Title: Effervescent Essence
Author: Harper's aka Weird_Peace
Rating: PG-13
Synopsis: Sequel to And You Thought Larvae Were Bad. I highly suggest you read the first fiction.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, but I love 'em anyways.
Spoilers: Season Two spoilers.

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"Dammit!" Harper was slightly shocked. It wasn't like Tyr never shouted; he just wasn't usually so emotional about it.

"I've got it!" Harper reached for his toolbelt and cursed loudly when he remembered he had taken it off before going to talk with Trance. He jogged over to a panel and ripped off the covering, messing around with the wires and trying to get the emergency lighting to come on. He let out a relieved laugh as they did.

"Something is finally working right!" Harper ran over and started fiddling with the doors.

"Boy, what are you doing?" Tyr called, checking Trance's vitals. Nothing.

"I need to go get my toolbelt and head down to the slipstream core. I'm guessing Rommie just got infected with a pretty nasty virus," Harper said. "And I need to go fix it before we all end up a row of heads on some bug person's game wall."

"Normally I would agree with you, but the child is coming!"

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Trance was in a rather large room. It had dull gray walls, a dull gray ceiling, dull gray shag carpet, and a light blue basinet in the corner. Pictures of cute animals, ranging from teddy bears to Ingitne covered part of the walls as a light blue trim touched up the ceiling.

She smiled as she looked down, humming a beautiful tune native to her species. Her child, in a light blue baby's gown, yawned and snuggled closer to its mother, burying his face in her bosom. Trance continued to rock in the dull green rocking chair, basking in the warm sunlight that streamed through the window of the baby's room. It was such a beautiful day, warm and breezy outside.

And inside too. Trance began to fan herself as the temperature increased. The intensity of the sun kept growing, the gray light reflecting off the walls until it was blinding her. The heat continued to increase until it was painful in nature. The baby in her arms started screaming, and Trance picked him up and started running towards where she thought the door was. She had to get him out of here before they both were burned. But all Trance found was solid wall. The baby continued to scream as the lights brightened; Trance wrapped herself protectively around him. The heat was hurting her as well, her skin felt like millions of tiny needles were continuously being stuck in her. She bit back a cry of pain as and inched around, feeling the walls for an opening of any kind.

"Ah!" Trance pulled her hand back from the wall. The skin on her fingers was blackened. She fell to the floor as the heat and light became too much to bear. Even though she couldn't open her eyes to see it, she felt her skin bubbling. The brightness faded to a deep maroon, then a soft purple, but the heat failed to die. There was one last scream from the baby. Then it all stopped.

Trance looked up to find the room was gone, and she was back on the Andromeda. She panicked as she realized the child was gone from her arms, and began to look around wildly. There was a sniffling sound coming from her right. Trance ran into the room and saw Harper sitting on his bed, his back turned towards her.

"Harper?" she whispered, coming up behind him. He jumped up and turned around, his entire body rigid.

"You bitch!" he screamed. Trance backed away with alarm. Harper had a huge hole in his chest; most of his internal organs were showing. The tears that ran down his face were blood red. At least Trance guessed they were tears. Harper's eyes were missing as well, replaced by flames that shot out of his eyes like a nightmarish jack-o-lantern. "Look what you've done!" he cried out, falling to his knees.

Trance felt something move in her hand. She looked down, slowly bringing the hand up to her face. A still beating heart sat there. Trance gasped in horror and dropped it, watching it fall to the floor with a sickening thud. A foot stepped on it, and Trance covered her ears as Harper screamed in anguish.

The scream was cut off as abruptly as the child's had, and something smooth touched Trance's face causing her to yelp as she opened her eyes. A rather large snake hissed and then crawled the rest of the way down the wall. Trance looked over at where Harper's heart had been, but there was a foot. Slowly she followed the foot upwards and saw a young human looking curiously at her.

"Where am I?" she asked him, tears streaming down her face.

