The Non-Existant

Here's the second chapter. I like where this is heading so far. You've met the entire cast...and now the new member.

Sidhe is pronounced “Shee” It's Gaelic. This is for those of you who don't already know this...*coughAdmiralcough* ^-^

I suppose I'll have to put femslash and het in the summary pretty soon. Cause I have a feeling that there's gonna be a lot of sex later on. Not between everyone though, no orgies here. Sorry.

XxX XxX

Freya snickered when Jacob's head twitched to the right. The red dot on the wall from a hand held laser scope was spinning and moving spastically in front of him. They hadn't had a mission in over a week, Freya was bored, and when Freya was bored, other people took the brunt of her sadistic nature. Jacob bore nearly all of it. She just couldn't help herself, the man was just so shy and adorable. He blushed when she flirted, had nearly had an aneurysm when she'd answered the door in her bra the other day.

How was she supposed to resist the guy? She had no inhibitions, and he had all of them. Freya knew the real reason he was so shy. He hadn't used to be. The man was notorious for being anti-social to all but the half cyborg he shared a room with.

Mikki, had gotten the bright idea to get the man raging drunk one night, on her own mix of moonshine. Being a genius seemed to have some advantages, besides the whole “smart” thing. The girl had fixed up a brewer in the basement, then mixed together hops, potatoes, and a little wormwood. Shots of it were diluted with water in order to be consumed by humans. The fumes alone could get one stoned. Mikki had proved that by coming upstairs giggling madly after the first batch.

Jacob had drained three glasses of the stuff. Then had started in on what he'd been like before the military had gotten on him. How he'd bedded multiple women, at the same time, before the snow leopard gene had been added to his DNA. After he'd gotten out of the testing facility, he hated being around people, preferring to be on his own when he wasn't on missions. He was as solitary as the big cat he could now change into.

Freya grinned again, moving the laser pointer another jerky foot. Jacob was trying his best not to pay attention to her. Though the feline side of his spirit was entranced with the moving light, wanting the human side to stop being such a grump and play. What fun was it to sit there, when you could be pouncing and leaping? Celebrating life in all it's rapturous glory.

“Stop it.” Slitted green eyes narrowed at the woman to his left.

“Come on, kitty.” Freya purred. “Give me a good show.”

“Do I look like a dog?” His voice was cold steel. Posture as proud as any feline who was expected to play fetch.

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Tahi frowned at the cage. She had stopped by the Metrafice alien/fey Market, to get a lead on who had been selling flesh eating squirrels, to anyone resembling a human. There had been multiple reports of people being attacked at parks all across Central Park, and the market was on the far end of the park, where most of the attacks had been happening.

Several prominent eyes were beginning to look in a less scientific direction, and more in a paranormal one. Not that the paranormal world was that hard to spot, you just had to know what to look for. It was more the fact that the human race really wasn't ready for something like an entire market, of extraterrestrials and faeries, hidden right under their noses.

So here she was, intending to find who had sold the little monsters, when she had stumbled upon an elf in a cage. The more interesting fact, was the the elf wasn't a regular elf. She was a Darkside Moon elf.

That particular breed had been banished from the human world, and the Sidhe world for nearly a full millennium. There were only books to tell of their existence. Tahi had been fascinated with the species, even before the accident, when she had been fully human and not so logical. She had read up on them for hours, pouring over artist renderings and imagining what they must have really looked like.

As it was, her mismatched eyes roved over the dusky grey skin that showed between the rags she was dressed it. Icy white hair hung over her face, laying in a puddle on the floor. There was a slave collar on that delicate neck, and Tahi rubbed metal fingers over her own. She remembered exactly what it was like to be in a cage. Knew the pain, the shame, and the wondering if it was even partially your own fault for ending up in a situation like that.

“How much are you asking for the girl?” Tahi asked, her voice emotionless. Mismatched eyes staring at the rat-man who ran the slave trade.

“Ahhh, you like this one. I'll make you a special offer.” He grinned, beady eyes glittering as he snuffled wetly. “30 Goigaen.” It was the standard solid gold coin of the underground.

“30? Tahi's human eye narrowed in resentment. Even a toaster would know when it was being overpriced with something like that. “I'll give you 10. She's half starved, and from the bruises on her arm, it looks as if you beat her regularly.”

“10....10!!” The rat man screeched, drawing a few stares. Public scenes in the Metrafice weren't uncommon. “This is no girl. This is a Darkside Moon Elf.”

“Indeed.” Tahi's unscrutinizing stare made the rat-man start to sweat. He suddenly realized he'd let out his secret much to early. “You do know it's highly illegal to own any variety of Sidhe? The High Courts would be on you in seconds of this knowledge.”

“You...you can't prove anything.” The rat man sneered, suddenly growing a backbone. “Besides, she was a gift, if anything.”

“10 Goigaen and I won't crush both your hands.” Tahi's human eye narrowed, mouth shifting into a cruel smirk that would make Freya proud.

