The way to a certain clinic she knew all too well.
Frank looks around, the tall cliff walls and the mountains of rocks, majestic in a way, but also melancholic.
The untouched nature of Amethyst’s home—ruined so devastatingly.
They’ve dug up so much ground and all those massive piles of ore...
Are they really leaving all of this behind?
They could have asked us to let them transport them off first…
Did they really have to leave in such a hurry, sure, ISSA works fast but…
Does Intergalactic Resources know something we don’t?
Frank stops pondering things he can’t possibly solve without more information, massages his sore shoulders, and drops his gaze, fixing it at Amethyst.
“Where exactly are we going?”
His question seems to have echoed on deaf ears.
What if Grent’s dead?
What if he burned down along with the place…
Sure, there are some things near the door that weren’t there before but…
…
The Voice…
I’m sure he’s still alive, so I can keep my promise…
“Amethyst?”
Frank’s voice interrupts her intense staring. She had stopped in front of a pile of partially burned things, sofas, carpets, and scorched machinery. They lay in a disorganized clump.
“What is this place?”
“I think he called it a clinic?”
He? A clinic?
Frank looks up and down the massive circular steel plate with a tiny door and a triangular hole in the bottom middle section, finding it hard to believe this would pass as a clinic anywhere.
Amethyst leads the way by stepping in through the hole without prior warning, Pineapple immediately follows her.
As they disappear through, Frank hurries to catch up to them.
He steps in through the peculiar hole, its edges messy with a hardened metal drip, like frozen raindrops hanging from the top and pools of metal around it on both sides.
This is definitely her handiwork.
Further in the compound, Amethyst spots Grent walking through the open door on the left, carrying a computer.
The carpet is gone from in front of the door, and cement is revealed in multiple spots on the floor with scorched holes.
Lots of burned furniture around the place still, a thick smell of smoke layered with moisture in the air.
He sets his load down and wipes sweat from his forehead.
Without looking around he picks up a tablet device from near the packed up boxes.
“I see you’re still alive Grent.”
The unaware scientist flinches and turns around hastily.
“W-what!? Amethyst y-you're back!?” Grent utters with a horrified face.
“How? Why? They say you boarded the ship and-”
Amethyst interrupts his confused ramblings.
“I made a promise to see you were okay, I fulfilled it, see you later.”
She turns to leave.
“Wait! Who did you promise that to?”
“Your wife,” She answers with her back turned.
“My… Wife? What? How?”
She turns her head to look at Grent with a sideways glance.
“Your wife’s voice in my head.”
Frank looks at Amethyst and then back at Grent in disbelief.
Grent places the tablet down and runs up to Amethyst.
“Can it be, Amande, are you really there?” Grent tries to grab Amethyst's arm but stops himself abruptly coming to his senses about the safety of the idea.
Amethyst turns around to face Grent again.
“She’s not in my head anymore, she… Amande sacrificed herself to let me live.”
“Oh… did she… say anything?”
Her sad hybrid eyes turn into a stern focused stare as she continues:
“She... chided you for being so out of control without her to rein you in.”
Among other things...
“Ohh my Amande, she really was back!” He steps back from Amethyst and celebrates.
“This- This changes everything! I can resurrect her!”
Grent’s following laughter is of excitement and relief, with maniacal undertones. However, it is short-lived as Frank steps forward to Amethyst’s side.
“What in the Goddess' unknown name is going on?” Frank steps forward to the side of the Tyrchid, narrowing his eyes, and instinctively clenching his fists.
“What did you do to Amethyst, how could your wife have been in her head!?”
“I… well... Who are you?”
“Don’t change the subject, just tell me.”
“I umm… shot her with the... ehh... mind ray…” He mutters under his breath but Frank still hears him.
“And what does this ray do exactly?”
“Uhh, it temporarily imprints the mold of my late wife’s consciousness, stripped of anything but basic human knowledge, speech, walking, some words, and the like. As long as the two consciousnesses exist in conflict, only the subconscious is there to receive orders, making the subject gullible and obedient, so they can be used to follow basic orders.”
Grent nervously explains, wary of the two figures before him, suspected to not be too pleased with him at the moment.
“And as soon as the original mind reigns supreme and regains equilibrium, the effects end. Completely harmless and temporary! Or so I thought anyway, how could have Amande been back like that? It shouldn’t be possible for the mind imprint to have retained any actual memories...”
“So… regardless, your ray somehow made Amethyst sapient?”
“Well… yeah, the blank mind inserted is always eventually overwhelmed and destroyed, as the actual will, personality, and memories of the subject win in the end…
Although, there were a few rare cases where it seemed to be absorbed to the original human mind.”
“But… Amethyst isn’t human, is that it?”
