Star Crossed: Finding the other - 6. The Chase

Norian

“So where exactly are we going right now?” George asks.

We are in what appears to be the streets of the city.

There is sand and dust absolutely everywhere on this desert planet.

It is also awfully hot!

I am so damn glad our suits can keep us cool from the sun. How any of these aliens aren’t being burnt to a crisp is beyond me.

“To a exotic club called Sacred Cavern,” The Director replies.

While we are walking, I do notice that we keep getting stares. I can most likely guess it's from us being the group that is slapped on every poster and holovid to represent U.U.P.P.

After a few years of being noticed by different people around the universe you start to like it. It feels like maybe our message really is spreading.

It is either that or it's our suits. We kind of stick out from the crowd.

“Exotic Club, eh?” Remelia smirks.

Remy laughs and bumps up against me.

“You know what that means?” He winks at me and I just huff and shake my head.

It is like I work with children sometimes.

“Ah yeah! We're going to a strip club, baby!” Remy gets a bounce in his step and starts walking faster.

I roll my eyes and stick close to the Director.

I am not really in the mood to go to any strip clubs right now honestly. I can only assume our new recruit must enjoy himself in going to strip clubs as much as Remy does.

Most likely another annoyance to have in our squad.

~~
~~

Mekaias

“Are you sure you want to perform today?” Aileta says while watching me change into my outfit.

She clearly wants me to stay down here even longer.

It has been a week since the death of King Talemo and after trying to go out of the club once, a new group of guards called Firelight seem to want to try and get me.

They are the same people who wear the grey suits with fire symbols. The one who killed my mother had worn.

They had found me in the marketplace and asked me to join their cause.

When I declined, they immediately tried to gun me down.

I sadly had to kill them in front of many others in the market.

Aileta has been trying to keep me down in the room every since.

“Yes I am sure," I say. "I would rather not be trapped in another cage.”

I look over at her and see that must have hit the right mark.

She gives a sad look and gives a nod before turning to go up the stairs.

“You know," Arnio says as he steps out the restroom, "She makes me guard the doors even when Meeron is working already? It just shows she cares for you.”

I roll my eyes at him and go to grab my mask.

“I’ll see you up there, oh protector of mine,” I smile and make my way up the stairs to the main floor.

~~
~~

Norian

“Are we lost?” Remelia asks with a huff.

We have been walking for about two hours.

It can’t possibly be this hard to find one strip club in one city!

The sun is officially in the middle of the sky and it is burning the tops of our heads.

“We are almost there,” The Director simply says.

I mentally roll my eyes since the actual effort to do so makes my head hurt even more.

This damn sun is seriously only making this headache worse.

At least the planet is interesting to look at for a small distraction.

There are lots of different alien species here. All in various sizes and looks.

However, something a few of them have in common is they some have strange marks on their skin. Some are even the same design as others.

The ones with brands seem to look among the poorer crowd.

It is kind of upsetting to see.

I have heard of some planets using slaves and marking them in different ways. I can only assume that is what is happening on this planet.

We finally turn a corner and a giant rock building with glowing pink lights comes up.

I want to assume this is the place.

I sadly cannot read the language on the sign. It is a bunch of lines and dots to me.

“Here we are!” The Director puts away his phone and starts walking across the street.

Can I call it a street? It is pretty much a sandy road.

We get in front of the club and look at the pictures on the sides.

I think I can speak for everyone here that it's surprising to see that it is a gay strip club.

Usually these people hide their sexuality everywhere else across the universe. To see it out in the open like this is very new to me.

“Huh...so he's into guys! I’m down with that,” Remelia giggles and pushes Remy and I forward.

As we pass the front doors, an Alien my height stands in front of us with his arms crossed.

I want to step in front with the Director, but I catch something that immediately calls my attention.

It smells fucking amazing here!

I am not sure what they are cooking here but the spices they are using are super strong.

They smell absolutely amazing and I need it!

There are a bunch of club-goers standing in the middle of a dance floor. They all stare up at a platform above us.

I am guessing another stage.

My guess comes from the fact that there must be a spotlight behind a dancer up there. Their shadow is dancing around on a ring on the wall ahead of us.

