Chapter II: Memories


Captive to her embrace, Omega continued to feel her tears. They were tears of a two-fold sense. Just as much as they were tears of joy rolling down his back, they were also tears of sadness and tears of pain. He was under no impression that after the things he had done for her, things wouldn’t simply just tide over smoothly. He knew the lingering fear, prejudice, and hatred that had been long since instilled would have taken years, perhaps decades to subside. There was such a long standing history of bitter resentment in part of all they had lost, when all the while the rest of society remained oblivious to the fact that that she too was a victim of circumstance due in part to her alter ego many called The Beast whom had pitted its host against the rest of the world.
At that time, Night’s tragic reality was that she was powerless to control this entity that reveled in its rampage, only to leave Night alone when in the presence of danger. Thereby fleeing, Night was left to pick up the pieces, not only her own, but of those whom had held her accountable and thereby received the punishment while the Beast hid under the protection of Night’s subconscious.
So it came as no surprise that there had been when in her solitude, in her self-loathing, she resolved to herself that she would be doing everybody a favor if she wasn’t around anymore. She’d end it, both the suffering of the world and her own. Driven to the deepest stages of emotional crisis, she couldn’t remember how many times she’d been thrown in the societal gutter. She was tired of being misunderstood, that even at the best of times nobody would have taken the slightest initiative to get to know her. If they had, they’d realize that she was in reality a sweet, gentle soul whom wanted nothing more but to be normal, but unfortunately would always be shunned by others at best, and at worse, which was often the case, her other side would make sure she had no reprieve to the torment in the depravity this monster ensued in rampage. So it didn’t have to be said that Night at this point was hated for simply being alive and as it turned out, Night couldn’t have agreed more.


So on that dark night, after once again being the unwitting witness to the most horrible display of savagery by the Beast yet, that was when she found her breaking point. Night fled deep into the desolation of the forest where she reached the solitary boulder in which she called home. The moon in its luminous beam had showered down upon her. The moon was her everything, her only friend, her mother, her father. It had never been biased in judgment of her nor rejected her, only sent its gentle radiance that caressed her, which in this case would be the last time. The boulder on which she laid would now serve as an alter; its sacrifice would be herself as she held above her a sharpened rock, aimed precariously at her heart. Nothing mattered anymore, nothing for her to live for. Soon she would be with her beloved moon, knowing that if life here on Earth meant being in the company and acquaintance of suffering and loneliness, then death perhaps; would be that much kinder as she raised the shard, gathering her courage to plunge the dagger into herself. The pain would be over soon enough.
In retrospect, she was thankful she took those last few seconds of hesitation before she would plunge the blade into her heart. As by chance, up in the distant sky came a loud reverberation which revealed itself from above. It was faint at first, a small light in night sky. But soon it befell closer and more radiant until soon she was overwhelmed by a strange massive object that hovered over her, the gust from the approach and the boosters blew her hair, the grass and surrounding atrium of trees as the bright lights looked at her. The intentions of this exotic and alien occupant were so enigmatic to her that she it brought her to distraction as she dropped the blade, leaving her despair to be replaced with curiosity and awe as the lower hatch opened. From it appeared a creature, a creature that seemed both familiar and foreign. It looked somewhat canine but at the same time it had several out of the ordinary traits. The nose for example took over most of the front of its muzzle. It had glowing markings on its face. Its ears appeared bat-like with two round nicks in its ears. It had a strange, blazing tail that had black and yellow flares moving in an ever changing conflagration.
Its luminous eyes gazed about with bright curiosity before it came to rest on her. She folded her wings and hid her face in shame. But it came up to her and gently extended a hand.
“Are you alright?” it asked, to which Night recoiled away in fear.
“Please, don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you.” It said at first with a look of concern only to soon fade into a pleasing smile as if to allay her fear. “Perhaps I should take this moment to introduce myself; my name is Omega, Lhi’aan traveler of the stars, serving as equal roles of ambassador and liaison in the name of peace on behalf of the Lhi’aan race, at your service!”
It greeted her with a bow and an extended hand, all performed with dramatic utility as if well rehearsed which to her, not to say that it wasn’t anything less than spectacular, no, she was shocked. She felt like she was dreaming, but that couldn’t be because her dreams were just as bad as her real life. Was this true? Did someone actually come up to her and even speaking to her?
