Today was it, Dennis could feel it throughout his entire body. This was the day Mr. Glass wanted them to escape, and it was inevitable that a showdown with the Horde would occur. Despite his earlier oath that he would no longer work in service of the Beast, Patricia had come to him again and again-pleading, threatening, and promising if only he would come back to the fold.

Dennis only regarded her with stony faced silence. They had to know by now he was lost to their cause, but he didn't want his plans with Barry and Orwell to be made evident. Part of those plans had required Hedwig to pretend to still be loyal to the Horde, but as this was an actual secret that the adults let him in on, he played the part well.

It was a simple enough plan. After the Beast broke them out of Raven Hill, Hedwig would steal the light and hand it over to Dennis before the Horde tried to force their ridiculous fight with David Dunn, or even worse, get someone else killed. They were unsure if Patricia had confided in Mr. Glass about Dennis's change of heart, and if so, they might be walking into a trap. It couldn't be helped, though. Besides, Dennis had a contingency plan. It was 100% fucking insane, but he was willing to try anything to save Kevin's soul. To save his soul.

"Male parta male dilabuntur," Orwell had told him when Barry officially announced to the others that Dennis had renounced the Horde.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dennis inquired, nervously adjusting his glasses, expecting it to be some sort of esoteric rebuke.

Instead, Orwell just smiled sadly at the other man. "It means that we have a chance to fix this, but it probably won't be pleasant, or even easy."

Well, that went without saying. But all they could do for the moment was watch and wait until Glass gave the signal, and fortunately they didn't have to wait long. The Beast was on the move, wounded from Dennis's betrayal and Patricia's lack of faith, courtesy of Dr. Staple. He was eager to prove to the world that the broken were now on the top of the food chain, and Mr. Glass was eager to let him.

The two made their escape rather easily, Patricia wheeling Glass through the basement floor of the hospital. Some guards were eventually alerted to the suspicious pair, but the Beast came through and made short work of them. Freedom was just outside the door, and Dennis had his chance. While the Beast was distracted with his triumph over the guards, Hedwig forced his way through to the light, only to quickly turn it over to Dennis.

"Nice job Hedwig," Dennis praised the beaming child. "That went way easier than I expected."

Still on high alert for a trap, Dennis nodded to Mr. Glass, letting him know that he was now the one holding the light, and pushed them out the doorway, their way to liberation.

If Glass was aware that Dennis was no longer on his side, he didn't show it, and that made Dennis increasingly nervous. He wasn't the only one, and he could feel some of the other alters' agitated pacing near the light. "Did we make it?"" Barry asked impatiently, but Dennis shushed him. He needed all his wits about him right now.

"That's the vehicle we'll be taking to Osaka Tower," Glass pointed to a Raven Hill Memorial Transit Van when they got out into the parking lot. "Here," he threw a set of keys to Dennis. "Go get our boy some food."

Dennis observed Mr. Glass gravely. He seemed in no real hurry to leave the hospital grounds, and that sent all sorts of alarm bells off in the guardian's head. It was obvious Glass was up to something, but hell if Dennis knew what that was.

Still, he was just given keys to a working vehicle. He didn't know that looking for a sacrifice was going to be in the cards, but maybe this was just Mr. Glass testing him. It didn't matter though. As soon as they got far enough away from Raven Hill, Dennis could just let any would be victims out of the van, preferably stranding Glass before them, and get Kevin far, far away from this insanity.

Now there was just the issue of finding "food".

Hospital alarms began sounding, apparently the security guards had been found. Dennis prayed that at least some of them were still breathing, but knew to expect the worst. At least this time it was in self defense. He needed to hurry, though.

And...ah, right there. Two women were walking right towards him, nervously glancing around, trying to figure out what the alarms were all about. Their uniforms read "volunteer". Young. Easy marks.

Still unsure if Glass was suspicious of foul play, Dennis blocked the women and herded them to the back of the Ford. He didn't waste his breath trying to comfort them, to let them know everything would be alright. Words were meaningless when actions screamed violence, and he had no way of convincing them it was all an act. At least they would be safer inside the vehicle, hidden away from the struggle if things started to go south.

After tossing them inside, he slammed the doors shut and turned to confront Glass. "How many people are going to die today?" he pleaded, hoping against hope that the idea of mass carnage might sway the mastermind.

Unfortunately the other man just stared back at him coldly, zero emotion evident on his face.

"I'm not doing this anymore," Dennis announced, and saying it out loud to another person felt so good he almost laughed with relief. "I don't care what Patricia says, I'm not doing it!"

Suddenly, the telltale sensation of being kicked from the light tickled the back of his mind, and panic began to rise. "Hedwig is taking the light," he gasped out in warning before he was forced back into his chair.

