Aisell carried the terrarium home in stuned silence; she had taken her jacket off to cover it with in order to preserve Darren the indignity of traveling across the district with his nakedness exposed. There would be time for acclaim and a standing ovation on her job well done another time, for now she had to get Darren back to familiar sights so she could assess the extent of Lyroo’s influence on him. While this seemed like the wrap up ending to a trying ordeal, in reality it was far from it. Still, as Aisell sat looking out of the shuttle craft window as it came in for a landing in Medzina, Aisell Maris could not help but feel a great sense of relief now that Darren was finally free of the system he had been flung head first into. Aisell felt relief, but also apprehension.

The shuttle came to a stop and the passengers exited in an orderly fashion, Aisell waited until everyone else had left before standing and stepping out into the bright midday light, a gusty autumn wind blew Aisell’s hair in a tizzy around her face, but the titan kept her mind strictly focused on the task at hand. It was a short walk to the farm from the shuttle depot; normally Aisell would have no trouble walking such a distance, but getting Darren home and out of the inhumane cage Lyroo had placed him in was paramount. Aisell ducked into a private lavatory and latched the door shut, she turned around and set the terrarium on the counter and pulled her jacket half way off to give Darren some light.

“Hey, everything alright in there?” Aisell, looking only long enough to assess his physical wellbeing before shielding her eyes to preserve what fading dignity he had left.

There was no response.

Aisell looked back, trying to keep her eyes on Darren’s face, she had learnt the importance human beings put on privacy, it was Luke who taught her that humans didn’t like being seen in the nude by people they were not comfortable with – much like Titan’s in fact.

“Darren, are you alright?” Aisell spoke a little louder and narrowed in on Darren’s location in the small, cramped enclosure. He was sitting against the walls with his head in his knees, both of them pressed to his chest. He had his arms wrapped around them. He didn’t look up.

“Darren?” Aisell spoke once more with concern, reaching out to take hold of the door that kept him trapped in his prison.

When Darren heard the latch begin to open he looked up, but it was not with haste and excitement. Rather, it was slow and lethargic, as if it had taken a great deal of effort to do even that.

“Oh, there you are. Hello.” Aisell tried to sound positive without exactly going overboard. This was a time to celebrate, however it was also a the end of a rather traumatic and horrifying ordeal Darren had been forced through and it was understandable to assume his mind would take a while to comprehend what had just happened.

Darren looked to Aisell, his expression was weary and dry. His eyes were red and baggy, his skin was a great deal paler than she remembered, thanks to the lack of sunlight and exposure to the outdoors and his hair was a great deal longer and frizzier than she remembered. Mostly, though, Darren moved slowly, without rush, without drive and with great effort. He didn’t say a word to her, he only looked up to her, as if he was attempting to ascertain if she was actually there or not.

“Darren, it’s me, Aisell. Don’t you remember?” Aisell felt silly asking such a question, he had been gone only a few weeks, even by his recollection it would have only been just shy of a few months. How could he forget a face in such short a time?

“Yeah,” Darren said in a low and thin voice, one that seemed hollow, dry and void of passion.

“You’re probably wondering how I got you from Lyroo, you’re probably wondering a lot of things. I’m going to take you home so we can get some clothes for you. I called Eyrn, she will be over around the time we arrived. I can’t explain everything but what I can say is Lyroo is out of your life forever. You don’t have to worry about her anymore, okay?” Aisell said, the more she spoke the harder it was to look at Darren. It filled her with both concern and frustration.

Darren simply shrugged and looked away to the side, his eyes lingered on the plastic walls that encased him for a moment, then he simply laid his head down on his lap and sighed softly.

Aisell had seen this look before, it was the same look Luke had given her when she encased him in a prison just like this. She had done it for his protection of course and at the time full heartedly believed what she was doing was for his own good, had she just made the same mistake now? She was trying to keep Darren safe from peering eyes, trying to preserve his dignity. Aisell almost slapped herself, sometimes old habits were hard to kill.

