"I'm broken and I'm barely breathing, I'm falling because my heart stopped beating, this is how it all goes down tonight, this is how you bring me back to life." - "Bring Me Back To Life" - Extreme Music

"I am the battle and the pain
I am the love, I am the kiss
I am the fight and I am the fist
That sets your world on fire " - "Set Your World on Fire" - I will Never Be The Same

Red stood still as the guards moved into the prison. The gray-uniformed men ran in, guns raised and pointed at the prisoners. He recognized the six starred decorative Orion's Reach insignia on their chests right away. He felt the old rage return, these people had taken him so many years ago...

In all his time here this had never happened. Guards shoved them in, but they did not enter the prison itself.

And Orion's Reach? He remembered his brief encounter with them...

"This is the best part..."

"Only getting what we paid for..."

He snapped back to the present as they passed him by guns trained on Ember's position. The fact that they carried real guns and not EMPs suggested there was so much more to this than just one prisoner. There was no coming back from a bullet...

The mystery deepened. They really are coming for her.

Part of him hadn't believed they would open the gates. Part of him had been entirely cynical about Ember's plan. There was no reason to suppose it would happen. What was one more prisoner?

And now that part of him burned to know exactly who she was to command that kind of response.

Connections, she had said. I'm being punished.

She was supposed to change her mind, he realized. She wasn't playing by the rules. He stared at the table where Ember lay unmoving. Whatever game was being played here, none of them had been in on it until Ember refused to go along with it. She'd taken herself out of the equation and that wasn't in the plan. He made a mental note to ask her what the hell was going on when they got off this rock. And he was getting her out of here.

She was choosing death and the manner of her own demise. Red shuddered inwardly, emotions flickered within him too fast for him to recognize them all, a fist loosened in his chest. Part of himself felt ashamed, the other part jealous... The razor felt heavy in his pocket. Desperation filled him when he remembered it. You can live to die another day. The thing in him laughed, as it focused on Ember's prone form. It was hungry for a fight. Red held that part of himself at bay. It was coming soon enough.

His gaze flitted to her chest, which rose and fell steadily. He relaxed his hands which he hadn't realized were balled into fists and shifted his attention to the open doors. He had thought he'd want to run through those doors immediately. But all he wanted to do was get to that table and yank her off of it, he had so many questions...

One thing at a time, Red.


The prison yard had gone quiet. Even Karik still standing next to Ember on the table had frozen in place, his fist still in the air. His 15 minutes of fame were gone as soon as the doors opened. He was smart enough to realize something was off.

No one moved.

Red held his breath as the men moved past him paying him no heed other than to roughly shove him to the side. He glanced over at Dag who also stood motionless, his jaw hanging open in an "O" of surprise. He hadn't really believed it either, no way. They had hoped with a false hope of those who patted themselves on the back when it didn't work so they couldn't feel the severe disappointment...

But this...

Like starving men, they'd both grabbed onto the bread that was dangled in front of them, never sure if it was the real deal...

This time, it was more than that.

The brown clothed inmates remained frozen cowed by the appearance of Orion's Reach. People used to disappear when they showed up in the early days... But now? 

Karik finally came to his senses and leaped down from the table. His landing causing a loud thud, that reverberated throughout the yard. He backed away hastily, his hands up. Even he wasn't that stupid.

Ember never moved but her breathing was steady. The guards moved slowly towards her and Red hoped she was merely unconscious. She'd coughed up blood, it was all over the table where her head lay in stark contrast to the grey point. He wondered about her augments healing her in this state. She would normally have healing augments that accelerated her body's normal healing functions. He had some that deadened the pain so he could keep functioning, she was an elite after all, and he wasn't.

The Orion's Reach guards all looked the same to Red as he studied them. They had no augments, their only weapons being held in their hands. They undoubtedly had training to go against what they thought were mere machines, tainted humans.

He noticed there were ten guns between the ten of them. His pulse quickened as he zeroed in on it. His augments flared to life before he could think to hide the response. All he would have to do was take one of them, and it wouldn't matter what weapons the rest of them had.

Even an EMP couldn't save them if he started firing first.

They hadn't thought to bring it this time...

His hands twitched and he forced himself to slow down, take even breaths, do nothing to give away his excitement. Programs, schematics ran through his vision, parts of himself that he hadn't used in years came alive.

At first, he felt nauseated with the overload but then his senses sharpened. It was like the first day he switched them on. This isn't new, you know how to do this.

<Annihilate> He identified the targets and let his mind do the rest. 

Time seemed to slow as he worked through each situation in nanoseconds. He could see the display in front of him as clearly as if he were back on the ship. 

