I'm thinking I'm going to simply forego the witty dialog and get right into the final showdown. Enjoy the emotional moment because it's been a helluva ride.
Chapter XXXIX
There was only one shuttle remaining and close to a thousand civilians waiting to be boarded. Each and every able-bodied soldier and officer worked to ensure that no riots erupted as they boarding was underway. Kelly and Nolan were coordinating the boarding process while Fredricks and McGuire helped the soldiers on guard duty. All the while, Xander was a short distance away from the shuttle. He was pacing back and forth, waiting for Danica and Scott to return to the hanger bay. Xander absolutely hated the waiting. It made him feel useless and hopeless even though he encouraged Danica to find Scott. He knew also that he'd eventually have to board the shuttle himself, but he could bear the thought of leaving without his best friends. As Xander was pacing about and cursing under his breath, he heard the faint tone of Kelly's voice calling out to him.
"Stratton, we'll have to leave at some point. We can't wait on them forever." she said.
Xander cringed and replied, "I know, but let's give them more time. They'll be here."
Kelly looked at the people being escorted onto the shuttle and bit her lip. She looked to McGuire and asked, "McGuire, how much longer will it take to get these people aboard."
"We're going to need at another 25 to 30 minutes or so to everyone onto the shuttle." McGuire replied.
Again, Kelly seethed and said to Xander, "30 minutes, Stratton. No later than that. If Gavin and Johansson aren't back by then, we're leaving without them."
Xander looked at Kelly and knew she wasn't bluffing. He looked away from the shuttle and muttered, "C'mon, guys. Where are you?"
Danica ran for cover with every shred of strength she could put into her legs, and she literally through herself behind a small structure to get clear. She'd dropped her rifle and quickly recovered it while pressing her back against the surface of the cover she was using. The gunfire soon stopped, but Danica didn't dare try to retaliate. She could only peer along the side of her hiding place and she had to fight to keep tears from forming. Scott was across the Council Camber from where Danica was hiding. He was reloading his rifle but Danica got a good look at his face. He was struggling against himself, trying to regain control of his bodily functions. He looked and saw Danica looking at him, and it was abundantly clear that he didn't want to do what he was doing because he wasn't in control. They both knew who was in control.
Matt stood a short distance away watching the whole ordeal with a near blank expression on his face. He had the supposed control device in one hand, using that to force his own brother to act as he did against Danica. Danica could see the device. She inwardly reasoned that she could grab it if she made a break for it. She looked back at Scott, seeing that was struggling to get control. He barely managed two steps forward before he stopped. He looked at Danica again, and Danica was surprised to see that he was nodding to her. Was he telling her to risk it, to rush Matt as quickly as possible and secure that device? Danica thought about it and then made her decision.
Taking the biggest breath she could manage, Danica slipped around the other end of the structure she hid behind. She made a wild sprint toward where Matt as standing, and Matt quickly noticed. One press of the device forced Scott to open fire on Danica as she raced for the device. As quickly as she ran, she still wasn't quick enough when a shot hit the floor right in front of her. Within moments, Danica rolled out of the way and very nearly crashed head first to the floor. She recovered and made another mad dash for the device, and this time, she managed to reach Matt before he could use the device again. She reached for the device only for a gunshot to be heard, and then next thing she knew, she fell to the floor holding her upper leg. Blood was seeping from a hole in her armor, and Danica had to put pressure on the wound all while Matt stood over her holding a gun in his free hand.
"Dani!" Scott shouted just as he willed himself to make a move, only for Matt to stop with the device and cause him to fall to the floor.
"Don't bother, Scott. You won't be able to move unless I decide otherwise." Matt claimed.
Scott tried to move regardless of Matt's claim, literally gritting his teeth in the attempt. As Matt looked on, Danica snarled, "You're pathetic. You practically enslaved your flesh and blood, and for what?"
Matt leered at Danica as he lowered his base to meet her cold gaze. "Is that what you think, that I enslaved him? I saved him. That's all I ever wanted; to spare him the agony of suffering along with the rest of Humanity while the Marauders wiped them off the face of the Earth. That's more than what you've done."
"Matt, she's got nothing to do with this. Let her go." Scott pleaded.
Matt looked at his brother with a mix of concern and disgust. He hoisted Danica up by the collar of her suit and tossed her toward Scott. Scott tried to reach for Danica but his limbs wouldn't budge an inch, while Danica struggled to at least get up to her knees. She held her hand to the wound and at least managed to slow the bleeding before she made her way to Scott. She helped him up and they were face to face. Their eyes met and Scott was suddenly able to moved his limbs, so he reasoned that Matt had released him from his control. Taking advantage, Scott cupped Danica's cheeks in his hands and examined her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Danica knew that Scott was asking about her wound and she replied, "It's not bad."
Scott was relieved even as he said, "You can't be here, Dani. You cannot be here."
Danica touched Scott's left cheek and said to him, "We're in this together, remember?"
