Euphoria. Everything was blissful euphoria. The sky was like liquid gold, glittery, incandescent and brilliant and the soft, early morning grass was a bed for my tired body to lay upon...Or perhaps it was a gentle, shifting dune I rested on; either way I was in heaven. Love flowed through my veins and chaotic, joyous music reverberated through my skull, bouncing off its walls.My alabaster skin glowed in the glorious morning light as star ships and comets soared through the void like racers in a galactic torney and the wind lapped against my sun dress covered form. I could barely suppress my giggles as I lost myself in sheer happiness and allowed the world and its many attractions to take me away to a plane of existence where only myself and an endless amount of pleasure rested…
Elizabeth
Valguard Castle, Chrysalis’ Hive
6AM, GST.
With a jolt, I awoke in the real world alert and rested at the same time. With a resigned sigh I yanked the large cord inserted into a small, easy to hide port in the side of my cybernetic skull. As it locked itself back into its position I moved a panel back into place and the once shiny metal slot looked like normal, faux flesh. If it weren’t for the massive withdrawals and eventual death I would probably never wake up but seeing as I still have a Queen to talk to and idiot friends to rescue I wasn’t allowed to have fun. Shooting upright and hoping out of my reinforced, yet comfy mattress and onto the grated floor of the engine room below me. The reactor hummed quietly as my lil’ angel slept and the room was washed in a pale blue light and a small amount of green thanks to my augments. As I rolled my arms around, tested out my legs and ran basic system checks I looked for something to eat and was delighted to see I still had some of my ol’ protein paste mix left. With a cry of joy, I grabbed the grey bottle of deliciousness and climbed up the small ladder into my cockpit.
“Morning beauty.” I whispered as I flipped on a small, modified switch that turned on the lights within the control room and began feeding power to the rest of the Chassis as I sat down in my chair, opened my bottle of goop and began pouring some grey, muscle building and cybernetics enhancing paste while the plating over the front of the Chassis slid apart and allowed me to stare out into the Castle grounds, the gargantuan crystals built into the ceiling gave the walled off, subterranean garden a cool, multi-coloured and speckled glow. The white marble pathway below my grey machine was just as durable as the citadel and refused to falter under my Chassis’ weight. Littering the garden were a few tasteful, if bizarre, statues and sculptures either depicting a native creature or some kind of metaphor I assumed and had plaques of alien writing below them. Aside from the occasional patrol of heavily armoured and stoic guard who despite being covered head to toe in their odd chitin armour and cloth it still seemed obvious to tell when they were looking right at you; their cloaked and armoured heads did little to help.
The massive console, complete with buttons, switches, dials and other archaic junk began displaying stuff on the old digital screens; by Galactic Standard time it was roughly 6AM and I was raring to go.
“A’ight, first things first…” I exclaimed as I rolled my chair to the left and turned on the homemade coffee maker I’d installed into the Chassis control panel and then all the way to the right and pressed play on the small, flashy and needlessly modern looking music player. Some people can’t appreciate the soothing beats of Augmented Rock but some people are just shit like that. As I commanded my Chassis to rise from its slumber the patrolling guards jumped slightly. Some raised their polearms or readied their daggers but they swiftly resumed their duties after a few seconds of loud, hectic instrumentals and synthetic tones and nothing explosive. As I began to pour myself a cup of Jo into one of the chipped and oldish mugs I keep in my cockpit the Chassis picked up a new lifeform that turned out to be Captain Mirage, decked out in thicker metal armour and still rocking his green cape with a black, horned helmet in place that showed off some of his face. He has a pretty buggy looking face with the normal black, hardened skin but had a few chipped and damaged plates surrounding his face along with some small scars on the more normal and fleshy parts. His eyes were the usual soft blue and he had a small grin on his face. Between the two curved horns on his helm jutted a fairly large horn and although it was mostly contained a few strands of murky blue hair stuck out. He looked good considering the early morning I assumed; for all I know it could be mid afternoon or something.
“Hail Miss Elizabeth! I trust you’re well this fine morning? Again, we could’ve found you a room to rest in instead of...The gardens.” He greeted cheerfully then reminded as I turned on the speakers after muting my music so as to not deafen him.
“Yeah, it’s a pretty dandy one so far. Nah don’t worry about it, I’m more comfy sleeping in here then anywhere else really. So, how can you tell it’s morning? The place looks the same and I’ve been asleep for a good few hours.” I asked as I began running standard system checks ideally.
