Chapter Text
Warnings: Death (brief), My love affair with semi-colons, Anime quotes,
AN: I'm going to give "Previously On Eureka" images another try. If the image doesn't show up, the link should work. Let me know if this is an issue for anyone.
Previously on Eureka:
Elixir of Life
Chapter 1
Comprehension
"On the day we left, we burned down the family home and all the familiar things inside,
because some memories aren't meant to leave traces." - Alphonse Elric
Time of Death....9:27 am October 3rd...
Nathan would never forget the sound of Allison's voice cracking as she tried to do her duty as a medical doctor, by admitting defeat. Her hands were covered in blood, in Jack's blood, and tears streaked down her face as she finally realized modern medicine couldn't save a man shot in the heart. There was hope, hope since he hadn't died immediately as he slumped into Nathan's arms. Hope vanished quickly, along with the threat they were facing as the rogue robots on Main Street all overheated and exploded.
Time of Death....9:27am...October 3rd
Nathan knew the significance of that time and date was not lost on Henry. There would be questions after the grieving period was over, there would be accusations. His forgiveness, the absolution of blame over Kim's death was now being questioned because, as men who understood mathematics to the degree they did, they knew there was no such thing as a coincidence like this.
However, today...today was about Jack Carter not Kim Anderson.
Nathan didn't listen to a word Henry said as he struggled, as everyone did, to get through the eulogy at Jack Carter's funeral. Nathan was analyzing the data, replaying the failed experiment over and over to avoid being here, in this moment. Denial? No, this was different. This wasn't him ignoring reality it was him trying to fix it. He still found himself with wet eyes covered in a film of tears, but chose to look up at the cloudless sky and avoid breaking down like the rest of the people here. They were saying goodbye and Nathan was determined to never accept goodbye as an answer.
Unfortunately Jack wasn't trapped in space time or in some virtual Eureka, he had been killed in the old fashioned way: by bullet from a rogue military project. He had been killed in the line of duty, because that was Jack's job; saving people by putting his life at risk. Except in Eureka it was all about dealing with the repercussions of pushing the boundaries of science instead of criminals pushing boundaries of the law; there was no good versus evil just....present versus future. It shouldn't have happened. He ignored all the warnings and kept pushing, because that was his job and who he was, and now Jack paid the price.
Mark time and date.
October 3rd, 2006
Echos of the past rang through to the present and made the future look bleak. Nathan stared up at the sky and then closed his eyes as he once again replayed Jack's last moments. He had saved his life because that was why Jack selflessly did; it wasn't because of their relationship, it wasn't because he chose him over anyone else, Jack instinctively put himself between a prototype robot and his body to protect him. And he did. As he always did. Worse, Jack knew he was going to die this time, he could see the look of 'sorry' on his face because he was leaving a daughter behind who needed him,needed Eureka. Hell Eureka needed them both.
More than anyone needed Nathan Stark.
That sounded so...selfish. He felt like he was robbing Jack of his heroic moment and making it about him. However it was a realization that Jack made the world a better place, more than anything his own brain could conjure into existence, that helped ground him right now. Value of resources, properties of elements...that was something he could focus on. Emotions would do no good here, it would only lead to acceptance of the situation and he was determined to not accept this result. And that was why he was contemplating the impossible. Science couldn't help Jack, but maybe pre-science could.
Alchemy.
Nathan happened to have a bit of experience with an Alchemist in Eureka and had confiscated his research and amused himself with browsing through it all. What he had known prior to that Dactylos situation was that Alchemy's greatest prize was the fabled Philosopher's Stone and the pursuit of that substance had lead to the creation of modern chemistry. The Philosopher's Stone, a substance that changed ordinary metals into precious metals as well as acted as an elixir of life with healing powers and the power of immortality. A myth. Alchemy however, was still alchemy: a pseudoscience. It was a science though, as the pursuit of knowledge and desire to bend the laws of nature was at it's very core. The Stone, the Elixir of Life, the Tincture...so many names for that piece of the puzzle that would let an ordinary man play God and ignore the rules of nature itself.... and he felt he had something that fit just that description in Section 5.
The Artifact.
His obsession.
Jack's killer.
