Infinity's End

Chapter 8

 

                Heero jerked upright in his seat, breathing hard.  In front of him wavered a few stray clouds of smoke.  He reached through the clouds to toggle on his comm system.  The clouds vanished as if they had never been.  A myriad of voices filled the cockpit until he selected one frequency - Arys'. 

                A haunted face appeared on his viewscreen.  Heero studied it with growing concern.  She had changed greatly in the few days she had been gone.  Dark shadows hovered underneath glazed-over gray eyes.   She was looking at him, gratefulness overcoming the weariness on her face.   For a brief second, that flame of life burned in her eyes and then fizzled out. 

                "Thank you," she whispered.  Her face shimmered out of existence.

                Before Heero could react, the battlefield around him erupted in chaos.

 

_________________

 

                Arys leaned back in her seat after toggling off of Heero's comm frequency.  With a trembling hand, Arys reached to flick off the Zero System.  A voice in the back of her mind whispered huskily.

 

                Don't do it, Arys.  You need me.  You are mine...

 

                The dark-haired pilot glared at the viewscreens around her.   She saw the various battles being fought by each Gundam.  On one screen, a Gundam resembling hers hovered, waiting.   Heero.  For some reason, he cared for her.  What did Infinity offer her?  Nothing but a life of servitude and murder.  Her hand drifted closer to the Zero System's activation button.   Why was she hesitating?

                “You can't control me anymore, Infinity.  Let me go...”

                The voice became more insistent, louder. 

 

                Your puny human mind can't comprehend what you're losing, Arys.  You could have control over the entire Earth Sphere.  Power.  Wealth.  The ability to do anything that you wanted.

 

                Arys hesitated as the strident voice racked her mind.  What were wealth and power to love and humanity?  Did one set offer the other set?  Did wealth in turn make people love you?  Did power give you humanity?  Arys shook her head.  No.  No amount of money could buy love.  No amount of power was worth losing your humanity.   Her finger gently caressed the button.

 

                What is it that you want, Arys?

 

                Infinity tried a last-ditch attempt to get her servant back, but Arys had already made up her mind.  With a smirk crossing her face, she pressed the button, sending Infinity one last reply before the Zero System link dissipated.

 

                What do I want, Infinity?  I want you to leave... me... alone...

 

                A flash of painful light seemed to go off in the back of her mind.  With a rush of overload, data streamed into her brain, overwhelming her with its intensity.  Arys' eyelids fluttered as her mind attempted to compensate for the loss of the Zero System.  Without the system's backup, her brain could not handle the amount of information coming across her link to the mobile dolls fighting the Gundams.   With the last of her strength, Arys sent one last command to the Virgo IIs under her control.  Slapping her chair restraints to unbuckle herself, she slumped across the cockpit console, slowly slipping into unconsciousness.  Infinity managed to get a message through to her before the link disappeared.

 

                Off with her head...

 

                First, there was that cruel laughter.  Then, the laughter faded into the distance like a forgotten memory and silence reigned in Arys' mind.  Silence.  It seemed like it had been a long time since she had been able to hear only one voice echo within her mind instead of two.  She stared blankly at the side viewscreen across from her.  The Zero still waited there, angel wings fluttering slowly. 

 

                The Queen of Hearts has lost her wildcard. 

 

                Arys smiled, and with a sigh, she allowed blessed oblivion to take her.

 

_____________________________

               

                Wufei was about to crush the two mobile dolls he had in the grasp of his double Dragon Fangs when the dolls exploded, sending short-lived smoke, flame, and metal pieces flying everywhere.  The Chinese pilot shielded his eyes as the flash assaulted his viewscreens.  He changed his camera viewpoint and saw that the Virgo IIs were self-destructing in an interesting sequence.

                It was as if a silent shockwave tore through the Virgos' ranks.  A sphere of destruction with the Archangel at its epicenter.  Wufei watched as an entire circle of mobile dolls blew up, leaving the Gundams and the colony unharmed.  The invisible shockwave slid through only once, leaving a mass of space debris in its wake. 

                Wufei heard Duo's whoop of victory.  He pounded the console, activating the comm system.  Immediately, capture shots of the other pilots filled his viewscreens.  "What did she do?"

                Arys' Gundam drifted quietly close to the Zero.  It was not damaged, but the silver glow to its eyes had gone dark.  Wufei could tell that Heero was worried from the way the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly. 

