Chapter 26

"I'm sorry, Patrick. There's nothing we can do," Megan repeated.

"Bullshit. Victoria, Megan, Becky, stay here with me. Everyone else, get out. Now!" I commanded, my voice flat and devoid of all expression.

I felt Julie's feather light touch in my mind.

"Patrick, you can't! Amanda forbade it!" Julie gasped.

Bullshit," I repeated quietly. "If Amanda doesn't want me to do this, then she can save her. My little girl is not going to die again! Everyone, out ... NOW!"

"I'm not leaving, Dad," said Amy. Her voice was just as flat and devoid of all expression as mine.

"Get out, Amy."

"She's my twin! I'm not leaving!"

"Amy, this is not a point for discussion. Get out or I'll have you removed," I threatened in a quiet, deadly voice.

"But..."

I softened my tone. She was right; Cindi was her twin, after all.

"Amy ... you have to leave. I'll call you back in if it's necessary, if ... You will get to say goodbye to her, if it comes to that. Please, honey ... go. You must." I hugged her.

"What're you going to do?" she asked, her voice breaking.

I didn't answer.

Julie wasn't even subtle this time; I felt her full-blown presence in my mind for a moment, then she was gone.

"You really are going to deliberately disobey Amanda?" she asked in disbelief.

"Not exactly. I have a cunning plan," I said calmly.

"I know, I saw it, and you're crazy! You have no idea what you're doing, what you're messing with," she whispered.

"So tell me. Show me what I'm doing, tell me what I'm messing with."

"Not on your life ... literally. I do not deliberately disobey Amanda. I have more sense than that. A rock has more sense than that," Julie said emphatically.

Julie wrapped her arm around Amy's shoulder and hugged her.

"Come on, Amy, let's go. The sooner we go, the sooner you're with Cindi again ... or we attend your Dad's funeral." Amy looked at her sharply, trying to determine if she was serious.

"You're not staying here, to record this?" I asked, surprised. I thought she would fight me about my kicking her out.

"No way! Not on your life," she repeated. "I don't want to be anywhere near you when the lightning strikes. I'll definitely attend your funeral, though. Besides, I have to take care of these girls, make sure they're safe. You have no idea what you're dealing with."

All the remaining girls filed out of the room, crying. Julie and Amy were the last to leave. Amy looked back over her shoulder at me. Her eyes showed nothing but trust in me. I was her hero, her Daddy, the one that made the monsters go away, the one that could do anything she needed done. She gave me a brave, watery smile.

I sat on the bed, my head in my hands, and sighed deeply. Victoria, Megan, and Becky watched me, waiting. Confusion reigned in their eyes.

I sighed again and stood up, ready to face the consequences of my actions. It didn't matter. My little girl was not going to die. I would not allow it.

I walked over to Victoria and took her in my arms. We hugged and I kissed her. It had been too long since we'd been together. Now I had to turn her world upside down.

"Victoria, I'm sorry. I have to ask you to do something harder than you've ever done before in your life. I have no choice; you're the only one that can save Cindi. Forgive me for what I'm about to do to you," I said quietly.

"So stop wasting time gabbing and do it. You know I'll do anything for you and these girls. You don't need to ask me, just do it."

"I have to ask your permission for this. It has to be that way."

I paused for a moment.

"Victoria, do you love me?" I asked solemnly.

Three sets of eyes widened in surprise.

"You know I love you, Patrick," Victoria answered.

"Victoria, do you trust me? Really trust me? Trust me with your life?" I asked. Eyes widened more at the deviation from The Ceremony.

"You know I trust you with my life, Patrick. Do what you must do; I'm happy to help."

"Victoria, you're the only one that can save Cindi now. I need your help," I said formally.

"You have it. I don't know what you think I can do, though," Victoria answered, confused.

"You have a power that is like no other in the universe. You knew about it since we were kids, but you became more aware of it at the Battle of Cornaza. You're unaware of that power now, because Amanda took all knowledge of it away from you just before she died. She saw that you were unable to handle the realization of what you could do, of who you are. I have no choice but to reinstate the knowledge of that power in you. It's the only way I can stop Cindi from self-terminating."

