The Private, First Class

[caonedh]

PFC Harry Cooper lowered his weapon as the zombie finally dropped. It had been wearing a hard had, so the head shot he had been trained to go with had been that much harder. A head shot didn't drop them for good; not like in the movies. But they went down, at least. Harry had seen a zombo take a dozen rounds to the chest and never slow.

Seamz didn't seem to have as much of a problem. He swung that huge hammer of his, and the zombie went down, it's head at an odd angle. It kept grabbing for him, though. Seamz kicked at it's hand in disgust. "Oi, ye keepin an eye out for that bee, mate?"

Harry nodded; it was sitting there on the metal road barrier, seeming to wait for them. "I reckon we should move faster; that ruckus is gonna make the others come."

"Too fuckin roight it will. Let's get a move on!"

Eventually, the tiny bug led them to a dry riverbed. They hadn't gone far before they came to a passage that seemed to be carved straight into the rock face. Harry had never actually seen the portal before. "I didn't know it was so pretty," he said simply.

Seamz came up from behind. "Alroight, now, this is important, mate. Did ye see that little bugger fly in there?"

"Sho nuff did. Looks like his friends is here, too," said Harry.

'Roight. Now, Oi can go in there on me jack if ye like, Busco. Them bees and Oi, we 'ave 'istory. But Oi'm pretty sure I swallowed one. Ye just got yerself stung. Not sure that's the same thing."

Harry thought about the hat in his ruck. "I....I feel like I gots ta help the person who's hat this is. Don't ask why"

"Oi dun 'ave to ask. Ye're a fucking lunatic, mate," said Seamz, shaking his head. "Well, lets get this over with then."

The two men advanced on the glowing light. Harry heard the sound of buzzing in the back of his mind, which grew stronger as he approached. Seamz went in first, striding through the golden portal as if it weren't there. Harry was more cautious, first sticking a hand in. When nothing happened, he took a deep breath and strode in. That's when everything went black.

When he came to, he was on....well, he didn't know what was on. It seemed like he was surrounded by the cosmos. He picked himself up, and noticed he was not alone. A woman was there with him; full figured, hair in a bun. Glasses over red eyes. She reminded Harry of his fifth grade teacher.

"Remember this face," said the woman. "It is not our face, but the face of the woman you must find. In London. Seamus MacAnan will show you how to get there."

Harry was dumbfounded, but nodded. Orders were something he was quite used to, and this woman spoke with authority. "Does this lady, she have a name?" he asked.

"Her name is Rowan Malory," the woman said. "However, know this; our venom is in your blood, but will not stay for long. You have been stuck on Soloman for a long time; we understand if you never wish to return. But if you decide to return to help Ms. Mallory, it will be your last trip through our realm. The choice will be yours. All we ask is that you give her the hat you found."

Harry nodded again, having difficulty taking all of this in. "Is you...is you angels?" he asked softly. The woman giggled loudly at that, but answered only by fading away. The scene began to fade, as well, melting into the golden light of the Agartha portal. In a moment, he found himself not in darkness, but surrounded by branches of the largest tree he had ever seen.

"Well, bugger me, ye made it!" Seamz was saying. "Welcome to the bloody tree, mate. Oi 'ope that bee is still gonna lead us."

Harry took a moment to look at the wondrous scene before him, but shook his head. "No. I's is supposed to go to London. Find a lady named Rowan. The bees done told me jes' now."

"Blimey! Ye're takin a piss!"

Thankfully, Harry had spent enough time with Seamz to know that idiom; it was much the same as when an American said "You're shitting me!" The first time Seamz had used it, Harry had checked himself, which had illicted a long laughing fit from the man. "Nope. London. They said you'd know how to get there."

"Well, fuck yeah, Oi do! Wasn't Oi born an' raised there?" Seamz walked to the edge of the branch, then turned back to look at Harry. "'ope ye're not scared'a 'eights, mate!" he said, before jumping off.

"Seamz!" Harry cried, looking down. He couldn't see Seamz anymore, only that steady golden glow. He straightened. "Jesus, I know what the Bible say about flights of angels bearing me up.... well, I reckon I don't need all that. Just gimmie the strength to do this. In your name, Amen" With that, he stepped off the branch and fell through the golden light.

