Chapter 4:
Ripple
I
626 was quick enough to duck the thin, scarlet streaks that left 627's eyes, which were not unlike those 10 had been firing on the decoy vessel. His opponent, however, had a fist in his stomach even faster. The blue Experiment briefly recalled a training match with 624 against 149 and 150. The enormous Experiment's mechanical fist had hit his gut hard enough to earn a hundred frantic apologies from 150, a wince from 149, and some help up from 624. That now seemed like a comforting pat compared to the blow he just felt. Regardless, he was able to ignore the pain long enough to catch 627's fist before his face, and then drive a powerful headbutt into the red Experiment's purple nose. 626's fist flew upwards into 627's chin, though it was retaliated with the whiplash of a backhand before a strong scissor kick. The blue Experiment went rolling backwards into the nearest wall. After falling to his bottom, he looked up to find his opponent's eyes glowing red again. Fortunately, a friendly, pink form fell from the ceiling and stomped 627 into the ground, and the streaks hit the ceiling with soft 'p-tang.'
"You're not that much of a surprise, you know!" 624 joked, grabbing the new arrival by his long, ruined ears. "We got a sort-of tip-off!" 627 was thrown into the furthest corner, while 624 immediately ran for her blue ally. "You alright, pumpkin?"
"Not bad, aside from you getting my name wrong,"
"Oh, sorry. I was just trying out one of the things 149 calls 221,"
"Tell you what, why don't we kick 627's ass, and then we can discuss our own, original flirty names?"
"Sounds good." They turned around to find their antagonist reemerged, and working his way through bolts of electricity and more thin streaks. As 221 slowly approached the red Experiment, continuing his projectiles, 10 ran onto the ceiling, firing streaks until he was halfway across. The projectiles were dodged with ease by 627, and 10 soon found their enemy's back to them. Noticing the opportunity, he dropped from the ceiling and prepared for a kick.
"Eep!" His foot was snared in 627's expecting claws. The medic soon found himself flying across the room, being ducked by 221, and then landing on something soft and rubbery.
"Whoopsie-daisies!" 345 chirped, letting 10 slide down his elongated torso. The clown then stretched around the bolts that 221 fired until he was close enough to wrap 627's head in his rubbery arm like a present. "Come on, now! You know it won't feel so bad if you just stay sti-OUCHIE!" He was suddenly gripped around the arm with two electrically-charged hands. Fortunately for the clown, 149 was quick with an airborne roundhouse kick.
"Watch yourself, stretchy!" She landed swiftly on the nearest wall, perching with all limbs like a spider. 627 only snarled from his crouched position. As he straightened up, he found himself surrounded by 621, 626, 624, 221, 10, and 150.
"You're outnumbered, mate," The electrician threatened, pointing at him with a strongly electrified finger.
"Thanks for that, 149!" 345 chirped, his torso extending to be above his rescuer.
"Don't mention it, rubbery, just-Eh?!" She felt a spontaneous weight on her leg. Looking over her shoulder, she found 627 glaring up at her, his ferocious hand around her foot. "Howdy, there,"
"I've noticed..." The crimson creature responded 221 before throwing his girlfriend on top of him like a ragdoll.
"Hey, now! Oof!" 149 noisily scolded 627 as she inadvertently hit 10, 150, and 626 across the ground. "This just-Ow!-Ain't sporting!" 621 was swift enough to roll backwards and out of the way, and 624 was able to catch 149 around the torso.
"Phew, he was throwing you for a loop, huh?" The pink Experiment joked.
"Shut up, 624!"
Their opponent's free hand began to emit a sickly green substance, identical to that fired from certain Federation weapons. Before he could throw his projectile, however, he found both that arm and and his throat grasped from behind by 621. After a firm stomp to his calf sent him kneeling, he also released 149's ankle.
"Now, if you'd 'a made plasma on the hand holdin' my foot, ya just might've gotten somewhere!" She teased as she stood up. The smart-mouth was then evaded the judo thrown marksman, who instead toppled into 624. "Woah, there! Just some constructive criticism, spazzo!" She attempted two hooks into the glaring face, both of which landed in her enemy's awaiting grasp. She was quick to escape with a powerful headbutt, followed by a firm side kick to the chest. As 627 staggered, backwards, 149 flipped over him with the top of his cone-like head and then grabbed his right arm, forcing it too far behind his back with a satisfying snap. As the crimson Experiment cried out in pain, his free hand became a fist, which was across his opponent's face before too long. After 149 landed on her front from the resulting back flip, she looked up to find not only her nose dripping blood, but 627 looking shocked at his own handiwork.
"No..." He muttered as he shook the expression from his face. "Must be brave...I must be brave..." It wasn't until he'd collected himself that he noticed a pale green substance had gathered at his feet. Immediately after he discovered the glop, it shot up like a bullet and gripped his head, which he found in front of a pair of rock-hard, yellow eyes.