“Y-you want to talk...to me? Do...do you know who I am?” Night asked hoping that he didn’t. If she could make one impression, one friend, it depended on his ignorance.
Which to her hope he shook his head. “Err...no, I’m afraid not, as a matter of fact, I don’t have a clue what planet I’m on. I just came here for a rest.” he looked to her and cleared his throat with slight embarrassment. “Oh, and I’m sorry if I scared you when I landed, I wasn’t interrupting anything was I?”
She could only stare back at him in blushing and shocked silence as to the unbelief of someone talking to her calmly as she held her mouth ajar, searching desperately for words, but instead of words flowing from her mouth, she found tears flowing from her eyes as she knelt down and grabbed a hold of Omega to which Omega could only look at her as she buried her face onto his chest as she sobbed bitterly.
“I-I’m sorry...is there something wrong?” he asked slightly shocked by this sudden and abrupt motion.
“Thank you...” She whimpered softly. “...thank you for not hating me.”
Omega could only look at her confused as he gently stroked her head in comfort.
“Why would I hate you? Somehow I can’t help but sense something terrible has happened, maybe you tell me what this is all about.”
Her heart sank, it was the one thing she could not do...he could not know...if he did...no she couldn’t bear loosing that feeling of compassion.
“I can’t...please don’t ask me that...”
Omega looked at her, that face of compassion she had been introduced to her only looked at her with kindness and a yearning to understand, to help.
“Well y’see, that’s the problem, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.” Omega said to which Night turned her head, her ears flat against her purple hair, sullen quietness as if it were a secret too horrible to tell. But what she didn’t know was that Omega had seen plenty out in his travels that had given him an open mind. Extending a hand to her, she looked up and for the first time seen a face with eyes unclouded of judgment or prejudice. It was someone who was for the first time giving her the benefit of the doubt, a chance to see her side of things.
“The first thing you have to know about me is when you’ve traveled as far as I have; you begin to look at things through more than one perspective. You begin to notice that there are many similarities in different people and what most people views someone as a monster or a freak, I see beneath that generalization, I see that the reality behind that monster is actually a desperate someone who’s crying for help. So I can say to some degree that you aren’t the first person I’ve seen with horrible secrets to hide, nor will you be the last.”
Night looked to Omega’s extended hand...she reached for it, but hesitated...it wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, after all she was desperate, it was that herself she didn’t trust.
“Everyone at some point in their lives is offered a chance to do something spectacular, and often is the case that most chances aren’t without some kind of risk. But for a chance this great, the risk involved is just as daunting. But I know all about risks and the consequences, let me take that risk, so that you can have that chance. That is, if you can trust me and let me see what this is about, maybe we can find that life you’ve been searching for.” He said as he gently placed on hand by the side of her face, it felt soothing to feel for once a gentle touch...that was until he began making a strange formation with his fingers as she began to feel a tingling sensation on her cheek. Then something happened, she began to see everything spill from her mind, every memory she ever had; she could feel him probing deep into her mind, he was seeing her, he saw the Beast who was suddenly lashing out at him made him recoil, startled by the sudden attack.
She knew that after he had seen everything or at least what he could bear to see, he would run. He would run away, get back into his ship and fly away, far away where he would never be seen again and she’d be alone, just as she had always been.
That’s what she made herself think as he soaked in the last images up until the point before he had arrived and then he looked at her, he looked into her eyes in silence...and then he stood up. But he did something she never would have expected, he didn’t leave. In fact, he offered her his hand. “You poor girl...terrible, just terrible...” he muttered as though he was processing her grief, as though he could cry her tears for her.
“Never would I’ve imagined or even dreamed that something this terrible, this unfair could happen to a gentle soul like you. Up until now, I assume you’ve never had any real opportunity in life, never had that chance to experience anything but pain...therefore I can’t in all good conscience allow this to go on any further.
Can’t allow...? What was he going to do; perhaps put her out of her misery with a quick and merciful death? Was he sent to her from the vastness of the stars as her angel of her demise? So many horrible ideas and yet he took her by the hand gently and then smiled.
