He followed.

Everywhere he went - ever since his awakening, he had trailed behind the backs of those who thought had control of him.

Slowly and carefully, he began to step over the footprints they have made and rarely making his own. The only time he forged his own path was when he wanted others to take notice and lead them to him so he could place them exactly where he wanted them to be.

Never did they foresee the game he was playing and the strategies he had used.

They didn't have the intellect to do so.

Nor the rage.

Khan followed, and right now, he stood behind the very captain of the Enterprise, the essential and final Queen of the game.

The piece that would lead him to the final downfall of King Marcus.

Khan was a shadow, black as void, and hiding in the very presence of his own pawns.

But he never chose to be this way during the start.

He was not born into darkness, he was forced to adapt; to change in order to save and survive.

Long ago he was a brilliant light, extraordinary and rare in existence.

But that light flickered and dimmed into a menacing form of a shadow, dark as the space that has now engulfed him, because it was lost without its conductor. It was cruelly torn away from his being, and now he knows he could never reclaim it ever again.

Khan was Sherlock Holmes.

Once.

The Augment had tried his hardest to compose himself to maintain his facade, but Kirk made it too easy for him. He could already feel Marcus's skinny neck writhing underneath the palms of his heated hands.

Kirk had brought the feared Augment with him as a guide, much to the Vulcan's firm protest, and Khan was grateful for the man's decision to think through his gut rather than his own head.

"Foolish Captain," he thought as they awaited confirmation from a source waiting on Marcus's ship. "Your loyalty is so obviously exposed."

All Khan needed to do was to protect the tiniest ounce of trust Kirk has placed on him. And so he did by saving the reckless captain as they soared through the debris-scattered space.

But now Khan's patience was wearing extremely thin, and his anticipation only grew worse as they finally slipped dangerously inside the Vengeance.

Khan marveled in awe at his own creation once inside. The once large-scale drawing of his put down on blueprint paper was now a reality.

To Khan, it was both a blessing and a nightmare. He would've laughed proudly if it not for the fact that someone other than himself was sitting on the captain's chair.

But that didn't matter to him now. He was going to kill Marcus today and there will be no force in the universe that could stop him.

Not even the oblivious captain Kirk.

Khan waited anxiously for orders. He hated it, but he had to behave. After returning Kirk back into course during the chaos that had happened between ships, he knew that Kirk believed him to be on his side. As far as Kirk knew, Khan was helping him for the sake of bringing the wrath of his revenge onto the unsuspecting Admiral.

Everything began to fall exactly where Khan had wanted them to be; the pieces of his chess game were perfectly place and victory was imminent.

And now Kirk has given him a weapon.

They navigated their way through the endless corridors of the ship with Khan as their guide. Little did they know, however was that with each hurried step, it had brought Khan closer to the admiral and heightening his madness.

With every turn of the corner and every fatal blow to each of Marcus's appearing crew, the lone Augment became overwhelmed with his past and Starfleet's tampering with them.

The betrayal, the change, the pain, the loneliness...

They were the memories that he wanted to forget yet never learned to let go.

Vengeance was what he needed, and inside the Vengeance was where Marcus was going to die.

All was going according to plan.

As they reached the final door leading to the bridge, chaos had once again erupted, but did not last for long.

Khan was quick, and within a short second, he finally came face to face with the Admiral once again.

Marcus's face held it's sneering image that was still branded into Khan's memory. The last time he had communicated with the bastard, he was on a different ship, in a different place, but not alone.

The last time Khan had seen that crinkled face staring back at him he was smiling, for he held the life of one person that Khan had valued the most in his thin and wiry hands.

But now that smile was long gone, and to much of the Augment's amusement, irony began to play a cruel part in the scene for Khan now held the Admiral's life in his own control and he intended to do what Marcus's had done back then.

Kill.

But within a flash, Khan heard the firing of a phaser but was too occupied in his own mind to react quickly enough.

The man that he and Kirk had met up with at the hangar had stunned him down according to Kirk's orders.

Khan was infuriated. His body stiffened partly by the shot but mostly by the anger and rage that sparked his every nerve due to Kirk's rebellion.

No, he was so close.

Marcus's ending was in his grasp.

He can't let him go now!

