Blockbuster

[ArkhamAsylum]

Great work. This story has been very good so far.

[GLKnight]

Without hesitation, Brandy quickly pushed her way through the troops standing between her and her father. Each teched out trooper thrown on their asses as she ran towards Braden's side wrapping her arms around him as she bawled her eyes out. Blockbuster, for his part, getting embarrassed due to his daughter's obvious nakedness. I could only follow behind her in her slipstream, joining everyone by the elevator.

"Daddy," Brandy cried, showing us all a dichotomy between the behemoth she had become so far and the heartbroken child that inadvertently triggered her transformation. Her father just gently started stroking her hair with his free hand, trying to contain his emotions enough to remain focused.

"You've grown a bit, my little star..."

Like any asshole does, Chalansky had to open his hole and ruin the moment.

"I see you turned Rival," he chuckled. "And after everything we gave you, too."

I just walked up to him, reached into his pockets as he meekly protested and pulled out what I could.

"Stop being a shit beast," I told him, elbowing him in the side for emphasis. As Chalansky whined like a petulant child, I went through what he had on him. A pack of Xando Joy Bubbles Gum, a Yizathum Cred Card, a self cleaning prophylactic which I immediately dropped with a disgusted look and a screen I had never seen before.

"What the fuck is this?", I asked, holding it up. The torque in the exo-enhancement suit's eyes lit up.

"Is that a Shay 27?!", they asked, delicately taking it out of my hands with one of their mechanical limbs before tossing it to the Stitcher with four arms, catching it as she holstered her pistols.

"I think it is!", the Stitcher exclaimed, quickly swiping the screen to activate it only to see it was code locked. "Damn it!"

She quickly walked over, grabbing Chalansky's collar and pulling Braden's arm down so he was looking at her in the eye.

"Give us the code, zealot!"

The fanatical C.O.O. just laughed like a madman at her bravado.

"You're not worthy of the Sacred Scribes, you low income consumer!"

"Now, now. That's no way to talk to the daughter of one of my executives, zealot..."

We all looked around, trying to see where that voice was coming from. But the two ladies that had joined Braden were unfazed.

"What the fuck was that?", Chalansky shouted, clearly starting to panic before he started to realize something. "No! It can't be...!"

"Silly little child that thinks himself a priest," the voice continued. "Did you really think you'd be uncontested, unfettered by the responsibilities of that which you were tampering with? My clients will not be pleased what you are doing with their descendants."

"Descendants?", Brandy asked. "You mean the Geners?"

"Come," the voice told us. "Do not dawdle. You and The Companion have an appointment to keep elsewhere. That is all I can say."

"That's the THIRD TIME I've been called that," I growled. "I want ANSWERS!"

But I was left wanting as whoever that was left us in that blaring hallway.

"Th-That was an Alvajjin," Chalansky asked the Stitcher, on the border between fear and excitement at what just transpired. "Wasn't it? I had only read rumors in the Sacred Scribe Logs in the Records!"

"Alvajjin?" Brandy asked, turning towards the Stitcher. "And she said I was a... descendant or something?"

"We both are," Braden told her, a dark look on his face. "The genetics Tekalmor stole was from a being belonging to a race called the K'nzarics. It seems that when they stole its body for study and experimentation, other K'nzarics sought the help of a guardian species called the Alvajjin. They used their abilities and resources to keep an eye on the Second Geners that exhibited K'nzaric traits. It was why we were able to find you."

Braden's explanation left me at a loss. My mind kept sputtering to ask questions, but the implications just kept making me lose the ability to complete any of'em. There were MULTIPLE species of aliens? They had their OWN companies? Guardian species? Finally, I couldn't hold back any longer.

"WHAT IN THE FUCK IS GOING ON," I shouted. "AND WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO WITH ALL OF THIS?"

The torque in the exo-suit gently put their mechanical extension's hands on our shoulders and proceeded to guide us towards the elevator.

"A little late on that one," they said. "You'll get answers when we deliver you. We gotta go. NOW."

"I don't even know your names," I shouted back.

The Stitcher ran a hand through her hair and gave me a cocky smile as she quickly strut into the elevator.

"I'm Casey," she said, pointing at herself then her compatriot. "They're Ana. Now, you heard them! We're getting off this rock!"

Chalansky's head swiveled fast as he looked at all of us with a desperate fervor I had never seen before. Kicking and fighting to free himself from Braden's grasp.

"NO," he screamed. "LET ME GO! I AM AN EXECUTIVE OF THE SEVEN CORPORATIONS! AND I ORDER YOU-"

Braden, however, was having none of Chalansky's tantrum. With a quick shake, he shook the nebula sized asshole back and forth. Bouncing him around like a ragdoll to show off that he meant business. Causing the C.O.O. to go limp in a slight daze.

"For the figures," he mumbled, looking like he was about to throw up.

"If you're done playing around," Ava said, moving into the elevator. "We've got places to go!"

"You heard them," Casey said, grabbing mine and Brandy's hands to drag us along. "We've got a ship waiting for us on the surface! Let's move!"

As Casey pulled us into the elevator, Ava handed Brandy a gym bag.

"Put these on," they told her. "They're fitted for your current size. Madame Xyn'qhp made sure of that."

Delicately opening the bag, Brandy began to get dressed as Braden backed into the crowded lift as he held Chalansky in front of him like a shield. Keeping his eye on the Tekalmor soldiers as he pressed the button to take us all to the surface. Once the doors were closed and we were on our way, Blockbuster put him down. Rubbing his neck, the executive straightened his hair and shot us all a death glare.

"You won't- GHN! You won't get away with this, Bustamante! I'll make sure of that!"

"Big words from a little man," Ava said, leaning down close.

"Ease up," Casey said, putting her hands on the shoulder servos of the exo-suit. "We're to bring him in one piece. Mom's orders."

I perked up at her comment.

"Your mom's whoever did that weird shit in the hallway?", I asked.

Casey rolled her eyes as she pulled out a screen.

"My mom's an executive," she said, tapping on the Shay 17 she had produced. "About twenty years now. Human like you and me."

Her screen lit up, showing me an old photo of a four armed woman much like Casey, a giant stitcher with Crab-like features and one more person that took my breath away.

"Holy shit," I muttered, on the verge of tears. "Is that... Is that my dad?!"

Brandy and Braden loomed over my shoulders as they leaned in for a look, each putting their hands on my shoulders for emotional support. Just in case, I guess.

"When was this taken?", Braden asked.

With one flick of her hand, the screen switched to holograph mode. Projecting the image so that it was hovering in the air in larger size. I could feel the tears running down my face as I stared at my father, spending time with what were clearly his friends. A smile on his face as he laughed at whatever was going on.

"About a month before The Stelladonna accident," Casey said, reassuringly. "Your dad and my mom were engineers onboard when-"

"The Stelladonna suffered a critical error in one of its engines," I said. "He saved over fifty thousand people, if not an entire section of space by jumping the ship away to some unknown region before a Black Event happened."

I reached for the picture, hoping to be able to somehow slide right in. See him one last time. I lost him and my brother, nearly lost my mother to Dexivanian Flu last year which cost her a lung and part of her stomach. I heard Chalansky scoff to the side.

"Oh, BOO HOO! Just another pitiful consumer spent in the name of The Profits..."

I charged at him in the cramped elevator, grabbing at him as Braden and Brandy held me back. Casey, for her part, jumped in between us. Acting as a shield.

"Whoa," she said. "Don't touch him! He's got things to answer for at the delivery spot!"

"His people killed my father," I screamed. "And people like him got my brother killed in the Zavaran conflict! Just like they gave permission to Marvellus to kill Brandy's mother and everyone else onboard her ship!"

Casey's eyes quickly lifted up as she looked behind me. I couldn't see it, but I could definitely feel it. The interminable wellspring of rage that comes from touching an eternally raw emotional nerve. Brandy's voice was cold and full of fury as she gently pushed both me and her father aside as I felt the elevator reach our destination.

"You killed my mother?"

The look of utter terror on Chalansky's face was what we were all feeling at that moment. I felt the tremors from every blow Brandy threw inside her cell. I knew the amount of power she was able to put behind every punch. The carnage she inflicted on the Galger Beast, barehanded. A powder keg had been lit, one that was the equivalent of a Neutron Bomb, inside the elevator. Immediately, we scrambled to stop her. But with a ferocious scream I had never heard ANYONE give until that moment, she swung at where Chalansky stood.

