FALLEN HERO
By AJ Burfield, MJ Cogburn and Katherine Freymuth

CHAPTER NINE

When the tingling blue dissipated, the first sensation Sam felt was cold.
Damp coldness all around, especially in his nose as he breathed. He blinked, clearing the fog, only to find that he was, in fact, in thinning fog, and began walking up the cracked and weedy path to a reinforced opening of a tunnel in a mountainside.

He had no idea where he was; there was nothing to give him an idea of time or place. No cars, no music... no people. Turning around he saw a dock and a small boat pushing off, and a mainland in the distance. Mainland? Was this an island? He again faced the opening, and then looked down at himself.

He found a picture ID tag hanging from his neck and a white lab coat on his lean frame. His last name was Gabriel, and his first name was Anthony. And there was a 'LEVEL I" stamped on it. Curious, he continued up the path.

Suddenly, he had several flashes of what could only have been a bad dream... A familiar woman... Alia! He thought...a gun... an angry black man coming at him with a pitchfork... and a mixing/melding of faces when he defended him and pushed the man....Thames... away.

Sam was in a cold sweat at this point. He was here for a reason involving those... two... what was it? The memory was right there on the tip of his brain. And before he even thought 'where was Al?' he already knew that he wouldn't be there to help this time.

When he reached the top of the path, there was a small group gathered at a security gate. He joined them, feeling like a fraud. A very scared fraud, and glanced at a security camera. The security gate was waiting to be opened at just a command; cameras aimed at the entrance to record any and all interlopers.

"I guess there was a security problem," one man mumbled. "This gate is never locked."

"I don't care if I ever come back, "a woman replied quietly, then looked around, afraid.

"DID YOU THINK THAT I AM UNAWARE OF YOUR WORDS?" A loud voice demanded viciously from inside the cave. "ENTER IMMEDIATELY AND REMAIN SILENT!"

Suddenly, it was quiet and the crowd cowered as one. Sam tried to fade in, oblivious to any consequences. The guards were thick as the gate slowly opened. The group moved as one through the opening, Sam feeling safe in the center. He looked at some other tags worn by nearby people, and found another Level 1, and tried to look inconspicuous as he followed him.
Everyone's ID was checked before they were allowed in the cavern.

Again, the voice boomed as Sam entered the cavern, his ID having already been checked. "Gabriel, you are required on Level 1 immediately."

Sam hesitated, then looked up at the speaker. "Uh, yes, sir." Great. Where was that?

Fortunately, when he got inside, the cave sections were clearly labeled and painted. Each level had a color, and his tag was yellow. He headed to the yellow area up and toward the back of the corridor. He passed through three more checkpoints before encountering the entry guards with "Level 1" stamped on their tags. They regarded him carefully as he stepped through the portal to the yellow section.

He walked back to a group of white lab coats crowding behind a tall cabinet. They were trying to keep out of sight from something, or rather, someone. Sam peered around the corner and saw a red-haired woman in a wheelchair next to a black man crumpled on the floor. His heart jumped into his throat as he recalled the man: Thames! That's who he fought with...when?

Then the pieces went together, and Sam was horrified to realize where he was.
The voice that seemed to come from everywhere must be Lothos!

The aura of the place suddenly struck him. Although Ziggy was also in a cave of sorts, the atmosphere of his Project was cheery and professional, camaraderie high. This cave had a lot of natural light that his Project didn't, but even the sunny brightness failed to bring any cheer to this place. Sam could feel the tension and the stress all the way to his bones. Where PQL was run with eagerness, this place was run by fear. Sam suppressed a shiver from the perceived chill.

The voice that had ordered him this level was speaking in a very low tone to the fiery-haired woman. "Be cautious, Zoey. He is here somewhere."

'Oh, no! I've been detected!' Sam thought, alarmed.

As Sam froze, he realized that he hadn't been singled out yet when the voice commanded, "Step forward!" to the rest of the technicians. He ducked his head and blended in to the sea of white coats as he stepped from behind the cabinet with the crowd, trying to ignore the crew cleaning up the remains of Thames in the background.

