Illstar

  • So many newbies lately! Here is a very important PSA about one of our most vital content policies! Read it even if you are an ancient member!
Status
Not open for further replies.
Aerin was glad when she embraced him. It meant that he could still approach her when no one else could. While she hadn't spoken yet, he knew she would tell him what was on her mind eventually. It - she - was one of the few things to give him peace. He knew he could trust her and she for him.

So when she was abruptly pulled from his grip, he put one step forward to follow her. A snarl stopped him, and he looked down to find Fang growling in his direction. Bared teeth, hair standing on end, the whole package. His eyes flickered to Nova, confusion swirling in the verdant depths. Fang and Rifle had never growled at him before, even when he and Nova had first met. However, he knew not to agitate them further and his foot slid back. "What's going on?" He got no answer as she came forward, unbuttoning his jacket and pushing his shirt down. "What are you--"

For the first time, Aerin noticed the dark streaks emanating from his bite scar. It meant he was infected. But how? He'd been immune for over a year, almost two, as far as he knew. He'd only been injured by infected twice. Once by the one that had injured his arm and... His father.

His own father had called him a bastard and laced his body with the Illstar virus.

Aerin jerked from her grip, moving his shirt back over the wound and fastening his coat back up. His hands trembled with the zipper and buttons, and he was panting.

Infection meant death. It didn't matter when. He was going to die from that accursed virus.

His eyes searched the ground, but they held... Nothing. Feeling welled up in him, and he pushed it all back down. He didn't understand. His whole world had unraveled, but Nova hadn't run in fear. Not yet, at least. His hand came up to swipe his shaggy hair from his face. Disbelief and desperation finally found their ways onto his face, and he wanted to drop down onto the sand and never move again.
 
Nova felt like she couldn't breathe. Someone had set a weight so great on her lungs that she couldn't draw a breath, she couldn't feel anything but the pain and the shock that washed over her. No. No this couldn't be right. This was Aerin. Her Aerin. He couldn't be infected. It couldn't happen. This wasn't right. Such was what her heart cried, how it protested, but Nova knew it was wrong. She'd seen it. The wolves had sensed it, smelled it. This was true and happening. And just what had made her think that Aerin was exempt? Because he was hers? Like she deserved any less pain than anyone else, like she was so freaking special that nothing could happen to the one person she loved more than anything?

Fate was laughing cruelly right now.

Neon eyes watched the male, watched the emotion and struggle that came over his face and she felt her heart break, shatter inside her. Aerin. Her brave, wonderful, kind Aerin. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. It wasn't going to happen. She wouldn't let it!

Nova moved toward him then and she wrapped her hand behind his head, fingers delving into his shaggy hair as she pulled his mouth to hers. She kissed him then, passionately, desperately and she didn't let up until they were both dying to breathe. Her entire body shook, but her eyes shone with a stubborn determination and some denial. "I won't let you go. We're going to find a way to fix this. I'm not letting you go."
 
Aerin didn't want Nova to touch him. He'd become infected, diseased... broken. He was worth little. He was eventually going to die of the Illstar, something he hadn't foreseen. What had he seen? That the world would repair itself and he and Nova could live a quiet life with her wolves? Unless someone magically came up with a cure for the Illstar, it was never going to happen. He just wanted to settle down and never have to wander again. Traveling for so long, alone, had taken a toll on his body and mind. And now the Illstar, something he'd been desperately trying to avoid, was inside of him.

All of those thoughts swirled in his brain as her lips crashed on his. For a moment, his life felt right again. He never wanted to let Nova go, and she pulled away and spoke what was on his mind. All he could manage was a nod, the green eyes shining with tears before he closed them and leaned his head on hers. "I'm sorry." Like he had anything to apologize for. Aerin felt the need to say it anyway. His father attacking hadn't been his fault, and while he might have been able to prevent the bite, he didn't know if it would have mattered. His earlier scratches would have eventually manifested as the virus, since his body was susceptible to it.

