Title: Empire of the Sun
Rating: R just in case (K+)
Summary: The agents continue on their quest to find a long lost artifact in Machu Picchu.
Pairings: Myka/H.G.
Disclaimer 1: Warehouse 13 and characters are not mine, just playing around with them.
This chapter has not been beta'd so sorry for any mistakes.
Thanks again for all your feedback. It keeps me going when I find myself lacking inspiration.
Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Claudia crouched over Adriana, her breathing ragged as she stared up at the figure who had just turned on the lights to her room. She could just make out Doctor Arpasi through all the goo that freely ran down his large frame. He was looking at them with wide eyes, his mouth agape. Before anyone could think to speak, the Doctor collapsed to the floor. As Arpasi's body went down, Claudia saw Rosa standing in the threshold to the room, a poker from the fireplace in her raised hand which was ready to come down on the man again.
"Wait! They're friends!" Claudia yelled out.
Rosa stopped the momentum of her arm just as the poker was about to hit the large man who was trying to clumsily shield his head and face with his arms.
The elderly woman stared at them for a few moments, recognition showing on her face when her eyes landed on Adriana. She casually brought the poker up and leaned it across her shoulder. "Adriana, you know I don't like unannounced visits". Adriana leaned on her forearms as Claudia stood. The woman was about to explain herself but Rosa was already turning around to leave. "Get cleaned up. You're making a mess of everything." Her retreating form intructed as she made her way downstairs.
Claudia held out her hand to help Adriana to her feet before heading to Arpasi who was seated on the floor, his hand pressed to the back of his head.
"Are you okay Dr. Arpasi?" Claudia asked tentatively as she leaned over him.
"I cannot believe how strong that woman is. I feel like a horse just kicked me in the head." He answered with a groan.
Claudia and Adriana helped the Doctor up, making sure his injury wasn't too serious.
"Why are you here? What happened at the Hacienda?" Claudia asked after a few seconds.
"Get cleaned up!" They heard Rosa's commanding voice from downstairs.
"I think we better do as Rosa says before we get into anything…we'll only be a few minutes." Arpasi promised as he followed Adriana downstairs to wash up in the yard, his hand rubbing the back of his head.
/
Claudia sat in stunned silence at the square wooden table in Rosa's kitchen, her face expressionless. Her brain felt hazy and she couldn't quite grasp at any one thought that ambled through her mind. Gustavo was dead. He had been murdered by someone at the Hacienda. Rosa was near the stove, quietly heating up some water in a small kettle while Adriana sat beside the Warehouse apprentice; she too kept silent. Dr. Arpasi's arm was strewn comfortingly over her shoulders.
"I can't believe someone would do that to Gustavo." Claudia whispered, a sudden sadness washing over her. She had not known the eccentric man long but he had been sweet and endearingly naïve in many ways.
"Yes, he was such a warm and giving man. He was a good friend…but now we must help Adriana and look for whoever is responsible...most of the farmers have come to the conclusion she is the one who murdered Gustavo." Arpasi commented as he squeezed his friend's shoulder.
"Why would anyone think that?" Claudia was shocked. It was blatantly obvious Adriana had cared a great deal for the Hacienda owner.
"For one thing, Gustavo left the Hacienda to me. I have only known about his decision for a couple of months now...he made it public about two weeks ago. Most of the farmers weren't happy…they don't like the idea of a woman being in charge." Adriana explained.
"That's reason enough for most of them." Arpasi chimed in.
Adriana nodded in agreement. "Also, I was the one who found the body." She continued, pinching her red rimmed eyes with her fingers in an attempt to keep from crying again. "Manuel must have heard my screams. He came into the house and saw me with Gustavo. He-he wasn't answering my phone calls- he always answers my calls!" She exclaimed. "I went over there to check if he was all right and he-he was just lying on the floor. He looked like a little boy, so peaceful." The last part was said in a contemplative whisper.
