Once More With Feeling
"Quarantine? You've got to be kidding," Kath stated.
"Afraid not," Sheridan replied. "Until we know for sure what's causing this we have to take certain precautions."
Elena sighed, "Well we better stay on my ship."
"Why's that?" Aeryn asked.
"Well if it is a contagion, then we can't stay here. Anyone who walks in would be infected. My ship and the Athena are going to have to be the Quarantine Zones," Elena explained.
Sheridan nodded, "You're right, but is there enough room for all of us on the Athena and White Star22?"
"Well my ship could be used as well," Kath volunteered. "Then everyone could have their own room."
"Alright, we'll divide up on the three ships," Sheridan said as he stood.
"Good thing my sister and Elena can teleport," John Crichton said as he wrapped his arms around his wife.
"Yes, it will make quarantining this much easier," Sheridan said in agreement.
"Alright, well Jack and I have a room on my ship and John and Aeryn have their room. So I have one extra room," Kath stated.
"I'll go with Kath," Rachel said.
"I've got three spare rooms on my ship," Susan added.
"And I've got one extra room on my ship," Elena stated.
"I'll go with Lannie," Jess said as she walked to stand beside her sister.
"Well, looks like its all settled then," Sheridan said as he stood. "Let's get going then before someone comes in."
Elena teleported John and Susan to the Athena, and then teleported herself, Lee, and Jess to White Star 22. Meanwhile, Kath teleported herself, Jack, Rachel, John and Aeryn to White Star 12.
Lee looked around when he arrived on the ship. He wasn't surprised to see Elena sitting in her chair. He started to say something but something beeped. He saw Elena's head move slightly and John Sheridan appeared on the view screen. "Elena I need to speak with you."
"Alright," as soon as she said it she teleported to the Athena. Lee sighed and turned to Jess.
"Something wrong Lee?"
"I don't know Jess. Elena's your sister. Did she tell you what's bothering her?"
"No clue, but then that's Lannie for you. She always hides her emotions," Jess replied as she sat sideways in her sister's chair.
"Yeah tell me about it," Lee said as he sat in his chair.
Jess sat up and smiled, "You really love her don't you?"
"Yeah I do," Lee said with a smile. "She's just got a way of making you love her."
Lee: She's got a way about her...
I don't know what it is,
But I know that I can't live without her...
(stood and walked to the window)
She's got a way of pleasin'...
(smiled remembering all the fun times he and Elena had)
I don't know what it is,
But there doesn't have to be a reason,
Anyway...
She's got a smile that heals me.
(walked over to Jess, who was listening very attentively)
Don't know why it is,
But I have to laugh when she reveals me...
She's got a way of talkin'...
I don't know what it is,
But it lifts me up when we are walkin'
(Jess stood and they walked down the hall)
Anywhere...
She comes to me when I'm feelin' down,
Inspires me without a sound.
(Lee and Jess started Dancing)
She touches me, and I get turned 'round...
(Lee twirled around)
She's get a way of showin'
How I make her feel,
And I find the strength to keep on goin'...
She's got a light around her,
(they walked into the galley)
And everywhere she goes,
A million dreams of love surround her
Everywhere...
(Jess sat down on the table and watched Lee)
She comes to me when I'm feelin' down,
Inspires me without a sound.
(closed his eyes)
She touches me, and I get turned 'round.
(Spun around a few times)
She's got a smile that heals me...
I don't know why it is,
But I have to laugh when she reveals me...
She's got a way about her...
I don't know what it is,
But I know that I can't live without her
(sat down beside Jess)
Anyway...
"Encore! Encore!" Jess exclaimed as she stood up and started clapping.
Lee laughed and shook his head, "you know maybe this signing virus isn't so bad after all."
Unknown Ship
"Master."
"What is it?"
With lowered head the man entered the room, "I think you should see this."
The man took the list of infected beings from his slave and read it over, "Well, well looks like someone infected President Sheridan. Perfect. Things are working out just as planned. Soon he'll sing all his thoughts and I'll use them against him," he said before laughing evilly.
"Master, there's more. Two more infected subjects died."
"O well if I can't use what he sings against him, maybe he'll sing himself to death."
