"It seems as though your Vulcan has started to break, Captain Kirk," Khan voiced over the hailing system. "I do wish to apologize in advance. He's been particularly difficult."

"Spock?" Jim exclaimed, sweat starting to marinate on his brow. The crew on the USS Enterprise were all completely still, an uncomfortable and stiff silence filling the cockpit. Jim tried to keep his gusto from wavering. "Commander Spock, can you read me?" A cold chill ran up his spine at the sound of a low and painful grunt somewhere below the screen.

Khan looked down, feigning surprise at whatever he was seeing just beneath his feet. "Ah, yes. He's not in the mood for talking, really. You'll have to speak directly with me."

It was supposed to be me, Jim couldn't help but think as he straightened his posture and tested his resolve. It should have been him and Khan boarding the Ambassador's ship. He was supposed to meet Scotty inside and attempt to disarm and disengage the Ambassador themselves. Spock, however, ever alert and self-sacrificing, had yanked Jim away from the vacuum, stealing away in his own set of bodily shields and giving that slight side-eye to Khan himself before disappearing into the darkness, while Jim was forced to watch.

The second he'd returned to the cockpit he'd ordered Spock to veer off course and return to the Enterprise, even though there was a small voice in the back of his mind telling him that there was no way the Vulcan was going to listen to him. Jim could feel his muscles vibrating with rage… who was Spock to decide what Kirk, as the Captain, could or could not do. He'd remembered yelling over the comms, though it proved fruitless as Scotty opened the door from the inside of the USS Vengeance, and both Khan and Spock were swept right inside.

Not long after that they completely lost contact with all three stowaways, leading Kirk to believe the absolute worst. He continued to hail USS Vengeance, all to no avail. No one would answer. They had been trapped in enemy space for fifteen more minutes than need be whenever the intimidating ship suddenly hailed them. Kirk barely had time to suppress the terror gripping his chest before standing from the Captain's chair and answering the hail.

Scotty was nowhere in sight, and neither was Spock. Khan was the only person who remained on screen, the Ambassador having been… Jesus Christ, did Khan do that? Kirk had questioned Khan, of course, inquiring him on the whereabouts of his team and exactly what the hell he thought he was doing. Of course, he'd counted on Khan's betrayal, but that was why he was supposed to be the one on this mission, not Spock. He'd have handled the situation with both the Ambassador and Khan (hopefully) and gotten his crew out of enemy space as quickly as possible.

"C'ptain…" came Spock's voice, gritty and wet at the same time. Kirk's fingers twitched. "I require… no assistance. I am… managing. You must le-"

Khan glared down beneath the screen, sending a harsh kick into the Vulcan's ribs, cutting off his sentence. Kirk had to resist the urge to physically peel out of his skin. His face remained unwavering. He hoped.

"Enough of this pity party. My crew, Captain. Warp them to me. Now."

"How do I know you'll return my own to this ship?" Kirk challenged.

"You do not know. I am being generous enough as it is, giving you this chance."

Uhura stood up from her post, her lips trembling but her eyes burning with something fierce. Something dangerous. Kirk had seen it before. It made pins and needles run through his muscles. He swallowed the thick feeling of fear that had started lingering uncomfortably in the back of his throat.

Khan was growing impatient.

"Perhaps I miscalculated. Maybe you do need some persuading." He disappeared below the screen for a moment, reappearing only seconds later with an incredibly battered and disheveled-

"Spock."

Uhura had not meant to say his name. She had not meant to speak at all, in fact. Her job was to stay poised. Stay professional. Stay intact. But she was failing. She was failing miserably.

Kirk understood why.

It was so much worse than any of them had expected. Spock's face was nearly completely busted, his nose bent at an unnatural angle and spewing emerald blood. A deep gash spread across his left cheek, and his eyes were bloodshot, shining with the pain he was trying desperately to push down. Bruises were already starting to appear under his eyes, and red marks on his neck revealed where he'd probably been choked. It was clear from the way his arms were positioned behind his back that his hands were bound; with rope, wire, tape, Khan's own hands, Kirk could not tell. But he was certainly trapped in a nasty predicament. Khan noticed Uhura's quiet gasp, a sick grin twisting onto his face.

