FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

** CHAPTER 46** Homecoming

Zonda's body was now quitting on him. What he had gone through for the past week or so had taken a heavy toll. Ginetta was taking too long to respond. He was suppose to return after the collars were finally deactivated, but Zonda had heard no words from him in a considerable amount of time; this worried him greatly.

With the little strength that he still had in his body after his weakened heart started suffering from old wounds, he stood up. Zonda was trained to use his ancient instincts, so he knew how to follow someone's trail. He managed to lock into Ginetta's scent and followed it through the labyrinth of corridors in Turann's underground facility.

After what felt like an eternity, Ginetta's scent became stronger; Zonda had found the place.

"Ginetta, where are you?" Zonda desperately scanned the room. Ginetta was nowhere to be seen.

"I have to give you my admiration, animal." An eerie voice echoed behind Zonda.

Turning around, the Retcan saw a large human holding Ginetta in his arms forcibly. The poor orange alien was suffocating from the strong choke hold that the human had on him. With horror, Zonda noticed how Ginetta's belly bleed profusely from what appeared to be a stabbing wound.

"Let me go, please!" Ginetta barely managed to utter. He still had strength to struggle, but the human was at least ten times heavier than him. The Lepidus was no adversary.

"Let him go monster!" Zonda yelled furious. He was tired of going through all those tribulations that the humans had unfairly imposed in them; seeing the innocent furred alien being hurt so viciously made his blood boil.

"Please... Zonda" Ginetta begged. His eyes were starting to loose their shine. The blood dripped like an open faucet after every heartbeat. If Zonda didn't do anything, Ginetta would die in front of his eyes.

"Of all who had tried this, I never imagined that two little rats like you would manage to get as far as disabling the collars." The vicious man said as he pressed harder on Ginetta's neck. "But your plan failed. Turann has been informed. Your accomplices have been held in the arena. I have to admit that if I didn't find my little ex-toy before; things might've been a little bit different.

"You were planning on letting the reserve gladiators free, weren't you?" The evil human now directed towards Ginetta. The orange alien had lost most of his strength now.

"Enough!" Zonda was infuriated. He jumped at the human in an attempt to save Ginetta, but the human received him with a kick that sent Zonda flying the way he came from.

"I didn't want to end this now." The human said as he unsheathed a massive knife. "I have to admit that you were one of my favorite toys, Ginetta; so tender, so innocent. The way you always cried when I tortured you was the most pleasurable sensation I could ever asked for."

Zonda tried desperately to get back in his legs, but the faster he tried to stand up, the lower he fell back.

"But honestly I'm getting bored of you."

In his last attempt to get up, Zonda suddenly realized how far he was from Ginetta. Before he could give one more step, the human drove his knife at the back of Ginetta's neck. The knife went through completely, cutting his spine and ending the life of the innocent creature.

"I guess I owed you a painless death." The human said chuckling. He then threw Ginetta's body like if it was something meaningless, just like humans tend to see lives of those who are not like them.

Zonda yelled the name of this alien that could've been his friend; this kind natured creature that offered his help. He wanted nothing but to take him with them once that nightmare was over and give him that peace that he deserved after all those years of suffering. Zonda had failed.

The grey Retcan now fell on his knees completely defeated. After all the planning and his brave attempt, everything ended the worst way possible.

Not knowing how or when, he was dragged by the large man through the corridors of the facility until they reached the arena. There, with horror, he noticed Morrison and Alpha tied up and kneeling at the center of the arena as they were being held under custody of Turann's men. He was later placed next to his brother and their human ally.

The time went by so slowly. Somehow it felt so strange. He couldn't believe that they failed and that this was going to be their end.

"I am sorry..." Zonda said. But his cries weren't heard.

Zonda could see that his brother was speaking, but he didn't hear his voice. He read his lips; he said,

I don't want to die here. Not like this...

Alpha tried to rest his head on Zonda, but was instantly dragged away by some guards. Zonda was being held tight, so he couldn't do anything.

