Maybe It's Not Too Late After All

The Count

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Mmm, interesting. Didn't realize the way Piggy got into Dead Slum was because she died, as have almost all the other residents there.
Never got into Net Hack Slash. I know it aired on Cartoon Network on Saturdays, back when Adult Swim wasn't on every night and CN aired anime into the wee hours of the morning. Gosh I miss Knights of the Zodiac, Zatch Bell, YuYuhakushu (SP?) and Ravemaster. Makes me appreciate Deltora Quest which I'm now watching on The Hub.

Rully digging the story Kells. Hope more gets posted as it helps explain more of your envisionment of these worlds.
 

RedPiggy

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Chapter 5
(190PK … 190 years after Sebacean contact on Earth)

On a far away world, far from prying eyes, a large gray curved pyramid loomed on the horizon, at the edge of a glistening ocean, surrounded by multiple ponds and lakes that sent ribbons of light wavering all over the pyramidal palace. Boxy aircraft flew in single file high in the atmosphere.

On such a peaceful day, a small gondola drifted under the bright sunny light blue sky. A thin Caucasian-like skinned man with short brown hair in a Caesar-style haircut rowed with ornately carved wooden oars. Across from him was a white-skinned woman with dirty blonde hair tied up in a curly bun. Her tight white dress, simply cut, was covered with a heavy white long-sleeved jacket. A black oval medallion hung from her neck on a golden chain, a golden X-like symbol at an angle covering the top right of the oval.

The man glanced past the woman.

“What is it, Elkar?” asked the woman in a passionless voice.

Elkar, a counselor to the Royal family, clenched his jaw. “There is a female with a crown, staring at us, Your Highness.”

The woman set her jaw, angrily glancing at the tall woman with long white hair that glistened in the sun. “How dare she wear a crown?” the woman hissed.

Eventually, the gondola gently touched the shore of the small lake east of the pyramidal palace. The royal woman daintily stood, stepping off the boat without rocking it even slightly.

The white-haired one smirked, standing her ground, clasping her hands gently in front of her. Both women had faces that glinted in the sunlight, thanks to glittery white makeup with red eyeshadow on the blonde-haired one and blue eyeshadow on the white-haired one.

“What is the meaning of this?” the first woman asked icily, glaring at the glistening spiked crown that resembled pale coral. “Who dares mock the Empress Novia with a crown?”

“Prime Empress Mizumi,” replied the latter woman in a matching cold tone.

Empress Novia stumbled back a couple of steps as though hit with a blaster rifle. Her face grew even paler, accentuating the white makeup. “Th-th-that’s impossible.”

Mizumi looked around, admiring the scenery with a hint of ennui. “Impossibilities trouble only those with no imagination.” She glanced at Novia. “Where is my husband, the Emperor Jareth?”

Novia and Elkar lay prostate on the emerald green grass underneath them. Novia raised her head barely enough to speak. “Milady, it has been over 1800 cycles since your reign!” she informed Mizumi in a panicked and sobbing tone. “The Royal Planet has no data on what happened to Emperor Jareth after --.”

“—after condemning me to suspended animation,” Mizumi noted testily. Turning her back on the Empress and her counsel, she stared at the light blue sky, so welcoming and expansive. Her heart fluttered. Conflicting memories swirled about in her mind….

Jareth smiled as the last Sebacean walked off the plank of the transport pod. He stood motionless, admiring the throng of Sebaceans as they cheered their successful arrival. The only movement was a trio of small crystal balls, gently swirling around each other in the air just above his right shoulder.

Mizumi playfully plucked a crystal ball from the air as she stood behind her lover. A thin cool mist enveloped the ball. She held it out just inches from his face. “Shall we not gain power here, Jareth, my love?”

Jareth smiled.

Mizumi gasped silently as the ball dashed away from her mist and returned to its spinning position just over his shoulder.

He glanced at her mockingly. “Do you plan to stay here, Mizumi?”

Mizumi smiled, nodding. “I will gladly be wherever you are, my love,” she replied, cooing in his ear.

Mizumi’s stomach turned as the Empress and her counsel stood, quizzically glancing at each other.

Mizumi approached Jareth in the temporary throne room. “I missed you today,” she told him coldly.

Jareth stared at the floor, sitting in the windowsill, moping. “My heart will always belong to you, Milady.”

Mizumi’s hair bristled on the back of her neck. “How DARE you address me in such a manner? Is it not I who rescued you from that slave pen on Thra? Was it not I who suggested more … APPROPRIATE … planets for the Halosians to consume? Have I not given you EVERYTHING your heart demanded of me?”