"Show me the path you took from your birthplace..." 300 whispered as he felt a sensation like he was opening a thick book. Before he could read its text, however, he was pushed away by another pair of boiling streaks from 627's eyes. Glancing downwards after the blob was satisfyingly distant from him, the new arrival noticed that part of 300 trailed along the floor back to him and consumed his foot, slowly working its way upwards. Without a moment's hesitation, 627 singed the parasitic skin crawling up his leg with two plasma-charged hands. 300 silenced his shouts through teeth clenched like a sprung trap, and tried his hardest to fully engulf 627.
"It would be easier to just accept this, you know!" The red creature called over in frustration.
"It would be, for a short time..." 300 growled softly. With a burning glare, 627 took his hands from his trapped leg and chucked a sphere of plasma at the blob.
"300!" 10 grabbed his ally from behind one of the cubic benches, pulling him into cover from the oncoming projectile. The new Experiment, with all six arms, began hurtling plasma all throughout the room, hoping to create some sort of random casualty. He soon spotted 149 darting out from behind another bench, and focused a fraction of the deadly substance at her. A quick-thinking 150 stepped in between them as she rounded the corner back to the pod bay. He aimed his cannon hand to counter the plasma for his long-time partner, but they hit the branch-like formations of flying electricity and dispersed like firecrackers before he could act.
"Careful, kids!" 221 called from behind the nearest bench. "Getting a plasma wound isn't that fun, trust me,"
"Oh, uh, for sure, 221!" 150 forced any blunt annoyance from his head.
"Thanks, sugarcube!" 149 rapidly stepped back out. "C'mon, 150, I could use ya help with somethin'!"
"Wh-Really?!" His mind was more easily cleared now. "Sure! Anything!"
"Just down here, eager beaver!" She motioned to be followed as she resumed running, and the massive Experiment complied.
627 persisted until he was unsuspectingly hit across the face by a powerful fist. Then hit again in the opposite direction. Then again. And again. And again. He was able to get a brief glimpse of 626 standing over him, all four fists at the ready, and a sickly green chemical dripping off of him like water on a swan's back. His time with the view was minimal, as he was grabbed by his triangular head and thrust into 626's knee. The maneuver was swiftly followed by a strong headbutt, sending the red Experiment to the floor.
"See, 627, I'd call you a letdown..." 626 stepped forward and thrust 627's face into the floor with his foot when he tried to look up. "But how sloppy you are, just chucking plasma around aimlessly like a headless Irken, there's something so satisfyingly funny about it all." He let out a brief but noticeable chuckle. "I'll have to tell Jacques Hamsterviel and Jumba that 'Functions' are nothing without skill, as I've just shown you. First, though..." He pressed his foot harder onto the orange cheek. "Think you could tell me where I'd find them? You did come straight from there, didn't you?"
"...'Skill?'" The new arrival was muffled slightly by 626's foot, but a tone of disgust was still audible. "Is that what you call it?" His still body then exploded with lively electricity, literally and figuratively shocking his blue opponent off of him. As 626 staggered backwards, he quickly found both of his long ears grasped in an airtight fist before being smacked into the hard metal wall. Before he could retaliate, he was grabbed by the back of his head and made to violently kiss the wall more times than he would care to. As he took the pain, he could hear a furious grunting emitting from 627, almost as strong as the force he was hitting him with. Before too long, 626 found himself spun around once and then up in the air, straight through the ceiling, and out of the base entirely.
II
626 came within a whisker of toppling into the cold embrace of the infinite darkness. The gravity just before it, however, had him on the roof with a clamorous thud. He strained to look up, but when he did, he found 627, not too far away, halfway out of the hole he had created.
"Right, the oxygen field..." The crimson Experiment muttered, glancing hurriedly around at the transparent sphere encasing the Experiment's base. "Maybe I'll throw you out of it and watch you suffocate..." He lifted one leg onto the vast, flat rectangle of a roof, but the other one never emerged. Instead, it seemed to pull 627 back into the hole. 626 was given enough time to pull himself to his feet again, all the while listening to a series of grunts and the violent sound of fists striking bones and bones ramming metal. It wasn't long before a rapturous, familiar, and pink sight emerged onto the roof, granting 626 a sigh of relief.
"I really need to stop having to be saved by you," He said with an appeased smile.
"Does it really happen that often?" 624 joked back. "Man, he bruised your face up real good. It's almost like his own art form." Though her humor persisted, unease was apparent in her face and her voice, the former of which 626 also noticed, standing out against the colorful pink fur, had a large, black spot above the right cheek.
"The same could be said about you,"
"That it's my own art form?"
"No, the bruises,"
"Oh, right!"
"Yeah,"
"Sorry, I thought you meant-"
"Yes, yes, I know." The blue Experiment planted a gentle kiss on 624's bruise. "Better?"
"Uh...Getting there..." The black mark seemed to turn scarlet; 624 still had to adjust to their new partnership. "OK, your turn." She licked all around his face in a single stroke. "Better?"
