I was hoping to finish the story with this chapter, but it takes so much longer to get through a scene than I thought, so expect another chapter. This chapter sets up the bitter irony in the final end, see if you can spot any of it. This chapter goes out to ObsesivleyOdd who called me a hypocrite for not updating, :P

Enjoy

It floated languidly in the all encompassing darkness. Both completely aware and unaware of the never ending space surrounding it. A feeling of complete bliss seemingly seeping out of its very pores. It faintly new that it could change the color and picture of its surroundings by mere thought but remained unconcerned feeling more at home in the warm arms of the darkness than it ever had before. That thought startled it a little, but the surprise was soon washed away by the bliss and it settled once again to continue its forever. Because when had it ever not been here? The thought was absurd.

But it seemed that the thought had opened an unknown gate and the sleek darkness was soon tainted by a faint splash of oncoming grey. It felt its curiosity peak and allowed the grey to wash over its serenity, pushing back the darkness.

Within the grey were wisps of silver that darted around it in a playful manor. It reached out with a tendril of thought and was suddenly consumed with a strong feeling of love. That was when it realized that it was a 'he', and had a name: Ben.

Ben looked upon the memory, because that was what it had to be, in amazement. He was witnessing the first date with Maria, his high school sweetheart. Her brown curly locks where blowing around her upturned face as she laughed.

The memory abruptly changed to one of a more serious tone. Ben sifted through the new emotions and recognized shock, doubt then a feeling of inconceivable happiness that Ben knew what he was about to see before it came. The two of them were at his home, Maria was helping him back his things. They were getting ready to go off to college together. Maria had turned to him and had him sit down. That was the day he had found out that she was pregnant.

Ben wanted nothing more than to stop the memory right where they were and enjoy the look of love on their faces because they were a family then. Ben remembered that he was planning to propose to her just before they left. Husband and wife. Ben felt the memory slipping and tried to hang on to it, for he knew what would come next and didn't think he could stand it again.

The memory assaulted him and he felt grief wash over him as though it was the very day it happened. He saw himself standing beside a grave. Ben couldn't bring himself to look at it for he knew what it would say. Maria had gotten killed in crossfire between the cops and some petty thieves. Crushing Ben's family by a single bullet.

Ben felt rage wash over him as it had the day of the accident. Rage towards the criminals that took away his true love and unborn child. He could almost feel the rage manifest into a real thing beside him and suddenly wished for the peace and tranquility that he had felt earlier to return. And it did.

The emotions and memory left him and he felt it all wash away. He took a deep sigh. It was that day that he had decided to pursue a career in the military. No longer able to connect to others in his family, he sought a way to make his life mean something for Maria, and what better way than putting the filth that killed her six feet under.

And it had worked for a while, it had numbed him and he was almost able to move on. Then he met Alex. And with that thought brought another tiring memory filled with pain and hope. Conflicting emotions that Ben felt very familiar with since meeting the boy. Alex was everything Ben had lost. Maybe not a wife but a son that needed him. Ben hadn't been able to connect with any of the kids that his family forced him to meet. But Alex, Alex seemed to be on another level made only for the people touched by life in ways that shouldn't be. And he brought old feelings of loos and despair back from the places Ben had hidden them, but Ben just couldn't turn away from him; hope that Alex could make it better.

That was what this memory was, what could have been. In front of him Ben saw the adoption papers that he knew were currently on the bedside table right next to a pen. Ben had sat on the idea of adoption for a few weeks now, ever since he learned that Alan Blunt was planning to take away Alex's guardian and therefore leaving him in full control.

This memory seemed much further away now, like it was mocking Ben for his hope. Being just out of Bens reach. Then the grey faded and his surroundings started to solidify. The pain. It came to him from all sides of his full solid body and then slamming into his chest. Ben didn't have the strength to cry out from the sharp piercing that every movement caused. His vision was to blurry to make anything out but he could distinctly feel the tight grip of two me dragging him by his arms.

He was alive? How was that possible? But Ben wasn't about to argue because at this rate he would be dead anyway. He could feel the blood seeping out of the gaping wound in chest and resisted the urge to spit the metallic blood out of his mouth.

Ben clogged ears heard two unmistakable gunshots sound in the hallway and wondered whether those were now imbedded in Alex. But the guards didn't stop so he assumed that it must be. The white hallway came to an abrupt end and Ben heard a door open. The rough hands then dropped him unceremoniously down the flight of stairs and Ben felt himself start to slip back into the comforting arms of the darkness that promised release from his pain.

