I spent my time recovering in that chamber. It wasn't all bad. At some point someone dressed me in a gown. My tail had also been the first limb I could move. I was even laid down on a bed that was moved inside at some point. A daytime drama played over the intercom with the occasional news report to keep me informed.
The resort world, well, it wasn't much of a resort anymore. My transformation had severely affected the planet's natural rotation with the sun. the mutagen had altered the ecosystem in a horrific way. Survivors were… close to nothing. It was essentially planetary genocide. It had become a tomb world. It only lacked the official designation.
Sabers were rattling as RON politicians demanded reparations from CHET. It was turning into a huge political mess. DEPP was even joining in. REECE as usual was oddly silent, but it didn't matter. War was brewing just under the surface.
All the while I was recovering. A full week. A full week of rest and recuperation. I was hardly bored. I hardly dreamed, but since that day I've had odd dreams. Could they even be called dreams?
When I fell asleep, I could feel myself being dragged under water. Countless strings would wind themselves around my limbs at take me in deep. Each day it brought me to a familiar space. A round table set in the center under a light. To the left was the monkey, to the right the shadow. At the foot was me.
From there, it just kind of progressed.
I held cards in my hand. As did monkey and shadow. "Ho!"
I smirked. "Hah! No 2's, go fish!"
The monkey gave me a dismissive look. "Oo, ook!"
"What? The hell do you mean I misheard you!? You can't just change what you just said!"
"AAH! AAH!"
I almost slammed my cards on the table but took a moment to take a breath.
"Fine, shadow, you heard her too, right? She said 2, not 3? Right?"
"Eh!?" She jerked up startled. "That, uh…" She looked worriedly between me and the monkey.
"Look, I'm obviously not getting this wrong. It was 2."
She looks at the monkey. The monkey in turn waggles its eyebrows. The hell? What kind of monkey business was occurring in front of me?
"Oi, you better not be pressuring her!" The monkey waved me off and I glanced at the shadow as she spoke.
"That… I think, she said 3."
I stared. She shrunk under my gaze.
"Right…" I glare at the monkey. "Fine, here is your damn 3." I throw the card out, their smug monkey noises do little to ease the growing anger burning in my chest.
"Fine, shadow, 10, gimme."
"Uh… sorry, but… go fish?" I stare. I calmly pulled a card.
"We're playing fucking Uno next." I mutter.
We played Uno next.
"Haha! With reverse in play, I place draw 2! Take that you monkey!" I said smugly. Only, they gave me a big monkey grin. Shit… a draw 4 graces the field. I glance at the shadow, surely, she doesn't.
"Draw… 4." I open my mouth and shut it… "GAH!!!" I lost shortly after.
"TEXAS HOLD'EM!" I declare. I shuffle the cards and hand them over. Chips appear around us. Surely, I'll win here over the monkey…
I should have thought differently. After numerous hands the monkey had most of the chips on the board. They were also totally decked out in stuff. Like, where the hell did they get that huge pink fur coat? Those heart shaped glasses and the cigar!?
WHY AM I IN MY UNDERWEAR!?
Whatever, I got this. My comeback is here.
"Straight flush." I laid my cards out smugly. I had this. This was the best hand yet. I even went all in. I had this.
The monkey slowly shakes her head. "Oooo…" And places their cards down one by one. I openly gape. Royal Flush. I felt devastated. The only sound was the monkey clapping and laughing.
"Right… why am I here? Why am I doing this? Why am I letting myself get stripped in my own mind?
Right, I'm an idiot. That's right. Right. You want me to undress!? You want my filthy underwear you dirty ape! FINE!" I chuck off the last articles of clothing and stand completely nude.
"I'm… I'm just going to huddle in the corner over there." I do as I say and stare at the wall.
"Ah, but… Rettas…" The shadow spoke up. "It's not your fault."
"No, clearly, I was a fool, a silly clown trying to beat a monkey at cards. I'll… just sit in this corner until I wake up."
"But…" I could hear her fidgeting. I also heard the monkey make some noises. "We can't just let her be like that! I feel bad!" Ah… this was a rather nice wall…
"But you're cheating!"
