Paragon

Chapter 30:

"And so." Mahlika said. "Malcom is in the hospital, and Nikara is in charge for the moment."
I staggered and Marcus put an arm around me.
"We need to find Falcom." I said. "He's going to use the Skyfall Device."
"That's impossible." Mahlika replied.
"Not necessarily." Camron said. "According to Rory, someone stole some Kronium from the Tokyo machine yesterday. We didn't find it on your body, so he must have it."
There was the sound of sirens in the distance.
"Oh, no." Marcus said. "They've found out we followed you."
"Who?" I asked.
"The others. We're the only ones who believed you'd changed back."
Camron took a tiny machine out of his pocket.
"Baby drone." He said proudly. "I stole three of them from Sasaki before we left. It connects to my cellphone."
"Camron!" Mahlika said, shocked.
"What? I'll give them back later."
He threw it into the air and took out his phone.
"Okay, so they have a perimeter up for three miles around us, and they're slowly closing in. We're not getting out of here on foot."
"Maybe I should just surrender." I suggested. "I can explain-"
"You'll be dead before you can so much as say a word." Marcus said.
"Then what do we do?" Mahlika asked.
"I have an idea." Camron said. "But you're not going to like it."
"What?" I asked.
"Well, you and Falcom were basically best friends while you were...not you. I'm sure he'd be perfectly happy to help you out."
"That was Xavia, not me."
"He doesn't know you're not Xavia."
"That's crazy." Mahlika said. "He'll kill us."
"It could work." Marcus said slowly. "But how do we contact him?"
"I have his number." Camron said.
"Why exactly?"
"I dunno. I never deleted it." He dialed a number. "Hopefully he still has the same phone-oh, hey. Sup?"
"Sup?" I asked. "Really?"
He frowned and shook his head. "Listen, I know you're still probably mad about the whole setting you on fire thing. That was so yesterday."
The sirens were growing closer.
Mahlika gestured impatiently and I took the phone from Camron.
"Falcom." I said. "I need a ride, please. We're in the cemetery where Gamma was buried."
"Xavia?" He asked. "I thought you were dead."
"I was, for a whole. They're after me, and help would really be appreciated."
He was quiet for a moment. "I'll send someone."
He hung up.
"You were too polite." Marcus said. "He'll know there's something wrong."
"Too late now." I replied.
There was a buzzing sound in my ears. I clapped my hands over them, not understanding why the others weren't reacting. My vision went dark for a second. Then I was standing on the deck of a ship.
"Xavia died and came back." I said, my voice strangely deep. "That means Delta's gun won't be able to hurt me anymore."
I blinked and was back in the park, the others crowded around me.
"What happened?" Marcus asked.
"I think I'm still part of the Lazarus joint mind." I replied.
A police car pulled up beside the gate of the cemetery. At the same time a helicopter descended toward us. It landed between us and the car and a man who looked a lot like Roman opened the door.
"Hey, Alejandro." Camron said. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." He replied before looking at me. "Hey, babe. These guys with you?"
"They're coming with us." I replied.
"Whatever you say."
We got into the helicopter, which took off instantly. Below us cars converged on the cemetery, several minutes too late.
"Where are we going?" Mahlika asked as we sat down across the cabin from Alejandro.
"A safe place." He replied. "It's not too far away."
No one spoke for the rest of the ride. We quickly left the city behind as we started off across the Atlantic.
Around an hour later we began to circle an enormous cargo ship. The deck was empty except for around three hundred Capricorns standing in formation. We landed in front of them and climbed out of the helicopter. Alejandro whistled and the Capricorns formed two lines.
Camron tapped my shoulder and pulled another mini drone out of his pocket. He tossed it into the air and it flew off.
We walked the gauntlet of stony faced Enhanced and stopped at the bottom of the steps leading to the raised cabin of the ship. The door above us opened and Falcom stepped out. His red eyes stared down impassively, expression unreadable.
"Welcome home, sister." He said. "Alejandro?"
Alejandro shook my hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, Katana. Xavia told me a lot about you."
"How did you know?" I asked.
"If I had called Xavia babe, I wouldn't be able to walk right now."
I sighed. "Well, this is awkward."
"Indeed." Falcom replied. "So you're back to normal now?"
"As normal as I can be, considering."
He smiled at me and I forced myself not to back away. The thing in front of me was not my brother. He scared me, just like the dead creature on Theta Sigma had.
