Author's Note - So this is it folks, our final chapter in this adventure. It has been a joy to write this both for myself and for you. Sharing my writing with the world was the reason I chose to start publishing my fanfics and even though you have been quiet I know you're reading and I hope you're enjoying it because it means I have achieved something meaningful.

I am considering writing a story that follows along the timeline with Gears 4, currently playing with ideas. So if you enjoy what you read, please follow me to see what abominations I create in the future.

As with the ending to all my stories I do feel a vast amount of sadness, letting go of the characters that have shaped my life for the best part of six years is hard to fathom. I hope that you have grown as fond of them as I have.

So here it is, chapter twenty-five for your reading pleasure.

Chapter Twenty-Five - The Last Stand of Sergeant Ollyvar Wilks

Frost grabbed hold of Wilks by his collar and dragged him to a heap beside his guarding Nightmares. Wilks looked pathetically back at his captor using as much energy as he could muster to sit up.

"Please," he begged, "don't hurt her. If you have any care for the feelings you once had for her, you'll honour my last wishes."

"Always the fucking hero," Frost muttered, "aren't you sick of constantly trying to be this perfect person."

"I thought you'd have realised by now it's all for her,"

Frost snorted as his attention drew to another stalk bursting through the ground not too far from them. He watched cautiously as the bulging pods pulsed momentarily before spewing a screeching Lambent creature onto the ground. More followed suit.

"I'm assuming you don't have any control of those," Wilks commented quietly behind him.

The Leader growled a moment, debating on sending the Gear after the new threat. Freja gently touched his arm searching for any sight of the Formers to assist them, noticing that they were conveniently absent. Frost let out a snort and made his decision. Striding over to where he kept his hostages and poked Miles in the leg with his cleaver. Miles gave him a hooded glare in response.

"I have some pest control issues, deal with it,"

"If it's so much of an issue why don't you send your cronies to deal with it. You have enough of them,"

Frost twitched at Miles' defiance. His fingers gripped the handle of his Cleaver, and he felt himself lift the weapon ready to strike him. Aidie positioned herself between them both offering out her bound hands to him.

"Stop," she bullishly demanded, "no more killing. Tell me what you want, and I'll deal with it."

Miles reached forward to place a hand on her shoulder, "You aren't going alone Aidie, I won't allow it."

"So two willing victims," Frost sheathed his Cleaver and hoisted Aidie to her feet with her bindings. She then assisted Miles, so he stood protectively beside her, his broken arm held to his chest. Thaw, who had been standing watch, handed over the Gears' weapons to his Leader. Frost frowned at the pathetic guns, "pistols? Seriously?"

"I've handled worse," Miles commented as he snatched his Snub from him and strode away.

Aidan hesitantly offered her wrists to Frost to free. He drew her close to him, close enough for her to feel his hot breath on her face. She grimaced and attempted to pull away. As he slowly sliced away at the ties that bound her, his vision fixed on the ring attached to her tags around her neck.

"I would have waited, you know," he quietly told her, out of earshot of his people, "what I felt for you. I would have waited forever. I would never have pressured you."

"I made my choice two years ago," she responded, pulling her hands from her binds and snatching the Boltok from him, "and I'll stand by that decision."

"What if he dies," he called wistfully to her as she left him.

She paused a moment and glanced back. It surprised him how little he recognised of the woman that answered, "then I'll do it alone."

She let out a heavy sigh before turning and making her way to join Miles. They both glanced across at Wilks slumped against the wall as they marched towards the incoming Lambent.

"You okay?" Miles asked her, gently placing a hand on her arm.

She shook her head, "No Miles, just look at him."

"I know," Miles refused to look at his Sergeant again for fear of letting the sight get to him, "but he's fighting it."

"For how long?"

"For as long as we keep the fight going here,"

They watched the approaching Lambent stagger towards them then exchanged looks with one another.

"For Wilks,"

Cam rounded the harbour cautiously, taking in the Nightmares that surrounded it. The soldier in him told him to bide his time and fight his way to Wilks. But the father inside him told him to get to the fallen Gear and save his life no matter the consequences. He dropped to a crouch and pulled the vial out of his pocket, gently tilting it back and forth between his fingers. He dug around his medical bag for the needle, pulling off the protective cover from the end. He angled the tube upwards and drew the liquid into the syringe, watching the faintly glowing liquid swirl into it. Satisfied that the cure was ready for delivery, he kept it in his hand.

