Futuristic Come on! Not agaain! -Sincerely, Adrian.

[Laine]

“Jealous? Of him?” Keve’s smirk cracked into a grin, and he started chuckling heartily, so much that he had to swallow his food to stop himself from choking. Images of the pale, freckled giant beating him over the head with a lamp, loudly complaining in English in a Vos bar, trying to walk out from said bar, and then getting drunk and vomiting his guts out all flashed in his head, all of them exceeding humorous to Keve. To him, Ade seemed more like a poorly-trained Neanderthal than a potential partner for his comrade. “No, I wouldn’t say that.”


At that, he stood, walking over to a different food machine for a second helping. This time he combined two meals, producing a huge steaming plate of alien meats and vegetables, lined with noodles dripping on a fluorescent orange sauce. “Even in training, I knew we were never really compatible, Petar.”


He sat down at the breakfast bar, rubbing his hands together, before digging in. He grunted in satisfaction as he ate, “You see, we’re just - we’re just too similar, you and me.” He pushed his plate away, leaving it more than half-full with food. He lit up a voffy, and started taking deep draws on it, puffing the vapour in Cassidy’s face. “…Wouldn’t you say?”


*****


Adrian panted hard, frustrated that he’d been so easily caught and thrust back where he came. He stayed put as the dark kidnapper entered, a combination of shock and fear in his eyes as they spoke in the thunderous alien dialect, unsure as to how to react. As he left, Ade got up again, freezing as Anshik speaking broke the silence.


Adrian licked his lips, his breathing becoming steady, “R…really…?” He murmured, although after realising that he probably should’ve known better than to believe his captor. As he stood still, he became more aware of his headache that had returned, and the burning, throbbing pain in his fractured wrist. The doctor sat back down, cradling the hand and grunting as he examined it.


As he did so, he furrowed his brow, wondering why his kidnapper had lied to – what he assumed to be – his superior, especially one as mean and violent-looking as he was. He looked up again, eyes clouded with both confusion and suspicion. “And…why did you do that?”

 

[chellemrys]

Cas glared at Keve, only breaking the intensity to bite more of his muffin off. "What's so humorous?" He mused, "Just afraid to admit, that either way, a 21st century idiot won over you?" He finished his second muffin, and snatched a plump piece of fruit off the table, biting into it sloppily, the juices running out between his lips and down his chin. The Lieutenant wiped his face with his wrist, smirking over at Keve, glad to defend his 21st century "neanderthal."


Cassidy nipped at the fruit, walking back over to Keve. He scrunched his face up in irritation, waving the vapor out of his face, "Maybe we used to be, Keve. But, well," He looked Keve over, as if he was examining him for the first time up close, "You know." He looked down at his fruit, with a disgusted expression, "I just don't entirely understand it."


**********


Anshik never looked up from his cards as he spoke; he was fully immersed in their organization now. "Well, why wouldn't I do that?" He flicked his tongue out, tasting the air, with a hiss-like sigh. "I get how you are right now. You're probably jusst sscared, not much more. Ssome people think it'ssa fun to beat and torture their prissonerss, but you have not done anything wrong. You're jusst collateral. Sso, I don't get why I have to beat you."


The reptilian humanoid's eyes rose to meet Adrian's green ones, and he put on the tiniest of grins. "Sso, Adrian, my name is Ansshik. I know thiss issn't under the nicesst terms, but, nice to meet you."

 

[Laine]

Keve continued to smirk, “You’re assuming that there was any competition between he and I.” He stood, lifting a hand to Cas’ scrunched face and brushing a stray tuft of hair aside, chuckling as the Lieutenant recoiled. “You can bite the pillow with whoever you like. Just realise that some partners will leave you worse off than others.” His voice was quiet and had a tone of seriousness to it, despite his smile. He soon broke the eye contact, picking up his plate and scraping what was left in the incinerator. He shook his head as he continued. “What’s there to understand?” He murmured, back turned to Cassidy as he slid the plate into the nearest food machine. It gave out a ‘Thank you, sir’ in a sultry male voice, and Keve patted it warmly.


“I haven’t changed, Petar. If anything, it’s you who has changed.” He turned, a look of pity on his face as he strode back over, his hand hovering on the shock button on his hopper once again. “I mean – whatever happened to your sense of humor?”


*****


Adrian stared hard at his kidnapper, his scaled face contorted into a half-smile. His tone of voice seemed genuine, but he found it difficult to believe that the reptilian man actually sympathised with him. Ade’s freckles bunched up into a frown. “You’re right. I haven’t done anything wrong. I didn’t choose to come here.” He looked around the small, dark room expectantly, “…Wherever here is.”


Ade suddenly doubled over as he felt his stomach rumble again, a pink embarrassed glow lighting up his face as he bit his lip. He swallowed hard, “A-and if you really feel that way, I guess you should let me go.” He tried to mask the desperation in his voice with a light chuckle. He knew it was pointless to suggest before the words left his mouth, but he was struggling to think of anything else to say to keep his captor talking. The room was silent aside from the faint sounds of Anshik flipping over the cards, and the distant sounds of brutish voices talking above them.


Ade leaned forward on the cot, edging off until he was stood again. He slowly took a step forwards. Closer to his captor, he could see that his scales had dirt trapped deep, deep within the cracks, and his black clothes were faded with age. “My partner, Cassidy-“ He began, edging closer to Anshik “-He’s knows I’m not the smartest when it comes to these kind of situations. He’s probably very worried about me.” Ade sighed heavily, mostly in disbelief that he was even bothering trying to persuade the reptile. “...And he’s wealthy, you know. Very wealthy. And I can- I can guarantee, if you let me go, I can get you a far higher payout than whatever your mean-eyed boss is offering to cut you.”

 

[chellemrys]

Cassidy rolled his eyes at the velvety voice that emanated from the food machine, in response to Keve throwing away garbage. He had to admit, he would have loved that feature if he was not a prisoner. But, considering the situation, he kept his laughter subdued. "Well..." He shrugged in sarcasm, making a face of contemplation, "You did seem to be trying to show him up, earlier."


Cas scoffed at Keve's declaration, that he had not changed. He waved his comment away, shaking his head in disbelief, "Yeah? No change? What happened to the loyalty, integrity, and fun sense of humor. You think giving me a violent shock is humorous for some reason." The time agent hoped what he was saying was not an invitation for more shocks, but he figured if Keve was going to shock him, he would. He was going to be tortured plenty by the end of this mission.