"I can help you." He reached out for her hand, and Trance moved to take it. But his touch burned like the room had, and she moved away. The boy frowned. "Let me help you."

"I can't. You hurt me," she told him. The boy burst into tears, which began to collect on the ground. Trance reached forward to comfort the distressed child, but he ran away from her. His tears began to spread on the floor, and Trance realized with horror that they weren't stopping. The salty liquid expanded until it became an ocean and swept the terrified pixie away.

"Help me!" she called out sputtering. "Please, someone help!"

Something firm grabbed her leg, and Trance found herself pulled onto solid ground. Someone wrapped a pink blanket around her shivering shoulders. Trance looked up to see a normal Harper smiling down at her. She began sobbing, and he pulled her close into a tight hug.

"It's all ok now. We'll be fine, we'll be just fine," he whispered into her ear. "Shhh..."

"What's happening," Trance asked. Harper smiled, and pulled Trance over to a door. She looked at him, but he gave her a reassuring smile.

"We'll get through this." She started to move forward, but he grabbed her hand. "Remember, you're always going to be my golden goddess." Trance couldn't help but smile. She turned the knob and proceeded into the clear grayness beyond.

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"Already?!" Harper ran over and followed Tyr's gaze. The Nietzschean caught him as he fell back, but a sound slap got the boy in working condition.

"Crowning," the Nietzschean growled, shaking his head. "I'll need your help here."

"But I don't know anything about delivering babies! I just know how to make 'em!" Harper whimpered, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Just follow my instructions. Now go get a few extra blankets." Harper scurried off.

"Blankets, blankets...where the hell are the damn blankets?!" The ship rocked again. "Stop that!" The rocking popped open a door nearby and a pile of soft blankets fell out. Harper just stared at them for a second.

"Well at least I know Trance isn't completely dead," he mumbled, scooping up an armful of the soft material before running back towards Tyr.

"Tyr! I've got the..." Harper faltered as he looked towards the foot of the bed to see Tyr gently helping a small child finish it's transition into this world. After the head and shoulders were out, the rest of his child came out of the mother without a fuss.

Tyr motioned for Harper to come down, motioning to a small blade on the table nearby. The new father looked down at his squirmy, very messy child. Harper gently cut the cord before Tyr whisked him over to a sink of warm water to clean the silver and green fluids covering the child.

"Congratulations," he said as Harper stood nearby and watched as to make sure the Nietzschean was tending to the child in a right manner. Harper noticed Tyr frowning, but the frown vanished as the child coughed up some fluids and blinked, looking around at this strange place he had been forced into.

There he was, Harper thought as Tyr handed him his child to wrap in one of the blankets. Right there was nine months of pain, of joy, sorrow, love, laughter, tears...all wrapped up in this perfect being. Harper shifted his arms until they were just like Trance had taught him. Most children were worn out after the long birthing process, but Harper's son was wide-eyed and awake, looking up and regarding his father with as much curiosity as Harper regarded him with.

He was practically smothering in a huge, soft blanket, but the child's squirming was soon going to do away with all off that. Harper could see that Trance had been wrong about the appearance. His child was completely human except for pointed ears and the blue tail that managed to stick it's way out of the end of the blanket.

For the first time in his life, tears came to Harper's eyes. Not tears of pain and suffering. He knew those all too well. Harper wept in joy.

"Why're you crying?" Harper looked up and saw Trance, her eyes half open, looking like she had felt every minute of the labour process. Harper walked over to her, but since his arms were full, all he could do was look down at her with delight. Trance noticed the bundle in his arms, and she suddenly woke the entire way up.

"Is that..." she faltered.

"It is. A perfectly healthy baby boy. Eight pounds and five ounces, ten fingers, ten toes, and one tail," Tyr answered for them.

Harper pulled up a stool and sat next to Trance, holding their child where she could see him. Trance reached out a trembling hand and ran it over the smooth skin on her son's face. He smiled.

"We did it," she said, looking up at Harper. "We actually did it."