"Final Rescue: The Crossover Within"

Note: The events in this fic are totally independent to the timeline in my other fics, mainly because this is a one-off. The ages of the brothers are still the same as my fics: John being the eldest, followed by Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan.

The original Final Fantasy story belongs to Hironobu Sakaguchi and Square Pictures, not me. Most of the characters used instead are based on those created by Gerry Anderson. Additional characters from this story are just a figment of my wild imagination. Please do not copy or use without my permission.

My thanks go to my Final Fantasy and Thunderbirds posses (you all know who you are), as well as Natalie (you're a star!) and my best mate Hemma (For embarrassing me whilst watching FF:TSW in the cinema!).

If you have any queries or feedback, don't hesitate to contact me a jojo_tracy@hotmail.com or aki_leonhart@hotmail.com

Alternatinvely, check out my sites at http://communities.msn.co.uk/Thunderbir1sHangar (for Thunderbirds) or http://communities.msn.co.uk/RPDAllSTARS (for Resident Evil and Final Fantasy)

Anyway, that's my little bit done now. See ya!

Chapter Ten

They came on like a wind from the gates of hell and John Tracy stood his ground as he stood between the two armies, their armour shining in the hot alien suns.

They were attacking each other, destroying the planet as well as their enemies.

The screaming, shouting and fighting of the two armies increased until it hurt his ears. He fell to his knees, holding his head, trying to block out the increasing sounds as the two armies collided in battle.

They tore at each other with more violence than John had ever seen, broken bodies, ripped limb and armour falling away as if they were made almost of nothing.

And then suddenly, the noise and rumbling ceased.

Breathing hard, John looked up.

It was as if the Phantoms were frozen in time. The fighting had ceased and in the silence, John saw that every remaining soldier of the two armies was looking at him.

But why?

What did they want with him?

Why was he even here?

That was when another sound tore into the silence. A roaring sound that was growing louder and louder.

Now John knew that the two armies weren't looking at him. They were looking at something behind him.

Something else was coming.

Something larger and far worse.

John Tracy woke up before he could even turn around to see what was coming. He hated not knowing what the dreams meant. He hated to find out what they were trying to tell him every time he closed his eyes.

As his heart rate resumed its normal pace, John looked around him on the transport ship, the Copperhead, which was taking him, the Deep Eyes Squadron, and three of General Gaat's men to the wasteland.

In the cockpit in front, Sergeant Virgil Tracy was flaying the transport, his short, mid-brown hair just visible over the top of the pilot's seat. Gordon sat in the co-pilot's seat beside Virgil, chatting away to his older brother about things that were just out of earshot to hear.

John glanced to his right. Whilst General Gaat's three men had been wearing their full armour and full-helmets since they had all met to board the Copperhead, Tin-Tin and Scott were wearing their casual Deep Eyes clothes.

In the seat a few places away from him, Tin-Tin sat in her grey Deep Eyes vest-top, black trousers and combat boots. Her shoulder-length dark hair was tied back in a neat ponytail and she was reading a book.

At the back of the room, Scott stood leaning against one bulkhead, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. The Captain wore a grey Deep Eyes t-shirt, black combat trousers and combat boots over his muscular build.

In the seats opposite John sat the three other soldiers, their helmeted faces giving him no idea as to what they were thinking.

John sighed inwardly, resting his head against the bulkhead of the ship. He knew that the Phantom particles inside of him were beginning to win. He just hoped that he had enough energy and time to obtain the last two spirits.

He gazed out of the small viewport in the bulkhead, watching the landscape, which looked almost similar to that of his dreams, flash past below. The land was dead, bomb and broken vehicles littered the wastelands below him as well as the bodies. This had been the place where mankind had made their first stand against the Phantoms.

The visual evidence indicated clearly that the Phantoms had easily won.

Tin-Tin had gone to put on her armour as Scott returned to the main part of the transport, wearing all of his armour apart from his half-helmet, which he stored under a seat, before going into the cockpit.

Initially, John had been stunned by the information that pointed the location of the seventh spirit to the wasteland. Nothing could have survived in this area, populated mainly by the giant Meta Phantoms. However, John also knew that the scanner's information had never been wrong to date.

Before he had left the Barrier, both Sir Jeremy and Brains had warned John that his revelation to the Council a few days ago would not sit well with the military. He would be considered a traitor to humankind the moment he did anything wrong. All because he had an alien infestation trapped inside him. This was the reason why General Gaat had sent three soldiers to watch over him. If john were to make any mistake during this mission, these three men were to make sure it would be his last.

A fully armoured Tin-Tin re-entered the room, sitting next to John and placing her half-helmet beneath her seat. She was just about to say something when Scott came into the room.

"Right, people. Listen up. Where we're touching down to get that life-form, the Meta Phantom concentration is pretty high," Scott said, command in his voice. "Basic fire is going to be ineffective, so build up your charges and make them count."

"This should be fun." Tin-Tin commented in a dry tone, looking at General Gaat's men.

Scott ignored the comment and turned to John. "Stick close to me," he told his older brother. "And no heroics."

"Everything by the book." John nodded, holding Scott's gaze.

"In a few moments, we'll be dropping some energy buoys around the area," Scott continued. "This will distract the Phantoms and allow us time to land and obtain the target."

"And with luck, get the blazes out before the suckers know we're even there." Gordon chipped in from the cockpit.

"Launching buoys," announced Virgil. "Hang on, everyone!"

Virgil, a skilled pilot, banked the transport hard to the right, forcing John to grab onto the wall to keep himself from sliding off his seat.

"Last buoy away," Virgil's voice was as calm as ever. "Initiating buoys and preparing to land."

Out of the window, John saw a bright blue-green flash of light from the ovo-energy cells in the buoys. The light radiated from these cells would both attract the Phantoms as well as make them visible. So far, as John could see, the buoys were working.

Without further hesitation, Virgil skillfully dropped the Copperhead hard and fast into an open area.

"Half-helmets on," Scott ordered. "Sergeant, stay ready to pick us up. The rest of you, let's move out!"

The Copperhead door lowered to the ground, forming a ramp, and Gordon was the first of the soldiers to step out, immediately taking point, his weapon at the ready.

Tin-Tin was right behind him, keeping an eye on the left as Gordon covered the right. John noticed that even after all that the remaining International Rescue team had been through, they were still a perfectly efficient team.

Scott was the next to walk down the ramp, his weapon at the ready. He looked at John and cleared his throat, the metallic edge back in his voice from his half-helmet's headset and John moved in beside his younger brother, feeling slightly happier that he wasn't wearing any kind of armour as the heat of the wasteland hit him.

Behind John, General Gaat's three men came down the ramp.

"Okay. Let's get this over and done with." John muttered, studying his wrist-mounted sensor as it homed in on the target. He looked up from it and faced the Captain. "Its over that small ridge." John pointed to his right and Scott nodded, signalling to move out as John took the lead.

Chapter Eleven

John Tracy could hardly believe the number of dead soldiers that filled the parts of the wasteland that they walked through. Here was where humanity had put up one of its biggest fights. And lost.

