A for Android: Touch the Sky

(This story is preceeded by and linked to A for Android: Pantheon of Beauty)

A for Android: Touch the Sky

Heroes present: Coile (Andre), the Sword of Truth (Nadia)
Time: 2 am, 18.6.2006 (US East Coast) – 11 am local time
Location: on a plane to Biškek, Kyrgyzstan

Andre kept his gaze steady. Nadia was breathing evenly with her eyes closed. Andre was glad that she was finally sleeping. With all the refuels and the storm front over Austria this was stretching to be a twelve hour flight. In half an hour they would be in Kyrgyzstan’s capitol Biškek. The connecting flight to Karakol would leave in an hour after that. Then there would be a helicopter ride to Karakara which was the permanent base camp where there was a canteen, a café and a sauna. By the end of the trip there they would both be beat from all the traveling. Still he himself refused to sleep.

It wasn’t that he was standing vigil over Nadia. They were in an airplane and just sitting awake would benefit her in no possible way. He didn’t dare to close his eyes because he was afraid. Andre brushed the sweat off from his forehead and bald head with one motion of his hand. When he closed his eyes he saw fingers, fingers that were freezing cold but still burned. The touch of the fake Azure Sting.

He almost let out a shout and recoiled from the memory. Tears were flooding his eyes again and he bent forward almost doubling over. Luckily no stewardesses were near and nearby passengers were all sleeping. He wanted to wake Nadia up so badly but she had earned her brief rest. She had comforted him once already during this flight. He merely put his hand gently on Nadia’s hand and was engulfed by the anxiety that Ripmind had uprooted.

Past the swirling turmoil regret, shame and repent pushed a blue flower. Andre tried to grasp the image but it was elusive, more an idea of a flower than a real image.

When he next was aware of his surroundings they were starting the descent to the airport.

Time: 4 pm, 18.6.2006
Location: base camp on Karakara, a canteen

Nadia and Andre carried their steaming bowls to the table and sat down. Outside it was raining heavily. Lightning cracked right across the sky with the bellowing thunder following after almost immediately. The storm was right upon them. Andre cleared his throat and dipped his spoon into the stew. ”So, how do you like it so far?”

Nadia blew air into her stew and smiled. ”A lot more green that I had thought.” Andre grimaces apologetically. ”I guess I didn’t tell you much about this trip in advance, did I?” Nadia kept smiling. ”No you didn’t, but it’s okay. Why don’t you tell me now?”

Andre’s panicky expression was softening already. ”Karakara camp is just two kilometers from sea level and flush with nature. Trees, meadows, horses roaming freely.” Andre let silence drift in for a moment. ”Of course you know all this since you’ve seen it youself already.” Nadia nodded encouragingly. ”Go on, Andre.”

”This is a staging area for expeditions around the whole area, Khan Tengri, Pobeda Peak, Bayncol peaks and others. We’ll spend a day or two acclimating around here. Let our bodies get used to the altitude and thinner atmosphere. So, after sleeping a little we’ll go for a walk and then retire for the night. Tomorrow I think we could go hiking further and maybe riding. Or flying.”

Nadia ate slowly since the food was still quite hot. She giggled a little at the thought. She liked it when Andre took her along to fly. ”I assume you want us to practice flying using the ropes and harnesses?” Andre nodded seriously. ”Yes. When we fly to Lord of the Spirits we could be hit by winds that are hurricane strength. My flight field extends only so far. I want to be certain that you keep close enough at all times. I have thought this trip through, Nadia.” Again she just smiled. ”Of course.”

Then they ate in silence until Nadia looked up as she remembered something. ”You told me to ask you about someone named Emmily when we are here.” Andre’s mood darkened immediately. Clear mental images began assaulting him, memories bashed at his senses and the overwhelming feeling of failure and inadequacy knotted his stomach tightly. He opened his mouth in an attempt to make those feelings words but they clogged in his throat. It felt like swelling shut. Andre forced a deep breath and shook his head. He wasn’t ready for this after all.

