Songs I listened to while writing this chapter:

Sound the Alarm, Fighting for Humanity, and Faux Power by Really Slow Motion

For All Eternity by Epic Score

Skyfall by Adele

Sentenced to Death by Cryogenesis

We're the Desperate Measures by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori

Before I Fall by Adam Taylor

Save the World by Superhuman ft. Lou Rhodes

Epilogue by Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori

2020

Heathrow Airport Base/The Louvre

Rita saw Luke's eyes were wet, and she realized with a jolt just how much Mei meant to him. She felt foolish for not picking up on that sooner, for not understanding how hard it would be for him to have her in danger as well. She felt bad. She'd just spent so long training herself to view this as just a war, to not get attached, and to not feel so it wouldn't hurt so bad, especially after watching her team die over and over again. Especially after everything she'd endured. Being around him, though, was breaking that all apart piece by piece.

"You okay?" she asked him. She hadn't seen him cry since he came back from finding out his mother was dead. It was slightly unnerving.

"Absolutely not, but we don't have time for a therapy session," he answered, clearing his throat and wiping at his eyes roughly. "You ready?"

"Unfortunately."

They stood there looking at each other for a moment. Rita wondered if he was feeling what she had when she'd lost the power. She'd felt helpless and heartbroken, disappointed and angry. She knew that if she had anxiety about this being their one and only shot, then he was feeling it too. She recalled Lucy always emphasizing how important it was to talk, so she decided to do just that despite how little time they had left.

"What are you feeling right now?" she asked.

"What did I say about therapy?" he countered, laughing slightly.

"I mean it," she said. She looked to see the others were still gearing up, so they had time. "Now that it's gone, what are you feeling? Thinking?"

"I'm thinking I should have run a bit faster," he replied. "Or convinced Mike a bit harder to blow my head off."

"Luke..." she said impatiently. Even now he was still trying to make light of things. She just gave him an unimpressed expression in return. He made a face and ran a hand over his head, thinking.

"I feel scared," he confessed. "I feel on edge. I feel like something has vacated me and left a hole, which I guess is to be expected. I was full of alien blood after all."

"I remember thinking, 'I'm no longer safe on the edge anymore,'" Rita said when he was quiet for a moment. "It was like being shoved off a cliff with no harness or parachute. You're just falling and hoping to God that something catches you at the bottom."

"Yea...I also feel tired," he said, nodding at her words. "Like I've lost extra energy or adrenaline."

"I am terrified that we are going to lose," Rita admitted, swallowing her emotions down hard. "I can't stop picturing what that looks like: losing." She didn't really want to admit that it was actually death that scared her the most despite feeling so hard/indifferent about it for so long, but imagining what would happen here to the few loved ones she had left after her death was just as terrifying...if they were even still alive. She really tried not to think about that.

"What is it that Lucy always told us?" Luke asked.

"'It's not about this life,'" Rita quoted. "I know."

"I have no idea how she kept her faith after everything she endured," Luke said, "but I admire her a lot for that."

"I don't even know if she or Kenny are still alive," Rita said quietly.

"They were when I left," he told her. She felt relief then. That wasn't too long ago, so perhaps they were still okay. The realization hit that they wouldn't be after tomorrow if she and Luke failed, and she swallowed hard. Even if she and Luke succeeded in killing the Omega, they'd probably die doing it, leaving their loved ones behind forever. She hoped they would be able to heal from the pain as best as they could. She couldn't help but think about the last conversations she had with them. At least they knew she loved them and vice versa.

"I'm sorry," Luke said now, making her look at him.

"For?" she asked.

"For being away so much with work when we were together. I'm sorry I let it dictate things."

"I knew what I signed up for," Rita insisted. "Dad warned me what being with an assassin looked like. I knew you'd be away a lot."

"I know, but I feel like if I hadn't, everything would have been different." He gave her a wistful look. "I never liked leaving you behind, and I always felt bad for starting our marriage off by being gone most of the time."