"Much better, thanks," A saliva-coated 626 contentedly answered. "That'd give 10 a run for his money, huh?"
"Yeah, we'll have to teach him how to lick-heal...But first..." She enthusiastically hopped so she was facing the hole in the roof with 626, with two hands on his shoulders. "We're gonna kick 627's ass, find out where Hamsterviel and Jumba are, and then we can do whatever we want. Sound good?"
"That sounds perfect." He turned left and touched his nose to 624's. "You know, I'm really enjoying this,"
"I know. I don't even remember why I thought it was useless!" The hole suddenly erupted with a bright, golden flash, followed immediately by 221, flying vertically from it like a rocket. Dangling from his ankle like the tail of a kite was unmistakably 627.
"Oh, hello 626, 624!" The electrician immediately noticed them as he soared over the base, alternating between trying to shake 627 off and prying at his airtight fingers with his free foot. "Don't mind me; just fending off the crazed poet! You two carry on!" He was audibly irritated.
"Oh, right, 'cause he'd start getting hypocritical," The pink Experiment muttered. She and 626 noticed 345 emerging from the hole, and sending his arm after the two airborne Experiments like an endless torpedo.
"I hope you're enjoying the ride, you cone-headed wanker!" 221 shouted back at 627, chucking spheres of electricity at him.
"You talk to much," 627 dodged the projectiles with ease.
"Hey, if you let frickin' go I might give it a rest!"
"Oh, it's too late for that. Far too late,"
"Well, better late than never! Come on, give me a break!"
"I can't do that,"
"Then do something, for God's sake! Give me another plasma'd foot, break my leg, something! Just stop sitting there, you sodding anchor!"
"...Alright," 627 muttered, as he gripped 221's foot with both hands. His arms began sparking violently, while the golden Experiment slowly turned pale, and their altitude decreased.
"ARGH!...You...Little...Shit..." 221 panted, feeling like a ten-pound brick in a five-pound bag. Fortunately, his opponent was blasted away by a thick, red beam like a dozen of 10's streaks. 627's red fur burst into flames as he fell. 345's hand had gone to grab 627's foot, but caught 221's instead, and pulled him back like an oversized yo-yo, catching him in both arms. As the electrician struggled to see straight, he found 149 by the trigger of a long, red, enormous, cannon-like, and all-too-familiar firearm, just next to the hole in the roof, surrounded by the rest of his comrades, including 626 and 624.
"Y'alright, hun?" 149 was worried as she quickly helped 345 in getting 221 to his feet.
"Yeah, love, I'm alright..." 221 began, as he forced himself to his feet. "Just need to recharge is all...You alright?" He noticed the thick, crimson liquid dripping from her nose.
"Aw, yeah, the spoils 'a battle, ya know? Nothin' 10 can't fix, don't you worry,"
"Good, good...Thanks for the help, you two,"
"Anytime, 221," 345 chirped. "It looked like fun!"
"So you didn't get shot in the foot on that mission for nothing, see?" 149 added.
"I guess...Excuse me a sec..." He broke away and jogged towards the burning Experiment as best as his heavy sack of a body would allow. 627 simply shook his fur like a wet dog's to extinguish the flames. All the same, he was still sweating like a pig when 221 reached him and grabbed him by the neck with both hands, performing an action identical to what the new arrival had done to him in the air. "Mmm-mmm-mmm," He smiled and purred like he was enjoying a delectable dish, and then punted 627 across the roof. He caught a glimpse of his enemy's palms sliding against the metal as he went over the edge, but when he went to find him on the side of the base, there was nothing but empty space. "Oh, uh...He's gone..." He went back to his allies.
"He fell out of the oxygen field?" 621 asked in rough disbelief.
"No, there's no body or anything; he's just vanished,"
"Then he's still on the base somewhere," 300 stated firmly. Everyone noticed a blatant spot on his side that was a paler green than the rest of him. "We must all be vigilant. He won't tell us where it was he came from, so I will have to extract the route from his memory, as difficult as it will be." He held his injured side for a moment.
"I told you I should patch it up quickly," 10 told him quietly.
"There will be time after 627 is dealt with, 10,"
"But it would be easier if-"
"My decision, my repercussions, 10. It is not your most immediate concern,"
"...It is,"
"10..." The medic was silent now. "I will find Jumba and Hamsterviel's whereabouts in that troubled head, and then we will apprehend 627. How we choose to deal with him we will leave until after we have also dealt with the two doctors. Is that agreed?" Everyone nodded tersely. "Excellent. Now, we should find where-" He was interrupted by a powerful wind coming from behind him. It would've knocked the Experiments down like bowling pins were it not for the adhesive pads on their feet. Darting around, they found an enormous black pod with white lining, followed closely by two pods, both half its size. The typical guards that came out in a dozen were infinitesimal ants compared to the enormous, immediately recognizable, and shark-like figure who emerged from the largest pod, blaster in hand.