“This thing, this...monster, whatever it is, I will make it a point that it will never torment you again. Because as with any infection, it must be destroyed for your sake as well as everyone else, so it won’t continue to be a threat to anyone else.” He whispered into her ear as her eyes opened wide with shock. Was it true, he was going to free her? For the first time in her doleful existence, she could imagine the shackles were like like brittle twigs that she could simply snap off and feel sweet serenity fill her...only to feel that freedom was only a wishful illusion as the bright sunshine was being blotted by the darkness that was the Beast was refusing to be snuffed out.
“No...Omega, you have to get out of here, you need to run...RUN!! The Beast is coming, it wants to kill you!” She said as Omega continued to stand still.
What are you waiting for?! You need to run!!!!!” she shrieked as she could feel herself begin to change. Yet Omega didn’t run away...he stood still with the same look of anger in his face.
“No...No I will not run, because all your life you’ve had to run away, because every time you have had to hide your face from the eyes of this world because of that THING...that abomination that has ruined everything has to face up to what it’s done.”
She struggled to hold on but was drowning into the beast as it began to take on her body, altering its beautiful state into a hideous distortion of her as it looked down at him growling.
“So...the coward finally shows itself!” Omega said provoking the Beast to roar furiously, which only prompt Omega’s laughter. “You heard me! Coward! I can smell the blood of innocent victims on your hands from your wanton slaughter, killing mercilessly, without thought as to the dozens, the hundreds of people you left behind as widows and orphans, you disgust me!”
It roared and with a massive claw swiped at Omega whom in the amount of time it takes to blink had moved out of the way and with the strength expected of a machine, Omega twisted its arm behind its back as it roared in anger and pain.
“But if you really want to know what makes me sick, it’s at the end of the day when you’ve had your fill of blood and lives and tears, when you decide you’ve had enough, you hide behind a frightened little girl to whom all the blame goes to and she, not you, unjustifiably suffers the consequences for your actions. But no more, not tonight, tonight you’re finally going to get what’s coming to you!”
The response from his opponent was not in words, but in action as it suddenly stomped on him and it actually crushed him as he splattered into a silver puddle as it made a growling laugh as it removed it’s paw to see it’s reflection in the silvery accumulation. Night looked on horrified at this and felt that the one person who could have made a difference was gone. Yet all was not lost as the mass dripped from its foot like water it began to accumulate, changing its shape as it stretched upward as it began to regain its previous shape until the Lhi’aan had returned to its original coloring and appearance, undaunted by the impact the Beast had dealt.
“Since when did your miniscule mind take the notion that brute force alone could stop me?” Omega said as the Beast went to stomping Omega again, only this time the force was met with what felt like hard metal. The impact with the metal had gashed into its paw as it screeched out in pain with the sudden realization that for the first time in its life it had met its match. Afraid it tried to slink back into its host...only this time to be unable to.
“You know it’s interesting how with a subtle amount of tampering of the nervous system, I can manipulate certain features, such as preventing your preferred means of escape. It’s safe to say that you’re not going anywhere, no more hiding this time. You had your time, but no more, because in the name of everyone you killed and for this one you made into your scapegoat, so tonight I hereby purge you, cancer, filth and disease! Tonight you will be exposed for the world to witness what you really are and then you will get exactly what you deserve!!!”
The Beast roaring in indignant fury stampeded blindly toward Omega and furiously tried to rip him apart merely to find that its efforts were meaningless as Omega thrusted his hand into its chest as it roared in the searing pain. Omega looked at it silently as he began to scan it, making a ray of light appear, and two colored lights like a prism which in turn made separated entities form. On one side there was Night in the brighter light, and in the darker was the Beast. Omega closed his eyes, the lights; the two images became two existent forms. Now Omega was uninhibited to fight the Beast that without Night for balance had lost what little intelligence it had as it thrashed in its complete animal rage. This act Omega performed was indeed a two edged sword, by sacrificing what little intelligence it had, he inadvertently had given it much more destructive strength as it managed to knock Omega to the ground. Night looked up frightened at the massive beast as it lifted her up by her leg and was lifted overhead to which it opened wide its massive jaws...it was going to consume her, her id would completely envelop the ego to which Night shrieked in complete terror as she struggled to be removed by its grip.
“OMEGAAAAAAAAA!!! OMEGA!!! PLEASE!!!! GET UP!!! DON’T LET ME DIE!!”