“Yeah... I did not anticipate this result, even if it seems obvious in hindsight,” Grent sheepishly shrugs accompanied by an awkward smile.
After all, the ray was originally made for a different purpose, which it was deemed a failure in, once its potential to control others was realized...
So what if we- I, try out some other things and collect data?
Is that really so bad?
“Without the goodwill of your wife, Amethyst would have died, is that right?” Frank pushes the envelope of blame further on the scientist.
“Let’s not start declaring any absolutes-”
Grent attempts to stave off the anger of, what he thinks to be, a man unreasonably mad at him.
“So you aren’t even going to deny it?”
“All’s well that ends well?”
“You… you still made me kill Mother…”
Amethyst’s comment brings about a dead silence, ending the men’s arguing.
Frank’s demeanor radiates the intent of being ready to do something irreversible to Grent's being.
“Let’s not get hung up in the details-” Grent holds his hands open in front of him in a calming manner. What bothers him the most is that he doesn't know which one to really watch out for, the vocally angry man or the dangerous silence of the empty floor-bound stare of Amethyst.
“What! Are you for real!?” Frank explodes, but rebuilds his wits before continuing, though letting his disgust shine through in his voice:
“How could you do something like that!?”
“I- “ Grent looks away from them both for a moment and sighs.
There was no weaseling his way out of this one.
“I’m sorry Amethyst, you see...”
He struggles to come up with the words and hesitates, a look of regret and sadness reflected in his eyes.
The scientist and the Tyrchid stare each other straight in the eyes.
“Your Mother killed my wife.”
Her serious neutral expression doesn’t budge, showing no sympathy, no rage.
“So it was revenge…” Frank says disappointed, grasping the bigger picture.
“I guess you can call it that,” Grent answers abashed.
Amethyst stays silent, but her brow no longer remains neutral.
Appealing to her worsening state of mind, Grent makes his case.
“I was hurting and... in a bad place…
Losing Amande hurts so much… I’m still not over her...
I know it’s no excuse, but now I have hope... you’ve brought it to me Amethyst.
Maybe I can get her back, it’s all different now.”
“But Amethyst will never be able to get her mother back,” Frank says.
“That is regrettable of course… I am truly sorry about all that happened, Amethyst.”
“Are you really okay with all this?” Frank asks in response to her silence.
“I promised Amande I wouldn't hate you.” Amethyst looks away, her mouth contorting.
“Nor would I... kill you...” Her hands and blades tremble.
“I’d make sure... you’re safe.”
Her eyes grow misty as they drift around the room, she notices Frank looking at her.
She meets his look.
It feels... comforting like he knows the turmoil inside of her, knowing exactly how she feels, his eyes filled with empathy bore straight into her.
“Thank you, Amethyst…” Grent says sincerely.
“I know it’s not a good time… but can I ask something more of you?”
“What... is it?” Amethyst asks without breaking her gaze with Frank, her demeanor growing softer the longer they keep it up. A gentle smile rises on Frank’s face.
“You uhh… shooed everyone else off planet… I can stay here, right?
I’ve got my lab and everything already set up, I-” Grent says as he fiddles with the bandage wrapped around his arm.
Frank can’t take it anymore and turns beet red and breaks their gaze, Amethyst turns to look at Grent and interrupts him.
“Yes.”
Frank looks at Amethyst appalled, but she’s focused on Grent.
“Thank you, Amethyst! I’ll be good I promise!”
He can’t help but laugh a little, which he abruptly stifles before quickly grabbing the computer and carrying it back inside his lab.
Pineapple, who engaged in thorough exploring of the warehouse-like lobby during their conversation, darts after Grent and into his lab.
Frank speaks up after Grent has left.
“Why did you allow him to stay?”
“Better here where we can keep an eye on him... and I promised, I can’t ensure his safety if he is somewhere else.”
“I think you’ve honored that promise well enough already,” Frank answers bluntly, letting some of his anger through.
“Have I? Aren’t promises something eternal, something that can never be broken?”
“I uhh… I suppose so? Though people don’t usually treat them as permanently as that.”
“Well, I do,” Amethyst hastily answers.
Frank is taken aback by her response.
“...Are you mad at me?”
“No.” Another quick answer.
“You know if you keep promises as firmly as that I think you shouldn’t lie either...”
“What? I-I’m not lying, I’m just not mad,” She pouts.
“Alright.”
The whirring of air conditioning and some rattling from Grent’s lab fills the awkward air.
“Besides, you lie constantly,” Amethyst snarkily adds.
“No I-” Frank raises a gesturing hand to defend against this accusation, but it quickly flops back down.
“Okay, you’re right, but they were necessary for us to get this far.”
