A Place in the Sun

Summary: Sequel to 'How to Save A Life' and 'Topsy Turvy.' Jade and Linksano are living a happy life with their friends and family. But when SOI and Charlene are kidnapped by a shady government agency, their fathers undertake a perilous journey to get them back.

Warnings: Off screen death of a child, some cursing.

Pairings: Linksano/OC, SOI/OC Friendship.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I only own my .

Chapter Four: Tragedies and Trials

Insano gaped at Linksano. "What?"

"It's Morse Code. More specifically, it's an SOS. Nimue, can you pinpoint the location of the signal?"

'UNABLE TO PINPOINT. SIGNAL IS LOSING STRENGTH.'

Insano growled in frustration. "Well, can you approximate where the signal is coming from?"

'SIGNAL IS COMING FROM APPROXIMATELY THREE HUNDRED MILES AWAY.' All of a sudden, there was a high pitched whine that made the two men cover their ears. 'INFORMATION. SIGNAL HAS BEEN LOST.'

"No!" Insano cried, slamming his fist down on the desk. "See if you can locate it again!"

Richard cried out in pain as he was sent careening across the room by a furious Merkle. The doctor had come in unexpectedly and immediately spotted the computer Richard had made for Charlene. With a cry of rage, Merkle had picked the boy up and shaken him so hard his teeth rattled before throwing him bodily across the room. "YOU GODDAMNED BRAT!" He grabbed the drawing of the computer and tore it to shreds.

The others watched in horror as the computer Charlene had been using to send a message crumbled. Grant began to cry, and Merkle backhanded him. "Stop that sniveling, you little bastard! You all know the rules! Richard isn't allowed to draw anything unless I give permission, and I did not give permission. You know what that means."

Richard's eyes widened in horror. "No, please! I'll be good, I promise! Please don't make me go to the Room!"

"Tell me who made you draw that computer, and maybe I won't." Merkle said, smiling. Richard gulped, and Charlene shivered.

"No one made me. I did it on my own."

Merkle knelt down, speaking in an almost friendly manner. "Richard, there's no need to lie. You can tell the truth. It was Charlene, wasn't it?"

Richard shook his head. "No. I was bored so I decided to draw something. I'm sorry I forgot. Please don't punish me."

Merkle sighed. "I wish I could believe you." He called Reed, who came and hauled a crying Richard away.

Days passed, and Richard didn't return. While they were in their cell, SOI stayed huddled close to Charlene, whimpering. The times they were in the Common Area, though, the others huddled together, not speaking. Richard's absence hung like a specter over the rest of the group, and with Merkle watching them even more closely than ever, subterfuge was becoming near impossible.

Charlene was pretty sure Richard was never coming back. She was sitting on a bean bag, SOI in her lap as she watched the others try to act as though nothing was going on. "SOI, we have to get out of here. If we stay any longer, we'll become like them. They're resigned to their fate."

"Riki, Riki."

"I know they're kids. We're kids too, but this isn't how kid's are supposed to behave. It's like they've forgotten Richard entirely. If he is mentioned, Merkle pounces on you and sends you to the Room."

SOI trembled. He had seen Grant after he came back from there-the shape shifter had looked as though he had lived through his worst nightmare, and he had the vestiges of a tail. His brother had been hauled away moments later, returning hours later as a half-human pig thing. Gerald had finally shifted back to his true form after hours of agonized whimpering.

So far, neither SOI nor Charlene had been forced into the Room, but both knew that it was only a matter of time. Still, the Room wasn't the only horror in the place-Merkle could, and had, used SOI to force Charlene to behave. "Riki, Riki."

Charlene sighed. "I wish we could, but Richard's gone, so we can't get another computer."

"Riki! Riki, Riki!"

Charlene grinned. "Oh yeah! Holly, Adam?"

The two, who had been working on a puzzle, came over. Holly spoke first. "What?"

"I need you guys' help. Believe me, I'll understand if you say no. Richard helped me, and now..." she paused, gulping, and Adam spoke up.

"Richard was our best friend. We came here together. We'll help you for him. What do you need? Another computer?"

Charlene shook her head. "No, something smaller. Something that can be hidden if Merkle grows suspicious. Something like..." she dashed over to a table, grabbed a pencil and paper, and began to draw. "Sort of like a really small cell phone, but with a universal range. Can you make one?"

Holly picked up the drawing and stared at it for a few moments, then passed it to her brother. Adam examined it, then nodded. "Piece of cake." He and Holly cleared the table, then sat down, their hands outstretched. "Keep an eye out for Merkle."

SOI floated over to the door.

Charlene watched in awe as the phone she had drawn was created down to the tiniest of details. "How do you do that?"

Holly smiled. "We think about what a phone is made of, and then we turn it into reality. We can do nearly anything."

"Nearly?"

Adam frowned. "We tried making a kitten once. It...didn't turn out too well. But maybe with practice, we will be able to make living things." He picked up the completed phone and tossed it to Charlene. "Nice catch."