"Master, there's more." The slave walked out and returned with Tatu, the apprentice. "We found her."
"She was following our ship," Tatu added. "I took a shuttle to the planet and she followed. I captured her then."
"Good work Tatu." He said as he grinned evilly. "Bring her to me." They brought her closer and dropped at his feet. He looked her over. She was a young attractive blonde wearing a Ranger uniform.
A moment later the officer named Kamikaze Nekoi, also known as Sue, woke up and jumped to her feet. "Where am I who are you?" She looked around and then tried to run, but the slave and Tatu quickly caught her and brought her back to their master, throwing her on the floor at his feet.
Master: (laughing evily)
Why'd you run away?
Don't you like my style?
(slid across floor in front of her)
Why don't you come and play?
I guarantee a great big smile
(grinned evilly)
I come from the imagination
And I'm here strictly without invitation
So what do you say
Why don't we dance a while?
(took Sue's hand and helped her up)
I'm the heart of swing
(started tap dancing)
I'm the twist and shout
When you gotta sing
When you gotta let it out
Where there's secrets I come a-runnin'
I turn the music on
I bring the fun in
Now we're partyin'
That's what it's all about
(took Sue's hand and twirled her around)
'Cause I know what you feel, girl
I know just what you feel, girl
(let go of Sue's hand and she continued spinning til she reached the wall)
Sue: (talking) So you're like a good Alien? Bringing the fun in?
Master: All these melodies
They go on too long
Then that energy
Starts to come on
Way too strong
All those hearts lay open, that must sting!
Plus some customers just start combusting!
(held his hand out and a hologram of a dancing man appeared and the man burst into flames and disappeared)
That's the penalty
When life is but a song
(Took Sue's hand and started dancing around with her)
They cast me out
And brought this about
So when I blow this scene
(dipped Sue)
Back I will go
To my kingdom below
'Cause I'm just that mean!
(let go of Sue and started dancing around)
'Cause I know what you feel, girl
Sue: Oh I see
(followed him around the room)
but is it me
This doesn't sound very regal
Master: I'll make it real, girl
Sue: What I mean
this singing thing
this has got to be illegal
Master: I can bring whole cities to ruin
And still have time to get a soft shoe in
(Tap danced around with Sue still following him)
Sue: Well, that's great
But I'm late
And I'd hate to delay her
Master: Something's cooking, I'm at the griddle
I bought Nero his very first fiddle
(played and imaginary fiddle)
Sue: She'll get pissed
If I'm missed
See my Captain's Elena
Master: (talking, he stopped looked and Sue) Elena? Captain Elena Stetson? The leader of the Teep Squad
Sue: (talking) Uh huh
Master: (Talking to his henchmen)
Send a signal through the nano bots. Lure her here. I want to see the Teep burn.
Now we're partyin'
(twirled around)
That's what it's all about
White Star 34
Dominic was a newly trained Ranger who would do anything to get noticed. Unfortunately his attempts usually got him noticed by the wrong people or in the wrong way. While out on his assigned patrol he came across and unusual ship towing a Ranger training shuttle behind it. "This looks like trouble," he said to himself. Although he knew he should report back to headquarters and get help he followed the ship, being sure to stay well out of scanning range.
Athena- Guest Quarters
"John as I've told you before, I don't know. Now how am I suppose to stop this thing if I'm under Quarantine?"
"We'll get in touch with Lochley at Babylon 5. We'll use her resources and the Rangers."
"Yeah, let me see Lochley. Might be interesting to hear what she has to sing about." Elena said in an annoyed tone.
"Captain, that's enough! Now I don't need you infecting the whole fragging universe. How can you jump into something like this without having a guilty concise? Doesn't the possibility of killing millions bother you?"
"Who cares? What does it matter when I've already infected the ones I love?" She turned her back to John. She knew if she wasn't careful she would say something she shouldn't.
"Elena, I'm sorry," John said as he stood. "I know how hard this is on you."
"No you don't."
"Lee told me what happened back on Earth."
Elena sighed, "John this is about more that. I knew something was wrong when everyone on the Athena started singing. When we jumped from hyperspace, I should have contacted you on the com line, but I teleported straight to your office instead and infected you and everyone else."
