My apologies for taking such a long time to update. Many of you even thought I'd given up on this story, yet some of you continued to review and encourage me to try and write again, to finish this. Thank you so much. I don't like abandoning projects, but honestly I'm not sure if I'd have picked up this story again if not for you guys. So thank you, really.

Chapter 25 is dedicated to: Descartes, SAP, arya304, Alpha-Phoenix28, CrimsonSnowFlakes, kingleochuenchom16, Random Devil, cbluna, ripper34, riddance, Vivianne95, Whisper a Shout, 3, Half an Inch, ABookWormForLife, yourenotscarlettjohanssonbye, wolfern, Toadmiffle, Quilliet, Nightcrawlerfw, youngjusticefanatic, Jessica, 3226freespirit and all guests.

Chapter Twenty-Five:
Endgame I

DISCLAIMER: So… it's been six long years. Nope, still no luck.

As if confirming his thoughts, Snake spoke, "I know how they deal with things, it's etched into me. Regardless of your value, they sting… and the moment they do you die."

...

A pregnant silence accompanying the graveness of Snake's voice came over them, and it fell heavily around the atmosphere.

Wolf cleared his throat loudly.

"There's no need to be so dramatic," Wolf was the first to break the spell in a characteristic waspish manner. "We all know SCORPIA is deadly. Big deal!"

Snake shot him an annoyed look, but before he could rise at Wolf's statement, Fox hurriedly broke in to stop the argument from escalating further.

"Right, so we've laid out our facts. What can we do now?"

As one, the K-Unit members turned to face their Captain again. However, they were not in luck that night, because Wolf had no devilish ideas to offer. A mute sigh rose up among them when they realized none were forthcoming, and one by one they subtly averted their gaze. Which action, of course only added to Wolf's ire. In defiant response the Captain of K-Unit pinned his mouth in a thinner line and barked the first thing that came to mind.

"We stay alert and tell nobody."

"Right," Snake said, his tone unreadable. for a moment Wolf half-expected someone to ask 'why can't we tell the Sergeant?' but no one did, and nobody was curious about his explanation either. In fact, they simply brushed it aside as if it were obvious. "Anything else?" Snake said.

"If you're so smart think of something else why don't you," Wolf snapped at the medic. "We are here for a discussion!"

"Well I was hoping there would be more to discuss, because we haven't reached a single solution," Snake retorted in a tone to match Wolf's.

Fox rubbed his temple and sighed. Not for the first time he wished their youngest unit member was around. Perhaps he would have some inkling as to what their next move should be then. Even as he thought of it now, Alexei's uncannily sharp observations of his surroundings and the people around him, his detailed planning and execution of his plans… it was all beginning to make more sense. He'd had more experience in the field of espionage than all of them, except maybe Snake himself.

But why had Alexei returned to K-Unit? Fox recalled that Alexei had been planning to take the evaluation tests to become an official spy, possibly because MI6 had decided that they wanted Alexei to legitimately enter the espionage field. Yet, weeks before the tests were due to begin, Alexei was pulled out and sent back to the Headquarters. The simplest conclusion would be that Alexei was suddenly required for an urgent mission... but yet, the mission was linked back to here, somewhere on Brecon Beacons.

Fox looked up when he realized that Wolf and Snake had fallen silent. Both of them were now staring at him with varying degrees of uncertainty and expectance.

"I don't understand anything" Fox said finally, letting his hands fall back to his sides. "Alexei works for MI6, yet somehow he's linked to SCORPIA. He's left for a mission in goodness knows where, yet it's linked to a possible bombing at Brecon Beacons."

"Maybe that's it, though," Snake said, "MI6 pulled out Alexei and sent him as a double agent to SCORPIA, to find out about the bombing."

Wolf clapped his hands together in a sharp, resounding crack. "Yes! And maybe Horse is planning to return before the plane arrives to warn us!"

"Why would he come all the way here to warn us instead of getting back to the Headquarters immediately?" Snake pointed out the obvious loophole.

"Well explain why he took my communicator then!" Wolf shot back.

"He didn't just take your communicator though," Fox pointed out suddenly. "He could have nicked it, or stolen it from Riley or something – it wouldn't be that hard. But he only took yours, Wolf, which its first direct line connects back to your other communicator. And he left the compass you gave him in its place, because he wanted you to know that he took it."

