Post by Skyfire on Oct 11, 2009 15:03:32 GMT -5
…I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a while. A week ago, I finally got started on it. As far as long fanfics go, this is the darkest thing I’ve ever done.
And this is sort of the rough version. The finished product will go up on FF.net. Meantime, please enjoy, and please review!
When the universe is turned upside-down, what hope does the galaxy have left?
I wake up to find myself lying on a cold, hard floor – and deprived of my spacesuit. My wrists are chained to a wall. I taste something metallic in my mouth… Blood.
Where… how…
Then I remember. It’s a muddled, fragmented sort of memory, but it’s enough.
The sirens, the flashing lights, the fires, the smoke, the whine of laser-fire, the smell of ozone, the desperate shouts, the screams…
Then blackness. I must have been stunned.
Yes, because my danger sense kicked in, but I had no room to maneuver, barely any time to react at all.
So here I am in this small stone cell, the grate high above in the ceiling providing only a dim light.
What happened? Where is my team?
You finally sweep in, grandly. I knew you would. Sooner or later, you’re the cause of most of the problems in my life.
Normally, I would be ready for this, even as your prisoner. But I feel oddly weak and tired…
“Lightyear!” you croon happily. “So you finally woke up! You’ve been out for days!”
For days? I thought it would’ve been only hours. This briefly catches me off-guard, and I suddenly wonder if that’s what you wanted to do, like you did with that “father” bit back on Roswell.
I stand, mustering all the dignity I have left. “Zurg,” I greet evenly, forcing myself to remain calm and not get overly anxious or anything.
You pace the small space before me, just beyond the short reach of my chain. You keep your red gaze steady on me, and suddenly, it’s hard not to squirm. What do you want this time, Zurg?
You keep your silence, and I realize that you want me to ask that, that you’re waiting for me to ask that.
…Sorry. Nothin’ doin’.
At last, you seem to concede this fact, as you finally say, “You’re probably wondering what I want now, hmm, Lightyear?”
I say nothing, and I hope I betray nothing. No curiosity, no emotion whatsoever. I won’t give you that minor satisfaction.
You seem briefly unbalanced at my cold silence. Good. But you recover, and speak in a conspiratorial tone. “Well, I’ll tell you.” You lean in close, and whisper, “Nothing.”
I blink. What the galaxy…
“I have everything I want, Lightyear,” you continue smugly. “Everything.”
I’m suddenly struck with a storm of thoughts and emotions as I try to work that out. Shock. Confusion. Fear. Anger. Defiance. Denial.
Because if you’re speaking the truth – and somehow, I don’t doubt it – that means… It’s hard to even wrap my mind around all the implications.
The Galactic Alliance would be conquered.
Star Command would be destroyed.
And that would only be the beginning.
I have no doubt that, were you allowed the opportunity, you would prove to be as destructive a tyrant as my evil double.
You study my face, probably seeing all that’s running through my mind right now. We always were that transparent to each other, weren’t we?
You give your signature maniacal cackle, and… Fury burns in me. “You… You’re lying,” I hiss, seething.
You laugh even harder. “Oh no, I’m not, Lightyear. This is no trick like the black hole incident.” You draw a remote from your robes and press a button. A vidscreen emerges from the ceiling. Nice.
Another button push, and the screen flickers to life, displaying CPNN and Brent Starkisser. The man has none of his characteristic, irritating pep… just a dull sort of look in his grey eyes. “I’m… standing in Ground Zero of the bombardment this morning.”
My mouth goes dry, because I recognize his location, smoking and shelled-out though it is. It’s Alliance Plaza.
“Rescue workers continue to dig out the injured,” the man continues heavily. “There are nearly two thousand casualties reported, and the death toll continues to rise. This is the sixth bombardment the new Galactic Emperor has initiated since the surrender of the Galactic Alliance a week ago –”
Zurg, I take back my thought about your destructive tendencies. Even with the Planet Destroyer crisis, I never thought you could be capable of… of…
The fury rises in me again, and this time, I don’t restrain it. Before, there usually seemed to be some sort of unspoken agreement that we would not personally kill each other. Now, nothing holds me back from killing you but this blasted chain.
