miss_m_cricket (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
miss_m_cricket) wrote2009-07-19 12:27 am
miss_m_cricket) wrote2009-07-19 12:27 am
Fic: Reaper of Bones
Title: Reaper of Bones
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
miss_m_cricket
Fandom: Star Trek Reboot! / Doom Crossover.
Rating: R for language and goriness
Pairing: will be Reaper!McCoy/James T. Kirk
Disclaimer: Own neither Doom, nor Star Trek.
Summary: Starfleet has ordered the Enterprise to Mars to reactivate the Olduvai facility and Bones is once again forced to face his demons...
A/N: The references to Jumper in the Amazon and Reaper being subjected to repression therapy are from the official Doom novelisation. I hope it is self explanatory but if you have any questions...feel free to ask.
A/N 2: Italics are scenes from "Doom" the movie.
Part 1 | Part 2
Reaper of Bones
”UAC has shut down the lab men, we need to go up there and locate the team, eliminate the threat and secure the facility.”
“What threat?”
“It goes like this see, if it’s trying to kill you? It’s a threat.”
~*~
Jim’s lungs had gasped for air as he, Spock and the remaining crew members raced for the shuttle. Behind them he could hear the clattering of bullets, a perversely comforting sound since it meant that Bones was still alive, still fighting, still protecting him. Hell it seemed that was all Bones ever tried to do, keep him safe, keep him unharmed. He had never had a friend like that before, and the thought of losing Bones here on Olduvai...
The solid pressure door loomed ahead when a grate broke from above them, and a long scaled talon reached down to snag the back of his gold shirt. He shrieked as he was lifted and Spock whirled to see his Captain being yanked up into the dark recesses above the corridors. “Jim!” the Vulcan yelled, rushing back, but looking up, saw nothing but empty space. From the hole, mixed in with the noises from the now captive captain came a harsh cruel laugh. A laugh that definitely didn’t come from a human mouth.
Kirk’s yells and screams faded away as did the malevolent chuckling and Spock was left to stare blankly into the grated roof.
“Commander, we must go.” An Ensign whimpered. The First Officer turned to see the helpless fear on the faces of the men before him and knew what his duty would have to be. The human half of him, the half that had grown attached to Jim, to Doctor McCoy as well, screamed at him that he had to stay, had to help.
But logic prevailed. Help was on the Enterprise, and help was what he had to get. It was the only way to help the Captain and the Doctor now. With a heavy heart he turned to the pressure door and unbarred it, ushering the rest of the crew into the shuttle and upon entering, shut the door behind him.
~*~
Both Jim and the monster heard the shuttle take off and the Captain almost sobbed his relief. His crew was safe, Spock was safe, and his Enterprise was safe. There was no way the monsters could get back and infect the rest of the hundreds of people on the Ship now. It didn’t matter to him that he was left behind, was probably going to die torn apart by this abomination. He wasn’t dead yet, and there was no such thing as a no-win scenario. Besides, Bones was still here.
The monster howled aloud its fury and confusion, the shuttle had left! He had been sure the strange smelling blue shirt would not leave without the gold shirt he now had in his talons. Stupid, cowardly blue shirt, leaving the man behind.
“Semper Fi.” The creature rasped and then set off again diving down through a grate to charge down a main corridor. Jim’s mind whirled at the rough and speedy ride but his thoughts lingered on the garbled words spat out by the creature. Semper Fi. Always loyal. Strange words for a monster on Olduvai to say.
They reached the eastern bloc, where the living areas for the permanent research staff had once been. He guessed that was it anyway, seeing as they were passing by locked rooms with names on them. On they went deeper into the complex until at last the monster cast him to the ground, leaning over him with a grotesque mockery of a smile on its face.
“He will come for you.” The monster growled, almost slavering with anticipation, “He will come for you, because that has always been Reaper’s way. Then I will kill you.”
“Why?” Jim groaned, pressing back into the stainless steel corridor, trying to get away from the putrid vinegar smell and the terrible sharpness of those claws.
“Vengeance.” The word was breathed almost reverentially. “Always vengeance. He will pay for his mutinous insurrection, exiling me here. And he will suffer when he loses you. I will make sure of that!”’
