Disclaimer: Pearl, the Ivory Core, and the dimensional world ALL belongs to me. Sadly, Andromeda does not. I DON'T OWN RHADE! (Cries loudly)

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Only two people voted on who they think should play Pearl. It was either between Alicia Witt and Alyson Hannigan to play Pearl. I NEED MORE VOTES! So please, ALL OF YOU, vote!

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Title My one & Only Pearl

Author GreenLeaf7

Chapter 21: True Feelings

The small band made their way down the corridor, all of their senses on high for any noise that would signal an enemy was close by.

They had formed a standard position of keeping themselves protected as well as ready for anything amiss.

Pearl and Brendan were in the lead, standing side by with their weapons at the ready. Harper was right behind them, his own gun loaded and ready, but grumbling about why he wasn't chosen to be in the front with Pearl.

The last ones were Shamus and Gaheris, who were in the back of the pack. Actually, it was really Shamus and Ivory since Gaheris was still in his state of deep sleep as Ivory repaired him.

They too had their weapons powered, but instead of Pearl and Brendan keeping the path up ahead clean, they had to keep watch if anything jumped on them from behind.

"Are we there yet?" Harper suddenly questioned. But he jumped when everyone rounded on him and gave him a death glare.

"Well, I was just wondering!" Harper countered back before folding his arms and looking like an angry child.

But this got Pearl into thinking…she really had no clue as to where they were going.

With all the twist and turns she had passed while under the eye of the guards when she had arrived, it was easy to get lost. And she wasn't even on the same deck, probably on the deck below or something.

Pearls sudden silence made everyone turn their heads to look at her. Feeling their gaze, she slowly turned around to face them.

She really didn't want to say it…but there was no other way.

"We have a problem…" Pearl started while diverting her eyes from the others.

"What kind of prob…?"

A sudden gunfire had sent a shot whizzing past Brendan's left ear, before he got to finish his sentence. An inch more and the shot would have pierced his ear for an earring.

"SHIT!" Brendan screamed as he stumbled away and fell to the floor.

"Get down!" Pearl screamed as she herself dropped to the floor.

Instantly, everyone else dropped to the floor and started firing. From the position they were in, only shadows on the walls could give them an indication as to where the enemy was located.

The corridor they were on was just about to split into three different directions, which was shaped like a T. This was the reason why Pearl decided to confess that she was officially lost. She didn't know which path to take.

They were now right smack in the corner unit where the three directions were about to show up and judging by how they were now pinned down by rapid gun fire…it was a good thing that Pearl chose to stop.

"Looks like someone knew we were going in this direction." Harper said as he fired shots at the enemy.

Pearl too had brought up her forcelance and was firing at the enemy, but stopped at Harper had said.

"Someone knew? No, someone was watching us." Pearl's eyes winded when she understood.

"Gerksand…" Pearl softly said as she swallowed hard.

Gerksand was watching them…at this very moment. This was all an ambush!

Pearls fury at this quickly evaporated any feeling of being alone and tired. With a new found energy from deep within the fires of her soul, Pearl turned towards the others.

"We can't stay here. Gerksand had planned all of this." Pearl stated.

"No doubt planning that we will use all of our weapons power…" Shamus continued as he too understood.

"So what do we do?" Brendan questioned as he took a lucky shot at one of the enemies legs.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!" Brendan screamed out as they all heard the scream of pain from Brendan's last target.

Pearl shook her head and couldn't suppress a smile. But the smile vanished when she began to think of what exactly they were to do.

They had no way of knowing which where the Hanger was or for that matter how to get there. They needed a map…

"A map! The computer should have a layout of the whole ship!" Pearl thought over, excitement coming over her that they still could have a chance.

Knowing that Harper had a dataport, Pearl quickly looked around for any computer pad that he could use to help them out.

Her eyes instantly landed on the wall facing them. A small door unit, looking like a shoot of some sort, was right next to a small computer pad on the wall.

"Maps are in the guidance section of the computer, which is the last thing to go as the Virus eats everything else…" Pearl said to herself as she turned her attention to Harper.

