The waves just wouldn't stop coming. No matter how many advanced spells Kage seemed to throw at the Jaffa, more just took their place. The locals on Grilla had lost many of their soldiers quickly, and it was more or less just SG-11 holding down the fort. Exhaustion was going to self-destruct their team if Kage didn't do something about the situation fast. Black magic was simply not cutting it.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Kage cursed as she ducked behind another ledge and started tapping her head to think of her options. Dark Knight would probably do the trick, but it was risky for her. It would take her out and leave her completely defenseless if it didn't work. "Shit, only option right now." Pulling up the sleeve of her uniform she activated her garment grid and the sky went dark. Clad in black armor she sucked in a deep breath and stood from her place of hiding.
"Kage!" Connors called in her direction, questioning what she was about to do, still unfamiliar with the different spheres and their various uses.
"This is all I've got!" Kage called back. "If this doesn't work, get the hell out of here, and drag me back with you!" Connors gave a brief moment of hesitation, but then nodded firmly. Closing her eyes Kage let the darkness begin to swell inside of her. "My pain, is yours." She extended her hand towards the hoards of Jaffa and there was a dark boom of magic that engulfed the field in a black cloud.
The last thing she heard were screams filling the air before she felt herself fall.
"Sir, with all-due-respect-," Ellis started before he was cut off with a wave of Hammond's hand.
"Major, I don't want to hear it. The Tok'ra are our allies, and they have asked for our help," Hammond spoke plainly, not willing to tolerate anymore arguments.
"Didn't SG-1 just get finished saving their asses from the System Lords? I feel like there should be some sort of limit, especially since we don't see them helping us like, ever," Carr huffed in annoyance, arms crossed in defiance of the situation.
Hammond offered no answer to Carr's questions. "You leave in thirty minutes," he said before walking away.
"Fucking Tok'ra," Ellis murmured under his breath before also making his way out.
"I don't think I'll be as useful as they are hoping I will be," Rodd mused from his corner. "I don't really know much about their crystal system."
Wells placed an assuring hand on the kid's shoulder, "You'll figure it out."
It was with reluctance that the team geared up, drew weapons, and walked through the gate. The Tok'ra home world was still in shambles from the attack just a few weeks ago that SG-1 had helped stop. Kashoku knew that they typically preferred the isolation of the desert, but this world was shrouded in dense forest.
"Greetings," a male Tok'ra approached them, bowing slightly at Major Ellis. "My name is Hatnir. I was told you were bringing along one of your scientists who might be able to assist us. Which one of you is it?"
"Jeez, straight to the point are we?" Ellis scoffed before nodding in Rodd's direction.
Rodd lifted his hand halfway and stepped forward. "I'm not familiar with the crystal system, but I'll do what I can to help you."
Hatnir nodded, "Follow me."
"Yeah, we'll just stay here," Carr groaned, dripping with sarcasm. "This sure is fun in the sun."
"I'll go with him," Kashoku suggested. "Maybe I can think of something with one of my spheres to help?"
Ellis agreed, "Yeah, I want someone to watch Rodd's back anyway."
Kashoku nodded and took off to catch up with Rodd and Hatnir at the transportation rings to take them underground. "Don't you usually move worlds once the Goa'uld discover you? Why take the risk of staying here?"
"It is true, that we should relocate," Hatnir agreed, "But we have been having trouble with our crystals, and we already had started the tunneling process here on Revanna. The Goa'uld think we have evacuated this planet. If we can hurry and get all our people underground, we should be able to salvage this place."
Kashoku doubted that Anubis and the other System Lords would really fall for that ploy so easily.
"What is it with the crystals you are hoping we can accomplish?" Rodd asked, trying to figure out just what their mission was here on Revanna.
"The planet in which we obtain these crystals regularly is being watched. We cannot risk going there. However, we are running out of specific crystals, while we have many of others. We are hoping we can find some way to be able to transfer the crystalline properties of one to another," Hatnir explained.
Rodd gave Kashoku a concerned look. "That's above the laws of nature that I know of. The only way I know of changing a crystals properties is to apply an incredible amount of heat and pressure that I just can't do without time that exceeds my life span."
