Disclaimer: I still don't own them. We've been through this twenty-four times already!
Author's Note: Yes! With the uploading of this chapter, I'm on my way to completing OOTA! The next two chapters will follow soon, and then I'll be done, done, done! If you have any questions that you'd like me to answer, think them up, and I'll have a little 'extras' chapter for your entertainment, complete with a Q&A session. This is a short chapter, which is disappointing after such a long wait, I know. But the penultimate chapter follows and then one more after that… And I'll be DONE!
OUT OF THE ASHES
Chapter Twenty-Five
Power Play
"I can't control her!" Neil's voice had an edge of panic as he wrestled with the controls. Ryan swallowed; for Neil to show alarm while he was in flight was a very bad sign indeed. Even in the direst situation, Neil had excellent control of himself when he was piloting, aware that if he said anything wrong, the panic he could cause in his passengers could prove fatal. "Sarge, we're gonna go down!" The Black Boa shuddered under another impact, and Ryan's grip tightened on the seat.
"Any place we can set her down?" Ryan asked, amazed at how calm his own voice sounded.
"Negative; there are trees everywhere. There seem to be ruins of a town in the valley, and there used to be a highway through the mountains, but it's all been overgrown. Even if I trusted my flying skills, I couldn't safely put us down."
Ryan wasted no time; he activated the intercom to alert the women. He kept it short. "We're under attack, and there's no way to safely bring the ship down. We're going to have to do an emergency evacuation. Meet us in the bay." No more needed to be said.
"Can you set us on a steady course?" Ryan asked.
"I'll do my best. Get down there, and I'll meet you as soon as I can." Ryan hesitated, wondering if Neil intended to end his torment by going down with the ship. The tech turned his head slightly and, seeing Ryan still there, yelled, "Go, dammit! I'll be right there!"
He didn't look back, but he regretted it as he hurried down to the cargo bay. What if he'd never see Neil again? The tech had been steadily losing his mind, and it wouldn't surprise Ryan if Neil wanted to go down with the ship before he lost himself completely. Despite the urgency of the situation, Ryan almost turned around to grab the tech and drag him to the bay. But he couldn't do that to one of his closest friends. He could pray for him, however. Neil, please come with us…
Ryan paused for a moment beside the ladder leading to the lower deck, then ran past it. The lab was on the upper deck, and if the women hadn't heard his message, he'd make certain they came with him. Jane was ahead of him, helping Aki along, though she was having a difficult time of it. The scientist's unsteady legs and the ship's constant shuddering made her an awkward burden. And, oddly, she was clinging tightly to a Nocturne, holding on to it as if her life depended on it. Jane looked back and, catching sight of him, called, "Where's Neil?"
"He's coming." And he'd better not make a liar out of me… Ryan put his arm around Aki to support her and, though she flinched at his touch, she leaned into him and let him steady her. "We have to hurry." They managed to make it safely to the scaffold that spanned the bay, where they came to a halt. The nearest ladder to the deck was only a few feet from them, but it had been folded under the scaffold to make room for storage space beneath. The controls for the ladder were on the other end of they bay, next to another ladder which was usable. Either way, they'd have to cross the scaffold that swayed alarmingly with every movement of the ship. "It's tearing loose," Ryan said, dismayed. The ship was being shaken apart by the attack.
"We don't have any choice but to cross," Jane said, taking a few tentative steps to test it. The scaffold held under her weight, though she had to keep shifting her weight to keep balance. "We should be able to make it across, if we're careful." Aki tightened her grip on the Nocturne and leaned into Ryan, who wrapped one arm securely around her. Ryan followed closely behind Jane as they carefully picked their way across. He scanned the floor beneath him as he did, noticing with relief that Major Elliot had beaten them there, with Major Boyer beside him.
There was the sound of screaming metal, and the ship canted sideways. Aki cried out as they fell against the railing, which bent alarmingly under their combined weight. The Nocturne fell from her grasp and slid away, saved from falling to the bay floor when its stock caught on the railing. Aki struggled in Ryan's grasp as she tried to go after it. "We don't need it-" Ryan began, but Jane disentangled herself from the heap and ran after it. "Jane! Watch out! The scaffold's tearing free!" He could feel the metal rock under his feet alarmingly.
Jane froze, feeling how unstable her position was. Ryan saw her lick her lips nervously, then began to creep towards the Nocturne again. "Dammit, Jane, it isn't worth it!"