The blow caught Jim in the belly and he groaned aloud at the blinding pain, his body throbbed, he could feel blood trickling from his head where it had banged back against the rough wall, from the scratches sustained through the creatures headlong dash through Olduvai.
That seemed to satisfy the monster for the moment, and it waited, clearly listening, waiting for Bones, Bones who had no idea that Jim was here as the bait, and the tool of his destruction.
Time passed until suddenly the monsters head jerked up and a feverish light seemed to fill its gaze. Jim’s heart sank as he heard, several moments later, the quick tap, tap, tap of feet running.
Around the corner came Bones and Jim saw his friend’s face pale, as he spotted Jim there on the ground. The Doctor was wearing a black vest with pouches on it, and in his hand he cradled a heavy, bulky and serious looking weapon. “Bones,” he groaned, trying to warn his friend, trying to get him to turn and leave.
The monster turned to face Bones, towering over Jim’s best friend in a way that made Jim almost ill. How could Bones face down this
“Hello Reaper.” The monster crooned, its monstrous voice making even the greeting sound malevolent and cruel.
“Sarge.” Bones drawled back, “I’d say you are looking well but then, I hate pandering to make people feel better about themselves.” The dark eyes flicked down to Jim, “Dammit Jim, what the hell are you doing down there?” the voice was light, but Jim, who knew Bones better than perhaps anyone, could hear the tension and the fear behind those flippant words.
Sarge certainly seemed surprised; shocked that Reaper had not flown off the handle at seeing someone he cared about in such peril.
“Wanted to see the sights.” Jim grumbled, inching himself further up the wall behind him. “Got your friend here to give me the guided tour.”
Sarge sent a cower inducing snarl Jim’s way and then turned back to Bones, who had taken the opportunity to inch closer.
“You always were one to make light when a situation worried you, Reaper.” The monster snarled, moving closer to the Doctor, away from the sprawled Captain, “I have had 200 years to dream about this Reaper. Destroying you like you thought you destroyed me. “
“I had my ‘Orders’ Sarge,” Bones quipped back, “’If it breathes, kill it.’ I believe were your words. You were infected. My path was clear.”
“Oh Reaper.” Sarge chuckled, “Ever the righteous one.” The monster stalked closer to the Doctor. “Always weak, wanting to spare lives. If you hadn’t given the Kid ideas he would have followed his orders and he wouldn’t have died.”
Reaper’s face was tight and the dark eyes, those large expressive dark eyes showed just what was flooding his brain, he was seeing the past reliving the events of which the monster spoke of.
~*~
”Sarge!” The Kid came barrelling into the room, face pale but focused, unshouldering his weapon as he came, “There’s a storeroom to the south, it’s got 20 people holed up inside of it. We gotta do something.”
Sarge stared at the kid, his eyes hard and unyielding and a frown appearing slowly on his face. “Your orders were to clear that sector. Is it cleared?”
“No I told them to stay put.” The Kid’s face was innocent with confusion, “They’re okay, just scared shitless.”
“We kill them all.” Sarge’s voice was harsh. “Let God sort ‘em out.” Reaper looked at the Kid, anxiety and horror on both their faces.
“This is wrong! I think...” The Kid shook his head in denial but Sarge interrupted him forcefully.
“Son, you don’t think! That’s an order. We’re in the field, soldier.”
“Sarge if nothing’s found them.” Reaper pleaded, shaking his head with horror at how this was all turning out, but once again Sarge talked over him.
“Now you will obey the direct order of your Commanding Officer.”
Silence reigned as Reaper and Sam looked from the Kid to Sarge, horrified but unable to think of anything that would stop this from spiralling out of control.
“No.” The Kid said, swallowing painfully.
“Now...” The command was practically growled, one last chance for the Kid to turn around and obey.
“Go to hell.”
Sarge raised his gun and fired one shot.
“No!” Screamed Reaper, lunging forward and catching the Kid as he fell, dying, the bullet having punctured his throat.
“Holy Shit!” Duke yelled; face slack with shock as he watched.
Reaper’s hand covered the Kid’s throat, desperate to ease his suffering even as the young man gargled and choked up his own blood. Sam, crouching beside him suppressed a low sob.
“Mutinous Insurrection is punishable by death.” Sarge’s words were calm and unruffled.