John took deep, slow breaths to ease his nerves as they headed over the crest of the small ridge to face even more signs of carnage that took place just after the arrival of the Phantoms.

"The seventh spirit should be just beyond that line of wreckage." John indicated past the remains of a military aircraft that had collided with some old army tanks.

"I don't see how anything could survive out here." Tin-Tin said in a soft voice, looking around them.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." John said, heading down the small ridge that was littered with wreckage and bodies.

Suddenly, an almost familiar cry echoed around them and a second blip moved on John's sensor. They all looked up to see a beautiful hawk gliding overhead.

"I'll be damned." Gordon breathed.

"A survivor." John smiled.

"What's it doing out here?" asked Tin-Tin.

"Maybe it's hoping for life to return." John replied.

"So, is that our spirit?" asked Scott, looking up at the hawk.

"No," John said, checking his sensor. "That's not our spirit. Our spirit is somewhere nearby though."

"Distance?" Scott was still watching the passing hawk with a fascination John had never seen before.

"Hard to say, Captain," John gingerly stepped over another soldier's body. "It should be right in front of us."

"I can't see anything." Tin-Tin said, nearly falling over a body had Gordon not been there to grab her.

In front of them was another body lying facedown in the harsh ground. As John stepped over it, the reading on his sensor reversed, indicating that he was moving away from the spirit. Puzzled, he stopped and turned around, scanning the soldier's body.

"You're not going to tell me the seventh spirit is him, are you?" Scott stopped beside his older brother.

"That's impossible." Gordon looked over as he, Tin-Tin and the three soldiers kept a lookout.

Scott reached down and rolled the body over, exposing a badly decayed face that made his guts twist.

"Shit." Scott turned away, thankful that his half-helmet kept him from catching most of the stench of decay from the body, but also wishing he hadn't eaten anything before they'd left on this mission.

John, on the other hand, seemed barely fazed by the grotesque, rotting face of the dead soldier – visable through the helmet's old broken faceplate – or, more importantly, by the putrid smell it was giving off.

"We've found it!" John exclaimed, his face breaking into a grin. "The seventh spirit isn't the soldier. It's his ovo-pack."

"What?" Gordon glanced at John for a moment before turning back to keep watch.

"How can that be?" Scott asked, once again by his older brother's side. "The ovo-packs power our weapons, the Barriers, almost everything we use against the Phantoms. It's just Bio-Etheric energy."

"And to create that energy," John said in his true big brother tone of voice. "We use living tissue in the form of amoeba or single-celled organisms."

"You don't have to sound so patronizing, John," Scott's anger flared for a split-second before he managed to control it. "So what? You're telling me that this soldier's backpack if the seventh spirit?"

"Exactly." John replied, getting the large ovo-pack loose enough to pick up, and Scott was suddenly aware of Virgil's voice in his headset. He stood up and said "What was that, Virg?"

"We have incoming, Captain," Virgil's voice crackled slightly over the headset. "They're closing in on your position. Fast!"

John saw the first of the Phantoms coming at them, their shapes illuminated by the energy of the buoys that had been dropped. They were all Meta Phantoms. Some resembling kite-like beings, one or two of them looked like huge serpents, and two towered into the sky like massive jellyfish.

Suddenly, one of General Gaat's men was attacked by one of the smaller Phantoms, which emerged from the ground, tearing out his soul before the soldier could even scream. His spirit sparkled blue in the air for a few seconds before disintergrating completely into the Phantom.

Tin-Tin took out the Phantom with a single shot as the soldier's empty body slumped to the ground.

"Gordon," Scott ordered. "Get the ovo-pack."

John could do nothing but stare at the oncoming Meta Phantoms, feeling almost giddy looking at them. He fought off the nauseating feeling as he turned to Scot.

"Captain. Those buoys?" John said as Scott fired at a large advancing Phantom, killing it off.

"Yeah?" Scott prompted.

"They're not working." John said, and for some strange reason, he felt like laughing.

"Thank you, John." Scott glanced at him for a split second.

John tried not to smile, but couldn't stop. This whole mess wasn't meant to be funny. Not when they were all possibly about to be killed.

But suddenly, even that didn't seem to matter.

John felt part of himself being controlled involuntarily, and the other part of him just didn't care.

Then, everything around him seemed to spin at grotesque angles in slow motion, the sudden burning heat making him sweat. He wondered how Scott and the others could stand out here in their massive armour with the heat so unbearable.

"Are you alright, John?" Scott asked, staring at John, his voice sounding concerned beneath the helmet's metallic tone.

"Of course I am." John said, even though his voice sounded drawn.

"Let's get the blazes outta here!" Scott yelled. "Standard formation, people. Tin-Tin, take point."

"Something's not right," Tin-Tin said, leading the group back to the Copperhead as the others followed. "This shouldn't be happening!"

"It's as if something's attracting them. And I'm not talking about those beans I had with my breakfast." Gordon joked, trying to ease the tension. To his credit, Tin-Tin managed a small laugh.

John stumbled over a rock as the group scrambled back up the small ridge. To him, it felt as if he had completely lost contact with the rocky ground, no longer able to feel or control his legs anymore.

Everything was so hazy now that John couldn't quite figure out what had happened next, but Scott had pulled his arm over his armoured shoulder and was pulling him along.

"Get us out of here, Virgil!" Scott shouted, and John could no longer feel his body. He felt as if he was drifting away, out of his body. He knew he wouldn't have made it far without Scott dragging him along. Maybe they could stop for a quick rest. The John could tell his younger brother how lucky he was that Scott was here, and how he never meant to hurt anyone by leaving almost a year ago.

John suddenly twisted sideways, vaguely noting that Scott's grip on him was no longer there, and felt the distant pain of his body hitting the ground.

Chapter Twelve

Captain Scott Tracy couldn't believe what was going on when John suddenly twisted away from him and fell facedown onto the ground.

The Captain fired at a flying Phantom, taking it out as he crouched beside John and gently rolled him over. "John? John, can you hear me?"

No response.

"Captain!" called Gordon. "We have to keep moving!"

Scott used part strength, part brute force, to sling John's unconscious form over his shoulder as he ran for the transport craft.

"Fire in the hole!" Tin-Tin warned, building up a high charge in her modified assault rifle and fired a powerful round into a Phantom that was coming up behind her Captain.

Scott nodded his thanks to Tin-Tin as they ran for the hovering Copperhead.

"Virgil!" Scott shouted as they approached the waiting ship. "Get ready to lift!"

"Yes, Sir!" Virgil replied through the helmet's built-in headset.

"The rest of you clear these bastards back form the transport," orders Scott. "Tin-Tin, take the front. Gordon, the rear. Thirty seconds is all we've got, people. Make each second count!"

His plan worked like it should have: He stopped with John still slung over his shoulder near the ramp of the hovering Copperhead and shot at any Phantoms which came into sight on the other side of the craft by firing under it.

Tin-Tin was to his right, Gordon to his left, both firing at any Phantom that might have even the slightest chances of reaching the Copperhead before it would get a safe height into the air.

