Wow. I REALLY did not mean to slack off on this update considering I've been off since Thursday. Headaches and laziness happen you know? LOL. Guess I'll be cutting it close with my deadlines…again. There's one more chapter left after this one and I plan to write it tonight and post it tomorrow. I even made an effort to check my grammatical errors here before posting cause let's face it, there's been plenty but don't worry I fixed all the chapters back to Chapter 11.

Enjoy this one last cliffhanger before I must begin my fanfiction writing fast.

Everything was a blur and his head began to hurt, but once Peter opened his eyes he found himself surround by dirt.

And then he remembered…

He felt the ground as if it was sinking and then he heard his son screaming. But it wasn't coming from the house. Robbie was outside and he was in trouble. As Peter tried to reach him, the ground gave in and he fell. Luckily, the sinking stopped and Peter was only 9 feet below the earth. Still, he had to get out before the ground beneath him sank any further.

Robbie on the other hand was far from reach. His small frail body was buried by the large mass of dirt and the weight was slowly crushing him. Only his head and arms remained uncovered.

"Help…" he whimpered, all because he didn't have any energy to scream.

"Help, daddy..."

~*~*~*~

Astrid opened her eyes and felt a strange tugging. Someone was yanking at the rope she had used to tie herself to a charred tree. Not too far away she could see Walter wearing the harness (connected to the other end of Astrid's rope) and running around looking at all the dirt. She freed herself from the rope and struggled her way through the piles of earth that surround her, about five inches thick, from the hill collapse.

"My word, Amazon," said Walter excitedly. "Did you see that?"

"More like felt it," said Astrid.

Walter's excitement faded when he realized that the universe was dissolving faster than he expected. This was his last chance to find Peter and Olivia and still he could not recall why it was so crucial to search here of all places.

"Walter, do you hear that?"

Astrid covered Walter's mouth to listen. There was a small cry…and it wasn't coming from *too far away.

Cautiously Astrid and Walter walked together towards the direction of the cry, leading them closer and closer to some massive dirt piles that formed from the unusual event.

"Help."

It almost sounded like a child's voice coming from the other side but the irregular formation of the dirt piles would make it difficult for either of them to get around. Astrid and Walter would have to pull their feet and climb a bit of the way up.

Thank god it rarely rained here. Walter and Astrid struggled three feet up one dirt pile and then went around it a long distance. Here they found an even bigger dirt pile and just before them, about 8 feet away was the dirty blonde head of a little boy who was crying helplessly trapped.

"Walter! It's Robbie! He's stuck in the hill."

Astrid had difficulty figuring out the best strategy to help this poor boy. It would be difficult to reach Robbie and even then, it would still be dangerous. She couldn't just dig him out without risking the rest of the dirt pile falling on all of them.

There was only one option now. She pulled out the rope and made several attempts to throw the harness end in Robbie's direction. "Grab it! Come on!"

The little boy was hesitant. He was too small to actually wear the harness and he wasn't able to really put it on being half buried and all, but eventually he found a way to hook his small arms through the sleeves.

"Hold on very tight," Astrid called out. "…so I can pull you out!"

Astrid knew this would be extremely risky but this was the only way. She had to pull Robbie out in one quick swoop or else the top of the dirt mountain would collapse on Robbie, burying him for good.

She closed her eyes concentrating for a moment. She thought of counting to three. Then Walter spoke from behind her, nearly making her jump. "Do you need assistance, Miss Assistant?"

"Walter! You almost screwed this up!"

He looked sad as Astrid tried to nudge him away. "You're took weak for this. You could get hurt. Besides, Robbie looks very small I think I can pull him out quickly."

She looked over at Robbie hoping that he was ready. "Hang on, Robbie."

Walter looked over at the little boy and the two made eye contact. He green eyes gave Walter chills again and then a sudden sense of worry. Walter was finding himself suddenly, worried for that little boy.

He had to make it out. He just had to.

"One…" Astrid whispered. "Two…"

Astrid pulled the rope as quick and as hard as she could.

Robbie was slowly coming out but the dirt pile quickly began to collapse.

Both Astrid and Robbie desperately help on to their respective ends. But the dirt was falling fast and was burying Robbie's legs back into the pile quicker than Astrid could pull. Robbie was going to get buried again.

"Oh no!"

Walter, all the while, was watching helplessly. He couldn't understand why he himself could not bear to see this little boy die despite having caused much children unintentional harm…despite having some even die by accident. Of course perhaps those accidents would've never had to be if he hadn't experimented on children to begin with.

He never felt like this for any child before…except for Peter.

