Take away this ball and chain (Archon)

The sun was shining, the air smelled sweet and the grass swayed lightly in the breeze. Nyx sat on the park bench, wearing a large droopy sun hat. It was mainly to keep as much as her hidden. And so far it work, no one really seemed to pay much mind to her different colored skin because not much was showing. Nyx wore her normal dress. She had gotten it washed in the first time in years. Not much time to do laundry when on the run and when you have only one pair of clothes. It was her last remnant of her days as a slave. She had to admit when her old master actually wanted to dress her in something that wasn't completely embarrassing he actually chose clothes that where comfortable. But that was one positive out of a landslide of negatives. But overall this city, Paris, vaguely reminded her of home. It reminded her of her home planet where everything was made into some sort of art. Although not every tree in this city was cut into a design it feel very artsy. It made Nyx feel relaxed. After she got captured the only time she really saw any art was when she was taken out to be showcased at one of the many parties she was dragged to or when she would try to escape from her master before he broke her. She remembered hiding in his Art gallery, scared. It was shortly after her parents saw her as a slave and she just broke down. Although thinking back to it her master probably new where she was. Although the thought of him being nice and giving her some space seemed unlikely. He had broke her shortly after that. And then she never really felt much of anything unless it was expected of her.

Nyx reached up to her ear and pulled the translator out of it. In an instant the talking all around her became foreign. She no longer understood what anyone was saying and if she spoke no one would understand her. She needed to remember this was an alien planet. This wasn't her home... she no longer had one. Even here she wasn't safe. It was only a matter of time. Her race was dying out, which made her a valuable object to have.

Of course this was not a customary procedure, however it was indeed a rather interesting call to receive. Gene-Tech was called in looking for his whereabouts, and while the company itself did not know, a little "birdy" told Zell about the inquiry of the NATO "soldiers". IT was a rather lucrative thought. On the run from NATO. However it was unfortunately not an existence he wanted for his children. Granted the children could probably crush any forces sent their way, but that in itself was another story. Zell was too human to be taking chances anymore, and honestly the last thing he needed with the Alien invasion pending was the whole of Earth against him as well.

  "Mister Atterrius. My name is Agent Williams, and this is Agent Maxos." The first man said, fine suits just like the whole secret agent persona made whole. This "Agent Williams" was a rather meek man, nothing truly astounding about him. Sure he probably worked out and he was probably a fast mane, but without some form of Anti-Meta gadgets or a power of his own he couldn't understand why they would be Agents. The second male was a shorter, paler and blonde male, reminding Zell almost immediately of Niall, which brought a grin to him before reaching out and shaking the other man's hand. Granted, smiling was contagious and so Agent Maxos found himself smiling at the pleasant young multi-billionaire.

  "Gentlemen! What can I help you with?" Zell asked with a smile and an enthusiastic voice. One of the perks of having led Gene-Tech was the amazing charisma he was able to coach from himself. His natural talent making it easy. Agent Williams nodded with a slight smile and sighed before saying...  "We have come across information...and we need an expert. You ARE that expert. I'm going to have to ask you to come with us." The man said. Zell's throat clogged and he audibly gulped before nodding with a sigh.

  There were several clearances. Zell passed them all, and Agent Maxos was at his side the entire time, Agent Williams at the other side. He was grateful and played up the weak little human thing, however in truth they would never know the truth behind Zell Atterrius. He laughed however once they entered the area. There was a rather shoddy looking spacecraft. Granted, to a normal human it looked like a god-send of technology...to Zell, this crap was elementary school grade. He was actually embarrassed of the lifeform that came here in this. The poor thing had such terrible luck (the crash) AND a terrible ship which was not likely to soak up all the damages.

   "Mister Atterrius. Over here please." Agent Williams said, snapping Zell's head from the spaceship to a little glowing table covered in science equipment. Zell made haste to the man and pointed to the microscope, as if asking permission. Agent Williams nodded and Zell moved in closer to get a view of what he was looking at. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. They were living cells. Well, they were dead actually, however they were well preserved. There were no traces of preservative either.

