Thanks to Parodoxical Shift for inspiring this with his "Mission: Failure." It just inspired it, I took the idea and ran with it and made it much different so enjoy. I do NOT own Race to Witch Mountain (probably because I can never finish any stories lol). This is just my alternate ending. Rated T for violence. Please R&R! I love hearing what people think… ~Moore12~

And Darkness Falls

I

After landing their ship safely, the two aliens slipped outside into the darkness. Everything was quiet, too quiet even, and there wasn't anybody or anything in sight. Nervously following her brother, the girl whispered, "Are you sure about this, Seth?"

Seth turned to her and whispered back reassuringly, "We could not land in the city, Sara. You know that." Then he smiled and continued, "This will all be over soon."

Sara wasn't too sure, and she could tell by reading her brother's thoughts that he wasn't as calm as he appeared. Something is wrong, she thought to herself as she continued to follow her brother away from their ship and towards the lights of the city. Something is wrong…

As he led his sister through the darkness, constantly checking for danger, Seth felt a horrible, sinking feeling deep in his chest. In the shadows of the nearby cliffs, he saw that something was moving. Beginning to realize what was going on, he thought, hoping his sister was listening, Sara, we are not alone. Do not say anything.

He turned around in time to see the Siphons. There were five of them, and, as far as he could tell, they were well armed. Sara you have to go. I will hold them off, he thought, trying to sound as forceful as he possibly could.

"No, Seth!" Sara cried. She had seen the Siphons too and knew there was little time for her to make her escape. And she wasn't about to leave her brother behind. "You cannot do this!"

I have to. Now go, Seth thought as he pushed his sister away. Do not worry about me, he added when he saw that she had begun to cry. Staring at him for a moment with a look that screamed don't do this on her face, Sara then turned away and ran.

And all he could do was hope that he could hold them off long enough for her to get away. He didn't waste any time waiting for the Siphons to reach him. He decided to take the fight to them while he still had a slight element of surprise. They probably think I am going to run, he thought, a smile starting to form on his face. They underestimate me.

As Sara ran, running faster than she ever had before, she knew she had to get to the city. She couldn't let them take her, not when the fate of Earth and her own planet hung in the balance and her brother had sacrificed himself for her. It felt like a thorn had been lodged in her heart, but she kept running towards the lights of the city, knowing that, like Seth said, this would all be over soon.

A terrible scream pierced the otherwise silent air. Seth! Sara thought, the tears beginning to fall down her face. But she couldn't go back for him; she knew that all too well. If they didn't kill her first, he would. Clutching the device containing the flora that would safe their planet from a needless war, she hoped that her brother's sacrifice would be worth it.

It was only a matter of time before they would kill him, he knew. Pain shooting through him, he managed to scramble to his feet yet again to face his enemies. His ability to change his molecular density wasn't really helping now, not with the beating he was taking. What surprised him was that the Siphons hadn't tried to shoot him yet, but he knew that was coming. One of the Siphons swung at him and sent him crashing into another Siphon. Looking the beast in the face, he prepared himself to die.

And then the world fell away into darkness…

II

Once in the city, Sara slowed to a walk. Even though Siphons and those who programmed them were ruthless, she knew they would never follow her into the city. The military would look horrible for butchering children after all. Seth's plan worked, she thought sadly. He was right after all. Somehow that thought didn't make her feel any better. It just made her feel worse.

Looking at all the familiar sites, her feet carried her to her destination: the capital. There she would be received by the leader of their planet, an individual called Justin who was against invading Earth. With the secret to saving their planet in hand, the military could finally be silenced. And her parents could finally be freed.

As she stopped for a moment to look at the building where they once lived—a happy, normal family—she knew that nothing would ever be the same again for her. Sure, everything would go back to normal all around her, but her own world had been shattered. Oh, Seth, why did you make me leave you there? she wondered. And Mom and Dad, why did you convince us to go on this mission? You had to know that something like this would happen…

"Sara?" Sara turned, fear shooting through her, and was relieved to see Justin standing before her. "Sara, you made it back!"

"We obtained the device, Justin," she told him, trying not to break down because she knew that he didn't really care about anything other than the device. "Our mission was a success."

III

When Seth woke up, he was lying on something hard and cold. Tasting blood in his mouth, he wondered where he was and how he got there. What is going on? he wondered as the horrible pain ripped through him. I thought they were going to kill me…

"The prisoner is awake." He heard somebody say, and whoever said it was nearby. He couldn't see because he had been blindfolded, and, when he realized he had been tied down, he tried to phase through the ropes to no avail. He was trapped, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Good." He knew that gruff, heartless voice. It was the voice of the military's general, a cruel individual named Cody who was bent on taking over Earth at all costs. "I have to have a conversation with him." And then he added, a sneer in his voice, "Alone."

"Yes, sir," the individual who spoke first said hesitantly. Seth heard a door shut, and he knew right away he was alone with the most ruthless individual he knew of. He was far more ruthless (and much smarter) than that human Henry Burke who had hunted them on Earth.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Cody asked as he ripped Seth's blindfold off. The moment the blindfold was off, Cody continued, his voice soft but furious, "I do not think much of those who try to be a hero. They tend to get what is coming to them, as you will find out soon enough, my little friend."

Glaring at Cody, Seth growled, knowing that Cody had no intention of keeping him alive, "You will not make me talk."

Cody just laughed. He laughed and laughed, that sneer still on his grizzled face. "I do not have to, my little friend. You should know that your sister is not the only one who has the gift of telepathy. You may not betray your sister's location, but your mind will."

