"Good. How are you feeling? Everything functioning like normal?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. What's next?"
"Your nanocloud. This one is the biggest test of your nanobots. According to our data and my hypothesis, if anything is wrong, it will manifest itself when using this ability because you are essentially unleashing nanobots into the world uninhibited. Go ahead when you're ready."
"Okay, cool." Troy presses another button on his arm. At first, it appears that nothing happens, but soon the entire row of practice dummies is filled with thousands of holes and straw rains down to the floor. Troy gasps and drops to his knees as he holds his left arm.
"Troy? Talk to me. What's wrong?"
When Troy screams out and collapses, the screen flashes red and Uriel jumps up. "Help me get that armor off of him. His heart stopped."
They all run into the main room and begin ripping apart the armor. Gabriel pushes Zodiac back and begins CPR while Nova clings to Zodiac and starts to cry. The minutes pass by in agony as Zodiac watches helplessly as his friend is unresponsive.
"Come on, Troy. Breathe, damn it." Gabriel continues chest compressions and listens for any breathing. "Uriel, get on that computer and see if there's any sign of life. I think I've lost him."
"No!" Nova screams through her tears. "He can't be dead."
Gabriel sits back and wipes the sweat from his face. "There's nothing else I can do. He just completely flat lined. It's almost as if the nanobots froze his heart . . . wait. Uriel!"
"What?"
"Get the negator."
"Why?" Uriel asks.
"Trust me. Get the negator and a syringe. Hurry!"
Uriel runs back into the room and holds up a vial of clear liquid which he fills a syringe with and hands it to Gabriel. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"If it works on humans, it should work on Nymphs, right?"
"Is that a risk you're willing to take?" Uriel asks.
"At this point, it's a risk I have to take." Gabriel shoves the needle into Troy's neck and injects the liquid. He removes it and begins CPR again.
A beeping comes from the room they were just in and Uriel goes to check on it. "We've got brain functions and a pulse."
"Thank God. Come on, Troy. Take a breath, man." Gabriel places his hand over Troy's face then nods his head. "Good. He's breathing. Zodiac, help me sit him up."
Zodiac and Gabriel sit him up and hold him as he gasps for air and coughs a few times. "You okay?" Zodiac asks.
Troy opens his eyes and looks around the room as he holds his head. "What happened?"
"Your heart stopped. The nanobots turned on you. I had to use a negator that shuts them down."
Nova hugs him then holds him to her chest as she strokes his spiky hair. "You scared us."
Uriel comes into the room then stops. "Uh . . . Troy?"
"Yeah?"
"When you feel stable enough to stand, I need you to come look in this mirror over here and tell me if you see anything different."
"What? What is it?"
Then Zodiac sees it too. This can't be good.
Gabriel shakes his head. "Troy, Nymphs have black eyes, right?"
"All Nymphs do."
"So you're saying that your eyes are usually black, right?" Gabriel asks.
"Yeah. What's wrong with my eyes?"
"They're purple."
"Purple? What?"
"Amazing. Seems that the nanobots have designated you as a host body and taken up residence in you."
"Can you get them out?" Troy asks, his ensuing panic reflecting in his voice.
"No. You're a dark matter manipulator like Blice McSage now."
Troy stands up and begins pacing around the room. "No. I can't."
"It's not the end of the world." Gabriel says, trying to reassure him. "It only means that you can use those nanobots without having to have your power armor. Well, that's if they don't try to control you again."
"I can't have purple eyes! I'm a pure Nymph."
"Hold on a minute. Let me get something straight. Your father beat you and harmed your pregnant mother then went missing, your aunt died, you just narrowly avoided death, and the thing you're the most worried about is the color of your eyes?"
"You don't understand our society." Troy says. "I'm nobility. I'm royalty. I'm supposed to be the physical embodiment of perfection for my people. How can I be perfect with purple eyes?"
"I thought you couldn't claim the throne anyway." Uriel says.
"There was still a chance."
