Chapter 2

THERE was a moment's silence, a pause as two ancient and powerful enemies met again across a bloody battlefield. As the only independent observer conscious enough to bear witness, Londo Mollari was in a unique position. He quite often hated the universe for putting him in such unique positions.
Especially when they cost the lives of so many. He didn't know if either Delenn or Vindrizi was still alive. The Narn was still breathing - technically speaking - but Delenn was not even doing that. Londo lacked the energy to protest at this fate. It wasn't fair. Not for him, not for her, not for any of them.
And then the leading Drakh moved and all of Londo Mollari's attention was focussed on the battle before him.
Drakh and technomage. He had seen technomages before, in his youth, and then he had doubted that there could be anything else as powerful or as awesomely majestic in all the universe. His opinions and experiences had changed a great deal since then, but it was still hard to believe that there could be anything even as remotely powerful as the technomages.
He was wrong.
What had Vindrizi said? "Even today, the Drakh know more about the technomages than any other living beings.
"The technomages possess a rare and powerful gift. It is only understandable that.... forces should wish to misuse that gift, and if it cannot be used, then to destroy it."
Londo could not be sure what type of weapon the Drakh were using - it seemed to be no more than a small ball of flashing light. Still, as he saw the flashes of lightning and heard the screams of pain, he knew he would be forever glad that he was not the one currently fighting them.
He felt strong hands drag him backwards, and he resisted. "I can walk," he said, adding, "I think," just in case.
"Then please hurry, Minister Mollari," said the technomage. It was the human, Vejar. "This is not our battle."
"No?" Londo saw a mammoth demon rise up and march towards the Drakh. They backed away hesitantly, but still kept up the attack. "Then whose?"
"We are here to help the four of you. Now hurry, please."
"I can walk." With Vejar's help Londo staggered to his feet, but before he could take a single step his legs finally gave way and he collapsed.
All around him, the Drakh were moving....

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

She needs you.
Leave me alone! Why are you doing this to me?
Alone. Dying. Frightened. Needs help. Needs you. Help her.
I....
You were alone.... dying.... afraid. You needed help. You know....
Yes, I needed help, and where the hell were you? You let Marcus die, you let her almost kill me!
Wrong.
What?
Wrong! Help came. Ships came. Drove away the Darkness.
What? The.... the Vorlon ships at the Second Line. But.... you came because....
You called us. We came.
But.... but Marcus....
Irrelevant. Death was necessary.
Necessary? How.... how can.... how could it be...?
You must be undeterred. You have a mission. A special task to come. We are preparing you for it.
What mission? This isn't making any sense!
Irrelevant. Understanding is a three-edged sword. It will come in time.
Maybe I don't want it to come! Maybe I don't want to be a part of your task.... maybe.... maybe I just wanted to be happy.... Oh, Marcus....
Irrelevant.
You don't believe in anything, do you? You've never known love, or fear, or.... nothing.
Fear is a mirror. Love is an anchor. Both are irrelevant. You are needed.
No one needs me.
She needs you. She is dying. Alone. Afraid. She needs you, and him.
Captain Sheridan, but.... who needs me...? Delenn.... But how?
You became one with her. A link. A bridge between races. He will cross that bridge. But she is dying. She needs you.
How can I feel this? This isn't....
Once, I was a part of her. Then, I became a part of you. There is a link there. Use it.
I don't understand. I can't do anything. Delenn's light years away. What can I do for her?
Support her. To be a friend at the brink of despair. To be a link at the moment of fracture. To put her with him.
And what would that do?
Destiny. And love.
You said love was irrelevant.
Understanding is a three-edged sword.
What does that mean?
Dying. Alone. Afraid. She needs to be with him.
Captain Sheridan?
Yes.
I still don't understand.
Irrelevant. Understanding is not required now. Obedience is. Salvation is. This.... is a beginning.
Watch, and learn.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