“So, it’s okay to lie if you’ve got a good reason for it? Is that it?” Amethyst shows no intent in backing down in this argument.
“Uhh, well, I guess so?”
“So how do I know you haven’t been lying to me this whole time then? How do I know you are really on my side?” Amethyst looks away from him, eyes closed, and towards the ceiling.
“I- I’d never lie to you, I only lied to get us through tough situations, you know that.”
“Uh-huh,” Amethyst finds her arms crossed around her chest, a strange mannerism her body seems to have automatically taken at some point.
She briefly ponders the meaning of such a pose, of its use.
When did she develop all this sass?
“I promise to never lie to you. Will that do? And this is your definition of a promise.”
Amethyst finally looks back at Frank and uncrosses her bladed arms.
“Fine-”
“You guys are still here?” Grent comes out of the lab and walks towards them.
“Uhh, we were just leaving?” Frank gestures for Amethyst to follow him as he turns around, his long hair fluttering.
“Oh before you do, care to tell me what was that Larsenia’s announcement all about? How’d you manage to make her do it?”
“Why are you so sure it was us?” Frank asks suspicious, and stops as Amethyst isn’t following, turning back around.
“Come on now, that strange announcement and you two showing up out of nowhere, there’s no world where that isn’t connected.”
Grent smiles smugly.
“Besides, if you were listening to the conversation earlier, Amethyst already admitted to it.”
“Oh… right.”
When did she say that!?
“So? How’d you do it? She put me through hell to even allow me to stay here, getting them to leave should be next to impossible.”
“We lied,” Amethyst blurts out spiteful, glancing at Frank to see his reaction.
“No no, we didn’t lie,” Frank vehemently denies Amethyst’s statement and notices her burning gaze.
”We just, uh, bluffed until our lie became true.” He can’t help but sound a little proud.
Grent stares at them deadpan.
“What?”
“Frank declared this planet as mine, as belonging to the Tyrchid species using ISSA, so Larsenia decided to leave.” Amethyst quickly explains with a tired and dismissive tone.
“W-wait, what? The I-ISSA?”
“Yeah? Why are you so freaked out about it?” Frank asks inquisitively.
Umm...
“Y-you know that Amethyst is the only sapient Tyrchid right?”
“But it was the only way to get them to leave and to safeguard against them using-”
Ah! I almost told him of the properties of Amethyst’s blood!
“Using what?” Grent asks very interested.
“You are the last person I’d tell that to.”
“Whatever, you do know you’ll probably get arrested if they find out, deemed a liar and a criminal in the public eye, shamed in front of the whole galaxy, for faking the Tyrchid’s application, lying to the ISSA.
Not to mention shaming the Tyrchid species and Amethyst in the process.”
“Frank! Is that true?”
“Yeah… but we just gotta get Tyrchid’s up on the list and you gain the protection of ISSA, one of the most powerful organizations in the whole galaxy.”
“Most... powerful?”
“Well, it’s not clear if Galactic Police, ISSA or Intergalactic Corporation is the most powerful.”
“But-” Amethyst’s protest is cut off.
“We just can’t let them find out the truth.” Frank insists.
“That’s a real risky game you’re playing Frank…” Grent crosses his arms and leans onto one hand.
"That gives me an idea... what if, all the Tyrchids were sapient?”
“Grent… do you know what you are saying?” Amethyst spits out.
“What? We go and shoot every single Tyrchid and hope they don’t just die like Amethyst almost did?”
“Well… if I make an imprint of Amethyst’s mind and use that instead, their minds should have a better fighting chance… In theory…
Though a mind that’s a merge between a human and Tyrchid is still stronger than an unmerged insect brain...”
“So, there is no guarantee that even a single one of them survives?” Frank summarizes bluntly.
“Well, that’s a possibility, albeit an unlikely worst-case one, but the suggestion ray was designed to have the inserted mind expire, not get absorbed.
So, for them to actually gain sapience they’d need to not be too strong to completely overpower the foreign mind, but not too weak either or their original mind would get destroyed.”
While in theory, even the mind destruction could just turn them into faded copies of Amethyst’s blank persona, they might just become empty altogether if the mind never recovers to its actual proper functional state…
All of the possible options are so fascinating...
“This isn’t right…” Amethyst shakes her head with an expression of pain.
“We are in quite the moral dilemma, do we gamble on their lives and minds to protect them in the end or hope we can fool ISSA?”
Please say gamble… I badly need more data…
Especially now.
“Giving sapience to other beings is not a thing to just play around with…”
Amethyst shoots a harsh glance at Grent, who smiles an awkward smile.
“But they are… kind of savage right now…” Frank says thoughtlessly what was really swimming through his mind, steadily filling with a red haze.