"Carpenter. Project status," Lothos ordered firmly.

Carpenter happened to be the woman who had talked out of turn at the gate. She cowered at the console as she read the information. It wasn't good news, and she cringed at being the messenger. "Sir, we know that Dr. Beckett is here with us, but we don't know what level he leaped into."

Sam perked up. He feigned interest in a clipboard and walked up behind her and read the screen himself. The energy spike that had announced his arrival was obvious, but not localized.

"DID I ASK ABOUT DR. BECKETT?"

The voice made it impossible not to jump. Another technician walked up to Sam and passed him some papers acting like nothing was going on. Only the dampness of the papers where his fingers had been gave him away. Carpenter bowed her head and clasped her hands together in front of her.

"No, sir. You... you didn't. F... Forgive me... sir... I'm sorry." Carpenter knees were visibly knocking. "May I try again?"

Sam found it difficult to ignore the poor woman's trial, but everyone else didn't seem to have that problem. This must happen all the time. Sam forced himself to look at the papers containing power consumption charts, relay inspection tables and interface junction performance levels. He could use all this, he realized. Now if he could only find their version of the Accelerator
Chamber there was a way to mess things up. And where was the central mass? At
PQL, it was the orb that hung above the console. Was there a similar thing here?

There was a long pause, as if the voice was considering the poor woman's request. "You may try." It was obvious there was doubt Carpenter could succeed by the way the other workers distanced themselves from her.

Sam glanced up and noticed the horrific smile and glowing eyes of the chair-bound woman as poor Carpenter was grilled. Sam let his eyes wander above and beyond her, and was shocked to see another set of eyes behind small window in a door recessed in the cave wall. The eyes were unseeing, and the body appeared to be in a comatose state. Sam was drawn to the eyes, not knowing why, and realized the face was surrounded by inter-twining masses of wire, which gave the head a Medusa-like quality. Sam felt his hands grow cold when he saw the major conduits running from the very portal where that person was. He'd found the central mass, and the idea of it made his sick. Where he'd used a few human brain cells, Lothoman had used and entire human. Sam couldn't help but wonder who the poor victim was.

Carpenter blinked and swallowed as she moved to look at the grid once more. Sam's attention was again drawn to her, and she nervously licked at her lips. "Status on the infiltration, sir, is..." she was hesitant to answer not wanting to be punished. "Is..."

"IS WHAT?!" Lothos demanded.

"Is... Ahm...is" She jumped at his demand. "Is unsuccessful, sir." She finally supplied knowing that this information wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"What did you say?" The voice was low and incredulous, as if Lothos wasn't sure he'd heard the right answer. Then, a low growl filled the room, and Zoey's smile widened as she focused her attention on the woman.

Carpenter's chin quivered as she locked eyes with Zoey, but she stood up straight, already accepting whatever the punishment would be not going to have someone say she wasn't brave. She closed her eyes in resignation.

Sam felt the hair on his body rise as an overdose of static electricity built in the air. He heard a grotesque laugh from the woman in the chair, and his eyes were locked on the eyes in the portal when lightning struck from somewhere. Sam dropped to the floor as Carpenter's body flew back and slammed into the wall behind her.

"That is incorrect." Lothos said calmly.

Carpenter's chest was a smoking, black hole. It became quite evident when a trickle of clear fluid began to flow down from her ear that the electricity had been sent not only to her chest, but also through her to a specific area in her body - her brain.

Stunned, he stared at the down at the smoking woman, black, crispy burns making up her torso as another clean up team appeared from nowhere and prepared her for removal. The brutal murder was secondary in his mind when he realized that the lightning had come from the portal.

Then it hit him, and he realized in an instant who it was behind the protective door: Lothoman himself.

Alia's story came back to him in a flood, and he was glad he was on the floor. He wasn't sure his knees could have held him. This monster had to be stopped.

***********

"Are you...the only one..who...will not fail... me, Zoey?" The mechanical voice almost sighed.

