Promise - Darker SC5?

Oh man. Oh snapples. Oh crud. Oh crud! What are we going to do?! I mean, seriously! We have Purge in the cockpit, kid Purge, and we're running away from the Superiors in a rundown ship that's barely able to fly!

What the frick?!

And my friend is agreeing with me.

"Yeah, I mean normal Purge coulda had a chance.... but kid Purge?" she whispers, not wanting the kid in back to hear us. Which in itself was an impressive feat. The cockpit is just a half circle opening up into a cylinder which is basically the rest of the ship except for the turret. That baby is up a cramped tunnel two meters behind the cockpit. Going via ladder, one could reach it.

Unfortunately, I think one of us is going to have to go up there soon. I saw the Superiors just before we left. Didn't get a good look though, but I know we're in trouble.

Oh dang, Purge... Poor kid. He's in back looking out a window. Probably thinking of his parents. Right now, we have to think of something. We're going over how in the world we can get out of this alive. About thirty seconds ago I mentioned Channel 5. Considering our position, she agreed. I mean, Jaguar is there. At least he could help. No idea if Fuse is there though. The ship rocks.

No, literally, it rocks. We're jolted out of our seats and I hear Purge grunt behind us. I think he fell onto the ground. I get up and jog over to the window Purge is near, and I can hear Vis right behind me. And I drop my jaw.

The Superiors are here.

Oh, how I wish we knew how to pilot this thing!

"What do we do? We've got the Superiors on our tail!" Ah crud, Vis is freaking out.

"I know, I know!" I reply, quickly making my way back to the cockpit--

"Swine! You dare interfere with our affairs?" It takes a moment for me to register that it's coming from the speaker in the console. "We are Superior to you all. If you resist us, we will not hesitate in firing. Hand over the boy! We have jammed all frequencies that you might use to contact outside help. Surrender and die!"

"Gotta stay calm, okay?" I look back to see Vis hugging kid Purge. I don't know if it's working. He's starting to sniffle, and considering what he's been through, the waterworks are about to start full-on. I mutter,

"Yeah...." And then I reach up for the hand-speaker thing near the overheard compartments. It's black, much like the outside of the ship had it not been spotted with rust. "Listen up, Superiors." I take a snarky tone with them that I know I'm going to regret, but I don't stop and nor do I care. "You want Purge, eh? Killed his parents," I whisper venomously, trying with every last ounce of willpower that I have to keep my spine from melting into jelly as I put all of my acting talent to the test. "Are you proud of yourselves? Why should you be? You've ruined this kid's life and I will not stand for it. We will not stand for it. And if you think you're so tough-" Did I ever mention I was a glutton for punishment? "-then fight me! I challenge you to a dance battle! We win, we're outta here, you win, whateva. So, scared little men?"

'Cause I'm not.

"Come on, let's get you somewhere safe... I won't let them hurt you." Oh Vis... Girl you're going to make me cry. Don't do that, girl. Please. That really is a soothing yet heart-breaking voice.

"Hn," comes the snort of a response, "We accept and we'll grind your little spaceship into space dust! Get ready to meet the Space Reaper!" Space-this, space-that, blah blah space blah. If I had the spine left, I would have said that to their faces plus some, but my spine is gone, I'm jelly, and I need backup.

"Vis," I address, turning around to face her and Purge. I don't know where she'd take him. This place is cramped and there isn't really anyplace safe. Except maybe in the co-pilot's chair. That glass isn't going to be broken anytime soon. A rock hit it and it's still not even scratched. A big rock. Did I mention is was an asteroid? They just don't make good models like these anymore.

Anyway. "I need you to take the wheel. I'm going up." And of course, I volunteer for the suicide mission. Great. Just great.

"But what about Purge?" she asks. I can tell she's worried. She's worried, Purge is worried; heck I'm worried. I know what'll happen if we fail, but we can't.

"Place him in the co-pilot seat. He should be safe there. Now," I head towards the ladder, keeping my mind off of how much I usually suck at Space Channel 5. "I'm going up. Keep him safe," I start climbing, "And keep us steady. We'll need it. I'm counting on you. Vis." Did she notice that pause? Hope not. I can't see her expression, but I hear her mutter about getting Purge to the front of the ship.

Up at the top, the turret isn't much. There's a slab of steel acting as a backer that I have to climb over, and it just gets smaller from there. My knees are jammed into the sides of the little...silo thing I'm in. I put my hands on the handles of the gun, bending my elbows in a bit to keep from hitting the sides of the small space. I can see the gun on the other side of the hidden pump mechanism I'm sure is stabilizing the turret. There are three cylinders horizontally protruding out there from the ship. Huh.

