Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for the end of Under the Knife. I mean, serious spoilers. I'm practically giving away the ending, word for word.

Adam's Bliss

Chapter One

Decent to Madness

"Great job, Dr. Stiles!"

"Huh?"

Derek and Angie glanced at one another before looking around, attempting to identify the voice. Despite the volume of their seemingly omnipotent watcher, no one else appeared to have heard it. "Mission complete!" Dr. Miller exclaimed. "I'd like you to return to the deck." Derek and Angie shared another look, both perplexed at the oblivious director. "What about Adam?" Angie asked.

"We can take it from here. Let the UN handle what's left of Delphi."

"We don't know what else they were researching!" Derek exclaimed. "There could still be . ."

"What I'm about to tell you is strictly confidential." Miller said, hushing the doctor instantly. "Eidoth International was in fact run by Adam, leader of the Delphi. He was born in Austria as Erich von Raitenau . . .in 1897." He paused as Derek and Angie's mouths dropped slightly. "Nobody's seen or heard of him in over a decade, and . . .Well, do the math. If Raitenau were still alive, he'd be well over 100."

". . . What the hell?!"

"Exactly. I doubt he's still alive. The best you could hope for is some sort of journal, and we couldn't let you see top secret information. This . . . is an order."

"But, if he's dead, how could any of this - ? . . .What's that?!" Angie gasped as the voice from before slithered over their heads.

"Your medicine serves only to alienate Man from the natural world. Only humanity would force others to live lives not their own."

"It's Adam! He's alive!" Derek said.

"That isn't possible!" Miller tried to reason, but Derek was not easily convinced.

". . . .I'm going, Dr. Miller. I have to see the truth for myself!"

He saw Miller's mouth form words, most likely commanding Angie and himself to return to the deck or perhaps reason that Adam could not possibly be on the ship. He was not certain. What ever the Director had attempted to tell him was drowned out by the voice.

"Is Man's hubris so great that he would violate life by prolonging it? The final stage of life is death. To deny that is foolishness. Your vast, undying civilizations will spill over into the sea . . .While the old and infirmed become a rot at Society's core."

". . .You're insane! Father may have worked for you, but he never believed your lies!" Angie yelled, clenching her fists tightly. Miller looked at her in surprise, though his expression had gone unnoticed by the pair.

"Man sought harmony with nature, but instead found everlasting life. . . . as a parasite, feeding off of the earth's resources. That is why mankind was blessed with disease. It is natural selection – Nature passing judgment on Man. You believe medical science will save mankind – but a surplus of humans will only destroy the world we depend on. I alone know the sole path to salvation . . ."

"You're talking in circles. . . .This has to stop, Adam." Derek said, instantly turning and rushing off to find him. Angie followed him into the dark bowels of the ship, leaving a perplexed Miller in their wake. He lifted a hand after them, grunting in frustration and reached for his radio. It crackled in his grip, signaling that it was ready for his order. "Lieutenant Hughes, secure recovery team Delta Five. I fear we may need them."

-----

Derek ran through the darkened hallways with Angie trailing not far behind. He had no idea where he was going, but he somehow knew he was on the right track. Something was leading him straight to the heart of Delphi. He narrowed his eyes as he pressed forward, his body rigid and fast, Angie meeting his every step. His heart pounded with a mixture of fear, anxiety and rage but his mind remained focused on one task.

Find Adam.

A tiny growl rumbled in his throat, enunciated by a heavy footstep. He was vaguely aware of his increased speed and his lip curling into a snarl. The roar of their sprint rocked the empty corridors, boiling the thoughts that had lead up to this moment in his brain. Each step flickered with a mental image of the pain and suffering countless people had endured. His eyes narrowed with every picture his mind produced and each anguished emotion he relived. A closed door before him became a victim of his mounting frustration as he kicked it open. It cracked horridly against the ship's interior, his ears not so much as stung by the sickening sound. Yet, as he took but a single step through the opened passage, his tense face was pulled into a wide eyed gape.

Wha?

His lips drank in a heavy breath as something pressed against his skin. The strange texture caked all around his body, bleeding into his vision and stealing his previous surroundings away. Something flickered in time with his perplexed blinking, taunting him before stabbing into his vision. The gasp he ingested was pulled from him as his spine crackled and held his body stiff. A mangled, black form twitched in his eye. It scraped against a backdrop of red, seemingly pained, yet seemingly excited. Its eyes fluttered rapidly, a pearly white flashing in its skull. It slowly turned towards him. Its blinding gaze pierced him head on.

"Gah!"

The shell around him was shattered as Angie slammed against him. Both of them flailed in surprise as Derek was pitched forward, his vision of the ship returning to him. Regretfully, the first thing he saw was a descending stairwell, to which they were making a head first free fall.

Oh crap!

The ruckus that had swelled the halls was replaced by thuds and 'oofs' as the pair tumbled down the stairs. Derek groaned as he crashed to the floor at the bottom and lost his breath when Angie landed right on his back. She slid off of him, nursing her newly acquired bruises as Derek did the same, rubbing his forehead and pushing himself up. "Are you okay?" he muttered and she shook her head in response. "Oh . . . ow. ." She sat up slowly, rubbing a sore spot on her back. Derek had already risen to his feet and walked over to her, offering a hand. She accepted and he pulled her up.

The stairwell had led them to an even darker part of the ship. Weak red light bulbs dotted the ceiling, providing a vague outline of their surroundings. A smashed console was embedded into the wall directly across from them. The only way forward was an eerie hallway to their right. "Where exactly are we?" Angie asked after taking in their surroundings.