The sound of the doors as Brandy's fist passed through them was unforgettable. The crunching squeal of metal as it gave way to pure brute force, crumpling wide before her might. The incredible amount of focus, precision and strength needed to completely overcome engineering and design as metallurgic bonds surrendered and bowed before her attack bordered on the surreal. And what made it even more frightening was that right next to her arm, white as a halogen light and having pissed himself like a toddler, stood Chalansky. Completely unharmed physically, but most likely permanently traumatized mentally.

Huh, guess I CAN string words together good. Just don't ask me to repeat myself, okay?

Reaching beyond him, Brandy quickly bent the doors further before walking through. An absolute behemoth of rage as she stared him down, reminding him that he was still human. And Brandy? It was clear she understood that she was not. At least, not entirely. I ran up to her side, putting my hand in hers as we walked.

"Brandy?"

Even though she lovingly held my hand, she wouldn't look at me. The look of anguish she was trying to hide from us, she couldn't bear it alone. I knew that much. So we walked down the hallway towards what we were sure was the hanger in silence. We heard everyone running to catch up to us, especially Ava as her exo-suit made incredibly heavy footfalls. Casey quickly sped past us, rounding a corner up ahead before popping her head back around and waving at us to pick up the pace. By the time we turned the corner, Casey was messing with a console next to a massive pair of blast doors.

"Here's the deal," she said. "I'm gonna open these. We gotta be ready, in case soldiers were somehow sent to our position. If not, it's a clear shot to our ride off-planet. Everyone ready?"

I looked up at Brandy, watching her take a deep breath as she glanced back at me. Her hand gently squeezing mine as she smiled.

"Okay," Casey said, grabbing Chalansky's head and pulling him towards a retina scanner which quickly beeped. "Follow the leader! One, two, three!"

The system whirred to life as the doors slid open. And behind them, an entire unit of soldiers, lead by a giant suit of what looked to be the mix of a tank and a robot, led them.

"RIVALS," a voice blared over the suit's speakers. "This is Corporate Affairs Captain Marcel Lomanz of the Acquisitions And Activities Control branch! You are in violation of several crimes against the Corporations, including Executive Kidnapping, Interference with Products and Personnel, Corporate Espionage and Liquidation of an Executive! Compliance is preferred!"

"Dust me," Ava muttered, clearly expressing what we were all feeling.

"Liquidation of an Executive?", Chalansky screamed as he moved forward. "But I'm perfectly-"

The suit quickly fired at Chalansky, his chest practically cratering as it struck him center mass. Bits of flesh and bone and gore exploding out from him as his body was thrown back into Casey's arms. Startling all of us with just how callow and cruel the act they had just committed was.

"On behalf of both The Charter and The Ledgers," Lomanz continued, moving forward slightly. "Do you comply?"

[Sounder9-]

Nice update! Also you were right about Chalansky, that was a surprise!

[GLKnight]

Nice update! Also you were right about Chalansky, that was a surprise!

Thanks! Since the story has a heavy through-line of corporate chicanery, I figured some Robocop influence would be the way to go.

[GLKnight]

Okay, figured I'd let you guys know this now.

*ahem*

THERE ARE ONLY TWO OR THREE MORE INSTALLMENTS BEFORE THIS STORY IS FINISHED.

After I finish writing Blockbuster, I'll be taking all of November to turn it into a full fledged book. I know, irony by inadvertently taking part in NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month, if you want to take the long way home). I'll be shoring the story up, adding elements, switching the story to Third Person (like the Death Of Tobias Mercado section) and working to make it a bit more accessible to more mainstream audiences before I take part in December's hashtag Pit Mad (aka Pitch Madness, when people creating books pitch what their books are about to gain the attention of publishers and agents to hopefully be picked up).

So yeah, unlike most other writers who post stuff on here who just post stuff and then disappear, I wanted to give everyone a heads up on this story's progress, as is.

This started out as a short story about a regular dude meeting a genetically modified girl in the far flung future, and turned into a secretly Dystopic Space Opera about Free Will, the right to decide who one is, Nature Vs. Nurture and hinting at the insidious nature of Corporate Gentrification taken to its absolute furthest point in a rather bizarre mashup of Warhammer 40,000, Altered Carbon and Robocop and (weirdly enough) elements of Clive Barker's CABAL, of all freaking things...

Anyway, thank you for being onboard with Marco, Brandy, Braden and the rest so far. Now, back to the galaxies inside my mind and the stars that burn brightly within them to work on the ending.

[jcboyd]

 

[phil123]

Two or three more?.... happy to read them .

[GLKnight]

To all of our surprise, and possibly Casey the most, it was Ana who made the first move.

"Get to the ship!", they screamed as they pulled something off the back of their exo-suit. It shifted and modded itself as the mechanical limbs started to glow as they attached themselves to the artillery I never noticed was fixed onto their gear. And within a moment, they were holding what looked like a six-chambered cannon that was being charged by the torque's rig. Casey grabbed my arm, pulling me behind a nearby vehicle with Braden and Brandy as Ana fired on our captors. The chambers glowing a bright white before blasting a visible wall of force with a constant rolling "woob" that knocked several soldiers down as they scrambled for cover, as well. The suit, however, remained on its feet. One arm held up as it leaned into the distortion wall.

"You have chosen not to comply," Lomanz shouted over the suit's speaker. "In accordance with article twenty-three thirty-eight dash eighty-seven of the Criminality subsection of The Charter, I officially decree you guilty on all charges."

Raising his right arm, the forearm section suddenly popped open. Revealing a rather large mounted gun that began to light up.

"Ana," Casey screamed. "Take cover!"

Ana immediately ceased firing, realizing that whatever ordinance the suit was capable of was far greater than her weapon was able to provide.

"All soldiers," Lomanz ordered as he produced a similar gun from the suit's left arm, as well. "Return fire!"

As Ana dove for cover behind some military vehicles, we all tried to shrink ourselves down as a stupid amount of gunfire was unleashed on us. The sounds of metal plating either reflecting blasts or melting instantly, the debris falling from the wall and ceiling around us. the obscenely powerful blast that filled the room as every soldier on the other side of the room unleashed Hell on us. I had never been in war. If this was what war was like, it was so overwhelming. Like no part of you, body or mind, was safe from the attack. All I could do is scream from the onslaught. Brandy's arms wrapped around me as she tried to shield me from the attack. I wasn't my brother. I couldn't handle something like this. Soon, I heard the blasts begin to recede until the hangar was silent once more.

I heard Lomanz give the order to move forward, as they collectively began to push forward. Braden looked at Casey, who gave us a smirk.

"Seems we're in a bind," she said as she pressed something on her upper left bracer. "They're not letting us out, so we gotta improvise."

"What are you doing?", Brandy asked. Casey, however, was all bravado as she gave us a confident look.

"I'm improvising!"

Raising her hands, Casey quickly stood from the front of the military convoy unit we were hiding behind.

"We give up," she shouted. "Just stop firing! We comply!"

The sound of the suit stomping forward shook the concrete floor beneath us. As it moved closer towards us, I peeked around the front to get a better look at it. The whole thing must weigh several tons, given its height. The thing was close to eleven feet tall! Whoever was controlling that thing must be heavily padded to fit in a monstrosity. In fact, the thing looks like it was perfectly suited for a...

Oh shit, there must be a fucking Gener in that walking tank!

"Braden," I whispered as I ducked back. "Brandy? I think they put one of you guys in that fucking thing!"

"A Gener?", Braden asked, quickly popping his head over the hood and hiding once again.

"I thought there was a Policy that using Geners in military issues was illegal?", Brandy said, worried.

Braden put his hands on our shoulders.

"There is," he said, trying his best to comfort us. "But it's pretty evident Tekalmor doesn't care, anymore."

As the Gener in the armor strode up to her, we watched Casey put herself in harm's way.

"You have committed many offenses against the Corporations," Lomanz told her. "You have the right to legal counsel. Everything you say or do is proper media for future policies. If you do, your potential sentence will be lessened. Do you comply?"

Casey looked over her shoulder at us, giving us a wink.