"So, this is where it's been all this time," Captain Gantu scanned around the base's exterior like he'd wandered into a pleasantly decorated surprise party. "A little bland, but then again, I doubt Jacques wanted it to turn any heads. If I were him, I'd have thought the same thing..." He then looked down at his nine enemies, whom his company of twelve were now aiming their plasma rifles at. "Just the nine of you, as I expected. I would've preferred the full roster, but we'll get to them. Some is better than nothing, isn't it?"
"How youga icita?!" 626 demanded.
"How did we get here?" Gantu deduced from the blue Experiment's tone what he couldn't from his tongue. "You just got back from the Grand Councilwoman's 'ship', didn't you? It's not just there to be annoying; I was hidden on that vessel, and placed a tracking device on your pod while you were occupied with your usual bout of terrorism,"
"Nala queesta!" 149 exclaimed in frustration.
"Language, please." He condescended. "A few had to be sacrificed, but it was all well worth it. Now, we can do this either the easy way..." He droned on long enough to earn a resounding yawn from 345, who grabbed the Captain's head with extended arms and drove it into the hard, metal roof once he'd heard enough.
"Thank you, 345," 621 complimented sincerely, his mouth curling into a fiendish smile.
"My pleasure, 621!" 345's smile was infinitely more welcoming.
The twelve plasma firearms all clicked, ready to be violently emptied within a second. Before they could, however, a voice not missed by the Experiments shouted out in an unusual mixture of both concern and fury. "NO!" Both sides found 627 reemerged not too far from their standoff, holding one of the Experiment's dully colored pods over his shoulder like a baseball bat. "They're my responsibility to deal with! All of you stay out of this, you'll be much safer!"
"And he sticks his neck out for the military?" A baffled 221 said quietly to 626. "That seals it; I hate this guy,"
"Don't worry, bud, I'll make an example out of him for ya,"
"Well, I'd like to do it myself,"
"Actually, after the little airshow you two gave us, that might not be the best idea..."
"Well, well, well, Number 627..." Gantu slowly pulled himself to his feet. "Today's just full of surprises. I wouldn't be giving orders if I were in your position,"
"If I were in your position, Captain, I'd be listening to them anyway," The new arrival persisted. "If I knew what was good for me,"
"Call me stubborn, but I can't obey the enemy,"
"I'm not your enemy, Captain! I'm trying to help you!"
"Forgive me if I find that difficult to believe!" The giant was becoming increasingly irritable.
"...Alright, have it your way..." 627 shut his burning eyes.
"You focus on Gantu for now, alright?" 626 whispered hurriedly to his electric comrade. "Let me deal with red boy,"
"...Whatever you say, mate." 221 shot an unnoticed glare at 627, who threw the pod down between the two sides like a barrier. All thirteen Federation officers opened fire on the newest Experiment, but it was little more than heavy rainfall to him. Seizing the opportunity, 626 snatched the smashed pod from 627 and hit him across the roof like a golf ball.
149 opened fire with the cannon on Gantu's twelve allies, and they all became a spectacular, sizzling light show. "There, now we can focus on the giant flea without any obnoxious plasma flying around,"
"I'll take this, 149!" 621 abrasively came up and took the trigger from her.
"Oh, thanks for offering, 621," She sarcastically replied before charging towards the towering Captain. 221 had already delivered an electrified hook to his face, and 150 had left to add another from his mechanical fist. 149 used her partner's shoulder as a stepping stone to leap onto Gantu's face, headbutting him as he stumbled around blindly. The marksman aimed perfectly for the Captain's head, but was then faced with the problem of 149, 150, 221, and 10 moving around within the crosshairs.
"Everyone, I need you to give me some space!" He ordered, but his comrades were too swept up in their conflict with Gantu. He was so close now; vengeance was just a slight movement of his index finger away. If only his allies would stop running everywhere irritably like insufferable popcorn kernels. His grip on the trigger tightened in frustration, and almost automatically, he fired purely out of hope.
"EEP!" 10 turned white as a ghost when the beam missed his head by mere inches.
"10!" 621 called out, becoming pale himself. His eyes shut tight like locked doors, and his fists released the weapon to clench themselves. Against his eyelids' interior, he could see the vessel, identical to anything else used by the Federation, but completely different. He could see one half of it burst into flames like a demonic firework, and though he couldn't see the two Experiments in the midst of it all, they were somehow still visible to him. Then he heard the familiar, contemptible marching coming from the intact half, as his heart turned to fire just as the ship had done. He opened his eyes, his vision adjusting to the film of liquid in front of them, and looked back up, still hearing that contemptible marching. Finally, as he went around the cannon to grip the barrel with all four hands, he emptied the fire from his heart. "MOTHERFUCKER!" He threw the weapon with all of his might, which was only enough to sweep it across the floor and trip Gantu to the ground. The Captain tried to sit up, but before he could do so completely, the marksman was on the back of his head, sinking his teeth into one of the fins protruding next to his chin.