“Well, the scouts on the service give hourly reports through the shared hivemind and remind us when it becomes day or night; it helps alleviate the stress some of our more hardened and wanderlust stricken people share. Truthfully, it can be strange living on the surface then coming home to constant, dim light.” He informed me in a slight scholarly tone; he seemed to like talking about native stuff if the smile was anything to go by, either that or he has to look cheerful all the time.
“Okay, kind of like when Augs and Bots form a Link. Thanks for clearing that up. So, what’s on the agenda? Queen wants to talk to me or something?” I asked after thanking him.
“Yes actually, she wants to hear from you as soon as you formulate an answer to her proposal.” He reminded me while he stood a bit straighter at the mention of his ruler. I’d given it some thought before I slipt into my lil’ coma/dream and although I was apprehensive either way I was ready to talk to her once more.
“...Okay, cool, take me to her I guess.” I said after a pause for thought. My Chassis rose up slightly as the reactor kicked into gear. He seemed surprised to see it stand straight once more. The castle seems to faintly as Mirage and I walk towards the large, heavily guarded garden entrance; the crystalline windows sparkled in anticipation as I ventured forward.
The weaving corridors seem almost impossible to navigate without a guide or map yet the distance to wherever he was taking me was disarmingly short. After only a few turns, some sharp turns and a large amount of befuddled maids, manservants and guards we were standing in front of a heavily protected doors; they were obsidian and had fine engravings but was nowhere near as fancy as the throne room.
“Is Her Majesty still having her morning ‘meal’?” Mirage asked one of the monstrously huge guards stoically. Mirage and what's-her-face were tough bastards but these fuckers were built like brick shithouses and looked like they were able to chew coals and crap out diamonds. They towered over everyone sans my Chassis at eight feet, were wearing a thick stone chestplate with a dull, rough green crystal set within its bosom, an archaic stone mask that obscured their faces and allowed their wild bright green hair to flow and their legs were covered in light cloth similar to a series of tattered black, green, white and purple skirts. Their hands were encased in rock gauntlets that looked so old they could crumble into ash at any moment. In their hands they held only a ridiculously big slab of rough green crystal and stone that looked like some kind of wall turned into a shield. They held the shield in one hand like it was nothing and their free hand simply hung limp at their side, softly twitching every once in awhile. Their exposed arms had small shards of crystal and stone bursting out of their carapace in such away that it looked more like chains or bindings wrapped around their limb agonizingly.
The creepy native said nothing and merely nodded. Despite being blinded by its engraved, faded mask it looked down at him then at his partner on the left side of the door and in perfect unison they opened the large doors and beckoned us in.
Shoving those bastards into the back of my mind as a question I’d have to ask later, I checked out the dining room; I wasn’t surprised to see it was as spacious and lavish as the rest of the confusing castle. The room was finely decorated with sculptures and paintings decorating the left wall and a series of large locked windows to the right that gave an impressive view of the still wide awake city. The room was dimly lit by the crystals hanging from the ceiling like chandeliers or some of those weird hovering balls of light the techies back at the fleet love. There was a extensive, dark brown banquet table with intricate golden engravings of leaves embedded into it and matching chairs complete with swirling and complex table legs, arm rests and what not. About three quarters of the way down the table, facing one of the crystal windows, sat the Queen. She sat patently, neither bored nor engaged by anything, resting into one of the many chairs with her head resting into the palm of her left hand and seemed somewhat drained. She still wore her lovely dress from before by looked...dissimilar in some way. She shifted her emerald eyes over to us and smiled faintly.
“Ah, Captain Mirage, I trust you’re well this morning?” She asked casually as she looked away from him and back out the window. The Cap stood a bit taller and seemed embolden.
“Yes Your Majesty. I’ve brought Miss Elizabeth as she says she’s made up her mind on her current situation.” He reported simply with no real inflection or tone to his voice to make him sound anything less than a simple soldier.
“Wonderful, leave us and wait for Miss Elizabeth.” She said as she nodded at him. He saluted at the Queen, gave a quick look in my direction, and peaced out leaving me in my huge ass war machine and her sitting at a massive ass table. It took a few seconds, about ten, to cross over to her and park my Chassis right in front of the window so I could be opposite her.
“Don’t rulers usually sit at one end of the huge table so they look imposing or something?” I asked, kinda taken aback at how uncaring she looked.
“I’m not entertaining royalty, generals or anyone who I would wish to impose upon, feel superior to or show off to; besides, some may favour routine but I cherish any excuse to break the mold. You’ve proven to be a fairly decent distraction for the time being...Now then, your answer?” She answered with a small chuckle, amused by my question, before addressing me with a fairly stern tone.
“I can have the guards retrieve a map of the surrounding areas, a pouch of gold which should prove sufficient in either country you wander into and whatever supplies you’d need.” She continued as she looked up at my cockpit, right at me with a bored stare.