The gargling breathing slowed and then stopped and Reaper felt a wave of pain and anger flood his body, as he whirled around to face Sarge.
“It was his first mission!” he yelled at Sarge, feeling his voice choke up and restrict with the pain of it.
“And it’s not going to be my last.” Sarge responded frostily, “I need Soldiers! I don’t need anybody else but Soldiers!”
Sam moved back, away from the Kid’s body and Reaper saw Duke, put his arm out protectively to move her behind him, away from Sarge. He turned back to the Kid and slowly closed his eyes before cupping his own gun and standing, turning to face Sarge.
They faced off, both at the ready, and both ready to kill the other. But they were interrupted.
~*~
“He didn’t die.” Reaper growled, now once again facing off against his former Commanding Officer. “You killed him.”
Sarge snarled, seizing his advantage.
“No, Reaper. You killed him. You killed him, like you killed Goat by not being faster in the sewers, like you killed Mac by not keeping him in eye range, like you killed Duke by not saving him when he was grabbed from below.” The monster savoured its triumph as it dealt the knockout blow. “Like you killed Jumper in the Amazon.”
Reaper jerked, face tightening with remembered pain. And he couldn’t say anything. Because deep down he had felt that Jumper’s death was his fault.
Step by step the monster pushed him back, its eyes burning with pleasure as it saw its words hitting their marks. “They sent me the reports Reaper, of your Repression Therapy. They made you relive it over and over to make sure you didn’t bury it. You saw every mistake you made. You were the man in control on that mission, you were the Commanding Officer. You were the one who allowed them to give you prototype weapons that fucked up in the humidity. You were the one who read the situation wrong and left him open and defenceless. You were the reason, your Best. Friend. Died.”
Reaper lunged for Sarge but the monster darted back, laughing that horrible laugh as he scooped up Jim from where the Captain had been attempting to crawl away. “And now here we are again Reaper!” Sarge taunted, holding Jim up by the scruff of his neck, “Your best friend in danger, all because of you.” He watched the emotions play across Reaper’s face and he almost drooled with delight at the anguish he saw there.
Jim screamed as Sarge tore into his belly with his talons and Bones roared, raising his gun and letting loose a volley of bullets. Tossing the bleeding Jim to the side, to slump limply against the wall Sarge lunged for Bones and the fight began in earnest.
Reaper knew within five seconds of the combat that he was at a disadvantage. Not only was Sarge bigger and stronger than he, he also had the added advantage of having claws that could slice the flesh from his bones. Mind you he had a gun, and the other weaponry that had been in Goat’s vest.
His head rang as Sarge slammed him into the wall, and he yelled as he was hurled through the air to tumble along the grated passageway like a stuffed doll. He scrambled to his feet, the C24 singing through his body as he finally let himself fully embrace his gifts. He moved with inhuman speed taking Sarge by surprise as he slammed them both to the grated floor and knelt on the monsters throat.
Crack his right arm shattered as the monster twisted it, sending him tumbling away, cursing with the bright pain flaring through him. His cells healed themselves, the pain ebbing but for a moment he had been incapacitated by pain, and the monster had taken its advantage.
A ceiling grate slammed down over his head, and he heard his skull fracture, wincing as it healed a second later and he responded by rolling away.
The two combatants faced each other, both breathing hard. Reaper lunged for the gun, grabbed it and came up firing. Next second he was flying through the air once more, the grate slamming into his belly, landing in a crouch and meeting the blow that was supposed to have crushed his windpipe.
They struggled, the monstrous eyes shining with burning hatred. It was more than a fight against good and evil, everyone had good in them, everyone had evil, this was a fight for reason, and logic and human thought over guttural, animal instinct.
With a groan John Grimm found himself pinned under the weight of the monster and felt the fetid breath wash over him. Sharp claws pricked his exposed throat, “This is the moment you die, Reaper...” Sarge hissed pleasure in his snarled voice, “Any last words?”
Bones looked over at Jim, who was lying in a pool of his own blood, and whose bright blue eyes were watching him with desperate pain. He didn’t want to see that, didn’t want to think of everything he hadn’t done in the 200 years of not living.
“I love you.”
The silence was electric, and the monsters head rose to stare at Jim, because it was Jim, Captain Jim Kirk who had spoken those three words.
