'The Twelve'

[Sl'askia]

heres the first chap. Oh and BTW...I have the first to chaps of 'Malice' up on my site but I am NOT posting it here do to its rating....

Chapter 1

A slig knelt down by a footprint and inspected it; it was only a couple hours old.
Finally some progress. the slig thought and motioned for the other members of the group to take a look.
"Is it what we are lookin' fer Tilic?" another slig asked.
"Yes, the bosses will be pleased that we are finally on the 'breeds' trail." Tilic answered. They have been looking for this crossbreed ever sense it escaped from the lab 2 months ago. There efforts have been constantly hampered by the weather, that and they were told that the chances of it surviving out in the wild were very slim, despite its intelligence. Tilic straightened up, shouldered his tranquilizer gun, and said:
"Well lets get a move on, we are not likely ter get a better chance then this. Lets hope we can catch up ter it before night fall."
He looked up at the setting sun as they followed the trail, it was very doubtful they would catch up to it before darkness set in, but this was the best chance they got....

Spider and Shriek were curled up in each others arms; Shriek was fast asleep and Spider was barely awake, reflecting on the 'fun' they just had. He sighed contently and gently nuzzled Shriek, his mate, who purred in response subconsciously. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time and he hoped it would be like this for the rest of his life.
But fate can be cruel, a scent reached him just as he was about to let himself fall asleep. Spider jerked himself up and stared in the direction the scent came from.
"M.mwha?" Shriek mumbled as she woke up, "Spider? What's wrong?"
"Shhh." Spider said quietly, "sligs, industrial types. We need ter move before they spot us."
Reluctantly Shriek nodded and stood up and together they headed off, Spider leading the way....

It was only a couple of minutes after they left that Tilic and his group came upon the spot they were resting.
"This is fresh..." Tilic said, sniffing the air, "very fresh. It was jus' here." There was something about the scent in the area though. It seemed like there were two of them but how could that be? He shrugged and adjusted his night vision goggles, motioned for the rest of the group to follow, and took off in a fast lope....

Spider stopped suddenly, causing Shriek to bump into him.
"What now?" she asked.
"Crap, run!" Spider said suddenly urging Shriek in front of him. Shriek wasn't going to argue and took off in a gallop, Spider right behind her. They ran toward the safety of the forest not far away. Spider suddenly felt a sudden pain in his shoulder, he had been shot with something and he knew it wasn't a bullet. He felt himself starting to get dozy and slow down.
No... he thought, as he tried to fight the drugs effects.
"Shriek!" he panted, "I'm goin' ter lead them away, no matter what happens yer get ter that forest and stay hidden!"
"Ok..." Shriek said reluctantly, there was a slight whine in her voice.
"I love yer Shriek..." Spider said as he changed directions, tears in his eyes.

Tilic was a bit surprised when their query suddenly turned away from the forest.
The drug must be causin' it ter get confused. he thought. After a moment their query stopped, unable to run any further do to the drug. Tilic and the rest of the group surrounded it. They couldn't see it clearly due to the tall grass, but they knew it was there from its growling. One of them got too close and the crossbreed smacked him, sending him flying.
"Keep yer distance!" Tilic shouted, "Let the drug take full effect!"
After another minute the 'breed slumped to the ground and the growling stopped. Tilic told the group to wait a little longer in case it was faking. Then Tilic moved in and he got a bit of a shock.
The others noticed the shocked look on his face.
"Whats wrong?" one asked.
"That...is not Beta..." Tilic gulped, "That is the lost prototype...Spider."
There were shocked gasps from the rest of the group. They had never seen Spider, but heard of the legend around him. Tilic remembered him all too well; he had seen Spider devour one of his pack mates nearly 2 years ago. He had heard that he had managed to escape the factory just before it blew and all efforts to kill or capture him after that had failed.
"So...what der we der with him..." one of the group asked nervously.
"We take him back with us, the boss will be pleased to have the original one ter add ter the rest of them. You," Tilic pointed at one slig, "call fer the transport and yer three..." her pointed at three other sligs, "Keep lookin' fer Beta, if they were together she can't be too far away."
As if to confirm his suspension, they heard a long mournful wail from the forest....

[Sl'askia]

if you have been reading 'Mysteries of the Past' some of these characters will be familiar to you *grin*

Chapter 2

Hoth shook his head in disbelief as the others surrounded the still unconscious form of the new arrival. He didn't even get a chance to get a good look at him, before everyone surrounded him, sniffing and nudging.
"Come on guys!" he said as he pushed his way through them, "At least give the guy a chance to wake up first before getting nosy." He nudged at a couple of them, to get them to back way a bit. "Besides...how would you like it if you woke with a bunch of strange faces staring at you?"
"Hoth's right..." he heard Lunic say, "he…might...react…violently." Lunic backed away and started chewing on his claws, like he always did.
"Lunic stop chewing on your claws..." Delta said with an annoyed tone in his voice.
"Eh? Oh...sorry..." Lunic mumbled and took his hand out of his mouth.
"The new guy looks a lot like you Hoth..." Invy said from the cell next door.
It was then Hoth actually took a good look at the new arrival and realized Invy was right.
The new guy had the same dark green skin and spine color and looked about the same size. The only major differences was that his spines were larger and the double row of spines stopped at the base of his neck rather then at the base of his tail.
"Hmm you two do look allot alike." Kilk said with a grin, "Didn't know you had a twin Hoth."
"Funny." Hoth said as he took a closer look. He noticed something else; this guy had numerous scars on his body and the skin on his back was thick and rough.
"This guy is older then any of us." Hoth concluded.
There were murmurs among the rest of the group.
"Older? How can that be?" Charr said, "Beta was the first of us."
"You moron..." Delta suddenly grumbled, " don't you remember that one guy Beta kept going on about before she disappeared?"
"You mean 'The First'..." Hoth said.
"Yeah...who else could it be..." Delta growled, "other then the one and only Spider..."
Hoth could sense what Delta was thinking, "Delta...I seriously doubt Spider even knew about Beta. You can't blame him for what happened between you two."
Delta just snorted and walked to a far corner, sulking. Hoth could tell that Delta was not going to get along with Spider...despite what he was told.
"look...he's waking up..." Invy said and they all turned to look at Spider as he stirred...

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 3

Spider groaned slightly as the tranquilizer wore off. He could hear voices around him as he struggled to stand up.
"Man...they must have used a strong sedative on him..." someone said.
"You speak the obvious Charr..." another said, "Easy now, don't force yourself to stand yet. Give the sedative a chance to leave your body completely."
He couldn't argue with that, considering, so Spider propped himself up on his elbows and opened his eyes. He was in a very large cell, with two regular walls and two cell bar walls and there was a soft carpet for a floor. That in itself didn't surprise him, rather, it was what was in the cell with him that was a shock. In the cell with him were 8 other crossbreeds like him, all various colors and sizes. There were two more in a smaller cell next to them.
"Where...am I?" Spider finally asked.
"Hmmm...a cell, with four walls and a floor." a light green male said with a laugh.
The others groaned and rolled their eyes.
"Don't start that game again Kilk." a tan colored one said, "or I'll have to pound on you."
"Ooooo Juk's threatening me! I'm soooo scared!" Kilk laughed and there were more groans.
"Please forgive Kilk..." another male said, this one looking very simular to Spider, "All he thinks about is playing games."
"Reminds me of someone I used ter know..." Spider grumbled as he stood up fully.
"Anyway...I'm Hoth."
"Spider. And the rest of yer?"
"Charr." a dark gray said.
"Juk." the tan one said.
"Kilk." the light green one said doing a backflip.
"Hmmm...Oh...Lunic." a white one with light blue spines said.
"Invy." one of the two in the other cell said, green with dark green blotches.
"Echa." the other one in the other cell said, who was blue green, with jade spines.
"Felth." an olive green one said, "the big guy is Goliath, he can't talk."
Spider nodded in acknowledgement to the huge green one with dark green spines and horns.
"And yer?" Spider said to a gray one, who was in the far corner. This one just growled and glared at him.
"That's Delta." Hoth said, "He has some...issues."
"Well stayin' angry like that ain't goin' ter solve it."
"Oh...I'm going to solve it right now..." Delta said as he suddenly charged. Everyone but Spider moved quickly out of Delta's path. Spider was expecting a response like that and just let Delta come to him. Then, at the last moment, Spider sidestepped and grabbed Delta by the neck with an arm. Delta was caught completely off guard by the move and could only look up at Spider with a shocked look on his face.
"Now..." Spider started, "I don' know what yer got against me kid, but I will tell yer this...pickin' a fight with me is not a good idea. It will only end up with yer gettin' hurt and me annoyed. Understood?"
Delta nodded meekly and Spider let him go. Delta rubbed his neck and went back to the corner to sulk again. Spider just laid down and mumbled:
"Always at least one like that in the group...."
The others could only just look at each other with surprised expressions on their faces.

