Let me remind myself that I do not own Lucas (Even though I would Love to have him) or the Seaquest. If I did, season three would have never happened and the show would still be on.
Anyway, the sequel.......
In the months that followed the events on Dremora, Lucas repeatedly assured everyone that he forgave them and there were no hard feelings. He allowed Kristen to check him over countless times without complaining, just to see her smile without tears in her eyes. Tony had wanted to throw him a secret belated party but Wendy had adamantly stanched that idea. She informed him it would be like adding insult to injury. In the end it would have hurt him more. Since she was spending so much time with Lucas, Tony took her advice but he still gave him the present he made for him. Remembering his old Internex code, Tony got him a full set of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. They were now a part of his most cherished possessions.
Lucas spent his days divided between duty and practicing his telepathy with Wendy. But no matter how hard he worked and pushed hisself, he was unable to get a full night's sleep. As soon as his eyes drooped closed, his mind would be bombarded with images that carried bloodshed and misery. He would see Seaquest being hulled and the alien craft being blown from within. He witnessed how the survivors pulled themselves from under wreckage and broken bodies. In slow motion he watched as an aftershock showered ragged debris onto Wendy and Miquel. He woke to the screams that were ripped from their throats as shards ravaged their bodies and punctured major organs. Both were dead before the wave stopped.
It was the fourth night he woke in a cold sweat, his breath being harshly pushed from his body, that he found another of his gifts. Like so many other times when he couldn't sleep, he went to the moon-pool. Even if Darwin wasn't there, the eerie calm from the water was often enough to settle his nerves. On that night he tried a new exercise that Wendy had taught him. Sitting cross-legged on the platform across the pool, he breathed deeply as he allowed his mind to wander. It was like flying, the feeling of leaving his body; so much that he imagined hisself with shimmering wings of energy. Like the creature of myth emblazoned on his arm, he soared about the ship, through walls and floors.
Checking on his friends, he found Brody in his quarters staring at a picture of his mother that was taken while she was on the ship. He made a mental note to contact Julianna for an update. Moving on, he found Nathan and Westphalen eating ice cream in the galley and giggling like children. He smiled wistfully at their stolen moment of happiness and left the room. Uncertain where else to go he thought of the meadow his mother had taken him to and suddenly he was there, looking over the ocean. He turned suddenly and stared at the figure that appeared before him. She was the same as they had last met. His words stumbled together.
"But...how? What?" He fell to his knees, wrapping his wings around him as if chilled. "Mom?"
Krista St. Masters looked through tears at her extraordinary son. She held her hands out and touched his face tenderly. With a mother's love she wiped the tears from his face. "I never did tell you the rest of the legend. The woman gave her life to save her husband and because their love was so strong, they were reunited in paradise." She settled beside him and pulled him into an embrace. His wings uncurled and surrounded them both. That night sitting trance like by the moon pool was the best rest he ever got.
And so he trained with Wendy by day and learned from his mother at night. She taught him tricks that strengthened his mind and instilled him with resolve to his cause. She told him stories of her home world and taught him their language. The things she told him took form before his eyes and he was able to watch and interact with people. Over and over again they played out scenarios but he was still unable to find one without sacrificing his friends lives. If he went to save those on the alien ship, Seaquest would be destroyed. If he stayed to help Seaquest, Bridger and the others would suffer. The scenes ran together in myriad colors and finally flowed into the ocean staining it with blood before sinking to the bottom.
Soon, his days blended until he lost track of when they began and ended. As a precaution, he took to taping messages to the crew. He told Jim about his son, Jamie. He left word on how to access the program he had running to locate Robert Bridger. He contacted lawyers and set up trust funds for Dagwood and Tony, so that they would both always be taken care of. Even though he checked his equations daily, practiced nightly, he still felt unready. On one of his final visits Krista called him on it.
"This gift is meant to release you from that." She pointed to an image of Ensign Wolenczak. "You worry so much about what to do that when the time comes you will surely fail. Darling, you have to realize that you can't save everyone. This is your chance to give them a fighting chance. Don't be so hard on yourself and just do what comes naturally."
