Kings Row was gone. No buildings were left standing, flames had done further damage, and the Rikti Monkeys had done a wonderful job of killing off any
survivors.
In the shadows of the shattered War Walls, a platoon of Lost marched through. Once upon a time, they'd worn trash cans and road signs as armour. Now,
they were draped in body armour taken from a former police station, defiled with Rikti symbols, and even the lowest Scrounger carried a rifle. With a fanatical
devotion and disturbing training, these traitors were searching for anything that might help their masters. Information, supplies, slaves.
On this patrol, they had little expectation of any real success. The last time anyone found anything of use in the Row was the fusion generators buried
under Freedom Plaza, and that was six months ago. Still, when the Magus commanded, the Lost obeyed, perhaps more than any other Rikti commander. After all,
they were the Elite... and they'd all begun as a Lost.
They stopped suddenly, the robed Prelate at the front of the platoon held up a clawed hand, then gestured to a pile of garbage cans and boxes. Two of the
Lost obeyed, moving towards the rubble. There was a slight shift in the mess, then a terrified shriek as the Lost Headman reached into the rubble and pulled
out a tiny, white and purple fur coated figure in ragged clothes. "Damn," the Headman chuckled. "I thought the masters killed off all the
catgirls." With that, he turned and held up the kitten to the others, drawing amused laughter and terrified whimpers from the girl.
"I say we keep her," One of the Mutates snickered. "She's too scrawny to be good for anything else."
The Headman laughed, shaking the girl. "What do you say boss?" he called out to the Prelate. "You think the masters will want this-" His
sentence was cut short as, with a panicked scream, a bolt of purple energy rippled out of the girls forehead and launched into his. Roaring in pain, he dropped
the girl, who bolted towards an alleyway with a panicked mew.
She made it five steps before the Prelate raised its hand and an invisible force picked the girl up and threw her at a wall. She bounced off the wall,
landed on the ground and didn't move.
"Owww... the fuck was that?" the Headman groaned, still clutching at his forehead.
"A Psychic Dart," the Prelate replied, stepping forward and examining the girl. With a mental command, she was lifted off the ground and displayed
in front of him. "She is not just a catgirl, but a telepath... with the feel of magic," he noted, head twitching to the side slightly. He smiled, the
sharp, unnatural teeth visible even inside the dark hood. "The masters: Interested study: This girl," he said. "Bring her."
***
She woke slowly, reluctantly. That was wrong, not like her. Being unable to wake instantly would get you killed, especially now, when the 'Rick-tey'
were breaking everything. Miss Samantha had taught her that a long time ago. The monsters would appear out of nowhere and burn everything, and being good at
not being noticed wouldn't help if the building you were hiding in burnt down.
Still, it took time to realise that and force herself to open her eyes, and even then she couldn't seem to worry about it. She knew it was important,
but her mind couldn't seem to pass the message on. With an odd sense of curiosity, she squirmed on the rather comfortable surface she was lying on, and
realised that her hands and legs were locked in place. That broke through the confusion slightly and let worry set in as she looked around.
The room was like nothing she'd ever seen. Gleaming angles and strange pillars, and a floating desk that seemed to have images floating in the air above
it. The catgirl frowned, wondering what it was. She'd never seen anything like it, even before the monsters had come back.
Closing her eyes, she tried to listen for the not-sounds. The strange words and voices that no one else could hear, that she hadn't told anyone else of,
even Miss Samantha after she'd turned into a catgirl one morning, just like the older girl. She could hear voices, muffled, like on the other side of the
wall. They sounded a little bit like the Lost jerks that were always around, stealing things she'd found.
Then the door opened and terror cut through the girls heart, washing away the dull fog that had settled over her mind. One of the monsters was there!
Gigantic, wearing odd, red and gold armour, and with the strangest face she'd ever seen.
The creature stepped in, door sliding shut behind it, then turned to look at her. Silently, it walked towards her, seemingly ignoring the way the girl
struggled to get away from the giant scary thing that blew up the world... Then it knelt down and removed her restraints gently.
"Fear: Unnecessary," it said in a bland, almost mechanical voice, but the girl could almost hear a second voice, this one softer, caring,
repeating the words. "This place: You: Safe."
Blinking, the girl sat up and rubbed at her wrists, looking up at the alien. "Restraints: Personal safety," It tilted its head to the side and
added, "Otherwise: Attempt Pointless Escape."
There was an odd tone of... amusement... in the second voice, as the girl wondered why it would be pointless.
"Location: Underground: Facility. Soldier Numbers: High. Also: Unnecessary," she added. "Rikti Intentions: No Harm."
They were just words, nothing more... but the girl believed her. She sat there, looking at the mons- the Rikti, then realised that her clothes had been
removed while she slept (Although clothes really was too kind a word for those rags).
"Garments: Unnecessary. Besides: Fur Coating: Covers All." There was an almost teasing smile, and the kitten got the impression that the Rikti
found the whole clothing thing rather odd. The girl mewed slightly, the best kind of laugh she could manage these days. "Query: Name?"
That made her pause. She thought for a moment, remembered the name Miss Samantha had given her, and tried to speak. Instead of what she was trying for,
what she got was a simple mew. She'd gone so long hiding from everyone that she couldn't even manage a simple word. The realisation made her face burn
with shame.
In response, the Riki knelt down even further, matching her eye level with the girls. For a moment, the kitten had an odd tingle in her mind, like a hand
was brushing over her hair. "Elise," she said softly. Elise nodded, still looking rather embarrassed at her weakness, then made a curious noise.
