The Fifth Element part 4

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Jared, meanwhile, wastes two more Mangalores as the Diva continues to talk to him. Her breathing is erratic now, and he has to lean down close to hear her words. "He needs you; he needs your help and your love. He's more fragile than he seems."

Jared looks around, ready for another attack. "Yeah, so am I," he says as the Diva takes his hand.

"He was taught to love the life of others but not his own. You have to teach him to love if you want him to truly live."

"I'll help him, I promise. Where are the Stones?" Time is running out, Jared knows that. He can see that the Diva's life is fading.

"Do you love him?" The question is sudden, and Jared blinks.

"Listen, the last time I admitted to someone that I loved them, I never saw them again," he murmurs, and the Diva's eyes close.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The timer on The Beav's bomb clicks over to "15 minutes".

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

"You tell me to save the world, then you go off and leave me in the shit." Jared shakes the fallen Diva. "Come on! You're not gonna die, you hear me? Where are the Stones?"

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Out in space, the Beav sets the case he's filched on a table in the cockpit. He opens it with a complacent smile. It's empty. He can't believe his eyes. He goes berserk, destroying everything in sight.

"Very disappointed," he screams.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Jared shakes the Diva, and she comes around somewhat. "I'm sorry," he says. "But the Stones…?"

Weakly, she nods. "They are… in me…" she whispers, and dies.

For a moment he's stunned, but he is brought back by Rosey Rhedd, who is still babbling madly as he transmits the happenings to a listening universe. Jared quickly frisks the Diva but finds nothing resembling a Stone. All around him, shooting slowly dies.

The Mangalores are now in total control.

"Stay calm and nobody will get hurt," announces a Mangalore. "Hands on your head and into the hall."

The guests begin to file out. Jared continues to kneel beside the stricken Diva. "The Stones are in me?" he mumbles to himself. "What the fuck is that?" It suddenly dawns on him what she meant. "In me?"

He touches the Diva's stomach and feels something hard. Bracing himself, he sticks his hand into the bullet wound and pulls out a Sacred Stone, then another and another. Jared pulls out all four Stones, covered in blue blood. Everyone else has left the theater and the Mangalores have begun to check the aisles one by one.

Rosey Rhedd peeks out from under a seat. "Jared? We should be going? Jared?"

A Mangalore spots Jared kneeling alongside the Diva. He grabs Jared by the shoulder and pokes him with his gun.

"Hey, you! With the others!" Jared spins and, in one swift motion, breaks his arm. Another alien rushes over. Jared punches him into oblivion and snatches the gun.

"That's it," he growls. "I've had it! All day people have been sticking guns in my face." He gathers up the four Stones and wraps them carefully in his shirt.

"Jared? Jared, my man, these dudes are going to waste us if we don't do what they say." There's panic in Rosey's voice, and the whites of his eyes are visible all around, making him look even more crazed than usual. Sweat is seeping through the stars and stripes decal that's been painted onto his shiny scalp, and Jared almost cracks a smile. He hands Rosey the package and grabs his mike from him.

"You don't do what I say... I'll waste you myself. Green?" he murmurs sweetly.

"G…g…green," responds Rosey, nodding as if his head might fall off any moment. "Emerald Green. Green as grass, Gree…"

"Shut up!"

The barrage of words ceases instantly. Jared breathes a sigh of relief and turns to survey the task ahead.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Welling is in the security station facing control screens. He's more battered than ever. He barks into a walkie-talkie.

"What's the situation in the hallway?

Hostages are being gathered in the middle of the hall by a squad of Mangalores brandishing weapons. The squad leader responds to Welling's request, growling into his communicator. "There's no more resistance. Everything's under control."

As he speaks, three more Mangalores are suddenly blasted through the glass door leading from the theater to land in a heap at the squad leader's feet. Jared bursts into the hall, his face set in a snarl. His elegant tux is no more. The jacket is long gone and the remnants of his shirt hang in ribbons. His shoulders gleam with sweat, and he brandishes two huge guns, one in either hand.