Nadia took his hand between hers firmly and spoke levelly. ”Andre, you don’t have to.” The hands were calming him, giving him something good to focus on. ”Later, okay? When we’re alone. It’s not that I don’t want to share it with you, but it’s hard. Not now.” Nadia observed the man closely for a moment. No crying this time, it seemed. ”Whenever you are ready.”

Just to steer the conversation elsewhere Andre brought up a subject that he had meant to ask about already. ”How did your mission against Requiem’s forces go?” Nadia left the table, brought back two cups of coffee and sat down again. ”We defeated his men and freed his captives. Two of us sustained injuries. Volt Master and Kata. She was hospitalized for her wounds. I thought of going to visit her after we return if she is still under care.”

Staring into his own cup of liquid offered no divine answers. ”I want to do my part. Protect the people the best that I can.” Again she merely smiled at him from beyond her darkened glasses that she had on still. Andre had never seen her without them or the visor, not even early in the morning. ”Finish your coffee, Andre. We still have to pitch the tents before we can get any sleep.”

Outside the rain had subsided. The ground was of course still wet but neither paid it much attention. The scenery around them was breathtaking and the air was so clean and fresh compared to Paragon City. Andre crouched by the heap that was their various gear and pulled out a large wrapped package. ”This is our tents.” Then they headed a bit further off to erect them.

The afternoon sun was greeting them as Andre opened the package and browsed through the contents. Then he frowned and picked up the instructions sheet. ”Problems?”, Nadia queried while she looked around. She loved this place already. Andre didn’t reply, only went through the contents again, this time with a frenzied look in his eyes. When he did that for the third time and looked really horrified Nadia became concerned. ”Andre?”

Andre almost jumped at the voice and looked up. He tried his best to look for the right way to express this. ”We have only one tent.” Nothing like blurting out the shocking truth at the unsuspecting victim. Tact or smarts had never been his strong points. Nadia looked at him not even remotely amused. ”What?”

He tried to shrink under the cold edge in the voice. ”I don’t think I ever mentioned to the camping store clerks that we wanted two separate tents. They only knew we were going together.” Nadia took her time digesting the situation. ”We are far from any stores, the helicopter will not return in days and we have only one tent. Am I supposed to sleep with you in that one tent?” Andre inhaled sharply. ”I can sleep outside!” Nadia shook her head. ”Here maybe, not when we go to the mountains.”

Slowly the situation sunk in with both. Like it or not, this was the reality and neither could do a thing to change it. In the face of a situation she would have no power over Nadia sighed. It couldn’t be that bad. Andre had behaved himself in the apartment. He wouldn’t get any funny ideas now only because they slept in the same confined environment. In their undies. She smiled to lighten to mood and said playfully, ”Maybe this is a conspiracy, Andre?”

The sheer terror on his face required no words to explain. Humour in these situations was wasted on him. He took everything so seriously. ”I know you didn’t plan this Andre. You are too much of a gentleman for it. Shall we get the tent ready? I am tired.” Andre mumbled something and started putting the tent together quickly. ”I hope we have at least two sleeping bags.”, remarked Nadia as she helped to hold the ropes.

Andre muttered a barely audible “yeah” and remembered what the clerk had said. How had he missed it then? The sleeping bags could be combined to make one big sleeping bag. This was one trivia that he decided to keep to himself.

Time: late morning of Friday, 23.6.2006
Location: Camp Three, Khan Tengri, altitude of 5900 meters

Nadia opened the tent’s sleeve just enough to get some idea what kind of weather it was outside. A gust of cold air hit her nose. At the height of almost six kilometers the air was quite thin and temperature freezing making it impractical to go outside without warm clothing. She considered her options carefully and sighed inaudibly. Again a matter she could not affect. Taking care not to make excessive noises she removed her top and gave her skin a quick sponge bath with a cloth and some water that had been snow the previous evening. Andre was breathing calmly not ten inches from her.

She was tired despite sleeping long and her head was aching. Andre had said to expect it. They had flown under their own power from Karakara Base Camp to Khan Tengri Base Camp, from two kilometers to four. That had taken all Monday. From there they had advanced to Camp Site One and then Two all the way up to five and half kilometers during the next two days. The goretex clothing had replaced their more casual wear to insulate against the dropping temperature and the thinning atmosphere was inducing altitude sickness, a common malice to mountaineers. They were packing extra oxygen just in case. The last ascent yesterday to Camp Site Three had been just four hundred meters.