As Omega recovered, he looked up at Night to see her hanging precariously close to the gaping gullet which threatened to swallow her up, never to see the light of day again. Omega knew what he had to do as he dashed towards it, melting his hand into a silvery mass, quickly shaping it and fashioning it into a sharp blade to which he plunged it into its chest to which the beast’s attention immediately turned to the pain as it dropped Night whom fell towards the ground. Luckily, she remembered her wings and opened them to break her fall as she crashed onto the ground.
The monster tried to remove the blade from it’s now bleeding chest when Omega began to leech it of its life energy to which he twisted his head unnaturally backwards facing the recovering Night behind him and shot a beam at her as she began to absorb the energy of the beast and in doing so it began to shrink until it became nothing more than a tiny, petulant little Imp that happened to lightly resemble Night which fit into the palm of his hand.
“This is what remains after you sift away the extra energy, take away its power and see the monster for what it really is; amounting to nothing more than a tiny, freeloading coward.” Sneered Omega as he looked to Night. “Here, it’s yours now to do with as you see fit.” He said as he handed the little creature into Night’s hands.
She looked down at it; the little angry and frightened creature only looked back up at her. She felt such disdain and contempt for it. “So this is a part of me?” she asked Omega as she stared at it.
“It’s an id-form created by an overextended portion of your psyche that controls the animalistic, carnal nature of the mind. Most of the time it is merely one’s darker half causing influence over the mind, but in some cases it manifests into a secondary entity. It’s rare, but it does happen.” He explained
She looked down in complete disgust for this creature. “For a long time I was terrified of you...probably more so than anyone that met you face to face, but now here we are, face to face. I see you for what you really are, a parasite that used me to satisfy your need for power and attention. And you know what? I found out something to day something, Omega was right; you are such a tiny, terrified little coward.” Night said as the little creature jabbered on incoherently.
“I should toss you aside, but I won’t because now it’s your turn to be contained, to be MY prisoner and to be the one to live in terror.”
The little Imp whined and hissed pitifully now brought down in status as a squalid diminutive animal pushed into a corner as she looked down at it with loathing.
“I should cast you aside and crush you like the parasite you are, but if I’ve learned anything from you, it’s that you need me just as much as I will be needing you and so...” She whispered as she drew it close to her lips as it became distressed. “...I suppose I will have to accept you.” To which absolutely frightened the little monster, just as much as she was afraid when faced in the same situation. Omega watched as she held the little cretin by the tail and opening her mouth dropped it onto her tongue as it screamed to which was stifled as she closed and then tilting her head back swallowed it down, placing her hand onto her abdomen wherein she knew that in what little time it had, the beast would know her pain as it slipped back into her deep dark abyss of sub-consciousness.
Omega said nothing but glanced in nervous recoil to what she had done.
She then glanced to Omega, her benefactor and ran toward him in a tight embrace as she welcomed herself into the adoption of liberation.
Omega could only return her loving embrace. “Thank you...thank you for everything!! I feel...I feel...!” For the first time in her life she was at a loss for words to express how she felt. Tears flowed from her cheeks. She had never felt like THIS...so vivacious and spirited and liberated as a captive set free after a lifetime of horror and slavery.
“Well it’s over now, Balance, justice are as they should be, as it should have been all along.” He said as he felt the tears of joy ran down his back...as it had tonight.

Night released Omega from her embrace, holding him gingerly in her hands from under his arms like a child to look once again at him to whom Omega looked back at her.
“Ten years...it feels like last night.” Night said she wiped the tears from her face. “Like I said I have been coming back to this spot on this night each year to see if you would come back again.”
“I’m surprised you held out for me that long.” Omega smiled as Night gently placed Omega back on the ground which soon he sat on a rock, looking musingly at her.
“We’ve got much to catch up on. Tell me what you’ve done with yourself, from the looks of things; you’re doing much better than the day we met.”
Night gave a grave smile as she collected her thoughts.
“I’ll get to that, but I think I should start with the beginning. “After you left, I found myself in spite of my freedom, lost, confused, and uncertain. I still knew that I was hated by everyone, so I decided to bide my time for things to settle down.”
