Chapter 37:
Answers
The silence
of darkness embraced Elysia’s mind and body as she sat in her room and
meditated for several hours. She felt a calmness which was inexistent in the
rest of the world and she hoped for a peace that would last forever in the
future.
However,
she felt a soft rumble on the floor, along with a loud thud coming from the
behind. The noise broke her from her trance and forced her to awaken. She
turned to the noise to see one of Viper’s men who opened the door loud enough
to awake her.
“Elysia,
you need to come quick! It’s your dad!”
“What about
my dad?”
“He’s back
and he’s not happy! He’s tearing the place apart! Quick before he decides to
kill someone!” the soldier exclaimed.
Elysia
gasped with shock, knowing well enough what was going on. She stood up in an
instant and followed the soldier to where her father was. As they neared Dark
Viper’s location, Elysia could hear his frenzied roars and screams. The
threatening sounds sent fear to her heart but she believed that he would not
harm her as she is his daughter.
Once they
reached the room, another soldier was seen flying out of the room, screaming
and crashing to the opposite wall. The soldier accompanying Elysia ran to the
injured soldier and shouted, “Elysia, get in there and calm him down somehow! I
need to tend to this one.” She nodded and marched into the room.
Inside, the
room was in a complete mess. Much of the furniture was overturned, with claw
marks or sword slashes. Most of the said furniture was also broken. The walls
were riddled with cracks and holes and the rugs were torn to pieces. Elysia
trudged through the ruins, following the heavy, bestial breathing of her
angered father.
Eventually,
she found Dark Viper in a corner, facing the wall and grasping his head with
both hands while breathing very hard. She approached him and said, “Dad, you alright?”
She reached out for him to place a hand on his shoulder.
Upon making
contact, Viper turned and grabbed his wrist. He pulled it with a force enough to
slam her against the wall he was facing. Elysia fell supine onto the floor,
growling from the pain surging from her back. She looked up to her father, his
nose snarling and his eyes feral. Elysia attempted to recover by rising to both
her knees but a swift kick to her side forced her back to the ground.
“Dad! What’s
going on?” Elysia managed. However, only frenzied roars by her crazed father were
followed.
As she
looked up to Viper in pain, she saw him gripping his head with both his hands
while screaming out loud. He seemed to have gone mad and her heart began throbbing,
fearful of his mental state. As she tried to recover, she saw her father moving
to the opposite corner and leaning there. When she got on all four, Viper
released his grip over his head and began staring at her with his glowing green
eyes.
Suddenly,
he darted towards her and before she could react, he gave a swift punt kick to
her forehead, forcing her down onto the ground. Excruciating pain began to
sting on her head and her eyes could barely open from the coming
unconsciousness. Her sights blurred while a ringing sound was heard. She shook
her head to brush the pain aside and once again, she tried to recover. This
time, Dark Viper was facing the wall and roaring without relent, no longer
focusing on Elysia.
Fighting
against the ringing and the pain, she took advantage of the situation. She
leaped towards him and wrapped her arms around him, pinning his arms down. She
laid her head onto his shoulder while he struggled against her, screaming with
ferocity. She whispered to his ears, “Dad! Calm down! It’s me, Elysia. Your
daughter.”
His struggles
weakened as Elysia continued to embrace him. Her soft words and the warm touch
of her arms and head eventually calmed him down. With all the anger filtered
from him, he dropped to his knees. Despite that, Elysia did not let go of him,
keeping her father around her arms while rubbing her cheeks on his shoulder.
“Elysia…I’m
sorry.” Dark Viper managed.
“Don’t be
dad…You’re angry and I understand.”
* *
*
Rex placed
a metallic palm onto the torso of the unconscious Lucas. Jaden watched from her
seat as his palm glowed with a faint blue light, implying that he was casting a
Light spell. Out of the blue, a soothing feeling began to emerge from within
her and she could help but feel calm. Reed and Markus simply watched as the
brightness of the spell intensifying while Jaden heaved a heavy sigh.
Eventually, Rex ceased the casting.
“I have
reduced the strength of the Sibling Bond. The bond should no longer cause harm
to one should the other be hurt.” Rex explained.
“Maybe we
ought to test that. I smack Jaden’s butt and see if Lucas awakes.” Reed
suggested. Markus then punched his shoulder in retaliation. “What? It was a
suggestion. No need to get touchy.”
“It wouldn’t
work anyway as Lucas is still unconscious. I suggest waiting for him to wake up
before doing anything.” Rex added.
“Well, I
guess I should thank you Rex. But, would you mind explaining to me what a
Sibling Bond is?” Jaden asked. Markus then added, “Yeah and explain why am I
left out.”