"Elena so far…"
"John it doesn't matter. The point is I'm responsible for you being infected with this."
"Stop blaming yourself. What's done is done. It can't be changed."
"Yes it can and you know I can do it," Elena said in a firm voice.
"Thought you said some things can't be changed, no matter how hard you try."
"True, but damn it John, I've lost you too many times. I will not be responsible for losing you sooner that I already have to!"
John stood, "Elena listen. I know you said at one time we were very close…"
"John I've told you once how I felt about you. Nothing has changed. I still feel the same way and I always will," Elena said as she turned her back to John once more.
Elena: I know you think that I shouldn't still love you
I'll tell you that
(turned to face John)
But if I didn't say it
Well, I'd still have felt it
Where's the sense in that?
(shrugged and sat on the corner of the desk)
I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder
Or return to where we were
(John sat behind the desk and looked at Elena unable to say anything)
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
(looked John straight in the eyes)
I'm in love and always will be
(stood and walked to the window)
I know I left too much mess
And destruction to come back again
And I caused but nothing but trouble
(looked back at John, who stood and watched her closely)
I understand if you can't talk to me again
(walked towards the door)
And if you live by the rules of 'It's over'
Then I'm sure that that makes sense
(stopped and looked at John)
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
And when we meet
(walked over to him slowly)
As I'm sure we will
All that was then
Will be there still
I'll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I've moved on
(John started to speak but Elena held up her hand and stopped him)
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
"Elena….I don't know what to say."
Elena put her hands on his shoulders and leaned her head against his, "Then say nothing." She kissed him gently on the cheek and backed away. "Goodbye Johnny." Before John could react she was gone.
Excalibur
Captain Gideon sat on the bridge looking over the day's reports. Their last couple of leads had turned out to be dead ends. It was times like these when he began to think they would never find a cure to the Drakh plague.
"Captain!" Gideon turned to see Galen storm onto the bridge. "Captain we must return to Minbar immediately."
"Whoa, take it easy Galen. Now what's so important that we need to go all the way back to Minbar?"
"If we don't, President Sheridan won't live long enough to worry about being re-elected."
White Star 12
"Kath."
Kath turned to face her husband, "Yeah love?"
"You were staring into space again. What's up?"
"Just trying to figure this singing thing out. If it's a virus, like John thinks it is, there has to be a reason for us singing."
"Maybe some evil genius just wanted to make the universe more like Oz," Jack suggested sarcastically.
Kath smiled, "You and your wizard of Oz."
Jack shrugged as he wrapped his arms around her, "Why not we've got a Scarecrow on the team and well Daniel doesn't fly but he is a Space Monkey."
Kath smiled and kissed Jack. "True and he's back on Earth and there's nothing to interrupt us."
"Hmmm what about Rachel, John and Aeryn?" Jack asked as he started kissing her neck.
"Rachel was just teleported to the Athena, and John and Aeryn are having the same idea we are," Kath replied as she rubbed her hands across Jack's chest.
"I love you," Jack whispered before kissing her lips gently.
(Lights went out and they sang while they let their passions take over)
Kath: Baby I've been drifting away,
And dreaming all day,
Of holding you,
Touching you,
The only thing I wanna do,
Is be with you,
As close to you,
As I can be.
Let's make love,
All night long,
Until all our strength is gone,
Hold on tight,
Just let go,
I wanna feel you in my soul,
Until the sun comes up,
Let's make love,
Ohh baby
Jack: Do you know what you do to me,
Everything inside of me,
Is wanting you,
And needing you,
I'm so in love with you,
Look in my eyes,
Let's get lost tonight,
In each other.
Both: Let's make love,
All night long,
Until all our strength is gone,
Hold on tight,
Just let go,
I wanna feel you in my soul,
Until the sun comes up,
Let's make love.
Jack: Until the sun comes up,
Kath: Ohh, until the sun comes up,
Both: Let's make love.
Kath: Oh baby, lets make love,
Jack: All night long,
Kath: All night long,
Let's make love.
Athena
John stood there completely speechless. He wasn't sure what to say or do. As he sat down at his desk, there was a frantic knock on the door. "Yes?"
