Chapter Text
As the artificial light of his home shone down upon him and the fabricated scent of a salty sea filled his nostrils, Grace couldn’t help but stretch out his muscles as he laid upon the stony beach, a straining whine followed by a sigh of relaxation. He folded his arms behind his head to act as a cushion to support his neck and crossed his legs whilst taking in slow deep breaths, his whole body was completely relaxed and his mind was wandering through pleasant thoughts. If paradise was a place then this was definitely it.
“Grace is comfortable like that, question?”
He opened one eye and spotted Rocky hovering over him.
“I should’ve brought a towel down but it’s fine,” he insisted, shifting a little bit.
Rocky honked out an odd note. “They are behind schedule. Poor planning. Will be speaking to Adrian about this. Adrian will sort them out.”
Grace waved a dismissive hand at him. “Relax Rock, not everything can go to plan all the time. So they’re a little late, no biggie.”
“They are wasting Grace’s time and Rocky’s time,” argued his Eridian friend. “How hard is it to-…”
“Saviour Rocky! Saviour Grace!”
Grace sat himself up whilst Rocky diverted his attention to a pinkish Eridian trotting over to them, the poor thing was desperately trying not to slip as she struggled in her xenonite suit.
“We are so sorry for delay but we are ready to begin!”
With a grunt Grace forced himself to his feet, brushing the sand off of his worn out clothes. He looked down at Rocky with a smile. “Ready?”
Rocky dipped his carapace but made a nod. “Let us get it over with.”
Grace had been living on Erid for nearly two years now. After he and Rocky returned to Erid with the solution to the Astrophage crisis, the people of Erid sung endless praises for them and were eternally grateful that not only Grace sacrificed his one chance to go back to Earth to save his friend and their world, but he had gifted them with the wonders of human knowledge. Eridian science jumped forward centuries and their understanding of how the universe worked through the eyes of humans had brought forth a new and exciting future to the people of Erid. The least they could do was build Grace his own biodome so he could live a comfortable life on their planet and offered him anything he needed to be happy.
He didn’t ask for much, as long as he had Rocky by his side he was completely content.
Of course since he and Rocky were celebrities without peer to the Eridians they made a few public appearances in difference clusters, took part in high profile ceremonies, met with important entities who thanked them over and over again, and were given the treatment that would make anyone feel like a hero. Rocky even got requests from Eridians who suddenly desired him as a mate, which he and Adrian quickly shut down. Strangely enough Grace got a few and he had to convince Rocky to help him to politely decline them. It got exhausting at times but that was the price one had to pay for saving an entire civilisation. It didn’t happen much these days, not that it bothered Grace as he enjoyed his new simple role as a teacher to the Eridian children.
However on this day they were now starting something a little different.
“Rocky hate this idea.”
“Oh come on Rocky,” chuckled Grace, readjusting his glasses, “they’re just a few curious visitors. I mean if I got to have a one on one with an alien, I’d be thrilled.”
“Grace is not something to be gawked at,” huffed Rocky, wiggling his claws angrily. “They should leave Grace in peace.”
The pinkish Eridian squeaked in uncertainty. “Saviour Rocky and Saviour Grace will be treated like heroes. Is good opportunity for public to meet with Saviour Grace. All proceeds will go to funding science facilities and Saviour Grace’s school. All good, everyone is happy happy happy.”
Rocky shuffled where he stood. Grace couldn’t exactly blame him for being so uneasy about this whole thing.
Many Eridians had expressed their interest in meeting Grace face to face. Sure they could see him from outside the biodome but they really wanted to talk with him, to thank him in person and to just bask in his presence for a little while. Another reason, and Grace actually thought it was adorable, many of them wanted a human name from their Saviour. He had given Rocky, Adrian, and a few others who worked with and around him names, and now they all wanted to be blessed by the alien who saved their world with a name from his world. A few Thrums happened to discuss the matter and eventually Grace was asked if he would be alright to allow visitors to enter his home to meet and talk with him, and maybe even give them a human name.
