Galerians: Ron
The Endgame
"Wow."
They had moved from the restaurant to one of the hotels many rooms after the fight. Mainly to get away from the bodies and rubble. After making themselves comfortable Ron told Kim what was going on, with Lilia adding things from her viewpoint. They had just finished catching Kim up on the situation.
"I mean… No… Wow about covers it." Kim said as she took everything in.
"Tell me about it." Ron said as he looked downcast worriedly on how she would react. "Are you going to be cool? You know, with me being able to do all this weird stuff now?"
It was easy enough for Kim to tell that he was worried she wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore because of this. She was wigged to be sure, but she could get by it. Before she spoke Kim placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Listen, it is weird but weird is kinda par for course for us. I just wished you would have trusted me with this from the get go."
"I know. It's just… it felt like something I had to do on my own. I mean, I still don't know what to feel about my parents. My real parents." Ron told her as he turned to look her in the eyes. "When I found out they were killed I remembered it. I remembered WHO killed them. I was just so angry. I was ready to kill someone and I didn't want you to see me like that."
"That part definitely bothers me. There had to be another way than to kill those people."
"No." Ron said firmly. "It was kill or die. I chose kill. This is big Kim. Bigger than anything we've done before. A lot more people will die if Dorothy isn't stopped. Look out the window. It's already started. If I burn for the killing fine. I'll pay the price after we finish this!"
Kim knew he was right. She didn't have to like it, but he was right. The part that bothered her most was that she wasn't surprised. A part of her always knew he was capable of it. That if it was to save someone or the situation was desperate enough that he could cross the line for the greater good. This was the part of him she only got to see glimpses of over the years. A strong, serious, competent man. That was who was in front of her now in place of her normally goofy, jovial friend.
Sighing Kim let the subject drop for now and turned to the room's other occupant. "I understand why Ron can do what he can, but how are you telepathic?"
Lilia looked startled for a moment being brought back into the conversation so abruptly but quickly covered it. "When the virus program was placed in me it changed how my mind works a little. I use more of my brain than most. That's what causes my telepathy."
"That must be why they experimented on me when I was a kid instead of killing me outright." Ron stated as he looked over at her. "The launch program would have already given me some potential. They just would have had to expand on it."
"That actually makes a lot of sense. They probably would have gotten a lot of data they could use in other experiments."
"You mean I'm right?" Ron asked somewhat surprised.
"Probably."
"Booya!" Ron exclaimed jumping to his feet and pumping his fist in the air with a goofy grin on his face. Kim let out a little chuckle at her friend's outburst. Maybe even this side of him wasn't completely serious.
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"Sir, you know civilians aren't allowed in Sat. Ops. Right?" One of the younger agents finally got the nerve to ask as he approached Deputy Director Sam Harrison.
"I'll take full responsibility. Go back to your station."
"Yes sir."
"Sir!" Another agent exclaimed. "We've lost contact with all units sent to Michelangelo City. They're dead."
Harrison sighed. How had things gotten so out of control? "Lost contact doesn't mean dead."
"It was shown on the broadcast Dorothy is sending out."
"With all due respect." The younger agent spoke up again. "We may have to consider the possibility of sending a nuke and cutting our loses."
"There's two things wrong with that." Harrison said as he glared at the young man. "One; we don't set off nukes on our own soil. Two; I more worried about IT using them against us."
They younger agent's eyes nearly bulged out of his head they went so wide. "You… you don't think it could really do that do you? I mean it would make things unliveable for it's own monstrosities!"
"Not necessarily." Gary spoke up for the first time since he and his wife entered Sat. Ops. "I used to work at the hospital the experiments were performed at. If Dorothy planned on using nuclear weapons it would make sure it's 'children' were engineered to survive the radiation."
"My god!"
An eerie quiet filled the room after that, as many were just too shocked or sickened to speak. The silence was broken as every monitor in the room was suddenly showing the same thing instead of just the ones with Dorothy's television feed. The monitors showed images of three teens sneaking around the base of Mushroom Tower in Michelangelo City.