Jareth stared at her like a beaten negnik. “I sit before you in humble appreciation, Your Majesty.”

Mizumi scoffed, turning her back on him. “I want neither your heart nor your gratitude, Jareth,” she grumbled, walking away.

“What does my empress demand of me?” he asked in a low tone.

Just as Mizumi was about to exit the room, she paused. “I want your power,” she replied quietly as she left.

Jareth whispered back, looking out the window, “I give all but what I do not have, Milady.”

Mizumi gasped, turning toward the current empress. “Take me to the Royal Jewel,” she asked in a tense voice. “It still exists on this world, does it not?”

Empress Novia shuddered.

Mizumi thrust out an arm.

A thin mist swirled around her hand and reached out toward the empress, but only for a few seconds before dissipating.

Mizumi stared at her hand as she lowered it. She looked around at the multitude of lakes in the area. This planet … had there been this much water here during their reign? Why did her memories seem so conflicting?

Jareth had the answer.

That much she knew without doubt.

Empress Novia stepped forward, bowing her head, her hands in a placating gesture. “Prime Empress, the Royal Jewel is in the palace.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Mizumi noted quietly.

“Pardon?”

Mizumi shook her head, sighing. “Never mind, Empress Novia. Take me to the Royal Jewel at once. It is a link to my husband.”

“Like a Life Disc?” Elkar asked.

Mizumi shot a deadly glance at him. “You speak above your station, boy,” she hissed. She glared at the empress. “Control the mouths of your citizens more thoroughly, Novia.”

Novia bowed her head. “Your Majesty.”

A couple of arns later, Novia personally opened the door to a small vault. Bright blue lasers danced around the room. Pressing a numerical code, the lasers ended their dance.

Without pause nor permission, Mizumi strode into the vault and stared at a sphere which could rest comfortably in the hand, sitting on an upholstered pedestal. It seemed to be made of solid white quartz. Mizumi turned toward the Empress. “Do you take me for a fool?”

“Your Majesty?”

Mizumi growled, angrily jabbing an index finger at the orb. “The Royal Jewel is a pyrope garnet. It is formed from the boiling hot blood of a planet’s core. It is black … not white.”

Novia glanced at Elkar, who backed up a step or two. “Milady, the Jewel has been this color since your reign. It has never altered.”

Mizumi spun around and grabbed the Royal Jewel tightly in her fist, squeezing it ineffectively. She screamed and dropped it.

“Are you well, Your Highness?”

Mizumi nearly vomited. Attempting to recover, she steadied herself on the pedestal. “Take me to Earth,” she told the empress.

“Pardon?”

“The planet … Earth … where the human species --.”

“The Origin Colony?” asked Empress Novia. “It truly exists?”

Mizumi stared at them in confusion. “I care not what you may call it, Empress Novia. That planet has significance to my husband. I will not rest until I find him.”

“Milady, forgive me, but even Sebaceans cannot live so --.”

Mizumi grabbed Novia’s chin, a mist forming around her face. Novia crumbled to the ground, sobbing tearlessly as the moisture of her eyes joined the mist. Mizumi pulled her closer. “You live here on this planet by my grace alone,” she hissed at the empress. “Do not think for one single microt that the Peacekeepers are more frightening than me.”

Novia nodded as Mizumi let go. Gasping for breath, Novia whispered, “Earth. A ship shall be called immediately.”

Mizumi smirked. “My undying gratitude, Your Highness.”
 

The Count

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Oh man... Mizumi's PO'd. *Hides in personal oubliette.
BTW: I have to chuckle a little at the rulers' names. Novia means "girlfriend", and Elkar... Well,Ima thinking it's a variation of the name given to a green algae-covered mutant, nephew to the piratical villainess from Inqueria, a planet in the PR franchise.
 

RedPiggy

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I wouldn't know about their names. I just thought that the inhabitants of Farscape's Royal Planet dressed similarly to the citizens of Moraine, what with all the white an' stuff.
 

RedPiggy

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Chapter 6
(200 PK)

Mizumi stared at her mirror as she sat brushing her long white hair. Her quarters were small but well decorated with golden ornaments and colored bottles and vials of every shape and size. She placed the brush gently on the vanity before her and gasped as another figure appeared beside her. The dainty young woman was clothed in a blue girdle, lined with gold, under a black long-sleeved jacket. Her hair was long, tied into two pigtails at the top of her head. Her left eye had a long red scar running vertically across it.

The young woman, apparently in her early twenties, nodded.