"Hell yes! Kick his ass, 621!" 149 cheered. 221 and 150 joined in, while 10 found himself turning away; something he was confused that his stomach was doing as well.
"Little trog!" Gantu shouted through clenched teeth. The marksman was easily able to break free of the giant, gray fist and leap onto Gantu's chest. He reached up into his lip, grasping the first hard, wet thing he felt, and yanked on it with all his might. Surely enough, the jagged, white bone parted from the Captain's gums with another spout of blood and a deafening cry. 621 found himself smacked onto his back, next to 221, 149, 150, and a paling 10, but leaped back to his feet immediately.
"Whatcha got there, General?" 221 inquired, noticing the object 621 clenched in his upper right fist. The marksman held it up, showing all of them the blood-soaked tooth.
"You gonna mount that?" 150 suggested.
"I think I will," The marksman replied, tossing it lightly into the air and catching it again. It felt like a thick piece of metal, but wet and infinitely lighter. The fire within him still raged like the one on the vessel in his head, but gripping the prize seemed to make it somehow bearable, like flame-retardant armour surrounding him. "First, though..." In one hand he grasped the severed tooth, while the other three each held a firearm at the ready. "The Captain owes something to 501 and 502!" The marksman charged at Gantu like a missile from Hell, followed closely by his four comrades.
III
626 delivered a seemingly endless series of blows to 627's face, making him back away from the smashed pod automatically. 624 and 345 went to add to the crimson Experiment's pain, while 300 took a brief look at the pod 627 had brought up. He noticed a vague but visible white light blinking near its stern. He ripped the miniature, chip-like device from the metal, and crushed it in its hand.
'Target lost!' He heard an indifferent female voice sound from the larger of the three Federation pods. 300 paid it little mind as he leaped over the oppressed 627, appearing like an airborne waterfall. He grasped his opponent from behind in a bear hug, and slammed him backwards on his head in a suplex, before holding him upright again for either 626, 624, or 345 to strike his vulnerable face. Before the blue Experiment could, he received a pair of red feet in his face, followed by a set of thin streaks knocking him on his back. He shifted the streaks to knock 624 away as well, but 345 coiled around them in a spiral motion, getting close enough to 627 to pinch his fuzzy cheeks.
"See anything, 300?" He merrily inquired. The blob's yellow eyes squinted, seeming as if he was exhausted, though forcing himself to stay awake.
"Stop smiling!" 627 roared, gripping the clown's throat.
"Ulp!" 345's tongue poked out as he was forced onto the ground. He noticed 300 sliding off the newest Experiment's back like a lifeless cloth.
"Can't..." He gasped, nearly inaudible. "Scattered...Endless...Burning..."
"300, can you stop him making breathing feel annoying?" The clown wheezed, his hands and feet pinned by 627's additional four arms. "Oof, now he's making my limbs feel weird..." Fortunately, 624 was swift with a headbutt the back of their opponent's triangular head, knocking him on top of 345. The clown followed up throwing him into the air with his feet, and they each followed up with a synchronized, airborne roundhouse kick. Their opponent toppled over the side of the ship once again.
"Aw, crap, this again," The pink Experiment muttered. "Watch out in case he tries anything," She advised 345, who nodded before she darted for where 627 had vanished. Peering over, she found him clinging with his palms to the ship's outer wall. "You just can't quit, can you?" She groaned lightly before attempting to hit his fingers loose from the metal. Her first was stopped, however, in the crimson Experiment's iron grasp. "Ack! I never thought I'd meet someone more obnoxious than 625!" She tried to use her other fist, but that was caught, too. She brought our her spare arms, though they were blocked by two extras from 627. She forced her weight back towards the roof, while the red Experiment tried to pull her towards the infinite blackness.
"That's what you call 'obnoxious?'" He growled.
"Uh-oh! 624!" Thinking quickly, 345 reached an arm across that wrapped around his ally's waist. Even with the clown's added effort, 627 still persisted in his attempt to throw 624 from the base. Before too long, a familiar creature, blue like the Earth's oceans, was between the pink and red Experiments, and headbutted the latter. 624 was sent rocketing back to 345 like a fishing line.
"Thanks, my Blue Burrito!" She called back to 626 as she sat up.
"What?!" He shouted back as he grabbed 627 in a full nelson.
"Um, I'll tell you later!"
"Sounds good!" He returned his focus to the brawl.
"Alright!" She turned back to a beaming 345. "And thanks for your help, too, 345,"
"Anytime, 624! You know, that'd be real fun if there was a big puddle of mud between me and 627, so one of us would trip into it." He giggled at the image that appeared in his bouncy head.
"That's interesting..." The pink Experiment saw a similar picture. "Oh, crap! 626!" They both got to their feet and rushed to the blue Experiment's side. 626 did his best to block or avoid 627's enraged blows, but soon found himself repelled onto his back by another set of burning streaks. Despite a slightly repulsive, burning scent, he was upright again within seconds, discovering the sight of 624 above his crimson enemy, then making him taste the cold, hard metal with her foot.
