When the video ended, Tyler slammed the computer closed, tears streaming down his cheeks. Alex reached out, grabbing the laptop and moving it away. He couldn't believe it – this wasn't possible, not his Lisa. She wasn't dead, she couldn't be. There was no way that there were so many things going on with the Vs that he had not been told about. He had thought they had trusted him, that they cared about him, and they had, hadn't they? Anna had been more of a mother to him than his own mother had been for months, and he couldn't handle the idea that this might have been an act. However, the video seemed incredibly clear. Lisa was dead, she had declaring that she loved him, and Anna had killed her for it. That didn't seem right to him, didn't seem right to him at all. He would have accused the video of being a fake had he not been there. He was in the video, so that had to make it real, didn't it? His breathing became quick and shallow, his eyes widening as he felt his chest tightening up.
"Tyler?" Alex leaned forwards, biting his lip. "Tyler, look at me."
"No." Tyler shook his head, his body wracked with sobs. He turned away from Alex. Maybe this wasn't his fault, and Tyler knew deep down not to shoot the messenger, but he couldn't bring that to the surface, not now. He loved Lisa, she couldn't be dead, and if she was, if this video was accurate, it was his fault. Her loving him had been what had killed her, she had died because her feelings for him had been real.
"Tyler, please," Alex stated. "You've grieved over this before, you got through it, I helped you!" Alex reached out to put his hand on Tyler's shoulder.
"Don't." Tyler pulled back, wincing from the pain caused by his own sudden movement. "Just…just don't." He grabbed one of the pillows, squeezing it against him. This was too much information coming at him too fast, and he couldn't handle it. His girlfriend was dead because of him, her own mother had killed her, the Vs were evil, at least most of them were, he had been their captive for god knows how long, and now he was a part of the fight against them? So much had happened in one month, one pivotal month, and he couldn't remember any of it.
"Tyler, I know this is hard," he whispered.
"You don't!" Tyler shook his head.
"Yes, I do," Alex said firmly. "I may not have felt what you're feeling or now just how hard it is, but I know that it's hard because it was hard for you the first time, and I was there for you the first time." He sat back, deciding to give Tyler his space. "Let me be here for you now."
"I don't even know you," Tyler whispered, sobs still coursing through his body.
"Yes, you do," Alex stated. "You just don't remember it."
"That's the same thing, isn't it?" Tyler snapped.
"No." Alex shook his head. "It's not, because somewhere inside of you there is something, some part of you that knows me, and because I remember you, I know how to help you."
"How can I trust you?" Tyler asked softly. "Everyone that I've trusted has been lying to me!" he turned to Alex, his voice rising with anger. "My parents lied to me about who my father was, Lisa lied to me about who she really was, Anna lied to me about absolutely everything, so why should I believe you?" he asked. "Why should I believe someone that I haven't ever seen before in my life?"
"Because I showed you the truth." Alex gestured towards his bag where the laptop sat. "I showed you what they truly were, that Lisa truly loved you and that Anna is truly evil."
"No." Tyler shook his head. "That's not enough, how do I know that you're not using that to manipulate me?" He felt his whole body shaking and he began to panic. He was surrounded by people that he couldn't trust – there was no one in the world that was willing to tell him the truth, thus there was no one in the world that was willing to care about him. If everything he knew was a lie, then what was true? Lisa had loved him, that was good, but she was dead, that was bad. Anna was evil, that was bad, he was trapped in a place he didn't recognize, that was bad…everything was bad. "How do I know that you're not trying to trap me into trusting you so that you can hurt me or use me just like everyone else?"
"I don't know," Alex admitted. "I've given you the proof, how you decipher it, that's up to you. If you choose to believe that I'm trying to hurt you, as soon as you are healed, you can run away from this, from me, from us, but try to believe me when I tell you that I am your friend, that I am here to help you." He bit his lip. "Try to believe me when I tell you that I was the one who rescued you from the Vs, that I was the one who got you out of their prison and brought you to our base for the first time. Try to believe me when I tell you that my father, our friends and I, we're good people and try to understand that we need your help."
"My help?" Tyler frowned, still trying to process everything that Alex was saying.
"Yes." Alex nodded. "You were so close to the Vs, so close to Anna for so long, you've seen parts of their ships that no one else has, you've been involved in things that no other human has insight towards. We need you, Tyler, to help us take them down."
"I can't trust you." Tyler shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't." He was still crying, looking down at the bed. "I can't work with you."
"Even after what you saw?" Alex asked, frowning slightly. "Anna killed Lisa."
"I know." Tyler gulped. "I know, that's…I can't handle that." He turned away again, tears spilling down his cheeks and onto the bedspread.
"You said that the last time," Alex said softly. "You said that her death was too much for you to take, and for a few days, it was, but that's what rallied you, that's what brought you to us."
"Then how do I know you didn't sell her out?" Tyler asked through gritted teeth. "How do I know that you didn't sell Lisa out to Anna so that I would join you? I'm important, aren't I? Anna said that I was Lisa's mission, I'm some kind of pawn in this sick fucking game that everyone's playing, and if the Vs would have someone seduce me, how do I know you wouldn't use that against me?"
"You don't," Alex said, leaning back in his chair. "But if you won't hear this from me, will you hear it from someone else? Someone you've known? Someone you remember?"
"Who?" Tyler asked through his tears.
"Your mother."
"My mother?" Tyler frowned, turning back to stare at Alex.
"Yes." Alex nodded. "She's one of us, Tyler, she has been for a very long time."
"My mother is Fifth Column?" Tyler's body began to shake harder and he fell back against the pillows as Alex nodded. This was too much information. He was in pain and he couldn't focus. His brain tried to process everything, but it was overwhelming, and he began to hyperventilate, clutching tightly at the pillow as he did so, staring at the ceiling.
"Tyler?" Alex stood up, but Tyler did not acknowledge him. "TYLER!" Still, Tyler ignored the boy, letting the panic attack get the best of him. "Oh shit, DAD!" Alex called.
"What is it?" Gregory burst into the room.
"Dad, I think he's in shock."
"Jesus Christ." Gregory disappeared from the room, returning almost instantly with a syringe.
"Dad, that's not gonna make him trust us," Alex warned as Gregory moved towards Tyler.
"He's already weak," Gregory stated. "If we don't sedate him, he could go into a coma…or worse. Shock can be fatal, Alex," he stated harshly, tapping Tyler's arm to raise a vein before sticking the needle in and letting the sedative flow into Tyler's bloodstream. Tyler's body stopped shaking, he stopped hyperventilating and his eyes closed as his grip on the pillow relaxed. "There," Gregory stated. "When he wakes up, hopefully he will be able to process things better."
"Yeah." Alex turned, heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" Gregory asked.
"To get Erica."
A/N Alright, I hope that this story is working for you so far. I know that some of my medical facts may be off as well as some of the things from the show may be off. I would like it to be known that because this is fanfiction, I don't spend too much time doing the research for it, and I've only watched through the show once, so I might have missed some important things, and I apologize if something seems off! I hope that you guys are enjoying this, and don't worry, it will get more action-y later on, first we have to get Tyler back to some semblance of functional.