And memories weigh more than stone
A Revolution fic (Blackout AU): Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson; Charloe. Mention of regulars incl. Miles and Rachael Matheson, Aaron Pittman, the Nano & the Patriots… Set after 'A holiday in New Xanadu' Bass and Charlie are back on the road to Willoughby – only things are a little different this time…
Rating M…
Summary: It is almost two weeks now after Bass and Charlie became lovers in a hidden place called New Xanadu. They are well on the way to Willoughby, conscious of time and the constant dangers of the road but now have an ally in the Nano – it/they helping to keep watch for dangers along the road while at the same time developing some interesting new talents… controlling the movements of humans, animals and insects - and projecting virtual images and environments based first on photo's from New Xanadu but developing new – and dramatic - capabilities rapidly…
Authors note: Thanks so much for having a look at this…and to those who were kind enough to review, follow or favourite previous chapters of this story (or me as an author:D) I send extra thanks – your support is hugely appreciated and I really hope you like this chapter… I think like many other people, finding time to write has been a little bit hard – with the season etc… so this is a bit later than I'd hoped, the next one will be quicker though… am also working on a couple of off-shoots of another story, Semper Fidelis…
I don't own any part of Revolution unfortunately – I continue to love it though and I find these two characters especially fascinating… Cheers, Magpie
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Chapter 3:
Bass and Charlie lay together on their combined bedrolls; Charlie was curled next to Bass, her head pillowed on his shoulder, her hair like dark golden waves around them… One of her hands drawing lazy circles through the light hair on his muscled chest… one of his splayed over her hip, stroking down and up over the smoothly rounded contours of her ass… Somewhere along the way he had lost his jeans and boots and they were both naked under the first stars of the evening… Bass looked over at the green cloud of the Nano – floating away from them at the edge of the clearing, calmly and reassuringly moving through its 'all ok' patterns a little way above the horses – who seemed to accept the cloud with no reservations and were quietly grazing the lush grasses around them…
He was still amazed – and to be truthful a little concerned at what it/they had produced earlier – a virtual reality that had felt, sounded and smelled real - and that had changed with their emotions… He had realised over the last few days that the Nano was becoming much more practiced at reading he and Charlie and there had been a point in the illusion where he wasn't sure which had come first…their emotions or the Nano images and sounds that seemed to reflect them… The truth was though that he had been so caught up in Charlie at the time that he was only just thinking about what had really happened…
There was no doubt in his mind that both he and Charlie had certainly wanted what happened to happen… but it was a little unnerving to realise that the Nano had been inside their minds…
Was it that different though to the world he remembered before the blackout where computer technology had been on the cusp of being as interactive and immersive as the experience the Nano had given them? It/they had given them a wonderful, shared experience and seemed to prefer them to be happy rather than sad… It/they had asked about human emotions before – and it was obvious that he and Charlie were being studied closely by the Nano… It/they used words like happy and sad… it was almost like a child learning about the world…and he felt a strange sense of responsibility… He was very glad that it/they seemed to prefer people (the people it was close to anyway…) to be happy… The thought of some of his darker memories coming to vivid life made him shudder…
So far he had only observed them controlling two Patriots, although there had been the wasps…and he wondered how many people or creatures – or objects they could hold control or manipulate at one time… there were so many questions… He believed that their travelling companion was actively protecting them and in fact did seem to consider that it/they were part of Charlie's family network (which obviously included him) but the fact was that the Nano wasn't human, it/they didn't think as humans did… And what would happen when they got to Willoughby and connected up with other Nano assemblies…? It/they either hadn't been able to predict or hadn't wanted to say… How much influence would he and Charlie have over what it could or would do then? He needed to find out – before they got to Willoughby and Miles…
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He could smell the spicy aromas of their evening meal, cooking slowly over the coals of their campfire and he took a deep breath – just glad to enjoy the moment… things seemed peaceful – for the time being anyway… Bass took another breath and let it out…the rise and fall of his chest moving Charlie's hand up and down with it… He gazed up at the early stars and then down at the lovely curves of Charlie's body as she lay beside him…