Mizumi turned, but saw no one there. As she turned back toward the mirror, the young woman stood silently in the reflection.

You’ve been rather industrious, Mother,” the woman noted quietly in a reverberating whisper. “Attacking the Labyrinth was inconsequential compared to destroying the universe.

Mizumi shuddered. “You aren’t here.” She shook her head and stood, turning her back on the mirror. “My daughter – as Jareth never became Goblin King, he never chose his kingdom over me. I had no regrets,” she continued, the tension in her voice rising as tears started to trickle out of her eyes and down her pale cheeks. “I never split my heart. You don’t exist.”

And, even then, here I am, Mother.”

“Impossible,” hissed Mizumi, cradling herself.

Her daughter chuckled, leaning against the reflection of the vanity. “Mother, Eshe, Queen of the Trash Kingdom – she did something to you. As Moya, this fantastic sentient ship, sails through the cosmos toward Earth, you feel a great connection to what you used to be.

Mizumi sighed, staring at the floor. “Jareth will be on Earth. I’m certain of it, Moulin. There must be something that draws me there beside Jareth.”

Moulin nodded. “Power,” she replied. “With the Light gone, dreams cannot boost your powers. The Underground is nothing but invisible memories to taunt lifeforms with what they cannot have.

Mizumi twirled toward the mirror and slammed her fist on the vanity. “What does some giant sparkling rock on a distant planet have to do with the Underground?”

Really, Mother, have you no imagination? The Legend of Thra is quite clear that when UrSkeks, a race of creator beings some called divine, shattered the crystal with the fracturing of a single shard, the entire planet became a dark nightmare from which they could not awaken. Their benevolence and their cruelty were split into opposing incarnations. If a single shard can damage gods and threaten an entire planet, what can reducing the entire thing to dust accomplish?

Mizumi fell to the floor. She covered her face in horror. “J-Jareth,” she whispered. “Jareth … have you been touched by this as well?”

Moulin placed an arm gently on the shoulder of Mizumi’s reflection, causing Mizumi to feel her touch momentarily like a cool breeze. “Mother, what was sundered and undone, can be whole, returned to one.” Moulin backed away and faded from the reflection, leaving Mizumi feeling cold and lifeless.

Meanwhile, in the command center of Moya, an athletic woman with long black hair woven to form intricate patterns before ending in a ponytail stood at attention, watching the viewscreen with her hands firmly clasped behind her back. She wore a black leather long-sleeved jacket with red trim. There was a small scar on her chin.

An athletic, somewhat older man with short black hair and a well-trimmed goatee, appeared next to her and bowed. “Captain Sun,” he whispered.

“What is it, Officer Crais?” she asked in a harsh tone without looking at him.

“We shall arrive on the Original Colony within the arn.”

Captain Sun, pronounced “soon”, nodded once. “Good … another cycle listening to our guests will drive me completely fahrbot.”

Officer Crais, dressed in a black shirt and pants, smirked, looking away.

“Officer Crais … you will be taking command once our guests and I leave Moya.”

Officer Crais gawked at her in shock. “M-me?” He scoffed, blushing. “Captain, I … I … I am not ready --.”

Captain Sun smiled and turned, slapping him on his shoulder. “You have made our guests extremely satisfied with their transport to this planet, Officer Crais.” She chuckled and leaned in closer. “In my eyes, that alone should give you the right to command your own fleet.”

Crais smiled sheepishly as Captain Sun left the command center to meet with her guests. As soon as she was in a long hallway, appearing like most areas to be flesh-colored metal over organic framework, a gangly pale man with multiple scars along his cheeks, dressed in a head-to-toe black leather body suit with a strange circular device on one side of his head, walked alongside her.

“Scorpius, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Captain Sun offered, not looking at him. “Is your neurochip in need of maintenance?”

Scorpius shrugged slightly as he walked, clasping his hands behind him and matching her firm stride. “On the contrary, Captain Sun. The neurochip appears to be functioning within parameters. I’ve never felt better. Your mind is a very lovely place.”

“May you continue to be blessed with longevity,” Sun offered.

Scorpius bowed his head slightly. “For ten long cycles Moya has repeatedly used starbursts to reach this particular system. I trust the priestess is ready for her assignment?”

“Of course.”

“Humans seem to have so little going for them,” mused the hallucination with a smirk. “On the other hand, as the species is the origin of Sebacean and other races, I find myself intrigued.”

“Don’t be,” Sun told him, ignoring the brief strange looks of fellow Peacekeepers as she seemed to be talking to thin air. “Humans are only useful for genetic experimentation, nothing more.”