“Darren, I’m sorry. I should have taken you out of this thing the moment I got there. I was so wrapped up in Lyroo I didn’t even think.” Aisell unlatched the door and set her hand down inside the enclosure for Darren to climb onto, but he didn’t move.

“Come on, I’ll get you out of here and we can go home. You don’t have to stay in here, not if you don’t want to,” Aisell said, but Darren didn’t move yet again.

“Darren, hop on? Don’t you want out of this thing?” Aisell asked once more, now more confused and concerned.

Darren slowly stood, as if he had just run a marathon, his muscles were heavy and weighted, but he moved. He slowly made his way to Aisell’s palm and with great effort he crawled up onto the massive hand and sat slouched over in the middle.

Aisell carefully pulled her hand out of the Terrarium and cupped her other hand beside the one Darren sat in. She eyed him carefully and then looked around the lavatory for something she could use to cover him up. Finding nothing, she did spot a small blanket in the terrarium that was likely used for sleeping. Gingerly Aisell pulled it out and placed it beside Darren.

“You can cover yourself up with that if you like.” Aisell spoke softly, trying to sound positive, but finding it increasingly difficult.

Darren simply shrugged.

“I’m going to set you in the pocket of my coat, okay? It’s not very accommodating but it’s better than this thing.” Aisell looked up to the terrarium with disgust. She hated them; she loathed them with all the fire in her belly.

Darren shrugged.

“I’m going to take you to the farm, if you need me just call out…I’ll hear you.” Aisell bit her tongue, there was so much she wanted to say, but had to refocus on the task at hand. Carefully she lowered Darren into the pocket of her coat and gently put it back on. Once he was secure and the jacket was zipped up, Aisell took the terrarium and dumped it into the garbage with a cold and bitter look on her face. There should never be a use for such a thing and as far as Aisell Maris was concerned, there was never a reason to use one on a human being. Ever.

***

The average physically fit titan could reach speeds of about 400 mph, in human measurements; on earth Eyrn was never able to reach quite those speeds due to the restrains of the Earth’s gravity working against her un-adjusted and aged gravitational inhibitors. Here on Archavia, though, with her dampeners, she could easily reach those speeds on an all out sprint.

Without without the two braclets working to suppress her gravitational inhibitors, Eyrn felt like the Flash.

She could easily hit 600 mph, which was just over that of the fastest Titan ever on record. It was enough to approach Mach 1 in the thin Archavian air, fast enough to turn heads – though not quite enough to raise alarm — and for Eyrn Fitzgerald to feel absolutely amazing. She had torn though the park upon receiving Aisell’s call and made it to the shuttle depot fast enough to catch an early flight, then upon landing rather than wait for a commuter cab, Eyrn speed through the streets of Medzina to the outer farmlands of Orion Province like Usain Bolt across the finish line.

It may have been faster to take a cab, but Eyrn was impatient, and running like this felt good, taking the dampeners off felt natural, Eyrn felt free. It felt like it had the first time she awoke on the Gyfjon, the dampeners always made her feel heave, encumbered as if her arms and legs were carrying weights.

As Eyrn approached the dirt road that would lead down to the Maris farm, she intercepted a hover bike heading in her direction. The bike was traveling at about the same speed as her and without much time to turn collision felt inevitable. The hover bike driver swiveled in an attempt to avoid running into the young woman, only to stop and stare in amazement. On instinct, Eyrn leapt to avoid a run in with the bike, clearing it by about a full unit before landing in perfect stride.

“Sorry!” Eyrn yelled back as she continued down the path.

The blue-haired young man came to a stop aside the road and simply watched the young titan woman quickly run off, as if she was riding a hover pad, only without the pad. The man gave his head a quick shake and rubbed his eyes for good measure.

“The Frazz did I just see?” Questioned the young man, before giving up and continuing the way he was going.

