Doctor Who Panic Moon Ch 20

Author's Note: This is a sequel series to Amy, Captured. To get the full experience, please read through that one first.

Hi fellows, new chapter and all. Very many thanks to my editing team, Allyourbase and LogicalDreamer for their input on this chapter, in addition to their support and encouragement of my writing. Also, if you like what you see, I'd appreciate any comments or votes you feel like I deserve. I thrive on your feedback, guys!

Enjoy!

*************

Kanaria was very close by. That was what mattered most.

Her shoulder rubbed against his as the ship slid into a curve, the artificial inertia causing the wall they were leaning against to tilt slightly. In some ways, Tsugi disliked the feeling of being this close to the youngest Syfte sister; even ignoring the fact that he was secretly terrified of Mara and Ren, Kana herself always made him so

goofy

. In the end, all he could count on was his wits, and when this girl was next to him he couldn't even depend on those.

Of course, those parts of him were rapidly eclipsed by the warm dumbfounded feeling she did elicit in him...

Sander had apparently wasted no expense in procuring his new ship, and Tsugi was happy that he didn't have to travel in that tiny shuttle that had docked with the

Oviroa

the first time they had met. For one, the

Gespenst

had room enough for each of the crew to take a cabin for themselves, if they wanted. Currently, he was sat on the flat, compact bed in the room Kana had claimed, legs dangling over the side in a row with hers, tapping away at a thin, light-filled tablet screen, ostensibly still working. Though Kanaria was doing the same, the objective of the exercise wasn't

really

work, not with the base and the Engine rapidly retreating through the blackness of space behind them.

No, they were absorbed in this paltry busywork to avoid talking to one another.

He tried not to shiver as she absently pressed herself closer to him, shifting position just to get comfortable. But her every touch sent a chill down his spine. If he looked down, he could see her thigh, warm and soft against his through the fabric of her dress. They were working to avoid the hard questions, like what that kiss had meant. In the silence, they could run from the hard answers.

Like, say... Had she let him kiss her as a part of some delayed reaction to being carved up by a madman? Had she simply been glad to be alive, and latching onto the nearest life-affirming thing she could get to? Or had he been so afraid of losing one of his friends that he had thrown himself at her out of some misplaced sense of affection and fear? Yes, Tsugi wasn't above questioning his

own

motives here, either. Kanaria certainly wouldn't be.

He got the sense that both of them distrusted their feelings on this, but for different reasons. From what he could remember of the stories Kana used to tell, her hesitance must be one of simple inexperience, mixed with the fact that to someone who didn't know his entire story, Tsugi could seem to be quite untrustworthy.

But his was more unsettlingly cold and analytical. He was obviously attracted to Kanaria, at least physically. That much was easy to deduce. But was he ready for that? Was

she

? How deep did his feelings go, or was it just skin deep?

What was she, to him?

And besides, was there even a point to starting anything with her, given the game they were all playing? There was no guarantee that the Doctor wouldn't find them

tomorrow

, or even a second from now. It was entirely possible that all of this would come crashing down around their ears, all because Amy was here. Like it or not, they had signed up for a war that Sander was conducting, and there was no backing out now. Who knew what the future would bring?

They only had to slip up

once

...

'Tsugi...' For a moment, it seemed like she was going to say it ahead of him, but she stopped, voice uncertain. He could see her jaw working as she bit the inside of her lip, something she tended to do while she worked. How had he even noticed that was a trend with her?

For a moment she stared up at him, eyes clouded and brows furrowed intently, before she seemed to place the thought to one side, and stood. She padded her way across the room, sliding the door closed and sealing it in place with the tiny metal latch that was used in power outages to secure free floating objects. She turned, giving him a pointed look. Tsugi decided that this was what it would look like if a teddy bear came to a decision.

'We need to talk,' She said, her voice soft and metal edged. He could still see it in her eyes, that occasional glimmer of surprise; she still hadn't gotten used to the sound of her new, artificial voice.

And just like that, the guilt hit him all at once, sliding through him like a greasy tide. He hadn't been able to protect her. For all his intellect and sarcasm, when push came to shove Tsugi Nakatsukasa hadn't been able to do

anything

.