Khan thought about his crew - the people who had been with him when he was in the process of reaching the breaking point. They had resented him in the very beginning. They hated him. But they began to support him once they knew of his potential. They began to realize that as Augments, they were the only ones in the world. They were family. They were a crew.

He remembered the crumbling ship that Starfleet had doomed them in. Their execution day.

The day his brother had risked his life for the sake of his own.

He never recalled saying goodbye. When he awoke, their situation was no better. Khan's crew were still frozen and between the realm of life and death. He had no choice but to obey the Admiral for the safety of his own.

It was then that he began to follow.

But his obedience only led to the death of the very person he had cared and promised to protect his very life with. He was careless. He couldn't do a damn thing as he saw Marcus force the life out of the unconscious body. It was a cruel way to die.

Khan's vision focused on Kirk's as he began to speak to Marcus, gun in hand and fingers flexed on the trigger.

For a moment, Khan was desperate enough to think that Kirk might be the one to end it all instead of him. He wouldn't care. He just wanted Marcus dead.

He watched the young captain as he continued to feign his limp form on the ground.

"PULL THE TRIGGER KIRK." he shouted mentally at the conversing men.

"IF YOU WANT ME OFF THIS SHIP," raised Marcus, "YOU BETTER KILL ME."

"END IT NOW."

But the kind captain was not that kind of monster.

Kirk could not kill.

"I'm not going to kill you, sir. But I could stun your ass and drag you out of that chair. I'd rather not do that in front of your daughter."

Kirk turned his attention away to focus on Carol's vulnerable form. "You alright?"

"Yes, captain."

It was then that Khan's vision drowned in blood-red. The sentiment of it all disgusted him. He realized that no one could and should kill Marcus rather than himself, and so he acted with complete brutality. In his eyes, these people were fools.

The rage that swelled up inside him took over his whole form and leading his body to act quickly.

With swiftness, he was able to pin Kirk onto the ground. It was then that he began to release his fury onto the man's unsuspecting face. Every hit his was for his stupidity. Every mark for he had inflicted onto Kirk's body was for his naivety. He knew nothing of the mayhem Marcus had created! He was just an ignorant fool!

With great strength, He grabbed Kirk's body and threw him across the bridge, landing near the feet of his distressed damsel.

It was then that Marcus ran like the powerless coward he was. But his idiocy had caught the enraged Augment's glaring focus.

As Khan made his way towards him, it was his pleading daughter that had stood in his way. Without any remorse, he had flung her back and raised his foot down on her's with a crunching stomp. He felt her bones snap under his form and her piercing scream vibrated throughout the whole room. Oh how it caused him great pleasure to hear that scream.

He craved the sound of the echoing torment that came to those he thought deserved it. She was in his way. Carol had earned Khan's wrath.

As the pain in her voice still rang throughout the bridge and the frantic beepings of the ship continued on buzzing, Khan did not hesitate to storm his way to Marcus's struggling and desperate form.

All at once, everything seemed to spin in Khan's mind as he took hold of the Admiral's head in his hands.

This was it. This was the end, but it was not what Khan had expected it to be.

When he sought revenge, Khan was certain that once he had Marcus in his grasp, he would feel a surge of victory, relief, and pride. He imagined crushing his skull with a smile forming in his face, the same smile the Admiral and the Professor from long ago gifted him mockingly.

But now, Khan couldn't even focus on the moment. Everything began to unravel too quickly. His conscience screamed to end it. To focus on every vexation, every resentment he had held and deliver it unto his own actions.

Marcus deserved the death that was coming to him.

Wrath, sadness, and relief clashed into Khan's very being, clouding his head with an endless disarray of distorted memories.

With every second came the growing force of Khan's hands with Marcus's skull. A cracking noise became more audible with every squeeze and the signs of life was evidently slipping away from the Admiral's fear-stunned eyes.

Khan grew stronger as he thought about every reason for the man's death.

"This is for my crew,

for exploiting me,

for threatening me,

for John,

for awakening me into this horrid reality!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE LET ME SLEEP!"

With a final crushing force, his hands had finally found themselves together with blood and flesh dripping in between his fingers.

Carol's scream was once again heard enveloping the air around them.

