Dust to Dust Ch. 05

"Stop!" Valar said, willing the flames to die down just as Ashley started to scream and her skin blistered.

"You can't – " the girl sobbed. "I have to die! I need the power back," she whimpered in obvious pain. "Ashley has to die for Ash to exist. Ash can help," the girl whispered.

Valar was almost at a loss. As a guard appeared behind him, he dismissed the man to fetch the healing skills of Lady Alyidana. He knelt beside her. He had never been great with people: it was one of the drawbacks to his advancement for so many years, and one of the things he had learned when dealing with Eliza and her crew. It had taken him a long time to accept what Eliza was one who preferred her own gender. But in his time with those two, he had learned to spot a certain emotional attachment. And while he didn't approve of same-sex couplings –

"You love her that much?" he asked as compassionately as he could. "You'd do this to help her father?"

Ashley was crying, but she nodded. "I love her," she whispered. "And I've taken everything. She's the best thing that ever happened to me, and look what I've done." She looked Valar in the eye with a sudden and deep sense of determination. "I will die a thousand times if it means she doesn't hurt anymore."

"This won't do it. If you go back to being what you were, then all the pain . . . everything . . . was for nothing."

Ashley gripped her damaged hand. "I have to do something. I can't wait here. Not until I've made things right."

Just then, Alyidana rushed in and saw the damage Ashley had done to herself. She quickly extended her healing magic, but looked upon her charge with confusion. Then Valar telepathically communicated what had happened, though not the real reason. While he had discerned Ashley's feelings, he did not feel appropriate to make them public.

"I know you feel helpless," she said. "We all do – "

"She was right you know," Ashley said, her voice firming. "This is all because of me. But I can help. I know them better than anyone."

"Know . . . Chimera? You can't go after – "

"I HAVE to!" Ashley said vehemently. "For . . . forty . . . years . . . they have haunted me. All the pain that I've felt or that I've caused . . . even to good people like Dusty and her father . . . it all started with them. They won't let me rest," Ashley said, standing as soon as the pain was gone.

Alyidana tried to caution her. "The skin hasn't finished – "

"Let it crack," Ashley said, feeling something new. Something bitter and hot and sulfurous boiling in the back of her throat and it the dark places around her eyes. She hadn't felt anything like this, even when she had been human the first time. Vengeance . . . hatred . . . diabolical anger . . . She looked at Valar and Alyidana, one after the other. "You have no authority to detain me," she whispered. "This is my fight, and maybe it's about time I started fighting it."

[[ She's not ready, ]] Alyidana said to Valar, trying to regain some semblance of order.

[[ It's not our call, ]] Valar replied. [[ And if your daughter taught me anything, it's that some people weren't meant to sit on the sidelines. ]]

[[ Do NOT encourage her! ]]

[[ Too late anyway. ]]

Alyidana looked around, only to find that Ashley had vanished. [[ I'll tell my husband – ]] she started to say as she stepped towards the door.

[[ Let her go, ]] Valar replied somberly. [[ She has it in her head to find a way – ]]

But Alyidana didn't listen. She fled into the hall, searched one way and then the other before summoning her husband and his men. But it seemed that Ashley hadn't forgotten her training: not even a little bit. She was gone . . . she had slipped out of a heavily guarded fortress of a building without being noticed.

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In another room . . .

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Dusty was curled up next a corner of the desk, and she was crying her head off. This was more than she could handle. And too many emotions wrestled for control of her mind. Sorrow . . . anger . . . hopelessness . . . and even hope. And then she felt something licking her face. She had forgotten about Mr. Fuzzy Butt, who had accompanied Ashley over from Earth.

"Ashley," she muttered. She felt guilt, on top of everything else. The girl hadn't deserved to be blamed. Dusty knew in her heart that Ashley never would have wanted any of this. But she had been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

She picked up the creature and let it give its kisses. "Where's your momma?" she sniffed. She wasn't sure she was ready to face everyone, but knew she should apologize. She put the dog down and walked outside, only to find that Katrina was the lone occupant of Valar's office.

[[ Where is everyone? ]] Dusty asked as her friend rushed forward and embraced her.

[[ I . . . they went . . . uhm, there's something you should know, ]] Katrina said.

