Love & Loss Part 1

We coalesced inside of an old structure. The building had not been finished and sat eight stories tall. You could see for miles in any direction from the top floor. It was night, and it was cold.

I leaned down to Spark, “Head back to the house boy. We got this.” The dog nodded as if it understood and it teleported away on its own. Standing up I asked, "Where are we Elaine?"

"How did you get up here!?" a voice commanded through the sky. We turned and there he stood; Darkstar. His trim black pinstripe suit made him look slender and evil. "Oh I see. You came for revenge Alis?" Darkstar took off his coat and place on the single lone chair next to him. "Well since you found my sanctuary I can’t let you live."

"Your Sanctuary?" I asked.

"Yes. It’s where I started MY first war. And what a glorious war it has been. Longer than any other this world has ever seen! Not even my fuehrer commanded this level of, of genius! I have created life a new, with your fathers tech none the less." Darkstar pointed at Elaine, "Look around you!" The sky lit up with lightning almost as if Darkstar himself had commanded it. The flash lit up the area around us. On the ground were hundreds, if not thousands of people. They all moaned out in pain, but did not seem to be moving or acting of their own free will. "I created this army of undead to command as my own. I will admit, it did take some tweaking and a lot of plutonium, but what a lovely horde they are. Like zombies with a master; and not just mindless monsters out for blood like the old horror stories. No they listen to me, ‘cause that’s what I asked for as part of my deal." Darkstar sat down in the chair he had placed his coat on. "Don’t the two of you see? We could rule this pathetic little planet; the three of us. You have both survived more than any of us combined, and I’ve made a deal with Lucifer himself. You survived the destruction of that first spaceship, and the bullets to the head my engineer Addley handed you. But will you survive a third trip to wherever a soul like yours would end up?" Darkstar paused and pulled a long white cigarette from his vest pocket and lit it. "So, what will it be? Take the place of Dani and Adam, the wasted projects. Or do I feed you limb by limb to my horde downstairs?"

"Neither!" Elaine barked out as her two voices. Darkstar snapped his fingers and some of the undead rushed up the building. He just sat there grinning. Elaine turned and opened her mouth. A radiant light burned from her mouth; frying the undead where they stood. Elaine closed her mouth and whipped her head back towards Darkstar, "We are here for our revenge and we will not be stopped."

Elaine teleported behind Darkstar and swung her arm down. He teleported to the other side of the room and she destroyed his chair; cracking the concrete floor of the structure. She looked at Darkstar.

"You seem surprised that I have your father’s tech just like you." Darkstar rolled up his sleeves. "I’m the only one it ever worked on. Those other six “students” of his were weak. They couldn’t handle the power and it burned them out. Don’t think for one minute it will be easy to get me; you don’t even know how to kill me. Remember, thanks to Lucifer I’m immortal."

Darkstar teleported to another side of the room. By the time we had fixed our gaze upon him, he had teleported again, and again.

"As you can see I’m faster too. If you still want to do this, we will settle once and for all who is better." We didn’t leave. "As you wish, we’ll see if you stay dead this time." He turned to his minions. "Begin the conversion. I will end this."

The horde of undead slowly turned and dispersed. Darkstar turned back to us and adjusted his neck and back, readying for the fight. He rushed me first. He was in front of me before I even knew it. His fist flew at my face. He grazed my forehead as I flipped back to dodge. I readied my guns, and fired. I unloaded in Darkstar’s direction for a split second before I realized he wasn’t there. Elaine walked into the center of the room and knelt down, placing her hands on the floor and closing her eyes. "Gotcha!" she leapt left and thrust her fist down in a pile driver style move. Darkstar appeared out of nowhere.

"It seems your father’s reflection tech was almost worth keeping. How were you able to see me though?"

"We see all. We hear all. You cannot hide and we will not kill you. We will imprison you with this."

Elaine pulled out another crystal and gripped it tight. She teleported behind Darkstar and tried to jam the crystal in his back. He darted away. I teleported behind him and swung a low kick at his knees. He jumped up to dodge and Elaine landed a punch square on his nose. Darkstar flipped over and landed on his feet. He pushed off with his left foot and sprang towards us. He turned invisible and close-lined me sending me to the floor. When he attacked his invisibility wore off. He flurried a set of punches and kicks towards Elaine. She moved with incredible speed deflecting his blows left and right. I sprang to my feet and rushed Darkstar from behind.

