CLEANED UP

Clean up notes for this chapter: Well here we are on chapter 11, and we're finally getting through the content of chapter five and starting in on six. At this rate I question just how many chapters this fic is gonna end up at. I'll take bets, really, I will. I feel the scene was done better this time anyway; it doesn't feel quite so cliched and corny... That and I recently had a small experience with the shock of death, so I know the feelings I experience a little better.

Extra Note: I am so sorry it took like two weeks to get this done... but on the upside my second book of my original story is almost done! How sweet is that? I think pretty damn sweet. XP

DISCLAIMER: Don't own it people. Sorries.

Vacation Or War
Chapter Eleven-Lost

"... the part that bends my brain is the fact that the device was only made to convert energy, nothing else. I don't understand how in the world I ended up here... I was hoping you could shed some light on how this happened, and how the hell Fury and I are going to get home. Recreating and reversing the system doesn't make any sense... I'm almost completely positive that something else had to complicate the VC-M1 to make it do what it did."

Lauren paused, looking at Vin and feeling her hands shake. He hadn't said a word since she'd started explaining everything, from top to bottom. She left nothing out, going into detail about gaming systems and the fact that Jak, Haven, and the war with the metal heads was but a fantasy to people at home. He just stared, his eyebrows raised over the goggles he wore, doubling as glasses. She'd explained the technology and theory behind the VC-M1, the fact that it had produced eco, and waking up in the fortress after the whole catastrophe.

She wouldn't blame him if he didn't believe her. She could hardly believe herself.

"You said you couldn't get the device to work until you ran it with Fury?" Vin asked, making her feel even more nervous. Questions were something that often sent Loor to being either defensive or angry. She tried to keep her mood even while nodding.

"The previous tests were unsuccessful... I'm guessing something in the air fixed the failure. It would take continued testing on the device to see exactly what."

He nodded again, crossing his arms over his chest. The stress lines in his face were creased together as his brow knit down. "You're right. There is no way your original device could have brought you here. Something else must have happened. Do you think someone could have tampered with it?"

Loor snorted. "Damian was the only one with the technological know-how. He got me my raw materials, cheap, but he didn't have access to the device. The VC-M1 was my baby, my pet project." She followed with a shake of her head. "No, the key to this has to be the eco. Something in my world must have reacted to it... the fact that you guys have teleporter rings and zoomers are a simple testament to the fact that eco acts differently than electrical power."

"You mentioned that electrical power has to be produced by factories to make enough energy for cities. How is that done?"

"Various ways." She shrugged. "You find the most efficient way to spin a turbine, basically. Usually burning some kind of fuel to create steam from water; coal and other fossil fuels were popular when people first started making their own electricity, but..." She shrugged. "There's all sorts of talk of some sort of power crisis when we use up all those fuels. Nuclear power is an idea, but waste is a problem... there are some clean alternatives, but they depend either on weather events or the presence of running water." She paused before going to correct herself, remembering geothermal worked in some places too, but Vin cut her off.

"Sounds like ancient history." He shook his head.

"Eh?" She was left to blink at him, confused.

"There's been speculation that there was a time on this planet before eco, but it's really more stories than actual history. Supposedly there was some sort of war, the bombs started flying, and the precursors showed up to clean up the mess after we all blew each other up. They say that the precursors brought eco with them when they showed up, but I really doubt it. The planet produces eco in all forms on its own; why would the precursors have to bring it here?" He waved his hands. "Never mind that, we need to figure this mess out... Do you think you could build a working replica for me to study? Like you said, eco likely works quite differently from your type of power. The device itself could be half the puzzle."

She thought for a moment, nodding slightly. She was sure something else had to be complicating the situation, some other device she wasn't aware of, but Vin made a good point. Eco in the VC-M1's workings could do some things very differently than electricity. For all she knew, she'd created a small teleporter. "I'll need some supplies... and I don't know if I'll have the time to put it together. Torn is sure to have me running all over the place, being part of the underground."

"The Shadow has me monitoring the shield wall at all times. I can multitask."

She gave him a look, and then a smirk. "I'm sure you can, but you'll probably try to 'improve' my design while you build it."

"So be really specific." Vin took her over to a screen and introduced her to a keyboard. "Make a list of materials, write up what I need to know, and I'll do the rest."

