Hello everyone, and welcome to chapter 16 of Unusual Testing! I've been busy Unusual Testing, and digging up and revising some of the older oneshot stories I wrote in the past to get them ready for release. But back to Unusual Testing! What is happening in this chapter you ask? Well you'll just have to read it and find out! Happy reading! ~AX

He could see the beast towering over him. It stood at least 30 feet tall, with even larger wings and spewing fire out of it's maw. However, he did not stand down. This was the final challenge, a true test of his will and might, and beyond the dragon was the castle where his beloved princess was imprisoned. At the thought of his love, he felt a wave of righteous fury run through him. He drew his sword from its sheath, gleaming in the fire of the dragon's breath, and charged towards the beast. Raising his arm to strike he…

"And that's where I'm stopping," Kirchoff said as he closed the book he was reading.

What! Valen started upright from his position curled up at Kirchoff's feet. It was just getting good!

"I know," Kirchoff smiled. "That's why I'm stopping there, so you'll have something to look forwards to after my doctor's appointment."

Valen hissed. You're evil, pure evil.

"Truly, I am a monster," he said. He rubbed Valen's forehead, which made him purr a litte. "I'm sorry Valen, but I'm already running late."

I know. Valen arched his back and extended his inner mouth in a yawn. But make it quick, I really want to see what happens.

"I'll do my best." Kirchoff stood up from the pile of blankets he was using as a seat, stretched his back, and walked off towards the door to the outside with Valen at his heels.

"Can you believe it's already been a month?" Kirchoff asked him.

No, and I didn't believe it the first five times you said that either, Valen snarked back. Of course he was just being sarcastic. Kirchoff had probably said that exact phrase at least two dozen times, but he lost count after the 15th time.

Kirchoff gave him a playful shove. "You're funny for a Xenomorph, do you believe that?"

Believe it? Valen nudged Kirchoff with his hip, which sent him sprawling on the grass. I know it.

"Smartass," Kirchoff grumbled as he picked himself up and brushed off his clothes. "Keep that up and I really won't finish that chapter when we get back."

He wasn't bluffing either. Over the past few weeks, Kirchoff had used books as leverage to try and keep him on what Kirchoff called his 'best behaviour', and Valen had to admit that it sort of worked. He had been trying his best to cut down on the sarcastic retorts and suppressing his overwhelming urge to startle Kirchoff at every opportunity. As much as he loved messing with him, it still didn't measure up to the experience of having Kirchoff read to him. Over the past few weeks Kirchoff had read him dozens of books. Each one was absolutely fascinating. Valen had never known that there was so much creativity and variety in the stories that humans had written over the centuries. He had even caught himself thinking that perhaps humans were good for something after all.

Of course, they just hadn't been reading for the past month. Dr. Nigel had given them a frankly ludicrous amount of things to do, or at least it seemed that way to him. She had given them more books and games that he knew what to do with. Kirchoff also particularly enjoyed the music she had given them, but Valen just couldn't get into it. It all sounded like incomprehensible screeching to him. Still, Kirchoff liked it and that was more than good enough for Valen.

Kirchoff gave Valen's crest a few brief pets and walked through the door. Valen watched him go, then felt as his mind walked further and further away. When he could no longer feel him, Valen curled up and waited for him to come back.

"Welcome back Steven," The doctor said as he walked into the room. "I'm glad to see you still alive and in one piece."

"Thanks doc, it feels good to still be in one piece."

"So let's get down to business," the doctor clicked his pen. Kirchoff spent the next half an hour answering the same questions he had been asked at every appointment,

"I think you're ready to start physical therapy."

Physical therapy, he thought and tried not to groan. One of the reasons that he had become a scientist in the first place was to avoid exercise. Now he was being told that it would be mandatory.

The doctor must have noticed the look on his face because he laughed and said, "Don't worry Steven, I'm not going to make you start running marathons right away. I'm only going to give you some gentle exercises so we can see if there is any lasting damage that we haven't caught so far. The doctor also scribbled something else down on his notepad. "I'm also going to try to book a medical scanner so that we can see how your body is doing on the inside."

"How long will that take?"

"That depends on how quickly Dr. Nigel wants it done, but I have a feeling it won't be that long." He looked up at him over his notepad. "I don't know what kind of history you two have, or what kind of experiment you're involved in, but let me tell you that she's using every resource she can get her hands on for you."

"She is?" He asked. "How much has she spent on me?

"I think I'll let you tell her yourself." At his words, the door swung open and Dr. Nigel stepped into the room.

"Hello, Kirchoff," She said with a half smile. "It's good to see you."

Kirchoff was caught between the desire to run over and hug her, and the desire to reel back and punch her square in the face. Instead of either, he just flopped back into his chair and ran his hand through his hair.

"Thank you David," She said to the doctor. "Do you mind giving us a few minutes alone?"

