Okay, so after deciding I was going to get this fic alllll finished up and determining to write the next IBA chapter, I got this one all written out for you guys :-) I hope it's good and that you enjoy it. Song this chapter is Blurry by Puddle of Mudd. Thanks to Wep for beta editing and Jimmy for giving excellent input as always.

Every thing's so blurry
And everyone's so fake
And everybody's empty
And everything is so messed up
Pre-occupied without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I Stumble then I crawl
…

Sarah held her daughter's head, her heart still sunken into despair. Emily hadn't stirred once, hadn't made any sign of life and the only sign that told Sarah she hadn't lost her daughter was the pulse she still possessed. She held back the intense emotions that assaulted her. She wanted to stay strong, and give CHAOS no clue that they were breaking her. She wasn't sure how long she could keep the facade up.

Emily wasn't ever supposed to see this. She was never supposed to know this part of the world. The normal world was bad enough, but with this added on...how badly would this affect Emily? This was all wrong.

She had no way to get them out of here. None. Her only hope was Director Hardy. He surely would have realized they had been taken by now, when they didn't report in. But how would he find them? It wasn't as if CHAOS left a trail of breadcrumbs for him to follow.

Carina's betrayal actually did feel like a knife in the back. Out of all the people Sarah knew, she had figured Carina incorruptible. Oh how she was wrong. But how could she really fault her motives? She hated, and yet understood the actions of the brunette. If the government had been responsible for Chuck's death, what would Sarah have done? She wasn't sure she wouldn't have joined CHAOS were she in Carina's shoes. But still, this was Carina and she was Sarah. Carina had been one of Sarah's best friends! They'd saved each other's lives and relied on each other more times than Sarah could count.

Betraying the country that left her lover to die was one thing, betraying Sarah was another. Now, because of Carina, Sarah and those she cared about were stuck in this hell hole. If she saw her again she'd make sure to break her nose.

Sarah still couldn't believe how far they'd come since she had entered the house. Never did she think that this would have happened as she snuck her way into Chuck and Emily's house that first time. She wondered how Emily could even process it all so well.

The thought of the emotional scarring this could give Emily caused a lump to form in Sarah's throat. She had wanted to keep her daughter's innocence and keep her ignorant of this part of life. But now, she'd been thrust into it without a moments pause.

Sarah wanted her daughter to wake up, but a part of her feared it. What would Emily wake up like? What had that one image done to her? Seeing Emily suffering in that room had been unbearable. Never had Sarah felt that degree of helplessness. She'd always been able to protect them from physical harm. Now she couldn't protect them from anything. She didn't even know where Chuck was.

Smith and Carina would pay. If it was the last thing Sarah ever did, they would pay for this.

You could be my someone
You could be my scene
You know that I'll protect you
From all of the obscene
I wonder what you're doing
Imagine where you are
There's oceans in between us
But that's not very far
…

Chuck sat in the corner of his cell, his shoulders slumped, and his hope all but completely shattered. At least Emily will get to go home...if they keep up their side of the bargain. Chuck thought darkly. He wished he were with Sarah and Emily right now. He hadn't seen Emily awake after being tested. Was his daughter okay? Was she hurt?

"I want to see my daughter!" Chuck yelled at the top of his lungs. He doubted he'd get an answer but he had to try. He would yell until he got hoarse if he had to. He had to see them.

Aside from the desperation he felt, there was anger and shock. Carina's betrayal had completely shocked him. He had always thought she was trustworthy when it came to what side she played for. But Casey? Dead? That struck Chuck with sadness like a slap to the face. He had always thought of Casey as a friend, and to hear of his death (especially so horribly) really made Chuck realize exactly how much the game had changed since his days. FULCRUM was gone, CHAOS was here. Casey was dead, and Carina worked for the rogue agency.

Were Bryce and Sarah the only people who he could trust? Could he trust Bryce? He was certain he could trust Sarah. Despite all that had changed, he still felt that Sarah was trustworthy. She wanted to help them get out of this.

Again he yelled to see Emily, and again there was no response. He sighed and pressed his hands to his face. They couldn't win in anything, could they?

He wasn't sure if help would come, but he prayed it would.

Suddenly, Chuck heard loud bangs and a lot of gunfire.

Can you take it all away?
Can you take it all away?
When you shoved it in my face
This pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away?
Can you take it all away?
Well you shoved it in my face

…

Sarah's body started when she heard the obvious sounds of a fight. Did help finally arrive? The gunfire continued, and more explosions.

After what Sarah figured was a few minutes, the door to her cell opened and a bloodied Bryce stepped through. Sarah felt a mixture of relief and surprise.

"Bryce?!" She exclaimed. He hurried into the room.

"We've got to go," he stated and began to lift Emily onto his shoulders. "Take this gun," he added and Sarah took a pistol from his palm. Bryce pulled another weapon from his waistband.