"I heard what had happened and ran over to the house. I was the first one there after Manuel left to search for help. I didn't believe for one moment Adriana could have done it. We were going to head out and explain everything to the farmers but someone started a fire. That house is made of old, rotting wood. It went up in flames in a matter of seconds. We barely made it to the Wardrobe." Arpasi finished.
"They were just-just going to kill you?!" Claudia was mortified.
"They have their own views on justice and punishment in the Hacienda." Adriana said with a little disdain.
"So what do we do now?-We should call the others-and-and Artie!…He knew Gustavo. He'd want to know." Claudia said, greatly agitated about the whole thing. She reached into her pack and got her Farnsworth out. The signal was jammed.
"What the-?" She had never had a problem with the Farnsworth before.
"I'll try my cellphone." Adriana said, undeterred. No signal.
"Ooookay…if my laptop doesn't work I'm going to officially lose it." Claudia grumbled hot headedly as she took out her laptop.
"Fraaaack." She groaned as she expertly typed on her keyboard.
"The land line is dead as well." Rosa announced as she hung up the phone on the wall.
"Someone is going out of their way to keep us isolated." Arpasi said as he stood and paced nervously back and forth.
"Gustavo's death must be linked to the artifact somehow." The Doctor continued. "Do we have any way of reaching Amaru?...The person who murdered Gustavo was God knows how long in his home and that means he could have gotten his hands on an artifact that can prove dangerous for your friends."
"But I thought he was only allowed to keep certain knick-knackity artifacts." Claudia's gut clenched. It was obvious that someone had been trying to get to the artifact before them and slow them down at any cost, but Gustavo's death was making the situation unbearable, especially because she wasn't with her friends.
"Well…Gustavo might have been gullible about some things, but my friend could be spoiled when he wanted to be and he also had a tendency to become overly attached to his artifacts. I wouldn't put it past him to have kept some of the more lethal ones." Arpasi acknowledged.
Claudia immediately opened her Farnsworth, grabbing some of the small tools she always took with her from her bag.
"I can't call them without a signal but, maybe I can find a way to locate them by honing in on H.G.'s Farnsworth." At the curious glances, Claudia continued, "Some of the artifacts in the Warehouse are very sound sensitive so, we started tinkering with ours a few months back and synched them up so we could find each other anywhere in the Warehouse without having the artifacts going bonkers on us." Claudia explained with a smile as a cherished memory suddenly came to her.
/
"And with that I believe we are…finished!" H.G. exclaimed with a grin as she tightened the last screw on her Farnsworth.
"Awesome!" Claudia cheered, finishing up the same task and holding her hand up in front of the inventor. A motionless but amused looking H.G. simply stared at the raised hand.
"Arrg…you just ruined a moment, I hope you know that." Claudia droned as she reached for H.G.'s wrist, raising it and making the writer's hand awkwardly high five her own.
"I must admit, I find social interactions nowadays to be quite fun." The writer claimed as she looked at her hand and then placed it in front of Claudia, as if experimenting with the newly acquired custom.
Claudia laughed at H.G.'s excitement and high fived her with considerably more enthusiasm than before, making the writer's smile break out into a full-fledged grin. H.G. then turned to the messy table and started to put the tools back in their cases. Without looking up, she spoke, "You did a wonderful job today Claudia…you are becoming a fine inventor indeed."
A surprised Claudia looked up from her Farnsworth then, a blush creeping up her neck. The H.G. Wells, inventor of a real life time machine and countless other remarkable creations, had just complemented her on her skills. She was touched deeply by the words, knowing for a fact H.G. wasn't one to give out compliments. She found herself smiling half in pride and half because a thought had just dawned on her: 'I'm actually friends with H.G.…when did that happen?'
"So." Helena interrupted her thoughts, "Fancy a game of hide and seek?" She proposed as she grabbed her Farnsworth and stepped back, giving Claudia one more eager smile, before she turned and ran down one of the Warehouse's aisles.
/
With an imperceptible shake of her head, Claudia made herself focus on the lights and wires in front of her.
