The End of a Demented Dream
by: Princess Amanda


A/N: Sorry for jumping around a bit at the end; you'll see what I mean. And sorry if it seems too short, but it seemed just right to me, and anything more would be overkill. And sorry for the character Princess, but she's completely wackadoo.

Catalina and Rosie hadn't been so close. Catalina and Radu hadn't been so close. But this one was the one that hurt the most---Catalina and Harlan hadn't been so close.

Catalina had been back on the Christa for a couple of months now, and Suzee hadn't said more than two words to the Saturnian, those words being, "Hi, Cat." Nobody else knew that she was back either, so Catalina got to see how her friends acted when she wasn't around, and them seeming to like Suzee more was a slap in the face. The punch in the stomach was when Harlan Band seemed to like Suzee more, too, and Suzee didn't do anything to stop it.

Suzee was in the main engine room, just double checking all of the systems, when Catalina decided she couldn't wait any longer for Suzee to say something to her. "Suzee, why are you being this way? I should be mad at you and giving you the silent treatment, not the other way around."

Suzee sighed. "I'm not mad at you, and I'm not giving you the silent treatment. Intentionally, anyway. I've just been so busy on the Christa. You're not mad at me, are you Cat?"

Catalina paused and thought for a second. Suzee was right, once Catalina thought about it; this was the first time Suzee was even free to talk in months. "No, I'm not mad at you." Catalina hesitated a second before asking her next question. "Suzee, who do you like more? Harlan or Radu?"

Suzee smiled thoughtfully and gave off a small giggle. "Oh," she responded. "You don't even have to worry about that. I'm just a flirt. I like Bova. He's smart, he's cute, and his pessimistic ways just drive me wild sometimes."

Catalina laughed. Out of all the scenarios she had been imagining, she had never thought of that one and was quite relieved. "But you couldn't do that to Rosie, like I should have known you wouldn't do that to me."

"Right," Suzee confirmed, continuing with her work.

Radu passed the main engine room on his way to the secondary engine room to check the regulator console. Engineering had gone off-line, and Commander Goddard had asked the boy to go check it. Radu hadn't meant to hear Suzee's conversation with Catalina, but it wasn't like he could help it, and he did. He was felt sort of bad, seeing as he had a crush on Suzee, but he realized he shouldn't feel so bad because he also had a crush on Elmira and Rosie. But it still hurt.

Suzee exited the main engine room, and poor Radu was still standing there. "What are you doing?" Suzee demanded.

"Com-commander Goddard asked me to, uh, to check the regulator console, um, because, uh, engineering went off-line," he explained.

"Oh," Suzee replied. "You heard everything, didn't you?"

Radu nodded. Suzee sighed apologetically, but said, "I guess I'd better get engineering back on-line." Suzee disappeared once again into the main engine room, and Radu went off to check the regulator console.

Harlan Band couldn't shake the dream he had had the night before. Ever since Catalina disappeared and Suzee came, he had had recurring dreams with Catalina in them. Only they were nightmares. At first, they weren't so bad; Catalina was disappointed in Harlan, and though Harlan felt guilty, he could live with that. Then, Catalina was angry with Harlan, which made him feel worse, but he knew he deserved it. But the one he had the night before made him feel undescribable guilt that he just couldn't shake.

Catalina had been hurt.

"Mr. Band, are you with us?" Commander Goddard asked, breaking the helmsman's train of thought, temporarily anyway. Harlan, Commander Goddard, Bova, and Rosie were all in the Command Post, getting in extra training.

"Uh, yes, sir," Harlan answered, quite shocked that he had forgotten where he was.

"You seem a bit distracted, Mr. Band. Is there something on your mind?"

Harlan wanted to tell everyone about his dreams about Catalina, but they couldn't help. He'd still feel guilty until he knew Catalina was okay. He debated the issue for a moment before finally saying, "Nah, nothing on my mind. Just haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Perhaps you should go rest up for a bit," Commander Goddard suggested, but Harlan knew it was an order.

"Yes, sir," Harlan sighed, leaving his post. If only love wasn't so complicated...

Later, at lunch in the Galley, Rosie couldn't help but to notice her classmates moods. Harlan and Suzee both seemed distracted, and Radu seemed a bit sad. Bova was just Bova. Rosie sat down with her food.