Sarah nodded. "How did you get out?" She asked.

"I'll explain later. But for now, just know we're getting out of here finally." They both started for the door.

"What about Chuck?" Sarah asked, pausing.

"We'll have to get him too. He's on the other side of the complex in the B wing of the holding cells." Bryce paused and Sarah knew he couldn't take Emily to safety and help Sarah get Chuck.

"Take Emily," Sarah said. "I'll get Chuck."

"I'm sorry I can't help you, Sarah." Bryce apologized. "But I can give you this," He handed Sarah a small electronic device. "It's the area schematics of the compound. Follow it to Chuck, and then get your asses here," He pointed at an exit point on the screen. "Be careful, Sarah." He added, locking eyes with her.

"Thank you," Sarah said quietly and started to run, glancing down at the map.

The compound wasn't too complex. It was made up of three parts. A wing, B wing, and the C wing. She was currently in the C wing. Two more lefts and a right and she'd come to the B wing. From there, it wasn't too far to the holding cells. Unfortunately, the map didn't say "Chuck is here" so she'd have to figure that one out on her own.

Sarah was so wrapped up in finding Chuck, she didn't notice the leg coming towards her midsection until it was too late, and she let out an "oof" as the air was knocked out of her. Suddenly Carina was standing before her, gun in hand minus her trademark smirk.

"Sarah," Carina started. "I don't know how you did this. But you and Chuck won't be escaping."

"Carina, don't do this." Sarah warned. She had put her gun into her waistband under her shirt. All she had to do was reach behind her and pull it out quicker than Carina could shoot. Not that easy.

"You won't make a fool of us. It's time for you to help CHAOS. We have to stop this corruption."

Sarah's hand ever so slowly began to creep behind her. Carina would probably spot the trick, but maybe she was so messed up right now that Sarah could get an advantage.

"It won't bring him back." Sarah responded. "He's gone."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Carina, don't do this." Sarah repeated. Almost there.

Carina started coming towards Sarah, her gun still raised. "Stop going for your gun." she ordered.

Dammit. We'll have to do this the hard way. Sarah suddenly tackled Carina, catching the brunette so off guard the gun clattered to the floor across the hall. Even before they hit the ground Carina was placing punches and kicks on Sarah. The blonde only grunted with each blow. She had to stop Carina now, and quickly.

They landed on the metal floor and despite the pain of their landing began their assaults on one another. Carina sent a fist towards Sarah, who caught it and sent her own punches at Carina. The crack of Carina's nose as Sarah's knuckles connected with it gave Sarah a small hint of satisfaction. She'd said she'd break her nose.

Carina let out a pained moan and Sarah pulled her gun out of her waistband, aiming at the groaning woman beneath her.

"I told you not to do it." Sarah stated. As much as she tried, she couldn't pull the trigger. She couldn't kill the person who'd saved her life so many times. She brought the butt of her pistol up and smacked it against Carina's skull with enough force to knock the woman out cold. Sarah stood quickly and started for Chuck again. Thankfully, the device Bryce had given her wasn't destroyed in the tussle.

Finally making it to the holding cells, Sarah began to open doors looking for Chuck. It seemed there were no other prisoners but Chuck. When she finally opened Chuck's door, he looked at her in shock.

"Sarah, how did you get out?"

"Bryce," Sarah replied. "Come on!" She took Chuck's hand as she started for the exit.

"Where's Emily?"

"Bryce is taking her out of the facility. I came to get you."

"Thank you,"

"Like I'd forget you, Chuck? Never." .

They passed Carina and Chuck cast Sarah a questioning look. "She attacked me. I couldn't kill her." Sarah explained.

They continued running and coming up to the exit, found Bryce waiting with several other armed men in military gear.

"Thank God you two made it. I was worried." Bryce allowed a thin smile to cross his face.

"What about Smith?" Chuck asked.

"He's been arrested." One of the armed men replied. "We found his female accomplice in a hall, out cold. We're taking her in too. All the CHAOS agents here are either dead or on their way to a nice CIA detention facility."

Only now did Sarah begin to breathe easily. Maybe this wouldn't turn out so bad after all. "Where's Emily?" She asked Bryce.

"Safe. She's on her way to get some medical help right now. Colonel Yuen will take us there." Bryce replied.

Sarah looked at Chuck, and found him already facing her. He took her hand and they followed Bryce to their freedom.

Everyone is changing
There's no one left that's real
So make up your own ending
And let me know just how you feel
'Cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I Stumble then I crawl

…

Emily awoke to a white room. Her vision was so blurred that she couldn't really make out faces. Just figures and shallow sounds. She saw several of the figures draw close to her and she thought two of them were her parents. Emily knew that there was something she was supposed to remember about them, but couldn't quite grasp it at the moment. She felt like she'd been pounded over the head repeatedly with a blunt object.