But Ben fought it back when he heard a series of shots go off and a loud whaling siren go off.

"Shit." He heard one guard murmur to the other and Ben could here shuffling as one of them began to climb the stair s again in a hurry.

"Wait John, what about him? Were supposed to put him with the others." A more timid voice asked.

"Do you here the alarm? That means we go help you dumbass, besides he's not going anywhere." The guards started to laugh at that and took off up the stairs to go investigate.

Ben waited till the noise of running abated and began pulling himself up the stairs one painful lurch at a time. He wasn't dumb he knew he had to get out of there while there was a distraction. Maybe he could send help.

Luck must have finally been on his side because he managed to find an exit without being confronted all while he crawled on his knees leaving a trail of blood behind him. Someone would figure out eventually what happened and Ben wanted to be as far away as possible when that happened. Every crawling step Ben took felt like he was driving a knife into his chest, but he kept going. It was a slow process but Ben could eventually see a line of trees.

That was when the explosion went off and Ben was flung from his spot on the ground at a hurtling speed. When gravity eventually caught up, Ben landed in the forest with new injuries. But he put his arm over his head to hide himself from the falling debris trying to contemplate what just happened.

When it finally stopped raining debris, Ben painfully shook himself off and looked at the devastation before him. If he had been any closer he would have been killed. The flaming building crackled menacingly, and every hope Ben had for Alex's survival died.

I was shattered. My very soul felt split into to a thousand pieces, more breaking as I walked out of the room that held my loved ones. The largest shard protecting me from the pain. Shattered and numb.

I could hear an alarm sound in my head with shrilling clarity. Wait that wasn't in my head, it was actually going off. I couldn't bring myself to worry even though I knew I would soon be surrounded by guards, men with guns and just as much want to kill as their now disposed of boss's. I couldn't even bring myself to be mortified at the deaths, of proud of ridding the world of a board of people bent on killing everyone; just numbness.

But I couldn't deny myself the chance to finish what I started and therefore started looking for something. I found it in a room a few doors down and entered. The room was white and filled with TV screen monitoring the building. The men in there were quickly disposed of; I couldn't even get myself to look them in the eyes as I shot. A quick glance around told me all I needed to know and I set to work. The first thing I did was eject the tape recording the cameras. Then I found the fuse box. I automatically shut the power off with a shot from the gun to prevent the guards from turning it back on. I glanced at the TV's; they must have been on a backup generator because they continued to run even though they could only see black now.

I heard a few surprised gasps from outside the locked door and the pounding as the guards attempted to get through their own barrier. I lifted myself on to one of the desks and began to remove the grate covering the air shaft. With the vents off it was safe for me to crawl through them. I pulled myself up, ignoring the pain from my shoulder and several other injuries, and was able to shimmy into the shaft. I had just managed to flimsily place the grate back as the door bust open and at least ten men entered.

I reached into my pocket and twisted the pen, then began to scramble away as quickly as possible. The pen was one of a few things that Smithers had given me. If you pressed down on the top of it, it would squirt what looked like ink. As soon as you twisted the pen, you had ten seconds to get away before the sprayed 'ink' would detonate.

I had just made it around a bend when I heard it explode and the cry of the men wafted to my already sorrow filled ears. I kept crawling, trying to ignore the panic that settled in with such small spaces. I stopped when I reached a lookout that was over a semi-deserted hallway. I pulled out my gun and started doing what I swore I would never do; sniping. I picked them off one-by-one, I figured that the building itself wasn't that big so there couldn't be that many people. When the hallway was cleared I continued to the next, working methodically until I was sure there were very few people still alive in the building. My work, because that was all my mind would allow me to call it, was stopped short when I realized I was over a prisoner's cell. The grate was too high up for anyone to reach from the ground and I assumed they probably isolated this cell and filled it with cold air till the prisoner went insane.

Within in the cell, I could make out four figures that were screaming to be let out, the darkness making the experience worse. But their cries fell on deaf ears of those that were dead or had more important problems.

I sighed because I knew that I couldn't leave them. I lowered the grate to astonished faces. It was too dark to see but I groped around to my back pocket, having to squish my arm at an unnatural angle to reach my pen.

I lowered myself halfway out of the vent, my upper body hanging upside down as I tried to position myself towards the door.

"I'll get you out, hold on." I said in a gruff voice that surprised me. Must be from the screaming, I thought to myself.

"Who- who are you?" A hoarse manly voice asked, I could see his figure inching closer. I began to work faster but remained silent, it didn't matter anymore. I managed to squirt the lock on the door, much less high tech than the one that was placed on my old cell.

