26Note: I edited some of the previous chapters. Not quite finished with the revisions, but I am done with the story.
[0000]
The stereo in my head was playing the Airwolf theme song.
Responding to my mental impulses, Bob formed himself into a pair of large battle axes as I leapt at my enemy.
Lacy came charging at me, but Mary, Ruth and Jeremy ganged up on her before she could adequately run interference.
Wren turned into smoke, but I anticipated this, flinging my axes in both diagonals.
The first one struck the man, now off to my left side, in the chest.
The second one struck the same man, off to the right, also in the chest.
Bleeding and still impaled, he materialized at center, lifting me off the floor by my neck. "It seems you've forgotten that I'm keeping your large alien friend hostage."
"Oh I haven't forgotten," I gasped. "What you seem to have forgotten is how to be dead!"
"Say goodbye to your friend." Wren took the device out of his pocket, pushing a button.
Nothing happened.
"I make device to block signal, okay?"
The fact that Vela was there didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was how she came riding in on Ernie's back like some kind of knight on a horse.
Ernie roared, hitting Wren with a backhand. The man sailed across the room, crashing into a wall. His device shattered.
Bruno and Claudia, having apparently found a way back to the chamber, rushed my weird nonhuman `chew toy', attempting to remove the jamming device from her hands. Vela fought back.
Claudia, a little less injured than her companion, did manage to wrest the device out of her grip, but by then it was too late. Matt and Zeke pinned her to the floor, arguing about whether they should kill the humans.
As Wren groaned and staggered to his feet, Distephano, Call, Johner, and Vriess, apparently free from mind or soul control, opened fire. Christie, unable to see much of anything, merely crouched behind his allies.
"Here," Ripley said to him. "You're not doing anything..." She handed him her baby, drawing a boot knife.
I'm not sure how he did it, but somehow Wren magically turned the bullets into flying cartoon mice with butterfly wings, creatures that giggled and took off where they weren't supposed to. Ripley attempted to stab him, but he used his power and flung her into a wall.
Equally logic defying: Purvis had made an appearance.
The gangly man came out of nowhere, screaming as he grabbed Wren from behind, pulling him close to his body.
Blood sprayed from both their bodies, an alien larva exploding from our enemy's chest.
Wren screamed for a moment, appeared to die...
But then his eyes turned a solid black, and the axes stuck in his body melted around the larva, sucking it back in, the creature making a ghastly shriek that died in gurgling bubbles.
The man's teeth gritted together, and evil grin spreading upon his cheeks as a long black blade slowly emerged from his hand.
I remembered how Maria made comments to Ernie about capturing a portion of the evil worms and making a good colony out of them. "Annexing Texas", she compared it to.
Well, Wren had just "annexed" them back. I parried with my blob sword just seconds before his weapon came up to stab me through the lung.
I parried, swung wildly in counterattack.
The stereo in my head now played Tyr's Take Your Tyrant. Someone had put it in my MP3 player during my imprisonment, and now it kinda became my fight music.
Our swordfighting skills were more or less evenly matched. In other words, we fought like geeks with foam swords at a fantasy roleplay gathering, no style or skill other than the intent to kill each other. We artlessly hammered at each other's weapons, scoring hits at random.
Seeing that she was coming after me, Ripley pounced on Lacy, and the two wrestled for a few tense moments.
Ripley pinned her to the floor, but then the alien struck her in the head with a tool box, leaving her on the floor, clutching her head.
Ssunamrozedrah and Ruth ran to help me, but at this point, Claudia appeared to have recovered her own `invisible fence' device, and the two aliens fell to the floor in convulsions. Wren grinned and beat me with his sword.
Unfortunately, unlike real swords, no amount of bludgeoning could dislodge our weapons. It became a game of trying to wear the opponent down.
Worse, our weapons, being made of slime, frequently glommed onto each other and got stuck, leaving us punching and kicking each other in attempts to break free.
You'd think that would make it easy for me to kill the man, but no, he was hopped up on evil demonic power and could hit hard enough to cause me pain.
Our swords glommed again, couldn't break apart, and suddenly, Wren laughed as his sword, now black and swelling larger than mine, swallowed my weapon, then my hand.
I fought and struggled to get away, but the stuff was already entering my body, seeping into my shell, overwhelming my friend Bob with something dark and evil.