…what? Cheating? But how!? HOW!?
Before I can even fully process what I'm hearing I find myself back at the table glaring at the monkey.
"How are you cheating!? HUH!?" I glance between the two and notice shadow pointing behind me. Ah… right. We were essentially in a terrarium of sorts. The black walls only went so high. Clustered around us were countless black figures watching.
I could almost hear the muscles in my neck creak as I stared at the monkey. The tension between us grows. I could almost feel the air crackling… then… she blows a raspberry.
"I'LL GET YOU!" I fling the table aside as the monkey flees with arms flailing. I barely manage to catch up and slam into them. "I WANT MY CLOTHES! And maybe those glasses. Hand'em over!"
The both of us were yelling and screaming as we tussled. Only to be broken by a loud laugh. We both halt while fighting over my underwear to look over at the shadow as she laughs.
"I'm… I'm sorry! Just… hahaha!" She falls off her chair and laughs and points. I glance to the monkey. "Truce?" She nods, I got my underwear back. Her laughter falters as we approach her.
"Oh, uh, Wait, NO!" We pile onto her.
Such events were common in my new dreams. I didn't mind. I wasn't sure why I was meeting them whenever I slept, but it likely had to deal with our recent fusion. I could almost see the threads connecting us. Slowly growing tauter as time passed. In time, we would be forced to fuse. Years, decades perhaps, but… my decision was being taken from me before my very eyes.
I didn't like that one bit. I also couldn't do anything about it, not yet at least. I hated that even more. Still, I found something else to hate even more. A target for my hate. The very first words out of my mouth as my body slowly loosened. Were rather forthright.
"I WANT HIS HEAD ON A DAMN PLATTER! THAT FUCKER WHO PLANNED THIS WHOLE THING!"
I screamed out as soon as I could. Muscles spasmed as I slowly got moving. I could feel the anger burning inside me. No, something was screaming at me to find him and rip him to shreds. The moment I could I tried to crawl my way out to the bridge as if I was a monster from a horror movie. I had to be dragged back.
I ate almost constantly. My body demands nutrition. The very moment I could walk I threw on my skinsuit and boots and made my way to the bridge. People scrambled out of the way as I burst into the bridge.
"Helmsman! I need that maniac's head on a platter! I want to skin him alive and salt him before pulling him inside out!" I exclaimed as loudly as I could. Everyone stopped to turn and face me as I entered. A familiar face was on the big screen.
"Rettas!"
"Gran!" I exclaimed, my tail swaying behind me in joy. "Long time no see!"
"I know!" He exclaimed back. "I'm positively rumbling with anticipation of our next meeting. Look, can you see?" His hand was completely still, but I could see the finely carved exterior minutely trembling.
"Oh, I can." I said in wonder.
"Haha! Right! By the way, I assume you were just ranting about killing the orchestrater of the attack on you?"
Which reminded me, ah… I took a moment to collect myself. Once more taking up my role as Captain.
"Indeed." I replied cooly.
"Wonderful! In fact, the government has located his research base, but are currently in a stand-off with the CHET military."
I raised an eyebrow at this and looked to my Helmsman for clarification.
"The facility was located between RON and CHET territory. There's a high chance he already left, but we were just discussing how we can get there."
Gran nods on the screen. "Indeed, the blockade is airtight, and sneaking past would be difficult, however… if it's you Rettas, I think I can figure something."
I perked at that, but his next words had me confused.
"It shouldn't take long, but… I will need help."
Anyone else, Mm… if anyone else had asked I would have denied it. Regardless of any barricade I would have smashed my way through. But Gran? I'd give him a chance.
"Fine, what is it?"
"I need you to take a shuttle to a station at the edge of RON space. A friend of mine's children will be arriving there, and I want to make sure they make it to their connecting flight without issue. Originally, your Helmsman was offering the services of your top people, but I think with you there I can rest easy."
I considered. Really considered. On one hand, I wanted to blaze through. On the other… I wasn't a damn child. Waiting a bit wouldn't make things worse or better. If anything, blasting through the lines should be the final resort.
In the end… "Just how much are those kids' lives worth to you?" I asked.
