the pretty ones
 

**The drugs they say make us feel so hollow
We love in vain narcissistic and so shallow
The cops and queers to swim you have to swallow
Hate today, no love for tomorrow

We're all stars now in the dope show
We're all stars now in the dope show**

The air was cold, with a metallic bite to it. She cringed as she awoke, her lungs filling with the bitter substance. Her eyes flitted around the room, as much as it was one. The walls were white, but then everything was. And none of it seemed to really be there at all. A slight mist curled around her ankles, causing her to shudder. She looked around again, searching for some sort of repreive from the whiteness.

A mirror glimmered faintly across the room. She made for it, but her moved seemed delayed. Her brained reeled inside of her head, demanding that her legs move faster, but they wouldn't. It felt like walking in honey. She finally reached the mirror though, and stared at the reflection with a dull sense of horror.

The face there was not her own--it couldn't be. It was too horrible to behold. Her hair was long and stringy--it looked black and was damp and cold to the touch. Greasy almost. Her eyes were vacant even as she stared into their reflection; the blue was gone, replaced by some strange shade of empty. Her skin was as pale a white as her surroundings, and her normally vibrant lips glistened with a strange silver sheen. She pulled in hands down from her face in disgust, and then was forced to look down at the rest of herself.

The skin was clinging to her arms in unusual ways. There seemed to be no change in its proportion with her body--that is, she didn't seem any thinner. But it appeared to have grown more translucent that she remembered. Blue viens glowed brightly on her skin, followed by other red and green streaks. She swallowed nervously, turned and began her slow-motion walk back across the room. There was something there now, scattered on the floor where she had awaken.

They were little vials, some empty and some not. She gravitated towards them, trembling a bit. The ones that weren't empty contained a dark blue fluid. She picked up one of the vials in her quavering hands and undid the stopper. A heavy scent wafted up to her. There was a sudden unstoppable urge then, one that completely took control of her being. She downed the contents of the vial in a quick gulp, regretting it in her head for only a moment... because then she felt wondrous. Her legs felt stronger, and color filled the room. She smiled, and crossed the room. A small window had appeared in the window there. She wiped the fog off the glass pane and leaned closer. It was bright behind the window, and whatever was there was nearly invisible.

But then the light receded a bit, and something came into focus. A form lying on some sort of platform. The form had pale skin like she did, and a pale complexion as well. Her body convulsed as the effects of the blue liquid began to wear off quickly. Her hands squeaked as they slid down the pane, and she collapsed on the floor.

fudgy so far, huh?

Her eyes refused to open at first. The lids covering her eyes seemed to weigh a kilo each, and the attempt at opening them hurt terribly. She groaned and tried to stretch out. But she quickly discovered that she couldn't move. There were restraints binding her wrists and ankles together. A tight band wrapped around her middle, stopping just below her breasts. It seemed to grow tighter every time she tried to move. She tried to calm her breathing, forcing herself to exhale slowly.

It was cold here. She didn't remember what had happened before, but she knew that this place was different. She wondered why it was so dark, and then realized that there was something covering her eyes. She could feel her hair sticking sweatily to her neck. Her skin ached from gooseflesh that she couldn't remedy. The tip of her nose burned, and she cried out in pain again briefly. Her brief window of consciouness was slipping away again, she could tell. The darkness grew darker, a more penetrating and personal black.

doot deet doot

When she came to again, her head throbbed for a moment. Then the pain ebbed away and she was able to see better. The room was still cold and white. But there was a new presence in the room now. She felt a pang of fear and looked down around her. The vials were still there. She unstopped another and wavered on the decision of downing it. She didn't really want to pass out again. Mustering her courage, the liquid went down again. The revived effect returned, but not as well this time. She growled in frustration, and swallowed the contents of another vial. Then she made her way carefully across the room.

She recognized her. It was the form from the room behind the foggy window. Her mind strained to put a name on the face. She was having a hard time doing so though because of the black leather strap crossing across the other woman's face. She knelt, swaying momentarily, in front of her and reached for the leather strap. It held tightly, no matter how hard she pulled. She made an exasperated noise--she *had* to know who this was. It seemed very important.

