The computer lives! And I am finally almost done with this story. I will be happy when the last chapter is finished, to be completely honest.

Enjoy.

Everything was ready, or at least as ready as Ben could make it. Time was neither a luxury he could afford nor risk. Not when Ryn could find him on her own at any time.

Holding Xander's rifle aloft, Ben fired a single bullet up into the air.

The boom was nearly deafening when it tore through the silence. Even had Bristol Cove not been empty, the sound would have carried quite far.

Certainly far enough for Ryn to hear no matter where she was lurking.

Ben wasn't about to wait for his hunter's arrival out in the open like an idiot. He broke into a sprint toward the nearby building. Taking the stairs, he arrived at the second level and the window he'd picked out for it's vantage point.

From here, Ben would have line of sight of most of the courtyard below. The statue in the middle might be an issue. If Ryn walked behind it, he'd lose sight of her, but that assumed she ever got that far before Ben made his move. At least the fog wasn't quite so thick here. It was odd, the cloud settled over Bristol Cove wasn't gone, but Ben found himself able to see a little further than earlier.

As with the last two times, the growing volume of Ryn's song served to herald her appearance. It wouldn't be much longer now before she came from the mist.

It was a pity Xander couldn't help him finish this. Unfortunately, as he had shown Ben before, Xander was incapable of harming Ryn, or being harmed by her. Annoying, but even dreamworlds had rules of their own, apparently.

Having already chambered another round into the rifle, Ben settled in to await Ryn's arrival.

Ben didn't have to wait for long.

The mermaid made not a sound as she slinked into the courtyard, eyes no doubt scanning every inch of her surroundings for her prey. Baring that statue, there really wasn't any place for somebody to hide.

While lacking in actual firearms training, Ben knew enough to handle Xander's rifle. He located Ryn in the scope after only a few seconds delay. He could see only her back, but Ben could tell by her body language she was sniffing the air in an attempt to locate his scent.

"Good luck." Ben said the words, but only in his head. Ryn was going to have a bit of trouble smelling anything, not after Ben dumped dozens upon dozens of perfume bottles about the place. Several of which he poured upon himself for good measure. The smell was almost overpowering for Ben, poor Ryn would have been knocked clear out by the intensity.

At least, she would, if this was reality. Instead, the mermaid let out an annoyed hiss and went back to hunting the old-fashioned way.

This was it, Ben had a perfectly clear view. Just one shot, one squeeze of the trigger, and Ben could go home and back to trying to repair the damage to his life. A slight twitch of the muscles and this nightmare could all be over.

Ben lined his sights up with Ryn's head. It would have been a wiser move to aim for center of body mass, training or no Ben knew that one, but a bullet anywhere save the head would bring far more pain to Ryn than was needed. This way, it would be over quick, and more importantly, painless. Ryn would never even know she'd been hit.

Ryn wouldn't have to suffer in her last moments like Donna did.

Ben had been a heartbeat away from pulling the trigger when the memory of Donna's fate crossed his mind. The mental image that followed of Ryn in the same position, bleeding out from a gunshot wound in the street struck Ben hard with the force of a meteor.

It's not real.

Doesn't it feel real?

This Ryn isn't real, either.

Isn't she real enough?

He wasn't actually going to kill her.

Does that matter?

The hesitation lasted just long enough to stall Ben, giving Ryn the opportunity to walk behind the statue and out of his sight. He waited for her to move out from around it, but after several minutes, she hadn't reappeared.

Cursing internally, Ben stepped away from the window to find a new vantage point. The rest of the second floor was no good, Ben had checked all the doors beforehand and found this to be the only one open. He would have to go back to the base level and try to circle around.

Try as Ben might, he couldn't find another spot. Everywhere was either locked, or chained shut. With no other choice left, he ventured outside into the courtyard.

Stepping as quietly as his human feet could, Ben crept around the statue with the rifle raised. Luck was on his side this time, Ryn's back was still to him. She seemed to be staring off into space, perhaps trying to locate Ben by sound.

Bringing Ryn into the sights of the scope, Ben prepared to fire…

Only to discover he couldn't.

She might be a feral monster out for his blood, she might by physically impossible to reason with, but she was still Ryn. Even if it freed Ben from the hell he found himself in, he couldn't bring himself to kill the mermaid. Whether she was real or not was irrelevant.

Another thought passed through Ben's mind then when he looked down at the rifle in his hands. Xander had been out for vengeance ever since the death of Sean. Of course, he would be the one to tell Ben he had to kill Ryn.

They were answering death with more death. This might be Xander's solution, but it was not Ben's.

