Friday, July 1, 2011

Zeitgeist Preview Snippets-Part 3

Sorry that there hasn't been any fanfic updates for like forever, since I've super hectic and all. But right now, the status is that I'm working on a Jigoku Sensei Nube, as well as being a co-author with Mel Celestial in writing her IZ fanfic both a main one and an AU one with the tentative title "Zeitgeist". I'm focusing more on the AU side of it, of course.

Here's a preview of my part of the fanfic:

"Come on, come on..."

Sol was at the edge of her toes as she watched her latest batch of eggs starting to hatch. Her hands clasped tight as her heart prayed that this time it would be a success.

This marked the 4th time she and Twik had tried for smeebies to secure their lineage. The past 3 times were a total failure; all the eggs were stillborn and did not hatch. Worse, the 2nd time she and Kwil tried for smeebies ended up in a miscarriage due to work-related stress.

Sol shuddered at the memory of being fine for one moment, and then the next moment she was starting to bleed between her legs and the eggs just slid out of her womb in front of her eyes the moment the medics removed her bodysuit to try and salvage the pregnancy. If it weren't for the fact that the level-headed Kwil was there by her side throughout the entire ordeal (blame his human-raised emotions for that, since Irken females usually go through birth alone), she would've been screaming at the medics, blaming them for her loss (again, blame her human-raised emotions for that).

Sol shook her head to rid of that memory. This time the eggs are hatching. This time it will work. It will succeed.

Time passed almost too slowly for her liking as the eggs popped and cracked. Sol was almost tempted to just use her claw and ripped the shell apart but she knew it would only break the cycle and interrupt the smeebies' natural process of breathing on their own. She had to restrain herself as she continued watching. Her leg couldn't stop tapping though.

Finally, after what felt like forever, 3 eggs have successfully hatched. 3 beautiful little smeebies crawled out of their shell, wheezing and mewling for their mother. Sol mourned for the loss of the other 2 eggs that failed to hatch, but soon regained composure as she cradled the 3 successful ones in her arms.

All 3 smeebies were born physically perfect. They all inherited the claws and bipeds of their father and had their father's darker green complexion. Sol cooed at them lovingly as she checked their cloacas: 2 males and 1 female. Both males somehow inherited her eyes while the female inherited their father's eyes. Sol could almost cry with joy if not for the fact that the tough part was after the hatching process.

Grabbing a cloth, she gently wiped the smeebies down, cleaning them off of the mucus and tiny shell shards that clung on their skin. She couldn't risk cleaning them in the birth tank until the worst is over. The smeebies, once hatched, had to be given a 30 minutes headstart to see if their will to live was strong enough to adjust to life outside the egg. If they did not last for the first 30 minutes of their lives, they are considered a failure along with the rest of the stillborn eggs. It was a touch-and-go situation.

Wrapping them up in big towels to give them some warmth, Sol cradled them close to her chest, rocking them every so often. The smeebies had stopped mewling and flailing and had settled to cooing and sucking their thumbs.

"You're strong, like your father. You can do this, I know you can. Fight on, fight to live in this world, my little smeebies," Sol whispered as she paced around the room. "I know your father will decide names for you later, but I am going to have a say of name for at least one of you. Hmm...Let's see, I think I'll name you Sonia, how's that?" she tapped the female smeeby's antennas at that, "Yes, I'm definitely giving you the name Sonia. I don't care if they say I'm not supposed to name you before you survive this phase, but I'm naming you anyway, since you are going to survive this. I know you are."

Sol paced the room long enough to wear a hole through the floor before she checked the time. 35 minutes have passed. She smiled. The smeebies have passed the touch-and-go stage. They've survived the post-hatching process. Delighted, she intercommed Twik to come over.

----

Jaden was in the middle of teaching his latest batch of Irkens when the call came. He excused himself as he went out of the classroom to answer it.

"I can't talk right now, I'm the middle of cla..."

"Jaden, you better come quick!"

Jaden blinked at Kwil's distressed voice at the end of the line.

"Kwil? What's going on?" Jaden asked in concern. Despite years of being told that he'd rather be called by his human name than his Irken name, Jaden insisted on calling him the latter to train him to get used to it since he'll be called that by 'the next gajillion citizens, both Irken and human, that he can't kill'.