"I take it I am still alive, then?"
"Much to our eternal regret, Minister Mollari, that is the case."
"Well, someone got out of bed the wrong side this morning." Londo sat up and instantly moaned. "It is not fair. I should not have this much of a headache without alcohol involved."
"It is simple exhaustion and stress, Minister," replied Elric. "Nothing more."
"Yes, well.... Great Maker." Londo had seen many wondrous - and quite a few terrifying - things in his time, but the sight of ten technomages fussing around a crystal device containing Delenn's comatose body was still high on the list.
"What is.... that thing?" It looked like a cross between a pagan altar and a cryogenics chamber, made entirely of crystal. There was an infinity of reflections, gleaming off each facet of diamond, resounding throughout eternity....
Lying in the centre of the machine, her hands folded calmly across her breast, surrounded by endless images of herself, her eyes closed and a faint smile at her mouth, an awkward joining of human and Minbari.... Londo doubted Delenn had ever looked so peaceful. Or so beautiful.
"A transformations machine. Similar to that which she used to transform into her current state. It will reverse the degradation, and recreate her. We began building it shortly after you left."
"Ah...." Londo's mind regressed a little. "The Drakh? We.... won, then."
"Five of our order were killed, Minister Mollari. If you can call that a victory...."
"Yes.... I.... understand."
"Still, you obtained that for which we sent you. We are grateful, and we shall repay you. A gift and a warning for each of you."
"Hah, what sort of gift, I wonder. And it isn't even my birthday.... wait! Mr. Lennier. Where is...?"
Elric stopped and turned. "Minister Mollari, Shaal Lennier's whereabouts are known to us and we are doing all we can to save him, but if we do not act quickly, then Delenn will die." He paused, and a flash of uncertainty crossed his face. "I would have liked more time to do this.... more time to be certain."
"Can you save her?"
"Of course we can. The question is, whether we should. Still, there is little time to debate that now. We will just have to hope."
"Hope is all we have," Londo whispered.
"Perhaps for you." Elric looked at the other nine technomages. One of them was the human, Vejar. He nodded, and they all took a step back. "We are ready," Elric breathed. "This machine will recreate her flesh, changing her genetic pattern to a.... more stable matrix. Our magics will channel through it, providing the power to change her. It will not be an easy thing to perform, Minister Mollari, but I think it will be harder to watch. You may go, if you wish."
Londo shook his head. "I think.... I do not think I could miss this."
"Then you must watch only. No matter what happens. No matter what any of us does or says, you must not interfere. No word, no action, no thought. Do you understand?"
Londo tried to speak, but the words died in his throat. He nodded.
"Good."
This time, Londo managed the words. "This will.... work, will it not? She will live?"
"Minister Mollari, this machine, channelling our magics.... could change her into anything at all. This machine will save her body." Londo cocked his head. That seemed an odd wording, even for a technomage. "But there is a problem, and that is something over which we will have no control.
"She may not want to return to this world. If she does not, then she will die, and that is something that no power in existence can change."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Delenn opened her eyes. For a moment she lay still, unwilling to return to a world which seemed to consist entirely of pain. Although it had only been four months in human terms since her brutal emergence from the chrysalis, she had adapted to living in a body which was constantly on the verge of tearing itself apart.
She was so used to it by now, that it took her a few moments to realise that she wasn't in pain any more. Not at all.
She stood up and looked around. She was back on Minbar, on the hill just above the lake beside Yedor. She smiled softly. This had been her favourite place as a child. She loved its tranquillity, its peace and calm. Here, the world seemed to stop moving. She could come here and rest and sit and just.... think.
She had come here after her father had died, after Neroon had left, after her return to Minbar following the end of the war with humanity.
This was....
She blinked.
The lake was muddy and filled with dust, its brilliant waters no longer shining with sunlight. In fact, there was no sunlight any more. The entire sky seemed dark, heavy with clouds of ash. There was a small tablet of stone at the foot of the stunted, burned husk of the tree she had always sat beneath.
"In Valen's name," she whispered. She knew what the words on the stone said. She had seen this place before.
Last year, on board the time-travelling space station Babylon 4, she had met Valen, and fought Shadows and had.... and had seen the future. This future.
Minbar was devastated, Yedor reduced to rubble, and she.... she had been standing before John's grave.
And in the muddy waters of the lake she had seen a reflection of herself, no longer Minbari. That sight had impelled her to enter the chrysalis, to complete her destiny and reunite Minbar....
She had failed, miserably, but.... she had changed in the chrysalis, but not to the face she had seen reflected in the water. Perhaps she had changed this future, albeit unwittingly. Had her life been the price for his?
"Delenn!"
She turned and gasped, almost falling backwards. It was.... it was....
"John," she whispered. "How are you.... how can you be here?"
He ran towards her. "I.... it is you." She hesitated, remembering his - justified - coldness towards her before she had left Sanctuary. Then he paused, and smiled sadly. Smiling too, she went into his arms. For a moment she was content to remain there, but he, alas, was not.
He stepped back. "Where are we? What's happening here? The last thing I remember, I was on Sanctuary, and you.... I half thought you were dead."
"Maybe I am," she said softly. She remembered closing her eyes. The flight through Kazomi 7 had been too much for her. She had closed her eyes and....
.... woken up here.
"I don't know what is happening," she said. "I'm sorry, John. I...."
"Oh well." He took another step back, and she let her arms fall awkwardly to her sides. "Perhaps if we have a look around, we might find something. This.... you described this place to me once, didn't you? You had a vision of this place."
"No!" she cried out as he began turning in the direction of the grave. After the Babylon 4 incident she had told him of her vision of this place, but not of the sight of his grave. She did not know if he was a dream, a ghost or what.... but she did not want him to see his own grave.
"John, we cannot know our future. We...." She suddenly gasped and fell forward, dropping to her knees. Her stomach! "Aagh!" she cried out. Tears came to her eyes. "Oh, Valen!"
John was by her side instantly, holding her. "Delenn, what is...?"
Then the world faded all around them, and they were lost, not in the future this time, but in the past....

