Thunderchild limped along, still in pain although not in as much pain since Dominos healing. Zidane and Steiner charged ahead with some crewmembers to put out the fire on the bridge. Domino walked beside him, keeping back to stay with his slow pace.
<There’s one thing that I don’t understand> she thought to him
<What’s that Dom?> he asked
<My healing powers, they aren’t very good. How did I manage to save you. I, I felt something strange, almost as though there was a hidden force watching me, helping me. I don’t understand>
Thunderchild stopped and looked at Domino, through the blood and soot on his face Domino could see a smile.
<There was…Me>
Domino stared at him
<What…how?>
<While I was dying, I was suddenly outside of my body, watching everything happen. Zidane said to leave me, that I was dead but you refused and you began to try to heal me. Alone I couldn’t see you succeeding but together I thought we’d stand a chance. So I aided your spiritual force…bonded with you if you like.>
Domino looked at him and then gave him a gentle hug
<Thank you>
Thunderchild shot her an incredulous look
<You’re thanking me?! You’re the one who saved my life!>
<But I couldn’t have done it without you, and I couldn’t carry on without you.>
Thunderchild paused, drew himself up and embraced her, leaning on her more than anything but holding her close.
<Domino, I couldn’t go on without you either.>
They kissed, Domino tasting the blood and dirt that had stained Thunderchilds face because of all he had been through.
Thunderchild and Domino continued walking, Domino supporting Thunderchild so that he could walk with his one foot. They reached the bridge after Zidane and Steiner had managed to extinguish the fire. Thunderchild drew his sword and used it as a walking stick so he could walk to the control column, he then turned and looked at Domino.
<Please Dom, could you hold me here, I need to use both hands.>
Domino nodded and walked over to Thunderchild, she steadied him with both hands as he dropped his sword and placed both of his hands on the ships wheel. Then with a tremendous effort he swung the wheel against the wind to the left. The powerful propellers at the rear of the ship swung slowly to the right and began to push the ship against the wind. On the bridge Thunderchild turned his head to look at Zidane.
“Can we get any more power out of the engines?!” he said
Zidane frowned and then said
“How do I contact the engine room”
Thunderchild nodded in the direction of some small tubes in the corner of the room, many of the tubes were burnt badly. Thunderchild hoped the engine room tube wasn’t one of them.
“Use those tubes, speak down into them.”
Zidane walked over to the tubes and found one marked Eng—e R-om and presumed it was the tube for the engine room. Picking it up he spoke into it.
“Can we get any more power out of the engines?” he asked
A faint voice spoke back out of a hole in the wall.
“The engines are running at full power already, if we push them any further they could explode.”
“WELL EXPLODE THEM DAMMIT!! IF WE CAN’T TURN INTO THIS HEADWIND THERE’S NO TELLING WHERE WE’LL LAND UP!!” roared Thunderchild from the wheel
Zidane repeated the order down the voice tube but with a bit more control than Thunderchild. Below them, many crewmen fed extra fuel into the steam engines which in turn drove turbines to power the propellers. An extra boost of power began to flow through the ships controls, Thunderchild felt it immeadiately at the wheel.
“That’s it, fly Cleyra fly!” he muttered under his breath.
The Cleyra turned better into the wind now and began to make more leeway against it. Thunderchild could see the coast below them, just another hour or so and they’d be on the outer continent and to this village of Black Mages. Thunderchild wished the ship could fly even faster like his old fighter so they’d get to the disc quicker. He felt a rising sense of dread at what Stren had said, Ankh-Morpork, the whole disc, his old home under occupation. It went against everything he believed in, everything he had fought for.
He grinned and spoke over his shoulder to Steiner, Domino and Zidane.
“We’ll make it to the Outer Continent of that I’m sure but it’s gonna be a one way trip. This ship won’t fly again after what I’m about to do to it.”
More power forced the Cleyra forward, Thunderchild felt his heart rise with every mile covered. After a while the ship began to shake, only slightly at first but more forcefully after a while, a few windows on the bridge shattered.
