"Do you believe in angels, Draziel?" Sam and the Kaneren stood side by side, watching a slumbering Elsa as she lay upon the white sheets of her medical bed. Machines were humming, beeping, and flashing as they read the fallen pilot's vitals and brainwaves; his eyes couldn't leave her, not for an instant- not with his precious girl fighting for her life.
"You're asking a Kaneren if he believes in angels? Would you like me to remind you about the physical reality of what we are?" The pale man slid a few fingers through the length of his pitch-black hair, giving the lightest of audible sighs.
"She's my guardian angel." He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it a little. "Everyone has someone watching over them. Not from on high, or from heaven, or from the stars. The real watchers are those right in front of us, hiding in plain sight."
"Too deep, for someone your age." As Draziel spoke, the young boy began to swell with tears. He knelt over the girl a little, giving brief sobs.
"I don't know what I'd do if I lost her. I can't imagine my life without her, you know? She can't leave, not now. Not now that we've won. Not before I've told her how much she means to me. That's a reality that I can't stomach."
"Ah, see. Now your youth is showing. Pull yourself together, we haven't won just yet. There's still much that needs to be done."
"Shut up, will you? You don't know what it's like!" Sam began to raise his voice, clenching to Elsa's hand harder as tears rolled down his cheeks. "You don't know what it's like to not know if the person you care about the most is going to be there tomorrow! You couldn't know what that's like! All of you Kaneren are the same: intellectual, calculating. Don't criticize me when you've never even loved anyone!"
All of a sudden, Sam became unhinged from the floor as the gravity around him unraveled and sent his body flying across the medical bay. Giving a sharp inhale of surprise and then a disgruntled yelp, he tumbled in a heap upon hitting the glass behind them with a loud thud. "First of all." Draziel walked up to him, slowly. There was an anger brimming within the tones of his voice, although he kept himself from raising it. "I wasn't criticizing you. The fact of the matter is, this war is far from over. It's time for you to wake up and realize that." Sam groaned, rubbing at his head. He seemed dizzy, and winced. "Second of all, you do not know me. You do not know if I loved, or if I do love. Yes, by nature, I am intellectual, and calculating. But I believe that what the Kaneren are doing is wrong. I am not a heartless fiend, and I am here to help- to help you. Now, you're going to get up, grow up, and leave the ship. We do not exist to fight your battles for you, we are a team. And a commander should be with his team, even if we've got a man down." He extended an arm, offering to help the youth to his feet. "I will give you Jedd's coordinates. Or are you going to sit here and let Elsa's efforts be for nothing?"
Sam's eyes, still watery, stared up at the Kaneren's with a mixture of anger and determination. He took the offered hand, pulling himself up to his feet and giving a heavy sounding sigh. Wordlessly, he began to walk towards the exit door, though found himself glancing over his shoulder. "I know that you're different. I see it in your eyes when you look at that woman."
Draziel ignored the comment completely and instead looked upon Elsa. "Don't you want your goggles?"
"No." Sam shook his head. "Leave them. A part of me should be with her." As the youth left the room, the Kaneren found himself pacing.
"Some angel I am..." Draziel clenched a fist, though kept his tone controlled. "I should have never let her go."
~*~*~*~
After having made its way into the hangar, The Shroud finally found itself home. Viper, after sterilizing and wrapping her minor burn-wounds, exited the craft expecting to be alone. Instead, she found Draziel waiting for her, wearing a heavy expression and looking to be wracked with distress. "Did something happen? Did something go wrong?" Her thoughts ran to the mission as she asked her questions. Those hours were crucial, vital to changing the future. As he hesitated to speak, she felt a pang of panic course through her body. Suddenly, the man yanked the blonde towards him and took her into his arms, holding to her as if he intended to keep her in a vice-grip.
"It's over, isn't it?" He spoke to her softly. "Did you get what you wanted?" She was caught off guard by his words.
"What do you want from me, Draziel? To tell you that it's all over? That since Erek-zi is dead everything is going to change? My mission won't be over until all of the Kaneren have been eradicated." Her voice was calm, yet still firm in conviction.
