"Lara, Jor-El was going to tell me what exactly is going on…."Chloe whispered urgently, and Lara nodded, looking around at the women just near them. "How can I find him?"
"He's waiting for you, beyond the doors." Lara said softly. "Having your Ceremony of Dedication will save more than one life today." She took Chloe's hand. "Kara, my niece will die today unless my brother in law sees you, and Kal-El together."
"Die?" Chloe hissed in alarm. "What do you mean, die?"
"You are Kal-El's lifemate. Of that there is no mistake." Lara sighed, raising an elegant hand to halt the steps of their companions. "My daughter in law is unwell. We will take a moment in here." She pressed a fingertip to the glowing wall and a doorway appeared.
A small room, lined with cushioned benches lay before them and Chloe and Lara stepped inside, the door closing silently behind them, leaving the other women out in the corridor to wait.
"I'm not even going to ask how you did that." Chloe's voice was whispered awe.
"Even if you did, we would not have time for me to explain. Another such opportunity will have to be looked forward to in the future." Lara nodded. "You have come to Krypton one of your Earth days before the explosion that destroys everyone and everything."
"That means Clark is here?" Chloe gasped, and Lara shook her head sadly.
"He is long gone. We pretend for appearance sake, our servants are loyal and do not tell our secrets. His little ship will be carried to Earth by the faster flying debris from the explosion. If Kal-El had found the crystal that now at least partially resides in you, he would have been transported here in his dreams to learn the ways of his people, to understand who and what we were. Instead, Zod's corruption touched even our simple plan to save our son. Even from the Phantom Zone, Zod and his followers corrupted our technology with fragments of gemstones found in our mountains. They can be used to cause hallucinations, and others," Lara touched Chloe's necklace. "To direct and focus dreams."
"So, because I have this crystal in me, I'm picking up your radio waves?" Chloe asked, and Lara smiled.
"That is a simplistic way of expressing it, yes. Jor-El's brother, Zor-El has created a time travelling device, large enough for a young girl to fit in. It will make one trip. However, he is reluctant to believe that Jor-El's decision to send our baby into space was the right one and will not let Kara leave." Lara sighed. "Our only hope is that Zor-El sees Kal-El grown, ready to be wed. Your arrival in the Dedication chamber will activate the crystal Kal-El has and he will be transported here just as you are."
"You think that this will make your brother in law let his daughter escape?" Chloe asked. "and does Zor-El have the device with him?"
"What I think does not matter, Chloe. This is our only hope. To save some small part of our race by helping Kara to escape the doom of Krypton." Lara hugged Chloe tight. "It is too much to ask of you, I know. But I have not seen a species so determined to survive as Humanity. Nor one so devoted to the salvation of others, even if it is pursued in the wrong way."
"How have you seen these things?" Chloe was stunned. "How is it possible?"
"I have seen them through you, Chloe." Lara's voice was a whispered prayer. "All of the struggles and victories of Humanity. I have seen them in you. The native shaman named you quite rightly, Angel heart."
Chloe sat up, her hair in damp strips against her forehead. Glancing over at the cable receiver clock, she jumped out of bed and grabbed her keys, running barefoot out into the cool Kansas spring night. She had to wake up Clark, and somehow get him to go back to sleep with her. Grinning at how that sounded, Chloe jumped into her car and sped off toward the Kent farm, hoping against hope that Clark the early bird was awake.
Clark was awake, in spite of it being nearly 3:00 a.m. He had been sleeping fitfully, tossing and turning, dreams of a girl in green dancing in a long ballroom filled with light. Something was jabbing at him through his pocket, and while it did not pain him, Clark had to admit it was irritating. He reached in, and pulled out the oval stone that Livvie had given him earlier. It vibrated a little in his palm, growing warm. It skittered and danced on his palm and then was silent. Headlights in the driveway flashed through the window, and with a screech of brakes, Clark saw Chloe hurtling out of the car and up the front porch, in what had to be her pajamas. He opened the door for her, and she practically fell into his arms.
