Andy's Fan-Fiction Archive

ULTIMATE RESOULTIONS
By
Margaret A. Czarney

Timeline: On way to New Pacifica
Author's E-Mail: mczarney@jcvaxa.jcu.edu or mcstarlight@hotmail.com

AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Well, Nicole wrote a sequal to Endgame, so I figured turnabout was fair play. :) This is a sequal to The Ultimate Betrayal. If you haven't read it yet, go read it. You'll be depressed afterwards, but it's too good to miss. :) And my story won't make much sense without reading hers, anyway. :)
Now about this one... um, well, it started out as a serious story, and then it got a little weird. Then it got a little weirder, and a little weirder, and then I finally just decided to go with the weirdness. Don't take anything in here too seriously. :)
Some of the regs in WBS chat (Hi guys!) will notice that a few of the ideas from our more interesting chats sneaked into my story. *G*
Thanks to Nicole for the title, and for writing such a good but annoying story that I had to write this story to recover from it. :)
Earth2 and it's characters aren't mine. Scenes from Nic's story are hers. The really weird stuff from WBS chats belongs collectively to the regs there, I guess. (You guys are not pinning all that stuff on me. *G*)
All comments to mcstarlight@hotmail.com

Ultimate Resolutions
by Margaret A. Czarney

Devon blinked open her eyes and looked around the ship. She saw the cracked glass of the cold sleep chamber and her broken body lying on the ground and remembered. //I'm dead, oh my God, I'm dead, // she thought. Bess had come and broken the chamber she had been sleeping in. *Bess*.
"Hi." Devon turned around at the new voice. She saw another woman standing there, shorter in height then her, with short brown hair and brown eyes. She looked oddly familiar, but Devon couldn't place her.
"Hi," Devon replied, not sure what was going on. "Who are you?"
"I'm Eleanor Moore," she replied.
It clicked. The woman reminded her of True. "You're Eleanor Moore?" she exclaimed, looking in surprise at the woman who John Danziger had loved so much even ten years couldn't fully erase the pain. //No, I don't want to think about him.// Devon quickly shook off that train of thought. "What are you doing here?" Devon asked. "Better yet, what am I doing here, besides the fact that I'm dead?"
"This...is what happens when people die," Ellie replied. "They end up here, not really in the previous world, but not apart from it either."
"But you're not dead," Devon said. As far as she knew, Ellie was still being kept alive back on the stations.
Ellie shrugged. "I'm dead in every way that counts. I've been here since the accident, keeping an eye on John and True."
"Then why are you _here_," Devon asked. She was dead and she was having a conversation with Eleanor Moore. Just another day on G889.
"Sheppard asked me to come and make sure you weren't alone right now," she said.
"Sheppard asked you to come," Devon repeated. This was beginning to be a bit much. "Why didn't he just come himself?"
"He's trying to free his sister, he's appealing to the court of gods and goddesses. I don't know if it will work," Ellie sighed, growing thoughtful, "Elikapeka is on his side, but O'Neill's made some pretty convincing arguments, in spite of the fact that he's basically a male chauvinist pig." She looked at Devon. "Why did you ever bring him on the Eden Project anyway? He's annoying and he has a big mouth."
"He was the only one who would come," Devon replied, a million questions flying through her head. Deciding to go back to the basics, she started to question Ellie. "Okay, let me get this straight. I'm dead." Ellie nodded. "You're dead." Another nod. "Anyone who dies comes here." Yet another nod. "Has anyone in the group died since I have?" Ellie shook her head no and Devon breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is the group?"
"They left right after Kason came and killed you," Ellie responded.
"Who's Kason?" Devon asked, completely confused. "Bess killed me."
Ellie sighed. "It's a long story. I'll explain on the way back to your group. You'll want to see how everyone's doing." Devon nodded and both women left the ship.