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 4

Hoth couldn't believe what he just saw. Spider had delt with Delta so easily and without hurting him; and Delta was one of the best sparers in the group.
Apparently... he thought, the time he spent in the outside world allowed him to learn how to use his body to the fullest. When the time comes...he will be the one to lead us.
"So..." Spider said suddenly, "Why are Invy and Echa in a separate cell?"
"'Cause they don't want us to have any 'fun'" Kilk whined.
"Like we would mate with you, you annoying twit!" Echa growled.
Spider chuckled slightly, but then suddenly frowned and let out a slight whine. Hoth could see the sadness in his eyes.
"Spider...what's wrong?" he asked gently.
"While I rather not be here..." Spider said quietly, "I let myself get caught so my mate could escape and I miss her."
"Sacrificing your freedom for hers...how noble..." Felth said with a sniff.
"Who was she?" Invy asked, "Was she another one of us?"
"Yeah she was." Spider answered.
Hoth noticed Delta suddenly look up out of the corner of his eye. He was getting a bad feeling about this...he was about to tell Spider not to go any further when Delta suddenly said:
"What did she look like?"
Spider rolled onto his back, a dreamy look on his face as he described her.
It matched Beta's description to a tee. Hoth saw Delta's expression turn very dark.
"Oh no..." was all Hoth could get out before Delta jumped Spider, catching him completely off-guard. It took Spider a moment to requester that he was being attacked and knock Delta off him.
"First time was a warnin' creep!" Spider growled as Delta prepared to strike again.
"Bastard! I should have known Beta would have gone to you! Mate stealer!" Delta howled as he jumped at Spider again. Spider suddenly spun and whacked Delta in the head with his tail, sending Delta to the floor tumbling. Delta groaned but did not get up again.
"He'll be alright." Spider said with a snarl, "He'll jus' have a nasty headache when he wakes up. What was he goin' on 'bout anyway?"
Hoth took a deep breath before answering:
"The female you described as your mate matched the description of one of our other females that disappeared about two months ago. Beta was her name and she and Delta used to be a couple., but they broke up not long before she disappeared."
"How could Delta possibility blame me for that? Yer didn't even know me then."
"Actually we did, the slig caretakers kept talking about you and Beta happened to find out what you looked like. It was downhill from there. I'm surprised Beta didn't tell you about us."
Spider closed his eyes as he said:
"That's because, when I meet her, she had no memory of her past. Somethin' durin' her escape must have caused her ter lose her memory and she never got it back. Her name is 'Shriek' now."
Hoth nodded in understanding, as well as (most of) the others.
"You will have a hard time convincing Delta of that..." Charr said.
"Somethin' tells me yer right 'bout that." Spider sighed.

[Danny]

hehe, kilk forgot the ceiling...

i've decided to start reading your fics here, if only so i can see how Hoth, Lunic, Juk, and Felth turn out... also, i've decided that i'm not going to just say 'it's good', because i hate it when people do that to me, so i'm going to give you constructive criticism, if that's okay?

one question, why was spider expecting Delta's reesponse at the end of chapter 3, when he knew nothing of Shriek's past with him?

and a word of advice: be careful not to make the characters too obvious and one-dimensional. what you've done with most of them is very good, but i think you've made Kilk and Juk a little... what's the word? i don't know the word, but i expect you know what i mean.

sorry if i'm being too critical, it's just that i'm giving you the kind of reply i wish people would occasionally give me...

[Sl'askia]

Spider could tell by Delta's body language and his expression. In other words it was very obvious to Spider that Delta was planning on attacking him.
Here's the next chap...sorry for the delay.

Chapter 5

Over the next few hours Spider chatted and started to get to know his fellow crossbreeds.
They asked Spider to tell them about himself and all he did in the outside world and he happily obliged. He didn't know why he didn't feel upset about being caught; he happened to voice this.
"Perhaps it is because you let yourself get caught." Felth suggested.
"Maybe." Spider said, "or it could be that I am surrounded by...my own kind."
"Certainly plausible." Hoth said, "Since, other then your mate, we are the only crossbreeds like you that you have been around."
"Shriek...." Spider lowered his head, "I miss her. I hope she is alright."
"I'm sure she will be fine. From what you have told us you taught her all she needed to know about surviving on her own."
"True..." Spider shook himself off, "By the way, I have never seen a lab where they kept all the subjects in just one or two cells."
"Well, after Beta escaped things changed. Before we were all in separate cells and were forbidden to talk to each other."
"They didn't want us to be showing any forms of 'intelligence'." Charr said.
"Not that you had any to begin with Charr." Echa said with a smirk.
"No the one without intelligence is Goliath." Charr countered.
"That's why Echa said you didn't have any. You keep speaking the obvious Charr." Delta grumbled.
"Better to be a little dense then to be a short tempered twit that can't accept that he was the one that was responsible with what happened to Beta!" Charr snapped.
"How dare you!" Delta howled as he jumped Charr and a fight ensued. Spider quickly ran up to them and broke them up.
"Stop it both of yer!" Spider growled, "Fighting over what happened in the past will not change what happened! What's done is done and there's no goin' back! Yer can only accept it, learn from it and move on. Lettin' the past control yer life will only lead yer ter more pain and sorrow. I know from experience."
"Well spoken Spider." Hoth said, impressed.
"Indeed." a voice said from outside the cell and all heads turned to see a Vykker. Spider, by instinct, snarled at him.
"Easy Spider." the Vykker said, "I am a friend of an old friend of yours."
"Yeah? And who would that be?" Spider growled.
"I am Steinix, friend of the one you once called 'Scrawny'"
Spider's eyes widened and his mouth fell open in shock....

[Sl'askia]

this is an information filled chap...

