| Arett awoke to the feeling
of an aphid searching for some food. Getting up he pet the aphid and looked
around his room. It was night out and Arett was well rested. He went to
the window to look out and gaze at the entirely different constellations.
Hearing more of the aphid, Arett prepared some leaves and green stuffs
he found outside. Smiling he gave the aphid the food and watched
as it ate. He reflected on how he nearly got most of his friends killed.
He shivered a bit. He admitted to himself that he was a skittish roach
and should never have gone on the mission. It wasn't supposed to go this
way! The Tori were never supposed find and follow them. Arett contemplated
the aphid. Maybe the aphid was supposed to evolve into a Mushijin
one day. Was that how the system worked? Still Arett wondered why everything
was so large, true the planet was...not yet past the Hikagese phase. Letting
the thought go Arett walked outside his room and sat at the chair near
the Holoscreen. The screen was useless now that they were away from Gennsu.
Arett missed watching all the anime programs that were on. He also missed
the Pyramid, a place of peace between the four main races, Tori, Mushi,
Umi and Neko. There was a rumor of a fifth race, the Ryujin. They looked
down on the life of Gennsu and put themselves at the top. Though they
were more of a myth than anything. So were the Goliath Scarabs and the
Condors. Arett shivered at the thought of a bird with a 24' wingspan.
Were these legends or did they live somewhere. The aphid had made it's
way its way out to Arett. Arett knew the aphid had to go, but he felt
a pang that a tentomushi would get it. He knew life was a viscous cycle,
but still, hawks don't eat bugs! The war didn't make much sense to him.
He only knew that one fateful day a group of Torijin had attacked an killed
an entire town. The Mushijin didn't know what this was to mean since they
had all been at peace for an uncounted time. He only knew that the Mushijin
started to fight back and he knew Taku had to go as well, that's when
he decided to join the Senshi Force. He laid his head down on the table
and went to sleep again. His head remembering those days of old.
Kawa was out
past his bedtime and was searching for roaches. He had a strange and
fond love of the creatures. Even if it was to just scare Keiko. Keiko
had a love of butterflies, dragonflies and anything else that flies.
Kawa loved bugs no one else liked. He soon found a roach skittering
amongst the grass. He picked it up. The roach seemed to struggle for
a few seconds then go limp. It was frozen in terror. Kawa smiled and
tugged on it's leg. The roach pleaded with it's eyes to be let free.
Kawa stuck it in a jar he had brought with him. It crawled up to the
side and looked out. What was going to happen to him.
Flame had also
been out that evening and was taking a rare nature walk. He heard the
birds chirp and some cicadas buzz away. He heard a commotion coming
from ahead of him. It seemed a group of boys had found some poor animal
and was taunting it. He slowly approached a smile on his face. It soon
faded when he saw they were torturing a crow with a broken wing.
"Hit it
again with the stick...again!" one boy called. Flame interceded.
"You will
not!" he stated in a forceful voice.
"But
the bird bit Kanano! See!" one boy pointed to the others leg. Flame
could see blood welling out from a wound. The boy, Kanano, hit the crow
again. It cawed piteously. Flame grabbed the stick and hit Kanano with
it violently. The boy covered his head and backed up.
"Now get out of
here! If I see you around here again....I'll kill you!" The crow heard
the last words and tried to flutter off. The boys sneered and left,
Flame focused his attention on the crow. It tried to hop away. Flame
smiled once again and picked him up. The crow struggled. "There, there,
I'll help you." Flame said in a soft voice, the crow simply blinked.
Flame turned and headed home. On the way he felt something cut into
his hand. Crouching down he dropped the crow.
"Dammit!"
he examined the wound. It seemed to be a cut more than a bite. Flame
looked the crow over. It was trying to hop away yet again. "Damned bird!"
he cursed it and picked it up once again after sucking on the cut. "See
if I help you now!" After walking for a time again the same thing happened,
this time he frowned at the crow and kept going.
When he
got home he roughly set the crow down and tied the bird down.
"I'll be
back, so don't move." Flame commanded the unruly beast. The bird didn't
listen and struggled. Flame went to the bathroom and picked up some
alcohol, cotton and some cloth. He cleaned his own wounds out and sterilized
it and bandaged it as best he could. Flame then went out to the struggling
crow and held the broken wing out and down. The crow tried to claw Flame
with his talons. Taking some tiny steel rods he used for welding, he
braced the wing after cleaning the feathers from the break. Flame could
see some open wounds on the body of the crow. He untied the crow and
put him on his feet. Of course he tried to escape once again, but Flame
was too strong for him. He applied the alcohol with the cotton and then
used the cloth to bandage up the crow. Flame knew the bird was scared,
but still this was the only way he knew how to help.
