Out of the Ashes
Author- Denise
Season- 4
Spoilers – Sanctuary for None
Content Level – Older Kids
Content Warning- Mention of canon character death
Summary- As the Sanctuary burns, Nikola wonders if anything survived
Disclaimer: Sanctuary is owned by S3M and lots of folks that aren't me. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.
Thanks to Jan and Selene for the lookover
Out of the Ashes
By
Denise
The wave of heat washed over him, followed almost immediately by a hailstorm of debris.
"Doc! Doc! Ah geez, Doc!"
Henry's horror filled litany roused Nikola from his stupor and he thrust out a hand stopping Henry's frantic, and suicidal, dash back into the inferno that was the Sanctuary. "What are you doing? Dude, let me go!" Henry protested.
"To have you throw your life away in a senseless gesture?" Nikola got to his feet and brushed his pants off with one hand while keeping Henry in an iron grip. He ignored the fact that in attempting to tidy his tailored trousers he merely smeared the dirt and made it worse. "I think there's been quite enough noble futility for one day."
"I don't—"
Nikola released his grip on Henry. "Do you know where she put the residents?" he interrupted.
Henry stared for a second, clearly caught off guard. "Aah, yeah, I aah…that's supposed to be a secret, especially from, umm, well umm, you…SCIU you," he rambled.
Nikola held up his hands, urging the man to just stop. A technical genius he may be but a communicator he was not. "Fine, fine, you need to go to them."
"What? Me? No. I need to help find the doc and—"
"Henry, as unbelievable as this is to say, you are Head of Household."
"No you don't…what?" He frowned, clearly struggling to process Nikola's words.
"Kate is still in Homeland, Will has gone FBI and the walking carpet drank the Kool-Ade. You're all that's left," Nikola explained.
"We can't just leave her." Henry said.
"I'll find Helen. You go and take care of the residents."
Henry nodded then stopped. "Aah…"
"Go," Nikola urged, resisting the urge to vamp out in sheer annoyance. To think Helen depended on these people? No wonder her Sanctuary was such a morass of mediocrity.
"Fine," Henry relented. "but only because the doc would tell me to do the same thing." He stepped forward and glared. "You better find her."
"Go! Before I decide to barbeque myself a wolf," Nikola mock threatened.
As Henry left the tunnel and Nikola was finally alone, he assessed the situation. Returning via the escape tunnel was worthless. Immortal he may be, fireproof he was not. He paused for a second. At least he'd never tested to see if he was fire proof. Of course, the prospect of searing pain might have something to do with it.
Nikola shook off the tangent and retreated down the tunnel. Once he reached the surface he melted into the shadows. Behind him, the whole Sanctuary complex was ablaze. The acrid smoke stung his eyes and filled the air with a sort of fog. Over the roar of the fire he could hear the dull rumbles of buildings collapsing. Sirens wailed as flashing red and blue lights illuminated the night. Nikola moved to where he could get a better view and studied the faces of the bystanders, searching for her.
If she was alive, she'd slip into the crowd he knew. Helen Magnus had no intention of surviving this night. At least that's what she wanted the rest of the world to think. It had to be her plan and likely had been all along. He could see it now. "You're getting soft in your old age," he muttered to himself. He should have recognized the signs. Her game was a one he'd played himself enough times.
He wove through the gathering onlookers as more and more joined by the minute, all drawn to the spectacle of flame and destruction.
Nikola made his way towards where her lab would have been. It was where he'd seen her last so it was the only logical place to begin his search.
Fire trucks rolled past him. So far it seemed that they were only trying to contain the inferno, not put it out, which only made sense he should think. The resources of Old city would be strained dealing with such a large blaze.
Perhaps she considered that too. The longer it burned the more that would be destroyed and the less evidence that would be left.
Nikola refused to consider that she may have perished. It would be such an inglorious end.
A fire engine screeched to a halt next to him and Nikola took an instinctive step back as men piled out of the truck. They shouted orders and scurried about like the good little public servants that they were.
"Stay out of the way buddy," one of them said. Ire clawed at the back of Nikola's brain but he pushed it back. If he was going to help Helen survive her death, he did not need to attract the attention of witnesses and educating this human in the matter of respect would definitely be noticed.
Nikola stepped back as they rushed about, dragging out hoses and putting in their gear. They hurried towards the fire and he sighed. "Where are you?" he whispered. How could he find her in the massive destruction that was once her pride and joy?
As he scanned the smoke and flickering flames an odd disturbance caught his eye. He stared, hoping that it wasn't just a mirage caused by the heat and smoke.
Listening to his instincts he tore open the door of the fire truck and pulled out two of their turnout jackets. He tossed one on as he rushed towards the fire. Fortunately part of the wall had collapsed and he picked his way over the tumbled stones. As he got closer the heat was nearly overwhelming, even with his enhanced strength and endurance.
She almost shimmered into existence as Henry's little bubble pushed aside a wall of smoke. The bubble failed and she stumbled, falling to her knees. He rushed towards her counting on his vampire strengthened senses to guide him.
