The finale of He Stood for Me.

Enjoy.

"Help... Help!" Leslie screamed as he fled from Kidman.

Kidman herself followed him running as fast as she could. The detective tried to take aim at the boy but he was too fast. He turned a sharp left through a doorway.

Not about to let him get away, she followed him through the door into a large circular room. She recognized it instantly, this was the STEM world version of the STEM hub they were all connected to in the real world. Beneath the glass floor, they all rested in the same tubs. Kidman herself, Sebastian, Joseph, and more.

Were she not aware of what was really happening she would be unnerved at the sight below. Instead she was focused on something else instead.

Sebastian pointing his gun at her again.

Leslie had run behind the Hispanic man and was hiding behind him.

Sebastian himself stood resolute just like he would were it Joseph or Kidman he were protecting. Kidman felt a small pang in her chest, she knew he would never have that same protectiveness toward her, even if she had not shot Joseph. There was simply too much she had kept from him.

Speaking of Joseph, where was he? Surely if Sebastian was here the Asian detective would be right beside him. Kidman contemplated asking about it but there was far more important matters that needed to be dealt with first.

"Sebastian, get away from him." Kidman pleaded, she did not even raise her gun. She would not shoot Sebastian again. Hopefully he would finally listen to reason and let her end this. She had to finish this, both to save them all from the nightmare and to get Sebastian to safety. Ruvik was still hunting the boy and Sebastian was standing less than a foot away from him.

The first response from Sebastian answer was the pulling of the hammer back on his revolver.

"Sebastian, listen to me." Kidman was still trying to get through to Sebastian. "Stop. Your interests are the same as ours."

Sebastian finally spoke. "Look, I get it, you're not just some rookie detective and this is not some ordinary kid."

Kidman let out a very quiet sigh, he did not know as much as he thought.

"You killed Joseph." Those three words felt like a punch in the stomach to Kidman. She did not kill him, he should have been fine. Sebastian was with him, it would have taken a lot more than another gunshot to the shoulder to kill him on Sebastian's watch.

Unless... something else happened while she had been chasing Leslie. Now Joseph's blood was on her hands as well. Kidman had to repress the urge to vomit at the thought. Killing Leslie was one thing but Joseph was a whole different ball game. She knew the man, worked right alongside him. The man had protected her just like Sebastian had. He had always been friendly toward her despite her aloof demeanor.

Now he was dead and it was all her fault.

"And you shot me." Kidman thought he would have understood that she neither intended to nor wanted to do it, apparently she was mistaken. "So right at this moment that's enough reason for me not to trust you."

Kidman never would have thought that hearing Sebastian say he did not trust her would hurt this badly.

"You're a good man," Kidman spoke softly. She really meant it, Sebastian and Joseph had always been some of the best people she had ever met. That's why I..."

What was it Kidman wanted to say? Even she was not entirely sure.

Kidman let out a soft breath. "Ugh... it doesn't matter anymore. If you know who this kid is, if you know anything, you know why he can't be allowed to live."

The words were like ash in Kidman's mouth. She again and again told herself that this was what she had to do, she was protecting people, protecting Sebastian. No matter how many times she said the words to herself it did not get any easier.

"Bullshit. It's Ruvik. He's the one that..." Sebastian's words were cut off as the machine above them whirled to life. The older detective groaned as he clutched his head in pain. Kidman, as always, was completely unaffected.

She was about to ask if he was alright when the very environment around them shifted. The room they were in vanished and was replaced with a single platform with a huge brain in the middle. All over the floor was some strange clear fluid. The sky and horizon in every direction turned from grey and stormy to a dull and dingy yellow. The storm itself did not go away, lighting and thunder continued to flash above.

It was not until Leslie began to walk forward that Kidman noticed that there was a fourth person among them.

Ruvik.

However he was different this time. He was missing his trademark white jacket and hood, allowing Kidman to see his hideously burned body. His head even had a glass plate on the side showing his brain.

Kidman could see the demented smile on Ruvik's lips as the boy approached him.

"Leslie, stop!" Sebastian pleaded to Leslie but the boy did not even respond.

