It was all darkness and oddly enough that sense of absolute nothingness was welcome. Maybe she was choosing to remain uncocnious because it was an easy way to avoid everything that was going on.

"Time to wake up." She heard someone say more clearly as they grabbed her face more forcefully. Their touch was rough but it wasn't enough for her to finally be able to get some grasp of consciousness.

"Don't touch her!" Another familiar voice yelled and this time it was enough to force her to try to open her eyes.

Gemma's head was throbbing as she slowly opened her eyes struggling with the bright lights all around her. It took a moment for all the memories to come rushing back to her, but when they did her eyes flew wide open. It was her instinct to try to stand but when she did she realized that she was tied down to a chair, from the soreness in her arms she it was easy to assume that she had been tied to it for a couple of hours.

When she looked up she felt her moth got dry at the sight of Jaime entrapped in a large device. She wasn't entirely sure what it was for but what little she knew off Victoria Kord suggested that she had to have some kind of plan on how to remove the Scarab from Jaime.

"Jaime?" She said softly horrified by what she was seeing.

"I'm okay." He told her even though he was clearly anything but. There were tears in his eyes and he had to be just as scared as she was.

"Untie her Sanchez." Victoria ordered one of the men who was standing decide the device that was containing Jaime.

"With all due respect, my name, again, is not Sanchez." He replied softly clearly afraid of Victoria Kord, and considering everything that she had done Gemma couldn't blame him. She was scared of what the woman was capable of doing to them if she didn't get what she wanted.

As he untied her she realized that Victoria Kord didn't consider her any kind of threat if she wanted her free from the restraints. But it only made her being here all the more confusing. Once she was untied Gemma slowly got to her feeling finally looking away from Jaime and to Victoria Kord who looked rather bored.

"Why am I here?" Gemma questioned doing her best to not seem as angry and afraid as she felt.

"Listen, kid. The Scarab chose you, that's true. But it doesn't belong to you. It belongs to me." Victoria Kord stated her tone just as condescending as always, talking down to Jaime as if he were a clueless child. "But now that you've activated it, we can transfer its code directly into the O.M.A.C."

Gemma practically felt her heart stop in her chest. She had studied her father's plans for the O.M.A.C. and from the little that she knew about the Scarab what Victoria Kord wanted seemed impossible.  "He could die."

"And if you don't do it you'll die." Victoria Kord said dismissively as if having her killed was an easy decision to make. It was something that Gemma simply couldn't understand. How could it possibly be so easy to get someone killed? Maybe Gemma tended to care too much but it was better than being so heartless. "The choice is yours."

"Kill me then." Gemma replied, the choice being easy for her. She had spent years studying medicine to save people not hurt them.

"Gemma no!" Jaime exclaimed. "Just do what she says."

"Carapax."

"I help people I don't hurt them." She continued before Carapax suddenly stepped in front of her striking her across the face. The force from the hit had her falling to the ground, it shocked her to have someone hit her. She supposed that it spoke of her own privilege that she had never been hit or witnessed any kind of violence.

"Gemma!" Jaime yelled but she couldn't even look up to meet his eyes as her eyes filled with tears from the pain. She could taste her own blood in her mouth, and when she put her fingers to her lips seeing them coated in blood made her realize that Carapax did not hold back when he hit her.

"I asked nicely. Now I'm ordering for you to do what they say." Victoria Kord stated and there was something about her tone that made it clear that there wasn't going to be another chance for Gemma to refuse.

Gemma looked over to Jaime as she slowly got back to her feet not about to let herself seem weak in front of these people. She had never thought of herself as a particularly strong person but she wasn't about to let herself get humiliated.

"Can I talk to him?" Gemma questioned knowing that the plan that was slowly coming together in her mind had very little chance in succeeding but it was the only chance that they had. "I just want to say good-bye."

Victoria Kord rolled her eyes undoubtedly thinking of it as a large waste of time, but if Gemma wanted any chance of making it all work she needed to talk to Jaime. "Make it quick."

Gemma walked forward towards the device that had Jaime. Walking up the steps to the platform she went over everything that could possibly go wrong whether what she was thinking would

"Do you trust me?" Gemma whispered as she met Jaime's eyes.

"Yes." He replied without hesitation, but the truth was that Gemma didn't even trust herself. This was a gamble that she wasn't sure she could win.

"You need to let Khaji-Da take over. You need to become one." She said softly for only Jaime hear and as she did she stepped forward again. Wrapping her arms around his neck she hugged him knowing that Victoria Kord was probably expecting some kind of emotional good-bye form them. "It's the only way. If you do it even with the code transfer it will be a permanent part of you. It will keep you alive."

"Okay."

