Author's Note : It's a little different to what we first thought Cyniclons as, I've given them a different/unique way of ageing, and explore their powers and culture in this fic, hopefully it'll be interesting to read :) ps. None of it is beta read
Dren gave a long yawn and stretch as he faded lazily back into the fourth dimension. He rubbed his eyes tiredly with the back of his hand, and noticed how heavy his hand felt. He looked at it curiously and thought that the mental projections into Zoey's mind must have tired him out more than he previously thought. He concluded it wasn't easy breaking into a Mew Mew's mind, even harder to wrench their souls into a crystal for storage, and he frowned slightly remembering the impregnable resistance given by the petite Kikki. It was practically an insult, that a creature that small could best nature's benevolently given powers to him.
"Still...there's no harm in a little target practice." He said aloud with another yawn, seeing that the dimension appeared to be devoid of the others. Flexing his short claws slightly he pulled out a few target droids from subspace, the area where anything he ever used were held in their own private universe in which he could freely access. It was a given with his powers. The droids whirred around his head aimlessly, the green nodes of their spherical appearance shining consistently, save for one that blinked rhythmically. "Urgh, what's the blinking for?" Dren murmured quietly, his brow creasing as he thought.
"Talking to droids again?...I see your social contact with members of your own species is alive and thriving." Sardon said dryly. Dren's ears gave a small flick pinpointing the voice. The alien was leant on a pillar, doused in the shadows only his eyes glittered malevolently as he fanned himself slowly with his trademark item.
"If there were others of our species here with me, I assure you that my social graces would be directed towards them." Dren replied keeping his tone immaculately polite. Sardon gave a huff of disbelief and wrinkled his nose up as he stepped out from the shadows.
"You stink of humans." He said lowly, his voice a low rumble. And his eyes darted all over Dren's body accusingly though his face remained passive.
"Of course. I stepped outside for recon." Dren said simply, his mouth pursed tightly as the corner of Sardon's mouth twitched ever so slightly betraying his annoyance.
"And I wonder who ever gave you that authorization?" Sardon asked him sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't remember Deep Blue ever saying that I weren't allowed out for recon." The younger Cyniclon replied lightly. Sardon's appearance was much more masculine and heavier built than himself, from a natural born instinct he knew automatically that he was within the adult life cycle. Whereas appearances could be deceiving, such as Tarb who was within the adolescence cycle, a Cyniclon's instinct never lied. Pheromones and assessment of another male were tantamount to seeing or breathing.
"Hmm...still, I'd like you to report to me whenever leaving the fourth dimension."
"Oh course..." Dren said with a grin, "If I remember." The other alien gave him a grim look and faded away from view, back into his own quadrant presumably.
The Cyniclon gave a shrug of indifference and caught the floating droid from the air, he clasped it tightly in his hands and stared at it curiously. "What have we here?" He murmured, he plucked the lid off it and discovered a loose cable. But the space was too confined for his slim hand to fit, so with a gentle movement of his finger the magic weaved its self around the wire pulling it back into its socket. He released the droid and the green light shone brightly in his eyes. "Initiate...battle sequence 4." Dren commanded clearly.
The droids released guns and thin mechanical arms designed to grab and hold. Whilst dodging between shots of hot energy and fast pincers launching themselves at him, he still couldn't clear his mind. He was thinking about Zoey, how there was a secret flutter in his stomach as he replayed the moment where they had kissed. The tenderness of her lips... "Argh!" Dren cried aloud, tumbling to the floor, he fell into a defensive roll and assessed the damage on him immediately.
An ugly scorch mark was left on his pale skin and he gritted his teeth from the stinging pain. "Clearly I'm in no mood to do this training." He quickly sprang into the air above the droids and wrapped his hand in a fast curling motion sucking the droids back into their universe. With a sigh he descended, rubbing the temples of his forehead with a hand, his eyes closed lazily.
"See...I told you he'd quit."
"Hush Tarb...this is only confirmation that he is better suited to agriculture as opposed to fighting." Sardon told the smaller alien who grew an even bigger grin. Dren grew a scowl and stopped nursing his wound,
"I can deal fine in battle without you two bone heads." He spat at them, his ears tilted back to show his frustration.
