Holy FUCK. AIDEN. NOOOOO.
I LOVE YOU YOU ARE MY MOST FAVOURITE CHARACTER EVER. EVER.
I have never been so sad for a fictional character in my life.
How long are we being told to wait for the next update? What was it, like.. Friday?
..SERIOUSLY?

Uh. Maybe? I actually banged out quite a bit of work today, so maybe not. Friday was my "I will procrastinate to the end" estimate, but since I'm actually caught up for once in my life, I might be able to update daily. Afternoon tomorrow, probably later Wednesday night (if at all), any time Thursday, and then either late night Friday or not at all again until probably the following Monday. That's how it looks right now.

Holy shit.

Didn't see that one coming.

((But is it actually him? This is a treacherous place of treacherous people...))

I suppose that depends on your definition of him. I will say no more.

oh my god.. i am needing more.. oh i cant wait to read the next update <3
cliff hanger of evil

I was kind of hoping he'd be a crab.

But-ohgod--no-NNNNNNNNNGH. Seriously. I'm like, totally on the edge of my seat ovah here!

Well, fuck, missed my chance to reply to the last update.
BUT ANYWAY
sweet jesus liam ;____;
And now I feel sorry for Aiden, but the whole revenge plot kinda turned out how I expected it to. I wish he'd have stayed with Liam.
;____;
Also Etienne, go away, you're just gonna confuse the poor boy some more.

>>7846
Agreed. Nobody likes Etienne.
... We are a terrible audience, haha
sage for uselessness.

Oh my.... I knew it would come sooner or later, but it still surprised me. And now I'm imagining him as a mini TentaSpy... a very cute one.

I d'awwwwed at the fact Etienne has spots.

>>7844
I laughed.

This update was interesting. Dunno what to think of it. Moar please, as always.

ETIENNE

WHOAH

mind blown- also lol spots

XXXII


The other Spy kept smiling, sharp teeth making a perfect zig-zag.

Aiden shook.

“What’s wrong?”

“Y-yuh-you-you-you-you-”

“No stuttering,” the other Spy snapped. He reached forward and slapped Aiden. He winced and stared. The other Spy just grinned again.

“What’s wrong?”

“You.”

“No. I am perfect.” The Spy that was once Etienne moved forward. Aiden moved back until he felt himself hit the walls of the tunnel. The other Spy put his hands to either side of Aiden and looked at him. “You are imperfect. They said that. They said that you are a failure and I can do whatever I want with you.” He leaned his face forward and inhaled deeply. “Whatever I want.” He sank his teeth into Aiden’s shoulder and growled before dragging them both to the bottom of the water.

Aiden screamed and fought back, snarling and gnawing at whatever he could. The other Spy didn’t seem to mind. Instead he just wrapped himself tighter around Aiden and then removed his teeth to lick at the wound he had just created.

“You smell good,” he said, and Aiden was surprised to find that he could understand him perfectly well in the water. “You smell really good.” He pulled his mouth away and abruptly flipped Aiden over, pressing his face to the cement bottom. “I like you.” He thrust one long, narrow tentacle into Aiden and grinned when he screamed. He pressed another in, and then two more. The grin widened when he saw and tasted blood.

Aiden couldn’t do anything but scream and squirm. What’s going on? What is this? Etienne, no, no, no, no, no, not this, not you, please, Etienne, stop, STOP! Despite everything racing through his mind, he could only scream wordlessly.

It ended abruptly when the thing that was once Etienne let out a satisfied grunt and pulled his tentacles back. He pushed the both of them to the surface and then once more bit into Aiden’s shoulder.

Aiden shook and whimpered. The not-Etienne let out an oddly comforting sound and removed his teeth.

“I don’t know why they don’t like you,” he said before pressing his lips to the wound he’d created. “I like you.”

“E-eh-eh-Etienne, I-”

“Who’s Etienne?”

“Ah. Oh God. Oh, God. No, Etienne, please-”

The other Spy frowned and cocked his head, resting it on Aiden’s shoulder.

“Is your name Etienne? Are you talking to yourself? They said your brain was broken. Are you broken?” He looked amused.

“You are. You, you are a, I, I don’t even, I don’t know, Etienne, please.”

“Hm. I certainly am not Etienne.” He pulled away from Aiden and held his chin up. “My name is C-10.” He pulled up his left wrist and pointed to it. “See?” Etched there into the skin in small lettering was “C-10.” He gripped Aiden’s arms and looked them over. “Didn’t they give you a name?” He frowned. “No. They must not love you.” He grinned again. “They love me a lot. They said that I am the best. And I can do whatever I want with you because you are a failure.”

He reached forward and gripped Aiden and they sank to the bottom once more.

Aiden had lost the power to move, to think, to react. He was shocked and outraged and, above everything, scared out of his mind.

C-10 took this stillness as willingness and pressed Aiden into the corner at the bottom. He lay down atop him and wrapped his lighter, white-spotted tentacles around Aiden’s own limbs. He started licking the wound he’d created, occasionally letting out a happy, satisfied sound, while his lower half lazily stroked the limbs they were wrapped around.

He’s lost his mind. He’s crazy. He’s crazy. He’s gone absolutely crazy. He glanced over at the face buried in his neck and swallowed. What the hell did they do to you? He wrapped his arms around the other Spy, who in turn paused and looked up with a smile before returning to the task at hand with more vigour. This is my fault. I let them find me. I wasn’t careful enough. This is my fault. He swallowed again and shut his eyes. The other Spy suddenly relaxed and pushed them to the surface.

“What’s wrong?”

“Etienne, I’m sorry,” Aiden said. He shook his head. “This is my fault. This is all my fault. I, I didn’t, I wasn’t careful and, and I, you-” He buried his face in his hands and grit his teeth. “Fuck. This’s all wrong. What the hell went wrong with, with this, with me, with-?”

C-10 frowned and cocked his head.

“Nothing’s wrong. You didn’t do anything. Who’s Etienne.”

“YOU!” C-10 backed away, frightened for a moment, and then growled.

“Don’t yell,” he said. “They said I could do anything I want. So don’t yell or I will do what I want. I’m being nice, but they said I could do anything I want. They let me do anything I want”

“You, you are, what the fuck are you? Their pet? Etienne, what did they do to you?”

C-10 reached forward and slammed Aiden into the wall and growled lowly.

“My name is not Etienne.”

“Not anymore. So what, do they give you fucking brownie points if you hump their leg or-”

The other Spy’s tentacles wrapped around his chest and gave one quick, hard squeeze.