Nathan swallowed hard because the artifact was supposed to give him everything and instead it took everything from him. Emotions slammed him again as the mere thought of the artifact made memories of it's power flash before his eyes. Memories of Jack being shot on Main Street and years later being killed on that same street, on the same day that Kim Anderson was killed. Memories of healing power as Jack was saved by Carlson and the heat of the flash of light as the Artifact exploded and killed Kim Anderson, sparing him but taking away his job that he sacrificed so much for. It was sending a message, showing him the ebb and flow of it's power; what it could give, it could take away.
The Artifact knew how much Jack Carter meant and the pain of that realization almost made him lose his composure. Jack was more than just Sheriff and rival. He had become a friend, then a friend with benefits. They danced around the edges of being something more because they both had so much to lose and so many issues with relationships and what they had was too good to ruin by pushing it's boundaries.
Then he was gone.
But that look, Jack's last look, told him that it was too late. They were already in love. Deep. Despite the precautions, despite pushing each other away on countless occasions, they had fallen harder than they expected. Enough that Jack would give it all up for him. Jack's final look wasn't just his regret that he was abandoning Zoe, but that he wasn't sorry for choosing Nathan's life over his. Instinct made him throw himself in front of the bullet, but there were no regrets as he looked up as Nathan tried to stem the flow of blood from his chest.
“Nathan?”
He startled out of his thoughts and was surprised to look down at Zoe Carter who had never called him by his first name before and rarely talked to him. The eulogy was over and the people were filing towards the coffin to leave flowers and say final goodbyes. He cleared his throat, she had to blame him. She should blame him. If Zoe broke away from the graveside to come over and shock him back to reality, she couldn't stand him being here. “Sorry I...”
“I know.” Zoe said. Her eyes were dry because she could cry no more, having spent the last three days practically inconsolable. She was numb now. It gave her the courage she needed to approach him. “I know about you and Dad.”
Nathan felt like the world moved under his feet. She knew?
“He didn't tell me, but I knew. You made him happy, he talked about you with a different tone. He was happy.” Zoe said. It sounded so hollow, she barely recognized her own voice. These worlds were being spoken, but not like she imagined it. She imagined it being done with a lot more squealing and teasing. With a celebration of life to be lived instead of the celebration of a life lost.
Nathan was speechless.
“If you're going to save him, I want to help.” She suddenly started bawling again, tears manufacturing quickly for this simple words squeaked out of her tight throat. It felt good. It felt like there was a flicker of hope instead of this sensation of just being lost. “Please..... tell me you can bring him back.”
He was suddenly holding a crying mess of teenager in his arms as she rushed forward and started crying into his suit. His decision was made. “I need to do this on my own, but I'll give anything to make it happen.”
Nathan had another secret: that was not Jack Carter they buried. They buried an AI carcass he crafted to look like Jack and put Carter in cryostasis while he worked out his plan. Jack's body was persevered, even if he was declared dead. The body was artificially working, even if there was no soul to power it.
Time of Death...
On Main Street Ally had been so worn out, so devastated that she didn't see him put Jack back on portable life support and turn off the monitors. He assured everyone that he'd 'take care of things' as they struggled to come to terms with the loss of their friend. Once in the ambulance he used as much blood as was available to compensate for what leaked out with each artificial beat of that damaged heart. He had the GD team drive him immediately to the morgue, staying in the back to continue to work on the patient himself. Once at GD he went immediately to the Cryo-lab and started the cryogenic freezing process. He was no surgeon, but with what was available at GD he didn't need to be. He patched the heart muscle with a temporary bio-fabric, too experimental to be included with a mobile life support kit. The marriage of frozen fabric and warm muscle had yet to be figured out, but he had his theories he wasn't able to put into practice until then.
That was three days ago. He had reacted on pure adrenaline and fast thinking, not able to pause to calculate anything or chance losing the ability to pause Jack's death. He was desperate and buying himself time to think and explore possibilities.
So if he could get his soul back....he could restart the body.
That he was sure of.
How he could get the soul back, was another issue entirely.
He sat in Cafe Diem at the reception by himself and contemplated what it would require to get a soul back from the unknown. Surely modern science scoffed at the possibility and religion made it a forbidden topic, but in the dawn of scientific progress there had been the alchemists who dared defy the taboo. Never successful, but they didn't have what he had access to.