"Did you feel joy, ending his life? Did it quench your thirst? Did it fulfill you?" Draziel's grip on her was unusually tight. Although it wasn't hurting her, his aggressiveness was somewhat alarming. His words seethed from him like a mocking song.
"No, of course not. But it had to be done. Just as what shall occur now needs to be done. Everything is going according to plan."
"You will continue to fight their empire, because it, 'must be done.' But it will give you no reprieve. It will give you no happiness."
"But I've realized something, Draziel." His arms loosened their hold on her, hands instead setting upon her sides as she looked up at the man. "I don't have to do all of this alone. I have accepted that. All those who wish to undo the empire that they have created are on my side."
"What am I to you, Viper?" His hands then moved to her shoulders and held to her there. Those pupil-less eyes stared at her sharply, intent on prying out an answer.
"I'm not sure what you mean. It is as I just said, you and I are on the same side."
"Does everyone on your side know your name?" His hand slid along her neck, fingers finding tender sections of exposed skin and applying the slightest bit of pressure. "And do they kiss you?" With his other hand, he brought a finger to her face, sliding it over the bottom lip lightly.
"Oh, I see." The woman gave a wry smirk at him. "You just want to kiss on me some more. Is that it?"
"Tell me what you feel. What you feel when you're with me. Do you feel happy? Do you feel peace?"
"Why are you asking me all this?" She frowned, seeming to grow frustrated with his inquisition. "Why are you asking me so many questions?"
"Because while you were doing what you were doing, I was here, thinking about you- worrying, and waiting. And I thought about what it would be like if something had happened, and you had not returned."
"I'm alright, Draziel. It takes a lot more than a couple of flesh wounds to take me down."
"That's not the point. The point is-..., if something had, I... - damn it, Arika!" He grabbed onto her shoulders again, swerving her back against the wall somewhat forcefully.
"Draziel-..., what's the matter with you? For a Kaneren, you are unusually emotional! And don't call me-..."
"Stop. Just, stop. Stop talking." The serpentine woman did indeed fall silent, simply observing him. "You're infuriating, you know that? Making insane plans without telling me, keeping all these secrets-..., isn't it exhausting? Why won't you just confide in me? For heavens sake, I will not betray your trust. When I kiss you, it's because I'm drawn to you like we're magnetic. You're fascinating, and beautiful- you make me excited and furious and baffled all at once. So please, stop with the act and just look at me. Forget about the mission, about the Kaneren, and everything else. Look at me and tell me what you feel. That you feel something for me. I cannot go on just-"
As his voice got louder, the woman in his hold began to cry. Draziel cut himself off abruptly, entirely startled as her eyes welled with tears and she began to tremble. "I don't..., I don't want to feel. I don't want to feel anything. When I start to feel, it won't stop. I can't turn it off. You don't understand!"
"Please, just feel. And if you need to fall apart, I'll hold you together. That why I'm here, Arika. I'm here for you. Don't you see that, by now?" The tall man placed a shaking hand upon the side of her face. "I love you!"
She hissed at him. "Why!? I don't understand! You know nothing of me because I tell you nothing, and yet still you have these..., these..., feelings!?" Viper shuddered, her chest heaving as she began to sob. "N-No..., let me go, I can't do this, please..."
"You're not getting rid of me. I will fight until you have no choice but to give in to me, just as I have continued to fight for you since the day we met." Leaning downward some, he planted a light kiss upon her lips to hush her sobbing. "You hate lying- those who withhold the truth. That is what you always say, isn't it?" Those words immediately caught her attention as a feeling swelled within the pit of her stomach. He was right. "You and me, we can be partners in all of this. In all that is a mess, we can hold onto each other. Just let go. Don't keep secrets. Not from me. Let me in; let me love you!"
"I've killed people!" She blurted those words out before she even knew what she was saying. "Hundreds, upon hundreds, of people."
"You were only doing what you had to in order to-"
"My people. I killed them. Women, and children. I massacred them. And those who managed to survive, I abandoned. All because I could not stand for injustice. Because so many were lying. So I decided who to punish, and I took my blades, and I sliced them apart, one by one, as they cried and begged me for mercy. I slit their throats open and bathed in their blood! I'm a monster!" She choked over her own words in frenzied tears. Draziel stared at the Krynian with visible ache, seeming startled by this sudden revelation. And yet, somehow, he brought himself to kiss her in that moment. He kissed her again, and again, and again.