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

I.... can't. This.... HURTS!
Continue. You must maintain the link.
I can't!
You must! For her sake. For his future. Hold the link!

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

"Interesting," said Alfred Bester. A simple enough word from anyone else, but from him it was almost chilling. Even Michael Garibaldi, who had worked with Bester for years and was closer to him than almost anyone, found his 'Boss' scary at times.
"Since when were Miss Alexander's eyes green?"
"I don't know, Boss. That's just one whole part of this weird thing. We found her and Captain Sheridan unconscious in his room. No idea what she was doing there."
"Oh, come on, Mr. Garibaldi. Captain Sheridan is a man like any other. I'm sure he has.... urges."
His wife just died, Garibaldi thought, but he didn't pursue the matter. He more than anyone knew that when Bester was in this sort of mood, there was little point in getting in his way. "Anyway, we thought we'd better bring you over here. The Doc here doesn't think they should be moved to the station."
"Very wise. I think we should leave them here," Bester said. He looked a little distracted. "I've got this most.... odd.... headache. I wonder if...." He laid his right hand on Lyta's forehead. He didn't remove his glove, but then someone as powerful as he was didn't need to.
Suddenly his knees gave way and he slumped to the floor. Garibaldi rushed forward, but Bester managed to haul himself back up.
"Very interesting," he muttered. "That was a very impressive piece of psychic defence. I wonder where she picked up such a technique."
"Boss?"
"Hmm.... what?"
"What should we do? The Docs say they're both fine, just.... neither of them is moving. It's like they're in a deep sleep or something."
"Then, Mr. Garibaldi, we leave them here and we hope they get better. Yes, very interesting. Lyta had a little Vorlon...."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

There was one thing Shaal Lennier was determined not to forget, and that was his name. All else he could discard behind him, but his name.... never.
The pain - both physical and perceived - had stopped. He was still paralysed, but he could think. A little, at any rate.
He was certainly awake enough to witness the thing moving towards him. It was human oid, with blue skin, and eyes that seemed to pierce him completely, tearing through to his soul. It was not a Drakh, but somehow.... perhaps it was worse.
In its hands, the figure was holding.... something. Lennier could not see what. He had an instinct though. All those years of meditation and prayer in temple had heightened his senses and his awareness. He could recognise evil when he saw it.
This.... this thing.... it was evil.
The Keeper opened its eye as the Zener brought it closer.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