[caonedh]

Ken Loper lay in his bed, a smile on his face. Outside, the sunset was painting the sky in vivid strokes of red, gold, and blue. Inside... inside, Rowan was showing him the sexy negligee she had bought just for him. It wasn't like her to be so.... brazen. Even when they were alone, she'd bite her lip and blush and stammer. Not today though. She crawled into bed with him, sliding up next to him and giving him a long kiss, biting the bottom of his lip. He could feel the soft fabric of her garment rubbing along his chest as she pressed herself to him. "Do you like this, baby?" she asked.

"You look amazing," he said breathlessly, eyes closed. He could feel her dragging her nails across the skin of his chest.

"And this?" she said playfully. Ken responded only with a smile and an a nod to the affirmative. He heard her giggle as her hands reached his stomach. "And what about...this?"

Suddenly, his midsection was on fire. He opened his eyes, to see Rowan tearing open his stomach, sticking her head inside and making insane gulping noices. She pulled her head back...and it wasn't Rowan anymore. "You took my blood," the Rowan-thing snarled. "Shouldn't I get anything in return?" The thing went back to it's meal, leaving Ken to scream into the emptyness.

**************************************************

Harry took a moment to take in the sights. He had never been to Europe.... it truly seemed like another world compared to Mississippi. He had known cars would drive on the other side of the street, for instance.... he just couldn't for the life of him figure out WHY.

"Awlroight, mate. Oi'm gonna 'it up the 'aitian Market, see if anyone's seen this Rowan person," said Seamz. "Oi want ye to go to the 'orny God; it where a lot of us bees 'ave a pint after a long day of saving the world. Or whatever the fuck it is we do."

Harry didn't want to split up, but he had to admit it made sense. London was a big town... even the two of them wouldn't be able to canvass it in anything resembling good time. The God was easy enough to spot, across from the train station where the glowy door sat. Why anyone would name a bar The Horned God was beyond him; it just opened itself to corny jokes like the one Seamz had just used. But, he supposed, it might be a European thing.

At first, he had been a little anxious about his weapons...but the people he saw going into the bar had all sorts of martial instruments. They were taking them off as they went in, and giving them to the bartender. Shrugging, he adjusted the strap on his rifle and walked in. The Barkeep smiled at him. "'allo, Love!" she said, in an accent much like Seamz. "What'll ye be 'avin? And d'ye want me to take them pieces from ye?"

"No, ma'am...I won't be stayin," he said. "I's looking for someone named Rowan Malory. Do you know who that is?" He started with a description, but the bartender laughed.

"Course I know 'er! She's 'ere all the time! She and Ammie and Shay and... some new girl wot came in with them. They all left about fifteen ago. I thought I seen em go into a squatters den, but when ye live 'ere, ye learn not to ask too many questions!"

"I has to find her," said Harry urgently. "Can you point me in the right dee-rection?"

[caonedh]

Ken lay in bed, watching television. Well, a DVD really; his wife had come home from work jonesing for some hubby time, so she had put in Firefly and told him to come join her. Now she lay in his arms, exhausted from a 12 hour day, yet still laughing at all of Wash and Mal's jokes. Her hair was splayed across his shoulder; it had been red when they had met ten years ago, but had darkened in the years since to more of an auburn.

When the episode ended, she moved up to kiss his nose. "I have a surprise for you," she said.

Ken chuckled. "Oh? And will I like the surprise?" he asked, tickling her ribs.

She giggled and moved away, then looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm going to have a baby," she said simply.

Ken's jaw dropped. They had been trying for years to get pregnant; the doctor had told them that he was sterile two years previous. "Oh, my god!" he said, reaching for her. "It's a miracle!"

She moved away from him. "Not really. It's not yours. See, I found a real man to take care of me."

The joy that had been welling in his heart now sank to his stomach with a thud, turning to dread. "What? I don't understand."

"What's there not to understand? You couldn't get the job done, so I found someone who could." She pointed into the corner. "Him."

Ken looked, and immediately rolled out of bed, going for the sword he kept there. It was the spectre. The one that had... stabbed him? When had that happened? Something was all wrong here.

