I barely remember much after getting the sub on land. I woke up in the DPA medical ward a few days later and Jodie filled me in on the details.
Thankfully, Nick and Vince got their hands on an armored truck and found as a few minutes after getting the sub's signal after the base exploded. They got to us, loaded us onboard and we were headed home in no time.
When we got back to the states I was sent to the hospital on site to be examined and treated before being moved to the DPA HQ when they were sure I was stable. The docs all said the amount of strain my body had been under from overuse of my powers could have killed me if I had pushed anymore.
Thankfully there was no permanent damage done, and Aiden made sure of that which I was even more thankful for.
Ryan's body had been sent to his family for burial. As much as I had issues with the guy for his part before mine and Jodie's defection from the CIA, I couldn't completely hate him.
He gave his life attempting to give us a way out of that base, and I was sure to honor him for that sacrifice. It was the right thing to do.
With the mission done and over with, the only thing left to do for Jodie and I was to collect what we were owed, then start planning our future together.
We both had high hopes for what waited for us...but the common theme in our lives since the beginning was that even the best of hopes didn't come without a price...
And the two of us, it would seem, had one last one to pay.
X
"The active condenser in the Republic of Kazirstan has been destroyed and the rift is now inaccessible." General McGrath stated to the men and women seated in the DPA op center, following the full report of the mission debrief that had been given. "We are now the only nation with access to the Infraworld."
"This situation, opens up new strategic and military perspectives. We're going to launch new programs to discover possible energy resources and develop military applications. We've already found ways of linking entities to human soldiers and this is just the beginning." the General continued.
From her seat, Jodie had heard more than enough and quietly stood and walked out. This man and his people were making a HUGE mistake. The Infraworld wasn't a place to exploit, a place they could control.
They were all just too ignorant to understand what they could end up unleashing upon the world.
She and Aiden were both in agreement that the world would be a better place without McGrath in the picture. But they'd gotten their hands dirty enough doing his work for him, they had something better to focus their attention on.
Following the same path she had been going down for the last week since they arrived back from the mission, Jodie entered the hospital wing and into a familiar room where JD was sitting on the edge of his bed dressed in a black t-shirt, jeans and a pair of converse shoes with another doctor preforming tests.
"For the last time, doc. I feel fine." the psionic said exasperated from all the tests and exams he'd been put through since coming back. "No more headaches, heartrate's fine, and no excessive bleeding."
"Sorry, Mr. Vattic. But it's routine. Especially given your supernatural abilities." replied the doctor. "We can't take any chances of you having a relapse or going into a coma from overexertion."
JD groaned, flopping back on his bed with his hands covering his face. Jodie couldn't help but laugh at her fiance's plight.
Her heart stuttered a bit thinking about that, the fingers of her right hand playing with the engagement ring worn on her left. They could finally have a peaceful life now. Go someplace quiet, just the two of them and live happily.
Just the thought of it had Jodie smiling softly.
"So, how was the meeting with the top pricks of the nation?" JD's voice brought her out of her happy thoughts. The doctor having left the room a moment ago.
"McGrath makes me sick." she replied with a harsh sigh, "The only reason they had us do any of that was so that the US would be the only one to control the Infraworld."
The psionic shook his head, "These people are fucking with an ACME dynamite kit. It's gonna blow up in their faces one day. Hopefully we'll be far away when that happens." he smiled at her knowingly, "Speaking of which...did you decide on where you want our honeymoon to be? I'm still voting for Hawaii, someplace warm without a single sign of snow anywhere."
Jodie laughed again, leave it to JD to bring up her mood no matter how down she was. "I'm pretty sure you just want to see me in a bikini everyday, Mr. Vattic." she said grinning.
JD grinned right back as he stood from his bed and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, "Oh no, Miss. Holmes. I intend on keeping you naked in bed for a while." he said huskily which caused Jodie to blush and her body to heat up.
Just as they were about to kiss, a throat clearing by the door broke them apart. "Good to see some things never change." Cole said, having just walked in on their moment.
"You mean you breaking up a good time for us?" JD said with a raised eyebrow. Jodie smacked his arm playfully before turning her attention to Cole.
"What's up, Cole?"
"Nathan's looking for you. Thought I'd take you to his office and figured I'd find you here with loverboy." replied the researcher.
JD rolled his eyes, "Ha ha, Cole." he laughed sarcastically, "You're just jealous cause your prime passed...what? 15 years ago?"
