Chapter 3.

Jack leaned against the door frame. He was watching Halo, who had been staring down at the battered robot, the so-called daughter of Duke Red. Halo had told Jack she would explain what had happened in the Zigguraut, but she hadn't yet, and though he was eager to know, he didn't want to pry into it.

"What will happen to the government?" Halo asked, turning around.

"It depends, what do you mean?"

"Well . . . President Boone is dead, so is the Duke . . . And the leader of the Marduks as well, not that the Marduks would have stayed around without Red and Boone's authorization anyway."

"I dunno. I suppose the senate would control things until the next presidential election . . . But that's not for another two years."

"I s'pose . . ." Halo walked from the room, Jack moving out of her way then following behind.

"What did you have me bring that robot in for anyway?"

"I just had an idea, that's all," Halo replied. "I was thinking if we repaired it, maybe her memory bank could be put to some good use, you know? I don't have any more evidence for Harbin against the Duke revealing the Zigguraut's true purpose and Red's plans, therefore . . . the robots are still enslaved."

"That's what this is about?"

"Well, yes, actually. That's what I'm here for, after all. And you heard Doc and Tina. People seem to think that I'm responsible for tipping a tower. The only way to prove that it wasn't me is with some evidence."

"What makes you think that they'll believe you? They might think that you created that robot, in which case they don't like robots anyway-"

"Then we'll just have to hope, won't we?" Jack stopped and watched her walk back into her room, leaving the door open. He thought about that for a moment, then went to stand in her doorway.

"It'll take a lot of time and equipment to repair that robot," he said. "Some of the tools might be expensive . . ."

"We can steal it, anything, just as long as that robot gets repaired. And besides, figure out how to fix it and you find out the reasons Atlas was killed."

"You could tell me, though."

"I think you need a little motivation."

"Okay, then . . . tell me what happened in the Tower. What made it blow up?"

"No," Halo said flatly.

"Why not?"

"No. It's none of your business." Good thing Halo wasn't facing him. Her eyes had begun to water. "Just go away." She turned and pushed Jack lightly to get him out of the doorway, then she shut the door . . . and locked it. She wanted to tell him what had happened, it just wouldn't come out . . . At all.

Atlas's old cap was laying on the window sill beside Halo's bed. She couldn't help but to keep it. Even though they hadn't known each other that well, she still felt that there had been- could have been- something there, something between them . . . Halo felt a warm tear sliding down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. More than a month after Atlas had died and she was still crying over him.

It was odd, though, because she had seen Jack pretty broken up about Atlas's death as well, nearly as much as Halo was. Jack hadn't yet broken into fits of anger, lashing out at unsuspecting people as a way to vent, but Halo had seen him near tears in his own room, once, only days after Halo had shown up to beg for a place to stay. Halo, however, had done both.

She crawled to her bed, then climbed up, burying herself under the covers. She reached out from under her warm spot and grabbed Atlas's hat and pulled it under the blanket as well. She hugged the hat to her chest, just as she had done in the makeshift hospital a month ago, and brought her knees up as well. She often ended up like this, when there was nothing else to do, no one was around, and she was already on the brink of tears . . . Kind of like how it was now.

The corridor was dark, seemingly endless, and somewhat frightening. She didn't want to venture forth, but turning around was the same; a dark, never-ending hall.

Still, she ran. She ran through the gloom, not sure if there was a door or anything at the end. Still, not wanting to stand still, afraid, in the dark back there, she decided to run. And then . . . Footsteps apart from her own. Looking over her shoulder she saw nothing, whether because of the dark or there was nothing there. She continued, panting now, until a thin strip of light became visible for what it was. She came closer . . . It was the light from under a door . . .

Then her action of twisting the knob was interrupted as the footsteps were heard again, this time accompanied by a harsh breath. She turned, staring through the dense dark, and was immediately thrown against the door, pinned by large hands. They forced her shoulders into the hard metal door, their grip relentless.

A laughter reached her ears, a hoarse croak. She looked up, searching for a face, only smelling the stale breath of a man . . . Who then spoke.

"Have you . . . Missed me . . . Halo?"

His hollow laugh filled her ears, his hands releasing their grip on her. She fell roughly to the floor, then got up quickly, reaching for the door knob and turning, then thrusting the door open. She stood there, staring, her breath shuddering . . . Not this again, no, why?

The throne was gleaming down at her from its perch upon the stairs, just as she had seen it before, only now she knew what to do, she could control herself, she could turn away . . . only one other choice . . . She turned to face the man . . .