Pearl, with her forcelance at the ready, quickly ran over towards Harper who was in the end of the group.

She skidded and dropped to Harper's side, just when a shot would have sliced across her shoulder blade.

"Harper, I need your help." Pearl rushed out to Harper.

Harper looked at Pearl, wondering what his sister was going to ask.

"You can enter a ships matrix, right?" Pearl asked.

Harper nodded his head, but then looked at Pearl when he thought of something. "I can, but it's dangerous to go into a computer that's infected with a virus."

But Pearl waved her hand like what he said wasn't important. "That's already taken care of when I improved the virus. It won't affect humans what so ever." Pearl confirmed.

With that said, Harper immediately jumped at the prospect of helping out as well checking out the destruction that Pearls virus was capable off. After all…he wanted to see his genius sister's work in action.

"What can I do?" Harper asked.

"If you can enter the ships matrix, can you find a way out of here?" Pearl asked.

Not a second had gone by when Harper immediately responded. "Sure can, as long as it's not melted into cra…well you get the idea." Harper answered.

Pearl gave a small smile to Harper before turning her head towards the wall facing them. Harper too turned to look at what his sister was looking at and it was then that he saw the computer pad.

"Cover me." Harper said as he picked up his gun.

Pearl nodded her head and winked at him before turning towards the others. With the simplest hand motions which Pearl signaled, the others immediately understood the plan and prepared themselves to cover Harper.

With her forcelance at the ready, Pearl waited until the firing had slow down some before signaling Harper to go.

Harper gave her a wink before running at full speed towards the other side. Like expected, gun fire erupted from the other side while Pearl, Brendan, and Gaheris fired back.

Dodging here and there, Harper made it to the other side. When he reached it, he gave Pearl the thumbs up before preparing himself to enter the computer.

Pearl watched for a minute as Harper connected his dataport. His eyes rolled back and he immediately slumped against the wall. But Pearl knew he was alright.

"You two have gotten close." A voice stated her in ear.

Pearl turned to see her brother looking at her, his eyes looking…sad.

"Yes, we have." Pearl said, not fully knowing where this was heading. Why was Shamus acting this way? And what was up with the sad eyes.

"In a way, it's like getting to know you again. It's like getting to know that other side of you." Pearl finished.

"Getting to know me again? My other side? What's that suppose to mean?" Shamus questioned.

Poor Gaheris/Ivory and Brendan were the only ones who were now firing at the enemy as Shamus and Pearl were having their 'little' discussion.

"Why are you acting this way? You've been spitting out remarks to Harper since I got here and now you're acting like a crab." Pearl heatedly replied.

"Well I think it's my job to watch over my sister before she makes a huge mistake." Shamus countered.

Pearls eyes widened in surprise. "What the hell are you talking about!"

"Don't give me that look, because you know exactly what I'm talking about. I know the way your mind clicks Pearl…Pearlana!" Shamus countered back.

"You see! Now I'm calling you the way he nicknamed you!"

It was than that Pearl understood. Her brother was jealous. In seeing the way Harper and her had interacted, Shamus was feeling left out. Well she was going to stop this once and for all.

"Shamus Harper, for your information I happen to like my new nickname and yes you're right. Harper and I have gotten close." Pearl began.

Shamus made to speak, but Pearl cut him off by placing her finger over his lips to shush him.

"But that doesn't mean you are being replaced. I love you Shamus and I always will!" Pearl said as she removed her finger from Shamus' lips.

"You will always have a special first class seat in my heart. You, mom, and dad…my family will always have a special place in my heart. And don't you forget it!" Pearl emphasized as she poked at Shamus' chest.

Shamus looked away from Pearl to look at Harper who was still slumped against the wall.

"You're going to stay here….aren't you? You're going to stay with Harper." Shamus softly whispered as he looked straight back at Pearl.

Pearl pursed her lips and didn't answer Shamus' question. But it really wasn't a question but a statement, after all Shamus was right. He knew the way Pearls mind clicked and he knew that Pearl was going to stay.