“No, they are not! It was self-defense! They didn’t know they were leaving...”
“Sorry Amethyst... I’m just still…” Frank looks like he might be sick, but keeps the revulsion at bay.
“I don’t know really know what you’re talking about, but can’t you like communicate with them Amethyst, you are one of them after all?”
“They didn’t exactly seem to recognize me… but we should try again before we do anything... drastic”
“Alright... Well... we can think of how exactly we want to do that-” Frank yawns.
“Once we’ve gotten some shut-eye…”
“Can we stay here Grent?” Amethyst asks.
“Yes, of course, plenty of room to go around and who am I to deny you after you let me stay too?”
“The last time I got any sleep was literally sleeping by the river on hard ground… Grent, please tell me you got some beds here”
“Just take the door to the right for the ward, there are some hospital beds there”
“Actual beds this time?” Amethyst says.
Grent adjusts his shirt's collar.
”Yes.”
“Do I want to know?” Frank says.
“No.” they both answer at the same time.
“Okay, well let's just go sleep then,” As they are about to proceed to the door, Frank stops and turns around.
“By the way, what’s the length of day here?”
Grent stops his gait back to the lab and answers.
“46 hours, 36 of daylight, 2 hours of dim light due to only the smaller sun in the sky, and 8 hours of darkness.
There’s still 18 hours of light left so you can sleep a fair bit.”
Grent says confidently, without visibly even checking the time.
“Great,” Frank thinks of thanking him but decides to proceed through the door instead.
Inside it, rows of hospital beds, with actual mattresses and crisp white sheets. A metal crisscross frame to allow their height to be adjusted and wheels below them.
The room itself is brightly lit and very clinically white, with just a hint of blue on the floor tiles.
Amethyst’s legs clink on the tiles, but they seem to hold under her.
Frank notices this as he walks after her, glad and envious, if only his homemade wooden floor was as durable as that.
How silly, he was reminiscing over his house, about the floor of all things…
These thoughts faded as he tried to grasp his backpack.
“Oh yeah, I left my backpack at the ship… I’ll just go get it real quick. Pineapple? Amethyst? Wanna come with?”
Wait, where’s that cat now? Oh well...
“I think you can handle walking that distance on your own,” Amethyst says as she slowly samples sitting on a soft bed.
That’s not the point…
“Okay fine, I won’t be long.”
As Frank leaves, Amethyst waits about ten seconds, stands up, and walks to the door.
Carefully opening it from the handle with her wrist, she slips out.
With no Frank in sight, she proceeds toward the lab.
***
As Frank arrives at the Intergalactic Resources main facility, most of the workers are already gone.
In a place that was recently buzzing with activity, the silence feels eerie.
As he turns to walk down the yellow line to lead him to the landing pads, he hears a door open behind him.
He turns to see a figure standing in the doorway.
“Larsenia, was it?”
“Oh. You.” She slams the door shut and walks towards him.
“Sorry about driving you guys out, but you know how it is,” Frank says to her as she joins on the walk down the corridor.
“You didn’t seem very sorry about it at the time”
“Well, you attempted to shoot us down with a damn anti-air cannon! Among everything else...”
“Fair enough.” She surrenders the point with an amused smile.
Frank ponders if he should ask her why she agreed to leave so easily and so soon.
Surely it will cost them a lot to abandon so much ore and equipment.
...
That’d just sound like I’m rubbing it in…
His thoughts are interrupted by her question.
“Say… you are an IWV employee, right Frank?”
“Ex-employee by now, I suppose, but... what of it?
Her smile fades, replaced by her usual seriousness as she speaks in a formal tone:
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“You better watch your back, the Intergalactic Organizations are sore losers, you’ve not only made enemies of two subdivisions but the whole organization by now I’d wager.
I hope you know what you are doing.”
“Uh, thanks for the warning… are you by any chance included in that same enemy list?”
Larsenia stops.
“Hah, you know, I like you, Frank. Not many have managed to pull something like this on me.” She flicks her communicator out of her pocket, uses it, and shows its screen to him.
“Here’s my number, I can’t allow you to connect to my device to send it, but I trust you can do it the old-fashioned way.”
Frank takes out his communicator and nervously types her number down.
“Thanks?” He rubs his shoulder.
“Don’t misunderstand, this is strictly professional.” She adjusts her glasses.
Give me a call if you need help, and I’ll see what I can do. It’s a one-time offer.”
“Why are you doing this? Aren't you still employed by IR?”
She leans in a little closer.
“Well, strictly between us, I wouldn’t mind getting to land a blow to the organization myself, you seem like you have the potential to make some waves”
What?
Larsenia starts walking away, leaving him behind.
Frank glances down at the unsaved new contact on his communicator, the 'first name' -column empty.
