Straining against his bonds, the prisoner lifted his head, his weak glance looking over the dark room he was trapped in. The exit was locked up tight in strange steel pipes that were almost alive. It was as if something was eating away at the station.
Pushing out, he tried to free himself, but was only granted another taste of a wave of pain. Bitterly he dropped his head, hanging there. He ignored the blood seeping from his wounds, running down the wires that surrounded his body. He tried to focus on her face.
In the end, everything had been worth it to hear that one word. The one word kept him from giving into the begging death. It fid his will to beat this entire thing. Her single word meant so much to him that he would continue to live. For now.
Once again he strained against his bonds, welcoming the next wave of pain. As he hung in the shadows, his body twisted into the form of a crucifixion as described in the Bible, he waited.
Hanging onto that one word.
The second time he opened up was to Ariel. But even that was hard. And he didn't completely let her see inside his soul. He held back. Fear always had a good amount of control. But then Katrina had come into his life. When he thought she was dead, he cried for the second time in his life.
But what he had to do today was equally hard. He had to open up once more. Death Star knew it was the only way to life a healthy life, one without reflecting on his own death in the end to escape the life he had known...opening up to Garland today had been difficult. But he continued to walk the true path. He had to be honest again -- for Ariel.
Walking along the hallway to her room, Death Star pondered how she would take it. Would it be the end? Would it merely be delayed? Or would it continue? He didn't know the answers and feared what outcome would present itself in a few minutes. Still, he walked, knowing this would probably be one of the toughest things he had ever done in his life. North Star --- Xevil --- Spade --- Cran --- all those fights and confrontations seem to pale, to be nothing now.
He stopped in front of her room. Inside, Ariel was busy glancing over reports, also in deep thought herself. Raising his fist, Death Star didn't hesitate. He tapped the button to alert her that someone was outside. "Come in," came the absent reply. As the door opened, Death Star stepped into the room, adjusting his black jacket.
"Hello," he said plainly.
"Huh? Oh!" Ariel responded, setting down the data pads. "I was planning on stopping by as soon as I finished going over things." She gestured to the pile of data pads behind her. "How've you been? I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep in touch."
Death Star shrugged casually as the door behind him closed. "What are you working on?" he asked, trying to stall before bringing the confrontation.
"Just trying to catch up on the times," she told him, laughing lightly. "Go away for a little while and you loose grasp on what's going on."
Death Star laughed nervously, surprised at how fast the conversation was leading to the 'main event'. "Yeah, I guess so."
Ariel smiled curiously. "You okay, DS?"
Death Star blew out a breath of pent up air. "Maybe...maybe not," he began, trying to figure out what to say. How would she react?
Ariel tilted her head, looking as if she was attempting to read his mind. "What's up?"
Death Star immediately lost his cheerfulness and decided to be as blunt, yet easy going as possible. It shouldn't be hard. He still loved Ariel. "You know how you were gone, right---?"
Ariel responded slowly. "Ye-es..."
"Well, during that time, Slasher got his letter from Cheryl. I hadn't heard from you or anything myself and I became paranoid also, I guess. Not sure what really happened and I wasn't about to ask Seraphna what you all did on the vacation. Well, on one of our missions, we were on a planet that wrecked havoc with our powers and whatever resistance against the cold elements I had vanished.
"My mind itself was actually having trouble grasping reality and my thoughts fell on you --- and Iceheart," he told her, the guilt was now heard in his voice. "When I got back to the Alliance, I struck up a conversation with her -- and we began to talk again..." Death Star let his shoulders slump now, feeling the weight of the past month gathering him on all at once. The missions. CorSec. Iceheart. Ariel. Katrina. Cran. Ariel bit her lip. Continuing, Death Star said slowly, "We each said some things, remembered how we felt and all. That was just about it, but even in doing that, we acknowledged that we still had feelings. And in that, I was wrong to you, who I still love. Also, in part, I suppose I was wrong to her." He faced the wall, so he didn't have to see her reaction. Feared it, perhaps.
