The next time Chris returned to the land of the living he was even more miserable with his situation. Sadly the only difference this time around was more blood on his face and a worse headache than before. He didn't have the energy to test his restraints this time round so when he surfaced he focussed on simply breathing, and let his aching body sag as much as physically possible.

He wasn't sure if Georgiou had piloted the shuttle elsewhere or even how long he had been unconscious for. Ever since he had come round his captor had ignored his existence entirely. Pike hadn't minded the lack of attention at first, but now after being alone with his despairing thoughts for some time he was starting to consider that perhaps talking to his captor was the better option.

Pike observed the crazed ex-Captain for some time debating whether it was worth starting a conversation or would his face hate him later for it? As in all things curiosity rather got the better of him and he began to think about who was underneath the surface. He hated to admit it but the Emperor intrigued him purely because he didn't understand her or her motivations. From what little he'd learned about her past the Emperor had loved her version of Michael like a daughter, which somewhat explained her complicated relationship with this Michael.

He finally worked up enough courage, or rather stupidity, to engage the psychopath holding a phaser. "Michael told me about your universe."

Philippa turned to him in surprise and from the expression on her face it looked like she had in fact forgotten he was there. "Did she."

The one question that kept running through his brain concerned Michael. He'd seen the way Georgiou and Burnham were together. The Emperor would probably have people believe that the affection was one-sided but Pike was a keen observer, and he would bet money on Philippa being as equally effected as Michael. Which begged the question how could Georgiou put Michael through this? He was almost certain that Philippa wouldn't be able to bring herself to physically harm Michael, but taking her brother away to certain death would almost be as bad if not worse.

"Michael was your daughter in your world. How can you do this to her? Take her brother away and torment her like you do?" His words may have held a bit more bite than he had originally intended, but Georgiou had completely exhausted what little patience he had.

"She's not my Michael." She slammed her fist against the controls. "She shouldn't have brought me back to this universe."

"I wouldn't have done." He reacted instantly surprising both of them with his stark candour.

Georgiou barked a laugh. "Finally some honesty." She leaned away from the deck and actually took some interest in her captive, squinting at him with a scrutinising look. "Would you really though? A starfleet Captain leaving someone to die."

Pike thought seriously about what he would have done, knowing what he did know about the events of the mirror universe. "Did you ask for help?"

"No, in fact I wanted Burnham gone. I was ready to die."

Pike knew now that Michael had definitely made her decision because of her relationship with the original Philippa Georgiou. It had left her emotionally compromised and no-one should make a life-changing decision in that state. The Emperor should have never been brought to this universe and whatever idiot let her loose in starfleet was responsible for this chaos, for the murders of his crew. Her plan for universal domination should have been obvious. It was what she did in her world, it was who she was.

He finally answered and wished it would make the present different. "Then I would have left you."

Philippa watched him carefully for some time, enough time to make Chris feel more than just a little uncomfortable under the scrutiny. Thankfully a loud beeping distracted both of them and they both glanced towards the sound. Pike recognised a motion sensor when he saw one, from what he could see a shuttle was near which meant Spock and Burnham had arrived.

Oh no…

Why couldn't people just listen to orders? He sometimes thought he talked to himself and wondered where it had all gone wrong. A few years ago no-one would haven thought twice about jumping when he said jump, but these days he seemed to be surrounded with officers who performed an interpretation of what he wanted.

The Captain tensed as he watched an external feed of the shuttle landing. "Finally." Georgiou breathed excitedly as they both saw two people exiting alone.

Philippa jumped to her feet sprightly and walked over to her kneeling captive. Chris barely had the time to see the data pad swinging towards his head, he should have really expected more violence after his past treatment. His head snapped to the side and he tasted blood which sadly wasn't a new sensation. What was a new and unpleasant sensation was a loose tooth and his brain ping-ponging inside his skull.

He was pretty sure his jaw was at least bruised by now and maybe probably even broken; he had thought his headache couldn't get any worse but the latest assault made it reach new excruciating heights. The Captain distantly felt his arms being released and suddenly he was face down on the ground with a lot more bruises that he didn't want or need. He cried out finally as his muscles started sending signals to tell his body how excruciating everything was.

Something dug into his lower back making the situation ten times worse and annoyingly the position put undue pressure on his lungs. He gasped for air and took far too long to realise that his arms were now free from restraints. He had been so dazed by the brutal blow that his arms had now been bent upwards and recaptured behind his back, which he supposed was probably the point. He could hardly feel his hands anyway, come to mention it his arms, shoulders and legs were all completely numb from his lengthly confinement.

"Come on we don't want to keep them waiting." Philippa sounded far too excited for this upcoming disaster.

