Dear Readers,

I just wanted to let you know that there are three more parts (including this) left. Chapter 7, Chapter 8 and an Epilogue. I've been procrastinating on getting these last bits posted… but I will. For the moment here's 7 since it's the longest. Remember, any mistakes are due to my brain being switched into hibernate mode for the summer. It's doubtful I'll have it up and running by the time school starts again.

Most Sincerely,

Becky

P.S. Thank God for Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney. Without them we would not have Pirates of the Caribbean. I saw it again tonight, thus the good mood. One cannot stare at so much lovely eyecandy without feeling great. Of course, when you start to stare at a certain piece of British crumpet for too long you begin to think, "I can't wait for his other movie to come out. I mean sure, he's in a blond wig, but it works for him." And then you have an urge to see that movie, even though it's not going to be here until December. Of course you start to wish it was December really, really badly. Then you start to hope someone has an early bootleg because the anticipation is bound to kill you. And THEN you start to consider breaking into Peter Jackson's house, stealing a script and… *cough* Erm.

P.P.S. Hey look, a fanfic.

Chapter 7

~*~

"When beggars die, there are no comets seen."

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

Act 2, Scene 1

~*~

A barrage of enemy fire swamped the Maru as it fled from the captured Andromeda. Harper twisted and turned the small vessel sporadically in an attempt to keep it from becoming a nonmoving target, but things were not looking optimistic. Leaving —or abandoning his mind kept repeating to him— the others had felt like he was running away from his own family. But they weren't really. They weren't even his real friends, just different versions… different possibilities. Deep down, Seamus did feel guilty for being happy with the fact that his friends were still alive…. just somewhere else. Looking quickly behind him at a silent Trance, the feeling doubled almost ten fold. She was alone now. No crew left, no family (at least aboard the ship) and now she herself was in danger of losing her life in the process.

The ship took another hit and Harper could see thick smoke billowing from somewhere behind him —the engine room was the most likely guess— but he was currently stuck at the controls for the moment. The ship's computerized voice seemed to be eerily calm about the fact that they were going to have to land pronto or risk being reduced to space dust.

There finally seemed to be a break in fire as the Maru shot past the last of the ship blockade set up by the Restors. Looking up again, Harper could definitely smell something burning and he cursed, realizing he was slowly losing control of the ship's main functions as well as steering.

"Crap," he muttered to himself, trying to maneuver as well as think of a way to land on Tynna Prime in one piece. Looking up, his eyes widened as he realized just how close they were to the planet. "Oh double crap."

It that instant, Seamus didn't think things could have gotten any worse for them. He was wrong.

A bright flash behind them suddenly sent the Maru rocking and the engineer struggled for control of the quaking ship. Even as the trembling and brilliant light faded, Harper refused to look back at the destruction behind them as they fled. He did not need to see the flaming shrapnel or broken hull to know what had happened.

~*~

Tyr Anasazi had seen many people die from stupidity in his line of work, and humans were certainly no exception to the rule. While he still considered their race primitive, he had finally met a worthy one. Almost.

The captain aboard the Andromeda was now dead, but she'd managed to take out both of her enemies and their armies in one move. Not that he applauded her will to die, but her cunning and prowess were extraordinary for the species. Luckily he had been far enough from the enormous ship when it exploded to be safe, but many other Restorer ships were soon lost inside the space bound inferno. He had not cared for them, nor the fact that his employer was currently nothing more than tiny bits and pieces floating around the cosmos. He did care for his money though.

At this rate, his job was over, but he was once again out of earnings. Watching the tiny ship ahead of him rocket towards Tynna Prime, Tyr knew they were going to crash. He even guessed the beings onboard knew it as well, but he was not ready to let them go just yet. He may not have been hired for this job, but the two aboard that ship had cost him a considerable amount and he was not willing to go unpaid this time. He would get something. Whether it be what was left of the ship, parts, or equipment, he didn't know. But he was going after it.