“I love you, Bones. Always have. Always will.”
And as the monster arched back its neck to howl with laughter and triumph, Reaper’s hand closed around the handle of the large hunting knife that Goat had carried with him at all times.
“Semper Fi Motherfucker.” Reaper growled and shoved the blade up hard into Sarge’s neck, up into his brain, killing him instantly. Black blood flooded over Bones who choked as he scrambled away from the corpse of his former CO and over to his Captain.
“Jim,” his hands, bloodstained and filthy were still gentle as he tested the wounds inflicted over his best friend. “Hang on,” he murmured, as Jim opened his mouth to talk, “Shh, don’t speak, let me just...” and he fumbled in one of his pouches to retrieve his trusty tricorder, amazingly still able to work. He scanned Jim’s body, feeling ill at all the damage it uncovered.
“I’m dying...aren’t I Bones?” Jim whispered, seeing the denial and anger on his best friends face, “I can feel it, my insides feel like they are disintegrating.”
“You are not going to die.” Bones informed him harshly, running his fingers firmly over the wounds and knowing even as he said the words that he was lying. Jim was dying, bleeding out in his arms.
~*~
”John stay with me.” Sam was crouched before him, her face swimming in and out of focus as he bled his life out through the bullet wound in his abdomen, “Stay awake. John stay with me. Please.”
He managed to force his mind back from the brink of oblivion, focusing on the brown eyes of his sister, so much like his own. She looked relieved for a second and then looked down. He followed her gaze to see her preparing to inject him with a syringe full of clear liquid. “What’s that?” he asked painfully.
“It’s C-24. It’s from Carmack’s lab.”
“No!” Reaper violently jerked his arm away from her, feeling his vision black out again at the sudden movement.
“It could save you,” his sister pleaded.
“No way. Forget it.”
“You’re bleeding to death.” Sam’s voice wobbled, and her eyes pleaded with him,
“No Sam.” He whispered, shivering from the onslaught of death’s first chills, racking his body, “I’ve done some bad things.” His eyes, glazing over were haunted, seeing the teenage boy he had blasted to death in the Amazon, the body of Jumper.
“I know you.” She said, softly with the utmost conviction. She was so fervent in her belief that he wanted to cry.
“You don’t know me.” Reaper said dully, feeling his life slowly slipping away from him. “You don’t know.”
“You’re my brother. I know you.”
She prepared to inject him and he didn’t have the strength to pull away once more. But he had to prepare her, just in case he did turn into one of those creatures out there. “Wait,” he pleaded, voice breaking, “Wait. If I should turn into one of those demons,” he lifted his pistol, pointing it vaguely towards his own head, “Once through the heart, once through the head don’t you hesitate.”
“I won’t need to.”
The needle punctured his skin, and the cold fluid rushed into his body, sending more shivers throughout his prone form. His eyes met hers once more and he kept his eyes locked on her, his hand holding hers as he slid to the floor, hoping that the love and faith that his sister was showing in him, would not be proven wrong.
As he slipped into unconsciousness he heard her voice once more echoing through his mind, “You’re my brother. I know you.”
~*~
Now he knew how Sam had felt, seeing someone he cared about, someone he loved, bleeding away before his eyes. He had to do something, and like Sam 200 years ago, his hand fished out a tiny vial.
“Hold on Jim.” He ordered, opening up his med-kit for one of his hyposprays. His fingers flew with his enhanced speed, fixing up one of the instruments to save the life of the one person he had grown to love in over 200 years. “If you die on me, I am never going to speak to you ever again.”
Jim gave a painful laugh and winced as Bones shifted him slightly, “Life wouldn’t be worth much if you didn’t talk to me Bones.” He joked painfully, closing his eyes.
“Jim, if you die.” Bones growled, gripping his friends jaw gently, “I will let Scotty do whatever he wants to the Enterprise. I will let Spock rule with only logic, I will let Uhura paint the whole bloody ship pink if you die on me.”
And he jabbed the hypospray against Jim’s neck, hearing the hissed intake of breath as the synthetic chromosome flooded the man’s body. “Bones...” Jim’s voice cracked.
Gently Bones leaned in and pressed his lips to Jim’s, kissing him with all the suppressed emotions of 200 years of waiting. “I know you Jim.” Bones whispered as his Captain slumped unconscious in his arms, twitching occasionally. “I love you and I know you.”