"The question now is why," Snake spoke before Wolf could speak, "What were his intentions when he did that? What did he expect us to do?"

Wolf rubbed his temple. "That's why I never liked spies," he growled irritably, "They never get straight to the point!"

"If he expected us to do something, and if he couldn't tell, why didn't he leave us more clues?" Snake mused, ignoring Wolf completely. It was fast becoming quite a useful habit. His eyes suddenly snapped to Fox. "On the last day before he left, you were paired with Horse weren't you? Did he say anything?"

Fox thought hard to their last training they had together – him and Alexei wading through tall grass to find the mine-trap. Somehow it felt like ages ago when it had been little over 24 hours. "I told him I guessed his real identity beforehand," he said slowly. "And I said I hoped he would tell me why he was leaving, but there was nothing he could say." A pause. Fox's eyes suddenly sharpened in their intensity.

"The last time I saw him, he suddenly stopped and asked me how much would I trust him."

Wolf looked at him disbelievingly. "Was that a sentimental question or what?"

"He seemed urgent. Afraid. I can't be sure. His exact question was, 'if I drew a mark, would you shoot?'" Fox recalled. He looked at Wolf in the eye before continuing. "I told him that I would, but only if you allowed it."

The K-Unit Captain looked absolutely scandalized.

"Then why the hell didn't he ask me that question?!" Wolf burst out.

Snake snorted. "'Cause you gave him plenty of opportunities to approach you I suppose."

Wolf bristled visibly. "Well if it were a life-and-death matter, surely he would have regardless of the opportunities I present!"

The K-Unit Captain climbed to his feet agitatedly and stared hard at the scene before them. The rest only watched in silence, not daring to interrupt. "This is getting absolutely ridiculous! We're hardly on a quest, and we're not some kind of Golden Trio trying to figure out tattered clues an old man left behind."

Fox raised an eyebrow at the Harry Potter reference but wisely held his silence as Wolf spoke.

"I'll tell you what we'll do," Wolf continued. It seemed as though he were at the very end of his patience. "Nothing. If Horse is half as good at his job as he claimed to be, he should know by now that I am not a person to solve riddles or clues. If he needed me to do something, he would have done something obvious or said it to my face. He took my communicator knowing I always have my other one with me anyway. So we wait to see if there is any message from him. Fox can search for whatever mark Horse wants him to shoot, I don't care! If there is none, then that's it! End of story!"

There was a moment of stunned silence following Wolf's outburst. Fox and Snake exchanged glances. Snake blinked.

"That's a very simple interpretation of things, I suppose," Snake began slowly, well-aware of Wolf's burning gaze trained on him.

"But I have to admit there's some sense to that."

xXx

They didn't sleep that night.

Instead they sat together under Wolf's tent, feeling each tense second crawl by as they counted down towards what felt like an ephemeral eternity. It was as if every moment was short-lived, as if there was so much they had to find out, so much to plan for their next course of action; yet there was nothing they could do, and because of that time seemed to be pass by, contradictorily, agonizingly slowly.

Ten o' clock. Eleven o' clock. Twelve. One. The world outside seemed to grow gradually darker, and even more still if it were possible. They heard the soft rustling of forest animals darting in between trees, heard the call of the retrieval team patrol. Nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Two. Three. Wolf got up and grabbed his shotgun, where he ran his fingers across the sleek metal, as if polishing it absently. His face was closed off, expression tight and hardened into cold indifference. Beside him Fox fingered his own rifle, as if trying to figure out what sort of mark Alexei might have left them. Snake stared into the distance unseeingly. Wolf's communicator which was lying on the floor never lit up, there was no crackle nor buzz of a message coming through.

Four. Four and a quarter, four thirty. Nothing happened. Once Fox thought he heard the chopping sound of a helicopter arriving, but silence was quick to swallow any sound he might have heard. It could only have been his imagination.

Four forty-five. Four fifty. Snake seemed to have fallen asleep in place, but for the rigidness in his figure that gave him away. Wolf didn't even try to pretend. His eyes were bright and alert, his sharp gaze never leaving the communicator for even a second.

Snake's wristwatch gave a quiet beep. Five.

