'Trials of Life'

[Sl'askia]

yes I a sequel already . Don't know how long it will take for me to get through it though...

Chapter 1

It has been a month since they have escaped and Spider had adapted to the outside world quite well. He was leener now, but he was still just as strong and fast as he was before he escaped.
Spider was making his way, with some difficulty, down the river bed. It had rained recently and the ground was all muddy and his pants weren't designed for that type of terrain. The bank on both sides was high, steep and muddy, virtrally impossible for him to climb. He silently cursed himself for taking this route.
"Yer know, a Big Bro could move faster then you right now." Scrawny teased from his perch on Spider's shoulder.
"Ah shuddup." Spider grumbled. Scrawny laughed, but ended up going into a coughing fit. "Yer ok?" Spider asked concerned, ever since they escaped, Scrawny's health had taken a turn for the worst. It didn't help matters any when he lost an eye during the escape. Spider feared his friend didn't have much time left...
"I'm fine." Scrawny said weakly as he rested his head on Spiders shoulder, only to jerk it back up again and look back.
"What's wrong?" Spider said as he stopped and looked over at him.
Scrawny looked intently behind them with his remaining eye. The rain storm that had soaked the land was just over the horizon and its thunder could still be heard. His eye widened with fear as he realized what was coming their way..
"Flash flood." Scrawny muttered.
"What?" Spider asked.
"A flash flood and its heading our way, run!"
Spider complied, but the mud slowed him down. By pure bad luck, he stepped into a particularly deep patch of it and became stuck.
"Crap!" Spider said, panicing as he tried fruitlessly to free himself.
"Leave the pants! Its our only chance!"
Reluctently, Spider seperated himself from his pants and started climbing up the bank. He slipped and sled several times due to the mud. Scrawny looked in the direction of the flood, it was very close now and well be on them in less then a moment.
"Hurry!" he cried.
"I'm trying!" Spider said as he tried deseperately to grab a hold of the top of the bank, but with no luck. Cursing, he reached up, grabbed Scrawny and tossed him up the rest of the way to safety.
It was then that the torrent of water struck him. He tried fruitlessly to hang on to the bank, but the mud was a very poor hand hold. Scrawny could only watch helplessly as the torrent washed Spider away...

[Pacen]

Oh poor guys. Your characters never seem to stay happy for very long Dragadon!
Nice to see a sequel so soon.

[Sl'askia]

well i was practically writing the sequels (yes you heard me, there will be another one after this on ) at the same time! heh, This one will take a while though, as the connects heavily with Teals fics . Anyway, here's chap 2, with chap 3 coming up VERY soon

Chapter 2

Spider was tossed around relentlessly in the water, getting slammed painfully up against rocks and logs. He had tried several times to grab on to a hanging vine or one of the floating logs, but without success. After quite some time, the river finally dumped his broken and battered body on the bank. Barely conscious, he dragged himself a little bit away from the river edge. One arm was broken though, so it was difficult. He coughed painfully a few times and collapsed, falling unconscous...

Scrawny had tried to follow Spider from the river edge, but the water was moving too fast and he had quickly lost sight of him. He moved on anyway, as fast as his old body could take him. It wasn't long before he went into another coughing fit and he collapsed exhausted.
What's the use? he thought sadly, tears welling up in his eye, Not even he could have survived that. Oh Odd he was still so young, why didn't you take me instead?
He knew that as alone as he was he didn't stand a chance of surviving on his own, due to his age and his current health. A chilly breeze came up, making him shiver. He curled up into as tight of a ball as he could, in an attempt to keep warm, but he knew without Spider to help keep him warm he was most likely to freeze to death that night. With a sad sigh of acceptence of his fate, he fell asleep, not expecting to wake up again....

Spider woke up some time later. It was starting to get dark now and he wasn't sure if he would survive the night as badly injured as he was. A broken arm, several cracked and broken ribs, one eye swollen shut, and numorous cuts and laserasions. He gave a short whine of despare and ended up having a painful coughing fit. He tasted the iron taste of his own blood in his month, and tears welled up in his eyes.
I don' wanna die..he thought, not when my new life is only just beginning...
He struggled to keep himself awake, fearing that if he blacked out now, he would never wake up again. Then he thought he heard voices nearby. Desperate and not caring who it was, he called out for help. Another coughing fit followed and he blacked out...

[ May 28, 2001: Message edited by: Dragadon ]

[Sl'askia]

Told ya it would be soon . Anyway, this is the last chap ill be able to post until Teal, gets back with me.

Chapter 3

Zig was on patrol with one of the other 'converted' sligs from their village. Abe had insisted that patrols be more frequent ever sense one of the major remaining factories of the Cartel had mysteriously blew up about a month ago. Appearently, he was worried that who/what ever destroyed that factory might come after them. Cili had tried to convence him that increased patrols weren't necessary, but Abe in his old age had become quite paranoid, and wouldn't listen. Zig couldn't shake the feeling that both Cili and Dragadon had a good idea as to who blew the factory, but they weren't telling anyone. He felt this was kind of odd, since both those two usually gave new info like that freely. There was a sudden snap, startled cry, and a thud behind him. Zig turned around and saw his patrol buddy lieing in a heep on a lower branch. "Yer ok?" he asked.
"Ya..." the other slig said, looking more stunned then injured, "Misjudged the strength of the last branch I jumped onto."
"That's easy ter do if yer not paying attention." Zig scolded, "Ya have ter keep yer focus."
"I know I know. I thought I saw something by the river bed."
"Oh? What?"
"I think it was just some poor creature that got caught in that flash flood a bit earlier. Couldn't tell what it is, it was too far away and too small."
"Hmmmm, Lets have a look then." Zig said, "Lead the way."
With a nod, his patrol buddy lead Zig toward the river. When they reached it, they looked around on the bank, but didn't see anything.
"Yer sure yer saw somethen?" Zig asked.
"Pretty sure, 'less my eyes are playing tricks on me." the other slig said.
"Quite possible, since it's starting to get dark." Zig mused, then he spotted something downstream a bit, "I think I found it." he said as the trotted toward it, the other slig close behind. To Zig's surprise, it was an old, very frail looking slig. He was curled tightly into a ball, shivering. Cautiously, Zig approached and gently poked the strange slig. The slig gave a barely audible moan and let loose a few coughs that didn't sound good at all. Zig knew immediately that if he wasn't taken to a healer quickly, this slig will die.
"Man, this guy looks pretty bad off." his buddy commented, "Yer think he'll make it?"
"If we get him to a healer fast enough he will" Zig said, "hand me yer pack."
He complied and watched as Zig stuffed all the contents of his pack into it. "What yer doing that fer?" he asked.
"We gotta carry him back somehow." Zig said as he gently put the old slig into his now empty pack. With some assistence, Zig managed to get the pack back onto his back, the old slig's head resting on his shoulder. "Lets go."
"Yer sure yer can carry him all the way back?"
"He's so thin, that there's hardly any weight to 'em. I'll be fine."
"Ok, just makin' sure."
They then started their way back toward their village...