"I wish that I didn't have to do this to you," he said, referencing the amount of weight he was putting on her with his impending death. His mouth brushed her nose, lips quivering in sorrow. "I'm sorry," he repeated.
 
Nova shook her head slightly at his words, her fingers at his neck, cradling his skull as she pressed her forehead into his, eyes closing. "No. No sorry's. You've done nothing wrong. You've nothing to be sorry for. I'm not sorry for loving you. I would choose to do it again, every single time. Never doubt that." Her eyes opened, pulling back to look at him directly, her own gaze brown again, a fully human expression as she looked at him. "We will fix this. You're not going to die. Not from this." She gave him a soft kiss. "Not from this. I'm not giving up on you, so don't you dare give up on me, Aerin."

She would have said more, but a scream rose up from the small encampment and Nova hissed in displeasure, tempted to ignore it, but then more went up....a lot more. She looked toward the houses and vehicles and felt her heart stop. "Aerin..." Her grip on him tightened in fear, eyes wide as she took in the things approaching them, destroying the Wanderer camp and killing in its wake. It looked like a giant spider, eight metal legs and a wide, circular body. Metal, machine it was and Nova instantly that it was alien as it fired green bolts that exploded cars and burned the very sand itself. And Comet was with the Wanderers. So the only person who would be looking amongst Wanderers and was also an alien was...

"Nefenarasa. She's found us."

Nova grabbed Aerin's hand then and she pulled him with her as they started to run. It didn't matter where they were going. They had to run. The wolves kept pace with them, but Nova heard the machine whir behind them, picking up speed. It had spotted them, but it didn't shoot. No, it wanted them alive.
 
Aerin wanted to stand there with her forever, but he couldn't. They had to go back to camp and tell Comet. Maybe he would know what to do. He seemed knowledgeable on all things Reszna, considering he was one, and maybe he knew of something to help them.

But they wouldn't get that chance.

The screams made him turn, but all he could do was stare at the machine that was raiding what would have been their camp. It was heedless as it tramped across, large, pointed legs gouging the sand and anyone underneath. People were scattering in all directions, but the machine took little notice of those tiny ants squabbling around, even as it shot neon energy toward the ground. No, it seemed focused on something specific, and Aerin guessed what it was as the mechanical contraption stabbed a dilapidated house and kept moving. Toward himself and Nova.

Aerin's thoughts went to Olivia and Comet, and part of him wanted to check on them, but he would have only dragged the machine back to the settlement. Even as he thought about them, Nova tugged on his hand and they were forced to run the opposite way. The ground quaked as the machine chased them, gaining with each spindly stride. It fired bolts, but they weren't aimed at the two runners. They were farther out and along the side, blasting deep holes into the sand. It was trying to lock them in with the holes. Running through sand was one thing, but climbing out was even harder. They were going to be trapped eventually, or they would run out of breath. Either way, there was little hope in their situation.

One of the metallic legs swung up and around, the tip of the frame catching Aerin in the side. He was whipped from Nova's grasp and flung several feet away, sliding through the sand. Feeling blood and bruising already welling, he struggled to sit up. However, another leg pressed down on his back painfully, letting him know that more pain would arise if he moved. The machine was too heavy for him to lift, and any thought he had of sliding away was gone as the leg pressed down on his spine and made him cry out.
 
Nova gave a screech as Aerin was yanked from her grasp and she tried to run to him only to be blocked by the machine as it got there first. The blond's cry of pain stopped her in her tracks, a terrible, howling snarl erupting from her mouth as she glared up into the glowing gun pointed at her. She bared her fangs at it, claws extended as she crouched, ready for a fight and the voice that suddenly came over an intercom chuckled. "Do you honestly think you can fight me, Nova? With your precious Aerin in such danger?"

