Here I go double-posting again for the new chapter. Oh well. Chapter 9. It's a somewhat important chapter - you might want to read it over more than once, as it contains a lot of subtle hints about something very big coming up. Anyway, here's chapter 9. You'll be happy to know it's probably only rated PG-13. Or maybe TV-14.

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Chapter 9: Acts of Desperation

Sonyk looked out his window in terror. He didn’t know what the meaning of the giant green flame he saw was, but he knew it couldn’t be good. Just as he began to turn around to go get Faw, he saw a huge beam of light erupt out of the smoke and hit the atmosphere with a bang. The clouds all changed to a charred black color, blocking out the noon sun. Sonyk wasn’t afraid of the dark or anything, but he was truly afraid of this new darkness. He knew that unless whoever caused this was stopped, he’d probably never see the light of day again.

Sonyk’s thoughts were interrupted when his window exploded. Several shards of glass scraped him, but nothing serious. He looked on the ground in front of him and saw a hologram projector. He knelt down and powered it on before taking a step back to watch. What he saw truly astonished him.

A holographic image of Unfooruman appeared in front of him. Sonyk instinctively took a step back, even though he knew it was just a hologram and couldn’t hurt him.

“Hello,” the holographic Unfooruman said, “I hate to have to contact you, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Yes, I know what you’re thinking – we know and have known for quite some time where you guys are hiding out, and we couldn’t care less. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business. My worst fears have been realized – Fooruman has destroyed the atmosphere. Not only has this blocked off all natural light, but if something isn’t done soon, the atmosphere will depressurize and none of us will even have a chance at survival. You’re probably wondering why your enemy is contacting you – that’s reasonable. I’d like to formally request that we form an alliance, at least temporarily. Fooruman must be stopped; earth must be saved. I will be expecting an answer soon,” the holographic Unfooruman paused, “One of your resistance members will know how to contact me. Program terminate.”

The holographic projector shut down and the image of Unfooruman disappeared. Sonyk stood still for a while, in shock. He then looked down at his arms and noticed he was bleeding. “Oh, crap,” he said. He walked shakily over to his bed, fell down, and passed out.

When he woke up, Faw was standing next to him. “Sonyk, I’m glad you’re all right. I hate to say it, but you and I are the only resistance members still alive. I sent a huge squad to try and take Fooruman down, and they were eliminated with extreme prejudice. I’m sorry to say I think we might need to take Unfooruman up on his offer.”

Sonyk blinked. “How did you know about that?” Sonyk thought he saw Faw’s eyes widen for a moment.

“I saw the hologram projector on the floor and was curious. Now, Sonyk, listen very carefully. I need you to promise me that we’re in this together. No matter what you hear or see, I need to know you’ve got my back. Defeating Fooruman would be the final step we’d need to take to ensure peace. Isn’t that worth fighting for? Isn’t that worth dieing for?”

Sonyk instantly stood up and faced Faw. “Let’s do it,” he said without hesitation.