S4 Follow-on
Part 1 of the You Live, You Learn Series
Chapter 1
Ebony froze, too stunned to speak.
"What's wrong, Ebony?" Zoot hissed, "Haven't you missed me? Didn't I say I would return? Didn't you hear my messengers? I'll admit, Jaffa was a weak choice, but he believed. Don't you?"
She found her voice: "No. No, it can't be you, you're dead, they burnt you, you can't be here, you can't!"
"Where can't I be Ebony," he replied, "I am everywhere you go. I have returned and you are MINE."
With that word he lunged forward and made a grab for her but, before he could reach her, Ebony turned and ran for the hallway. She screamed Jay's name, thinking if only I can find the others he can't touch me, not with them there. The hall was deserted, so was every room she tried. She stopped running; her side ached. Catching her breath she saw she was alone - Zoot had not followed her. Why? She straightened up, took stock of her surroundings and saw that she was in the corridor leading to the control room; she could even see the door.
"The monitors!" she gasped, "I can find them with the monitors!"
She forced herself to walk forward to the door and cautiously peered through the open crack - the room was empty. She opened the door and walked into the room, carefully closing the door behind her afterwards. The flickering from the monitors told her they were still on. As she walked round to face them she caught her breath with a gasp. Every monitor showed Jay, caught up in a passionate embrace - with AMBER!
"No!" she sobbed.
"Now, now, Ebony," said a familiar voice behind her "surely by now you know that anyone you love turns to Amber."
Ebony slowly turned to face Bray.
"I did and now Jay has too," he taunted, "and so will anyone else you ever love."
"You shouldn't have left Ebony"
She spun round to see Ram behind her, the monitors still showing the flickering picture of Jay and Amber.
"I could have given you everything," Ram continued, "I wanted to take you with me to paradise, but you betrayed me. Now you will have what you've earned through your failing loyalty."
"You were mine once," said Zoot from the side, "Now you will be mine forever!"
Ebony ran for the door but it was now locked. She spun round to face her three tormentors but now there was only Zoot. Only Zoot for eternity! She screamed and fought with the door. She felt arms grab her from behind and struggled to free herself but even as she did so she felt her strength failing. She closed her eyes and sobbed.
"No. No."
--
"Ebony, Ebony," the voice calling her name now was Amber's.
"Leave me alone," Ebony screamed.
"Ebony, it's okay," another familiar voice, Jay's, "It's okay, I'm here, it's all over."
She opened her eyes and stopped struggling. Before her she saw the plain walls of one of the many hotel rooms that Technos had used as holding cells. She looked down and gasped on the desk in front of her there was a computer and a headset. Reality space!
"What happened," she sobbed, her relief now flooding over her in waves: he was here; he was still hers. Her hands grasped Jay's arms, still resting around her shoulders. He moved round to face her.
"Do you remember when we arrived in the city?" he said, "You, me and Amber?"
"Yes."
"When we saw those kids with the headsets and went to investigate?"
"Yes."
"What happened next?"
"I waited for you," Ebony said slowly, her mind struggling to recall, "and Java came to me. She said needed me to help her stop Ram going into reality space forever. She didn't want him to leave her."
"And then?"
"Um," Ebony's brow furrowed in concentration, "I'm not sure. I remember getting back to the mall with you and all that but I can't remember what happened to Java."
"We didn't get back to the mall," said Amber gently, "At least, not with you. When we got back form the headset kids you were gone. We searched for the rest of the day before I persuaded Jay that you might have gone back to mall alone. If not it was still the safest place for us and we would need the others' help in finding you."
"But how..."
"She had the help of a few other Technos we think," Jay answered, "They got a headset on you and everything after that was fed from your own mind and altered by Ram. Once they brought you back here and plugged you into a variation of the paradise program, Ram could see what you were hoping would happen, what you feared most and then change what seamed to be a dream into a nightmare. But it's over now, he's dead."
"Dead?"
"He never fully recovered from that cold you gave him. He had avoided germs so successfully for so long his immune system was just too weak to overcome it."
"After he died," added Amber, "the Technos fell into disarray. Java and Mega both tried to take over but neither could get enough support behind them. They more or less destroyed themselves in the end."
"And the others?" Ebony asked, still wondering why there was only the two of them and her in the room.
"The other mall rats are searching for the ones who were taken," Jay cut in, "I could only tell them so much about where to look, although Mega was more helpful - he never really agreed with Ram taking hostages in the first place. We found Cloe locked into a computer just like you were, but we haven't found Ved yet."
"Come on," said Amber, "let's get you out of here and see who they've found."
--
Having been rescued by her old enemy, Ebony let Amber gently lead her out of the room into the corridor. It was not until they were a few feet out the door that she realised Jay had not followed them.
Still wary from her reality space nightmare, Ebony panicked and ran back into the room. When she entered she stopped short. Jay had the headset on and his face, or what could be seen of it under the headset, had a grim look. Ebony screamed his name and ran forward only to be grabbed and firmly held back by Amber.
"Let me go," she screamed, enraged, "Let me go, you COW!"
"No, Ebony, leave him," Amber shouted above Ebony's screams, "He has to do this."
"Why? Ram's dead, what is there left to do?"
Tears of frustration were beginning to run down Ebony's face.
"Come with me," said Amber, gently, "I'll show you."
Ebony let Amber lead her out, once again, into the hallway. She walked as if in a dream, letting Amber be her eyes and putting her trust totally in the one who had been her enemy for years. As they neared the door of the control room Ebony pulled back panic rising in her throat.
Amber dragged her onward to that selfsame door, in that selfsame position, that had turned her bad dream into a full-blown nightmare. As the door swung half-open a figure, the only one that could be seen in the room at this point, turned. As her eyes focused on Bray's haggard face, Ebony's screams rang out through the hotel.