"No, everything is finally as it should be," said the spectre, in that otherworldy voice Ken would never forget. "I guess I didn't need to cut your cock off after all. You were never a real man in the first place, were you?"

Ken's mouth worked as his wife began to laugh hysterically. He looked for his sword...but it wasn't there. When he looked up, it found him. His wife, auburn hair still streaming down her shoulders, her eyes dancing with laughter, speared him through the heart with it. He tried to say something, to protest, but blood bubbled up in his throat. A second later, a second blade went through his chest; the spectre's scythe. He died, sinking into the blue black nothingness, their laughter still in his ears.

***************************************************

Harry approached the door that the bartender had indicated. He felt stupid; it was obvious that they had come here to discuss something secret. But the bees had been adamant that he find Rowan Malory. He took the hat out of his rucksack and knocked on the door.

There was the sound of surprise from several throats on the other side of the door. After a long moment, it opened, revealing a pretty young woman, dressed to impress. Which made her presense in a squatters shack stand out. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"I..I's is sorry to bother you, ma'am, but I was told I could find Rowan Malory was here. I's Private Harry Cooper, ma'am. I needs to give her this." He held the hat forward.

"I'm sorry, whoever you are, but I'm not in the habit of letting heavily armed strangers wa...." She cut off as she saw the hat. The door swung open again, revealing three other young women. One of them gave an anguished cry when she saw the hat, and snatched the hat from his grasp. She looked far more hagard, and her eyes and face were flushed from crying. Nevertheless, Harry recognized her instantly.

Before he could say anything though, the first young woman grabbed him by his fatigues. "Where did you get that?" she demanded.

"Well, I was out...on patrol....there was an earth shaking. And that thing just sort of fell out of the sky."

"Fell? Out of the sky?" This came from another of the women, and she clearly had her doubts about his story.

"Yes'm, I swears its true. It had a bee in it. It done bit me right on my head, then the fellow who was with me, he said he thought it wanted my attention. We followed it to a a perty glowy door, and then the bees told me to give that hat to Rowan Malory." He pointed at the woman clutching the hat. "They showed me your face, ma'am. That's how I knows it's you they wanted me to find."

Rowan looked as if she were about to say something, but the well dressed young woman and a woman with.... what was that color? Purple?... hair grabbed her and pulled her into a corner. They started talking in low voices, while the fourth woman, a smallish woman in a stance that showed she had martial training and wasn't afraid to use it, stayed there. She was wearing a very short skirt, and her stance exposed more leg than Harry had seen in a long time. Trying not to stare, he simply said, "Is...is you gonna hurt me, pretty lady?"

The woman seemed a bit disarmed by that; her scowl was partially displaced by a smile. "Not unless you try something si..." she trailed off and walked over to the other women. Harry strained to hear what they were saying, but could not. So he waited. They talked for what seemed like forever, then approached him. "We need to know where you found this. Can you show us, private?"

"Do you mean, go through the glowy door again?" asked Harry. The woman with the purple hair nodded. Harry almost said no right then and there. Seamz could show them as easily as he could. He just wanted to go home. Forget about zombies and huge bugs and hats that fell out of the sky. He never wanted to see anything north of Mason Dixon again, for that matter. He just wanted to go home, have some real barbeque and fried chicken, meet a nice girl, raise a family. If he went back to that island... he knew he was never coming back.

But then he thought of the men he was leaving behind. His friends. They needed him; he was the best explosives man in the unit. Sarge said so, and Sarge was not the sort of man to give a compliment for...any reason, really. Could he leave them to die? He hesitated, then looked at the woman he had come to find. The anguish in her eyes had been replaced with something else. Hope. It had been long time since Harry had seen a nice set of legs, but hope in someone's eyes? It had been much longer. "Sho' nuff," he said finally. "I likes me that glowy door."

[caonedh]

Ken held a glass of champaign in his hand, of which he had taken barely a sip. This floor of the Solvall had a beautiful view of the Manhattan skyline, and the East River actually looked blue today, as compared to the murky brown cast it could sometimes take. He felt a clap on the back; Carl, congratulating him on his new promotion. Ken smiled and murmured his thanks, though he didn't feel terribly celebratory. Try as he might, even at a party in his honor, he didn't feel comfortable with all these people.