"See?!" He jokingly called out to her. "Always saving my ass!"
"Well, you saved mine just now, so don't feel too bad!" She wrapped her antennae around 627's neck, watching him struggle for a moment before tossing him into the air. 345's arm extended and snatched the top of his cone head, smacking it onto the roof again. He put the creature into the air once more before kicking his jaw with an elongated leg. 626 caught the tumbling 627 on his foot with a powerful side kick, following up by slamming him on his back with a powerful stomp. The blue Experiment knelt down on his opponent's chest.
"Remember when you hit me a couple dozen times back inside?" He asked softly. With a look of rewarded delight, 626 drove his fist as hard as he could into 627's nose. The satisfying crack was typical when he struck earlier antagonists similarly, but 627 seemed to make this instance unique. The crack was now like a heavenly song, and he decided he would listen to it several times over. 624 and 345 were by him before too long; they, too, seemed to enjoy the music. 627's face and 626's fist were both coated in a red darker than the new arrival's fur when a familiar voice was heard, deeper than the endless space around them.
"Mind yourselves," 300's voice was calm, but when his comrades looked behind them and found one of the smaller, black pods held above his head, the mask over his voice became transparent. Clearing a path as fast as they could, the Experiments watch as the blob tossed the vehicle at 627 like a dart. It scraped across the roof with a trail of clamorous sparks, not unlike 221 when airborne, before coming to an abrupt stop. The crimson Experiment was quick to emerge, glaring past the blood that soaked his face at his four opponents. He stepped down from the damaged pod, standing still and tall, his face blank, staring straight at his distant enemies.
"There's the little buttmuncher!" 624 exclaimed before they all charged at him. 626 soon became the head of the group, glaring with beastly excitement at his static nemesis. He attempted a humiliating uppercut into 627's groin, but his arm was stopped dead in its tracks in the red Experiment's grip. In one swift movement, 345 was under 627's foot, 300 was repelled by boiling streaks, 624 was hit away by her baseball bat of a partner and a bolt of electricity, and 626 was through the pod's windshield. Leaping off of the clown, gaining a loud cough from him in the process, 627 stood on the hood of the pod, hitting 626 in a manner not unlike he had done to him earlier.
"Distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December..." Another excruciating blow. "And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor..." And another. "Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow..." And another. 626, in the short time that had passed since the battle began, had forgotten the pain 627 could inflict on him. "From my books surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost Lenore..." The reciting became progressively quieter, as an unsettling darkness began to cloud 626's vision. 627 kicked him onto the pod's front seat, though by then it was little more than a rumble to him. Through the blackness, he could see the crimson Experiment fighting off 624, 300, and 345. "For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore..." Before long, color returned to his eyes, and he found 627 tearing a long, thick cable from underneath the pod's dashboard. "Nameless here forevermore..." The reciting was clear again. His strength gradually returning to him, 626 stood up to attempt a surprise attack, but found himself dangling like an ornament by his throat instead.
"What the hell are you up to, jackass?" The blue Experiment gasped lowly.
"Giving you your just desserts." 627 released a third arm from his side without a second glance, tearing the steering wheel from its wiring, then discarding it before the arm submerged again. "Penance, you could say. It comes for all of us when we need it, and now it's come for you. And I'm the one delivering it,"
"I get the feeling you're a little more than that,"
"...Not to you..." The new arrival glared at the despicable smirk that 626 gave through his bleeding face until he couldn't contain himself; he spat in his eye. As the blue Experiment blinked the saliva out, he was thrown back onto the seat. "In those last few moments, those seconds more important than anything that comes before or after, maybe you'll finally understand your error. Or maybe not; all I know is that I'll be a little more peaceful." He turned to step out of the shattered windshield. 626 tried to stand up again, but he was seated by another bolt. "NO!" The fire in 627's eyes was clearer now than it had ever been. "You sit there and think about what you've done!" He pushed a lever near where the steering wheel once was further down than 626 had seen on his own faction's pods, then it snapped, and the furious Experiment stepped off the hood. The pod began to stir.
"626!" The blue Experiment heard his girlfriend exclaim. He could only assume that 624 had been on the outer wall of the base, as she seemed to emerge from the furthest end of the roof. 300 and 345 appeared from different ends. She hooked 627 in the eye on the way to the misshapen Federation pod, and jumped on the hood with all intentions of pulling 626 free of the rumbling vehicle. They reached out for each other, but a speedily-recovered 627 reached out as well, grasping 624's foot.
