Hullo everyone! How were your Christmases? Well, the quote for this year's Christmas:

"Name some English kings!

"ELIZABETH!"

"This is insane!" Li shouted at them but no one was listening. Eva was looking from one person to another but they noticed she was pretty comfortable in Matt's arms. Lily was losing patience; she could hear the water closing in around them, they needed to get out fast.

"Hex!" Amber shouted again seeing as no one was moving.

"This is between you and your brother," Lily said quietly and so suddenly that Matt's eyes snapped over to her instantly. "Give Eva to me," she lowered her knife from his throat and put it back. Matt just stared at her and everyone who had ever met Lily when she'd had a knife to their throat they'd tell you not to keep her waiting. Matt looked to Eva who reached out a hand to his neck and wiped away the blood, she nodded her head at him even thought she had no idea what was happening. Slowly Hex and Alex lowered their weapons as Matt handed Eva to her mother. "Thank you," Lily said and as she took Eva the girl almost instantly fell asleep. Lily put a hand to Matt's face and sighed before leaning forwards and kissing his cheek. She walked away and Alex moved to her before stepping protectively in front of them both. Hex and Matt stood opposite each other, Hex looking at his younger brother with a mixture of confusion and sadness, Matt glared determinedly back with a mixture of confusion and hate.

"What-"

"Don't." Matt interrupted his brother, "don't even try." He didn't want Hex to have a chance of redemption; "you've lost the right to my forgiveness."

"Matt!" Hex said desperately, "I know what I did to you was…" he tried to think of a word.

"Shameless?" Matt suggested, "cowardly, selfish?!" He shouted at him. "You never came back!"

"It was too much to deal with-"

"WE ALL DEALT WITH IT!" Matt finally lost it, all the hate and anger he'd felt for his brother for the past few years was finally showing. "MUM AND I DEALT WITH IT! WE LOST TWO OF YOU!" Hot and angry tears streamed from Matt's eyes and he wiped them away impatiently.

"What happened?" Amber asked Hex and he sighed.

"Years ago," Hex began without looking at her, without looking at anyone, "my dad died." No one had ever heard Hex talk in such a tone of melancholy that it scared them a little. "I couldn't," Hex's voice broke, "I couldn't deal with it- I wasn't ready to accept it!" His hand brushed over his eyes and Amber went to him but he held out a hand to stop her, "I'm no hero Amber-"

"He's a coward," Matt muttered and to everyone's surprise, Hex nodded.

"Worse than that." Hex took a deep breath, "I left home. Said I was going out for…" He couldn't remember.

"A book you left at school." Matt said suddenly, "A history book, you'd left it in your locker." Hex looked at his brother for a moment before his shoulders slumped and he had to wipe his eyes again. "Is it sad?" Matt asked him, "is it sad that I remember where my big brother was going? I might've been a teenager but I was still young." Matt shook his head, "I NEEDED YOU. WE ALL DID!" He screamed and Hex shook his head.

"I'm sorry," Hex said quickly, "I don't know what else to say."

"Matt," Paulo said and took a step forwards, "Hex was willing to kill Lily for you." Matt looked over to Lily who for some reason smiled at him; she always managed to see the truth of a situation; she could tell what people were really feeling. She'd claimed it was just something you learn as you get older and right now he knew what she meant. He knew exactly how Hex felt.

"How can you make up for eight years?" Matt asked his brother.

"I can't," Hex shrugged, "I don't think I can. But I can make the rest of the years worth something." Matt looked at his brother.

"You're coming home?" Matt's bottom lip trembled and Hex rubbed the back of his neck.

"If you'll have me." Matt nodded suddenly and embraced his brother. "You've got to get out of this game." Hex whispered to his brother.

"I know. I'm sorry." Matt whispered back.

"Ahem," Li said pointedly and Matt and Hex looked round at her, "my feet are getting wet." She said and everyone looked down; the water was in the room already.

"Ok," Matt said and began turning the computer screens off. Hex's eyes scanned the numbers on the screen quickly before nodding. "I know the way out." Matt said to them and when he turned back he saw everyone was prepared to follow him.

"Matt," Hex called and he looked to his brother, "the screens indicate the doors are going to shut automatically-"

"It'll be fine." He said and looked at Lily. "Thank you."

"No problem, kid." She said and everyone looked from one to another, wondering what they were talking about. Matt nodded again and walked out of the room. Eva, who was drifting in and out of sleep realised it was the first time in a long time since she'd seen her parents together, she smiled up at them both even though they weren't aware she was awake. Matt began to pick up the pace and in an instant everyone was running down the corridor.

"The doors were going to shut," Amber said ominously.

"Yeah," Paulo said, "that freak was going to lock us in anyway." He said darkly and everyone shook their heads; their hate for Amnias intensified over a matter of three seconds.

"Don't worry," Matt shouted back, "we'll be out of here before they do." He said and turned a corner sharply before stopping. Everyone almost fell into each other as they looked around the deserted, dark and damp space around them. Alex saw it first.

"The ladder!" He exclaimed and Matt saw it for the first time; it was so dimly lit that the aged metal was difficult to see.

"Alright, everyone up." Matt said to them and everyone made room for Lily and Eva to go first.

"I don't think," Lily began.

"I'll take her," Li said, reading Lily's mind; Lily was uncertain if she could get up the ladder in her dress and with Eva. Li was probably the best to attempt it. Eva, who was awake now completely looked around to her father.

"Daddy," she said quietly and from the folds of her dress took what looked like a small black box and handed it to him. He didn't look at the object but smiled at it and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks," he said and kissed her forehead. Li proceeded to take Eva from her mother and proceeded to climb the ladder.