She leapt off of his back and hauled him up by his arms far too swiftly. Pike had to fight back the urge to throw up everywhere as his vision swam and everything tilted violently. He groaned miserably and staggered against the hull, his legs were completely dead and trembled under his weight. If it weren't for his captor's iron-clad grip on his arm he would have crashed to the ground as soon as he went vertical.

"No, no, no." Georgiou dragged him away from the sturdy wall and started to push him towards the rear of the shuttle; his feet stumbled and tripped with each step. "It's show time Captain, no time for slacking now."

Pike gritted his teeth as waves of agony crashed into him. He honestly didn't know how long he could stay on his feet for; now he was standing and having to walk with balance he knew the knocks to his head had affected him more than he had imagined. He would be of little use to Spock and Burnham if they had anything planned during the exchange, he bloody well hoped they did after showing up against his orders like this.

The floundering pair eventually made their way out of the ship and into another cave, Pike was getting really tired of seeing bloody caves. His captor kept a sharp grip on his upper arm and steered him out into the open, and of course the rifle was pressed painfully against his ribs. The cavern was huge and extremely dusty; the whole place was a death trap for his damaged lungs.

The Captain soon spotted Burnham and Spock who were waiting on the other side of the cavern next to their shuttle, Pike could make out that Michael was armed but Spock had no weapons at all. Pike's breath caught when he saw Spock, his officer hadn't changed in the slightest. On the surface he looked stoic and unmoved, but Chris could see his friend was weary and apprehensive. Spock was rarely nervous but clearly this situation merited it.

Pike was wheezing by the time his captor stopped pushing him forwards, he tensed as she moved in close behind him and rested the barrel of the gun against his neck. Adrenaline was about the only thing keeping him standing well that and his concern for Michael and Spock, they had walked willingly into a very dangerous situation.

Chris caught Michael's eye and saw her dismayed expression, she couldn't take her eyes off his face. The Captain could feel all the dried blood pulling at his skin so he knew he must have looked quite a mess, and by god he felt it too. He could see the guilt welling up inside her and wished he could tell her this wasn't her fault, he doubted she would listen whilst he was still in Georgiou's clutches.

Georgiou shook him causing his brain to rattle around inside his skull unpleasantly. "Unarm yourself Michael, and show me you both don't have any further weapons."

Unsurprisingly Michael didn't need any further persuasion before complying; she could see the cruelty that Philippa had already wrought. Burnham unholstered her phaser and threw it to the ground, she followed Spock's lead and showed that they were both completely unarmed.

Pike's heart sank when he saw as his captor did that she was now the only one armed. She could kill all of them if she desired, the power of life and death was entirely in her hands which made Chris very very nervous.

Michael turned her sad stare to Philippa. "What happened to you?"

The Captain became aware that Spock was trying to get his attention discretely. He flicked his eyes to his officer and waited for whatever Spock was trying to tell him, careful to not tip off his captor in the process.

Georgiou was completely oblivious to the secret conversation, she was fully engaged with Michael. "Nothing, I never changed. Do you want to know where you went wrong my dear?"

"Enlighten me."

Pike congratulated Michael for her distraction, it definitely appeared to be working. He followed Spock's signs and discretely looked into the dark. When his eyes adjusted he almost gasped as he spotted Tyler concealed and armed. Thank god Spock and Michael had some sort of plan and had someone covering their backs, he was worried they had been planning on handing Spock over. Georgiou would have taken his officer, certainly killed him and possibly even Michael too.

"Your problem Michael is you will always look at me and see her." Pike caught the flash of emotion wash over Michael's face, the Emperor struck deep where it would hurt the most. "Your Philippa Georgiou died and she's never coming back. I'm nothing like her and I never will be, it's just taken you this long to see it."

Spock indicated 60 seconds and Pike started a mental countdown; he would have to drop and get to the ground bloody quickly to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

"You don't have to be defined by your past, people can change." Michael had started this conversation purely to distract but now wanted answers. Pike could tell his officer was reaching she was struggling to let Philippa go entirely; the guilt of this whole mess was consuming her.

Pike could feel Georgiou getting antsy behind him. "Enough talk of the past. You need to accept how things are now, who I am."

Chris watched as Michael's heart broke in front of him, he wanted to gather Michael up in his arms and make her believe this wasn't her fault. She had only wanted to help and didn't deserve all this to be thrown back in her face.

Michael's gaze shifted back to him and he saw tears prickling in her eyes, he wanted to yell there and then that she wasn't responsible for what had happened to him. Georgiou was the monster here. "Please let him go."

Georgiou tightened her hold on his arm jarring his injuries violently. "When I have Spock."