Ammie came up to him, a glass of champaign in her hand; from the looks of hers, she had not had the same reluctance to enjoy it as Ken had. "So, Mr. Director, huh? How does it feel?"

"It feels..." Ken paused. Director? Of what, exactly? There was Tess, whispering into Sera's ear; had she been promoted, too?

"Well, I hope it feels great!" said Ammie, grinning. Ken couldn't help but grin back. He didn't know why, but he had come to really like her in the weeks since he had moved in upstairs. It almost felt like having a friend. Shay moved up behind her, putting an arm around her waist. "Hey, baby," Ammie purred, looking behind her shoulder and giving Shay a kiss.

"Hey, yourself," said Shay, grinning at her. She then turned to Ken. "You don't think you get to monopolize her just because it's your party, do you?" she asked with mock severity.

Ken ducked his head, raising his glass. "My apologies, Ms. Rystaad. I have overstepped my bounds."

"You sure as hell have," said Shay. Ken looked up. Shay's severity didn't look pretend anymore.

"Shay, we were just talking...hell, she just came over!" said Ken, utterly confused.

Ammie's smile was gone now. "You are such a fool. Did you really think we would ever promote someone like you? We know how you really feel about us."

Franc stepped up, from out of nowhere. "You think that, just because you don't have a use for Arcane, that we can't be valuable?"

Anna joined him, her trademark shyness not in evidence now. "Don't feel bad, Franc, he doesn't value anyone but himself."

Victoria joined them. "That's not true. He values those that are useful to him. Or simply that he enjoys looking at."

They surrounded him, herding him towards the back of the room. He felt his back press up against the window. "Look, if you have a problem with my performance..."

"If we had a problem with your performance, Mr. Loper, we would have fired you," said Tess, Sera at her side. "What we have is a problem with you. So we've arranged a... severance package for you. Sera, if you'd do the honors?"

Sera smirked briefly at him. Then, more quickly than he could react, she brought her foot up, catching him square in the chest. The window proved little resistance, and Ken felt himself falling, the office window growing smaller and smaller. He screamed, and closed his eyes, trying to take some comfort in the blue black void behind his eyelids.

****************************************************

Harry fired his rifle once, twice, three times. The wendigo he had been firing at went down, though he wasn't sure if it was his bullet that had taken it or one from the rifle of the small woman in the skirt. She met his gaze and nodded briefly to him. To the side, the other women polished off another of the beasts that had been hiding in an outbuilding. "This is the most roundabout path..." complained the woman with purple hair.

"I's is sorry, ma'am, but we has to go this way. It's the safest way," he said.

The woman snorted. "I bet we wouldn't have taken this path with this much climbing if Vi wasn't wearing a skirt."

Vi raised an eyebrow at that, but Harry was confused. "I's never worn me a skirt. Is it hard to climb in one?" he asked her. The one they called Ammie snickered at that, while the purple haired girl... was her name "Baby?".... rolled her eyes. The last woman, though, Rowan, continued to clutch the hat he had found. Whe looked absolutely panicked. That brought him back to the task at hand. "That there hat floated from up yonder, jus' like a piece of paper floatin' on the breeze."

The purple haired woman seemed to squint a little as she peered in the direction he pointed. "What's up there, Ammie?"

Ammie thought a minute. "I think one of the Viking Stones?"

"Yes'm, there is. All sorts of baddies around it, but they don' attack. Just sorta sit there," said Harry.

Ammie seemed to consider that for a moment, and then shrugged. "It's as good a place to start as any, I guess," she said. Vi nodded at that, starting off in that direction. The other women followed, clearly expecting Harry to take rear guard. He brought his rifle up, ready to fire if anything should come at them, and followed.

He knew when they were close to the stone. The moaning of the dead grew louder as they approached, and some started to come towards them. Vi put a round through one of their eyes before Harry could even line up for a shot. He opened fire on another zombie, catching it in the throat. The beast didn't even slow. Cursing at himself, he lined up to fire again, only to see a blast of power come from Ammie, taking the creature full in the chest and knocking it back twenty yards. He turned to thank her, then raised his rifle and fired instead. This time, he hit his mark; one of the beasts had been creeping up behind Rowan. She turned and backed up, but didn't thank him. He hadn't really expected her too; it was clear she wasn't at her best.