Wasting no time, Nikola wrapped her in the second coat and pulled her to her feet. He half carried her out of the fire and into the relatively safety of the shadows across the street. He set her down in a doorway and glanced behind, looking for any witnesses. "Nikola…" she coughed.
"You know, the next time you want to die you should really ask me for advice." he scolded. "Although I do have to admit that this was quite spectacular."
"It's quality not quantity," she said, her voice hoarse. "Henry?"
"He's fine. He's gone to care for your residents," Nikola said. "You know the ones you snuck away in the middle of the night." He couldn't keep the note of annoyance and accusation from his voice.
"Not now." she said, reaching up to pull herself to her feet. She stumbled and he reached out to steady her, surprised when she pushed him away.
"Helen, for God's sake—"
"I don't have time for this." she said.
"Relax; no one saw your miraculous escape."
She shook her head. "Not that. I need to get to him."
Nikola grabbed her arms, thinking that she was confused. "I told you, Wolfie's fine. William is in the loving embrace of the Federal Bureau of Idiots and—" Helen stared at him and Nikola paused, something in her eyes sending a chill down his spine. "Helen?"
"Caleb killed him," she said. "Left him at the front gate and I can't just leave him there. If SCIU—"
Nikola nodded, cutting her off. "I'll take care of it."
"Nikola—"
"If they see you then this has all been for nothing," he interrupted. "You wanna stay dead; you need to stay out of sight."
She nodded and he told himself that it was not defeat he saw in her eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "You need to get away from here."
She took it, frowning at the address on the key fob. "Nick's?"
"It's a long story. Just a few blocks that way. Penthouse of course, there's a private elevator at the back." He stepped away from her and then turned back. "Stick to the alleys and shadows and you should be fine. You might want to find a hat or something," he suggested. He spun on his heel and left her behind. If he was a gentleman he would have delivered her to the door. But he was no gentleman and he lacked the time for niceties.
He hurried through the chaos, finally realizing how massive Helen's compound was now that he had to walk around the edges. The fire was burning largely unchecked even though he saw what had to be every fire truck in Old and New City responding.
He made his way towards the front gate, stopping short when he saw the large number of people gathered. He muttered Serbian curses under his breath as he realized the responders had chosen to place their command post directly in front of the main gates. He realized that his chance of simply retrieving the corpse and leaving was non-existent.
"So much for the easy way," he said, scanning his surroundings. "Containment is step one," he whispered to himself, remembering long ago meetings and briefings on SCIU SOP. "Command truck, police barricade, media blackout…" His eyes settled on a large white van. "Rule number one of containment, remove it from sight."
If Helen was right and her shaggy manservant was indeed pushing up daisies he would be in that van. Nikola squared his shoulders and flipped up the collar of his borrowed coat. He confidently strode forward; well aware that as long as you looked like you knew where you were going very few people would question you.
He opened the door and climbed into the back of the van, pulling the door shut behind him. He heard a gasp and spun, meeting the surprised gaze of a woman. Before he could react, she reached down and pulled up a pistol, aiming it unerringly at his head. "You do know that the only passengers in this van are usually dead?"
XXXXXXXXXXX
Helen heard the door open and she spun, hurrying to greet her friend. "Nikola?"
He didn't respond immediately, instead he shrugged out of his jacket and brushed it off with his hand before hanging it in the closet. Recognizing his mood, she resisted the urge to press him. Nikola in a mood was something to be handled carefully…or plied with wine.
He walked past her and made his way to the bar, reaching for the crystal decanter. "You know it's really quite amazing…"He paused to poor the ruby liquid into a glass before he looked at her. "Or maybe the word is disturbing."
"Nikola…."
"Such loyalty from people, even when they think you're dead." He drained the glass and poured more. "Your friend the coroner was a most obliging young woman."
"Eleanor?"
"Is that her name? We were never introduced." He shrugged and quaffed a large gulp of wine.
"What did you do?" she asked, doing her best to ignore the unease that clawed at her belly. Surely he wouldn't have hurt the woman.
"Oh nothing to worry about," he reassured her. "She was quite willing to hand over the big guy and very receptive to maintaining at least some degree of deniability."
"You hurt her?"
"I gave her the perfect story to tell her supervisor…and SCIU," he corrected. He set down the goblet and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, making a show of dabbing at his knuckles. "She's a feisty little thing. I can see why the two of you worked together."
"Eleanor has an open mind," she said, relaxing now that she knew he'd not harmed her friend. "And she knew when to just walk away." She couldn't keep the note of wistfulness out of her voice as she realized Eleanor was yet another person she'd never see again.
"Walk away, interesting turn of phrase," he said.
"Nikola—"
"I get it, I get it," he interrupted. "I'd be a massive hypocrite if I didn't admit the advantages of a timely death."
"Your feelings are hurt because I didn't share my plans with you but you know full well why I couldn't."
"One little interlude with the government…"
"Interlude?"