"I guess I do love her," Danziger finally admitted sadly. He'd been suppressing his feelings ever since they placed her in cold sleep. "God, I can't believe I never realized this...."
"You did," reassured Alonzo, clapping the man on the back.
Ellie laughed wryly. "No, he probably didn't. John was never very good at seeing the obvious."
Alonzo continued, "I think Devon knew, as well."
Devon stared at John. "No, she didn't," she murmured.
Ellie looked at her in surprise. "You really didn't know?" she asked.
Devon shook her head. "No, I...I mean, I knew he cared about me, and I care about him, a lot, but . . ." Devon's voice trailed off. "I'm in love with him too," she realized.
Ellie smiled at her. "About time you figured it out."
"But it's too late now!" Devon exclaimed, frustrated. She loved John, and he loved her, and she was dead! It wasn't fair!
"It's never too late," Ellie reassured. "Someday, you'll see him again."
"But you've been waiting for him," Devon said.
"No, not really," Ellie said softly after a moment. "You know John didn't know about my pregnancy until after the accident." Devon nodded yes. "I wasn't planning on telling him."
"What?" Devon exclaimed.
"I knew John would want to get married, and I couldn't handle that. I loved him so much, but I knew I couldn't stay with him for forever. That's not what I wanted, what I needed," Ellie rushed to explain. "I was just going to break it off with him and then tell him about the baby later. I know, I know," Ellie said, glancing at Devon's face, "it wasn't the best idea in the world. But I was scared, I wasn't thinking clearly."
Devon tried to look at it from her point of view. She supposed she could understand why she would have done that (although she couldn't imagine why *anyone* would want to leave John). "I understand," Devon said, smiling as Ellie sighed in relief.
"Good," Ellie smiled mischievously. "Besides, you know I've met someone else."
Devon grinned at that. "Of course, how could I..." her voice trailed off as she saw Kason running towards John at the edge of her vision. Both Ellie and Devon realized her intent at the same time.
"God, John, look out!" Devon cried. John was lost in thought at the edge of the cliff. "Turn around, John!" He didn't turn around.
John was standing at the cliff's edge. His thoughts were miles away, back with the woman they had left in cold sleep. He wished he had the chance, just once, to tell her how he felt about her. Then he felt someone slam into him from behind. John lost his balance and couldn't keep from tumbling over the edge. He twisted around in mid-air and saw Bess standing there, the murderous expression she wore out of place on her face. Then her face disappeared from sight and all Danziger felt himself falling, falling, falling,...and then nothing.
Ellie and Devon watched him fall with tears in their eyes and then they looked at each other. "Go to him," Ellie said simply. Devon nodded and left to go to where John Danziger's broken body lay.