When the Kaneren finally spoke to the woman, he spoke in quiet whispers. "I don't care." Viper's eyes widened. "I don't care what you've done. Everything happens for a reason, just as you and I happened for a reason. I want to learn about what happened- about everything that happened, and who you are, and where you come from. But right now, I want to make love to you. I want you to feel me, to know this love that I have for you. Just forget about everything else- right now, there's just me, and you. Us."
Her voice, soft and strained from her crying, reached for him. "Draziel, I do-..."
His lips pressed to hers again feverishly, cutting her off. "I know."
~*~*~*~
Kevin and Anthony sat side by side upon the small domicile bed, looking pale and exhausted. Hours had gone by, and Vanessa had not reappeared. Kevin picked up one of the pillows, propping it up on his lap and hugging to it in a feeble attempt at comforting himself. "She's not coming back, is she? I should have never said those awful things to her. I couldn't live with myself if those were her last memories of me."
"We're in the future, Kev. For all we know, she was just transported somewhere with some sort of particle beam. You know, 'Beam me up, Scotty!' She'll come back."
"But what if she doesn't? What do we do, now? Do we ask them to try and fire that drive-thing again and send us home? Do we stay here? How long do we wait? We can't just sit here and wait forever-..., she left us!"
"Look, man." Anthony set a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "I know you're pretty pissed off. I'm a little mad, myself. But it seems like the only reason that Elsa and The Viper are back is because of something Vanessa did. You know how much of a martyr she is. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."
"Oh, he's noticed." Both Kevin and Anthony jumped to their feet, tossing pillows aside as their ears perked at the sound of Vanessa's voice.
"Nessa!" Kevin called out for her, looking around in a frenzy.
"I'm here, Kevin. And it's okay. I forgive you for those things you said. I know that I upset you."
"Are you on the intercom? You're safe? Are you on the bridge?" Anthony looked towards the ceiling, looking for speakers.
"I have integrated with Umbra. My consciousness has been uploaded as the new mainframe." The two boys paused in silence, confused.
"So. Now that you're done..., doing that. Can you come back to us now, so we can go home?" Anthony crossed his arms, still looking around for the source of the voice.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. This cannot be reversed. I guess you could say that I'm a part of the ship, now. Well, I am the ship. You wouldn't believe the vast amounts of information I've been able to process! There are so many things I've learned..., and so many things I will learn, flying. It's incredible! The fact that this process was even possible is profound! All of my systems are in good shape and ready for inspection."
"I don't understand. You are the ship? You're a machine? Did you know that this was going to happen?" Kevin began to raise his voice. "How could you do this!? How could you possibly think that this was a good idea!? Damn it, Nessa! You are the most selfish, irresponsible-...really, there wasn't anything else you could think of? Like, oh I don't know, taking one of those other little ships out and help? Or-..., I don't know, moral support? You had to, 'become the ship.' Just like you always had to go on those stupid bigfoot hunts! You've never cared about anyone but yourself!"
"I'm sorry, Kevin. This was always my destiny. I see that, now. With my consciousness and the vast knowledge I have acquired, I will be an invaluable part of this team. I will create a better future for all of us."
"All of us, except for you! Destiny? What are you, an astrologist? You won't even be human! You've literally killed yourself! This is the most ridiculous thing that's ever happened and I'm not sure if I'm even alive right now or this is all just some twisted joke."
"I have never been more alive. Even if I have no physical perceptions, my mind has been awakened. And while my emotions are merely the remnants of electrical signals, I am still myself. I am me. I am the best version of myself. Kevin, you and I can still be together. Stay with me; stay here, please. I can show you such amazing things!"
"No." Kevin shook his head vehemently, fuming. "This is bullshit. Vanessa is dead to me. I'm not going to fall in love with a fucking spaceship. Somebody please wake me up already! I can't do this..." As he exited the domicile, leaving Anthony to his thoughts, he stormed down the halls knowing that as long as he walked upon the Umbra, Vanessa's eyes would be upon him. The thought of this, in all of his rage and grief, sickened him.