"Won't she just fall apart again when she realizes what that power is? What did Julie mean, about you deliberately disobeying Amanda?" Becky asked nervously.

"That's where you come in, Becky. After we're finished, you'll wipe her mind of all knowledge of that power, just as Amanda did before," I explained. "Amanda instructed me in a pre-recorded message that I was not to let Victoria know yet who and what she was. She said she couldn't handle the knowledge. By wiping her mind, I can technically adhere to those instructions. Someday, she'll have to come to grips with it, though."

"You're disobeying Amanda on a flimsy technicality like that?" Becky asked incredulously. I ignored her.

"And our jobs?" Megan asked.

"Becky is here to stabilize Cindi's mind when she's back, as well as wiping Victoria's mind afterwards. Megan, you're here to heal Cindi of any residual damage."

"What about our minds? We'll know Victoria's secret after this is over. Does Becky wipe our minds also?" Megan asked.

"That's your choice, depending on whether you want the burden of that secret or not. However, I intend to kick you two out of the room when Victoria does her thing. You'll come in after it's over, when Cindi is, hopefully, back. You'll witness and feel the side effects of what happens, but you won't actually see it."

"How will you keep the girls from snooping through their minds to see what's going on?"

"Julie will see to that. She has an idea of what I'm doing, and it scares her silly. After she's done scaring the girls with the consequences of peeking, even Amy won't dare snoop."

"How will we know when it's time to come back into the room?" Becky asked.

I gave a short laugh.

"Oh, never fear, you'll know. If this works the way I suspect it will, the entire universe will know when it's time for you to come back into the room," I assured her.

"How do we keep Cindi from simply self-terminating again? Nothing will have changed; she still won't have anything to live for," Becky enquired.

"I can answer that," Megan jumped in, directing her answer to me. "Your genius daughter planned for this eventuality even before the fall of Cornaza. She convinced the Cornazan Council to let Amanda institute another class, slightly below and different from that of Life-mate, for Cindi to occupy. She knew Cindi would regret her decision eventually. It took all of us by surprise that she went as far as self-termination and did it this fast, without talking to anyone. If we can get her conscious again, we can deal with her despair."

"Which genius daughter? I have a lot of them," I smiled.

"Amy, of course. She may be a brat sometimes, but she's always looking out for her twin."

"Shouldn't we quit gabbing and get going? Cindi is dying even as we speak," Becky said nervously.

"It doesn't matter at this point. If this works, it will work even if she's dead. In fact, it may be easier if she's already died. Now, it's time for you guys to leave, so I can explain to Victoria what she has to do."

"Patrick? Please, let them stay. I need their support," Victoria cried, her voice trembling. I wondered if she had an inkling already of what this was about. She grasped Becky and Megan's hands tightly.

"I suppose that would be ok. If they elect to have their minds wiped, it won't matter. If they retain the knowledge, they're not going to leave me alone until they know the whole story anyway. I sent the other girls out mainly for their safety, not so much to preserve the secret. As long as Victoria doesn't know, it doesn't matter who else knows."

Becky gave me the 'thumbs up' sign.

I spent the next thirty minutes explaining to Victoria who she was and what she could do. By the time I was done, there were three pale, shaken women in the room. Victoria was almost in tears, her body trembling.

"No," she whispered. "That can't be. I can't do this, Patrick ... I just can't. You're mistaken; that's not me."

I showed her what I had seen in Lisa's mind concerning the Battle of Cornaza.

Victoria hid her face in her hands and sobbed. I put my arm around her.

"It's ok, Victoria. We'll wipe your mind afterwards and you won't remember any of it. It's your choice, but if you don't do this, Cindi dies. Even Larelle's power can't change the conditions of an event when it involves self-termination."

I felt my sister's body relax in my arms.

"I'll do it. Cindi was my daughter in the last cycle; I'll do it. You better not leave me, Patrick; I'm going to need you after this."

"I'll never leave you, Victoria. Are you ready?"

"Hell, I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen. Just do it," Victoria said testily.

