Dacaen's Story (7/7)
by Leontien
Back on Moya, Crichton and D'Argo had remained vigilant.
Crichton was sitting next to Aeryn, while D'Argo was dozing off on the
other side of the bed. Suddenly, Crichton shrieked when he saw a gash
appear on Aeryn's arm, and woke D'Argo.
"What is it?" D'Argo asked his human companion, trying to calm him.
Crichton pointed at Aeryn. "She's injured. We have to go down and help
her."
D'Argo's eyes followed Crichtons outstretched arm and saw the wound on
Aeryn's arm.
"I'll go and find Zhaan. You stay here and look if there are any other
injuries." D'Argo said, already running out of the room.
Crichton watched D'Argo's retreating back, before turning back to Aeryn.
It only took D'Argo a few minutes to find Zhaan and they quickly
returned to John and Aeryn's quarters.
When Zhaan had examined Aeryn and had found no other injuries, John
spoke up. "I'm going down to the planet." He said. "Obviously, Dacaen is
failing and Aeryn is injured. I'm going to help them."
"I will go with you, John." D'Argo said.
John nodded and grabbed a pulse rifle. Together, they left the room and
headed towards the maintenance bay...
************
Aeryn descended the stairs as quickly as she could, with Dacaen in tow.
When she had reached the first level, she abandoned Dacaen's body and
began to search the rooms for the remaining vampire. After a quarter arn
of searching and not finding anything, she returned to the stairs, where
she had left Dacaen. As she rounded the last corner, she saw it.
The last vampire, the leader, had watched as Aeryn had left Dacaen, its
old enemy, alone and disappeared in a room, not noticing it watching
from the darkness. As soon as it was left alone with its enemy, it
leaped forward, towards Dacaen. There it waited for the other to return,
so they could be destroyed. It would avenge the others' deaths slowly
and painfully. It turned his head around when he heard soft footsteps
approaching...
***********
Crichton landed the pod near the location Pilot had given him. He had
asked Pilot if he had the last known position of Dacaen on the planet,
and luckily, Pilot was able to give him detailed information on his
whereabouts.
As soon as he and D'Argo exited the pod, they saw a lifeless form lying
on the ground near a bridge. Crichton ran towards it, followed closely
by D'Argo. When he was still a few metras away from it, he saw that it
was Dacaen, lying on the ground. Quickly, he felt for a pulse. When he
didn't feel any life signs, he turned to D'Argo.
"Stay here with Dacaen and guard over his body. I'm going to that
building to see if I can find those beings who are hurting Aeryn." He
said and when D'Argo nodded in return, he turned around and crossed the
bridge.
When he was on the other side of the gap, he felt strange. Turning
around, he saw what the problem was. His body hadn't followed. He saw
D'Argo say something, but the sound seemed to be blocked by some sort of
force field. When he tried to go back the same way he had gotten here,
he was held back by the same field that must have been blocking the
sound. Seeing that he was captured here, he signaled D'Argo that he was
okay and followed the road to the building.
************
Aeryn and the vampire circled eachother, each having their own weapons.
Aeryn was holding the sword Dacaen had given her, while the vampire was
showing it's shining white fangs and claws. Suddenly, the vampire leaped
forward, trying to wound Aeryn with his clawed paw. She jumped out of
the way, the claws barely missing her stomach. When the vampire wasn't
balanced, she thrust her sword towards it, hitting him near its lungs.
It smiled in response. "Dacaen hasn't trained you well, has he? Did he
forget to tell you that my lungs have no function? It's not a fatal
wound." He said. He started circling her again, this time keeping a
greater distance.
********
John entered the castle the same way Aeryn and Dacaen had done little
over an arn before him. As he walked through the main corridor, he could
smell burned matter in the air. Soon, he reached the charred floor where
Dacaen had vanquished the first being. He looked at it for a few
microts, before continuing towards the next door. When he opened it, he
entered a large room with little furniture. Unknowingly, he was
following Aeryn and Dacaen's earlier path.
As he reached the stairs, he could hear a menacing voice coming from
above. He figured that it had to be one of the vampires, so he followed
the stairs, going upwards. When he reached the next level, he saw
Dacaen's body lying motionless on the floor. He kneeled down, and felt
for a pulse. This time, he felt a faint, but steady pulse. Hearing more
sounds coming from an adjacent room, he stood up and approached the
room. There, he saw Aeryn and one of the vampires, which was circling
her.
When John took a step forward, the vampire turned around and hissed. It
observed his new threat for a moment, before turning back to Aeryn.
**********
Aeryn watched as the vampire circled her, while paying attention to
Crichton's movements. Seeing that it was distracted, she lunged forward,
sword ready. The being saw this in time and attacked her while she
couldn't defend herself. In the meantime, Crichton ran towards the
fighting pair and jumped on the vampire's back, pulling it away from
Aeryn. This gave Aeryn the chance to impale the vampire with Dacaen's
sword. It turned to dust, leaving Crichton to fall on the floor.
Quickly, Aeryn took a torch and walked towards Crichton, who stood up
and dusted himself off.
"I have to burn it." she said and he nodded. Immediately, she lit the
dust, watching it burn until nothing was left.
Almost instantaneously, the world began to shake.
"We have to get back to the portal." Aeryn told Crichton and together
they carried Dacaen out of the castle.
