I see the finish line! Two more chapters left! Oh dear god, will I be relieved. This is gonna be a crazy week for me with trying to get this finished…stupid finals at my stupid work school…and the Fringe season premiere. You can see why I'm gonna go crazy. This chapter was a mind chore for me and I'll be glad to focus on other work tomorrow but rest assured the end will come before Thursday…of this fic, I mean! ;)
You might want to enjoy this chapter extra more. It's the last big crazy cliffhanger of this fic (and it is quite crazy!)! I will miss driving my readers insane but hey, there's still "Growing Up in the Dark" which I plan to go back to after the premiere, and after that, who knows what's in store…
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Uncertainty seemed to overwhelmed Gwen as they went back inside. Olivia was starting to feel it too. For the months they've been kept here, Gwen had been basically allowed to do what she pleased and Olivia was grateful for her position as primary sitter and caretaker. But she knew that things weren't going to be like this forever.
Gwen had her share of one-on-one meetings with Guinevere since arriving here. Guinevere was going to be the child's tutor in due time. She was going to be the one whom Guinevere would learn about her greatest potential from if Gwen was to be the cult's new leader someday.
Olivia knew better to express her skepticism about the whole ordeal despite everything. If Gwen was happy, then she couldn't argue with the unusual things that occurred at the compound.
"I don't like seeing her, Mommy." Gwen was referring to Guinevere.
Olivia became worried. "Why? Is she hurting you?"
"No."
"Then what's wrong? What does she do to you?"
Knowing that they were surrounded by guards and heading towards a restricted part of the compound, Gwen was getting quite scared so she leaned over to whisper in Olivia's ear. "She tries to make me forget you."
They had reached their destination before Olivia had time to react to her child's words.
"Hello, Gwen," Guinevere greeted them in the hallway. "We'll be doing something very special today." She pointed to the metal double doors down the hall. "In that room."
Olivia walked with Gwen towards the door, until Mark stopped them. "You don't have access here," Mark growled at her. "This is a restricted area for only Guinevere and her clones."
"No!" Gwen protested. "Mommy, come with me!!"
Mark grabbed Gwen and put her on Guinevere's lap despite the little girl's protest. The fury was building up in Olivia. Although there have been some occasions where Olivia and Gwen were not together, this was the first time that they were being separated and Gwen was absolutely scared. Olivia wanted to grab Gwen and run the hell away, but the security bastards around them seemed ready for her to make such a reckless move.
"I can't." Olivia was nervous, feeling immense fear for her daughter's safety for the first time. "It'll be okay Gwen. I'll be here waiting for you to come out, okay?"
"NOOOOO!!!!!" The adults around her seemed to disregard Gwen's protesting as a toddle tantrum. Guinevere tried to calm her down but nothing seemed to work. Olivia was forced to stay on one side of the metal doors while Guinevere and Gwen went in. From the little that Olivia saw, she could see that the other room looked like a large reactor. The door close automatically in seconds.
"What is that?" asked Olivia. "Where is she taking her to?!"
"That's classified info," said Mark.
"I have a right to know what she's doing with her!"
"That's enough! You're going back to your quarters!"
Mark pointed his gun at Olivia. Three other guards who were there were ready to follow. Olivia stayed where she was despite the fear and anger. "I'm not going anywhere until they come out."
In a split second she could see Mark's hand reaching for her arm and she immediately reacted.
It was quick, sudden, a stroke of luck, and good timing.
It was also sweet vengeance.
Olivia blocked her approaching arm and managed to kick his gun out of the other. Before the other guards could aim for her, Olivia had taken Mark's gun and pointed it to his head.
"Get back!" she demanded pointing the gun at all three of them. "Stay the hell back!"
She moved herself and Mark closer to the door, a gun to his head kept him under her control. "Open the door!"
He nervously pressed the proper numbers on control pad to open the doors that Guinevere and Gwen had just passed through. She threw Mark towards the guards and smirked as he had a rough landing to floor and quickly went through the door before it closed again. She barely missed the bullets that were being fired at her.
She found herself trapped in an open lift. From somewhere down below where dozens of steel machines lie, Olivia could hear the echoed screams of her daughter.
A small ladder leading down was just a few feet against the wall. She made the leap onto the ladder wanting to get down to the floor quicker.
Machines were whirring all around her when she touched the ground. Gwen's cries were coming from a smaller more secluded reactor on the ground. Taking the gun she took from Mark, she fired a few bullets at the metal door. The bullets damaged were causing the machines to go crazy. As soon as the door started to come lose Olivia ran for the door and threw it open.
Inside the reactor, Guinevere was sitting there looking confused at Olivia as she wore a wired device on her head…across from here. Gwen was sitting strapped to a chair, wearing a similar device. Chords seemed to connect the two head devices together.