"Everybody down," he yells, and takes out two more Mangalores as they come towards him, rolling behind a column as the laser bullets zing all around his head. Behind him comes Rosey, reluctant hero, with his microphone pressed close to his lips.

"This is amazing! Jared, Jared Padalecki, the winner of the Gemini Croquette contest just killed three warriors like he was swatting flies." He gulps and ducks behind something that once was a marble urn full of flowers. "There's panic everywhere! Heavy firing fills the hall."

Two Mangalore warriors bring up a huge machine gun and begin firing at the column Jared is using for cover. He dives for cover behind the bar.

A Mangalore shoots in their direction. Rosey Rhedd flattens himself to the floor as a warrior loads some missiles in his gun and destroys the bar piece by piece, forcing Jared to move forward. Jared motions to Baby Chad Michael, who's hiding under the pool table.

"Toss me the balls." Sadly, he's picked the wrong man.

"What?" Baby Chad Michael looks confused, and another piece of the bar explodes above Jared's head.

"Gimme the balls for Christ's sake!" Jared is starting to feel that the gods are totally against him. He mimes playing pool, but Baby Chad Michael really is stone-deaf, and still doesn't get it. Another part of the bar shatters over Jared's head, and he hustles to hide behind the last remaining part. Emperor Japhet finally rolls one of the balls over to Jared, and he turns to Rosey.

"How far is he from here?" It takes Rosey a minute to determine what Jared is talking about, but once he's been smacked around the back of the head, he checks out the Mangalore warrior, who is busily reloading.

"Th…th…thirty yards to the left," stutters Rosey. "Why? What are you going to do?"

Wordlessly, Jared hefts the ball, then jumps to his feet and hurls it with unerring accuracy. It hits the Mangalore's head, and he goes down like a sack of rocks as his newly loaded weapon discharges itself into the air. The resulting destruction causes the ceiling above to fall onto him, and Rosey attempts to high five Jared, still babbling his color commentary into the mike.

"...And our man Jared has literally knocked out the opposition with an amazing 90 foot pitch."

He's still talking when Jared grabs his collar and drags him out.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Rushing back to his room, Jared bursts in, looking for Jensen. The perfect being isn't there. He's still in the ceiling above the Diva's suite, and he's hurt, bleeding from multiple wounds. He whispers a single word as if it's the only one that exists that can save him.

"Jared…?"

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

As the Beav's ZFX 200 speeds back toward Fhloston Paradise, the timer on the bomb in the Diva's suite reads 10 minutes.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The final few Mangalore freedom fighters, led by a pathetically shambling, once-proud Welling, have barricaded themselves into the bridge. They are shooting at anything that tries to enter, and they have the captain and crew as their hostages. As Jared joins the security guards that are standing outside, wringing their hands, one of them turns to him. "Hey, who are you?"

"The winner of the Gemini Croquette contest," snarls Jared, going to the door and risking a swift peek around the corner. Rosey, his faithful shadow, records the event, despite quelling glares from everyone else.

"Seven to the left. Five to the right," says Jared, checking his gun. He leans around the corner and fires rapidly. "Six to the left. One to the right," he says, with an air of satisfaction.

"He's on vacation," comments Rosey Rhedd, as if that would explain everything.

"We've got to find the leader," says Jared, ignoring the comment. "Mangalores don't fight without a leader."

On the bridge, Welling staggers to his feet, grabs Kripke by the throat and put a gun to his head. "One more shot and we start killing hostages, got that?"

"Found him," beams Jared.

"Send someone to negotiate," demands Welling, whose blood is forming a squishy pool around his ankles.

"Mind if I go? I'm an excellent negotiator," says Jared, twirling his gun as if it were a six shooter.

"Uh… Sure, go ahead," murmurs the head of security, who very obviously would prefer anyone but himself to go in there. As Jared prepares himself, the security guard yells to Welling. "We're sending someone in who's authorized to negotiate."

Jared strolls into the room, heads straight for Welling, raises his gun and puts a bullet through his head. The long suffering freedom fighter is at last out of his pain.

