Title:Dead On. Part 7 Author:Tapestry Email:Shaddow_Cat@hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Teahouse/5879 Standard Disclaimer Apply * denotes thought 9/6/01 "Woman was created from the ribs of man Not from his head to top him Nor from his feet to be walked upon She was made from his side to be his equal From beneath his arms to be protected From very near his heart to be loved." --Anonymous-- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien could only stare in shock and horror at Serena's words. Surely she had to be joking. She surely did not mean she was an agent for the Dominion. "Y-You're Isis??" choked Darien. "That's right. I sort of fell into this job." grinned Serena as she pointed towards the door. "Move. Lazarus wants to meet you. He's been wanting to meet you for a long time." Slowly, Darien and the other agents moved out of the room and walked down the corridor the Dominion guards marched them down. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena marched them into a huge conference room made solely of metal. It had a cold clinical atmosphere. Darien eyed the room in despair. The other agents were here. Except for Alan Bessmerkov. Perhaps he was the double agent. But then, why was he no where in sight??? Serena eyed the room critically and then frowned. "There's one agent missing. Where is he??" snapped Serena angrily at the Dominion men. "We're still looking for him, madam Isis." entoned a man. Serena frowned in distaste. "Serena?? You're working for them??" asked Nikolas in disbelief. "Yes, Nikolas." "I knew we should have called an unavoidable trade-off and attacked the centre." frowned Andrew. Serena laughed. "Maybe you should have, Andy. But Lazarus was so certain Shields here would never go through with it." "Where's Jed and Malakov?? Malakov is your brother!!" exclaimed Mina. Serena rolled her eyes. Darien gritted his teeth. *Serena's working for the Dominion. She's a terrorist. She's a terrorist. People like her killed Rena.* thought Darien as he tried to harden his heart to the blonde blue-eyed woman whom thought he'd loved. "Where's Lazarus??" spat Darien as he eyed Serena coldly, trying to wipe her smile and the memories out of his mind. "So glad you could join us." came a familiar voice. The agents turned to face three people entering the room. "Malakov!!" exclaimed Amy. "Jed!!" shouted Andrew. "Piotr!" gasped Nikolas "Welcome my friends. Let me introduce myself...I am Lazarus." smiled Malakov. "This is Atlas," gesturing to Jed "and I'm sure you all remember Colossus." he finished gesturing to the Russian named Piotr. "YOU!!" exclaimed Darien in anger. "YOU were the one who ordered the bombing so long ago???!!!" "I'll admit, yes." laughed Malakov. "You're the one who killed Rena." said Amy. "My intention was to kill agent Shields and Luna, yes. Unfortunately, Shields wasn't there and so, my agents had to improvise." "What do you mean WAS your intention???!" shouted Zach. "Did you know how much trouble I had trying to get assigned to the job my 'SISTER' here got?? I almost regret bringing her here to Russia and to the KGB." sighed Malakov in defeat. "What do you mean?? Why did you try to be on the same assignment as your sister?? She's a Dominion too." said Amy confused. "Serena?? No. I didn't think she was fit at that time. But things change. We had to brainwash her you know. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to mindwipe her also." "Brainwash??" echoed Darien. Jed gave a laugh. "You mean you never guessed?? With all those fever dreams and nightmares she's been getting???" "What do you mean??" asked Darien. "You are such a fool, I DON'T have a sister, Shields. All that information you hacked into was fake." Darien turned to stare at the blonde who still held the gun. "Then...who are you??" whispered Darien. "I...I...I am Isis. I am a Dominion agent." answered Serena hesitantly. Malakov clucked his tongue reprovingly. "You came to St.Petersburg too soon I'm afraid. We didn't have the time to wipe her of her memories as Serena Dancek. She still hesitates I'm sorry to say." "WHO.IS.SHE??" growled Darien. "Wouldn't you like to know." laughed Colossus. "I'm disappointed you haven't managed to guess, Shields...why, surely you can recognize your own girlfriend, Serena Thompkins." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A silence penetrated the room. "Rena??" echoed Darien disbelievingly as he stared at Malakov, then turned to stare at Serena. "Impossible..." whispered Amy. "Serena?? Rena??" gaped Zach. Malakov nodded. "I'm afraid though, the Dominion had to wipe her memories of her previous identity as Serena Thompkins to ensure the total and complete success of her transformation into Serena Dancek. My SUPPOSED little sister. But by the looks of it, my people didn't do the job very well if she was getting those flashbacks." "Why didn't you change her looks??" questioned Mina. "For revenge. For I knew one day I would be able to use Serena's appearence to my advantage and get revenge on Shields. It threw him off balance when he saw Serena." Darien was still staring at Serena. His mind trying to absorb the information he had recieved. Serena was alive. HIS Rena was alive. All this time...she had been alive and well in Russia. The Dominion terrorists had taken her from him. He looked into her eyes and only saw a vague recognition and consciousness in them. The rest was only confusion and blind loyalty. That sparked his anger. The Dominion had taken her from him and then had proceeded to strip her of her identity and memories. Now, they had brainwashed her into a terrorist. Only a shell remained of what she had been in her two identities. "You said you wanted revenge." stated Darien turning his attention back to Malakov. His eyes burning with fiery hatred and anger. "YES!! Do you remember a certain terrorist by the name of 'Prisma'??" Darien's eyes narrowed. A memory of a certain lusty and deadly Russian with wild red hair and slanted green eyes came to mind. "Katrina Kuzan." "Yes, Katrina Kuzan. You and Serena Thompkins were the ones to, how do you Americans put it? 