Part 4
Author:
miss_m_cricketFandom: Star Trek Reboot! / Doom Crossover.
Rating: R for language and goriness
Pairing: will be Reaper!McCoy/James T. Kirk
Disclaimer: Own neither Doom, nor Star Trek.
Summary: Starfleet has ordered the Enterprise to Mars to reactivate the Olduvai facility and Bones is once again forced to face his demons...
A/N: The references to Jumper in the Amazon and Reaper being subjected to repression therapy are from the official Doom novelisation. I hope it is self explanatory but if you have any questions...feel free to ask.
A/N 2: Italics are scenes from "Doom" the movie.
Part 1 | Part 2
Reaper of Bones
”UAC has shut down the lab men, we need to go up there and locate the team, eliminate the threat and secure the facility.”
“What threat?”
“It goes like this see, if it’s trying to kill you? It’s a threat.”
~*~
Jim’s lungs had gasped for air as he, Spock and the remaining crew members raced for the shuttle. Behind them he could hear the clattering of bullets, a perversely comforting sound since it meant that Bones was still alive, still fighting, still protecting him. Hell it seemed that was all Bones ever tried to do, keep him safe, keep him unharmed. He had never had a friend like that before, and the thought of losing Bones here on Olduvai...
The solid pressure door loomed ahead when a grate broke from above them, and a long scaled talon reached down to snag the back of his gold shirt. He shrieked as he was lifted and Spock whirled to see his Captain being yanked up into the dark recesses above the corridors. “Jim!” the Vulcan yelled, rushing back, but looking up, saw nothing but empty space. From the hole, mixed in with the noises from the now captive captain came a harsh cruel laugh. A laugh that definitely didn’t come from a human mouth.
Kirk’s yells and screams faded away as did the malevolent chuckling and Spock was left to stare blankly into the grated roof.
“Commander, we must go.” An Ensign whimpered. The First Officer turned to see the helpless fear on the faces of the men before him and knew what his duty would have to be. The human half of him, the half that had grown attached to Jim, to Doctor McCoy as well, screamed at him that he had to stay, had to help.
But logic prevailed. Help was on the Enterprise, and help was what he had to get. It was the only way to help the Captain and the Doctor now. With a heavy heart he turned to the pressure door and unbarred it, ushering the rest of the crew into the shuttle and upon entering, shut the door behind him.
~*~
Both Jim and the monster heard the shuttle take off and the Captain almost sobbed his relief. His crew was safe, Spock was safe, and his Enterprise was safe. There was no way the monsters could get back and infect the rest of the hundreds of people on the Ship now. It didn’t matter to him that he was left behind, was probably going to die torn apart by this abomination. He wasn’t dead yet, and there was no such thing as a no-win scenario. Besides, Bones was still here.
The monster howled aloud its fury and confusion, the shuttle had left! He had been sure the strange smelling blue shirt would not leave without the gold shirt he now had in his talons. Stupid, cowardly blue shirt, leaving the man behind.
“Semper Fi.” The creature rasped and then set off again diving down through a grate to charge down a main corridor. Jim’s mind whirled at the rough and speedy ride but his thoughts lingered on the garbled words spat out by the creature. Semper Fi. Always loyal. Strange words for a monster on Olduvai to say.
They reached the eastern bloc, where the living areas for the permanent research staff had once been. He guessed that was it anyway, seeing as they were passing by locked rooms with names on them. On they went deeper into the complex until at last the monster cast him to the ground, leaning over him with a grotesque mockery of a smile on its face.
“He will come for you.” The monster growled, almost slavering with anticipation, “He will come for you, because that has always been Reaper’s way. Then I will kill you.”
“Why?” Jim groaned, pressing back into the stainless steel corridor, trying to get away from the putrid vinegar smell and the terrible sharpness of those claws.
“Vengeance.” The word was breathed almost reverentially. “Always vengeance. He will pay for his mutinous insurrection, exiling me here. And he will suffer when he loses you. I will make sure of that!”’
The blow caught Jim in the belly and he groaned aloud at the blinding pain, his body throbbed, he could feel blood trickling from his head where it had banged back against the rough wall, from the scratches sustained through the creatures headlong dash through Olduvai.