The tiniest press down by the leg had him crying out again and Nova screamed in rage, leaping toward the leg only to be hit with another and sent flying. She felt searing pain erupt in her ribs and struggled to breathe even as she rose, determined to get back to Aerin. Only he wasn't there anymore. She soon figured out why as a glow enveloped her and she felt her body being ripped apart, pulled, transported until she appeared inside the ship. She'd been dropped down right beside Aerin and Nova reached for him, but her fingers never connected as she was hauled to her feet by a race that looked like giant rhino, their grips like iron around her arms. Aerin was pulled up and Nova gave him a worried, terrified look before she started to struggle again.

Sudden pain tearing through her body stopped her fighting immediately, sending Nova to her knees with a scream.

Nefenarasa appeared then, holding the device that had to have been what she'd just used on Nova. A shock-prod that she twirled gleefully in her fingers. Her appearance was still that of Nova's mother and the the hybrid bared her fangs at the Reszna, growling low. "Stop using her face!"

A chuckle and Nefena arched a brow. "What face, sweetie? This has always been my face."

Nova jerked against her captors, looking to Aerin, wanting desperately to get to him and Nefena looked between to the two. "Oh, yes, your life-mate. Don't worry, we'll make sure he's comfortable. No need to worry. We wouldn't want him to die. No so useful that way anymore."

"You told me he was dead last time." Nova spat out, not inclined to believe that they'd actually keep him alive and terrified of the idea, but Nefena merely gave her a glittered-eyed look. "Things have changed." She looked to the two aliens holding Aerin. "Take him to his cell. I'll be there shortly." At the words, Nova started to struggle again like made and at some point she got an arm free, claws raking against the rhino-like alien as she tried to get free. It bellowed out and the other grabbed her again in a harsher grip that made her cry out, but her eyes never left Aerin. No! No, this couldn't be happening again!

She was helpless to do anything as they took him away and he disappeared from sight.
 
Aerin struggled against the leg of the machine, but another prick on his back sent him into another dizzying shout of pain. He couldn't see Nova from how he was pinned, but he heard her scream and his head twisted to try and look at her. There was a bright light above him, and he thought it was the energy bolt that would incinerate him on the spot. Aerin almost wished it did, but it was not to be. The beam shone down, rearranging his body, teleporting him above and into the machine. He only knew it was such because the metal was cold beneath his hands, the chill seeping into his limbs and making him shiver. A second later, Nova appeared beside him. Believing them to have a reprieve, Aerin tried to reach out for her, but an alien behind him snatched his arms and snapped him back. Aerin resisted the grip, seeing the fear in Nova's eyes and then the pain as Nefenarasa poked her with the shock-prod. Aerin tried to shout out to stop, but only a growl left his lips. This time, he let it happen. Let the Illstar take over his body. It was better than watching his love be tortured.

Nefenarasa didn't want to kill him, but he wished she would. Death was coming either way.

Aerin struggled silently against his captor's grip, but it was useless. Whatever the new aliens were, they were just as strong as Reszna. Or maybe he was just weak. The machine had targeted him first, knowing he wasn't as strong as Nova. Aerin was also one of her few weak points, and they capitalized on that yet again. He hated being so... worthless. It was going to get Nova tortured again, and himself. That was made evident as Nefenarasa told her aliens to take him away. He kicked out against one of them, but his foot felt like it only shattered against stone. Whatever struggling ceased, but he still watched Nova, who was trying to get to him. He flinched and looked away as she screamed again, and his feet dragged on the metal floor as the aliens hauled him away.

The body of the machine didn't appear big on the outside, but the inside was minimal to create space. Winding halls of black steel twisted and turned, but there were only a few doors lining each wall. It was designed to confuse those who didn't know its interior. It was doing so for Aerin, at least. He tried to remember how many corners they cut, but the pain spreading from his side and back to the rest of his limbs was weighing on his ability to think. He eventually gave up after the second right, third left hallway, and it seemed like miles before they finally reached their destination. They chucked him into the cell with no warning and he hit the far wall with his shoulder. The pain felt dull, but the impact still elicited a groan. He recovered just enough to shout, "Nova!" before they slammed the door in his face. He beat the metal to no avail.

"...I'm sorry, Nova."
 