Turning away from her slumbering companion she removed her glasses, washed her face and then put the glasses back on. She felt better but the headache was still bothering her. Briefly she rested her head to her hands and just looked at the man sleeping there. He appeared so serene and at peace. This was how she wanted him to be. Gone were the daily worries that were etching lines on his forehead. Gone was the deer-like fright at the approaching car lights look that he had sometimes, mostly around her. And most notably gone was the frequent terror and despair that Ripmind had bestowed upon him. Briefly she wondered what it must be like to have all the bad choices, mistakes, shameful acts and deep traumas made afresh, sharpened to the point of absolute clarity and to live through them day after day. Then she just shook her head. She was glad that she could be there for him when he needed it.

A wave of small nausea shook her back to reality. Nadia put her clothes back on. Still quietly she brushed her hair. She was ready. Andre stirred as she moved to the tent entrance. Readjusting her glasses she smiled at him and slipping outside greeted him briefly. ”Good morning, Andre.” Outside the sun was shining.

The air was stinging crisp. The cityborn woman was taking deep breaths each prickling her lungs. They had stayed on their trip longer already than intended and still it was too short a time for the body to adapt. Andre had preferred that they go without using the extra oxygen until the last stage, whatever that was. Nadia turned the portable heating unit on and made coffee. She wasn’t hungry. Her personal expedition leader joined her after a while.

In an hour they had eaten what little breakfast they were going to. For Nadia it had meant forcing down a chocolate bar. Andre hadn’t eaten much more. Then they packed up the camp and loaded their belongings into the two backpacks that they had. Andre brushed some snow off of Nadia’s collar as she looked at the looming peak. Down at this altitude there was snow all over. Near the peak there was also stone visible. A slow sweep to their right revealed the northern arm of magnificent glacier of Engilchek, Little Prince. They stood there side by side for a while taking in the vastness of existence.

”I hope you are enjoying the trip?” Andre felt a slight urge to take the hand of the woman who had come to look after him but there was no real need. With her it was imperative to stay totally honest and ask for closeness only when it was required. Nadia looked at him with a smile which was her prevalent facial expression these days. ”You keep asking me that daily.” The smile turned to slightly teasing kind. ”Sure I enjoy it. I have never been this far from home, or this high up. This is in fact a wonderful experience, Andre.”

The young mutant took his hood down for one moment and let the coldness scrape his bald head. He put the hood back on quickly. ”If you want more experiences we can still go from here to Yucatan. While you still have vacation.” His unrequited love shook her head. ”I said before we can go there next year.” Andre felt his heart skip a beat. ”We? We can go?” She didn’t reveal anything more than mild mysterious amusement. ”Perhaps. Who knows? We will see.”

Then the moment reached its end and it was time to prepare for the final leg.

Both made checks first on their own harnesses and then they checked one another. Even if they weren’t climbing the traditional way there was no margin for error in mountaineering. One had to respect the mountain in order to conquer it. They strapped the backpacks on. Andre attached the nylon coil to the harnesses and tested the winch system. Both tugged the gloves better on, wrapped the hoods tighter and then stepped closer to each other.

Andre concentrated and felt the pull of the ground. In his mind he shut it off from him and then from his brown-haired travel mate. Both hovered half a meter above the ground as if suspended in liquid. Then Nadia glided a little forward and up circling slowly around her protégé taking care that the coil did not get tangled. She giggled as she descended. Andre felt joy over the fact that he could bring some happiness in her life even if it was just by allowing her to fly sometimes.

He drifted up himself and made some distance between them. Keeping them both afloat required concentration but was this early on relatively easy. Nadia made slow slides a meter above the ground. Andre motioned to her and pointed towards the peak. ”Let’s fly.” Then they propelled upwards.

The weather was great. There was almost no wind which was remarkable luck considering it was summertime and northern wind could get quite heavy. The pair flew five meters above the ground following its shapes. Their distance had grown to almost ten meters and the coil hung loosened between them.