******


Anshik observed the other double over in hunger, and he stood slowly, "You're hungry. How long hash it been sssince you have lasst eaten, Adrian?" He looked at his wrist, finding the time on the comm device. He nodded, "They sshould be giving you food ssoon." The reptilian man knew Ade was suspicious of his sympathies, so he simply shrugged, "You haven't done anything wrong. But, that won't change the fact that you are here."


The creature chuckled at the bribery, laughing in disbelief at the offer, "I know who Casssshidy Petar is. Trust me, you know nothing of true wealth, human." Anshik giggled, "That eess funny, though. You musst live a poor life to think he hassh true money." Anshik calmed himself, "And bessides, I enjoy having limbs. Sso, you are not going anywhere."

 

[Laine]

The only reason you don’t think it’s funny is because you can’t see yourself being shocked. Trust me, I’m sure even Adrian was enjoying that face you pull.” Irked by Cas’ scoffing, he pressed the button, smirking as the Lieutenant dropped to the ground. “Ah, there it is.” Keve grinned, watching the other writhe and groan on the floor as his body was wracked by muscular spasms. He bent down for a brief moment, stroking the Lieutenant’s dark wisps, “You see, this reminds me of the good times. No arguing, no betrayal, just fun, hmm?” He looked briefly into the other’s eyes, the gentle smile never leaving his face. And if you’re still not feeling the electric shocks, I always have a batch of Vekkil for you to try, he thought.


He leaned over the breakfast bar as Cassidy started to recover, musing to himself as he chewed a fingernail. “…I don’t think I was ever loyal to the time agency, Petar. Not like you were.” He waved his hand nondescriptly, sighing, “But I was always loyal to my comrades. You’ve been through the same miserable, nightmarish missions as I have. The friends that we buried were both of ours. And you deserve my respect for that.” His eyes were getting blurry with nostalgia, but not sorrowful or sad. He started pouring two glasses of strong Vaask, holding one out to Cassidy. “Cheers, Petar.”


******


Adrian sat back down on the cot, rubbing the back of his neck as Anshik laughed at him. He supposed that it was a weak idea to try and bribe his way out, and an uncomfortable feeling began to rise in his stomach as he realised that he wasn’t getting out of there easily. Even though he wasn’t bound and the door wasn’t locked, he truly felt trapped as the voices above their heads started talking again, the raised volume suggesting either anger or excitement. There was sweat running down his neck from both the heat and the anxiety.


“If you enjoy having limbs, then pray you never meet Cassidy.” Adrian stated quietly. He knew that Cas would have a field day if he got his hands on the scaled captor – and yet, the more he talked to him, the less anger he felt towards Anshik. He seemed strangely sympathetic towards him, unlike Keve who had almost completely ignored him up to this point. The reptile slowly flipped over his cards, and Ade craned his neck around to try and figure out what he was doing with them. “Well…Anshik…If I’m not here for ransom…can you tell me…why I’m here…?” Ade murmured.

 

[chellemrys]

Cas knew the shock was coming; Keve was enjoying his innuendo about it way too much, and the cruel act seemed to bring him immense joy. He stiffened, waiting for the shock, which upon arriving, made him fall into a heap on the ground, convulsing uncontrollably as his body spasmed.


Good times. Cas remarked in his mind, through the pain that clung to his body. He apparently knows nothing about good times. "Complete fun," He repeated, shooting Adrian a caustic grin after the spasms died down, and he was able to control his body. The pain fled his body, and he weakly pushed himself upright, wishing he had a way to stop Keve from shocking him. But, alas, he had no control over the other. He seemingly had little weakness, in the way of threatening. And if he did threaten Keve, he would simply get a high voltage punishment.


So, Cas gripped the glass handed to him, trying to act calm to avoid another shock session. However, it slid out of his weak hand, and the glass shattered on the ground, the vaask splashing up into his face. He slid away from the mess, trying to stand, but unable to. His legs were too weak to support him, after so many cramps that day. They were heavy, and pained when he attempted to move them in any way.


*****************


Anshik flicked his tongue out, smelling the air, "Don't be ssso ssscared; it isss ssstinking up thisss room." He hissed softly, scrunching up his scaled features. "I'm not hurting you; why would he hurt me?" He replied, hearing the comment. "If anything, I just ssaved you from a broken sssomthing."


The reptile looked up at Adrian, to answer his question, "Well, you are one of the only people to ever come here and not know why they are here." He pointed at Adrian with one hand, lifting his deck and balancing it with the other, studying it, "You are here because you are a hostage. Collateral. Casssshidy Petar will get you back, when he doesss what he isss told to do." Anshik shrugged at that, "Which I know nothing of. I have no idea what he haaas to do. Jusst that you are here to be watched until then."

 

[Laine]

Keve regarded the Lieutenant, a grimace in his face as he tried again and again to stand, with no avail. <i>Still not having fun, Petar?</i>. He shook his head and tutted, bending down and scooping up the shards of glass in his hand, occasionally licking the Vaask off them. He wordlessly walked over to the nearest food machine, dumping the glass inside, if only to hear the male voice purr again, <i>"Did you make a mess, Sir?“</i>


He scratched his chin, twisting his face into a disgruntled glare as he walked back over to the Lieutenant. As he did so, he paused, eyes flicking down to his hopper and reading the message within. A gentle smile spread across his face, and he sped up his pace, practically matching back over to the stranded Lieutenant.


"I think it's about time you met some friends of mine, Cassidy." He murmured. Without offering him the chance to take it, Keve held out his hand and took Cas', pulling him stiffly and shakily to his feet. He gathered up the papers in his hands, stuffing them in a rucksack and handing it to the Cas. Before Cas had much time to recover, and having no regard for the pain in his legs, Keve half-shoved Cas towards the door, one hand perched on his shoulder.


******


Adrian shrugged and folded his arms, embarrased by the <i>stink</i>comment, "Yeah, y-you did." He still didn't fully trust the reptile, but even he didn't need to translate the conversation to know that was what happened. "But I doubt he'll be happy with you, considering you kidnapped me and all."


Ade looked down at his feet, sniffing loudly. "Collateral. I figured as much." he mentally cursed himself - he was so useless in the future, due to inexperience and not being able to speak the language. The only thing he seemed to do well was being a pawn or damsel in distress for Cas to have to save.


"And I'm guessing if he doesn't do what he's told, I'll get a broken... Something?" Ade chuckled drily. "I can add it to the collection." he murmured quieter, poking his arm gently. More rumbling footsteps could be heard from above, and without thinking Ade looked up, swallowing thickly with panic in his eyes.

