verbal speech, to convey what she was feeling. So they just sat.

Finally, after a little over an hour, she seemed to be regaining some measure of composure. Her head nodded, not really in response to anything, but just in simple non-verbal communication: I am here. I am back.

"Alright." Kitten turned to Omega. "I don't think it's a good idea for her to be alone tonight. I'm staying over. Can you, like, get me a sleeping bag or something?"

"I can. I, too, shall remain. There may be thoughts, memories, concepts that she can share in Link better than in words."

"Oh. Okay, that makes sense. "We'll be kinda crowded, but okay. Athena? You okay with that?" But Athena had no words. She just hung her head, finally nodding yes.

It was a strange and quiet night. Athena did share some of her memories via Link with Omega; Kitten could tell by his facial expressions, some of which actually scared her a little.

Around midnight, Kitten fell asleep, leaving Omega to continue the vigil. Around six, he shook her awake. "I think we can leave her now. She's more in control."

Kitten yawned herself awake. "You sure?"

"I am sure. She has gotten a lot off her mind. She is still mightily troubled, make no mistake, but I believe she will be okay."

"Athena? You gonna be alright here?"

"Y-yes, Kitten. I…I will be alright. At least, as much alright as I will ever be."

"Well, we'll be right next door, on both sides. With Omega's hearing, all you have to do is squeak, and we'll come running. Promise me if things get bad, you'll do that, okay?" Athena was silent for a long time. "Promise me!" Finally Athena nodded her head.

…..

Left there, in her own room, Athena thought. She'd really made a royal mess of things, as the human saying went. If fact, except for the rescuing of the child, she couldn't think of a single thing she'd done right since she got here.

And now, the memories of what the Lord Natal and his followers had done to her…that emotional pain was more intense than anything she could ever imagine. Physical pain was as nothing compared to this.

When those who are supposed to look out for your best interests instead either leave or actually take advantage of you, the sense of betrayal goes far deeper than mere physical pain.

There was really only one thing to do. She'd been commanded to live, and she found she now wished to, even though she was no longer being controlled by a Lord. First, what she had to do was to make what amends as she could to the one now called Omega, who'd gone to so much trouble to help her. They might've been friends once, but she just didn't see that relationship as ever being restored, not with all she'd done. Then, she'd simply leave. Not just leave the area; leave the planet. She'd just made too many mistakes here, and, besides, it wasn't as if she was leaving any friends behind, or even any life, to speak of. Most of the people here hated her, and with good reason.

So she'd just leave. There had to be other planets, other places she could go to, and start afresh. Maybe someday she'd return, but she doubted it. Just too many mistakes.

She got up and went to Omega's room, signaling for entrance. "Enter," he said, from within.

He was sitting on his reinforced bed. Athena was actually a little surprised to find him alone; his relationship with the red girl, Kitten, seemed to be a very intense, and, to them, at least, a rewarding one. In the back of her mind, she wondered how that was, a sexual relationship. What she'd been forced to undergo with the Lord Natal and his followers was not the same thing at all, she knew. What would a truly consensual relationship be like? she wondered. She knelt before him, in the customary way. "I came by to apologize," she began. She noticed he refused to meet her gaze. Well, she couldn't really blame him. "I have wronged you, deeply." Now her own gaze was focused on the floor. "When I was under the thrall of the Lords, I hated you because I believed you to be a traitor. In reality, they were the real traitors. Such was my enmity towards you that I failed to learn from you, from the actions you demonstrated.

"So I was wrong. About … everything.

"I know that our relationship can never be the same as it once was, but you have stated that you are my friend, and will always remain so. I—I, that means more to me than you will ever know, considering all that I've done to you."

He spoke up for the first time. "We all make mistakes, and we learn from them. That is the human condition. And, in this sense, we are as human as anyone."

She was silent for a moment. Then, "I just want you to know that, for what it's worth, I, too, will always be your friend. But I will be leaving, leaving this world. I do not know where I will go, or if I shall ever return, but, wherever I am, I will always remember you fondly." Still he did not meet her gaze.

"I really wish you wouldn't, Athena."

She got up and turned towards the window, not actually a window, but a real-time holoscreen of the outside. "I see no other choice. As I said, I've simply made too many mistakes here, among your friends. They've no reason to forgive me, and many of them, probably most of them, especially the one called Raven, won't. And they've no real reason to. I certainly can't blame them for it. Such hostility doesn't make for good team behavior, as Robin would say. So it's in everybody's best interests if I leave."

Now his head tiltled oddly. "Except mine. And yours."

She turned back to him. "But—but how can it be in your best interests if I stay? I've done nothing save bring you misery ever since I awakened here. And, and, my own interests…..don't matter." She turned back to the "window."

He got up and moved towards her. "But they do. To me. Athena. If you leave, you will be depriving me of one of my dearest friends. And you will be depriving yourself of the opportunity to learn from your mistakes, to make restitution to those you've wronged. You will be, in short, running away. That's not the Athena I remember."

Osirans can't cry, lacking tear ducts, but their faces can hurt when under the influence of strong emotions. Athena's face hurt now. She pressed her hands to her face, as if to press away the pain. "Then perhaps the Athena you knew and that you speak of was actually somebody else. All I've seem to have done, since my arrival, has been to have made a complete and utter ass of myself. Although," she said, and here her voice broke, "that seems to've been my primary function back on my old world, as well."

Now he grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, turned her around. "I don't EVER want to hear you say anything even remotely like that about yourself ever again. Yes, you were used, in perhaps the cruelest, most demeaning sort of way. But that was not your fault. You had nothing to do with that. You were—and are—one of the strongest, bravest, most intelligent people it has ever been my pleasure to know.

"You never shirked from battle before. Don't shirk from this one now."

She was puzzled. "Battle? What battle?"

"The battle to regain yourself, to overcome the mistakes you've made, to overcome what the Lords did to you, and to let everyone who's ever thought anything bad about you see how mistaken they were. That's a battle, just the same as if you were in a war."

"I,I don't know if I can do that…"

He curled a finger under her chin and raised her face to his. "The Athena I know, and that stands before me, can. I won't lie to you, it takes courage, courage of a special kind, to be willing to fight that battle. But I know you have it, and, furthermore, you won't fight this fight alone. I'll be right there with you, every step of the way." Strangely, his eyes still didn't quite meet hers.

She smiled. It had always been this way: He always seemed to know just what to say, when she was feeling down, to make her feel better. Kitten's a lucky girl, she thought. "Well, alright, since you put it that way, I'll…stay around at least a bit longer." She moved back a bit from him, and stuck out her hand in what she had come to understand was the human gesture of friendship and agreement.

He didn't move. He just stood there, smiling and looking at her oddly. "Ehrm. Shake on it?" She prompted.

"Oh! Of course! I'm sorry, I suppose my mind was elsewhere…" And he reached out for her hand….

…..and missed. His smile faded somewhat, as he fumbled a bit, finally catching her fingers in his, and completing a clumsy handshake.

But by then it was far too late for the deception to continue any longer. The reason he wouldn't meet her eyes, his occasional stumble, his not seeing her outstretched hand…."Omega! You're…blind!"

To be continued.