'Bust her gig wide open'??" "To put it crudely, yes." "And Katrina died. Shot by a bullet from you, isn't that right??" "Yes." answered Darien stiffly. He could already see where this was leading. It almost seemed cliched. "Katrina Kuzan was the most important person in my whole life. I loved her, and you killed her. This is Katrina's revenge. MY revenge." "You're insane." commented Mina. "Some of the most famous men were insane, Mina." "They at least had scruples." said Susan darkly. "Yes...I know. That's why they aren't here. It's almost ironic you know. A goverment agent turned bad. Just like a bad drama." "And you're the leading man, Malakov." growled Nikolas. "The KGB won't let you get away with this, you know." "The KGB won't know." "You scoundrel." shouted Andrew. "Shut up." snapped Serena. "Little sister, if you please??" asked Malakov with a grin. Serena straightened and pointed her pistol, a Smith and Wesson .38 at Darien and the others. "Ladies and gentlemen, you will be going for a little stroll." smiled Jed evilly. "We've got this place surrounded you know." "I doubt that. You actually decided to risk it to rescue 3 agents, and with so many agents outside, you'd have stormed the place. Your boss wouldn't want ANYTHING to jeopardize your little surprise. I don't think so. You're bluffing, Shields." scoffed Jed. "Come, Jed. We're leaving." said Malakov. "Lazarus, do you want them as hostages??" asked Serena. "Hostages??? I think not." "What do we do??" "Kill them Isis...especially Shields. After they're dead, come and join us. We have a plane to catch to, Ukraine." Malakov grounded out slowly as he left the conference room, Jed and Piotr in tow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien and the others walked down the hall, Serena in the lead and over a dozen Dominion agents walking behnd them holding AK-47's at their backs, ready at Serena's signal to turn them into swiss cheese. As he watched Serena's back, a nasty voice pounded itself over and over in Darien's brain. *This isn't Rena, this isn't Serena, this is Isis. Afte she kills you, she'll be joining Malakov to Ukraine.* But memories, happy memories still assailed his mind. The feelings that had surged through him during the years back with Rena, and the new ones that flowed through him when he'd been with her as Serena Dancek. When he'd loved her.... He loved her....too much to let her go now. Scenes flashed before his mind's eye. Memories he'd shared with Serena Thompkins and Serena Dancek. "Isis..." Serena turned slightly to glance at Darien, her face with a questioning expression. "Do you know who you are??" "What do you mean??" "Who ARE you??" "I am Isis." Darien shook his head. "Isis is just a codename. Your REAL name." said Darien calmly. It was lucky Dominion discipline was so important. Not one of the men behind them told them to shut up without their leader's approval, who was in this case, Serena. "M-My real name??" she echoed, turning to face him. Darien had caught her there. She was confused. Darien stared at her hard. His sister nudged him. Turning to look at her in confusion, Amy gestured behind Serena. Darien's eyes widened. "S-Serena." That was when all hell broke loose. Darien dived and pulled Serena to the ground while all the other agents ducked down. Bullets exploded and ricocheted off the walls. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien got up and glared at the agents who were rushing in. "About time!!" exclaimed Darien. The few agents who were heading the group grinned. "Good to see you too, Shields." said a woman. Darien snorted. "Well, I guess better late than never, Swallow." Ann Matthews and Litanya Rasputin grinned. Behind them, Alan Bessmerkov stepped out. "Alan." "Shields." "Thank you for tipping them." For the first time since meeting him, Alan smiled. At his feet, Serena had scrambled away from him as far as she could go. Darien turned to stare at her, his ocean eyes softening. "Serena..." She got shakily to her feet. "Stay back!!" she said as she pointed the gun at him. "You won't shoot me, Serena. You're confused. I know you have your memories as Serena Dancek and a little bit of Serena Thompkins." said Darien calmly as he advanced on her slowly. "Stay away!!" "Please darling, don't you remember how it was like to work side by side on this mission?? Remember how well we got along at the farm?? How you comforted me when I was upset??" Serena blinked and almost despite herself, she answered, "Of course. It was wonderful to work with you..." "Do you remember your dreams, Serena...as Serena Thompkins??" "Yes...the bombing..the fire..." "Do you remember me from those dreams, Serena??" "Yes...I remember. We used to fight and argue. We-we went to a beach once...you said you loved me." Serena stopped shaking her head as she stared at the dark haired man who was advancing on her. More