Cole pointed a finger at him non-threatening, "Hey! Just because you're marrying my princess here don't mean I ain't afraid to kick your psychic ass up and down this facility."
"Oooooh, bring it on 'old man'." JD egged with a wide grin.
Jodie sighed and rubbed her eyes, "Guys, get over yourselves." she looked to her fiance, "Better see what Nathan wants, you going to be okay without me for a few minutes?"
"If my boredom don't kill me first..." the psionic exaggerated, being silence when Jodie kissed him before following Cole out of the room.
X
The trip to Nathan's office was uneventful, Jodie and Cole spoke to one another about what she and JD were going to do next and the researcher telling her how proud he was of both of them.
And that Jodie would be a good wife and mother someday which had her blushing.
After being dropped off, Cole saying he was going back to the hospital wing to hang out and talk with JD while she spoke with Nathan. Jodie entered the man's office where he sat behind his desk, looking up and smiling at her arrival.
"Jodie! Glad you could come!" he said coming around and embracing her. "I know this last week's been tough, especially after JD had to be hospitalized. I'm just glad that the two of you are safe again."
Jodie said nothing, not even really responding to the hug as they stepped back from one another, "We kept our part of the bargain," she stated simply, "Now, it's the CIA's turn."
Nodding, Nathan turned to his desk and picked up an envelope with Jodie and JD's names on it. "As far as the CIA's concerned, you two no longer exist." he said, handing her the package.
Opening it, she found two passports. Each with a different name and identity for her and JD to start their new lives. And a personal check for $750,000 for 'services rendered'. More than enough for the couple to make a new start.
"Thanks, Nathan." said Jodie, honestly grateful for all of this as she pocketed everything and turned to leave.
"Before you go..." Nathan's voice stopped her. "There's one last thing I'd like to ask."
She turned to face him, and the man looked a little older than a few moments ago as he looked at a picture of his family. "When my wife and daughter died in that accident fifteen years ago, I wanted to die too. I cried a lot, banging my head against the wall, trying to figure out why? Why? Why them?"
Jodie looked on silently as Nathan became lost in his memories, "Never being able to hold them again. It was like a wound that wouldn't heal." he turned and faced the girl he'd helped raise, "But then, you came alone. And I realized...they were still here all the time, near me. I just couldn't see."
He walked over to a wall that had a hand-print reader next to it. Placing his palm on the scanner, the wall opened up to a secret room.
A private lab, all in white with equipment set up and notes on the walls and nearby white boards. "The government gave me everything I needed to study the Infraworld." Nathan started to explain as we went to a computer terminal set beside some kind of device mounted to the floor, "They were interested in military applications. I was interested in seeing my family again...It's taken me some years, but I finally succeeded in creating this."
The machine started to power up, acting like a miniature condenser with the lights going off as the image of two ghostly figures could be seen above it. Both clearly female that were reaching out to Nathan.
"Hello, my darlings..." he said in a watery voice, reaching out but unable to touch them. "Helen...Laura...I miss you so much."
Nathan turned to Jodie, who was looking on in stunned silence and heartbreak, "I come to see them every day. Soon we'll be together. I'm working on a modified condenser that can communicate with souls of the Infraworld. Speaking with the dead, Jodie...can you imagine?"
"What do you want from me?" Jodie asked...something deep within her own soul telling her that something was wrong with this.
"I want you to help me talk to them." Nathan answered, sounding hopeful. "I wanna hear their voices. I wanna tell them what I'm doing. Until I finish my research, you're the only on that can do it."
Jodie shook her head, aghast as what he was doing and asking of her. "Nathan...they're dead. They're in the Infraworld now. You cannot make them come back. I'm sorry...I can't help you."
Nathan's face was blank, "I haven't heard their voices in fifteen years...since that day I heard them through a little girl...you." tears started falling from his eyes, his voice breaking. "Please, Jodie. I'm begging you..."
Her heart was torn. Jodie knew that deep down this was all wrong, that Nathan needed to move on. But at the same time she could tell that he was broken, always had been and hid his pain from the rest of the world.
As much as she didn't want to do it...she believed the man deserved some form of peace.
"Give me your hands." she said holding hers out, Nathan took them eagerly as Aiden connected her to the spirit of his wife. Her eyes rolling white as the deceased woman took over.
"...Helen?" Nathan asked, smiling, "My darling. I missed you so much."
"Let us go Nathan!" Helen Dawkin's voice cried from Jodie's lips, sounding as though she were in pain. "You're hurting us! You've got to let us go! LET US DIE!"
