Disclaimer: Only Rosalie, Misha and characters associated with Firefly are
my own creations.
Author's Note: Don't worry, I'm not killing Brennan off,... yet. You'll just have to wait and see what happens!
* * denotes thoughts ~~ ~~ denotes visions
Chapter 15: Firefly emerges
Back at Sanctuary, Adam was busy analysing the remains of the serum in the dart.
"Calm down, Jesse, and tell me again what happened," Adam said, trying to soothe the anxious mutant.
"I told you already Adam! They shot her with that dart, then came out of nowhere and took her away!"
"We tried to fight them, but there were too many," added Shalimar.
Adam looked more concerned than usual as the chemical composition of the serum flashed up on his screen. "And she just lost consciousness, is that all? Are you sure? Did she say anything before she blacked out?"
"Positive. She just told me to get out."
"Emma, any trace of her?" Adam asked the psionic.
Emma opened her eyes and came out of her trance. "Nothing Adam. I can't find anything. Maybe she isn't conscious yet."
"Two down, how many left?" muttered Jesse nervously.
"What does that mean?" Shalimar asked squinting at the computer screen.
They all gathered round the screen. "It's a mixture of an anaesthetic and an unknown drug. I've never seen this composition before, but if I've worked it out correctly, it works by inhibiting the conscious mind." He paused. "I'm not quite sure what they're trying to achieve, but..." he stopped dead, his mind working things out rapidly.
"What's up Adam?" asked Shalimar.
"Oh my God!" Adam exclaimed.
"What? What?" Jesse insisted.
Adam looked at them, unsure how to phrase his thoughts. "They're turning her back into Firefly!"
"You mean its true? Is she really Firefly?" Emma asked unbelievingly.
"It's hard to believe they'd put so much effort into getting her back if they weren't certain," he replied.
"But there must be other thermal elemental mutants out there with the ability to shoot flames!" insisted Jesse.
"Which makes it all the more believable that they may be right about this particular elemental."
"So what can we do?" asked the ever-practical Emma.
"Well, we can't just run in and take them back."
"I don't see why not," argued Shalimar.
"They'll have tight security and they certainly won't let their goddess go without a fight. And we don't want to risk either Brennan or Rosalie. I'll start working on a possible antidote. The only thing you can do at the moment is monitor the situation. Jesse, you keep an eye on the computer. If anything strange or unexplained comes up, you tell me." He turned to Emma, "Emma, you carry on trying to find her, and Shalimar, any chance you can go back to the warehouse and have a snoop round without getting into any fights?"
Shalimar grinned humourlessly. "I can try, but fights come in search of me Adam."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
*Brennan!*
Rosa's breath felt as if it was being sucked from her body. *What have they done to him? He looks close to death. I must keep this façade up. The others mustn't realise I feel anything for him.*
"What happens now?" she asked the Chief Preacher.
Rosa felt the atmosphere in the room change. She looked around to see the others looking at each other in dismay.
"Don't worry Highness, the remains of your memory will come back to you in due course," he said, more to reassure the rest of the group than for her benefit. "Now we pass him into the chamber for Elimination. He is of no further use to us now that you are back."
"No," she stated. "I want him around. He may yet be of some use."
"But Highness," another preacher stuttered in confusion. "This is most irregular."
The Chief glared at the speaker. "I'm sure her Highness, in her wisdom, knows what she is doing. What would you have us do to him?"
"Leave me alone with him. I'm sure I can handle him myself."
The Chief Preacher bowed his head, "Of course, Noble One." As one, the group bowed and left the room. Rosa waited until he was certain there was no one else around, and approached the sodden, limp body lying in a heap at the bottom of the Cage.
"Bren?" she whispered.
Brennan raised his head, giving her a head-on view of his bloody face. She gasped audibly, quickly looking around in case someone had heard her. She put her hand through the bars to touch the side of his face gently.
"Rosa," he whispered, incapable of speaking any louder. "What are you doing... here?"
"Oh, Brennan. What have they done? What have I done?"