Loor wanted to growl, protective of who knew as much as she did about the VC-M1. Still, her rampant need to get home overpowered her pride in her work, and she set to acquainting herself with the precursor-script keyboard before typing up what she needed. She just hoped the basic elements were still the same over here; if Vin couldn't get ahold of something as simple as copper wire and a magnet in order to produce electricity to run the VC-M1 with, she was totally screwed.

She likely took another half hour typing away at the exact assembly procedure, and after some debate the instructions on how to run it.

"Well, it certainly doesn't read like a teleporter module."

Loor yelped and whipped around to find Vin had been reading over her shoulder. He had jumped as well, startled by her yelling and putting his hands up. "Yea! Easy there..." He managed, slowly approaching once more.

"Sorry..." She shook her head. "I get really adsorbed. Plus this isn't my native script, so I gotta make sure I'm not making any dumb spelling mistakes..."

He nodded, scanning her operations guide. "You almost done?"

"Just about. Why?" She turned back to typing, though it was unnerving with someone over her shoulder. Now that she knew he was there she was making extra sure that she was hitting the right keys on the keyboard, hating to look like she didn't know what she was doing.

"Your friend has been gone a long time... you might wanna go check on her."

Loor suddenly stopped typing. She blinked, feeling a hot flash of fear run through her person. She remembered the last thing she'd said to Fury.

Don't go getting yourself killed.

"Is the warp gate programmed for the drill platform?"

"Yes, I left it open so-"

Loor darted away, up to sprinting speed as she made a leap through the gate on the other end of the room, suddenly frantic.

There was no point in her machines, or research, or anything else if something happened to her sister.

She shouldn't have stayed. She shouldn't have. She cursed herself now, landing on the other side of the warp gate without remembering the sensation. She didn't take in the drill platform at all, but to register what was good to run on. Her vision was nothing but a gray tunnel of metal flooring.

She could feel it, taste the tang of eco on the back of her tongue. It made her draw her weapon off of her back, skidding to a stop when she reached a dead end. Desperately she glanced around before noting the elevator off to her right, going to stand on it and bouncing nervously as she ascended. She wanted to yell, but wouldn't spear the breath.

A moment later, it wouldn't matter.

A moment later, she would scream. She arrived on a platform that had a large gun turret at the corner. She only noticed it because collapsed next to it... was Fury. She was surrounded by the bodies of small metal heads with blades that would usually be spinning about their bodies like buzz saws from hell, but now they lay motionless.

But so did Fury, her legs a bloody mess. The appendages didn't even resemble the body parts they were supposed to be, a torn and twisted mess of flesh and bone. The blood didn't help, a deep purple color that blossomed over her clothes and puddled on the ground.

Loor dove onto the platform before the elevator was all the way up, kneeling by her sister and almost afraid to touch her. Her upper body was fine, guns in both hands, but her arms thrown over her head as she lay on her side. "Chelsea!" Loor shouted, though she wouldn't cognitively remember it. She was just making noise, staring at something her brain couldn't compute.

Then, slowly, the arm over her face bent and moved out of the way. The gun dropped, and she reached out.

"Lauren..." The girl managed a smile that was ruined by the fact that her hand was shaking violently. Loor took the hand quickly, moving to get her legs under Fury's head and look down at her. Further fear struck like lighting when she felt the fact that Fury was hardly warm; her hand was actually somewhat cool to the touch, and the rest of her body wasn't much better. Another look at her paler than usual complexion said one thing; massive blood loss.

She was crying, holding the hand to her lips, shaking her head. "Oh God... oh my God... please no..."

Chelsea's jade eyes managed to glance from left to right, that smile still in place. Despite her condition, she seemed quite peaceful. Calm. "They snuck up on me... I got cocky." She paused, mainly cause the few words took her breath away. She had to gasp a few moments while laying her head back. "I was afraid... it would all end alone."

The gravity of the situation hit Loor like a ton of bricks. Fury was not just mortally wounded, she was dying. And she knew it. She didn't scream or fight the fact, beg for help or otherwise. She was already comfortably numb, in some form of shock that protected her from the worst of her predicament. She had accepted what was to come, and faced it bravely.

Loor, on the other hand, shook her head violently. "No!" She made a move to get up. "You need help!"

