We don't need another hero

Ai and Yǎtíng followed the silent Viper across a landing pad that was flanked by several of them. She was clearly heading towards some military style buildings in the distance but Ai and her clone sister simply followed. The Nightstalker's keen senses picked out forms here and there, all wearing X-Com uniforms and bearing weapons, but focused on their duties. Whatever this place was, it was heavily guarded. Good. What little terrain Ai could see in the distance gave little evidence of where they were in the world. She could see higher ground in the far distance, but nothing that could be called 'mountains'. The ground was dry and sandy, so probably a desert. Ai kicked herself mentally and focused on the now. She didn't need to know where they were. All she needed to do was get to Alley and-

"No!" An impassioned scream came from nearby and Arisha came to sudden stop in mid-slither. Ai and Yǎtíng stopped as well as lights came on all around them, spotlighting a taller building close at hand. A control tower of some kind and the small form who hung his legs off the side of the very top of it! Suddenly the trio was surrounded by forms in X-Com uniforms, but small forms! Kids? Arisha was frozen solid and everyone else was staring up even as Alley appeared nearby, her face scared. She yelled again! "Sam!" The Viper Matron screamed upwards. "Don't!"

"I need to fly." Came a distant, sad male voice from the boy who stood up on the high roof. "Matron! Let me fly!"

Ai felt her heart plummet as she realized he was going to jump! A quick look showed no one with equipment nearby to catch him. Maybe Alley could heal such injuries as such a fall would leave, but what it would do to Alley... Ai and Yǎtíng looked at one another. Nothing needed to be said. Ai took off at a run towards the sole door she could see on the building and Yǎtíng stood where she was, her hands still and in plain sight. Other soldiers in uniform were heading that way, but Ai was closest.

"Ai!" Alley and Arisha both chorused, but Ai ignored them, slamming through the door to the building and taking the steps up the tower two and three at a time. She could hear other people running behind her, but she only had eyes for the stairs. If she tripped, she would be too late. Even if she didn't, she might be too late anyway but she had to try.

She was still in shape and thanks to Arisha and Yǎtíng, she was rested, so she kept ahead of whoever was following her until she burst out of the stairwell and into the control tower proper. Three people stood nearby as Ai ran to a ladder that had to lead upwards. Without a word, she threw herself up the ladder, again, two rungs at a time.

"STAY BACK!" An angry male voice had Ai tensing even as she mantled up onto the roof of the tower. She took in the scene at a glance. The kid wore a uniform just like the others, but his was torn and dirty as if he had been running or climbing. He probably had been to get here. He was on his feet outside the low safety rail that ran around the work space atop the tower. He stood on an angled edge that led to a long fall. The ground was at least thirty meters down. Maybe twice that.

"Okay." Ai said quietly, but firmly as she moved to stand by the ladder. The boy stared at her, eyes huge.

"Who are you?" The boy demanded, fear and anger warring as he stared at her. If he took a step, he was going down and AI was well out of reach. "You are not X-Com!"

"No, I'm not. My name is Ai." Ai made sure to keep her tone light and conversational as she squatted on her heels. She could move fast from that position, but it looked less threatening. Good in this situation. "What is yours?"

"You don't know who I am?" The boy asked, incredulity warring with his fear and rage.

"Should I?" Ai inquired mildly. "I just got here. I am trying to be polite."

"You are trying to stop me!" The boy declared, shifting his stance.

"Well, yeah." Ai retorted and the boy stared at her. "Duh?" She shrugged. "I don't know you, but from how Alley reacted on seeing you up here? She does. If you go splat, I bet she will get mad." She gave a highly exaggerated shudder. "I um… I made her mad recently. I don't want to do it again." She said with a grimace. "She is scary when she gets mad."

"Yes, she is. She tries to be nice, but she is very scary when she gets mad." The boy said weakly. "I um… I don't mean to make her mad, but I need to fly."

"What is your name?" Ai asked, careful to keep her hands loose and in plain sight.

"Sam." The boy was so tense now that Ai was worried he might spasm and simply fall, but she didn't dare move.

