Chapter 53

Riker looked up from his semi-resting position next to Troi. They had been waiting for the moment when they arrived to find Orla, and now they quite suddenly appeared to be here. Whether the Other or Orla had brought them there, he had no real idea. But it didn't matter. He could now see that Captain Picard, Doctor Crusher and Guinan were alive and well. Squinting he could see two other individuals enveloped in a purple glow ahead of them. Was this Orla? He stood up, happiness fading to confusion. The other person she was…bonding with looked just like the Captain. He stepped forward hesitantly as Troi stood up next to him. "Is that-?"

Deanna nodded. "Beverly said that she had seen a version of Orla that looked just like her. But I didn't quite believe it before…."

"This is highly…weird," said LaForge from behind them. At his side was his Romulan love interest, who watched the spectacle with silent fascination.

"A simple, yet apt description," agreed Data.

Wesley had helped the strange young boy Riker had seen to his feet and they were walking together toward the rest of the group. They stopped next to Riker. "Mom," Wes whispered, staring wide-eyed.

"Commander, if we cannot fight him…what are we to do?" Worf demanded of Riker.

Riker swallowed. "We wait." He tore his gaze away from Orla and glanced down at the young boy next to Wesley. "Who are you?" he finally asked.

"I am Demetrius," said the young boy.

The glow of energy emanating from Orla and Pritchard was now so bright that everyone around them averted their eyes.

Eventually, the platform halted, and the transparent bubble disappeared. Everyone was waiting for some kind of battle, but instead, it happened in a quite blink of an eye. The Other disappeared from the platform and reappeared next to Orla and Pritchard.

"There is no longer room for two of us, Orla," the voice boomed. "So you must be destroyed. The other pieces of my body are inside of you. Now I will take them back and become one." Orla did not respond, and the same happy smile remained on her face. Pritchard was also smiling, eyes closed, hands joined with her.

The Other reached a giant hand out toward Orla, but touching the purple energy he was repelled backward a few steps. His hooded head tilted to the side as though he had not expected any kind of effective resistance. He stepped forward again holding out two hands, but the glow grew brighter and propelled him back into the air, causing Beverly and Picard to dive out of the way. They crawled away and then sat together unsure if any distance would really be safe enough.

The Other pushed himself to his feet and refocused his attention on Orla and Pritchard. He appeared unsteady, but then a black substance floated out of the hood of his cloak, stretching like fingers toward Orla, eventually reaching her. It passed through the energy shield she and Pritchard had generated and Guinan could see it swirling inside her chest. The Other began to laugh. Orla let forth a piercing scream, causing everyone to throw their hands over their ears. Pritchard and Orla seemed to stagger together, still holding on to each other, and then fell.

Guinan rushed to her mother's side even as the Other loomed over her. The glow had ebbed from Orla's body and her face was pale. "Someone must take my place," she whispered. "To fight him." She gripped Guinan's hand.

Guinan shook her head. "But I can't…."

"It's alright Teacher," spoke a familiar voice. "I will."

Guinan looked up from her crouching position to see Demetrius smiling down at her. He turned to face the Other, still smiling.

The Other laughed, reaching forward with his giant hand. "A king no more I see…" he taunted the boy.

The boy reached out and took the giant hand in his tiny one, and the Other immediately fell to his knees. The boy closed his eyes, and when he opened them, his mother, father, and sister stood next to him, bathed in an eerie light. They smiled down at their son, as the Other shrank a little bit more. His hood fell from his head, and instead of a set of glowing eyes, the young boy's smiling face was reflected back at him. The Other shrank further, trying to wrest his hand from the little boy's grip. The boy's parents put their hands on Demetrius' shoulders and he stood strong. He closed his eyes again, and beside him was his long lost friend Hara. She had returned, still a young girl.

She smiled at him and told him, "you can let go now, Demetrius. I forgive you. I'm still your friend." And so he did let go; he let go of the Other and took her hand instead. And with that, the Other withered away and disappeared.

Epilogue

"I know you hate to admit it—and so do I," said Picard. "But Q was right." He lifted his glass and sipped from it, then leaned back staring over the bar at his friend.

Guinan shrugged. "That Orla and John's love wasn't enough to defeat the Other?"

"And neither apparently was the love that Beverly and I share," he said with a frown.

"Don't take it personally," Guinan said, turning from him for a moment to put a glass away.

"No…it's alright," said Picard, tugging at his uniform top. "I think there was still doubt between us as much as we do love each other. There was hesitation…and the Other knew it. I am sure it was similar with Orla and Pritchard, given that they had been away from each other for so very long. And they had left each other under such horrible circumstances over the loss of their child. So, what they had was not enough to defeat him."

"But now they're happy," said Guinan, leaning against the bar. "As happy as you can be on Earth in 1881," she added.

He smiled and lifted his glass again in a silent toast. They were quiet for a few more moments.

"So Demetrius never wavered in his love for his family…and for his lost friend," said Picard quietly. "Lucky for all of us." He cleared his throat. "So is he actually...is he actually out there somewhere now, serving the same purpose that Orla served for your people? Has he truly taken her place?"

"Well…as you know, my people are only very few in number now. But we can still use all the help we can get. So I'd say yes. He's out there somewhere looking after us."

Picard smiled. "Good."

"So, Captain," said Guinan coming around the bar to sit down next to him. "Now what is in store for us now?"

He glanced at her. "One never knows out here," he admitted. "But I for one know I don't plan on taking anything for granted anymore." He looked at her with a small smile. "Especially those I love."

She raised her own glass then. "Well, here's to love then."

As their glasses clinked together he gave her a small wink. "To love."