Coming Home (part 3)

Posted on Thu Dec 22nd, 2022 @ 2:31am by First Lieutenant Bethany Harrison & Private Mattias Tonelly & General Dyami Bentley (Tribal : Bent Leaf)

Mission: The Mutant Underground
Location: Underground Base
Timeline: Present Day

The room was abuzz with activity as doctors and nurses worked on Jon who seemed to be at the very edge of death’s door. The Indian Shaman could sense the tethered link between the two straining as the spirit the two shared struggled to keep Jon alive by leeching off of Beth.

Mattias was respectfully quiet as he looked over the broken form of the hero he knew as Rook. He had no words for what he witnessed. Then, he whispered to Dyami. "Sir, can't you save him?"

Dyami laid Bethany on a bed next to Jon after setting Mattias in a chair near the wall. “There is nothing I can do for him. Hydra seems to have tuned these nanobots to resist any form of healing magic,” the Indian man said quietly. “We may have to put Jon in stasis if the doctors can not help him stabilize.”

Mattias looked from Dyami to Jon to Bethany, then back to Dyami. "Sir, why is Bethany like that? Nothing happened to her at home."

Dyami walked over and laid a hand on Mattias’s shoulder. “It is a long story and I will fill in the details for you later. There was a battle, this is the one where Rook lost his leg, Beth was mortally wounded and was about to die. Rook begged me to save her and the only way I could was to link their souls into one. Which saved them both, but now if one dies the other will as well.”

Talon for his part looked regretful as the scene unfolded around him. “This is the price we pay for playing god. I thought I was doing the right thing. But I cannot unlink them.” Dyami approached Beth’s bed and began casting spells of healing over her battered form, trying to give the medical staff as much time as possible to save Jon.

Mattias was silent for a few beats, absorbing what he had heard. Then, in a moment of decision that belied his young age, he looked up at Dyami and said, "Then link my life to hers as well. She saved my life. I owe her an unpayable debt. In the memory of my parents, I ask you to do this."

There was a new strength in his voice and demeanor. It was something that his father had always taught him growing up. One doesn't know what kind of person you will be, until you're in combat, and your friends are on the ground in need. He was not afraid of asking for this. Quite the opposite. He wanted to do this. It was the right thing to do.

Talon heard what the boy said and turned his attention to him. Smiling broadly he said, “You are strong of heart, young one. But, there is much you do not know. I cannot do what you ask. And I do not have time to explain. There is a saying ‘And the two shall become one’ it is a law of the Great Spirit and it cannot be changed. I am sorry Mattias, but I am sure that they would both be thankful that you were willing to go so far to help.”

The Shaman of the People turned back and, with renewed vigor, began pouring life energy into Beth, in an effort to give Jon what he needed to stay alive. This seemed to cause a great deal of stress on the Indian man, who, for his part, was holding up under the strain.

Mattias felt heartbroken at first. Then, when he saw Talon starting to weaken, he spoke up again. "If you can't bind my life to hers to save her, then you take what you need from me, to help her." He paused before adding, his voice going a bit quieter. "Please."

“I will, if I grow too weak, my child. But remember you are still recovering. I know it is hard to sit by and not be able to help, but know that your force of will has strengthened the resolve of everyone in this room. We will not give up on them.” The shaman said without looking up.

The chaos in the large hospital room seemed to drag on forever, with doctors calling for med pushes and various tools. The low thread of panic grew heavier with each flatline, three in total, before everything finally seemed to settle down. Monitors over both of the beds showed their hearts beating in rhythm, their chests rising and falling at the same pace. The only difference was that Jon was hooked up to multiple machines that were keeping those things going for the time being.

The lead doctor, a short, balding man, finally turned and approached Dyami. “The nanites activated. Scans show massive brain damage. I...” the man paused, wiping his soaked brow, and shook his head. “Heals won’t remove the nanites, and the kind of surgery it would take to try to remove them is pretty much unheard of. I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Even if he can survive without the machines...” he frowned, looking defeated, glancing over at Bethany’s still form. “We can keep him alive to keep her alive, but it’s very unlikely that he will ever wake up.”

Talon stood before the doctor and listened to the grim prognosis. “I understand, and there is always a chance this could happen again at any time, right?” He motioned to the devastated room and beleaguered nurses.

“There’s no guarantee that he’ll even last the night, Dyami,” the doctor said, still frowning as he looked up at their native leader. “His will states that we’re supposed to go to great lengths to keep him alive. He’s alive, but at this point I would recommend stasis to keep this from happening again.”

Talon pondered the options for a few moments, all the while looking between Jon and Beth, both lying motionless on their respective beds. “Doctor, I want you to put Jon in stasis, we may not know how to cure this now but maybe in the future we can.” Dyami looked at Beth and said, “I hope you will forgive me, Stesi.” Turning to the doctor again he said, “Make the preparations. I am hoping she will wake up to be there during the process.”

Mattias watched quietly from the chair Dyami had put him in. He felt completely useless here. If he could give all the power he had to fix this, he would do so willingly.

Talon walked across the room to Mattias and knelt down to be on eye level with the young man. “What happened to you, and to Beth and Jon, this is what Hydra does, a thousand times over, across the world. They steal and kill without thought to who they hurt. This,” he motioned to the room, “this is why I hate them. This is why I want you to train and one day help us.” Talon looked in Mattias’s eyes and the boy could see the depth of pain, loss, and anger in the shaman’s fierce gaze. “Remember this when you feel like quitting.”

As Mattias listened, the look of sadness in his eyes subtly changed to that of growing anger. They suddenly flashed an electric blue, as he spoke evenly. "I hate Hydra. Teach me what I need to know to motivate me to not only fight them, but to crush them!"

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~TBC~