"That'll be a no" she told the Gener agent.

I could practically hear the power armor's systems overclock themselves as he thought over what she had told him.

"You refuse to comply?", the agent asked. "On what grounds?"

Casey just laughed at his question, bringing her upper left bracer close to her face.

"On the grounds of... GOOD BOY PROTOCOL!"

Quickly diving to the side, Casey jumped out of the way as a hail of high energy shots punctured through the hangar bay doors. The spray of energy mowing down every agent in hiding as they were torn to pieces by the ballistics that flanked them. Even the agent in the power armor was struck several times in the back. Sparks flying as his armor was riddled full of holes before falling onto his knees and then prone. The attack stopping as soon as he was down on the ground. After a few seconds, we slowly clambered to our feet, Ana nearly causing a convoy skiff to fully tilt upwards as their exo-suit put their full weight on the damn thing.

"What the Hell just happened?", Braden asked Casey, helping her to her feet.

"That would be the Good Boy Protocol," she told us. I flinched as she said the words, but she pat me on the shoulder as she walked over to check on her partner.

"So you have someone else watching over us?", Brandy asked, looking around warily.

"Not someONE," Ana said, moving to the hanger door. "SomeTHING! Meet Captain!"

As they flung open the door, we were greeted with a combat ship hovering in the air and blinking its search lights as a storm raged around outside. As it gently landed, we could hear the sound of something barking over its loudspeakers.

"Wait," Braden called out. "Is that ship...?"

"Our ride?", Casey finished. "Yes. Is it alive? Not really. Is it an AI with the mental patterns of my childhood pet that hasn't been lobotomized like every other AI system that the Megacorporations use in order to have a steady control over how things are run in every quadrant they've got their greedy little zealot fingers in?"

Running up to the ship, she gave it a warm hug as it barked happily before turning back towards us.

"You bet your ass! Now climb in!"

Opening the cargo door, Ana quickly got onboard before waving for us.

"Let's go before who knows what wants to take a shot at us next!"

Not saying anything, I quickly jumped in before reaching back and pulling Braden on, as well. Casey simply hopped in, quickly moving towards the pilot's seat and punching in, I don't know. Coordinates or relays or something? I'm not a pilot. But Casey? She looked like she had done this a thousand times before. I used to have that same type of swagger. But after the past year, apparently? Not anymore.

"Everyone onboard?", Casey shouted. I looked over, watching Braden help Brandy get in.

"Good to go," he told the Stitcher, smiling.

"Then close the door," Ana told us. "And we'll be off world in one minute!"

As the ship began to lift off the ground, I could see the look of relief on everyone's faces as Brandy reached for the door.

"Don't forget your promise," she called out to me. "When we get to wherever they're taking us, you owe me a date!"

"Brandy," I told her. "I owe you way more than-"

A metal hand caught the door, slamming it open. Then the other joined it, grabbing Brandy by the throat as it quickly threw her out of the ship.

"You have refused to comply," Lomanz growled at us as he climbed into the ship. "For that, the penalty is Death."

[GLKnight]

Wanted to give an update. Currently working on the penultimate installment, but it's a bit slow going as I'm also writing a story for my SFW Patreon (A Dark Fantasy story centered on a cursed Investigator that's part of an order of mystic warriors, set during winter and inspired by equal parts The Witcher and Umberto Eco). But I should have BOTH Blockbuster installments finished before month's end.

[Sounder9-]

No problem, No rush. Hope the other stories go as well, it sounds like an interesting read!

[GLKnight]

I screamed as soon as he stepped inside the ship, running at him as fast as I could and slamming my shoulder into the bastard. The armor leaned back, causing the ship to tilt and threatened to spill us out had the agent not held tight. But Braden saw an opportunity, throwing himself forward and on top of me to use our combined weight and smashed his arm into the head of our assailant. Sending all three of us plunging out of our ride and to the ground below. It was almost instinctual how Blockbuster wrapped his arm around me, turning himself so he was falling on top of Lomanz with a heavy thud as we bounced off the metal container protecting the asshole who kept coming after us and onto the landing pad. Even with about a thousand pounds of flesh and muscle to protect me, the jostle and impact carried through, causing my body to ache as I scrambled to my feet in a daze.

"Braden," I called out. "Are you okay?"

Blockbuster lifted his hand as he let out a deep groan.

"Maybe," he croaked as I grabbed his hand to help him up. "Definitely don't want to do that a third time."

I chuckled at his comment.

"A third time?"

As he stood up, I could audibly hear his back pop as he stretched. Then grabbing his head, he quickly tweaked his neck, causing that to pop, as well.

"The Delivery," he said. "The scene where I fell down a series of buildings to the streets below? Had to do that twice. Second time was the worst, but they liked the take so they went with it. It's the one Cel I made that Brandy likes the m-"

Brandy! She had been thrown from the ship! I quickly scanned the area, and saw her laying on her side. Grabbing Braden's wrist, I ran over to where she was, not moving at all in the rain. Rolling her onto her back to check on her, we quickly started checking on her. Braden checking her pulse while I put my ear to her chest. The sound of her heart was incredible, strong and steady, if a little slow. And the sound of her breathing, it was like listening to an echo chamber, but with a little harmonic frequency that played every time she took a breath. It was... well, no other way to say it. It was almost magical, multi-tonal. Like actual music.

"She's breathing," I told him. "It's like... her lungs are music. That shouldn't be possible."

"It's something the K'nzarics are known for," Braden told me. "The Alvajjins believe the K'nzarics are the keepers to the keys of life, and their influence is felt on every habitable world. That's why every world is filled with song."

"That's incredible," I mused, awestruck at the notion. Suddenly, Brandy's eyes started to flutter, opening as we looked down on her.

"Marco?", Brandy asked, confused. "Dad? Did we get to the delivery point?"

I wrapped my arms around her, crying in joy as she was okay. Her huge hand went to my back as she nuzzled into my shoulder.

"You were thrown off the ship," Braden told her. "The metal prick tried to board us, so Marco and I pushed him out and here we are."

A burst of air blasted us from above as searchlights shone from on high. Looking up, we watched as Ana climbed out of the ship as their tendrils carried them down to join us below.

"Is everyone okay?", they asked us, shouting over the sound of the engines.

"I think so," Brandy replied, climbing to her feet. "But we gotta hurry. I don't know if he's-"

The sound of an explosion as the lights from above flickering caused us all to flinch as our ride began to sway from side to side.

"OUR STABILIZER," Casey shouted over the ship's P.A. "THAT FUCKER HIT OUR-"

The ship lurched to one side, falling to the landing pad with a sickening squeal as metal scraped across concrete. Smoke and sparks firing off from one side as our four armed pilot climbed out of her vessel. And striding towards us from the other side of the ship was the agent as he began to undo the latches on his suit of armor.

"I have to admit," he said. "You're just as much a problem as your father."

Taking his helmet off, we saw his face, scarred beyond recognition as he threw it aside. With each peal of thunder and burst of lightning, his gruesome visage was illuminated. One eyelid dropping down from three ragged claw marks that crossed his face. Part of his lips were gone, his broken and off color teeth showing through the hole. His nose was partially collapsed, one nostril flattened and sealed shut. A walking monstrosity,  staring us down as he stalked us.

"I've done nothing to you," Braden shouted as he put himself between us and the inhuman instrument of corporate interest.

"I wasn't talking about your daughter," the agent shouted back. "I was talking to HIM!"

I froze as he pointed directly at me, his eyes filled with absolute hate.

"You knew my father?", I asked.

The agent's steps grew quicker as he made his way, the concrete caving with every footfall. I could see his hands clenching and unclenching continuously. I knew with complete certainty that he was itching for a fight.

"He is the reason I look like this now! He was why I was shuffled off to handle sensitive matters! Why I'm now strapped in this armor every single moment of my life! Why I lost my best friend! Him and that damned four armed bitch's pro mother!"