After several minutes of silence, the redhead's enthusiastic "Yes!" startled everyone in the room. "Once again, I prove my awesomeness has no bounds." She proclaimed smugly as Arpasi and Adriana stood and walked over to her so they could peer over her shoulder.
"I boosted up the power on my Farnsworth—"Claudia explained as she turned a couple of dials on the device "so with any luck, it'll be able to tell us where they are…aaaand—bingo!" She cheered as several horizontal and vertical lines appeared on the screen, a small red light shown in the upper left hand corner.
"Is that them?" Adriana asked as she pointed to the dot.
"Yeap…it's weird though. It looks like they're not moving." Claudia said with worry.
Arpasi looked at the numbers on the screen, a near perfect map of his homeland in his head.
"It looks like they're bordering the jungle." Arpasi pointed out.
"That doesn't make any sense." Claudia reasoned out loud, positive the agents had planned to head to Cusco by another route.
"Something's off…we gotta get to them."
"We can use a car to get to the border of the jungle but after that, it'll be useless. And if they start moving, we'll never get to them on foot." Adriana observed as she traced her finger across the screen to where the red dot was.
"I believe I might be of service with that particular problem."
Claudia, Adriana and Arpasi slowly turned to see Rosa serenely sitting back on a chair, sipping at her coffee with both hands around the mug and an impish smile on her face.
/
"Aaaaaaah!" Claudia's scream was muffled by the motorcycles' loud engines. She was holding on to Adriana for dear life. 'Of course the hundred year old woman would have two off road motorcycles just lying around'. The thought almost made Claudia laugh, that is until she opened her eyes and saw that they were way too close to the small mountain's edge for her comfort. They had been riding at full speed for about an hour and the road had only become steeper and rockier as they went on. Adriana slowed down to turn a sharp corner and Claudia took advantage and quickly looked down at her Farsworth.
"Hey! We're really close now…only a few miles West!" She yelled out, turning to make sure Arpasi also heard her. He nodded at her though she could hardly discern it due to his helmet.
After several minutes, Claudia heard a loud crash behind her. She turned to see Arpasi's body roll across the rocky ground, his bike slamming against the side of the mountain. Adriana immediately stopped her bike, both women took off their helmets as they ran to the Doctor's aid.
" Dr. Arpasi?!" Adriana got to the old man first, bending over his huddled frame but not wanting to move him in case he had broken something.
"I am fine, I am fine" Arpasi assured as he sat up and carefully took off his helmet.
"I just need a few minutes to collect myself" He told them as he bent over, grabbing his stomach.
Claudia helped Adriana remove the Doctor's jacket. He had some superficial cuts and a bad bruise across his chest but he assured them once more that he would live. "Who's the Doctor here?!" he grunted irritably when both women wouldn't stop their fussing.
The Warehouse apprentice sighed in relief and took out the Farnsworth from her jacket. The dot had not moved from its position, she didn't think that was a good sign. But on the bright side, they were only minutes away. Arpasi seemed to notice her anxiousness. "Adriana, Claudia, go…I'll be there as soon as I catch my breath. Go find your friends" The last part was directed at Claudia.
"Adriana…stay with Dr. Arpasi. I'll climb down and wait for you both with the others." Claudia prompted. Adriana stood, her mind clearly at odds. "Listen, we can't leave him alone and I need to find my friends. I'll be fine…I promise. Look, see? They're close by." Claudia showed her the Farnsworth as proof. Adriana shifted from one foot to the other, the dream she had had about the young woman making it difficult for her to concede but, one pain filled groan from the Doctor and she knew Claudia was right. She would have to trust that her new friend was as capable as she appeared.
"We'll be with you soon." Adriana promised. Claudia gave a relieved smile and turned but before she could take a step, she felt a hand gently take a hold of her forearm. She turned impatiently towards the taller woman. "Take care…please, don't be reckless." Adriana said. She was smiling at Claudia but her eyes were full of concern.
