As he turned away from the viewscreen, he walked across the bridge and sat down in his chair. Crossing his legs over, he glanced over at the navigation station. He began to speak to them in basic Chiere. "{Set course for our next destination}," he ordered as he leaned back in his seat.
His communication officer turned to look at him. "{Sir, we have an incoming transmission from Earth. High priority. The person says their name is Wind}," he announced outloud.
Junior leaned forward in his seat. "{What is it?}" he asked, wondering why Wind would go to all the trouble to contact him out here. The officer put a hand to his headset as he listened, then he glanced off to the side, as if not wanting to speak about what he was just told. "{You can tell me}," Junior insisted.
The officer glanced at him. "{He's saying that Katrina has been mortally wounded in the stomach during the recent upheavel on Earth, sir. He doesn't think she's going to make it through tomorrow}," the officer told him.
Junior stood and walked over to the station. "{Who did this? How did it happen?}" Junior demanded.
The officer began to talk for a moment, then turned to look at Junior. "{He says she was stabbed by a reploid named Blue. The details are unclear, but it seems Katrina was trying to help her}," the communication officer said.
Junior's hands began to tremble, so he laid them to rest on the back of the officer's chair. "{Set course for Earth now}," he told the navigation officer. The officer nodded and immediately began to change their course for Earth. "{Put everything you have to the engines. Everything we have}," he stressed.
Seeing that the lower tunnels of the sewers had been backed up by the sewage, specifically the area where the base had been set up, Kio was satisfied and began his trek back to the surface. He reached the ladders leading up to the surface and began to climb when a pair of hands reached down and lifted him up. Coming face to face with a sewage dripping, smelly Slasher, Kio saw that his little plan to flush him out didn't end in death.
"I really liked this outfit," Slasher told him. He lifted him up and tossed him to the ground. Glancing around, Kio could see that he was surrounded by more than a dozen people who had been in the sewers earlier. Only Slasher and the one called X1, however, were covered in sewage.
"How?" Kio asked him, turning to face Slasher.
Slasher stood up and dusted himself off, splattering sewage all over the place. "I'm glad you asked. You see, X1 and myself were unable to escape in time before your trap came flooding into the lab. However, using a piece of a string and a mouse trap, I was able to devise a--" he started when Wiendigo cleared his throat loudly.
"We don't have time for this," Wiendigo interrupted.
Slasher began to pout, crossing his arms. "You're just jealous you didn't come up with such an ingenious escape plan," he told Wiendigo.
"I'm beside myself with envy," Wiendigo informed him blandly. "Now lets deal with this idiot and meet back up with Wind."
Nodding his head, Slasher turned back to Kio. "What to do about you..." he said outloud, tapping his chin.
Kio stood up, crossing his arms. "You can do your worst," he told Slasher threateningly. "But it won't do any good."
As Slasher approached him, wiggling his fingers in eager delight to do something to him, Kio tensed and suddenly flipped over him entirely. Landing on the ground, Kio dashed forward past Wiendigo, who's hand shot out to grab at him. Bringing his own hand up to deflect Wiendigo's hand away, Kio sped on, running towards Ariel and Katrina.
Reaching Katrina's bed, Kio reached out and planted his hand on her hand, then flipped himself over the bed before anyone could react. Hitting the pavement on the other side of the bed, Kio dashed away from them all towards the busy streets.
Slasher stood there, then brought his hands together behind his head. "How anti-climatic," he said wistfully.
"Somehow, I don't believe that's how it went down," McCabe told him, shaking his head a few times. "But I won't argue as long as it was a happy ending for us."
"What about Katrina?" Wind asked him, totally bypassing the story all together. He leaned forward on his elbows. "Did the military base take Katrina and the others in?"
Slasher leaned against the table with the palms of his hands. "Everyone but Wiendigo and the reploids are on the base. Wiendigo didn't feel it would be wise to bring the reploids within sight of the base, so he's remaining outside until he hears what your plan is for tomorrow. The others are in one of the base's medical wings where they are being treated," he informed Wind.
McCabe glanced at Wind from his spot. "And don't worry, any charges against everyone has been dismissed personally by me. I told the base that you all had a hand in rescuing me from Death Star's reploids and that if any one on this base tried anything against your group, they would personally be dealt with," he assured him.
Wind's eyes flickered to McCabe, then back to Slasher. "Did X2 come along with Katrina? I want him to remain the primary doctor for her."
Slasher nodded. "He's in there with her right now. He was pretty advent about not leaving her. Also, X1's somewhere on the base, using the resources here to speed up his cure of the Maverick Virus."
Nodding, Wind leaned back in his seat, drumming his fingers on the surface of the table. "Good. And you say you found the solution to how Dr. Light gave reploids souls," he stated to Slasher.
"Of course. Was there any doubt?" Slasher asked. He pulled in a blackboard and began to do sketches of stickfigure reploids. "Okay, these are reploids here," he stated, jabbing his finger against a stickfigure labeled 'reploid'.
McCabe arched his eyebrow. "I know you can draw better than that. I've seen you do blue prints for all sorts of machines," he said.
"This isn't Drawing 101, McCabe. Now pay attention, because I'm only going to say this over and over again in my upcoming book," Slasher told him, waggling his finger in McCabe's direction. "Way back sometime in the late 21st century, lets say somewhere in the 2080's, Dr. Light designed X1," he began, drawing a picture of X1 and giving it a smiley face.
"We have this history lesson already," Wind interrupted, leaning further back in his seat. "What does this have to do with the soul business?"
Sighing, Slasher shook his head. "If you keep interrupting me, Mister, I'm never going to get to it." Wind gave him a nasty look, but he remained silent now. Smiling, Slasher turned back to his blackboard. "As we all know, X1 here is a sub-reploid. The pre-reploid, in a sense. He's got some of the parts, but not the marbles." Slasher tapped his head for emphasis.
McCabe sighed. "Not much different from you," he said under his breath.
"I heard that," Slasher said in a sing song voice, turning his gaze upon McCabe with an eerie smile.
"I intended it that way," McCabe stated blandly.
Turning back to his blackboard, Slasher quickly drew another stickfigure. "After building X1, we know Dr. Light then built X and sealed him for a long time to make sure X didn't turn out insane ... like X1," he said. He turned back to the others. "But, we had this old scientist dig up X early," he added, drawing a picture of a hunched back man digging in the ground and finding X.
Wind sighed. "Do we have to do this in a storybook format?" he asked dryly, spinning a pencil on the table.
McCabe shook his head. "Obviously he's trying out his book format on us," he said in equal boredness.
"Boring book, then," Wind replied, flicking the pencil off the table with his finger. Slasher stood there with his hands on his hips as he stared at them both. "Sorry, please go on," Wind said, straightening up in his seat and leaning on the table.
"Dr. Cain was impressed by X, since Dr. Light had long since died," Slasher continued, drawing a grave with RIP on it. "And since most of the technology from that era was lost, this was a godsend." He drew a picture of Theos sending down rays of lights. "So, Dr. Cain copied X's designs without every fully realizing what they were - and then massproduced what he termed 'reploids'."