"Now, Nova dear, I had no compliance from you last time and it vexed me sorely. Let us try to have a more enjoyable experience of open communication this time, hm?" Nefena circled around the prone hybrid and Nova snarled at her, jerking against her restraints, only to grit her teeth against a cry of pain as they sent a shock through her body. They were energy bands, an alien technology that kept her wrists, legs and tail immobile and caused pain if she tried to fight them without leaving burns or marks. Nefena clicked reprovingly at her as she picked up something from a hover-tray and approached Nova with it.

"Really, Nova, there is no need for that. I'm not going to cut you open this time. I have much more persuasive means of finding out what your father tried to keep from me now." She set the device against the skin of Nova's shoulder and the hybrid felt an injection enter her skin, releasing something unknown into her bloodstream. "I don't blame you for not talking before, sweetie. It's clear now you really didn't know anything, but your body contains a secret nonetheless and I will find what it is."

"Then what do you need Aerin for?! Release him!"

Nova could feel her body growing hotter, a rapid fever setting in as whatever had been pushed into her blood started to wreak havoc with her system. All she could think about was Aerin, though. He was sick. He needed her and she was here, helpless to get to him once more. It was enough to drive the edges of madness to lap at her mind again. She had to get to him, had to help him! Nefena chuckled and pet her head, making the hybrid snap at her with fanged teeth. "Don't worry, Nova. There is a reason for his presence, too."

She headed toward the door then and it slid open to let her out. "The Korvar in your blood will take affect soon enough. Do let me know when I return if it caused unbearable agony. If so, it's not the combination I'm looking for."

---

The door to Aerin's celll opened, the rhino aliens moving in to drag him out. They took him to a room that held two cages already, Fang and Rifle pacing and snarling within. The blond was put on a table, held down by the same energy bands that restricted Nova and soon after Nefena walked in, look as cool and calm as she had the first time around. "Aerin, so very good to see you again." She took a look at the wolves as their snarling increased and then simply ignored them for the time being, looking back to the male.

"Not to fear, I have no desire to harm you this time, well, not unless Nova gives me reason. I need you for other purposes." She was walking around the table that held Aerin slowly. "See, you're infected and I have been searching for the perfect candidate to test a few serums on. I think you'll do nicely in helping me create a more refined biological weapon, don't you?"
 
Aerin no longer struggled. He knew that it was futile. The rhino aliens were terrifyingly strong, even more so than Comet. It was bad, and it was only made worse when they shoved him down on the table and bound him with strange bright bands. If he fought against them, it burned his wrists. He decided that he no longer wanted to be alive, because Nefenarasa's treatment was worse than death. He could tell the wolves were upset, or maybe he was growling. He couldn't feel his teeth bared, but he had no idea what anything was doing to him. His thoughts were scattered and jumbled, but they cleared as Nefenarasa walked in. He wanted to believe that she wasn't going to hurt him again, but the scars from last time burned with protest.

His green eyes, dark with something unknown in his head, glared as she circled the table. "No. I don't think I will," he snapped, uncharacteristically violent with his words. He had reasons to, but part of him knew that maybe it was the Illstar coursing through his body and brain that made him want to hurt her. It was also the knowledge that Nefenarasa wanted to hurt Nova.

"Why did you even bother modifying the virus? What the hell did anyone ever do to you to make you want this? The Illstar ruined our lives and you're just f--king fine with that." He wanted to snap his hands around her throat, but his wrists caught on his bindings. It was painful, but he didn't shout. He could fight the pain. At least he hoped.
 
"Oh, feisty this time around. I see spending time with a hybrid has improved your dormant feral drive." She waved at him a bit, looking over a screen, watching some bio-readings that came from Nova's room. Hmm...no, no the right serum. Oh well, she'd go back and administer the reversal effect in a little while. She switched off the information and looked back to Aerin. "And no, it's not just the Illstar, as you humans call it, making you behave this way. Well...it is, but it isn't. All humans have a feral drive, a part of your mind where the wildness lives, the darkness. The virus merely targeted it, brought it forward. Of course, it's also killing you, but that doesn't concern me. Just the rate of your death's does. It needs to be accelerated."