"And I'm branded for life!" He finished dramatically.
"No one knew, Nikola. NO ONE!" she raised her voice.
"You should have told me!" he challenged, setting down his glass, the wine sloshing over the rim.
Her anger faded. "I wanted to tell someone but I didn't dare. One misspoken word, one overheard conversation and it all would have fallen apart. My own staff didn't even know until a couple of weeks ago. A hundred years, Nikola." She stepped towards him. "A hundred years I planned for this." She slowly shook her head. "It could not fail, it WOULD not fail. I couldn't risk it."
"Yes, we must never endanger your precious abnormals," he sneered.
Her eyes narrowed but she refused to rise to the bait. He'd never understood her work and she didn't expect him to start now. He took a drink of his wine and sighed. "The big guy?"
She shrugged. "He must have figured out what Caleb was doing and tried to stop him," she said. "Or Caleb realized that the brain washing was broken and…" 'Killed him' her brain supplied but her mouth refused to say. Saying it made it real and she wasn't ready for that yet. "Where is he?" she asked.
"Downstairs," he said. "Fortunately the car I appropriated has a very large trunk."
She nodded and turned away, slowly walking over to look out the windows of his penthouse. The brilliant blue lights of New City reflected on the river and filled the night sky with a glow. She compared it to the shadows of Old City. She knew the bright lights were supposed to be reassuring, comforting. She found them garish and harsh. They were certainly afraid of the dark over there, she thought. She wondered if any of them even knew what night was.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear him pour a second glass of wine or even realize that he'd done it until he pressed it into her hands as he stood by her side. She took a drink and felt the alcohol burn its way to her stomach. "No one was supposed to die," she whispered.
He reached out and placed his arm over her shoulders, offering what comfort he could give. "Except for you," he said softly.
"I should have done it years ago. I got too comfortable, too well known…" She shook her head, the resignation of hindsight reducing her voice to a bare whisper.
"Too big?" he supplied.
"I thought the fear had faded, that people were finally ready to accept what abnormals were, that they existed…I…"
"Give humans more credit than they deserve," he said. She sighed, too tired to deal with the same old issue. Nikola lowered his arm and pulled her around to face him. "Regardless, you have a decision to make." he said.
She frowned for a moment and the nodded. "Of course, I know his people prefer to bury their dead in the depths of the forest but—"
"Not that," he interrupted. "I need to know if you died tonight." he said.
"Nikola?" she frowned at him.
"If you'll recall, you poised the same question to me, a few decades ago." He paused and frowned. "Or did you ask? I can't remember."
"That was different, Nikola. Both the Axis and Allies wanted you dead, I think it was the ONLY thing they agreed on. Faking your death was the only way to keep you alive."
"You don't have to go back," he said, ignoring her. "You did a remarkably thorough job indulging your inner pyromaniac. In fact, I don't think anyone will even question the lack of a body given the ferocity of that fire and the vast expanse of the disaster. And even if they do, I'm sure good old Eleanor will come up with something."
She shook her head. "I didn't do all this to just…vanish," she said. "If I wanted to do that I had a hundred years to make a new identity. To run away and make yet another life."
"Instead you spent the last century playing puppet master," he said. He gestured with his hand. "Weaving your web with a finesse that I'm sure many will envy." His hand sliced through the air with a dramatic flourish.
She smiled, unable to squash the satisfaction she felt as she remembered her accomplishments. The beautiful city….Sanctuary that she'd built, quite literally from the ground up. "It's beautiful," she said. "Beyond anything I ever dreamed of." She sighed and thought for a second before making her decision. "I can show you," she said. "It's…"
"Going to remain in my imagination," he said, surprising her.
"Nikola?"
"I think I want to remain in blissful ignorance about your grand new Sanctuary," he declared. "Loose lips sink ships and all that."
"You don't—"
"Yes, I do," he said. He sighed and turned away from her, crossing to the closet. He opened the door and reached into his pocket, pulling out a key. He tossed it to her. "You may want to torch it when you're done, the last thing you need is some overeager forensics tech getting his hands on it."
She caught the key and looked at it for a second before clutching it in her hand. She set the glass of wine down on a convenient table and moved towards the door. She paused just as she passed him. "You know, it only looks like everything went up in smoke," she said. Nikola frowned at her. "The residents weren't the only things smuggled out under cover of darkness." She shrugged. "We'll always have Cartagena." He frowned, then a smile crept across his face as he decoded her message.
She reached out and pulled him close, kissing him firmly on the lips, amused as she felt his shoulders stiffen in shock. Just as she felt him relax and start to raise his arms, she pulled away. "Helen," he protested.
"Thank you," she said. She walked out, her old life fading with each step, falling away like the autumn leaves. New beginnings and fresh starts, building anew on a foundation strengthened with lessons learned from mistakes made.
She walked into the parking garage and stopped by the boot of Nikola's car. She slowly dragged her hands over the smooth surface. "Shall we begin my friend, one last time?"
~Fin~