A/N: Hey everyone- you might have seen this note if you read the latest chapter of 'Need,'so feel free to disregard it, but I figured I owed a little explanation as to why this fic is getting updated for the first time in over two years. My new pet project is updating my old BF5 work. I know, I know, it's been a while (and I do mean a while), but I'm home for the summer, with the computer that has all my BF5 writing on it, and it turns out, there's a lot of it. Even if I haven't been writing for BF5 lately, I figured I at least owed it to the readers to upload everything that already has been written (a surprising amount, really, and it didn't make sense to keep all that to myself). If there are any stories you're particularly curious about the ending to, or whether or not they're on the list to be updated, shoot me a PM (same goes if you just want to talk BF5 in general, because after all this re-reading, I miss it!). My end goal for this process is to take what's already been written, hopefully weave it together with some new work (although not every story will get the love and time it originally had planned for it, and deserves) and conclude a few of the major works I was writing toward the decline of the fandom. That being said, no promises; life gets crazy. But at the risk of being "that" writer, it would be nice to know whether or not this is worth the time investment, so feel free to drop a review or a PM. Read on!

The team was discussing Vert's condition. It felt good to think of it that way—the team, all eight of them, assembled in the med-bay without secrets or shadows to hide. They formed a loose circle around Vert, in his cot with Agura standing next to him.

"We still have the t-cells," Tezz was saying. "They are almost ready for injection."

"Well get them bloody ready, then!" Stanford exclaimed.

"We're doing all that we can, Stanford," Sherman replied through gritted teeth. "It's not as simple as you think."

"Guys." Agura's voice was soft. "Don't fight. It'll be okay." She sounded as though she wasn't quite sure she believed it herself.

"Agura's right." Vert straightened up and laced his fingers with hers. "We have to stand together now more than ever."

His statement silenced the dispute.

Tezz finally exhaled. "We should have the t-cells ready by tomorrow."

"Thank you." Vert hoped that the tension would be broken then, but Sage's eyes flashed.

"Stormshock detected. Portal opening in T-minus two minutes," she stated. Agura took a second to realize that all of her teammates had turned to her.

"Um," she stammered out. What would Vert do? He was inherently suspended from the Zone as the disease progressed. Agura momentarily closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to collect herself.

"Okay, I need Zoom, Stanford, AJ and the Cortez bros. Let's go boys!"

To her great surprise and relief, not one person questioned her command, and the named team members sprinted for their cars. Agura followed them, the familiar thrill of battle seeping into her chest, but before she reached the door, she took the time to cast a glance over her shoulder, back at Vert.

He gave her an encouraging nod and a thumbs-up, mouthing the words you've got this.

She had just enough courage to flash him a nervous grin before darting off.

AJ hung back as his best friend watched the screen, broadcasting the battle from the Tangler. As a secondary member of the team, he knew exactly what it felt like to observe the action from behind the scenes, but it was Vert's first time in this position, and the captain wasn't handling it very well. His entire body was rigid, his jaw tense as he muttered incoherent commands to himself, fists clenching and unclenching based on how his team was faring.

"They're gonna do great." The Canadian put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "They always do."

The mission was successful; nobody had expected any less. Sure, they had shared an unspoken uneasiness, but they had technically been in battle without their leader before.

Agura still heaved a sigh of relief when all five vehicles pulled back into the Hub. She stashed the Battle Key in the vault, involuntarily shuddering once it left her hands.

They slept in his bed that night.

"You were great in the Zone today," Vert nudged her. "I watched the whole thing."

"Thanks." She sounded distracted, insincere.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Everything… okay?"

"Sorry," Agura shook her head. "I'm fine, just tired. I'm gonna go to sleep."

"Okay," he said, giving her an inquisitive look. Vert kissed the top of her head and gave her space as he lay down. It had only been a minute when her chest started shaking with repressed sobs.

"Gura…" he murmured, and wrapped his arms around her. "What's wrong?"

"Don't leave me," she sobbed. The plea carved into him like a deftly handled knife.

"Agura—"

"Being without you in the Zone today? It was terrifying, Vert. I don't know how you do it, time and time again, going in there and being responsible for everyone's life. It's one thing when we split up, because I know that you're still there, somewhere in the Multiverse, but today…" She pressed her fingertips to her temples, fighting for words.

"I can't do this on my own," Agura finally whispered. "I'll lose my mind."

"You're going to make a great leader, Agura—"

"I love you, Vert!" She whirled around. There were tears in Agura's eyes as she faced him. "Don't you get that? This isn't just about being the leader; it's that I can't imagine living a day with you! And every night I just lay here and think that it might be our last and hearing you say things like that doesn't help!"

"I…" He didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to tell you other than the truth."

Vert faltered; he knew the weight of his next words was significant. "And the truth is that I'm going to be gone soon."

She stared at him bleakly, despair filling her eyes.

"Then," Agura took a shaky breath, "Tell me not to cry. To be strong. For the team."

He looked at her gently. "Soon, you'll have to tell yourself that," Vert said. "I just want to hold the girl I love for a while."

