Title: Light Within

Author: Shannon – shannyfish

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the "Iron Man" movies, any other Marvel movie, or its characters; Marvel and other people do. This is merely for entertainment purposes only.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: An unknown foe has managed to grab Tony Stark's attention, enough so that he calls on the Avengers for help. With the one person that he loves most in the world in jeopardy, Tony must surrender himself…and in turn be rescued himself. Tony Stark/Pepper Potts

Warning: The POV will shift. Spoilers for all Marvel movies up to and including "The Avengers". Also, using creative license with a character from the Iron Man comics and Armored Adventures Cartoon.

Author's Note: Constructive criticism is appreciated!

. . .

"What did I tell you?" Fury bellowed.

Tony ignored him. "You still have that girlfriend?" he asked Coulson. "Don't forget my offer…"

"I haven't," Coulson just told him.

"Good!" Tony said and then noticed that besides Fury and Hill, that Pepper didn't look very happy with him. He was fairly sure that he hadn't not overheard Maria Hill bashing her anymore. "So!" Tony gestured towards Coulson. "Coulson lives…" He then he motioned to Fury. "And Fury lies…" He crossed his arms over his chest. "I feel like it needs to go on posters somewhere…or on the side of the carrier as a warning…"

"We really did think he was dead, Mr. Stark," Fury explained. "By the time I was told that in fact, he was alive…you were all too thick and battle… I couldn't destroy what you all stood for… You were doing what we'd always envisioned."

"The others know, though…don't they?" Bruce asked.

Tony turned to Steve. "You didn't seem surprised."

Steve crossed his arms. "I found out…later…but you're right, it was wrong for him to keep it from us even after the battle…"

"He could have come and celebrated with us! There was shawarma!" Tony exclaimed. He turned to Coulson. "Have you ever had shawarma before?"

"No, I haven't," Coulson responded, still a cheery attitude.

"See! He's missing out!" Tony told Fury.

Pepper reached out and touched his arm. He knew she was trying to rein him in, but he couldn't help it. Fury's lies and Maria Hill…just standing there with that look on her face. How could anyone not be pissed off with that look she gave.

"I'm not amused about this…" Fury stated. "And I didn't expect you to get involved, Ms. Potts."

Pepper shrugged. "They're…convincing…sometimes."

"I still think we should lock them up," Hill commented.

"I prefer not being confined," Bruce said as he raised his hand up.

Tony sighed. "We're not there, Fury… We've got a few more hours…" He looked around at everyone before looking back to Fury again. "So…I say you let us off with a warning…again…and those of us who you expect to do superhero fighting stuff later should all go eat lunch… We get grumpy when we're hungry."

"Fine…" Fury pointed at Tony. "I expect you and your big green sidekick to stop causing problems…you're rubbing off on Ms. Potts."

"You act like that's a bad thing," Tony said, trying to act confused. He knew that if Pepper really didn't want to do it that she wouldn't have done it. He was proud of her. Getting outside of your comfort zone was a good thing…or at least he'd been told that before.

"I have no idea how you cope," Fury told Pepper. "He never stops, does he?"

Pepper smiled and moved her hand down his arm until her hand was in Tony's. "Years of training," she said and gave Tony a teasing smile. "But he's worth it."

"Ugh," Hill groaned and turned away from the group. "I can still have them watched, Director. I have the resources."

"Not necessary," Fury told her. "Not yet, anyways."

Tony's hand felt like it was in a vice, mainly because Pepper was squeezing it so hard, mostly likely to ensure that he got the point to keep from having the last word. It was so tempting though! Especially when it came to Fury…and Hill. With Steve, he could just harass him later about things. With Fury and Hill, you had to attack them with wit and words all at the same time in a perfectly choreographed verbal assault. There was also the dash of annoying he needed to add in, along with a pinch of superiority. It wasn't his fault though, he really did have a winning personality and brain…he just didn't like to be lied to or crossed.

"That was…smooth," Pepper teased once Fury and Hill were gone.

"That's exactly what I was going for," Tony said evenly and them smiled at her. "He didn't say anything about you in that uniform…maybe we should call him back."

Pepper glared at him. "Don't you dare!"

"I just want to make sure that you can kept the uniform," Tony told her.