The door opened and Lee, Jess, and Susan, who had a report in her hand, rushed in. "We've got to stop her!" Jess exclaimed.
"Woah, wait. Stop who? How did you get here?" John asked although he was sure he already knew the answer.
"Elena she teleported us here and left." Lee explained.
"WHAT!"
White Star 12
"Bleep"
"Are you going to answer that?" Jack asked.
Kath sighed and grabbed her com link from the table. "O'Neill here."
"About time Kath," John said. "We've got a problem."
"I know. Elena's gone. She won't get too far. I know exactly where she's going," Kath replied.
"And where's that?" Sheridan asked.
"The same place we're going, Hippoclayatia."
Hippoclayatia
Kamikaze Nekoi struggled with her chains and finally slipped one hand free. Reaching inside her coat she pulled a double diamond pick from her pocket. One thing she had learned from working with Elena and Lee at the Agency was never go anywhere with out a lock pick. Quickly she picked the lock and looked around. She appeared to be inside a giant maze. 'I've got to get out of here and find Lannie,' she thought. Slowly she made her way down the corridor.
Outside the Temple Dominic was making his way cautiously towards the temple, trying not to be seen; but he had been spotted long before and the vile fiend behind everything was waiting for him. The moment he stepped off his shuttle he was infected with the nano bots.
Dominic: (entered the temple)
I tried so many times before
But no one seems to see what I do this for
(snuck around the corners)
And why I come to be right here, I think finally know
I'm scared, ashamed that I might fail
(ducked behind a column as guards passed)
And I can't tell the ones I love, I know they couldn't deal
And since I'm just a boy to them, I'm screaming look my way!
And let me get this right!
Let me get this right, let me win the day
(marched threw the maze completely unaware that he was being watched)
Let me save the girl and beat the foe and get all the fame
I can lay my body down if I can't find another way
So let me get this right!
I know I've got a girl to save
(spotted Sue running and chased after her)
'Cause evil just loves to play and always misbehaves
Until they don't I'm telling you I've gotta save the day
So let me get this right!
I know I should go
(lost sight of her and started backing up looking for where she might have gone)
And follow Ranger Protocol
There's villain here in this place
And he'll hurt me more than I've ever guessed
And if I get this wrong he could break my chest
But I can see them so impressed
So here I go
(started running)
And let me get this right, let me win the day
Let save the girl and beat the foe and get all the fame
I can lay my body down if I can't find another way
Let me get this right
Please Valen let me get this right!
(ran right into Sue)
"Who are you?" Dominic asked.
"Lt. Commander Kamikaze Nekoi, who are you?"
"Lt. Commander Dominic…." He was cut off by shouts, "We've got to get out of here." They ran down the long corridors, but soon they were captured and taken back to the master. He chained Sue back against the wall, this time making sure to take her lock picks.
"Master! Master!" the slave yelled as he ran in the room.
"What is it you fool?"
"Master, the telepath, she's coming."
"Perfect. She'll find my message if she survives my maze," he said laughing evilly. Turning he walked over to where Sue was chained to the wall. "Don't worry. If your Captain survives she'll come for you. And when she does, I'll kill her."
Sue struggled against the chains, "Let me go!"
He laughed again and turned to his slave and apprentice, "Come Natu. Let us leave before the good Captain arrives."
"What about him?" the slave asked as he pointed to Dominic.
"Leave him. He'll do nicely as bait for my trap," he said as he waved his hand sending waves of colors down the maze. "Captain Stetson may be powerful enough to stop those three traps with out hesitation, but can she do so with out her powers?"
White Star 12
"So how does Elena know that Hippotamus…"
"Hippoclayatia," Kath corrected.
"Whatever," Lee said before continuing, "How does she know to go there?"
"That's where the signal is coming from." Kath stated.
"Signal?" Rachel asked.
Kath nodded, "The one controlling the nano bots." She looked to Susan, "Right Ivanova?"
"How did you… Never mind. I give up on figuring you and Elena out."
What about the nano bots Susan?" Sheridan asked.
