Hyde felt a warm white light, pulling him upward, but not enough to lift him. It tried again, getting him a few inches off his back but letting go as if he was simply too heavy to ascend. The warmth grew hotter, now actually painful and burning, as the slow fade of war drums grew louder. He was ready to pass on, but something was holding him back, and the drums began to pound harder. Suddenly he realized the white light was the stadium lights, the drums were his heart pounding from the adrenaline and the burning fire lifting him was his own muscles trying to stand him upright and failing. He let out a grunt, coughing up blood and flopping back down as Gizzy’s face hovered into his entire narrowed view.
“Rise and shine, shithead.” She smirked. “This soldier needs a medic!” she roared. The crowd went silent. “He’s not quite dead.” She added. He lifted his hand out slowly with broken fingers as if to ask is someone would help him up, and then his hand slowly rotated and all of his fingers curled up, except the middle one, still held high, and he failed again to get more than his shoulders a few inches off the ground. But his finger remained held high anyway.
“I SAID MEDIC!” she roared, with the pitch dropping in the last two syllables as the rushed to the center of the pit. “I declare the right of mercy. By the old laws, he has accepted a challenge, and lost. The beast has won, and therefore by tradition shall be freed.” She said with a cocky bow. "And I have decided to spare his life. He may be a clone. He may not be a Delmarian anymore, but he fights like one, and he fought a god to prove it, willing to die.” She said, her bones shifting back to an almost humanlike bipedal position. Her one milky eye now almost mended and everything else looking rather fresh and normal, say for her lack of clothing.
“And as you all know, I have no difficulty killing in this arena. This creature is the strongest I have ever faced in it. As an acting council member, I hereby grant this creature citizenship.” She said, as a medic brought her some high council robes.
“You cannot do that.” objected the white rabbit. “You have no right to declare him a Delmarian just because he fought with honor. What makes a Delmarian a true Delmarian is not yours to decide! Even if some here many consider you a god, you were never one of OUR gods, and you cannot give him a soul. You may spare him, but he is still a clone and will never be a Delmarian citizen.”
“No bitch, but as a representative of the humans in the colony I can grant any human full human citizenship within a limit of population size. Check his medical scans. He was cloned with one percent human DNA. By recently passed equality laws, humans can own land, marry and are privy to almost all of the laws of this moon.” She said, full announcer voice and enjoying a beverage as if finished a light workout.
“That abomination is no human! Do you take us for fools?”
“Not the entire council, no. You, perhaps, if you fail to grasp my point. Integration laws state that a cloned human has the same rights as a human. You voted against that, but the council passed it by majority 7 to 5. So if he is a clone, and he is 1 percent human, and by your laws no percent Delmarian…then what is he?” she smiled.
“HE. IS. DEAD! Kraken was killed, this is a soulless beast copy! A piece of animal flesh at best.”
“Medical records will show that any percent human and any percent uncategorized species according to the integration law that was intended for Eridani and human halfbreeds, which have no Delmarian rights to Fupar or the ancient traditions. HOWEVER, they do grant human rights and citizenship. I bet he can pass a basic sentient species test, wouldn’t you assume? Look, he’s even responding to the recovery shots that humans love so much. Albeit about 12 of them, but I digress. Unless you as an elder of the council would like to admit he is clearly not an unclassified human hybrid, what species do you declare him?…99 percent Delmarian?” She grinned.
He fumed, almost foaming at the mouth as he hopped from his seat into the pit and stepped up to Gizzy, snarling.
“How dare you.”
“The people need an answer, whatever you think is correct, I will agree.”
“As will I.” Said another council member, standing up.
“And I as well.” Another said. The white rabbit stared Gizzy in her glowing blue eyes, refusing to blink or move.
"So Councilman Cottontail... What do you legally consider this man to be?" Gizzy grinned.
“…human.” He growled. The crowd cheered, most of them just respecting the fact that any soldier had the balls to face Gizzy. Some of them just caught in the wave of emotions and some of them now questioning what it means to fight for honor. Gizzy gave him a light pat on the cheek and turned with a playful swing step, full announcer mode and speakers blaring to the crowd.