Scott did remember because those were his words to Danica a long time ago, but then his attention was drawn back to Matt. The elder sibling was studying a large screen that, to Scott's horror, showed the docking bay and large group of people being ushered onto a shuttle. Danica saw the image as well and it quickly dawned on both of them that Matt had been watching them the entire time. A second image appeared that showed the Marauder in the core attempting to disable the demo charges, and Matt could only visibly shake his head.
"Did you really think you were saving anyone by evacuating the station and then destroying it?" Matt asked almost rhetorically before pressing a few buttons on a console in front of him.
Xander continued pacing back and forth and snarling in frustration, wondering what was taking Scott and Danica so long to return. "Xander," Nolan called out from the shuttle. "We can't wait any longer for them. We've got to go."
Sneering to himself, Xander spun around snapped, "Then you can go, Wilder. I'm not leaving my friends behind."
"Hey, I see movement up ahead." one of the other soldiers called out.
Almost instantly, Xander looked toward where the soldier claimed to have seen movement. He and Nolan and Kelly all looked toward the docking bay entrance with bated breath, and Xander in particular was hoping that Scott and Danica were approaching. But at the same time, Xander held his rifle close. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Kelly, Nolan, Fredericks and some of the other troopers seemed to share the same feeling of uneasy as they all waited for something to happen. Kelly motioned two of the soldiers to investigate the disturbance. Those soldiers didn't get more than five steps before one of them was suddenly hit in directly in the head by a stray shot, and the second one met the same fate moments later. Soon after they were killed, the Marauders appeared and began their assault.
"CONTACT, CONTACT, CONTACT!" Kelly shouted just as she, Nolan, Xander and the remaining soldiers returned fire on the Marauders.
"Get these people onto the shuttle, now!" Nolan bellowed as many of the civilians still waiting to board suddenly rushed the shuttle.
"Xander, as soon as these people are on board, we are leaving. That's an order." Kelly shouted directly at Xander.
Xander, shooting at every single Marauder that came within his line of fire, shouted, "No, not without Scott and Danica."
"THAT IS A GODDAMN ORDER, STRATTON!"
Xander was left utterly conflicted even while he was suddenly fighting for the lives of every civilian that was desperately trying to escape station. "C'mon, guys. Hurry the fuck up!"
Scott and Danica looked at the images in complete shock and despair, with Danica whispering, "They're going to get slaughtered."
Scott was in silent agreement when he glared at Matt, whose back to he and Danica without even an acknowledgement. "Dani, whatever happens, I need you to stay back."
Danica looked at Scott and asked him, "What?"
Looking directly at Danica, Scott said to her, "He's my brother, and that makes him my responsibility."
Danica read the look in Scott's eyes and she understood in silence. Because of her injury, she could only crawl away ever so slightly while Scott stood upright. He'd regained control of his limbs, enough to make his way slowly toward Matt. As he did, he quietly reminisced about everything he'd gone through since he'd awakened from his deep freeze rest. He mentally pictured the faces of every person he'd met, especially Terry, Sam, Michelle, Pete and Fitz, all of whom giving their lives for him. He pictured Nolan and Mattias and hoped that Nolan would be able to be with his son once he awoke from his coma. He thought then of Kelly and how'd come to see her as a trusted ally, and then he pictured Xander. He thought of their first meeting, their rivalry and how they became friends.
Most of all, Scott pictured Danica. His thought returned all the way back to their first meeting, the stand offs they had followed by the common ground and respect they gained. Scott pictured how both he and Danica grew close overtime and became friends, partners and eventually, lovers. He pictured how she snapped hm from his brainwashing and how they spent that night together. Scott found himself stopping for a moment and looking back toward Danica. She was seated against the wall tending to her wound, and she looked toward Scott in kind. Scott nodded to her and she nodded back, giving Scott just a little more motivation. He pushed on toward the inevitable confrontation with his brother, eventually reaching a point where he was sure he was within earshot of him. He then drew his gun from its holster.
"Matt," he shouted as loud as he could, and it was enough to draw his older brother's attention. "I can't let you do this."
Matt appeared surprised but nonplussed. "Why? Why can't you understand what I'm trying to do here? I'm trying to save Earth from Humanity's failures, OUR failures."
"This was never about saving the Earth and you know it." Scott said.
Matt felt his patience waning and he loudly snarled, "Don't try to stop me, Scott. I have to do this."
Scott took a step forward and gripped the handle of his gun. "I know, but I'm going to stop you anyway... even if it means killing you."
As soon as the words left Scott's lips, he raised his gun up and straight at Matt. But it didn't matter when Matt pressed down hard on the device and trigger the inhibiter chip in Scott's skin. Scott dropped to the floor, barely managing to get his arms out to catch himself. The gun fell from his hand while he collapsed further to the floor. Scott looked up to see Matt standing a distance away from him, a look of indifference in his face before he turned away from him. Matt refocused on the image of the docking bay where the Marauders were on the attack against Xander and the others. Seeing his friends fighting for their lives compelled Scott to crawl for the gun and grab. Using every ounce of willpower he could muster, Scott forced himself upright.