Ariel took a deep breath. "So what are your plans?"
No thoughts entered his head. Ariel. Iceheart. Who? His emotions were all tangled up inside his mind and he didn't have the chance to sort them out. So he answered honestly. "I... don't know." He didn't have any smooth conclusions. A sure fire plan. Anything to go on. He was utterly lost on a plan for once in his life.
"I... I'm not mad DS. A little upset maybe, but I'm not going to kill you for it..." Ariel told him.
Death Star glanced at her, his face nearly unreadable from all the years of careful training he put himself through. However, just barely, one could detect he was deeply troubled. "I didn't fear that, not after all that you've done..."
Ariel walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she said, "I can't hold it against you DS, I was there when you two were together. And I'm sorry I didn't write... I'm just not good at that sort of thing."
Death Star returned the embrace, smiling slightly, "That makes two of us...I'm not good at talking myself. That's why I was avoiding you...I was afraid your reaction." Again, total honesty.
Ariel smirked. "Well... If I DID kill you, you wouldn't be very fun to have around."
Death Star joked, "You mean my personality wouldn't improve---?"
Ariel giggled. At that, Death Star was able to relax some. In the end, everything had worked out, but it was only temporary. But in the days to come, he would remain honest. To himself and those he cared for. And for the time being, ignore the call of death that beckoned peace. "I'm glad you're back though. Really glad."
"I'm certainly glad to be back," Ariel told him.
"I---" Death Star began when suddenly the power cut off.
Ariel muttered. "This isn't right..."
Chip finally responded. "Uh, hold on..."
Death Star looked at Ariel in the dark, glad he could see fairly well with his sensor data. "I wonder if this has to do with Garland's ghosts..."
Chip came back to them. "Alright, now to you. There's been an unexplained unnatural occurrence that has knocked all power offline except for gravity and life support. Also, the elevators are down and damaged --- plus I can't locate anyone, so don't ask."
"...never, EVER trust elevators," Ariel said.
"---stairs can be dangerous too. Can you come back online, Chip?" Death Star asked.
"I'm trying, but it'll take full concentration. I'll try to keep you posted." With that, the master computer didn't bother talking anymore.
Death Star looked around once more. "I should check on Katrina. I don't like the looks of this." He walked over to the unpowered door and began to force it to open.
"My thoughts exactly... I'm glad Strife is with her at least." She walked over and helped with the door, allowing them both to move into the darkness of the hallway.
"Of course, with them playing, they could be anywhere," complained Death Star.
Ariel tapped the side of her face. "Hmmm... If I was a poly morphic metal kid, where would I be..." she mused out loud.
Death Star rubbed his chin thoughtfully, turning to look at Ariel. "Katrina was always fascinated with the engine room area of the station, against my wishes. Think he'd take her there?"
Ariel rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't put it past Strife to play hide and seek IN the engine." Death Star groaned, picturing the two of them nuked by now. "Lets go there first," suggested Ariel.
"Right." Death Star began to run down the dark hallway for the nearest set of stairs. "With the power out because of some unnatural force, I'm not going to attempt to teleport. If Garland was right, then the dead might have a hand in this."
"The dead...?" Ariel commented, shivering. She formed a ball of holy light, partially to light the darkness of the hallway, the other for comfort.
"We've been spotting crosses with the words 'Die' in them all day. Garland thinks it's a spirit of some sort. I never really believed in such a thing, but then again, after all I've seen, I don't see why not." Death Star finally reached the stairs. "Why does the Engine room area have to be so far into the station...the only people who are really down there are techs and maybe Wiendigo...he liked the lower levels...dammit."
He began to half jog/half run down the stairs. Ariel ran down after him, keeping pace. "So we can keep people like Wien away from the more sensible people?"
"If he so much as touches her, there won't be enough left of him to cremate," Ariel promised coldly.
"I like how you think," Death Star told her, jumping down a row of stairs and turning the corner. Suddenly he blinked in surprise and stepped back, seeing a wall of flame shooting out towards them, ready to engulf the entire stairway. Jumping back, he threw his hands out in an attempt to prevent Ariel from moving any lower. "WATCH OUT!"