"Ron!" Gary and Anna exclaimed as they recognized their son on the screens.
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Dr. Possible sat staring entranced at his television, now joined by his wife and sons. On a normal night the adults would have sent their children away from the horrific images on the screen. This wasn't a normal night however. They could only stare in disbelief as the nightmare unfolded before them.
The images jumped quickly across the screen giving off a good sense of the sheer volume of the carnage. Suddenly the images slowed and instead began to follow the actions of a small group of teens. Two they recognized and their worst fear was confirmed.
"Kimmie."
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The sports bar was crowded, as it usually was when a game was supposed to be on. That wasn't what was on tonight though. Tonight the screen showed what looked like a perverse cross between a horror movie and a war film. Too bad it was all too real.
Reactions were mixed as this madness cut into the game. Some ordered stronger drinks to try and drown out the images. Some ran out to find their families. Others could only stare.
It was that last group that Steve Barkin was in. Before he was a teacher he had been in the military. Even then he had never seen anything like this.
A man in the corner could be heard praying, but Steve paid him no heed as the screen settled on a trio of people. He allowed himself a small smile as he recognized two familiar students.
"Go get 'em kids."
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They made their way through the streets of Michelangelo City as quickly and covertly as they could. This area of the city was eerily quiet as they made their way to the destination. It made sense though, this was the first section that Dorothy had wrestled complete control of since this was where she herself resided. She was in the largest structure of the city, Mushroom Tower. It was aptly named. The tower was mostly just a long cylinder, but had a large mushroom shaped dome on the top. Thus the name.
It was hard for the trio. Even though the battle was mostly over here they still came across the occasional person confronted by Dorothy's soldiers. The desire to fight for them was great, but in most cases would have already been too late. They had to push that desire down. They knew that the only way to end this was to destroy Dorothy and to do that they needed to get to Mushroom Tower. The trio couldn't afford to be exposed and swarmed by her forces yet.
It seemed like hours before they made it to the tower. When they finally did they nearly laughed at what they saw. Dorothy practically had an army at her command and only had two soldiers guarding the front door. Either Dorothy was supremely confident or it expected them. Neither was particularly appealing.
A small trail of electricity danced along a panel next to the large metal door catching the guards' attention. As the panel shorted the door slid open to reveal another door that also slid open. Soon all twelve of the security doors opened making a clear path inside.
As the guards turned back around they saw the three teens walking towards them, Ron with one of his hands out. They barely had time to raise their weapons before they were flung into the metal exterior of the tower with sickening thuds. They hung suspended in the air for a moment before casually being tossed aside landing in crumpled heaps.
Ron and Lilia were already on their way inside before he noticed Kim wasn't with them. Turning around he saw her staring at the bodies.
"They were mindless drones kp." He reassured her. "No independent thought or free will whatsoever. We can't afford to be stopped. Not when we're this close."
He extended his hand out to Kim as she continued to stare at the dead guards. Raising her gaze to meet his she took his offered hand.
"You're right, I know. Let's just get this over with." Was her comment as they made their way inside.
The walls and floors inside were an almost blood red and the way the wires and metal curved gave the whole place an almost organic feel. Kim could have sworn she heard Ron mumble sick and wrong a few times as they wondered the long corridor to the central room. When they got there they found the room to be completely empty except for a circular panel on the floor and an identical one on the ceiling directly above it.
"Welcome Rion." A computerize yet distinctly female voice echoed through the room. "I've been waiting for you."
As the voice died down the panels began to glow a bright red.
"Yep. Definitely a trap." Ron quipped.
"Still have to go." Kim added.
The three teens stepped on the glowing panel and were quickly engulfed by the red light. As there bodies began to disappear it was Lilia who made the comment Kim had been waiting to Ron to make. "Does this thing remind anyone of Star Trek?"
They appeared again in a large room inside the dome at the top of the tower. The ceiling of the room was high, but it had to be. There were five identical figures carved into the walls. Each was a naked woman that looked like a cross between a human and a machine. Man-sized pods were on the wall where the woman's womb would have been. Everything was red in keeping with the decorating motif.