Immediately, Olivia rushed over and carefully removed the head device and the straps from Gwen. "Mommy!" Gwen was in tears of both fear and relief to see Olivia.
Once she was safe in her arms, Olivia turned coldly to the old woman. "What the hell is this?!"
"We were only working on our memory exchanges, transfer of abilities..." Guinevere seemed indifferent and unapologetic. "It does not possess any physical harm or pain but she has been very uncooperative as of late so we had to restrain her."
"Because she's scared!"
"This has to be done. It's been the method for generations."
"Then it needs to be changed."
Being far from happy to see Olivia here, Guinevere had a sweet and serious tone to her voice. "I don't believe you have any rights or access here."
"She's my daughter. I have every right!"
Guinevere turned to the child. "Gwen…dear. You trust me don't you?"
Gwen looked at her for a second and buried herself back into Olivia. "Mommy…I don't like it here anymore. I want'a leave."
"There, you see? She trusts me. She calls me her mother. I never forced that or asked of her. She's accepted and trusted me since she was born. She doesn't want to be your clone or your leader. She wants to be my daughter!"
The door to the reactor swung open and Gwen was immediately pried from her arms. Before Olivia could react, a strong electric current was shot through her and she landed on the ground, curling and convulsing.
Gwen screamed.
The seconds after Mark pulled the taser back were painful for Olivia, but she kept the pain in with deep breaths not wanting to scare Gwen any more.
"Well, Mark," said Guinevere said without emotion. "It seems you were right about Miss Dunham. You will have to forgive me for not trusting you. Take them back to their quarters. And convene the council."
One guard grabbed a crying and screaming Gwen while Olivia was picked up by two others.
They were put back into their room, locked in.
Olivia could barely stay conscious as she lied on her bed in pain. Gwen crawled onto the bed to join her. "Mommy! Wake!"
Despite the pain, Olivia lifted her head. "I'm okay, baby. I'm okay."
She pulled Gwen closer to her and in silence they began to wait. Olivia's time with Gwen was about to be tragically cut short but until that time, she would be strong and treasure what she feared would be their last days together.
~*~*~*~
It was not normal for Peter to let his guard when traveling with Ziegler who claimed to have found the exact location of the compound on the other side, thanks to Gwen's pictures. He tried but just couldn't conjure the will to ask questions until they go to their destination.
Apparently this place was on the other side of the country in a large rural area where rugged golden hills stretched for miles and a forest of redwoods could be seen out in the distance.
They arrived by car at an abandoned sawmill where Ziegler and his men were doing inventory on their weapons, and setting up the computers, preparing for the siege that they were unlikely to return from.
"I must thank your father for allowing me to use his device one last time."
"No need," said Peter.
"It is quite amazing how one little machine created by one man is able to take us to places far beyond our thought."
"So you're sure this is the exact area the place is at?"
"Most likely," said Ziegler. "Especially since many of FBI's Wanted that have been associated with the cult coincidentally have residential addresses in the surrounding towns here. That was a major clue for me."
"You still haven't explained why you need me to do this."
"Oh yes. That reminds me of another item I borrowed from your lab that night." Ziegler pulled out a familiar looking leather book. "I'm surprised you haven't asked about this book."
"We couldn't get any answers out of that thing. You saying you can read that?"
"I know a few of the more…interesting tidbits from it."
"Yeah? What tidbits?"
"About certain prophecies," Ziegler explained.
"And did any of these prophecies involved Olivia in anyway?"
"Not so much, actually. You're girlfriend was more of a random selection for the experiment."
Peter raised a brow at the 'girlfriend' reference.
"You on the other hand…Bishop. Well, I never believed in coincidences but I found it quite eerie when Bell informed me of your story. Your father loses his child to a slow and painful death that consumes him. Said father works with Bell on experiments that bends and rewrites reality by creating open portals. That's a much as I've learned from Bell. I was only an associate with his unusual organization."
"ZFT, huh?"
"Unusual name. But yes, that was what he called it."
"Of all people I had to learn that bombshell from."
"I deeply apologized for that. But I thought if I could convince you that you were part of their prophecy then maybe you would be willing to assist me.
"Prophecy?"
Ziegler laughed. "Yes, apparently. The Guinevere Cult has one fear…one weakness. They feared their destruction would be caused by a missing soul who would return to his home and bring about their unwarranted end."
"That sounds like bull."
"It IS bull," Ziegler smiled. "And yet they still believe in it. Suppose, someone who happened to coincidentally fit the description of said prophecy just showed up at their compound? They would be consumed with fear wouldn't they? Perhaps accept that their end was coming? It will make taking them out a whole lot easier for me and my men."
