Tex straightened, the weight on her back completely disappearing as she tossed her last spike grenade. It detonated swiftly, sending the last three soldiers flying through the air. She smiled; sure, the death of these soldiers was stupid - pointless really - but she still found herself able to take pride in the efficiency of her work.

A loud, rumbling groan echoed behind her. Tex spun, her heart pounding rapidly as she searched for the danger.

South strode forward from the opening doorway, her shoulders rigid in the posture that Tex had come to recognize as "murderous bitch mode". Actually, she couldn't take credit for that name. Wyoming had told her about it, after warning her not to mention it in front of North.

"Think you're so fucking tough, don't you Texas?" South snarled. Tex remained silent, eyeing the heavy missile launcher in South's arms. "Well, let me ask you something," South's grip tightened, and Tex's stomach dropped. "Who's the monster now, bitch?"

"Ah, shit."

Tex ran, crouching and leaping as she tried to evade several missiles. South laughed once, a short barking sound filled with hatred rather than mirth. Tex grunted, and leapt forward into a roll as the ground beneath her exploded into fiery, burning heat. She panted, and tried to move towards South. She wasn't excited about what she had to do – but South had made her choice.

Tex stopped running, her metal boots weighing down heavily on the floor, and prepared to leap. South reacted first, unleashing a round of six missiles. Tex gasped, frozen to the ground – she couldn't run fast enough, couldn't move swiftly enough to evade the obliteration of her machine body as she saw it coming-

BAM-BAM! BAM-BAM-BAM! BAM!

Thank you, God. The missiles were gone, shot to non-existence.

Tex turned, exhaling in relief, but found North instead of God. She smiled at the soldier; you could always rely on North to get you out of trouble.

"Well, hello ladies," he said easily, two sniper rifles resting on each of his shoulders. He moved forward in that strange, swaggering walk they all had to adopt when in full-armor. "What seems to be the problem?"

"North, you know what the problem is!" His twin snarled, but didn't fire on Texas again. "This bitch stabbed us in the back and now it's time to return the favor! Whose side are you on, brother?"

No, South. Tex held her breath, and glanced at North. She knew he wouldn't abandon his sister; how could he? She tensed, waiting for the sniper rifle rounds to start, and prepared to start running.

"Tex." Fuck. Here it came, the beginning of the end. Tex turned and looked at North, checking his aim wasn't on her head.

It wasn't.

North shrugged the rifles from his shoulders, and gripped them easily in his hands. He pointed them in Tex's direction, but after a moment she realized he wasn't aiming for her at all. The rifles curved around her, aiming at… South?

"Take a walk," he told her. "I need to have a little chat with my sister."

Tex smiled, the grin easily spreading her lips. But still she paused, unable to believe her ears. Sure, she was friends with North and absolutely trusted him, but for him to fight against his sister for her? It was unexpected, to say the least. "North? You sure?"

He nodded, not taking his eyes off of his twin. "Go." When she hesitated, he glanced at her. She could see through his visor the tiniest amount, not much but just enough to see the sad smile that graced his lips. He nodded once, his eyes filled with guilt and despair but also a determination. "This is a family matter."

Tex nodded, hearing the unspoken meaning. Go, Tex. You can't be here for this.

She looked at him for a second longer, feeling a small piece of her heart rip away at the thought of what she had done. Not only had she turned friends against each other, but also now she had pulled a family apart. Tears threatened to spill over her cheeks at the sudden realization, but instead she turned and ran. Her arms pumped swiftly, driving her not just further from the scene but also further from the heartbreak that it caused.

Because, now, she wasn't just thinking of North and how she had used their friendship, but of someone else.

Someone else who was awaiting her, deep in the technological confines of the Mother of Invention. Her heart lightened, and Tex ran harder. She had to find him, had to take him away. Finally, they could be together, alone; no experiments, no danger, just each other. For eternity.

But Tex could not escape the thought that echoed inside her mind, whispers of a truth that hung around her like a plague.

She destroyed everything she touched. So how could she hope to save Church, and herself?

The answer was simple. She couldn't.

The sting of betrayal threatened to overwhelm her, sending her tears cascading over her cheeks as she fired the missile. Before her, North ducked and activated his bubble shield.

Her own brother had done this to her. Abandoned her, chose someone else over her and now fought against her. A lump rose in her throat and South suddenly found it hard to breathe.

