May 31st, 2018. 7:15 PM.
Elio looks down as the devil birds reach the Levacean; “Perfect!” He holds his backpack in his hands, holding the egg close, he then falls off the devil bird as he lands safely on his feet. He assesses the egg; “Hmm… good! Its warmth hasn’t waned!” Putting the backpack on, he begins to look around for a possible entrance. Elio takes a quick look around, spotting a satellite dish; “Well, that confirms that there’s an entrance, but where is it?”
Elio suddenly almost trips; “Phew! That was close!” He looks down, seeing that there’s an ever so slight dip on the roof. “That circular shape…” He kneels over and puts his hand on it, feeling a tiny sliver among the edges; “I thought so. A metal shutter that can only be opened from authorized personnel. But first…” Elio looks up at the devil birds, who have landed and are surrounding him; “...gotta give these guys an update on what to do.” He stands up and walks toward the edge of the roof, pointing down at the island; “Wait for me down there.” His body language demands. The devil birds do as he orders and they all fly down in unison, spiraling a bit toward the island.
He walks back to the platform and gets on his knees, pressing his palms against the platform to transfer heat into it. “If it weren’t so cold up here, it wouldn’t take this long to get this damn heat to work!” He groans irritably. Finally, the shutter goes from a dark silvery shade to a blinding orange color; “Finally! I can get out of this frigid part of the sky!” He shouts in excitement as he presses his fingers through the metal, pulling back and opening the hatch. “Reggie, you don’t have to be scared anymore.” He opens it completely and begins climbing down the ladder, finally back inside the Levacean.
Upon touching the floor, Elio holds on hand back to support the egg as he begins running down the corridor. He spots a crewmate, he turns around upon hearing Elio’s footsteps, Elio stops running and puts his free hand on the crewmate’s shoulder; “Where’s Reggie?” Elio calmly asks while sporting a demanding tone. “The Martian tabby? He’s with Gendross, on the combat deck.” “Wait, what?” Elio’s tone becomes a lot more relaxed, yet confused at the revelation; “The combat deck? Wait, hold on, now I’m lost! Are you saying that they’re cool with each other?! The hell’s happening?!” His head tilts in confusion. “I’m sure the boss could explain it to you himself. Why don’t you just head over to the first cabin deck and wait at his quarters? I’ll let him know to head there.” “A-alright. Works for me. Thanks.” Elio replies, still confused, but feeling more at ease about the situation. Elio starts walking through the tenth deck, making his way to an elevator.
May 31st, 2018. 7:20 PM.
Reggie lazily slumps in the shallows of the combat deck’s pond as he rests his chin on the water’s edge, his fur reflecting the LED lighting. He gently purrs as his eyes remain half-closed in contentment as the soothing water envelopes his body, giving him a serene feel of relaxation. Submerged in the tranquil pond, Gendross sits cross-legged as he breathes calmly. His mind finds tranquility amidst the weightless embrace of the water, his mind in harmonious connection with the fluid depths. He then looks at his communicator as it vibrates; “Gendross, come in.” He puts his communicator up to his mouth as he hears it go off. “Gendross speaking. Is he here?” “Yes. I sent him to wait in your quarters.” Gendross starts swimming up to the surface; “That’s good to hear! I’ll be there right away! Thank you.” He answers, the crewmate disconnects the line as Gendross glides through the water, he reaches the shallows and starts walking out.
Reggie looks up at Gendross as he emerges; “Where are you going?” He asks curiously, Gendross keeps walking, but answers immediately. “I just have to grab something from my quarters. That’s enough training, you seem to have a good grip on your power. You can head to the cafeteria if you want, but when you’re done, come meet me at my quarters.” “Oh, ok. Let me just relax for a few more minutes.” Gendross nods at what Reggie says as he keeps walking.
Elio patiently sits down on the couch in Gendross’ quarters, his fingers locked and held close to his face. He hears the shutter opening and turns his head, seeing Gendross, now donning a black suit covering his whole body; “Well, I’m certainly surprised that you found your way back up here! That itself is an understatement!” “Thanks. I appreciate the praise, but where’s Reggie, Gendross?” Elio answers while leaning forward as his arms rest on his legs. “Don’t worry, he’s just eating away at the cafeteria. He’ll come up in just a bit.” He answers calmly.
“I see.” Elio remains seated while Gendross takes a seat on his office chair; “Reggie caused quite a stir, you know?” “Actually, that’s what I’m curious about. What happened while I was gone that made us not… enemies?” Elio asks, his posture straightening. “I’ll just keep it brief, if that’s alright.” “Go for it.” He answers quickly.
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May 31st, 2018. 7:25 PM.
Elio bolts toward Gendross and grabs the fabric of his suit as he generates heat. Despite the visor, it’s clear as day to Gendross that Elio’s eyes were filled with rage; “What do you mean ‘injected?!’ You gave my cat an injection?! Explain yourself! And I better not hear that it harmed him!” Elio yells angrily, Gendross forces Elio’s hands off of him. “Wait, that’s strange… Why wasn’t he burned in the slightest?” Gendross lightly shoves him, he falls back onto the couch; “Calm down. Reggie wasn’t hurt by it in the slightest.” Elio listens, he takes a deep breath; “I apologize for my outburst.” “It’s ok, I understand that feeling. I feel the same way when I hear about something that could potentially harm one of my crew members.”