That seemed to satisfy the monster for the moment, and it waited, clearly listening, waiting for Bones, Bones who had no idea that Jim was here as the bait, and the tool of his destruction.
Time passed until suddenly the monsters head jerked up and a feverish light seemed to fill its gaze. Jim’s heart sank as he heard, several moments later, the quick tap, tap, tap of feet running.
Around the corner came Bones and Jim saw his friend’s face pale, as he spotted Jim there on the ground. The Doctor was wearing a black vest with pouches on it, and in his hand he cradled a heavy, bulky and serious looking weapon. “Bones,” he groaned, trying to warn his friend, trying to get him to turn and leave.
The monster turned to face Bones, towering over Jim’s best friend in a way that made Jim almost ill. How could Bones face down this
“Hello Reaper.” The monster crooned, its monstrous voice making even the greeting sound malevolent and cruel.
“Sarge.” Bones drawled back, “I’d say you are looking well but then, I hate pandering to make people feel better about themselves.” The dark eyes flicked down to Jim, “Dammit Jim, what the hell are you doing down there?” the voice was light, but Jim, who knew Bones better than perhaps anyone, could hear the tension and the fear behind those flippant words.
Sarge certainly seemed surprised; shocked that Reaper had not flown off the handle at seeing someone he cared about in such peril.
“Wanted to see the sights.” Jim grumbled, inching himself further up the wall behind him. “Got your friend here to give me the guided tour.”
Sarge sent a cower inducing snarl Jim’s way and then turned back to Bones, who had taken the opportunity to inch closer.
“You always were one to make light when a situation worried you, Reaper.” The monster snarled, moving closer to the Doctor, away from the sprawled Captain, “I have had 200 years to dream about this Reaper. Destroying you like you thought you destroyed me. “
“I had my ‘Orders’ Sarge,” Bones quipped back, “’If it breathes, kill it.’ I believe were your words. You were infected. My path was clear.”
“Oh Reaper.” Sarge chuckled, “Ever the righteous one.” The monster stalked closer to the Doctor. “Always weak, wanting to spare lives. If you hadn’t given the Kid ideas he would have followed his orders and he wouldn’t have died.”
Reaper’s face was tight and the dark eyes, those large expressive dark eyes showed just what was flooding his brain, he was seeing the past reliving the events of which the monster spoke of.
~*~
”Sarge!” The Kid came barrelling into the room, face pale but focused, unshouldering his weapon as he came, “There’s a storeroom to the south, it’s got 20 people holed up inside of it. We gotta do something.”
Sarge stared at the kid, his eyes hard and unyielding and a frown appearing slowly on his face. “Your orders were to clear that sector. Is it cleared?”
“No I told them to stay put.” The Kid’s face was innocent with confusion, “They’re okay, just scared shitless.”
“We kill them all.” Sarge’s voice was harsh. “Let God sort ‘em out.” Reaper looked at the Kid, anxiety and horror on both their faces.
“This is wrong! I think...” The Kid shook his head in denial but Sarge interrupted him forcefully.
“Son, you don’t think! That’s an order. We’re in the field, soldier.”
“Sarge if nothing’s found them.” Reaper pleaded, shaking his head with horror at how this was all turning out, but once again Sarge talked over him.
“Now you will obey the direct order of your Commanding Officer.”
Silence reigned as Reaper and Sam looked from the Kid to Sarge, horrified but unable to think of anything that would stop this from spiralling out of control.
“No.” The Kid said, swallowing painfully.
“Now...” The command was practically growled, one last chance for the Kid to turn around and obey.
“Go to hell.”
Sarge raised his gun and fired one shot.
“No!” Screamed Reaper, lunging forward and catching the Kid as he fell, dying, the bullet having punctured his throat.
“Holy Shit!” Duke yelled; face slack with shock as he watched.
Reaper’s hand covered the Kid’s throat, desperate to ease his suffering even as the young man gargled and choked up his own blood. Sam, crouching beside him suppressed a low sob.
“Mutinous Insurrection is punishable by death.” Sarge’s words were calm and unruffled.
The gargling breathing slowed and then stopped and Reaper felt a wave of pain and anger flood his body, as he whirled around to face Sarge.
