Chapter 41
The world span, suspended in a maelstrom of green light. With ferocity it tore at the walls, the few moments of incomprehension- stretched to its limits. Sudden, explosive fury displaced rubble- catapulting it at corresponding walls. The swirling light escalated, building- the blinding aura becoming unfathomable. But as sudden as it began it ended. Subsiding into a glimmer.
It took Trilby moments to understand, and frozen in perpetual surprise for the duration, he began to wonder who it was he was about to see. He felt strangely calm, the imposing light not phasing him, it was comfortable actually, he thought, and pretty too.
As Trilby's eyes adjusted once more, he noticed the figure left behind by the light. Trilby's thoughts gathered once again. He is small, especially for the entrance he made, shorter than me. Trilby stood, having fallen of the pile of cushions he had been standing on- now scattered far and wide. The figure grew more focused as his eyes adjusted once again. It was green- obviously- with a trail of white fur tracing the length of its body curling over its head and under its eyes. It stretched bearing its chest, with thin arms, it flexed. Regaining the feeling in its arms, as the rehydration process was normalising. He looks scrawny, he thought. Even as experiments go, this one is smaller and thinner. Trilby felt his scepticism kick in. Trilby heard a groan. Hoklert had been thrown into a wall, He'd dented it, Trilby realised, and lay sprawled on the floor. Behind him Negid was sitting, more dishevelled than ever, staring in surprise at the figure. Neither said a word, but their eyes met in mutual confusion. Looking back the experiment had stopped stretching and was now scratching its ear.
The silence lengthened slowly, the dust settling. The experiment was indeed not one of Jumba's nor did it feel similar. In fact, the atmosphere didn't feel the same, but he couldn't identify it. He heard Negid shift uncomfortably, Trilby resisted the urge to do the same. The trouble is, Trilby thought, talking might provoke it. But Trilby decided he'd break the silence.
"Hi there..." He marshalled his thoughts once again. It was looking at him now. "My name is Trilby," He hesitated- maybe it didn't understand English. It sat down again a tiny furry green ball and smiled.
"Hello, I'm…" He stopped mid-sentence to yawn, "Inigen- nice to meet you." Trilby sparked, satisfied. It seems friendly enough, he thought. Shuffling behind him again, Negid was standing brushing himself.
"And I'm Negid, I beg your pardon, I didn't address you immediately. You came as a bit of a surprise I'm afraid."
"Don't worry, I get that a lot- oh," Inigen looked toward the strewn cushions. "Darn, I've already sat down," he shrugged nonchalantly. Trilby glanced toward the door, circular and split like a ball through paper. Trilby remembered the pressing situation.
"We should talk more Inigen, but there is somewhere important I have to be." Trilby turned toward the door. If the experiment was meant to beat them then it wasn't interested. Besides it doesn't look like it can outrun me, even when I'm not lightning fast.
"Yes, we really must be going, I calculated the time we have. This detour was fun but we really must press on." Negid looked toward Hoklert's slumped groaning body. "Can you carry me?" Negid began walking toward the door.
Trilby grinned, "I might drop you?" He joked, He sparked into the air, letting it cycle through his pores and antenna. He floated to his level and matched his pace.
"Well, my suit is about twenty percent tech, and eighty percent rubber. I virtually bounce." Negid pointed to his overcoat. It covered most of his body, down to just above the knees. It was a muddy brown, especially against Trilby's glorious yellow.
"Not very sciency, is it?" Trilby poked at the coat, it bounced back.
"It's comfortable as well you know?"
"You wouldn't see me wearing it." Trilby laughed.
"I think you're a size too small," Inigen waved from across the room, from where he was sat.
"He's right," Trilby sighed in mock disappointment,
"Tragic," Negid surmised.
"Let's go shall we?" Trilby felt the air shimmer. Like a soft dizzying breeze. Trilby and Negid felt the pulse.
"Oh are you leaving so soon?" Inigen called from amongst the pile of cushions he'd been eyeing. Negid and Trilby looked between the spot he had been and the spot he was now sitting.
"Did you just…?" Trilby frowned.
"Oh so worth it." Inigen nestled into the cushion pile. He shifted until he was comfortable, and stared at the pair.
