Chapter 4
Aki was frozen on the spot, leaning over the unconscious General. Her first thought was he is going to mess everything up again. She couldn't help but smile at the irony; the most tenacious and disbelieving General was the second spirit.
She wasn't quite sure if she should wake him or just pull him back into the ship, but from the looks of it he was very badly burnt and he needed a new trench coat. Blood slipped from his hands and neck, but his head was obviously protected by his arms, so there was no damage to his face.
Before she could decide to wake him up or just take him back to the ship, his gray-green eyes fluttered opened. At first he looked confused, but it quickly turned into the glare she knew all too well.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice sounding just as strong and angry as it usually did when he addressed her.
"I'm here to save your life." She snapped, not in the mood to take any bashing at the moment, "So get up."
With a slight glare, he complied, but even he couldn't hide the pain that flickered in his eyes when he moved his arms. She could now tell that his leather sleeves were partially melted and sticking to his skin, what she imagined was rather painful.
"Anything hurt? I could imagine quite a few burns on you." Her tone was almost mocking as she spun around and floated through the hatch, General Hein grudgingly following.
"Yes, as a matter of fact my arms are badly burnt." He glared towards the wall, "Such motherly concern." He snapped sarcastically.
Aki floated into her ship, then after General Hein came in she closed the hatch and locked it, "Typical." She muttered to herself.
General Hein decided not to ask, for whenever he did they ended up in an argument, and unfortunately, she usually won.
"Council gathering in Houston later this evening. They don't know you're alive and we have to address the new threat." Aki sat down at the cockpit.
"What threat?"
"The Gaia is creating new phantoms. I don't know why; I thought we had finally defeated them. Apparently not."
He snorted, "The Gaia. You still believe in such things?"
"It's been proven, no thanks to you." She said absently, setting the autopilot for Houston.
General Hein didn't hide his surprise, "What is that supposed to mean?" He growled.
"Well, it basically means that the job would have been done a lot quicker if you hadn't fired into the Gaia. If it weren't for that, then Gray wouldn't have had to die. It became more complex after you fired straight into Gaia." She gave him a withering look before looked back at the controls.
General Hein sat down in the chair next to her, smirking as she gave an exasperated sigh; she was probably expecting him to leave the room, "Gray? You mean Captain Gray Edwards? He was with you?"
"Yes. And we had to put the spirit wave into Gaia, through him."
"So are you going to tell me exactly what happened or are you just going to keep making me confused?" He put on an annoying smirk, but inside he knew he was just trying to make it look like he was okay.
She leaned back slightly, "After you told cut me off on the transmission, we were on the ground. I passed out and found the spirit wave in my dreams, and Gray and I used the spirit wave through the shield. At first it did work, but then you fired again, directly into Gaia. That destroyed it, but since I still had the spirit wave there was still hope. The ship was destroyed, so Gray put me on the edge of the cliff. He held my hand them lifted his other when the phantom Gaia hit him. That put the spirit wave into their Gaia."
General Hein frowned slightly, "Sorry."
Aki looked up in surprise, but he finished his sentence, "-About Captain Edwards."
Of course he wouldn't apologize for his actions, she thought bitterly.
"I doubt it." She muttered sadly.
"No, really, I am." He said with a cocky smirk, but it quickly turned into a grimace, "I would not mind getting this coat off, Dr."
Aki sighed and stood up, going towards the medical table and going through the cabinets, while General Hein watched amusedly. She pulled out a small scalpel and slowly started cutting up the sleeves of his jacket, but leaving the torn long sleeved shirt underneath alone.
"This is going to hurt." She warned, about to pulled it off.
"Is that concern I - OW!"
A loud ripping sound rang as she quickly yanked off the melted leather cloak, but she didn't look amused. She put the torn leather jacket into a disposal bin and closed it, then set the scalpel back in its secure hold in the case.
General Hein slowly pulled off the melted leather gloves and sighed slightly as he looked at his slightly bleeding hands. He quickly grabbed a towel he found in the cabinet and tenderly wiped off the crimson red liquid.
He watched as she went back to the cockpit, so he quickly went to the small bedroom with the dream recorder and sat down. He could still feel the gun strapped to his hip. The images of the Zeus Cannon, the millions of people he looked down a pond as they died in the city, unable to move his eyes. He blamed the phantoms, trying to cover up his own stupid murders.
He cocked the gun, pressing it to his temple slowly. He closed his eyes, and inside he could almost convince himself he was back in his own ship, after the barrier failed; almost, but something in him made him constantly remember what he had done in the Zeus Cannon, again costing more lives, but one stood out in particular.