Wind angled his head. "That's right. Dr. Light didn't actually name X a "reploid", did he?" he mused. "I wonder why."
Slasher smiled. "Because he didn't consider X to be a reploid at all," Slasher said triumphantly.
McCabe leaned forward in his seat, his face taking on a serious look. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"I did some research on Dr. Cain's stuff before I began," Slasher started when Wind coughed loudly. "What?" Slasher asked innocently.
"All of Cain's journals were destroyed. I was there," Wind said pointedly. "You were talking to X1, weren't you?"
Slasher smiled like a boy caught in the cookie jar. "Okay, so he was only ten feet away. I figured I'd employ him to help," he corrected. "But, the point remains, while X1 was indeed consider a machine, Dr. Light hoped for a different future for X."
Crossing his arms against his chest, Wind tilted back in his chair. "The dream that humans and reploids would live together in peace, right?"
"Yes. He designed X to be a new generation of robotics altogether - a generation of robotics that were suppose to be the brethern of humans," Slasher told them. Wind and McCabe glanced at each other, then at the grinning Slasher.
"Okay. So he intended for X to be something entirely different. How did he do it? What linked X to the humans? What gave X the ability to think, feel, and make his own decisions? And how was Dr. Cain able to copy the data in every reploid without realizing how he was doing it?" Wind asked.
Slasher reached over and wrote the word Plasma on the blackboard. "This is how Dr. Light did it," he announced. He beamed at the two's apparant confusion and lack of understanding.
Wind sighed. "Okay, you got me. I don't understand," he admitted.
McCabe shook his head. "What does plasma have to do with anything?" he questioned.
"Well, as I was studying everyone stats, I noticed something," Slasher began. He drew a bunch of wavey lines and labeled it hyperspace. "When Death Star fell into hyperspace two decades ago, Wind was born from his copied data," he explained. "And we all know what hyperspace has plenty of inside it." He turned to look at each of them, tapping his foot.
Wind nodded his head slowly in understanding. "It has plasma. Energy itself," he announced.
Slasher nodded excitedly, turning back to the blackboard. "Right. And every cell in your body has plasma energy in it. And yet, here you are - a living, breathing being who has a every characteristic of having a soul. When I looked deeper, I discovered that reploids have plasma energy coursing through them as a standard mode of power," he announced.
McCabe leaned forward. "Wait. You're telling me because each reploid comes with a standard plasma energy based coolant system to power their body, that's what gives them the ability to do everything that a human can do?" he said in disbelief, shaking his head. "I find that hard to believe, Slasher. Even you must. If that were the case, we'd have weapons coming to life and talking to us. Or transportation engines."
"You're not thinking deep enough, McCabe," Slasher told him. He drew another stick figure and wrote 'human' next to it. "What can be found in human blood? What do we call it when we need a transfusion?" he asked him.
McCabe let out his breath in a quick puff, then tilted his head to the side. "We call it a plasma transfusion," he said quietly.
Slasher rubbed his stomach. "Tasty plasma," he announced outloud to both of them. "The essence of life itself. Dr. Light somehow found the right combination of positive ions and negative electrons that sparked the beginning of life. Just like when a human baby is forming and the right combination comes together to give that baby the essence of a soul. By mastering the mysteries of plasma, Dr. Light found out how to give machines life."
Wind and McCabe sat there in stunned silence, then Wind shook his head with a half-crazed smile on his face. "Are you sure about this? I mean, what about X1? Doesn't he have a soul?" he asked.
"X1 was the key, really, in determining things. When I examined X1, I noticed that his plasma was slightly off compared to the combinations of others. It was like it was a missed connection - like Dr. Light didn't have the formula perfected," Slasher explained, tapping his chalk against the X1 stick figure. "That is why X1 isn't quite stable in the head. He's not fully stable period."
Wind nodded with understanding, smiling more. "And he got it right with X. Meaning that X was considered the next level," he whispered.
Slasher leaned back. "This also explains why reploids and humans can get so powerful. I have a theory that the more in touch you get with your soul, the powers that make up the energy within your body, the stronger you can get. Which explains how we can surpass and even break previous boundaries," he said in excitement. "Isn't that COOL?"
Slapping his hand down on the table, Wind leaned back with a big smile, turning to look at McCabe. "Yes, Slasher, that's cool," he agreed. "And now I have a plan to win this war tomorrow, so listen up folks, here's what we're going to do..."
Reaching up, Wind planted his hand against the glass as he looked at them. He didn't even hear X2 walking up behind him. "You should be with her," X2 said behind him. "She's getting weaker every hour."
Wind turned to look back at X2. "How much longer, X2?" he asked sadly, turning his gaze back to the window to look at Katrina and Ariel.
"It all depends, really," X2 answered, readjusting his glasses. "If she continues to decline at this rate, I'll have to say sometime tomorrow."
Closing his eyes, Wind pressed his forehead against the glass. "Isn't there anything we can do?" he whispered softly.
"We're doing everything we can," X2 assured him, turning to look at Wind. "All you can do now is be there for her and talk to her. Sometimes it's the difference between life and death." Wind turned to look at him, then nodded his head slowly. He walked over to the door, waited as it slid opened, and walked into the room with Ariel.
X2 stood there watching him, then turned around to look at John McCormick, who had silently walked up behind him. "You should be in there, too," he told him.
"I will be soon," Snipe said, glancing at X2 briefly before his eyes turned back to look at them. "They need time alone right now. And Wind will have to fight a major battle tomorrow, so he needs all the time he can find to be with her now."
Turning away from the glass door, Snipe pushed up his glasses with his finger. "It's not fair that it's her," he muttered.
"Life's not fair, John," X2 told him. "You know that."
Snipe paused for a moment, glancing at X2. He then turned away and began to walk down the hallway. "I'm going to go talk to my wives and kids," he said outloud as he walked away.
"I just got done talking with your father," Emily told her. "He sends his love to you and lets you know he ran into Lunar Girl again."
"Did he?" Michiru asked, rubbing the back of her head like Snipe did a lot.
"He doesn't know," Em told her, foldering her hands on her lap. "Your father can be pretty dense to things he doesn't want to see."
"You know..." Michiru said slowly, looking at Em carefully. "Does Mom know?" she asked tentatively.
"I'm sure she does in her own way," Em told her. "I have to say this new activity isn't what I wanted for you."
"It's not?" Michiru asked.
"No. Your mother and I had always hoped you could live a life of peace without fighting. We didn't want you to walk the same road that we did when we were younger," Em explained.
"But...I want to fight like you guys did! I want to defeat the forces of evil," Michiru said, sitting forward on her bed. "I want to do it all."
"I know you do, hun. It explains why you would dress up and go out like a superhero," Em said, reaching out and running her hand through Michiru's hair. "And I'm proud of you for wanting to do good. I just want you to know that I'm worried about you."
"Don't be, Momma Em. It's what I want to do. You, mom, and Dad all did it ... and Dad still does it today, despite claiming he's too old for it," Michiru told her. "I want to make my own place in the world."