"Anyone else want to negotiate?" asks Jared, peering round at the other Mangalores, who seem suddenly to have found things of great interest to look at – things that aren't Jared.

"Where'd he learn to negotiate like that?" asks the chief of security, shaking his head as his men set about rounding up the remaining Mangalores. Nobody takes the time to answer him.

Jared is at the control center screens trying to find Jensen. Kripke comes over to him, embarrassed. "You're probably very angry with me, and I quite understand. But I want you to know I'm fighting for a noble cause."

"Yeah, I know." Jared is distracted. "To save the world, but right now all I want to do is save Jensen."

"Jensen's in trouble?" Kripke blinked.

Jared rolls his eyes. "When is he not in trouble?" he asks, looking worried. "I have to find him."

"Uh… Have you tried the Diva's suite?" The priest's question freezes Jared. He pauses, turns and runs.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The ZFX200 settles in the landing dock garage. Security guards approach the ship just as The Beav clambers out, clutching his trusty ZF1.

"More trouble?" asks the guard.

"Nothing I can't fix myself," murmurs the Beav, smiling sweetly as he raises his weapon and wipes out the entire garage.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Jared enters the Diva's suite at a run. It's a shambles, with Mangalore bodies everywhere. Kane peers out from behind the hedge, takes one look at Jared and dives back again. Jared looks everywhere, but he can't find the man he's seeking.

Above him, in the air shaft, Jensen lies in a pool of blood. Faintly, he hears something below him.

Faithfully following Jared, his mike still in his hand, Rosey Rhedd pauses outside the Diva's suite to wipe his forehead and suddenly finds himself face to face with the bomb that's stuck on the wall, still busily counting down.

Inside the suite, Jared searches for Jensen. He calls Jensen's name, desperate now as he tries to locate the man he knows is his destiny.

Up in the airshaft, Jensen hears him calling. He groans, calls for Jared, but his voice is too faint to be heard.

Jared's about to go through to the Diva's bedroom, when Rosey Rhedd distracts him, urgently tapping him on the shoulder to show him his discovery. "Jared, man, what the hell is this?"

Jared gives the bomb a perfunctory glance. "A molecular bomb," he says. The bomb in question has only three minutes left on the timer.

"Jared, Jared, my man, uh, what're these numbers it's showing?"

"Probably the time remaining before it explodes," murmurs Jared, turning away to continue his search.

"You're just saying that to scare me, right?" Rosey Rhedd grins, but the grin is not convincing. "If it was a bomb, an alarm would've gone off. There's bomb detectors in all these hotels."

As he finishes speaking, a general alarm begins to sound. Rosey Rhedd slumps, despairing.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Outside, a calm voice coos, "This is a Type A alert. For security reasons the hotel must be evacuated. Please proceed calmly to the lifeboats located in the main hallways." There's a stampede as it's speaking, and Rosey seems convinced that he's about to die.

Down the corridor marches the Beav, and he's taking no prisoners. Anyone standing in his way is dispatched as he stomps towards the Diva's suite.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Rosey Rhedd stands, paralyzed, watching the timer as it counts down. There are less than two minutes before it blows. "Maybe we oughta be going, Jared. What do you think?" He spreads his hands, beseeching.

"Not without Jensen," growls Jared.

Rosey Rhedd can't take his eyes off the bomb. "Like, J-Man, I hate to bother you but uh, like, we're down to 2 minutes here…"

Jared breathes out, irritated. He turns his attention to the bomb. Up in the air duct above him, Jensen moans and rolls over, and, as he does so, blood wells up from a wound in his arm and drips down through the bullet-ridden ceiling to spatter on the back of Jared's hand. Jared snaps his head up, knowing immediately who is up there. He instantly forgets all about the bomb.

"Hey! What are you doing? The bomb…" Rosey watches horrified as Jared turns away from impending doom to drag a desk over and clamber up, pushing through a hole in the ceiling.

There at last is Jensen. He smiles weakly at Jared, and Jared reaches for him. "Don't worry, I'm here." Tugging Jensen into his arms, he pulls the perfect being out of the ceiling and sets him down on the desk. "All you have to do is relax. I've got the Stones, and everything's going to be fine."

