Disclaimer: Do I have to go through this again? I don't own them. None
of the FF: TSW characters are mine. If they were, I would never have been
so cruel to them. Uh… scratch that.
Author's Note: Apparently, sarcasm does not work very well when not backed by my tone of voice. Judging from the comments in my reviews, you all totally missed that I was being sarcastic about the whole Aki/Neil romance thing. This is NOT a romantic story! It's an action/adventure. If you want romance, read "Salvation." Now I feel like I let you all down and that I'll have to write an Aki/Neil romance now. In tone, this story is supposed to be similar to a Final Fantasy game, and both Terra and Ntrophi have guessed at some of what I'm getting at. Now figure out WHY…. Hehehe… I think Jane is a little OOC in this chapter… I apologize.
OUT OF THE ASHES
Chapter Five
Lady of Ice
Neil sat in the pilot's seat of the Black Boa, thought the ship was on autopilot and his presence wasn't necessary. And it was flying too high for a Phantom to reach – they hoped – so no one was needed to watch, and the scanners alert them if they picked up anything. But Neil desperately wanted to be alone, and this was the best place for it.
He was frightened about rejoining the "real world." How would he and the others be treated? What if Neil spent the rest of his life in a lab with a bunch of scientists poking him with needles, taking samples, or performing a variety of other unsavory tests upon him? At the very least, he expected to be questioned mercilessly about a subject he knew little about, or even wanted to think about.
He was afraid they would make him confront what he still could bring himself to face: That much of his memories weren't even his own…
It hadn't been obvious at first. When he'd woken, he'd felt no different than before. Well, maybe a little more subdued, and certainly in shock, but he'd been himself.
Then the memories came. There weren't many, at first. Flashes of places he'd been to before, but with people he'd been unfamiliar with, or rooms that were familiar, with different décor. Then he had remembered being at the Houston Military Academy with a teacher whose lectures he'd become quite familiar with. That wouldn't have been odd – Neil had many such memories – except that the teacher had been praising him rather than give him the usual harangue about misbehaving. And the teacher had seemed… younger.
Neil hadn't wanted to believe anything was wrong. He'd liked being the only "normal" one of the group for once. But there was no denying it: He was no longer the person he had been.
He gulped and restlessly began to play around with the ship's controls. He needed to get his mind off that track fast, before it drove him mad.
"Hey," Jane's voice came from behind. As a diversion, that'll do nicely, Neil thought.
"Yo, Jane, what's up?" Neil asked, his fingers hovering over the controls that would change the Black Boa's flight from auto to manual.
"Not much," she said, taking the seat beside him. "Don't touch those controls," she warned. She must have just come out of the shower, Neil thought absently, because her hair hung in wet clumps. He decided he liked it when she wore it loose.
"Aw, Jane, do you really think I'd do something like that?" Jane said nothing, but she arched one brow. Neil pulled his hand away from the control panel.
"I wasn't going to do anything anyway," he muttered defensively. "So, what brings you here?"
"You," Jane said. "You've been acting strange lately. Are you all right?"
Damn, she noticed… Then again, judging from her expression, something else brought her here. What has her so upset? "I'm fine," Neil said, and gave her a broad, and utterly false, grin. "Couldn't be better. I'm alive, the world has been saved, and I have a good future ahead of me as a lab rat with mental problems. What more could I want?"
He was immediately sorry he'd brought that last bit up. Jane's fingers tightened around the hand rests at the mention of "lab rat." "Do you think Dr. Ross would do that to us? Treat us like specimens, I mean?" She looked ill at the thought.
"Not Dr. Ross," Neil said seriously. "I think anything she'd do would be with our permission, and only in the best interests of the citizens of New York." It felt odd, reassuring the normally confident Jane Proudfoot. The situation seemed to have left her open and vulnerable, and Neil wanted to comfort her.
And have her comfort him in return…
"Jane? What's wrong?" Her face had gone white.
"You say Dr. Ross won't use us… Maybe you and the serge will be fine, but what about me?" Her hands clenched into fists. "You're nothing. I… I can freeze things with a touch!"
Jane was panicking, and Neil wondered what had set her on edge. Her hands were quivering, and she had shut her eyes. Was she going to cry?
Neil got up and went over to her. "Jane," he began, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" she cried. Her hand lashed out, and suddenly Neil's forearm was encased in ice, as were as several of the Black Boa's controls. An alarm went off, and the ship began to tilt. Neil could only stare, speechless, as Jane gaped at him with horrified eyes.
