The first thing I heard when my senses returned was the sound of a loud, blaring horn in my ears. The sounds echoed throughout the dimly-lit room.

The next thing I heard were voices. At first, they are like whispers, very distant and hard to detect amongst the noise already known to me. 

"Da ist er. Schaufel den Bastard hoch und bring ihn zu Maxis."

Bring him to Maxis...?

The voice suddenly came closer, in my ear now, and before I could even register what was going on, I was pulled up by my shoulders. My eyes flung open, and I began to struggle weakly, still dizzy from the impact of the explosion I'd created with the Ray Gun.

"Un...hand me, verdammt!" I roared, but my assailants were undoubtedly much stronger than I, and held my thrashing limbs still as I was dragged toward the stairs I'd accessed to get there. In the red lights flashing across the dark chamber, I could not decipher much of anything but a puddle of dark liquid pooled around me.

Is that... blood? Mein, blood? Eliza... I still have to save her. But, what now? How could I have allowed myself to be captured?

"You made a big mistake, Richtofen. Now, You're going to pay for messing with Group 935-" The burly sounding man's voice was cut off by a surprised tone. 

"Scheiße, da ist sie!"

At first, there seemed to be a struggle as my body was dropped instantly and an overwhelming sense of danger blanketed the atmosphere. Dragging myself to the corner, I became aware of the sharp pain in my side, followed by the warm fountain of blood running down my stomach and seeping through the tinted fabric I was wearing. In no shape to move, I was forced to watch as this new threat made their way toward the two guards. First, a loud clang sounded, and I struggled to make out what was happening with little light to go by. 

Then, a blood-curdling cry of pain, followed by a loud THUD. The battle did not seem to be over, however, as my eyes beheld the smaller figure as it tackled the large man to the floor, before ramming a shiny object into his neck several times, undoubtedly ending his life. The new puddle of liquid mixed with the one I created and my life flashed before my eyes. The figure turned to me.

It's not supposed to end like this. And yet, here I am, to be killed by some unknown assassin, left to rot in the placed a now viewed as Hell itself. I'm sorry, Eliza. I'm so, so sorry. 

"Get up."

I couldn't tell if that voice was caused by my loss of blood, or whether it was real.

"Richtofen."

The pain in my side subsided as I recognized that voice. That once soothing, innocent, fractured voice, now haunting and troubled. I turned my eyes up, the red glow illuminating the side of the attacker's face as if a demon themselves. Softly glowing blue eyes, plump lips...

Beauty mark. 

"...Eliza." I muttered breathlessly. It was difficult to trust my vision since it had fooled me so many times, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was her. Her scent, her countenance, and even now as she stood before me with blood on her hands, she was innocent with that inquisitive look on her face. 

"You're hurt." She said, blankly almost, before kneeling down to me. Not in her normal attire, she ripped a piece of her white dress from the bottom hem and proceeded to make quick work of rolling up my shirt to see a large piece of glass poking out from my side. 

"Mein Gott, E-Eliza, what.. happened?" It was the first question I could think to ask. I couldn't help but glance at the pile of bodies behind the woman. My mind was racing before she cut off my thoughts with one look of determination, which pierced my soul. 

"I remembered." She spoke in a tone I'd never heard escape her lips, 

My head shook rapidly in response, and I was going to ask her more questions, but she ripped the shard of thick glass out of my abdomen, causing blood to gush out of the wound, and me to scream out in pain. 

"Shh!" Unexpectedly she placed her lips upon mine, which always had managed to calm me, and even now her touch sent a shiver down my spine and a pang through my heart.  As she finished, she wrapped the bandage around my body, securing it to stop the bleeding as best she could. 

"Edward..." She murmured breathlessly, running a hand through my hair. "We have to go. NOW." She pulled me up with all of her strength, and I leaned on her to support. 

"I should never have let them take you," I grunted as we walked up the stairs. "I'm s-sorry. I'm sorry for everything, Eliza." I leaned on her, and suddenly, we were back in the main corridor of 935's halls. I could not believe the things I had witnessed. 

Maxis' voice was now screaming in my head. 

"She's not the person you think she is, Edward."

Eliza was many things. I loving servant, (A better lover), an artist, a beautiful angel, Maxis' estranged daughter, a test subject for the most evil people on the planet... but the Eliza I knew was anything but a killer. 