 

[chellemrys]

Cassidy stumbled about for a few moments, like a fawn with new found legs. The shocks were affecting his motor skills now, and it pained him to walk. He stepped towards the door with a groan, almost tripping over his own feet. The Lieutenant winced as Keve clamped a hand on his shoulder, and he blindly headed through the door, breathing heavily to overcome the stinging in his muscles.


"F-Friends? Like you have many friends." He scoffed, letting Keve lead him through the hallway, towards an unknown destination. There was a loud knock, apparently his "friends" were knocking now, patiently waiting at the door to be let in. As they reached the entrance, Cas growled, "The same friends that took Adrian, I presume?"


******


Anshik nodded in confirmation, "Yeah, if he does not do it, they will beat you or something. Show him pictures. Threaten him some more. You're a work of bribery." He frowned, "But you have to behave too; don't attract too much attention to yoursself, is my advice. You are just one of sseveral prisoners, and thesse guys like to have... Fun."


The reptilian captor stiffened as heavy footsteps began ascending, and he looked to the door, "That'll be your lunch coming." He stood, crossing the room. The door flew open, revealing the same large alien as before. Anshik opened his hands, to take the plate, but the man waved him back, laughing, and approaching Adrian.


With a grimace, Anshik stood back against the wall, watching as the gang member took the bowl of steamed alien vegetables, and waved it in front of the prisoner's nose. Adrian's stomach growled again, and he stuck his big hand in the bowl, taking a handful of the food out and shoving it into his own mouth. "Mmm..." The alien took the remainder of the food, and dropped the bowl, causing the vegetables to spill out onto Adrian's clothes and cot. He walked briskly away, leaving Anshik and Adrian alone again.


Anshik simply crossed back to his seat, and with a sigh put his cards in his pocket, "Ssssee what I mean?"

 

[Laine]

Keve smiled, checking his hopper as he approached the door. "No. These are a <i>different</i> kind of friend. We need them for the mission." He opened it, shoving Cas out first into the arms of a surprised-looking grunt. She took Cas harshly by the arms, muttering in Vos dialect and looking at Keve for further instruction. Keve giggled, patting the woman on the shoulder as he pushed past. "Not him. The <i>other</i> one's been taken care of.“ He spoke in universal tongue, not even bothering to hide his orders. The woman let go of Cas immediately, pointing him towards a motor vehicle parked on the other side of the road. Keve marched on behind him, vaporising a voff and chatting with the female grunt, waving his hand absentmindedly.


Cas took little encouragement to get in the car, after Keve tapped on his hopper threateningly. The car was luxurious and large, far more advanced and reliable than most that could be seen on the streets of Vos. The three other of Keve's "friends" also in the car spent the time looking nervously out of the windows as they drove, occasionally murmuring to Keve in Vos tongue. They seemed to ignore the weakened, indignant Lieutenant with the broken nose, knowing it was better not to ask.


Meanwhile, Keve kicked back, taking deep voff draws and sighing as he relaxed. The driver ambled slowly across anonymous streets in Vos, snaking this way and that around neighbourhoods. After a while, Keve nudged Cassidy, a wide grin on his face, "You should be honoured, Petar. Not many get the special treatment like this. Most guys in Vos have to brave the streets and walk."


******


Ade whimpered as the food was poured on him, looking at Anshik with panicked eyes, not knowing what to do. The brutish kidnapper was huge and seemed to revel in tormenting Ade like Keve did to Cas. He shifted uncomfortably, "Uh th-thanks..." he drawled, not daring to make eye contact with the brutish man, waiting until he had left to sigh in relief. He started picking up the vegetables, scooping them back in the bowl, sniffing at them distastefully and recoiling. His pants were covered in grease and oil.


"Fun... Huh..." Adrian breathed, trying to keep the frightened wobble out of his voice as he fingered the vegetables in the bowl. They looked bad; worse than anything Cas had ever given him. He picked one up and tasted it, his roaring stomach spurring him on. He could feel the reptile's eyes on him as he ate.


Just as he swallowed, Ade felt himself gag as the slimy vegetable slid down his throat, and he shivered violently at the thought of having to finish the whole bowl. He bit his lip, fighting back pained groans as he continued eating. "Not... Not quite like Earth food..." He chuckled drily, cracking a weak smile at Anshik.

 

[chellemrys]

Cassidy knew they were his goons. No matter what. There was hardly anybody on this planet that would risk themselves for the rest of the world, he bet. They would hop on the first ship to anywhere before that happened. Besides, as he noticed when the door was opened, revealing the crew, they listened to Keve. Upon being grabbed, Keve told the lady to release him, obviously. He did not need to speak the language to understand that she had been responding to a command.


"Goons." He muttered, obediently being led to the car. He watched out the darkened windows, having a nice view of the constant slums of the city they were in. Steam and car exhaust filled the air outside, causing a smog to cloud the streets. Cas did not reply to the "should be grateful" comment, and instead continued watching through the window. The Lieutenant kept his distance from the goons, making sure to be in the back of their minds, if he could achieve that. He instead watched the streets go by, careful to memorize the route they were taking.


******


Anshik sat back, examining the pitiful human before him. The reptile knew Adrian would eat anything eventually, but he felt a pang of sympathy for the prisoner as he consumed the disgusting leftovers from a few nights prior. "They feed the pigss better food," He murmured, grimacing. He reached into his jacket's pocket, retrieving a half eaten candy bar of sorts. Peeling the wrapping, Anshik revealed a granola bar, with alien fruit pieces ingrained into the sides of it.


Adrian was already trying to down the tiny bowl of food they gave him, but Anshik crossed the room, and held the convenience snack out for Adrian, "These are my favorite sssnack. Try it." He smiled kindly, urging the human to take the bar. "But, you sshould eat what they gave you too. Sssometimes they wait a couple dayss before feeding prissoners again."

 

[Laine]

Keve chuckled drily, "You can get out and walk beside the car if you're going to be disrespectful to my friends. I'm sure the guys in <i>this</i> neighbourhood would appreciate the target practise.“ He watched the Lieutenant out of the corner of his eye, noticeably irritated by his tone.


They soon arrived at a bar, almost identical looking to the one they had been to the day previous. Keve suddenly shouted to stop the car, and dragged Cassidy out by the arm, like an impudent child. His goons followed him, eyes left and right to the streets as they cautiously moved towards the establishment. Even Keve's eyes darted around as he sucked on his voffy, as if he sensed something was off about this particular neck of the woods. Keve handed Cas a lit voff before they entered, "Take this and calm down. These guys will smell your fear in a heartbeat." he murmured, trying to cover up his own nervousness in the process.


