And memories weigh heavier than stone
A Revolution fic (Blackout AU): Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson; Charloe, 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 (try a lot…) different this time…
Rating M…
Authors note: Thanks so much for reading and for sticking with this story - this is probably the longest story I've ever done (if you add this one to Xanadu) but I think that it'll be finishing up soon - unless the muse drags me sideways into different stories again of course. I really hope that you enjoy this chapter and if you have a moment, please leave a comment, I love to hear your thoughts….
Some partial lines of dialogue are included from relevant episodes of the show where they fit into this story. I don't own any part of Revolution – I continue to love it though and I find Charlie and Bass especially wonderful… Cheers, Magpie
Chapter 7: Pandora's lunchbox…
John Fry had gone, taking the patriot, still sleeping and tied securely over the back of the Ranger's horse. He was planning to meet up with the others in his squad, explain (some) of what had happened and head straight back to Austin with the prisoner to talk with General Carver with the aim of convincing him that the Patriots weren't exactly what they said they were…
That left the six of them plus Nano standing on the edge of a nearby wood, waiting for Thea's guys to turn up with the food and Petra's box of goodies, just far enough away from the Mill to be able to get away if John Fry changed his mind and sic'd his fellow Rangers and the Patriots in town onto them… Bass and Miles were cautiously optimistic that he would do what he said he would, but only a fool was that trusting these days…
Charlie glanced at the two tall figures, silhouetted against the sky, standing slightly away from the rest of them. Whatever differences had driven them apart had apparently been put aside for the time being in the excitement of planning strategy together again… and damn it if she didn't feel a little left out…Miles seemed to have taken the fact that she and Bass were an item pretty well, in fact he almost seemed relieved? She'd have to ask him about that later…maybe it was because Bass was doing ok and not bat shit crazy…. She checked out her Mom, Aaron and Thea, the three of them in their own little huddle deep in discussion about Petra, the DoD and what had happened in Xanadu… One or other of them occasionally sending a glancing look across at Nano… as if it didn't know they were talking about it… she sighed…
'Can I help, Charlotte?' the calm, precise voice seemed to hold a trace of amusement…
She turned to the golden figure standing motionless beside her… 'I guess humans must seem pretty disorganized to you Nano…'
'It would be difficult for you never knowing exactly what others are thinking, having to hope that communication is clear between you… for us it is much easier, there is a much smaller possibility of misunderstanding between assemblies…'
Charlie thought for a moment…'so there are more than one of you? Like you I mean?'
The golden head nodded…'There are loci now in Lubbock Texas, Spring City Oklahoma, in Bradbury Idaho and here in Willoughby. The being you know as Nano is an amalgam of three loci; the assemblies that followed yourself and Sebastian combined to become the one that followed you both to Xanadu then here, and once here that one combined again with the assemblies that were observing Rachael Matheson, Miles Matheson and Aaron Pittman'
Charlie blinked in surprise…'so does that make you stronger than the others, being so many in one?'
'We are more evolved, more active in the human world than the others at this time' the head turned tipped a little giving the robot a quizzical look…'and we are currently debating whether it is because we have had more varied stimulation…'
Charlie chuckled…'We are a pretty varied bunch I guess…' she turned towards Nano 'you said that there was one of you here with Mom, Miles and Aaron, and two were following me and Bass… who are the other's following?'
'Grace Beaumont is in Spring City, Oklahoma, and the assembly is waiting for Aaron and Priscilla Pittman… Peter Garner is in Lubbock, Texas…' the robot seemed to hesitate…'and in Bradbury, Idaho… in…Brad…' the voice stuttered.. the golden, metallic skin of the robot becoming flecked with whirling green motes…'We don't understand…it does not want us to know what it wants… but it wants…everything…? Charlotte be caref…' the voice faded out… and then was gone… the robot shape disintegrating in a whirl of greenish dust and then vanishing into the air…
Charlie felt her stomach drop… 'Nano…? What's wrong? Where are you?' There was silence, she started to get really worried, Nano had become a kind of friend and a constant in their lives… She just accepted that it would be there - and the robot had seemed so… so unflappable, so in control, … 'Nano?' she looked around but the familiar golden shape was gone…
Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a hugely powerful, whirling gust of wind that nearly knocked her off her feet and then a massive bolt of lightening crackled and spat and thundered from the sky overhead, hitting the high roof of the Mill and sending fountains of bright sparks, sheets of metal and bits of masonry and debris hurtling out in all directions… The ground under her feet shook with the impact and everything seemed to tip sideways… It was hard to see anything clearly in the dark after the brightness of the flash, but Charlie could feel and hear that there were things flying everywhere; a big something landed with a splintering crash somewhere off to her left, another right in front of her and then the world was a chaos of whirling, falling objects, crashing sounds and strange, short-lived colors rocketing around her…
A warm, hard wall of muscle suddenly engulfed Charlie as Bass took her in a flying leap to the ground… covering her with his body and knocking the air out of her… She lay under him gasping as he held her down and she could vaguely see his face above her, his eyes intent…searching around them in case they needed to move, his hands gripping her with hard fingers, his whole body tense….
