Naomi ignored the awkward, uncomfortable bumps the ride provided. If you would have told her that she would have been broken out of the Armacham compound and riding in a stolen ATC vehicle, sandwiched in between two soldiers, and sitting across from the man she hasn't seen in thirteen years this morning, she would have claimed that you were the insane one; not her. Yet there she was, in that exact situation. She sat across from the man that broke her out of her cell. Her eyes stared into his figure darkly and intently. She finally decided to take this time and truly assess her situation and Paxton.

He wasn't who he used to be, that was for sure. Something drastically changed him, but she couldn't decide if it was for the better, or for the worse. His black hair was slicked back behind his head and out of his face and laid flat against his pale skin, which made his sharp, prominent features stick out even more. A permanently angry facial expression was etched on to his stone face. He wore a black and red leather battle jacket, although it looked to be more for style than for protection. He had matching leather pants with a menacing knife strapped to his right thigh. At any moment, he could simply pull it out of its holder and turn this entire ATC jeep into a giant blood bath. He wore large, clunky combat boots that looked ridiculously heavy. But the most unsettling thing he wore was the blood of another splattered across his outfit and smeared across his mouth. Naomi knew why it was there, but chose to push that thought out of her head. She didn't want that thought to discomfort her more than it had to.

"Where are we going?" Naomi piped up, an annoyed tone protruding from her voice. She had a tendency to mask her fear with an illusion of anger. Fettel looked up at her accusingly. She could tell she interrupted an intense train of thought.

"Away," he said angrily. She frowned at him.

"You can't just break me out of a high security compound, treat me like a naïve child, and not even tell me where we are going."

Fettel growled under his breath. "We are going to an abandoned area in the Auburn district. We set up temporary base there." She insidiously grinned, as she folded her arms and legs.

"See, now was that so hard?" Fettel bore his teeth like an animal as he reached down for his hunting knife. He pulled it out of its pocket, as well as a polishing cloth to clean it.

"Where is your brother?" Fettel paused his work, but did not look up to meet her eyes.

"I don't know," he simply said, continuing his chore.

"I always know when you're lying, Paxton. Just tell me."

No response. Naomi sighed out of frustration.

"Look, I'm basically useless to you right now. You won't tell me what is happening, why it's happening, or what you're planning. Why did you break me out of the compound?" Fettel looked up at her with his eyes, but not his head. His poker face was impeccable, until his eyes softened at the concerned appearance of his childhood friend.

"Well I couldn't just leave you there to rot in Armacham storage." His eyes immediately hardened again, as if he were trying to fight whatever compassion he had. "Unless you want me to take you back to that God awful cell," he snarled.

"What I want is for you to tell me what is happening."

"Redemption."

With that, the ATC vehicle came to a halt. The back doors opened and Paxton signaled for the soldiers to exit the vehicle. Naomi and Paxton followed. The sound of the ATC jeep speeding off made her visibly jump. The soldiers assumed their position surrounding the two as they lead them to an old, extremely run down building. Auburn looked as if it were an industrial wasteland.

"These soldiers," Naomi piped up. "They don't look to be regular soldiers."

"Replica soldiers," Fettel explained. "They are clones that I can control psychically." Naomi nodded as if she should have known that fact. Doing the usual procedure for infiltrating a foreign location, the team led the two inside. There were plenty of twisty confusing halls, along with the clutter of whoever inhabited the building previously. It was scattered with various overturned racks, as well as empty bottles and containers. As they walked through the building, the replica soldiers that were escorting the two proceeded to overturn various desks and tables in front of every door and corridor they proceeded through. Naomi knew that they were doing this to keep out potential intruders; Armacham would undoubtedly send reinforcements after them, so it was better to be safe than sorry. But for some reason, it felt damning to Naomi, like there was no escape for her. She shook that thought out of her head. She trusted Fettel her entire life. He and his brother were her only companions throughout her childhood. Why would she have a bad feeling now?

With that thought, she found herself bursting into a dimly lit room. It seemed pretty empty, save for two replica soldiers that looked as if they have been in the room since the construction of the building. In between the clones was a man sitting on a chair with a horrified look on his face. At second glance, it was clear that he was bound tightly, rendering him immobile. He had a receding hair line, his cleanly shaved face graced by the effects of age. He was wearing a denim button-up over a white undershirt, all of which was gently speckled with blood. Naomi assumed it was a mixture of the blood that leaked from his nose and cuts from his face, as well as the blood of his colleagues that Fettel had so graciously spilled.