She let him take her in his arms, and she trembled with a few whimpers before falling asleep. It was easier for him to handle these things in the dark, at night, when it seemed everything in his brain, benign and malignant, was worn out, too tired to fight. Agura's sorrow at any other occasion would have sent him spinning into raging, frustrated darkness. He had started writing to her, when things became too heavy and the beast started taking over. There was an entire collection of letters addressed to her hidden in his desk, some for his teammates too. The pen took over when his mind couldn't formulate words.

It was happening more and more often lately.

The next afternoon, Vert was called to med-bay. Sherman and Tezz had prepared what they hoped was the cure. Agura held his hand and sat at his bedside; the rest of their teammates gathered around.

Tezz nodded at Sherman, who picked up the syringe.

"This might sting a little," he warned. The Cortez slid the needle into Vert's arm and pressed the plunger. The crimson one grimaced but was otherwise unaffected. Sherman removed it slowly, and their heads turned to the screen set up with a medical diagram of Vert's body, where small green dots were spreading along his arm and eventually diffusing into his bloodstream.

They almost looked futile, compared to the myriad blotches of red.

"We'll want to monitor the treatment here for a few more hours," Tezz cleared his throat, as his teammate's faces grew bleaker and bleaker. "After that, we can continue it wirelessly."

"Sounds good. Thanks, you guys," Vert nodded. "Really."

"I hate to be that guy, but, do we know that this will work?" Zoom asked anxiously.

Sherman and Tezz glanced at one another. "Only time will tell."

He was released just before dinner, and stayed after to help Agura clean up. He switched on the radio as she washed the dishes.

Wise men say

"Hey."

She turned her head. "What?"

He held out his arms. "Dance with me."

A smile touched her lips, and she set her dish towel down. "Okay."

Only fools rush in

He settled his arms around her waist; hers went to his shoulders.

"Did you make this CD?" She asked.

"Mhm," he murmured, swaying with her. "I thought you might want all of our songs in one place."

Her throat tightened up. "I… It's perfect, Vert."

"I've been meaning to do it forever, but—"

"Just… shhh," she squeezed her eyes shut to hold back tears. "It's perfect, okay?" She rested her head on his chest.

She watched him sleep that night, waited until he had drifted off and then rolled back up on her elbows. His hair was mussed, lips slack and full, arms lazily sprawled. His nightmares had gotten worse and worse with the growing toxin, but there hadn't yet been one tonight. There were no lines on his forehead, no clenched fists or teeth or violent mood swings. He didn't have anything to fight; there was only calm. Eyes closed, chest lifting and falling. Beautiful.

God, she was going to miss him.

At midnight, the alarms started blaring. Agura woke with a start; he was convulsing violently next to her.

"Vert! Vert, oh my God! Sherman! Sage!" Her screams were raw with fear. The door blew open; Sherman and Tezz dashed in wearing pajamas but looking grimly awake. Lights flashed on, making everything more terrifying and harsh. Vert was seizing up, his skin pale and clammy, veins and muscles bulging in all the wrong places.

"What's happening to him?" She was shrieking, but no one could answer.

Sage was in next, clutching a blue syringe. Agura watched the needle slam into her lover's arm, and Vert fell abruptly still.

"Get him to the med-bay!" She was too distraught to care who yelled it. As quickly as they had entered they were gone, leaving Agura on her knees, bundled in sheets with cheeks she had only just realized were wet with tears. Her heart was hammering against her chest, attempting escape, and she briefly wondered how much easier things could be if it would just stop.

She pinched her wrist to punish the thought and her legs moved out of the bed, running after Vert.

"Oh my God." In the med-bay, Sherman's eyes were skimming data madly. "Tezz, you've gotta see this."

The Battle Force 5 was entirely present; most of them in sleepwear that contrasted their alert faces. The Russian approached the screen and his eyes rapidly scanned the data. "дорогой Бог," he muttered. "It mutated."

"What is that? What does that mean?" Agura demanded. Her voice was shaking.

Tezz turned back toward them and spoke slowly, as if he was still trying to process the words himself. "The attacking t-cells that we formulated… cued the toxin to produce more of the toxic cells."

A grave silence fell on the room as they interpreted the news.

Agura's stare was hard. "You're telling me you accelerated it."

"Inadvertently…yes," the Russian admitted.

"Can you fix it?" Spinner implored.

Tezz and Sherman exchanged a glance.

"We have no way of removing the 'good' t-cells without removing the bad ones," Sherman confessed gravely.

"And why can't we remove the bad? Why didn't we try that from the start?!" She exclaimed. Agura knew that she sounded frantic and ungrateful, but she didn't have the energy to hide her fear. The room suddenly seemed far too small, and she raked her hands through her hair in an effort to ground herself.

"Agura... Nearly all of the cells are bad," Sherman said quietly.

"At this point nearly three-quarters of his body has been contaminated, vital organs especially. To try and remove them now would surely kill him," Tezz added.

"And so will leaving them," Zoom said grimly.

"Or mutate," Stanford muttered.

"How much time does he have left?" Agura asked.

The scientists both made gestures of uncertainty.

"I will see if I can approximate it," Tezz finally said.

"Oh my God." Agura ran a hand through her hair again; her scalp had to be bleeding by now. She wished that everything would bleed until there was nothing, none of this pain, left to feel. "It's really happening," she whispered, clutching her head in despair. "This is real."

Her teammates exclaimed grim glances, unable to disagree.