"That's right. Do you know why I'm doing this?" Katarina asks.
"Why?"
"Zodiac needs both of his fathers in his life. And Nova needs two parents as well. With her mother in the dungeon for who knows how long on Olympus, she won't be in her life, if she's even still alive. They need to be a family."
"I agree." He says. "I wish that you and I could have had a family."
"It just wasn't meant to happen. I knew you couldn't have children. That's not what really matters to me. I just want to do something important with my life. I want to make a difference and make up for my failures."
"You're doing that now, aren't you?" Doss asks. "And I love you so much more for that. Don't you worry. I'm right here. When you're ready to let go and leave this world, all you have to do is hold onto me and I'll show you the way."
20
Standing on the ledge overlooking the remnants of the city, everything appears to be quiet. But when the ground starts to shake and the lights around the building grow brighter with the surge of power, it is all too obvious that something large and growing is going on below the surface. A feeling rises inside of Katarina's mind. It is a deep connection to every computer, every intricate database, and every electrical substation. The city is waking up and she is an intimate witness to it all. She used to feel a connection to this city, back when her life was a lot less complicated than it is now and when it was the only place she knew. She could sit outside on the roof of the Presidential Palace and watch the neon lights, the busy laughing people in the streets, and the parties that never ended. The city had a life of its own even back then. Every light, sound, and smell was the city breathing. Here she is, aware of it all, even with the cityscape severely altered and crumbling.
"Did you feel that connection?" Velex asks as he puts his arm around her shoulders where the bandages are still in place from the surgery.
"I think so." Katarina says. She slings Jarred's rifle on her back and mentally prepares herself for what is going to happen.
"You successfully connected to the Paradise security network."
"So Jayce is free now, right?"
"Oh, no. Not yet." Velex says. "We have to get to Jayce and shut him down before he can be disconnected fully."
"Shut him down?"
"Just temporarily. He will turn back on shortly."
"I'll do it." Jarred says as he straps a laser pistol holster around his right leg. "I'll go get him."
"I would feel better if someone else did it." Velex says.
"Why? He's my husband."
"That's the exact reason why. We can't have you overcome by your emotions. We have to do the switch now or not at all. It appears that Clark isn't aware of our presence yet. We don't have much time."
"Why would I be overcome by my emotions?" Jarred asks. "I saw Jayce a few weeks ago down here and I was able to stay grounded."
"Things have . . . changed since then, Jarred."
"What are you talking about? He's still Jayce."
Velex only shakes his head and goes back inside the ship. He calls back out to him. "Do as you wish. You will find out soon enough. Just remember that I tried to warn you."
Jarred turns to Katarina for an answer. "What is he talking about?"
"I don't know."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it. I'll carry him back here then we can leave." Jarred looks down at her with a flash of sadness in his hazel eyes. "Well, not all of us. I . . . I didn't mean to . . ."
"It's okay. I know."
Doss comes out of the ship and puts his arm around Katarina's still healing shoulders. "Well, are you ready to get this started? While Jarred gets to Jayce and shuts him down, you and I will take out some of these soldiers. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good. If I'm going down, I want to take out as many of these bastards as I can before I do."
"And Apollo and I will go find Zodiac." Velex says as he returns with a laser pistol in his hand.
"What about Gabriel?" Katarina asks.
"He won't be fighting today." Doss says. "He had another breakdown. I think it's best if we leave him alone for a while so he can sort out his mind."
* * *
Velex and Apollo walk side by side through a pile of rubble from a row of collapsed apartment buildings on a darkened side street where a couple fires are smoldering on either side of the road. Just as he thought. The Blood Force hasn't been doing anything actually productive around here this entire time since they invaded and took control of the city. Decaying corpses line the sidewalk and the stench is unbearable. Blood stains the pavement, the abandoned and smashed vehicles, and the streetlights. This place is a messy conglomeration of death, broken glass, twisted metal, and crumbling buildings. All the citizens who had the misfortune of surviving the brutal civil war between the humans and the androids have either starved to death, died to diseases, or have been taken as slaves for Clark's cyborg and power armor armies. So much for it being called Paradise. It needs a name change desperately.