   "No Preservatives huh? The well-being of the cells and their resistance to decay and corrosion make me wonder. You've collected this sample within the last week...the better part of one. It's also highly flame resistant and dense, broke a ton of tools trying to get the sample huh?" Zell asked. Agent Maxos' mouth dropped and his eyes lit up. Agent Williams smirked and nodded, as if satisfied.

  "It did. All of that is true. I knew the moment I couldn't understand it that there was only one person who could. I honestly believed it to be of "supernatural" origin... the same origin that I was commissioned-" Agent Williams would get no further.

  "It's not that. It's a Xeno for sure, though it looks like whatever it was... was gone before it hit Earth." Zell said with a sigh as he looked back through the microscope and taking a perfect mental image. He would stay a while... he was needed...or so they thought.

   "We just figured since you were kidnapped by Ouroboros you'd be able to tell us if it was...like him at all." Agent Maxos spoke up, his soft Voice rather timid and making Zell smirk at him. How did this joker end up an Agent? He placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded.

   "It's not...but I think I can help..."
=================

 Zell's freedom came at the price of secrecy and the adoration of the fellow scientists he worked beside. He would never be recognized for his achievements in what he had just done, however it was never about recognition. It was about the pursuit of being the best he could be. In doing so, it was important that he convinced the NATO officials that whatever Xeno was within that space-craft was ejected or escaped before the crash. After doing so he used his knowledge and a few "borrowed" readings to find the compound of the creatures DNA, and proceeded to use his wealth and knowledge to conjure up a small radar which allowed him to pin-point it's location.

  With a sense of resolve, Zell stepped forward and tracked the beast...all the way to France. With a cold gaze of human eyes the Gene-Tech jet landed and he was hailed moreso than he'd liked, but all the same he would soon make his way to the limo, in which he'd proceed to the hotel, and from there...hunting.

It was strange how different a place was as soon as you couldn't understand it. Although the idea of her ship missing was annoying. Yeah it was a piece of crap ship but she did spend her last two years in it. But when Nyx returned to it's location it was gone. Not to mention she found a small cut on her arm. It wasn't deep and pretty much healed at this point but it did bleed a bit. It was probably nothing to worry about. As long as no one blatantly pointed out how she looked different she should be fine. Overall this 'human' race didn't seem exactly bright as a whole. Nyx would be lying if she said that she was comfortable with how low tech everything was. When she was surfing the internet stuff she saw that was 'high tech' would of been extremely outdated by centuries. At this was off of Nyx's memories of before she got captured. Nyx yawned, the sunlight was making her feel sleepy. She just sat in a park for a long time. Usually her master would just take her out to 'have fun' as he would called it. Nyx's hand rose up and rest just before her armpit. She didn't mean to it was automatic. She couldn't feel it under her clothes but she knew that the brands were there. And even though the physical pain was gone it didn't mean that the emotional pain was. Nyx realized what she was doing and her arm shot back down, resting by her side. She should be trying to keep a low profile and blend in, despite her different appearance.

Nyx peered out from under her hat. There where children playing some sort of sport which involved kicking a ball around on the other side of the park. Nyx turned the translator over in her fingers. If she didn't own this small little device she would be so lost. Although Nyx was getting a strange creeping feeling, like someone was on to her. But that was impossible. It took her two years to find this rumor of a planet. There was no way her master had found it yet. Nyx barely made it here alive. She shook the thought from her mind. No one would be looking for her. Only one person knew she existed.

Zell found himself dressed in a genuine leather sable-strap fedora and khaki colored cargo shorts. His shirt was a micro-fiber cloth of sorts which allowed him resistance to water and easy "breathing" to minimize the effects of humidity. Over the shirt, he wore a khaki jacket with several pockets. The contents of these pockets were rather mundane things, such as antiseptic ointment, a cell phone and other little things. He came equipped with a 9 mm and a keen eye as he traversed the region, homing in on his target.

He found himself just slightly concerned that he was now entering the area where the crash had been reported to have happened. Perhaps he did not code the device correctly? No, he couldn't. It was virtually impossible to screw up such a fundamental thing like coding a device to resonate an electrical echo-location pulse that omits the bio-signature of the selected DNA type. It was too simple to screw up. Zell swatted the device and sighed as he looked around the area, finding nothing. He DID code the damn thing wrong! He snarled at his own stupidity as he turned the device over and began to dismantle it, quickly realizing that everything was in place, and that the code was in fact correct. The "PING" on the radar should be the location of the omitted DNA. He let out a little hum, wondering if the Xeno-form would really be out in the open like this. A park!?

