Of Light, Shadow and Love: Volume 1

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Chapter 6

Virus

Shadowdancer spared Will a glance before disciplining her mind. This thing they were fighting . . . knew their killers. She was shaken by the primal hate she felt from this group entity. It was worse than . . . .

The dark elf shook herself, driving the memory away. She could not let her defenses down.

But she had. For the briefest of instants, she all but heard the mental scream of triumph of her foes, before they seized that moment of her past and sent her spiraling into her own personal hell.

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There was nothing but ashes everywhere, and the snow that began to cover the devastated land was the same hue. The very earth itself was scorched black, the vibrant color of life leached from what had once been a lush forest. Now there was nothing, not even the charred bones of the trees, a melted stone, or a heat-twisted sword blade.

The only sound was the whisper of the snow as it fell, and her screams of anguish. The fire had taken everything away . . . her foes, the forest for as far as she could see . . . and the only man she would ever love.

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The screaming in her mind faded into a scream of reality. Her moment of weakness had cost them dearly. Will lay writhing on the floor, clutching his head as the virus sought revenge upon their destroyer. His pain was so intense that she could feel it, simply from being next to him.

The dark elf’s wounded pride flared, searing her blood with rage. How dare this insignificant mistake of nature take my most private memories and use them against me?!

At her feet, Will felt the agony suddenly cease. It left him breathless. One moment, pain unending . . . the next instant, there was nothing, not even an ache to tell him he had not been hallucinating. He looked up and gasped.

Shadowdancer was floating six inches off the ground, her arms thrown out to her sides. Her eyes seemed to bleed with an eerie white light, light that snaked down her fingertips and out to the Dom fangirl’s body. The fangirl herself was wrapped with a web of the same white light, which writhed and undulated and pulsed like a living thing.

The energy, Will Trent realized, was the power of Shadowdancer’s mind. Before he could form another coherent thought, the energy seemed to hiss, and burst into a thousand sparks.

Tentatively, the young healer stretched out his awareness, but knew already before confirming it, that somehow Shadowdancer had burned the disease from the fangirl’s body. The mental image of ashes stirred by wind lingered strongly in his mind.

“Are you all right?” Shadowdancer was kneeling next to him, her eyes back to normal. She stretched out her hands to him and he felt a tingling.

“I’m all right . . . what happened?”

Shadowdancer’s face, which had been expressive with concern the moment before, fell into a closed mask. “They got to me,” she said curtly. She helped him to his feet. “Come on. There’s still one left here on this floor.”

She headed into a shadow, not realizing that Will had stopped to check on the unconscious fangirl. She poked back out of the shadow. “Well, are you coming or not?”

Will stared at her. She was literally sticking out of the wall, her hand held out for him to take. Shuddering at the implications, he took her hand and allowed himself to be pulled into the darkness, unaware that the effort of saving the girl had completely drained his strange companion.

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It happened when they were working on a young fanboy. The poor lad was fresh into Megatokyo, so new he popped up right in the middle of a rampage and nearly got iced right off the bat. He had been lucky to reach the UFL alive. And now, the very hospital that gave him new life was responsible for slowly sucking it away. Will grimaced. This was bad. The virus was beginning to act as one. Much, much harder to kill. Will decided that he’d better go into this one with all he had. Shielded by Shadow’s psychic barrier, Will blasted a huge wave of healing into kid’s body in an instant, searing through the virii as they tried to regroup and resist.

All of a sudden, Shadow faltered again. The virii jumped at the opportunity, but Will, flooded with power, slapped them back in mid-attack. He snapped up a shield of healing just as they rebounded with a huge psychic attack. Will’s heart dropped as the wave thundered towards him, knowing that he could never . . . .

The wave shattered, breaking into a million fragmented pieces that shimmered out of existence.

Shadowdancer.

It would have been redundant to ask. Without a second’s delay, Will threw his all into the boy’s body. The virii, still reeling from the psychic reverberations of their failed attack, didn’t stand a chance. Healing shot through the very core of the lad, incinerating every last remnant of the virii. Will began breathing again, heavily.