As Eyrn turned down the long cobble stone path that lead up to the Maris homestead, she found herself gripped with a tight feeling of apprehension. She had not seen Darren since that night, that terrible awful night. Aisell had told her almost nothing save for to meet her at the farm. Eyrn realized she had been in an awful hurry to arrive yet hadn’t a clue what she was stepping into. Was he hurt, alive, was he himself or was he forever changed? Would he be angry with her, was Aisell even able to get him at all? Eyrn began to slow down, which was no easy task given how fast she had been going. Eyrn stopped close to the house, and fell to her knees to catch her breath. It had been quite a sprint from the shuttle depot to the out land farm’s, Eyrn was breathing heavily and soaked with desperation. Eyeing herself, Eyrn also realized that in her hurry to meet Aisell she had neglected to go home and change first. Darren was going to see her again for the first time in months, wearing a short sleeve soaked grey running tee, and a pair of cut off short shorts and she would smell to high heaven to boot.

“Crap.” Eyrn cursed, the grass that was sticking to her sweaty legs would complete the ensemble no doubt.

“Um, hey…Eyrn.” A familiar but no less baffled voice spoke from behind.

Eyrn turned and looked up to see a very perplexed Lezah Maris standing a short distance away holding a basket of small yellow eggs.

“Oh, hi.” Eyrn spoke between breaths.

Lezah pointed towards the walk way, she made an attempt at speech and then looked once more silent and thoughtful, she then pointed to Eyrn, opened her mouth to speak but hushed up again and crossed her arm over the other resting her hand on her chin. “I…d’uh…did…you run here?” Lezah said at last, wishing this strange sight surprised her a lot more than it actually had.

“Gotta…message from Aisell, said…she wanted me to…meet her at the…farm.” Eyrn spat out as she caught her breath.

Lezah sent Eyrn a mildly amused look as she closed the gap between them and stood beside Eyrn. “Aisell went to Forad, she isn’t due back for another hour, I know because she just messaged me 15 minutes ago.” Lezah smiled warmly. “You’re a little early.” chuckled Lezah as she reached out to help Eyrn up.

“Oh.” Eyrn watched Lezah and smiled bashfully. “She did say to hurry…” Eyrn said, embarrassed as she accepted the helpful hand up.

Now Lezah Maris knew Eyrn to be a petite woman and as such was not expecting the task of helping her up to be a physically taxing ordeal, nor was she expecting it to be quite as easy as it was either! Lezah had over compensated and nearly fell over in the process of helping Eyrn up.

“Woah-geez…you’re light!” Lezah caught herself (and her basket) and eyed Eyrn in amazement.

Eyrn winced and reached into her side pocket to pull out the two thin bracelets that when worn counter acted the effects of her gravimetric implants. “I was in a hurry, sorry.” Said Eyrn as she slipped one back on, and then the other. “But thank you!” Eyrn managed a smile at what she in fact took to be a compliment. After all, she had spent her whole life being anything -but- light and feathery. Sometimes it still made her giddy just how small and insignificant she was compared to the average titan.

“Why don’t you come in, I was just about to make lunch.” Lezah motioned to the house with a wide gesture.

“Oh, sure. But actually would you mind if I had a shower? I’m not really hungry but I could use a wash before Aisell arrives,” Eyrn asked as she made her way down the path. She instantly felt heavier and more encumbered now that the bracelets were fastened.

“Make yourself at home, please.” Replied Lezah with no shortage of cordial hospitality in her voice.

As the two made their way to the house, Eyrn spoke up with amusement in her voice. “Is that all you do, you know, cook for people and such?”

Lezah rolled her eyes and motioned to the basket of eggs. “Naw, sometimes they let me outside so I can tend to the animals and crops.” While amused, there was also the faintest hint of annoyance laced with in her voice.

“That’s very thoughtful of them,” said Eyrn with a grin.

“Isn’t it though?” Lezah replied quickly.

“How do they keep you from running away?” Eyrn asked, keeping the light hearted mood flowing.