Something touched my brain, and I heard the man speaking into my mind. Thank you for this...blob, Becky. I really appreciate how you changed the worms. After I take your body, I intend to multiply it, use it to create an army. No longer will I be limited to non-corporeal shadows. I will have solidity! I will be unstoppable!
"It sounds like you'll be king," I said. "Over everything."
Wren smiled, seemingly flattered. "Why yes. I suppose I will."
"Then take your damn throne!" I screamed, throwing him into the death chair.
"Mom," I called to the android consciousness. "He's hurting me."
Wren paled as the interface equipment on the throne shifted lower. "What are you doing! Stop this!"
He sent an impulse into my mind, to make me release him, but then a pair of bands snapped down on his wrists, and additional set securing his ankles.
I saw the man turning to smoke, but he couldn't go anywhere because our blobs were connected.
He tried to trade places with me, but I was too familiar with the chair, and knew when I wasn't where I was supposed to be.
My arms became enveloped in a glowing white suit coat, just like the one Archangel wore. I focused hard, and Wren stayed put.
"You wanted power," Mara said to Wren. "I'll give it to you."
"No!" the man yelled. "Not like this!"
The machine's harpoons burst from their launchers, shattering the man's temples.
Wren's body flinched and convulsed like it were being electrocuted.
And then, everything started crumbling, breaking down.
"Mara!" I cried. "What's happening to the ship!"
"Wren is attempting to restructure the system, but his mind is divided between restraining you and fighting `Della Reese' for control of the operating environment. The human brain cannot maintain efficient control of both of these tasks simultaneously."
I was still connected to the man by means of the oozing blob. I kept trying to pull away, but the man's control over the blobs, or blob, hadn't diminished. "Please! Do something!"
I was answered by a hole opening in the wall. Beyond, I could see a corridor, leading, apparently, to the vehicle bays.
"I have opened a gateway to the Betty," Mara said in an amplified voice. "All crew and passengers make their way to the vehicle immediately."
Vriess frowned in dismay. "Just like that? Jump through a magic wormhole simply because you tell us to?"
"The station has become unstable. You may never have another chance."
"Hey," Johner said. "We did enter a magic portal to get here." He glanced at his disfigured friend. "You coming, Christie?"
The man swallowed. "We still don't know where the fuck we are."
"I will attempt to maintain a gateway to earth when you leave the station," Mara said. "But you must hurry."
Johner suddenly looked uncertain. "How about you open a portal to earth, and let us-"
"What about the shit!" Vriess hissed.
Furrowing his brow, Johner hefted his small friend on his back. "Scratch that. C'mon, guys..."
Distephano followed him to the portal dragging Christie along with him. Call and Ripley (with her baby) trailed close behind.
It seemed Wren had been listening. Right away, I felt some of his power over my...slime depart, and I could actually break free from his clutches.
Unfortunately, that also made the portal shrink and look unstable.
"Guys!" I shouted. "Go! Now!"
Attempting to buy the pirates more time, I stuck my blob sword (or rather, scalpel) into Wren's chest, attempting to extract the larva.
It worked. The portal stabilized, and I again found myself under attack.
Johner's men stepped through the rift. Purvis probably would have come too, if he hadn't been dead.
"Wait!" Bruno shouted. "Take us with you!"
"Sorry. No backstabbers." And Johner threatened them away with his gun.
Lacy pushed past them, but only found the weapon turned on her. "That statement includes you. Sorry, no exotic pets."
"You're taking Ripley, aren't you?"
"Ripley's baby is half human."
"So am I!"
"Back off or you eat a bullet."
"Last time, those bullets came out as cartoon mice."
Johner gave her a menacing smile, pulling back the hammer. "I changed clips. I'd be happy to test them out!"
The Ss'sik'chtokiwij backed away.
The man glanced at Ripley's baby. "That thing doesn't bite, does it?"
The woman smirked. "Only when he's hungry."
She glanced back at her Ss'sik'chtokiwij friends, implying she wanted to take them with.
"Sorry, babe. We're running a risk going through customs as it is."
Ripley watched Johner step through the portal, glanced back at her Ss'sik'chtokiwij kin, then held her baby to hear breast. "Go. I don't belong there."
The man stared at her incredulously. "You heard the robot! This place is going to blow!"