She walked around him again, picking up the same kind of device she'd used to inject Nova. Nefenarasa didn't seem concerned with speaking to Aerin this time around. His time was limited anyway and in her way of thinking, he couldn't be much of a threat anyway. The virus would kill him soon enough even if what she was going to do to his system wouldn't. And it very well might. Human hosts were so fickle even as they could be great incubators if one found the right body.

"I modified the virus to kill, Aerin, because that is exactly what I wanted it to do. Oh, and don't be so arrogant. Your race did nothing to me. No, humans are nothing but guinea pigs to me, test subjects so I might create a weapon against a much more powerful and important race." She sighed, as if exasperated, injecting whatever serum she held in her hand into Aerin's shoulder before speaking again. "But you're dying too slowly. Not enough violence. I want my enemies to turn on each other and tear each other apart, but really, a year and you're still not dead? That won't do. I need weeks, not years."

She went back to the screens, this time watching Aerin's bio-readings. "Now, as for your help in it. I've just injected you with alien DNA. Vicnorzi to be specific. And don't worry, there's technology in there to keep it from mixing with your own DNA and changing you. All you are is the host, the battleground for two warring armies; the Vicnorzi DNA and the Illstar. I do suspect it will make you feel quite sick...might even be painful, but it's for a good cause."
 
Aerin's eyes were fixed on her actions, watching her pick up the strange needle-like device. Aerin despised needles, and he tried to shy away from her, but there was nowhere to go. She jabbed him with the sharp end and he hissed at her. The liquid inside swirled down into his bloodstream, and it burned in the same way alcohol burned when he drank it. He wished he had a tall glass of absinthe to wash away the pain that was sending fire through his veins in that moment. His mind turned fuzzy, and he had an increasingly hard time focusing on what Nefenarasa was saying. He understood that his body was now a plaything for her to test her serums and science on, despite what he wanted.

The thought of dying returned to his mind, the only coherent feeling.

And then came pain so unbelievable, he felt like he was fabricating it in his imagination. It stretched to every inch of his skin. Aerin felt like he was literally on fire, but he knew that would be less painful than what he was going through. His stomach heaved and he retched, but nothing came up. Violent coughs left him panting for the immaculately clean air, the air that tasted like death and lemony antiseptic. His muscles bunched and cramped as he tried to free himself, fingers scratching at the energy to leave burning sparks on the tips. His mind was spewing thoughts of suicide. Maybe if he got one arm free, he could rake his nails across his throat and end the suffering. But there was Nova. He had to help her. Leaving her in Nefenarasa's clutches was the wrong thing to do.

Tears slid from his shut eyes, but he didn't stop them. It was a release from the angry coils wrapping around his heart. Killing became his priority, and he wanted to do it in the bloodiest ways possible. He wanted to paint the walls with life-blood and make a picture of what was happening inside of his head.

Aerin finally cried out. The single screech was full of anger and sorrow. He was never going to escape, no matter what Nefenarasa did to him. Nova was going to be trapped, and he would never see her again. The true feeling of defeat washed over him, but it wasn't enough to stifle the pain pressuring his body. Pain that lasted for hours, or so it felt to Aerin. He didn't know how time had passed. He just knew he wanted to be free and rip someone to shreds. He was letting himself be controlled by the tempting violence in his head, but that was okay for him. If it meant the death of Nefenarasa, Aerin didn't care what he did.
 
Nefenarasa had been true to her word. There had been no cutting open of anyone. In fact, there wasn't even any blood unless they bit their tongues. There was pain, though. Plenty of that and hallucinations and despair, anger and nausea, and Nova felt like she'd lose her mind before long. She didn't know how long it had been or even when she slept or woke. The time, the pain, the suffering all blended into each other, a never-ending cycle that seemed to have no purpose. Nova didn't know what Nefenarasa was searching for, but the Reszna was growing frustrated as the days passed, apparently unable to find it and the testing on Nova grew more brutal. Her body could go three at least eight to ten serums in a day and she was being driven absolutely wild by the pain and the side-affects.