They pushed their way in, and the two Time Agents were sat at a booth separate from the prying eyes of the rest inside. Unlike the other bar which had been in Keve's territory, there were very little hand-grabs and tongue-displaying as he passed through, and he daren't make eye contact with a select few at the back the were glaring at the small group that accompanied them. Keve nudged Cas as one goon went to get them a stiff drink. "The guy we're meeting likes to be out in the open, just in case <i>anything happens</i>. Probably sensible, given my track record." He chuckled drily again, smacking his lips together and twiddling his thumbs in anticipation.


******


Adrian barely hesitated in taking the granola, which looked far better than the dish of alien leftovers. He tried to look grateful as he chewed it - and it wasn't half bad, for alien food. "Thanks - Anshhhik-" Ade mumbled, his mouth stuffed with the morsel of decent food he'd been given.


As he finished it, he crumpled the wrapper in his hands, half hoping the reptile would have ten more stashed away somewhere. "A few... Days...?" He stared at his kidnapper, before grimly starting again on his bowl of stringy vegetables, picking through them and attempting to eat the ones that looked the most filling. His stomach continued to rumble angrily, and he sped up, closing his eyes and stuffing the food into his mouth. He shuddered as the last mouthful went down.


He placed the bowl on the floor, sitting back on the cot and curling up against the wall, wrapping his arms around his knees. For a few minutes Ade felt like he was struggling to keep the meagre meal down, the bitter taste of the vegetables repeating on him and causing him to shudder again. He watched Anshik pull out his deck of cards, and Ade quietly inquired about the game he was playing, having nothing else to do.

 

[chellemrys]

Cas took the voffy, following Keve's advice. He, as a time agent, was always trained to remain hidden, to blend in. So becoming less noticeable in any way was always a priority for him, when in a strange place. Lighting the voff, he sucked on the end, before swallowing the vapor with a shudder. Of course, the depressant drug did relax him, barely seconds after he had took his first draw on it.


The Lieutenant chewed on the end, his limbs becoming heavier, and he became very relaxed quickly. The dark haired man lifted a brow, inquiring about the man they were meeting, "Why must you meet this man? What does he do?" He hurriedly looked around at the goons again, noting how this seemed like a mob or gang.


*************


Anshik watched the other devour the granola bar, bearing a smile the entire time. His face relaxed into a sunshine like glow, when his name was drawled out. Watching Adrian and hearing the expression of gratitude was endearing to Anshik, and he giggled under his breath, a slight flutter of butterflies tickling his tummy.


The reptilian man grimaced as Adrian forced himself to finish the vegetables, "Tassstesss ssso awful, I know. But it isssh better than sstarving. Remember that." Anshik began fiddling with the cards now, pretending to be busy. But in reality, he was avoiding a silence. The alien glanced up at Adrian, wearing the smile after the veggies had gone. "Ever played this game?"

 

[Laine]

Keve tilted his head back, puffing out a cloud of voffy vapour before replying. "We need him for the mission. He's a supplier. He's gonna hook us up with the machine we need to reverse the Uniri's Yusson machine. The... " He put a hand to his chin, trying to remember the name, which was lost somewhere within the voff smoke and alcohol in his head. "The... The... Uh..." He chuckled nervously, shaking his head and shrugging. "Yeah, well, he knows what it's called. That's the important thing." Soon enough a grunt arrived with three drinks - a Vaask for Keve and Cas, and a mysterious blue one for their guest.


There was a loud shout from the other end of the bar, someone calling Keve's name. The Time Agent instinctively didn't look, forcing his eyes to look straight ahead at the empty seat in front of them. As they called his name again he wiped the sweat off the back off his neck, turning to Cas and murmuring, "Don't look at them. They're rivals of ours trying to attract our attention. If we make eye contact they'll start a brawl."


As he spoke, the door snapped open, revealing a short, stocky man with a hood covering his face, and carrying a large rucksack on his back. He looked left and right, before sliding into the chair opposite Keve and Cas. "F***." he grumbled in Vos dialect, keeping his head low and taking a gulp from the drink next to him. The pale blue fur on his hands and chin was visible, but he was careful to never let his full face show. "You couldn't have chosen a worse time to meet, Keve. This had better be f***ing good."


He suddenly sniffed at the air, wrinkling his nose at what he smelled. "Who the fuck is this?" The man snarled in universal tongue, directing his words towards the Lieutenant. Keve nudged Cas expectantly, whispering in English so the creature could not understand. "It is rude on Vos to introduce others. Tell him your name, your species and why you're here." His voice sounded half-pleading, half-commanding as he looked around the bar for any signs of trouble.


************


Ade cocked an eyebrow up at Anshik, whose wide grin was reassuring, if a little scary-looking on his scaled face. "N-no, I haven't." He looked at the cards, each one featuring a different alien symbol, which Ade guessed was the Vos language. He nudged the bowl with his foot, lifting his head to the two's eyes were met. "...Perhaps you could teach me, Anshik...?" he murmured. Ade figured that this captor wasn't so bad, and he might get more food if he tried to be diplomatic with the reptile.


"That is, if you won't get in trouble for it." Ade smirked and chuckled drily. He casted a look upwards and shifted uncomfortably on the cot, his clothes still swimming with grease. Anshik leaned closer to him, and began laying out the cards. "I don't understand the language, I'm afraid." Adrian admitted, chewing a nail on his good hand as he watched carefully.

 

[chellemrys]

Cas had almost turned to see who was starting the ruckus, but snapped back at the warning. He instead looked around, from the corner of wide brown eyes, trying to see what he was passing. The bar smelled musky, many of the aliens were 'mutts'; ugly mixtures of races to create unhealthy looking ghetto creatures. Sometimes inbreeding happened in these places, and by the looks of the deformed features of some of the creatures, that was what happened. Or, so many different creatures bred until the got... A question mark as a creature.


Stiffening at the sudden change of language, he looked to Keve, waiting for him to answer. He perked his brows up at the response he got, and he turned back to the creature, "Lieutenant Cassidy Petar. Mostly human. I'm the one who suggested this type of technology, because he isn't the most familiar with it. Just helping out." The Lieutenant wore a slight smile, not trying to act unnatural, but instead like he knew exactly what was going on.


*****


Anshik's forehead compressed, in what would be a furrow of the eyebrows, if he had those. Instead he had eyebrow shaped bumps, that were scaled also. He nodded, "Yeah, I can teach you. It's pretty easssy." He got off his chair, lowering himself onto the floor in a crossed legged position. With a fanged frown, he furrowed his scaly brow even more. "You can't read thisssh?"


