Between Worlds by Edenadvance
DISCLAIMER: Farscape is owned by O'Bannon, Henson and Nine Network, yadda, yadda, yadda. Dacaen is owned by me, and can be loaned if you asked nicely.
SUMMARY: While on a commerce planet, John and Aeryn are attacked. (duh, like almost every episode.)
NOTES: Uhm, well, yeah this is a sequel. I started another one, but this one kinda popped up and I decided to put this one after Lightness, y'all have to wait till the sequel from this one comes, if you want one. And no, this is not the one I promised (the one where Aeryn ends up with D'Argo and John with Chiana.) That's the next one. Also, as usual, the title has no meaning, 'cause, well, I can't think of one. It might as well be titled 'The Easter-bunny' or something.
NOTES2001: I made it kinda shippy for the 'shippers. And for Jill: A little bit of death in here. Or not… argh, this is what happens when you watch too much Angel, Buffy, Farscape and other weird shows.
FEEDBACK: Yes please… I love to know what others think. Cookies are very welcome….
(Cookies can also be used to 'persuade' my muse and me to write more fic)
ARCHIVING: Natalie's site, the rest: if you don't have my stuff yet and you want it, ask me.
Copyright 2000
John looked around as they walked through the dense crowd. There had been no reason for him to go down to the planet other than the fact Aeryn was going. Zhaan smiled as she saw the couple approaching, hand-in-hand. Ever since they had shown their true feeling towards eachother, they hadn't been apart from eachother longer than necessary.
She walked towards them to greet them.
"Hello John, Aeryn." Aeryn simply nodded in return and John looked at Zhaan for a microt before he answered with his own greeting.
"Did you find the stuff Rygel wanted?" Crichton said after a moment of silence.
"Yes, I did. And I found some herbs I might be able to use in the future. D'Argo and I are returning to Moya, will you join us or do you wish to stay on the planet for a while?" Zhaan asked. Aeryn and Crichton had come down in Aeryn's Prowler and Zhaan suspected that it had been John's idea to spend time alone on the planet She didn't mind, the two didn't have much privacy on board the ship.
"Yeah, we want to stay here for a few arns, if that's possible. We'll come back when we're finished with the sightseeing tour." Crichton replied, his arm around Aeryn's shoulders. Zhaan nodded and looked at D'Argo, who had been following her while she searched for the needed herbs.
"We shall await your return to the ship then."
"Okay, we'll contact you when something is wrong." Crichton said as he waved a goodbye at his two friends. When they were out of sight, he turned towards Aeryn.
"So, what do you want to do? I noticed this really quiet spot, just out of town." He said.
Aeryn thought about this for a moment, then she smiled. "Let's go there..."
******
"He said what!?" Rygel exclaimed when Zhaan told him that John and Aeryn would be coming back to Moya later. "Who does he think he is? The Dominar of this ship? Hmmm?" He said as he hovered around the two remaining people on Moya.
"I shall not wait for them any longer, they're slowing us down." He crossed his tiny arms to emphasize his point. Not even a growl from D'Argo seemed to frighten him. Zhaan kneeled next to him.
"Rygel, I know you want to leave this region of space as soon as possible, but you have to respect their wishes as well. If they wish some time for their own, we will grant them that."
Rygel simply looked at Zhaan and then floated out of the room.
"Do we wait for them?" came the disembodied voice of Pilot.
"Of course, Pilot." D'Argo said and looked at Zhaan. "But not too long. I wish to leave this region of space as well."
"Of course. I told John that he didn't had too much time." Zhaan replied.
*****
"So what do you think of it?" John asked as they reached a quiet spot. It was a clearing in a small forest. Aeryn turned to Crichton.
"It's beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here."
"I have something for you..." he said and Aeryn looked at him with expectation. When she opened her mouth to say something, John stopped her and asked her to close her eyes instead. After a moment she felt his hands on the back of her neck and then they left her again.
"You can open your eyes now." He whispered and gave her a quick kiss on her lips.
