Too little, too late. Story of my life. Whether it was her own fault or not, Lamp would once again be left to suffer the consequences of just being... herself. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on outside, but there wasn't much she'd be able to escape the chaos by herself. She was sat cross-legged on the sofa, leaning over her laptop screen and anxiously flicking through the security camera display that she definitely should not have had access to, not that that mattered much now. The surrounding corridors, the cafeteria, the hanger-bay, the restrooms, private rooms and bedchambers... they all showed the same scene, thousands of... things had boarded the freighter and were assaulting, capturing and... raping the passengers! The lower levels had already been taken over, and the remaining guards were locking security bulkheads down and preparing defences. It's useless, Lamp thought to herself, we're stranded, the ship can't take off while the hanger's down, and unless we can reclaim it, that's how it's gonna stay...
She flicked back to the camera view of the corridor outside her quarters, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. There was a group of them, maybe twenty or thirty, kicking the doors in and checking the private rooms! They were only three doors away from her own, thirty seconds max before they reached her - Lamp's heart leapt into her throat as she stumbled for her cane and hobbled back to her private quarters with all the speed she could muster, bolting it shut behind her as various thoughts moved through her panic stricken mind.
Okay, okay, I need to escape, ummm, door's not an option, I can't break the windows, there's the vent hatch above my bed, but I'd need time to unscrew it - do I have time? Shit, this is my only shot...
Lamp scrambled through her bedside drawer for her tool kit, limbs shaking in fear and shuddering with fright as a loud thump came from the front door. There was nowhere near enough time to get the vent cover off.
BANG!
The door gave way and the assailants stepped into the living room.
Lamp collapsed to the floor and desperately reached under her bed, fumbling about for the only thing she had that might make the difference here, her last chance. She hadn't gone unheard however, and her bedroom door flew open. Two large female assailants burst into her room and grabbed her by the legs, dragging her into the living room. They flipped her over, onto her back, and both assailants immediately took a step back.
Clutched tightly against her chest, with trembling hands, was a pulveriser grenade, a little thing Lamp had "borrowed" from the guard detail on the ship. It was easily powerful enough to kill her and her two attackers. They quickly held up their hands and backed away from the terrified girl, who was slowly making her way onto her feet.
"S-Stay back! Or I'll k-kill us all!" Lamp struggled to stand without her cane, but she managed to prop herself up on the furniture, eyes wide open as she tried to understand what was happening.
The Nodes merely nodded and retreated further back, fear in their own eyes as the terrified Lamp kept her fingers on the pin. For just a moment, as the intruders retreated back out the breached front door, a flicker of a smile teased the corner of Lamp's lips.
"You actually looking for a way out, or just to do some damage in your last moments?"
Any confidence Lamp had felt was quickly destroyed. In their place, a much larger creature strolled into the room, with confidence and an air of superiority about her.
Strong and intimidating, Leech thudded into the room, ducking under the door frame and hunching over to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling. Fear surged through Lamp at the sight of this massive, venomous looking creature. She held onto the grenade even tighter, watching Leech's every move...
To Lamp's surprise, the Controller stopped in the middle of the room, and casually looked around for a few seconds, before turning back to Lamp.
"Oak's disease, right?" Leech asked, her eyes scanning Lamp's figure.
"Wha-What?" Lamp stuttered, taken off guard.
"Oak's disease. You were born with it, right? Ankles are bowing inwards, I can see you're struggling to stand without support, although it's hard to tell if your hyperventilating is due to fear or due to the reduced effectiveness of your bronchi. Go, get your mobility aid; it's okay, I'm not going anywhere."
Lamp craned her neck as she took in what the huge creature had just said. She didn't know where this was going, but thought it would be a good idea to get her cane anyway. Carefully she followed the walls using her arms to support her, and went back to her room, fetched her cane and hobbled back out. The intruder had not moved, and was still presenting herself calmly.
"I was born with Oak's disease too, but the DA cured me with gene therapy. Were you not born in the Draconic Alliance?" Leech questioned, still taking in the room.
"N-No. I'm a nomad. Why do you even care? What does it matter? I saw your horde on the cameras! You're taking people, and... changing them... I watched you do it on the cameras! I don't understand what's happening."
"What's your name?" Asked Leech, dismissing Lamp's questions.
