Heritage (Under Revision)

Chapter 31 - Elena

“Holy...shit...” I hear my son say faintly from what seems like miles away.

My head is pounding and my heart feels as if it’ll burst from my chest at any given moment. I wiggle my fingers and toes, trying to gauge any injuries, and an automatic pain jolts through my left leg, stopping at my kneecap.

“Leon,” I’m barely able to whisper out.

Leon immediately turns around, horror filling his eyes as they meet mine. In the frame of the doorway I can see great billowing clouds of bluish-gray smoke. The smell of the wrecked room reminds me of my mother’s basement and mixing that with the crackling headache, a wave of nausea hits me.

“Ma! Are you okay? Here, let me help you up,” Leon exclaims, rushing to my side and kneeling in front of me.

“I think I’m okay, but my leg may be broken.”

Leon wraps his arm around my waist as I swing my own arm around his shoulders, holding on for leverage as he slowly lifts me to my feet. He doesn’t let go of my waist as I gingerly put weight on my leg. The shooting pain comes back for a brief moment, but it’s soon dulled to an ache.

“Can you walk?” Leon asks.

I attempt a small step and find that my leg, while painful, isn’t broken.

“Must’ve just pulled or dislocated something,” I reply.

Next to us, a hacking cough sounds from Stella and she abruptly sits up, clutching her head.

“Stella!” we both shout in unison, hurrying to her side.

“I’m alright,” she whispers, wincing as she releases the sides of her head.

Leon kneels beside her, wrapping his uninjured arm tightly around her and hugging her to his chest. He plants small kisses all over her face, examining her striking features for injuries. Even with streaked dirt and blood on her face, and her hair knotted around her shoulders, her beauty is still breathtaking.

As Leon helps Stella to her feet, Ethan and Damien both begin to stir across the room. Damien immediately pulls himself to his feet, rushing to the doorway to assess our situation. Ethan, however, is on the floor still, clutching his head and gasping for breath.

“Son of a bitch...” Damien says from the doorway, looking outside.

“What is it, brother?” Ethan asks, as I wipe the blood from a small cut on his forehead.

“It’s a wasteland out there...”

I take hold of Ethan’s arm and he grips the support handle on the wall, hoisting himself to his feet.

“You ok, honey?” I ask him softly as the two crewmembers finally awake from the floor.

“Just some bumps and bruises, nothing major,” he replies, suddenly wrapping his arms around me and hugging me as if it’s the last time he ever will. He kisses me passionately and gazes into my eyes.

“I love you, Elena,” he whispers.

“I love you too, Ethan. We’ll be okay. I’m so sorry you lost your ship, but everything will be ok. We always make it, no matter what,” I reply. He simply nods and holds me tight, kissing me.

Across the room, Stella and Leon are helping the crew members to their feet as Ethan and I approach the door where Damien is standing awestruck.

I gasp automatically when I see the scene in front of me.

Complete and total wreckage.

Falling debris is raining down from the sky, smoking and smoldering as it makes its approach like great metal comets. Dead bodies of our fellow crewman, littering the lush green carpet beyond us. Enormous chunks of metal are implanted into the ground like shrapnel and two giant sections of our ship lay crushed in the ground in the distance. Huge spurts of fire every dozen feet or so illuminate the entire catastrophic scene.

“Rayalis...” I whisper, staring out at the would-be picturesque scene...if it weren’t for the chaos.

“It must’ve been beautiful,” Stella whispers from behind us, wiping a tear and seeing the devastating scene for the first time.

“It was...we were going to honeymoon here, but at the time we couldn’t afford it. We were planning a family vacation for next year. The beach is beautiful, isn’t it?” I reply, gesturing to the right at the beach.

“It looks like a postcard,” Damien says, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. We all stand quietly for a moment as the situation around us sinks in.

“So...what’s our next move, Dad?” Leon asks his father, wincing in pain as he shifts his arm.

“First of all, we all need patched up and Damien and I have some explaining to do,” Ethan says, motioning for us to follow him back inside.

