Foreword:
You know, I almost thought I'd make it through this chapter without crying. Then after I typed up the last sentence, I lost it. T-T This chapter was extremely difficult to write (hence the extremely long wait), and if I'm a writer worth my salt, it'll be difficult to read as well. I think I'm still safely within the T rating, but be ready for the most graphic material I've ever dared to show in this story.
Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow, to the land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.
— Job 10:20-22
« ... »
"Are you sure about this?"
"Are you ever gonna stop asking me that?"
"Not until you reconsider."
"Then the answer to both our questions would be 'no.'"
The conversation died.
A few minutes later, Aphelion worked up the nerve to say something else.
"What good does this do? How does it benefit anyone?"
"It's not about what's 'good' or 'beneficial' anymore, Feel. It's too late to be worrying about that kind of thing."
"Then what is the point? Why rush voluntarily straight into Tachyon's waiting hands? You know he will show no mercy."
"Of course I know..." Kaden trailed off. Loathe as he was to admit the truth, he could put it off no longer. It was now or never, and Aphelion deserved an answer.
"I can't hide forever. The longer I hide the weaker I'll be when he finds me—and the stronger he'll be." Kaden gave a depressed sigh and after a brief pause went on to say, "I can't stop him, but if I face him now, there's a chance I can slow him down, or at least..."
"Or at least...?"
"Or at least... end it on my own terms."
Again, the conversation died.
Kaden looked out at the stars and fixed his eyes on the planet he'd once called home. The once proud Fastoon was now marred by dark clouds rising up from the fires of Tachyon's new empire. Somewhere in the ruined cities of that desolate graveyard the Cragmite was relishing his victory, making plans to hunt down and wipe out the Lombaxes who yet survived in this dimension... and after that, the ones who survived in another.
This time it was Kaden who broke the silence.
"Aphelion... there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
Kaden breathed deep and dug even deeper to find the courage to finish what he had to say. "When we approach the planet, we'll be detected for sure. By the time we arrive in the upper atmosphere, there will be Drophyd ships attacking from every angle. There's no way we'll be able to touch down in one piece, so I'm going to make another halo jump once we're close enough. I'll need you to keep them busy long enough for me to get to Tachyon, so you'll have to use every trick in the book and stay airborne as long as possible.
"I understand," Aphelion said sadly, then added, "Will I be destroyed?"
Kaden bit his lip and pinched his eyes shut. He couldn't afford to start crying now. As indifferently as he could, he muttered, "Probably... but I can't take any chances."
"What do you mean by that?"
Kaden swallowed and breathed hard, trying to take comfort in the fact that this was the last heartbreaking conversation he'd ever have to muscle through.
"If you somehow survive the battle intact, Tachyon could hack your memory files. He'd find out everything you know—about where the Dimensionator is, where my son is—it would jeopardize everything."
"Oh dear, I hadn't thought of that," Aphelion exclaimed. "How will you...?"
She trailed off, and Kaden got the feeling she already knew the answer to her question. All the same, he had to tell her.
"I'm going to wipe your personal memory files, Feel. All the history between us will be deleted."
The ship was speechless. At long last she finally said, "Everything?"
"No, not everything," Kaden explained. "I'm going to leave your AI intact, and all of your raw data files. You'll still have your personality and your awareness, you'll still be who I created you to be... you just won't remember anything about me."
"I don't want to forget you, Kaden," Aphelion shouted, expressing more emotion than she ever had before. "You made me! What purpose will I have if I don't even know about you?"
"Hey, take it easy, Feel," Kaden said calmly, patting the dash board of his dear ship as a strange sense of peace overcame him. "I gave you purpose, and no one can ever take that away, not even me. Even if you don't remember me, you'll always know me. I'm a part of you."
He gripped the handles of the control stick and felt his hands shaking. It must have been him, but somewhere in his hopeful, irrational heart, he felt like it was her.
"Very well," she said. "Goodbye, Kaden."
"Goodbye, Feel," Kaden muttered regretfully, tearing up for what he promised himself would be the final time. With a trembling hand he typed in a command sequence, then sat there with his hand hovering over the initialize switch for a few seconds. The air in the cabin was heavy with sadness, and he almost had trouble drawing breath. At last he closed his eyes, gasping back tears, and hit the switch.