"You don't understand. It's like being in a play. There you are, being your character when suddenly the director runs up in mid-scene and hands you a revised script. You can tell it's a better version but you can't seem to get the scene right. It's so frustrating. I know what I need to do, but I can't get the thought to form into words I'll understand." He looked to her for understanding but sees only confusion.
"Lucas? What are you planning?" She stared at his determined face.
"What I have to." He stood suddenly. "I have to go, I think Dag's looking for me. He said he'd keep me company while I went over some of Darwin's programs." He hugged her suddenly. "I love you." He went to pull away, but she held on.
"I don't know what you're planning but I love you too. Be careful." Her voice faded as he returned to his body to find Dagwood staring at him. Strangely the GELF never asked what he was doing and the day went on normally. That is until a shadowy message from an old friend appeared randomly across the ship.
The day slipped by as Lucas sat at his station and waited for something to happen. As his mental clock being to go off, he tested his telepathy by sending a message to Wendy to hold on. In his minds eye scenes played out again. Mid-thought he was wrenched back by the ship being violently ripped from the water. Lonnie counted off as the mighty ship rose and was pulled into the ship above them. Watching in fascinated horror, they waited for what they could not stop. They were being abducted by aliens.
Standing on unsteady legs he stumbled down to Nathan and Kristen. So intent on the screen, he forgot that he wasn't supposed to know anything about what was happening. When Commander ford asked what was happening, he answered.
"It looks like we're going into hyperspace." He cringed inwardly.
"Hyperspace?" Ford looked at him briefly and then swung back to the screen.
"It's a theory." For the first time he was glad that most people never knew what he was talking about anyway. Kristen reached over and placed a hand on his arm, just over the unseen tattoo, and wrapped her other arm around Nathan. Even though he should have been more concerned by SeaQuest's abduction, he was struck by how much a family the three of them looked: the worried father, the resilient mother and the dutiful son. Knowing that the picture was a grainy one, he pulled away and stood beside Dagwood.
Finally they were placed in alien waters and Bridger gave the order to dive. Suddenly an odd looking ship appeared and docked with them. Armed, Brody lead a team to the air lock, ready to face anything. With the exception of one person, everyone was surprised to see Tobias le Conte step down to greet them. Taking a deep breath, Lucas put on his best poker face and prepared to play his biggest game ever.
After Ariel and her companion were introduced, Bridger moved the assembly to the wardroom. Lucas watched the pale aliens before him with barely concealed hatred. Although their outward natures were peaceful and concerned, he couldn't get past the evil that seemed to pulsate from them. Especially the woman. He was mildly surprised that Wendy couldn't feel it as well. Maybe it was because he knew their true agenda or perhaps the alien blood in his veins, he didn't know which gave him the insight to sense their true intentions nor did he care.
Ariel glanced up shyly at the young scientist and then averted her eyes. There was something vaguely familiar about him, almost as they had already met. Perhaps it was through Tobias' memories. He had seemed oddly curious about the boy before he ran from Earth but as of yet he had kept his reasons why buried so deep within his mind, he would be dead before they could retrieve them. She hadn't reached her position of power by leaving things to chance. Unless he proved useful, when the time came, she would just keep him alive long enough to discover his secret.
Lucas looked up sharply as he caught the tail end of her thought. His mind recoiled but his features never changed. He knew her kind all to well. It would seem as if their people weren't that different. Greed was a universal language. After the delegation returned to their ship, the senior staff met to discuss the situation. It was decided that more information was needed. Knowing that nothing good was to come, Lucas left and walked to his quarters to go over his programs. Sitting in front of the screen he imagined how at that moment Bridger was ordering the Katon shot down as a hostile. Now he could remember the look on his face as he watched a Stormer kill Commander Scott Kellar. A man who was his best friend in school and could feel the rage that rolled through his usually gentle Captain. Resigned to the meeting that would come, he left his room and walked down the almost deserted hallway to the final touches on his plan.
