At first Hartwell could only stare incredulously at her, the bravery and sacrifice he was seeing. He felt his chest swell with pride and something else, damn he thought, he really did love her.
"My dear Bee," Hartwell said, "the risk is nothing. To be without you? Leaves a hole in my life that nothing can fill."
Bee's gaze jerked up as she stared into Hartwell's eyes, then they both nodded.
Derrick's eyes were wide with wonder. Perhaps he thought his friend had finally found happiness.
"Alright, let's get this over with," Hartwell said as he laid back.
"Now commencing transfer," Johnathon said. "Fifteen, twenty-five, thirty-five, now at half. Mother, I am starting to see a few anomalies, sixty-five, transfer slowing. Now at seventy," suddenly alarms were going off. "Warning, Warning, transfer has stopped at seventy-three percent."
"Adjust antibodies, a hundred ccs more," Mary said.
"What the hell is...," Hartwell said, then his eyes started to roll back into his head. "Don't stop Mary, don't you dare stop! Together or not at all." Hartwell was immediately unconscious, as was Bee a moment later.
"Mary! She needs more of what's in his blood. Hurry, we're losing both of them!" Derrick was yelling.
Johnathon was moving as fast as he could, " I am still not getting a response from her. Prime has also stopped responding."
A moment later, both of them stopped breathing. "NO!" They heard from across the room as Lucie came flying to Hartwell's side as she started to push on his chest. "Don't you DARE die on me! You saved me, you can't die!" This time she brought both hands together in a huge fist as she struck his chest.
Mary and Johnathon turned to stare at Lucie as they heard Johnathon's and Bee's hearts beat for a minute. Then they both stopped again.
Derrick was rapidly running scenarios through his brain, then shouted, "shock him Mary. Start at 200 joules."
"Won't that," Mary started, then nodded, "applying electric shock."
Hartwell's body jumped, then to their surprise so did Bee's. "Does he have a normal rhythm?" Derrick asked.
"So far, though, if we can't adjust both of them, we will lose them. The last thing we did has Hartwell at seventy-nine. We need another six or seven percent before they respond on their own," Johnathon said.
Lucie had collapsed on the floor not too far away. She was whispering to herself, "don't you die Brother, don't you dare."
Derrick was sweating bullets, with everything that had happened, this was the second worst recently. The loss of Brown, no matter how brave his sacrifice, was still weighing heavy on Derrick.
He looked beside himself at Gunther and his daughter Shelly. So much was going on, with no time to alleviate any of them.
A voice beside him broke him out of his thoughts. "Mary, look over the cure that Shelly provided you, I think perhaps the answer might lie there," Empress Shelby said.
Mary nodded, then did as Shelby said. A look of surprise came to her features. "I have found the missing element," Mary said.
Immediately after injecting Bee, Hartwell's medical readings started to rise. A mere ten minutes later, his eyes opened.
Hartwell tried to sit up, then fell back, turning his eyes to Lucie. "You did it again, didn't you?" Turning to Johnathon, Hartwell asked, "how many are broken?"
"Johnnie!" Lucie shouted, "I thought you had died, again. Please don't do this anymore. Once was bad enough; this was far worse."
"I am seeing one broken, three fractured ribs and your sternum is bruised, as is your chest," Johnathon said.
An unexpected voice on the other side of Hartwell sighed, "I can feel them, thank you Johnathon," came Bee's voice. "I promise you sister of my Lord sir, I will not allow him to do this again. The bond will help me to prevent it."
A relieved Lucie nodded, "then you really are like you are married!"
Bee went through what she knew from Hartwell's thoughts, "perhaps. Though we are closer than just marriage. We are linked to keep are lifeforces stronger. Many of our thoughts are linked also."
Lucie giggled a moment at the look of bewilderment on her brother's face. "I'm seeing the strangest things," Hartwell said.
"Unfortunately, you are seeing my life, such as it was before I met you," Bee said.
"Damn," Hartwell said as he laid back. "This is going to take getting used to." Then a growl issued from his throat, "I hope that you repay those bastards for what they have done," he said. "I am about ready to go to full-fledged war against the male population of the Tendraxians. What I am seeing is nothing short of physical and mental slavery," Hartwell nearly shouted.
Derrick smiled, if he could get Hartwell to control his rage, the plan he had would work. "Believe me, we have a plan that should deal more than justice. Admiral, remember that not all males were like the majority. It wouldn't do to destroy those that were in fact trying to help, true?"
Hartwell thought a moment then felt his rage start to dissolve. "That is true, though, how to separate them from the others."
Derrick looked back at Mary, who was nodding her head. "Oh, I think we have a way to do that."
Hartwell sighed then nodded, "Okay, if you say so sir."
Kimon stopped a moment before the door of the Rilcon order building. "So, they sent the weak hoping to weaken us," Kimon shook his head. "Disgraceful, to sacrifice half your clan against superior opponents. Especially when it is only to determine strength." Looking at Onai and Greeson, he continued, "perhaps it is time. Time to rid existence of their evil."
Onai and Greeson could see the look of displeasure on Kimon's face. "Mate," Onai started. "As has been passed down through the clans, this was not what the art was created for. It is the place and duty of all of Jitaku to preserve the art as it should be."
Kimon drew a deep breath. He knew all that she said was true. This was the only reason he was still moving forward, still killing like this? Had never sat well with him.
"I can feel that there are almost as many as you have met within the building," Kimon said. He turned toward Greeson, "you have expanded more energy than you should have. Stay on the edge, your energy replacement is also slower than it should be." Kimon had a frown on his face, then vanished, there was a fluttering around Greeson from head to toe.
Kimon appeared a moment later with several small darts. Greeson bowed, I thought I had gotten all of them, apologies master," Greeson said.
"Hmmm, only twenty, plus you are still maintaining most of your energy. Better my Gakusei, as I have said, we will work on it and more when this is finished," Kimon said.
"Hai masutā," Greenson said with a deep bow.
Kimon nodded as he watched Geeson's energy start to rapidly climb. A few minutes later, he nodded as the three of them entered the building.
They were immediately met by a great host of Delcrons. Kimon, shook his head. A moment later, there were many dead at his feet. Entering a larger room, he saw one sitting back from the others. Another moment and all there was down, Kimon at the other side of the room. The same Delcron suspended in the air gasping for breath.
"It is a shame that today marks the death of your clan. Many good things could have come from you had you not followed one so evil," Kimon said.
"You will never defeat,..." The Delcron started.
"Enough," Kimon said as he slightly turned his wrist, hearing the neck of the Delcron snap. He then dropped the body as if it were nothing.
With a sigh, Kimon said, "one of their lesser masters, no skill at all."
The next few rooms were almost a repeat of the last, though no masters appeared.
At the extreme back of the building, a shadowy figure appeared before the Grand Master. "Master," the shadowy figure exclaimed. "The three I told you of, have entered the clan building. They have destroyed over half of the clan."
The Grand Master nodded as he started to dress in the fighting ki that his ancestor wore. "I am afraid that the evils of my ancestors have come to exact payment for their deeds. You and others should depart to keep the clan alive. This should take precedence," the Grandmaster said.
"This I cannot do, clan honor demands that...," the shadowy figure stated.
"Yes, clan honor demands, it demands that we survive. Those that we face have been at the art far longer than us," the Grand master said. "Go now, before there is nothing of us left to rebuild with. My destiny lies along another path."
The shadowy figure broke protocol, throwing his cowl back, revealing a face that resembled the Grand Master's. "Father, I do not wish to part ways like this. Surely, there is something that we can do."