[Black Dragon]

Ooh, suspenseful, Drag! Keep it up, I want to see what happens!

[Danny]

uh oh... Abe [warning bells]...

sorry, i just have a thing about writing for other people's characters: no one ever seems to be able to do Abe and Munch justice...

no offense, but that's how i see it...

[Teal]

Um... um... um... I'm trying to write, but my brain is stuck in a rut, and I can't think... feh, happening too regularly these days... go away, you accursed exams!!

Feh.

[Pacen]

I finally got around to reading it, told ya I would.

Great as usual.

Just wondering, where did the name "Zig" come from? I think it's one of Teal's characters, is it like "Take off every zig!"?

[Sl'askia]

no Zig is my character, as for where the name came from...I havent a clue. It was one of those names that just popped into my head... Zig, in case you don't remember, is Omi's friend in 'Mark of a Killer'.

[Sl'askia]

sorry for the long delay, but it was necessary..

Chapter 4

“C’mon, c’mon, I ain’t got all day!! We need these supplies now, yer lazy buggers! Get a bloody move on, I don’ want ter be out after it gets dark!!”
Hak shook his head, tiredly, and raised one massive hand to rub his temples, try to massage away the vestigal headache that the NS had given him. Although it was gone, the damage hadn't completely healed, and he still got the occasional headache from it. Xar was being his usual noisy self, his foghorn-like voice carrying like a siren across the usually quiet woods.
“That’s right, Foggy, jus’ tell ev’ryone where we are…” he rumbled, with a grin, cuffing the smaller slig round the arm.
Xar gave a disgruntled hoot. “Well, you tell me how ter get these lads ter work a bit more sharpish, then I’ll shurrup.”
Hak laughed like a thundercloud. “Aw, give ‘em a break, they can’t work much harder, y’know… You medics are all the same, too much energy fer yer own good…”
Xar made a dismissive noise, and glared.
Hak shook his head, and strode off to see if anyone needed anything carrying…
Faint on the breeze, he caught an unfamiliar scent. He sniffed, thoughtfully; vaguely slig, but with undertones of other species. [i[What the frack is it?[/i] he wondered, taking a single step closer, cautiously. “Hel-lo…?”
He wasn’t sure whether it was faint because the wind had shredded it or because it was quiet to start with, but a faint cry reached his ears. A frown crimped his muzzle. “Hey, Xar!” He called, back over his shoulder. “C’mere…!”

Spider regained consciousness, but only partway. He weakly opened his uninjured eye, but his vision was hazy. He thought he could see a large shape looming over him, couldn't make out what it was.
He tried to speak but was too weak, all he could do was watch it. A couple more painful coughs escaped his throat, and he whined in pain.
"What you want now, Hak, can't you see I'm bloody busy, I wanna get this done before nightfall, I can't be doin' wi' yer askin' me to 'come see this' ev'ry three minutes, y'know..." he heard a rather loud voice say, sounding annoyed.
"Look, Foggy... Jus' quit bletherin' fer a while and come see," another voice replied, this one deep, more of a bass rumble. He guessed it was this 'Hak' the other was refering to.
Sligs? he thought, But why are they here? Have they come to take me back to that hell hole? He managed a weak whine.
"Huh, yer always causin' me bloody headaches, I wish you'd- Mmph!" the loud voice cut off, sharply, mid-rant - apparently muzzled, or stunned, or something...
"Take a look an' shut up," 'Hak' rumbled, tiredly.
Spider, fearing they were from the labs, tried desparately to get up. He managed to prop himself up on his unbroken arm, but was unbalanced, teetered precariously and fell over, onto his broken one, and gave a scream of pain.
"Get off, you great lump...!" 'Foggy' blared, angrily. Spider heard someone approaching.
Spider tensed No, I don't want to go back..I would rather die. Tears streamed down his face.
"Now look what yer done, I tol' yer yer were too big... " the loud voice said, sharply. Next second, and a smaller shape stepped up closer to him, frowning thoughtfully, "Looks like he's been through the wars, y'know... Mebbe we better get him back, patch 'im up..."
"Yeah, an' I know who'd be roped inter carryin'..." he heard 'Hak' comment, dryly.
"No...not back ter labs..." Spider whined weakly.
"You got th'faintest idea what he's goin' on about?" 'Foggy' asked.
"Not a clue," 'Hak' said, shaking his heavy head in an almost ponderous manner.
"Maybe concussed..." 'Foggy' gave the injured hybrid a critical look, "I'd get closer to have a looksee, but... " he looked cautious. "Hm..."
"No more...tests...no more...I'm free...will die that way.." Spider whined as he tried to move away.
"You want ter see if he'll stop movin'fer you, Hak?" 'Foggy' sighed, still trying to get closer to him, "Sit STILL, yer stupid creature, I want ter see if yer hurt bad..."
Spider, noticing the coat 'Foggy' was wearing, whined, faintly; "Yer are...from Vykkers...no...stay away from me....I won't go back.."
"Dammit, he's delirious. Gimme a hand, Hak..."
Spider bared his teeth as he shouted, " STAY AWAY!" then went into a violent coughing fit.
'Foggy', startled, fell backward into a patch of mud on the riverside, "Gah! NOW look!" he said, annoyed.
"Good t'know y'kept the great bedside manner, Foggy..." 'Hak' said, dryly, lumbering nearer.
Still coughing and in great pain, Spider collapsed. "Frag it....don't want ter...die..." he managed to say before blacking out once again.
"Well, least that's one problem sorted out... Gimme a hand here, Hak..." Foggy said, peeling himself out of the mud...

[ June 01, 2001: Message edited by: Dragadon ]

[Sl'askia]

*rips double post to shreds with her claws*

grrrrrr!

[ June 04, 2001: Message edited by: Dragadon ]

[Sl'askia]

sorry these chaps are coming so slow...

Chapter 5

When Scrawny woke up, he found himself in some sort of hut. He was wrapped up in several blankets and the left side of his face was bandaged up.
"Where am I?" he groaned, surpressing a cough.
"Yer in the hut of our local healer in my village." a voice said close by.
Scrawny turned his head so he could see the speaker with his remaining eye. He saw a much young slig standing next to him, couldnt have been more then half his age. "Who are yer?" he asked.
"Name's Zig." the young slig said, "I'm the head scout of this village. Yer lucky me and a buddy of mine found yer when we did."
"Did yer find anyone else by the river?" Scrawny said, hopeful.
"There were no reports of anyone else being found in that area." Zig said sadly.
"No...he must be dead then..." Scrawny said, tears welling up in his remaining eye.
"Lost a friend of yers?" Zig asked, sympathic.
"Looks like...we got caught in that flood. Odd he was still so young." Scrawny sobbed, "Why couldn't I been taken instead?"
"Hey there...take it easy..."
"I mean, I'm so old now...," Scrawny rambled, tears flowing, "what prepose is there left ter my life?"
Zig...not sure what to say, decided to try to change the subject.
"What's yer name by the way?" he asked.
"My name?" Scrawny said with a sniff. It had been awhile since anyone had bothered to ask him(Spider had just dubbed him 'Scrawny' and struck with that). He had to think a moment to remember "Nerik, my name is Nerik. My friend...," he surpressed a sob, "always called me 'Scrawny'"
"Well as thin as yer are, I'm not surprised. We'll get yer back into full health Nerik."
"Der yer even want ter bother? I'm not really of any use ter anyone..."
"We'll see 'bout that." Zig said with a slight smirk.