Gran radiated surety. Finality. "Everything."
Welp, guess I'm babysitting.
A space station at the edge of RON space.
The space station was also a customs office. A place for people to legally move between territories. This current space station was settled near the REECE border. REECE was a church state, their name standing for Religious Ecclesiastical Evangelical Council of Eternity. A mouthful, and mostly nonsense apparently. People didn't really question it.
REECE was incredibly isolationist, more so than even CHET. Getting the right to cross the border into REECE space was difficult and rarely happened, but today, it just so happened that a pair had one of those rare tickets.
A young man stood hesitant. A younger girl that looked like him stuck close. Both carried bags on their backs, with the young man even holding an odd sword in hand. A gift from his father before he died. They had never met their mother before and have since the death of their father been on the run constantly.
At least, until a fellow came by bearing a familiar seal. A seal he had seen often. One he knew his father trusted. A seal depicting a sword stuck in a stone. He had no idea why it was important, but he understood that it belonged to a powerful group. How else could they smuggle them here and even give them a ride to REECE.
It was almost too good to be true. His mind said one thing, his heart another. His mind said not to trust, his heart said too trust. His sister always complained that he listens to his head too much and other people. He couldn't argue. She had a knack for calling things as she saw them. She was smart like that.
"Brother, do you think school will be fun?" His sister asked while looking up at him with shimmering eyes. They'd never had much time to attend school, at least she hadn't. With them having to go on the run when she was much younger.
"It will be." He spoke from his heart, and she accepted it with a smile, trusting her big brother. It hurt him to see her trust him so unconditionally. He'd wished she would argue with him more or berate him more. More like a normal teen. In a way, he saw it as yet another failure on his part.
"Brother! Brother! Can we eat at that restaurant!?" She pointed to a somewhat upscale place. He almost balked at the prices, but they had plenty of travel funds. Her sparkling eyes and expectant face broke down the last of his barriers. He never could say no to her.
"Fine, but we'll need to eat fast. Our shuttle should be here soon."
She nodded with enthusiasm and dragged him in. He ate a little. The prices demolished his appetite. His sister had no such reluctance as she ate her fill and then some. They left satiated and made their way to the gate for their shuttle when the station lights flickered. Before he could even consider what that was, the ship shook and trembled.
Red lights flared and the Klaxon rang.
"WARNING! WARNING! Station under attack!" The mechanical voice screamed over the station comms. He gripped his blade. He knew they'd found them.
"Aira, follow me." She did so without complaint. His hand grasped hers as he rushed to their gate. Only to grimace as the bulkhead doors exploded. Figures in pitch black exo-suits came out wielding guns. Behind them the hangar shuddered. Their ship visible.
They ran past the crowd, scanning in that brief moment and caught them.
"There!" One of them exclaimed. His siter hit the ground and he didn't wait as he lurched forward, hand unsheathing the blade with a rasping raw sound as the blade slipped out. He barely ducked under the bullets as they shot at him. His pitch-black blade growled as he swung it down. The edge flickering as it slammed into the exo-suit before carving through as if it was air.
Energy coursed through him and his feet light as he dashed to the other cutting him down before dashing back to his sister. They needed to run. He grabbed her in his arms, careful to keep the edge away from her as they dashed off. More explosions rocked the station as more figures appeared. He avoided as many fights as he could. Cut down those he couldn't.
He felt like a rat being chased. His teeth grit. There had to be a safe place. He was rushing into an intersection when something hit him. Blasting the air from his lungs. His sister flew from his grasp and hit the ground. He barely rolled as a blood red blade carved into the station floor near him. Only to get kicked back by a massive boot.
He struggled up as he heard his sister.
"BROTHER!" He grits his teeth, the towering figure stood before him. Black and red armor, horns sticking out. A captain. He couldn't let them take her. He lunged forward, avoided the downward swing that gouged a hole into the ground. His own blade snarled and crashed into the armor with an echoing crack before rebounding, but not before drawing blood as it hissed and spit from the wound.
The figure grunted and moved with incredible speed despite their size. Forcing him back as he caught sight of other figures dragging her away to the nearest gate. The moment of inattention nearly made him lose his head as the blade sung by, only his instincts had it barely graze his neck, leaving a fine line where it passed. Blood oozed from it, but it wasn't serious.
