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"So you tell me, where is my husband? Where is my daughter?" Mia's voice cuts through the air sharper with each word. She shoves Chris forward, anger building higher.
Chris whispers, "Ethan is...He's gone." Mia feels shock current through her body. She stumbles backwards. Ethan? Gone? "I couldn't save him. But I can save Rose."
The room shakes violently, and Chris motions for her to follow. "Come on, it's not safe here after all."
"What do you mean, he's gone?" Mia cries and rushes after Chris. Her mind is whirling with a million possibilities, but none make sense to her.
"He's dead," Chris replies, short, never turning to her. The regret clings to his voice, but in his words, she feels hope begin to rise again. "I'm sorry, Mia, but we have to leave. We have to destroy the village."
"No! You're wrong..." Mia exclaims. She gulps as the words die on her tongue. She never wants to share this. It is a secret she has buried deep inside her, but if it will help Ethan..."I tried to keep this a secret, but..." She pauses, deep breath. "You don't understand how special he is."
Chris turns then to stare at her. "What does that mean? Mia, I saw the dead body." But Mia is furiously shaking her head. "His injuries, Mia, you tell me how he could survive..." he stops. Mia understands however it happened Chris does not know how to tell her.
"Tell me," she steps forward. She has read of how much the molded survived, but even she knows her husband may have limits. "Tell me, Chris."
"Miranda ripped his heart out," Chris hisses. He refuses to look at her; his emotions bubbling hot and dangerous beneath the surface. The violent act is enough to end most people, but Mia knows better.
She places a hand to his arm earnestly. "Take me to him."
"Too dangerous," Chris is all action again. "We have to get you to safety, and I need to get to Miranda."
Something buzzes in Chris' ear before Mia can protest further. She watches as a million emotions cross his face. No confirmation is needed to know what Chris has just been told. His eyes shoot to Mia. "How is this possible?" he barks into the mic. "And you're sure? This isn't some trick by Miranda?"
Chris ends the call and stares right at her. "You tell me how your husband is fighting Miranda as we speak."
Mia smiles, but it's tense. The fight is hardly over. "I told you he was special." She moves past him and begins to ascend the stone steps. "But he needs our help."
Chris jogs up behind her. "There's no 'we' here, Mia. You are meeting up with the rest of the team and getting the hell to safety."
"You seem to forget my background, Chris," Mia says evenly. She preps the gun she just retrieved from his belt. He looks surprised, but she doesn't have time for amusement. "And I'm not abandoning my husband."
"Fine but I lead," Chris answers. “And only because we don’t have time to argue about this.” She nods tersely before following quickly behind him.
The ground shakes more once they reach topside. Mia looks in astonishment at how much the village has changed in the short time she has been held prisoner. Chris advises they are heading to the ceremony site, but Mia almost does not want to know what they are doing to Rose.
"Dammit," Chris curses and comes to a sudden stop. He moves again just as quickly, but Mia recognizes the issue: a wall of black ooze she has seen more than needed in one lifetime blocks the path. "I can't see how to break in."
"Of course not," she shouts back, racing off to help try to find a way in. The wall is thick, and she doubts even a chainsaw or bomb will help. They are not welcome to this final battle. Chris jogs up beside her. "Miranda wants it between her and him."
Chris watches her for a moment before commenting, "If anyone can win..." he trails off then.
"I know," Mia whispers. It is the one calming force as her heart beats mercilessly. Ethan Winters, when set to a task, is an almost immovable force. Mia can only hope he does not destroy himself in the process.
Suddenly, the ground shakes one last horrible time, and Mia's breath nearly strangles her as it catches in her throat. But then the black mold begins to crumble, and hope blossoms again.
Mia takes off before Chris can stop her. She rushes through the crumbling mess and spies with joy her husband standing several feet away with Rose in his arms.
Then he crashes to his knees.
"Ethan! Ethan!" Mia cries and slides up next to him. Her arms reach for his and keeps him from falling forward. She notices in horror his right hand has crumbled.
"Mia?" Ethan murmurs. He lifts his head, and she catches his face to hold him still. "Is-is?" He coughs and doubles forward. Mia knows his body is failing. She exchanges a tense look with Chris. They have to get him to safety immediately.
The ground shakes terribly as a large mass grows behind him. "Dammit!" Mia exclaims. "Ethan, we have to go." But her husband seems incapable of moving. "Ethan!"
