Wishful Thinking by Allison McDonnell

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Timeline: During the events of "After The Thaw"

It had been an especially frightening night for Devon and the rest of Eden Advance. After it was revealed that Alonzo had been the crew-member who'd been overtaken by the ancient Terrian's energy, the entire group- except for Baines who'd remained firmly ensconced in the locked cab of the Transrover- had searched for the pilot the rest of the night.

Everyone was on edge, particularly Danziger, whose impatience had gone into overdrive. After his cheek had been slashed by the possessed sleepjumper, John had barely tolerated what he'd deemed to be Julia's unnecessary medical treatment before insisting on his return to the hunt.

Devon had been eternally grateful for Danziger's assistance these past strange days since the frozen Terrian had been exhumed and brought back to camp. In fact, his leadership was one of the main reasons that the entire group hadn't completely unraveled.

Thankfully, his previously planned long range scout ahead of Eden Advance had been permanently canceled. When she'd gone to John for an explanation as to why the trip had been scrapped, he'd cited several reasons including True's objections to his lengthy absence, Alonzo's change of heart, the fact that no one else would likely agree to go in Alonzo's place and most importantly, that without John around to keep Devon's raging egomania in check, she would probably impose martial law or anoint herself Queen of G889 or some-such nonsense. When it came down to it, Devon didn't care about the reason why he didn't leave; just as long as he remained with them. And with her.

However, it was becoming abundantly clear that this latest incident was taking a heavy toll on the mechanic. In fact, he'd seemed to be getting more and more aggressive by the minute. Devon did her very best to ignore a worrisome anxiety building deep within the pit of her stomach that there could be more to Danziger's hostile overtones than meets the eye. Instead, she chose to concentrate on the quest to finally locate Alonzo and to somehow extract the Terrian's essence from him.

And after that task had been completed, she understood that there would be quite a bit of emotional and physical damage-control needed in order to return things to the way they'd been before. She hoped that the harm inflicted on Danziger and the other members of Eden Advance wasn't irreparable. It was important that everyone move past this unfortunate episode and look ahead to the future.

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After many hours of scouring the surrounding landscape without results, Devon concluded that it would be more conducive to organize shifts of search teams in order to cover ground more efficiently. She returned to the BioDome and called in half of the crew to allow them a few hours rest while the others continued to scan the vicinity.

Among those chosen to come back were Julia and an at-first unwilling Danziger who had balked at the prospect of retreating to camp without the missing pilot in hand. Devon was determined to concentrate on larger issues and paid little to no attention to Danziger's protests, reminding herself that she should be more than used to his defiant behavior by now.

Fragments of sunlight were already peeking in between the distant mountains when Devon briefly returned to her quarters. As she seated herself on her cot, her sole intention had been to exchange her snow-saturated socks and pants for drier counterparts. However, Devon had given into her exhaustion and had allowed her eyes to close just long enough for the world as she knew it to disappear.

She was dreaming.

Before she even had time to open her eyes, there was a hard tug on her arm, literally pulling her out of her simulated cot and to the standing position. Her blurred focus sharpened almost immediately and she was gripped with fear as she was yanked forward several paces by none other than Alonzo Solace.

Initially, a burst of terror shot down Devon's spine at the sight of the pilot, but she quickly deduced that he- and the Ancient Terrian dwelling inside of him- was of no threat to her. After all, she obviously hadn't been transported to the Dreamplane against her will because there was no resemblance between that alternate reality and the current landscape. This was nothing more than a regular dream and she was perfectly safe. It wasn't as if this was really happening.

"Come with me," Alonzo directed, his tone somehow nervous yet commanding at the same time. "And keep your voice low."

"What's going on?" Devon asked, still confused as to why she was there.

She recognized her surroundings as the place in her mind where she'd imagined meeting Danziger several times. What in heaven's name was she doing here with Alonzo?

"Just hurry. We may not have much time," Alonzo exclaimed as he all but dragged her across the field.

The pilot knew that he couldn't disclose or go into a complicated explanation about him waiting for Devon to fall asleep in order to bring her to the Dreamscape. He fully understood that, by doing so, it would have inevitably brought up a host of questions from the leader about her prior trips to the alternate reality and her various interactions with John. Right now, there were much more important matters to address and time was of the essence. Their very lives were at stake.

The duo slowed as they reached the entrance of Danziger's quarters, who'd also been unwittingly transported to the Dreamplane the moment he'd fallen asleep. Alonzo carefully parted the crease just enough to permit Devon a peek inside. Danziger was sitting on his bed with both feet on the ground. He was hunched forward with his elbows placed on his knees, his chin resting in his hands.

"John," Devon whispered, emotions involuntarily stirring within her at the sight of him.

"No, that's not Danziger," Alonzo was quick to correct her. "Take a good look at him, Devon. Look into his eyes."

Devon squinted into the semi-darkness of the tent. Unfortunately, due to the overall dimness and the placement of Danziger's bed in the room, she was unable to decipher the nuances of the mechanic's face beyond his general profile.

Alonzo continued, "The Terrian isn't inside me. It chose Danziger. He's the one. And in your heart, you know it's true."

