Chapter 6
Kevin turned his yellow eyes up at the ceiling of the basement, hearing faint voices from the living room. He lowered the small weights he had been working out with, grabbing a towel from nearby to wipe away the sweat from his workout. The voices fom above were getting louder and higher pitched. Beneath his mask Kevin raised an eyebrow. What was going on up there? Heading up the basement staircase, Kevin pulled open the door and was greeted with an unusual scene. The Mask family servants were in chaos, and in the middle of it all was his father. Robin was cradling a young caucasian man with white hair, and Kevin's breath suddenly caught in his chest when he saw the marks on the man's face. Those long bloody marks... "Warsman." Kevin spoke the name of his former teacher before he even realised he had spoken.
Robin glanced at his son, and the unknown man finally turned his own eyes on the young Brit Chojin. His eyes widened slightly but Kevin took no notice, instead grabbing Robin's arm harshly, "Warsman, where's Warsman?!"
"Kevin please-" Robin tried to speak, but Kevin had already turned away, grabbing his trench coat from the hook and heading out the front door to find his trainer, his yellow eyes narrowed in determination. The young man ran out after him, "Kevin Mask, Warsman attacked your father." the man spoke in a thick Russian accent, Kevin turned towards him, and the young man stared back at the Brit. "...Who are you?" Kevin asked, staring at the young Russian man. It had began to rain in the dark night, but neither man cared.
"My name is Ilioukhine, and destiny has bought me here to you Kevin Mask." Kevin laughed, "Destiny? There's no such thing." he turned away from Ilioukhine, "You have no business here, return to where you came." Ilioukhine smiled a little, "I cannot. You see, I don't know where I came from."
"So you have amnesia? I don't see why that's my concern." Kevin snorted, crossing his arms, "I am training for the next Chojin Crown, I neither have the time, nor would I want to help you in your little quest." Ilioukhine smiled softly, "You presume I want your help?" he quizzed. "Then what DO you want?" Kevin snapped, feeling incredibly irritated by the other man's presence.
"There is something ccoming..." Ilioukhine said softly, looking up into the night sky as heavy rain pattered onto his face, his clothes drenched, "Those two Chojins who hijacked the plane... Warsman suddenly appearing and trying to attack your father... and I can't help but feel that this is only the beginning." Ilioukhine closed his eyes, "There's something out there... something more fierce then all of this, a dark time is steadily approaching, for Chojins and people alike."
He's mad. Despite himself, Kevin felt a pang of sympathy for the young Russian. Perhaps losing his memory had made him lose his sanity as well. "And destiny needs me to play a part in all this," Ilioukhine looked back at Kevin's yellow optics, "that is the only reason I could have been able to survive a fall from an airborne plane." What?! Kevin's optics widened, "YOU were the other Chojin who helped Kid Muscle!" it wasn't a question. The man nodded, "Yes. If its anything, I at least know I am a Chojin, and that means I must help anyway I can."
---
The old legend was thrown against the wall, looking up at the two Chojins that had caught him. The younger of the two grinned and looked at his brother, "And to think, had that crazy bastard hadn't pushed me off the plane, I would have never found this one." Zag didn't look back at his younger sibling, instead looking down at the legend they had captured, "Huh, it seems all the Seigi Chojins are being drawn to England, perhaps they're having a meeting?" he slammed his foot down on the old legend who winced and gritted his teeth. "Well Ramenman?"
The Chinise Chojin smirked, keeping silent and Zag laughed, "Resilient to the end, we were warned about you legends... ah... quirks." Zig grinned, "We couldn't retrieve the Chojin Crown champion, but lets go back with this one huh bro? Maybe he'll be enough to satiate Adrik for now."
"Well he's all we got." Zag murmured, eyeing the legend, "We'll have to come back for Kid Muscle another day. Adrik won't punish us like he does the others who work for him, since we're the only Chojins who will work for his organisation." he smirked, "And he knows he'll never be able to fulfil his plan without us."
"What do you want with Mantaro?" Ramenman finally snapped, glaring at the two. He had taught the prince early on, and was protective of the young Kinniku. Zig laughed, "Should we tell him bro?" Zag looked at the legend, amused, "Hm, why not. Its not like he'll get the chance to tell anyone."
