Chapter 7

By the time Dirk, Todd, and Farah met up with the Amanda and Ruby back at the general store, Amanda had already had another "turbo vision" thanks to their new friend.

"Where are the rest of the Rowdy 3?" asked Farah.

"They went for a drive. They don't stay in one place very well. They'll be back in a bit." Said Amanda.

"So, what did you see in your vision?" asked Todd.

Amanda turned to Dirk. "Ok, this is the precision part. You have to touch the stone, with just one finger, for thirty-seven seconds. We'll time it and take the stone away when you're done."

"Right." Said Dirk. He turned to Todd. "Ready to be you again?"

"Are you?" Todd asked.

"This might get weird." Said Dirk "You may end up with a few of my memories."

"After everything that just happened, I think I can handle it." Said Todd.

Farah set her watch. "Ready."

Amanda opened the box and Dirk placed his index finger on the stone. Todd watched as Dirk went rigid. His eyes were darting around and he was trembling all over. Todd wasn't sure how he was still standing. As soon as the timer went off, Amanda pulled the box away and snapped the lid shut. Dirk collapsed and Todd caught him and gently lowered his limp body to the floor.

"You turn." Said Amanda.

Todd looked at her. "Shouldn't we wait until we see how Dirk is?"

"No." said Amanda "Best to do it while it's fresh. Remember, you're looking for the gold vein."

Todd nodded and took the box. He sat at a table and placed the box in front of him. He was about to open it when the door burst open and eight Blackwing ops entered the small store.

"Hands in the air!" a baritone voice shouted.

Todd, Amanda, Farah, and even Ruby put their hands up. Dirk was still unconscious on the floor.

Todd glanced longingly at the box. He was so close.

Through the door, walked Ken. He saw Dirk on the floor. "Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine." Said Farah "Why are you here?"

"I told you. I was looking for Project Pandora. And I thought you said you didn't know anything about her."

"We didn't." said Farah "We just met."

"Don't make this difficult." Said Ken as he looked at Ruby. "Just come quietly and we'll let everyone go."

Ruby slunk behind Amanda. She looked afraid.

"Maybe she doesn't want to be kept in a cage." Spat Amanda "Ever think of that?"

"She's dangerous." Said Ken "She needs to come with us."

"No." said Farah.

Ken's eyebrows raised. "Really? After all the protection I've given you? All the orders to have you taken in or eliminated that I vetoed? Do you have any idea how much danger I have put myself in just to keep you and your gang safe?"

"And we appreciate that." Said Farah "But it doesn't give you the right to take her."

"You have no idea what she is capable of." Said Ken "Her ability puts people in danger."

"She's been imprisoned for decades!" exclaimed Amanda "She deserves a chance to prove herself!"

Ken narrowed his gaze. "And we can discuss this when she is safely back in custody. I've been proposing a rehabilitation program to help integrate eligible subjects back into normal society and…"

"That's enough."

A woman walked in who Todd did not recognize. Though he didn't need to know who she was to recognize the authority dripping off her.

"Major Wilson." Said Ken "What are you doing here? I am handling this operation."

"Like you handled Project Marzanna? No. This threat will be neutralized. These people you put under protection claiming that they are no real threat have interfered with our operations for the last time."

Out of the corner of his eye, Todd saw a shadow move. He realized there was an operative closing in behind Amanda and Ruby.

"This is a mistake." Said Ken.

"Your opinion on the matter is no longer relevant." Said Wilson. She looked at the operatives. "Bring Project Pandora alive. If anyone else survives, bring them in too."

Todd leaped up from where he was sitting, scooped up the box, and hurled it at the man who was about to attack his sister from behind. It hit the man in the head and he dropped to the ground. The box broke open and the stone rolled out.

Todd's distraction was all Farah needed to attack the operative standing closest to her and take his gun.

There was so much chaos and confusion that the remaining soldiers could not fire their guns because they had an equal chance of hitting someone they were not supposed to shoot. They were not armed properly for hand to hand combat in an enclosed space. Blackwing was ill prepared for this environment as Todd, Amanda, and Farah went on the offensive.

Todd knocked one of them out before another one punched him across the face. He saw stars, but he kept fighting.