Spider woke up again some time later. From what he could tell, he was in a hut of some sort, surrounded by muds and sligs. He didn't know who they were and he watched them warely. He saw one of the sligs take out a syringe and his eyes widened. The sight of the syringe awakened a terrible memory...

He was strapped down tightly to a table. Myron was nearby, laughing at him.
"Why are yer doing this ter me!?" he cried, "I've done nutten ter yer!"
"Because...," Myron said with a cold smile, "You are my test subject, and nothing more. I do as I please to you.." Then Myron took out a syringe and approached him.
"No! Leave me alone!" he cried, tears in his eyes as he struggled to free himself from the straps. Myron then plunged the syringe into his side, and pain shot through his body...

"No!" he cried as he suddenly leaped up, surprising all those around him. His broken arm wouldn't hold his weight, and he collapsed, screeching in pain.
"Whoa take it easy! You'll just hurt yourself more." one of the muds said as they tried to restrain him.
"No! No! No more tests! No more experaments! Leave me alone!" he howled as he thrashed about, trying to escape his 'tormentors'. He accidently hit the slig holding the syringe with his tail, sending the slig sprawling onto the floor. He suddenly slipped and fell out the bed, hitting his head on the way down, knocking himself out...

[Sl'askia]

Hey! I know this one is slow going but I would like some replies here!

Chapter 6

“So what’s with the bandage on my face?” Scrawny asked, pointing to it, “I thought this was healed already.”
“Oh, our healer did an operation to remove the bullet that was still in there.” Zig explained, “He also reconstructed it somewhat so it wouldn’t look so ugly.”
“Oh…I still think yer shouldn’ be wasting yer time helping me…”
“Sounds like someone has doubts to his purpose in life…” a high pitched voice said. Scrawny turned toward the speaker to see a Vykker approaching them. He immediately tensed up and went on the defensive.
“If yer think I’ll tell yer anything yer got ‘nother thing coming ter yer.” Scrawny scowled.
“Whoa, take it easy Nerik.” Zig said, surprised Scrawny’s sudden hostility, “Steinix is the village healer here.”
“Uh huh and Skillya is as sweet as a daisy…”Scrawny growled, “There was only one Vykker that I have ever trusted, and he was killed ‘cause he was ‘too nice’.”
“That is a pity…” Steinix said, sympathic, “What was your name? Nerik? Now where did I hear that name before?” Steinix looked thoughtful a moment and Scrawny tensed up even more, “Oh yes, I remember now…You were Bastek’s assistant weren’t you?”
“Yah..” Scrawny said through clenched teeth, he was so tense now that he was shaking, “What’s it ter yer?”
“He was an old friend of mine. Hearing of his murder was one of many factors of why I decided to defect to the resistence.”
“Must be really bad times for the Cartel if Vykkers are starting to turn against them.” Scrawny said, starting to relax.
“Really bad times, ‘specially since the last factory that had the facilities to turn sligs into Big Bros blew up ‘bout a month ago.” Zig said.
Scrawny blinked in thought for a moment, “I remember that, my friend and I had just barely got out before it went up. It was the same day I got this…” he pointed to the bandage. Then he got depressed again. “At least my friend got ter experience what freedom was like…”
“Who was yer friend?” Zig gently pressed.
Scrawny was quiet for a long time before he answered:
“He was a crossbreed. Bastek was his creator and his last words ter me before he died was ter get his creation out of the labs so he could live a life free of the torment of that place. It took me four years but I did it. Now he’s gone too….”
Steinix looked thoughtful again, “Would your friend happened to have been Crossbreed 738? The one that was running loose within that factory, terrorizing the workers? I had heard something about that…”
Scrawny nodded slowly, “That’s ‘em, only everyone called him ‘Spider’.”

Spider regained consciousness the next morning. He weakly opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in a hut of some sort, only this time it seemed that he was the only one in it. He moved carefully, testing his limbs. His left arm, he discovered, was in a cast. His chest was all bandaged up and he could feel another bandage around his head. Something touched him lightly on his neck and he jumped slightly.
“Easy now…” a kind old, feminine sounding voice said, “There’s nothing to be afraid of here.”
Spider turned his head so he could see the speaker. He saw a very old mudokon standing beside him. Not far behind was a Big Bro, who was apparently standing guard.
“Who?” he managed to say weakly.
“I am Bea.” The mud answered, “And this is Hak.” She motioned to the Big Bro, who nodded. “He was the one that found you.”
“Thank…you.” Spider said, nodding weakly.
“Don’ mention it.” Hak rumbled.
“Now perhaps you could tell us who you are and where you came from?” Bea asked.
Spider tried to think but his mind was empty. His face twisted into an expression of fear when the realization hit him.
“I..” he gulped, his mouth dry, “don’ remember….”

[Pacen]

Yes Dragadon I'm sure everyone's still reading it, as am I. Very good as usual. Don't you get sick of hearing "very good" all the time? I suppose it's better than silence though.

[Grid]

Very good Drag, great fic. Poor Spider seems to black out a lot.

[Sl'askia]

*Digs topic up from near the bottom of the page* Yipe, looks like it was a good thing I was able to squeeze out a chap today

Chapter 7

Spider had been awake for a couple of days now. Despite Bea’s efforts, Spider still couldn’t remember who he was. For the time being, she dubbed him ‘Spike’, which suited him due to all the quills on his back. She did notice that he didn’t like medics at all, he would growl and snap at them whenever they approached him, making it difficult to change his bandages. When she was present, he would be a lot calmer but would still growl at the medics. Bea had a pretty good guess that his hostility toward medics had something to do with his past. She also noticed that some of the sligs in the village seemed apprehensive about having him in the village. When she would ask them about it, they would just say that they just didn’t ‘feel safe’ with him there. She kept that in mind, but decided not to worry too much about it for now, for right now she was trying to figure out why Spider refused to eat…

A mud was trying to get him to eat, as he had been trying to do ever sense he had regained consciousness. Spider…was scowling at the bowl of fruit the mud was holding under his snout.
"You have to eat sometime Spike." the mud said, getting annoyed, "Otherwise you'll never recover."
Spider scowled again, then snatched the bowl out of the muds hands with his jaws and tossed it to the ground. He looked back up at mud with a growl, daring him to try something.
"Alright, if you won't eat willingly I'll force feed you!" the mud scowled, losing his patience as he grabbed Spider by the head and tried to force a piece of fruit into his mouth. Spider, growling furiously now, suddenly bit down on the mud’s hand. The mud screeched in pain as the tried to free himself. Spider held on, the taste of the muds blood sparking his hunger. A couple more muds ran in, and were able to pry Spider's mouth open. Spider snapped at them, then proceeded to lick the mud's blood from around his mouth. The muds watched in disgust and the bandaged the injured mud's hand.
"What's going on in here?" they heard Bea ask as she entered the med hut. The other muds quickly recanted what happened and Bea looked over at Spider, who just whined hungrily. "Maybe we should try raw meat..."