“Miss Dusk . . . .”

“I’m tired, that’s all. A little rest, that’s all I need. Just some rest.” Shadow said wearily.

“Ma’am, we nearly lost it! If you had failed a second earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to block them!”

“I’ll be fine,” she said curtly. “Besides, who else do you have?”

Will stared at her for a second, and then turned away silently and walked over to the window.

“Where to, next?” he asked, surveying the scene outside.

“Follow me, and I’ll . . . .”

“No.”

“What?”

“No. You needed rest, you said. So I’m taking us there.”

“But it doesn’t take any effort!” she exploded, “And navigating the Shadows is easier and faster than walking!”

“We’re teleporting, and no, I’m not willing to take that risk. We’re going in five minutes. Take your rest.”

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Shadowdancer kicked herself all the way to the new room. She was not used to being teleported under someone else’s power, but it helped her recover that much faster. They wafted into existence inside a room with a very young girl. Shadowdancer stepped forward.

“This was the strongest one I . . . augh!” She broke off as a painfully loud voice rumbled through their minds.

::YOU HAVE SLAUGHTERED US! YOU HAVE DENIED MILLIONS THE GLORY OF LIFE THAT . . . . ::

Shadowdancer boosted her defenses, and the voice thankfully faded away. Will was indignant, so painfully angry that his thoughts reverberated through the natural shield that most humans have.

We? WE?! You infested our bodies and slew the innocent, maliciously . . . .

“Will. WILL!”

“What?!”

“Calm. This is the central intelligence. It has to be. It’s the most powerful point in the hospital. Kill it, and the others become helpless.”

“I see . . . .” he glanced at the poor girl. Her heart was barely able to beat, so infested was she of the virii.

 “Shall we?”

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Hate was an emotion that Shadowdancer was very familiar with, and she knew how to counter it. They needed to fight as one, but separately . . . . She nodded to herself. She knew what to do.

“Will... on my mark.”

The young healer nodded grimly. She sent him a flash-image that she would use her magic briefly, not her psi-abilites, for the first strike. With that, he also knew that she would draw the Mind away from him, so that he could strike it ‘from behind’.

This was a foe that they could not play with.

He heard her muttering softly to herself. He wondered what she had in mind...

Suddenly the air itself came alive with electricity. He wondered for a moment, why she chose such a spell, but then he understood - a mind, even a psi-mind like this, relied on energy currents. The electricity disrupted them.

He felt the shift from magic to mind the instant it happened, and he broke in as well, his healing force slicing into the host body. Even with the massive shielding that Shadowdancer had erected to protect them, they both heard the shriek of rage from the mother-mind.

Will felt the Virus’ attention being drawn from him, as Shadowdancer struck with increasingly vicious blows at its defenses. Then, Shadowdancer screamed. The Mother-Brain seized her and mercilessly tore her defenses away. It knew her! Too late, she realized that the piece of the Mind that had assaulted her before had been able to ‘copy’ the memory that had been her downfall . . . .

With a shriek of defiance, the dark elf pulled the viral mind’s consciousness into hers, and they both plunged into her broken memories.

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Fire rained down from the heavens, burning, destroying. It lived on the living, and died when there was nothing left to consume.

It fed on the passion of her beloved. That passion consumed him, as surely as did the flames. It fed on the ones he hated, and needed to destroy.

When it was over, only she was left behind to weep in the midst of the ashes...

Grieving forever, mourning and broken.

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::That is how you are. Weak when you are alone. Without him, you are nothing.::

That isn’t true, was the dark elf’s soft, determined reply.

::Now that he is gone . . . you wait, and you wait endlessly . . . dreaming for the day that he will be reborn and love you once more. You spurn other men and wait for his return . . . .::

I have my faith! Shadowdancer screamed, seizing upon her will and pushing furiously at the Mind. I believe that my prayer will be granted, and that which I have lost will be returned to me!

::Ah.:: The Mother Mind seemed to smile, the image of pure malice ::Even if he were reborn . . . what certainty have you that he will love you back?::

The thought sliced through Shadowdancer’s soul, lacing her with doubt and sudden fear. What if that did happen? What if I find him, and he loves someone else?

