Chapter 45: The One You Must Find
You must find the Beast.
Only then can you have access to the kept one.
"...beast?"
This time, he couldn’t get up.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
...
"...ugh..."
"Look, he’s coming to!"
"He’s just stirring in his sleep. Let him rest and get down."
"No! You get down!"
"I swear I just saw his eyes move!"
Two voices bickered with each other.
Why were their voices so close?
And why was it so hot?
K turned but was stopped as his shoulder met soft warm flesh.
"...?"
"I told you he was awake!"
His eyes fluttered open.
The bright fluorescent lights hung above him sent him squinting and fighting the water gathering in his eyes.
"K... how do you feel?"
His ears rung from how close the voice was.
"Iniko?"
"Yes!"
The bed dipped and shook.
"How do you feel now?"
"...good, I guess."
The pain in his chest was gone and his eyes no longer felt like they were being swirled in oil.
"T-that’s good."
Lex’s voice rang out next to him.
K turned to find himself sandwiched between both women.
Iniko was all smiles... and buck naked.
Lex, however, was in a camisole and shorts.
Her bandaged arm held carefully in front of her.
"So... um..." Her cheeks flamed so brightly, K feared the color might seep out of her cheeks and stain the white bedding.
"Y-your temperature kept dropping and... Iniko suggested w-w-we do t-this..."
"Lex..."
"Y-yeah?"
"There are heating blankets..."
The redhead burned a deeper shade. "S-shut up!"
"On the bright side, K is awake! And that’s all that matters!"
Iniko pressed into K, her arms wrapping around him in a hug. The man stiffened as something poked his arm but he chose to ignore it.
He pulled the thin ’hospital’ sheets off them and hopped out.
Of course...
He was naked too.
He looked back at Iniko.
Back in the ship he had seen a huge gash on her thigh, how could she still move around with such an injury?
"K?"
He rounded the bed to Lex’s side and pulled her to sit up.
"Let me look at your hand."
Several healing patches lined her arm before being wrapped in cast like bandages. A few scratches lined her chest and face but she was fine overall and they were already healing.
"I’m fine... really."
He nodded and walked over to Iniko.
The obsidian woman’s Efun glowed as she parted her legs for K to inspect it.
"Please put on some clothes..." he groaned and pressed at the healing patches placed around the healing gash.
"You won’t believe it, her skin is so tough that the surgeon broke several surgical needles while trying to stitch her wound!"
Lex crawled towards them.
K quickly turned away and stood up. "Is that so?"
"Yes and also we got assigned replacements for Steel and Gusto."
"..."
"You don’t have to feel bad about missing their farewell ceremony at the ring."
"I did not get the chance to properly mourn my comrades."
"There were pressing matters at hand."
"Even so, that’s not enough an excuse."
"...I know, just don’t beat yourself too much about it. I’m sure they’d understand too."
"...who are the newcomers?"
"They’d be here any minute, Finch said he’d send them over once you’ve woken up."
"Better call him to let him know I am awake."
"We can always go to Training grounds to see them."
"...that too."
The ward doors slid open and two armored figures marched in.
Their helmets hissed as they popped it open and propped it next to their side.
"B-1–6-1, Bear at your service!"
The first guy was an albino with eyes that refused to stay still and an accent that borderlined Scottish and American.
"V-6-6-8, Vlad at your service!" The second guy looked like sleep was his enemy, dark circles lined the under of his eyes and his Russian tone came out heavy.
"Are other kinds always this huge?"
The newcomers turned to Iniko whose eyes seemed to erupt fireworks as she stared curiously at them, their stiff positions stiffened even more as they spotted Lex.
"C-commander..."
Bear’s cheeks flared as his eyes darted between the trio before settling on Vlad.
"He’s packing..."
The two nodded at each other then simultaneously saluted K,
"Big boss! Teach us your ways!"
"Huh?"
...
..
.
The ward erupted in chaos as Lex scolded the newcomers for assuming ’inappropriately’ and put them in timeout.
K thought it was unnecessary but he wasn’t in the mood to argue with her.
He had more pressing matters.
The Beast.
Shira glided next to him, her hair swirling around her like live appendages.
"Where do I find this beast guy?"
Qashka.
He bent around a corner, heading back to Thira’s lab.
"That’s the problem we don’t know where Qashka is..."
I do... or rather I did but it seems my brothers have done something to shut me out. I can’t locate my people’s planet.
"You said you’d tell me everything."
I am telling you everything...everything I know. My memory is faint as well.
It’s quite amusing I must say.
"Brothers?"
My fellow gods...
"Why would they shut you out?"
Spending centuries imprisoned has done quite a number to my memory.
I must get to my planet... then I’d know why.
"...there’s one person I know that should know about the planet’s location."
Who would that be?
"The Admiral... or Kagu."
Hm.
The doors to Thira’s office hissed open.
Kagu shot out of her digital seat and hopped to another outlet close to where K stood.
"Are you alright?"
"English..."
She swallowed and shrunk into herself.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes."
"You collapsed all of a sudden, would you like me to examine your vitals?"
"No. There’s no need for that."
"Oh...okay."
"..."
"I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up. Bak has specialized technicians assigned to the lab to keep me on lockdown so I can’t move around. House arrest, am I right?" She let out a strained chuckle.
"You’re apologizing for the wrong thing."
"W-what? I—"
"It doesn’t matter now. It’s too late for that."
"K... please..."
"Where is Qashka?"