Guardians - Alternate Universes

CH 5

Galen's arms strained as he wound his father's sword. "Dad, you're going easy on me again," he fake-whined.

Gabe tried to catch his breath, but the pain in his chest made it difficult. "Son," he panted, "I'm older than you think." He didn't mention how his hands throbbed in agony, and he desperately wanted to drop his sword and rub them.

Galen's Aunt Alex appeared, running towards them with urgency. "Look!" She pointed behind them.

Galen and Gabe turned to see an open portal, its edges crackling with energy.

"Enter now," a deep, otherworldly voice boomed from within. "Immediately."

Without hesitation, Galen, Gabe, and the older Alex dove into the portal and found themselves in a large hospital suite. As they took in their surroundings, another portal opened and the younger Alex stumbled through, her body covered in blood from a grievous knife wound. She was surrounded by a pulsing blue and white aura.

The older Alex spotted a call button on the wall and slammed her fist onto it. Gabe gently lowered the injured Alex to the ground and cradled her head in his lap. Galen knelt beside them, his eyes wide with fear.

"Alex, cling to life," Gabe urged, stroking her hair back from her face. "Help is coming. Who did this to you?" He pressed his hand against her cheek.

The younger Alex struggled to speak through the pain, her fingers twisting in Gabe's shirt. "Morgan," she gasped out.

Gabe touched his forehead to hers.

The deep, resonant voice echoed through the room like a tolling bell, commanding attention. "Alex's wound is mortal," he stated gravely. "She clings to life only because the Portal Guardian sacrifices her own to sustain her, until her dying wish can be fulfilled."

"Her dying wish?" Galen's voice trembled with fear and confusion.

The older Alex nodded, her expression grave and stoic. "To donate her heart to me," she explained. "Do you recall when I was on the brink of death from leukemia and my younger self donated bone marrow?"

Medical personnel flooded into the room at Grange's commanding orders, rushing around and setting up equipment. The older Alex stood up, her body weak but determined.

"My younger self is now dying," the older Alex stated solemnly. "The Portal Guardian is keeping her alive until her heart can be transplanted into me. Needless to say, I am riddled with guilt and conflict."

Grange's response was blunt and unsympathetic. "Survivor guilt sucks," he remarked callously. "Deal with it." Turning to the busy medical staff, he barked out orders. "Cardiac transplant, immediately. The AL-X on the floor is dying. Give her heart to the AL-X standing here. Mark them with ID bracelets now. Move it, people. This isn't a car accident to gawk at." The urgency in his tone conveyed the gravity of the situation as they all worked frantically to save both versions of Alex before it was too late.

Gabe's wings, large and powerful, extended over the limp body of his dying love. He pleaded in a heart-wrenching tone, "Please, no."

Alex smiled up at him with a gentle, almost glowing expressin. Her hand reached out to caress his twisted fingers. "Your poor hands, always so gentle." She pressed her lips to each knuckle. "Unite to someone sweet and name a baby after me," she murmured.

Galen pushed his way through his father's wings to lay his head on Alex's stomach. Tears welled in his eyes as he begged, "Tia, no."

"Love you too, Galen," Alex whispered with a weak smile. "Take care of your dad. Make him unite to someone kind. I want that baby named after me." She reached up to touch her adopted son's muzzle with trembling fingers.

Galen's body shook with the tearless sobs of the Agama as he clung to his adopted mother.

A voice, ethereal and otherworldly, cut through their grief. "Hurry my Guardians. The Portal Guardian herself is nearly dead. The medical procedure must start."

With one last stroke of Gabe's crippled hands, Alex whispered, "See you in paradise."

The medical team scrambled into action, kneeling down beside Alex while Gabe and Galen stepped back to give them room. They slid a transfer board under her limp body and carefully lifted her onto the gurney. Nurses, doctors, and technicians spoke in urgent tones as they began their rapid assessments, starting IVs and hooking up ECG's and other equipment. The same flurry of activity surrounded the older Alex as well, before both were whisked away behind swinging double doors.

***

A/N

The glory of alternate universes: I can kill anyone! Mwahahaha!

IanReeve216

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