O N E H O U R L A T E R
"GREETINGS! And welcome to the equipping station!" said Red. Purple nodded, "Now, um, here we have the Invaders! WE will be handing out the customary SIR unit! Step forward, Invader Qik!"
Qik stepped forward and got very pale. The wire of SIR's dropped
down and one leaped off the wire to greet its new master.
"Master, I am here to conquer and obey!" it said in a metallic voice and saluted Qik. "Although, I do not know how to help you when your head explodes!"
Qik held up and finger as if to say thanks and fell
over in a dead faint. Purple and Red's eyes followed his descent to the Irken floor and flinched when his body hit the ground with a sickening thud. Qik's SIR unit picked him up and carried him out to the Voot.
Kro laughed and snorted, "Weakling, if there is a downfall, we know who to blame."
whispered Kro. Moose sighed and looked at the miniature Invader next to her. Kro was
watching intently as the next Invader stepped up. Finally, they were at the front of the line.
Kro fixed Purple with her death glare again and Purple grabbed her wrist and lead her away. Red leaned over to see what was happening. Finally, Purple and Kro returned and Kro shoved something into her pocket before rejoining her partner.
"Okay! For the duo, Kro and Moose! Your SIR unit!" said Purple hastily and handed them it. "Have fun!" The SIR dropped down and saluted.
"Mistress-" it turned cold red eyes to glance at Moose, "-es, I am here to conquer and obey!" Purple waved and told the audience that was it. The audience (the stupid goons) all tried to get out at once.
Red leaned over to Moose, "Call me," he said, "Operators are standing by, besides, we've never had out-of-species invaders. Tell me how it goes, Kro was the best choice-" he looked out to where Kro was walking with their SIR to get the Voot. "-she was the only willing and, she's a good match. Both of you are quiet and secretive. I figured you'd leave each other alone most of the time. But call me anyway-"
Red was interrupted as a Voot burst through the ceiling. Kro stood at the wheel and the SIR was next to her. "Come on, Moose! Let's go." she looked at Purple, "When I'm done here, Purs, you-"
Purple waved and Moose got in. Kro sighed, "See ya, I'll call you tonight." In a blast of purple-y red light, the Voot blasted off.
Red looked at Purple, "What'd you give her?"
"Monies."
"WHY?"
"She said she refused to be with Moose unless she got paid."
"You mean you PAID her to like Moose? Until when?"
"Five..."
"Kro hates Moose!"
"WHAT?"
Red sighed and left to find something to kill his headache. Purple hovered after him, "Well that's just great! How was I supposed to know that?!"
"Soo... Have you ANY experience on what we're gonna embark upon?" asked Kro, raising an eyebrow to Moose.
Shrugs.
"Not.... Really."
Kro sighed and muttered something under her breath that sounded like, "Great, teamed up with HER and she doesn't even know what we're doing!" Moose scowled and looked out the window, trying to ignore the pint sized Irken next to her.
"You don't HAVE to be so rude...."
Kro shot her a look, "And you don't have to be so OBVIOUS."
Moose spun around, "Excuse me?"
Kro smiled innocently, "Nothing!"
"Why are you so.... annoying?"
"Past your ability to understand."
"Come again?"
"Look, I am 1310 years old. You are-?"
"21."
"You are a baby in Irken standards. Ever wonder why the Tallest sweet talk you?"
"They do not!"
" 'Call me, Moose'! You don't think I didn't hear that!" snapped Kro, "God! You two luv-sick goons are just going off the deep end! You're moving into deep water, being human, Moose-"
"It's not like I can help it!" snapped Moose, cheeks red from embarrassment.
Kro snorted, "Yea, right. 310-"
"WHO?"
"The SIR Unit, duh. 310, how much further until we get to Lupesia?"
The SIR unit took five seconds to calculate- "5 more hours, Mistress." it said in its tiny metallic voice. Kro grinned.
"Right when Purs funds run out!" she grinned and did a happy jig around the Voot.
Moose raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, funds run out?"
Kro grinned and sat back down, "At five o'clock in the morning, Purs monies run out!"
"Whoa, whoa! Wait, why would his monies run out?" Kro cocked a non-existent eyebrow.