"Well, Sam, as I said, my name is Ai and I just got here." Ai took a deep breath and then let it out. "But you know what Alley can do, don't you, Sam?" She inquired and Sam nodded, his face falling. "She won't let you die if you jump even from this high, but seeing it happen will hurt her and I have already hurt her. I didn't mean to, but I did. I am not sure how or why, but I did. You fly?" She asked.

"I did, but I got hurt. It is what I am supposed to do, but I am sick now. Broken." Sam said with a sob as he shuffled his feet a little towards the edge.

"So am I." Ai said sadly and he stopped, turning to stare at her. "I um… I made some very bad messes and I did things I wasn't supposed to do." Sam stared at her and Ai shrugged. "I don't remember why I came here. I think I had my memories excised for operational security." Sam nodded again and Ai continued. "That said? I was a soldier. I fought in a war. I broke."

"But… You are not." Sam said weakly, shuffling a little away from the edge now, to Ai's relief.

"No, I don't look broken any more than you do, Sam, but I am. Inside." Ai put her hand to her chest and nodded to him. "It hurts in here. Too long. Too much. Too many."

"Deep." Sam's voice was almost inaudible over the wind that blew across the roof.

"You too, huh?" Ai blew out a breath as Sam nodded. "It sucks." He nodded again and she took a chance. She sat. The boy was talking, not moving. A risk that he could jump before she could react, but she was out of reach and he was a little calmer. "I am not trained for this, Sam. I just know I don't want to make the Matron mad again."

"I was trained to fly." Sam's gaze seemed far away, but Ai wasn't fooled. He was watching her. "I have to fly!"

"Sam, if you go over that edge, you will not fly. You will fall." Ai said firmly. "I am a soldier, not a pilot but I learned a bit. I know the difference between those two things. One can be fun, but the other just hurts." She slumped a bit and then she slowly, ever so slowly, held out her right hand to the boy. "Come on, Sam. Don't make Alley mad, or worse…" Ai swallowed hard. "Don't make her cry."

"I have." Sam said weakly. "I have made her cry! She thinks I don't hear her, but I do! She cannot help me!" Ai felt her guts freeze as the boy looked at the edge with sad longing in his eyes.

"I have made her cry too." Ai admitted. Sam's eyes locked back onto her and went huge. "I am not sure why or how, but I messed up bad." She could not hide the sudden spike of irritation in her tone. "She won't tell me what I did. I am sure she has a good reason for not telling me what I did, but it does irritate me sometimes."

"Me too." Sam shook his head as he stared at the edge and then at Ai. Then he slumped. "I am being a fool, aren't I?"

"Maybe, but then again, so am I." Ai admitted and Sam relaxed as he realized there was no condemnation in her voice. "I am often a fool. When I am put into situations that I was not trained for, I often react in bad ways. I should not have run up here. I am sort of a guest and sort of a prisoner." She admitted and Sam stared at her. "I am a mess, Sam."

"And yet, you came up here to stop me." Sam said slowly and Ai nodded. "Are you some kind of hero?" He was not expecting her to scoff. "What?"

"Sam, I am a soldier." Ai said with a sigh. "I was trained to fight and kill, but I can't do that any more. I am too broken inside." She reached up with the hand that was not extended to him and tapped her head. "In here. I just reacted." She made another face as her arm started to tire where she held it out, but she kept it up. "I was trained to do a job. It was a very hard, very nasty job, but it was my job. I was trained for it. I did the job, but now I can't anymore." She blew out a raspberry that had Sam staring at her with eyes even wider than before. "I am no hero. What I did was horrible."

"I did horrible things too." Sam said in a monotone.

"Well, then you might understand." Ai said with a shrug. "Heroes are people who do things that others think are heroic. No more. No less." Sam stared at her and then, he nodded slowly. "Some of them are good people, some of them are not. Being called a hero by most people means absolutely nothing to me, Sam. I did my job. I helped some people and hurt others. I have taken many lives and I got sick. Inside my head."

"I hurt my friends." Sam said weakly. "Scared them very badly." Ai nodded and he stared at her. "You too?"