Rosey is apparently losing his mind as he watches the tender way that Jared lays Jensen down on the desk. He flaps his hands. "Excuse me Jared, can I have 30 seconds of your time here?"

Bending to kiss Jensen with infinite tenderness, Jared murmurs, "I'll be right back," and dashes over to the bomb. He is stopped by the barrel of the ZF1. The Beav, in person, stands before him, holding a magnetic card.

"Allow me…," smirks the Beav as he slips a small magnetic card into the controls of the bomb. It stops, and Rosey Rhedd faints.

"Well, what do we have here?" asks the Beav, rhetorically. "Is this Jared Padalecki, the famous winner of the Gemini Croquette contest? Or is this Jared Padalecki from the Special Section, sent by President Lindberg himself?" Jared doesn't reply, but that doesn't faze the Beav. "In any event, whoever you are, I'm glad to meet you… briefly."

The Beav fires at Jared who is convinced that he's dead. Nothing happens. The Beav tries again, and again the ZF1 stalls; it seems as if it's jammed or something. The Beav starts to panic. "This is a 3000 round clip! I didn't fire off 3000 rounds... did I?" he mumbles.

"Don't you know how to count?" Jared smirks. "It's not all that hard. Watch!" His ham-like fist connects with the Beav's chin, rocking him back on his heels. "That's one - for trying to kill me."

The second punch twirls the Beav around and he slowly topples over, but Jared isn't done yet. "Two! That's for firing me! Three! That's for pushing around a priest! And the rest is for what you did to Jensen!" He deals the downed magnate and super-villain blow after blow, leaving him battered and broken by the time he's done.

The Beav has lost consciousness by the time Jared gathers Jensen up in his arms. "We'd better leave," he murmurs, and carrying his unconscious burden, he, Kripke and Rosey – newly recovered from his swoon - leave the suite at a run.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Still lurking behind the couch, Chris Kane finds a small remote control and wonders what it is. Pressing the on switch, he listens for music. There is no music, but on the wall outside the suite, the bomb is reactivated, and it begins to count down from five minutes again.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Jared, carrying Jensen, Kripke and Rosey Rhedd make it to the garage, where Jared bursts the lock on the first ship he finds, which just happens to be the ZFX200 belonging to the Beav. They all pile in and Jared cranks up the engine.

"Two minutes to final evacuation," coos the warning.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The Beav starts to come around and sits up, moaning.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

In his ship, Jared sets Jensen down and caresses the pale, drawn face, then turns to the controls.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The Beav picks up his ZF1, unaware of the bomb and the countdown. "Goddammit, I didn't fire three thousand rounds."

"One minute to total evacuation…"

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Inside the ZFX200, Rosey suddenly starts to worry. "Jared? Jared, my man? You know how to fly this thing?"

"It's just like a cab isn't it?" asks Jared, innocent eyes above gleaming teeth and dimples that you could drown in.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

"Thirty seconds..."

The Beav is busy with the ZF1 when the bomb starts to beep signaling the last ten seconds. He looks up. "Oh, no!" he says.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

"Hold tight," calls Jared, opening up the throttle so that the vessel surges forward. The acceleration presses them back hard as the ship peels off, hurtling into the wide blue yonder.

As they leave Fhloston behind, the Paradise slowly disintegrates, blown apart into its component atoms by the Beav's bomb. The little ship hurtles out into space just in front of the shockwave.

Crouched, exhausted, in one corner of the cockpit, Rosey Rhedd is finally winding down his show. "Dear listeners, your favorite DJ is alive and kicking. It's seven o'clock and time for the news. Tune in tomorrow for another adventure."

There's a time tick, and a beep. A vocoder announces, "End of transmission," and Rosey Rhedd lets out a huge sigh.

"Oh My God! That was the best show I ever did," he confides to the others.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Back in President Lindberg's offices, General Manners enters the room with a smile.

"Sir, Major Padalecki has the Five Elements on board. The priest is guiding them directly to the temple."

President Lindberg closes his eyes in relief.

