The Gathering

Chapter 6
Two years Later


Zimmer grinned evilly as he looked at the figure his Ice Robots held. The blond boy wore blue denim and ankle boots, struggling angrily in the steel grips, despite the arm they were twisting behind him. “You are going to regret this alien!” he spat at him “my father and the others will be here soon to rescue me. Then you will be sorry!”

The would-be alien conqueror was a tall and thin man with wide pure black eyes and grey skin. Three long fingers and a longer opposing thumb. There were little raised mounds in his inner palms with wide and almost lipless mouth and almost no nose. He was from a planet called Toooil an all-male race trained from birth as ruthless warriors. No love or gentleness, just hate and greed.

Trained to find other worlds to take over and hold their ever-increasing population it meant whipping away all other life on the chosen world. Only Zimmer was attempting to take over this one for his own purpose, without his races knowledge. He wanted the earths’ population as his slaves, not his peoples’.

The Toooilan grinned ugly and waved him away, saying as he did in a thin voice to his robots “put him in an cell and give him a strong dose of the Ice Serum. I want his companions to have a big surprise when they arrive.” As he was hauled away he heard Zimmer’s evil laughter follow him down the hallway of ice. It was the last thing he heard before the strong steel door slammed shut behind him.


A few hours later three robots or otherwise known as Ice Soldiers brought in a large glass of the liquid drug. If the alien expected him to drink it willingly he was crazy. This he had discovered long ago was the only drug that affected him time and time again no matter the purity of it.

And it always affected him the same.

They didn’t expect him to drink it willingly for while two held him down struggling and cursing a third forced the cup to his lips and the fluid down his throat. When they were sure most had gone down and he hadn’t been able to cough it back up they let him go.

Curling himself into a tight ball around his stomach on the cold stone floor he struggled against the drug, groaning in pain as it flowed through his body at an incredible rate. “Excellent” Zimmer hissed from a camera\view screen and speaker built into the wall above them “Young Simpson look at me.”

After long seconds, almost as if against his will the boys’ head snapped up and he hissed from between gritted teeth “yes Master Zimmer?”

* * * *

Lance grumbled as he piloted the large stealth jet. He had wanted to go after his son NOW even if it meant by himself, but Johnathon had stopped him and after calming him down had told him they would all help. But first they had to go to New Africa and get Tommas and his daughter, the girl having gone home for a few months to be with her father and his people who were apparently having trouble with one of the other small tribes. “I know Johnathon but I am just worried about Rick, that Zimmer will do what he had done to him when he last had him and Dale” Lance chocked off and was unable to continue.

It had been only two years since the six’s adventure in the past and their business had been booming. A year ago a woman had come to them with her man missing and at first they had told her maybe he had left her but she brought a folder from a friend in the police of other missing men, all gone with exactly the same MO.


As they investigated these cases they soon discovered the alien called Zimmer living in a huge Palace hidden deep in the Antarctic, kidnapping human men and turning them into his zombie slaves called Ice Servants with an permeant liquid drug called Ice Serum.

At first they had given the creature a fair go, despite Tommas taking one look at him and warning them he was an evil man and they should destroy him like they had Youman. He told them there was no possibility of changing this one and maybe getting those enslaved men back, to not trust a word he said. When they asked him how he could be so sure about that he answered finally with the Toooilan were his ancestors greatest enemies.

“But you’re ancestors were the Kelan sorcerers and Johnathon’s never seen them before” Dale had protested.

“Not the Sorcerers” the man had answered “much earlier than that.” Which lead to other questions the man refused to answer, especially about there once being aliens on earth. And the man refused to answer anymore questions or even speak anything on the subject.

They started anticipating any further kidnapping and preventing it, all the time giving the man another go, never believing he was as evil as the Jungle leader said he was. That was until what happened five months after they first discovered the alien.

Dale and Richard and Lance had gone shopping for the group’s food for the month and were headed back to the large van, chatting about what Lance couldn’t even remember. They couldn’t have been more than ten feet away when ten of the Ice Servants jumped out and ambushed them.

Dale and Richard were seized and dragged away, struggling and crying out in fear and the ones holding Richard twisting his arms behind his back so the pain stopped him from using his training to fight and help his mother.

As if the knife to her throat didn’t have the same affect.

Lance tried to rush forward and help them, to fight through the group but was knocked to the ground and beaten while four others held him down and helpless. If it hadn’t have been for the fact the car park was busy they surely would have killed him, but the next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital.

Desperately he managed to persuade a nurse to go back to the car park to the van and get a case out of it for him. When she returned with it he took out an expensive looking gold pen, clicking the top and activating the distress beacon built inside. He then told the nurse that when his friends arrived he wished to be released to them and described them, telling her to let ONLY they in for his life was in danger from others.

He then blacked out, pen clutched tightly in one hand so no one could take it from him. When he next woke up he was in his and Dales’ room in the Sorcerers’ home and the others were all crowded around him, fear and concern in their eyes and faces. He wasted no time telling them what had happened and they were shocked.

They immediately started to organize a rescue while Lance slept. When they were ready Lance had dressed and even though his legs trembled under him and he was still covered in bandages he told them with his trademark stubbornness he was coming with them. Although all of them had a sense of foreboding about this they agreed, Johnathon weaving a spell to strengthen him and block the pain.

They left, heading for the underground castle with a growing sense of dread and foreboding the closer and closer they got. This only increased when they searched the cells and found neither of them. The closer to the dungeons they got the clearer the sense and a sense of someone else’s’ pain and horror, of terror and grief. But they convinced themselves they were feeling Lances’ worry and fear.

And that changed when they entered the large chamber with various torture devices and saw the two bloody bodies there. The first they saw was a crumpled brown curly haired body curled on the floor next to a long table, the rack, something sharp shinning between the breasts and blood pooled around it on the floor.

Almost completely naked and burns spread over sensitive and private parts of the flesh was Dale.

Lance gave a chocked scream and ran to his wife’s’ side, bending to roll her over and knew instantly she was dead and long gone. A long knife with a hilt carved into a devil figure was sticking in her back and out between her breasts, a clean kill.

The others moved forward, Steven kneeling beside a weeping Lance to truly examine her and Cathy, Tommas and Johnathon rushing towards the bloody still figure on his stomach on the table, still tied to the wheels of the rack.

While Tommas and his sobbing daughter untied the boys’ arms and legs the sorcerer examined the boy. His clothes were all torn open at the back to allow easy access for the thick leather whip that had been used to open him from the back of his knees to his neck and to the elbows, not a scrap of skin left on it and blood covering and splattering the table and his undamaged flesh and gravely pale face. His left hand, the fingers were all broken severely and his palms was pierced by both his and his mothers’ bloody gold pens with the distress beacons broken.

One of his ankles had been twisted to the wrong side and his cheeks were cut once long down from the base of his ears to where his nose started. His arms and legs had also bore burns here and there but the worse thing was not only the symbols were gone but also they had seen bone through the mess of his back.

Johnathon had looked the boy up and down and then down at his mother and frowned thoughtfully, Noticing a small mark on the boy that made him frown deeper and look back at the dead woman. He took in the dead woman’s bloody wrists and ankles and followed a slight trail of blood over to a chain hanging from the roof and one curled up on the floor.

He looked the bloody chains over one after the other and then looked back at the woman thoughtfully again. Tommas had saw it and slowed his movements down to ask “what is it Johnathon?” The sorcerer had answered softly “he did not plan to kill Dale.”

“What do you mean Chel?” Steven had looked up from trying to sooth Lance who was rapidly dropping into shock. “Look, the chains are bloody where she worked her wrists and ankles until she was able to use the liquid to slip free.”

“So?” Steven had asked. “There is a slight small vertical cut on Richards’ back among all those horizontal ones left by the whip he used.”