Wolf said nothing. He stared hard at the screen, as if willing for a sign, for a crackling sound or any sort of indication that Horse was going to contact them like they'd guessed. But nothing happened. Five o' five, Five ten. No signal came. The light in the corner of the device remained red. They were not within communicating range. Not yet.

Five fifteen.

Wolf stood up. His face could have been carved out of stone, his expression cold and hard as it was. "They're arriving at six," he said, his clipped voice eerily quiet.

Alexei wasn't anywhere near yet. They would barely have enough time.

"Let's get to the assembly point first," Fox said, and for the first time there was silent, mutual agreement. They dressed quickly in their respective uniforms, and Snake and Wolf pinned on their Gold Stars. Their long-range rifles were strapped to their backs. It was now five twenty, and the light remained red.

It was as Wolf had told them the night before. The arrival point had been moved up north by the river, and it was there where all the soldier units would be assembled. Again by mutual consensus they decided to take the quick route there, once again pass the forest cavern in which Eagle had been nearly killed what felt like years ago. They moved rapidly, weaving through trees and well-trodden paths with experience, but their attention was fixed on the small light emitting from Wolf's communicator that refused to flash green.

Five thirty.

They arrived at the huge clearing beside the river.

Most of the other units had assembled. Sergeant Wynter himself was there; when he saw K-Unit arrive he simply nodded briefly in their direction before turning his back on them. A few younger soldiers looked mildly excited at the sudden change in routine, but most remained impassive.

There was no signal.

Five thirty-one. Thirty-two. Thirty-three. Thirty-four…

"Soldiers to your positions!" the Sergeant called out.

Wolf ignored him, there was hardly need for any role call. He was entirely fixated on the communicator barely hidden in his sleeve.

Thirty-six. Thirty-seven. Thirty-eight.

Faint streaks of pink painted the horizon, permeating the dark canvas that was the sky. Polaris burned fiercer still even as its light grew dimmer and dimmer against the lightening darkness.

Five forty. The sky grew gradually lighter. Black melted away into varying shades of dark blue, purple, pink, orange and glimmers of red. Stars grew fainter still.

Alexei wasn't coming.

Five forty-six. Forty-seven. Forty-eight. Forty nine.

Five fifty.

A flash in the corner of his eye, of red flickering to green, even for the briefest of seconds.

Wolf blinked. He stared at it hard, but the light remained a stubborn red. He slid the communicator out of his sleeve, uncaring that the Sergeants were roaming about, keeping the file of soldiers in a neat line.

The light flickered again. Red-green. A flash so fast he could have missed it had his eyes weren't trained on the small light the whole time. He spared a glance to his unit members to and flashed the communicator at them.

Five fifty three. The light flickered again. And this time, static crackled through the speaker.

Wolf's eyes widened. Beside him a few soldiers were beginning to stare, but he couldn't care less. He pressed the communicator to his ears, as if praying, hoping for any sound to indicate that their guesses were correct.

"Horse. Horse - Cub, damnit, can you hear me?!"

More static. Far beyond he could make out the faint glimmering of sunlight shifting across the water in bizarre patterns, and there in the lightening sky he could make out something flying, heading towards them. It grew darker and larger against the sunlight, gaining distance, shortening their time.

"For goodness' sake you utter imbecile, say something!" Wolf hissed, half-shouted.

"Captain Wolf! In position!" a Sergeant's cold voice rang like the crack of a sharp whip in the still dawn.

But Wolf didn't hear him. There was a familiar voice over the speaker, faint and barely audible over the static, but he was for once certain of what he'd heard.

"Wolf," Alexei's voice said.

…

...

He had no back-up plan.

From the moment he'd been strapped to the bomb ticking down towards his death, he finally came to terms with that he'd essentially left all his chances with his unit members back at Brecon Beacons.

All he had left with him was Wolf's communicator, and the ZIT cream from Smithers.

After they'd finished the rest of the technical work, Alex had left with the rest of the errand boys out through the side-door. He'd then met the SCORPIA agent at the designated spot, where he was led back to the same place. It was then when SCORPIA called forth their suicide bomber, and Alex walked out in front in a brazen display, as if he were volunteering for something glorious, and he would be dying for a noble cause. Despite everything Alex was still distinctly surprised at the flash of shock and horror that flashed across Andy's face when he'd walked upfront. Alex thought he could make out the small dawn of understanding in the man's eyes, the man he'd worked with and helped build the contraption that would eventually be the cause of his death.