When they reached the portal, they saw D'Argo, who was still waiting for
John to return. He was signaling them to hurry up. Behind them, the
building vanished in thin air. As they rushed through the portal, the
other reality already crumbling, D'Argo saw them disappear. A microt
later, a moan escaped from John.
"D'Argo, tell me you saw which Prowler hit me." He said as he sat up,
clutching his head. "What the frell happened?" he asked.
D'Argo laughed. "I thought that I had lost you, John. As soon as you
went through the portal, your body seemed to split, leaving one of you
behind, unconscious." He said, kneeling next to Dacaen. "I'm afraid that
our friend isn't in such a good condition. We have to get him back to
Moya."
John stood up. "Where's Aeryn?" He asked, looking at D'Argo.
"She disappeared like you did." D'Argo answered.
John contacted Zhaan. "Zhaan? Tell me Aeryn is with you." He said as
soon as he heard the Delvian answer his hail.
"Yes John. There hasn't been any change since you left to the planet."
Zhaan answered.
"She hasn't woken up yet?" John asked.
"No, I'm sorry. John, what is going on down there? Pilot has found all
sorts of unexplainable things happening on the planet." Zhaan asked.
"I'll tell you later. D'Argo and I are returning to Moya, with Dacaen.
He's injured and dying." John said and turned off the comm. He turned to
D'Argo, who had already lifted Dacaen in his arms. "Let's go."
**********
They reached Moya in record time. While John rushed towards his
quarters, D'Argo carried Dacaen to the infirmary. He was met by Zhaan,
who began examining the injured Dacaen. In the meantime, John had
reached Aeryn's bed. He sat down next to her and held her hand in his.
With his other hand, he wiped away a loose strand of hair. As he looked
up, he saw D'Argo standing in the doorway.
"Zhaan told me that Dacaen won't live much longer. She also told me that
she is convinced that Aeryn isn't dead." D'Argo said.
"Thanks, big guy. I know she's out there, finding her way home." John
replied.
"I'll ask Zhaan if she can do anything." D'Argo said and he left John
alone with Aeryn.
**********
Aeryn opened her eyes and saw the familiar surroundings of Moya. She
moved her head to the left and saw Crichton snoring softly next to her.
She looked in the direction of the door when she heard footsteps
approaching. After a few microts, Zhaan appeared in the doorway. When
the Delvian noticed that Aeryn was awake, she approached her.
"It's good to see you back with us." Zhaan said.
"How long have I been gone?" Aeryn asked, sitting up.
"Nearly a weeken. We all were very worried, even Rygel." Zhaan answered.
Aeryn seemed to think for a moment. "I don't remember much, it's all
very vague, but I do remember Dacaen. Where is he?"
"In the infirmary. John and D'Argo found him on the planet." Zhaan
answered.
"I want to see him, can you take me to him." Aeryn asked, already
getting out of bed before Zhaan could protest.
"Only for a moment. You're both very weak and you must rest." Zhaan
answered.
Aeryn smiled. "I've slept for nearly a weeken, I don't need more rest."
She said as they walked to in the infirmary.
As they reached their destination, Zhaan left Aeryn alone to speak with
Dacaen. She said that she would return in ten minutes.
Aeryn walked towards the bed Dacaen was lying upon. When she halted next
to him, he opened his eyes and coughed.
"Aeryn..." he said with a raspy voice. "I don't have much time left in
this world..."
Aeryn interrupted him. "You will live, Dacaen. You still have to teach
me a lot of things, remember?"
"We're on Moya, which means that you finished my mission and that the
beings are dead." Dacaen returned.
"Crichton helped me. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to
destroy the last one and we both would've died there." Aeryn said.
"Crichton..." Dacaen said. "He knows how to protect the ones he loves.
You should stay here, with him." Dacaen continued. "But if you want to
learn more, you have to find my Master, the one who trained me years
ago."
"Where does he live?" Aeryn asked.
"He lives on a planet called Capres II." Dacaen answered. "You know how
to find it, if the time is right." He explained. He coughed once more.
"My time here is finished..." he finished.
Aeryn looked up as Zhaan walked in and came to stand next to her.
"He's dead." Aeryn stated.
At the same time, his body vaporized and was replaced by a pile of ash.
"We will bury him on the planet." Zhaan said as she placed the ash in an
urn. Aeryn nodded her approval.
***********
Epilogue:
Aeryn stood on the terrace, watching the planet where they had left
Dacaen on, becoming smaller and smaller as their distance increased. She
sensed John coming to stand behind her, rather than hearing it. He
embraced her, still standing behind her.
"We'll all miss him." He said as he held her in his arms.
Aeryn turned around in his embrace.
"He asked me to come with him, before he died, when I was on the
planet." Aeryn said.
"What was your answer?" he asked.
"I wanted to come with him, to learn more about his people. He was like
I was, without a home. Though a part of me wanted this, another part of
me wanted to stay with you and the others." She replied.
"Seems like quite a conflict. What are you going to do, now that he's
deceased?" John queried.
"Dacaen told me where someone like him lives. When the time is right,
I'll search for him, but not now." Aeryn answered. "Dacaen said that it
was wise to stay with you." She added.
"Then he was very wise..." John replied and kissed her.
Together, they looked at the planet until it was nothing more than a
shining dot in the black space.
End.
Note: Happy New Year!!!!!!!! Great fic to end the year, not? (Just
kidding.)