“Zhay has a taser pointed at me through the window…she’s a wicked shot,” Lezah said, in a tone that was surprisingly serious. “See, there she is.” Lezah motioned to the big front window where Aehzay could be seen sprawled out reading from a data pad, completely obvious.

“Ever vigilant that one.” Eyrn laughed.

“Don’t let her clueless demeanor fool you, under lay the keen eye of a true sniper!” Lezah winked.

“I think you have your sisters mixed up,” Eyrn said with a raised brow.

“Nope,” Lezah responded simply. “Aisell makes no attempt to hide her seedy underbelly!” Lezah nodded, waving slightly to Aehzay who was now eyeing the two with a perplexed look through the window.

Eyrn and Lezah laughed in unison, which caused Aehzay to roll her eyes dismissive.

“Ever vigilant,” Eyrn said as they entered the house.

“Like a Kipp!” Responded Lezah.

***

Yamanu dug sifted through the neatly-folded pile of clothes for something that might fit Darren properly. Darren was just a little shorter than Yamma and carried a bulkier frame, but most of Yamma’s clothes were loose and roomy anyhow, as Gae was not the best tailor and custom-made human clothes that also allowed for an ounce of dignity for the wearer cost rather more than Gae could afford.

“I don’t suppose you like Avartle-silk robes, hmmm?” Yamanu asked as he eyed a particular night robe he hardly ever wore. Oh, it was plenty comfortable, he just never needed help keeping warm at night, not with a natural Gae heating source.

Darren stood on the flat wood vanity looking outward at the room before him, his eyes were glassed over and fixated on something in the far distance, he was only partly listening to what Yamma was saying.

“I will take that as a no.” Yamanu returned to his stock of clothes, which were much more sorted and neatly kept than the tizzy of a mess that made up Gae’s wardrobe. Of the two, Yamanu was the organized and orderly one, which was nearly useless when the sloppy messy one was the Titan half of the couple.

“I might have something…hold on.” Yamma stood and crossed the dresser to what should have been another neatly stacked pile of clean clothes, but rather was a disheveled pile hidden under one of Gae’s shirts.

Aisell had arrived home to an exuberant welcoming from everyone in the house; however being clever (as Aisell was often prone to be), she insisted Darren have a few moments to himself, to wash, dress and compose himself before meeting his eager friends.

In truth, Aisell also did this in order to give her and Eyrn some time to talk, Aisell knew Eyrn would not react well to the living conditions Darren had been found in and was positive Eyrn’s explosive reaction would not help Darren come to grips with reality. Aisell also needed some time to discuss Darren’s state of mind with Eyrn without him being in the room. His dignity was already worn thin.

Yamma had volunteered to help find something for Darren to wear, as he was the only one who was remotely Darren’s size and they all had agreed Darren could use a break from Titan meddling for a few hours.

“I just need to dig it out!” called Yamma from under the yellow sleeveless shirt Gae had tossed idly onto the vanity. It smelt strongly of Gae’s sent and had the fruity smell of her perfume, which made it difficult for Yamanu to focus on the task at hand.

After a while Yamma emerged from his enclave toting a simple brown shirt and a pair of pants he had turned into shorts himself. “Here, these should fit.” Yamma said as he approached Darren, who had yet to make use of the towel he had been offered to cover up with.

Nudity didn’t bother Yamma, as clothes in general was something he had only been introduced to through Gae. It was Darren’s behavior that made Yamma worry. This man here was not gruff, hearty, hardened soldier Yamma had been told about, Yamma had seen men like Darren before, plenty of men and women broken of their spirit, without the desire to put one foot in front of the other. Darren, it would appear, had given up.

“Here, put these on, okay?” Yamma said gently, as he set the clothes beside Darren, maintaining eye contact throughout the process.

Darren looked to the clothes and then to Yamanu. He seemed to take a moment to process the request, than another moment to decide if he wanted to comply or not and another moment to gather the energy and effort required to follow through. Everything he did was slow, methodical and done without evident motivation.