The only thing he didn't know was why…

"OH SHIT!" Harper suddenly screamed out as his dataport went up in sparks.

Pearl and Shamus instantly turned their heads towards Harper as he began jolting around while trying to pull out the cord.

Without a thought, Pearl left Shamus' side and ran to Harper. When she got there she helped him to take off the cord.

"I have GOT to get this thing spark proof!" Harper said to know one in particular as he rubbed his neck.

"Are you ok?" Pearl asked her voice caked in worry.

Harper, seeing that he now had an audience, looked at Pearl. His eyes widened as he suddenly gripped Pearls arms tightly.

"They're surrounding us Pearl. They're all over the place. At least fifty are coming from behind us! And over sixty are coming from the front!" Harper stated.

"There's no way out…" Harper finished as he looked straight into Pearl's golden eyes.

It felt like her brain had turned to mush. Pearl couldn't think, couldn't react, couldn't do anything but stare at Harper and blink.

As her blankness covered her, a tiny flame from with began to grow. She didn't come all this way to be stopped.

"Where there's a will, there's a way." Pearl stated as she blinked and looked around.

The others, who had not heard the discussion due to the gun fire, were oblivious as to what was happening between Pearl and Harper.

"You said there was no way out…are you sure about that." Pearl said as she looked around the corridor they were in.

Harper appeared to be lost in doomsday, since he didn't respond to Pearl. She had to snap her fingers in front of his face to get him out of his 'we're done for' state of mind.

"Stay with me Harper!" Pearl called out as Harper looked at Pearl startled.

"We're not dead yet. Now you said that there was no way out, are you absolutely sure?" She asked again.

"Yeah, there are no other corridors or entrances that aren't already filled with dirtbags." Harper stated, wondering where Pearl was going with this.

Pearl had been looking around the entire area and it was then that she discovered a well concealed door a little down the corridor (where they had came from), large enough for Gaheris to crawl into.

"A way out doesn't mean a path seen." Pearl said mostly to herself. "Where does this door lead to?" Pearl asked as she maneuvered herself to crouch in front of it.

"That? That's not a door. It's a hatch to the ventilation shaft." Harper explained.

"The ventilation shaft?" Pearl questioned as she maneuvered her fingers all around the door, looking for a latch or anything.

"Yeah, it's a kind of catwalk that runs the length of the ship. Anything that doesn't belong in there will immediately get sent into the disposal and gas section of the ship."

Harper explained.

"But this shaft was shut down." He finished.

Pearl looked at Harper and gave him an 'it's so obvious' look, but he appeared to be clueless. So she had to give him an all too blunt clue.

"And where does this shaft end up in?" Pearl asked in a pleasant voice.

"Oh, it goes all around the ship. Right to the hang…." Harper's eyes widened as he figured it out.

"You see, that wasn't so hard now was it?" Pearl said as she turned her attention back to the door. She noticed that the hatch was old, with rust lining the edges. It wouldn't be difficult to open it.

"But the latch is in the inside, not on the outside. There's no way to open the…" Harper swallowed his tongue when he watched Pearl give one hard side kick to the door.

With a bang the hatch gave way and fell inside the now visible shaft. Pearl turned towards Harper and gave him the biggest grin.

"Shall we?" She pleasantly asked as she motioned with her hands the shaft.

Harper gave his own smirk before peering inside the shaft. While he did so, Pearl turned towards the others and waved them over.

Shamus had kept his eyes on Pearl the entire time, watching as they talked and when she kicked the wall. Inside himself he was screaming. Pearl didn't tell him that she was going to stay or not. And that only meant one thing.

"Once we get out of here, we're immediately leaving this dimension and going to the other where our families went to. If Pearlana stays here any longer, I'm going to loose her." Shamus confirmed with himself.

When Brendan, Gaheris/Ivory, and Shamus reached Pearl and Harper; they were looking fatigued…all except for Gaheris.

"What did you find?" Brendan as he peered into the shaft.