"Not at all," David replied, He quickly gathered up some papers from his desk and hurried out of the room. He stopped just before leaving and told Kirchoff, "I'll see you the same time next week."

They sat in silence for a time. Kirchoff had no idea what he should say, or if he should say anything. Lucky for him, Dr. Nigel spoke first.

"So, Steven," Dr. Nigel began.

"Kirchoff, please," He interjected. "I actually kind of prefer being called by my last name now."

Dr. Nigel shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat Kirchoff."

That made Kirchoff snort out a laugh. "I don't know Doc, what floats my boat tends to sink most other boats."

She smiled. "I see that you're well enough to crack jokes again."

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better. I've had a nice vacation since..." He trailed off, not sure he wanted to finish his sentence.

"Since you were tortured." She finished.

"Yeah, since I was tortured."

"Kirchoff, I'm not going to apologize to you anymore, but that doesn't mean I've stopped being sorry."

"It's alright Doc, I get it. I've had more time to think about it, and I understand that you were backed into a corner."

"I'm glad that you've forgiven me."

Kirchoff shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far. However I'd say that it's in the past now."

She nodded. It probably wasn't the response that she was hoping for, but it was the one he was giving her.

"Still, I would really appreciate if you kept us me in the loop from now on."

"You and Valen?"

"Who else would I be talking about? Of course Valen. He's as much a part of this whole mess as I am."

"Right, sorry," she apologized. "I've just been a little preoccupied with your condition as of late."

"Enough to forget that my roommate is a Xenomorph?"

"You're on my mind more than you think. I also don't talk to him as much as you do."

"Doc, how many times have you talked with Valen?"

"Huh?"

"Exactly how many times did you have a conversation with him?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious. Valen's never really told me much about his relationship with you."

"Probably for good reason. I wasn't exactly kind to him." Kirchoff raised his eyebrows at that. "Care to explain doc?"

"Kirchoff, before you give me that look," Too late, he was already giving her that look. "Just remember that I didn't know what Valen could do when I first met him. Until he spoke to me for the first time, he was just another Xenomorph test subject. After that, I was much more careful with how I treated him"

"But even then, you didn't exactly hand him off to someone who was more kind and tolerant after you got sick of him. "

"I never said I got sick of him."

"Doc, I've lived with Valen for months. You got sick of him," He said with a hint of smug in his voice. "And you passed him around to various other people to try and figure out what his brain was doing, and they basically just tortured him until they couldn't take him anymore. Hell, I was part of that group after I first met him. The only difference is that we started cooperating, and we just kind of clicked after that."

"Look, Kirchoff," She rubbed her eyes in frustration, like she was trying to explain something to a particularly difficult child. "I'm not proud of what I did to him or you, but I'm trying to make up for it now."

"Alright," He raised his hands in surrender. It probably wouldn't do anyone any good if he kept pushing. "I know, and I'm grateful for that. I just think that you need to talk with both Valen and me. I don't want to be the middleman between you two forever, especially if you want to examine him again."

"That's also part of why I came down to see you," She looked relieved that the conversation was back on track. "It's a long story, but I need to start researching Valen again."

"I have time doc," Kirchoff said. "Tell me a story."

"Well I'm not sure if you've heard any rumors about this yet, but I used a lot of resources and even more favors to get you and Valen your new home, and my superiors are growing a little impatient with me. Which means that I need to start producing results again, and soon, or I'm going to be in deep, deep trouble. Even more trouble than Julius is in right now."

"Julius?"

"Dr. Gavin." Her eyes lit up. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you! Dr. Gavin is gone."

"Gone?" Gone could mean quite a few things. "Just how gone are we talking about here?"

"Well, I say gone, but technically he has been fired and is awaiting for transfer back home," she told him. "The ethics committee decided that he was unfit to resume his position, and that he was to be transferred back to Earth as soon as possible."

Kirchoff felt a huge weight lift off his chest. He hadn't even known it had been there, but once it was gone, he almost cried out in relief. Dr. Gavin, the man who had ordered his torture, was gone. "Good fucking riddance."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Dr. Nigel's smile was back and wider than ever. "But now that he's gone, someone had to take over as Director of Research, and I've been very busy with assuming a lot of Dr. Gavin's former responsibilities, managing all the research divisions, finding a replacement for my previous position, and keeping an eye on you. And now I'm starting to feel the pressure from my bosses. I need to start researching Valen again and I need to do it soon."

"How soon?"

"As in we should have started a week ago," She leaned back in her chair. All of a sudden she looked ten years older. "So can you two do me a favor? Please?"

Kirchoff looked at her face. It had been a while since he and the doc had last been sitting in a room together, and now Kirchoff could see all the little changes since then. The dark bags under her bloodshot eyes, the wrinkles on her forehead, the grey roots of her hair, all of it added to the appearance of someone who was tired beyond belief.

"Sure Dr. Nigel, no problem."

Dr. Nigel waved her hand at him. "You don't have to call me that anymore. Please, just call me Ursula."

