A/n: Thank you very much for your reviews and I'm sorry for the delay but here it finally is…
Chapter three
They had been back on Red Dwarf for several hours before Rimmer finally came around. Fortunately he hadn't sustained any major lasting injuries. As a hard light hologram he was virtually indestructible so it must have taken a lot to render him unconscious.
Kryten and Lister had taken him to the medical unit straight away. The Cat had refused to help. Not only had Rimmer torn his sleeve but had caused him to loose a button when the alley had exploded.
"Besides!" The vain creature had protested "watching him rest is making me sleepy"
"He's unconscious! " Lister had moaned incredulously.
" Right," The cat nodded " As I should be. It's time for my nap, I need my beauty sleep!" He then danced backwards out of the door leaving Lister and Kryten to tend to Rimmer.
"He probably just fainted" Lister had shrugged as Kryten filldled with the complicated looking medical equipment, occasionally frowning and muttering: "Dear me!"
But the tests confirmed that the hologram had received a crushing blow to the head that would have turned most peoples skulls into pate
"Even in a hard light form, Mr. Rimmer was lucky to have survived," Kryten had informed Lister, still looking extremely worried. "Thank goodness he was though. If it had passed through him I'm sure it would have crushed his light bee!"
"He'll be alright though?" Lister asked with a slight pang of concern.
When Kryten hadn't answered Lister couldn't help but hang his head. In spite of himself he couldn't help but feel a little concerned for his irritating companion.
Some people may have interpreted this concern as a display of friendship, a sign of some deep and unspoken bond between the lager soaked space bum and the neurotic dead man but they'd be wrong. True, Lister wanted Rimmer to recover but not because he liked Rimmer. No, Lister knew that were Rimmer to sustain any lasting injuries he'd never hear the end of it. The hologram would harp on about it for the rest of Listers' miserable life and somehow make it everyone else's fault.
On the other hand if the hologram died then things would be even worse for Lister. He'd have no one to wind up! Sure he could occasionally convince the cat that they had just received a distress call from the planet of the bikini clad virgin clan but after the forty-third time it was getting a little boring. Nope, nothing was as much fun as watching Rimmers' nostrils flare as he discovered the toenail clipping igloo village that Lister had been making on his pillow. As much as Lister hated to admit it, things were better with Rimmer around.
So Lister was very relieved when Rimmer was eventually given the all clear. Kryten had finished running his tests and after announcing that all that was left was to wait for him to wake up left to finish the laundry and recharge his batteries.
"You should get some rest to sir," The android had said in a slightly nagging maternal tone as he headed out the door.
"Nah, I'm alright Kryters, " Lister called back, settling into the chair at Rimmers' bedside. " Someone should stay just in case."
It wasn't long after this that Rimmer woke up. He blinked stupidly against the bright light of the medical lamp, shielding his eyes with one arm. He rolled over forcefully to slam the bloody thing off but found that his hand didn't make contact. It passed straight through the control panel taking Rimmer with it. It seemed that he rolled a little to forcefully.
" You're not hardlight anymore." Lister grinned unhelpfully down at him.
"Thank you captain 'state-the-smegging-obvious'!" Rimmer muttered, embarrassed by his fall He stared shell shocked at his hands for a moment as he rose to his knees. He wasn't solid anymore, he'd lost his body. It was like dying all over again. "Why aren't I hard light anymore?" He snapped angrily
"The hard light projector thingy blew up with the Lazarus" Lister shrugged irritating Rimmer even more. How could Lister be so flippant when he'd lost his new found freedom? "Why didn't try and get it?" He demanded shrilly
"Well we were a little more concerned with not getting ourselves blown up Rimmer" Lister pointed out incredulously "I think a thank you's in order here!"
"What for?" Rimmer snarled into the Liverpudlian slobs face "For shattering my chances of actually having a body?"
"We saved your life back there!" Lister snarled back angrily "we pulled you out of the alley!"
"Which you blew up!"