Dusty's heart sunk in her chest as Katrina told her what had unfolded.

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Sometime later on Earth . . .

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The Savior was a bit disappointed. While the information Dr. Trendenfall had produced seemed reliable, but didn't bring him any closer to understanding how to aid in the magic-enhancing of the human race. But Dr. Trendenfall's ideas, particularly about identifying the lycanthrope gene, had promise. The tales of the Living Gems were interesting, but the Disciples of Chimera were not as foolish as the Purity once had been. There was no real reason to challenge the governments and militaries of two worlds to try and retrieve those items. The goal of the Disciples was to make the human race itself superior by increasing their magical aptitude. He wouldn't mind getting his hands on the Dead Man's World though. Potentially having not only the power of a God but a God bound had a definite appeal.

What had most interested him was finding out that the one known as Ash . . . one of his predecessor's few successful experiments . . . was in fact alive. She would have to be sought out . . . she would be dissected and her very soul put under a microscope. What had made her different? What had made her one of the special ones? Overall, the interrogation had been fruitful as far as giving him and his colleagues direction. But now the talking was over.

He stood beside the drooling and exhausted Dr. Trendenfall. "You did well," he said cheerfully. "You'll probably be pleased to know that we have no real need to go looking for your daughter now. Mostly because we no longer have any need for you. You know so little, but that is still too much. When your body is found, it will be all be attributed to the Purity. We'll leave notes and clues to support this of course."

Dr. Trendenfall barely heard any of it. The drug that they had hit him with had taken a lot out of him. He was at peace in a way . . . Dusty would be okay. The lights came on and he saw a number of people around the large room, including a large number of his assailants. This group was much more organized than he imagined the Purity was, and much cleaner. And it looked like their organization was sizeable. Then he gasped . . . he had looked up and seen a symbol on the wall in green, yellow and white: the head of a goat looking in one direction and a lion facing the other way while being surround by the tale of a serpent.

"Chimera," he said in a choking gasp.

"Oh yes, we still exist," the Savior crooned. "Someday soon, the world shall know of us and thank us for the bounty we will bestow upon the human race, securing our superiority to the other races. And you can die knowing that you played a part in that." The savior nodded to one of the shock-troops dressed in black, then turned to walk away. The trooper leveled his rifled and promptly fired.

The bullets missed. More importantly, they seemed to "slide" off to either side. There was some question as to who was more confused, the would-be executioner or Dr. Trendenfall.

"Big . . . mistake," boomed a female voice throughout the chamber.

The wall of the room they were in caved in under the weight of two rampaging trolls as Hybrid Security made their presence known. They had taken great pains to sneak in past security in order to make sure they could save Dr. Trendenfall, but the time for subtlety was over. But much to their credit, the Chimera troops didn't trip over themselves. They quickly sought cover and opened fire at the invaders.

Luckily, Eliza's deflection spell was able to hold until the trolls were able to grab Dr. Trendenfall and drag him backward to safety. Then she and Veronica started to lash out with telepathic blasts to know away the incendiary grenades that were getting thrown at the hulking brutes.

{{ These guys are good, }} Veronica thought to her lover, sweating through another magical blast. She was still comparably new to the world of magic, and it tired her a lot more and a lot faster than it did Eliza.

{{ Any chance of getting some backup in the next ten minutes? }} Eliza thought back, laying down covering fire with the rifle while reaching out with her mind to help protect her trolls. There was a reason she was considered one of the greatest warrior sorceresses in recent history.

{{ Nope. Colonel Corbin is trying to convince his . . . duck! }} Veronica shouted, but Eliza was way ahead of her as a round of bullets perforated the edge of the wall they were hiding behind. Eliza saw the leader of this new incarnation of Chimera . . . the Savior . . . step forward and do something she didn't expect. He raised one hand and made a gesture, and a set of electrical lines suddenly disengaged themselves from the ceiling.