Zoey twisted her head to look up at the portal that contained the bioparts of Lothos. "I will succeed or kill myself for you," she murmured actually surprised at the depravity of her devotion to the one she knew as Nathaniel Lothoman. She also knew that he was gone forever, and that nothing mattered anymore -- nothing except killing that arrogant, bold, all loving Dr. Beckett, the cause of all her losses.

Observing the clean up going on before her, Zoey laughed lightly. "Love," she said softly. "Now, we need a new assistant. Or shall I say contestant?"

A sickening mechanical chuckle emanated from all around. It was a chilling sound that caused the workers to hunch their shoulders in an effort to grow smaller. "Yes. But first.....find.... Beckett."

"I know he is here," Zoey said firmly. "I can sense him just as you can." She studied each face in the area, her hand lazily fondling the gun in her lap. "I will find him, Lothos." She said softly, squinting at one technician in particular.

The man called Gabriel was just rising to his feet as Carpenter's body was carted off like so much trash. He looked rather dazed, and was studying the wiring around the portal with interest. His eyes dropped immediately when he saw her studying him and returned his attention to his clipboard. He had just flagged another technician over to look at the board when Zoey called to him.

"Gabriel," she spoke sharply.

He looked up quickly. "Yes?" he replied carefully, his tone casual.

"Gabriel," Lothos addressed him sternly.

Zoey eyed Sam suspiciously, one eyebrow arching up, and glanced at the portal as Lothos spoke.

Sam-in-Gabriel looked up at the ceiling, his eyes widening. "Yes, sir?"

"You... will give her.... the respect....she is due." His voice was intensely threatening. "Or... shall I give you... a reminder?"

"Yes, sir. Ah, no, sir. A reminder is not necessary, sir."

"Now, Gabriel..." Zoey addressed him again.

He faced her again, his expression grim. "Yes, ma'am?" He dropped his head and shoulders in a submissive manner.

"What exactly are you reading that is so interesting to you?" She asked softly wheeling her chair toward him. She'd never seen him so curious before.

"It's the... er, some performance charts. I was wondering if the levels would ah... indicate the interloper: the one Carpenter saw on the monitor. If the interloper was moving around, I was trying to figure out a way, using the existing power cables, to rig up a tracking device. I'm not sure how to do that quite yet. I... I was just trying to come up with a possibility..."

Zoey interrupted him. "So... you were actually using that precious little thing that God gave you... your brain?" She asked sarcastically.

"Yes, ma'am. Just trying to help. Ma'am." Sam kept his arms by his side, appearing innocent and somewhat relaxed. Could she see me in Gabriel's eyes? He thought. He could see she was suspicious. "Well, ma'am, like I said, it was an idea, but I'm not sure how to implement it, or if it's possible. I'd have to do some measuring of the ambient power levels in the different parts of the cavern to see if there's even a sufficient field to be interacted with and tracked..."

Zoey nodded looking at him warily. Something wasn't setting right with this. Gabriel possibly could have a brain, but she had never seen it being used unbidden. Why would he start now? She asked herself. "What do you think about his idea, my dear?" she said out loud to Lothos, but continued to study
Gabriel. "Shall we let him try his little idea?"

There was a silence from Lothos for a moment as he considered the theory. "I am... wary.. of anyone making any. ....adjustments ...to my system." Another long moment passed. "Allow it.... But..watch him carefully."

Gabriel's eyes glanced in the portal's directionn. "Thank you, sir. I'll do my best."

"Do not..... thank me, Gabriel," Lothos told him firmly. "If you....make.... one mistake, you're....doomed."

"Yes sir." The technician glanced at the black spot where Carpenter had collapsed. "I understand."

Zoey warily looked him over once more. Something still felt very wrong about this. She traced the gun with her fingertips as she looked from Gabriel to Lothos. "Where do you want him to start first, my pet?" She asked lovingly, using the endearment for show for the others around. She didn't want
Lothos to know about her revulsion to what once was her lover, because she didn't want to face the consequences.