---
Kevin sat at one side of the large dining table, Ilioukhine at the other, and Robin at the head of it. Ilioukhine was having his cheek bandaged by one of the Mask family servants. Kevin sipped at a cup of tea through a straw, his yellow optics on the young Russian. This was insane. The man was so small, thin and pale. He couldn't... possibly be a Chojin. And Kid Muscle had said in one of those interviews he had given that this Chojin had beaten one of those two evil Chojin brothers in such a short time as well... it seemed impossible.
Once the young man was fully bandaged, Robin turned towards him, "Ilioukhine?"
"Da Sir Mask?"
"Those two Chojins... Zig and Zag, did they mention anything? Where they were from, if they were part of the dMp, what they wanted?"
Kevin snorted, "I never heard of a 'Zig' and 'Zag' when I was in the dMp, and hearing what their attire were like, I'm pretty sure I would have if they had been there."
"No... I'm afraid not, they just wanted to fight the prince."
"And what happened once you intervened? Did they argue against it?"
"No... but I'm guessing that's because they thought I wansn't a Chojin early on and thought I would be a push over." Kevin watched as the young man grinned a little, and had an odd sense of deja vu. The British Chojin tried to remember, but couldn't fully recall the memory of that grin. Where had he seen that arrogant smile before...?
An urgent knock at the door brought Kevin back to what was happening, and he noticed his father looking at him quizically, had the older Brit saw him staring at the Russian? Robin stood up, his cloak billowing past him as he went to answer the door.
"King Muscle?" came the older Chojin's amazed voice from the hallway, "What are you doing here?" Kevin and Ilioukhine looked at each other, unable to hide the surprise in their eyes, even Kevin. Just what was happening around here?
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Chapter 7
Mantaro had been so surprised when he first saw his father the day after he had given his interview to the BBC news reporters. "So what are you doing here dad?" Mantaro asked as he and his father walked though the streets of London. Suguru looked worriedly at his son, "First things first, why do you think you're here, Mantaro?" The prince shrugged, "How should I know? Meat just suddenly packed up my bags and said we were coming here to England."
"Ah here we are." Suguru stopped in front of a large house and Mantaro picked at his nose absentmindedly, "What is this place?" Suguru knocked at the door and a few moments later it was answered by Robin Mask.
"King Muscle? What are you doing here?" the elder Mask asked surprised. "Whaat?" Mantaro looked in between his father and Robin, confused. "I'm really sorry about this Robin." Suguru apologised, looking worried, "Can we please come in? I'll explain all in due time..."
"Of course Kinnikuman." Robin stepped out of the way and Suguru stepped into the house, "Well this place is nice." Mantaro crossed his arms over his head as he walked in beside his father, "But it's nothing like the palace." Mantaro turned towards the dining room, shrieking slightly when he noticed Kevin Mask, his arms crossed and glaring at the young Kinniku prince, "Hello Kid Muscle."
"Ahh its Kevin!" Mantaro cried and ducked behind his father, "Uh... hello Kevin!" he said nervously. Meat's eyes lit up when he saw the young man sitting alongside Kevin on the table, "Mister! You survived!" the white haired man smiled, "Da, nice to see you again." Mantaro took a peek at the white haired man, "Hey, how did you survive the fall?" he asked, surprised.
Ilioukhine laughed, "Perhaps I flew?" as he spoke that, a memory came back to him. Everything looked so small to him as he glided though the beautfiul open blue sky. He felt... so free. It was a wonderful feeling after being kept up for so long... Ilioukhine's hand closed around the mug in his hand, cracks appearing near the top and he closed his eyes desperately. He'd wanted to know about his past... but with this latest flash... perhaps things could be best forgotten...
The sound of the young boy's voice snapped him back to reality, "What... happened to your face...?" the boy asked looking at the bandages on Ilioukhine's cheek. "Oh... nothing, its alright." he smiled down at the attendent. There was something... very familiar about this boy... about all these people...
---
Ramenman was hurled to the floor, hissing with pain. He had not fought all the way. What little the two brothers had told him had sparked his curiosity, and even though he might regret what he was about to see, he had to know. Just what were these men planning. Gazing up, he saw the bald middle aged man looking down at him through a pair of thin glasses. This must be him then, the legend thought. Adrik; the man behind all of this.
The man tilted his glasses slightly, looking down at Ramenman, "...This is starting to get tiresome."