"John?"
Someone was calling his name. He really didn't want to get up, didn't he deserve some rest after...falling of a cliff? Wait a minute! John bolted upright and looked around. His eyes went wide when he saw his body crumpled over the rocks. "Oh my God," he said quietly.
"John?" Devon asked again, drawing his attention.
John turned around and saw her. "Devon?" he asked in disbelief. She nodded. "But... if I'm... dead, that must mean," John's voice trailed off as he realized the implications of her being here. "Oh no, what happened?"
"It's okay, John," Devon assured, "I'm fine."
John glared at her. "You're dead," he spat.
"Yeah, but as you can see, I'm still fine. Being dead isn't that bad," Devon replied. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern.
"I've just been murdered by one of my best friends and found out the woman I love is dead," Danziger said angrily. "I'm just great."
Devon smiled and wondered how long it would take for him to realize what he just said. It didn't take long at all, all the anger drained from John's face and was replaced with a combination of embarrassment and panic. Devon laughed and reassured him, "It's okay, John, I love you too."
It took a minute for what she said to sink in, but when it did, John smiled broadly and hugged her close. After a moment he released her, looking at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Devon, I promised I'd get them to New Pacifica and that I'd watch after Uly."
Devon shook her head. "It wasn't your fault, John, don't blame yourself, please."
"Yeah," Danziger said, anger spreading across his face again. "It was Bess' fault. Did she kill you too?"
"John, no, it wasn't Bess, not exactly," Devon tried to explain.
"I saw her Adair! She pushed me off a cliff!" John exclaimed.
"Yes, I know, but . . ." Devon was cut off by the arrival of another person.
Danziger saw Bess approaching them and would have launched himself at her except for Devon's restraining arm. He settled for yelling instead. "What the hell did you kill me for?"
"It wasn't me, John, I'm so sorry," Bess said in a pseudo-southern accent.
"The council implanted a personality in Bess, Kason, that took her over and killed who Bess really was," Devon elaborated.
Danziger was stunned. "The council? When did this happen?"
"I tried to fight it for so long, but a few weeks after we crashed, Kason finally destroyed me," Bess explained guiltily.
A few weeks after they crashed...something clicked with Danziger. "So *that's* why you lost your accent."
Bess looked at him, surprised. "Yes, you noticed that?" He nodded. "It didn't seem like anyone did, I was so mad at Morgan for not realizing something was wrong."
John sat down and ran his hands through his hair. The council. What was going to happen to the rest of the group now? To True, and Uly, and Julia, and all the others who didn't know who the killer in their midst was. "John?" He looked up at Devon with a questioning gaze. "There's someone else who wants to see you," she said, leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek, "we'll be back soon."
John watched her and Bess go, confusion written across his face. Then he heard a voice he thought he'd never hear again. "Hi, John." Eleanor Moore stood a few feet away from him, smiling nervously.
His mouth dropped open in shock. "Ellie?" he asked hoarsely. She nodded. He stood after a moment, not believing what he was seeing. "My God, I can't believe it," he said, drawing her into a hug. He let her go and looking at her, he realized he didn't know quite what to say, but she took care of that.
"I'm sorry we had to meet again like this, John," she said.
He returned her wry smile. "Hey, it was bound to happen sooner or later."
"Yeah," Ellie replied. She sat down, crossing her legs beneath her and looked at him expectantly. "Why don't you sit down? We've got a lot to catch up on."
He sat down across from her, crossing his legs in a similar fashion. "Ladies first," he said, and listened as she began to speak.

