Mars Mission

-He speaks. His eyes clear, and sharpen into focus, a weary focus, but a focus nonetheless. Zyria sits up, listening to him, but by the end, wishes she hadn't. Listened, that is.-

-Leaving his Neiede, his people, for her. Of course, Zyria had thought about it, when she would daydream, not thinking about the consequences. But this....this was real life. This time, there WOULD be consequences, others would be hurt.-

-As Caz sits up, painfully, Zyria leans forward and gently helps him. She can see that he's still in pain, so Zyria makes a choice, then and there. I'll let him think about it, he's dealt with enough today already. I'll just enjoy it while I can. It's not like we'll be leaving anytime soon. I'll just let him stew on the idea, and just go through it like a dream. There will be no consequences while we're here on Mars, on this mission.-

-She makes the choice, and somehow manages to go through with it. All she thinks is, He loves me, he's staying with me, he's mine forever now, And her heart leaps at the thoughts. When Caz is sitting up fully, she looks into those eyes again, those eyes that are now completely focused.-

-On her.-

-Mine. Forever.-

-Zyria melts into Caz's embrace, completely content with staying there.-

-But there is work to be done. Zyria looks up to Caz.- "I love you, too, Caz, so much. I know you're in pain, so we will talk later."

"But first...Caz, you don't have a foot. We need to find something to compensate for your loss, and soon. The more time you have to practice walking with it, the better. Let's go find an area with scraps, maybe I can put something together." -Zyria reluctantly pulls away from him, and stands, holding out her hand to him.- "If I help, do you think you could move away from here, or would you rather rest?"

Robless could do nothing but hold him down as Caz suffered from the pain. It was the most he could do, but he still felt as helpless as Zyria did when Caz had screamed. Hang in there, buddy... He couldn't get his mouth to form the words properly. There had been worse combat wounds and amputations that he'd seen, but seeing it happen to a friend was another thing. Robless felt like puking, not for the amount of blood and the amputation, but for his sheer inability to help Caz further.

When his suit read that it was now powered again, Robless tried to use any of its systems to heal Caz. Come on, come on, there has to be something it can do... But there was nothing more he could do for his poor friend. Recovery was the only option, unless... Archelaus. Being an Alteriian, another high-energy race, Archelaus would be able to do something. Robless sprinted off to find him; he couldn't have gone too far, and the screams probably would've caught Archelaus' ears first if it was heard by anyone else besides Robless or Zyria.

He hesitates slightly, painfully attempting to move the remaining part of his leg. It moves awkwardly, a very strange feeling for Caz. He looks up at Zyria. "I... I'm not sure. I don't know." After a moment, he has an idea. Animals walk on four legs, but it's much easier to adapt to only three for an animal than for a humanoid. "Zyria, I'm going to go back to wolf form. It might... be easier." He closes his eyes and his body shifts, not reverting completely back to energy but only reshaping. He reforms onto his paws, but he stumbles and has to crouch back down. He looks up at Zyria again, saying, "I think I can make it, if I lean against something on the way." He tries to mask the pain in his voice, for her sake.

-Zyria nods as Caz changes into a wolf. As she watches him stumble, hearing the masked pain in his voice, she swallows hard. When she speaks, her voice is thick with tears hidden behind her eyes.-

"H-here, lean against me, I'll walk slowly."

-Slowly, they make it to a pile of scraps nearby, and Caz collapses before Zyria can catch him, the short trek sapping a lot of strength. Somehow, Caz manages to change back to a human, before he seems completely out of it.-

"It's all right now, Caz, you rest. I can make this on my own, as long as you stay in human form."

-Zyria kneels down, caressing his cheek until his eyes close. When he finally relaxes in a half sleep, she kissed his forehead, and stands.-

-Looking through the scraps, Zyria begins sifting through them, looking for pieces that seem promising. Some time later, she finally has a good pile of things, and begins comparing lengths to Caz's other calf. After finding a good piece, Zyria then starts comparing pieces to the foot, and continues in this manner. Zyria was a builder of DNA, not machines, and worked in the same pattern, piece after piece.-

-Eventually, there is a sloppy, but working, prosthetic in front of Zyria. She pulls out her sword, which she had cleaned and put away after the amputation, and takes out a small amount of the liquid, and places it in the area that the calf would attach to Caz's leg. If her idea works, the liquid should run through the entire prosthetic, connect with Caz's leg, and allow him full control of it.-

-Sighing, Zyria sits back, finished. The back of her mind reminds her of his other forms. What will he do when he's a wolf? But Zyria convinces herself; Four-legged animals adapt a lot easier than humans do. So, she takes the robotic leg, and slowly brings it to Caz's stump, but before attaching it, she reaches up to his face, gently waking him.-

"I'm sorry, Caz, but I don't want to do this without you awake. I've finished, and I'm going to try to put it on your leg."