Chapter 6

"So..." Spider sneered after regaining his senses, "yer went back ter yer old line of work."
"Yes, but not in the way you think. Come with me and I'll explain." Steinix said as he unlocked the cell door and opened it. Spider hesitated a moment, then stepped out and Steinix closed the door and locked it again. He lead Spider down the hall and into another corridor before speaking again.
"The reason I had to take you away from the others is because they are not ready to know what I am about to tell you." he said.
"And that is?" Spider asked.
"First, do you know why you were created?"
Spider thought a moment before answering, "I know that it had something ter der with harnessing Drag's powers fer the Cartel ter use fer themselves."
"Correct, originally you were meant to be the first of a new type of Big Bro. But when you were born, Bastek realized something rather shocking."
"What was that?"
"That your physical appearance, including your size, was amazingly similar to a race that is now believed to be extinct."
"Really?" Spider said, cocking his head in interest.
"Yes, at first he blew it off as pure conquidence. But when he discovered that you were fertile as well, an realization came to him."
"And that is..."
"That it was possible to 'restore' this lost race, using the formula he used to create you to create more like you. He knew he could not replace the race entirely, since the genetic data for that race was lost. But he was willing to make an attempt to restore a race the Cartel was responsible for wiping out. Unfortunately, before Bastek could put this plan into full motion himself, he was killed."
"Then how were the others created?"
"Bastek had friends who were willing to help him with his plan. He had entrusted them with the formula and they carried on after his death. It took four years for them to all get together and built this compound. They were able to recruit others into their cause as well. Unfortunately some of them were in reality Cartel spies and one of them, who was an ally to Myron, managed to gain control of the project.”
“Oh no…”
“This individual decreed that the others must not show any signs of intelligence on our level. He had those showing such signs beaten and whipped. I think this treatment is the cause of the abnormal behavior in a couple of them.”
“I can guess one of those…Lunic right?”
Steinix nodded and continued, “Two months ago he decided that one of them had shown too much intelligence and had her injected with a powerful drug that made her loose her memory.”
“Shriek…” Spider muttered.
“Shriek?” Steinix asked puzzled.
“Shriek is the one that had that done ter her, has ter be. I found her about two months ago with no memory of her past. The others said that my description of her matched Beta’s, who they said escaped around that time.”
“If that is true…then Beta is still alive. This is good news.”
“I have a feelin’ I know what yer goin’ ter say next.”
“And what would that be?”
“Yer want me ter help yer bring Shriek back here, ter rejoin the others.” Spider said, snarling slightly.
Stienix nodded slowly…

[Danny]

hmm... interesting, and well explained. so what happened to Goliath, or was that just natural?

[Sl'askia]

Goliath was like that naturaly.
Finally got another chap done...

Chapter 7

“Why should I help yer? Yer haven’t told me if yer had weeded out the Cartel spies yet. Why should I convince her ter come back here when there is a possibility that they could take control again?” Spider growled.
“When they came to me with the offer to help them with this project a month and a half ago, they told me of the problems they were having with the spies. One of my friends allowed me to burrow her Mindcaller to help root out the spies.” Steinix explained.
“Mindcaller?” Spider said, thinking a moment, “Yes…I remember Drag tellin’ me ‘bout them. They detect lies don’ they?”
“That is correct, and with the Mindcaller’s help we were able to get rid of the spies. After that we were able to start giving the others more freedom. It took awhile to get them to start speaking to us. Hoth was the first to talk to us, and the others followed suit. After that we put them into the two cells you see them in now. Soon, the enclosed habitat we are building will be complete and well be able to release them into it.”
“Ter start trainin’ them on survival in the outside world.”
“Correct. Before we estimated this would take months. But you are here now and would be able to help us train them if you wanted to. And it would greatly help if Beta, or Shriek as you call her, were here as well to help with this as well.”
“The thing is…” Spider said with a sigh, “is that while I der want ter help yer, bringin’ Shriek back here will cause greater tension between me and one of the others.”
“You must mean Delta. Shriek is your mate isn’t she?” When Steinix saw Spider’s nod he continued, “We are aware of the past between Shriek and Delta and now that I know of the relationship between you and Shriek I understand your hesitance. But it would really help us if she were here as well. I can see about providing you two with a separate cell or something.”
“No.” Spider said suddenly, “Put us in the same cell with the other males.”
“Ar…are you sure about that?”
“Yes.” Spider nodded, “I figure it this way, if Shriek’s presence helps ter get Delta ter come ter terms with what has happened in the past then it will be better fer all of us. While yer at it put the other females in there too, from what I have seen they are all old enough ter act responsibly. But wait until I get Shriek.”
“Understood, I will see to the arrangements, and I’ll have the capture party hold off on their search.”
Steinix walked Spider back to the cell and let him back in.
“I’ll come get you when we are ready.” Steinix said. Spider nodded in acknowledgement and Steinix walked away. Right after that the feeders came and they all gathered at the front of the cell. As they headed them there dinner Hoth asked:
“So Spider, what did you two talk about?”
“Can’t tell yer…but I will say this: expect a couple of changes in the near future.” Spider answered as he started eating.
“Like what?” Kilk asked, curious.
Spider looked up at him with a mischievous grin, “Yer will have ter wait and see.”

[Sl'askia]

here's another chap...any comments?

Chapter 8

It has been a couple of days since he got the call to hold off on the search and Tilic and the others were in camp waiting for new orders.
"I wonder why the Boss said ter hold off..." one of sligs said, "We were gettin' close."
"Must be up ter somethin'" Tilic mused, "What I haven't a frackin' clue."
The slig shrugged and went back to eating his rations. Tilic looked around at the others in the camp; some were eating, others sleeping, a couple more playing poker. In other words they were all bored out of their minds. Tilic knew how they felt, after all the life of a Tracker was normally a non-stop adventure, being put on stand by like this drives them out of their minds.
Tilic just happened to look up when a large figure stepped into the small clearing they were in. Tilic knew instantly who it was.
Dear Odd that's Beta! he thought. He could see Beta's expression change rapidly from confusion to fear and she looked unsure as to what to do. Get out of here before the others see yer! Tilic thought frantically his eyes meeting her's. He had a feeling the others would try to catch her, orders or no orders. The crossbreed hesitated and one of the other sligs spotted her.
"Its her!" he shouted, grabbing his gun. Instantly the others got up and grabbed theirs. The crossbreed, seeing this, let out a panicked wail and bolted.
"After her!" they shouted and started to give chase.
"No!" Tilic shouted, "Let her be! We are surpost ter be on stand by!"
"And let this opportunity slip away? Don' think so mate." one slig said as he joined the others.
"Dammit!" Tilic said as he grabbed his gun. "If she ends up gettin' hurt it'll be our hides!"
"Yer better believe it." a voice said behind him menacingly. Tilic whirled around to come face to face with Spider himself, who didn't look very happy.
"How..." was all Tilic could say.
"We made a special arrangement" Steinix said as he stepped into the camp, "I surely how your lads are only armed with tranquilizers...."
"They are." Tilic gulped, not taking his eyes off of Spider.
"Where wastin' time." Spider growled, "The longer we wait the more likely Shriek will get hurt."
It didn't take Tilic long that this 'Shriek' Spider was referring to was Beta. Tilic shook himself off and said:
"All o' the lads are on foot. We can take one o' the jeeps ter catch up."
"Then lets go." Spider said getting impatient.
Tilic jumped into one of the jeep, followed by Spider and Steinix. Tilic turned on the engine and they took off.