Seeing no immediate danger they went to examine the pods to find names engraved on them. Birdman, Rita, Shego, and Rainheart. When they made it to the final one they found it to be different than the others.
"Hey." Ron said. "There's no name on this one."
"That one's yours." An eerily familiar voice said from behind them.
They spun around to view the newcomer and gasped at what they saw. It was a teenage boy dressed head to toe in black. The t-shirt and pants were leather with a matching chocker around his neck. Black combat boots completed the ensemble. That wasn't the startling thing though. He looked just like Ron.
The boy's cold expression didn't change as he kept walking towards them. "Haven't you figured it out yet Rion? You are a Galerian, just like me!"
Kim grabbed her friend's shoulder and shook him lightly as she saw his body tense and his eyes glaze slightly. "It's a trick Ron! It's…"
"Oh it's no trick." The other boy said, his voice held an edge unheard of in Ron's. A malicious smile played on his lips as he stopped an arms reach in front of Ron. "You are a Galerian. The real Rion died in Michelangelo Memorial all those years ago. You and I were created to look just like him brother. We were created with his memories and even the launch program in our minds.
"See mother always feared the virus program in Lilia's mind. There was always a possibility that another means to launch in could be found. Problem was we couldn't find the little bitch. That's where you came in. You were created to find Lilia. After all, with your appearance and memories you were the perfect bait."
Idly Ron registered Lilia take an involuntary step away from him at the boy's last comment but blocked it out as his twin kept speaking.
"Granted it hit a little snag when you were kidnapped by that researcher, but everything worked out in the end. And it will end here. See while you were created to find Lilia, I was created to kill you!"
"Who are you?" Ron said speaking up for the first time.
"Cain." His twin replied before unleashing a wave of energy unlike anything Ron had yet experienced. Only the barrier he managed to put up kept him from being swept away by it. Kim and Lilia weren't so lucky as they were picked up and slammed into the wall. They slumped to the ground unconscious. They would have been dead if Ron hadn't been able to split his focus enough to slow them before the wall.
As the wave dissipated Ron forwent the use of his powers. Before Cain could unleash another blast he tackled him and they slid across the smooth metal floor. Going with their momentum Ron grabbed Cain by the front of his shirt and rolled to his feet pulling his adversary with him. As they righted Ron threw him as far as he could with his strength and a telekinetic boost, determined to take the fight away from his friends.
Cain was able to roll to his feet and throw his hands out towards Ron in one fluid motion. Electricity danced along his fingertips and streaked out to engulf its target. Ron's body spasm as the discharge spread through his body and it was all he could do to remain on his feet.
He unleashed a powerful blast of energy at a level he had only previously used at the end of his fight with Rita. Cain was easily able to avoid the blast but stopped the electricity giving Ron a brief reprieve. Determined not to give Cain another chance to fry him Ron pressed his attack.
Blast after blast was sent but Cain easily avoided them all. He ducked into a crouch to avoid one and as he came up he pushed off the floor. As his feet left the ground he literally flew at Ron. As their bodies collided the impact echoed throughout the entire room. They crumbled to the floor, Cain on top with his hands around Ron's throat.
"You killed Birdman."
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Steve Barkin watched as the life was being choked out of one of his students on live tv. He had always seen potential in Ron. If he hadn't he would never have went after the 'snow beast' with him during that school trip. With a little discipline he thought Ron would even make a good soldier. From him that's pretty much the highest praise one could get.
The boy was strong. Even though he rarely showed it, it was plain to see for anyone who bothered to look. Now he just hoped it would be enough to get him through this.
"Don't let him walk all over you kid. Fight!"
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Ron's body convulsed under Cain as electricity was flooded through his boy. The pain was intense and made it near impossible to break the vice grip on his neck.
"You killed Rainheart."
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The Possible's stared at their television wishing there was something they could do. The parents held each other as they saw their daughter slump to the ground and now a boy who was like a son to them was being murdered right before them. It was almost too much to bear.