Nathan scrambled back, breaking the link, "You...You're lying!" he shouted in anger, "Helen didn't say that, YOU DID!"
"You're keeping them here..." Jodie said in horror. "They're being torn apart between two worlds!"
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Nathan bellowed. "YOU'RE LYING! I KNOW THEY WANT TO BE WITH ME AGAIN!"
"They're suffering, Nathan." Jodie tried reasoning, "If you love them, if you REALLY love them, you've got to let them go. You can't cheat death!"
"CHEAT DEATH?!" the man shouted, "Death is NOTHING! You hear me?! NOTHING!"
Jodie shook her head, realizing how most Nathan had become all these years. "Goodbye, Nathan." her soft spoken words almost extinguishing the man's anger instantly, "I hope you find peace." she turned and left the office, not looking back.
Making her way down the corridor to the elevator, the only thing on her mind was getting back to JD and the two of them leaving. She'd had enough of this place.
Opening the doors, she was greeted with two men with rifles aimed at her.
Startled, Jodie took a step back before something slammed into the back of her neck, her whole world going dark.
X
"So, do you guys have anything planned out for the wedding?" Cole asked as he and JD were relaxing in the latter's hospital room.
"Nothing yet. Something simple though, since we don't really have much." replied the psionic. "We were hoping to go somewhere warm afterward though."
The researcher gave him a rather serious look, "Kids?"
JD thought a moment or two, "She'd be an amazing mom." he said softly. "Even though she has her reservations about it, given her own upbringing and finding the truth about her birth mother, I've seen her maternal instincts." he remembered back when they were with Stan and the others almost a year ago and how Jodie was around little Zoey.
"I'm hoping you guys don't jump into any of that too soon." said Cole, feeling older than he was seeing how much the couple had grown up.
"Our lives were always decided for us, since the beginning." replied the psionic, "From now on, we'll make our own choices. Together. And if anything should come to pass, we'll handle it. Together."
Cole smiled, "Yeah, Jodie said roughly the same thing on our way to Nathan's office." frowning, he checked his watch, "It's been a while. She should have called me by now."
A familiar feeling on unease entered JD's system, he knew he shouldn't have let her go alone, but he was confined here for the time being until released.
The door to the room opened, the two men looking up to see three heavily armed guards step inside. "John-David Vattic, you're to come with us." the one in the lead ordered.
"What the hell is this?!" Cole demanded.
"Orders from General McGrath himself." stated the guard, causing JD's eyes to narrow into slits.
"I FUCKING knew it! They weren't intending on letting us leave!" his thoughts raged.
The guards all drew tasers, one of them holding a nullifyer collar, "I recommend you come quietly, or we'll be forced to-"
A blast of psychic energy cut the man off, sending all three guards slamming into the walls painfully. "Yeah, that ain't fucking happening." JD hissed dangerously with his aura flared.
"If they came for you...then they probably got to Jodie too!" Cole exclaimed in alarm.
Grabbing a pistol and some ammo clips from the guards, JD prepared to tear through the facility when one of the body's he'd taken out rose back to its feet.
Aiming the sidearm between their eyes...he stopped when he saw that they were rolled over white. "...Aiden?" he asked.
"...H...elp..." a voice rasped from the man's lips, echoing and otherworldly like it had never been used before. "J...od...ie...tro...uble...com...e...n...ow!"
JD understood instantly as the entity left the body and then the room, the psionic activating his aura-vision and running after him with Cole hot on his heels. Blowing past several doctors who got out of their way, Aiden led them into an elevator and activated the panel to take them to the lowest floor of the facility.
"What he hell happened up there? I thought you guys were pardoned?" Cole questioned as they rode the lift.
"They were never going to let us go, Cole." JD said with ice in his voice as he checked his new weapon. "Two powerful assets running around free? No way in hell they weren't going to pull something. Fuck! Should have gone with her!" he cursed at himself for not thinking ahead like that.
The doors opened and the duo stepped out into a lobby area where a guard was stationed at the front desk. "Yes, can I help you?" he asked standing from his chair.
"Cole Freeman, I have level three authorization. He's with me." Cole said, motioning to JD as he made sure his pistol was tucked away in the waistband of his jeans.
The guard checked his computer, "Hmm, I'm sorry, Mr. Freeman, you do not have the correct authorization for this level."
"You may wanna check again." JD said, clenching his hand.