"Do you recognize this man, Naomi?" she head from behind. She turned to Fettel with a lost look on her face. Fettel walked around her, not taking his eyes of the man. "This man's name is Charles Habegger. He is one of the few employees of Armacham that was… graced with the knowledge of Origin and Perseus."

"You're all fucking CRAZY!" he screamed, clearly trying to hide his fear. Fettel approached him, slowly kneeling down to get into his face.

"Where's Alma?" he impatiently asked, the rasp in his voice showing through more than ever.

"I told you, I would never tell you." Fettel motioned to one of the soldiers, who delivered the butt of his rifle to Habegger's face swiftly. The sight of Habegger screaming, coughing, and spitting a tooth in a mixture of blood made Naomi cringe.

"My soldiers have been trying to break him for some time now," Fettel explained to Naomi, not taking his eyes off his prey. "He is nothing more than useless." Fettel reached for the knife strapped to his thigh. Habegger's eyes widened in fear.

"WAIT! I WILL TELL YOU!" Fettel grinned.

"That's all it took?" Fettel said condescendingly, letting a sinister grin grow across his face.

"She is in a vault, somewhere deep in Armacham's archives! I swear!" Fettel didn't allow the grin to escape from his face as he slowly rose from his crouching position. He walked back towards Naomi as he unsheathed his knife. He took his Naomi's scarred arm into his callused hand, gently sliding it down to her hand, flipping her palm up. The feeling of his freezing hand gently caressing her arm sent chills up her spine. He gently placed something into her hand. She looked down to see her hand still resting in his, holding his reflective, razor-sharp hunting knife.

"Consider it one of the many anniversary gifts I owe you." Her face twisted into a scared scowl, as she looked at a terrified Habeggar and an insidious Fettel. She couldn't just kill him.

"N-no!" she nervously exclaimed. The grin disappeared from Fettel's face.

"What?" he asked slowly, his diction flowing fluently and angrily.

"We can't just kill him!" Fettel scowled as he walked towards Habegger, who was heavily breathing and squirming in his chair.

"PLEASE! I HAVE A FAMILY, KIDS!" Fettel ignored his begging. He took his hair into his fist, pulling his head back. Habeggar yelped in pain as his vulnerable neck was fully exposed.

"Do you know what this man has done to us?" His tone was hateful and furious.

"Did to us? I haven't seen this man in my life. He was involved with Perseus and Origin, not me." Naomi could see the pure rage swell through his body. He practically threw poor Habegger's head off as he released his grip on his thin hair and stomped towards Naomi. He was so close that she could feel his breath caress her face.

"He had a hand in locking Mother away; he tore me away from you, and had a hand in causing your misery, as well as mine, Brother's, and Mother's suffering. You're really going to let him live? You don't want to take joy in letting his despicable blood spill?" Naomi felt hot tears threaten to escape as she stared into Paxton's cold, stone, angry eyes. She tried to return the angry look right back at Paxton to show that she was going to stand by her decision. No matter how scared or angry or confused or hurt she may be, she was going to stand her ground.

"You're weak," he spat at her in an almost whisper. He turned away from Naomi, slowly sauntering back to his place next to Habegger's hopeless shell.

"Charles Habegger, your crimes are punishable by death and then some," Fettel once again took his thin hair into his fist. Habegger gave up on begging. He knew that it was too late. All hope had left him, as he continued to snivel and sob out of fear and remorse. Fettel leaned down close to his ear, his lips almost grazing his lobe. "Prepare to rot in the deepest pits of hell." With that, Fettel drove his teeth into Habegger's cheek. Naomi recoiled at the sight. Blood sprayed everywhere, as Paxton's pearly teeth ripped his skin off of his face, exposing muscle, bone, and teeth. Habegger squirmed and screamed, begging him to stop.

