He had started walking a half a mile out, he was counting the steps. He felt his heart beat ten times as fast, like it was trying to get in all its beats before time was up.

He passed ghouls on the way, but oddly they ignored him. Maybe because he was dead inside himself. Or maybe they sensed that he would soon join them.

Impact had not followed him. And it was hard to say goodbye to his long time friend. But he had done it and their was no going back now.

He walked to his death knowing that when he was done he could rest in peace knowing that his family would be safe.

Many times he stopped and wanted to go back, but he had gone to far to stop now.

He knew when Aphmau saw the new picture in her amulet she would break down. And the thought of this, made him move faster to his fate.

He arrived at the place he knew he would die.

Ghouls were running, pushing and shoving their way to get away from it. And now he knew exactly what it was.

A huge blob of red, hot radiation was oozing out of an old nuclear reactor. Someone must have turned it on and then left.

He felt everything in his body scream at him. He was out of its reach for now, but he would have to go right to it to stop it.

The reactor stretched high into the sky. And he felt his heart beat faster and faster.

He shot open the door and got a face full of the poison, radioactive gas. His face started to bleed and he was already starting to get nauseous.

But he went through anyway. And was sweating through the hot cramped space between him and the radiation.

He saw a vent in the ceiling and crawled through it, ending up in the control room of the reactor.

There was a person there. And he knew who it was before he saw them.

"Hello Jennifer...." He said his voice deep and regretful.

She glanced over at him in pure shock. And turned to face him.

Half of her body was completely broken, her skin hung of her bones and her eye was gone. But somehow she was still conscious and alive.

"Hello.......... Aaron......" Her voice was echoed, broken and hushed. Aaron could immediately tell that she was a victim of radiation more then the enemy.

"What are you doing! Your going to kill us all!" He yelled but at the same time he felt blood run out of his ears. He didn't have much time to shut this thing down.

"I....... am........cleansing........the planet.........it......is full ........of.........filth."

"The world is still recovering from the last meltdown. Why would you want another?!" He felt stupid talking to her, he knew that Jennifer was long gone.

"You........showed.........me........love.............and I.........betrayed you........this world.........corrupts."

He felt sick, he didn't have much time. So he made a movement, but realized the radiation had taken his right leg, the skin was starting to come off it.

"Jennifer..... if you want to help the world. Then stop this. My family.... everyone will die if this continues..... please!"

"You............ want............me............to stop?"

"Yes!" He felt his arm burn. He was starting to lose his thoughts.

She very slowly pulled the leaver downward. Only going halfway before her arm fell off.

"Uh oh......"

In a blind panic, Aaron launched his broken body at the lever. Pulling it down until it said:

Nuclear coolant applied: please stand back.

The radiation was suddenly cooled and Jennifer, or what was left of her, fell to ground. She trashed before she turned completely. Groaning into a irradiated mess.

Aaron felt the skin slip off his body like a banana peel. He felt the burning, searing pain of unbelievable proportions hit him. And he blacked out from it. His final thoughts being:

This is where my story ends.

Aphmau held her amulet up to the light, praying. And it wasn't until she opened it that she burst into tears.

In the amulet their was the oil painting. And on the other side. Aaron holding Luna and Ái. Immortalizing him in that moment of happiness.

She sobbed and thought of him and only him. She prayed and hoped for a miracle.

The reactor was now cooled. And the hot, deadly radiation had passed. Jennifer was a blob of ooze and guts on the cold floor.

Aaron was flat on his back. His right leg and left arm completely gone. But the rest of him intact.

There was no blood. The radiation had burnt his skin throughly. And his body was cold.

Out of the shadows came a very war torn looking man. He had eyes the color of limes and was taking off a radiation suit. He looked down at Aaron's body and sighed.

He had dusty beard and a mechanical arm. He had a duffel bag of different parts slug across his back. His eyes twinkled with knowledge and he gave a knowing smile.

"Boy..... You're lucky I like you." Shoving about half a gallon of rad-away down his throat. He chuckled as Aaron's body sprung to life, showing its distaste for the stuff before shuddering still.

"So you are alive in there..... hmmmm...." He opened his duffle bag and grabbed a metal part. And he measured the other leg.

He fixed the part until it suited him. And then he plugged wires and sensors and all sorts of things into it.

After he was done, he cut Aaron's leg open with a pair of large scissors. Once he found healthy tissue. He then fixed the leg some more, and put a tube into the hole in Aaron's stump of a leg.

He then cut another hole, and stuck a sensor strait up into it.

The mechanical leg sprang to life. And the man fixed the leg onto Aaron's stump. Chuckling when he saw Aaron flinch in his sleep.

"Boy.... Are you lucky I needed to come here to get supplies. Or you would be nothin' but bones by now" The man said, his voice gruff but kind.

He then moved to Aaron's arm. And the man pulled out another metal bit and did the same process.

Now Aaron had a mechanical arm, and a mechanical leg. And very slowly he awoke. He had very blurry vision. And the man chuckled.

"Can you see son?" The man asked, startling him.

Aaron couldn't speak, so he shook his head. He couldn't see anything but blurry colors.

"Alright.... here."

Hearing a beeping sound. He felt something being placed on his ear. And something zoomed across his face.

He suddenly saw a blue screen. And his vision was crisp and clear again. And he saw many of his memories zoom across the blue screen over his eyes. They went away and he could see everything, but it was all bathed in blue.

Still unable to speak, as his body burned. He looked over to see the man's face.

"Howdy. Well howdy to most of yah. You alright there pal?" The man couldn't look more out of place. His was glowing with kindness. However Aaron could tell he had been alive for a very long time.

"Y-yeah..... How did you...?" It hurt so much to talk, but he felt almost excited. He was supposed to die. But here he was..... well, most of him.

"Now don't think you owe me 'nothin. You're faith in me is enough."

"What?" Aaron was confused, he only had faith in his death when he went in here. But now he was still alive.

"Aye, nevermind." The man helped him up. And when Aaron tried to walk....

He fell flat on his face.

The man chuckled. Helped him up again and helped him relearn how to walk.

It was slow and tedious. But the man was very patient and helped him along. Aaron mastered use of his new leg. And moved to his arm.

He clenched his mechanical fist and unclenched it. It worked as a normal arm. And he saw. It was made so you could slip a sleeve over it.

He was definitely going to tinker with that later.

After this he turned around to the man and smiling. Asked him his name.

"Just call me Adam. And you, your Aaron, right?" This surprised Aaron. And Adam laughed.

"It's on you're jacket." Aaron looked down and saw his name etched on his jacket. He had never noticed it before.

"Oh....." Adam smiled and started humming and walking to the door. Picking up some odd and ends in the reactor and turning around to Aaron.

"By the way, do you believe in Angels?" He asked, his cheery smile not fading.

Being cheeky, and already the luckiest God damm man in the world. Aaron smiled and said.

"Sure do, I'm married to one."

Adam smiled, nodded and Aaron turned away for a split second. And when Aaron turned around to thank Adam.

He had vanished. He hadn't left a trace.

Confused, yet happy about just existing. He started on his way back home. His wife and kids on his mind.

And maybe, just maybe..... he wouldn't get killed when he got home.