Innisfree

I Will Arise and Go Now

"Go ahead."

William Bell was unfazed by the gun Peter had on his chest. He was ready to die, after all.

His plan was already in motion. He had used Olivia as his power source to fuel his Big Bang. Creatures he had created to inhabit his new world filled his boat - his Noah's Ark. Whether or not he lived to see them usher in a new world and age didn't matter; he knew he had achieved his ultimate goal.

"I will not be the first god to be martyred for creation."

Peter's hand was shaking. No matter how angry he was, he couldn't bring himself to shoot Bell.

Similarly, Walter's hands were shaking, too. He had a gun in his hand as well. He had a perfect opportunity to do what he planned to do: kill Olivia. After all, Olivia was the only thing keeping Bell's plan in motion; if she died, so would Bell's new world.

But, he couldn't. What if he couldn't bring her back? What if the Cortexiphan in her body wasn't nearly enough to regenerate her back to life? And, most importantly, what would Peter think of him?

Still, Walter had to make a decision. His chance wouldn't last long. His choice would decide the fate of the universe - universes, actually - and nobody else could make that choice for him.

"Forgive me," Walter said, his eyes welling up, overwhelmed by the weight of the world on his shoulders. In the end, he was just a man, slave to his emotions.

So he gave in. He dropped the gun he was holding. He knelt on the floor. And he wept.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, tears flowing down his cheeks, "I can't."

"Oh, Walter. You never did learn your lesson from the past." Bell said.

Bell stood up and approached Walter. Peter, still pointing his gun at him, shouted, "Hey!"

"Peter, you and I both know you're not gonna shoot me." Bell said to him, before crouching next to Walter. Peter, realizing Bell was right, lowered his gun.

"Walter, what's going on?" Peter asked, frantic. Olivia went beside Peter. Even she didn't understand what was happening. Why did Walter have a gun? What was he planning to do?

"You know you have to pay a steep price, Walter. You're very clever, old friend. But, you're not strong. In a way, you've helped me set to stone my legacy. Our legacy," William told the sobbing Walter, "as gods."

Then, Olivia grabbed the gun Peter was holding, startling him. She took three steps away from him, pointing the gun... at Bell. He remained calm.

"Olive, I thought you understood." Bell said, taking on a fatherly tone. "Threatening me won't change a thing. Nothing will."

"Step away from him," she said, firmly holding her own against Bell, "or I'll make it hurt."

Bell smirked. "I don't think you understand what Walter was about to do, Olivia. And you as well, Peter." he said.

"Walter, tell me what's happening and how to stop it." Peter said.

Walter sniffed, and replied, "There's nothing I can do, Peter. I'm sorry."

"Still doing what you do best, I see." Bell remarked.

CRAAAASSSSSHHHHHH! A booming sound roared outside the boat, as if the sky were being split apart. And, as Peter looked out the window, he saw it looked like it, too.

"It's too late, Olive." Bell stood up, and took a deep breath. He was ready for whatever was about to happen. "I didn't expect to come out of here alive, and yet here we all are. About to witness the most wondrous event in the history of the world. A fitting end."

SKRRRRRREEEEEEEEE! Everything was shaking now. Peter lost his balance, and so did Bell. Olivia almost did, too, but it was as if something were holding her together.

No, it was as if she were holding something together. The two universes.

"Oh, no." Walter saw what Olivia was doing. She'll die, he thought.

"What's she doing?" Peter asked, almost shouting because of the crashing and screeching outside.

"She's trying to keep the universes from breaking." Bell replied. "And she's stronger than I anticipated."

"What's going to happen to her?"

"That depends on how long she can keep doing it." Walter answered. But he knew, it can't be that long.

Meanwhile, Olivia, her eyes closed, tried to hold her own. She felt the pain, like trying to keep an entire building from crumbling down after an earthquake with her bare hands, except a thousand times more massive. But, she had to keep everything together. To keep herself from slipping away, she thought about the things she was doing this for - the things she loved. Especially the people she loved.

"Peter." She muttered, but it was drowned out by the deafening sounds produced by the chaos.

Olivia started screaming. The pain was becoming too much to bear. Every cell of her body has been drowned of energy. My power, my strength, she thought, it isn't enough. The entire fate of the universes was in her hands now, and she felt that she was failing. It wasn't her fault - no one person would be able to keep two broken universes together. But she had felt like it was her responsibility, like she always had. And she couldn't fulfill it.

She was overwhelmed by the weight of the world on her shoulders. In the end, she was just human, slave to her limitations.

She had to let go.

CRAAAAACCCCCCKKKKKKK! It was the sound of whole universes shattering like delicate glass.

"What's happening?" Peter asked.

"She's letting go." Bell replied.

"She could only hold everything together for so long, son." Walter said.

"What'll happen to her?" Peter asked once more.

WHOOOOOSSSSSHHHHHH! Suddenly, everything was quiet. Everything stopped shaking. For a moment, the whole world was silent and still.

"The better question, Peter, is what'll happen to all of us." Bell stood up again, preparing himself once more. "And the answer to that question is something wonderful."

For a moment, the whole world was. Then it wasn't.