Courage began to slip again, and so she pried open another vial of the blue liquid. Her hands were trembling a great deal this time, and only half the contents got past her lips. The rest of it dripped off her chin and stained the already violated contours of her naked body. She cursed and threw the vial down. It shattered perfectly, leaving only a collection of tiny round bits of glass, and a single short sharp shard on the floor. She ran her hands over the debris. They bits were perfectly round, but it didn't strike her as unusual as it probably should have.

With uneasy hands she picked up the shard, and turned to the other woman. Her long form was bound awkwardly, and it seemed like a pity to leave her that way. First off was the strange leather corset that was wrapped around her belly. She cut the connecting straps and pulled it off. Her hands trailed over the white skin, looking curiously at the smooth strings of grey on the otherwise unnoteworthly flesh. The bands around her wrists, knees, and ankles posed a great problem because of the little metal links interwoven on them. She managed to slide the bands from over her knees and ankles, but her wrists were twisted strangely and refused to be freed.

Finally she came to the eye band. Carefully moving the shard of glass, she made a slit on the band. The leather was pulled away easily then. She looked at the woman's face. A gasp wrestled its way from her throat.

"Oh my... Seven.."

oh my seven what?

The constraints were loosened, and the strap was pulled away from her eyes. Light came in again, invading like everything else had. She blinked rapidly, and then managed to focus on the form hovering over her. It was a woman. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were wide. The woman whispered something, but she couldn't understand it. She caught the echo though, and it sounded odd to her ears.

"...even.."

The woman moved her head slightly, and persperation dripped off her hair. There were trails of blue on the woman's skin, and it made her stomach turn. The woman fixed her hollow gaze down on her for a moment, and then swallowed heavily. Her fingers uncurled, and something dropped to the floor. It clattered noisily, but then fell silent.

"...od..."

The woman collapsed in a heap on top of her. She managed to push her aside, and then struggled to her feet. The woman looked small, and in her mind she knew that that wasn't right. She wasn't small. Neither of them were, but... weren't they?

"Oh, fuck," she said, starting at the sound of her own voice. She'd forgotten that she even knew how to speak, let alone that she knew those words. She looked down at the woman, licking her lips thoughtfully. She gave the inert form a kick, and then turned away.

The room tilted oddly, as if the floor was uneven. She looked down at the floor, frowning. There was a collection of broken glass there, and a few empty vials. She reached down to pick up one of the vials, but discovered that her hands were bound. She lost her balance as well, and toppled forward. She cursed again, and after several attempts made it back up onto her knees. She looked around.

Up on the wall something glinted. A mirror, perhaps. She struggled up onto her bare feet, breathing heavily. The floor had evened out a little now, and a grim smile twisted her face. She staggered up to the mirror, and looked in. The face that looked back was unfamiliar, so she asked:

"Who are you?" Her voice echoed again, just like the other woman's had. "Are you her?" She pointed down at the woman on the floor. The face in the mirror didn't reply, but turned away. She turned back angrily, and the reflection mimicked her. "Why are you taunting me? What have I done?" There was a silent question as well, one she couldn't bring herself to ask the mirror. It wouldn't answer anyway.. it still hadn't. A growl trembled in her throat.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed at the mirror, and raised her bound hands. She smashed them into the mirror, screaming in pain as the glass entered her skin. It splintered vertically into long shards, instead of spidering around the point of impact. She looked down at her hands as she pulled them away, watching the blood pool but not overflow. Her breath shuddered in her chest, and she sank to the floor.

oooh, violence

She had passed out at seeing her, but was now awake again. The sound of screaming, actually, had been what pulled her up out of the darkness. Her eyes rolled around for a moment, and then focused on the source of the racket.

"Seven," she said weakly. The other woman's head jerked up.

"Seven what?" she snarled. "What do you think you're doing, tying me up like this?"

"I didn't tie you up," came the weak protest.

"You can't lie to me," Seven said. She twisted her hands and trails of dark blood ran down her arms. "Look at my hands! Look at that face!" She motioned to the broken mirror.

"I don't know what happened," she protested mildly. She fumbled for a grip on the floor and managed to get into a seated position.

"If you really meant it then you'd undo my hands," Seven snarled.

