Fantasy Vs Reality | The Withering

25: Passing Time

Not really surprised from Marcus' question, Kay smiled and looked down at her paws. She wiggled her toes and then looked back up at him, "Orion already talked to me about that." 

Marcus shook his head with a smile, "That just means he is as eager as I am to add you to the crew. It's just how he shows that he cares."

"Spare her the flattery, Marc." Coal coughed, "Can't you tell she gets embarrassed by it?"

Marcus' eyes widened, "My apologies! I didn't mean-"

"No it's okay." Kay smiled, glancing thankfully at Coal. She was still wary of the dark coloured cat, but he seemed... different from before. Something in the spaceport changed him... "I accept your offer." 

Marcus clapped his hands excitedly, "Wonderful! As soon as everyone here is able and ready, I'll schedule the ceremony." 

Kay nodded. She was going to be an official member of the family now. She didn't want to think too far into it though. She didn't expect it to happen this way but, it worked. Smiling stupidly, Kay looked over to Coal and couldn't help but spit her tongue out at him, "Proved you wrong then, eh?"

Coal looked a little defensive, "What do you mean?"

"Everyone knows you've been a snarky asshole since Kay woke up," Marcus laughed "I'm glad you're finally warming up to her."

With a hoarse huff in resignation, Coal crossed his arms and made a mock sad expression. He exaggerated his pouty face and stuck his bottom lip out, "You guys are mean."

"You're fine, Coal." Kay giggled, "I was only messing with you."

"Getting a taste of his own medicine it seems."

Kay turned around to see Storm walking up behind her, a smile on her face. She patting Kay's shoulder gently, "I was talking with Sylvia, Captain. She wants to speak with us when you're able."

"Us as in...?" Marcus asked.

"Me, Coal, you, Jacob, and Kay." Storm replied.

"Wait, why me?" Kay asked, getting tense.

Marcus' voice dropped to a low volume, "We are the few in the crew that know about you once being human, Kay." 

They knew? Wait that's right. When she was once in Storm's body, she remembered telling Jacob and he believed her. "So whatever Sylvia needs us for... must be important yes?" Coal asked, his voice cracked and rendered his voice completely useless. Kay saw him mouth the word "fuck" and he plopped his head back on his pillow in frustration. Marcus released a tiny laugh in response.

Storm nodded to Coal's question, "It's something Orion brought back with him."

*     *     *

The ship took off after two days of the team being rescued from the spaceport. By the time they left, the port had completely split in two and crashed through space. Orion was much better after sleeping for the entire two days of sitting dormant, and the ship was off once again with him at the helm.

Marcus was doing better. He still had a bandage around his head but he was able to command in the Bridge room again. He wasn't doing as well as he lead on, but no one said anything. He knew he'd get better soon and that's what counted.

Coal was forcefully kept under close watch in the Med Bay until his scars completely reclosed again. It was easy too because his voice still refused to work. The squirrel, who eventually woke up, explained that her name was Mitzi. 

She tried to explain what happened at the spaceport but was still incapable of handling what happened and would just shut down. Ember was still out, which was concerning. Her burn marks subsided, but the darker marks left from the ooze monsters remained. Slowly, she seemed to be recovering. Jacob didn't talk much about her condition to anyone except for Marcus.

The arrival to Sector U was just about an hour away and Kay was lying face up in her bed after helping in the Cargo Bay. This was day five after she woke up, and so much had happened. She felt as if she had been living in this universe- or... time for her entire life. 

She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror over her sink. Did this person she is now have a family? Or did she just materialize out of thin air? Shaking her head, Kay turned away and decided to kill some time by walking the halls and doing some exploring. 

She took some turns here and there, eventually making her way to the Engine Room. She opened it up slowly to find herself staring at four massive, glowing cylinders that hummed loudly. They glowed light blue and yellow colours, emitting an almost green mixture of light.

Down beside one of the large engines, was a tall calico with a mechanical arm. She was talking to a small fennec fox who's ears were almost bigger than his head. As they talked, the fox noticed Kay and spoke a few words before they both turned to face her.

Kay waved nervously and the two approached her. The calico smiled as the fox followed behind her. They all walked into a small room with chairs and they all sat down. The humming from the engines was muffled in there.

"Someone's been doing some exploring." the Calico said with a warm smile, "My name is-"

"Mo." Kay interrupted. Then she frowned, "I don't... know how I remember that."

Mo laughed, "Probably from our conversations over dinner yes? Spike here was eager to meet you, but he was too shy to say anything."

Blushing, the fox turned away and flattened his large ears, "M-Mo, I'm not shy... I'm j-just... always preoccupied."

"Mhm sure you are." Mo chuckled, "The little guy is brighter than the sun when it comes to everything there is to know about engines. Found him stranded in Moon Empire territory with a group of refugees."

Spike turned around and gave Mo a snooty glance, "I have you know that I had to learn these things to survive. I thought I was done for when that asshole Blare mutilated my hand." Spike lifted up his left hand, revealing nothing but two fingers on it. He wiggled them, trying to scare Kay, but she was instead infatuated by them.

"How do you... still do stuff with that hand?" Kay asked, suddenly realizing it might've sounded offensive.

Spike didn't take offense at all and gladly shared, "You'd be surprised how strong these two little guys are." He paused when Mo gave him a critical look, then he shrugged, "Okay I also have alternatives as well. Finding little shortcuts and things. They are convenient when it comes to reaching in small areas though!"

They all laughed and talked for a long while. Kay learned that Mo was Storm's sister and that she and Spike were the two engineers working in the spaceship. Mo told stories about how she met Chloe, the shield operator and how they fell in love during a skirmish in the Neon Empire about ten years ago. They all sounded so amazing, but those stories were soon cut short when a message came over the intercoms.

It was Elva, "We'll be arriving at our destination within the next ten minutes! Get to your designated areas and lets turn in that mission!"

Mo and Spike bid Kay farewell and returned to their duties, and Kay eventually found her way back out of the Engine Room. She walked to the Med Bay to check in on Ember and Mitzi, and was surprised to see that they were both awake. 

Ember had a small smile on her face when she saw Kay, but she looked... distant.