For the first time in centuries, her faith faltered.

The Mother Brain closed in upon her, chuckling in triumph. ::What if . . . he loves someone else?::

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Lightsider was gazing at a Mihoist fangirl, while Tohru was taking her vitals. Pulse was thready, breathing rapid. She had been one of the first to fall, and she wasn’t doing well. Tohru was worried. She knew the doctor’s healing capabilities. They weren’t unlimited, and Lightsider always took it so personally when his patients didn’t do well. She sent a little thread of concern and love his way.

Lightsider, for his part, was nearly in despair. It was a strong virus, and it was true what IntelliAyanami said. It was using psionic power to protect itself and help it multiply. Lightsider bowed his head. There was no way he’d be able to help them all. He’d need all his strength for just one. How could he possibly make a difference?

The doctor in him took over. He could make a difference to this one, at least. Lightsider put his hand on her forehead and poured healing Light into the Mihoist’s still form.

And watched in wonder, as something new happened.

Usually, the Light flooded a person, washing away pain, disease and injury like grains of sand before the tides. The worse the injury, the more Light was needed.

But now . . . the Light was organized. It concentrated itself into intense packets and actively sought and destroyed the organisms, without his direction or guidance. It had never done that before . . . .

Sooner than expected, Lightsider took his hand from the forehead of the fangirl. She was now completely cured, and resting easily. Lightsider took a deep breath. He didn’t feel drained, or exhausted. In fact, he felt . . . stronger.

What the . . . ?

Lightsider turned his Sight inward, at his basic essence. It was changed too. The stark, white Light was now shot through with prismatic color. He looked deeper.

That’s new . . .

There was a bright ribbon of Light swirling and twining itself through his essence. It was the source of the brilliant flashes of color. But where . . . ? Lightsider followed the ribbon. Not surprisingly, it led straight to Tohru.

She had her back to him, and was trying to help a Kimikoist fanboy. As usual, she shone brilliantly in Lightsider’s Sight. The ribbon, invisible to all but him, swirled and spun around her as if whipped by wind. It originated from her heart.

Lightsider marveled. She wasn’t consciously modifying his abilities, or trying to feed him power. She didn’t even know she was doing anything. It just came out of her concern for her patients, and her love for him.

Lightsider broke out of Sight and crossed over to the fanboy. He shared a tight, quick smile with Tohru, and set to work healing. Tohru watched Lightsider with some surprise. The doctor didn’t seem drained after healing the Mihoist. Tohru took a brief second to consider Lightsider. He was immersed in the Light, and didn’t see her gaze. He seemed to sense it at some subconscious level, though, as he smiled again, just a little.

Tohru turned away, but not before a flood of memories and images nearly overwhelmed her. She saw the image of when she first saw him, staggering into the UFL with a SGD dart in his shoulder. She saw him laughing as he fell victim to a storm of practical jokes, she saw his concern over every single patient, fangirl or boy, whom he had treated. She saw his despair imprisoned within the CoM, and his terror in the Shadows.

She saw his love for her, and his fear that he would hurt her.

Tohru contemplated, as she moved from patient to patient. He wouldn’t hurt her. If anything, she would hurt him. What claim did she have on such a being? Lightsider loved her. She knew this as certainly as she knew she was alive. But that was the problem. Eventually, she would grow old, and die, while Lightsider would continue his existence, youthful and ever-living, until time itself ended. Was she really helping him by loving him for that short candle-flicker of a human lifespan? Lightsider kept his feelings hidden, but she knew they ran deep. What would his life be like after she left him? Would he find another? Or would he remain alone and isolated for the rest of his existence, honoring her memory?

Tohru knew the answer to that question, at least, and she couldn’t allow that to happen. She set her mind though. She wasn’t giving up on them. Living in Megatokyo, and especially working at the UFL, had taught her that so many more things were possible than she had realized. Surely there was a way for them to be together for all eternity. Lightsider had called immortality a curse, but Tohru knew she’d consider it the greatest of blessings if she could spend it with him.