"Let him... decide." The tone made it clear that he was giving the technician enough rope to either save or hang himself. Quietly, and only for Zoey, he whispered, "I... do not... trust ..him. Watch him...my dear."

In the same hushed voice she soothed, "I'll take care of it. You trust me, don't you?"

"How.....can I not?" Lothos' voice responded silkily. "I...love you."

In another time, those words would have meant everything to her. Now, it was a time nearly forgotten. She sighed sadly, resigned to her fate. "Same here, love."

The interplay between Zoey and the cyber-man made Sam queasy. He didn't hear most of it, but could tell the content by her face. He knew he was being scrutinized, and his life depended on appearing completely non-threatening.

Sam tucked the board under his arm and opened a tool chest near him.
He picked out a hand held meter for measuring the atmosphere, another meter for checking wire bundles, and managed to slip in a pair of wire cutters to his coat pocket. With a calming breath, he stepped up to Zoey.

"Where will you check first?" She questioned, her eyes locked on him.

"It would be best to start at the main entrance and work my way in," Sam replied, turning to go.

Zoey cocked her head to the side. "Stop. Since the intruder is already in the complex," she said slowly, "wouldn't it be beest to have the most preciousguarded first?"

"I need to record a base line, ma'am. It's like drawing a spider's web. I can tell by the warping of the 'web', where the initial impulse went. Like a dent in fabric."

Another whisper from the ceiling drifted towards Zoey. "He is speaking ....nonsense."

"Or, I can start here," Sam interjected quickly, sensing the suspicion. "It doesn't really matter."

Without taking her eyes from him, Zoey picked up the weapon leveled it at his chest. "You protect the one that you serve first," she stated, eyes glimmering.

He looked down the barrel of the gun and nodded tightly. "Yes ma'am. Protect the one you serve first."

Zoey laid the gun back down on her lap and watched him go to work. She was determined to protect Lothos; it was all she had left. He was her last chance for a normal life. Someone could still leap back and keep Calavicci from shooting her, and maybe Thames would still be alive.

She soon tired of Gabriel's mundane activity. She couldn't really blame him for being so cautious, checking every wire around the portal, but she knew the amount of wiring there and steeled herself for a boring time. Physically, she felt exhausted, and part of her welcomed the break. Her weakened body couldn't take the activity of her former lifestyle, and even now she required many rest breaks. She hadn't had one for a while now, and her body was growing fatigued. She could tell by the difficulty she was having concentrating. Her mind began to wander.

Meanwhile, Sam himself was having difficulty keeping the mundane repetition going. He saw Zoey's scrutiny falter, and took a chance. He slipped the clippers from his pocket and snipped a few colored wires here and there, and put it in his routine. Read meter, record numbers, snip. Read meter, record numbers, snip. He checked the clipboard to confirm his proximity to the main power bundles, and continued on.

Zoey tried to pull herself back into awareness. "Are we winning, Lothos?" She crooned, shifting the gun in her lap. The delay in his response broke her dreamy spell. "Lothos?" she queried sharply, grasping the gun tightly.

"Losing ... power!" Lothos hissed. "It's Beckett! Kill...him!"

"STOP!" She screamed as loud as she could, fumbling for the gun, and raising it with weary shoulders towards Sam.

Sam acted instantly, flipping the clipboard towards her face. When she jerked aside, Sam moved his feet. The kick was aimed at the gun, but Zoey's being in a wheel chair made the kick a bit higher than it should have been. He caught her hand with his heel as he spun; Zoey let out a grunt at the contact, and her hand cracked into the chair's arm. Sam realized he hadn't made full contact, and followed through the spin by reaching out and grabbing her wrist. He forced her sideways in the chair, spinning the device in a tight circle as they grappled for the gun.

Even the loud report of the gun going off didn't break their grip, and Zoey emitted an animal growl as she continued to pull the trigger and fight. Sam was amazed at her strength, and lost count of the shots. He wasn't sure if the ringing he heard was from damaged eardrums or damaged equipment in the room. At this point, he was thinking of survival only.