Alpha was placed a few meters from them. Moments after, Turann walked towards him.

"Let this be a lesson for all!" He yelled. From his tunic, he pulled out a gun and placed it in Alpha's head. He immediately pulled the trigger.

A loud bang was followed by Alpha falling to the ground lifeless. Turann didn't even give a chance for him to say something. Zonda felt how his insides burned. His soul was shattered. His best friend, the Retcan that he was raised together with, the Retcan which he loved and shared his life with; he lied dead in front of him.

Zonda's eyes were full of tears and wide opened. He just kneeled there motionless. His mind was torn apart and didn't react anymore.

The brave female human that gave her best to save them that day also fell dead after being cowardly shot multiple times in the heart. Be brave, sweetie. I'm sorry. Those were the last words of Morrison.

The canon was now pointed at Zonda's head. For some reason, it gave him such a relieving sensation. That would finally free him of that nightmare. Hopefully he would be reborn in Lusceonis, and he and his brother Alpha would meet again as new Retcans.

With a flash from the gun, everything turned into darkness...

The firing of that gun certainly freed Zonda from that nightmare.

Surrounding him, the calmest sensation caressed him. The faint whine of the ship's engine somehow created a very soothing effect.

What a horrible dream. Zonda thought.

He had been sleeping for a while now. He deserved it. The mattress that was placed on the transport ship's floor was so comfortable. The thick and fluffy sheets snugged to his body tightly.

Zonda didn't want to get up, but his bladder was telling him otherwise. Taking the sheets off and finally getting up, he looked around and saw Ginetta sitting in a small dining table, watching space through a window. He looked so relaxed.

He walked to the very small bathroom and looked himself at the mirror that was placed in front of a strange object that looked like a seat. His body was covered in bandages and some blood scabs were visible through his fur in various parts of his body.

"Is this where humans release their wastes? This is so weird. Should I just... pee in the hole of that seat?" He said to himself. That silly moment helped as a distraction from that horrible dream he just had. "If I were an Evocanis this wouldn't work at all." He then laughed.

After releasing himself, he walked to where Ginetta was sitting. The orange furred alien still watched space like in some sort of daze. Zonda slowly approached him and after remembering that dream again, he was so happy to see Ginetta alive and so calm. He couldn't help himself but to give Ginetta a hug and rest his muzzle on the orange alien's head. He felt so empathetic towards Ginetta not only because of what he went through, but because he was just like them.

"Zonda, you're awake!" Ginetta said with his very lovely gentle tone and funny accent. He was startled for a second because of the physical contact. This was something that he had forgotten after so many years of being abused. But his body instantly told him that it was ok.

"I'm so glad to see you happy, Ginetta." Zonda said as he kept pressing on Ginetta.

"I've never been such in peace before. I still can't believe that I'm not in Harena Sanguis anymore." Ginetta replied letting out a sigh of relief.

Zonda sat next to Ginetta for a second and placed his arm across the orange alien.

"I cleaned your wounds and changed your bandages while you were sleeping, Zonda. You must have been very tired because you didn't wake up." Ginetta said with a smile.

"You are so adorable, my friend." Zonda said as he couldn't help to give Ginetta a friendly lick on his cheek. "I owe you my life, Ginetta." He then said more seriously. "I can't ever stop saying that because it's true."

"And I owe you mine, Zonda."

Both aliens looked at each other and smiled.

"Do you want one of these... cook... cookies?" Ginetta struggled with the word. He had a box of brown and moist cookies. 'Chocolate' could be read in one side.

Zonda was happy to take one and munch it quickly. It had been some time since he hadn't eaten something tasteful and sweet. These little bread made treats were so much like the ones found in Canis Major. Humans might be such horrible monsters, but if they tried hard, they could come up with such nice things like their food.

"What are you looking at, Ginetta?" Still wiping off the cookie crumbs from his muzzle, Zonda asked when noticing how Ginetta kept on looking outside the window. They were in a dark sector of space, so there wasn't much to see but blackness.