He rallied his energy under his veins. Felt it burn red hot as his heart thrummed. He burst forward with a snap, his blade roared and clacked like snapped teeth as it slammed into the suits pauldron and dug before barking as it pulsed outward. The wounded shoulder caused the figure's arm to go limp, but still they powered through.
He ducked under the hurried slash and thrust the blade up. It spat and barked as it cracked. He felt it kick back as he thrust, the energy field covering it trying to free itself as he thrust. He didn't let it as he pushed, the blade jackhammering its way into the figure's skull, ending their existence with a final schlup.
With a twist and a kick, the body was flung aside. Followed by the final whip crack of the blade freeing itself. He panted as more figures appeared wielding blades, none as impressive as the figure he had just slain. His sister long gone. His teeth crackle from the force of his bite as he once more redoubled gritting his teeth. His blood boiled. He couldn't let her down now, not so close to salvation!
He was prepared to charge forward, to slay them at any cost. Letting them scar his body. When the air shifted. A footstep echoed louder than his own heartbeat. The hair on his neck rose. Every sense telling him a beast had arrived. A monster lurked just behind him.
He glanced behind him. Ignoring the threat before him and finding his breath leave his lungs. A woman stood before him. Her figure undeniable as she stood wearing a skintight suit that left little to the imagination. Only a chest plate and armored belt hid anything, along with her boots and gloves. A helmet kept her identity uncertain, a… tail? Swung behind her.
"Well… this looks fun." Her voice drawled out. Relaxed and languid despite the very clear and present danger. He felt his tongue in his throat. He wasn't quite sure where to look. All those thoughts went to the wayside when a black figure shot past with a blade raised high.
"Look out!" He cried out, unable to meet the blow. Yet, he could almost feel the disdain radiating from her as her hand… His mind stuttered. His eyes blinked as he recollected what he saw. Brushed aside the blade. With her hand. The solid blade stuttered and spit before simply dying. Leaving the wielder bewildered as the spinal projector of the blade became visible.
He had only a moment to be bewildered as the woman slapped him aside. A puff of red mist was left as it slammed into the wall. Leaving only a stain and metal.
"Shit… my ki is acting really funny." The woman remarked while rolling her wrist. He couldn't help but gape. The other two guards stood at a loss. None of them quite understand what just happened.
"Right, so…" She spoke, and almost looked as if she was looking at something. An internal display. A threat?
"You're Michael Lake, yes?" he nodded out of reflex. She clapped her hands. The sound echoed out making him wince.
"Ah, sorry, right, I was sent by a mutual friend. I'm supposed to help you and your sister? Aria, no Aira… yea that one."
His mind spun, she didn't carry the symbol, but… his sister was already likely lost. His heart sang. He listened.
"They took her to their ship!" He cried out. The woman tilted her head the soldiers shuffled uncertain.
"I warn you, this isn't your business stranger!" One of them called out.
Michael was at a loss. He'd never in all his years of pursuit heard them make a threat. It was always shoot and kill first. Never questions or barking. Always biting.
"Yeah! Just cuz you Silver Sun pirates think your all that thanks to what happened on that resort world doesn't mean your worth anything!" The other barked out.
Michael swore he would have to investigate, but first… he needed to warn her about this group, they weren't just a group of pirates or mercenaries they were so much more.
"Hoh? Well, I suppose it has been a week. No matter, I need the workout, ah, and I found your sister. I'll be sure to bring her back."
Anything he had to say blanked when she spoke with such confidence. She vanished in the next second. A scream echoing out as his eyes swerved to see her punching the top part of one of them away with casual ease into mist.
"Seriously? At least you guys are useful for something." she muttered, her energy spiking and sputtering oddly. The next guy screamed and charged.
"I love the dedication!" She cried out before hitting him with a palm. He splattered him into the wall. His suit was mostly whole as blood leaked from the cracks.
"Getting the hang of it. Still a little weird though." She muttered again. The one in the back shook and raised their gun with a battle cry before shooting. She just stood there until he finished. His gun clicked empty. He was frozen still as the woman opened her palm. Shells, some broken to pieces, some in near perfect condition.