"Touchy aren't we?" Sardan replied coolly, and Tarb had tensed up threateningly. But Dren had drifted away before he could launch his small body at him. In his quadrant he quickly sealed the entrance with a wall of dark energy preventing the Cyniclons from entering without the use of force. With a relieved sigh he lay on his back, staring up into the timeless ceiling of the dimension.
"Zoey...What does she see in Mark that is so attractive?" Dren mumbled to himself, "He's weak...doesn't have any powers...lacks zero charm and charisma and most importantly doesn't ever make a move on her. She must be so frustrated at him..." He rolled onto his side and tucked his legs up, effectively curling into a foetal position. He knew his race was alien to Zoey, his features were foreign and effectively incomparable to Mark, but still he couldn't ignore the rivalry churning away inside him. Before slipping away into a light nap, he still had Zoey's face imprinted in his mind...he couldn't get rid of it, the pink bangs and the blush that rushed to her face making her irresistible...
On the next day, Dren had woken up, refreshed and charged with power. Giving himself a quick groom and a wash, he removed the energy barrier left up and entered the main chamber. "You are so lame." Tarb told him lightly as he approached.
"You can speak you little runt." The teenaged Cyniclon replied instantly and gave a yawn as Tarb pulled a tongue at him.
"You've been so busy crying over a tiny scratch that you missed Deep Blue's message." The smaller alien said smugly, and levitated into the air cross legged.
"Don't keep him in suspense Tarb." Sardon said his voice monotone as he typed furiously at a keyboard. Dren guessed he was inputting data on as he saw countless numbers and symbols flash up on a large screen suspended in mid air, all of which meant nothing to him.
"Well..." Tarb began playfully but found himself held aloft by the Cyniclon, who had seized the front of his clothes aggressively.
"I would actually like to be outside of this dimension once in a while, so spit it out already." He snarled and Tarb chuckled, his small hands placed on Dren's larger one in an act of subconscious submission.
"Deep Blue just wanted us to try a different way of extracting souls, that's all...also that you should release a Cyniclons where you see fit." The older Cyniclon let him go with a satisfied smirk.
"That's more like it." And he stepped away from him towards Sardon, who merely glanced at his approach before the eyes flicked back to the screen. "I'm going to the amusement park to see if there's anything worth combining into a predasite." There was an arrogance in his tone that suggested he didn't enjoy the lower ranking role he was put in.
"Go." Sardon replied swiftly, his eyes never leaving the screen, and his fingers continued typing furiously. Dren flew through the ceiling of the dimension and out into the open world, where as Sardon ceased his typing after his leave.
"It appears we may have misjudged our mission by using predasites and humans. These disgusting "Mew Mews" appear to be infused with animals also, rendering them as equal so to speak as a predasite. What they lack in undying duty, they make up for in power." Sardon told Tarb, pulling up Zoey's profile in which he had entered the most recent battle data for processing.
"Hmm...that leader of theirs sure isn't much though. I don't know what Dren sees in her." Tarb said, cocking his to the side as if to see Zoey in a different light. "Nope...still the same stinking human."
"You forgot to tell Dren the last bit of Deep Blue's message, to erase the world of this "Zoey"." Sardon said pointedly and the Cyniclon gave him an innocent smile.
"I thought it'd be better to...save it for the last moment. I want maximum impact when I do tell him. His expression will be priceless!" Tarb giggled gleefully and cart wheeled through the air as Sardon continued his data inputting.
Outside in the fresh morning air Dren inhaled deeply. His amber eyes cast around the rooftops of the building, searching for anything extra ordinary. Of course there never was, humans had such drab tastes in advertising, there never was anything to see above average building height. Giving a long stretch, he soon set off at a moderate pace to the amusement park. He was only headed there because a few days ago he'd eavesdropped on one of Zoey's phone calls to Mark, the breathlessness of her attitude made him sick. "Why she even enjoys feeling so self conscious around him is a mystery. It's time to do a little recon...on Mark." Dren muttered to himself with a sly grin. He positioned himself on the gates of the amusement park and sat down, enforcing a small camouflage shield around him so not to draw attention.
A while later and he saw Mark. The dark eyes and hair were striking against his tanned complexion, Dren noticed, comparing it to his milky toned skin and dull green hair. With an even greater scowl he pricked his ears up as he heard Zoey's voice call out "Mark!"
