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Reunion: Chapter 17

Adrian could see them from his point inside the same fallen building. He hadn't moved from it since the shuttles had streaked overhead. He had been trying to talk to Dog, but he couldn't feel him. The damn guy had buried himself deep into Adrian's sub-conscience and wasn't coming out.

Several men in black armor, carrying weapons had appeared, walking out from the buildings and into the park. There they stood, waiting.

They were waiting for him and Adrian knew it. There was no other reason for a bunch of random people to just show up with military hardware. The question that Adrian didn't know was if they were there to kill him or capture him. It was so hard to tell since he always ended up getting shot at either way

C'mon Dog." Adrian slapped the side of his helmet, desperate for that timely advice that he so desperately needed. “What do I do?"

No reply, only Adrian's own thoughts filled his head and those thoughts were putting him on the edge of panic.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths always worked. Adrian took a lungful of highly processed air, it was dry, dusty and scratched his throat and his lungs, but it helped a little after his small fit of coughing.

“What can I do?" Adrian asked himself. He put his options out in front of him and verbally went through them. Normally he would have just mulled over them in his head, but he had already grown used to Dog's presence and his input on everything that he just needed to hear a voice.

“I can run." Adrian looked behind him back into the building. It wasn't so daunting anymore now that he had gone through it and he believed that he remembered most of the way back. A little guess work and he was confident that he could get back to the shuttle. That led to the problem of him not knowing how to get the ship to take off.

“How hard could it be?" Adrian tried to remember what Dog had done back on Earth to get the ship airborne. No luck there, he couldn't even really recall what the instrument panel looked like and even if by some miracle he did get the ship into the air, he had no idea what to do after that. He didn't know of any place he could hide. Dog might, but who knew when he could be back.

There was another problem with the plan. There were three shuttles, shuttles that could deploy entire squads of heavily armed soldiers and there were only a handful in the park. They stood there, turning to each other to say a few words now and again, but they weren't going anywhere. They weren't looking for him which made Adrian think that they had him surrounded and knew that he would have to come to them. They probably had the shuttle under watch as well.

“So much for that." Adrian sighed and slid down the dirt embankment that he was on and deeper into the building where he sat up against the wall. He was sore, like usual. It was becoming hard to remember a time when he wasn't sore.

His tail was shoved down a pant leg at an uncomfortable angle, occasionally sliding to the side where it chafed. Adrian was sure that there was going to be a bald spot when he got out of the suit.

“What else can I do?" He tapped the bottom of his helmet with his glove. “I could just sit and wait." Make them come to him. It was enticing. No person had infinite patience. Eventually they would have to either leave or go looking for him and in a ruined city this big, he was sure that he could effectively hide from them.

There was the issue of food and water. He had none with him other than what his suit collected and Adrian had no illusions of drinking that until he was about to die from thirst.

His stomach growled angrily, reminding Adrian that waiting them out was not going to be an option. That only left him with one option. He had to go out and face them

“Fuck me in the ass." Adrian cursed and hit his head on the wall behind him with the back of his head. The loud clunk of the helmet hitting concrete echoed down the bowels of the building. “Maybe if I… No, I couldn't. What if… Shit." He tried to think of other plans, other ways to get out of this situation, but there was no other way. He needed to get to the park and find out about this Charlie Protocol, whatever that was in reality.

“I can do this." Adrian didn't sound convincing to himself. “I managed to last a while in New London, I can do it here. I can fight. I know how to fight." He clenched his fist as he gave himself his own little pep talk. He was sure that Dog would have done a better job, but he only had himself and for most of his life that was fact as well. “I grew up on the streets. I fed myself after mom died. I raised myself. I can take out a few punk…" He got up and looked at the men. “Punks with mean looking guns and a massive numbers advantage. FUCKING SHIT. I can't do this." The air came out of Adrian much like air came out of a balloon who had accidentally been let go of when it was being filled.

Adrian did this for another twenty minutes, talking himself up and then losing his spirit right before he came into view of the men. It was back and forth, back and forth until Adrian just closed his eyes and took the steps. His heart was bleeding and he was half expecting to be shot, but when nothing happened, he opened them.

