[IC] Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix nestled deeper into the corner where the chair met the wall as he listened to the human talk about the robot machines. He had hoped conversing with her would help him stay awake, but somehow her voice was only lulling him to closer to sleep. Maybe if I keep her talking she won’t notice if I doze for a little bit, Serix thought, stifling another yawn. Although he knew it was an impractical idea. The chances that he could actually get away with it were slim to none.

“What makes you so interested in the robots?” the human asked from where she lay on the bed. “Aren't they so much inferior to your people's technology?” She was taking another stab at insulting him. Unfortunately for her, he didn’t care about making a point of how much better the Lunairans were than the humans. Quite frankly, he didn’t have enough information to make that judgment, even if he wanted to. He smiled in response to her comment.

“Sure,” Serix said. “But we never progressed our technology in a direction like that. We mainly focused on transportation, medication, and communication. We never experimented much in the ways of war. Our weapons might look scary, but they’re really not that complicated.” He paused. That was a thoughtless thing to say. Should he have given information like that away to a human? His mind was hazy with weariness, and he realized he didn’t have much of a filter right now. He needed to be more careful with what he said to her.

“Nevermind,” Serix made a clumsily attempt to cover up his mistake. “Basically, I’m interested in your robots because my people never created anything like them.” He looked up at her. “What did they look like?”

[AHeartlessNobody]

"I wish humans could have studied more about medicines. Maybe that disease wouldn't have been so wide spread if they had. We might have been able to combat it and come up with a cure. But unfortunately, humans were all about war. They wanted to focus on the biggest and best weapons. Now look at us. All dead with nothing but some useless machines to tell about us."

He looked like he could possibly be getting as tired as she was. Good. Maybe if he was tired he might not have the drive to kill her in her sleep if she were to actually doze off for a little bit. Who knew, maybe with how tired she was, he might be thinking the same thing about her as well. It was an amusing thought, but when she didn't linger on. Similar ideas for the moment or not, it didn't change the fact that he was out to kill her. Or bring her back to his people for them to dispose or experiment on her. Whichever came first. Either way, she shouldn't have been thinking about their similarities at the moment and she should have instead been searching for a way to escape.

But...why was it she didn't feel the need to do so? Why was it she didn't really consider him a threat right now when all he had done since she met him is point a gun at her and tell her how easy it would be for him to exterminate her or take her in as a prisoner? She didn't know the answer to that question, but for some reason right now she didn't really consider him as much of a threat now than she had when she first met him. He just didn't seem dangerous to her . He seemed almost like her. Curious. Maybe a little on the rough side in defense. But not deadly. Whether her instinct on that was right or not she wasn't sure, but it was something to think on.

"What did they look like?" She thought back to her time in that under ground and dimly lit hideaway that the robots had been stored in and continued, "It varied on the robot. Some were huge and bulky. Others were a little smaller and had a more sleek and rounded body for agility. Some where colorful. Others had no color at all. They were really a sight to see.There is really no way to explain them. You'd just have to see them to get what I'm talking about." Of course that was a rhetorical statement, because she didn't think he would ever want her to take him there. After all, what would an alien want with those robots? She shrugged and her eyes met his again, "If I had my choice, and if your kind hadn't come along, I probably would have ended up following in my father's footstep and working on those same robots. Maybe even building better ones with some awesome tech. I probably could now if I had the materials, but it wouldn't do any good if I did, so I just stayed away from the robotics storage."

[Rogue Sloth]

Again, Serix was amazed with the humans’ creativity. They not only invented war machines, but from what the female was saying, they created countless variations of them. The Lunairans always stopped working on their projects when they found something that functioned properly. They never continued on to improve or change their technology unless they discovered a serious flaw. He supposed that was because they never felt any pressure to do so. They didn’t have any deadly enemies and they rarely bickered amongst themselves. Everyone obeyed the laws of the higher powers. That was how they kept the peace.

Except now, that is.

Serix was beginning to think his simple act of keeping the human alive had more weight to it than he first believed. His pilot had instructed the Scouts to exterminate any and all survivors of the Plague. The order had to have come from the higher powers, which meant he was disregarding their supreme authority. He racked his brain to think of another time when a Lunairan committed an act of treason, but none came to mind. It was a rare occurrence, if it ever happened at all… but what if someone did?

A dark thought came to him. The human had mentioned a possible sympathizer. If there was one, there were bound to be others, but why had he never heard of them until now? What had happened to those who rebelled against the authorities? It was like they had all vanished from existence, never to be heard from again. Serix swallowed. What would happen to him?

His eyes slowly drifted back to the human female on the other side of the vessel. He had to get rid of her first thing after the Storm left. His own curiosities didn’t matter. It was for his own safety. If the higher powers received word of his betrayal, he might end up disappearing just like the others. He couldn’t— no, he wouldn’t let that happen.

“You said this Storm will last all night, correct?” Serix said abruptly. “I suggest you get some sleep. I would like you to take me to this ‘robotics storage’ tomorrow.” His tone was suddenly distant. He knew he couldn’t let himself get close to this human. It was already going to be difficult enough to kill her because of her appearance. He didn’t want to develop any emotional ties on top of that.

“Don’t worry,” Serix said, not meeting her eyes. “I won’t shoot you in your sleep.” But I will be rid of you when you awaken, he added silently to himself. Then there would be no more problem. He would be back on track, scouting the city properly according to his original instructions. He would no longer be in danger.

…But why did it still feel so wrong?