Andre was feeling relaxed inside. He still had his bad moments but being practically separated from his life in Paragon City was proving to have a soothing effect. In fact he had with him the one part of his hero life that he wanted. That he needed. He looked to his right at the dark-skinned woman and managed for the moment push from his mind the maelstrom of unwanted memories.

He was smiling despite the strain that he was starting to again feel. He was doing better than he had thought. The climb from Karakara to Khan Tengri BC had been a long journey but he had managed that fairly well considering that his starting point had been the sea level only one day before. Now the actual legs were quite short but the thinning air made each one still a feat. All that and he was flying the love of his life too! Feeling jubilant he steered to west.

The southern face was the first to grant access to the top back in the thirties. It was referred to as the classic route. Western face was perhaps the most dangerous due to heavy winds from the north whereas the northern face was a technically the most difficult rising straight up for two kilometers with a series of marble ribs going for a kilometer from the top down. Since the weather was favouring them Andre decided to circle around the western face and come up from the north.

The most important virtue a climber could have was humility. There had to be a balance between being dauntless and cautious. It was not unheard of for the weather to deteriorate rapidly from crystal clear to a storm in less than an hour. The pair made slow almost hopping progress as the sky grew darker.

It hit without a warning. A squall landed on them as they glided from behind a ledge and threatened to smash them down. Andre released the stop from the winch and the mechanism rolled the coil in fast. The young lawyer almost slammed against him. However this was what they had practiced for hours at Camp One. He wrapped his arm around Nadia’s shoulders and took a hold of the harness handle while she slipped her left arm through a few hoops on Andre’s harness. Gripping tightly their respective supports they formed one mass point rather than two. Andre took them to the ground.

They crouched down and huddled together faces almost in contact. They had to shout their words or the violent winds would have rendered them inaudible. Having lived most of her life in Boomtown and not being a frequent traveler she was slightly shocked by the abruptness of the climatic assault. ”What now, Andre? Can we go on?” The vacationing Silent Tempest leader took a moment to consider before answering. ”We’ll have to see. I’d like to press on a while longer and see how it goes.” He saw the slight worry on the face of the woman that meant so much to him. ”Hey, I said I’ll be sensible about this. For a mountaineer the reward is the attempt. Reaching the top is just a bonus. Any other attitude and you don’t live long. If we can’t go on, we’ll go back.”

Gliding almost in contact with the ground they started making slow advancement. The direction was up and slightly to the south. This was the hardest challenge yet and Andre pretty much forgot Nadia’s presence despite gripping her tightly as he fought against the gravity and winds that might have as well been hurricane strength. Maybe they were.

Trying to counter Earth’s grasp commanded almost his total attention now. Still that was something he couldn’t do. There was also the howling reach of the world, the fury of the whole of Tien Shan range that was lashing at them with the full blinding rage of the mother nature. A few times he shouted out, screamed at the storm trying to drown it out with his own determination. Stopping was now not an option and resting was impossible. The game was about one of them lasting out the other, and the other just dying out.

Muscles burning as if in fire the unyielding youngster clutched at his lady friend. Once a particularly powerful squall almost pried her off from his protection. Andre felt anger rising within simply refusing to let go, his will succeeding where his body almost gave up. He had never in his life held onto anything with such ferocity. No harm would befall on Nadia if he could help it.

It took them three hours of excruciatingly slow crawling before the winds let up. Both were exhausted to the bone marrow by the end of it. Somehow they managed to erect a resting camp.

Dusk was already falling painting the peak red. After compelling himself to eat one sandwich Andre broke the silence that had gone on from the moment they set down. ”In the old days this mountain was called Khantau. The Blood Mountain.” Nadia smiled as she cradled a mug of coffee between her hands. ”Delightful names.” He narrowed his eyes and pointed towards the western edge of Khan-Tengri not indicating any particular point in the landscape. ”Pobeda Peak resides amidst Forbidden Mountains and gets hammered by winds from Takla Makan that the locals call Thousand Devils. Names in the old world seem often to connect to beliefs.” Then he fell silent again.

