Silent Mobius: Red Destiny

 

Book 1: New York

 

Chapter 13: Inferno

 

Authors: OSTOCOM

 

Email and Website: See our profile

 

Rating: R for language and abuse

 

Disclaimer: We do not own Silent Mobius or its characters, but we do own our own characters. See Book 0 for complete disclaimer.

 

------------------------------------

 

"Adara? Adara, it's your mother."

 

Adara froze at the sound of Erika's voice on her cell phone…she hadn't been expecting a call from her mother. "What is it?"

 

"I'm so sorry…" Erika sounded near tears. "There's been an accident."

 

Time seemed to stand still as Adara tried to process what her mother was saying. "Accident? What are you talking about?"

 

"It's horrible," Erika replied. Her voice was quivering. "Your teammates, they tried to save me. They were caught..."

 

"What do you mean? What happened to Maris and the others?!"

 

"The building is on fire! They're trapped!"

 

"Where are they? Mother, tell me where you are!" Adara tried to keep her voice calm, but the sense of panic that had been building since the beginning of the call was threatening to overwhelm her. She grabbed Calixta's personal organizer and pen from the very surprised computer specialist and started to write. "We'll be there as soon as possible! Just stay out of the way and be careful!"

 

Adara shut her cell phone and turned to Calixta and Feritzia. "They're in trouble," she said. "Let's go."

 

No one argued with her as they piled into Calixta's spinner and shot off into the sky. Luckily, it was not as far to Erika's location from their current position as it would have been from headquarters. Within minutes, Calixta was pulling the spinner to a stop right behind several fire trucks.

 

The entire area was surrounded by officials and onlookers, and the police were doing their best to hold the crowd off.

 

Calixta took one look at all of the commotion surrounding the fire and sighed.  "There are entirely too many people here."

 

------

 

"Hello! Is anyone there?!" Amber continued to yell into the communicator.

 

"Give it up, it's not working!" Maris yelled back, doing her best to ignore the pain in her hands. "If anyone *was* there, they would've answered by now!"

 

"Well then, what do you suggest we do?!" Amber retaliated, sooty tears sliding down her cheeks. "We can't just give up!"

 

Maris swallowed hard, fighting off tears herself. "I dunno…if that bitch hadn't stolen my water, we could've gotten out of here fine…"

 

"Miakoda! Can't you call one of your spirits or something?" Amber turned to the startled psychic. "You know, like have the spirit of the buffalo break down one of these walls or something?"

 

Miakoda shook her head. "The spirits can't affect inanimate objects. Even if they could knock out the wall, this whole building might—"

 

Before Miakoda could finish, another large chunk of the ceiling came crashing down only a few inches from where they crouched. All three attempted to shield their faces as more sparks and smoke flew into the air. "There's got to be a way out of here!" Amber cried.

 

"That window is broken, but there's no way we can get there," Maris pointed out. "Not unless we could somehow shield ourselves from the fire."

 

"I can make a shield," Miakoda said. "It'll be enough for us to make it to the window. But I can only take one person at a time."

 

"You go first." Maris looked at Amber. "I'll be fine here."

 

"No way, you're injured! You go first!" Amber shot back.

 

"There's no time to argue, just get the hell out of here!" Maris tugged Amber towards Miakoda, who was already starting the spell to form the shield. Miakoda held one arm around Amber tightly while using the other to hold the golden-brown shield around them. They stepped into the roaring inferno, and Maris vanished behind a wall of flames. Miakoda felt her way along carefully, searching for the opening that the smoke was escaping through. Amber tried not to think about the fact that the shield was barely keeping out the flames, and definitely wasn't blocking the intense heat. After what seemed like a five-mile walk through hell itself, they finally reached the broken window, ringed with fire and jagged glass. The opening was just barely large enough for one person to jump through.

 

"Get out, I'll go back for Maris!" Miakoda shouted above the suffocating flames. Amber just nodded. She squeezed her eyes shut and hurled herself through the opening, hoping that the ground below was at least mildly soft. Of course, it was concrete, but Amber barely even noticed her landing and was immediately back on her feet. She looked to the window, waiting for Maris and Miakoda to emerge.

 

Amber watched with horrid fascination as the flames licked the edge of the window. Fifteen seconds. Thirty seconds. Now most of the bottom half of the building was ablaze, and it started to moan as the supports wore away. A minute. Amber jumped as something inside crashed, and a shower of sparks rained from the open window. One minute and twenty seconds. (Why aren't they back yet?) Amber thought, clenching her teeth in anticipation.

 

Suddenly, a soot-blackened Maris charged through the opening, covering her head with her jacket. She landed on her shoulder, and let out a barrage of swear words before attempting to hobble away. She was followed five seconds later by an equally-blackened Miakoda, who took a bit more care in her landing and then helped Maris over to where Amber was. Using the shield for such an extended period of time had worn her out, and she was wheezing visibly.