"Yes it is," Aki said softly. Ryan looked down at the scientist, noting the determination that burned in her eyes. With a last look at Jane, Ryan helped Aki to her feet and half led, half carried Aki to the steep ladder that led down to the bay's floor. Without being told, Aki began to climb down, though Ryan noticed she kept her eyes on Jane. After Aki had climbed halfway down, Ryan began to follow.
That was when the explosion rocked the ship. The edge of the scaffold tore free, along with several chunks of metal and wiring. Ryan's grip automatically tightened on the metal rungs, but Aki and Jane weren't so lucky. He heard Aki scream somewhere beneath him, and Jane… he couldn't even see her as the scaffold began to fold under its weight. It seemed to fall in slow motion, the end hitting the metal deck floor with a clang.
Ryan wasted no time; he slid down the ladder and landed unsteadily on the heaving deck below. Aki was lying in a crumpled heap, but she was still conscious. She blinked slightly glazed eyes at him. Blood trickled from a new gash in her forehead, where she'd been hit by shrapnel, but other than that, she looked to be unharmed. "Where's Jane?" she asked thickly, before Ryan could help her.
Ryan turned towards the collapsed scaffold, heart in his throat. Then movement caught his attention, and Jane came around the wreckage, looking a little worse for wear but holding up the Nocturne triumphantly. Ryan gave her a crooked grin as she trotted over. "What was that?" she demanded.
"I think the engine blew," he said numbly. To think that Ash had that kind of power… "Have you seen Neil?"
"No," Jane said. "He's not coming, is he." She made it a statement rather than a question. Ryan tried to think of a reply, but couldn't.
"We need to find the emergency chute," was all he said. Jane's face lost all expression as she helped Aki to her feet and handed her the Nocturne. "Where is it?" he asked Aki, who was looking dazedly around the bay. All ships had such a chute; sometimes, a ship would need to dump cargo or passengers and landing gel was useless in such situations. It would be large enough to handle their combined weights.
"Over there," Aki said, pointing to a panel set in the wall several feet away. "Ryan!" she said, her voice suddenly desperate. "What about Sid? He's only just down that corridor; we can't leave without him!"
Aki's eyes were pleading, and Ryan hated himself for what he said next. "Aki, he's dead. We can't risk our lives further for him."
"I can't just leave him like this!" Aki lunged towards the corridor, screaming and thrashing when Jane caught her and pinned her to the wall. She gave Ryan a helpless look as the scientist continued to fight her grip.
"What's going on?" Major Elliot asked, coming up behind them. Boyer stood behind him, his face sullen as he stared at the floor. His hands were bound tightly together, and he looked as if he realized he had nowhere to run.
"We need the chute in that locker over there," Ryan gestured. "Can you get it?"
Elliot wasted no time questioning him; he went straight to the locker and withdrew the large pack from within, dragging it over as Ryan wrapped Aki in his arms. The woman gave a shuddering sigh of resignation. "Sid," she whispered into Ryan's shoulder.
"Where's Corporal Fleming?" he heard Elliot asked quietly as he and Jane dragged the pack towards the bay door. Ryan was glad he couldn't hear Jane's reply as he held Aki close. The Nocturne pressed against the wound in his chest, but he continued to hold her until she calmed. Boyer had followed Elliot and Jane, apparently making certain he wasn't going to be left behind.
"Sarge! It's ready!" he heard Jane call, and Aki pulled away.
"Let's go," he said with a heavy heart. They hastened to where Jane and Elliot had lashed the pack to a square metal pallet. They'd have to cling on to it, and it was possible they could slip off the metal, but they'd have a better chance this way. If only Aki's powers were reliable enough that she could just "grab" them and carry them down, like she'd done with Neil… but they couldn't trust them, especially not when Aki was in such an emotional state. "We'd better get out of here," he said, ignoring the pained look on Jane's face. "Open the hatch."
The others had settled onto the metal plate, except for himself and Jane, who would shove the pallet over the edge and then jump on it as it fell. Jane hit the button and the hatch opened with agonizing slowness. Ryan swallowed when he saw just how close the tree canopy was below them. This was going to be risky. "Hang on to something," he said unnecessarily as he and Jane began to shove the pallet. He saw Jane give one last look back, saw the tears that streaked her face, moments before the pallet began to tip over the edge and he and Jane leaped on.
"Oh, shit!" a voice cried somewhere above them. Second before they'd cleared the ship enough to open the chute, a dark shape launched itself out of the hatch, catching the edge of the plate. "How could you leave without me?" Neil yelped as Jane pulled him up beside her.