Shit, Aiden thought as he felt the ribs crack, this is what it feels like. What the hell have I been doing? What happened to me? Who am I?

“Don’t yell.”

Aiden looked at C-10. His own expression was pained –for a number of reasons. C-10 picked up on that and immediately released him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “But they said I could do anything. You’re broken. I don’t have to be careful. I can do the thing I like that I can only do with other failures.” He reached forward and started stroking Aiden’s tentacles with his own. “It feels nice. I like it. And you do too, right?” The tentacles moved higher. “Please say you do. I like you.”

“E… C-10, stop.”

The tentacles moved away.

“Okay.”

He gripped Aiden again.

“But they said I can do whatever I want. Anything I want with you. Only you. Anything I want.”

“What did they do to you?”

C-10 smiled and stared blankly.

“You are silly.”

“And Etienne is dead.”

C-10 sniggered and leaned in closer, pressing their foreheads together.

“And I like you. They said I could do whatever I want with you. I think they want me to kill you. I could kill you, you know. But I’m not going to. I like you.”

He abruptly went straight, head held higher, and looked around. He pulled away from Aiden and hauled himself to the metal walkway by the door. One tentacle snaked around and held on tightly to Aiden’s upper arm. He sat like that until the door opened. Doctor Lee and the three Medics walked in.

“What is he doing still alive?” Doctor Lee asked. C-10 wilted and shrugged.

“You said I could do anything I wanted,” he mumbled. “Anything.”

“Stop mumbling. Sit up straighter.” C-10 obeyed and looked up. His expression was very much like that of a dog hoping to please its master, hopeful and stupid.

“Much better.” Doctor Lee leaned down and pet C-10’s head. The Spy leaned into the hand and smiled.

“The chief Medic here says that there’s a Pyro in the RED base that needs to be taken care of – if he’s still alive. I want you to go over and make sure he’s dead, and then come right back. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good.” He didn’t acknowledge Aiden directly, but sighed when he glanced his way. “These three werehere to dispose of the body, but I suppose they will have to take care of a different matter first. Go now, and go alone.”

“Yes sir.” C-10 let go of Aiden, slipped into the water, and swam off. Doctor Lee snapped and pointed at the trembling figure in the water.

“Kill it.”

And then he left.

The chief Medic grinned as he pulled out both his saw and the control.

“Get up here,” he said as he pressed the button. Aiden snarled, fought, and clawed at everything within reach, but ultimately obeyed. “Stop moving.” He stopped.

“I’m so sorry,” Loman said as he closed his eyes and took out his own saw. “Truly, I am.” He looked at Aiden, sighed, and abruptly turned and opened the other Medic’s throat with one clean, quick cut. The man clawed at his neck and pitched forward into the water.

Emil watched, wide-eyed and open mouthed, shaking.

“You, you killed him. What’d you do? You killed him!”

“Shut up, Emil,” Loman growled. Emil picked up the chief Medic’s saw and looked at it.

“Spy!” he shouted before lunging at Loman. Aiden reached up and tripped the man as the other Medic easily sidestepped him. The Spy’s tentacles engulfed him and crushed him in an instant.

For a few moments there was only silence. Aiden shook and released Emil’s body before clearing his throat and looking around.

“What’s going on?”

“I quit,” Loman said as he sat down heavily next to Aiden. “I can’t do this anymore.” He picked up the control that the chief Medic had dropped and looked it over. On the back was a small button labeled ‘deactivate.’ It was set into the metal and would require something small to push. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and pushed it, then threw the control into the water. “I suggest you get out of here while you can.”

“And do what?”

“I don’t know.”

“What about Liam?”

“Who?”

“The Pyro.”

“Oh. He’s probably dead.”

Aiden felt something tighten in his chest. It hurt.

“And Etienne?”

“He’s been dead for months. That’s not Etienne. Just like you aren’t Marcel. That’s C-10. There is nothing else anymore.”

“What did they do to him?”

“What they should have done with you. Positive reinforcement. He’s their lapdog now. Nothing’s going to change him back, like you. He’s gone.”

Aiden ran his hands through his hair.

“What do I do?”

Loman shrugged and looked at the bite marks on Aiden’s shoulder. They were still slowly oozing blood, but it wasn’t as bad as it had felt.

“Did he do that?”

“Yes.”

“Was there a fight?”

“He… he wasn’t… he didn’t try to hurt me… not then. I think he broke something – a few ribs. But that…” He reached up and gently touched the area around the bite, wincing. “He’s crazy. He’s, he, he’s absolutely insane. I… he’s going after Liam. Shit. He’s going to kill Liam.” He started moving into the water. Loman grabbed his upper arm.

“Wait. Please. Listen.” He let go and rubbed the back of his head. “I’m sorry. For everything. This is all my fault.” Aiden just watched, neither denying nor confirming the statement. “I shouldn’t have considered… least of all my own teammate.” He bit his lower lip. “I didn’t expect it to turn out this way. None of us did.” He looked over at Emil. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.” He swallowed and looked back at Aiden. “Please end it. Kill him, then leave. I will take care of Doctor Lee and-”

“No.” Aiden reached up and snaked one tentacle around Loman’s leg. He jerked it back instinctively, his expression fearful. “No. You are coming with me.”

“What?”

He had just enough time to take a breath before Aiden jumped into the water, dragging Loman behind him. They made their ways through the tunnel and then into the river. The sky was a faint orange-grey dotted with paling stars. Loman caught a glimpse of it when Aiden pushed him up for air mid-way through the river.

Dawn already. And here I thought I should still be sleeping.

the tension ahhh
there is no way for me to express how happy you make me feel, but i will 'try' my hardest to wait for another update ;]

THE PLOT THICKENS.
Oh Loman yay I always liked youuuu!

YES.

That is all.

I'm not even going to try and express how I feel about this.
But...
Please don't let Aiden die. Or Liam. Please.

This makes me /SO EXCITE/.

YEEEESSS!!! oh yes oh yes oh yes! FUCK I love this!

I don't care if Aiden or Liam dies. Well okay, I do like Aiden, he's adorable with his internal voice.

BUT I SURE DO HOPE ETIENNE DOESN'T DIE!! I LOVE ETIENNE!!

