A New Genie

Genie's eyes fluttered open, and saw darkness. He felt swaying and sniffed in the stench of brine and salty sea air.

Sea air?

He gasped as he realized he wasn't where he last remembered.

His memory, before entering a deep unconsciousness, was sitting within Kairo's spiritual sea as a soul form.  He felt his soul blood returned to him. Suddenly, he was sucked into a vortex, and into dark space where his consciousness was sealed.

Kairo. I hope he's okay.

His heart raced with longing to see him and know he was safe. The man had done so much for him.

I want to keep doing more for him, and be his rock, and his...

Genie thought about his life with Kairo and how much he adored him. At first a novelty, Kairo became a precious person, even more than his brother. He had loved before, so he understood what he was experiencing. It both frightened and excited him.

But would Kairo accept my feelings? Would he understand?

After all, they were two beings from different planets, despite having acutely similar anatomy. He wondered if love was the same on Earth: where soul bonds forged a union that surpassed physical connection. As both of them carried cosmic powers, their soul bond could literally reshape worlds.

Genie's heart pounded with uneven beats, as the troublesome thought of being rejected by his love surfaced. But he wouldn't be angry, if anything he would understand.

His eyes widened with surprise when he realized he was physically hearing his beating heart, and feeling a myriad of aches and pains throughout his body.

My body. I'm in my body!

He struggled to move his hands, but felt they were bound by magic. His fingers traced the feeling of sackcloth and slimy cold sensations of water magic restrictions.

Abrupt movements, jarring bangs and the sound of stomping boots made him realize he was picked up and being carried upstairs.

The stench of brine was more overpowering. Pins and needles broke out across his limbs as blood began flowing through to them again.

He yelped when he was crudely thrown to the ground, suffering small bruises. Fortunately, he was still acclimating to his body, so pain was overridden with numbness.

The sack over him was yanked away.

Harsh squawking of birds overhead rang through his ears. Blinding daylight burned at his eyes, making him recoil. Strong chills and wind instantly hit him.

After a moment of stillness, he was able to feel a soothing warmth wash through him as he felt control over his body.

"Welcome back." Yanmu smirked as he stepped toward Genie, slumped at the center of his ship's main deck.

The ship's pirate crew either continued with their duties or surrounded the demon-specter with weapons raised.

Genie blinked fiercely to normalize his eyes to the daylight, eventually he saw billowing black sails on a mast, bearing the Crud Pirate emblem.

"Where…" He struggled to speak.

Yanmu knelt before him, and lifted the man's clammy face with the tip of a dagger. "I guess you're still fitting back into your body."

My body? So he knows I'm free of the Soul Bells contract.

"Leela. She's dead." Genie managed to say, more steadfast.

Yanmu rose, unphased by the fact. The girl was nothing more than Valerr's stepping stone. His eyes narrowed, thinking that it was the alien who caused her death. The girl was stupid and that's why she died. He relaxed his expression.

"Matters not." He issued an order for Genie to be carried.

Genie struggled to move, but lacked full control of his body. His Spirit Network was still rebuilding. From what he knew about soul resettling, his magic would gradually come into effect. However, replenishing from Kairo's spiritual sea had ensured his soul's reconnection to his physical body was a seamless process.

Kairo. I hope you're safe. Please, if Leela hurt you. Kretos make him safe.

The men followed Yanmu up some steps to the poop deck, dragging Genie with them. They headed into the captain's cabin.

Genie cursed when he was tossed to the floor boards like a sack of potatoes. His heart raced frantically when he landed next to Kairo, who was sleeping face-up on a slab of blue meteorite.

"Manfred-nun." He hissed, stirring energies to rapidly recover his body.

"Relax, lover boy. He's unharmed."

Genie's expression changed to shock, he glanced at Yanmu who had eased into an armchair near Kairo's feet.

"Oh, come on, you're not that subtle. Besides, you both have a rather active fan club." He casually commented while masking his emotions. "KaiGen Club I believe it's called."

Genie sighed and regained his composure. "I guess you have plans, which need our cooperation?"

Yanmu eased back into the chair as his smirk widened to reveal a devious expression.