"Hey there!" Mark replied with a small smile and turned to face the girl in a summer dress, with a rosy blush to her face.
"Hiya...sorry about being so late, the train was running a bit behind the times." She spoke speedily and in a higher pitch of voice as she looked at the floor embarrassed. Mark's smile didn't grow nor wane but he merely said,
"Let's go in then."
"Let's go in then." Dren mimicked quietly, his amber eyes fixated on the couple. He also noticed how Mini Mew ,who was acting as a phone accessory, casting his big eyes around searching for something. "I'll have to catch that little furball before he alerts Zoey." He thought wisely to himself.
Dren walked behind the couple at a distance, he was still cloaked with his camouflage shield so that he appeared the same colour as the background and nothing more than a shadow in the corner of a human's eye. He watched with fascination as the male of couples all around him bought drinks for their female counterpart, and Mark had done the same for Zoey. "My information is badly lacking on human culture...perhaps this is their way of "dating"?" He thought. As interested as he was in Zoey and Mark's relationship, the alien intelligence and curiosity within him was taking in all the information he could. The processed food the humans ate, these "hot dogs" and "doughnuts", his mouth watered at the delicious smell wafting from a stand, but he watched curiously as Mark beside him purchased two drinks, exchanging small silver coins for them. Dren peered at his face closer, sure the boy was ugly to him but perhaps this appearance was desirable to humans. The narrow nose, soft eyes and beaming smile were all characteristics that Dren imprinted on his mind as the boy ran back to Zoey.
"Here, I got you lemonade." He said passing her a can,
"Thanks." She said taking it, they opened the cans with a hiss and slurped down the cool liquid greedily. "Ah, that's so much better, I can't believe its so hot today!"
"Yeah it is." Mark agreed with her. They sat there for a moment, Zoey perhaps too shy to talk. But Dren observed their interaction closely, the teenage boy as far as he could see never made an attempt to approach Zoey in a physical way but played it safe, agreeing to anything she said, there was no opinions exchanged and he wondered how humans managed to create the "life long bond of love" if they couldn't share intimate thoughts to each other.
"Hey, should we go on the Ferris wheel?" Mark asked cheerily, she gave a small jump at first but then smiled at him,
"Sure, why not? I love the Ferris Wheel!" And they walked towards it together, their hands didn't brush against each other though Zoey walked close to him.
Dren watched with sickening frustration as they entered the confined space together, clearly she had been too nervous about being in close proximity with him alone yet Mark hadn't picked up on that, "How insensitive" He grumbled after them. As the wheel began spinning slowly around lifting them high in the air, they gasped at the scenery their view provided, Zoey pressing her face close to the glass walls. The alien could not enter their carriage but floated lazily along side of it. His sensitive ears could pick up the conversation comfortably through the thick glass, which stopped Mini Mew's sensors from picking up his presence.
"Wow, the view here is so high up...it's amazing!" Zoey laughed with glee as the carriage gracefully moved upwards.
"Pah! I could show her views from outer space if she let me." Dren spat aloud angrily and crossed his arms moodily as Mark got off the seat to join Zoey, he stood behind her and put a hand on the glass so that they stood close to each other, his presence and warmth looming close to her. The alien scowled darkly at the boy who was making her face go cherry red in colour.
"These views really are something else." Mark said softly, and his other hand snuck beside Zoey to hold hers gently. The Cyniclon's sensitive ears heard the gasp from Zoey and ,just about, the rapid beating of her heart, her eyes had glazed over a little as her love got the better of her.
"Alright I've seen enough!" Dren snarled in jealousy, he snapped the shield away and appeared with an angry look at the surprised couple. Thrusting his open palm at the pair of them that clung tightly to one another, he unleashed a burst of colourless energy that shattered a large hole in the glass. Immediately Mini Mew issued cries of warning and fluttered about the human's heads, it flapped its wings furiously to avoid being pulled out by the pressure of air.
"It's YOU again!" Zoey shouted along, pressing herself close to Mark for a moment trying not to forget that blissful scenario she had experienced moments before.