At first Grace wasn’t too sure and Rocky was against it full stop, hating the idea of strangers just walking into his friends home just to be named. However they won Grace over when they pleaded with him, explaining that many of his students wanted to visit him and that the donations they would get from this would fund many scientific facilities and his own school. Funding meant better equipment for his students and maybe even getting them their own xenonite suits so they could have field trips in his dome. He only ever interacted with them with a xenonite wall between them. Sure they’d been in suits when they come in, but he’d get to interact with them.
So of course he agreed.
Now his biodome had an official open day. Once a week he and Rocky would meet with curious Eridians who wanted to meet with them and maybe walk away with a human name to show off to the world. It was all organised and overseen by Adrian who reminded everyone on her staff that Grace’s safety was the top priority, if something happened to compromise it then she’d call the whole thing off.
Grace was just eager to get started.
“I wonder who will come in first?” he thought aloud.
Rocky looked over towards the airlock. “A family of three is entering.”
Grace smirked. Eridians and their echolocation.
The airlock hissed as the deadly pressure converted into a lighter one, the ammonia pumped out and replaced with oxygen, the gravity shifting to a lighter one. The doors squeaked open and a small ball suddenly darted out.
“Teacher Grace! Teacher Grace!”
With a smile Grace plopped down onto his knees as the ball approached him, inside a creamy yellow Eridian child was bobbing up and down with excitement. “Hello Custard.”
The child squealed with delight and rolled up closer to Grace, their tiny claws pressed up against the glass. “Wow! Teacher Grace is even more squishy up close!”
Grace snorted out a laugh. “Observant as ever, Custard.”
Custard squealed again and rolled around some more, darting around Rocky’s legs. Rocky moved a leg out of the way and let out a giggle as the child continued to roll around like a hamster on a caffeine high.
All of Grace’s students got their names from him, the perk of being in his class, and he gave Custard his name because he reminded him of a custard pudding he had when at college. They all adored the names they got, even if they didn’t fully understand the meaning behind them and Custard was particularly proud of his.
“Saviour Grace!” A couple of Eridians suddenly walked up to them, taking care in their xenonite suits. “It is a great honour to meet with you!”
They were polite and waved their claws in a courteous manner but Grace could see from subtle movements how excited they were.
“Our young one won’t stop talking of you,” said one, their carapace wiggling in delight. “Such pride to know our child is being educated by great Saviour.”
“All of Erid is truly grateful,” stated the other one, “Saviour Grace gave Erid its future back. Our young ones now have long future to enjoy.”
Grace couldn’t help but blush a little. He had heard it all before but he still was a little bashful whenever he was showered with praise.
One of them approached Rocky and clicked their claws together. “Saviour Rocky, there are no songs to describe our gratitude. It is privilege to in your presence.”
Rocky made a an warble found, and Grace knew that he was getting a little bashful too. Rocky was a modest person but even he got overwhelmed with all the praise from his people.
The Eridians then opened a pouch they brought in and revealed two bundles of carefully folded cloth. “🎶🎵🎶 weaved this for Saviour Grace and Saviour Rocky. Wove many patterns and stones into this. Wanted to make it extra special.”
They carefully unfolded it to show off the beautiful woven patterns and the carved stones that were delicately placed on. Both Grace and Rocky marvelled at the craftsmanship, Grace reaching out to stroke the material. It was strangely soft as his fingers glided over it, he actually though he was going to rip it but like the Eridians this material was impressively sturdy.
They folded it back up and gave one each to Grace and Rocky. “We hope that you treasure them like all of Erid treasures you.”
Grace blushed again. “Aw, well thank you madame,” he said with a polite charm in his voice as he took it from their claws.
The Eridian before him suddenly stood very still. At first he thought he said said something to offend them but then they started bouncing up and down like crazy and did a little jazz hands dance.
“Madame! Saviour Grace named me Madame! Happy happy happy!”