We don’t speak, instead we head straight for the many storage cabinets, searching for first-aid supplies.

“Found some painkillers and bandages,” Stella says from across the room, taking down a few boxes and bottles from the shelf.

“Rations over here, and water,” Damien says.

“Okay, Elena, Stella, can you patch everyone up while we tell you all what s going on?” Ethan asks us.

“What do you want us to do, boss?” asks James, one of the crew-members.

I see Damien glancing at Ethan before they both walk out the door, consulting one another. I finish wrapping Leon’s arm and hand him two painkillers and the canteen of water than Damien had filled for each of us. He pops the pills in his mouth and washes it down with the water while I clean a thin cut on my own forearm.

Ethan and Damien re-enter the room a few moments later and Ethan turns to crewmen James and Rosa.

“I have a mission for you both,” he begins, looking pointedly at them. “Us five have a special mission of our own, and we need you two to scope the area, check the grounds and the fallen ship portions for any survivors. I’m going to need you to bring them back here, patch them up and keep watch. I don t know how long our mission will take, but we will be in contact. Do you both have TAPs units?” Ethan asks them.

“Yes, sir,” they reply in unison.

Ethan keys his TAPs code, along with the rest of ours, into James and Rosa’s units.

“Arm yourselves, there’s a small weapons cabinet over there, not much to choose from but it’ll have to do,” Damien says, crossing the room and opening the cabinet.

“Ethan, what’s going on?” I whisper as he approaches.

“I’ll tell you in a minute, Elena. Just be patient,” he says to me, a hard look in his eyes. After all these years of being married to Ethan, patience is something I have a firm grip on.

I just nod at him and he lifts his shirt, revealing a short gash on his rib-cage. I immediately begin cleansing and bandaging the wound.

“Elena?” Stella whispers, while Damien can be heard in the background giving recommendations on certain knives or handguns.

“Yes, hun?”

“Could I have a painkiller? This cut on my head hurts and my head is throbbing still,” she replies. I hand her two of the painkillers and check the cleaned wound.

“You cleaned it just fine, take those and try, as hard as it is, to relax okay? We’ll be alright,” I say comfortingly.

James and Rosa load up their weapons and place them in their holsters, preparing to depart in search of survivors. I grab two of the larger canteens and hand them to each one.

“Be safe, stay alert and if needed, contact any one of our TAPs units, they’ll be on,” Ethan says. Both of the crewmen nod and head out for their rescue mission.

A few minutes pass with Damien and Ethan standing guard at the door until James and Rosa are far enough out of earshot. They both turn simultaneously and give each other quick glances before turning to the three of us, waiting for an explanation or plan of action.

“Okay, we need to fill you guys in on why we’re really here,” Ethan says, leaning against the door-frame.

“Wait, I thought we were here because those mutant assholes dropped our ship?” Leon says, looking curiously up at his father and uncle.

“Well, essentially, yes. But we’re also here for ulterior motives. Ours and theirs...” Damien replies cryptically.

“What do you mean?” Stella asks quizzically.

Damien looks over at Ethan who nods somberly back, signaling for him to continue.

“Well, as I explained to my brother earlier, I’ve been having some very vivid dreams of Dante lately. In these dreams, I saw a device that I never knew of before. I did some research before I came to the Poseidon, trying to figure out what the hell this device was, or does. It bugged me that I didn’t know and something in my gut told me to figure it out,” Damien begins, and starts pacing the uneven floor.

“Wait a sec...Ethan, you’ve been having dreams about Dante too lately, haven’t you?” I ask my husband. He just nods and stays quiet and we all turn back to Damien as Ethan slips an arm around my back.

“After some extensive searching, some of it illegal, I found a diagram and summary of the device. It’s the only known one of its kind, a Molecular Particle Re-Animator,” Damien says, glancing over at all of us, gauging our reactions.

“I can’t help but to gasp when I hear it. Memories come flooding back to me from my days with the Ravens. Hushed talk of a device to unscramble molecules, a multi-trillion-dollar project kept under wraps by the U.S. Government.”

