Disclaimer: I'm tired of these. See chapter one.
Warning: This chapter has more of the same as the last chapter. There will be another delve into Izzy's memories, again, strictly those from her years with the Klingons. So, if you wish to not read that, you may as well skip this chapter, because the whole chapter will be her memories… though there may be a scene with Bones at the end… I'll put a little break at the end so you'll know where it's at. I'm also going to try to add a happy memory, from before the Klingons. If it's not in this chapter, it'll be in the next.
Chapter Nine
Izzy was, once again, sitting indian-style on the floor in her rooms, though this time, not only was Spock there, sitting across from her, but Bones was there, as well, sitting on her bed. When he'd heard what she and Spock were doing, he insisted on being there, if only to sedate her if she cracked.
"Are you ready, Isula?" Spock asked, his dark eyes trained on her bright ones. She nodded, and they began. "Just like last time, I want you to close your eyes. Now, let your mind wander, to whichever memory it so chooses. Once you have a memory in mind, focus on it as you did last time. Where are you?"
"I'm strapped to the table… it's cold against my back," she said, her face blank. "I really wish I could get some clothes, but the Klingon that was with me… was it yesterday? Time is so hard to tell here… I don't even know how long I've been here. Anyways, he laughed in my face when I asked for a blanket. The Federation wouldn't treat their prisoners like this, I don't think. But, now that I think about it, I don't think these guys are working with the rest of the Klingons. Rayne was on the table next to me when I woke up, but they moved her somewhere else… I hope she's okay. I hope they're not hurting her. They overheard us trying to plot an escape attempt earlier, but they haven't punished us yet, just took her away. What's that noise? It's like a buzzing in my ear… no, more of a whirring… what is that? Why can't I move? Somebody's holding my head steady. Ooh… they are mad about earlier. This must be the punishment. The whirring sound's getting closer, like a mosquito moving towards my ear, but louder, more whirry than buzzy-" She was once again cut off by her own scream. She didn't collapse this time, but cut her scream off herself. She was panting loudly while Bones ran a tricorder over her.
"Are you alright?" he asked. She pushed him away.
"I'm fine," she said stiffly.
"What was the sound?" Spock asked. Izzy cast him a strange look, and he reiterated. "What was causing the sound by your ear?"
"A drill," Izzy said. "Rayne and I had been trying to figure out a way to get out, but the sedatives had kicked in before our plans got very far. She never told me what they did to her, but they drilled into my skull, even used the drill to rip out some of my hair before moving into the skull. After that, they used some kind of hook inside the hole they made, and swirled it around in my brain. I think it was that part that made me lose my memories."
Bones looked disgusted, but continued with the tricorder. Spock's face simply held a look of mild concentration. As the tricorder chirped, Izzy pushed the doctor away.
"Alrighty, Spock, let's have another go," she said.
"You wish to go through that again?" he asked. She nodded.
"Who knows," she said. "Maybe I'll manage to pick up a good memory."
With a sigh, Bones headed back to sit on the bed while Spock returned to his spot in front of her.
"I want you to close your eyes again, Isula," Spock said. "Let your mind wander."
Before he could continue, she was already lost in another memory. It was not, as she had hoped, a good one.
"No no no no no no…" she moaned. "Make them stop… make it stop! I can't… I can't… you can't make me! I won't do it… I won't! Your sick. Twisted! I won't light up! I won't kill a person… I won't end a life… you can't make me! No!!!!" She screamed again. But, unlike the last time, the scream did not free her from her mind. "Ow… what happened? Why does my back hurt? My head… why can't I move? The table… I'm back on the table? Why am I back on the table? Where was I? Wasn't I in… in some sort of… firing range! That was it! Those bastards! They should've known I wouldn't do it! I wasn't going to light Sienna up like a bonfire… what happened after that? No… no… I didn't… but it wasn't me… there was… there was someone else in my head. He did it! But… Sienna… no… please… please make it stop… make it… STOP!!!!"
This time she did collapse, but her eyes remained unfocused.
"Oh… God yes… mmm…." she said, completely unaware at the audience that was shocked by her change in demeanor. Her face, which had been screwed up in pain, was now slack, with a small, pleasurable smirk on her lips, which was falling as she spoke. "Oh… oh yeah… wait… no… you're not James… you're not him… get off! Get off get off get off!!! NO!!! I don't want this… I don't want you. Get off of me, you bastard. I can't move my arms… I can't speak… what's wrong with me? The flashes of warmth, the cool of the table… the anger… the pain… the… pleasure… the rage… the humility… I DON'T WANT THIS!!!! WHY WON'T IT END!!!!!!"