At this moment, he realized he had been speaking English. "English. Human." He whispered, and looked up at Ade, "Sssay, where exactly are you from? You ssspeak Englisssh, but not the universssal tongue? This is the alphabet, for Helsshi's ssssakess."

 

[Laine]

Keve leaned back in his chair, looking as if he was beginning to relax and grateful that the Lieutenant had been honest. He sipped at his drink, casting a sidewards glance at the restless group at the other side of the bar with narrowed eyes.


The creature opposite them licked his lips distastefully at Cas’ reply. “Lieutenant? So this is another friend of yours, Keve?” He murmured. The Ex-Time Agent shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, although he smiled weakly and made a little mmhm sound of agreement. They both took another mouthful of their drinks, before the creature gestured with a miniscule hand towards Cas, “Olmos. I’m a third-generation Grawlix.” He purred the words proudly, despite the negative connotations behind the Vos word for experimental hybrid. He was a poorly-proportioned feline-esque humanoid, whose head was too big for his shoulders and hands too small to be considered practical. He drew the hood further over his face, clearing his throat nervously as the group at the side of the room began to get rowdy.


“…And your guess is as good as mine as to why the fuck I’m here.” Olmos spat sarcastically, shuffling the bag off his shoulders and digging inside. He reluctantly pulled out a menagerie of random objects, sliding them on the table as he struggled to find what he wanted. “Do you have any soldering experience, Mr. Petar? I have the parts you may need, but due to unfortunate circumstances, I lack the visual capacity to piece them together at this moment in time.” Keve shuffled uncomfortably in his seat again at the scathing words, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. “It was an accident, Olmos.” He mumbled in Vos dialect.


*****


Ade peered closely at the cards, pointing to one and mumbling with a grimace. “Well…that one kind of looks like…a P…or an R…” He caught Anshik’s eyes, and chuckled nervously, shaking his head. “…Alright, no. I can’t read it.”


Adrian felt himself stiffen as the reptile scrutinised him, and he scratched the back of his neck, “But-but I know the universal tongue. It just wasn’t…my first language. I know…Poolah. And Kerschnaille…and…Helmi…” Each word he mumbled with his distinct Scottish-American twang, which warped them almost beyond recognition. Cas had tried to teach him universal tongue a few times, either verbally or through a machine, but Ade had refused on the premise that it would be a waste of time, since they lived on Earth. He sighed in frustration as Anshik regarded him. He bit his lip, unsure whether he should tell the truth. “I’m from…around. My parents moved a lot when I was a kid, so...”

 

[chellemrys]

Cassidy's narrowed eyes shifted between Olmos, and Keve, at the tone he received when the dealer realized he was a Lieutenant. A Time Agent. Keve was not joking, he supposed, when he told him his friends did not appreciate, or like in any way, Time Agents. But, now confused thoughts began poking their way into Cas' mind, and he also took a cautious sideways glance at the rowdy bunch across the room. Why do these guys hate Time Agents?


He had stopped paying attention, and snapped his head back to meet Olmos' poorly focused gaze with surprised eyes, "Oh?" He furrowed his brows, turning to scrutinize Keve after he answered in a hushed, but unrecognizable (to him, at least) dialect. It bothered him greatly that he did not understand the language spoken here; on all his missions, he was always taught the native language using advanced, and, quite honestly, stolen technology, that the Time Agency discovered in the distant future, on a remote, but advanced, planet. It was the equivalent of downloading information into a brain; the time agency used the tech for language learning, and rapid teaching of skills. Like soldering.


Cas bit his lip, tempted to say no. But, he had a tiny amount. A very tiny amount. He did it once, in an emergency, with a makeshift blow torch. The Lieutenant shrugged, "I can try..." He whispered, before adding in a confident voice, "How hard could it possibly be?" Adrian probably though Cas could do anything, but he had his limits.


***********


Anshik giggled, repeating the funny words under his breath. "P... R... What in Helmi are those?" The reptilian creature caught Adrian's brief gaze, a bright flash of green, and his own dark, snake-like eyes focused and froze on the spot in the air where they had met, replaying the instant in his mind for a few seconds, smile faltering slightly. After snapping out of the trance, he snickered, honestly confused. The English alphabet at this point was ancient, uncommon, and untaught. Only the spoken language was still used.


The creature nodded at the admission, "No, you can't read it. Which is weird because..." He grabbed at Adrian's wrist, snatching the pale limb and squeezing it gently, eyes raising up to meet Ade's green gaze, "You're a human. It'ssh weird becaussse, you are not a low-privilege sssspecies, and you can't even read?"


The reptile felt as if he was playing a game, and began to get mildly carried away with himself. After Adrian recited the languages he supposedly knew how to speak, with a grin, he leaned towards Adrian, unaware of how close the encounter was becoming, as he began giggling in response to Adrian's idiotic mumbling.


He barely understood Adrian, just making out the words, "Do you?" With a wicked, and mildly flirtatious, grin, he released Adrian's wrist, just realizing he never let go, and whispered to the other in the Universal Language, telling him he was lying. He also gave him a single reason why he knew he was lying: Helmi is not a language, you fool.





Snickering, he looked down for a brief moment, registering that he had hovered into the air space of Adrian's nose, and stared at his interesting captive's lips for a few seconds, before flicking out his tongue to taste the air as he backed away, "What did I just say?" He asked in a playful whisper, "And if you can't tell me, you have to tell me where you are from."

 

[Laine]

Olmos snorted indignantly, slamming a piece of hardware on the table that looked vaguely like a circuitboard. “How hard could it possibly be?” He repeated, hissing at the Lieutenant and Keve simultaneously. Keve tapped on the table impatiently, casting a dirty look at Cas as the feline grumbled to himself. “I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years now and you have this…this poxy human whelp in that doesn’t even know how to…and with so much at stake…I don’t know why I fucking bother, Keve…” He continued to search, almost climbing into the bag, tossing out various objects and kicking them on the floor frustratedly.


Eventually he pulled out a few more pieces of circuitboard and small metal tubes, placing each on the table in Cas’ vague direction, sniffing harshly as he gulped down his drink. Keve looked at each one nervously, not knowing what any of the objects were or what they could be used for. He picked up a metal tube, that looked like a voffy, examining it with distain. Olmos placed a large metal box in Cas’ hands, his unfocused amber eyes in line with the Lieutenants’. “Do you at least know what this is?” He growled suspiciously.