[AHeartlessNobody]

"You want me to take you there?" Cassie asked, blinking in surprise as his demand of her leading him to where the robots were, "You have to realize, I haven't been there since I was a kid. They're probably all old and rusty by now." She yawned and shrugged, "But fine. I'll take you there." He seemed suddenly out of it, his thought wandering and for a moment she wondered what exactly it was he was thinking of and when she couldn't figure it out by just looking at him or thinking back to their earlier conversations, she gave up trying to figure it out, fairly sure he wouldn't tell her if she asked.Yawning again, she curled up more, wrapping hr blanket around her and sighed, "G'night." Then it was silent. Despite him saying he wouldn't shoot her in her sleep, it took her a long while to fall asleep, but when she had, she was out for the count, in a deep sleep.
...
It was early the next morning when Cassie finally woke again and when she did, she had sat up and stretched, crawling out of bed and running her hands through her hair, in a sleepily haze for a moment. It wasn't until she walked down the plane aisle and saw the alien boy from the corner of her eyes and yelped, jumping backwards and stumbling over one of the seats and landing on her bottom in the aisle that she snapped out of her haze and blinked in surprise, suddenly remembering all that had happened the day before. She slowly and shakily got to her feet, trying to get her heart rate to calm down, "What a way to wake someone up. I need to work on waking up more alert."

She brushed through her slightly messy blonde locks until they were smooth and not sticking up anymore as she went over to look out one of the plan windows again, "The storm stopped. We can head off to the robotics storage now." She went and grabbed a bottle of water to take with her and tossed one wordlessly to him as well. She wasn't sure if he would drink it or not, but it was his decisions and she figured she might as well offer him one, "The storage is actually in the city, in the basement of the tallest building. Not so much a hiding pace, but hey, it was something."

Turning, she walked over to the plane door, her back to him as she spoke and went to open the door, "Come on, we have a long walk ahead of us."

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix waited until the human’s breathing evened out, telling him that she had fallen asleep. Then, he quietly opened his bag and took out the food he had been provided. He quickly found that, as it was dehydrated, it was inedible without water and the pilot hadn’t provided him with any. He sighed and put the food away. The pilot must have assumed the Scouts would find water on their own since the planet’s surface was covered with more than seventy percent of the stuff. Unfortunately, Serix had been too busy dealing with the human to go in search of water, so he couldn’t eat.

He glanced at the human’s makeshift shelves, where she said she kept her food. He could take some from her stores, but he wasn’t entirely sure he could digest the same food that she could. Besides, there was always the chance she had poisoned it when she grabbed some for herself. There were too many variables. He would just have to go hungry.

Serix shifted to a more comfortable position and closed his eyes. In spite of his exhaustion, he couldn’t fall asleep. The Storm continued to rage outside and his imagination was running rampant. He couldn’t stop picturing the pilot somehow finding out what he did and reporting his treachery to the higher powers. Then his mind would come up with spectacular ways by which the higher powers would remove him. Eventually, however, Serix managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.

--

It’s too quiet.

That was Serix’s first thought when he woke up the next morning. He panicked for a second, thinking that the human had escaped while he was unconscious. His worries were put to rest when he saw the human dozing in her bed, right where she was before. He exhaled. At least she hadn’t slipped away on him. Still, she could have sabotaged his weapon or gear so he double checked all of his equipment while he waited for her to wake up. Everything was untouched.

Serix heard the human stir on the other side of the vessel. She was waking up. After a few minutes, he heard her get out of the bed and walk down the aisle to where he was sitting. When she caught sight of him, her eyes widened in surprise and she let out a high-pitched yelp, jumping back from him. Her reaction caught Serix by surprise as well, so he flinched at the flurry of movement.

“What a way to wake someone up. I need to work on waking up more alert,” she said irritably, walking over to one of the windows to look outside. Serix couldn’t help the amused smile that tugged at his lip when he realized she had forgotten he was there. He stood up and stretched to get his blood flowing, then began to gather his things. He hesitated when his eyes fell upon the Silencer. This was the day he would complete the human genocide. He picked up the weapon.

“The storm stopped. We can head off to the robotics storage now,” the human was saying. “The storage is actually in the city, in the basement of the tallest building. Not so much a hiding place, but hey, it was something.” She grabbed a container of water and tossed him one as well. He wordlessly accepted it, packing it into his bag for later use. He made a mental note to check it for signs of poison later.

“Come on, we have a long walk ahead of us,” the human called back to him. She was already at the door. Serix followed her out, still saying nothing. He kept a close eye on her in case she tried to make any last ditch attempts to run away.

Serix let her lead him further into the city for a while. His finger twitched on the trigger of the Silencer. He was divided in two. Part of him wanted to kill her now and get it over with, while another part of him argued that it wasn’t the right time; that he should wait for the ideal moment. But he knew he was just postponing the inevitable. He stopped walking.

“I’m glad,” Serix said. The human stopped as well and turned to face him when he caught her attention. “I’m glad not all of the humans died in that wretched Plague. I’m glad I got to meet one of your kind face to face.” He lifted his eyes to meet her gaze. His expression was chillingly emotionless. “My only regret is that I’ll be the one to end your species.” He raised the Silencer, aiming straight at her heart. The motion was swift enough that the human wouldn’t have had time to flee.

Then he pulled the trigger.

There was a bright flash of blue and her body crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud. Serix had to look away. The weapon slipped from his fingers and clattered to his feet. He stared down at it in shock. Thinking about killing her had been hard enough, but actually going through with the act had taken all of his willpower. He felt strangely empty. He forced himself to look at the human’s collapsed figure. What have I done? cold dread swept over him. I just annihilated the last of an incredible race of beings.

Serix took a shaky step towards the human. He slowly walked over to her body and crouched beside it. With no physical damage, she looked like she was just sleeping. He had a sudden irrational urge to check if she was really dead. He shook his head. Of course she was dead. No human could survive a shock from a Silencer. Their hearts were too fragile to withstand the voltage. Still, he found himself reaching to feel for a pulse beneath her chin.

As he suspected, Serix felt nothing. She was gone. He was about to pull his hand away when something caught him off guard. One beat. Then two. His own heart began to pound faster. How was this possible? There was no way she could still be alive after taking a direct hit from the Silencer. It was impossible. His mind reeled. Just what was this human?