Zoey continued to fight for the gun. Sam could hear her winded wheezing, but she was still able to make Sam see stars when she butted his cheek with her head. Sam continued to twist the woman's deceptively strong grip, feeling each blow to his face, then simply yanked her from the chair.

Zoey's lower body was limp, but her grasp on the gun and Sam's arm was impressively strong. He could hear her struggling to get her breath, and knew she was functioning on pure adrenaline. The chair flew out from under her, and Sam heard a collision then smelled something electrical burning.

"ZOEY!" It was an inhuman, mechanical voice, wrought with static and pain echoing off the walls. There was another noisee, too, that took Sam several seconds to identify, as his ears were still ringing from the shots; it was the thundering sound of retreating feet. The other technicians had grabbed the opportunity to flee from the cave and the raging, possessed woman. Security had joined the retreat.

Sam went down from the weight and struggle, and rolled the furious woman under him. He repeatedly smashed her hands on the floor until the gun flew from her grip and skittered across the room. Sam left her writhing on the floor and fell on the portal. He had to act before lighting struck.

Lothos' scream was high-pitched and tinny. "ZOEY!"

Feeling around the edges of the portal door, Sam found the source keeping the airlock engaged, and yanked it from the wall. The sound of escaping air hissed by his ear and the door loosened in its jamb. He pulled the clippers from his pocket and pried at the crack. He could hear the sound of the seals popping as the door grudgingly cracked opened.

"NO!" Lothos and Zoey screamed in unison.

Sam felt the hair on his body raising as electricity started to build up in the air and knew he was running out of time. The door popped out a few inches and he grabbed the edge and pulled. It opened slowly, reluctantly, not used to the motion. The air inside was sour.

Zoey had dragged herself across the floor to get to him, but the struggle for a full breath made her woozy. She watched helplessly from where she lay on the floor, hoping to kill Beckett with a look.

"You ..will die.. with me!" Lothos' voice was weak with static, but Sam could still feel the energy building.

Once in the cramped portal, Sam scanned the wires around the emaciated seated form. The eyes, which had appeared unseeing, now had a slight glow and Sam was sure he was being observed. The face surrounding the eyes could hardly be called human. Sam could see the wires just under the skin of the skull, and it made his skin crawl. Recalling human anatomy, he gripped the bundles that appeared to lead to the most active parts of the brain, and pulled. They were stuck fast, skin adhering to the cables. He braced his feet and pulled again, starting trickles of blood. The room was hot with building energy, and Sam knew time was gone. He gritted his teeth and pulled hard, and two bunches of cables pulled free with a sucking sound. Blood spattered the portal walls

"NO!" The scream was more like a deafening feedback squeal, and Sam automatically clamped his bloody hands over his ears.

"LOTHOS!" Zoey gravely plea was barely heard above the inhuman shrieking.

Blindly, Sam reached and pulled, desperate to stop the painful noise. Four cables later, the noise began to dwindle. Sam's hands were sticky with blood. He felt around the atrophied human form looking for more cables, pulling them as he went. There was no resistance. When he thought he had the last one, he leaned back and looked Lothos in the eyes defiantly.

Sam didn't feel anger. He didn't feel hate. All he felt was pity, and he was sure it was clear in his eyes. There wasn't anything he could do for him; there was nothing human left to work with. He wondered if his Project was safe now.

The gleam in the eyes faded, and turned milky. Fixed and dilated, they stared at nothing, and the body slipped into a pile of disjointed limbs with his last hissing breath.

Sickened at the sight, Sam stepped from the portal and gulped in great breaths of fresh air as he wiped his sticky hands on his pants. He watched as Zoey slowly removed her hands from her ears and forced herself to look at the open portal behind him.

The cords that were once connected to Lothos were now dangling, dripping with dark blood. The once commanding form of Nathaniel Lothoman was now a shriveled, shrunken pile in the chair.

"No." She growled, knowing her love was gone forever.

'I'm not of the woods yet... I can't leave her here. She can't take care of herself. And I doubt that any of the former employees would be willing to help. Now what?' Sam thought as he watched her.