Nothing.
I lunge against it, coming so very close to touching you.
You laugh again as I struggle, the sound ringing in my ears and making my blood boil…
Suddenly, reason returns, and I stop, shaky and breathless. I can’t break free, and I need to conserve my strength. Even could I break free, what then? Killing you would end your tyranny, certainly, but would that be degrading myself to your level?
Your laughter fades, and you bend down to my eye level. “Get it through your thick skull, Lightyear. I. Control. Everything.”
“You can’t control –” I pause. I had intended to say “me,” but that’s not strictly true. Unfortunately, if you so chose, you could control my very mind. And when the mind and body are gone, what is left?
The answer is somehow instinctive as if I’d known once but forgotten. “You can’t control my soul.” The body dies, but the soul is eternal.
You wave that one off easily. “So what? I have you locked away down here, and that’s enough.”
I pin you with a glare, and you suddenly look uncomfortable. Is my gaze that unnerving, that it would unsettle the newly-minted Evil Emperor of the galaxy? “You’ve never managed to conquer the galaxy and hold it, and it won’t happen now.” In the long run, Evil never wins – you know that.
You lean in briefly, hissing, “Watch me,” then leave.
I watch you go, and note that it is dark beyond the autodoor. So much for figuring out my location.
My attention is drawn to the vidscreen, which – strangely enough – has been left on in the background. Starkisser continues his report on the bombardments around the galaxy. Tangea. Rhizome. Jo-ad. Tradeworld. Bathyos.
The footage is… unbelievable. So many casualties, so much devastation. I never thought…
Zurg, is this really what you want?
Author’s Note:
…Wow. Okay, you probably know that, normally, I write Zurg lighter – 50% villain/50% comedic relief like he usually is in the series. But that’s not actually my style of writing him – it’s just what’s made it published onto the ‘Net. And now that Zurg has conquered the galaxy – finally (and no, I don’t know how he did it – I leave that up to the audience) – he’s getting darker. And trust me, he’s gonna get really dark before all’s said and done.
Chapter 2 will be up as soon as I have time to copy it from my PDA to my laptop!
And this is sort of the rough version. The finished product will go up on FF.net. Meantime, please enjoy, and please review!
==All That Is Left==
Chapter I
Everything
Chapter I
Everything
When the universe is turned upside-down, what hope does the galaxy have left?
I wake up to find myself lying on a cold, hard floor – and deprived of my spacesuit. My wrists are chained to a wall. I taste something metallic in my mouth… Blood.
Where… how…
Then I remember. It’s a muddled, fragmented sort of memory, but it’s enough.
The sirens, the flashing lights, the fires, the smoke, the whine of laser-fire, the smell of ozone, the desperate shouts, the screams…
Then blackness. I must have been stunned.
Yes, because my danger sense kicked in, but I had no room to maneuver, barely any time to react at all.
So here I am in this small stone cell, the grate high above in the ceiling providing only a dim light.
What happened? Where is my team?
~*~
You finally sweep in, grandly. I knew you would. Sooner or later, you’re the cause of most of the problems in my life.
Normally, I would be ready for this, even as your prisoner. But I feel oddly weak and tired…
“Lightyear!” you croon happily. “So you finally woke up! You’ve been out for days!”
For days? I thought it would’ve been only hours. This briefly catches me off-guard, and I suddenly wonder if that’s what you wanted to do, like you did with that “father” bit back on Roswell.
I stand, mustering all the dignity I have left. “Zurg,” I greet evenly, forcing myself to remain calm and not get overly anxious or anything.
You pace the small space before me, just beyond the short reach of my chain. You keep your red gaze steady on me, and suddenly, it’s hard not to squirm. What do you want this time, Zurg?
You keep your silence, and I realize that you want me to ask that, that you’re waiting for me to ask that.
…Sorry. Nothin’ doin’.
At last, you seem to concede this fact, as you finally say, “You’re probably wondering what I want now, hmm, Lightyear?”
I say nothing, and I hope I betray nothing. No curiosity, no emotion whatsoever. I won’t give you that minor satisfaction.