***********


Adrian drew his wrist back towards his chest, feeling his face glow red as the reptile licked out at the air just in front of him. “I-I can read.” He cleared his throat, his voice sounding unconvincing as he spoke. “And, you said…you said…Helmi, it sure is…warm…in…here…” Ade chuckled nervously, scanning the reptile’s face up and down for any sign that he’d got it right. None appeared. He shuffled away from Anshik, crossing his legs and wincing.


Ade sighed, wishing he knew more than just tiny tidbits of the language literally everyone knew in the future. “Okay, so I didn’t quite catch that one. If you really wanna know so bad, I’m from..uh…” He murmured, still unsure as to whether he should really let his captor know the truth. Then again, what’s he going to do, kidnap me? “Uhm, it’s planet…called…Eaaarth…?” He stretched out the word so it was barely recognisable, breathing nervously as he said it.

 

[chellemrys]

Lieutenant Cas calmly sat back, acting cool as he watched Olmos hastily, and irritatingly, pour over his items, rearranging them and insulting Keve and he for not knowing how to solder. It probably was not hard at all, Olmos was right. But, he was fearful of screwing it up, and ruining the device they needed.


At the question, he narrowed his eyes, compelled to challenge the dealer, getting quite irritated with the other's demeanor towards him. He took a deep breath, however, and pointed at the metallic box, "It obviously needs to be connected to the central box; I don't know the scientific name for it." He had only used one of these devices once, and it had already been put together beforehand.


*****


Anshik's smile hardly faltered when Adrian nervously backed away, mainly because he was too infatuated with his captive to notice much, except his looks and voice. His scaled mouth pressed into an uneven line, twitching at the corners at the awkward use of Helmi. "Helmi, that sounded unnatural when you said it." He had never heard an accent quite like that before, and it was intriguing, at the least.


The reptilian captor rolled his eyes playfully at Adrian's remark, that he supposedly didn't quite get that one. Crossing his arms, he listened intently to the admission, instantly freezing and raising the scaled bumps that were his eyebrows, "...Earth." He waited, staring at Ade, looking him over and thinking carefully, before laugh in disbelief, denying what Ade said, as the truth. "That's impossible. You know, no one can be from there. It was shut down thousands and thousands of years ago. Silly."

 

[Laine]

Olmos chuckled patronisingly, although he was slightly impressed that Cas at least knew what to do with the object, “The Central Box? Do they not teach technical terms at that pre-school they call The Time Agency?” He took a deep sniff, sensing tension in the air as Cas became more and more irritated. He took another sip of his drink, before smelling the air again, his hood hiking back to reveal a grimace carved into his face as he turned to the other Time Agent. “You stink of stress, Keve. It’s even stronger than the alcohol smell.” He pointed out, much to Keve’s annoyance.


Olmos started rearranging the objects on the table, placing them in the vague order they had to be soldered together, snapping his fingers occasionally to make sure Cas was paying attention. As he picked up the last item and slid it into the Lieutenant’s hand. His warm furred hands lingered on Cassidy’s wrists for a few seconds, detecting his pulse through the veins as he carefully explained what the object did.


His hands moved further up, and his face contorted in confusion as he reached the metal cuff below the hopper. “And then you have to-…Oh.” He murmured, his voice taking on an unusual high pitch as he broke off mid-sentence. He turned to Keve, whom looked annoyed still, before turning back to Cassidy, his face clouded with curiosity. “…So you’re not here by choice, Mr. Petar?” Keve stiffened at the question, the corner of his eye twitching as he averted his gaze from the two.


*****


“Yeah…Earth.” Ade confirmed with a tiny nod, raising his eyebrows as the creature laughed at him. He squirmed uncomfortably, biting his lip. “It was…?” Adrian vaguely remembered Cas saying something similar when they first met; that Earth had been turned into some kind of nature reserve, and no longer had humans living on it. Considering Anshik said it had been shut down, it suddenly occurred to Ade that they may not be in the same time period Cas had taken him to before, but instead centuries into the future of the future. He took a few seconds to steady himself at the notion, knowing it was better not to ask what time period they were in.


“…Well, Anshik…” He started, his voice a steady murmur as he tried to think of what to say. The reptile was looking at him as if he was crazy, which upset him, considering he’d told the truth. “I am from Earth,” he began, daring to look into Anshik’s dark eyes as he spoke, “Just from…back when it was still up and running. You know… the 2oth, 21st century…?” Since Anshik already knew who Cassidy was, Adrian supposed it wasn’t dangerous to suggest that he had time-travelled. He bit his lip as he said it, fearing another bout of ridicule from the other.

 

[chellemrys]

The Lieutenant's mouth perked up into a slight grin when Olmos pointed out Keve's stress-stench, appreciating the bluntness when it was directed at other people.


Cas kept that slight smirk plastered on his face, until the metal band was clinked, and Cas stiffened, lips forming a stiff line. He didn't respond, instead eyes providing confirmation as he stared back at Olmos, res reading: <i> No, I'm not here of my own choice. You got it.</i> There was probably very little that Olmos could do to help Cas, and doubted anyone would go out of their way to help, but he wasn't going to admit that to potential help.


Cassidy shifted restlessly in his seat, wishing Adrian was still here, in case this was a potential escape. But even if Olmos did decide to help, for any strange reason, he had to worry about the Scottish damsel in distress, before his own hide.


*****


Anshik's ridicule filled giggles did not let up, until he realized how serious Adrian was. The red haired man seemed nervous, and uncertain of the language, the alphabet, and the entirety of this place's existence and culture.


He fell silent, hissing out slowly. "Time travel." He shook his head, knowing that time travel was impossible for anyone except very select civilizations... And Time Agents. The reptilian man narrowed his eyes, flicking out his tongue and tasting the air, tasting the nervousness and seriousness of the other wafting into the room. "You are not joking."


The creature was not a native resident of Vos, and didn't feel the same strong anti-sentiments towards time agents, but immediately propaganda and ill thoughts filled his mind, "You are involved with a time agent." He hissed, edging on being hostile.


But Adrian was deathly afraid, he knew that. So, Anshik stopped the hostiliy, and with a concerned tone, he leaned in and whispered, "You can't tell anyone that, they will nearly kill you." That is why they had not been filled in on where Adrian was from. That is why they hadn't been given background details. the temptation for these goons to almost murder Adrian, because of his connection to an agent, would be too strong to resist. Adrian was in extreme danger being left alone with native Vossians, should they ever find out the truth.

 

[Laine]

Olmos slowly retracted his hand from the cuff, biting his lip as he waited for a reply. N0ne came, and an eerie sound rattled from inside his throat and erupted out of his mouth, filling the room with an alien – but still recognisable – chuckling fit. His face creased up and he doubled over, as he attempted to stifle the noises he was making, unaware of the multitude of eyes that were now on their table. “Shut up, Olmos.” Keve snarled.