Zoey dropped her face into the crook of her arm, and was quiet for a moment. "Please, help me," she said weakly.

The plea for help caused the hair to rise on the back of his neck. Alarms were going off in his head and the first thing he thought was, 'Al will kill me, but
I can't just leave here there.' Cautiously, he stepped towards her very aware of the sticky blood on him was from her lover.

"I've been trapped here for so long. I'm finally free of him!" Zoey whimpered as she looked up into his eyes.

Almost as if he were in the room, Al's voice seemed to go through Sam's head. 'She's evil! Don't believe her!'

'Al always called me a Boy Scout,' he thought, 'and he had a right to.' Against every little voice screaming in his head, Sam approached her. After all, he hadn't leaped yet; there had to be something else to do, and she was the only possible candidate.

A coughing fit overtook Zoey, causing her to double up in pain. Sam knelt next to her, but not too close, and saw that her lips were slightly blue. He went to the chair and had a time untangling it from the wires that left scorch marks on the metal frame. As he gently separated the chair from the mass, he saw the bullet holes in the wall panels that had been the beginning of the end for Lothos. As he pushed the chair over to her, Sam tried to note any other main relays he should put out of commission.

Sam parked the chair next to her and locked the wheels. Then he walked around to the other side and kicked something that slid away. The gun! He felt around for it with his toe, retrieved it, and placed it safely in his pocket. He pulled the woman into the chair. Sitting up helped her breathing, and her color returned slowly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Shocked at the thanks, Sam went even more on guard. This woman has a knack for doing that to him. Carefully, he leaned down and unlocked the wheels. He could hear her wheezing and felt her trembling arms. He was trying to decide if the trembling was from shock or anger when the sound of the Imaging Chamber door greeted his ears.

Al frantically rushed in. "Sam! Sam, are you okay?" Al looked around quickly, noting the chaos. He squinted at what remained of Nathaniel Lothoman and gasped. "Ew! I hope that's the nozzle that was attacking Ziggy!"

"Hey, Al!" Sam greeted, panting as he stood up from the chair wheels.

"Boy, am I glad to see you! How is Ziggy? Is she functional now?"

The hologram's eyes widen in shock as he turns to his friend and takes in his actions. "Sam, what the hell are you doing?"

"Well, I couldn't just leave her there on the floor!"

"Why the hell not?! That bitch tried to kill you! Not to mention my own daughter! Or did you forget that?" Al noticed the stains on Sam's shirt, and figured that the blood wasn't his. He wondered what had gone on here.

Zoey looked at Sam in a daze and realized he was talking to his hologram, the very same hologram that had put her in this chair. She placed her trembling hands in her lap and dropped her eyes, not wanting to give away the hate she felt for both of them. Sam was bringing Al up to date on his actions, both of them momentarily distracted and unconcerned about the disabled woman.

She slipped her hand to the edge of the seat cushion, and felt in the crevasse for the knife she always kept there. Being disabled didn't mean she was helpless; any worker here could have told the unsuspecting men.

"Dr. Beckett?" she beckoned quietly, her head tilted in a coy manner.

Sam broke off his conversation and turned his attention to her. "Are you all right?" he asked, starting to crouch down next to her.

Al's eyes locked on to her, suspicious. He saw the movement of her hand. "SAM! LOOK OUT!"

Zoey pulled out the knife in a jabbing motion, and it caught his shirt, ripping open the side. It was a clean miss.

"NO!" She shrieked, blindly stabbing at him. She knew she didn't have much left. The hope of killing Beckett in front of his best friend was fading as quickly as her strength.

Instinctively, Al reached for the knife to get it out of her hands, but his image passed frustratingly through her.

Sam slammed his hand down in a blocking motion and kept the knife from drawing blood. His next grab was for her hand. She moved fast, faster than he thought possible, and she managed a few shallow cuts on his forearms before he had both of her wrists firmly in his grip. He was amazed at her strength. He bent her wrist into a painful position that loosened her grip, and the knife clattered to the floor.

"Why are you doing this?" He breathed.