"It doesn't matter... no one calls me by my name anyway, everyone just calls me Lamp." She sighed, feeling defeated.
"I... can see why, you do kind of look like a lamp, no offence. It's the eyes." Leech grinned, appearing unphased as Lamp clutched the grenade tighter in response.
"Yeah.. well... what happened to your face?" Lamp snapped, trying to take the subject of their conversation away from her. It hadn't escaped her notice that the intruder had several nasty looking wounds, including a split lip and badly bruised cheeks.
"Oh. Me and an old friend had a... disagreement. She betrayed me... after all this time, it turns out she had no respect for me, apparently. Is that something you find happens to you, Lamp? Do people respect you?" Leech could see her words cutting the czarite deep, the hurt of many, many memories painfully reminding her that, no, people did not respect her. "Look. Lamp, I'll cut to the chase. You know that there's no way in hell you're escaping that grenade's detonation radius with that hobble of yours. This is your last stand. If you have any last words, a grand monologue to cite perhaps, then let it out. I'll listen."
Leech's words struck a chord, and just like that, the dam broke.
"I am so-so-SO SICK of being treated like crap by everyone around me! I hate it so much! I try and I try and I try and all I ever get is shot down and kicked around by everyone else! I'm ugly! I'm slow! I'm diseased! I have so much to give but people never give me the chance because of my appearance! People shun me, and then because I'm always on my own, people think I'm strange, and then I go and do strange things which makes people shun me more! And it's been going on so long that I don't know which was the cause and which was the effect! Is it my fault that people don't like me?! Or is everyone just awful?! I don't know, and I don't care anymore! I've had enough!
I got fired from my job for reasons beyond my control, I've got no money AGAIN, I'm starving hungry and I'm tired, the only reason I have a place on this goddamn freighter to stay was because my roommate thought I was gonna be pretty like the other czarites on board, but when he saw me, he laughed in my face! In front of everyone! The guards all bully me, the other passengers say mean things all the time, I've got nothing, and no-one to help me! That's the way it's always been! So fuck everything and fuck everyone!" Lamp was shaking all over, gritting her teeth, cane quaking in one hand and the grenade clutched in the other.
"That... was pretty good." Leech smiled again, watching the little ball of anger frothing as her feelings spilled over.
"W-Why am I telling you this anyway! Who the hell are you?!" Lamp growled, her bright yellow eyes staring at her with fury.
"My name is Leech. Now, to answer your questions, there isn't a simple way to explain what's going on here, and we don't really have the time. Put simply, I'm building an empire. That change you saw on the security cameras, you can decide for yourself if it's a blessing or a curse, but that infection is at the very root of our cause. That's not important for now, though. What is important is what you were just talking about, Lamp."
The two's eyes met as Leech began to pace back and forth slowly.
"You're not the only one who's been the victim of the universe's cruel tendencies. People are shit, Lamp. Through and through." The smaller girl's eyes lit up upon hearing the words. "How familiar does this sound? People only respect you if you can command their respect. Until the boot is big enough to stamp their lights out, they will always tread on you instead. Your only crime was being born, Lamp. The cosmic dice that rolled for you decreed that you would be a victim your whole life. A nomad czarite with Oak's disease? You never had a chance to be anything more than a punching bag. It's stunted your growth, robbed you of your physical prowess, and made you easy pickings for anyone who wasn't the embodiment of good itself. Which happens to be most people." Leech's eyes narrowed as she watched Lamp fiddle with the grenade. "I'm not taunting you. I'm not here to bully you, or make you feel weak. I'm here to offer you something. An opportunity to be the boot for once."
Lamp's fingers relaxed slightly around the grenade. She stared at Leech with deep curiosity.
"Tell me if this is correct. Your whole life, you've just wanted someone to take a chance on you. To let you prove what you've got to offer and look past your flaws, to build something incredible."
Lamp nodded slowly, her eyes turning glassy. Those many nights she'd spent hoping someone would appear and rescue her from her hell-hole of a life, and it never happened.
"I need that, too. I thought I already had it, and I didn't. I need someone I can trust, someone that isn't going to stab me in the back and assault me in my own laboratory." She scowled as she spoke. "I need someone who is willing to get their hands dirty with me, to exact some much needed revenge. I will give you what you've always wanted, Lamp. Plus, as a little extra incentive, I even have a gift for you! I present to you, the scummy fuck head who you shared this room with."