~*~

He had to do something at that moment, but he couldn't seem to remember was what it was exactly. Opening his eyes, Seamus squinted slowly and realized that the only thing he could see was an unlit screen of some kind. Something else on the broken monitor drew his attention: dark red blood, smeared cross it like war paint. At that same moment, just as suddenly as he'd opened his eyes a second before, Harper remembered what he had to do: breath.

He began to suck in air as if he was drowning but realized this was not much better. Thick, black smoke filled his lungs and he coughed violently several times before managing to compose himself enough to sit up. Silently he looked down at the broken shoulder straps that were supposed to have held him in and thanked God for the one still covering his waist. Without it, he would have surely broken something more than just a readout screen.

"Like my neck," he mumbled to himself.

Another cough near him snapped Harper from his thoughts and he fumbled with the belt latch. When it was lose enough, he slipped from it and stumbled his way to where Trance had been sitting. He heaved a sigh of relief when he realized all of her straps had held.

"Trance," he called, coming to her side and fumbling with the restraints still holding her in. "Come on babe, work with me here." For a second her watery eyes met his and he tried smiling. He knew he must looked like a mess, but at least he was a walking, talking, breathing mess. His head hurt like the dickens and his clothing had seen better day, but everything else felt okay. Not even a scrat…. Harper suddenly felt a drip of blood sliding down his cheek and put a hand up to his forehead. With a sigh he took innovatory again. One achy head, one torn pair of clothes, and a bleeding gash to match. He'd had worse.

Crouching in front of Trance, Harper examined her with his eyes. Besides a tiny splotch of blood on the corner of her mouth, she looked okay. The purple girl seemed more concerned about him though.

"You're hurt," she whispered, trying to hold back a cough but failing. Reaching towards her Harper undid the last strap, pulling her up with him as he stood. As soon as she was vertical Trance doubled over clutching her midsection and coughing again, this time more violently.

"Come on," Harper urged, managing to get her moving. The two headed towards the airlock of the damaged Maru and stumbled their way out of the smoking ship onto solid ground. Leading Trance to a place where she could rest, Harper dropped down and coughed himself, trying to expel the smoke he'd already inhaled. For a moment he closed his eyes thinking about the Andromeda. Beka was gone now. Blown away when the ship self destructed. There was no other way an explosion that big could have been anything else.

A noise from above startled him and Seamus felt his stomach lurch at the sight of a Restorian ship heading their way. He knew that it was definitely not someone he wanted to wait around for. Glancing over at Trance, Harper felt his insides cartwheel again. What had once looked like just a splotch of red on the side of her mouth had turned into a crimson trail of blood making it way down her chin. Vaguely he wondered if he'd ever seen the purple girl's skin look as pale as it did now

"Trance," he called, crawling towards her. He was forced to shake her in order to rouse her, and even then she did not look happy to see him. Trying to wave him off, Harper caught her flailing hand to keep her from hitting him.

"Hey, come on now, no violence," he tried to smile, but she didn't seem to find it funny.

"It hurts," she finally admitted, clutching her midsection like she'd done earlier on the ship.

Once again he searched for any sigh of external damage but found none. Taking her chin gently in his hand he had her open her mouth. It didn't look like she'd bitten her tongue or lip, which meant the blood had come from deeper within, probably drawn up by her coughs.

"I'm no doctor, but you might be bleeding internally. This might have been caused by the force of the impact and the restraint you were wearing. It could be your spleen, but hell, I don't even know if you have one of those," he said gently.

For an instant Trance smiled at him but the moment was broken by another sickening cough. Harper took a hold of her arm and pointed his own towards the ship attempting to land in the distance. "I know this is going to hurt, but I don't think the welcoming committee is here to deliver candy and flowers."