There was a collective sigh as Pepper just grabbed his arm to keep him from going after Fury. Tony just beamed. It was a valid question as far as he was concerned. After all, he couldn't have Fury or Hill coming after them proclaiming that they'd stolen SHIELD property… Though, Tony was sure that he could talk his way through it to the point that they didn't want it back.

"Does this mean we can actually get lunch?" Bruce asked.

"I think that's what Fury was hoping you'd do," Steve added.

Tony sighed and looked over at Steve with some irritation. "Do you really always have to be teacher's pet?" He received a glare in return for his comment. He was okay with that. Tony turned to Coulson. "You hungry?"

"Haven't had lunch yet," Coulson responded cheerily.

"Please…come keep me company… Bruce and Tony will end up talking about the ends of the universe and I'll be there trying to keep up with it all," Pepper told Coulson.

"Steve will be there," Tony pointed out.

"I think you two confuse him more than me."

"See," Tony said to Coulson. "She really knows everything we're talking about…she just doesn't like to act like she knows about it."

. . .

Lunch was relatively boring aside from Tony's excitement in explaining something extremely complex to Bruce while using his food to illustrate it exactly. Steve had only looked confused, Coulson had tried to keep up, and then Pepper had just sighed and glared at him occasionally. He knew that she was missing the water and the spa treatments and everything that they were missing from their vacation. As much as he liked being around Bruce…and was happy to know that Coulson was alive, Tony had to admit that he missed the vacation get-a-way as well.

Tony swore he somehow was sleeping (or at least zoning out) for the first half of the conversation, but when it broke out into loud voices…he was there.

"I'm just saying," Bruce said rather loudly. "I thought we were a team…and it keeps coming up that I'm obviously not really supposed to be clued in until the last minute. I know the big green guy isn't exactly everyone's favorite, but it's good to know where I still stand with you guys…"

"I'm not exactly best buddies with Fury," Steve told him. "I don't work for SHIELD—"

"Please! You'll do anything Fury asks you to in the name of the United States!"

"Is this because of the prison Fury had on the carrier or the fact that I found out Coulson was alive before you two?"

"It's not only that!" Bruce yelled at him.

Tony turned to Pepper to find that she and Coulson were whispering, but obviously watching them fight. Normally, intervening and keeping the peace was something that Pepper did well and did quickly…but obviously right now she was placing bets with Coulson about how things were going to go down.

"Why do we have to fight about this?" Tony asked. He looked at Bruce. "We already discussed this. They're threatened by our intellect and stunning good looks…that's why we're always the outcasts."

"I might need to argue against your points there, Mr. Stark," Coulson interrupted politely.

Tony shrugged. "Pretty sure I'm right, though… We could use Pepper as the tie breaker…"

Pepper just looked at Tony.

"Let's face it," Tony said after a moment. "All Avengers are outcasts… Natasha has Clint to follow her around, I have Bruce, and Steve…has Coulson. See, works out… Buddy system."

"What about Thor?"

"Loki?" Tony put out there. "Plus, they're both in Asgard at the moment…"

"What about Pepper?" Steve asked.

The group was silent and all ended up looking towards his rather stunning redheaded fiancée. He stopped as he pondered that word again. It was odd, but it felt good. "Pepper's not part of the—"

"Fury said he offered it to her…and Rhodey…"

It was then that he noticed that Pepper was neither confirming nor denying the information. She was looking down at her lap and just sitting there quietly.

"I need to make upgrades to all the armor suits, by the way," he said in Pepper's direction. Tony really wasn't sure what to think. He knew that Pepper could handle herself. She'd proven that in the field. She was human just like they all were. He was sure that Pepper's greatest weakness in the field was most likely her empathy and emotions. It could be seen as an advantage though as well. But if Pepper was going to be going out as Rescue, he wanted to make sure that the suit was up to par. He didn't want her getting into a suit that had powering issues or that was faulty in any way.

Instead of questioning Pepper or turning the light on her, he just reached out with his hand and held her hand. His thumb ran over the top of her hand occasionally and he turned his attention back to the others. "So… When are we all getting together for shawarma again? We can figure out what day and time are good for Natasha."

"What about Clint?" Steve asked.

"We're going to ask Natasha…so of course he'll be there whenever is good for her," Tony told him. "They're together! It's so obvious, I don't know why it took us so long to see it!"