Her mind barely thought in words anymore. Instinct drove her in every way. Speech didn't register as important anymore.

So it was that when she first saw them, Nova didn't register anything but a threat. Nefenarasa had been speaking about something Nova didn't pay attention to. Later she would vaguely remember that it had been something about seeing if a threat would bring out a defense reaction in Nova, the Reszna running on a suspicion from the data she'd collected that whatever Daniel had put in his daughter, it was to protect her.

So it was that the hybrid was placed in a cell, a rather large one and the two creatures in with her were let out of their cages. Black of fur with strong bodies and legs, cat-like claws and large ears, they snarled as they approached her. They towered, easily the size of a small pony, nearly reaching Nova's head with their own and their cat-like tails lashed in bloodlust, fire flaring at the end and a crest of red along their backs. Canine-like faces bared sharp fangs, eyes glowing gold as they advanced on Nova. There were two and they growled, having been starved, crazed and Nova couched, hissing back, preparing to kill, nothing but the instinct to survive running through her. No thought at all.

And in a room with Aerin, Nefenarasa smiled, watching the hologram floating up as a broad screen of what was transpiring. It was amazing what one could do with bio-technology. She looked back at Aerin with a cold smile. "Do you like the modification I made to your wolves? I'm sure Nova will when she finds out."
 
Aerin learned what the real meaning of true hate was. And it was in the form of a woman. The perfectly sculpted woman with the smooth voice and the eyes of the devil. He no longer wanted to die. He just wanted to kill. He imagined various ways in which she would die, all of them violent and bloody. But he stopped talking. He hadn't spoken for at least two days. His mind couldn't handle speech. Some nights - or days, he couldn't tell anymore - he would see Nova in his room, a ghostly figure of her lovely self before all this happened. She was smiling, but she never came to him. She only disappeared. He couldn't explain why until he realized that she was just a figment of his broken imagination. He wanted to think he'd conjured up this entire ordeal, that he'd wake up soon.

But the reprieve never came. And the pain never stopped.

Aerin had a hard time registering that Nefenarasa was doing anything, but eventually, his eyes focused on what was in front of him. The sight sobered him up, even though the dull aching in his limbs. He knew right away who the two creatures were, but Nova didn't seem to realize. "Nova?" he whispered in a cracked voice, but she couldn't hear him. He tried to sit up, but the energy bands, the ones that continuously kept him where he was except for a few rare times, fastened him down. He wanted to close his eyes and forget what he was going to see. But he couldn't. He had to know if Nova was going to recognize the creatures. He had the sinking feeling that if she did, they wouldn't stop trying to kill her, regardless of who she was.
 
Movement. Snarling. Threat.

Neon-green eyes snapped, focused on the now dubbed 'hellhound' advancing on her, noting that it was the larger of the two and seemed to be the one in charge. Good. She'd take that one out first. Less trouble from the follower then. Nova watched their circling advance with a low growl constant in her throat and when the larger one lunged, she sprang back, latched on to the wall with claws and then sprang off again, slashing the creature right down the shoulder, a deep gauge that sent up an unearthly howl of pain.

Even as she darted away, the hybrid was sent crashing into a wall by a powerful swipe from a massive paw and she snarled in pain, blood leaking blue from her side where the claws had managed to tear at her. Not too deep, but damaging nonetheless and she rose even as the lead hellhound sprang forward again. Her hands grabbed his jaws, fangs slicing into her palms, giving the creature a taste of blood, causing those glowing gold eyes to light up further in a frenzy as it tried to get at her with a jaw that wouldn't shut or open any further as she kept her hands wrapped around both upper and lower sections of the jaw, looking into the mouth that would devour her whole if allowed.