Strangely, though, that was all the fighting they had to do. It was as if the creatures had only put up a token defense. The five of them got to the stone; Harry and Vi stood watch on the zombies, while Ammie got to work trying to decipher the runes.

"It feels...strange here," he heard her say. "Like there is a prison....but someone made a gate. And recently. I think...I think I can open it there. But...how?"

"Iffen you need something opened, ma'am, maybe I can do it for ya?" offered Harry. "I's awful good at blowing things open. Even Sarge says so."

Ammie smilled, but shook her head. "That's OK, Private, I think I've got this one. You and Vi just watch our backs."

"Yes'm," said Harry simply, and turned his attention back to the zombies. He knew he was fighting outside his scope here, but he was determined to be useful to these ladies. They had trusted in him to help them, and his old man had taught him that you always help a woman in need.

After a long moment, Ammie sighed. "Ok, I think I can do this. Rowan, you have the strongest connection to Ken. You will need to find him, and as quickly as you can."

Rowan nodded. "I'll find him," she said simply. They were the first words she had spoken since coming through the Agartha gate, but Harry could feel the determination behind them.

"Shay...I need you to distract the demon," continued Ammie, as she began drawing the patterns she would need for the spell. "Private Cooper, Vi, I need you to kill anything that might come through that portal!"

"Except for Ken!" said Rowan urgently.

Ammie nodded at her. "Except for Ken. Can you do that?"

Harry nodded. "I sho'nuff can, ma'am." Vi also nodded.

Ammie went back to preparing her drawings. Harry thought they were really pretty; lots of curves and lines and shapes he had never seen before. "Are we ready?" she said at last. All of them nodded; no one spoke. Even the woods themselves seemed to quiet, as if even the trees were holding their breath with anticipation. Taking a deep breath, Ammie closed her eyes and began chanting. Before long, Harry could see a horizontal slash appear in the sky, as if someone was making a tear in the very air they breathed. It began to widen, and he saw...nothing. A void. Blue and black swirling in a space that mocked the very idea of space. He tried to get a closer look, but then felt himself stumble. He held a hand to his head.... why was he so dizzy all of the sudden? He felt himself begin to fall backwards down the hill, but he never felt himself hit the ground.

[caonedh]

Over and over, Ken died at the hands of the people he cared about. Rose's blade took him at the neck, and Ammie summoned demons to tear him apart. While scaling the platforms of the vampire camp, Vi's bullet blew apart the back of his head. Beryl opened a portal to Shambhala, and invited him to lead the way, only to find it actually led to a room that quickly filled with poison gas. Anna wrote a program that caused a lethal burst of electricy to fry him when he opened his email. Shay had him tied to a chair, and poured liquor down his throat until he he drowned in a mix of spirits and vomit. Even El Professor took his life, snapping his neck while in a choke hold, Ken's cheek pressed against a gelatin coated pectoral.

They were not just nightmares, however. He could feel every moment, every torture. And the entity let those feelings linger for a while; he would float through the void, his body broken from his fall from the Solveall, or unable to breath, or looking at his own body while his head floated several meters away. And then the next scenario would happen, and it would start all over again. Sometimes he realized something was wrong, but it never mattered. He couldn't change the outcome; it was like he was a marionette in a sadistic puppet show.

He was being thrown into a van by some of Chassi's goons when something changed. The walls of the van began to fade into blue black. Ken shook his head, part of the vision dispelled. Apparently, something else had the demon's attention.

***************************************************

The Serpent stood up from where the body he had chosen had fallen. None of the females had noticed what had happened yet, and so jumped when he spoke.

"Well, it looks like we have guests! And what can we do for you ladies?"

The other women whirled on him in surprise. The Wicker woman, however, approached him confidently. "What is your name, demon!" she demanded.

The Serpent laughed. "Always with you apes it's "Who are you?" Don't you know that identities can be shed like an old suit?" His spoke, but the voice was not that of the idiot he had possessed. It was instead The Voice, the combined force of thousands of voices speaking in unity, some high and mocking, some so deep they seemed ultrasonic and made your ears tremble.

