The air thinned as their vision turned dark, their bodies beginning to contort and flatten. They could not see, nor hear anything. They could barely feel themselves as they slipped between the folds of space-time.
Mason felt both a heat unbearable and a cold unmanageable. His body was stretched to beyond what he thought was possible, a surreal experience that lasted just a few seconds, but felt like an eternity.
The ship appeared into another space, far beyond where they were once. Mason took in a massive gasp of air, his lungs completely deprived of the life-giving resource. His friends were also experiencing the lack of it, as they all were gulping.
B-64 sharply turned his head, getting rid of the little glitches that always appeared when going through these things. Even with the special field, something always happened: Like little dark patches of void appearing in his vision.
The ground felt very foreign, despite them having been accustomed to it in the time they were on the ship. It felt wrong to be there, and each step felt like stepping on knives cooled to near absolute zero.
"Uhh... My head..." Marissa muttered, unsteadily gripping onto the chair's frame. White burning heat rushed through her very body, almost agonizingly painful. Though that only lasted a moment, as it soon dissipated.
Axel too was having some side-effects: He could hear his heartbeat, his breathing was shallow at best, and he could barely see. But they too soon disappeared in just a few moments.
Hannah was one of the few that didn't experience anything adverse, a rather low chance of happening. She just sat and stared, a little scared and confused, but all together well. Mason shook himself, unlatching her belt and helping her up.
For some reason, they had appeared out of their chairs despite having just been there. Mason just shrugged it off however. After all, it wouldn't be the craziest thing they've witnessed.
A knock on the door caused all five to jump in surprise, B-64 all ready to attempt to power up his shield in case of the worst, but found that he couldn't. The door soon opened, revealing another new protogen. Mason considered that he'd best get used to seeing a lot of them.
"Follow me." It sent to B-64, it's inner voice rather robotic and lifeless. So disconnected that it even made B-64 shudder. Mason held his hand and Hannah's as the protogen signaled to the rest of them to exit the room.
B-64 followed it with a deep frown on his visor, holding onto Mason's hand just a little too tightly. There was something about that protogen that caused him to feel threatened, even if it didn't do anything.
After navigating numerous hallways, passages, and a flight of stairs, they reached what must have been the loading dock. A huge expanse of space with hundreds of boxes filled to the brim with odd devices, and even more disturbing, bodies.
Marissa quickly clutched Axel's shoulder as the protogen led them down into the area. She clenched her eyes shut and tried not to breath in with her nose, but being a lion, it was hard. Axel let her, leading her with his own hand and muttering soft words to her.
B-64 wasn't perturbed, and neither was Mason really. What Mason was mostly dealing with was shielding Hannah's eyes from the horrors. Mason wondered why they had to go through this area to get to the dock.
B-64's optic sensors were trained on the protogen, and even though Mason was right beside him, he could only focus on the thing in front of him. B-64 wasn't even sure if he could call it living, nor a protogen even.
No, that thing was definitely not alive.
Nevertheless, the thing led them outside and into the main loading dock. And if Mason was being honest, it looked nothing like what he expected.
What he expected was more industrial, home-like. What he saw was vastly different: Completely submerged underneath a massive expanse of water only held back by what looked like a forcefield, scores of spaceships spanning all sizes and variations.
Mason felt a cold shiver creep up his spin as his paws settled against the docks floor, feeling it almost liquid like. He squirmed slightly, patting his paws against the liquid floor yet not slipping underneath. It rippled with his movements, and he found that it was slightly bouncy.
The entire dock was easily the size of a large city, and all walks of life seemed to visit there. Hundreds of species and races walked amongst themselves there, communicating and interacting. But Mason could tell by the fact none of them went towards a sort of gate-like area that most weren't welcome out of that dock.
The thing finally stopped at an intersection besides a small, liquid building. The black liquid material that made up the floor and walls of everything there shifted as it dissolved into the floor when the 'Protogen' approached.
'I request a loading vehicle from Ion's personal collection and for it to be programmed for us to go back. It is of high priority." B-64 was about to try and talk to the thing parading itself to be a protogen before he and it were interrupted.
'That won't be necessary, I already have a vehicle pre-made for this occasion. You may relinquish your duty over to me.' B-64 swiveled his head around, along with the thing, and was met face to face with an actual protogen. One that he recognized.
It was a soothing voice in his head, like butter or silk, but it held a faint sense of gravely undertone, especially in his own mind. B-64 blinked and took in the entire frame of the other protogen, one he definitely knew.
One named catalyst: He was rather short, just above five foot, but had massive ears. His body was mainly fur on the outside, even having his legs covered with dark purple fur, but his entire innerworkings, save for his brain, were mechanical.
The dark blue visor and red eyes often put other people out, especially because he was generally considered a spitball, or a massive dick. Both worked.
But for Mason and the rest of the group, even the other 'thing', they were intimidated to say the least. Despite his small size, he had thousands of sharp, shiny needles poking out of his body, pointing ever so slightly down but perked up as he talked with B-64.
"Never expected to hear that you, of every B-Series captain, would be a war criminal. Remember that bet we made?" B-64 nodded. He did remember. He had always said that B-02 would be the criminal. There was always that rogue in every group.
Mason felt a little pressure start to rise in his head as another ship docked in the distance, red strings descending down from it. And after it was secured in its place, a wave of red-boson energy descended down from the strings and was deposited into an underground vault of sorts.
But Mason could feel it underneath the ground, like an ever present beating heart of the area. He just hoped that whatever B-64 and Catalyst were talking about, they would end.