"...Not your fault," he tried to say.
"Yes, it is. I should have come to them quietly. Then they wouldn't have had to take you." A tear stole down her face as she made him wince in pain by her gentle touch. "I've got to get you out of..."
~~Give in to the hunger. Hunger for power, hunger for death and terror. It's more powerful than you could ever imagine.~~
"Rosa?" he managed to whisper. He was looking into her eyes with concern.
"I'll get you out. I have to find a way to contact..."
~~Give in. You want it. You've always wanted it. You know I'm inside you and always have been. Give in to me.~~
"NO!"
"What's going on Rosa?" he whispered again.
~~Power. Adulation. I want it. I want it all. Give in. You can have so much more. Feel the power. Feel the awe. You're mine.~~
Rosa closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't control it... Bren..."
~~Feel the fire in your veins. The energy in your every cell. You can have it all. Every last dream. You .. are ... Firefly.~~
Brennan saw Rosalie open her eyes - they glowed blood red. She pulled herself upright and looked around her in satisfaction.
Brennan stared back into her eyes fearfully. She was gone.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
At Sanctuary, Emma was still trying to find Rosalie with her mind.
"Any luck, Em?" asked Jesse from his seat in front of the computer screen. Emma shook her head sorrowfully. "What about you Adam?"
"Nothing I'm afraid Jesse. As I said, I've never seen anything like this compound before. I'm still trying to figure out how it works exactly."
"Hang on!" Emma exclaimed. The two men looked at her in anticipation. "I think I've got her!"
"Can you communicate with her Emma?"
Emma frowned. "Something's not right." They waited with bated breath. "Something's not right," she repeated in a far away voice.
"Can you pinpoint where she is, or what the problem is?" asked Adam.
Emma frowned, as if in pain. "She won't let go," she cried. "Aaaaaaaaargh... ADAM!" she screamed as she fell to the floor, holding her head. Both men ran to her side and lifted her up onto the medical bed.
"Emma, disconnect from her!" Adam called to her. Jesse looked at her lovely face screwed up in pain and screamed inwardly.
"Emma, let go!" he yelled at her.
Finally, her body went limp and she opened her eyes slowly.
"What's happened?" asked Adam fearfully looking into her pale blue eyes.
Emma shook her head. "It was awful. I don't know what I connected with, but it's very dangerous."
"Was it Rosalie?"
"Partly. Initially it was her." She looked up worriedly at Adam. "Adam, I think it was Firefly."
"What exactly did you see, Emma?"
"There was a feeling of total power, but it was evil."
"Evil is a strong word," insisted Jesse.
"I know, but it's the only way I can describe it, Jess."
"Anything we can use against her?" asked Adam.
"You're gonna take her down?" Jesse asked incredulously. "But she's one of us, Adam."
"She's the only link we have to Brennan and Rosalie, because, like it or not, that's not Rosalie you're picking up any more Emma. Rosalie is buried somewhere deep within Firefly."
"So you're quite happy to hurt Rosalie in order to beat Firefly?"
"Not unless I can't find any other way out, but if it comes to that, then yes."
Emma stirred. "There must be another way, Adam."
"Anything you can tell me would be very useful Emma."
"I couldn't get any more information from her. She knew I was in her mind, and she wasn't letting go of me until I could hardly take the pain any more." She faltered, not wanting to admit to her next thought. "I don't think I can go in again yet, Adam."
"I'm not letting you try it again in any case," he replied. "It's too dangerous. If she has no problem in hurting you when you go into her mind, then there's no way you're trying it again." He brought up his hand to speak into his comring. "Shalimar, anything happening around the warehouse?"
"There's a bit more action around here, but nothing I can pinpoint," came her reply. "There are a lot more people coming and going. What do you want me to do?"
"I think you should come back here now Shalimar. We have to discuss our next step."
"What is our next step then?" asked Jesse.
"We send in an exploratory party, purely to gather information about the layout of the place, and in the meantime, I work further on finding an antidote."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"You know, you and me could make quite a team, Brennan," she said to him thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" he whispered.