Kashoku frowned, thinking heavily as they walked before a light bulb went off in her head. "I have an idea! I don't know if it will work, but one of my dress spheres might be able to help on a temporary basis."
Hatnir turned his head slightly, curious. "Do explain."
"My Gun Mage sphere uses what we call blue magic. For a limited time I can copy the ability of a fiend on our planet to use against them. It's not quite the same, but maybe if you use one of these crystals I can try and copy the ability to help you until you can get more of the crystals you need," Kashoku explained.
Rodd's face lit up in interest. "Really? You think you can do that?"
Kashoku smiled at him, "Don't know, but it's worth a shot, neh? As with any magic, it has its price, but it will at least help the Tok'ra establish their base underground." As they reached the storage room with the stacks of crystals, Kashoku changed into the bright blue, pink, and yellow clothing of her Gun Mage sphere. "Ok, which crystal is it?"
Hatnir handed her a yellow hexagonal crystal and pointed towards a section of the wall. "Use it there."
Kashoku fiddled with the crystal in her hand, observing it closely, before readying herself to try and mimic the crystal's actions. She pressed it towards the wall and there was a flash of a bright light as the crystal began hollowing on the wall of the cave. She held onto it as long as she could before the crystal began to disintegrate leaving a long new hallway in its wake.
"Did it work?" Rodd asked curiously, stepping up next to her.
Kashoku's arm tingled with the familiar sensation of learning a new ability. "Something happened. I guess the only way to know for sure is to test it out."
Hatnir was anxious as he quickly paced down the hall to instruct Kashoku where to try the spell. "Here, if you can."
Kashoku took in a deep breath, biting at the inside of her lip. "Hope this works." Her gun appeared in her hand and she focused on the newfound blue magic inside of her since having touched the crystal. She pulled the trigger and a shot fired at the wall, instantly sparking into light and carving into the cave.
"You did it!" Rodd shouted in excitement, a small jump accompanying his words.
"It worked!" Kashoku beamed, whirling around to smile back at Rodd.
Tok'ra usually were void of showing any kind of emotion, but even Hatnir seemed to be pleased as he lifted his chest and a smile threatened to tug at his lips. "You have saved us."
The Spiran was on her way to asking where to begin next when the three were suddenly thrust off their feet, slamming into the ground as the tunnels shook violently around them. With a grunt Kashoku pushed herself to her feet, brushing off the rubble that had fallen around her. "What was that?"
"Goa'uld?" Rodd asked with worry as he looked up, dust speckled across his face from the debris.
"Hurry, to the surface," Hatnir commanded.
Not knowing what they would find themselves in the middle of, Kashoku cast Protect on all three of them before stepping into the rings for the surface. Thank Yevon she had. It was chaos all around her. Death Gliders were firing shots all around, voices were shouting out orders, and Kashoku could hear the familiar sound of the P-90s firing off in the distance. Wounded Tok'ra were already littering the battle field. Kashoku turned to Hatnir, face firm. "Have all wounded come underground. I can treat them out of harm's way."
"But the tunnels might collapse!" Hatnir argued.
"I can make new ones!" Kashoku reminded him, quickly changing spheres and readying herself for anything that came her way.
"SG-15, this is General Hammond. You have not called in for your 12-hour report. What is your status?" Rodd's radio crackled through the battle.
"Oh, you know, getting fucked over again by the Tok'ra, sir!" Ellis's voice rang loudly over heavy fire. "I don't want to say I told you so, sir, but I told you so!"
"Major, what is going on?!"
"Jaffa decided to come back and finish the job, sir. We are overrun. I don't know how much longer we can hold the fort before we run out of ammo! We need backup!"
"I don't have it, son. All our battle-ready teams are off world. Until one comes back, you are on your own."
Rodd and Kashoku exchanged worried glances. "I'm going to go help our team," He said, fear in his voice, but determination also.
Kashoku nodded. "Go." She turned and ran back towards the rings where several injured Tok'ra had already gathered or been dragged. She quickly began casting her spells, but realized just as swiftly that she alone would not be enough.