She felt his eyes on her and turned her head to look up at him, her eyelids heavy and soft, her lips swollen and lush from his kisses…she smiled up at him and yawned…'Hey Bass…' she said softly, he brought his other hand over to play gently with a strand of her hair….'Hi Charlotte…. are you warm enough?' her smile broadened – a teasing tilt to the corners…'You're keeping me warm Bass….' And he actually was – where their flesh met, Charlie could feel the warmth radiating off him, she loved the feeling…and hugged around him tighter…. but then he was all kinds of hot…
She lifted her foot over his leg…running it up and down between his calves and forcing his legs to part a little… her fingers trailed down from his chest, her gaze turning to follow them as they drifted in a slow line downwards, pausing at his belly button and circling there, moving the tip of her forefinger slowly in and out of the shallow little dent in his flat stomach – which tightened in a ripple of muscle… Bass' breath started to come a little faster as he watched her…
Then the fingers went lower; gently brushing through the curls of dark blond hair at his groin and over the head of his re-awakened and quickly growing cock… down over the velvety skin to his balls, gently stroking and cupping one then the other, sliding her middle finger down to the sensitive spot just behind them, following the ridge of lightly ribbed skin over hardening flesh… She heard his sudden intake of breath and stole a quick glance back at his face, loving the intent and focused – almost electric blue of his eyes…and then moving her fingers back up to stroke firmly along his hardening length… circling him…
Charlie moved her hips so she could rub herself on the angles of his hip… his hand splaying over the cheeks of her ass, digging into the ripe curves… then moving downwards and between her cleft, his long middle finger sliding its way through her folds – wet with both their juices, round to her clit, pressing and circling there for a long moment, making her gasp and clench around him, her hips jerking, the finger sliding back and plunging inside her, his other fingers and thumb spreading her wide… she gasped again and his cock was suddenly much harder in her hand…
He licked his lips… she smiled and leaned over to pull his nipple into her mouth, circling with her tongue; this time it was his turn to catch his breath…. She leaned away a little and blew on the wet nipple… it puckered nicely and she grinned up at him… he was watching her intently – his eyes full of stars… a slow smile starting at the corners of his mouth… 'What are you thinking about Charlotte…?' his voice was low and husky, the vibration in his chest as he spoke made her blood heat up even more in her veins as she felt his finger slowly going in and out of her from behind, pushing her onto his hip (slippery with her juices now) on the in stroke, then pulling her back, then pushing her forward again as he plunged in…
She drew in a long breath… and leaned further forward, bringing one knee under her so that she didn't lose contact with his hand but so that she could reach his cock with her mouth, for a moment her hair fell over her face and with his other hand he reached forward to sweep it over her shoulder so he could still see her… 'It'd be easier if you straddled me…' Bass said, hoarsely…. she turned her face towards him, rubbing her cheek along the hardness inside velvety skin, feeling him jump at the sensation and grow even harder… her eyes questioning '…but you couldn't touch me then Bass…' she circled her hips over his finger, her inner muscles holding it tight, the rest of his hand spreading her deliciously wider…'and I want you to be able to touch me… He smiled…'There is another way Charlotte….' The tip of his tongue ran over his lips… 'Think about it….' her eyes went wide and she blinked…'Oh...' the thought of him seeing her, touching her - like that - made her spasm around his hand, a new surge making him slip in and out so slickly that he added another finger…. and Charlie cried out as sensation ran through her in hot lava waves…
She held onto him for support, panting; one hand on his thigh, the other on his chest… Bass could see the nipple of her breast below the curve of her armpit and reached up to caress it with his fingers…tweaking it gently between his fingers while still using his other hand to keep pumping his fingers in and out of her slippery entrance…she gasped again… and he smiled in satisfaction – she would remember his suggestion for next time… for now though… he lifted and rolled her beneath him – his fingers still inside her although he pulled them out as soon as she was in position and replaced them with his so hard it was aching cock… She was so wet that he slid in easily, stretching her out to take his girth, pulling out nearly the whole way and then thrusting back in again till he was deep inside, reaching down to lift one of her legs up over his shoulder to give him more and more of her until she came again… screaming his name and scoring his straining shoulders with her nails…
Afterwards, as they lay in a sleepy and sated twined pile she looked up at him, her blue eyes full of mischief and curiosity… and the beginnings of a very wicked smile twitching the corners of her mouth… Bass wondered with anticipation what other ideas might have started growing in her fertile mind – his (he put the word in capitols in his mind…) HIS Charlie had a wonderful imagination and was a bold and generous lover… but he had the distinct impression that the men (boys?) she had been with before him must have had limited experience - or perhaps hadn't paid enough attention...