“It was his first mission!” he yelled at Sarge, feeling his voice choke up and restrict with the pain of it.
“And it’s not going to be my last.” Sarge responded frostily, “I need Soldiers! I don’t need anybody else but Soldiers!”
Sam moved back, away from the Kid’s body and Reaper saw Duke, put his arm out protectively to move her behind him, away from Sarge. He turned back to the Kid and slowly closed his eyes before cupping his own gun and standing, turning to face Sarge.
They faced off, both at the ready, and both ready to kill the other. But they were interrupted.
~*~
“He didn’t die.” Reaper growled, now once again facing off against his former Commanding Officer. “You killed him.”
Sarge snarled, seizing his advantage.
“No, Reaper. You killed him. You killed him, like you killed Goat by not being faster in the sewers, like you killed Mac by not keeping him in eye range, like you killed Duke by not saving him when he was grabbed from below.” The monster savoured its triumph as it dealt the knockout blow. “Like you killed Jumper in the Amazon.”
Reaper jerked, face tightening with remembered pain. And he couldn’t say anything. Because deep down he had felt that Jumper’s death was his fault.
Step by step the monster pushed him back, its eyes burning with pleasure as it saw its words hitting their marks. “They sent me the reports Reaper, of your Repression Therapy. They made you relive it over and over to make sure you didn’t bury it. You saw every mistake you made. You were the man in control on that mission, you were the Commanding Officer. You were the one who allowed them to give you prototype weapons that fucked up in the humidity. You were the one who read the situation wrong and left him open and defenceless. You were the reason, your Best. Friend. Died.”
Reaper lunged for Sarge but the monster darted back, laughing that horrible laugh as he scooped up Jim from where the Captain had been attempting to crawl away. “And now here we are again Reaper!” Sarge taunted, holding Jim up by the scruff of his neck, “Your best friend in danger, all because of you.” He watched the emotions play across Reaper’s face and he almost drooled with delight at the anguish he saw there.
Jim screamed as Sarge tore into his belly with his talons and Bones roared, raising his gun and letting loose a volley of bullets. Tossing the bleeding Jim to the side, to slump limply against the wall Sarge lunged for Bones and the fight began in earnest.
Reaper knew within five seconds of the combat that he was at a disadvantage. Not only was Sarge bigger and stronger than he, he also had the added advantage of having claws that could slice the flesh from his bones. Mind you he had a gun, and the other weaponry that had been in Goat’s vest.
His head rang as Sarge slammed him into the wall, and he yelled as he was hurled through the air to tumble along the grated passageway like a stuffed doll. He scrambled to his feet, the C24 singing through his body as he finally let himself fully embrace his gifts. He moved with inhuman speed taking Sarge by surprise as he slammed them both to the grated floor and knelt on the monsters throat.
Crack his right arm shattered as the monster twisted it, sending him tumbling away, cursing with the bright pain flaring through him. His cells healed themselves, the pain ebbing but for a moment he had been incapacitated by pain, and the monster had taken its advantage.
A ceiling grate slammed down over his head, and he heard his skull fracture, wincing as it healed a second later and he responded by rolling away.
The two combatants faced each other, both breathing hard. Reaper lunged for the gun, grabbed it and came up firing. Next second he was flying through the air once more, the grate slamming into his belly, landing in a crouch and meeting the blow that was supposed to have crushed his windpipe.
They struggled, the monstrous eyes shining with burning hatred. It was more than a fight against good and evil, everyone had good in them, everyone had evil, this was a fight for reason, and logic and human thought over guttural, animal instinct.
With a groan John Grimm found himself pinned under the weight of the monster and felt the fetid breath wash over him. Sharp claws pricked his exposed throat, “This is the moment you die, Reaper...” Sarge hissed pleasure in his snarled voice, “Any last words?”
Bones looked over at Jim, who was lying in a pool of his own blood, and whose bright blue eyes were watching him with desperate pain. He didn’t want to see that, didn’t want to think of everything he hadn’t done in the 200 years of not living.
“I love you.”
The silence was electric, and the monsters head rose to stare at Jim, because it was Jim, Captain Jim Kirk who had spoken those three words.
“I love you, Bones. Always have. Always will.”