Her arms were weakening, shaking with despair, but somehow she had strength enough to keep the missile launcher firing. Inside the shield, North conversed with Theta quickly, and South felt numbness take over her chest. This was how it had all started; the AI's. Had South ever gotten one? No. She hadn't been good enough.

And now, watching her brother inside the shield, South realized he wasn't even looking at her. He was watching Theta.

A burning fury rose inside her chest, and South let it loose with an enraged scream. Why wasn't he watching her? Goddammit, but she was firing fucking missiles! And yet, still, he wasn't looking. Why?

South stumbled back when the answer came to her, as though the realization had been a physical blow. She wasn't powerful enough to pose a threat to him. He didn't have to watch her; he knew she couldn't defeat him. For fuck's sake, she didn't even have an AI. She was nothing to him. Not even his twin sister; because what kind of brother would have betrayed her like that?

South felt the lump disappear, suddenly finding it easier to breathe. Her arms steadied, but the sting of his betrayal did not disappear. South bit her lip, and slowly advanced on her brother, drawing closer to his shield. She knew that it only stopped bullets – slow-moving objects such as her would not be affected.

She found it, now, easier to chase away all thoughts from her mind, save one. Now, her head was quiet and blissfully clear, empty of emotion and all but one thought. Because, now she wondered why she was still treating him as her twin. He had given up that right the second he had joined Agent Texas instead of her.

The man before her was no longer her twin, no longer her brother. South rolled her shoulders and smiled softly. North was just a fellow Freelancer. A fellow Freelancer who had betrayed their Project.

And what happened to Freelancers who betrayed the Project?

They were destroyed.

"Theta…" North whispered. His voice was breaking, heavy with the weight of his despair. Theta felt his pain, felt it reverberate through himself as though he were North himself – which he was, in a way. An extension of both his mind and the Alpha's. "What do we do?"

Theta considered the question, though he first allowed himself a moment of blissful happiness at the way North said 'we'. And then he turned his concentration back to the matter at hand; South.

Theta felt sad at the thought of the blonde, hotheaded twin. He liked South; in fact, he considered her as much as a sister as he considered Gamma his brother. North was better than a brother; more of a father. Though not the same way the Alpha was his father – Alpha was his creator, but North was his father, the one who protected and cared for him.

"Theta?" North interrupted Theta's musings gently. The AI looked up at him, and sighed.

"Why can't South come with us?" he asked, and glanced at the twin in question. She fired another missile, and it exploded against their shield. Theta felt his strength waver from the force of the blast and his hologram flickered. Absently, he directed power sources away from North's non-essential armor functions and sent it into the shield.

North exhaled softly, and glanced at South quickly. "Does it look like she wants to come with us?" he asked rhetorically.

Theta nodded. North had him there; South most definitely did not look like she wanted to come with them.

South screamed, the anger an outpouring of grief and fury. Theta shuddered, and was silently thankful that he had been chosen for North instead of his twin. South's head did not seem like the happiest place to be.

"Have you asked her?" he asked simply. "Maybe we should."

"Maybe," North agreed. He looked at South out of the corner of his eye, and Theta felt a tumble of emotions rip through his father. His forehead wrinkled in concern, and Theta delved deeper into North's mind in an attempt to understand the flood of feeling.

North was crushed. He watched as his twin advanced upon them slowly, unceasing in her firing of the missiles. His heart felt weighed down, filled with his despair and grief. He also felt upset, and angry with himself.

For so long, North had missed all the signs. He had done wrong by South, and now it was too late to fix that. South had changed, twisting and morphing into someone he barely knew, let alone understood. He remembered all the times she had stood by, watching as he played and joked around with Theta. Had she felt left out?

North could no longer remember the last time they had had fun together, but he was certain it had not been recently – certainly, before Theta had arrived. He hadn't truly talked to South in the past months. When was the last time he had played and joked with her? He couldn't remember, and that realization made him feel sick to his stomach.

South advanced slowly, her posture cold and immovable. When had she changed from the strong, competitive yet fun and loveable South into this monster? He hadn't noticed it until now, and a large part of him was guilt-ridden with the thought that it was his fault. He had brought this upon his twin.

Theta gasped, and pulled himself free of North's self-destructive thoughts. "It's not your fault, North," he said kindly. "No one saw her changing."

"No," North whispered. "But I should have."

Waves of grief and despair flooded over Theta, pushing upon him as though he was the shore and North the ocean. Abruptly, North noticed his mistake and put up a wall between himself and the AI, shielding him from the worst of the waves.

"Sorry, Theta," he apologized.