[AHeartlessNobody]

It was strangely.....silent during their walk through the city toward the storage. In fact, it had been like this all this morning and last night when they had gone to bed. And it....worried her? Just what was he thinking to be so silent as he was? Had she said something to offend him? Maybe. Or maybe it was all her talk of the weaponry the humans had made that kept him silent. So many questions on this sudden quiet between them, yet she had a feeling if she asked hi what was wrong he either wouldn't tell her, or he would snap at her. It was none of her business after all. And so, she continued on down the road, when she heard him finally speak to her for the first time all morning. This made her turn to him in curiosity and listen to him speak.

“I’m glad,” When she turned around, he continued on, “I’m glad not all of the humans died in that wretched Plague. I’m glad I got to meet one of your kind face to face.” His eyes mt hers once more, but this time, Cassie felt her heart race and her skin grow cold at the lack of emotions in those violet eyes of his. Somehow, she knew what was coming before he even spoke his next line and possibly the lat words she would ever hear, “My only regret is that I’ll be the one to end your species.” She knew there was no chance of escaping this. She wouldn't be able to run or dodge what was coming. Instead, she stood there, her blue eyes wide and full of shock and betrayal as he shot the silencer, the blast hitting her straight in the chest.

There was a gasp that escaped her lips when it hit and instantly she fell to the ground, and though it had instantly stopped her heart, she was still conscious of what she was feeling in those moments. Her chest hurt very badly. Her head had hit the ground, making it throb. And her lungs burned, feeling like someone was stabbing them with thousands of needles at once. It was a horrible feeling. And somehow, she knew this must be the beginning of death. The alien boy had shot her and now she would die. But, then why wasn't she gone yet? And why could she feel two warm fingers pressed against her neck, as well as someone leaning over her? She shouldn't be aware of that if she was dead or even dying, right?

But then, something changed. Though her chest hurt, there was beat inside of it that released that pain for just a moment. Then another. Slowly the beating of her heart began and after just a few moments, a gasp of air entered her lips as her lungs began functioning once more. She had no idea what was going on, or why she was alive when she should obviously be dead, but whatever had caused this had saved her.It took a few long moments and more breaths before she blinked her eyes open, pain from her still slightly sore chest and lungs as well as her head spinning from when it had hit the cement.

But, even if these thing were hurting, that didn't stop her from sitting up with a jerk and scrambling to her feet when she saw the alien crouching next to her, attempting to get away from him as quickly as she could to avoid another shot, and at the same time, had hit him, her fist connecting with his face. She didn't want to chance a second shot. One shot may have jut knocked her unconscious but another one might do even more permanent damage and she wasn't willing to risk sticking around to find out. Once she had made it to her feet, she began to take off running as quickly as she could, huffing as she tried to get her lungs back to breathing normally at the same time, something that was painful for her and also not working that well.

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix felt a blinding pain explode across his jaw as the human’s fist connected. He fell back in a daze while she scrambled to her feet and took off running. He had to shake off the confusion though, because she was getting away. He stood up, staggering slightly, and then chased after her. He vaguely took notice that he had left his weapon lying on the ground, but it was too late to go back and grab it.

Sprinting at full speed, it didn’t take him long to catch up with the human. He snatched at her arm and jerked her back, using his own knee to hit her in the back of her leg and cause hers to buckle. He twisted her arm behind her back to stop her from falling and also prevent her from getting away again. He was getting tired of chasing her down. With his free hand, he caught hold of her other wrist so she couldn't hit him again. His jaw still throbbed from the first punch.

His mind was still full of questions. The entire situation they were in seemed impossible. She should have died back there. Yet here she was, very much alive and kicking. Had his Silencer malfunctioned? He was sure he had shot her straight in the heart. But that didn’t make sense either. Lunairan technology never failed unless it was intentionally sabotaged, and he was certain it had been left untouched the previous night. He tightened his grip on the human’s arm and pulled her closer.

“How did you do that?” Serix hissed. His face was right next to hers as he kept her restrained. “How are you still alive?”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie, although running had seemed like the best idea at the time, began thinking that maybe running hadn't been the smartest choice. And it proved that thought to be true when she heard the alien's footsteps quickly approaching her and soon he had snatched at her arm, jerking her back, as well as knocking her in the back of the leg and holding her restrained with her arm behind her back. Maybe this situation would have ended up differently if she would have tried just fighting him. Possibly even stealing his weapon. Would she have been able to get away if she had? She wasn't sure, but it didn't matter now because here she was, in his grasp and when she went to punch him again that was easily stopped by him grabbing her wrist. He was making sure she wasn't going to get away and she positively hated him for it at this moment.

When he hissed his words at her, she glared up at him, a defiant look in her eyes. Apparently he hadn't gotten what she had said about personal space because his face was right next to herself as he spoke almost menacingly to her. She was going to fix that real quick because when he got done asking her that, she spit in his face. She took that moment to try and break free from his grasp, but apparently he was determined to not have her run away this time and he kept hold of her, much to her annoyance and frustration. She glared at him once again and this snapped at him, hissing her own words in his face, "I'm not telling you anything! You had y trust before, but guess what? You lost it the moment you shot that Silencer!"

She shook her head, "You really are just like the others. A bloodthirsty killer. You care about no one but yourself. You and all the other aliens are just the same. And that may do your species well now. You may do well for a little while more, but that kind of attitude is going to be the end of your species. I just wish I would be there to watch the fall." She took a jab at him that way, though she knew, just because the Silencer hadn't killed her like he had thought, even she had thought, there were still other ways, older fashioned ways, to kill her. Choking her. A knife to the throat. And many other ways he could possibly kill her.