Ariel lost her footing and tripped, falling down past Death Star's arm. He blinked in utter surprise and horror, expecting the waves of fire to engulf Ariel in a mere second. Instead, she looked at him. "W-wha, what was THAT about?"
Death Star blinked and looked around. "Whe-Where's the flames?!" he exclaimed in surprise. He looked everywhere, but there was no flames in the hallway. In fact, it was totally dark and normal. Reaching out his hand, he pulled Ariel back to her feet.
"...flames?" Ariel asked dubiously.
"There was...flames here," he insisted. But then he stopped and sighed, realizing how this was coming off now. "Either I'm seeing things or something strange as hell is going on here."
"I'll go with the second option."
"I prefer it too. It's always the one I come up with these days when something bad happens to me," Death Star joked. He walked slowly down the rest of the stairs, even moving onto the floor's hallway, glancing both directions. However, there was nothing. Giving up, he turned and walked down another flight of stairs, followed by Ariel, keeping a wary eye out for trouble.
As they walked down the stairway, silently, constantly turning the corners and going down fight after flight, passing floor after floor, things began to become redundant. Until Ariel noticed a row of spikes directly above Death Star's head, waiting to come down as he talked to her. "You know, this is really bugging me. I just can't figure out for the life of me what's going on. It's like we're being led through a dark maze. I just hope Katrina is really down here...or this will be one wasted trip," he muttered to her.
"DS!" shouted Ariel in warning, tackling him out of the way. Startled, Death Star muttered a groan of protest and rolled further down the stairs until he came to a stop. He looked back up at Ariel with mild surprise.
"What?"
"Those spi-spikes...?" she began, but then looked back, seeing nothing. "Oh no..." Death Star also glanced up, seeing nothing there.
"Is this revenge or did you really see them?" he asked jokingly.
"...I'm not fooling around, DS..." Ariel said warningly.
"I didn't think you were. Somehow, we have a trickster on board," Death Star said, checking his scanner. Looking all around them, he turned up nothing. "Yet, my scans pick up nothing. Nothing unnatural. Wouldn't something undead leave some type of energy source?"
"...depends on the spook."
"I should have read up more on ghosts," Death Star admitted. He slowly began to walk down the stairs again.
"Have you tried scanning for null energy?" Ariel asked.
"Not exactly." He stopped, scanning for it. "Still, nothing." Ariel nodded. They continued to work their way down until Death Star spotted a row of flying, burning bats. He paused, shaking his head. "I think I'm seeing bats now," he told her, chuckling. He wasn't about to let some stupid illusion keep him from finding Katrina --- and his concern for her was growing with every passing minute. He continued to walk forward.
"...I do too." He stopped, looking back at Ariel, then at the bats hovering a few feet from his face. Scanning, he stepped back.
"All scans show they aren't there..." he muttered in disbelief.
"...I don't like this..." Ariel said. Death Star produced his saber from his jacket's pocket and thumbed it on, the light glowing in the darkness of the hallway. He slashed, cutting one bat completely in half. The other three swooped in retaliation, slashing and burning the shoulder of his jacket.
"Dammit!" he cursed. He leapt back, looking at his wound. Ariel snapped her whip out in one fluent motion, preparing for he next assault by the flaming bats. Twirling his saber, he slashed another bat in half while Ariel whipped out, taking down the remaining two bats. The bats vanished after being killed. "This is really pissing me off..." he admitted. He kept his saber on as he moved down the stairs. " I know this is Halloween, but I don't remember stories of the dead actually coming true. I meant to talk to the others if they remember anything like this last year..."
"I heard about that... and anyways, why are there dead like this on a space station," questioned Ariel.
Death Star stepped into the hallway, looking back ways into it's darkness, then began to work his way down another flight of stairs. "That's a damn good question." He grabbed a regular comm, thumbing it on, getting nothing but static. " Damn. I didn't exactly hand out a lot of my special comms to people who were part of the Special Unit last Halloween." Grabs one of his special comms, thinking of Slasher. Turning it on, he attempted to contact him. "Slasher, can you hear me?" There was nothing but a deafly silence, proving this one was useless too.