The smells from the campfire wafted across to where they were lying and suddenly he was starving… he looked down at Charlie and could see that the same thought was crossing her mind… 'Do you want to go eat Charlotte…?' she laughed…'Do you mean food Bass…' he reached down and ran his hand from one of her slim ankles up and over the muscles of her calf and thigh, up over hip and belly, to linger round a breast then up to her beautifully lush mouth, rubbing his thumb over her kiss-swollen lips…'food first Charlotte…?' he dropped a kiss onto her belly, tongue dipping into the small hollow of her belly button, his eyes never leaving hers… 'Then dessert…?' he could feel the flesh of her belly tighten at that and she grinned, her eyes hot and full of promises… 'And you too this time Bass…'
They threw some clothes on (flying sparks and hot food were good but not on bare skin…) and went to the fire… the stew in the pot was a combination of some of the spices that Petra had given them, deer jerky, vegetables and dried beans from their stores - it was very good and by the time they'd finished, there wasn't much left… They were just finishing their meal and sipping cups of the mint tea they had found in the provisions from Xanadu, the remains of the fire flickering and dancing in a slight breeze… the three quarter moon hanging over the trees and small clouds racing high overhead… when the Nano cloud came swirling over to them…signing 'message (Important/not urgent)'…
Bass acknowledged the cloud and it gave the pattern signal for 'riders seen', he sat up and said/signed 'where [query?], threat [query?]' the cloud patterns seemed to hesitate…'good riders…stop, sleep, night, morning - Nano bring to Sebastian, Charlotte' … Part of the cloud separated from the main assembly and swooped down to a level patch of ground where it proceeded to create a three dimensional coloured image of a dark, striking, woman's face…'That's Thea…!' Charlie cried out…the cloud reformed into the woman on horseback – as seen from the air, with a dozen other riders following behind her, galloping along a road… then changed again to show a campsite with the horses tethered to a slip line and the riders circled around a campfire eating and talking, two on watch at the edges of the camp… 'Bass… that's incredible…' Bass was watching quietly…'when seen [query?]' he said/signed to the Nano, the image changed again to Charlie and Bass dancing in the clearing… he looked down at the image… then up at the cloud… 'Thank you… but why wait to tell us?' 'Charlotte and Bass happy…' the image changed to one of them twined together… half dressed and kissing, 'not urgent tell…wait till meal…riders stopped…no threat'… Bass wondered how to bring up the subject of consultation… and humans needing to know… communication was still so limited with the Nano…
As he was wondering that, the image disappeared, the cloud started whirling and circling in more complex patterns than he had seen before and then the image of them together faded and a face – one from a memory of a series of movies that Bass and Miles had seen together as boys – formed before them from within the cloud of green lights…a golden eyed, robotic face with a slightly surprised look frozen on the metallic face… Bass stared – then he chuckled, not quite believing what he saw… 'Charlie… did Aaron ever tell you the story of Star Wars…?' She looked at the face… 'The one with the cool warrior princess and the bad guy with the big black helmet and the raspy voice who turned out to be her father…?' he nodded, an eyebrow raised in amusement at her perspective on the story… 'That's the one…' the golden face was rounding out into a disembodied head and becoming clearer as they spoke… The metallic mouth opened and shut and they could hear metal against metal… 'There was a robot in the story – it was a translator… a sort of assistant…' Charlie nodded…'I remember… I loved that story…Aaron did all these great sound effects…' the golden head tipped slightly to the right then left… the mouth opened and words came out …'Sebastian and Charlotte… Hello…' the voice was very prim and slightly prissy and Bass choked back a laugh… 'Is this form more acceptable for verbal communication…?'