"Of course it is sweet cheeks." Dren told her coldly, the pupils of his eyes were slits as he rose to a greater height to observe them easier. "Have I ever told you that you make me sick?" He rolled the word "sick" on his tongue and relished the syllable it made on his vocal chords. "The pair of you...it almost makes me want to leave this world."
"Then leave already if you hate it so much!" Zoey yelled at him ferociously, though she clung herself closed to Mark. Her hands were twisted tightly into his shirt and his arms wound round her small frame, he gave her an odd glance as the familiarity showed between her and the alien.
"Who are you?" Mark called out at the scrawny teenaged looking boy, with pointed ears. He scowled as Dren gave a mocking laugh and twirled a lock of his dark hair between two fingers,
"I am Dren, servant of the mighty Deep Blue, invader of planet Earth and...sworn enemy of the precious Mew Mews." He told him in one breath, "Such a pathetic name don't you think Mark? "Mew Mews"...typical for a bunch of high schoolers."
"I don't know anything about "Mew Mews"!" Cried Mark almost desperately, "What do you want?" And he shifted his body slightly so it shielded Zoey more.
"I want..." Dren began and tapped his chin with a slender finger, but then Zoey pulled away from Mark and stood in front of him.
"He wants me." She said with a serious tone and Dren raised his eyebrows slightly. "Go on then, you want to fight so-" He stopped her there with a lick of his small fangs. It sent shivers of apprehension from her very toes to the core of her body, and those eyes...the entrancing amber orbs fixated on something behind her.
"As much as I supposedly want you Zoey." And he moved a finger on her face so that a claw traced her jaw line gently, the very fibre of her body suppressed a shudder at the alien touch skimming across her skin. "It's not you today." As quick as Zoey wanted to leap into the air to transform she held back for fear of Mark and froze as Dren seized her by the neck. He flung her easily into the air with inhuman strength and with a sneer motioned his hand, curving his fingers to his palm, so that in mid air Zoey was badly stunned by an emerald wave of magic that also cocooned her body. It was almost a bubble suspending her from harm. Outside Mini Mew fluttered around in a mad panic.
Dren turned his attention to Mark who was screaming hoarsely at Zoey as she remained incapacitated, the teenager was on his hands and knees, with an arm out stretched desperately at her. "BRING HER BACK!" He shouted at Dren when she became too distant to make out.
"No. Not until we've had a little chat." The Cyniclon stated seriously, there wasn't a hint of playfulness about him now. He folded his arms and entered the broken Ferris wheel carriage as Mark scrabbled away on the floor hastily. After sealing the broken glass with his powers to stop the gusts of wind, only then did Dren looked closely at Mark.
And Mark at Dren. A minute passed in silence as the two males weighed each other up subconsciously. Dren was much more competent and powerful than the human, this much was clear to Mark and already the alien had seemingly gathered much information on him. There wasn't a hope in hell at defeating him in combat of any sort.
"Tell...why is Zoey so infatuated with you?" Mark blanched at the question but he quickly picked himself off the floor and brushed dirt and glass specks from his hands that had caused tiny scratches.
"That's none of your business!" The teenager snarled, bunching his hands into tight fists.
"Is it because you "love" each other?" Dren drawled aloud giving the word "love" a sarcastic roll on his tongue. He twitched an ear as Mark tensed even further.
"Yes. I love her and she loves me." He felt decisively raw as this...alien searched for answers so private and deep within him.
"WRONG." Dren spat aloud venomously, "What do you humans know of "love", you see a pretty girl and think that you're perfect for each other without indulging in each other deepest desires. And of course it ends up as a fleeting love story, pathetic. It's just the same old story." He bared his fangs in anger and gleaned pleasure from the fear that riveted on Mark's face. "I've seen the way you act around each other, it couldn't have been any more awkward than having her mother "date" your father."
"Shut up!" Mark said aloud, his voice quavered terribly so and Dren's sensitive ears heard it more than clearly.
"You know it's true." He said silkily and grinned as Mark gnashed his teeth together, "But what do you know? I've ignited a passion in Zoey's heart that even she didn't know was possible. What's more we're actually comfortable around each other...so to speak. Strangely enough she won't even look at you without feeling embarrassed, do you even take into consideration how awkward and flustered she feels around you?" He asked and felt the curved tip of his ear. It was a habit he had fell into whenever he felt the need to fidget. "But, I'm wasting my breath. You'd never amount to anything like me."