Their twin sons sat on the floor before them. When the fight had started they were cheering Ron on. It looked like he was wining then. Now… now they were silent with Rufus between them. It was Tim who broke the silence.
"You can't die. You promised. You promised you'd come back for Rufus."
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Cain laughed at the sounds that came from Ron as he tightened his grip. The sounds of a dying man desperately trying to get some air.
"You killed Rita."
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Wade sat in front of his computer screens watching the scene unfold feeling utterly helpless. Even when Kim and Ron were on missions there was always something he could do to help them. Research, a ride, something, anything was better than this.
For the first time there was absolutely nothing he would do to help his friends.
"It can't end like this! Not like this! I'm sorry!"
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Ron's vision began to fill with spots as darkness began to creep in all around him.
"You killed Shego."
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The entirety of Sat. Ops. was glued to the screen showing a teen doing what all the agents in the room felt was there job. A young man was risking his life to save theirs, maybe even the world, and now it looked like he would die because of it. Silently they wondered if they would have the courage to face what he has.
Two people in the room had very different thoughts though. Ron's adoptive parents had to use a railing and each other to keep from falling to the ground as their only son was dying before their eyes. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. The child is supposed to bury the parents not the other way around.
"Please God. Please save our boy!"
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"You killed all your brothers and sisters!" Cain screamed in disgust.
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Kim stirred on the other side of the room, her head bleeding from a small gash the impact with the wall had caused. She ignored the pain as she saw Ron being choked to death across the room. All her instincts told her to rush over to him, but she couldn't. Energy was dancing all around them. If she tried to get any closer she'd be fried. All Kim could do was look on helpless.
"You can't die Ron! I need you!"
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"Who will be next? You? Me?" Cain asked venomously. "From the looks of it you. Did you really think you could win? If the others had killed you and the girl we won. If you made it here with her, mother and I would kill her ourselves. We still won. You're a fool to think you had a chance!"
"At least I'm not a mama's boy!" Ron somehow managed to say with equal venom between his choked gasps.
With all the strength he had Ron willed his arms to rise. Placing his hands on Cain's face he tried to push him back only to elicit a cruel laugh at the attempt. The laugh turned into a cry of pain as Ron dug his thumbs into Cain's eyes. With a burst of power through his hands Ron sent Cain sailing off him to land in a crumpled heap a few feet away.
Ron slowly and shakily picked himself up to his feet. Looking back to where Cain had fallen he saw only empty floor. Suddenly something fell from above. Cain hovered in the air much like Birdman had as his energies met with Ron's.
Despite the pure white of the energy flowing around him Cain appeared as no more than a silhouette. Slowly that white turned an eerie black that seemed to absorb light rather than give it off. The pure darkness of Cain's power met with the pure light of Ron's in a brilliant display of power that lent a perfect imagery to the situation. Two young men, the same yet different, facing off with the fate of the world between them. Light and dark, good and evil, two sides of the same coin.
Yet only one could win.
Both men screamed in agony and determination as the energies began to invade their bodies. Neither letting up, neither giving in. For a moment they were in a standstill.
Suddenly the energies dissipated and Cain went flying backwards. He screamed in pain as he soared beyond his control as his body convulsed from Ron's energy. His screams stopped as his body crushed against the wall in a gruesome shower of blood and gore.
Ron collapsed to the ground exhausted. His body burned and protested against every attempt to stand. The battle had been trying, his body and powers pushed to their limits. He took a beating, again, and with all the others today he didn't know if he had anything left.
All he could think about was allowing the approaching darkness to envelop him in blissful unconsciousness. As it closed in he was barely able to make out Kim and the now conscious Lilia running to him calling his name. That's when it came back to him. It wasn't over yet. They still needed to confront Dorothy.
He fought to remain awake as they reached him. At first Kim tried to stop his attempts to sit up but seeing it futile she helped instead. The trio sat there on the floor for a few minutes as they tried to recover somewhat from the latest battle.
"You're not a Galerian Ron." Lilia told him reassuringly. "It was just a lie to get to you. To make us doubt."
