Chapter 20: Back Behind the Lines "How are you doing?" Sven asked Kaitlyn. Law had all allowed her to give him a call to fill him in on their current situation. He was very anxious to hear. "Well, I'm doing fine. So are Crash, Swift, and the others." "Okay. How's Samantha doing?" "Tobias managed to sustain her long enough for her to recover in two days." "Thank god for modern technology." He leaned back in his seat. "What about Tobias?" She hesitated a little. "Kaitlyn?" "I don't know. He's been infected by a sort of rage. He frightened Swift when she went probing into his mind. She said something about a dark fantasy and killing Isthus over and over again." "Huh?" "I couldn't describe it to you. I didn't see it. Swift'd be the best one to do that." "And where is she?" "Off sleeping. She's trying to forget what she saw." "Oh." "Can I ask you a question sir?" "Sure, go ahead." "Why did you lie to me when you said Samantha and Tobias weren't screwin' each other?" He turned white. "I...uh...who told you?" "Tobias did." He blinked. "Does he have a death wish or somethin'?" "He did. After we pulled him away from Samantha's bedside, and after Swift saw what was going on inside his head, I followed him outside the mess hall and he confessed. He wanted me to kill him so Samantha could have whatever she needed from his body." "Oh man..." He shook his head. "Where is he now?" "With Samantha in their quarters. Probably just cuddling." "Why do you say that?" "Because Samantha just got out. I don't think he'd go right into that." "Okay. Let him be then." He thought for a second. "You sound strangely calm about the idea all of a sudden." "I found out that it wasn't his idea. I can trust him now." He nodded. "When either of them are ready, have them contact me." "Yes sir. Kaitlyn out." The connection terminated. He turned the phone off and got up. "I'm going to have to go find Vu and Shivana. They'll know what's wrong with him." They were in the lab. He found them working on their latest project. He watched from the doorway of the large testing area as a test subject, wearing an odd suit with a metal backpack and a control panel on his arm, gave a thumbs up. "Okay," Shivana said. "Let's pray this works." She pushed a button. "Activate the emitter." The subject nodded and pushed a button. "Okay, now point in any direction." The subject did. A bright blue portal formed. Sven watched in amazement as Shivana told him to walk through it. The test subject did and the portal disappeared. Suddenly, another portal formed right behind Sven. He jumped away from it as the test subject came out of it. The portal shut as soon as he turned off the emitter. "Oh," he said. "Hello sir. What brings you here?" Sven blinked in disbelief. "What the hell is that thing you're wearing?" "It's called a Stress Energy Emission Unit," Shivana told him, reading from the clipboard in her arms. "We've managed to find a way to tap the energy caused by stress and used it to form the portal." "Trying to get back home, I see." She sighed. "Yes. But we've only managed very small scale teleportation and a few other things. Nothing else." He nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll leave you alone while you work then." "No. You came here for a reason. It's got to be important." "I should really be asking both you and Vu about this." "Why?" "It concerns Tobias." She dropped her clipboard. "Wh-what?" "Kaitlyn just called. Tobias isn't acting right." "What do you mean 'isn't acting right'?" "I'm not sure. Let's find Vu and we'll discuss it." She nodded silently. Vu was found and brought to Sven's office. Shivana was there to greet him. "Heya Shivana. How're the tests coming along?" "Pretty well," she said quietly. "But that's not why we're here." "Why were we called here?" "I was hoping you'd know," Sven said. "Please, have a seat." They did so, right in front of the desk. "Okay guys, you knew Tobias well, right?" They nodded. "Kaitlyn just called from where they are right now. She sounded worried about Tobias." "Why do you say that?" Vu asked. "Tobias....confessed something to her. He thought she'd get pissed off at him and kill him. He was hoping it would happen so Samantha could live." "What happened to Samantha?" "Someone named Isthus had her beaten within an inch of her life." "Tobias must not be too happy about it." "That's why he wanted to be killed: so Samantha could have whatever she needed." "What happened?" "Kaitlyn refused to and brought him to a safer place. She watched over him until today, when Samantha healed up." "How's he doing?" "He's doing fine. It's just that during Samantha's out time, he was acting very erratic." "How so?" "I don't-" The screen lit up. "This is Sven." "Sven," Swift said. "I just woke up a few minutes ago. Kaitlyn told me to contact you." "Yes she did. Just in time too." "Why?" "Shivana and Vu are here. We're discussing what's wrong with Tobias." He turned the screen so they could all see each