"Oh, God, I did it again!" Jane ran from the cockpit, brushing past Aki, who had come to investigate the alarm.
Neil held his frozen arm to his chest, torn between helping Aki get the ship back under control, or running after Jane.
* * *
She'd done it again! Jane ran through the decks of the Black Boa, awkwardly at first as the ship lost control and the floor shuddered beneath her, then with more speed as the ship was steadied.
It was her fault. What if her curse had destroyed the control panel, and they had crashed? What if… What if she had killed Neil? Jane faltered, then came to a halt. She shouldn't have left Neil like that. What if he was seriously hurt?
Jane leaned against the metal wall to her right, catching her breath. She had panicked, something she had prided herself for being immune to. So much for all that training… But what kind of training could have prepared her for something like this?
She shivered uncontrollably, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. She had been brushing it in the room she'd chosen for privacy when she had frozen it with a touch. It hadn't been a heavy freeze; just a glaze of ice that had crept along her scalp until most of her head was covered. She hadn't been angry at the time, or frightened, or feeling any other strong emotions. It had happened for now apparent reason, and had quickly melted off. She'd been scared of touching her hair afterwards…
Feeling uneasy, she had gone to see Neil, hoping his cheerful attitude would take her mind off her problems. But when he had mentioned laboratories…
What would they do with a woman who could freeze things? She would be shunned by a society who would be too frightened of what she could accidentally do, and it seemed all too likely that she would end up a test subject. She wouldn't allow that; her pride wouldn't let her stand for it! She would die first.
And perhaps that would be best, before she killed one of the few people she considered a friend. Jane slid down the wall and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees. She didn't cry – her pride didn't allow that, either – but she rested her chin on her knees and stared gloomily into the darkness of the ship around her.
She didn't know how long she'd sat there when a voice tentatively called her name. Jane stiffened. "Serge?" she answered softly.
Ryan came into view, and he knelt down beside her. "What happened up there?" he asked, his voice businesslike, but with an edge of concern.
Jane sighed and uncurled her body. She was surprised at how stiff she was. "I don't know. I just… lost it." She got slowly to her feet. "Is Neil…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
"He's fine," Ryan said. "Aki's helping him with his arm, and it should be all right in a few hours. I'm more concerned about you at the moment."
"I have no control over it," she said. "I can see now why so many people have died because of these powers. Will the Council even want to help someone as dangerous as me?"
Ryan grimaced. "I don't know how the Council thinks; that was the captain's specialty. But I would think that they'd want to help as many people as they can. There are so few people left now, because of the Phantoms. And with the Phantoms still a threat, the Council will need all the help they can get."
"Still, I don't think I want to face anyone just yet. I want to stay aboard the Black Boa; you and Neil should be enough to convince the Council and the USMF that New York needs help."
"All right," Ryan said. "If that's how you feel. But I hope you'll talk to Dr. Sid when he's available."
"I will. Anything to get rid of this curse. Fro now, though, I'd appreciate it if you'd all just leave me alone." Jane turned away and vanished into the dark cargo hold.
* * *
"How is it?" Aki asked Neil as he entered the cockpit. His face was pale and drawn, and he held his left arm stiffly.
"Still numb," Neil said, wiggling his fingers slightly. He took the warm, wet towel he had slung over his shoulder and wrapped it back around his arm. "But I can actually feel the heat now."
Aki turned back to the main viewscreen. Houston was growing larger by the moment, a series of twinkling lights in the darkening sky. Had she really only left it this morning? So much had happened since then.
"She didn't mean it," Neil said into the silence. Aki didn't respond. She had been stunned by Jane's display of power, stunned and frightened. Ryan's explanation hadn't prepared her for the truth of the matter. What was she going to tell the Council? What if they saw the citizens of New York as a threat, like the reborn Phantoms?
Which brought up another point: Would the Council help New York when they had a threat on their hands? Aki had seen countless groups of Phantoms on their way back, though they hadn't encountered any at this height. It seemed like a whole new war was brewing.
"Won't it ever end?" she wondered aloud.
"Huh?" Neil asked, taking the seat next to her.
"We end one war, and begin another," she said dully.
Neil pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Cheer up, Doc. You have Deep Eyes with you! We're trained professionals. With us at your side, nothing can go wrong!"
Aki appreciated Neil's obviously feigned optimism, but she really wished he hadn't said it.