“Pardon me, but what the hell is a Molecular Particle Re-Animator?” Stella asks.

“Just what the name says, Stella dear. It’s a device to re-animate scrambled molecules,” Ethan explains as Leon wraps his good arm around Stella s waist.

“But not only that...the molecules can be re-animated when they’re close to being non-existent, it can open wormholes and repair everything lost inside,” Damien says, a new light shining in his eyes that I hadn’t seen in years.

“Leon and Stella’s mouth hang open in shock and I look up at Ethan questioningly, wondering if it could really be true.

“Yes, Elena, the device is real. Not only is it real, but it’s here. Damien thinks it’s in connection with our dreams. He thinks, and I agree with him, that Dante is trying to contact us,” Ethan says seriously.

“But...but if it’s real, and we can actually obtain it...that would mean that--,”

“We can bring him back,” Leon and Damien say in tandem.

“Ethan...are you serious? This...this is crazy! Do we even know where this device is, or if it’s still in working order?” I ask him excitedly.

“It’s a chance I’m willing to take, Elena, if it means bringing Dante back,” Ethan replies, his face like stone.

All these years he’s been brooding over Dante, feeling as if it was his fault. Now he has a chance to bring his best friend back from the point of no return...who am I to rain on his parade?

“So...Uncle Damien, can you please explain this device? We know what it does, but how do we know where it is?” Leon asks, sipping from his canteen.

“Well, nephew, let me bring you and your lovely girlfriend up to speed,” Damien says, smirking and winking at Stella in his usual devil-may-care way.

“She’s mine, Uncle D, back off and just explain,” Leon says with a chuckle. We all share a little laugh and Stella blushes at the attention while Leon places a soft kiss on her lips.

“Anyways, the U.S. Government started researching molecular reconstruction after the third World War, but...and here’s the clincher, they didn’t actually manufacture this device until Korlon war broke out. The Oder of Allied Planets kept going after its establishment,” Damien continues.

“But...how do you know it’s here, Damien?” Stella asks, looking puzzled.

“I...” Damien begins, looking almost ashamed.

“He broke in and found the records,” Ethan answers, grinning.

“Thanks for outing me, bro. Now what will the lovely Stella think of me?” Damien says, smirking and winking once again.

“Damien, she’ll be my daughter-in-law someday, you’re too old for her,” Ethan says jokingly.

“Ah, Stells, Uncle D is just goofing around. No worries, you re my girl only,” Leon says, smiling and kissing her cheek.

“I know, I’m not worried,” she replies.

“Anyways, let’s not get sidetracked,” I say to the group of them, trying to make some progress.

“Let’s just say that I know it’s here on Rayalis, and I have the general coordinates. The device was attacked while en-route via airship and crash landed here on Rayalis. We’ll have to search of course, and obviously we’ll be on foot, but this is our one chance to bring Dante back...” Damien says quietly.

“And to answer your question, Stella, we’re not sure exactly what this device has to do with the Sekrid, but I’d be willing to bet my ass that Rin’Gal knows about it and wants it,” Ethan says soberly.

“That’s why we need to get to it before he does, I’m the only one with the coordinates, but it wouldn’t take him and his soldiers long to find out. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it’ll be to go after it,” Damien states.

“Then what re we waiting for? Let’s go!” Leon exclaims.

“Hold on, son. We have to prepare before we go. Stella, Elena, can you two get us some supplies ready? There should be emergency packs around here somewhere, all of the impact rooms are fully stocked. We’ll need food and water rations and first aid. Pack any essentials that you find, Damien, Leon and I will carry the packs. Leon, can you please get any and all available weapons loaded and packed?” Ethan asks as Damien retrieves several papers from the inside pocket of his jacket.

They quickly clear the table and smooth out the papers, hovering over them and talking to one another. Off in the corner, Leon is loading and gathering every weapon from the cabinet, along with a couple discarded handguns littering the floor.

Stella and I start searching every available nook and cranny in search of rations and supplies. None of us know how long it will take to locate this device, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help Damien and Ethan bring back their best friend.