An hour later he stood in the doorway and looked at his large friend. Although Dagwood was immensely strong, his demeanor was that of a child. From the moment they had met, their friendship was a fact written in stone and without secrets. Other than Darwin, Dagwood was the only person who knew about his unique heritage and his dreams.
"Dag, we need to talk." Shutting the door, he moved to the bed and sat down.
"This is about what you told me before." Lucas wondered if he knew how much pain that simple statement caused.
"Yea, it's time Dag. When they find out the truth about Them, Captain'll make you promise to get me off the ship. I need you to go along with it. Tell him you'll do it." He half smiled at the puzzled look on his friends' face.
"But I won't will I?"
"No. I'll go out alone in the stinger. I have a plan to save everybody but it all depends on you. You'll take a shuttle and follow behind them. It'll be programmed to the right coordinates to pick them up. You just need to be there to help them get on board in case anyone's hurt."
"But I don't want to lie to the Captain. Lies are bad." A child like logic colored his words.
"Not if they save lives Dagwood. You know I'm different. Of everyone on board you and I are the most alike. Two different forces pull us both, human and other. Well, my other side is giving me this chance to save my family and I have to do whatever it takes." He stopped as Dagwood looked down. "I want to show you why I have to do this. Why I have to lie to them. Will you let me show you?" Dagwood nodded. With ease Lucas slid into his mind and revealed what Krista had told him of the future. Dagwood watched tearfully as everything he knew and loved was destroyed or changed in the aftermath of Hyperion. He sat cradling his head as screams reverberated through his head. Slowly he looked up.
"Bad things must be stopped. I will do it. I'll lie. But Lucas, what can you do to stop the bad stuff from happening?" Lucas looked up, his face emotionless.
"I'll do what destiny demands." With that he handed Dagwood a small box. "When this is over, give these to the others.
"But why can't you do it?" Innocent eyes stared in confusion.
"I'll be doing other things and these are important. They have to be given out after the Kraytax are destroyed. O.K.?"
"Umm...O.K." Lucas got up to leave. They were due to meet the war council in ten minutes.
"Hey Dag?" He waited till his friend looked up. "I know I don't say it much, but I just wanted you to know that you're like the brother I always wanted and I love you." Dagwood smiled and stood up.
"I love you too Lucas." He hugged the teenager. "Be careful."
Smiling at the phrase, he answered. "Always Dag, always.
The meeting was underway, with Bridger conceding that they had a point about using the alien ship to sweep the Kraytax from space. But even with all that he had seen he still didn't understand their part in it and asked Tobias as much. It was Lucas that answered. When he spoke with a tone scarcely a notch away from incensed everyone just assumed that it was over the situation at hand. Wendy wanted to talk to him but was unsure what the others capabilities were. His words and the tone they were spoken in seemed to please Tobias, almost as if he had passed a test to ascertain his intelligence level. It was at that moment, looking into Tobias' eyes and seeing the Stormer looking back at him with glee that the final equation to his problem slid into place. He knew what to do, now if he could just find the strength to put it into motion.
Once they returned to the ship and Bridger had Tobias escorted to a room, they stood in the air lock talking. Even though he couldn't tell them out right what was going on, he tried to warn them slightly. As he was about to speak Brody beat him to it.
"It seems pretty simple Captain. We protect them while they end the war."
"Is that what you think, Wendy?" She shook her head.
"I still can't read them. All I get is static." She looked up as Lucas spoke.
"Just like communications. There's nothing on our wavelength." He turned to Brody.
"I don't know. That little girl was coming through loud and clear." Lucas snorted.
"Maybe a little to loud."
"Wait a minute. Lucas what are you saying?" Nathan could see the indecision in Lucas' eyes. He knew something but was afraid to say.
"Just that it all seems like a kludge." He averted his eyes. This was going into forbidden territory.
"A kludge?" Ford stood straighter as he recognized the look on Lucas' face. Almost as if he was reciting something.
"Improvised but not quite fitting together. I just feel something, I can't explain it."