I can’t exactly take my eyes away from shadow inside the orange light. It is like seeing a flame dancing around.

Their body looks incredibly flexible based on their movements.

My eyes widen when I see the dancer do a split with his legs in the air.

The smell of spices are getting stronger and stronger the longer I stare.

All of a sudden I am being pushed back outside.

I scowl and look at the Director, slightly annoyed at being interrupted from the show.

“What happened?” Remy asks.

“The bouncer said he doesn’t trust us to be inside and that only I can go in alone,” The Director says with a small sigh and pinches his nose. “I’ll try and be quick. Just wait here.”

He turns and goes back inside.

As soon as he is away, we go over to stand a few feet away from the entrance.

“Did you guys smell the inside of that place?” I ask.

I need some of that food before we leave this planet! I couldn't care less if it was from a gay strip club!

“Didn’t really smell anything but sweat and alcohol.” Remy shrugs.

Remelia nods and shrugs with him.

How did they not smell all that food? It was possibly the best thing I’ve smelt in forever!

“You didn’t smell the food or anything?”

They both just shake their heads. I look over at George and he shakes his head as well.

Maybe I am going insane and I'm imagining things.

Could be the heat of the sun getting to me?

I will say however, my headache is finally gone.

~~
~~

Mekaias

After I had finished my performance, I go downstairs to Aileta at the bar.

I pushed a little too much today. I actually feel out of breath!

I plop down at a stool and lay my head on my arms.

“Well you were energetic today,” Aileta smiles and passes me a glass of water.

I gulp it down fast and turn to lean my back against the bar.

“I was really having fun up there. Randomly felt a burst of energy,” I smile and wave at a possible customer I could dance for.

“Holy shit,” I hear Aileta say in English.

I look at her and follow her vision to see Arnio leading a man behind him.

As he steps aside to let him pass, I gasp.

I haven’t seen many friends from my past besides Aileta and Lucain.

Seeing another is a great surprise!

I immediately hop off the stool and run to hug Kane!

He used to help Aileta if she ever wasn’t feeling good. He would even take over for her some nights.

He helped convince Aileta to let me and my mother join the circus when he found us starving under a bridge.

“It has been so long!” I smile and hug him tighter and he hugs me back.

"You have grey in your hair!" I laugh and pull at a grey strand of hair along the sides of his head.

“Mekaias, it’s incredibly nice to see you are well! I must say it is rather strange seeing you dressed like that,” He chuckles and then looks over at Aileta.

She doesn’t look entirely happy. If anything, I’d say she looks kind of mad.

“Aileta," He simply says and he sits in a stool in front of her.

“I see you got my video," She narrows her eyes. "A reply would have been nice.”

She sounds mad too.

She starts to make him a drink. I sit beside him and Arnio goes back to the front entrance.

“Well I am here aren’t I? Clearly I thought about it. Had I known what I would have been working with before then I would have been here sooner.”

I am just sitting here confused and turn back to watch the club goers.

No reason to bother listening to these two argue. Clearly they have not changed since I’ve been gone.

A giant alien with pink skin and two heads is watching me.

I wave and smile at him.

Perhaps I will earn some money while these two debate over who knows what.

Just as I stand to go over to him, Arnio runs over to me.

“Mekaias, you need to go now!” He yells over the loud music.

I look at him confused and slightly afraid.

“The group, Firelight, is here and they have brought many with them.”

I look over and see a bunch of men pulling out guns. They are marching and pushing their way through the crowd.

Some are even starting to shoot at the ceiling to make everyone spread out.

“Run! Now!” Aileta shouts and points to the window above the stage upstairs.

Why must this happen now?

I turn and immediately start running up the stairs, using magic to surround my body to run faster.

Maybe I should have stayed in my room after all.

~~
~~

Norian

“How long do you think he is going to take?” Remelia asks.

I just shrug and stare at the entrance.

“I am not sure how we are even supposed to find one alien in a city like this,” George sighs and sits down on the ground.

As he says that, a few human men walk into the club.

They looked far too serious to just be going to the club for fun.

Next thing I hear is shouting and gunfire.

I immediately stand and move to run inside.

A sound from my earpiece stops me.

“The recruit is coming out!” The Director voice says into my ear. “Protect him if you can! Just look for the one in blue underwear. Firelight is after him.”