He grinned at her, welcoming her with a kiss. "Chloe, I can't believe you're here. And, in your pajamas." Clark pulled her a little closer. "Why Miss Sullivan, this is all, so sudden." Clark made his voice mock scandalized. "What about my reputation? This is a small town, you know." The thought of Chloe making a late night booty call was enough to make Clark's eyes tingle with warmth, but apparently, Chloe had other plans.
"Clark, quit being silly." Chloe breathed, smiling at him. "We have to go to sleep. Right now." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the couch. "Really. Sleep. Where is that crystal?"
"Lara's Crystal? I put it back in Grandmother Clark's desk. Why?" Clark asked, as Chloe adjusted pillows and made the couch ready for them to sleep on. "Chloe, what's going on?"
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, Clark. I'm about to introduce you to your parents." Chloe studied the couch. "We should both fit here, I think. Come on, Clark Jerome Kent! Time is wasting!" She turned, seeing him standing there watching her. "Get the crystal."
Clark shrugged and went to the desk, avoiding the blue velvet box that held Chloe's necklace. Lara's crystal was glowing softly, illuminating the inside of the desk. Clark took it out and turned back to Chloe. She was watching him, and smiling.
"What now?" Clark asked, looking down. His feet were bare, but that wasn't why she was smiling at him.
"Do you always sleep in your jeans?" Chloe asked, and Clark grinned. Other than his boots and socks, Clark was still wearing his clothes from earlier that day.
"I fell asleep on the couch trying to study. I'll be right back." He zipped upstairs and returned just as quickly wearing a new t-shirt and sweatpants. "Okay, ready to go to sleep."
"Go lay down." Chloe pointed to the couch, and then promptly cuddled up beside him. She grabbed the hand he was holding the crystal with, and placed it on his chest, and kept her hand there as well. "Okay. Go to sleep. I'll explain everything when we get there."
"Get where?" Clark turned to look down into Chloe's face. "What are we doing?"
"We're going to Krypton, Clark." Chloe sighed and closed her eyes. "This is the best way to get there yet. Go on, go to sleep."
Clark opened his eyes. He was alone in a large, vaulted room. He walked around it, to a large window that looked out onto a large and busy city. The sky was a pale green, with white clouds marbled in it, the pale outline of three moons in various phases just visible. The city was unlike any other Clark had seen, spires of crystalline elegantly stretched toward the waxing and waning moons. "Krypton." He gasped, leaning his head against the window. "It's magnificent."
"It is." Jor-El's voice surprised Clark, and he turned around. In all the years he had heard who he had assumed to be Jor-El, never had he truly thought of what his father would look like. Jor-El was tall, not quite as tall as Zod had been. He stood before Clark, his white hair caught in away from his face in a long pony tail, his robes a deep and sedate navy blue. But his green eyes had filled with tears of pride. "But nothing would have prepared me for this moment, Kal-El. Having just placed you in the shuttle only hours ago. How small and fragile you were. And now, my son." Jor-El smiled. "You are a man."
Clark blinked away tears of his own. "I don't understand. How am I here?"
"The crystal your mother sent in the ship with you has the power to direct your dreams. And through the connection your Chloe Sullivan has with it, we are able to draw you both back in time." Jor-El advanced two steps. "We hoped we could complete your education this way, watch you grow. But Zod stole that from us, using crystals of his own to control the ship and other Kryptonian stones of this nature, trying to escape from the Phantom Zone."
"How do I know you're well, you?" Clark asked, and Jor-El nodded in understanding.
"I am not proud to admit it, but in your past, I had been sent to Earth to learn obedience, before my marriage to your mother. I fell in love with a human woman, named Louise.. She was beautiful and a jealous lover murdered her. Hiram Kent helped me escape, and his son, Jonathan became your Earthly father. I left behind a token, a memento."
"The necklace in the caves." Clark said, and Jor-El smiled and then laughed.
