Chapter 43

"KILL ME!" She screamed as she held on to me desperately, trembling. I held her tight, trembling myself. What had happened that she wanted to die so desperately? I couldn't kill the woman I loved!

"Megan, I can't do that!" I exclaimed, near tears myself. "I love you. Whatever it is, we can work through it."

"Please, Patrick, if you love me, you have to kill me. I can't live like this. I have no desire to live like this. Please, Patrick? If you love me..."

"I can't, Megan. I can't do that," I said gently, holding her. She looked at me sadly, tears in her eyes.

When I had rushed forward to take care of Megan, I had given my M203, shotgun, and pistol to Amy to free up my hands. I had only the spare pistol in my holster. As I held her, I felt her hand slide slowly down my side. When I saw her eyes flick towards my holster, I knew what she was going to do.

Shit! She was going to grab my gun and kill herself! I knew I could never stop the world's fastest human from succeeding in getting my gun, but I had to try. I pushed her back against the wall and pulled my gun out of my holster. I heard Amy scream.

"NO! Daddy, no, you can't kill her! Don't do it! Please!" Poor Amy, she thought I was pulling the gun to grant Megan's request. As it cleared my holster, I flung it backwards towards Amy. With a sheepish look on her face, Amy caught it. Just about the time she caught it, Megan lunged forward, grabbing for the gun that had been in my holster. Her face crumpled as she saw she was too late. She grabbed on to me again, holding me tight.

"Oh God, Patrick, please? I know you can't kill me, but let me have a gun and do it myself. Please? I can't live like this! You won't want me like this! Please?" I just held her and shook my head. I was shocked. There was no way I should have been able to get that gun out of Megan's reach. It was already in Amy's hands before she'd ever reached my holster. Something was wrong.

Megan pushed herself back from me. I could see the despair and desperation on her face. She doubled up her fist and swung at me, trying to hit me. I just let her hit me. I couldn't hurt Megan.

I could've blocked her hit or moved out of the way three times before Megan connected with my jaw. It hardly hurt at all. Next, she kicked me. I let her do it. It had no more punch than her hit. Amy could have gotten out of the way of that kick when she was three years old. I just stood there, making no attempt to defend myself. Megan looked at Amy and screamed at her.

"God damn it! You're his Protector and Guardian! I'm attacking him! Defend Him! Kill me!"

I didn't even have to give Amy or Cindi any instructions. With tears in their eyes, they just turned their backs on Megan and me and ignored us. They knew Megan was no threat to me. They had seen that she couldn't kill me if she tried. They also recognized that Megan had no wish to hurt me. She was just trying to trick them into killing her. Her weak attempts didn't even trigger their automatic defense mode. I grabbed Megan and held her as she cried. She pushed herself away from me and slid down the cave wall, sitting on the floor.

"Kill me, please," she murmured repeatedly, her eyes blank. I looked over at the girls and saw the shocked looks on all their faces. I called Becky over.

"Scan her, Becky. Find out what's wrong with her and what we can do for her," I instructed her. Becky looked at me with fear in her eyes. I could tell she had an idea what this was. I could also tell she was scared for Megan. As Becky approached Megan, I heard Sarah say something behind me.

"Clothes," Sarah whispered softly to herself. A simple housedress appeared in Becky's hands. Becky slipped it over Megan's shoulders and helped her put it on, buttoning it for her. Becky knelt down in front of her and held her unresisting hands. She tilted her head for a minute, then let go of Megan's hands and folded them in her lap. Becky turned to me, hugged me fiercely, buried her head in my chest, and sobbed.

I wanted to hold her for a little while, but I needed to know about Megan. I put my finger beneath her chin and lifted her head up to look at her. I wiped her tears away and kissed her.

"What is it, Becky? What's happened to her?" I dreaded to hear the answer.

"It's all gone, Patrick. All of it," she whispered.

"What's gone, Becky?"

"Everything that makes her one of us. Telepathy, empathy, precognition, all her Scribe memories. Everything. Her speed, strength, shields, the purple energy, everything that made her special. She's human, nothing more. She can't live like this, Patrick. She doesn't want to. She won't last more than two weeks. She'll kill herself." I shuddered as Becky finished speaking.