And as the monster arched back its neck to howl with laughter and triumph, Reaper’s hand closed around the handle of the large hunting knife that Goat had carried with him at all times.
“Semper Fi Motherfucker.” Reaper growled and shoved the blade up hard into Sarge’s neck, up into his brain, killing him instantly. Black blood flooded over Bones who choked as he scrambled away from the corpse of his former CO and over to his Captain.
“Jim,” his hands, bloodstained and filthy were still gentle as he tested the wounds inflicted over his best friend. “Hang on,” he murmured, as Jim opened his mouth to talk, “Shh, don’t speak, let me just...” and he fumbled in one of his pouches to retrieve his trusty tricorder, amazingly still able to work. He scanned Jim’s body, feeling ill at all the damage it uncovered.
“I’m dying...aren’t I Bones?” Jim whispered, seeing the denial and anger on his best friends face, “I can feel it, my insides feel like they are disintegrating.”
“You are not going to die.” Bones informed him harshly, running his fingers firmly over the wounds and knowing even as he said the words that he was lying. Jim was dying, bleeding out in his arms.
~*~
”John stay with me.” Sam was crouched before him, her face swimming in and out of focus as he bled his life out through the bullet wound in his abdomen, “Stay awake. John stay with me. Please.”
He managed to force his mind back from the brink of oblivion, focusing on the brown eyes of his sister, so much like his own. She looked relieved for a second and then looked down. He followed her gaze to see her preparing to inject him with a syringe full of clear liquid. “What’s that?” he asked painfully.
“It’s C-24. It’s from Carmack’s lab.”
“No!” Reaper violently jerked his arm away from her, feeling his vision black out again at the sudden movement.
“It could save you,” his sister pleaded.
“No way. Forget it.”
“You’re bleeding to death.” Sam’s voice wobbled, and her eyes pleaded with him,
“No Sam.” He whispered, shivering from the onslaught of death’s first chills, racking his body, “I’ve done some bad things.” His eyes, glazing over were haunted, seeing the teenage boy he had blasted to death in the Amazon, the body of Jumper.
“I know you.” She said, softly with the utmost conviction. She was so fervent in her belief that he wanted to cry.
“You don’t know me.” Reaper said dully, feeling his life slowly slipping away from him. “You don’t know.”
“You’re my brother. I know you.”
She prepared to inject him and he didn’t have the strength to pull away once more. But he had to prepare her, just in case he did turn into one of those creatures out there. “Wait,” he pleaded, voice breaking, “Wait. If I should turn into one of those demons,” he lifted his pistol, pointing it vaguely towards his own head, “Once through the heart, once through the head don’t you hesitate.”
“I won’t need to.”
The needle punctured his skin, and the cold fluid rushed into his body, sending more shivers throughout his prone form. His eyes met hers once more and he kept his eyes locked on her, his hand holding hers as he slid to the floor, hoping that the love and faith that his sister was showing in him, would not be proven wrong.
As he slipped into unconsciousness he heard her voice once more echoing through his mind, “You’re my brother. I know you.”
~*~
Now he knew how Sam had felt, seeing someone he cared about, someone he loved, bleeding away before his eyes. He had to do something, and like Sam 200 years ago, his hand fished out a tiny vial.
“Hold on Jim.” He ordered, opening up his med-kit for one of his hyposprays. His fingers flew with his enhanced speed, fixing up one of the instruments to save the life of the one person he had grown to love in over 200 years. “If you die on me, I am never going to speak to you ever again.”
Jim gave a painful laugh and winced as Bones shifted him slightly, “Life wouldn’t be worth much if you didn’t talk to me Bones.” He joked painfully, closing his eyes.
“Jim, if you die.” Bones growled, gripping his friends jaw gently, “I will let Scotty do whatever he wants to the Enterprise. I will let Spock rule with only logic, I will let Uhura paint the whole bloody ship pink if you die on me.”
And he jabbed the hypospray against Jim’s neck, hearing the hissed intake of breath as the synthetic chromosome flooded the man’s body. “Bones...” Jim’s voice cracked.
Gently Bones leaned in and pressed his lips to Jim’s, kissing him with all the suppressed emotions of 200 years of waiting. “I know you Jim.” Bones whispered as his Captain slumped unconscious in his arms, twitching occasionally. “I love you and I know you.”
Part 4