For the namesake, I'll do a short one tonight.

[The darkness really engulfed the entire installation. Jennifer turned away from the window and look at Samwise and William. Samwise was still snoozing off on the table. William, however, was now completely alert of his surroundings.

He had, apparently, noticed the ensuing darkness outside Black Alpha. The remote research installation was one of several in the country, shrouded in secrecy from even the highest generals in the military. The only people who knew of the installation were those who worked here, or had something significant to do with it. No one knew what happened to those who declined to a job here. Except those running the jobs.

"So has GLADos sent word?" William asked. Jennifer smiled and walked towards the aisle of tables. She sat in front of a computer, still buzzing, screen filled with green gibberish.

After tapping on the keyboard twice, she turned around and looked at William. "I'm sorry, no, not a word."

William cursed, slouching back onto the desk. Silence fell, except for Samwise's snoring and the slow resonating noise from deeper inside the installation - CABAL's core.

Jennifer looked back out of the large pane windows overlooking the Dakhi ruins. The sun was behind the ruins, and it was casting a faint, eerie glow. The remnants of the past, long gone, but still holding on to the enchanted stone walls of the once majestic castle.

"Samwise's thinking of making you a Coreist," William suddenly said. Jennifer looked at William. Golden hair strewn over his forehead, blue eyes twinkling sadly at the fading light. His face was buried in his arms, but his tired arms stared steadfast into Jennifer's.

"I'm sorry?" Jennifer asked.

"Samwise's thinking of making you a Coreist," William repeated.

"Coreist? Can't say I've heard of that..."

"Well," William grunted, sitting up and stretching his arms. "A Coreist. A Core Alchemist, only you don't use alchemy, if it's the true sense of the word. But these days, Coreists are soldiers who specialize in Core manipulation and can survive in hazardous environments - which matches you like a jigsaw puzzle."

Jennifer frowned.

William continued. "Well, he gave you his last OSIPR. Coreists are trained at using OSIPRs, and you've shown us how well you use it. To be frank, you can shoot that thing than any other commando I've seen from the Black Ops."

Jennifer looked down, placing her hand on the OSIPR that Samwise had given her. "I got used to using these things when I was a young girl."

"Living near Roswell, I wouldn't be surprised." William said, hands behind his head, now lying back on the chair. "So he wants you in, if you're going to accept that is. He told me you're one of a kind, the first person he's met who he's willing to let live,"

"Let live? There were others?" Jennifer said.

"Yes, they all died,"

"Died?" Jennifer whispered, frowning at Samwise. "He killed them?"

"No, he didn't. They died because Black Ops got to them afterwards. I don't think the same is going to happen to you," William whispered. "You're too good,"

Jennifer looked outside again. The glow from the castle was gone. All she could see were stars in the sky. The only lighting that came into the room were the compound lights outside.

"What does OSIPR stand for again?" Jennifer questioned.

"Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle," William replied.

Jennifer shook her head and stood up. "I need some time alone for myself." She walked up to the doorway, then turned around. "I don't even know him, how could I say I'll become a Coreist?"

"He tells me your eyes remind him of something. Maybe you already know him," William called back.

The doorway closed, and William grunted. He slouched back onto the desk. He wondered if she heard what he had just said.

He heard Samwise sniff from the table beside him.

William sat up and looked at him. "You were listening weren't you?"

Samwise yawned. He stretched his hands in front of him, head still on the table. Then he pulled his hands back and scratched his neck.

"She's had a history with the Overwatch, William," he said. "You've upset her,"

William rolled his eyes. "Tell me again why you want her in?"

Samwise knocked his head on the desk and relaxed his fingers over his head. "It's because I remember where I met her. Though she will never remember me,"

William looked puzzled. Samwise explained.

"It was at the time shaft when Fracture was falling apart. If you remember, the portal storms became so violent that I had to leave under cover of the Portaller, Steven. I got phased into sometime between the Shadikhan uprising and the reunification of Chaos and Logic. It was at that point I met a young shifter by the name of Jane Kingsworth. She didn't know of her power yet, so I employed a young man named Kenneth Wilson to be the middleman between me and her. I fused him with the sufficient information, of course, so he understood every word I said and didn't freak out.

"Wilson did a very good job at relaying my messages. Jane became subtly trained at shifting, and had already shifted a few times, accidentally. When she was on the brink of learning her ability, I phased her into one of Aperture Science's Facilities.

"GLADos was surprised at my arrival. As the same, she was equally overjoyed, as she had never managed to meet a shifter before, despite having done experiments on shifting. She designed a few test chambers for Jane, and ensured she could survive with her ability.

"She proved very efficient with her ability, and she escaped the facility with ease. I had to hunt her down again, and it proved very hard without Steven's help. But once I did get her, I had to erase her memories and reform her into who she is now - Jennifer Kingsworth. A broken orphan child who suffered immense pain and had to fight through the Overwatch in order to survive, discovering her ability while being held captive by the Combine, then escaping with her ability, and surviving alone from then on."

William stared at Samwise. "You did all that?"

Samwise smirked. He looked at the window panes, peering outside.

"The stars are beautiful tonight. I want to be alone to see them before I die."

William stood up from his chair and walked to the doorway. He turned back at Samwise, and for the first time saw tears trickling down his eyes, mumbling something.

"I'll be with Jenn- Jane, if you need us," William said, and left.

Alone, Samwise sniffed, wiping his eyes. "She didn't deserve it..." he mumbled. And he began to sob uncontrollably.

He was, after all, going to die.]