"Back away from the door as far as possible. Shield your faces." Was all I said. They backed up and I began my ascent back up.

When I was comfortably enough away I twisted the pen and waited for the inevitable bang. When it came I turned and continued my sniping. But a small voice caught my attention, echoing from the prisoner's cell. "Thank you" and those words were enough to put a chink in my protective facade of numbness. I could feel tears streaming down my expressionless cheeks and let them fall. At least I could save someone.

The blaring alarm continued, but now I failed to hear the responding footsteps that usually accompanied the panic. When I stopped again I realized this must be why. Below panned out was the largest room of the building, stacked high with unmarked crates which were undoubtedly what Ben had described. Ben. I shook myself to get back on track, I could grieve later. The last few workers seemed to be in this room, frantically trying to secure the crates onto trucks. They were trying to get the shipments out.

I quietly removed the grate and lowered myself into the semi-dark room, crouching behind one of the tall stacks, using the alarm to muffle my sounds. A few workers passed by me in a hurry, whispering in a panicked fashion.

"We have to get these alarms to stop, the vibrations could activate them." The one whispered.

"I know, nut the best we can do is load them onto the trucks and get them out of here. Who knows what will happen if we don't, we won't just lose our jobs if you know what I mean."

I almost felt sorry for them; they were just as trapped in this world as I am. I glanced around and noticed an open crate. I darted towards it, concealed in the darkness. I finally got to see inside. They were... toys? The boxes of GI Joes and Barbie dolls were only a few amongst the tirade of stuffed toys. This was what they were afraid of? I tentatively reached inside and pulled out a stuffed brown bear. I examined them but found nothing out of the ordinary.

I pressed myself into the floor as a group of scientists in black work coats stopped my crate. I stopped breathing as one of them reached inside and pulled out another toy. The hand was inches from my face. The darkness around me being the only thing concealing me from the SCORPIA workmen.

"I don't think they've been set off yet, they should hold until there in the stores. When the plague is through, SCORPIA will be able to march through the chaos and take hold of the world's governments." A shrill women voice said to a much younger employee.

"But won't that kill us too?" Asked the younger one. A crack broke the sudden silence and I assumed the younger one was hit.

"Do you doubt your loyalty to SCORPIA?" The women asked in a cool voice. "Do you not trust us?"

I began shifting away from the confrontation; it was only a matter of time he was found there. When I was safely hidden behind a more stable bunch of crates I began to process what I had just heard.

They were planning to set the plague on the world in order to gain control of it. Since the world's population will be greatly diminished, they wouldn't have very much trouble. Except for the fact that SCORPIA's leaders were currently dead. This part of the building must be sealed off to avoid contamination. So they wouldn't know what had just happened.

I have to stop it.

"Just like you stopped them from killing me?"

I jumped and had to bite my tong from screaming. The voice had come from right behind him; the voice of Tom Harris. I shook myself, no Alex no time for losing you mind now.

I shook myself once more and then began crawling my way to the trucks at the side of the building, narrowly avoiding the thirty some people on the room. When I reached one of the trucks I slipped under it and took a second to gather my breath. I had to find a way to fully get rid of these toys.

A crude plan formed in my head and set to work. When I was done I killed one of the drivers, set the truck into reverse and took off into the woods as fast as I could. I has taken the exploding gum and placed them on the gas tanks of all the trucks, adding squirts from the pen as well. The one truck that was currently reversing into the panicked room of workers was attached to the other five and steadily pulling them all into the building. I had also managed to squirt the top of the garage door. When the explosion went off it was a sight to behold.

The sound alone made me wish I had thought to go further away. I could feel bits of debris tearing at the skin on my body, but I couldn't look away. The trucks had just managed to fit inside the building, blocking the exit. When the explosion went off at the top of the garage, it loosened the wires and made it crash, completely sealing in the plague and its creators. I watched as the fire spread to the entire building, killing all yet saving the lives of the entire earthly population. But I didn't feel any better about it. Because inside where the people who had my entire life. Who were my entire life. I couldn't even bury the bodies of Ben, Tom and Jack like they deserved.

All I could do was hide behind the shard of myself, to hide from the pain. The building continued to burn in a menacing way. I picked myself up off the ground where I had landed and turned my back. Despite how much I just wanted to lie down and never get back up; to join the only people who ever got close to me, I knew I wasn't done yet.

"Just one more thing Alex, just one more." I said in a detached tone that spooked me.

Just one more thing to do until I could finally breathe. Just one more obstacle; Blunt.

Can anyone see where this is leading too?

Review!