"Right-brain memory deletion initiated," Aphelion's voice prompted. "Time to completion: three minutes, fifty-two seconds."
Kaden sat back in his seat, wiping his tears. He had to put on a brave face for his brave ship when she would meet him for second time. All too soon the completion alarm beeped and the sound of the computer rebooting hummed through the air.
"Onboard computer online," she indifferently announced. "All systems operational."
"Fee—I mean—Aphelion," Kaden muttered. "Do you know who I am?"
"You are my pilot."
"Do you know my name?"
"I'm afraid not," Aphelion muttered, sounding embarrassed. "Strange... I know that we are going to Fastoon to mount an attack on Percival Tachyon, but I can't remember why."
"That's all right," Kaden said, ignoring the guilty feeling gnawing away at his heart. "Do you remember the plan of attack?"
"Affirmative. You will be making a halo jump over the Court of Azimuth and I am to lay down suppressive fire while you infiltrate the stronghold."
"You got it," Kaden muttered with a smile.
"I hope it's not too bold of me to say, but... this seems to me a rather reckless strategy."
Kaden smiled, relieved to know that she really was the same Aphelion he so loved. The only thing missing was her love for him.
"Yeah," he whispered in response, "you're probably right."
"Destination is now within close sensor range," Aphelion announced. "We will be entering the planet's stratosphere in approximately six minutes."
"Give me warnings at one minute intervals and count down from thirty seconds," Kaden ordered. "Scan continuously for hostile vessels and notify me if they come anywhere near firing range."
"Understood."
Kaden took a long look at his radar, then raised his head to watch as the curve of Fastoon's surface gradually filled the view in front of the ship. Both his hands gripped tighter on the helm, and he quietly slipped into one of those tactical breathing patterns Alister had taught him for controlling his heart rate.
This was it.
His wife was gone. His son was gone. Even his best friend and his greatest creation were as good as lost to him forever. All he had left was his life, and he wasn't even sure he wanted it anymore. Now he could only hope that giving it up could secure even the smallest measure of extra security for those he was leaving behind. If so, the trial he was about to face would be worth it.
They pushed in on the main continent until it became the Capitol, and before Kaden knew it the Court of Azimuth was looming on the horizon—along with a small armada of Drophyd ships.
"It's time," he said, bracing himself as the domed hatch slowly lifted away. Steadily and deliberately he stood up against the wind sheer. Taking a deep breath, he braced himself against the edge of the raised hatch and put one foot up on the outer rim of the cockpit.
"Safe journey," the ship said cheerfully.
Kaden smiled back at her as though she had a face to smile at and muttered, "Likewise... Aphelion."
He jumped.
Seconds later he heard the enemy ships soar over him, and resisted the urge to look back as the sound of gunfire filled the air all around.
« « « « « ж » » » » »
It was slow going through the dark underground cavern, but that was to be expected from the longest and most indirect of all the secret entrances to the Court. Kaden wished he could have taken the same one as when he'd come for the Dimensionator, but doubtless the Cragmite now had that tunnel under constant and heavy guard.
Several hours later—Kaden wasn't sure how many—he found his way to the hidden security gate. With a smile he reached into his pocket and pulled out the most complex gizmo one could hope to hold in their hand, courtesy of the bolts that the Plumber had allowed him to keep. He flipped the 'on' switch and a small screen blinked to life. After a few minutes of work he waited while the device connected to the security system governing the door. Then he proceeded to enter his access code.
A light on top of the door blinked red, and a message in matching letters flew across the small screen above the keypad:
ACCESS DENIED
Kaden suppressed a chuckle and confidently muttered, "Of course."
Of course his access code wouldn't work. Tachyon would be a fool not to deal with such a loose end after Kaden had successfully infiltrated this place and made off with the Dimensionator.
But Kaden was the Keeper of the Dimensionator. Access levels didn't get much higher than his. Whatever poor engineer was slave to the Cragmite's will would not be able to simply remove Kaden's access, however good a hacker he was. The only way to keep the Keeper of the Dimensionator out of Fastoon's own citadel would be to alter the parameters of the system itself at the most fundamental level. Such a thing could not be done without leaving a few gaping holes in the security—holes that could now be used to deal a crippling blow to Tachyon's ownership of the Lombax homeworld.
