Nolan was running through the second tunnel when his leg gave way beneath him. He stumbled to the ground, scraping his palms on the rough concrete.

He swore angrily and shifted into a sitting position. He buried his face in his hands and gave a slow, shaking exhale. He had to find Grace...they knew where she was...

He scooted over towards the wall and closed his eyes, focusing on each painful breath. His leg and arm were both throbbing, almost in rhythm, as blood seeped through the cloth he'd tied around them.

One man should not have these many bullet wounds in his lifetime, Nolan thought.

But he had to keep going. Who knew how much time was left before the EMP gained enough strength to detonate? Toby couldn't die in vain...

He pulled out an earpiece he'd retrieved from the Colossus soldier.

Maybe Egor had a button to set off the EMP and send the world into chaos, but the circular black piece in Nolan's hand might be the one thing preventing it all.

"Nolan?"

Nolan looked up, squinting through his blurred vision to see Grace coming toward him.

"You're alive," he murmured.

Grace, however, didn't look so relieved. She came up to him, her eyes searching his face. "What happened? You're bleeding out..."

She cupped both hands on his cheeks and rubbed a thumb across his gritty skin. "W-where's Toby?"

Nolan met her frightened gaze. He tried to control his emotion, but couldn't. He bowed his head and his face contorted with pain. Hot tears coursed down his cheeks, burning more than the wounds he'd received.

"Oh...oh no..." Grace whispered as if the wind had been sucked out of her chest. She drew Nolan into a hug, blinking away her own tears.

Nolan squeezed her tightly with his good arm before pulling away and wiping his face with his shoulder. "How much time do we have?"

Grace gulped back a sob and said, "I—I found it. It's not far from here, but it's blocked by Colossus. It detonates in five minutes."

"Five minutes..." Nolan echoed. "We'd better get moving then."

"But what do we do?" Grace asked.

"What we do best. Get in there before anyone sees us and hope we don't get killed."

"You can't even walk,"

"I've always thought I couldn't do a lot of things Grace Evans," he said, regaining a familiar smirk as he began making his way down the tunnel. "Like surviving ten years in jail, going back to working for the government, running around from country to county, speaking to the United Nations, destroying a world-crippling device...and kissing you would be on top of that list as well."

Grace smiled, though her lips trembled.

Nolan held up the Colossus earpiece. "Let's hope this works," he said, praying he remembered the Russian he used to speak so often and pulling out Egor's security card that had been in his pocket. "This is Dimyan Egor, code 344678. All forces to defensive positions above the palace. Targets A, B, and C are down."

"Colossus Squad Alpha affirmative,"

"Colossus Squad Sierra affirmative,"

Nolan's heart pounded as each squad received his command. Grace watched him closely, confusion written on her face.

Nolan didn't waste any time. He willed he legs to move at a quick pace.

"What's going on?" Grace asked, catching up.

"After I killed Egor, I took his earpiece and security card. Hopefully the team near the EMP followed orders and retreated upstairs."

"You...killed Egor?" Grace asked as Nolan hurried as fast as his wounded leg would carry him down the tunnel.

"I did," Nolan replied bluntly. They came to a fork between ways, but he didn't hesitate. They didn't have time left and he would not fail this time. Not this time.

"Grace take left, here's some extra ammo." He tossed a magazine to her and gave a nod. "I'll go in for the EMP, you watch my back."

Grace licked her lips, fingers clutching her gun. "I love you, Nolan Clay,"

Nolan smirked. "It's about time."

~~~~

Thirty yards down the tunnel, Nolan saw two guards standing at the end. He pressed close to the wall and took aim.

Two Pops! reverberated across the concrete.

He rushed in.

There was one row of Colossus soldiers making a ring around a huge metal contraption.

Yellow light filled the space, illuminated by two bulbs.

It took exactly half a second before the soldiers leaped into action.

The noise of gunfire drowned out the shouts coming from both parties.

Nolan and Grace open fired, raining bullets upon the soldiers with full abandon. Nolan couldn't tell when he reloaded or when he ran out of ammunition, he just kept firing, keeping an eye on the EMP at all times.

His heart raced along with every bullet fired.

"GO!" Grace screamed from somewhere behind him. "One minute!"

Nolan kicked away a soldier trying to attack him by shoving his boot into the man's chest and ran towards the EMP.

Where was he supposed to type in the code?

Shots rang out behind him, but he dodged, trying to keep one eye behind him and one in front.

Finally, he saw blinking green numbers counting down to detonation.

...30...29...28

He lunged for the tiny keypad and typed in the code to deactivate it.

351926

_Access Denied_

"What?!" Nolan shouted. He scanned the numbers again.

Wrong code.

His fingers raced across the pad again. 3519—

Pain roared through his abdomen and he fell against the console.

The butt of a gun slammed into his head and Nolan rolled over, swinging a wild kick.

The soldier attacking him took aim again, but Nolan lunged forward, tackling him to the ground.

...10...9...8...

In a burst of unnatural strength, Nolan pounded the soldier's face so hard that he heard the crack amongst the loud chaos all around.

His shaking fingers found the keypad again.

The timer began beeping as it counted down. 5...4...3...2...

He punched in the code. 351926.

The green light blinked twice more before going blank.

He collapsed, leaning against the console, searching for Grace.

Before he could spot her, however, an explosion rocked the earth nearby.

Nolan looked up and saw orange light and smoke barreling down the tunnel in front of them.

Another explosion pounded against the concrete walls.

"That filthy bastard..." Nolan breathed.

He couldn't escape. Not this time.

He closed his eyes, panting heavily as a second blast went off. He was ready for a final rest.

Then he saw Grace.

She was lying against the wall, blood covering her arm and face, unconscious but still breathing.

Clutching his bleeding stomach, Nolan got up, gritting his teeth in pain.

He limped over to her crumpled body and scooped her up with great effort. "C'mon, Evans," he groaned, making his way down the tunnel that was furthest away from the explosions.

He made quick breaths to keep his mind as clear as possible.

He set his eyes on the end of the tunnel and gradually picked up his pace.

"Nolan..." Grace moaned, though her eyes were still closed. "Just...leave me..."

"You're the only reason I got up in the first place," Nolan grunted. "So just shut up and be still."

"Nolan—"

Another explosion about twenty feet away almost knocked Nolan down.

"Come on, come on...." He growled, willing his legs into a jog.

He felt heat come in a wave across his back, but he kept going to the end of the tunnel.

He kicked open a door and began making his way up the stairs.

"Come...on..."

Every step was agony.

But every step carried Grace to safety.

As the door he'd just come through shattered into pieces as another bomb went off, Nolan broke through to the first floor.

He began running, running, running.

The orange carpet stretched before him.

An explosion burst through the wall behind him and threw him forward five feet.

Grace tumbled to the side as Nolan slid across the floor.

No...

Nolan looked down to see where a sudden cold, burning pain was coming from.

When he saw his own leg sitting apart from his body, he didn't even flinch, just rested on his back.

He looked at Grace. She was crying.

He inched his hand closer and brushed his fingertips against hers, closing his eyes.

Memories filled his vision. Bad ones.

But calm filled his insides like a gentle breeze, a soothing flow of peace.

This was not the cargo ship.

This was a story he could be proud of. The story about Toby Fairfax, Nolan Clay, and Grace Evans...the ones who destroyed the EMPs and stopped Colossus.

The ones who succeeded at saving the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We're almost done, guys!! *unashamed screaming* One more chapter to go!

~THEY DID IT!!! What'd you think of the climax?

~Do you think they survived?

~General thoughts on the chapter?