I would have laughed so hard if it actually DID turn out that Etienne was turned into a dopey little Spy Crab.
Classic. :P
But I'm addicted to this story! And its amazing. And so are you

This. This. This is just. Like. Perfect. I just have no words to say. I'm just so happy what's happening and that Loman did what he did and the fact that I totally knew Etienne was going to be the next experiment. But oh man, I wanted to cry or Aiden seeing Etienne like that. Just heartbreaking. You totally have me on a rollercoaster of whether I should hate this fic for making me feel this way or love it because it is so awesome.

tl;dr MY MIND. SHE IS BLOWN.

In honor of his sacrifice, I am going to name my firstborn child after Loman.
That is all.

I'll name mine Aiden and they can be friends!

XXXIII

From the moment they entered the RED tunnels it was clear that something was going down. Someone was screaming in the infirmary. It would have been audible to Aiden with the door shut, but the door was open and even Loman could hear the echoes ringing through the passageways.

They approached the door, both of them with their heads above the water, and, for the briefest moment, just sat and waited.

“What do we do?” Loman asked as he reached up and gripped the metal walkway. Aiden let go of him and hauled himself up.

“Wait for me,” he said. “Right here. Don’t move. Just wait.”

With that, he cloaked and passed through the open door.

The infirmary was covered in blood. All four Medics lay on the ground, either dead or dying. The door to the rest of the base was locked and someone was pounding on it from the other side. Etienne sat atop Liam on the bed, teeth embedded in his shoulder. He was trying to scream, but no sounds were coming out. Aven lay propped against the bed, not too far from Liam’s face.

“Get off,” Aiden growled. C-10 lifted his head and turned to grin at Aiden.

“Did they send you to help? Do you want to help? I’ll let you. I can do anything. They said so. I will let you help. You will like this. It’s fun. I’ll let you try.” He got off of Liam and looked hopefully between the Pyro and the other Spy. “It’s fun. Come try.”

Aiden approached the Pyro and looked down at him. His shoulder was a mess, and it looked like the other Spy had clawed at his arms.

“Aid’n?”

“I’m here.”

“Try it!”

He growled at C-10 and bent down low over the Pyro.

“I’m going to get you out of here.”

“Please. Aiden, just kill me and get out of here.”

“Yes, kill him. Kill him!”

Aiden snarled at the other Spy and shifted so that he was between him and the Pyro.

“Get out of here,” he said. Don’t make me kill you Etienne please oh please don’t make me kill you.

“You can’t tell me what to do. I can do whatever I want to with-”

He froze and sniffed the air. His expression went from stupidly happy to enraged. He quickly (frighteningly so) closed the distance between the two of them and grabbed his tentacles. Aiden growled and pulled the back, but C-10 had a firm grip. He sniffed the limbs and then looked up.

“You killed the Medics. You smell like them. Like all of them. You have their blood. You killed them.”

“I-”

C-10 sprang forth and tackled Aiden off of the bed. His hands came down and gripped Aiden’s wrist, pressing them to the floor, and he started wrapping his own longer, considerably stronger tentacles around the ones fighting back.

“Traitor,” he said through grit teeth. “You killed them and that makes you bad. He reached higher and squeezed Aiden hard, letting up only after he heard a crack. There was a brief, soundless pause, and then the other Spy screamed.

“See?” C-10 asked. “See? I told you. I can do anything I want. They said I could. And you’re bad, so I’ll kill you. They want me to, so I will.” He squeezed again, jamming the broken ribs harder into the other Spy. He let out a pained cry and then grit his teeth. “I like you, but I’ll kill you. I can do that.”

“Etienne, please-”

“My name is not-” The sentence was cut off as he burst into flames and started screaming. Liam kicked him off and then hit Aiden with a low-level compression blast (just in case).

It was all he could do. The kick of the blast pushed him back a few steps and then he dropped the flamethrower and sank to his knees.

“Liam,” Aiden said before coughing. He groaned and gripped his side. It felt like hundreds of shards of glass were ripping him apart from the inside out.

C-10, meanwhile, had run out the back door, screaming.

“Hey,” Liam said as he crawled over to Aiden. “Hey Guy. You okay?”

“It’s Etienne, Liam, it’s Etienne and it’s all my fault and I need to kill him and I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I-” He broke off into quick, painful breaths. A trickle of blood started coming out of the corner of his mouth.

“Shh, shhhh.” Liam wiped the blood away and pressed his hand to Aiden’s face. “Hey, c’mon. It’s going to be alright.”

“Liam, please.” He squeezed his eyes shut and turned to cough, painting the floor with more blood. “Please kill me.”

“No.”

The Spy sobbed.

“No, no, no, Aiden, please, don’t, don’t do this, Aiden, c’mon guy, c’mon.” He pressed his forehead against Aiden’s. “It’s going to be okay,” he lied. “Everything’s gonna’ be alright.”

“No it isn’t.” C-10, wet, bleeding, and blackened, stood in the doorway. He leaned heavily on the door and looked like he might collapse. “I’m going to kill you both.” He started crawling forward. “I can. They said I can. They told me to.”

Liam reached for his flamethrower, but C-10 whipped out and knocked it away. He pulled his knife out and kept moving towards the two.

“C-10, stop it.”

The Spy froze and turned to face Loman.

“Sir?”

“Go wait in the tunnel.”

“But sir-”

“You will do as ordered.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good boy.”

The Spy slithered back towards the tunnels, shooting a glare behind him as he left. Once he was gone, Loman shut the door and closed the distance between the two.

“What did he-”

“Take Liam and get out,” Aiden said as he shakily sat up. He turned and spat out another mouthful of blood.

“You’re coming with-”

“I need to kill him.” He pushed himself up a little higher and looked around. “And take the Medic.” He started pulling himself towards the door.

Loman and Liam frowned and looked around.

“Who-”

“James. Take him. He’s good. Take him.” He gripped the handle and managed to get the door open.”

“You’re a mess,” Loman said as he walked over and grabbed his shoulder. “You can’t go.”

“I have to kill him,” he said. He grit his teeth and pushed the hand off of his shoulder. “I have to kill him.” He kept moving. His words turned to a mumbled chant. “I have to kill him.”

“Wait.” Liam gestured to Aven and Loman picked it up. “Take her. Just in case. Please.”

Aiden looked at the flamethrower as the Medic handed it to him and nodded.

“Keep her dry and she’ll be fine. Always point away. Keep the water to your back in case things get too hot.” He grinned and then winced and groaned. “’n come find us when you’re done, okay? We’ll tell RED to wait for you. They’ll wait for you. I promise.” He lay down flat on the ground and groaned again. Loman bent down next to him. His expression was that of a concerned, sad, and, ultimately, scared man.

“Take care of him,” Aiden said. Loman nodded. “And goodbye.”