Ruvik reached his arms toward Leslie as if to hug the albino boy. Before Kidman could get her gun up, Ruvik placed his hand on Leslie's head. The boy's body instantly turned into liquid just like what was at their feet.

"Leslie!" Sebastian cried out but it was far too late.

The tubes leading up into the large brain bulged and made a sucking noise as it absorbed what was once Leslie.

Kidman could only watch in absolute horror. All of this, the surviving, the close calls, everything, had been for completely nothing.

She had failed.

Suddenly there was a loud scream of many voices at once as the world shifted back to normal. The ground began to shake violently as the room suddenly tilted, sending Sebastian rolling away to crash through a window.

Before Kidman could yell after him, her world turned black.

Kidman would have never thought it was possible. She had convinced herself when Ruvik succeeded in capturing Leslie that it was all over. There was no way they could have been able to stop to resulting monstrosity.

Once again Sebastian was the one who stood up in defiance.

After Kidman was pulled from the STEM world she was informed at what happened. Ruvik had taken Leslie but Sebastian had battled the consciousness from the inside despite the size and power of the creature. The older detective did not just fight thought, he fought and won. Sebastian destroyed Ruvik from the inside out.

It was finally over.

That was why Kidman stood beside Sebastian's limp body in the tub. She took up this position the moment that she was told there were vital signs. Shortly after she had been pulled out, his vitals had spiked sharply. As if he had been suffering heavily violent trauma.

Considering what he had been up against, she had not been surprised.

To both her relief and shock, Sebastian's vitals had evened out.

Now she was standing here monitoring him trying to figure out what to do. He was still alive but if he woke up before they finished packing they would kill him to keep him quiet. There had to be some way to avoid that from happening, if he stayed unconscious he would be fine.

Kidman's eyebrows shot up when she saw that he was slowing waking up.

Pushing her panic down deep, Kidman leaned in close as if she was looking at something, which she was. Looking into Sebastian's barely open eyes, Kidman brought a finger to her lips motioning for him to be quiet. For safe measure she made a hand gesture for him to lay low.

It was the best she could do.

"Leave that one. And those two. "Kidman spoke to the woman who walked up to her. They're not going anywhere."

Connelly and Jimenez were both vegetables, having died within the STEM. Sebastian was at least alive, if he stayed quiet he was going to make it.

It was enough for her.

"No one can." Kidman spoke softly, giving Sebastian one last look as she turned and left. Her heels clicking loudly on the linoleum.

After everyone left Kidman was sent for one last look around to make sure nothing was left behind. She however, had a different objective in mind.

Kidman knew there was nothing left, they were quite thorough. So she made a beeline for the man still unconscious in the tub.

The whole time she was waiting for this moment she had been thinking what she would say, what she would do. Kidman came up with nothing though.

So she stood there leaning above the detective lying still in the tub, her hands on the sides.

"Sebastian..." Kidman's voice was a quiet whisper, not because she was afraid of someone hearing but instead she was having trouble keeping herself together.

Taking in a heavy breath, she continued. "I'm so sorry you got mixed into all this. I didn't mean to shoot Joseph, it was an accident."

Shooting him really had been an accident. He jumped in front of her gun trying to stop her from doing something he thought she would regret, he had no idea how right he had been. If he really wanted to stop her he could have just shot her instead but he did not. He would never have done that to her.

It cost him his life.

"There's so much I wish I could say but I don't have long." Kidman continued. "I just wanted to say thank you. For looking after me, for helping me, you've done more for me than anyone else ever has."

Kidman bit her lip hard as her eyes started to well up with unshed tears. She swore to herself she was not going to cry, she intended to keep that oath.

Kidman was almost out of time, she had to out of here fast enough to not arouse suspicion as to what she was doing.

"I don't know if you can hear any of this but I honestly hope I see you again. Even if you hate me for what I've done... at least you're going to make it. It's the best I can do."

Leaning down, Kidman pressed a feather light kiss to Sebastian's forehead.

"Goodbye." Kidman whispered as she turned and left.

Personally I don't think this one went very well. I've lost most of my inspiration for writing The Evil Within. I don't really write what most in this fandom wants so I'm glad to see this one finished.