"RIKI!"

Charlene stuffed the phone under the couch cushion just as Merkle came in. "Well, what's going on here? You lot look much happier than when I last saw you."

Jake grinned. "Charlene was telling us a funny story."

Merkle grinned, turning on Charlene. "Was she now? I'd love to hear it."

Charlene smirked. "I was telling them about the first time my Daddy came to this universe, and how my Uncle hit him with a door."

"So it's your father that's the alien?"

Charlene laughed. "Nah, my Daddy's just from a parallel Earth. But when he comes and rescues me, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to tell you whatever you want to know. That is, if you're able to talk after he's done with you."

Merkle glared at her. "It's been almost three weeks. Your Daddies are never going to find you. We're too far underground for anyone to find us. Fact is, Charlene, this is your home now. Get used to it." He turned and walked out.

SOI began to whimper. He hated being underground. Charlene hugged him. "Hey, it's OK. Merkle just did me a huge favor. Now that I know we're underground, I can tell Daddy and Uncle Insano. There's not many places a lab this big could hide."

She retrieved the phone and dialed a number. "I just hope Uncle Linkara's awake."

Linkara rubbed his face, yawning. He had been up for hours editing, and now all he wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. Between worrying about Charlene and SOI, making sure Insano and Linksano ate, and monitoring his comments for any sort of help, the hero was fast becoming a wreck. The signal that Nimue had received a week ago had never returned, and even with her help, they were getting no further.

So when his phone rang, he felt a strong urge to chuck it across the room. "This had better be important!" The voice on the other end made him fall out of his chair in shock.

"Uncle Linkara?!"

Linkara couldn't speak. His mouth opened and closed as he made small choking sounds. "Uncle Linkara?"

"Ch...Charlene?!"

On the other end, Charlene laughed in relief. "Yes, it's me! Look, I don't have time to tell you how I'm calling you. I'm not hurt, and neither is SOI. We're in an underground facility somewhere, and there's other kids here too. They're being experimented on."

Linkara blinked. "Any idea where?"

"It can't be too far. Oh, SOI wants to know if our Daddies are OK."

Linkara wiped away a tear. "Apart from being worried sick about you, they're fine. Your Mom's bearing up pretty good. She's on Comicron One with them. Do you want to talk to them?"

"Yeah. Just give me a number."

"Nothing!" Linksano yelled. Jade hugged him from behind, and he placed his hand over hers. "I'm sorry, love."

"Don't be."

Insano looked up from the computer. "Nimue analyzed those numbers on the dart. It's a serial number, nothing more. Another dead end!"

'INCOMING PHONE CALL.'

Insano groaned. "Wonderful, another crank call, no doubt. Where's it coming from?"

'CALL SEEMS TO BE ORIGINATING FROM THE SAME SOURCE AS THE SIGNAL FROM LAST WEEK.'

"Patch it through!" Both scientists shouted at once.

"RIKI! RIKI RIKI TEE!"

Linksano and Jade looked at each other, mouths open, then turned to Insano, who staggered, falling against the wall. "...SOI?!"

"RIKI!"

Insano's breath hitched as he tried to keep from sobbing in joy. "SOI, is that really you?"

"Riki! Riki, Riki tee!"

Jade's eyes went wide. "Put her on."

"MOM? DADDY?"

"CHARLENE?!" Linksano was the first to recover somewhat. "How...where...?"

"It's a long story. We're somewhere in an underground facility. I'm pretty sure we're not too far from home, though. There's a scientist that calls himself Merkle. There's other kids here. Merkle is experimenting on them, and one died."

Insano felt his blood boil. He had done many things that could be considered evil in the name of SCIENCE, but even before SOI, he drew the line at hurting children. He looked over at Linksano, and saw the same cold fury on his face.

There was a commotion on the other end of the line. "Daddy, I have to hang up! Merkle's coming!"

The line went dead. Jade was the first to speak. "They're OK! Thank the gods!"

Insano grinned and ran over to the computer. "Yes indeed. Now, that was from the same place as the SOS. Only this time, it was much stronger. Which means..."

Linksano cackled. "We can pinpoint where it's coming from and use Nimue to triangulate the location!"

'SCANNING. SCANNING. SIGNAL LOCATED.'

Linkara beamed onto the Bridge. "Guys, I just..."

Insano waved at him. "Yes, so did we. Nimue's located the source."

'SIGNAL IS COMING FROM AN ABANDONED WAREHOUSE DISTRICT.'

Linkara frowned. "Nimue, provide a visual."

The monitor went black, then a picture began to emerge. Linkara sighed. "That's the old business district. There's nothing there." A small movement caught his eye. "Nimue, zoom in closer."

Linksano blinked. "That's a guard. What's a guard doing at an abandoned warehouse?"

Linkara glowered. "More to the point, why is he armed to the teeth? I think we need to go check out this place."

"Agreed." chorused Insano and Linksano.