"You're staying," Their antagonist growled with an eerie indifference. Despite stumbling onto the black, metal hood, the pink Experiment still reached for her partner. She might have been successful in her efforts, were more time allowed before the pod rocketed off like a grounded firework along the roof. She tried to cling on with the pads of her palms, but 627's hold on her foot was stronger. Both of 345's arms pursued the pod, but they were soon left in the dust. 621 noticed the pod heading in his direction, and was delighted that it coincided with Gantu's ducking to avoid an airborne drop kick from 221. The marksman jumped up and grasped both of the Captain's fin-like growths, his upper right hand becoming moist with the fin he had maimed earlier, and brought his head level with the oncoming doom.
"Remember, remember!" The green Experiment cackled as he looked his hatred in the eye. He felt suddenly light like a balloon, as if he would elevate towards heaven at any moment. His laughter was disturbingly reminiscent of 345's.
"Forget it!" Gantu grasped 621 whole, changing his murderous beam to a look of terrified disappointment, as he stood up and out of the way of the speeding pod. As the marksman gazed off into the distance, he suddenly felt himself weighed down by something heavier than Gantu's grasp.
IV
"Come in, 626!" A blissful voice finally sounded from the intercom on the pod's devastated dashboard. The blue Experiment's struggle against the unforgiving, speeding wind had aged well by then. "Oh, come on, please answer," 624 persisted. 626 attempted to reach out and press the button next to the radio, but his arms and back were held down by the pressure from the wind, even stronger than 627 could hold him. He was able to press the button by extending his foot.
"I'm here, 624, don't worry," He strained.
"Oh, thank God..." She whispered. "Where are you now?!"
"I'm still going...Feeling pretty shitty after 627's beating. Where are he and Gantu now, anyway? They taken care of?"
"Yeah; 621 shot him in the side and he retreated. 627 was distracted by the gunfire so I grabbed 627 and threw him onto his pod as he took off. They're both gone for now,"
"Good...Good..."
"There's still one Federation pod left here, so we're using that to communicate to the one you're in,"
"Ah, clever,"
"We're gonna find you, 626! We'll track the pod and come get you!"
"I look forward to it...But you have to find Hamsterviel and Jumba, too,"
"We will! We'll find them and we'll kill them! And 627, as well! I'll kill them all for you!" Her voice was powerful, allowing only a bare shred of anguish slip past, but it reached 626's ears nonetheless.
"For all of us. For 501 and 502. For Number 89,"
"Absolutely!"
"...But leave 627 for me...Penance has to come to him, and I want to be the one to deliver it,"
"You got it...I love you, 626,"
"I love you, too, 624,"
"I'll find you. I promise I'll find you...This isn't goodbye,"
"You're still strong...Good. You're stronger than anyone else in the whole universe. We all are, and we're going to show them...All of this is just a minor setback...Now find that long-eared bastard,"
"I will...Can you see anything around you?!" The blue Experiment gazed around him before answering.
"Everything's white...Now it's dark and-" Before he could complete his description, the ship halted painfully, and he went tumbling out of the pod and onto his back. The ground was like sludge, and as he sat up, he found himself sitting in a repellent, brown mixture. Looking up, he noticed the dark sky pouring droplets of water like an army of faucets; he stared at the fascinating precipitation, hypnotized by its impossibility, until the sight of smoke brought him back to reality. Getting to his feet and turning his aching body around, he discovered the hopeless wreck the pod was in. The front was crushed into a hideous series of polygons, and the back end was giving off the smoke he had seen, though the water from the black sky was slowly killing it.
He peered through the broken windshield, pressing the button next to what was left of the intercom. "Come in, 624!" Not even a static buzz. "Please be there, 624! Please!" Silence. The blue Experiment pulled out of the windshield, turning around with his head hung, his ears lowered, and his fists clenching, wishing for a moment that 627's neck was within them. "Son of a..." The rest of his sentence was unheard over the sound of the sludge he kicked up in fury. He marched forwards, coming onto a ground that now felt hard and rough compared to the soft, brown sludge. He stared out into the endless, dark space in front of him, where there was nothing visible but the some more of the gray road he stood on. He stared for what seemed like ages, wishing for, at the very least, some unspecific creature to appear for him to unleash all his burning frustration upon. Finally, he heard a low croak, and glanced at the pavement to find a round, green creature with webbed feet and a face of immense indifference. 626 kept to his wished and picked the strange animal up indelicately before chucking into the black distance like a grenade. He suddenly felt lighter for a few seconds, but the weight of frustration returned to him in almost no time at all. He was back to staring at thin air. It wasn't long, however, before he saw a bright light headed towards him.
For a moment, he was distracted from his anguish and towards curiosity as the light grew brighter and closer. Then there was a heavy rumbling, like that of an engine, and 626 was hit square in the face by an enormous, horizontal bar of metal. As he lay on his back, his jaw throbbing from the impact, he was greeted with the unpleasant smell of gasoline, as well as a fleeting array of grey pipes zooming over him. Thinking quickly, he grasped the long metal at the end of it, which was identical to the one that had just struck him, and flipped over onto what seemed to be the rear end of a long, cylindrical vehicle. As the blue Experiment looked off at the junk pile at the side of the road, now free of smoke, secluded in bushes, and progressively shrinking as he moved, he thought that, at the very least, this vehicle would take him somewhere to shelter from the irritating water that clung to his fur. Perhaps it would even take him somewhere informative of this unusual planet.