"Maybe you could take up a job as my apprentice. I can tell you're adept at machines. I'm sure SCORPIA won't mind."

He remembered smiling faintly at the last touch of human friendliness. "I don't have plans for the future."

He didn't have it before, he didn't have it now. A part of him wished he did. He wished he'd known better before following on a path bent on revenge that wasn't even his to take. He wished he'd met Ian sooner, wished that he'd turned his back and walked out like Ian had told him to when he still had the chance.

Gregor was the one that ultimately strapped him to the bomb. He relayed Julia Rothman's message then. He told him a story, where his father hadn't been a criminal he'd thought to be but MI6's best agent, where his father wasn't killed by the hands of MI6 but by SCORPIA. Julia Rothman herself appeared on screen later, laughing, reveling in a twisted sort of joy at having her revenge on someone that had long gone from the world.

But for all her manic laughter, her words, none of them touched him. He didn't feel betrayed, no anger, no fear, no sadness. He didn't even feel numb. He'd found instead his goal, and for the first time since he'd walked into this mess he could envision the finishing line.

It was as he'd expected. They searched him, but even if they'd bothered to do it thoroughly they wouldn't have found a thing. They thought they'd betrayed him, he was the fool. Whatever gadgets Smithers had couldn't get him out of it. The bomb was loaded into the plane, and he was already in it. There was no way for him to escape. The moment he lost contact with the bomb it would detonate. They were flying towards their destination without pause, and they would hit SAS grounds at 6 a.m. sharp.

So he acted the part. He hung his head defeatedly for the benefit of the surveillance camera which Julia Rothman was undoubtedly watching. But what nobody knew was that he'd secretly strapped the communicator itself on the inside of the timer when he was 'finishing up' the preparations of the bomb. The metal tubes of the ZIT cream was cleverly camouflaged against the contraption itself: four tubes stuck on the inside of the four metal bars that held him in place. No one had noticed anything amiss.

So now the communicator was practically pressed against his chin. He'd already unscrewed the caps of the ZIT cream – all he needed to do was lean down hard against the metal bars, and the ZIT cream would be squeezed out of the tube and eat away at the metal. He could only hope that it worked as fast as Smithers had promised him it would.

From then on the countdown began. All the time he cast his eyes downwards in an act of dejection, but they were actually trained on the small light on the communicator: hoping and praying fervently for the moment it would change from red to green. Nothing else mattered then.

For an eternity only the whirring of the plane engine filled his ears. He had no indication of the time passing, but he could feel the metallic tick of the cold steel pressed against his chest, numbering his minutes to live.

He kept on watching. He never let down his guard, never let his thoughts wander. He felt the hours on the timer turn to minutes, until it was within the last ten minutes for him to live. And that was when the red light begin to flicker.

His heart began hammering then, and the familiar rush of adrenaline he'd felt and had almost come to love in his previous missions filled him one last time. He had his goal, he knew what it was that he wanted. He could see the scene play out before him clearly.

They might have used him as a chess-piece, but he had a mind of his own.

The flickering light flashed red-green irregularly. Alex thought he could make out a crackle of a voice, fierce and commanding, shouting his codename. Probably issuing another order.

Alex hung his head low to hide his face from the camera. The little communicator light was blazing green, and it filled his entire vision. Slowly he parted his lips and spoke directly into the speaker.

"Wolf," he said.

A/N: Okay, sorry sorry sorry. I didn't mean to leave it at such an awful cliffie I swear. But updates are better than none at all, right….? *weak grins*

I can't make promises, but I'll try to update within this year. Hopefully. Which means, within this month, cuz it's already December. Hahah. Consider it my early Christmas present.

Some of you have asked me if I'm planning to start another AR story, or sequel. As a matter of fact I already did start another AR fic titled Little White Lie. It's meant to be a mini-fic of sorts, centres around Ian and Alex: a what-if Alex found out about Ian's secret when he's nine years old. It would mean a lot to me if you checked it out :p

Thank you so much for reading and sticking to this story. I couldn't have come this far without your support. Hope you enjoyed it, and please review :P

Rating system:

:D for amazing

O for okay

X for terrible

Till next time!
Epsilon Scorpii