"Dammit, Sarge, he caught us!" Jane said, smiling through her tears.
Ryan activated the chute, and there were startled cries as they were jerked upward. But no one fell, and they even seemed to have escaped Ash's notice. Still, as they watched the Black Boa continue to lose altitude and finally go down in flames, they knew that it wasn't over yet.
The real fight had only just begun.
* * *
General Ryder watched through his binoculars as the Black Boa tilted sideways, careening out of control. He couldn't help but admire Ash's imposing figure hovering above the ship, his body burning brightly in the night. That was what he'd hoped for from the study of the green spirits. While the brain modifications hadn't made Ash as tractable as Ryder had hoped, Ash was still the perfect soldier. Powerful and deadly, without having to deal with the difficulties of toting around heavy weaponry to get the job done. All the arsenal he needed was contained within his body. And this… this was only play to Ash! Ryder knew that the Black Boa would have been destroyed long before this if Ash had put his mind to it.
The sound of the engines exploding came to him a moment after he actually saw it happen, and he smiled in satisfaction. That's one problem out of the way. Trailing streamers of smoke, the ship rapidly lost altitude. Ryder leaned forward, not wanting to miss a moment of Ash's victory. His Copperhead had landed on what had once been one of the few roadways that wound their way through the Pennsylvania mountains, and he had a magnificent view of the valley spread out below as well as the aerial battle taking place above. The valley was carpeted with a thick growth of trees, a sight Ryder hadn't expected to ever see, and once the ship went down, rescue parties would have a difficult time finding the bodies. There won't be any evidence of foul play. And with most of the Council under my control, denouncing whatever Dr. Ross has told them shouldn't prove difficult. His smile became smug. I really should be grateful to her for taking care of Major Boyer for me. He was becoming a nuisance.
Ryder's triumph was short-lived. As the Black Boa's belly just missed scraping the tree line, he saw the hatch split open and a dark shape tumbled out. A red and white sheet blossomed open around it, slowing its flight, and Ryder's grip tightened on the binoculars. They'd managed to escape, and Ash didn't seem to have seen them yet.
Ryder waved the pilot of the Copperhead over. "Mark where that lands," he said shortly. "We're going to pick up the survivors."
* * *
The fall was a nightmare; even with the chute, they still fell at an alarming rate. Gusts of wind buffeted them, tipping the pallet. Neil had nearly toppled from his precarious position a dozen times, and only Jane's death grip on his arm, and his own tight hold on the pallet's raised edge kept him from falling to his death.
Funny; it had only been a few minutes ago that he'd considered going down with the Black Boa in a blaze of glory, yet now he was doing all he could to stay alive. Not that prospects looked good right at the moment…
"Hold on!" Ryan's cry was almost lost in the rush of air around them, and then their perch hit the first of the trees. It canted alarmingly, and Neil felt the metal bite into his palm as he tightened his grip further.
They continued to fall in jerks as they hit limbs and the chute caught, then tore free. Small twigs and other detritus rained down on them, and their exposed skin was assaulted by vicious lashes of the limbs. Neil bit his lip as his knuckles scraped bark, and judging from the cries of the others, they were getting as beaten as he was.
There was the sound of tearing fabric as the chute caught again, and the pallet was slammed against the trunk of an enormous tree. Around him, the others braced themselves for the break, the fall… but this time, it held.
"I think we can climb down," Jane said, her voice shaky. There was a streak of blood down the side of her face, blending with the drying tears. "We're going to have to be careful, though." The pallet slipped a little, and she yelped. "God, I am so sick of falling. When this is over, I'm keeping my feet on the ground. No more falling for me." She glanced towards Neil when she said that, waiting for him to take the obvious opening.
But he didn't have the heart for it. There was something wrong with him, very wrong. He could feel it inside of him, like an empty void that was eating away at his mind. He'd thought Hein's disappearance would make everything better, but it was like something was missing, and it was ripping him to pieces. This was worse than when he'd had to share his body, and he couldn't begin to guess why.
"How far down is it?" Ryan asked.
The pallet shifted as Jane leaned over the edge. "Not too far; thirty feet, maybe? There are enough branches that we should be able to get down safely. I think. It's too dark to really tell."
"I'd rather climb down than fall," Major Elliot said quietly. The others murmured in agreement.
Ryan peered upward, and Neil followed his gaze. The chute was a pale shape in the darkness, and it looked to be hopelessly tangled. But there was a soft sound of slowly tearing cloth, and Neil knew they didn't have long before they were falling again. "Let's go," was all Ryan said.
