DISCLAIMER: Earth:
Final Conflict and all of Earth:
Final Conflict characters in this story are property of Tribune
Entertainment. No infringement of
rights is intended. Kerren is a
creation of my own. Please do not use
her without asking my permission first.
AUTHOR’S
NOTE: After having his true nature
revealed to the Taelons, Liam is forced to face things most humans never have
to. Will he be able to overcome the
pain they caused?
RATED: PG
By Roguemoon
"In your heart,
In your soul,
Did you find peace there?"
Loreena Mckennitt--Full Circle
She
watched him sit on the floor; his hands around his knees where his head was
resting. He had spent most of this day and the days before like this. When
Zo'or had found out that he was part Kimera--and they still didn't know how
that had happened--he had been arrested and imprisoned on the Mothership. It
had taken the Resistance so long--too long--to rescue him, and by the time they
had, the damage had already been done. Kerren didn't want to think about what
horrors he'd been put through. There were rumors being passed around about the
experiments and torture--all of them were horrible. The newest rumor being
passed around was so terrible that Kerren wouldn't have believed it if she
hadn't helped Dr. Parks go over the test results and the x-rays. The tests and
examinations showed that Liam had been severely raped more than once in an
effort to break him down so that he would cooperate with them.
Kerren
shook her head. The others couldn't understand why Liam wouldn't come out of
his 'zone' now that he was safe. Kerren did though. She had reason to. Kerren
shut her eyes, better not to think about that now. Dr. Parks had asked her to
try and talk to Liam. He was barely eating, and the doctor was very worried.
Kerren
entered the room. Liam didn't even acknowledge her presence, but that was
nothing new. He had done that to everyone who had tried to talk to him. She
walked over to him and knelt down a few feet away. She couldn't help noticing
that he flinched away from her.
"Liam,
I'm not going to hurt you," she said softly as she went from her kneeling
position to a sitting one.
He
didn't reply. He didn't even look up at her.
Kerren
wasn't discouraged. She knew getting through to him would take a while. He had
retreated so far into himself that some people wondered if he would ever come
out again.
"Liam,
everyone is worried about you. Isn't there something we can do to get you to
talk to us?" She asked.
"Go
away," a muffled voice said after a few minutes.
Kerren's
look saddened, "I can't, Liam. I see you hurting, and I want to
help."
"There's
nothing you can do," he replied. "You have no idea what I am feeling,
and I don't want your pity."
Kerren
shut her eyes, and, for a moment, images flashed through her mind--images of a
time before she had been a part of the Resistance, images of a man--her
father--beating her and...
Kerren tried to shake herself loose of the grip the memories had taken over
her. Even though the abuse had happened over 15 years ago, the memories still
paralyzed her at times. The pain was still as real as it had been when she had
been 10 years old.
"What
are you thinking about?" Kerren opened her eyes and was surprised to see
that Liam was looking at her.
Kerren
forced herself to smile, "Nothing."
Liam
looked at her sadly, "Are you suppose to be lying to me?"
Kerren
started to say that she wasn't lying, but stopped, "No, I shouldn't be I
guess. Let's just say that I know more about what you are feeling than you could
imagine."
Liam
just looked at her as if he was waiting for an explanation.
Kerren
looked down, "When I was 10 my father began abusing me. A first he'd just
hit me. Then he started in on other things. He, he..." Kerren's voice
drifted off as tears entered her eyes. She shut her eyes to stop herself from
crying.
A
few minutes passed, and then she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She
opened her eyes. It was Liam. He pulled her against himself, and she cried on
his shoulder.
Once
she started to settle down, Liam spoke quietly, "Does the feeling of
emptiness and violation ever go away?"
"No,"
Kerren whispered, "it just lessens. Having people--friends--around helps,
but you can never be the same." Her voice cracked, "You can never be
the same."
Liam
put his head against her shoulder and shut his eyes. Tears flowed down his face
as he wondered if he'd be able to carry on always feeling the way he felt at
that moment.
"Facing
the pain is the key," Kerren said, her voice slightly muffled by his
shoulder. "You can't let it control you. 'Cause if you do,
he...they...win."