'Yes, we do,' He sighed, closing his eyes and bringing his knees up to his chest.

'I think that... we've both been avoiding this conversation,' She began slowly, rejoining him by the bed but pointedly not sitting down. 'And I'll admit, it's been nice, pretending we had it squared away. But we don't. And it's not fair to either of us to keep pretending.'

Ugh, emotional honesty... Something Tsugi was uncomfortable with. Not that he'd been exposed to much of it; life on the Oviroa hadn't exactly been conducive to long running relationships. Perhaps that was the reason.

'Alright,' He said, trying not to sound as uncomfortable as he felt. He supposed being this nervous had to be some kind of positive, at least, 'Let's talk.'

But they didn't, not for a while at least. Tsugi had never had to lead in a conversation like this, and Kanaria seemed unwilling to. Silence was the order of the day, as Tsugi pretended to be absorbed in the workings of his palm screen, chancing only the occasional glance at the woman beside him. She had something working in her mind, he could see it in her eyes. She had always been an open book around him, like she was unaccustomed to the idea of hiding herself.

'I like you, Tsugi,' She said finally, the words expelled from her like a dam bursting. 'And I think you feel the same, given how you... when we...' She trailed off, leaving Tsugi to pick up the slack.

'When I kissed you. Yeah. I remember,' He said, finally looking her in the eye. Time to act like an adult, although he feared he had paused slightly too long, giving Kana a vaguely crestfallen look, 'And yeah, I... I agree with you.'

Again a moment of silence, this one substantially lighter than the one previous. This time she smiled, as Tsugi turned his eyes to the ceiling. Frankly, he felt a little disgusted with himself; this level of nervousness was simply unbecoming, especially given that Kanaria was the source. He had never met a person more unassuming and unthreatening than her.

'So... What do we do about it?' He added, his fingers seeking out her hand, to see if she was abiding. Smile only growing, she allowed him to slip his hand over hers.

'Well...' Big blue eyes turned to him, a smile that could tentatively be called mischievous cresting her features. For a moment, she looked like a PG rated version of Mara, 'We could try it again. The kissing thing. If you want to.'

Her voice still carried the same metallic edge that it would have for the rest of her life now, as though she was speaking to him from inside a tin can, but there was an indefatigable warmth there, the beating heart of Kanaria that shone through no matter how artificial her throat had become. Tsugi reacted to it almost instantly. There really was no choice.

He had never thought of himself as a good kisser; he was always self conscious about being that close to another person, and he could never get his tongue to do quite what he wanted, but Kanaria seemed to like it. The shrill, girlish little sound she made as he first touched her contained more than a little surprise, but at least it was

pleasant

surprise. And she had leaned into him, placed one hand on his chest, just below his shoulder. Her breathing sped up, he could feel it on his skin. Wow...

'I-I don't...' She began, her voice tiny as they broke away. Pale skin like hers went red with very little prompting, and the closeness of their contact had turned Kanaria a very fetching shade. Her eyes darted around nervously, before she reigned herself in and brought her gaze back to his, 'I don't even know what gender you are...'

Tsugi cocked an eyebrow as her voice trailed away into uneasy silence. Ah, the eternal question. Everyone had it, some people could tell right away, others had spent their entire relationships with him guessing. It was something Tsugi enjoyed, if he was being honest with himself; he would react to male pronouns out of convenience, but he liked the in between place he could occupy with people, so long as he kept them in the dark. It felt right, most of the time; he had never been that into his proper gender anyway. But with Kanaria...

'I could show you,' He said casually, only realizing what he had said when Kanaria's blush almost went luminous. He cleared his throat, 'No, not like that. Calm down. I meant... Ah, come here...'

He kissed her again, and when he was done he whispered something in her ear. Now, this was what felt right...

***********

'Alright!' Ren clapped her hands together, as four scowling faces glared at her from the far end of the hall with varying degrees of wariness. Ren stared back, grinning with inane happiness.

She had dragged Amy, Christina, Lorna and Sally to the loading bay of the ship, which was conspicuously empty, aside from a series of supply crates locked down into slots on the walls. It gave the rather cavernous room a look like an armadillo had been turned inside out. Not that the captives were given to inspecting the room, not with the enemy so close by, and themselves now humiliatingly naked.