It wasn't long before they had to stop at a canyon.
"Damn, she had ter go in here?" Tilic groaned, "that place is a maze of small canyons.”
"Best we continue on foot." Spider said jumping out. Tilic and Steinix nodded and got out as well. They walked along until they reached a junction, Spider immediately started casting about for a scent.
"This way." he said finally and the others followed. They kept going like this until they came across a three-way junction, the rest of Tilic's pack was there, looking confused. Apparently Shriek had managed to leave her scent in all three passages.
"Which way now?" one slig asked the others.
"How am I surpost ter know?" another said, "The scent is every...." the slig stopped short and froze petrified at the sight of Spider, who just grinned at them.
"What the frack!?" another said aiming his gun at Spider.
"Shoot him and I'll pump yer so full of tranks that yer won't wake up til next year." Tilic scowled, "I told yer lot not ter go after her!"
The pack looked very guilty and sheepish. Finally one of them asked: "Why is Spider here. I thought we caught him."
"Special arrangements have been made." Spider said as he stepped into the junction, "Now back off and let me handle this."
They weren't about to argue, Tilic's pack walked back to where Steinix and Tilic waited. They watched as Spider looked at each of the passages.
How is he goin' ter get her out? Tilic thought. He saw Spider visible take a deep breath and lower his head. He then let out a sound that was so low in frequency that it was barely audible. It was like a very low-pitched purr and Tilic could have sworn he felt it as well. He saw Spider lay down and wait. He didn't have to wait long as soon a similar sound was heard, only higher pitched. It came from the passage on the right and Spider turned himself toward it and repeated the call he made earlier. Again there was a return call and Tilic could hear something approaching at a fast clip. Suddenly Shriek appeared and jumped on Spider, knocking him over. At first Tilic thought Shriek was attacking, but when he saw the tears in their eyes he realized it wasn't an attack...it was an embrace.....

[DarkHoodness]

Oooh, VERY cool and interesting, Drag! Keep up the good work.
- DH

[Sl'askia]

hmm only DH replied? pity....

Chapter 9

"Oh Spider I was so afraid that I had lost you for good." Shriek said as he held Spider tightly, tears streaming down her face.
"I am a lot harder ter get rid o' then that love." Spider said as he hugged her, "Odd I missed yer..."
"I missed you too. How did you escape?"
"Well..." Spider said as he stood back up again and motioned toward Steinix and the Trackers, "It wasn't exactly an escape. We made an agreement."
Shriek whined and backed away. "What!?" she cried, "What sort of agreement? Your freedom in exchange for mine?"
"Shriek don' jump ter conclusions. Let me explain."
"Ok..ok..." Shriek said calming down, "explain then."
So Spider told her about the project and her eyes widened when he told her about the others.
"So...there are more like us?" she said.
"Yes, 10 others, 2 o' them are female. I have seen them myself." Spider answered.
"None of them are...aggressive are they?"
"Well...one is, but he knows better then ter try ter attack anyone, at least me and I won' let him touch yer."
"Alright...I'll come back will you and...them." she motioned at the others, "as long as we are allowed to be together."
"Don' worry, that has already been takin' care o' love." Spider reassuringly as he nuzzled her neck....

During the whole trip back to the Tracker camp Shriek stayed as close to Spider as she could, nearly causing him to trip a couple of times. Once at the camp Spider led her to a transport, but she refused to get in unless Spider got in first. After they were both in the pair curled up together in a corner and Steinix got in along with the Trackers once they have packed up their camp. They were then on their way...

"I wonder why we were moved to a another larger cell?" Hoth said, more to himself then the others.
"Probably so there would be enough room for Spider's ego...." Delta grumbled.
"That's not funny Delta."
"I wasn't trying to be funny."
Hoth groaned and so did most of the others; Delta has been in a sour mood ever sense Spider arrived. He knew Spider was up to something, something that the Master's agreed with him upon, but what he had no idea.
"The worse thing is..." Kilk whined, "Is that we can't see the girls anymore..."
"Yeah...how can we flirt with them if we can't see them?" Charr added.
"Is that all you two think about?" Felth asked.
"No." Kilk and Charr said in unison, both had mischievous grins on their faces.
"I had to ask..."
"Maybe..." Lunic said quietly, "they are...doing experiments...on them."
"You loony. The Master's haven't done experiments on us since Beta escaped." Charr said.
"Doesn't mean...they have...stopped doing them...completely."
"What are you trying to do? Scare us? Jeez shuddup!"
"Oh leave him alone Charr." Juk said, snarling briefly, "he can't help thinking the worst, it's how he is."
"And what are you going to do if I don't tough guy?" Charr said getting into Juk's face. "Punch me?"
"You are pushing it...." Juk growled.
"Enough you two...someone is coming." Hoth said.
They all moved to the front of the cell, looking to see who was coming. After a moment they saw Spider, who was being led by Stienix to them. Behind Spider they could see Invy and Echa, who both looked a bit bewildered. Then they spotted someone else...and it was a big shock. Walking close beside Spider where it was hard for them to see, was someone they thought they would never see again.
"Beta...?" Delta gasped....

[Danny]

sorry i haven't replied yet, i don't know why, but i don't seem to have looked at this for a few days, and suddenly you've got a lot done. anyway, i think this is getting very good. i'm glad you toned down the personalities of the drakkics, particularly Juk. one thing i've only just realised, though: how were Delta and Beta mates when they've always been kept in different cages?

[Sl'askia]

*cough*readmysteriesofthepast*cough*

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 10

"Spider..." Hoth asked puzzled, "What is going on?"
Spider just smiled as Steinix opened the cell door. Then, to everyones surprise, ushered Invy and Echa into the cell with them. It took a moment of coaxing, but Spider was able to get Shriek inside before stepping in himself and Steinix closed the door.
"If you need anything just call." Steinix said before leaving them.
At first everyone was too shocked to say or do anything, save for Spider, who had a smug look on his face and Shriek who was pressed as close as to Spider as she could and was looking at everyone nervously.
"This...." Lunic said suddenly, "is an...unexpected...development..."
"Yes...it is." Hoth said.
"Heh...for once it wasn't Charr that stated the obvious." Kilk grinned as he approached Echa.
"So much as breathe on me and I'll sock you." Echa growled, more out of nervousness then anything else. Kilk rather quickly stepped back again.
"Spider...you arranged this didn't you?" Hoth asked.
Again Spider smiled, rather smugly. "Yep." he said, "I figured yer were all mature enough not ter try anythin' stupid." He gave both Charr and Kilk a quick warning glare, who cringed.
"Beta..." Delta said approaching Shriek...who whined and hid behind Spider, "It's me...Delta...you got to remember me Beta."
"Spider..." Shriek whined, "Why is he calling me Beta? That...wasn't my name before was it?"
"Yes...Beta was yer old name. The one's yer see here yer once knew before yer lost yer memory." Spider answered.
"You mean...I lived here once?"
"Yes, and you were my...my mate." Delta said, looking hopeful.
"You weren't her mate not long before she escaped Delta." Charr snorted, "Or did you conveniently forget that sock in the face you gave her?"
Delta suddenly turned toward Charr, a look of fury on his face. "SHUT UP! THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Delta screamed.
"Yes it is...everyone in here save for Spider saw that. You even called her a bitch."
Furious, Delta jumped for Charr, who barely dodged out of the way. Spider quickly jumped on Delta and pinned him, Shriek scrambling to a corner.
"Whether it's true or not no longer matters as Shriek wouldn't remember anyway. She is no longer the one yer used ter know." Spider said, strangely calm, "It's best fer yerself and the others that yer put this behind yer and move on. Yer can't keep hopin' fer somethin' that will never happen."
He let go of Delta then and Delta, who had completely broken down into tears, got up and ran to the opposite corner.
"Now that that's takin' care of..." Spider said, "I would like ter introduce yer ter someone." He turned his head toward Shriek and rumbled softly to her. Shriek purred in response and trotted up to him. Spider wrapped his arm around her and nuzzled her affectionately. "This is Shriek. Shriek, this is Hoth, Juk, Lunic, Kilk, Goliath, Felth, Charr, Echa, Invy, and Delta." Each of them (save for Delta) nodded his/her head as Spider said their name.
"Um...H...hi." Shriek said and she pressed herself against Spider's chest.
"It's ok love," Spider rumbled reassuringly, "we are all kin here."
"Kin?" Hoth said, raising a brow, "Never heard that term before."
"It means 'one of his/her own kind', 'relative', or 'family'." Spider explained.
"We...never really saw ourselves that way before..."
"We might as well, as there are no others like us anywhere else. Due ter that we need ter look out fer each other, as kin take care of their own."
They all nodded in agreement….