"I hope you'll understand, Edward." She panted, when the sirens suddenly shut off, and the only sounds were the shuffling of our feet bouncing off the walls and our labored voices. "That what I do... I do, to secure a better tomorrow."

I watched her, stopping for a moment, and facing her. I could not possibly comprehend the gravity of that statement. 

"Edward. I love you."

The glass door was in our sights. I decided from that second, no matter what, I would give everything to be with her. It didn't matter our sins or the demons we held inside. Every second, every waking moment is nothing without Eliza by my side. I would stop at nothing to save her... to save us.

"Eliza, I-"

As I was about to say those last words, something clicked behind me, and I knew what that sound was. 

"Turn around.. slowly..." I recognized that trembling voice to be Sophia's. Pain was evident in her stance and her actions, as she pointed the pistol at us. Tears seemed to be running down her cheeks, evident by gray streaks where he makeup once was.

"Sophia..." I whispered softly, shaking my head and feeling as though I too, might cry. The air left the long hallway. "Sophia, please. Don't do this." 

The dark-haired woman's hands trembled like feathers in the wind as she gripped the Mauser and stepped closer. 

"Don't make this any harder, Richtofen. I-It's over, surrender." She voiced without confidence, and part of me felt as though she was truly sorry. I felt Eliza's hand snake softly into mine as it trembled, like a scared child's.  "MAXIS!" She screamed. "I-I FOUND THEM!"

"You don't have to do this, Sophia," Eliza spoke softly, but she too was fading. "You don't have to listen to him. You don't have to be his slave." She said. "I tried loving him for a long time, Sophia. People around him... they always get hurt. You will too. I promise." She stepped toward the woman. "...Turn around and let us go... Please." 

In Sophia's eyes, I saw terror, with a passing glance of agreeance. For a moment, I thought she'd do it, I thought, with all my heart that she, having fallen in love much like Eliza and I, could understand. 

Naivete did not become me. 

"MAXIS-"

"I'm right here, my darling." The Devil's voice came booming down the hallway, dressed in his white 935 issued lab coat, hands clasped firmly behind his back and the clacking of his boots rang like tolling bells through the corridor. "Very well done, Sophia. I'll see to it that your promotion is passed through immediately, hmm?" The woman backed behind him, wiping her tears and mouthing a final "I'm sorry."

My jaw clenched at seeing maxis again, and I wanted to spit on him, bust my fists into his face, I wanted to hurt him, but the guard surrounding us now prevented that. 

"Oh, Richtofen, my boy..." his voice trailed as his hand embraced my shoulder, to which I responded my shrugging it off. My eyes dead-focused on his blue ones, I sneered his way. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. I warned you, Edward. But you showed no restraint." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I treated you like a son, Edward. You were my brightest ally. And you betrayed me. And yet even now... I would forgive you. Come back to us, Edward. your Family."

I growled at him, rage filling my eyes and heart. Almost too weak to speak, I mustered the strength to spit a bloody substance at his face, causing the pristine white fabric of his coat to turn crimson. 

He looked down at the blood and snickered. 

"I'll take that as a no." He raised his hand and gave an order, and guards began to rip Eliza and me apart. 

"No, don't hurt her, take me instead!" I yelled as the last resort. "Kill me, release her! Don't do this, Ludvig, she's your daughter!" I was restrained by the guards, and it appeared that Eliza, too, had given up. 

With an evil glance over his shoulder, Maxis began to walk away. 

"I've killed worse." he said. 

We were dragged, as my heart pounded through my chest, to a room which I had not seen. An auditorium of sorts, and the main event seemed to be us. I shared a glance with Eliza, of horror, of lost hope. She was thrown into a chair, and her arms strapped down with leather restraints. As I watched the side of her face, a single tear drifted down her cheek, and I could almost see the painful memories playing behind her irises. It was as if she'd been there before. Her eyes were empty, the defeat washed over her, and my eyes landed on her necklace.

I could almost see the rose inside wilting, like the light from its petals had faded with her resolve. 

All the members of Group 935 seemed to be in the audience, all chattering like it was the opening of some play, though some seemed to become slightly concerned once Eliza and I were strapped into the chairs on stage. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Group 935." Maxis spoke, quieting the crowd. "We have gathered today as a show of force. As a demonstration of what happens to those who cannot follow our rules. You all know of these traitors by now. Behold, Doctor Edward Richtofen, and his accomplice servant, Eliza Washington. Together they have stolen weapons prototypes, tried to undermine Group 935's all-powerful influence over our nation's leaders, interfered with testing subjects, and disobeyed the rules that I, Ludvig Maxis had laid out for them."