~*~*~*~
As rain pelted West City in a haze of darkness, men and women began to emerge from the shadows on the wall. Soldiers, wearing the black leathers of The Eclipse uniform, marched upon the masses as the sky filled with smoke and the smell of fire. As New Babylon burned and the enforcers were eradicated, more and more of each sector's citizens would rise to join the rebellion. They knew that for the first time in all of history, the Kaneren had lost a battle.
Standing upon a building's rooftop at the heart of Alpha Sector, Sam raised a flag bearing The Eclipse's insignia as a warning to all who would fight on the side of the gods. As the Kaneren did descend from their burning tower, panicked and weakened, they were met with gunfire that would force them to their knees. Jedd, having fought his way through the carnage below, made his way to join his commander as they looked over the city in its chaos.
"Alec would be proud." He set a large hand on the youth's shoulder, his mechanical eye adjusting its focus as he looked upon the battle. "It's only a matter of time, now. West City shall be ours."
"Not everyone will see us as the good guys. Many are hiding away in fear, thinking that we are godslayers. We must show them the truth before we'll have a united front."
"She's going to be okay, you know. Elsa." As Jedd said the words, Sam turned and faced him. "It's going to take more than a few wounds to take her down. That girl would follow you anywhere."
"And here I thought that I was the one that dragged her along on this ride."
"That's how women work, Sammy. They make you think that you're in control when they had the reigns all along." As the wind and smoke whipped up around them, Sam and Jedd looked to the sky to see Umbra hovering above them in all of her majesty. Descending like crows, Viper and Draziel leaped from the open hangar and landed beside their commander.
"Looks like things are coming to a close." Draziel gazed upon the city like a guardian statue, looking out over the edge of the rooftop.
"This won't be enough." Sam ruffled at his own hair a bit. "These are civilians we're liberating. Most of them don't even know how to hold a weapon, let along wield one. Yes, we've made a decisive blow and have gained control of the city. We'll likely have some new weaponry, ships, and any supplies we can salvage from the wreckage of Babylon. But if we're going to march upon the other cardinal cities, we're going to need something more."
"We will have something more." Viper, approaching Sam, stood before her commander as her golden eyes reflected the eerie glow of the moonlight. "I'm going to bring us an army."
~*~*~*~
Kevin and Anthony sat side by side upon the small domicile bed, looking pale and exhausted. Hours had gone by, and Vanessa had not reappeared. Kevin picked up one of the pillows, propping it up on his lap and hugging to it in a feeble attempt at comforting himself. "She's not coming back, is she? I should have never said those awful things to her. I couldn't live with myself if those were her last memories of me."
"We're in the future, Kev. For all we know, she was just transported somewhere with some sort of particle beam. You know, 'Beam me up, Scotty!' She'll come back."
"But what if she doesn't? What do we do, now? Do we ask them to try and fire that drive-thing again and send us home? Do we stay here? How long do we wait? We can't just sit here and wait forever-..., she left us!"
"Look, man." Anthony set a hand on Kevin's shoulder. "I know you're pretty pissed off. I'm a little mad, myself. But it seems like the only reason that Elsa and The Viper are back is because of something Vanessa did. You know how much of a martyr she is. Don't tell me you haven't noticed."
"Oh, he's noticed." Both Kevin and Anthony jumped to their feet, tossing pillows aside as their ears perked at the sound of Vanessa's voice.
"Nessa!" Kevin called out for her, looking around in a frenzy.
"I'm here, Kevin. And it's okay. I forgive you for those things you said. I know that I upset you."
"Are you on the intercom? You're safe? Are you on the bridge?" Anthony looked towards the ceiling, looking for speakers.
"I have integrated with Umbra. My consciousness has been uploaded as the new mainframe." The two boys paused in silence, confused.