They were looking at him, not moving, just standing there as the wind kicked up little dust devils at their feet. They were a mean looking bunch with fancy armor that made Adrian horribly aware of his own suit that hung in bags at certain areas while pulling tightly at others. Not to mention that it was yellow, hazard yellow. It was a wonder that they actually hadn't seen him much earlier.

“I'm still alive." Adrian took that as a good first step and then took an actually step. One foot after the other, he walked towards the men who patiently waited for him. “Still alive and walking." It was a long walk. The park was massive, massively barren and flat with only a few dead trees.

“Well, well, well." The figure in the center said when Adrian was finally close enough to hear him. “Took your time." He chuckled and waved around a massive revolver that was as large and long as the man's arm. “But, here you are."

“Here I am." Adrian wasn't sure what to do. He had excepted some sort of old western music to start playing. He had seen a few old Earth classics at one of his older jobs. The manager had let the workers come in one day when it started raining and brought out an ancient DVD player and played old western classics. Adrian didn't really like them, but he didn't pass up the opportunity to watch them since there wasn't going to be another opportunity.

This felt very much like one of the scenes in nearly all of the movies and shows. Two sides standing off in a dusty street, or a park in this case. They talked a little and then they would start shooting. Adrian didn't have a gun, but he spied a few nice looking rocks that he was sure he could send at them at high speed or he could just send them off at high speed.

“Here you are." The figure nodded. The others behind him remained still, stiff and alert. They would shoot him the moment he tried anything.

“I've been thinking." He crossed his arms and Adrian's eyes followed that gun of his where it hung limply over the man's crossed arms. “Do you get the sense of dejavu?" He asked.

“Dejavu?" Adrian wasn't sure what the word meant. Fancy words weren't a high priority on things to learn for Adrian.

“Y'know." The man shrugged his arms and kicked at the dirt. “Get the feeling that you've been here before?"

Now that he mentioned it, Adrian did feel as if the place was familiar. He felt that he should remember this place and yet he knew that this was the first time he had been here. This was the first time he had ever been off planet.

“Yes." The man exclaimed. “I can see it in your face." He laughed and jumped a little. “I wasn't sure if you would remember. Well, not you, but the thing in your head." He tapped his helmet with his gun and Adrian felt his blood turn cold. They knew about Dog.

“You didn't think that he was a secret, did you?" The man guffawed. “The old family pet, the devil on your shoulder, your conscience, Dog. The last true remnant of your side of the family."

“My side of the family?" Adrian thought about it. “You mean with Jaina and…"

“Dear old Luke." He nodded. “So he did tell you. Good. He pressed a small button on his gauntlet and the blackness of his faceplate turned clear, revealing a face.

“Stop looking at me like that." He had a smirk on his face. “You won't know me. Dog did a good job at hiding away his last precious jewel for this long, waiting for someone like you to be born so he could fix his mistakes."

“Let him keep talking."

“Dog!" Adrian nearly shouted out loud. “Where the fuck have you been?" Adrian kept his eyes on this person, but was no longer listening.

“I'll tell you later." Adrian could still feel a twinge of guilt and sadness from the old dog, though now was not the time to push. “Josten and Anderson makes for a bad combination. Makes children that are cocky and like to monologue." Adrian looked at the man, he was still talking and showed no sign that he was going to stop.

“So what do we do?" Adrian asked, desperate for a plan of any kind. “They have guns."

“And that matters, why?" Dog snorted as if there still weren't bullet holes in his side. “This kid is pretty green. I doubt he really knows what he's doing. He shouldn't be much of a problem once we take care of his guards."

“How do you suppose we do that?"

“Whip up a cloud of dust to keep them blind and then send as many of those nearby rocks at the last place you saw them. Humans have a tendency to stand still and just shoot. Then you get the kid."

“Just send a rock at him?"

“Won't work."

“No?"

“No."

“Care to explain?"