[Sl'askia]

I don't like how this chap came out...*sigh* oh well...

Chapter 11

Over the next two weeks everyone got to know each other. Well save for Delta, who kept to himself most of the time.
Invy and Echa at first stuck together as neither of them were in such close proximity with the males before. After a few days they relaxed as they got used to being so close to them. Shriek, understandably, stayed close to Spider but was starting interact with the others as well.
One day Hoth was watching Spider and Shriek. They were both laughing as they tickled each other and wrestled. He tell that they had a strong bond between each other and virtually nothing would drive them apart. He looked over at Delta, who was watching them as well. He could see the longing in his eyes.
Oh Delta… he thought, Why can’t you accept that its over and move on? She’s not the same person you…any of us for that matter, once knew.
His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Steinix approached their cell and call to Spider. Spider immediately got up, walked over to the front of the cell, and he and Steinix started talking in low voices.
What are they up to this time? Hoth wondered. He looked at the others and could tell they were wondering as well.
After a couple of minutes he saw Spider nod and Steinix open the door. Spider then turned toward the others and said:
“Come on guys and girls. Somethin’ new is waitin’ fer us.”
“Something new? Like what?” Kilk asked.
“Yer will have ter come and see.” Spider replied, that smug look back on his face, and he stepped through the door, Shriek following.
The others were hesitant, not sure what to think of this.
“Come on.” Hoth said reassuringly, “What ever it is…it can’t be bad now could it?” He then followed Spider’s lead and stepped out of the cell. Encouraged, the others followed, even Delta….

Steinix lead them down a long hallway lined with small windows. The windows were too high up for them to see out of though so they couldn’t see what was on the other side of the walls.
Finally Steinix stopped in front of a huge set of doors and started typing in a code on the keypad there. The doors opened and a rush of sunlight blinded them momentarily. When their eyes adjusted, they all (save for Spider and Shriek) gasped in shock.
“This…” Steinix said, “for the next few months is your new home.”

[Danny]

i don't see what's wrong with that chapter; it has a couple of clumsy moments, but its good parts far outweigh its not-so-good bits...

[Sl'askia]

finally got the next chap done...

Chapter 12

Before them was a huge enclosure and it went as far out as they could see. They could see a chain link fence topped with barbed wire going out from each side of the double doors they just came out of.
"Well..." Spider said impressed as he and the others walked in, "yer certainly out did yerselves. How big is this?"
"The enclosure encircles a good 20 miles worth of land and we made every attempt to include as many different habitats as possible." Steinix answered, "and we have guards patrolling the outside perimeter to keep any trespassers out. Would you like a little tour?"
Spider and the others nodded and Steinix beckoned for them to follow him. He lead them pass a small forest, a stream, there was even a small lake. Spider and Shriek were taking casual glances around and concentrated on keeping up with Steinix. The others moved more slowly and cautiously. They moved in a more submissive posture and were investigating everything; this was all brand new to them. Finally Steinix stopped at the top of a hill and Spider looked at first in shock, then laughed.
"Heh, yer even got an elum herd in here." he said.
"A what herd?" Kilk asked.
"Elum, they are one of the many species of wildlife that roam out here." Steinix answered.
"Ok...but why are they in here with us? They are not dangerous are they?" Invy asked.
Spider grinned as he said, "No they wouldn't attack anyone outright and the reason they are in here is because we are goin' ter be huntin' them as food."
"You mean..." Hoth said, looking a bit shocked.
"That's right. I goin' ter be teachin' yer how ter survive out here and that includes huntin' prey animals fer food."
"But...they're living beings..." Invy protested.
"What have yer been eatin' every day of yer lives?"
"Meat." Charr answered, licking his jaws, "Nice..thick..an' bloody meat."
"And where der yer think meat comes from?"
They all went very quiet. Finally, after a long moment, Lunic spoke.
"You mean...we been eating these...'elums'...the whole time?"
"That is correct." Steinix replied, "Out here though Spider will teach you how to hunt not just elums...but all sorts of prey animals. Animals we will be placing in here as time goes on."
"Wow cool." Charr said, "What other animals would we be eating?"
"Scrabs, paramites, various types of fish, and several others. The scrabs will be introduced much later...as they are aggressive and can be very dangerous."
"I don't think I can do this...." Invy whined.
Spider walked over to Invy and nuzzled her sympathically.
"I know this is a dramatic change fer yer....all o' yer. But we are predators and predators kill and eat other animals ter survive. It's the law o' nature. There is nothin' else we can eat indefinitely, our bodies are not designed fer it."
"I'm sorry..." Invy sniffed, "This is all so sudden for me..."
"We will be providing you with food like we always had while Spider is teaching you, so you can get used to your new surroundings and other things before you have to start seriously hunting on your own." Steinix said.
"Yer don' have ter worry 'bout killin' anythin' fer a while, as I need ter teach yer lot a few other things before yer reach that stage."
"You mean we have to wait before we hunt? Ah man..." Charr whined.
"Not everyone is as eager as you are Charr." Delta snarled.
"So when does the training start?" Hoth asked.
"After we eat tonight." Spider answered, "Until then, we need are goin' ter get ter know this place."
"Dinner will be provided at the doors you came in here from." Steinix said, "We will be monitoring your progress and will come to your aid immediately if any serious injuries should happen to occur." he saw them nod with understanding, "I must go now. Teach them well Spider."
"I will." Spider said, "I will."

[ September 23, 2001: Message edited by: Dragadon ]

[Danny]

"We will be providing you with food like we always had while Spider is teaching you, so you can get used to your new surroundings and other things before you have to start seriously hunting on your own." - i guessed that this was steinix, but you might want to make it clearer.

[Sl'askia]

D'OH! Ta Rettick...you where right.

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 13

By the late afternoon had rolled around, Spider and the rest of the group had explored a good portion of the enclosure. As soon as they made it back to the double doors, all save for Spider and Shriek, plopped down exhausted.
“Ooohhhh.” Kilk groaned as he laid on his back, “I am going to be so sore in the morning….”
“I second that…” Charr whined as he licked his sore paws.
“Third…” mumbled a nearly asleep Hoth.
“I think you wore them out.” Shriek chuckled.
“With time they’ll get used ter travelin’ fer long periods.” Spider said with a smile as he looked over the exhausted group, all of who were laying down.
After a few moments the doors opened and the feeders came out with their dinner. They all eagerly got up and started eating their fill, well all save for Invy…who was picking at her portion. Spider went up to her, concerned.
“Yer need ter eat Invy. Yer will need the energy.” He said.
“I can’t eat this…” Invy whined, “Not after finding out where it came from…”
“Invy…” Spider sighed, “I told yer, we are predators and predators eat other animals.”
“But we are intelligent predators.” Invy countered, “One’s that can make choices as to what we eat.”
“That is true. But the only plentiful food item that will be out here is other animals. So we have no choice.”
“There is always a choice!” Invy growled, “and I’ll prove it to you! I’m going to find some fruit or something!” With that Invy bolted.
Spider let out an angry howl and went after her. His howl caused the others to jump; they had never heard such a sound before. They watched as Spider quickly caught up with Invy, knock her to the ground, and pin her.
“Now yer listen ter me!” they heard Spider growl, “We can’t afford ter go experimentin’ with eatin’ unknown plant life! There are many plants out there that are poisonness and would make yer very sick if not kill yer!”
“But…” they heard Invy whine, “You have been living out here…wouldn’t you know…”
“I know about some…but not enough of them ter eat as yer only source of food, Invy.” They saw Spider release her and allow her to stand up.
“Look…” Spider said softly, “I understand how yer feel…I know it was a shock ter see the faces of what yer been eatin’ all yer life.”
Invy just sniffed, her head hung low.
“Look…” Spider said, “next time I get the chance, I’ll ask Steinix if he could have the feeders start giving us some fruits and stuff every once in a while, but meat will still be are primary source of food. Until then…yer will have ter make der with what we are given…ok?”
“O…k.” Invy muttered and Spider nuzzled her. He lead her back and she started to eat the rest of her food; somewhat slowly…but she ate all of it.
“Spider.” Hoth asked as Spider settled down with the rest of them, “What was that sound you made?”
“Yeah…we never heard anything like that before…” Felth said.
“That was a howl.” Spider said with a smile.
“It’s one of many sounds Spider and I use to communicate with each other when not using words.” Shriek added.
“I suppose how to make and use this sounds will be one of your lessons.” Hoth mused.
“That is correct, but not until mornin’.“ Spider said, “as I know yer lot are ter tired ter learn anythin’ right now.”
“Ain’t that the truth…” Kilk said with a yawn.
“Well then…” Spider said as snuggled up next to Shriek, “Get some sleep, trainin’ starts in the mornin’”
Too tired and exhausted to really care that they are sleeping outside for the first time, they all curled up and fell asleep….