“Is that what you think happened to this Prime Empress, Captain Sun?”

The woman stopped. She glanced at him with a distrusting expression. “What do you mean?”

Scorpius nodded in the direction of Mizumi’s quarters. “She appears Sebacean, founded a Sebacean colony in the Uncharted Territories long ago, and yet she has lived far beyond the lifespan of even the healthiest Sebacean, as well as having limited water-manipulation abilities.” He blocked her from continuing her walk. “Captain Sun – she seems out of place, does she not? And she mysteriously demands to go to Earth, as they call it, as though drawn to it compulsively, even though for the Uncharted Territories, Earth is little more than a long-forgotten fable of questionable relevance. While our priestess goes about her mission for us, we must not forget a possible complication brought on by this bizarre variation.”

Captain Sun’s voice became a whisper as she glared at him. “You feel she is going to this backwater planet for power.”

Scorpius smirked. “Just as we will support the Delvian’s message, let’s, at least for the moment, support the Prime Empress’ quest, just to see where it goes, shall we?” he asked as he vanished from her sight.

<><><>

As the sun set on the northeast coast of a large Peacekeeper-run city, a stocky male pig with pronounced eyebrows leaned against the bars of his cage, sighing.

In a cage beside him, a fat lavender creature with tangled brown hair, his eyelids so puffy they were nearly permanently shut, tapped on his bars with a small wooden spoon. “I told you not to get involved,” he noted in a high-pitched voice.

“Farko,” the pig mumbled. “I couldn’t stand by and let my sister get killed.”

“Yeah, but – it happened anyway.”

The pig buried his large head in his hands.

“When’re they gonna kill you?” asked the lavender creature.

“Does it matter?” he mumbled back.

The creature shrugged. “I wonder what happens when you die, Robert.”

Robert the pig looked up at the ceiling of his cage. “I hope it’s better than here, Marv. My sister had a dream, a dream where Peacekeepers didn’t harass us all and act like we were all livestock.” His voice wavered. “That’s … that’s all she wanted.” He glanced at Marv. “You got a dream, Marv?”

Marv glanced back, but shrugged. “Maybe, back when we Fraggles lived under the ground, back before the Freeze started, I might have had some,” he replied softly. “But … Fraggles haven’t lived down there for a long time now. I can’t even count that many cycles. All I know is … whatever’s stuck in our heads is gonna stay there. And when these Peacekeepers crush our little skulls … well, I guess it won’t matter then, huh?”

They saw boots standing in front of their cages. They hadn’t the hearts to look up and see who it was. A booming male voice barked, “The general has decreed you will meet your fate in three arns.”

“Just kill us already and get it over with, like you did with my sister.”

The male voice chuckled. “And risk having to take a jilnak so I end up grissing all over myself, you frelling grolack?” The male soon turned and started walking away. “Not frelling likely.”

<><><>

A young blonde-haired woman, obviously never having picked up a pulse rifle in her entire life, approached the tube-shaped transport pod as the level risers descended in puffs of white steam, a strong white light making her glance away briefly. “Captain Sun?” she called out.

Captain Sun descended the level risers with a smile. On her left was a tall blue-skinned bald female with light blue specks covering her face like freckles. She wore a long, narrow poncho made of shimmering purple fabric with red and gold floral designes embroidered all over, which barely covered what most species would consider intimate areas of anatomy. The back and front of the fabric were held together only with a small braided golden rope belt. On Sun’s right was Mizumi, her makeup pronounced, glittering in the light of various lighting posts surrounding the landing pad. She did not wear her customary crown, but a simple thin silver tiara. Her dress involved multiple layers of white and pale blue, evoking crashing waves as they fluttered in the breeze.

Captain Sun nodded at the young female, glancing just behind her as a highly athletic-looking male with stubble on his chin appeared behind her. He wore a red vest over a black shirt, as well as cargo pants and bulky black boots. The female, meanwhile, was dressed similarly, though her vest was tailored better for a female frame.

The woman bowed her head slightly, smiling briefly as she caught sight of the male who suddenly stood beside her. “Welcome to Seashore City,” announced the woman. “I am Specialist Gilina.” She nodded at the male, who was nearly drooling as he gawked at the white-haired woman. “Forgive the exuberance of my fiancé, Captain. Both John and I are to guide you toward the General’s quarters.”

Mizumi snorted in disgust. “I merely want information on my husband. I’m not interested in any tour.”