“What’s your name?”
Larsenia glances back to answer but does not stop her strut.
“Cecil, but you will only get to call me that in your dreams.”
She gives a seductive smirk accompanied by a wave and wink before disappearing behind a corner.
Frank just stands there, bewildered.
Huh?
***
“Hey, Grent.” Amethyst stands at the open doorway to the lab, completely blocking it, leaning with her upper body to the frame.
“Y-yes Amethyst, what is it?” Grent is setting up his computer again on his work desk. Open boxes of stuff nearby, unpacking what he had managed to pack before getting the permission to stay.
Pineapple roams in the lab and pushes against machinery, carts, and a large glass tube, which starts teetering.
“Hey, you cat, stop that!” Grent turns towards it, but the cat hides as soon as he does.
“It’s Pineapple.”
“Whatever this furball is called doesn’t decrease the amount of gray hairs it's giving me.”
Hearing this, Pineapple zooms around, darting below his desk, sending papers flying, making a turn before hopping on the operating table.
The cat's claws go through the white plastic, and a terrible screech rips through the air as they scratch the metal underneath.
Startled it jumps and hides somewhere, a momentary respite from the cat's shenanigans.
“Aaagh!” Grent holds his head frustrated and starts gathering the papers spread on the floor.
Amethyst enjoys seeing him so annoyed and at the mercy of a harmless creature like Pineapple.
She just stares amused at the scientist groveling on the floor, trying to reach the papers underneath machinery and then far under his desk, her silent presence most likely causing him even more distress.
Once Grent gets out from underneath the desk, Amethyst starts speaking of why she came to see him in the first place.
“You know, Something’s been bothering me since… that day.”
“What is it?”
Grent asks as he stands up with a stack of, now dusty and crinkled, papers.
“What were you going to inject me with, that yellow liquid...”
“It was just a sedative, after which I would have numbed the wound to treat it.”
Grent answers his back turned, laying down the papers and getting to work on plugging various cables between his computer, monitor, and other devices.
“Why did you restrain me then?”
“I-I needed you to remain still to inject it, you were already pretty restless.”
Grent looks over his shoulder at her.
Amethyst squints her eyes at him.
“It wasn’t for more… revenge?”
“H-Honest!”
Amethyst keeps on staring.
“I’ll be keeping all of my eyes on you, so don’t try any tricks.”
“Do you consider my science tricks?”
Grent stops working on the cables and turns to her to defy this insult head-on.
“Hmm, just don’t do anything suspicious to living things, don’t even think of using that mind ray thing on Frank.”
“I-I would never!”
Amethyst spots the familiar pistol-like device on the table behind him, now repaired.
“Or rather just don’t use that at all.”
“But I need it to bring my wife back!”
Grent looks over the shoulder and quickly puts the device inside an open desk drawer and pushes it shut.
“How are you going to do that? You aren’t going to replace somebody else’s mind again?”
“Of course n-not!” Grent feigns being insulted at the assumption, but his shaky response cuts its potency.
“Though... it's not like I know how to make inorganic things sentient much less sapient...”
Amethyst’s eyebrows quirk in response.
“Yet! I’ll figure something out. You’d think I’d just abduct some random woman and implant Amande in her body or something?”
He chuckles like he just told the most absurd joke.
“Yes!” Amethyst answers instantly.
He purses his lips as his amusement fades.
“Of course, I wouldn’t do that! Just imagine how mad she’d be with me when she finally comes to...”
“You seem to understand your position well, have fun figuring this one out”
Amethyst stops leaning at the door frame and is about to leave.
“Oh, one more thing…
Amande wanted to see you really badly, she asked me to relay a message since she couldn't come.”
“Really? She did?”
“'Tell Grent I love him, I always have and always will.'
I think that’s how it went.
Anyway, message delivered.”
Amethyst leaves through the open door.
For a moment, Grent just stands there, processing this information, a big smile steadily spreading on his face.
He flings himself on the office chair and picks up the picture frame from the table.
It showed a young Amande and Grent, smiling, their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders.
Despite the age of the photo, he didn't look much different than now, a real babyface.
Even back then, Grent wore a white lab coat, as did Amande, his girlfriend at the time.
Though, for their wedding, they did actually wear proper fancier clothes, he did have that photo too, it was stashed away behind this one in the same frame.
However, Grent preferred this one, after all, this was taken on their home planet, which was now long gone.
Though it hadn't been captured in the beautiful wilderness, but in the city in the middle of an industrial boom.
Mining machinery, ships in the sky, a large facility, and columns of smoke stain the background.
Signs of what’s to come, but they were still blissfully ignorant at the time to just what the organization, praised for bringing so many jobs, would ultimately lead to.