He placed the blu-tooth sized tracker down into his pocket and sighed, now knowing that the target was the woman on the bench. As he made his way over towards the bench, he noted soccer game (football in this country) and he took note of the children. He wondered if the alien creature spoke his language, and he needed an inconspicuous reason to get closer. He closed in on the bench and smiled kindly at the woman before looking out to the field.

"Let's go Silus!" He called out as he clapped. Suddenly his heart wrenched and he threatened to breakdown. All of his experience in acting did him no good here. He was able to fight through the desire, though loathing himself for the reflexive use of the name. He looked to the woman and chuckled a little. "You can't understand a word I'm saying, can you?" His chuckling made it seem like a joke. If the woman nodded with a smile or chuckled then he would know she was truly lost as it got.

Nyx froze slightly as a man stood right next to her. He shouted something, probably toward the group of kid. Nyx reached out and placed the translator in her ear. She put it in just in time to hear the man ask if she could even understand him.

"Not without help." said Nyx. The beginning of what she said sounded a bit electronic as the translator kicked into gear. But by the time she finished her sentence she sounded normal. She had been on the run to long to think that the man just wanted to talk, but she would do anything just yet. If this man noticed she was different even when she was so covered up maybe this race wasn't as hapless as she thought.

"You didn't come here to talk. How did you know."

"I actually came to tell you that this planet's government isn't after you anymore. You're welcome." Zell said with a sigh as he pulled out a water bottle and handed it towards the woman. Regardless of what she did he would either give it to her, or it would end up on the bench next to her for her to take at any time. He then produced one for himself as he cracked it open and began to sip from the clear liquid. With a sigh he set his water bottle down.

"As far as "how did I know" It's not hard to find someone whose DNA is splattered on parts of the ship. I took care of THAT too. Once I had your DNA I created this little device here-" Zell said as he held up the little blu-tooth thing and smirked. "This emits an electro-sonic pulse that echoes out and retracts in a manner similar to echo-location. Though I was able to find a rather...crystalline factor within your blood. Crystals are highly sensitive to sonic emissions, so I adapted it down to function with the electronic in order to keep it from hurting you, or causing a hematic rupturing. erm....long story short, sparing you the details...I found you." Zell said as he placed the blu-tooth down, looking back out to the kids on the field. He let out a little sigh as his eyes began to water up. He could have sworn that he say that little number 7 kid as Silus. He scoffed and took another sip of his water before looking back to the alien.

"Humans' aren't even as advanced as that spacecraft you came in. And THAT is one low-class spaceship. No offense mind you. Honestly I originally thought you were one of the-ehrm. The-... never mind. That's not important. You're not one of them...So yeah. Welcome to Earth, the planet of the Primates." Zell joked as he took another drink from his water.

Nyx refused the water. A list of what could go wrong if she drank it was in the back of her mind. She was a bit annoyed to hear that some of her blood did end up on the ship. He then began to go on about how he found her. This guy seemed smarter then a normal human, and what did he think she was? This planet was a myth. Was there even more to the universe then her government thought.

"I had to work with what I was able to get. And you don't need to worry about an invasion. I came alone. And I don't need to be reminded on how low tech this place is." said Nyx. There was a bit of venom in her voice. It was to warn the man to try and get to buddy buddy with her. "You sound like you aren't from around here. Yet I don't recognize your species, you look like these humans."

"Fair enough, no reminders needed." He said evenly. He didn't particularly give a damn about the venom in her words. He actually just assumed that she had a valid and founded reason for it. Very rarely did you ever meet someone with venom who didn't have a reason to adapt to make it. The evolution metaphor was appreciated to him alone, though it was not shared. He cracked his neck and listened as the woman spoke further. She spoke about how Zell sounded like he wasn't from around "here" to which he assumed the Xeno meant that he wasn't from around Earth. Oh how wrong she was...but how close she came. Zell chuckled and sighed as he leaned back, closing his eyes seeming to be a total peace, totally guard down and carefree...enjoying life. At this point he was the most harmless and nonthreatening thing in the world, but he still chuckled at the remark.