It took a second for Grace to realise that he had accidentally given the Eridian before him a name. He thought that he should tell them that it was a silly misunderstanding but they looked so happy with it that he decided to keep that to himself. He looked to the other Eridian who tapped his claws together awkwardly awaiting their turn. In a panic he looked around for some quick inspiration.
“Oh yes and you are… um… you…” He looked down at the folded cloth on his hands and noticed one of the stones reminded him of a stone from Earth. “…Jasper?”
The Eridian perked up. “Jasper! I like! Happy happy happy!”
Now they were both doing that silly little dance and chittering with glee.
From his lap, Custard sighed with a weary squeak. “Custard will never hear the end of this. They will brag to neighbours.”
Grace chuckled as he patted the ball. “Just roll with it, Custard.”
They spoke some more, questions about Earth were asked along with with queries about their past mission. They were very respectful not to mention certain subjects and they shared a little bit about themselves, a family of weavers with a long and proud history. Grace would share with them stories of his old life and tell them how well Custard was doing in school. Rocky would mention the new projects he was working on and what he eventually wanted to work on. It was just a pleasant conversation with an Eridian family.
Some time had passed when a chime went off. “Ah, time is up,” sighed Madame as she ushered Custard to get off Grace’s lap.
“We thank again Saviour Grace and Saviour Rocky,” said Jasper, waving a claw out of respect.
“Custard will see Teacher Grace at school!” Custard bounced up and down in his ball.
Both Grace and Rocky waved goodbye as they trotted off back to the airlock.
“That wasn’t so bad,” chuckled Grace as he looked over at Rocky.
“Yes,” admitted Rocky as he continued to examine his gift. “This will make fine addition to Rocky and Adrian’s nursery.”
Grace smirked as he brought his knees up. “How are the eggs by the way?”
Rocky bobbed up and down. “Still many days away from hatching. Rocky cannot wait.”
“I can’t wait either,” replied Grace with a wide smile.
He still could remember the day Rocky and Adrian told him they were going to be having a cluster of eggs very soon. Grace was so happy for them he hugged them both as tightly as he could whilst bawling out cries of congratulations. It had confused them until Grace explained later that it was a common reaction from humans when they learn their closest friends were going to have children. Rocky would boast about the nursery he constructed and Adrian was already making toys for them. They even both expressed their desire to have Grace as their teacher which only made him cry again.
They had three eggs and they were incubating safely in their dwelling. Their doctor had inspected them and they were healthy and upon hearing that their Saviour was going to be parent very soon, all of Erid rejoiced. The hard part was waiting. Eridian eggs took time to hatch but Rocky promised on the due date he had arranged to have Grace present. It was a day that Grace could not wait for, it was like a child waiting for Christmas.
“Just so you know,” started Grace as he leaned back and stretched out his legs, “I’ve got three names planned for your little ones.”
Rocky squeaked with delight. “Yes yes yes, Grace give Rocky and Adrian’s children beautiful human names! Make others jealous.”
Grace laughed. “Believe me, these names I picked are very unique and… a little important to me. I want your kids to have them.”
“Good good good!” Rocky did a jazz hands dance. “Cannot wait! Children will love Grace as much as Rocky loves Grace.”
Hearing that warmed his heart but before he could respond they were alerted that their next guests were coming in.
The meetings with the visitors continued on throughout the day and they were pretty much what Grace was expecting. There were the families of his students, eccentric fans who wanted to learn about his home planet, nervous visitors who were curious about Grace but his whole biology made them anxious. Some were small, some were big, and some of them had bizarre body shapes. Each one do different and unique. He spoke with them all and tried his best to give them appropriate names either based on their personalities or what their bodies reminded him of.
There was one he actually called Sky because of the colour of their carapace. The Eridian was grateful but asked why that name. He tried his best to explain that their body shared the same colour as the sky on Earth but colour was as alien to them as he was. They did their best to understand and expressed a desire to see these colours one day. It would be pretty cool if he managed to somehow create a device to help the Eridians see colours but something like that was beyond his expertise. Maybe if he got some Eridian scientists onboard it could become a reality.