I touched her, sending a small amount of energy into her. She gasped, and the change in her was dramatic.

Victoria stood up straight, her bearing regal. Her face relaxed and she looked peaceful for the first time in years. She looked ... powerful. She still exuded a sense of reserve about her, but the shyness was gone.

"I'm not sure I remember how to do this. It's been ... a long time. Even the last time, Amanda drove."

"Let me do it, Victoria. It'll be easier to make you forget on the mind wipe if you have nothing to do with it. You'll just be the conduit; I'll do all the work," I reassured her.

Becky was looking at me strangely. I could read the question in her eyes.

'Who is this man? How does he know all this? What happened to my bumbling Daddy?'

I smiled to myself. My girls had kept secrets from me for years, and protected me from danger. Now it was my turn. I had secrets of my own.

"Wait ... the other girls. Are they going to be all right? I seem to remember this can be pretty nasty," Victoria asked.

"Julie has them. She knows what to do."

"Patrick ... what about Amy? If she peeks in her mind..." My sister shivered at the thought.

"Trust Julie, dear. She knows the dangers. My guess is that Amy is so scared right now from what Julie has told her that she might not use her powers for a few hours afterwards, just to be safe. Amy may be a daredevil, but she's not an idiot."

'Not usually!' I thought.

There was no answer from Amy. Maybe she was behaving. She'd never resist a chance to answer a comment like that if she was listening.

"Let's do it," Victoria whispered.

"Megan, Becky, shields up, maximum strength. Close down your mind; do not monitor anything that goes on around you. It's possible your shields may fail. Don't worry if they do, that's normal. If it happens, it will be past the time you would need them. Turn away from us, put your face to the wall, and put your hands over your eyes. Do not, I repeat, do not try to sense anything around you, or use any powers except your shields. Put a block up against all access to your minds. Please, girls, do as I say; I've grown rather fond of both of you."

Becky looked at me even more strangely. Megan laughed and hugged her.

"Welcome back, Patrick!" she said softly, then turned Becky around to face the wall.

I held Victoria's hand and we both took Cindi's hands in ours.

"Initiating checklist," I started.

"Checklist initiated."

"Turn dampers off."

"Dampers off."

"Turn Actuators and Intensifiers on, full power."

"Full power reached on Actuators and Intensifiers."

"Turn Failsafe mode off."

"Failsafe mode terminated."

"Broadcast IFF signal, authenticate return signal."

"IFF signal broadcast. Return signal received and authenticated."

"Open inner conduit door."

Victoria shivered. There was a long pause, where I thought she might back out.

"Inner conduit door open."

"Ramp it up, honey," I said.

There was no answer from Victoria. I heard a sound, like the sound of all the water in the world running down a sluiceway. Then the sound of the wind started, like a Category 5 hurricane. I felt the house shake slightly. My inner sense said we were ready.

"Open outer conduit door. Fire in the hole," I whispered.

"Fire in the hole, aye, sir," Victoria grinned weakly.

My sight narrowed until all I could see was a tunnel. I saw a white ball rushing down the tunnel, growing bigger by the second. I braced myself, preparing for a light brighter than the sun to hit me.

Julie led the girls down into the basement, bringing them to the far wall.

"Listen to me carefully," she warned, then waited for the chattering to stop.

"What your Dad is doing upstairs is extremely dangerous. It may be the only way to save Cindi, but there are huge risks. Listen to me carefully. If you disobey my instructions in the slightest, you will die a horrible death and you will not come back ... ever."

She had their undivided attention.

"When I tell you, face the outside wall. Put your hands over your face and close your eyes tight. Put your shield up, on maximum power. Do not, repeat, do not use any of your powers during this time, except your shields. Put a block up in your mind against all access. Do not try to link mentally with anyone upstairs, or anyone at all, during this time. If you do, you'll have a charcoal briquette for a brain when this is all done. It's not funny, Amy! I'm not kidding. If you wish to be a vegetable for the rest of your life, ignore what I'm telling you. There is no cure for what happens if you ignore these warnings. There is no return to life if you ignore these warnings. At best, you will be comatose for the rest of your life. At worst, you will die forever. Those are the good outcomes if you don't follow these instructions. Do you understand?"