"It's okay," Rita said. "Really. I know it sucked and I know I was hurt at times, but I understood it and knew it was your job. Don't worry about it anymore." She gave him a small smile, and he gave a half one back.

"And besides," she added, "you didn't always leave me behind." She shared a look with him, and he chuckled softly, remembering. She had gone on a few trips with him just for the experience of traveling, and it had helped his cover anyway to be on vacation with his wife. She'd had fun with the fake I.D.'s he'd gotten her and pretending to be someone else. They both had. The first seven months of their marriage had been the best; then he left to find his mother, and then things just went downhill not long after that. She looked over when the chatter of the two groups started to slow. Everyone was looking like they were ready to go. Luke and Rita were just waiting for Mei, who was walking towards them now fully loaded.

"It's time," Rita said to Luke.

"Let's raise a little hell one last time, eh?" he countered, and she gave a slight smile back. They walked side by side towards the transport where everyone else was standing and waiting. They'd managed to wrangle two pilots to take them, but it really hadn't taken Rita much to convince them.

Luke looked at all of them now, sucking his teeth slightly.

"I'm not good at pep talks," he admitted, "but I will say that I'm grateful to each and every one of you for doing this."

"We're soldiers," Skinner said. "It's what we do."

"Hear, hear," Harvey agreed. Kamden and Pete nodded silently. The rest chimed in their agreements.

"It's very important that you don't kill an Alpha," Rita told them all. "We can't afford to let the Omega reset the day and win this war."

"So, what do we do if we come across one?" Ford asked.

"You take one for the team," Luke answered. Ford swallowed loudly. Rita met Luke's eyes, and she knew he was thinking the same thing: why don't they try to get Alpha's blood again? She figured it was too risky. If they didn't get the blood in their system, they'd lose everything. It wasn't worth it.

"Everyone, this is Mei," Luke said, gesturing for her to step forward. "Rita has been training her, and I've taught her a thing or two throughout the years. She'll have your back."

The J-Squad introduced themselves quickly followed by Rita's team, and Mei smiled and fist bumped/shook hands with them all. Rita watched her look at Luke and felt a pang of sadness at their shared expression.

"So how did you end up with us?" Pete asked Mei.

"Well, I waited for Luke to leave and then I snuck over," she answered. This elicited laughter from the others.

"Oh, I like her," Pete said to nobody in particular.

"So, are you Luke's kid?" Kamden asked, eyeing up Luke and Mei.

"No," Mei replied, shaking her head. "He found me one day, and I just never left." She smiled at Luke, who gave a half smile back.

"Have you seen a Mimic before?" Kimmel asked her.

"Not yet, but they don't scare me," she stated.

"Word of advice," Luke said to them. "Don't piss her off." Mei wore a smirk on her face at this point, and Rita was pretty sure there were stories where Luke had obviously done just that and earned a backlash from her of some kind.

"So this is it," Harvey said, looking around at everyone once the laughter stopped. "The end. Feels...heavy."

"Exhilarating yet terrifying," Griff added.

"I honestly can't even think straight right now," Nance admitted, banging her fists together vertically, playfully. The rest of J-Squad nodded in agreement.

"I honestly never expected to get this far," Pete said, "but here I am, and if I die finally ending this war, then it was all worth it. Rita, I just want to say you're one hell of a leader, and thank you for always having our backs."

"Well said, Pete," Kamden said. "I concur."

"Me too," Harvey agreed. "Thank you, Rita. Travis would be proud."

"You're welcome," Rita said. Her throat got a bit tight at the mention of Travis among everything. She hated goodbyes on a good day. Knowing this was goodbye forever was even more painful. "And thank you, to all of you, for doing this. I know I'm not great at saying what I feel to those outside of my close circle, but I do feel it. In here." She bumped her fist against her chest over her heart. She noticed some ducked their heads, sniffed hard, or gave their head a shake after this.

"Let's go kill some shit," Skinner said, breaking up the somber mood and putting a wicked grin on his face. The others laughed and agreed with him.

"Yeaaa!" Ford whooped, fist pumping. He got some high fives in response as the others passed him.