“They’ll wait for you,” Liam said, face pressed to the cold tile floor. “I promise. They’ll wait. They’ll wait.”

For one brief moment Aiden’s face broke. The anger he felt towards himself and C-10 and Doctor Lee and Loman just fell away and he only wanted to just leave. I could go with them. I could leave. It would be fine. We’ll be fine.

“Hello? M-2? Are you okay?” C-10’s voice rang through the hallway.

“Take care of him,” Aiden said before closing his eyes.

I will kill him.

And Aiden was gone once more.

He pushed back through the hallway, exited into the tunnels, and shut the door behind himself.

“What are you doing here?” C-10 asked as he backed up. “Why do you have that flamethrower?”

Aiden said nothing. He spat out another mouthful of blood and set the flamethrower aside.

“Where is M-2?”

“He said it’s time to go.”

“Go where? Where is he? I want to speak to him.”

He was frightened. He had no directions, no orders to guide him. He was lost.

“He is taking care of something. He told me to tell you that it’s time to leave.”

“Where?”

“Back.”

“Back where?”

Aiden slipped into the water and C-10 cringed away. He wrapped his darker tentacles around the smaller, now-shaking Spy and shushed him.

“Quiet. Come here.”

He pulled C-10 closer to himself. The other Spy was whimpering and looking around, frantic.

“Please go get him. I need him.”

“Shush.”

“Where are we going?”

“Where we belong.” As hard and quick as he could, he squeezed C-10, wincing at the sickening crack.

There was no death scream, no final cry. Just the crack, and a wet, bloody cough, and then stillness.

Aiden was shaking. He released C-10 with his tentacles and held onto him with his arms. Slowly, painfully, after grabbing the flamethrower again, he started pulling the other Spy towards the river.

“Etienne I’m sorry I’m so sorry this wasn’t supposed to happen I, we, this, this isn’t right, I’m not, I shouldn’t have, we, we weren’t, I wasn’t intending this, this, this shouldn’t have happened, this-”

He broke off as they reached the river. He put the flamethrower aside on the edge of the metal walkway and then dived deep into the water, fighting the current.

He went as deep as he could, gripped a piece of metal embedded in the bottom of the river, and held on tight to the other Spy’s body.

For a while he just stayed like that, head buried in the cold neck of the dead creature that was once Etienne.

This was never supposed to happen. This is my fault.

This is Loman’s fault.

Loman had nothing to do with it. He was a pawn.

He sent you away. Sentry in the water.

The orders came from somewhere else. Sentry in the water was Doctor Lee.

This is Doctor Lee’s fault.

This is Doctor Lee’s fault.

“This is his fault.”

He opened his eyes and looked down at C-10.

“Goodbye, Etienne.”

He released the body and watched the current take it away.

This is Doctor Lee’s fault.

“I will kill him.” He surfaced and retrieved the flamethrower. “It’s time to end this. He will die.”

The plot comes to a slow, rolling boil, emitting pleasant-smelling steam.

I sure hope Etienne doesn't die, but I could live with it. What I COULDN'T live with is if Liam and Aidenn don't live happily ever after in California on the beach where Aidenn can swim and play with their 400 babies. :B GOD I am so excited for more you have no idea.

Amazing plot.

All I can say since I am speechless.

My face is glued to the screen now. I will die while reading this utterly AMAZING story, oh my god. I'm going to bawl whenever it ends.

>>7899
Seconds.

I.. I don't know what to say. But I had to say something.
YESSSS KICK TH- TENTACLE-MAIM THE SHIT OUT OF DOCTOR LEE.
btw fuck you etienne.

I cried. This stupid part seriously made me cry.... I'm so pathetic :D

NON! ETIENNE! AAAH. /He/ was the one I really wanted to get a happy ending. Sob.

>>7907
You can do what I'm doing and imagine that they actually transferred most of his brain into a crab. 'Crabenne' then escaped out an air vent, hitched a ride on a boat, and now lives in the tropics.

XXXIV

Aiden pulled himself up onto the metal walkway, Aven in hand. He paused to catch his breath, gripping his side with his free hand, and then went down the hallway into the infirmary.

The infirmary was empty. The interrogation room was empty. The door to the rest of the base was unlocked and open.

Slowly, still gripping his side, and uncloaked, he made his way into the base. It was silent. He paused at the stairs leading to the intel room and listened. They were down there. All or most of them – it was hard to tell. They weren’t loud, but the smells of people were strong and varied. They were there.

Aiden moved past and entered the TV room. A Scout lay asleep on the couch, his bat laying on the floor. He picked up the worn piece of wood and quickly dispatched of the young man. He uttered a small apology and then slowly, painfully, and loudly started pushing the couch down the hall. It took a while, but he managed to get the furniture to the stairwell that led down to intelligence. He pushed it down with one last heave and then collapsed on the floor. He listened to it fall and coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Someone behind the door started yelling and pounding on it, but they couldn’t get it open.

“Almost done,” Aiden said as he pushed himself to a sitting position. He winced and just breathed for a while and then let out one loud cry.

“LEE!”

He broke down into a fit of bloody, painful coughs that ended in a loud, tortured cry.

Never again. I can’t do that again. Oh please, don’t make me do that ever again.

He didn’t have to.

“Hello.”



Loman dragged Liam back to the bed and lay him down.

“Which one is James?” he asked as he checked the Pyro’s bandages. Nothing had torn, there was no bleeding, but the younger man was in considerable pain.

“…brown…hair…young…older…than me…might…be…alive…last…one…attacked.” He started gasping for breath and shivered.

“What’s wrong?” Loman asked as he pulled out a case of syringes from his coat. He pulled out one and pressed it to Liam’s arm. “It’s just morphine. What’s wrong?”

“Side…last…morphine…wore…off.” He groaned and grit his teeth.

“Alright, alright. It’s there. You’ll feel it in a moment. I’m going to get James, okay?”

“OPEN THIS DOOR OR I WILL BLAST IT THE FUCK DOWN!”

“Soldier…careful…talk…first.”

Loman nodded and stood.

“Hello?”

“HELLO?” There was a flood of voices. “Who is that? Hello? Is everything fine? What’s going on?”

“My name is Loman. I was a BLU Medic.”

Another roar as the crowd of people started shouting in outrage.

“OPEN THIS DOOR!”

“I will. I will.” He waited a few moments for the noise to subside – someone was taking control on the other side- and then repeated it. “I will. I am unarmed. Your Medics are dead or severely injured, not by my hand. Your Pyro is still alive. I will open the door and hold up my hands. I have no intention to harm you.” His voice started to crack. “Please believe me. I need help.”