More voices. "Is....alright?" It sounded like a woman. Her mother?

"Trauma...she...ne...rest. You....go."

The thing she noticed most about the figure closest to her was the color white. Was he her doctor? He was doing something beside her, but she couldn't tell what.

Suddenly her eyelids became heavy, and she quickly fell back into a dreamless, black sleep.

You could be my someone
You could be my scene
Know that I will save you
From all of the unclean
I wonder what you're doing
I wonder where you are
There's oceans in between us
But that's not very far
…

Again Emily woke, but this time there was a difference. The cloudiness was gone, replaced with sharp clarity. She remembered more. A white room, a computer...the pain…then darkness. Her mother and father calling out to her.

How did she get here? Was this a CHAOS installation? Did they get rescued? Hope rose in her but quickly fell as she realized how foolish thoughts of rescue were. Where were her parents now? Where was the man who'd she assumed had been tending to her?

She was still deeply fatigued. Whatever that picture had done to her had really messed her up. She hadn't expected it to hurt so badly. Did that mean she failed? Surely there was no way a successful test would've been so painful.

She lifted her head and groaned as a wave of dizziness came over her. She had a bad headache and felt the pain pounding away behind her eyes. She laid her head back down and closed her eyes and was relieved to feel some of the pain abate.

She wanted to see her parents. That thought prevailed over all the others. She had to see them. She wanted answers.

Then, suddenly, she realized. Since she had to have failed the test, Smith had said she could go home. Did he already take her parents away from her? Were they gone? No, that couldn't happen to her! She had to see them one more time! She had to tell them she was okay, that she didn't hate her mother, and let her Dad know that she was going to take care of herself! Smith couldn't do this to them!

She sat up, wincing at the sharp pains that shot through her skull. She had to get up, she had to do something. She scooted towards the edge of the bed and started to pull out the IV attached to her arm.

"Emily, stop!" A voice called out to her and Emily brought her head up to see Chuck standing in the open doorway.

"Dad," Emily breathed out in relief. Chuck hurried over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey, hey," he began, "You've got to lie back down. You couldn't handle the test. You've been out for a couple days." He gently pushed her back to a laying position and grabbed a nearby seat, placing it beside the bed.

"What happened?" Emily asked, her eyebrows knitting together in frustration and pain.

"It's a long story. But long story short...we're in a CIA compound."

Emily stared at Chuck in disbelief. "What? How – ho – we escaped?"

Chuck nodded. "Apparently, Bryce had a trick up his sleeve. Some kind of special bug that sent out his location to Hardy that is undetectable by most sensors. Hardy couldn't get help for us there before your test, but they came, and we escaped. Smith, Carina, all those other CHAOS agents…they're in jail. We're safe now."

Tears of relief came to Emily's eyes. Finally, after all that hell, they were okay now. They wouldn't have any more to do with CHAOS. "We can go home?"

"Well, not yet. They're going to thoroughly clean our house before we can go there. Just to ensure no bugs were placed there." Chuck stood and kissed Emily's forehead. "Now sleep with peace. We're all fine."

"Where's Mom?" Emily asked.

"She's around. She's no longer an agent." Chuck said, his eyes going to the floor and he seemed to be pondering something.

"Can I see her?"

"You should sleep…"

"Dad…"

"I promise you'll see her. For now close your eyes, I'll bring Sarah in soon. I promise."

Emily smiled just a bit. "Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you,"

"I love you too, Em. Now rest."

Emily closed her eyes, finally feeling peace. Her sleep came much easier.

Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When ya shoved it in my face
This pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away
Can you take it all away
When ya shoved it my face

…

Sarah came up to the door to Chuck's room just as Chuck was coming out. "Have you seen Emily?" the blonde asked. She'd just finished what she hoped would be her last briefing with Hardy for the rest of her life. She was shedding her CIA "skin".

"Yes. She's good. Still in a bit of pain and she looks exhausted. She is recovering really well. CIA doctors are really good at their jobs, I'll give them that." He paused. "She wanted to see you."

"I just finished finalizing the release of my contract." Sarah replied. "Is she sleeping now?"

Chuck nodded, "Yeah. But she wanted me to wake her up when you were able to visit."

"Well, how about I pay her a visit now. Then she can sleep through the rest of the night."

"She'd like that," Chuck agreed. Sarah started towards the location of Emily's room, and Chuck put a hand on her arm.

"Sarah," Chuck began. "One more thing."

Sarah looked at him questioningly. "Yeah?"

He pressed his lips against hers and Sarah's breath was taken away.

So this isn't the end yet, but I hope that you were happy with this chapter. Review as always, please, cause I love those :-) You guys are great, and thanks for reading this. I'll have the next chapter ready really soon!