Aeryn opened her eyes and looked down. He had given her the necklace with his father's ring. She looked back at Crichton.
"Why? Why are you giving it to me?" she asked.
"Well, it's custom on earth to give necklaces, rings and other kinds of gifts to eachother. Since I couldn't find anything like that here... Look, I know you'd probably want a knife or something like that..." "No, it's alright... I like the necklace."
Crichton smiled and kissed her. She tensed for a moment, but then responded, until she heard a faint sound in the bushes.
"What was that?" she asked, slightly pushing Crichton away.
"What?" He replied, looking around them.
"I thought I heard something." Aeryn said, starting to move in the direction the sound had come from. She stopped as she felt John's hand on her arm.
"What?" she asked.
"Let me..."
Aeryn turned around. "What do you mean with that?"
"On Earth, the guy always checks out the weird sounds coming from the bushes. I know we're not really on Earth, but well... just play along will ya?" He asked.
"Sebaceans don't have these... difficult rituals." Aeryn sighed. "Go ahead, I'll watch your back."
She watched as he silently moved closer to the brushes and slowly followed him, looking around the clearing, hoping to catch any other threats.
Suddenly, she heard a scream coming from the bushes and four men ran out, knocking John to the ground. As she reached for her gun, she felt another pulse gun pressed in her neck.
"I'll take that gun, if you don't mind." A voice said behind her and she felt a hand grabbing her leg, reaching for her gun. Deciding it was now or never, she kicked behind her with full force, but was surprised when she felt a sharp pain in her back. Unable to keep her balance, she dropped to the ground on her knees. Still dazed from the pain, she couldn't resist when two hands grabbed her arms and cuffed them behind her back, increasing the level of pain, until she blacked out...
*****
John woke up with a splitting headache and was vaguely aware of the fact his head was down and his feet up. Slowly, he opened his eyes and noticed that the ground looked familiar and that it was moving. His carrier obviously noticed that John was awake and dropped him. When he turned around, he noticed D'Argo looking at him.
"What... where am I?" he asked, looking at his surroundings.
"You're on Moya." Came D'Argo's reply.
"Where's Aeryn? Someone attacked us." John said, getting up from his spot on the floor.
"You where the only one we found when we reached you, answering your call. " D'Argo said.
"Then we have to get back down there. We can't leave Aeryn behind, she's one of us!" Crichton turned around and started towards the docking bay, only to be stopped by D'Argo.
"We won't, trust me. Now, do you remember anything before you where attacked?"
Crichton stared into space for a while, then slowly nodded.
"Aeryn heard a sound, I went to check it out. That's when a group of men knocked me to the ground. It went so fast I couldn't recognize them."
D'Argo growled and then proceeded towards Command, Crichton following him slowly.
As they entered Command, Zhaan turned around, pausing a conversation with Pilot.
"Anything?" D'Argo spoke as he stopped in front of Zhaan.
"No, Pilot is scanning for Sebacean lifeforms on the planet surface, but he hasn't found anything so far." Zhaan answered.
"What about ships leaving the planet? Have you checked for that?" Crichton remarked.
"Yes I have, Crichton." Pilot answered.
Zhaan turned towards the young human.
"We will find her, John. We won't leave her behind."
Crichton nodded and sighed. "Yes, I know. But where is she?"
*****
Hearing the footsteps fade away, Aeryn opened her eyes, only to notice that she couldn't see anything. Slowly, she stretched out her arm, until her hand collided with solid rock. She started shivering, noticing the low temperature.
"Well, at least it isn't hot in here." She murmured softly.
"Not yet... wait 'till the sun has risen." A voice on the other side spoke up.
Aeryn turned in a circle, arms stretched out in front of her to feel any obstacles.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"A ghost... so are you. No one gets out alive. Your eyes... are you blind?" The voice continued.
Aeryn didn't answer the question.
"Where am I? Is this a ship?"