memories flashed in her mind as his eyes burned into hers. Once filled with anger and exasperation, another filled with concern. Another was filled with such love, she ached. Darien watched as she stared at him and blinked, as if she was unsure where she was now. If she was in the past...a dead past, or in the very much living present. "Yes, I said I loved you. Don't you remember how special it all felt. How it seemed we were meant to be??" Serena lowered her eyes. "Yes...being together, being with YOU, was special.." she whispered sadly. Amy and Zach held their breath as they watched Darien advance slowly on Serena. Ann stared at Serena warmly. So this was Serena Thompkins. The woman, Shields, Darien Lachlan had loved for years, even when he'd thought she'd died. "Give me the gun, Serena." Serena's eyes widened. "NO!!!" as shouted as she finally snapped back to the present. "Get away!! Stay away!!" wailed Serena as she threw the gun to the floor and started tugging at her belt. Darien frowned at what she was trying to do. A small vial came out. Darien's eyes widened. "Serena, no!!!" Serena fumbled with the cap lid, but finally got it off. She glanced up shakily to find Darien running towards her. A small blue pill popped out of the vial into her hand. Amy gasped. Cyanide. She couldn't mean to... With trembling hands, Serena lifted the capsule to her face. Suddenly, rough hands knocked away the capsule as it flew out of her hand into the air and landed on the floor. Serena wailed once more and dove to the ground for the poison. Darien dove after her, catching her in a strong grip. Serena cried out and struggled against him. "I'm sorry, love." whispered Darien as he knocked a nerve just below her cranium to knock her out. Serena slumped to the floor, unconscious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien bent down to cradle the unconscious blonde in his arms. His heart was beating rapidly. It scared him to think he'd almost lost her. For real this time. He lifted her body into his arms. He stared down at her pale face and swore. Malakov or Lazarus or whoever the hell he was, was going to pay. Dearly. It was his fault, Serena was like this. And he as hell wasn't going to let him go for this... He spied the tiny blue capsule on the ground and stomped on it with distaste. The smell of bitter almonds filled the air. He ground it beneath his heel, and finally when he lifted his foot, he gave a satisfied nod and swept down the hall, his precious burden in his arms. Exiting the building, Darien smiled cooly as he saw Jed, Malakov and the Russian, Piotr standing together sullenly, a dozen or so agents around them. "I wasn't bluffing now, was I??" sneered Darien. Malakov glared at him. "She'll never be whole again, you know.." taunted Malakov triumphantly as he stared at the blonde woman in Darien's arms. "Serena Thompkins is no more than a ghost and Serena Dancek is practically as good as an empty shell." he laughed. Darien growled and swore loudly. "You son of a bitch!!! You did this to her!! You even programmed her to kill herself." "Yes...and you'll never find the men who did it to her to undo it. She's a fragmented thing now, Shields. I've got my revenge!! I'll see you suffer day after day, for as long as SHE suffers!!" laughed Malakov as they carted him away in a van. Darien held the woman in his arms tighter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A week passed by quickly. Darien was at a graveyard, laying flowers down on Raye Morton's tombstone. "We won, Raven...but, I lost." sobbed Darien as tears ran down his face. "I lost Serena...I failed her..cost her, her mind and identity." Dark grey clouds came and rain began to pour on him. Almost as if... Raye knew his pain and was crying for him. Malakov had won. He was right. Serena's mind was fragmented as memories and false truths assailed her from two different identities. One real, another created. Psychiatrists shook their heads at Serena's condition. Brainwashed people who regained their original memories and identities slowly were difficult to work with. Their thoughts erratic and confused. This was because it was like living as person who had split identities. The human mind just couldn't distinguish who it truly was supposed to be anymore. There were hardly any memories of Serena Thompkins's in her mind and there were memories of Serena Dancek along with her brief moments as Isis plus the trauma and shock. One of the government specialists had suggested trying to rebrainwash her with her original memories as Serena Thompkins. Recreate the Serena, Darien had remembered. A new Serena. Darien had rejected that idea firmly. Memories were not things to be faked and neither were human beings puppets to be programed. There were nights when he held her as she lay sobbing. It hurt him to see the woman he loved hurting so much. Malakov was right...he was suffering. "Serena??" called Darien as he stepped into his apartment, dripping wet. No answer... "Serena??" A note sat on the table, apologizing and a short goodbye. Darien cursed and crumpled up the note. He wasn't going to lose her again. Not this time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To be continued... One more to go I think!! And maybe also an epilogue thrown in. Email me and tell me what you think!!! You might think this is all cruel or confusing. But believe me. I've tried very hard to clarify the story as since I'm the writer, I would obviously know what is going on. 19/6/01