"Ah, you did find it. I am not surprised. You are much like your mother. With her, there are no secrets." Jor-El closed the distance between them and placed his hands on Clark's shoulders. "My son." He embraced Clark, who now could no longer blink back the tears. Kal-El had come home.
Chloe, for her part, awoke with Lara in the small sitting room she had been in earlier.
She blinked and stood, Lara rose with her, alarm etched into the older woman's beautiful face, all composure lost.
"Chloe, what is it?" She asked, and then stopped, her hand over her heart. All the color drained from Lara's face, and she looked around the small room. "He is here. I can feel him. Oh, Chloe!" Lara gasped. "Please, where is he?"
"I don't know." Chloe answered, holding Lara's hand tightly. "How can I know?"
Lara smiled, through the silvery tears that stained her cheeks. "How do you always know, most precious girl?" Lara touched Chloe's chest, over her heart. "With your very soul."
Chloe closed her eyes and concentrated. "He's with Jor-El."
Lara looked up, her face exquisite in the emotions that raced across it. "Rao be praised. Come, Chloe. Your dedication must wait."
The two women burst from the room, and the women who had been waiting for them jumped in surprise.
"Lara, what is wrong?" One woman, the one in deep green, stepped forward. Her eyes were a deep shade of forget-me-not blue and Chloe knew her instantly. Kara's mother.
"He is here." Lara whispered. The woman gasped, and looked behind her at others. "The chance to save Kara is here."
"Rao defend us." The woman said, shaking her head. "The Dedication?"
"Kara must complete her Dedication. Go,tell them that Chloe is unwell. Be with your daughter while you still can. I'll meet you at the chamber doors." Lara hugged her sister in law frantically. "Our children will be saved, Kira." Her voice was savage in it's pride, fierce in it's devotion. "Jor-El was RIGHT."
Lara released her sister in law, grabbed Chloe's hand and dragged her down the corridor, as Kira shooed the other women back to the room where the girls waited their turn in the Chamber. The shimmering doors loomed before them, but Lara turned left and touched the wall, opening another hidden door. Chloe made a mental note to ask how they did that, and then promptly forgot the idea when the scene in the room became clear to her dreaming mind.
Clark, dressed as usual in his denim jacket, a neat blue and white plaid shirt and work worn jeans, stood beside his father against a landscape that Chloe was sure could not be real. Jor-El was tall, taller than Clark but not by much, as regal looking as Lara. Lara.
Chloe turned around to find Clark's natural mother frozen in the doorway of the chamber.
She had put her hand on the doorframe to steady herself, and for a moment it seemed she was not breathing. Her eyes did not leave her husband and son.
"Lara?" Chloe went back to her and took her hand. "Are you ready to meet Clark, I mean, Kal-El?"
"Clark." Lara said the name, her voice full of wonder. "My son. My Kal-El." She turned to Chloe. "I feel as if I could not take another step All of my strength has left me."
"You do not need to, beloved." Jor-El said, walking to the women with Clark beside him. "See, your son comes to you."
"Lara." Clark smiled, and Chloe could tell that as much as his heart broke for it, he could not call her mother. Lara, however, was not disturbed at all by this, because she just shook her head, lowering her face.
"I cannot." She turned her white-gowned back, dropping her face into her hands. "If I see you now, and have to say goodbye again, I will spend the next hours in agony, praying for the explosion to come that much sooner. I cannot bear it."
"Lara, if I cannot look into your face now, never get to see you again…." Clark began, choking back a sob himself. "Even if this is just a dream…"
Lara turned and raised her face so that he could see her. The resemblance between mother and son was uncanny, from the moist eyes to the brave, bright smile and the dark, unruly curls. "My son." She opened her arms and pulled him to her, with a huge sigh of relief. "My son, my son."
Clark laughed as she held him, closing his eyes. Her scent was familiar, the only thing he had remembered about Krypton, besides her name. Lara. Clark let her hold him, and then pulled himself away just enough to look down at her. There was something he wanted her to know.