Gemma pulled away needing to see his reaction to what she was about to say next. "It's going to hurt a lot."

Jaime only nodded like he expected as much. "I trust you."

"I'm sorry." Gemma said this time not bothering to whisper it, it was best for them to hear. But Gemma's apology was genuine even if she didn't know what she was apologizing for. Was she saying sorry because he had lost his father? Or because she knew she was about to put him in an immeasurable amount of pain? Maybe it was both.

Gemma didn't wait for his response as she turned around and walked down the steps towards who she assumed was Victoria Kord's head scientist. They were over two hours into working on the device when they finally finished.

She knew she had delayed it long enough and it was only a matter of time before Victoria Kord became suspicious. Having worked in silence the majority of the time only talking to one another when it related to how to successfully complete the transfer made it difficult for Gemma to form an opinion on the man that Victoria called Sanchez. But the fact that he couldn't even meet her eyes made her feel like maybe he did feel guilty over all of this.

"Even if this works she's going to kill him." He whispered, and although Gemma had to admit that she typically wasn't the best at reading people she could see kindness in the man's eyes. That there was some part of him that didn't want to do this, and she could only hope that it would be enough.

"What's your name?" She whispered.

"Jose."

"Well, Jose if this works Jaime will get us out of here." Gemma said confidently knowing that if her plan did work Jaime would save them. It was the only hope that they had and she trusted Jaime enough to know that he wasn't one to give up even after all the horrible things that had happened to him over the last three days.

He simply nodded as he walked over to Carapax beginning to prepare him for the transfer. This was going to be just as painful for him as it was going to be for Jaime. But the man was blinded by his loyalty to Victoria that he couldn't see that she was simply using him.

"He's ready." Jose stated as he looked over at Gemma, she hadn't noticed how badly her hands were shaking until she started to flip the switched that would initiate the transfer. As she did she couldn't help but look at Jaime who only offered her an encouraging smile that was gone in seconds as replaced by his screams of pain.

But Jaime wasn't the only one screaming as his screams were soon overpowered by the ones coming from Carapax.

"Miss Kord, this... this isn't looking good." Jose informed as he pulled up another screen showing how quickly the power source from the islands was depleting. While working on the device Gemma had ensured that it would require large amounts of energy in hopes that she could fry the system and the the transfer wouldn't be able to be completed.

It was a temporary fix to their problem, but it was one that would hopefully give her enough time to think about something better.

The smile on Victoria Kord's face disappeared as she began to frown at the news. "What's going on?"

"Oh, no." Jose said panic beginning to take a hold as the lights began to flicker around them. Gemma wasn't entirely sure whether it was a good or a bad sign. She could only hope that it meant that their plan was working. "The Scarab download is generating too much power. Our systems are spiking."

"What does it mean?"

"The transfer is killing him." Gemma said slowly when an alarm from the computer that was monitoring Jaime's vitals went off. In that moment Jaime lost consciousness and she knew that if he didn't accept him connection with Khaji-Da soon that he would die. Then it would have all been for nothing and she simply could accept that.

Victoria eyes went wide with fury as she walked across the room to where Gemma was seated. "He can't die before the transfer is completed."

"His pulse is dropping."

"Well, just fix it!" The woman snapped, but the problem was that there was no fixing it. The only solution was to stop the transfer and that was simply an option that Victoria Kord would not accept.

Suddenly the alarm stopped and Jaime's pulse began to steady. "Something's happening."

"His brainwaves, they're syncing with the Scarab's frequency." Jose clarified to Victoria as he pointed to another screen that was showing how Jaime's frequency was slowly beginning to match the Scarab. "Right there. They're connecting."

"They're becoming one." Gemma confirmed unable to contain the sigh of relief that left her lips.

"But we've got the code?" Victoria Kord questioned as soon as everything around them went black. The entire island had probably lost power, but seconds later the lights from the backup generator lite the emergency lights around them.

"The transfer's complete." Jose confirmed as he looked down at the tablet in his hands.

Unfortunately Gemma had failed entirely because the transfer had been successful even after depleting all of the islands power source. Jaime was still unconscious and even if he had successfully connected to the Scarab, their chances of escaping were slim.

Carapax's screaming becoming louder with every passing second that it sent chills through Gemma's body. Finally looking away from Jaime Gemma turned her attention to Carapax for the first time seeing how that Scarab's code had fully integrated to the O.M.A.C system.

It was like a scene from a horror movie the way that the metal plates slowly began to cover his body turning into armor.

"The code is ours." Victoria Kord declared before as the armor continued to make Carapax even stronger than before.

In that moment Gemma couldn't help but panic and she knew that if she wanted to act she had to do it now that everyone was distracted. Slowly moving to the closest computer she overrode that system releasing Jaime from the restraints from the machine before sending a power surge through the back of generators.