Em nodded. "You're growing up so fast," she told Em. "Just make sure you don't do something stupid and that you keep growing."
"I will," Michiru promised, hugging her. Em hugged her back, smiling down at the young woman.
Getting to his feet, he stood up and glanced around the empty field. "Hello?" he called out, his voice traveling across the field until it faded away in the distance. Shrugging, Cole began to walk slowly across the field of flowers, pausing to look down at the different kinds of flowers.
As he lifted his head, he stepped back in surprise to see Blue standing there. "Cole?" she said outloud in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't know," Cole said cautiously. "Why are you here? Is this a ... dream?" he asked her. He glanced around at the beautiful field and realized it felt so peaceful here.
"If it is ... you're in my dream," Blue told him. She stood there as the wind blew her black trenchcoat around. "Why are you in my dream?" she said after a moment's thought.
Cole looked at her. "I'm not sure...." he said warily.
"If this is your way of trying to talk me out of what I'm doing, I don't like it," Blue told him coldly, turning away from him to look out across the field.
"It's your choice now. There's nothing I can do to change your mind," Cole said flatly. "I tried to save you, Blue. You won't let me."
Blue turned around to face him. "And who says I need you to save me? Who says your way is the right way, Cole?" she demanded.
"Killing innocent people is never the right way, Blue," Cole told her sadly. "Why can't you see that?"
Wrapping her arms around herself, Blue glanced down at the ground. "I don't care," she said defiantly.
"You're lying," Cole said after studying her for a moment. "You feel guilty for stabbing Katrina, don't you? Doesn't the smallest part of you feel something?" he asked her.
Blue stood there, not answering. Cole turned his face away, unable to look at her. He closed his eyes as he thought about how far apart they had become. Suddenly, he felt a hand wrap around his and lift his hand up. Opening his eyes, he looked forward and saw that a person had reached out to take his hand and Blue's hand.
Staring in surprise, Blue turned her head to the side, as did Cole. Standing there was Katrina, smiling softly. She brought their hands together until they touched each other. "Kat?" Cole whispered.
"But...why?" Blue asked, shrinking back. "I stabbed you..." she said in a tiny voice, as if afraid.
"Don't let go," Katrina told them. She glanced at Blue. "Never let go."
"Don't you...hate me?" Blue asked her. When Katrina only smiled at her, she turned her face away. "This is a dream. It's just a dream," she chanted to herself.
Cole stood there, staring at Katrina, then turned to look at Blue. "They say you should listen to your dreams," he said calmly. Blue glanced at him, then jerked away from Cole as everything faded to black for both of them.
Jerking up in his bed, Cole glanced around the room. It took a few moments to remember he was back in his old room in Building 38, having retreated there during the night to get some sleep. He brought his hand up to his face as he breathed heavily, trying to make sense of the dream.
Some distance away, in the ancient Maverick Hunter base, Blue jerked forward from her cot. She sat there, then brought her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "...what do I do..." she whispered to herself.
Emerging from behind him was Blue, her black trenchcoat blowing softly in the wind. She stood there, looking like she was haunted by some thought. He turned to look at her. "I feel there is a change about you. Guilt maybe?" he asked her softly.
Blue looked at her. "Are we doing what is right?" she whispered to him.
Giving her a tight grin, Death Star nodded. "We are indeed, Blue. I knew I was right in choosing you," he told her.
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking confused. "I don't even know if going to war with the humans is right now and you're telling me that's why you choose me?"
"I could tell when we met that you were hurt by the fact the humans rejected the reploids. You grew up on Roboticron, yes? You never knew your homeplanet Earth and when you got here, your heart was crushed by the fact the humans were doing everything they could to get rid of you. So, you naturally lashed back at them - you joined me and you killed all of the human soldiers who were killing reploids," Death Star explained calmly. "Yet, deep down - nestled in with your hatred, was this slim hope that things would be alright again." Blue stood there as he talked, staring at him with an odd expression, as if trying to decide if he were full of bullshit or telling the truth. "Of course, I thought maybe I was wrong when I suspected you killed those children and again when you stabbed Ariel's kid," he admitted. Blue thought back to his reaction when he thought she had killed those children. He was outraged, but then backed off when she brought up their goal to kill the humans. "But now - you feel guilty for stabbing Katrina. Tell me - why did you do it?" he asked her.
Blue stood there, her left hand rubbing her right hand. "I hated how she threw away Cole's love," she began softly. "I could see he was completely in love with the girl and when she didn't return his love, it broke him for a while. Even when he said he was moving on from her and told me that he wanted me, I didn't know if I believed it ... deep down. Part of me told myself I was just the rebound girl."
"So, when you had a chance to take out your anger on her, you did," Death Star said, nodding his head thoughtfully.
"Yes," Blue agreed. "I was jealous and I hatred her. And now, I just feel empty." The two of them stood there before the troops, who were staring blankly at them, too far away to hear what their leaders were discussing. "Tell me something, Death Star. How do you control the virus in you? I've heard the maverick virus turns it's user into an insane killer who stops at nothing to destroy humans. Is that why you're fighting this war?" she asked him.
"No. The virus has nothing to do with that. I was infected with the virus long before I came here. The virus can be controlled, despite popular belief. It just takes incredible willpower and determination to keep it down. You see, the virus is a part of Sigma and he infected me a long time ago. But the virus only feeds the darker emotions - hate, anger, rage. And I've been angry for so long now that the virus is like an old friend who has little influence on me, but never goes away," Death Star explained.
"What happens if you lose control - if your willpower slips?" Blue asked him cautiously.
"Then I suggest you destroy me before the virus spreads," Death Star warned.
"You're not here to kill the humans, are you?" Blue asked suddenly.
"You'll just have to wait and see, Blue," Death Star told her mysteriously. He stepped up to a microphone, spreading his arms before the troops. "I want to thank you all, my fellow reploids, for gathering with me today. Since our creation over a hundred years ago, reploids have been put down by the humans and have been brought to the edge of extinction. And now the humans wish to do it once again to us," he began. He paused, his one eye passing over the crowd. "But no more. After this battle today, the humans' military might will be broken and their warmachine dismantled. And we will do to them what they have done to us. We will push them to extinction. So far that they can never harm us again. They can never take what is our's aganin. That they can never deny us what is OURS."
He paused as the reploids began to applaud in scattered segments. Death Star's eye traveled over the ones applauding wholeheartedly, noting they were the ones who wanted nothing more than to kill humans. The ones who clapped half-heartedly - the majority out there - just wanted peace once and for all for all reploids. They didn't want the death of humans, but they were going to do whatever it took. And those who didn't clap were obviously resigned to be here, perhaps for other reploids or other reasons.
Raising his hands, Death Star silenced the crowd. "Today will be known in history as either the day of great victory or the day of great sorrow. And it will be written by those who win. So let's be sure that the righteous win today. And let us be sure that when it's over, reploids never again have to worry about being killed because we're not human," he told them, bringing his hands down to his sides. "We will march to the human city Mega City. And there, we will engage the human forces in one last battle. Godspeed to you all," he finished. He turned away from the forces, then glanced at Blue. "Ride with me in the shuttle," he told her.