You seem briefly unbalanced at my cold silence. Good. But you recover, and speak in a conspiratorial tone. “Well, I’ll tell you.” You lean in close, and whisper, “Nothing.”
I blink. What the galaxy…
“I have everything I want, Lightyear,” you continue smugly. “Everything.”
I’m suddenly struck with a storm of thoughts and emotions as I try to work that out. Shock. Confusion. Fear. Anger. Defiance. Denial.
Because if you’re speaking the truth – and somehow, I don’t doubt it – that means… It’s hard to even wrap my mind around all the implications.
The Galactic Alliance would be conquered.
Star Command would be destroyed.
And that would only be the beginning.
I have no doubt that, were you allowed the opportunity, you would prove to be as destructive a tyrant as my evil double.
You study my face, probably seeing all that’s running through my mind right now. We always were that transparent to each other, weren’t we?
You give your signature maniacal cackle, and… Fury burns in me. “You… You’re lying,” I hiss, seething.
You laugh even harder. “Oh no, I’m not, Lightyear. This is no trick like the black hole incident.” You draw a remote from your robes and press a button. A vidscreen emerges from the ceiling. Nice.
Another button push, and the screen flickers to life, displaying CPNN and Brent Starkisser. The man has none of his characteristic, irritating pep… just a dull sort of look in his grey eyes. “I’m… standing in Ground Zero of the bombardment this morning.”
My mouth goes dry, because I recognize his location, smoking and shelled-out though it is. It’s Alliance Plaza.
“Rescue workers continue to dig out the injured,” the man continues heavily. “There are nearly two thousand casualties reported, and the death toll continues to rise. This is the sixth bombardment the new Galactic Emperor has initiated since the surrender of the Galactic Alliance a week ago –”
Zurg, I take back my thought about your destructive tendencies. Even with the Planet Destroyer crisis, I never thought you could be capable of… of…
The fury rises in me again, and this time, I don’t restrain it. Before, there usually seemed to be some sort of unspoken agreement that we would not personally kill each other. Now, nothing holds me back from killing you but this blasted chain.
Nothing.
I lunge against it, coming so very close to touching you.
You laugh again as I struggle, the sound ringing in my ears and making my blood boil…
Suddenly, reason returns, and I stop, shaky and breathless. I can’t break free, and I need to conserve my strength. Even could I break free, what then? Killing you would end your tyranny, certainly, but would that be degrading myself to your level?
Your laughter fades, and you bend down to my eye level. “Get it through your thick skull, Lightyear. I. Control. Everything.”
“You can’t control –” I pause. I had intended to say “me,” but that’s not strictly true. Unfortunately, if you so chose, you could control my very mind. And when the mind and body are gone, what is left?
The answer is somehow instinctive as if I’d known once but forgotten. “You can’t control my soul.” The body dies, but the soul is eternal.
You wave that one off easily. “So what? I have you locked away down here, and that’s enough.”
I pin you with a glare, and you suddenly look uncomfortable. Is my gaze that unnerving, that it would unsettle the newly-minted Evil Emperor of the galaxy? “You’ve never managed to conquer the galaxy and hold it, and it won’t happen now.” In the long run, Evil never wins – you know that.
You lean in briefly, hissing, “Watch me,” then leave.
I watch you go, and note that it is dark beyond the autodoor. So much for figuring out my location.
My attention is drawn to the vidscreen, which – strangely enough – has been left on in the background. Starkisser continues his report on the bombardments around the galaxy. Tangea. Rhizome. Jo-ad. Tradeworld. Bathyos.
The footage is… unbelievable. So many casualties, so much devastation. I never thought…
Zurg, is this really what you want?
Author’s Note:
…Wow. Okay, you probably know that, normally, I write Zurg lighter – 50% villain/50% comedic relief like he usually is in the series. But that’s not actually my style of writing him – it’s just what’s made it published onto the ‘Net. And now that Zurg has conquered the galaxy – finally (and no, I don’t know how he did it – I leave that up to the audience) – he’s getting darker. And trust me, he’s gonna get really dark before all’s said and done.
Chapter 2 will be up as soon as I have time to copy it from my PDA to my laptop!