((GAH! Obviously, you don't know how it works. Caz is an energy being, yes, but Zyria was not amputating ENERGY, she was amputating a physical LEG. Yes, Caz was extremely disoriented. BUT THE PART THAT ALSO COUNTS, is that it even takes up (as in gets rid of, uses permanently) some of his energy to change BACK to true form. He was already at significantly reduced strength, so his original attempts at trying to fix it himself used him the last bit. He COULDN'T use any more without disappearing, dying, so he couldn't go back to original form. Got it? Edit please.))

(It seems like... something has happened, like I'm missing something. What's going on?)

(Yeah sorry about that. Personal problems, you know. It's resolved now.)

Robless tried to catch Dreston on communication, speech-to-text recognition active. "Dreston, we have a serious problem. Caz is badly injured, had to amputate a leg, and we might need your help for a prosthetic." He looked down at Caz, his barely conscious form struggling to remain strong for Zyria. We'll get you out of this...

Cassus Drugari walked around the huge chamber, examining contraptions and going through scrap parts. His arm had healed from the fight thanks to Caz, and Cassus was thinking about going to thank him for it when something caught his eye. A certain metal glinted off one of the objects in a scrap pile. It was not unlike the metal on his own Khvir blade, gifted to the legendary Immortals within his own race. The Stalkers were fully human, but only a few really know why they're called that. Near inhuman reflexes, unparalleled dexterity and precision in combat, and an invulnerability to aging past adulthood. Cassus wasn't sure if he and his commander were the last two alive, but Immortals were quite exclusive. Training was given by the Immortal masters, countless of which died when the 10th dimension was destroyed. Cassus might be the only master alive, as it didn't seem that Robless had achieved mastery yet.

Sure enough, it was another Khvir blade. Cassus nearly passed out upon discovering it. Khiv was an extremely rare metal, a type of living metal that held onto part of the life force of the craftsmen who used it. It was found only in miniscule quantities, and the last supply ship carrying it mysteriously disappeared and with it, the knowledge of the metal's whereabouts also vanished. Maybe it had crashed somewhere in Mars the two thousand years ago it went missing, and Dreston had dug it up sometime in his ancient life, unsure what to do with it. No matter, the blade's master was surely dead by now if he hadn't found it earlier. Cassus thought it might make a good gift for his sister if they ever made it out of this mess. Forgetting about going to thank Caz, Cassus tried searching the rest of the scraps for any remnants of the long-forgotten metal.

<Arch is sitting this whole thing out, so when we're ready to move on to the next chapter someone send me a message on facebook.>

(We'll probably go to Olympus Mons as quickly as possible, after Dreston gets us a safe place to rest and sleep for the night. I doubt we'll spend much time there except for a plot event I have planned for just my two characters. It should only take one post to sort this event out once we find a place to rest, and then we'll move on. I'll keep you posted on it.)

(Um, okay. So what exactly is Dreston supposed to be doing? It seemed like Zyria did a prosthetic leg for him, so if that's already covered then Dreston just needs to come back and freak out because an accident happened in the like, five seconds he was away... right...?)

[Well, Robless was directing towards you messing with the prosthetic, and putting it on. hmmmmmmmm, maybe you could do something with the blue liquid, like, recognize it, know something about it. No one but Zyria has some/knows of it, if you've read her bio. Could go somewhere with that, later. Just a random idea I just had now, though.]

A series of slow claps sounded from behind the group, before a familiar voice teased, "Awwww... did the puppy get a boo-boo? GWAHAHAHA! How sickeningly ADORABLE." And at this Varex fully materialized into the area.

"SPEAKING of puppies...... I have come to.... make a proposition. You see.... I have this new toy.... but no way to power it! So sad.... BUT.... BUT eh, I hear your Kazesqui friend is... a being of pure energy? I would love it oh so very much if you'd allow me to..... study..... him... for a short while."

Realizing how, after their previous encounter what they'd say, Verax instantly blurted, "Ah! Don't worry! I won't even hurt your bestial excuse for life! So how bout it? Willing to lend a dear friend a hand?" He smiled menacingly.

Dreston appeared, worry written all over his mechanical face. And then he stood still in shock.

An intruder.

No, no, no, no, no.

Dreston knew he never should have let the organics in. More had shown up. And this one didn't look so friendly. I should've known! Organics are always trouble... And then this accident, too. He noticed the limping wolf, missing one of its legs, and counted the others. No, that one had to be the strange one. He had picked up really weird readings from him in his original scans, and suspected what this new one said was true.

Silently, throughout the underground compound, security drones and turrents whirred to life at Dreston's command. All of the ones in the vicinity aimed at this newcomer, but Dreston appeared to do nothing, waiting to see how the other organics would react.

[Okay, gonna work with this. Caz has woken up, and when he sees Verax (since he can't move as a human), he turns into a wolf, trying to stand/protect Zyria]
-Zyria whirls around. Verax. Here. In what she had thought was the safest place they could be. He looks as crazy as ever, but this time, it's not his look that gets to her,

it's what he's saying.

Caz? No. NO. There is no way he is getting near Caz, not when he's in this state. I won't let him. Zyria stands, her hands clenched into fists, her teeth grinding in anger. Slowly, she exhales, trying to at least seem under control. Holding the image is hard, though, so Zyria only manages a few words. But a few are all she needs.-

"No. You canNOT study him."