There was a pause. Someone – it sounded like a Sniper- started talking, slowly and clearly.

“Alright. Here’s the situation. There are twelve men back here of varying classes. Each one has a weapon in hand. If you try anything, we will not hesitate to kill you. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“Good. Unlock the door and step back, hands in the air. Tell us when you have done that and we will unlock the door. Understood?”

“Yes.”

Loman stepped forward and unlocked the door. He took a few steps back, stripped his jacket and gloves off so as not to appear to be concealing anything, and held his hands up above his head.

“Alright.”

The Sniper opened the door and had his rifle up and aimed for the Medic’s head in a fraction of a second. The other eleven men started pushing in, weapons aimed at the Medic. A few branched off to look at their own dead and injured teammates.

“Alright,” the Sniper said. “So what’s your story? Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you right now.”

“Good,” Liam said. The Sniper looked over, then returned his attention to the Medic. “Loman’s…good…guy…he…he’s…good… promise.”

“Don’t talk,” the Demo said as he sat on the bed.

“I don’t expect you all to believe me right away,” Loman said, speaking slowly, “but please give me a chance. I have abandoned BLU. I will tell you why if you give me a chance. Liam needs to get to a hospital right away though, and I promised someone that I would go with him.”

“Hospital sent someone to pick him up,” the Demo said. “Should’ve been here an hour ago.”

“Good.”

“Hey, James is still alive!” a Scout shouted as he bent over the Medic. “Hey, hey, James, Jimmy, hey.” He pushed the older man onto his back. “You okay?”

“Hmm…nn…wh…where…where’s L…Liam…”

“Right here, chief,” the Scout said. “He’s okay. What happened? You okay?”

Loman looked over.

“James?” The other Medic looked up and froze. “Aiden told me to-”

“That’s enough,” James said as he started pushing himself up. The Scout helped him to a sitting position. “I b’lieve you.” He looked around at the still-tense room. “He’s good, boys.” He looked himself over and groaned when he saw his horribly mangled lower half. His legs were broken in multiple spots (and were, miraculously, numb – a state that he was afraid wouldn’t last much longer) and his pelvis felt like it’d been hit with a hammer a few hundred times.

“I think we’ll need the full story,” the Demo said. “We’ll be the judge of that.”

Loman nodded and cleared his throat.

“The people who run BLU are crazy.”



Aiden sat at the kitchen table, cup of coffee in hand. Doctor Lee sat opposite of him sipping at his own mug. Aven sat atop the table as well, cold and quiet.

“Beautiful morning,” the Doctor said as he set his cup down on the table. “Clear, cool, bright. Absolutely gorgeous.” He looked over at Aiden and smiled. “So. What do we make of this, then?”

“I am going to kill you,” Aiden said before breaking into a coughing fit. When it finally died off, his chin was covered in blood. He wiped it off with his bare hand – not that it mattered. The moment it was gone, it was replenished as a small trickle of the red fluid started from the corner of his mouth.

“For what?”

“You ruined my life.”

“I saved it. Your teammates Loman and Emil volunteered to send you in as an experiment. They could have said that there were no suitable candidates. If it is anyone’s ‘fault,’ it is theirs.” He sipped the coffee again and set it down. “And why does it have to be anyone’s fault? You are a part of something massive and beautiful – the creation of a new race that will drive our team to victory.”

“You are creating monsters.”

“By your definition, perhaps. But look at this war. Look at these people. Constantly killing – and for what? Are your teammates any less monsters than you?”

“Maybe not. But you are an unforgivable-”

“That is enough. Did I destroy your life? Maybe. I’ve destroyed many lives if I have destroyed yours. But you are one small sacrifice for a greater, noble end. You are paving the way for amazing things. Don’t be so selfish. Your friend wasn’t, and now he will go on as the poster child of our cause. He is a success, proof that your sacrifice was for a good cause. He is-”

“Dead.”

Doctor Lee froze. For a few seconds he looked ready to kill Aiden. And then he smiled

“You killed him?”

“Yes.”

And then he laughed.

“You truly are amazing. Amazing!” He laughed again and then finished off his coffee. “Amazing.”

“You aren’t angry?”

“Of course I am. He was expensive. But so were you. And you have proven that our C-series is still imperfect. I knew that C-10 wasn’t quite right, but I didn’t think he’d allow himself to fall prey to you. You have proven me wrong.”

“And… that makes you happy?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Aiden closed his eyes and swallowed the blood that was gathering in his mouth. He was dizzy and felt incredibly weak.

“Besides, the C-series is done. He would have had to have been put down soon anyways. With the information gathered –mostly between you and C-10 – we have decided to stop experimenting with our own team members and start genetic…”

Aiden leaned his forehead on the table while Doctor Lee talked and blocked the man out. He didn’t notice he’d stopped talking and stood until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“So how would you like to do this?”

Aiden sat up.

“What-” he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood onto the table and then started gasping, eyes shut and teeth grit together. The hand on his shoulder pat him and then reached under and lifted him up.

“Let’s end this,” he said. “You were expensive. The least I could do is make this comfortable.” Aiden grabbed the flamethrower and hugged it tight while the Doctor carried him down the hall. He brought him down the intel stairs where most of the BLU team was still pounding on the door and then helped him hold up Aven.

“Quickly. Just the couch should be enough. This place is large and fairly advanced, but it is still an old building made of wood.”

Aiden lit the couch on fire and Doctor Lee quickly retreated back up the stairs. They watched for a moment as the old couch quickly burst into flames, and then left when they saw the walls starting to catch as well. They made their way down to the infirmary where Doctor Lee lay him down on the exam table.

“Alright,” he said as he started digging around in a drawer. “Alright, C-9. C-9. That isn’t really your name, now, is it? You have long since ceased to be C-9. So what do I call you?” He laughed. “For a few minutes, anyways. What do I call you before you die?”

“Aiden.”

“Aiden.” He pulled out a bottle and a syringe. “Hello, Aiden.” He pressed the syringe into the cap of the bottle and filled it to the top with the clear liquid. “My name is Doctor Gregory Lee.” He pressed the syringe to Aiden’s shaking shoulder. “And I am happy that you came back to me to die.” He pushed it in and emptied its contents into the Spy.

Aiden didn’t flinch. He breathed shallow, even breaths and waited. And waited.

“How long will it take?” The words were heavy in his mouth.

“A little bit.”