“Uh oh” said Thunderchild
“What?!” asked Steiner
“It’s what I’m afraid of. This is the point of no return, if you want me to be cautious and take my time then say so now, but I tell you. There is no time to pussyfoot around, many lives are in danger!”
Zidane nodded
“Do it Thunderchild, we need to get there quickly”
“Ok Zidane, tell the engine room I want even more power, and then tell them to evacuate the forward half of the ship”
“Evacuate? Why?”
“Because by the time we reach our destination it won’t exist”
Zidane looked puzzled but carried out his orders.
Throughout the Cleyra crewmen ran through the broken corridors, piling over debris and their fallen comrades, there hadn’t been enough time yet to clear up after the last assault. In the engine room more fuel was shovelled into the fires, the metal surrounding the fire began to slowly glow with heat. Steam shot out of loose pipes and scalded passing crewmen. The rear of the airship began to steam very slightly, leaving behind a trail of white steam that marked where the ship had been.
More power forced the Cleyra forward, pushing the propellers to speeds they had never been designed to achieve, looking at the them from the bridge Thunderchild suddenly realised a problem.
“Damn, the props are gonna fly off before we reach full speed,” he mutter and then turned to Zidane “Tell the people to get off the deck, we could lose some propellers here”
As he spoke one of the side propellers tore off it’s mounting and smashed into the deck, creating a long gash in the planking before it span off the other side of the ship.
“Oh no you don’t,” muttered Thunderchild “We’re gonna make it in one piece!”
“Err, Thu,” said Domino “What happens if we many more of the propellers?”
Thunderchild looked down at the sea and then back at Domino, she followed his gaze and knew exactly what he meant.
<Ah> she thought
The Cleyra was now in the middle part of the ocean between the Mist Continent and the Outer Continent, the headwind was strong and constantly threatened to push the ship back to where it had come from, but Thunderchild was battling it every mile of their journey, not willing to give in. He had never flown an airship before and it was certainly more difficult than flying a space fighter but he wasn’t going to let a piece of outdated machinery beat him now.
With Domino standing behind him her hands on his waist preventing him from falling over he kept the wheel in the same place, only moving it to make the slightest course correction.
Domino looked at her lover and sighed, he was in a terrible state although he refused to admit it. Her healing may have saved his life but would take much more than both she and Thunderchild had to restore him to full health. She looked down at his legs and nearly cried, they were terribly burnt. His left leg was missing below the knee and his right leg was terribly disfigured, she didn’t know how he put up with what must be excruciating pain. She could see that it was hurting because his face was locked in a constant grimace. While she was watching him, he turned and looked at her, saw her concern and smiled at her.
<It’s ok Dom, I’m fine. You’re being a great help, just keep supporting me. We’ll be at this Black Mage Village in no time>
<You’re injured Thunderchild, you need to rest.> she warned him
<Domino! There isn’t enough time! We have to get to the Disc and stop her!>
Domino had had enough of Thunderchild talking constantly about the disc.
<Sometimes I think you care more about the Disc than me>
<Hey! I never said or thought that!! I love you Domino, nothing less than that but the Disc was my home…>
<Exactly…was, this is your home now. With us….with me. Or isn’t that good enough for you?>
Thunderchild sighed and pivoted his body around slightly so he could look at Domino better.
<Look Domino, for five years I lived on that disc, blissfully unaware of my past. In the past week or two I’ve rediscovered over fifteen years worth of buried past. I can’t just abandon my friends now, They’ve all been good to me over the past five years. I can’t just leave them now, and besides…>
<What?>
<This woman, I know her. I don’t know who she is but something within me knows who she is, and whoever is she is, she has to be stopped. She is planning something terrible, I know it. Out there I can feel her getting ready and when she strikes, millions will die Domino. Not just on the Disc but here too and I can’t let that happen, not when I know that there is something I can do about it!!>
Domino caught a hint of buried emotion, this is troubling Thunderchild more than he’s letting on she thought
<Yes, it is Domino, you’re right. I can’t tell you why, but I just know these terrible things.>
As they were talking Thunderchild suddenly felt overwhelmingly dizzy.