"It- it can't be," she gasped in disbelief.

"It is," the pilot insisted, closing the fabric without detection. "Think about how strange John has been acting. He was even caught in a lie. That first day after we brought the Terrian back, he said that he'd dreamed about fighting it just like the rest of us. But when you called me in to test me, he denied having the dream."

Devon paused in deep contemplation as she recalled the incident from just a few hours before. So much had transpired during those tense few moments in which a crazed Alonzo had brandished a knife and had insisted that Danziger had been the crew-member chosen as the ancient Terrian's new host. It had been Danziger's word against Alonzo's and, as she remembered it now, she'd taken Danziger's side without a second thought. In fact, it had never even occurred to her to consider otherwise. That, in itself, was a sobering realization.

And after the violent scene had culminated with Alonzo slicing John across the cheek and then escaping into the darkness for parts unknown, the mechanic's comments about the lack of a Terrian dream had gone completely over Devon's head. But there was no doubt now that the vision of Alonzo was right. Danziger had lied.

"We can still save him, Devon. We can separate John from the energy that's taken over. But we don't have much time. The Terrian's life force grows stronger by the minute and, if we wait much longer, we'll never get John back."

Alonzo understood that, with Danziger's life in such a precarious balance, it was no time to mince words.

"If we don't do something soon, at best, Danziger's soul will be trapped and we'll lose him forever. At worst, his body won't be able to contain the energy and he'll end up like that Grendler. If we don't stop it now, that thing'll keep searching for a new host until it destroys us all."

Devon was clearly overwhelmed by the possibility. Her face went ashen while her mind flashed to the gruesome remains of the Grendler who had literally imploded. My God, what if this was actually true?

"What should I do?" she finally sputtered out.

"Danziger," he paused to clarify, "I mean, the Terrian inside of him'll probably figure out any moment now that I'm in the underground caves. In fact, feel free to suggest the possibility. And when he decides to come for me, let him," Alonzo instructed. "You should come, too, because I might need your help. And if you can, bring Julia."

The pilot let out an apprehensive sigh and he briefly averted his eyes. "Because one or both of us will probably need medical attention when this is all over."

Devon drank in what she'd believed to be her subconscious in the form of Alonzo was telling her. Sure enough, as much as she didn't want to accept it, in her heart she knew that it made perfect sense that John was the one who'd actually been infected with the Terrian's energy. Moreover, it wouldn't be a large jump in logic to conclude that the creature inside of Danziger would realize that Alonzo's close ties with its Terrian descendants would likely pose one of the greatest threats to its survival. It was no wonder that Alonzo ran for his life.

Devon's gut twisted itself into knots as she considered what Danziger might be going through right now. Was he unconscious and completely oblivious to the knowledge that his body had been commandeered by a thousands year old invader, rendering it as little more than a life-sized puppet? Or was he painfully aware of his predicament and was powerless to stop it? Could he currently be engaged in a life and death struggle with the energy force in a futile attempt to regain control before he vanished altogether?

Whatever the mechanic's present state of mind might be, Devon sincerely hoped that he wasn't suffering in any way. The mere thought of John in such pain made her nauseous.

The desperate need to see Danziger- or at least the image of him- compelled Devon to step forward and draw back the tent's crease to enable her a lingering look.

"Devon, don't!" Alonzo harshly whispered, lunging forward in a futile attempt to stop her.

Too late, the pair had no choice but to peer in to view the shell of Danziger's former self. He'd emerged from the shadows and was standing now, his posturing and mannerisms slightly off-kilter, baring little to no resemblance to the way in which he normally carried himself. At that moment, he was staring at both outstretched hands in an odd display of curiosity and disgust as he flexed and unflexed his fingers.

"John," Devon called out to him.

Danziger's entire frame turned to her in one fluid motion. His expression was hard and unforgiving.

"What is this place?" he demanded before looking beyond Devon to view Alonzo's presence directly behind her.

"You," he spat as if there was acid on his tongue.

Devon entered the dwelling and quickly closed the distance between herself and the mechanic. John's look was stony and distant as she tried to block his path.

"I have no business with you," he declared, his already deep voice at least an octave lower and raspy in nature. To Devon, he sounded almost beastly; most certainly not human.

Refusing to budge, Devon lifted her chin to gaze into his eyes.

"I know you're in there somewhere, John. And I promise you that we'll figure out a way to bring you back to us," she vowed, obviously still clueless that she was currently on the Dreamscape and that Alonzo had also dragged Danziger- or what was left of him- to the same alternate reality.

"Get out of my way. You are nothing to me," Danziger growled, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders and squeezing hard.

Paralyzed by shock, Devon could only stare into his eyes which began to emit an ever-increasing amber-like glow.

Her ears were then deluged with a myriad of noise and it was difficult for her to separate the overlapping sounds. As the reverberations quickly intensified, she could make out her own pounding heartbeat, a multitude of Terrian trills which came across as screams, a piercing combination of ringing and static, as well as the desperate pleas from Alonzo telling her to 'wake up' and to 'hurry.' And although his mouth didn't twitch, there was a animalistic roar emanating from Danziger. Devon felt as though her eardrums were about to burst and she was barely able to stifle her cries of pain. She clamped her eyes shut, doing her best to concentrate on willing herself to wake up.