The call ends and I stand by the entrance waiting for the recruit to come out.

There is a crash above us and a blast of purple light jumps out.

That light immediately begins to drop down.

That is definitely the recruit!

I plant my feet into the ground and prepare to catch him.

Next thing I know, he crashes into me and I am slammed into the ground as if a giant piano has fallen on top of me!

I groan and try to bring air back into my lungs.

“Hun yen aryono?” I hear a voice over me call.

I can’t exactly concentrate when the amazing smell from before is filling up my nose.

I feel a hand touch my cheek and oh god it’s so warm and soft!

I lean into it and breath in more.

I finally open my eyes and then I see the two most beautiful eyes that I have ever seen.

Bright purple eyes look down at me in worry.

To whatever idiot who brought that feeling into those perfect eyes, they must be ashamed of themselves!

I stare in shock as a smile comes onto the lips of this beautiful being on top of me.

They lean forward.

Oh my god! Are they going to kiss me?

I can’t help but lean up to meet them.

Then they disappear over me, the recruit pushing himself into the air with his hands and flipping forwards.

I sit up and look behind me, staring after my soulmate who is running away from me.

Holy shit! It's my soulmate!

“Shaiyo!” He calls over his shoulder with a small smile smile and wave.

He does a sort of cartwheel and at the end of it crouches down low on his feet then he jumps high into the air to grab at the top of a building.

Then he is gone.

What the fuck just happened?

“I don’t know but something tells me you liked it," Remy says.

He and Remelia laugh together and help lift me up.

I said that out loud?

I wipe the sand from my arms and legs and look over at the building he jumped onto.

“We need to go get him,” I say.

I feel a blush creeping up my neck and start running in the direction he went off to.

I hear the two devils giggling as we begin running.

I should possibly be angry and yell at them, but I can’t help the grin on my face and the speed my heart is beating right now.

~~
~~

Mekaias

Congrats to me for almost killing someone innocent today!

I hear a few drones and guards following me over the rooftops. I keep running and jump over different buildings, trying to lose the guards.

I keep the magic around my body to run faster. I need to lose the guards so that I can then go down below to lose the drones. Then everything should be fine.

I see a large gap with a pillar standing in the middle.

Perfect!

I pick up speed and then jump, creating a rope to grab onto the pillar and swing over onto the other side.

I look back and see the guards starting to climb down to the ground, the drones still chasing me in the air.

I jump down onto ground level and run towards the marketplace.

I slip under tables and leap over crates, grabbing various clothes from tables as I run by.

Many of the business owners yell after me for stealing.

Feeling a bit bad, I quickly keep running and throwing whatever on to cover myself.

Reaching the end of the marketplace, I then turn into a small neighborhood with a nice garden area.

I jump into someone’s open window and hide.

Thankfully I don’t hear any drones now, but I hear guards coming in.

I peek over and see a few circling around with their weapons out.

Taking a deep breath, I quickly put on the clothes.

Red scarf to cover my head and face, Brown tank top, and off white pants.

I take another deep breath to get ready to leave through the other side of this house, but then I hear gunfire.

Looking over, I see the grey stone man that I almost squashed from before. He has two others with him.

A Human man and a Syren.

The stone man is carrying a giant metal ax that has a trigger where he grips the handle. The tip of the ax begins firing strange blue glowing bullets. He swings at any guards that comes close to him.

The Human and Syren are both holding giant guns that are held up and strapped to their arms. Their guns are huge metal things and loud, shooting incredibly fast.

All three are grouped together and fighting off the Firelight guards.

“Man this is always so much fun!” I hear the human yell.

“More are coming from above!” The stone one shouts.

A few guards have arrived that are using the roofs for cover and are shooting down at the three fighters.

The stone man has created a giant shield from the arm of his suit. The bullets don’t seem to have an affect on the shield at all.

The two with guns are trying to shoot the guards above but seem to be struggling to hit them.

“They are too covered up for me to shoot,” The Syren says.

I believe that they must at least be good guys if they are fighting these guards off and so I decide to help.

I leap out the window and run up behind the three fighters. I run up the giant stone man’s back and pounce high into the air onto the rooftops, back flipping at the same time to dodge any bullets aimed for me.