"Yeah." Ai was staring off into space now. "I never thought I would survive the war, you know? It was really bad for a while. I saw so many of my compatriots killed or maimed. And then, I went nuts." Sam's face held sympathy, but he did not interrupt. He did hunker down though a bit closer to her. A win. "A lot of that is a blur." Ai admitted. "But then, I met someone who simply refused to give up on me. Who pulled me out of the dark pit I was stuck in." She chuckled, but there as little mirth in it. "I was a bit of handful, but he was kind. He was so kind and so gentle. Funny. He was a pilot too. For X-Com, no less. One of the few who survived and I pulled him out of a crash-" Ai broke off as Sam inhaled sharply. "Sam?"

"What was his name?" Sam asked very softly. Was he scared? No. Or, not of Ai! She hadn't done anything!

"I shouldn't say." Ai heaved another sigh. "I know the Matron will be mad at me for-" She broke off as Sam rose and took a slow step towards her. "Sam?" She asked, not daring to move. The boy was incredibly emotional right now. Was he sane? Was she?

"Nightstalker Ai." Sam said in a very small voice and Ai went totally still. She hadn't introduced herself as such! Not to him! Sam slowly shook his head. "His name was Samuel Jefferson Pikerson…" At each name, Ai felt her guts clench further. How could he know that? "...and you saved his life when he crashed. They were coming for him at the crash site. You drove them off, pulled him out of the wreck and escaped with him. He was a member of the Mutant Alliance who joined X-Com." At that, Ai jerked back away from the boy, her arm falling to her side and her face freezing. The boy went still as well, his face working as he tried to make sense of things. "No! No! This is not right! This is not possible!"

"You are right! It is not! How…" Ai stammered, undone. "You… I don't know you!"

"And I don't know you." Sam said weakly. "But I know that is your name and title. Somehow. I know…" He paused and then he smiled, but so very sad. "I know he lived for many years after you… after you sacrificed yourself to save the kids…" Again, Ai backed up a step. "...but he never married. The orphanage eventually became a school that was named in your honor."

This was NOT possible! No one in this time knew she and Jefferson (He had used his middle name with her and few others) had been working to build an orphanage to take in kids who had lost everything in the war! It had helped her, planning to help others instead of kill them. She had dark moments, but Jefferson had always been there for her. Until the last day. That last, horrible mission.

"No. NO!" Ai retreated another step as Sam approached. He paused, not wanting to push her. "Stop!" She demanded and he did. "You… I… No! Sam! Stay back! I am booby trapped! A danger!" She gave herself a firm shake and took several deep breaths. "Sam, whatever is going on between you and me can wait! I need Alley's help and you… Please don't jump." She begged, almost spitting the words out. "I don't want Alley to cry!"

"I… I know you. You are scary as hell, but you do not lie when you can help it." Sam said very softly. "I don't know how I know that but I know it is the truth." He took a deep breath himself and stepped forward, right up to her even as she froze in place. Then he slowly, ever so slowly, wrapped his arms around her legs. He barely came up to her waist. "Help?" He pleaded. "Please?"

Ai slowly wrapped her arms around the boy and just held him as he started to cry. She was crying too.

"Ai?" Alley's scared voice came from behind them but Ai did not move. Did not look. She just held the poor boy. "We need to talk."

"Is it true, Matron?" Ai asked weakly as Sam sobbed into her legs and she held him tight.

"Sort of." Alley said sadly. "Sam needed help and you were free. He is not your Sam."

"You can say it, Matron. I know I must not remember, but I know what this means." Sam muttered into Ai's legs. "I am not her Sam yet."

At that, Ai jerked but Sam held her tight. He stared up at her eyes and his eyes were so different from what she remembered, but… the face… Oh my god! It was the same face! She had been so distracted by his peril and her own emotions, but now? It was him! But young and not with pure black eyes, so...? Ai felt ever more faint as she hugged him tight.

"Jefferson?" Ai said weakly as he hugged her tighter, then she gasped as her mind started to spiral out of control! "I… No… I can't... No! Get away from me! I am losing…" She broke off as Sam started to sing and her madness vanished as it always did when he sang the song that had saved her! Their song!