Devon, Bess, and Eben slowly walked back to where Devon and Bess had left John and Ellie. Devon didn't know what she was hoping for, but she was sure she didn't want John to look like he wanted to break something, which was unfortunately what they found when they arrived. "John?" she asked hesitantly, nervously, when they reached them.
"They found me," he said, motioning to the spot where his body had lain, but now was gone. Devon looked closer and noticed his face wasn't so much an expression of anger, as she had first thought, but mostly hurt and pain. She stepped closer to him. "True found me," he explained quietly.
Devon covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh no," she whispered. She went over and hugged John tightly. He squeezed her back.
Devon glanced at Ellie quickly and then back to him, questioning him with her eyes. He smiled, gently kissing her hair and then whispering in her ear, "We got it all worked out."
She smiled back at him. "I'm glad," she said, and hugged him again. "Are you... is True...?" she asked hesitantly. John just shook his head, the pain returning to his face. "Yale and Julia will take care of her," she tried to assure him. "They won't let anything happen to her."
"I know," he said. John released Devon from his embrace and took her hand. Then he noticed Eben for the first time. "Hey, Eben," he greeted her.
"Danziger," she smiled at him. "Glad you can join us," she said wryly.
He returned the wry smile and after a moment, broke the silence with a question. "Hey, are Alex and Les around?"
Elle rolled her eyes. "They're sailing again. I swear, Alex is so focused on her sailing, it's ridiculous."
Danziger smiled. "She always did want to go sailing. I'm glad she got the chance."
Without warning, Sheppard and two woman Danziger didn't recognize stepped out of thin air. To his astonishment, Sheppard ran to Ellie and embraced her. "It worked!" he cried happily.
"Sheppard, that's great!" Ellie said, grinning and hugging him back.
"Yes, the Goddess here distracted O'Neill enough so that Elikapeka was able to present her arguments with no interruptions, and the final vote was just enough to free her," Sheppard said in an excited rush.
Devon's broad smile faded when she looked to John, who was in shock. She hugged his arm. "Hey, what is it, didn't Ellie tell you?"
He looked down at her, eyes wide with surprise. "She forgot this part."
Sheppard had stopped talking and was looking slightly embarrassed, and Ellie smiled guiltily as Devon looked at her accusingly.
"You said you would tell him," Devon said.
"Well, I was going to, honest," Ellie said, "but, well, we were interrupted." Her face fell at the last part and Devon realized that True must have interrupted them.
"Oh," was all Devon said.
John shook his head. "Are there any other surprises we can get out of the way right now?" he asked everyone in general.
Sheppard spoke up. "Well," he began, pulling one of the women behind him to the forefront. "I'd like you to meet my sister, Katrina."
John's thought processes froze. The petite, blond-haired woman was the scraggly old hag who had tried to kill Devon? Come to think of it, Sheppard had lost his eyepatch and looked a little younger, while Ellie looked older than she should. This was insane. He died, found True's mother, found out that she was involved with Devon's dead dream lover, and now he meets the woman that he killed. //I had the strange notion that my life would *less* confusing after I died, not *more* confusing, // John thought. He sighed. "Hello," he began hesitantly. "I, well..." he trailed off, not sure what to say.
"Hi," Katrina responded. "I think I owe you an apology. And you too, Devon. I wasn't myself, I am so sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Devon replied, "we understand." John nodded in agreement and Katrina sighed in relief.
"Well, I'm glad we got all that worked out," the other woman, standing in the background, said.
John bent his head near Devon's. "Who's she again?"
"Um..." Devon hesitated, and then whispered, "I'll explain later."
"Thank you again for all your help," Sheppard said to her, glancing once at Devon and John's joined hands and then putting his arm around Ellie. John's eyes narrowed slightly at this, but he stayed silent.
The brown-haired woman rolled her gray-green eyes at the two men. "Oh, lighten up, guys. If you get bored, you can always trade back!" She smiled mischievously and waved. "Dovidena!" she said as she stepped into thin air and vanished.
John turned again to Devon, utterly confused, and a little put off as well. Devon just shook her head. "You get used to her, trust me," she said tiredly. Danziger didn't press her. He decided he had already had way too many surprises for today.

John and Devon sat unseen in camp near the campfire. "I can't believe Kason," John said angrily.
"I know," Devon said darkly. "If I were alive, I'd kill her for what she's doing to Uly and True."
"So would I," John replied, his voice full of malice. He sighed as Denner threw a branch on the fire and Alonzo snapped at her. "I hate this," he said. "Look at them, they're falling apart, and it's all Kason's fault. I hate not being able to do anything."
"I know," Devon said, reaching for his hand and squeezing it.
"Maybe he did slip after all," Denner said. Everyone looked up at her. John sighed, he hated this subject. Devon smiled at him sympathetically, she didn't like the subject all that much either. "We should stop accusing each other," she continued.
"Well, she's got it half right," John said dryly. "They should stop accusing each other and start accusing the woman formerly know as Bess."
"Kason will give herself away eventually," Devon said optimistically.
"Before or after she kills everyone?" Danziger asked sarcastically.
"It'll be okay, John," Devon said.
He sighed. "I hope so." They sat in silence as the three living people sitting by the fire continued talking. Both Devon and John were shocked when they heard Alonzo's comment.
"What the..." Devon began.
"Suicide?" John exclaimed. "He thinks I jumped?!?" He swore under his breath.
Devon listened to Denner's incredulous reply that he would never leave True. "At least someone's got some damn common sense around here," she muttered.
"He might not have meant to do it," broke in Alonzo. "But I was there with him...I was the last one to see him alive...and it was my fault. I told him that he loved Devon," Alonzo guiltily admitted. "I thought it would be better if he faced the truth but I never considered the consequences. What if he couldn't live with that knowledge?"
"Damn," John swore. "I thought he knew me better than that." He looked at Devon. "As bad as I felt right then, I would *never* give up like that. I wouldn't," he repeated firmly.
"I know, John, believe me, I know," Devon said. She shook her head at the three people and their discussion. "I can't believe I'm hearing this," she exclaimed. As Yale reached out and comforted Alonzo, both Devon and John were silent, first because of frustration with the situation and then because of disbelief. "God, Yale, not you too," Devon whispered.
John shook his head. "I can't listen to this anymore, I just can't," he said, a touch of desperation in his voice.
Devon idly wondered if they would've been better off going with the others to join Alex and Les. But she quickly dismissed that thought, knowing that neither of them could leave True or Uly. Even though they couldn't do anything for the kids, both of them felt they needed to be there. Ellie was torn between staying and going with Sheppard, Bess, and Eben. John had told her to go, and she did, although she went reluctantly. Devon did want to stay with Uly, but seeing the group fall apart before her eyes was so hard to watch. Especially the speculation about John's death. She still couldn't believe Alonzo. How could he think that? She took John's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "I know," she said quietly. "Let's go for a walk." They turned around and walked out of camp.

