A/N Lin is getting a star on the hollywood walk of fame, it's about damn time.
WARNING gore.

Alex captured one last glimpse of John's horrified expression before flames exploded between them with a massive fwoosh, knocking everyone backwards with the sheer heat blasting forwards. Alex fell back on top of Lafayette, recovering quickly and scrambling to his feet without a moment to loose.
"JOHN!" He screamed into the fire, nothing but white hot flames licking hungrily ahead of him. In this moment his heart was beating so hard that his whole body rocked with the motion. He surged forward but he was jerked backwards sharply.

"ALEX!" Seabury yelled, tugging him sharply with a helpless and fearful expression. He tried to pull Alex away from the fire but he thrashed and ripped himself out of his grip.
"NO!" He persisted, stumbling closer to the flames. "JOHN!" He screamed once more but now two more pairs of hands were pulling him back. He spun and met Hercules' gaze pleadingly. Hercules frowned and shook his head. "No he's still in there! Let me go!" Alex cried desperately.
"Alex this whole joint is gonna' blow!" Lee roared as they worked together to hold Alex back.
"I'm not leaving him! JOHN!" He exploded, punching and kicking as hard as he could.
"We're not leaving you Alex!" Lafayette cried, clutching his shirt.

Alex's breathing was heavy, he frowned and stopped struggling for a moment.
"Yes you are," he croaked. "Go."
Alex met expressions of pure shock, but it was Hercules who finally decided there was no use. He nodded with a weak, supportive smile and let his hands slip away from Alex. Lafayette tried to protest but Hercules shut him down, tugging him and Seabury out towards the stairs with Lee in tow as the fire siren began to wail up above.

Suddenly a hacking cough snapped through the air. Alex's head shot up at bullet speed.
"JOHN!" Alex shrilled, advancing forward hopefully.
"Guess again," Levi mused hoarsely as he sauntered out of the flames.

Alex's stomach dropped to his toes, but with no further hesitation he sprinted forward with a cry of fury, pulling his fist back and sending it barreling into Levi's face. With a shout Levi stumbled backwards, no time to recover as Alex was back on him with another heavy punch.
"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" Alex screamed, slamming punches at Levi mercilessly. "YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM!" Alex repeated as he punched with white hot fury brewing in his stomach. He had the upper-hand until Levi caught his fist in his grimy grip.

With an animalistic roar Levi pounced forward, slamming Alex into the ground. Alex grunted as his body hit the floor, all the air being knocked out of his lungs. Time froze as Alex lay beneath Levi, surrounded by flames spiralling upwards in slow motion. He heaved deeply, only bringing in toxic fumes from the burning gasoline in the atmosphere, which made him splutter harder. Time resumed abruptly as Levi threw a solid punch to his face but he was already numb.
John was dead, he couldn't save him.
Alex tried to breathe in again but his throat sizzled and stung with the action. Levi pulled his fist back for another swing before two hands grabbed his head and snapped it backwards violently.

Levi was thrown to the floor beside Alex with a hard thud and Alex's gaze snapped upwards and he finally caught his breath.
John stood tall, eyes squinted menacingly glaring down at Levi with an expression of pure rage. His skin was scorched in various places, clothes ripped and charred. His body was illuminated by the roaring flames, giving him a heroic glow in the midst of chaos.
"Johnny Boy," Levi grinned, his voice low and croaky.

"It's over." John declared. Levi opened his mouth to retaliate but John lifted his leg and kicked Levi in the side. He kicked Levi in the side 6 times. One for every other man he had raped in this prison. Levi choked and groaned on the floor, sweat glazing his entire body and dripping down his face, making his stringy hair stick to his forehead. John knelt over Levi's body and lifted his fist slowly.

"This is for Alex," John grunted, swinging it down in a heavy blow across his face. Blood sprayed out onto the floor from Levi's mouth.
"And this," John breathed, standing up and pulling Levi's limp body with him. "Is for me,"
John slammed his fist into Levi's face, knocking him back to the floor. Levi's body crashed to the floor in a bloody tangle of limbs and a raspy breath was forced from his lips with the impact.