Lomanz broke into a full sprint, screaming at the top of his lungs as he lunged at us. But Braden was ready for him. As soon as he was within distance, Blockbuster got to work. A battle of two giants, playing out on the pad as the storm picked up speed. Fists flew as both men swung on each other. The Agent using dirtier tactics versus Blockbuster's training. Both fighters savaging the other as Brandy and I watched on. Lomanz going for Braden's eyes, leading to Braden throwing him over his shoulder. A low blow on Braden, sending Blockbuster to his knees as Lomanz got to his feet and smashing his knee into the megastar's head. The monstrous Gener swinging his metal fist at Braden's head, looking  to kill but finding only air as Braden pulled his legs out from under him and sending him to the ground like a stone before Blockbuster began to grapple him as he wrapped his legs around the Agent's arm as he pulled. But a look of shock quickly grew across his face as the Gener Agent somehow began to pull Braden upward, curling his entire weight from a prone position before socking him square in the face. The blow landing with a massive peal of thunder that shook everything within the storm.

"For your crimes... against The Corporations Of Man," Lomanz panted, opening up a console on the arm of his power armor and typing something into it. "I sentence you, your daughter, that bastard's son, THIS WHOLE PLANET! I sentence all of you to the penalty of Death by Dusting!"

Sirens blared, releasing an alarm I had never heard before. Red lights began to flash, adding an intimidating glint to the falling rain and tempestuous weather. Then came a feminine voice over the system with an announcement that scared me deep.

"WARNING! WARNING! PLANET HAS BEEN DESIGNATED FOR DUSTING! FIVE MINUTES FOR EVACUATION! WARNING WARNING! TEN MINUTES BEFORE COMPLETE CORE DESTRUCTION! EVACUATE THE PLANET IMMEDIATELY!"

"Evacuate the planet?!", I loudly asked.

"Do you know what "dusting" actually is?," Ana asked me.

"I thought it was just a way to say 'fuck'," I shouted back.

"It's a Final Notice policy," Casey screamed, panicking. ""If a conflict or issue that can't be resolved normally arises, then they take out whatever footing the issue has. Dusting doesn't mean killing. It's old Corporate speak for SCORCHED EARTH! THEY'RE TAKING OUT THE PLANET!!"

"What can we do?!", Brandy shouted. But before anyone could answer, Lomanz was on us again.

"YOU CAN DIE, YOU PATHETIC CONSUMER SCUM!"

With a great swing, Lomanz attacked Brandy who barely had enough time to put her arms together to shield herself. But despite her reflexes, she was thrown onto her back as the Gener Agent reached for me.

"C'mere, Rival spawn!"

I raised my fists to put up a fight, but as he got near, a mechanical tendril cut across my view as it wrapped around the ugly bastard's arm.

"Don't you dare touch them," Ana shouted as their exo-suit went into action, coiling around and tangling his power armor as they rushed forward. Pushing him away as I ran to help Brandy back up to her feet.

"Hits hard," she mumbled, rubbing her jaw.

"It's the armor," Casey shouted as she opened a panel on the side of her ship. "It's amplifying his torques! Ana's buying us time, so lend me a hand with this back-up stabilizer!"

Brandy and I ran over to the ship as Casey pulled out a long metal case, dropping it to the ground and kicking it open to reveal a long oblong engine part.

"You said he's been torqued?", I asked her, looking back as Ana began throwing kicks and punches at Lomanz as he struggled to escape their suit's tentacles.

"From the way she went down," Casey replied, mimicking a punch to the jaw. "He has to be! Gener's are strong, but from what Madame Xyn'qhp told us, Second Gener's are closer to a K'nzaric than their parents are! Brandy, help me by carrying this thing to the other side!"

Brandy gave a quick "Gotcha" before picking the whole part up like it was nothing as they ran around to begin repairs. Meanwhile, I watched as Ana kept giving the Agent everything they had.

"Go down, you fucking asshole!"

As Ana threw fists and feet, the agent was clearly getting frustrated. Every time he thought he had a good hold on one mechanical tentacle, two more quickly wrenched it away in a swirling assault of metal and leather.

"Not... a CHANCE!", he screamed.

Without warning, the Gener twisted his body, spinning on his heels as Ana tried to go behind him and grabbing them by the throat. Then with a mighty roar, the Agent threw Ana over his shoulder with one hand, slamming Ana into the ground onto their back, hard. The sound Ana made, the absolute pain they felt. Screaming as soon as their body made contact with concrete. I knew it was about to turn ugly.

"ANA," I screamed. "NO!!!"

As soon as she heard me screaming, Casey knew she had to intervene. So from where she stood, she drew her blasters and started firing. All four guns unloading on the Gener, but Lomanz wasn't concerned. Each blast pinging off of his armor as he planted his foot on Ana's chest.

"I gotta hand it to you," he said. "This rig's pretty handy."

"Wait," Casey screamed, ceasing fire. "Don't!"

But it was past the point of stopping. The Gener reached down, grabbing two of the exo-suit's tentacles. And with a malevolent smile, slowly started to pull. Ana began to scream, clearly suffering as their rig began to shoot off sparks, and with one easy motion, the tentacles that the Gener grabbed came off with a loud snap. Sending Ana into a series of spasms as their synaptic relays began to suffer errors and driving them into a small seizure.

It was at this point that Casey lost it. Guns blazing as she charged in, all to hopefully save her partner. But with a whip of his arm, the Gener's suit popped open and fired a line directly at our pilot. The metal wire wrapped around her waist, and with a quick jerk of his arm, reeled the Stitcher directly into his waiting clutches.

"I always liked fishing," he laughed, glaring down as Casey wriggled his grasp.

"Fucking dust you," she screamed as she struggled to escape.

But the Agent paid her no mind, grabbing one of her upper arms as she fought. As soon as his hand was on her forearm, Casey's eyes went wide as she realized what he was gonna do.

"Don't," she begged. "Don't, don't, don't don-"

With a quick twist of his wrist, her arm bent at a completely unnatural angle. Folding against itself as she screamed.

"Awwww," Lomanz mockingly said to her. "Did that hurt? Here, let me make it up to you."

He shifted his grip, switching to the lower opposite arm. Casey, shaking from the pain she was in, was unable to notice what he was doing until it was too late. Screaming again as he snapped a second arm, this time at the elbow before letting go as it dangled in the wind. Then, he unceremoniously dropped Casey to the ground. Causing her to cry out as she curled up into a ball, kicking away as the pain overwhelmed her.

The P.A. system came to life once more, crackling loudly as we were all shook by a powerful tremor

"WARNING! WARNING! SEVEN MINUTES UNTIL CORE DESTRUCTION! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY! SEVEN MINUTES UNTIL PLANET DUSTING!"

The Gener pushed Casey with his foot, seeing if she would respond. But when she didn't, a disappointed look crossed his marred face.

"Oops," Lomanz shouted as he looked directly at me. "Looks like I broke my toy!"

I raised my fists as the Gener began to walk his way over towards me, pure evil in his eyes as the red lights continued to flash.

"You don't have to do this," I implored him. "I did nothing to you!"

"It's not about YOU," Lomanz spat back. "It's about your FATHER! And everything he took from me after The Stelladonna incident!"

From my left, I heard Brandy screaming as she charged at the Agent in my defense. But in her rage, she telegraphed her punch. The swing went wide as the Gener leaned away from it, then retaliated by grabbing her by the throat and lifting her slightly off the ground. I was helpless as his hand wrapped around my throat, picking me up off the ground, as well. His pneumatic grip was powerful, making it hard to breathe as I looked over at Brandy, clearly struggling like I was. Whoever torqued him made sure he could take on other Geners without a problem before the armor added to his already considerable strength.

"And for that," he continued, giving me an insidious look. "I'm going to take everything away from you! Starting with her!"

I started to fight back harder, but it was no use. My head was starting to spin as I looked over at Brandy, whose face was quickly turning purple.

"Stop," I croaked. "Please... Let her... go...!"

But as I looked at him, I knew from the way his eyes intently stared me down, the pure malice within him as he continued to tighten his grip on her throat. I knew with my entire being that he meant every word. That he would kill her before my eyes. As my sight began to blur, a massive burst of thunder struck out overhead. And in the brilliant blast of light that soon followed, a massive shape came up from behind the Agent that quickly wrapped itself around his head. His grip on us slipped, dropping Brandy and I to the ground like bags of soil.

"ROUND TWO, ASSHOLE!"

It was Braden! He had recovered and had him in a headlock as he dragged the Agent away! As I sputtered and coughed, I crawled over to Brandy and started shaking her.