Claudia grinned broadly, trying to ease the other woman's uneasiness. "Don't worry, I don't even know the meaning of the word 'reckless'." She quipped as she stepped back. Adriana shook her head in disbelief though her eyes were finally reflecting the smile she still held. "'Cautious Claudia' is what they call me." She continued to joke as she stepped back and turned, jogging towards the mountain's edge. She tripped on a pile of stones but quickly regained her balance. She looked back and gave them a quick wave. Adriana rolled her eyes in defeat as she turned back to tend to Arpasi.
The climb down was quick. They had not been very high up and as she descended, the ground leveled out after a few minutes. She began to run, her nose practically touching the screen as she effortlessly zigzagged through the trees. When she was only a few feet away, she stopped, remembering her promise to Adriana to be careful. If her friends were in trouble she probably shouldn't go barreling down on whatever they had gotten themselves into. She stopped behind a tree and peered around it. Her heart fell at the sight of the backpacks and clothes carelessly strewn across the ground. "Where are you?" She whispered to herself, silently demanding her friends make their presence known. She jumped when she heard gunshots up ahead. She ran in the general direction the shots had come from. She tried to maintain a steady pace but had to stop after a few minutes to catch her breath. "I have…got…to…work…out…more." Claudia sputtered between breaths as she leaned heavily against a tree. She suddenly felt a tickling at the base of her neck and swatted at it, feeling something crush against her hand. When she looked at her hand by the light of her Farnsworth she could see she had squashed something with antennas and at least three pairs of legs. She scrunched up her nose in disgust and felt more tingling making its way up her arm and neck. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!" She squealed and ran aimlessly through the jungle, swatting at her hair and neck. 'This could not get any worse.' She mused fleetingly as she broke through the tree line.
/
'I was wrong, it got worse' Claudia thought to herself a few short minutes later as she held on to H.G.s arm and stepped closer to her friend. Zombie-like creatures were running towards them from all directions; though these seemed to be quicker and more organized than any zombie she had seen in Pete's movies.
"I shouldn't have watched 'Dawn of the Dead' with Artie before coming here…waaay too many death scenarios running through my brain right now." Claudia uttered as she looked for a way out.
"I don't think they're zombies." Pete reflected as he aimed his gun at the nearing group. "They look like mummies to me." He continued as he pressed his back to Myka's.
"Pete, do you see them wrapped in anything?!" Claudia retorted as she waved her arms at the naked, deformed bodies.
"So?! Most of them don't have anything to cover up!" He reasoned angrily.
"Guys! A little focus?" Myka interjected as she took a shot at the nearest corpse. She smiled when she saw it fall but exhaled in exasperation when it got up and started running again as if nothing had happened.
H.G. took out her Tesla and placed it in Claudia's hand before unholstering her gun. "Well, if they're not going to let us through then we'll just have to make our own way, now won't we?" She remarked as she walked confidently up to the howling group of dead bodies.
She shot one of the corpses between the eyes and swiftly cut its head off. "Cover her!" Myka barked as she shot at one of the bodies that had gotten dangerously close to Helena. Roberto and H.G. cut their way through the line of corpses while the rest of the group tried to slow down the oncoming mass of bodies.
"There's too many of them!" Pete yelled out, as he loaded his gun again. They were quickly running out of ammo.
"Peter, darling, must..you..always state the obvious?" Helena's voice was breathless as she swung her sword in an arc, her arms ached terribly and she had been scratched and bitten several times over. She knew she wouldn't be able to continue this for much longer. She turned to Amaru and noticed that most of the horde was trying to get to him.
"The rifle…they're after the sodding rifle!" She pointed out as she speared one of the corpses through the chest. She tried to remove her sword quickly but it held fast. The creature took the opportunity to launch at her, causing the writer to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
"H.G.!" ,
"Helena!"