The nurse wrenched herself away from her thoughts. The future was the future. There were people who needed her now. She watched as Lightsider moved to his third patient. He was faster than normal, but patients were deteriorating quicker than Lightsider could heal them. They would lose more than half of them at this rate.

There’s got to be a way. Tohru thought desperately. No treatment they’d tried had worked. Antivirals were ineffective. Supportive treatment just seemed to allow the virus to spread. CPAE seemed to actually make it worse.

CPAE makes it worse!

Lightsider looked up as Tohru dashed out of the wardroom. She returned a few minutes later with a small metal box. Tohru crossed the room to a patient and strapped him down. The doctor’s brow wrinkled. What in the world?

The expression turned to panic, though, when Tohru drew out a large syringe of SGD serum[1]. The doctor started to run to her, just as the apparently deranged nurse injected the fanboy with what was possibly the most evil stuff in existence.

The fanboy’s back arched off the bed in pure agony as distilled Shirt Guy Dom assaulted his mind. His arms strained at the straps as he fought to try to claw his own eyes out. Lightsider turned to Tohru. “What . . . ?”

Tohru put a finger on his lips. “Look,” was all she said. Her confident expression made the Doctor turn back to the patient.

“I don’t see . . . ,” Lightsider began.

“Use your Light,” Tohru explained.

Lightsider turned his inner eye on the fanboy, and marveled. The serum was attacking the virus at the psychic level. As powerful as the virus was, it was no match for SGD.

It took a little longer than using the Light, but not much. Soon, the virus had been annihilated. Tohru then injected the fanboy with CPAE, and he relaxed. Lightsider gave a slightly evil grin. SGD may take a little longer, but there was a whole hospital full of nurses eager to use it.

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Will had been moving in for another attack when he felt Shadow’s shield collapse utterly. He jumped back and snapped up a field of healing, just before thousands of viruses felt the shield disappear, and retaliated. He tried to fight back, but he was tired and drained. He staggered in pain as a few attacks got through. Gathering himself together, he threw his power into the field. Damn it! he thought. Why hadn’t Duskst . . . .

His head snapped up as he heard a scream. The petite woman stood stiff as a board, her eyes blazing in fire, pain, and defiance. Her fists were trembling ever so slightly, clenched so hard that they were white. His mind followed the trail of pain to the central mass of viruses. The central intelligence. His eyes hardened. He didn’t need to know about its actions, he could feel the malice from here, the urge to cause pain and suffering. Will suddenly lashed out at the “brain”, slicing in like a knife through butter. The nimbus also hit Shadow’s mind, but he was too angry to notice. The germs pounced at the chance as his shield disappeared. He turned around and slammed them backwards, but had lost the edge in his anger. Slowly, they began to get through.

Shadow felt a brush against her mind, and a memory, clearer than even the memory of ashes, flickered into being.

. . . you have something of mine . . . .

. . . It’s my heart . . . .

. . . you’ll find that you have it with you . . . .

. . . where it belongs . . . .

Shadowdancer seized on the memories and used them to restore her battered faith. The one I love will never love anyone else, for I already have his heart! He gave it to me to keep . . . forever!

She struck out in defiance, hitting the Mind as hard as she could. It recoiled from the blow, losing hold of her. She shot back to consciousness like a beach ball thirty feet under. The world blurred into focus, and she saw Will fighting a losing battle, as the germs launched attack after attack into his failing defenses. Quick as a flash, she brought up a shield. “Now!” she cried.

Will didn’t hesitate. Healing erupted from his being, a roaring torrent that slammed into the central intelligence with a fury! It screamed in pain, its agonizing death-throes searing through their shields. Will winced, but was so full of healing power that it didn’t touch him. Shadow, however, was not so fortunate. It cut through her mind with a jagged edge, searing her psyche with excruciating pain as the like of which she had not known since that fateful day! It was so acute that she didn’t scream, or convulse, or do any of the things that people usually do when they’re hurting. No, this was so far beyond ordinary pain that she fell to the ground, unconscious, her heart a bare feeble beat.