"So you do care about the Vulcan," he mused, looking from Uhura and back to Jim. "Do you, Captain?"

You have no idea, he thought miserably. Spock was his best friend. His brother. If anything happened to him… it was going to be Jim's responsibility. Jim's fault. Kirk could no longer hide the worry that was now creasing the lines of his face. He took three steps closer to the screen.

"Spock?" he called, ignoring Khan's heavy gaze and simply focusing his attention on his friend. "Hey, Spock, are you with me?"

"My hearing… has not been impaired… Captain…" the half-Vulcan managed. An attempt at comedy? Now? He had to have been kidding. It was all he could do for himself at this moment, however, and Jim knew that. Spock was doing everything he could to appear stoic and unbothered, despite his apparent state. The way his chest rose and fell crookedly let Kirk know that there was more damage than what they could initially see.

"Listen to me, Spock, we're gonna get you out of there. Alright? Just hang on."

Spock shook his head weakly. "You must not, Captain. Do not give him what he wants. You know what he will do when he reawakens his crew."

"That's a problem we can deal with later!" Kirk cried, his voice rising to a dangerous degree. Khan was enjoying this. Everyone could tell. "My responsibility… my loyalty is to my crew. I will not lose you like this."

"That would be illogical, Captain."

"Spock, enough! We're trying to save you, dammit!" McCoy suddenly barked, walking up to stand by Jim's side.

"Spock, please," Uhura added, moving to flank Jim's left. "Let us help you."

"It seems as though we've made a decision," Khan mused, sounding halfway impressed by the loyalty of the Enterprise crew. "Captain Kirk, my crew. All 72 of them. I will know whether or not they are my own, so I urge you to move swiftly and honestly." He paused. "And just so you do not get any ideas…"

Khan's right hand suddenly came up to grasp the nape of Spock's neck, squeezing as tightly as he could. The reaction was almost instantaneous. Spock's eyes flashed with a tsunami of emotions, all of which were negative and painful, and his body folded in on itself. He wanted so badly to just collapse onto the floor, but Khan held him up, continuing the flow of unwanted pressure. The Vulcan was gritting his teeth, his eyes screwed shut to avoid letting any of his tears out. But he was trembling. Trembling so hard that it looked as if the floor beneath him were shaking. Sweat started to bead from atop his brow, which in and of itself was concerning, considering the fact that Vulcans did not produce sweat at the same rate as humans. He was grunting, clearly willing himself not to scream. Jim ran directly up to the screen.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped. "Stop!"

"Do you really believe a species as advanced as myself has not learned a few tricks regarding the telepathy of the Vulcan mind?" came Khan's immediate response. "You'd better hurry. His walls are coming down."

"Spock!" Uhura screamed, running up and clasping her hands over her mouth.

"Nyo-" he tried, this time letting out a soft whimper and recoiling back into himself. The veins were popping out of his forehead as he struggled weakly to get away. He lurched forward quite suddenly, unable to contain the contents of his stomach as he threw up on the floor. His skin was becoming more ashen as the seconds ticked by.

Jim yelled into his comm. "Chekov, send them to him!"

"Aye, Keptin!"

"Tick, tock," Khan purred, his grip tightening. Spock could not help the strangled yell of agony that left his lips as tears sprung from his eyes. It felt like all of the blood had rushed to his head; his ears popped and rang something awful and his eyes felt as though they were about to pop. He saw what Khan had done to the Ambassador; he could certainly do it to him, as well. But he would not. He enjoyed invoking pain. Eliciting a response. He enjoyed winning. And he was certainly winning. Spock felt as if there was a thick layer of fog clouding the back of his throat and lacing down his tongue, making it nearly impossible to do anything but scream. Something wet and sticky was running down his ears.