 

The three of them huddled together, coughing, as the building continued to give way under the heat. While inside, none of them had been able to tell just how badly they'd been burned, but now their injuries were painfully obvious. Maris and Miakoda had gotten the worst of it, and Amber began to rip off strips of her shirt in order to wrap up their burned hands.

 

"Where is she…?" Maris gritted as Amber carefully bandaged her hand. "I'm gonna kill that fucking bitch…"

 

"Not without Nauticus you're not," Amber said. "We need to get out of here, and find some water so you can summon him."

 

"We *need* to warn Adara," Miakoda rasped, watching the burning building warily. "This entire meeting was a trap, and we're the bait. We have to prevent Adara from meeting her mother!"

 

"But if Erika finds out we escaped, she'll kill us for sure, and we have no way to defend ourselves," Amber pointed out. "We have to fall back."

 

Miakoda looked torn, but finally nodded in agreement, and the three of them ran as fast as they were able into the back alley, away from the blaze. As they left, Miakoda thought she could hear sirens in the distance, and she whispered a small prayer that no one else had been hurt.

 

------

 

"Shit," Adara muttered when she saw all of the commotion. "All right, we need to clear all of these people out of here. Quickly. Calixta, coordinate with the autho—"

 

Adara broke off abruptly as a section of the building collapsed in on itself. "Calixta, get on it! Feritzia, you're with me. We're going in there! Move it!"

 

All three women piled out of the spinner. Calixta headed over to where several of the police officers we gathered, hoping to find someone who was in charge. Adara and Feritzia started over to the old building, with the younger woman chattering all the way.

 

"Adara, you can't be serious! We can't charge into a burning building! It's stupid, it's dangerous, and it's totally not our job. I mean, we can't stop the Lucifer Hawks if we're barbecued crispy strips, right?"

 

Adara gritted her teeth. "I don't have time for your bullshit, Ensign. Three of our teammates are trapped in that building. We're going to rescue them. I'm invulnerable to fire. Just stay close to me and you'll be fine."

 

The ice mage swallowed, then managed to gather enough energy for a haughty glare. "I had better be," she muttered.

 

As they reached the door, which was already engulfed in flames, an ominous rumble shook the complex. Feritzia backed away nervously, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "I don't like the sound of that," she said.

 

"We've got to get in there!" Adara shouted. "Miakoda and the others are trapped inside!"

 

"It's too late! The building's going to collapse!"

 

As if hailed by that very prediction, another loud creak echoed from the building. A huge section of the roof collapsed inward. Deprived of the support, the rest of the building folded in on itself like a house of cards. Adara, Feritzia and Calixta could only look on in shock at the pile of burning rubble.

 

"Calixta!" Adara called. "I need to know if they were in there! Get your scanner! We've still got time if we hurry!"

 

Calixta swallowed thickly and nodded, sprinting over to the spinner and returning with the requested item. She pointed it at the ruined building, squinting as she tried to make out the readings. "I can't tell," she said finally. "There are too many people around. I can't isolate anything! Damn it!" She threw the scanner down at the ground in disgust.

 

"Maybe they weren't inside?" Feritzia suggested tentatively.

 

"Yeah, maybe one of them suddenly learned how to teleport," Calixta retorted. Feritzia shot her a glare.

 

"We don't have *time* for this!" Adara interrupted. She turned to the officer that Calixta had been talking with earlier and said, "I need all of these people cleared out of here, now!"

 

The young man swallowed in fear and stuttered his reply. "I-I'm s-sorry, ma'am but l-like I was telling her…"

 

"Perhaps you didn't understand me. I said I want these people gone and I want them gone *now.* By refusing to obey my order you are in danger of violating regulation AD-5883 subsection 4 paragraph 2."

 

The officer looked up at the imposing woman, terror etched on his young face. "B-b-but I don't have the authority…"

 

"I'll take it from here, Frank," a new voice broke in. An older gentleman in a blue NYPD uniform strolled over. "If it isn't the famous ECC," he greeted the three women. "Nice to see you again, ladies."

 

"Officer Farragut." Calixta acknowledged him politely.

 

"Get these people out of here, Farragut," Adara said in a no-nonsense tone. "I've got work to do." With that she turned on her heel and headed back towards the burning rubble.

 

Three minutes had passed since the building had collapsed. Three minutes since their teammates had possibly been trapped underneath burning wreckage. Adara stood in front of the rubble and took a deep breath, letting all of the anxiety and fear leave her as she prepared to do what needed to be done.

 

"What's she going to do?" Feritzia whispered to Calixta as they watched the combined forces of the police and fire departments quickly remove all of the bystanders.

 

"Well, I couldn't say for sure, but it looks like she's getting ready to use Extinguish Flame."

 

Before Feritzia could reply with another question, they both heard Adara start to speak.