He had finally done it. Khan finally felt the satisfaction of Marcus's vile blood on his hands. After everything he had underwent - everything he had faced, Khan had finally gotten what he wanted: The blood of those who deserved it.

He looked down at the gruesome form of the Admiral below him. his body splayed in unnatural directions as dark red mixed with the pink tissue of his brain flowed from the body and into a stream across the floor.

Khan began to unclench his tainted fists. He watched as Marcus's daughter screamed in horror at the blood now pooling around her. She attempted to flee but to no avail. Her legs were as crushed as the cranium of her father's.

The Augment's breath suddenly turned shaky and his entire body trembled slightly. Realization began to overwhelm him.

Victory has been claimed. The King has been captured and defeated. Checkmate. The game was finally won.

Composing himself immediately before he could be found in such an uncharacteristic state, Khan began to prod the lifeless body with his foot mockingly, the tiniest smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Glory and gore come hand in hand…" he whispered darkly, as piercing eyes turned to focus on the trio watching him with streakin terror on their faces.

Without caution, they began to shuffle their way out, expecting Khan to stop them from escaping and keeping them as hostage.

But Khan didn't care. Why would he?

Marcus is dead, and Khan had full control of the Vengeance. It was already enough to force the Enterprise to redeem him of his crew.

So he had let them go.

Slowly and with the blood of the Admiral marking his steps, Khan made his way into the captain's chair and finally took his place on the cold seat.

The stinging chill of the steel exterior sent a wave of relief that washed over Khan's skin. Success was gratifying, and now havoc was his to initiate.

Back at the transporter room of the Enterprise, the stunned Kirk still couldn't hide his fright as they finally entered the safe confinement of his own ship.

He couldn't unsee the tragedy and savagery he saw in Khan.

It was all too painful for him to remember.

But Kirk knew that they haven't been defeated yet. Khan hasn't won just yet.

Shaking off his trepidation, he had left the traumatized Carol into the care of Scotty's protection and sprinted his way onto the corridors in a frantic hurry. Crew members called to him with worry and shock at the blood that dripped from his clothes, but he had no time to lose. Khan was about to unleash his wrath on his ship and there was only one way to stop him.

His legs screamed in protest as he slid through every corner and avoided every obstacle on his way to the Med Bay. But before he could reach Bone's presence, a darkening voice had invaded the air.

"YOU ARE INFERIOR, KIRK." Khan's voice was heard everywhere on the ship. "YOU AND YOUR CREW! GIVE ME BACK MY PEOPLE OR PREPARE TO DIE!"

In an urgent roar, Kirk yelled into the nearest intercom that had intercepted Khan's message and began ringing throughout the entire Enterprise:

"BONES! NOW!"

As he heard what Kirk's interruption, Khan's brows furrowed deeply at the response. Then suddenly, a loud static noise began to erupt from his own screen. The grey lines flickered in chaotically until words began to focus in front of him:

[TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED]

After the screen underwent a few more static, a final image had tore its way into Khan's vision, and then…

Silence.

The lone Augment had stopped breathing. Every muscle in his exhausted body suddenly began to burn as his eyes focused on what was projected in front of him.

The fragile state of his mind the exploded in a cacophony of strong sentiment as his broken eyes turned sorrowful and desperate.

"I…"

Khan was at a lost for words. Nothing had ever prepared him for this.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Simply because it wasn't possible.

Reflected upon the great screen of his ship showed an image he could never forget. In front of Khan stood Bones McCoy carefully tending to a sleeping form somewhere in the hidden locations of the Enterprise. A single cryopod was propped upright against the wall behind them,

Open.

Empty.

As Khan drew nearer to the screen, he had instantly recognized the man that laid alive and breathing out of his frozen coffin.

Sad eyes crinkled as they stung painfully at the sight.

Short,

Blond,

"...John?"

"You gave me hope, and then you took it away. That's enough to make anyone dangerous"

Part 3

A Darker Beginning

A/N I wanted to post this yesterday, but I was too busy having an amazing Saturday XD Part two is done hooray! (Part three is my favorite fyi ahemahem) And in honor of DW's 50th anniversary, the quote introducing part three is from season 6 of DW! (plus it fits perfectly for Khan in my opinion) Reviews are helpful and welcomed! :3

I'll see you all soon...