V
The truck eventually passed a humble shelter of dark orange on the lower part of a hill. 626 assumed that it was the rear, as it was incredibly undetailed, which he assumed the front was. By now, the black sky was beginning to turn a peaceful mixture of fiery orange and comforting purple. 626 abandoned his transportation here, sliding down the hill like it were a skateboard, drops of sludge pouring out behind him like the sparks 221 often emitted. When he reached the bottom, just behind the building, his fur was heavy and sopping from the sky's water; vine-like strands dangled from his elbows, and his feet were brown from the sludge. He stepped in a nearby puddle, at least remedying the latter change in appearance. Scanning the blank wall in front of him, he instantly discovered a small, rectangular window near the roof. It was ajar, making intruding simplistic. Once on the rough floor, he found himself behind bars in a dimly lit room; it seemed like the crudest prison in the universe. 626 figured that it would be best to await the planet's sunrise, when it would hopefully be livelier and more visible. He lay against the stone wall and his eyes eventually shut.
He was at peace for some time, drifting away into sleep's warm embrace. For a moment, he felt the familiar comfort of two soft hands, accompanied by two equally welcome antennae draping over his shoulders. His eyes slowly drifted open, and then widened in fear at the crimson conehead that was facing him. 627 grasped him around the throat and forced him up the wall, making his legs kick helplessly at the air as if they had minds of their own. 626 felt as though his lungs were withering like dead flowers as he stared into his nemesis' cold, black eyes. "Hey there!"
The blue Experiment was jerked awake by a cheerful greeting loud enough to shatter glass. As his breathing slowed to a steadier pace, he discovered that the greeting was not for him, as nobody observed him through the bars in the newborn sunlight. Standing up and shaking the ghost of the nightmare from his mind's eye, 626 peered past the metal to see a young female of a species not too familiar with, standing merrily in front of a cage diagonal from his own. She wore a blindingly yellow t-shirt, had scarlet hair tied into a ponytail, and had a face dotted with infinite freckles. The cage she faced contained a white hairball of a creature, panting happily at her with it dripping tongue dangling from its jaw. The girl pulled the bars away like a simple door, and the creature hopped out. She gently ordered it to 'roll over' and it complied, ending up on its back, still panting. The girl rubbed the creature's belly, and it purred while pumping one of its hind legs. "You're perfect!" She picked the creature up and carried it away. When the coast was clear, 626 quietly pushed his own bars away and inspected his newly lit surroundings. If it was a prison, it was easily the most colourful and welcoming prison he had ever seen. The walls were a soothing blue colour, brighter than that of his fur, and had posters depicting short beings just like the departed girl and the white hairball embracing warmly and smiling from ear to ear. 626 stroked his chin at these illustrations, and then found himself facing his own reflection in a mirror. What fascinated him was that, aside from two bizarre twigs of antennae atop his scalp and three sickly spines protruding from his back, as well as his blade-like claws, his appearance was akin to that of the hairy creatures. He possessed similar fur, a similar round nose, similarly coloured eyes and shaped ears. He glanced again at his claws, and found them simple to retract. An idea was weaving itself in his head like a quilt. He focused a little harder, and found the two skinny antennae on his head retreated as well. With a little more effort, the spines vanished, too. The idea was fully fabricated in his mind; he knew now just what to do while he found a way back to his rebellion. He chuckled lowly at his own brilliance, though he found its sound rivalled by a choir of quiet whimpering. Glancing around briefly at the other cages, he found they each contained at least one of the hairy creatures, now backed away into the most shadowed corner, nearly invisible. 626 scoffed at them; their competition was unnecessary anyway.
"Hello?" Not a moment too soon; the disguised Experiment leaped onto the ceiling faster than the wind as another girl entered. He stood on his feet, viewing her through his inverted vision. She was not as immediately clamorous as the previous visitor. Her hair was dark like the night sky 626 had been stuck with hours ago. "Hello?!" She wore a red muumuu which reached her sandalled feet, and was patterned with white silhouettes of flowers. She progressed slowly through the short, inviting hall, reaching the end without noticing any of the cowards in the shadows. "Are there any animals in here?!" 626 seized the opportunity and dropped down right behind her, putting on a smile as wide as the posters depicted, despite the unnatural aura that it filled his face with. The girl turned around and didn't even flinch at his sudden appearance. She only gave a timid smile, not at all like on the posters, raised her hand shyly, and said "Hi..."
This girl would teach him anything and everything he'd need to know about his new surroundings. Nobody would ever dream an antagonist of the Galactic Federation would serve as this gullible girl's pet. It was only a matter of time before the way back to his comrades revealed itself. 626 raised his hand just as the girl had done, maintaining the fake beam all the while. This would be far too easy. "Hi!"