Dog gave a growling sigh that shook Adrian a little from the inside. “In short, this man is your distant cousin and your human relatives have a natural ability. Psionics have little effect of them. You chuck a rock at him and the rock will die just inches from him and roll to the ground. Never figured out the physics of that."

“So I punch him."

“Now you're getting it." Dog paused a little. “Your up, the man's speaking to you."

“Look at me." The man chuckled. I haven't even properly introduced myself. He gave a pranciful bow, having too much fun for how serious the situation was. “I am Andrew Josten Anderson, like you, a direct descendant of Jay Anderson." He stood up a straight and waited.

Adrian thought of why he was just standing there for a moment before he realized that he was to give his name. “Uh, I'm Adrian."

Andrew seemed unimpressed. “That was dull. Do you know what is about to happen Adrian?"

“Do it now!" Dog managed to put enough force of will behind his voice to take control for a moment.

Andrew's face quickly changed from a smug smile to a look of shock, his mouth open and then anger as Dog ducked down and raised his hands.

A massive ball of dirt rose off of the ground. Adrian was too shocked at the sight to even try and take back control. He found it hard to pick up dirt, sand or anything that was mostly just particles. He found that he had to concentrate of picking up individual grains which quickly became too much of a burden.

Dog on the other hand was having no trouble. Instead of trying to pick up sand, he treated the ball of dirt as something more solid, focusing on it as a volume.

“Well, don't stand there!" Andrew backed up as the dirt rained down on him. He turned to the his soldiers who were looking at the brown orb. “Shoot him." Andrew raised his gun, leveling it at Adrian and Dog.

Before he could fire, the dirt ball exploded, enveloping them all in a dense cloud, blocking all vision.

“That was amazing." Adrian couldn't help but comment.

“Don't get cocky, kid." Dog replied as bullets started ripping through the haze. “I can't hold on much longer." He strained to send a fist sized rock in the direction of the last soldier he had seen. The gunfire made it too loud to hear if he hit his target and then Adrian's sub-conscience forced him out and Adrian regained control.

“Don't just stand there!" Dog ordered. “Start chucking."

Andrew looked around his small area of visibility, picking up what rocks he could and sending them flying. He used his psionics to get a read on where the soldiers were and was surprised to feel that they were falling back.

“They know that they can't stand up against you like this." Dog commented. “Smart people, it'll keep them alive for a bit longer." A rock sailed into one, staggering him. Adrian could sense his pain and fear as he limped away towards the edge of the park.

“You son of a bitch." A shrill voice cried out and then there was pain. Lot's of pain.

Adrian didn't sense him coming, there was no way he could have. Andrew was like a ghost to psionics and he took advantage of that.

The dust had settled enough for Andrew line up a shot and take it.

Adrian fell to his knees. There was burning sensation coming from his left arm and when he looked over, he nearly fainted.

A chunk of it was gone, replaced by a sea of red where his bicep used to be.

“Oh, god." Adrian managed to say, it was the only thing he managed to say.

“Stay with me." Dog was screaming in his head, but it was feeling distant. “You can't give up now."

He felt sleepy and warm. So comfortable all of the sudden even though he had this voice in his head yelling bloody murder and the suit's alarms blaring about some sort of radiation exposure.

He lifted his head up to the sky and fell back with a poof of dirt rising up. He could feel Dog trying to wrest control from him, but like in the ship, he couldn't.

The sky was so beautiful, small little white poofy clouds slowly rolling across the blue sky. He winced as some sun caught his visor and glared, but that was blocked by a shadow.

“That was easier than expected." Andrew had that smug grin on his face again as he knelt over his prize.

Adrian didn't understand him at the moment, his mind was growing fuzzy and it was becoming hard to even hear Dog.

Some sort of noise gurgled from Adrian's mouth. It was incoherent and not even Adrian knew what he was trying to say.

Andrew frowned, though he wasn't looking at the Canis. He was looking behind him.

There was a rumble under him. It stirred Adrian a little, long enough to see what he could only describe as an angel appear in the sky over him.