Scott then headed up the ramp, stepping inside the main room and laying John down as gently as he could on the deck, before moving to the tactical chair.

A few seconds later and Tin-Tin, Gordon and the General's men entered the room, all of them still firing out of the closing ramp.

"Meta coming in fast!" notified Gordon, watching the hatch finally close.

"Get us out of here, Virg!" Scott shouted.

"Love to, Sir," Virgil called from the cockpit, lifting the Copperhead further off the ground. "Except I've got this huge Meta blocking-"

"Just do it, Sergeant!" commanded Scott, studying the tactical hologram as it came into focus, showing the huge Meta in front of them. His keen, light-blue eyes picked up an opening. A small one. It was going to be tight. "Head right, Virg! Keep it low and keep it fast!"

The Copperhead moved sharply to the right, slipping between two smaller Phantoms and out from under the Meta Phantom.

"Virg, see the canyon on your right?" Scott asked, already mapping their escape route using the holo-map.

"On it, Captain," Virgil replied, his voice surprisingly calm as he banked the Copperhead hard to the right, avoiding another Meta Phantom. "Rock and roll!"

"Tin-Tin. Take over." Scott said, moving out of the tactical chair as she took his place.

Scott removed his half-helmet and knelt beside John, who still hadn't moved. The metal of his brother's chest-plate was hot to touch, and Scott figured that the heat from the wasteland must have affected the shielding around the protective plate.

"We have to get John to Brains and Sir Jeremy," Scott said to Tin-Tin at the tactical chair. "Give Virg some directions on how to get us out of this mess, a.s.a.p."

"You have your orders, Sir," one of General Gaat's men said. "Don't disobey the General."

Scott shook his head, finding it hard to believe what he had just heard. Even though Scott had still not quite forgiven John for leaving the family almost a year ago, he still had enough of a heart to make sure John was alright before even considering telling the General or Major what had happened. Angrily, Scott stood up and turned to face the two soldiers. "Look, I don't know who the-"

Scott stopped as he saw the two soldiers had pulled their guns out, guns loaded with bullets, and had their weapons aimed at his head.

"Do what you were told by the General, Sir," said the other soldier. "And we won't have to spoil that pretty-boy face of yours."

"Are you two nuts?" Gordon shouted back from the co-pilot's seat in the cockpit, getting up and moving towards the cabin.

"What the blazes is going on here?" Scott demanded, although deep inside, he already knew the answer: General Gaat had sent these men to watch over him and make sure he would arrest John as soon as anything happened. It was quite clear that by being chased by an almost crazy amount of Phantoms, and having John pass out in the middle of it all, would qualify under the General's orders. However, with John in a critical condition, Scott wasn't about to turn his own brother in. He knew he had become a cold-hearted bastard since he had lost the majority of his family to the Phantoms, but the small part of him that still cared knew how wrong this whole situation was.

"A little help, somebody!" Virgil called from the cockpit.

Tin-Tin turned her attention back to the tactical holo-images. "Up the next canyon on your left, Virgil!" She saw the canyon walls flash past the viewport to her right, noticing how some parts were just inches away from the Copperhead's wings.

"Lower your weapons, soldiers!" Scott said, keeping the force and lowness in his voice. "That's an order!"

The first soldier shook his head, his expressions unreadable beneath his full-helmet as he said "I'm sorry, Sir, but we have no choice but to relieve you of your command."

"This civillian needs medical attention." Scott said, pointing at John, kicking himself inwardly for his use of words. John wasn't just a civillian. He was his own brother damnit. "If you want, you can arrest him after he's been treated."

"Those are not our orders," the second soldier said. "We are to arrest John Tracy. And you, Captain. Whatever happens after that is no longer our concern."

"Man," Gordon growled, his hands clenching into fists. "You two are some cold-blooded mutha-"

"I won't let you do this, soldiers," Scott interrupted, looking at the two men opposite him. "If you want to stick to your orders, a few of us are gonna get shot before this is over."

"Staring with you, so stand down, Captain." the first soldier said.

Gordon moved to flank Scott, and even though Tin-Tin remained in the tactical seat, her posture made it clear that she was ready to act.

Three to two.

Scott had no doubt that the Deep Eyes Squad would win. He just didn't want one of his teammates hurt in the process.

Tension filled the interior of the Copperhead. The silence broken every now and then by Tin-Tin directing Virgil through the wastelands.

"These things are everywhere!" Virgil exclaimed.

"I know that, Virgil." Tin-Tin said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"So, which way?" the panic was not too far below the surface of Virgil's voice now.

"No way is completely open," replied Tin-Tin. "You're going to have to try and get between a few of them."

"Oh, that's just terrific."

Scott's gaze never left the two soldiers pointing their guns at him.

It was a standoff both inside and outside the Copperhead.

And on the deck in front of him, John could be dying. Something needed to happen. Fast.

But what?

Chapter Thirteen

John waited for the fighting and noise to cease around him before he looked up at the two Phantom armies. Like before, the Phantoms had suddenly stopped fighting and were now looking in his direction.

But not at him

There was something coming behind him.

John turned to look in the same direction as a roaring sound broke the silence.

Something else was coming.

John's mouth fell open as soon as he saw what it was.

A massive wall of fire was heading straight for them, its angry flames of red and orange tearing up anything and everything in its path, stretching as far as he could see in all directions.

There was no stopping it.

The two armies around him turned to run, but John found that he couldn't move. He knew that the wall of fire wouldn't touch him. It was as if he was here to observe something that had already happened in the past, not the present.

The wall of flames closed in with almost unbelievable speed, destroying everything around him. Completely and totally.

The standoff wasn't going to end well.

General Gaat's two remaining men were trained soldiers, both willing to shoot anyone who stood in the way of their assigned mission.

"Hard to your left, Virgil," Tin-Tin instructed. "There's a small opening between the two Metas."

"I see it," Virgil said from the cockpit, his voice tense. "I'm on it." His focus was completely on getting them out of the wasteland in one piece, unaware of the scene unfolding behind him.

Scott and Gordon braced themselves against two of the seats as the Copperhead banked hard left. General Gaat's two soldiers were also prepared for the sudden movement of the transport, their handguns still aimed at the Deep Eyes Captain's head.

Suddenly, halfway through the Copperhead's tight turn, John cried out, sitting bolt upright, his blue-grey eyes wide, and coming face to face with the second of the General's men.

Startled, both of the soldiers fired, the first soldier's bullet just skimming Scott's scruffy, dark brown hair and hitting the thick bulkhead behind him.

The second soldier had been so startled by John's sudden movement that he leapt from his seat and fired, point blank, at him. The impact of the shot slammed John backwards, his head hitting the deck hard.

"John!" Scott moved towards his older brother and the two soldiers fired again. This time, at him, the impact forcing him to the deck.

"No!" Tin-Tin moved like lightning, swinging out of the tactical chair and kicking the gun out of the second soldier's hand before he could move again. Then, in the same motion, she smashed her partially armoured, gloved fist into the soldier's face slamming him into the bulkhead and knocking him out.