Strong, boney fingers were digging into her face. She pushed back on her sword to try to prevent the monster's face from coming near her own. To her dismay, the sword broke through the thorax up to the hilt. Her hand was inside the cavity now. She could feel a thick, foul smelling substance run down her arm but she had no time to process much else. The creature was now biting at her face and neck. She felt it tear into flesh. Felt her blood gushing out of the open wound. She frantically started to beat at its head with her free hand, managing to halt its attack for a few seconds. She searched the ground for her gun or anything she could use as a weapon but came up empty handed. She was trapped. Just as she was starting to think she might not be getting out of the predicament alive, the creature was tackled to the ground beside her. Two strong hands immediately made their way under her arms and hauled her backwards. Myka. She turned her head to see where the creature had gone. Pete was smashing its skull in with a large rock while Claudia used the Tesla to keep the corpses at bay. Roberto was further back, skillfully using his machete, though she could tell he was tiring. Myka swiftly placed a strip of cloth she had stored away in her jacket under her jaw and applied pressure to the wound there. H.G. saw black spots dancing across her vision and her eyes rolled back, her treacherous body giving out on her.
"Helena, get up!" Myka's commanding voice broached no objection and despite herself, H.G. opened her eyes, all her being concentrating on not passing out again. She grabbed the cloth and rolled over to get on her knees, gasping and coughing pitifully. She took a deep breath, a cool, soothing hand on the base of her neck. H.G. had no time to catch her breath though as the hand moved down to her shoulder and then grabbed her carefully yet forcefully by the arm, hauling her to her feet.
"Look at me!" Myka demanded as she grasped her shoulder, bunching up the jacket between her fingers. "We are going to get out of this…but you can't pass out on me again. And you most certainly cannot die!...Promise." Her face deadly serious.
H.G. looked around them as if in a haze. They were surrounded and she couldn't see a way out, but she closed her eyes against the hopelessness of it all and nodded, too weak to speak.
"Promise me!"
H.G. willed herself to focus on Myka for the first time since their attack. She saw the stubbornness she was expecting, but to her surprise, hiding beneath it was an abysmal fear. She was terrified of losing her, she realized. She would have promised Myka anything at that moment in order to ease away the panic she saw lurking behind her green eyes. And she would do everything in her power to keep that promise if it helped Myka focus and stay alive.
"I-I promise" She said, fighting back the wooziness and darkness that had been taking over her.
Myka gave her a curt nod, handing her the gun and sliding the precious few ammunition cartridges she had left into her pocket. She ran over to Pete and the now motionless corpse. She grabbed the sword's handle and stepped on the sunken chest for leverage, managing to remove it with a powerful jerk. She looked back, giving the writer a meaningful gaze, before she turned and sliced a corpse across the chest.
They were making slow progress and the mass of bodies was steadily wearing them down, Myka knew, but she refused to believe this was how it was going to end for them. A gaunt hand yanked painfully at her hair pulling her back. She heard a shot and the pulling ceased. Pete was at her side, brutally smashing the creature's head in with the heel of his boot. He placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it an encouraging squeeze before he continued to shoot with remarkable precision.
They heard an engine roar nearby and then a deafening blast. She looked up to see one of the corpses had been practically blown to bits. She looked around and saw two figures on a motorcycle circling the group of zombies, heedlessly blasting away at them with a rifle.
Myka saw an opening and called out to the group, grabbing Claudia who was nearest and making a run for it. She looked over her shoulder to make sure the others followed behind, satisfied when she saw that they had made it through most horde.
Her hand slid down Claudia's arm and she held her hand reassuringly, guiding her into the dense jungle. After a few minutes, they stopped. Their breathing ragged. Dawn was approaching; Myka could see Claudia's breath making its way past her trembling lips.
"We have to climb!" She heard Roberto's voice in the distance. His words could only mean that they were still being followed. She looked down at Claudia. Her usually confident friend was shaking badly, visibly willing herself not to cry. Myka smiled for her benefit as she ran her fingers down the smooth red hair; a surge of sisterly love overwhelming her. "Come on, up we go." She prompted as she led Claudia to the nearest tree.
"Here." She crouched down, putting her hands together and linking her fingers. Claudia understood at once and placed her foot in Myka's hands, allowing the older woman to hoist her to the nearest branch.