"This one got in our way, like that other one!" Adrik span his chair around, typing on the computer in front of him before turning back. "Yet another legend. How foolish. We were going to go after them after we got the Chojin Crown champion, but they keep coming to us!"
"Why Mantaro?" Ramenman glared at the scientist. Adrik glanced sideways at the Chojin, "He's the Chojin Crown champion, why else?" There was a clunking metal noise in the distance that was becoming louder, and the two brothers turned to each other, grinning under their masks. Adrik smiled widely, "Ramenman, you too have a purpose in all this, don't worry." the man smirked, "Your life won't be wasted."
Ramenman looked up to see a shadow on the wall. Adrik was His eyes widened, "No... it can't be..." the scientist looked tiny compared compared to the shadow... shaking slightly, Ramenman turned to face the newcomer and he unconsciously backed away as he saw the creature, "You fools..." he said softly, the legend couldn't bring himself to speak louder, "What have you done?" Adrik smiled widely as the monster descended upon Ramenman, "We are making history."
---
"Whaaaaat?!" Mantaro cried as he looked at his father, terror in his face, "There are people after me?!" Suguru rested his chin on his hands and nodded solemnly, "Those two Chojins on the plane, I'm positive they were sent by the organisation trying to capture you."
"Then I am so outta here!" Meat grabbed the Kinniku prince before he could run, "Oh no, you're staying here." Mantaro whimpered inaudibly, "But why do they want... little old me?" he said with large sparkly eyes, trying to be cute and failing miserably. Kevin slapped his hand over his face, not wanting to watch the Kinniku prince made an even more fool of himself then he already was. "Why else Nisei?" Meat spoke up, "Because of the Chojin Crown."
"That stupid thing? I'd rather be a nobody then a winner who's getting hunted by psychos!" Mantaro rummaged in his bag, pulling out the championship Belt he had won, "If having this stupid thing is giving me trouble, then forget it! I can't even pick up girls with this!" he turned to the young Brit Chojin, "Here Kevin! You wanted this thing more then I really did, you can have it!"
"NISEI!" Meat was appalled, as was Suguru, "MANTARO WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the King yelled, "You cannot just give that away! Its regognition of your achievements!"
Kevin looked up at Mantaro, who grinned, offering the belt to him. Kevin chuckled, reaching out a little way, before tightening his fist and punching the prince hard in the gut. Mantaro coughed and collapsed, the belt falling to the ground. Robin didn't flinch as he watched his son punch his rival, Ilioukhine watched nervously, and the small trainer rushed over to help the young Kinniku while Suguru just sat there, not reacting at all.
"Itai...!" Mantaro cried, his hands covering the place where he had been punched. Kevin crossed his arms, looking down at the prince squirming with pain on the floor. "What did you do that for?! I was going to give it to you!" he noticed the young Russian and quickly ran over to him, "Kevin's crazy, here! You can have it, please, just get it away from me!"
Ilioukhine turned away from the pleading Kinniku, "Mantaro... that belt may be your prize for winning the tournament, but its not the reason they are after you. Even if someone takes it from you, they will still come after you." he turned to the now whimpering Kinniku prince, "They are after you because, as the winner, you are seen as the strongest Chojin on Earth. It is a burden all the previous winners have had to face, including your father."
"But, I...!" Mantaro begged, looking back to his father, then at Meat, at Kevin who was still glaring at him, before turning back to Ilioukhine, "I never wanted this!"
"Regardless, it is happening." Ilioukhine looked up at the chandelier on the ceiling, "And just handing over that belt like that would be an insult to your matches, to Kevin, to the other Chojins who competed, and to the entire history of the Chojin Crown." Kevin looked at the Russian. The way he spoke... it had seemed as like he was speaking from the viewpoint of a Chojin Crown participant...
Robin stood up from the table, bringing all the other Chojin's attentions back to him, "Its late, I think we should all get some rest, and try to figure out what we should do tomorrow." Mantaro whimpered, "Yeah, sleep is good." and thud his face down onto the large table, "I just wanna forget all this."
Kevin uncrossed his arms, heading downstairs to the basement to do some training now that the 'excitement' was over. Robin watched Kevin leave out of the corner of his eye then turned to the four guests, "My servants will lead you to the spare rooms upstairs. While you're here, you're more then welcome to help yourself to the kitchen and pantry." Mantaro perked up, "Food?" and Suguru laughed, "Thank you Robin."