I was quick for a while as she awaited my response, before I powered down my Chassis and moved towards the small ladder heading towards the hatch. She didn’t make a sound and watched me, intrigued by my actions as she watched the Chassis crouch down and stop humming loudly as the reinforced hole on the roof opened up. Jumping off the top of the Chassis, my shock absorbers stopping my legs from hurting like hell, I turned to see what she thought. She seemed...In thought as she looked at me.
“Welp...Soak it in I guess.” I said as I raised my arms and showed off my body, used to natives or aliens being shocked, awed or terrified of me. All I got in response was an amused, short lived laugh.
“I will admit, you’re not what I expected from an alien and I might’ve been more vocally and visibly surprised but given my current state...The metallic, well made replacements and parts I was somewhat expecting but you look largely...native to this world. There are no pale skinned, hairless and scaleless creatures on this world but I’d wager almost all of us have two arms, two legs, are of similar height and build...Though the bald head and glowing green metal eyes were a bit more surprising.” She said with a grin as she ran her eyes up and down my body, taking in as much as she could. “I also didn’t expect you to be naked.” She added with a raised eyebrow.
“Not like it’d cover much...Gotta say, not used to a native not yelling in fear, praising me as some kinda goddess or throwing rocks at me.” I said awkwardly as I walked over to the table and sat down in the well made, cushioned chair.
“Did you assume me a savage? I’m not so uncouth as to attack a particularly...Shining stranger. You may be the strangest person I’ve ever seen in my long live but you’re no monster or Minotaur.” She replied with a straight face as she looked me in my eyes and seemed to be trying to get a read on me.
“Thanks I guess, rocks don’t hurt but they scuff up the chrome; I wonder if carapace would work better.” I joke as I look around the room.
“Well, it’ll brush off a sword or an assassin’s knife but I don’t think it’ll take a blow from a machine such as yours.” She tells me as she looks back to my Chassis.
“Trust me, chrome won’t do nothing to protect me from a Chassis; it’d be like a boot against a bug...Oh, shit sorry.” I hastily added, my casual nature getting the best of me. She was laughing her ass off at my possibly racist comment.
“No need to apologise, we may be similar to an insect but we’re not the same, at least not as we are now; it’d be like me comparing you to a knife because you have metal limbs.” She says as she calms down and looks drowsy.
“I don’t know, I share more than a few similarities with a knife...Now then, I’ve decided-” Just as I was about to tell her what I’d chosen, some maid walked in. She wore a simple black and green outfit that looks both fitting for messes and greeting royals. She held a large, crystalline tray with a huge topper on top and a bottle of wine and two glasses in her hands...Huh.
“My Queen, your…’Meal’ is ready.” The maid told her as she casted a lingering gaze at me and continuing.
“Thank you, I’m famished.” She said with an odd, almost lustful, stare at her plate. As the the maid placed the black bottle and wine glasses on the table she also removed the topper to receive a row of vials. They all housed various gaseous looking substances that had odd colours ranging from pink, blue, red and yellow. They swirled and conjured weird patterns that vanished as soon as they formed. With a bow the maid left.
“What is that stuff?” I asked as she used her magic to pick up the yellow vials while she used her hands to open the vintage bottle of wine and poured out some clear green crap.
“Well, us Changelings can mostly sustain ourselves with food, liquids and so on but it’s a temporary solution to our cravings. We’re born from emotion and magic and as such it is only those two desired substances that allow us to live for more than a month; nobody's quite sure what happens when someone such as I dies from withdrawal but if it’s similar to a drone...Well, it’s not pleasant.” She explained as she used her…’magic’ to uncork the vial of shimmering blue gas and she breathed it in, consuming it I guess.
“Without emotions and magic, we lose our powers and if I were to lose control of the hive dire wouldn’t be a strong enough word to describe the fallout.” She continued as she breathed out a green cloud of...Air I guess as I examined the ‘emotions’ and ‘wine’.
“So...You harvest emotions? What?” I asked, my confusion evident as she seemed to sway slightly as her luster from yesterday returned.
“Yes and no. Magic is simple enough to find or in some cases grow, the world itself is magic and it takes very little effort to manifest it as a blue crystal or liquid that we can either grind into powder then channel into this gas; it’s toxic to all but us and I wouldn’t recommend trying to inhale or drink it unless you have a particularly strong sense of self loathing...Emotions on the other hand.” She stopped as she opened the vial of yellow gas. I swore I could’ve heard a scream or something and there was a aura of fear and terror in the air...And yet there was something alluring about it.
