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Chapter Seventeen: It's been emotional

Trance worked quickly and quietly, examining Milon and eventually deciding that there was really nothing she could do for him. There did not seem to be much actual damage done, again, the pure drainage of the energy was mainly to blame for his loss of consciousness. All the while, Tyr and Pitch stood there, watching, not knowing what else to do but not wanting to leave either.

"All we can do now is wait," she said, "let me know if he wakes up, I have to go and take a look at Beka's arm... it's only a scratch, but I should give her something to prevent an infection..."

Trance gave Milon's motionless body a last look and then she disappeared out the door, leaving Tyr and Pitch alone with their unconscious friend and an uncomfortable silence. Friend? Was that what he was now? Tyr could not believe he had gone so soft so quickly. But why should he feel stupid? Were Nietzscheans not allowed to have friends? As long as he did not let it blind his senses or lure him into some kind of trap, there really was nothing wrong with it, was there? Still, he felt irritated and... disappointed in himself. His own welfare was supposed to be his only concern, that was how you survived, and he really should know better than this.

Pitch walked up to the bed and looked down at Milon's sleeping form. He was not touching him, or even saying anything, but Tyr could tell from his posture and bowed head that there was more sadness and worry in him than he was letting on.

"The rift is closed. You will not be able to go through. All this waste of energy for nothing..." Tyr said.

Pitch spun around and gave him that cold, hard, black-eyed stare again.

"For nothing? At least now there'll be a home to go to!"

"But you might never get another opportunity. If so, the boy risked his life to do something that he will never get any benefit from. That is a waste."

"You really are the most self-centred excuse for a... humanoid in the universe, aren't you?"

"It is pure logic," Tyr said, disregarding the insult for now, "what Milon did, is not."

Pitch's face softened a little. He turned his back on Tyr, looking at Milon once again, and said:

"No, I guess he was never much for the logic. Always operated more on feeling, this one. And he just won't ever give up. Never would."

"I have noticed."

Silence fell over the room again. The electric hostility between them had been numbed down to quiet dislike. Still, Tyr wished nothing more than for Pitch to leave and never come back. But if the portal could not be re-opened, and considering the fact that Dylan had offered Milon a place with the crew, it seemed unlikely that he would get his wish anytime soon.

"So, will your... thing on you arm, will it grow back?" Pitch finally asked, looking at Tyr with some kind of small, half-sly, half-guilty smile.

"Eventually," Tyr answered, frowning at the memory of breaking bodyparts.

"Really shouldn't have tried to strangle me, eh?" Pitch said, the smile gone now.

"Trust me, if I wanted you dead, you would not be standing here now."

Pitch just gave him a scornful smile. He was younger than Tyr, that was obvious, maybe as much as ten years younger. Still, there was nothing of that youthful innocence about him that Milon had. As if to put Tyr's thoughts into words, Pitch said:

"You don't thing bigger, badder guys than you have wanted me dead before?"

In all fairness, Tyr did not know what to say to that.

"No," was all that sprung to mind.

"Oh, I see! Well, maybe after this is over, we can pick up where we left off, in the training room!"

"I would be more than happy to!"

The fragile peace between them was shattered by their raised voices. Pitch was just about to shout some new insult at Tyr when a pale hand took a loose hold of his wrist.

"You two fighting again?" Milon mumbled with half-closed eyes, "am I gonna have to... sort you both out...?"

"Hey, you're awake! How're you feeling?"

"I've been better... my head hurts."

"I will go and get Trance," Tyr said.

The bridge was a chaotic mess of broken consoles and loose wires. This would take weeks to repair. Luckily, nobody seemed to have got seriously hurt. Dylan was standing in the middle of the room, looking at the devastation around him with a tired look on his face. Trance was winding some kind of bandage around Beka's arm, and Harper was already repairing the most essential parts of the ship. They would get over it.

"Trance, Milon is awake," Tyr said.

"Already?"

She gave him a huge smile, like she had not even dared to hope for such a speedy recovery.

"Well, I've got some news for him," Harper said, "That machine I built... he must've charged it good, because it's still working! If they have the co-ordinates of wherever it is they come from... I can send them home!"