                "The dolls self-destructed when Arys disconnected herself from the Zero System."

                Duo leaned forward, blue eyes somber.  "Is Arys all right?"

                Heero shook his head.  "I can't raise her.  She turned her comm system off."

                Quatre spoke up.  "New vessel entering the area."  He frowned slightly, but he quickly brightened.  "It's the Peacemillion II!"

                "Heero, can you handle towing the Archangel by yourself?"  Trowa asked.

                Heero nodded.  "Go tell Colonel Une that our twelve hours are up."

                "Let's go."  Trowa set a course for the approaching Peacemillion II.  Duo, Wufei, and Quatre followed. 

                The Zero flew close to the Archangel, sending out a tow line that attached itself to the Archangel's torso.  Slowly, Heero fired his thrusters and the two Gundams painstakingly trailed the other Gundams.  Heero stared down at the console, his eyes on the red dot representing the Archangel on the radar screen.  Heero allowed himself a sigh of relief.

                "Mission accomplished."

 

Peacemillion II

               

                Arys slowly woke from her traumatized slumber.   It was quiet.  Too quiet.  Her mind felt empty; Infinity was gone.  With a start, Arys realized that she was lonely.  Infinity had been her only companion, and now that companion no longer held the reins of her mind.  She had become almost fond of the AI.  What would she do without her now?  She had given up so much...

                Arys' eyes snapped open, and all her senses seemed to react to her surroundings at once.  The stark white ceiling, the sterile scent in the air, the bands holding her captive, the soft breathing of someone sitting next to her bed.  Arys relaxed when she felt the presence of another human being.  Human.  Infinity had often told her the faults of human beings.  Arys had tried her best to believe her mentor, but she found herself floundering between her own ideas and Infinity's demands.  Arys turned her head to see a slender boy sitting in a chair at her bedside.  He slept peacefully, but she could see the worry lines around his eyes.  What was his name?  Arys searched the tattered remains of her memory and finally came up with a name.  Heero Yuy.  Had he saved her?  He should have left her to die in the dead cold of outer space.   Arys wondered for a moment if he were real.  Arys glanced down at her wrists and saw that her hands were free.  She glanced back at the boy.  One of his hands rested lightly on the armrest nearest her.  Her hand shaking, Arys reached out for his hand.

                Her hand was snatched in his.  His hand was warm; she could feel the warmth seeping into her cold palm.  She looked up at Heero's face to see his eyes on hers.  Perhaps he had been faking sleep.  She was mesmerized by his eyes.  They were warm as well.  Arys cocked her head to the side, letting herself search their blue depths, trying to maintain a distance from this enigmatic boy who had obviously slept all night by her bedside.  A small smile touched her dry lips.

                "You saved me."

                Heero nodded, and Arys saw that the worry lines still existed around his eyes.   His grip on her hand tightened.  "We almost lost you, Arys.  You've been unconscious for the past 24 hours.  Sally said you were going through withdrawal from the Zero System."  He leaned forward and unsnapped the bands keeping her from sitting up. 

                Rubbing a hand across her forehead, Arys propped herself up on the pillows.  She scanned the medbay once before giving Heero a puzzled look.  "Who's Sally?"

                A golden-haired woman with sharp blue eyes walked into the medbay, holding a clipboard.  She frowned at Heero.  "Heero, I told you to ring for me when she woke up."

                "I was hoping she'd have her memory back."  Heero let go of Arys' hand and scooted back, letting the woman come to the bedside.

                The woman, apparently Sally, shook her head.  "I also told you that it wasn't likely she'd have her memory back.  We have reason to believe that Infinity downloaded her memories to either a disk or has it stored on the Net."  Sally put a hand on Arys' shoulder as she studied the vital signs monitor beside the bed.  

                "Infinity..." Arys whispered, absently counting the white tiles on the floor.  Both Sally and Heero turned to her.  Arys raised her head.  "Where is she?"

                The worry lines deepened around Heero's eyes.  "Why do you want to know?"

                Arys wondered if she dared tell these people why she needed to know Infinity's location.  Why did she want to know?  Did she want to go back?  Arys leaned forward and closed her eyes.  Her hair curtained across her face, hiding it from the other two people in the room.  "I need her..."  Arys muttered.  She pressed her fists to her eyes.  "No!  I don't!"  An echo of the voice she remembered bounced around her mind.  You need me, Arys... You need me... Need me...