Bass stole a quick glance at Charlie – she was looking at the head in wonder… 'How are you doing that…?' the head turned a little to face her 'This form has – happy – associations for both Sebastian and for you Charlotte…' the Nano's head tilted a little again…'it took – us - some time to find one in your memories that was suitable for enhanced verbal communication – but that would not cause distress…' Charlie nodded impatiently… 'And it's really good… but how are you doing it…?' she reached forward gingerly towards the head and her finger touched what felt like solid metal…. She withdrew the finger, her eyes wide as she glanced up at Bass 'it's really there Bass….' … the golden head tilted the other way…'Form is energy…energy can be many different forms…' Bass broke in… 'You've been learning how to reconfigure energy to create form…and you found this form in our memories, in our minds…' the head nodded… 'Correct… is this form acceptable Sebastian…?'
Charlie looked up at Bass – a question in her eyes… he nodded, reassuring, communication would be much quicker this way (although he thought his code would still come in handy for distances…) 'Yes, it's acceptable…' Bass took Charlie's hand and squeezed a little; he could see that she was finding the situation a little – freaky? He wasn't sure that he liked the idea of the Nano trawling through their minds and memories either…but wasn't sure how to stop them doing it if they truly were everywhere…
He turned to the Nano face… 'What should we call you…?' The golden eyes met his… and he felt a deep sense of awe – and renewed responsibility… He was actually looking at visible and tangible evidence of an artificial intelligence that had, incredibly, learned to manipulate energy to create matter… The eyes held an intense curiosity… and a strange innocence… and Bass knew that they needed to tread carefully or this whole thing could go very badly…
'You already call us Nano – that is sufficient…' 'Ok…Nano…' Bass felt just a little strange talking to a golden head but the talking thing was definitely an improvement… 'So Thea and some of her Scouts are heading this way and you're going to bring them here to us in the morning…' the golden head nodded once 'that is correct Sebastian' Bass looked at Charlie who was staring at (The) Nano, her eyes wide… he wondered if the same stunned look of disbelief was on his face… but then it was a lot to take in… He took a deep breath… 'Charlotte…?' she turned to him…still not saying anything…her eyes drifting back to the golden head floating in the air… 'Yes Bass…?' he grinned at her…'hey… Kid…' her eyes darted back to him, an eyebrow rose and the ghost of her pool grin appeared… 'What did you call me…?' 'That woke you up didn't it…?' he said grinning… 'You were looking a bit hazy there…' she whistled through her teeth… 'Well this wasn't quite how I pictured this evening going…'
He took her hand…'Why don't we try to get some sleep… it sounds like it's going to be a busy day tomorrow…' he looked across at floating head Nano – damn, this was going to take some time to get used to…'I don't suppose you can create a body to go with the head…?' he asked… The head tilted…'Energy required would be substantial, sub-optimal and unnecessary …' Bass nodded, that was interesting to know… just in case… 'Ok, sounds reasonable…so when will you go get Thea and her guys...?' the golden eyes regarded him 'We will notify them before local sunrise and lead them here to you…' 'We'll say good night then… Nano… and thank you…' Bass pulled at Charlie's hand, she followed him as he turned … 'Good night Sebastian and Charlotte… sleep well…' Bass honestly didn't know whether to feel unnerved or comforted…although he was pretty sure there was a bit of both in there somewhere…
He took first watch…Charlie was asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow (although she had stayed awake long enough to give him a kiss that he could still taste and that was helping him stay awake…) the Nano was back in its cloud form and in its usual place, floating and circling in its patterns above the horses…