He was feeling completely beaten and his head was light. Altitude meter was showing that they were only three hundred meters from the top. The temperature was somewhere below minus thirty degrees Celsius. The air was incredibly arid and thin. Andre inspected the woman that he would trust his life with. She was putting on a brave face but could not really conceal her utter exhaustion all that well. Back down they would go with their oxygen masks on, beside which the gravity would be for a change helping their journey. With a dragooned effort Andre pushed himself up and offered his hand to Nadia. ”Time for the final leg. The Lord of the Spirits awaits.” He had waited for a chance to use that line.

Along with the steadily approaching peak their excitement grew. Andre had decided to pass the final stage without stops but that lasted only for a minute. There was not enough oxygen to keep the body going on on such high gear for any lengthy period of time. They had to pause about every twenty meters to catch their breath. Once or twice he felt almost like passing out but Nadia caught him and again they rested. Then finally the moment was upon them.

The peak itself was about the size of a tennis field with some snow and mostly stone. Every other mountain top was below them. The twilight was rapidly falling but some scattered rays of the sunlight painted the snowy peaks below crimson red. The wind had died into a breeze.

The very world lied at their feet. It was an incredible rush. The immense fatigue melted into the background being for the moment nothing but a slight nagging reminder of the energies spent to achieve this feat. There had never been any certainties about getting there. Still they had. Andre felt like a king. He reached to his right and took the hand of his queen.

He turned to her with a decisive look on his face, looked deeply into her the eyes and smiled. She looked back at him with a curious frown. Slowly reaching he took also her other hand. There was an unfamiliar intensity in his gaze. He pulled her a little closer. Still frowning she let him.

”This is what we came here for.”

Nadia was holding her breath feeling suddenly uncertain what was going on. She didn't allow the slight uneasiness penetrate to the surface. She replaced the upcoming nervous grimace with a smile. All this save the smile escaped his comprehension completely.

Resolutely Andre put his oxygen mask over his mouth and pulled the goggles down over his eyes. Without asking or even saying anything she followed suit. There was a joyous tinge in his voice. ”Time for the real test.” He grinned widely behind his mask and let out another line he had thought of for this occasion. ”Let’s climb high and touch the sky.” Then he launched up tugging her gently along.

The small patch of ground that they had stood on receded fast. The waning light shone around them but the sky above was turning dark. Stars came out and the massive range of Tien Shan first blended into itself, then melded into nothingness. They climbed steadily up. Soon for Andre nothing else existed except his mortal goddess.

For some time now he had had this weird feeling that there might after all be some special feelings that Nadia felt for him. Why else would she leave all of her affairs and go with him to the other side of the world? Letting him live with her in her apartment was explained by her wanting to help a friend to recover from an ordeal but this surely went beyond any call of duty to a team member, or even leader. He had wanted to ask about that. If he was going to this would be the time and place.

Still going higher he paused in his mind to think, to truly think. He already lived with the woman of his dreams. When he needed a shoulder to cry against or a hand to hold on to she was there. If he was going across the globe on a quest he himself didn’t fully understand she would follow him if he only asked. What more could he ask for? This was the perfect friendship, the ultimate companionship. Whether or not there were mutual feelings would finding out be worth the risk? Why spoil the divine thing that hey had with a chance for romance?

This was not the time nor place. Maybe later, somewhere. Perhaps. Who knows? We’ll see.

The target of his affections squeezed his hands. ”Andre, how high up are we?” He slowed down and stole a glance at the altitude meter. ”Just a little over twelve kilometers.” Nothing like blurting out the truth at the unsuspecting victim. The victim paled and increased the force with which she was holding his hands. ”Isn’t this high enough? If you have tests to perform please do so now, and then let’s go back down.”

He started to spin slowly around their common centerpoint. Above them the stars revolved. This was the time when Nut, the goddess of the skies, met with her brother-lover Geb, the god of the earth. Although Nut had said that she was the last of her kind to walk the World. She of course wasn’t there in person but in Andre’s mind his two goddesses Nut and Nadia were meeting. Not that they hadn’t seen each other before, but that was back in the mundane world. This was the true domain of the sky goddess.

