(Untitled)

[wormholed]

On the western shore of the island, there was a outcrop of boulders. Beneath the largest boulder was a small crevasse, and wedged into that crevasse was John. There was a bowl of half-eaten food of some kind at his feet, but he paid it no attention, favoring the rock walls that surrounded him instead. There were equations written there, but

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[thebonelady]

If the fucking aliens didn't kill her, Angela and Booth would.

No, reflected Temperance vaguely, they'll just lock me up in a small room forever. She'd slipped out of the compound immediately after being informed by Booth of things Getting Worse, as reckless as going when his back was turned to her.

No kevlar vests, no helmets. She didn't think they'd help. But Winona was strapped to her thigh and the pistol to the small of her back, neatly hidden under her jacket. She was at an obvious disadvantage, that much she knew.

But what were her advantages? There had to be some...

She'd slowed to a walk near the boulders, and that was when she saw that she was at least one against three. Swearing quietly under her breath, she took the moment to at least look them over carefully.

[wormholed]

John's laughter finally trailed off into wheezing, and he crouched on the ground, wiping tears from his eyes.

"That you, Scorpy?" he called, shaking his head violently when the malevolent clone crawled towards him. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Outside, Scorpius knelt, inclining his head until it was visible through the low opening. "Hello, John Crichton. I've come a very long way this time to fetch you." He gave the human an indulgent smile. "You know how to make this easiest on yourself."

He did know, in fact, but that didn't mean he meant to come quietly. Unfortunately the clone was already behind him, seizing his shoulders and shoving him forward. John landed facedown in the sand, close enough for Scorpius to reach in and haul him the rest of the way out.

Between the insanity and the sandburn on his cheek, it was shaping up to be a very bad day.

[thebonelady]

Temperance was torn between berating herself for not bringing back-up in the form of Booth and IPD and berating herself for not coming sooner. How many were there? How many had to be killed?

Her fingers shook but she stilled them on Winona, pulling it out before she too stepped into the clearing.

"Take your hands off of him, you bastards," she spat.

[wormholed]

If John had thought himself afraid before, it was nothing compared to the cold that filled him now, pushing its way into his lungs until he felt like he was suffocating under the weight.

He rolled onto his stomach, searching for Temperance until the clone put his foot squarely on his back and forced him down again, squishing the cry of warning right out of him.

Above his prone form, Scorpius was turning slowly towards the voice. "Ah." After laying a restraining hand on Braca's arm, he knelt down and cupped John's neck. "You've conquered your affection for Aeryn Sun at last. How marvelous."

[thebonelady]

There was a pause, a heartbeat in which she took in the scene like she would a table full of scattered bones. Outnumbered, outgunned, and she had no way of knowing if the creepy fuck was smarter than her or not.

But he treated John as less, as an Other. We fear the strength of the Other, but we deny it. Every civilization clamps down on what it fears, becomes brave and over-confident. We assume that what is lower than us cannot feel as we do.

Temperance swallowed, her face pale and her throat twitching with the movement. There was a general roar in the distance, and she was reminded that she'd seen some strange shit on her way here. "That would be the Apocalypse," she murmured, and kept the gun in plain sight.

"I'm going to try and kill you," she told Scorpius. "I can't... I can't live without him."

[wormholed]

"Baby, don't," John managed to choke out before he was squashed down again.

Scorpius looked equal parts amused and indulgent as he rose, glancing briefly at Braca to keep his weapon holstered. One moment with her energy signature cemented his assumption. "Another human." It wasn't easy to believe that there existed an entire planet full of Crichtons, which gave him reason to suspect that the female might be worthy of study.

"I am sorry for your loss," he said, "but I need him, also. The wormhole knowledge in his brain will ensure the safety of billions of innocent lifeforms."

[thebonelady]

Temperance shook her head.

"If you were being entirely truthful with me, then John would never have kept the information from you in the first place." Exhale, inhale. Did she remember something about him having some sort of extra sense? Nevermind, any idiot could figure out she was terrified.

"You've been hurting him for a long time." Feelings had to be her ally here; they were the truth. Her pulse throbbed in her ears.