"Well after we arrived at Minbar, my crew reported in turn to the med lab. Doctor Austin found something in everyone's blood results," Susan handed John the reports and continued. "What ever this singing thing is, it's being caused by nano bots."
"And nano bots require a signal," Kath stated.
"Oh no," Jack moaned. "Not again."
Everyone looked at Jack confused, but Kath just smiled. "At least you're not aging this time," she said laying her head on his shoulder.
Sheridan just turned back to the reports. "So you traced this signal?"
"Yeah," Kath said. "So did Elena. When she finished tracing the signal, she teleported Lee and Jess to the Athena."
"And they appeared in front of me and then we rushed to tell you," Susan explained to Sheridan.
"But wouldn't a signal like that require a lot of power and transmitters?" Jess asked.
"Yes it does," Kath stated. "And there's only one group that I know of that could be responsible."
Hippoclayatia
"Technomage!" Elena cried as she raced up the stairs of the temple. She stopped at the door which was guarded by two large hippoclayate statutes. Elena looked at the statues, suddenly feeling uneasy about the large hippotamus like creatures, with wings and horns. Slowly she walked by them and as she reached for the door, she froze hearing a large boom. Turning, she was face to face with two large, red, glowing eyes. Sighing she waved her hand, intending to throw the stone hippoclayate down the stairs, but nothing happened. Quickly she focused on moving the hippoclayate, but still nothing happened. "Frell!" she exclaimed as she dove out of the way just in time to avoid the stone arm of the flying hippo.
It missed and knocked down a large column. Angrily, it roared and chased after her. Elena jumped and ran quickly around columns of the temple, past a sleeping Indian boy. Running by him she shouted, "Wake up! Run for your life!"
The boy woke up just as the Hippoclayate reached him. "AH!" he screamed and tried to run, but the creature grabbed his leg and slammed him against the column.
Elena climbed the temple wall and hid on the second hippoclayate statue. She watched as the stone creature tossed the boy's limp body back and forth. The boy's cries of pain were the only thing that told Elena he was still alive. She sighed and tried once more to move the statute, but once again nothing happened. She tried to teleport, but that too failed. Before se could react, she was thrown against the temple wall. She got up to find that her left arm had been dislocated, but she didn't have time to fix that. Two stone Hippoclayates were charging at her. She ran quickly with her arm limp at her side. She hurriedly opened the temple door, and ran inside. Elena closed and locked the door but she knew it wouldn't hold for long.
She hurried to the wall and carefully placed her shoulder back in the socket. She slammed against the wall snapping it back in place. Most people would have screamed from the pain, but Elena just gritted her teeth and groaned. As she rubbed her shoulder, she heard the door crack. Looking she saw that with one more good hit the Hippoclayates would break the door down. Glancing around she noticed that the temple had changed since she had last seen it, but that didn't surprise her considering the guardian statues had just come to life and attack her.
Cautiously she entered what appeared to be a maze. As she rounded the first corner she heard the door crash open, followed by two loud Hippoclayate roars. Forgetting caution, she raced deeper into the maze. As she turned another corner, she was nearly blasted by a laser. She ducked around the corner and peered around, nothing happened. She pulled an empty data crystal from her pocket and tossed it. The crystal was shattered after being hit with three lasers beams. Elena tried using her powers to destroy the lasers, but nothing worked. She sighed, "Maybe Johnny's right. I do rely on my powers way too much."
Suddenly she had an idea. She raced back to the entrance to find the Hippoclayates had given up on finding her and were playing a game of toss the Indian boy. "Hey! Catch me if you can you big ugly hippos!" She waited just long enough to be sure that they were going to follow her and then she ran as fast as she could back into the maze. She could hear the Hippoclayates following close behind and quickly catching up. When she reached the laser she pulled out her fighting pike and extended it. She used it to volt up to the rafters, and waited. Before she could blink the Hippoclayates came barreling around the corner. Elena smiled as the laser destroyed both statues. When the laser stopped there was nothing left of the Hippoclayates but a large pile of rubble on the ground.