Marcus gestured angrily at Falcom. "Now what? Are you going to kill us or just stand there and smile?"
His grin widened. "All in due time."
"Hey, man." Camron said. "Let's just think about this for a sec. We don't want to fight you. Master Kontrol is falling apart. Just admit that you've lost."
"I don't care about Master Kontrol."
He walked down the stairs. "Tonight everything changes. Tonight we start a new golden age."
"I kind of don't like the sound of that."
He shoved Camron and he fell. Instantly the rest of us unsheathed our claws, ready to fight. Falcom adjusted his suit and stepped back.
"You'll come around." He said. "You won't have a choice."
He gestured to Alejandro. "Take them to their cell."
"What are you going to do with us?" Mahlika asked.
"You'll stay locked up until we reach Calpernica." He shrugged. "Sorry for the inconvenience."
"What do we do, Commander?" Marcus asked.
"Looks like we don't have much of a choice." I replied. "Take us away."
We were led over to a rectangular metal shipping container. Alejandro ushered us inside, tossing me a flashlight.
"You know." Alejandro said. "I really wish things had been different between us, Katana. Xavia never got the hint."
"Oh, she did." I replied. "We were alike in one aspect. We both would rather die than be with you."
He turned red and slammed the door, blocking out our laughter. We sober instantly when I turn on the flashlight. The container is just large enough for us to stand comfortably.
"This sucks." Camron said.
"You got that right." Mahlika said.
"Sorry I got you all into this." I said. "I should have just gone alone."
"We couldn't have just left you."
"Still-"
"She's right." Marcus said. "This isn't just your fight."
We were all quiet for a few minutes.
"At least we only have three hours until Calpernica." Camron said.
Above us a hatch opened, momentarily blinding us with late afternoon sunlight. When my vision adjusted I saw Falcom standing above us.
"I'm going to need Xavia's help tonight, sister." He said. "And three other Alphas wouldn't hurt either."
"There's no way we're going to become like you." Marcus said.
"That remains to be seen."
He held up a metal box and dropped it. I caught it. Inside were four syringes of silver liquid. Lazarus Serum.
"Now, I could inject you all and then kill you." Falcom continued. "Then I could wait for you to revive, which could take a while. Or I could force you into a situation where your body would be forced to adapt quickly. Guess which one I'm going to do?"
"We're your friends, dude." Camron said. "We've had such great times together."
"No matter what you've done, it's not too late." I replied. "Just let us talk for a minute."
"Why?" Falcom asked. "So you can try to convince me there's still goodness inside of me? That I'm still human? Boring!"
He slammed the hatch closed.
Several seconds later there was a clank and the container is lifted into the air. We were thrown against the wall as it swung sideways before dropping abruptly. We landed in the ocean with a loud splash.
"I thought he wasn't going to kill us."
Mahlika said, vainly pushing against the door of the container as icy water began to leak in. "I don't understand!"
"He's forcing us to take the serum or die." I replied. "If we take the serum before we drown, we'll wake up ten minutes later at the bottom of the ocean. Then we'll have the strength to break out of here and probably be able to breathe underwater. After that joining Falcom will seem like the best thing to do."
"But he knows we won't take the serum." Camron protested.
"In about ten minutes, when we're floating in icy water, about to drown, those syringes are going to look real good."
I joined Mahlika by the door, knowing that even if we somehow managed to break out, we were already far underwater.
Camron took yet another drone out of his pocket.
"What exactly is that going to do?" Marcus asked, annoyed.
"This should be sending information back to the yacht." He replied. "Even if we...don't get out of here, maybe we'll be able to warn the others."
He waved at the drone. "Falcom is going to Calpernica to use the Skyfall Device to make everyone like him. You've got to stop him."
Mahlika stepped away from the door and inhaled sharply. "Leela, if you're seeing this, I love you. I wish I could see you again."
"You are going to see her again." I snapped. "We're getting out of here. If I use one of these syringes, I should be able to break through the door before I...before I turn into her."
"No way." Marcus said. "We're not letting Falcom win this."
He took out the syringes. "Alright?"
"Alright."
"I agree." Camron replied.
Mahlika nodded.
Marcus crushed the syringes, spilling silver liquid over his hands. He plunged his hands into the water as it started to steam.
"So that's it." I said.