Things, in her experience, could always go disastrously wrong.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Apparently, sarcasm does not work very well when not backed by my tone of voice. Judging from the comments in my reviews, you all totally missed that I was being sarcastic about the whole Aki/Neil romance thing. This is NOT a romantic story! It's an action/adventure. If you want romance, read "Salvation." Now I feel like I let you all down and that I'll have to write an Aki/Neil romance now. In tone, this story is supposed to be similar to a Final Fantasy game, and both Terra and Ntrophi have guessed at some of what I'm getting at. Now figure out WHY…. Hehehe… I think Jane is a little OOC in this chapter… I apologize.
OUT OF THE ASHES
Chapter Five
Lady of Ice
Neil sat in the pilot's seat of the Black Boa, thought the ship was on autopilot and his presence wasn't necessary. And it was flying too high for a Phantom to reach – they hoped – so no one was needed to watch, and the scanners alert them if they picked up anything. But Neil desperately wanted to be alone, and this was the best place for it.
He was frightened about rejoining the "real world." How would he and the others be treated? What if Neil spent the rest of his life in a lab with a bunch of scientists poking him with needles, taking samples, or performing a variety of other unsavory tests upon him? At the very least, he expected to be questioned mercilessly about a subject he knew little about, or even wanted to think about.
He was afraid they would make him confront what he still could bring himself to face: That much of his memories weren't even his own…
It hadn't been obvious at first. When he'd woken, he'd felt no different than before. Well, maybe a little more subdued, and certainly in shock, but he'd been himself.
Then the memories came. There weren't many, at first. Flashes of places he'd been to before, but with people he'd been unfamiliar with, or rooms that were familiar, with different décor. Then he had remembered being at the Houston Military Academy with a teacher whose lectures he'd become quite familiar with. That wouldn't have been odd – Neil had many such memories – except that the teacher had been praising him rather than give him the usual harangue about misbehaving. And the teacher had seemed… younger.
Neil hadn't wanted to believe anything was wrong. He'd liked being the only "normal" one of the group for once. But there was no denying it: He was no longer the person he had been.
He gulped and restlessly began to play around with the ship's controls. He needed to get his mind off that track fast, before it drove him mad.
"Hey," Jane's voice came from behind. As a diversion, that'll do nicely, Neil thought.
"Yo, Jane, what's up?" Neil asked, his fingers hovering over the controls that would change the Black Boa's flight from auto to manual.
"Not much," she said, taking the seat beside him. "Don't touch those controls," she warned. She must have just come out of the shower, Neil thought absently, because her hair hung in wet clumps. He decided he liked it when she wore it loose.
"Aw, Jane, do you really think I'd do something like that?" Jane said nothing, but she arched one brow. Neil pulled his hand away from the control panel.
"I wasn't going to do anything anyway," he muttered defensively. "So, what brings you here?"
"You," Jane said. "You've been acting strange lately. Are you all right?"
Damn, she noticed… Then again, judging from her expression, something else brought her here. What has her so upset? "I'm fine," Neil said, and gave her a broad, and utterly false, grin. "Couldn't be better. I'm alive, the world has been saved, and I have a good future ahead of me as a lab rat with mental problems. What more could I want?"
He was immediately sorry he'd brought that last bit up. Jane's fingers tightened around the hand rests at the mention of "lab rat." "Do you think Dr. Ross would do that to us? Treat us like specimens, I mean?" She looked ill at the thought.
"Not Dr. Ross," Neil said seriously. "I think anything she'd do would be with our permission, and only in the best interests of the citizens of New York." It felt odd, reassuring the normally confident Jane Proudfoot. The situation seemed to have left her open and vulnerable, and Neil wanted to comfort her.
And have her comfort him in return…
"Jane? What's wrong?" Her face had gone white.
"You say Dr. Ross won't use us… Maybe you and the serge will be fine, but what about me?" Her hands clenched into fists. "You're nothing. I… I can freeze things with a touch!"
Jane was panicking, and Neil wondered what had set her on edge. Her hands were quivering, and she had shut her eyes. Was she going to cry?
Neil got up and went over to her. "Jane," he began, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" she cried. Her hand lashed out, and suddenly Neil's forearm was encased in ice, as were as several of the Black Boa's controls. An alarm went off, and the ship began to tilt. Neil could only stare, speechless, as Jane gaped at him with horrified eyes.