His eyes narrowed and inwardly he laughed. Ten guards were all they thought it would take to subdue them. They must have forgotten who they had down here. You forgot who they had down here.

And it left the door wide open. That's it? That's all there was? Get to her, kill Orion's Reach, the thing in him whispered.

Mentally Red could see the sequence of events unfolding even as he stepped into the last guard walking past him. He waited for them both to pass, the wide grey back presented itself and Red acted barely registering what he did before he did it.

The man barely had time to inhale before Red's hand connected with his throat from behind. His fingers crushing the larynx before the guard realized he'd been hit. The man next to him was easily taken out as Red pulled his head back snapping the neck audibly as he started to turn to see what was happening.

Red grabbed the falling man's weapon before it could hit the ground, spinning the rifle up and pointing it first at the man immediately in front of him, his brain gleefully rejoicing as his fingers pulled the trigger. A red hole appeared in the back of guard's head, his blood splattered across the gray uniform of the man in front of him.

The gun felt so natural in his hand again as his military training took over. Like riding a bike, he thought. This never goes away. I don't think I've actually ridden a bike...

He pivoted to the left and aimed for another guard who was just starting to turn towards him and shot him in the head too. It was too easy...

"Level 3 augment!" He heard the yell before he could interpret its meaning. It mattered little, they stood no chance against him. They were too slow. 

That left seven more to go. Piece of cake, he thought as he shifted to pull the trigger. The men to the front of him were just starting to turn around, his sensors were going off wildly as the still prisoners started to move. They weren't registered as targets.

<casualty risks?>

<acceptable>

Captain you can't hesitate to hit your targets. I assure you they won't hesitate to hit you. They are machine and will not even be remotely sympathetic to your plight, Sir. Lars's voice barged into his thoughts again.

His own bullets hit their targets faster than they had time to react before the Orion's Reach guards could garner a second breath they were dead. Red was left standing there, his eyes wide with excitement, his heart hammering through his chest.

Captain, this time, make sure they're all dead.

He blinked as Lars's voice echoed in the silence. And then...

Chaos erupted.

And just like that Red snapped out of his trance, his eyes focused on Dag. Dag had both boys, one holding on to each hand. He glanced at the doors.

Freedom, just outside there...

But...

"Ember," he whispered, pivoting to her. Nothing else mattered but that small battered body on the table.

"Red! Come on!" Dag was pushing himself and the boys forward with more caution.

"Go," Red shouted, over the noise. The mass of brown prison garb flooded out of the doors behind him. Red could hear gun shots so he knew that they were encountering resistance as they escaped, the dropped guns were being used against the rest of the Orion's Reach Personnel.

They were just ordinary humans after all.

It was as if the augments had finally discovered they wanted to live. That they wanted freedom. The shouts and whoops behind him as they made their escape all but confirmed there was a spark of life left in these people.

Red ignored them all as he reached Ember. A few minutes ago they were all calling for her death not realizing she was giving them a chance at life. He didn't care at the moment if they made it, only if she did.

She lay unmoving on the table. There was blood pooling around her mouth, and her pale skin was covered in bruises. He flinched seeing the purple spots welling up. Red remembered that Karik had kicked her several times in the stomach. He stared at it for a moment surprised to see actual blood.

She's human. He knew that, but at the same time, he was shocked by sight of it. He'd half expected to see more wiring underneath the surface, less blood.

Captain, do you think I have a soul?

He ignored the past that kept trying to push in as he placed a hand on her forehead. If anyone had a soul, it was the woman laid out on the table in front of him, attempting to sacrifice herself so he could escape.

"Ember," He leaned in and place his ear close to her mouth. He could still feel a breath. Good enough, he scooped her up, gingerly with both hands, letting the gun hang off one arm.

By the time that he'd turned around the only people he could see were Dag, T, and Alt. Dag was waiting for him. He didn't deserve that kind of friend... Again the past tried to push its way to the present and he had to push it away. It was his fault Dag was in here, he shouldn't be waiting for Red but taking his chances on getting away.

He moved at a trot with Ember in his arms to the door. Her body was limp in his arms and it was fear that kept him carrying her forward. Of all the people in here, he wanted her to make it. He had questions and other things he wanted to say... Thank you being the first...

Dag was waiting next to the door. "Red she's not going to make it."

"I'm not leaving her," Red snapped back at him.

"OK," Dag held up his hands, recognizing it was useless to argue with Red on this.

Red moved towards the open door when he heard the creak.

The doors had started to close. "Red! Move!" Dag yelled.