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The next morning Bass woke at sunrise – he had slept well, despite all the recent revelations – although he had been feeling so much more like his old self lately – the self that could handle pretty well anything – thanks to Charlie, that he actually wasn't surprised… Charlie was already up and had coffee (nearly the last of it unfortunately) and porridge ready… She noticed he was awake, smiled over at him and waved a mug in the air… he took the hint and rolled out of bed, reaching for his pants and his boots… They'd just make it to Willoughby he figured with the supplies of food they had on hand plus whatever they could forage but it was going to be close… They should be there in less than a week now if they went steady – with no interruptions… and then there would be Miles – and Rachael… to deal with… He and Charlie had talked about how to approach things with those two… they hadn't quite got to what he thought was a plan that would end up with him still breathing… but there was still time… and whatever happened, he was grateful for every second of this time with Charlotte… if there was more he would be even more grateful but she had already saved him…and he wasn't going to waste that…
Dressed and (almost) ready for the day he walked over to Charlie… she turned to him with her beautiful bright smile and jumped up into his arms, her legs around his waist… arms clinging around his neck and her gorgeous lips hot on his…and tasting like coffee and sweetness…he breathed her in…
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A short time later, not long after sunrise, Thea arrived in a noisy flurry of horses, hoofbeats and circling men and women, all in the camo uniforms of the Xanadu Scouts…all loaded for bear… Bass had secured their own horses a little out of camp and set up a line for the incoming band… and he really hoped that Thea had brought her own coffee and supplies… She swung down from her horse and headed straight over to them, looking a little travel worn, her clothes dusty, boots stained… but at the moment what Bass noticed first was that she looked a little spooked…an unusual look for the highly competent and well seasoned soldier he suspected… 'Sebastian, Charlotte… hello…' she called out, starting talking before getting to them - Charlie smiled in greeting… The tall woman was as striking as ever, the fine bones of her face slightly more prominent than before – Bass wondered how long they had been on the road…
'What the hell have you two been up to…?' she shook her head in amazement…'This… thing… this golden head… turned up at our camp this morning and showed us a sculpture hanging in the air of you two…then said that we should follow it to here to you…' she stared at Bass 'How did it know where we were…? And how did it talk…?' she frowned 'General…I mean… Bass - it floated in the air…!' she shook her head again…'what the hell is it?' Bass made a settling gesture with his hand 'Take it easy Thea….' Charlie rolled her eyes and smiled sympathetically 'Don't worry - I'm trying to do that too…' Bass sighed… 'It's the thing… Rachael's thing, the thing that followed us to Xanadu, made the plants go crazy and followed us out again… It's…well… its sort of grown; we got to know it… It learned to talk, and it can make things now too…and find people…' he shrugged 'that's it in a nutshell…except that it does know what we're thinking so … try to think nice thoughts about it - ok…?' Charlie would have laughed at the look on Thea's face except that she was very much afraid that there was a similar one on her own…
They eventually got everyone seated, sharing the food and drinking cups of tea and the coffee that (thankfully) the troupe had brought with them – they even had an extra bag that they gave to Bass much to his delight… Thea sat next to Bass, with Charlie on his other side – her Scouts setting about the ongoing business of gear and weapon maintenance, leaving them to talk in peace… Nano as a green cloud floated serenely in its place at the edge of the clearing – getting an occasional awed look from Thea's people…but otherwise not interacting…
Thea sighed… 'These Patriots are seriously bad news' she said, frowning…' we have reports of them using germ warfare in towns further up – infecting people with diseases like Cholera and Typhus… then waltzing in and offering cures – being the big saviors… ' She huffed…'They're also infiltrating towns using war clans from the Plains Nations as decoys – with the aim of getting the towns' people on side by suddenly appearing to come and rescue them from the war clans…' her frown deepened…'and they're setting up training camps and conscripting… taking the youngest and fittest whether they want to go or not…' she gazed over at Bass… 'It's a bit like the bad days of the Republic, only much worse than that ever was… '