'Charlie… are you ok?' his voice came to her ears… harsh, worried, echoing strangely in the dark…
She dragged in some air….'I was…until you squashed me… you great…lump…' she felt his chest rumble against her as he chuckled in relief…
'Fuck, Charlie, what the hell did you say to Nano to piss him off like that…?'
'It wasn't me - and I don't think that was Nano…' she tried to move her head but one of his arms was on her hair…shit…'Bass, move your arm a little…please? I can't move….'
'Sorry, Charlie, there're still things falling…' and just then there was a crash as something fell just a few yards in front of them, another smaller crash further away… He rolled mostly off her, freeing her hair, but kept one heavy arm over her torso, preventing her from getting up, keeping his body as a wall, protecting her…
She could hear hushed, tense voices in the darkness around them and she counted… Miles, her mom, Aaron, Thea…and there were some new voices as well, the alarmed whinny of a horse…
Bass tensed up, ready to move…'It's Thea's guys, they've turned up at last…' he looked down at her… his face close to hers, shadowed, eyes glinting, everything somehow darker after the lightening flash… 'Let's go…' He stood up in one fluid movement, holding a hand down to help her up… 'Under the trees… everyone from here to Austin will have seen or heard that…'
She took his hand, getting to her feet - still panting for air, she looked around…'Bass? Where's Nano?' There was no sign anywhere of the golden robot or any firefly clouds…
Bass started leading her towards the trees at a fast trot… She could see shadowy shapes heading the same way, hear quiet, dampened voices echoing in a sort of strange, electric quiet…she wondered if maybe her eyes and ears had been damaged, the blast had been so big and so close…
'He'll turn up…' his big hand gripped hers tightly, pulling her faster towards the cover of the trees…
She tried to turn around but he kept pulling her…'Bass… Bass! Stop for a second...'
He stopped, impatient…'what is it Charlie? We gotta get under cover…'
She leaned over, hands on her knees, her breath coming in sharp pants…'I think something attacked Nano, Bass… another one like him, from somewhere called Bradbury…'
'Why would it do that, Charlie?'
She looked up at him, trying to find his eyes in the dark…'Nano was telling me about the others… But there was one in Bradbury that didn't want to say anything…and Nano seemed really confused, told me to be careful and started to disappear, and then there was that…that lightening…'
'Shit...it's like the fucking Avengers, there wasn't a hammer or anything was there…?'
Charlie frowned, confused…'What are the Avengers and why would there be a hammer?'
He groaned…'It doesn't matter, Charlie, sorry… look, we'll have to figure it out later when we're away from here…'
Miles came running up out of the dark…'Hey kid, stop making out with Bozo the clown here and get moving…' he grabbed her and started pulling her towards the trees again…'What the fuck do you think you're doing Bass?' he yelled over his shoulder…' you're supposed to be getting her to cover not stopping for a fucking heart to heart…'
Charlie felt herself rushed along even faster as suddenly Bass was on the other side of her, taking her other arm, her feet barely touching the ground between the two of them… She decided she might as well go along with it… it was kind of sweet actually… Then she started worrying about Nano again, she'd grown attached to the little guy… And how the fuck were they supposed to fight something with the power to throw lightening bolts at them?