Elio nods in response. His voice becomes calmer; “Yeah… so what was the reason you gave Reggie the injection?” “We injected him with a power serum because he passed a test, showing that he’s a worthy suitor to possess the Nightmare ability.” He answers, Elio tilts his head as he’s unfamiliar with what he’s talking about. “Nightmare…?” “Yes, Nightmare. To sum it up, there’s someone dangerous who’s been wanting the Nightmare serum for a while, but I’ve kept it close here in the Levacean. Then along came Reg-” The shutter opens up and Gendross interrupts himself; “Oh, speak of the devil! Welcome back, Reggie, we were just talking about you!”
Elio immediately looks over at the door; “Wait, Reggie?!” He asks in disbelief as he looks up at him: his body now towering over even Gendross’ as his fur-covered skin stretched taut over his bony frame. Donning six spindly legs, each sporting razor-sharp claws. His charcoal black lips on his smile and snake-like tongue add an otherworldly intelligence, as his elongated and bushy twitching tail sways, making Elio feel uncomfortable due to his uncanny feline resemblance. His breath makes Elio cough as it smells like a wet dog.
Elio plugs his nose; “That’s Reggie?!” Elio points to him while looking at Gendross. He continues; “The sweet cat that I found when he was but a stray?! This is him?!” “Yes.” Reggie answers, his voice sounding deep and garbled. “O-oh… so… are you like… are you like that permanently now?!” Elio worries, but Gendross reassures him; “He can transform at will. Right now, he’s just trying to get used to his form some more.” “It’s awesome! My claws can puncture steel, my jaw is stronger than ever, I can withstand strong attacks, and best of all…” Reggie holds his arm out way above Elio; “...I’m taller than you!” Reggie boasts.
Upon hearing the taunt, Elio scowls, looking off to the side; “I didn’t risk my own life to get back up here to be looked down on…” He grumbles. Gendross picks up on his silence and raises an eyebrow; “That reminds me, Elio. How did you get back up here? We’re three miles in the sky.” He crosses his arms. Elio turns his gaze to Gendross, his manner quickly turns enthused; “Oh, yeah, how I got back up here was crazy!” He walks to where he set his backpack down, he crouches over and starts opening the zipper; “What I did…” Elio continues as he takes the egg out, he presents it; “...I made a pact with a legion of devil birds!” Elio grins widely from his accomplishment.
Gendross quickly reacts and grabs Reggie; “Elio, run.” He orders sternly. Elio’s confused, unsure as to why he grabbed him. “Wha-” Elio stops his question entirely as Reggie leans his head forward, attempting to chomp at him; “Elio! Get going! Take the egg with you and run!” Gendross shoves Reggie out of the room with one hand and into the wall of the corridor. “Hold on! What the fuck is happening though?!” Elio asks out of shock. Gendross grabs Reggie and drags him on the floor, letting go and forcing him to slide to one end of the corridor. “I forgot to mention something important about the Nightmare to you as Reggie showed up and it made the thought slip my mind, but that ability has a drawback where any unfamiliar scent that’s exposed to the holder of said power will make it kick into its most primal state! We don’t know how long the primal state actually lasts for, but you need to get out of here before he causes some real damage to the ship! Go now!”
“Oh shit! Roger that! No need to tell me twice after that!” Elio quickly side steps out of the room and begins bolting down the opposite side of the corridor. “Just my luck! This animal that fights like me, with added ferocity and a deadly transformation, just happens to have a weakness that forces it into a primal state! Fuck it, whatever! I just have to keep my distance until the primal state ends, so I’ll do just that!” As he runs, Reggie chases after him. Gendross gets in the way and grabs Reggie, buying Elio some time. “Sorry, Elio, I’m not the best with cats. Just go as fast as you can with the little time I have to hold him back!” Reggie weasels his way out by facing down and arching his back, putting his front arms on the floor and slithering out like a snake by going between Gendross’ legs.
“Damn! This is bad!” Gendross gets on his communicator, contacting the security room; “Guys, come in! I need you to look at each camera on the first cabin deck! Reggie has just gone primal with the Nightmare and is chasing down Elio. I need you to update me at all times where he is so I can think of how to prevent him from damaging anyone or anything!” Immediately, they begin checking the cameras, but can’t find Elio anywhere. “Boss! He’s nowhere to be seen on the sixth deck! We’re checking right now if he’s either on the fifth or seventh deck!” “Alright, but be fast about it!” Gendross answers as he rushes toward an elevator.
One of the security members quickly smiles, only for her smile to turn back to a professional look; “Found him! He’s on the fifth deck, by the looks of the path he’s taking, he’s only going to keep going lower and lower.” Gendross hears this as he enters the elevator; “Wait, lower…? No!” He thinks. “If he’s only going lower, then he’s going to reach the engine room!” One of the security members sweats upon Gendross shouting that. “If Reggie at all swipes part of that reactor, it’s going to be fallout and lead to radiation poisoning upon all of us! We also won’t be able to land safely, we'll all just be caught in the blast!” One of the members shouts. Gendross attempts to keep calm about the situation; “I know! This… this might be a costly gamble, but… call forth the Heavy Titan Mark II!” Gendross orders.