"How, Becky?" I asked.

"I don't know. But... the Ancient Prophecy tells about it happening before," Becky said.

"When? Who? How did that turn out?" I asked.

"It happened to Bandor. Somehow he got the powers back; it doesn't say how. I didn't even know until now that the prophecy was referring to him. But it affected him forever. He turned evil because of that. Even if we can get Megan's powers back, she may do the same thing." Becky cried on my chest. All the girls looked stunned. Megan just sat on the floor, crying like a little girl.

"Why are those two girls crying?" Everyone turned at the little girl voice behind us, to see the little redheaded girl standing near us. She looked to be about six years old.

Poor Cindi; she had only been a Protector and a Guardian for a short time. She hadn't had the time and training to be as good as Amy. As we all turned, Cindi started to bring her gun up to aim it at the intruder. It hadn't registered with her yet that it was just a little girl.

I saw a yellow shield go up around the little girl immediately. An orange shield went back up around Megan. Katie had seen what Cindi was doing, and anticipated her lack of training and zealous desire to keep everyone safe. Becky had realized that we knew nothing about the little girl, and moved to protect the defenseless Megan.

Just as Cindi brought her gun up level with the intruder, Amy surrounded the little girl also with her green shield. At the same time, she threw her arm out towards Cindi and flicked her gun hand up to where her gun was pointed straight up in the air. Cindi had a shocked look on her face as she realized it was just a little girl, and she shuddered at the look that Amy gave her. Amy looked back at me and I gave her a 'be nice, she's new' look. Amy nodded and hugged Cindi, whispered into her ear and kissed her cheek. Cindi relaxed.

I expected the little girl to be scared. Instead, she looked at us with her mouth open, her face pale, and a look of awe on her face.

"You have colors! You have colors!" She said excitedly, as she looked around the room. Then her eyes once again stopped on Megan.

"Why is she crying?" She asked again, looking at me.

"She's been hurt. We need to get her somewhere to help her," I said, trying to explain. The little girl moved over near Megan and looked at her closely. She looked at me, sadness in her eyes.

"Her colors are gone," she stated authoritatively. "They used those things on her." She seemed to know what the problem was.

"What things? Can you help her?" I asked. She gave me a "how dumb are you?' look. Maybe this was a long lost sister of Amy's!

"Don't be silly. I'm just a little girl. We have to get her to my Dad and my sisters. Maybe they can help."

"Can you take us to them?" I asked. She nodded, but then looked at me wisely.

"She's not going to let you touch her, though," she predicted. Sure enough, when I approached Megan, she seemed to have forgotten that I was there and shrank back against the wall.

"Don't touch me! Leave me alone!" She whispered. The little girl smiled and winked at me, pushing me aside. She whispered into my ear, giving me the directions on how to get to her home. Then the little girl scrunched up her face, looking sad and lost and scared, and tears suddenly were falling down her cheeks. She walked up to Megan and tugged on her hand.

"Please help me. I'm lost and I can't find my Mommy. I'm scared. Can you help me find my Mommy, please?" The little girl whimpered as she tugged on Megan's hand again. Megan's eyes instantly cleared, as she stood up and picked the little girl up in her arms. She held her close, and kissed her on the forehead.

"It's ok. Don't cry. We'll find your Mommy. Don't be scared," Megan told her, holding her and patting her back comfortingly.

"What's your name, honey?" Megan asked quietly.

"Lisa," she replied, sniffling and burying her head in Megan's neck, snuggling close. Megan patted her back again.

"Well, it's ok Lisa, we'll find your Mommy, don't be scared, I'll help you," Megan told her.

"Why are you crying?" Lisa asked Megan, looking at her brightly as she wiped her eyes and nose on Megan's dress. I smiled. This little girl deserved an Oscar.

"I... I... I'm lost too," Megan explained, drying her own tears on her sleeve.

"Maybe that nice man can help us," Lisa said, pointing at me. Megan looked over where she was pointing and saw me. Her face brightened as she recognized me.