Gabriel glares at him, obviously becoming quickly tired of his antics. "Stop. You're supposed to be a knight. Get control of yourself immediately or we will be forced to subdue you so you can't use that dark matter when you freak out."
"You'll do no such thing! I don't even want it!"
"Then let us do the procedure right quick and fix you with a permanent nullification alteration." Gabriel says.
"What the hell does that even mean?"
"It's a permanent piercing on the inside cartilage of both of your ears made of lead that will forever stop the flow of the nanobots in your veins. If you don't want to risk hurting anyone or yourself with your dark matter, then let us do it. It's not very painful and the only risk you'll have is burning after we melt the lead to ensure they can't be taken out."
Troy laughs. "You're joking. I can't be marred by something like that. People will see it."
"Why not? Because you're a pure Nymph? I have news for you, Troy. Get over it. If you don't do this now, the chances for success only go down in the future."
"Piercings are slave markings. I am not and will never be a slave!" Troy screams at them as an explosion rings out, shaking the building and causing the lights to flicker. A gaping hole, still glittering with purple dark matter has appeared in the floor below his feet.
"Look what you did to my laboratory." Uriel says. "You're out of control. We have to do something for the safety of everyone on this planet. If you can't control it yourself, then we will control it for you. Gabriel, get the handcuffs."
Troy backs away from them as fear fills his eyes. "No, please! You can't do this."
"We will do what we have to do." Gabriel moves towards him, but Troy runs and slams into Zodiac.
In a split second, Zodiac makes the decision to help everyone. He jumps on his friend and pins him down just long enough for Gabriel to secure the handcuffs around his wrists and pull Troy over against the wall.
"Good job, Zodiac. Hold him there and make sure he stays still while Uriel does this. It's for his own good. I'm sorry, Troy, but you've left us with no other choice."
Uriel kneels down beside Troy and holds out his hand to reveal two small lead studs. "These are what will regulate your nanobots. Because of the kind of radiation used to make your type of nanobots work, lead completely shuts them down if they haven't evolved yet. Yours are still young so they will be fully negated by this. I'm going to pierce your ears then use this thing here to weld the ends so they can't come out or be removed except by very painful means. Think of it as a modified soldering iron. It will hurt. I'm not going to lie. Are you ready?"
"No. Please. I'll do anything for you to not do this."
"Too late. You shouldn't have put a hole in my floor." Uriel says as he pushes Troy's head against the wall and pierces first his right then his left ear. Troy only screams when the metal melts and burns his skin.
"There." Uriel says as he puts the soldering iron down and unlocks the handcuffs. "You'll be fine."
Troy completely loses all composure he might have had before this. He begins sobbing as he lies down on the floor and begins mumbling incoherently under his breath.
"Can you give him some painkillers or something?" Nova asks as she holds Troy as best as she can. "He's hurting."
"Here." Gabriel tosses her a syringe. "It's morphine. I didn't think he'd be this much of a pansy. Troy, stop throwing a fit. You're a Royal Knight, for God's sake. You have to learn that things aren't
always going to go your way. You've been spoiled and given everything you wanted up until now. Now you're faced with adversity and you crumble. You have to make the best of what you have today."
* * *
After locking himself and Nova in the cargo ship to get away from those monsters, Troy examines his eyes and piercings. How could this happen? He doesn't even look like himself anymore. The glimmering silver studs are all too obvious on his ears against his pale skin. What will his mother say? Or his father? It's not just about personal choice. The only Nymphs with piercings are slaves marked by their owners. Now Troy is forced to have these permanent ones for the rest of his life? He could slice his ears off, but mutilation is worse than piercings. Then there's his eyes. He's never seen his pupils before because his irises were the exact same color. Now he can see them dilating in the dim light and it's terrifying. He looks like a human. How far can a man fall in one day? Troy swears again that he will never be a slave.
Nova knocks on the door to the only bedroom on the ship. "Troy?"
"Come in."