The voice chuckled. "No, my dear. You're underground. This was an old mining site. I was stationed here until they didn't need my services any longer. I resisted, which is the main reason I'm imprisoned here. Why are you here?"
"I don't know... I was attacked, then I woke up here."
"They never really say why you're here. Is there anything that happened in your past, something that could put you in this cell?"
Aeryn hesitated before answering. "I was deemed irreversibly contaminated, but... friends helped me escape."
"Will those friends help you again?"
Aeryn looked around again, blinking, hoping to see something, but it didn't help.
"Who are you? Why are you asking all these questions?" She asked.
Suddenly she felt a hand on her own and she quickly pulled back her own hand.
"It's not me you should be afraid of, it's them, your keepers... they can do terrible things. But I should introduce me. My name is Dacaen, former Peacekeeper Commando. It's all I can remember, I'm sorry."
Aeryn nodded, and searched for his hand again, finding it with Dacean's help.
"I'm Aeryn Sun. And I have faith in my friends. They'll find me..."
*****
Crichton looked at Pilot as he worked on various tasks, trying to find Aeryn. He paced the pathway in front of Pilot, until Pilot finally looked up.
"Please, Commander Crichton, you're making the DRD's nervous. I'm doing everything I can do to find Officer Sun." He said.
"I'm sorry Pilot... it's just. I was supposed to protect her... and now she's gone. What if we can't find her?" He asked, and leaned against Pilot's den, watching as Pilot worked.
"I think I might have something... a ship left orbit, one Sebacean lifeform on board."
Crichton looked up. "Follow it, and tell the others to meet me in Command." He said as he started to walk to the nearest exit.
"Of course, Commander..."
As Crichton walked towards Command, Zhaan met up with him.
"Pilot has found a ship, one Sebacean lifeform coming up..." Crichton said as they walked towards their destination.
"How can you be sure that it is Aeryn?" Zhaan asked in her usual way.
"Trust me, I can feel it. Aeryn is on that ship."
"Of course..."
The rest of the short walk was made in silence. Once they reached Command, the ship was clearly visible on the viewscreen. D'Argo was already present, and as usual, Rygel was nowhere to be seen.
"They are not attempting to flee." D'Argo remarked and they were promptly hailed.
"Gar'chem Transport ship to unknown Leviathan, please respond..."
When no one made an attempt to respond, Crichton looked at the others. All eyes were on him.
"What?" he asked.
"Should we respond?" Zhaan replied in return.
The lack of motivation in the search for Aeryn angered him.
"Of course we should!" he snapped. "I'll do it myself... Pilot, let me talk to that freighter."
The time between the command and the opening of a channel seemed to go slowly.
In those few microts, Crichton tried to calm himself, although he had no idea why he was nervous. 'Don't be stupid... You can do it, John, just talk to them, demand they release Aeryn and we can all go home...' he thought and it kept repeating in his head. When the hologram of the freighter captain popped up, John let out a breath he didn't know was holding.
"Why are you pursuing us?" the captain asked before John could say a word.
"There's a Sebacean on your ship..."
"Yes, that is correct. Why are you pursuing me?" he queried again.
"The Sebacean on your ship, she's part of our crew. You abducted her!" Crichton voiced.
It was silent for a moment, until a familiar voice came through the comm.
"I don't think I was abducted, Crichton..."
Crichton sucked in a breath of air. The Sebacean on the ship was the one he was trying to avoid. Crais...
"Pilot..." he started slowly. "Raise the DS...now."
Crais started laughing. "You think a pathetic DS can save you from me? Or will you starburst again? Go ahead, run."
"Crichton, we can't starburst. The chance that we can find this place again is..." D'Argo started, but was interrupted by Crichton's conclusion.
"Small. I know. What if we go back to the planet?"
"Moya can't bear it. Her weight will increase once we land on the planet." Pilot remarked.
"Then starburst out of here. I'll take the Farscape I, go back to the planet and find Aeryn. You go on without us..." John said, turning to leave Command.
"John, wait... we'll come back for you..." Zhaan said and Crichton nodded in return.