"If only you hadn't fought it. I'm only sorry that I didn't give it to it earlier. Life is so much better this way," she smiled as she twirled, the red silk flowing behind her.
"Rosa, this isn't you."
"Oh, you'd better believe it is, honey. That's what you and Adam don't understand. It's not a question of being either one or the other. I AM Rosalie, I'm just open to Firefly's memories. After all, I have been her. I am the same person." She smiled at him as she leaned over and took his chin in her hand, the familiar sparks causing him to pull away in pain. "But don't you worry, darling. You don't have to call me Firefly, you can call me Highness," she joked.
"You're not the same Rosalie I fell in love with," he said sadly under his breath.
She gazed at him with a tilted head. "You'll learn to love this side of me too. This part of me has always been here, it's just been a little hidden."
He shook his head and then screwed his face in pain.
"Oh, baby, are you hurting?" she asked, her face full of concern. "What have those nasty men done to you?" She strode to the door as she called loudly, "Get him out of those ropes!"
There was a sound of running feet in response, and the Chief Preacher and the man Brennan had come to know as his jailor entered the room.
"Highness, are you sure this is wise?" the Chief asked.
"I know you're not questioning my judgement, because you know very well what happens to people who question my judgement." Her face was stony.
"Certainly not, Wise One," he answered hurriedly, trying to make up desperately. He nodded to the jailor, who immediately untied Brennan's wrists through the bars. Brennan slumped into the water, finally released from his bonds.
"I want him cleaned up, fed and brought to my room," she demanded.
"But the Elimination ritual...?"
"Will wait," Rosa finished for him.
The two men looked at each other anxiously. "Is there a problem?" she asked pointedly.
"Of course not Highness. He will be brought to you immediately," the jailor replied, bowing low.
"Good" she gave them a curt nod as she swept out of the room majestically.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Anything at all, whether it's criticism (constructive please) or not. Or alternatively, feel free to email me at flyaway181@hotmail.com
Author's Note: Don't worry, I'm not killing Brennan off,... yet. You'll just have to wait and see what happens!
* * denotes thoughts ~~ ~~ denotes visions
Chapter 15: Firefly emerges
Back at Sanctuary, Adam was busy analysing the remains of the serum in the dart.
"Calm down, Jesse, and tell me again what happened," Adam said, trying to soothe the anxious mutant.
"I told you already Adam! They shot her with that dart, then came out of nowhere and took her away!"
"We tried to fight them, but there were too many," added Shalimar.
Adam looked more concerned than usual as the chemical composition of the serum flashed up on his screen. "And she just lost consciousness, is that all? Are you sure? Did she say anything before she blacked out?"
"Positive. She just told me to get out."
"Emma, any trace of her?" Adam asked the psionic.
Emma opened her eyes and came out of her trance. "Nothing Adam. I can't find anything. Maybe she isn't conscious yet."
"Two down, how many left?" muttered Jesse nervously.
"What does that mean?" Shalimar asked squinting at the computer screen.
They all gathered round the screen. "It's a mixture of an anaesthetic and an unknown drug. I've never seen this composition before, but if I've worked it out correctly, it works by inhibiting the conscious mind." He paused. "I'm not quite sure what they're trying to achieve, but..." he stopped dead, his mind working things out rapidly.
"What's up Adam?" asked Shalimar.
"Oh my God!" Adam exclaimed.
"What? What?" Jesse insisted.
Adam looked at them, unsure how to phrase his thoughts. "They're turning her back into Firefly!"
"You mean its true? Is she really Firefly?" Emma asked unbelievingly.
"It's hard to believe they'd put so much effort into getting her back if they weren't certain," he replied.
"But there must be other thermal elemental mutants out there with the ability to shoot flames!" insisted Jesse.
"Which makes it all the more believable that they may be right about this particular elemental."
"So what can we do?" asked the ever-practical Emma.
"Well, we can't just run in and take them back."