“What are you saying?” Veronica said softly to him. But Tommas had figured it out “he meant to kill Richard and Dale had no choice but to sacrifice herself for her sons’ life.” Steven got it and whispered in awe “she gave herself to save Richard.”

“And it unnerved Zimmer enough so he would leave them without finishing Richard and let us in far enough to take them home.” The sorcerer nodded solemnly. “But is Richard still alive after all that blood-loss and injuries?” Gwin had asked softly in horror.

As she had spoken this Tommas had gently eased the boys’ bloody and impaled hand down from where the rack had stretched it to and they all heard a thin moan of pain as it moved torn muscles in his shoulders and back full of pain and pulled almost to their breaking point. However the moan was all that came from him, no movement or even a flutter of eyelids. Johnathon had spoken “he is alive although barely and shall not last much longer if we do not get him back so I can attempt to try and start to heal this damage.”

“Not yet” Lance had suddenly risen from his wife’s’ body, face full of a murderous fury “first I’m going to kill that son-of-a-bitch.”

“No” Johnathon had motioned to Steven and Veronica to grab the man who had started cursing and fighting against them, totally loosing it as Richard had in the cave a year before “he’s dead! Let me go!”

“Lance listen to me” Johnathon had set eyes with him and used his hypnotism to drive his words home “there is no saving Dale and revenge can wait. Dale sacrificed herself so we could save your son before he died, and do you want to make her action mean nothing by making us run around trying to stop you while his life slowly trickles away with his blood? Think about it for a moment, my friend. How would you feel if you lost Richard as well? Would you ever be able to forgive yourself for throwing his life away for your revenge when you could have saved him? Do you want to be the last of your family again as you were when your parents were killed when you were eleven? How did you feel then and what makes you think this time you will feel any better?”

“All right” Lance had relaxed in the two warriors grips “but once I know he’ll truly live I’m hunting that bastard down and giving him a taste of his own medicine. He’ll see what it’s like dying in so much pain and terror.”

“You must do what you think you must” Johnathon had nodded and raised his staff, a bubble force field surrounding mother and son and raising them into the air while they had left.

After Dales’ death they had almost lost Richard as well. He had just given up it seemed and started to die as well, nothing Johnathon could do to stop it or try and bring him back. Lance had spent that entire time waving between terror of loosing his only family left and absolute unquenchable spouts of blind rage and a thirst for revenge against the alien, but for his sons’ sake he would leave the room and work out in the gym to get rid of it then return and stay with his child, clutching his good bandaged hand and talking to him, trying to convince him to come back to him.

One day he had come back from such a time in the gym to find a bright light in the room and hovering over his son. Terrified it was something of Zimmer’s doing come to finish the job he had called to the others. Johnathon had taken one look at it and was soothing the man gently, telling him it was help, not to harm him. The others had been about to ask him how he was so sure when the light faded a little to reveal a familiar figure to some of them, tiny with wings like a butterfly and a definitely feminie figure.

They had relaxed and Paul sighed “Rathir” in relief, then frowned again and looked up at Johnathon “why and how is she here? I thought she stayed in our native time.”

“She did” Johnathon had answered “but she also told him if he ever needed her she would be there for him. This is as good a time as any.” They agreed and Lance had frowned “you mean she’s that thing Rick was talking about that year? The thing that made him feel better and more relaxed every time she was near him?” and when they nodded Steven spoke “with some luck she should be able to convince Rick to come out of this state he’s in and talk to us. He can’t die on us.”

“I wish to god” Cathrine cuddled into her father, tears in her eyes again and body trembling as she obviously wanted to run to the boy and shake him, to plead with him to come back to them. They watched and when she went on for hours they eventually one by one filed away, Lance the last to go when Steven firmly took his shoulders and said soothingly “there’s no telling how long she will take with him. Go find Peter, he needs you to be with him and comfort him.”

“But I want to be here for Rick in case he....”
“We’ll call you if there’s any change, trust us and leave Rathir to her work in peace.”

It didn’t take long, in fact when Lance walked past his room one hour later he heard soft sobbing. Almost running inside he found the boy awake and laying on his stomach where he had been laid, but attempting to roll over and curl into a ball around himself but his pain and his stiffness was preventing that.

As he watched the boy had tried to roll over again and cried out in pain, this time his body convulsing once, which then pulled his nerves and muscles and made him cry out again. His bandages had started to show a lot of fresh blood.

Lance had rushed forward, trying to soothe him to lie still again and when he continued to try Lance took his good hand in his and just knelt there. He had spoken softly over and over until the boy laid still, tears running from his eyes but not making a sound or speaking a word except for the moans of pain.

“I know Rick” Lance couldn’t help his own tears running down his face as he had dipped his head to touch his sons’ forehead with his own. “I know my son” and the two had stayed that way for hours, grieving together and when the others had went past and saw them they had all continued on their way and left them alone. Except for Peter who came forward, curling up in Lances’ arms and started to cry with them.

In the other rooms the others had begun grieving also, Gwin and Johnathon held Andrew close while he sobbed and both also had tears in their eyes. Tommas held Cathrine, Steven was holding Paul and Veronica as both the woman and teenager let silent tears flow.

As Rick had healed and his hand and foot reset, they had discovered just how much the Ossla had helped the boy. Instead of thirsting for revenge like his father and totally hating the alien he was determined to stop him and save and protect any further victims.

Yet as months went by and they fought him more and more they found his anger and hate of the man seeping through his control. For his sons’ sake Lance was forced to put aside his own hate to keep him from stepping over the edge of control.

And it was more difficult for Lance then anyone could know loosing Dale. He had a secret only his newly dead wife and Rick and their family doctor knew about. From birth Lance had been different as well, although not like Richard even though the boy had inherited Lances’ secret.

Lance had a slight and barely noticeable disability.

While the others had noticed his problem they had come to accept it as just Lance, not really realizing the truth about the man. He had minor autism. That meant he had spurts of complete removal from the world, where he hid inside his thoughts and mind and no one but Dale had ever been able to bring him out of it. The others just took this as him being deep in thought and usually waited for him to come out himself.

The other thing was he could barely control his emotions or feelings, which was why he tended to use a blank face, having learnt by his family when his feelings were out of control to use this to cover it up. Dale had all ways been Lances’ control and link to the outside world, helping him know when and what to do in situations and with her dead he needed someone else. Like Richard, but he had a weaker case of the same problem.

In Ricks’ case he merely had trouble with his emotions, which was why he would freak out if he were touched when he wasn’t prepared for it. Not to dumb down what he had experienced when he was eight, which would drive anyone mad instead of making them sensitive to the touch of others.

Thank god for his rescuer and thank god for the therapy.

It was just after he had fully healed that Rick had insisted that Lance learn the Ossla's language just in case from both he and Johnathon and the man had only continued with it because it seemed to be soothing him.

Lance was brought back from his memories by the knowledge Johnathon had just finished talking to him. “Sorry? Did you say something?” The sorcerer frowned thoughtfully at him but to his credit didn’t ask about it “I said Zimmer has gotten his hands on Richard twice before and has not harmed him since Dale. You know why do you not?”

“Yeah. He found out how smart he is becoming and wants to use him to find a way to conquer the Earth forces.”
“And Richard knows by now to bide time for us to get there. He shall be fine.”
“I hope so” Lance sighed “I hope to god so.”

Soon they stood in front of the great marble throne that Tommas used. Cathrine stood beside it and her father, absently stroking her pet black panther Kellar between the pricked up ears. Tommas was speaking to them softly “I told you from the start that the Toooilan was evil and would cause the world a lot of suffering.”

“We know Tommas but we all don’t have your insight into alien nature and we believe in giving people a far chance!” Lance snapped angrily “we gave YOU a chance instead of striking you off as a jungle savage!”

The jungle ruler glared at the man, both locking eyes in a test of wills. Lances’ patience with the man had grown thin over the last year or so. “Father” Cathrine took her father’s hand and distracted him while Steven pulled Lance aside and spoke in low chiding tones. The girl looked at them and said softly “of course we will come and help you.”