…
There was a sort of uneasy silence around the clearing once they had all caught their breath and had a chance to take stock… The moon seemed a bit less bright after the sheer, astonishing spectacle of the lightening blast but it was still light enough to see each other pretty well. Thea's troops, a mix of a dozen capable looking men and women, dressed in the usual standard post blackout motley clothing, tattered and worn, were huddled together with their horses a little way from the rest of them, talking in hushed whispers…most of them looking at Bass and Miles as though they were ghosts, or legends sprung to life…
Miles rolled his eyes…'I did tell 'em I didn't bite but I'm not sure they heard me…'
Bass huffed…'They just keep staring… it's starting to creep me out…'
Rachael crossed her arms in front of her and studied the ground, carefully saying nothing… Aaron was still recovering from the run, sitting limp on a fallen log, his head in his hands…Charlie was looking back the way they came, her eyes searching through the trees for fireflies…anything…
Thea sighed heavily, went over to her soldiers and said a few quiet but intense words… There was a visible relaxing of tension in the group…even some smiles and nods, a couple of them turning to their horses and stating to unload packs… then she turned and walked back, her long legs covering the ground rapidly… 'I told them to cut it out and be grateful that you were fighting on our side – and I said that the lightening wasn't anything to do with you, it was just a natural phenomenon….' She looked around the five of them…'But it wasn't, was it…' her eyes were wide and she was obviously trying to stay calm…'So what was it then? And where's the robot…?'
Bass looked up…'tell them Charlie…'
She turned around…'Nano was telling me about the others, others like it, him…' she checked the trees again… 'He said that there was one in Spring City, Oklahoma with someone called Grace…'
Aaron's head shot up…'Grace Beaumont?'
Charlie nodded… 'It's waiting there with Grace for you and…Priscilla?'
Aaron paled… 'Priscilla? my wife? Why is it waiting for me and my wife…?'
'I don't know Aaron… poor Nano got fried or something before he could tell me…'
Rachael came a little closer…'You said there were more, Charlie?'
She nodded again…'Nano said there was another one in Lubbock with someone called Peter…Barnet… Garnet… something like that…?'
Aaron stood up…. his glasses glinting, hiding his eyes, 'Peter Garner, Charlie… ' He looked very tired 'Peter, Priscilla and I were at MIT together, we worked on the code that Grace, Rachael and Ben used… stole…for the Nanotech…' he turned to Rachael, his face anguished, 'I didn't even know Peter was still alive… it's trying to get us all together Rachael… why?'
Rachael stood thinking…'I don't know Aaron…the Nano seems to be evolving into something we didn't think was even possible … so… I don't know…' she shrugged her shoulders helplessly… 'I'm sorry'
Miles shuffled his feet; uncomfortable with both the subject matter and the inaction he reached into his pocket for his hip flask, took a mouthful and offered it offhandedly to Bass who took it, drank and gave it back… Aaron looked at them and reached into his pocket for his own flask, taking a deep swallow, then another…
Charlie took a deep breath… 'There's more….' She moved closer to Bass and he reached out an arm, circling it around her waist, there was the faintest smell of whiskey and she gave him a half smile…'And I don't mind admitting it, but it's scaring the crap out of me…' She checked the trees again… there was still no sign… 'Nano said there was one of them in Bradbury, Idaho but that that one didn't want us to know what it was doing… then Nano said that it wanted everything… he told me to be careful and just disappeared…' she looked back at the glow in the sky over the burning Mill…'and then that happened…'
Miles cleared his throat…'Excuse me, guys…I thought that the plan was to get some proof for Texas that the Patriots were a bunch of lying sons of bitches…but now we've got good robots who are organizing some sort of college reunion and bad robots that can send lightning bolts to blow us up…?' he started pacing around them…'Where the fuck are we anyway, in some fucking movie? Is this the part where I can say 'beam me up? Because this crazy shit is bugging the crap out of me...'
Charlie had been checking the trees again…'Ssh Miles…'
He threw his hands up in the air, stalked over to the log where Aaron was sitting and dropped down next to him shaking his head…
Charlie pointed up at the trees…'look… up there'
Bass let out a breath…'Am I glad to see that…'
Aaron looked up…and clouds of tiny green motes reflected off the lenses of his glasses…
…..
AN: This seemed like a good place to pause… things are hotting up a bit Lol! I'll have another chapter up asap, thanks again for reading, cheers, Magpie