“You-You seriously dragged Time Agent here without telling them anything and threw a hissy fit when they didn’t follow your orders, again?” The feline grinned, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. “My, my, Keve, it’s almost like nobody wants to be forced to save this craphole.” He leaned over to Cas, his eyes glinting with amusement. “It’s a good job I managed to get hold of that electrocuting prisoner’s cuff, else you’d be cracking Keve’s neck like the last-” He stopped mid-sentence as a fist slammed violently into the table, causing Olmos to recoil and gasp as various objects clattered to the floor. He looked over wide-eyed at Keve, his face falling to it’s usual serious frown in a matter of seconds. He drew his hood back over his face, clearing his throat as he began to shove the objects back into his rucksack, except the ones that Cas and Keve needed, which he pushed towards Cassidy.


“Petar wanted to help, but a civilian got in the way, so I had to take them both prisoner. He’s being held at the yellow box.” Keve murmured as he stood, keeping the last few words in Vosnain so the other time agent could not understand. Olmos shook his head, hissing distastefully as the two followed him out the door. Keve shot a dirty look at the rival gang from across the bar as they left. “No, no, no, don’t tell me anything about it. I’m a target enough as it is.” The feline complained, stretching out as the stepped outside. They walked a few paces towards Keve’s car, with Olmos sniffing at the air to get his bearings. He cast a nervous look at Time Agents behind him, who were nothing more than a set of dark smears in the centre of his vision. “You have everything you need from me…?” He asked Cas quietly.


*****


Ade shook his head dramatically, realising from the reptile’s tone that he’d made a mistake in revealing he was from the past. His words came out as a series of blabbering stutters. “W-what? A Time Agent? N-no, I-” He auburn-haired man was cut off before he could finish his undoubtedly terrible excuse, and bit his lip as Anshik drew closer to him. He swallowed thickly, looking into the reptile’s eyes with panicked emerald ones.


He blinked a few times, Anshik’s concerned but serious tone filling him with fear. “But…aren’t Time Agents the good guys…?” He murmured childishly, quickly realising it was a stupid question. Anshik’s eyes narrowed and Adrian smiled nervously back at him, although he could feel his body trembling. And Anshik is the nice one here. How will the guy upstairs react when he finds out…? Adrian thought, pressing himself against the wall.

 

[chellemrys]

Cassidy's eager and intense stare faded immediately at the laughter that erupted from Olmos; he almost believed he might receive assistance, or help of some sort. The time agent folded his arms, sighing in irritation and shaking his head, eyes falling downwards as he listened to Olmos' incredulous cries, mocking the blonde ex-time agent, who was hushing him.


Cas remained silent, not amused by the ridicule anymore. Apparently, everyone in this craphole lacked morals; Cas had been revealed as a captive, and Olmos first instinct was to laugh. Cas' would have been to assist the captive. Helmi, whatever. You help yourself, Cas.





He perked up at the mention of Adrian, but then forced himself to appear disinterested, as he intensely listened for a name, a location. Instead he got something in Vossian. Well, that's good enough. He repeated the words over and over again in his mind, memorizing every syllable, ingraining the few words in his brain so he may never forget, and find his Scottish damsel...


At the question, Cas snapped out of his mild trance, and shook his head, seeing immediately his chance, "No... I'm not entirely sure still. I don't really want to mess it up. Is there anywhere you could take me to show me properly?" He looked around, as if he was cautious of the other gangs also.


*****


The terror instilled in Adrian's eyes stirred sympathy from Anshik, from a time when the reptile was equally as lost and afraid as since strange human, who was out of his place, out of his time, seemingly alone and scared. He held a scaly hand up, silencing the other, "Time agentss... Are not welcome on Vosss. If anyone findsh you out, you will be ssseverely punisshed, for involvement. You could ssay it is a crime around here."


With a soft hiss, he rolled his eyes, "It'ssh like any organization that intervenessh like that. In the process, thingssh get messsshed up, people get wronged." With a pause, he added, "I'm not from here, I jusst ended up here. Long sstory. But, the people here hate the agency; they ssseem to blame them for their poverty and illss overall. Time agentssh who come here now are just looking to get killed. Only one hassh been killed ever, and the agency ssstopped coming here. A gang executed the agent."

 

[Laine]

Keve grinned at the request, stifling a chuckle as Olmos grimaced at the two. “Aha. I’m not falling for that one again. If you get stuck, get Keve to drop me a line or something.” The feline continued to sniff at the air, seemingly losing interest in the pair as the air began to fill with the stench of Keve’s goons, who were making their way out of the bar towards them. One ran ahead and reached towards the door handle of Keve’s car to pull it open for him – the sound of rapid footsteps made Olmos step back suspiciously and hiss. “Suit yourself, sweets. I’ll see you at Volskygge, yeah?” Keve waved at him as the feline started to turn away, pulling his hood over his face.


Keve led Cassidy towards the car on the other side of the street, a few steps ahead of him as he chuckled. “Glad that’s out of the way. I’ve been avoiding that guy ever since the accident.” He nodded at the goon, who slid his hand across the handle and tugged hard.


The ground trembled as the car was enveloped in a sudden burst of flames and shattered glass. The impact of the small bomb inside the car sent what was left of the goon hurtling into Keve, throwing him backwards and slamming him hard onto the ground. The sound of his comrades screeching and rapid gunfire stirred him from a brief unconsciousness, and he sluggishly dragged himself to sit up, biting back the pain from his ribcage and left leg as his hazy eyes drifted over the scene. Rival gang members began to emerge from the bar, drawing guns and getting behind cover as they open-fired at Keve’s goons. “Fuck.” He growled, drawing a plasma gun from his waist and sloppily aiming it, shouting orders in Vosnian while trying to find cover of his own.


The blue-furred feline stumbled, dazed, into an alley nearby, holding his ears and groaning loudly from the painful ringing. His eyes were closed in agony, his lip bleeding from a stray shard of glass that had struck him. Olmos dumped his rucksack, inhaling deeply as he began to sniff the air in desperation, trying to get his bearings and run away from the conflict unfolding. As he began to pick up his pace, he bumped violently into a dark smear, spitting blood and falling backwards in surprise. He sniffed again and stumbled over to the figure, tugging at his pants leg in desperation. “Mr. Petar, you have to get me out of here!” He shrieked.