Notably the Artifact.
And if the Artifact was knowledge, then it had absorbed knowledge. So Carter was probably in there. Matter could not be created nor destroyed, energy would be converted into something else. That energy, Jack's energy, was already tethered to the Artifact thanks to Carl Carlson. He, himself, was drawn to it because he too hungered for knowledge and he felt deep down a connection and understanding because of that. He wouldn't waste energy, he wouldn't waste resources, he....wasn't letting Jack go and neither would the Artifact.
This was supposed to be a lesson, he thought he could move the Artifact to another facility to get it away from Kevin. The signs were there that the move was noted and was not appreciated. He pushed on, too concerned about his step-son to worry about what the Artifact would do to out maneuver him. The Artifact was the reason those robots went on a rampage, it was protecting itself from being moved and it unleashed it's army. It had controlled them, it had been trying to kill him. Now, it was going to get what it wanted if it really wanted his life, because he was going to willingly give it up.
That scared him because he questioned his own ability to do something so selfless. It was easy to hypothesize, but when it came time to actualize the exchange he didn't know if he could do it. He had watched Carlson walk into the Artifact chamber with a smile on his face, as if the comfort of God's arms beckoned him and he had no fear. Nathan knew he wasn't Jack. The Artifact knew what it was doing by taking Jack's life and not his.
Except....
No.
Jack...was not part of the plan. Sure statistics would favor the probability of Jack intervening, but sacrificing his own life to save another would defy the human need for self-preservation. That took a understanding of human nature, it took an understanding of Jack's nature, which was something the Artifact wasn't capable of understanding or anticipating because it was not human.
He closed his eyes and forced himself to relive Jack's last moments again. Not that it wasn't replaying in his mind every time he shut his eyes, but this time he wanted to focus on the details. He tried and failed, unable to focus on anything but the look on Jack's face as he slipped away. Nathan reluctantly opened up the surveillance footage on his tablet. He usually liked to go over footage like this, over and over, but in this instance all he could see was himself doing nothing as Jack lunged in front of him.
Focus.
The Artifact could have killed him, but it didn't. Years ago it had only released a blast of power to burn him while incinerating Kim. It was a lesson, it was a show of power. It took a life and his job, but left him reasonably unharmed. Sure, the explosion had been caused by sabotage, but the Artifact had controlled it's power. It was protecting itself, it's new home, and the man who had brought it there. It was showing him how little he knew, both about the universe and himself, and about Beverly Barlow.
That made him think about how many times he replayed that accident in order to understand what happened, why he was spared, and how. So now, he was looking at the video of Jack's death differently- by calculating trajectory. He tapped a few times on the touch screen to start the program needed to highlight the line the bullet took and then added another line for where the bullet would have hit had Jack not been in the way. He took a deep breath and covered his mouth with his hand to stem the tide of emotion. If he was the target, not Jack, than the bullet was supposed to hit him in the chest. The program spit out a scenario report, indicating he would have probably suffered a punctured and collapsed lung. But Jack was 3 inches shorter than him and the area impacted was much closer to his heart.
Nathan closed his eyes and double tapped the screen to shut it off. The Artifact wasn't trying to kill either of them, it was trying to make sure he didn't transfer it to the Colorado facility. With a lung injury, he wouldn't have been able to handle the thin air and he would never let the Artifact leave without escorting it to it's new home deep within the mountains.
Fuck.
He opened his eyes, powered by the anger at himself. He was ready to do what it took to bring Jack back because he was just a casualty of his bad decisions and blind ambition....as always. He saw Kevin sitting in a chair at a table alone, drawing in his journal. He got up and walked over, sitting down beside his step-son and looked at the drawing, hoping he would be doodling Jack. No such luck, but it was the Artifact. That he was sure of. “I need your help, Kev. The Artifact took Jack and I need your help to get him back.”
Kevin stopped drawing.
“If you can communicate with it, ask it what it wants in exchange for Jack.” Nathan said quietly and started writing out an equation on Kevin's journal to make him focus on what he was really asking. He was asking for equivalent exchange. He wrote out a chemical reaction that showed elements being consumed and then merged on the other side. The kid loved problems like this and took over writing for him. He had shared Dactylos's research with him while they were reviewing it because Nathan was being a dick and making a point about it being a childish pursuit, Kevin ate it up. It showed him what he knew already, that there would have to be a sacrifice.