Her arms shook with the effort and all the while she could see the second hellhound sneaking closer, ready to finish what the first one had failed to. And that was the problem. One...one she could have beaten by now. But two... Nova gave a snarling screech as she twisted the large head in her hands, unsteadying the hellhound and sending him crashing into his pack member as she released his jaws. The smaller of the two let out a long succession of whines, a scared reaction more than a pained one and Nova froze.

Her mind sparked, started to think in that one fragile moment. She knew those whines. She... Neon-green eyes went back to the two creatures as they rose, snarling horribly and Nova knew in that moment exactly who'd she'd been fighting. Her wolves. These...were her wolves and the dawning horror of such a thing swept over her face in an instant.
 
Aerin wanted to yell and shout at Nova to stop, but it would have been useless. All he could do was watch and know she was hurting her wolves. He didn't know how Nefenarasa had gotten them to look like that, but he knew why. It didn't matter if she hadn't cut them open. There was so much weighing on their minds now, too much torture and pain. He and Nova would never the same again, no matter what they did. They could comfort each other all they wanted, but to forget what Nefenarasa had done would take a lifetime.

He saw the terror on her face, and Aerin knew she'd made the connection. She didn't want to kill them anymore, but how was she going to get out? Aerin didn't think Nefenarasa was going to let her leave unless she killed or severely injured one of them. Aerin pulled on the bands again, finding that he could hardly feel the burning in his wrists anymore. The violent thoughts and sick roiling in his stomach was returning, and he finally had to close his eyes and turn away. Nova's violent behavior against her wolves was adding onto his already trigger-happy brain.

How much longer could they live like this?
 
Nova backed away this time as the hellwolves advanced with bloodthirsty growls and she looked from one to the other, putting names to them immediately. Names. She'd not thought about name in so long. They didn't matter in her feral state of mind, but this time...she needed to know their names. Fang, the bigger one, the one in charge. And Rifle, the smaller, the one that had whined like that. She knew them now, but they didn't her.

What had that witch done to them!? Where were her wolves?! They were changed, so completely changed and Nova wanted to sink down and cry in that moment with grief. So much had been taken already and now...now her wolves were gone. Replaced by these creatures who would rather rip her apart than nuzzle her with concern. So Nova responded in the only way she could to their advance and growls.

She stood up and snarled back, more fiercely than their own noises, far more commanding, dominating. She advanced on them with eyes that sparked red, a brilliant, ruby red that had the two hellwolves whining, whimpering as they backed up. They might not know her anymore, their minds completely damaged, but they knew authority when they saw it and Nefenarasa, watching, knew the power she was looking for when she saw it.

It didn't take long for the two creatures to be caged again and Nova dragged out of the cell, eyes no longer glowing as her entire expression, demeanor had seemed to crumple the moment the former wolves were taken away. She didn't fight the rhino aliens that took her out of the white room. But she didn't know her destination was Aerin, either.
 
When Aerin finally forced himself to look back at the screen, he saw that the wolves weren't dead. They were cowering, but they were alive. They weren't back to normal, but Nova could control them by being the dominant figure. She didn't have to kill them if she established a hierarchy. Aerin breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the wolves be taken away. He hadn't wanted to see them die. Not for the first time, he was grateful that Shadow was dead. She'd been spared the pain and fear of what her fellow wolves had.

Another spasm of pain raked his body and Aerin had to fight to lay still. His mind was growing dark with thoughts of killing and death again, but having been able to see Nova, even on the screen, made him want to calm himself. He wasn't a killer, even with the alien drugs or whatever Nefenarasa was using on him. Aerin allowed himself a growl of frustration and anger, but he couldn't hold onto it. He wasn't even aware that he could hear faint footsteps getting closer, or that the room was oddly void of noise. He was concentrating on himself, eyes squeezed shut in focus as he tried to release the vile thoughts inside.
 
Nova knew she was going somewhere new when they didn't go down a corridor that already smelled like her. It piqued her wary interest and she grew tenser in the rhino aliens' holds causing them to grip her all the more as they became aware of her senses waking up. Her tail - her poor abused tail - twitched restlessly against her leg, touching the multiple bands that kept it from moving and she hissed at the pain that shot through sensitive nerves, but it only served to wake her mind, her instincts up further as her ears flickered, nose working. Her eyes dilated as soon as she caught his scent, even before getting into the room.