Ammie raised an eyebrow. "So, your a riddler, then?"

"We have been a riddler, yes...but we've been so many things. But what we are now is of no import. You want what we have. We will not give him up. Be on your way now."

Behind them, at the portal entrance, Rowan focused her mind on all the memories mentioned in his note. The first time they met at the laundromat rave, laughing at his joking about the dancers falling off dryers, of seeing him a few days later in the park as she sat on the stage, upset and depressed and how he managed to coax a smile from her. She called out into the void. "Ken....Ken! Where are you?"

****************************************************

"Ken....Ken! Where are you?" The vision he had been having vanished, as if the bubble he had been in was pricked. He still felt like he had his hands and feet tied, though. Ken called out to Rowan, but she didn't answer. His heart sank. This must just be the entity's newest torture.

****************************************************

"He must pay for his betrayal. You cannot stop us."

Rowan whirled on the demon at that. "Give him back!" she demanded.

The Serpent threw back his head and laughed. "Give him back, give him back!" he mocked, using the highest pitched voices of his brethren. Then he switched back to the voice that encompassed them all. "He was never yours to begin with. Always he belonged to us. And now...oh, I'm not sure you want him anymore. We may have.... damaged him"

"Oh, jolly good, yeh, we'll just be buggering off, then. No dice, mate. You're about to find out what it feels like to have something stolen from you that you care about," said Ammie, crossing her arms.

Rowan turned away from the conflict again to focus on finding Ken. She could feel him in there; he had heard her call. She knew he had. He was trying to reach out for her, but couldn't. Shapes were pressing against the fabric of the tear; Shay was doing actiony stuff to keep them at bay, while Victoria supported. "I love you Ken.." she said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "Always, you told me you loved me.. I helped you find yourself again.. I will do it again!"

****************************************************

Ken struggled to get out of his bonds. He could hear Rowan talking still, but he wasn't sure if it was really her. There was something about her voice though.... like a signature. An imprint on his heart that was hers and hers alone. He tried to move like a fish through the void towards her voice, but he hurt so much. And he was so very tired.....

****************************************************

The Serpent let his attention focus on Ammie. "And you.... you are more like us than you are like them. We can feel them...the voices in your mind. Perhaps they'd like to join us...."

Ammie's eyes widened, and for the first time the Serpent felt her confidence slip. "We can take them from you... make them a part of us," he continued. "You could live without worrying about keeping them in control. And all you have to do is leave the Ape to us..."

Ammie swallowed hard.... she felt a quivering in her chest. To not have to worry about losing control, about one or the other taking control... she thought about Shay's kidnapping again. It was never far from her mind. She had almost lost the person that mattered most to her in the world. All because she lost control... "You have no idea what you're dealing with," she said, but her voice sounded weak even to her.

The Serpent smiled at her. "Neither do you, sweety.... and you never will. We both have something the other wants. We take the parts of you that you don't want away.... and you leave us in peace to have our vengeance. Equitable, no?"

Rowan focused again on her memories, taking him to her favorite place, the huge tree in Romania, where life is vibrant around them, turning him to see the towering mountains in this distance, telling him its not Colorado but look how beautiful the mountains are, seeing his smile. She held her hands out, letting them go into the portal. There! There he was! She could hear him in her mind, calling her name. But it was so weak.. "Ken.. follow my voice! Please.. please.. come back to me.. I love you"

****************************************************

"Ken.. follow my voice! Please.. please.. come back to me.. I love you"

Ken felt the bonds flow away from his hands and feet, heard Rowans voice. He tried to turn in the direction of the voice, but in the Void direction had little meaning. Desperately, he cast his eyes about, looking for something, anything, to tell him which way to go.

There. He saw it. It looked like a tiny tear in the void. Or else it was extremely far away. He summoned his last bit of will and started moving towards it.

****************************************************

Vi rolled her eyes at the Serpent. "Yeah, the same raw deal that Ken got. Very smart."

Ammie nodded, but her eyes were far less sure. "I'm not in the habit of making bad deals," she said.

The Serpent grinned again. "Why don't you let the Woman behind you speak for herself?"

