Title: Atlantis
Author: Tonia Barone
Rating: Teen
Spoilers: Home, 38 Minutes
Disclaimer: Not mine, wish they were.
Notes: Thanks, as always, to jakisbishlygay for beta'ing and a BIG thank you for those who've reviewed. You guys are, like, wow. Thank you so much.
Also, I should warn you that this is the last pre-written chapter I have. I'm about 3/4 through with chapter 8, then a few days at the beta (it's a loong chapter. Might even be split into two or three parts, haven't decided yet) and then right here on yer doorstep!
Summary: Home is where the heart is. That is a saying I picked up from one of my Children. If this is true, my home is already here. My question now is this: where are my Children's home?
Her Favorite Child and his team leave through the Doorway to a planet that she cannot remember her former Children visiting for many years. Last contact with the people of that world had brought word that they were nearing a state of higher being. It was, in fact, what lead to the research her Children were doing for their own Ascension. But no one has contacted her or her Children from that world since, so she could not tell them what to expect.
The device they call a 'MALP' sent back information concerning the world. It had a power source, which they needed, but it could not be pin-pointed nor could she add her own scans to the search. She did remember the people of that world being roughly on the same technological level as her Children, however, which could aide these new Children greatly.
The Children return through the Doorway and her Protector explains that the power source is a mist that seems to blanket the planet. He wishes to bring the power crystal from her Doorway to that world so that they may call to their world, Earth. Something about this doesn't sound right to her, though. The Doorway on that world had previously been in a plaza of the central city, yet her Protector said nothing of constructs.
The Leader assents and returns to the planet with her Favorite Child and his team, taking the crystal with them. She has a bad feeling about this, but no way to communicate her feelings or would there be anyone who would believe her save the Engineer.
As the hours pass, she frets to the point that not even the Engineer's singing can calm her. She knows this has put the other Children on edge; how could it not; when the lights are dimmer than what is even usual during the time her Favorite Child is not with her? When the text scrolling down the screens in the control tower move faster than the thinkers who care for her can translate? Her very walls seem to vibrate to them and they are unsettled, for she is on the ocean and therefore not prone to earthquakes.
Even the thinker for whom her Favorite Child and her Protector hold barely repressed contempt tries to calm her. She, herself, is uncertain how she feels for this particular thinker. He purposefully looks for flaws in others, yet it was he who had the idea on how to save her Favorite Child and his team when they were lodged in the Doorway all those months ago. Well, yes, he did prematurely inform the Athosians of their Warrior's death, but he could probably be forgiven for that slight.
She finally settles for spending time guiding the Healer to some of her more useful medical equipment. While what they brought with them is indeed advanced, she has several items that are much more efficient. If he realizes that she is the one guiding him to these semi-hidden caches, he does not let on, but she can Feel his thanks all the same. Some of the 'new' equipment will even aid him in his genetic research, something he has spent less time on lately than he would have liked. She hopes the machines will help.
After many hours the Doorway finally blooms to life and her wayward Children return. Something must have gone wrong because they all look dispirited. Looking into the minds of her Favorite Child and her Protector makes her want to cry. It would seem that the people of that world had achieved Ascension, after a fashion. They feared her Children's intentions and created an illusion that they had gone to Earth. The illusion for each was 'off' just enough for each of them to tell it wasn't real. After promising never to return, the Ascended of that world allowed them to return to her.
After the debriefing each goes their own way. The least affected is the Warrior, but even she feels sorrow for the pain this has caused her friends.
The Leader immediately returns to her duties; she is the Leader and as such cannot afford the breakdown she wishes. Her time is not her own, so she must wait before she can grieve.
Her Favorite Child's Second often appears to be the youngest, and though it is true that he is amongst the physically youngest, he is not as naive as they think. He has recently been given the Healer's Gift and as such is now open to her. He weeps over not having the chance to see his grandparents after all. He misses them greatly and there are times he wishes he had never come. Then he thinks of all that they have discovered and his regret fades. He still misses his grandparents, though.
Her Protector returns to the haven of his labs. The Engineer takes one look at him and understands enough to not say anything. Instead, he gives her Protector a report of what has occurred in his absence. Her Protector all but leaps at the chance to push recent events from his mind and is quickly lost in his work. Later, he will cry himself into a fitful sleep while holding a picture of his cat, the one thing he misses most about Earth. Perhaps she could show him a world where similar felines live and are kept in such a manner.
Her Favorite Child goes to get a report from the Guardian before retiring to his rooms. Once there he asks that she lock the door and deflect any visitors, a request she readily comply with. Once she informs him it is done, he immediately begins to destroy his rooms. He throws chairs and little trinkets he's collected over the course of his stay. He flips the sleeping pad from the bed and hurls the pillows at the walls. He has enough presence of mind not to destroy his personal computer, but only just. He finally settles for punching repeatedly at the wall furthest from the door until his knuckles bleed and several bones break.
She gently whispers to his mind, calming him enough to stop him from further self-harm. He allows a lone tear while his breathing calms and his heart rate returns to normal. Nearly half an hour after calming she is able to convince him to see the Healer about his hand. She unlocks the door and remains with him as the bones in his hand are set and his hands bandaged.
She warns the Healer against saying anything about it and he understands enough to heed her. He tells her Favorite Child to take a few days off to allow his hands to heal then sends him on his way. The Healer hurts for his friends and she assures him that she will watch over them carefully in the following days.
She will make sure that her Protector doesn't work himself overly much and that her Favorite Child does no more harm to himself. She will comfort the young Second and work hard at self-maintenance so that the Leader has less to worry about. There is not much she can do for the Warrior, but she will make certain that her rooms are peaceful and that her meditations are not disturbed.
Her Favorite Child spends much of the days he's forced from work in his rooms. Sometimes he reads the book he brought, sometimes he works on reports that have been collecting while he's been away. And sometimes, just sometimes mind, he opens himself to her and it is those times she likes best.
They learn much of each other during those days as she regales him with tales of days past. She gives him tips on how he can better control the puddle jumpers and he shares with her the joys of flying without inertial dampeners. She promises to allow him to, if not turn them off then at least turn them down some and shows him how to summon the chair restraints for when he does this.
And when he goes to the Healer to remove the bandages and is told he may return to his duties, he is in better spirits. His heart is not healed, but it is on the mend. They are much closer that they were previously as he has left himself open to her. She whispers to him when he is sent with a small group to explore her halls and he asks questions about the pieces of her that her Protector insists he 'turn on'. When he finally goes through the Doorway again, he stays connected to her through the puddle jumper or through the life-signs detector after showing him how to calibrate it properly.
She takes care of all her new Children, but she will always give her Favorite Child a little extra care and comfort. He is precious to her and will do anything and everything to keep him well, physically or mentally.