"In Valen's Name."
Had Captain John Sheridan led anything like a normal life he would probably have dropped dead from a heart attack about now, but as his life had been eventful - to say the least - he was able to deal with what was happening to him with some rationality.
Of course, being around Delenn did not make him all that rational, especially when he had just gone from Sanctuary, to a devastated future Minbar and now to.... well, to the Hall of the Grey Council itself.
Sheridan had been here before, twice. The first time as a prisoner paraded before the Grey Council and the second as a warrior, engaged in battle against the Minbari's enemies. All part of that eventful life bit. This time, however, was a little bit different....
"It's the Battle of the Line," he whispered. The Grey Council was standing in the Hall, yes, but around them, seemingly surrounding them, was the last stand of Earth. Not a mere tactical display, but a real, honest-to-God presentation of the battle.
"They fight bravely," said one of them. "They cannot harm our ships, but they continue to try." Sheridan started. It was Delenn! The full Minbari Delenn, as she had been the first time he had seen her. Beside him, the half-human Delenn breathed in sharply.
"Whether they fight or not, they know they will die anyway," said another of the Grey Council, whom Sheridan recognised as being the one who had stood over the bodies of his fellows at the Second Line. "So really, is this bravery, or simple desperation?"
"Perhaps they are the same thing," replied Delenn.
"This is the Line, isn't it?" Sheridan whispered. His Delenn nodded.
"Yes," she whispered. "I.... can only conclude that we are visiting my memories. I do not even know if you are really here or not."
"Don't you?"
She smiled. "Yes, I think so, but what is happening.... what exactly.... I do not know."
Sheridan turned back to the scene before him. "They don't seem to see us. Is this just a memory?"
Her eyes betrayed the truth. She did not need to say anything.
Sheridan's breath caught in his throat. "This.... this is the fall of Earth."
"I am sorry, John," she whispered. "I am so sorry...."
"We should bring one of them aboard for questioning," said the past-Delenn. "If our next step is the final assault on their world, we must know their defences."
"Very well, Delenn," said the one who had spoken before. "Choose. But quickly. We are fast running out of candidates." Past-Delenn seemed to look out across the display for a while. There was a Starfury coming directly towards them, obviously on a ramming vector.
"That one," she said.
"Very well."
An image appeared in the circle of light at the centre of the Nine. Sheridan started. It was Sinoval, dressed in black warrior garb rather than the grey robe of a Satai. Of course, this must have been before he was raised to the Council.
"We have Earth in our sights," he reported. "The Trigati is behind their defences and those.... satellites have been destroyed. Do we proceed with the orbital bombardment?"
There was silence. The entire Council seemed to be hovering on the brink of a more momentous decision than even they could realise. At this moment one word - one simple word - could have changed the fate of the galaxy and saved countless billions from a horrible death.
"My orders?" asked Sinoval. "Shai Alyt Branmer and the Dogati have destroyed the last capital ship remaining. At least one of them has fled. Their homeworld is within sight. What are our orders?"
The Grey Council was silent, staring out across the skies.
"Satai," barked Sinoval. "Shai Alyt Branmer may be willing to jump at your every beck and call, but I am not. I repeat. Their homeworld is in our sights. What are your orders?"
Sheridan's eyes were rivetted on past-Delenn. He was trying to ignore Sinoval as much as possible. Past-Delenn seemed hesitant, but all the others were waiting for her.
One of the other Satai threw back his hood, revealing a harsh, proud face, distinguished by a strangely human beard, neat and sharply pointed. "Destroy the planet, Sinoval. Begin orbital bombardment."
The image of Sinoval bowed. "Yes, Satai Shakiri."
"No!" snapped another Satai, an old, old man, with a fire which belied his fragile appearance.
"Jenimer," whispered the Delenn by Sheridan's side. "I miss you, old friend."
Jenimer looked around the circle. Shakiri was staring at him, the others were silent. Even past-Delenn was silent. "No," Jenimer repeated. "Remain in high orbit, and maintain combat readiness. We must be ready for an attack from behind."
"Our defences are more than adequate to deal with any further threat these Earthers can throw at us," snapped Sinoval. "There is nothing to worry about...."
"As there was nothing to worry about with the Black Star," muttered Jenimer. "Maintain readiness for any counterattack."
Sinoval's image looked at Shakiri. The warrior Satai nodded once and Sinoval bowed. "At your command, Satai," he spat, venom in every syllable.
"That one troubles me," remarked Jenimer absently. "There is too much pride in him."
"And since when was pride a bad thing?" asked Shakiri. "He is intelligent, strong, talented.... He will go far, I am sure of it."
A white-robed acolyte appeared hesitantly and whispered something to past-Delenn. "The human is aboard," she announced to the Council. "Shall he be brought before us?"
"No!" cried out the Delenn by Sheridan's side. "No, I am sorry, John. I cannot...."
"What? Delenn, what is it?"
"I...." Around them the image was fading, the past becoming as lost to them as the future. "I cannot."
"That was the Battle of the Line. That was the destruction of Earth, wasn't it? I.... I could have done something.... intervened. I could have saved...."
"No," she said. "That was a memory and nothing more. What is done is done, John, and there can be no returning to it."
He was breathing hard. "I.... God! Why couldn't I have been there? A day or two more, that's all it would have taken."