"It's...It's Sol," Kwil replied, his distress seemed to make him forget to retort in annoyance at being called his Irken name. "The eggs...She..."

"Understood," Jaden replied and hung up. Re-entering the classroom, he gathered his things and turned to his students, "Class dismissed. Emergency. Remember to study Chapter 69 on Diplomatic Immunity."

----

Loud thrashing and banging could be heard by the time Jaden arrived at the Tallest quarters. He saw Kwil cradling Twik on his lap and flinched as the sound of somewhat a heavy object was hurled against the door.

"What happened to Twik?" Jaden asked as he checked the unconscious Irken.

"Sol sorta knocked him out in her outburst when he tried to calm her down," Kwil replied awkwardly. "He's probably having a concussion right now, and I'm planning to take him to the medic. May have broken a few ribs of his and dislocated his shoulder, but he'll live."

"So...the hatching didn't go well, huh?"

"No shit."

"Alright. Take him to the medic. I'll handle her."

Kwil nodded and hoisted Twik over his shoulders to bring him to the medic. Jaden watched him leave for a while before bracing himself to enter the room. He felt almost thankful that Sol gave him the passcode to her door in one of her attempts to seduce him as he clicked on the buttons to unlock it.

As soon as the sliding door hissed open, he reflexively dodged an incoming lamp thrown at him. Standing out of harm's way, he saw that the room was completely trashed. Most of the furniture had suffered her wrath and crude claw marks were all over the bed sheets. He could see signs of mucus and egg shells on the surface of the bed and some on the floor.

He turned to see Sol slamming her fists against a mirror next. The poor inanimate object didn't stand a chance. Sol maybe quite small, but she compensated with strength, and the mirror shattered in an instance with one punch. That didn't stop the female Irken from punching it over and over again, and her fists were starting to bleed from the mirror shards getting shoved deeper and deeper into her tiny hands.

"Sol, Sol!" Jaden speed-walked over and grabbed her by the wrists, pulling her away from the mirror. "Sol, that's enough!"

"Let go of me!! Let go of me!!!" Sol struggled in his manhandling. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!"

"Sol, CALM DOWN!! You're not helping yourself or the situation by hurting yourself like this!"

"What do you know about my situation?! Why do YOU care?! You're always avoiding me and defy my advances even though I'm your Tallest!! What the HELL do you know?!"

"I know that if you don't stop right now you're gonna risk losing those hands."

"What do I care?! It's not like I can lose anything else!! I can't even do my duty to secure my lineage for my mates!! I'm a Tallest and I can't even produce heirs for my husbands!! I'm a failure! A FAILURE!!!"

"No!" Jaden held her close to his chest. "No, don't say that. You're not a failure. You're a Tallest. You lead your soldiers to battle and saved the world many times over against the Navokai. You watch over your people alongside Twik and Kwil and make tough but fair decisions for their wellbeing. You perform your duties wisely and just. You're not a failure. And I do not train failures. You know that. You're not a failure."

"YES, I AM!! Lemme go!! LEMME GO!!" Sol screamed, struggling in his arms, wanting to push him away, wanting him to leave rather than seeing her so vulnerable right now. This was not the impression she wanted to give his long-time crush. She didn't want him to see her like this.

"No, you're not. You're just a grieving mother who lost a child. You were a mother whose luck was not on your side. You were a victim of fate. That's all you are right now. Not a failure."

Slowly, the female Irken stopped struggling and slumped in the hybrid's arms, her claws gripping tightly at his suit. Her shoulders shook as she started sobbing long and hard into his chest, muffled cries and wails that would break anyone's heart coming out of those lips.

"I...I was so sure..." Sol whimpered. "I was so sure...they would live...They passed the post-hatching phase...They lasted more than 35 minutes...Twik was...was so happy..."

"I know, I know," Jaden whispered as he rubbed her back, crooning at her gently.

"They...They just started wheezing...the moment we decided to clean them properly...S...Sonia started first...One minute she was OK, and the next she...and her brothers..."

Jaden continued to croon at her, letting out a purr that he seemed to have inherited from his mother.

"I watched them die...They died...in my arms...I tried...I tried so hard..."

"Shh, shh, shh..."

The world outside was soon momentarily forgotten as Jaden held Sol in his arms, hushing and purring at her as he rocked her gently to and fro, the room echoing with Sol's tiny sobs and whimpers.

More to come...

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