"I tried earlier, but your hands were too twisted together."

"Then you didn't try very hard."

"Shut up. Something's wrong with you."

"Me? Try looking at yourself... you're the one who's messed up." Seven twisted her wrists together and struggled with the band. She huffed, looking at Seven in disbelief.

"There's nothing wrong with me," she said, her voice dropping to a growl.

"Your face always looks like that?" Seven asked.

She frowned. "Like what?"

"Blue..." Seven smirked for a moment.

She rubbed her hands over her face, and then looked at them. Blue streaks. "It must have been... that... that..." She found herself at a loss for words.

Seven looked down at her hands and twisted them again. "Who are you anyhow?"

She looked up sharply. "What do you mean, who am I?"

"Just what I said."

"You of all people should know. I'm... I'm..." Terror flooded the empty blue eyes, and she swallowed heavily. "I don't know who I am. You're Seven, but who am I?"

"I know who you are," Seven muttered. "You're a bitch. A rotten bitch who ties up people's hands and then does who knows what to them."

"Seven!" her face twisted in pain. She put her face in her hands, struggling to calm her breathing. Seven glared at her evenly. Then her face softened.

"I didn't mean it, Kathryn," Seven said. She lifted her face from her hands.

"What did you say?"

"I'm sorry, really. I don't know what's wrong with you."

"No.. you said Kathryn."

"I did?" She nodded. Seven shrugged. "I suppose I did. I didn't mean anything by it though."

"Maybe not," she said, putting her face back in her hands.

why are you reading between the lines..snirk..

Seven watched her with mild concern. She was obviously in pain, her eyes were squinted and agony of some sort had etched lines into her face. It was a bothersome sight, so she concentrated on freeing her hands. The band didn't seem to get any looser, no matter which way she moved her hands. She looked thoughtfully at Kathryn.

"You said you didn't tie my hands together..."

Kathryn didn't raise her face. "So?"

"So if you're being true, you'd help me get this thing off my hands."

"Why should I? You call me a bitch and accuse me of things I didn't do... and now you want my help."

"You're the only person who can help me," Seven said softly. Kathryn shrugged. Seven sighed. "Come on, help me get this off and I promise that I'll leave you alone."

"I bet you will," Kathryn muttered, dropping her hands and looking around at the floor. Something caught her eyes and she half-crawled over to it. It was a small vial, half full with a dark blue liquid. Seven tilted her head in interest.

"What's that?"

"You don't need to know," Kathryn muttered. "It's mine."

"I don't care who's it is, I want to know what it is," Seven shot back. Kathryn looked at her sharply, tugging the top of the vial loose.

"It's mine," she repeated, downing the contents. A trickle of blue escaped over her lower lip, and the tip of her tongue darted out to catch it. Seven blinked.

"Your tongue is blue."

"Big surprise," Kathryn slurred. The blue liquid was doing something to her. Something almost frightening to Seven. Kathryn blinked rapidly, looking around on her hands and knees. "Where's the rest of it?"

"Of what?"

"The.. the.. stuff..." Kathryn replied in a thick voice. She spread her fingers on the floor, feeling around for another moment. "What did you do with it?"

"I didn't do anything with it."

"Liar," Kathryn growled. She snorted as she sat back up. "Tables have turned, hmm? Who's lying now? Certainly isn't me." She rubbed a hand over her mouth. "You know I need it, quit hiding it now.."

"I'm not hiding anything," Seven frowned, struggling to her feet. Kathryn slowly followed suit, swaying slightly.

"Give it to me!" she screamed, her hands balling into fists. The blue veins bulged on her arms. Seven stood firm.

"I have nothing to give."

"Liar!" Kathryn cried, and leapt forward. She slammed into Seven, who was caught off guard. They crashed into the wall. Seven grunted, and Kathryn made a noise that sounded like a snarl.

"Get off of me!" Seven cried, pushing Kathryn away with her fists. The older woman cried out as she was struck, and stumbled to her knees. Seven chased after her, tackling her and dragging her to the ground. Kathryn screeched in pain as she was bent completely over her knees.