Tyr found he had no comment on that. As Trance got up and left for medical, all he could do was stand there and look at the debris around him. Apart from Harper, everybody seemed to share this feeling of... gloominess. Eventually, Dylan said:

"If you are going to do it, Harper, it will have to be soon. We have places to go, things to do... sitting around here is just... a waste of time."

Tyr knew he was right. But Beka gave Dylan a distinctly sour look from her place in the chair. It seemed like she was not to keen on the idea of their guests going home. Tyr knew how she felt. Although nobody would be happier to see the back of Pitch than him, he still had that small, nagging feeling of discontent. He had got used to having Milon around, and if he left it would be... strange.

It was late evening and a soft, yellow light filled the medical room as Tyr stepped through the door. By now, surely somebody would have told Milon about the possibility for their return to their own dimension. Tyr had spent the last few hours punching a bag in the gym, so he did not yet know what decisions had been made.

Rommie had told him that Pitch was not in the medical bay, and that was all Tyr needed to know. He wanted to speak to Milon, but not if his over-confident, black-eyed friend was around.

Milon looked as if he was sleeping, just lying there with his eyes closed, but his breathing told Tyr that he was in fact awake. Maybe he did not want to be disturbed, but Tyr did not care about that right now.

"Harper has told you about his discovery?" Tyr said without further hesitation.

Milon opened his eyes and looked at Tyr with a pained expression. His head was clearly still hurting.

"Yeah..."

"So what is your decision?"

"Can we not do this right now..."

Milon put a hand over his eyes and turned his face away. Suddenly, Tyr felt very impatient. They were going to do this now! He was sick and tired of having to adapt his life around these strangers! Only Milon was not a stranger. Not anymore.

"No, I need to know now! Opening another rift in the fabric of the universe is a big decision, and a big security risk! If you have any plans for that, I need to know!"

Milon turned his head back towards Tyr and squinted at him through his headache. For a second, Tyr almost thought he saw a smile on the boy's face, but that must have been his imagination.

"Well, Pitch will want to go back... so I guess, yeah, we'll be using the machine. Is that what you need to know?"

"And what about you?"

"I don't know..."

"Well it is time that you made your mind up!"

Tyr did not mean to shout at him, but something made him raise his voice. This irrational, uncharacteristic, stupid feeling inside him was just getting too annoying. What did he care if Milon left? He was not family, not anybody that Tyr should be concerned with. It was time to put an end to this nonsense. Milon frowned even more at Tyr's loud words. But he did not answer him.

"Then I will decide for you," Tyr said angrily, "You should leave. You do not belong here, either of you. If you saw the devastation the attack did to the Andromeda, I am sure you would agree that you are presenting more of a threat to this ship and crew than you could ever be of benefit. The sooner you go back to your own dimension, the better it will be for all of us!"

Milon looked at him for a few seconds in silence. Tyr clenched his teeth and stared back at him coldly. He was not going to take back what he had said. He was not going to apologise. This had to end.

"Okay," Milon said at last, "maybe you're right."

Tyr caught a quick glimpse of sadness in his eyes, then he closed them again, ignoring Tyr's presence. He looked like a sleeping child like that, all rolled into the grey blankets. Tyr spun around and stormed out of the room. Come to think of it, that bag in the gym could do with a bit more punching.

It must have been nearly morning when Tyr finally decided to get some sleep. As he undressed in his quarters, his eyes suddenly fell on the pale scar on his stomach. It looked like an old injury, a relic from some past battle. But not more than twelve hours ago it had been an open wound, a direct threat to his life. It would have killed him, if it had not been for Milon's remarkable healing power. If there was ever a next time Tyr would get injured like that, telling Milon to leave today might actually prove to cost Tyr his own life. Yes, who could tell how much damage those words in the medical room would do, long term? Tyr ran his fingers along the scar. If Milon stayed, Tyr was going to lose some of the ruthlessness and detachment he was so proud of, he knew that. It had already happened, to a far too big extent. It was a no win situation.

Suddenly, a knock at the door pulled Tyr out of his gloomy thoughts. Who could it be at this hour? Milon was not well enough to leave medical and come and talk to him, even if that would have been what Tyr would have expected most at a time like this. Anybody else would have waited until morning. Curious, he threw on a dressing gown and went to answer the door.

"He's got to go!"