"Hey guys, what's up?" the little boy had impulsively just decided the cost was clear and that he could reemerge, not realizing the ramifications of his actions. Dennis hadn't even had a chance to get them away yet.

The System was thrown into a panic, those loyal to Kevin shouting at Hedwig to relinquish control before the Beast could act, the Horde making a push for dominance. Despite their diminished numbers with Dennis's betrayal, the Beast was still the most powerful alter, and emerged from the chaos easily to take the light.

After a few minutes, the sounds of the Overseer and the Beast exchanging blows became apparent (when did Dunn show up?, Dennis briefly wondered to himself) and the wailing of sirens started to go off in the distance. All hell was breaking loose, and their chance of escape grew smaller and smaller.

"Young man, just what did you think you were doing?!" Mr. Pritchard yelled. "You just opened the door for the Beast to come through, and not even you can reclaim the light now!"

All the negative attention being directed towards him caused Hedwig to cower in a corner, eyes wide with fear. Barry came to the rescue, scooping him up and running over to Dennis, Orwell, and Mary, who were currently in the middle of an argument over what their next step should be.

"Hold strong!" Orwell was yelling. "When the Persians rose up against the Greeks in 490 BC, the Greeks were sorely outnumbered, but-"

"Not th' time Orwell!" Mary snapped.

The man scoffed at her. "My dear, what time is better for war stories if not in the middle of battle?"

"How about we save the history lessons for when we're not being shot at?" Barry retorted, putting Hedwig down gently at their feet. "It's ok kiddo, you didn't know," he whispered to the boy, then stood up to face the others. "Can anyone see what's going on out there? The Beast is too strong; he's blocking me from looking."

They all nodded in the affirmative, and Dennis clenched his jaw, determined. "Plan B. The Beast only respects suffering and violence. I think it's time to start talking to it in its own language."

Barry eyed him warily. "You want us to push out the Beast for good? The only one who could do that is Kevin, and we haven't been able to stabilize him yet. If by some miracle we got him to the light, it would probably only get us killed."

Dennis shook his head. "No, this isn't Kevin's problem to fix, it's mine."

This caused an uneasy silence between the others, and they glanced at each other nervously until Mary spoke up. "That will work, so will it? Ye know there's no love lost between us, Dennis. But you're a part ah Kevin, an' we need ye. If ye go head to head with th' Beast and lose, it's over for us all. An' don't ye know ye will lose?"

His nostrils flared in irritation, but Dennis didn't protest. He knew she was correct.

"But…" Mary continued, "Th' Beast might be able tae beat ye one on one, but could he take on all of us now?"

Barry scratched the side of his face in thought. Every part of him was screaming to just go back into the dark, to wait until everything blew over and they had time to lick their wounds. It's what he had been doing since the first emergence of the Beast, and thus far they had managed to stay healthy and alive.

Unfortunately for him, the loss of even one more life at their hands would be unbearable, and he knew the others felt the same. The time for hiding was over. Dennis had made his choice, now it was his turn.

"I think I have an idea," he admitted, licking his lips nervously. "You're going to hate it, so let me finish before you make your protests," he quickly added, and one by one they all nodded their agreement.

Barry was right, they did hate it. They hated it, and swore then and there that they would do their best to carry it out and see it through to the end. For Kevin's sake.

Freezing water was swirling all around David Dunn, and he fought to keep his brain from shutting down in terror as he defended himself against the fury of the Beast. Despite witnessing his raw power up close beforehand, it still chilled David to think how the wounded, crying man called Kevin could turn into the unnatural thing he was in a death struggle with.

The Beast knew of David's fear of water, and grinned wickedly as he reached out to tear the other's throat open. Dunn panicked and started to slam into the back of the water tank they were trapped in, making the mistake of turning his back and taking his eyes off of the creature for a second.

He felt powerful arms wrap around his chest from behind, as the monster pulled him closer, a death embrace. Almost tenderly the Beast brought his lips to the back of Dunn's head and smiled against his skin. "Rest now," the Beast murmured into him, and blind panic at the thought of a watery grave filled David with a second wind.

A satisfying crack that was felt more than heard accompanied David's head smashing into the Beast's nose, and his enemy roared back in surprise. Dunn pressed his advantage and wrapped his hands around the Beast's throat, trying to crush his windpipe.

In a move purely motivated by survival, the Beast swiped at Dunn's eyes, then fluidly turned and punched a hole through the water tank. He would lose the advantage of using David's fear against him, but he could reclaim the high ground easily enough.

As soon as they burst through the tank, the armored police who had swiftly arrived at Raven Hill began shooting at them, and the Beast got down on all fours to move more effortlessly amongst the turmoil.

He was halfway up the east block of Raven Hill when he shuddered, sensing that something was wrong. It felt like his limbs were losing their strength, and too late he realized he was somehow losing his grip on the light. This had never happened before.