 

/Dust to dust, all the world sleeps/

/As dawn approaches and the fire sky signals a new day/

/Return to whence you were summoned, o harbinger/

/Extinguish flame!/

 

Adara extended her right hand towards the fire and slowly lowered it, the flames dying as her arm descended. Inside of a minute, the entire fire had completely died, leaving only smoke and smoldering ruins behind.

 

Erika watched as her daughter performed the spell that would extinguish the fire she herself had started. She sneered in disgust when she saw Adara nearly collapse onto one knee, her strength having been drained from trying to control that much fire as quickly as she had. It was only the presence of her two teammates, Jerel's bitch and the computer geek, that held her up. Soon it would be time to act.

 

"Adara," she called as she stepped out of the shadows that she had been concealing herself in.

 

"Mother?" Adara's face held a look of confusion. "Mother, what are you doing here?"

 

"Getting rid of a little problem," Erika replied, sending a quick burst of fire towards her daughter.

 

Adara was too stunned to dodge as she watched the fire rush towards her.

 

"Adara!" several voices shouted at once.

 

The fire hovered several inches in front of Adara's face before disappearing with a hiss.

 

"Now, now, you didn't think I'd make it *that* easy, did you?" Erika asked with a definite smirk. "I've got the power now, Adara. I can do anything I want.  Anything at all."

 

Adara stood there, petrified, as she heard her mother's words echo in her head.  Unwittingly, they brought back an image from her past and she was helpless as the memory overtook her.

 

------

 

\"Mama, what are you doing?" Adara asked curiously.

 

"I'm busy, Adara.  Go away," Erika answered harshly.  She took another drink from the bottle she was holding and turned away from the six-year-old.

 

"I finished everything Daddy asked me to do today," Adara persisted.  "Can we go to the park?"

 

"I *said* I was busy, brat!"  Her cold blue eyes flashed and Adara shrank back a little.

 

"But Daddy said that you would take me!" she insisted.  Her mother did not respond and instead took another drink.

 

 "Mama!" Adara huffed as she crossed her chubby arms across her chest. "Daddy always gets mad when you drink from that bottle.  You shouldn't do that!  We can go to the park instead."

 

Erika slowly turned her head towards Adara, a dangerous glint in her eyes.  "Listen here, you little shit," she hissed.  "I can do anything I want!" 

 

Adara's hands flew to her mouth as she gasped.  "Mama!  You said a bad word!"

 

"Shut up!" Erika screamed.  She reached out and snatched her daughter by the front of the shirt and dragged her close.  "If you say one more thing…" she threatened.

 

Adara whimpered as she tried to pull out of her mother's iron grip. 

 

"I told you not to say anything!" Erika roared.  She pulled her hand back and slapped the cringing girl across the face.  She dropped Adara as though she'd been burned and then stared at her hand for a few moments, trying to block out the pitiful sounds of her daughter's sobbing.  "Go to your room.  I don't want to hear your bawling," she said harshly.  "And don't you *dare* say anything about this to your father, unless you want to get hurt worse than that."\

 

-------

 

Erika watched as her daughter appeared to be in the grip of her own thoughts.  (How dare she not pay attention to me?) she fumed to herself.  Before any of the other ECC members could react, she strode over and slapped Adara soundly across the face.  "Wake up!"

 

Adara looked up with pain-clouded eyes as she cradled her cheek.  "Mama?" she asked in a little-girl voice.

 

Just then they were interrupted by the sound of a small scuffle from the east.  Everyone turned to see three bedraggled figures appear out of the shadows.  Miakoda and Amber were supporting the slightly limping and taller form of Maris, who had Nauticus clutched tightly in one hand and an expression of pain etched on her face.

 

There was a stunned silence for several seconds as the two groups exchanged wary glances.  Finally, the tense standoff was broken by a chorus of "You're alive!" from Feritzia and Calixta.

 

Erika snorted derisively.  "So, I see you made it out."

 

"Adara, be careful!" Amber shouted urgently.  "She's dangerous!"

 

"Newsflash!" Feri replied with a roll of her eyes.  "We figured that one out already!"

 

Feritzia and Calixta ran past their field commander toward their teammates, casting anxious glances in Erika's direction all the way.  Erika merely smirked as she let them retreat.  There would be plenty of time to play with all of them.

 

Maris noticed the slight movement of their enemy's hands before anyone else, since she had been keeping both eyes trained on the bitch since their arrival.  Before anyone could react she raised Nauticus, gritted her teeth and called out,

 

//Keeper of the rivers, receiver of rain

Cast a shield about your servant

Protect life with the life-giver

Ath ath crysallis ur illethias!//

 

A water shield formed around the group just as the fire that had been thrown from Erika's outstretched hands reached them.  Maris cried out in shock as the pain from her earlier burns raced up her arms.  The shield dissipated almost as soon as it had formed, but it had managed to block the attack.

 

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Maris shouted, although she wasn't quite sure who the question was directed to, the woman who was currently trying to kill them, or their field commander, who was apparently content to stand there and be killed.