Seven pressed her to the floor, holding her across the collarbone with her forearms. They froze for a moment, angry glares locked. Both were panting from the sudden exertion, but neither seemed willing to back down. Seven pressed down harder and Kathryn winced. She managed to kick a knee up and catch Seven in the stomach. Seven grunted but didn't move. Kathryn unfolded the freed knee and kicked out, knocking Seven off balance. She rolled off to the side, and Kathryn gasped for breath. She loosed her other leg, but didn't get up. Seven remained likewise motionless.

After a moment Kathryn rolled up onto her side and looked at Seven coldly. She brushed her hand over her stomach, feeling the bruise forming there. Kathryn gritted her teeth as she felt a spot where the flesh had been torn loose. She raised her hand and looked at her fingers. They were covered in blood so dark that is was nearly purple. A weak cry escaped her lips.

At the noise Seven seemed to emerge from her stupor. She lifted her head, eyes narrowed. There was a smear of blood across her cheek. It was red--her own--and seemed to be coming from just above the implant over her left eye. She pushed herself up, nearly falling off balance in the process. Unknowing why, Kathryn followed her motions.

Standing again, glaring at eachother with a bizarre hate. They didn't know why there were doing it, but it felt right. Kathryn rubbed one hand with another. Seven averted her gaze for a moment, looking down again at her hands. She turned her palms together and bent her thumb in. The band caught for a moment on her left hand's webbing, amd then it slid loose. The band hit the floor with a soft clink. Seven pulled her hands apart, flexing the fingers and causing her wounds to ooze again. For a brief moment she grimaced, but then her expression smoothed out.

Seven inhaled slowly and then looked up at Kathryn with a smile that was cold and calculated. She flared her fingers. Her knee flexed and then she leapt forward. Kathryn was caught off guard--she has been disalarmed by the smile. They slammed into the wall again, and Kathryn's head struck the wall. Seven pressed her hands across Kathryn's throat, squeezing her thumbs into her windpipe. Kathryn strugged, reaching up and trying to pull Seven's hands loose. She held fast and Kathryn's eyes squeezed shut. She let go of Seven's arms and raked her nails across Seven's face. Seven cried out as thin red lines appeared on her cheeks.

Kathryn's eyes flew open at the noise. She put her hands back on Seven's arms, pulling frantically. She only managed in loosening Seven's hands by a fraction, but it was enough to keep the blue on her cheeks from getting any darker. She drove her knee up hard, not caring at what she struck. She happened to strike Seven's kneecap. The younger woman shrieked loudly in pain, and staggered. Her hands came loose with a rough motion, and Kathryn sagged to the floor. Seven looked down at her, leaning heavily. Her knee was already beginning to bruise, and Kathryn had to admit that her knee didn't feel any better.

Without warning, Seven's leg buckled and she fell onto her back. She lay there motionless, until she started hitting the floor with her palms. Kathryn looked at her, perplexed, until she noticed the tears streaming down Seven's cheeks. Something in Kathryn's chest fluttered, and she rubbed the sweat out of her eyes. She scooted the few feet to where Seven lay, and pulled her into her arms. Seven rolled slightly, burying her face on Kathryn's neck, which still bore the markings of the struggle of moments ago. Sobs shook her body, and Kathryn smoothed her hair with a trembling hand. She buried her face in Seven's hair, trying to block the tears that were dangerously close to her own surface.

Several minutes passed, and then Kathryn felt Seven's body stiffen. She lifted her head, and blinked. She'd heard a low clanking noise, and now a long shadow spilled into the room. Kathryn turned her head. A door had opened in the wall, and an extremely tall woman was standing in the frame. She had dark purple skin, and long black hair that glistened faintly as she stepped into the room. A long red robe was draped over her body, concealing whatever was underneath. A scowl pressed into Kathryn's lips.

"Quit your sniveling," the woman spoke. Her voice was low and stately. Kathryn swallowed. Seven had completely frozen in her arms. Her face was angled up slightly, looking at the new occupant of the room.

"Who... what..?" Kathryn found herself at a loss for words, which was strange considering that she had a million questions to ask in her head. The woman's angular face twisted in a look of disgust.

"No one said you could speak," she said evenly. She pointed a thin finger at Seven. "Let her go."