John shook his head at the pair of kids in VR. "Everyone in camp is worried out of their minds, and they're playing a game." He sighed. "Thank God some things never change."
Devon smiled at him. "I know what you mean. Denner and Magus are coming this way, they'll find them soon."
They followed True, Uly, Denner, and Magus, listening in amusement as Denner chastised the two children for worrying them, and seeing that True and Uly weren't hearing a word she was saying. Then Magus and Denner got a call on gear and they shared horrified looks and rushed off in a different direction. True and Uly followed, demanding to know what was wrong. John and Devon shared a worried glance and then quickly followed the two woman and the two curious children. They reached the clearing where they found Kason holding a gun to Morgan's head.
"Oh, God," Devon whispered.
"At least the truth has come out," John said sadly. Then he noticed that Baines was staring at himself and Devon. He nudged her. "Devon," he murmured, nodding at the man.
She took a step towards Baines, who was kneeling on the ground. "Baines?" she asked.
"Devon? John? My God..." Baines said, obviously in shock. "Wha... what?"
"Congratulations, Baines," John said dryly, not really looking at the man, instead following the confrontation between Kason and the rest of the group. "You're a ghost."
Devon shot a look at Danziger, but he just shrugged and focused on the scene unfolding before him.
Baines shook his head. "This is too damn weird," he muttered. "I must be dreaming."
"You're not dreaming, Baines," Devon said. "You've been killed, by Kaby Bess, remember?"
Baines' eyes widened with realization. "Damn, I am a ghost."
Devon opened her mouth to reply but was cut off when John started swearing. "John, what is it?" she asked.
"Alonzo is a total and complete jerk, that's what," he said angrily. "He *cheated* on Julia with Kason!"
"He what?" Devon exclaimed. She turned her attention to the scene before her, where Kason was now trying to draw the group in with her pretty words. "Don't listen, please, don't listen," she prayed. Devon breathed a sigh of relief and heard John do the same when Magus spoke up. She shared a worried glance with John when True cried out. Devon held her breath as Kason tried futilely to reason with the little girl and then as she threatened everyone's lives. Devon almost hoped that she would pull the trigger and end this all right now. Then True tore herself from Denner's restraining hold and confronted Kason.
"NO!" shouted True. "You're not going to hurt them, I won't let you!" She stood facing Kason, her hands on her hips and her face pure anger.
"Baby, no," John whispered as he watched them. True started running. "No, don't." She launched herself in the air and knocked Kason and Morgan down. Tears were streaming down John's face now. "TRUE!" The trigger released.