Her eyes began to focus, but slid away again. This time, she was smiling once more.
"Bears are not in season, Mr. McCoy," she said, her eyes open, but rolled back in her head. "But that was funny. Why is he chasing me? What's he shouting? Wrong way? What… why am I running? The bear, that's right. He saved me from the bear. He's cute. Why did I break down? I remember… crying… in his arms. He held me as I cried. He smelled good. And he felt good, too. And he… no, Klingons… banish that memory, it'll spoil everything. What was I thinking about? Oh, that's right… Bones. He's attractive… I can see why Nurse Chapel likes him… it's nice to have a female friend. We can dish about boys and such. I just… I just… what's going on? I'm running… there's a man behind me… oh, that's right. Bones. Wrong way… the ship must be the other way, silly me. God it feels good to laugh. I haven't laughed like this since… since… I wish those memories would come back… it would be nice to remember something that wasn't fire and Klingons and Starfleet. Ah well. I'll take what I can get… no, don't think about that. The Klingons aren't here… they have no power over me now. I won't let them. I won't be the victim again. Haha… Bones is funny. The look on his face when I passed him… I wonder what he's thinking?"
She straightened up, and this time her eyes were focused once more on the floor in front of her. Bones was already next to her, tricorder scanning. She shakily rose to her knees before continuing the motion and sitting back on her butt. The tricorder came back with a clean bill of health, save for her brain, but that was normal for her. Spock was still sitting across from her, and Bones sank down to sit next to her.
"What happened there?" Bones asked. "It was like we couldn't reach you."
"I… I think I was lost for a moment there," Izzy said. "I fought my way out of that first one, then the second one hit me like a freight train. My mind actually forced me out of it, because it was breaking down my barrier, and brought up that third, happier, if slightly embarrassing, one."
"But, you're okay, right?" Bones asked. Izzy giggled.
"I'm fine, Bones," she said. "I came out of the trance, even if it took a little while longer than it should have."
"Do you believe it will happen again?" Spock asked. Izzy shook her head.
"No," she said, still looking at Bones. "Now that I know it can happen, I know how to not let it happen."
"I think that is enough for one night," Spock said, standing from his cramped position. "I shall see you the evening after tomorrow."
With that, he left. Bones and Izzy stared at each other for a moment.
"So, Chapel likes me, huh?" he asked, breaking the ice.
"You can't tell her I said anything, Bones," she said. "I'm serious. It may not have been my fault, but that little slip was an infringement of girl code. Can't help it."
"What was that you said in the last one, about your memories before the Klingons?" he asked. Izzy sighed.
"I knew someone would figure it out eventually, but I hoped I would be better prepared," Izzy said. "When I said earlier that they messed up my memory, I was serious. It was like someone had hit delete on a PADD. They're just… gone. In the past five years, I've managed to get back about a handful of them, but that's it… and they were all regarding my powers. The James that I mentioned earlier, the one from the memory? I have no idea who he was or why I would think of him. I don't remember anything about Simon and Luigi either, and they were my brothers. But, if those seventeen years of memories were the price I had to pay to forget those three years of torture, I paid it happily. But now I'm asking for my money back."
"I wonder why your subconscious hasn't picked up any of those lost memories," Bones said, more to himself.
"Maybe the others were closer to the top of my mind," Izzy said helpfully.
"Then I feel honored to be on your mind," Bones said. "And… I know this is going to sound like cheating, but that last memory did explain something, something that Rayne had said when Jim and I were talking to her."
"Oh good Lord," Izzy said. "What did my telepath of a best friend say now?"
"It was just after the jumping incident," Bones said, "and I was confirming that you'd jumped me because you were in heat. But she said that she was sure there was more to it than that. I didn't have the faintest inkling of what that meant until just now."
"And, what does that mean?" Izzy asked.
"It means you like me," Bones said, "in the same sense that I like you."
"Really?" Izzy asked, her voice strange, her throat tight. Bones nodded. "Oh thank God."
They lunged at each other.
A/N: Just thought I'd appease the Gods (or Goddesses) of the fandom with that last bit there. It happened a little sooner than I would have liked, I mean, they hardly know each other. But the timing couldn't have been more perfect. And I hope you like the whole 'two chapters in one day' thing, because I worked hard on both of them. They've left me emotionally distraught, so I think I'll sleep before I decide what Bones and Izzy are going to do in their 'alone time.' :P
Live long and prosper.