It would have been so much easier to lay her on the ground and put a bullet between her eyes. That's what she'd asked for. He wouldn't be doing anything she hadn't asked for... Logically, that's how he tried to think about it. But clutching her in his arms, feeling the weight of her against his chest, he couldn't bring himself to do it. I tried Lars, but I'm not a machine. Not even close... 

Mentally his brain was making plan after plan but he really didn't know the layout inside the wall. Just that somehow, they needed to get in and out again. He stepping over the fallen, augments and the ten guards, there were surprisingly no shots being fired down on them from above.

It barely registered in his mind, and it made no sense. Was this place that understaffed?

Dag was already through the door. He had a gun in his normal hand, his augmented metal arm he was using as a shield and behind him stood Alt and T-man. T was gesturing for Red to hurry, the doors were slowly moving closed. He dropped the gun and focused on the closing doors.

He was almost to the doors when his systems kicked up a warning. There was a threat behind him. He started to turn and half protect the bundle in his arms. He knew who it was when he saw Dag's face go from disbelief to anger. He ducked so the blow that struck was only a glancing blow to his left shoulder.

But Karik was a huge man, physically strong and the blow was enough to knock him forward and send Ember rolling out of his arms and into the doorway. Dag grabbed her hand and dragged her the rest of the way through. Blood trailed behind her.

Red was on his stomach stunned for a moment but a sharp pain in his right side told him he was still alive. And being alive sucked right now... His augments were already working against the pain, dulling the worst of it. 

He needed to get up, moving, he was slow because... Did he really want to die?

Karik kicked him the side, something cracked. He gasped at the new pain that his augments were slowly numbing.

He had a gun, didn't he? Where was it?

Get on your feet, Red. Now.

"Don't need you out there too," Karik grabbed his arm rolling him over onto his back. He dropped a knee into Red's chest. Red gasped at the pain. "Sorry Red, you've been a pain in my ass for too long. Without you, I don't have to worry about people not listening to me."

He reached down placing both hands around Red's neck, squeezing. "Always in the way. Even when you weren't actually doing anything, people still said they were going to get help from you. Did you know that?"

Red panicked. A few days ago, he'd stood in front of a mirror contemplating suicide and as Karik stood over him, he realized he wanted to live. Wanted to live as much as he wanted to draw air into his lungs, he didn't want to go quietly into the night. He wasn't ready to find out what was on the other side of the Great Divide. Not yet, anyway. It was deliciously ironic, even to himself. 

"Fuck you," he managed to gasp out, as his hands wrapping around Karik's wrists. He felt the pressure on his throat tighten as Karik bore down. He struggled, his legs kicking feebly under Karik's weight. 

"And then just because I'm having a bit of fun with the new girl, you step in to take what's mine..."

Karik continued squeezing, and Red could see spots. Dag was yelling behind him and he couldn't help but feel that with everything that had happened this really wasn't the way he was supposed to go. Karik leered over him and loosened his hand to start swinging. Air rushed into his lungs as he fully appreciated what it was to breathe again. Time slowed, seconds crawled by, minutes felt like an eternity as everything felt like it was moving in slow motion.

Red's augments took over drawing the pain away and he was able to think clearly. He felt his right hand close over the gun that had landed as his side and at the same time Karik's fist crashed into his face. He felt the blow over his eye socket. If he wasn't an augment he'd be unconscious or dead already. His fingers closed over the weapon as he concentrated on finding the trigger. 

"You really are a piece of work, Red." Karik punched at Red again and again. "Always getting in the way. Is that why you gave up? That kid you saved went and killed someone else? You saved a piece of shit instead?"

Red tried moving away from him, but Karik was bigger than he was. He'd stop trying to strangle him at least and resorted to punching. He really was that stupid. 

Karik climbed off of him, thinking he had subdued him just enough, but as he turned back Red rolled onto his side in the dirt raising the rifle with his left hand and pulling the trigger with his right. Karik was just starting another diatribe when the bullet slammed into his forehead ricocheting off into another direction. A red dot appeared in the middle of his forehead he lifted a hand to touch the blood that started to drip, the rest of his body collapsing, leaving his hands up in the air in a mockery of an old hallelujah as they hit the ground last. It wasn't a killing blow, the ping told Red that the bullet hadn't struck his brain but merely bounced off of his reinforced skull.

His body fell forward on top of Red, who groaned at the impact. Something was broken, maybe a rib on his left side. 

Red pushed him off of him, gasping as he moved. Karik groaned as he was pushed away, dazed.

"You talk to much," Red's voice was raspy. He sat up flexing his left hand, the skin was badly scraped from the fall, but surprisingly the wrist was unbroken. Karik wasn't the only one with a reinforced skeleton. But the former bouncer had packed a lot of fight in him.