“Thank you Cathrine” Johnathon bowed in gratitude to her, which caused Tommas to calm and say, “we’ll come.”

All ten were tightly grouped together and watching the Ice Soldiers at the entrance from their hiding place fifteen minutes later. They looked silently for a few minutes the Steven whispered softly “How’re we going to get in?”

Johnathon spoke “simple, by using an illusion to distract them while we sneak in.” The sorcerer raised his staff and pointed at some large Icicles nearby which changed as they watched into huge armoured men, firing on the robots. “Let us go in” Johnathon rose as the robots started to return fire on the imaginary enemy “remember, my creations laser fire is as imaginary as they are.”

Creeping silently the ten made it inside without trouble and made it to the dungeons. But no cell held Rick. They were about to turn away and search somewhere else when a familiar voice rang out behind them. “Ah Protectors. Sooo glad you could finally join us!“

They spun to find....”Rick!” Cathrine exclaimed when she saw the teenager behind them, laser in hand and eyes pure white with an evil grin on his face. He was flanked by at least twenty Ice Soldiers. “Son what are you doing?” Lance asked in confusion and horror, had Rick changed sides? No, impossible.

“I am no longer your son or a member of the Protection And Defence Department. Now I work for the almighty Zimmer! Move into that cell!” He grinned evilly and motioned them towards an open cell with the blaster. “Why work for Zimmer, Rie?” Peter asked innocently “he killed Dale our momma and hurt you badly and other people. He’s a bad man.”

Rick didn’t speak but his gun hand shook just slightly and his smile faltered. When they noticed this Johnathon stepped forward into his line of sight and seized the boys eyes, entering his mind. “Zimmer has control of his body and mind, but his soul is his own” he said softly to them.

“But how?” Veronica asked him in confusion.

Before the sorcerer could answer the Soldiers moved forward, firing lasers’ at them and driving them back and into the cell, one shot grazing the sorcerers’ head badly and knocking him out, Steven forced to carry his friend and drag Lance in. The man didn’t make it easy, swearing at the soldiers and calling helplessly to Rick who was pulled, confused and on the verge of remembering away from them.

* * * *

“Sire” Theral Zimmer’s’ Ice Servant adviser said softly, interrupting the aliens’ thoughts even he knew better. “What is it slave?” He growled, looking up at him. As always the Servant came over and knelt at the bottom of his master’s throne, head down in submission and spoke in reverence for his lord. “The young mutant under your control has struggled out with the aid of his companions.”

“WHAT!” Zimmer stood angry and the servant braced himself for the blow he knew was to come. “Can’t you fools do anything right! Kill him and get out of my sight!”

Theral lay where he had landed after the blow, hand to his mouth. Although the other Ice Servants were mindless Zombies under Zimmer’s’ command Theral was different. He had been the first being force feed pure 100% Ice Serum-which was rare for most the components came for other worlds that killed Toooilan on sight-and made a servant, but because he had been an mutant previously he had some how managed to retain some personality and intelligence. He could hate and love but he couldn’t disobey or willingly leave.

Zimmer was his king and god and thanks to the Ice Serum he would do anything his master desired, not matter what. If he told him to sacrifice himself to him he would gladly do so willingly. He had no past present or future and his entire purpose was to make Zimmer happy, make his every wish become reality.

Yet part of him was not all it seemed or acted to be. In fact the only reason Richard still lived was because or him. Each time Zimmer told them to kill the boy when in his power it was the Ice servant, who changed his mind, convincing him the boy was more use to him alive.

“May I speak my lord?” he asked from around his own Ice Serum tainted blood in his mouth. “Speak then and get out of my sight!”

Theral didn’t move from his spot as he spoke “Why not force feed the boy in front of the father? If he sees how serious you are about the boy being your slave he may reconsider his and his friends action to stop your glorious invasion. Especially when you have his son and only family left locked up away from them.”

“Yes, yes I’m glad I thought of it” Zimmer said thoughtfully “Get my soldiers to bring in the boy and his father. Now!” Theral quickly rose and hurried to carry out his masters’ orders.


One hour later Lance was dragged into the huge throne room, tied to a chair and the gag was removed as Zimmer spoke to him “Ah Lance Simpson my friend so glad you could join us.”

“What do you want Zimmer? I’m a bit tied up right now” and the man moved his tied wrists towards the alien. Zimmer laughed “Always the comedian. I only wish to speak with you before our company arrives.”

“What company?” Zimmer just waved the question away and spoke again “I will give you the chance of joining my forces and working for me willingly. It is a great honour to fight for me.”

“No way Zimmer, never before and never will I. Every time you try I give you the same answer. What ever gave the idea I’d change it now after what you did to Dale and Rick? Dale died and Rick barely survived. You’re an asshole Zimmer in the worse possible way. You enjoy toying and destroying peoples’ lives.”

“Not even for your sons life?” Zimmer tutted him softly “ oh do not tell me would you willingly watch me enslave your son and make him one of my Zombies in return for your pride? What kind of father does that make you?” Lances’ eyes narrowed threateningly “Rick and I both agreed stopping you is more important than our own lives.”

“Did you” Zimmer drooled “well word is easier than action. You son has caused us a lot of trouble since he struggled free of my control. Still he has his uses like keeping you in line and his fighting skills and knowledge will led our troops to flatten this planets miserable defences. But first he must become a willing servant to my will.”

“Ice Serum!” Lance gasped. “Yes” Zimmer’s grin was sickening as he looked to the servant adviser “Tell them to come in now Theral.” The servant nodded, blood drying on the corner of his mouth.

Two robots bustled in with Rick between them and his arms twisted painfully high behind his back, struggling despite this to get free. Lance saw his sons’ eyes were their normal blue-green instead the pure white of before-of an Ice Servant. Calling his sons’ name helplessly he started to struggle to get free and go to him. On hearing his name the boy looked up and saw him, crying “dad!” He suddenly quit struggling and hung his head “They got you. I was hoping you managed to escape.”

“Don’t worry Rick it wasn’t your fault. You were under the control of the Ice Serum.”

“But I still got you all caught!” Rick protested and raised his head. It was then that Lance saw the large already forming bruise on his face, the left cheek just under his eye. “It doesn’t matter Rick we’ll get out of here somehow. It doesn’t matter.”

“Touching” Zimmer, laughed at them “chain young Simpson to the chair and Theral bring me the Ice Serum. I’m going to enjoy this. To have Richard Simpson as my permanent slave.”

“You won’t” Lance said and Zimmer laughed again “Oh wouldn’t I?”
“If you turn him permanently you will wipe all his knowledge and he’ll be no more use to you. That’s why you haven’t done it yet.”

“Even as my permanent slave he would still have his uses. He would keep you and your friends away for a start for fear of any attack hurting him, your only family left. One way or the other I shall get rid of you all and conquer this world.”

“Do not worry about me dad” Rick locked eyes with his father “He could make my body his slave forever but my soul will always belong to you, Cathrine and the others. Just do me one favor. After he does get free and help the others escape. Continue our work and when you can kill me and free my body, release my spirit.”

“Oh Rick” Lances’ eyes filled with tears he refused to shed in front of Zimmer and watched the alien make a motion to an slave who shoved a gag into the mans’ mouth. He could only watch as the alien moved forward with the cup of liquid, one hand reaching out to seize the boys’ head and pull it up to look at him.

Ricks’ face was carefully blank, his mouth in a tight line. When he refused to open it Zimmer stepped back and motioned a soldier forward who struck the boy in the face violently until he thought it was enough then moved forward to grasp the boys’ head again.