He let the
bird go after the wounds were tended. The crow hopped under his desk
organizer and hid. Flame smiled and tried to pet the crow, he got pecked
for his troubles. Spending the better half of the evening helping the
crow, Flame put his head down and fell asleep. The crow seeing Flame
asleep, shifted into his Torijin form. The bandage fell from him. He
looked at it. He then took off his shirt and started to re-bandage himself.
Corwin gazed at Flame from under the organizer's shelf. This...kyojin
had helped him. While the other were torturing him, this one had brought
him in and tended to his wounds. He felt his broken wing, the kyojin
had done a good job fixing it. He left it alone and sat down. He was
scared, he didn't know what this kyojin was going to do to him. Just
because he had saved him didn't mean he was a nice person. Corwin sniffed,
he was alone in this kyojin's house with no apparent escape. He couldn't
even fly anymore thanks to those cruel kids. He sniffed again. Flame
quietly raised his head and looked at the Torijin.
Flame must
have been seeing things because he was staring at a small wounded angel
with black wings. Flame puzzled and the meaning and fell back asleep.
Corwin looked at the sleeping giant, he smiled a bit. At least he would
be left to heal. He leaned against the wall of the shelf and went to
sleep. He awoke and saw that Flame had not, he quickly changed into
his Tori form, he had forgotten the bandages which were a bit tight
around his new form. He pecked them loose and they fell off. He then
pecked at them on the shelf since he didn't want them off of his body.
He looked at Flame and cawed. Flame mumbled in his sleep. He cawed again
only louder. Flame opened his eyes and looked at Corwin. He mumbled
a curse and woke up.
"I see you've
pecked your bandages off. Is that the thanks I get for helping you."
He said while re-bandageing the crow. The crow wasn't struggling this
time. "So, you've accepted your fate. That's good. I'll be nice and
not tie you up when I make breakfast." He reached out to pet the crow
and once again got pecked. Flame hissed at him, he then went off to
make some eggs. Corwin hopped out into the middle of the desk and looked
at the junk strewn about. It looked like Flame was a poet, artist and..well
he couldn't quite figure it out. He pecked at the steel rods and the
plates. Corwin paused and sniffed, he smelt food. Not wanting to go
hungry he took a chance and jumped off the desk and tried to fly. Pain
shot though his broken wing and he landed hard. The steel rod brace came
apart and dropped off his wing. Whimpering he hopped out toward the
smell. Flame heard the little talons on the tile and looked at the crow.
"Now look what you did, you broke apart your wing brace." Flame approached
the crow which tried to hop away from him. Flame cornered him in the
living room and picked him up. Corwin cawed and whimpered. Flame took
him back to the desk and re-did the wing brace. He then left him there
whimpering. Flame went to the kitchen and panned the eggs out onto a
plate he took to the desk. Corwin was hiding back under the shelf again.
Flame looked under the shelf and saw his glittering eyes. "Do you want
some food? I'm not a great cook but...." Corwin cocked his head to the
right and meeped. He then hopped out a bit into the light and warily
looked at Flame. Flame pushed a portion of cheese eggs toward the crow.
Corwin hopped toward the portion still looking at Flame. He sniffed
the eggs and took a bite. They were good eggs, he ate some more. Flame
smiled and pet Corwin. Corwin jerked his head up and Flame retreated.
"Ok, Ok...I won't pet you...I get it..." He then pushed some more eggs
toward the crow. Flame enjoyed watching the crow eat.
Arett awoke
to the aphid chewing on his hair. Arett lifted his head and looked at
the insect. Yawning he pet it and went outside to get more food for
it.
"OI! Arett!
It's about time you woke up! It's 1400! Ne!" Wheito shouted at him moving
some stuff from the pod to the "base". Arett growled and pick up a few
blades of grass and went back inside to feed the aphid. The aphid happily
ate the offered grass. Arett sat down and sighed. He had no idea what
to do next ot what plan to form except to create a Station Base. He
then wondered about the people that joined him in his quest. Wheito,
a peppy and cheerful pondskater that just attached himself to Arett
about a week before they were due to launch. Arett didn't know too much
about him other than that he didn't like to talk about his life much.