Making his decision, he made his move towards the harbour. The Leader caught sight of him instantly and hollered at him in warning.

"Come any closer, and I'll kill you,"

Cam deafened himself to his aggressor's threats. His mind focussing on the one thing that mattered. He sprinted forward, lashing out at the Nightmares that dared to stop him. He lifted his Boltok and fired. His peripheral vision picked out Miles and Aidie holding back a wave of Polyps over the far side of the harbour. His attention now fixed in on Wilks, propped limply against a wall.

He dropped beside him, quickly taking stock of his vitals. He gently tapped the Sergeant's cheek while he pressed one finger against his neck in search of a pulse.

"Hey kid, you with me?" he asked, watching as Wilks blinked and hazily fixed him with his unbandaged eye.

He hoisted Wilks onto his lap and counted finger widths along his neck before jabbing the needle quickly and delivering the serum into his system.

The result was instant, as Wilks went rigid, his body convulsed against this new intrusion. He dug his fingernails into the earth as he fought the agonising pain that surged through him. His entire body started to burn up, and now every part of him was drowning from the inside out. He spewed up bile in response to the poisonous cocktail of drugs and Lambency in his system. His scars were searing with the heat inside him. Fighting the urge to tear at his face, he clenched his fists into balls to resist the need to claw at himself. He let out an involuntary cry as he dropped fully to the ground.

He began to fit, his muscles spasming against the war inside him. He choked on his vomit as he tried to gasp for air between surges of sickness, his body purging the Lambency from him in any way possible.

A hand thumped him heavily on his back as he felt himself get positioned on his side.

"That's it," Cam's soothing voice remained beside him, "cough it up, kid."

His body threw up everything left inside him until all that remained was a retching, shivering human. He felt himself grow weak, collapsing face first into the dirt and feeling an immense desire to sleep.

"Don't give up," Cam encouraged him, rubbing a fatherly hand over his back in reassurance, "this is the hardest part, you knew that."

"I can't Cam," Wilks slurred.

"Look," he pointed to the rest of their squad, "they're doing this for you. They fight for you."

Wilks' blurry vision gazed over to catch a glimpse at Aidie and Miles, Lambent surrounded them, charging and snapping at their last defence. Aidie calculated her shots with the Boltok as she and Miles counted bullets between them. The ground that separated them from him seemed a million miles away as a group of Formers began to charge at them. Aidie twisted to cast a glance back at him. Every part of her now the Gear he had trained.

"Son," Cam's gruff voice drawing him back, "I can't lose you. You are all I have in this world. Please, fight this for me."

His fingers ran gently through the dark hair of the boy he had loved as his own. A faint moan sounded from deep within him in response.

"Cam?" Wilks felt his dry, cracked lips attempt a word.

"I'm here,"

The sound of heavy boots thundering over the path towards him drew Cam's attention. He lifted his head from Wilks to investigate, just as Frost's Cleaver swung cleanly across his throat. His skull severed instantly from his body and was thrown a short distance away.

"Cam!" Aidie screamed as she and Miles witnessed the sight, powerless to help.

"No!" Miles' breath stuck in his throat. He tried to stagger forwards but felt his feet stumble over themselves. He felt a wave of nausea overcome him as he clasped a hand over his mouth in horror.

"M...Mi...Miles?" Aidie dropped to her knees beside him, grabbing hold of his arm to keep her balance. She couldn't stop staring at the look on Cam's severed head as its terrified eyes gazed back at her.

Miles took her into his arms and twisted away from the scene.

"Don't look, Aidie, please don't look,"

She struggled with him until he wrenched her down into cover.

"Oh God Miles," she panted, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Cam."

Miles ground his teeth as he tried to fight back the rising emotion, his voice failing to answer her. For once in his life, he was at a loss as to how he could respond to the monster that was tearing his family apart.