Well, I can see the gun on the other side of the mechanism and the window anyways. It's a 360 degree outlook into the void of space and a certain ship I'm hoping to shoot down. It's a blob of pure black, blending in with the darkness everywhere. The only way to tell it's there is to spot the light from the cockpit of their ship and the red, blinking lights on the side.

Purge's screams for his parents ring my mind, still fresh from our departure.

I'm so taking them down.

"Get ready, Alkaid!" I hear Vis shout, "They're about to st--"

"Give us back the kid, la-dies." They cut her off as someone's voice echoes through the intercom that I now notice is near my head. "Up left right left up right." I can barely see six incoming missiles heading straight for us in the distance. I hear a chime and retort as best I can,

"Not on your lives, you freaks! Up left right--ahh!" The ship shakes from the missiles I didn't hit. I stupidly did 'up' instead of 'right'. Idiot! Not only that but the pumping mechanism must be worn or something. It's hard to push down on the handles to tilt the gun up. Ouch. I think the metal on those things is shredded a bit. It hurts if I grasp them too hard.

"C'mon! You can't stop now!" Vis yells from down below. Yeah, you try aiming and shooting this thing.

"I know!" I shout back automatically, turning my full attention back to the opposing ship. I couldn't miss like that again. Once more someone sang,

"Give up now or forfeit life! Up left chu! Chu left down!" Ugh! Hate them!

"You're all creeps, bringing strife! Up left chu! Chu left down!" Chu was the red button on top of the right stick. So the blue one on the left must be hey. Chu also seems to take care of the missiles that won't explode with regular blasts from the foot pedals at the other end of this cramped-up space.

"That's it! Keep it up!"

She's like Fuse-Norris. ...Bahaha! Oh the image--

"Don't you know, who we are? Left up left! Up right chu!" Really don't like these guys.

"I don't care, you've gone too far! Left up left! Up right chu!!" Wow, I did that? And screaming the lyrics too, wow. I have to say...

I don't totally suck! Yay!

"You will die - Up! - be-fore our ship - Chu!"

"We'll never - Up!" Too close. "-give up to you - Chu!" You know I noticed two things just now. There's music playing from the speaker, and the missiles detonate at a safe distance from us. Neat.

"You've almost got 'em!" Vis cheers from below.

"Yeah right!" I yell at her, focusing everything on what will come up next. I don't doubt that these guys have something up their sleeve. I mean, Purge was a pretty long battle in several stages. This.... This is worse.

"Don't give up, Alkaid!"

...

Purge just cheered me on to victory. He's choked up, scared out of his wits, but he's still trying to stay positive.

...

Well, beats the alternat-- Ah dang nabbit! What'd they say? Darn my spells of being out of it!

"Uh- Up right left. Up left up!" Oh thank goodness.

"You're a good kid...." Huh? Wait, were they connected to this line too? How?

"Up left chu!"

"Up left chu!"

"Right left chu!"

"Right left chu!"

"Down up, down up, chu chu chu!"

"Down up, down u--argh!" The ship rocks again. Ah dag nabbit! Oh crudula! We're going to die like this! I dunt wanna di-ha-hiii!

And that cold, gravelly voice comes through...

"You're all going to die out here. The cold abyss of space shall be your graveyard!" The music picks up. It's like the song from when Ulala has to escape the Morolian base before it explodes.

We're screwed!

"Up chu! Right-chu!" I put all of my strength into manning the cannon! ...Turret. Whatever!

"Up chu! Right-chu!"

"Right chu! Left chu!"

I listen to the music. Ouch, the control sticks are starting to hurt my hands. I can't hear Vis and Purge anymore. This is going to make or break us!

"Right chu! Left chu!"

"Up-chu!"

"Up-ch-ahh!" I cry. I actually cry for the first time since we've been here. It's not like it's been long, but still. I can't help it. We're going to die if this keeps up, and I'm pretty sure that little light near me has flashed off and on at least once.

The spacecraft rumbles and my head hits the side of the wall. Ow. Seriously. Ow. Ooooww. I give a shrill yelp in pain and clutch my head.

Foolishly letting go of the controls. Idiot, but I can't think right now.