The plate shuddered alarmingly as, one by one, they slid off and found holds on the tree. They made it off without disturbing the pallet further, though the climb down was almost as perilous as the fall. With so many forests decimated before Neil's birth, he hadn't had the benefit of climbing trees. Or had he? There was a memory there, but was it his? Oh, God… He hated this…
He pushed the thought away, concentrating on finding his next hold and getting down. He froze for a moment when somebody yelled below him, then relaxed as he realized it had only been Major Boyer, who must be having a hard time climbing with his hands tied. His discomfort made Neil smirk before he remembered his own difficulty. He could probably fall all on his own, without the help of bonds…
They made it to the ground before the pallet tore loose, flipping and hitting the ground with a ground-shaking thud. As one, they all flinched at the sound, and Ryan and Jane turned their heads upward, straining to see through the gaps in the canopy. But there was no sign of Ash; after he'd taken down the ship, he seemed to have vanished.
"This is incredible," Ryan said, finally breaking the silence. Neil couldn't see his face, but he could hear the wonder in the sergeant's voice. "These trees… they're huge! They look like they're centuries old. I've never seen anything like them."
"I have," Major Elliot said. "But I never thought I'd live to see a forest like this again."
"And we won't if we don't get moving," Jane said, ever the realist. "Ash could be hiding anywhere in this, and who knows what else we have to worry about? At least the growth here is thick; the only Phantoms that could get around in here are the humanoids."
Neil only half heard her. That emptiness inside of him seemed to be spreading, and his vision seemed to be darkening. What was wrong with him? Was he hurt worse than the few scrapes he could see? He couldn't feel any pain; couldn't feel anything, really. "Ungh," he muttered, but the others didn't hear him. He slumped against the trunk of a massive tree, closing his eyes. Fragments of memory played behind his eyelids; he wasn't certain if they were his or Hein's. All he could think of was that a person's life was said to flash before their eyes when they were about to die, and that seemed to be what was happening to him. Neil began to shiver violently, and he wrapped his arms around himself as if that would make it stop. He fell to his knees, and his breath came out in whimpers. Dying, he was dying… It was only adrenaline that had kept him going before, but now that had faded, and his body was fading away…
"Neil, are you all right?" He couldn't tell who had spoken over the sound of the blood rushing in his ears and the thudding of his heart. He could only moan in agony, and he heard someone scream his name. "He's not breathing…" someone said from miles away. And then, cutting through the din, "Step away from him and put your hands over your head. Don't try to fight; my men have you surrounded." It was the last thing Neil heard before everything went black.
* * *
So it seems the cavalry has arrived. Major Boyer leaned against the tree nearest him, watching with amusement as General Ryder's men rounded up the errant Deep Eyes. Idly, he slid the rope off his wrists, smirking at Major Elliot's incredulous look. Yes, I could have slipped my bonds any time. I'd like to see you do the same. But all resistance seemed to have left Elliot; indeed, with the collapse of Corporal Fleming, the heart seemed to have gone out of the group.
General Ryder spotted Boyer and picked his way over the foliage to his second. The general looked disgusted when he was forced to yank his uniform free from a particularly nasty bush.
"What's wrong with the corporal?" Boyer asked disinterestedly.
Ryder glowered. "How could you let yourself get captured?" he snapped. "What did you tell them?"
Boyer shrugged. "Everything that you didn't, apparently. You should see what they sent to the Council; they figured out pretty much everything. With one or two exceptions, of course."
"I would have expected you of all people to keep silent," Ryder said. His voice had that careful neutrality he always developed when he was truly furious. "You're in this as deeply as I."
"You own the Council, sir," Boyer said, unruffled by his superior's anger. "It doesn't matter what I say, remember?"
Ryder just glared at him, and Boyer gave him a smug half-grin. After all, what could the general do to him? "What's wrong with the corporal?" he repeated.
"He collapsed, and he stopped breathing for a moment there. It's almost too bad he survived; because I'm going to kill him."
"Of course," Boyer said. Idly, he considered telling Ryder who else he'd be killing when he executed Neil. The general would be thrilled to get the chance to destroy Hein himself. But it could lead to complications, too: If Ryder tried to question Hein, he might learn things about his second that Boyer didn't want him to hear. "You're just going to kill them all, then? Right here, right now?"
"This is the perfect place to dump the bodies. But I may leave Dr. Ross alive; someone is going to need to take the fall when I purge the Council. And from what Ash told me, she isn't in much condition to fight against me." Ryder leered, and Boyer was again reminded of why he hated this man. You think you're so clever; she's the most dangerous of the group, and you want to leave Dr. Ross alive? Well, it's a moot point, anyway.