other. "Kaitlyn said that you saw inside Tobias's mind." She winced. "Unfortunately." "What did you see?" "I saw a tormented soul. I saw someone who's only true love was put into a bed. He was enraged. I saw fires worse than in hell. I saw his pain. I saw what he wanted to do to Isthus." She held onto herself and started to sway. "I don't want to go back in there for a while." "Swift, are you okay?" "No," she squeaked. "Thank you Swift. That's what we needed." "Sir, I'm scared." "Why are you scared?" "I've seen Tobias's past. He wasn't as strong as he is now. He's dangerous. I don't want to see him hurt himself." "Calm down. Go talk to him, or rest, or something. Just don't worry yourself." "I'll try sir." The communication terminated. "You heard her. What do you make of it?" There was no response. Shivana had her head lowered. Vu was just plain shocked. "Guys?" "We are all in trouble," Shivana said. "Tobias is dangerous right now. Even with Samantha back to normal, he's still dangerous." "What should we have our people do?" Sven asked. "Have them keep him busy," Vu said. "Have Samantha or Kaitlyn or whoever get busy with him." Shivana backed away from him. "Are you suggesting that they...?" "If it keeps him calm, it has to be done." "I understand," Sven said. "I'll send the base a message. They'll do the job right." "I hope you're right," Shivana whispered. "That is all. I suggest you two take a break, go out into town or something." Vu got up. "That sounds like an idea." He looked at Shivana. "Want to take an early date to clear our heads about this whole ordeal?" She looked up at him and smiled. "Why not. I'm up for it!" She got up and took his hand. "But are you sure you're up to it?" She winked playfully. Tak Norath is a large city. But it isn't due to the fact it's ONLY city. Tobias never really had a chance to spend time there, but Vu and Shivana did. They knew all of the parks in town. And they usually spent time in any one of them when they went out. They decided to hit one of those many parks to calm down. The park they chose, Tak Norath's answer to Central Park in New York back on Earth, had a calming lake, which they frequented alone whenever they could. They chose a spot under an old tree to rest under. "It's so nice here," Shivana said, stretching in the shade. "Yeah," Vu agreed. "Too bad Tobias isn't here to experience it." She looked at him. "What do you think is wrong with him?" "It's obvious. He's trying to protect Samantha. He's not going anywhere soon, so he'll try his best where he is." He took a deep breath. "I don't blame him. This is his first love, I think." "First...love?" "I don't recall him ever telling me of a girlfriend." "He's been lonely all of these years?" "Regretfully." He shook his head. "It's only natural for him to watch over the one he loves like a hawk." "I see..." She waited a little bit. "Vu?" "Hmm?" She blushed a little. "I'm just curious. Would you do the same thing for me?" He hesitated. "I...uh..." He chuckled nervous. "Yeah, I guess..." She smiled. She pulled a clove from the grass and looked at it. "You would. That's all I need to know." He smiled and took her hand. "Why wouldn't I? Any guy would do it for the loveliest girl alive." "Oh ya big lug!" She pulled herself closer to him. "I'm not that lovely." "Yes you are Shivana." He kissed her forehead. "I think you're the most beautiful girl alive." "And I think you're the kindest guy going." He smiled and took her into her arms. "Let's enjoy this. We know Tobias will be able to handle himself. He's got his friends. He's got Samantha. That's all he needs." **************************************************************************** Sven had called Larcris into his office as soon as Shivana and Vu left. He had much to discuss with him. Larcris was eager to hear. "Tobias is doing all right for the moment," Law told the two. "Samantha got out of the med-bay and he carried her straight to their room." "What are they doing now?" Larcris asked. "Our security cameras show they they're just cuddling on the bed. They're most likely asleep." He chuckled. "Tobias and Samantha? I never would have guessed." "You should have asked when we had the base parked in Tak Norath," Sven told him. "Those two are really close." "How close?" "Same bed at night close." "Oh." "Getting back to the subject," Law interrupted. "Tobias is stable for now. I guess it's going to stay that was as long as he's with her." "Okay. That's good. Has he talked to you yet?" "Not yet." "What the hell is he waiting for? We need to talk to him." "Patience, Larcris. He will come on his own will." "But we know his will. Once he has his heart set on something-" "I will talk some sense into him." "And what if you can't?" "We'll use his rage to our advantage." Larcris quirked a brow. "We'll ask him to run a few sabotage missions." "Are you sure that's wise? We don't want to lose him." "Dun worry. He's got that fancy gun of his and he can do that transform