[Sl'askia]

wheee! I'm on a roll!

Chapter 14

When the group woke up the next morning, the air was thick with fog. They could barely see anything in front of their faces, let alone each other.
"Wh...why can't I see anything!?" Kilk cried, panicking, "What is this stuff?"
Kilk started to bolt, only to right away run smack into someone or something. He 'bounced' off and landed flat on his back.
"OW! Who bumped me!?" he heard Echa growl.
"S..sorry, Echa." Kilk whined, "I didn't see you..."
"Feh...can't see anything in this stuff...." Echa growled annoyed as she tried to knock the fog away, with obviously no effect. Frustrated she swung her arm around and end up smacking something solid.
"OW!" someone said.
"Oops...sorry Delta.." Echa said.
"First I lose Beta, then I get moved out of our nice comfy cell, and now I get smacked by a blind idiotic female...." Delta grumbled.
"HEY!" Echa growled, "It's not my fault that you are having so many problems you jerk! And I bet you can't see a thing right now anyway!"
"Aw jeez...don't start this now..." Hoth groaned somewhere nearby, "Let's worry about finding everyone."
"Unless we got sleep walkers in the group," they heard Spider say, "yer should be all in the same place yer were when yer fell asleep last night."
"Hmmm that's right...I did cuddle up next to Echa last night..." Kilk said with a slight laugh.
"What!?" Echa cried and pounced in the direction of Kilk's voice, by luck she got him and he yelped in surprised.
"I didn't do anything! I swear!" Kilk cried as he managed to squirm out of Echa's grasp.
"ENOUGH!" Spider's voice boomed, startling all of them, "Now all of yer...say 'here' when I call out yer name. Charr!"
"Here!" Charr answered somewhere from Spider's left.
"Delta!"
There was a growl from the front.
"Ok good enough...Echa!"
"Here." Echa grumbled to the left of Delta.
"Felth!"
"Here!" he heard Felth answer to his right.
"Goliath!" He heard a whine to his left.
"Ok..Hoth!"
"Here." Hoth said close by to his right.
"Invy!"
"Here!" he heard her say close by to his left.
"Kilk!"
"Present!" Kilk said to the left of Echa.
"Wise guy..." Spider grumbled and he felt a nuzzle on his neck on his right side.
"I'm here." he heard Shriek say softly with a purr.
Spider rumbled slightly and continued, "Lunic!"
No response was heard and Spider called out again, "Lunic!"
Suddenly someone poked him on the left side and he jumped.
"Here..." he heard Lunic say.
"Don' do that!" Spider grumbled as he turned toward the white crossbreed, who was barely visible in the still thick fog, "scared the shit outta me."
There were sounds of laughter, "Ah quiet!"
"Followed...your voice...to...find you." Lunic said, smiling faintly.
"And how did yer know ter follow my voice.?" Spider asked, inquisitively.
"Vision was...impaired...Moisture...destroys...all scent...Sound only way...to locate...someone."
"Very good." Spider said, impressed.
"What is this stuff anyway? It's annoying that I can't see...." Kilk asked.
"This is fog." Spider said, "and it will disappear as the sun raises and it warms up. But while it's here...I will teach yer 'bout sounds and how they can help yer locate each other, potential prey, and alert yer ter potential danger."
"Sound's interesting..." Hoth said with a smirk, "pun intended."
There were some chuckles and giggles and Spider proceeded with the lesson. By the time the feeders came, the fog had lifted and the group had a new appreciation for sound.

[Teal]

*sidelong look at Foggy*

Nope, he didn't notice anything, Drag, I think you're safe.

*reads it again*

Nope, can't think of any nits to pick.

[Sl'askia]

ok I know these chaps are getting boring... next one after this one will be more exciting I promise!

Chapter 15

After they had eaten the group was rested, letting their meal settle. Hoth noticed during this time that Shriek was looking over Spider very closely, her face practically up against his skin. Once in a while he noticed she would nip him gently. Sometimes this would cause Spider to wince slightly, though through most of it his eyes were closed and he had an expression of pure contentment on his face. He had seen her do this before, when they
were still in the cell, and he thought it was just part of their courtship, but now...as he watched it seemed to serve a different purpose. He noticed that Shriek was looking everywhere, over every inch of his skin and around every spine, using a handfoot to move the spines and skin when necessary. And Spider would let her move his arms around so she could get a better look, at one point he even rolled onto one side. Finally curiosity got the better of him and he walked over to them.
"Um..." Hoth started looking slightly embarrassed, "I'd hate to interrupt something that looks like a private matter but...what the heck are you doing?"
"Grooming." Shriek answered without looking up at him, "Basically looking for parasites and removing them from his skin."
"Parasites? What are those?" Invy asked, who had also been watching them.
"Tiny bugs that...if yer don' remove them could make yer very sick...even kill yer." Spider answered, opening his eyes to look up at them.
"Eek..." Kilk said with a shudder, "How do you get rid of them?"
"There are a couple of ways...one is what Shriek is doin' an' 'nother is a mud bath. Personally I prefer this method..." Spider said with a slight rumble as Shriek checked his neck, pausing a moment to lick his face.
"Look's like that method requires you to really trust the one doing it...." Juk mentioned.
"Well, " Spider said as he stood up, "we are all kin here, so I don' see how we can't trust each other." There was a snarl from Delta. "Well...with one exception..."
"If we decide to try it what do we look for?" Hoth asked.
"I'll show yer." Spider said getting up, "Goliath come 'ere."
Goliath did so and at Spider's command laid down, acting just an obedient puppy. Spider then used Goliath as a giant guinie pig, showing the others what to look for and teaching them how to remove the bugs. Goliath did snap at a couple of them when they accidentally bit down too hard with trying their luck at removing the bugs, but most of the time he just laid there, very placid.
Once Goliath was thoroughly 'debugged' the group practiced on each other, though a couple took some convincing to let someone 'debug' them....
When the grooming lesson was finished, Spider reviewed with them the sound lesson and taught them how to make the various sounds he and Shriek used. By the time lunch came, they were all familiar with each other’s unique howl.