Vi started to open her mouth, thinking the demon was talking about her. But her voice died as she saw Ammie stagger. "How do you...errgh!" Ammie cried out as she sank to one knee.

The Serpent's smile grew wider. "Come to us, dear....we have many like you among us. Come to us.... join us. And gain strength from the joining."

Ammie straightened, one hip out as she assumed a more provocative posture. The very air around her seemed to crackle suddenly with sexual energy. "There's a lot of you in there," she said, her voice no longer her own. "I can see that now."

Vi raised her rifle. "Oh, for the love of..."

Shay raised her hand trying to tell Vi to wait. "Ro...you need to hurry," she said.

Rowan grabbed the edge of the portal, reaching out with the hother hand "Ken... if you dont come out and be with me here.. I will join you there. Please.. be free with me! I will help you, I will always be there at your side!"

***************************************************
Ken was almost there. He could see...a hand. Yes, it was a hand! All he had to do was reach out and grab it...

Suddenly, something grabbed him instead, by the ankles. He looked down, and saw several of the more minor demons clutching to him. Apparently the entity wasn't quite as preoccupied as he had hoped. Straining, he tried to take the hand being offered. But it was just out of reach, and the demons were pulling him further away.

****************************************************

Ammie walked over to the demon, her hips swaying with every step. "So you want me to.... 'join' with you?" she asked. She pressed herself against Private Coopers possessed body, almost straddling his thigh.

Her eyes were half closed, but the Serpent could still see the carnal promises that lay behind them. He ran his fingers through her hair. "You have never known such pleasure as what our joining would bring you, my dear," he said.

"I can see the draw," said Ammie, bringing a hand up to his face. It's...." she paused, drawing a line down his jaw with her finger, "...powerful."

I've got her, the Serpent thought to himself. She's ours!

"Let me see you," Ammie cooed. "Let me see the face of my new lovers."

"Yes," he said, distracted by the effect this woman was having on his host's body. How did the apes ever have a clear thought with all these parts that think for themselves? "Look upon the face of your brethren!" He opened himself up to her, letting her feel the massive energy that was the entire entity. The woman's mouth opened slightly, in what looked like an ecstatic smile.

In a different context, the two might have been taken for young lovers, lost in each other. However, the battle at the portal was not going well. Nothing had gotten out yet, but Shay was clearly running out of steam. She stumbled and fell to one knee. A clawed hand came out of the tear, clearly seeing an opening. Vi raised her rifle and fired a quick, three round burst. Each of the rounds blew off a finger, and the hand retreated. Rowan's hands began to glow with a red mist, protective, loving, healing. She sent this energy into the portal.

***************************************************

Ken was fading...he was so tired. The hands kept drawing him back...he was losing consciousness...

And then he wasn't. He opened his eyes and saw himself surrounded by a red energy. It was flowing from that outstretched hand. He knew who's hand that was, now. Reinvigorated, he kicked at the demons and inched his way back to the tear.

***************************************************

Ammie saw all the faces of the entity, one by one. They were all so welcoming, so friendly.... but then she saw one who was not. A simpering, weak, sycophantic demonling she'd worked with many many years ago. And she knew his true name. The Serpent had made one mistake.... he hadn't realized that, for all her unrestrained sexual energy, The Woman was still, at her core, Amyrlis Wicker. "Kazithak'ligaliasticath! Let me speak to YOU!"

The Serpent felt himself fade into the background against his will. He cursed and flailed, but to no avail. Kazithak assumed his place as the private's body fell to one knee. "We are not he anymore! We are Legion!"

Ammie kneeled beside him, her every move still seeming more sensual than seemed possible. She stroked the private's face again. "Oh, Kaz....didn't we have some good times?"

Kaz looked at her suspiciously. "They were good for YOU, maybe...."

Ammie ran his fingers over his chest. "Tell you what. How would you like to remain in charge of that big old swirling ball of hate and venom for a while? King of the legion? Hmm?" Behind them, a shade had begun to form in the void. A familiar shape.

Kaz scoffed...."There are no Kings, we are all equa..." he cut off as he saw the shape begining to form as well. "What is she doing!?"