“A Sibling
Bond, as coined by human scientists, is a magical psychic bond that forms between
two possessors of Magical Energies who have been in close contact with one
another. It forms due to the Magical Energies of both individuals reacting to
one another’s presence. It can be considered a side effect of having Magical
Energies. The bond is far more likely to form between siblings due to similar
genes and even more so when both siblings are of opposite gender.” Rex
answered.
“What can
the bond do exactly?” Reed asked.
“The bond
connects the minds of both affected individuals. It allows them to read the
thoughts of one another and, on extreme cases, feel the pain that the other
feels. It may also cause the emotions of one to affect the other, thus if one
gets angry, the other may also get angry without reason.”
“But, I
never read Lucas’s thoughts before, although there are times when he said that
he heard my thoughts.” Jaden explained.
“It is
possible that the bond may only work one way. This is especially likely if one
of the affected individuals is artificial.” Rex answered.
“Artificial?
But I am not artificial!” Jaden reacted.
“Is it
because she’s a half-siren?” Markus asked.
“Sirens are
just as susceptible to Sibling Bonds as humans do, as long as they have Magical
Energies. Perhaps for your case, you’re just fortunate that only Lucas can feel
what you feel and hear what you think.” Rex replied. “Sibling Bonds gets
stronger whenever both individuals have emotional encounters with one another,
be it positive or negative. If you two embrace or fight with each other often,
the bond will get stronger. However, the bond weakens once both individuals are
at a great distance from one another.”
“Well,
Lucas and I do talk a lot to one another, even more so than with Markus, who
was a pretty lonely kid back then.” Jaden said.
“That still
doesn’t explain why I am not affected by the Sibling Bond.” Markus retorted.
“You know,
I’m beginning to think that it is because Lucas and I used to sleep side by
side a lot when we were kids.” Jaden said. “After all, we have only a few beds
at that time and you insist on sleeping alone so I had to sleep with Lucas.”
“That
sounds wrong somehow.” Reed commented.
“Reed, keep
your dirty thoughts to yourself.” Jaden reacted. “Anyway, I’m guessing all that
close contact may have helped form the Sibling Bond.”
“That is
very possible.” Rex said.
“So, me not
having the bond is a good thing right?” Markus asked.
“Indeed.
The bond, though useful, is also very difficult to live with.” Rex explained. “And
the bond is very difficult to sever. I only managed to weaken it.”
“Why is it
difficult?” Jaden queried.
“It is
because the bond involves two minds. I would have to overpower both minds to
break it. An easier way would be for one of you two to die. That’s another way
to break the bond. Also, the danger of a severed bond is there.” Rex explained.
When asked, he added, “When a Sibling Bond is broken, at least one of the affected
will die from brain hemorrhage. If the bond was broken because one of the
affected died, the other will be changed forever.”
“How so?”
Jaden asked.
“Because
the bond takes a long time to fully form and be detected, the minds of both
individuals will grow to rely on the bond. When severed, the surviving individual
will suffer from withdrawal and there are a large number of recorded withdrawal
symptoms, most of which are permanent. To list a few: Depression, double
personalities, antisocialism, personality change and a lot more. In the worse
case, the surviving individual also dies from brain hemorrhage.”
“That
sounds so morbid. I might as well try to live with this bond rather than try to
break it.” Jaden commented. “You better feel lucky Markus. You don’t have to
worry about having to go through all that.”
“I guess
there are bright sides to being antisocial as a kid.” Markus replied.
“You seem
to know a lot about Sibling Bonds.” Jaden said.
“Being an
affected individual myself, of course.” Rex answered.
“What? You
suffered from a Sibling Bond before?” Reed asked.
“Lisa used
to lay me next to her whenever she sleeps. Once I received emotions and Magical
Energies, the bond eventually forms between me and her.”
“But you’re
a robot. You don’t have a mind like we do.” Markus retorted.
“I know. I’m
artificial so I am not affected at all. On the other hand, she can only sense
my emotions. Because of that, she knows how I feel. When she dies, I was not
affected by the withdrawal symptoms. It can be said that I am fortunate.”
“Well,
thanks for sharing all that with us. It is a shame that both our kinds can no
longer coexist with one another.” Jaden said.
“It is for
the best Jaden Highland. For now, I will take my leave. I wish you all luck in
the coming war.” Rex said before giving a bow. To return the respect, Jaden bowed
back, although it hurt her injured ribs. Reed and Markus then moved aside to
let the VX Synthetic walk out of the ship.