There was a chorus of 'yes's' from some very subdued teenagers.

"Amy ... do you understand? No snooping or you die. Do ... you ... understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," she answered meekly.

"I hope so. It would break my heart to see your Dad regretting your loss for the rest of his life. Look into my mind, see how serious I am. Obey or die forever," Julie said calmly.

Patrick was right; Amy was scared silly.

"It's possible your shields will fail before this is over. That is expected. If they fail, it will be past the time when you need them anyway. Do what I've told you and everything should be ok ... probably."

"What?" Amy shreiked. "Should be? Should be? Probably?"

"We just don't know, Amy," Julie said honestly. "This hasn't been done since ancient times, long before any of us were alive. What should happen is known in theory. The closest to this we've seen was the Battle of Cornaza. You saw what happened to the Qerda fleet. Amanda was controlling it then, and she was an expert. Patrick is not an expert at this. It should be ok."

Julie told them to do as she instructed when she heard a sound, like the sound of all the water in the world running down a sluiceway. Then the sound of the wind started, like a Category 5 hurricane. The house shook slightly.

Heather and Kim screamed as a light, brighter than billions of suns, flashed into the room. Julie heard Amy gasp and felt her grab her hand, holding it tight. Julie thought that was a good sign that Amy was following her commands; otherwise, her grip wouldn't be that strong. Megan could heal her broken fingers later. Julie felt the light tugging at her mind, attempting admittance. She sincerely hoped the girls had blocked access as she instructed them.

Within seconds, the light was gone. Several minutes went by and the girls had started to relax when the second light hit, every bit as bright. The room was filled with the sounds of gasps from the girls. The third light hit almost immediately afterwards. This time, everyone was filled with a feeling of well-bring, happiness, health. Julie hoped they would not be fooled into opening their minds to the feelings, to bask in them more. The results would be disastrous. Though the feelings were real, their minds couldn't absorb that much at once. They would flash like a supernova, then die like a black dwarf. The feeling disappeared, then Julie watched as the light ate up their shields as if they were candy.

Shortly afterward, the fourth light struck, as bright as the previous ones. This light lasted longer, the noise louder than that with the original light.

No one knew when the fourth light disappeared, as they all lost consciousness before that time. They were only unconscious for a few brief moments, but the light was gone when they awoke.

When she awoke, Julie saw Amy staring at the wall, eyes open wide in ... fear? Imprinted on the wall were permanent shadows of each girl's body, in dark gray. The images seemed to be imbedded into the substance of the wall itself.

Amy remembered where she had seen a similar image before. Such imprints had been seen at the site of nuclear explosions, even deep in recessed rooms, where the light from the nuclear flash couldn't possibly reach. Amy's whole body trembled as Julie hugged her, trying to reassure her. Soon all the girls were hugging each other, near tears. Amy felt Eric's strong arms as he hugged Sammi and her together. Christopher calmly held Katie, a look of awe on their faces. They seemed to be the only two, besides Julie, not completely shaken by the experience.

Amy slowly became aware of a dim point of light in her mind, in a place where moments before there was only blackness. It slowly grew, not becoming very bright, but increasing slightly in size and becoming more stable. With Patrick not around to share her excitement, she grabbed Eric and kissed him deeply, overcome with joy because she knew what that point of light meant.

After a second's hesitation, Eric kissed her back just as passionately. No overcoming special power here as Christopher had, it was just the passion shared by two young people that, in different times and under different circumstances, might have become lovers.

Amy finally realized what she was doing and broke away from Eric, breathing heavily and turning red from embarrassment and excitement. Her embarrassment grew as she realized who was standing next to her as she kissed Sammi's boyfriend.

"Oh God, Sammi, I'm sorry!" Amy stammered as she burst into tears.

"Samantha, I ... I..." Eric stuttered.

Sammi rubbed Eric's back comfortingly and touched Amy's cheek softly, lovingly. Her boyfriend and her best friend, kissing each other passionately? So what? She could think of nothing sweeter.