"If I was a half Nymph, half human baby taken hostage by a crazy madman, where would I be?" Apollo asks.
"Uh . . . somewhere the people coming to rescue me couldn't hear my crying?" Velex asks, almost joking, until he thinks about it for a minute.
"Oh. Hey, is there some kind of bunker or safe house around here that you know of?" Apollo asks. "He could be in there."
"The laboratory. Kazimir had a laboratory down here. I bet Clark has taken over that place as his own base of operations."
"Lead us there, then." Apollo holds out his arm to stop Velex from walking forward. "Look over there."
A group of men in power armor like the stuff Apollo is wearing turn the corner at the end of the block. The only difference is that they're not Nymphs. They have the crimson capes of Clark's Blood Force flying in the breeze. Velex decides to call it in to Annette. "Annette! We've got company."
"My soldiers are already en route." Annette says. "They'll shut those robots quickly with their electronic interference signals."
"Just be sure to not use those anywhere near Jayce or Katarina. One pulse from one of those will do untold internal damage to their hardware when they're connected to the security network."
"Affirmative. We'll be using them primarily in sector two where most of Clark's forces are currently stationed. The Nymphs will be providing backup in sectors one and four. From the report I've received from my spies, Jayce is in the courtyard oddly unguarded. I guess he can defend himself."
"He has control over all the defense systems in Paradise." Velex says. "If he wants someone dead, they will be dead."
"I wonder if we could use that to our advantage."
"Nope. Sorry. The program is virtually unhackable. Kazimir had been trying for weeks to get past the security measures and it simply can't be done."
"All right. Good luck!" Annette ends the call.
When the soldiers in power armor raise laser rifles and shout at Velex and Apollo to stop where they are and surrender, Velex knows it's going to be a fight. They're outnumbered, but even men in power armor don't stand much of a chance against nanobots as powerful as Velex's. First, he turns to Apollo. "So, what can that fancy suit of armor do in a fight?"
He pushes Velex back and steps towards the group of soldiers. He presses a button on the control panel on his arm. "Stand back and I'll show you."
"Be my guest. Impress me."
Apollo pushes his ankle-length white hair back behind his shoulders and raises his gauntleted hands. A bright light begins to glow in his palms then spreads up his arms.
One of the enemy soldiers calls out to him. "Nymph! Stand down or we will engage."
"Bring it on!" Apollo thrusts out his hands as the soldiers fire at him, but the beams of light ricochet off an invisible barrier in front of him. He laughs darkly and sends the shield back towards the soldiers who are thrown backwards and knocked off of their feet.
"Nice, but is that all it does?" Velex asks as he watches
the soldiers.
"Watch."
As the soldiers start standing to their feet, they scream out and flail their arms as if swatting at some unseen insects. Then the ground below them is quickly speckled with drops of blood and the soldiers collapse. Within a minute and a half, they are silent and lifeless.
Velex claps his hands. "Very nice. Nanobots, huh?"
"Indeed."
"But see, I don't need special armor to do that." Velex says.
"Well, good for you. I don't want to be injected with radiation and all types of evil nanobots to be able to do that."
"True. Well, the laboratory is right over there. Shall we?"
Apollo motions towards the laboratory. "Go ahead. I'll watch your back."
* * *
Doss holds tightly onto Katarina's hand for what may very well be their last few minutes together. He can't take his eyes off of her. She's so beautiful, even surrounded by this ugly destruction. It takes true willpower for him to not steal her away from this place and save her from her definitive and grisly fate. He will never forget her and the life they could have had together if the galaxy was not such an awful place.
"I don't want you to cry." Katarina says. She traces the lines on the palm of Doss's hand.