She offers him a comforting smile as she leans in the doorway. "Your eyes aren't ugly, Troy. Your piercings actually look nice."
"I'm done talking about this. Can we just move on? You know, I think Gabriel might have been right. Will you help me forget?"
"What do you need me to do?" Nova asks.
"Take you clothes off."
"What? Why?"
Troy locks eyes with her. "Only if you want to. I'll take mine off too."
She smiles. "Really?"
"Yeah. Why not? We have to make the most of today. I don't care if we can't be together according to society. Look at me. It's not like I fit in anymore anyway. We deserve to be happy."
"But I'm . . . um . . . I've never done this before. I'm a virgin."
"I am too, but I wasn't saying we have to go that far. I'm trying to let you know that I'm attracted to you and I want us to be more than we are now. I've always been attracted to you." Troy stops talking as Nova pulls her tank top over her head to reveal a black lace bra the same color as her curly hair cascading around her pale shoulders. Gods above, she is beautiful. Troy's heartbeat quickens and he can't take his eyes off of her, especially after she slips off her jeans.
"Your turn."
Oh yeah. He almost forgot. Taking a much needed breath, Troy strips down to his boxers. "What now?"
"That's up to you."
She's giving him control of this situation? Be a gentleman, Troy. He continuously tells himself to not lose control or go too far. But he's not going to say no if she's offering. Nova's giggling breaks him out of his thoughts of self-control. He has a feeling he already knows what she's laughing at. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing at all. You really are attracted to me, aren't you?"
Judging by her blushing and where her eyes keep moving to, he was right. He can't help it at this point. "Want to see more?"
"Go ahead. You first."
Here goes nothing. In one quick movement, his boxers fall around his feet. Nova isn't giggling anymore as her bra falls to the floor and her panties follow. This is beyond any doubt, the single most erotic experience Troy has ever had. It's also the most terrifying. It takes him a moment to compile all of his thoughts that are rushing through his mind. "Um . . . would it be okay if I touched you?"
"Only if I get to touch you."
Oh gods, yes. "Of course." He goes up to her and runs his hands up her arms and onto her chest. He jumps when her fingernails glide against the inside of his thighs. As her hands continue their exploring, he pulls her close and kisses her, tasting her sweet mouth and her soft lips. Her body is so warm against him and her slight vanilla fragrance draws him in.
Nova breaks off the kiss and pulls him to the small bed where she curls up under a blanket. "Come here. I want to hold you. You need that."
She's right. She's completely right. Troy joins her underneath the blanket and nestles his face between her breasts. If this is all that happens, he is perfectly content with this. And honestly, after the past few days he's had, just being comforted by someone is what he truly yearns for. He closes his eyes as Nova's warm breath on his neck quickly sends him to sleep.
6
The warm morning sunlight tingles on Troy's bare skin as he slowly begins to wake up. He slept so well in Nova's arms. It more than made up for the absolute hell his life has been recently. Hopefully they can grow even closer and have a more physical relationship, but he will let this move forward at its own natural pace. He's simply thrilled to know that his feelings for Nova are reciprocated.
As the fog of sleep fades from his mind, he rolls over and wraps his arms around Nova who is still bundled up under the blanket. "Good morning, Nova." He reaches under the blanket to touch her face, but stops when he feels prickly stubble. What the hell?
"Hey, bro." Zodiac says as he glares at him.
"Oh my gods!" Troy jumps back and falls off of the bed. "What are you doing?"
"I could ask you the same question."
Troy has the awful realization that he's still naked so he wraps the blanket around his waist. "Where's Nova?"
"You are unbelievable." Zodiac says.
"I . . . I don't know what you're talking about."
"Really? Don't play dumb, Troy. I know you slept with my sister."
"No!"
"I found you two in bed together with no clothes on. Don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying." Troy says. "We didn't sleep together . . . well, we slept together, but not like you think. We actually slept."
"You think I'm gonna believe that you were in bed with a naked woman and you didn't have sex with her?"