Eiji was assigned to him and Arett was contented to let someone else
find out where they were going. Eiji was a tool to the group to be used
as necessary, but...Arett didn't know how to use Eiji and thus treated
him like as a fellow Senshi, much to Eiji's dismay. Iliem hopped on
board right when they were taking off and thus nobody knew anything
about him. He seemed to be searching for something. Arett's head hurt.
Taku was the only one that Arett had known for a long time...most of
his life in fact. Arett wondered how he'd survive this whole ordeal.
Aphid munched on Arett's antennae sending pleasurable sensations to
spots on Arett's body he didn't know what to do with yet. Arett raised
his head and shoved Aphid away. Wheito walked in.
"Oi! That's
where Aphid went to, ne!" Wheito walked in and picked up the aphid.
Arett looked at Wheito. "Hey, take
....better care of the aphid....ok." Arett asked and commanded. Wheito
smiled and winked. "Oi! No
problem leader-san! Ne~~!!" Wheito then walked outside with the aphid.
Eiji then walked in.
"How may
I serve you today leader-san, na da!" Eiji timidly asked. He was used
to getting yelled at.
"I'm not
the leader." Arett curtly replied.
"Anoo...that
is what is written on the group report, na da." Eiji whimpered a bit.
"I'm not
the leader, I'm just a Gokijin." Arett laid his head on the table.
"Anooo.....your
the leader anyways....na...da..." Eiji was getting no where.
"Gokijin
don't lead...they skitter under a rock and hide." Arett's muffled voice
came out.
"Anoooo....--"
"Just...do...whatever
you do...it's good....I think...I don't know, I'm not a good senshi
like you." Arett muffled out again.
"I'm not
a senshi na da! I'm communications and navagations personnel, na da!"
Eiji snapped back.
"zzzzzz"
Arett was dozing again.
"?....?....?..."
Eiji puzzled and sighed. He'd never thought he'd work with a leader
like this.
After breakfast
Flame cleaned up the plate and put it in the sink. Corwin wondered what
this kyojin was going to do next to him. Flame returned and sat down.
"You seemed
to like that, I must not be such a bad cook." Flame laughed to himself.
Corwin whimpered. "What's wrong little crow? Does your wound still hurt."
Flame reached out to Corwin, but retreated remembering all the pecks
he had received. Corwin hopped toward Flame. Flame contemplated. "I
better see about building you a cage so you can recover." Flame grabbed
some of the steel rods. Corwin squawked and hid under the shelf. "What
you don't like the idea of a cage." Corwin meeped. "But...I don't want
you to get hurt...." Flame laughed.. "I'm talking to a bird." Corwin
meeped again. Flame grabbed some paper and began to sketch out some
designs of cages. Corwin hopped out toward Flame and meeped again. "Your
not still hungry are you." Flame said somberly. Corwin fluffed a bit.
Flame sighed. "You really seem not to want this cage--" Corwin had hopped
onto Flame's arm and had meeped again. Flame smiled and tentatively
stroked Corwin's head. Corwin shut his eyes and purred. "So, you..trust
me now." Corwin look up at the kyojin. He didn't know whether he should
trust him or not..but he certainly didn't want to be in a cage. Flame
got the strange sensation that this crow actually knew what he was doing.
Tarrk was
feeding and playing with his pet roaches.
"There now
Dess, your all fed and cute!" Tarrk kissed the roach. It skittered up
his arm. He giggled and put Dess back in the aquarium. Tarrk's assistant
walked up behind him. "Aren't they so cute...small and skittery." Tarrk
beamed at the roaches.
"A--A--Ah
yes sir." the Assistant stammered. "Sir, our scout Corwin didn't come
back last night after his rounds." The assistant stated his mission.
"What..Corwin!
No..what happened to him?" Tarrk asked a bit shocked.
"We don't
know sir..." the assistant shook his head sadly. "We believe the...local
wild..life have gotten to him." The assistant choked out. Tarrk growled.
"I seriously
doubt that, he was an excellent swordsman. I have a feeling something
else happened to him, perhaps he has found a store of data we do not
know of yet." Tarrk offered petting a roach. He hated to think that
Corwin would fall to something to the likes of a giant lizard.
Flame was
working on some of his stories that he published online. He was writing
a new story about an angel that had come to a man that was searching
for a new direction in life. This angel had black wings and was hiding
from the humans. Corwin meeped and hopped onto Flame's shoulder. Flame
adjusted his glasses and tapped Corwin's beak smiling. He read the words
that Flame had written. Corwin meeped again, he then came to the part
of the angel. Corwin fell silent, Flame had described himself! He wondered
when he had slipped up and gave himself away, yet Flame didn't seem
to treat Corwin as he was anything other than a pet crow. Flame had
a fluid style to his writing that made the angel Cerwyn seem to be beautiful
and graceful, something that Corwin wasn't. Corwin meeped and hopped
into the middle of the page. Flame pet Corwin and tried to make him
move, Corwin turned to Flame and looked down. Flame wondered what the
crow wanted.
