Episode 4:
Darkness on the Edge of Town

I

Fensley bolted upright on his yoga ball when he heard his computer start whistling. He tumbled backward, landing on his bottom before the yoga ball ricocheted off the edge of his desk and struck him in the forehead, knocking him flat. If nothing else, it was all enough to wake him up.
He climbed up to his desk, hitting a button on his keyboard that silenced the merry whistling ringtone and brought a familiarly stoic and fiery feline face to the screen.

"Officer Fensley," the Grand Councilwoman said. "Are you prepared?"

"Oh, um, y-yes, ma'am…" Fensley fumbled about the many figurines and photographs decorating his desk for a thin, sleek tablet.
"Everything's on here, as per your request. A comprehensive presentation on all the intelligence we currently have on the Zorek situation."

The Councilwoman regarded him sternly for a moment, then nodded. "Excellent. The Summit will be held first thing in the morning. Accomodations and escorts have arranged for you."

"Escorts?" Fensley said.

"Yes, in case Zorek should try to intercept you in transit. I requested a very particular team; one who we can determine beyond a reasonable doubt have not been corrupted by Zorek in any way. They should be arriving there now. Safe travels, Officer Fensley."

With that, the screen went blank and, as if on cue, the door buzzer went off. Fensley quickly scooped up his tablet and hurried to the door of his quarters, nearly tripping over the thick, ovular welcome mat on the way.
He was greeted by four creatures who he recognized straight away as being from the Pelekai family, all of them dressed in the sleek black uniforms which the Federation's soldiers favored.
Two of them had crimson fur - one tall and one short. The short one had one purple eye shrouded by a dangling tuft of fur from his head. He seemed young, but something about the way he looked at Fensley made him think that he really wasn't.
The tall one had a bittersweet smile; it reminded Fensley of a vase that one of his professors used to own. Once, he'd knocked it over accidentally when he came to her office. The next time he saw it, it had been glued back together, almost but not quite as if nothing had happened. Fensley wondered how long it had taken to put this smile back together.
There was a golden-furred one who towered over the rest of them. Fensley didn't realize that they were female until he looked at her eyes, the same shade of purple as the short red one. She looked like she could've squeezed Fensley until he burst with one of her tremendous arms. To his relief, she also looked like she'd never even consider the idea.
The last one, who headed the group and faced Fensley, had green fur and a white mohawk like a blade sheathed on his head. From over his shoulders, Fensley noticed a compound bow and a quiver of several arrows peeking out, as if warning everyone around that they were watching.

"Officer Fensley?" The green one asked.

"Hm?" Fensley said. "Oh, um, yes. He's, uh… Yes, I'm Officer Fensley."

The green one offered a handshake; Fensley wasn't prepared for how firm his grip would be. He clamped his lips shut, trying not to make a sound.

"I'm Chopsuey," the green one said, then pointed around him to the tall red one, "and this is Daniel," the short red one, "Leroy," and the humongous yellow one, "and Flute. We're here to take you to the Summit."

"Oh, excellent," Fensley said. "Um… Do you think you could wait until after I've changed out of my pajamas?"

II

Fensley pretended to review his documents as his escorts' ship glided between the stars. He took more interest in the ship's crew, watching them from over his padded zip-up work binder. He couldn't help but remember his college days, pretending not to watch his peers from afar, and pretending even harder that he didn't seem like the only one who barely knew what he was doing.
Leroy sat on a couch at the bridge's opposite corner, leaning against Flute's arm; the sight highlighted how small he was and how massive she was. They each wore a set of headphones that seemed eons behind anything the Federation's standard issue; each pair plugged into a small, square device resting between the two creatures. They kept their eyes shut as their claws danced in the air as if of their own accord. Every so often, they would silently roar something that Fensley knew must be words, but he had no hope of discerning them.
He glanced at the pilot's and co-pilot's seats at the bridge's front. Chopsuey steered the ship gracefully with a single hand. Beside him, Daniel was nose-deep in a book called 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,' which he also held with one hand. Their free hands were joined in the gap between their revolving chairs. At one point, Daniel retracted his hand to turn to the next page. Chopsuey's hand hovered expectantly yet patiently until Daniel's rejoined it.
Fensley felt an unpleasant bubbling in his chest at the sight of the four of them. As content as they seemed, somehow, the sight of them made him sad. He wasn't used to it. He hadn't felt sad since the last time he saw his mother.
Suddenly, there was darkness save for the stars outside. Fensley let out a small yelp, then an even louder one when three pairs of glowing red eyes cut through the darkness.