"I understand..." And he left Command...
*****
Aeryn woke up after a short sleep, when she heard commotion outside her cell. Her eyesight still wasn't improving and she wondered if she was blind for the rest of her life.
"Dacean..." she whispered, wondering if the man was still in her cell.
"Shhh... be quiet. If they think you're asleep, they'll leave you here." Dacean advised. He was still lying beside her.
She closed her eyes again, hoping her captors would pass her. She heard footsteps approaching the door and a micron later, the heavy metal door squeaked open. Aeryn held her breath, as nothing seemed to happen. But then she was dragged to her feet. They dragged her out of her cell and she called to Dacean, but he didn't answer her call.
Instead, they pushed her further, to another room. It wasn't another cell like the one she had just left, she noticed that the temperature was higher here. The thought of the Living Death crossed her mind for a microt, but she pushed it away. John would come to get her out of here before they could kill her. She was pushed in a chair, her arms and legs shackled.
"Open your eyes." When she didn't reply, a hand grasped her chin. "Do you want to be blind forever?" Slowly she opened her eyes.
"Good. Now stay perfectly still..."
She felt her eyes burn as they injected some sort of fluid in her eyes. She blinked a few times and the darkness was replaced with a lighter blur.
"You'll be able to see in a moment." The man said and he was right, the blur cleared up and she looked around the room. Her eyes rested on what seemed to be the leader.
"You don't ask any questions... they were right when they told me about you. You're smarter than the rest." He began, simultaneously pacing around the chair.
"Only a few lower Peacekeepers grow a brain. It's a shame to kill them though, but then again..." he turned to Aeryn. "They're always trouble. As you know, trouble is always eliminated." He smiled at Aeryn when her face stayed blank. "If you're waiting for your friends to rescue you, don't bother. They fled after we killed one of them." He waited for Aeryn's reaction, but it didn't come. He motioned to two soldiers, who were waiting behind Aeryn. They released her and allowed her to stand.
"Come, follow me..." he said and they pushed her forward again.
This time, Aeryn had a chance to observe the building she was in. The corridors were small, Peacekeeper design. They led her through a number of similar-looking corridors before arriving in a white room. Two other Peacekeepers passed her and walked towards the end of the room. She observed theirs actions, until she was pushed towards them again. The two others opened a door, revealing a large table. Then they left the room, followed by the two soldiers holding Aeryn. Their leader remained in the room and Aeryn looked at him.
"You're wondering why you're left alone with me in one room, aren't you?" He asked. Not waiting for an answer or not expecting one, he continued. "If you're planning on attacking me, don't bother, you don't stand a chance. Through that door are the remains of your friend. You have half an arn, before we come back." He said and then left also.
Aeryn stared at the door for a moment and when she was sure she was alone, she entered the other room. On the table was a form, covered by a white sheet. She walked in a small circle before slowly removing the blanket. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Crichton lying there. She had never seen him so pale before. She touched his cheek, willing him to open his eyes. 'He can't be dead...' she thought.
When he didn't move, she laid her head on his chest, like she had done so many times before, when he was sleeping and she couldn't, when she was wide awake, listening to his breathing, his heart... When she couldn't hear the beating of his heart, she let the tears come, unable to stop them any longer...
When the Peacekeepers returned, she was still in the same position, her tears having run dry. She didn't move, not even acknowledging their presence in the room. And when they pulled her away from Crichton, she didn't put up a fight, as she didn't have the energy. They brought her back to her dark cell, dragging her through empty corridors, briefly stopping to open the door and then they threw her in her cell. She didn't make any attempts to get up, not even when their footsteps had faded away. She only curled up in a little ball and cried. From a corner of the cell, Dacaen came forward and held her as she grieved for her lost love.