"You never did give ME one those comms either," Ariel informed him. Chuckling, Death Star reached into his spare pocket and took out his last comm, throwing it her. "Thanks."
"Anything. I don't seem to be getting anything, so lets move on." He looked at the stairs. "Still plenty more to go." He began to work his way down another flight of endless stairs.
"Let's pick up the pace. At least we know we can get rid of these things," Ariel suggested.
"Agreed." Death Star hopped over the railing and landed down the next flight of stairs, rolling into yet another dark hallway. Ariel glided down after him, her whip ready for action. Standing up as she glided down, Death Star noticed a pool of blood in the hallway. He walked over and knelt down before it.
"...is it real?" Ariel asked.
Touching the blood, he examined it. His heart, if he had one, sank upon the readouts. "Yes. It matches Katrina's blood type, too." He felt dizzy, but stood up anyway. Probably just some other trick. He'd try to forget it. Not noticing some shadows moving towards him in the darkness, he walked up to a powered up generator. "I didn't think anything besides the engine room was still powered down here... Besides, the power itself is out," he said, puzzled.
Ariel shined the light she had into the shadows, revealing a zombie moving towards Death Star. It dropped towards him, attempting to bite his shoulder. "GAH!" he cried out, rolling back as it hit the floor. "Another great illusion," muttered Death Star, drawing his saber.
"'Cept these illusions can do real damage," Ariel contradicted. Frowning, Death Star slashed out, cutting the zombie's arm off. He looked off to the side of the hallway and noticed a few more lumbering their way.
"Looks like they're coming from both sides," he informed her, getting into a battle stance. The armless zombie started to rise to his feet.
"They don't look so tough." She whipped out, nailing a zombie as it drew closer. It fell over, in pieces. Slashing another zombie, Death Star stepped back as one dropped on him, biting at his face. Grunting, he rolled onto the floor with it, throwing his weight into it, launching it at the generator. Rolling to his feet, he watched it hit, causing the generator to explode. The floor above them buckled and caved in, causing the floor above that one to fall in next. As each one fell in, it formed a barricade in the hallway, blocking off access. And seperating Ariel from Death Star.
"Dammit!" Death Star cried out. He jumped away, slashing outward in an arc that dislodged two zombies' heads from their shoulders. He then stepped forward and pushed against the wreckage. "Dammit. This thing has got to be nice and wedged in. Probably take too long to cut through also," he mused to himself.
On the other side, Ariel slashed two zombies in half with her word. Stepping back, she said, "The dead... Stay DEAD!"
Death Star twirled his saber and slashed another zombie in half, letting the upper half hit the ground hard, it still crawling towards him. He turned to the wreckage. "THERE SEEMED TO BE SIGNS THAT SOMEONE WENT DOWN THE PART OF THE HALLWAY YOU HAVE ACCESS TO! I'LL CHECK THIS WAY, SINCE THERE'S SOME MORE BLOOD OVER HERE!" he shouted, silently hoping it wasn't Katrina's. He glanced over at the drops that went down the hallway. The crawling zombie moved closer to him, so he glanced at it, then brought his saber down, chopping it right down the middle.
"Right! Comm me if you find something!" Ariel shouted back, running down the other half of the hallway.
Death Star whispered, more to himself than anyone around him, "You can count on it." He kicked one of the disappearing zombies. "Stupid tricks."
Moving through the hallway, he whirled around when he heard a clatter from nearby. "What is it this time...?" he wondered to himself. Holding up his saber, the only light in the darkness of the hallway, he waited. Silence ensured -- nothing moved. Slowly stepping back, he began to run down the hallway again, heading for another set of stairs that should directly lead above the control room.
You cannot find her...
Death Star stopped again, glancing around. "Who's there?"
You cannot escape me, Death Star...