"It's okay, Officer," Daniel's voice, soft as ever, somehow overpowered Fensley's cry.
"It's still us. Leroy, Chop, and I have darkvision."

"Oh," Fensley panted. Then, when he caught his breath, "what about Flute?"

"No fancy extra visions for me," Flute's gruff voice replied. "I'm from what we like to call the one-and-done series. All I get are some big muscles."

"I don't think you'll get much sympathy from Officer Fensley, cuz," Leroy's light, youthful voice snickered.

"Why don't you come into blind-thrashing distance and say that?" Flute chuckled, earning a raspberry sound in response.

Fensley couldn't help but chuckle. "Hey, at least you get some powers. Best power I have is a great immune system. I have to wait until the end of a year to get those unused sick days paid out, but it's something."

"Huh," Leroy said. "One of our other cousins can do that, too."

"Oh, come on," Fensley said. "And I bet they don't even have to eat so much fruit to keep it up."

"This might just be a faulty energy cell," Chopsuey interjected; his resonant voice reminded Fensley of his sternest professors.
"Dan and I will head back and check."

"Why do I have to come?" Daniel asked.

"Because I like spending time with you."

"Alright, I was gonna come anyway. I just like hearing you say stuff like that."

Fensley watched as two of the pairs of eyes hovered to the other end of the darkened bridge.

"Did you call it darkvision?" Chopsuey's fading voice asked.

"Perhaps," Daniel said.

"You're such a nerd."

Fensley was left with little else to look at besides the stars outside and Leroy's glowing eyes. Only a few seconds went by before he was given more to hear.

"So what's your story, Officer?" Flute asked.

"M-M-My story?" Fensley asked. "I didn't realize I was supposed to have a story."

"Everybody's got a story. Why'd you join the Federation? Is there anything else you want to do?"

"... My story's probably not nearly as interesting as yours."

There was silence again for a few moments.

"We find everybody's stories interesting," Flute finally said.

Fensley thought he should've found her tone intimidating, but somehow, he felt comforted by it.

"I didn't really know what I wanted to do while I was studying," he said. "But I knew I was good at studying. It never took me very long to understand anything, so I ended up with more free time than most of my classmates. I spent a lot of it tutoring, making a little extra money. I remember somebody I helped ace a big exam once told me my brain was like a supercomputer. So it didn't take me too long to realize that I'd be good at being a desk officer."

"Is that what you like doing?" Leroy asked.

"I like doing it," Fensley said. "I'm not really sure what else I'd like doing."

"Sometimes you don't know until you try something new," Flute said. "I would've laughed in your face if you told me years ago that I'd love playing the flute."

"Or Zep," Leroy added.

"Yeah, back then I might've been more a fan of Papa Roach or Three Days Grace or something."

They both laughed. Fensley couldn't help but join in.
He stopped when he saw lights coming from the doorway.

"Guys?" He said. "Guys?!" He cried when he saw blasters behind the lights.

He ducked his head beneath his arms as a chorus of blaster fire broke the deafening silence. He lifted his head once he realized that nobody was firing at him; all the bright red energy bolts were bound for Flute and Leroy.
Flute took a step towards them, the bolts dematerializing against her golden fur as harmlessly as water balloons. Knowing she was in no danger, Fensley felt slightly less guilty to think how stupid it was to assume these intruders would've ever fired at him. He wasn't made in a lab, he didn't have any awesome powers; the Experiments were obviously the clearer threat.
Flute demonstrated as much when she brought her arms far behind her, then brought them together in a mighty clap. The resulting shockwave sent her assailants flying into the nearest wall. Their patchwork armor of reds and blacks seemed to only rattle them even more; they didn't get back up.

"Wow…" Flute said. "I just remembered seeing somebody do that on TV once. I didn't think it'd really work."

"We should catch up with Dan and Chop," Leroy said. "These guys could've brought more friends."

"Of course. C'mon, Officer."