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Chapter 8
Breathing heavily, the young Mask heir lay down exhausted from the night's training. He had pushed himself even further tonight then usual. Maybe it was the stress of having that idiot prince and the others around. Even down here in his training room, he couldn't escape the loud Kinniku. He could still hear Mantaro whining away upstairs. Kevin sat up, wiping his neck, before putting away his equipment. Heading into the main hall stairs, he heard the Kinniku prince start off into another 'Cow and Rice' song.
Resisting the urge to go and punch the prince again, Kevin headed up the stairs towards the bathroom. He rubbed his forehead through the slits in his mask. What a day... his father getting attacked, meeting a young Russian with amnesia, and then the person he especially didn't want to see so shortly after the Chojin Crown turning up with his father right on their doorstep. People were after Mantaro... and for some reason he couldn't shake this feeling that King Muscle had been keeping something back...
Stepping into the shower and switching it on, Kevin closed his eyes as the water trickled down his tired body. The life of a Chojin... he couldn't help but wonder... exactly what else was going to happen? And what was Ilioukhine's purpose in all this...?
---
Adrik watched gleefully, his hands clasped together, as his creature easily did away with the old legend, Ramenman's body hurled into the wall after it had finished with it. Zag watched with pure unadulterated fascination. The two had known about Adrik's project for a while now, of course, but this was the first time they had seen the creature in action. He was everything Zag had thought he would be.
"Excellent!" Adrik called, smiling widely, "You really are superb, my greatest creation." The younger brother, Zig walked towards the old Chojin's body, "Yeah, he just beat an old fossil, its going to be a lot different when he faces one of the younger Chojins." Zig reached to kick out at the legend's fallen body, but was suddenly grabbed by the arm. "Alright, who-" Zig turned to face who had grabbed him and his eyes widened in surprise behind his face mask. It was a the creature who had just killed Ramenman. The monster spoke for the first time since entering the room, "Chojins will be given honor in death, you shall not touch him."
Zig tensed, looking the creature into its blood red eyes, "L... let go, alright? I won't touch him." The creature's eyes narrowed, as if looking right into the young Zig's soul, and its grip tightened on the Chojin's arm. "Il blesse! L'arręter!!" Zig shrieked out, looking towards his brother, "Besra, aide!" Zag turned to Adrik angrily, "Make him stop now!" Adrik turned to his creation, "Stop that now!" he commanded, "I did not order you to attack anyone else but the legend!"
The creature released Zig who whimpered and cradled his now bruised arm to his chest. Adrik turned to the woman beside him, "Mavra, take him back to his quarters." Mavra nodded, "Let's go." the monster obediently followed Mavra out of the room, and Adrik turned to his two employees. "How interesting, I didn't know you two knew French, you don't have an accent."
The sibling Chojins glanced at each other, "Quite frankly Adrik, I don't see why its any of your business." the scientist chuckled, "Of course... how rude of me. And besides, don't you two still have a job to do for me?"
---
Ilioukhine had found early on that he just could not get to sleep. It had stopped raining and the British weather was actually quiet pleasant now, not cold, yet not blistering hot, but still even in this perfect temperature the Russian found he just couldn't drop off. His thoughts had drifted off to his latest flash of his past... he had been flying through the sky. Why? And how? People couldn't fly.
Walking though the halls of the large house, Ilioukhine moved his hands to the shirt, where the hidden metal plates lay underneath. Then again... he was no normal person. He wasn't even sure if he was a normal Chojin. Ilioukhine wasn't sure of anything. Everything had felt so much simpler when he was back in hospital... walking out over the third floor balcony, Ilioukhine glanced down into the practically deserted streets of London. This place was so nice... Ilioukhine closed his eyes, leaning down on the balcony wall.
"You're awake." a voice? Ilioukhine opened his eyes, but he was no longer on the balcony. He was in some sort of room. But it had no windows, almost no light except for a bulb in the room's ceiling. The room was so dark and cold, and Ilioukhine's eyes struggled to get used to the weak lighting, "Where... am I?" he turned to the person who spoke and saw a young boy with blonde hair and the most unusual bright yellow eyes. The boy smiled, but it was an odd smile, not happy at all, "They put us in together. I didn't know they had anyone else locked up in here." Ilioukhine looked at the boy, "Who are you?" he struggled to keep his eyes open, "They call me Kogane." the boy smiled again and a chill went down Ilioukhine's spine. But he just couldn't keep his eyes open...
