Once again the wheel opened. Delenn could no longer stand against the raging river of fire. She fell to the ground. She was very tired, and her thoughts began to become less and less coherent, as she entered the plane of the delusional.
'John,' she thought, 'I think I am in the place where no shadows fall. Where are you? I said I would meet you here. Come to me, my love.'
"No!" Neroon shouted. He would not let her sacrifice herself like this. He knew that she had a child now, and if Neroon had anything to say about it, that child would not live its life without a mother. Delenn had proven that her intentions were nobler than he had ever thought. Such nobility was a rarity. He knew that Delenn might be the last chance for his people's future. And he was not so arrogant as to assume that he was not expendable. He was a warrior, and for him, the choice was clear. He quickly came up to column of fire, and stepped in. Reeling at the pain momentarily, he grabbed Delenn from the ground, and handed her to Lennier, so she was safely away from the fire.
'John,' Delenn thought, as she felt herself being lifted from the floor. 'You have come for me. Hold me, love,' she thought. She tried to articulate her plea, but even her throat was burned now. She settled for a weak attempt at trying to pull herself in closer to him. Then she felt another pair of hands, holding her. Then it was cold. After spending many minutes in the Starfire wheel, the cavern's air seemed like ice to her. She began to shiver. She looked up and was confused to realize that it was Lennier who held her. He put her down, and she looked back into the tower of blue light that still shone bright.
Neroon knew he didn't have much time. He turned to address his people. "I was born... Warrior caste. But I see now the calling of my heart... is religious. The war is over. Listen to her. Listen!" The circle opened to its final diameter, and the final wave of fire crashed down, and incinerated the brave warrior. After that brilliant flash, the circle closed with a bang that echoed in the chamber. The silenced that followed seemed to be just as loud as the rush of fire to Delenn.
Captain Sheridan sat at the polished mahogany table. The meeting with this particular group of senators, generals, and who have you, had been going on for nearly three hours, and frankly, he was getting sick of it. He had spent the last fifteen hours in meetings with various VIPs from every corner of Earthdome. Damnit, even being charged with something would be better than just sitting here. Meanwhile the lot of them talked about him as if he wasn't even in the room. It was enough to make him want to tear out his own hair.
A commotion from outside made everyone's heads turn. Then Marcus burst into the conference room, leaving three security guards in a small heap just outside the door. "Captain. You need to come to the Whitestar. Now." Marcus' tone of voice told Sheridan that he didn't have a choice in the matter.
"What is it?" he asked. He knew that Marcus had a generally sensible head on his shoulders, and he wouldn't just break up this meeting for nothing.
"It's Delenn. You need to come to the Whitestar, Captain. Now."
"You can't possibly..." interrupted one of the dignitaries seated at the table. He stopped when he realized that he might as well be talking to himself: Sheridan had already raced out the door.
Marcus did his best to keep up with John without breaking into a run, but the man was making it difficult. Marcus made a mental note never to get between John and his wife.
"Oomph!" John had turned a corner, and knocked over an old man in his haste.
"Sorry," John mumbled as he helped the old man up. He didn't even pay attention to who it was, just helped him up and went to move right on past him. But the old man held John's hand in a surprisingly tight grip.
"Johnny?" he asked him. Upon hearing this, Sheridan turned around.
"Dad? Dad?" John couldn't believe it. His father was here, and he was fine. John wrapped the elder Sheridan into a big, bear hug. "Dad. Are you ok? Is Mom ok?"
"Your mother is staying with friends right now. She's just fine, and so am I. Your Rangers here did a helluva job getting me out of that hellhole they had me stuck in. And I hear you ousted Clark too. I'm mighty proud of you son."
"Thanks Dad!" John broke the hug, and just looked at his Dad for a minute. He was here, he was all right. John kept repeating that over and over in his head. He didn't know what he would've done if Clark had hurt his father. Killing Clark twice over again would have been just the start. But his dad was fine, and that was all that mattered.
Marcus touched John's shoulder. Then John remembered why he had been in such a hurry in the first place. "Come on," he said, and practically yanked his father down the polished floors of the hall. "We have to get out of here."