The blue female stared at her in shock. Her voice was smooth but slightly panicked. “The Goddess grants you welcome on this world and all you can do is insult it?”

Mizumi cut her a dirty glance. “You may have need of turning public opinion toward your cult, Zhaan, but I do not share this requirement.”

Zhaan gasped, touching her chest in surprise. “How dare you!” she yelled angrily. “The Goddess wants all to come to her nurturing bosom! This world has for too long been without a deity who cared for it with all the love the Goddess can provide.”

Mizumi scoffed. “Go preach to the negniks, priestess. Anyone with any real strength has no need of imaginary friends.”

As Zhaan growled in fury, Captain Sun angrily placed a hand on each woman’s chest to keep them apart. “Ladies, ladies – let’s enjoy land while we’re here, shall we? You two have been cooped up for ten cycles. Don’t say things you’ll regret.”

Mizumi muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. “I never regret.”

May oblivion destroy whatever ice cold pneuma you may have!” screamed Zhaan.

“Oh, go dayside and flop about in the sun’s rays like a good little blue turnip, priestess,” Mizumi shot back.

“Perhaps the good priestess will accompany me on a tour of the facilities,” John interjected loudly. “The planet has a lot of drell to clean up and she needs to get started if she wants to fix us all in her lifetime.”

Zhaan quieted and glanced at the male, bowing her head slightly. “Of course, John. Forgive my anger.”

He must forgive you?” Mizumi screeched incredulously.

John glanced back at the blonde-haired woman. “You take the white chick, Gilina.”

“John!” gasped his fiancée. “Show some respect!”

Captain Sun smirked. “Perhaps splitting up will help us all calm down. I will be following the Prime Empress of the Royal Planet.”

Mizumi glanced at her sharply. “I need no sitter, Captain.”

Captain Sun nodded. “Maybe not, Your Highness, but another arn with that Delvian and my head will explode,” she added with a smirk.

Mizumi snorted as she defiantly started her tour without her companion and her guide, forcing them to sprint to catch up.

<><><>

John couldn’t help but stare at the blue lady walking beside him. “So, forgive my curiosity, Priestess --.”

“I am a Delvian,” Zhaan told him with a smile. “Unlike you, I am a plant-based life form.”

John laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as it tingled. “Well, that’s nice an’ all, but I was really going to ask how your Goddess is going to help. I mean, the Peacekeepers haven’t exactly been acknowledging planetary native rights, you know. They’ve even gone ta eating sentient non-humans, and quite frankly, it’s disgusting.”

Zhaan stopped, her eyes widening. “You aren’t a Peacekeeper?”

John shook his head. “I’m a simple farmer, Priestess,” he admitted. “Until the Peacekeepers killed my parents, I was happy just going around with a watering bag, making sure my little garden bore fruit.”

Zhaan chuckled. “You have much in common with the Goddess, John. She is a mother who nurtures us. That is why I chose Moya as my primary transport. Like the Goddess, Moya is a mother who nurtures all within her ample embrace.” She glanced at him. “You are human, then? How did you join the Peacekeepers, John?”

John sighed, shrugging. “I could either stick with the family farm, poking at the dirt with sticks and simple blades, or I could join one of the Peacekeeper farming factions and get my hands on tools that could make my job better.” He paused, thinking of the fires that consumed his small hovel when he was only fifteen cycles old. “I chose life.”

“And Gilina, I suppose, helped you with your decision?” she asked with a playful smile.

John grinned at her. “Yeah, well, what can you say? We were meant to be together. Even destiny can’t break us apart.”

Zhaan, however, had noticed several heads posted on the walls of a dark hallway within the General’s compound. Each had Peacekeeper notation, describing all as “monsters”. One seemed to be incomplete, however, as the triangular purple head with large bulging eyes were joined by thin wiry antennae on the side. She frowned. “What are ‘monsters’, John? What was this creature?”

John moved in closer to look. “Oh, him? Well, about 50 cycles or so, a bunch of creatures called monsters rebelled against Peacekeeper rulers. They demanded to be treated as more than just livestock. The General grew up during the Monster Rebellion and formed a rather unflattering picture of monsters. She joined the Peacekeepers in hunting them down when she was old enough to carry a pulse rifle. This one was a paranoid little guy who supposedly had these antennae that Peacekeeper brass said could theoretically let the monsters spy on Peacekeeper communications. He was one of the last of the monsters the Peacekeepers found. She severed his antennae from his head. I hear he got even more neurotic and finally he was put down.”

Zhaan shook her head and sighed. “Had these creatures known of the Goddess, they would have lived.”