“Will it hurt?”

“No.”

“What will you do?”

“Leave through the tunnels. I have a car parked about half a mile away along the road in the forest. I did not expect to stay for long.”

“Okay.” He opened his eyes. Everything was spinning and fuzzy. “Okay.”

One warm, dry hand rest on his forehead.

“Almost there,” he said. “You’re almost there.”

Aiden opened his mouth and then closed it and swallowed.

“Water,” he said. “Please.”

“Sure.”

The Doctor picked him up and brought him out into the tunnels. He sat down on the edge of the walkway and eased Aiden down into the water. He held onto him tight so that he wouldn’t sink or drift away. Aven was still in the Spy’s arms.

“Thankyou,” Aiden said as he closed his eyes again.

“It’s the least I could do. You deserve it, failure or not.”

Two tentacles snaked up and gripped the doctor around the chest. They didn’t squeeze, but only gently wrapped around him. He didn’t seem to mind. Two more joined them, then a few others.

“What are you doing, Aiden?” the doctor finally asked.

As hard as he could, Aiden constricted the tentacles in one quick motion. He felt the cracking of ribs and the wheezing, gasping breath, but not the deadly crunch that he was hoping for.

Doctor Lee started clawing at the limbs and then abandoned them to grab at a gun in his pocket. Aiden let go and pulled Aven up.

Please work,he thought as he looked up at his fuzzy, unfocused target.

He squeezed the handle at the same time he heard a gunshot and delighted at the bright, illuminating fire that burst forth. Doctor Lee lit up and screamed. Aiden held on to the flamethrower for as long as he could, bathing the man in flames until he collapsed, no longer screaming, onto the metal.

He couldn’t hold up the flamethrower any longer. He let it sink in the water and allowed it to pull him down with it.

Red. Why is the water red?

He looked around. His left shoulder was mostly gone. It was a miracle that he’d been able to hold up the flamethrower as long as he had.

Oh. He closed his eyes. So this is it. Finally. He wrapped himself around Aven and rest his cheek on the nozzle. Finally.

>>7909
OhGodOhGodOhGod
Aiden!

nooo aiden nononooo
jesus christ i am crying so hard
you have no idea
oh my god /pathetic

Did this just happen?!

This whole thing is such a shock that I am just kind of numb to it.
Good show, sir.
Also fuck yes, Liam lives.
(Remember how I said I was naming a kid after Loman? Fuck that, I'm going to name a /country/ after that guy.)

THE BAWWING

I AM BAWWING SO HARD FUCK

>>7909
Y-You're not /seriously/ leaving me hanging like this, are you? D:

Wow... just wow....
Have you concidered making this a book yet?!

MY TEARS
THEY BURN
OH GOD AIDEN WHY ;_;

>>7908
I'm still sore about losing Etienne, and now Doctor Lee too.

But the Spycrab things works for me. I'm sort of hoping Lee cloned himself and is floating around somewhere as a fat happy porpoise or something.

This is absolutely beautiful. I have been absolutely eating this fic up. You are a fantastic writer... this piece has absolutely drawn me in...

Now, if you'll pardon me, I have to go off and sob...

I refuse to believe a cliffhanger. Refuse, I say!

I'm so relieved that Aiden went down fighting, and with a flamethrower at that.
He is indeed the most badass Tentaspy.

Oh... My... God...

Nonononononono!!! D: Aiden! No, please, dont die! D:
brb, crying forever.

Also! You, Corvine, are awesome. That is all.

oh my god oh man, i want to see the aftermath so bad

I think there are two 'expressions' to describe this update:

D:
<3

Hey all you people.

Thank you so much for your feedback, and my apologies for rarely directly addressing any of your comments.

A few things: 1: There will be an epilogue, so hold on to your pants. 2: Fun factlet: this story, as it is, runs just over 84,000 words. Hot damn. 3: It will NOT be published. Ever. I enjoy reading and writing fanfiction, but I see it as the fanfiction equivalent of Twilight (okay, maybe not that bad) - plot driven and lacking depth. It was fun to write and, gathered from various reactions, fun to read, but I see it more as a writing exercise than a real piece. Sorry if I'm breaking any hearts there. I do have some private, entirely original (well, as original as one can get in the writing world) works in the making and if anyone here wants to be notified when it's reaching publication status, my e-mail's right there. But yeah. Like I said, fun to read, fun to write, but if it was food it would have the nutritional equivalent of crack-infused Mountain Dew.

I love you all oh so very much, and thank you again for your continued support.

Epilogue coming soon.

-C

>>7934
Please don't have a bad end full of sadness and woe. Please oh please.

Epilogue

Doctor Emanuel Lee’s Journal

Saturday, October Nineteenth, Twenty-three-hundred hours

I have received the confirmation of my brother’s death. The body was found charred and broken in the subterranean remains of the burnt base mentioned in the previous journal. His was the only recognisable body, as the others, undoubtedly trapped within the confines of the fort while it burned, were little more than bones and twisted lumps of metal – surely the latter were the remnants of their various weapons and tools. All of the intelligence housed there was also destroyed.

As though this news was not sorrowful enough, it has also been confirmed that C-10, the apple of my dearly departed brother’s eye, has perished. His body was found downstream in the river that separated the RED and BLU bases, some half-mile out. It was crushed and broken – no doubt from C-9, who he was supposed to dispatch of. It would appear that his failed predecessor was a bit more capable than we had thought.

Finally, I was also given the news that C-9, who we are most certain is the cause of the damage done to the base and my brother, has not been found. The bases- both the abandoned RED and smouldering BLU- have been cordoned off and are under heavy investigation. Men are scouring the forest and the river in search of the body. It has been three weeks and nothing has been found.

But I do not dwell on what was lost. My brother’s notes and lab have been left to me and I intend to pick up where he left off. Already I have a number of women willing to carry the future generation of the new project TS. The future of BLU may yet be bright.



Liam ran his hand along the smooth metal, fingers dipping in and out of familiar scratches and dents. He muttered something in Gaelic and then kissed the nozzle before laying the flamethrower across his lap and then breaking into a fit of wet, deep coughs.

“Faithful to the end,” he said as he kept running his hand down Aven. “My only regret is that I wasn’t there to see it.”

“It was beautiful, I’m sure,” said the former Medic sitting next to him. “And she’s lucky. A fire like that doesn’t go unnoticed long, even in the middle of the forest. Especially in the middle of the forest. If that Demo hadn’t found them when he did, then they would have. She and… they would have both been lost.”