Gordon smashed into the first soldier, knocking him back as he fired again, the bullet hitting Gordon's half-helmet that was stored under a seat near John's unmoving body.

"Hold on!" Virgil shouted from the Copperhead's cockpit, twisting the craft almost on one side as he tried to squeeze the ship between two Meta Phantoms.

Tin-Tin braced herself against one of the fixed seats, in the cabin tilting wildly as the Copperhead did a tight bank to the right. Gordon was also still on his feet, one hand clamped around a fixed seat, the other one in a dead grip on John's still form, stopping his eldest brother's body from the sliding as Scott and both of General Gaat's men slammed into the opposite wall of the craft.

The soldier whom Tin-Tin had attacked was still out cold. The first soldier, however, was more prepared and rolled, coming up with his back against the bulkhead, a second gun in his hand. He kicked Scott hard in the side as he struggled to his feet, before grabbing the Captain by the hair and yanking him up, pressing the gun's cold barrel against the side of his head.

"No tricks from either of you two," threatened he soldier. "Or you can start looking for another soldier to take Captain Tracy's place."

Gordon looked at his Captain and older brother, taking in the four bullets that were lodged into the torso of his armour, and another one that had gone into the upper side of his left forearm, about two inches below his elbow.

"Stand down, soldier." Scott ordered and the soldier yanked his head back further, still keeping the gun to his right temple.

"You're in no position to argue, Captain," the soldier sneered. "Nobody from your pathetic squadron is either."

"Shit!" Virgil shouted from the cockpit. "Everyone to my left, now!"

Everyone but Scott and the soldier were already on the left side of the Copperhead, and all of them soon saw the reason for Virgil's concern:

Suddenly, part of a Meta Phantom's tentacle emerged through the wall of the Copperhead, sweeping through the right side of the ship, and passing out the back as quickly as it had come. It all happened so fast that Gordon and Tin-Tin barely knew what was going on before it was all over.

Scott's mind had kicked into high gear as soon as he saw the tentacle coming.

His instincts taking over, he had somehow managed to free himself from the surprised soldier's grasp, feeling a stab of pain in his head as he felt some strands of his dark brown hair being ripped out by the soldier's grip. Scott dived for the opposite side of the ship, the Meta Phantom's tentacle barely missing him as he landed on his injured arm and cried out.

The soldier had not been as lucky.

The Meta Phantom's tentacle passed right through him, ripping out his spirit from his body, and pulling it out of the back of the Copperhead as the tentacle disappeared through the back of the craft.

"We're clear!" Virgil shouted from the cockpit. "Is everyone alright back there?"

Nobody answered for a moment as the soldier holding the gun still stood braced against the wall, the gun still in his hand.

Then, as Virgil levelled the Copperhead back out, the soldier crumpled to the ground, his helmet hitting the deck with a sonorous clang.

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." Gordon muttered, letting go of the seat and John and standing straight, moving over to see if the soldier was really dead.

Scott picked himself off the deck, holding his injured arm close to his body as he went to check on John. His older brother was still breathing, but his pulse was weak. The chest plate had taken the damage of the bullet, acting almost like a bullet-proof vest or like the armour Scott was wearing that had taken four out of the five bullets fired at him and saved his hide. Scott looked closer at the area where the bullet had imbedded itself into John's chest plate, right over his heart, and was only slightly relieved to see that John wasn't actually bleeding.

"Get us back to Philadelphia, Sergeant," Scott said. "And fast!"

"Is he alright?" Tin-Tin asked, sitting back in the tactical chair.

"Honestly?" Scott looked at Tin-Tin and Gordon. "I just don't know."

And he didn't.

Chapter Fourteen

The view from General Gaat's office was stunning. It was something the General never tired seeing. He even had his desk turned to face the huge window in the room so that the barrier's orange glow was always on him. It was a constant reminder that humans lived in constant fear within the Barrier. And, if he had his way, he would see the day when the Barrier ceased to exist and all life would be restored to the dead wastelands outside all the Barriers in the world.

All he needed was permission to fire the Zeus Cannon.

There was a knock at his office door.

"Come in." he said, glancing up from the paperwork in front of him.

Major Tobolsk walked in and saluted.

"The Deep Eyes Squadron are returning from the wasteland, Sir," informed Major Tobolsk. "Apparently, there was an incident."

General Gaat forced himself to keep the smile from his face. This was what he had planned and hoped would happen. "What kind of incident?"

"It would seem," replied the Major. "That the Phantoms were attracted to John Tracy."

"Attracted to him?" General Gaat asked. The situation was even better than he thought. The Council would never allow John to roam free now. And Sir Jeremy and Mr. Hackenbacker's work would be condemned to failure.

Major Tobolsk nodded. "Yes, Sir. The crew barely escaped with their lives. However, it seems that Captain Scott Tracy is still in command."

"How?" General Gaat demanded, his large brow furrowing. He had dispatched three of his best men with that mission. He knew that the Deep Eyes were good, but his men should have had the upper hand of the situation.

"I don't know." Major Tobolsk replied.

"Issue an order," General Gaat said decisively. "I want Captain Tracy placed under arrest with John Tracy."

"Understood, Sir."

"And all research materials belonging to Sir Jeremy and Mr. Hackenbacker's wave theory are to be confiscated immediately. Arrest them too."

"Sir. The Council may not be too happy with that plan of action."

General Gaat stood up and moved over to look out of the window, his back to the Major. "And what a tragedy that would be. This kind of thing is exactly what I've been waiting for. The good Captain and John Tracy have just opened the door for us."

"I still don't understand, Sir."

General Gaat shook his head at the stupidity of some of his men. "Major, by tomorrow morning, the Council will be at our feet, thanking us for exposing the traitors in our midst. Sir Jeremy and Mr. Hackenbacker's work attracts Phantoms. It doesn't destroy them. The Council will implore us to utilize the Zeus Cannon and save them from the Phantoms," he looked at Major Tobolsk. "Now, follow my orders, Major. Dismissed."

Major Tobolsk saluted, turned, and left the General's office, leaving the General to his view of the city under the orange tint of the barrier.

John's unconscious body was slung over Scott's shoulder as the Captain, now out of his armour, made a dead run for the Treatment Center, the rest of the Deep Eyes Squadron, also out of their heavy armour, not far behind.

Sergeant Virgil Tracy had made record time in getting the Copperhead back to the Philadelphia Barrier, and Scott had called ahead to Sir Jeremy and Brains so that they would be ready and waiting.

So far, they had been lucky not to have any run-ins with any of General Gaat's men. Clearly, the General hadn't expected them back so soon, but the Deep Eyes team were ready for any encounters.

Sir Jeremy and Brains were already waiting when Scott burst into the treatment room with John, closely followed by Virgil, Tin-Tin and Gordon. Brains motioned to an operating table, already prepped and waiting.

As Scott gently laid John down on his back on the operating table, Sir Jeremy asked "Did you manage to get the seventh spirit?"

"Right here." Gordon said, holding up the ole ovo-pack.

"Good." Sir Jeremy nodded.

Scott motioned for Virgil and Gordon to take up posts outside the door. Both of them knew, without their Captain having to tell them, not to let anybody into the treatment laboratory.