He sent out a silent plea for intervention, and Wendy understood.
"Captain, many Lucas' right. We shouldn't jump into this blindly. Until we have the whole picture, we shouldn't become foot soldiers in this war." Wendy looked over to him.
"That's why I want Piccolo and Darwin in the water. See if you can find anything on that Katon. If anything we can contact the other side and talk. If there's nothing else, dismissed."
It wasn't until later when they found out the truth, Ariel and the others on the ship were the Kraytax, Nathan became resolved to end the war. After capturing the fake Tobias, Nathan and Scott lead the two teams on a mission they weren't sure they would make it back from. As the shuttle left the ship, no one noticed a second ship that followed at a discreet, perfectly timed, distance.
The mission had been simple at first. Retrieve the real Tobias and take over the ship. To bad the Kraytax had anticipated their actions and sealed off the bridge. To compound their problems, they were now surrounded by Stormers bent on killing them after planting the explosives around the warp core. One such creature had just blown their only escape route away. Suddenly a humming sound penetrated the blast. Lonnie was the first one to place the sound.
"Someone initiated a laser docking! Someone came for us!" She smiled hopefully.
"But which side?" Miquel's words doused her glee. Half the party fired on the advancing Stormers while the others trained their weapons on the hole appearing behind them. Like an imp from a fairy tale, Dagwood poked his head through the hole. He jumped out and landed in a crotch.
"Lots of bad things here." His lip curved into a snarl.
"Dagwood! But how?" Bridger switched from elated at the unlikely rescue to concern over his last order. "Where's Lucas?"
"On the stinger. No time for anything else. Ask Dagwood later, Captain, sir." Gently he picked up a slightly injured Brody and placed him inside the shuttle. The others followed until it was just Piccolo, Miquel, and the Captain. Making a decision straight from his heart, Tony yell to them.
"Go! I'll cover you!" The experimental was determined to protect his new family.
"Tony, are you crazy! You'll be dead in seconds!" Miquel shot another Stormer.
"I'll blow the hatch once you're away! Remember, I'm gill boy!" He hoped it sounded convincing enough. Before he could tell them to leave again, Bridger held up his had as something began to glow in the dark corridor. Risking a look, they were shocked, as a human woman appeared, shimmering in all white, between them and the enemy. She spoke something in their language that enraged Ariel. Her long blond hair flittered about her face as if blown by a breeze that no one else felt. Enthralled by the ethereal beauty before them, they were startled to hear Wendy's voice in their heads.
"Get the hell on the shuttle! Now is no time to be sight seeing!" Frozen they watched as the woman turned to them. Her face was oddly familiar but just a tad bit away from their memories. She nodded her head and the felt an overwhelming need to leave. Once they were tucked away on the shuttle, she turned back to the Ariel.
"So, sister, we meet again."
"Bridger to SeaQuest."
"Ford here. It's good to hear your voice, sir!"
"Where's Lucas?" Worry laced his voice. They weren't out of the woods just yet.
"The stinger just cleared launch bay. We're moving to assist." Ford nodded to the helm.
Quickly he initiated the arming codes. As the Seaquest moved to pick up the shuttle, Lieutenant Jane Maynard, who was sitting at sensors, looked up with horror. "Commander, what's that?" Following her gaze, he watched as a large spiked sphere rose from the ocean floor.
"It's a barrier mine." Ford swallowed convulsively.
"I guess they had underwater technology after all." Tim O'Neill pulled out his cross and began to pray.
"Oh my God!" Ford sat frozen and waited for the inevitable. Suddenly, before the mine could launch, a blurry figure barreled by at full speed and rammed into it. Massive shock waves pummeled the SeaQuest and smaller shuttle, but beyond several injuries, there were no known fatalities. "What happened?" Ford looked around but no one seemed to know.
"It looked like a fish attacked the mine, sir." O'Neill turned in his seat. "What if it was Darwin?"
"Tim, rewind the footage and get me an explanation." He sat and watched as the picture stilled and cleared. What he saw shocked him more than anything he had ever seen. He heard a loud noise. He looked down to see a shell-shocked Krieg sitting on the floor, tears falling from his eyes. He looked up and mouthed one word over and over.