"Thank God! We've been saved!

Professor Carlson rushes in.

"Mr. President," he calls, urgency in his voice.

The President turns to look at Carlson, and it's obvious that he doesn't want to hear what the scientist is saying. "Yes? Now what?" he demands.

On the monitor that Carlson turns on, they can see the Ostroff, all-powerful Evil, speeding across the screen with three Federation warships following along behind it as best they can.

"What do you mean, 'it's advancing'?" asks Lindberg, coughing nervously.

"It's not only advancing," says Carlson, frowning. "But it's moving at incredible speed! The ships are having trouble following it."

Lindberg laughs humorlessly and closes his eyes for a moment. "Do you have any idea where it's heading?" he croaks, finally.

Shaking his head, Carlson spreads his hands. "No clue," he murmurs. "Anyone up for a really awesome Bolognese? I've been trying to perfect the recipe for years, but I've got it now."

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

In the ship as it speeds towards its meeting with destiny, Jared gently wipes Jensen's forehead with a cloth. He opens his eyes a little.

"Apipoulai," says Jared, lovingly.

Jensen smiles, weakly, feverish. "I'm so very sad," he whispers.

"Why? We did pretty well, wouldn't you say?" Jared gazes down at the man of his dreams, desperately wanting to heal the broken spirit he sees.

"Five hundred wars, arms, drugs, money - everything you create is used to destroy." Jensen's voice cracks, and he turns his face away from Jared.

"I told you not to read all that crap," says Jared.

"Protect life until death…" Jensen's voice fades, and he closes his eyes once more, appearing to fall asleep.

Kripke chooses that moment to jog Jared's shoulder. "There's a General on the phone."

Jared takes the phone automatically and raises it to his ear. "Manners here. President Lindberg wants to talk to you. Hold the line," says the familiar voice.

The President clears his throat and takes the phone. "Major, first off, I want to thank you, in my name and in the name of the Federation, for the praiseworthy courage you have shown us. I'd like to congratulate General Manners for his choice. He found the ideal man for such a..."

Jared cuts him short. "So now what's the problem?"

President Lindberg drops into his armchair and sighs. "There's a malevolent creature 1,200 miles in diameter heading straight for the earth. And we have no idea how to stop it. That's the problem."

Jared thinks fast. The Priest is with him. The Five Elements are on board. He can do this. "How much time before the collision?"

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The President turns to look at Carlson, who is stirring a beaker full of Bolognese sauce over a Bunsen burner. He purses his lips and doesn't stop stirring. "If its speed remains constant... in an hour and 57 minutes."

"I'll call you back in two hours," says Jared, and hangs up. The President looks stunned.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The ZFX200 shifts to the speed of light and vanishes in the star-studded cosmos.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

In the Egyptian desert it is night. There are no lights to dim the majesty of the stars. Inside the chapel beside the tomb, Gabriel is asleep. He is woken by the sound of the ZFX200 as it settles down beside the ancient building.

As he stumbles out to see what's happening, a weird procession becomes visible. Jared walks ahead carrying Jensen. Kripke has the four Stones with him. Barely awake, Rosey Rhedd stumbles along. Gabriel appears at the door of the chapel.

"You're all safe. Thanks be to God," he babbles, trying to scrub the sleep from his eyes. Kripke dismisses the fervent prayer, yelling that there's no time to lose, and the little cavalcade enters the chapel.

Kripke's in his element now, and he pushes the group over to the altar which is surrounded by a wooden barrier. He stands in front of the cross, and Jared heaves a sigh. "Excuse me, Father, but could we pray later?"

Kripke has the air of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat as he bends the cross and pushes it down, triggering a mechanism that lowers the altar like a service elevator.

Together, they descend to the chamber where the pillars await the coming of the fifth element.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

In the President's office, Manning sits back with a satisfied smile. "They just landed in the desert," he reports.

Lindberg is sweating. He checks his watch nervously. "How much time is left?" he asks, turning his attention to the other screen on which the impending tragedy looms.