"To stop Masher from………." Lister began but Rimmer interrupted. He took a deep breath and growled through gritted teeth "Well then thank you Lister. Thank you for blowing me up and killing me again"
Without so much as a backwards glance Rimmer turned on his heel and marched out of the medical bay. Lister ran after him
"Rimmer!" He pleaded attempting to keep up with Rimmers' ridiculously fast pace. "For smegs sake will you listen to me?"
But Rimmer wasn't listening. He continued to march back to the sleeping quarters ignoring Listers apologies all of the way.
When they eventually reached their quarters he ordered Holly to change him and brush his teeth before clambering onto his bottom bunk.
"Rimmer.." Lister tried again reproachfully but Rimmer cut across him.
"Goodnight Lister and thanks for nothing!" He said stiffly indicating firmly that Lister was to leave him alone.
With a heavy sigh Lister Climbed up onto his bunk, fully clothed and went to sleep.
Rimmer blinked hard and shielded his eyes from the blinding sunlight. Slowly his eyes adjusted and he found himself surrounded by people in a large city centre. It looked like he was marching along in some sort of parade, only the bystanders didn't seem to happy about it.
The hostile crowed shouted angrily and jeered as they marched past. This frightened Rimmer immensely, admittedly a lot of things frightened he was after all a tremendous physical coward, but even so this was a brown trouser moment.
While still moving along with the crowd Rimmer craned his neck back over the sea of people behind him in search of a banner or placard that might explain exactly what the march was about. As he turned his head he could see the faces of the marchers behind him. Each and every one of them bore a silver 'H' in the middle of their foreheads. They were all holograms!
This stirred a distant thought in Rimmers' memory. He remembered being a boy back on Io and going to an 'equal rights for the dead march' with his elder brother Frank. 'That must be what this march is about' He thought 'but why am I here? Come to think of it how am I here? I should be back on the ship.'
He sped up to speak with the woman in front of him. 'Excuse me' he called 'I appear to be a little lost and was wondering…' He stopped dead as a flying rock whizzed through her skull and smacked onto the cobbled ground at Rimmers' feet. He looked around in shock to see who could have been so insensitive as to throw a rock at a dead person and found his jaw hitting the floor as his gaze fell upon a small boy sitting on the shoulders of a strapping young teen in a space cadets uniform.
"Oh nice job Bonehead!" the elder sneered "you're aims worse than a blind American pilot flying through thick fog! You have to hit the light bee! Here I'll show you" He snatched a rock out of the mortified childs hand and took a careful aim.
The rock flew through the air like a bullet and smacked into an elderly woman hologram who let out a shriek and disappeared as her smoldering light bee hit the ground fizzing and crackling.
Rimmer ignored it, he knew what happened next, the marches don't even stop. They continue to march, glaring at the boys, curling their lips in disgust. Rimmer knew this would happen because he'd seen it before. That little boy was him, sitting on Franks' shoulders more than twenty years ago. He moved slowly over to his past self, as he did so Frank to aim again.
"Frank stop!" He called desperately bracing himself. To his relief his brother lowered the rock and looked puzzled.
"How the smeg do you know who I am?" He growled gripping the rock so tightly that his knuckles were white.
"It's me Arnold, you're brother!" Rimmer explained desperately, uncomfortably aware that Frank wasn't going to believe him. Especially as the other Rimmer was perched tightly on Franks shoulders.
"I'm Arnold!" The young Rimmer laughed disbelievingly.
"Shut up Bonehead" Frank snapped and pulled a few of the hairs out of the boys pale spindly legs which were hanging down over his chest. The young boys eyes watered with the pain.
As he watched his former self fight back his tears Rimmer balled his fists.
He took a deep breath and stuck out his chest pompously and for the first time in his life stood up to his brother.
"I can't explain how but I've come from the future" Rimmer explained "I think I've probably been sent back to warn you that in twenty or so years little Arnie here's going to be killed"
To his horror frank merely shrugged "So what, do you want us to start saving for the funeral now?"
Rimmer couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Sure he was never that close to his brothers but he'd expect Frank to feel some sort of dread or remorse that his little brother wouldn't live to see thirty two.