 

"I'm going to take all of you out, just as Ganossa ordered me to," Erika replied. She surveyed all six of the women in front of her, before focusing her icy gaze on her daughter. "And I'm going to start with you, Adara. You've never been anything more than a worthless waste of my time."

 

"Ganossa," Miakoda hissed under her breath. She stepped in between Erika and her daughter. "Erika! Your daughter loves you. How can you speak to her that way!?”

 

Erika's cold gaze shifted to the psychic. "This is between me and her. I'd advise you to stay out of it."

 

Adara's forehead furrowed as she tried to make sense of what her mother was saying. "Mama, why are you working for Ganossa? Don't you know he's evil? He's trying to destroy the earth!"

 

"So what? Earth is going to hell anyway. And if I can get more power out of the deal…" She trailed off and shrugged. "I don't care about his goals. He's given me the power I need. The power to finally prove that I am better than you. I *created* you, Adara. And yet you've always been more powerful. But now that isn't true anymore."

         

"I never cared about that," Adara said softly.

 

"Then you're a fool," Erika said, sneering. "This world, Adara, is all about power! Just one more reason I never should have had children. They don't understand anything."

 

The others could see the effect her mother's words were having on their leader. She was looking more and more defeated. Maris growled under her breath and clutched Nauticus even tighter. Amber looked worriedly between Adara and Erika, while Miakoda centered herself in case she needed to act quickly. Calixta was calculating her chances for a preemptive strike. She didn't like the odds, but she was prepared to act.

 

"I don't understand. Why are you doing this, Mama? I love you…I thought you loved me too." Adara looked near tears.

 

Erika laughed loudly. "Oh, that's rich! Adara, you're as big an idiot as your father.  I'm going to do the world a favor and take you out of it."

 

Adara stood there, frozen, as her mother's words rang through her ears. They brought back memories of half-empty bottles, a contorted angry face hovering above her, slurred screams, blow after blow falling on her shoulders and legs, a harsh voice ordering her to make sure the bruises stayed covered up so that Daddy wouldn't ask any more questions….

 

A cry of "Adara!  Look out!" snapped her out of her reverie.  She looked up in time to see a giant ball of flame hurtling towards her.  All of a sudden, however, she was violently shoved to the side. 

 

She hit the ground hard, gasping as the air was knocked out of her lungs.  A heavy weight settled on top of her and she looked up to see Miakoda draped across her.  She was badly burned on the left side of her body and a few flames still licked at the back of her shirt.  Adara quickly waved her hand over them and snuffed them out.

 

When she looked up at her mother this time, it was with anger fueling her gaze.  She untangled herself from Miakoda and called out to her teammates.

 

"Take Miakoda to the hospital," she said.  "I want all of you to retreat, now.  I can deal with this by myself."

 

"Adara..." Calixta began uncertainly.

 

"I gave you a *direct* order, Lieutenant Solaris.  And by God you will respect it, or I'll see you court-martialed so fast it will make your head spin.  Get Miakoda out of here."

 

Calixta, Amber, Maris and Feritzia all exchanged tentative looks.  "Now!" Adara roared.  Calixta and Amber headed over and tried to maneuver Miakoda as carefully as possible into the waiting spinner.

 

"I'm not leaving," Feritzia said stubbornly.

 

"Ensign Ricci!"

 

"Don't 'Ensign Ricci' me!" she shouted.  "You're always talking about how I need to learn to work with the team. Well...here. Teamwork. Happy now?"

 

"I hate to admit it," Maris said, "but Ice Princess here's got a point.  We aren't leaving you without backup, Adara."

 

"Fine.  Stay if you want.  But don't interfere," Adara warned them as she turned her steely gaze on Erika.  "This is between me and her."

 

Erika attacked first, sending several small fireballs toward her daughter.  Adara's eyes narrowed as she easily avoided them.  (She's testing me…trying to see how good I really am.  Well guess what, Mother, you're in for a hell of a surprise.  I'm not eight anymore.)

 

Grimly, Adara launched her first attack.  The fireball was about three times as large as anything Erika had thrown at her and rushed towards her mother with frightening speed.  Erika tried to dodge it, but it managed to catch her on her right side as she dodged out of the way.

 

Erika's eyes widened as she felt the heat from the impact.  She grunted and looked down at her side, assuring herself that while it had hurt somewhat, the contact had done no real damage.

 

"Is that the best you can do?" She sneered at her daughter.

 

"I've had enough of this power play," Adara said, her temper rising. "Walk away, Mother. This is your last warning."

 

Erika just grimaced and started attacking with even more force.  Adara was forced to dodge left and right while throwing attacks of her own.  A few of the smaller fireballs she allowed to hit her, soaking up their residual energy in an attempt to refill her reserves.

 

(This isn't working,) she thought to herself in frustration after several exchanges had left both mother and daughter panting.  (We're both almost completely invulnerable to flame.  We're doing more damage to the surrounding property than we are to each other.)

