It is unusual to see an Oppayean serving other people, in fact, it is unusual to see an Oppayean working.
In the vast universe of aliens, the Oppayeans are said to be the most stable of all. Self sufficient, unimaginably well off in the aspect of richies, food and intelligence. So when Lemon and I saw these two as staff in the Brimstone hotel, we felt something was completely off.
Although unorthodox of us, we called both of them in for the interrogation. There was a reason for this…Oppayeans cannot hide anything from one another for too long. It wasn't an issue of mind reading or an oath of non secrecy sworn by their forefathers of old, no, rather it was a matter of good will and trust. Even if they weren't from the same family, when an Oppayean meets another Oppayean, she or he feels a need to tell said Oppayean beneficial experiences about themselves.
They tell each other everything. So we reckoned that it would be beneficial if we interviewed them together, this way it would be easy to tell if anyone was lying.
They walked into the room with their heads down, their bright blue and green furry tails in-between their legs and their bright sky-blue and green coloured hair brightening and dimming like a bulb about to go off. The Oppayean hair was an integral part of their nervous system, resembling a water body of bioluminescence. The brightening and dimming of the hair colour meant that they were nervous, at least that's what Lemon and I thought.
"Take deep breaths," Lemon said. "We're not gonna throw you in jail."
"There's no need to be nervous," I smiled. "We just need to get some important information."
Lemon looked up at me after she was done preparing her jotter. I nodded, and so she began.
"So wh—"
"It wasn't our fault, we were forced to do it!" The Oppayean with the green bioluminescent hair exclaimed.
The confession we were looking for? Not quite. As a matter of fact, we were surprised with that outburst.
"I just wanted to confirm your names," she said dropping her pen. "But now I'm intrigued, what were you forced to do, Peggy?"
Peggy Dovan. She seemed to be the oldest, certainly the loudest. She served us a day back at the hotel's pool, could not stop talking about her parents and their crispy adventures. Unlike Evory, her sister, who barely ever spoke, giving the wrong notion that she was a mute.
Peggy kept quiet when she heard what Lemon said, she looked at her sister, holding her hands. The glowing their hair resumed and their bright purple pupil-lacking eyes looked terrified.
"Look, we can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong Peggy," I said. "Are you and your sister in trouble?"
Peggy exhaled, looking around. "He said if we ever tell anyone, we would die on the spot."
Death threats. Lemon and I shared a quick glance, then I walked passed them towards the door and barricaded it with a chair and Lemon created a forcefield box in one corner of the room where we stood to talk to the girls.
"No one's going to hear what you have to say from here," she said looking into their eyes.
"And no one's going to hurt you as long as we're here," I added. "Now tell us, who told you that?"
Peggy looked at Evory, she nodded with a determined stare on her face. So Peggy sighed, turning to us.
"Our parents died when we were young," she began. "The way they died was… unfortunate."
Evory sat on the floor, closing her eyes as she sobbed. Peggy exhaled comforting her with soothing words. Her choice of words and Evory's response to the death of their parents led Lemon and I to come to one conclusion.
"Evory killed your parents?" We asked simultaneously.
"It was an accident!" Peggy immediately defended. "Her ability had awakened at the wrong time. It was all so sudden, we still have nightmares about it…their uncontrollable grins and tears as they laughed to their deaths."
"What?" I asked surprised. Lemon returned my look and shrugged.
Oppayeans had only one type of power according to our records and it had nothing to do with laughing to death.
"I thought the only powers you had were illumination powers?" Lemon asked.
"It is," Peggy replied. "But once in every two thousand years, the gods bless one of us with an ability so unique, so dreadful, that our enemies dare not come against us. We called it Abien, the prime leader ability."
"It is not a blessing but a curse," Evory said. Her first words since she entered that room.
Peggy exhaled looking at her. "Abien gives its wielder the ability to make anyone do whatever they want just by saying it."
"A persuasion ability," I said.
"Yes. When Evory's Abien awakened, we were having dinner. She was quite the talkative then," she smiled, looking at her sister. "I walked into the food room to get some more eta-eta, while she said the funniest things that made our parents laugh. But when I returned…they were…dead, keeled over on the floor, Evory thinking they were asleep and trying to wake them up."
"That's awful," Lemon said, her hand over her mouth.
Peggy sobbed. "Apparently she had told them that they might laugh to death if she kept on going. The townsfolk were appalled. They attempted to kill us, saying we were Hensai…or witches if you're using Earth terms. We were on the edge of death."
"Then he came, didn't he?" I asked, finally seeing the full picture.
They nodded.
"He told them not to burn us, that he would take care of us," Peggy continued. "At first, we thought he was a god himself, righteous, kind, and generous. But that was just a front to gain our trust. Soon enough, the puzzled pieces of his true nature started surfacing."
"He wanted to exploit your sister's powers?" Lemon asked.
"He did exploit her powers," she replied. "Theft, rape, murder, he did all of it and got away using Evory's Abien!"
"But why didn't she just use it on him?"
"It doesn't work on him," Evory replied with a frown.
"She tried many times, but it never works," Peggy continued. "The day he found out what she had been attempting to do, he made a vow that if we ever tried to go against him, we would die instantly."
"Who is this guy?" Lemon growled in a low tone.
"When the wormholes appeared and whisked the planet's population away, we got separated from him…and for a while we found peace, getting by through jobs like this."
"The association of Oppaye refused to give us our inheritance, so we have to live like paupers," Evory added.
Peggy hit her head. "I told you not to say that out loud."
"He found you eventually, didn't he?" I asked.
She nodded. "On a Tuesday night four months ago, a blue portal appeared in our room. His boot was the first thing to come forth, those black ugly things he used to kick and march my sister, and then his whole six foot body made an appearance. He had an evil grin on."
The kind of portal she mentioned sounded very familiar, but there was nothing tangible to prove my suspicions accurate.
"So. What did he tell you to do this time?" Lemon asked.