{{ Crap! }} Eliza thought to Veronica, then extended her telepathy to the entire crew. {{ Watch it, }} she warned. {{ Their head honcho is a spell-slinger! }}

{{ Uhm, darling – }} Veronica threw in, then threw up her hands dramatically. She kept forgetting that it really wasn't necessary to gesture to use magic, but it helped her visualize. The effect was good, as she began throwing up debris and anything she could see in the way. She was responding to the visual cue of a gas canister being thrown into the center of the room. }}

{{ Everyone back up! }} Eliza shouted, throwing her efforts in with Veronica's. She saw the Savior pull a handgun out from his trenchcoat and, while running backwards into cover, fired. The canister ruptured, the electrical wiring ignited the fumes and then the building exploded, sending chunks of debris flying everywhere. Everyone from Hybrid Security had managed to find cover, but things still got hot in a hurry. Eliza covered Veronica's body with her own as she waited for things to calms down.

{{ That really wasn't necessary you know, }} Veronica thought, squirming under her lover's weight. {{ Normally I wouldn't mind – }} They paused when they heard the sound of rotary aircraft vanishing into the night sky.

"Damn it damn it damn it damn!" Eliza started to shout, standing up and kicking a pile of rubble. "Why don't we have helicopters?!" she shouted at the smoky night sky. "You cheating sons of – "

"Love, they're gone," Veronica said, brushing herself off. "But we got Dr. Trendenfall back and we know who the enemy is: not a bad days work."

Eliza grumbled and went over to check on the group.

"Eliza," Terillia said anxiously, "did you want me to pursue or – "

"No, stay on the ground. They've got unknown firepower on that bird and an at least semi-competent sorcerer on one of them." She turned to Dr. Trendenfall who was anxiously drinking some water he had been brought.

"I'm sorry," he gasped finally. "I told them everything . . . what we learned and about what happened. They threatened Dusty," he finished with a whisper.

Veronica knelt next to him. "It's okay," she said. "Dusty is safe on Terra and no one would have asked you do anything else. You kept yourself alive and that's what matters."

Allyson Murgo was scanning the skies with her IR scope, but couldn't see the escape craft. "They're gone boss. Not showin' up on radar either."

"They've got jammers," Eliza said. "Great. Chasing them will be a bitch. These guys could be a problem, and we just lost the element of surprise."

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Up in the skies . . .

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The Savior was fuming. 'How could they have known?' he thought to himself, staring out into the starlit sky. All his plans had involved Chimera staying under the radar for a long time: that was off the table now. And as much as people hated the Purity, he knew what the public reaction would be. With the Purity reduced to running scared, the World Council and that blasted Hybrid Security would soon be on their asses. And as capable as he knew he was, he wasn't about to take on Eliza Msabdteelfinclor and her crew without a lot more planning. He knew they would be his biggest problem . . . he knew they would have to be the first victim as the new Chimera rose again.

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Some time letter . . .

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Ash stepped through the wreckage of the fight between Hybrid and Chimera. She was donning her denim duster and packing as much firepower as her form could reasonable carry. She wondered why the authorities hadn't arrived yet. She was angry still . . . angry at the way she had left Terra and angry at Chimera. Finally, she was angry because she had missed the fight. She had been monitoring radio chatter on her headset, so she knew basically how it had ended. She hoped that Eliza didn't mind her listening in on "secure" channels.

She closed her eyes and thought, 'Chimera is on the run. Where would they go?'

She whipped out her gauss pistol and leveled it at the top of a rubble heap the second she heard something cough.

"Whoa there partner," Eliza said, keeping her force wall in front of her. She wasn't sure if Ashley might be a little quick on the trigger now that she had a pulse again. "Got a message from Valar. He said you might be heading this way." She lowered her shield when Ashley lowered her gun. The girl looked a lot calmer than she had recently. 'No,' Eliza thought. 'Not calmer . . . colder.'

"Dr. Trendenfall?" Ashley asked.

"He's fine. Sent him with the troops to a secure location, thought I don't think he's in danger anymore. Since Chimera isn't exactly a secret anymore and he told them everything else, going after him would just be a waste of resources. These guys aren't that sloppy." She looked at Ashley some more. The girl hadn't jumped when the word "Chimera" was mentioned. She looked a little relieved when she heard about Dr. Trendenfall, but that was it.

Ashley was also looking around. "How many?" she asked, sounding very analytical.