When morning came, Aeryn was finally sleeping soundly. Dacaen looked down on her as she lay in his arms. He briefly wondered what had happened last night, after they had taken her away from their cell, and judging from the state Aeryn was in, he knew that they had destroyed her hope for rescue by killing one of her friends, possibly even more than one. He cursed the ones that kept them here, the ones playing games with their minds for no reason other than their entertainment. Feeling the weight in his arms move slightly, he looked at Aeryn again.
"Good morning... although nothing is good about it." He said.
Aeryn looked at her surroundings, before looking back at Dacaen.
"Dacaen?" she asked, staring at the man before her. It had been a while since she'd last seen a Sebacean other than Gilina. Of course, Crichton came close enough to looking like a Sebacean. Dacaen looked older than Crichton. The memory of him flashed in front of her eyes.
"Was it real? The things that happened last night... they were real?"
Dacaen nodded. "Most likely, yes. What happened last night, if I may ask?"
Aeryn stared at a wall for a moment, then she slowly started telling Dacaen about the night's events and he listened to her, comforted her when she nearly started crying again, continuing to hold her when she fell asleep again from sheer exhaustion.
*****
Crichton followed the path leading to the clearing where they were attacked. As he reached the clearing, he noticed a shadow following him, but when he looked behind him, the road was empty. He shrugged and continued his trek towards the clearing. Upon arriving there, the clearing was empty, except for a shining object near some bushes. He rushed over to it and he noticed it was the necklace he had given to Aeryn before they were attacked. As he bend down to pick it up, he saw a form behind a tree.
"I know you've been following me." Crichton said. The form moved from the hiding place and Crichton noticed it was young girl. She vaguely reminded him of someone, but he didn't know whom.
"You're searching for her, aren't you?" she asked.
"How did you know?"
The girl laughed. "They all do." She replied. Then her look got more serious. "But they never find her though." She turned around, intending to leave.
"Wait..." John said. "Do you know where she is? Do you know who attacked us?" he asked.
The girl turned around.
"She is with the Masters. They control this world, they attacked you." She answered, walking over to Crichton.
"They watch you. They listen to your thoughts. They play with you, until you don't amuse them anymore. Then you'll go crazy, and eventually you die, knowing you've lost everything you love." She explained.
"Do you know where they are?" Crichton asked again.
She nodded. "I'll bring you to them, but I won't go with you when you search for her. It's too dangerous..." Then she grabbed his hand and dragged him with her.
She led him to a dark, deserted place. When they reached what Crichton assumed was the door, she suddenly stopped.
"I won't go further... Remember, don't think... they'll know what you're planning to do."
Then she was gone, back into the forest. Crichton faced the door and pushed against it. To his surprise, the door opened and Crichton entered the building. He tried not to think about anything, but thoughts about Aeryn kept slipping in his mind. What if he couldn't save her? He stopped when he heard footsteps approaching him. He hid in a nearby alcove and waited until they passed him. He held his breath as the first one passed him and he recognized him. Peacekeepers... Just as he formed up a plan to attack them, two more passed him and he almost didn't notice their prisoner. Or was she one of them? John noticed that her hands weren't shackled and the fact that she was carrying weapons. When all six had passed him, he stepped into the hallway.
"Aeryn!" he called after her. They all turned around simultaneously, weapons aimed at him.
"Get him!" Aeryn ordered the rest and John started running. He had no idea where he was going, but at one point he lost his pursuers. He looked around him. He was standing in an abandoned corridor, opposite to a heavy metal door. He didn't know why, but something made him open that door. He almost couldn't make out the two forms huddled together in the corner of the cell. Slowly, he entered the cell and to his surprise, he noticed Aeryn. He didn't know the other one.
"Aeryn..." he whispered, but she didn't move. The other one, however, did move towards John and John took a few steps back.
"Who are you?" Crichton asked.
"My name is Dacaen. Are you one of her friends? Have you come to save us?" Dacaen asked in return.
"My name is Crichton..."
"Crichton, you say? You're dead. She told me she saw your corpse..." Dacaen said.
"Something's going on around here... I just saw Aeryn with the Peacekeepers... as one of them." He said.