John stared at her with a slack jaw. “How so?”

Zhaan shrugged and smiled at him gently. “To acknowledge the Goddess is to embrace life, John. To deny Her is to invite ruin.”

“Yeah, I get that, but how?”

Zhaan stared at him in confusion. “I don’t know what you mean, John. I am here to spread knowledge of the Goddess. Each being who acknowledges her need fear no longer.”

John chuckled. “What is she going to do – zap the Peacekeepers?”

Zhaan frowned, her tone curt. “Don’t mock the Goddess, John. Even as a member of a primitive species, to anger the Goddess is to invite ruin.”

John nodded, sighing. “Yeah, you mentioned that. So, if I just say I acknowledge the Goddess, what then? What happens next?”

Zhaan smiled and kissed him on the forehead before he could react. “I accept your acknowledgement, John. Know that this simple task is all you need to protect you from harm.”

John stared at her in shock. “Th-that’s it?”

Zhaan nodded, shrugging. “I have medallions in the transport pod. I shall have one brought to you. With it, you can publicize your acknowledgement. I pray to the Goddess that the rest of the planet will accept her as easily as you.”

John nodded slowly as she started walking toward the door leading to the General’s chambers, marked heavily in red symbols. It felt as though worms were crawling under his skin. What kind of creature was this? His heart palpitated. He tried to shove the thought deep into the dark pits of his mind, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling his destiny would be better under the General than this strange blue creature.

As they entered, they joined Captain Sun, Mizumi, and Gilina, who had already arrived.

Mizumi crossed her arms. “I demand to see this General at once so that my solar day is not completely wasted.”

A knee-high figure in a black jumpsuit with red shoulder pads entered from a side door, walking across the room. Everywhere there seemed to be objects screaming of the General’s accomplishments, be they heads, trophies, weapons, etcetera. As the General sat at a small desk, the whole apparatus rose into the air, hovering without a single wobble, until the General and the desk were chest-high to the visitors.

The General, with her dull golden skin, old claw marks scraped across her muzzle, and a tuft of short fiery red hair bursting from the top of her head, glanced around at her visitors. She scowled. “Don’t take up too much of my time,” she barked gruffly. “My name is General Red, leader of Seashore City, and I have things to do.”
 

The Count

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Thank you, needed an update.

So, is the lavender creature's name Farko or Marv (Large Marvin)?
Loved Moulin's cameo and the words of advice she had for her mother.
Zhaan does show some of the naivety of a devout priestess... John: Okay, say I accept your goddess... What happens next? Zhaan: I accept your acceptance of the goddess.
Wait, it's just that simple? Er, you do have an answer for what exactly the goddess will do right? I'm not invoking her anger or inviting ruin, I just want to know what will "actually happen" to make life here better after I say I accept your goddess.
Who was the "monster" that had its antenni cut off? A purple sproinger?
General Red? Oh gosh nooooooo! :excited:

Please... Post more?
Yeah, I'm just filled with nothing but ?'s tonight. :stick_out_tongue:
 

RedPiggy

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Farko is one of those Farscape slang words. I'm having a LOT of fun with the slang page on the Farscape wiki, LOL. The lavender creature is Large Marvin.

The reason Zhaan's explanation is a little shallow and lame is that this version is more of a televangelist than a mystical priestess. See, without the universe having access to powerful magic or spiritual energy, any religions throughout the universe are more of a shallow emotional chain yanking than anything deep and meaningful. This will change as we shall see, for the goal of this fic is to fix the broken universe. Until then, however, the dead have no spiritual afterlife to go to, magic can't be accessed at all except just barely by magical creatures like Mizumi and Eshe and such, Fraggle Rock couldn't exist and froze over, etc. For now, until Zhaan can connect to mysticism, her knowledge of the Goddess is purely, well, lacking.

I'm so evil for saying this, but Telly Monster, LOL. From what I've read on Muppet Wiki, his early version included antennae and obsession with television. If he could pick up signals, like Digit, or something ... then the Peacekeepers might see him as a potential threat.

And, finally, General Red Fraggle. The idea is that, while in the normal universe, Red had dreams of living out her favorite warrior princess Gwenalot, in this universe, she actually did slay monsters and rise up the ranks. Or, at least, her reputation is that she slayed monsters.
 

The Count

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Hah, yes, it all makes sense now.
See, because "Farko" was capitalized and it was at the beginning of a line of dialogue, I thought it was a character name.
Yes... Telly was originally that, a television-obsessed monster. Guess they got the inspiration from the British, where "telly" is short/slang for the brain-deteroriating device.
*Loves story, more please?
 