Glaring, Death Star tried to figure out the location of the voice. He couldn't turn up anything, so he cautiously tried to move forward. "What am I escaping from?"
Your fate...
"Uh huh." Death Star decided he didn't put much stock into this voice, so he began to ran down the hallway again, deciding he didn't care anymore. Reaching the next set of stairs, he began to run down them agian.
The boy will be mine before the night is over...
"Who?" Death Star got no response. "WHO?" he shouted, coming to a stop. Again, there was nothing. Feeling uneasy, he wondered how this was all adding up. Nothing was making sense. But he didn't have time to consider it all. He had to find Katrina.
Running out onto the next hallway, he worked his way slowly to a vent. This should be directly above the engine room. Pulling back the vent, he jumped down.
"All unpowered... damn this is getting weirder," Death Star muttered. Suddenly he spotted a black blur between a few of the machines. "Katrina?!" he shouted out in surprise. Again a black blur moved, just at the edge of his vision range. "...Katrina can't move that fast. Is it another of the spirit's little tricks." He groaned and threw himself over the platform, landing on the ground of the engine room softly.
Looking at all the machines, Death Star surveyed the dark room. To the side were the core chambers that led to the bottom area below. Nothing there. Suddenly the blur darted in front of him and a low chuckle could be heard. "Grrr. WHO'S THERE!?" Death Star shouted, walking forward, his saber active and waving in his hands. "I'm tired of your illusions, your undead bats and your zombies. WHO ARE YOU!?"
The shadow stepped out behind him, just as a few of the emergency lights turned on, giving the place dim lighting in red. "I'm me." Death Star's eyes widened at the sound of the person's voice. He slowly began to turn around to face the person.
It was Slash.
"It can't be---you're just another illusion!" Death Star exclaimed.
"Perhaps. But I am Slash. The Slash you killed on that asteroid."
Death Star growled, gripping his saber. If this was the Slash he had faced on the asteroid, it could mean he wished to continue the battle. Which would fall into the line of tricks that had been going on so far. "The Slash I killed on the asteroid, eh?" Slash motioned with his hand and suddenly a warp blade appeared between the two. It was the warp blade that was given to Death Star. Finally, Death Star lowered his saber. "Why are you here, on Halloween of all nights?"
"I decided to have a drink, is that too much to ask? Oh right, everyone doesnt like 'ghosts' running about. Bah," Slash muttered.
Death Star raised a mock eyebrow. "What if I said I don't believe in ghosts?"
"My body's been blown to atoms, by you of all people, and yet I'm standing here. And STILL you say you don’t believe in ghosts?" Slash demanded.
"Tonight's changing my opinion," Death Star admitted. He thumbed off his saber, relaxing. A faint smile played out on his face. "It's good to see you again, Slash..."
"Aye. That hurt like a son of a bitch when you blasted me though..." Slash told him.
"You really didn't give me much of a choice there."
"Yea.... well... still, it’s the idea of the thing.. I mean, I only tried to kill you a little..." Slash said. "And that wasn't even my decision to kill you."
"Yeah, well, you know, end of Earth, giant asteroid, Wily's old robots in Cran and Spade's machine. I got lost in the moment," Death Star joked. He leaned against one of the machines and looked at his dead friend sadly. "Sigma's programming?"
"Yea... makes me wish I'd never been copied. Bloody bastard," Slash cursed. He mimicked Death Star's move, but fell into the machine, not being fully there.
"But then we'd never have met. I still remember finding you after your first encounter with X and Zero. But at least Zero stopped going for your throat," Death Star began, remembering the past.
"I think he realized that I was more powerful then he was at that time... I had power, he had training..." Slash explained his thoughts. Death Star nodded thoughtfully as Slash snickered. "Remember that one Christmas when X1 came in with that chicken on his head?"
"That was different. I miss good ol' X1," Death Star said sadly. Suddenly the years of not seeing or hearing from his friend caught up with him. He terribly missed X1 and wondered if he would ever see him again. Things kept changing and ending for Death Star. X1...Slash...