Ammie pressed her face to his, nuzzling his ear. "I'll feed you," she whispered huskily. "Make you strong. Strong enough to lord it over them all for years. THEY may be imprisoned. But you'll be the WARDEN. All you have to do is give that annoying ape-child back to his loved ones. Yes?"

Kaz looked to Ammie. ""Me.? In charge? Not the Serpent, not the Hellene? But.... they all want him to hurt. *I* want him to hurt. And...they'll blame me! They'll punish ME!"

"Oh, Kazithak. You're still taking orders. But I'm giving you the chance to MAKE the orders. decide what everyone ELSE wants," Ammie said in a voice that was half whisper. "Let him go, and I'll kiss you. You've never had a kiss like the one I can give..."

Kaz hesitated, but nodded. "Fine. But I'll have that kiss now."

Ammie bent forward and pressed her lips to his. Power flowed through that contact point, and the body Kaz inhabited gave a low moan of purest ecstasy.

****************************************************

The energy Rowan had given him had helped, but it hadn't been enough. The world was fading to black. He could almost touch her fingertips, but it wasn't enough...

Suddenly, the fingers fell away from his ankles. At first he was too surprised to move. Then, he reached out and took the hand, squeezing it tight.

****************************************************

Rowan gave a squeel of delight as she felt his hand close on hers. She knew it was his hand; she had spent countless hours holding it, even before either of them realized just how much they meant to each other. With all her strength, she pulled. Ken fairly flew through the tear, landing on the ground with a dull thud. Harry's body shuddered once, and collapsed. Ammie rubbed her temples, seeming unaware of what had just happened. Upon seeing Ken's limp form on the ground, though, she hurriedly closed the tear.

Rowan collapsed to the ground near Ken's prone form, trying to heal him. Victoria, meanwhile, hurried to Shay to help her stand. "Nice moves, princess," she said to her, a soft smile on her face.

"Thanks....." Shay began, and then paused. "You need a nickname, I've decided."

The two of them went to check on Ammie, still rubbing her temples. "Are you OK?" asked Vi.

"I'm not exactly sure what just happened," said Ammie, her voice hoarse.

Rowan had started crying harder; Ken's eyes were open, and he was breathing, but he didn't seem to be responding to anything. Shay looked over to her. "We'd better get Ken somewhere safe so we can see if he's OK."

"Yeah, not the safest of places," Ammie agreed. "Let's get him back to the trailer park." The two women bent down to pick him up, but a hand on their shoulders stopped them. They turned to see Private Cooper, apparently back to his old self.

"Don't you fret none," he said. "I's can carry him easy, if it's alright with you, Ms. Rowan." Rowan nodded wordlessly, and Harry picked him up effortlessly. Together, the all headed back to the Wabanaki grounds.

Their journey was strangely uneventful; the tear in the fabric of the world must have freaked out even the Ak'ab and Wendigo. Harry carried the man's prone form into the gift shop and layed him down on the table. He then backed up as the women formed a circle around him, Rowan holding his hand. "Is you all gonna be alright now?" he asked.

They looked at him in unison... apparently, they had all forgotten about him again. The purple haired woman came up to him and handed him a card. "You were very helpful, Private. If you ever need a place to call home..."

Harry took the card and smiled at her. Her name was Seanne? Such a pretty name; her friends should use it more often, Harry decided. "I may just do that ma'am," he said. He wouldn't. He knew that. He had made his choice; he would die on this island. He took a last look at the man he had helped rescued, and hoped he had made the right choice. Then with a wave, he turned and left the gift shop.

He had just gotten on to the main road when he saw a familiar face. "Seamz? Where the hell have you been?"

The rugged man smiled and waved. "Well, fuck me runnin, Busco, Oi been lookin all over London fer ye! Ye should've told me ye were coming back to this dump."

"Didn't rightly have a choice. I had to help some ladies. What's that you got there?" Harry asked, pointing at the bag tied around Seamz's waist.

"That? Nothin, mate. Just a little summat Oi picked up fer some of yer mates. Shall we get back to camp? Don't want your Sarge wonderin wot 'appened to ye, do ye?"

Harry shook his head. No, he definitely didn't want that. Together, they started down the road, leaving the events of the past few days behind. They still had a long fight ahead of them right there on Soloman Island.