<What the hell…?> he thought
<What’s the matter Thu?> asked Domino
<Take the wheel a second, I think I’m about to..>
He stood, alone in the middle of a deserted city. It was
the one he had seen in his visions earlier, something spoke to him in his
mind…confirmed his worst fears.
This was Terra.
Trees grew where cars had once travelled, grass where
buildings had once stood. A one mighty empire with technology to rival any
world, was now gone. Erased from the face of history in one terrible day.
He heard her calling him, her voice seemed to come from
all around him.
“Yissan…Yissan…Come to me, join with me. Together we can
reclaim this world, together we can return life to where there is now only
death.”
He knew that voice, but he couldn’t tell where from…he
looked around, searching for her. Then he saw her, standing on the hill behind
him, arms stretched up into the stormy sky, lightning striking the ground
around her. Her face cloaked in darkness, her body covered by loose fitting
robes.
“Who Are You?!” he asked
“I am your past…and your future” came the reply
“I don’t…I don’t understand?!”
“You will Yissan…you will.”
Then she was gone, leaving him alone in the middle of the
deserted city.
Suddenly he was back on the bridge of the Cleyra, clutching onto the wheel for dear life as the bridge spun around him, slowly but surely his vision cleared. The concerned face of Domino appeared in his sight.
“Thunderchild?” she was saying “Thunderchild, are you alright?”
“Terra,” he muttered “Why?”
“Thunderchild? What’s the matter? Can you hear me?”
He focused on Domino and blocked out the rest of the room but it was no good, he could feel the dizziness that spelt another vision coming on.
“Oh no,” he said “Zidane, take the wheel keep us on course and keep up this speed, I’m feeling a little…”
He never got a chance to finish his sentence as the next vision arrived.
He stood in the middle of a city square, the wind was
strong and the sky dark. It was at night and no stars shone on this desolated
scene. He was sure that he wasn’t on Terra but where?
Then he recognised the fountain in the centre of the
square.
Sator Square? He thought I hardly recognised the
place
Around him people were scuttling through the shadows,
looking anxiously at something behind him, he turned around and looked up.
Behind him was a very tall tower made purely of crystal,
it was beautiful and yet at the same time horrible, it was completely out of
place and radiated evil.
So that’s the tower she created he thought She
certainly doesn’t do things by half.
Suddenly he heard the sound of marching feet behind him, growing louder and louder. Looking around he suddenly realised how vulnerable he was standing alone in the middle of this square at night, in a city he no longer knew. He ran behind an overturned market cart and watched events unfold.
The sound of marching filled the square, it reminded him
of his old days in the Klatchian Army, of marching boots…People marching to go
to war…to die…
A large party of genomes entered Sator Square from the
south, behind them in chains were several Morporkians, they were being herded
into the middle of the square by the genomes who kept them in place with their
swords. One of the Morporkians looked towards Thunderchild and he saw pure fear
on the poor mans face. Thunderchild didn’t know what was happening but he knew
that something was very badly wrong.
At the centre of the square the genomes spread out to
form a circle around their captures and stopped pointing their twin bladed
quarterstaffs to the sky, Thunderchild recognised the weapon as being similar
to the one Zidane had used.
The top of the Crystal Tower began to glow with a bright
light and in turn a bright light appeared in the centre of the circle created
by the genomes. The prisoners backed away from the circle.
Suddenly a cloaked figure appeared from the light in the
middle of the circle, abruptly the light cut off. Thunderchild had seen that
cloaked figure in his last vision.
The leader of the genomes a short blonde haired girl that
could only have been the same age as Domino, maybe a bit younger, stepped forward.
“Many of them remain, this is just the beginning my
queen.”
“Very well Mikoto, I shall be lenient this time,” the
cloaked figure stepped out of the circle and stood behind Mikoto.
“Begin the harvest!!” she called.