"Designation: Self?" she asked, drawing an eager nod. "Myrtir. Myrtir W'tin."
***
survivors.
In the shadows of the shattered War Walls, a platoon of Lost marched through. Once upon a time, they'd worn trash cans and road signs as armour. Now,
they were draped in body armour taken from a former police station, defiled with Rikti symbols, and even the lowest Scrounger carried a rifle. With a fanatical
devotion and disturbing training, these traitors were searching for anything that might help their masters. Information, supplies, slaves.
On this patrol, they had little expectation of any real success. The last time anyone found anything of use in the Row was the fusion generators buried
under Freedom Plaza, and that was six months ago. Still, when the Magus commanded, the Lost obeyed, perhaps more than any other Rikti commander. After all,
they were the Elite... and they'd all begun as a Lost.
They stopped suddenly, the robed Prelate at the front of the platoon held up a clawed hand, then gestured to a pile of garbage cans and boxes. Two of the
Lost obeyed, moving towards the rubble. There was a slight shift in the mess, then a terrified shriek as the Lost Headman reached into the rubble and pulled
out a tiny, white and purple fur coated figure in ragged clothes. "Damn," the Headman chuckled. "I thought the masters killed off all the
catgirls." With that, he turned and held up the kitten to the others, drawing amused laughter and terrified whimpers from the girl.
"I say we keep her," One of the Mutates snickered. "She's too scrawny to be good for anything else."
The Headman laughed, shaking the girl. "What do you say boss?" he called out to the Prelate. "You think the masters will want this-" His
sentence was cut short as, with a panicked scream, a bolt of purple energy rippled out of the girls forehead and launched into his. Roaring in pain, he dropped
the girl, who bolted towards an alleyway with a panicked mew.
She made it five steps before the Prelate raised its hand and an invisible force picked the girl up and threw her at a wall. She bounced off the wall,
landed on the ground and didn't move.
"Owww... the fuck was that?" the Headman groaned, still clutching at his forehead.
"A Psychic Dart," the Prelate replied, stepping forward and examining the girl. With a mental command, she was lifted off the ground and displayed
in front of him. "She is not just a catgirl, but a telepath... with the feel of magic," he noted, head twitching to the side slightly. He smiled, the
sharp, unnatural teeth visible even inside the dark hood. "The masters: Interested study: This girl," he said. "Bring her."
***
She woke slowly, reluctantly. That was wrong, not like her. Being unable to wake instantly would get you killed, especially now, when the 'Rick-tey'
were breaking everything. Miss Samantha had taught her that a long time ago. The monsters would appear out of nowhere and burn everything, and being good at
not being noticed wouldn't help if the building you were hiding in burnt down.
Still, it took time to realise that and force herself to open her eyes, and even then she couldn't seem to worry about it. She knew it was important,
but her mind couldn't seem to pass the message on. With an odd sense of curiosity, she squirmed on the rather comfortable surface she was lying on, and
realised that her hands and legs were locked in place. That broke through the confusion slightly and let worry set in as she looked around.
The room was like nothing she'd ever seen. Gleaming angles and strange pillars, and a floating desk that seemed to have images floating in the air above
it. The catgirl frowned, wondering what it was. She'd never seen anything like it, even before the monsters had come back.
Closing her eyes, she tried to listen for the not-sounds. The strange words and voices that no one else could hear, that she hadn't told anyone else of,
even Miss Samantha after she'd turned into a catgirl one morning, just like the older girl. She could hear voices, muffled, like on the other side of the
wall. They sounded a little bit like the Lost jerks that were always around, stealing things she'd found.
Then the door opened and terror cut through the girls heart, washing away the dull fog that had settled over her mind. One of the monsters was there!
Gigantic, wearing odd, red and gold armour, and with the strangest face she'd ever seen.
The creature stepped in, door sliding shut behind it, then turned to look at her. Silently, it walked towards her, seemingly ignoring the way the girl
struggled to get away from the giant scary thing that blew up the world... Then it knelt down and removed her restraints gently.
"Fear: Unnecessary," it said in a bland, almost mechanical voice, but the girl could almost hear a second voice, this one softer, caring,
repeating the words. "This place: You: Safe."
Blinking, the girl sat up and rubbed at her wrists, looking up at the alien. "Restraints: Personal safety," It tilted its head to the side and
added, "Otherwise: Attempt Pointless Escape."
There was an odd tone of... amusement... in the second voice, as the girl wondered why it would be pointless.
"Location: Underground: Facility. Soldier Numbers: High. Also: Unnecessary," she added. "Rikti Intentions: No Harm."
They were just words, nothing more... but the girl believed her. She sat there, looking at the mons- the Rikti, then realised that her clothes had been
removed while she slept (Although clothes really was too kind a word for those rags).
"Garments: Unnecessary. Besides: Fur Coating: Covers All." There was an almost teasing smile, and the kitten got the impression that the Rikti
found the whole clothing thing rather odd. The girl mewed slightly, the best kind of laugh she could manage these days. "Query: Name?"
That made her pause. She thought for a moment, remembered the name Miss Samantha had given her, and tried to speak. Instead of what she was trying for,
what she got was a simple mew. She'd gone so long hiding from everyone that she couldn't even manage a simple word. The realisation made her face burn
with shame.
In response, the Riki knelt down even further, matching her eye level with the girls. For a moment, the kitten had an odd tingle in her mind, like a hand
was brushing over her hair. "Elise," she said softly. Elise nodded, still looking rather embarrassed at her weakness, then made a curious noise.
"Designation: Self?" she asked, drawing an eager nod. "Myrtir. Myrtir W'tin."
***