"He paid me to like you until five. And in five hours, I'm free to hate you!"
"Don't you already?"
"Yea... But I'm liking you in Kro Standards right now." said Kro.
"Red said that you agreed to be my partner. Did you?" Moose asked, turning to look her full in the eye.
"Yes, I did agree to be your ‘partner’ on this." Said Kro.
"Why?"
"It’s gonna get me out of another year of Academy Hell if I do this. See why?" Kao asked and put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. In seconds she was asleep.
Moose sighed, "Yea, I can see that. God, if only I could do that and get that art teacher off my back and make her quit hovering over my shoulder!" she muttered and pulled out headphones and in a second was listing to "The Sound of Rave", a lovely Mp3 sent from the author.
Red paced his chambers, fighting the urge to destroy his partner. He sighed again and pounded his pillow. As he did so, his elbow hit the table, which in turn knocked over a picture of Kao. He retrieved it and set it up again. Kao looked so...happy. Her eyes
were huge and happy, a grin lighting her face. Those bygone times, he thought, what great things happened then. Wonderful things... Red set everything back up and left for the dungeons.
He hovered down and heard the tortured screams of the inmates. One reached
out a hand and tried to grab him. He hovered out of reach and kept on. Finally, he reached Kao's cell, the same one Aex occupied. Kao was settled in the cell, eyes dull and blank.
"Hey, Kao."
Kao looked up and shook her head, "Go away." she muttered dully, "I don't
have time to talk. Much too busy."
Red raised an eyebrow, "Doing what?"
Kao took out a battered palm pilot, "One o'clock was self loathing, two was lunch with several blood-thirsty homicidal maniacs, three, was stare into the abyss. Four, talk with the guard about saying why I rebelled, four forty five, shocked for not saying anything, five till seven I do some art... (Kao pointed to the wall, which was filled with chalk engravings). Eight I'm fed and then I sink slowly into sleep. See-" she put the palm pilot away, "I can't CANCEL anything! I have such a busy schedule since coming here!"
Red looked out the tiny window, even an idiot couldn't have missed the sarcasm dripping from her voice. He put his fingers around the bars.
"Do you want me to get you out?"
Kao stared blankly at him, "NO."
"Why not?"
"I'm having so much FUN here. And look-" a guard walked over with Aex. Aex looked absolutely terrible, but just as equally determined. "Time for my shocking experience, already! Time does fly, doesn't it, Red?" The guard undid her cell and she stepped out from
it, "One minute, you and me were teen age ravers, ready to stay with each other forever! Now, I’m being shocked with a super-size camel prodder everyday! Bye...."
The guard dragged her away after putting Aex into their cell.
Red looked at him and he shrugged, "She look tired to you, O Mighty Tallest?"
"Yes... Why?" he replied, uncertain.
Aex grinned carnivorously, "She is. Every night, she
has a nightmare and they are all about you!" he grinned and retreated to the safety of his darkness. "I mean, big brother here takes care of it.... What are brothers for? But, you know, Red, one day we WILL break from here and come back for you."
He smiled, light reflecting from glittery points, a bzzzzert sounded in the background "But you knew that,
hmmm? All knowing, all powerful Tallest!" Red turned away, just as Kao screamed out in pain.
Aex look over at it, "Hmm.... No interrogation today! They're speeding up... Shock 'er harder, you idiots!" he shouted. "MORE WITH THE ELECTRICITY!"
"You don't care about her?"
"No.... I wouldn't say that...." said Aex, "It's just we vowed to look out for ourselves and no one else when we landed here. MORE, IDIOTS, MORE!" he yelled. Kao screamed in agony as the next hit fell hard.
"Aex, they're putting as much as they can-" she stopped for a yell, "-before I die! SHUT UP!" Kao's voice was thick with pain.
Red hovered off; Aex was laughing in the background, taunting him.
"No one here’s to save you from the darkness! It creeps up and holds you..." Aex called and Kao shouted. Red knew what came next, "...until the sun rises up."
(Note: That line is
from Linkin Park’s "Forgotten", don’t sue me! It’s theirs!)