Suddenly Devon lurched upward in bed and she emitted a series of strangled gasps. Streams of perspiration trailed down her face despite the tent's below freezing temperature, and her heart continued to thump wildly in her chest. It took several moments for her breathing to stabilize, as well as for her widened eyes to retract to their normal size.

Once she'd regained enough of her equilibrium for rational thought, Devon was quick to remind herself that what she'd experienced was only a nightmare- but one in which she'd found a way to verbalize and visualize her darkest suspicions. As she digested what she'd learned, she attempted to put as many of the puzzle pieces in their place as she could based upon the information that she already had. She then did her best to logically fill in many of the remaining gaping holes.

Regarding Alonzo's current whereabouts, Devon was certain that he'd been privy to the navigational coordinates and had general knowledge as to where the Elder's caves were located, so it would make perfect sense that he'd seek sanctuary there. Devon wondered if the ancient Terrian was so focused on hunting Alonzo because it considered the sleepjumper to be a threat to its survival, undoubtedly due to his psychic connection with the modern version of the species.

If Devon followed the wisdom imparted to her via her dream, it might be possible that Alonzo, the Elder and/or even the hibernating Terrians could find a way to help exorcise the demon from Danziger. And based upon the eviscerated Grendler whose body had been unable to contain the energy, they needed to get John to those caves and figure out a solution as soon as possible.

Devon continued to calm herself as she concocted a tentative plan of action. After glancing at her chronometer, she scoured her memory for which members of the crew were still out looking for Alonzo and the specific areas they'd been tasked to search. She exuded a small groan when she realized which crew-member would need to be forcibly turned into her co-conspirator.

She wedged her gearset into her auburn strands and was careful to select a private channel which couldn't be monitored by anyone but the recipient of her call.

She punched in the appropriate code. "Morgan, please respond," she beckoned.

The bureaucrat obviously wasn't expecting her call and several seconds passed before his slightly off-kilter image appeared onscreen.

"Devon, I, uh, there's been no sign of Alonzo," he relayed in between bits of static, obviously struggling to affix his unseen gearset.

He took a much needed moment to shove the equipment squarely onto his head to resolve the problem before adding, "That snow overnight covered any tracks he might've left. He could be halfway to New Pacifica by now."

Devon ignored his comment. "Where are you now?"

"I can't feel my toes so I'm on my way back," he replied, arching his head backward as he noticed an important detail. "Why are we on a secure channel?"

The leader again sidestepped the question. "How far away are you from camp?"

"About half a click, give or take." He paused to zealously bang on a small apparatus with his gloved fist just out of camera view. "This compass is worthless. If I don't show up in the next half hour, you all need to start sending out search parties for me."

Despite Morgan's proclivity toward the theatrics, Devon knew that it was important that both of them remain concentrated on the task at hand.

"I want you to listen closely because I need you to do something very important. When you get back, come straight to the BioDome. I want you to announce to everyone in the room that you'd found Alonzo's boot prints and the tracks were heading northeast. Got it?"

The former liaison gawked at Devon as if she'd grown a second head. "Why?" he posed. "I mean, uh, I was just there and I didn't see a thing."

"You're going to have to trust me on this," Devon advised. "And it's imperative that you don't tell anyone the truth until after we've left camp."

"Who's 'we?' And why would you leave camp to follow imaginary tracks?"

The apprehension continued to be written all over Morgan's face as he spoke. In fact, based upon the leader's unusual request and the oddity of her voice and expression, he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Devon, not Alonzo, was the one inhabited by the Ancient Terrian. The suspicion was certainly enough to convince him to stay clear of her when he returned.

"I know what I'm doing," Devon insisted, her patience waning.

"Well, I'm glad that you do," came the more than slightly snarky reply.

Devon was growing more exasperated by the second. "Just do it, Morgan! There's no time to argue and you'll understand soon enough," she snapped. "Adair out."

She abruptly ended the transmission, having neither the time nor the inclination to wait for Morgan's acknowledgment. And she thought that Danziger was bad at following her orders!

Her gearset stayed firmly on her head as she rocketed to her feet. She hastily threw on her coat, fully understanding that it was important that she return to the BioDome as soon as possible to give the appearance that finding Alonzo was still her highest priority. She also began to mentally brace herself for the harsh reality that Danziger- or at least the entity that had hijacked his body- would already be there and she'd be forced to interact with him as if she hadn't figured out the truth.

Devon was all but certain that when Danziger was told the ruse about finding the pilot's tracks, he'd be chomping at the bit to get to those caves as fast as he could. And she'd insist on accompanying him, along with Julia whose medical expertise would likely be required. Once there, the leader would have to put her trust in Alonzo and the other underground inhabitants that something could be done to separate Danziger from the demon within him before it was too late.

This is going to work, Devon continued to inwardly assure herself as she briskly marched toward the Dome. The Elder and the caves were the key to bringing John back to them. They had to be.

She hoped.

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