Gradually the message across the door's screen scrambled into snow, then disappeared altogether, and Kaden smiled. If a year ago someone had told him that he'd end up writing a virus to destroy the security grid of his own planet... well, he certainly wouldn't have smiled.
He pressed the button to request entry, and this time the the door simply opened without even asking for his clearance code. He spat on the ground, just for the fun of it, and stuffed his hacking device back into his pocket as he stepped inside the Court of Azimuth.
He was in luck. There weren't any Drophyds in the hallway, and as he approached the first major room—the East Security Wing—he heard the angry shouts of that nails-on-chalkboard voice that was branded upon his mind with a scalding hatred.
"What do you mean, 'unarmed'?!" Tachyon shrieked The manic sounds of his mechanical throne communicated his distress.
"It won't arm, sir," gargled a Drophyd, his voice growing louder as Kaden steadily approached. The entrance to the room was coming up on his right. Light poured from a gaping doorway that was designed to be closed at all times.
"Sweep the citadel," the Cragmite screamed from what could have been spitting distance.
"Gas every room if you have to!"
The room slid into view as Kaden stepped into the light.
"Find the fool who's responsible for this and—!"
He stopped mid-sentence, his beady yellow eyes widening as they came to rest on Kaden.
"You!"
The throne lumbered forward, its driver lashing out in frustrated rage, "Do you have any idea what you've done? No door will lock, no system will deny access. You've rendered Fastoon USELESS!"
Kaden blasted forward, sailing right between the legs of Tachyon's mech. He banked left, then right to avoid the clutches of two Drophyd sentries, and one more sharp left as he reached the far edge of the wing. Leaning in carefully, he flew up the fire-escape ledge that spiraled along the inside wall of the circular room until he reached the window, then turned around to glance back at the stunned Cragmite glaring up at him.
"Yeah, that was kinda the idea," he muttered, and jumped through the window, relishing the sound of Tachyon's enraged wail fading to a whisper behind him.
He kicked his boots into full throttle as he took to the ramp's steep incline toward the ground, certain there wasn't a second to spare. Sure enough, he met the dirt with the sound of engines roaring to life behind him, and a glance over his shoulder revealed three Drophyd ships going airborne. With a sharp breath he returned his sights to the path ahead. He didn't need to watch the ships set course to know they were after him.
He headed for the rocky plains due east. He knew the terrain there well, so maybe, for a while at least, he would be able to out-maneuver them.
The lead ship got within firing range and rained down a spray of plasma, which the Lombax skillfully managed to avoid.
He banked around a sharp corner and ducked under an overhanging rock formation. The pursuing ship followed, but lacking sufficient reaction time, it smashed right into the roadblock, exploding in a ball of fire and plastering its sister ships with shrapnel as they passed.
Kaden smiled at the sound. Music to his ears. He caught sight of an anti-grav pad on his right and blasted over to it, jumping into its resonating green energy field and straightening his body as it launched him into the air. He had to get to higher ground. The last thing he wanted was to get cornered in the canyon below. He landed on the edge of the cliff, but before he could jet off, a plasma bolt shattered the cliff face, and he could only scream while the ground beneath his feet crumbled and collapsed.
Survival instincts kicked in, and he straightened himself and let his boots do what they were named for: hover. He let himself drift down into the canyon only until the drop was over water, and then cut the jets and pencil dove into the enormous pool below. He dipped deep underwater and immediately jetted back up, but any hope he had of making a quick escape died when he broke surface.
Tachyon's entourage was waiting for him, both ships parked at the edge of the water with their guns trained on him. One of them opened its lower hatch and Tachyon's battle throne crawled out like a big metal spider being ridden by a grub.
"Don't worry," the Cragmite uttered smugly, "they won't kill you. I made it clear to them that that pleasure is all mi—"
Tachyon was cut off by a loud blast. He looked to the source of the sound and saw that one of his robot's arms had been blown off. Kaden stood dripping on the bank of the pool holding out his smoking blaster, and turned his aim to the machine's leg joints. His face was stern. He had no time for Tachyon's arrogant monologuing. He fired again, but this time Tachyon had the sense to evade. His spider-like mech jumped into the air, and rocketed toward the Lombax.
