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Protocol	By : Need2ScreamNow Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Avenged Sevenfold Views: 1993 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the members of Avenged Sevenfold. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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The next morning came all too soon. James was woken with a small poke to the ribs. He grunted and swatted the finger away grumbling and trying to get back to sleep.

“Jimmy c’mon we gotta get up.” Johnny whispered to him. James rolled over and looked at him tiredly; he winced as his sore muscles stretched. Johnny pulled him to a sitting position and he woke up more and shook his head trying to shake away the weariness. He saw Brian sitting up and rubbing his eyes, Matt and the Koyra were up. The Koyra struggled to his feet showing a stiffness and tiredness he hadn’t the day before. He swayed a little when he was up and Matt wrapped an arm around his waist until he was steady again.

“Did you find anything to eat last night?” he asked quietly. Matt shook his head and sighed, a line of worry furrowed his brow. He murmured something to the Koyra and then said louder to the group, “Let’s go. Someone is getting close.”

They trudged off the beach into the concealing trees with the Koyra leading. Again James was unsettled, he was half tempted to ask Matt to get in front but the captain had shown wisdom thus far so he decided to wait.
They moved silently through the trees the Koyra pausing every now and then and at first James thought he was trying to get his bearings but he realized after the third or fourth stop that the Koyra was tiring. He left Johnny’s side and slipped past Brian, who still watched the Koyra with suspicion, and sidled up next to the lead pair. Matt looked at him in mild surprise but there was more worry in his eyes than anything else. James politely ignored him and looked the Koyra over.

There was something very wrong with him, his pallor was almost a grey color and he took great care with his steps but still stumbled over nothing every few feet. His breathing was heavier than it had been during the tiring swim the day before.

“Koyra when’s the last time you ate?” he asked quietly. He looked over at him startled but shrugged, “The morning we left.” He said. Matt snorted, “Barely. We docked a Zenka before we met with you. They spent most of that time briefing us on your group.”

James looked at the two worriedly, the sleep chambers slowed metabolism, but it wasn’t a state of completely suspended animation. Their bodies still burned calories, just at a slower rate. If they hadn’t eaten well before they were frozen then they should’ve eaten much more than they did the day before. Then he remembered that he hadn’t seen Matt eat that night either, “Did either of you eat last night?” he asked sharply. Matt nodded but the Koyra shook his head. James sighed, “How sick do those bars make you?” if he could keep even a little down that would be better than nothing.

“Dehydration, cramps, and vomiting.” The Koyra said quietly. James grimaced, that wouldn’t help anything.

“All that? It’s nothing but proteins and vitamins.” Brian said incredulously.

“The doctors think there’s some vitamin or mineral that’s essential to us that are poison to the Koyra.” Matt said explained. James nodded, he had seen the symptoms the Koyra listed in poison victims before, “What’s your normal diet then?” he asked. They had to get him some kind of food soon or he was going to be too weak to walk.

“High fat, high protein, I think there are only three vitamins that we share a need for and one or two minerals.” The Koyra said. Matt sighed when the Koyra stumbled again. Without warning to anyone he pulled the Koyra close and lifted him into his arms. The smaller man was rigid for a moment but quickly relaxed in Matt’s arms. He rested his head on his shoulder.

“Be my ears and I’ll be your feet.” He murmured. James was taken by complete surprise by the kind act. Captains were made to lead; if someone wasn’t strong enough to keep up they were usually left.

“How well can you hear?” Johnny asked curiously, “We know you can see farther than us but how well can you hear?”
The Koyra roused himself from his relaxed state and smiled a little, “It’s better than yours. So is my nose.” He rested his cheek on Matt’s shoulder again and quickly returned to his drowsing state.

“He’s saved me more times than I care to remember from ambushes.” Matt said. James was surprised, “You’ve worked together before?” usually replacements were whoever could be spared. Matt smiled a touch sadly, “He’s always with me. I’m the only one that will work with him.”