“Elena?” Stella whispers, handing me several canteens after filling each one.

“Yeah?”

“Are you worried?” she asks, looking up at me.

“A little, but that s to be expected. After our time on the Zeus, it’s hard to be scared anymore. Besides...Ethan wants this. He blames himself for Dante’s death, and if I can help him relieve that burden, I’ll do whatever it takes. We all miss Dante, but no one misses him more than Ethan and Damien.”

“But...I thought Dante was dead, Elena?” Stella says quietly.

“You do raise a good point. In all the excitement, I completely ignored that fact. Ethan?” I say loudly, getting his attention from across the room.

“Yeah babe?” he replies, turning his head briefly.

“Um, I don t mean to put a damper on our pending journey...but Dante is dead. Even if this device works, nothing can re-animate dead molecules,” I say to him softly, not wanting to upset him.

“We don’t know for sure that he’s dead, Elena. We didn’t see everything. He very well could be alive. We only saw him pull the pins, and the blast afterwards. All time freezes in a wormhole. For all we know, he’s just alive and separated into particles. That’s what my dreams are telling me at least,” Damien says, turning to face me.

“I was just wondering, I didn’t mean to ups—” I begin, automatically feeling ashamed.

“No, no, no! I wasn’t trying to be a prick, sister dear. I can see your reason for asking, I thought the same thing. But until I know for sure that Dante is dead and gone, I won’t stop looking for a solution to bring him back.”

“Fair enough, I think,” Stella says.

“Get those weapons ready, we’ll be ready soon,” Damien orders to Leon, while silently acknowledging Stella with a nod.

Stella and I finish packing all of our supplies into three large packs, one for each of the guys. Two smaller packs are being stocked by Stella for her and I to carry as well, despite Ethan s chivalrous efforts. She packs the last of the rations into her own pack and hands mine to me.

“We’re all done here, Ethan. Everything is packed up,” I say to him.

“Thanks, baby. Hey can you come over here a sec?” he asks me. I make my way over to him and Damien and scan the maps and papers laid carefully on the table.

“Okay, this is where we are, according to the GPS on my TAPs unit,” Damien says, pointing to a spot on the map. “According to the device coordinates, the crash happened here, where the device is now at,” he says, using his other hand to point to another spot on the map.

“That’s approximately six and a half miles from our current position, if we hike straight through these hills here,” I reply, dragging my finger across the weathered map.

“The sun will be setting in about three hours, we don’t have supplies to camp out so we’ll have to either stop and sleep in shifts, or keep going until we can’t any longer,” Stella says, handing everyone their packs.

“Baby, I told you we’d carry the packs, I—” Ethan begins as Leon joins us around the table.

“Ethan, I’m your wife and Dante was my friend too. We’re all in this together, we need each other. Stella and I don’t mind helping, do we, Stells?” I ask, turning to her.

“Of course not. I’m in for the long haul,” she replies, glancing up at Leon.

“Alright then, our TAPs are solar powered so I say we keep them out in the open until the very last minute. There are five of us, so after the sun sets, four of us will shut out units off to conserve their power as needed. Does everyone have their packs?” Ethan asks, looking to each of us in turn.

We all raise our packs for him to see and Stella hands each of us a packaged rain poncho.

“Where did you find these, baby?” Leon asks, removing his from the package and slipping it on.

“In the cabinet over there, I figured since we’d be hiking, even if it’s not raining, they’d come in handy to protect us from scratches and scrapes. They don’t look the best,” she replies, looking sheepish.

“Good idea, Stella. We’re already beat up enough as it is, we can use all the protection we can get,” Damien says, patting her shoulder and slipping his on.

“Everyone ready then?” Ethan asks. We all nod and head for the door behind him.

“This way, guys,” Damien says, taking the lead next to Ethan and I and heading straight for a large grove of jungle trees.

Leon, Stella and I are a few steps behind us three, holding hands and looking cautiously around to gauge our surroundings.

As we step into the woods, I can hear Leon whisper to Stella from behind me.

“It’ll be okay, Stella. I won’t let anything bad happen. I love you.”