Liam nodded and the two stared out at the water. The lake was massive, its distant shores unseen from where they sat. He broke out into another fit of coughing and the older man looked over.

“Your pneumonia-”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s worse.”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you taking the-”

“I’m fine.”

“You sound like you’re drowning in your own-”

“I’m fine.”

Silence for a while. Loman knew better than to argue with Liam, especially in his current state.

“Do you think they’ll try to find us?” Liam asked as he looked down at Aven once more.

“Perhaps. They probably think that I am dead, but I’m sure they will try to hunt you down.”

Liam sighed and nodded. He looked back up at the water for a while, biting his lips and fighting wave after wave of tears.

“What are your thoughts on France?” the old Medic asked.

“France sounds great,” Liam said immediately with a half hearted smile that dissolved as he broke into another fit of coughs. After a bit he laughed weakly and shook his head before bringing his hand up to wipe at his eyes. “France, man. They’ll eat you alive there, but yeah, France.”

“It will be a good place for you to recover,” the Medic went on. “I had a friend who left me his summer home there. A nice place. In the country. On the water. Very nice.”

“He’d have loved it,” Liam murmured as he wiped his eyes again. “Fuck, man. It would have been perfect.”

Loman didn’t say anything. He watched the water and nodded, but he didn’t say anything.

“Let’s go,” the once-Pyro said as he pushed himself- shakily- to his feet. Loman followed and gripped the other man’s arm. “Right now. We’ll bring James – he said he wanted to see France – and, and, and he’ll show up. He’ll have to. He couldn’t resist. He’ll be waiting for us. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Loman lied as he helped the other man to the car. He settled the retired Pyro into the passenger seat and then climbed behind the wheel. The other man was already almost asleep, pale face resting against the window. He was shivering. It was sixty five degrees and he was wearing a coat.

“See’m soon, right Lom’n?”

“Yes you will,” Loman said as he took a deep breath and commanded the tears to back off. They disobeyed. “We’ll go to France and he’ll be right there in the water.”

“L’s go there.”

“We are. We won’t keep him waiting.”

Liam passed out and Loman drove off knowing more than he wished to know. He knew that James was dead and Liam kept referring to his ashes as ‘him.’ He knew that Aiden was not in France, but in the lake that they’d just left. He’d sank quickly and quietly when he and the old RED Demo put him in the water half a mile from the shore the week before. And, as Liam coughed in his fevered sleep, Loman knew that the Pyro would be seeing the Spy much sooner than either of them dared to hope.

Aw, I was really hoping.

It was written well though!

>>7940
Ah sorry, I should probably elaborate. I just dislike endings where everything the characters go through doesn't achieve anything in the end.

It's mostly personal but after spending so long reading about these guys I wanted something, anything, to be different.

But instead it's a (well written) rocks fall and everyone dies. It's a long an interesting story, but nothing anyone did meant anything. All their struggles were pointless and they're either dead or worse off than they were (and going to die.) So I end up sad and feel sort of cheated, a little hollow.

I'm sure lots of other people will feel differently though. This is just my opinion. I just probably won't re-read, but it was fun while it lasted.

The story had many interesting ideas, and as the story went you were very good at characterization!

I love you. This was an awesome story with an equally awesome ending. I'm kind of happy that Aiden didn't make it because it would have been too predictable.

Thanks for an awesome read and I hope to see lots more from you in the future!

Ah, thank you. Like I said earlier, this is very much an exercise for me, and one thing I'm trying out is the unsatisfying ending. I'd rather my reader feel frustrated and remember the story than remember it was a good read but forget the title because it falls into some sort of 'comfortable' category that all too many stories tend to do. I'm sorry you feel cheated, but I'm glad you had fun along the way. And than you very much for the input.

And thank you, Scrunchy. I certainly have plans for things -probably in the fanart section before I write anything else- but I'll definitely be lurking.

this fic should be archived until the end of time.
it was.. beautiful.

I wanna cry.

I guess I expected it, though. Except I thought James would survive.

>>7943
Aw shoot. I wish I'd known that at the start. Then I would have just avoided it. I'm the opposite of what you describe. I save and re-read the fics I go away satisfied with and leave the rest.

(I'm not sure any ending would have made the story 'comfortable' though. It's really twisted.)

Also I know I've already been super-negative but, well, the brother twist seemed to come out of nowhere. Was that hinted at before and I missed it? (Sorry, I'm probably annoying at this point.)

The genetic testing had been hinted at, but not that his brother was the one carrying it out.

>>7939
Fff. This is beautiful. You are beautiful. I keep spewing this crap because I love this fic so very much.

For some reason, that ending was just what this story needed. I liked it.

Fuck, this story was great.

*applause*

Wow. It's....really over.

NOW WHAT DO I LOOK FORWARD TO. ;A; fffffffff the epilogue does feel a little like cheating-- but at the same time, the story /itself/ has resolution, the ending is satisfactory if saddening. I'm sad it's over, because it was so marvelous and something completely different, but I'm glad it was finished, too.

Out of curiosity, are you planning on writing other things for TF2 fandom? Feels to me like you're just too amazing to lose after one fic, haha. ♥

Well, goddamnit.
;______;
I LIKE LIAM'S FANTASY ENDING BEST AND THAT IS WHAT I AM GOING WITH.
THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER IN FRANCE AND JAMES AND LIAM AND AIDEN HAD INCREDIBLY HOT THREESOMES AND LOMAN HEARD THE NOISES AND SIGHED IN EXASPERATION.

I love you, Corvine, don't hate me 'cause I'm in denial.

>>7941
I'm going to have to play the devil's advocate here. I rather enjoyed the realistic ending, even if it has a tendency to sometimes be a little anticlimactic if it's poorly written. The character's are only human after and a "they lived happily ever after" often feels forced.

As for them not achieving anything, there was a lot achieved in this story. Even if it feels like nothing has happened the characters still change and grow with the story, and that is something that's harder then "they beat the bad guy."

I also want to say way to go Corvine for actually killing Aiden. I was kinda expecting you to do it a little sooner but it turned out really well. I know it can be hard to kill a character, after a while they feel like a real person and you get attached to them. So by the time it takes to write them out of the story it's heartbreaking.

So here's to you Corvine, cheers. Thank you for sharing your tale.

I may or may not have a few things in mind *cough http://www.tf2chan.net/fanart/res/19846.html lurking there right now cough* But as far as writing goes, it's going to be a bit. I got fairly obsessed over writing this story (hence the intense, 2-3 updates a day in the first half) and I can't afford to do that any more. But keep an eye out, here and in regular fanfic and in fanart. I'll be around.