"Reinforcements!" Wilson cried into a radio.

Amanda howled and there was a chorus of howls in response. The Rowdy 3 were taking care of the soldiers outside, but they still had to survive everyone that was already in the store.

How many are there? Todd wondered as he continued to grapple. The bulky body armor they were wearing gave Todd a speed and agility advantage, but the soldier was roughly Todd's size and eventually knocked Todd to the floor.

Todd looked over and realized that the stone had rolled right next to him. He glanced up and saw Ruby. Her eyes were wide and pleading, looking through the fighting around her to the stone. Todd kicked the stone to her, being very careful to only touch it with the sole of his shoe.

Ruby grabbed the stone and held it up high. A blinding light burst from it and there was a sound like a crack of thunder. Todd was knocked back and paralyzed by the pain as he felt like his brain was being electrocuted. He couldn't even cry out before he lost consciousness.

Farah had successfully knocked out two guards and was working on a third. Blackwings strike was sloppy. They were armed and dressed for a firefight in an open area, not a close range scuffle in an enclosed area. They had seriously underestimated what Team Jacket was capable of.

Todd's quick thinking distraction had given them the opening they needed, but it was going to take a lot more for them to actually be able to walk away from this fight intact.

Farah punched out the third guard and turned just in time to see Ruby lift the stone above her head. There was a bright light and a loud crack. The stone shattered and colored light flew out of it like ghostly fireworks. Farah heard screaming and realized that the light was hitting people and causing them to cry out and run away in confusion and fear. At first she was afraid it would hit her too, but then she realized the light was actually moving around to attack the Blackwing operatives. As they swooped past Farah, she could hear the light whisper and laugh and screech. She realized it must have been the memories that had been stored inside the stone. Ruby was literally using them as weapons to attack their foes. Soon, all of Blackwing was gone. Farah could hear their cries fading as they ran further and further away.

Farah turned and saw Ruby standing over the shattered stone. She looked tired, but triumphant. Dirk was still blissfully unconscious on the floor. Amanda was kneeling on the floor next to Todd.

Farah raced over. "Is he ok?"

"I don't know." Said Amanda in a shaky voice. "I didn't see what happened. I can't wake him up."

Farah checked his pulse. He was alive. He had a huge bruise forming across his face. He was going to feel that when he woke up.

If he wakes up. Farah mentally kicked herself for letting herself even think that.

Dirk moaned and opened his eyes.

"Did it work?" he asked as he pushed himself up. He looked around and saw the unconscious Blackwing soldiers. "What happened?"

"Blackwing." Said Amanda "You slept through the fight."

"There was a fight?!" Dirk exclaimed. It was then that Farah realized that he sounded like himself.

Soon everyone was crowded around Todd.

"Is he alright?" Dirk asked.

"We don't know." Said Farah. She looked over at Ruby, but she was characteristically silent.

"The stone is broken." Said Amanda "All this energy shot out of it and sent everyone scattering."

Dirk looked down at Todd. "Do… do you think… maybe he got his memories back."

"How would his memories know how to find him?" asked Farah "Is it possible they'd be drawn to him?"

"Would that really be so unbelievable?" asked Amanda "I mean, considering everything else that's happened?"

"Was this in your vision?" Dirk asked.

"No." Amanda admitted "I saw Todd with his eyes closed, but none of this. And he didn't have that shiner either. I think the future may have changed."

Farah looked over at Dirk. "How much do you remember about the stone?" asked Farah "Did it take you back to the shark attack?"

"Oh, I remember all of it." Said Dirk.

"Wait," said Amanda "are you telling us you still have Todd's memories?"

"No. Not like that. I don't remember his memories, but I remember having his memories if that makes sense. I remember waking up and thinking I was him, and I remember the things I said during that time, but I don't have any of the actual Todd memories that were in my head before. It's a bit like when you remember watching a show, but can't remember anything about the show itself. Does that make sense?"

Todd's breathing changed. They all looked down at him as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked back and forth between them all.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"You tell us." Said Farah.

Todd blinked, as if he was trying hard to clear his head. He looked at Dirk and then lifted up his hands and looked at them. "I'm Todd now, right? Like actually Todd's memories in Todd's body?"