Wilks' unconscious body shuddered as he coughed into the dirt, groggily feeling himself coming round. He weakly attempted to prise the bandage from his eye as his vision blurred into focus. He slowly tried to prop himself up, letting out a grunt as his aching body fought against his wishes. His elbows gave way, and he thumped awkwardly back to the ground. He took a few minutes to gather his strength again, blinking the dust from his eyes until he could see. He flexed his stiff fingers, toying with the grit between them until he felt strong enough to bear weight. He huffed heavily as he partially hoisted himself upwards. He rubbed at his eyes as he tried to fix on something to assist him. Then, as he caught a blurry look at the bloody splatters around him, he felt a wobble of fear in the pit of his belly.

His strength allowed him to partially crawl towards something his mind screamed him to stop doing. Subconsciously, he knew that whatever he was going to find was going to kill him inside. He reached out and gently turned the object to face him, only to find a lifeless pair of eyes gaze back at him. He recoiled in horror, shuffling backwards away in the dirt.

A humourless chortle sounded behind him. Wilks twisted as Frost dragged the headless body and dropped it to the Gear's feet.

"Yeah, this one was my bad," he commented with a smirk across his face, "I did warn him not to come closer, but he only ignored me."

"You..." even words were a struggle as Wilks fought the overwhelming desire to give into it all, "bastard."

"Not up to fighting talk? Well that's one way to shut you up,"

"What... did he ever do to you?" Strength started to build inside the Sergeant as he weakly drew himself up on unsteady legs.

"I told you I'd see you suffer before you accept your inevitable fate,"

A haze of movement behind Wilks caused the Gear to whisk unsteadily round and grab the unsuspecting Nightmare by the throat. He drew Freja's slender feminine frame close to him, a simmering rage bubbling up inside him.

"It's almost too easy," he grumbled, as he gave Frost a purposeful look.

Freja struggled in his hold, desperately trying to get to the weapon on her back. He tightened his grip around her neck until he could hear her strangle a choke back. He gave her an emotionless look as she scrabbled against him. He pulled her closer to speak into her ear, his low, gravelly voice sending shivers down her spine.

"You threaten the life of my wife and child again, and I will kill you," he released her suddenly, letting her drop to the ground with a thud.

She gasped and coughed as she scrabbled away from him into Frost's protective arms. Every part of the Leader twitched in anger. He tightly gripped the handle of his Cleaver, his fists going white the tighter he clenched. He then released Freja and charged towards Wilks, letting out a scream of a roar as he ran. Wilks easily dodged the swipe, grabbing hold of Frost's wrist and twisting it until he dropped the monstrous blade from his hand. The Gear leant into him, close enough for the pair to take in their scars and blemishes.

"Stop acting like a kid and start behaving like a man. Put your fucking blade down and punish me like you always wanted,"

"Gladly," Frost spat back and wrestled himself away. He stretched his fists and cracked his knuckles in readiness.

Adam Fenix's Lambent Countermeasure device blasted across the planet. The rippling blue wave surged through every crevice and living being on Sera. Each creature born through Imulsion stopped in their steps as the parasite within them burst apart. The Locust dropped to the ground as the entity that had fuelled their aggression crystallised inside them. The Lambent stumbled forwards, Imulsion pouring from their innards as they screamed in agony.

The stalks began to wither, the substance that had once made them so indestructible now destroying them. The Polyps screeched and skittered, the glowing liquid inside them dripping from every orifice.

Archer and his band of guards stopped their battle with the advancing creatures to watch them expire before them. The men looked to Archer for an answer, and he shook his head in response.

"Clear down men," he ordered, "let's wipe these bastards out and get to the harbour."

As the blue wave pulsed through each human, the responding reaction differed from them. Aidan and Miles felt a tingling sensation tickle through them. The Nightmares, still infected with the Lambency began to grow erratic and violent as their human bodies fought to stay alive. Wilks and Frost felt the aggression catch them like a virus, switching off their emotional human side to concentrate on the only thing that mattered to them.

Frost snarled as he swung at Wilks, his fist catching the soldier's shoulder and painfully impacted upon his armour. He hardly had enough time to right himself when Wilks' fist met him again and again with a force he had never experienced from any human. He swerved backwards to allow himself a breath, finally taking in the heavily panting Gear.

"I warned you, touch my family, and I would fucking kill you," there was murder in Wilks' eyes, the humanity that made him into the person he was no longer a part of him. Instead, a COG trained killer remained.