Blue stood there for a moment, then nodded. She walked over to his side and the two of them walked over to the shuttle.
"So he's going for a face to face confrontation like I expected. He'll want us to have one last battle that can be considered honorable, I suspect," Wind mused. "How much longer before he gets here?" he asked, glancing at the viewscreen of the planet. One section was zoomed in on - the area around Mega City - and a large mass of red dots could be seen moving towards the city.
"About an hour," McCabe answered him, turning to follow his gaze at the viewscreen. "We'll have our men ready to deploy in ten minutes. I've had them on alert since last night like you asked."
Wind nodded stiffly. "Good. That's just what I wanted to hear," he said. He walked over to the viewscreen, then tapped an area outside the city. "Get them over here. That way Death Star will come to us."
McCabe nodded. "Excellent decision," he told him. He talked over to some of the generals, giving them orders about what to do.
Slasher came hurrying into the room. He glanced over at Wind, then walked over to him. "I heard that he's on his way here," he said as he came to a stop next to Wind.
"He's a prompt one. Showdown at noon," Wind said dryly. He glanced at Slasher, raising his left eyebrow. "I can't recall ever having that sort of taste."
"You were always melodramatic," Slasher assured him. Wind gave him a nasty look, then turned back to the viewscreen. "Well, you are," Slasher said defensively. "I mean, look at you right now."
"I'm not listening to you," Wind told him. He rubbed his face, shaking his head. "Why does this have to happen today?"
"You're worried about Katrina," Slasher said. He reached out and put a hand on Wind's shoulder. "Star, you just have to have faith that she'll be fine while you're out there."
"I don't want to me out fighting while she dies," Wind confessed to him, his shoulders drooping. "I want to be there for Ariel and for Katrina."
"You will be. And Katrina will be fine. You need to stay optimistic," Slasher told him firmly. "If you go out there like this, then your plan won't work. The people need to feel that you believe in what you're saying."
"You're right," Wind agreed. "It's just hard to play the warrior when all you want to do is be with the ones you love." He glanced at Slasher. "But it's something we all do, isn't it? Every day."
"Because we care about the world," Slasher said. "And we know the sacrifices we make today will give our children and future generations a place to live in that's better than what we had before us."
Wind's lips flickered in a faint smile as he looked at Slasher. "We've come so far, Slasher, since those early years. Since we were young. Back then all I had to do was think about the next battle, because I didn't have anything else to look forward to. And I know I'm recounting Death Star's life memories, not my own, but..." he trailed off.
"They are every bit yours as they are his. You experienced everything he did. And you came out better because of it," Slasher said. "And yes, we've both come a long way. And we both have a long way to go."
Wind put his hand on Slasher's, which was still resting on his shoulder. "All the way to the finish line," he said firmly.
"Good. Now lets go kick Death Star's ass and bring peace to the world," Slasher told him, slapping him hard on the back.
Cracking his knuckles, Cole reached over and turned off the radio. He might not be wanted in Wind's little group anymore and he certainly wasn't going to join Death Star's forces, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to go to the final battle and fight with the humans. It was all about this one battle now and he had lost so much since this war began that he wasn't going to sit out the last battle.
Checking his weapons one last time, having spent most of the morning working on them to get them operational again, he felt confident he could be of use in the last battle. Cole adjusted his jacket, then hurried up to the roof.
As he arrived at the roof, he glanced up as he saw shuttles flying overhead toward the battlefield. No doubt some of them were carrying Wind and his people. Frowning for a moment, Cole pushed all the self-doubt from his mind. It was time to fight for what was right - and to finish things once and for all.
And to try to piece together his life again, if he could.
Pulling back on the controls, Death Star flipped the shuttle in the air. He brought it flying down toward the ground as his other hand reached out and activated the landing gear. The shuttle came into a neat landing on the ground in front of his marching reploid troops, who were coming to a standstill with only about a mile apart between the two forces. He had specifically ordered his men before the fight to line up and not to make a move until he ordered them to do so.
Blue sat there in her seat, her hands trembling as she lift them in her lap. "I don't know if I can do this..." she whispered to herself.
Death Star glanced at her from his seat. "You can. Just watch the end, Blue. We've both lost a lot for today. There's no reason to back out now," he told her soothingly.
She took a deep breath, then nodded. "You're right," she said. "I just had this dream and it's been shaking me up."
"You'll be fine," Death Star said to her as he got out of his seat. He walked over to the shuttle door and pushed it open, then turned around and helped her out of the shuttle.
"What are you planning today?" Blue asked him. "I can't figure out what you want." She looked up at him. "Are we all going to die today? Or are they?"
Death Star put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm waiting to see if he can live up to the legacy he's decided to adopt from me," he told her.
"What?"
Turning away from her, Death Star walked to the front of the line. Blue followed after him, shaking her head as she tried to make sense of what was going on. She then paused, nodding out at some work crews. "What are they doing?" she asked.
Death Star reached over to one of the reploids and took his binoculars. He brought them up to his eyes. "It seems they're building a speaker system. And that they're almost finished," he noted. "Well, I'll be damned."
"A speaker system?" Blue repeated. "Their plan is to talk us to death?" she asked in surprise.
"Just watch. Lets see what they have in store for us," Death Star said. He kept a grip on the binoculars as he dropped them to his side. "I imagine it's going to be something we never forget."
Turning his gaze away from McCabe and toward the reploid forces, he brought up his scope to look at Death Star standing there, watching them. He dropped the scope down and glanced at Slasher. "I think we have a problem," he muttered.
By that time, McCabe had made his way over to Wind. "They're running into some snags," he told them, his face red with anger. "Supposedly what we're asking can't be done in this short amount of time. They need more supplies."
Slasher clapped his hands together. "I guess it's time I showed them how it's done," he announced, walking towards the technicians.
"Hurry, Slasher. We don't know how long we can wait until everything explodes in our faces," Wind warned him. Slasher gave him a dismissive wave, then hurried over to the equipment box and began to pull out wires, much to the horror of the technicians.
"He's something," McCabe noted as he watched Slasher. He glanced back at the reploid army across the way. "I'm surprised he's waiting on us."
Wind crossed his arms, shaking his head. "He obviously knows we're up to something over here," he said, rubbing the sides of his face.
"All the more reason to attack us now, wouldn't you think?" McCabe asked.
Behind them, Snipe came walking up. "I've gotten the human forces all in line. They seem to be accepting my leadership of them for now," he told them. "Though why you wanted me in charge of the main forces, I don't know."
Smirking, Wind turned to look at him. "You don't think you can handle it, John?" he asked him.
"I can handle it alright for now. But I thought you and McCabe here would want a hands-on approach," Snipe said.