"Let's go," Luke said, looking at Rita as everyone climbed aboard the transport, leaving them alone.

"See you on the other side," Rita said, moving to pass him and climb up herself. Luke caught her hand and pulled her back for one last kiss. She knew it was wasting time, but their time was running out, so she didn't care.

He pulled back slowly, his lips parting from hers even slower. He pressed his thumb against her lower lip briefly and gently before pressing his forehead against hers one last time and then pulling away. They didn't need to say it out loud. They already knew.

As he climbed into the transport, Rita pulled out her wedding band and engagement ring on her chain to look at one last time. She ran her fingers along the chain, trying to feel calm one more time. Then she tucked it back away where it had stayed for years, close to her heart.

It was time to go.

...

Luke stood behind the pilots as they flew. He knew things were going to get intense sooner than later. He was and wasn't ready for that. He could hear Mei chatting with the others and envied her ability to stay so calm. He felt like a wreck inside. He knew he had to let her go, let Rita go, but the thought of it was killing him. He just kept seeing Mei as the young girl he'd first met and how far she'd come since then. He kept thinking about how much she was going to miss dying so young. He was still mentally beating himself up for losing the power. He kept going over it in his mind how he could have done things differently. He felt like he'd let Rita down in the worst way. She'd been counting on him to keep this going, and he'd failed. His anxiety was through the roof knowing this was their one and only shot. If they failed...

Well, he couldn't let himself think about that. He did, however, think about Brendan, as much as that made his heart ache all over again. He wondered what Brendan would do or say if he could be there in that moment with him. He thought about the last time they'd been together, what was said and done. He wondered if he'd be proud of him. It all just hurt so much. It made him feel sad and angry. He thought about Lance and his mother and everyone else too. He could almost feel Lance standing next to him, reassuring him. His mother's voice in his head was telling him he knew what to do. It was comforting.

He looked over at Rita, and she was watching him. He appreciated that she knew almost exactly what he was feeling and thinking in this moment about it all. He hated that this was the end, but they didn't have a choice. It ended tomorrow regardless. He didn't fear death per say. He feared never seeing his loved ones again. After a moment, he walked down to where Rita was standing.

"I remember the last time I flew with you," Rita commented, giving him a sideways glance. "It didn't end very well."

"You're still here, aren't you?" he retorted.

"For now."

He felt his stomach clench at this. The thoughts came rushing back, but he did his best to shove them down. He was going to ask her why she'd left him 17 years ago, but he suddenly realized it didn't matter. He had her back, no matter how short of a time it was, and he'd had over 300 days with her on top of that. He didn't want to bring up all that pain again. He accepted that he'd never find out.

He reached to hold her hand, and he felt her trembling. He knew she was just as scared as he was. He knew what she was thinking about.

"It's gonna get nasty when we land," he said. "We'll need eyes up here."

"I'm not sitting this out, Luke," Rita said firmly. "I'm sorry. You can't keep me safe this time."

He clenched his teeth gently, looking at her. It hurt to know he was going to lose her forever this time. So much. He could barely breathe.

"We'll see each other again," she said. "You promised, remember?"

"I did."

"Good. Then I'll be waiting." She squeezed his hand tightly.

...

Rita debated on telling him what he'd said that had pushed her over the edge and made her leave, she really did, but she looked at him and felt that he wouldn't want to know at this point. It would only bring more pain, and she didn't want to ruin his focus. He'd told her he was forever hers, and she knew that meant he forgave her as well for hurting him, just like she'd forgiven him. She felt his fingers curl around hers as they flew, and she felt his strength radiate through her. He always could do that to her. She noticed Pete watching with a curious expression, but he didn't say anything. Rita didn't care if people saw her holding Luke's hand. Let them come to their own conclusions. No one else seemed to notice anyway. Everyone was too wrapped up in their own fear and anxiety for what was coming.

"Thirty seconds til contact!" the one pilot called back to them.