It still served as a reminder all the same, of their home, why they were doing all this, and what they wanted to accomplish.
Amande had been beautiful, even more so when she got a bit older. A shame they hadn't had the time to take pictures lately.
Her hair, was almost glowingly golden, with a personality to match.
The warm smile and the dark, almost black eyes of his wife fill him with resolve.
I had already given up hope...
But I promise, soon we will be reunited…
No matter what it takes...
We can finally continue where we left off...
His smile continues to widen, threatening to creep unnaturally high into some twisted grin.
“Ack!”
Pineapple ambushes him and invades his lap.
“What are you doing?” he reaches over the large cat and lays down the photo safely.
“Scram, get off!” Grent waves his hands at the cat in a shooing motion.
Pineapple curls on his lap and lays down his head and yawns.
What does this vermin want?
…
What are you afraid of… it’s just a… cat.
Grent is held hostage by Pineapple for several minutes until he gains the courage to carefully touch the cat’s fur.
It’s soft, like puffs of cotton batting, he slowly runs his hand down the cat and starts a new petting motion.
Pineapple’s loud engine starts which startles Grent a little.
“By no means does this make us friends… you pest.”
Pineapple opens one eye and looks up at him, Grent quickly retreats his hand.
“Tsk” He clicks his tongue as he bridles his head.
How insufferable can a mere alien cat be?
***
Amethyst walks into the lobby, through the door to the ward, opening it with her arm, making sure to not touch it with her blades.
Inside, Frank sits on a bed.
“Oh did you wait for me?”
“Yeah, you looked to be blocking Grent into the lab and having a chat. Didn’t want to intrude, you’re capable of roasting him on your own.”
“Oh, yeah…” I’m capable of doing what...? I suppose my blades are hot, but...
“I was just keeping an eye on him, Pineapple is with him by the way. It seems to like Grent or likes causing him trouble.”
“Oh, I can imagine that,” Frank answers and taps the space next to him on the bed.
Amethyst approaches and carefully takes a seat left of him, the mattress sinks underneath her and Frank has to adjust a little to not slide with it into her lap, or to her deadly blades.
They sit silent, each hesitant to speak up.
“If this is about what happened in the forest… I’m-” Amethyst starts.
“No, it’s not about that. E-even if we weren’t there the Tyrchids would have… set themselves free on their own, right?”
“R-right.”
Both interlocutors seemed to find the blank white wall especially fascinating, a wall adjacent to the one they had entered from.
At the very least, it did house a light blue door they had not ventured through yet, so maybe it was in part that, instead of the effect of going through a tough subject.
“I… I don’t know... What I really wanted to say even... I guess I'm just really impressed how you could just forgive Grent.”
His right hand disappears into the jungle of his head as he directs a tense but mellow expression her way.
“I haven’t forgiven him though.” Amethyst answers with a peculiar look.
“Well, still, you didn’t even try to... harm any of the staff here, or even him, nobody could have really blamed you if you did.”
“And that makes me such a stark contrast to my kin?”
Amethyst's eyes shoot daggers at him, an unnecessary move, considering her bladed hands were more than adept for the job.
“No, I didn’t say that!”
“But you were implying-”
“No! …I was just admiring your maturity… I don’t think I would have been that strong if I was in your position”
If I had such overwhelming power...
“What do you mean? You’re such a kind and good-willed person.”
Amethyst's expression changes to that of confusion.
“Am I?” Frank looks upon his hands.
Maybe ten years ago I would have agreed...
“Yeah, you helped me without question, didn’t even kill Rocco when you could have.”
Because you were there to see it…
“You are so much weaker than me and still you’ve stood tall and conquered all our obstacles with ease!”
“Hah, is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Yeah! You didn’t even have any weapons, but you still managed to save my home, all with your words and your wit.”
Yeah, I forgot the rifle in the ship…
Though...
“I suppose you do have a point,” Frank smiles at her a little.
Their chatter is broken by growling emanating from deep within Frank.
“Frank… are you hungry?”
“A little bit… but let’s just go to sleep now, we’ll worry about eating tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
Amethyst moves to sit on the bed next to his.
Frank flings himself to the other side of his bed and reaches for his bag. As he opens it, the purple bone is right at the top of it.
Oh... right.
The overpowering sadness and despair that he had wrestled with back then, try to grip at his heart and mind.
He easily pushes it away, everything is fine now, at least with Amethyst.
She hadn’t died, so he didn’t have to go do some desperate last stand all alone.
Why had he felt such a strong urge back then, the obligation to do these crazy things?
To go to such lengths?
…
He turns the bone vertically and buries it further into the bag.