In an instant the lights went out before there the device that held Jaime released a strong blue energy burst. It was so strong that it dent everyone flying in different directions around the room, it was reaction that Gemma had not predicted.

The moment that Gemma hit the wall across the room she was sure that she had to be dead, or at least very close to it considering how much pain shot through her entire body. Had she known that the device would react that way she would have tried to find cover somewhere. But that hardy mattered anymore, all that mattered was that it had worked.

"Come on princesa we need to get out of here." Jaime suddenly appeared as he rushed to help her back on her feet. Gemma didn't even have a chance to feel relieved that he was okay considering that there simply wasn't time for it, even if all she currently really wanted was to close her eyes and stay on the floor. "Can you walk?"

"I think so." Gemma replied as she fought through the pain that had taken over her entire body. As they began running towards the door Gemma still needed to lean on Jaime for some support still needing time to get her strength back.

"Sanchez, stop them!" Victoria Kord yelled but Gemma didn't want to risk turning back and seeing where she was. There wasn't even a second for them to waste if they wanted to escape.

Carapax was still screaming from the effects of the transfer, but it was only a matter of time before he was able to fully access the new strength that the Scarab code had given him.

Jose met them at the steel door as he manually opened the door. In that moment it felt as if maybe luck was on their side, because without Jose there was no knowing if they would be able to figure our how to open the door in time.

"Get your family and get off this island, okay?"

"Wait, wait, wait." Jaime paused, his face going pale by the realization that his family was here. It shouldn't have really been a surprise that they would have found a way together on this island to try to save Jaime. They all loved each other too much for it to be any other way. "My family?"

"Quickly!" Jose urged again as he opened the large steel door.

"Sanchez, you moron. What are you doing?" They heard Victoria Kord yell, and they knew it was only a matter of time before Carapax regained his strength, that is if the transfer didn't end up killing him.

"My name is not Sanchez, pendeja! It's Jose Francisco Morales Rivera de la Cruz!" He yelled before closing the door once Gemma and Jaime had stepped out. It took Gemma a moment to realize what was happening her mind still felt blurry, but when she met Jose's eyes her mind quickly cleared up as she realized that he was sacrificing himself.

He offered her a sad smile, because he knew just as well as she did that Victoria Kord would have him killed for betraying her.

"Wait no." Gemma said as reached out trying to turn the handle to the door but it was already locked shot. Jose's encouraging smile never left his lips even as Carapax came up behind hime. They wouldn't see what happened next because the small window was suddenly covered in blood.

Jaime pulled Gemma away from the door as he held her while she tried to process what had just happened. She had assured Jose that they would find a way off of the island, but Gemma didn't have time to process her guilt before there was a loud bang was heard from the other side of the steel door.

Carapax was trying to get to them, he was stronger than ever now. If she was being completely honest Gemma was surprised that the transfer hadn't killed him, but he seemed to be used to high amounts of pain like the one he had just experienced.

"Okay, Khaji, come on. Okay. All right, Khaji, activate!" Jaime yelled becoming with every passing second that Kaji-Da chose not to respond. He knew as well as she did that without Khaji-Da they had no chance of making it our of the island alive. "Rebooting? Are you kidding me? Okay, Khaji. All right, Khaji-Da."

"Jaime we have to keep moving." Gemma urged knowing that they didn't have time to try to figure out what was happening with Khaji-da, Victoria Kord had hundreds of men working for her and it was only a matter of time before they were found.

She didn't fully believe that they would even get very far but she still wanted to try. They needed to get off the island or whether ever they were. It wasn't in Gemma's nature to give up when there was a problem that needed solving.

And luckily Jaime realized that what Gemma was saying was true. They didn't have time to wait around and hope that Khaji-da would come back. Taking her hand they began running through the hallways with no idea where they were going but hoping that they would find any kind of exit.

Gemma was quickly losing her breath as the pain she felt throughout her body got worse. She had been hoping that the adrenaline would kick in and that she would be able to keep pushing forward but with every step that seemed less likely. Jaime began to notice as he started to slow down but just as they did as least a dozen armed men turned the corner.

"Freeze! Stay right there!" One of them ordered their voice echoing through the hallway.

Jaime and Gemma had no other choice but to freeze with so many guns pointed at them. They both knew that this was it and that they would be brought back to Victoria Kord who would undoubtedly order for them to be killed now that she got what she wanted from the both of them. Regardless of the fact that all the odds were against them Jaime stepped in front of Gemma.