"So. Now that you're done..., doing that. Can you come back to us now, so we can go home?" Anthony crossed his arms, still looking around for the source of the voice.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. This cannot be reversed. I guess you could say that I'm a part of the ship, now. Well, I am the ship. You wouldn't believe the vast amounts of information I've been able to process! There are so many things I've learned..., and so many things I will learn, flying. It's incredible! The fact that this process was even possible is profound! All of my systems are in good shape and ready for inspection."
"I don't understand. You are the ship? You're a machine? Did you know that this was going to happen?" Kevin began to raise his voice. "How could you do this!? How could you possibly think that this was a good idea!? Damn it, Nessa! You are the most selfish, irresponsible-...really, there wasn't anything else you could think of? Like, oh I don't know, taking one of those other little ships out and help? Or-..., I don't know, moral support? You had to, 'become the ship.' Just like you always had to go on those stupid bigfoot hunts! You've never cared about anyone but yourself!"
"I'm sorry, Kevin. This was always my destiny. I see that, now. With my consciousness and the vast knowledge I have acquired, I will be an invaluable part of this team. I will create a better future for all of us."
"All of us, except for you! Destiny? What are you, an astrologist? You won't even be human! You've literally killed yourself! This is the most ridiculous thing that's ever happened and I'm not sure if I'm even alive right now or this is all just some twisted joke."
"I have never been more alive. Even if I have no physical perceptions, my mind has been awakened. And while my emotions are merely the remnants of electrical signals, I am still myself. I am me. I am the best version of myself. Kevin, you and I can still be together. Stay with me; stay here, please. I can show you such amazing things!"
"No." Kevin shook his head vehemently, fuming. "This is bullshit. Vanessa is dead to me. I'm not going to fall in love with a fucking spaceship. Somebody please wake me up already! I can't do this..." As he exited the domicile, leaving Anthony to his thoughts, he stormed down the halls knowing that as long as he walked upon the Umbra, Vanessa's eyes would be upon him. The thought of this, in all of his rage and grief, sickened him.
~*~*~*~
As rain pelted West City in a haze of darkness, men and women began to emerge from the shadows on the wall. Soldiers, wearing the black leathers of The Eclipse uniform, marched upon the masses as the sky filled with smoke and the smell of fire. As New Babylon burned and the enforcers were eradicated, more and more of each sector's citizens would rise to join the rebellion. They knew that for the first time in all of history, the Kaneren had lost a battle.
Standing upon a building's rooftop at the heart of Alpha Sector, Sam raised a flag bearing The Eclipse's insignia as a warning to all who would fight on the side of the gods. As the Kaneren did descend from their burning tower, panicked and weakened, they were met with gunfire that would force them to their knees. Jedd, having fought his way through the carnage below, made his way to join his commander as they looked over the city in its chaos.
"Alec would be proud." He set a large hand on the youth's shoulder, his mechanical eye adjusting its focus as he looked upon the battle. "It's only a matter of time, now. West City shall be ours."
"Not everyone will see us as the good guys. Many are hiding away in fear, thinking that we are godslayers. We must show them the truth before we'll have a united front."
"She's going to be okay, you know. Elsa." As Jedd said the words, Sam turned and faced him. "It's going to take more than a few wounds to take her down. That girl would follow you anywhere."
"And here I thought that I was the one that dragged her along on this ride."
"That's how women work, Sammy. They make you think that you're in control when they had the reigns all along." As the wind and smoke whipped up around them, Sam and Jedd looked to the sky to see Umbra hovering above them in all of her majesty. Descending like crows, Viper and Draziel leaped from the open hangar and landed beside their commander.
"Looks like things are coming to a close." Draziel gazed upon the city like a guardian statue, looking out over the edge of the rooftop.
"This won't be enough." Sam ruffled at his own hair a bit. "These are civilians we're liberating. Most of them don't even know how to hold a weapon, let along wield one. Yes, we've made a decisive blow and have gained control of the city. We'll likely have some new weaponry, ships, and any supplies we can salvage from the wreckage of Babylon. But if we're going to march upon the other cardinal cities, we're going to need something more."
"We will have something more." Viper, approaching Sam, stood before her commander as her golden eyes reflected the eerie glow of the moonlight. "I'm going to bring us an army."
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