"Well," said Amanda "I can't say for sure whose memories you have, but you're in Todd's body alright."

Todd sat up quickly. "I remember! I remember the day you were born and being on tour and meeting Dirk and Farah and last week and…" his excited voice trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Dirk asked.

"I… I remember being you. For this last day when you had my memories. I remember that too."

"Wait," said Amanda "so you both have those memories?"

"That's… odd." Said Farah.

"Compared to what?" said Amanda.

When Pandora released the energy from the mystery stone, Ken was hit with a blast of panic and confusion. The thoughts that didn't feel like his own were so strong and vivid as he fled the tiny store, but they faded like a dream as he stood deep in the woods with no memory of how he got there.

He had no idea how far he was from anyone else. His team was gone, and he knew Wilson would dump the blame on him. He sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands.

What have I done? He wondered. He'd really thought he was doing the right thing. Neutralizing threats. Improving living conditions for subjects. Embracing and expanding upon the amazing scientific discoveries linked to Blackwing's work. He thought he could change the operation from the inside. He was wrong.

He felt the barrel of a gun press against the back of his head. He swallowed hard.

"Are you an operative?" he asked in a voice that was surprisingly even considering how scared he was.

"Yes." Said a male voice.

"Did Wilson send you?"

There was a pause. "You were never supposed to walk out of that general store alive."

Ken felt his stomach drop. She'd planned this. It never really was his operation after all.

"Well," he said "just get it over with."

Ken heard a gunshot, but he felt no pain. He heard a loud thunk behind him. He turned and saw the soldier laying dead on the ground with a bullet hole through his head. Ken looked upward and saw Bart standing with a gun in her hand. While normally he would have been thankful, the look in her eyes gave him no comfort.

"You're here to kill me this time, aren't you?" he said.

She nodded. "I fought it a long time. I didn't want to do it. But I see now that if I don't do it, someone else will. And since we're best friends and all, I think it should be me."

Ken felt a pull in his chest. "You only kill bad people." He said "I honestly thought I was going to do enough good in the long run that it would counter all the bad stuff I had to do first. That your cosmic scale would tip in my favor if I could just wait it out."

"I'm sorry." She said "I've never, you know, not wanted to kill one of my targets before. I guess that means you're still special."

Ken laughed. He couldn't help it. Everything was so horrible and ridiculous. How could he have ever guessed he'd end up here? Then again, how could he not?

"Goodbye Bart." He said "I want you to know I'm not mad. I earned this." He looked up at her. "Just do me a favor and don't go back to Blackwing. I have a feeling it's going to get a lot worse there."

"Ok." She said. Her face shifted. She looked sad. "Goodbye Ken. I wish it wasn't like this."

"I know." He said with tears threatening to spill over. "It's alright. I shouldn't have made you come to this."

She fired the gun… and nothing happened.

The two of them stared for a moment at the gun, and then at each other. Then Bart let out a howl and tackled Ken. At first he thought she was trying to strangle him to death, and then he realized she was hugging him and laughing.

"You're alive!" she cried "I don't have to kill you!"

Ken burst out into relieved laughter himself as he embraced his friend.

"Let's go!" said Bart "Let's leave Blackwing behind and do something new!"

"Like what?" asked Ken

"Like whatever!" cried Bart.

"Ok." Said Ken with a smile "Let's go."

Todd finished loading the last suitcase into the limo.

"Are you sure this is all you need?" he asked.

Mr. Rutherford nodded. "This place… everything in it is replaceable. It is time to start over. Besides, it will only be a matter of time before Blackwing regroups and comes for poor Ruby." She gestured to the woman at her side. "I have more money than years and need to start fresh almost as desperately as she does. Please excuse me if I do not communicate where this will be. I think it would be best for the three of us if we just vanish." She said in reference to herself, Ruby and Fredrick.

"I am sorry about the stone being destroyed." Said Dirk.

"It was unfortunate." She replied "But unavoidable. Better destroyed than in the hands of Blackwing." She shuttered at the thought. "This is probably for the best, and you did help me understand the workings of the stone a bit more. I am thankful for that."

Todd helped her into the car. She handed him an envelope. "For your services. And also compensation for any unfortunate dealings with the stone."

Fredrick climbed into the car next, followed by Ruby.