Devon sat on a small hill overlooking camp in the middle of the night. She watched as Uly slipped out of camp and met three Terrians. He trilled and the Terrians surrounded him and they all disappeared under the earth. Devon sighed.
"Devon?" John walked up behind her.
"The Terrians took him," she said simply.
"They'll take care of him, Devon," he assured her. "And you'll see him again before you know it."
"I know," she said, smiling sadly. "I'm just thinking about the rest of the group, Julia, Morgan, Denner... I feel so badly for them."
John smiled at her. "They'll be okay, they're tough. We can't do anything more for them, anyway."
"I know that," Devon replied. "But I don't have to like it."
Danziger laughed. "Just accept it. There are some things that even Devon Adair can't do."
Devon smiled at him. "And why would I want to do that?"
John grinned and shook his head. Then True and the Goddess appeared. John caught his daughter as she ran at him for a hug. "Hey, how was your trip?"
"Great!" True exclaimed. "Mom is so cool!" she grinned.
John grinned back. "Glad you like her."
"I do! And we had so much fun camping. And... well," True said, "Sheppard isn't nearly as weird now that he's dead."
John laughed outright and shook his head as Devon tried to contain her laughter in her hands. True just put on her most innocent face.
"Oh, I wanted to ask," True said as their laughter subsided. "I'm not stuck being 11 forever, am I?"
The Goddess shook her head and smiled. "No, of course not. I can change your age for you whenever you want, gradually, or just all at once."
True's eyes lit up. "Cool! So you can make me 20 years old right now?"
"No," Danziger said firmly.
"Aw, Dad, come on," True pleaded. "I can't be 11 forever."
"Gradually," was all he said, fixing True with the look she knew she wouldn't be able to argue with.
"Oh all right," True conceded.
Devon smiled. "You wouldn't want to miss all the stuff in between, anyway, True."
"Yeah, I guess not," True said.
"I wouldn't want to miss it either," John said, smiling at his daughter. "And neither would your mom."
"Alright, alright, you convinced me!" True exclaimed.
"Good," Danziger replied.
Devon got up and walked over to John, taking his hand. "What are we going to do for the rest of eternity, anyway?" she idly wondered.
The Goddess answered her. "Oh, you'd be surprised, there's an endless amount of things to occupy your time. Helping with admissions, making sure the 'misguided souls' stay where they're supposed to..."
"If that's where O'Neill's holed up, I'll pass," John said dryly.
"Oh, I don't blame you," she replied, shaking her head. "And then there's the fun stuff, like your friends are doing, going sailing, things like that." She smiled widely. "And then there are the couples who choose to go for the record, of course."
"What record?" Danziger asked, curious.
"The record for...endurance," she said, smiling mischievously. John and Devon caught on to what she was saying.
"Are you sure we'll get used to her?" John whispered to Devon, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"I thought we would," Devon said, shaking her head.
"What's the longest anyone's gone?" Danziger asked, and Devon promptly punched him in the arm. "Ow!" he exclaimed as she glared at him.
"By your time," the Goddess said, "oh, 4 and a half centuries."
"Centuries?!?!" Devon exclaimed. The Goddess grinned and nodded. Devon looked at Danziger, who was also smiling at her. He bent his head close to hers.
"Whadya say, Dev? Wanna go for it?"
She looked at him and opened her mouth to yell at him and then closed it considering. She looked back to the Goddess. "Four and a half centuries?" she asked, getting a nod and another grin in response. Devon turned back to John and said, "Let's wait until we're sure we won't have any interruptions." Danziger grinned and agreed.
"Dad, what are you guys talking about?" True asked, totally lost.
Danziger's face fell for a moment, and then he suddenly grinned. "Ask your mother," he said.
True shrugged and agreed. She asked the Goddess to take her back to Ellie so she could ask, and they left the same way they had come.
Danziger turned to Devon, still grinning. "I've been wanting to say that for years," he said.
Devon laughed. "You're incorrigible," she said.
"You wouldn't love me any other way," he teased, taking her arm in his and walking off towards the east in the fuzzy pre-dawn light.
"So where are we headed?" Devon asked, smiling.
"I thought we'd go to the east cost," John said, grinning.
"Why?" Devon asked warily, knowing *that* look.
"Well, we should really start training if we're going to break that record, you know."
Devon stopped in her tracks and stared at him for a moment. Then she started laughing. "Oh, you...I'll get you for that one!" she said through her laughter.
"Promise?" Danziger laughed as she swatted him.
"Oh, you bet that's a promise," Devon replied as she took his arm again and they walked off together as the sun rose before them.

-The End-

This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.