Gaheris and Shamus kept watch with their weapons at the ready. But it was strange; the firing had stopped all together. Almost like they were waiting…

"A way out." Pearl replied as she maneuvered herself to kneel next to the hatch. "Give me your spare forcelance."

Without question, Brendan unhooked his own and gave it to Pearl. Once it was in Pearls hands she motioned for Brendan to crawl into the shaft.

Without a word, and all too eagerly, Brendan crawled in. Soon after Pearl turned to look at Shamus, their eyes locking for a brief moment before he disappeared inside the shaft.

Pearl shook her head and turned her attention to Ivory. Ivory on the other hand was not looking at Pearl but had its attention on the corridor leading up.

"They are coming…" It finally said after a while.

"Than its time." Pearl stated as she overloaded Brendan's extra forcelance.

"What do you plan on doing with that?" Ivory questioned as it watched Pearl slowly get up.

"Prisoners! Surrender now. There's no way out and you know it!" A sudden voice rang out from the other end of the corridor.

Pearl turned her attention back to Ivory. "It's not polite to leave without giving a going away present."

With that, Pearl raised the forcelance and threw it with force up the corridor and right in the middle of the guards.

In unison, Gaheris/Ivory and Pearl jumped into the shaft and closed it behind them. With Ivory's help, they held the door as the power of the explosion passed right outside it.

A moment later, there was complete silence. Pearl closed her eyes and slid down to the floor as she breathed in. It was a relief that that was over.

"I believe they enjoyed the gift." The voice of Gaheris spoke next to her.

Pearls eyes flashed open and she looked straight at Gaheris who was smiling down at her.

"Gaheris, you're ok." Pearl said as she smiled up at him.

Gaheris nodded his head before extending his hand for Pearl to take. She took it and he helped her up to her feet.

"I wanted to say thank you Pearlana, for pushing me to accept the Ivory Core…though I think you need to work on your negotiations." He playfully warned as he pulled Pearl to her feet.

"Yeah, about that…I'm sorry for my outburst. I would never hurt you…" Pearl clamped her mouth shut, feeling her cheeks grow hot.

Gaheris seemed not to mind Pearl's sudden choice of words. On the contrary, his smile deepened. His hand was still holding on to Pearls and he gently squeezed it.

She slowly raised her eyes to look up at him, feeling incredibly shy all of a sudden.

"I'm really proud of you Pearlana. On everything you have accomplished." Gaheris started.

He began to slowly lean forward to Pearls level, his eyes rapidly blinking while looking at Pearl in a silent question…

"HEY! What are you guys waiting for? Christmas! Let's GO!" Harper called out.

He had been watching the exchange between Pearl and Gaheris…and he did not like it one bit. Once this was over he was going to confront this Gaheris fellow. Nietzchean or Nietzchean, there was no doubt about it…

…Gaheris was hitting on his sister! A Nietzchean was going to kiss his sister if he had not interfered. And Gaheris wasn't the only one he was going to have a talking too, Pearl had hers coming.

Gaheris immediately brought himself up, his face going redder than a tomato. Pearl's cheeks had turned a bright shade of pink. She knew what was going to happen, and she wanted it to happen!

"I'm going to kill Harper…" Pearl angrily muttered to herself as turned towards Harper. She gave Harper her deadliest, pissed of glare she could give to anyone and was rewarded when Harper took a step back…or maybe that was Shamus.

"We should get going." Gaheris' voice brought Pearl out of her death glare.

She turned towards him and reluctantly watched as he released her hands and stepped away from her.

"So close and yet so far. DAMN YOU HARPER!" Pearl bowed her head and breathed deeply before following Gaheris towards the others.

"Wait, does this mean you're completely cured?" Pearl asked when she reached his side.

They were all now making their way down the shaft. Small beacons of light were the only source of light in the dark shaft, but neither made it any attention.

In the lead was Harper since he knew which way to go. Shamus and Brendan were behind Harper, while Gaheris was right behind them.

Pearl was in the end of the group, or for the time being next to Gaheris.