"You would have done nothing, John, except be killed. We were all mad that day. I think.... I think that was the day our madness should have stopped, but it did not. I.... listened.... I listened to warriors and to madmen and to voices I did not wish to hear. I listened and I was silent."
"What are you saying? Delenn, you didn't order the attack on Earth. I saw it.... it was that Shakiri.... and.... and Sinoval. You didn't say anything."
"Yes, that is the point. I said nothing. Then. I could have ended it. With one word, I could have ended the entire war, but I did not. The others would have listened, even Shakiri would have listened, but I said nothing. Then."
"Then? What - did you say something afterwards?"
"After we had.... brought the human aboard, we held a vote.... on what to do. A number were undecided. The warriors were for the final assault. Jenimer, and Hedronn and a few others, were for occupation instead of destruction. I.... I was silent. I needed to go away.... to think.... and I.... I...."
Sheridan's face had gone white. "What did you do?"
"She ordered the annihilation of your planet, didn't you, Delenn?"
"Huh?" Sheridan turned, hardly having noticed that yet another landscape had appeared around them. Delenn had been the only thing in his eyes. This was.... a cell. Sheridan knew it well. It had been Delenn's cell on Proxima 3, where she had been interrogated by Mr. Welles, mentally violated by Lyta Alexander, and beaten by Boggs and Cutter.
Except that none of them was here now. Instead, seated in the chair Mr. Welles had taken during his interrogation, was a human, tall and bald, dressed in flowing robes. His long fingers were steepled together in almost exactly the same fashion as Welles'.
"Elric?" Delenn said softly. "What happened. Am I...?"
"Dead? No. We found you in time, and we are enacting your transformation. We have managed to stabilise most of your body's systems and we are currently holding you in stasis. Your body is now malleable enough for us to change you in any way we choose.
"There is, however, something else to consider first, which is why I have been projected in here. You have to want to come back."
"Who the hell are you?" Sheridan asked. "What's going on here?"
"I am immaterial to you at this moment. What you are doing here is another matter. I think I detect the smell of a Vorlon here, but far be it for me to cast aspersions on their good name."
"Answer him," Delenn said, quietly, but with a force capable of destroying worlds.
"Very well. I am Elric, a technomage, and master of those trying to save her life. I have arranged for her to see the memories of her past and the destiny of her future, so that she can determine whether she wishes to return to this world or not. I can mend flesh, yes, but not spirit. No one can do that, save her."
"So what do you want from me?" she asked.
"Do you want to come back? Do you have anything worth living for?"
Delenn closed her eyes, remembering the sight of the dying Earth. But then she remembered another sight, of a devastated Minbar, and of John's grave....
"Yes," she whispered. "I want to come back. I have made too many mistakes to let my life end here."
"Experience is the name we give to our mistakes, or so it is said. Good. I would hazard a guess that you had something to do with that, Captain. There is just one more question for you. How do you wish us to remake you?"
"What?"
"We can change your flesh into anything we - or you - desire. We can return you to wholly Minbari, or to wholly human. Even to a Narn, Drazi or Pak'ma'ra if you choose."
No hesitation, no doubt. Not this time. "I entered the chrysalis to become a bridge between two worlds. I will not have that bridge destroyed. Change me to what I would have become."
"Half human and half Minbari?"
"Yes."
"With a stable biology, a mixture of both?"
"Yes."
"Delenn," Sheridan said. "Are you sure...?"
"Yes, John," she replied. "I am. I.... I have been living in the past for too long. I know that what I have done is dreadful.... and I do not expect you to forgive me for it.... but I must make amends. If I can save even one life more than I took, then maybe my own life will have meaning."
"Delenn, you don't have to go off on some insane quest to save the universe! You said it yourself, what is done cannot be undone...."
"And yet I must try."
"Noble sentiments," said Elric. "You do realise that any hopes of your being a bridge between two peoples ended with Sinoval. You can never return to Minbar, never return to the Grey Council, never be what you were. I could make you entirely human."
" I will always be Minbari," she proclaimed. "Whatever has been done to me. I.... I am now also partly human. My.... heart is human. Those two peoples will be joined, even if it takes my death, but especially if it takes my life."
"Well. I think you have fulfilled your purpose here, Captain. I think it is time for you to go."
"Wait!" Delenn cried, turning to Sheridan. "I.... I miss you, John, but I cannot live my life around you."
"I wouldn't want you to. Listen, I know I've been a bit of a jerk to you lately, but.... I think I've thought it out. I can't live in the past any more either, and...."
"Shush," she said. "We each have our own lives, and I know we will be brought together again. In time. Go on with your destiny, and I will go on with mine."
"I.... I don't know what to say."
"Then say nothing."
Almost without knowing what she was doing, she drifted closer towards him, and then her hands were on his waist. His, without him being sure of what he was doing either, were on her back. She tilted her head; he brought his down to her....
This kiss was over almost before she knew it. She stepped back, and smiled, sweetly and sadly. "Valen walk with you, John," she said.
"Yeah. You.... you too."
Delenn turned away, not wanting to see him leave. "Now," she said to Elric. "I am ready."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

