Uh….apologies for the really long wait…it can't have been too long has it? Nah.…only a couple of wee….oh…right…couple of months. (ducks to avoid all sorts of flying objects being chucked at her) do you all forgive me?

Heck…are you even still interested in this? Thanks to valentine blue, (it's true. I'd only watched it a few times then I wrote I am Death) and to everyone else who has reviewed! I really am sorry! I miss the days when I updated this, like, every second day! Seems my muses have all buggered off and left me….(sob)

Anyhow…I hope people are still interested in this story and I promise, to update more…well, more than once every couple of months.

Cid dante xxxxxxx

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Dylan kicked the metal bulkhead in frustration. He would break the engineer's neck when he got his hands on him. Never had he fallen so easily for a trick so easily.

Well, you were in pain when he told you, a voice in his recalled, I mean, it could just easily of been one. Better safe than sorry.

His gaze fleeted back over to the two unconscious crewman in the other cells. He sat heavily on the bunk, wincing as his ribs flared in protest.

"So, guys, know any good campfire songs?" Dylan looked around, it was rare for him to even visit this place.

One because he didn't have the crew to place and two…well, all his enemies wound up dead and there was no real Commonwealth authority to hand them over to.

"Ugh…" Beka made a movement of life, her hand slowly moving to her head.

"Beka?" Andromeda's captain leapt to his feet and as near as he could to the security forcefield, "Beka, you alright?"

The answer was slow, "Yeah…wait til I kick Harper's ass."

Tyr's voice sounded slurred for a few seconds, "You'll have to wait. I want to tear him limb from limb first."

"No one is tearing anyone limb from limb. Neither are we going to kick Harper's ass until we know what the hell is going on," Dylan sounded perfectly reasonable in his statement, hiding the fact that he wanted to do the same damn thing.

Beka sat up, allowing the two men a nice view of her bruised check. She sighed.

"I…it felt like it wasn't even Harper. I've never seen him like that," she rubbed the bruise gingerly, "He even called me Captain Valentine. He's never called me that. He was wild…well…not wild but cold."

The Maru's captain shook her head, clearing it of the image of her best friend. She blinked a few times before actually realising where she was.

"Uh…are we in the…" she trailed off, giving Dylan an odd smile.

"Brig yes. I noticed that one too," Dylan copied her smile, "Harper lured me in here, claiming there was a bomb."

Tyr crossed his arms across his chest, "I don't think that it is Master Harper we're dealing with."

Dylan looked at the flexi sitting forgotten on the floor, "Then who?"

The last Kodiak member gave him a shrug with his eyes, "It's something that we will undoubtedly find out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angel strolled confidently down through the empty corridor. Enjoying the peaceful silence that had fallen. She missed being able to instantly appear or disappear at will, having to settle to walk everywhere.

How very mundane, she thought, Harper, why are you so skinny if you walk everywhere?

No answer, which was to be expected. The young human was probably cowering somewhere in his mind, chased back by his fears.

She ticked her mental to do list off, one by one, making sure that each task was done to her satisfaction.

She was quite pleased with herself, a little amazed that Dylan Hunt had fallen for such a blatant trick but pleased. Captain Hunt and Valentine were safely secured in the brig and the Kodiak member also safe beside them. Enjoying the fact that she hadn't had to go a round of fisticuffs with the human.

The Magog…it posed a problem but she would find it right now and dispose of it.

Why the hell would Captain Hunt have a Magog run freely on his ship? Infact, why is the Andromeda Ascendant even allowing it? Surely she recalls what happened to her? Angel paused and frowned, I'll never understand humans.

She cleared Harper's throat, "Now I have to deal with the purple little alien that's locked in the med bay and that…"

She paused for a second, allowing a very real shiver run down her stolen spine. Even as a ship she feared Magog but as a human? Especially this little creature, she was terrified.

"But the purple one can wait. I'll deal with the Magog first," she felt the cold metal of her weapon against Harper's thigh and felt a little bit more confident of dealing with that little item.

Now, where would a stinky, wretched and disgusting Magog hide? she started her walk back down the corridor.

She stopped at a computer screen and stared at it, not impressed with what she saw. The young body she possessed looked like it was going to drop down dead within the next couple of hours.

She raised a cold hand to her captive's face, tracing the features. Amazed at how real it felt, this was her new form. Given time and some help from steroids and a few more muscle enhancing drugs, she would make the universe tremble in fear.

"Harper?" a voice gently growled down from the corridor, "Is that you?"

Angel stiffened for a moment, she didn't believe in luck. She was a ship but she did know what the organics called it when it fell unexpectedly on them. It even had a name, Lady Luck. Lady luck, it seemed was on her side.

"Harper?" the voice called again, "It is I, Rev Bem."

Angel looked up at the metal decking above her, an amused smile pulling on Harper's face.

"Down here Rev," Angel responded as she readied her stolen weapon.

**********

Elsewhere on the Andromeda…

Trance crept slowly along the access tubes, hoping that her movements wouldn't be heard by anyone. Rommie was offline and anything could go wrong.

Her body still hurt from when Harper had thrown her across the room like a rag doll. She hurt mentally as well, her friend was sick and she couldn't help him. She should of seen this happening.

Trance kept mentally kicking herself every chance she got, why hadn't she checked Harper's life signs more? Why had she quickly glanced over any odd brain waves and classed them as normal?

This is not good. I should of done something. I should of spotted this, she blinked back tears and tried to keep her mind occupied on something other than blaming herself.

Well, it's not like you're piloting the Andromeda into Magog space or that you've sent us all back in time, an optimistic little voice offered her, take some comfort from that eh?

Dylan, Beka and Tyr were probably dead, killed by that bomb the new and bad Harper had placed in the brig. There was no way that Dylan could of reached the med bay that fast. Not with his ribs hurting as much as they looked when she had last saw him.

Was she the only living crew left? No…she quickly cast that aside, Rev was still here. Rommie was offline only temporarily, she hoped.

"Rommie?" she whispered, "If you can here me right now, I'd really like some company."

Nothing, no soothing voice or friendly tone greeted her. Just the echoes and soft thuds of her knees against the metal deck as she made her way above the med deck.

The future she had seen so clearly a few days back, looked cloudy to her now. It didn't look to good. She needed time to figure out what the best possible future was and how she could get it.

At the moment, it seemed like Sephiroth was the only way she could get some order restored……