"Oh, come on guys! I'm sure whatever it is, it can't be that bad!" Rosie urged cheerfully.

"Maybe it is. Maybe it's contagious," Bova added.

"Oh, Bova!" Rosie looked at the other three, realizing none of them were eating. "Suzee? Harlan? Radu? Guys, come on, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Radu murmured in a low voice.

"Nothing," Harlan agreed.

Everyone else looked at Suzee, who's eyes were darting back and forth from the same spot. "What are you looking at?" Bova questioned.

Suzee stared at her friends for a moment. "Catalina's back," she confessed.

Rosie shot up from her seat and started yelling excitedly, "Cat's back! Cat's back!", until she realized she was annoying everyone. "Sorry," she apologized as she sat back down. "So, what does Cat say?"

"Catalina says," Suzee started, realizing that was the first time she had used those words around the crew except for the time she was trapped in Catalina's body (and nobody really believed that that was her), "that she wants to go home."

Catalina being back was the best news Harlan had heard in awhile, the last bits of great news being Bova and Radu were alive, Commander Goddard was alive, and Catalina was alive. As soon as he could, he rushed to use the SpaceNet. There was this girl from the P sector of the universe (so called because there were eight planets who's names all started with P) he ran into on occasion since before the Starcademy students had been lost on the Christa. Most of the people in her sector of space were scientifically inclined, and even if Suzee didn't know how to change Catalina and Suzee back, he was sure that his mad scientist SpaceNet friend could.

He was hoping she was around. He left her a voice mail, "Princess, are you there? This is Harlan Band. Meet me as soon as you can." Then he waited.

A few moments later, a small, pale girl with pointed ears, glittery freckles, red and green hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen. Harlan used to tease her about looking like one of Santa's elves, but he just for some reason stopped one day. "Harlan Band, what's so important that I had to give up playing Minbar chess with a Magellan? They're mathematical geniuses, and I wanted to see if that would affect their playing ability," Princess responded.

"You Precionians and your little science experiments," Harlan teased. "Princess, I have an excellent scientific opportunity for you."

Princess' eyes widened and she licked her lips. "Keep talking," she urged.

"You remember my friends Catalina and Suzee, right?" he started.

"Ah, yes, Catalina and Suzee. The Saturnian and Yensidian who switched dimensions? Yes, I remember well. I've been working on a transdimensional communicator because of them," Princess answered.

"Well, Catalina's back and I want to switch them back," Harlan explained.

"That is so easy, Harlan. Blow up the ship," Princess told him.

"I want to switch them back and live," Harlan clarified.

"Picky, picky," Princess complained. "Give me some time. I'll get back to you as soon as I think of something."

"Thanks, Princess," Harlan said. "What would I do without you?"

"Have almost no chance of getting your girlfriend back," was Princess' response.

"Hey, Suzee, great news!" Harlan called out the next time he saw the Yensidian. "My SpaceNet friend from Precious thinks she can switch you and Catalina back. If you wanted."

"Of course I want," Suzee responded. "Precious? What's her name?"

"Princess. Why?"

"Princess Princess? I heard she's a total mad scientist! I'm surprised she didn't suggest we blow up the ship!"

Harlan looked around sheepishly. "She did! Harlan! Why are you listening to her?"

"How did you ever hear of Princess, anyway?"

Suzee was now looking around sheepishly. "She was the one who told me the principles I used to save Catalina."

"So..."

"So, if anyone could get Cat back, it would probably be her," Suzee finally admitted in defeat.

Catalina was ecstatic to hear the news. She could go home! She could see Harlan!

But a lone, guilty thought kept floating around in Catalina's mind.

Now that her friends knew Suzee, would they miss her as much as they missed Catalina? And would Suzee miss them as much as Catalina had?

But, then again, Catalina knew she hadn't even been thought of in ages, so the crew missing Suzee wasn't as big of an issue. However, she didn't want Suzee to miss the crew as much as Catalina had, especially if they didn't even think of her. It wasn't fair.

But then again, Catalina spoke to Suzee.