"I can't make that promise, Kat. I'm already having trouble accepting this and not losing control."
"You can't. If I see you cry, I'll start crying. Then we'll just be an emotional wreck."
"You're right. Hey, look over there. Is that who I think it is?"
"It's Apollo and Velex with Zodiac."
"Good. They got him out." Doss stops speaking when he hears something from up on top of a nearby building. He sees the glint of light on the scope, but he's too slow to react. Some hidden force keeps him from calling out or pushing her out of the way. Instead, Doss can only watch as the shot is fired.
Katarina silently collapses to the pavement, holding her stomach as the blood spills out around her in a growing pool. The gunfire continues in the ruins of the dark city, but her laser pistol slips from her hand as she struggles to breathe through the tears and the pain.
"Kat!" Doss runs over to her and takes his wife in his arms. This isn't how she was supposed to go down. No, no. She has to get up and stay alive until she can take Jayce's place. If she dies now, there won't be a chance for Jayce to be rescued. "Kat, talk to me. Say something. Stay strong."
She clutches his shirt in her hands as she trembles violently and coughs. "I . . . I'm gonna activate . . . the failsafe."
"What about Jayce?"
"I can't do it." Katarina says.
Doss squeezes her hand. "Kat, do you want to go to heaven?"
"I do."
"Shh. It's okay. I'm here. I'll make sure you go to heaven, okay? Pray with me."
As he prays, Doss holds her close to his chest and begs for God to save her, even though he knows her fate is sealed. He has said this prayer far too many times with people he's loved and cared about. Once he has finished, he places his rosary against his wife's lips.
Doss sees the darkness filling her glossy eyes where so much pain and fear are concentrated. It will be his job to resolve that soon enough. Right now, he knows that the failsafe is the only answer. There is no other way to end this, as much as it pains him to admit that. Looking down at his wife who is steadily growing weaker as his arms and legs become soaked with her dark blood, he knows that she doesn't have much time left. Her pulse is light and flittering and her breathing is rapid and shallow. He pushes her sweat-drenched bangs out of her pale face. If she's going to do anything, she needs to do it now. "Go ahead. Activate the failsafe and end this madness. Save us all from Clark."
Footsteps approach from behind Doss. "That was a truly touching prayer, Uriel."
Doss lays the dying Katarina down gently on the pavement and turns around to see the elderly man with a cane in his hand and a sniper rifle on his back. "Clark. You shot her!"
"How observant. Is that all you have to say to me? Are you crying for that android girl?"
"Just leave. She's dying. Let me help her depart in peace." Doss begs.
"Why? I can heal her and she won't have to die. All I want in exchange is your sworn allegiance to me. Give yourself to me fully as my slave and I will save your wife."
"Don't." Katarina's voice is shaky and airy as she manages to speak. "Go to hell, Clark."
* * *
Velex unleashes a barrage of shots from his laser pistol into a group of robot soldiers. He turns the corner to look back down the alley where Doss and Katarina had been last. When he sees the blood, he knows. It won't be long now. Come on, Katarina. Do the right thing. Activate the failsafe.
Apollo calls out to him from the next street over. "Velex! Get over here. We can't take them all."
He runs to Apollo and they climb up the side of a brick building to get out of the path of some approaching soldiers in power armor. Once they reach the rooftop, Velex gazes out over the war-torn city where the black smoke rises from countless fires dotting the darkness, creating a thick choking haze that clings to the cavern walls.
"What's wrong?" Apollo asks as he opens the control panel on the gauntlet of his armor and pushes some buttons.
"Katarina." Velex unties the sling around his back and holds out Zodiac to Apollo. "Take Zodiac back to the ship. I'll finish up here."
"What about Katarina?"
"She's in Uriel's hands now. He will guide her soul to depart."
Apollo shakes his head as he takes the baby. "You don't mean she's-"
"Let Doss do his job."