“How long have you been paired with him?” Brian asked, he sounded mildly disgusted to James and he hoped the captain wouldn’t pick up on his attitude.

“Four years.” He said.

“Six years.” The Koyra corrected. Matt looked down at him, but the Koyra still had his eyes closed.

“It has not been six years.” He said stubbornly.

“You graduated when you were twenty. They stuck me with you as soon as the stamp on your diploma was dry. We went to Freia together remember.” The Koyra said opening his gemstone eyes and looking back at him. Matt thought for a moment, “So we did.” He finally said, “Okay, we’ve been together six years.”

“You went to Freia?” Johnny asked awed. Freia was the bloodiest battle in the war to date; one of the few open field battles that had taken place. James had been on the other side of the galaxy when that battle had broken out but from his colleagues he knew what a blood bath it had been for both sides. Bodies of the fallen were left on the field and simply torched, there weren’t enough healthy or whole people left to dig a pit for them. He shuddered at the memory and of the haunted look in each of their eyes. Most had left the service after that.

“They sent me to Freia, they made him tag along.” The Koyra said. Matt tightened his hold on him but didn’t argue.

“I heard most of the survivors were discharged for reasons of insanity.” Brian said quietly. Matt nodded, “That much carnage could drive anyone insane.” He said quietly.

“How long were you there?” Johnny asked, he sounded a little more subdued. Matt looked down at the sleeping form in his arms, “Not long.”

“A week.” The Koyra murmured.

“A week! What was the point of even sending you?” Brian nearly shouted. Matt looked back at him and didn’t answer. A quiet mocking laugh came from his arms and the Koyra’s eyes opened again, “You know why they did it don’t you.” He said his voice unsettlingly familiar to Brian’s. “Who’s going to care if a Koyra doesn’t survive the battle, got to make his death believable don’t we.”

“Zack hush.” Matt said quietly. James looked away from them; he didn’t know why shame burned his cheeks to a dark red. They walked in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes.

“Why did they bring you back if they…” Johnny broke the awkward silence with an awkward question and James gave him an exasperated look. Matt sighed but the Koyra stayed quiet. His eyes were closed again and he looked like he might actually be asleep.

“You know Freia was an open field battle correct?” the captain started. All three nodded. “You saw Zack last night, for him there is no night, he can see just as well in total darkness as he can in daylight. The Koyra use that to their advantage with every battle and every skirmish.”

“Not all Koyra have glowing eyes, but enough do to frighten the bravest of men and women. Sometimes it was a rainbow of color circling the camps; blue, red, purple, green, gold, even white. But those were just the ones you could see. For every one pair of glowing eyes there were three that went completely unseen in the dark. That’s when we suffered out losses.”

“Honestly I don’t think the Koyra killed that many of us. I think we killed ourselves. In that darkness all form of order and organization broke down, people shot at anything that moved anything that made a sound. I remember one night the Koyra weren’t even out, someone had a nightmare, he screamed and scared his bunk mate, the guy sat up and shot him. Didn’t even think about it, he just heard the sound and fired.”

“Zack’s very presence sent people into frenzy during the light hours, at night when they saw his eyes they went into a panic. They shot at shadows and they shot at each other thinking they were under attack.” He paused and shifted Zack to a more comfortable position and continued, “When the Koyra actually did attack Zack couldn’t leave his tent. Once they saw his eyes they turned on each other thinking the Koyra had broken through their lines somehow. So a week after we arrived we were reassigned.” He finished. James stared at him in shock. He’d heard many stories from Freia but none like that.

“I always heard they attacked during the day.” Johnny whispered. Matt shrugged, “From what the general told me they attacked once by day but apparently suffered enough losses that they changed their tactics.”
They continued walking in a heavy silence until Zack stiffened in Matt’s arms. Immediately the captain froze, “What?” he murmured.