"It'll open up at the top to an alleyway," Matt said, "wait there for us all," Li nodded and disappeared into the darkness. Amber followed, then Paulo and then Hex. Hex was half way up the ladder before they heard the gunshot. Everyone turned instinctively to the source but registered a second later that Matt was on the floor, clutching his chest and staining the already dark floor, red.

"Matt!" Hex shouted and jumped down to his brother, turning him over and shouting up the ladder; "PUALO!" He screamed as Alex and Lily took a step in front of him and his brother as Amnias walked forwards. Neither of them was armed; Lily could take out the knife but what use was that against a gun? Amnias looked at Hex and Matt and laughed so loud it echoed down the corridor.

"That's what you get for double-crossing me!" He shouted at Matt but Lily put her hands up into a fighting stance to stop him getting closer. "Are you quite taken by the kid?" He asked with a sick smile; Lily didn't think answering him was worth anything so kept quiet. "Shame; he'll be dead now- MAKE ONE MOVE AND I'LL PUMP LEAD INTO YOUR STOMACH!" He shouted at Hex who had moved to the ladder to get Paulo but stopped as Amnias said this. "Now, you're going first," he said to Lily and pointed the gun back at her.

"Brad," she said smoothly, "I assume it's too late for an apology-"

"YOU ASSUME CORRECTLY," he screamed at her before putting a hand to his mouth to stop himself shouting.

"I beg you, on behalf of my daughter-"

"Bitch." Amnias said to her with a slight laugh, "you can stop right there. You think parading your daughter around in front of me is going to evoke sympathy?" Lily lowered her gaze; she was out of ideas, "you are sadly mistaken." Alex looked up; there seemed to be a metal bar above them in the ceiling; no, it was the bottom of a door. A door that was lowered from the ceiling. YOU OWE ME!" He was shouting again and Alex jumped, "look what you've done- I'm shouting again! You ruined me three years ago and not a God damned, fucking thing you've done in the subsequent three years is going to change that. OK?!" Lily nodded. There was a number on the metal; G3. He thought back: where had he seen that. "Ok, I won't kill you by bullets," Amnias said, "I'm going to lock you in here so you can drown together. You and Alex and Hex and the near dead Matt. Awwwwwww…see I'm nice." He put a hand in his pocket but the smile faded from his face. "I have a remote control," he said and clicked his tongue impatiently and went to check another pocket. Remote control? Alex thought, he'd seen one before. "It locks the doors," Amnias said impatiently and checked his jacket pockets. He was distracted now; Alex and Lily exchanged a glance before nodding. In a flash Lily moved forwards and kicked the gun out of Amnias' hand, Alex retrieved the small black box Eva had given him and in the darkness searched for a button labelled G3. Amnias was so surprised he had stumbled backwards because of the force Lily had used but before he had time she picked up the gun and pointed it at him.

"Got it!" Alex said and pushed the button. Amnias stared in disbelief at them both and watched in horror as the door began to shut. He ran forwards but another gunshot echoed through the corridor as Lily pulled the trigger. Amnias stopped and stood up right, his eyes trying to focus on Lily. Alex was impressed; her shot had hit his heart exactly. Lily was too used to seeing death to cry, to feel much, but a small part of her felt the hurt of the loss of someone she once loved. Amnias smiled slightly at her and put a hand to the growing red mark on his shirt.

"You always were," he whispered to her, "another slick trigger-finger." He said before falling to his knees. The last they saw of him as the door closed was the small smile on his face as he looked at Lily; remembering who he used to be. The door closed; Amnias was dead, they heard him collapse. Hex went up the ladder instantly and Lily and Alex went to Matt's side. Alex saw the pale skin of the boy; he wasn't breathing. He checked Matt's pulse. Nothing.

"He's gone," Alex said and Lily nodded. He put an arm around her but was surprised when she shrugged him off. Hex and Paulo came down the ladder. "Hex," Alex began but the man pushed him and Lily away from his kid brother. Paulo just had to look and he already knew.

"Paulo," Hex beckoned him and Paulo grudgingly moved down to Matt's side.

"Hex," Alex tried again, "he's gone-"

"SHUT UP ALEX." Hex shouted but was immediately silent, "Just…please." Hex muttered but Paulo put a hand on his shoulder, "no…no,no." Hex simply repeated the word as he embraced the dead figure of his brother. Everyone looked away as though intruding on something private. "I can't lose anyone else!" Hex shouted into Matt's hair. "I can't go through that again-"

"You have Amber with you all the time now," Lily said consolingly. "She's there for you-"

"We're all here for you, mate." Alex said and Hex nodded before letting go of his brother. "We have to go," Alex said, "we'll call the police to…pick up the bodies-"

"bodies?" Paulo asked and there was a quick story of what happened to Amnias.

"Forget the police," Lily said, "this is a problem to be addressed by the British Government." She said and Alex nodded.

"Let's go." Paulo said and almost had to lead Hex to the ladder. The four of them emerged in the alleyway a minute or two later, where they saw Amber and Li waiting in the…sunlight? They all looked around, the sun was just rising.

"Matt…?" Amber began but saw Hex's face and shook her head in horror. Again, a quick catch up of what had happened underground and everyone stood in silence.

"Let's go home." Alex said, "together." Everyone nodded and Alpha Force, Lily and Eva, stood in the first streaks of sunlight.

"Yeah," Amber said, "I really need some coffee." They all smiled with a sense of relief; they were going home. The nightmare was over.

OK, i know it seems like the end but there's one more chapter to wrap things up- should be up tomorrow!

Reviews appreciated!