 

Adara blocked another attack of fire, letting the heat soak into her.  There hadn't been enough power behind the attack to do any damage.  (She's getting tired,) Adara realized.  (Of course, so am I.  I won't be able to keep this up much longer.)

 

Both women had paused their fighting in order to reevaluate the situation.  Adara knew that she couldn't allow this stand-off to end in a draw.  Either way, one of them *had* to win.  And she was determined for the sake of her friends and family that it be her.  (I need a new tactic.)

 

Erika threw another gout of fire, which Adara allowed to hit her as she absorbed the heat and used it to feed her own power.  And all of a sudden, she hit on an idea.

 

\\"Adara, heat and fire energy are a part of every living thing.  We are fire elementals.  We are part of the great fire that lives in everything."

 

Seven-year-old Adara listened intently as her grandmother started the explanation.

 

"That is why we can do what we do.  That is why we can bend the flame to our will; we can cause it to grow…" she held up the palm of her right hand as a small flame suddenly sprung up and grew to the size of a large pear, "or we can cause it to be extinguished."  She shut her palm tightly and the flame vanished with a slight wumph.

 

"There is no fire you can't control as long as you realize that it is a part of you, and you are a part of it.  Command, just as you would command your arms to move or your legs to jump.  It is merely an extension of yourself."\\

 

"There is no fire I can't control," Adara repeated softly to herself.  She sent a long column of flame hurtling towards her mother; not strong enough to do any serious damage.  Erika merely let it hit, not bothering to even absorb the residual energy as Adara had been doing.  The younger woman grinned.

 

She reached out with everything that she had, attempting to find the center of her mother's power.  A core of flame sprung up before her mind's eye.  Adara started to pull.  She pulled flame, drawing it out of her mother and towards herself.  She could feel the power flowing, slowly at first, but then rushing out as if a dam had broken.  The power was almost more than she could handle as she felt it flooding into her.

 

"What are you doing?" Erika screeched as she felt the drain begin.  She doubled up in pain and then fell to her knees.  As the power left her, she was no longer able to support herself.

 

"Stop it!  Stop it right now, Adara Denise Davis!  I'm your mother!  You can't do this to me!"  She shuddered as she felt the last of her precious power travel out of her.

 

Adara opened her eyes, reveling in the energy she had just pulled from her unwilling mother.  She felt stronger than she ever had before.  She felt...connected.  She could feel the flame burning within her, and for one brief, glorious minute, she could feel the flame that burned in every living thing.  She was truly one with the great fire of the earth, just as her grandmother had said.

 

"You lost the right to be my mother when you started trying to kill me," Adara answered Erika coldly.

 

"It wasn't me!" she pleaded desperately.  "Ganossa threatened me!  He made me do it!  Him and his Lucifer Hawk lackey Jerel!"

 

Adara bit her lip as she considered her mother's words.  "I…I'm sorry," she said finally.  "I can't trust you anymore.  You're my mother but…"  The anger and pain she had felt as a child were still fresh in her memory.  "I can't.  Just leave, Mother.  Leave and never come back.  Never try to talk to me again.  Just *go*."

 

"Pathetic." A male voice reverberated above them, its tones dripping with disgust.

 

Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the voice.  Standing on the roof of a nearby building was a young man with long pale blue hair.  He looked to be in his early twenties with a sharp, pointed nose and piercing blue eyes.  The man surveyed the group of women before rising off the top of the roof and floating down to the ground gracefully.

 

"Ganossa," Erika whispered fearfully.

 

"Be silent, human!" he commanded. "I have no more time for your wretched games. You have always been nothing more than a useless lapdog. You've failed in everything we commanded you to do. You are unworthy of the great power Nemesis bestowed upon you."

 

"No!" she shouted. "Ganossa, it isn't true. It's her fault!" She glared at Adara as she pointed an outthrust finger in her daughter's direction. "The bitch tricked me!"

 

"You are a fool, human. Even I could see from the start that your offspring was more powerful than you could ever hope to be. You said it yourself," he said with a mocking smile. "This world is all about power. The weak are not worthy to survive." He made a pointed glance in Adara's direction as he said this. "Isn't that right, famed field commander of the ECC?"

 

Adara looked taken aback as she tried to come up with a reply.

 

"You wish to kill her for the pain she has caused you," he continued in soothing tones. "She has always tried to prove that she was better than you, even though both you and she knew the truth, that she was and ever will be nothing more than a weak shadow forever outshined by her beautiful daughter."

 

"N-no," Adara stuttered. "That's not true!"

 

"It is true. You know it, as does she. Why do you think she wasted so much time plotting your death? The death of her only child?"

 

He gave her a sly smile as he continued. "You've proven yourself better than I ever imagined, Miss Davis. You are the perfect example of the strong rightfully defeating the weak. Now, there is but one thing left for you to do. Kill her, Adara. Kill her and finally prove who is better."

 

"She won't do it, Ganossa!" Erika trilled. "She can't do it. She doesn't have the guts."