"Close." Derek took a step towards the hallway. He paused for a moment, the same jolt that made him stop before began churning in his stomach. Indeed, they were close. He was not about to turn back now. "Angie, stay close, and watch our backs. We don't want to be taken by surprise."

"Right."

Slowly, they crept down the hallway as quietly as possible, Angie glancing back now and then to make sure they were not followed. The ship creaked all around them as it shifted back and forth in the ocean. Derek paused for a moment and placed his hand on the wall, steadying himself as the floor beneath them tilted. He stiffened slightly, prompting a startled breath from Angie. She gave him an anxious glance and watched as his features creased. "Derek? What's wrong?"

"Shh!" he snapped quietly, titling his head forward. His face grew intense, reflecting a precursor of his Healing Touch. "Do you hear that?" he whispered.

Angie leaned forward, hearing a slight bubbling sound rustle against her ears. She gave him an uneasy glance and they continued onward, Angie continuing to check behind them. The gentle bubbles slowly grew into a loud gurgling as a green slight slithered into the hall. Derek stopped again and strained to listen for any signs of life in the chamber before them. The only sound that answered him was a pained groan from the ship's bowels. The hall trembled around them ominously, as if tempting them to turn back. The duo remained unfazed as they looked at each other. "Get ready, Angie." She nodded in response, her determination set in and matching his own.

They both readied themselves and slipped into the shadows, carefully making their way past the last curve in the hallway. The hall rumbled again, whispering a mild curse at them for ignoring its warning. A sudden, violent shift in the ocean's churning waters put and end to their stealth, as the ship was pushed into a steep lean. The incline caught them both off guard, throwing them into the chamber with a surprised yell and spilling them to the floor. As Derek fell face first into the green lit room, he was half expecting to hear the sounds of several guns cocked and aimed at Angie and him.

To his relief, the only thing he heard was that strange gurgling from before and the sound of Angie rustling to his left. He lifted his head and turned towards her, becoming entrapped by her stunned expression. She was propped up on her elbows, starring straight ahead, her eyes and mouth opened wide. Derek instantly turned forward himself, feeling his expression match that of his companion. "He's . . ." Angie started, her voice dying.

A large, rounded tank stood before them. Murky liquid swirled around the withered body of a man, which floated in a serene pose. His hair was long, silver and dead, floating stiffly around him. His skin was clammy and dark, patched by sickening green blotches. "You aren't even alive?!" Derek said, his throat bruised from his muddled words. The man certainly appeared dead, but there he was, glaring at them both with his lifeless eyes.

"Sins are born of my mortal flesh . . .and dispersed into the world as GUILT. There, they are altered – they prosper . . .In the end, they return to me."

"I can't even look at him . . ." Angie gasped, closing her eyes and turning away.

"Thus, I have become the last man. I live outside this world, so as not to taint it. I alone have achieved harmony. I alone know balance."

". . .He can't be the one speaking. Where's that voice coming from . . .?"

". . .You're not alive." Derek said, getting to his feet. His mouth pulled back into a snarl as he met those lifeless eyes, glaring back with all the intensity he could muster. "What were you hoping to accomplish!? You're already dead!"

Adam seemed unfazed by the confrontation and, if Derek did not know better, he would have sworn he smiled ever so slightly. "There is one final GUILT . . . the one called "Bliss". Those who abandon selfish desires and follow the true way . . .will be granted this final blessing, born within me."

"You just want to watch people die!"

The eyes that Derek beamed his death glare on disappeared, fading into a cover of pure black. He straightened up in surprise as he found his other surroundings following suit. What the - ? It's getting dark . .

"Medicine exists because we won't accept suffering and disease!" he shouted into the darkness, hoping to fish his enemy out of hiding.

"I am mankind's origin. . . ."

Derek looked around, as the voice seemed to close in on him from all directions, but he was greeted only by the thick, black curtain that surrounded him.

" a being who accepts fate without wanting that which is not mine. Don't you see the future you are leaving for your offspring . . .? . . .Ten billion humans, fighting over a barren rock."

"What gives you the right . .to decide who lives. . . ?" Derek coughed . . . it was getting hard to breathe.

"Can you not see it? I am dead, yet I still live. This is the true fate of mankind."

"You're wrong! As long as a person chooses to live, they can still bring others happiness!" He coughed again, everything was slipping away. "Dammit . . .where did he . . . ? I can't see! Where'd he go?!"

He no longer felt the floor beneath his feet. All he could feel was a sense of weightlessness, and tingling, everything was tingling . . . dissolving.

"Dr. Stiles! Nurse Angie!"

He thought he recognized the voice, but it seemed so distant and unreal.

"This is Delta Five. The targets have been exposed to an airborne hallucinogen. I'm initiating an emergency recovery. Come on, Doctor. . .Stay with me!"

-----

A/N: I am still working on Paying the Price. I was hoping to get it posted by today or tomorrow, but that's just not going to happen. This is probably going to be the longest chapter yet, but I'm damned determined to have it up by next week's end. Still, I wanted to give everyone something to hold them over until then.

This is sort of a prequel to Paying the Price. That, and I really wanted to expand on the DS ending. Speaking of which, I thought UtK had a much better ending than SO did. UtK had closure, where as SO's "ending" was more of a 'life goes on' kinda thing. Not that that's bad, but I'm really glad I played the UtK version first for that reason. UtK gave me closure and SO ensured that Derek and Angie were still doing what they do best.

Disclaimer: Trauma Center and the characters are owned by Atlus. I do this for no profit but merely for the enjoyment of myself and other fans.