“Hah! I
wish Lucas is awake to see all that. He would probably be more trustful of the
VX Synthetics when he meets Rex.” Markus commented.
“I’ll say.
I’d rather kick Vader out and invite Rex back in rather than tolerate that
piece of junk.” Reed retorted.
“My receivers
caught that output Reed Robinson.” Jaden heard Vader’s voice from the distance.
“I know!
Nothing I said is private now is it?” Reed replied.
Suddenly,
Jaden heard footsteps running towards the med bay she was in. Xiara then bursts
into the room while asking, “Rex! Jaden, where’s Rex?”
“He’s
leaving the ship.”
“Oh shit
no!” Xiara exclaimed. She left the room and made a beeline for the loading ramp
while shouting, “Rex! Wait up! I have something important to ask you!” Curious,
Jaden stood up and followed her while holding onto her injured stomach. Markus,
worried about Jaden, asked her to sit down but she refused.
After
limping her way to the loading ramp, Jaden saw Xiara talking with Rex on Asimo’s
soil. Xiara’s spear was unsheathed.
“That’s a
VX Synthetic spear. Where did you get that?” Rex asked.
“Rex, this
spear was given to me by one of your people. He gave up this spear so that I
could defend myself against my captors. For the past few years, I’ve wanted to
return it to him but I can’t seem to be able to find him. Maybe you could.”
Xiara explained.
“Wait, captors?
You were rescued by one of us?”
“Yes.”
“When did
this happen?”
“More than fourteen
years ago. I didn’t even know how to fight back then.”
“I see. You
spoke of VX-101.”
“VX-101?
Where is he?”
“He…is no
more.”
“What do
you mean?”
“About fourteen
years ago, VX-101 returned after a scouting mission, battered, littered with
holes and barely able to move. We tried to repair him but his critical systems
were too badly damaged and he eventually just shut down. His logs mentioned
that he saved a young alien from slavers. I’m guessing you’re the alien he
mentioned.”
“What? You
couldn’t just build him again from scratch?”
“Even if we
could, his memory core is too badly damaged to be of any use. We can rebuild
him but he would just be a new VX Synthetic, not the same VX-101 we knew. We
agreed to just put him to rest. He’s one of the oldest VX Synthetics alive.”
“Oh. I…see.”
“You care
for VX-101?”
“He saved
my life. Heck, he also changed my life forever. I owe him.”
“And you
kept his spear all this time?”
“It is the
first weapon I ever used and the weapon that saved me. But, it doesn’t belong
to me. I want to return it.”
“Keep it.
VX-101 would probably want you to keep it anyway. It belongs to you now.” Rex
said, placing a hand on Xiara’s shoulder in an attempt to console her.
After a
heavy sigh, Xiara replied, “Alright. I’ve been using this weapon for justice
and I have no reason to stop now.”
“So you’ve
been trying to get into our settlement to find VX-101, not just because your king
tells you to.”
“Yeah. I
really wanted to see him again. I thought that a robot would live forever so I
guess he’s still around. I never realized my captors managed to damage him
severely.”
“If it is
any consolation, he was able to wipe out your captors. He killed them all
before he shutdown.”
“Thanks.
That’s good to know. It’s been a pleasure Rex.”
“It has.”
Rex said before turning and making his way back to the VX Synthetic settlement.
Xiara merely stood and watch as he leaves before gripping the hilt of her
spear. A smile formed as Jaden watch the friendly exchange between Xiara and
Rex. It would seem that Rex finally understood Xiara’s intentions.
* *
*
“Hey Jaden,
would you mind if I join your crew? My ship was confiscated and dissected by
the robots during my time here so my only way out is by joining you.” Xiara
asked Jaden who was laying on her cabin bed.
“Sure. We
would welcome an alien amongst us.”
“Thanks. It
would be great if you could take me back to Marsara, my home planet.”
“Yeah we
could go there. Besides, I’ve been meaning to talk with your king and see how
your people are doing with the preparations.”
“That’s
great. Well, I guess I’ll walk around and inspect the ship while waiting for
you to recover.”
“Xiara
wait.” Jaden exclaimed, halting Xiara in her tracks. “I’m sorry but I
eavesdropped your conversation with Rex. You mentioned something about freeing
yourselves from your captors. Mind if I know about it?”
Xiara
remained silent before replying, “Normally, I don’t like to talk about it but
you’ve been friendly to me so I guess I will.” She approached a nearby chair
and sat next to Jaden.
“When I was
seven, my family was killed by human slavers while we were exploring space. The
leader kept me as a personal slave and I’ve been one for ten years. He also
used me as a…well…an alternative to mating with his human wife. But, when I was
thirteen, VX-101 assaulted the ship and freed me from the slavers. He gave me
his spear while he held off waves of those slavers. I fought my way out and
escaped using one of the freighter’s escape pod. Along the way, I fought with
the slave leader and killed him.”