Before she could even think about what was going to happen next what sounded like a gunshot echoed through the hallway. Instinctively Gemma closed her eyes as multiple rounds went off again, and Gemma couldn't help but wonder if she was dead now. There was no way that he and Jaime survived if all of Victoria Kord's men shot them.

But when the sound of gun fire was replaced by silence Gemma opened her eyes to find Jaime's grandmother standing at the other end of the hallway with a large weapon in her hand. All of the men were laying either unconscious of dead all down the hallway, and Gemma knew that there was no way of hiding her shock.

"Nana?" Jaime questioned just as shocked as she was.

"Come on." Nana ordered as she gestured for them to move forward with the weapon.

"Okay." Jaime replied slowly as they began to follow his Nana through the tunnel. " Where did you learn to shoot like that?"

"I'll tell you later." She dismissed as she held her weapon up high, as if it were natural for her to carry it. Gemma couldn't help but be incredibly confused as she continued waking through the tunnels, but feeling safe knowing that Jaime's nana clearly knew what she was doing. "Keep your eyes peeled."

Jaime took Gemma's hand again as the quickened their pace through the tunnels. Although Gemma had the feeling that nothing about Jaime's grandmother should surprise her, she still wondered how she knew her way around the tunnels. As the made a sharp turn they came to a sudden stop at the fight of six of Victoria's men with their guns pointed at them again.

With a wave of her hand Jaime's nana motioned for them to get behind her as she suddenly began to fire her weapon at all the men without a moment of hesitation.

"Abajo los imperialistas!" Nana yelled as she released a battle cry while easy taking out all the armed men in a matter of seconds.

Jaime looked over at Gemma with wide eyes almost like he wanted to confirm that she was seeing what he was. Seeing it for a second time was just as shocking as watching it happen the first time. There had to be a very interesting story behind how she was able to do what she did. But they didn't even have time to really be shocked as they began running through the hallways again until they finally reached a door that led outside.

Gemma practically released a sigh of relief at the sight of the blue beetle shaped aircraft waiting for them outside. It looked as ridiculous as the rest of Ted Kord's inventions but all that mattered was that it could get them off the island.

With all the strength that she had left they all rushed up the steps and into the aircraft. The moment that Jaime stepped inside his mother rushed forward and pulled him into a tight hug. Gemma stepped away from them giving them space, but there was something lonely about not having someone to be happy about her return. She had never really though about her own loneliness, not until she met the Reyes and saw what a family was supposed to look like.

"Milagro. Where is she?" Jaime questioned as he looked around clearly confused as to why his sister wasn't there.

"Milagro, Jenny and Javier. They're in there." His mother replied and the relief she felt from seeing her son again was gone. Milagros was still out there meaning that they couldn't leave and that complicated everything so much more now that Carapax was more powerful than before.

Gemma didn't know why she was surprised that Javier had gone along with them. He was always there for her when she needed it, but now he was out there and in danger. She couldn't help but worry and feel guilty about getting him involved.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Jaime sighed the relief that he felt moment before being replaced by worry. It seemed that there problems were never ending. "Okay, I need to head back in there, okay?"

"What about the suit?" Rudy questioned.

"It's not working right now. I can't deal with it."

"Jaime." His mother said in a warning tone before Jaime could make move to leave the ship. Jaime was eager to go find his sister, but he had to also be afraid considering that he had to go back without any of the abilities that the Scarab provided him.

"Yes?"

"I know you can hear me, Khaji-Da." Mrs. Reyes said as she spoke to the emblem of the Scarab on Jaime's chest, before looking up and meeting her son's eyes. "I want you both to get it together. Find your strength, mijito. Use the pain we're feeling and turn it into power. I want you to go back in there... And kick their asses!"

Jaime nodded before looking over to Gemma. It felt almost like he expected her to say good-bye, maybe he didn't think that she would be able to come back safely. But saying good-bye just didn't feel right so Gemma forced what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

Then he was gone and there was no knowing if Khaji-Da would finish rebooting in time. They could only hope that Jaime would be lucky enough to not run into Carapax.

"Let's get a look at that mija." Mrs. Reyes said gesturing for Gemma to sit down, there wasn't really much of a chance for her to protest considering that every inch of her body still ached.

Gemma remained quiet as she let Mrs. Reyes clean the head laceration near her forehead. The truth was the she didn't know what to say even if she wanted to talk. There were no words that she could say to ease all the pain that she had to be feeling after losing her husband. But her face was as stoic as ever knowing that she had to stay strong for her family.

A/N: Only five more chapters left of Part One! Oddly enough Chapters 21, 22 and 23 are already completed because I just got so exited to write them during my I hate writing action scenes state on mind. But I can promise that these last couple of chapters are going to be great. The outline for Part Two is already completed too so there is so much to look forward to with this story.