At seeing the Restorian vessel, the alien girl seemed to realize their situation and fought through the pain in order to stand. Leaning on Harper, she managed to get to her feet. Squinting ahead and shielding his eyes from the early morning light, Seamus let his gaze fall upon the city in front of him in order to judge its distance. He knew they could me it easily… if they hadn't been injured that is.

"Come on then," he said, taking half of her weight. "We better get going. It'll probably be full dawn by the time we get there though."

Slowly, foot-by-foot, inch-by-inch, the two stumbled their way towards Gerios. After the first ten minutes the going got slower and Harper found himself taking on most of her weight. Staring at the near limp female in his arms, Harper felt his heart figuratively (if not literary) skip a beat. She was slowly slipping away from him and there was nothing he could do about it.

~*~

Tyr was not happy. Not only was the ship in total ruin, but things that had at one time been valuable were now nothing more than burning scrap metal. The only plus had been the faint order of blood he'd been able to detect. Not much, but it was there. With a growl, Tyr exited the hatch and the Nietzschean's eyes fell upon the city beyond. He knew where the survivors had gone for sanctuary... but they would not be safe for long.

~*~

By the time the two had finally reached the city, Harper figured it would have been easier to just throw her over his shoulder and try to press on. Trance, as much as she was trying, seemed to be losing steam every step she took and Harper was beginning to feel the strain as well. He was sure many people would have laughed at the idea of Trance being heavy, but the last time he'd checked, he was no Tyr or Dylan. For the most part, he was no taller than Trance and only carried a few more pounds on his lean form than she did. Getting a better grip on her side, Harper trudged on through the deserted streets and let his brain consider another problem. He had no idea where they were. Trying another tiny street to their left, he pulled Trance along with a grunt.

They'd just turned a corner when an almost inaudible voice whispered, "We've passed that same homeless man three times, Harper."

Looking over to see Trance's eyes open and staring at him, Seamus grinned slightly. "Hey there, welcome back to the land of the conscious."

Silently grimacing, the purple girl managed to take on a little of her own weight by standing. Coughing, she replied, "I don't know what it is about human men and directions, but just ask the guy already so you can get you home."

Sighing, Harper turned the two back towards the man slumped over against a wall snoring.

"Hey buddy," he called, watching and waiting for the poor man to stir.

Finally, dull brown eyes opened and the dirt coated man yawned. "Wha? Me?"

"Yeah," Harper replied. "We were kinda lost and wondering if you should point us in the direction of the city's main tourist strip."

The man let lose a laugh that sounded more like a hacking cough, but he answered, "What's in it for me?"

Realizing he had no real money or even anything in his pockets to barter with for information, the engineer let his eyes fall upon the head next to him. With a smile he used his free hand to pluck the sparkly headband out of Trance's hair. Before the girl could argue with him, Harper waved it towards the fellow, showing off the tiny embedded gems on top.

"Bought it from a trader on Albuquerque Drift… suppose to be some Vedran princess' but it's yours if you help us out," he said, hoping the man would be desperate enough to buy his lie.

Sure enough, the stranger smiled and pointed to his left down the alley. "Take a right at the end of this alleyway and just follow the next street north. Now gimme the head thing!"

Tossing the hair decoration towards him the man Harper pulled Trance alone with him as he followed the man's instructions, hoping against hope that the directions were accurate.

"Don't know why you'd wanna go up there anyway!" the man called after them as they turned a corner in the alley and disappeared from sight. "It sure ain't no good spot for tourists!"

~*~

After following the hasty directions of the stranger, Harper managed to find himself back in a more memorable area of the city. Although he wasn't sure exactly, several of the buildings looked familiar and he supposed that was a good sign. Still an overshadowing fact remained. If indeed they could find the mirror, would it be able to take him back? For all he knew, it was only a one way ticket to another universe and nothing more.

