To all who have reviewed since chapter 8: Thank you all for your thoughts and comments and support! It really means the world to me. Unfortunately there's no point in me responding to them because, well, they're all basically about that old plot twist I did. *Cringes* So to all of you guys, puh-leezeee go back and re-read it!

Guest: Thanks for all your feedback, doll! You've certainly opened my eyes about a lot of those flaws and the OOC-ness. I've been going back and revising the previous chapters and have changed quite a bit. Hopefully, in time, the whole story will be free of error. Ha- we can only dream! I'm glad you liked Joker, and I totally agree with your comments on Jack! I'm crossing my fingers and praying that those amature mistakes are slowly starting to become less frequent. But alas, no one's perfect, so keep smackin' me with a figurative stick when you notice things that are off!


Author's Note: Hi guys. Missed me? Cause I've sure missed you! I'm so glad I pushed forced myself to write chapter eight, because now the motivation and inspiration is practically oozing out of me! To be honest, I think the writer's block was because of that damned mission. Manhunt is probably my least favorite and it was a complete bitch to play through, watch, and write about over and over again. But now that that's out of the way, things will finally start picking up! Speaking of that trainwreck of a chapter . . . *SPOILERS AHEAD* I'm not entirely happy with the way I decided to go with chapter eight. Replacing Ilona with Sam was the easy way out, in my opinion, and I hope none of you hate me for taking it. I had my reasons! By putting her in Ilona's shoes, she and Mitchell had a huge bonding sesh, Sam grew as a character, and other little things happened that I'm not willing to reveal at this time (cue evil laugh). Point is, I just couldn't kill off Ilona. I mean, sure, I could have, but it would have thrown everything off balance. Who would decode the drive? Who would stick with Jack? And so on. While Ilona isn't a "main" character in the game, she's certainly got a big part in it! So I apologize to those of you who were hoping I would continue with that and try to break away from the game. But if it's game-changing plot twists you want, have no fear, there are some fun ones in the future (; I hope you all continue to like this story and stick with it! Don't forget to go back and re-read some of the chapters that have been rounded out and fixed up! Love you all so much! xx

P.S: I've taken some creative liberties with the timeline for this chapter. According to the timeline on CoD AW wikia, 'Utopia' takes place two fucking months after 'Manhunt'. ? Wat? I don't think it would take Ilona two whole months to crack the drive if she worked constantly at it since they got it. So I'm gonna say it takes place two weeks later, cause that's at least a tad more reasonable. Hopefully this makes everything a little bit smoother.

P.S.S: So the last time I actually sat down and wrote, it was on this ancient Dell laptop. Happy to say, that old dinosaur is gone and has been replaced with my lovely little Chromebook. Which means I've been using Google Drive to write all my shit for months. I just recently found out that I can't upload my crap to cause ugh I don't even know why. So I have to copy and paste everything, then fix the weird ass spacing and extra crap that gets put in. I apologize for any weird shit that I missed. Let me know if you see anything and I'll fix it. Thanks!

P.S.S.S: Suicide Squad. Oh. My. God. Wow. I loved every minute of it, especially Joker and Harley. Duh. But other than that, El Diablo is like my bae now. So hot *pun intended* hahaha I'm so funny. And Deadshot freakin' killed it. Anyways, there's probably gonna be a few fics about that in the future (; No spoilers, but I actually cried at the end. Like bawled my eyes out cause I was so happy. Yeah. Idek. Okay, okay, that's it, I'll stop.

Side note: This is more for me so I can keep everything straight, but I'll put it here anyways. In 2054, Gideon is 29, Jack is 27, and Ilona and Sam are 25. Joker's age is unknown, but I'm guessing he's in his late-twenties/early-thirties, with Jack. It's kind of confusing because of the fact that the Advanced Warfare campaign stretches across a number of years, but hopefully this clears up the confusion. Thanks to Call of Duty Wikia for being the real MVP and helping me with all the facts and dates and little things. I'd be nowhere without you!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC, Samantha Irons. Everything/everyone else belongs to Sledgehammer Games, High Moon, Raven, and anyone else I missed. All rights go to their respective owners; I'm writing this purely for entertainment.

Warning: The following chapters contain spoilers for the game Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Read at your own discretion.


"Hades' death left us with more questions than answers. But all that mattered was that he was gone. It was the start of a new chapter, for all of us."