"Release the Captain first." Spock ordered in a steady voice. Pike had always admired how the Vulcan could stay impartial, well on the surface at least.

Philippa snarled. "I'm not releasing him until I have you."

"If we start walking at the same time, we'll pass in the middle." Spock countered, logical as ever.

"No, we do this my way." Philippa moved the blaster to rest against the Captain's head, her patience evaporated. "When you get to the middle I let the Captain start."

They were at a stalemate and Pike caught the nervous glance from Michael, their plan would have gone a hell of a lot better if he were out of his captor's clutches and far away but this would have to do. "Agreed."

"Good, start walking."

Pike felt the tension in the cave rise when Spock began his lonely walk. The phaser against his head remained steady. Spock soon reached the middle and came to a halt, stubbornness shining through. He raised an eyebrow and indicated to Pike's captor that he wasn't going to move another inch until she held up her end of the deal.

Philippa leaned into Chris and he felt her breath against his neck. "Don't do anything stupid or I'll kill Michael first."

The threat conjured up distressing images in his mind which he boldly shook away. When he became aware that his captor was expecting a response he nodded mutely. Suddenly Georgiou's hand disappeared and he was being propelled forward harshly. The Captain's heart flew into his mouth and it was only by some minor miracle that he didn't end up face down in the dirt. With his hands still restrained it was tricky to regain his balance, but after a bit of stumbling he managed it.

Chris ground his teeth when agony bolted up through his chest and ribs. Every step was agony and it was taking everything he had just to remain upright, but each step forward was a step closer to Spock so he pushed through the misery. Pike watched Michael and Spock carefully for any sign of their plan kicking off.

The Captain matched Spock's speed and focussed purely on putting one step in front of another, half expecting to be cut down any second. His vision was darkening at the edges which was making it damn near impossible to keep track of when he should be dropping. He wanted to drop right now but that wouldn't necessarily get them all out of this alive.

He had almost reached Spock when a phaser blast landed near his feet throwing up dust and almost giving him a heart attack. "Stop!" He realised belatedly that the shot had come from Georgiou and that he should probably stop staggering forwards, Philippa didn't strike him as the kind of person who would bother firing more than one warning shot.

"Somethings wrong…" Damn it, how could she have known?

Pike forced himself to stay completely still and shared a worried look with Spock. This was a pretty shitty position to be in, out in the open like this with Tyler-Voq the only armed one to cover their back's. It wasn't a very re-assuring thought, Pike didn't trust Tyler or whoever the hell he was today in the slightest.

The tension was so dense it could have been cut with a knife. Pike felt the suppressed energy grow in him and felt almost like a coiled spring. When it all kicked off he would need to move and get out of the damn way. Chris heard Georgiou fretting behind him so he mentally prepared his mind for how painful hitting the ground was going to be, he made eye contact with Michael and saw the same conclusion in her face. If they were going to do this then it would have to be now.

"Now!" Michael yelled and dove for her discarded weapon. Pike didn't need telling twice, he dropped to the ground like a stone and landed in a tangled heap. He actually felt the heat of phaser blasts soar past his skin and realised he had only just escaped being shot. The Captain saw Spock running towards him before agony hit and all his nerves were set alight.

The next moments were a complete blur, he curled up into a tight ball and rode out the scorching fire burning his lungs. The air was thick with the smell of burning and he heard multiple phaser blasts race across the space, illuminating it in an eerie blood red. He managed to open his eyes and the scene before him was utter chaos. Dust had been kicked up everywhere, shots flew over his body from multiple directions and then there was a pained cry.

Pike watched Georgiou's face twist in agony and then the ex-Captain was tumbling to the ground as a phaser blast slammed into her shoulder, Chris frowned as he saw the burn pattern and blood and realised it wasn't a stun blast. Who the hell was firing fatal shots?

Philippa raged on the ground clutching at her scorched limb like a wounded animal. Pike shivered as she stopped screaming and looked directly at him, in that second time froze and he saw her desire to kill everything and everyone she could get her hands on. Her will to survive and impressive reflexes were the only things that saved her from the next bolt that landed just where her head had been. Pike watched in awe as the emperor rolled and weaved in between the bolts, some set to stun but the majority fatal.

Chris saw the battle raging inside the emperor who was stuck between retreating, and surviving and leaping for her dropped weapon to enact fiery vengeance. Further bolts grazed her leg made her decision for her, she rolled away and weaved back towards her shuttle diving into the back and just narrowly avoiding getting stunned.

Pike distantly felt someone's body over his and forced down his panic when he recognised Spock, his friend was shielding him with his own body and laid protectively over his Captain. They both stayed as low as they could as the air above them was lit up with deadly bolts of energy. There was so much dust in the dim space that it was almost impossible to see anything, what they all could make out however was the shuttle door closing and their quarry escaping.