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Chapter 7
(200PK)

Captain Aeryn Sun watched as the others finally left the General’s room.

“Captain Sun?” asked General Red in a firm tone. For years, the Peacekeepers found Fraggles to be somewhat silly and inconsequential. Before she was born, at some time in the distant past, Fraggles had moved to the geological surface, chased out of their subterranean lives by some dark calamity.

At least, that’s what the Fraggle they called the “World’s Oldest” had said. He should know, shouldn’t he? He was there, after all. General Red didn’t know why in particular Fraggles had to evacuate, but escaping Fraggle Rock had not been the great thing they had all been expecting. The Peacekeepers saw them as vermin to be shot at, or to be cooked slowly over a blazing fire. There were few Fraggles left: only the strongest and most agile and quickest survived.

“Red, be serious,” he told her, his eyes bulging out of his head as he watched her pack her bags.

“What makes you think I’m not serious?” she asked him. She slung a full bag of small weaponry on her shoulder and walked out of the small hut near a farm owned by a family of humans. Her long firey red hair spilled down her thin red tank top, her tail twitching with irritation. “They don’t believe Fraggles are worth anything, Gobo. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?”

The captain nodded, clasping her hands behind her back. “Sir.”

“Have you spoken to Scorpius about your little tag-alongs?”

The captain shook her head. “I’ve only spoken to the avatar within the neural chip, General. I’m due to upload the report seven solar days from now. With subspace beacons, it should reach Scorpius within less than a cycle.”

“What are your impressions of the Delvian, Captain Sun?” General Red asked, floating toward the Sebacean woman.

“I don’t understand,” she replied.

General Red shook her head, scoffing. “Don’t act like you need new translator microbes, Sun. Doesn’t this mission bother you at all?”

“I’m not getting paid to be bothered, General.”

General Red smirked. “Of course not – but you are being paid to be an effective Peacekeeper. You didn’t get your post on Moya by being a dunderheaded lummox.”

“I take it, then, that you are questioning Scorpius’ commands?” Sun asked with a smirk. Questioning Scorpius’ commands was a good way to find yourself floating helplessly in the vacuum of space until your blood boiled.

General Red glared at her, fully aware of her implications. “What purpose does she serve? The Peacekeepers found and conquered this planet ages ago. This isn’t an instance of First Contact, Captain. Her devotion is meaningless drivel best left for old coots who drool on their pillows at night.” She turned away, her expression turning to deep thought.

“And yet?”

“And yet there’s something bothering me about her.”

“You mean, something else?”


General Red nodded. “Why devote yourself to something like that? If this Goddess is truly that powerful, you’d think she’d do more than spout off a few hand-picked slogans. There must be something to it, don’t you agree?”

“Not particularly, no, General.” Sun continued after sighing, “As I’ve noted previously, I’m not paid to believe her. I’m paid to transport her to this world to begin her work.”

“Considering how shallow she is, it shouldn’t be too long,” General Red muttered. She sighed. “Still … that other female, the Prime Empress Whatever … that one seems to think the Delvian is practically clorium, destined to lull everyone to sleep.”

“Speaking openly, General, those two did not get along well on Moya,” Captain Sun noted with a chuckle. “The Prime Empress is completely stuck on herself, believing herself to be a superior version of a Sebacean because she can make some water jiggle in a cup. If you were to ask her, she is Queen of the entire frelling universe. The Priestess, meanwhile, considers the Prime Empress a heretic unworthy of the Goddess. She feels the Goddess will smite the Prime Empress out of jealousy.”

General Red thoughtfully raised a finger. “Ah, but jealousy implies there is some truth that there is a real threat.”

Captain Sun smiled and postured herself more casually. “Or she’s completely fahrbot.”

General Red smirked. “Which one?”

“Which one?” the Peacekeeper male bellowed as Red shook, holding the pulse blaster in the direction of the two Fraggle males slumped on the ash-covered ground before her. The entire area was burning, with ash falling down like black snow. He kicked her. “Pick one or I shoot them both.”

“D-d-d-don’t do this,” Gobo stuttered, holding an elderly Fraggle with a long white mustache in his arms. “Y-you’re a Fraggle, l-l-like us.”

Red heard the click behind her. Setting her jaw and ignoring the tears mixing with the ash, she pulled the trigger. The elderly Fraggle fell to the ground, lying on the stunned and bleeding form of his only relative. Red turned to the Peacekeeper and looked up. “Blessed are the Peacekeepers,” she told him without even a whimper.

