When the soup was finished, he poured it into the bulky creature’s mouth as the other one watched him. He walked over to the sitting figure and waited for it to finish writing. It held up the paper:
Is he going to be okay?
He took the paper and wrote his reply:
Takes time. Plague weakens quick and recedes slow. Good news is it kills slow too. Mom took months.
The figure read his words and looked sad. He patted them on the shoulder and shook his head, handing them a book. It was one his mother used to read to him about her culture. He took the paper back and wrote:
She is gone. Returned to the snow. Such is nature. There are solutions that also come from nature. Your friend seems strong. A few days of good food and he will recover.
The figure read his note, and looked at the book and proceeded to read to pass the time. He returned to the sick one and checked his temperature and breathing as he waited for the first stage of the plague to pass.
——————
The two versions of the woman stood opposite each other, the monster smirking, “Oh, are you finally done trying to silence me? One sentence and suddenly you are on the back foot?” Anisa continued to glare at her but seemed less prepared than before. Scultura teased, “You remember those days, right? Your mother? Father? Your classmates? Your cousins?” Anisa punched the barrier again, severely burning her hand in the process. “You were full of hate and murder before I ever showed up. I just harnessed it for my own purposes. The killer instinct you don’t find in every host.”
Anisa growled as she gripped her injured hand with the other. Glaring through the barrier she let out a low rumble, “You don’t know me. I was innocent.”
Scultura walked right up to the barrier and laughed, “Your hands were clean, but you know you were not innocent. They don’t know what I do. Who you were before. What you did in the boiler room.” She hissed, “You were desperate for power. Desperate for change and freedom. I gave you what you wanted. You just didn’t like the cost.” The villainess walked over and made a chair for herself out of light, sitting there confidently but dropping silent.
Anisa also could not muster a reply, staring in anger and disgust at this monster wearing her face as a mask. Tak waited for some time before sighing, “I guess you girls are done for today.” Tak turned off the system and entered the chamber, inspecting Anisa’s wounds. “You and I will need to revisit this again, but I feel we made some progress. Now let’s get you to the med bay to patch up these burns.”
Anisa nodded, still fighting the urge to beat down an effigy of her former self. The anger. The pain. The powerlessness pushed to the front by that petty barrier. Tak’s refusal to make eye contact told her there was more to this.
——————
They had been wandering through the cold for an hour or two, following the readings, Katsi wondered if they should double back and try to land closer to it. Still, she trusted Dean’s instincts. Eventually, the wind died down and the wind started to fall slowly and quietly. Gavin let out a sigh of relief while he checked his machine. He sighed, “Dammit. Why are we suddenly getting two readings?”
Dean seemed bothered by that. Looking at the detector again, he closed his eyes and tried to reach out. He let out a sigh and shook his head. “This planet doesn’t look like it, but it is rich in life. I can’t pick it out by machine or instinct. We are gonna have to split up.” Everyone in the group shuddered at the thought. “I know. Just stay on your comms and be in your guard. If we are being stalked like Cap fears, this will be when they strike.”
Gavin nodded, “Let me double check our signals to make sure we are synchronized. Don’t need anything going south.”
Katsi adjusted the settings along with them and stated, “I’ll start back for the ship and keep it primed in case we need a pickup.” The two men seemed worried for her but a gentle smile and sharp eyes convinced them that they would be safe.
Gavin tugged at his cuffs nervously before nodding and following a reading going east and Dean went west.
--------------
Tak’Nasi took a deep breath as she stood before the Phoenixian Crystal deep in the core of the ship. While Anisa was healing, she knew that there had to be a way to break this stalemate. Gavin had mentioned that touching the Geo Stone had given him a chance to speak to Dean while he was still outside of time and space. Still, she was putting her hand into an actively powered engine. With the conceptual level of this engine in the first place, there was no telling what happened if she made physical contact with the Fugue Engine. Still, this was her only link to someone who might know how to help.
Jamming her uncovered hand into the energy and touching the crystal with her primary finger she felt a rush of power overcome her and then she heard the voices. As the power rushed through her body, her mind raced at the various possibilities but one of the voices grounded her. After a few moments had passed, she slowly and safely pulled her hand free and bowed her head a little, whispering, “Thank you. I won’t forget.”
She left the engine room with a sparkle in her eye that she couldn’t fully explain. She could feel the power ebb away from her body, but her heart felt like it couldn’t be more full. She made her way back to the simulation room and was unsurprised to see Anisa had already turned it on and was wrestling with Sculptura. He had told her about this. She walked up to the pair and hugged the two fighting women. The two were so confused by this that they stopped and stared at her. Tak’ Nasi walked over to a corner of the room and summoned a chair for herself. Clearing her throat as she sat down she said, “You were never abandoned. Neither of you.” The two combatants jolted at this. Tak seemed pleased with the result so she continued, “While so many would leave as soon as they didn’t need you, make token gestures to pretend they were with you, you both know there has always been someone chasing you, following you, and cherishing you. Then and now.”
Anisa released her grip on the monster and hissed, “Shawn is gone. That’s why I’m trying to get him back. Of course he didn’t abandon me.”
Sculptura growled, “That annoying man and his ceaseless pursuit, always trying to claw his way to her. My life was impossible because of his influence.”
Tak shook her head and summoned roughly thirty portraits of various appearances. “Looking through the files of you and Dean’s memories of things as well as recent events, these are just some of the people who have made up you guys support network. And now…” she waved her hand and the four portraits of Tak, Dean, Katsi, and Gavin appeared more prominent. “You guys have us. And you can keep this to yourself. Struggle with these internal issues all you want. And I matter what happens, we will still be here trying to help you.”
Anisa blinked a few times and Sculptura looked towards the ground in some blend of shame and disgust. Eventually Anisa dismounted the villainess and said through gritted teeth, “What kept me sane and strong during those years as your prisoner was knowing someone was actively trying to rescue me. At least once a week someone would make an effort.”
Sculptura spat back, “And how do you think I felt about that? I was the powerful one. I was the one making an impact on the world scene and yet everyone only seemed to want me gone! Thousands of years buried with no one and nothing. I finally find a host and regain my freedom and the only thing anyone can think of is how to kill me!” Anisa opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words, “Exactly. Even now, fabricated from your own mind and all you can think of is how to get rid of me.” Sculptura’s voice changed some, sounding like Anisa back when she was in school, “No one wants me. I’m broken and defective. Evil.” She reached out to reassure her past self but Sculptura rose to the surface once more and smacked her hand away, “I don’t need your pity or her inane friendship crap. I’m stronger than both of you. But if you want to be left alone, I’ll go. But only for now. One day you will need me and then I’ll step in. You are welcome in advance.” The figure evaporated in orange light. The two women were still in the room as they tried to process what had just happened.