"I've got him," Chris grunts. "Take Rose." Mia grabs her baby girl and holds her tightly. Rose coos in her arms, and Mia does her best to shelter her. "This might hurt, Ethan," Chris warns before dragging Ethan to his feet and hoisting him into his arms. Ethan moans at the movement, but gratefully, Mia does not see any other body part crumble. "We gotta move. C'mon."
Mia hurries as quickly as she dares with Rose in her arms. She hears Chris' directions as they race through the village. The ground is crumbling around them as the Megamycete consumes everything in sight. She refuses to even ask how they will defeat it hoping in the end Chris has a plan.
"There's the plane!" Chris shouts. His long legs have allowed him to take the lead despite his much heavier bundle. Mia blinks until she sees it whirling on the ground hundreds of feet away.
"What about the megamycete?" Mia calls. The plane will do them no good if they are unable to get far from the giant force surrounding them.
"That's what a bomb is for!" Chris answers back. It better be a damn powerful one, Mia thinks, but she lets the rest of the questions die as she makes her way to the ramp.
Her feet click across the metal. "Get us off the ground!" Chris barks. He rests Ethan on the floor and rushes back to the entrance of the plane. Mia slides beside Ethan and reaches for his hand before being reminded how his body is crumbling. "Hold tight everyone. This place is about to blow."
Mia's mind is elsewhere, however, with her daughter held tightly to her breast and her eyes focused on her husband struggling to breathe. "Come on, Ethan. Not now. Not after everything."
His head moves just the slightest as he must catch her voice over all the noise. An explosion rocks the plane, and Mia swings her head to stare out the windows as the angry clouds of smoke and fire raise. She looks back to see Ethan has gone glassy eyed. "No, no, no. Dammit, Ethan, not now. Stay with me! You can't leave Rose and I now. You're not leaving us. You can't!"
The words of guilt pour from her mouth; the only ammunition she knows can pull him through. Ethan moves to speak, but the words die in his throat. His eyes grow wide in clear panic, and it takes Mia a second to realize what is happening. Opaque crystals climb from where his hand crumbled. Mia reaches for his hoodie and sees in horror they have crossed his stomach. His left hand grasps to her arm, and she jerks her head to look up at him. Ethan stares at her in desperation, and her heart shatters knowing she cannot stop this.
"You have to fight it, Ethan!" she nearly screams. But how can he? Does he even know what is happening? He never receives the training and the answers she realizes now she should have given him. Ethan always fights his condition on pure instincts, and regret cannot help her now. "Fight this!'
But either he is out of time or Ethan simply cannot find the right path to follow. His head falls with a clunk as the last of the crystal consumes his body. Only his hand remains where it was, still clinging to her arm. "No!" Mia screams. "No! Ethan, please. Please, Ethan, please." She falls sobbing against his chest. This can't be happening. They didn't survive Dulvey just to have it end like this. The world cannot be so cruel to them. Ethan must survive.
"Chris," Mia pulls herself up and finds the man sitting only a few feet away watching Ethan. "Take us back to our home now."
"Mia," Chris begins hesitantly. He shakes his head. "It's not safe. We don't know-"
"I. said. NOW!" Mia stands and squares up before Chris. "You owe us this. You owe Ethan this."
Chris sighs and turns to nod to someone behind them. "What can you find there that will help?"
Mia doesn't hesitate to answer. "You think I gave up everything from my time with the Connections? When my husband was now a man of mold?"
Chris looks surprised. Whether it is because of the revelation that she smuggled Connections material into her home or Ethan's true condition, Mia will never know, and she admits she doesn't care either. Chris finally replies with, "How long have you known this about Ethan?"
"It doesn't matter," Mia responds evenly. "Just get us home."
Mia collapses upon the bench and pulls Rose close to her. Tears drip down her cheek as she watches over Ethan.
They have to land miles from their home in order to avoid detection. They smuggle Ethan's body into the back of a large SUV, one Chris assures her is bulletproof. It is unlikely anyone would guess to track them here, but they did leave the village with a grand conclusion.
“Rose should stay in the car,” Chris begins once they arrive outside the place Mia has called home for nearly three years. She sees the front door open, and Chris must remember something because he coughs awkwardly. “The mess is from me, sorry, but I mean what I said. Rose isn’t safe in the house. We can protect her better here.”
Mia nods before pressing a kiss to Rose's forehead. She lays Rose in the arms of a stranger and trusts her daughter will be safe. “I promise your father and I will return,” she whispers and turns tearfully to the exit. The walk to the house is slow and agonizing. She examines the destruction Chris and his team left behind, and she decides to not ask whose blood is on the floor.