Wilks stepped temptingly close inciting Frost to throw the next punch. Swerving as his fist threw out at him and then caught him on the side. The Gear lunged forwards, unafraid of the closeness of their contact and smashed him angrily in the chin, watching as blood and teeth forced from the gaping hole in Frost's cheek. The Leader snarled, spitting out blood and a remaining chunk of tooth, and caught him quickly, returning the favour as his fists thundered against the Gear's eye socket. Wilks staggered back, shaking off the dizzying impact. Several Nightmares took their cue from Freja and lunged at him from behind, pulling him to the ground as they punched and kicked him. Freja lead the beating. The Gear balled himself tightly to protect what mattered as he timed his next response. He grabbed one mercenary by the leg and sunk his teeth heavily into his ankle. The Nightmare let out a scream, thrashing out his foot in response just as Wilks dragged him to the ground. He threw punch after punch until his attackers drew back, those who had remained were left strewn on the ground twitching and moaning, coughing up their blood.

He turned to Frost, who had watched the altercation in amusement and snarled.

"You're a coward Frost," he growled, shaking off the bloody drips from his face, "sending your fucking men to do a job you couldn't complete."

"I can complete it just fine,"

He then lunged at him, overwhelming the soldier with a series of punches, forcing him backwards as he tried to block each shot. Wilks took a minute to build his momentum, catching Frost's fist as it went for his throat. He spat in his face and retreated away from him, blood blurring his vision. He wiped a hand over his face to flick the bloody sweat from him then lunged back at Frost.

"You need to go to him!" Miles told Aidie as they held their position behind cover, a few of the Nightmares now targeting them.

"Why me?" she asked, firing at the attacking humans.

"Because it has always been you," he said, "you are the only one who can end this and bring him back to us."

She glanced back at the raging monster that had unleashed in Wilks. She barely recognised him anymore.

"What if I can't?"

"Then we're all going down," they shared a look, fear and sadness combined, "I'd do it, but I know it'll only work with you."

Eventually, she nodded, swallowing down the sickening dread that was rising within her. She worked out her path to Wilks and drew out the pistol from its holster, loading in her last bullets.

"Cover me, Miles," she sent him a worried smile, "and if this goes wrong, get the hell out of here."

She leapt over cover before he could respond and charged towards her next spot. Slamming herself against a wall, she glanced back at Miles who followed her every step. She lunged forward to her next target, rolling between cover until she reached safety. She could hear the aggression pouring out of Wilks now as he grabbed hold of an attacking Nightmare by the throat and crushed his larynx. It was now or never.

I need to be brave.

She forced herself towards him. She had never been as afraid of him as she had at that moment. Everything they had been through together, all the emotion and pain they had shared. She had never questioned his feelings for her because she knew he would never hurt her. But now, Aidan didn't even know if this was the same man. But she had to try.

She watched as he dropped the dead mercenary to the ground. His bloodied fists swung out for his next target as she charged towards him. She reached out for his hand to stop him, using all her strength to keep him back. She pressed herself close to his chest, placing her free hand over his heart. It took everything inside her to not flinch from the bloodied soldier, searching his face for any glimpse of the man she loved.

"Ollyvar," she cried out to him.

At her voice she felt a part of him change slightly, his irrational madness edging back.

"You can beat this. You're better than this. Find that humanity that I know is within you."

She reached a gentle hand up to his cheek, her fingers running down his scar to the stubble of his beard.

"Come back to me Wilks,"

His dark, savage eyes blinked a moment before setting themselves on her worried face. She watched as the storms within him started to disperse. His hands grasped desperately towards her as she quivered in his powerful embrace and he exhaled heavily. She felt him shudder at her touch as if little by little his aggression slowly seeped into nothingness.

"Aidan," he breathed as the fog finally cleared and he fixed his gaze upon her, "oh my god. I could have killed you."

"Olly?" a tear escaped down her cheek as she reached up to touch him, "are you back?"

He closed his eyes and leant into her arms. Exhaustion marred his weary face.

"For you, I am."

She slipped one hand to her hip to retrieve her Boltok, gently sliding it up towards his hands.

"For Cam,"

He nodded, his hands cupping over hers, "for our family."

Frost cackled maniacally at the scene, rage still coursing through his system.

"What the fuck man! You're such a fucking pussy. Look at you, bending at will to that fucking whore. I've beaten you, you're mine, and you're a fucking bitch."