"Why?'
"Ford to launch bay. Captain, you're needed on the bridge." His voice shook slightly as he finished and cut the link without waiting for a reply. He slumped back in his chair and gave in to his own tears. He looked up as a soft keening filled the room. Unbeknown to him, it was heard all over the ship. In the launch bay, Tobias, Wendy, Tony and Dagwood cried out and clutched their heads. The keening grew into a heart- wrenching wail. Nathan called for medical help but they seemed to recover quickly. Tobias and Dagwood, the first to come round, supported Wendy and Tony. The only thing anyone could say was that they had to get to the bridge right away.
Kristen met them at the MagLev and hugged Nathan. Together they walked onto the bridge and were greeted by teary-eyed crewmen. They looked from Tim to Jonathan and finally down to Krieg huddled on the floor, his head between his legs. Kristen and Wendy went to him.
"Nathan, the ship is taking off. They're getting into position to bring the comet in." Lonnie tossed the detonator toward the Captain. Both were shocked when Commander Ford reached up and caught it. Without a word to anyone he discharged the explosives. "I hope you burn in hell!" His voice shook with hatred. Everyone watched in morbid fascination as the great ship, their only way home, was obliterated. Nathan looked around as he heard several of the bridge crew including Tim, repeat Ford's curse on the Kraytax.
"What is going on? What happened?" Tired of the strange way everyone was acting, Kristen looked to Ford for answers.
"We'll get answers later Kristen. Mr. O'Neill, call back the stinger." He turned to Dagwood. "I still..."
"I can't do that sir." Tim's voice interrupted him.
"Why not?" Looking around. "What is going on? And what is that noise?"
Unable to find the words, Tim brought the picture back up on the screen. They watched in slow motion as the blur that saved their lives came into focus. Bridger fell to his knees with a soft cry followed by Kristen and Wendy. Dagwood turned and punched a wall hard enough to reverberate through the ship. Tobias could only stare open mouthed as he watched the stinger, piloted by the blond computer genius, ram the mine.
"Oh my dear God!" Ford rubbed a weary hand over his face at his Captains words.
"Your God had nothing to do with this!" Their heads turned toward Darwin's tank as the woman from the Kraytax ship emerged from the water, clutching the badly burned limp form to her chest. "He died for you!" She landed softly and sank to the floor. As her body solidified, Tobias stepped forward.
"Krisanna?" He stared at the human looking woman before him as she began to rock.
"He wanted to save you. He wanted to give you a future. Even though you would have abandoned him, he gave his life for you." She threw a glare at them. "Know this. You live now because he willed it. And in his memory I'll allow you to live." Suddenly Tony pushed his way past Dagwood.
"It's a trick! Another illusion like with Kellar. You look like that Krista woman but she's dead." He turned to the Captain. "Don't you see, it's a trick. That's not Krista and that can't be Lucas. It can't be the kid!" He stopped as his throat clogged with tears. Lucas had been like a little brother to him and now he was gone. Causality in a war that wasn't even theirs. Bridger was in shock. Robert's death had been hard and they were estranged. Lucas and he had been close. And he was gone.
"Don't you dare feel for him! He's dead and you're not. I want you to feel the guilt!" Krista growled at them.
"Can't you see we're hurting? We were close to him. You're just someone who watched him as a child. We've watched him grow into an extraordinary young man who just gave his life to save ours. You can't..." Kristen never finished as Krista leaned her head back and screamed.
"He was my son!" Stunned silence corroded the bridge as everyone digested the news. No one really believed her words. Lucas had been like a son to so many people that they just naturally slipped her into that category. Their grief was still the same. Suddenly the room filled with a bright light. Tobias quickly looked up and fell to his knees at the magnificent sight before him. The three original aliens that had visited Earth before stood behind Krista. Without a word the leader held up a long bony hand and pointed at Lucas' body. Closing her eyes in concentration, her hand began to glow.