"She hates you, I know she does!" Mark retorted in a feeble attempt to defy Dren, he had no answer to the question. His soul felt bare and naked as the Cyniclon wrapped his power around everything he ignored and brought it kicking and screaming into the light.
"That's a rich thought, that you "know" what she feels. I think we'll agree that you don't know a thing about her. All in all, I'd rather deny she hates me." Dren said loftily and flicked his hair in annoyance. "I think we're done here, "pretty boy"...why humans ever find you attractive is a mystery to me." He finished cattily giving him a withering look and dove out of the carriage with surprising grace, the magic faded allowing the gusts of wind to billow around Mark who hung to the seats grimly. Zoey was not in his vision and of her fate he knew nothing.
Dren descended easily to where Zoey was a few hundred metres off the floor. With a snap of his fingers he released her from her stunned conscience and she looked at him blearily though the pale emerald prison. "What...have you done with Mark?" she asked him weakly. He knew her head was throbbing from exposure to his magic and revelled in deep delight that she was a weaker creature than him.
"You should go and find out." Dren sneered and laughed as Zoey scrabbled against the smooth walls of the bubble.
"Let me out!" She screamed with all her might after a moment of struggle. For a few minutes Dren did nothing, he floated in mid air and surveyed her with his mischievous eyes. "What is it! Are you bored! Is that why you ruined my date with Mark!" Zoey screamed at him, frustration forced her ears and tail to pop out.
In reality Dren was simply wondering how he was ever entranced by her looks, she was nothing but a human. Her appearance echoing a shod form of a Cyniclon...but it was her determined yet inferior life that attracted him. As a higher species it was nature's law he was allowed to pick and choose a mate for life, yet he knew only this girl would kick and fight every step of the way despite her acknowledging his power. "I hope cats always land on their feet." He said dryly and released her from her prison, catching her off guard.
Zoey yelped with surprise, Dren's pale face the last thing she saw before images blurred before her. Immediately she transformed, and instinct twisted her body into a falling position and soon she deftly landed on her feet. Her limbs shook from the force, but she was alive. "Dren – come out and fight!" She shouted aloud, scanning the skies above her proved fruitless. The Cyniclon had disappeared.
Noticing the interested attention on her from the public she hurriedly dashed into a thick clump of bushes to revert into her original form. Afterwards she scurried around the Ferris wheel searching for Mark.
"Zoey- there you are- you're alright!" He called out, they ran into each other's arms through an unspoken consent. Zoey gave a sigh of relief,
"I was so scared...I thought you were dead."
"No...I thought you were dead. What was that thing? He had powers I'd have never dreamed of...and the things he said, it was as if he could see inside of you." He gave a small shudder and shut his eyes. Zoey sympathized with him, knowing exactly how he felt. The Cyniclons were a frightful race of creatures indeed.
"What did he say?" Zoey asked tenderly and leant on his chest,
"He...He...didn't...ah, this is a bad time Zoey." Mark said with an air of finality and a sigh so that she wouldn't push him for answers, he even moved away from her a little. They soon left the fair in silence, each considering their encounter with Dren.
Mini Mew left Zoey then to flutter back to the Mew Mew cafe, and there Elliot and Wesley had poured over the computer screens with much interest. They had activated Mini Mew's camera after the Cyniclon alert, only to find surprising revelations. "It's actually disturbing how easily he can disable a Mew Mew." Wesley murmured, the finger tapping at an image of Zoey cocooned in the bubble. "And here I thought we were in for a fair fight."
"Indeed." Elliot replied darkly, "We need more information...at least we've learned something about "Dren"."
"That his obsession with Zoey is so deep?" Wesley suggested and Elliot nodded,
"Also that his powers appear to be concentrated to his hands...look." And he wound the video to the instant of Zoey's confinement. Sure enough a faint green glow had gathered in the centre of the Cyniclon's palm, it was so faint that without squinting and magnification it would be invisible to the naked eye.
"This is interesting...if we could capture him...I'd be more than interested in running tests." Wesley murmured and rubbed at his chin thoughtfully.
"That's a very good suggestion." Elliot said with the beginnings of a smirk growing.