The hours passed. Their piles of gifts piled up. Both of them were starting to get tired.
“Are we nearly done, question?” sighed Rocky as he plopped down on the sand.
“Almost,” responded the pink Eridian with a reassuring chirp. “Everything is going great. Guests happy. Saviour Grace and Saviour Rocky happy.”
“Saviour Grace and Saviour Rocky need rest, statement,” responded Rocky with a weary honk.
“We’re almost there, bud.” Grace reached over to pat his carapace.
The next guest entered.
Rocky suddenly stood up and was frozen on the spot. Grace noticed this and looked at the latest Eridian guest. They were quite large and moved slowly, they were probably rather old as their joints creaked and cracked with every step. They stopped before them and politely bowed.
“Saviour Grace, there are no songs to express what you have done for our world. From the depths of my core, I thank you many many many times.”
Even their voice sounded raspy compared to other Eridians. Grace was definitely speaking to an elder and thus he treated them with the respect they clearly earned. “I should be thanking all of you. You allowed me to live in your home and treat me with such kindness.” He readjusted his glasses. “I’m sure I can think of a really nice name to-…”
“No no no, no name. I am content. Wanted to meet and thank Saviour Grace, that is all.” They then turned their attention to Rocky who was still very tense. “Saviour Rocky… I am truly grateful for everything you have done. Truly I am.”
Rocky was fidgeting with his claws, one of his legs was twitching. “Rocky… Rocky… Rocky did his best. Tried to fix-…”
“You did,” said the elder Eridian. “I am happy you did. Rocky is home now. Helped save Erid. Rocky is hero. Crew would be proud.”
Rocky’s carapace lowered and he said nothing. Grace could only watch the conversation with concern in his eyes. Who was this?
The elder Eridian then bowed at them both one last time and left.
Grace waited until they entered the airlock before he quietly asked, “who was that?”
Rocky made a low whine. “They… were the mate of the scientist from Rocky’s crew.”
Oh.
Now it made sense.
It had been half a century since Rocky lost his entire crew from the Blip A but the pain of it was still fresh in his mind. The Eridians knew nothing about outer space nor the dangers it had, but in their desperation to save their home they sent a crew of 23 Eridians into the unknown to find an answer to their dire situation. Their bodies may be sturdy but against the invisible threat of radiation they had no defence against it.
Rocky was the sole survivor. He watched as his crew mates slowly succumb to their agonising deaths, leaving him alone for 46 years. Leaving him alone to wonder, why did he survive? What was he supposed to do all by himself? How was he going to save Erid? Who was going to watch him sleep? It had nearly driven him insane. Grace found him just in time and brought him back from the brink of despair.
He thought that Rocky would be better once he was home but it actually got worse. It only reminded him that the crew he set out with did not return with him. He couldn’t even face the families of his crew mates, he would run if any of them tried to approach. He had these terrifying fits where he would scream unintelligent words, almost as if he was reliving his nightmare of being alone on his ship. One time it had happened in Grace’s home and whilst it did scare him at first he did his best to calm his friend down. Rocky would then apologise over and over, hating himself for being like this.
Rocky had been getting the help he needed and had been making big improvements. With every small step he took, he was getting further away from the pain that tried to hold him back. Even this small meeting with one of the family members of his crew showed that even though he was still hurting, he had managed to face it. It was a big improvement.
Grace understood it perfectly well… he too was haunted by the demons of his past.
He was about to say something to cheer Rocky up when the pink Eridian scuttled over. “Sorry sorry sorry,” they squeaked, “we have one last guest! Then Saviour Grace and Saviour Rocky can rest!”
Grace stretched and tried to speak with a cheerful tone to perk Rocky up. “Then after this we can go and organise these gifts whilst watching some Earth movies?”
It worked as Rocky jerked up and wiggled his claws. “Yes… yes yes yes. Watch a Earth movie with Grace. Happy movie. One that makes Grace laugh.”
Grace smiled, he wasn’t sure why but apparently his laughter was a sound that made Rocky feel so much better.