Trying to imagine never seeing his friends again—his only real family left— or the right Andromeda frightened him. For the first time in this long, crazy day, he was truly reminded of the fact that he may never go home again. Looking over at his left to the person he was now reduced to practically dragging, he wondered what would become of her. It wasn't that he expected Dylan to kick her off the ship when they got back, but what would be the outcome of having two Trance's in the same reality? He didn't consider himself an expert on alternate realities, that had been Cez's job, but there was still something unsettling about that fact. Would it even be possible to keep two completely identical individuals, down to their genetic makeup, near each other?

"Harper?"

Realizing she was conscious, Harper stumbled to a stop. "You're awake again."

Turning weakly in his arms, Trance coughed but motioned for him to move her over towards a nearby wall. Thought he did as she asked, he was not happy about it. Fidgeting, Harper glanced worriedly back towards where they'd just come.

"I know you're really tired, Trance, but we've only got a little more way to go and then we can be out of here," he said, searching the dark alley with his eyes.

"I'm not going to make it."

Turning quickly, Harper shook his head frantically. "What kind of talk is that?" he asked fiercely.

Not meeting his eyes, Trance replied again, "I'm not, and we both know it. I can feel my body shutting down, Harper. I'm sorry…"

Trying to smile, Seamus shook his head again. "Come on, you're Trance, remember? You don't die… I've seen you come back before. This'll be like a cake walk for you!" Noticing she wasn't smiling, Harper searched her emotionless face.

"Only if I wish it, and this time… this time I don't." She tried to muster smile for him, but it faded quickly.

Shaking his head again, Harper felt like he was on the brink of hysteria. "You can't die," he finally said softly, forcing himself to hold back any other emotions as the girl near him began to cough violently.

Closing her eyes, Trance leaned closer to the wall. "It would be easier this way," she said, opening her eyes again to look at him. "There's nothing left for me here, and you know as well as I do that I could never fit in where you're from. Go home to your friends, Harper, and stop this all from happening." She started to close her eyes again but Seamus shook her until she opened them.

"No!" he cried, knowing she wasn't going to last much longer. "This isn't fair, you don't deserve to die like this, Trance! Not after everything you've been through…"

For the first time since they'd landed, Trance genuinely smiled. "This is my fate. Yours is to save your friends," she said, taking his hand.

"Screw fate," Harper murmured quietly.

Laughing lightly, Trance closed her eyes. "Promise me something, Seamus… promise that you'll stop this from happing in your universe. No one deserves to go through this again. Please?"

Nodding barely and trying to swallow the lump forming in this throat, Harper replied, "I… I promise," as the purple hand in his went lack.

He sat there for some time staring at the girl's body. How long, he didn't know.

Finally getting up enough energy, Harper stood, wiping his red eyes with his sleeve. He took one more look down at the dead figure, promising himself he would not let it happen in his reality, and slowly stripped himself of his outer shirt. After gently drawing it over her face, Seamus Harper turned and disappeared down the alleyway.

~*~

Ignoring the snoring homeless man, Tyr ran on. He knew he was close to his prey. So close in fact, he could faintly detect their odor. One was definitely human, he knew that much, but the other was a mystery. Not that he didn't mind a little variety. It would only make this chase much more interesting.

Turning a corner, the Nietzschean would have nearly missed the body lying to one side of the tiny lane had it not been such a strange color. Sliding to quick halt, Tyr could tell this was one of the things he had been tracking. Stepping closer and lifting up a grimy shirt atop its face, he tried making out any signs of life but realized the limp form was nothing more than a lifeless shell. Feeling no emotion towards the dead, lavender creature, Tyr smiled. The hunt was almost over.

~*~

Harper was running as fast as his legs would carry him, but deep down he knew he could never run far enough from all the destruction he'd seen. What terrified him most was the fact that in one day alone he's seen what had taken him years on Earth to experience. Trying not to bring up any of those memories as well, he concentrated on nothing but running.

Glancing around him, Harper felt his anger rise rapidly. It seemed as if he were almost there but he still felt lost. He was sure he was close but he was missing something. Some shortcut that could take him to where he needed to be… Almost screaming in frustration, Harper took another alleyway, wishing he had his weapon with him. He didn't know if his gun would have done any good, but it would have made him feel better.