Nathan drew some of the transmutation circles he had seen in Dactylos's lab, notably the one for human transmutation: The one to create a human or bring one back from the dead. He had, unfortunately, had plenty of time to consider what it would take to bring back someone from the dead--no, from the Artifact. Kim's death was something he would never forget, only his ego and knowledge that the catastrophic failure of the experiment didn't make sense had saved him from being dragged down by that burden. Sabotage was one thing, but Jack's death was nothing but his own fault. This wasn't an accident he could live with.
Kevin kept drawing. The information being eaten up and returned corrected. A drawing of a man and the artifact enveloping him. An image of another man and the artifact's tendrils reaching out to wrap around his head. He furiously shaded the light and dark, enough to break his pencil in the process. That made him stop and look at his creation and fear gripped him from inside as his Dad's hand gripped his shoulder in affection.
“I'll give it whatever it wants if it gives Jack back.”
Kevin's eyes flashed up to his Dad's in a panic.
“It's OK.” Nathan said softly. “Deconstruction and reconstruction. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, I'm not going anywhere.”
Kevin shook his head emphatically.
“I need him back, Kevin.” Nathan said honestly, probably the most honest he had been with himself since this thing of theirs started. “At any cost.”
Kevin grabbed another pencil and started drawing as fast as his hands would let him. He knew if his Mom came over she would send his Dad away for agitating him. He had to express what the artifact was wanting before it was too late and he couldn't draw fast enough. His body never could keep up with his mind. He looked up at his Dad who watched and understood, sadness in his eyes as he saw the toll that the artifact would take for this exchange.
“I'll do it.” Nathan said and saw the fear in the boy's eyes. He pet his head affectionately. “Come on Kev, nothing's going to change. You've always been smarter than me.”
Kevin shook his head as his Dad hugged him. Frustrated with his inability to communicate, he wrapped his arms around him and squeezed so hard to express himself that his arms ached. He didn't want to lose him. He didn't understand the true repercussions of the toll being paid! He didn't understand what it was like to be...him. An intelligence trapped in a body that was too slow to process his actions, in a world that worked differently than how he thought. What the Artifact wanted was to take his Dad's mind out of reach, just enough that he couldn't access it but knowing he had the answers. It would drive him mad. There was more to alchemy than the chemical understanding of comprehension, destruction and reconstruction....this situation was quite literally mind over matter.
Nathan rested his chin on Kevin's head as he held him, people looked at them as if this was a display of 'normal' behavior for the funeral reception. He knew he would have to move quickly if he was going to get this done. GD was practically empty but wouldn't be for long and he wasn't sure how much longer he could count on his resolve not breaking down. He looked up and saw Zoe, and locked eyes with her then looked to the door to indicate the time was now. “I'll see you around, Kev.”
Zoe followed Nathan through the empty halls of GD. They were still in the clothes they wore to the funeral and everyone in town was still at Cafe Diem 'celebrating the life of Jack Carter'. A life they took for granted. A life they never thought was worth as much as theirs because he wasn't a genius. It was harsh, but she was entitled to be angry, she knew how they treated 'norms' and Stark had been one of the worst to point out her Dad's failings.
Which was why she noticed the change in her Dad and Nathan immediately when they started seeing each other. If she could see a thermographic of any room it would show a radiance of warm around them and between them. The looks. The smiles. The banter. The flirting. The reality of it all summed up in the complete change in her Dad. She never said anything, not wanting to ruin it, but was happy for him none the less. Now she was happy that Nathan loved him back, loved him enough to bring him back. “Where are we going?”
“Cryogenic lab.” Nathan said and kept walking. “I froze your Dad.”
“We just...buried him.” Zoe said hesitantly. They had an open casket. They buried him.
“A fake.” Nathan said. “I froze him quickly after I got him back to GD, I put him back on life support as soon as they called time of death. It's why I didn't break the news to you myself.”
Zoe had to jog to keep up with him as they rounded the corner and he opened another door. “Don't you need permission from the family to do that?”
“He really should have read those papers he signed when he took the job.” Nathan said with a smile and Zoe cursed under her breath.