"Please! Stop crying Purge! She knows what she's doing... I hope." I can hear her from down...and through the-- Ow, man! That hurt--

"Up up up up uuuuuup chu!" Oh Hell no!! I jerk the handles downward, some jagged metal biting into my hands as I force the gun to tilt. I'm still crying...

"Up-" My head hurts. "-up-" I can barely see. "-up up-" Please let me hit the target. "-uuuuup chu!" The ship quakes, but only a little. It finally registers as I blink again that it was from the shockwaves of the explosion.

"So you think you're tough?" Oh not them again... "Well we'll just see about that. That old Z-T 5900 Cruiser is discontinued for a reason. Now see our true abilities in action! You won't survive this!" And the tears won't stop, but at least they're under control, going from blurry to stinging. ...Ugh.

I peer out into the scattered stars and see no changes, although the music was certainly going to the rhythm as if to say otherwise. I think Vis said something, probably Purge's name, but I'm too focused on what the Superiors are planning. At first I see nothing.

Then nothing.

Then more nothing. I don't think they're- wait. Some red lights are popping up in the dark. They're going in a circle. And... Oh.

Holy crud we're going to die!

It, the thing in the center, looks like the thing on the side of Pine's ship that shoots that huge missile and - oh no-ho-ho!

"Viiiis!" I scream, my voice taking on a higher pitch, "Get us to Channel 5 now! We're not going to survive this if I miss! Do whatever you can to get us out of here! Up is stuck on the turret!" I hear Vis shout, nearly shrieking,

"Oh snap! They have Space Police technology!" I don't blame you, girl, but this is no time to panic! I'm the only one allowed to panic, got that?! And I'm the one with the gun! Yeeeek...

A Superior comes through the speaker again as the music starts what sounds like some sort of harsh rock and roll intro.

"Who are you? Down! To kid yourselves? Hey!" Oh, these guys are so asking for it badly!

"What are you?! Down!" Holy Hell that's big! Pause. "Go to Hell! Hey!" Vis' voice comes through the intercom, quite more cheerful than last time,

"That's how you do it!" By that tone, I guess she wants them dead. Well so do I! Bring it on punks!

The next commands are a bit of a blur. I do my best with what I have, having read the manual for the turret as Vis read up on how to pilot this ship. My hands bleed, being torn up by the constant movements of the turret. I know my pants are covered in blood by now, and somewhere in the back of my consciousness, I have the notion that I'm going to die of blood loss at some point. I want to scream in pain, to cry about how much it hurts, to kill- no, I can't kill, I don't have it in me. I want to get out of this nightmare. It hurts so much, and I take out everything I have on the Superiors. I could be compared to Ulala when escaping from Channel 5 HQ in terms of vocal tone. I just can't give up!

...But I don't want to die.

I hiccup as the Superior give the next commands. Okay...

"Down! Up! Chu!" I can do this...

"Down! U-ahh!!" I can't take it. With that one cry of agony I let loose everything that I've been holding back. It's out of frustration, pain, anxiety, and everything else I've been bottling up. Klaxon alarms go off and a sweet, female, robotic voice comes over the speakers,

"Thrusters at critical damage. Thrusters disabled." Ahhhh! Crudders-ka-da-doothers! Argh! That last shot hit the thrusters! Now we've been left to drift! Gah, and we were still out of sight of Channel 5...!

"No! This can't be happening!" Vis practically screams abruptly from below. Don't you dare give up, Vis. I know it's hopeless, but we just can't give up...!

"Up down right left chu chu chu!" Oh please make it stop.

"Up down right left chu chu chu!" My hands are at their limit. I don't know if...

"Up right left down chu hey chu!"

Hiccup... "Up right lef-"

My hands slump down.

I can't move them anymore. I don't know what happened. I immediately look down. For that blessed second where my mind races and everything around me is silent, I realize several things.

My hands are useless. They're torn up to the point where I don't think I could ever use them again. Flesh hangs off of them and I can see bone. Some veins have been sliced open, I know that. That leads to the second point.

I'm at the point where I could - can die. There's too much blood missing. I'm not going to make it. Am I?

I'll never see my mom again. I'll never see anyone again. Because I failed. Everyone is going to die. I'm such an idiot. Such a loser.

And then the world becomes loud again. And it tumbles. I crash to the side and all too clearly I feel as my screams are set loose. Mainly from pain. I'm tossed over that slab of metal when the ship flips - I can hear explosions outside vibrating through the ship - and I fall like a bag of potatoes down the chute-thing again. Then up. Then to the side. Then down again. I can't hear anything above my own screams. Flesh has been ripped off my hands now. I could feel it. I don't pay attention to the others. I just scream and keep my torn-up hands to myself. My head hits a wall. Several times. I don't know how many. I'm still hollering when the spinning stops. The tears won't stop, I don't care about them.