“That’s
terrible!” Jaden expressed in horror.
“I heard
stories of how VX Synthetics are very tough and effective soldiers so I expect
him to survive that. Wishful thinking on my part I guess. Anyway, my escape pod
landed on Marsara and I was found my Femme Fatale soldiers. From that
experience, I realized the threat these slavers and other criminals pose to
innocents so I joined the military and, well, you know what happens from there.”
“How did
you live through six years as a slave? It must be horrific.”
“Horrific
can be considered an understatement. The slavers treat me like crap and the
only friends I ever made were other slaves. Even then, we compete to gain our
slaver’s favor so that we will not be beaten for the day. And, let’s just say
that I never won such competitions. Regardless, the slaver leader seems to like
keeping me around. I contemplated suicide several times but I decided that I was
too young to die. As shitty as my life was back then, I was fortunate to be
alive.”
“I
understand. My life, though not as bad as yours, isn’t any fancier. I sometimes
wondered why I should continue living and now realize how stupid I was to even
think of suicide. Considering what I’ve achieved now, I’m glad I never killed
myself.” Jaden replied.
“Indeed.
One of the slaves told me that life is too precious to lose, even if life is
horrible. She was one of the reasons why I never committed suicide when I
tried.” Xiara added.
“Well,
thanks for sharing Xiara. And, I’m glad to have you with us. A vengeful Femme
Fatale commando would tear through any enemies we encounter.” Jaden commented.
“Vengeful
eh? I like that. Don’t expect me to be brooding a lot simply because I had a
shitty life. I can still smile.”
“I can see
that.”
“Now you
better get some rest Ms. Highland. You’ll need to get back on your feet if you
want to speak with my king.”
“I know.
And Xiara, if you want to get to know the crew, I suggest you be careful around
Reed. He’s a bit of a…”
“A lecher.
I know. The slaver leader was one so I can tell.” Xiara interrupted. “Don’t
worry. If he tries something, I’ll remind him of my spear.”
* *
*
“Ah, Jaden
and Lucas. Finally back on your feet?” Reed asked as Jaden entered the cockpit
with Lucas.
“How are
your injuries Jaden Highland? Do they still hurt?” Vader asked.
“I’m
alright now Vader. I still feel pain but I can stand.” Jaden replied.
“I’m
alright too. Thanks for asking.” Lucas retorted.
“Hey, the
pain you felt was from your Sibling Bond, not from Vader’s rifle. Your body
barely had a scratch.” Reed replied.
“I still
fell unconscious.” Lucas reacted.
“Which
reminds me. How the hell are you still standing after all the punishment you’ve
been receiving throughout the times we travelled? I reckon I’d be dead by now
should I be in your shoes.”
Lucas
tapped Jaden’s shoulder and added, “He’s right. I mean, you and I felt the same
pain but you’re still awake while I fell unconscious. It’s either I’m weak or
you’re just very durable.”
“I think
you’re just weak.” Reed jested.
“I never
asked you.” Lucas retorted.
“According
to my scanners, Jaden Highland’s pain threshold is unusually high. She can
endure pain that would otherwise terminate an average female human.” Vader
commented.
“See? Even
Mr. Know-It-All seems surprised by your durability.” Reed said.
“Well…I
have a reason but now’s not really the time to talk about this. Right now, we
need to go to the alien home planet of Marsara.” Jaden replied.
“Oh? Any
reason why?” Reed queried.
“Xiara
wants to return back home and I thought that perhaps we should stop by and see
how King Zian and his people are doing.”
“What? That
hot alien lady wants to go back so soon?” Reed retorted.
“Trust me
Reed. You don’t want to say anything dirty around her. Xiara hates lechers. She’s
killed dozens of them in fact.”
“Oh?
Alright. As you say Jaden. At least she’s not the only good looking woman on
this ship.”
“Anyway,
this would be a good opportunity to meet with King Zian. He might even be able
to help us with supplies, upgrades and the likes.” Jaden explained.
“Well, when
you put it that way, we should head there now.” Lucas added. “Dark Viper has
been hounding us a lot and we need to be better prepared for him.”
“Indeed.
So, can you take us there Reed?” Jaden asked. “Besides, being the best pilot in
the world, I’m sure you can take us there in under one minute.” she added with
a smirk on her face.
“Best pilot
huh? If it impresses you my lady, I will take us there in no time. Time for a
huge hyperdrive jump!”
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