-Jack Mitchell


A tall thin reporter stands in front of a camera, trying to remain neutral as she delivers the news the entire world has been waiting to hear for four years. "At last, time ran out for Joseph Chkheidze, better known as "Hades"- leader of the KVA and mastermind behind the devastating attacks of four years ago." She casually walks to the right, gesturing to the green screen behind her. "We recently spoke with Jonathan Irons, founder and CEO of Atlas International, the private military corporation responsible for hunting down and killing "Hades"."

The screen then fades to the brief interview. Jonathan Irons, looking calm and collected, walks with the brunette in one of the Atlas buildings. The duo walk through a lobby that's empty, save for Irons' two bodyguards. "Congratulations, you've achieved what no government was able to," she smiles politely.

Irons brushes off the compliment. "Thank you, Wendy, but the real heroes of the day are the men and women of Atlas." He walks up to Jack and pats him hard on the shoulder as he continues to boast about his soldiers. "I couldn't be prouder of what they accomplished out there this week." The men nod respectfully and the camera go back to the man of the hour.

Wendy gets down to business right away, addressing the elephant in the room. "There are rumors that the U.N. will offer you a seat on the Security Council. Can a life in politics be far behind?" They stop at the elevator and the interview starts wrapping up. Jonathan Irons is a busy man, after all.

His confidence- and arrogance- is evident with his next words. "Well, I like to get things done, so, no." Wendy smirks. "But look at what we've done in New Baghdad. Forty years ago we pulled out of Iraq with that place in ruins, and our tail between our legs. And now it's a testament to what happens when you put efficiency before bureaucracy." The elevator arrives and they enter, but Wendy doesn't give up.

"The last four years have been huge for you. In the wake of the KVA attacks, Atlas has become the world's biggest corporation, and you now preside over the world's largest standing military." She pauses to let that sink in before going in for the kill. "So what's next for Jonathan Irons?"

Instead of answering, the man in question turns to the camera, smirking ominously as the doors slide shut.


September 27th, 2059

Sitting outside, I breathe in the clean air. Haven't had a day like this in forever. The last time I got to sit on a bench and watch the world pass by was with . . . Will. Before the Marines. Before . . . everything. With a sigh, I turn to face the Will's memorial. "Never gets easier." The soldiers and civilians blend together as I look out to the city. Amazing what people can do with the right resources and motivation.

"Samantha!" A familiar Russian voice breaks the serene peace in an instant. Twisting around, I grin at Ilona. Things had gotten better after Hades' death, but the ruthless woman hadn't changed. When the stress should have been lifted, it only seemed to drag her further down. To put it simply, she'd been acting . . . strange. "I've been looking all over for you," she huffs, hands on her hips.

Smiling sheepishly, I shrug. "Sorry. What's up?" Instead of answering, she yanks me off the bench and starts leading me somewhere. "Uh, is everything alright Ilona?" As we turn to head inside, I happen to see Jack and Gideon standing tall and proud in front of my father and a reporter. With a scoff, we enter the other side of the building.

After a few flights of stairs, the only people that are around are Atlas guards and the occasional maintenance worker. The silence hangs around us like a heavy blanket. "Sam, I need to show you something." That catches my attention, instantly making me think back to two weeks ago:

"Sammy, we can't let anyone see this," Jack holds onto the drive tightly. "Who knows what's on it."

"That's exactly why we need to give it to Gideon!" I hiss. "Atlas has all sorts of technicians and coders. They'll be able to crack it." We go quiet immediately when Ilona walks up to us. Jack gives me a look and I frown. "Fine, but I don't like it."

Jack grins and ruffles my hair. "Come on, when have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Have you decoded the-?" Biting my tongue, I nod to two soldiers on duty as we pass by. "Jesus, Ilona, people are gonna start getting ideas."

She opens the door to an empty maintenance room and hurries me inside. "Now's not the time, Sam." Ilona flicks her communicator on and connects to Jack and Gideon's wavelength. "Gideon, Mitchell, I need to see you. Right now."

"Ilona? What is it?" The Brit asks, sounding thoroughly confused.

I raise a brow as she begins tapping away quickly at the screen on her forearm. "Meet me in maintenance room 6A. Don't bring anyone else."

There's a pause before he responds. "Alright, we're moving." Gideon sounds tired, I note with concern. Maybe Hades' death isn't as life-changing as we all thought it'd be. With a tired sigh of my own, I lean on the railing and wait for them to show up. While we wait, Ilona continues to pace around the spacious room. Even though I poke and prod, she still refuses to give up any information. Worry starts to gnaw at my gut with every passing second and I can't ignore the feeling of dread that's building in my gut. And I can't ignore my instincts.