The virus convulsed with a final cry, and fell silent, dead. The rest of the horde fell into confusion, leaderless, swarming about in a chaotic mass. Will annihilated the rest of them with ease.

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Lightsider and Tohru watched the chaos from beneath one of the doctor’s Shields as Rei nurses chased fanboys through the corridors of the hospital. Word got out that SGD serum was being used as a treatment against the disease, and that everyone in the hospital had to be treated, with the exception of Tohru and Lightsider and the ones they’d cured. The Reis took the treatment with their usual stoicism. The fanboys did not.

Faced with the choice of a lingering death with their minds melted by a psychic virus, or a quick recovery by SGD, most of them did the logical thing. They ran for cover, and hoped the nurses wouldn’t find them. There were a few who’d had SGD before. They’re the ones who ran the fastest.

A Rei scampered past the lobby couch where the doctor and the nurse were sitting. She had a wild grin on her face as she hefted what appeared to be a dart-chaingun, no doubt loaded with SGD rounds. She fired without pause into every nook and corner that could possibly hold a fanboy. A few other Reis scrambled in her wake, treating SGD’ed patients with CPAE before they harmed themselves.

Lightsider helped Tohru up, still under the Shield to guard against “accidents”. She looked as tired as Lightsider felt. It was time to get them both home. He put his arm around her waist and they both headed for the elevator.

The UFL Hospital had been built with several floors of apartments in the upper part of the building, originally to house the Reis who worked there. Tohru also had a room there. She smiled wearily at Lightsider as she brought out a key. It was for the elevator, and enabled access to the upper floors.

The pair ascended in silence. Lightsider thought about telling Tohru about the link they’d shared, but it looked like she was too tired for talking. Lightsider felt much the same way. Still, he glanced over at Tohru, and held her a little tighter. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

Tohru was tired, but still, she’d never felt happier. Until, that is, the elevator doors opened, and admitted a short, red haired woman. Tohru gave a little gasp. Shadowdancer!

Lightsider looked down at Tohru. “Something wrong?” he asked.

Tohru blinked and looked again. It wasn’t her. In fact, the woman only vaguely looked like the CoM elf-mage. Still, the memory of her hovering over Lightsider while he was asleep, their marvelous dinner together in that expensive restaurant, her beauty and sophistication . . . .

The red-haired woman got off on a public floor, and the elevator ascended into the private apartment floors.

Tohru was shaken by the encounter, but tried to not let it show. She knew that Lightsider hadn’t meant for Shadowdancer to be in his apartment. It was alright for him to have female friends, right? I mean, he was friends with a whole hospital full of nurses!

Still, she felt strange about Lightsider interacting with this Mihoist. She felt the two had some sort of connection, and she worried that Lightsider might feel it too.

I’m imagining things. Lights wouldn’t be like that. I just need to rest. The elevator door opened, and they walked to Tohru’s apartment.

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Will Trent turned to Shadow. Nothing but time and rest could heal this. But perhaps he could ease her pain. Placing his hand onto her head, he called up her memories, the pleasant ones of the love she had known, and sank the painful ones to rest at the bottom of her mind. They would surface when they were needed, but for now, she needed comfort, not pain. Taking Shadow into his arms, he ported back to her room, and placed her on the bed.

“What happened to her?!” a voice startled him.

The doctor looked at the source of the voice, and saw that it was Inspector Sonoda. Will had never met the renown officer of the MTCD before, but he’d heard plenty of his reputation. He sighed, and glanced at Shadowdancer. Then, with a resigned look on his face, he began to tell the officer a most extraordinary story.

Sonoda sat on the bed thinking quietly, long after Dr. Trent had left. Certainly, this was getting more interesting by the moment.

 “A viral outbreak,” Sonoda shook his head in wonder. “I got out just in time, I think.” To have suppressed such an outbreak so quickly . . . . “You’re a woman of many talents, indeed, Ms. Duskstar,” he said to Shadowdancer. Her face had calmed since Trent had put her down and by all accounts, she was asleep.