"Space itself." Ginetta replied. "It's so empty and big. I feel so free being in it; knowing that Harena Sanguis is so far from us now."

"We will get you home, Ginetta. I promise."

"Don't worry, please. I can wait." Ginetta affirmed. Somehow, his words felt truthful. Being in that little ship in the middle of nothing must have been such a blessing for Ginetta after going through the torments of Harena Sanguis. Zonda knew that their new friend could wait.

Staring out the window as Ginetta did, Zonda started noticing how stars were now much more visible. The blackness of space suddenly became this beautiful scenery of sparkles of various colors.

"Look, Ginetta!" Zonda pointed out the window. "It's a nebula!"

At the distance, a cluster of stars that might've been billions of light-years from them glared through the window.

"It is beautiful, Zonda." The orange alien replied excited.

"Look at its shape! It's almost like a perfect spiral."

"A Spiral Nebula; it's indeed beautiful." Ginetta replied cheerfully. "Do you think there are creatures like us out there?"

"It could be possible, Ginetta. The universe is so massive that it would be selfish to think that there aren't others out there."

"If they are there, then I hope they live a peaceful life like us."

"Even we, furred creatures, might have our fights to resolve. The universe is so dangerous that you don't know when your peace might be violated by other species that only seek control of the rest. The risks are higher when you seek out for others."

"I know..." Ginetta replied somehow regretting the actions of him and his race. "Sometimes is better just to stay in your home planet where it's safer."

Zonda and Ginetta chatted for a while. Then, Zonda decided to go to the cockpit where Alpha was.

Walking through the small ship, he entered the cockpit and there he saw Alpha relaxing in the pilot's seat. He was eating an entire box of those chocolate cookies. Zonda smiled at the sight of his brother looking so relaxed, and most importantly, alive.

Zonda gave Alpha a surprise hug. He wanted to feel his brother's warmth. Feeling his heartbeat was so soothing.

"Zonda?" Alpha asked when he felt the tender hug. "You're awake, brother. You've slept a lot."

Zonda sat in the copilot's seat.

"Aren't you cold, Zonda?" Alpha asked when he saw Zonda not wearing anything.

"A little bit. But honestly I prefer not to wear those human clothes anymore."

Both Retcans didn't say much. There wasn't really anything else to talk about regarding their odyssey. They were heading home now and that's what mattered.

"How long before we make it home, brother?" Zonda asked.

"We did the last jump an hour ago. As for now I'm waiting for the ship's communication systems to be within reach either R105 or Canis Major."

"But you know where they are, right?"

"Since we were in Harena Sanguis," Alpha replied as he checked the ship's computer. "Pioneer001's system core got linked to our ships as soon as this ship gave it power. That's what brought us all the way here. I'm actually glad that the D.E Ship Pioneer001 was a new design. If we were in one of our old transport ships, I don't know if they would be able to link from such a far sector of the universe."

"Will they recognize us? Remember that although this ship now has our own ship's energy signature, it's still a foreign ship." Zonda asked worried that R105 might see this as a trap and use their defenses against them.

"That's why I've been here in the cockpit for so long. I have to make sure to contact R105 and identify ourselves as soon as our com systems are within range. It might take a while, but it will be soon enough, I believe."

Some time went on and the two Retcans talked about trivial things. They really didn't want to remember anything that just happened to them. They even went back to sleep for a short period while they were in the cockpit.

After a while, a small alert woke up Alpha who was half asleep. Zonda was fully asleep, and Alpha had placed a quilt on him so he was cozy enough not to awaken.

The alert wasn't anything to be worry of, but instead something great. The computer showed that they were finally within range of communications with R105.

"Zonda, you have to wake up!" Alpha yelled excited.

Zonda woke up abruptly and saw Alpha's excitement.

"We are within reach, brother. We made it home!"

Zonda couldn't believe it. After all that time they were finally returning to their brother Retcans and also their friends the Evocanis.

"We need to make contact now, Alpha. If they detect us they might either jump to another sector of space, or even fire at us."