"Dammit Dad."
“I would have told you if I couldn't find a solution.” He assured her.
“What solution is there to being dead?”
“Plenty, or there wouldn't be a form to undead people.” He said and walked into the control center of the lab. Discussing details would not help him now, he needed to remain focused on seeing the experiment through. “What I need from you is to monitor the capsule he's in. I'll show you the panel that monitors his vitals. If this works, you should see a spike and then you can start the unfreezing process. It's pretty simple really, Fargo's grandfather made it so it's just a bunch of buttons.”
“What are you going to do?” She reached out and grabbed his arm. “I want my Dad back, but not if I have to see him miserable. If anything happens to you, you know he's going to carry that with him for life.”
“Zoe, I'm too selfish to sacrifice myself for someone.” Nathan said with a reassuring smile. “No matter how hot they are.”
“I'm not so sure of that.” Zoe said softly.
“I can't tell you what I'm doing because it's classified.” Nathan answered and handed her his phone. “When your Dad comes back, call Allison immediately. We haven't unfrozen someone from cryostasis since Grandpa Fargo and I don't want Jack complaining about frostbite or suddenly wanting to push every button he comes across. The patch I used to repair his heart will need to be closely monitored once the muscle defrosts and starts working again. Tell Allison the data is on my phone, she'll know how to read my work. ”
"Please, be careful." Zoe she said as he turned and left. She could almost hear her Dad say 'well that can't be good''. That made her cry because she knew Nathan's solution was going to come with a heavy price, she knew because it was the first time she could remember that Nathan Stark refused to look anyone in the eye.
There was nothing careful about what he was about to do. He had some connection to the Artifact, as did Jack, but Kevin was the recipient of it's wealth of knowledge and power. He had no rational explanation for the feeling he had right now, the instinct that was driving him to go to the artifact chamber and open all the doors and expose himself to the dead husk of the once glowing enigma.
Carlson's words echoed in his memories. Will you be ready?
“Give him back.” Nathan said, his voice cracking. He was afraid, there was no denying that, but he also didn't know how to make this exchange it wanted. The Artifact took control of the military prototypes in response to him signing off on the transfer to move it into another facility. It had become part of GD itself, it had to understand more than computer code. “You wanted me, YOU made the mistake and took him instead. Why would you save his life via Carlson's hand only to take it years later. YOU miscalculated his dedication, his humanity. YOU took him anyway because you think it will give you more understanding of humans. YOU are wrong. Jack Carter isn't like any other human being, he's one of a kind, he's not what you want.”
There was silence and Nathan felt himself doubting it all, doubting he could really bargain for Jack's life back. The desperation began to creep in. On chance he reached out to touch one of the chalky spears, hoping that the touch would spark the exchange it demanded. “I am ready! Take it! ”
And it did.
In one breath he felt himself drawn into the void where the artifact existed. His trip there showing him everything....absolutely everything. Knowledge beyond human understanding, his brain operating at full capacity to comprehend a fraction of it, just like Carl Carlson had experienced. He could use all of his senses and then some, and he existed on a higher plane for the moment he was in that void....seeing and feeling everything that it contained.
All the knowledge of the universe, all the answers and all the truths any scientist or alchemist ever searched for. It was intoxicating and terrifying all at once. There was also a heavy pull of emotion, pulling him back and holding him from being lost in the expanse of nothing and everything. He knew without question that it was Kevin tethering him to the world.
Then he felt himself free-falling and being set back to the chamber. That knowledge he craved and the knowledge he had accumulated being sucked out of him as he was thrown back to his own plane of existence. Tears fell, not from the pain, but at the loss of so much he had dedicated his life to. From the ache of losing the answers he spent his life searching for.
However that was what it demanded and that was what he sacrificed: His knowledge.
He didn't know if it meant he would be sucked dry of every bit of cognitive function, but it was the chance he would take. If he was lucky he would simply be of normal intelligence, if he was really lucky it wouldn't drive him insane knowing what he lost.
A life for a life. Simple really.
He took comfort in the fact that Jack would be the one person who wouldn't hold it against him. The one person who would insist he could overcome it all. That was his last thought as he hit the ground, unconscious, in the artifact chamber as the Artifact turned to dust and fell around him.