And if he didn't kill her immediately, she would have to deal with the after shock of being shot. Her chest was still sore and her lungs were still stinging, but the pain was slowly going away with every minute that passed. She would probably be pain free from it in an hour or so, for now she would have to deal with it.

"So much for the glory of being the one to finish off my species. Bet you were hoping to drag my body back to your people and show it off like a trophy. Too bad."

[Rogue Sloth]

Of course the human wasn’t going to give him any answers that easily. She squirmed to try and break free of his grasp, even spitting at him to make him let her go. Instead, he just held on tighter. Her futile attempts at escape had only made him more annoyed, even teetering on the edge of anger. The human began shouting about how he was no different from the rest of his kind: a bloodthirsty alien. A fresh pang of anxiety struck him in the chest. If you only knew, he thought. If I was actually like the rest of my kind, you would have died a long time ago. But he said nothing to defend himself.

“So much for the glory of being the one to finish off my species,” the human snapped at him. “Bet you were hoping to drag my body back to your people and show it off like a trophy. Too bad.” That was it. Serix had had enough of her attitude. In his rage, he shoved her into the nearest wall and pinned her against it, glaring at her with as much venom as he could muster.

“You think I want to be the one to complete a mass genocide?” Serix snarled. “Well I have news for you, human. I’m not the only one who came to your planet yesterday. If any of the others had found you, you would have died on the spot. You see, we have very specific instructions to kill all survivors and end your species.” He wasn’t sure why he was telling her any of this. His fury had made him blunt, and he couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth.

“So you should count yourself lucky,” Serix went on. “That I was the one to find you. Because you might not believe me, but I am different from the other ‘bloodthirsty aliens,’ as you like to call us.” He looked away so she wouldn’t see the pain in his eyes. “I’m different, and I’m probably going to die for it.” He knew he could change that. There was plenty of broken glass on the ground. He could still kill her right now and end his problems. But somehow he just couldn’t bring himself to do it, and that was why he was going to die. A melancholy smile crossed his lips.

“If you want to go, then just go already,” Serix stepped back, still not meeting her gaze. All the anger had drained out of him, leaving him tired and apathetic. “No point in trying to keep you around if you’re just going to fight me.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

A gasp of pain escaped Cassie when she was suddenly slammed into the nearest wall and he spoke to her, his voice full of venom as he gave he excuses of why he wasn't like the others. But to her, there were no good excuses for this. He had tried to kill her and even if he had waited longer to do it, he had still attempted to, and would have succeeded if not for....well.....whatever had happened. Maybe it was her possibly being half his kind. Even she wasn't completely sure about it. But whatever it was, he had attempted to exterminate her and right at that moment she felt there was no excuse he could give that would make that okay, "Oh wow. You're so different you would let me live another whole day before finishing me off. That is so much better. Makes you so much more compassionate." She said sarcastically as she scoffed.

When he let her go, she straightened up, brushing herself off, listening to everything else he said. His voice was full of sorrow with the last few things he had said, and while it made her feel just a little bit of empathy for him, she had to stop herself from believing he really was sorry for it. For all she knew he was tricking her and formulating some plan to kill her when she least expected it. So, she shoved those feelings away as she looked at him and shook her head, "Fine. Better than wasting my energy tussling with you then." With that, she walked around him, walking down the road, forcing herself to not look back at him.

She racked her brain on what she needed to do next. Obviously go back to the airport. But then what? Should she risk leaving the airport and trying to find a new hideaway? Or would she still be safe at the airport? She walked, trying to think that over, taking the path back, when she looked on the ground to see something she had expected the alien to have with him. There on the ground layed his Silencer and with a cautious look she slowly approached it, looking around to make sure this wasn't some sort of a trap. She finally got to it and crouched down to look at the strange gun, even picking it up to get a closer look. It had a very sleek design and it make her feel a little weird holding something that looked so new when any kind of technology on earth she had seen was by now rather rusted or lack-luster. Standing up, she held it in her hands. Maybe she could keep it. She could use it to defend herself or even take it apart and figure out how it worked. Possibly improve it even if she could manage to find good materials.

Nodding to herself, she slipped it into her waist band and had set in mind to continue on to the airport when she felt a drop of water hit her head and looked up, a disbelieving expression on her face, "Really? Again?" She sighed and shook her head as it began raining and even lightening and thunder began again as she started to walk quickly, only to slowly slow to a stop after a moment, looking over her shoulder in the direction she came from. Why did she suddenly feel so guilty? As she stood there, she seemed to be having a mental battle with herself before she finally sighed heavily, shaking her head at herself, "I am going to regret this...."

With that, she turned and began to walk back to the area she had left the alien, beginning her search for him. Obviously he wouldn't be in the same spot she left him and it took her a little longer than she thought, but she finally did catch a glimpse of his glowing eyes from the darkness of one of the alleys, where he had likely holed up to get out of the rain. Shaking her head, she approached him quickly, "Yo. You're going back to the airport with me." It was made obvious she wasn't giving a choice because when it seemed like he was either taking too long or might refuse, she gave an annoyed sigh and reached down to grip his arm and pulled as hard as she could in attempt to tug him to his feet, "Come on big baby. If you don't hurry we'll get caught in the worse part of the storm when it really starts up."

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix didn’t look up, but the sound of the human’s receding footsteps told him she was gone. He waited until he was certain she was out of earshot before he let out a scream of frustration and punched the wall. Why did he have to go and make such a foolish mistake? He should have just killed her when her first saw her sneaking into that construction. He had so many opportunities to get rid of her, yet he wasted them all. Now one of the others would surely find her. She would probably take out her rage towards him by telling the other Scouts what he had done; or worse, she would make up lies about him helping her. The Scouts would tell the pilot, who would in turn report him to the higher powers. Serix wouldn’t last another three days.