"Um…" Fensley stammered. "It's, uh… It's still dark. I'm worried I might-"

A bright light suddenly revealed Flute and Leroy's smiling faces to him. He found the light's source in Leroy's hand, where his fur had changed from red to yellow, and his claws had lit up with crackling electricity.

"There," Leroy said. "I'm sure cousin Sparky won't mind me borrowing his trick if it's to help you, Officer. Now come on; our cousins need us."

Fensley ran from the bridge, trying his best to keep up with Flute and Leroy, who outpaced him easily while looking as if they were only jogging.
Fensley wasn't used to running; he'd never had any need for it in school or at work. He had to admit that he enjoyed it.

III

They didn't run for very long before they heard a deep, throaty voice growling around the corner ahead of them.

"You gonna show me where the cargo is? Or do I have to make you?"

Fensley almost felt relieved when Flute and Leroy stopped at the next corner and signalled for him to stop as well. He never thought he'd find standing around in a pitch black ship corridor preferable to anything.

"Wait…" He whispered. "Aren't you going to help?"

Flute held a purple claw to her lips. "I think Dan's got this one."

Fensley peered around the corner with them. He could make out Daniel's silhouette against a window at the far end of the corridor. He stood across from another silhouette, larger than all four of the Experiments put together. Fensley imagined a monstrosity with a jaw full of axe-like teeth that could swallow entire ships whole, and still felt as if he were hoping for the best.

"I'm not going to show you where the cargo is," Daniel said with a calm that Fensley knew he wasn't capable of on his best day, let alone today.
"And you won't have to make me because there isn't any cargo."

"No cargo?" The other creature gave a swine-like snort. "Fancy Federation ship like this and you don't got no cargo?"

"No," Daniel said. "We don't have any cargo. This is a diplomatic vessel with nothing of interest to you or your friends."

"Hmph. Sounds like the sort of thing someone with cargo they didn't wanna give up would say."

"I can imagine. But I'm saying it as someone who has nothing on this ship that would be valuable to you or your friends. I understand life must be very difficult for you, but there's nothing you can do here that will change that."

"Who are you to say? You don't know me… Or what I'm capable of."

"That's true. But I could just as well say the same to you about myself."

"... Point taken."

"So why don't you just go home?"

"Go home? What do you think this is - daycare?!"

"What do you think this is?"

"A robbery."

"With nothing to rob, which means nothing to gain by staying here and threatening me or anyone else here with me."

The massive silhouette only let out a soft, frustrated growl.

"Today hasn't gone the way you hoped; you're disappointed and now you're doubling down, hoping things will change if you just keep trying harder. I've been there myself; it's infuriating."

"What?"

"It's… Frustrating. Sometimes you can try as hard as you like but it doesn't make a difference. Sometimes it's a matter of trying something different instead."

"... Like what?"

"Like going home. After that, it's up to you. But if you do that, maybe it'll mean you won't have left this ship empty-handed."

The massive silhouette stayed quiet for a while. Fensley could hear his own heart pounding, waiting for the tremendous creature to lash out.

"Fine," the growling voice said. "These guys were gettin' on my nerves anyway."

With that, the silhouette turned and left, leaving only Daniel's shadow watching him go.

Fensley was so awestruck by the sight that he didn't notice Flute and Leroy running ahead of him until they were halfway to Daniel. He surprised himself with how quickly he caught up.

"Nice one, Dan," Leroy said, patting him on the back.

"Yeah, you didn't even have to use any of your powers on him," Fensley added.

Daniel smiled and shrugged. "I've spent a long time getting better at using my words. Now, come on; I got separated from Chop back here. We definitely saw more of them; he's going to need our help."

He quickly led the way. Fensley barely noticed how tired so much running had made him.
They arrived at a wide round door near the ship's stern; Fensley had seen enough ships of this model to know that it led to the cargo bay. However, none of the ones he'd been on before had cargo bays filled with so many blaster shots and battle cries.

"Won't be able to get this open with the power off…" Daniel said. "Looks like I'll have to use my powers after all."
His claws ignited with a frothing green light. He drove them into the door's center, which began to sizzle and corrode like melting butter. The sound harmonized with the shots and cries on the other side.

"I can't hear Chopsuey in all that," Fensley said. "You don't think he's..?"