A snarl broke from her throat and then such was Nova's instant reaction, that she broke from her guards' holds as well. Her midnight blue body shot into the room, to Aerin's side without any thought at all, blind to anythings else in the room. She managed to touch him, to see his green eyes when they opened, to give him a desperate, shaky, smile before her body was ripped away from his and Nova gave a screech of rage that was beyond anything human.

Yellow bands of energy, something new, encased her wrists, coming from the ceiling in flickering, flaring streams as they pulled her away from the blond, forced her to stand in the middle of the room as Nefenarasa made her appearance, still in human form. Nova didn't know why she didn't change to her true one, but right now she was beyond any coherent thought anyway as she gave the woman a snarl and tried to lunge forward, the yellow energy sending a jolt through her body that made her howl, fangs gnashing together before she stilled again, the bloodcurdling growl constant.

"Don't bother, Nova dear. Those energy bands have been specifically designed to your genetic make-up. There will be no escaping them."

She moved to Aerin then and gave him a prod in the side, sending a slight jolt of electricity through his body. Just to get his attention as she smiled down into his bloodthirsty eyes sweetly. "Aerin, darling, how would you like to be of help to me?"
 
Aerin heard footsteps increase in speed and noise and there was a slam as the door swung open and crashed against the wall. He growled in the direction of the noise until the very faintest and soft touch brushed his arm. His eyes opened and he saw her. She was there for just one second and then she wasn't. Seeing her chased the thoughts from his head. Mostly. He didn't want Nova to die, but some tiny part of him wanted to hurt her. Squashing the feeling as best he could, he watched Nova be restrained and noticed Nefenarasa as she came in. He wanted to snap at her, but he only closed his eyes again, trying to fight down the nausea and violence rising in his body.

His head turned away only to snap back as he felt a shock ride up his side. His dark green gaze swirled with hate, and her smile only made it worse. At her question, he shook his head. "No, I don't think I want to," he said, trying to bite back the snarl, but it still caught on the end of his words. Her 'help' often ended in pain, and he just wanted to go to Nova and escape with her and never see another person like Nefenarasa again.
 
Nefenarasa gave him another shock for the snarl and then chuckled. "Well, fortunately I don't actually care what you want." She turned away and directed her attention to Nova who was struggling once more, watching as Aerin was put through pain. She snapped and snarled, but she didn't speak and the Reszna didn't seem to need her to as she watched the younger hybrid. "Your wolves, Nova, do you know how you controlled them just now?"

Nothing but a growl answered her, neon-green eyes narrowed in loathing, but sharp with intelligence even if she wasn't using it to behave humanly. Nefenarasa went on, not needing a response. She never did. "It wasn't just your attitude. Hellhounds don't respect dominance from ordinary sources like assertiveness or strength. They don't care. It's power they respect and you, my sweetie, possess a strong one. That is what your father put in you and I would know more about it as he wanted to keep it from me."

A smile came to her face. "Right now I know you can't control it, don't worry. I'm not going to ask you to. It reactions on self-defense now, when you are truly in danger you can't get out of any other way. So I'm going to make this very easy." The Reszna went to a panel and the energy on both Aerin and Nova's wrists began to hum, charging up. "I'm going to try to kill both of you. If Aerin starts to die, your power will lash out to save him in order to save yourself and if you start to die, well, you'll fight all the harder to stay with your human. Either way, I see the power eventually."

Nova got nothing more than a moment to widen her eyes and look to Aerin before the pain jolted through her, volts that no human could withstand traveling through her entire frame until she was shrieking and even then they didn't stop and somewhere past the agony, she knew Aerin was receiving the same treatment...and she knew that Nefenarasa would keep her word. One of them would have to be close to dying and Nova's power would have to flare before she'd stop.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back