When my hands become numb -  shock, right - I open my eyes to a disheveled room. Area. Thing.

I can't really tell what's going on. I can tell some things though. Doesn't make sense. Cloudy...

Vis is bleeding. Maybe her nose? That's where it all is on her face. Red, red, red.

Blank. I register nothing. Nothing is there. Try to focus. Purge is crying. I look over at him. He's holding his head. Maybe it's bleeding too? Huh. Blank. Then I see the wall. Red. Ugh. I can't- head aches too much. I shut my eyes tight, reflexively reaching up for my head when I feel flesh brush against my head. I wince. That won't do me any good.

A whine, a high-pitched whine, cuts through my thoughts.

"We are giving you one chance: Give up the child or you all shall die here." Ugh... I can't tell if that was my imagination or what. I just sit there numbly. Everything hurts. No, beyond hurts. Some places ache, some places throb, other places feel like they're burning or worse. I can't take this...

"But... We can't... Give him to them..." goes Vis. I know. I...know. I can't say much, so I just turn over my palms to her. I can feel fresh, hot tears welling up.

"I...m... I'm sorry...." My voice is weak, cracked. I can't make any sense of why I'm doing this. Maybe to show her that I'm... I've given up? I don't want to hand over Purge. We know what'll happen to him. We can't just abandon him.

Vis flinches away from the sight of my wounds, instead focusing on kid Purge who's crying his little heart out. I think. I dunno of much. Too. Much. Pain...!

"Purge. Stay strong, no matter what." Sob. I know we're supposed to take care of him, but what about me got-dangit it?! I did all this and for what? We're so screwed up a creek.

The ship rocks, I fall forward, and scream. On instinct my hands went forward but I turned them over so the back of my hands hit the floor. I think something pops, but I'm too pumped up on the adrenaline now coursing through my veins. It has been for a while, but not enough to dull all of the pain. That is going to huuuuurrt when I get my feeling back. Now what--

"We're taking the kid. Prepare to be boarded. Pray that your decision is the correct one." Oh man... Not them. Anything but them!!

"Do we really have a choice in this? I mean, look at your wounds..." Oh, she says that casually. Of course look at my wounds! Think I'll live long enough?! Sadistic little...

The spacecraft shakes. Something's connected with our vessel. And...oh no. Please no! The adrenaline is wearing out of my body. Oh-ho-ho no... No! I can't do anything here on the floor. And I know what's coming next. With a whimper of pain I make myself sit up. I awkwardly cross my arms in front of me, making sure my hands stick out far enough from my body so they don't cause any unnecessary complications. Like pain. My elbows are just about touching each other. And I want to throw up. We don't have a chance in Hell of surviving this. If they did that to a kid, who knows what they'd do to us?

The entrance to the ship opens and in step several men in suits. I note that the entire ship is now working on its backup power. Red lights on are everywhere, somewhat hiding where some blood may be.

But enough about that. The Superiors are here and we're so screwed. I keep my eyes on them, but in my peripheral vision I note that Purge is holding onto Vis and vice versa. Oh maaaan...

I don't want to do this anymore. A sliver of hope is all I have left. Just a sliver of hope we'll live long enough to see morning again. But as they stand there, that hope wavers. For me at least.

"You creeps! What're you gonna do to him!?" shouts Vis, defiantly going against those who were big shots in this galaxy. Doesn't she remember what they did? Ugh boy...

One chuckles, "That's for Superior ears only, rat. Hand over the child, and we might consider letting you live. After all, we can return him to his parents."

"My...parents...?" I turn to Purge. Oh no. Oh no, he did not just say that!

"They're lying Purge!" Vis puts her hands on his shoulders, "They killed them!"

"No!" He struggles away from her grip, shaking his head with his eyes closed, "You're lying! My parents are alive! I know they are! ...They have to be!" I think Vis tries to look into his eyes, if he ever opens them. She returns,

"Don't you remember? They fought to protect you! You can't let them die for nothing!"

"But..." he chokes up, "They have to be alive! They just have to!" There's a pause and he looks down- ow the pain! I wince as he continues on, "...Dad's strong... He would...." And he leaves it at that. I can see them, hear them, coming closer. Someone holds out their hand.