It took a few hours, but they were able to scrounge up some meat. Spider’s head perked up in interest as they brought him the bowl. As soon as the bowl was within reach, he dung in, startling the mud that was holding it. In less then a minute, the bowl was empty, and Spider looked up and whined for more.
“There…” the mud stammered, “isn’t anymore. That was all we could find…”
Spider whined disappointedly, and rested his head back down with a sigh. The mud went back outside, where Bea was waiting.
“Did he eat?” she asked.
“Heck ya.” The mud replied, “If I had my hand in the bowl he would’ve eaten that too. The dude has a appetite to him.”
“Well, he hasn’t eaten in at least a couple of days…” Bea thought a moment, “I’ll have to see if the lads can do more hunting.”

Scrawny was sunning himself on a flat rock in the village square. It had been a week since Zig had found him, and he was still wondering what to do with himself now that Spider was gone.
Of what use is an old slig like me to anyone? he thought to himself with a sigh, I guess I could just sit and relax for the rest of my days…feh but that’s boring…
He suddenly felt himself get pushed off his perch and he landing with a thud on the ground.
“Offa my rock, old one.” A younger slig sneered.
“Now….” Scrawny scowled as he picked himself up, “is tat any way ter treat yer elders? ‘Sides, I don’ see yer name on it…”
“Feh, sligs like yer should have died a long time ago.”
“What’s wrong with living ter yer life expectancy? It shows yer smart enough ter beat all the odds.”
The young slig snorted, “Yer were probably a paper pusher all yer life…Yer probably never fought befer in yer life. Yer probably one of those cowardly types. Pathetic.”
Scrawny’s eye narrowed at the comment, “I’ll show yer who’s pathetic…” Scrawny then leaped at the young slig, knocking him off the rock. The slig looked up at him in shock, he hadn’t expected Scrawny to move so fast.
“Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I can’t whump young whippier-snappers like yer into shape!”
Scrawny then pounced on the slig, fists flying. It didn’t take long for the slig to scamper off in defeat. “Let that be a lesson ter yer!” Scrawny called after him, “Things are not always what they seem ter be!” He then jumped back up onto the rock and resumed basking. Strangely, no one else tried to push him off again…

Edit: oops forgot to say what chap this was heeh

[ June 13, 2001: Message edited by: Dragadon ]

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 8

Scrawny watched some of the younger sligs jump about in the trees. He could tell this bunch were just getting used to living a life without pants, as they often slipped and fell onto the safety of a net that was hung underneath them. The particular section of forest they were practicing on was designated as the ‘newbie area’, hence the net.
Scrawny sighed, he was incredibility bored and wanted something to do. He looked at the youngsters again.
Can I learn ter der that? he wondered thoughtfully, Well…don’ know unless I try…. He padded over to the ‘newbie area’ and climbed up one of the trees. The other sligs honked in surprise when they saw him.
“Hey…Nerik,” one said, “Don’ mean any disrepect but yer a little old ter be trying this…”
“Not ter mention ya kind of need two eyes…” another said.
“I’m not old…” Scrawny scowled, “I’m chronically challenged. ‘Sides yer can der anything if yer put yer mind ter it.”
“Yeah right…” a third laughed, “Prove us wrong then.”
“Alright I will…” Scrawny sneered as he gathered himself to attempt a jump. He leaped, but fell way short and landed on the net below. He quickly climbed back up and tried again, only with the same result. He refused to give up, and kept trying. Finally after a long while, he collapsed on a tree branch, exhausted. He fought back the tears that were trying to come.
“Hey..” one of the young sligs said, “Yer gave it yer best shot, and that’s what really matters.”
“I…will NOT give up on this…” Scrawny sneered, “I will do it! No matter how long it takes me!”
“That is one determined slig…” one of the other sligs muttered…

It’s been a little over a month since he was rescued, and Spider was wandering in the forest not far from the village. He was completely healed now, but he still couldn't remember anything of his past. He was starting to wonder if he will ever remember who he was. Not only that, but he couldn't figure out why some of the local sligs were so nervous around him, and they wouldn't tell him either. Bea had said to just give them time and they will accept him. He was doubtful though, he could sense their fear when he was near them. Why are they so afraid of me? he thought, I haven't done anything to them...
He thoughts were interrupted when his stomach growled painfully, making him wince. He then realized that he had been wandering for almost the entire day without eating anything. I better get back to the village. he thought as he started on his way back. He jumped when a mud appeared in front of him unexpectedly.
"There you are Spike." the mud said, "Bea was getting worried about you and sent me to find you."
Spider's eyes suddenly narrowed as strange feeling came over him. He lowed his head in a predatory stance, his muscles tensing up in preparation. The mud was visibly nervous at Spider's reaction and started backing away.
"Um...If this is a bad time I can just go back and tell her that your busy..." the mud stammered.
Spider advanced, his long forgotten predatory instincts having completely taken over. His body tensed a moment, the pupils of his eyes constricting, and he charged. The mud screeched and dove to one side, barely dodging Spider's attack.
"What the F*** is up with you!" the mud cried as he Spider readied himself for another attack. Again Spider charged and the mud quickly scampered up a nearby tree. Spider growled angrily at him. "Nah nah! You too big to climb up here!" the mud teased, fairly certain he was safe. Spider's eyes narrowed again, and to the muds surprise, grabbed a hold of the tree and starting climbing up after him.
"Impossible!" the mud said in shock and horror as Spider climbed up the tree at a rapid pace. The mud leapt to a branch on another tree, but Spider quickly did the same. Spider continued to chase him, jumping from tree limb to tree limb much quicker then the mud thought could be possible for one his size. Clearly panicked now, the mud screamed for help as the continued to jump from tree to tree, trying desperately to keep a good distance from Spider. Then the mud jumped onto a branch and realized that there was no place else to go other then down and that was quite away down. He felt the branch jar as Spider landed on it and he pressed himself against the trunk, whimpering.
"Please don't hurt me.." the mud whined as Spider advanced. Spider was about to attack when the branch suddenly snapped. He clawed at the air fruitlessly as he fell, landing with a hard 'thud' on the forest floor, knocking him out...

yes yes i know Spider is getting knocked out alot here...this is the last chap that he does get knocked out (at least for a little while anyway...)

