sorry it's taken so long to update! I'll be making a concerted effort to stop slacking... ;)
Part 26
Beka could watch him working forever if she had to, standing to one side out of the way as not to disturb Harper whilst he worked. Like days of old, Harper was back where he belonged and Beka didn't want to leave for fear of losing him again, not now he was back.
They were alone for the first time in a long while, just her and Harper in the machine shop, at least until Harper could get the two androids operational. Kalika had left them alone to check that her brother and his family were settling in ok on the ship, with none of them knowing where their future now lie, and secretly Beka feared Kalika and her brother might chose to stay in Seefra, her fears heightened by having seen her with Harper earlier. As she considered her fears, Beka knew they were unfounded, Harper would never stay in the Seefra system, not even for Kalika, this wasn't his world. Where they were going wasn't Kalika's either and she would have to be blind not to see there was something between Harper and Kalika, a bond that might not even be love, at least not yet.
"Hey," Harper's voice was loud, and snapped Beka out of her thoughts. "Finally, you were away with the fairies just then," Harper partially smirked. "I asked if you wanted to go and grab some food?"
Beka caught up with her senses and immediately moved towards Harper. "Sure, let's go," she responded, and walked with Harper towards the exit. "How's it going?"
"Rommie's pretty beat up, Doyle should be easy enough to fix," Harper answered calmly.
"How does it feel to be back?" Beka could see Harper was a little on edge, almost disbelieving that he was back on the decks of Andromeda.
"Like I've never been away," Harper shrugged and then winced at the sudden pain the movement caused in his shoulder.
Beka was about to comment when she became aware of someone ahead of them, and she already knew who it was.
"What are you doing?" Trance enquired. "Harper should be restrained, and in bed."
"You know I've always dreamed of Trance saying those words in that exact tone," Harper remarked dreamily.
"Not the time," Beka shot at him and glared at Trance, moving a little ahead of Harper protectively. "He's feeling better, we should rejoice at his amazing powers of recovery."
Trance slowly moved forward, her approach was almost sinister in execution. "You've decided he's ok, and not a threat?" she asked, looking at Harper. "That must mean you do not trust me."
"I trust you, but this isn't the first time Harper's bounced back, as you well know, Trance, so no big deal," Beka dismissed casually.
There seemed to be a fire on Trance's eyes now, as she attempted to move in front of Harper but Beka matched her every step.
"Don't do this, whatever your game is, it has to stop," Beka stressed, deciding to no longer play games seeing how seriously the impostor was focused on Harper.
"She did this, she was playing the game I'm just trying to fix things," Trance spoke, her eyes fixed on Harper.
"Who, our Trance?" Beka played their only card but the impostor barely acknowledged the fact they seemed to know she wasn't genuine.
"She brought you to this system to protect you, you were all supposed to die in that battle, you were not supposed to survive the Arkology," the impostor stated darkly. "You," she then glared at Harper. "You were not supposed to be here at all."
"Me?" Harper asked with surprise, Beka still shielding him. "I was supposed to die on Arkology? I knew it, is that why I was here for so long?"
The impostor Trance just stared at him with contempt. "You were supposed to die spawning Magog."
"Just leave us alone!" Beka snapped in reaction, but feared what this Trance could do already seeing the numbed reaction in Harper to her words.
"I was?" Harper answered confused, clearly shocked.
"Seamus Zelazny Harper was always destined to die at the hands of his greatest fear, to die young having achieved so much against the odds," the impostor spoke, her eyes fixed with Harpers. "But she kept you alive, saved you and changed your destiny."
"You make that sound like a bad thing," Harper returned, his voice shaky.
Trance looked at him, and glanced at Beka before speaking. "You should have died a hero, Seamus," the impostor partly smiled. "Instead you will die a broken man, your life's path may have been extended but those you walk with their path remain the same and they were not destined to walk with you at this time."
"I still have my friends," Harper argued.
"Do you? Is it the same, do you feel for them like before?" Trance offered suggestively. "You still carry notions of love, dreams and aspirations that have no place in this time, this time is not yours, you have no one Seamus Harper, and those you think you have are not in line with your path, you walk alone and you will die alone."
"He'll never be alone," Beka stressed.
"You are not an authority on the subject," Trance returned coldly. "We have tried our best to right the wrong of our sister, by sending you to Seefra she gave us an opportunity to intervene and attempt to repair the damage. You wondered why you were here for so long, the answer is simple."
Harper was almost afraid to ask. "It is?"
"To speed up the natural process, to take away your reason for living," Trance answered slyly.
"Rommie," Beka immediately realised.