“Take him to the bedroom,” Mia instructs Chris. “I’ll be there in a few moments.” He agrees, and Mia steps past the kitchen to a secret alcove she found once they moved. She remembers planning to hide her materials in a trunk upstairs but is overjoyed to find this. She pulls out everything she has left praying it will work.
“What do you have?” Chris questions.
“Lots of things,” Mia drags a small stand next to the bed and begins to pull out her supplies. “But mostly treatments to control the mold and Eveline back in the day. Only the Connections have these formulas to my knowledge, and I doubt anyone will be willing to share.” Cool air hits her face as she opens a small box. She holds it up and examines it closely.
“And this will work?” Chris asks.
Mia sighs. “I’m not sure.” She walks to the bedside and slips her hand into Ethan’s cool, crystallized one. “Most are designed to counter the effects of the mold or flush it out of their system. We can’t exactly flush out what Ethan is. But I’m hoping this will counter the effects and allow him to stabilize. He has the ability to heal himself if he can figure it out.” And if he isn’t too far gone, she thinks.
She leans down and presses a quick kiss to his forehead. “Okay Ethan, we can do this together. I need you to find a way back to me, baby. I know you can.”
Mia finds a place on his arm less crystallized than the other and presses the needle through. She pushes down and watches until the last of the liquid has disappeared. “Now we wait,” she announces.
Chris pulls up a pair of chairs. Mia thanks him and sits down. “How long?”
“Dunno,” she confesses. “If it works, maybe minutes? Maybe hours? His body has seen better days.” She watches her husband praying for a sign of life. “We might have had more success if we had his heart.”
“Miranda destroyed it,” Chris comments. Of course she did.
Mia rages. “Good thing that bitch is dead, or I’d kill her myself.” Chris offers the faintest smile at her response but wisely stays silent.
Time is the slowest when you wait for a miracle. Mia stares at Ethan until her eyes begin to dip from exhaustion. Chris brings her food, but she has no appetite. She can only focus on Ethan.
The sun has long set when Chris nudges her arm. He points to Ethan. “Am I crazy, or is his skin changing color?”
She turns to look closely, her heart beating wildly. “It is!” A patch, no bigger than a quarter, has appeared near his elbow. Hope springs in her chest as little my little it spreads. Ethan’s natural color returns, and Mia watches in wonder as his hand grows from his wrist.
“M-Mia?” A soft voice calls for her. Tears cloud her vision as she turns and locks eyes with her husband. “How? Whe-where am I?”
“Home,” she cries and drops into him. Ethan lets out a painful moan, and Mia leans back with a hundred apologies. She cups his cheek. “You made it. I can’t-no, I can. You always find a way back.”
Ethans blinks several times. He suddenly reaches up with alarm. “Where’s Rose?”
“Safe,” Mia answers with a smile. “You saved her.”
Ethan relaxes into the pillows. “And you? It’s really you? I’m not dead?” Mia hesitates. He looks down. “Well, no more than normal I guess.”
“It’s me,” Mia pulls his hand up to press soft kisses into his palm. “And I’m so sorry for not telling you. I wanted to. I just didn’t know how.”
“I know,” he reassures her. Fresh tears flow just from watching him smile and realizing how close they were to losing it all.
Soft babbling interrupts them, and Mia turns to find Chris stepping into the bedroom with Rose in his arms. “I figured you might want to see her.” He walks over to pass Rose to Ethan. “It’s good to see you again, Ethan.”
“Thank you for everything,” Ethan says. He bounces Rose gently.
“Thank Mia,” Chris returns. He lays a hand on her back. “She is the one who insisted we bring you here for treatment.”
“My hero,” Ethan grins, and Mia laughs. “I’m being serious!”
“I know.” Mia drops to kiss him, and it is for Rose’s sake only she pulls back after several moments. “Besides, it was my turn to save you after everything you did for me in Dulvey.”
Ethan chuckles. “This is a shitty way to get even.” Mia shakes her head, but she smiles despite herself. He sighs, still clearly exhausted from another near death experience. “But we promise each other we stop the life and death harrowing adventures. I’m ready to retire.”
“It’s a deal,” Mia agrees. He slides over and pats for her to join beside him. Mia does and slips her arm across his stomach before resting her head into his chest. From somewhere just below his skin, Mia hears the steady beat of Ethan’s heart. She grins and looks back up at Ethan, grateful Miranda and a host of monsters failed to keep them apart in the end.