Morgan's POV:

He's in there and you know it. You can feel it, and all you want to do right now is to burst in and save him, save Reid, before something unspeakable happens. Hotch isn't back yet, and you're so tempted to go on without him, but at this stage it's crucial that you make no mistakes – even if that means waiting. Garcia's called you again, asking about the success of your entry into the warehouse, and you couldn't lie to her – you told her that Emily was shot and that she's presently in surgery at the hospital. Right now, Garcia's on her way to the hospital with JJ in tow- nobody messes with her babies. You're standing so still you swear you've become stone, this waiting around is doing nothing for your nerves, and you can feel them gnawing at you from the inside. Damn it! Where the heck is Hotch? Rossi's right beside you, fidgeting with the safety of his gun- clicking it on, and off, and on, and off repeatedly. The action itself is getting on your already chewed nerves, and all you want to do is disarm him and tell him to stop acting like a baby, but you know how nerve wrecking this whole experience is.

For everyone's sake you hope that Reid's alright, in fact- you don't like where your thoughts have taken you, and you're really glad when you finally see Hotch's SUV pull up beside yours. Any moment now, you'll have Reid in your clutches, safe and sound at last. Hotch practically jumps out of his car in hiss rush to head up with you and Rossi, a question bubbles to your lips, but you figure that it can wait until you've talked tactics.

"Hotch, what happened? Is Emily alright?" you ask before you can help yourself.

"She's fine; JJ and Garcia are waiting for her to get out of surgery now. Is Reid in there?"

"Yeah, it looks like it. We could do a soft entry upstairs so as not to spook her, then bang in when we find her so that she'll think she's cornered."

"That sounds good Morgan. Rossi, I want you to take left wing, I'll take centre and we'll each take a small party of SWAT members with us."

Rossi speaks up from behind you, "If we find Reid, we should have some sort of signal – especially if the Archer is still in the room."

"Good point Rossi, ok – if we find Reid and the Archer is present, wait for the rest of the team, and we'll all go wherever they are, so that no solitary person has a chance of encountering the Archer." Finishes Hotch.

You all split to gear up before entering the property, your minds all focused on rescuing Reid. On the count of three you all enter your individual entrances with the assigned SWAT team members. Yours is the back of the warehouse, and as abandoned as it is, you can tell that the general air of the warehouse is one of disrepair. Beside you at the moment is a large pile of rubbish, the door practically swinging off its hinges. You enter as quietly as you can without disturbing the piles of crap littering the floor. So far, there's no sign of Reid or the Unsub. You say so into your comm, "clear."

Hotch's POV:

So Morgan's wing is clear, that means that either yours or Rossi's has Reid and the Archer. You look around you, and observe the dismantled television screen, and the thermostat, turned down so low it could be a walk in freezer...yet, the room you're in is fairly warm for this time of year, and no other rooms seem to be as cold as the thermostat is showing. Perhaps, as everything else, the thermostat is broken. You think about it no further as you continue your search around what could be described as more of a burrow than a warehouse.

The crackling on your intercom interrupts your observances as Rossi informs you that there's no sign of reid on his side either, that means that the only possible places Reid could be is your side, or another warehouse. And for Reid's sake, you hope it's the former. Could it be that the thermostat has something to do with all of this? You look at the floor for the first time, searching for a trap door, or a disturbance in the seemingly flawless wooden floor. Aha!

The Archer's POV:

You can hear their clumsy footsteps thundering above you, and you know that every step is giving Reid that much more confidence and hope. Damn it, you're sure you covered up the trap door, and you can't check now. How did they find you so quickly? You must have underestimated their abilities, the same thing you did last time, the same thing that led to your downfall. Turning on your heel, you reach for the hilt of your knife, unsheathe it, and allow Spencer to watch its gleam, he knows what's coming and you're steadily anticipating his reaction. The final kill, this is what you've been waiting for, and, in your mind, this is what's going to make you the happiest. You must execute it quickly, before the meandering men above you find the trap door and descend on you like flies; god knows how many SWAT members they've brought with them. No, this has to end now.

Spencer's looking at you, eyes wide with fear and pleading, if he thinks that he can appeal to Lila he's wrong. She died for good the minute he pointed it out. This kill will symbolize the real death of Lila Archer, and the death of the man who murdered her before she died. He murdered her emotions, and for that he would pay with his life. You raise the knife above your head, and gently slide it across your gloved palm to allow Spencer a full view of the knife. Then, pushing him down into a lying position on the floor, you reach across and angle the knife downwards, a stab that would penetrate his heart and leave him bleeding. But first, cosmetics. You want a pool of blood to circle his body before he dies, so some cutting is in order. You lift up the jacket you allowed him, slide the blade beneath it, and gently, with the tip of the knife, slice into his cold hardened flesh. Then, removing the jacket, you toss it aside and admire the cosmetics as a puddle of blood begins to harden around his body. You stare silently at him for a little while, admiring the beauty that you've created, when you're interrupted by a loud bang, a squeal emitted from Spencer, and three large men pointing guns at you. But, they think that they're too late, and maybe, they are.