“...How far would you go to survive Miss Elizabeth?” She asked me as she examined the empty vial in her grasp as she exhaled a cloud of golden gas out of her nose. She gave me a questioning gaze as she placed it down and picked up the pink one, but didn’t uncork it.
“Pretty damn far to be honest, survival of the fittest and all that I guess...I mean, shit look at me, you think someone would go this far for shits and giggles?” I answered after a short pause as I looked down in thought before facing her. She seemed...Pleased and somewhat despondent at the same time.
“Well no, I didn’t believe you would’ve either been born with those metallic body parts or have your natural ones amputated for no reason. I must say, you have a rather surprising outlook on life; I would’ve expected you to be more…” She hesitated as I bet she wanted to word it in a way that wouldn’t insult me.
“Wise or altruistic? Yeah no, I’m not either of those things; Esther, my boss I guess you could say, may be all thoughtful and whatever but I’m just a soldier you know? Haven’t really thought too heavy on all that complex, moral crap for a long, long time. And unlike Delta and Tyler I don’t not think about this kinda crap, I just don’t really care or have had some kind of internal debate like some people...Anyway, you were telling me about how you people live?” I asked after going on a tiny tangent. The Queen seemed intrigued by my thoughts but kept whatever she was thinking to herself.
“Yes...Unlike magic, we can’t harvest emotions on our own. We’ve tried mind you, but the results were quite monstrous to say the very least. We indoctrinate other races like the Equestrians, Griffons or Minotaurs and either drain them of their emotions then and there or return them to a hive for more extensive harvesting.” She tells me with no real joy or sorrow but not entirely uncaring. “The process is painful, yes, but their controlled minds are soothed by the hive mind and it’s rare for them to sustain lasting damage...Some have died in the past, but their deaths have saved countless others from starving and going insane. It’s an unpleasant situation but if a hundred must die to protect millions of my subjects then so be it.” She finishes as she sits back and sighs, waiting for my response.
“...Huh.” I stated simply upon hearing the disturbing revelation. “So, your entire race is parasitic?” I asked, conflicted on many levels.
“I wouldn’t go that far, we’re researching alternative ways of harnessing emotions, like love, but due to the fears surrounding us and our actions the other, more technologically capable, races are less than keen to cooperate with us but given our current predicament we’re now we have little choice.” She confessed, emphasising the word love by uncorking the pink vial and letting out the wispy, sweet scented crap. The feeling it gave off was intoxicating and so familiar yet was always at the edge of my mind...Like a lover’s kiss or an intimate moment shared.
“So, you and your people have to drain people of emotions to live?” I continued, wanting to know more.
“Yes and no, most of my Changelings only need a minute sliver of magic and emotions to survive a month or two but Changelings like me, royal Changelings, we require daily doses or else our magic will fade and so will the hive. As I said, it’s rare for someone to die from a feeding session...But a drone on its last leg or a starving pack of scouts can become desperate.” She finished as she absorbed every drop of the pink potion and seemed to radiate with a powerful aura; gone was the dull shine and the lethargic expressions. She looked like a completely different alien bug thing.
“Well...I suppose it could be worse. You could’ve all been blood worshipping savages or barely evolved creatures that seem to exist only to scare the shit out of me; I’ve seen a lot of aliens in my live and honestly. You guys are pretty goddamn good looking compared to some of the fuckers I’ve fought off. I mean, harvesting people is pretty bad, but it’d be kind of dickish to just snap at you or call you all freaks; everyone wants to live, it dosen’t matter how nice you are because sooner or later you’re going to have to make a tough choice like that...It’s a fucked up situation but I can’t say I don’t empathise with you.” I briefed her, nostalgia and long faded memories looping in my head like a shitty movie. When I looked back up at her she had a crestfallen smile.
“If you can honestly understand how it feels to condemn hundreds to a horrible fate so many more can survive then I do not envy you but you do have my respect, granted it wasn’t a foolish decision...We’ve talked too much about my species considering the reason you’re here.” She reminded with a calm expression and a stoic voice, awaiting my answer after a lengthy tangent.
For a while, I was silent. Although I was mostly fine with this new info it was still shocking and gave some clues as to what the fuck is going on. Obviously magic isn’t real and...Whatever the wispy shit was had to have been some kind of tech or primitive light show or something along those lines; It might’ve been obvious to me but I wasn’t about to piss off the Queen and call her a liar and an idiot to her face. Still, a parasitic race isn’t the best choice of allies when you need to survive, especially when you have no idea what’s actually out there...But, alone I wasn’t going to do much or find what’s left of my squad alone without causing one hell of a scene.
