Corruption

SkinWalker Invasion pt1

"I'm sure you've heard the tales of the SkinWalkers that the human tribes tell," Miranda told Nelson as they walked toward the middle of the mothership. "No," Nelson said, "What the fuck is a SkinWalker???" "It's as gross as it sounds unfortunately," Miranda frowned. "On Inukō, the dominant species there are known as the Inu. Whenever you commit a crime, they put in this machine that brutally mutates and disfigures you. They do that to the criminals of their species, and drop them off on Earth Vía wormholes. They've made a sport out of it. It's a bit confusing, but they have the most advanced teleportation technology in galaxy right now." "Damn.." Nelson muttered. "They want us to talk to the Inukōan Ruler, King, whatever he wants to call himself," Miranda continued, "And just convince him to keep them out of our land. See, Earth is divided into grids. Most species agree to stay with a certain section of the Earth in order to keep from fighting forever until we destroy all the humans and waste all our resources and possibly mess up the resources on Earth too. The Inukōan Skinwalkers have been causing trouble and messing with our genetic experiments."
So Earth is just being used as a breeding ground for genetic mutations? Testing? The thought made him very uneasy. Humans think they're so important and they aren't anything more than mice in a giant lab to these aliens. "Did you get confused?" Miranda asked, noticing the change in Nelson's demeanor. "No," Nelson replied, "I was just paying close attention." "Are you?" Miranda asked rhetorically. Nelson nodded anyway, "This is easily the most interesting stuff I've ever heard in my whole life. I've never considered.." He trailed off. "They never do," Miranda said quietly.
It wasn't until then that he realized they had arrived at what he would describe as a docking area for spaceships. He saw a bunch of exotically designed spacecraft parked before him, all seemingly facing away from him and towards the wall. "You're bringing the human with you?" He heard Mari's raspy voice ask from behind them. "Oh, Dad, yes," Miranda replied, obviously not expecting him to be there. "I mean it's.. it could kinda be dangerous for me to go alone so, you know.." she trailed off slowly. Mari just stood there, as always, two of his four arms crossed. He made no expression. "Whatever just don't mess it up," he shrugged, and walked away. Nelson wondered what he was doing here. As Mari walked away, he noticed Miranda's demeanor had changed. She seemed a bit down, at least. "Are you okay?" He asked her. "Yea," She replied, her voice a bit quieter than normal. He followed her into the ship. When they got in, she pulled her black cloak off and tossed it on the ground, and sat in a seat, (a floating chair) crossing her arms. He sat down in one beside her. Gazing at all the fancy lights and holographic controls, and taking note she wasn't doing anything, he waited a bit before telling her, "Uhm.. to be honest, I don't know how to use this." Miranda tried faking a smile, but it was clear she wasn't too good at that. "Sorry." She started the controls up, fiddling with them in a seemingly meaningless order.
"I see something's bothering you," he said slowly, "Do you want to talk about it?" "No." Well this is getting weird, he thought awkwardly. He decided to close his eyes and meditate in the chair.
After a short while, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. It was Miranda tapping him with her pinky. Nelson looked up at her with a confused smirk. The corners of her lip hinted at a smile. "What?" She asked. "Why did you use your pinky?" He asked. She shrugged, smiling a bit. Nelson took note. She was bad at hiding smiles. Might come in handy later, he thought. "I didn't mean to get upset earlier like that," she said awkwardly. "It's cool," Nelson replied. "I didn't expect an apology though. So thank you for that." She nodded. "Well whatever it was," he continued, "I hope it gets better for you. Maybe I can help?" Miranda shrugged, though he smile did get a bit brighter. "See, there's a smile," Nelson said teasingly. "Better already." Miranda blushed a bit, but didn't say anything, only looking down at her feet, playing with her thumbs. "Yeah I guess," she said, still blushing. He wondered what he'd said. "What'd I say?" He asked curiously. "Hmm?" She asked, "Oh Uh... just the bit.. about me smiling.." "O-oh," Nelson stuttered. I didn't mean to sound flirtatious.. he thought. He just didn't want an awkward ride. "I-I didn't mean it like that.. I mean not that there's anything wrong with your smile.. I mean you know it is nice.. I mean.." he sighed. He had no clue what to say. "It's okay," she said with a bright, genuine smile. It was the first time he had ever seen her smile like that, smile so genuinely. He couldn't help but blush a bit. But it didn't matter how attractive Miranda was to him. His heart was with Anora. He changed the subject. "But yes," he said, "So um..." he found himself unable to change the subject. "I was wondering," Miranda suddenly started, "Since we have a day before we get there, why don't you let me show you more of what you can do? You know, if you wanna take one more of those Muta-X, you know those green pills? I can teach you more of what hybrids can do. It'll be easy because everything will be heightened." Nelson absolutely didn't want to become any less human. He didn't want to ruin her mood again though, so he agreed.