"And they're waiting just for you, dear Purge. Just come with us and it'll all be better."

"No!" I'm a bit surprised, yet not. Purge peers up and glares at the Superior. He leans closer to Vis and - hey, shouldn't I look for the one with the scarred hand? Now would be a good time, but I can't tell who is who. Or if any of them have scars for that matter.

"I won't go with you!" Purge goes on, doing my heart good...if it weren't pumping out my life force with each beat. Hey, is the air getting fuzzy or is it just me?

...

Oh no.

"Purge... I might not be your parents," says Vis, "but I'll protect you no matter what!"

I can hear him - why do things have to be fuzzy? - the Superior sneer.

"Then we'll just take the boy, and leave you two for dead!"

I can't stay awake much longer...

"Hold on there." My eyes are shut, so I can't tell what's going on. "Why don't we send them on a little...trip? It would be-" I can't hear after that. I force myself to my feet using the back of my hands and make my body, despite the pain wracking it to levels I never knew of, stay that way. I try to peer up to see their faces, but I just meet one: the Superior nearest to Vis and Purge. I stalk forward, my legs feel like they're on fire and I limp. I make my way to stand before him.

And I never knew how stupid I was.

I kick my right foot up, the good one, wobble on my other, and fall on my butt. My foot goes higher, someone lets out a high-pitched cry - scratch that, two people, I'm feeling the screams escape again.

All this in only a couple seconds, I think.

My body is hoisted into the air, other people are screaming - Purge is crying out my name, Vis I dunno - and all the air escapes me as my stomach feels like it just hit my spine or something. Everything's in agony.

And everything fades away.

I don't know for how long I'm there. It might've been hours, it might've been days. Hell, it feels like it's been years, but I finally open my eyes.

The first thing I see is a blinding sun. I close my eyes again and look away with a groan.

"I... I let them get him..." Wait, Vis? She's alive?! I push myself up carefully, not wanting to cause more damage. I have a slight case of ADD but only when really, really excited. At the moment, I'm wondering what damage's been done and...wait, how am I alive?

"I'm alive?" My tone is airy, as if I'm barely there. Which is partially true. My brain's not up to speed at the moment. What Vis said then hits me. "Wai- ...Purge is gone?" I'm just sitting there trying to readjust from not being dead. That's quite an accomplishment, to bypass death. Ha...

"Yeah, I tried fighting them off as much as I could... But they snatched him." She sniffled, looking away from me. Wait, we were in a jungle?! How'd we get here - oh, right. Purge is gone. Focus, Alkaid. "I-I can still remember his screams..." I reach over and freeze. My hand it's... It's...!

My hand's healed! I quickly look over my other hand. Yeah, it's okay too. Just what happened?

Then Purge's screams rip through my ears again. I wince. Had he really gone kicking and screaming? ... Idiot. Yeah. Dumb question. Poor kid. Probably thinks we're dead.

After a little bit, or at least that's what it feels like to me, I open my mouth,

"So," I gulp, getting my regular voice back. "So what happened? I was knocked out. And how is my hand healed? I thought I was going to...die back there?" I hated to admit it, but that was true.

"The Superiors put Nano-Bots into your blood system, so you'd have a 'Fighting Chance' at survival." What? My eyes widen. They did wh-- "However...." Wait, what? Vis slips a hand under her pant leg and withdraws a little machine. I've no idea what it is, but it looks like a cross between a walkie-talkie and a flare gun. I dunno how someone pulled that off. "They didn't think of me taking the S.O.S. device." Then she just gives me a smile - a weak one considering our situation - that grows a bit bigger at seeing my disbelief. Guess we don't have to worry quite as much about being found.

"Heh," I breathe out, "Well activate it, girl! We don't have all day... Or did you do that already?"

"Oh, I activated it already. Someone should be coming." Casually again. Lunging forward, I wanted to hug her or give her a noogie. But...the pain again. I shut one eye and retract myself. Ah, I could get her later. I smile, she smiles, smiles all around. I start to laugh at all of this, turning into hysterics. We defied death and help is coming. Bahahahaha...! Oh man. That brings a tear to my eye. Hee ha...

So here we are, I guess, deserted on some forsaken planet. All we can do is wait for help. If we get help. Guess we can stand to wait. Not like we have any choice.

Purge... I swear we'll do something. I don't know how yet, but we'll save you. Some way... Just wait for us, please. Some day we'll be there, just...wait for us. We'll be there.

I promise.