Around the bridge, men and woman stood to get a better view and were amazed as the burnt flesh across the boy's body began to heal at an accelerated rate. Tim crossed himself again as Lucas' body arched upward as air filled his lungs. His eyes opened momentarily but saw nothing before they shut again. Krista smiled up at the aliens whose names were not known but their legends told across the universe. The leader nodded her head and Krista disappeared in a flash of giggling light, her words of thanks lasting long after she was gone.
Afraid to find it all a dream, no one moved or spoke. The simply stared at the aliens and then to Lucas. Finally Scott stepped forward.
"You're the ones who were supposed to come to Earth, aren't you?" Like Tobias he had heard the legends on their travels. Some saw them as peacekeepers while other saw Gods.
"We did come to your world but you were not ready to know us." On of the trio walked slowly to Lucas and sat her skeletal frame down beside him. Almost worshipfully, she stroked his face. "Of your people, he was they only one who did not fear us. He understood over mission of peace."
"Is that why you saved him?" Kristen and Wendy looked at each other in silent communication and nodded. Together they approached the prone boy and examined him as best they could. Dagwood walked to the leader.
"Thank you."
She smiled and nodded again. "Partially. His life was spared because he is unique. In all the centuries he is the first of his kind. His destiny lies not in death but in the deeds he must accomplish in life." She looked into Dagwood's eyes for a moment. With a nod he turned and gently picked up Lucas and took him to Medbay.
"So you came to save him?" Ford was still in shock. As a man of facts he was out of his league with anything not known.
"We came to take you home." She stopped at the stunned looks around her. "We received a message from Lucas asking if we could meet you here at this time. We were told of the Kraytax plan to use Seaquest and how the ship would have to be destroyed. He knew of our capabilities and requested our help. We could not refuse his plea."
"How could you know of their plan? Who told you?" Brody's hand moved to his weapon, fearing this was all for show.
"Like we said, he is a unique young man."
"Wait you said you came to Earth. Why can't we remember it?" She looked at Bridger oddly. Tobias offered them the explanation they sought.
"Their race is far more advanced than anyone in any known galaxy. They can warp time like the other ship could space. The Kraytax feared them because they could not be conquered." His words were spoken with awe and reverence. "But he was dead. How can you give life back?" Scott was curious. He wasn't knocking the act but he had to know.
"We simply turned his body back to the moment before the explosion." She spoke as if it should be common knowledge.
"Partial time reversal? Wait till they hear about this on Earth." Tim laughed from his station.
"No one must know about this. Lucas has a destiny to fulfill. If your Earth scientist learn of his lineage, they will want to study him. He must be allowed his freedom."
"How do you know that. I'm sure they'll be curious as to how he knew any of this but he's still human with rights." Ford spoke up.
"When we came to you, some within your government wanted to keep us imprisoned on your planet. They would have held us in exchange for knowledge and technology. Had it not been for Lucas, our message would have gone unheard, our mission a failure." They stepped back together. "We have healed his body, now he must heal his mind. When he awakens we will take you home." Before anyone could speak they disappeared.
It had been two hours since the Kraytax ship was destroyed and Lucas had yet to awaken. The executive staff had been surprised when Dagwood had called a meeting in the wardroom and given them each a disc.
Tony watched his in their quarters so no one could see his tears. Lucas told him about the money put away for him, and called him his brother. Over come with emotion, he had cried himself to sleep, the disc safely put away under his pillow.
Brody sat in the mess hall staring at a cup of coffee. He had a son. Or he would soon. And his mother was being treated on the Colony even as he sat on the waterlogged planet. He was a man of fact, and in a short time he had watched his clear-cut beliefs become unglued and rearranged.