Over the years, Seth had learned how to block his sister out. It wasn't too difficult for him; all he had to do was think about something else, something not important. So he thought about Junkyard. He imagined the dog driving Jack crazy back on Earth. Cody didn't seem impressed by his tactic, because he snarled, "Do you think I am a fool?"

Yes! he thought defiantly. Going back to thinking about Junkyard, he realized that Sara must have already reached their destination. We did it! he thought, starting to feel tired. We did it!

And as the world went black around him again, Seth knew that everything was going to work out after all. He didn't have to worry about anything anymore; he could die knowing that he was what Cody hated so much: a hero.

IV

All the leaders were assembled. Only one was missing: the military's general, Cody. Good, Sara thought, glad she would never have to see his face again. He will soon be in prison for his crimes. Still holding onto the device, Sara walked out into the assembly hall at Justin's side. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, trying to shake the feeling of dread she had been feeling for awhile. It was the feeling she had felt when they had left their ship, one that told her that something was terribly wrong. "You had my mother and father released, right?"

"But of course, Sara," Justin smiled. To Sara's surprise, he then pointed over to her left, and, when she looked over there, she saw her parents.

As she ran over to them, the tears starting to fall down her face, she exclaimed, "Mom! Dad!"

When she reached them, they wrapped her in a group hug as she cried of both joy and sadness. They didn't need to say anything to each other; all they had to do was stand there embracing each other. Sara didn't want them to ever let go. That was when she heard her father say, his voice filled with regret, "If only Seth was here…"

Sara was about to say something when she heard an all too familiar voice growl, "Sorry to break up such a happy family reunion, but we have much more pressing matters to attend to."

Pulling away from her parents, Sara saw an awful sight. Standing before them—a defiant grin on his face—was Cody. He was surrounded by the five Siphons that had attacked them when they exited their ship. "No!" she screamed when she saw Seth, his arms tied together behind his back, kneeling on the ground with Cody's gun to his head. His white shirt was covered with dirt and blood, and his face was bloody and bruised. Seeing her, he smiled weakly. Sara, you cannot let them take it, she heard him think. No matter what happens…

Sara watched as Justin signaled for his bodyguards—a squadron of six Siphons her parents had reprogrammed to protect him. The moment they arrived he said calmly, "Cody, let him go. We do not want any trouble here, not when we have obtained the solution to our planet's problems."

"Justin, you naïve fool, you do not have the device. She does!" Cody laughed as he pointed at Sara. And then he continued, his voice unnaturally sweet, "My dear, why is it that you care so much about those inferior Earthlings? Is it because your peace-loving, fool parents raised you that way? It is so sad to think that our children are being raised to think that Earthlings are more important than themselves and their futures."

"What do you want?" Sara asked, trying to hide how scared she was to be faced with their most dangerous enemy. "I know you want something and that if I give it to you, you will let my brother go."

Cody snickered, the sneer returning to his face. "You know exactly what I want, my dear."

As if thinking that she was about to give the device to him, Justin turned to Sara and whispered angrily, "You cannot listen to him! You cannot…"

"Justin, let him talk," Sara growled, pushing him away from her and stepping towards Cody. "If you let my brother go, I will give…"

You cannot do this! Seth's plea cut her off. She stopped and looked over at him, trying to stay strong. He stared back at her, tears in his blue eyes. But there was a resolute look on his face. If you do this, many more will die than me. Earthlings like Jack and Alex will die. Countless of our kind will die as well. And for what? For nothing.

"You shut up!" Cody yelled as he kicked Seth in the back. Sara could only watch as her brother fell forward. The moment he was down on the ground, Cody pressed his foot against his neck and yelled, "Well, this is it, my dear. You give me that device, I let him go. You keep it, he dies. Fair enough?"

Tell Mom and Dad I love them, okay? Sara heard Seth ask. Feeling as if her heart was being torn in two upon realizing what she had to do, she said as she began to cry, "Okay, Seth. I will."

I love you, Sara… A small smile formed on Seth's lips. "I love you too," Sara whispered, the tears falling freely. She didn't want to do this. But she knew she had to. There was no other way. Turning away from Cody, she took the device out of her pocket and handed it to Justin without saying a word. She couldn't say anything because she was crying too hard.

She heard the gun go off, and she couldn't look. She couldn't look in that direction even after the Justin's Siphon bodyguards swarmed to try to capture Cody and destroy his Siphons. "Go!" she heard Justin yell at them. She felt her father's hand on her shoulder, and she let him lead her away. And, as she ran, she had to wonder if it was worth it.

V

When the dust settled, Cody was dead, struck by one of his own Siphons during the battle. Feeling relieved at how easily his Siphons had dismantled the enemy's patrol (for they were a more advanced model, after all), Justin signaled for his Siphons to fall back and walked over to where a slender body lay in the dirt. "You should not have had to die, Seth," he whispered as he looked down at the dead child, for that was what he was.

That was when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sara running towards them. She didn't stop to look at him, and she was clearly ignoring her parents who were yelling at her to come back. Seeing her brother lying in the dirt, she sunk to her knees.

"Sara, everything will be alright. You are both heroes." Justin told her, trying his best to comfort her even though he didn't really know what to say.

She didn't answer at first. All she did was reach down and take her brother into her arms. As she cradled him, sobbing uncontrollably, she looked up to him and growled through her tears, "This was not worth it."

At that moment, he was inclined to believe her. He was about to say something, maybe tell her that Seth hadn't died for nothing or something along those lines, but she continued, her voice less harsh, "At least he died a hero."

The darkness fell, but it did not destroy us, Justin thought sadly as he watched Sara hold her dead brother in her arms. I will make sure it never will.

Hope you enjoyed it! I hope it didn't make you too sad… Please R&R! Like I said, I love hearing what people think.

Thanks for reading!

~Moore12~