"Alien invasion," Bruce reminded.

"Oh," Tony said. "Right!" He paused thoughtfully. "So, if they were normal people… we would have already known about their relationship via facebook or some other ridiculous social media platform. Maybe we'd even be getting one of those 'save the date' cards by now."

"You know if she finds out we we're having this conversation, she's going to kill us," Bruce pointed out.

Tony shrugged. "Living in constant fear is no big deal…"

"Mainly because you never know if your upgrades are going to work properly?" Pepper teased with a small smile.

He was glad that she wasn't hiding her face anymore and had spoken up once again, even if it was merely to tease him. "I haven't been knocked into a wall…for weeks now," Tony said, acting like it was a big accomplishment. Because really, it was.

. . .

"You never told me—"

"I hadn't decided—"

"You could have still said—"

"I know…"

She sounded sad about it. Tony wasn't sure if she thought that he was upset with her or if it was something else. Truth was, he just really didn't like surprises like that… Tony wasn't sure how he felt about Pepper being asked to join, but if she wanted to do it…then he'd support her. That still didn't excuse the fact that the Rescue armor and pretty much all of the other armor sets needed to be upgraded. The Mark 1616 still had the damaged arc reactor in it. He was going to replace it when they returned and to do a full work up of all their armors. It was the plan. He would ensure that she would be safe. That his tech wouldn't be to blame for her becoming injured.

"I just," Pepper started and then stopped. She didn't look at him.

They were waiting for Rhodey. Tony still wasn't sure why Tony was coming, but Fury said he'd explain as soon as he got on board…and Fury had a lot of explaining to do. He still didn't even know where they were going or what the exact perimeters of their mission was. He knew that people were in trouble and too many were going to die if he didn't help. That was why he was there.

"I just didn't know what to think," Pepper finally said. "Everything's just been a lot… You were missing, I found you… I was on the carrier and they were telling me that you knew I was there… It's just all been so much to process… And I honestly don't know that I can do it…"

"You could," Tony told her confidently. "The Rescue armor wasn't built with weapons, but you could still do so much good in this world, Pepper… You already do it… Avengers would just be a different club of doing good." He reached out and touched her cheek. "I'm not mad, you know that right?"

Pepper looked up at him. "I know…it's just…" She frowned at him. "It's confusing…"

"It doesn't have to be," Tony told her. "And out of all the people I know in my life, you've always been the one who's been the least confused about everything."

She smiled and he felt a little better about things. He loved when she smiled. Pepper was one of those people who could easily light up a whole room with her smile. "Other things are easier…"

"Really?" he teased. "You can't say I'm easier…"

"I didn't say you," she teased back.

He grinned and leaned in to kiss her cheek. "You do what you have to and what you want, Pepper… No matter what, you already said 'yes'."

She smiled brighter. "Not sure if I can handle anything else so…complex…right now," she told him sarcastically. He smiled in response. "I'm glad I have you back…to the mostly normal version."

"There's a normal version?"

Her arms wrapped around him and he held her tight. "Things are going to get back on track…but you still owe me a proper vacation," Pepper reminded.

Tony just smiled as he held her. And as if Fury knew that they were having a moment, the door chirped to let them know someone was there. He sighed. "Come in," he called and purposely held onto Pepper. He was a little surprised when it was Rhodey who entered.

"Am I interrupting?" Rhodey asked.

"Always," Tony told him and finally allowed Pepper to pull away. It wasn't like Rhodey didn't know. Tony was pretty sure that Rhodey wasn't surprised that they were alone in a room together. Of course, his friend should just be happy that they were fully clothed and just talking. After all, it seemed like he really hadn't had any time with Pepper.

"Nice vacation."

Pepper frowned and crossed her arms. "Sore subject."

"Sorry," Rhodey said. "So…what's going on?"

"They're supposed to do all of the explaining once you're here…and you're here…"

Rhodey shrugged. "That cranky officer just told me that Fury couldn't talk to me right now…apparently I'm not allowed to wander…and I needed to make sure you two were keeping out of trouble…because apparently you've corrupted Pepper into causing problems."

Tony shrugged. "So…Hill."

"Is she always like that?"

"Always," Tony and Pepper responded.

"Let's go find out what's going on," Pepper told them. She had Tony's hand and was tugging him along. "We'll pick up Tony's playmate on the way…"

"Not the bunny kind," Tony told Rhodey, who just rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to make sure we were clear."