"It's ok, you two. Really, it's ok. I've known for a while now." She grinned as Amy and Eric blushed deeply. "You can make love to her anytime you want, Eric. I suspect you never will, because she's so ... so damned monogamous with Patrick. If you do, the only one you'll need to convince is her; you won't need to convince me. I think it'd be neat!"

Amy and Eric stared at her in shock, an enquiring look in their eyes. Sammi gently pushed their heads together and helped them enjoy another kiss. Sammi watched, delighted, as Eric's hand slowly slid down, caressing Amy's butt, then sliding around to the front, lightly touching her just above her slit. Amy's hand slipped down his stomach, just barely touching the tip of his cock.

Sammi was sad as she watched them suddenly jump apart as if they had touched red-hot coals, knowing it would probably be the last kiss they would enjoy together. She could see it in their eyes. Midnight kiss and grope sessions were one thing, but this was special, and she knew neither one would dare pursue something this potentially explosive further.

Sammi sighed with disappointment. It was too bad; they were sooo cute together! She knew there was no harm; Amy would never give up Patrick, and Eric would never leave her, but that wasn't the way Amy saw it. Ah well, it gave her something to work on, bringing them together again, maybe even more intensely next time. Her eyes widened delightfully as she envisioned her two best friends, lying naked in each other's arms, in the throes of mutually induced orgasms, Eric's cock buried deep inside Amy, her arms and legs holding him close to her. Sammi shuddered as a small orgasm raced through her body, then sighed with disappointment. Yeah, right, fat chance. This was 'Amy the faithful' she was thinking about. Still...

Eric and Amy didn't realize, nor would they have cared at that moment, that they had another witness to their unexpected kiss. Julie smiled as she watched them explore a special time together, knowing it would likely never happen again. She waited patiently until they awkwardly separated, pretending like nothing had happened. Julie laughed. Pretend as they might, their furious blushing told anyone who might be looking what they had been doing. Then she led them upstairs to see if anyone had survived Patrick's madness.

I braced myself for whatever impact I would feel as the white ball swept towards me at tremendous speed. I noticed many other colors interspersed with the white. I was shocked when the ball travelled straight through me, not slowing in the slightest. There was no feeling of impact at all.

The tunnel extended itself over to Victoria, and I watched as the ball slammed into her at full speed. The light spread everywhere, then quickly decided it liked Victoria best. It swept into her like chimney swifts flying into their home at dusk.

Victoria lit up with the power of billions of suns. Megan and Becky flinched, reacting to the bright light even with their eyes covered. The light didn't seem to blind me, however, as I could see Victoria clearly through the brightness. The colors, for the light was now all colors, swirled around inside her. I realized I could see inside Victoria, as if she was ... a clear crystal!

Victoria and the light seemed to be communicating in some obscure way. Remembering the warnings I had given Becky and Megan, I didn't even think about listening to what was said. Victoria seemed truly happy, giggling as the light swirled, fluctuating in brightness. I realized it was laughing with joy also!

I heard Victoria's voice in my mind.

'You have to be the conduit to help Cindi. I can't do it. Afterwards ... they ... want to meet you again. They won't hurt you.'

Again?

'You met them at the Battle of Cornaza. You've met them before also, but that was ... long ago, long before Cornaza existed. You don't remember them, but they remember you. They ... love you. It's ok, they're not upset. You were meant to forget them.'

The light flowed towards me, slowly, timidly. I sensed it was trying its best not to alarm me. As it flowed into me, I felt a sense of power building stronger than I had ever felt before. I mentally slapped my forehead in frustration at my stupidity. I knew who Victoria was; I should have realized what this light was. This was what I had called; it just didn't appear as I expected. I laughed with joy, feeling in awe at such greatness, honored at such a privilege.

Once all the light was in me, except for a small amount that stayed to 'visit' with Victoria, I let go of Victoria's hand and laid both hands on Cindi. The small amount of light in Victoria seemed upset about being separated from their companions. A brief burst of light from the larger group in me calmed them down.