An evil smirk stole across his features as he looked upon the sleeping Shadowdancer. With this latest bit of information, she would not be able to leave this room until he allowed her to . . . on his terms.

Sonoda picked up his folder and began to sort out the papers he had so meticulously prepared.

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Shadowdancer  sighed happily. Today had been hard, but they had done their work well. He walked up to her and embraced her gently from behind, dropping a kiss on her neck.

Together, they watched the moon rise.

Shadowdancer opened her eyes to find that there was indeed a person next to her. Disoriented, she blinked sleep from her eyes and finally recognized Inspector Sonoda.

“Well, Ms. Duskstar. You certainly have a talent for getting yourself into trouble, don’t you?” he greeted her.

“Inspector Sonoda . . . .” Shadowdancer sat up on the bed. “You’re back.”

“Yes I am. If I recall . . . you were simply to be treated for various broken bones, and then wait for my return. And now I find you have been helping Dr. Trent in averting yet another disaster.”

Shadowdancer stammered. “Oh . . . Eh . . . that.” She smiled sheepishly and twisted her blanket nervously in her hands. “Well, I just couldn’t stand by and let that happen . . . .”

“I don’t suppose you have a license to practice.” Sonoda asked pointedly.

“I am a scientist, Inspector, with extensive references in biological research. Viruses are something I’m quite familiar with,” Shadowdancer replied stiffly.

“Hm. Even so, this does qualify as another unscheduled rampage, and as such, you are an unauthorized opposing force, because you are not in any way affiliated to the UFL Hospital, am I not correct?” Seeing her speechless, he continued mercilessly. “Unauthorized Rampage prevention by an unlicensed negotiator is a Crime of Risk by local Cataclysm Direction Laws . . . . A direct violation, in fact, of Chapter five, article ten, paragraph five to nine of the Kobe Convention on negotiation with instigators of unauthorized rampage and disaster.”

“But . . . .”

“You’re not a licensed medical doctor, even if you have ‘doctor’ tagged on to your name by virtue of being one of the lead splicers in SSTI, but that’s outside my jurisdiction. As it is . . . I want you to sign these papers to make sure what you did today won’t happen again.” While speaking, he had reached for the papers and given them to her.

Numbly, Shadowdancer fumbled for a pen with one hand and leafed through the papers with the other. She paused, just as she found the pen in her bag and had clicked it open. She dropped the pen on her lap and leafed through the pages more intently. She looked up at Sonoda, who was watching her with an inscrutable poker face. “These are . . . recruitment forms.”

“You noticed. Good. You’re one of those who read what they’re going to sign.”

“But . . . but . . . .” Shadowdancer looked back at the forms, then up at the Inspector.

“Arrest is also an option . . . Doctor Duskstar.” Sonoda drawled, and for the first time Shadowdancer noticed the handcuffs that were oh-so-casually dangling off his thumb.

The dark elf stared at him, then down to the papers, obviously torn. Sonoda relented a little. “I will speak to Chief Gooley on your behalf regarding your employment. I’m certain he can rearrange your schedule.”

With a sigh of resignation, Shadowdancer picked up the pen and, carefully reading the papers, signed each of them. When she was done, Sonoda took them, then handed her something that was in a thin plastic pouch and a ball-chain necklace.

“Congratulations, MTCD Special Agent Duskstar. You will report to the MTCD headquarters at 0800 hours for your first debriefing,” he said quietly, while Shadowdancer looked at her new ID.

“MegaTokyo Police Cataclysm Division . . . Special Contract Operative: Duskstar, Shadowdancer. Class 2 Contract Operative.” Shadowdancer murmured. The dark elf looked up at Sonoda, realizing that he had prepared the papers in advance, and that she had been, very neatly and deftly, had.

Congratulations, Inspector. Not many people would have been able to trick me so well.

“Let’s have dinner, my treat, to celebrate,” Sonoda said. “Dr. Trent has already signed your discharge papers. You’re free to leave anytime.” With that, he tucked the papers back into their folder with an air of undeniable satisfaction.