It was Beka, of all people, and she seemed... upset. Actually, furious was a more accurate description.

"Who are you talking about?" Tyr asked.

"Pitch! Dylan seems to think that we can just keep him on the ship because he knows Milon! But I'm telling you, if he stays, I'm taking the Maru and I'm going!"

Puzzled, Tyr stepped aside and let her walk into the room. Before he had a chance to ask any questions, Beka started speaking again, pacing up and down with an angry look on her face.

"Now don't get me wrong, I've nothing against Milon, he's a sweet kid, but that man! Argh!"
She knotted her hands into fists and punched the air in front of her.

"What has happened? I was under the impression that you liked him?" Tyr said calmly.

"Yeah, well, not anymore! Actually, probably not ever! I just thought I did! I mean, I should have known better, it's not like me to fall so easily!"

Fall? What was she talking about falling? This was not good.

"You are not making any sense."

Tyr crossed his arms across his chest and waited patiently for her to calm down.

"He used his... power or whatever on me! And nobody told me, just stood by as I was being manipulated! I bet you were all laughing behind my back! And then he's got the nerve to just snub me like some teenage schoolgirl! I'm telling you, I'd love to get back at him! But he's not even worth my time, I just want him gone!"

"I agree," Tyr said.

If he had needed any further reason to hate Pitch, this was certainly it.

"We will speak with Dylan in the morning," Tyr decided.

Beka just nodded and started walking out. When she reached the door, she turned around and looked at Tyr.

"Glad you're not dead," she said.

"Yes. Me too."

She nodded and gave him a small smile. Perhaps the damage done was not completely irreparable after all. Tyr went to bed and like always; he fell asleep straight away. He had the strangest dreams about bright lights in dark places. Looking for something he could not find and feeling guilty about what was missing. When he woke up the next day, the feeling was still there. It seemed like he was one of those rare occasions when he would have to admit to himself that he had made a mistake. A mistake he had to rectify sooner rather than later. Because later it would be too late.

As Tyr entered the medical room, he found Trance sitting on the side of Milon's bed, her arms wrapped around the boy. It seemed like she had got where she wanted to get at last, so why was she crying? Tyr walked up to the bed.

"Trance! What is wrong with you?"

She quickly wiped her eyes and looked up at him. Milon let her go but would not meet Tyr's eyes for some reason.

"Nothing you would understand," Trance said bitterly and jumped down from the bed and ran out the door.

Sometimes the girl's strange moodswings were really too much even to try and understand. Tyr turned his attention back to Milon, who was sitting up in the bed, looking very, very pale indeed.

"Has your condition improved?"

"Is that your way of asking am I feeling better?" Milon said.

There was something sharp in his voice, but Tyr chose to ignore it for now.

"Yes."

"I'll be fine."

"I wanted to speak to you about yesterday..." Tyr started, rather hesitantly.

"Don't bother. You were right. And we're doing it this afternoon."

So soon. Somehow, Tyr had not expected that.

"I have thought about what I said," Tyr continued, as if he had not heard what Milon said, "and I have decided that I was... wrong. It was said in anger."
Milon looked mildly surprised.

"What were you angry for?"

Tyr could not answer that.

"Well," Milon continued, "turns out you were right anyway. I would be more of a problem than anything else. That's what happens."

"No..."

"Yeah."

Milon nodded slowly, as if to say that was the end of it. Then he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He really did not look like he was ready to go anywhere yet. He looked weak... fragile. But determined. And was that not the one quality that Tyr admired the most in him?

"I'm gonna go say goodbye to Dylan and Beka..." Milon said quietly.

"Before the Vertex attacked, you were determined to stay!" Tyr said, "What has changed?"

Milon looked up at him.

"I guess I just remembered what it was like to fight for something. When the Vertex was threatening to wipe out my homeworld, I suppose I realised that I actually do care what happens, even if I've tried hard enough not to."

He shrugged his shoulders and started walking towards the door. But there was something about that statement that seemed wrong to Tyr, and just before Milon walked through the door, he remembered what it was.

"But you risked it all," he called after the boy, "...to... heal me. Why?"

Milon turned around and gave him that mild, almost sedate smile.

"Guess I owed you one."

"I would not have done the same thing for you," Tyr said.

"Ah, Tyr, the caring never stops with you, does it?"

