Dr. Aki Ross blinked in the light of the sun
and watched the lone hawk winging its way over the new
world. The clouds in the blue sky were white and puffy;
the Earth was becoming greener almost by the moment.
The planet was safe from the danger of the Phantoms --
they had been destroyed when the Spirit wave was absorbed
into the Phantom Gaia. Aki Ross felt none of the elation
and freedom she had expected for so long to feel once
the Phantoms were gone. Instead, all she felt was a curious
blankness; a feeling of nothing at all and that nothing at
all really mattered. She was sitting on a rising platform,
almost back to her ship, holding her lover's body as if it
were the ony thing keeping her from flying away into space,
and just then, nothing else did matter.
Sid's face, then the rest of his body appeared as
the platform reattached to the ship. The expression on his
face went from amazed happiness to concern as he saw Grey's
body in her arms.
"Aki! Does he need medical attention? What
happened? Was it the Phantoms?"
Aki shook her head slowly. "He -- no, it's too late
for medical attention. It was a Phantom. The ATV was destroyed
and we had no way to connect the Spirit wave and the Phantom
Gaia." She stopped for a moment, and Sid's eyes widened as he
understood.
"So he used *himself* as a conduit! Incredible, but oh,
Aki -- I'm so sorry." Aki stood up slowly and stepped away from
Sid.
"So am I. I -- I need to be alone right now." Eyes
averted, she hurried to her personal quarters.
Curled up on her bed, her face to the wall, Aki's mind
drifted. To finally prove the idea of the Gaia was a giant step
in the understanding of the universe itself. It was, and Aki
should have felt some sort of vindication or joy. The thought
that she should be feeling *something* lingered in her mind,
to no effect, as she crossed the line between thought and sleep.
She had a new dream. The sky was a brilliant cloudless
blue above the green field where she stood looking at a sparkling
ocean in the distance. Behind her, she thought at first, was a
Phantom. The hair on the back of her neck stood upright and she
knew someone -- something -- was watching her. It was a reflex
that had been ingrained in her during her search for the 8 Spirits.
She started to whirl around and look, but hands dropped onto her
shoulders and held her firmly in place. Those hands...they were
invisible. Aki could feel the pressure on her shoulders, but she
couldn't see anything there. She knew those hands, though. Her
voice caught in her throat.
"G-grey?" she whispered, and the wind blew the word from
her lips; she could almost see it tumbling away towards the water.
To her shock and amazement, the rough voice she would
recognize in her grave responded. "Yes, Aki. It's me."
"But how? You died -- your spirit was absorbed into Gaia.
How can you be here?"
"How could I not stay with you, Aki? I couldn't let myself
become part of that living nothingness. I couldn't leave you behind.
You asked me not to leave you."
Turning around, not caring if he was invisible as the air,
Aki buried her face in the material of his military uniform and wept,
quiet sobs that shook her entire body. The warmth of Grey's arms as
they curled around her protectively seemed to seep into her bones.
"Grey, I thought you were gone forever, and I didn't -- didn't
know if I could stand it! I left you behind once, and I regretted it
the minute I was gone. This time I was sure it would kill me to lose
you."
Grey's voice took on a reflective tone. "When I was younger,
greener, and stupider, not to mention more afraid of death, an old
soldier gave me some advice. He said that Death is always by your
side; however, if you show fear it will spring at you faster than
light, but if you don't show fear, it will only look gently over you.
I was never afraid of dying as much as I was afraid of never seeing
you again, Aki." He brushed her hair back from her face with one
invisible hand and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Dr. Sid is
calling you. You can't sleep the rest of your life away."
As Sid's voice woke her up, she thought she could almost see
him, standing in that green field under the blue sky, waiting for her
to return. She sat up in bed with a ghostly smile, surprising Sid.
"We've landed, Aki. The council wants to talk to you. They
think you're a hero. I told them you were indisposed, but --"
"Thank you, Sid. It's all right, I'll go talk to them." She
stood up and walked out of the room and down the hallway to the cockpit,
and greeted the council.