Kage feel like she had been hit with a blitzball repeatedly. When she had come to, she was in the same spot she remembered attacking the Jaffa. Ramirez had told her she had only passed out for a few minutes, but Kage was sure it had been days. Her attack had weakened the Jaffa force just enough for the rest of SG-11 to take swift action and eliminate the threat for good.
"That was some powerful voodoo magic shit you did back there, chica," Ramirez commented as she and Bentley helped hoist her to her feet.
Kage groaned as she tried to support herself, but found that she couldn't without great difficulty. "I like to avoid having to use that dress sphere, but it seemed like it was either that or get fucked, and I just wasn't feeling that today without dinner, first."
"You saved our asses, man, thanks," Bentley helped support her from the other side.
"Let's get back to base. Hopefully the locals can clean the mess up without our help and we can get back to Earth," Connors said as he swung his weapon over his shoulder and began taking off. There was blood seeping through his uniform around his shoulder, but he gave no indication of any real pain.
Rafe took up the rear as Kage hobbled along with the help of her teammates, her vision battling between clear and fuzzy the entire way. There were points she had momentary blackouts, gaps between places and time as they got back to the base and Connors spoke with the leaders. She hadn't even realized that they had made it to the gate until she felt the familiar lurching of her stomach through the wormhole and they landed on the ramp. Not wanting to show weakness, Kage shook off her helpers and stood straight in front of the soldiers who were pulling security in the embarkation room.
Hammond had wasted no time from descending the stairs from his place above to the gate room. His brow was creased in worry, and one of the nurses had followed in behind. "Team, I'm very sorry, but I need you to turn right back around and go on another mission. Captain Tyler here can cure any injuries you sustained before you go."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Ramirez growled in disbelief, not even bothering with the proper addressing of her commander.
"Sir, we are wiped. There isn't anyone else that can go?" Rafe added, his shoulders slumping in exhaustion.
Connors kept the same blank face he always had. "What is the mission, sir?"
"It's SG-15. They were ambushed by Jaffa while assisting the Tok'ra on Revanna after the last attack. The Tok'ra forces were already heavily depleted, and they are being overrun," Hammond explained. "They requested back up over four hours ago and I have not been able to contact them, since."
Kage had a sudden burst of energy as she stood to her full height. "We're going."
"You've blacked out more than once since you cast that spell," Ramirez hissed angrily. "You are in no shape to go anywhere."
"I don't care," Kage snapped back, shaking off Ramirez angrily. "If Kashoku is in trouble, we're going." She walked down the ramp towards the nurse Hammond had brought along. "Cast a Pray spell and let's go."
"Sir, you've got to be joking," Bentley turned to Connors, a pleading look in his eyes.
Connors only shrugged. "General Hammond says we go, so we go. It's as simple as that."
There was a collective groan from Bentley, Ramirez, and Rafe, but they all lined up to get a boost of energy, albeit very small in the grand scheme of things, before turning on their heels and waiting for the gate to start dialing once more. Kage knew that the use of any sort of magic would be limited, but she could still use a sword and gun just as well, especially if Kashoku was in danger.
The chaos they ended up walking in to was far worse than what they had been at for hours on Grilla. There were explosions everywhere and the team scattered to find cover. From her crouched position behind some fallen trees she saw Connors link up with Ellis. Knowing that that particular situation was handled, she began scanning the horizon for any sight of Kashoku. With no immediate luck she stayed low and began moving to the first Tok'ra she could find.
"Where's Kashoku?" She shouted over the battle fire.
"Below, with the wounded," he spoke as he stood and fired his zat'ni'katel at the Jaffa.
"Take me to her." She commanded, instinctively ducking as a death glider's fire landed near them.
He seemed to hesitate, not wanting to leave his position, but nodded and motioned for her to follow. They both dodged bullets and staff blasts as they made it towards the transportation rings. Both came out unscathed as the yellow light engulfed them and took them underground.
There was blood everywhere.
Kage stepped over bodies and looked around hastily before finding Kashoku kneeling next to one of the bodies in a separate room, the soft glow of her magic at work. Her skin was almost as pale as the robes she wore. "Kash!"
Kashoku's head snapped up, and her eyes closed slowly in relief. "Yokatta. Kage, what's going on up there? I keep getting more and more wounded with no sign of this stopping. I've had some Tok'ra come to me more than once. I can't do it anymore."