Scott looked anxiously at John, watching Brains and Sir Jeremy at work. John's breathing was shallow and his skin was pale, almost death-like.

"How is he?" he finally asked, not being able to stand the silence in he room.

As soon as Sir Jeremy looked up at him, Scott could tell that the news was not good.

"Your brother is dying, Captain."

"There must be something you can do." Scott said, feeling almost helpless.

Brains indicated to John's chest plate. "John is fighting with o-only six of the eight –er- spirits. We'll have to implant the seventh spirit d-directly into his chest plate."

"It took a bullet," Scott pointed to the area just above John's hear, the whole chest plate visible now as John's t-shirt was off. "It might be damaged."

Brains studied the impact area, then looked at Scott and Tin-Tin. "I-I have to repair this at once."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help?" Scott asked, his light-blue eyes full of concern.

Brains paused as if to consider for a moment before he looked up at them and nodded. "Actually, there is something you can do."

"Name it." Scott said quickly.

"W-Well, you may not be so fast to act when you –er- hear what it is." Brains told him.

"Just tell us what to do." Tin-Tin spoke softly.

Brains nodded. "John's vital signs are –er- dropping. He's s-slipping away from us."

"Not the words I want to hear." Scott said.

"I know that," Brains said. "But what Jon n-needs is a sympathetic soul to help hold him in this world," Brains looked at the two soldiers. "It's up to both of you to –er- choose who goes in."

Scott looked Brains in the eyes and said "I'll do it."

"R-Right. I'll get everything ready." Brains nodded.

Scott turned to Tin-Tin. "Make sure these people aren't disturbed, no matter what it takes. Understood?"

"Understood," Tin-Tin nodded. "Good luck, Captain." She went through the door to tell Virgil and Gordon what was going on.

"Okay. I'm ready." Scott turned to Brains and Sir Jeremy.

"Right. L-Lie down on that operating table." Brains pointed at the operating table next to John's prone body as Sir Jeremy checked John's condition.

"Keep him with us, Captain." Sir Jeremy said.

"You can count on it." Scott said, feeling a pinprick in his right shoulder, just above his muscular bicep. He had no idea what Brains and Sir Jeremy meant, or how he was going to do what he had just promised, but he would do everything he possibly could to stop them from losing John.

A moment later and he closed his eyes, the sounds of the operating room fading away and vanishing, the hazy room blurring into something totally and utterly different.

Chapter Fifteen

Captain Scott Tracy had never seen anything quite like what he was seeing now:

Twin alien-looking suns filled the sky, a massive moon seemed to hang impossibly low on the horizon. It was hotter here than it had been on the wasteland, inclusive of the fact that he had been in full armour back on the wastelands. Here, he was still in his casual military t-shirt, black combats and black combat boots. How he had gotten here was a mystery.

Around him, the land looked similar to the wastelands that the Deep Eyes team had just returned from, only more alien. Instead of human remains and the wrecks of human vehicles, there were alien ships and the twisted remains of blasted trunks and strange tree-like structures.

Where the blazes was he?

Where had Brains and Sir Jeremy sent him?

And how?

Nothing made sense at all.

"Captain?"

Scott jumped and turned, caught off guard by John's voice. His older brother was standing beside him and Scott was sure that John hadn't been there a moment before.

"Where are we?" Scott asked, glad that he had found John. Or at least he though he had found John.

"On an alien planet," John glanced at the wreck of an alien ship of some sort. "Kinda weird, isn't it?"

"I'll say. How is all this possible anyway?" Scott asked.

John shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, Captain."

"You seem pretty calm about all of this." Scott said, feeling far from calm himself. He'd never expected to wind up on an alien planet with his eldest brother.

"I guess I am," John laughed. "I've been having this dream every night for months."

"Dream?" echoed Scott. He had no idea as to how he could be inside John's dream. And a dream, to him would never feel as real as this.

"Well whatever it is…" John paused and looked oddly at Scott. "You're really here, aren't you?"

"I guess so." Scott shrugged.

"What's happening to me?" wondered John.

"We escaped the Phantoms in the wastelands and got you back to Philadelphia Barrier. Brains and Sir Jeremy are implanting the seventh spirit directly into you right now."

"So you're my spiritual support?" John looked suspiciously at Scott. "Who forced you into it?"

"Nobody," replied Scott. "I volunteered to do it myself."

"That's something new from you, Captain," John said. "Tin-Tin told me how you were mad at me for leaving the Island and International Rescue. I though you weren't the forgiving type."

"Only because you never told us why you had left, John."

"Well, now you know."

"Yeah," Scott's voice softened. "And I guess we could let this one go."

"Is that an apology I hear coming from you, Captain?" John looked both amused and surprised. "I thought you weren't the apologising type."

"I'm not," Scott said with a lop-sided smile. "The day I apologize to anyone and mean it is the day that I die."

"Sounds believable, Captain," John laughed. "So, are we cool?"

"Only if you stop calling me Captain when I'm off-duty." Scott laughed and John caught a glimspe of his brother's mischevious smile, something he hadn't seen since the day before he had left the Island.

"C'mere, you!" John laughed, hugging his younger brother and Scott let him, inwardly realizing just how much he had missed John. How much he had missed not having anyone to look up to.

"Y'know, I'm glad that you're here, Scotty," John said, pulling away from his younger brother. "I think somebody else really needs to see what's been going on around here."

"Don't worry, John. I'm not leaving anyway." Scott told him.

John smiled faintly and looked over at his brother. "Oh, in a moment, you might wish you could."

Scott gave his brother a funny look, and was just about to say something when the ground on which they stood on began to shake and from over the nearby hill, a rumbling sound filled the air…

General Belah Gaat watched as half a dozen of his most trusted men, under the leadership of Major Tobolsk, ransacked John Tracy's lounge area on his ship. So far, they had found nothing, and General Gaat's anger and frustration were rising. Where had John, Sir Jeremy and Mr. Hackenbacker hidden all of their notes?

General Gaat had decided on searching the Black Boa first since it was still impounded. He knew that the Copperhead carrying the Deep Eyes Squadron had landed a few minutes ago. He though that it was likely they were all in a treatment room somewhere near the transport bay. He decided that he would have his men take care of Captain Scott Tracy and John Tracy after they had finished searching the Black Boa.

One of the soldiers had accidentally activated a hidden holo-image on the desk near one of the lounge chairs. Major Tobolsk looked at what it was before he called his superior over. "General. I think that there's something you should see over here."

General Gaat moved over to the Major's side, looking at the holographic image of an alien landscape.

"Exactly what am I looking at, Major?" demanded the General.

Major Tobolsk tapped a button on the hidden projector and the words 'Dream File: 13/12/2065' appeared over the scenery. That was the day when John Tracy had dropped into Pittsburgh.

As he watched the dream progress, the General's face broke into a sinister smile. "This is it!" he said, putting a hand on Major Tobolsk's shoulder. "This is our evidence that John Tracy is under the Phantoms' influence."

"Exactly, Sir." Major Tobolsk also had an evil leer on his face.