Looking down at Major Elliot as the life slowly drained out of him, the blood soaking the front of his dull gray uniform. The pure gray eyes looking to him for help, gasping as the phantom particles slowly dug further into his body, painfully slow.
That memory made his finger tighten on the trigger, but not quite enough to fire. He felt his body tense, and he could feel his hand shaking.
Do it!
NOW!
His fingers remained motionless, but his body tensed more. He felt his hand start to shake too much to pull the trigger, and before he knew what he was doing, he put the gun back in it's holster.
"Coward." He muttered to himself.
He didn't notice the pair of dark brown eyes peaking around the corner of the opened door, but they quickly disappeared before he had a chance.
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"Dr. Sid, I have the⦠life form."
The Dr. Sid on the screen before her smiled, "Who is he?"
Aki decided she was going to treasure this moment, the look on his face, "General Hein."
Dr. Sid's powdery blue eyes went wider then she thought possible, "General Hein s-survived?"
Aki was about to talk when a voice came from behind her, "Yes, I survived, my good Doctor." He gave a wicked grin as Dr. Sid looked up at him in surprise, "But that probably not exactly what you wished happened. You probably wish I was floating around the Earth with the rest of the Zeus Cannon."
"I would be lying if I said I didn't." Dr. Sid muttered, then turned his attention back to Aki, "Aki, bring him back here as soon as you can to extract the fourth spirit."
"Alright, Sid." She switched off the transmission.
"What does he mean 'the fourth spirit'?" General Hein asked, using the chair to pull himself to the ground.
Aki smiled, "With the new phantoms, we had to recover the spirits we lost. Ironic, isn't it?"
General Hein nodded grudgingly, "So, when are we going to be in Houston? And why is this ship so slow?"
Aki was about to talk, but he interrupted her, "Let me guess; my fault?"
She nodded, "And we'll be entering the atmosphere in about one minute." Suddenly the ship started to shake as it hit the outer atmosphere, "Or one second."
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A/N: Yay! Another chapter up. I'm doing chapter 12 at this very moment. hehe... just wait until you get there, guys. *Snicker*
By Severus editted by Raine, of course.
Disclaimer: I'M JUST PLAYING WITH THESE CHARACTERS! DON'T WORRY! General Hein said he's aloud to be brought back to life if he gets free ice cream and a king size double mattress bed. :D
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Aki was frozen on the spot, leaning over the unconscious General. Her first thought was he is going to mess everything up again. She couldn't help but smile at the irony; the most tenacious and disbelieving General was the second spirit.
She wasn't quite sure if she should wake him or just pull him back into the ship, but from the looks of it he was very badly burnt and he needed a new trench coat. Blood slipped from his hands and neck, but his head was obviously protected by his arms, so there was no damage to his face.
Before she could decide to wake him up or just take him back to the ship, his gray-green eyes fluttered opened. At first he looked confused, but it quickly turned into the glare she knew all too well.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice sounding just as strong and angry as it usually did when he addressed her.
"I'm here to save your life." She snapped, not in the mood to take any bashing at the moment, "So get up."
With a slight glare, he complied, but even he couldn't hide the pain that flickered in his eyes when he moved his arms. She could now tell that his leather sleeves were partially melted and sticking to his skin, what she imagined was rather painful.
"Anything hurt? I could imagine quite a few burns on you." Her tone was almost mocking as she spun around and floated through the hatch, General Hein grudgingly following.
"Yes, as a matter of fact my arms are badly burnt." He glared towards the wall, "Such motherly concern." He snapped sarcastically.
Aki floated into her ship, then after General Hein came in she closed the hatch and locked it, "Typical." She muttered to herself.
General Hein decided not to ask, for whenever he did they ended up in an argument, and unfortunately, she usually won.
"Council gathering in Houston later this evening. They don't know you're alive and we have to address the new threat." Aki sat down at the cockpit.
"What threat?"
"The Gaia is creating new phantoms. I don't know why; I thought we had finally defeated them. Apparently not."
He snorted, "The Gaia. You still believe in such things?"
"It's been proven, no thanks to you." She said absently, setting the autopilot for Houston.
General Hein didn't hide his surprise, "What is that supposed to mean?" He growled.
"Well, it basically means that the job would have been done a lot quicker if you hadn't fired into the Gaia. If it weren't for that, then Gray wouldn't have had to die. It became more complex after you fired straight into Gaia." She gave him a withering look before looked back at the controls.
General Hein sat down in the chair next to her, smirking as she gave an exasperated sigh; she was probably expecting him to leave the room, "Gray? You mean Captain Gray Edwards? He was with you?"