                Arys groaned.  "No...  go away..."

                Heero caught her arm, trying to bring Arys back to reality.  She swayed, hair swinging back and forth.   She looked up at Heero, eyes wide with fear.  He put his hands on her shoulders, blue eyes boring into her gray ones.

                "I can still hear her voice," she whispered, staring at him unseeing.  She suddenly focused on his face, saw the concern there.  "I'm so confused.  Who should I listen to?"

                Heero shook her gently.  "Listen to me, Arys.  Infinity does not control you any more."

                Arys' focus shifted again.  Her gaze lighted on a mirror located on the wall past Heero's shoulder.  In the mirror, she saw a reflection of herself.  She reached up to touch her black hair.  Her hand traveled down to the collar of the white hospital gown she wore.  As she gazed at her reflection, it changed slightly.  It no longer displayed a mirror-image of the room in which she sat.  Instead, she peered into a darkened room, and in its center stood a woman with her height, her figure.  The woman turned to look at her.  Arys jerked away from Heero's hands when she saw the woman's face.  It was her face, but somehow it looked different.  Arys' eyes widened as the woman smiled... wickedly. 

                "Off with her head..."

                The woman's voice hung in the air.  

                "Infinity," Arys whispered, barely noticing that Heero and Sally were still in the room. 

                Infinity held out a hand, a red scepter materialized in her palm.  Like a javelin thrower, Infinity reared back and let the scepter fly, straight at Arys' neck.  It shattered the mirror as it left the darkened room, sending glass flying in all directions.  Arys let out a frightened yell and dove onto the bed, trying to avoid the scepter.   But it still struck her; she could feel its edge digging into her skin.  She grasped it around the shaft and tried to pull it away from her, but it held fast, as if some invisible force were pushing against it from the other side.  She gasped in pain as the blunt edge transformed into a knife.  She felt it cutting into her, deeper, and deeper... 

 

________________

 

                "What's wrong with her?"  Heero shouted as he tried to hold down the hysterical girl flailing on the bed.  Her chest heaved with panicked sobs as her wild gaze darted around the room as if in search of an unseen enemy.

                "We're losing her again!"  Sally shouted as she frantically studied the vital signs monitor.  Sally slammed open a drawer and pulled out a clean syringe.  She quickly plugged a canister into the open end and shoved Heero aside.  The boy stepped away willingly, watching as Sally injected the fluid into Arys' neck.

                With one hand, Sally held down the hallucinating girl, keeping her eyes on the vital signs monitor.  As Arys calmed down, her vital signs returned to normal.  Soon, the sixth pilot lay quietly on the bed, unconscious once again.  Sally rearranged the rumpled sheets around Arys' body.  Heero walked up next to her. 

                "What happened?"

                "I don't know, Heero.  She had all the symptoms of someone who had been savagely attacked, but there was nothing wrong with her.  No loss of blood, no wounds, of course.  All that happens is that her heart rate skyrockets and she stops breathing.  That's really what would have killed her if I hadn't been able to calm her down."

                Heero put a hand on Arys' arm, wondering what Infinity had done to her.   Sally tossed the syringe she was holding into the wastecan.

                "Heero, I don't think Arys is suffering withdrawal from the Zero System."

                "Then, what else could it be?"

                "I think she's suffering withdrawal from Infinity."

                "I don't think so, Sally..."  Heero sat down at Arys' bedside again as Sally turned to go wash her hands at a sink across the room. 

                "By Nataku..."  Sally's exclamation of surprise made Heero look her way again.  The medic was pointing at the mirror next to the sink. 

                Heero stood to his feet, just as shocked as Sally.  The shattered remains of the mirror were spread out across the floor.  Each tiny shard glinted in the light as if mocking them.  Why had they not heard the mirror break?  Heero looked at Sally.  She was looking back at Arys.

                "How..?"  Sally could not finish.

                Heero walked forward, picking up one sliver of glass.  He turned on his heel and held it up to get a closer look at it.  The sliver dissolved to a blur as he focused on Sally's confused blue eyes a few yards away from him.  He lowered the mirror shard and spoke, his voice soft.

                "Maybe this is Infinity's way of telling us what she's done to Arys' mind."