A/N: HELLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOO!
As I promised my faith readers, the next bit! :D And I want to thank the everyone that has read this little fic that started on a whim. I'm glad a lot of people took up interest.
I'm especially thankful to Dream'sRealm who was encouraging me as I gave her random little progress updates on how this chapter was going.
With further ado, read on! :D
P'len looked down into the small water basin she held in her lap. She sighed and picked up a rough washcloth with her good hand. The Astorian dunked it into the water and scrubbed her face.
After five minutes of that she dumped the water in the sink. She stood up and tucked the basin under her arm.
As she opened the door, she's face to face with the Volkregian Blue Lantern. His hand was poised to knock.
"Wha-"
"Oh!" Razer jumped back, bumping into Saint Walker.
They stared at each other, embarrassed.
The awkward silence was broken by the First Blue Lantern.
"You can't sleep, can you?"
"How long were you two there?" P'len asked.
"One of the children came to us," Razer explained. "She was concerned. We were knocking on doors, asking others if they had seen you."
"Ah," she nodded in understanding. "I left the little ones' room about an hour ago." She gestured to the wash room behind her.
"I thought I could clear my head, but it's . . . it's severely cluttered."
Saint Walker's ring shined as he placed a sympathetic hand on her forehead. His hand glowed with blue energy.
"Cluttered indeed," he commented. P'len let out a bitter exhale at that.
The Astorian saint took his hand off her head. "Get some rest, Sister. You'll need your energy in the coming days."
Sister P'len ducked her head and soon left.
"Are you certain that she'll return to them?" Razer inquired. "I can follow her-"
"No," Walker said firmly. "She'll return to them. It's in her nature."
Razer nodded in understanding.
"How comes the translation of the new data burst?" Saint Walker began to walk and Razer followed.
Earlier, L.A.N.O.S had received another transmission from Aya. The Interceptor's nav-com was currently translating it.
Apparently, Aya put such a complicated code, no one but L.A.N.O.S could figure it out.
"He's had half of it decoded," Razer said. Saint Walker could hear the impatience in his voice.
"With time, Brother Razer," the latter reminded him.
"I know, but time is of the essence Saint Walker," Razer pointed out.
"Who knows what Atrocitus has put Ciev through . . ."
Eke turned around to see the Red Lantern guards. They were posted on either side of the door. They gripped their crimson staffs tightly, motionless.
He quickly turned back to his work. The husband of the remaining Astorian priestess rubbed his eyes.
Oh stars, he couldn't believe what he was creating!
"No one said you could stop, Astorian," growled a guard. Eke turned around in time to feel one end of the Red Lantern's prod whack to his neck. He was violently shoved back to the wall, effectively pinned.
He struggled to get the stick off his neck. Finally, the Red Lantern stopped choking him. Eke gagged and coughed. He went staggering to his workstation. Just as he was about to fall, a hand shot up in time to slap onto the table, supporting him somewhat.
"Yes, yes, yes I know!" Eke replied after a few minutes, exasperated. He rubbed his neck. "I'm just trying to figure out which wire to connect with the main battery."
He lowered his hand and pushed himself up. The engineer winced as his throat stung; his esophagus throbbed in pain. The palm returned to his neck and gently rubbed it.
That is going to cause a hard time swallowing for a while, he thought.
"I-I doubt you'd want me to blow this place to smithereens, so please," Eke enunciated, gesturing to his device, "let a man do his work."
Suddenly, the door behind the guards cycled open. The two stood at attention as beady, yellow eyes stared at Eke.
"I've brought you a little someone to help speed up your progress." Atrocious sneered. He stepped in, yanking with him-
"Ciev!?"
"Daddy!" Ciev struggled in Atrocitus's iron grip on her shoulder. "Lemme go!"
Eke's heart lept to his throat as Atrocitus easily lifted his child off the ground by her hood.
He made a show of putting his thumb against the neck of Ciev's doll. As the hateful creature forced his thumb against the stiff toy, the threads that kept the head to the body-
"No, oh no-no!" Eke pleaded as Atrocitus had her throat encircled with his massive palm and fingers. Ciev gagged and kicked her legs frantically. She choked, struggling to breathe. Her dark eyes were terrified.
"Please! She's just a child!" Eke threw himself to Atrocitus's feet. "I'll-I'll finish! I swear on my life!"
Atrocious stopped. "You'll honor that?"
He kept his grip on Ciev. Her face and the area around her lips were quickly turning a ghastly shade of purple. Eke could see that his daughter's grip was weakening, and her rasps grew faint.
"Yes, I mean it!" Eke trembled before him. "Spare her!" He groveled, face pressed hard against the ground.
"Get up you pathetic excuse of a father," Atrocitus huffed.
Eke jumped up in time to catch Ciev in his arms. The child gasped, finally able to breath.
"D-Daddy . . ." she whimpered. She curled into his body, trying not to cry.
"Shh, shh," Eke soothed. He cradled her close.
"Don't waste any more time, Astorian," Atrocitus warned. He towered over them, making Ciev tremble.
"Don't hurt my daughter and you've got a deal." Eke gritted his teeth.
Whether or not the man was going to keep his word was an entirely different story.
Razer stood in the Interceptor's bridge, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked at the mess L.A.N.O.S was decoding. It was quite extensive for a short data burst.
"Razer?"
"In here," Razer informed the human.
The familiar visage of the Earthling appeared, standing beside him.
"What is it?" Razer inquired dryly.
"I know you're worried about Aya-"
"Are we going to go over this again, Hal?" Razer interjected.
"Look, I know," Hal responded. "I'm worried about you is all."
"While that is touching my friend, I'm quite all right."
"Are you sure?" Hal exhaled. "You're paler than usual."
"When did this become about my complexion?"
"You know what I mean!" Hal face-palmed.
"You haven't eaten anything since you landed on Oa. Kilowog is half ready to drag you to the mess hall."
"I'd like to see him try," Razer responded. There was a hint of a smirk on the Volkregian's mouth.
Hal couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh.
"All right. But he's serious there," Hal reminded him.
As he turned to go, L.A.N.O.S's screen beeped loudly.
Razer looked up expectantly at the green cube that popped up on the console.
"Well?" the Volkregian asked.
"It's both a set of coordinates and has tracking abilities," the nav-com said.
"What?" Hal questioned, bewildered.
"He means that we can track where the message came from," Razer said. There was a glint, an eager glint in his blue eyes.
"That means we can find Aya."
A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed! Please read and review.
The next chapter won't be up for a while. Exams, Lunar New Year preparations and RL will be busy in the coming days.
Have a good day everyone! :)