 

Adara bristled for a moment before commanding herself to calm down. "Of course I won't do it," she replied evenly. "I'm not a murderer. No matter what you say, Ganossa, true power isn't about petty games to see who can best the other. It's about the love and support you receive and give willingly to and from your family and friends."

 

"Love," Ganossa sniffed disdainfully. "Another pathetic human emotion. Tell me, Miss Davis, do you still love this disgusting creature? Even after everything she has done to both you and your comrades? All out of some misguided feelings of familial attachment?"

 

"I don't know," Adara answered candidly. "But I do know that I am not a murderer. I would never kill anyone in cold blood, and especially not if *you* asked me to."

 

"Very well then, I'll save you the trouble."

 

Ganossa suddenly jerked his arms upward.  From below Erika, a column of black flame appeared and quickly engulfed the terrified woman.  She screamed as the flesh was stripped from her bones in mere seconds right before the bones themselves turned to ash.  Before anyone could react, the fire disappeared.  There was nothing left of Erika Jacobs.

 

"Wh-What did you do?" Adara cried in anguish as she stared at the spot where her mother had been burned alive.  She knew Erika's last, horrible scream would haunt her nightmares forever.

 

"I gave her exactly what she deserved."

 

"I-It's not true!  You bastard!" Adara cried as tears streamed down her cheeks.  "You fucking bastard! How could you?!"  She raised both of her hands and shot two large fireballs at him.  Ganossa teleported out of the way the second before they would have hit him.

 

"I would suggest, Miss Davis," he said from directly behind her, "that you not play with fire unless you want to get burned."  With that, he launched his own attack of black Nemesis flame.  Adara groaned as it collided with her back and threw her to the ground.

 

She jumped up angrily and whirled to face him.  She threw another fireball, but this one split just as it reached him and impacted from two sides.  He grunted softly, and then glared at his opponent.

 

"I see you do have a few tricks up your sleeve.  Too bad they won't be of any use to you."

 

He narrowed his eyes and flung both arms in Adara's direction.  Her teammates watched, horrified, as a wall of black energy sprung forth.  It hit their commander and flung her back several yards.  She cried out as she hit the side of a building and then lay still. 

 

"Consider this a warning, ECC.  Next time, I will not be so generous."

 

Maris lunged forward with Nauticus, but let out a frustrated grunt as Ganossa teleported away before she was in range.

 

"What do we do?" Feritzia asked a bit timidly.  Seeing Adara, who was arguably one of the ECC's strongest members, get so thoroughly trounced had shaken her composure.

 

"We get the hell out of here and get Adara to a hospital.  Then, we start planning our next move.  That bastard can't hide forever and next time…next time I'll show him just what Nauticus and I can do."

 

------

 

"Somebody should call Richard."

 

Maris jerked her head around in surprise at Feritzia's softly voiced comment.

 

"What?" the younger woman asked defensively.

 

"I just—that's a very thoughtful comment, Feritzia."

 

Feri snorted softly.  "I can be thoughtful.  Besides I know that if it were me, I'd want someone *I* cared about to know."  She sighed and Maris watched as a melancholy look stole across her porcelain features.  "They love each other very much, don't they?"

 

Maris just shook her head, deciding that trying to figure out Feritzia's moods would never be high on her list of priorities.  "I'll do it.  You just wait here for any news."

 

She watched as her teammate nodded absently, apparently still caught up in her own thoughts.  Walking over to a nearby payphone, she took out her card and swiped it before dialing the operator.

 

After a brief wait while a bored young woman connected her call, Maris heard Adara's boyfriend answer. “This is Richard Price.”

 

"Richard, this is Maris."

 

"Hello, Maris," he answered warily.  "It's good to hear from you.  Is everything all right?"

 

Cut right to the chase.  She liked that in a man.  No crap, no runaround. Certainly nothing like el jerko Darryl. Forcing her thoughts off her past, she did Richard the favor of replying in kind.  "We're at the hospital.  There's been an accident and Adara and Miakoda both suffered some pretty serious injuries.  They're both fine—few weeks from now and they'll be good as new," she was quick to assure him.  "We just thought you'd like to know."

 

He let out a deep sigh of relief.  His heart had nearly hammered out of his chest when she broke the news that his lover and their friend had been severely injured.  "I'll fly down right away.  Where are you?"

 

"We're at the Naval Hospital in DC.  You know, the new one they built when they expanded headquarters a few years back.  I'll get them to wave you through when you arrive."

 

"Thanks, Maris.  I should be there within a few hours."  She could hear various papers being shuffled in preparation already.

 

"We'll watch over her till you get here.  See you soon, Richard."

 

After hanging up the phone and seeing that Richard would be cleared for visitation as soon as he arrived, Maris went back to waiting with Feritzia, who had managed to find both Calixta and Amber and get an update on both Miakoda and Adara's conditions.  It seemed that both women were being treated for second and third-degree burns, but were expected to recover with no complications.