“Put me down.” The Koyra said quietly. Matt set him back on the ground and without a word he crept forward, he held up a hand telling Matt to wait and then disappeared into the underbrush.

“Where’s he going?” James asked nervously, they still didn’t know what beasts or beings roamed this planet. Matt shrugged, not the reassurance he was looking for, “I don’t know, he must’ve heard something. Keep your voices low.” He said.

“You could’ve sent Johnny, he is a trained scout.” Brian muttered.

“I’m well aware of all of your training.” Matt said, “But we are on a strange planet with unknown threats and I would rather take advantage of Zack’s keener senses than send Johnny into a threatening situation.”
Brian didn’t say any more and James decided he rather liked the new captain.

James was actually considering the option of sending Johnny out looking for the Koyra when a fluttering whistle came through the trees. Matt roused himself from where he had been drowsing against a tree and listened to the sound.

“What the hell is that?” Brian asked his hand lightly gripped the butt of his weapon.

“It’s Zack. He’s found something, come on.” Matt quickly started moving in the direction the sound had come from.

“How do we know he’s not found something hostile?” James asked.

“If he had, he wouldn’t have called.” Matt said practically. Johnny darted ahead eagerly, his curiosity overriding his common sense, yet again.

They found the Koyra sitting by a small chuckling stream, next to him was an animal.

“What’s that?” Johnny asked excitedly, he didn’t stray too close to the creature but still circled it looking at it from every angle.

“Mm, I’d say dinner.” Matt said chuckling. Johnny stopped and looked at him, “How do we know it’s not poisonous?”

“If it was I wouldn’t have killed it.” The Koyra said lazily. James stared at him in surprise, “You killed it? With what?” he didn’t know the Koyra was armed and that thought sent a small chill of fear down his spine.

“The Koyra,” Matt said quietly, “are natural hunters. Just because they don’t have a poisoned dagger or a gun doesn’t mean they can’t still kill you.”
James held back a shudder; his words held an underlying warning, the Koyra had probably told him what he had overheard him and Brian talking about on the ship. Giving himself a firm mental shake James decided to investigate ‘dinner’.

The creature was fairly large; it had to stand at least six feet tall. It was covered in short brown fur with a bit of white on its neck. The thing had some of the spindliest legs he’d ever seen on a creature for its body size, he was surprised it hadn’t broken anything running or jumping. The most peculiar part about it though was the large, sharp horns on its head. They had to be at least a foot high and two feet wide, and, unlike the appearance of the thing’s legs, they were hard and dense.

“What do ya’ think they’re for?” Johnny asked crouching down to touch them. James shrugged, “Defense, maybe a way to get to food, maybe just show. You’ve seen the multi-colored birds on Kiron Four, what purpose do those colors have.”

Johnny nodded thoughtfully.

“So,” Brian said walking around the creature, “how you do you intend on making this dinner?” he looked at Matt challengingly. Matt quirked an eyebrow, a small smile tugging his lips, “You’ve never run out of rations before have you?” he said, the Koyra laughed quietly, “You three should go out a little ways and start collecting fire wood.”

Brian bristled, “You’re not in charge Koyra.” He growled. The Koyra only shrugged, “Then stay. But I gave you fair warning.” He said. James caught a devilish glint in his eye and wondered at the meaning. Matt looked like he was about to say something but just shook his head, “Johnny come with me, we’ll have to have a fire to eat this.” He said. He looked back at the Koyra and laughed before disappearing into the forest with the little scout in tow.

“So what exactly have we been warned about?” James asked, more as a ploy to hide his nervousness at being alone with the Koyra than actual interest. Brian was still glaring at the green-eyed man. Instead of answering the Koyra got up and knelt down next to the creature by its belly. He reached up and dragged a finger across its belly, James started when he heard a tearing sound and he looked at the Koyra in alarm.