"Can you teleport?" Trilby jumped to the ground again, suddenly aware. Negid reached inside his coat and started fumbling around.
"Not exactly." Inigen smiled. He rested his head on his arm. The green fur between the red velvet of the cushion. The white fur pulsed, resonating.
"Are you here to stop us? Because you aren't doing a very good job." Trilby dropped to a condescending tone.
"You're still here aren't you." Trilby narrowed is eyes in suspicion. The if the intent of the experiment was to stop them he had just put himself on the wrong side of the room.
"I can leave anytime." Trilby challenged. Negid drew a disc shaped gadget from his coat, and started pressing a series of buttons, which spawned more buttons and blinking lights. Trilby glanced at it, but couldn't discern its use from a distance.
"Then why do you stay? Must be because I'm so interesting," He yawned again. "Flattering, really."
Trilby knew mockery. He was quite good at it himself. He turned away, and began walking toward the open door. He modelled his steps making a conscious effort to turn back and return the mockery
"See you soon," Inigen waved. Trilby ignored him, and walked away. He'd wasted enough time. His friends were waiting and he hadn't the time to spare. The door was wide open, too big to block.
Suddenly the floor disappeared, Trilby fell landing, a second later, on the floor with an audible thump. Trilby leapt to his feet, looking around wildly. He felt dizzy, as the world adjusted once again.
"What did you do!?" Trilby shouted, disorientated. Negid looked down at him, surprised that Trilby was now on his feet.
"Back already?" Inigen said through clenched teeth. He seemed to be fighting back laughter. He put a hand over his mouth to contain it.
Trilby glared at him. The lightning welled up sparking along his antenna. "This ship is going to crash if I don't get to the others! Are you going to let that happen."
"Really! Why didn't you say sooner? Go!" Trilby jumped into the air sparking he dashed toward the door. The air seemed to swallow him, spiting him up at the back of the room.
"I'm serious I need to get to the Generator!" He tried again faster this time. Inigen was laughing hysterically rolling on the cushion, Trilby shut out the noise of the laughter and pushed forward as fast as lighting could go. He reached the door almost instantly, but instead of appearing at the back of the room again, as he had expected, he careered into the wall on the other side, falling and hitting surfaces weren't often a problem but at light speed Trilby felt the shuddering force. Trilby was so jarred by the impact that he dropped through the floor. He fell through the ceiling landing on a cushion beside Inigen, who was trying as hard as possible to stifle the laughter. Trilby leapt into the air, only to drop back onto the cushion in frustration. Worry dogged his thoughts, and could feel the time slip by.
"Why are you doing this! Everyone is in danger and I need to help. Please." He begged.
"Calm down, buddy." Inigen choked on his laughter again. Trilby gritted his teeth and glared, he folded his arms and waited for coherent sentences. When they came it came with heavy breaths. "Everything's fine."
"How could you possibly know!?"
"Well I don't really," Trilby's anger was such that one wrong word and he'd start zapping. Something in his face must have given it away, he thought, as the next lines Inigen said were more tactical.
"Look, If we are in danger, and I'll know if we are, my protocol is to get us both safely off the ship."
"But it's the others who are in the most danger."
"Look my job is to keep you in this room. My job isn't to get you off the ship but to keep you on it, which implies the ship is not supposed to fall out the sky, I think."
"But there is still a risk, and I could reduce the risk."
"I think if Janqe really needed your help he wouldn't have told me to keep you in here." Inigen lay back on the cushion again and sighed, "Either way, I can't let you leave, so I suggest you get comfortable," Trilby remembered something and looked around the room. "Yeah your friend left about five minutes ago. I don't think he realised you are the only one I have to keep in here."
Trilby sighed, defeated he lay back on the cushion- which was particularly comfortable. He brushed his fur and stared at the ceiling thinking about what Sparky was doing right now. Probably something interesting. Zapping something or someone, anything but lying on a cushion captive of a mysterious green experiment with an annoying sense of humour. He lay on his own cushion a metre away. Trilby sat up hearing the words again.
"Janqe? What's he got to do with anything?" Inigen sat up and looked at him, confused for a second before remembering.
"Oh right- he said they'd messed around with your memory," He lay back down and stretched, straining the words.
"Janqe is our creator,"