"Whatever happened to that nut?" Slash asked.
"He hasn't been seen in ages. Though I doubt he died in this stupid war," Death Star admitted, looking down. So much lost... His thoughts found themselves back at Katrina and his worry increased. "I still have to find Katrina..."
"Who?"
"My adopted, human daughter," Death Star told him, a touch of pride in his voice.
Slash grinned. "I know how that is. How's the little bugger doing now?" Slash asked, referring to Ripple.
"I'm not sure. He married Spirit, she became pregnant, and they went on a vacation from the war. Snipe said that he would come back, if needed, but he has been out of contact for months now. Probably getting ready for the new child," Death Star said.
Slash nodded. "I wish I was around..." But then the dead reploid's thoughts fell on a grandchild running around calling him gramps. ".. on second thought.. no.."
Death Star stood there, looking at his dead friend. He realized just how much he had missed his friend in the past year, since their battle on the asteroid. How much time had passed before they finally met again, then only to end in a battle. And now, talking to him, even for just an instance, the emptiness returned. "He misses you. As do I. As did Cr---" he stopped, catching himself.
Slash blinked. "Spill it."
Death Star sighed, looking down. This was going to be hard to tell him, but earlier that night he had determined it was best to be honest with his feelings. Clearing his throat, he looked away. "Crystal was brought back. By a wave that brought back Iceheart too."
Slash's shoulders slumped forward a little and he turned away. "...I see."
"I gave her your memoirs. I knew how it was like to lose---well, you," Death Star told him.
"You'd know it almost as well as she would. Hell, almost as well as I would," Slash said. Death Star was glad that his friend didn't ask if Crystal was still alive. --- that had ended bad too.
Death Star nodded slowly, thinking of death. All his friends lost, all the friends to come... "What is death like, Slash? Do reploids really have souls?" he asked slowly, not remembering the times he was shut off. Was there anything after --- for reploids or anyone?
"I... can't say... I don't know..." Slash admitted. He laughed grimly.
"You don't---?" Death Star sounded confused.
"And yet here I am, ghost and everything. I dont know what the hell's going on," Slash murmured.
Death Star glanced around. "Something's knocked this station offline. There's no power. Garland thinks it's a spirit doing it, I believe. I've fought some interesting illusions tonight," Death Star told him, catching the dead friend up to speed.
"Isn't me. If it was you'd have known quite quickly."
"I didn't think so. But for a second I thought you were the next gauntlet in my little trip of horror," Death Star said, looking around. He felt like there was an evil presence near by, but it was hard to pinpoint. At least he didn't get any malice from Slash.
"Well, I looked at it like this. I could be bitter and spiteful because you killed me. Or I could bring up the old times we had," Slash said.
Death Star nodded, looking back at him. "I missed them."
"So do I."
Death Star wanted desperately to keep talking about the old times, but his first concern was for Katrina. He had to find her now, even if it meant leaving his old friend behind to do so. He couldn't just stand here yaking when she could be in danger. Not even for --- Slash. Hesitating, he told him, "I wish I would believe you'd still be here when I got back, but I have to find Katrina..."
"If you ever want to talk to me, I'm only as far as the blade. It might not answer back... but I'll be listening," Slash informed him.
Death Star glanced at the warp blade. "Perhaps we shall meet again on the other side."
Slash grinned. "And THEN we'll be having a party the likes of which the afterlife has never seen."
"Agreed. You always knew how to throw them."
"I did, didn't I?
"Hell yes."
Slash took a few steps back towards one of the walls. "Well, I think its time for you to continue your search. Fare thee well." Death Star raised his hand up and saluted him, a salute they learned back in the days when they had first met in the Maverick Hunters. A parody of the Hunter salute that became their friendship salute. Slash raised his own head, saluting him back.
"See you again, my friend," Death Star called out.
"Hell yea." Slash vanished until nothing was left but the slight hissing of the warpblade. Death Star stepped over and retreived it. "Make good use of the blade. I don't need it anymore," came a voice from the blade. Then all was quiet once more.