"Hello darkness my old friend, I have come to talk to you again…" The boy intoned and Ai felt her heart suddenly break. But it was good pain! He stopped and without thought, she continued the same song. The song that always pulled her out of her morass of grief, rage and pain as it had the first time to find love! To find her own personal hero!

"...Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping…" Ai sang, her voice rough in so many ways, but it didn't matter. Sam was smiling at her as she held him and now both were crying and singing. "And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sound of silence."

Hands both human and not were easing Ai and Sam back onto something that yielded underneath them, but Ai only had eyes for Sam and he for her as they held each other. Both ignored everything else as they belted out the very old song that resonated even into Ai's time. They both knew they were safe now and neither wanted to be the first to let go. To stop the song.

"...the sound of silence..."

A timeless moment later

Ai lay beside Sam as he cried himself to sleep on the bed. Yǎtíng was in and out, bemused by this abrupt change but committed to helping Ai through this. Arisha was out and back every so often as well, trying to manage things in what was clearly a madhouse after Sam's near suicide. Alley never left the pair's sides and even now, her hand cupped Sam's head, soothing him with both psionics and gentle caresses.

"I am sorry, Ai." Alley said finally after Sam finally nodded off. "I didn't think it through. Sam needed help and I… I was losing him!"

"It is all right, Matron." Ai said quietly so as not to disturb Sam's restless sleep. She smiled a little forlornly. "Now, my blanked memory makes sense. I assume I did not take it well when I was told about this."

"That is putting it very mildly." Alley heaved a sigh and her hand shifted to Ai's skull, soothing, calming strokes that had Ai relaxing from the raw emotions that had swept through her. "Jian knew it would hurt you very badly to know he was suffering here. She tried to be gentle in telling you, but you did an end run around her and got the information from another source! Then you lost your temper and demanded to come. Walked right up to her and braced her in person! Crazy girl! She is…" She paused as Ai scoffed.

"Angry with me. I know. Jian is a worry wart." Ai snickered as Alley made a soft noise of disbelief. "Comes with the job. Yes, I know what she is. What she does. Can I remember such?"

"I don't know." Alley admitted. "I mean, I am barely treading water here, Ai. Being responsible for the nest was bad enough at times, but now? Suddenly, I have a whole host of hurt kids and even with all of my allies, I don't have a clue what to do most of the time. No matter what, I could definitely use your help."

"I would be honored." Ai said firmly. "Matron, I don't want to fight anymore. Even if this isn't really my Jefferson? He is close enough. He needs help and so do I. I need time to heal and you need a loyal minion." She snickered as Alley made a gagging noise but then she sobered. "Arisha will push."

"I know." Alley was sad now. So sad. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"Is she cleared?" Ai asked.

"Yes, she is Lizbeth's anchor in this time." Alley sounded dubious, and who could blame her?

"Then I will talk to her, but later." Ai snuggled closer to Sam and held him as he whimpered in his sleep. She crooned to him and he relaxed. "For now? Sam. What can you tell me?"

"In the future you came from, Sam becomes the man you saved from the crash of his interceptor. The man who called you his hero. Who fought beside your kin to save Mega Primus and survived the war. The man who helped you recover when you lost your mind. Small wonder you called him your hero. I wish things had worked out for you both there." Alley said quietly. "Due to a very powerful remnant of evil, Sam here in this time and place has several realities worth of life memories in his head. I wasn't aware of his being in this reality's future until I delved into his mind, trying to help him make sense of things. I don't want to wipe his memories because not all are bad but I cannot pick and choose. I would have to wipe them all and I have no right to choose for him."

"And that is why I will follow you, Matron. You want what is best for those you love, but do not insist that your way is the only way." Ai said quietly as Sam moaned in his sleep and she held him. "I am yours and his."

"Okay. Then, I only have one condition." Alley said after a moment.

"Oh?"

"Please just call me Alley. 'Matron' makes me sound so old." The Viper begged and Ai smiled at her.

"As you wish, Alley."

'The Sound of Silence' is of course not my work. Disturbed's version is what Ai and Sam know. Small wonder the classic survived to Ai's time. More on that in the next chapter.