“Yes, I’ll tell ya stuff about the universe and in exchange you people help me track down my team.” I finally answer after a short pause causing the alien Queen to beam surprisingly, which showed off her white, impressively sharp fangs and teeth.
“Excellent, I imagine we both have much to gain from this agreement.” She declared as she raised her wine glass with her freaky illusion ‘magic’ crap in an offer of a toast. With nothing to lose, I raised my glass and clinked them together.
“So, what is this green stuff?” I ask as I swirled the faintly glowing green and purple ‘wine’ in the glass around like waves crashing against rocks.
“Wine brewed by combining crushed grapes with powdered crystals, extracted love and a hint of Lunarberries; it might burn the first time you sip it, most aren’t accustomed to Changeling food.” She listed off as she savoured the flavour of the glowing green wine. With nothing else but a warning to go off, I downed a quarter of the glass and watched as my internal sensors began feeding a small list of known and unknown ingredients. It tasted amazing but she wasn’t kidding, if it weren’t for the metal in me I would’ve probably burned my mouth or something. The drink was ice cold and burnt you somehow...Aside from the confusing properties of the drink, it tastes amazing. She watched, amused, as I downed the cup and stood up.
“Well, well, well, most people cough up their first cup of ‘Lunar love’. Either you have great fortitude or merely a strong liver.” She complimented as I began to walk over to my Chassis.
“Well I’m made of metal mostly and I haven’t got a liver anymore so it’s probably the fortitude and stuff. As much fun as this is, I’d like to get to work on finding my mates and doing whatever the hell you need me to do.” I declared as I climbed into my Chassis, ending our rendezvous.
“Understandable, I’ll send for Captain Mirage to escort you around the stronghold so that you may become better acquainted with your temporary lodgings...Also, it’s not wise to speak so casually to a member of royalty; the guards and dignitaries should they risk coming might get the wrong impression or perceive it as some form of a feud between us.” She cautioned but didn’t really explain as she closed her eyes and a few seconds later Mirage swaggered in with a normal look on his buggy face.
“Captain, you are to escort Miss Elizabeth around the stronghold and show her any areas of interest; particularly the First Archive and the barracks if you could.” She ordered as she continued to sip her scoldingly cold drink.
“Certainly your majesty…” He acknowledged with a fancy bow as I commanded my powered up Chassis to follow the lil’ bugger. As we walked out of the room, the Queen bid me farewell and he stood in front of my Chassis, causing me to slow down a bit, as he led me around the lavish, confusing building.
“...So, what did you think of Lunar love?” He inquired as he stared forward, making casual conversation surprisingly.
“It was alright, if it weren’t for my aug’d body it would’ve probably fucked up my mouth though; wouldn’t be surprised if it was radioactive or something.” I answered, interested in whatever the dude had to say. He seemed to laugh at this, though looked a bit stiff for some reason.
“I’ll be sure to tell the chiefs or the maids that’d you’d rather a less volatile drink next time...I noticed you had nothing on your plate, do you not need to eat?” He kept asking as we passed rows of ancient stone armour, masks and weapons of various states of disrepair ranging from ‘decent/usable’ to ‘busted up’.
“I’m a pretty heavily aug’d girl, I can go a long time without eating but my body can’t really gain much from anything that isn’t synthetic or processed all to hell; I really just eat for the taste...I think the last time I had a decent meal was three weeks ago and I’ve mostly just been eating protein paste and drinking the occasional Sandran beer.” I continued, glad to talk about something from my world but disheartened to remember the fall of the Phantom. I don’t know how but I think he might’ve picked up on my sorrow somehow...Fucking aliens,
“Are you alright? You seem...Sorrowful.” He asked, worried for some reason, despite being unable to see me...Maybe they can ‘sense’ emotions?
“Yeah, just thinking about the Phantom...My ship, I think you guys might’ve seen a bunch of explosions or something a night or two ago...Lotta innocent people died and some of them were friends.” I reminisced, thinking of the engineering crew and the occasional games of beer pong, Deck the Cap’n and shots n’ shots we would play to celebrate some trivial bullshit.
“It must’ve been horrible, watching it all end like that...Don’t worry, we’re going to find what’s left and help you with whatever we’ve got; the Queen doesn't break a promise like that.” He declared patriotically as we passed a group of patrolling, lightly armoured spear wielding soldiers and a set of massive windows showing off the impressive cavern city.
“Heh, think you might be a bit biased there bud but thanks, for whatever that counts for.” I thanked at his reassurance as he led me down corridor number fifty three.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, Queeny was thinking about me, her people and whatever I had cooking in my brain; she was intrigued by me from the start but now I had her interest and I’d learn sooner or later that’s an amazing and fucking terrible thing.