There.... Done.
What is done?
Her path is now assured. Her life is safe. His path is assured. His soul is safe. You have done well.
And me? What about my life?
Irrelevant. You have done well. Sleep now.
Not without some answers! I want to know....
SLEEP!
And Lyta Alexander slept.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

The life of Londo Mollari had been not only eventful, but also bordering on the ridiculous. As a result, when a door opened from solid wall beside him through which walked a Hyach and a Minbari, he did not have an immediate heart attack but instead said simply, "So here you are. What kept you?"
"The Drakh, if you must know," snapped Zicree. A Hyach, and a Hyach technomage at that. Therefore, a master of all things snooty.
"Mr. Lennier!" Londo cried, turning to his companion. "I thought I had lost you."
"Ah, no," Lennier said. Londo was a little preoccupied, and so didn't notice the vague stare in his friend's eyes. "I had to.... hide. I couldn't really get.... anywhere. I don't know. I can't really remember much."
"Oh. Ah well, a good night's sleep and a stiff drin.... I mean a bit of meditation, will soon sort that out."
"Yes. I.... hope so."
Londo turned to Zicree. "What happened to him?" He was whispering, but he did not need to. Lennier could not have heard him in any case.
"That is between him and me," Zicree said. "That is not your concern."
"He is my friend. How does that make him not my concern?"
Zicree said nothing, and Londo also fell silent. He was still vaguely watching Delenn's transformation, but his attention was not really on the scene before him. The Drakh were still preying on his mind.
It was in the exact moment that he turned away that Delenn began to change, her infinity of reflections - now shining golden - transforming, as her old form was shed away, and a new one emerged.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Delenn's eyes opened.... "John," she whispered.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