"It's fucking hell fire up there," Kage answered, the scent of copper hitting her hard. "Your team was ok from what I saw for a second, but Kash, we aren't going to be much help. We just got back from our own war, and I had to use Dark Knight." Kashoku instantly understood the severity of the situation, knowing she had to go that far. "We need to evacuate. The gate was clear – mostly – when we came through."
Kashoku nodded. "We should start gathering people to move."
"MOVE! GET OUT OF THE WAY, NOW!" Ellis's voice boomed from down the hall.
Her entire time was suddenly in the room. Wells was clinging to Ellis, hand clutching at a bleeding wound at his shoulder. Rodd was limp over Carr's shoulder, blood seeping through his uniform around his abdomen. They were both set down next to several other wounded Tok'ra before Ellis and Carr took off again, shouting orders. Kashoku gasped, quickly crawling over to Wells.
"Heal Rodd first," Wells hissed through the pain as he managed to prop himself up against the wall of the tunnel.
Kashoku hesitated but nodded, turning herself so that she could get her hands on the unconscious lieutenant. A lump formed in her throat at the damage. Wells and Rodd would be the limits of her magic.
"Don't worry about me," Wells breathed through sharp gasps. "I'll be fine until we can make it back."
"No," she snapped firmly, "I'll heal you both."
"Are you crazy?" Kage argued, irritated at her friend's stubbornness. "He said he's fine, save your energy for those that need it!" She had experienced several similar injures on hunts before, and although it would suck royally, she knew Wells would at least live.
"I said I'd heal you both!" Kashoku shouted decisively, eyes locking with Wells across Rodd's body.
Wells stared back at her, his heavy panting the only sound in the room beyond distant explosions for several moments. "Kash…"
"Let me work," she said plainly before concentrating once more on calling her magic to her to heal the wound on Rodd's abdomen. She could feel the last of her energy drain through her fingers as the wound closed and Rodd's eyes fluttered open slowly. She smiled as his brown eyes stared up at her. "You ok?"
He pushed himself up onto his elbows and stared at her in shock and utter fear. "I'm so sorry. I didn't-,"
"Shh," she hushed him, far too tired to offer her usual kind words to him in attempts to calm him down. She lazily turned back to Wells and reached out a hand for his shoulder.
He grabbed it, keeping her from reaching the wound as he held her gaze. "Kash, don't. You're too weak."
Kashoku clenched her jaw, offering him a silent apology as she squeezed his hand and let her magic flow through his arm to the injury on his shoulder. Her body suddenly felt weightless, and she could do nothing but let herself fall against Wells's chest.
Kage growled angrily as she knelt down to check that Kashoku was still breathing. Her brown eyes were still slightly open, but she knew that if she cast even the slightest of spells she would be done for. "Baka. Why don't you ever listen?" With a heavy sigh she looked up at Wells, who was holding onto Kashoku tightly, eyes cast down. Kage could feel her heart stop, curiosity swelling up within her at the intimate moment shared between the two.
"She ok?" Ellis questioned as he popped his head back in.
Kage nodded, finally prying her eyes away from the pair. "She'll be fine, but we've got to get out of here. This place is done for. It's not worth trying to protect it."
"No shit," Ellis agreed. "I think the Tok'ra finally understand that. We're getting out of here, now. We're going to another planet where they've set up a temporary base."
Kage helped Rodd to his feet and eyed Wells once more as he scooped Kashoku into his arms, guilt filling both gentlemen's faces. Rodd looked like he might keel over from the thought of it alone. "Let's go." She pushed past the bodies in the tunnel towards the front so that she could lead the initiative towards the Gate. Many of the ground forces had been eliminated between SG-15 and SG-11, but the Death Gliders were viscous in their attacks from above. Kage didn't have enough in her to protect the remaining Tok'ra from the attack, so she focused on the Jaffa still standing. Mercifully, the Tok'ra moved with a sense of urgency and they were able to get the survivors through the Gate quickly.
Ellis turned back, quickly searching for any stragglers that may have been left behind. Satisfied that everyone had made it through he nodded to Kage, "Alright let's go."