People were trying to call out to him… trying to get him to calm down. And he was trying. He'd been holding back his emotions this entire time but now… now he could quite literally feel the shields his mind had put up falling away. They were crumbling, and each crack and falter sent unyielding spikes of pain to his temples. And then, quite suddenly, he felt Khan reaching… forcing his way in. Tearing through his walls and laughing in his face. Everything was becoming nothing. His mind was crumbling… frying to the point of no return and the pain was unbearable.

Spock was no longer managing. His throat burned from his incessant screaming, and his legs gave way from beneath him, forcing him to the floor as he bent in on himself. Khan no longer needed to have a physical hold on him… he was in his mind. Tearing him apart. Spock felt every second of it. One of the last thoughts he could remember having was:

I am going to die.

The lights suddenly went out on the USS Vengeance. A soft flickering filled the room Khan once dominated, leaving nothing but the panels and the screen hailing the Enterprise to light up the space. Khan whirled around, utterly confused and shaking with rage.

"What is this?" he bellowed, turning back to face the Enterprise crew. Jim and Uhura looked just as surprised as he felt. "You dare play games with me? You would risk the life of your Commander?"

"Oye, eejit!" came a new voice from behind him, and Khan barely had time to face this new threat before he was stunned, his knees buckling and his eyes rolling back into his head as he fell to the ground. Scotty moved quickly, wiping the blood that was continuing to flow from his head wound. He ran up to the screen, his face pale and worried. "Captain, don't send 'em!" he urged Kirk, who had nothing but relief and pure gratitude written all across his face. "I've disengaged his weapons, sir. Ye only need to warp over here yourselves and give me a damn hand!"

"God bless you, Scotty!" Captain Kirk exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm on my way! Make sure Khan stays down."

"Aye, Captain." The signal went dead, indicating that Kirk and (hopefully) some reinforcements, were on their way. By the looks of it, Spock could use the extra help. Scotty shuffled over to the Vulcan, who was still grunting in anguish. His screams had died down only due to his exhaustion, it seemed, and bright green blood had started dripping from his ears. His wrists were bound with wire, which Scotty cut away quickly without hovering over his injured Commander. Spock's eyes were wide and glassy, his pupils growing and shrinking at each passing moment. "You alright, Commander?" Scotty attempted, his voice wavering uncertainly. Spock did not respond, only managing a few ragged breaths while he attempted to regain control of his mind and body.

"Scotty!" a familiar voice rang out, and the smaller man turned to greet Captain Kirk. He had failed to notice that Kirk's voice rang with a warning, heeding Scotty to look out as Khan grabbed the man's leg, sweeping it out from beneath him and sending him tumbling to the ground. His head thudded against the floor, pounding horribly, and for a moment Scotty thought he was dead. Khan was down. He had been incapacitated only seconds before! They needed to get Spock out of here. Scotty had just enough time to look back up, preparing to die staring Khan in the eye, but instead found himself pleasantly surprised by the sight of Kirk shooting Khan directly in the spine. Khan screamed, and Kirk was prepared to finish him off when suddenly, out of the corner of Scotty's vision, Uhura pushed past the Captain, two long blades in each hand. She had the look of an animal on her face, grunting and panting, her eyes completely engulfed in flames. Scotty could feel the heat from his place on the ground.

Uhura stomped down onto Khan's leg, her thick boots shattering his fibula in the process. Khan grunted, attempting the stifle his pain in time to regain his dignity, just as Uhura pierced the blades into either side of his neck, the sound of flesh tearing and organs being shredded permanently residing in the back of Scotty's mind. She screamed, tears sliding down her cheeks as she twisted the blades in opposing directions, yanking them out of Khan's neck and watching ruefully as his head flew from his neck, thudding to the floor before his body could. Kirk and Scotty were both frozen for a moment, staring down at Khan's body as blood began pooling out of his neck, almost waiting for him to pop back up and wreak havoc.