"Good work, Major."

"John Tracy' dreams, combined with the attraction the Phantoms had to him in the wasteland, should be more than enough for the Council to authorize the firing of the Zeus Cannon, Sir."

"However, the Council is content on hiding inside this forsaken barrier whilst the world around them dies a little more each day."

"What do you plan to do then, Sir?" Major Tobolsk asked, the smile disappearing from his face.

"I think a push in the right direction ought to do," General Gaat said. "Major. Get together a group of your most trusted men and report to me. Bring me a copy of this 'Dream File' evidence too."

"Yes, Sir." Major Tobolsk nodded.

With that, General Gaat turned and headed for the door. This whole case was working out far better than he had originally hoped for.

A massive alien army poured over the horizon like a monstrous flood, bearing down from all sides, their armour glinting in the twin alien suns. Nearly all of them were armed.

Scott froze.

To his trained eye, he could tell that the alien army was working together, the thousands of them fighting as a unit.

And heading their way.

"We've got to get out of here, John!" Scott shouted above the increasing noise.

"No!" John shouted in reply. "Look over there!"

Scott looked in the direction at which John was pointing, only to see a second army of the aliens swarming over the horizon, also heading for them.

The two alien armies were screaming at each other, firing their weapons, their shape reminding Scott of some of the different Phantoms on Earth. He turned and looked at John, surprised that a) a civillian, and b) the fact that the two of them were caught n the middle of two alien armies, his older brother seemed scarily unconcerned.

A split second before the two armies clashed, Scott protectively pulled John down, both of them watching as the two armies shed each others blood, a scene of the most horrific carnage unfolding.

Then, suddenly, the two armies ceased firing and turned to stare at them. Scott felt icicles running down his spine as thousands of the alien soldiers turned to look at him as both brothers got to their feet.

"What are they doing?" Scott realized that he had never felt so unnerved in his life until now. "Why are they staring at us?"

"Not at us, Scott." John gently turned Scott around to face the oncoming wall of fire that swept like a wind towards them, destroying everything in its path.

John and Scott held each other tightly as the unforgiving flames hit them.

And went right over them, leaving both of them untouched and confused.

"The last time I got this far in the dream, I woke up convinced that I had been burnt to death," John mused aloud. "Hm. Maybe the seventh spirit made the difference."

Scott turned around to look at what the wall of fire had left behind.

Both of the alien armies had been destroyed in an instant. The surface of the planet was now scorched and dead. All that remained were the empty and broken armoury of the two armies.

And them.

Suddenly John and Scott found themselves floating up off the surface of the ruined planet.

"What's happening?" asked Scott, holding onto John's arm to keep them from floating apart.

"No idea," John replied. "I've always woken up before now."

The two brothers glanced down as they floated through the emptiness of space, not far off from the planet that they had stood on and watched the aliens fight and die. Below them, the planet was breaking up, the crust rupturing and splitting apart, magma rising up between the huge cracks.

Then, for a moment, it seemed as if everything might be all right again. The eruptions subsided and the lava cooled.

Scott let out the breath he didn't even realise he had been holding. He had expected a more dramatic reaction from the alien planet.

Suddenly, he planet shrunk inwards slightly before exploding, sending chunks of debris flying in a gigantic circular blast radius.

John and Scott saw billions of alien spirits burrowing into the largest piece of the planet as the meteor was thrown into the blackness of space.

"Those were Phantoms!" breathed Scott, his heart pounding like thunder in his chest.

"Now I understand everything." John said, his voice filled with recognition as the last chunks of the ruined planet swirled around them.

Just the, Scott was pulled away from John as a blinding light swept over him, taking him before he could even protest.

Chapter Sixteen

Scott forced his eyes open, gasping for air. He blinked as the bright light around him stung his eyes. He had to know where he was. And, more importantly, where John was.

Sir Jeremy Hodge moved in to block the light, and then Scott remembered where he was before he had wound up on a dying alien planet. It had been some sort of dream. That's what John had told him. Or most probably a nightmare. Especially after what they had witnessed, Scott would definetely have called it a nightmare.

"Welcome back, Captain." Sir Jeremy smiled kindly, calming Scot's edgy nerves.

Scott sat up on the operating table, easing his legs over the edge of it. "Is it over?"

"It is for now." Sir Jeremy nodded.

"How is he?"

"John'll be fine. However, this is only temporary."

"Yeah," Scott nodded. "He needs the eighth spirit."

"Exactly," Sir Jeremy said. "We need to cure your brother completely." Sir Jeremy then noticed the gunshot wound to Scott's arm. "That looks quite nasty, Captain. When did that happen?"

"On the way back here. Courtesy of one of General Gaat's trained assholes," Scott replied a little sorely. "I'm just surprised that we weren't stopped by any of the General's men on our sprint to the Treatment Center." He glanced up at where Gordon stood just inside the treatment room. "Any problems?"

"Nothing yet, Captain," Gordon grinned. "Glad you're back."

"Glad to be back." Scott surpressed a shudder as the images of the alien planed crawled in his mind. How could John stand those dreams? And every night too.

"Stand down and tell the others to come in, Gordon."

"Will do, Captain." Gordon said, disappearing through the automatic sliding door.

A few seconds later and the rest of the Deep Eyes team entered the room.

"I take it that everything's all sorted out now, Captain?" asked Virgil, sitting beside his closest brother and superior on the operating table. "Well, everything apart from your arm anyway."

"I'm on it." Tin-Tin said, looking for the right medical supplies.

"Thanks, Tin-Tin," Scott said and then turned back to Virgil. "So, all we need now is the eighth spirit for John and everything'll be cool, Sergeant."

"I hate when you do that." Virgil laughed.

"What?"

"We don't need to be all formal with the names. These days, I hear you call me Sergeant more than you say my real name." Virgil grinned.

"Yeah, okay," Scott grinned cheekily at his younger brother and added "So, what was your name again, Sergeant?"

"Scott…!" Virgil looked mock-shocked before he did the worst thing he could think of and messed up Scott's hair with his hand.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Scott tried to fend off Virgil with his good arm as Tin-Tin grabbed hold of his left arm, ready to take out the bullet.

"Now now, children," Tin-Tin chided jokingly. "If you two can't get along, I'll have to separate both of you."

"Yes, Mom." Virgil said teasingly, although his amused gaze was set on watching his Captain attempt to sort out his hair with one hand.

"There should be a law against you doing that, Virg." Scott frowned, pushing some hair out of his eyes.

"What?" Virgil asked sweetly.

"Mussing my hair," replied Scott. "And all because you're jealous that my good looks pull in more chicks than yours. Right, Tin-Tin?"

She replied by extracting the bullet in his arm at a painful angle.

"OW!!"

"Scotty. For a tough Captain like yourself, you scream like a girl!" Virgil laughed.

Then, on the operating table beside them, John Tracy stirred and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times and then looked at everyone.

"Hey, Johnny. How are you feeling?" Scott asked as Tin-Tin bandaged up his arm.

"A lot better than you look, little brother." John smiled.