"I am from Earth. Doesn't make me human...but I was born on, and raised on Earth." Zell said with a little chuckle. He made himself laugh at the concept of not being born on Earth. Perhaps things would have been different... no perhaps about it really. Things would be much different. Granted...the only way he would have been happier if is he had managed to keep Silus alive...but the odds of Silus being alive simply because he was a genuine alien was slim. He then looked to the woman with a smile. "What I am doesn't matter. You want to know what I am? I'm your friend. I'm your key to blending in and having some fragment of a normal life. I'm the one who can get you a spacecraft to get off this rock if you want. I'm the one that can get you a supercomputer that calculates off of Quantum. In truth...I'm smarter than absolutely ANYTHING you've ever encountered... and I'm on your side...so long as you aren't one of THEM that is...and YOU Crystal maiden...are not one of THEM." Zell said with a sigh as he pulled out his cell phone, punching in the four digit password before looking at the picture of him holding Silus and sighing as he punched in the text message, firing off a text to a contact named Jordan about dinner being in the fridge and he will see them when he returns home.

"You are not my friend. And I seemed to be doing fine right now with out your help. Beside I didn't land on this planet because it was an accident. Although I will admit I did have a power failure." said Nyx dryly. Her eyes did wander down to the bottle of water that was set next to her. The man had produced a similar one and drank from it just fine. And she had been sitting out in the sun for a while now. Her throat did feel a bit dry. She reached out and grabbed the water, holding it lightly. She was a bit surprise to feel that it was a bit cold but Nyx opened the bottle and sniffed the water. If there was anything in it she couldn't smell it. She tilted her head back and took a sip from the water bottle. Although that sip turned into multiple large gulps. A bead of water fell out of the corner of her mouth and trickled down her cheek. If anyone would notice her greyish-blue skin it would be now. When she was done drinking from the water bottle she placed it down, and took a deep breath. The bottle was now about 1/4 full, she was a lot more thirsty then she thought. Nyx sighed again and relaxed a bit more.

"So there are other Alien's outside of the rim government, who would of thought..." said Nyx offhandedly to herself.

"Just because you're not my friend doesn't mean that I'm not YOUR friend. You can moan, groan and complain all you want, but in the end you can't stop me from helping you." Zell said with a sigh as he received a text message form Jordan. The Yam-child was most certainly getting to be a handful as he grew older. Zell had often judged Shi for his inability to control the Dragon who once broke into his company. Now Zell was beginning to understand WHY Shi was unable to control the beast.

"If you didn't come with an invasion fleet or an expedition crew then you're being chased. I can keep any and all forms of Extra-terrestrials off your trail. Do you have a place to stay and food? I can help you find those things, and while I'd love to play guardian I have four son's tha-" Zell froze for a moment, once again forgetting to take into account that his son was gone. He smiled and rubbed at his eyes with a bittersweet chuckle. "Three...I have three sons I need to take care of." He said with a light voice and a sharp inhale.

"I don't want you to trust me. I don't want you to trust anyone. I came here to warn you. The government here is not your friend. There are only a few people on this Godforsaken rock who are your friend. I want you to know that you're not the only one here. I can help you. You may not trust me- that's smart. You may not want to be "friends" - fine I couldn't care less. But you have the choice to do this on your own...screw up and have the government here find you and cut you open to see how you work... or you let me, who knows how to avoid them and other E.T's, help you." Zell said as he sighed before he looked down to his phone, Jordan still pestering him about how Sean just ate all the damn pudding in the fridge.

"I'll be surprised if I see anyone again." said Nyx. Although it was a bit of a lie. If she was able to find this planet on pure luck, then what's to say her master couldn't. He had the resources, it was only a matter of time.

"I'm pretty sure I'm good with my current situation." said Nyx simply. Her eyes wandered back to the soccer game. Such a simple sport yet the children seemed to have great amusement. All of them except one, his eyes seemed to wander. Focusing more on the bees and the butterflies rather then the game itself. Nyx wondered why he played if all he could do was not pay attention. Although she did pick up on this stutter. He lost a child it seemed.