"I don't see why not," argued Shalimar.
"They'll have tight security and they certainly won't let their goddess go without a fight. And we don't want to risk either Brennan or Rosalie. I'll start working on a possible antidote. The only thing you can do at the moment is monitor the situation. Jesse, you keep an eye on the computer. If anything strange or unexplained comes up, you tell me." He turned to Emma, "Emma, you carry on trying to find her, and Shalimar, any chance you can go back to the warehouse and have a snoop round without getting into any fights?"
Shalimar grinned humourlessly. "I can try, but fights come in search of me Adam."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
*Brennan!*
Rosa's breath felt as if it was being sucked from her body. *What have they done to him? He looks close to death. I must keep this façade up. The others mustn't realise I feel anything for him.*
"What happens now?" she asked the Chief Preacher.
Rosa felt the atmosphere in the room change. She looked around to see the others looking at each other in dismay.
"Don't worry Highness, the remains of your memory will come back to you in due course," he said, more to reassure the rest of the group than for her benefit. "Now we pass him into the chamber for Elimination. He is of no further use to us now that you are back."
"No," she stated. "I want him around. He may yet be of some use."
"But Highness," another preacher stuttered in confusion. "This is most irregular."
The Chief glared at the speaker. "I'm sure her Highness, in her wisdom, knows what she is doing. What would you have us do to him?"
"Leave me alone with him. I'm sure I can handle him myself."
The Chief Preacher bowed his head, "Of course, Noble One." As one, the group bowed and left the room. Rosa waited until he was certain there was no one else around, and approached the sodden, limp body lying in a heap at the bottom of the Cage.
"Bren?" she whispered.
Brennan raised his head, giving her a head-on view of his bloody face. She gasped audibly, quickly looking around in case someone had heard her. She put her hand through the bars to touch the side of his face gently.
"Rosa," he whispered, incapable of speaking any louder. "What are you doing... here?"
"Oh, Brennan. What have they done? What have I done?"
"...Not your fault," he tried to say.
"Yes, it is. I should have come to them quietly. Then they wouldn't have had to take you." A tear stole down her face as she made him wince in pain by her gentle touch. "I've got to get you out of..."
~~Give in to the hunger. Hunger for power, hunger for death and terror. It's more powerful than you could ever imagine.~~
"Rosa?" he managed to whisper. He was looking into her eyes with concern.
"I'll get you out. I have to find a way to contact..."
~~Give in. You want it. You've always wanted it. You know I'm inside you and always have been. Give in to me.~~
"NO!"
"What's going on Rosa?" he whispered again.
~~Power. Adulation. I want it. I want it all. Give in. You can have so much more. Feel the power. Feel the awe. You're mine.~~
Rosa closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't control it... Bren..."
~~Feel the fire in your veins. The energy in your every cell. You can have it all. Every last dream. You .. are ... Firefly.~~
Brennan saw Rosalie open her eyes - they glowed blood red. She pulled herself upright and looked around her in satisfaction.
Brennan stared back into her eyes fearfully. She was gone.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
At Sanctuary, Emma was still trying to find Rosalie with her mind.
"Any luck, Em?" asked Jesse from his seat in front of the computer screen. Emma shook her head sorrowfully. "What about you Adam?"
"Nothing I'm afraid Jesse. As I said, I've never seen anything like this compound before. I'm still trying to figure out how it works exactly."
"Hang on!" Emma exclaimed. The two men looked at her in anticipation. "I think I've got her!"
"Can you communicate with her Emma?"
Emma frowned. "Something's not right." They waited with bated breath. "Something's not right," she repeated in a far away voice.
"Can you pinpoint where she is, or what the problem is?" asked Adam.
Emma frowned, as if in pain. "She won't let go," she cried. "Aaaaaaaaargh... ADAM!" she screamed as she fell to the floor, holding her head. Both men ran to her side and lifted her up onto the medical bed.
"Emma, disconnect from her!" Adam called to her. Jesse looked at her lovely face screwed up in pain and screamed inwardly.