"Yeah, well everyone around here thinks it's national Pick on the Captain Day or something," Scott replied a little wearily. "Including General Gaat's goons."

John laughed, then looked at Sir Jeremy and Brains and said "I finished the dream. I know what it all means now," John looked at everyone. "I know what the Phantoms really are."

Suddenly, the operating room doors burst open and a handful of General Gaat's men charged in, all wearing full armour. All of them armed.

"Stand down." Scott ordered his dream as he saw Virgil reaching for his rifle.

"Nobody move!" shouted one of the soldiers.

"Nobody's moving, soldier." Scott said. The last thing he wanted to happen was for any one of the soldiers to open fire on his team, John, Brains or Sir Jeremy.

"You're all under arrest!" the soldier said. "Drop all of your weapons!"

"Under arrest. Well, that's a surprise," Sir Jeremy remarked sarcastically. "I'll bet this is all General Gaat's doing. Just once I'd love to have a military mind have an original idea."

"Not sure how to take that." Scott said, never taking his gaze away from the soldiers.

Sir Jeremy laughed in reply. "Present company excluded of course, Captain."

It took General Gaat twenty minutes to brief his men and then make it to the Barrier Generator facility.

The Barrier Generator facility was a massive complex of heavy machinery and glowing blue-green ovo-energy pipes which lead to the very core of the facility. The Barrier Generator was what protected the city's protective orange bubble, the barrier, which fended off the Phantoms. General Gaat knew that this was the starting point to eliminate the Phantoms.

At the main security door, Major Tobolsk ran his security card through the scanner and typed in the entrance code. Inside a nearby booth, General Gaat knew that two men were scanning them, finding out who each of them were.

The heavy security doors slid open.

As the soldiers entered the room, General Gaat turned to Major Tobolsk. "Major, arrest these men in here."

After every one of the dozen workers were escorted out of the door, two of General Gaat's men closed and secured the security door.

"Let nobody through," General Gaat told his men. "Period."

General Gaat turned his attention back to the main control board, which displayed a massive holo-map of the entire city and all of its barrier sectors. At the moment, everything was coloured green, showing the normal flow of ovo-energy.

Major Tobolsk was seated in the command chair. He had done work in the Barrier Generator facility for a short while and knew how to operate the area. The other five soldiers that had taken up the remaining stations also had training on how to operate certain posts in the facility.

"Okay, Major," General Gaat stood beside Major Tobolsk, an impassive look on his face. "Reduce ovo-energy flow on Sector Thirty-One."

Major Tobolsk looked at his superior. "Sir, if we do that, the Phantoms will-"

"What you should realize, Major, is that we must force the Council to take action against the enemy. And that a little scare in a sparsely populated area, such as Sector Thirty-One, will do the job just fine." General Gaat held the Major's gaze.

Major Tobolsk nodded and turned back to his control panel, issuing orders as he fiddled with the controls in front of him.

"Twenty-five percent of Alpha Pipe energy flow has been reduced, Sir." one soldier informed.

"Lower the output to Sector Thirty-One." Major Tobolsk said.

"Yes, Sir," replied another soldier. "Lowering output."

On the holo-map of the Philadelphia Barrier, a small sector turned bright red and an alarm filled the room.

"Somebody turn that damn thing off!" General Gaat snapped, and a moment later, silence returned again to the room.

Just then, a second holo-map sprung automatically to life. This one displayed any Phantom activity within the Philadelphia Barrier. It showed that there was Phantom activity in Sector Thirty-One.

General Gaat smiled at the secondary holo-map and smiled wickedly. A few people would die tonight, but their sacrifice would be worth forcing the Council to allow him the use of the Zeus Cannon.

"The Phantoms are coming through now, General." Major Tobolsk informed.

"Oh, I think we can easily handle a few Phantoms in a contained space, don't you, Major?" General Gaat smiled. He had chosen Sector Thirty-One for the simple reason that it was the easiest area to isolate out of the whole city. And right now, that was being carried out by the military.

"Major, when this night is over, you're going to be a hero." General Gaat looked from the Major and back to the second holo-map, watching the Phantoms spread through the area.

His plan was working perfectly.

Now all he had to do was be patient and wait.

Chapter Seventeen

The prison cells were surprisingly more comfortable than John had originally imagined. Each one was fairly large, with beds, a toilet and a sink, all built into the thick and sturdy walls. There were probably more than enough security cameras to see every inch of each cell, as well as the hallway in the middle of the two rows of prison cells. The prison cells were open onto this corridor, with simple beams of light spanning across the open end of the room. Scott had told John that the beams of light were pulsonic lasers. There was no getting through the deadly rays.

John had no doubt that General Gaat's men were carefully watching them all.

He had been put in a cell with Scott and Virgil on one side of the hallway, whilst Gordon, Tin-Tin, Sir Jeremy and Brains all had the cell directly opposite them. Seeing as there was nobody else in the cell block area at all, they all felt that they could talk freely.

Since they had been put into their cells and left alone, John had been telling everyone about his dreams, and what he reckoned they meant. At the moment, he was sitting on the floor in the front of his cell, a safe distance away from the pulsonic lasers that substituted for a large door. In the cell opposite him, Tin-Tin sat on the floor in between Sir Jeremy and Brains, whilst Gordon sat on the edge of his bunk, all listening to John. They all seemed unnaturally calm about being locked up in a jail.

Behind John, Virgil leaned casually against the corner of one side of the cell, whilst Scott was lying on his bunk with his eyes closed and his bandaged arm hanging off the side of the small bed. They too seemed unfazed by their current situation.

John had just finished telling everyone about opinion on what the re-occuring dream meant when Scott suddenly spoke, his eyes still closed.

"Y'know, Johnny. I'm not sure whether you're calling all this right."

"You were in my dream, Scott," John turned around behind him. "You saw the same things I did."

There was a pause as John waited for the Captain to answer.

"Alright then," John said, figuring that Scott didn't really have anything interesting to say anyway. "Let's look at this in another way. Why do you think that we've never been able to determine a relationship between the human-sized Phantoms and the giant Meta Phantoms which roam the wastelands?"

"I don't mean to sound rude, John," Virgil said from where he stood. "But what friggin' relationship?"

"Virgil's right," agreed Gordon. "You have your human-sized Phantoms, your caterpillary Phantoms, your flying snake-like Phantoms, and not to forget my personal favourite, the big, fat giant Metas."

"Down, boy," Tin-Tin laughed. "We know you really love your job, but now's not the right time to get overexcited."

"Gordon's right though," Virgil said. "If you've spent as much time in the field as any of us, you'd know that there's no relationship whatsoever between any of them. It's like a zoo out there."

"Exactly, Virgil," John said, glad that the Sergeant had mentioned this. "I reckon those big Metas are like the equivalent to our elephants or whales."

"Oh-kay then, so tell me why an invading army of aliens bring a bunch of animals along for the ride?" asked Virgil.

"It sounds almost like some kind of crazy Noah's Ark." Gordon commented.

"W-Well, we have always assumed that the Leonid Meteor was intended a-as some form of –er- transportation," Brains said thoughtfully. "Perhaps it wasn't."