 

"Adara's also pretty drained. She hasn't woken up at all since you-know-who knocked her out," Calixta reported. "The staff said her brain activity looks pretty good though, so they don't think she's in a coma.  They're going to keep both of them here for a few days observation but after that we can take them home."

 

Maris grunted and looked down at her own hand, which she had had one of the nurses hastily treat with a burn salve and bandages.  Her burns had only been minor second-degree burns—they hurt like hell but, luckily, were easily fixed by modern medicine.  "So now we wait."

 

------

 

Richard sat by Adara's bedside in silence, every so often reaching out to smooth back a lock of auburn hair from her pale temple.  After a frantic dash out of the office and a quick plane trip to DC, he had rushed to the hospital Maris had indicated.  He'd been here hours and Adara had only stirred twice, crying out in fear and jerking away from him. 

 

Now, however, she lay motionless.  A couple of nurses had assured him that she was perfectly fine, just in a very deep sleep.  He couldn't help but be worried though, since it wasn't like Adara to be so unnaturally still.  And she was so pale...

 

Richard looked up in surprise when he heard someone enter the room. "How's she doing?" a slightly scratchy voiced asked with concern.

 

"Miakoda!" he exclaimed, hurrying over to help the injured woman into a chair. "What are you doing out of bed?"

 

"I wanted to make sure she was okay. She risked a lot to save us."

 

He still looked concerned. "You shouldn't be here…you need to rest. What about the burns?"

 

Miakoda smiled in response to his concern. "I'll be all right. These burns aren't that bad and they are already on their way to being healed. I'm more concerned about Adara. Wounds of the soul might not leave physical marks, but they often take a lot more time to mend. How *is* she?"

 

Richard looked at the bed and heaved a sigh. "Honestly, I don't know. She hasn't really woken up yet. She…she doesn't want me to touch her now." He buried his face in his hands for a few moments and when he looked up again, Miakoda could see heavy lines of worry etched into his features. "Do you have any idea how much that hurts? It took us a long time to get to a point where she was unconditionally comfortable around me. Now I wonder if we'll have to start that long process all over again." His fist clenched. "How could her mother do that to her?! How could any mother do that to her child?"

 

Miakoda thought carefully about her reply. "Mothers are human too, Richard. All of us have the power for good and evil in us, and it's up to us to decide how we're going to live our lives. Erika chose an evil path, and derived pleasure from asserting her superiority over a small child who couldn't defend herself. Then, after Adara grew up and Erika realized that she could no longer win in a contest of outright strength, she resorted to treachery and betrayal.

 

"But Erika is gone now, and it's up to Adara how she's going to live her life from here on out. I didn't see the end of the battle, but Calixta tells me Adara was very strong. Strong enough to somehow completely *drain* Erika of all the powers Nemesis instilled in her. We should trust in Adara's strength. I believe she'll come back to us, Richard. You should too."

 

"Quit talking about me like I'm not here," Adara whispered irritably from the bed.

 

Miakoda and Richard both looked startled. "You heard us?" he asked.

 

"Yeah, I heard everything," she sighed. "Thanks, Miakoda. What you said…it does make sense. I'm just kicking myself for trusting her again. If I hadn't let my guard down, maybe neither of us would be stuck here now."

 

"It's not your fault, Adara. I don't blame you and neither do any of our teammates. What Erika did was wrong. What she did to you as a child was wrong and what she did to you as an adult was wrong. I know it might take some time, but you need to get that through your thick skull."

 

Adara laughed weakly. "Yeah, it is pretty thick, isn't it? I'm not certain about anything, Miakoda. But if I keep repeating it to myself, maybe I'll believe it one day."

 

"You do that," Miakoda replied with a soft smile. "Now I'd better get out of here and back to my own room before someone realizes I'm missing. Good night, you two."

 

After she had left, Adara and Richard sat in silence until Adara reached over to take his hand. He gave her an encouraging smile as she gently traced the back of it with her thumb. "Sorry, Richard. I heard what you said, and you're right. I don't want to let her ruin one of the best things in my life.  I just—" She looked up at him, her pleading gray eyes meeting his brown ones.

 

"Adara, it's okay.  Everything's going to be fine.  We'll make it work."

 

She tore her gaze from his and focused her eyes back onto a distant point of the ceiling.  "I don't deserve you.  Not after everything that's happened.  God, Richard, how do you put up with all of this?  *I* can barely stand it and it's my life!  Why haven't you run screaming into the night yet?"

 

"I've seen stranger things," he said jokingly.

 

She fixed him with a frosty glare and he knew that his attempt at levity had fallen flat.  "There's not much out there that's stranger than having a girlfriend who has control over fire and whose own mother tried to kill her with that same power."

 

"What your mother did has no bearing on you, darling."

 

"I hate myself for ever loving her.  If I had just...if I had just hated her for what she did to me, none of this would have ever happened!  I hate the fact that she hurt me and I hate that I was *stupid* enough to forgive her!"  Her eyes closed and the hand that was still holding his clenched tightly.  He could barely hold back his own tears watching the silent ones that coursed down her face.