As Darren dressed himself, Yamma turned away and moved to give Darren privacy. He however remained near, unsure that leaving Darren alone was a wise decision.

“I know what you went through,” Yamma said after a long pause.

Darren’s silence was all the response Yamanu received.

“People say that a lot, but never really mean it. Sometimes we say it because we can’t think of anything else to say, maybe we think it makes the other person feel just a little bit better if we can emphasize with them.”Yamma paused, trying to gauge Darren’s reaction. “I try not to say it unless I mean it, unless I really can relate…and I can. I know what you had to go through, I know how it feels,” Yamma said, and waited.

There was a long silence, Yamma fought the urge to turn around and check on Darren, but was surprised when Darren approached, almost startled in fact.

“Shirt don’t fit,” Darren said quietly.

Yamma looked to Darren and immediately fought the urge to laugh. The shorts fit well enough, but the shirt was skin tight to Darren’s frame.

“I’ll see if I have another,” Yamma said and moved to where he kept his shirts.

“Fine,” Darren responded, robotically.

“I was a pet too once, before I knew Gae. I think if I ever had to go through all of that again…well I’m not sure I could to be honest.” Yamma pulled out a white shirt he always found a little loose and brought it to Darren. “I was lucky I met her. It’s people like her, like Aisell, Lezah, Aehzah and Eyrn that make it possible to go one at all. Not everyone is as lucky as me and you though. The two of us? We got out, we had allies to fish us out of the system. Most humans don’t have it so good, most humans are born, live and die not knowing anything different.” Yamma’s solem and stoic expression broke for a moment and he smiled faintly. “We are the lucky ones Darren.”

Darren hadn’t bothered with the shirt, he looked to Yamanu slowly, the closest thing to a reaction he had shown all day was a narrowing of his eyes. Darren spoke in a gravely, drained voice. “Lucky?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, because of our friends we have a reason to hope. Hope for change, hope for the future…hope for the future of those less fortunate…you know?” Yamanu spoke with conviction and drive.

Darren shook his head and turned to looking off into the distance. “Naw, no hope.” Darren responded, dryly.

“Of course we have hope. I mean, things are changing. Ten years ago the idea of human independence was unheard of, five years ago the idea of humans being as intelligent as titan’s was laughable. One year ago a human holding down an actual job would never happen. It might take a while, but things are changing Darren…things will change,” Yamma sounded both positive and passionate.

Darren continued to stare off into the distance.

“Darren, a lot of people worked very hard to get you where you are today. I know you’re upset, but….”

“You want to know what the future holds?” Darren said, looking slowly to Yamanu.

“Hmmm?” Yamma locked eyes with Darren.

“Nothing.” Darren spoke, not with disdain, not with anger, only emptiness.

Yamma blinked. “No, no that isn’t true. Look, things might look bad, but, we have Earth, and more and more, there are Titans and humans all working together to make a difference….” Yamanu said, with no shortage of vim and verve.

Darren simply shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. We’d all rather die than live in cages.” Darren had so much more to say, so much more weighing him down. Earth? What good could it do? What use could it be? At the end of the day where was there to go? What could be done? The Titan Empire had jurisdiction over everything…even Sol Terra. The Hive owned the rest, the last great frontier was all but explored, the flags had been placed. Humanity was a people who had to go it on their own, who had to make it on their own merit. But what could they do but assimilate into the great Titan Empire? If even it came to that, as it stood they were not even a part of it…they were a possession of it.

“Look, you’re clearly a little upset from your ordeal, so there is no use discussing it now,” Yamma said, recognizing the futility of arguing with Darren in his current state.

“Fine,” Darren muttered quietly and took a seat on the edge of the vanity.