"Sorry, but this level is classifi-" he froze when his body was encased in psychic energy. His head slamming hard onto the desk with enough force to knock him out.
"Jesus JD!" Cole exclaimed in shock.
The psionic didn't reply as he jumped over the desk and accessed the door controls, unlocking them to allow them passage. "Lead the way, Aiden." he said to the entity as he led them down the corridor and stopping by a sealed room. "Here!"
Aiden blasted the controls, causing the door to open to reveal Jodie strapped down to a metal gurney that was raised vertical. An IV injected into her arm as she raised her head drowsily in their direction.
"JODIE!" JD shouted, rushing up to her and using TK to rip her bindings apart. Taking her into his arms as Cole came up and removed the IV from her arm. "Jodie, baby, talk to me!" the psionic stressed while holding her close.
"N-Nathan..." she said, sounding drunk-like from whatever they had been forcing into her veins. "He's...He's gonna deactivate the containment field. Around the Black Sun."
"What?!" both men exclaimed in alarm.
"Why?! Why would he do that?!" said Cole.
"He's gone insane." Jodie answered, becoming more lucid as time went by, "He thinks he's gonna get his family back. We gotta stop him!"
The whole facility suddenly shook violently, warning lights and alarms blaring all throughout the complex over the sounds of people panicking in the distance.
'WARNING. CONTAINMENT FIELD SHUTDOWN. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY. The PA system announced to the whole base.
"The containment field..." Cole said with terror creeping into his voice, "Oh, Christ...he's done it!" he exclaimed, not wanting to believe it as he ran back out into the hall.
"COLE!" JD shouted after him before going back to Jodie, "Are you okay to move?"
Jodie nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay. We gotta move now before it's too late!"
The couple ran after the researcher as he led them through the now chaotic halls of the facility. Entities came flying out of the walls, ceiling and floors attacking anyone in their path while the building itself shuttered on its very foundation.
Avoiding the countless dangers in their way, the group managed to get to the elevator and seal the door. "There might still be a chance to reactivate the field." Cole said as he hit the switch to the proper floor. "...if it isn't already too late."
When the lift stopped and the doors opened, they were greeted with soldiers screaming as they tried, and failed, to fight back against the otherworldly spirits.
Many of them covered in some kind of shielding that flickered around their bodies, but did almost nothing to stop the entities from ripping them to pieces.
Right as they reached the end of the corridor, General McGrath came seemingly out of nowhere and grabbed Jodie by the shoulders;
"Jodie! You're the only one who can stop this! Dawkins has gon-" JD slammed his fist into the man's face, sending him crashing hard to the floor.
"That's for using us." the psionic hissed through clenched teeth, taking out his pistol and shooting the man in the kneecap. "And that's for taking my girl." grabbing Jodie's arm, he led her through the door Cole had gone through, leaving the screaming, bleeding General to his fate as entities swarmed him on all sides.
Now in the control room for the large condenser, Cole was typing away as quickly as his fingers would allow. Outside the protective glass, the Black Sun was fluctuating out of control. The rift to the Infraworld threatening to expand and take everything with it.
"Dammit!" the man cursed, slamming his fist on the console. "I can't stop the condenser or reactivate the field!"
"There's gotta be something, Cole!" JD said over all the alarms.
Cole ran his hands over his head before an idea hit him, "Wait...there might be something!" he motioned to the airlock-like area at the back of the control room. "Hurry! We're out of time!"
Once inside with the door sealing behind them, the researcher grabbed an odd looking belt from a nearby rack and put it on. "What are you doing?" asked Jodie.
"It's a portable containment field." explained Cole. "Should protect me long enough to reach the condenser and trigger the manual self-destruct." the belt activated and a shimmering field appeared around him, just like the ones on the soldiers before. "Might be our only chance to close the rift. It's a long shot...but it's the best I got."
"Cole, you can't do this alone." said JD. "I saw the soldiers outside wearing the same thing, the entities tore through them. You won't last in there."
"Then let's up the odds." Jodie stated, grabbing herself a belt and putting it on. The psionic smirked at her before taking his own and clipping it around his waist.
Equipment secured, and fields activated, the trio stepped into the elevator that would take them down to the main floor;
"The Black Sun is at the center of the dome." Cole said, laying out the plan for what they were about to face. "No one's ever been before so there's no tellin' what we'll find down there."
"How much time do we have after activating the self-destruct?" asked JD, his psionic's flaring to life around him in preparation.