 

"Adara..."

 

"And I hate the fact that I agreed with him," she interrupted him softly.  "Ganossa.  When he...when he killed her he said that she was getting what she deserved."  She sobbed.  "There was some small part of me—I agreed with him, Rich.  God help me but I agreed with him!"

 

Richard moved out of the chair and perched lightly on the edge of the bed, leaning forward to wrap Adara gently in his arms.  He held her while she cried, rocking her gently and whispering softly into her hair.  "We'll get through this.  I promise you I won't ever leave you.  We'll get through it together."

 

Finally, after she had calmed down, she sniffled and looked up at him. "I love you."

 

"I love you too," he replied. They were silent for a few more minutes.

 

"Do you remember the first time we made love?" he asked thoughtfully.

 

"And I lit your dresser on fire?" she asked, laughing through her tears.

 

He smiled at the memory. "Exactly. Remember what we promised each other after that? That we'd always be understanding of one another and, more importantly, that we would take things slow and work hard at building a relationship that would last. We've gotten pretty far since then, but I think that promise is still in effect. I won't abandon you.  And together, we'll work past this; just like we've worked past every other obstacle that life has put in our path."

 

She smiled, even as a few more tears leaked from behind her closed eyelids. "We have, haven't we? I just...I want you to know that I *do* love you, more than I ever thought possible. And I know that you'd never do anything to hurt me."

 

He leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Never.  Now get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up, and tomorrow…tomorrow will take care of itself."

As Adara slowly slipped back into unconsciousness, she heard a soft voice humming a half-remembered tune.

(He really does have a nice voice,) was her last thought before the comforting blackness claimed her.

------

 

"So...you killed her."

 

Ganossa graced his subordinate with a pitying smile. "Of course I killed her. She failed. She was always doomed to failure. I told you that from the beginning."

 

"She was useful," Jerel rumbled. "She caught them all off guard. She put several of them in the hospital. "

 

"A petty victory at best," Ganossa replied. "I should have come to expect such things from you."

 

Jerel growled, indicating that he did not share Ganossa's opinion of his plans.

 

"At any rate, it is of little consequence now. We have much more important things to worry about."

 

"Ah. You mean the Key." Jerel sounded less than thrilled.

 

"Yes." the blue-haired man replied as he sipped his red wine. "The Key."

 

------

 

 

"We think we may have discovered the key to finally sealing the gates of Nemesis forever." Rally Cheyenne's cool alto tones had a slight buzz to them, indicating the communication was occurring over a secured line.

 

Mackenzie felt anything but secure regarding this latest communiqué. "Are you sure about this? I know I don't need to remind you what happened the last time someone tried to seal the gates to Nemesis."

 

"No. You don't," Rally answered stiffly.

 

------

 

"I hope I don't need to remind you of your loyalties?" Ganossa asked lightly. His undertone, however, was anything but pleasant.

 

"Of course not," Jerel said immediately, bowing his head. "As always, I serve the King."

 

"Good."

 

"I am simply unaware as to why the key is of such importance to you...and him," he pressed on.

 

Ganossa shot him a glare.

 

------

 

"You must know that this is of utmost importance," Rally continued. "Katsumi believes that she knows what went wrong with her father's spell. With all of us providing her the energy she needs, she can seal the gates once and for all."

 

"You believe her." It was not a question.

 

"I believe we have to try," Rally answered.

 

"We'll be there," Jameson replied, trying not to let any of the doubt she felt color her words.

 

------

 

"It would be best," Ganossa articulated dangerously, "if you did not openly question my orders again. You forget yourself, Jerel. My will is still the King's will, no matter the form I am temporarily cursed with."

 

"Of course, *Lord* Ganossa," Jerel replied, seething. "But your Excellency must forgive this lowly one if he does not understand why a little *human* boy scares you so."

 

Ganossa chuckled. "You're a fool, Jerel. But an entertaining one nonetheless. The boy no more scares me than you do. I could crush either of you with little more difficulty than the humans have stepping on one a bug. No, my interest in the boy is something far more important...and more personal."  A blue aura flared briefly around him as he thought of all he had been denied.  All because of that thrice-damned *human* detective!

 

He carefully set down his wine glass and then casually reached out a hand, slowly making a fist. All of a sudden, Jerel felt the blood in his body start to slowly freeze as his heart began to pump slower and slower. He looked at Ganossa with wide, panicked eyes.

 

"Never forget who is in charge here." And with that, the pale blue-haired man slowly faded from view.

 

------------------------------------

Next Episode Preview:

 

Avalanche Wong: "Having returned to Tokyo, I feel the darkness of destiny approaching. The protectors of America and Japan have gathered under the red moon to repeat the mistakes of history. Despite the courage of the selfless, I fear tragedy will still befall the innocent…"

 

Next Episode: Mobius Redux