"I'm on it, Zonda."

The moment had come. Alpha made the first attempt and watched carefully on the screen.

"R105, this is Mayor Alpha speaking. Do you copy?" He said in his own language. There was no response. Zonda took Alpha's place while he commanded the ship.

"This is General Zonda. R105, can you hear me?" the yellow eyed Retcan attempted many times. Alpha lowered the speed as he realized that they were getting really close to R105's location.

Back in R105, two days have passed since they had their desperate struggle in the machine territory. The ship was still in high alert and everyone, especially the Captain was in no mood of tolerating any surprises. The Evos were still in R105, taking care of the three rescued ones, while they planned on how they could rescue the rest. They roughly had some minutes to sleep.

"Captain," Bo advised Silver. He was with Cobalt in the bridge while Silver, Shadow and some of the Evos discussed in the Strategy Room.

"We have a situation here." Judging by Bo's voice, she knew that something was not right.

Silver made it into the bridge while the rest continued discussing their future plan.

"What is it, Bo?" Silver demanded as she walked straight to where he was. Cobalt was next to Bo, looking in complete disbelief.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but there is a ship that just made contact with us. I checked its energy signature and it belongs to Pioneer001."

"That can't be possible." Silver said. She almost ran to her captain's seat.

"If the ship contacts us again, put it on screen." Silver ordered. "Titan, I need you here; now!" She then ordered her brother to report to the bridge.

After a while, Titan arrived and was explained of the situation. He couldn't believe what he saw in the screen.

"How can this be? This is indeed Pioneer001!" Titan exclaimed. "We lost this ship in that supernova. What is this?"

"Here it goes again; another attempt for communicating." Bo advised. So far they couldn't hear anything but static.

"Put it on the main screen, Bo. I'll try to amplify the signal."

Titan worked his magic and they started hearing something repeating itself over and over.

"This is General Zonda. Do you copy, R105?" This time it was clear as it could be. It was without any doubt their brother who had survived the supernova. Just as he promised after he sent the first message, he managed to find a way back home.

Everyone at the bridge was in absolute distrust. Their brother that they presumed dead was indeed alive and just a few thousands of kilometers from them.

"This is Silver. Can you hear me, Zonda?" The Captain said. She was anxious to receive a response.

Some seconds passed and only static could be heard. Silver repeated her message a couple of times until she finally got a reply.

"Is that you, Silver?" This time it was even clearer. Without a doubt it was Zonda.

After boosting the signal, not only did they get a clear sound, but they started to get an image as well. Through static and white noise, an image of a grey furred Retcan made itself visible in R105's main screen. They couldn't believe it. Silver stood up and got close to the screen with tears in her eyes.

"It's me, my friend. I can't believe you are really alive. I never thought you would find a way back so soon."

"Captain, the ship doesn't match to our database." Cobalt then advised. "We have an image here and this ship doesn't look like anything we know." The blue furred Retcan was invaded by mixed feelings.

"Zonda, I need you to explain what happened to the ship. We cannot confirm its precedence even though it reads out as Pioneer001." Silver demanded. She just wanted to hold Zonda in her arms at that point, but security protocols had to be complied with.

"Pioneer001 was destroyed except for its system core. This ship was provided to us and we had to modify it heavily."

They could only believe in his words. There was nothing else to do. It was Silver's responsibility what their next move would be.

"I know it's strange, Silver." Zonda continued. "You have no idea what Alpha and I have gone through. We will explain it if it's necessary."

"Alpha? I thought he was..." Silver replied surprised. But there was no time for discussions. Her emotions were too strong at the moment. "Just forget about it. Your access to R105 is granted. Await instructions for the security procedures."

"Yes Silver." Zonda replied.

"We will see each other in the hangar, my friend," were Silver's last words. She smiled at the screen, trying hard not to tear up heavily. Seeing her friend alive was such a beautiful thing. Not only he would be able to see him and touch him again, but they guilt that she felt for his death was now gone.