"Are you
hungry?" Flame asked. Corwin looked away and then looked at Flame and
shook his head. Flame choked. "Did you just say no?" Corwin nodded.
Flame fell silent, he just stared at Corwin agape. Corwin fluffed and
thought. He thought he should show Flame the truth. Flame scritched
Corwin's head. He turned his back on Flame. Flame felt his wings and
examined the break closely. Flame wasn't paying much attention to anything
other than the break itself.
"You did
a good job mending the break." Corwin said now in his Torijin form.
"I tried,
I don't have much and I'm not a doc--tor..." Flame looked up from the
break and saw Corwin looking over his shoulder. Flame shot back in his
seat. "Y--You--Your an..an angel! Your THE angel!" Flame stammered out.
Corwin shook his head.
"I am a
Tori Senshi. I live to fight the Mushijin." Corwin turned to face Flame.
"I thank y-you for saving me from the...other kyojin." Corwin looked
away. Flame sat there staring at the small angel that was standing on
his own story of an angel. Flame grabbed Corwin and squeezed him a bit
too tightly, Corwin shouted. He pulled Corwin closer to his face. "M--My
wing." Corwin strangled out. Flame released Corwin's wings. Corwin looked
mournfully up at Flame. He had thought Flame was different. Flame stared
into Corwin's eyes. They were more like tiny black dots to him. Flame
could see Corwin was scared.
"Your, a
tiny angel..." Flame still couldn't believe it. Corwin shook his head.
"Please,
let me go..." Corwin softly keened. Flame lifted up one of Corwin's
head crests.
"What, are
these? Antennae?" Flame asked, feeling one up. Corwin blushed a little
bit.
"N--no..they...they
are...left over from the transformation. They are...sensitive!" Corwin
spit out. Flame stopped immediately.
"I..." He
set Corwin down softly and looked at Corwin from the edge of his desk.
"I'm sorry..." Flame looked away. Corwin straightened out his wings
sending a few floofs of feathers everywhere. "You..shed?"
"Torijin
molt. We loose feathers at random times...like those just now." Corwin
pointed to a few. Flame examined the small feather.
"But your
an angel, so angels molt?" Flame asked still not believing what he was
looking at. Corwin shook his head.
"I'm...an
alien from another planet lightyears away from this one. You see, I'm a bird, a crow." Flame took
it in.
"An alien?"
Flame couldn't believe what this meant. "You
came here in a UFO?" Flame hacked out. Corwin laughed.
"A TATP-0X56
ship, it's not really a UFO." Corwin looked up at Flame.
"But you
landed and..." Flame still hacked out.
"We landed,
we are after the Mushijin, we are paying them back for starting a war
on Gennsu." Corwin angrily looked at the ground. He knew however that
it was the Torijin that had started the war.
"There are
more of you?" Flame looked shocked.
"Yes, we
are..were going to colonize this planet." Corwin blushed again. Flame
smiled.
"Don't worry
you have a home here." Flame touched Corwin's head crest again. Corwin
looked up at Flame.
"I have
to report to my commander!" Corwin tried to fly. Flame grabbed Corwin's
good wing.
"Your wing
is broken, let it heal. If you go out there now, those kids could get
to you again." Flame pulled Corwin close to him. Corwin felt the heat
coming from Flame's chest. He looked at the ground. He really had no
choice but to stay with the Kyojin.
"My name
is Corwin Corealius. I will stay here." Corwin gave up to his fate.
He leaned back against Flames chest the warmth made him feel somehow
safe.
"Flame.
At least to everyone it's Flame." Flame felt Corwin's warm wing. Corwin
sighed, it would be a while before he could get back to Tarkk.
Corwin hoped they didn't send a patrol after him, else they might end
up with the same fate.