There were deep lines of blood across the boys’ face, red skin from the blows and this time when he raised the boys’ head he moaned. On the edge of unconsciousness his mouth parted slightly, wide enough so Zimmer would be able to pour the liquid in. He put the cup to the boys’ lips and raised it slowly so the thick liquid would slowly trickle in, looking at Lance and laughing darkly “the slower the time the more enjoyable watching his change.”

Rick moaned again and Zimmer grinned at Lance “now the liquid is attacking his organs and squeezing them as it freezes them. His blood is becoming infected and making even breathing agony. Soon his mind will be wiped of all thought, leaving him open to my commands.” Rick gave a strangled scream and his body started to thrust hard, hands jerking spasmodic against the chains.

There was a sudden loud sound and Theral swore from over near the console “the Protectors are free my lord and headed this way.” Zimmer cursed and threw the cup across the room “unchain the boy. We need him now. We can’t wait until he’s taken the full load to turn.”

Lance signed inanely in relief.

The boy was unchained and at Zimmer’s’ command stood beside his father, blaster in hand. After a few deep breathes his eyes were white again but that didn’t matter to Lance as much as it did before for now he knew it wasn’t permanent.

* * * *

“Go ahead of us kids. We’ll hold them off!” Steven yelled and Cathrine lead the three boys towards Zimmers’ throne room, Kellar following Lances’ scent. As they ran Cathrine thought about her feelings for Rick which had grown since meeting the other teenager. It was true her feelings for him were stronger than friendship but she didn’t know if the other felt the same, he wasn’t the sort to let his feelings be known unless they are too strong to hide.

Like his hate of Zimmer and his terror of skin to skin contact.

The boy had always treated her with warmth and a deep friendship-as if she was special to him-but she didn’t know if that was something left over from his soul-light merge with Zealer or he really felt the same. She would think they were finally getting somewhere and move closer to him, but if she touched him or made any move to he would clam up and move away and she would be back to feeling closed out again.

So for the time being she had convinced herself that they were just friends.
But every now and then-like now-other thoughts seeped in.

Many other girls like her would have given up long ago and realised they couldn’t get what they wanted but Cathrine had the strangest feeling that they were meant to be together, their destinies were intertwined and she should keep up with trying and be patient. He would come to her sooner or later. Having grown up in the village destiny was an important part of their life and purpose.

Now with the death of his mother she realised that time would be soon, close and she only had to be ready and willing for him with open arms and a forgiveness for whatever he had done in his past that was so traumatic-or had done to him.

They reached the double doors of the throne room and Kellar growled deeply and crouched to spring to protect his mistress. “I will go first,” Paul said and before she could protest he had pushed in front and entered, closing the doors behind them and looking around. Lance was gagged and tied to a single chair bolted to the floor across from him, the rest of the room apparently empty. Paul’s’ eyes met Lances’ and he recognized three emotions waring in them for control. The first and strongest was anger and the second was panic, the third was concern.

Leaving the door he walked slowly to the man’s side, eyes open for any chance of an attack. Reaching out he pulled down the gag. The instant it was off his mouth the mans’ eyes widened and he cried out “Look out Paul!” He stood and thrust his entire body in a tackle at him.

“What?” was all Paul managed before he had toppled over to the floor. Only he understood when the place he had just stood started to smoke and boil. Looking up he saw Rick standing over him, eyes pure white and with a smoking blaster laser in one hand.

“Rick?” he asked in disbelief, unable to register that his best friend had tried to kill him after all they had done for each other. Like Rick having let a spirit possess him to save his life. “It’s not Rick” Lance said softly, slowly “he’s not doing this. He’s under Zimmer’s’ control temporarily.”

“How?” Paul asked, moving slowly to untie Lances’ ankles and glad beyond relief that it wasn’t Rick turning against them. Not that he believed he ever would. “A drug Zimmer has, the same one he uses to make those men he captures mindless zombies to his control. He uses a little to take control of people for a few hours because the stuffs to hard to make more. I thought I destroyed his stores last year but he obviously had some more somewhere else.”

“Very helpful” Paul said sarcastically as he started on Lances’ wrists “how do we get through it or stop him without hurting him?”

“The only weak spot is if the one under the control has a particular strong will and experiences any strong emotional stress they can usually shake it off themselves. That’s why Zimmer usually uses the pure stuff because it turns them to his will permanently and wipes their soul and personality.”

“Terrific, how do we get him emotionally stressed?” Paul asked as he finished Lances’ wrists. “You forget, he hates to be touched” Lance said softly “if you do as I say we can freak him out so badly he’ll throw it off all by himself.”

Paul looked at Lance in horror and disbelief. How could he suggest further traumatizing his son just to help him get control of his body back? Whatever Ricks’ secret was Paul knew he wouldn’t survive another attack like the one he had suffered in the past a second time.

“Don’t you think I know that!” Lance snapped, seeing the thoughts in Paul’s eyes “but will Ricks’ soul survive the guilt of possibly killing one of us with his own hands-so to speak? Which would be worse?”

He hated to admit it but Paul knew he was right. Another trauma like he had in the past he may recover from-especially at the hands of his best friend when he comes to realize it was the only way, but killing his father or best friend or one of the others would cause him to die inside permanently-especially after the guilt he carried around of being unable to save his mother. At least the other way he knew the action would have saved those he cared for.

The decision was taken from him however when there came a cry of shock and surprise from the doorway and there, being dragged in by Ice Soldiers was Cathrine and the two boys. Rick spun when he heard his name called and saw the three.

“Cathy?” he managed to stutter out when he saw her and his gun hand shook and lowered a little. Paul moved to jump up and do what he didn’t want to do when Lance seized his arm and whispered to him “let’s see what happens first.” The boy nodded and relaxed slightly, relieved more than he could express that he wouldn’t have to go through with it.

“Rick please, help us!” Cathrine begged as she was thrown into a steel cage with Peter and Andrew, Paul and Lance also grabbed and thrown in as well. Seeing his confused look they stood at the front of the cage and started to remind him of all the good times and all they had been through together.

“Shut up!” Rick staggered unsteadily on his feet, hands over his ears to block them out and eyes flickering from his blue-green to white and back again. His body and mind fought the control but the drug was stronger than any human drug could be.

But his body was finally relearning how to drive the affects away with help from their constant encouragements. That all stopped however when Zimmer appeared from behind his throne, snapping “Richard Simpson you are mine. Stop this foolery.”

The group stopped talking and the teenaged boy stood straight, eyes white again and face blank. “Good now go and help my forces capture your other friends.” Rick nodded mechanically and left the room, Cathrine’s cry of “NO RICK!” and Zimmer’s’ evil laughter following him out.

It took only a few minutes for the soldiers to over power the adults. As they held the group at gun point Rick went around and hand cuffed them with energy cuffs. A design by Zimmer himself they were made to inject a needle of poison into the flesh if any attempt was made to remove them. Rick reached Johnathon last, cuffing him and slipping the keys into his hand before anyone could notice. He then leaned over quickly and whispered something in his ear before pretending to slip the keys in his pocket.

He then blankly ordered the soldiers to take them to the dungeons and return to the throne room. As they were marched away Rick caught a slight wink from Johnathon.

A few minutes after they were locked inside Lance was thrown in along with Paul. When they were sure the soldiers were gone they started to talk. “Terrific, how do we get out of this!” Lance said as he struggled against the handcuffs, stopping only when he felt the threatening touch of the needle.

“Easy” Johnathon said as he turned to show them the keys still in his hand “and I know the code to stop the needle.”
“Where and how did you get those?” Steven asked curiously. Johnathon smiled “Rick gave them to me.”

“Gave them to you or did you take them?” Steven asked, knowing how quick and easy his friend could pick pockets when he truly wanted to. “Gave me” Johnathon said then frowned “although his eyes were still white and I could feel the Ice Serum flowing inside him.”

“Then how do you know this isn’t a trap?” Lance said softly “as in Zimmer wants us to try and escape so when we use the code word it’s the wrong one and we kill ourselves so we’re out of his hair permanently.”