Looking around she saw there was no way to travel by rafters. The maze walls went all the way up to the roof of the temple. Carefully she jumped down and peered around the corner. Slowly she picked up a piece of rock and tossed it. She studied the location of the lasers and the angles that they fired. With a few careful calculations she was fairly confident she could destroy the lasers. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer; then she jumped around the corner, swung her pike around swiftly and reflected the laser blasts back on them. She successfully reflected the beams and destroyed the lasers, but she missed one blast and it struck her ankle causing her to fall.
She grabbed her ankle and moaned. Looking the wound over she could tell it wasn't serious, but it would definitely slow her down. She ripped a large strip from the bottom of her pant leg and used it to wrap her ankle and stop the bleeding. When she finished she stood and limped past the pile of rubble and the still smoking remains of the lasers.
As she walked deeper into the maze, she could hear the sound of a saw, and it worried her. She peered around every corner, carefully looking for the next trap; which she spotted as she rounded the next corner. There was a long corridor with spikes on the floor and roof. Between the spikes there were two large spinning blades swinging horizontally. Her first thought was to teleport, but that wasn't an option now. Slowly she moved closer and examined the trap. The spikes were to close together for her to successfully jump around the blades and the blades swung too fast for her to slowly maneuver through the spikes. Elena knelt and watched the blades go back and forth. They missed the spikes by several inches, with at least a foot between each blade. She stood, tossed a rock at the blades, and watched a cloud of dust float to the floor. Sighing, Elena kicked one of the spikes. It was hard, but the sound indicated that it was hallow. Testing a theory, she pulled out her pike and held it next to the spike. She pressed the button and gave it a quick shake, and it extended, shattering the spike. Looking down the corridor, she sighed, "This is going to take a while."
White Star 12
"Well, there it is," Jack said as he looked out the window.
"Yeah," Kath stated. "Now to go find Elena." Kath teleported them to the surface and scanned the area. "She's in there," Kath said as she walked started walking up the temple stairs. When she reached the door she stopped, "Damn."
"What?" Jack asked rushing to her side.
"These frelling nano bots are blocking my powers." Kath explained.
"What?" Sheridan questioned.
"The moment I walked past the column my powers disappeared." Testing a theory, she walked down the stairs and teleported. Everyone looked at each other and then Kath reappeared, "Just as I thought."
"Want to fill the rest of us in?" Crichton asked his sister.
"There's a field around the temple. Inside it we have no powers, but once we step outside of it our powers return." Kath explained.
"So Elena is in there facing god knows what, with out powers?" Lee asked.
"Yeah," Kath replied. Before anyone could react Lee ran up the stairs to the door. "Lee wait!" Kath called and they all ran after him.
He stopped at the temple door; which was laying in pieces on the temple floor. "We'll find her Lee," Jess stated. "Elena may be powerless, but she's not defenseless. Elena can handle herself with out powers just as well as she can with them."
"Jessie's right," Sheridan commented. "I'm sure Elena's fine."
"Spike number three hundred and seventy-one," Elena said before shattering another spike. It was a slow progress, but it was the only way through. Elena's arm was getting tired her thumb would definitely have a bad blister when this was all over.
Looking back she estimated that she had traveled a good ten feet. How much further she had to go, she could only guess. Sighing, she switched hands and shattered another spike. After shattering ten more spikes, Elena smiled. She could see down the rest of the corridor. She was almost out. Gaining a sudden burst of energy, she shattered the rest of the spikes and crawled out. She stood and looked back. She had cleared a path and now the saws were lowering and turning the remaining spike into to dust. She watched until they reached the floor and stopped. "Don't tell me there was a timer," Elena groaned. She sighed and continued down the corridor.
Meanwhile the others made their way through the maze. They found the large pile of rubble and could only guess what it had been. "Looks like the Captain's been busy," Kath stated as she examined the remains of one of the lasers.
"Yeah and she did all of this with no powers," Rachel added.
"She's hurt," Lee said as he knelt. "There's a trail of blood." He stood and looked at the others.
"Come on," Sheridan said. "Let's find her." The group pushed on and soon found the last trap Elena had tripped. The blades were no longer spinning, and the spikes had been completely destroyed. Cautiously the group walked down the hall.