[ June 13, 2001: Message edited by: Dragadon ]

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 9

Scrawny rested on the tree branch. He was tired and hungry, as he had been trying to make the jump all day with no luck. It was getting dark now, and all the other sligs had turned in. He looked across the gap at the branch he had been trying to jump to with a nasty scowl. With a honk of fury, he charged at full speed and leaped. But yet again he fell way short, and he landed in the safety net. He howled in fury and clawed at the net in frustration, then broke down and curled up into a ball and wept.
A little while later he felt the net move, as if someone was walking on it. He didn’t bother to look up to see who it was, he no longer cared.
“Hey..” he heard someone say gently. Scrawny finally looked up to see Zig standing beside him, with a sympathic look on his face.
“Hey what?” Scrawny grumbled.
“Why don’ we go get somethin’ ter eat? Yer must be hungry after such a long day…”
“Might as well…” Scrawny said with a sigh, as he stood up…

Later, Scrawny was just staring at this food. He knew he was starving, but he couldn’t bring himself to eat. Zig had noticed.
“If yer don’ eat, yer won’t have the strength ter try again tomorrow.” He said.
“What’s the point?…I’m never going ter der it…” Scrawny whined sadly.
“Never say never. You’ll do it, you’ll see.”
“If I still had both eyes I would be able to!” Scrawny growled, slamming a fist on the table, “It’s dam impossible now!”
“Only if yer let it be…There are other ways ter make the jump then just using pure muscle power. Yer just need ter figure out how.”
Scrawny just snorted, and Zig let loose a long sigh. “I know yer smart, yer told me yerself that yer helped yer friend escape. And if yer ask me…learning how ter move through the trees is a hell of a lot easier then breaking out of one of those factories.”
“Yeah…but if I remember correctly, yer been climbing trees all yer life, even while yer was still employed by the Cartel. Me.. the highest I have climbed till terday was into vent shafts and Spider’s shoulder.”
“Even the mightest buildings start with just one brick.” A rumbling voice said behind him. Scrawny turned around to see Dragadon approaching from behind him. “Even the largest beings start out as just an infant. All great things start out small, for if you try to start to big at first, you will fail.”
“What the frack are yer saying?”
“I’m saying that you should take small steps first. Instead of trying the big jump first, practice with smaller ones. Now, there is a chance that you may never be able to make the big jump, but like Zig said…’There are other ways to make the jump then just using pure muscle power’. Use your head and you will find a way.”
“Drag’s right Nerik…start small first, then move on to the big ones.” Zig said.
Scrawny thought a long while, taking in what they just said. Finally he said, “Alright, I’ll try again. Only this time I’ll try a shorter jump.” He now eagerly ate his food. Dragadon and Zig smiled at each other, happy that they were able to remotifate him…

Spider woke up with a massive headache.
“Did anyone get the number of that cart that just hit me?” he groaned as he righted himself his eyes still closed. He suddenly felt the tip of a spear against his neck and he froze. It was then he opened his eyes and saw that he was surrounded by muds and sligs, all armed with spears or guns. “Oh…frack…”
“I told yer he would turn on his sooner or later!” one of the sligs said.
“We should have finished him off when he while he was still healing!’ another declared.
“Well we have the chance ter fix that now!” a third cried and a small cheer went up among the sligs in the group as they started to advance on him.
“Oh frack frack frack..” Spider muttered as he tried to back away, only to meet up with more spears.
“Hold on!” he heard a familiar voice say. Spider sighed with relief when he saw Bea and Hak push their way through the crowd(well Hak was doing most of the pushing ‘grin’), “I do believe he deserves a chance to explain his side of the story.”
“If yer insist…” one slig said as they lowered their spears, but still kept a tight circle around Spider to keep him from escaping.
“Well Spike? What’s yer story?” Hak asked.
It had taken a few seconds for Spider to realize that Hak was referring to him. “Well first of all…” he started, “my name is Spider…”

see he didn't get knocked out in this one *grin*

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 10

“Spider…” Bea said, “you have your memories back now…”
“Yes,” Spider said with a nod. He looked warily at the hostile crowd around him, “Though I doubt it will help me at all at the mo…”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Please tell us about your self.” She said as she sat down.
“Bea this is no time for a social hour…” One of the muds protested, “He just tried to kill…”
“I said that I will be the judge of that.” Bea said with an authoritive tone in her voice. “Spider please go ahead.”
“I might as well start at the beginning…” Spider said as he settled himself down. He then told them his life’s story. He told them about his father and how he had treated him as his own son. About his fathers murder and the torture he was forced to indure while under Myron’s control. How he was able to escape after two years of such torment and spent the following two years wandering the halls, forced to feed on the inhabitants in order to survive. About the day he was caught again, his act of revenge, and finally his escape to the outside of the factory.
He did not hold back his feelings at all during this, for he felt he had nothing to lose. He did get choked up a couple of times, but Bea was able to calm him down enough so he could continue. Throughout his story, he took quick glances at the crowd, to see what kind of reactions there were. He saw sympathetic, scowls, disgusted, and even some indifferent looks.
“That still doesn’t explain why you attacked me.” The mud the he had chased said after he had finished.
Spider thought a moment before saying, “Sense at the time I couldn’t remember who I was, I also didn’t know of the predatory instincts I had developed during the two years I wandered the halls of the factory. Therefore, I didn’t know I was going to react like that and was unable ter prevent it. I apologize fer scaring the crap outta yer. But I can assure yer that, now that I remember who I am, it won’t happen again.”
“How der yer know we can trust yer?” one of the sligs said.
“I don’ expect ter gain everyones trust, fer I know that would be impossible considering. Instead, I expect fer yer ter give me a chance ter prove my worth ter yer and ter live the rest of my life in peace.”
“Feh, and who would give yer that chance eh?”
“I would.” Bea said, standing up. “He will continue to stay in the village with us, unless he does something that would change my mind.”
“I assure yer…I wouldn’t do anything that would cause yer ter change yer mind…”
“Feh…we’ll see…,” a slig muttered as everyone started heading back toward the village, “freak.”
Spider had to fight hard to keep himself from smacking that slig into the middle of next week…

A few days later Spider was resting in a tree not far from the village when he saw Bea and couple of slig escorts pass by.
“Nice day ain’ it?” he asked, only to get two guns pointed at him, “Sheesh, I was jus’ saying ‘ello.”
“Chill you two.” Bea said. The escorts lowered (somewhat reluctantly) their guns. “What are you doing out here Spider?”
“Jus’ enjoying the view.” Spider said with a casual flip of his tail. “and you?”
“Just heading back after a little walk that’s all. Felt it was too nice of a day not to.”
“That’s fer sure.” He said with a smile.
“I trust you will be joining us for dinner?”
“Don’ yer mean having us for dinner?” one of the sligs muttered. Bea gave him a quick scowl.
“Of course I will join you fer dinner.” Spider answered, being careful not let the sligs comment get to him.
“In that case, we will see you then.” Bea said as she continued on her way, waving at him.
“Later” Spider waved back and settled himself again.
Not long after Bea was out of his sight, he caught a familiar scent on the breeze. He raised his head sniffing worriedly. It was slig, but it had a slight chemical ‘aftertaste’ to it. He recognized it as a Big Bro and what worried him was that it wasn’t Hak, but someone else. Someone from his past…


heeellllllloooooo *taps window* some replies plz...so I know you are still reading this?

[Niteowl]

Yeeeesss..I'm reading..And enjoying this.
Very good fanfic- Keep it coming....

