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tamingthemuseGreetings, fellow Muse-tamers!
This is the conclusion to the story I've been posting in bits and pieces over the past several weeks. I've edited it quite heavily, compiled it all into one long story and re-titled it "Dreams of Death and Clockwork." If you'd like the read the complete version (recommended), you can find it here:
Dreams of Death and Clockwork
If you'd just like to read the brief conclusion (the bit I added for this week), you'll find it below:
Title: Commonalities part 6 (end)
Author: Artemis Rain
Fandom: Heroes/Bionic Woman
Spoilers: Heroes up to 2x03 and BW up to 1x04.
Prompt: Mount Everest
Warnings: Femslash.
Pairing: Sarah/Niki, Sarah/Jessica
Rating: PG
Word Count: Around 670
Feedback:It’s like chocolate, only better!
Summary: After failing to get through to Jaime, Sarah Corvus travels to Vegas to find the one person who can save her life, and meets Niki Sanders instead.
A/N: POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING! This story was written before the Heroes ep, “Four Months Ago,” and can therefore be considered AU after season 1. It assumes that DL died killing Linderman, and that Niki is in control of her powers, but not in control of Jessica.
***
“You’re sure you won’t stay?” Niki stared at her from across the remains of the breakfast table. Sunlight streamed through the kitchen window and lit up her hair with a golden glow that Sarah wanted to remember for the rest of her life. Niki’s eyes were still brimming with embarrassment and regret as she gathered up the two coffee mugs and went to rinse them in the sink. “I mean, I’m sorry. You know, about before.”
Sarah grinned back lightheartedly as she loaded the stack of plates into the dishwasher. “Oh, that? Mmm, That was definitely not a problem.” She winked at the other woman, who blushed sheepishly.
“I just mean, you’re welcome to stay. No, um…” she hesitated, “no strings.”
Micah quickly downed the remains of his orange juice and handed Sarah the glass for the dishwasher, beaming at her as he did so. “Yeah! It would be totally cool if you stayed.” He grinned hopefully, and she laughed; really laughed for the first time in months.
“Hey, you can’t fool me, kid! You only want me for my bionics!”
He laughed with her, and when she closed the dishwasher, he leaned forward spontaneously and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I’m going to miss you,” he smiled into her abdomen. From the way he closed his eyes and leaned into her, she wondered who he was really saying goodbye to; her, or her mechanical systems.
She grinned and rubbed his back reassuringly. “I’m going to miss you too, kid.”
Niki sighed at them. “I mean it, though. You’re welcome for as long as you like.”
Sarah smiled apologetically. “I want to; I really do. But the organization that made me, they made another bionic woman. What happened to me could easily happen to her; I need to make sure it doesn’t. She didn’t ask for this, and she doesn’t deserve to get used by the Berkut group the way I was. Besides, Berkut is still trying to hunt me down. It isn’t safe for you to be around me.”
Micah pulled away, and she kept her hand on his shoulder as she regarded him and his mother with open gratitude.
“Thank you, though. For taking me in, for fixing me up, and for offering to let me stay. I can’t tell you what it means to me.”
She met Niki’s eyes across the room, and the current between them turned heavy, weighted down with emotions neither woman quite knew how to express. For a fleeting moment, Sarah thought it would be easier to move Mount Everest than to put into words her feelings about leaving; a whole new kind of conflict.
Then again, if the power rushing through her veins was any indication, Mount Everest might not be the challenge it seemed. She had never felt stronger, faster, or sleeker.
Berkut would never know what hit them. A shiver of something unnameable passed through her, as dark and treacherous as revenge. She schooled her face to keep it from showing; there was no need to bother the Sanders’ with her plans for the group, and no need to let them know that their selfless good deed would mean the downfall of a good many people.
“I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.” Sarah spoke seriously, the levity gone from her voice. “And if you ever need anything, and I mean anything, all you have to do is ask.”
Niki nodded once, acknowledging the offer with the same seriousness, and Micah gave her an awkward half-smile, as if unsure about how it felt to have someone in his debt.
From the open window, a warm breeze stirred the curtains and caused Niki’s hair to drift away from her face.
Sarah inhaled the breeze as it blew around her. It carried the scents of the outside world; a world she had been at war with for far too long.
It was long past time she became a part of it again.