Cole sighed, "The system was designed to activate remotely...the explosion with be practically instantaneous..." he looked at the couple with a sorrowful expression.
"We're not coming back..."
The silence in the lift after that was deafening. Jodie's hand reached out and held JD's tightly, the psionic gripping back as they continued to descend.
Nothing needed to be said. They both knew they had the other at their side...to the end.
The blast door opened, allowing them to run down the corridor that would take them to the Black Sun.
However, the sight of dozens of dark entities had them skidding to a stop and taking cover behind pieces of equipment laying about.
"The condenser zone is on the other side of that door." Cole said, motioning to the entry on the other side of all the entities.
"How do we get past them all?" wondered JD. "They'd take us apart before we get three feet in."
"They haven't seen us yet." Jodie said, taking a look and seeing the spirits milling around. "It's our only chance."
"Then we better make it count." the psionic replied to her, all of them waiting for the right moment before sprinting from their hiding places and hunkering down again before they could be seen.
One of the entities screeched at where Jodie was set up before flying off in another direction. They repeated the same maneuver and stopped in time to see a guard that was still alive get dragged off into the shadows.
They kept moving, staying out of sight until they were close enough to the door to make a break for it. By that point, the entities had seen them and gave chase.
Jodie and JD made it first, but Cole lagged behind not being as fast as the younger couple. He was a few meters from the door when one of the entities shot toward him, shattering his containment field and slicing through his torso.
"COLE!" Jodie screamed, seeing him go down and running out to him. JD behind her, firing psi-blasts into the incoming entities and keeping them at bay as she helped Cole up and half dragged, half carried him through the entry.
When they were clear, JD slammed his fist on the panel by the door and sealing it so that they weren't followed.
Laying Cole down on the floor, Jodie checked the damage and saw the deep gash in his side. "Fuck...fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" she cursed repeatedly as the man coughed.
"I'm sorry, princess...you two are gonna have to go on without me." he said, even though it caused him pain.
"No, no, no...No way! I'm not leaving you here!" Jodie stated firmly, tears already gathering in her eyes and voice cracking.
Cole smiled at her, "Find...the Black Sun, Jodie. Or NOBODY will make it..."
JD came over and crouched beside him, the researcher reaching out and clasping his hand, "You better take good care of her...you hear me?"
"You never have to ask, Cole." the psionic replied, a tear escaping his eye as well.
Aiden came down and healed the man's injury as he passed out from the pain, giving him what comfort he could.
"Aiden's all that he can." Jodie said, the two of them standing together and approached the adjacent door that would take them where they needed to go.
JD stood by the panel, hand over the switch to open it when he looked back at his fiance, his lover, his friend, and smiled;
"You and me against the world..."
Jodie smiled back, "You and me against the world." she repeated as the psionic hit the switch. The ground shaking beneath them as the huge blast door rose upward. Bright yellow light greeted them as they shielded their eyes.
Nothing could be seen beyond, save for the rift in the very center that was completely black and shifting as if it were a living being.
"The Black Sun." JD said, equal parts awe and anxious as he felt the power of it wash over them.
"Let's finish this." Jodie said with steel in her voice as they stepped out into the unknown. The door closing behind them and sealing them in.
X
It was like walking into a hurricane. The howling winds from the rift whipping around them making every step a battle.
The sounds of souls screaming from the Infraworld rang out through the air, a haunting melody of what may wait for them at the end of their trek.
All around them, images of people started to appear. Many of them speaking in soft tones too low to understand, while others spoke about their regrets, their loved ones, and the lives they lived before passing.
"Who are they?!" JD called out over the wind.
"Souls!" Jodie called back, "Lost souls!
Doing their best to ignore the spirits, some of them even approaching the couple, Jodie and JD kept pressing on. JD bringing up his hand and forming a barrier infront of them to add a little extra protection as they struggled to reach the Black Sun.
"HELEN! LAURA!"
Nathan's voice bellowed from somewhere ahead of them, through the haze of light the couple could make out his form attempting to reach the rift as well.
"Nathan, stop!" Jodie shouted, drawing the man's attention.
"I can't find them! I call them but they don't come!" he said as he kept searching the void around them.
"Look at what you've done!" the young woman reproached, "You've destroyed everything because you can't face the truth!"
Nathan shook his head, his appearance disheveled and broken as he raised his right arm, aiming a pistol at Jodie, "I miss them...I miss them so much!" he cried in grief.