"We need to be at the speaker system. If this works, we'll never have to move from that spot. If not, we need you to act quickly and get our forces ready to fight. If the reploid forces decide to attack after this, I can't afford our side to be too dazed to react fast enough. I need you to shake them out of it and get them ready to fight," Wind informed him. He popped his knuckles, getting some of the tightness out of them.
"Gotcha," Snipe responded. "Well, I'm going to go back into my position. By the way ... do you think this is really going to work?" He pushed up his glasses with his finger, studying Wind.
"I hope it will," Wind said, wiping at his eyes. "God, it had to be hot today," he muttered as he blinked some of the sweat out of his eyes.
"It's a hot day in hell," Snipe told him, giving him a thumbs up. He began to walk away toward his position in the military forces.
"Do you think Wiendigo will show?" McCabe asked as he pulled out a handkerchief. "He feels like a wildcard to me." He began to dab at his forehead with it.
"I trust Wiendigo completely. He will be here and he will do exactly what we need him to do, because he cares about ending this properly," Wind assured him.
His eyes scanned briefly across the battlefield until he spotted Blue, standing there with her arms crossed. She wiped at her hair, then glanced across the way, seemingly unaware that he was anywhere near there.
Cole then glanced in the direction of the humans. He could see Wind and McCabe standing there talking about something. However, he didn't see any of Wiendigo's people nearby, which meant they were elsewhere.
Bringing his eyes back to their normal focus, Cole began to scan around the outskirts of the battlefield, attempting to find some sort of sign of Wiendigo's people. However, after standing there for a few minutes and getting nothing but sun beams in his eyes, he knew that he would have to travel on foot to find them.
As he backtracked away from the battlefield, Cole traveled along the empty fields of dry grass until he came near the wooded areas surrounding Mega City. As he approached, he suddenly saw an ion blast coming out of the woods at him. Blinking in surprise, Cole hit the ground face first and let the blast fly overhead.
Before he could stand again, he found himself surrounded by several reploids, all aiming their weapons at him. "Um...hi," Cole began lamely. "I'm a friend...?"
"Lower your weapons," came a voice from nearby. Cole lifted his head and saw Gravedigger standing there, blending in well with the shadows. "Well, Cole, we wondered where you ran off to," Grave said in greeting.
Cole stood up as the reploids put away their weapons. "After Wind told me to get out, I had some time to think," he explained.
"Of course," Gravedigger said, shrugging his shoulders. "Decided to come back anyway?" he asked.
"If you'll have me, then yes. I want to be a part of this final battle," Cole told him. "I want to help end this once and for all."
Gravedigger nodded, walking forward intimidatingly. Cole stood there, leaning back a little as Grave approached him. As the silent reploid stood there, studying him closely, Cole felt as if he were looking into his mind. Then, with a tiny shrug, Grave clapped him on the arm. "Alright, lets go talk to Wiendigo so we can bring you up to speed," he said in acceptance.
Wind stood up, slapping him on the shoulders. "You're a damn genius, Slasher," he told him.
"I know," Slasher said. "Now go do your thing." He stood there as he wiped his hands on the cloth, the held them out toward McCabe. "Handshake for good luck?" he asked. McCabe glanced down at his black hands, made a disgusted face, and turned to follow Wind over to a makeshift platform where the sound system was hooked up at.
Nearby, reporters had their cameras set up and had begun to film the entire event live, beaming the transmission all over the planet into every holovid station on the planet. As Wind stepped up onto the platform, he turned to nod at the cameras, then turned back toward the platform podium, which was set up to face not the human army, but the reploid army.
Across the way on the other side, Death Star shook his head. "I'll be damned, I didn't think he had it in him," he said evenly. "He's broadcasting this thing everywhere. He stole my idea." His eye flared purple.
Blue glanced at him, then tapped his arm. "You're getting angry," she whispered to him.
Death Star winced, took a deep breath, and focused. The purple look faded. "Sorry. He just really pissed me off for a moment there," he confessed.
"But isn't this what you wanted?" Blue asked him.
"Yes. This is exactly what I wanted," Death Star told her. "It just... It's hard to explain. Just listen for now," he said dismissively.
Wind began to speak into the sound system, which echoed across the entire battlefield where human and reploids alike could hear his voice. "I wanted to address something today before this war continued. Something I felt we should all talk about before we continue walking down this tragic path set before us," he told them.
Slasher stopped wiping his hands on the cloth as he watched him his spot nearby. He smiled to himself as he watched. You can do it, Star he thought to himself.
As he stood there, Wind could see both sides getting confused and a murmur was breaking out among the people. On the human side, there was talk about why they were talking to the enemy instead of attacking while they had the chance. This side had fear. On the reploid side, there was talk about why they were listening to the humans' last, pathetic attempt at making peace. That side had power.
"My name is Wind. But a long time ago, I called myself Death Star," Wind told them. "As some of you might notice, I look a lot like the reploid leader. You could say I was once a reploid myself. My people are you - the reploids who stand before me today." Now the murmuring picked up. The humans were muttering about why a reploid was acting as their leader and why would President McCabe allow such a thing. The reploids were confused now, wondering why a reploid stood against them.
"I'm no longer a reploid, but my feelings for them have not changed," Wind explained. "You are my brethren. And here you stand today on the eve of your greatest victory - once you beat the humans today, you stand to destroy the entire human race. You will inherit this planet and rule it all for yourselves. ... Alone. How great this upcoming victory must taste in your mouths," Wind told them.
"The humans began this war, there's no doubt about that," he continued, glancing at the humans, who were now glaring at him. The morale was dropping on their side already and hatred was rising. "You began this war," he repeated specifically to them. "President Slasher last year allowed the reploids to return to Earth, their home, and after all the wars that had occured, you took it out on the reploids. You wanted them off 'your planet'. Humans only!" he said mockingly. "Humans only," he repeatedly softly. "So you banned them from your businesses. You mocked them. You beat them. And then you began to kill them."
Turning back to the reploids, Wind continued. "And the reploids fought back. You fought against the humans and you beat their armies. Now you stand to take everything from them like they tried to take from you," he addressed them. "But I ask you --- why do you humans and reploids right each other so much? Why do you hate each other? As a person who has come from both sides, I have to wonder - what is there between us?" he asked everyone.
"A little over a hundred years ago, reploids were made to be servants of humans. They were told they could never harm a human and they were forced to work - at worst, as slaves and at best, as a sub-group to humans. And when the Maverick Wars began and Sigma began to kill humans, the humans felt justified in all they had done and they banished the reploids after it was over. The only let the reploids back to help them in the Year-Long War, promising the reploids equality. And yet, here we are ... fighting each other today," Wind said, bowing his head. "And I ask why? Why were reploids put down? Why...." he began, lifting his head up again. "When we are the same?"
Both sides grew quiet as they listened now. Wind glanced over them all. "I ask you, humans. When you look at reploids, why do you hate what you see? Do you see yourselves in their faces? Do you feel yourselves in reploids? Does it eat at you because you know they are your brothers? And reploids? Why do you fight with the humans, instead of trying to work with them? Why do you stand here, at the eve of victory, and instead of asking for a hand of friendship, you decide to kill the humans? Do you see your weaknesses in them? Do you see your own mortality in them? You do, because they are your brothers."