"What is wrong with you?" he demanded "I've just told you that you're brother's going to die!"
Little Rimmer gave out a terrified whimper which Frank pretended not to hear. Rimmer shook his head sadly. "I die Frank, I die and become a hologram, which isn't the worst thing in the world" He turned to indicate the marchers "These people aren't the abominations of nature that you take them for." He said softly "They're smart useful people with something to give, but more than that there mothers, fathers and brothers. In a few years time he'll die" Rimmer said softly, scaring his younger self for life, "Don't you want a better future for him? One where he isn't discriminated against for being dead?""
Frank just shrugged "Not really no"
Rimmers voice rose indignantly "Why the smeg not?!"
Franks eyebrows knotted in contempt as he leant in towards Rimmer, almost causing his little brother to loose his balance. "Why should I listen to a dirty deady?" He sneered. From his shoulders came a small laugh of approval.
"Ha! Deady!" The little boy snorted.
"Shut up! Rimmer and frank snapped in unison. Bonehead hanged his head and glared mulishly up at Rimmer.
'God I was such a little brown nosing twerp!' Rimmer thought curling his lip in contempt as Frank scolded the boy again . "just shut the smeg up for one minute bonehead!" He snapped then turned back to Rimmer, he didn't look the same though. His eyes had become wider and were gradually becoming redder and redder. His teeth grew longer, more yellow and jagged, as did his nails which bored into Rimmers neck as he reached out for the hologram and grabbed him by the throat.
As the pain blinded Rimmer everything faded away, the noise of the parade, his younger self, even the light itself seemed to slowly disappear leaving Rimmer alone in the dark with the gleaming red eyes and the drooling yellow jaws of some indistinguishable creature. He screamed but when he opened his mouth it sounded distant as though it was coming from his body but arriving somewhere else. The pain was so intense he felt his life was slipping away. As Rimmer slipped into unconsciousness he heard a voice calling his name, he thought it was an angel. A wonderful scouse angel calling him home.
Lister awoke to the sound of screaming. He jerked upright, smacking his head painfully hard on the ceiling as he did so.
"Lights!" he ordered as he jumped down from his bunk clutching his skull. The lights snapped on in the sleeping quarters enabling Lister to locate the source of the disturbance. It was Rimmer. He was laying stiff as a board on the bottom bunk, his face twisted in terror as he let out a loud and continuous scream.
"Rimmer?" Lister yelled urgently into the holograms face as he lent in close. "Rimmer, what is it man? what's wrong?"
But Rimmer didn't seem able to hear him. Lister yelled again but this time it seemed to have some effect. As suddenly as Rimmer had begun screaming he stopped. His eyes glazed over and his jaw slackened. He looked as though he were dead.
"Rimmer?" Lister asked uncertainly.
He lent down even lower as though he were checking for a breath. It was a stupid thing to do really, Lister knew that holograms couldn't breath. But Lister couldn't control it, it was an instinctive reaction.
"Rimmer?" he called again.
"ARRRRGGGGHHH!!"
Lister smacked his head again as he jumped back in shock. As he had lent close over Rimmer the hologram had jerked up in a convulsive movement and begun to scream again. Lister had nearly wet himself.
He clutched his chest with one hand and his head with the other as he sank back onto the floor, eyes shut tight as though trying to will the pain away with his mind. Rimmers' screams stopped again so Lister opened his eyes.
Rimmer had gone!! Lister shot up and stared around for the hologram then jumped in shock once again asRimmer appeared again, exactly where he was before.
Lister moved over again but before he could reach him the hologram disappeared again. Then back, then gone again.
Something was definitely wrong here. Holograms shouldn't flicker.
"Holly? Holly?" Lister called
Holly's face appeared on the screen by the doors. Her white hair ruffled as though she'd been asleep and she was wearing a night mask over her eyes.
"What?" She yawned.
"Holly get Kryten!" Lister shouted desperately "Something's wrong with Rimmer."