JD was infront of his fiance instantly, his own weapon aimed at Nathan. "Let's us pass, Nathan! We have to stop this before it's too late!" he demanded, not wanting to shoot the man who helped raise him since his rebirth.
But he would if it meant stopping all this madness.
"The condenser must be destroyed!" Jodie kept trying to reason with him, "You know it's the only way!"
Nathan cried silently, a broken man who suffered loss and was unable to move on. But deep down, he knew that they were both right. This needed to end...
He raised the pistol and put the barrel to the side of his head.
Before Jodie or JD could say or do anything he pulled the trigger, his body crumpling to the ground where a bright-blue aura began to raise from him. The aura reforming into a younger, cleaner dressed Nathan Dawkins who stood smiling at them.
The man's spirit turned just as the spirits of his wife and daughter came running up to him, the three of them embracing for the first time in over 15 years.
"I missed you." he said in tearful joy, "I missed you so much..." Nathan looked over at the couple, who couldn't help but smile at seeing him and his family together again. "You two are the only ones that can fix this. Do it...do it for me."
With that, the three spirits dissolved into specks of light and vanished back into the rift. Back to the Infraworld.
Slipping the pistol back into his jeans, JD turned to Jodie. The duo nodding to each other silently as they continued on their path. The wind getting more violent meaning they had to be getting closer to the condenser
A feral roar could be heard somewhere ahead of them, a large, shapeless form flew in the air above their heads and came back around to reveal a dark entity that was easily ten times bigger than all the others they had encountered. It's mouth open wide and tendrils lashing as it dove at the couple.
"LOOK OUT!" Jodie screamed, she and JD diving to opposite sides as it streaked past them.
The psionic rolled to his feet and fired a barrage of psi-blasts after the monster, the entity coming back around, the attacks only stalling it for a second as it came after him.
JD avoided the gaping maw intending to swallow him whole, but one of the entity's tentacles managed to catch him in the side and sent him sprawling out on th ground.
Jodie saw her lover go down, but narrowly dodged when the entity came at her next. The young woman rolled, jumped and kept out of reach of the attacking monster. But it wouldn't give her an inch to escape as its tentacles wrapped around her legs and started dragging her off.
"JODIE!" JD shouted, running toward her to help only to be taken off his feet as another entity caught him off guard. Shaking off the impact, the psionic charged his powers and launched a strong psi-blast into the entity that attacked him, sending it screeching into the void.
Escaping her own entity's clutches, the couple regrouped and stood back to back as more dark spirits started flying around them in a loose circle.
"We're surrounded!" JD said, his powers flaring brightly.
A burst of static could be heard between them, their containment field sparked before deactivating leaving them exposed.
"Shit! My field's down!" she said, messing with the panel on it and trying to get it working again. An entity flew down, attempting to get to her only to be blasted away by JD. The psionic looked her belt and his own and saw the power units on both had been damaged.
"The power units are fried!" he shouted, firing another psi-blast to keep the entities at bay. Looking toward the rift and seeing how close they were.
Gritting his teeth, JD removed his belt and tossed it aside before holding his arms out and forming a barrier around the two of them. "Keep moving!"
Jodie wanted to argue, but they didn't have the time. Tossing her own useless belt aside, she stuck close to JD as they moved together toward the rift. The psionic keeping the barrier up as they moved while the entities flew around them like hungry sharks.
The force coming from the opening to the Infraworld became more intense, threatening to overpower the couple as they soldiered on. Dark, shadow-like skeletons rose up from the ground at their feet, grabbing at them as if to stop their progress.
Aiden came to their aid, blasting the clawing entities away and keeping them protected.
JD dropped the barrier and grabbed Jodie from behind when she started to stumble, keeping her held close as they kept pushing forward.
Images passing by them, moments in their lives. In his case, the psionic saw two sets, one of his life before, and the other from the new one he had been given. Both of them blending together in a blur of memories that had defined who he was.
Jodie going through something similar, from her earliest memories leading to when she met JD for the first time, to all the adventures they had as they grew up to their journey as a couple. She felt his grip on her tighten, reassuring her that he was still there with her through it all as they came upon a control panel for the condenser.
Reaching her hand out, Jodie grasped the lever to initiate the self-destruct. JD's hand coming up and laying over hers, his face beside hers;
"No matter what! I'll always be by your side!" he shouted over the loud howl of the rift.
"I love you, Jodie Holmes!"
"I love you, John Vattic!" Jodie shouted back as they yanked the lever together.
There was a pause, then their whole world exploded in bright white light...