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 11

Spider climbed back down the tree, still sniffing. He was trying to remember who this scent belonged to, but with no luck so far. He padded along, following the scent trail. He jerked up his head when he heard the sound of gunfire…and a frightened scream.
“Bea…” Spider muttered when it hit him, “No!”
Spider ran as fast as he could, vaguely aware that the scent he had been following was getting stronger. He slowed as he approached the area where the gunshots came from and could see what was going on…
Bea was standing with a look of terror in her eyes, her two escorts were both shot dead. Not far from here was a BBS, who had his gun leveled at her. Spider noticed this BBS had three distinctive scars across his face, and his eyes narrowed. He remembered now…this was one of the BBS’s that was responsible for his recapture. Spider’s lips(if that is the right word for it…) curled back into a snarl. He didn’t hesitate…he quickly and silently dashed to one side and charged the BBS, ramming him. The BBS was caught completely off guard and was knocked a few feet to one side. Bea blinked in shock.
“Bea get outta here!” Spider cried as he socked the BBS in the face. Bea nodded and started heading back to the village as fast as she could.
“I’ll send back help!” she called back.
“Yer der that.” I’m going ter need it… he thought to himself. He was a match for a BBS with his pants, but without…he needed help.
By now the BBS had regained his senses and turned toward Spider with a scowl.
“You…” the BBS growled when he recognized him.
“Feelin’ mutual!” Spider growled as he dodged one of the BBS’s punches.
“Oh I bet I can get twice as much fer killing yer then that old wrinkly mud.” The BBS sneered as he leveled his gun in Spider’s direction and started shooting. Spider ran to one side, narrowly avoided the bullets flying his way. He jumped and climbed up the nearest tree.
“What der yer think you are? Part paramite?” The BBS sneered as he sent more bullet in his direction.
“As a matter of fact I am.” Spider laughed as he leaped to the next tree and the one after that and so on.
The BBS followed Spider the best he could, but quickly lost sight of him.
“Where the frack did he go?” The BBS muttered scanning the trees looking for him.
There was a steady breeze going keeping the BBS from hearing his movements in the trees. Spider positioned himself over the BBS. He then jumped down on top of him, putting him in a sleeper hold.
“I may not be able ter defeat yer in hand ter hand. But I use stealth and ambush tactics to achieve the same goal.” Spider sneered as the BBS struggled to free himself. “Go ter sleep will yer!”
The BBS suddenly reached up and grabbed him by the head and threw him forward, slamming him to the ground. Pain shot through his body as his quills were forcefully pushed into him. He would have screamed but the air was knocked out of him as well. All he could do was just lay there stunned and in pain.
“Got yer now…” the BBS growled as he aimed his gun for the kill.
“That’s was yer think…” a familiar brass rumble said as a massive fist suddenly socked the BBS in the face, sending him staggering back. By then Spider had recovered and righted himself.
“Yer saved my tail again.” Spider said, somewhat weakly, “Thanks Hak.”
“No prob…shall we finish this creep?” Hak said cracking his knuckles.
“No...I’ll finish him..” Spider growled, “I owe him big….”
“If yer insist..” Hak said stepping out of the way as Spider charged the still stunned BBS.
Spider rammed into him, then became a fury of punches, not giving the BBS a chance to recover. The BBS did manage to land a blow to Spider’s head, sending him flying to one side. But Spider quickly got up and took to the trees disappearing from the BBS sight.
The BBS look around anxiously, but could only see Hak, who was standing in the sidelines with his arms crossed, watching.
“Where…” was all he could say before Spider came diving at him from a nearby tree. On the way down Spider socked the BBS in the face, knocking his mask clean off. The BBS was tittering on only two legs. Spider quickly did something of a cartwheel, smacking the BBS in the head with his tail. This caused the BBS to fall completely over. He landed with a hard thud on the ground, knocked out. Spider smacked him again for good measure and gave a howl of victory. He collapsed, feeling very sore and tired.
“Oooh I’m going ter be sore fer a few days…” he groaned, “It’s been awhile since I had to fight like that..”
“I have never seen someone fight like that befer.” Hak said, impressed, “Will yer be able ter get back ter the village ok?”
“Yeah, jus’ need ter rest a bit.”
“Alright, I got this boozo ter carry back.” Hak said motioning to the unconscious BBS.
“What fer?”
“So everyone can have a chance ter decide his fate.”
“Ah…If I had my pants I would help yer carry him back.”
“Nah I got ‘em.” Hak thought a moment, “You have pants? Could’ve fooled me.”
“I did, but I lost them…at the same time I lost…” Spider suddenly broke down into tears.
“Yer ok?” Hak asked as he picked up the BBS.
“I’ll be fine.” Spider said choking back the tears, “Go on ahead, I’ll catch up…”
Hak gave him a doubtful look, but went ahead anyway. After he was out of sight Spider wept.
“Scrawny…” he sobbed, “I miss yer..”

[Sl'askia]

if anyone needs a box of tissues I have some *waves a box*. No, no one dies...but it is a rather emotional chap...

Chapter 12

Scrawny felt a lot better about himself. Over the past few days he has been able to make decent sized jumps and was getting better at judging distance. However, he hadn’t been able to build up the strength needed to make the really long jumps. Zig had said it was most likely had to do with his age, whether he liked it or not. Still, he wasn’t going to stop trying and vowed to find a way….
One day he was basking in the village center, casually watching a group of mud kids play. One of them had found a long thin strip of elum hide and was chasing the others, cracking it at them like a whip, laughing. At one point he over extended and the end of it wrapped around a low tree branch. No matter how hard he tried, the kid couldn’t get it release and finally gave up and left it.
Scrawny then stood up and padded over to it, curious. He jumped up on it and hung from it for a moment and found it held his weight. He jumped back down again and looked at it, an idea forming in his head….