You people are all posting faster than I can reply. That last one was to Tricks.

Paulie: Who's to say that that's not what happens? C;

Magpie: You are my favourite kind of reader. Also, love the name.

gah dammit...what a pisser. I was really hopin...but I guess in it's own way it is a happy ending. No more suffering, no more fighting. Loman is all that's left.
I really enjoyed reading this from the beginning. It was beautifully written and very much unique from the get go.
Thanks for sharing such an awesome fic with us.
You rock.

>>7941
I agree with this. I don't mind it ending realistically, but the story just sort of slowed down and gave out around the end; it just doesn't resolve the story or give any payout for all the tension that you've built up.

Well shoot, you got me crying again. I was always expecting that it wouldn't be a happy happy ending, so I wasn't surprised that Aiden died, but the fact that James died threw me for a loop.

And then there is the little child in my heart going "When Liam dies, he and Aiden are going to be happy in heaven, right?!"

>> 7966

Either sage, or learn to not show spoilers. Or both, preferably.

I'm not angry - already read the whole thing - but just sayin'. Some people might not have read any or all of the fic, see your comment there, and then BAM! the whole ending is ruined for them.

If nothing else, block out the names of those who died. Obviously, you can't <i>now</i>, but this is just for future reference.

Also, I hope I just did <i>my</i> post correctly, because this is me delurking, and I've never posted in a Chan before.

And damn, apparently I DIDN'T do my formatting correctly.

I love the tragic ending, even if it breaks my heart. It's always been sad and gut wrenching so I sort of expected it. Good work, Corvine, I look forward to your next project.

Also:

>>7966
Tentaspies don't go to heaven

Aaand since I already had two up, putting one more just so the one with the spoilers is gone from the front page.

(Also, apologies for not remembering to sage the second post. Mind you, this thread was already at the top, so... guess it didn't matter. Heh.)

>>7957 and sighed in exasperation, lmfao

>>7939 Christ, Corvine, I've never read anything like this. I don't think anyone has. It's seldom that a writer actually writes an adult fanfic and doesn't make it all sex and some plot (although we mostly do prefer it this way 'cause we totally want to get our rocks off). I admit that it did make me terribly sad when Aiden passed, but I can't say I wasn't expecting it. You know you're good when you make these people cry.
It's great to see that somebody did try the "unsatisfying ending" route and I admit that I actually enjoyed this; reading posts which note peoples' dislike for it, I've decided I must be some sort of literary masochist.
It was such fun to follow this fic the past month and I'm going to be printing off a copy to keep with me in case of, you know, (totally not self-indulgence) chan disaster or something.
Please don't let this be the last fic you write here.

All that being said, I'm going to go read this again.

Thank you, Corvine.

Okay, NOW I've cried. ;____;

But then, with the way I like to imagine Heaven (at least for dead characters), they're going to be very happy dead together.

...

*sob*

>>7939
Shit man. I mean, I knew it was coming, there really wasn't any other way for this to end... doesn't make it hurt less, you know?

I don't think I ever commented on this story, but I want to let you know that I loved it, got excited about EVERY update and while sad that it's over, am really glad you didn't make the ending all happy. It's so appropriate how you ended it that I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Amazing. I do believe i've decided this fanfiction is my favorite.

Do expect more fanart from me. But later, because right now I am sniffling.

>> 8000

Thankya, thankya. And more fanart? Is there fanart I am unaware of?

>>8004
http://www.tf2chan.net/workshop/res/797.html
Third image down.

My stomach kind of hurts, and I'm not sure if that's what I get for staying up until 4:40 AM to read the entirety of this glorious epic tale, or if that's me choking back hard on tears.

I will definitely be contacting you for information on more delicious (PUBLISHED?) writing. ♥

Oh my god...I'm gonna cry...this is so sweet and sad...This was so well written...-Sobs-

>>8394

^half-considered going all "Sage, dammitRAWR!", but on second thought...^
This fic's already done, and it totally deserved the bump.

EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS, IF THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY!

>>8400
>^half-considered going all "Sage, dammitRAWR!", but on second thought...^
Good, because you would have been temp banned. Bitching at people for not saging is against the rules and gets you a one-hour ban so you can think about the fact that you're being even more annoying than people who bump threads.

I'm actually pretty glad Anon bumped this, since I'd forgotten to save half of this thread's story!

Corvine - wow, just. I don't even know where to start. I mean, I'm usually one for the fluffy, happy endings, and I would have been completely fine with Aiden and Liam being able to escape together with the good doctors and living in France and actually being happy. They'd deserve that kind of ending, after all they've been through.

And yet? While my happy-ending isn't here, I still find myself satisfied with this story on the whole, and with the ending in particular. On some level, I'd expected Aiden to go down fighting, and really, the only thing that I didn't care for in the ending was the final Dr. Lee scene (the bit with the syringe). Aiden was, prior to this point, such a strong-willed guy, and then it seems like he just gives up -- and maybe he does. Maybe that was the intent, I don't know. But I thought I'd let you know that, honestly, that was the only point of contention I have with this fic.

So, whatever, this is way too many words to say, "Thanks, Corvine, really."

>>8401

^blinks and goes to re-read the rules, 'cause apparently missed that part^ Oopsie! Thanks for lettin' me know!

>>8406
Additionally, quit going ^does shit in third person^. That's covered under "Don't type like you're underage," which is also against the rules.

Oh. Will do.

Sorry, didn't realize that counted.

Came as fast as I could

Is a link to the first thread possible? I want to be cool and included too.

Sage for the need of the few.

Oh awesome writing but way too sad ending... ;_; Quel dommage.

Like Anon >>8404 says: "the only thing that I didn't care for in the ending was the final Dr. Lee scene (the bit with the syringe). Aiden was, prior to this point, such a strong-willed guy, and then it seems like he just gives up -- and maybe he does."

IMO Aiden deserved to be able to tear Lee's throat out or make him die very slowly and painfully; he should not have meekly submitted to the syringe.

If this had a relatively satisfactory or even ambiguous ending, I'd save the entire damned thing to disk. however, I've had a very F-ing bad 2009, and way too many people close to me have actually died plenty before their time (Cancer is a g-d bitch, and vehicular accidents a close second ), so forgive me if I am now a sucker for reading at least ambiguously hopeful open-ended endings.

@Other Anon >>8676: Link to first part: http://www.tf2chan.net/afanfic/res/6897.html