And the war, Berkut would find, had only just begun.
***
This is the conclusion to the story I've been posting in bits and pieces over the past several weeks. I've edited it quite heavily, compiled it all into one long story and re-titled it "Dreams of Death and Clockwork." If you'd like the read the complete version (recommended), you can find it here:
Dreams of Death and Clockwork
If you'd just like to read the brief conclusion (the bit I added for this week), you'll find it below:
Title: Commonalities part 6 (end)
Author: Artemis Rain
Fandom: Heroes/Bionic Woman
Spoilers: Heroes up to 2x03 and BW up to 1x04.
Prompt: Mount Everest
Warnings: Femslash.
Pairing: Sarah/Niki, Sarah/Jessica
Rating: PG
Word Count: Around 670
Feedback:It’s like chocolate, only better!
Summary: After failing to get through to Jaime, Sarah Corvus travels to Vegas to find the one person who can save her life, and meets Niki Sanders instead.
A/N: POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING! This story was written before the Heroes ep, “Four Months Ago,” and can therefore be considered AU after season 1. It assumes that DL died killing Linderman, and that Niki is in control of her powers, but not in control of Jessica.
***
“You’re sure you won’t stay?” Niki stared at her from across the remains of the breakfast table. Sunlight streamed through the kitchen window and lit up her hair with a golden glow that Sarah wanted to remember for the rest of her life. Niki’s eyes were still brimming with embarrassment and regret as she gathered up the two coffee mugs and went to rinse them in the sink. “I mean, I’m sorry. You know, about before.”
Sarah grinned back lightheartedly as she loaded the stack of plates into the dishwasher. “Oh, that? Mmm, That was definitely not a problem.” She winked at the other woman, who blushed sheepishly.
“I just mean, you’re welcome to stay. No, um…” she hesitated, “no strings.”
Micah quickly downed the remains of his orange juice and handed Sarah the glass for the dishwasher, beaming at her as he did so. “Yeah! It would be totally cool if you stayed.” He grinned hopefully, and she laughed; really laughed for the first time in months.
“Hey, you can’t fool me, kid! You only want me for my bionics!”
He laughed with her, and when she closed the dishwasher, he leaned forward spontaneously and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I’m going to miss you,” he smiled into her abdomen. From the way he closed his eyes and leaned into her, she wondered who he was really saying goodbye to; her, or her mechanical systems.
She grinned and rubbed his back reassuringly. “I’m going to miss you too, kid.”
Niki sighed at them. “I mean it, though. You’re welcome for as long as you like.”
Sarah smiled apologetically. “I want to; I really do. But the organization that made me, they made another bionic woman. What happened to me could easily happen to her; I need to make sure it doesn’t. She didn’t ask for this, and she doesn’t deserve to get used by the Berkut group the way I was. Besides, Berkut is still trying to hunt me down. It isn’t safe for you to be around me.”
Micah pulled away, and she kept her hand on his shoulder as she regarded him and his mother with open gratitude.
“Thank you, though. For taking me in, for fixing me up, and for offering to let me stay. I can’t tell you what it means to me.”
She met Niki’s eyes across the room, and the current between them turned heavy, weighted down with emotions neither woman quite knew how to express. For a fleeting moment, Sarah thought it would be easier to move Mount Everest than to put into words her feelings about leaving; a whole new kind of conflict.
Then again, if the power rushing through her veins was any indication, Mount Everest might not be the challenge it seemed. She had never felt stronger, faster, or sleeker.
Berkut would never know what hit them. A shiver of something unnameable passed through her, as dark and treacherous as revenge. She schooled her face to keep it from showing; there was no need to bother the Sanders’ with her plans for the group, and no need to let them know that their selfless good deed would mean the downfall of a good many people.
“I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me.” Sarah spoke seriously, the levity gone from her voice. “And if you ever need anything, and I mean anything, all you have to do is ask.”
Niki nodded once, acknowledging the offer with the same seriousness, and Micah gave her an awkward half-smile, as if unsure about how it felt to have someone in his debt.
From the open window, a warm breeze stirred the curtains and caused Niki’s hair to drift away from her face.
Sarah inhaled the breeze as it blew around her. It carried the scents of the outside world; a world she had been at war with for far too long.
It was long past time she became a part of it again.
And the war, Berkut would find, had only just begun.
***