“Because I trust Richard no matter what has happened.”

“But he can’t control himself with the Ice Serum inside him” Lance protested. “It is true” Paul said “he took a pot-shot at me and if Lance hadn’t of knocked me away I would be dead now. Or at least seriously hurt.”

“And what happened after wards?” Johnathon asked softly, sounding as if he already knew the answer. “We all tried to get through the Ice Serums’ control, but Zimmer interrupted us before we could finish.” Paul frowned at the man, sending his unspoken thoughts “what are you saying? You think he really got control back and was faking it? What about his eyes?”

“He is a mutant. He could be using it to look still under his control.”
“How?” Lance frowned “and what about what you just said? About still sensing Serum inside him?”

“Richard has only been exposed to Ice Serum five times and each at different level strengths-which is how he has not developed an immunity to it yet. What if that stress you caused made his body realize it was used before and he is now developing the immunity to it? The eyes could be because it has not fully removed all the affects yet which is why I still sensed it and he has such control.”

“If that is true” Pauls’ eyes widened “what will happen to him when his eyes turn back and Zimmer realises not only is he free forever its control now but he has been fooling him? What will he do to Rick?”

Lances’ eyes widened as well when he followed the boys’ thoughts “we have to get out of here and find him before that happens.” Steven still had to ask one last question. He looked his best friend dead set in the eyes, the gold eyes bright as miniature torches in the gloom of the cell “what makes you so sure?”

“Something Richard said to me as he was telling me the code.”
“What was that?”
“Trust me.”

This convinced them and they turned their backs so Johnathon could use a spell to allow him to watch what he was doing behind him as he removed the cuffs and needle with keys and code. When they were all free Steven freed his friend and they unlocked the cell door with the other key on the ring.

When they entered the throne room again they found only Peter and Andrew in a corner, the rest of the room empty. The boys saw them with a glad cry and ran to them, Andrew into his parents arms and Peter to Lance who caught him up and asked the boy gently “where’s Rick and Cathy?”

“Zimmer found out Rie was not really working for him” the child said softly, voice filled with horror “he was angry and those robots hit him until he fell and didn’t move.” Andrew continued for his friend “Cathy yelled at Zimmer and kept hitting the door until it broke then ran to Rick to help him.” Tommas frowned in concern for his daughter and asked them softly “where is she now?”

“Zimmer got the robots to grab Rick and they ran behind there with him when they knew you got out daddy” Andrew said looking into Johnathon’s face as he pointed at the throne “Cathy followed them.”

Kellar suddenly appeared from behind the throne, purring and rubbing himself up against Tommas’ leg, the man dropping a hand to rub him between the ears. He then looked down at the animal intensely who looked up at curiously at him. “Cathy” he said one word but the panther knew what he wanted and led them to an open hatch behind the throne leading to a tunnel of ice.

Entering they followed behind the animal until they soon caught up with Cathrine. She was standing at the end of the tunnel and watching one of Zimmer’s’ jets take off forlornly. “Where’s Rick?” Lance asked as they caught up to her. Cathrine pointed at the fleeing ship “Zimmer’s got him” she looked at her father with tears in her eyes “I couldn’t stop him. What will he do to him?”

Tommas took her in his arms, his firm and comforting flesh surrounding her. Lances’ face-hardened in anger at this “I’m going after them.”

“No” Johnathon said firmly to him “You do not know where he is going. It would be better if we return to HQ and use Central Command to track his ship down.”

“But that may be too late!” Lance said helplessly. “Zimmer will not kill or hurt him. If he wished to do that to Richard for fooling him so he would had do it already” the sorcerer pointed out. Although he knew the man was right it didn’t mean he had to like it and after mumbling his complaints the blond man lead them back to the jet where they boarded.

Fifteen minutes later the sonic jet had arrived at the huge center built into high natural caverns in a group of mountains in a long range, a distance from a small town since dubbed New Haven by their citizens. Lance was seated at a keyboard under a huge monitor screen and his fingers flying over the keys, typing commands for CC-or Central Command-to search for Zimmer’s jet.

Each member of the group had homing devices implanted into the flesh of their back next to their spine after what had happened to Rick and Dale last year but they had since discovered that Zimmer could block the signal so didn’t wast time trying to find it. Tommas was the only one without the device because he flatly refused it, telling the group that if Zimmer ever got his hands on him-which was highly unlikely-they could have Cathy track him down for them. The two had joined minds and souls and could feel each other’s emotions or fears.

He was half way through when CCs’ computerized feminine voice interrupted “Alert, alert. Station Street Biochemical lab has been taken over by Zimmer.” The message from the computer’s systems was suddenly interrupted by Zimmer’s face. “Good evening Protectors. I assume you wish to speak with me” and the aliens evil cackling.

* * * *


His consciousness slowly bled back on him. His body felt beaten and rung with pain but at least he was alive. Slowly moving his arms and legs a few inches he found he couldn’t and the feel of something tight around his wrists and ankles gave him his answer-he was tied in his spread-eagled position. He felt the hard wall against his back and every time he tried to move he could feel electricity causing through him. So he contented himself with check himself over for any serious injuries.

Once that was done he opened his eyes a crack to see where he was, what Zimmer was doing with him this time. He was tied to the wall of a large room, which could have only previously been a laboratory-but now was just a ruined room. He had wires attached to his temples and chest and attached to a machine that could only be Zimmer’s’ design. Zimmer was sitting at the console, about twenty men and women in lab coats held at gunpoint across from him by the Ice Soldiers.

Some other men and women separately in a corner and surrounded by soldiers, eyes to microscope with a bottle of a familiar white liquid and something red Rick realised was blood samples. So Zimmer wanted to remove his immunity to the Ice Serum, well good luck. Doctor Sanderson said it was impossible for his immunity to be overpowered after it had become so strong. He should know the doctor had tried it himself.

Trying to look like he was still out and only moving for pain his head flopped to the side to see where any other way out was, to find Theral by the door and also armed. And for some reason the slave didn’t look too happy. His attention was drawn back to Zimmer when the alien spoke to him. “I know you are awake now, young Richard Simpson so stop the faking. Open your eyes.”

When Rick refused to he threatened the boy “Open your eyes or I’ll step up the power currently going through you to something more damaging.” When he still refused to do so he heard a “have it your way” and a few seconds later a protest from a woman.

The power increased and he gasped in pain, eyes popping open to find one soldier over at the microscopes was holding a negro woman trapped from leaving the group-obviously the woman who had protested the step up of power.

Zimmer spoke to her “If you don’t get back to work Miss Lister I shall do worse than what I have already done. And do not forget I also have your fiancée among the captives” He motioned at another negro-a tall man standing with the group opposite at gun point, a man glaring hatefully at the alien and using swear words the mutant boy had never heard before but totally agreed with.

“If you mess with me I shall start killing people, starting with your love. And you men” he looked at the soldiers “keep him in your sight at all times. I don’t want a repeat of what happened before.” The negro woman echoed her loves look at him but went reluctantly back to work, glancing at Rick in concern and worry. That done the alien turned his attention back to the boy as he gasped out “What stupid attempt to get me is this now, alien?”

“Oh I plan to weaken your immune system so my Serum will work on you permeant this time boy. I know about your sudden immunity to my drug.”

“It will not work” Ricks’ pain turned his grin into an ugly snarl “do you think you are the first to try?” he laughed darkly and all his hate and spite of the man showed through his eyes “do you have any idea how many before you have tried with much better ways?”

“I know about Bengal and those others” Zimmer grinned at the boys’ surprise “but I don’t believe in magic-it doesn’t exist. I know they used some sort of virus or disease to try and control you, and that’s where they went wrong. They needed something more reliable.”

“Like your stupid drug” Rick laughed loudly “I thought you would have learned by what happened before. Once my body has been exposed to it a few times it does not work anymore.”