A ghost of a smile appeared on the woman's face. "Well then, I sincerely hope she's wrong." She waved goodbye to Call. "Good luck on earth."
"Dammit, Ripley!" Johner tried to grab her, but before he could move, the portal closed.
"Wait!" I called. "The egg!" But it was too late. The portal had closed before Wren's `gift' could be moved.
"Oh God," moaned Bruno. "We're going to die here!"
"What egg?" Ssunamrozedrah asked me.
I nodded my head toward the incubator.
She marched up to it, attempted to pick it up, but it proved to be nothing but a hologram. She cursed Ss'sik'chtokiwij words in annoyance.
Give me your body, Wren said into my mind. I'll show you where the egg is hidden.
"No deal. I can't let you get away with your evil scheme."
"Then the child inside the egg will die."
"He'll probably die anyway. You're that kind of guy."
"That only shows you don't know me as well as you think you do."
"I know enough."
That seemed to be sufficient response for the moment, but after a pause, Wren said, It's female. We did scans.
"It's dead, so it doesn't matter. Best to save those we can actually save."
"Suit yourself."
I was still nowhere near the Ss'sik'chtokiwij stuck inside Wren's body.
I only got partway there when I saw its shiny white head poking out and grinning at me. "Looking for this?" it said in Wren's voice. "...It's mine. When this human form has outlived its usefulness, I will take it for my own!"
"There's a Ss'sik'chtokiwij baby in there," I said. "It has its own mind. What does she think about this arrangement?"
The larva growled and shook itself. "Mine!"
"No!" the man voice cried, and then the larva sunk back into his chest cavity.
"Mara," I said. "Are Johner's people safe?"
"Yes, but they need to hurry. Big Bird and I cannot maintain the portal indefinitely."
"Can you...provide a way out for my...alien friends too?"
She paused. "The humans have yet to fly the Betty away from the station, so we may be able to open a gateway for a brief period, if you will help me."
Distract him, I thought. Right.
Using my blob scalpel, I worked on freeing the larva from the man's chest.
A shimmering gateway opened along the back wall, leading into a jungle of blue foliage. "Please evacuate through the doorway," Mara said in Ss'sik'chtokiwij. "There is food and breathable air."
None of the Ss'sik'chtokiwij seemed eager to go.
Wren knew what I was doing. It was only a matter of time.
"It's a new home!" I yelled. "You want to be free or die here?"
The blob was helping me make inroads into Wren's consciousness, to read his mind. I used this to keep him distracted long enough to maintain the portal for a few more minutes.
Ernie gave her children a nod. Mary, Ruth, Zeke and Jeremy stepped through.
Ssunamrozedrah stared up at her large relative. "This gateway appears to be getting smaller. If you do not go next, I fear you will not go at all."
Ernie sighed. "But what about Newt? What of the others? I came to rescue them."
"Let me take care of that. You. Go now."
Her shoulder plates slumped. "Okay, dear niece. I am leaving this in your claws."
"Bye, Ernie!" I called. "I love you!"
The big Ss'sik'chtokiwij cried a little, stepped through the portal.
A pair of giant claws formed from the slime, grabbed my head, digging in so deeply that I felt pain.
Hearing my screams, Vela, Ssunamrozedrah and Ripley rushed to help, but Wren somehow opened magical portals in the floor that dropped them from the ceiling, their bodies crashing painfully on the ground.
I focused on the larva, mentally told it to fight. The black blobs retreated from my skull. "Mara, get everyone out of here!"
The portal reopened. "Danger," the android said in English. "System is unstable. Evacuate the premises immediately."
"What about us!" Claudia shouted. "You seriously expect us to-!"
A hole opened up in the floor, and both she and her associate vanished.
"Where'd you send them to?" I asked.
"A motel swimming pool."
Ssunamrozedrah growled uncomfortably. Ripley stared at me in worriment.
"You are our friend," Vela said. "You come with us, okay?"
I shook my head. "No, Vela. I have to stay. It's the only way to stop Wren. If I move, we lose the portal, we lose everything."
Ssunamrozedrah grabbed Lacy, attempting to steer her toward the portal, but she cried, "Nuh-uh! No way! I want to go to Earth, not some crazy fucking la-la land!" And so she came marching my way.