Kage didn't hesitate as she turned and ran through the event horizon. The sun was bright on the other side, the planet much more like the typical terrain of a Tok'ra home world. It was quiet as the event horizon dissipated behind her and Ellis and the wounded were gathered to take to the tunnels below the surface. Kashoku had regained consciousness and was standing at Wells's side, but grasping onto his arm firmly for support, his body almost fully sustaining her own.
Connors approached Ellis with slumped shoulders. Even he was finally showing signs of heavy fatigue. "I spoke with the local leader. They can handle things from here. It's time to get our people back."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Ellis agreed. "Rodd! Dial us home!"
"Sir!" Rodd responded before jogging to the DHD and swiftly pressing the correct combination into the panel.
Kage had never been so happy to see Earth.
"You still alive over there, bonita?" Ramirez asked from behind the curtain.
Kashoku let out a groan from her place on the bottom of shower. Her knees were curled into her chest as she let the hot water flow over her skin. She didn't even have the energy to stand anymore, even though she would have probably fallen asleep if Ramirez hadn't called out to her. "I'm coming…" With a deep sigh she slowly pushed herself to her feet and turned off the water. Reaching a hand out from behind the curtain she felt around for her towel and began lazily drying herself off. Wrapping it around her lithe frame she stepped out and padded over to her locker on light feet. Ramirez and Kage were slowly getting dressed around her.
"You look about how I feel, bonita," Ramirez hummed tiredly as she shoved her shirt down over her head.
Kashoku gave a weak smile. "I'm surprised you don't look it, too."
"It's a gift," she responded in equal jest.
"Quicker you get dressed the quicker you can get to a bed," Kage pointed out as she shoved her feet into her boots.
Kashoku nodded and reached for her bra and undies out of the locker and began dressing herself. She was in the process of slipping on her pants when the klaxons went off in a blaze of thunder and a voice came over the intercom.
"Attention all personnel. The SGC is on lockdown due to a possible biohazard threat. I repeat; the SGC is on lockdown due to a possible biohazard threat. Do not leave your current location until further notice."
Kashoku let out a loud sob as she slumped to the bench and buried her face in her hands. "You've got to be joking!"
Ramirez frowned. "Biohazard? What the fuck have those fucking scientist been up to, huh?" She let out a string of curses in Spanish, plopping down angrily next to the half-dressed Kashoku.
Kage let out an explosive kick at one of the lockers with her boot, the exhaustion coming out in pure anger. "This is bullshit!"
Unable to fight unconsciousness any longer, Kashoku grabbed the towel she had used and bundled it up on the far side of the bench before laying down, using it as a pillow. "I have to sleep…" She just couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.
She could hear Kage's sigh. "Yeah, right behind you."
"Kashoku! Kash! Please wake up!"
Kashoku felt her body jolt awake with a hard shake of her shoulder. She shot up from the bench to see Sam standing over her, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Sam? What is it? Is the threat gone?"
"It's Daniel. You've got to hurry," She spoke quickly.
Kage and Ramirez shot Kashoku a look, but the Spiran wasted no time reaching in for her garment grid and quickly changed into her robes. She was still exhausted, but the sudden rush of adrenaline had her ready to do anything that was needed. Without a word to the other two women she was out the door with Sam at her heels. "What happened?!"
"Radiation poisoning," Sam began, fists clenched at her side. "There was an armed bomb that was going to take out the entire planet. He disabled it, but with extreme levels of radiation exposure."
Kashoku frowned, worriedly as they entered the elevator. Her mind was racing, trying to process everything her friend was telling her. "I-I don't know what that means."
"It's…It attacks the body on a cellular level. The radiation will destroy the cells and tissue of his body from the inside out. He received a lethal dose. There is nothing on Earth that can fix this," She explained, swallowing hard to try and keep her composure.
Kashoku felt her body grow cold at the explanation, eyes casting down on the floor. "So it's…internal." Sam gave a brief nod. Kashoku couldn't say the words aloud to herself. It would make them too real if spoke them, but she didn't think she could heal this. They entered the infirmary, Daniel sitting on a medical bed in white scrubs with O'Neill at his side.