Despite her condition, Fury didn't let go. Her other hand lost its gun so both could take hold of Loor's arms, keeping her from getting up and running away. She didn't say anything at first, just shaking her head no. "... look at this mess... I screwed up again... didn't I?"

Loor looked down, noticing that she was having a tough time keeping her eyes focused. Realizing just how short a time was left, she pulled Fury closer and blinked a few tears away. "No... you didn't screw up... I left you alone... I should have come with..."

That smile widened as Fury snorted a chuckle. "That's so like you... blaming yourself for everything... hang on for me."

"What?" Lauren wasn't ready for a last request. She started denying again, sniffing. "Chelsea, no... you... I... please, let me go get help..."

Her hands had stiffened. Loor imagined this is what people meant by a death grip; the desperate hold of someone on the edge. "Don't think about that... don't think about home... you always... have such a one track mind... I need you to promise to hang on for me... if you find home here, hang on to it... don't let go... and don't run away..." The girl coughed, wheezing. All the strength that could have possibly helped her to hold out was being used, just to convey these final wishes. As her jade eyes kept losing focus, she closed them, looking like she felt quite safe and secure in Loor's lap.

But that's what broke Lauren's heart. She had promised she would fix everything. Promised she would get them home, safe and sound, and clean up this whole mess. It was all her fault, and so was this. She hadn't worked hard enough, or fast enough.

Or she's simply made the mistake of creating that device in the first place.

"I know..." Fury gasped, coughing again.

Loor squeezed her, breathing deeply, as if it would help her take a deeper breath.

"... You'll do right... you always do things right..."

Lauren crumpled over her friend to hug her tightly, sobbing in the process. Still, sniveling through the tears, she nodded. "I promise... I'll hang on, not matter what."

The grip on her arms relaxed as she said this. She sat up quickly, staring down and having the horror run through her. "Chelsea?" She asked, shaking her like she would to wake her on days they slept over at each other's houses, but this gesture bore no response. "... Chelsea...?" Her tears worsened, the truth choking her. "No..." The protest was a harsh squeak of her throat, shaking her head while bending over the body once more. "Not you..." She gasped. "It wasn't... it's... not your fault... not your fault..."

Her denial did nothing. She could feel the body growing colder, and it made the final note of tragedy.

Chelsea was gone. A human being, her friend, no longer existed. Hopes, dreams, plans, all vanishing in a moment. Lauren first failed to comprehend it, as it was an event she was completely powerless to influence. Such was a horrifying experience, as she was a person almost always in complete control. She wanted to get angry, to rage and lash out, but there was no difference to be made with such action.

She had no power over this.

Slowly, after countless tears shed into Chelsea's shirt, Lauren lifted her body and turned back to return to the power station.

She did promise; she would hang on. For Chelsea, she would survive this hostile reality. She'd throw everything she had at it.

She'd hang on.

Vin looked when the teleport gate briefly activated to drop new arrivals into the power station, his quick glance turning to a double-take with a terror-filled scream. He had first seen Loor, but then he saw her burden.

And the bloody stumps that used to be Chelsea's legs.

"Is she...?" He squeaked out.

Loor slowly nodded, as if the words took a few moments to get into her skull and settle properly. "Yeah..."

"I'll call Torn." Vin offered, turning to the comm. station and averting his eyes from the sight. He knew that Loor had let herself down to the floor, and was sobbing quietly, the occasional racking and wet breath getting sucked in. He felt terrible for her on several levels. The two were close friends, close enough to call each other sisters, and they were also new underground operatives.

But they were also trying to get home. Now Fury was dead, and Loor left alone. How would she explain her sister's absence if she ever made it back? Vin didn't ask these questions, activating the communications board and getting in contact with Torn.

"Yeah Vin?" The man's rough voice came through loud and clear.

"We've got a man down over here. Chelsea... We need to take care of the body."

Loor hiccuped in the background.

"On my way." Torn answered without hesitation, the line going. Vin nervously paced after that, afraid to engage Loor in any sort of interaction. She was leaned up against the railing by the warp gate, gently rocking and humming to the body. She may have been a mother, cradling a sick child, but the truth of the matter was far more heart breaking.