Harlan had mentioned to Suzee that his SpaceNet friend Princess would contact him as soon as she knew how to switch them back, and all of a sudden Catalina was wishing she had more time...

Harlan couldn't believe it. In a matter of hours, Princess had actually found a way.

"It's easy," Princess commented to Harlan. "You don't need to blow up the ship, you just need a near lethal explosion."

"Near...lethal?" Harlan asked in shock, but Princess ignored him.

"You could probably just ask your ship's android if she can create one, and if she can't, I'm sure that engineer of yours can use her pretty little head to figure out how to re-route energy in your secondary engines to cause one. You'll take engineering off-line, but that's a small price to pay."

"Near lethal?" Harlan demanded.

Princess rolled her eyes. "You still stuck on that? Pay attention! After the explosion, Catalina has to do what Suzee did. Once the rip between dimensions opens up just enough, Catalina can pull Suzee through, and Catalina will be displaced, back into this dimension."

"I only see one problem with your plan," Harlan told her.

"If you say 'near lethal' again I'll find a way to slap you," Princess warned.

"Fine then, I won't."

Princess sighed. "Fine, then. Don't think of it as near lethal. Think of it as mostly nonlethal."

"Mostly nonlethal!" Harlan shouted.

"It's that, or blow up the ship," Princess informed him.

Harlan thought about this for about a nanosecond. "Thelma!" he shouted.

Harlan couldn't believe that the Psychotic Princess had been right about Thelma being able to cause the explosion. When asked why she hadn't mentioned this little detail before, she answered, "You never asked."

"You ready, Cat?" Suzee asked excitedly. "I can't believe I'm going home!"

"Neither can I," Catalina told her. "Oh, I'm very ready!"

"She's ready, Thelma," Suzee told the android.

Thelma nodded as she pushed a button on the control pannel. There was a small, mostly nonlethal explosion. Harlan had to sheild his eyes from the blinding light, but finally it faded, and they could see that standing where Suzee had been was...

Suzee. "It didn't work!" Harlan cried.

"No," Suzee sighed. "It did. Catalina pulled me in, but we both were displaced for some reason. And now I can't see her again."

Catalina wasn't in Yensid. She wasn't in her own dimension. She was stuck, stuck in Limbo, and possibly forever. This couldn't be happening to her. It wasn't fair!

Catalina started crying. It wasn't fair! Why didn't it work? Why was she forever destined to be forgotten by her crew?

Catalina opened her eyes and Radu was untying her. This all seemed familiar, though she didn't know why.

Radu smiled when he saw Catalina open her eyes. "You know, Warlord Shank tried to torture you, but Harlan wouldn't let him," he said.

Catalina smiled. Harlan really did care...

"Elmira, there you are!" Catalina called out. "We have to get off this ship!"

Catalina couldn't shake her feeling of déjà vu. She felt she had done this before...

"Harlan!" Catalina shouted as the airlock was starting to close. Catalina knew she only had one chance, and she had to be quick. She kicked backwards and got Warlord Shank where it counts. He started screaming like a wussy, and Catalina barely managed to dive through the closing airlock.

When she got back onto the Christa, Harlan gave her a big hug. "You're alive, Rainbow Head!" he cried with joy.

Catalina smiled. "I take it back. That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," she told him, returning the hug.

When Harlan finally let Catalina go, she said, "You know, it's the strangest thing, but I had a demented dream back there."

"I thought Saturnians didn't dream," Harlan replied. When Cat shrugged, he asked her, "What about?"

"I somehow got stuck in Suzee's dimension, and Suzee was stuck here, and the looks on your faces were priceless! But then, something blocked the communication between Suzee and myself, and you guys forgot about me. But then Suzee finally told you guys I was back, and then Harlan's friend from the SpaceNet told him to cause a small, near lethal explosion, and told him Thelma could do it. After some protest, he did, but Suzee was still stuck here, and I was trapped in Limbo!"

Catalina waited a few moments, hoping for anybody to say something.

"Oh, they do not think you're nuts. They just don't know what to make of it," Suzee reassured her, from her own dimension.

"I guess you're right, Suzee," Catalina sighed.

"You were right, Cat," Radu finally said. "That was a demented dream."

Catalina smiled. "Atleast that's the end of that."