He sank to his knees. He had let himself get carried away, and now he would suffer the consequences. There was no way his betrayal would stay a secret. Somehow one of the others would catch wind of what he did, that much he was sure of. The success ratio by which the human-sympathizers were removed was one hundred percent, which meant the higher powers never failed to capture them. Although Serix had to wonder how they always knew who was betraying them. If the sympathizers had befriended the humans in secret, how were they caught?

He was still puzzling over this thought when a cold drop of water hit him on the head. Immediately his heart began to race. Not again. He looked up. Those dark masses had rolled across the sky while he was preoccupied with his musings. Now, only small patches of blue could be seen through their sinister black. The Storm growled in its deep voice, sending tremors up Serix’s spine. He stood up, his wide eyes frantically searching for a place to take refuge.

There. Nearby, he spotted a narrow pathway. The rain was falling at such an angle that the alley was almost completely dry. Serix quickly ducked inside, crouching against one of the walls. He found himself longing to be back in the safety of the human’s odd ship. He felt vulnerable in the open space among the constructions. He drew his knees tighter to his chest and buried his head in them, shuddering as the Storm let out another booming roar.

Serix stayed like this until the muffled sound of footsteps made him look up. A shadowy figure was approaching him in the rain. He froze. Was it the pilot coming to make him disappear? How had he found him out so quickly? He suddenly realized that this was impossible. The figure didn’t have luminescent eyes. It couldn’t be a Lunairan, which could only mean one thing: the human had come back to him. He could only stare as she moved to stand over him.

“Yo,” she said curtly. “You're going back to the airport with me.” Serix didn’t move. He was still too baffled by her reappearance. He had tried to kill her. Why was she still trying to help him? It made no sense. The human let out an irritated sigh when he had yet to respond to her command. She reached down and took his arm, giving it a tug in an attempt to pull him to his feet.

“Come on big baby,” she taunted. “If you don't hurry we'll get caught in the worse part of the storm when it really starts up. That pulled Serix out of his daze. He stood up on shaky feet, taking a moment to regain his balance, and then looked at her, frowning in confusion.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “I have nothing to give you… I tried to kill you. So, why are you always helping me?”

[AHeartlessNobody]

While she had been tugging on his arm to try and get him to stand up, she doubted she would have been able to really force hi to his feet. He stood up on his own and she was prepared to lead him back to the airplane when he spoke, asking her why she was doing this. She looked back up at him, her eyes meeting his as she spoke "I don't know to be honest. I should have left you out here to suffer in this storm for all you did to me. But, I'm not going to. Like I said before, sometimes you jut have to do the right thing, even if the one you are doing it for doesn't deserve it. You're right, you have nothing I want or need, you tried to kill me, but something is telling me to help you, so I am. Now hurry up," She said and with her hand still clutching his sleeve began to tug him along, back toward the airport.

Once they got back to the plane, she shoved the door open once again and when they were both inside, she shut it back and began ringing out her hair, "I need to get into something dry before I catch my death..." She moved to one of the bags at the side of the plane. Pulling out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt she moved to the cockpit and turned to him, "Turn around, I don't want you to see me though the window." And she waited until he did so before she closed the door to the cock pit. From this the only way he would even be able to see her would be the small window at the upper half of the door, and since he was turned around she felt comfortable enough to change. She was quick to do so, getting out of her soaked jeans and sweater and throwing on the t-shirt and shorts.

When she was done, she reached down and picked up the silencer, trying to figure out what she was going to do with it before something came to her mind. Holding it in very clear view she walked back into the cabin portion of the plan, looking at him, "Okay, listen up. I found your gun here, but you're not getting it back. I'm keeping it so you don't try anything funny again. Also, since I know it's not going to kill you..." She pointed it at him, being sure not to aim directly at his chest, just in case he had been lying about it not killing hi directly on contact of the heart, "I'm going to show you what it's like to get shot my one of these things."

With that, she shot a blast, the blue energy coming out of it and hitting him right on the front of his shoulder. She had to admit, she had been expecting less of a reaction from it hitting him since he had made it seem like it wouldn't affect him at all earlier, but instead, the react she got scared her and thought maybe the blast could kill him. He got knocked off his feet and fell to the floor, though, she let out the breath she had been holding and her eyes went from wide to their normal expression again when she saw him move to sit up, "That's how much this sucker hurt. Well, actually, it probably hurt me more since it almost killed me, but you get the picture. It was painful. So next time you want to try and hurt somebody, think about the pain you feel right now."

Sticking the Silencer back into her waist band she looked to him again and held out her hand as an offer to help him up to his feet, "Do you need an dry clothes? I bet I can find some that might fit you. I tend to wear baggy pajamas, which are always sweat pants and t-shirts by the way. It would be better than being soaked."

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix was happy to take up the human’s offer and get out of the rain. They hurried back to the ‘airport,’ as the human called it, and boarded her ship. When he was finally in a dry, secure location Serix began to notice another problem those black sky things were causing. Although it was still early in the morning, if the Storm stayed all day he wouldn’t be able to tell when night came. He wouldn’t be able to report back to the pilot on time. He looked out the window and hoped the rain would subside before dusk.

“I need to get into something dry before I catch my death...” the human said, interrupting his thoughts. She dug around in a bag and pulled out a new set of clothes, then walked to a door leading to what Serix assumed was the cockpit of the vessel. She turned back to him once more, “Turn around, I don't want you to see me through the window.” Serix rolled his eyes and turned, although he wasn’t sure why she cared. Sure, they looked similar, but they weren’t even the same species. He heard the click of the door closing behind him.

He tapped his foot, waiting for her to come out again. What was taking her so long? He glanced back over his shoulder just as she was slipping the shirt over her head. The human was facing away from the window, so he only caught a glimpse of her lower back just before the shirt covered it, but it was enough for him to feel a slight warmth rise in his cheeks. He quickly spun around again before she could catch him peeking. What’s wrong with me? he chided himself, shaking his head. She’s not a Lunairan female. What am I getting excited about? He closed his eyes, willing the flush of his skin to go away.