[wormholed]

"Only because he resists," Scorpius replied. He considered elaborating on the Scarran/Peacekeeper conflict, but it had not produced enough sympathy in Crichton to be exploited, and he had little reason to believe she would be different.

Scorpius paused, looking down at Crichton where he struggled on the ground. "I'd prefer not to kill you," he called to the female. John would be so much more compliant if she was left alive.

[thebonelady]

"And I'd prefer that you leave my husband alone," said Temperance, still feeling very small, and very much alone. Part of her briefly considered whether it could be trusted to make a deal. After all, wasn't it stuck here on the island like all of them?

But then, there was the chance it wasn't.

[wormholed]

Face to the ground as he was, John could see Braca rocking on his heels. "Where's that PK patience?" he asked, trying to get the other man's attention.

Braca did little more than give John a vile smile. He'd shoot the woman just to spite John, and consider Scorpius' wrath worth enduring. John made a small sound of fury and began to struggle violently, and was both amazed and grateful to see Braca's head snap suddenly to the trees.

"Sir," Braca began, and Scorpius waved both Peacekeepers away, confident that he could handle both the female and her gun. And if not...the alien gazed down at John speculatively. He wasn't directly linked to the clone he'd placed in Crichton's mind, but as an exact copy of his personality, he knew what the clone would do. He didn't need Braca's protection with Crichton nearby.

"I can't do that," he said, his quiet voice carrying over the sand to Temperance. "Say your farewells."

[thebonelady]

This was the dangerous part. All she could do was rely on her calculations as far as her own body went, and, of course... luck. Which owes me one, I think.

"Fuck. You."

She fired more than once in her approach, though she knew all it would be was the prick of a pin on an elephant. More importantly, as she got within range to strike, she made sure she was ready for the pain. Lead with the gun.

[wormholed]

Fury and terror built up in John's chest past endurance, escaping him in a long, low wail before she'd even fired off the first shot. She was going to die, she was going to die, and he was going to have to watch it all again.

He took a step towards her, amazed that he was allowed this much movement. Amazed - until he realized he wasn't the only one willing the movement in his legs. Winona's blasts caught Scorpius in the chest, moving him no more than would a weak punch, and exploding in bright red sparks until John stepped between them, catching Temperance as she hurled herself at them with intentions that were not his own.

Scorpius' serene voice floated down to them as John landed hard atop Temperance in the sand. "You see? If I don't kill you, he will."

[thebonelady]

Temperance didn't spare the smug bastard any words, instead ridding herself of her husband the old-fashioned way. She hit him hard in the solar plexus and flipped him off like any old mugger or purse-thief. That she was married to and trying to save.

She'd stun him if she had to, but she didn't want it to come to that.

No, her attention was on getting her hands on Scorpius.

[wormholed]

John's hand swung up and took hold of her wrist, yanking her backwards into the sand before climbing back on top of her. "Baby," he grunted, even as his hands found their way around her throat, "Tubes. In his head."

He shuddered, and his fingers loosened their grip. "Get'em out. He can't - " But that was all John managed before he threw his head back with a agonized scream, and then it was only Scorpius, tightening John's hands around his wife's throat in a deadly grip.

[thebonelady]

A tiny sound of pain made its way from her lips, mostly because she was sure he'd dislocated her left shoulder. She was suddenly irritated at the idea of having to pop it back in herself.

First, though, gasping for breath, she kneed him in the crotch. Not even leather could take care of that.

The nice part, she supposed in a detatched way, was that she knew how to fix something as easy as dislocation, and with a grunt, biting her lip hard enough to bloody it, she shoved it back in place. And promptly continued with a mind to get the fucking alien.

[wormholed]

Not even the powerful clone in his head could stop John from clutching at his suddenly screaming man parts, and he curled into himself in the sand, oblivious to the world as his body cried in protest.

Scorpius, meanwhile, was growing weary of this game. He had little use for sport in the first place, and now that he was so close to his prize, he found himself unable to tolerate more interference.

"Enough," he growled, drawing to his full height in front of the female as she picked herself up from the sand.