Rossi's POV:

The Archer is straddling Reid's chest, a long and cruel blade clutched in her mittens. You and Hotch circle her while Morgan remains firmly planted behind her.

"Put down the weapon now. Ms Lowe, you could walk out of here safely if you put the knife down now, and inflict no further harm on Dr. Reid! Now, put the knife down and back away carefully from Spencer."

She turns and faces you briefly, in her eyes, you can see that there's no way in hell she's going to allow you to save Reid. He's her final target, and she'll feel no satisfaction if she doesn't kill him. Staring into her cold blue eyes, you shoot a glare and try again.

"Ms. Lowe, put down your weapon so we can talk, right now all we want to do is to help you, to stop you from making another mistake. Killing Lila,that was a mistake wasn't it? But it's ok, we're here to help you, so that you don't make that mistake again, okay?"

"Shut up old man. I have a job to finish. Now stop talking. I want to savour this moment." She raised the knife above her head, aiming directly for Spencer's heart. At that moment, a gunshot rings out, and you watch as Maggie clutches her hand in pain, Morgan having got a straight shot into her wrist. The knife falls onto Reid's chest with a small slap onto his flesh, and in that moment, Hotch grabs her uninjured wrist and handcuffs it. You and Morgan rush over to Reid, and assess the damage done. He looks bad, and you're inwardly thanking God that you had the good sense to call for EMTs before entering the house. Hotch has already lead Maggie out to one of the waiting ambulances, and has told a pair of the EMTs to come into the warehouse and bring Spencer out on a stretcher. You don't know how he is medically, but you do know that he's safe and with you now.

JJ's POV:

Waiting for Emily's surgery results would've been nerve wracking enough under the circumstances, but waiting for news on Spencer and on Emily is chewing you inside and out. Garcia looks as though she could be sick at any moment, and you don't blame her, this situation is enough to make anyone miserable. From the visitor's area you can hear a new gurney being brought in, and watch with growing and bubbling anger as a handcuffed woman is taken into surgery, where the hell is Spencer?

You're marching outside when you see Hotch rubbing his eyes gently with the tips of his fingers, he looks weary and gray, you can't help but stall your anger for a moment. You look at him and ask quietly, "Where's Spence, Hotch?"

"He's on his way in the next ambulance. There were a few complications getting him strapped to a gurney, but he should be alright as soon as he gets out of his extensive surgeries."

"How bad was it Hotch? Please, tell me everything."

"It was bad JJ, I don't think you want to know the exact details-"

"I do."

"Alright then. When we found Reid the Archer was about to stab him through the heart, he already had several flesh wounds and infections, on top of that, his skin had frozen to the floor beneath him. This meant that while trying to take him off, the skin that got stuck to the floor had to be gently pried off, or thawed off. We decided that for the good of his general health we would pry him off the floor. The result was extreme pain for Spencer, but ultimately less time to get him here."

By the end of his speech you feel as though you want to vomit. The pure acts of torture Spencer must have been put through flip your stomach several times over, as well as set your blood on fire. Now all you want to do is confront the bitch that was handcuffed to the gurney, but you can't because she's in surgery. A small cough emanates from behind you, and you turn around to find Emily's doctor looking at you brightly, "Ms. Jareau, your friend Emily should make a full recovery. The bullet was extracted beautifully, and there should be minimal scarring. She should wake up in a few minutes, and we'd be happy to let you see her."

"Thank you Doctor."

You watch his retreating figure, glad at least that one of your injured friends is alright. All that's left is news of Spencer.

Reid's POV:

Everything hurts, and it's so bright. Why is it so bright? It's a good bright, but a painful bright, your eyes haven't seen this much light since... the sunlight before you were taken by Maggie. Maggie, whatever happened to her? You know for sure that you're still alive, but, where's Maggie? 'Hmmm...Maybe there'll be time for this later' you think, as you sink into a comfortable and deep sleep.

It feels like hours ago that you woke up in a drug induced phase, but now you're fully awake and ready to welcome your friends. But the pain, it's everywhere, and you can't help but squeak when you turn over, but you're rewarded with the smiling face of JJ when you do. You can't help but smile back when you see her leaning over you, this is what you'd been pushing yourself for, a chance to see your family again.

A/N: Okay guys...it's the end! Please R&R, and fairly soon I'll be posting up the alternate ending, so tell which one you prefer. The alternate ending will be completely different, so it may take me a while to finish it. Other than that, I hope you've enjoyed reading the story :D