Rita opened her mouth to tell Luke she loved him when their transport got rocked from a hit. Everyone shouted and braced themselves. Luke lost his balance, as well as his grip on her, and fell, sliding to the one side as the aircraft tilted.

"Luke!" Mei shouted with Rita at the same time. Rita looked at Mei and could tell the young woman was scared too, so she reached to grab a hold of her hand; Mei squeezed tightly. In that moment, Rita was suddenly reminded of Keira, and she knew now exactly why Luke had taken in this girl. He was making up for what he'd deemed a past mistake.

"Kimmel! No!" Griff shouted, and Rita turned to see that Kimmel was already dead from the hit, as was Kamden, and her heart sank. She wanted to throw up. There was no bringing them back this time. She saw Harvey and Pete looking stricken.

"Luke!" she shouted again, seeing him get back to his feet.

"DROP! DROP!" Luke bellowed, and the team slowly released themselves and disappeared. He turned to look at Rita, who was last.

"You're not hooked in!" she shouted at him. He pressed his lips together as he walked right up to her.

"Luke," she said fiercely, "hook yourself i-..." He grabbed her head with one hand and pressed his mouth against hers, giving her one more last kiss while reaching with his other hand to rest on the release lever. He pulled back, and she met his eyes, conveying her words to him. His eyes gave the same message back.

Then he pressed down on the lever, and she dropped.

...

Luke braced himself as the aircraft spun out of control, and he got thrown around a little bit again. Then it crashed in the water, and he was thrown out. His mech suit was heavy, and it pulled him down underwater. He closed his eyes, quieting his mind from fear and anxiety. He'd gotten out of tighter spots before. He hit the bottom, and for a moment, he paused. It would be so easy to just end it all right now. He figured it would be a better way to go than at the hands of Mimics. Then he thought of Rita up there possibly alone, and Mei, and he knew he couldn't do that to them or J-Squad and Rita's men, if they were still alive. He quickly unstrapped himself before grabbing his melee. Before too long, he was swimming to the surface. He gasped in oxygen when his head broke through to the night air. It was almost too quiet; he didn't like it. He swam to shore and pulled himself out. He was hurting as he walked, the leg that got shot pissing him off with every step, so he used his melee to balance him a little. Flames were cracking and snapping all around him. He moved slowly, looking for the others. He came across another aircraft and checked it out, seeing nothing. Then, he heard a sound and whirled to the left.

Rita was aiming a gun at his head while he aimed his melee at hers.

"Oh, thank God," she gasped, lowering her rifle. Then she chuckled. "What the bloody hell took you so long?"

"I stopped for coffee," he replied. "I got you one too, but I drank it."

"Bastard," she said, smiling. Blood was trickling down her face from the gash in her forehead.

"You alright?" he asked, resting his fingers against it. She batted his hand away.

"I'm fine."

"The others?"

"Pete, Ford, Mei, Skinner, and Griff made it," she answered. Luke felt a bit of dismay. Their team was shrinking by the minute. The relief that Mei was still alive was immense, though. Maybe she could survive this.

"Alright." He followed her to where the others were. Skinner was groaning about low ammo and how they'd never get through to the pyramid. Griff looked rough. Mei looked scared. Ford did too. Pete was fidgeting and darting his eyes every which way, looking for Mimics.

"I'm telling you, we'll never get through to that pyramid," Skinner said again. Luke was surveying the aircraft sitting there across from them, thinking.

"If I can get that working again, we can ride it there," he said, gesturing.

"Yea?" Rita asked.

"Yea."

"Okay," Rita agreed.

"They knew we were coming. They were waiting for us," Skinner said, still going on.

"What's the plan?" Griff asked, ignoring him. "Fly a ship that obviously can't fly?"

"We're gonna ride that thing to the Louvre," Luke answered. "It just needs to have enough speed to propel us across the ground. It doesn't have to fly."

"This is crazy..." Pete started.

"Just trust me," Luke interrupted. "And clear a path." Skinner gave him a look but obeyed. Ford and Pete helped him. Mei stayed quiet. He could see she was shaken now, having lost that calmness from before. He was feeling the ache of loss for Harvey, Kamden, Kimmel, Kuntz, and Nance.