Kaden faced him head-on, and when Tachyon reached out his metal claw to grab him he vaulted over its grip and slid down its arm. A shot he fired straight into the cockpit missed the lucky grub pilot by a hair.
An arm of the throne smacked him aside and he flipped through the air, landing on his feet a safe distance away.
"Well, that was disappointing," Kaden sneered. "I guess that big tough-looking machine is just for show."
Tachyon shrieked in anger, barreling toward his hated enemy. Once again Kaden took the bull by the horns and waited until the mech was dangerously close before he gave his boots a single blast at full throttle. He shot up into the air and soared over the throne, spraying it with overhead gunfire. He hit two more of the throne's arms, spun around and landed a point-blank shot to the machine's proverbial gizzard. The whole monstrosity convulsed, and it's closest leg just barely warded Kaden off with a hard swing as its shock absorbers kicked in.
"Why don't you get some guns installed on that thing?" Kaden mocked, shouting through cupped hands, "then maybe it'll be able to do as much damage as I can with my bare hands!"
Tachyon hammered once down upon him, and once again he recklessly counterattacked.
Although smack-talking at Tachyon was a welcome outlet, he knew well and dreaded the beating he was inviting. He could keep up this game of cat and mouse for a little while, but at some point his luck would run out, and then it was simply a matter of how quickly his enemy decided to end it. Kaden's goal was to provoke Tachyon enough that he would kill him in anger, so he wouldn't have to face a long, miserable existence of torture in captivity as the Cragmite tried to force him to reveal the location of the Dimensionator. This had to end here and now. The Lombax Secret would die with him.
He zipped toward his Goliath once more, but this time Tachyon managed to grab him around the waist and pin him against a canyon wall. He pretended to struggle while the worm was asking him if he had any last words, a misdirection to hide that he was overloading his blaster. Suddenly he and threw it right at the spider's chest. The gun exploded with the zeal of any hand bomb, and Tachyon's war throne fell over backwards. As it hit the ground Kaden pounced into Tachyon's cockpit, zipped a knife from his belt, and slashed at the Cragmite's throat.
A shot fired, and Kaden's side seized in pain as he was blasted off the throne and crashed into the dirt, weaponless and defenseless.
The Drophyd who had shot him charged toward Tachyon's fallen mech, anxiously calling out, "Your excellency, are you all right?"
One of the claws of Tachyon's vehicle thrust forward, shattering the glass of the tank on the unsuspecting soldier's battle suit. He ripped the small orange creature from the safety of his armor and squeezed him in the cold clutches of the machine's enormous claw.
"I told you," Tachyon seethed, his focused eyes radiating pure anger, "No one touches him but me! He's MINE!"
The poor Drophyd's eyes bulged to double their usual size as he trembled in Tachyon's unforgiving grip. With one flex of the great metal fist, the poor creature exploded into a shower of ooze. His remains dripped down from the mech's claws and pooled in the sand at the feet of the ingrate whose life he had saved.
Then Tachyon turned his attention to Kaden.
The Lombax was struggling to get on his feet as he lay wounded in the dirt, holding his ribcage where the plasma bolt had struck him. There was nothing he could do as the Cragmite lumbered over to him, reached down, and picked him up by the neck. Two more metal claws grabbed each of his boots and ripped them off his feet. His left ankle snapped from the force, and he cried out in pain.
"As much as I would like to squash you like a bug right now, a sentence I would give to a member of my own ranks is not nearly enough punishment for all the trouble you've caused," Tachyon seethed, gradually tightening his grip. "So before I crush your throat there's something I want you to tell me. Where have you hidden your God-forsaken spawn?"
Kaden made the saddest face he could muster in his position and rasped out the words, "he's dead."
"Liar!"
Tachyon hatefully flung his victim as hard as he could. Kaden flew through the air like a rag doll, smashed into the rock wall, and fell to the ground with a painful groan. He coughed as he tried to push himself up, and blood splattered the dirt in front of his face.
Tachyon dropped Kaden's hoverboots in the sand and took his sweet time stalking over to Kaden, all the while smoothly running his mouth.
"He won't survive, you know. My reach extends to the edges of Polaris and beyond, and I won't rest until every Lombax in the universe perishes in the flames of my wrath."