Ilioukhine jolted up suddenly. He was back on the balcony. He had dozed off. Had that... been a dream... or a flash? He struggled to remember the boy... just who had that been? "Can't sleep?" came a voice and Ilioukhine turned around to see the younger Mask family member.
Ilioukhine smiled sadly at the British Chojin, "It is hard to rest when you do not even know the simplest of things about yourself." In a rare bout of relaxation, Kevin leaned on the balcony beside the Russian. "That Kinniku is keeping me awake." Ilioukhine laughed, "He is certainly a character, da?" Kevin looked out at the streets of London, his yellow optics gleaming. Ilioukhine tore his own gaze away from the other Chojin. "This is a beautiful city." he said softly, "The first thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed in Tokyo." there was another small silence, before Kevin finally broke it.
"Ilioukhine?" the Russian looked over at the Brit surprised that he had been called by his name, "Da Kevin Mask?" Kevin glanced at him, turning around so he was leaning his back against the balcony wall, "Why did you come here? Here specifically." Ilioukine gave a weak smile, "You will think I am mad." and Kevin laughed at that, "I already think you're mad." Despite the slight twinge of annoyance, Ilioukhine chuckled, "Alright..." he looked into the night sky, "I had a vision of you." Behind his mask, Kevin's eyebrows flew up. "A vision?" This Russian was beyond mad, he was insane. Ilioukhine smiled, "Da."
Kevin breathed deeply, "Ilioukhine-" he was cut of suddenly as a sudden explosion rocked the house, sending shockwaves through it. Kevin hung onto the balcony, but Ilioukhine was thrown back. Ilioukhine's sanity quickly became less important on Kevin's list, "What was that?!" he turned to the fallen Russian and his optics widened slightly. Ilioukhine's shirt sleeves had ruffled slightly and he could see metal plates sticking to the other Chojin's skin. Ilioukhine moved to cover the plates, but Kevin had already seen enough. The awkwardness of the moment was cut when a hysterical scream came from downstairs. Kid Muscle.
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Chapter 9
"Wh-what's happening?" Suguru and Robin were thrown backwards as a second explosion rocked the house. "This is crazy!" Robin swore as he fell backwards again, while trying to stand, and Kevin ran towards them, Ilioukhine shortly behind him. "King Muscle, your son!" Ilioukhine cried and the King turned pale, "Oh no... Mantaro." he tried to head out of the room, but a third explosion rocked the house, sending him flying forward. Ilioukhine yelled as he lost balance and was thrown into Kevin, sending them both tumbling to the ground, "Get up!" yelled the Brit, "We have to get downstairs, who knows what that idiot's gotten himself into."
"S-sorry..." Ilioukhine stuttered, standing up and holding onto the wall, desperately keeping his arms covered as he tried to move slowly towards the stairs. Kevin then hurled himself over the stairs, slamming down to the ground below. "Kid Muscle!" Suguru yelled over the top of the stairs, "Mantaro! Where are you?"
"GET IN HERE AND HELP ME!" came Mantaro's hysterical shriek from the main room. Kevin ran in, quickly followed by the two legends, leaving Ilioukhine on his own as the house shook again. The young Russian closed his eyes, his hands moving to the opposite arms, feeling the cold metal plates underneath. Everything was... so chaotic. Why... why was this all happening? "They put us in together. I didn't know they had anyone else locked up in here." Ilioukhine opened his eyes. That boy... who was he? Ilioukhine held the side of his head desperately as he made his way down the rumbling stairs. He had to keep going... he had to keep moving...
As he entered the main room, he finally saw what... or who had been causing the explosions and his eyes widened, "Zig and Zag!" the two Chojins glanced towards him. Zig made a stuttered noise of disbelief while Zag just chuckled, "So, you survived?"
Zig had one arm around the prince's neck, holding him as he struggled, while Kevin was trying to deal with Zag. Ilioukhine noticed that Robin had been knocked out, most likely by falling debris while Suguru had pulled him to a corner, unable to help the two. Mantaro struggled desperately in Zig's grasp, "What do you want with me?!" the Chojin laughed, "Nothing. Its our boss who wants you."