“F-fine. Witch.” The rat-man glared at the half cyborg as she lifted the crate as if it weighed nothing. His most precious cargo was being taken away, and he could do nothing about it. Even if she had been a gift, the High council would still have him executed for daring to cage a Sidhe. Especially one so illustrious as a Darkside Moon elf.

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“Didja find who was selling those monster squirrels?” Mikki asked, not looking up from the gadget she was soldering together. Her blue goggles had been replaced by a welders mask, thick leather gloves covering her hands, a stick of soldering aluminum had replaced the pocky in her mouth.

“No. I believe I found something much more valuable.” Tahi set the crate down with a loud thunk. It caught Mikki's attention as she had intended it to.

“You bought a slave from the creepy guy?” The redhead shuddered, remembering the one time she'd gone with Tahi to the Metrafice Market. The rat-man had offered a high price on account of her hair. Tahi had pondered it, enough time had passed to make Mikki sweat before the cyborg had declined, saying that finding a new mechanic would outweigh the money.

“I did not buy a slave.” The half cyborg pried open the metal cage with a screeching nose that had the redhead clamping her hands over her ears. “I saved someone.”

“That's what I meant when I said 'bought a slave'.” Mikki rolled here eyes. “Obviously you wouldn't purchase someone. I wasn't implying ownership.” Tahi blinked, then motioned for the redhead to approach the cage.

“Can you cut the hinges off? I can't get her out with this small of an opening.”

“Sure.”

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Polaryss blinked open her mismatched eyes. Something was hissing. She remembered talking to her Uncle, then nothing. It was a blank white space where there should have been memories. She knew exactly what that meant. Someone had used a glamour on her.

Her skin hurt. Her bones ached. Even breathing felt like shards of glass in her lungs. This was a powerful glamour, one that could only be cast by the most powerful of Sidhe. Sidhe that hadn't been cast out of the veil a millennium ago. The elf did what anyone in her situation would.

She panicked.

Throwing glamours in all directions she leapt up. Her skull made direct contact with the iron bars of the cage. The lid slid off, the final hinge having been cut, just as a powerful spell had slammed into Mikki's gut, throwing her across the room and into one of her tables, full of junk. The small woman curled into a ball on the floor, trying to keep the tears from her eyes. For as often as she cut, burnt or scraped herself, she didn't have a very high tolerance when it came to physical pain.

Tahi grunted, barely moving. She stared at the elf who was crouched in the cage, hands held to her head. So, the kid could still use her glamours, that was good to know.

“Before you go attacking people, you should stop to make sure whether you are safe or in danger.” The half cyborg pressed a button on the inside of her wrist. She had one for every member of the crew, this particular one went to the Doctor. Tahi was positive the woman wouldn't want to treat anyone, who had injured her precious redheaded mechanic.

XxX XxX

“What the hell happened?” Kouri's sharp voice cut through the quiet of Mikki's lab.

“While cutting off the lid, Mikki was hit by a glamour, she hasn't moved since. I did not attempt to move her in case of neck or back injuries. By a physical scan, I can see that nothing has been broken, only bruised.”

“So glad to know you diagnosed her correctly.” Kouri's voice was icy. Her violet eyes raked over the elf once. “Hit her head, did she?”

“She stood, in an attempt to find a suitable place to do battle. As it was, Mikki had not removed the lid of her enclosure.”

“Good. Maybe it'll knock some sense into her. Bring her by the Medi-lab later.” With a flip of her lab coat, Kouri was at Mikki's side. “Are you alright?”

“Give me a few seconds. Knocked the wind outta me.” Mikki wheezed, her eyes shut tight against the moisture trying to escape. “I'll be fine, just help me up.”

“You're not getting up until I run a full scan.” There was none of the teasing light in Kouri's violet eyes. If something was bad enough to make Mikki cry, then there was possible internal damage that wouldn't show up on Tahi's scanners.

“That's just your excuse to get my....clothes......” Mikki's words slurred off as Kouri injected her with a sedative. She'd fight tooth and nail otherwise, not wanting anyone to think her weak for shedding tears.

“I...I'm sorry.” The quiet voice caught everyone's attention. “I thought I was in the Sidhe courts.....I thought you were gonna kill me.”

“If we were trying to kill you.” Kouri stood, Mikki laying limp in her arms. She made an imposing figure for one so slender. “You'd be dead already.”

“Correct. It would make no sense to bring you back to the facility only to dispose of you here. We would have disposed of you where no one would find the body.” The elf's skin slid into a darker shade of grey, her version of paling.

“Who...who are you people?”

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A/N

Dun dun DUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!!!

Who are these people? Who is Polaryss and why was she in a cage? Will Mikki be alright? These question, and possibly some hot lesbian smut, in the next chapter....though you'll probably have to wait for the smut a few more chapters. Mikki and Kouri threatened to blow up my computer if I reveal their relationship before their ready. XD