"Yes. And we had to put the spirit wave into Gaia, through him."
"So are you going to tell me exactly what happened or are you just going to keep making me confused?" He put on an annoying smirk, but inside he knew he was just trying to make it look like he was okay.
She leaned back slightly, "After you told cut me off on the transmission, we were on the ground. I passed out and found the spirit wave in my dreams, and Gray and I used the spirit wave through the shield. At first it did work, but then you fired again, directly into Gaia. That destroyed it, but since I still had the spirit wave there was still hope. The ship was destroyed, so Gray put me on the edge of the cliff. He held my hand them lifted his other when the phantom Gaia hit him. That put the spirit wave into their Gaia."
General Hein frowned slightly, "Sorry."
Aki looked up in surprise, but he finished his sentence, "-About Captain Edwards."
Of course he wouldn't apologize for his actions, she thought bitterly.
"I doubt it." She muttered sadly.
"No, really, I am." He said with a cocky smirk, but it quickly turned into a grimace, "I would not mind getting this coat off, Dr."
Aki sighed and stood up, going towards the medical table and going through the cabinets, while General Hein watched amusedly. She pulled out a small scalpel and slowly started cutting up the sleeves of his jacket, but leaving the torn long sleeved shirt underneath alone.
"This is going to hurt." She warned, about to pulled it off.
"Is that concern I - OW!"
A loud ripping sound rang as she quickly yanked off the melted leather cloak, but she didn't look amused. She put the torn leather jacket into a disposal bin and closed it, then set the scalpel back in its secure hold in the case.
General Hein slowly pulled off the melted leather gloves and sighed slightly as he looked at his slightly bleeding hands. He quickly grabbed a towel he found in the cabinet and tenderly wiped off the crimson red liquid.
He watched as she went back to the cockpit, so he quickly went to the small bedroom with the dream recorder and sat down. He could still feel the gun strapped to his hip. The images of the Zeus Cannon, the millions of people he looked down a pond as they died in the city, unable to move his eyes. He blamed the phantoms, trying to cover up his own stupid murders.
He cocked the gun, pressing it to his temple slowly. He closed his eyes, and inside he could almost convince himself he was back in his own ship, after the barrier failed; almost, but something in him made him constantly remember what he had done in the Zeus Cannon, again costing more lives, but one stood out in particular.
Looking down at Major Elliot as the life slowly drained out of him, the blood soaking the front of his dull gray uniform. The pure gray eyes looking to him for help, gasping as the phantom particles slowly dug further into his body, painfully slow.
That memory made his finger tighten on the trigger, but not quite enough to fire. He felt his body tense, and he could feel his hand shaking.
Do it!
NOW!
His fingers remained motionless, but his body tensed more. He felt his hand start to shake too much to pull the trigger, and before he knew what he was doing, he put the gun back in it's holster.
"Coward." He muttered to himself.
He didn't notice the pair of dark brown eyes peaking around the corner of the opened door, but they quickly disappeared before he had a chance.
-----------
"Dr. Sid, I have the⦠life form."
The Dr. Sid on the screen before her smiled, "Who is he?"
Aki decided she was going to treasure this moment, the look on his face, "General Hein."
Dr. Sid's powdery blue eyes went wider then she thought possible, "General Hein s-survived?"
Aki was about to talk when a voice came from behind her, "Yes, I survived, my good Doctor." He gave a wicked grin as Dr. Sid looked up at him in surprise, "But that probably not exactly what you wished happened. You probably wish I was floating around the Earth with the rest of the Zeus Cannon."
"I would be lying if I said I didn't." Dr. Sid muttered, then turned his attention back to Aki, "Aki, bring him back here as soon as you can to extract the fourth spirit."
"Alright, Sid." She switched off the transmission.
"What does he mean 'the fourth spirit'?" General Hein asked, using the chair to pull himself to the ground.
Aki smiled, "With the new phantoms, we had to recover the spirits we lost. Ironic, isn't it?"
General Hein nodded grudgingly, "So, when are we going to be in Houston? And why is this ship so slow?"
Aki was about to talk, but he interrupted her, "Let me guess; my fault?"
She nodded, "And we'll be entering the atmosphere in about one minute." Suddenly the ship started to shake as it hit the outer atmosphere, "Or one second."
-----------
A/N: Yay! Another chapter up. I'm doing chapter 12 at this very moment. hehe... just wait until you get there, guys. *Snicker*
By Severus editted by Raine, of course.
Disclaimer: I'M JUST PLAYING WITH THESE CHARACTERS! DON'T WORRY! General Hein said he's aloud to be brought back to life if he gets free ice cream and a king size double mattress bed. :D
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