"Then why does your boss want with me?!" the Kinniku screamed, but Zig shrugged, "How should I know? We just do what he wants and get paid." Ilioukhine rushed towards Zig to help the prince and dove down at his feet, tripping him over. The Chojin staggered and lost his grip, the prince running free and hiding behind Ilioukhine. He laughed nervously, "I'd fight... but I just ate you see, and I really can't-"
"Good god, Kevin was right, you are annoying." Ilioukhine glanced back at the prince who patted his back, still laughing nervously, "Go get them!" before running off towards his father and Robin. "Get him Shikra!" Zag yelled, kicking Kevin away to look at his brother, "We cannot fail a third time!" Zig huffed, "Don't worry, I'll get him." the Chojin suddenly seemed to gain much more height, almost towering over the others. Ilioukhine wondered what was happening, then he realised what was happening. Zig was floating in midair. Ilioukhine's eyes widened. How...?
The question was answered for him when Zig threw away his disguise. Wings. Zig had two broad thick wings sticking out of his back. Zag threw away his own costume, revealing that he too had wings. Zig's body was slightly tinted blueish-gray, while Zag's body was a mixture of gold and brown. So that was how the two of them had survived...
Suguru's eyes widened, recognising them, "You two... you're related to Hawkman, aren't you?" the older of the siblings grinned, "Correct." he spoke, "My name is Besra, and my younger brother here is Shikra, and Hawkman is our father." Mantaro hid behind Ilioukhine, "So this is revenge for my dad beating yours?!" Besra laughed, "Don't make it seem as if we think that highly of you Kid Muscle. We just do what our boss tells us. Our father holds no grudge against yours, and neither do we." "Then why-?!"
"We already told you!" Shikra snapped, aggrivated, "Its our job!" Besra flew towards Ilioukhine, "Enough chit-chat, lets do this!" Ilioukhine braced himself, pulling his arms up. As the winged hawk Chojin slammed him, he was thrown backwards, his body slamming into the wall. The force of the slam broke the wall and the Russian was knocked out when some of the rubble fell on the back of his head.
Mantaro screamed hysterically and Kevin span around, noticing the out-cold Russian Chojin in the rubble. He grabbed the crying prince by the scruff of the neck, throwing him towards where Ilioukhine lay, "Try to wake him while I deal with these two!"
Mantaro uneasily approched the rubble, Meat following, "Come on Nisei, we have to free him!" a trickle of blood dropped down from a hole in the rubble and the Kinniku prince whimpered a little, shaking, "Nisei!" Meat yelled, "I'm coming, I'm coming!" and the two started to pull away the rubble surrounding the trapped Russian.
The young Ilioukhine looked out of the ship's window watching as Earth slowly became a dot in the distance. He hadn't even left the laboratory before today, and now he was going all the way to a different planet. He knew it wasn't for his benefit, that the two had only invited him along because they wanted to make it seem as if they were... a normal family out on a family outing. But still... he was really excited about the whole thing. Ilioukhine tried to keep his grin down as he looked up at the two people beside him. Adrik and Mavra looked really funny out of their usual white coats and clothes. He really liked the silly baggy clothing he wearing at the moment, of course, it had to be baggy. They couldn't afford to let anyone see the visible metal plates on the boy's arms and legs. Ilioukhine rocked his legs back and forth. He couldn't wait to go to this new place...
"Hey!" Mantaro yelled into the rubble as the two of them cleared some of it away, "Can you hear me?" Meat turned to the prince, "He's unconscious Nisei, of course he can't hear you." Mantaro whimpered slightly, "I don't know what to do Meat! They're after me, and I don't even know why." Mantaro glanced back at Kevin, who was doing surprisingly well against the two hawk Chojins, not letting either of them get anywhere close to where they were. "And let's just hope you don't find out." Meat said, pulling up another large piece of rubble, "Come on, let's clear the rest of this up."