-THE END
and watched the lone hawk winging its way over the new
world. The clouds in the blue sky were white and puffy;
the Earth was becoming greener almost by the moment.
The planet was safe from the danger of the Phantoms --
they had been destroyed when the Spirit wave was absorbed
into the Phantom Gaia. Aki Ross felt none of the elation
and freedom she had expected for so long to feel once
the Phantoms were gone. Instead, all she felt was a curious
blankness; a feeling of nothing at all and that nothing at
all really mattered. She was sitting on a rising platform,
almost back to her ship, holding her lover's body as if it
were the ony thing keeping her from flying away into space,
and just then, nothing else did matter.
Sid's face, then the rest of his body appeared as
the platform reattached to the ship. The expression on his
face went from amazed happiness to concern as he saw Grey's
body in her arms.
"Aki! Does he need medical attention? What
happened? Was it the Phantoms?"
Aki shook her head slowly. "He -- no, it's too late
for medical attention. It was a Phantom. The ATV was destroyed
and we had no way to connect the Spirit wave and the Phantom
Gaia." She stopped for a moment, and Sid's eyes widened as he
understood.
"So he used *himself* as a conduit! Incredible, but oh,
Aki -- I'm so sorry." Aki stood up slowly and stepped away from
Sid.
"So am I. I -- I need to be alone right now." Eyes
averted, she hurried to her personal quarters.
Curled up on her bed, her face to the wall, Aki's mind
drifted. To finally prove the idea of the Gaia was a giant step
in the understanding of the universe itself. It was, and Aki
should have felt some sort of vindication or joy. The thought
that she should be feeling *something* lingered in her mind,
to no effect, as she crossed the line between thought and sleep.
She had a new dream. The sky was a brilliant cloudless
blue above the green field where she stood looking at a sparkling
ocean in the distance. Behind her, she thought at first, was a
Phantom. The hair on the back of her neck stood upright and she
knew someone -- something -- was watching her. It was a reflex
that had been ingrained in her during her search for the 8 Spirits.
She started to whirl around and look, but hands dropped onto her
shoulders and held her firmly in place. Those hands...they were
invisible. Aki could feel the pressure on her shoulders, but she
couldn't see anything there. She knew those hands, though. Her
voice caught in her throat.
"G-grey?" she whispered, and the wind blew the word from
her lips; she could almost see it tumbling away towards the water.
To her shock and amazement, the rough voice she would
recognize in her grave responded. "Yes, Aki. It's me."
"But how? You died -- your spirit was absorbed into Gaia.
How can you be here?"
"How could I not stay with you, Aki? I couldn't let myself
become part of that living nothingness. I couldn't leave you behind.
You asked me not to leave you."
Turning around, not caring if he was invisible as the air,
Aki buried her face in the material of his military uniform and wept,
quiet sobs that shook her entire body. The warmth of Grey's arms as
they curled around her protectively seemed to seep into her bones.
"Grey, I thought you were gone forever, and I didn't -- didn't
know if I could stand it! I left you behind once, and I regretted it
the minute I was gone. This time I was sure it would kill me to lose
you."
Grey's voice took on a reflective tone. "When I was younger,
greener, and stupider, not to mention more afraid of death, an old
soldier gave me some advice. He said that Death is always by your
side; however, if you show fear it will spring at you faster than
light, but if you don't show fear, it will only look gently over you.
I was never afraid of dying as much as I was afraid of never seeing
you again, Aki." He brushed her hair back from her face with one
invisible hand and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Dr. Sid is
calling you. You can't sleep the rest of your life away."
As Sid's voice woke her up, she thought she could almost see
him, standing in that green field under the blue sky, waiting for her
to return. She sat up in bed with a ghostly smile, surprising Sid.
"We've landed, Aki. The council wants to talk to you. They
think you're a hero. I told them you were indisposed, but --"
"Thank you, Sid. It's all right, I'll go talk to them." She
stood up and walked out of the room and down the hallway to the cockpit,
and greeted the council.
-THE END