"I-I can't," Kathryn stammered. The woman's face darkened. From underneath the robe she produced something that could only be desribed as some sort of weapon.

"You'll do as I say. You're under my command. Now let her go." She waved the weapon and then leveled it at Kathryn's forehead. Wordlessly, Kathryn settled Seven back on the floor. The woman slid the weapon back into her robe. She gestured to the empty vials on the floor. "I see you've been drinking the status fluid. Excepted, trying to get away from this..." Kathryn lowered her eyes for a moment. A smile of terrible origins twisted her lipless mouth.

"Kathryn Janeway. Former Captain of the USS Voyager." She moved a bit further into the room, staring down at Kathryn. "Wouldn't you like to know what happened to you?"

"If I may," Kathryn said roughly. The woman snorted a laugh.

"I'll indulge you, since it doesn't really matter. You, the Captain, were... mm.. how should I put it... overruled by your crew. I'm not sure why, truthfully, but it was mainly by Commander Chakotay. If I remember correctly from the literature."

"What?"

"Silence. The mutiny was very quick, since you were asleep when it started. They had someone drug you, and it all went off without a hitch. They came to us, and requested permission to leave several of the crew behind. We accepted, and they were terminated."

"Terminated..."

"Yes. They were loaded into a room and gased. Easy enough. Then Commander Chakotay asked if we would take you. Our leaders were relunctant, because they knew who you were. Then Commander Chakotay threw in that.. other woman in to 'sweeten the deal' as he called it. The leaders agreed. You and she were placed into status tubes. The leaders determined that you would remain there for thirty years, just to be certain that no one would come back for you. Now, it is time to complete the arrangement."

"Complete it?" Kathryn echoed in a doubtful voice. The woman narrowed her eyes at Kathryn.

"Yes. You were given us to be terminated. And now your thirty years is up." The woman crooked her finger, and a second form appeared behind her in the door. It was a man, similar in appearance to the woman, except for the terrible looking weapon cradled in her arms. Kathryn felt her stomach clench, and heard Seven shiftly quickly behind her.

"Why do this? Why did you even bother waking us up?" Kathryn cried as the man stepped in front of she and Seven. "You could have just killed us while we were in status. Wouldn't that have been easier?" The man levelled his weapon at them, and then glanced back at the woman.

"Yes, of course it would have been easier. But where is the fun in ease? We get so few oppurtunities to do what we've done with you... it has been a truly rewarding experience."

"Rewarding for you only."

The woman smiled thinly. "Of course." She clasped her hands together in front of her, the smile widening some, and then turned to the man with the gun. She nodded at him. "Fire at will."

"No!" Kathryn cried, but to little avail. The man stepped forward, steadying his weapon, and fired. Kathryn tensed, but heard Seven cry out in pain. She whirled, seeing the blonde woman rolling over, her hand flying up to back of her head. The weapon, oddly enough to Kathryn, had fired some sort of bullet, instead of the expected energy blast. A red line went across Seven's neck. Blood flowed heavily. The man fired again, hitting more squarely in the back of Seven's skull. With a faint gasp of air, Seven's body went still. The man turned to Kathryn. Fear like she had never known before went through her.

"Please.." Kathryn started, but her words were cut off the man firing at her. It took a moment for her to determine where she had been hit. It struck her as she gasped for breath. Her hand went up to throat. Her throat, where Seven's hands had just so recently clamped, trying to squeeze her pointless life out. She felt the blood on her neck. She choked, struggling for air and then fell onto her back. Her free hand felt something warm. Blood. It was Seven's, not her own. Kathryn gasped again, barely managing to get enough air. The edge of her vision began to blur, and as she looked at the woman Kathryn was terrified by the look of pleasure on the woman's face.

Kathryn's brain sent out a plea for oxygen. The last thing that Kathryn saw, as she slowly went blind, was the man lowering his weapon, his face expressionless. A dull thought passed through the new darkness. If she could only breathe, then everything would be fine. Kathryn Janeway's face crumpled into empty pain, blood trickling out of her nose and mouth, and from the hole in her throat.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three--

**There's a lot of pretty, pretty ones
That want to get you high
But all the pretty, pretty ones
Will leave you low and blow your mind**

End