“That’s why these people are going to find out how to weaken your immune system for me if they want to live.”

Rick laughed again “it would take them years to find out exactly what chemical they need to do that and only I know that! By the time they get anywhere close the others would have found me and stopped you and rescued all these people. And there is no way I am going to tell you what it is.”

“Not even for the lives of these people?” Zimmer grinned “I know you value the lives of others over your own as a Protector.”

Rick laughed at him “do not try bluffing me Zimmer, for it will not work. If you kill any of these people you will not have anyone to make them work for you. Not just that but you would have even more people willing to stop you and you would have more enemies then us to fuck with your plans. You would not risk it.”

“Then I know just who to force the chemical out of.” Richard laughed again “he would not tell you for it’s Doctor and patient privileges. Besides he had a heart attack two years ago and is a vegetable now.”

“I wasn’t talking about your family doctor” Zimmer grinned and touched a few buttons on the console despite the negro woman’s protests again. “Back to work Miss Lister” and a laser clicked dangerously close to the negro man. With a glare of hate she returned to the microscope.

Pain tore through Ricks’ body as the power was stepped up, body thrusting helplessly against the bonds as his heart fought to work through the electricity flooding his body.

As he watched from between half-closed eyes, gasping violently in an effort to breathe through the pain Zimmer turned to a portable monitor. After adjusting a few dials and pressing a few buttons a familiar face appeared on the screen. “Dad” he only managed to moan and the mans’ face hardened in anger when he saw the alien.

Zimmer smiled broadly and spoke to him “Good afternoon Protectors, I assume you wish to speak with me. Well I wish to speak with you.” Lances’ voice was cold and even when he spoke “What do you want Zimmer? What have you done with Rick?”

“Oh you wish to see your son. Well okay” and he moved out of the way so the man could see him. Lances’ face was suffused in rage when he saw what was happening to his son and before he could speak it was replaced with Johnathon’s stern and no nonsense face “what is it you want alien?”

“An exchange. You get young Richard Simpson’s medical records for me-the real ones no fakes and let me conquer this world and I will give you back young Richard Simpson. He’s a little damaged but he’ll be in one piece” he laughed at this then suddenly sobered and said seriously “for a while at least. Do not take too long for every fifteen minutes I’ll step the power up until his heart gives out or you are successful. Frequency 234 kHz and don’t try to come here and rescue him or I’ll do what I did to his mother last year before you can get anywhere near here. Call me back when you are successful and we will work out the exchange then. Good day Protectors” and the screen went blank.


Zimmer cackled in enjoyment and Rick managed to speak from between gritted teeth. “My father and the others will not be tricked so easily. They will figure out your plan and stop you.” The alien ignored this and switched the power up another notch.

From between almost closed lids Rick saw the negro woman protest again, a young teenaged girl about sixteen move forward and was struck by one of the soldiers in front of her to the floor. He heard swearing again and the negro man moved forward, despite the gun aimed at him and tries to wrestle the laser from a nearby Ice Soldier.

The other men and women in the group followed his lead, using their newly gained weapons to destroy the soldiers around them and holding the other separate group. A stray shot hit the console and short-circuited it, causing the power to surge through Rick uncontrollably. The boy bit his tongue trying not to scream in pain and his body arched against the bonds, almost snapping his back before it was gone as quickly as it had come.

Rick slumped forward almost unconscious and weak, only his pain keeping him awake. His body screamed in pain and every single thing hurt, even where his fingers nails had cut into his palms. Before he knew it or could recover he felt two figures untying him, a soft feminie voice asking him questions and trying to keep him conscious, apologising for the stray shot that had caused his pain.

His tongue felt like a limp swollen piece of meat and he could taste his own blood for the first time since his torture last year, unable to tell them he understood and the taste of his own blood bringing back old memories which caused him to struggle out of their aiding arms and try to escape into his fear of touch.

That was until he became aware of the question they were asking him, enough to break through and make him realise they were trying to help him truly. “How to we contact you father? How do we call him and ask him and the others to come help us. We can’t hold these guys off for long.”

“Frequency 558mhz” he said thickly, realising just what a risk these people had done by trying to free him “tell them that they better use the U.S.J to get here because you will not last much longer.” Without a question the woman rose and went to the monitor.

Johnathon’s’ face showed first and the woman spoke before he could “This is Anna Lister\Holmes of Station Street Biochemical. We have managed to get back control of the centre from the Alien Zimmer and freed Rick Simpson. But we are seriously out numbered and won’t last much longer. Rick Simpson says to tell you you will need to use the U.S.J to get here in time.”

“We are on our way,” the face said and the screen went blank. Unfortunately they heard Zimmer laugh suddenly and they were overpowered and grabbed. As Rick was pulled from the swearing mans grasp and the woman-Anna-was pulled away from the monitor Zimmer strode forward, towards her “thank you for that Miss Lister. I doubt I could have got the rest of them here without suspicion so easily.”

“So you LET us try to escape?”

“Of course!” the alien laughed, the man swearing a blue streak and calling Zimmer all the nastiest names he could possibly think of. “Oh thank you” he laughed and motioned to Theral “take them all to my jet and lock them in the dungeon.”

“Together my lord?”
“Of course not!” the alien snapped “put the boy and these two together” he motioned at the negro man and woman. “Who else my lord?”

“The girl” he motioned at the teenaged girl who had protested before and been hit for it which had started up the entire attempted escape. “The rest go in together in another cell.”

Yes my lord” the Servant bowed low and motioned the soldiers to follow him out of the building and into the jet behind.

Ten minutes later they were in their cells and headed back to the Ice Palace. Rick had long since lost consciousness so the three couldn’t ask where they were being taken and were contenting themselves with the knowledge of at least they were no longer being held at gun point. Anna then chilled Payton for swearing in front of Celine when the work-experience girl was only an innocent, but also said she understood his reason.

Twenty minutes later they landed and were lead at gunpoint to the dungeons deep inside the glazier and locked inside. When they were sure they were gone they started to talk again. “What do you think they’re gonna do with us now?” Celine asked, frightened.

“I don’t know” Anna said softly as she took the girl comforting in her arms “but I know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“They can’t kill us.”

“Why not?” Payton asked his fiancée, looking at her with angry eyes “what makes you so sure they can’t.”

“Because of what that boy said earlier. If he wants us to use that chemical when he finds out what it is to weaken his immune system he’s gonna have to keep us alive. And he needs the others as hostages not only to keep those other people away from him but us working. And I don’t think he’ll get those other guys as easily as he did him. They’re free to save us when the time is right.”

“Why DOES he want this guy under his control anyway? He’s a kid and what use is he too him? I mean you hear him, he will do nothing this guy wants him too even if it means his own life.”

“But I think he would if it means ours” Anna said “and this guy knows that. That’s why he’s keeping us captive. To use us against him.”
“But he doesn’t even know us.”

“I don’t think that matters. Remember what that guy called him earlier, a Protector? What if he and those other guys do things like this-protect people like us from guys like him? And this guy is someone they’re trying to stop.” Celine nodded “he did say-let me conquer this world. And he did call him an alien.”

Payton sounded disgusted “you believe this guy is some alien trying to take over Earth and this boy and his family are all that stands in his way. You’ve been reading too many sci-fi stories or reading to many comics.”

“Crazy as it sounds it makes sense,” Anna said and Celine nodded in agreement. Payton was about to speak when there was a low moan and the boy started to stir awake. Anna and Celine moved to his side, concerned by the blood showing wetly on his face from the blow that had put him unconscious earlier. When the eyelids flickered and he started to move they could see his obvious pain, hear the moans of it. So Anna reached out and gently stroked his cheek, speaking softly and soothingly to him, telling him to take it slowly. He moaned again and this time spoke thickly, barely awake.