"The meteor is a chunk of their planet." John said, recalling the planet being ripped apart in his dream, one massive chunk hurtling into space.

"But how could they survive a trip across outer space on a hunk of rock?" questioned Virgil, his brow furrowed.

John's answer was simple. "They didn't."

There was silence as everyone considered John's words.

"You know, Johnny," Virgil said slowly, breaking the silence. "You're starting to make a creepy kind of sense."

"I agree," Scott said, his voice soft yet still holding its commanding tone. "I think that what you're saying, John, explains why humankind never had a good chance when fighting the Phantoms. All of our strategies were based on one assumption: We were fighting alien invaders."

"Precisely, Scott," John nodded. "Think of what you saw in my dream. Think of how the aliens on that planet died shortly before their world was torn apart. Since then, all they have known of is suffering," John addressed everyone with his conclusion. "The Phantoms aren't an invading army. They're ghosts."

Back in the Barrier Generator facility, General Gaat saw that the holo-map of Sector Thirty-One showed a solid Phantom infestation. He turned to Major Tobolsk.

"How many have entered, Major?" General Gaat enquired.

"Not exactly sure, Sir," Major Tobolsk said as he worked on the control panel in front of him. "A lot of them from what I can tell."

"Excellent." General Gaat smiled. This was exactly what he wanted. This plan should give the Council a good scare and get them moving. "Starts the procedure to bring back up Sector Thirty-One's barrier. Are the squads moving in to clean up the Phantoms?"

"Yes, Sir." Major Tobolsk replied.

"And are they being contained?"

"So far, so good, Sir."

"Perfect," General Gaat said. "Now all we have to do is wait until this mess is cleaned up, and by tomorrow, the Zeus Cannon will have exterminated those creatures' home nest from the face of this planet."

Major Tobolsk and his men almost had the barrier back up on Sector Thirty-One when suddenly, things began to go wrong.

"Sir!" Major Tobolsk turned to his superior. "I have numerous Phantom contacts."

"Of course you do." General Gaat growled.

"But these are outside of Sector Thirty-One, Sir!" Major Tobolsk had the slightest hint of panic in his voice. "And they're spreading further, moving at an incredible speed."

General Gaat looked up at the second holo-map. It showed Phantom contacts moving out from Sector Thirty-One, far faster than possible. He looked back at Major Tobolsk.

"What the hell is going on here? I thought you said that they were all contained."

"It's not a computer error, Sir. I checked that possibility first," Major Tobolsk said. "Somehow, the Phantoms are moving in the pipes."

"What pipes?"

"Sir," Major Tobolsk looked pale. "They're moving in the Bio-Etheric energy flow."

"That's impossible!" General Gaat said angrily. "Nothing living could survive in those pipes." The energy flow was what powered the barriers in the first place, protecting the city from the Phantoms. As far as the General was concerned, Phantoms couldn't move or even exist in that flow.

General Gaat glanced up at the holo-map again, and what he saw made his blood run cold: Hundreds of Phantoms were dispersing at an incredible speed throughout the city. And to top it all off, there was a large serpent-like Phantom headed their way.

Fast.

"Phantom heading this way, Sir." one of the soldiers warned.

General Gaat glanced around. None of his men were armed with any kind of Bio-Etheric powered weapon that could fight a Phantom. They only carried bullet-firing weapons. And bullets couldn't even scratch Phantoms, let alone kill one.

Also, none of the men in the room had any real experience with Phantoms. These soldiers delt with humans. All of the Phantom-fighting had been left to the likes of Captain Scott Tracy and his Deep Eyes Squadron.

Through the window in the facility, the energy pipes illuminated the long serpent-like Phantom as it appeared.

Major Tobolsk gasped something in Bereznik.

Two of the other soldiers started to raise their pistols to fire at the Phantom inside the energy pipe.

"Hold your fire!" General Gaat bellowed as the Phantom disappeared through the flooring. "Are you soldiers crazy?"

The two soldiers looked terrified, but somehow they managed to retake their positions.

General Gaat knew that if any of his men opened fire on the Phantom, the bullets from their guns wouldn't harm it. However, they could rupture any of the energy pipes and kill them all faster than the Phantom would.

"Get Sector Thirty-One sealed up, now!" he ordered. "If we move fast, we can still get things under control."

The soldiers jumped back to work, racing to complete the process that they had started.

Suddenly, the serpent-Phantom rose out of the floor, its shape illuminated by the energy from the ovo-pipes, passing through one of the soldiers at the energy controls and killing him instantly.

A soldier to Major Tobolsk's right opened fire on the serpent, two other men following suite.

"Hold your fire!" General Gaat ducked as bullets began to ricochet around the room.

The rounds from the soldiers' guns imbedded themselves into the control panel, sending smoke, sparks and parts flying, but not affecting the serpent-Phantom in any way.

"Cease fire, damn you!" General Gaat shouted.

The three soldiers finally stopped as the Phantom disappeared down through the floor again, but the damage had already been done: One of the main control boards had been hit by a stray bullet, and the ovo-tank which it controlled started to react to the sudden fluctuation, starting a chain reaction.

Then, beyond the window of the control room, in the massive main pumping room, there came a muffled explosion as one of the pipelines ruptured, causing all of the others to fail.

Red lights began to fill the board as, around the city, sector after sector of the barrier began to fail.

This was followed by the flickering of light in the control room before it was plunged almost into complete darkness.

Another soldier screamed as the Phantom tore his spirit from his body.

A moment later and the emergency lights came up. Emergency power chanelled back into the controls and the holo-map reappeared on the display wall. What the main holo-map displayed was not good.

Most of the barrier over the city was gone.

Two of the remaining soldiers began to fire at the serpent-Phantom again as Major Tobolsk worked as fast as he could at the emergency-powered board, trying desperately to get the barrier up and running again.

Just then, one of the bullets ricocheted off a panel and hit the Major in the chest. He slumped out of the chair, a bloody hand pressed to the fatal wound.

"What happened?" Major Tobolsk asked.

"It went wrong." General Gaat replied as the light went out of Major Tobolsk's eyes.

The serpent-Phantom came out of the floor again and swiped at the soldier standing next to General Gaat, killing him instantly. The soldier's body slumped on top of the dead Major.

General Gaat turned and ran for the door. He had to get out. Out of both the control room and the city too. "Open the door and get out!" he shouted at the two soldiers inside the security booth.

The last soldier inside the door-security control booth just managed to punch the button to open the door as the serpent-Phantom took away his soul and killed him.

Beyond the window in the control room, another ovo-tank exploded in flashes of orange and blue light. General Gaat then realized that there was no saving the city now. He had destroyed it and condemned everybody within it to death.

General Gaat ran from the control room and into the emergency elevator as the cool, computer-activated voice calmly repeated over and over to get to the nearest evacuation point.

If he was lucky, he'd make it to the military evacuation area. But at that moment, he wasn't sure that he really wanted to.

END OF PART ONE….

Story By: Joanna Jade Ling 'Aki Ross' Yap © J.J.L.Y._11-02-2002