He noticed Daniel's eyes darken. Then, with a determined exhale, he pushed through the door. There was a resounding crash as the damaged metal hit the cargo bay floor, then silence again.
The vast, barren room had been extensively decorated with more red-and-black armored grunts, each immobilized in a unique manner. Fensley noticed one squirming at the far end of the room, trapped in a cocoon of winding cable. Another lay asleep beside an arrow giving off a few faint blue sparks. Three were stuck together in a massive blue net, struggling in vain to pry its ropes apart. Fensley's favorite was the one stuck to the ceiling by a mound of orange putty.
The centerpiece of the newly decorated room knelt on one knee, his back to Fensley and the others, clutching his bow steadily in one white-furred hand while another hovered above the last arrow in his quiver. He barely moved, save for his gentle breathing, for about twelve seconds before he stood up, turning to face his cousins with a look more stern than what Fensley was ready for.

"I'm sorry we took so long," Daniel said.

Chopsuey's face softened into a smile. "I knew you'd come." He approached Daniel; they brought their noses together. The sight calmed Fensley down enough to notice how tired he was.
It was still less than he expected.

IV

With the space pirates locked up in the cargo bay, Fensley's escorts returned to their regularly scheduled mission as if nothing had happened. If anything, Fensley thought they seemed happier than before; perhaps they knew that something unexpected would've happened and they were pleased to have it over with. Perhaps they had never been so worried to begin with.
The biggest difference was the music. They set the ship to autopilot, leaving them free to dance to a slow, somber song which played from the console's built-in speaker.

"Well, everybody's got a secret, son,
"Something that they just can't face,
"Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it,
"They carry it with them every step that they take…"

Daniel and Chopsuey held each other, one hand on the other's shoulder while the others were joined, and swayed. Flute and Leroy stood side-by-side, their arms and feet tracing curving, flowing shapes in the air and on the floor.

"'Til someday, they just cut it loose,
"Cut it loose or let it drag them down…"

Fensley didn't like this song. It made him think of the last time he saw his mother, and how cold it had been on the orphanage steps that day. It made him think of the stern, shattered look on her face before she turned around. He didn't know how the Experiments could bear to dance to it as if it brought them only happy memories.

"Where no one asks any questions,
"Or looks too long in your face…"

It suddenly occurred to Fensley - this was why the Council had chosen them as his escorts. They were nothing like him; they were a thousand times better than he could ever hope to be.

"In the darkness on the edge of town,
"In the darkness on the edge of town…"

V

Fensley was almost disappointed at how little work the summit demanded of him. At first he was petrified, delivering his comprehensive presentation on Zorek to a vast round table, almost a small ship in its own right, full of intense-eyed politicians, bureaucrats, and leaders from throughout the galaxy. They looked as if they could kill him with the right glance. However, when he found himself sitting between the Grand Councilwoman and his four escorts for the following two hours and forty minutes of the full three-hour summit, he thought any ending to the agonizing tension would be worth it.
They all alternated between talking, arguing, and giving speeches about what should be done about Zorek. He knew he should be paying attention, but he couldn't keep his mind from wandering. He kept looking at the four Experiments, who all sat calmly and attentively throughout the entire proceedings. Fensley couldn't believe it; superhuman attention span must've been standard issue for all of Dr. Jumba's creatures.
He was most struck by their reaction to the Council's final decision: to ambush Nyell with several fleet's worth of ships and soldiers and take Zorek in by any means necessary. He thought the Experiments would look determined, perhaps even pleased, at the notion of such swift justice for their friends who barely escaped becoming Zorek's thralls.

VIDEO AND AUDIO FILE SENT TO CENTRAL SERVER

Instead, they seemed anxious.
Fensley realized he felt anxious himself.

VIDEO AND AUDIO FILE RECEIVED BY CENTRAL SERVER

He felt stiff; turning his neck to look at the Council members packing up their things.
Come to think of it, he wasn't sure why he wanted to look at them.

COMMAND RECEIVED FROM CENTRAL SERVER: READ ATTACHED TEXT AT 85% VOLUME

"Thank you for a most enthralling discussion," Fensley announced to the room. Everyone froze and stared at him; it was even worse than when he delivered his presentation. He thought he might be sick.