Yamanu stood in stunned silence for a few seconds as he pondered what he could say to perhaps bring Darren out of the sulky mood he seemed to be in. Yamma had seen this before, broken spirits, surrendering to the moodless void that sat at the very bottom of existence. Still, part of Yamanu felt angry, after all he had been through and all he had overcome, to see somebody as strong and influential as Darren just give up, to hear him express such dross, such rubbish was not only offensive, but it perhaps had the exact opposite effect as it may have been intended. Yamanu didn’t feel discouraged or deterred, he felt encouraged and driven. Gorram, if the system could do this to a shrewd warrior, it had to be taken apart, and if it took a thousand lifetimes, he’d give his.

“Everyone decent?” Gae spoke and tapped on the door before entering.

“Yeah,” Yamma said, looking up to meet Gae’s eyes as she stepped into the room. Her dark black hair was tied into two braids at the back, she wore a simple white shirt that was a little rugged and dirty from her morning’s work outside, and her chocolate brown eyes were perky and sparkled as she peeked her head out from behind the door. She looked right to Yamanu, as she did her lips parted to reveal a toothy smile that was brilliant and sunny.

Yamma always felt just a little weak at the knees when Gae walked into the room. She had such an effect on him that sometimes he wondered if he would be able to leave her at all, even if he wanted to – of course, that was as far from his plans as was humanly possible.

“Were you able to find something?” askedd Gae as she slid into the room and let the door slide shut behind her. The Maris farm had old-fashioned doors that had to be opened and closed manually with a door knob. It took some getting used to, but Gae found it quaint and rustic.

“We found something, right?” Yamma turned to face Darren, who was still sitting looking off into the distance; he hadn’t so much as raised a brow to look at Gae as she entered. It was as if he hadn’t even noticed her, which was nigh impossible given her size and the impact tremors she produced when she walked.

“Oh, see that looks good! At least until you get home right?” Gae approached and crouched down so she could speak to Darren face to face. She didn’t often do so with Yamma, rather instead she would often bring him to eye level, however Aisell had warned against unnecessary handling while Darren still adjusting to his regained freedom.

“Mmmhmm.” Darren looked to Gae, only because she took up his entire field of vision, even then he didn’t seem keen on making eye contact.

“Well, ready to go? Eyrn and the rest are eager to hear your tales of adventure?” Gae instantly cringed, wishing she had chosen something wiser and more sensitive to say, she looked to Yamma with a pitiful and apologetic look, but received only the slightest snicker and a shake of the head.

“Fine,” Darren said with hardly a breath, forcing himself to stand and waiting for an offered hand something of the sort.

Gae frowned, but quickly smiled once more, not having the faintest experience with depression either on a titan or human scale.

Yamma came up behind Darren and put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Only if you want to talk about it, remember you don’t have to. It takes a while sometimes.” Yamanu gave Darren’s shoulder a squeeze, which also failed to evoke so much as a shrug.

“Well, okay…everyone climb aboard!” Gae set her hand out flat beside the vanity and waited for Yamma and Darren to climb aboard. Yamma did so with eager anticipation, even sneaking a quick thumb hug in the process. Darren seemed to climb aboard with great effort and difficulty, as if doing so took not only physical strength, but mental and emotional stamina as well. While Darren was getting on, Gae looked to Yamanu and mouthed silently.

“Is he okay?” With a concerned look on her face.

Yamma shook his head slowly and let out a very silent sigh.

“Eyrn’s here, she’s really excited to see you again Darren,” Gae said, hopefully.

“Mmmm,” Darren muttered, slowly taking a seat.

Gae looked to Yamma hopelessly and bit her lip. “Well…everyone set?” She asked with another attempt at an uplifting smile.

“Yup, let’s go.” Yamma said quickly, the silence and awkwardness was starting to make him nervous too.

“Fine.” Darren sighed.

Gae made her way to the door. “Lights off.” She said, but winced as she remembered the Maris home was not automated. “I always forget…country living eh?” Gae giggled as she reached out to shut off the light. As she slipped out of the room she grimaced nervously; this was going to be one extremely awkward reunion.