Growling, Ssunamrozedrah hurriedly waved Matt to the portal. Ripley cast the two an uncertain look, handed Matt the baby. "If I don't make it, take care of him. Let him know his mother loves him.
Matt gave her a grave nod, stepping through.
"Pulsa Pillow!" a male voice shouted.
Puzzled by the unfamiliarity, I glanced toward the entrance and saw a weird creature marching into the room.
The thing had a human face, but it had a large toucan's beak instead of a nose, and it wore a dress, dark purple, and a layer of splotchy brown fur covered its exposed arms and legs.
The stranger held a gun-like weapon, pointing it at us as it spoke in a foreign language.
Ssunamrozedrah snarled, balled her claws into fists.
The stranger seemed...unsurprised to see such a creature. He aimed his weapon and fired. A spray of acid blood burst from the Ss'sik'chtokiwij's shoulder.
Ssunamrozedrah let out a fierce roar, leapt upon him, knocking the gun out of his hands. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you."
The stranger swallowed. "You...speak...English?"
Ssunamrozedrah slowly nodded.
"My name is Chikarra Wakeen. I am responding to a distress message sent by a Pulsa Pillow. Have you seen her?"
Ssunamrozedrah growled. "You're a month late. She's gone." She picked up the weapon, shot Chikarra in the shoulder. He screamed.
Lacy's dark shape blocked my line of sight.
"Open a portal to earth!" she shouted in my face. "Send me to Florida! New York! Anywhere! Hell, send me to the Betty for all I care! Just me the fuck to Earth! Now!"
"I don' think that's such a wise decision," I said. "You'll end up in a cage. Or dead."
Lacy struck me in the skull. "I don't care what the fuck you think! Earth! Pronto!"
"Mara..." I groaned.
"There are two entities occupying that body," the android answered. "Although the existence of souls cannot be proven nor disproven, I have witnessed this Ss'sik'chtokiwij's change in personality, and how other Ss'sik'chtokiwij relate to her, before and after the moment of apparent `soul transference.' To send her to earth would not only be harmful to human beings, it would also deprive Ernie of a beloved family member."
"Beloved!" Lacy shouted. "Now wait a damn minute!"
"She's a human in a Ss'sik'chtokiwij body?" I cried. "When were you going to tell me-?"
Lacy screamed, plummeting through a hole Mara created in the floor. I saw the black body drop past jungle foliage, into a lake with a loud splash. "Perhaps the water will cool her temper," the android suggested.
"Where did she go?"
"The same planet. Azcaldoz." The portal in the floor disappeared.
I frowned at the droid. "If we live through this thing, all three of us are going to have a talk."
Whimpering and clutching his arm, Chikarra staggered to his feet. "So...Pulsa is dead?"
"No," said Ssunamrozedrah. "She was on a craft, and something happened and it got sent off course, far away from here."
"So she escaped."
The Ss'sik'chtokiwij sighed. "You should go. This place is about to self destruct."
As Chikarra turned to go, Vela rushed up to him with some bandages. "I take care of your wound, okay?"
And she started tending his injury without permission. "You are very handsome." She tugged the hem of his skirt. "I would like very much to see what's under purple dress. We go out, yes?"
Chikarra blushed green, gave her a slight nod. I know it's stupid, but I kinda felt jealous.
Vela rushed up to me, giving me a hug. "Good-bye Beck-kee! I am sorry I give you many probings. I go now."
She and Chikarra fled the chamber...by whatever means the skirted stranger had used to find us in the first place.
Relationships in fictional stories are like commercials. Only a few people in real life own the newest toy, game system, or flashy car, but everyone on the screen has one.
Everyone in a show or movie will eventually have a romantic relationship, but only maybe a quarter of the people watching those programs will ever have one. And those relationships are seldom, if ever, as glamorous, fulfilling or beautiful. The programs are popular because people are by and large sad, lonely and pathetic.
This included me.
That's all to say that this goodbye, I guess, was as good as it would get.
Ripley and Ssunamrozedrah still hadn't left.
"Tell Ernie I'm following her example," I said.
Ssunamrozedrah reluctantly bowed her head.
Ripley patted me on the shell.
And then I was alone with Wren. And the dying space station.
"Mara," I said. "Did the Betty get to Earth?"