"…will be followed be tremors, convulsions and something called ataxia. Surface tissue, brain tissue and internal organs will inflame and degrade, I believe that's called necrosis. Now based on the dose of radiation I got, all that will happen in the next ten to fifteen hours, and if I don't drown in my own fluids first, I will bleed to death, and there is no medical treatment to prevent that," Daniel spoke frankly.
O'Neill shoved his hands in his pockets defiantly. "Maybe not that we know of." He looked towards Kashoku, "but maybe her."
Kashoku could feel a sob catch in her throat as Daniel's blue eyes stared up at her. She forced a smile out, trying not to show her concern. "What trouble have you gotten into now, neh?" She tried to laugh, but she had to cover her mouth to keep from breaking down completely. She went to take a step forward, but Daniel held up a hand.
"Don't get too close…I could still be radiating something," he warned softly.
Kashoku clenched her fists, but nodded. "It's going to be ok. I can fix this." Daniel smiled at her, but she could tell he didn't believe it. "Janet, have you already tried healing him?"
Janet gave a sad nod, "I did, but it's hard to say at this point if it worked. It healed the burn on his hand, but it might not have taken care of the internal damage. We won't really know for a few more hours when the symptoms would start kicking in. We just thought…," she hesitated, "I'm not as strong as you. We just wanted to take every precaution."
Kashoku shook her head in understanding. It probably wouldn't make a difference.
"Kashoku, don't," Daniel spoke as she closed her eyes to start casting a spell. She stopped instantly, eyes flying open. "Look at you. You don't have the energy to perform magic right now. I'm not going to let you kill yourself for me."
"I'm fine," She lied, standing up tall to try and be convincing.
He gave her another smile. "I know you better than that, Kash. Save your energy, at least until we can see if Janet's spell worked."
Janet put a comforting hand on Kashoku's shoulder. "He's right. If it didn't work, then we're going to need you at your full strength."
"And what if he doesn't have that kind of time?!" She argued, every ounce of her wanting to try and cast a spell despite their protests.
"Then, I don't," Daniel sighed heavily, seemingly having already accepted his fate. "I told you, that I'm not going to let you throw away your life when we don't even know if white magic will work on this."
Kashoku's lip began to tremble and she squeezed her eyes shut, a tear finally escaping. "Why do you get to make that decision!?"
"Kash, please don't argue with me on this. Let's just wait."
They waited, and it got bad. Quickly. The burns resurfaced on his hands and they swiftly began spreading. When Daniel began to vomit, Kashoku couldn't take it any more.
"I'm not waiting any longer!" Kashoku shouted at his continued protests.
"You haven't had any rest at all. What good is anything going to do at this point?!" Daniel questioned, tiredness showing in his own face.
"Maybe everything!" She cried, unable to hold back any longer. She forced the magic within her to begin generating, but no matter how much she grasped she couldn't pull enough for the strongest spell she had. Shaking, she gathered what she could and focused everything onto Daniel. He was cast in a bright blue and yellow light before it shimmered away.
It hadn't healed anything.
Kashoku was still for several moments, her body feeling completely numb. When he looked at her she let out the sob she had been holding in and buried her face in her hands. "Please don't go!"
"Kash," he whispered softly, his hand coming up to reach out for her, but stopping just short of her arm knowing he couldn't touch her.
"I'm so sorry," She cried. Kashoku couldn't even bare to look at him, her eyes cast on the ground. She couldn't be here. She had to run. Pushing past the nurses she made for the door and felt herself go into a daze as she brushed past personnel in the hallway, everything around her a blur as she headed for her room. As soon as the door slammed behind her she fell to the ground and cried the hardest she had ever felt herself cry.
"Kash?" There was a heavy pounding on her door.
"Kash? This isn't funny, I'm coming in." Wells opened the door and cursed when he saw Kashoku setting against the far wall unmoving. Kashoku couldn't make herself look at him as he knelt down beside her. "Kash? What's wrong? Are you ok?"
He shook her, and she finally snapped out of her daze, her eyes red and puffy with dried tears as she slowly looked at him. "I…I can't save him."
Wells frowned at her. "What do you mean? Save who?"
"They didn't tell you?" She asked, surprised that even despite their dislike for Daniel, Kage and Ramirez had failed to tell her teammates anything.
