Author's Note: Well, last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! I'll hopefully be posting the next in the series sometime next week.

Chapter 12

"Turn off the mines!" Edrin's shout echoed down the hallway and across the cavern. "Turn them off! Now!"

The metal grip on Rey's arm loosened, as if the guard were paying attention to its commander. Almost reflexively, she wiggled free and ran forward, her steps pounding against the stone beneath her. Katerina…no…no…

"Rey." The Doctor's voice was low, but somehow it sliced through the air like a blade. "Stop. It's too late."

"Turn them off!" Edrin grabbed the Doctor by the arm and slammed him against the metal body of the guard. "Do something! Turn them off now! Save her!"

Rey skidded to a stop in the broken doorway, staring into the chasm that opened up at her feet. The mines continued to churn, drilling down, down, down. She closed her eyes, trying to find the planet.

Pain. Pain and confusion and…guilt?

Did it know what it had done?

"Do something!" Edrin's shout was tinged with desperation. He grabbed a guard by the arm and shook it. "Turn them off! Save her…"

The guard stood, a great impassive metal hulk, Katerina's coat still dangling from its hand. Edrin seemed to slump under its cold gaze, his grip on its arm wavering then breaking. The coat fluttered to the floor and he fell to his knees, burying his hands in its fur lining.

"Katie…" He brought the coat to his chest, crumpling it against himself like a limp doll. "My Katie…"

"Your Katie?" Rey's voice was hot. "You certainly didn't act like it."

"She was my light." He choked on the words. "My Katie…"

"Maybe you could have told her that once in a while," Rey snapped. She reached for her staff, her fingers closing around the cool metal, imagining herself twirling and shoving Edrin to the edge of the cracked precipice, forcing him to look into the abyss where his daughter had fallen. She took a step closer, the tip of her staff pointed at his head.

He looked so small. Crumpled to the floor, hugging an empty coat, the hulking metal guard standing over him like an assassin.

She lowered her staff.

"The planet's alive." His voice was so low she could barely hear it. "The planet's alive, and it tried to…to kill me." Realization dawned through his words. "It tried to kill me. My Katie…I'm so sorry." He buried his face in the soft fur of the coat. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…" He looked up, his eyes glistening. "Turn off the mines," he choked. "Turn them off. Now."

Rey and the Doctor strolled through the forest, the morning sun slanting through the trees, the leaves crunching at the feet. Rey had insisted they stay, just a little bit longer—she wanted to wander the forest one more time before they flew off into space.

She closed her eyes, feeling the pulse of the planet's life beneath her feet. Its core still shivered with the raw wounds of the drills, but they were closing now, the life-force of the planet washing over them in healing waves.

She smiled. A wash in the glowing stream the night before had eased the pain in her arm, and the gash was already beginning to fade.

Something reverberated through the planet's core, something she couldn't quite get a hold of—

"How'd you do it, Rey?" The Doctor's words interrupted her thoughts and she looked up to see him looking down at her, one eyebrow raised.

"How did I do what?"

"Communicate with the planet."

She laughed. "I rather think it communicated with me."

"But—how? I can't even do that. Katerina could barely do it. You—you just waltzed right in and said hello like it was an old friend!" He grinned. "Rey, you have a brilliant mind. You've got the strongest psychic sensitivity I've ever seen in a human!" He held out a hand, his eyes twinkling. "What do you say to a trip to the whispering falls of Loryn? They say if you're there at the right time, you can hear them in your mind. Or—oooh. How about the forests of Lyranissa? They've got ghosts. You could…"

His words faded into the background as she closed her eyes again, a smile tugging at her lips. An old friend. Yes. That was it. That was what she had felt a moment earlier.

One word. One concept, flowing through the planet like a happy purr.

Rey.

Friend.

The End