She paused. "Yes. They have escaped through the portal I created."
And then, a whole minute later, "This ship will self destruct in nine minutes."
Since everyone but me was off to safety, I briefly considered taking over the larva's body, but I didn't want to go on that ride again, even if it were a good idea. Instead, I focused my energies on digging for the location of the egg, and helping the larva fight against Wren.
Wren flashed a memory to the creature, showing it how I took over my current body and put the creature in my dead human one. Can you trust her? he asked.
"Can you trust him?" I countered. "He'll do the same thing to you."
I saw a flash of Wren's memories, the location of the egg. I'd dug at this memory before, but he'd thrown up walls to keep me from locating the specifics. I'd just see a room, or a door, or part of an access code. Now the answer was within my reach.
The larva questioned what I was doing. Wren told it I was going to take over the egg just like I intended to take over the larva's body. I said no, it wouldn't be fair, the creature deserves to live its own life.
Wren accused me of lying, but then I sent the larva an image of how my own life had been cut short at childhood, how I'd pressed a claw against the cryo pod, staring longingly at my own human form. "Never again," I thought.
I sent an image of me securing the egg in a safe place, trying to fly it out in a ship.
I understand, the larva said.
Without a further thought, it launched itself upwards, tearing through Wren's upper body, destroying his head, his brain. The man's thoughts disappeared into nothingness, the larva and the blob the only mind remaining.
Please name me, thought the larva.
"Chuck," I thought. "Like Charlie Brown." I sent the alien a picture.
The larva thought me a smile, sending the image of exactly where Wren had hidden the egg.
"Thank you, Chuck."
"Eight minutes to self destruct."
I pulled away from Wren's carcass with ease, running off in search of the egg.
The man had hidden it three floors below the obelisk portal thing. Mara had reached the two minute mark by the time I neared the security panel.
It seemed Wren, in overconfidence, hurry, or possibly laziness, had chosen to use an ordinary keypad to lock up his infant hostage. I used his memory of the passcode, typing with my claws, and I was in.
"One minute to self destruct."
There the egg was, in an incubator. No security devices. I could easily take it out and carry it somewhere, if I had more time...
There wasn't anything more I could do. I couldn't take it away from the blast. I had failed.
I could only wrap my body around the shell and hope that my exoskeleton would protect the child inside from the explosion, the depressurization.
I sat down on the floor, pressing the thing to my body.
"Thirty seconds to self destruct."
My decision to put my brain worms into the egg was mostly due to the fact that there were holes in it, and I was concerned that they'd depressurize or leak once the ship came apart.
Okay, so some selfishness was involved, but only because I wanted to know what was in the egg. I could only see a vaguely humanoid blob with my heat vision, and needed to know what I was giving my life for. I prayed it wasn't just a really big chicken.
I didn't need to connect to a brain. The moment my mouth tentacles hit...placenta, amniotic fluid, or whatever it was, I sensed a presence. Intelligence.
It mostly spoke to me in feelings rather than words, but I understood their meaning, what they implied, and those became words to me.
The infant knew its body. Not a chicken. Arms, legs, and a tail. No exoskeleton. Something had sung to it ages ago, then it only heard the mutterings of scientists. "Eric Fiver," or "Human Donor," they said a few times. "Ippi Snarken," much more frequently.
"That...sounds like your parents."
The infant didn't know what that meant.
"Where you came from...My name is Becky. What's yours?"
I don't know.
"I'll call you...Minerva. She's a character in my favorite book. I'd call you Hermione, but nobody real has that name."
She didn't know what all that meant, so I just flashed a picture of the actress's face.
"Twenty seconds to self destruct."
What does that sound mean? the infant asked.
"Bad things."
What is bad?
"We could die. Maybe just me."
What does that mean?
I thought about that joke from Hitchhiker's Guide about the whale getting all excited about flying before it went splat. Minerva was confused, of course.
Please explain. I want to laugh too.
And then she wanted me to explain all kinds of other things. Share! Share!
"Pain," I sent back.
It didn't understand. Share! Share!
I sent the feeling more strongly. The baby recoiled, but still said ...Share?
"I'm going to die," I thought to it.
What is death?
"You'll find out soon. Look, Minerva. I don't want to take your body. I want you to be you. So when I die, just leave me alone, okay?"