Taking out a fresh pair of boxer shorts, white with orange stripes, he feels a bit embarrassed about the coloration… Had he picked these ones on purpose back then?
Frank starts taking off his clothes, sitting on the bedside, starting with his jacket and shirt.
“What are you doing Frank?” Amethyst asks curious from behind, sitting on her bed.
“I’m changing.”
Frank glances backward.
“Do you mind not staring at me so intently?” His cheeks take on a hint of extra color.
“Oh, so that’s what changing means, changing clothes?”
Amethyst thinks for a moment and comes up with a follow-up question.
“Why do you use clothes?”
“It would be cold without them, usually at least. They also protect us from the elements and the environment”
Frank leans down to remove his shoes.
“Don’t they cover your true body, I’ve never seen your back before.
Isn’t that dishonest, hiding your true self?” She asks quizzically, true wonderment in her voice.
“I’m not hiding anything, the clothes are just an addition, though I guess they are in a way an essential part of me too.”
He jumps on the bed to get the edge of his pants from underneath him and starts removing them.
“You know, like your armor is a part of you, I bet you’d feel weird without it.”
“I see, yeah, I’d feel vulnerable without its protection, but only that, not embarrassed. But that’s learned too? I think.
Since we Tyrchids are born without armor, it grows first only after we are a few years old and then adjusts with us throughout our lives.
Is that the same to you?”
“Well, our clothes are artificial, we don’t “grow” them from ourselves. But you are correct, we are also born without them and learn to use them from an early age.”
“So you’re embarrassed about your naked body because artificial reasons have taught you to be?
That sounds sad and restraining, isn’t that the most natural state for you to be, especially when your armor is so easily removable?”
“Wait, can your armor be removed?”
Frank asks hanging onto Amethyst's words and then realizes what he just asked.
“Not exactly, that was just a... figure of speech, I think?”
“A poorly structured sentence implying something which wasn’t true?”
“Uhh, yeah… that one.”
Frank has managed to change into his fresh boxers.
Amethyst’s antennae spin around on her head, the short black fur covering them shaking. They fixate on the bed in front of her.
“Frank… why do you smell so good all of a sudden? Is it... your underwear?”
“What!?” Frank’s heart tries to jump all the way up his throat.
“Ohhh, you must mean the fruity smell, that’s because a banaorange exploded in my bag and stained my clothes with its juice...”
Amethyst’s antennae quiver and she leans forward.
“Can you stop smelling towards me?”
“Why?” She leans further in.
“It’s making me... uncomfortable,” Frank admits and looks away.
Somehow he felt even more naked now, than moments ago when he literally had been so.
“Is that a learned reaction too?”
“Maybe? But it’s also rude.”
“Oh I see, I’m sorry.”
Frank glances at Amethyst from over his shoulder.
“Just ask for permission the next time okay?
Wait what did I just say?
A mischievous smile spreads across Amethyst's lips and he instantly knows why.
“Frank can I s-”
“No”
“Aww... but the smell is so delicious... so sweet...”
Amethyst's voice buzzes more than usual speaking the words.
“Let’s just finally sleep now, okay?”
“Fine…” Amethyst lays down on her bed, on top of the blanket, and puts her arms on top of her stomach.
Frank goes to get the lights from next to the white door and creates a rather convincing night.
In pitch black, only the faint glow of emergency exit signs on top of the two doors and the faint glow of small displays of equipment next to each bed shine.
He makes it back to his own bed, the corridor between the beds on both sides of the room is wide and easy to navigate.
He could still see the space as if lit up in his mind and retraced his steps.
On the nightstand, a faint red blinking light of his communicator reminds him of unread messages.
Oh… right…
He picks up the communicator, lays down on the bed, and unlocks it.
Setting the brightness of the screen as low as possible, he starts by opening up the ISSA’s email from the notification bar.
Thank you for submitting the form: Application for registering a new Sapient species.
Our team will be with you shortly to document all about the new species so that we can fairly and accurately assess and evaluate their abilities, readiness, and suitability for the galaxy as a whole.
Once this procedure is complete and the initial criteria have been fulfilled, we will be in touch with the date and time for your hearing.
Our team will contact you separately and let you know of their arrival ahead of time so you may prepare accordingly.
Wishing you best of luck and prosperity in you future endeavors, thank you for contacting Intergalactic Sapient Species Association.
This is an automated message, please do not respond to this email.
If you require help, please see the ISSA documentation or contact our customer service.
Something caught his eye in the email.
ISSA… the I stood for… Intergalactic?
Frank already knew that, but...
Larsenia had warned him against the Intergalactic Corporation and its subsidiaries, but… surely ISSA wasn’t one?
Sure, it had the I-word, but he had never heard of its ties to any criminal organizations.