"Rock . . . ," she whispered. He laughed, clutching his sides, and she took this as an opportunity. She ran, dodged Rock, and ran again . . . There must be a door, a way out, on the other end . . . There had to be. Through the darkness, just as she had before, she ran until she reached another door. But upon arriving two figures- a tall one and a smaller one- emerged from a room, shutting the door behind them. She hadn't seen who they were, only saw small details in the light of the room.

"Who . . . ? Who . . . ?"

"Now, you may take your seat at the throne," said a soft voice in Halo's ear.

"No . . . No! It's not you! You're dead! You're dead!" There came no reply but a soft chuckle and a giggle . . . A girl's giggle . . . Right there, in front of her . . . "And you! You're both dead! No! NO!" She pushed past them, wrenching open the door and stumbling in . . . Where she fell to her knees . . . "No! Can't you leave me the hell alone?! Go away! GO AWAY!"

The mixed sounds of laughter, giggling, and gun fire filled the air around her all at once. In front of her lay the body of Atlas, and then towering above him were two Marduks . . . Firing their guns continuously. Beyond that was . . . The throne.

On her knees, she covered her ears, pressing her palms tightly to them, and screamed as loudly as she could, rocking back and forth. It was happening again, Atlas's death. It wouldn't go away . . . Then the throne, the darkness . . .

Jack glanced over at Halo then back down at his cards. Halo was sitting in the corner by the door, staring wide-eyed at the floor. Jack and everyone else was playing poker. Jack looked back up at Halo, then at his cards again, then at the table.

"Fold," he said, laying the cards face-down on the table. He pushed back his chair and stood, walking to Halo and sitting down beside her. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked. He had found her in her room, shaking, sweating, crying, and clutching Atlas's cap so tight her knuckles were beginning to turn white. He had told her to come with him to play some poker, where she deserted the game to sit in the corner and stare at things at random. But now, Halo's only response was a nod . . . then the shake of her head.

"It started over again," she whispered. "I had to watch it again . . . His death . . . Duke Red . . . Rock . . . Tima . . . They were there . . . Again. They won't leave me alone." Jack put a comforting arm around her.

"Don't worry about it, aight? It's probably nothing to worry yourself over."

"I don't . . . know . . ."

"'Ay, Jack, we're startin' a new game," called one of the guys from the table.

"Yeah, sure, I'll be there in a minute." He turned back to Halo. "You okay? Really?"

"I don't know, Jack . . . I don't know anymore." She brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "I can't explain it to anyone . . ." Her whispers were barely audible as her sentence reached a close. "It won't come out . . ."

Jack squeezed her shoulder, sat there for a few seconds more, looking at her, then sighed and stood. Halo put her chin to the top of her knees, closing her eyes. She hadn't had a dream like that in weeks . . . for the first few nights after the Fall she had been afraid because of dreams similar to her most recent one, but none containing Atlas, Duke Red, Rock . . . or Tima.

A laugh, accompanied by several deep grunts and groans, came from the table and she open her eyes to watch Jack bringing the betting contents toward himself. He, apparently, had won another hand. Atlas used to love to play card games like that, or so she was told. Jack had also told her that Atlas lost most of his money that way, kind of like Jack himself. It seemed Jack was hitting a bit of luck tonight.

Ever since Jack had heard Atlas had died he claimed himself as 'leader' person. It suited him well, just like it suited Atlas. Both seemed to take charge fairly quick and easily.

As the clock behind Jack chimed twelve times, announcing midnight, the guys put up, took their money, and headed out. Even the cat, who was perched on top of the desk in another corner, took its leave. It took Jack a few more minutes to get his stuff together, sweeping the change into a small sack. When he turned, Halo was already standing and ready to go.

Neither of them said anything as they made their way out and up the staircase, though Jack did keep glancing over at Halo. They turned left at the landing, walking through another door, then turning right to go up another set of stairs. The kept going straight from the landing, walking into a corridor of doors. After a couple of minutes of total silence, they came to the door at the very end of the hall and entered to loud laughter and a thick screen of smoke.

Halo ignored them and continued up the few stairs at the other side of the room and went back to her bedroom. Only after she had shut the door did she hear footsteps go by- most likely Jack's. She walked from the door and to the small bathroom, slowly turning the knob. The water began to pour from the faucet, cold at first and quickly warming up.

"This is all I need," she assured herself. "A warm bath." Of course, she knew this wasn't going to make her forget everything . . . it would give her a chance to clear her mind, maybe even take her mind off of these recent happenings, if only for a little while . . .

Author's Notes: This is moving along quite slow, a little slower than I thought, but I'm trying to make two things happen at once!! You know what to do, you can hear that little purple button at the bottom of your screen screaming, "Push me! Push me!" so push away! ^_^