Al exhaled with relief seeing Zoey was now unarmed. "Because she's evil, Sam," he told him firmly.

"Can't you see that you're free now?" Sam insisted.

"She doesn't give a damn about that!" Al exclaimed.

Zoey looked up into Sam's face. "I'll only be free when you're dead," she wheezed.

Al glared at her. "Then you're going to be a prisoner for the rest of your life, you bitch, because I am NOT going to let you hurt him." The words were spoken with conviction. Sam knew Al would follow through with them, even if it meant his own life.

Sam released her hands and stepped back. The chair wheels were still locked; her arms were lying limp in her lap. She wasn't going anywhere.

"I don't see the point in this," Sam reasoned. "There's nothing left to fight for. You have a chance to change your life. You can't throw it away!"

There was a short silence, then Al said, "You can't save her, Sam."

"Then why haven't I leaped, Al? Is Ziggy fixed or what?"

Al pulled out the hand link, and tapped the keys. "Uh... yeah. Ziggy's pretty much back to normal, or at least as normal as she can be given the circumstances. As for why you're still here...." He shook his head. "I don't know."

"Well, then, if Ziggy's fixed and everything's OK, and I haven't leaped, she must be the reason for me being here!" He insisted, pointed at the chair bound woman.

Al looked at him sadly. "She doesn't want to be saved."

"Well, maybe I'm here to change that."

"I really doubt that, Sam." Al couldn't believe it but he almost felt pity for the witch. Almost.

Zoey pushed the lever that ran the chair and tried to move, but the wheels were locked and the motor hummed uselessly. Zoey continued to hit the button, making the chair jerk each time. "Nathaniel." She said in a defeated whisper. She continued to hit the button, trying to will the chair to move.

At the sound of her voice Al and Sam turned to her in unison. "Let her go, Sam. It's time to leap," Al said quietly.

Sam saw what she was trying to do. Her eyes were locked on the portal. He moved behind her and unlocked the wheels. Zoey moved away before he could push her, so he stood and watched her wheel to the form of her dead lover.

Al took a few steps towards her, wondering what she was up to, worried that she might have something else up her sleeve. She did, but he didn't know what exactly it was. When she got as close as she could to the lifeless form, he saw her take out two metal objects from her pocket, and pop one in her mouth. The other she fit into a receptacle in the portal chair.

"Sam," Al warned. "She's up to something!"

Zoey turned and looked blindly into Al's eyes. She grinned a wolfish grin, and Al swore she could see him. "Perhaps another day, Tonto," she sneered. She twisted a ring on her finger around so the circular design was in her palm.

"Hey!" Sam yelled, starting to make his way to her.

The moment Sam moved, Al raised his hand to indicate that he should stop. Seeing what she was planning, he turned his head from the sight, and look directly at Sam. "Turn around, Sam!" he barked. "Go back!"

Zoey saw Sam hesitate. "One last handshakke, Dr. Beckett?" she crooned crazily, as she placed her palm over the chair's arm, fitting the ring key into the chair's matching receptacle. With the other hand, she reached for Sam in a lady like fashion. The hate was now clear in her burning eyes.

"Sam, now!" Al pleaded, waving his arms and bouncing up and down. "You don't want to see this!"

Sam knew better than to touch her, but he got down on his knees as close to her as he dared. Her extended fingertips were just beyond his nose, one lunge away.

"Don't!" Al begged his friend.

Zoey regarded Sam, playing the emotions to the end.

"Stop this, Zoey. You don't have to do this. There's so much more out there!" Sam tried to reason.

Zoey saw the instinct in his eyes to try and stop her, and she grinned at him. Her hand wavered in front of Sam's face.

"Not for her, there isn't," Al said snapped.

Al's paranoia had managed to imbed itself into his brain, and Sam realized that she was waiting for him to touch her, to kill both of them. 'Could anyone be that soulless?' he thought, astounded.

For a moment, her eyes flickered. For a moment, Sam thought he saw her accept the reality of her life, that she was responsible for her actions every step of the way. And for a second, he was sure he saw the idea of redemption cross her mind. But as her hand dropped to her lap, he saw the hopelessness that replaced the fear.