Gaheris closed his eyes and raised a finger to his temple. "It's strange to talk to someone while you're having a conversation with an alien entity." He said as he opened his eyes to look down at Pearl.

"I know the feeling. It takes some getting to use to, that's all." Pearl replied. "Trust me, your not going crazy." She said with a laugh.

Gaheris smiled when Pearl laughed. It was a long time since he heard her laugh.

"Since I don't want it to control me anymore, he's telling to me to tell you that he's almost done curing me." Gaheris explained. "All that's left is some tissue repair and such."

Pearl nodded her head in understanding. "That's good to hear. I guess our wounds are slowly healing?"

Gaheris turned again to look at Pearl, but she was looking straight ahead.

"It takes time for a wound to heal. But friendship…and love…can help it to heal faster." Gaheris softly replied, his eyes never leaving Pearls.

At the mention of love, Pearl immediately snapped her head up to look at Gaheris. Her eyes widened as Gaheris just smiled.

Suddenly, the high beam lights above turned on. The blue neon lights below them blinked on and off like a runway.

"I thought you said that this shaft was in shutdown?" Pearl questioned towards Harper.

Harper turned towards Pearl and shrugged his shoulders, neither himself understanding what was happening.

When the sudden rumble occurred beneath their feet, everyone instantly raised their weapons and started to backup until they were near enough to each other. That is…all except for one.

Pearl's forcelance was at the ready, but her concentration was on the sounds she was hearing from her position. From where she stood, she could clearly hear something that sounded like metal against metal being pounded and smashed.

But whatever the sound was, it was creating a rhythm of sound…a rhythm that soon Pearl had memorized.

"Pearlana, what are you doing!" Shamus called out towards his sister.

Pearl barely heard her brother because of the impending sounds below her which seemed to get louder and louder.

"Pearlana…" This time it was Gaheris who was calling Pearl.

Pearl looked away from the floor and towards Gaheris. He had walked away from the group and was now walking towards her, his hand held out for her to take.

And then…silence. The sounds below Pearl suddenly stopped leaving only Gaheris' voicecalling for her.

What puzzled Pearl was that no one had heard the sounds…

"Pearl…?" Gaheris softly asked, the first time he ever called her by using her nickname.

Pearl started to walk towards Gaheris, shaking her head as to what she had heard. Well, whatever it was…it was gone now.

She spoke too soon…

A sudden forceful wind picked up from right beneath Pearl, blowing her hair up to stand on end. Her clothes flapped as the wind grew stronger. Shescreamed as she felt herself begin to lift up and into the air.

"Pearlana!" She heard Gaheris call out in alarm. But all she could see was a blur of colors as the wind seemed to pick her up a good few inches.

When that happened, it was then that Pearl looked down. The floor she had been on a minute ago was no longer there. Instead there was a pitch black shaft that went straight down to who knew where.

"GAHERIS!" Pearl screamed as she tried to move out of the wind. She even started kicking like someone was swimming. She did everything she could do to try and reach towards Gaheris.

She reached herself as far as she could go since the wind restricted her movements. The closer she got she began to see past the strong wall of wind.

She could see that her brothers and cousin had held on to each others hands forming a human chain. Gaheris was at the front, his own hand reaching out towards the wind…hoping that Pearl would reach out and take it.

And she was so close to take his hand. Her fingers had barely reached out and through the wall of wind, when it stopped all together. The wind had stopped like someone had flipped the switch.

Pearl immediately screamed as she began to fall. She reached out towards Gaheris, but they were too far apart to hold on to each other. The very tips of Pearl's fingers lightly touched Gaheris' before she had completely fallen into the dark shaft.

Her screaming was an echo as she was enveloped entirely in darkness. Until that too was gone leaving everyone in complete and total horror struck.

Another chapter bites the dust. 12 pages in length…WOW

So I want to thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I MISSED YOU ALL! Well, as you can see I'm back and writing.

Stay tuned for the next chapter…which is to come real soon. :)

THANKS TO ALL WHO READ THIS FIC! Even if you don't review, though I wish you would, I hope that for a few minutes I entertained your curious minds.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!