Aftermath by Justin
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Disclaimer:
I do not own Galerians, only a copy I bought at Babbages. Galerians is owned by
Ascii, Crave Entertainment, and Polygon Magic. (I think that's all of them...)
I do not own any of the characters from the game, although I do claim ownership
of my own characters, as well as any personality and/or appearance changes I
have given the (very few) surviving game characters. I am not responsible for
any Shorting deaths induced by this fanfic. Enjoy ^_^
GALERIANS
A F T E R M A T H
Chapter 5: The Night Before Destiny
Lilia sat alone in her room, looking around. Sitting on her unusually
comfortable bed, she could see a dresser nearby, accompanied by a dim lamp
which lit the room. She removed her cloak, the armor of its right shoulder
slightly weighing her down. Not too much, though, as it was made of a space-age
metal, strong as platinum, yet lighter than aluminum. Just another of Terrae's
creations, she realized.
She walked to the dresser and opened a drawer to find a silky blue nightgown,
something unseen in such a neighborhood. She undressed from her black clothes
and put it on, feeling much more comfortable now. Its shoulder-strings and
somewhat bare back left her feeling a bit cold, so she took a black fleece robe
from the drawer and put it on as well, tying it in front.
She laid back in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering about many
things. "Why did the Galerians clone me? Why did they leave the virus
program intact? Why…" she continued to ponder, before a voice interrupted
her train of thought.
:Lilia,: Cain mind-spoke to her, :come and see me if you wish to know of the
program.:
Quite shocked by the voice echoing in her mind, she got up and left her room,
walking down a dim hallway to Cain's. She entered, to see him sitting on his
bedside, his head tilted down. The low lighting of the room masked his eyes
under the shadows of his spiked bangs, before he lifted his head to see her.
"Make yourself at home," he said, pointing his head to a space next
to him on his bed, which was only a foot off the floor. She sat beside him,
looking to him, surprised by his garments. He was still clothed in his casual
attire, collars, chains, bandage and all.
"Do you wear those even as you sleep?" she asked, curious as to why
he hadn't changed to something more comfortable.
"These ARE comfortable," he returned. He looked to the bandage on his
left arm and put a hand on it, as if trying to comfort a slightly painful ache.
He then took it off, its dark dried blood stained into the cloth. Lilia noticed
the dark red circles growing wider as he unwound the cloth closer to his arm,
before finally coming to its source.
Lilia cringed at the sight, gasping quietly. The wound had by now dried, but it
was still quite a scratch. His arm held a deep scar, which would no doubt
resemble his facial scar when it would heal. About three inches across, the
slash seemed to penetrate several layers of skin. Strangely enough, there were
no signs of infection. Perhaps his Galerian blood had resistance to contagion?
"Don't worry about it… I got it this morning when I came to rescue you,
and its healed a lot since then. I had a little run-in with Jyun before I found
you…" Cain began to wrap his wound with a new bandage, finally using some
sophisticated gauze rather than a fabric strip.
Lilia was speechless, that Cain would actually brave the dangers of the
Galerian HQ, that he would risk his life to save hers. But she was not joyful.
Her mind was fogged up by questions that needed answering. Somewhat depressed,
she stared blankly at the floor at her feet.
"Cain… why is all of this happening? Why did the Galerians clone me, and
why did they leave the virus program in my mind? I'm so confused…" she
questioned, staring miserably at the tan carpet.
"Lilia… there are things I haven't yet told you… are you ready to learn of
the purpose they had set before you?"
"Yes," replied Lilia. She wanted to know everything there was to know
about herself. "Please tell me… I must know why I'm here."
Cain sighed quietly, as he turned to look to her. "Lilia… As
vile as the Galerians are, you should not hold such prejudice against them… To
do so would be hypocritical."
A look of shock appeared on her face. "What are you saying… What are you
trying to tell me?" she asked, knowing what he was going to tell her but
not wanting to believe it.
"Lilia… You're a Galerian too."
She looked into his greenish-blue eyes, they were full of truth, as was the
serious look on his face. He held a dead sincerity, and she could tell that
this was no lie. Still, she shook her head, as her mind remained in a moment of
shock and confusion. "Cain… why?" she stuttered. Her face began to
drip with cold sweat.
"I don't know… all we know from the spies is that you were created as a
Galerian, and that you still held the virus program in your mind. Maybe there
was no way to remove it from your mind, but still, I don't know why they wanted
you. They must have had a reason to create you… but that doesn't matter now.
You've been given a second chance at life, so you may as well enjoy it."
"I guess," she said, as she moved her head from side to side, popping
her neck. The armor's weight held its place on her soft shoulder. "So tell
me, about the program…"
Cain stared blankly at the floor, blinking a few times before gathering himself
to tell her of his past. "Very well, Lilia…" he said, trying to find
a way to explain it. "After we formed the Northern Faction about a year
ago, Terrae began work on studying Dorothy's statistics. Before the rebellion
started, underground resistance forces gained the information that you were
cloned, and that you still had the virus program in your mind. That was our
hope, and the Factions were born. However…"
Lilia listened vigilantly, seeping in the information like the pages of a
history book. He continued, a grim look on his face this time.
"Mother had evolved… she could no longer be stopped by the virus that you
currently carry, which may be why they didn't bother to remove it when they
cloned you. When Terrae installed the new activation program in my mind, she
added additional software that would amplify the virus and bypass Dorothy's
defense systems. This," he said as he took off his archer's glove,
"was part of the upgrade."