The earth is visible, green and blue, beautiful as it hangs against the backdrop of sparkling, careless stars. Close now, so close, the Ostroff menaces. Its face is contorted in fury, and its maw is open wide. Sharp teeth clash, chomping an unwary asteroid that strays too close.

"About nine minutes," says Carlson, offering a tray on which repose a pile of hors d'oeuvres. "Would you care for a deviled egg?"

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Lit by torches, Jared sets Jensen delicately on the altar in the exact center of the four elements. Kripke scratches his head as he attempts to set up the four Stones that have cost them so dearly.

He's almost in tears. "Uh, this one must be water?" he murmurs, trying to put it in place and failing miserably. Jared looks up from Jensen and frowns.

"Don't tell me you don't know how all this works?" he growls, nearing the end of his patience.

"Theoretically, yes," says Kripke. "The four Stones form the beam and the Fifth Element is supposed to stand in the middle there, but I don't have the reference book. I've never seen the Stones work." The last is uttered in a wail that makes all the others stare at him, horrified.

Jared can't believe his ears. He snatches the Stone out of Kripke' hands and studies the inscriptions for a minute, and then takes it over to one of the four plinths as he tries to figure it out. The symbol of air is on the Stone, and he spots the same symbol on the plinth.

"Match the symbols," he yells, putting the first Stone in place and reaching for another one. Kripke stops panicking and pulls himself together, finally spotting the symbol for water. Rosey Rhedd sits down, apparently exhausted.

"What is this? Some kinda game? Like chess?" Jared hauls him to his feet and thrusts a Stone into his hands.

"No. It's much simpler. If we don't figure out where these Stones go in five minutes, we're all dead! Is that green?"

"Green!" Rosey Rhedd gets it and wastes no time running to put his Stone in place. The four Stones are all in place but nothing happens.

"There's no light," says Jared, starting to sweat. "You told me there were supposed to be four beams of light."

"Yes, of course, but the Stones are shut down. We have to open them up for them to work." Kripke is prodding at the stones as he speaks.

"And you don't know how they open," says Jared. "Is that what you are saying?"

"That's what I'm saying," mumbles Kripke.

Close to the earth now, the massive Ostroff looms, teeth snapping at the space station as it swings by in orbit.

Back in the temple, Jared leans over Jensen. "Jensen? The Stones! We have to open them! How does it work?"

Jensen's voice is so faint that Jared has to stoop to hear him. "Wind blows… fire burns…"

"I know all that, Jensen; I'm talking about the Stones," he says.

"Rain falls…" whispers Jensen, and Jared is desperate. He can see that Jensen's too weak, knows that he won't get anything more out of him. He casts around himself, and then darts over to a Stone and turns it over and over.

"Rain falls and wind blows?" he mumbles. "What the hell?" He catches sight of Rosey Rhedd, who's standing in front of his Stone looking at Jared as if he's the messiah.

"Try and figure out how this fucking thing opens, instead of staring at me like that," he snaps, and Rosey Rhedd starts groping his Stone.

"I'm looking; I'm looking," he babbles, his voice reaching an octave almost too high for human ears to discern.

Above the temple the Ostroff looms, casting a shadow that blackens the earth as it draws closer.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The tension is palpable in the President's office. Carlson has finally set his recipe books aside in favor of watching the clock. "Three minutes," he murmurs.

"We've lost contact with them," announces Manning, and Lindberg faints.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Jared and Kripke do everything they can think of to activate the stones, but to no avai1. Rosey Rhedd is discouraged. "We're not going to make it," he squeaks, and sighs. Three hooks unfold themselves from the Stone. Rosey Rhedd can't believe his eyes. "It… it moved! Jared! Jared!"

Jared rushes over, to look at the Stone, but the little hooks are slowly folding themselves away again.

"What did you say? What did you do?" asks Jared, feeling hope for a moment.

"Nothing! Swear to God, I didn't do nothing," babbles Rosey, wringing his hands.

"Look, you did something that set it off." Jared talks slowly and clearly, having realized that the only way to deal with Rosey is to treat him like a five year old. "Try to remember. Concentrate. Tell me exactly what you did."