After lunch they were again lounging about, settling their meal. Suddenly Spider got up and walked over to a tree and looked up at it. The others looked at him puzzled, (all save for Shriek, who had a knowing smile on her face) wondering what he was up to.
"Want some desert?" Spider asked with a smile.
"Um...sure but...what's in the tree that we could possibly eat?" Charr asked.
"Fruit...and it looks ripe."
Invy perked up with interest. "Fruit that is safe to eat?" she asked.
"Yep, hold on I'll grab some."
"Looks too high up for you to reach Spider." Charr said, "Maybe we should have Goliath...knock...the....tree.....down.......whoa"
They looked on in shock as Spider easily climbed the tree and proceeded to knock down some of the fruit down to them.
"Knocking the tree down would be counter-productive." Spider said as he knocked down more fruit, "fer if yer knock it down, the tree will die and yer wouldn't get any more fruit from it." Once he knocked down enough he climbed back down again, "In this case...the long term benefits greatly outweigh the short term."
The he knocked down were, in a sense, jumbo sized peaches. They were 7 inches in diameter, orange and red in color, and had a soft lining of fuzz covering it. The group sniffed at them cautiously, then they started taking small bites out of them. They found it rather pleasant tasting and they quite happily ate more, savoring the sweet taste. Soon they were all quite full and were dozing in the afternoon sun.
Spider and Shriek took the opportunity to sneak off and spend some 'quality' time alone together...

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

[Danny]

*ahem* first line please?

well, this is good, although it has to be said that the teaching thing is getting a little dull now, as well as kind of predictable... maybe something should, well, happen?

sorry, this criticism isn't very constructive, i'll try better in future...

[Sl'askia]

eeeks! Ta Rettick...it fixed now.

[Sl'askia]

heres the next chap.

Chapter 16

A couple of weeks have passed and the group was doing well. Spider taught them many things, including climbing trees (though it was found out that Goliath was just too big to climb trees…). Now Spider was getting into the basics of hunting, a major step in their training….

Delta grumbled as he paced not far away from the rest of the group, who were resting and milling around after Spider’s latest training session on tracking. He noticed Spider and Shriek had walked off together and disappeared into the forest.. He didn’t need to follow them to know what they where up too and it infuriated him. Beta was his mate not Spiders! Sure he made mistakes with her and he regretted them, he let his temper drive her away. He wanted to make up things to her when she came back, but oh how convenient she lost her memory and found someone else…this Spider! Her memory loss would have been perfect for him to start over with her…but no…Spider had to find her and steal her heart away from him. Oooohhh he hated him, he wanted to beat him to a pulp and show that egotistical Spider that he was better then he is! But no…Spider was too strong and skilled, but Delta knew he would get better and hopefully…no will get strong enough to knock Spider off his high and mighty pedestal! He’ll show him up…all he needed was time…
“You’re making a trench in the ground.” Delta heard someone giggle and he whirled around to see Invy.
“What do you want?” Delta growled slightly, not really wanting to talk to anyone at the moment.
“Just wondering what you are so upset about.” Invy said.
“Humph.” Delta snorted, “Need you ask?”
“Spider…” Invy said with a sigh, “you’re still upset about Shriek being with him now.”
Delta growled and resumed his pacing, “She’s mine I tell you…MINE!”
“She was once Delta…” Invy said softly, “but not anymore. She is not the female you once knew…why can’t you just let go and move on?”
Delta snorted and flopped down onto the ground, looked away from Invy and sulked.
Invy sighed and shook her head; she was about to leave Delta to his sulking when she spotted something. It was a bush full of black pea sized berries and Invy sniffed them curiously. In the past Invy would ask Spider if he knew any fruits and berries she came across were ok to eat, but Spider wasn’t ‘available’ at the moment. She really wanted to find out before she tried or forgot about them.
“Do you think these are safe to eat Delta?” she asked.
“How the hell would I know?” Delta grumbled.
“Well…normally I would ask Spider if he…”
“Spider, Spider, Spider!” Delta growled, “Don’t be so dependent on him! Take a chance for once! Sheesh!”
“Um…ok…” Invy said nervously and ate some. The berries had a slight sweet taste to them, so she ate more. All of a sudden she felt very sick and weak.
“Delta…” Invy managed to say before collapsing.
“What now?” Delta growled. When he didn’t heard a response he looked back to see Invy on the ground, unconscious. “Oh no…” Delta immediate got up and went over to her. Her skin had a clammy feel to it and her breathing was coming in short ragged gasps.
Oh no…what have I done!? Delta thought, the feeling of guilt was overwhelming, Wha…what should I do?
He thought frantically, searching though all the lesson’s Spider had grilled into their heads. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, he remembered and let out the two sharp bark-like calls that was the call for help. The response was immediate…
Spider crashed through the undergrowth and ran over to him. He looked like he was about to ask him what was wrong when he saw Invy and went to her. After he checked her vital signs he asked: “What happened?”
“She…she…ate some of those berries over there…” Delta replied motioning toward the bush.
“Why did she eat these!?” Spider said shocked, “She knows ter ask me before tryin’ anythin’!”
“I…” Delta broke down into sobs, “encouraged her too…”
“WHAT!?”
“I’m sorry…” Delta lowered himself into a submissive posture as Spider loomed over him angrily, “I wasn’t thinking…I…”
“Shuttup…” Spider growled as he turned back to Invy, “We’ll play the blame game later…right now we need ter get Invy ter medical staff.”
“O…k….”
Fortunately, as Steinix had told them, they had seen the event and a medical team arrived quickly. They could only watch helplessly as the medical team examined Invy, took a sample of the berries she ate, put Invy on a truck and drove away…leaving them all wondering if Invy will pull through….

[Sl'askia]

things get a little heated...

Chapter 17

There was no training for the rest of the day, as Spider was too worried about Invy to think of anything to train the group on. The whole group was depressed, not even Kilk could think of a joke or antic to lighten the mood. But along with that depression was tension, tension between two of the group in particular: Spider and Delta.
Delta was keeping his distance from the rest of the group, moping. Spider was switching between depressed and angry moods seemingly at random. He would get up once in a while and pace, occasionally whacking a bush with a hand or his tail and occasionally glancing at Delta with a nasty glare. Finally Delta snapped...
"QUIT GLARING AT ME LIKE THAT!" Delta howled angrily, "I SAID I WAS SORRY!"
Spider whirled around and faced Delta, growling.
"Sayin' sorry does not change what happened." Spider growled, "It does not change that yer let yer temper get the best of yer and caused Invy ter eat somethin' that may end up killin' her!"
"No..." Delta got up and faced Spider, snarling, "It's all your fault..."
"What!?"
"If it wasn't for you...Shriek would still be Beta and my mate. If it wasn't for you...we would still be in our comfy cell and not roughing it out here in the wilderness! If it wasn't for you! Invy would have never started trying these fruits and stuff...so it all boils down to you Spider! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
Spider back up a bit, a look of shock on his face. Hundreds of thoughts were going though his head at once, many memories. Memories of how certain bad things in his past have happened because of him. He had fought for a long time against the feeling that the world would have been better off without him; he thought he had defeated it, but now it was back again. Spider backed up a bit more, head low and his eyes crushed closed. A mixture of anger, pain, and sorrow was on his face and his body was trembling.
"Shriek..." Hoth whispered, "What's happening?"
"Delta...has opened an old wound." Shriek whispered back, her voice trembling with fear.
"Oh what's this?" Delta taughted as he started to trot around Spider, "seems I have found your weakness Spider....you can't take guilt well can you?" "Wh...what will happen? Any idea?" Kilk asked nervously.
"He would...either break down...or...explode...." Lunic muttered, chewing on his claws and laying as flat on the ground as he could. Everyone save for Spider and Delta were down low, frightened and unsure as to what will happen next.
"Yes...seems I have finally found something to hold over you Spider..."
Delta laughed, almost insanely, "Something that knocks you off your 'oh I'm so great' pedestal!" Delta stopped right in front of him, his head held high. "So what ya going to do eh? Break down and cry like the weakling you truly are?"
"No..." Spider said quietly, his voice filled with venom as he looked up at Delta. With that Spider's whole posture changed, his head was still low, but his eyes were open, filled with fury and the pupils were nothing but very thin slits. His back was fully arched, his face tentacles were fully curled up, and his lips pulled back in a terrible snarl. Delta realized then...that he had pushed Spider too far. But Delta, in his current mental state, didn't fully realize the danger he was in.
"Oh you threatening me now?" Delta cooed as he bounced back and forth in front of Spider, "You want to tangle? Come on then weakling...lets tangle!"
Shriek was looking on with a horrified look at her face, she could tell Spider was fighting to keep himself under control...and Delta's taughting wasn't making it easy, in fact...it was pushing him even more.
"Delta! Stop taughting him before he...!" she started to cry but it was to late...for at the moment...Spider snapped...and struck....