For a few minutes it was silent except for the sound of the water. By the time any of us say anything, the water was already waist high. My feet were beginning to go numb.
Camron held out his hand, summoning a small, weak flame. We all drew closer to it, comforted not only by the heat but by the light. No one spoke. There didn't seem to be anything to say.
"Do you think they'll ever find us?" Camron asked finally. "Our bodies, that is?"
"Probably not." Marcus replied. "It's around two miles deep here."
The flame in his hand flickered and died.
"Sorry." He said. "I'm getting too cold."
Mahlika took my hand. "Katana, I'm scared."
"I am too." I replied. "I know I've already been through this once before, but that doesn't make it easier."
Marcus took my other hand and then Camron's. We stood in a circle as the water rose higher and higher. I closed my eyes, wondering if we'll freeze or drown first.
Suddenly something tapped on the roof.
"Hello?" Mahlika called. "Hello? We're here!"
"Maybe Falcom decided not to kill us after all." Camron said hopefully.
Marcus let go of my hand and banged on the wall. There was an answering knock, then the feeling of being pulled upward. We waited, hardly daring to breathe. Finally we stopped.
For a moment nothing happened then the door opened. Warm water and bright sunlight rushed in. Someone grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the container. My eyes adjusted and I realized that it was Nikara.
"Welcome home, Commander." She said.
She pushed me towards a ladder leading to a waiting helicopter. When I reached the top Sasaki pulled me inside where I was ushered over to a seat by Leela. She handed me a blanket. Soon the others were seated beside me.
A boy I didn't recognize handed me a heating pad.
"You must be the time traveler." I said.
"Yeah, that's me, Jason." He replied, giving one to Mahlika. "You're not as scary as I thought you'd be. Also, I'm sorry I hit you with a golf club."
"Don't be."
"How did you find us?" Marcus asked.
"Those drones Camron stole." Sasaki said. "We managed to trace them."
"We heard everything." Nikara continued. "That's how we knew Katana had changed back."
"Listen, I'm sorry-" I began.
"There'll be time for that later." Leela interrupted. "Right now we need to find Falcom. Follow that boat, Connor!"
Connor, who was piloting the helicopter, looked back. "Can't do that. We need to refuel."
"Head for the yacht, then." Nikara said.
An hour later we reached a rather spectacular yacht.
"This is ours?" I asked as we landed.
"Yeah." Camron replied. "Pretty cool, right?"
A large crowd of people in blue uniforms, the Skyfall agents, were waiting on the deck. Most of them looked wary. Weska came to the front and hugged me, relieving some of the tension.
"Good to have you back." She said.
There's a shout from the cabin and an agent ran out.
"Falcom's ship is within radar distance." He said.
We waited tensely as the ship came over the horizon. It grows closer and closer until the yacht was under its shadow.
"We have zero heat signatures." Connor reported.
A team of agents were sent on board. While they were gone, I'm given a uniform and a strange silver sword which I was informed belonged to Xavia.
When the agents returned they reported that the ship was completely empty.
"They must have left by helicopter or plane." Nikara said. "We need to head back to Calpernica."
"That'll take too long by boat." Leela said.
"Then we take as many people in the helicopter as possible and get back to Calpernica. It's already 2pm."
"You have ten hours."
We turned at the new voice. Logan stood beside the helicopter.
"Where is Falcom going?" I asked. "Calpernica is huge, we'll never find him."
"Can't help you." He replied. "It's not my place to-"
I drew my sword and placed the tip against his throat. Several people started forward, but Nikara put up her hand and they stopped.
"I've had enough of your excuses." I said.
"The time continuum-" Logan began.
"Enough." I interrupted. "This is the fate of the world we're dealing with. Don't make me kill you, Logan."
"You're not Xavia. You won't kill me."
"The lives of my family are at stake. I'd sacrifice anything to keep them safe. Don't underestimate me, Logan."
He smiled slightly. "You remind me of another Commander from another time. Alright, Commander, I'll tell you. Falcom will need somewhere high up so he can broadcast the Skyfall Device's signal without interference. And the highest place in Calpernica is-"
"The Sky Spire." Nikara said.
He nodded and I lowered the sword.
"What do we do?" Sasaki asked Nikara.
She looked at me. "Ask her."
I smiled at her gratefully, touched that after all that Xavia did, she still trusted me.
"We go to the Sky Spire." I said. "And we save the world."