Behind him, Serix heard the door click open again as the human came back out. He wore a mask of calm as he turned around to face her, studying her face to see if she suspected anything. When she looked at him, he didn’t see any anger in her eyes. He gave an inward sigh. She didn’t see him. Then something else caught his attention. The human was holding his lost weapon.

“Okay, listen up,” she said. “I found your gun here, but you're not getting it back. I'm keeping it so you don't try anything funny again. Also, since I know it's not going to kill you...” She held the weapon up, aiming the barrel straight at him. Serix’s violet eyes widened in surprise. “I'm going to show you what it's like to get shot by one of these things.”

“Whoa, wait,” Serix stammered, taking a step back. He held up his hands, but it was too late. He saw the bright spark of blue before a sharp pain exploded across his shoulder. He felt his muscles seize up from the shock and he collapsed to the ground, unable to move while the electricity had him in its grip. He squeezed his eyes shut until the pain began to ebb away, then he slowly moved to sit up. Everything felt sore. He groaned under his breath.

“That's how much this sucker hurt,” the human said, putting the Silencer away. “Well, actually, it probably hurt me more since it almost killed me, but you get the picture. It was painful. So next time you want to try and hurt somebody, think about the pain you feel right now.”

“I get the point,” Serix gasped, trying to stand up again. His legs were wobbly and partially numb from the shock, so he gave up and just sat on the floor of the ship until his strength came back.

“Do you need an dry clothes?” the human moved on as if she hadn’t just shot him a moment before. “I bet I can find some that might fit you. I tend to wear baggy pajamas, which are always sweat pants and t-shirts by the way. It would be better than being soaked.”

“No,” Serix replied. He did want to get out of his sopping clothes, but he had to visit the pilot later. If he showed up wearing human clothes, it would definitely raise some questions. He stretched out his legs and rolled his ankles, testing to see if he had the strength to stand up yet. His muscles seemed to be working fine again so he climbed to his feet, using a nearby chair for support. He glanced out the window. The Storm was still raging.

“Since we’re going to be stuck here for a while,” Serix said, easing himself into one of the chairs. “Why don’t you tell me more about what happened before the Plague?” He realized he had resigned himself to whatever fate the higher powers had in store for him. It was too late to take back his actions, so he might as well get some answers before he disappeared. He looked up at the human, waiting for her response.

[AHeartlessNobody]

"Suit yourself." Cassie sad with a shrug and when he didn't take her offered hand, instead using one of the nearby chairs to stand up, she walked over to sit in the seat across from him, crossing her arms. She looked out the window for a moment, seeming to be in thought before moving her gaze back to him, shrugging, "If you mean before your people came here, things on earth were....peaceful I suppose. One or two wars around the world, but here in the city everything was just busy. No one really payed attention to the wars going on in other countries expect for the government. It was almost like we were in out own little world."

She sighed, "As for when your people came....Well, I can't tell you most of what was going on during that time. My parents had kept me pretty shielded from a lot that was going on. As you can assume since my father worked for the government, we were one of the first to know about the invasion when it came. And my father had made sure to get me and my mother home. in my home we had a hide away below the house. That's were my parents put me. My father tried getting my mother to go in there as well but..."

She paused, thinking about that night. Her parents had been arguing. Something about 'sticking to the plan' and that they would 'be more hesitant from the shock of seeing someone like her helping a him'. Her father yelled at her, she screamed at him, then they had gotten quiet and her father spoke softly to her. She remember the tears n her mother's violet eyes as she came into the hideaway to kiss Castiel goodbye and her father's pain filled eyes as he did the same. Then, the darkness of the hideaway, the loud sounds form the house and screams of her father and mother as gunshots rang in the air. She closed her eyes tightly at the memory, taking a deep breath, before she opened them and continued, "My mother wouldn't go in the hideaway with me. They both were killed by your kind. My uncle came and found me the next day. Your kind left not too long after the invasion and my uncle took care of me during the plague. He died when I was fourteen, and I've been on my own ever since."

She shrugged and looked back to him, "You're turn. What's it been like all this time on your end?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix listened to the human’s story, leaning his head on the chair while she spoke. So the Lunairans had come during a time of peace on the Earth. Their invasion must have come as a huge shock to the majority of the population. He tried to imagine what it would be like if they reversed positions. He closed his eyes, trying to picture his home planet from the stories his parents told him. He imagined a vast number of ships filled with humans descending on the land and spraying it with toxic fumes. There would be chaos in the streets as the Lunairans tried in vain to flee from their tormentors, only to die soon after from the Plague that had infected the land. Serix opened his eyes again.

There was only one part of the human’s story that didn’t make sense to him. She claimed that his people had killed her parents, while the higher powers always told them that they used nothing but the Plague to exterminate the Earthlings. There was no way the Lunairan authorities could get away with murdering so many humans without someone leaking the information to everyone else. So why was this human’s family the exception? He wondered if it had something to do with the mysterious disappearances of the sympathizers. Perhaps her parents had been in touch with one of them.

“You're turn,” the human said. “What's it been like all this time on your end?”

“What’s it been like for me?” Serix repeated. “Let’s see. I’ve lived on a ship all my life, so my routine every day never changed much. Eat a meal, do some physical training, study the history of my people, eat another meal, do some more training, et cetera. It was pretty boring. Well, until we came across your planet, that is.

“Everything changed. I noticed the little alterations in my daily schedule. Physical training increased and studying decreased. So did free time. It was like we were being prepared for war. Then, our leaders began to draft spies to plant among your people so we could learn about your weaknesses and attack. But after three rotations around your star, we realized we were too badly outnumbered to fight. We didn’t want to decrease our numbers while we were already dwindling on the verge of extinction.