Milon turned towards the door again, but stopped. Turned around and looked at Tyr with his head slightly tilted and a strange smile growing on his face.

"What?" Tyr said eventually, annoyed.

"You're lying."

So, he had used his ability to read Tyr's feelings. Damn. Before Tyr had a chance to defend himself, Milon had opened the door and left the room without looking back.

It was early evening as they were standing in the machine shop, watching Harper make the necessary adjustments to the machine. The co-ordinates of Milon's homedimension had been easily retrieved from the transmitter that Pitch had brought. There was enough power to open one rift, Harper had explained, but after that, the machine would be useless. So, they had better get it right the first time.

"Almost ready," Harper said, "if there's anything else you want to do, you'd better do it now."

"Ready when you are," Pitch said.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay," Dylan said, "You know my offer still stands."

"No, it's better this way."

Milon looked down at the floor.

"Well, goodbye then," Dylan said, "it was nice to meet you."

"Yeah, thanks. You too."

They shook hands and then Beka gave Milon a hug. Dylan shook Pitch's hand as well and then Trance put her arms around Milon, looking almost like she had no intention of letting go.

Tyr just watched it all from a distance. Pitch was giving Beka a strange smile as he said:

"You still pissed off at what happened?"

"You used me!" she hissed, quietly enough, but not so that Tyr couldn't hear it.

"I thought it seemed pretty mutual... anyway, I don't regret it for a second. No hard feelings, eh?"

He was holding out his hand to her. Tyr could see a very thin smile appear on her face, and he was not happy to see it. As she shook his hand, Harper suddenly jumped over the railing of the machine and shouted:

"This is it! It should be opening right here in... five, four, three, two..."

He pointed at the end of the room where the machine was, and just as he did, the air in the room seemed to turn... wobbly. The far wall went semi-transparent, and through it, Tyr could see a dark street with some ruined, dilapidated houses. The rain was coming down in dark sheets there on the other side of the veil. Was that their home? It looked terribly dreary.

"Sorry to see you go mate," Harper said as he shook Milon's hand, "This thing should stay open for a few minutes, but that's all..."

"We'd better get moving then," Pitch said impatiently.

"Yeah, I'm coming..."

Milon turned to look at Tyr where he was standing up against the wall. Tyr had not even meant to come here to see them leave. He had just found it impossible to stay away.

"Miles, what're you doing, we don't have all day!" Pitch said, frowning as Milon walked across the room to where Tyr was standing.

"So, we're not gonna say goodbye then?" Milon asked, his green eyes looking straight into Tyr's dark brown.

"If you must..."

Milon laughed softly at him. Where it should probably have annoyed Tyr, it only made him feel sad. But there was nothing he could do about it now. He had wasted his chance, told Milon the total opposite of what he should have said, and now it was too late to fix it. Suddenly, he wished that he had something he could have given him as a parting gift. I was ridiculous, perhaps, but it still felt like the right thing to do. But he had nothing that would be fitting. Eventually, he pulled his gun out of its holster and handed it to Milon, who took it with a bewildered look on his face.

"I should have given you this the first time you asked me. I do not care if you never use it, but whatever you do... look after yourself."

"Wow... thanks!"

Milon looked genuinely impressed, so maybe it was a good gift after all. Then, before Tyr had a chance to stop him, Milon gave him a quick, hard hug. Tyr did not have time to either push him away or return the gesture before it was over and Milon had started walking away from him, across the room, towards the opening between the dimensions. As Pitch stepped through to the other side, Milon gave them all a quick wave and followed him onto the streets of whatever the city beyond was. Tyr could still see them, but the air seemed to thicken suddenly and the image went blurry and unstable. Then the walls were back. Solidifying. And the machine went quiet. Everything was quiet. Everything was back to normal. Time to get on with the rest of his life.

And that is the end.

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A/N: Okay, so I'm no good with ends! And I told you I was running out of ideas. To be honest though, I'm kinda happy I finished the thing at all. It was just starting to drag on a bit too much, and not much happened. Well, that's it, my first fanfic done. Thanks to all you who bothered reading and reviewing, it made it worth while writing the thing. Now, if you have something to say about the whole lot, it'd be nice to hear your opinions.

All the best

-Channeller

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