"Not that part. Not yet."
"She knew her fate when she volunteered to take Jayce's place. Doss will help her move on."
"What are you talking about?" Apollo asks.
"The angel Uriel is sometimes known as an angel of salvation. Uriel will guide her soul to rest where she needs to be. Doss has always had that connection to dying humans. He did it for my son and for Dmitri."
"But this is his wife."
"Even more of a reason to let him do his job in peace. He knows what he's doing. That's why Isidore let him be alone with Dmitri when he died, even though Doss was the one who killed him. Kazimir made him to be like this. It's not a job I would wish for anyone to have to do, much less for his wife. I just hope she activates the failsafe before she dies."
"But that will kill you."
"It also kills Clark and if my theory is correct, it kills all of these cyborgs and slaves in power armor. I think they were all made into T.I.M.E.s so they could be controlled more completely."
"That makes perfect sense." Apollo says. "But what about Jayce? Won't he die as well?"
"I should have told the truth about Jayce a long time ago, before we even came down here. I know what Clark did to his mind. He's not Jayce anymore. Clark completely erased his memories and programmed him to be the way he wanted him to be. As far as I know, there's no way to reverse it. Once the mind is tampered with in that way, it can't be restored to the way it was before. That's why I warned Jarred about him before he left the ship. That thing in the courtyard isn't Jayce anymore. It's not even human or capable of rational human thoughts or emotions. He may look like Jayce on the outside, but under that physical exterior, he is already gone. We used to utilize similar techniques on criminals on Himmel when I was working alongside the police force. I've seen just how terrible it really is. It wasn't long before it was outlawed because it was ruled to be too inhumane and cruel. I don't-"
"Velex?" Apollo sets Zodiac down on the roof and runs over to support Velex. "You don't look so good."
His vision begins to fade to black as he drops to the roof and draws in a ragged breath. All the files and programs he had open in his mind begin to close and shutdown.
Apollo kneels down and tries to feel Velex's neck for a pulse, but he shakes his head and stops. "Your heart stopped."
"No. It hasn't been working. I'm dying."
"Why? You're not injured." He says as
he looks Velex over.
"The failsafe . . . she activated the failsafe. Goodbye, friend."
"Velex, no."
"Do me one favor." Velex says weakly.
"Anything."
"My left pocket . . . microchips . . . keep them safe."
Apollo holds onto Velex's hand as he stops breathing. "I will. Rest well. May the gods guide your soul."
* * *
The flash of purple crystal wings catches Jarred's attention once he reaches the outskirts of the courtyard. He recognizes those amethyst wings. It's Jayce. He's working on some kind of computer that has been set up here with wires and cables stretching down all the side streets like the legs of a spider. Is he controlling the city from here?
An automated computer voice breaks the quiet from the console. "Unauthorized person in the vicinity. Recommend hostile action be taken immediately."
Jayce turns to face Jarred and slides a revolver from underneath the keyboard. "State your name and the security password."
Uh . . . security password? Jarred tries to think about what he should say. Maybe the truth is the answer. He walks up to Jayce and touches his arm. "Jayce, it's me."
"Do not touch me." Jayce pushes him away then with a fierce gust of wind, knocks Jarred back twenty feet across the courtyard.
Catching his breath and pushing past the growing confusion, Jarred picks himself up from the filthy pavement. What is going on here? Surely Jayce's programs are still functioning so he could make out that it was Jarred. He has to try again. "Jayce, put the gun down. I don't know what they've done to you since I saw you last time, but don't let them win. I'm not going to hurt you. You know that. I came here to save you and take you away from all of this."
"State your name and the security password or I will have to use force." Jayce repeats his demands coldly and emotionlessly.
"Jayce, please listen to me. I'm not one of them!"
"State your name and the security password. This is your third and final warning. If you fail to provide proper identification, you will be exterminated." Jayce says as he cocks the revolver.
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