"Brandy," I shouted. "Are you okay?"

Brandy's eyes went wide as she took a deep breath, lifting like a rocket as she gasped and coughed in a sitting position.

"So strong," she muttered, hugging me. "He's so- DAD!"

Brandy rushed to her feet before running towards the two Geners, the men exchanging punches and blocking like true professionals.  It was at this point I realized that if we didn't help Braden and stop the Agent here and now, we would all be dead. It was do or die time. We couldn't hold back. A true Sudden Death moment.

So, stumbling to my feet, I ran in. No time for fear. I had to protect the girl I love. I mean, I'm a prizefighter, and Brandy was the only prize I wanted. It's what I was trained to do.

[GLKnight]

Only one more installment left.

And it's gonna be the longest one yet.

Things are gonna get heavy. Will most likely have it posted some time next week.

[GLKnight]

Gonna try and have this up by tomorrow. Things have been slow going, and I've got a LOT of exposition and final payoffs left to get to (and maybe some open ended elements, in case people are interested in playing with the setting or I decide to make a sequel).

Then comes next month, where this enters extensive rewrites and I finish up a short story for my SFW setup. So expect an update on Getting With The Goddesses and Your House some time in December. And maybe a new one off, too.

[GLKnight]

All three of us rushed the Agent with everything we had.

Braden saw that we were running into the fray to help, so with a mighty stomp kick, he sent the armored Gener our way. Brandy reached him first, grabbing the bastard around the waist with a rage filled shout and slamming him into the concrete head first with a supplex. As Lomanz was left in a daze, she followed up her attack with a swift kick into his ribs. You could hear his armor crumpling as he was lifted into the air by her move, like a metal wrapped ball. Just at the right height for my fist to come through, socking him in the ear. Grabbing the side of his head, he fell back down to the ground just in time for Braden to leap on top of him. His legs and arms wrapped around the Agent's shoulders, locking his arms in place.

"HIS ARMOR," Blockbuster screamed. "REMOVE HIS ARMOR!!!"

Brandy didn't need to be told twice, reaching down and pulling directly on the plating itself as Lomanz struggled and fought to break free from Braden's grasp.

"Consumer scum," Lomanz spat out. "You're dead! You're all dead! Gonna join your father in being space dust, you fucking-"

"Shut up," I screamed as I kicked the Agent upside his head. But Lomanz continued to fight and scream.

"It won't come off," Brandy shouted as she continued to pull. "I think it's system linked!"

"Don't give up," I told her as I joined her in trying to remove the armor. "We can't give up!"

My fingers glided along the armor, seeing if there was some sort of release or something. But Lomanz cackled as we scoured every inch of his gear.

"You don't get it," he taunted. "This isn't just power armor! This is a life support system! I'm hardwired in this thing! Unless you got the right code, you'll never-"

Brandy raised her fist, and with a scream, struck as hard as she could right by the collar of his gear. Lomanz' eyes grew fearful as he realized what she was doing.

"NO," he screamed, his voice wavering as Brandy raised her fist again. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP! STOP!"

But Brandy refused to listen, raising her fist once more as she threw another blow. The collar of the armor bent with a sickening crunch as blood began to trickle down his neck. And then Brandy threw another blow, and another, and another. Until caught in a piston's rhythm, she was wailing away at his chestplate. Each strike causing his armor to bend and give way more and more, turning the tank like armor into scrap. She turned to me, her eyes full of determination as she grabbed the ruined remnants of the armor's collar once more.

"Pull, Marco!"

My hands joined hers.

"Let's do it," I told her. "One! Two! Three!"

And with a groan, we began to pull. Lomanz fought harder to free himself, twisting and pulling his arms. But Braden's grip was sure, trapping him to ensure we could get the job done. He screamed as we screamed, his voice filled with unimaginable pain as we peeled the metal off his body. Sparks and blood flying in the pouring rain as we slowly, surely rolled the metal suit off his torso. And then, in one final tug, we both leaned back and screamed as it finally separated from his body. Falling on our asses, we held the scrapped armor for a few seconds before we realized the macabre mess we were holding and tossed it aside.

Brandy was the first to react to what we had just done.

"Dust me..."

I saw her hand on her mouth, then turned my head and saw what we had just done.

There lay Agent Lomanz, clearly in a state of shock as we had just effectively skinned him alive. For the armor had served as a literal shell for the mass of scarred tissue and artificial muscles and damaged organs that lay underneath it. His heart was beating fast, enshrined in a contraption I had never seen before that wove wires through it to keep it working. His stomach was a bundle of scar tissue, His liver replaced by artificial filters. His intestines were just translucent tubes, filled with a disgusting greenish slurry. His ribs were metallic, reflecting the red alarm lights. Barely anything left of the person that he must have been.

"What fucking monsters would do this to a person?", Braden asked as he clambered to his feet.

"The Seven would do this."

We turned to find Casey on her feet, shouldering Ana who was looking like warmed over Xandoshit as their tentacles limply dragged behind them.

"Why?", Brandy asked them, moving to help carry Ana.

"Secret project," Ana told us, clearly struggling to remained focus. "Intercepted some private Scribes a few months back. Radically modified Geners built for war. The Seven calls them Neo-Geners."

I looked back at where Lomanz lay unmoving. The weight that we may have just killed him sinking in.

"I think this means that The Seven Corporations have something planned for all of this," I said. "I think this means they're planning on going to war with somebody. Especially since they know about the Alvajjins."

"What do you mean by that?", Braden asked, confused.

"If I'm understanding him right," Brandy added. "I think Marco just implied that The Seven might be preparing for a purge, Dad."

Casey's face dropped at Brandy's statement.

"They're gonna go looking for any non-human species they can find, and eradicate them."

Braden lowered his head as he finally realized what we were implicating.

"You mean Genocide."

We felt the planet tremble once more, this time with far more power than we had ever felt.

"WARNING! WARNING! THREE MINUTES UNTIL PLANET DUSTING! PLEASE EVACUATE THE PLANET AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! THREE MINUTES UNTIL COMPLETE PLANETARY DESTRUCTION!"

Braden quickly put his hands on mine and Casey's shoulders, gently pushing us along.

"That settles it," he told us. "We gotta go! Now!"

Brandy looked at me, smiling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Then I noticed her eyes drifted behind me as she went white.

"MARCO," she screamed. "LOOK OUT-"

Before I knew it, I was being thrown backwards. I bounced along the landing pad, rolling for a second before I stopped myself. And as I looked up, I saw him. The man who got my father killed, who was coming after me. Coming after Brandy and her father. Striking Brandy in the face and sending both Ana and Casey with her before going to grab Braden.

"BRADEN!"

Braden's head turned towards me as he resisted Lomanz' attack, holding his hands high in mortal combat once more.

"STAY BACK," Braden shouted. "I don't know what it is, but I think this isn't the Agent's doing! His body! It's on autopilot!"

There's no other way to say it, but I froze. I didn't know what to do. As the storm raged on and the planet tremored, I stood still as my idol and another Gener were caught in a struggle that I was too weak to fight, myself. I was trying to figure out what I should do when I watched the Agent yank his arm out of Braden's hand. Then, with a flick of his wrist, I saw the armor pop open and a long, thin blade slide out. And in one clean motion, the Agent thrust the blade upward. Piercing Braden's chest and causing him to sieze up.

I could hear Brandy's scream as she jumped to her feet once more, tackling the Agent as Braden fell to the ground. I ran to his side, sliding to a stop and cradling him.

"Oh no," I muttered, holding my idol in my arms as the wound flowed freely in the rain. "No, no, no, no, no!"

I looked over to where Brandy was, watching as she fought Lomanz. Well, not so much fought as go after him. But unlike before, his movements were simpler, less concerned. As he seemed to toy with Brandy, I started to notice it. Little by little, it became more apparent. Agent Lomanz was dead, and his body was being entirely controlled. It was as if his corpse was being run by some sort of program.

"Marco," Braden wheezed. "You gotta get Brandy off world."

"We're gonna do that," I told him, crying. "Y-You'll be okay! We'll grab her and-"

Braden grabbed my collar, shaking me to get his point through.

"MARCO! LISTEN TO ME! He... he hit my heart! I'm not gonna make it into orbit! But you and Brandy can!"