There was a small, round metal plate at the center of his palm, flat and about
a centimeter in width. It looked quite painful, and Lilia winced, feeling pity
for the young man.
"Don't worry, it didn't hurt as much as you think, I was asleep when Terrae
installed it in me." The words comforted Lilia's mind somewhat, yet the
thought of having a metal device "installed" in his hand made Lilia
feel sorry for him, as he spoke of himself as though he was a mere vessel for a
program, with upgrades and such. He continued to answer the many questions that
clouded her mind.
"This will help upload the virus. There's a direct link from the
activation program in my mind to this device on my hand. He turned his hand
over, and the same device could be seen on the back of his hand. Lilia winced
slightly once more, as she assumed it went through his hand to the other side.
So this small device was the reason behind the scar on his left cheek, and the
slash on his left arm: both were missed attacks, failed attempts to sever his
vital arm.
"Stop worrying, there's only a small wire between the two." But Lilia
had already begun to worry about something else.
"Cain, what about activating the virus… Won't it… kill you?"
There was an awkward silence in the room. Then he spoke once again.
"Don't worry, I'm strong enough. Rion was but a child when we was
subjected to it… but I'm older, my body is stronger, as well as my mind. It
won't kill me."
"Okay… I believe you, Cain…" she said, popping her neck
some more. Cain sensed her pain, and felt somewhat concerned for her comfort.
"Can I help?" he asked.
Lilia was a bit surprised. "H-how do you mean?" she asked, nervous as
he'd already crawled around on the bed, positioning himself behind her.
"I do have some experience in massaging," as he sat Indian-style
behind her. "If you don't mind, I could assist you."
"Sure, I guess," she replied nervously. Lilia shivered some as he
slowly slid her robe down from her shoulders. It was partially from the room's
temperature, but mostly due to the fact she'd never felt such a thing before.
She'd died at 14, after all, so she hadn't any experience in sensual contact,
mostly due to her reasonably protective father, Dr. Pascalle. Her 22-year-old
mind was the only thing keeping her from blushing horribly.
"C-Cain?" she asked, as he began to gently massage her neck, slowly
working his way down to her shoulders.
"Yes, Lilia?" he replied, keeping his mind on the massage. He knew
she would need a comfortable sleep for the day awaiting them.
"Have you ever, um… Do you have experience in-"
"Yes, I do… but no good experience." He became silent as he worked on
her shoulders.
"What do you mean?" she asked, realizing how intrusive she was being.
"Sorry, if you don't want to talk about it, that's ok…"
"I've had some fun in my past… but they always leave me when they find out
what I am… I've been hurt so much in these few years I've had to myself…
Romance is a bitch with no mercy for the weak…"
He accidentally gave a rough rub as his emotions took hold of his body for a
split-second, before he realized his error and gently rubbed down her shoulders
some, trying to ease her mind as he'd no doubt disturbed her with his words.
"I wouldn't hurt you, Cain…" she soon realized what she was saying.
"I mean, we were to ever start a relationship-" she stopped herself
as soon as she realized how badly she was blushing. She'd put herself in quite
a spot with those last two sentences. Feeling somewhat lightheaded, she
helplessly leaned back into Cain, who had by now solved her muscle dilemma.
The two just sat there, Lilia laying back into Cain, as he was the only thing
holding her up. She shivered a little, and Cain pulled her robe back up over
her shoulders, still proving himself as her human chair-back. "Lilia, I…"
"Yes, Cain?" she hastily responded, wondering if he would say what
she wanted to hear from him. Her mind raced, before he spoke.
"This is a vicious world, Lilia… what if one of us doesn't survive
tomorrow's war? If one survived, they would live without the other… If we
started anything now, then we'd have our hopes up for nothing…"
Lilia felt broken as she laid back into him, her body wilted against his. Her
mind raced with mixed emotions. She wanted to hate him for what he'd just said,
but she couldn't, as those thoughts were countered with feelings of love for
the poor Galerian. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't… not in front of Cain,
she didn't want to look weak in front of him. Just then she heard his voice in
her mind again.
:Lilia…:
:Cain…: She had done it. Her Galerian powers were beginning to surface; she had
mind-spoken to him in return.
:Cry… It doesn't make you weak. You can't get the good sleep you need in your
condition. Just cry… I'll hold you.:
:…You will?:
:That's what friends are for.:
:Cain… Us… Friends?:
:I'd like to think so… Please, Lilia… One should not hold back their feelings.:
She could shroud her emotions no longer. A single tear fell from her eye,
followed by one from her other… and another. Soon tears ran down her face and
onto the surface of her robe, shining on its fleece surface.
Cain kept one hand on her shoulder, gently stroking down her arm, as he put his
other arm around her waist. His own feelings for her were beginning to surface
as well, but it didn't matter much now. Lilia was starting to doze off, the
flow of tears slowing to a stop. She managed to get one somewhat slurred
sentence out before falling to a deep and peaceful slumber.
"I wanna be with you, Cain…"
Careful not wake her, he sat still, holding her gently. He dared not move, for
if he did, he would awaken her, and lose the most precious sight in all his
tragic life: Lilia, laying there with her back against him, sound asleep. He
was used to not getting any sleep, and due to his Galerian genetics, he could
afford to do so, though sleep was a nice luxury every now and then. She did
give an occasional snore, but he didn't care. He didn't want to wake the
sleeping angel before him. He sat there all night, keeping himself awake so he
could support her. Tomorrow would hold the fate of mankind, be it victory or
defeat. If they survived the battle and made it to the 28th floor, then and
only then would the human race be safe from a Galerian doom.
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