---------------


“Executed…” Adrian repeated, blinking at the other slowly. His heart lurched in his chest as he thought back to his partner and Keve – both Time Agents – who would be in such great danger if they were ever found out. He dragged a hand through his auburn curls and started biting his nails again, exchanging a fearful glance with Anshik yet again as fear consumed him. How do I even know if Cassidy is safe right now? He had to force himself not to ask, knowing it would probably do more harm than good to mention his partner and his involvement with the agency. He could be standing against a brick wall at this very moment, a gun pointed at his head…


Ade shook himself, grimacing as he tried to force the horrific image out of his mind. He swallowed thickly, exchanging another glance with Anshik before looking down at the cards again and sighing. He couldn’t help but remember the argument they had the day previous, and how the Lieutenant had emphasized how important it was to keep his mouth shut – only now did he realise why. He slid his hand towards a card, murmuring in a soft, disinterested voice to change the topic as he picked it up, “…So what does this one mean…?”

 

[chellemrys]

Cassidy did not let his face betray his intentions, something that he was adept at because of how many times he had to rely on acting skills for this dangerous job. He raised a brow, and confusedly frowned at the back of Keve's head, as they headed towards the vehicle. He cursed internally, eyes flicking every which way to find another excuse, anything that would get him alone with Olmos.


The dark skinned agent did not require a distraction, or another excuse, because in an instant one arrived. Cas had his eyes glued on the goon's hand, as he opened the door, because of the frantic hopes flying through his mind, begging into oblivion for a chance, or at least more time. And that request was fulfilled. The sound-shattering explosion prodded Cas to emit a shocked screech, or surprise and pain, along with the terrified goons; he was thrown backwards, his body riding the shock wave into the nearby wall, along with shards of broken glass and metal. The screech had mainly been prompted by a piece of shrapnel, that tore through his right ear, leaving a large gaping tear in place of flesh.


His training caused Cas to unconscious shut down the mental alarms that warned of grave danger, that consumed his hearing for a few brief moments as he rolled sideways into the alley way and stood. He was smacked by another object, Olmos to be exact, which made the Lieutenant stumble back in confusion and dizziness. However, after a series of actions Cas took, which were to shake his head, pinch his broken nose while wincing and steady himself, and look up in scrutiny, his eyes widened in glee at his luck.


Auto-pilot seemed to kick in, and in a split second Cassidy was holding Olmos in the air by his silly cloak, shoving him into the alley wall as he growled through clenched teeth, "I'll save you, alright. As soon as you take me to my friend; that guy, the one he told you the location of. The Yellow Box." He repeated the words sloppily, not understanding the Vosnian, but he knew all he needed was for Olmos to understand. He dragged the feline fellow towards the opening of the alley, adrenaline blinding his sympathy as he held Olmos mere feet from a line of rapid fire between gangs, "You will take me there, or I'll throw you into their bullets. Any tricks, and I'll gouge out your bug eyes."


*************


Anshik perked his scaly bump of an eyebrow at the panicked repetition of 'execution', and couldn't help but twisted his dark lip up in worry, "Time agents can... usually handle themselves. That one time they caught one, they got really lucky... I think." He shrugged, not really feeling sympathy for Cas. Only for Adrian, really, who was so far from home, and so afraid seeming, right in front of him.


He hesitantly reached out with his slippery hand, and rested it in comfort on top of Adrian's, corners of his lips lifting upwards slightly in an attempt to help. He opened his mouth to ask a quick question, but was interrupted by Adrian's inquiry about the letters, and his eyes narrowed in confusion at the sudden indifference. He bit his lip, looking down at the card and thinking for a brief moment, before answering quietly, continuing on to the next one quietly, beginning to read through the entire alphabet. He gave the other a few minutes before asking, "So... You know a Time Agent. How, what are they to you? You're from... 5000 years ago."

 

[Laine]

“The Yellow…? Are you fucking kidding me?!” Olmos yowled, kicking out his legs in vain at the Lieutenant. The dark stoicness to Cassidy’s voice mirrored the kind that he occasionally heard in Keve during times of panic, and it showed that he was deadly serious. The feline scrambled madly, recoiling at the sound of the close gunfire in his sensitive ears. It was all too tempting for him to simply yell ‘Time Agent!’ in the enemy’s direction, which would easily put three dozen bullets in his captors body. The only snag was that Olmos would probably get hit too – as well as the fact that Keve was set on using this Time Agent to save his home planet. He hissed, almost smacking his head against the wall as he flailed, struggling to get out of Cassidy’s grasp.


A small, makeshift grenade exploded nearby, causing Olmos to scream in panic and thrash even more violently. He spoke in terrified, reluctant gasps, “OK – OK. I – I will, I will…I swear by it!” Olmos turned his head towards the group that was advancing frighteningly quickly to them, able to tell by their fear-scent that they were close. He clawed at the Lieutenant’s hands, which were close to his throat. “Just-Just get me to safety, and- and I can tell you– no, I can show you- where he is!” He turned back to Cassidy, half-pleading and half-threatening with his eyes.


Some distance away and having momentarily forgotten about his prisoner, Keve ducked behind a now bullet-encrusted concrete bench, looking over the top and mentally noting how many enemies were left. Combat training his goons in the same way he had been trained had it’s advantage; they appeared to be winning despite the ambush. He dispatched two more rivals easily, a tiny grin working it’s way into his jaw as they dropped, screaming and howling. When he slid a new cartridge into his gun, he yelped as he received a sudden jolt to his left arm that almost threw him backwards.


As he recovered, he checked desperately for a bullet or a knife wound, but was confused when all he saw was his hopper, the screen flashing a deep red and vibrating angrily against his skin. A single error message appeared on the screen, which caused the grin to quickly slide off his face;

“Warning! Prisoner leaving electrocution range!”

​

*************


Adrian cocked an eyebrow as the reptile reached out to touch him again – although his hand was warm and even comforting, he couldn’t help but wonder why Anshik was doing it. He cleared his throat, settling down to sit next to him, but avoiding his gaze as he slowly drew his hand away from the other’s, feeling a bite of guilt and wishing it were his partner sitting next to him instead.


Ade sighed, distractedly trying to take in what the reptile was telling him about the alphabet. None of it went in, and as Anshik brought Cassidy up again, Ade squirmed where he sat, not knowing if the other had worked out yet that the Time Agent and the lover he'd mentioned before were the same person. He made an effort to stay deliberately vague, “I…was just part of a mission he was doing as a TA. He was taking me back home, and then, for some reason, I got dragged here with him.” The auburn-haired doctor tried to seem disinterested, lifting up a card and scrutinising the letter on it. “…We're not really that close. I don't know him that well.” He murmured, looking at Anshik out of the corner of his eye as he said it.