“Mother?” he moaned weakly, painfully. Anna glanced at Payton and said gently to the boy “it’s okay, I’m here. Go back to sleep you‘re still in too much pain.” When the boy was out again and deeply asleep Anna looked up at her fiancée “no matter what we can’t let this guy hurt him again Payton. He may be some sort of mutant and thinks it’s his job to protect others but he’s only a child, barely older than Celine. We have to protect him ourselves.”

“He has a father Anna.”

“But he’s not here now Payton and when he does come to get him we’ll let him. But for now he needs our help. You of all people should know what it’s like to be different.” Payton hesitated so Celine joined in “Please Payton. He needs you and us. Help him, help protect him.”

Looking deep into his fiancée’s eyes the negro man relented and sighed “all right. We’ll take care of him and protect him here. But only as long as it takes for his father to get here and get him.” Anna couldn’t help smiling widely at him and hugging him close to herself in gratitude “thank you my love.”

“I have a feeling I’ll regret it soon enough” Payton murmured to himself “but you could always get your way around me couldn’t you.” Anna must have heard it for she drew back and smiled mischievously at him “of course I can. You can never resist me when I beg can you.”

“No I can’t” Payton couldn’t help his own smile “foolish me. I’ll have to learn won’t I.”

“Forget about that” she smiled “you’ll never be able to resist me, no matter how hard I try.” He drew himself up proudly and said “woman you should learn your place is as my little servant, doing everything I want and not talking with such gall.”

“Excuse me you poor excuse for a man but you can’t even last long enough let alone master me. Learn some staying power and then maybe I might start doing some of the things you require of me.”

“I’ll show you staying power” he teased and grabbed her and before she could protest with more than a few words he had pressed his face to hers, lips joined to hers and tongue stroking the soft flesh tightly compressed against his attempted invasion. Anna giggled beneath the firm strength of his lips as he guided her to the floor on her back, his hard and muscular body trapping hers under him.

After a few half hearted struggles she gave up as she was suppose to and let him do what he wanted, opening her mouth to allow him inside, just as one hand slipped under her blouse to touch her breasts. They would have ended up going further if they hadn’t of heard Celine giggle slightly and they remembered they weren’t alone. And Anna whispered luringly “later when we’re safe” in his ear and slid out from under him, going to examine the boy.

It took Payton a few seconds to realise through his arousal what had just happened and then he sat up slowly, trying to regain some control and resist the urge to grab Annas’ arm and pull her back to him. When he felt better he moved over to Celine, giving her a smile. Asking softly he said friendly “so, what is your story?”

An hour later the boy had woken up and started to tell them his own life story. The longer he went through the more Payton was glad of his promise to protect him, just how much this boy was like him except for a few differences. How would he have turned out if he had this boy’s past? Would he be as he was now or more like him? The more he went on the more Payton was in awe of this truly noble soul weak and in pain in front of him yet his own thoughts only for their own protection.

He found himself wanting a friendship with this boy, the idea of being around him appealed to him and he would feel whatever the boy would have with each story. Yet long ago Payton had come to realise he was racist against whites and here he was feeling empathy for the whitest boy he had ever seen. And then there was Celine as well.

But Celine had told him her mother had been an aboriginal which helped his acceptance of her. Not Rick however. He was white, his parents were white and his ancestors had all been white. In fact except for his mothers’ side apparently all his fathers’ ancestors had been white with blonde hair and blue eyes, even his father himself was one. Something about a legend in his family that stated a great power and heritance would come only to one of their line and a curse that meant they were all born with those features.

Of course Lance his father hadn’t cared about some legend and had married his mother for love pure and simple, except he had been born with the usual trademark features. He relented though that he had got the curls and aquamarine eyes from his mother, his eyes colour not a far cry from what he was suppose to have but he didn’t mind. Especially when to his father and him they were a good reminder of his mother after loosing her last year.

“How?” they asked and slowly the boy told them, Celine gasping in horror and eyes watering in tears for him, Anna nodded and her feelings showing only through her face. Payton however was again struck by an empathy, fury at Zimmer and grief for the boy. Anna decided to change to subject and looked at him, asking softly “who’s gonna get this inheritance and power the legend tells off?”

Rick shrugged then winced at muscles that hadn’t fully gone numb yet “father doesn’t know since there is only us left. Johnathon thinks it might be me-because I am an old soul he says-and I am mutant. Our family Doctor said there’s no telling what I will be able to do as I get older and they fully develop. Even Tommas has told me he feels as if I have an important destiny.”

“Do you know exactly what it is you’ll be inheriting?” Payton asked softly. “Would not have a clue” Rick shrugged, unconcerned “ but when it happens it will happen.”

“And you‘re not scared?” Celine asked softly “even a little?”

“Perhaps a little” he relented “but what ever it is or will be it will be of use in helping us protect and save others from the evil of our world-especially Zimmer.”

“Has any of your ancestors ever succeed in having kids without the blonde hair and blue eyes?”

“No. Although I was told one of our male ancestors married an American Indian native and tried having half-breed kids but that did not work. Another fell in love and married a Negro slave woman and they fled to live together but the same thing happened.” No wonder he liked the boy. Not only did he have American Indian blood in him but negro as well. It also meant that his father would have the same blood as well, Payton wanted to meet him.


For hours they remained in the cell together, talking and getting to know each other. Payton noticed how much attention Celine was paying to Rick, obviously in the midst of a crush despite the fact he had told them a few times about a girl called Cathrine and even Payton could hear the true feelings in the boys’ words.

He was in love with her.
He just didn’t know it yet.

Although he seemed reluctant Rick seemed to start getting close to the girl, and it was here they learnt like the other protectors of his fear of touch and they remembered the boy had steered clear of his life when he was eight.

When they had asked him why he had only said “there is nothing to tell. A man kidnapped me long ago and he did something to me for days you cannot possibly imagine and understand. I was eventually rescued by a new friend who sheltered and cared for me until I could go back to mother and father.”

When they had asked him what this man had done to him that was so terrible he had just said “I would rather not talk about it” and clamped up, refusing to speak any more on the subject.

Every time Celine tried to move close to him he would try to move away despite his pain and weakness and if she got any closer to him and seemed about to touch him he would get snappy and irritable, eyes full of instinctive fear and anger so Payton and Anna would have to distract her and lead her away from him so he could calm down.



A few hours later the door was unbolted and a group of Ice Servants bustled in, grabbing the group and pulling them out of the room unemotionally, Celine crying out in fear and Rick struggling angrily in their grip and lost in his fear of touch with his eyes clouded as he buried himself in his terror.

They were dragged into the throne room where Theral came forward, taking Celine from the slave and pressing a knife to her throat. This stopped Anna and Payton struggling in the grips but it took the slave adviser snapping the boys name before he finally looked up and saw, struggles easing and glaring hatefully at him. When they were calmer Zimmer came forward and grinned, “so I now have a way to get what I want from you. To get you to do my will.”

“Never Zimmer!” the boy snarled at him “there is no way I would do your will!”

“Not even for the life of this girl? I know you have gotten to like her over the last few hours all three of you.” Rick snarled, words totally lost in his fury. “Do you recognise the knife, young Simpson? It is the same one I used on your mother. What if I was to use it to kill your new girlfriend here.”

“You are a bastard Zimmer! Damn you!”
“Thank you” he laughed evilly “what will your answer be? Her death or your control?”

“No Rick! Don’t do it!” Celine cried at him “you give up and I’ll never forgive you! Never!”
“But I....” Rick started.
“NO! Don’t you dare!” she cried at him, eyes showing determined to be obeyed.

“I....” Rick started to weaken, he had lost his mother and he didn’t want to loose anyone else he knew or cared for to Zimmer. He had been unable to save his mother but he could here and now save Celine, even if it meant his own soul. “All right I will do it. Just do not hurt her and you will have it your way. Harm her in any way and I will refuse.”

