Bit of a pause there – not panther paws, the other kind – as I worked my way through the conclusion of Part Four; not that we’re there, yet. The old family friend has come to the rescue, a little worse for wear after a set-to with the Watcher. Nichole is almost hopefully nice, always wanting to make friends, even after over a century.

At this point, I need to get them back across the little bit of water Allie waded through way back in 4/2, I think. Not sure how to do that without attracting more unwanted attention. Then, it’s harness, cable, and up. For at least the demi-human. I’d bet Nichole 5 can take care of her self for as long as necessary.

Enjoy my content? Buy me a beer!

The smell of the cavern’s dirt was in her nose.  But worse was the smell of burnt plastic.  Alicia sat up –

– sat up out of someone’s lap.  She whipped around to see a person from a recent memory.

“Nichole!” she shouted, throwing her arms around the android’s neck.  “You came to rescue me!  But…”

She drew back.

“You… your face is partly melted!  And your right arm is missing below your elbow!  What happened?  Did you get hurt because of me?”

Already at the end of her emotional rope after her hallucination, the young demi-human burst into tears, hating herself for her lack of self-control.

“Shh…” Nichole said, reading many cues in the girl whose family she had served on and off for so long, “it’s okay.  I’m okay.   Just some minor repairs when we get back to the surface.  Aqua might tear my other arm off, though, for hurting one of his pets.”

“Pets?” Alicia said, leaning back and wiping her face, not knowing the android said that to engage her brain.  “You mean Squiddy?”

“Is that what you call it?” Nichole laughed, making her bright green eyes flicker a little.  “It was rather insistent that I not cross the water to that building.  We tussled a bit before I had to resort to a secret from the Russians.”

“What’s that?  Er, that is, if I’m allowed to know?”

“You’ll know in a few hours when we walk back there,” Nichole replied, standing and pulling Alicia up with her.  “Something Tay, Reina’s daughter, found in her research in Constantinople.  Greek fire.”

Nichole laughed, even with the left side of her face partly melted.

“She’s quite the scholar.  Giving Dorina a run for ‘smartest person in the solar system.” She pointed at her face.  “And, yes, I got some on me.  Difficult to put out a fire which cannot be put out.”

“So it is my fault…” the demi-human sniffled.

“Stop that!” Nichole ordered.  “Let’s head back before Kira tosses some other poor soul down that hole.  And I have a question, human.”

“Yes.  Sorry.  What?”

“When I found you, six hours ago, you were translucent.  I could see right through you.  That is totally outside of any dataset of mine.  What did you do?”

Alicia blinked at her.

“Huh?  And you’ve been here for how long?”

The android used her left hand to turn her charge to the south and get her into motion.

“After my controlled descent, about two hours, there was the kerfuffle with, ah, Squiddy.  I pressed on north and found your little hut and then Zhukov’s cairn,” she explained, gently guiding her.  “By then I was close enough to smell you and found you, well, sort of you, lying in the weeds back there.  Translucent.”

“I admit,” she continued, “I was scared to touch you.  So I waited that six hours.  You were suddenly normal – that’s a laugh! – again, and I eased your head into my lap.”

A sigh from the machine.

“I understand the transcendent but have no faith.  I would have prayed for you, if I could.”

“That…that’s fine, Nichole.” What did those plants do to me?  “I think I accidentally poisoned myself.  Let me tell you, so I can get it straight when I report to Kira…”

Hours later, they turned right to the stone hut.  Alicia explained that she wanted to make sure there was nothing left behind. 

“After all,” she said, “if I’m ever on Earth, I’d like to visit Allen’s grave.  I think I owe him that.”

“You do,” Nichole agreed.  She’d borne her share of loss over a hundred years.

Pausing in the waterfall, the demi carefully led the android to the shrine, as she called it, telling the story of Allen’s disappearance.  Nichole moved a bit closer, recording as much information as she could, but never touched it.  “There is so much we do not know,” she muttered.

Once past the waterfall, Alicia froze and gasped.

“The lake!  It’s still burning!” she exclaimed, pointing.

“Yeah,” Nichole said, looking a bit guilty, with her remaining arm over and behind her head.  “Once Squiddy tore my right off, I might have overreacted just a little…”

“Remind me to never get you mad at me,” Alicia breathed.  The machine laughed and paused them next to the building.

“It will only be a few minutes, but I want to see and record more of the pictures and writing inside,” she said.  “You sit still, here, and if our friend decides for a rematch, yell for me.”

“Oh.  I thought you killed him.  It.”

“Doubtful.  Tore a few tentacles off before flaming the water,” Nichole said, shaking her head.  “It retreated underwater.  The Midwife will tell us if it’s still alive once we’re safe, up top.  Now, excuse me, Princess.”