Some rarely functioning insight made him sense a disruption within his flying partner. Maybe a sliver of fear? Hoping it was the right thing to do he pulled her closer and held her in a reassuring embrace. ”We can go back now.”

For Nadia the sudden closeness sparked an unexpected reaction. She was suspended between earth and sky. She was hanging in emptiness, hanging onto the man who had professed his undying love to her time and again despite receiving no positive response or encouragement. She closed her eyes and concentrated on what was her topmost feeling. It was safety.

Andre was rash, jumped to conclusions of his own making, reacted in unpredictable ways and currently could break to pieces at any given moment at the suitable stimuli. Still up there totally dependent on him she knew she was under the best care in the world. Having no power over the situation she acknowledged that the man in whose arms she was had that power. It felt good. Other situations would be different, depend on the circumstances but right now she trusted him with her life.

Inside she placed her fate into his mercies and felt free. She knew that upon return to Paragon City she would have her responsibilities but for a fleeting moment she had the freedom to be just a woman. She opened her eyes and spoke softly. ”We can stay a while longer.”

Slowly she reached her hand and moved her fingers over the metallic plate that surrounded his right eye, going from cheekbone to brow. ”You took us to your mountain. You took us this high up. Always go higher, Andre. As I said, the Silent Tempest is but another mountain. You have it in you to succeed if you believe in it. You have done well. I am proud of you.”

In the grip of their painfully slow helix dance they held each other. This moment could become even more if they so wished but neither felt the pressure. They had both gained something precious as if gifted by the very sky above them. Surrounded by the infinite stars they were happy.

No further words were spoken as the could-be lovers descended back to among the mighty and ancient mountains.

More by luck than design they found their way back to Khan Tengri. The newly risen moon was illuminating the rugged scenery. Without so much as stopping Andre headed to northern edge and dived. They fell free past the magnificent marble chimneys that rose from the depths. They were both laughing. As the slope started losing steepness Andre steered towards east, the last face they hadn’t been on yet. For the first time since leaving the top they drifted apart.

Soon all around there was snow again. Their direction pointed to south and Khan Tengri Base Camp. The pace was slow. There was no hurry in the world. They had achieved what they set out to do. The short eternity up high in the sky would live in their minds for the rest of their lives. They should have made a camp but they just drifted on.

Nadia tugged the coil and pointed down. She wanted to stop. They fell knee deep into the snow blanket stretching into all directions. Andre watched her unload the backpack and take off the harness. He turned politely away as she vanished behind a boulder uphill. He dropped his own gear and took a deep breath of the local air.

The landscape by moonlight was simply breathtaking. He was used to snow and frost but Dakota lacked these kinds of mountains. This high there was no animal noises. It was quiet aside from the occasional winds. Except for a high pitched sound as if something was closing in fast. Andre had half a second to be alarmed. There was a puff of snow to his right. And an explosion.

Andre landed on his back and rolled a few times. Groggily he lifted his head and saw Nadia running from behind the boulder. She was shouting something but his ears were ringing too much to make out the words. There was a new puff right behind her. Even dazed as he was he thought he saw the light reflecting off of some kind of a shell before it impacted into the snow. The following burst of light and energy sent her flying through the air, over him and downhill against another big rock. She wasn’t moving. For some reason a picture of Kitia being struck and falling to ground flashed through his mind.

His eyes moved wildly. Instincts commanded him to go to his fallen comrade and tend to her but the combat sense that had been instilled during first the five years of training on the farm and then the weeks in Paragon City’s streets told him to locate and neutralize the threat. All that was around was white snow and deep shadows. Then he spotted a wisp.

It was faint and coming from behind a massive rock to left and down of him. Now that he knew where to look he saw, just barely, a slit in the rock. The whiff of smoke came from there. It was a watch post of sorts. Taking a more balanced stance he pointed at the rock with his right hand. His left one sought the right one out to support it. There was a rapid energy build-up somewhere inside. He let it gather for a few seconds and let it go. This all happened by reflex, not touching his conscious mind.