"Unless you want to die Dr. Beckett, you'd best get away from me."

Al was shocked. She was letting him go! She was actually letting him go! "Do it,
Sam!" he insisted. "Walk away now and don't look back!"

The coldness of Zoey's voice made Sam back off, incredulous.

"This is the only way I'll be free," she said, indicating her palm hovering over the plug with a nod of her head, a crooked grin on her lips. "Ah, the good
Dr. Beckett. Always getting his wish." She turned away from him with a throaty chuckle, and slammed her palm on the receptacle.

Her body became rigid from an electrical punch, and smoke started coming from her ears. Sam jumped back and turned away, smelling the burnt flesh and hearing the crackle of an electrical overload. He stumbled from the portal, then from the room, sickened.

Al joined up with him as he strode from the cave.

Sam was shaken. "Some people cannot be saved, I guess," he said simply.

Al exhaled slowly, just wanting this leap to finally be over. He walked by
Sam's side, not looking at him. If there was one thing he would never be used to, although people would expect it from his experiences, it was seeing someone die. He'd watched Zoey until he was sure she was dead, and was surprised that all he felt was pity. "It's over now."

"I'm glad," Sam said tiredly as he felt the familiar tingling in his limbs.

*************

The leap was instantaneous. Sam didn't recall any floating, any fading in of details, or any blue haze. It was amazingly quiet and peaceful. A warm breeze tickled his cheek and he heard trees rustling softly overhead. Birds sang cheerily, and Sam knew instantly that it was springtime. The smell of freshly mown grass made him look down, and he saw that his feet were in brown work boots sunk in a luxuriously thick lawn.

Glancing to his hand he saw he held a rake. Cautiously, he looked around and admired the well-trimmed landscape of a park. A very peaceful park and he realized that he was the gardener. Relaxing, he tilted his face to the sun and closed his eyes with a smile. Behind him he could hear the distant laughter of children playing.

Then he heard murmuring. He opened his eyes and looked around recognizing the sound of someone's muted talking. Following the sound, rake in hand, he rounded a tall hedge and saw a white park bench under a beautiful, full tree which overlooking the grassy, rolling hills of the park. The scenic beauty was lost on the two men whose backs were to him as their heads were bent together deep in conversation. The taller man's hands were animated excitedly as he spoke.

Sam frowned. A very strong feeling of deja vu washed over him as he watched the men. Just then, the sound of the Imaging Chamber door distracted him.

"I've been here," Sam said softly out loud, knowing Al would hear him.
He couldn't take his eyes off the men on the bench.

"I know." Al replied just as softly.

There was a sinking feeling as Sam felt the last of the peacefulness drain away. His head began to spin, and the whole scene became surreal. "That's me," he said matter-of-factly, nodding towards the taller man.

"Yeah. I know." Al replied.

Then the memory came back. "And that's Gooshie!" Sam whispered, unable to move. Why didn't he see that before? No one had hair like Gooshie.

Sam heard Al shift uncomfortably. "Sam," Al said after a moment. "We need to talk."

And Al told him of the events at the Project and the loss of the brilliant programmer. He told the story softy, in an even, unbroken voice, clear in every detail. He'd already said his good byes, he said, and it was time for Sam to do the same.

Sam's vision was blurry from tears as he watched himself pull out the familiar string from his shirt pocket. The wild-haired programmer was rapt attention as Sam saw himself talking and tying the string's ends together. Then he crumpled the string in his fist, and Gooshie's eyes lit up as he took over the conversation. Sam saw himself lean slightly back from the halitosis Gooshie was known for.

"Good bye, Gooshie," Sam whispered, raising his hand is a small gesture of farewell. "I'm so sorry." He couldn't hold back the feelings of guilt that washed over him at that moment.

As he felt the blue fog engulf him, his last sight was of a laughing
Gooshie and a smiling Sam shaking hands forever sealing a successful partnership.

Then he leaped.

THE END