Ben was still evaluating his options when he blinked once, twice, then he heard it before he saw it. An all too familiar taping of droplets hitting the ground. Only this time, the same came not from another person, but rather Ben's blood-soaked hands.

Having heard the dripping sound, Ryn pivoted on her heel to face Ben, an inhuman snarl escaping her lips. She didn't move, but Ben could see her every muscle tensing, preparing to pounce.

Ben still held the rifle up. He had time yet to shoot Ryn before she attacked. It was the only thing that could possibly save him now. She was close enough to make the shot easy, but also too close to allow any possibility of escape.

But maybe… escape wasn't the point, neither was Ryn's death.

"I… I think I understand, Ryn." Ben held his head low, eyes on the ground, as he approached the mermaid. "No more running. I get it now."

Ryn didn't make a noise, but her gaze was locked on Ben. He could feel it even if he couldn't see it.

"Why I'm here, why you're here." Ben eased himself down to his knees before Ryn.

Ryn waited for any sign of deception, but when none came, her hands shot up to grip the sides of Ben's head. He could feel her claws digging into his flesh, but still made no attempt to resist.

It was fitting, Ben mused internally. Donna was dead because of him, and here Ryn was, in the perfect spot to avenge her sister's murder. A more proper set up could not be fabricated.

There were any number of ways Ryn could finish the job. It would be child's play for her strength to crush his skull like a grape, maybe she wanted to tear into his brain with her claws, or she could simply yank his head off. Regardless of her method of choice, it would be over soon.

Ben closed his eyes and awaited the end.

He was quite surprised when not only did it not come, but Ben felt Ryn's talons turn into ordinary human fingers, the pressure letting up immensely at the same time. Her grip becoming a gentle touch as she pulled Ben's head closer to press softly against her stomach, almost cradling him.

Ben didn't know what to think at this new turn of events. When he finally willed himself to look up, he found Ryn staring down at him with a mix of sadness and relief. There wasn't a single sign of her mermaid features, not even a single scale.

"Ben." It was only a single word, a three letter one at that, but hearing it pass from Ryn's lips made Ben feel like a thousand-pound weight was lifted from his shoulders.

"Ryn, I…" Ben's breath caught in his throat. He honestly didn't know what to say, or even what he wanted to say.

"Ben start to see." Ryn almost lovingly ran her fingers through Ben's hair. "Start to understand."

"It's all my fault, isn't it?"

Ryn nodded solemnly, all previous traces of joy gone.

"I deserve this, I deserve to be punished."

"No."

"No?"

"Ben punish self too much." Ryn clarified. "Must forgive."

"But, I…" Ben's gaze fell to the ground. "I don't think I can."

Ryn, having none of that, took Ben by the chin with two fingers to force him to look back up at her. "Humans, my people, all make mistakes. Ben must forgive self."

Ben heard them before he saw them. Their presence was announced by the same steady drip drip as it was when Ben encountered them in the woods.

Rising to his feet, Ben didn't flee from the bloodied forms of Donna and Sean, not this time. He had already been running for far too long.

"Why?" Donna demanded.

Ben knew exactly what the mermaid was talking about. "I wanted to protect all the…"

"WHY?" Donna roar shook the nearby buildings.

"I… I wanted to impress Ryn." Ben forced himself to admit out loud. "By saving her, her sister, and the other two merpeople, I hoped she would think even better of me than she already did. To see me as… maybe something more."

Xander had fired the bullet that killed Donna, but it was Ben that tried to grab the gun from his friend. Had Ben acted differently, Donna would still be alive today. Ryn wouldn't have to be mourning her fallen sister.

Donna's glare softened little by little until her countenance took on a look of relief. "You under…stand."

"Why?" It was Sean's turn now.

"Xander already knew about the mermaids. The more he knew, the bigger a threat he posed to Ryn. I couldn't let him know any more than he already did." Ben didn't try to deflect this time, he knew it was pointless. "If I had told everyone just how deadly the merpeople were, maybe I could have gotten them to help me force Xander to back off. But I didn't, and you died because of it."

Sean's lips raised in a proud grin. "You get it."

As Ben watched, the blood coating his hands faded away until not a speck of the crimson fluid remained. Not just the blood, Donna and Sean slowly faded away like smoke caught in the wind until they too were gone.

"Ben." Ryn's arms wrapped around Ben's waist from behind. The mermaid's forehead coming to rest against his spine.

"I was drawn to you from the moment we met." Ben placed his hand atop Ryn's. "There was just something otherworldly about you, even before you sang. I…"

"How cute." It was Ben's voice, but most definitely not Ben speaking.