Valen was ecstatic when he felt Kirchoff coming back along the hall. He took up his new favorite position, hiding in a small patch of trees and shrubs near to the door to the outside. He waited and felt as Kirchoff approached, then watched as he walked back in through the door, and upon seeing no 8 foot tall Xenomorph, started looking around for him.

When Kirchoff turned to examine his hiding place, Valen pounced, grabbing Kirchoff by the chest and sweeping him off his feet in a ferocious bear hug. Valen nuzzled his smooth forehead into Kirchoff's hair and couldn't stop himself from purring. You took your sweet time, he told him.

Kirchoff didn't respond right away, mostly due to the fact that his face was buried in Valen's chest. When he finally did respond he heard him think, Valen, I can't breathe!

Ooooh, right! I forgot that you need to do that! Valen slackened his grip enough to let Kirchoff take in a deep breath, but not enough to let him escape.

"You forgot that I need to breathe?!" Kirchoff fumed.

It was an honest mistake, he replied, not even trying to hide the amusement in his voice.

"I swear, sometimes I wish I still had that electrocution button," Kirchoff muttered. Despite his words, Valen could feel his mood lightening.

Did your appointment go well? He asked. An almost instantaneous bolt of thoughts and emotions flashed through Kirchoff's mind. A strange man with a clipboard, anger, joy, Dr. Nigel's… No… Ursula's dog tired face, resentment, relief, worry, a list of questions for Valen. Valen saw everything before Kirchoff could even open his mouth answer. She needs to test me again.

Kirchoff looked a little shocked. "How did you... "

I saw it, he explained. Everything you wanted to tell me, I saw it all in an instant.

"Woah," Kirchoff marveled. "Your telepathy is getting stronger."

Perhaps, or you I'm getting better at communicating and feeling your thoughts specifically.

"That sounds about right," Kirchoff said. "Do you think that it's all of the books?"

That would be the most likely explanation.

"Well Dr. Nigel is going to be thrilled to hear about this."

I'm sure she will be. Valen didn't like the idea of being 'researched' again, but Kirchoff had gotten the impression that Dr. Nigel was more interested in using more humane methods now.

"Thankfully she gave us the rest of the day off," He said. "We're going to start tomorrow after you and her have caught up."

I cannot wait. He rolled his eyes. Of course, Kirchoff couldn't see it, but he was usually pretty good at picking up his body language anyways. I am simply filled with excitement at the prospect of seeing her again.

"Don't sound too excited," Kirchoff smirked. "Or I'll give her a call and ask her to come down because you simply couldn't wait. You two can catch up over coffee, maybe have a bite to eat at a cafe. Oh, it'll be just dandy!"

Valen could practically see the sarcasm dripping off Kirchoff's words. I think I'm starting to rub off on you.

"You'd better hope that you've only been rubbing your sarcasm on me," He retorted.

If Valen had cheeks, they would be flushing red. Instead, he gave Kirchoff one last squeeze and dropped him on his feet. Kirchoff made a show of straightening his clothes before he looked up at him and said, "Now I believe there was some mention of a story?"

The artificial sun was high in the artificial sky when they arrived back at their camp. It looked much the same as when they had first moved into the little clearing. A fire pit, a clothesline, a large tent that was constructed out of a tarp and a rope running between two tall trees, and several neatly organized rows of crates off to the side of the clearing were the only noticeable additions.

Kirchoff sat down in his favorite spot in between three trees which had twisted and grown together to form a sort of natural alcove that he had filled with blankets and pillows to form a sort of chair/nest. Valen plopped down in front him, with his head resting on his legs and the rest of his body curled almost all the way around the trees that made up his reading spot.

"What chapter was I on again?" Kirchoff asked Valen as he picked up the book laying among the tangle of blankets.

The one where the Sir Lancelot was about to fight the dragon.

"Oh yeah, I remember now. I'll have to ask Ursula if she can get an earlier copy of The Tales of King Arthur, this one is pretty different from the one I remember from when I was growing up."

How many earlier editions are there? Valen asked, genuinely curious. When it came to books, Valen didn't possess an ounce of sarcasm.

"Dozens, maybe even hundreds. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are a pretty old legend. The stories about them are over a thousand years old."

Humans might not have much going for them, but at least they have storytelling going for them.

"You can say that I again."

I could, it is fully within my abilities to say it again, but I don't feel like it.

"Smartass," Kirchoff gave Valen a light smack on the head. "Do you want to start right where we left off, or you you want me to start at the beginning of the chapter?"

At the beginning. It gets much better once you've been reading for a while.

And with that, Kirchoff began to read and Valen immersed himself in a world of heroic knights and fearsome monsters.

I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of Unusual Testing! Chapter 17 & 18 are in the works, and I'm very much looking forwards to releasing them in the near future. If you have any feedback or suggestions please leave a review, and feel free to PM me if you have any questions!