The door slides open after what feels like forever and we freeze, only to relax when Gideon and Jack appear a moment later. "Did you tell anyone you were coming?" Ilona questions immediately as she steps up to Gideon.

The Brit shakes his head. "No. So what's-"

"The scrambler will only buy us a few minutes. Sync to my HUD, I have to show you something." Her panicked demeanour and tone is putting me on edge, so I move to Jack's side. He gives me a questioning glance and I shrug helplessly.

Also picking up on Ilona's strange behavior, Gideon frowns. "What the bloody hell is going on?"

"Just watch this," she commands, cutting him off for the second time. Before Gideon can retaliate, a hologram pops up in front of us. My eyes widen as I see my father. "That's Irons with the technologist you saved," Ilona explains, voice calmer and . . . sad?

Gideon stalks around the blue images. "The guy we pulled from the river?"

"Never made it back to Nigeria," Ilona confirms. She hits a button on her wrist screen and the tape begins.

"The KVA are planning an attack . . . they told me everything!" The technologist hyperventilates.

My father leans forward, holding out a hand to him. "What kind of attack?" My eyes narrow immediately at his false concern.

"Power plants, all over the world. They wanted me to compromise the security systems."

Watching intently, Gideon circles the hologram. Jack takes a step forward, eyes narrowed. Looking to my left, I see Ilona standing stiffly with her arms crossed. She's seen this before, obviously. How else would she have known? "Where are they planning on hitting?"

"Seattle, Paris, Tokyo . . . Thousands will die! We have to tell someone!" He's talking about the attacks from four years ago! This recording is that old? How have we not gotten ahold of this sooner? Why did Hades have it?

My father jumps up. "No!" Our heads instantly snap to him. "We have to tell everyone! It's okay. It's alright." He strides behind the technologist and Gideon steps away. "I'm going to take care of this right now." When dad turns back around, his pistol is out and aiming-

We flinch as he shoots the man directly in the head. And then it stops. "Fuck me," Gideon growls, walking through the hologram. Jack walks away from us, rubbing his chin in thought.

Ilona jumps in to explain as my mind tries to wrap itself around all the new information. "He knew! He knew and he let it happen. All those people dead and he fucking profited from it!" She growls. I shake my head in denial, backing away from her.

Our CO is quick to interrogate her. "Where did you get this?"

"Hades. His last act before he died was giving us this," she explains, gesturing to Jack and I. Hearing his name, I look up at my best friend, scared at what I see. His eyes are hard and he's not deep in thought anymore.

Gideon backs away from the sniper and stands beside me. "How do you know it's not fake?" He asks quietly.

"It was coded and encrypted in our own algorithm!" Ilona snaps desperately. "It's from Atlas! No one has seen this but us!" She turns and rips the drive out of the port. "We need to get out of here!" Striding to the door, the brunette glances back at us with wild eyes. "Now!"

Just as Gideon and Jack take a step forward, a flashbang rolls in. Stumbling back into Gideon, I rub my eyes and try to get rid of the ringing in my ears. When my vision returns, Atlas soldiers are rushing in. I protest when one pushes my best friend to the ground, but Gideon holds on to my elbow tightly. The other guard tosses Ilona to the ground, holding his rifle up in warning. "Jack," I whisper, shaking my head. He stares up at the man over him defiantly, fingers inching toward his sidearm.

Everyone freezes when my father enters the room. At the sight of him, Jack rips his gun out of its holster and aims at him. Stepping around Gideon, I hold up my arm and try to stop him, but the guard has already hit the weapon out of his hand. "Sam," Gideon whispers in warning. Unable to do anything, I lower my arm in defeat and step back.

My father stops, his back to us. I can only imagine the death stare he's giving Jack right now. "We saw it! We saw everything," Ilona snarls, carefully keeping her hands up.

"You saw what?" He asks slowly, like he's talking to a difficult child. Cringing, I shrink further behind Gideon.

Unafraid, Ilona continues. "You knew about the attacks. All those innocent people- dead!" She accuses, clenching her jaw. Jack lays unmoving on the ground, locking eyes with me. He silently pleads with me, but I can't . . .