“No I told you NO!” Celine screamed at him and before anyone could stop her she had grabbed the knife and forced it inside her, her words becoming a cry of agony as the blade passed through her body and into her heart. “You’ll not use me against him! You’ll not use me to threaten him, I LOVE HIM!”

“NO, CELINE NO!” Rick cried in union with Payton and Anna, struggling free and running to her. Theral let the knife go and backed away, white eyes wide in horror and shock. Reaching Celine's side Rick sat her up and held her while he sobbed “No Celine not you too. Oh god why! Why did you do it?!”

“So you would not do what he wanted” she whispered “I love you Rick and I wouldn’t be able to live knowing I caused you to do evil to others because of it.”

“But you do not!” he protested. “No, not now that he can’t use me to threaten you. I want you to promise me that no matter how long it takes you’ll stop Zimmer and protect the innocents from him. Promise me before I die.”

“I promise” he sobbed weakly “I promise you I will do so.”

“Good” she said weaker than before. “I love you Rick and I know you may not feel the same but I do. I know you love Cathrine but don’t want to admit you could love someone like that because of what you’ve been through but no one lives forever. I tell you how I feel because I can’t stand the thought of dying without you knowing why I did this” pain swarmed through her and she reached up to touch his cheek with bloody fingers and said softly “tell her how you feel. Don’t leave it until it’s too late and she will never know, even if she doesn’t feel the same. Tell her so she knows how you feel if anything should happen to you.”

“What if she does not feel the same?’ he sobbed to her. “How could she not?” her dying smile was pure holy radiance. “But if she does not....”

“She WILL” she said firmly to him “she will. How could she not love such a selfless and noble soul as yours?” Rick was about to speak when she did, voice almost gone “TELL HER.” He pursed his lips and nodded. “Good” she smiled again and her eyes half-closed and with her dying words she said softly “kiss me as I die, please. I want my last sensation to be of you.” Eyes so clouded he could no longer see Rick lent down and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her deeply without a wince and his first ever, trying to make it as giving and sweet as she was.

When he drew back she sighed “thank you” and went limp against him.

The three cried for a few minutes then Ricks’ grief gave way to pure white-hot fury. He looked up at the alien, a world of hate and fury in those eyes so strong that the alien backed away from him. Yelling to the servants he ordered them to be taken away and three of the mindless men grabbed the boy just in time for his leap at the man, a scream of pure berserker rage and lashing out blindly in his attempt to kill the hated figure in front of him.

It took five more servants to finally over power him and only when two of them beat the boy unconscious-which took a while for the boys’ rage gave him immunity from the pain.

Anna cried out in horror at this and Payton swore and struggled against his bearers, afraid they were going to beat the boy to death. It wasn’t his promise to Anna that made him try to get to the boy and protect him but Celine’s’ sacrifice. If the boy was killed how could he fore fill his promise to her and his purpose? How could he mature to receive the power the legend of their line told of?

But when the boy finally laid still the alien ordered them to stop and move away so he could look. Anna and Payton gasped when they saw his state, bloody and bruised worse than the first time they had seen him and barely breathing. Payton snarled “You monster!” And Anna struggled to get to the boy and help him.

Instead they were dragged out of the room and back to the cell alone.

Once inside and alone Anna started to cry, Payton wrapping her up deep in his arms. But when she was finally able to speak he was surprised by the thing she was crying over really. Instead of grieving for the girl she asked “what are they gonna to do to him Payton? God, he was so still!”

“He’ll be fine darling. That asshole needs him still so he won’t kill him. He can beat him up a bit but he can’t kill him or he won’t be able to use him.”

“But what about how badly he was hurt, how still he was! If he doesn’t get medical help soon he may end up worse than before! Worse than when his mother was killed and Zimmer tortured him that first time!”

“I know my love but so would Zimmer. They wouldn’t let him get that bad or they won’t be able to use him.”

One hour later the door was unlocked and a figure was thrust in with them. Payton saw blond curly hair and was on his feet and catching the boy as he stumbled and collapsed before Anna could realize who it was. When she did she was at Payton’s side, examining the boy and speaking softly and concerned at him “Rick are you all right? Speak to me please. Tell me where it hurts.”

“Everywhere” the boy said thickly and turned his head so he could spit blood in the corner. Then at her concerned look he said, “I bit my tongue again when one hit me. It has only just stopped bleeding.” Relieved he was only bruised and battered a bit she helped Payton guide him to a bench in the corner to lay down, soothing him to sleep so he could start to recover, which he did reluctantly.

They lost track of time as they waited for something to happen and kept a close eye on Ricks’ condition, but the boy slept soundly. Slowly they became aware of a small light in the cell and turned to find a tiny figure hovering over the boy, barely 20 centimeters long with the most unusual butterfly like wings they had ever seen. And the light around it was highlighting the boys’ convulsing face, his pain showing clearly to them. When Payton and Anna went to move towards it they found themselves unable to move or speak, paralyzed by the creature and helpless to do more than wait until it had finished with the boy.

About fifteen minutes later the light weakened and the figure landed on the boys shoulder, looking up into his face expectantly, waiting like they were forced to do. Slowly there came a moan and the boys eyelids fluttered open a little. He was clouded and hardly comprehending for a few minutes and only then did the freeze over them fade. Anna and Payton came forward, eyes all ways on the creature while they examined him and spoke his name softly. He suddenly blinked and he looked at them in confusion, baffled and asked weakly “what is the matter? Why did you wake me?”

“We didn’t, this thing did” Payton pointed at the creature which now resembled a tiny woman with butterfly wings. “She did something to you and we don’t know what. But we were unable to move to stop it.” The boy looked at the creature and his face broke out when he heard it jabber at him. “Rathir you came to me!” he cried in joy “I hoped you would be able to without the marks.”

After it jabbered at him he frowned and answered softly “no I never doubted your promise I am sorry.”
“You can understand it?” Anna asked in confusion “why and what is it?”

“Well you know I am a mutant right?” and when they nodded he went on “remember I told you about those marks of magic that had been scratched into my skin of my back before Zimmer had destroyed them?”
“The ones that guy Bengal did, yes. So?”
“Remember I told you of how I was able to call on that creature because of them in the past?”
“The Ossla, yes so?”

“This is she. So far she has come to me when my I have had high times of emotional stress. When those creatures grabbed me, my mothers’ death....”

“And Celine’s sacrifice” Anna chocked on the words then managed to recover “but if it’s the marks that pull her to you, why is she here now and why did she come to you before. I thought you said the marks are truly destroyed.”

“I know, even she does not know how she can still come to me. Maybe they are deeper than the flesh and skin I or anyone else thought. Maybe because I was the only one to have the scars for so long they are kind of weaved into my being and soul.”

“Or maybe it’s part of the power the legend told of in your family” Anna suggested. “What do you mean?” he frowned at her and she said, “Maybe the power is suppose to be yours and this is the first sign of what will soon show.”

“It is possible I suppose but there is no telling how powerful the Ossla are. She might just sense my emotions and come of her own will. Johnathon said no one has learnt enough of them to even guess how much power or skill or strength they have.”

“Could she help us escape here?” Anna asked him and Rick frowned again “How?”
“Well does any of your friends and family understand her?”
“Johnathon does and Andrew, and Gwin I think. So does father.”

“Your father?” Anna and Payton exchanged looks “how does your father know her language?”
“Johnathon and I taught him-just in case. I insisted.”

“Well we won’t worry about that now. Can she go to them and tell them what has happened and lead them back here without Zimmer knowing?”

“She can try” he seemed charged with hope and looked to the little creature, bringing up a hand so it could perch on it and look him eye to eye without looking up. After a long conversation in the other language the creature stood up, jabbered something and suddenly disappeared. “She said she will find father and tell him so he can tell the others and they can organize something.” Rick said to them “we only have to wait.”

They nodded and sat around the cell, this time waiting in breathless anticipation for the sounds of rescue.