"Yes," Boyer drawled, "but how are you going to do that, I wonder?"
Ryder stared at him blankly for a moment, then, his voice harsh with barely restrained anger, "What the hell do you mean?"
Boyer waved towards the gathered prisoners. "Haven't you noticed? Dr. Ross is gone."
* * *
The fall had been a blur to Aki. She saw the destruction of her beloved ship, saw the flames rage around the twisted hulk, saw the dark trees rush up to meet the thin pallet that was supporting the six of them, but none of it could shake her from her dark mood. Sid was gone… Not only was he dead, but now he'd never be laid to rest beside his wife like she'd promised him. And the man responsible for it all was the one she'd given her heart to.
The man that she had to kill. She, and she alone, was going to strike the final blow and destroy the monster that had killed Sid and Gray. She'd hugged the Nocturne closer to her bandaged chest as she contemplated facing her demon, the monster who'd torn her apart. She knew, with cold certainty, that she'd have to face him alone. I can't let him hurt anyone else. I have to do this alone, or I could get all of them killed.
As she felt Ryan's arm tighten around her to steady her during the fall, she'd shuddered at his unwelcome touch. Damn, would she ever be able to touch another without remembering what Ash had done to her?
After their safe descent from the tree, all she could do was slump against the rough tree trunk behind her, slowly sliding down until she was sitting on the ground. The others seemed disinclined to move for the time being, and Aki used the pause to steel herself for the coming confrontation.
Silently, she'd watched the people she'd come so close to since the Phantom's defeat, the people she'd come to think of as her friends. First, her eyes had found Jane and Neil. There's a lot between them that needs to be confronted, and that won't happen if Ash kills them. I have to do this and give them a chance. Her gaze had turned to Ryan as the sergeant scanned the sky through the few gaps in the tree canopy, watching for danger as he let them rest. He didn't want to be in command during such a dangerous crisis, but he was doing what needed doing. He never wanted this… Never wanted to lead a fight against his best friend. And then there was Major Elliot, seemingly a born follower who was doing all he could to help. Maybe he was Hein's right-hand man, but he's doing all he can to make amends. Her eyes at last settled on Major Boyer, who was standing off to the side, his face carefully blank. Seeming to sense her gaze, he'd returned it with cold, dead eyes that seemed to glitter in the darkness.
And then there's him, Aki had thought, the anger rising and washing through her like a wave. He was one of the men who had taken Gray from her and made him into someone – something – else, something not human. If the Deep Eyes were caught and killed, Boyer and his boss would go free.
I can't let that happen to them! Aki gathered her wobbly legs under her and, hand on the tree for support, got to her feet. I won't let them die. Aki waited until she knew everyone was too distracted to pay attention to her, then began to slowly back away. I'll save them. Alone. Alone except for the voice in her head, that is. But she could feel the Phoenix's approval of her selflessness.
She'd glanced back only once, wanting to carry the memory of her friends with her to keep her strong. Perhaps it would be enough to overcome the crippling fragments of memory of what Ash had done to her.
She wanted to die knowing her friends were free.
* * *
Jane couldn't move as General Ryder's men seemed to appear from nowhere, surrounding them. She was numb all over, as cold as the ice she could wield. They were dead. After all that they'd been through, General Ryder had still found them, Neil was lifeless in her arms, Aki had left them… Her arms trembled, and Neil slipped from her grasp. "No," she whispered, her voice full of despair. This can't be happening… God, why can't we win?
It was all too much. She was a good soldier, she followed orders, she always did her best. And what had it led to? This! The complete betrayal of the military she'd served, the world she'd defended, the man she'd loved… Her hands trembled as she pushed Neil off her lap and slowly stood, her hands in tight fists at her side. The soldiers to her side raised their weapons, and she saw their mouths move, but she heard nothing. All sounds were merely white noise as she faced General Ryder and lifted her hand.
It all happened so fast, no one had time to react. In fact, no one knew what had happened until the sickening wet crunch drew all eyes towards the general. The looks of shock on the faces of the Deep Eyes were mirrored by General Ryder, whose eyes were fastened on the shaft of ice embedded in his chest. The gun he held slipped from his fingers, the soft thud as it hit the ground the only sound in the breathless silence. Ryder raised his eyes and stared accusingly at his killer before his legs buckled and fell lifelessly to the ground.
To Be Continued…