“Let it be shown that a human has fought an Osirian and lived, proving his honor. Maybe not legally, but in spirit. A mere human, small and mortal,” she said reaching up to put her arm over his shoulder as they helped him to his feet, a good 8 inches taller than Gizzy. “Challenged a god such as myself that not even the heartiest of Delmarian warriors on this council would dare challenge after my 17 consecutive arena kills. Let it be written that Hydra Smith, human hybrid clone, has proven himself worthy!!” she cheered as the crowd began to slowly clap and chant his name. She hugged him and began exiting the arena, practically carrying him as he staggered and coughed. Still mending.
“Didn’t see that one, huh, Hyde?” she smiled.
“What the hell did you just do to me?” he asked as they walked away.
“I just used some really bullshit superstition and some god-tier technical lawyering to get you human citizenship. You’re a free citizen just like everyone else, minus the religious Delmarian exceptions. You don’t believe in those anyway, do you?”
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“I’m not any percent human, not on any medical scanner or blood test.” He said. “We both know that, and I’ve seen my clone records.”
“Well after that injection Jack gave you, ya got a benign patch of human flesh bound to the bone in your right bicep, which for all anyone knows was part of the cloning process and why you’re not an asshole anymore. And those records were destroyed, weren’t they? I believe you cleared the data yourself.”
“But for any medical or practical reasons, I’m not human. I’m a Delmarian clone with a…human tumor. That doesn’t make me the least bit human.”
“Absolutely not, so your human healthcare plan is gonna suck ass, and you can’t marry a Delmarian female because you can’t legally accept the ritual of asking her elders. Better find a human girl to marry if you ever want that status. Or marry some hybrid, I don’t care. You’re missing the point, dickweed. Of course, it’s complete bullshit, but so are most of the laws on this ancient moon. We’re working on that, but it may take a while. You wanna be legally dead and have zero rights, or you wanna be legally human and have human rights?” she asked. “You’re welcome, Gizzy. That’s the response you’re looking for and too rattled to piece together.”she smiled, wavign to the crowd on exit.
“You could have just said that in the council chambers, why wait? Why challenge me? Why beat the shit out of me? Why the entire spectacle when you could have done that yesterday in the council chambers?
“Because now everyone knows, everyone saw that, and I got an opposing council member to admit it in an arena of 40,000 people. You earned the respect of the people, you proved you could fight with honor, and you proved that you were willing to fight a god to do it. Nobody challenges me, nobody wins, and nobody lives. Now 40,000 people know WHY they fear me. You just took on the baddest thing on this moon and survived, walked away a citizen. The spectacle is everything. What happens behind doors in the government offices is subject to corruption and interpretation, but you make a show in the arena and people respect you. You have honor in THEIR respect. Not the full council, not the purists and not full Delmarian citizenship, but you got your balls back on live TV, even if you did lose to a girl.” She winked. “A girl half your size.”
“Funny, you seemed taller at one point. You could have told me you had a plan this whole time, and you didn’t have to keep me in the dark. You didn’t have to beat me within in an inch of my life, either.” He huffed.
“No, but the fear of death in your eyes was real, and not only does that let you truly understand what Nicole felt, but it made a more convincing show. Now YOU know what you're made of, too. Plus you robbed my kill, you dick. Gandalf’s head was going on MY wall, and I was gonna claim it in the pit. You took my kill, you’re lucky I let you live. You’re lucky I left you will 4 limbs still connected. You may be different than Kraken was, but now you’re stuck here with me, and you owe me, and if you ever harm either Nicole or ANY of my pet humans, remember what it feels like to fear for your life against something that could break you for the fun of it. She’s one of my favorite humans, BOTH of them. I’m talking to the 80 percent Kraken still in there.”
“Am I…still part of your damn fear experiment? You grew me in a tank with one of those chips, didn’t you? You didn’t tell me you were gonna let me live, because you were getting good data. Very rare, cloned Delmarian brain data.”