"The thing is, where you and I differ, you think you don't need people to survive," Wilks twisted finally to face him. Keeping Aidie firmly behind his back in protection, "Whereas I know the reason I'm alive is because of them. My family is my strength and the only reason I carry on."

"You're a joke, and I will be stamping on your fucking balls and raping your fucking whore," Frost screamed, trying his hardest to incite the Gear.

"Wrong,"

Wilks lifted the Boltok and fired throwing Frost backwards at the force. He approached him as he clutched at his chest in disbelief, blood blossoming around the bullet wound.

"You fu..."

"We will not bend to you,"

Wilks fired point blank at Frost's head, his shattered face wobbled slightly as his body gave way and crumpled under him.

The countermeasure waves continued to ripple across the planet again and again like a sea of destruction. Eradicating any signs of Lambency that dared defy it.

Archer and his men surged into the harbour, taking any remaining Nightmares prisoners. Thaw assessed the situation, dropping to his knees and raising his hands in submission, allowing the anger inside him to evaporate each time the wave churned through him. One by one the Nightmares gave into their human selves as the Stranded chained them up.

Freja struggled angrily in Archer's hold, screeching and screaming to anyone who could hear her.

"I was framed!" She cried out, "they forced me to do it. I was scared for my life."

Archer's face twitched as he tried to hold in the anguish he felt, he thrust her heavily against the wall.

"I saw the state you left my men. I saw the remains of the burning house where my leader once lived. Everyone who witnessed the fire saw a tall blonde woman leaving the scene. You murdered my leader, and killed my sister,"

She readied herself for him, enticing him to hurt her in ways that only she enjoyed.

"Yes," she hissed, "and I lusted through every moment of it. Your people are pathetic. I'm a killer, and I'll keep killing."

Archer took a moment to think as he glanced around at the way the men looked at him as their next natural leader. The way Aidie and Miles, now assisting one another to a stand watched him for his response. Then finally he saw Wilks, the exhausted Gear who had proved more than enough his worthiness within the village. It was now his decision to be the responsible leader who made the right choices that Burn could not.

"Get out," he told her dangerously, "get out of our home and never come back."

She looked back at him, trying to comprehend his mercy and not allowing herself to see further than her anger. He released her from his grip and pointed in the direction through the streets. She took a few unsteady steps away from him, looking panicked as she took in her people, on their knees overlooking the water ready to be sentenced to a life of servitude. The Stranded watched her go, but as she skulked past Aidie, she felt herself grip hold of her knife and slid it from her sheath ready to make her final swansong. Just as a bullet pierced through her brain and she collapsed to the ground.

The astonished group turned to find Wilks holding out the Boltok with his teeth clenched.

"I warned her," he growled as he dropped the pistol to the ground.

A final blast of wave hit them.

Wilks stopped a moment, sensing that something wasn't right. The small ounce of Lambency that remained within him crystallised inside his heart sending his system into shutdown. His heart jerked in response, and his body spasmed, snapping his lungs shut. He let out a struggled gasp and clasped a hand to his chest.

Aidie, who had been assisting Miles, turned to the sound of Wilks' struggled breathing.

"Wilks?" she asked, concern lacing her voice and heading towards him.

"Aidie," he wheezed as he felt his body go into failure.

He realised there was no point in fighting anymore, glancing across at Aidie in reluctant acceptance. The one woman who had brought meaning to his life, she was safe, that was all that mattered now. His body collapsed to the ground. He could hear her screaming his name as she and Miles sprinted towards him.

Aidie was at his side in seconds, ever loyal to him. It broke his heart that he would be leaving her after everything they had been through. She had kept him going when he had lost himself. His vision momentarily flickered as she placed a hand on his neck to feel his pulse then on his cheek.

"OIlyvar please," she begged, "no don't leave us. Not now."

He fixed upon her face for one last time, her ice blue eyes filled with fear as tears spilled down her cheek. He could barely feel her hands upon him now. Unaware of Miles frantically ripping his armour off as Archer descended upon him to commence resuscitation. He blissfully drifted as Miles staggered backwards, his hand clasped to his face in grief, unable to hold back the tears as he cried out in sorrow.

"Olly no!"

In the chaos of desperation around him, he felt only peace. He weakly grasped out for Aidie.

"I'm sorry," he sighed to her with his final breath as he descended alone into the darkness.