That had been... a mixed blessing. On the one hand, they were naked, and that certainly colored their future in a specific way. On the other, Ren had allowed them to remove their vibrators, which was undoubtedly good. The sense of relaxation was almost palpable, like the tension just drained away into the floor. Still, there was a lingering sense of directionless arousal in Amy that one look at her fellow captives told her was shared.

'So, here's how this is going to go...' Ren spoke up, bouncing on the balls of her feet with barely suppressed excitement. 'We're going to play a game. Let's see, uh... Lorna and Sally, come over here.'

There was trepidation, but neither girl wanted to risk the wrath of Ren by dawdling too much. Their footsteps echoed lightly on the metal floor as they approached the far wall to Amy and Christina, where Ren was busily fiddling with some device sticking out of it. Eventually she turned toward the pair, bringing with her a pair of cables terminating in something very much like manacles.

'These are designed to recapture any cargo that might come loose in transit, but they'll do for the fun times today,' Ren wriggled an eyebrow suggestively. 'Lorna, c'mere.'

The Gamma girl frowned, but followed directions. The memories of her last run in with the Half filled her mind, and being soundly beaten like that had formed an impression. Outright disobedience just wouldn't be a good idea, so she stayed still even as Ren wrapped the manacles around both wrists and turned her back to face the three other girls.

'Okay, and now Sally,' Ren snapped her fingers, drawing the other girl in and repeating the process, cuffing her and turning her to face the dwindling group of free captives. While Ren was distracted, Lorna spent her time testing the cables anchoring her to the wall. They were highly flexible, but trying to tug or pull against them made them go rigid, sealing her in place. She wasn't going anywhere Ren didn't want her to.

'Now then, I'm going to need you all to take one of these,' Ren produced a little bottle from the depths of her pocket, and tapped a number of... ominous blue pills into the palm of her hand. She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively, 'I know what you're thinking, little blue pills and all, but no. These aren't the fun kind.'

'And just how am I going to even

do

that?' Lorna snapped, gesturing to the manacles that kept her arms raised up to her shoulders. Demonstratively, she tried to move her arms out of position, only to be brought up short by the cables pulling back against her. She scowled, glaring at Ren; it may only have been token resistance, but any fight was better than none at all.

Ren laughed, sliding a hand into the small of Lorna's back, pulling the former marine against her, relishing the feeling of warm bare skin against her. Far too many teeth glinted in her wide, energetic grin, her face mere inches from Lorna's own. This close, Lorna couldn't help but cringe; even leaving aside the sheer intensity of Ren's expression, Lorna had a kind of ancestral mistrust of nonhumans. Try as she might, it was hard to completely shake the teachings of youth, and the Gamma forests hadn't been the most welcoming place to outsiders.

'Come now soldier, you think I hadn't thought of that?' Ren said, voice low and hoarse. There was a defined fascination there, from one military woman to another, 'Any excuse to put my fingers in your mouth...'

Making Lorna blush had become something of a hobby for the crew, and Ren seemed to take a special delight in it, as the Gamma girl's cheeks lit up a deep red. There was something deeply humiliating about being forced to stand there, so close to being able to fight back, as Ren tapped her soft, full lips, chuckling to herself.

'Open up, soldier...'

Lips curling with distaste, Lorna allowed Ren to press the tiny pill against her tongue, eyes burning defiance even as her cheeks burned with something else. She felt more than a hint of trepidation, but Ren stared at her expectantly until she swallowed, an icy chill going down her spine as once again her control was wrested from her. She watched as Ren repeated the process with Sally, brimming with flirtatious glee.

Of course, she could simply

give

the pills to Amy and Christina, and Lorna couldn't help but feel a little cheated that Ren had felt it necessary to embarrass her just that little bit further. Obedience seemed drilled further into Amy than the rest of the captives, and though her expression showed how she truly felt, she downed the little capsule with only light hesitation. In contrast, Christina stepped back as Ren proffered her hand.

'Yes, I'm not going to take that,' She shook her head, cultured voice lilting venomously in the air. 'It's a rule I have: don't take pills without knowing what they are. It's served me well on the club scene.'