Liam
nodded against her shoulder. He couldn't let Zo'or defeat him. He had to carry
on--for the Resistance, for his family and...for himself.
Liam
tightened his arms around Kerren, and she squeezed him back. Unconsciously,
Liam began to rock her, and she him, as they sat there and faced their
pain...together.
PART TWO
Kerren
ran through the Mothership looking for Liam. The Resistance had take over the
ship and pretty much had all of the crew under control. The few who were still
free weren't what were worrying her. Zo'or was still on board, and if Liam got
a hold of him...things could get messy. Kerren knew that Liam hadn't forgiven
Zo'or for what had been done to him. The Taelon himself had not been the one
who had physically raped him, but he had been the one who had ordered it. Zo'or
had also been the one who had mentally raped Liam by forcing him to join with
him, and that was almost as bad, if not worse, than the physical abuse he had
endured.
She
turned the corner to enter the bridge and skidded to a stop. Liam was standing
over Zo'or, who was lying on the floor with his back to his overturned
commander's chair. Liam's hands were facing the Taelon and glowing as he
prepared to fire his shaqarava at Zo'or.
"Liam,
don't!" She cried out.
Liam
shut his hands and looked at Kerren. Tears reddened his eyes.
"Why
not? He showed me no mercy," Liam stated.
Kerren
looked at the smirking Taelon who was now sitting on the floor. Surely Zo'or
had to be afraid that Liam would kill him...unless that was exactly what he
wanted him to do.
Kerren
walked up next to Liam, "Look at him. He wants you to kill him because if
you do, then he'll know that he succeeded in destroying you!"
Liam
looked at Zo'or. The Taelon's face was now blank of any expression except for
his eyes. His eyes danced in a way that told Liam that the Taelon was enjoying
every minute of his pain.
For
a moment, Liam's shaqarava lit up again, and Kerren thought that he was going
to kill Zo'or anyway. Then Liam turned away and started to walk from the room.
"Weakling!"
Zo'or hissed as he stood up.
Liam
spun back to face him.
"Weakling?
Who is the real weakling?" Liam asked as he stalked back to stand in front
of Zo'or. "Is it a person who has the strength to walk away or is it the
person who forces pain and suffering onto another?"
Zo'or
shrank back against the overturned chair, "You have no right to judge me,
Hybrid."
"I
didn't say I was; I just asked you a question," Liam looked straight into
Zo'or's eyes.
Zo'or
tired to look away, but the hybrid's blue-green eyes keep him locked in place.
"It's
a little different when I am actually conscious and able to fight, isn't
it?" Liam stated. "Now you are afraid of me."
"I
am afraid of nothing!" Zo'or tried to put on his usual arrogant face, but
failed.
Liam
smiled and then raised one of his hands, shaqarava glowing, and placed it
against Zo'or's face. The Taelon tried to pull away, but couldn't.
Several
tense moments passed, and then Liam smiled at Zo'or and lowered his hand.
As
he watched Liam walk away, Zo'or got angry. The brat was suppose to kill him.
That way he couldn't be held accountable once the Synod found out about his
actions. His murder would have also, finally, proven that Kincaid was too
dangerous to be allowed to live.
"Kincaid!"
Zo'or yelled at Liam's retreating form. "We are not done yet!"
For
a moment Liam stopped walking, then he shrugged his shoulders and continued out
of the room.
Zo'or
completely lost his human facade. Already, he could hear the Commonality in the
back of his mind. They were very angry at the treatment that one of their
own--albeit distantly related--had received. That anger grew as Da'an told them
everything that had happened, and how Zo'or had threatened to kill him if he
told anyone. Zo'or slid down the chair until he was again sitting on the floor.
As Kerren watched, the Taelon faded until there was nothing left of him.
Kerren shut her eyes as tears entered them. She wasn't
mourning Zo'or's passage into the Void--few would. No, she was celebrating the
fact that Liam had been able to face his monster...and let it go free.
Send any comments etc. to
Roguemoon at roguemoon4@yahoo.com