"Even so. I have orders to bring you to Ion. You remember him, right?" Catalyst asked, waving his head for B-64, and the others, to follow. Mason was the first to get going, quickly running up to B-64 and running his hand against his claws, grabbing it.
The action was so natural at this point that B-64 didn't bat an eye, but Catalyst raised an imaginary eyebrow at that. He could be wrong, but he wouldn't doubt that they liked each other. He wouldn't say anything, as it would probably get them into even more trouble, and Ion doesn't want that.
Relationships with other species was often forbidden on many planets, especially on the planet that acted as the Protogen Empires science division.
"A vague memory, I'd guess." B-64 responded, swinging his arm with Mason. Ion was a distant memory to him, but he did know he was rather important in his own development, and his subsequent promotion to a B-Series Captain.
Catalyst nodded, and started to walk faster.
After a ten minute period elapsed, the group found themselves before a vehicle that vaguely resembled a car. It's entire length was like that cybercar thing that Mason heard about that was being developed, but there were no sharp jagged edges.
Instead, the entire body seemed to seamlessly infuse with one another, and despite being not that tall, the girth and wideness made up for that fact. Catalyst slid a thin claw alongside a smooth window, and a door slid out.
Bowing deeply, Catalyst gestured for them all to get inside. Mason gave a worried look to B-64, but B-64 gave a trill of comfort. The two disappeared into the darkness of the car. Marissa and Hannah, along with Axel, also disappeared inside, with Catalyst the last to go in.
Though the inside may have seemed dark from the outside, it was actually decently lit up. Marissa did give a shiver as she entered, feeling a wave of something pass through her, and although she couldn't see it well, little white wisps of energy flowed from the floor of the car.
They each took their seats: Mason grabbed Hannah and followed B-64 to the middle of the thing, sitting beside him on the crimson car chairs. Axel and Marissa took their seats in the very back, not wanting to disturb anything.
And catalyst took his seat opposite of B-64, a painted red smile latched onto his visor as he stared forward. Mason still felt a little weary of him, despite the informality of him, as well as B-64's ease.
"I imagine that you two are, shall I say, together?" Catalyst asked, crossing his arms and his legs with a sort of easy-going grace. Normally, B-64 would have denied that. There were rules as a protogen that should not be broken, but Catalyst had always given him some peace of mind.
B-64 nodded, a sort of red haze appearing on the side of his visor involuntarily. Mason took it as a sign of embarrassment, and he looked at the other Protogen. It was at times like this that he really wanted to understand what they were doing, because it just made the air in that car just that tad bit more tense.
And even more so for Axel and Marissa, as Hannah was off in her own little world singing. They stood by each other awkwardly, since there was no ambient noise. Just uncomfortable silence perforating the room.
"Male too, hun? That is guaranteed two taboos, maybe even a third. Have you two...?" B-64 blacked at what the other protogen was implying. Of course they hadn't, it was physically impossible for a protogen to mate, wasn't it?
Catalyst must have seen the confused, and rapidly embarrassed, face of B-64 and put two-and-two together. He smiled and eased back in his chair, a little giggle escaping his lips.
That noise broke the silence of the room, which caused Axel and Marissa as well as Mason, to grow just that tad bit more uncomfortable. What the hell were they talking about!
"Upgrades and biomechanical limbs. The Council may be prudes, but they at least know the value of releasing stress." Catalyst stated simply, sighing deeply as if remembering something. B-64 wished that the conversation went elsewhere.
"May I ask, why are we being taken to Ion's... Place?" B-64 asked, clattering his claws together as the red hue burning against his black visor nearly overtook his entire facial models. Catalyst saw his change in conversation, but agreed to go along with it.
"He has been studying that little planet your partner hails from, I do believe that they call it earth. Simple really, means dirt. Despite the pollution and sub optimal metals, he has taken a liking to the life forms there, their evolutions, and the scenery"
"That still doesn't explain-"
Catalyst cut him off, something that was generally really hard to do with mind speech as it really was just conversation with thoughts, "He had asked for you and yours for a simple purpose. To stop this ongoing 'war' that is happening, as the local wildlife and geography are being greatly impacted by it, and he wants to study it more."
Catalyst waved his hand and sighed. If he was being honest, he didn't see where Ion was coming from. Then again, he was the more eccentric of the duo, "The only reason why the earth still exists is because of it's reality based technology, which for some reason extends our own."
B-64scratched his ear, thinking. What was happening? What Ion was doing and thinking, this could very well count as treason. And he found no reason as to why a protogen such as Ion, a scientist, would care about scenery and geography. And why that would compel him to act against The Council.
Catalyst stretched his limbs, sighed and stood up. Mason took instant notice in that, now actually seeing that it felt like they weren't even moving. There were no bumps, no jumps in speed. It was seamless.
"We're here. Please, follow me." Catalyst said to B-64 sliding his claw against the car's inner walls and making the door open again. He stepped out of the car and into blinding light, and he beckoned for the others to follow.
________________________________________________________________________________
Heya!
Sorry for the long wait, I just had a lot on my plate. I'm working on so much right now, and I have so many stories planned, combined with a new surge in my area...
Anyways, [Catalyst Name Marked for Original Character - Do Not Steal]
I'm kidding, I don't care about that. But in all fairness, I do think it's a good name. What's funny is that Catalyst, and Ion, are Fursonas (Protosonas?) of mine. Does that count as a self-insert, or is it just... Character Insert?
Anyways, I' let you in on something that I don't know if I'm going to explain: The B-Series captains go by number, and are all multiples of two - B-01, B-02, B-04, B-08, B-16, B-32, and B-64.
There was a series before B, the A-Series, and that series had an A-128. But no one knows what happened to them.
I said enough for now. Thank you for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!
~ Candle