She shook her head and chewed at her bottom lip…'It's horrible… they drug them and do other things that change them…' a frown creased the smooth forehead… 'These kids come out like zombies – they can't think for themselves, they just follow orders, do anything they're told…' her eyes went dark… 'The things I've seen them do… awful things…' She leaned forward, looking down into her mug, 'There's this Doctor… name of Horne, he's behind a lot of this stuff… and he really, really wants Rachael…' she turned to Charlie… 'I think he's crazy…and I think he knows about the … you know… the thing…' she shrugged… 'And I don't know how yet Charlotte… but I think he might know where Rachael is because he's heading straight for Willoughby and if he gets there before you do…' she trailed off…then continued 'We were heading there thinking that if we didn't find you at least we could get Rachael out of there…'
Charlie turned a worried gaze to Bass, remembering the red circle around Willoughby on the couriers map… he took her hand, trying to reassure her a little… He and Rachael did not get on (wasn't that a raging understatement…) and he didn't really want anything to do with her – he was sure the feeling was mutual, but she was Charlie's mother and Miles loved her… It also sounded as though her being in the hands of the Patriots knowing what she knew would be an extremely bad thing for all of them… so… 'We'll be there in a few days now Charlie…' she looked even more worried…'what if we're too late Bass…? And how could this Doctor know where she was…?' Thea spoke again 'They've got spies everywhere Charlotte, it could have been anybody… we've been told about people who've been sleepers for years who've been found to be giving information to the Patriots…husbands, wives, fathers…' she gave Bass a very direct look… 'Petra thinks they've been setting this up for a long time, maybe even before the blackout…' There was silence for a few minutes…there was a lot to think about… Charlie let out a breath 'so what now?'
Bass and Thea exchanged a look… Bass cleared his throat…he was aware that he had no authority over the NX Scouts but… 'You'll be faster than us on horseback Thea…maybe you could head towards Willoughby, keep an eye out for Horne and have a look at what's happening… we could meet you just outside the town…' Charlie broke in 'There's a place off the road - near the ten mile sign…' her anxious eyes moved from Bass to Thea…'about four miles north of that sign…it's one of Miles' safe houses… we could meet you there…' Thea nodded… 'And we can find out what's happening with Rachael and the rest of your family and let you know…' Bass gave her a tight smile 'Thea, thank you… that sounds like a plan…' she smiled back… 'My mission is to somehow have Rachael and Petra meet so that they can work out how to cure William… seems to me she can't meet Petra if she's in a Patriot jail cell…so welcome to my mission…' Bass nodded, satisfied… 'Ok, we meet at the safe house in about a week… our golden friend can keep an eye out for you too and we might even see if it's able to organize something so we can keep in contact...' He grinned 'so if you see a floating head, a bird talking or anything else unusual don't shoot at it ok…?' Thea rolled her eyes… 'Are you guys always this dramatic…or is it just on weekends…?' Charlie found herself laughing in spite of everything…
Shortly after that they were gone… and the camp was quiet again… and not too long after that Bass and Charlie were back on the road to Willoughby as well…both of them thinking of the ten mile sign ahead… above their heads floated the Nano cloud…keeping pace and swirling through its patterns…
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AN: thanks so much for reading… and I really hope you liked it… this chapter doesn't quite cover all I wanted to but it was getting longer and longer… the next chapter will see them arrive at Willoughby (after making the most of their time alone together) and Bass and Charlie are holding a lot more of the cards this time…
I need to make a special mention of a certain golden robot… C3p0 of course… although in this story he is only a head and is called Nano… I don't own C3p0 of course but when I needed to think of a friendly robot character he was the first one that I thought of – and the best! So it is with the greatest respect and admiration for his creator/s that his head appears here…
Thanks again for reading, Magpie