Chris felt deflated as he watched the shuttle take off and leave the cave. Michael and Tyler shot at the retreating vehicle which was when Pike saw it was Tyler who had his weapon set to kill, he should have guessed really. Sadly their phaser blasts did no discernible damage and Georgiou sped out to freedom; she hadn't gotten her hands on Spock though so this rescue hadn't been a complete disaster.

Spock shifted his weight causing Pike to groan miserably; now the adrenaline was wearing off he felt every little bump and scrape. The dust really wasn't helping his damaged lungs either, he hacked and coughed until his throat was raw just to get his hands on enough oxygen to refrain from passing out.

"Captain are you alright?" Spock's concerned face filled his view.

One look into his friend's guilty expression was enough to forestall any attempts at lying. "No, I'm not." As if to prove his point his chest and head chose that precise moment to flare up. Chris rode out the misery until breathing became more manageable. He managed a smile as he realised he was safe and Spock was alive. "But I will be."

Pike watched something flash over his friend's face but before he could identify it properly it was eradicated. If he hadn't known the Vulcan better he would have said Spock had just smiled at him.

Spock carefully rolled Pike on his side eliciting many unwanted gasps of pain, he felt like almost every bone in his body was loose and rattling round. Chris felt soft hands on his own and was relieved to feel Spock get started on removing his restraints, he could scarcely remember the last time he had use of his hands.

He distantly heard angered voices growing closer and realised Michael and Tyler were in the midst of a heated argument, thankfully he could also hear them speaking quickly to others to get people after Georgiou. What he did not appreciate was the way his head pounded with every shouted syllable.

"What the hell was that? No one told you to kill her!" Michael hissed at Tyler, uncharacteristically shoving him.

Tyler-Voq squared up to her without hesitation, the Klingon in him reacting on instinct to the aggression. "I have my own orders Michael."

"You're unbelievable, I only let you come along so you could cover our backs."

"I did cover your backs!" Tyler exclaimed loudly, and whilst Pike was grateful they were all still breathing he couldn't handle anymore of this shouting.

"Can you two cut that out until we get back to the ship? My head feels like its going to split open." He managed to groan miserably. Pike wasn't one to make a fuss but right now everything inside him was screaming so he really didn't want these two adding to that.

They both looked down at him and their frustration morphed into guilt when they realised the state he was in, and that they were making it worse. "Sorry Captain."

Pike managed a nod before gasping when Spock accidentally knocked his back setting new fires everywhere. Tyler indicated for Michael to help Spock with the restraints which were being very uncooperative. Pike watched Tyler stalk away warily, whilst he had covered their backs he wouldn't forget whose side the agent was really on. The Captain couldn't hear much from his position but he did pick up on the fact that Tyler was at least updating Discovery, he heard frantic voices and realised his crew must have been in the dark for quite some time. His and Michael's disappearance plus the murdered landing party and Georgiou had predictably sent people into a panic.

Chris hissed when he heard the cuffs finally click open, Georgiou had tightened them far too much so now blood was rushing back into his numb fingers. The sensation wasn't pleasant to say the least. Michael and Spock helped him sit up carefully and Pike breathed heavily when Spock helped bring his arms to a normal position, he hadn't realised how stiff and immobile he really was. One thing was for sure, he was not looking forward to the upcoming sick bay visit which would definitely be lengthy.

The Captain didn't complain as Michael and Spock moved efficiently around him, administering blissful painkillers and dealing with the worst of his surface injuries. He was grateful for the drugs that were now racing round his system staving off the worst of his misery, but that was not going to save these two from the bollocking they deserved for disobeying orders.

"What happened to following my orders without question?" He caught both of their frozen expressions with a stern gaze.

Spock's face flickered. "In fairness Captain you gave your orders under duress so they were invalid."

Pike couldn't help the grin that was spreading across his face. How he had missed his friend, he had a way of using the protocols and rules to argue his way out of any situation. "No, no Spock. That's not going to fly this time."

He looked at both of his officers and put on his best authoritative voice, he imagined the promise didn't carry as much weight considering the way he must have looked right now. "We are all going to talk about this in much more depth."

"Discovery are ready for us." Tyler interrupted.

Michael looked relieved to be out of the spotlight and Pike sighed tiredly. His stern glare made it clear to Spock and Burnham that this was far from over, but for now he was ready to pass out. He sagged against both of them as his energy finally depleted. "Let's go home."


A/N - There will be another chapter which will be an epilogue of sorts :) Should be written in the next few days!