"No. It is true." Ron said after staying silent for a moment, having regained enough energy to speak. "I know it. I can feel it. At this point there is no point in denying it. I am a Galerian."
The girls stared at him, unsure how to take this news. As he began to stand they helped him to his feet. He leaned on them heavily as they made their way to the only door in the room. "I think it's time I had a chat with Mother."
As they went through the door they found themselves on a catwalk in a hollowed out portion of the dome. At the end of the catwalk, which stopped just before the outer wall, was the central control panel. All along the outer wall was lined with wires and circuitry, both normal and cellular. But far the most impressive was the part right in front of the catwalk.
Dorothy itself. It looked a lot like the statues of the woman in the other room. A sick combination of organic and machine. The eyes were not exactly closed, there just didn't seem to be anything there. As it opened its mother the reason became clear. The mouth opened like an eyelid and they found a large eye staring at them.
The arms for the most part didn't have the cellular components of the face. Its large mechanical arms had wires and circuitry running like cartilage and had a large eyeball attached to either palm. There were no legs, as it seemed to attach to the wall at the waist.
"Welcome home Rion." Dorothy greeted as they approached, its voice seemed to emanate from everywhere. "You've done well to bring Lilia to me. Now kill her."
It was obvious Dorothy was trying to manipulate him. And rather poorly at that. You'd think a delusional super computer with a god complex could come up with better. Then again it was delusional.
"No." Was Ron's simple answer.
"You dare defy me?! I am your creator! I am your God!" Dorothy bellowed angrily.
Ron stared resolutely into its revolting main eye. "I dare! Lilia, give me the virus program!"
Immediate Lilia complied. She placed a hand on either side of his head and concentrate. The program flowed quickly from her mind to his and she could feel her telepathy leave with it. That didn't matter anymore though. This would be over soon.
When it was done Ron was about to touch the main console but stopped when Dorothy spoke, his hand hovering there.
"You can't do the Rion!" It pleaded desperately. "I'm your Mother!"
"I have a mother and you're not her." He said coldly. "And my name is Ron!"
With that he slammed his hand onto the console and opened his mind to the launch program within him. The virus program flowed through him into the console. His eyes went white save for the binary code flashing in green past them.
But Dorothy wasn't helpless. She had created the Galerians and engineered her cellular components with many of the same properties. In a desperate attempt for survival she lashed out with all her power destroying the console and lifting Ron into the air.
Again Kim and Lilia were thrown back from the power. Kim was lucky enough to land on the catwalk, Lilia wasn't so lucky. She thought the end had come as she felt the blast push her over the railing. It didn't matter as long as Dorothy was destroyed. Her body came to a sudden halt and she looked up to see that Kim had managed to dive over and grab her. Kim tried desperate to pull Lilia up but couldn't. The energy from Dorothy and Ron was pushing them violently and it was all she could do to keep them both from plummeting god knows how many floors down.
Ron should have been screaming in pain as the energy tore at his body but he didn't. Instead he smiled. Even with the console destroyed he was still able to transmit the rest of the virus. As the moments wore on Dorothy's power grew less and less until it finally dissipated and Ron fell to the ground. Dorothy's cellular components began to rapidly decay and turn to dust but it didn't stop there. The process spread to the mechanical components. Soon everything that was Dorothy was destroyed and, with one final screamed death throw, was finally defeated.
Kim had managed to pull Lilia up and the two ran to Ron's prone form. His gaze was glossed over and his breathing ragged as Kim pulled him into her lap and stoked his face.
The toll on his body had been great but the toll on his mind had been greater. It had been the only way once the console had been destroyed. He had to focus solely on the transfer. There was no more time for finesse and he had sent everything he had.
"It's going to be alright." Kim told him as she continued to stroke his cheek. He would have leaned into her touch if he could. "We'll get an ambulance and everything will be ok."
"No." Ron said weakly, gravely. "I'm… dying…"
Somehow he managed to grab hold of both there hands. "I'm glad… I met you. Both of you. I… love… you… Kim…"
With that last word Ron Stoppable died and as the images faded from their screens the world mourned.