Valiantly, Rosey Rhedd tries to duplicate the same movement. "I was like this, with my hands here, and I said, 'We'll never make it.' That's all.

Nothing happens.

"Is that all?" Jared can't believe that he's going to be defeated this close to victory.

"Yeah, then I sighed like this." Rosey Rhedd sighs again and the Stone opens again. Jared suddenly gets it.

"The wind! The wind blows…" he says, blowing on the Stone. As he does, the Stone opens up, revealing a patch of blue sky with some miniature clouds floating around inside. A yellow beam pops up like a ray of sunlight, as brilliant as Jared's smile.

"Quickly, everyone to a Stone." Jared's enthused again. "Water for water, fire for fire, earth for earth."

Everyone moves. Kripke, with the earth Stone, reaches to the floor and seizes a handful of dust. As he pours it onto the Stone, a miniature patch of green appears and immediately forms a green beam. Gabe wipes his forehead with a scarf and wrings it out over the Stone. It opens revealing a patch of miniature raging sea as a blue beam lights up the temple.

Rosey Rhedd has a problem. He's shaking now. "Jared? I don't have a light, Jared. I smoked my last joint on the way here! What do I do, Jared?"

Jared pats his pockets, and he comes up with a matchbox. He slides it open, and inside lies a single, solitary match. "Don't breathe," he says. The three men watching hold their breath as Jared strikes the match. A small flame appears on the tip and wavers as a breeze goes through the room. Jared knows that he has the future of everything in his hands as he slowly brings the flame to the Stone. The flame twists, dims, flickers, but holds on. The Stone opens. A patch of miniature fire appears. Jared sighs, snuffs out the match. The fourth beam, a red one, pierces the gloom.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The deadly Ostroff fills the monitor screen in the President's office. The Earth is only a thousand miles away now, and she is gibbering with malicious anticipation.

The President shuts his eyes, and his lips move in prayer.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

In the temple, Jared helps Jensen onto his feet where the four beams and four colors cross.

"It's up to you now, Angel," he murmurs, holding Jensen tight as he speaks.

"I'm so tired," whispers Jensen, leaning against Jared's chest.

"You can sleep tomorrow, love. Come on," murmurs Jared.

"I want to sleep forever," says Jensen, and Jared feels himself start to despair.

"Jensen! Listen to me. I'll take you on a vacation afterwards - a real vacation this time, for as long as you want. Come on! You can do it!"

Jared slowly releases Jensen and steps back from the altar. Jensen can barely stand in the center of the four beams. An indistinct white beam begins to form around him, starts to rise.

"Come on Jensen! Come on," yells Kripke, but the beam fades as Jensen crumples to the floor.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The Ostroff hurtles toward Earth. There's a mere hundred miles before impact. The African continent is visible and there's no doubt that the ultimate evil is heading for Egypt.

Nobody's talking in the President's office, and the seconds tick away relentlessly on Carlson's stopwatch. " It'll be entering the atmosphere in one minute," says the professor, in a hushed voice.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

The heat in the temple is unbearable. All the walls start to ooze the black, slimy liquid seen earlier at The Beav's. A drop of liquid falls to the temple floor and begins to smoke, eating away at it like acid. Rosey Rhedd has to dodge another drop of the stuff. Jared quickly straightens Jensen up and puts him back in the center of the beams.

"Jensen, if you don't get with the program we're all gonna die, and that really wasn't on my agenda for today."

Jensen wraps his arms around Jared's neck. "What's the use of saving lives, when you see what you do with them?"

"You're right," says Jared. "But there are lots of good things, beautiful things."

"Like love?" whispers Jensen, full lips trembling.

"Like love, yes, exactly like love," replies Jared.

"But I don't know love," says Jensen, sadly. "I'm like a machine, programmed to save other people's lives but never to have one of my own. Nobody needs me for me."

"I need you, Jensen, more than you can imagine." Jared's face crumples, and there's no doubt of his feelings.

"Why?" asks Jensen, his face paper white. "Why would you need me?"

"Because…" Jared stumbles to a halt, unsure.