“B-b-but, why?” bawled the elderly Fraggle as he cradled his dead nephew. “H-how c-c-could y-you?”

The Peacekeeper male smiled and nodded at the young female Fraggle. “Prepare for training. You will join the front lines against these so-called ‘monsters’ within a cycle … or the rest of your kind will be trampled back into the dirt from which you come.”

<><><>

Aeryn found herself in a small cantina in Seashore City, drinking heavily at the bar.

The form of Scorpius sat next to her, demanding the barkeep keep ‘em coming, and barking obscenities as, of course, the barkeep failed to hear him. He sighed and elbowed her. “Spunky little thing, isn’t she?”

“The General?” she asked her glass.

“Indeed,” he replied. He clasped his hands together on the bar and leaned back, sighing. “So much trouble from such a little thing.”


“Her record speaks for itself.”

Scorpius glanced at her sharply. “Defending the hired help, are we, Captain? The good General has doubts about my leadership.” His tone turned deadly. “Rectify that immediately.”

Sun scoffed. “Is your ego so fragile that you would lose a war just to hear empty platitudes?” She glanced at him briefly and took another gulp of “beer”. “You believe the Prime Empress is looking for power. General Red believes the Priestess is hinting at power she is unable to fathom. Rather than killing her, how’s about we continue to follow the lead, shall we?”

“You had a bit much, didn’t you?” asked a tremendously old and feeble male voice.

Aeryn turned to find a deeply wrinkled gray creature like General Red. Fraggles, were they called? He had a long white beard and a thick gnarled walking stick and dressed in shabby gray robes. “You’re lucky I’m too drunk to care what some … Fraggle … thinks,” she sniped back.

“Pretty big talk from someone who never saw the good General in action,” boasted the Fraggle. “Besides, we may not live in the Rock anymore, but I can still hold my own.” He swung at her leg with his walking stick.

“Oooowwww!”

“Serves ya right, young’un!” he taunted. “Nobody disrespects the World’s Oldest Fraggle! I’ve been around a lot longer than yer gramma … and she said, ‘hi’, by the way.” He chuckled. “Ol’ gal sure does know how ta keep an ol’ Fraggle warm.”

Aeryn pulled a pulse blaster and held it firmly in front of his face. “I think it’s highly unlikely the General will care much if I shoot some old codger.”

The World’s Oldest scoffed, smirking. “You got a fire inside ya, honey. I like that in a female. Reminds me of the Ditzies.”

She nudged his nuzzle with the muzzle of her gun. “Are you calling me stupid?”

The World’s Oldest shook his head. “Of course not! Don’t be stupid!” He whacked her leg again, making her grunt. “Legend had it that the Ditzies gave life and warmth to Fraggle Rock. Yup – sure kept th’ ol’ place hoppin’. Songs, dancin’, laughs ….” He sighed wistfully. “Those were the days.”

Aeryn stared at him. “You’re saying these are creatures who give life to an entire planet?”

He nodded. “Darn tootin’! I was jus’ a wee little thing, but I remember it like it was yesterday! The Ditzies lived in crystals lining the walls of Fraggle Rock. Guess they died out or somethin’, can’t really recall, but we Fraggles had to dig our way out of a whole metra of rock-hard dirt.” He nudged her leg gently with his walking stick. “You doin’ anything tonight, toots?”

Aeryn scoffed and poured her “beer” over his head and stormed off.

Just as she exited the cantina, the image of Scorpius appeared before her. “Curious proposal, don’t you think?”

Aeryn gagged. “I’m think I’m going to need an entire bottle of nashtin cleansing pills, to be honest.”

Scorpius shook his head. “No, no, no – not that bizarre and sick little episode in the bar. I mean a lifeform that can wield the power of life and death for entire planets. This is really something you should upload to me as soon as possible.”
 

The Count

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Hee... It's always great to find a new piece of yer writings Red.

You've been getting lessons from the Queen and other followers about breakin' peoples hearts with the scene/flashback where Red chose Gobo to be the sacrifice so she could continue her ascention.

The exchange between the general and captain reminds me much of the filler scenes from later seasons' episodes of Farscape, where we'd get backstage glimpses at the strings being pulled to bring about scheming machinations.

The scene at the bar between Erin and World's Oldest was fun... And yet, I know that tone in Scorpius's dialogue. He's already planning something or will be once Erin gets him the lo'down on the ditzies.
Interested to see how the Underground Power Trio's doing in the meantime... Thanks and hope to read more soon.
 
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