"I'm not going to take care of your children like some sort of slave if that is what you are asking." said Nyx. Although she knew as long as she had the brand that's all she could ever be.

"I wouldn't trust you with my children. By the way they're between seventeen and twenty six. I think they're old enough to not need a baby-sitter." Zell replied simply. He cringed at the word slave, remembering many things about his own dark riddled past that he didn't want to remember at all. The word slave itself pissed him off, the woman using it just made her seem like a crystal c-no...can't use that word. He looked at the woman and sighed. "You're only a slave if you let yourself be enslaved. I had to learn that one the tough way. That all aside, I'm going to ha-" He froze, looking around, sniffing the air and eyes scanning over, a sudden state of total alertness. He held out his right hand out to the side and the tattoo around his tricep began to glow an otherworldy and unholy green color as a large black sphere of metal about ten foot around stalled before them. He looked to the woman.

"Oh...surprised if you'll see anyone else huh?" Zell asked with the strongest tone of irony he had before the metal began to break apart. Zell's skin began to turn a greyish blue hue and his eyes began to gain a rather entrancing green glow. The metal broke apart and a six foot tall insectoid like beast stood before them. The creature was obviously an alien of sorts. Zell recognuized it immediately, however he did not allow this to show.

  "I'd start running if I were you!" He said to the girl. The last time he faced one of these "Vanguards" it was able to withstand 400 tons of strength, a punch from Brandon Hale, and take minimal damage to it's carapace. The beast also possessed superior strength and reflexes, though seed was not an issue. Zell groaned as the tattoo on his arm sired off and sent the beast flying back a good hundred yards. He looked for the woman, his arm nearly the exact same color as her skin ironically...however it was for an entirely different reason. His glowing green eyes faded into their normal crystal clear blue with the green brim before he let out a pained sigh.

Nyx had a different opinion then his. Once you where a slave you always will be. Even now she was a slave. Even though she escaped till she was captured again. And even then she was a slave to her own fears of capture. Nyx was about to voice her opinion when a giant ball fell from the sky. Heading right towards them. But before it hit, there was a pulse of energy and the ball was sent off course, landed a few feet away. It changed into a humanoid thing and faced them. Zell was saying they should run. Nyx was thinking along the same lines, except using zell as bait to get away free. That was until she looked at him. He looked different, and strangely enough his skin now looked like hers, although only for a second. Now she wanted answer.

"Yeah lets get out of here." said Nyx, now wondering if Zell was the same as her.

The creature was far superior in speed, and so Zell would need to get them as far away as possible, or throw him off as quickly as possible. There was little he himself could do at this rate however. The creature was entrapped in crystal, however he found himself unsure. He took of at a speeding 40 miles per hour, the speed of a human Olympian, and a speed that Nyx could keep up with. He was capable of running faster, but not without blowing his cover.

He growled as he made his way, keeping an eye open for the escaped slave as the creature let out a sickening crack and it's two telson-taloned appendages shattered through the crystal. The creature then began to growl, running after them at 75 miles per hour. They had some distance, however it wasn't enough. The creature was closing in as Zell reached an alley way, hoping Nyx was able to keep up. He slipped into the alley and made his way through the city. If he learned anything from these things, the more turns, the better. He stopped in the middle of a "cross roads" form of alleyway that conjoined two others. He looked to try and find the Alien, wondering wherever she may be.

Nyx and the other Alien got separated while running. She had used her crystals to send herself flying and landed on a roof. She used her crystals to cross over the roofs. She couldn't help but look back at the creature that was now covered her crystals. Different members of her race having different colored crystals was no big deal. What was that she wasn't alone here and this planet maybe less safe then she originally thought. When the creature broke out of his crystal cage Nyx took it upon herself to follow it. It seemed to be after the other Alien. So if she followed it she could get caught up with the other Alien again.

Although following it wasn't easy. IT was much faster then Nyx and it seemed like she was more following it's trail of destruction rather then the beast itself. But she stuck to the roof tops where she could see it better. The creature seemed to catch up to him eventually because it stopped. Nyx took this time to attack. Spring boarding herself into the air using her crystals she created a large crystal sword in her hand. Slice down at the creature a she fell.