Peter sighed. "Well that's great. I'm just a decoy to you guys. Perfect."
Ziegler laughed off his cynicism. "It won't be a total loss. There's always that slight chance you might get lucky and find them."
"Do you even care…" asked Peter. "That they might get hurt if you do this?"
"I'm afraid it won't matter now," said Ziegler. "If they've had Agent Dunham and the child in their possession for these past months, then it's quite possible that they may have been brainwashed by now. Bell is dead. Victory of war is no longer a concern. The only thing that matters to me now, is vengeance."
~*~*~*~
They had been locked in their quarters for almost a whole day. Olivia only got out of bed a few times to either use the bathroom in their quarters or to tend to anything Gwen needed.
About halfway through the night, Gwen started to moan. "I'm hungry, mommy."
"I know, but don't worry," Olivia assured her. "They wouldn't let YOU starve. They'll probably bring some food soon."
"But I'm hungry now!"
In the months since being here, Gwen was forced off of milk and began eating solid foods. She wasn't a fan of the scientifically-altered vegetables they the others at the compound ate all the time and neither was Olivia. But they did what they had to in order to survive their time here…that was what was important.
She couldn't bear to see Gwen like this…on what would possibly be their last day together. She knew now what her daughter meant when she said that Guinevere was trying to make her forget: they were brainwashing her. And now Olivia felt like a failure unable to prevent Guinevere from doing what she pleased with her little clone.
"Gwen…come here."
The little girl became confused as she watched her mother unbuttoned the blouse she was wearing. "It's alright," Olivia assured her. "It's milk. You won't feel hungry afterwards."
Gwen shifted herself under Olivia as she instructed her on what to do. A few hesitating moments later, Gwen finally gave in. After the first few moments of suckling, Gwen was feeling much better. She smiled as the milk tasted exactly like the milk that her mom used to feed her from the bottle.
As for Olivia, her close contact with Gwen brought a deeper sense of bonding. It made her almost feel serene that for their one last night, she could provide such comfort for the child. She couldn't believe that she turned herself away from this method…that it would take this long for her to finally be the mother she should've been the day Gwen was born.
~*~*~*~
The sun rose over the golden hills as the devices were set up. The gunmen were planning out the final stages going through artist conceptions of what the compound might look like from the inside. Their main objective was to kill Guinevere and as many of the major leaders and followers as possible and to possibly steal from the compound whatever scientific secrets that place that hidden for centuries.
"You ready to go in?" Ziegler asked Peter.
"Well…a gun would be nice."
Ziegler sighed as he went over to his ammunition collection and got Peter one of the more measly smaller guns and placed it in Peter's hands.
"Try to not to put those bullets to waste. Remember, they won't know that there's an ambush of us waiting to follow you in."
"What if they kill me before you show up?!"
"That's the risk you've agreed to take is it not? Once we make our entrance, we'll be occupied with our killing and you will be free to go off and look for your loved ones."
"How long do I have? I mean…how long are you planning this thing?"
"An hour and a half at most, quite possibly an hour. Plus there is the possibility that I may have to call for a quick early retreat back to the portal and if that's the case and you're not with us when it happens, then you're…
"…on my own. Yeah, I get it."
In a matter of hours, Peter could see them activated over the horizon, the familiar grayish screen he had seen before. The others looked at it in fascination. Just as Ziegler predicted a vast array of white buildings enclosed in a wall was just miles ahead. He would half to walk through the forest leading down into the valley first.
"I'm sending a few scouts to take accompany you as far as the edge of the woods…from there you will have to go to the compound on your own while we wait for the right moment to move in."
Peter walked over to the gray screen.
"Good luck to you then."
He was scared that it would hurt when he walked through but instead it felt a bit fuzzy and dizzy. He was surprised to find himself standing in the middle of a large forest when just moments ago he was standing in the middle of an old field by a sawmill.
Getting through the woods was easy but there was still a vast golden meadow that left him many feet away from the compound. It was going to be a suicidal walk.
But after these past months of emotional and mental turmoil that haunted him…the unbearable separation he had felt from Olivia and Gwen. If this was his only chance…then he had to make it worth it. He just had to.
~*~*~*~
Olivia looked out at the peaceful morning light with much sadness. She remained curled up in her bed, with Gwen in her arms.
She tried to not let the tears fall when she started to hear the noises. Footsteps and her door being kicked open. She quickly but affectionately gave Gwen a kiss on her head before being Mark and the other gunmen surrounded her.
"The council has voted for your immediate execution, Miss Dunham."
Just as they grabbed Olivia, Gwen had woken up and began to immediately panic. Amidst her screams, Olivia was sad but calm. "I love you, Gwen. I'm so sorry."