"A man named Dr. Light brought out souls and he found a way to place them in reploids like God puts souls in babies. Our souls come from the same place. We are made of the same basic spiritual matter - plasma. The souls that give you your emotions, your feelings, your thoughts and your free will, come from the same places. Both of you," Wind stressed, looking at both sides. "You are the same. And Dr. Light wanted nothing more than for you to live in harmony with one another. To accept each other. Because, in the end, you are all children of Light."
Wind nodded at the humans. "Look at the reploids. Your ancestors created them. They are your parents, or your grandparents, or even your great-great long passed relatives' children. They are literally your brothers. When your ancestors made them, they made them as if they were their own children. Everything you are is in them, too."
Wind folded his hands together on the podium. "I stand here today on the human side, not because I turn my back on my fellow brothers, but because my fellow brothers turn their back on us. If you fight today - human or reploid - you are killing your own family. Your own brothers. Your own souls. And I stand here with the humans to fight to stop that. As do these reploids," he said, gesturing to the side. As all heads turned, Wiendigo's forces began to march onto the field on the humans' side. "Wiendigo and his reploids are willing to die for the humans, because they want peace. Everlasting peace. They stand here because they care about humans and reploids living together. They stand here because they believe in Dr. Light's dream."
Wiendigo's forces glanced at Death Star's forces. Wiendigo stood in the front with Gravedigger on one side and Colephantus on the other side. Cole glanced at Wiendigo and Grave, then back on the humans. "Do you think this going to work?" he asked them.
"Be quiet kid and watch," Wiendigo ordered him.
"Now...we can fight today. Humans, you can kill the reploids - or reploids, you can kill the humans. We can end today in a bloodbath. We can end today in horror. We can kill ourselves. We can kill family. And we can disgrace the name of Dr. Light once and for all - here and now. Or...we can lay down our weapons and heal the wounds. We can glue our family together and we can make sure the Earth is home to all it's children. The choice is yours," Wind announced, stepping back beside McCabe.
McCabe turned to look at him. "Very powerful," he told him, looking a little moved himself. "But I don't think you can turn the hearts of every person here today."
"Maybe not," Wind agreed, "but if I can move one heart, then I can die here knowing we accomplished something."
Both sides stared at each other, with Wiendigo's reploids on the side. There was a low murmur passing each group and Death Star stood there, a grim look on his face. He shook his head in awe. "I don't believe it. He excelled beautifully," he admitted.
Blue glanced at him. "What do you mean?" she asked him.
"Even if it doesn't work," Death Star told her, "he made both sides think of each other as the same for the first time in an over a hundred years. He made them see each other as something more than 'humans' and 'reploids'. He touched their souls."
The two groups continued to murmur, both looking to their respective leaders. When the humans saw that McCabe would not order them to do anything, but stood there beside Wind, they glanced among themselves. And the reploids, turning to Death Star for some answers, saw no indication from him either.
Then, the humans began to toss their weapons onto the ground. All this time of war had worn on their weary hearts finally. At first, it was reluctant, but more and more humans began to toss their weapons down in front of them, much to the surprise of the reploids before them. Not every human dropped their weapon, but the point was clear - the humans were ending their part of the war.
And the reploids responded, shutting down their blasters and throwing their sabres to the ground. The diehard fanatics in the group screamed at them to take their victory, but they were silenced by the other reploids. Those who had wanted all along for nothing but peace with humans. And the reploid army began to shut down before the humans, much to the surprise of everyone.
Wiendigo crossed his arms, a grim look of satisfaction on his face. "I don't believe," he admitted outloud. "The first moment of clarity ever for both sides."
Cole rubbed the back of his head. "This is...amazing," he confessed.
On his side, Wind turned to look at McCabe. "My God..." he said in shock, a smile on his face. "They're disarming."
McCabe grinned, then laughed suddenly. "You did it. This is...amazing," he said in utter surprise.
Death Star, meanwhile, shook his head. "They did it. They ended the war," he said with respect. "But it's not cemented. It won't last."
Blue glanced at him. "It...won't?" she asked him. "But didn't they win? Isn't it over? Can't we all live in peace?" She stared at him, as if wanting him to confirm it was over.
"No. It's temporary. An idea that sounds good to the ears of those who are tired of battles. No, they need one more thing to firmly root peace into their hearts and minds," Death Star told her, shaking his head.
"And what's that?" Blue asked cautiously.
"They need one more tragedy. They need a villian to hate together," Death Star told her. He raised his blaster, charging plasma energy into it. He then aimed it at Wind and fired the blast across the battlefield.
Wind, too busy laughing with McCabe, didn't hear Slasher's shout of warning until it was too late. On his side, Wiendigo tensed, trying to morph into the shadows to each Wind in time, but knew he couldn't do it. Cole's eyes widened in shock as he watched Slasher try to run toward him. Blue stared speechlessly as the blast flew right for Wind's head. And McCabe, standing beside Wind, turned and shoved him out of the way ... and took the blast to the chest. It ripped threw his body and out the other side, knocking him backwards and sending him crashing onto the ground. The entire world seemed to pause in that instance, then everyone converged on one spot. Wind kneeling beside McCabe, Slasher running to a stop and grabbing McCabe in his arms, and Wiendigo appearing out of the shadows behind them.
"McCabe!" Slasher shouted as he held the man in his arms. McCabe's heart was busy pumping blood all over the place, covering his hands in sticky red fluid. "Hold on!" he yelled at him.
McCabe's lips struggled to move, blood running out of them. "Tell..my men...not to attack... don't throw away this peace...on one man's actions..." he begged them. Wind, still holding the microphone, caught his words as they echoed across the battlefield. The humans, struggling to get their weapons, began to pause. They watched as the reploids around Death Star and Blue parted, leaving them out in the open.
Cole stared. "Oh God..." he whispered, seeing Blue standing there. Then, to his surprise, he saw she looked stunned and shocked at what happened. She hadn't known what Death Star was going to do.
As medics ran over to McCabe, then kneeled down, but it was obvious the wound was fatal already. McCabe grabbed Slasher's hands, smearing more blood on it. He stared at Slasher's face, his eyes focusing on Slasher's. "How..'d...I do...?" he asked through struggled breaths.
Slasher nodded his head slowly. "You did great. Exactly the type of man I knew you could be," he told him. "You shined brighter than you ever did before."
"Ha..." McCabe gasped, coughing up blood. "Better....have... I..put you..in charge...Slasher..until you find...someone who can...take over...." he struggled to say, then his head fell back and his breathing stopped. Slasher closed his eyes, struggling not to lose it right there.
"You did great..." he whispered again.
Wind stood there, then glanced up at Death Star and Blue. Death Star stared back at him, then grabbed Blue and jumped into the shuttle. The shuttle lifted off the ground and flipped around in the air, flying away rapidly. "... he's going for the Ragnorak..." he whispered.