Bea was worried. Despite having gained everyone’s respect by saving her life, Spider seemed to be at an all time emotional low. For the past few days he had been moping in the village center, looking depressed. Every time she or anyone else would try to talk to him, he would get up and move away. She mused that what ever it was that was bothering him, he wasn’t ready to talk about. She was hoping that he would talk to someone before he did something drastic….
Early one night, just before turning in herself, she noticed him leaving his shelter and start heading in the direction of the lake. Fearing the worse, she went to follow him, grabbing a mud guard on the way to be her escort. When she reached the lake, she found Spider at the waters edge, just standing there with his head down low. Bea waited from a respectable distance, wanting to see if he was, if anything, about to do something. He did do something, but not what she was expecting:
He raised his head and let loose a sound that wasn’t a roar…but a howl; a long, deep mournful howl. It was quite loud as well, but not so loud she had to cover her ears. Spider took a breath and howled again, this one even louder and longer then the first. Bea could tell that he was letting out what ever it was that he had been holding in.
He howled a third time, a weaker one. At the end of it his voice cracked and he collapsed, sobbing. Bea approached him then, telling the escort to stay back, and sat down next to him.
“Spider…” she said as she lightly stroked his neck, “Do you want to talk?”
Spider turned his head to look at her, tears streaming down his face. Then he adjusted his position so that he was laying perpendicular to her and placed his head in her lap.
“I miss ‘em Bea…” he sobbed.
“Who?” she probed gently.
“Scrawny…”
“Scrawny…” she thought a moment, “he was the one who helped you escape the labs wasn’t he?”
“Uh-huh”
“What happened to him?”
“’Bout a month after we escaped, we were traveling through a dry riverbed and we got caught in a flash flood. I was able ter toss him up ter the bank but I was unable ter make it out myself and got washed away…”
“That explains the injures you had when we found you…but if he wasn’t caught in it…”
“He was so old…and he was very ill at the time. He…” his voice cracked, “wouldn’t have been able ter survive on his own.”
“I see.” She said, sympathic.
“He was always lookin’ out fer me, keepin’ me out of trouble. And if I did get in trouble he would help me get out of it. He always told me what was the best thing ter do, always guided me. Now that he is gone…I…jus’ don’ know what ter do anymore…”
“Spider” Bea started as she rubbed his neck comfortingly, “No matter where he is now…he will always be in your heart, as long as you remember him. Now it is time for you to move on with your life and to start making your own choices. The path will be long and difficult, and you will need to have faith in yourself and your abilities. You have already taken the first step by proving to everyone that you weren’t a heartless killer. You could have just killed that BBS that attacked me…but you didn’t. You need to continue to take those steps and start your life anew. I know you can do it Spider.”
Spider was quiet a while after she finished. He lifted his head and looked out toward the lake, deep in thought. Then he turned back toward her and smiled.
“Thank you Bea.” He said as he embraced her lightly, “I needed that.”
“No problem.” Bea said with a smile.
Spider helped Bea up to her feet and together they returned to the village.

[Pacen]

aww.

Good work Dragadon, I was heaps behind but I'm back up to date now!

[Sl'askia]

sorry this one is kind of long...

Chapter 13

Spider yawned and stretched in his bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was morning so he slid down off the bed and headed outside. The rest of the village was still asleep, save for those on guard and patrol duty, so he decided to go ahead and hunt himself some breakfast….

Later he was at a river, cleaning himself up after catching and eating a young scrab. After he was done he tried to take a short nap, but he was restless for some reason and decided to take a walk.

As he walked along the river edge, he thought about what to do with his life now. The talk he had with Bea the night before had helped him feel better and more confident, but he was still unsure as to what he was going to do with himself.
Just what IS my purpose in life now? he thought with a sigh as he looked out over the river. He cocked his head suddenly, thinking he heard something. He stood quietly, listening intently, then he heard it again. It was a series of small, panicked sounding, squeals. Curious, he followed the sounds. He found a small crate just inside the water not far away, it had the words 'Live Cargo' on the side and the squealing was coming from within.

Suddenly filled with a sense of urgency, Spider pulled the crate out of the water and onto dry land. He then literally tore the top off and looked in. Inside the crate, was a trio of sliglets. He blinked in surprise at them and they stared back at him, huddled all together, frightened and cold from the water. Not knowing what came over him, he rumbled at them softly and nuzzled them with his snout. One of them responded by grabbing onto one of his face tentacles, causing him to recoil in surprise somewhat. The sliglet squeaked at him, and nuzzled him with its snout. The other two followed suit and grabbed on to his face tentacles as well. He blinked in surprise again, then he smiled and chuckled softly. He lifted his head back out and lowered his head til they were almost touching the ground. The sliglets dropped off and huddled together again, shivering.
They’re still cold… Spider thought as he wondered what to do next. He laid down and wrapped his arms around them, being careful not to crush them. The sliglets pressed themselves up against him, taking in his body heat. Spider smiled again and rumbled in content. He didn’t know why he was reacting to them this way…but he didn’t care, he felt happy.

After a little while they were good and warm again and they were starting to crawl all over him. One of them suddenly slipped and fell off and gave a short squeal of distress. Spider immediately turned to it and nuzzled it comfortingly. It wasn’t injured, just stunned and it quickly got up and started wrestling with one of the others. It wasn’t long before the third joined in. They rolled and tumbled until they had exhausted themselves and promptly fell asleep in a bundle. Now Spider had a problem…how was he going to get these three back to the village?

He looked back over at the crate, it wasn’t very big, it barely held the three sliglets. He pulled it over in front of him, thinking. It had 12 air holes, 3 on each side and none of the sides were as wide as his chest. He looked up and pulled off a length of vine. He slipped on end of the vine through one of the air holes and tied it off. He did the same with the other end and experimentally slipped the resulting handle over his neck and stood up. The knots held and the crate didn’t hinder his movement.

This should do.. he thought as he moved over to were the sliglets were sleeping. Gently he picked up each one and put it back into the crate, none of them stirred. Then with a content sigh, Spider started making his way back to the village….

Spider got some odd looks as he entered the village, but he ignored them. He spotted Bea in the center talking to Xar and he walked over to them. He glared briefly at Xar, who just glared back at him (Spider never did learn to trust medics again…), before setting the crate gently down on the bench Bea was sitting on.
“Spider what do you have here?” Bea asked curiously as she looked in. “Well now…” she said as she reached in and lifted out one of the sliglets and put it on her lap, “where did you find these little guys?”
“Found ‘em at the river. Don’ know how they got there…” Spider answered.
“Must have been part of a shipment that was takin’ ‘em ter ‘nother factory.” Xar mused as he went to pick up one of the other sliglets, only having to take a sudden step back when he got snapped at by Spider. “What’s up with yer?” he scowled, “I was only going ter…’
“Yer are not touchin’ ‘em!” Spider growled, baring his teeth.
“Actually, “ Bea said, “I think you should allow Xar to look them over. To make sure there is nothing wrong with them.”
Spider growled again, but said reluctantly, “Alright…” and settled himself down not far away, keeping an eye on Xar the whole time he was checking the sliglets.
He has a very strong parental instinct… Bea thought, Why do I get the feeling some people are going to end up getting hurt by him over these little guys?

It turned out Bea was right. Just that afternoon Spider was resting in the village center, watching the sliglets wrestle and chase each other around. A grown slig staggered into the area, obviously having had one to many. He sneered at the sliglets. Spider looked up at him warily, growling slightly.
"Jus’ what we don’ need… more mouths ter feed..." he growled as he kicked the nearest sliglet.
Spider's reaction was immediate, he charged at the offending slig with an angry howl and backhanded him, sending him flying into tree, stunning him. He then went over to the injured sliglet, rumbling comfortingly to it. Fortunately the sliglet wasn't hurt and it righted its self and joined its pack mates underneath Spider, all huddled together frightened. Spider rumbled softly to them reassuringly, then looked back up at the slig that attacked his 'brood' and growled furiously at him.
"If yer even so much as look at them the wrong way again…" he growled threateningly, "I'll rip yer head off..."
And everyone could tell that Spider was dead serious...