“Then someone came up with the Plague. I don’t know who it was; that’s classified information. Our best medicinal authorities all got together to create a disease that would be potent enough to kill your people, but not quite strong enough to be fatal to us. It took two more rotations around your star before it was completed. Then, our leaders sent in ships to drop the new Plague on your planet. My father was one of them.

Of course, you humans wouldn’t go down without a fight. Your soldiers actually managed to take out two of our ships before they finished spreading their loads of the Plague. My father was on one of them. My mother was furious when she found out what your people did to her mate. She wanted to lead a platoon of fighters to kill you Earthlings with gunfire. Of course, her request was immediately shot down by the authorities.

“But she did it anyways. She stole one of the armed ships and took off by herself. I can only imagine how quickly your people shot her out of the sky,” Serix had been reciting his history in a factual, unfeeling manner, but he had to stop at the mention of his mother’s death. He would never forget the look in her eyes when she slipped away that night. It was a cruel and merciless expression. It was also his last memory of her. He pushed the image out of his mind. “I suppose we’ve both lost people we cared about to this war.”

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie listened to him speak about his own life on his ship. It seemed like a rather...boring life. Just training, studying, and eating. She didn't think should could ever live a life like that. It seemed like such a restrained way of life. And then he talked about a few of the ships having been destroyed in the spreading of the plague. She nodded at hearing that, "I remember hearing something about that on the news radio after it all went down. My uncle, he was a big military buff always kept his radio tuned into the news to hear updates of the things going on outside out hideaway. It was how we stayed safe and knew when to go out and when to stay hidden. He was really smart like that. If it weren't for the plague he probably would have survived this long and be here with me."

She sighed, leaning her head back against her seat as well, "This war....it's been so....useless. We humans weren't so bad. I mean, of course there were some exceptions, bad humans who would have tried to kill some of your kind, but....I'm sure we would have eventually allowed your kind here. We might have been able to even help each other. You know, us help your kind with mechanics and yours help us with medicines. Or something like that." She rested her elbow against the armrest of her seat and rested her cheek in her hand as well, a soft sigh escaping her once more, "But....I guess that's just my naive nature at work. Things never go so smoothly with anything you do. I just.....I guess I wish it could have ended up like that."

She looked back to him, her eyes meeting his as she spoke, "So, other than being obviously faster than us humans and more durable, what other differences are there between your kind and humans?"

[Rogue Sloth]

It interested Serix that the human thought the same way he did about the war. Maybe there were others who had more power that could have wanted peace. They could have prevented the human genocide. Instead, the warmongers had their way and annihilated their rivals to make room for the Lunairans on Earth. The part of him that respected the higher powers rebuked him for such treacherous thoughts. He was supposed to have faith in his leaders to do what was best for his people. But lately, he was beginning to think the higher powers were keeping too many secrets. How was he supposed to trust them if they weren’t giving him all the facts?

“So,” the human said. Serix could see the curiosity in her eyes. “Other than being obviously faster than us humans and more durable, what other differences are there between your kind and humans?” He had to think about that one. He knew his people had heightened physical capabilities compared to the humans, but apart from that…

“I’m not really sure,” Serix shrugged. “I don’t know much about humans. I can make a few guesses, though.” He narrowed his eyes in thought and studied the human’s face. “You don’t have luminescent eyes, so I believe we can see better than you in the dark.” He paused again. “From what you said yesterday, humans have a wider variety of physical traits in their gene pool than we do. It’s very interesting.” He tilted his head slightly, looking at her golden hair. “You also have different morals than we do. If I were in your position, I would have tried to escape or kill me a number of times by now. Your quickness to forgive is something I’ve never seen before.”

“Let’s see…” Serix paused again. “I can only think of one other thing at the moment. I’m not sure if this is a difference or not because, as I said, I’m not all that familiar with humans. If it’s not something we share then I don’t know if it will even work, but I’ll try it anyways.” He focused on the human’s face, his pupils visibly dilating until his violet irises retracted to only thin rings around them.

We can communicate directly with each other through our minds, Serix thought to her. With words and images. We can even share memories or dreams if they are vivid enough. He blinked once and his eyes returned to their normal state, “Did you hear me?”

[AHeartlessNobody]

It was a possibility that he might be able to see better than her in the dark. She could understand that with his glowing eye probably lighting up his vision, "That's interesting. We can probably test that theory in we end up in another store again." That was a half joke of course, thinking back to how they had first met, or well, when he had first kidnapped her essentially, "Humans don't have very good eyesight in the first place, so I wouldn't be surprised if yours did out do ours."

As she sat there and he looked at her hair, she shrugged and twirled one of her long golden locks around her fingers, smiling, "It makes things very interesting," She after a moment frowned slightly in thought as she sat there, "Though, honestly, it came with a lot of.....bad things as well. You see, in the past, our different traits cause a lot of hatred between humans. Especially about the shades of skin. Some people were not as pale as I am. The shades of skin differed from probably about as pale as me to having skin that was dark brown. It caused wars and caused people to get killed. Strange thing, isn't it? To be killed for your looks?"

She shook her head, "Even sometimes hair color could be demeaning. Apparently those with blond hair were considered dumb and useless. And those with red hair were considered....how could I say this...more likely to e together with the opposite sex?" That was the nice way of putting it anyway, "But that was years and years ago. By the time I was born all that had passed and things such as skin and hair color couldn't matter less."

The alien continued to try and think of more that was different between them and she leaned forward curious to see what he would say. But then he said he would try something and his eyes changed. It was a scary thing to her at first. His pupils dilated and then, suddenly, she was hearing his voice in her head. This made her jump and lean back away from him in shock, a small squeak of surprise escaping her lips. Finally he left her mind and she blinked in surprise at him, slowly nodding, her eyes still wide a little, "Y-yeah, I heard you...but...wow.....that is something humans definitely can not do. I've never heard of anyone being able to do such a thing."