I summon two blades and use them to stab a guard as I land on him. He dies and then I go for the other guards up here with him.

I kill off the rest and don’t see any others arriving up top.

I look down and see more have arrived below. The fighters are already fighting them off.

I leap down and run to the middle to help.

I summon knife after knife and throwing at any guards that come out into the open.

Many of their bodies fall to the floor dead as knives and bullets rain down on them.

The ones that get close I leap over and finish off.

During all the fighting, the three fighters seem to laugh around and yell as if they are having fun.

I can’t help but smile at this trio of strangers.

They sadly speak only English to each other but they do seem to be having a good time. It weirdly puts me in a fun mood as well!

The stone one really seems to like watching me. He constantly whoops when I managed to kill something.

I guess almost dying seems to have left a mark on him.

A small laugh escapes my lips at how goofy this alien is.

Eventually the remaining guards retreat in defeat.

A large grey ship flies over us.

I immediately go to dive for cover but the stone man says it is safe.

The ship hovers above the ground and opens to let us in.

I stare as they hop in.

The stone one looks back at me, confused as to why I didn’t follow.

He reaches out and offers his hand.

“Don’t worry! It’s safe! I’ll protect you if you’d like,” He gives a warm smile that sends a warm feeling in my stomach. “Though, I think you can handle yourself.”

He laughs but still keeps his hand out for me.

Hesitantly, I accept it and hop in.

The door closes and then we are starting to lift away.

I look around wide eyed and scared.

I’ve never been in something like this! It’s absolutely terrifying! Why did I trust him?

I follow the giant stone man and sit beside him.

He puts on some straps and reaches over to help me with mine.

“I’m Norian by the way.” He gives a big toothy grin and offers his hand.

I hear the Human and Syren giggling across from us.

He gives them a stern look then looks back at me with a smile and a blush forming on his cheeks.

I didn’t know rocks could blush.

“Mekaias,” I say, a bit shy but I shake his hand.

It practically swallows mine.

I also did not know that rocks could be warm.

I smile at him and then lean back.

Perhaps I should be scared because I have no idea where I am going right now, but I feel safe with this mountain.

~~
~~

Norian

He is right next to me!

It was unbelievably hard not to stare at him without him noticing.

Sadly, the ride was too short to get my chances.

We circled back to a house a little away from the city.

The Director, an older human lady, and the alien bouncer from the club are there.

As soon as we are out, the old lady rushes and hugs my soulmate.

I actually get a little jealous which is ridiculous.

I have only just met him and this is clearly either his mother or his guardian.

We go inside and The Director, The lady named Aileta, and Mekaias are sitting at a table for privacy to talk.

Clearly they all know each other somehow. Mekaias even knows the Director! He calls him Kane.

I don’t know anyone else who calls him anything but “The Director.”

I am in the living room with my squad.

The others are all chatting together but I am just watching my soulmate to really take in his appearance.

He has fluffy cat ears that flick around towards our direction from time to time.

I smile at that. It is rather cute honestly.

He seems to be wearing makeup.

I never thought I would be with another guy. The fact he is a guy who is wearing makeup is rather new.

I am absolutely fine with it! He looks pretty damn good with it! Even his little tattoo on his cheek is fine with me.

He does have white stripes on his skin in some areas. Arms, legs, waist, and also one stripe along both sides of his face.

Some dark freckles are also on his shoulders.

My soulmate is pretty darn cute!

Never thought I'd see the day where I would find a guy adorable and want him to be mine.

“Norian?” I turn to Remelia next to me. She has a smile on her face.

“Is it him?” She asks.

I almost feel like I should lie.

Wouldn’t this be looked down upon?

No I shouldn't lie.

This is someone very special to me. This is my mate for life!

I must be proud of it no matter what.

When I go to smile back, I realize I am already smiling.

I just nod and turn back to watch him, already missing my chance to look at him.

I freeze when I see Mekaias is watching me back.

He smiles and waves at me, before turning back to his conversation.

That interaction alone has my heart pounding in my chest!

“Yeah he is very much it," I sigh and feel a warmth coming from my left horn.

How the hell am I going to get him to accept me?