"Maxis, don't do this!" I pleaded again, trying to free myself from my restraints. "If you ever were human, hear my plea. Don't listen to him!" I yelled out to the crowd. "Are you all mindless drones!? Unwilling to sacrifice some stupid job for what you believe in!" Sweat was pouring down my brow as I watched their judging faces. Among them, I noticed Groph, looking at us with horror, who then turned away. Shuster looked with pity beside him. All those who I'd called my friends had turned their back on me in the most important hour. 

Maxis cleared his throat. "This kind of disobedience... must be punished. I cannot allow this kind of revolt under my command... and so I have decided that today, I will have mercy on you, and give you the easy way out." 

Maxis bent over a metal cart, which contained two syringes; one filled with a blue liquid and another filled with dark substance that I had not previously seen in the lab. 

"Thier deaths will not come in pain. You will usher us into the future. Guided by a brand new creation, you will both serve as our first test subjects for a lethal dose injection of what we call... Element 115." Maxis handed the dark syringe to one of the guards, who carried it to Eliza after a short round of applause.

The needle lowered to her arm, and the culmination of all my efforts seemed in vain. I looked into her eyes, but she looked away, unable to take the pain of seeing me in her final seconds. I scouted the room for an exit, searched my mind for a way out, to somehow turn the crowd in our favor. All the memories she'd told me about, all the testing she'd explained to me previously, that had made her sick before-

Wait.

The tests were what made her sick before, when I had previously thought, after the night we'd spent together... that she was...

"STOP!" I screamed, startling the executioner so much that he almost dropped the vial. "SHE'S PREGNANT!" The crowd gasped, and every face in the audience lit with confusion, as the injector stopped in his tracks. I saw Maxis' facial expression morph into complete disbelief as he looked at the woman. "You wouldn't kill a baby, Maxis! Would you?" 

Eliza looked at me with wide eyes, shaking her head slightly, until the wheels clicked in her mind, and she realized what I was planning. 

The crowd fell silent. At this point, I knew Maxis was vexed. Without the support of the people, he could never allow this to stand. He could lose everything due to how the people saw him. The tables had to have turned, and now Maxis had the decision to make. 

"Is your hatred so deep, Doctor Maxis, that you will stop at nothing to get revenge on us, who only felt we were doing what was right? You would kill an innocent child for the petty human sentiment called revenge?" Words flowed from my mouth loud enough for all to hear. "Is not the goal of Group 935 itself... to  IMPROVE the human condition?"

People in the crowd began to talk and look upon Maxis as if he were now the questionable party. Clearing his throat, he began to speak. 

"...I see no evidence of this. Executioner, move along with your task." Maxis waved off the incident, until someone in the front row, Schuster, stood up. 

"Killing them for what they have done is warranted, Doctor Maxis. But a baby... it's an innocent child!" He yelled, and some people began to nod their heads in agreeance. "It hasn't done anything to deserve this."

"He's right." Groph stood up in support. "Dr. Maxis... you can't."

"Please, everyone, settle down! These people have lied before, what makes you think they are not lying now?" He called, causing a bit of silence. 

"...Are you willing to take that chance?" A small voice peeped from the front row, green eyes settling on Maxis. Sophia asked as if she was also looking for something, some semblance of hope in Maxis' eyes, of humanity. 

His eyes softened. "...Sophia. Stay out of this." He said sternly, but softly, as if something in her voice spoke to his stony heart. All at once, more people began to stand, shouting out their support, until most of the room was on their feet. I glanced at Eliza, a glimmer of hope evident in my features, and hers too. Somehow, I even found it in my heart to smile, just small enough to be seen. 

"Enough!" Maxis yelled. "Everyone... return to work."

They seemed hesitant at first, but upon being ushered out by the guards, they all reluctantly left, leaving us in an empty room. My heart pounded. Would Maxis go back on his new promise to the people? Would he decide to kill us anyway? 

"Take them away." 

----

It was cold in the dark room we were thrown into, but being next to her made me warmer. We were chained up, but laying there on the floor, I could just reach out to touch my forehead to hers.