Turning around to face Ilona, my father sneers. "You saw a forged recording from a terrorist." His voice raises with every word and I'm thankful for Gideon being my human shield.

"You're insane! You're a monster," Ilona shouts, making me silently gasp in awe and horror. No one has ever stood up to my father like that. This is bad. Very, very bad.

Instead of responding, he walks back to Jack. With a quiet voice, he says, "I'm disappointed in you. You could've had everything." The rare act of actual human emotion is quickly replaced by the familiar cold, calculating man who raised me. "Hold them here until the reporters leave," he orders the soldiers. He turns and walks toward the door we entered in. "Gideon."

"Yes sir," he responds automatically, stepping forward.

Ilona quickly protests. "Gideon! You know what you saw!" He barely glances at her before walking over to my father's side.

"He said it's a fake," the Brit declares which side he's chosen.

My father looks at her smugly, victorious. "He's made his choice," he echoes my previous thoughts. "Samantha." The order is plain as day, but my muscles don't respond automatically. Staring at Jack, I can't breathe right. Ilona and Jack are turning against my father, against us, against Atlas. The Russian utters a plea, but it falls on deaf ears. He's made his choice. And he didn't choose me.

In an instant, I'm at Gideon's side, staring straight ahead. If I look back, it could ruin everything. I can't stay here and take part in this. It can't be true, it's not true. Walking ahead of my father and CO, I practically run out of the room. When we're on the stairs, my father puts a hand on my shoulder. "Honey, I'm proud of you for doing the right thing. They're playing right into Hades' hands." He glares at nothing, spitting his next words. "Even in the afterlife, he's still making our lives miserable." Patting my cheek, he strides down the corridor, leaving Gideon and I to follow behind. After two steps, the alarms start to go off.

"Dammit, kid," Gideon growls with a shake of his head. I glance up at him hopefully. Could they really make it out of this alive?

My father stops and faces us. "I have some things to take care of." And then he's gone, already out of sight due to all the people rushing around. Gideon grabs my hand and pulls me along. On the comms, there's frantic shouting and calling out orders.

"They're heading up the elevator shaft!" Someone yells, making me wince. "On the roof!"

Gideon and I exchange a glance. What should we do? What can we do? Ducking into an empty bathroom, we catch our breath. "Gideon," I whisper, putting my head into my hands. "What . . ."

The Brit paces around. "Are we going to do? I have no idea. But I'm willing to bet your father is gonna call us in to take them down."

My head snaps up. "We can't!"

He nods. "Damn right we can't. But Sam, that video."

Looking at him suspiciously, I frown. "You think it's real," I state, backing away from him slowly. Not Gideon, too.

"You don't?" He asks, catching me off-guard. My mind reels. It would make sense. And video footage can't be faked, not without a doppelganger of my father. "Come on, love," Gideon says quietly, holding out a hand. I grab his, holding tightly. My father let thousands of people die. We leave the bathroom and frown at the sound of metal on metal. Rushing out into the courtyard, we're just in time to see drones zoom overhead and armor panels cover the windows.

"Jack! Ilona!" I cry as they run by, Atlas soldiers on their heels. Hearing my voice, Jack stops and looks for me, causing him to get hit in the arm. There's no time to react because Ilona pushes him over the railing before diving over herself. A loyal Atlas soldier tries to follow, but falls through the broken glass and to his death. We rush over to see if they made it, but the armor panels shoot up and block our sights.

A moment later, we're surrounded by more Atlas soldiers. "Sir, what's our course of action?" One asks, stepping up to Gideon.

He doesn't miss a beat. "Follow them, you bloody idiots!" They scramble away and he leads us toward the elevator.

Just as the doors slide closed, my father pops up on the HUD. "Gideon and Sam, I want you two on a Warbird. Find them. Now." he says sternly and cuts out. The urge to break down in tears is too strong, so I remain silent, as does Gideon. We're suppose to hunt them down. Hunt down Jack and Ilona. My closest friends, my family.

On the rooftop, we rush to the waiting Bird. But what neither of us expected was the spiky-haired porcupine that jumps out to greet us. "Heard we've got a situation, boss," he asks without really asking, glancing at us. I throw myself at him in a tight hug, thankful for his sudden appearance. Jay always manages to lighten the mood.

"That we do," Gideon nods as he claps Jay on the shoulder. "And what a clusterfuck it is." When we're all on board, the Warbird takes off toward the city.