"Marika," Harper whispered the name, as his memory flooded with her and Beka immediately saw the onset of his grief reappearing on his face. "Rommie can be rebuilt, but," he frowned unable to continue.
"No, Harper, Marika, no way," Beka dismissed then turned to Trance. "You stop this, stop twisting his head like this; you're speaking lies for your own gain!"
"You need Seamus Harper to have any chance of returning to your own world," Trance offered knowingly. "But by returning you'll be sending Harper back to a universe where he should be dead, where he has no future, and he'll realise no reason for living and that will continue, you can't deny the law of time."
"Lies, its all lies," Beka stressed, seeing how quiet Harper had become and on instinct she drew her weapon and fired, seconds after the impostor had already flashed out of sight. Beka stared at the space the other Trance had occupied moments earlier before gathering her senses and turning to Harper. "Seamus, don't listen to her, ok, she's just messing with your head."
"What if she's not, what if that's the truth?" Harper asked quietly.
"Trust me, Seamus, look at me," Beka demanded and waited until Harper's eyes met with hers, and she saw how close to the surface his emotions were. "She admitted that we need your help to get home, but you can't let her beat you, that's all she's trying to do, she doesn't want us to return but you can beat her, you can defy her."
"My head," Harper stressed before pausing. "She put something inside me, I'm not sure what but it's been bugging me, haunting me, I see it when I'm awake and asleep," he took a deep breath. "Just blurs, shouting, death, destruction all rolled into one, I see my people, Beka, humans on Earth, what if she's saying I caused what I see by simply existing?"
Beka grabbed hold of Harper's shoulders, gently shaking him. "This is what she wants, she wants you distracted, so snap out of it, Harper, we're out of the way here but we need to return to our own universe, we can't allow ourselves to remain 'tidied' away out of sight!"
"Everything she said is true," Harper admitted.
"No!" Beka stressed, still holding Harper firm.
"You're hurting me," Harper winced, as his shoulder shot pains.
"If you hurt, then you exist, right?" Beka emphasised. "You feel, and live, you breathe and no one can tell you otherwise, you have every right to be here and if you didn't you'd be dead already!"
"What's the point?" Harper asked, clearly struggling to see Beka's viewpoint. "Coming back here to this ship is exactly that, a step back!" he stressed loudly, moving away from Beka. "This was my life, Beka, was, but not anymore! Coming back, it's not my future it's my past, I've going over covered ground just by being here, don't you see she's right, I shouldn't be here I'm going no where!"
"Harper," Beka didn't know what to say.
"I have no reason to live; not now she's."
"Don't," Beka interrupted before Harper could say it.
"I loved her, Beka," Harper stressed.
"Trust me, you didn't," Beka returned.
"How can you know?" Harper snapped. "I loved Marika, like I've never loved a woman before."
"It was all games, Seamus, wake up!" Beka yelled. "The reason it was like you've never loved before was because it wasn't you, and it wasn't love, you were just a pawn in some intergalactic game, that impostor said as much when she said she put you there, they manipulated you into thinking you loved that monster!"
Clearly distressed now, Harper shook his head in denial and without saying another word he began to run.
"Seamus, don't, hey wait up!" Beka called after him and gave chase before he got too far ahead but he was already out of sight by the time she reached the first junction. On reaching the second junction Beka stopped dead in her tracks and froze on seeing the impostor Trance stood over the fallen body of Seamus Harper.
"Right where I wanted him, he played right into my hands," she smiled. "Game over," the impostor offered before disappearing.
"Harper!" Beka fell to the ground beside Harper, immediately checking for life signs. "Harper?" she fussed and was relieved to feel a strong pulse.
"I loved her," Harper murmured with a pained expression. "Like no other, or ever again."
Beka brought Harper up into her arms and she held him tightly, letting his head rest against her shoulder not willing to let go. "You will love again, Seamus, I promise and you'll have more than enough reasons to live, don't let anyone, especially that impostor tell you otherwise."
"Beka! Dylan and Rhade have returned, they found Trance," Kalika's excited voice approached but suddenly the footsteps stopped abruptly. "What's happened?"
Beka heard Kalika's voice and held Harper closer. "Leave us for now. I'll come and find you later, and explain," Beka requested without looking up.
"Let me help," Kalika requested.
"Please," Beka simply said, and could hear the footsteps of Kalika backing and moving away.
"What did she just do to you, Seamus?" Beka asked, clutching Harper tightly trying to rid herself of the fear she had just felt on seeing Harper sprawled on the deck at the impostor's feet.