"Oh, God, I did it again!" Jane ran from the cockpit, brushing past Aki, who had come to investigate the alarm.
Neil held his frozen arm to his chest, torn between helping Aki get the ship back under control, or running after Jane.
* * *
She'd done it again! Jane ran through the decks of the Black Boa, awkwardly at first as the ship lost control and the floor shuddered beneath her, then with more speed as the ship was steadied.
It was her fault. What if her curse had destroyed the control panel, and they had crashed? What if… What if she had killed Neil? Jane faltered, then came to a halt. She shouldn't have left Neil like that. What if he was seriously hurt?
Jane leaned against the metal wall to her right, catching her breath. She had panicked, something she had prided herself for being immune to. So much for all that training… But what kind of training could have prepared her for something like this?
She shivered uncontrollably, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. She had been brushing it in the room she'd chosen for privacy when she had frozen it with a touch. It hadn't been a heavy freeze; just a glaze of ice that had crept along her scalp until most of her head was covered. She hadn't been angry at the time, or frightened, or feeling any other strong emotions. It had happened for now apparent reason, and had quickly melted off. She'd been scared of touching her hair afterwards…
Feeling uneasy, she had gone to see Neil, hoping his cheerful attitude would take her mind off her problems. But when he had mentioned laboratories…
What would they do with a woman who could freeze things? She would be shunned by a society who would be too frightened of what she could accidentally do, and it seemed all too likely that she would end up a test subject. She wouldn't allow that; her pride wouldn't let her stand for it! She would die first.
And perhaps that would be best, before she killed one of the few people she considered a friend. Jane slid down the wall and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees. She didn't cry – her pride didn't allow that, either – but she rested her chin on her knees and stared gloomily into the darkness of the ship around her.
She didn't know how long she'd sat there when a voice tentatively called her name. Jane stiffened. "Serge?" she answered softly.
Ryan came into view, and he knelt down beside her. "What happened up there?" he asked, his voice businesslike, but with an edge of concern.
Jane sighed and uncurled her body. She was surprised at how stiff she was. "I don't know. I just… lost it." She got slowly to her feet. "Is Neil…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
"He's fine," Ryan said. "Aki's helping him with his arm, and it should be all right in a few hours. I'm more concerned about you at the moment."
"I have no control over it," she said. "I can see now why so many people have died because of these powers. Will the Council even want to help someone as dangerous as me?"
Ryan grimaced. "I don't know how the Council thinks; that was the captain's specialty. But I would think that they'd want to help as many people as they can. There are so few people left now, because of the Phantoms. And with the Phantoms still a threat, the Council will need all the help they can get."
"Still, I don't think I want to face anyone just yet. I want to stay aboard the Black Boa; you and Neil should be enough to convince the Council and the USMF that New York needs help."
"All right," Ryan said. "If that's how you feel. But I hope you'll talk to Dr. Sid when he's available."
"I will. Anything to get rid of this curse. Fro now, though, I'd appreciate it if you'd all just leave me alone." Jane turned away and vanished into the dark cargo hold.
* * *
"How is it?" Aki asked Neil as he entered the cockpit. His face was pale and drawn, and he held his left arm stiffly.
"Still numb," Neil said, wiggling his fingers slightly. He took the warm, wet towel he had slung over his shoulder and wrapped it back around his arm. "But I can actually feel the heat now."
Aki turned back to the main viewscreen. Houston was growing larger by the moment, a series of twinkling lights in the darkening sky. Had she really only left it this morning? So much had happened since then.
"She didn't mean it," Neil said into the silence. Aki didn't respond. She had been stunned by Jane's display of power, stunned and frightened. Ryan's explanation hadn't prepared her for the truth of the matter. What was she going to tell the Council? What if they saw the citizens of New York as a threat, like the reborn Phantoms?
Which brought up another point: Would the Council help New York when they had a threat on their hands? Aki had seen countless groups of Phantoms on their way back, though they hadn't encountered any at this height. It seemed like a whole new war was brewing.
"Won't it ever end?" she wondered aloud.
"Huh?" Neil asked, taking the seat next to her.
"We end one war, and begin another," she said dully.
Neil pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Cheer up, Doc. You have Deep Eyes with you! We're trained professionals. With us at your side, nothing can go wrong!"
Aki appreciated Neil's obviously feigned optimism, but she really wished he hadn't said it.
Things, in her experience, could always go disastrously wrong.
To Be Continued…