Looking around the makeshift battlefield, he spied a familiar dark haired girl among the police and panicking doctors, and by instinct headed towards the one person that felt like a semblance of safety. He could hear her calling to him, calling out Kevin's name like it was a mantra to ward off further ruin.

For her part, Casey saw the Beast coming for her from across the parking lot, and gasped as she witnessed him fall off the wall he was traversing. Dodging the police cars and gunman, she was able to make her way to where she had seen him land before anyone else reached him.

When she arrived, she found not the Beast but Patricia lying there, panting in surprise and pain. It was clear she didn't understand why she was now holding the light, and as Casey got closer, she noted that a shinbone was protruding out of her left leg.

"Casey!" Patricia gasped, struggling to sit up and examine the extent of her injury. "Casey, what's going on? Why am I here? What has happened to the Beast?" There was an edge of creeping panic to her voice, like at any moment she was about to have a complete breakdown.

Quickly kneeling besides her, Casey looked to see if there was anything she could do for the broken bone. Long ago her father had taught her a great extent of first aid skills, but she could see nothing that would act as a splint in a pinch. "I don't know what's going on Patricia, but we need to get you out of here, fast. There are so many cops here, and I heard them being told to shoot to kill."

Looping Patricia's right arm over her shoulder, Casey struggled to get them both on their feet. Patricia was still a woman in a large man's body, and it took everything Casey had not to fall over. Patricia rested her head on Casey's shoulder, closing her eyes against the pain. "Dennis," she hissed. "I bet that traitor is involved somehow."

This gave Casey pause, and she spared a glance at the other woman. "Why would Dennis do this? Is he not working with the Horde anymore?"

The look Patricia gave Casey was ice cold, but she bit back the scathing response that worked its way up her throat. The young woman was currently the only thing between herself and certain death, and she was not going to push her luck. "Don't worry about him now, dove, let's find somewhere to hide, if you please."

Casey turned her attention back to surviving in this new current nightmare, but could not stop wondering about Dennis. The last time she had seen him, he had sounded so confident in his declarations of loyalty to the Horde, so what had happened between then and now? She determined to find out as soon as they got out of this mess. If they got out of it.

Currently they weren't being pursued. It looked like the men in black body armor and Dr. Staple were having a confrontation with David Dunn and his son Joseph. Casey didn't know how much time that would buy them. "I'm not sure where we can go Patricia; they must have an entire army barracks out here looking for the Beast."

Spying a van that was used for patient transportation much further down the parking lot, Patricia indicated that that was where they should be heading. "Over there. I can't imagine the authorities will be giving us much time to recover. Quick as you like now."

Grunting, Casey half dragged them over to the far side of the vehicle and allowed Patricia to lean against the trunk while she heaved the door open. It took a few moments to get them both inside and lying down to avoid detection, but as soon as they were situated, Patricia grabbed Casey's hand, surprising the younger woman. "I'm going to leave the light and try to figure out what is going on. If Dennis, Barry, or any of the others attempt to take control, kindly remind them that the Beast is our only way out of this that does not involve a body bag."

Unsure of how to feel about being left alone, Casey nodded numbly and watched as Patricia winked out of the light.

After a few tense moments, it seemed that no one else would be coming to claim the light for themselves. Kevin almost looked peaceful, like he was sleeping. Not sure what else to do, Casey lay down by his side and prayed Patricia would find help quickly.

"SUBMIT!"

Patricia heard Dennis before she was able to see what was going on, and when she discovered the others, she found herself in the grip of both rage and fear.

Rage, because Dennis had the Beast lying prone, his knee driving her god further into the ground, arms yanked behind his back. Barry, Heinrich, and Orwell were assisting him, and if she could have at that moment, she would have killed them all for their insolence.

Fear, because it looked like the Horde was losing, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Jade, Luke, Nora, all the others who had eventually come around to the gospel of the Beast were nowhere to be found. Were they also apostates, or had they been cast into the darkness like she and Dennis originally were?

"Dennis you fool, you're going to get us all killed!" she shrieked, storming up to her former partner. "How did you force me to take the light? Where is Hedwig?" She looked around momentarily for the boy, but Hedwig was nowhere in sight, the adults insisting he be far away from their confrontation with the Beast.

Encouraged by the fact that his priestess was now by his side, the Beast turned to look at Dennis over his shoulder, hate filling his black eyes. "Release me! You don't know what you are doing!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing," Dennis retorted. "I should have never let you out. Submit to the will of the System and we will let you live. Keep struggling and you die."

The Beast made a noise and it was unclear if it was a snarl or laughter. "If I die, we all die!"

Dennis glared at him from over top of his glasses, unimpressed with the threat. "Better dead than live our lives as a serial killer."