Braden placed his hand on my shoulder, working his way to his feet. He was wobbling unevenly, fighting to stay on his feet as he stomped forward as Brandy continued to charge wildly at the Agent's corpse.

"You fucker!", Brandy screamed, grabbing for Lomanz' body only for her hands to be pushed away.

In a blind rage, she swung on him again, only for the corpse to slide behind her and get her in a chokehold. With no biological limitations, the cybernetically enhanced carcass lynched its arms tightly around her throat, squeezing as hard as it could. Her hands tried to pry his arms off of her, but every time she felt them slipping through, the body squeezed once more. Until, seconds later, I could see her will slipping. Her arms started to lower and I saw the light leaving her eyes.

"Gonna... Gonna rip your head off," she wheezed as her knees started to buckle. But a voice behind her, screaming loudly, caught her attention. Followed closely by the corpse letting go of her. Gasping for air, she stumbled to her feet as I ran to her side, holding her up. She turned to look at whoever saved her, only to see her father, Braden Bustamante, the man reverently called "Blockbuster" across several galaxies, lifting the modified Gener's body, made of everything flesh and tech, over his head. Triumphantly holding him high in victory, listing from side to side on his feet.

"GO," he screamed. "GET TO THE SHIP!"

Brandy moved towards her dad, but I quickly grabbed her arm.

"We're not leaving you," she screamed back, tears flowing freely as the rain fell down upon us. I ran in front of her, wrapping my arms around her waist as much as I could. Trying to keep her back.

"You have to," Braden said, giving her a warm smile. "I love you, kiddo. And Marco?"

I turned my head as I tried to resist Brandy's push, knowing he was letting nothing go unsaid.

"Be a guiding light for my little star, will you? Like a good Companion does."

With one last cry, Braden turned away and threw the Agent's corpse as a giant stone hand erupted from beneath the launching pad. The progeny of the K'nzaric climbing out of the pit they had made as both Agent Lomanz and Blockbuster fell headfirst into it. Brandy fell to her knees, screaming for her father as he vanished into the depths of the planet. Reaching out for him as she wailed at the edge. Screaming "Daddy" over and over before collapsing into a sobbing heap in my arms.

I wanted to mourn with her. But now was not the time. The lights changed from red to white, the alarm sounding once more as the systems crackled to life again.

"WARNING! WARNING! ONE MINUTE UNTIL PLANET DUSTING! PLEASE EVACUATE THE PLANET AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! ONE MINUTE UNTIL COMPLETE PLANETARY DESTRUCTION!"

I quickly got to my feet and began pulling on Brandy's arm.

"Brandy," I shouted through tears. "We gotta go!"

"Let me go," she screamed. "I- I can't- I just-"

"Little sister."

We both looked up just in time to see the Second Gener that communicated with us earlier, kneeling down as he loomed overhead. His eyes and mouth glowing in kaleidoscopic colors that shouldn't be visible to the naked eye.

"Your father was a good man. But you know as well as the Companion that you must leave. He gave you life. He gave you love. And he gave you a name."

His hand gently scooped us up, then quickly placed us right by the ship as the engine came to life.

"Honor your father," he continued. "Honor his name. Honor your name... BLOCKBUSTER. NOW GO! WE WILL SURVIVE, AS WILL YOU!"

We watched as he stood, turning his head to the sky. Then, in one mighty voice, we witnessed as they began to sing once more. A unique frequency that resonated in us. And I began to feel something pulling me. No, maybe not pulling me. More like LIFTING me. And I suddenly understood what Braden had told me earlier. How K'nzarics created the Song Of Life. They had a unique ability that let them affect things with just their singing. It was like... their voices were engines to cause phenomena to happen. I grabbed Brandy's powerful hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as she looked at me.

"Let's go," I told her, pleading with her with my whole heart. She smiled back at me, pain in her eyes as she nodded her head and wrapped her arm around me as we climbed aboard. As soon as we were inside, I closed the door and we took off in silence. Within seconds, we were in orbit, watching the progeny float onward into space from the planetoid we were on. We were in awe as superheated sections of the planet quickly burned giant holes in the surface before we witnessed it all begin to glow a searing white through the window in front of us.

"Brace for impact!" Casey shouted, causing us all to strap in as the entire world exploded. Sending out shockwaves that rocked the ship back and forth as it continued to speed away. Alarms blared, worrying us somewhat. But shortly after, the ship began to settle and the alarms went quiet.

"Coordinates programmed," Ana told us. "We'll just be hitting some backchannel ports, and we'll be landing on the Alvajjin home world of Zuy'tvr in no time."

But we didn't notice. Brandy and I just sat there, leaning against each other. Too numb to do anything beyond sleep as she wept in my arms.
----
It was a week after we landed on Zuy'tvr that the CEO of Alvajjin Industries sent us a message about an appointment. Between scheduling time with Med-Tech engineers to Psych treatments, to general wellbeing and talking with Resource managers about some actions they'd have to take with us being at their homeworld's headquarters. Unsurprisingly, everyone we talked with was human. Either a Stitcher or a Torque. Probably by design so I wouldn't get too freaked out. But for a full week, I hadn't seen Brandy even once. I only knew about updates Resource managers were willing to give me.

But today was for meeting the Madame, the CEO of Alvajji Industries.

As we ascended the elevator in silence, my mind raced of every possibility. They never told me what the CEO looked like, but from the vaguest descriptions they did, they said she wasn't human at all. She was literally an unknown species to people like me. So I had to prepare myself, which was why the silent ride. Soon, the elevator stopped. And as the doors opened, I saw three women. One was almost entirely robotic, metal plated skin covering her body as she bowed. Next to her was Casey, her arms still in casts as she gave me a slight wave. And next to her was another woman, who was dressed in an executive looking outfit that was tailored for her four arms and powerful physique. Her short metallic red hair was brushed back in a stern way that was offset by her kind smile as she looked down on me. It was pretty easy to guess that this must have been Casey's mother, given their resemblance.

"Mister Mercado," the robotic woman asked me, gesturing to Casey and her mother. "This is Ms. Camille Tosana."

The executive quickly stepped forward, taking me in a hug.

"No need for formalities," she told us all. "Not for the son of one of my best friends."

"You knew my father?" I asked, pushing her away slightly.

Camille chuckled in amusement at my question.

"We worked on The Stelladonna," she said. "He saved my life. So in return, I've been watching over you and Shanie. Though I was unable to do anything about... Rico."

I saw her eyes, the pain she felt about not being able to save my brother from the Zavaran Conflict. It was the same pain I felt every time I thought of him. There was something about how palpable it was that made it almost beyond familiar. Like... like it was Familial. Some part of him instinctively knew that I could trust her. The same way I could trust Casey a week ago.

"So that's why she sent me," Casey cut in. "I mean, sure! I broke my arms. But it's not like I don't have two more, right?"

Camille gently flicked Casey's upper left cast, causing her to flinch and hiss through her teeth.

"Agh! Moooom!"

"Now's not the time for jokes," her mom told her with a smile, putting her arms behind her back as she got serious. "The Madame is waiting for you, Marco."

The robotic woman quickly shuffled over towards me, gesturing towards a large pair of ornate green doors, a vast alien seascape carved into the metal.

"If you'd please," she said, standing up and walking towards the CEO's office.

I quickly shot a look at Camille and Casey, letting my discomfort be known as I kept pace with the assistant. The soft sand shifted underfoot as it crunched in a pleasant way with every step I watched as the assistant pressed what looked like a small whale like creature, mixed with the features of a lobster, in the center of the door. And with incredible speed, the doors slid apart into the adjoining wall. Allowing us to enter a very wide room, filled with more increible engravings etched into stone walls the same color as the ornate doors. Many large windows lit the up the whole space, reflecting off the stone in much the same way an aquatic enclosure would be maintained. The pink and black sand covering the whole area in this almost unearthly aura that you were under the waters of the planet itself. And there, in the middle of the room, was a large wooden desk and rounded office chair with its back facing us.

"Madam," the assistant proclaimed as she bowed. "Mr. Mercado has arrived for his appointment."

"Very good. Camille? Casey? Please come in, as well."

As the assistant left, I heard the mother and daughter pair walking into the room before the door closed with a slight whir.