"Banner's on board, too?" Rhodey asked as he followed.

"They're all here…except Thor," Pepper said.

"We're having shawarma later," Tony said. "So, you're totally invited later, if you like shawarma… And you can explain why you didn't tell me about Fury offering you and Pepper positions as Avengers…"

"When did you tell him?" Rhodey asked.

Pepper sighed. "I didn't. Steve Rogers did…"

"You shouldn't blame Steve," Tony told them, not so seriously. He just liked to mess with them both. After all, he had to give them a hard time for something. It wasn't too often that they messed up, especially not both at the same time. They were normally the ones who had everything together and wrapped in a neat bow.

"Behave," Pepper told him. "Or else we won't pick up Bruce."

"Don't punish Bruce!" Tony pretended to complain. "He doesn't get out much… He needs to socialize! He ends up hiding in third world countries…and jungles…and stuff…"

"I brought the suits, by the way. They're docked in the bay where they're storing the Iron Man armor," Rhodey said casually.

He and Pepper both stopped suddenly. "What do you mean?" Tony asked. Maybe Rhodey hadn't meant to be plural, but Tony worried suddenly. There weren't many people who had access to his workshop and there were even fewer in which JARVIS would allow to remove any of the suits. Last he knew, Pepper had everything on lockdown.

"Fury told me—"

"You brought the War Machine armor?"

"And the Rescue armor…"

"Why?" Both Tony and Pepper asked.

"Fury said that you guys needed them…so I put Rescue on auto-pilot, like we did with Tony when he was too drunk to fly home…"

Tony frowned. "No."

"No?"

"What do you mean, no?" Pepper asked, turning to Tony.

He stared at them both. "The Rescue armor needs repairs. You swapped our arc reactors, remember? SHIELD geek squad fixed it, but it's not really fixed fixed." He tapped on his, which shone from under his shirt. "Unless you swapped it out once you parked it? I'm a little amazed that it's functioning as well as it has been."

"I did it," Rhodey said. "JARVIS walked me through it…"

"Okay…then I guess we're good," Tony said. "All three suits are going through a major overhaul after we actually have a vacation."

"Aren't you always overhauling armor?" Rhodey asked with a roll of his eyes.

"That's why they're so awesome," Tony said with way too much enthusiasm. He knocked on Bruce's door since they were now just talking outside his door. Might as well have him join the party…

"Hey," Bruce said once he'd entered the hallway, the door pulled closed behind him. "I didn't realize that Rhodey was going to be here so soon." He nodded with a smile towards the other man. "Nice seeing you again."

Tony liked the Bruce was one of those guys that everyone got along with, at least most of the time…when he turned into the green ball of anger…then it was a toss up (and sometimes quite literally) whether or not that side of him liked you. They walked along and Bruce and Rhodey and Pepper casually chatted. It was nice though… Tony just needed to figure out how to transition all of this to Malibu… He and Rhodey were close, but he and Bruce were friends on another level… It was like Rhodey was the cool friend and then Bruce was the friend you did fun things in the lab… Now, if only he could mix the two…

"You're not paying attention, are you?"

Pepper's voice rang through and he frowned for a moment, trying to see if he'd absorbed anything that had been said. She was looking over her shoulder at him, an amused look on her face. "No. Absolutely not. But…carry on…"

. . .

"There's something going on in Scotland," Fury explained.

Tony wasn't sure how they were now over Scotland…he was fairly sure that they'd already passed it. He'd have to find out later if the carrier made its rounds in circles or figure eights. "Are we fighting against kilts?" Tony joked and then noticed how serious Natasha and Clint appeared (well more so than normal). Hill was also glaring daggers at him.

"Not exactly," Fury said. "I'm sure you're aware of groups such as the X-Men. Mutants. Well, that's what we're going to be dealing with. Just the rather unfriendly kind. There's been report of a gathering, but it's a gathering of mass destruction… So far it's been just destroying pubs, but we've received word from a very trusted source that it's going to escalate…"

"Isn't this more of an X-Men thing?" Steve asked.

At least the old man had been doing his homework! With groups all over, it was hard to believe that they were the only ones that could possibly be on call for this. Tony had met with Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, but had not yet met any of the X-Men yet…most likely because none of them went to the same conferences that he attended.