Wells licked his lips, "Kage said Major Carter had come for you, saying something about Daniel being the cause of the biohazard lockdown. I mean, you took care of it, didn't you?"
Kashoku felt her body begin to shake again as she clenched at a chunk of her own hair. "He's dying."
Wells stayed there, crouched at her side, unmoving and unknowing on what to say. "You…can't heal him?" Kashoku shook her head, her lip beginning to tremble and the tears falling again. He moved so that he was sitting next to her and took her into his arms, her hands grasping at him as she buried her face into his chest. They sat there like that in the dark. Neither knew how much time had passed before Kashoku felt like there was nothing left in her.
"I should go say goodbye," she whispered against Wells.
Wells nodded slowly, hand stroking gently down her back before letting it fall next to him. "You know where to find me if you need anything, ok?"
Kashoku nodded, separating herself from him, and finding the courage to stand. She opened the door just enough to let the light in before peering at him over her shoulder with thanks. He smiled back encouragingly and she opened the door fully, each step feeling closer to the edge. Janet didn't look much better than she did as she passed by, the doctor offering her a silently sorrowful apology as she walked past and took a seat next to Daniel. He had gotten worse. Almost his entire body was covered in the bandages. Swallowing hard she asked, "Do you think…do you think we could have tried harder?"
Daniel's eyes were closed, but let out a weak huff. "Of course we could have…but do you really think it would have changed anything?"
"You don't?" She questioned.
Sucking in a breath Daniel gradually turned his head and cracked open his eyes to look at her. "No. I told you, Kash…what happened was meant to happen."
Kashoku clenched at her robes in her lap. "And you think this is meant to happen, too?"
"Yes," he answered truthfully. "I saved an entire planet from destruction. My death isn't in vain."
She let out a sad laugh. "So that makes it ok, does it? I didn't believe that when all the summoners spout that about Sin and their Pilgrimage, and I don't believe it now. "
"Promise me you won't beat yourself up about this," he demanded. "This isn't your fault, and I would never be able to forgive myself if you continue to try and blame yourself for this." She looked away, unable to give him an answer. He gave a sigh of frustration, but did not push the issue further. "You don't look like you've gotten any sleep."
"I haven't," she answered honestly. "I'm so tired, Daniel, but I couldn't sleep knowing-," she stopped herself, biting at her lip to keep herself from crying again. "I can sleep later."
"Staying awake won't fix anything."
"So, what? You just want me to say goodbye and then walk away to let you die?" She asked angrily, insulted that he would even suggest it.
"I don't want you to see me go, Kash. It's going to get really painful, really quick and I-," he winced in pain, closing his eyes again.
"I'm not leaving," she said as she positioned the chair so that she could prop herself up comfortably against the side of the bed.
They sat there in silence for a long time, and Kashoku thought that Daniel had gone back to sleep before he asked, "Could you sing for me?"
Kashoku was surprised at his request, but smiled. "Of course I can. Kyou ga totemo tanoshii to, asu mo kitto tanoshikute. Sonna hibi ga tsudzuite'ku, sou omotte ita ano koro."
Today was fun,
and tomorrow will surely be fun as well.
"These days will continue forever,"
or so I thought at the time.
Kashoku's world was dark. The only thing she could make out around her was the steady beeping in her ears. With a moan she felt herself slowing coming to, the comforts of the bed she was in finally settling in as she opened her eyes. She was still in the infirmary, but she was the one hooked up to the machine she had been hearing instead of Daniel. "Janet?"
Janet was instantly by her side, a warm smile on her face. "Hey, there. Welcome back. How do you feel?"
"Tired…," she closed her eyes, trying to remember. "What happened?"
"You fell asleep, but it wasn't restful. I started worrying, with how much you had exerted during the missions, so I induced you with a medication that would put you into a deep sleep," she explained.
Kashoku frowned and then her eyes went wide. "Daniel!" Her head snapped towards the bed he had been in when she was singing to him.
It was empty.
Kashoku didn't need to hear Janet's apologies to know what had happened. Slowly she felt herself sink back into the bed as the sobs came once more.
Janet reached for something next to her, and her world went black once more.