Varex noted the noise, one of his favorites, the whirring of machinery. Until he realized what it was. Annoyed, he surveyed the turrets and drones. "If you choose to fight, there will be no aid." And with a wave of his hand, lightning arced from his arm to the first drone, which then arced to another, and another, and another, until every one of them was fried. He slashed his clawed armored hand through the air, and streams of fire shot out at the turrets, exploding on impact. Verax shook his head smiling.
"Nononooooo.... Destron if you want to harm me, you'll have to do much better than that pathetic display. BUT, give me Caz and I won't have to kill anyone or anything more." He laughed. "Is that so much to ask for?" Upon hear Zyria's response, he shook his head. "Ah... so you must be lady Zyria..... you're a lot fatter than I imagined. And why not? I promised I wouldn't hurt the little thing! Honestly! Is a few hours.... days.... with Caz SO bad? EhwhahahaHAHAA!"

Dreston gritted his teeth. Now he remembered. Now he remembered this man. Verax. And he remembered the pain, the loss, the death... the death of the only organic who had ever mattered to Dreston. This Verax... this Verax had destroyed Dreston's only reason to exist. He needed to pay for what he'd done. Now was the time, he suspected. And he knew the other organics would be an asset.
He directed a message at their comm devices.

>I won't let him take your friend. But I'll need your help. I'll need you to keep him busy.

-Zyria's eyes bore into Verax's, but then notes the light on her messaging, and manages a glance at it. Oh, that's fine. I don't need to be asked to keep this ass busy. Zyria pulls out her knife, and it extends into her sword. The poor blade is a little damaged, but with Zyria holding it near the other portion of the blue liquid causes it to glow, strengthening itself.-

"As I said, you're not taking him."

Verax shook his head. "I never asked for your permission Zyria. Now, stand aside, or I WILL be forced to use force. Heh, that sounded stupid. But oh well." He laughed. "Fight or surrender, the result will be the same. I will learn how to create power, I will fully charge the Voyager, and then I will toss back Caz to you pathetic order-bound maggots. Whether he comes back to see you alive or a gory pile of blood and bones is your choice." But then he took a fighting stance. "Although.... beating you into the ground may compensate for the embarrassing scene yesterday. So... I think I'll fight anyhow. C'mon... make the first move."

Caz staggers to his feet, moving in front of Zyria, growling fiercely. "Get out of here! You're not going to hurt her. I swear on my life. You'll have to kill me first. Then you wouldn't be able to use me, or my energy. But you will not hurt her."

((Ooh, people: can Caz be taken? I want to play this out. Dreston can still do whatever you have planned for him, but I want it to be just SLIGHTLY too late. Pleeeeaaaassssse?))

[Aw, well, he'll have to be taken, or, I don't know. This'll crush Zyria, but okaay]

-Zyria looks at Caz.-

"No! Caz, you can't go with him! We can't trust his word!" He'll probably just kill him when he's done....no. No. No.

Verax laughed. "Oh really? Then maybe I should take your girlfriend instead if you're honestly about to put your life on the line. She'd be quite a bargaining chip.... the leader of the Plutonians.... imagine the ransom on that, Caz." He laughed again. "Also I must warn you, in the one day we've spent apart, I've trained for two weeks in the 6th NegaDimension. I've unlocked so many fantastic abilities, that... well.... why spoil it now? Anywho... I have nothing to fear from any of you. So.... what'll be?"

Caz looks back, growling this time at Zyria. "I will not let him hurt you! All of this has been for you, and I'm not letting it all have been for nothing. Alright?! If this is what it takes, I'm going with him." He turns back to Verax, bowing his head and stumbling slightly, trying to stay on his feet. "I'll come with you. Just... don't hurt them. I'll do what you want." He steps forward, tripping a little but continuing anyways. "I'll go."

-Zyria continues to look at Caz. She doesn't say anything.

CAN'T say anything.

When he takes a step to Verax, tripping a little, Zyria cries out.-

"Caz!!"

-Zyria rushes to him, needing his arms for one last moment. Then she kisses him. A long, lingering kiss.

When she kisses him, her tears spill over, a tears for the past, the future, and the present. A mix of grief, hopelessness, and just plain.....unhappiness.-

Verax laughed again. "Of course you'll go with me! That was never a choice! I was giving you all a choice between you coming with me and coming back with all your friends alive or not.... and hey! Wheres Archy? I wanted to rub THIS in that overgrown head of his. But I'll take what I can..... nah.... this is so BORING! But.... meh... no... thats an awful idea!" He began shifting away from the conversation, and was talking to someone only he could hear. "What... no! I didn't even think taking Caz was a good idea! But you've never misled me before....." He paused... listening to the mysterious unheard voice. "NO! I will not kill Zyria! I refuse to kill any of them now! I've spent so long.... I planned this so perfectly.... but I've listened to you. You told me they were on mars... and they WERE on mars... you told me how to find the Voyager, and there it was, but NO! This will not further my goals!!!" He paused again, then a scream of agony tore from his lips and he started flailing around, massive tendrils of power dancing on and around him.