"Come on," Rita urged, and they made their way to the aircraft. Griff was limping badly.

"You guys go," he said suddenly, stopping. "I'll hold them off." Luke turned and met his eyes. He knew it was the end of the line for him.

"Yea?" he said. Griff gave him a lopsided smile.

"Yea. Kill that son of a bitch, alright?" he said, and Luke nodded.

"You're a good man," Luke told him. "Thank you." Griff swallowed, his eyes looking a little wet for a moment.

"Go," he said. Luke turned and followed Rita. She was already at the front of the aircraft when he got there.

"It's not reading," she said. Luke moved to flick some switches as she kept trying. Ford eventually joined them and hooked himself into the gunner's seat, having finished pushing cars. Mei was hovering behind Luke and Rita. Pete was standing by the opening of the aircraft, scanning.

"Try again," Luke instructed.

"Is the master power on?" she asked.

"Yes."

He looked out the window to see Skinner going to pick up Griff from where he'd fallen. The two men conversed, and then Skinner was walking with Griff towards a tanker truck.

"Come on, guys!" Ford called on cue. "Come on!" Pete was looking out at them as well.

"Don't wait for us!" Skinner called back.

"What's happening?" Rita asked, hearing the commotion.

"Skinner and Griff are buying us some time," Luke answered. She met his eyes, and he pressed his lips tightly together without saying anything else. He could tell all the deaths were bothering her too despite her efforts to hide it.

"Okay," she said a bit unevenly. "Okay." She went back to what she was doing. Eventually, the engines of the aircraft came to life.

"Here we go," Luke said as everything started warming up.

"WE GOTTA GO!" Ford bellowed. "NOW!"

Luke and Rita turned to see bullets and Mimics where Griff and Skinner were standing. Mei gave a slight whimper. Pete clutched his rifle tighter.

"They're coming, Luke," Rita said. "Go, go, go!"

He shoved the thrusters down, and they started moving. A blast made him look to see Mimics changing direction and chasing after them. He knew Griff and Skinner were gone. He forced himself to not think about it.

"Incoming!" Ford shouted, starting to shoot from the turret. Mei was shooting out the other side with her rifle with Pete. Luke and Rita shot out the windows too. Then Ford was ripped off the gun. Pete jumped on next, roaring in rage as he swung around and around.

"THIS IS FOR RANDAAAAAAAAAY!" he screamed in rage. He held his own for a bit, but like Ford, though, he was overtaken.

"PETE!" Mei shrieked. Rita yanked her head around to see him gone, and Luke heard the small cry that came out of her mouth. He didn't want her jumping on that thing, though.

"Take over!" Luke shouted to Rita, leaving her to drive. He stopped Mei from getting into the turret and got in himself. He killed as many Mimics as he could while the Mimics did their best to stop the aircraft from moving forward. A wall of them came careening towards them.

"LUKE!" Mei screamed. He moved the turret outside of the aircraft so he could get better access at the Mimics trying to rip it apart from the top. He unleashed all his fury and pain from everything and everyone he'd ever lost.

...

Rita was thrown backwards as they crashed along. She pulled herself up, seeing a structure coming at them straight ahead.

"RITA!" Luke bellowed, and she looked at him. "YOU GOTTA PUNCH IT! NOW!"

She hauled herself back to the pilot's seat and threw all her weight on the thruster. They crashed through it, and she was thrown back again. This time, she got up and grabbed Mei with her.

"Strap in!" she yelled, and Mei obeyed. Rita saw the pyramid coming fast, and she yanked her belt around her and braced for impact. They hit it hard, and she gasped and cried out in pain as Mei shrieked. When she got her senses back, she saw Luke lying on the ground below. Her heart almost stopped upon seeing him not moving.

"No," she whimpered. "No, Luke..."

Mei gave a groan next to her.