He took a pill and waited for the changes to occur. He felt his muscles getting stronger, his eyes forcibly turning green, and his senses heighten. "You notice how you can smell things allot easier, and hear things allot clearer?" She asked him, eyeing him up and down with a curious smile on her face and a raised eyebrow. Nelson nodded. "This is kinda crazy," he said, studying himself. He felt so immensely powerful. "No wonder you're so confident," he commented, "If you feel like this all the time." Miranda giggled a bit, shaking her head but smirking. "You'll get used to it. That's the point. You should try to focus and get control over that like you did with the Nightmare blade. The more you practice, you should be able to control how strong you want your senses to be, or should I say how sensitive? Anyway. Scientists have estimated that they should be perfectly effective within up to two miles, or not, up to your discretion." "So I can see, smell, and hear things up to two miles away even in the dark??" Nelson asked. "You'd be surprised at what you can do with practice and creativity," Miranda told him. "Especially if you take more pills. Of course, they're only effective up to a point, then they won't have any effect but healing your wounds faster for 24 hours, but you easily could take five more." Nelson gaped. "Guess I better start practicing," he said with a smile. She nodded as to agree. "You'll definitely need it if things go south here."
*******
He trained as often as he could. While taking a break here or there only to chat with Miranda. He found himself a bit more distracted than he'd like to admit. From space, the planet of Inukō was a wild, green, luscious planet, with a bunch of large white circles floating around the planet. "Those are cities," she pointed out, "The Inukōan don't want to damage their planet at all, after nearly going extinct on their last one. That's why they're building their cities to levitate in the air. They refuse to do any deforestation. The only time they go down to the actual surface is to enjoy the nature there." Nelson nodded. "It's a beautiful planet. I hate what humans are doing to our planet. Just fucking it up on purpose." "Maybe it'll be okay," Miranda offered, patting him on the back. She pressed a few buttons, and asked for permission to beam them down. They landed in the middle of a dense forest. The air was super crisp and fresh, and there was a light breeze. "Damn!" Nelson exclaimed. "This is air so clean. It almost tickles my lungs." Miranda smiled curiously. "Tickles your lungs, huh?" She commented. "Man," he said, "I just wanna.. breathe." He chuckled to himself, and Miranda merely smirked. "Hey listen," she told him, "Let me do the talking. They're usually pretty understanding but I wanna make sure everything goes smoothly." "Yeah sure, I can do that." Nelson agreed.
They began walking towards a giant long white pole that extended towards the sky. "This is where the city is?" Nelson asked, trying to see the top of it, which went above into the clouds. "I'm hoping we don't have to climb this." "Of course not," she said, "Just tap it." She tapped it, and suddenly just disappeared. "What the fuck?" He mumbled to himself. He tapped it and the next thing he knew he was at the very top of the pole, which lead to what was simply a large platform with a few small buildings on it in front of them. People didn't seem to live here. He noticed a bunch of other platforms in the distance, though they were levitating. This one was the only one attached to the ground. "These Inu are something else," Nelson commented to Miranda. "Glad you like it," a deep voice said from in front of them. Nelson turned his attention to the Inu approaching them. They were almost like humans, surprisingly enough, except they had heads like that of a wolf, and claws instead hands. They had deep black eyes, and wore lightweight robes. There were three of them, and the one in the middle was the one who spoke. "Interesting indeed," It said. "Forgive us, we were expecting Urzuhg. We aren't as well versed in the language of the homosexuals." Nelson raised his eyebrows but Miranda urged him not to speak. Does he mean homoSAPIENS? He thought with a grin. "We are actually half Urzuhg, too, sir," Miranda explained, "We speak on behalf of the Urzuhg King." "Wow." The Inu all smirked and spoke amongst themselves in their own language, which sounded a bit like soft barking. "Forgive us," it spoke again, "We never thought we would see the day when the mindlessly aggressive Urzuhg would mate with homosexuals." Nelson tried his best to hold in a chuckle, since he told Miranda he wouldn't speak. The Inu observed this. It seemed to smile. "Well you are certainly much more pleasant to deal with. You may refer to me as Inukoto, and these are but my guards, though they aren't required to give their name." "I'm Miranda, and this is Nelson, pleased to meet you of course," She said. "Come with us, my homosexual visitors. Allow us to get out of the starlight." The star of the sun was a bit warm, Nelson noted, but it didn't bother him too much. He wondered if his Urzuhg mutations had anything to do with that. He looked a Miranda and grinned a childish grin. She rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile back at him, but held a finger to her lips as to indicate he remain quiet.
They were lead to a large room filled with a bunch of Inu watching them enter. They were immediately surrounded, and their weapons were drawn. A smaller one, which had the face of the a puppy rather than a full wolf, peeked it's head around the ankle of one of the Inu guards. "Do not worry, comrades! It is not the grotesque Urzuhg, but instead their Homosexual representatives! Lower your weapons!" They agreed and made way for them, revealing a long, impressively decorated couch looking thing. A giant metallic object that resembled a a leg bone lay in the ground beside it. Inukoto lay nonchalantly on the "couch", and addressed them. "So tell me. What do the Urzuhg want?"