Gwen was restrained as Olivia was taken away from the room. The tears feel silently when Gwen's screams and calls for her mommy to come back began echoing down the hall. Olivia listened because a part of her would miss the screams and fits of the child which she had gotten use to. It wasn't the best memory she wanted to leave with but still…
It was no surprised that Guinevere was there, waiting as Olivia was escorted to a small steel building outside of the main building. Inside, it was cold and dark as Olivia was led down a small flight of steps. Light appeared in the room. It looked like a dreary basement with the exception of a large control base and a reactor. One of the guards opened the steel door to reveal dark stains from inside the reactor…dark clumps too.
"I didn't want to do this, Miss Dunham," said Guinevere. "But I did spare you…offered you a fine place here with Gwen under no force. I am disappointed that you chose to throw away such a promising life."
Olivia said only two words to Guinevere: "I'm not." And with that, she was thrown into the reactor with the door closed behind her.
Now enveloped in complete darkness, she could only think about the vast amount of regret: that she couldn't give Gwen the life she truly wanted with her…that she would die with Rachel still hating her and fearing Gwen…
…from inside…Olivia could hear humming the whirring of machines…
…Her final thoughts were of Walter and then Peter. A surge of regret that she had never got to make that dinner for him she promised the night she was taken. He would never know how grateful she was… She knows that he was the reason she survived everything that she did. It was too much for her. Why didn't she show him more appreciation…more affection?
One of the labcoats was at the controls waiting for the machine to warm up. In a few seconds it would finally be ready to activate a green flash in the reactor that would fry Olivia from her insides.
"Begin energy blasting sequence in three…" Mark coughed. "Two…"
A quick tiny flash of green. A loud blare. Olivia collapsed from a sudden wave of heat
"INTRUDER! INTRUDER! INTRUDE-"
The voice was robotic and then a loud whirring noise.
Outside of the reactor, the machines began to shut down. Some of the guards immediately responded to the intruder alarm and ran out. The others remained in the room confused, not knowing what to do. The unexpected power failure caused a surge frying all the electronics in the room.
Gunshots could be heard coming from outside.
"We have to get out of here!" The guards quickly began to assist Guinevere in getting her out of the room.
"Well, what about…"
"There's no time. We have a bigger crisis on our hands! Hurry!"
A searing pain continued to consume Olivia as she listened to the yelling outside. She could barely move. As the silence settled in…it finally occurred to Olivia that for some odd reason, she was still alive. She had cheated death by a mere fraction of a second.
Her hand reached out to touch the wall even though she couldn't see. It was, in fact, a door. The electrical surge caused the door to come loose. Using all the strength she had left, Olivia pushed the door open and squirmed her way out. She was now alone and in the dark in that small room but gunshots, alarms, and shouts were still going on from outside.
This was her only chance…
…
Just inside the main building, Peter silently planning to kill Ziegler. It didn't matter whether or not he knew about the alarms…Peter just felt like cursing under the extremely stressful situation he was trapped in right now.
The measly little gun that Peter had was worthless against these guys, but aside from managing to take out their power grid the moment he broke in, Peter did have one other advantage. He was sneaky. And in the dark, sneaky was always a good thing as it allowed him to slip pass many people unnoticed.
…
Olivia forced herself to stand as she stepped outside again and used her strength to run back into the main building. Despite all the chaos, Olivia knew her primary objective as she stormed the building. She was going to get Gwen…get Gwen and get the hell out.
Once she got in, she had a close call with one distracted gunman. But she got lucky. One swift kick and the man was down…the rifle was hers…
It was going to get personal now…God help anyone who got in her way…
She ran down the darkened hall, until she stopped…
Footsteps had rushed past her from behind.
Quickly she turned around and pointed her rifle around the stairwell she ran past seconds earlier. A small window reigned daylight from above the stairwell. Just enough for Olivia to see a figure trying to head down the stairs.
She didn't wait for him to turn and attack as she cocked the rifle…aiming...
"DON'T MOVE!!!"
The man obeyed. She waited for him to turn around but for some reason, he seemed transfixed on the blurry wall mirror infront of him…almost shaking. Olivia thought, maybe he could see that she was a woman and he was afraid to die at her hands.
He put his arms up in the air and slowly turned to reveal his unarmed self to Olivia.
Slowly, Olivia's whole self began to shake. The gun was still in her hands. Her limbs were unable to move as she stood looking at the man just feet away from her. Her mouth was wide open in shock and disillusionment.
The man just stood there, gazing at her before offering her a familiar smirk and a calm, comforting reply…
"Wouldn't dream of it, Sweetheart."