"Listen to me. I swear all we did was kiss and cuddle. Nothing more. Where did you take my clothes?"
"Where did you take my sister's virginity?" Zodiac quips.
"Damn it, Zodiac. That's not funny. I have to go check on my mother."
Zodiac lies back on the bed and tosses an apple up at the ceiling and catches it. "I guess I should tell you that some guards came by looking for you. You have been summoned to the palace by our dear friend Blice McSage."
"Let me get a shower and you can fly us back to town."
"We're already in town. You sleep through everything."
"When am I supposed to be at the palace?" Troy asks.
Zodiac pulls out his cell phone to check the time. "Twelve minutes ago."
"What? Give me my clothes now. I'm not playing around."
"Your clothes and armor are in the locker over there. Uriel modified it so you can still wear your armor, but the nanobots are gone. So it's just armor, not power armor."
"I don't have time to put all that on." Troy says as he finds his clothes. Then a sinking feeling fills him. "Oh gods, I didn't even think about that. Royal Knights all wear power armor. Eventually Knight Commander Pathos will notice that I can't use my armor anymore. Why is this happening to me?"
"Nova talks about bad people being punished by karma."
"I don't have time to deal with you." Troy says as he pulls on his boxers followed by his jeans. "You know, one of these days, I'll remind you of your true place."
"I'm not scared of you."
"I know. That's a problem. You have to learn to show me some respect. I don't want you to be afraid of me, but your behavior recently has been unacceptable. I'm your friend, but I also have to be your owner. We'll discuss this further after I get done with this meeting."
* * *
Troy finishes the apple that Zodiac gave him and tosses the core down one of the side alleys. He tries to fix his messy hair to at least look a bit presentable. He didn't have his hair gel on the ship, but the sticky juice from the apple seems to be working well enough to spike his hair how he likes it. He's already running about thirty minutes late and these cars and chariots just ignore him so he's forced to walk the entire way from the shipping yard to the palace. It's about two miles. Why doesn't he have a car? That is a good question. He actua
lly never saw the need for one because he lives within walking distance of everything, but now he's angry at himself for that decision.
Then there's the worst part of this walk. Every Nymph he passes on the street stares at him, no doubt looking at his purple eyes, and whispering to each other about his piercings. He can hear them calling him a slave. He has to ignore them or he will lose his temper and snap. This is already putting him dangerously on the verge of tears. These people all know who he is. How can they say such hurtful things like that about him? They used to be his friends and neighbors who would seek out his advice or ask him to watch their children while they were shopping. Now they glare at him with disgust written over their faces and mothers hide their children behind their flowing white skirts. In this society of appearances and perfection, the smallest flaw is a sign of disrespect, dishonor, and shame. Troy's flaws are painfully obvious.
Just before he reaches the gardens surrounding the palace, someone whistles at him from behind a white column near the fountain. He doesn't have time for this, but something draws him towards the sound.
Blice McSage grabs him and forcefully drags him over to a shack and pushes him into the darkness. "You are one hard guy to find."
Troy catches himself on the wall to keep from falling. "What is the meaning of this? You can't just push people around!"
"Shut up, Troy." Blice turns the lights on to reveal a very bare room with only a small wooden table and two chairs surrounded by blue holographic maps glowing up against the walls. The only other light is coming from a computer monitor on the table
"What is this place?"
"My secret hideout. I come here when I want to get away from my father. Have a seat and we'll get down to business."
Troy joins him at the table. "Sorry I'm late."
"Holy hell. What happened to you? You look awful. Uriel told me about the nanobot incident, but I didn't think you would look this bad with purple eyes and slave piercings."
Troy's hands tighten into fists. "They're not slave piercings. I'm not a slave!"
"Dude, calm down. I was joking."
"I'm not in the mood for jokes. If you have something to discuss, then let's discuss it. If not, then I'll leave. Don't waste my time by making fun of me."
Paradise Forgotten Trilogy Page 7