“Of course you got a chip in your brain, there’s a tiny bomb in that too. I was cloning a heathen psychopath with military training, in case you forgot. You're turning good was just a fluke. You think I wouldn’t have a backup plan? Why waste the data now? I’ve already got human fear analyzed, Delmarian fear is a whole new program, and not a lot scares you people. Not a lot of volunteers, either. You should have read the fine print when I told you about it. Well, when I told Kraken. That’s his fuck-up. I can test you all I want, track you wherever you go, and with the push of a button, end the program…or just…end you. I could have done that the entire time. If you’re a good boy, I deactivate the brain bomb. ”
“Isn’t Delmarian testing Illegal?” he reminded.
“Not if you’re legally human.” She grinned.
“Do you plan this years in advance, or do you just seize opportunities and adapt insanely fast to a new plan?”
“Which scares you more, Fluffy?” She grinned.
“Now I’m almost afraid to even ask this next question.”
“Good. That’s bonus data. You’re still on.” She informed.
“Did you set Gandalf up because he wouldn’t fight you, and you wanted him off the council, dishonored, dead and out of your way, and Kraken was just supposed to be the fall guy for Delmarian testing? Or did he really turn on the council and betray everyone?” he asked. “You seem way too paranoid to have that little security in your cloning lab. Even for his level of clearance.”
“You really should learn a lesson from Jack. He knows what questions he needs to know and which ones he shouldn’t ask about.”
“So what now? My religion is gone. I can’t rejoin the Delmarian military, I can’t leave this moon because humans have security restrictions, and you have a bomb in my head. I have no legal possessions, no money, and my ship is in Nicole’s name, you know as well as I do she’s not giving up Captain of a pirate ship claim.”
“Wow, you’re just like all the humans that come here, but with better free housing and a girlfriend. I guess you get a job or something like everyone else. I hear construction jobs pay well, and if you don’t wanna be the forklift like Vinn, maybe you could talk to Jack about what he does for me. I’m always looking for those late night repair workers that always pick up the phone and just do a killer job at repairing a furnace.” She said, raising her eyebrows.
“I’ll consider that when I’ve mulled it over for a while.”
“Brace yourself, there’s a little monster running your way.” Gizzy warned as Evil Nicole slid to a halt and debated on if it’s safe to hug him. Gizzy walked away, returning to the crowd for autographs.
“I almost lost you!” She yelled.
“Just part of the plan, honey. I told you that you wouldn’t understand.”
“So she planned that and you knew?”
“Yep.” He lied.
“And you couldn’t say anything?”
“Classified.”
“And the beating looked pretty real, was that staged?”
“No, the beating was real, I did steal her kill you know. That part wasn’t fake, please for the love of all that is holy do not jump up and squeeze me.” he coughed.
“Did she have to be that rough?”
“Sure…maybe. Probably. Let’s not question that part. She did offer me a job.”
“You’re a free human now, you can do whatever you want.” She grinned.
“I’m not human.”
“Yes you are, you big hairy fuzzy antlered human boy, you.”
“Knock it off. I’m serious.”
“Marry me.” she joked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you made that mistake once, and it got you killed. I just became a free man, and you wanna sign that away? I don’t even have a last name. It’s just…SMITH.”
“Better than Durfmurburger.”
“I’m not getting married. Fuck that shit. You can be my live-in girlfriend.”
“Actually, I own the ship, so I guess you can be my live-in boyfriend. Maybe! IF you be nice about it.”
“You really are the Evil Nicole. Little Evee Cole.” He teased.
“Actually, Evee has a nice ring to it. I may let you keep that.”
“Can we keep the ship, park it and co-sign it as a mobile home?”
“Probably. You wanna get married and co-sign that?”
“No.”
“That’s NO, SIR…Captain Evee…I believee.”
“We’re not starting that." he rejected.
“Okay, but you know it’s there.” She taunted. “You are aware of it.”
“You’re never letting that go.”
“Oh hell no. Even the other Nicole isn’t a captain. That’s all mine.”