"Thanks for the practice, here, have these back." She lightly tossed them… only. They whipped in the air and blew away chunks of the final soldier. Leaving them alone. She turned to him and gave a brief salute.
"Welp, be right back." And she vanished. He wasn't sure what to do, but he could hear screaming echoing through the corridors along with gunshots. He managed to make his way to a port window and thought he saw her figure in space flying out… no… that was… That was insane.
At least, he thought that until he saw a blinding beam etch itself through the darkness of space to carve through spaceships until she slammed into one. It tilted slightly off course before adjusting course back to the station.
He had no idea what to think when she came back, sister in tow. He barely even heard her as she slammed into him with a cry. His blade having been sheathed as some point unknown to him.
"Right, I think that's everything. I don't really want to hang around long. I do have business attend to, but this should be fine." He had no idea if she was talking to him or not.
"Which is why, I'll be heading out. Seeya." She did another finger salute and started walking off.
"Wait, miss! What's your name! Are you a simian?" She stopped and turned around. Michael wanted to drag his sister back, but he was almost afraid too.
With a crack she turned her helmet and took it off. Revealing a womans face. Definitely not a simian.
"Rettas is the name, Rettas the Super Saiyan!" She exclaimed almost like a child would when announcing themselves. It should have made him groan from how stupid it sounded, but… that name tickled a piece of his memory.
"So cool!" His sister cried out, clearly enamored with the woman. Not… that he could blame her. His sisters unabashed praise even had the woman, Rettas pause and blink before grinning widely.
"I am, aren't I? Well, toodles."
Toodles? That strange word echoed in his mind as he started watching her go, distracted, he didn't have time to reign in his instincts.
"How did you get so strong!" He barked out. He blushed and sealed his lips. Berating himself for asking such a dumb question. Once more the woman stopped and this time, she actually approached. It struck him, at that moment, that she was somehow shorter than him. She had seemed so imposing before. Now… he had no idea what to make of it.
"Well, obviously I'm just built different, ah, but… that's not a very good response now, is it?"
He wanted to agree on both fronts. He was having a very hard time not looking at her body. She seemed to even be moving to accentuate it. Like, she was intentionally drawing his eyes to her curves with her movements. Which was silly. There was no way she was doing that.
"Ah, well, I can give you a simple bit of advice, I guess. Listen to your heart. Do what you want to do and let nobody stop you and all that."
That… was pretty poor advice, he had to admit that.
"I keep telling him that! He just keeps getting stuck in his head."
He was immediately embarrassed as his sister threw him under the bus. Even more so as Rettas nodded.
"Mm… Well, I can't blame him. It can be hard to do it. Not everyone can."
He didn't know what to say to that.
"But, you'll notice a clear difference in your energy when you do. You'll need a goal, a mission. Like, what's yours now kid?" She looked at him. Those eyes bore into him. Demanding an answer.
"To protect my sister." She clicked her tongue.
"That's just disappointing, fine, Aira, what should he do?"
"Listen to his heart! Do what he feels is right!" She said with excitement. Rettas nodded. "There, now do what she says. I'm out."
Once more she started walking away, and once more he called out.
"And what about you! What is it you want to do?"
She stopped. Froze. The air around her grew heavy and still. Then she slumped.
"I'm not quite sure yet. I haven't yet reached that point. I'm just following where my heart and life leads me. Hoping to find out."
And, she left. Even then he stood stunned. Something told him that despite the short almost off handed response, that she had been entirely honest with him. In a way, it was oddly… refreshing? Seeing someone so unfettered and unconcerned. Yet... He felt his sister dragging him to the gate. Their shuttle had arrived.
Inside they sat. His hand on his chest. His mind flicked to that woman, to Rettas. His heart thumped. His sister's words and hers echoed. Follow his heart. In the end, he laughed it off. His heart wouldn't be able to help. After all, it wouldn't help him protect his sister better.
I mean, she said it herself. She was just built different. He laid back and watched as they left for REECE. A new life awaited them, or so he wanted to believe.