Tim sat in the small chapel clutching his cross. Shaken by the revelations on the disc, he did the only thing he could think of and prayed. He prayed for understanding to what had happened and how Lucas knew so much without telling. Maybe if they had known they could have avoided going. He dismissed the thought as he realized how much worse life could have been if they hadn't stopped them on Hyperion. Tears fell and blurred the words in his small Bible as he remembered the boys broken body lying at their feet. Of everyone who received a disc, Bridger was the most surprised by his. Robert was alive and in three years, Nathan would be a grandfather. Lucas explained in the disc that Robert had gone underground for unknown reasons but resurfaced with a wife long enough to drop their son off at an Embassy. His program was still searching, discreetly of course, for his whereabouts. Humbled at the boys' sacrifice he sat in the darkness of his quarters and stared at nothing.
Wendy and Kristen had done every test they could think of but everything came up normal. Frustrated Wendy had tried to scan his mind but came up against a wall she could get past. At one point before she broke the link she heard noises coming from behind it. The two of them retired to Kristen's office to go over the latest test.
Deep within the recesses of his mind, a young man sat stoically looking out over the barren land. No breeze blew his limp hair, no trees stood to shade him from the relentless sun, and worst of all, no ocean greeted his squinted eyes with soothing hues of blue and green. His paradise was now a dead wasteland. The woman stood behind him, her dress torn and dirty, and placed her hand on his head.
"Lucas?" No answer. "Darling you have to rebuild."
"What's the point? I failed." She gasped loudly.
"What?"
"They're dead. Everyone. And I killed them." Suddenly the sky changed and grew darker as figures appeared in the heavens. The stinger rounded the ship once and flew at the mine. "I can remember sitting there, knowing that would be my last moments alive. And do ya know what I thought about?" She shook her head. "They only thing I could think of was the Chronicles of Narnia and how I'd never got to finish reading the last two volumes." He laughed softly and looked up. "Then I saw this." The vision changed to the ship opening fire on the Seaquest and the face's of his friends as their bodies disintegrated slowly so he could still hear their screams. "I failed them and this is my punishment." She grabbed him and turned him around.
"That's not what happened Lucas. Where did these images come from?" He held up a shaking hand and pointed behind her.
"She told me." She turned quickly and almost fell down. Before her stood Ariel or at least what was left of her.
"You." Lucas stared like a lost child.
"Your son?" She smiled evilly. "Aren't we full of surprises my sister."
Krista could hear Lucas standing unsteadily behind her.
"She lied to you Lucas. No one died except for you. Your other friends arrived and saved your life." She lowered her voice slightly. "Rebuild Lucas. Don't let her take away who you are. Don't let anyone take it away from you." Her words set off memories from the other time line. He could hear the Captain telling him the same before he blew the ship. Pushing his mind outward he searched for answers to his question. He touched another mind and Wendy jerked to her feet.
With a cry of rage he launched hisself at Ariel. "You lie!" The heavens rolled as thunder and lightning crashed around them.
"Lucas, No!" she could only watch as he was thrown back by an invisible field.
"Lucas!" His name exploded from her lips as she jumped toward the other room. Kristen followed quickly after calling the bridge. They were greeted to the sight of a shimmering field around Lucas' bed. Wendy attempted to go through but was thrown back. They could only watch as his body convulsed and arched heavenward as if to throw off some invisible foe. Nathan, Scott and Tobias ran into the med-lab at full speed and almost crashed into Kristen. Tobias walked to the field and closed his eyes.
"I can't get through on my own. Wendy, I need your help." She took his hand and concentrated on the boy. She had to block out the sight of blood leaking from his nose and lip. "We have to break the wall." Suddenly they were standing before the stone structure.
"I don't think we can." Wendy pushed on one of the bricks. "Wait, it's loose. "Maybe he's trying to get out." She pushed the stone and watched it fall. "This could take some time."
"Unfortunately time is what we don't have. I can feel another mind with him. Two I think but only one is hostile. It feels familiar... Ariel! We have to hurry!" Together they attacked the wall ruthlessly until a hole was large enough to slip through. The scene they found caused them to stop in their tracks.
Lucas lay on the cracked ground looking up at Ariel who had blood on her hands. They hadn't been seen yet.