Elena, with injured ankle, was moving much slower than she would have liked. She continued on though, ignoring the pain in her leg. Hearing voices behind her she hurried around the corner and pulled her pike. She held the pike against her and closed her eyes. From the sounds of the footsteps, she could tell there were five, maybe more. As the group got closer, she took a deep breath and jumped around the corner swinging her pike. She missed Sheridan's head by mere inches.
Sheridan ducked just in time to avoid being hit in the face with Elena's pike. "What the hell!" he exclaimed, recovering from the near miss.
"John what are you…" Elena stopped seeing the others. "What are all of you doing here?
"Following you," Jess replied.
"You shouldn't have come. Now all of us are powerless," Elena stated.
"Only inside the Temple Elena," Kath explained. "There's a field around the building. My guess is the nano bots are some how blocking our abilities."
Lee rushed over to her, "Elena you're hurt!" He wrapped his arm around her waist, hoping she'd lean on him and take some weight off her hurt ankle, but she didn't.
"I'm fine Lee. It's just a flesh wound," Elena said as she put her pike away.
"What happened Lannie?" Rachel asked.
"Well I picked up on the signal and traced it here. When I arrived I played a game of tag followed by hide-n-seek with two stone Hippoclayates."
"That the pile of rubble?" Jack asked.
"Yeah. There were lasers in the maze. I used them to destroy the Hippoclayates. I reflected the blasts back at the lasers destroying them, but not before one hit me," Elena explained. "Then there were two giant blades spinning between two sets of spikes. The spikes were hallow so I used my pike to make a path threw through them. The moment I got past them the blades came down and destroyed all the spikes and then stopped spinning."
"Who could do all of this? The nano bots, this maze. I mean this is pretty serious technology." Susan questioned.
"There's only one group I know of that's capable of this kind of activity," Elena said.
"Technomages," Kath stated calmly.
"Exactly," Elena said turning to go.
"Technomages?" Sheridan asked, following Elena. "Why would Technomages do this? How could they for that matter? Last I heard they were isolating themselves from the rest of the known universe."
"All but Galen," Elena corrected.
"You can't believe that Galen is behind this," Susan asked disbelievingly.
"No but if the Council banished Galen, it's possible that there are more Technomages out there. After all who said all the Technomages went into hiding?" Elena stated as she continued walking.
The group walked cautiously to the center of the maze. There they found a large golden statue of a Minataur with two smaller Hippoclayates on each side of it. After what happened at the entrance to the temple, Elena approached with extreme caution. She unknowingly triggered a device that created a hologram in front of the group. The hologram was of a man about 6'4 wearing a long black cloak. The man removed his cloak and smiled evilly. "My dear Captain Stetson, I have your beloved Lt. Commander Nekoi. I must say that things have gotten a little out of control," he said as his grin widened. "Now at this moment Kamikaze is mine and you can't get to her," he shook his head. "But you can save another Ranger," he pointed behind him and the group saw a young Ranger in a glass case. "The trick is that there is only one way to save him. The glass case will slowly close around him the moment this message ends. It's magically sealed. As you may have noticed you no longer have your powers, and don't bother trying weapons. They won't work. The solution is actually quite simple. Now you must think hard, for there is only a short time left. As you can see, secrets, for now, is what I'm about. So only secrets that are not yet known can save this Ranger. The question is, who's secret will show you the key to unlock my master plan? Good Luck my dear. We shall meet again. Next time I hope in person." The holograph disappeared and the glass case started closing in around Dominic.
"Damn!" Sheridan said. "Alright people star talking. We can't let him die."
"I can't think of anything," Jess stated.
"I've never seen the Sound of Music," Jack said. Everyone looked at him and shook their heads, "What it was all I could think of."
Elena stood there as the other blurted out secrets. She knew it was hers that would save Dominic, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. "Elena," Susan whispered to her. "You've got to do it. You can't let this boy die. I know you want to protect Lee, but letting this boy die is not the way. If you do you're no better than the evil maniac behind this."
Elena sighed. She knew Susan was right. If she let this boy die she might as well resign and give up. She stepped forward and stated, "With all my powers and gifts I couldn't save my unborn child." Everyone froze and looked at her. "To make things worse, before he died I communicated telepathically with my son." The glass case opened and Dominic fell out.