"Thank you for seeing me," I told the madam. "I apologize for being nervous, but I-"

I went quiet as the CEO got up from her chair. And up. And UP. Until, finally, hovering there in the air, the Alvajjin extended her entire frame like if she was floating in the sea. Her bulbous body spreading out as she relaxed her glowing tentacles, until her full jellyfish like body was on display. Her soft, bluish form gently turning in empty space until her reddish brown eyes were trained on me, and what seemed like a smile came to her white beak-like mouth. Then, with a little push of air, she glided towards me, stopping as to meet me square in the eye. It's fair to say I was equal parts frightened and completely wonderstruck as she rested, bobbing up and down with each push of her twelve? Fourteen? I don't know, MANY arms as she pulsed a gentle white light.

"Do not worry," she told me. "You have nothing to apologize for, Marco. You are just one part in a grand cosmos. Discomfort is the natural reaction to new experiences and understanding."

It took me a second to realize that she did not actually speak. This thing... er, being? Was it psionic? I thought that was just a thing you saw on Screens and Cels! Well, so are xenos. But here was one, floating right in front of me, talking directly into my brain! My mind began to spin at what I was experiencing!

"Focus on your breathing," Camille told me as she put her hand on my shoulder. "This is common for a first encounter."

"I'm... I'm sorry," I told the madam. "A life with Stitchers and Torques didn't quite prepare me for an actual... you know."

I swear I could hear the CEO making burbling, chirping noises. Was she... Was that how her people laughed?

"It is alright," she replied. "Nothing could have. After all, you are the first Companion that has awakened."

There it was, that word again. "Companion". Something everyone kept using to describe me.

"I still don't know what everyone means by that," I told her. "Just what IS a 'Companion'? I need answers."

The CEO lifted one of her tentacles, gently pressing it against my forehead before pulling it back.

"You are the first of what we believe is Humanity's great key to survival. The Seven Corporations believe with zealous fervor that Human DNA is the most profitable source imaginable. That the centuries of knowing that a good portion of the genetic material of your race is littered with junk strands of data. So, in their eternal desires for profits, they marketed those strands as malleable content to remake humanity as they saw fit."

"Thus leading to the rise of Stitchers," Camille added. "People with designer deformities, for all intents and purposes."

"Wait," Casey asked. "What does that have to do with Marco? Isn't he a Nat?"

"Yeah," I added. "I wasn't modified before I was born!"

"Precisely," the madam tittered. "You are Natural, from every ounce of your genetics, not a single line of your DNA has been tampered with... except for one little bit of coding on what the Seven Corporations considered utterly useless data."

This got my attention.

"Then I have to ask... what happened to me?"

The madam floated towards a window, looking out over the small city, equal parts industrious and conservationist. Every building built like the balance of the local environment was taken into consideration, or even given priority.

"When we approached your father, he had just learned he was unable to have children with your mother. Completely sterile."

"He was sterile?" Camille asked, stunned by this bit of news.

The madam nodded her head before turning to look at us.

"He was. But we offered him a deal. We would ensure he was able to have children, naturally and with no trace for the Corporations to discover. And in return, he would perform ten years of service for Alvajjin Industries as our spy and saboteur. With the caveat that nothing he did would cause irreparable harm to lives. And true to our word, on each leave when he would see his companion, he would bear a child with her. Rico was his first born, and you, Marco. You were the second. Two happy, healthy sons."

I rubbed the back of my neck. My dad was sterile? And I was part of the deal? There had to be a catch.

"So if the deal was for me and my brother to be born, what was the thing you didn't tell him?"

The madam burbled and chirped again as she beckoned me to join her at the window.

"You're brighter than you give yourself credit," she told me as I walked up beside her. "There was something we didn't tell him. It has to do with that bit of useless data The Seven Corporations passed over. Your people are a heartier race that most would entail. You are able to adapt to most environments, able to overcome harshness that would cripple other species. And all through intelligence and sheer willpower."

She once again tapped me on my forehead, and gave me another odd smile.

"And it is all because of that gene. A gene that controls your ability to adapt. The Companion Gene."

I turned to Camille and Casey, looking for an answer. But when I saw their reactions, the confusion on their faces. I knew they had no clue what she was talking about.

"Companion gene?", Casey asked, finally broaching the question on all our minds.

"The ignored strand of DNA," the madam replied. "For all intents and purposes, its data can be considered complete nonsense... on its own. But when you pair it in the right way, it attunes to certain... variables. At its most basic recessive variation, it allows for greater survivability. But when you make it a more dominant gene, you are able to induce what someone with the dominant gene is capable of. Leading to an attunement so fine, said Companion is able to enter an almost spiritual symbiosis with another race. Making up for weaknesses the one they bond with may not know they had."

The madam put her tentacles on my shoulders, turning me towards her.

"So tell me, Marco. What was it that drew you to Brandy?"

I didn't know what to tell her. Was it because I found her cute? Or the fact that there was something about how her body worked that drew my eye? Or that I felt right being beside her? Or the fact that I always had a fondness for Geners? I had so many thoughts running through my head, I could swear I could feel it tingling like it does in a fight. Like the times I was a child and my mother took me to the Med-Techs to evaluate why I couldn't make it stop. Like the tingles I got every time my brain went faster than... everything else...

"No," I muttered, stumbling backwards. "That can't be. Did you... Did you stitch something into my genes? Did you program me to respond to Geners?!"

The madam seemed to deflate slightly, her glow dimming as Casey moved to check on me as I started to panic.

"You did," Camille said, the ire in her voice. "You put something in his DNA, didn't you?"

"Not exactly," the Alvajjin replied, a slight tone of defeat in her mind's voice. "We opened his potential to adapt. Then we guided you to put him in proximity with a child of the K'nzaric race and let it go from there."

My head turned sharply at the madam's comment, staring at Camille.

"What did she mean by that?"

Camille was caught off-guard at my question, stammering to give me an answer.

"W-Well, it's like this," she offered, trying to save face. "I was put in charge of overseeing your family. I was the one who organized for your arrival at Janetti's gym. I arranged for Coach Fuentes to take you on, knowing he was close with Braden Bustamante. And it was I that told Fuentes to recommend you to train Brandy, putting the two of you close after her initial Gener transition would end and when her K'nzaric genetics should have stabilized. B-But I didn't foresee what would happen offworld, or her destabilization. Or Tekalmor intercepting coded Scribes about the Companion Gene."

I slowly got to my feet, the sheer fury I was feeling burning in my chest. EVERYTHING had been organized. I felt like a pawn in some grand game, moved and manipulated without consideration.

"Does Brandy know?"

I think my question caused everyone else in the room to blanche.

"I'm sorry?"

"DOES BRANDY KNOW?", I repeated, growling as I fought to hold my anger in.

"...Yes."

I turned towards the madame, glaring at her as she hovered there by one of the windows.

"You know where she is," I said, coldly glowering at her. "So tell me where. I need to talk with her. NOW."

"It might not be in your best interest to-"

I slammed my fist onto the desk, causing everyone to jump at my sudden display of violence.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT'S IN MY BEST INTEREST! I have been beaten, abducted, electrocuted, tossed around like a toy, attacked by a giant fucking beast, in a coma, been told my entire life has been one massive fucking lie and fallen in love with someone that may or may not be turning into a giant fucking statue being! Now be fucking honest for once and tell me where Brandy is!"

The only sounds in the room were the gusts of air from the being that had coordinated my entire existence for some fucking experiment, and my heavy breaths from the rage I was feeling deep within me. I could feel the little pinpricks of heat crawling across my body as I waited for an answer. But everyone's complicit silence let me know that I'd have to go looking for her myself. So, with a deep, disappointed sigh, I rubbed my eyes and walked past Casey and Camille towards the door.

"Wait-," Casey called out, reaching for me. But her mom's hand on her shoulder, followed by a slow shaking of her head stopped her in her place. So, reaching into her pocket, Casey handed me a written scribe, giving me her contact info. I just quietly put in inside one of the pockets of the outfit that I was wearing back when... when Braden died and pressed the whale/lobster thing engraved on the door to open it.

"Marco," Camille called out to me. "Don't go. We have more to tell you. And if you decide to leave Zuy'tvr, we won't be able to protect you. The Corporations have pinned Braden's murder on you. If you go, you'll be a dead man."