"You failed them. They're all dead. Your friends, the resistance, your mother. All dead because you couldn't leave things as they were! How does it feel to have their blood on your hands?" She flicked her fingers and blood flew at him, instantly turning to flames. As his body caught on fire for the second time in as many days, he just laid and accepted it.
"Lucas! Get away from him you monster!" Wendy used a force that had laid dormant since the Avatar and threw a ball of energy at the Kraytax woman. Ariel laughed and deflected the orb as if it were a fly.
"You think you have the power to destroy me here?" She held her arms up.
"Don't fool yourself human. Out there I may be dead but I plan on taking this," She looked down at the body at her feet. "Abomination with me." She stepped over his burning carcass and walked toward them. "And since you're here, Tobias, I'll kill you as well. You were a disgrace. A soldier wanting peace? Not in my world." As she raised her hand to strike him down, she was thrown off her feet as the ground trembled violently. They looked toward Lucas' body that wasn't much more than a pile of ash now. Astonished they watched as a head emerged from the ash.
"I never really understood some of the things she taught me until now" He spoke softly but his words carried on the breeze that blew around them. "I wanted to give them a chance to dream again. You tried to take that away. For that you will be punished." Lucas stood erect, hovering above the ground. His eyes were shining with power as he reached upward. Slowly, as if a someone was applying paint to a canvas, the world around them altered and came alive. Trees grew in seconds followed by lush green grass and dandelions. Holding on to Tobias, Wendy managed to stay on her feet as the ground beneath them rose upward. She turned and watched as the wasteland filled with water like someone turned on a faucet and caused the weakened wall to crumble into the sea. The skies cleared until nothing of the sterile land remained.
"Insolent child! If you had come to me, told me who you were, I would have made you a God! Instead you forsake your Kraytax blood for the likes of them! So be it, you can die with them!" Ariel threw bolts of energy at him but the stopped in mid air before turning and striking her instead. She slumped to the ground lifelessly. Slowly Lucas landed and walked over to her. He waved his hands slightly and the ground opened up and engulfed her body. Wendy ran over and threw her arms around Lucas. He hugged her back tightly.
"I never wanted to be a god, just a child."
"Everyone's worried about you. We have to go back." He pulled away and walked back to the prone body of his mother. Gently he smoothed her hair down.
"Thank you for everything you did for me. I promise to never misuse what you have given me." He looked up with tears in his eyes as her body disappeared. "She's gone for real this time. Ariel attacked us, and she died for me. Again. I hope she's happy wherever she ends up."
"She will be Lucas. Her form of heaven is much like this." Tobias looked around. "She will be most happy." Wendy looked at him oddly. With everything that had happened, her mind seemed to overlook the obvious.
"How do you know that?" Her brow creased at his soft laugh. Slowly words formed in her thoughts and the two that stuck out seemed to be 'Kraytax blood'.
"Legends, my dear, legends." He held out his hand and helped Lucas stand. " Now my boy, how do we get out of here?" Lucas grinned for the first time in weeks.
"Either of you afraid of heights?" He pulled them along to the edge of the cliff.
"There's gotta be another way out." Wendy protested.
"This way's more fun." Lucas held out his hands and waited for them to grasp them. "Trust me." He smiled as he remembered the last time the words were spoken to him. Without glancing back at the paradise he had created, they jumped.
Wendy opened her eyes slowly and looked up into the bluest pair of eyes she had ever seen. With a half smile Lucas reached over and yanked her to her feet. Bridger watched, afraid to hold Lucas, for fear he might fall apart. Pushing his fears away he engulfed the boy in a hug that threatened to crack a few ribs. Kristen saved Lucas only to hug him to her. She stroked his hair and muttered in his ear.
"If you ever do this to us again, you're grounded." Her words made absolutely no sense and caused a small giggle to erupt from him. Just as he was about to speak, O'Neill called down.
"Captain to the bridge!"
"I better go see what's going on." He was about to leave when Lucas grabbed his arm.
"I'm going with you."
"No. You have to rest. Your body has..." Kristen's tirade was cut short as the ship lurched.
"I'm going with you." Without another word he turned and left them to follow.