He slowly pushed his way toward Matt, laboring with every step. Matt spun back around to see his younger sibling approaching him, and he worked the control device once more. Scott dropped to the floor again managed to catch himself while holding onto his gun. He looked up at Matt and then forced himself to stand up and continue his approach. Matt used the device a third time to drop Scott, and Scott stood back up with considerable effort. Another use of the device dropped Scott once more to a knee. Beads of sweat dripped from Scott's pores as he crawled and clawed forward before rising back to his feet. He was getting closer and Matt was starting to show signs of trepidation.
At the same time, Danica was watching from afar. Scott continued to approach Matt and was soon dropped down again, cracking his head down hard on the floor. Danica instinctively wanted to rush to Scott's side, but Scott lifted himself up and looked at her. Blood trickled from a gash over his left eye, but it didn't stop him from giving Danica a stern look. It was as though he was telling her not to interfere, and Danica felt like she had no choice but to comply. She knew that this was his fight alone, and she had to trust him like she always had from day one. Scott smiled in approval as he stood back up, wiping the blood from his face as Matt looked on in astonishment.
"Stay down, Scott," Matt said, but Scott pushed forward so Matt had to use the control device again and forced Scott to drop again. "STAY DOWN!"
Scott willed himself back upright and snarled, "You're going to have to kill me."
Matt was shocked and appalled by Scott's words, but he still used the device. Scott stumbled and fell down only to get back up and continue his approach. Suddenly, Matt was conflicted. He didn't want to have to kill his younger brother but he couldn't let Scott stop him from carrying out his own mission. Scott drew closer and Matt used the control device again to drop him to a knee. Wincing from the effort, Scott stood back up and continued his approach, and Matt used the device again and again and again. Each time he dropped down, Scott got back up and he was seemingly getting up quicker. Matt kept trying to keep Scott down but Scott kept coming until, finally, the siblings were face to face.
Matt used the device one more time and Scott was dropped down to his feet. He thought that this was moment where Scott's resolve would be completely exhausted to the point where he couldn't get back up. But Scott clawed his way back up, using Matt himself rise to his knees. They locked eyes and Scott appeared ready to break down into tears from the pain and torture he was under. Matt was already in tears but he knew he couldn't stop. He took the device and moved a dial all the way to one side, and then he looked down at his brother for what seemed to be a final time.
"I've set the device to it maximum setting. One press and the inhibiter chip overloads and kills you," Matt claimed, while Scott sneered at him with contempt. "Please don't make me do this, Scott."
Scott defiantly replied, "You don't have the balls."
That statement was all Matt needed, and he said to Scott, "I'm sorry. I love you."
Matt raised the device upward and moved to press the trigger. At the last second, Scott lunged up and reached as far as he could. He grabbed Matt's wrist and held on tight. Matt still had a split second to press that trigger and put Scott down for good, but a very loud and very sudden booming noise rang throughout the Council Chamber. The brothers stood face to face. Scott's face was one of resolve while Matt's was one of shock. Both knew exactly why as they collectively looked down at the gun in Scott's free hand, and the smoking barrel pointed directly at Matt's stomach. Blood seeped from a gunshot wound. Matt looked at Scott, whose face was awash of instant regret.
Without a word, Matt slumped forward into Scott waiting arms. Scott held onto his brother for the first time in years, and he was fighting to hold back the tears. Matt tried to speak, but the sharp pain of the wound made all the more difficult. Eventually, they dropped to the floor together and Scott gently laid Matt down. Across the way, Danica managed to get the best possible view of what was happening. She could see Scott looking over his fallen brother, gripping one of his hands in both of his own. Scott studied the wound he inflicted and it was as he expected; a near endless flow of blood pouring out from a gaping hole. The wound was fatal, and the regret grew within Scott.
"Scott..." Matt whispered in a weak tone. "I just... I just wanted to save the Earth. I did it for you."
Hearing those words, Scott couldn't help be slightly moved, but he was disgusted. "No Matt. I never wanted this."
Matt looked disheartened and broken after hearing those words from Scott before he looked at image of the Marauders' assault on the civilians in the docking bay. He looked back at Scott, who was watching the same image before he too looked to his brother. Danica managed to reach the siblings but collapsed to her knees still nursing her own injury. Scott briefly looked at her, and she could see the pained expression in his eyes and almost feel the gravity of what he'd just done. Scott looked back his brother, and it was then that he saw regret in Matt's eyes. It was as though Matt finally understood what he himself had done and was now silently looking for forgiveness. Soon after, Matt went limp and he passed away in Scott's arms. Danica moved closer to Scott and held him close, and Scott, to his credit, held himself together. Though he maintained his composure on the outside, on the inside, Scott was heartbroken.
Author's Note: That's it for this chapter, and final confrontation between two brothers reaches its climax. I did originally consider a final fight between Scott and Matt but ultimately opted for a more emotional, heart-wrenching conclusion. Props to Scott for holding together after the fact... or did he? Stay tuned for the conclusion to SERAPHIM'S RUN and do leave a review. Peace.