"That was the most amazing thing I have ever.... Mr. Lennier, did you see it? The way the crystal melted all around her, and then was sort of.... absorbed into her. Incredible. I.... Mr. Lennier?"
"I am sorry. I am merely.... tired."
"Ah." Londo was silent for a moment. But only a moment. "Yes, I suppose that is.... understandable. We have all had a very stressful few months."
"And for some of us, Minister Mollari, the.... stress is not over."
"Ah, Mr. Elric! A pleasure as always. And a magnificent.... ritual thing, if I may say so."
Elric looked exhausted. He was limping heavily and his breath was audibly loud. Sweat was still drying on his forehead. "It worked. And just in time as well."
"Delenn?"
"Is resting. It will take her a short while to become used to her new body, but it will work for her just as well as her old one."
"Good. Good. And...." Londo fell quiet again. "What about Vindrizi?"
"His body is dead, but we managed to save his essence. Would you like to see him, Minister Mollari?"
"I.... suppose so. He was a good friend, and he.... died.... saving me."
"Come with me."
Londo followed Elric through the darkened chambers of this strange building. He marvelled at how different it appeared, just by virtue of those who dwelt in it. He could see technomages everywhere, and the fact that they were tired, they were limping, he had seen them die - none of that lessened his feelings of awe and respect. They wielded a power that few could ever dream of, and it changed them, irrevocably and permanently. None of them could ever be normal again.
"Here it is," Elric said, holding up a transparent box. Inside it was....
"Ugh!" Londo cried, stepping backwards. "What is that thing?" It looked like some kind of giant insect made out of goo.
"That is Vindrizi. They really need hosts to be talkative. What is the matter, Minister Mollari? You look quite upset."
"A.... a bug. A cursed bug! Ugh! Oh, all right, Elric, you have had your little joke. We have done what you asked, and you have done what we asked. I think we will be on our way now, yes?"
"Not quite. There is the matter of your gift, and your warning."
"Oh.... yes." The gift sounded interesting. The warning he could live without. He stepped back and turned round suddenly. "Where is Mr. Lennier?"
"This is a private matter between you and me, Minister Mollari. By all means, share with the others if you wish, but that is your concern and not mine. Delenn has already received her gift, and will be given her warning in due time. As will Shaal Lennier. Which would you like first, Minister Mollari? Your gift or your warning."
"Oh.... my gift, I suppose. Get the best over with first."
"Very well. Your gift, like all the best gifts, is information. Your people are in chaos, scattered, torn, teetering at the edge of the abyss, manipulated by forces inside and out. You would save them?"
"Of course I would! What sort of question is that?"
"You cannot do it. Not alone. Can you?"
"No. That is why I allied myself with G'Kar. He has the resources to...."
"He is already stretched beyond his limit. Only one person can save your people, and that is not you. There is one, is there not? One to whom all the nobles of the Court will listen? One with the strength and wisdom to guide your people through this dark time?"
"Emperor Turhan is dead," snapped Londo. "And not even he could...."
"Another. Malachi."
"Prime Minister Malachi? He is dead too. He killed himself after Emperor Turhan died."
"Are you sure? Are not you dead as well?"
"Of course I am sure. I attended his funeral. I.... his body."
"What about it?"
"A number of things. Little things, inexplicable at the time. It was.... not his body."
"That I do not know, but he is alive. Find him, and you can save your people."
"Yes.... why, that cunning old.... Hah! And I know how to find him, as well! Oh thank you. I think you may just have saved my people."
"That is not my concern. And now for your warning."
"Oh, yes. I had almost forgotten about that."
"Your death must occur as you have seen it. Sometimes the future can be changed. This is not one of those times. If you do not die as you have seen.... then your people will fall into fire, and much more besides. I do not know the details, but you do."
"I do?"
"Whether you know that you know is another matter. Goodbye, Minister Mollari. I doubt we shall meet again."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