Taku was
out scouting the surrounding areas for any sign of usable material or
any Mushi Senshi. He was thinking about Arett. The training that Arett
had received from Taku and the Jin Base didn't prepare the young roach
for this kind of assignment. Then again Taku didn't have any training
on this kind of assignment. It was mostly guess and check. He did know
that the Tori Senshi were out there, and he also knew many ways of dealing
with them. The field was different, but the scenario was the same. Taku
was getting nowhere in his dealing with Arett. Arett was confused and
clueless and Taku couldn't help that. He smiled, making Arett the leader
was a good way to boost his self-esteem, but Taku didn't foresee the
Tori Senshi. He frowned, this made Arett's job a lot harder. He knew
Arett to be one to hide from danger. Before it was danger one should
hide from, now Arett could be battling some of the friends he had in
the Pyramid. Taku even knew some Tori Senshi, he wondered if they were
fighting or did they choose not to fight. Taku gazed from the tree branch
he was on down onto a finch that was pecking at the ground. It was a
Senshi, Taku could recognize one a mile off. The ground pecking did
nothing to throw Taku off, he was a trained veteran. Taku was merely
curious of the finch, it couldn't really hurt him they were about the
same size in their Mori forms. This must be a spy or a scout, Taku noted.
The finch meeped and looked around, it seemed to sense it was being
watched. Taku moved into his Mushi form and began to act like a common
Kabutomushi. He skittered along the bark and down the trunk, looking
for some tree sap, he eyes watching the finch. The finch looked at him,
did he know? It flew up and pecked Taku knocking him off. Taku played
along, though he landed on his feet. The finch squared off against the
Kabutomushi. Taku played his hand by making a way for the tree, seemingly
a miffed insect. The finch hopped onto his back and pecked on his head.
Taku shook him off into the dust. He then charged the finch with his
horn and went into a KabuMushi attack posture. The finch fluffed, it
was only time to see who would give their Gennsujin form away first.
Taku again started toward the tree. The finch hopped forward and pecked
at Taku's back. Taku was getting irritated and this Torijin, he swung
around and slammed the side of his horn against the finch knocking him
a few feet. Taku skittered up the trunk and sat there like a normal
insect. The finch changed.
"Dammit!
This bug is tougher that it looks. Gar! At least on Gennsu they are
easy prey." The Kinkachojin growled and flew up to the Kabuto. "Ah well,
I'll keep it as a pet then." The Kinkajin picked Taku off the tree.
Taku then showed his hand. They both crashed into the ground. "Makuu
Ja!!" The finch shouted seeing Taku rise over him. He moved across the
ground on his wings and back.
"You think
I'm a pet? Maybe I should make you a pet?" Taku smiled down at the Tori.
"Yes, there are Mushijin around here, so flitter off an tell that to
your commander." The finch blinked.
"I...was
looking for food, not spying." The Kinkajin meeped out.
"Wait here."
Taku took off in his hybrid form back to the base. The finch got up
and sat near the trunk.
Taku returned
to the base and went into the kitchen. He grabbed a few packs of ramen
and then went outside. Arett raised his head.
"What's
the ramen for?" Arett asked.
"A finch."
Taku replied.
"What?"
"A Tori
Senshi was looking for some food, I'm going to deter him away from the
base so he doesn't continue to snoop around here." Taku smiled at Arett.
"Ah, that
sounds smart. Hey, tell Wheito to look after the Aphid please." Arett
said getting up and going to the main stage area. Taku nodded and went
outside.
"Hey Pondskater!
Take good care of the aphid! Arett's orders." Taku shouted at Wheito
who was still carrying stuff in from the pod.
"Oi Oi! The aphid is in the pod and
is safe, ne. Arett should stop worrying about a little aphid, ne." Wheito
shook his head and went into the base. Taku had taken off to the Tori.
The Tori
started when Taku landed in his hybrid form.
"Here kid,
have a few packs of ramen. It's not much but it's food, and tell you
leader to get some." Taku threw the ramen at the finch who caught it.
"T-Thank you, but why?" The finch
was suprised. Taku grabbed the finch by the hair and stuck his face
in front of the finch.
"I don't
take this war personally. Your young, your a kid, and your starving.
Starving enough to take on a kabutomushi to eat. Consider it a gift
and get out of here." Taku was close to the finch. The finch didn't
know what to do, he felt the warmth from the Mushijin in from of his
who was a lot bigger, a lot older and a lot more experienced. He was
scared. Taku ruffled up the finch's hair and stood up. The finch
rolled over and stumbled to his feet. He then ran from Taku, looking
over his shoulder the ramen in his arms. He took flight away from the
base.
Zeren looked
over the printed notes. Yes it was true, there were now thousands of
UFOs that had been spotted. Zeren donned on his labcoat and went outside
of his office. He was going to find one of these UFOs and the alien
inside, he'd teach those alien bastards to invade Earth.
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