"Yes, he is a nice man, isn't he? I'm sure he'll help us," she told Lisa. She set Lisa down on her feet. Lisa slipped her little hand into Megan's hand as they walked over to me.

"Hi, Patrick," Megan said shyly. "This is Lisa. She's lost her Mommy. Do you think we could help her get home again?" I saw that the horror had receded somewhat in her eyes, but I knew it was just because she had a lost little girl to mother, and that it would return stronger than ever later. I saw Lisa blink rapidly when Megan said my name, and she looked at me with excitement in her eyes. Then she looked back at Megan.

"Do you know this nice man?" Lisa asked. Megan looked confused and looked like she didn't know what to say. She looked at me with a guilty and sad look on her face.

"This is Megan; she's the woman I'm going to marry," I said, pasting a happy look on my face. I saw Lisa look quickly at Megan when she heard her name, and Megan gave me a little sad smile when she heard we were getting married. Lisa giggled.

"Aren't you supposed to kiss the man you're going to marry when you see him?" Lisa asked Megan innocently, with a little girl giggle. I saw the look in her eyes as she looked at me and winked. Then she made her first mistake as an award winning actress. What she should have said next to Megan was 'How can you be lost if this is the man you're going to marry?'. Fortunately, Megan was too upset to realize by that omission that Lisa already knew her story.

"You know, you're right, Lisa. I think that's an excellent idea," I said with a big smile at Megan. I took her in my arms, holding her tight, and kissed her. I felt Megan stiffen as I first held her and kissed her. After a few seconds, I felt her relax somewhat and her mouth opened to accept me. I heard her whimper softly in my mouth.

"Oh Patrick," she whispered quietly as I stopped kissing her. "If only we could do that forever!" I saw the tears and sadness in her eyes.

"As long as you want me, Megan, we can do that. I'll never tire of you," I said honestly, from my heart. I saw a very small spark of hope in her eyes, but it died quickly.

"That's better," Lisa giggled. "Now can we find my Mommy?" She whined.

"Where does she live?" Megan asked her, concern in her voice. I promised myself I was going to buy Lisa the biggest ice cream sundae ever made! She was keeping Megan occupied, which kept her from remembering.

"There's a shack a couple miles from here that I saw," I said. "Could that be where your family lives?" I asked. Lisa shrugged her shoulders, and then smiled at me when Megan wasn't looking. I guess we were co-conspirators. I gathered all the girls and we started out of the cave. Silly me, I thought a walk to the house would be easy.

Megan seemed to get more and more nervous as we came closer to the entrance of the cave. Of course, Megan was always nervous, and she was particularly fragile now, but I knew I wasn't imagining it. As we got to the entrance of the cave, she stopped. She was trembling all over. I asked her what was wrong.

"I can't leave her. I have to go back. I can't leave the cave," she mumbled. Lisa and I both took her hand to lead her out. She jerked her hand away.

"Don't touch me! Leave me alone! Oh God, don't touch me!" She screamed. She turned to run back into the cave. She tried to fight me, but it was like restraining a normal teenage girl. I held her, trying to keep from hurting her. She gave a final scream and slumped unconscious into my arms. I was so surprised I barely was able to get a good grip on her to keep her from falling. I picked her up in my arms to carry her. Becky touched my arm and looked at me, a sad and guilty look on her face.

"I put her out," Becky said in a little girl voice, as if she was afraid she was going to get yelled at. "I'm sorry; I just couldn't stand to hear her scream anymore. She's ok, she's just asleep." I kissed her quickly and thanked her.

"I didn't think she would make it to the house," Lisa said sagely, sounding much more mature than her six years old.

"Do you think your father and sisters can help her?" I asked, my heart in my throat. I couldn't stand to see her like this. I didn't think I would make it through the two weeks Becky had given Megan.

"I don't know. I'm just a little girl. They'll know," she said, giving me another of those looks. Although I didn't know Megan when she was six years old, she reminded me of how mature Megan must have been at that age. Maybe it came with the red hair.