"Come on," she said to Mei, giving her a shake. Mei unhooked herself and jumped out. Rita grabbed the belt of grenades and a shotgun. She climbed out and slid down to go to Luke, her legs barely holding her up from all the emotions going through her right now. He was groaning as he opened his eyes.

"Luke?" she said, feeling incredibly relieved. She stopped next to him, offering a hand.

"This is nothing compared to what we've been through," he answered, taking her hand and being pulled up. Then he took the shotgun from her, and she gave a wobbly smile back. A crash alerting them to oncoming Mimics occurred. "Come on. Move!"

The three of them charged ahead with Luke shooting and killing the Mimics that came crashing in after them. Rita was matching Luke's limp for a bit but felt the adrenaline kicking in and making it tolerable. Mei gave a scream and collapsed, making Luke kill the Mimic that wounded her and pick Mei up and throw her over his shoulder. Then he jumped down the hole, and Rita stuck a grenade into a crack before sliding down after them. It went off, making the structure collapse as all three of them fell and banged their way to the bottom. Rita landed on the car next to Luke, who had Mei in his arms. He pushed Mei off the one side and grabbed Rita and flipped them both off just before they were crushed by debris. Rita was shaking as she propped herself up above him.

"You okay?" she asked, touching his face.

"Yea. You?"

"For now." She lifted her head to look around.

"It's here," Luke said, looking to the right of them towards the water.

"You can feel it too?" she asked.

"Yea."

"Luke?" Mei's voice said, and Rita got off of him. He rolled onto his stomach and crawled over to Mei, who was crying and pressing a hand against her abdomen.

Rita felt her heart break once more.

...

"Luke?" Mei said again, her tears choking her voice. He got to her and saw the gaping hole in her body that the Mimic had given her. She was bleeding out fast.

"It's okay," he told her, gathering her into his arms as she cried. "I've got you."

"I'm not ready to say goodbye," Mei whimpered. He smoothed a hand over her face, holding her close. He felt his own tears start to fall down his cheeks.

"It's not goodbye," he said raggedly. "It's just so long for now. We'll see each other again."

"You promise?"

"I promise," he answered, gripping her face and looking into her terrified eyes. He kissed her forehead, holding his lips there for a moment before holding her close against him.

"Thank you," she managed to say.

"For what?"

"Being my f-friend."

"I wouldn't have traded it for anything," he said. He felt her fight to live for a few moments, and then she was gone with one last shuddering breath. He swore quietly as his tears kept falling.

"I'm sorry, Mei," he said over and over. "I'm so sorry."

"Luke," Rita said, her voice strained and emotional. "I'm sorry, but..."

"I know," he said aggressively. He set Mei down on the ground gently and pressed the palm of his hand against her cheek one last time before closing her eyes. Then he crawled over to Rita, who was hiding behind a cement wall.

"I'm sorry," Rita said again, a pained expression on her face.

"It's war," he replied, quoting her. His heart ached. His face was soaked with tears. He was done with seeing his loved ones die. He was so done with this bloody Omega bullshit.

...

Rita felt so bad for him. He was barely hanging on, just like her, and she knew the final straw would be losing her. She just hoped he wouldn't see her die this time, that he'd be spared that final pain.

Pounding overhead told them the Mimics were still trying to get to them. A crash revealed an Alpha bursting through the concrete, growling. Rita gave a gasp and turned to press into Luke. He grabbed her shoulder to hold her against him.

"It's an Alpha," she said, breathing hard.

"Alright," he said back. "I'll draw it away. You go kill the Omega. It's in the water over there." He immediately felt her tense, and he knew. He knew that drowning was her ultimate fear. He also knew, though, that he was in worse off shape than she was and she knew it. He just had wanted to give her the option to finish what she started.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "You're too buggered up. You won't last five feet."

"I could do ten," he argued, still being a smartass because he couldn't help himself.

"That's not enough," she countered. "Luke, you're killing the Omega. Stop horsing around." She handed him the grenade belt.

"You worked so hard, though," he said.