The military men began to surround Slasher. "Sir, what are your orders?" one of them asked him.
Slasher stood up, letting the blood remain on his hands and clothes. "Make the prepartions for the end of the war complete. Get the reploids to agree to a peace settlement," he said automatically, as if running on auto. "Get everything situated. I'll head back to the base so we can find Death Star."
The men nodded, then hurried off. The reploids and the humans both seem to be standing apart from each other, but the war was over finally. The peace was fragile right now and anything could shatter it. Specifically the Ragnorak.
Wiendigo stood there. "We have to find Death Star now before he uses the Ragnorak," he stressed.
Wind nodded. "Lets get back to the base and see if we can locate him," he agreed, glancing down at McCabe. "I'm sorry for your loss, Slasher."
Slasher looked up at them. "We have to deal with Death Star first," he said. He turned and began to make preparations for McCabe's body.
Wind clenced his hands together. "We'll get you for this, Death Star..." he said darkly.
"Dammit!" Wind said, kicking a chair into a console. "He could be anywhere on the planet and we have no leads."
Wiendigo calmly glanced at him. "Getting angry won't help us. Stay focused," he told him. Wind glanced at him, then nodded, taking several deep breaths.
Gravedigger shook his head. "He has a point. There's no way we'll find him before he activates the Ragnorak. He could have hidden it anywhere on the planet."
Wiendigo glanced at Gravedigger. "He can't stay hidden forever. We'll find him sooner or later."
Slasher, who had been calmly sitting there, finally spoke up. "I found him," he said to everyone's surprise.
Gravedigger leaned forward. "How? All you did was sit there!" he told him. "You didn't even hit any buttons."
Wind shook his head. "I agree. How did you figure out where he's hiding at?" he asked him.
Slasher leaned forward and zoomed in on an area in Europe. It was raining in a 3 mile square radius. "He's there," he announced.
Wiendigo squinted. "Why there?" he asked.
"I've looked over the entire planet and it's the only place on the entire planet raining. The only place on the entire planet and it's raining in just that tiny spot," Slasher said, glancing at them.
Gravedigger looked perplexed. "But how is that possible?" he asked.
"The Earth is telling us to look there the only way it knows how," Slasher told them. "Last year a young man who was in tune with nature merged with the planet and became part of it's conscious. I think he's telling us that Death Star is there." He looked at all of them, as if waiting to see if they would argue.
Wind leaned back. "Not bad. I think you're right," he agreed. "Well, now that we know where he is, we can g--" he started to say when a medical aid walked up and interrupted.
"Excuse me, sir...X2 says you need to come right away," the medical aid told him. "It's about Katrina..."
Turning to glance at him, Wind's eyes widened in horror and his mouth open. "Oh God..." he said and tore off running.
Slasher watched him go, then shook his head. "Star..." he whispered.
Tilting his head, Cole could see that they were on the other side of the glass door, X2 talking to the silent Ariel. He was being given a few minutes alone with Kat, so he decided to make use of it. Walking over to her, Cole kneeled down beside her and took her hand into his his own. "Katrina..." he said gently. "I'm so... so very sorry..." he told her.
He took a deep breath, then brought her hand up to his forehead as he leaned forward. "I never wanted it to be this way. If I could change what happened, I would. You shouldn't be the one laying here. You should never have had this happen to you," he told her.
Her hand moved softly against his own. Cole opened his eyes and saw Katrina stirring, but as he glanced at the machines hooked up to her, her life signatures weren't getting stronger - they were weakening. He looked back down at her as her eyelids fluttered open and she turned her head to look at him. "Cole..." she whispered.
"Kat!" Cole said, looking down at her. "I'll go get your parents!" he told her, moving to stand.
"Wait...please..." she begged him softly. "Stay a moment, just you and me," she asked him. Cole nodded, kneeling down beside her again. "I..want to...talk to you, Cole..." she told him softly, her voice weak.
"About what?" Cole asked her, holding her hand again as he leaned close to her. She stared up at him, taking shallow, weak breaths as she struggled to speak. It seemed to be taking away her energy just to do the simple task.
"I'm..sorry...Cole..." she apologized. Her face seemed to be getting paler and her lips began to look drier.
"Sorry for what, Kat?" Cole asked her, confused. He looked down at her, noting how frail she was beginning to look now.
"Sorry...about...not being...careful...causing you..all..so much trouble...about not... helping Blue..." she told him.
"Blue is beyond help, Katrina. There was nothing you could do," he told her. "Nothing you could have done at all."
"You're...wrong, Cole...she's not beyond...help...she just...needs to be shown how...to be forgiven....she wants it...deep down...to be with you...again....we all do something bad... at times," Katrina told him, pausing as she coughed. She took a deep breath, struggling to go on. "We all start out doing...one thing...and end up...doing the exact opposite. I've done evil before..." she confessed to him.
"When?" Cole asked her, glancing up at her dropping lifesigns.
"I once...saw a mouse being teased by some cats...when I was a child. I vowed..to save the mouse...but once I picked it up...it bit my hand. Angry, I threw it down...and stomped it to death," Katrina told him, looking sad as her eyes seem to gloss over some.
Cole paused, then gave a nervous laugh which grew a little. He shook his head, trying to shake the tears out of them. "You call that evil, Kat? If that's all you have on your conscious, then I wish we could all be like you."
"I'm...serious here..." Kat told him sternly, but it came off rather weak since her voice was shaking. "We all..do something we don't want to do...but then we can't..take it back. Blue can't take back...what she's done...and she can't cope with it....you can't give up on..her, Cole...you love her...and she loves you..." she told him, closing her eyes for a moment. Cole's heart paused, wondering if this was it, but then her eyes opened again. "Don't give up on her, Cole...never let her go..."
"What can I do, Kat? I'm a weak person," he told her. "I can't do anything for anyone now."
Kat struggled to lean forward, but couldn't manage it. She sighed briefly, her breath going out in a huff, but she took a weaker breath back in. "You're...a good man, Cole...you've always been a good man...you're capable of such great things...because you live by your heart. And your heart aches for her."
"But it hurts so much," Cole confessed. "Everything that's happened, it hurts so much to go on. I want it to end. I want so much for everything to end, as long as I'm at peace again."
"It hurts...to love...I know," Kat told him, rubbing her hand along his. "But you...can't give up now...you have her."
"And what about you, Kat?" Cole asked her, glancing up at her lifesigns, which dropped some more. "I don't want to lose you either. You're my friend."
"I'm sorry...I'm so tired...Cole...you have to let me go..." she told him. "I'm so tired..." she repeated. "Can .. I see my parents now?" she asked, almost like a child.
Cole nodded, standing up and walking outside to where X2 and Ariel were standing. "She's awake. She wants to see you," he told them just as Wind came running up.
Ariel looked at him, then moved into the room. Wind nodded to him, hurrying in after her. Cole stood there, then slumped against the wall as he closed his eyes. X2 looked at him for a moment. "She's a good kid. I remember when she was just a child, she would come to see me to get candy. She'd volunteer for a medical checkup just for candy," he told him. "She was a sweetheart. Maybe she wasn't meant for the pain of this world."