This planet was so different to Earth... Ilioukhine held onto Mavra's hand as their group walked through the streets. He noticed some of the race's children playing with a ball a short way away and watched them, amused. It almost looked like a game of some sorts... it looked kinda fun... he hoped he could join them later after Mavra and Adrik went off to do their own thing. He felt Mavra tug on his arm urgently. He hadn't noticed he'd been falling behind the group. "Don't fall behind." Mavra hissed in Russian. "Yes ma'am." Ilioukhine held on tightly, walking faster to keep up with the group. He looked up as they entered a large building, and Mavra let go of his hand, speaking quickly in Russian, "Adrik and I have to leave for a bit. Stay here until we call for you boy, if you don't Adrik will be furious and you will be punished once we return to the lab."
Ilioukhine nodded, and the woman Mavra stood up, her and Adrik heading through one of the nearby doors with the rest of the group. Ilioukhine was the only one left in the room, and he moved to sit down in one of the nearby chairs. He closed his eyes, feeling slightly tired after the long ride... "Hey you." the boy eased open his eyes, glancing at the person who had called. Another boy, a little older then himself was by the door. "Not many human children come here, you here with your parents?" the boy asked curiously.
For a moment, Ilioukhine stared blankly at the child. He had never spoken to another child before. The boy looked amused, "Lost your tongue, have you?" Ilioukhine was finally snapped out of his stupor and was able to respond, "You are human." The boy laughed, "True. But I'm only here because my father makes me come when he visits his friend here." the boy walked towards Ilioukhine, sitting beside him, "Your accent's different from mine. Where are you from?" Ilioukhine glanced up at the ceiling, "Russia."
"Huh. Another of my dad's friends came from Russia. They used to spend loads of time together when they were younger, but he disappeared when I was a toddler. I only have a few memories of him. Dad doesn't speak much of him, I think it still hurts him that he left, but he's too proud to admit it." Ilioukhine winced slightly as his skin began to itch. It hadn't been long since his experiments had started, and the slight numbness in his skin itched every now and then. The boy glanced at him as he shook, "What's wrong with you?"
"..." Ilioukhine bit his lip, Mavra and Adrik specifically said not to tell or show anyone but... he was just a kid... surely he would keep his secret, and even if he didn't, who really would believe him? "My skin hurts..." Ilioukhine pulled up his sleeves, itching roughly at the parts of his skin where the metal started. The boy stared amazed, "Is that... metal?" Ilioukhine nodded, itching at the numbness. It didn't help much, but he had to do something. "Why do you have those?"
"It is to make me stronger." the boy snorted at that, "Parents. They always think they know what's good for us, but all it does is hurt us... here, let me help." Ilioukhine tensed slightly as the boy pulled his hands away. Noticing this, he said simply, "I have longer fingernails then you." he smiled before starting to scratch hard. Ilioukhine breathed and lay back, closing his eyes, the itch actually starting to go away, "Danke..." he opened an eye, glancing at the boy, "What is your name?"
"I'm-" Ilioukhine suddenly froze, his entire body tensing up. "What's wrong?" the boy asked, sounding panicked, "I... I do not know!" his body started to thrash back and forth, convulsing in the most horible way. The boy pulled back, staring horrified as Ilioukhine convulsed in pain. "Help! Somebody help please, something's happening!" the boy yelled. The group of adults ran into the room and Ilioukhine struggled to see, but the boy had vanished in the crowd. A man, one of the natives of the planet's race, bent down to try and help him, but he was immediately snatched away. Looking up, he saw Adrik, "I am terribly sorry!" he spoke, sounding as if he cared, although Ilioukhine knew it was false, "My boy here suffers from a neurological disroder, it causes him to have seizures." Liar. You did something to me. Despite his usually calm demeanor, Ilioukhine felt a pulse of anger deep inside. He noticed some kind of remote control in the man's pocket and resisted the urge to cry.
As the crowd began to depart, Ilioukhine heard a quiet "I have what we came for." in Russian. He glanced around seeing Mavra beside them. and saw a test-tube hidden in the woman's sleeve. The liquid inside seemed to glow golden and for some reason he became slightly afraid. Adrik smirked, "Excellent. Take the boy." As they headed back outside, Ilioukhine strained his head around, but couldn't see the other boy anywhere. Mavra grinned down at him, pointing out the test-tube which Adrik had now taken, "You may not see it now boy, but that there... will one day be the greatest creation we have ever made. We are creating history today, and thanks to the little distraction you just caused in there... you have now become a big part in creating it." whatever it was... Ilioukhine didn't want any part of it.
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