Stay. We share.
I swallowed. "Share?"
Yes. You are fun playmate. I will take you in.
I whimpered, started to cry.
Sad. I...understand sad now. But also...love. Like the singing voice. It sing to me. I know.
I wondered if it were better to go to heaven, or join this creature, or if I could choose at all.
"One second to self destruct."
I guess I would find out soon.
Everything got enveloped in white. Objects, debris struck my body from every angle. Things were burning, melting away. Searing pain traveled through every nerve, the infant reading every sensation.
Oh, it said. That is unpleasant. I am sorry.
"Don't be. I am helping you."
Love, it replied. Love much! Love you much! Please stay!
"Pain," I said.
Yes. I understand. Love you. Mother?
I swallowed. "No. If I stay, I will be you. We both will."
I do not understand.
I could feel my body burning up, turning to ash, crumbling away.
And then...I was in a white room.
It kind of reminded me of an interrogation room from a cop show, but perfectly clean. A table, two way mirror, chairs, that's about it.
I was human again, a child once more. A door opened, and in stepped The Lord, and Archangel cradling a weird looking baby with a tail.
"Please, take a seat," said the Lord.
I did. "Where am I?"
"Heaven. Good job, faithful servant."
"You mean I...I can see Mom and Dad?"
He nodded.
"If you so wish."
Minerva waved to me. "Stay."
I smiled. "Hi, Minerva."
"As you can see, you've made an impression on this young one. Your ssujmarrux were connected to her at death. This presents you with a unique opportunity that will never again exist in human history. I'm giving you a choice. Depart for your eternal resting place, and be with your family forever, or stay with her, and experience womanhood. Other humans only get one life."
My heart was pounding. "I saved her life?"
"Yes. Chikarra's crew recovered the egg from the debris, and got someone to care for it. Now this little one loves you."
"Sir, I..."
"I must warn you, there will be pain. You will join a new family, you will have to learn many strange things."
"So it's like reincarnation. I'd have to start over from scratch with amnesia."
"Never. But if you show your cards, so to speak, it may make life very difficult for you."
I swallowed. 'Wait. What about Minerva? I don't want to take her life away. I know what that feels like."
"She will not die. You two will share a body, just like she requested."
"Share," the baby agreed. "Love much."
"Share," I repeated. "Wouldn't they lock us in the looney bin or something?"
"Life always presents its challenges...Incidentally, she will no longer have the name you've given her after this...And if you agree to this arrangement, neither will you.
"Why...can't you...just make me a new human body and start me over in a new life?"
"I don't do reincarnation."
"But body swapping is okay."
"I created you. I know you do not have the mental faculties to comprehend my reasoning. I only ask you to make a choice."
A tear rolled down my cheek. "Mom and Dad...do they miss me?"
"Yes, but they are also enjoying themselves here. You need not worry. You will have eternity to reunite and be together with them."
I didn't say anything, but the Lord heard my decision anyway. I found myself enclosed in warm darkness, my tiny hands pawing through a mire of thick fluid. Someone was singing. To me. I loved much.
I wanna see, Minerva said. Tired of this...dark thing. I wanna know...things. Be, somewhere else...like the white room.
"Me too," I thought.
Knowing it was an egg, we reached for the wall, clawing at it with our fingers. When it didn't work, I thought about birds and egg teeth and started biting the wall. The...beings that had sung to us stopped their crooning, murmuring excitedly.
We gnawed and clawed, for what felt like eternity.
I gave up, refusing to go on, but Minerva, having spent an incredibly long time in the dark place already, did not surrender so easily. A few more agonizingly tiresome attacks on the barrier, and we felt it weakening, and parts of the shell became...back lit.
Soon a chunk of the wall gave way, and blinding light shone in. It took awhile for my eyes to focus.
And then I saw them. A large masculine looking face with scales, weird squirrel-like features, and ears like fish fins, a female with guinea pig-like attributes, minus sign-like sheep's eyes, mouse ears. Both seemed huge in comparison to me, both unclothed, bodies covered in soft downy fur.
Making cooing sounds I didn't understand, they smiled, beckoned to us, and when the barrier at last came down, they held us.
We would come to know them as umma and geben, mother and father. They would name us Beota, my strange new surroundings would be my home, and we would be a family.
THE END