Naomi couldn't take it. She used whatever energy she had to telekinetically throw the blockade from behind the two push doors and then crashed through them. The doors slammed behind her, as she collapsed to her knees. She violently coughed and grabbed her abdomen, doing her best not to lose her stomach completely. Tears were beginning to flow freely now, whether she liked it or not. Once she gained control of her own body, she slowly rose off of her knees, staggering towards the wall in front of her. She put a shaky hand against the wall and leaned into it, trying to pull herself together. She tried to tune out the sickening sounds of Paxton's meal. Habegger was no longer screaming, just sobbing and sniveling as Fettel slowly ripped apart his face. Naomi clenched her eyes shut; keeping her back towards the doors, praying that it would be over soon. She breathed in through her nose and out her mouth deeply, waiting for it to end.

After what felt like an eternity, the noises finally stopped. Her eyes shot open, expecting to hear Fettel bark at her. Instead, she heard the doors slowly creak open. She kept her eyes on the wall, letting her personality and face harden. When she didn't hear his heavy boots walk towards her, she turned around, staying as stone as possible. There stood Paxton, standing as stiff as a board with his arms crossed firmly and his face neutral. To her surprise, no replica soldiers accompanied him.

"I don't get it," he simply stated.

"What do you mean?" Naomi asked, staying as monotone as possible.

"What made you weak? You have wanted this just like me, just like Mother. You carved symbols into your arm, you have stared straight into the face of Armacham and laughed, you have actually synched with me and Mother, and now-"

"Well what the hell did you even expect?" Naomi interjected angrily. "I am scared. I am not afraid to admit it, I am scared. I haven't been outside of the compound for God knows how long, the entire Armacham battalion is probably after us, and I am stuck with…" her voice trailed off, realizing that she made a mistake by letting her mouth spit freely.

Fettel's face contorted into an expression of immense hurt with hints of fury. He did love her. He knew that under all of his pain and anger and negativity was the only positive emotion he had ever possessed; an intense and undeniable love for Naomi. He knew he had to push this down deeper. He needed to use this emotion in a way to manipulate her.

"Do you think I wanted this?" he asked expectantly. "Do you think I wanted to go years upon years without seeing you?" His raspy voice shook and cracked. Naomi looked away. She didn't want to see him hurting. He slowly approached her, the pain still in his voice and face. Fettel got dangerously close to her, both of his hands placed on each side of her on the wall. Here, she finally got a good look of the wet, sticky blood of Charles Habegger that decorated his face. Still refusing to meet his gaze, Naomi looked down as she collapsed against the wall. His breath returned to her skin once again, almost comforting her this time. She finally gave in and looked up at his pained, pale eyes. He let his forehead meet hers, his eyelids drooping and closing.

"Naomi, I am scared too," he whispered. Hearing his voice say her name in such a needful, desperate tone gave her the chills. "I am very, very scared, but this is something that needs to be done, and it needs to be done now." He let his eyes slowly open. "But, I need you. I need you more than anything right now. Please, just be with me. Please."

Naomi couldn't help it. She needed him too. She let her arms that once dangled at her side float up and wrap around behind his neck.

"Oh my God, what has happened to you, Paxton?" she whispered in return. "You're not you anymore. Please tell me you are still you; please tell me that there is still a little piece of the you I know deep inside of you." Paxton tried his best to not allow her pained words bother him. This wasn't a time for weakness.

"I'm here," he simply said. "I'm here." He closed his eyes once again. "I'm going to show you what I see now." Naomi's face contorted into one of confusion. "Now, you will understand."

Before Naomi could say or do anything, his lips crashed into hers. Before she even had a chance to enjoy or even comprehend the kiss, she tasted blood leaking into her mouth. She recoiled at first, until the blood of Habeggar finally sank in. Thousands of memories flooded into her head; memories of family, of school, of love, of friendship. Then came the excruciating memories of Armacham, of the experiments, the tests, the pain, the surgeries, of Paxton… of Alma.

Naomi collapsed as the memories flooded her brain. She put her hands over her ears as if it would block it all out, but it was no use. Tears leaked out of her clenched eyes in remorse for Paxton, his brother, and Alma. She screamed and sobbed, trying to block the memories out.

Fettel gave a sinister smile as Naomi consumed the memories and took them as her own. Things were coming together as he knew they would. Knowing that Naomi was completely inconsolable and unreachable, he picked up the sobbing girl and carried her bridal-style back into the room.