"Tell him, for God's sake," whispers Kripke.

"Because…" Jensen has tears in his eyes. The heat is overpowering. Black acid is dripping everywhere now.

"Tell me," begs Jensen.

"Because I love you," says Jared at last. Despite his fatigue, a sweet smile lights up Jensen's face.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Carlson's stopwatch goes from 3 seconds to 2.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Permission or not, Jared can't resist any more. He wraps his arms around Jensen and kisses him like he's never kissed anyone before. The white beam, the Divine Light, forms around the two of them, and as the stopwatch hits zero a beam of searing white light explodes from the top of the pyramid and aims at the Ostroff, striking the horror between the eyes and slowing its progress. Jared and Jensen continue to kiss as their bodies fuse, and the white light bathes them.

In space, the beam begins to burn away the evil Ostroff. Inaudible screeches escape from the dying planet, screeches of terrifying pain as if a million souls were dying.

When the beam finally dies, it has finished its work. The Ostroff is no longer anything more than a dead planet, and it looks like it will become a second moon. Everything is calm around it.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

President Lindberg opens his eyes and realizes he's not dead.

"The planet seems to have stopped at 62 miles from impact," says Carlson in a shaky voice. "Manns? Get out the cocktail shaker."

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

In the temple, the beam slowly loses its intensity. But Jensen and Jared remain entwined, lost to the world as their mouths cling and their hands smooth over sweat-dewed skin. Kripke drops to his knees, clasping his hands.

Rosey Rhedd slides along the wall with a sigh. He gives Kripke a knowing smile. "This guy is a killer with the babes. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on him."

Kripke and Rosey Rhedd burst out laughing. Jared and Jensen keep right on kissing. Rosey takes out a joint and goes to light it from the fire Stone that is slowly losing its intensity. Turning to Kripke, he settles in and the two of them prepare to get toasted.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

Back in the Nucleological Laboratory that gave birth to Jensen, President Lindberg enters the lab followed by a group of officials in ceremonial dress.

Carlson and Manns are congregated around a burner, all their attention focused on some kind of sauce they're brewing. Carlson starts as he looks around and sees the visitors. He dusts off his hands and removes his apron.

"It's an honor to receive you. Mr. President," he says, hastily racing to the fearless leader's side.

Lindberg beams. "Yes, well, where are our two heroes?"

"They were so tired from their ordeal that we put them in the reactor this morning," says the professor, winking at him.

"I have 19 more meetings after this one, Professor," says the President.

"Uh, of course. Let me see if they're revived," says Carlson, looking shifty.

An aide races up to Lindberg. "We go live in one minute, Mr. President."

Carlson rolls his eyes and crosses to the reactor, opening a small slot, which allows him to see what is going on under the blue shield.

Within, Jensen and Jared are naked, arms wrapped around each other, kissing, bodies undulating in a manner that leaves one in no doubt of what else they are doing.

"I… uh… they need five more minutes, Mr. President," he says, loosening his collar and mopping the sweat from his face.

The President is pressed for time. He looks over at his aide who's apparently struggling with a phone call.

"No ma'am… I tried… No ma'am."

"Who is it?" asks Lindberg, frowning.

"Some woman who claims she's Jared's mother," replies the aide, wincing.

"Give it here." The President takes the phone and crosses to the window as he puts it to his ear.

"Mrs. Padalecki, this is the President. On behalf of the entire Federation, I would like to thank…" He doesn't get to continue. Jared's mom goes on the air.

"Oh, please… Don't pull that crap with me. I know the President's voice, and it's stupid. You ain't him. You tell that worthless no-account son of mine he should plotz for the way he's ignored his mother. When I think of all I sacrificed for him…"

Quietly setting the phone down, President Lindberg tiptoes away.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~

In the reactor, Jensen and Jared are going for a second round, golden skin sliding over taut muscle as they worship one another with their bodies.

Out in the lab, Manns has broken out the cocktail shaker, and is mixing something purple and frothy under the direction of the professor.

Outside the building, high above the city of New York, two moons ascend side by side to gleam serene and silvery against the backdrop of space.

The End