"Keep climbing and don't look down." Myka was speaking in a low voice; they could hear angry moaning nearby. The tree was enormous; its branches supporting her wait steadily, giving Claudia much needed confidence. She climbed as she listened to Myka's strained breathing. Against her better judgment, Claudia looked down to see how her friend was doing. A few of the corpses were right below their tree; they had stopped running and were quietly searching the area with a predatory air about them. Frustrated with herself, Claudia dug her palms into her eyes, trying to physically push back the unexpected tears she could feel running down her face. Myka was standing on the branch below her, her entire body pressed up against the tree. Claudia lay face down on the branch she was on and extended her arm down to her friend. Myka instantly reached for her. She pressed her face against their joined hands and shut her eyes, praying that the creatures wouldn't look up and that the others were safe.
Their heads shot up when they heard a woman yelling in Spanish. Claudia clamped down on Myka's hand. The agent had to bite down on her injured tongue to keep from screaming. She pulled at the young woman's sleeve, eliciting her attention and pointing dramatically at their hands.
Claudia's nose scrunched up in embarrassment as she loosened her hold on her friend, mouthing "Sorry" before she scanned the area around them.
Adriana was calling out to the horde, the rifle in her possession. Most of the creatures had heard her screams and were now making their way towards her.
"What is she doing?! She's going to get herself killed!" Myka hissed through her teeth. She caught sight of Pete and Amaru a few trees over. They were both staring in horror at Adriana who was now running for her life. Myka searched frantically for Helena. They had to regroup and find a way to help the woman.
As her eyes landed on the lithe form two trees to her right, Myka had to clamp down on her tongue again to keep from screaming; this time in anger.
H.G. had made her way to the end of the branch she had climbed to, clearly intent on jumping down.
"H.G. No!" Claudia had seen their friend as well and was trying to persuade her from doing whatever heroically idiotic thing she was planning to do this time.
Helena turned to them, hearing their forceful whispers. She saw Myka and Claudia shaking their heads desperately. She gave them a confident smile, although it felt forced even to her. The time traveler craned her neck down to scan the jungle's surface and with one last look at the cherished faces, she jumped directly on top of one of the corpses. She quickly got to her feet and held the creature by its neck, breaking it with surprising ease. She then proceeded to grab the large rock she had spotted from the tree and smashed it against its head.
She looked up with a grin, this time feeling the confidence behind it. She readjusted the cloth she had tightened around her neck to keep her wound from bleeding while she said, "We'll meet you down river in two hours." She made sure to emphasize the time, holding up her index and middle finger.
All Myka could do was gaze down at Helena, her heart in her throat. "Remember what I promised you, darling?" H.G. couldn't leave without reassuring her.
Myka nodded several times, her watery gaze breaking Helena's heart. "Well, don't you trust me, love?" Even as she asked this, she knew the answer and the faith Myka held for her touched something buried deep within, all her fears vanished in that instant.
Myka nodded again, a gravelly "Yes" passing through her lips.
"Two hours, Helena." Myka said, her voice steadier.
"Two hours" She promised, this time her smile was genuine.
She made her way through the trees until she finally reached the clearing. She saw Adriana amidst the decaying bodies circling her; she was looking around for a way out.
"Adriana, run to the cliff!" H.G. instructed as she rushed towards the woman. Confused, but trusting the agent knew what she was doing, Adriana raced towards the cliff up ahead. H.G. grabbed for Myka's gun and started shooting the corpses that stood in her way, slowing them down for the time being. She pushed and shoved her way through the throng of bodies which were thankfully too engrossed with Adriana and the rifle to pose much of an obstacle. Adriana had run out of ground and she was now precariously close to the cliff's edge, the undead bodies lunging themselves at her. She fended herself as best she could with the rifle but there were too many of them. Deformed hands and snarling mouths assaulted her; she felt sharp teeth bite into her calf and screamed out in pain. She couldn't move but, she did her best to hold on to the rifle. The wind was knocked out of her as a body crashed into her own. She closed her eyes and prepared herself to hit the ground before she remembered in dismay where she was and that there was no ground below.
/
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