"No!" I screamed, a tad cliche but I was far beyond caring. Susan lay before me, bleeding out and soon to die. It just wasn't fair. If only she had been wounded anywhere else, the temporal reversal could have saved her, but not here. Not at the centre of the paradox. I had thought that if she was taken from me, that I'd just crumble. Give up, unable to continue fighting. Instead, I found myself full of rage, the fury welling up inside like a volcano. This Vakarian was not going to get away with claiming her life, and the was no way in hell I'd let her death be in vain. I rose shakily to my feet, still mildly dizzy from the impact. With a pained scream wrought of grief, I rushed my enemy.
Despite my intensity, I was still not a match for his skill. I was swinging wildly, lashing out, consumed by emotion, while he remained calm and clinical. I was only managing to drain my own energy really. Again he knocked me back, before following with a lunging strike, which I barely managed to dodge before scrambling up to my feet. This was a fight I couldn't win, that much was clear. There was only one thing I could do, to save the world if not myself.
I let my sword and shield fall to the ground as I dove headfirst into the capsule. I slapped frantically at the around the inside of the hatchway, hoping to find a door release. The door began to close as the Vakarian rushed after me. With some mild satisfaction, I watched his face as the door blocked him and sealed itself. This bought me a few seconds until he opened it from the outside. I had to use it wisely. Desperately I scanned the control panels in front of me. I don't know what I hoped to find; a self destruct? An off switch? Some convenient power coupling to invert and fry the machine? My search turned up nothing useful. None of the controls made any sense, and I didn't understand the underlying technology. Imagine somebody who can barely manage Microsoft Office, and put them in front of a Linux machine. This was several orders worse than that, because at least in that example they're both developed by the same species for the same hardware.
My time was up. Behind me, I could here the door begin to open. Perhaps if I could roll out and underneath him, I could retrieve my sword and just stab the controls. Or better yet... I turned to face my enemy one last time. He smiled as he readied his blade.
"Nowhere to run now, human. You fought well, better than most races, but the Vakarians beat all foes."
"Bring it then. But know this." I channeled my best Alec Guinness and continued.
"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
As the Vakarian struck his blade downward, I dove low towards his legs. As I hit the floor of the scout ship, he plunged his blade deep into the controls of the craft. I wriggled out as he convulsed through electric shocks. Ramming metal into a bunch of wires creates short circuit apparently, and Vakarians don't seem the type to include circuit breakers or fuses. The screen flickered as sparks flew around the cockpit. After a few moments, it powered down completely, smoke rising from the charred controls and equally charred corpse. I couldn't revel in my victory though, as Sue was still struggling to hold onto life. She was nothing if not stubborn.
I rushed to her side, putting pressure on the wound. It was a token effort as we could both clearly see it was fatal.
"Will I ever... walk again... Doc?" She wheezed. A time like this and she could still crack wise? I've said how much I love this girl, yes?
"Hard to say, but your ballet career is in tatters." I responded, half laughing, half crying.
"Typical... We finally address... the elephant... in the room... and I get stabbed." she struggled to speak, her words getting fainter.
"Just our luck." I smiled, before kissing her gently.
"Did we win though.... Was it.... worthwhile?"
"Yes. The scout is destroyed. Now it's just a waiting game, hopefully time will snap back once we pass the point the signal should have been sent."
"I'm sorry.... but I don't think.... I'll get to see the world repaired..." Sue continued, as she broke out coughing. Blood flecked from her mouth.
"I don't want you to go..." I whispered, my voice squeaking with grief.
"Neither do I.... it's not fair....."
We sat in silence for a few moments, with me cradling her head in my lap, enjoying the last moments we'd have together. Susan broke the silence.
"Help me.... up.... want to.... look... at city.... final time..."
I put her arm over my shoulder, the least I could do was grant her a dying wish.
"Closer.... to the edge..... want to.... see..."
She pointed to the nearest wall, a section without barriers. She leaned on me as we shuffled towards it. She was struggling to stay conscious now, suffering from bloodloss.
"You know... I... love you...." she whispered. The end was soon now. I could feel her slipping away, cursing my inability to do anything.
"I know." I croaked in reply.
"I have.... a plan.... dangerous....but... nothing..... to lose..."
Suddenly it clicked. She was in the eye of the storm right now, but what if she wasn't? If she could leave the roof in time, wouldn't she be outside the fixed point on time, wouldn't she be reset like the rest of the world.
"You can't be serious!" I protested. Surely I couldn't just let her plunge from the rooftop?!
"No time... for.. anything... else... worth... a shot..."
"Then let me jump with you. Together, or not at all."
"No... someone... must... remember... invasion.... you... stay..."
"But, you'll forget that you love me."
"You'll... just have.... to who me... again..."
We both chuckled a little, imagining the fun I'd have trying to talk to a Susan without the crutch of a life or death situation. After a final squeeze of my hand, Susan pitched forward, and tumbled over the railing.
I pulled away from the edge. It was a sight I no desire to witness. I slumped in the middle of the roof, and stared out across the city. I realized just how tired I was, how much I'd gone through. Nobody would remember it, and I'd go back to being the creep with the doomsday plans. But this time I knew what the stakes were. I had seen firsthand the stakes at play, and how well my companions had coped. Perhaps there was hope for us all yet.
I don't know how long I sat there, waiting. Maybe an hour passed before I noticed any changes. There was a flash in the sky, a sudden brightness from orbit. What I took to be the paradox engines overloading. The clouds hung in the air. Below, smoke stopped rising and winds stopped gusting. Leaves hung trapped in midair before rising again. The smoke was pulled downwards. The sun froze and began to set in the direction from which it rose. Day faded to night in the blink of an eye, and the cycle repeated twice more. As the third day passed, the rapid spinning slowed. The sun began to move westwards once more. Below, the smoke had cleared, and I heard not the sound of war but of traffic. I saw people go about their lives, oblivious to the future they would never experience. We had actually won, but I couldn't celebrate yet. I had to be sure...
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