"The X-Men are unable to respond," Fury said vaguely. "The Fantastic Four are currently up at the space station—"

"Again?" Tony complained.

"Isn't that how they mutated? Because of a trip up into space?" Bruce asked.

"Freak accident," Tony said and smiled Bruce's way.

"Wouldn't know anything about that," Bruce said with a smirk.

"What do they want from us?" Rhodey asked.

Tony noticed that Pepper was listening quite closely and when Fury pulled up his visual aids, she was completely one hundred percent focused. He knew right then that they needed her. It wasn't like they didn't have other focused people, but he knew Pepper could do this…and that she may even grow to really love doing it. It was all a level of getting comfortable in the suit and knowing what you're doing.

"Sean Cassidy is going to be your contact there. He's a mutant, code named Banshee. He's a colleague of the X-Men and he's familiar with Muir Island if you need it. It's basically a lab—"

"We like labs," Tony spoke up and motioned between him and Bruce.

Fury just nodded. "Doctor Mac Taggart might have some more information on how you might contain these mutants at her lab."

"It still sounds like we're just going down there to break up a mutant bar fight, Sir," Natasha spoke up. "Is there something I'm not seeing?"

"We have intelligence that there's a big meeting going on. That the bad goes, so to speak, are getting together and joining forces."

"The anti-Avengers?" Tony put out there and cringed a bit.

"Something like that," Fury said. "Right now, with Pepper and Rhodey included…you're seven extraordinary individuals…but right now, Cassidy is reporting twenty…and they're expecting more…" He paused for a moment. "I'm sure you all understand that we can't go through something like New York again…"

"How about containment?" Steve asked.

"Muir Island also has a holding facility inside of it that was purposely built for dangerous mutants."

"So, we're going to go in there…break up whatever they're conspiring," Bruce summized. "And then throw them into mutant jail?"

"And we have to stop the bar fights…very important," Tony added.

"Very important."

"We've already received reports of over fifty people hospitalized just from the fights alone," Fury told them. "I'm sure you can imagine what they could be capable of if they were unleashed outside of a pub."

"So…if there are as many as you say…and we need back-up?" Rhodey asked.

"You're War Machine," Tony teased. He looked over at Fury, who didn't look amused. "No, really… What if we do need back-up?"

"You're the Avengers…plus two…since I don't have answers yet," Fury said looking at Pepper and then Rhodey.

"They're in."

"I'm waiting for answers from them, Mr. Stark."

"Apparently, you're not allowed to volunteer people for the Avengers? Isn't that how we pretty much all got here?"

"I think they use the word 'drafted'," Steve tried to clarify.

Tony smirked. "Now's as good a time as any to give him your answer."

"I'm up for it," Rhodey spoke up.

Pepper was silent, however, and Tony noticed her staring at him. He wasn't sure if he was worried on her decision either way or if she really wasn't ready to decide. Rhodey had had so much more experience with the War Machine armor… Pepper hadn't had enough time flying around as Rescue. She lacked the confidence, but only when it came to being an iron clad superhero. In every other way, he swore Pepper had confidence to spare…even if she was a bit shy about it at times.

"It's okay, Pep," he whispered as he reached out and squeezed her hand lightly.

"This isn't something to be taken lightly, Ms. Potts," Fury said. "You don't have to give your answer first."

"I'm just trying to think if I say no if that means that my vacation will be interrupted next time," Pepper said quietly.

"Yes," Natasha and Maria Hill responded in unison.

"She never gets a vacation," Tony said quite honestly. "Or a day off really…"

"Well someone has to keep track of you," Fury teased him.

"Then yes," she said.

Tony watched her, she seemed happy with her decision. She hoped that she did it for the right reasons and not just because she felt pressured or like he expected it. He wasn't sure if having her there with him on missions would change his level of worry about her or not. At least, he could keep track of both the War Machine and Rescue armor while in his own suit. Being able to see the feeds of their vitals and the armor levels gave him some peace in the middle of everything.

"I think we should go," Clint spoke up for the first time since they'd been there. "Before they tear up any more of Scotland…"

"Go on, then," Fury said. "Suit up and head out. Report in often."

"Will do," Steve said and was the first one out the doors.