Gathering his strength for one last attempt at freedom, the Beast bucked a few times, finally managing to throw Dennis off of his back and quickly jumped to his feet, biting and snapping at all who got too close. "Who are you to make that choice for Kevin?" he snarled. "Who are you to make that choice for any of us?"

Momentarily stunned from hitting the ground hard, Dennis propped himself up on his elbows. "Kevin asked to die the first time we allowed you to kill." The memory still filled him with shame. "I know this, you know this. I am the first born, and it is my responsibility to set things right. We're ending this today."

To everyone's surprise, it was Patricia, not the Beast, who charged at Dennis. He was still picking himself up off the ground and she caught him off guard, toppling him over again. Enraged, she wrapped her hands around his throat, but while she was by no means a small woman, she didn't stand a chance against the System's protector.

He quickly overpowered her and stood back up, taking her with him. He grabbed her by the wrists and pulled them up over her head, rendering her helpless. "It's over, Patricia. Give it up."

"You foolish child," she snarled in his face. "Kevin is currently lying in the back of a van bleeding out from a multi-split fracture. The cops will be here to kill us any second, not to say anything of your beloved Casey!"

Dennis's face fell. "Casey? What is she doing here?"

"She obviously cares about Kevin, you spineless prat! Is this how you're going to reward her loyalty? Death?"

Head spinning, Dennis didn't notice in time that the Beast had advanced upon him, and he was launched into the air with a powerful uppercut. "You would let our pure, broken Casey die for your pride?" the Beast taunted, preparing another blow.

The idea of Casey dying at all filled Dennis with a primal sense of injustice, the same injustice he felt all throughout his life as he saw other children with normal, loving families. Casey was now one of them, by her own admission, and he wouldn't let her be hurt ever again.

"No." Dennis struggled to get to his knees, then his feet, wiping away blood pouring from his nose. "Casey isn't going to die. You and I are going to get her out of here, and then you're going into the darkness and never coming out again."

The Beast found this amusing. "How do you intend to make me, weak man?" Grabbing Dennis by the neck, he lifted him easily off of the ground.

"Mr. Dennis!" The cry echoed throughout the room, and no one was prepared for little Hedwig to come charging in and start throwing punches, landing ineffective blows on the Beast's lower back.

Enraged, the Beast reached with his free hand to grab the boy, but Orwell decided the distraction was an opportune moment to intervene, and he jumped on the bigger man, trying to get an arm around his throat. Then there was Barry, and Ian, and Samuel, and soon all the alters loyal to Kevin were on top of the Beast, dragging him down. He was rendered immobile within a few tense minutes.

On his knees but still defiant, the Beast spit at their feet. "So it takes all of you to restrain me. Again I ask, how do you intend to force me to serve your will?"

In what felt like a lifetime ago, Dennis had read Dr. Fletcher's paper about a blind girl that had a few alters that could see. He and Barry had theorized that the opposite must be possible as well, that there could be a blind alter in the midst of those with vision. How to go about doing this without hurting Kevin was anyone's guess, but they had to try.

Dennis stared at the Beast quietly for a few moments, before bracing himself. "How do you intend to do anything when you can't see?"

For the first time in his short life, the Beast felt something like fear, and he struggled against all of the others as Dennis advanced on him.

Patricia screamed. "No! You would maim the pinnacle of human evolution? Don't do this!"

"Help me Kevin," Dennis whispered under his breath, as though petitioning a god, and he braced himself for the task at hand.

Kevin must have heard, for when Dennis touched the Beast, he found he could move through him, deep into the dark that was the void of their shared consciousness. Agonizing memories rushed over him, abuse and neglect from long ago, playing out repeatedly. This time he was ready for it though. He had lived it once before, he could bear it all again.

As he reached deeper into the Beast's mind, the lines between the two alters started to blur; he left pieces of himself behind in every place he touched, binding them together in ways he never thought possible. Briefly he wondered if he was just replacing one monster with parts of another, but he wouldn't accept that, couldn't accept that. He would be good. He was being good. And when he finally retreated, he took the Beast's sight with him.

"You had no right!" the Beast cried in agony, and for a moment Dennis almost felt guilty. Then he thought back to all of those broken bodies that had been opened by the hands of the Horde, and his resolve strengthened. He knelt down to face the Beast, despite the fact he could no longer see the pity and anger on Dennis's face.

"No, you had no right." He replied firmly. "We had no right to do what we did to those girls. Now we pick up the pieces and try to fix this. If you want to see again, you have to share the light with one of us. Our vision. Your strength. You need us."

The Beast moaned in protest, but something was different in his demeanor. Dennis had fundamentally changed the alter in ways he didn't quite understand, but it was quickly becoming apparent that most of the fight had left him. He nodded in obedience.

"Good." Dennis said gruffly. "Now get up. Now we save Casey and get out of here."