When I touched Cindi, she seemed to explode into bright light, brighter than billions of suns. I watched as the light swirled around inside her now transparent body. It busily moved around, rearranging areas in a seemingly random pattern. I detected a sense of sadness that such a beautiful specimen had come to this.

Soon the light flowed back into me. Their job was done. Now it was time for visiting, for fun. I held hands with Victoria again and the light flowed freely between the two of us.

I noticed things I had not seen before. The light was actually individual points of colored light. Each point seemed to be joined with another point, sometimes the same color, sometimes a different color. The two joined colors never seemed to be apart from each other. If they did separate briefly, all action of the other colors stopped except the all-important action of getting the two colors back together again. I was impressed by the sweetness of it all.

If you can imagine a large choir talking instead of singing, that's what I heard next. The voices were musical enough to qualify as singing, however.

'There will come a time in the future, when things are blackest, that you will be tempted to call upon us. We will not answer. You must solve that one yourself. Trust 'The Prophecy, ' it will not lead you astray. The three sets of twins in 'The Prophecy' will be all you need, and indeed, all you can have. It may seem dark at the time, but it is the way things must go, and a way out has been provided. To gain all, you must be willing to lose much, maybe all.

'You may only ever contact us when all else has failed. Of course, our sister can contact us anytime, but she will not take that responsibility lightly or casually. Trust in us; we will not let you down. We love you! Maybe someday, all of you will be ready for us to visit just for fun!'

It was time for them to go.

The light left me slowly, clinging as if it didn't want to go. It entered back into Victoria. It really didn't want to leave her again. Finally, it gathered itself, and with a flash as bright as billions of suns, it filled the whole area. Once again, like swifts swirling down a chimney, the light started back up the tunnel. This time, the intensity of the sound was greater as it travelled slower, wanting to be in Victoria's vicinity as long as possible. There was a tremendous flash of colored light, brighter than billions of suns, then it disappeared and I blacked out.

The Old Chief sat bolt upright in bed, suddenly wide-awake. He was getting tired of having his sleep interrupted every night. Then he forgot all about sleep as he felt the energy beam that traversed the ship, awakening ancient memories in him as it travelled. He grinned.

His smile grew as he processed the data from the beam that very few felt as it sped off into space. It didn't even trigger the alarms. Oh, but it would!

She still existed! She lived! She had awakened! He laughed aloud. The Empress was going to pee her panties!

The hell with sleep, this was too good to miss. He jumped out of bed, dressed, and opened his locker. He took a strange, ancient looking, clear stick out and hooked it on his belt. Just as he finished there was a brilliant flash of light, followed moments later by another flash of light, just as brilliant. After the second one, he felt a tingling in his body, and immediately felt better than he had in decades.

'You've got to be kidding me!' he thought. 'Even she can't do that at such distances ... can she?' The renewed vigor he felt answered his question. He was dancing a little jig when the energy beam traversed the ship again and the lights went out. He heard the massive engines and generators immediately stop and the ship was silent and dark as a tomb.

'Interesting, ' he thought. Those motors, some of them as big as a small ship, took as long as fifteen minutes to wind down when they were shut off. Someone ... something had emergency scrammed them. No one on the ship would ever scram all of them at once. "Gee, I wonder who did that?" he asked aloud, to no one in particular. He laughed as he bent the rod in his hand and shook it. It glowed a bright, deep green. 'How fitting!' he thought, noticing the color. He could have sworn they were the orange glowing type. This was verified by the label on the side of the glow stick that said 'orange'. He felt good!

"Patrick?"

I heard a soft, loving voice faintly ringing in my ears, calling me back from far away.

"Patrick?" A hand gently shook me. I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was the most beautiful redhead I had ever seen in my dreams. I heard a relieved giggle.

"You're not dreaming. It's me, Megan. Do you really dream about me?" she asked shyly.

With a start, I remembered everything.

"Cindi. Is she ok?" I asked, my heart a lump in my stomach.

"I don't know, we just woke up ourselves. You've only been out a few moments. Amy says she can feel Cindi in her mind again."

'Thank you!' I projected to my little friends, knowing they would never hear me. It was the thought that counts.