Chapter 4

After he had woken up on the trip back to Burbank, Morgan had done absolutely nothing else besides worry about his best friend. Something was obviously wrong, and he could have sworn that the Belgian had said something about a lobotomy.

And he'd been in love with Ellie as a kid/adult long enough to know what a lobotomy did. After she came back from med school, she practically threatened to use him as a guinea pig. Not one of the better moments between him and Ellie, but it got the point across.

But they hadn't used any surgical equipment, so they couldn't have cut into his brain. That said fact aside, there was no reason to give Chuck a lobotomy! He was never one to be aggressive towards others and he wouldn't have fought them-he would have just said, "The Intersect is gone!" That machine couldn't have been giving Chuck a lobotomy. Unless, of course, it was like a medicine that did the same thing as a lobotomy. Like a chemical lobotomy, or something.

That was something, right?

Or, that machine could have been doing something completely different. Possibly something along the lines of an electric chair. Either way, there were only two things he was completely certain of: if they were going to help Chuck, they needed to know exactly what happened to him in the first place, and that he wanted to help Sarah and Casey help Chuck.

He jumped from his seat and raced out of his office, leaving the chair spinning behind him. He nearly sprinted to the Buy More exit, and as he reached the sliding doors, someone stepped in front of him and they both went crashing to the ground.

"Lester, why would you do that?" Morgan exclaimed. Jumping to his feet. The dark man got to his feet, and by the look on his face Morgan could tell that it was something that he didn't want to know about. Without thinking, Morgan said, "You know what, forget it. Just—do whatever you want."

Lester's face morphed into shock. "Wait—are you serious?"

"Yeah, sure."

With a small, nervous laugh, Lester said, "But you don't even know what I was going to say!"

"I don't care!" Morgan exclaimed, exasperated. "Just do it!"

He didn't even look before he bounded across the parking lot. Several cars screeched to a halt and the drivers yelled, "Get the hell out of the way!"

When he reached the Orange Orange, Sarah's CIA frozen yogurt shop, the first thing he noticed the "CLOSED" sign that swung back and forth in the window. He yanked at the door, and with surprisingly little effort it flew open.

Morgan jumped over the counter and into the back, where he opened his eye wide and stared straight into the CIA scanner. The screen identified him and said, "Access Granted." He waited for the click as the door unlocked before bursting into Castle.

Everything was silent accept for the beeping of the various computers that lined the walls. With a sinking feeling, Morgan realized that Sarah and Casey had already left to find Chuck. He knew it was a good thing, because he knew that they were the only ones who could find and save his best friend, but it was also a bad thing, because it meant that he couldn't help them. It seemed as though they had looked through at least some video footage in search of Chuck before they left, because said footage was still on all of the computer screens. Nothing was there now accept the rhythmic flash of lights.

Morgan narrowed his eyes to get a better look, and his expression drooped at the site of five men being wheeled away on stretchers to an ambulance, the source of the incessant flashing. They were being wheeled out from somewhere, apparently hidden from camera view. He knew that Chuck—no, the Intersect—had caused it, which was all the more reason that he needed to help Sarah and Casey. Obviously they had reached the same conclusion, either that or they had seen Chuck before he nearly killed the men who looked as though they were barely clinging to life.

No matter, Chuck had already left. Sarah and Casey would never get there in time to find him, and by the time they did get there, Chuck would have made it back to California.

So, Morgan pulled up more security camera footage of airports around the world, scanning for that familiar dark hair and a man whose head would poke out above the crowd. He searched city after city, for what seemed like hours. By now he realized that Sarah and Casey were probably long gone, but he didn't care. He'd just call them and tell him his findings, no biggie.

And then he found it.

Walking along with the crowd, no luggage whatsoever, and no expression but the drone-like emptiness, was Chuck Bartowski. Judging by the look of the crowd, he was exiting a plane. Sarah and Casey didn't know that... where were THEY going?


Disjointed images. A gaping hole in his memory that didn't want to be repaired.

Faces, smiling... the sound of laughter mixed with mindless chatter. It was impossible to tell the difference from what happened before, and what was happening now.

Shades of gray. Odd looks from strangers. White lights dancing across his vision.

And then, the sky. Surrounded by a brilliant blue, looking over the earth as mist began to swirl above it. A plane... He must be in a plane of some description...

But why would he be in a plane? Where was he going again? He closed his eyes, but the images refused to cease. Face after face... name after name...

And suddenly, when he opened his eyes again, he was no longer on the plane. He was being led by a massive crowd of people, mostly seeing only the tops of their heads. People pushed into him, and the computer threatened to fight back. With all of his might, he willed it to keep on going and ignore them.

And the Intersect somehow complied.

More images flashed before his eyes. Face after face... name after name... And no matter how hard he tried to remember, they meant nothing.


Alright, I apologize for how late this is. I know there is no excuse, but here goes: first, it was just simple writer's block. Then, it was a computer virus that deleted my work. Then, it was a concussion... now it's exams and the Triwizard Tournament (don't ask ^-^')

I hope you enjoyed this latest installment! Please R&R!