Many Retcans were gathered in R105's hangar as the news spread through the ship. The wait was becoming unbearable as Shadow's substitute announced the estimate time of arrival. A medic team and a heavy armored defense squad were ready for any situation. Soon, the announcement that they all waited for was given; the opening of the hangar.

After a few minutes, the ship traveled through a decompression and decontamination chamber prior getting access to the main hangar.

And at last, through a large gate that gave access to the decompression chamber opened and showed a rather large unknown ship. The defense squad held their weapons ready by orders of Shadow who was now in charge of R105's defenses. Soon, the ship finally docked and its engines went to a complete stop.

"If you can hear me Zonda, I want you to please open the ship's hatch and walk slowly outside." Shadow ordered. His was fighting with his emotions at that moment. He had to maintain the security protocols that were by far already disregarded, while he just wanted to see his friend and once apprentice Zonda.

Shadow didn't have to give the order twice, as the hatch of the ship suddenly made a mechanical noise, opening almost immediately after. A mist came out of the ship when its inner atmosphere was released. The medical team sprayed a strange bluish mist against it; probably a strong decontamination substance.

After the mist dissipated, a ramp was lowered.

"I'm coming out!" A well known voice said.

They heard the characteristic sound of claws clicking against the metallic floor of the ship and suddenly a hand-paw appeared waving at them. Slowly and very careful, a grey furred creature came out. He had no clothes on but had bandages across his shoulder, belly and head. It appeared as if he had gone through a shredder.

"Hi, my brothers." He said. "Everything is ok." The grey alien was Zonda. He had his arms up as he walked slowly down the ship.

The desire of the other Retcans was to just run to him and greet him. It was their brother and he was alive. But security procedures needed to be taken.

"Stand next to the ship, Zonda." Shadow ordered. "And put your arms down; it's ok my boy."

"Listen," Zonda said. "There are a lot of things that have happened lately; things that we didn't have the time to explain."

Everyone listen carefully.

"I know that the protocol has been broken too many times already, but I have to advise you that we brought someone with us. He is the responsible for Alpha and me to be alive today."

Very confusing words came out of Zonda. Not only he confirmed that Alpha was not dead, but he brought someone else.

"He is a furred creature; just like us and the Evos. Trust me, he means no threat to us. He is a very pure hearted creature that needs our help. Alpha and I owe it to him."

"Make him come out slowly, ok?" Shadow ordered. He was as confused as anyone else, but had to follow procedures. Silver was by his side completely mute.

"Alpha, Ginetta" Zonda said. He gestured whoever was inside the ship to come out. "Everything is going to be ok, Ginetta. My brothers won't hurt you. They just need to make sure everything is ok."

More steps were heard coming from inside the ship. Soon, two figures walked down the ramp. One was definitely Alpha, and this made Silver unable to hold her tears anymore.

"Alpha." Silver uttered.

The other creature was a shock. No Retcan had seen an alien like the one that stood next to Alpha, grabbing hold of his shoulders. Although his appearance was very pleasing to their eyes, telling them that this creature was indeed very similar to them.

"Ok. Please take all of those garments off and throw them inside the ship." Shadow ordered. "Zonda, take the bandages off and throw them inside. Your wounds will be taken care of."

The three of them obeyed and stripped of their clothes, throwing them inside the ship. The medical team immediately surrounded them and scanned their bodies. That blue mist was sprayed at them. Ginetta just followed them with his head while never letting go of Alpha. The poor furred creature felt a bit nervous of all the activity.

"They are clear." A Retcan that was apparently in charge of the medic team said. "Welcome back brothers." He then smiled at the two Retcans. "Bring a stretcher for these three and take them to the medical facility."

"Captain, what do we do about the alien?" Shadow asked.

"He's welcome to stay if Zonda says his ok." She barely managed to reply as she ran towards Zonda and Alpha. Shadow did the same after the response and walked to his two friends.