"What happened?" Joker questions, looking as stressed as I feel. Gideon looks at me and I nod. These are his friends, too. "We weren't briefed, just told that some our own turned against us and need to be stopped."

Grabbing his hand, I swallow heavily. "Jay . . . it's Ilona and Jack." He stiffens at my words, then laughs like we've pulled some great prank on him.

"It's true, Joker," our CO affirms. "Ilona cracked the drive."

"The one from Hades?"

He looks out the window. "Yeah." Jay turns back to me, still rattling off questions. But I can't answer any of them, because then it'll be true. "It's Irons, mate. The technologist from Lagos tried to warn him about the attacks. Irons killed him to cover it up."

Joker brings my hand to his lips and kisses it. "Shit, man," he whispers. "Do you believe it's true?"

The Brit and I lock eyes, daring the other to answer first. "They did. Jack and Ilona," I whisper, deflecting the question. Can I really turn against my father? No, I can't. At least . . . not until I have proof. My own proof.

"Sir, they're on the roof!" One of the pilots shouts, breaking the tense silence. "There!" She points at the giant skyscraper littered in cranes and machinery.

We rush to the windows and, sure enough, there are our friends. Or, ex-friends. They're unstoppable, taking out everyone in the way with quick precision. "There's no way they're doing this on their own," Joker mutters. At our questioning stares, he quickly explains himself. "How else would they have gotten that boat?"

"Or activated the fire suppression system?" I chime in. It's much easier to accept the fact that my best friends are now working with others and aren't going rogue. At least they'll be safe. Hopefully.

Jay nods and points as they make their ways through the higher levels of another building. "It's like they're heading for something."

"Well let's wait and find out what it is," Gideon signals the pilots to hang back and stay out of sight.

His 'no bullshit' tone makes me panic. "What are you going to do?" I whisper.

He shrugs. "We'll leave that up to them." I relax, confident that Ilona and Jack won't try to shoot us. But what if they do? a voice in my head questions. A few minutes later, Gideon tells the Warbird to drop us off. An uneasy feeling settles in my stomach as we get closer to our friends and the all-black-wearing military people that've just made themselves known.

The Bird pulls upward harshly and we jump out of the open door. Joker has his gun raised threateningly at the unknown people, but Gideon and I keep our rifles down. "What's the play, boss?"

Gideon steps in front of Joker, hand raised. "Stand down," he commands and his loyal second in command does so immediately. Our CO walks up to Ilona, but with every step he takes, Jack matches it until he's by her side. I hang back by Joker, still within earshot. "If you're wrong about Irons, I'll hunt you down myself," he promises.

"I'm not wrong!" Ilona defends, looking between Jay and Gideon.

I step to Gideon's side, very aware that Jack has now zeroed in on me. "We have to go, Gideon," I remind him of their decision quietly. My eyes take in the unknown party and I find that they're not so unknown. "Sergeant?!" I gasp in surprise. Our old CO nods at me, a sad smile on his lips. Perhaps if things were different, we'd be able to have a proper reunion.

"Atlas-one, what's your status?" The pilot checks in, clearly worried for our safety. We all wait in uneasy silence for Gideon to decide whether to turn them in or let them go.

He gives Ilona a hard stare, a silent threat and order in his eyes. Be careful. "Roof is clear, no sign of 'em."

Jay and I shift uneasily. We're loyal to Gideon, of course we'll stick by his decisions. But this is also going behind Atlas's back. And that will never sit right, no matter the reason. The Brit's words are good enough for Cormack. "Alright! Inside. Now." It's the best 'thank you' we'll get. He climbs inside the car full of tech, his stealth buddies behind him. With one last look back at us, Ilona turns and follows.

Jack, however, stays rooted in his spot. "Sammy, please come with me," he whispers desperately, grabbing my free hand. Gideon and Joker lift their rifles ever so slightly, but I've made my decision.

"Goodbye, Jack," I say lowly, to keep my voice from cracking. It's like losing Will all over again.

He says nothing, just pulls me to his chest for one last brief hug. I return it, trying my damnedest to keep the tears at bay. After this, we'll be enemies. Father will undoubtedly send us to take them out. He pulls away and quickly places both hands on either side of my face, just like he did in Greece. It looks like he wants to say something, but at Cormack's 'hurry it up, Mitchell!', he remains silent and kisses my forehead. We watch our old friends silently, but then Gideon's pushing us toward the Warbird and then we're gone.