Miranda seemed to think on her reply, then eventually responded, "We have been sent here because they have noticed your Skinwalkers are outside of your boundaries, and causing problems in our boundaries, sir. Also, if at all possible, we might like your aid in the war against the Grey Martians." "Of course they're still going on about that," Inukoto sighed, "We do not wish any part in your war. In case you were unaware, the Inu and the Urzuhg are not on the best of terms. The only reason we are not at arms is because of the treaty we agreed upon. Also, while we understand your concern, our Skinwalkers haven't been within five miles of the boundaries. And any who do are immediately executed before they can violate the treaty. Your problem is not with us." "I see," Miranda said, "Unfortunately though, we have pictures and videos. Both from our ships, and even from the Earth's cameras." Inukoto seemed to change his demeanor. Nelson felt himself getting nervous. What happened if they got upset? Were they going to turn them into Skinwalkers? Miranda pulled out a hologram from her right pocket and played the videos they'd collected. Upon seeing the video, the atmosphere immediately became dark. The Inu in the room tensed around their weapons. Fuck, fuck fuck, Nelson thought worried. Fucking shit fuck.. how the fuck do we fight ALL these Inu?? They began hearing some growling. He wondered what was shown on the video that angered them so.
"You two..." one of the guards spat, raising his weapon, a spear with glowing red tip. Presumably a laser beam? "Are you trying to set us up?! Just trying to start another conflict, so typical of your kind!" "Ūtaku," Ikoto muttered to the guard at his right. "Always so destructive! Always so angry! You fools!! Those aren't even wormholes!!! Are you so bloodthirsty that.." "ENOUGH!" Ikoto shouted at Ūtaku, and stomped his foot on the ground so hard it made the entire room shake. Ūtaku whimpered and lowered his weapon. "It is true that is not us, but I understand why you think so." "My apologies," Miranda replied, "But Skinwalkers came out of that hole. And that technology.. it's as if it's ripping through space time itself. The Inukōan technology is the ONLY technology that could possibly do such a thing." "This is a much bigger problem than we thought...." Inukoto growled. "Something's gone terribly wrong.... that.. those.. only one species has ever made anything like that.." "Who?" Miranda asked, raising an eyebrow. "It was the only time we all worked together.. all the hyper-intellent species in the galaxy.. and still almost couldn't seal them away.." the growling intensified in the room. "The Annunaki.." Inukoto finished. "The Annunaki?" Nelson blurted, causing all the attention in the room to shift to him. "Im sorry... but I keep hearing about them, and I just recently stopped a Martian hybrid from bringing the Annunaki back." "So it can speak," Ūtaku muttered. "The Gray Martians have hybrids now?" Inukoto echoed, "Interesting. Thank you for this information. Since you're from Earth correct?" Nelson nodded, "That must mean they targeted the seal on the Gray's old planet... what was it.. Mars? Depending on the situation.. we should check on it..."
"I'm sorry," Nelson said to Miranda. Miranda didn't speak. "I'll make a deal with you," Inukoto said after a moment of talking amongst the other Inu. "The Annunaki absolutely can NOT return no matter what. We're going to need to work together to make sure that doesn't happen. I'm quite sure everyone here can agree that any issues we have with the Urzuhg are trivial compared to even just one Annunaki. So. If you will help us clear out all the Skinwalkers, and help us verify that no more... portals are being opened while we check on the Martian Seal, we will aid you against the Martians. We also will not be making any more Skinwalkers to ensure that the problem is truly taken care of for at least two thousand years. Is that an offer you're interested in?" "Yes, thank you," Miranda replied, clearly pleased with the result. "What are these Annunaki though?" Nelson asked. "Why is everyone so scared of them?"
"They are the most technologically advanced species anywhere... in multiple universes," Inukoto explained, "They unfortunately believe in authoritarian rule.. and seek to rule every species in every universe, timeline, dimension that they can get their hands on. They're billions of years ahead of any species in this galaxy. They can open portals between dimensions, create and destroy energy from nothing, freely travel between any galaxy in the Universe. But that's not what makes them the most dangerous. They can also manipulate consciousness in some way. Make you see things that aren't even there, hallucinations you call them in this language? But they are able to control these hallucinations and make you believe you're doing something when your physical body is unconscious on the ground. They can do it with their minds. So you never really know if you're actually battling them or if they're laughing at you standing in place. Combine that with everything else they can do... and you see why this is a problem." "How do beat something like that?" Nelson asked. "You don't. They won every single battle. Quintillions.. no, hundreds of quintillions died just as a distraction for the smartest scientists in the galaxy all working together to figure out one function on their Inter dimensional travel machines: how to reverse the effect and send them back before they killed and enslaved us all." "We'll get right on it," Miranda said, "Especially if you'll help us with the Martians." "Okay," Inukoto agreed, "Than this is what we will do."