The three of them could walk, but either way, they were taken in stretchers. Ginetta felt nervous by the unknown environment he was in, whereas Zonda and Alpha were in absolute peace as they saw the soothing light's of their ship running above them. Soon they reached the medical facility and were treated correctly. Ginetta was kept in a temporary quarantine room as they checked his blood and other things, just in case his body would have something harmful for them, or something in R105 could make him sick as well. Ginetta soon was much calmer after he realized that these creatures meant no harm to him.

In a different room, Alpha and Zonda were having a physical exam. Silver, Titan, Shadow and other Retcans were with them, watching the progress. R105 was still in shock because of their return, but were finally settling in after a couple of hours.

"Your friend, Ginetta will be fine. He's resting in the quarantine room." R105's lead medic, a Retcan named Red said.

"Is he ok? He's kind of scared. You have no idea what he has gone through." Alpha said.

"Crystal is taking care of him from the outside and has explained everything that has been done to him. He'll be taken out in a few minutes. As for now he looks very relaxed."

As Red took care of Zonda and Alpha's wounds, he noticed with horror how much their bodies had suffered. Zonda in particular had two large stabbing wounds and various haematomas all around his body.

"What happened to you guys?" Red said as he treated his friend's bodies,

"It's a long story. You'll know it eventually." Zonda said.

"I only have one question, Zonda." Silver approached Zonda. Now that she had gone through the initial shock of seeing her friends alive, she had to clear some doubts.

"In the message that you sent us first, you said that Alpha didn't make it."

"I never said that, Silver." Zonda replied concerned. In his mind he was going through the messages that he sent not a few hours back while they were approaching R105.

"I guess we misunderstood. Seeing your wounds, it is comprehensible that you went through really difficult moments."

"You have no idea, Silver." Alpha replied from across the room. He was being treated by another medic.

"It's incredible that you could manage to get inside the machine's hive and get all that information for us." Silver the mentioned.

"What?" Zonda was caught off guard by that statement. Maybe his senses weren't working well still.

"Thanks to your tip, we did manage to find The Hive. The place was more than we thought it would be. Those things outnumber us heavily and there was nothing we could do at the moment to save the Evocanis. But we were forced to save three that were being disposed of like if they were garbage. Titan, Shadow and their team, as well as a couple of Evos from the D.E team barely managed to make it out alive."

"Wait, Silver..." Zonda tried to speak. He was completely lost at that moment.

"The rescue of those three Evos was reckless and could've endangered the rest of Evos being held, but we had no choice. Right now we are linked to the machines systems so we know what their moves are. According to Titan, the spy worm won't be detected."

"I still can't believe you managed to get yourselves in that horrible place without weapons or the right equipment." Shadow added.

Zonda was shocked.

"Stop, please!" Zonda yelled. He sat up and looked at Alpha who also appeared to be shocked for what he was hearing.

"I'm sorry brothers. But I have no idea what you are talking about." Zonda said quite irritated. Both Silver and Shadow's face changed completely.

"You mean you found the lost Evos? Is that the reason why you didn't return to Lusceonis? What's going on here?" Zonda demanded.

"The reason we are not in Lusceonis is because we decided to stay with the Evos after we received your message. The council has no control over our actions anymore." Silver explained.

"What message?!" Zonda now yelled.

"The message that you sent telling us that you survived the supernova and that you found where the Evos were being held by the machines. You also told us that Alpha didn't make it! Are you telling me that you didn't send that message Zonda?" Silver now yelled as well. Their hearts pounded rapidly after they started to realize the potential danger they were in.

"Listen to me carefully, Silver. I don't know what you're talking about." Zonda said firmly. "The only time we've talked to you or send you a message was not an hour ago while approaching R105. We know absolutely nothing about this Hive that you mention. We've been trapped in a human world and almost killed!"

These words made them come to blood chilling realization. If it wasn't Zonda who had sent the message, who did?

"Silver," Shadow said after he came to a conclusion. "We have a security breach like no other before. Alert everyone not only in this ship but in Canis Major; a great menace might be coming our way."