The airlock hissed, signalling the arrival of their final guest. A large figure emerged, carefully stepped out of the airlock and stood before them. Grace had seen large Eridians before, this one was only slightly bigger than Adrian. If he had to guess they were roughly 7 or 8 foot tall. Their colouring was roughly the same colour as the sand around his feet, they even had some thorns like spikes along their carapace. They just stood there for a moment, completely still. Maybe he was just shy? Grace stood up and wondered if he should say something.
Rocky made a grunt sound. “Oh, Rocky knows him.”
“You do?”
“Not personally, but they worked in same engineering facility before Rocky left Erid.”
“Oh, so they’re an Engineer like-…”
“Saviour Grace!”
The large Eridian suddenly screeched out his name in a frequency that sounded like an explosion. Grace had to cover his ears and thought that his eardrums had exploded from the loud noise. The Eridian suddenly galloped towards him and Grace thought he was about to get run over. Thankfully they stopped just in time but barely, Grace had to take a cautionary step backwards. They towered over him and their body swayed back and forth in delight. Grace didn’t realise that he was trying to force himself to smile.
“So very happy to meet Saviour Grace,” they said, taking a step closer. “Saviour Grace looks so much more interesting close up.”
“Um, thanks,” replied Grace, taking a small step backwards. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Rocky made an agitated growl, and waved a fist at the larger Eridian. “You are too close to Grace! Grace needs space!”
They ignored him and suddenly snatched a large cord with big charms attached, raising it up for Grace to see. “Made this for Saviour Grace. Very special. Materials used are rare.” He shook it and the charms made sounds similar to bells.
“Oh… wow! Thank you,” said Grace, trying to remain polite. “I’ve seen items like this before. You guys wear them like-…”
Without warning the Eridian suddenly placed it on Grace’s shoulders. Now Eridians lived on a planet with intense gravity and could lift insanely heavy things with ease. This charm that was suddenly plopped on him was roughly the weight of a cement block. The second it landed on his shoulders, Grace immediately fell forward and slammed onto the ground hard.
Grace groaned as the side of his face laid smooshed against the rough sand, the sound of panicking Eridians flooded his ringing ears.
He felt heavy as he stared out at the artificial coastline.
Hands were on his back.
Russian voices shouting at him.
His fingers clawing at the grass and mud beneath him.
Hot tears running down his face.
The needle coming into view.
His pleading falling on deaf ears.
“Grace!?”
He gasped as he felt the weight was removed and was pulled up. His heart pounded in his chest and he heaved heavily to calm it down. His hands trembled a little and he had to squeeze them to get them back under his control. He spotted his glasses and carefully reached for them, trying to focus on putting them back on his face to stop the shaking.
Rocky came into view and was nervously checking him over. “Is Grace hurt, question?”
Grace swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and shook his head. “I fine,” he insisted, rubbing his sore neck. “Just took a tumble.”
“You destroyed my gift for Saviour Grace!”
The large Eridian was still present and was clearly pissed that Rocky had ripped the heavy cord off his friend.
“Your stupid gift hurt Grace,” growled Rocky, waving two claws in anger. “Grace is very fragile!”
The large Eridian ignored Rocky again and without warning, reached forward and clamped his large claws around Grace’s forearm. Grace flinched and tried to pull his arm away.
“Could… could you let go, please?” Grace felt his heart begin to pound in his chest again.
He gripped his trapped arm and tried again to pull his arm away but in the grip of an Eridian, especially one this size, it was literally impossible.
“Saviour Grace, Rocky destroyed my gift for you but I can make another!”
“Let go of Grace!”
The claws were starting to tighten.
“Saviour Grace liked my present, question?”
“Please let go, you’re hurting me!”
“Present was to Saviour Grace’s liking, question?”
It was like someone put his arm in a vice.
“Let go of Grace NOW!”
“Answer Saviour Grace! Answer!”
Tears of pain were forming in his eyes.
“Get off! Please get-…”
There was a sickening sound of a snap and the biodome was filled with a gut wrenching scream.