I leapt forward with my knee ready to snap his back upon impact. Elaine deflected his last punch combination and threw a punch herself. Darkstar grabbed her wrist and swung her around and into me. We collided and flew across the room. I coughed and caught my breath. I stood up; a bit shaken but nothing I couldn’t handle. Dani and Adam were never this good in the simulation and there were two of them. Elaine was already up and back at it; trying to find a way to get Darkstar with the crystal. Their sparing went back and forth as I watched. Elaine moved with a fury and speed I had never seen from her before. Her eyes never once moved or looked away; glowing a bright white now. I ran towards them. I tried to get in on the fight and surprise Darkstar.

"Stay back Marty!" Elaine barked at me, "This is my fight!"

"No this is our fight! He killed me too!"

"But you’re not strong enough and you will just get in my way."

Elaine landed a kick into the side of Darkstar’s head; sending him my direction near the edge of the building. Darkstar flipped up and landed on his feet. He proceeded to begin fighting with me. I kept up as best as I could; he was just so fast. Darkstar punched me in the stomach and sent me sliding back on the floor. Elaine rushed over to help me and Darkstar grabbed her by the throat.

"I’ve had enough. We’ve had our fun but it’s time for me to go. If the fall doesn’t kill you then the nuke will. Under this building is an old soviet silo. I will finish you two once and for all."

Darkstar held Elaine by the throat; dangling her outside the building from the seventh floor. "Oh and to make sure you don’t get away from this one," With his other hand he took her teleportation watch, "Goodbye for the last time!" Darkstar dropped Elaine from the building.

"NO!" I rushed forward and dove off the floor and down after her. I could hear the explosion starting underground as I rushed closer. The ground was beginning to crack and everything was moving in slow motion. ’Save her’ the only thing in my mind. I flew down after her. I caught her a few feet from the ground and we teleported away as the explosion burst through the ground and into my face.

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Love & Loss Part 2

We hit the floor of the old house that Elaine had taken me to when we first came back to life. Spark came running into the room to make sure we were ok. Elaine was breathing but asleep. The crystal in her chest had stopped glowing. I pulled it out and shattered it on the floor. I picked up Elaine and put her down on the sofa in the main room looking out onto the ocean. My face was on fire. I stumbled into the bathroom down the hall. I turned on the water and splashed some on my face. My legs were weak; I collapsed to my knees; breathing deep and collecting myself. I stood and looked in the mirror. I could see why my face was on fire. The explosion had seared my face before we teleported. There was now a scar from the left corner of my mouth to the edge of my left eye.

I touched at it like a child; examining it with my fingers. My rapid healing wasn’t removing it. The pain had subsided but the scar remained. I heard a noise and rushed out to check on Elaine. A small squirrel was staring me down Spark growled at it and it turned and ran out the window it had come in from. I laughed and sighed relief, lowering my guns. Elaine was still asleep on the sofa. I put a blanket over her, closed the window, and walked outside onto the front porch. I sat on the top step and readied my weapons. I sat there watching the wilderness for who knows how long; thinking about everything that had happened. Spark came up next to me and layed down next to me. I petted him softly and it seemed as though he went to sleep; cuddling right up next to me.

My teleporter dinged and I looked down; it was ready. It also said it was two in the morning. Just then Elaine walked out. I turned and there she stood. She looked so sad. She came and sat on the other side of me, placing her head on my shoulder. I put my arm around her.

"I’m so sorry Marty. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was just so confused."

"Confused about what?"

"Everything! I, we lived in that alternate reality. We died in that reality. And now here we are a year later. I was so confused on how to feel, what to feel. My father’s program was in my head telling me to kill Dani and Adam and Darkstar, and to complete the mission I was built for. But I could feel other emotions. Like want and choice. That was why I ran off when we first came back to life. And ever since then I’ve been trying to follow my father like he wanted but I was just so angry. Angry at him, angry at Dani; I couldn’t control my emotions. The only thing I could keep thinking was. ’What am I supposed to be? Am I just a copy of Alis? Am I just a mindless soldier made to look like Alis as some sick joke? Am I…’"

"You’re supposed to be Elaine. The one I’ve always loved. Why don’t we just leave it all behind? We can stay here me and you. No one will ever recognize me with this scar that Darkstar just left me with. I can use the teleporter to go into stores and towns after they close down for supplies and we can just live here out of the way. If fate wants us killed, then I say fine. Your father said he already had his plan in motion so we would just get in the way now anyway. He’s dead, Jack is dead, and Whimz is unsure but he doesn’t know that the hooded figure was me. Hes forever left wondering who we are, if we are. All trace of us is gone and Darkstar will think we died in the explosion if we never show up again. What do you think?"

I pulled the amber black rose out from my pocket. For the first time since we had been in the simulation, I truly saw Elaine smiling; happy.

"I can’t think of anything better…" She leaned in and kissed me.