A bolt of contained energy darted from his extended hand and collided with the post. Snow on it was knocked clean off. Part of the top of the rock caved in. Not wanting anyone to have the time to catch their breath Andre swooshed through the air and entered the small space inside the rock ready to deal damage. There were two men there. They were knocked out cold. The emblem on their uniforms generated a feeling of familiarity.

The small space within the sizeable boulder had only two chairs, a console and a collection of various weapons including some high tech looking shell launcher. All of the weapons seemed to be designed to ward off an assault from the outside. Just having this kind of a watch post in the middle of nowhere didn’t make any sense. There had to be a reason. There was a trapdoor visible on the floor. His urges screamed at him to go to Nadia but if he allowed additional forces to enter the scene through the hatch right now he might doom them both. He yanked the trapdoor open.

There was a quiet beep as the defense mechanism activated arming a bomb and countdown lights started to go out. He had no doubt missed a hidden button which would have disabled the defenses. Now it was too late. Andre rushed out and flew himself into the snow twenty meters away just as the watch post went sky high. A recognition flared through his brain.

It had been Requiem’s emblem.

He rose to his feet slowly and tried to clear his head by shaking it. He suspected he had a concussion. A distant rumble that had been going on for a small while started to bother him. He looked upslope. His heart sank.

There were masses of snow and ice striking towards him. The whole mountainside was seething all the way up as far as he could see and the front was hundreds of meters wide. If there were any mountaineers on this face they would have no chances at all. Terror gripped his stomach. Nadia. He turned to look where she had landed only to see her still form in that exact same spot. Gravity ceased to matter to him and he flew.

He was exhausted from the climb, the storm and ascension to the sky. The brief fight with Requiem’s men had all but wiped out his last energy reserves. He was slow. He strived up to get to his love before the crushing wall of white death reached her. The closer that he got to her location the more the fear was strangling him. He knew he wouldn’t get there in time.

The last two seconds occurred in slow motion. He reached with his hand even if there still was a gap between them. The first tentative shredded edges of the snow front touched Nadia, tickling and caressing her, prodding the body to a slight movement. Then the world turned to complete white and dark. Andre made the last desperate attempt to grasp at the most important person in his life.

There was nothing. Nothing tangible. Just the swirling snow around him. He turned to follow the flood and tried to outrun it but soon he had to push upwards and pull out of the avalanche. He floated just above ever-moving surface darting from spot to spot calling out his vanished partner by name.

The destruction spread all around him. The whole mountain face had shifted. The moonlight wasn’t much and his night sight had been momentarily destroyed by the explosion. Nevertheless he made an assessment of the disaster area. It was multiple square miles. Even the part where Nadia could possibly be was terrifyingly huge. Fear was constricting his chest trying to implode him.

Andre tried to look for any sign, a glimpse of the clothing, a hand emerging, anything. He got nothing. Desperation was shredding him from the inside. He flew in widening circles over the location he somehow wished the love of his life would be at. Never in his life had he been so alone.

All the times he had pushed himself to his limits and over were beginning to take effect. The pull of the ground became stronger. It was increasingly hard to stay airborne. He started to make involuntary dives off which he pulled back up just barely until the last time when he didn’t. He crashed into the snow headlong.

Dizzy and almost delirious he pushed up. Maybe he couldn’t scout for now but he could still keep searching. Nothing would be allowed to stop him. He had to find her. Alternatives scared him too much. He started to plow through the snow with his hands, digging and still calling out for her from time to time.

Soon he realized he could actually do more. He excavated himself a deep hole and started blasting. Energy bolts ripped crevices into the snowmass sending the white solid water high into the air. He did not dare to acknowledge his actual chances to succeed. If there were no results with one blast, then surely with the next. She was there somewhere, just waiting to be found. All he had to do was to deliver on the promise to see her always safe.

Afterwards he couldn’t say how long he kept at it. On the other hand it didn’t matter. The bottom line was that he did not find her. At some point the hopelessness of his endeavour dawned on him. Alone he stood no chance at all. It was like emptying an ocean with a cup of his hands. No matter how hard he tried it would be in vain. All that was staring at him was failure.