He stood and looked between Ember and Karik's unconscious body. He deserves death. There wasn't a second of hesitation.

He grabbed an arm and drug the larger man into the doorway. Dag yelling the whole time to just run and let him die alone. Red couldn't help but think if he left Karik alive, that the man would show up later somehow. His mind was in overdrive as some of the training from his previous life took over. Don't leave an enemy behind you. 

He tripped just as he got Karik through the entryway, Dag released the doors and they settled with a whine around Karik, stopping as Karik awoke and struggled to keep them from crushing him. Karik's reinforced cranium had protected him from the bullet but he wasn't going to survive being crushed by the door when it eventually broke his ribcage.

"That titanium skeleton ought to hold in case there are others who want to run." Dag moved back and pulled Red to his feet. "You got a death wish?"

"Don't I always?" Red spat. He groaned as a fresh wave of pain rolled through him. He was covered in so much blood, he could smell the metallic tang of it. He grabbed the other gun and stood up, swaying for a moment, dizzily not from the fight but from the sense of freedom within his grasp. He turned to the man in the doorway noticing Karik's frightened upon him. He stared down at the man he probably should have killed his first day in the prison. He'd been too wrapped up in his own sheer losses to worry about someone like Karik.

Should have...

Should have...done better... I should have...

"Red, please!" Karik gasped at him, unable to unwedge himself from the entryway. The pressure on his ribs was too great, the first crack was loud against the background noise.

Dag put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head as he turned away from him. "That's justice," he said. "God forgive me if it's not." 

Red felt surprise run through him. All forgiving Dag was going to just leave him there. And for once in their long relationship he wasn't going to argue the point. 

Red stared at Karik, as he continued to beg and plead. A second crack rent and he shuddered. He had almost welcomed death like an old friend. Karik cried and whined, sheer terror in his eyes as he clawed at the dirt until his fingers bled. Red couldn't look away, death had a way of bringing even the worst to their knees in fear and trembling. His eyes locked onto Karik's, as the man fell to crying and panting. 

He thought of Ember being trapped in the hallway with Karik and his two friends, what they wanted to do from her. Unrequited rage filled him as he studied the man pleading for his life. His fist clenched as the fury raced through him. There would be no mercy here. Not from him.

"Red!" Dag's voice snapped him out of his daze. "Escape, remember?"

He ignored Dag's voice focused on the ability to avenge someone. Something he'd been denied for years. 

"Red, please!" Karik's retched gasp echoed behind him as he moved forward. He looked at Ember's body, unconscious nearly the victim of the man behind him made a decision. He had to be one hundred percent sure...

He turned back to Karik, studying him for a moment. "Ok." His voice was calm, even, devoid of emotion. 

Karik's face sagged with relief as he reached out a hand towards Red. But his relief was short-lived when Red lifted the gun he'd obtained and fired. This time the bullet struck Karik's eye. Karik dropped to the floor and the doors cracked a third rib. There was no ricochet this time. Only silence.

Red felt no remorse, only relief.

He slung the gun over his shoulder turning to go to Ember but caught Dag's gaze instead. His tired face looked relieved, not angry.  Something told Red as much as he may have wanted Karik to hurt for what he'd done, Dag didn't enjoy watching a man suffer. 

"What was that?" Dag asked as he dragged T and Alt behind him, both of the boys struck mute by what they'd just witnessed. 

"He's not coming back later." Red turned away to face Ember, where she'd been haphazardly dragged through the door. Dropping to his knees next to her face he placed a hand in front of her mouth. She was still breathing. Relief flooded through him and he reached down, scooping her up into his arms again. Her shirt was torn in the back, revealing the line of metal circular implants in her spine and he did his best not to pull on her augments as he rearranged her and draped her carefully over his shoulder. He winced as he did it, knowing she was going to be bruised from the beating she'd taken.

He looked back at the man wedged in the door. If it was possible to kill him again, Red would have.

His own ribs ached every time he moved but he didn't have time to stop now. His augments were slowly drawing the pain down and he could bear that until it was healed. They'd rest later.

If they made it.

Dag moved forward dragging the boys with him. "Come on, let's go," he called. His enthusiasm wasn't hard to pick up. It had been seven years since they'd been outside these walls. Dag had people, family  out there.

Red followed with Ember dangling lifelessly over his shoulder and the gun in his free hand. He replaced the weight of the past seven years with the weight of the tiny woman over his shoulders. The burden felt much lighter.

 His augments flared to life, he reached out as far as he could with his sensors and began plotting their escape.