It wasn't that long a trip to the cabin, but we took our time. Megan wasn't a big person, but still, carrying her slowed me down. We stopped a couple of times to rest, and I just held her on my lap as I sat, cuddling her, kissing her, and whispering to her that it was going to be ok. They say people that are unconscious can hear you; I hoped so. I hoped I was helping.

We finally arrived at the cabin. Lisa led us in. She hollered out as she entered the house.

"Dad! Heather! Kim! I have company with me!" I wondered why she was announcing her presence. She grinned at me.

"Heather and Kim are not big fans of clothes. We seldom have company and it's always hot here, so they don't wear a lot!" She grinned again and I got the distinct impression that 'not a lot of clothes' meant none at all. I heard some rustling in the background and a male voice called out.

"Be right there, honey," he called out to Lisa. Then I heard a quieter, more aside comment. "Girls, get dressed." Lisa grinned at me and I grinned back.

Lisa showed me where I could put Megan down. I laid her down on the couch and sat next to her, holding her hand and stroking her hair. She was still out. A moment later, a rather nondescript man, about my age, and two teenage girls walked into the room. Lisa giggled as they walked in.

"Dressed for the occasion, I see!" She giggled as she looked at the girls, obviously her sisters. Then she remembered her manners.

"Daddy, this is Patrick. The woman on the couch is his fi... fian... they're going to get married. Her name is Megan. She has been hurt. I'm sorry; I don't know any of the other's names." Suddenly, she couldn't hold back her excitement any more, and she burst out with her secret.

"Daddy, they have colors! They have colors!" She was so excited she was jumping up and down and clapping her hands. Her Dad looked at us in surprise, and then his eyes opened wide in even more surprise.

"What is your fiancée's name, sir?" He asked quietly, as if he couldn't believe what Lisa had told him.

"Her name is Megan, my name is Patrick," I answered. I was shocked at the response.

The man and the two girls both registered surprise and... something else on their faces. Lisa saw their expressions and suddenly she seemed shocked herself. They all dropped to their knees, their heads bowed down to the floor. Then the Dad spoke.

"Patrick... Katoro, we are truly honored to have you in our presence. I welcome you and the beautiful Nagalla to our humble home." He spoke quietly, as if humbled. I got up and moved over to them, and one by one, I raised them up to their feet, raising their heads to where they were looking at me again.

"You know me... us? You know who we are?" I asked. I was surprised.

"We know of you, sir. I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid we have always thought of you as a legend, not really true. We are your humble servants, sir. We are at your disposal. If only you had the others with you..." He said respectfully. I grinned to myself. I didn't know what was going on here, but I had a feeling I knew who the others were. I needed just a little fun to relieve my anxiety over Megan.

"I'm sorry, sir, we are being rude. Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is James, and these are my oldest daughters, Heather and Kim. I see you have already met my youngest, Lisa. I hope she has not embarrassed us too badly yet." Lisa stuck out her tongue at him and received a stern look in return. Apparently, that wasn't proper behavior in front of us. I grinned at her and got a nervous grin in return. "We're delighted to have you in our home. Please feel free to stay as long as you wish, sir," he said.

"Thank you, James. Lisa has been a big help to us and has been just a delightful young lady." I saw her preen at being called a 'young lady' and not a little girl. "As you know, my name is Patrick. Not 'sir', but Patrick. These are my daughters, Amy and Cindi. That's my sister, Victoria, and her daughters Katie and Becky. Megan you have already seen. These two are her daughters, Julie and," I paused for dramatic effect; it was time to have fun, "Lady Samantha!" Sammi looked startled and gave me a look that should've killed me instantly. Even I didn't expect the reaction my little joke on her invoked.

"Oh my God! It's her!" They said in unison. Instantly, all of their faces registered a look of awe. As one, as if they had practiced it, they all dropped to their knees again, bowing their faces to the floor. The look Sammi gave me before was nothing compared to the look I got now, as she blushed a deep red. She looked about her in confusion. I signaled to her to go up to them. She looked startled, giving me a 'who, me' look. I signaled her again, and Becky leaned over and whispered in her ear. Looking very distressed, Sammi walked over to each one and lifted them up to a standing position again, lifting their heads up so they were looking at her again.