Torn arrived fairly quickly. Notified of his arrival, Loor began moving without a word. Torn had brought an interesting zoomer with a flatbed behind the driver's seat for hauling cargo, and a blanket to cover the body out of respect. Loor personally wrapped it up, not allowing the corpse to leave her hands. On the way over she was informed the body would be cremated, since burying it would require putting it outside the city where scavenger metal heads were likely to dig it up anyway. He wasn't sure if Loor had adsorbed any of that information, as she was still absently humming a strange lullaby.

Returning to the underground, Torn landed and came around to find Loor staring off. Her face was streaked with tears, but the waterworks had stopped for the moment. Her hands no longer gripped the body so fiercely, just firm enough to keep it from sliding around as they drove back through the city.

"Loor?" Torn tried to get her attention, and the only indication he gained was a small shift of her eyes, but her gaze went straight through him. She might as well been the person who bled to death. "I need to prepare the body. Please give it here."

She blinked a few times. A look flashed through her eyes, as if she wanted to protect the corpse on some primal urge, but that was beaten down by the reality of the situation.

Slowly, numbly, she gave the corpse over into Torn's waiting arms.

"It'll be a while..." He said, almost gently. "Go... y'know, breathe."

She slipped out of the vehicle, unsure of her footing once she stood on the ground. She felt the urge to follow Torn as he walked off, but she knew that he was likely going to strip the body and soak it in some sort of accelerent to prepare for burning. She wouldn't be able to watch that. Instead, she turned out to the city and started walking. The air smelled bad, but the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other made her come back to earth. She gave herself a quick check-over, making sure she still had her weapon since she remembered taking it out but not putting it away. Indeed, it was hooked to her back once more.

She looked at her hands again, and found them covered in blood. That made her detach again, the purple hues having faded to reveal red.

She'd leached the eco from it. Just like metal head blood; she'd taken the eco into her own system. The thought made her quite sick, and she started seeking one of the many leaking pipes in the slums to wash her hands. Thankfully it didn't take long, and she was able to scrub away the residue before continuing on her way.

She'd made it to one of the ditches in the slums, walking over a bridge over such and stopping in the middle. Without considering why she stopped, sat on the edge, and stayed there to swing her feet over the side. When she looked over the side she could see the long shadows cast by the sun going down; it was nearly evening. Her second day in Haven was ending.

With a funeral. That thought burnt her, made her rage again. She wanted to rip something apart. Her hands gripped the planks of the bridge, her jaw muscles working as her green and purple eyes lost focus.

She wanted to give in to the rage. It would be so easy to be angry, to snap into a state where who she attacked no longer mattered, simply that she did. For a brief moment she felt like she was a creature more incredible, with fangs and talons and the ravenous will to use them. Her imagination had brought her such images before, but not with such clarity. She actually licked her teeth to make sure the image was not a reality.

Thankfully she was still herself, and she realized the image was born not of her desperate rage, but of Lyra. The beast she now lived with.

"No, seriously, I'm telling you I saw a guy drive a zoomer right into a guard, jumped off right before the thing crashed, and the alarm didn't go up! C'mon, I dare ya to try it!"

Loor blinked as she heard Daxter's voice off to her left, looking and standing up as she saw the duo moving her way. They must have been heading back to the underground... which was now being used to prepare a dead body. She figured it was only respectful to head them off.

Jak was shaking his head at his partner when Daxter noticed her. "Hey, Loor, babe!" He greeted, grinning like an idiot. "You'd be up to a bit of fun at the KG's expense, wouldn't ya?"

Loor wasn't sure how to react. She felt so serious, so lost, that Daxter's humor was something she simply shrugged off. She shook her head no, without saying a word.

Jak picked up the vibe. "What happened?" He asked quickly. He then noted something else. "... where's Chelsea?"

Loor blinked, not wanting to talk. She could prevent herself from crying as long as she didn't speak, and she didn't want to cry in front of Jak. She blinked and looked down, letting her black hair fall forward and curtain her face. "She..."

She took a deep breath while swallowing back tears.

"She's dead."

The Author's Corner

Ah, the scene that got sporks thrown at me when this fic was first published oh so many years ago. But I can't say I regret it at all, since Fury's death allows for a whole 'nother story that I did have much fun with. I apologise to Fury herself, though. I LOVE YOU IMOTO-CHAN!

Till next time...

-Loor