"Emma, let go!" he yelled at her.
Finally, her body went limp and she opened her eyes slowly.
"What's happened?" asked Adam fearfully looking into her pale blue eyes.
Emma shook her head. "It was awful. I don't know what I connected with, but it's very dangerous."
"Was it Rosalie?"
"Partly. Initially it was her." She looked up worriedly at Adam. "Adam, I think it was Firefly."
"What exactly did you see, Emma?"
"There was a feeling of total power, but it was evil."
"Evil is a strong word," insisted Jesse.
"I know, but it's the only way I can describe it, Jess."
"Anything we can use against her?" asked Adam.
"You're gonna take her down?" Jesse asked incredulously. "But she's one of us, Adam."
"She's the only link we have to Brennan and Rosalie, because, like it or not, that's not Rosalie you're picking up any more Emma. Rosalie is buried somewhere deep within Firefly."
"So you're quite happy to hurt Rosalie in order to beat Firefly?"
"Not unless I can't find any other way out, but if it comes to that, then yes."
Emma stirred. "There must be another way, Adam."
"Anything you can tell me would be very useful Emma."
"I couldn't get any more information from her. She knew I was in her mind, and she wasn't letting go of me until I could hardly take the pain any more." She faltered, not wanting to admit to her next thought. "I don't think I can go in again yet, Adam."
"I'm not letting you try it again in any case," he replied. "It's too dangerous. If she has no problem in hurting you when you go into her mind, then there's no way you're trying it again." He brought up his hand to speak into his comring. "Shalimar, anything happening around the warehouse?"
"There's a bit more action around here, but nothing I can pinpoint," came her reply. "There are a lot more people coming and going. What do you want me to do?"
"I think you should come back here now Shalimar. We have to discuss our next step."
"What is our next step then?" asked Jesse.
"We send in an exploratory party, purely to gather information about the layout of the place, and in the meantime, I work further on finding an antidote."
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
"You know, you and me could make quite a team, Brennan," she said to him thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" he whispered.
"If only you hadn't fought it. I'm only sorry that I didn't give it to it earlier. Life is so much better this way," she smiled as she twirled, the red silk flowing behind her.
"Rosa, this isn't you."
"Oh, you'd better believe it is, honey. That's what you and Adam don't understand. It's not a question of being either one or the other. I AM Rosalie, I'm just open to Firefly's memories. After all, I have been her. I am the same person." She smiled at him as she leaned over and took his chin in her hand, the familiar sparks causing him to pull away in pain. "But don't you worry, darling. You don't have to call me Firefly, you can call me Highness," she joked.
"You're not the same Rosalie I fell in love with," he said sadly under his breath.
She gazed at him with a tilted head. "You'll learn to love this side of me too. This part of me has always been here, it's just been a little hidden."
He shook his head and then screwed his face in pain.
"Oh, baby, are you hurting?" she asked, her face full of concern. "What have those nasty men done to you?" She strode to the door as she called loudly, "Get him out of those ropes!"
There was a sound of running feet in response, and the Chief Preacher and the man Brennan had come to know as his jailor entered the room.
"Highness, are you sure this is wise?" the Chief asked.
"I know you're not questioning my judgement, because you know very well what happens to people who question my judgement." Her face was stony.
"Certainly not, Wise One," he answered hurriedly, trying to make up desperately. He nodded to the jailor, who immediately untied Brennan's wrists through the bars. Brennan slumped into the water, finally released from his bonds.
"I want him cleaned up, fed and brought to my room," she demanded.
"But the Elimination ritual...?"
"Will wait," Rosa finished for him.
The two men looked at each other anxiously. "Is there a problem?" she asked pointedly.
"Of course not Highness. He will be brought to you immediately," the jailor replied, bowing low.
"Good" she gave them a curt nod as she swept out of the room majestically.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Anything at all, whether it's criticism (constructive please) or not. Or alternatively, feel free to email me at flyaway181@hotmail.com