"Shaal Lennier. I have a gift and a warning, as was promised." Zicree paused and looked at the young Minbari she had rescued. It was not her place to interfere in the war between Light and Darkness, but she suppressed a shudder.
"The gift is something you may not think is a gift. You know what has happened to you. You know what has been done to you. You may even be able to control it. You are not a slave to Darkness. Not if you are strong enough. I think that you are. That knowledge, that strength is your gift.
"What, did you think all gifts are tangible?
"And your warning. I have seen your death, Shaal Lennier. It leads from what has happened to you here today. There are two choices for you the day before you will die. One will lead to your life, but your damnation. The other.... you will die, but your death will have a greater meaning than you can know.
"And, Shaal Lennier, if I thought there was any doubt about your decision, then I would kill you now. Do you understand?"
".... No...."
"You will. You will."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

"How do you feel?"
"Slightly.... strange.... This body.... I think it will be a lot harder to get used to than the old one."
"That is only to be expected," said Vejar. "It is.... what is right for you, though."
"I hope so."
Vejar straightened and looked at the woman whose life he had helped save. "I am here to give you your warning, as we said. Do you remember?"
"Yes.... I think. So much of what has happened to me recently has been vague.... unclear. No longer."
"Good. We promised to you, to Minister Mollari and to Shaal Lennier, each a gift and a warning. These are given in secret, although if you wish to share what we tell you, then you may.
"You have already received your gift. You have been changed. History has been returned to the correct path. And now for your warning...."
Vejar was sweating, Delenn noticed, seeing more clearly now than she had for the past four months. How much of that was due to exhaustion from the ritual, and how much to.... something else?
"We were.... reluctant to aid you at first. We always knew that you could be saved, the question was whether we should. The quest we sent you on.... to find the Vindrizi.... we could have done that at any time. We needed you to see something there. Did you?"
"I...." Faint memories of Valen's spirit washing over her returned. "I think I did."
"Well, whether you did or not does not matter, I suppose. You returned, and we have cured you. Your warning.... the reason we were wary of aiding you....
"At some point in the future, billions of lives will rest in your hand. The fate of thousands of planets will be yours to decide, and it will only take one push for you to make the wrong decision. After your.... prior record, you can understand our doubts."
"I will atone," she said in a hushed voice. Vejar was human. Elric was human. How had they felt when she had taken their homeworld from them? Were they still even human enough to care?
"Perhaps you will, perhaps you will not. That will not matter either." He was trying to sound like Elric. Trying a little too hard. "We have done what we said, and we have gained what we needed. We will be leaving this place shortly, and thereafter its concerns will not be ours."
"Wait!" Delenn said, sitting up. "You cannot abandon this place. You cannot abandon these people. What about the.... Drakh...." She remembered them well enough. "You have great power. Should it not be used?"
"This is not our war."
"I am not thinking of fighting a war. I am thinking of saving lives."
"And if the lives you save.... if the people you save later become involved in the war, then are you not involved in the war? This is our struggle no longer."
Delenn cocked her head slightly. "That is strange."
"What is?"
"You sound so much like your master, yet I do not think you truly believe in what you are saying."
Vejar hesitated for a minute, as if he were about to say something. Then he blinked and walked away. "Believe what you wish," he said harshly, and then he was gone from view.
Delenn returned to sleep, although not easily.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

I still don't know what that was. I wish I did. Lyta.... well, she's not saying anything. I'd be surprised if she knows.
Was it even real, or just a dream? Was that even you, Delenn?
You helped me before. I can no longer imagine my world without you in it. Yes, I'm afraid, afraid of being without you. But you're right, for the moment our lives run in different directions.
Sleep peacefully, Delenn. I miss you.