"Good luck, Ruby." Said Farah.

Ruby smiled a small smile as she sat in the limo. The three detectives watched it drive away before they drove back to the apartment.

Todd basked in the familiar as he walked into his apartment. It felt so good to know that place. To run his fingertips over the doorframe and feel the familiarity of the rough wood.

Home.

He collapsed heavily onto the couch. He sank into the spot on the cushion where it was extra worn. He breathed in the faint whiff of pipe tobacco from the couch's previous owner. He leaned into the back of the couch and smiled.

The cat jumped up on his lap.

"Well, hello there little Shark." He said as he scratched behind her ears. She purred and rubbed against his chest.

"What is that thing doing on your lap?" asked Farah.

"Making herself cozy." Said Todd as Shark curled up and made a happy, buzzing sound as she purred.

"She's dangerous." Said Farah.

"Only when she's upset. And she's pretty happy right now." Said Todd as he stroked her fuzzy back.

Farah sat down next to Todd and sighed. She reached over and gently stroked the happy kitty. "We need to figure out what to do with her."

"Well," said Dirk as he stood by the coffee table "you said we needed more security here. I'd dare say an attack shark is even better than an attack dog."

"Plus it sounds cooler." Said Todd.

"You two are insane." Said Farah who was only half joking. She looked at the cat. "I've got some tuna if you want it. Better to keep you well fed so you don't eat my friends."

Dirk looked excited. "I'll go make her a bed!" he bounded out of a room like the kid he always would be.

Farah got up to get the tuna and Todd took her hand. She looked over at him.

"I know this has been… odd lately. And even more complicated than usual. But, I want you to know that, I'm still in this. Even if we aren't really sure yet what 'this' is."

Farah smiled that smile that made Todd feel simultaneously weak in the knees and strong enough to take on the world. "So am I." she said. She looked like she was about to say more, and then Dirk was back with a tangle of cloth he had tried to twist and braid into a kitty bed. They both knew this was a conversation for later, so they released each other's hand and Farah went back to getting the cat some food. As soon as Shark head the can opener, she raced off Todd's lap and into the kitchen.

Dirk looked disappointed. "I was going to show her the new bed."

"She'll be back." Said Todd "Just let her get some food and I'm sure she'll be very excited."

Dirk suddenly got a very serious look on his face. "Do you think she'd prefer a waterbed?"

Todd laughed. "We will never have a normal pet, will we?"

"Oh no." said Dirk "And who would want one when you can have a shark that plays with a string?!"

Dirk sat on the couch next to his friend as Todd put his feet up on the coffee table.

"It feels so good to be me again." Said Todd.

Dirk nodded. "I have to admit, as much as I enjoy having you for a best assisfriend, I didn't much care for having you inside my head. Also, I feel the need to apologize for the things I said to you during that time."

"You really don't need to. I actually remember saying them to myself and I felt pretty justified. I earned it."

"No." said Dirk "You didn't." He paused a moment and said "It is rather odd that we have nearly an entire day of overlapping memories. Memories so clear that we both feel like they are our own."

"Well, they kinda are. I mean, both of us were involved in a way. And besides, I've lost count of everything about our lives that is weird."

Dirk looked unsure if he wanted to say the next part, but he went ahead. "Do you remember singing?"

Todd tensed up a bit. "I remember being you listening to me sing."

Dirk turned to face his friend. "When I was you, or part you, or whatever, I felt so connected to that song. Like I understood it in my soul. But now, I remember the lyrics and how lovely it was, but I have no idea what it meant. Do you know?"

Todd nodded. "It was a love song of sorts. Not romantic really. More about love and acceptance and family, It was what I was trying to find while I was filling my life with fame and sex and drugs. It was my heart cry for something that, at nineteen, I wasn't sure even existed."

Dirk hesitated. "Did… did you ever find it?"

"Yeah." Said Todd "I think I did."

The moon was full and the constellations in the sky were very different than the ones they had left behind in the States. Matthew Rutherford stood in her new library and carefully poured out the green dust that was once the Memory Stone onto the table. She looked up at Pandora. "Are you ready?"

The ageless woman nodded.

A slow smile spread across Matthew's face. "Then let us begin."

The End