"Couldn't tell," Eliza replied, standing next to the girl. "So no need for you to be here anymore. Go back to Terra. I'm sure Dusty – "

"Dusty made it very clear that she blames me for this," Ashley interrupted. For the first time in the encounter, Eliza heard that emotion again. Real sorrow . . . real regret. "And she is right to. This whole thing, from the deaths at Dr. Trendenfall's building to the wounding of Mr. McBride is all because of me."

"Bullshit," Eliza replied. "No one could have seen this coming. No one knew that Chimera even existed, so why – "

"It's all irrelevant." Ashley turned off again. For so many years, she had kept a light of humanity flickering by remembering what her emotions had been like. Now, she was trying to remember what it was like to miss them. Emotions had no place where she was going or for what she knew she had to do. "It was my quest to be normal that caused all of this. And if Dr. Trendenfall told them everything, they'll come for me. Eventually. How could they not?" Then Eliza heard a bit of very dry sarcasm when Ashley said, "I'm one of they're successes. Maybe the only one still alive."

"So what? You're going after them? You don't know where they are. Hell, even we couldn't track them."

"You don't know them like I do," Ashley said. "If these are the same people, then they had contacts somehow with the old. They kept hidden and brought in people like them. They were a cult more than a militia." She closed her eyes, remembering walking the halls of Chimera all those years earlier. "They had a map in the lobby that had all their locations on it. They were all closed down after the first raids. I checked up on them later. But if they were keeping an eye on their primary facility – "

"You think they might be keeping an eye on all of them? Why?"

"Hallowed ground. They live in their own shadows, dreaming of what they used to be. I guess we're more alike than I thought," Ashley said. "Waiting to rise from their own ashes, just like me."

Eliza was becoming concerned. She didn't even know who she was talking to anymore. This woman . . . she looked like an eighteen-year-old girl, but she sounded more like . . . Ash . . . someone who had been around a long, long time.

"Something happened when I came back. I started dreaming again," Ashley continued, in her own world for a moment. "And nightmares. I saw them in my sleep. I saw the man who killed me . . . the man I killed in return. I saw the fire and the only thing that let me go back to sleep was knowing they were gone. But they're not. They hurt more people . . . hurt someone Dusty loves more than anything," she added, a bit bitterly. "They turned her against me." Ashley's face went to stone and she looked at Eliza. "They have been the monsters under my bed for so long . . . now they want out? No. Never again."

"This is too big of a fight for you alone," Eliza said. "I understand the need for vengeance, but – "

"When Veronica was kidnapped," Ashley said, "what did you want? Did you just want to get her back? I heard the others talking: you wanted Purity blood for what they had done. The difference is, they only came close to killing you." Ashley looked towards the horizon. "With me, they finished the job. They've taken away everything from me. I'm going to return the favor this time."

"Even if you find them, their head guy is a sorcerer and probably a powerful one at that. I can't let you – "

Eliza was a powerful woman, and knowledgeable sorceress and a cunning warrior. But even the best can be taken by surprise. With no warning whatsoever, Ash lashed out with the butt of her pistol and knocked Eliza out cold.

Ash knew how to hit someone where it would render them unconscious without hurting them too badly. But Ashley still felt some trepidation. After all, she liked Eliza . . . even envied her. So she pushed that part of her . . . she had pushed Ashley . . . down somewhere deep where the light couldn't reach her anymore, and then removed an obstacle from her path.

"I'm sorry," Ash said. She leaned over and activated Eliza's communicator and hit an emergency send. The chief of Hybrid Security had been trusting, but she wasn't stupid. She'd have backup around somewhere not too far away. It would give Ash enough time to make her way out. She had an idea of how she could find them: of ending this one way or the other and soon.

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On Terra . . .

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[[ How is she doing? ]] Valar asked as Katrina emerged from the room where Dusty had been communicating for the last hour with her father. The relief displayed on the girl's face and in her voice had been immense.

[[ She is calming down, ]] Katrina said, looking at the shards of pottery and bits of broken furniture that Hurricane Dusty had created when she found out that Ashley had been allowed to enter harm's way. Logic had been somewhat lost on the young woman for a while before she had finally run out of steam due to sheer exhaustion. She had been quite noticeably revitalized when she found out her father was safe.