“After a few weeks, I went around; slowly trying to help and repairing the lives the Beast had broken...it was the least I could do. In time, some forgave me or at the very least understood my condition, but there were many still today that hate me and judge me saying, ‘I could have held it off or that I could have moved far from civilization.’ I found myself at times still just as conflicted, confused, lost, and there were times I wished you’d come back because I felt so alone. I rarely found a place I could stay, that was until about two months later when an elderly human couple found me. Mr. and Mrs. Travers...they lost their only son a few years before when the Beast killed him and they demanded of me to explain as to why he had to die. When told them my story, for some reason, they believed me and even decided to take me in. Although they were still angry, they didn’t blame me anymore, in fact they empathized that I was a victim too, in some ways I was more tragic because I had to watch as it tore through innocent people and hear the screaming. It was the first time I felt accepted by humans and I was delighted when I found they were also hunters which made it easier for me to get along with them. They opened their home to me, it was the first time I felt like I had a family, I even call them ‘mama and papa’.
“Sometimes at night, while they were asleep, I’d go out and hunt the deer or two for them since they were a poor couple and food was hard to come by. I saw it as my way of earning my keep. We’d go every month to the local hunter’s association where we’d sell the meat and pelts to people, and slowly my reputation changed from the slaughterer of people to a respectable and talented huntress. Some still spoke callously of me, but in the small community I live in, I became respected by the few who knew me. I even became an instructor in the hunter’s association, teaching the new or younger animals how to hunt since unlike humans who rely on their guns and their tools...” she said as she stalked around Omega to emphasize her point. “...We use our more shall we say...primal instincts, our senses...” she brushed Omega’s face with her tail. “...our claws and...” she stopped in front of him as he tried to keep a straight face as she approached her lips by his ear and breathily whispered. “...our teeth.”
Omega only stood, frozen, despite the fact he was an artificial lifeform, he found himself at a disadvantage as he felt anxious by her teasing. If he were organic, his blood would rush to his cheeks, blushing with nervous tension, and even more strange was that she shook her head as if she was clearing her mind.
“Oh, sorry...where was I...oh right. So over time, the Travers and I, we went from being a poor family to becoming one of the most prominent members of our little town. I was even accredited as being the greatest hunter in the region. This is how I came across this particular deer.” She said as she gestured his attention toward the carcass behind her. “They call him “Phantom” because nobody has been able to hit him since he was discovered five years ago. The county priced a bounty high enough that they’d be set for life. I’d even admit it’s taken me two tries until tonight...” She looked down at him with a pleased smile. “...and I have you to thank for it.”
Omega looked at her in confusion and bewilderment. “Me? Are you implying...”
“Your ship, silly!” She said as she ruffled his hair a bit. “When your ship passed over us, it spooked the deer and made it run toward me which made it all the more easier to chase it down and attack it while it was in the commotion. So as far as I see it, half of it is yours.”
Omega feeling more uncertain of playing any part shook his head. “Thank you Night but I can’t, besides I have no need for your currency.”
“The meat then, you can have the more finer, sweeter meats; all I really need is the pelt to identify it with.” She offered as she took out a sharpened rock, the same stone dagger those years ago that would have been swathed in her blood instead of the blood of the deer she was skinning which bothered Omega. Omega didn’t like killing of any kind, he detested it, even if it meant for food, more to the point on his home world of Lhi’ardika, many of his kind viewed the process as barbaric. But he knew that these unfortunate and poor primitives didn’t have that option available and had to go by a different morality of killing for their food. It was their nature and their livelihood. So, in retrospect, seeing as it was already dead, there was no need to worry about doing any further harm to partake and perhaps save from insulting her hospitality. So he approached the carcass and scanned it thoroughly. All she needed was the pelt.
“Allow me Night.” Omega offered to which Night stopped for the moment and then moved, offering Omega the knife but he refused as he began to smoothly and precisely insert his now bladed hand into the lesion she had made in its side as he began to cut through it with such precision and finesse, rending the pelt from the connective tissue in such a way that the inner flesh and bone would glide off the body like a glove. He then began to slice the remaining deer-flesh into well cut portions. Night watched him, impressed by the superb and mechanically perfect craftsmanship as the meat was cut so well from bone that the bones themselves looked seamlessly intact. Finding that everything could be carried easily as she began to make a makeshift carrier of sticks tied together to a moveable rack. As she stacked the bones, the meat, and finally the pelt and the two would take them on towards her cabin along the way.