Each genome raised a silver necklace high into the air,
Thunderchild recognised the necklace in horror as being the same as the one he
and Domino possessed. As they raised the necklace on high, the stones on the
necklace glowed with an internal flame, burning brighter and brighter as Thunderchild
watched.
A scream rent the air, Thunderchilds gaze was averted
from the necklaces to the prisoners who were kneeling on the ground, all in
various stages of death. Many looked as though they were being choked to death,
with their hands around their throat trying to stop an unseen noose tightening.
It wasn’t just the men suffering this fate, there were many women and children
inside the circle too, all of them slowly dying. This was more than
Thunderchild could take so he stood up and ran into the circle.
“STOP!!” he shouted “STOP IT NOW!!”
The genomes showed no reaction, he ran up to one and
tried to grab the necklace but the metal of the necklace was white hot and he
burnt himself. Clutching his hand he looked over at the cloaked figure who
looked back at him with no hint of emotion.
She slowly reached up and pulled her cloak back over her head, revealing her face for the first time. By the light of destruction, Thunderchild saw her and finally knew who she was. Gasping with horror he stood, staring at her, his mouth wide open, not believing what he saw.
Her voice whispered around him
“Don’t look so surprised Yissan, in the depths of your
heart you knew it was me. I never left you. Come back to me and we can be
reunited forever.”
“What are you doing?” he asked, spreading his arms wide
to indicate the death around him
“Bringing back life from death Yissan, bringing back life
to our home.”
As his vision began to blur and he felt himself returning
to consciousness he heard her say one last thing.
“I love you Yissan, Come back and never leave me again”
Thunderchild spiralled out of control into a blackness
increased by despair and anguish for he knew that he loved her too and that
there was nothing he could do about it. For she was his former love, his former
life.
She was Jara Gedyen.
He returned to the bridge of the Cleyra again, this time in Dominos arms. Looking up into her face, he was reminded of Jaras face, of that smile with no emotion. But…Domino was different, she radiated love, not evil…how could the same person turn out to be someone so different.
Not for the first time Thunderchild wished for an easier life.
“Thunderchild? Are you alright?” she asked, a look of concern marring her otherwise beautiful face.
“Jara?” he asked
Domino looked shocked, she hadn’t been called that name in years and hadn’t expected Thunderchild to use it but nevertheless it was her name.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“No you’re not, it’s all wrong Domino. Everything’s going very wrong”
He struggled to get up but Domino kept him down.
“Stay still, you hit your head on the side of the control panel on your way down, you’re delusional”
Thunderchild shook his head and started crying
“Domino, she’s not dead. I thought…We thought…” he struggled to find the words to express the emotions he was feeling.
“Who’s not dead?”
“Jara…It’s her Dom, she’s doing this. She’s killing us all! Can’t you see it? Everything’s dying…”
Domino was shocked at what she was hearing but put it down to someone who was delusional after a blow to a head.
Thunderchild pushed Domino away from him and crawled over to the wheel, pushing Zidane out of the way, he climbed up the wheel, pulling himself up until he reached the top and was able to steer the ship. Through his blurred vision he saw that the Cleyra had reached the land but they hadn’t slowed down.
“Dammit Zidane,” he groaned “We need to be going slower than this!”
The forest, in which he knew Black Mage Village lay had passed below them. Thunderchild steadied himself with his sword and pulled the engine lever into REVERSE and cut power to the altitude engines. The Cleyra began to lose height, slowly at first but getting faster and faster.
When they were getting very close to the ground Thunderchild
pushed forward on the altitude engine power lever in order to return full power
to the altitude engines and bring the Cleyra into a slow descent….the
lever snapped off in his hand.
“Aww crap! Crap!! Crap!!!” He swore heavily “Hold on tight everyone, here we go again!!!”
The Cleyra smashed into the ground at a high speed, the bottom of the ship splintered up into pieces and massive cracks split the ship in two. One half rolled over on it’s side while the other flipped onto it’s front.
Then all was quiet as the debris settled.