thing, right?" He nodded. "He'll be fine. Trust us." "Law, you don't know what you've got there. He's too much of a danger to use like that. I want to talk to him first. We'll decide what to do afterwards, understand?" "But I-" "Understand?" "Yes sir." "Good. When he comes to you, call us." "Sir, are you sure you know everything about him?" "We're positive we don't know everything about him. But what we do know is that he is dangerous when provoked. Don't let him get hurt, Law. Or this war may never end. Larcris out." He pushed a button and terminated the communiqué. "Why don't you trust him? Well, besides the obvious reasons." "Because he knows that Tobias can cause a lot of damage. They DO get the news down there. If we lose Tobias this time, we might not get him back." "I understand. Shouldn't we have him sent back here?" "No. He escaped yesterday, so the Raiders might still be looking for him. We'll give him two weeks there then call him back." "Are you sure that's wise?" "Yes. I'm positive." **************************************************************************** Larcris payed a visit to the lab after dinner. As he suspected, Vu and Shivana were busy working away at their device. He watched with the others as the test subject hit the emitter and formed a portal. He stepped through and disappeared. "Whoa," he said, startling Shivana. "That's new." "We're trying to increase it's range of teleportation." "Oh? Trying to get back home?" "Of course." She sighed a little. He sat down with her. "Don't you like it here?" "It's not that. I mean, you are all nice. But, to be honest, y'all still give be the heebie-jeebies." She smiled weakly. "No offense." "None taken." Just then, the test subject walked into the room. The small control panel on his arm was smoking. "Good news, the device got me to the confines of the base," he said. "Bad news, it blew up shortly afterwards." Shivana groaned. "That's the problem with the device. It can go short distances fine. But anything over 10 yards, and it goes haywire." She slunk back in her chair, dropping the clipboard with her notes. "I doubt we'll ever be able to get back home." She had a sadness in her voice. "Shivana, are you okay?" "No." He extended a hand. "It's okay." She quirked a brow. "You are among friends here. You have nothing to fear. Please." "I...I don't know." "It will be okay. I promise." He offered his hand again. Hesitantly, she took him up on his offer. He wrapped his massive, fur covered hand around her small, furless hand, and smiled. "We only seek to make friends, not to scare anyone." She blushed and hugged him. "I'm sorry. I guess I miss my friends and family on Earth." He smiled and patted her on the back. "It's okay. I can only guess at how strange we must be to you." She sat back in her chair. "Well, that's for another time, okay? I need to fix our little toy here and pray that it doesn't fuck up again." She blushed. "Me and my mouth! Sorry." **************************************************************************** A knock at his door aroused Vu from his sleep late that night. He tried to ignore it at first, rolling onto his side and falling back to sleep. But the rapping continued. He eventually gave in and got up to answer it. "Do you know what time it is?" he asked before opening the door. "I'm sorry Vu," Shivana answered. She stood on the other side in her pajamas. "I didn't-" "It's okay. I'm always a little grumpy when this happens. What's up?" "I'm....lonely." She leaned on the wall. "I can't sleep." "Oh...do you..." He hesitated a little. "Do you want to come in? Sleep with me?" She shook her head. "No." He smiled weakly. "O-okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He turned around and started back inside. Her hand shot out and tugged the back of his shirt. He turned around. "Hmm?" "I lied," she squeaked. "Okay. Do you want to come in?" "Please." He sat her down on his bed. "Shivana, are you all right?" She shook her head and hugged her legs. "Care to tell me what's wrong?" She shook her head again. "All right. I understand." He motioned to the head of the bed. "You can sleep here. I'll sleep on the couch." "No...I couldn't..." "It's okay. You can sleep here." "I won't put you out like this." She got up. "You take the bed and I'll sleep on the couch." She backed away a little bit. He got up and took her hand. "It's okay." He sat her back down on the bed. "You can sleep here. You're not putting me out." She sighed and looked away. He looked at the bed and quirked a brow. "I just realized this is a queen sized bed." She looked at him. "You're not suggesting...." "You're right. I'm sorry." He turned away in shame. "Vu, look at me." He did. "Would you like to sleep together?" "It doesn't bother me. Do you want to?" She smiled. "I would love to." They crawled up to the head of the bed and crawled under the covers. "So this is how Tobias and Samantha must feel." "Probably." He smiled. "Good night Shivana." "Good night..."