Frank searches the Intergalactic Web… wait… Intergalactic… web? Did they control the internet too?
Surely not, that’s just a coincidence, a way to future-proof the name once we eventually reach another galaxy… Besides, most just called it gweb, anyway, not igweb.
Despite his best efforts, all the information on ISSA’s history and founding is vague, giving no background on it.
What had led to its founding exactly? All he could find was the surname of its founder: Aldricht. And even that was from an unreliable source.
But this name… it seemed familiar, had he heard of it somewhere else?
Regardless, it seemed ISSA’s history was covered well, or lost to time, considering the age of the association being only about 60 years, the latter was unlikely.
Frank knew that this information search had been a mere distraction, he was genuinely suspicious now, but he had just been playing for time.
For he knew what email he had to open next.
What if, they had not pardoned him?
They could be on their way to arrest him right at this moment.
Maybe they had failed to capture Rocco and all of his employees were now out to get him?
Well, all of them might still be, he couldn't blame them for being angry at him, even for hating him after this.
It was his decision to throw them all into the proverbial spaceship turbine.
He blatantly used Velvet for his own gain, manipulated Pablo, and eventually caused the deaths of Jack and Jill and their whole squad.
Likely causing harm and suffering to the few that were innocent and irreparable damage and consequences for the rest of the guilty one's lives.
Pablo…
He was a good man, mixed in the same stuff as he, for similar reasons too.
Now he was likely soon serving time, somewhere, hopefully not on Hadel...
Enough.
Frank tore down the notification bar and tapped the email before he’d change his mind again.
Re: Viridian Macula’s IWV facility
Thank you for the documents and files, Frank. They will prove to be essential in pressing charges and getting them to stick against Intergalactic Wildlife Ventures.
If you have any more information, possibly even about the main organization, the Galactic Police would be more than happy to provide ample compensation for any further info that leads to arrests.
- The chief of Galactic Police,
Aldricht Argo.
Hold on, Aldricht? The same one who founded ISSA?
Well… it’s likely just a coincidence, and even if the Police Chief was somehow involved, that’d just be further proof of ISSA not being in cahoots with Intergalactic...
Right?
...
And no mention of my charges being dropped...
Frank scrolls down to the newer reply on the email.
We have successfully detained Rocco and all of his personnel.
I have decided to accept your proposal, I will erase all of your criminal records that you would have gotten from being involved.
The official documentation and procedures will take a few days, I will send the files to you the earliest it arrives.
Now stay on the straight and narrow road from now on, alright?
Pleasure working with you,
Aldricht Argo.
Phew...
He was in the clear, his plan of many holes and variables had worked after all.
Now to respond...
Frank somehow resists the temptation of asking for more details about his surname, ISSA, and the Galactic Police. He couldn't risk the Chief changing his mind due to his nosiness.
He types out a generic response thanking the Chief and sends it.
Exhausted he lays the phone onto his stomach and lays there, staring at the dark ceiling, faintly illuminated by his communicator’s display.
He remembers where he is and glances in the direction of Amethyst's bed, she is looking right at him.
Her crown hangs off the edge of the bed, for there is no other way for her to turn her head so drastically to the side when lying down.
The light of the communicator faintly lights her face up in eerie shadows.
Amethyst’s hybrid eyes' numerous eyes glimmer in the dark, reflecting light like a cat’s.
Frank realizes he is holding his breath and staring wide-eyed at her.
“A-amethyst?” he hesitantly whispers.
“Frank… what were you doing?”
“I was just reading some emails.”
“Emails?” Amethyst lets the question hang before continuing:
“Are you lying?”
An accusing question asked in the dark, answering wrong seemed dangerous.
“No! Emails are electronic messages… sort of like the news broadcast in Larsenia’s office, or the announcement she made, just… only text.”
“Hmm… okay.”
Amethyst seems content with the explanation as she moves her head back on the pillow and faces upwards.
Frank grabs the communicator and turns off its screen, darkness envelops them once more.
“Good night Amethyst"
His heart still races as he calmly apologizes.
“And sorry for keeping you awake...”
“It's okay... Good night, Frank.”
It doesn't help that the number keeps steadily increasing by me just spontaneously dreaming them up, haha.
Anyway, even if the update schedule may be inconsistent, uploads will keep on happening regardless, every story is way too personal for me to just drop.
Thus I'd keep uploading even with 0 readers, but I'd appreciate it if you've got some criticism or feedback, you'd let me know.
It's hard to improve or fix anything if I'm not made aware of the issue, often times somebody else pointing them out is the best way to notice them as far as writing one's own stories goes.
Jan 2025 Edit: More like 15% lmao, oh how little I knew back then of how much writing the whole storyline actually requires.