By foot it would have taken a day or more to reach the base camp. His only way was to fly down. With an immense effort he fought off the almost debilitating fatigue and the gravitational snare. More plummeting down along the slope than flying he headed to the direction he believed to be south. Inside he felt dead already. Just as dead as Nadia was. The lack of oxygen and the freezing cold were facts. So was her demise.

Coloured lights were flashing on the edges of his vision and beyond them was the beckoning darkness. Resting would be fatal he knew. Resting would be stupid. Resting would rob Nadia of whatever chance she still had of being rescued. Still, just a moment, a little while? He slowed down. The closer he got to the camp the farther he got from the woman who meant the world to him and her being gone felt all the time more real. The devouring emptiness lacked the capability for tears.

There was a stream of steam coming from an unlikely spring. For no reason Andre landed there. A patch of warmth in this cold existence. He did not feel it. Instead there was a hotness behind his eyes. It swelled and coagulated and pushed out. It took the form of droplets of water running down the cheeks. Leaning his forehead to his hand he rocked to the rhythm of violent sobs. When he hit the ground he did not even notice it.

As with the previous time he could not later say if it had been a mere dream or something more, or even what had exactly happened. There was a hand that landed softly on his shoulder. He looked up and there was a being in the shape of a woman but who was so much more. Nut, the Egyptian goddess of the sky smiled at him sadly. There were no words spoken but Andre still felt like Nut was telling him things. He listened.

The Lord of the Spirits had claimed something of his. There was nothing that Nut could do to reverse it of affect the situation. With immense sadness she said that Nadia was gone now. Such was the way of mortal beings. The weak would be crushed by loss, but the strong would find the strength to go on. He still had a task. There was a flower that bloomed only once in every hundred years. He was to take that flower to Paragon City and plant it while it was still in bloom. Andre would know where. He bowed his head and when he looked up again she was gone. He opened his eyes.

The moon was behind the mountain. Only starlight illuminated the spring by which he was curled up. He inhaled. In the air there was the faintest of fragrance, a mysterious scent that to him was otherworldly. It did not remove the sadness or pain. It in fact deepened them, gave them even more meaning. But somehow the hurting void became sorrow and the despair changed into deep longing. Andre smiled through his new tears.

Next to him a blue flower was reaching for the skies.

(I would like to thank FaeryFire aka Sword of Truth aka Nadia for providing invaluable insight, feedback, constructive critisism and in the end good suggestions to the extent where I feel it proper to name her as a co-author of the story. The plot and words are mine but her involvement made the story so much better than I would have ever managed in solitude.

As always, comments are welcome.)

((*** is dead!? Gobsmacked! I kinda feel sorry for Requiem now lol

Wow, that was a vivid piece of storytelling, Coile.

Had me glued to my screen, I wouldn't like to be in Requiem's shoes now

Looking good. I especially like how you bothered to do some research on the mountains far above and beyond what I gave you.

Thanks!

I also looked into mountaineering, altitudes for camps on Khan Tengri, likely weather conditions, description of the peak, physiological changes in a human body due to acclimation... I figured actual facts would create a better story than some pre-exiting misconceptions that I had.

Still I had to cut corners a bit like make the ascent last less than a week starting from sea level. And I have no real idea what happens to ears at twelve kilometers without pressure protection but I can imagine it's not something nice. Those I explain away with artistic license and the characters being superheroes after all.

It was interesting how "Pantheon of Beauty" sparked a divine task to get a flower and that in turn took our characters to a week long trek to the other side of the world. Some of it we played, some I just wrote up. And one little side thread started to snowball resulting in loss of Sword of Truth (Nadia).

So thanks mate for providing an interesting setting to explore! The flower by the way is in Steel Canyon, university park.

And Rose, thanks for the kind words. Appreciated.

...why do people think that Requiem is now in trouble? In the on-going plot he's trying to destroy the multiverse. Wouldn't that alone be reason enough to take him down a peg or two?

Coile, you're good! In fact, you're ace! Thouroughly enjoyed Touch the Sky. A perfect piece of drama.