Kaden had barely managed to get on his knees when one of Tachyon's iron claws maliciously knocked him over on his back and pinned him to the ground. He pushed down harder and harder as Kaden grunted and gasped until the Lombax heard the cracking of his own ribs.
"But I hope he lasts long enough for me to find him. Because I will. Just as I will find the Dimensionator, bring back the Cragmites and wipe out what's left of your God-forsaken race, I will hunt down your accursed child and I will destroy him!"
Kaden felt blood flowing into his throat, and the taste of it filled his mouth. There was so much pressure on his lungs he couldn't even scream in pain, but Tachyon's words summoned up enough spunk in his weary heart that he found the strength to chuckle weakly right in Tachyon's face and wryly mutter, "What makes you so sure... that he won't destroy you?"
The Cragmite's eyes narrowed in rage. He lifted his mech's arm from Kaden's body, and the Lombax gasped for breath. Without a word Tachyon grabbed his feet and started dragging him toward the water. Spasms of pain racked through him as rocks scraped against his skin and sand rubbed into his open wounds.
"You must enjoy pain, Lombax," he said, lifting Kaden up by his crushed upper body and holding him over the surface of the water at the canyon pool's deep end.
"I wiped out your entire race!"
A claw reached out, and mercilessly broke Kaden's leg.
"I built an empire with my bare hands!"
Kaden wailed in excruciating pain as it broke his other leg.
"And I'm about to send the Keeper of the Dimensionator to his watery grave."
Kaden looked up at Tachyon, rasping out deep, painful breaths, and gritting his teeth while blood dripped down his face.
"Me," the Cragmite fumed, "defeated by an abandoned Lombax kit?"
He paused for an ugly, mocking laugh, and pulled Kaden within inches of his horrible face before harshly whispering "I'd like to see him try."
The large metal arm tossed Kaden forward like a skipping stone, and he felt the sting of cold engulf his entire body as he splashed into the water. He lacked the strength to hold his breath, so he tried to relax as the water pressed in all around him, sapping his blood and choking away his air. Death's icy grip was beginning to tighten around him, and the pain started to fade as he slowly lost feeling in his limbs.
He stopped trying to breathe and closed his eyes while his mind slipped into a haze. The last of his coherent thoughts were of his darling wife, of his precious son... and of his dearest friend. Their faces smiled at him in his mind's eye as clear as though they were standing right there, and then rippled away as a reflection on the surface of water.
Sorry I made you wait so long, Nayeli... but I'm finally coming home.
Author's Notes:
I want to give a shout-out to _, who left me two lovely reviews. I would've liked to respond to you in person, but since you have an anonymous account, this is the best I can do. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll continue to review!
- Aphelion's Not-So-Final Resting Place— See? See? I told you I had it all figured out! XP
- The Keeper of the Dimensionator's final transmutation— Sorry, that was a stupid little reference to Fullmetal Alchemist. XP So, I wanted Kaden to accomplish one more really impressive feat against Tachyon before getting killed, but since he obviously couldn't rid the galaxy of the annoying little pest, I thought maybe he could weaken his empire somehow, at least temporarily. I got to wondering why Tachyon has no presence on Fastoon in ToD, and from there came up with the idea that maybe Kaden could have, to some effect, 'broken' it. :P This probably conflicts with the canon somewhat, as I'm pretty sure I remember at least one locked door in the Return to Fastoon level, but oh well. I don't have time to nitpick at this point.
-"Why don't you get some guns installed on that thing?"— As much as I hate the idea of Kaden giving Tachyon an idea that he later uses against Ratchet, I just couldn't resist this line! XP Plus, I had already kinda designed the battle between them without missiles flying all over the place. ^^'
There's actually one more chapter left, but since this is the end for Kaden, I think this is the best time for my closing sentiment... I truly believe that God gave me the inspiration to write this story, so on His behalf I want to relay the message to all you wonderful folks out there reading that He loves you. Like Kaden feels about Aphelion, you are His precious creation. Like Kaden feels about Ratchet, you are his beloved child. And even if you go through your whole life having never known Him, it doesn't change the fact that He loved you enough to suffer and die so that you could be saved. All He really wants is for you to love Him back.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." —John 3:16