She thought for a moment. Was that something her other had been able to do? Surely it had to have been. And f her mother could have done it, could she? She surely had never tried and she felt right now wasn't the time to try, especially since she had just told him humans couldn't do that and him seeing her trying to do so might raise questions. So, instead she leaned forward again, a smile on her face, really interested now to see just what other 'gifts' these aliens had, "Is that the only thing you can do or is there more?"

[Rogue Sloth]

Serix grinned mischievously at the human’s eccentric response to his ability. She hadn’t been expecting him to do that. Her moment of fright amused him. He absently noticed that the rain was still pouring outside, along with the growls of the Storm. Strange. He didn’t feel his usual sense of anxiety when he was talking with the human. She was distracting him from his surroundings. It was an odd sensation to be so separated from the rest of the world, considering how he was always aware of what was going on around him in the past. Yet it wasn’t a sensation he found disconcerting. If anything, he felt more relaxed, leaning in that cushioned chair and having a laidback conversation.

“Is that the only thing you can do,” the human asked. “Or is there more?” She was smiling too. She seemed to enjoy learning about his species and all of their capabilities. He found her zeal to be infectious, and for a moment all of his worries seemed to vanish. He was no longer in any danger in the security of the human’s ship. It was wishful thinking, but he held onto the feeling for as long as he could.

“Is that a challenge?” Serix raised a brow. “I’ve already shown you so much. What more do you want from me?” Nevertheless, he decided to share some of his other telepathic abilities. His eyes took on their dilated shape again as he accessed her mind. It wasn’t difficult, since they were sitting in such close quarters. He had spent years training to reach into the minds of Lunairans that were far enough away that he couldn’t see the whites of their eyes.

However, the feeling he received from connecting with the human’s mind was somehow different. He couldn’t quite tell what it was. There wasn’t any interference, but it felt a bit off. Well, ‘off’ wasn’t the right word either. He put the thought aside. There would be plenty of time to puzzle over it later.

I’m going to show you a couple of images first, Serix thought to her. Just to warm you up. He didn’t want to risk over stimulating her brain, so he decided to test how much outside intervention it handle. He imagined the first picture, carefully painting the details with his mind. It was a landscape portrait from one of his old books, back when he was studying the history of his home planet. The portrait was crafted to depict his planet, Lunair, before the land was poisoned. It was a beautiful picture that Serix could easily pull from his memory. Gently sloping hills dotted with colorful plants – ‘flowers,’ he corrected himself – stretched across the bottom of the portrait. A sheer, black cliff face protruded in the center of the hills, cut down the middle by a silvery waterfall that fell into a pool at its base. In the water of the little pond were distorted reflections of Lunair’s three, ringed moons.

That was my home, Serix thought to the human. Back when the land was healthy. He erased the image from his mind and focused on another one that was equally as vivid. It was the same portrait, except this time the land was barren and cracked. Unnatural, charcoal-purple plants clawed their way up from the ground, spreading their black tendrils over the gray dirt. The cliff face was crumbling at the edges and the waterfall was gone. The pool at the base had shrunk to a mere puddle of stagnant, dark green water. Its milky surface reflected nothing.

This is what my home looks like now, Serix thought. Everything died and was replaced with those toxic plants and water. I don’t know how it happened. We were never told what went wrong. He blinked and his eyes returned to normal. He wanted to give the human’s brain a break from the stimulation so he wouldn’t do any damage.

“It’s a sad sight,” Serix said aloud. “But what happened, happened. There’s nothing we can do but move forward.” He shrugged. “I only showed you those images to get a sense of your mental capacity. How are you feeling?” He leaned forward, searching her eyes for signs of glossiness or dilation.

[AHeartlessNobody]

When he grinned like that and asked her if what she had asked for was a challenge, Cassie actually laughed. Not one of her sarcastic laughs, or even one of her more quiet ones. This one was a happy laugh, something that didn’t happen very often with her since she had lost her parents and the plague had started killing, “That is definitely a challenge. Let’s see what you can do, Alien Boy.” She commented with her own grin, leaning forward as his pupils dilated again and soon he was in her mind once more.

She had to admit, it was a strange feeling to have someone in her mind like this. Not in the sense that she was feeling trespassed on in the very place no one should be, but more in the sense like the connection was supposed to be stronger, yet had yet to reach its full potential. Like the connection could go both ways, but her own mind just couldn’t reach across to his. It was something to contemplate, but not now. Now she just wanted to what exactly he could do with this ability of his.

She nodded when he stated he was going to show her some images and soon the first one was in her mind. It was very beautiful and reminded her much of Earth before the invasion. She was sure there were still some places like that here on Earth, but the paths to those places were so overgrown by now it would probably be very difficult to find them. But, maybe one day she would. If she didn’t get killed by his people first that was. But she pushed that thought away from now and they moved on to the next image.

The next image made her frown. That beautiful land he had shown her before was no more and in its place was a wasteland with toxic waters and poisonous flowers that roots spread over grey dirt, ruining the planet. It was so different from how the land used to be, and she couldn’t help but wonder what could have caused all of that to happen? How did the waters get to be that way? And where had those evil plants come from? All mysteries that, if she could guess, neither of them would ever know.

Soon the images went away and she blinked. She had a kind of fuzzy feeling in her head for split second, maybe just from the sudden disconnection of their minds, but it was quick passing and soon she was back to normal. She shrugged when he asked how she felt, “I feel fine. I don’t think t hurt me or anything. It was pretty cool actually. But…..those images you showed me….it….was very sad. How could something so amazing turn into something so…..dark?” This was a hypothetical question of course, since neither of them knew the answer to that.

She leaned back a little, looking up at him, “Did you ever get to be there? On the planet? Or were you born on the ship?”