"This isn't your world... The other Aeryn, you must find her. The Aeryn with me needs to find her Crichton. Only then can you find eachother." Dacaen explained.
"What do you mean? Tell me what's happening here..." Crichton started to say, but he was interrupted by Dacaen.
"No questions, go now! Find her and bring her here. I'll help Aeryn do the same in her world..." Then he pushed Crichton into the empty corridor.
Crichton watched as the two forms slowly faded.
"Okay, I have to find Aeryn, only Aeryn wants to kill me. Great. How do I get her to come with me. When I get back to Moya, alive, I seriously need to talk to her about kicking the crap out of me." He said to himself and then started running in the direction he came from before meeting Dacaen.
It didn't took him long to find Aeryn as he bumped into her. He noticed that they had split up in teams of two. The other Peacekeeper was knocked unconscious on impact with Crichton, so it was just him and Aeryn. As he got up, he was looking in the barrel of her pulse rifle.
"Aeryn, don't do this. I know you don't want to do this. Just lower the gun..." he said as he stammered backwards.
"Stand still!" Aeryn ordered.
Crichton noticed that he had reached a corner. If he could make a quick move, Aeryn wouldn't be able to shoot at him immediately. As he prepared to jump sideways, he prayed that this Aeryn wasn't such a good shot. Suddenly he remembered the advice the girl had given him and he looked at Aeryn.
"Okay, I'm not moving... let's talk..." he said, thinking about talking with her. Just when Aeryn lowered the weapon, he jumped to the left and ran back to the cell. He looked behind him every now and them to make sure Aeryn was following him. He made it to the cell before Aeryn caught up with him. He noticed Dacaen was already there again, with Aeryn behind him. Then he noticed his replica lying on the floor.
"I have you know, Crichton..." he heard behind him. Slowly he turned around.
"No. I have you Aeryn... game over, you lose." He said.
He watched as Aeryn slowly started to fade, much like Dacaen had done earlier.
"Crichton?" he heard behind him. It was Aeryn, his Aeryn... the real one.
"What's going on here?" she asked as she saw Crichton alive.
He closed the small distance between them and held her.
"Some very weird stuff, Aeryn..." he said. He looked at Dacaen, who was still standing in the cell.
"Why aren't you gone?" he asked the man.
"I'm free... I wasn't part of the other world, I was really here, in this cell... Now I can go." Dacaen spoke and Crichton nodded.
Epilogue.
Crichton looked at the stars. He was happy to be back on Moya, the real Moya. After the attack, D'Argo hadn't found him, like he had thought. He had been on the planet all along. Feeling a presence in the room, he turned around. It was Dacaen, the old Sebacean. Aeryn had invited him to come with them and now he was living on Moya.
"Did I disturbed you?" Dacaen asked.
"No, not really. I was just watching the stars... Dacaen, how did you know about what was happening back on the planet?" Crichton asked.
Dacaen moved forward until he was standing next to Crichton.
"Someone told me, a long time ago... but I never understood her, until I met you and Aeryn. You were both caught in different worlds, realities. In order to escape, you had to find the key. When I saw you, I understood that you both were the key." He explained.
"The one who told you, was it a young girl?" Crichton asked.
"Yes. She vaguely reminded me of someone, but I never found out who she reminded me of."
"Who are you talking about?" Aeryn asked, stepping into the room.
"Someone we met on the planet..." Crichton responded. As Aeryn walked over to him, Crichton suddenly knew who the girl on the planet reminded him of. She had been a younger version of Aeryn... Silently, he thanked her for showing him the way to Aeryn.
"I'll leave you two alone now. I'm very tired and I'm going to rest..." Dacaen said and he left Aeryn and John in the room.
John looked at Aeryn. "I'm suddenly very tired too. Shall we go to bed? I really need to rest, you know. Two of you is really too much." John said jokingly. Together they walked towards their quarters...
"Aeryn, we really need to talk about you kicking the crap out of me..."
"Oh really?"
"Now Aeryn, don't do that..."
The End.