Suddenly a strange wave of paternal instinct rose up within Walter. Yes, he had gotten old and brittle but suddenly he found himself grabbing rope behind Astrid and he pulled which such strength he never had in his life. The rope caused his fingers to bleed yet Walter felt no pain. He was determined to save this little boy whom he did not know.

Perhaps it was all out of sympathy for the boy who shared his late father's name.

But it worked.

Robbie was yanked it out and he was being pulled away faster. The dirt continued to pile on but Astrid and Walter kept pulling with everything they had. Robbie continued to be dragged along racing against the collapsing hill, until finally he was safe and all three of them had made it to level ground. He was left with scrapes and bruises everywhere but nothing serious.

Astrid and Walter quickly approached the boy. "Are you okay Robbie?"

He looked up and stared at the two adults in shock, finally recognizing the two same strangers he had met the other day. And they really did know his name!

The stare broke when the three of them heard a gunshot.

"HEY!"

Robbie looked over and could see someone running towards them. He turned back to Astrid and Walter and tried to shove them away. "Go," he said to them. "Hide!"

Astrid wasn't going to argue. She grabbed Walter and the two of them fled but they could still hear the stranger approaching and fire another warning shot.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!!! Stay away from my boy!!!"

They jogged a short way through the fog until they found the remnants of an old stone gazebo and hid behind the columns.

Robbie and the man were not that far away. In fact they were so close, they could hear the man's voice and his tone changing from outrage to one of gentleness, relief, and concern.

"Robbie, are you okay?"

Walter was standing there behind his column very stiff-like with his jaw dropped down. He tried to look out to see Robbie and the unknown man, but could only see shadows through the fog.

One foot after the other, Walter stepped away from the column and walked through the fog.

"Walter," Astrid called out quietly. "Walter, no!"

But Walter ignored her and instead got closer and closer until he could see the back of a man, kneeling down to his son's level, inspecting the scrapes and bruises.

Robbie looked up and saw Walter again and his eyes went wide.

Before the man could turn around, Walter only had one thing to say…

"Hello, Peter."

Walter watched him stand there with his back to him, almost forever. He shook with every second he took to turn around and hear a voice that he had not heard in over six years.

The man looked at Walter's face. He had more wrinkles and he was clearly getting older but there was no denying who this was that he was standing before now.

"…Dad?"

Fingers began to explore every inch of Peter's face but Walter was already quivering, bursting with tears before he could even finish taking it all in.

Together they were brought back down to their knees and their joyous cries could be heard for miles.

Walter took Peter's wrinkly face into his fingers once more and said the only thing he knew to say…

"I thought you'd be fatter, son."

Peter could only laugh through the tears. They almost didn't hear the approaching footsteps. But from out of the fog Astrid appeared, and she stood there completely dumbfounded by what she saw.

Peter looked at her and had recognized her almost immediately.

"ASTRID!"

She was quickly pulled in and Peter was hugging them both so tightly. Astrid could only laugh in disbelief in what was all going on. Walter was still crying.

Slowly the hug broke and Walter turned to look at the little boy who was standing there patiently.

"Peter…" Walter said.

His son's smile widened. This was the moment Walter had been waiting for longer than seeing Peter again.

"Dad…this is Robert. Robert Bishop II. He's my son and your…"

Walter gently pulled Robbie close to him and looked at him. He could see some of the Bishop family features. He really was his own flesh and blood. Walter hugged the boy and then gave him the biggest kiss he had ever given anyone on his little forehead.

The four of them walked together back to the house.

"I knew there was a reason to search for them here," said Walter. Astrid only smiled in reply.

"I didn't think you'd remember," said Peter. "We gave up being found years ago."

The land had become oddly leveled due to all the sinking, making it difficult to walk through. Eventually though, the house began to appear but Peter froze.

"No…"

He handed Robbie to Walter and ran towards the house, now slanted on one side. One corner was now several feet into the earth and the wood framing of the house itself had slowly broken apart. The roof seemed almost caved in.

Peter had to punch through the door, halfway trapped into the earth, to get in.

"Olivia?" Peter had difficulty keeping his balance as he now walked on a very slanted floor. "Olivia!"

He saw the stairway into the loft blocked by furniture that had been moved around from the sinking. He could hear Anna's cries as he carefully climbed the stairs and squeeze his way through but could only get as much as his waist in.

Through the darkness he could see the furniture had been toppled and small items were slowly rolling toward his direction. The bed had walled him in from one side but it was no longer occupied.

He turned to where Anna's cries were coming from against the wall on the other side. There she was, kicking and screaming in a strong motionless hold…in Olivia's arms.