Cole looked at him. "But the world won't be the same without her..." he said softly.
Back in the room, Ariel and Wind kneeled down beside Katrina. Katrina tilted her head to look at them. "Mommy...? Daddy...? Is that you?" she whispered, despite being only two feet away from them. Ariel and Wind glanced at each other in concern.
"We're right here, baby," Ariel told her, running her hand along her cheek. "Right here."
"That's right, Kat. We're not leaving you," Wind promised her. "We're not leaving you."
Katrina's lips trembled and she began to cry softly. "I'm scared..." she confessed to them. "I'm so cold...and it's so dark..."
Ariel winced, but put on a brave face. "It'll be okay..." she told her, trying to keep her voice steady. "Everything will be fine."
"I'm sorry...for putting you through this...I'm sorry..." she told them weakly, her breathing slowing down more.
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Kat. You're a brave girl. You're our girl. And we love you," Wind told her.
Katrina tried to smile, but it quickly vanished. "I love you...both...so much..." she whispered, her voice getting weaker and her lips barely moving now.
"We love you," Ariel told her.
"Stay with me...until I go to sleep..." Katrina asked them.
"We'll stay," Wind said, his voice breaking. He started to cry, tilting his head downward. Katrina's breathing slowed a little more, then stopped as the machine monitoring her began to buzz. Ariel began to cry now, her brave front gone as she grabbed Wind. They embraced each other, crying as X2 turned off the machine behind them.
"She took our little girl," Ariel said between sobs, clutching Wind. "I'm going to make her pay..."
Wind stood up, glancing at X2, then leading Ariel out of the room. He walked past Cole, who was hiding his face with his hands as he cried. Leading her into the control room, he glanced at everyone and Slasher nodded slowly. He grabbed Wiendigo and Grave and the three of them left.
Cole stood there as the two of them walked by, wiping his eyes. "I can't believe she's gone," he told X2 as he walked out of the room.
X2 nodded. "I know," he said. "I could use a stiff drink." He began to walk in the direction of the control room to finish preparing Ariel and Wind for what was coming.
His head jerked up as the vessel came out of hyperspace at the edge of Earth's solar system. His communication officer sent a transmission to the location where Wind was last at, hoping to get a feel of the situation.
Junior came to a stop, waiting in silence as his communication talked to whoever was in charge. After a few moments, the officer leaned back, turning to look at him. "{I offer my greatest condolences, Captain. Katrina passed away just a little while ago}" he told him softly.
Gasping as if in pain, Junior took an uneasy step backwards and tripped against his chair, collapsing against it. "NO!" he shouted out in English, grabbing his head with his hands as he tried to fight back his emotions. He took deep, ragged breaths as he fought to keep his composure, but after a moment's fight, he gave up and let the emotions roll over him.
His crew stood there, giving him enough respect to intrude. They went about their duties of bringing the vessel closer to Earth. After a few minutes, as soon as they were entering Earth's orbit, Junior lifted his head again, his face a steel trap of hatred. "{Scan the planet for anything unusual. I want to find this Blue right now,}" he ordered harshly.
The crew glanced at each other, then at him. "{I said right now!}" Junior shouted. His crew quickly went to scanning the planet's surface, noting that their Captain had gone beyond his normal self into something far worse.
Their captain was possessed by rage.
X2 nodded. "I'll have everything ready for when you get back," he promised him. He patted Wind on the shoulder, then turned and began to walk back to the hospital room.
Wind took a deep breath, then walked back into the control room to find Ariel was gone. He paused, glancing around the room, then his eyes stopped on the viewscreen, which was highlighted were Death Star's location was at.
She took our little girl played out in his thoughts - Ariel's last words to him after Katrina had died. "Oh God..." he said, rushing over to the comm. station. "Slasher, get in the control room now!" he shouted.
After a moment, Slasher came running into the room. "What is it, Star?" he asked him. He came to a stop when he saw his expression.
"Ariel's gone. I think she's heading after Blue," Wind said harshly.
Slasher paused, then nodded. "This isn't good. Blue and Death Star might be enough to overpower her," he noted.
Wind nodded, struggling to force his emotions away. "We have to get our forces there now. Get any of the humans you can together and get Wiendigo's army together. I want us to get everyone there now."
Wiendigo stepped out of the shadows. "I'm not coming," he told them. Wind and Slasher both stared at him in confusion. "Death Star is infected with the maverick virus. I want to wait on X1 to finish the cure before I go. I feel it's...prudent," he explained.
Shaking his head, Wind stared at him. "But who will lead your forces?" he asked.
"I'm going to leave them in Gravedigger's hands. He's more than capable of doing what is needed," Wiendigo told him. He walked over, staring at him. "You have to trust me, DS. I feel waiting on X1 is necessary."
Nodding his head, Wind sighed softly. "Alright. You're right. We don't know how dangerous the maverick virus is right now. Slasher and I will head out with the army ahead of you and see what we can do. Don't take too long," he warned him.
"I'll be there before it's over," Wiendigo promised.
Wind paused, then glanced around. "Where's Cole?" he asked suddenly.
Slasher shook his head. "I saw him a few moments ago. He said he had to go somewhere. Said he had to do something." He paused. "You think he's heading out to there to see Blue, too?"
Narrowing his eyes, Wind shook his head. "I don't know. But if he gets in the way, I'll do what I have to do," he said threateningly.
Meanwhile, as X2 walked down the hallway, he stopped outside the door. He reached into his lab coat and pulled out a bottle. Unscrewing it, he took several long sips, then silently recapped it. Opening the door, he stepped in moodily, then lifted his head and his eyes widen in surprise.
"What the--?"
Hopping along the Ragnorak's left arm onto a platform he built around it, Death Star walked along the platform to the controls for the holovid satelite. "Excellent. Despite the rain, I have a perfect connection," he said outloud, glancing up at the pouring rain.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he felt the rain hitting his face. "It's time for the final act. It's time for us to end this," he announced. "It's time to end this conflict for good."
In my head there's only you now
This world falls on me
In this world there's real and make believe
And this seems real to me
[Chorus]
You love me but you don't know who I am
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand
And you love me but you don't know who I am
So let me go
Let me go
I dream ahead to what I hope for
And I turn my back on loving you
How can this love be a good thing
When I know what I'm goin through
In my head there's only you now
This world falls on me
In this world there's real and make believe
And this seems real to me
[Chorus]
You love me but you don't know who I am
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand
You love me but you don't know who I am
So let me go
Just Let me goo...
Let me go
And no matter how hard I try
I can't escape these things inside I know
I knowww..
When all the pieces fall apart
You will be the only one who knows
Who knows
[Chorus]
You love me but you don't know who I am
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand
And you love me but you don't know Who I am
So let me go
Just let me go
And you love me but you don't
You love me but you don't
You love me but you don't know who I am
And you love me but you don't
You love me but you don't
You love me but you don't know me