DISCLAIMER: All DARK ANGEL characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee (Cameron Eglee Productions) and DARK ANGEL itself belongs to FOX.

ARCHIVE: No

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JRAUnlimited.com

Alec opened his eyes and saw the face of an angel.

"Am I dead?" he whispered as molten brown eyes looked deeply into his own and lush lips curved in a little smile. Brunette curls brushed his cheeks as the vision shook her head, apparently amused by the question.

Blinking rapidly, the young X5 slowly became more aware of his surroundings ... of things other than that lovely face hovering just above his. He could smell seaweed and saltwater ... hear the lapping of waves. The air around him was chill (he could see his breath). However, his body was warm and he realized he was naked but wrapped in blankets, his head resting on a pillow, his head bandaged. Wherever he was it was dark, the faint light purplish and dim, but his night sight still let him make out details -- a rock ceiling ... a stone wall nearby and the partially burned framework of what might have once been a building ... stacked wooden boxes marked "Manticore" ... There was gravel under his hands ...

He tried to move, and a lightening bolt of pain shot through his head, making his vision dim and nausea rise in his throat. "I'm gonna throw up," he gasped, getting himself up on one elbow just in time to lean over and heave, vomiting in the sand while his angel supported his shaking shoulders. The contents of his stomach spewed out, along with a large amount of sea water. Choking ... coughing deeply ... Alec realized he had water in his lungs too. Memory -- in bits and pieces -- flashed. He'd been with Mole and Joshua on the dock, supposedly meeting the Steelheads to talk about a truce. There'd been an ambush. He'd felt a huge blow on his head and then he'd been falling ... and blackness.

That was all. He must have been in the bay ... under water ...

Feeling slightly better now, the X5 wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, looked up at his apparent savior, and realized why she looked so damned familiar. "You!" he said, his eyes widening with pleasant surprise. "It's you! The mermaid!"

The brunette nodded, once more smiling. Her silver suit was the same as Alec remembered, as were the gills on her sides, visible beneath the vinyl material of the vest that allowed her to breathe while out of the water. "Where's your better half?" Alec asked, looking around for the merman he knew was her mate. "Man, I thought the two of you would be long gone from here by now."

The Manticore mermaid made a series of hand gestures, the sign language all of his kind knew. Back soon.

"How long have I been out?" Alec asked, unable to tell if it was night or day from the light around him.

Thirty-four hours, she signed. Then she pointed to the bandage around his head and made the sign for gun ... shooting ... and spelled out the word "crease" with the sign language.

At least I don't have a bullet in my brain, Alec thought. But a day and a half? The X5 realized that his friends were probably frantically searching for him, unless-- Unless they thought he was dead. Then he remembered something else about his hostess. "Your eggs," he said softly. "The ones that hatched?" He looked around again. "Your children?"

She averted her eyes, and the expression on her face told Alec everything. The human/animal offspring of the two transhumans hadn't survived, their mixed DNA too much of a burden for Mother Nature to carry.

"I'm sorry," he said simply.

She smiled sadly, and signed, Where's your mate?

For a second Alec didn't know who she meant, then he got it. "Max isn't my mate," he said softly. "She's Logan's. As far as where she is -- probably back at Terminal City cussin' me out for apparently gettin' my ass killed." He shifted his weight on the blankets, gauging the severity of his injuries. Other than the massive headache and aching lungs, he seemed to be all there. "I need to get back," he said. "They'll be worried."

The mermaid nodded, then they both turned at the sound of splashing. A moment later her counterpart -- the handsome dark-haired Manticore merman Alec and Max had shared an adventure with a year and a half ago -- emerged from the back of the cave.

"Hi," Alec greeted him with a little wave. "Long time no see. And thanks for savin' my butt. Guess we're even now."

The merman nodded his own greeting, then said something to his mate in the high-pitched dolphin language the two used to communicate. She replied in kind, and looked up toward the ceiling.

"Where am I, anyway?" Alec asked, sitting up and relieved to find the world was only spinning a little bit. Also, now that his stomach was settling down, he found himself hungry which had to be a good sign, not to mention thirsty.

As if reading his mind, the mermaid handed him an Army issue canteen filled with fresh water.

Under, the merman signed.

"Under what?" Alec asked, not understanding.

Under city. Old.

Under the city? And then Alec realized what the merman meant. He was in the underground part of Seattle, the old city that had been buried and built over after the big fire a hundred odd years ago -- 1889 was it? He remembered reading a file at Logan's a long time ago ... some case "Eyes Only" was working on regarding Asha's missing mother, Margaret Curran. There'd been a document about tours of the underground city, and something about purple light.

Alec looked around the cave at the decidedly lavender colored light. However, he also recalled that Logan had been stymied with regards to reaching the buried ruins, something about officials sealing it off and him suspecting the Sector Police had a secret base or prison of some kind down here. Interesting ... He filed it away in his mind in the "So what?" category, then turned his attention once more to his rescuers.

"Listen," he said. "I'm grateful and all for your hospitality, but I really do need to get back home."

The merman gave a thumbs-up sign, indicated the watch on his wrist, held up two fingers, and pointed once more toward the ceiling.

Two hours. Two hours and they'd take him home.

Alec nodded in agreement, then sank back down on the makeshift bed with the canteen of water and a packet of Manticore rations the mermaid had kindly brought him. By then he'd have regained enough strength to make the trip. He just hoped Luke had a good supply of aspirin in stock because from the feel of this headache he was gonna need it.