"Bright light," Harper murmured softly. "So bright, I was blinded and the impact made be fall, knocked me to the ground, it was so hot and so bright," he attempted to explain.
Beka pulled him away and held his face with concern. "Blinded?" she questioned and looked into his eyes with fear but instead of seeing pain, she saw Harper smirk and find a smile through the tears.
"Just momentary, not for real," he offered and lightly began to laugh. "Not this time."
"Oh thank god," Beka showed her relief in bringing him close again. "Don't scare me like that, Seamus, the luck you've had lately," she tailed off, refusing to let him go.
"Can we stay like this forever?" Harper asked in a whisper.
"Dylan might not appreciate us blocking one of his corridors for the rest of our days, but I could ask," Beka lightly returned.
"It's nice," Harper simply spoke.
"Yeah," Beka agreed, unsure of Harper's mood now. "Nice things can still happen to you, Harper, despite what others want you to believe."
"I should get back to Doyle and Rommie, maybe?" Harper suggested.
Beka reluctantly let Harper go, and they both got to their feet looking a little uneasy for a moment before Beka put her arm around Harper's shoulders for extra reassurance. "First, we go eat, that was the original plan, right?"
"Right," Harper nodded his head but they had barely walked two metres before Harper and Beka froze, seeing Trance ahead of them.
"Harper?" Trance tentatively asked.
"Trance?" Harper returned unsure, before the golden alien came running towards him. Backing away slightly, Beka kept her arm around Harper's shoulders in comfort.
"What did she do?" Trance stopped a little in front of Harper, seeing his uncertainty. "Harper?" she prompted when no one spoke and then she seemed to sense something and she put her hand up level with Harper's chest. "Oh no, no, you shouldn't have seen that, it's too soon," she stressed closing her eyes and Beka could only watch in wonder as a yellow gas seemed to be drawn from Harpers chest into Trance's hand, when the gas faded Trance opened her eyes and Harper slumped slightly against Beka in her hold. "All gone, you won't be tormented by that any longer."
"What was that?" Beka asked, as Harper wearily rested against her.
"I can't say, but we'll know soon enough," Trance sighed, and put her hand on Harper's shoulder and Beka could tell with that small action in taking care not to hurt Harper, that this was their Trance without any doubt.
"What's happened to the other you?" Beka asked.
"My sister?" Trance offered dismissively. "She could be back, or she might feel her job is done," she frowned, and stroked the side of Harper's face as he appeared to be sleeping now. "Only time will tell," she shrugged and Harper slowly stirred under Trance's touch, enough to push away from Beka and appear awake again.
"Trance!" Harper exclaimed with a smile and he embraced her warmly.
"I thought my sister might have turned you against me," Trance spoke with relief to Harper's reaction, and returned his embrace.
"Take more than a few words, Trance, I'm just glad the real you is back, I missed you," He stated as he pulled away with a new air of determination about him. "I'm going to get us all home, if it's the last thing I do I'm going to get us all out of the Seefra system and then," Harper paused, looking at them both in turn. "We'll see where my twisted path takes me," he finished. "But first, food," he declared and began to walk, with Beka and Trance simply watching.
"It's not going to be easy is it?" Beka spoke quietly to Trance, as Harper walked away.
"No," Trance answered.
"Is it true, was he supposed to die with the infestation?"
"Yes."
"So you've created this mess he's in?"
"I created this mess we're all in, we're all affected," Trance answered sadly. "Harper was supposed to die, and I was supposed to disappear in a tesseract, I shouldn't be here either, you all should have walked a path without us."
"I'm glad you saved him, and didn't disappear," Beka turned to Trance. "And I don't get to say this often but I appreciate your honesty."
"You don't hate me?" Trance asked with fear.
"I can't hate you," Beka partly smiled and her gaze drifted to where she could see Harper waiting for her. "I've found myself wondering more and more lately, 'why Harper?' Why he's always being made an easy target but suddenly it makes sense."
"The universe is trying to right my wrong, my sisters are on a mission but I will keep trying to protect him, I owe him that much," Trance stated.
"Only Harper could make an enemy of the entire universe," Beka had to smile.
"But he has good protection in me and you, Beka, you've already proved that," Trance offered with her own smile, but she then looked concerned. "Beka, things will change when we return, it won't be like before, I want you to be prepared."
"What things?"
"I can't say for fear of what might happen if I do, but all I can say is that Harper will need you more than ever, don't let him go," Trance stated, before moving and walking away in the opposite direction.
Beka showed a flash of confusion before looking to where Harper was still waiting for her, quickly she made up the distance and they both finally continued on their quest for food.
TBC