"Quick thinking, Edward." She almost giggled, showing just the passing glance of a smile I feared I may never see again. "Intelligence is one of your best traits." She said. If my arms were not tied behind my back, I would have reached out. I wanted so badly to hold her in my arms one last time. 

"Does this mean you don't like my mustache?" I joked, just to see her smile again, though it was an exercise in futility. 

There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. 

"He's going to kill us anyway, you know." She said softly, looking at the metal floor. "Maxis is not a merciful man." 

"Maybe he'll surprise you" I pleaded, shaking my head in disbelief. 

Eliza seemed to smile hysterically, with a shake of her head. 

"Just in case he doesn't... I'm sorry, Edward." Her blue eyes glowed in the ambiance of the white light above. "You should never have been here with me. You should be climbing the ranks right now, inventing things. If you hadn't met me, then-"

I cut her off before she continued. "I wouldn't have lived. I would be a hollow, shell of a man like Maxis. Evil. But you showed me what it means to love... what it means to know how far you'd go to save them. And it that process, you saved me."

There was a creak when the door swung open, revealing Doctor Maxis himself. In his hands, he held two vials, both blue this time, illuminated faintly. My heart sank to the floor, and I looked at Eliza who seemed content with it all. 

"What a mess you two have made." He stated, before holding the vial to Eliza's arm, as I watched in horror. 

"Maxis, Ple-"

"Edward. Stop." Eliza spoke sternly, a hardened look in her eyes, unlike anything I'd seen in human eyes, of resolution. "Don't give the bastard the satisfaction." Maxis unchained her, arm falling to her sides at first. I thought he'd changed his mind, but she rolled up her sleeve, sticking out her forearm as if daring Maxis to inject her. 

Tears began to stream down my cheeks as the needle pricked her skin, the liquid emptying into her veins. 

"ELIZA!" I fought against the restraints, shuffling to in front of her.

She held Maxis' gaze with a haunting expression as he moved to me and her eyes lit with the serum's color.

As I muttered to her, I could not notice the release of my arms or the insertion of the needle under my skin. Already I could see her vision fading, her eyes losing their light.

"I'll leave you to it." With a final sentence, Maxis was gone, and I pulled the woman into my arms. 

"Eliza, I love you." I spilled with all of my heart. 

Weakly, she caressed my face, her thumb settling on my cheekbone. 

"Don't forget me, okay?" She whispered, her voice barely a murmur now as her arm fell limp and her body slumped against mine. Our eyes held contact. "Promise me, you'll remember..." Her voice gave out in the last moments, as her eyes closed softly for the last time. 

"I swear, Eliza... I will stop at nothing to ensure that... I will see you again." I voiced weakly. "I will travel across dimensions if it means, seeing you again. It... can't end like this. I can't let it..." Laying against the floor, I cradled her fading body, the warmth I once felt siphoned away by the clutches of unconsciousness. 

"As long as it takes...?" She whispered, on her still soft, but broken lips, a smile.

And, as it was all I could do before my eyes, too closed, I repeated. 

"Yes. As long as it takes."

------------------------

Freedom.

The day is sunny and I feel alive. I am getting off the boat from God-knows-where...

and I feel free. Freer than I have ever felt in my life. The salty wind in my hair, the seagulls chirping in the sky.

 I don't know how I got here or what has happened while I was away, but I know exactly where I am. America. Home. 

As I step off the boat I look up to see a face that I had not seen in, well, I didn't remember how long, exactly.

"Well, well. Eliza... long time no see." 

As he embraced me, I uttered his name.

"Tank. I missed you."

_The End_

Well, here we are. It took me a lot of courage and hard work to get to this point. I was very nervous and struggling to post this chapter because, for me, it signals the end of an era. Part of me feels empty, but a bigger part of me just hopes that I did right by all of the people who waited on this. 

I just want to say thanks to all of you for your undying support. I am truly thankful to have had you all to share this journey with me, for all these years, even though it took me THIS LONG to publish the final chapter. You all are truly what made this book, and I have enjoyed every second of pleasing you (and maybe upsetting a few too)! Know that I will never forget the years we have shared and that all of us have put into the Zombies Storyline and the story of Richtofen and Eliza. You all kept me going through this, kept me writing, and my hopes are that you all, too, will continue on your dreams and find great success in life. 

I truly consider all of you my family. Don't forget me, okay? :)

With all my best wishes, to all my fans and supporters,

Mac <3

Oh, and P.S...

The cycle continues.