He was always so eager and Tony wondered if it was just the decade he'd been born in or if it was just the genuine Steve personality. Either way, sometimes it was just annoying at how ready he was to be on board with Fury's mission. Tony held tight to Pepper hand and they made their way out as well. He really wasn't in that big of a hurry. After all, he, Rhodey, and Pepper would be flying down on their own in the suits. It wasn't like they needed to catch the flight down.

At one point they split up and everyone else headed off to either suit up or just make their way to the hanger while he, Rhodey, and Pepper headed for where their armor was being stored. He was a little sad because Bruce didn't get to come along with them. "I want to run a quick diagnostic on all the armor before we leave the carrier," Tony told them.

"You're just worried that I didn't install that arc reactor correctly," Rhodey told him.

"Not that I don't trust you—"

"JARVIS would have said something if he'd done it incorrectly," Pepper pointed out. "It wouldn't have been safe to leave the house."

"You never know…JARVIS might have been glitched," Tony tried to come up with a good excuse. He knew that they'd both see right through it, but he had to try.

"Glitched?" Pepper asked. "Really?"

He couldn't lie to her when she looked at him like that. "Okay, so that's pretty far fetched…" Tony frowned. "The truth is, I just want to make sure that everything is one hundred percent with the Rescue suit."

"Thanks," Rhodey grumped.

"No offense, but you're not my fiancée."

Pepper smiled and shook her head. "Why don't you do a quick scan of all three for real instead of just mine? After all, it's been a bit since you looked at them…"

"I suppose…I could…do that," Tony said and pulled her closer before putting an arm around her. He was suddenly envisioning being able to finish their vacation. It was going to happen, he told himself. It wasn't just a mental note, but a promise. Pepper deserved it. And for all he knew, it might be the closest they'd ever have to having a honeymoon. It was like a pre-honeymoon. Though, a honeymoon was still a good excuse to get away from everything.

When they arrived in the room where their armor waited, Rhodey was in his armor quickly, but Tony kept Pepper behind. He opened the Rescue suit and had JARVIS start the scans, but he wanted a few minutes with Pepper. "Are you sure about this?" Tony asked.

"I can do it," Pepper told him. "I just might not do everything right."

"Do I need to leave you two alone?" Rhodey asked as his faceplate flipped up to reveal his face.

Tony sighed. "Yes. JARVIS, close War Machine faceplate and mute."

"Not nice," Pepper told him with a small smile. "I can take care of myself, though…mostly, anyways… And I can help."

"I know you can, I just…we haven't had a chance to talk," Tony told her. "Too busy saving the world…"

"At least Scotland," Pepper corrected.

"Sir, all suits are running as well as can be expected," JARVIS reported.

"And the arc reactor in Rescue?" Tony asked.

"Running at one hundred percent."

"See?" Pepper said with a smile.

Tony helped Pepper into her suit, but cupped her cheek while JARVIS started to button her into the armor. "Just stay safe."

"I always try to," she told him with a smile.

"Try harder…"

"I think I might have a better track record than you," she pointed out.

"Give it time," Tony said before leaning in and kissing her. "Cover my ass?"

"Don't I always?" she said before the faceplate snapped down.

Tony smirked and then leaned down and activated the Iron Man armor. It only took a minute before he was completely covered in armor and his HUD activated. "JARVIS, put Rescue on my display."

"And War Machine?" JARVIS asked.

"I guess you can throw him up there, too."

"I'm sure Colonel Rhodes will appreciate your concern, Sir," JARVIS commented as War Machine was added to the display.

"C'mon…I have to make sure Pepper's okay… Rhodey's got about a hundred more weapons than Pepper has."

"Isn't that because her armor was built as purely protective, Sir?"

"Yes," Tony said slowly. "Okay, time to stop talking to myself—"

"You mean me, Sir?"

"Yes," Tony said with a bit of a smile. "Time to talk to Rhodey and Pepper."

"I'll leave you to it, Sir," JARVIS said.

With communications open, Tony started towards the opening door that led out of the carrier. "Time to save Scotland…" Tony said. "Do they have shawarma here?"

"I think the local delicacy is bangers and mash…" Rhodey told him. "At least I'm pretty sure that's what TV's taught me."

"That…sounds wrong…and not tasty," Tony said. "I guess we'll save them anyways…"

. . .

The End