"So did you," she replied. "And you got me here, and I'm grateful for that. Thank you for never giving up."

"I'll see you on the other side," he said.

"Yes, you will."

"You'll tell me everything then?"

"Of course," she answered, nodding. "I will."

"What did I say?" Luke asked suddenly. "Just tell me that."

"Luke..."

"Just tell me," he cut her off. "I need to know. I thought I didn't, but I do."

"I don't want to repeat it. Luke, it was really hurtful."

"Rita..."

The growling and stomping got a bit louder, and she clutched his hand tightly.

"We don't have time for this," she said. She mentally kicked herself for not talking about it earlier like she'd considered, but they couldn't do this now. They just couldn't.

"Rita, I've never said a terrible thing about you my entire life. I swear it. I don't know what you heard, but there has to be an explanation for it. There has to be."

She looked at him, and she believed him. Regardless of what she'd heard and that it had been proven to be a real, she'd always mistrusted it but didn't know how to come back from it. Well, she'd tried once, which, apparently, he'd seen her there. She looked at him and decided that regardless if it hurt him, he should know that she'd tried to make things right when she'd gone looking for him.

"Luke..." she started. "When I found you in Jersey, I...I was going to..."

"I know," he cut her off, surprising her.

"You know?" Of course he knew. How could he not know after all those resets? She wondered how many times she'd told him and how upset he'd gotten, if at all.

"I know," he confirmed. "You already told me. It's okay."

"Okay," she said, nodding. "Okay. I'm so sorry, believe me..."

"Don't be," he said. "It's really okay. And I'm sorry too." They had to go, and she knew that. She grabbed his face with her right hand and kissed him hard before resting her head against his, feeling his right hand press against her left cheek hard. It was incredibly difficult to pull away, to leave him, but it had to be done.

"I love you," she told him, reaching to grasp his right hand against her cheek tightly in hers one last time.

"I love you back." The pain was back in his eyes, just like she imagined it was back in hers. Their grip on each other was so tight she almost couldn't feel her hand. This was it. This was the end. A thousand different things went through his eyes as she looked into them for the last time; the final thing being unconditional love.

She let go of his hand and fled. As she ran, she did her best not to think about all that would be left behind if they succeeded and the world carried on. Instead, she thought about all that was yet to come. She thought about how she was making the final sacrifice out of love for those left behind in this world, just like her father had.

Almost there, her father's voice whispered in her ear. Everything's gonna be alright, my beautiful little girl. Everything's gonna be alright.

She believed him.

...

Luke hated seeing her run away from him for the very last time. He hated even more that he knew she was running towards certain death. It was all he had not to go after her. He struggled to his feet and hobbled as fast as he could towards the water. He turned upon hearing a roar and a crash, and he saw the love of his life being pummeled into the ground to her death with no chances of ever coming back. It broke his already broken heart all over again. He couldn't stop the gasping sob that escaped his lips.

Run, Luke. Now, he heard her voice urge in his mind. He hurried and jumped into the water, swimming down as fast as he could. He could hear the splash of the Alpha coming in after him, and he didn't have to turn around to know it was gaining on him. He could see the Omega below him, and he grabbed his grenade belt, yanking out all of the pins as fast as he could. He only had one shot at this.

The arm of the Alpha went through him, making him drop the grenade belt, and he shouted in pain. He watched the grenade belt sink and settle in with the Omega. Luke turned over to look at the snarling Alpha and held up all the pins, releasing them and letting them float. He thought about every single person he cared about and loved within seconds of each other, and he made peace with the fact this was the end. Then he smiled.

And it all got very bright and then very dark.

Argh, I'm still crying after writing that lol. Sorry for that emotional punch.

While I know it follows the canon ending to the film, I tried to add more thoughts and feelings etc. to it. I didn't want to change the ending entirely. Thank you for understanding.

I made a slight addition to the last chapter as I had an idea hit me and wanted to explore it more in Part II...just around Rita going with Luke on some jobs. I try not to change too much, but sometimes an idea is too good to pass up lol. You may have read it after I added it already.