"I am loved, Lara. Martha and Jonathan Kent gave me everything they knew how to, loved me better than if I had been their own. I am the man I am because of them, and I want you to know that. Sending me to Earth, to them…"
"Love, love." Lara sighed, wiping her eyes. "I know." She reached for Chloe's hand and squeezed it. "Rao knows I am grateful for every blessing, and the Kents are definitely mine. Earth has been my blessing. Darling, darling boy."
Jor-El cleared his throat, and smiled at them. "Lara, you forget yourself." He said softly teasing, and she shook her head, dignified in her combined joy and grief.
"I have never been more myself than I am right now. I am surrounded by everyone I love. And no matter what happens now, knowing Kal-El is definitely safe, with a future." She looked at Chloe again,smiling. "I am satisfied beyond all understanding."
Jor-El nodded. "And you have never been more beautiful." He held out a hand to Chloe. "There is still much to do. I have told Kal-El all that we hope to achieve, Chloe."
"So, once we gather ourselves together again, we go to the chamber of Dedication." Chloe said, nodding. "But then what.?"
"My brother and his family will be there, waiting. Kara has been Dedicated already?" Jor-El asked, and Lara nodded, still looking at Clark. "We will present you to the house of El, and you will become a member of the family. This is not a marriage, but you will be bound to the House of El by your promise." Jor-El patted Chloe's hand. "I am proud to call you daughter, child. So much of what I loved about Earth, I can see in you."
Chloe smiled up at him. "Thank you, Jor-El."
Jor-El nodded. "And now, if you will forgive us, my wife needs to collect herself, and I must fetch, ehem, proper audience garments for my son." Jor-El eyed Clark's jeans with a flicker of envy. "I wish I still fit into the pants I brought back. Well," Waving away the thought, Jor-El took Lara's hand. "We will return for you in a moment."
When they had gone, and the door slid to a close behind them, Chloe moved to the window, to stare out at the landscape. The sky had deepened to the deep green blue of an emerald, the stars just as pure and sparkling white as they were on Earth. Clark had said nothing, too overcome to speak. Chloe let him have his moment. She remembered her visit to her mother in the private mental hospital Uncle Sam had found for her. Just the simple look of recognition and gentle touch had destroyed Chloe, and she was sure Clark was having the same emotions.
She kept her back to him, allowing him the space he needed. After a moment, she heard him sniffle and then the sounds of his boots on the floor, the steps ponderously heavy in the silence of the room.
"You look amazing." Clark said finally. "Like you belong here."
Chloe turned, grinning. "That's all you have to say? Clark! You just had a moment that defies description and all you can say is how great I look?"
"You do." Clark replied. "This. All of it," He gestured to the cityscape before them. "I have to process yet." He started to put his arm around her shoulders and then thought better of it, and took her hand instead. "About this Dedication business. Jor-El explained it to me, and to get my uncle to let Kara go, we have to be betrothed. Proper guardians, or something like that." He shifted uncomfortably. "It doesn't have to stick when we get back, if you don't want it to."
"Gee Clark, it's a little late for commitment issues, isn't it?" Chloe laughed, resting her head on his arm. "I don't care about any of this. Whatever our future brings, I'll be glad as long as I'm with you."
He nodded and turned her to face him. "If we were to ever get married, I mean, really, it won't be for awhile. Not until we're done with school, and you've…." Clark reached out and touched the necklace she wore, his eyes wide. "made your name in journalism." His finger traced the pendant and then he looked up into her eyes. "I'm willing to do this, and mean it. I love you, Chloe."
"Oh, Clark." Chloe reached up and touched his face. "I've always loved you. I always will." She smiled again. "Don't think I could find a wedding gown on Earth like this one anyway."
Clark smiled. "I wish I had a camera." He leaned down and kissed her softly. "I'll remember you this way, though, forever."