“What the—” Brian started, but his question was cut off by a gagging sound when the creature’s organs spilled onto the ground. Both James and Brian jumped back, James was more surprised than revolted; since he was a battlefield medic he had seen the insides of a number of creatures. Brian had no such experience though and without a word ran in the direction they had last seen Matt. Even with his experience though, he had never eaten something he had seen the insides of and decided if he was going to keep any dinner down he had to leave. As he turned away to follow the other four he heard the Koyra laughing.

The four came back to their makeshift camp, Johnny and Matt talking about some weird bug they had seen and Brian and James still quiet. Matt hadn’t said anything when they tore through the trees to his side, but a knowing smirk had stayed on his lips for almost the entire time they were out.

James strived to not look at the carcass but he found his eyes searching for it anyway. The creature was no longer recognizable; the Koyra had stripped the fur off it and somehow cut it into large yet manageable slabs. The Koyra himself didn’t look too dirty, James guessed he had washed in the stream because there was a tart smell in the air and the creature’s blood stained the leaves.

“You missed a spot.” Matt said dropping his load of firewood. The Koyra looked up at him and rubbed a hand across his chin, Matt shook his head, “How did you get blood on your forehead?” he said smiling. James saw the smear of red near his hairline and forced back a shudder.

“Are you still hungry?” Matt asked. James looked at him and then the Koyra, “You ate?” he said, his medical sense overriding his revulsion, “You don’t know what kind of bacteria that thing was carrying you could get sick!”

“James, the Koyra are very different from the Api. What would make us sick has no effect on them. Actually,” Matt explained as he cleared a spot for the fire, “we can eat certain things raw without getting sick.”

James looked at him, “You’re joking.” He said flatly. Matt shook his head, that annoying smirk back on his lips, “You’d be very surprised at what you’ll eat when your only other option is starvation.” He said.

“How’d you cut it up?” Johnny asked, either oblivious to the conversation or more interested in his own questions. The Koyra gave him a small smile, “Natural defense.” He said. James looked at him and remembered the tearing sound and then looked at Matt. He had noticed the Koyra didn’t like to give explanations. The captain lit the fire and stood up, and gave James a questioning look, “What?”

“What is this ‘natural defense’?” Brian asked suspiciously.

“Oh,” Matt didn’t seem in the least perturbed, “the Koyra have retractable claws.” He said nonchalantly. James stared at him, “They have what?”

The Koyra stood up and walked over to Matt and stood a little behind him and held out his hand. Johnny bounded over excitedly and buzzed with questions about the claws and how well they worked, what they were used for, how long they got, and any number of other things that came to his mind. Matt gave the small scout a rare full smile.

James looked closely at the Koyra’s hand, he didn’t see any telltale marks of claws but when he flexed his fingers four wickedly curving claws slid out from the middle of each digit. He sucked in a breath and took a step back from him but his medical curiosity was as bad as Johnny’s and he stepped back to look again.

Their point of origin was the middle of each fingertip; they weren’t very long maybe a half inch. He was certain they were usually clear but now they were clouded with the animal’s blood. The tips were honed to a needle sharp point and James wondered why they didn’t break off every time he used them.

Zack pulled his hand back after a moment and moved a little more behind Matt watching them all carefully.

“Gods be damned.” Brian breathed, “If someone had told me that before we left I would’ve told them to get their head checked.”

“I’ve never heard of people getting scratched.” Johnny said. Zack shrugged slightly, “It would be a last resort defense. Why scratch if you have a gun or poisoned blade?”

“Still, a swipe to the neck would probably be fatal.” Brian said, James thought, a touch faintly. James straightened his shoulders, he was tired of being surprised by this Koyra, “Any other ‘natural defenses’ we should know about?” he asked a touch sharply. Matt looked back at the fire, it had burned down to near embers, a few flames still licked at the sky but not many, “Let’s eat and then we’ll discuss Zack’s other peculiarities.”

A/N: Yeah, Zack is going to be totally bad ass in this. Just FYI. =D
Thanks for your reviews ^_^
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