Uhura, however, did not wait. She sheathed the blades, quickly turning her attention to Spock and practically skidding to the bloodied floor to meet him.

"Spock," she whispered, reaching up to cup his face with trembling hands. He recoiled at the touch, letting out another painful scream and pulling himself away. Tears continued to slip down his cheeks, and it seemed as though he could not see a single soul in the room with him. "It's me, it's Nyota," Uhura tried, inching closer to the half-Vulcan and suppressing her own violent sobs. "It's just me, Spock. You're okay."

"No," he rasped, grasping at his chest and clinging to the collar of his shirt, shaking his head.

"Please," Lieutenant Uhura begged, slowly reaching her hands back out reassuringly.

"Spock, hey," Kirk began, skidding to a halt by his friend. "We've got this covered, man. We gotta leave." He reached out and placed a steady hand on the half-Vulcan's shoulder. Spock flinched at the contact, his eyes suddenly flashing with recognition and pain. He groaned, slumping in the opposite direction of his friends and getting sick all over the floor once again.

"Captain, wait," Uhura snapped, pulling his hand away from Spock's shoulder. "If we warp him now, he'll freak. His mind can't handle it. Give me one moment, please. Just one moment." She turned back to give Spock her full attention. Uhura was acutely aware that if Spock were in his right mind, he would quite possibly die from embarrassment. This was not how an 'emotionless' Vulcan acted, and Spock prided himself on being able to withstand pain and control his emotions. This was different, though. This was bad. Very bad. "Spock," she said again, placing herself directly in his field of vision without touching him. "It's alright, now. Nobody here is going to hurt you. I know it hurts. But once we get you back to the Enterprise, you're going to be just fine." A pause. "Can you hear me?"

"Nyota," he suddenly croaked, "I can't- I-I-"

"Easy, one word at a time," she coached gently.

"I… feel everyth-thing…" He shuddered, bringing his hands up to place over his temples, squeezing his eyes shut once again. "Oh, God…"

Spock never used human expressions, especially not regarding a religious entity of any sort. He was short-circuiting and for good reason. Uhura's face dawned with grim realization, and she let out a loose sob. Khan had broken Spock's telepathy shields, the only things protecting his hyper-sensitive mind from… everything. Sights, sounds, mind melds, telepathic urgencies, all of them. And yet, having melded with Spock's mind over one year ago, Nyota Uhura had not felt a single tear. A single ounce of pain. Which meant Spock had been protecting her, using the last of his strength to keep her from experiencing what he was. She felt her muscles turn to noodles. That was why he did not want anybody touching him. He feared they would be forced to feel what he was feeling since he no longer had any means of keeping his emotions blocked off. Touch telepathy was a bitch.

Kirk opened his mouth to speak, but Uhura worked faster. "Come here," she whispered, slipping over to Spock's side despite his terrifying gasps of protest. "I understand. You don't want me to feel it. But I want to. I will share this with you, Spock." She paused, searching his face. "Please, allow me."

And as soon as she said those words, the half-Vulcan's face broke, a ragged sob forcing its way through his throat once more. He leaned towards her, suddenly very desperate for her touch. Uhura was already there, reaching forward to cradle his head in her arms. She held him as tightly as she could without adding further damage to his injuries, all the while Spock completely shattered. His mind scrambled desperately to collect itself, failing at each and every attempt. He hated the feeling of sharing this pain. Although it dulled (if only by a fragment) he could tell that Uhura was already starting to feel the effects. The way her muscles stiffened and her breathing became haggard.

"I am… so sorry…" Spock murmured, only slightly conscious of the fact that he was losing feeling in his face and fingers. His muscles started going slack, and finally, finally, once his shattered mind was decorated with black and white dots, was he privy to the fact that he was slipping away. He did not know if he would be back.

He could only hope (hope, eh?) that Nyota would not suffer the same pain as he had.