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 18

Delta just barely dodged getting smacked in the head by one of Spider's paws.
"Missed me weakling..." Delta said, laughing insanely as he stuck back, striking Spider and causing him to lose his balance. But Spider recovered quickly and rammed into Delta, making Delta lose his balance completely and fall over. Thinking quickly Delta grabbed some dirt and threw it into Spider's eyes and rolled away.
Howling with fury, Spider struck at were Delta once was, but hitting nothing but dirt. Delta rammed him in the side, succeeding in moving him a few feet, but nothing else. Spider spun around and struck Delta with his tail, sending Delta crashing to the ground.
Shriek and the others looked on horrified as the fight went on; none of them had seen either of the two combatants like this before.
"We have to stop them..." Shriek muttered.
"Yeah right...I'm not getting into their grudge match...let them sort it out for themselves." Juk grumbled.
"No no you don't understand...Spider will end up killing Delta!"
"Huh!?" Hoth said shocked, "How do you know this?"
"He told me that the last time he was like this...he killed five people and all five were experienced fighters."
"So you mean...Delta has just been extremely lucky so far...." Kilk gulped,
"So...h...how do we stop them?"
"I don't know!" Shriek sobbed as they watched in horror as Spider managed to knock Delta into a tree, knocking him out.
"We have to so something!" Felth cried as he ran up and put himself between Delta and the advancing Spider, "Spider stop! If you kill him you will never forgive yourself!"
Spider glared at Felth and howled angrily at him, but Felth stood his ground looking at Spider with a look of steel resolve in his eyes. Spider looked like he was about to ram Felth, but then Shriek ran up beside Felth.
"Spider please stop!" Shriek cried, "Stop before you kill someone!"
Spider's look softened slightly and he backed away a step.
"Spider..." Shriek said softly as she approached him, "I know the real you is in there somewhere. You can fight this rage...I know you can."
Spider backed up more, looked toward the ground and crushed his eyes closed. They could tell he was fighting it, but they weren't sure if he was pushed so far that he would be able to fight it completely on his own. After a few tense moments, it was found out that he couldn't hold out, for he said with a strained voice:
"Knock me out..."
"Wha..." Shriek said shocked.
"Knock me out...its the only way...ter keep me from spilling blood. Hurry...I can't hold it back...much...longer."
They hesitated...they realize that they would have to succeed in knocking him out in the first blow...otherwise he could turn on all of them.
Fortunately they didn't have to, for a shot rang out and a trank dart struck Spider in the neck. Spider howled with fury and looked around wildly for the one that shot him, but the trank was a fast acting one and he staggered and fell, asleep. The rest of the group looked up and behind them so see Tilic jump down from a tree, walk over to Spider and pull out the trank dart.
"He'll be awake again in a couple of hours." Tilic said, "And a lot less grumpy."
"Thank Odd..." Shriek muttered as she curled up next to Spider.
"Yeah...the bosses noticed the fight and radioed me ter stop it. I was ready ter trank 'em both if I had ter."
"Good thing..." Hoth said, "Things looked like it would've gotten messy."
"Oh...jus' remembered," Tilic said, "they also told me ter tell yer that Invy is stable and will make a full recovery. She'll be back with yer in 'bout a week."
There was a cheer of joy at that news....

[Sl'askia]

Chapter 19

When Spider and Delta woke up later that day and told the news, they were relieved. However, Delta didn't apologize for what he had said and Spider didn't feel like pressing for one. Spider did apologized for his own behavior and said that the rage they witnessed was something he was hoping they never would have had to see. They all accepted his apology, save for Delta, who just snorted; but they were expecting that.
A week later, as Tilic said, Invy rejoined them. She was a little weak and all apologetic for being so stupid; but Spider told her not to worry about it and that the most important thing was that she survived.

After waiting a couple of days to allow Invy to resettle, Spider and Shriek started up the lessons again. They finished and reviewed the tracking lessons and moved on to the biggest lesson of all: hunting.
Spider had the group watch from a distance as he and Shriek demonstrated how a hunt went, using the resident elum herd as the prey. That night...they had the first meal that was not provided to them by the feeders at the compound. Naturally, they were a bit squeamish at first, save for Charr...who practically dived in. Eating the meat of a fresh kill ended up being a lesson in itself and they were all messy afterward, which naturally meant that they took a while to clean themselves off...
Over the next few days, Spider had the group try their hand at hunting themselves, breaking them up into groups of three or four. The first day they didn't catch anything and a couple of them even ended up being chased up a tree by an enraged elum bull. That following night Spider stressed the importance of teamwork and using strategy. The next couple of days they still didn't catch anything, but were getting better and again Spider coached them on what they did wrong. On the forth day, they succeeded and the group rejoiced. The following days they continued to improve, though they still missed a lot, which is normal for predators.

One night Steinix came out to them to congratulate them on their progress. He also took the time to finally tell all of them the reason for all this training. It came a bit as a shock.
"You mean..." Hoth said surprised, "that we were created to restore a race that was lost?"
"That is correct." Steinix said, "It would have been better if there were an equal number of males and females between you, but unfortunately the females proved difficult to create. We are lucky to have the females we did manage create."
"A question." Spider said, "One that I've been meanin' ter ask. Why didn't yer jus' keep creatin' more of us, usin' the formula my father used ter create me?"
"We wanted to, but before we were able to preage all of the Cartel spies out of the project they destroyed all the copies of the formula we had. Try as we might, we weren't able to recreate it. You are all we have."
"So...its up to us..." Felth muttered, "A daunting task...but we will try our best."
"It is all that we as of you, to try your best." Steinix said, "And we will continue to try to recreate the formula even after you are released."
"Just curious..." Kilk said, "But what was this 'race' called?"
Steinix thought a moment, "According to the few references we have on them, they had refered to themselves as 'Drakkics'."
"Then I'd say..." Felth said standing up, "if we are going to be restoring this race...we should call ourselves the same thing, 'Drakkics'. Don't the rest of you agree?"
They just didn't nod in agreement...they howled....

The next morning was foggy, fog as thick as pea soup. It didn't disturb them like it did the first time they encountered it, they just called to each other and got together to groom. Soon the fog began to lift and the group started to prepare for the morning hunt.
Suddenly there was the sound of a loud explosion and the whole group jumped in surprise.
"What the **** was that!?" Delta asked.
"Somethin'...bad." was all Spider could say. He was staring in the direction the sound came from. "And it came from the compound..." He was praying it was just an accident, a boiler overloading or something. But when he saw Tilic run up to them with a panicked look on his face he realized it wasn't...
"Tilic what's going on?" Kilk asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
"The compound is under attack!" Tilic cried, "And yer have ter get out of here!"