Ren tilted her head to one side, 'I could always bend you over my knee and give you the suppository version, Christina. It'd be a lot of fun... And of course you'd have to get something else in your mouth to make up for that...'

For a moment, all the noblewoman could do was give Ren the iciest stare she could muster. It was a fine attempt, and to anyone else it would have had the desired effect. But Ren seemed to thrive on the displeasure of the captives, and she simply stared back with a pleasant little smile. Finally, somebody had to break the silence.

'I have another rule,' Christina said eventually. 'Don't cause unnecessary problems. Give me that.'

'That's a

good

girl...' Ren said, as she placed the final pill in the brunette's hand. 'This is going to be a first for many of you, so take your medicine.'

With that, she turned on her heel and began walking. Ren's boots scraped against the floor with each long, swinging step she took, travelling back toward the door that provided access to the rest of the ship. Four pairs of eyes kept track as she stopped, fiddling with a control panel by the door. And then she started floating.

All at once, Amy lifted up off the floor with a sickening lurch, everything inside her seeming to lift up with her. She could feel the contents of her stomach sloshing against her sides; suddenly, Ren positioning them all in the very center of the room seemed deliberate.

'Did I mention that the gravity is variable in this room?' The Half called out across the floor. 'No? Well, it totally is! So much easier to move cargo around the bay when it's completely weightless. Also, it's fun!'

With a drawn out, cheerful whoop, Ren kicked off from the floor, spinning artfully in midair as she rose higher and higher, planting her feet on the ceiling with a grin. She floated up there for a moment, upside down with her head pointed at the floor, before she realized that nobody was paying her any attention. Amy and Christina were flailing in the most ungainly of ways, unable to fully stabilize in their new environment. Sally fared even worse without the use of her arms, and only Lorna seemed to have things completely under control, a still figure amidst the chaotic movements of her compatriots.

But then, she was the only one of them that had grown up with widely available space travel and the second person in the room with a space-capable military training. Though the Gamma forest corps had focused solely on earthbound combat, the Church had given her a crash course in fighting in a zero gravity environment. Of course, that kind of training had involved stabilizing and course correction

with

all four limbs, but at least she could recall her training and apply some of it to keep herself still in the air now. She could look across the floor and feel safe in the knowledge that she was doing far better than some...

'You see? Fun!' Ren did a little spin in the air as she kicked off the roof, aiming herself toward the group. She corkscrewed through space, performing tiny corrections with her hands and feet to come to something resembling a graceful stop right beside Amy. In an act of considerable mercy, she reached out and caught Amy's ankle as she went through a particularly dramatic looking spin, carefully righting the redhead and planting her feet back on the ground.

'There. Try not to move around too wildly, and you should do alright in a stationary position,' She said casually, while helping out Christina in much the same way. 'Bet you're glad I gave you those motion sickness dealies before I turned off the gravity, huh?'

'

That's

what those were?' Amy blinked, surprised at this unusual display of generosity.

'Well, you know,' Ren shrugged, spinning idly in midair, slowly rotating, talking the entire time. 'Sick people aren't sexy. Vomit might be someone's kink, but it's not mine. I'd rather keep you looking flush and pretty, girls.'

'How comforting,' Christina deadpanned, the majority of her concentration going to keep herself upright.

'No. I just want you looking good when I play with you,' Ren said. 'Which is what I'm going to do now. Tell me girls, you must be pretty wet after all that teasing, huh?'

This brought silence to the captives. To a one, the girls lowered their gazes, going red as they avoided the question. It wasn't like Ren didn't already know; her objective was simply to get them to say it out loud, and none of them would give her the pleasure. The reality was, it would have been hard to sit there and endure the endless teasing of those tiny vibrating eggs

without

getting wet, and each of the girls felt just as frustrated as that would entail. Still, they squeezed their thighs together, unwilling to let Ren see the stickiness there.

'That's what I thought,' She nodded regardless. 'You girls do

not

have great poker faces. Anyway, I figure I can help you out with that. We're going to play a game, because space travel can be boring. You know, sort of like eye spy... only actually entertaining.'