COMMAND RECEIVED FROM CENTRAL SERVER: INITIATE FOOL'S MATE PROTOCOL

"That wasn't…" Fensley gasped. "I didn't mean-"

FOOL'S MATE PROTOCOL INITIATED - SHUTTING DOWN…

"-to… Sayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…"

He remembered the last day he saw his mother.

VI

The tears came quickly to Leroy's eyes.
The noise didn't help; the repetitive blaring alarm was so loud that he couldn't even tell if anybody was trying to shout over it.
The sight of Fensley was worse. His beanpole body had frozen in a hunched position, his jaw still agape with the ghost of his unfinished thought. His cool blue eyes had gone pitch black; not black like Leroy's cousin's eyes, but black like a bottomless pit. With each blare of the alarm, Fensley's eyes and mouth flashed a blinding shade of red.
These sights, as harrowing as Leroy found them, weren't most of the reason for his crying. Even the threat of being blown to smithereens, along with three of his cousins and the entire Galactic Council, didn't terrify him. He'd figured out what he had to do as soon as the first alarm wail had deafened him and everyone else in the room.
He cried because he couldn't imagine what Fensley would say if he woke up again.
When, he corrected himself.
He knew his cousin Poxy wouldn't mind him borrowing his microscopic form. From there, it was only one fleeting fantastic voyage down Fensley's throat for the right wire to ensure everyone there would see tomorrow.
From there, the hard part began.

VII

POWERING ON…

Fensley awoke in a hospital bed. At least, he assumed it was a hospital bed; the white walls and the machinery surrounding him clued him in. It occurred to him that he'd never been in a hospital bed.
It occurred to him that he'd never done a great many things.
He thought of the last day he saw his mother. He couldn't picture her face anymore - that look of stern regret. All he could picture was an octopus-like creature in a suit of armor slithering back into the shadows.
He buried his face in his hands and wished that he could cry.
He stopped trying when he heard a knock; he darted up, finding his old escorts standing beside a computer screen embedded in the wall to his right.

"Aloha," Chopsuey said.

They all looked as if they tried to smile but couldn't muster it. They couldn't fool him or themselves.

"I'm…" Fensley whispered. "I-I'm… Not real… Am I?"

Chopsuey glanced at the screen and then back to him. "You're real. But Officer Worril Fensley, your identity, your past… I'm sorry, cousin."

Fensley stared straight ahead, watching scenes from his life play out in his mind's eye - old classes, job interviews, lunch breaks, vacations.

"But…" He said. "My references, my supervisors - everybody who influenced my career with the Federation..?"

"It's been a week since the summit," Flute said. "We spent that week investigating all those people."

"And they're all-?"

All four of them nodded.

"So…" Fensley thought he would hyperventilate, but somehow, his breathing remained calm; benefits of good programming, he supposed.
"Was that all I was? A… Bomb?"

Leroy hesitated before speaking. "You were a spy, just like everyone else Zorek corrupts. Just built from scratch."

"He couldn't just rely on kidnapping whoever he could get his hands on," Chopsuey added. "He needed someone he could plant at the Federation's base and grow into something more…" He tightened his fist. "Strategic."

Fensley looked down; he imagined the gears turning behind the manufactured green flesh he stared at.
"I don't want to be a bomb," he whimpered.

He saw a red-furred hand rest on his; he looked up to find Daniel managing to give him a faint smile.

"I didn't want to be either," Daniel said. "But I thought I had to be. I might've ended up in a much worse place, but I had my cousins to help me out."

"We were all programmed to destroy," Flute said, coming around the bed and wrapping a massive arm around Fensley's shoulders.
"But we broke our programming. We became who we wanted to be."

"And we'll help you do it, too," Leroy said, taking Fensley's other hand. "If you like."

"You're one of us now," Chopsuey said, kneeling down against the bed to look Fensley square in the eyes.
"And we are not bombs. You're our cousin. And no matter what happens, no matter what Zorek thought you should be, we won't leave you behind."

Fensley looked at all of them, lost for words. He felt his metal heart stop when he thought he must be receiving another command from Zorek, but there was nothing.
Just him and his cousins.
He managed a smile. He still wished he could cry, but for a different reason than before.

"So," Leroy said. "What do you think?"

"I think…" the creature formerly known as Fensley said, "I'd like to hear that song you were dancing to again."