I hung my head, realizing that if I walked out now, I might never know everything they've done to me. But whatever explanation didn't matter. The only truth for me, right now, was finding Brandy and making sure she was alright.

"If that's the case," I told her. "Then I'm already a dead man."

I could hear Camille gasp just before the door closed. And as I walked towards the elevator, all I could feel was a strange... ease. Like this sense of peace flowing through me. I had been something of a playboy before, always looking for action. The women I fucked, the fighting, the partying. As I walked into the lift, I realized that I had nothing. Clinging to phantoms of my father and brother, losing myself to my urges and instincts. But when I saw Brandy, something in me just changed. It was like I was getting my life, my priorities, even myself in order for the first time. I was scared. And I knew Brandy was scared.

So, as soon as I stepped foot outside the building, feeling the rush of the sea air blowing past me, I had a feeling I'd know where to find her. As I walked towards what had to be the oceanside, I took in the city. The sounds of the citizens as they talked, all from different worlds and races I had never seen before. Large shark/wolf things selling stone furniture in one spot, or horse-like spider beings with six eyes and mandible muzzles running an open air restaurant where they cooked these bug like things over grills with stones that when you struck them together, caught on fire and then thrown in to cook the meals. Stitchers conversing with worm-like beings with eyestalks that walked and talked like men. Billboards and advertising selling products in languages I had no clue on where to start to decipher. Everything more bizarre to me than all that had come before.

As my head was spinning at the sheer surreality of it all, I felt myself bumping into someone and falling on my ass.

"I'm sorry for not looking where I was-"

I became fearful at what I saw. Three massive beings, bright pink in skin tone and brutish in body type. Each bearing three cyclops heads on their body with a giant horn that curved like an "S" on each of their foreheads. One straightening its clothes as it looked down at me."

"Hyet'e kun-vadt?", it growled, its voice deep and powerful.

I immediately began to babble, not knowing whether I was about to get my assed kicked. I flinched as they reached down and picked me up.

"HUMAN!", they said, excitedly as they gently put me back on my feet.

"Y-Yeah," I said, not moving as the brute began to dust me off.

"Good," it said in broken Universal, all three heads nodding in different rhythms. "I have been learning your words! Is strange! But I find fun!"

"I'm... I'm glad it's fun," I stammered. "Again, I'm sorry for running into you. It's my first time here, and I'm trying to find someone."

"Want help?", the right head asked.

"Yes," the being's third head asked. "We help! Where they going?"

I looked around, wondering where to go when I suddenly got the notion to go down a street to the right.

"I think she's that way," I said, pointing. "The shoreline?"

"Yes," the heads all cheered before letting the center one continue. "Shore is that go! Sea very beauty! Romance at sundown time!"

With a quick farewell and thank you to all three? Nine? Er, everyone that I accidentally ran into, I followed the pull down every street. And soon enough, I reached the empty shore. There was no pier, no map. Not a single building on the pink and black sand that stretched on for miles against the light green sea. So I toook to walking as the two suns slowly began to dip below the waters, and the three ringed moons rose parallel into the dark and brilliant sky. It wasn't long until I saw Brandy, sitting by the shore, staring out across the ocean with her powerful legs held close against her mighty body. Without a word, I sat down next to her. Letting the moment be the crashing waves, the wind rolling onto land and the strange, scale covered creatures in flight whose whistle like shrills cried out overhead.

We sat there for what seemed like an hour, as the light faded and the sounds receded until the ocean had calmed and the birds or whatever they were had gone away.

"Did they tell you?", she asked me, her eyes glued to the water.

"Kind of," I admitted. "I got so angry that I stormed out of the CEO's office and came to find you."

"I thought I was the one who was supposed to be mad all the time..."

I could tell she was trying to make a joke. But after everything we had been through, we were just too numb to really laugh.

"I was angry," I told her. "Not just for me, but for you. The way everything was set up. The way we were manipulated. It wasn't right."

I felt Brandy's massive hand on mine, gently holding it. Her thumb running across the back of my hand.

"But if they hadn't done that," she said. "Then we would have never met. And I don't want to lose you, Marco. We've lost so much, and you're the one thing that has kept me on solid ground this whole time. The way you love me, how much you care for me."

I turned my head, looking into her big, beautiful brown eyes. I knew she meant every word. But there was something nagging at me.

"But is it real," I asked her. "Or is it because of this fucking gene they activated in me? I'm scared it mmight be for the wrong reasons."

Brandy took a deep breath, then gave a long, worried sigh as she pondered what I was asking. She lay back, resting against the sand as she stared up at the stars for a minute before humming melodically.

"Maybe it's real," she told me. "Or maybe it's not. All I know is you're here, and what I feel for you is exactly what I think you feel for me."

I closed my eyes and smiled, shaking my head as I lay back beside her. Her hand wrapped around mine as starlight filled the galaxy above us. Nebulae and shining colored dots of other planets too far to be properly seen with the naked eye sparkling above us as I thought about her words. And in my heart, I knew she was right.

As I turned to look at her, the melancholic smile all those who know love and loss have on her face as she watched the starry night sky. I knew now was the time for me to be honest with her. I gently squeezed her hand, getting her attention as I rolled onto my side.

"I love you, Brandy."

Brandy's eyes grew misty as her smiled warmed, growing happier with every second as she rolled on her side to meet me.

"I love you, Marco."

It wasn't our first kiss, but I think it's fair to say it's our first true kiss. For an hour afterward, we lay there, cuddling and enjoying the silence that can only be shared between those whose love ensures they are not alone.
----

It was after nightfall that Camille entered the CEO's office once more, checking on her boss. She had never seen Madame Xyn'qhp this way before. She had never been defied, let alone by two beings. The alien CEO was moody, to say the least. A veritable storm that was slow to quiet, roiling with emotions her race were not very prone to expressing.

"Are you going to be okay?", the Stitcher asked.

The Alvajjin strobed brilliantly three times before the light slowly faded.

"In time. Your race is tempestuous, to put it lightly. Even the Stitched ones."

Hoping to get her boss to settle quickly, Camille placed a bowl on the desk, filled with her boss's favorite treat: Gatharian Sea Slugs. Quickly slipping a tentacle into the bowl, the madam picked out a particularly fat slug before drawing it to her beak as it opened up. Revealing the rows of needle like teeth inside before chomping down with a wet squelch as the slug squealed as it became her food.

"We are," Camille said, screwing her face up at the sound of her boss feeding in front of her. "But those two might be especially problematic."

"Then we will give them distance for now," the madam communicated. "As soon as Marco reached Brandy at the beach, the proximity was enough to bring him down. He still has many doubts, but I can verify his love for the K'nzaric progeny is not induced."

"So you wanted him to find her," Camille said, getting her boss's actions. "So he'd calm down."

The madam burble/chirped, letting her executive know she was correct.

"Indeed. Though it's not like I don't have other reasons. My main concern is bringing them together, after all."

Camille nodded her head, smiling at the madam's ingenuity.

"For the good of our two races."

Grabbing another slug, Madame Xyn'qhp hovered over her seat.

"To save the K'nzaric race."

Camille stood, proud and tall.

"To save the Human race."

Quickly consuming the slug, the alien CEO began floating towards the door, waving for Camille to follow suit.

"In two days, I want you to find and approach the couple again. They will not have gone off world, I've assured that."

Opening the door, the Alvajjin and Stitcher began to make their way towards the elevator.

"What do you want me to tell them?", Camille asked.

Calling the elevator, the madam turned towards her executive and smiled.

"Offer them the treatment to hold off any further K'nzaric transitioning. They must never know we need Brandy Bustamante to retain as much of her Humanity as possible."

As the elevator doors opened, the CEO floated backwards before pressing the ground floor button.

"Why?", Camille asked, curious at her boss's comments.

"For the sake of the universe, they MUST have a child! They must bear the first True Hybrid!"

The elevator doors closed, leaving the Four Armed Stitcher in stunned silence at the revelation of the Alvajjin race's true plans for Marco Mercado and Brandy Bustamante.

[Sounder9-]

Wow! A great way to seal this story. It would be criminal to not see this story through and to see a Part 2 to finish Marco's and Brandy's trek through all of this! Thanks! K++