Whirling around, Ben was faced with the horrifying visage of Other-Ben. His body was battered and bloody, looking far worse than he had when Ben saw him last at his home. Then there were his eyes, there was a look of utter derangement within them that had Ben immediately pushing Ryn to stand behind him. It was not just because of how Other-Ben looked at them, either.

It was more the fact that Other-Ben was pointing the discarded rifle right at the pair.

"You actually think that admitting a few shameful truths is enough to save you?" Other-Ben cackled with mad glee. "The worst part is that you're actually that naive."

"Who…" Ben paused. "What are you?"

"I'm you." Other-Ben answered simply, his twisted smirk grew if that was possible.

"You." Ben mentally put the pieces together. "You're the one created by Ryn's song. It's you that's been hounding me, not Ryn."

"Oh, bravo." Other-Ben held the rifle with one hand while miming an applause. "Give this man a medal. Except, no, she didn't make me. You did."

"You were always there." Ben continued assembling the puzzle in his mind. "Ryn's song dragged you out into the open. She didn't create any feelings in me, just pulled them to the surface."

"Ding ding." Other-Ben cheered, grinning the like manic he appeared to be.

"What happens now?"

"Now? Now, congratulations are in order, Ben." Other-Ben mocked. "I think it's time you received your prize, don't you?"

There was no cover, nowhere for Ben to hide. The entire courtyard was a deathtrap Ben was now caught in. And if he did make a run for it, Ryn would be hit in his place.

If this was to be his final judgement for the sins he committed, then so be it. His last act was going to be shielding Ryn from himself. It was fate Ben was perfectly fine with.

Right as Other-Ben went to fire, he was clubbed over the head from behind by a piece of firewood. He crumpled to a heap on the ground, revealing a furious Maddie standing over him. When he attempted to rise, Maddie gave him a swift, and horribly brutal, kick to the ribs.

"Bastard." Maddie scooped up the rifle and, with strength she never would have had in reality, broke the wood of the weapon over her knee like a twig.

Ben couldn't help smiling at the sight of his girlfriend. There she goes again, saving him from himself.

Maddie glared at Ben for a whole two seconds before her lips lifted into an ear to ear smile. To Ben, it was quite possible one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He barely had time to open his arms before Maddie was crushing him in an embrace.

"I think it's about time we got our boy home. Don't you think, Ryn?" Maddie took Ben by the hand but her eyes were on Ryn.

"Yes." Ryn took Ben's other and together, the two women pulled Ben along behind them. "Ben go home now."

"It can't be that easy." Ben was skeptical, but he knew these two would not to lead him astray.

"Why not?" Maddie glanced over her shoulder. "You were never a prisoner, Ben."

As Ryn and Maddie led Ben along the streets of Bristol Cove, Ben began noticing the change. The fog was clearing up with each blink of his eyes. Before long, it was completely gone. The environment, which had been so gray and dull before, suddenly seemed more vibrant. They reached the docks just in time to see the clouds part, revealing the menagerie of colors making up the sunrise.

"Pretty." Ryn commented as the wave of sunshine passed over the trio.

"Almost home, Ben." Maddie squeezed Ben's hand tightly as they continued on.

At first, Ben thought they might be leading him to his house boat. But they were at the wrong area of the docks for that. If anything, it was a nondescript section of the harbor. Whatever it's significance, it was where he needed to be.

The three were almost to the edge of the pier when Other-Ben stepped out from behind a corner.

Other-Ben was almost unrecognizable. Gone was the blood, the look of mania, the wounds, they were all absent. Other-Ben more resembled Ben in his day to day life than he did the lunatic he had been.

"Congratulations, Ben." Other-Ben applauded, but there was no mockery in his voice this time. The smile he wore even seemed genuine. "You have learned to face your guilt and regret, but you have one more challenge left. You won't find it here, though."

With that, Other-Ben vanished into a cloud of vapor much in the manner Donna and Sean had.

While puzzled by his doppelganger's final words, Ben had other fish to fry.

"You trust Ryn and Maddie, yes?" The two women had led Ben to the edge of the dock, the expanse of the ocean looming before them.

Looking down at the mermaid, Ben didn't have to think about his answer. "I do."

Ryn said no more, instead moving to encircle him with her arms while pressing her body to his front. Maddie did the same to Ben, but opposite of Ryn.

With not a single word more, Ryn and Maddie pulled Ben into the cool water of the ocean.

Alas, this is only part 1 of our finale here. There is, however, only one chapter remaining and this story is at last finished.