Theta answered automatically. "That's okay. North, South is entering the shield!" he cried suddenly.

North looked up, and rolled himself out of the bubble shield. The walls had no effect on his body as he passed through, and he sprinted forward a bit before stopping and spinning to face his twin. "South, stop!" he called.

A low laugh emanated from inside the shield, dangerous and slightly psychotic. Theta shivered, and pulled the energy away from the shield. It disappeared and South stood before them, her missile launcher held easily in her arms. "Why should I, North?" she called. Her voice was easy, strong and held no sign of wavering.

"Family shouldn't turn on each other," he answered desperately. His voice lowered, became softer. "You know that better than I do."

South flinched, and North knew what was going through her mind. Memories of endless arguments and screaming matches, most of which North hadn't even witnessed. And then, finally, their mother drawing their father's pistol and screaming at South to leave.

North hadn't even known about that for hours until after it had occurred, and he had come home from school to find South gone and his mother acting as though she had never existed. He remembered the panic tearing through his veins as he searched all over the city for his sister. When he had found her, it had been too late.

"Family?" South asked, incredulous. She laughed once, her bitter little bark that in the past weeks had become characteristic. Her voice hardened when next she spoke. "I have no family."

"South…" North pleaded desperately. Suddenly, he dropped his sniper rifles and reached up to take his helmet in his hands. He twisted sharply, and pulled it off.

Theta panicked. North could no longer hear him, unless he spoke in his holographic form. And he wasn't sure that he wanted South to hear their conversations.

South paused, watching as North's helmet rolled around on the floor. After a long minute, she dropped her missile launcher and pulled off her own helmet. North smiled, relieved, as her short blonde hair appeared. But her eyes made Theta feel sick. Sometimes, their grey could be delightful and sparkling, filled with mischief. Now though, they were dead. No emotion stirred behind them.

"Come with me, South," North pleaded. He extended a lone hand, and stepped forward. South stepped back warily, and Theta felt his partner's heart sink.

"If you leave, North," South began, "I will be alone."

North nodded sadly. "Yeah."

South raised her head, looking him in the eyes. "I'll stay," she said shortly. Before he could interrupt, South continued. "If I stay, I can be better. If I stay, I will only be up against the weakest Freelancers, the ones that didn't leave. If I stay, I can beat you!"

South screamed the last sentence, her eyes on fire and her chest heaving. North felt his lungs contract, and barely stammered out an answer. He shook his head.

"The Director broke the law, South. If you stay, you'll only end up behind bars." He took a breath, and walked slowly forward. This time, South didn't move away. "Come with me," he pleaded once more. "We can be together again. Just us." North smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Remember when it was just us against the world, South? It can be like that again."

She paused, and North continued. "Just you and me, South. The twins, together again and nothing could stop us. Us against the world."

Theta watched as silence grew between the pair. North was waiting for South to respond, but Theta could see the slight glimmer in her eyes and wondered if North had made a mistake.

South blinked rapidly, forcing back the tears. Just you and me, South. Us against the world.

God, she wanted it so much. She wanted them, as they had been; carefree, happy and peaceful. No Director or Carolina to order them around. No York or Wash to make fun of them, and no Tex to kick their asses into next week.

Just the two of them. Us against the world.

She wanted the undeniable rightness again. The sense that all had been well, and that they were safe.

Of course, South had never been safe. Not from her parents, not from the Director. Not from herself.

"Prepare for a crash landing. Impact in twenty seconds."

Suddenly, Theta appeared by North's shoulder. He looked at the AI, and strode towards South. He grabbed her shoulder. "Are you coming?"

South half-closed her eyes. The lump had reappeared in her throat, and she couldn't trust herself to speak. Theta… North's AI. She didn't have an AI.

North was wrong. It wouldn't be just them against the world. Theta would be there too.

Could she live with that? Could she live with Theta's constant accompaniment?

South sighed, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. No, she probably couldn't.

But she could try. She had to.

And God have mercy on her if she couldn't.

A/N: Hey guys! This is just what I imagined went down after Tex left the twins alone in Episode 19 (which was the best episode ever. Of all time). If you were confused by North's 'flashback', don't worry. I just have my own head-canon for how the twins got into Project Freelancer… and yes, it involves their Mum threatening South with a gun. Oh, yeah; in case you were wondering, North and South's relationship is not romantic in any way. I always think of them as twins only, and that's what I had in mind when I wrote this. Don't take it the wrong way, please.

As always, let me know if you guys liked this, and R&R. :)