[ June 24, 2001: Message edited by: Dragadon ]

[Sl'askia]

one more chap to go (finally)

Chapter 14

It had taken a week, but Scrawny was able to craft himself a whip out of elum hide. As he was practicing cracking it, getting the mechanics of the technique down, Zig approached him.
“What’s the whip fer?” he asked.
“Well…” Scrawny said as he cracked it again, “since I can’t make the big jumps with muscle strength…I figure I could swing my way across.”
“Hmmm interesting idea, never thought of that.”
“Yer didn’t spend 80% of yer life with a Vykker scientist.” Scrawny teased.
“Most of those that used ter work fer the Cartel didn’t have such luck getting a nice boss like yer did.”
“I know.” Scrawny said as he coiled up the whip and slung it over his shoulder. “Let’s try this out shall we?”
Scrawny padded over to the newbie area, Zig following. He climbed up to one branches and looked across at the branch on the other side. He studied the area and noticed a higher up that was about halfway between. He uncoiled the whip and, after taking aim, snapped it up to the high branch, coiling the end around it. Then, with a deep breath, he jumped off and swung.
The swing was exhilarating; he had to force himself to keep his eye open. Toward the end of the swing, he reached out with his tail and barely managed to grab onto the other branch. He paused a moment, panting, hanging by his tail and the whip. He flipped the end of the whip a couple of times, til the end around the high branch released. Scrawny then grabbed the branch with his free hand and pulled himself up. He laid there a moment, panting, his heart still racing. Then it finally dawned on him:
“I did it…” he muttered as he straightened up, “I did it!”
Zig joined him in his honks of victory

Scrawny kept practicing, getting the technique down. After about a week he considered himself an expert at swinging through the trees. While this method was a little slower then just jumping across, he was able to keep up. He wasn’t afraid to use his whip on young sligs who got out of line either, giving a whole new meaning to the term ‘whipper-snapper’. He had even offered to start going out on patrols with Zig and the others, well more like ‘insisted’.
One day Zig approached him. “Yer know…we could use a messenger. We have been meaning ter start sending messages ter one of our new allied villages, but we didn’t have anyone ter deliver them. Would yer be interested?”
Scrawny turned to him and smiled, “I would love to.”
“Good.” Zig smiled, “I’ll show yer the route ter Bea’s village tomorrow morning.”
Scrawny couldn’t wait….

[Sl'askia]

the final Chapter *grin*

Chapter 15

Spider was padding along in the forest not far from the village. His brood was scampering about beside him, getting into mini play fights as they went. He chuckled as he lifted a hand out of the way of two of them as the tumbled about. He had managed to teach the trio to respond to certain calls, so he could manage them more easily.
He suddenly stopped when he caught a very familiar scent on the breeze, a scent he thought he would never smell again.
It can't be...can it? He thought, his heart in his throat. He couldn't take it; he had to find out. He called to his brood and they immediately stopped their antics and trotted up to him. He told them to follow, and he bounded off, looking back on occasion to insure they were keeping up...

Scrawny and Zig were just entering the village when Scrawny suddenly stopped in mid step, a look of surprise on his face.
"What's wrong Nerik?" Zig asked, pausing.
Scrawny lowered his snout to the ground sniffing, trying to determine if he really smelled who he thought he did. However there were too many other scents about, and he couldn't pinpoint.
"Nothing..." Scrawny finally said sadly as he lifted his head back up, "Jus' my nose playing tricks on me...Let's go on."
"Alright." Zig said as they continued on toward Bea's hut...

Spider stopped abruptly, and lowered his head sniffing the ground. The scent was very strong, like it was just put there.
It has to be him...He's alive! He thought, tears welling up in his eyes. Then, joy filling his heart, he lifted his head and howled.

Scrawny suddenly jerked back around, not believing what he just heard.
"What the frag was that?" Zig said.
"I don’ believe it…,” Scrawny muttered, 'Cuse me a mo..." He then suddenly scampered off back in the direction they had just come from.
"Huh? Nerik where are yer going!?" Zig said as he watched Scrawny run off, "ah frag it...what’s gotten into ‘em?"
Scrawny ran, his heart pounding with excitement. He rounded a corner and saw someone he thought he would never seen again....

At first the two friends just stared at each other, taking in that they were really seeing each other for the first time in a long time. Then they both ran toward each other, meeting halfway. Scrawny leaped onto Spider’s chest and Spider rolled onto his back, embracing each other. Both were crying their eyes out in joy. Scrawny suddenly let go and started pounding on Spider's chest.
"You bistich! How dare yer give me a near heart attack yer disappearing on me like that! Making me think yer were dead all this time!" Scrawny honked.
"I missed yer Scrawny." Spider said with a smile, Scrawny's blows not even affecting him.
"Yer big lug," Scrawny gave him a playful punch in the face, "I missed yer to." Scrawny suddenly found himself being jumped by a trio sliglets, knocking him off of Spider. "What the frag!?" he cried.
With a laugh Spider give a call, and the sliglets got off of Scrawny, but they still were scowling at him.
"They thought yer were attacking me." Spider said, still laughing.
"Who!? What!?" Scrawny said confused.
"This is my brood." Spider explained as he righted himself, "I found 'em and I'm raising 'em."
"Who'd da thought..." Scrawny said scratching his head.
"Yah I know." Spider smiled, “I haven’t come up with names fer them yet…”
"Uh huh." Scrawny was still trying to take this all in, "That reminds me...I'm called Nerik now."
"Nerik?" Spider thought a moment; the name was familiar. Then it dawned on him, "Nerik as in my fathers assistant!?" he said surprised. Scrawny merely nodded. "If so then...why didn't yer tell me who yer were before?"
"At the time I felt it was best that yer didn't know, especially considering your mental state at the time. By the time we had escaped, I had become so accustomed to being called 'Scrawny' that I had practically forgotten what my real name was."
"I see, hmmm...” Spider looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Yer thinking…yer know that is dangerous.” Scrawny teased.
“Ya ya I know.” Spider waved a hand. He looked at his brood, still looking thoughtful. They had calmed down now; having realized Scrawny wasn’t a threat. Two of them were wrestling; the third seemed more interested in Scrawny, his whip in particular.
“This ain’t a plaything kid.” Scrawny said as he moved the whip to his other shoulder.
“What’s with the whip anyway?” Spider asked.
“It’s a method of transportation fer me and also something fer me ter use on any trouble makers.”
“Ah…Anyway…I think I thought up names fer these little twerps.”
“And those are?”
“Bas, Ner, and Rik.”
Scrawny thought a moment. “Hey yer named one after Bastek and the other two…aw Spide yer shouldn’t have…”
Spider pushed his head up against Scrawny’s chest in an affectionate gesture as he said, “Yer mean a lot ter me Scrawny…If it weren’t fer yer I won’t even be here right now…”
“Ain’t that the truth kid?” Scrawny said as he embraced him, “ain’t that the truth…”
They spoke a long time; remembering old times, telling each what they have been doing.
Bea and Zig both watched them for a while; smiling, glad they were able to reunite two friends….

What was I refering to with that last sentence? Who knows, I just thought it up at the last sec *grin*
Coming Next...'Pack of the Spider'