Exiting the alley, Harper felt his spirit rise as his feet now fell on familiar ground. He was 99% positive (though the pessimist in him blatantly refused to give up the last percent) that the junk shop was up ahead. Although there was no sign in the store window, the shape of the building was unforgettable. Feeling the irrepressible urge to laugh as he ran, he put all his energy into a sprint that would have done a marathon runner proud. Harper could feel himself reaching for the door's handle when something from his side vision startled him. Only his reflexes told him to duck at the next moment as a blast shattered off a chunk of the stone the building was made of, just above where his head had been a second before.

Rolling away from the gauss gun blast, Harper slid across that hard street uncontrollably and found himself in a heap a few feet away from where he'd been standing. Rising up on his arms, Seamus finally saw his pursuer.

"This is just perfect!" he bellowed in anger as he got to his feet, all the while staring down the barrel of a gun pointed in his direction.

The figure across from his narrowed his eyebrows questionably and actually seemed startled by Harper reaction.

"Oh don't get me wrong here," the engineer continued. "I figured you had to be around his reality somewhere, but Christ, did anyone ever tell you that you've got the worst timing!?"

The confused Nietzschean began to open his mouth but Harper spoke first. "Look, why don't we just go our separate ways here, Tyr. I'll be happy, you'll be, well, I don't know how you'll be but I'll be happy."

"You act as if you know me, human," Tyr replied with an laugh, raising the weapon higher.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Harper muttered, but added, "Lets see…. oh this is a hard one… you'd have to be Tyr Anasazi, out of Victoria by Barbarosa, blah blah blah…"

Hoping he'd confused the tall Nietzschean long enough to make a run for it, Harper debated whether or not he should take the chance and make a grab for the door., Either that or try to talk Tyr out of killing him.

'Running sounds good to me.'

As if sensing his hesitation, Tyr again raised his weapon and Harper realized that there was no real way he could get away. Closing his eyes, he waited for the blast that would ultimately kill him but it never came. Instead, something slammed into his shoulder, throwing him backwards like a storm tossed leaf. Letting out a yelp, Harper stumbled, grasping at the smoking wound that covered his upper arm. Pain was all his senses seemed to compute for a silent moment as he hit the ground hard and lay there. A loud grunt to his left forced Harper to open his eyes, just in time to see Tyr wrestling with a small figure. The newcomer, though dwarfed by Tyr nearly three times over, seemed to hold her own.

"Go, child!" a voice screamed at him as he struggled to stand.

As he got to his feet, Harper's eyes fell upon the struggling Nietzschean in mid-battle with an elderly homeless woman. The woman clung onto his back viciously and Tyr, try as he might, couldn't seem to dislodge her.

It took Seamus a moment to remember, but then recalled the poor, sickly beggar he'd encountered when he's first entered this reality. Her words of, "Bless you child, bless you! I am in your debt!" began to ring in his ears. Gripping his useless arm, Harper vowed not to make her last sacrifice go in vain. He ran.

With a growl, Tyr managed to grab hold of the woman's flailing arm and toss her to the side like a rag doll. Roaring in anger he stepped forward, his eyes searched the ground near him for his weapon but found it nowhere in sight. When he looked up, the boy was gone. Ignoring the stinging scratch on his cheek from the woman's nails, Tyr charged towards the door the human has just entered and took hold of the handle, nearly pulling it from the ancient wood it was attached to. Smiling, Tyr caught a quick glimpse of a booted foot heading up a stairwell located in the back of the shop and he went after it. He'd only made it through the doorframe when a gauss gun blast hit him on the shoulder and he stumbled. Two more caught him in the lower back and he finally collapsed.

On the street outside, the old woman dropped the used weapon, smiled faintly to herself, and slumped to the ground.

~*~*~