Death Star threw it up into the air and caught it by the handle. "That's a promise." Powering it down, he put the warpblade into his jacket and looked around. Katrina was definitely not here.
The control room...
Looking up, he heard the voice again. The taunting of it. He moved out, but this time his strength to find her was renewed, thanks to an old friend.
You'll never make it in time...
He ran faster.
The girl's life will be entertaining to take.
Growling, he jumped over the railing and moved even faster.
The girl's death. The boy's life. I'll take you all down.
Gritting his teeth, Death Star began to push himself to hits limits, his jacket swinging about madly.
Can you feel the pressure?
Dashing into the hallway, he slid and ran up some more stairs.
Come meet your fate, Death Star...
Sliding around another corner, he ran down the hallway for the control room. Suddenly a flash of fire shot off at him and hit him, forcing him to stumble back. Rasping in pain, his jacket was almost ruined now. Closing his eyes, he held up his hand and his armor began to materialize around it, working it's way down his body until he was fully locked in.
Opening his eyes with new determination, he continued to run. Three more fireballs hit him, causing him to slow a bit, but he ran on. Growling, he whipped out his saber and slashed a bat that flew by, screeching. Leaping over some spikes, he turned the corner and saw the doors to the control room.
Grinning, Death Star picked up his speed. Suddenly living, snake-like wires began to shoot out after him. Slashing one in half, he jumped over three more that tried to sweep him off his feet. Growling, he flipped over another wire and was grabbed by two more. Struggling, he broke free and dived for the control room.
Katrina opened her frightened eyes, trembling, and threw herself at Death Star, who knelt down to embrace her. "Daddy!" she shouted without thinking. He blinked, the one word hitting him harder than any blow. She actually called him daddy.
"Shhhh, it's okay honey," he whispered, stroking her head. He looked around and suddenly a ghostly image appeared before him. "You?!" he gasped.
The spirit before him laughed. "So you remember me, don't you, Death Star?"
"How could I not...Crucifixtion...?" Death Star hissed.
Crucifixtion cocked his head. "I waited so many years for this moment. Now I've had enough chance to gather enough energy to annihilate you and everyone else who had a hand in my death."
Death Star gripped Katrina, picking her up as he stepped back, eyeing the exit that was Crucifixtion stood in front of. "So? This is all just some sort of sick revenge scheme?"
"Much more than that, I'm afraid," Crucifixtion told him. "The boy will be mine in just a few more minutes. Then the true fun will begin."
"Garland!" Death Star shouted.
"Rightly so. I have plans for him that involve him living a while longer. As for you, I merely seek your death." With that, the specter raised his hands and the room began to move with the wires.
"Katrina, honey, I want you to do exactly what I tell you, okay?" Death Star whispered.
"Okay..."
"I'm going to set you down and I want to run out of this room as fast as possible while I distract that bad man there, okay? Then find someone," Death Star ordered.
"Kay..." she whispered.
He set her down and the little girl immediately began to run for the exit. Giving her the time she would need, Death Star slashed the wires, leaping at Crucifixtion. He slashed through the specter, causing no damage. Blinking, he stepped back in surprise. Crucifixtion began to laugh evilly.
"Nice try..." he said. Suddenly the wires wrapped around Death Star's arm, just as Katrina escaped. "No need for her, anyway...I just needed you." Being slammed against the wall, Death Star felt his body ache as the live wires began to burn at his armor. They wrapped themselves around him tightly, forcing him into a cross position. "I think this suits you well. Being crucified here..." Crucifixtion told him. Two large wire slammed through Death Star's hands, causing him to scream out in pain. "Ah, the sweet sound...how I look forward to more of it..." With that, Crucifixtion vanished.
Hanging there, Death Star's head went limp as his body began to be attacked by the live wires, blood seeping through them. Yet he refused to give in, even as the exit closed off with more of the wires. Thanks to one word by Katrina, he had more strength than he had in ages. That one word had changed his life more so than he would have ever considered.
Thanks to the word...Daddy.