As soon as Levi was down Alex was up, surging towards John with tear-streaked cheeks and wrapping his arms around him desperately. John flung his arms around Alex and tightened the embrace, closing his eyes and sighing gently. It was just Alex & John, nothing and nobody else in the world mattered right now.
The boiler room fell silent with only the faint wail of the fire siren and the crackling of flames echoing through the atmosphere, but it quickly became hard to see as thick, black, toxic smoke whirled around the room.

Slowly Levi's body shook, and a smile grew on his features, low chuckles spilling from his lips. John and Alex broke away from each other, glancing down at Levi menacingly.
"Do it," Levi murmured from the floor and he tilted his head back, eyes closed and blood splattered across his face. "Finish what we've begun," he spoke a little clearer, opening his blood shot eyes weakly and shooting John a sadistic smile.
"I think the fire's doing that for us, have fun burning in hell, Levi," John spat. Levi's eyes widened in horror at the realisation death wasn't going to come so easy.

John wanted to say something else, but Alex started coughing and spluttering, the smoke becoming too thick to find breathable oxygen. The boiler room was too confined and the fire was eating away at the electrical equipment. He leaned against John as he started to feel light headed and John tugged him forward.
"Time for our great escape," John muttered, holding Alex's hand tightly. Alex clutched his hoodie over his mouth and nose with his free hand, nodding at John.

They made a run for the exit, leaving Levi to writher, suffocate and burn to death. They ran up the stairs together but both of them froze dead still at the sight ahead. They were trapped.

---

Peggy put down the phone after calling in emergency services and backup correctional staff. It was still a solid 10 minutes before any more staff arrived, by then it would be too late. She turned back to the security screens to check on Dolley's progress. She alone was working to evacuate all the prisoners and unconscious officers into the yard, which was proving to be a down right struggle.

She scanned her eyes over the screens in a smooth audit, but her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the screens for the boiler room entrance.
Lafayette, Hercules, Seabury and Lee all pounded at the mechanical door that led into the boiler room stairs. She had completely forgotten that couldn't be opened from inside, as she had opened it for them from the control room on their way in. She hastily reached for the door board, typing in that particular door's code and selecting open.

She watched the screen expectantly but nothing was happening.
"What the fu-" Peggy began to mutter, clicking the button a few more times, panic rising in her throat. She skimmed the screens in hope of finding some kind of explanation and her queries were answered when she saw the boiler room electrical board on fire. "Shit,"
She was going to have to open it from the outside.

Peggy dashed out of the room and into the staff-sector hallways, tying her hair up as she ran. She hadn't realised earlier but the prison had switched to the dull yellow emergency lighting as the main electrical circuit boards were being attacked with flames.
The boys weren't going to survive long in there with the feisty flames devouring every last little smidge of oxygen. It was now a race against time for Peggy to rescue the boys from either suffocating to death or being blown up once the fire caught the gasoline storage, whichever strikes first.

On her way through the staff halls she stopped by the confiscated weaponry storage, retrieving a nifty crowbar. She sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her down to the boiler room stairs, her ponytail cracking like a whip behind her. She skidded to a stop in front of the door and pressed herself up against it.
"GUYS!" She shouted, slapping her hands against the door.

Inside the boys all sat weakly, Hercules and Lafayette still trying to bash down the door. The smoke had begun seeping up the stairs and was slowly slipping into their lungs with each shaky breath.
"Peggy?" Samuel croaked when her voice came through. He looked up hopefully and sat a little straighter. "PEGGY?" He called out a little louder, mustering as much energy as he could.
"Sam?" She called out worriedly from the other side. "Hang in there guys," She assured them cautiously.

Peggy aimed for a moment before slamming the crowbar into place, in the gap between the door and the frame, before she began to heave open the door. The boys stepped back from the door as it began to creak with the pressure Peggy was applying. She gasped and groaned and used all the strength she could muster, her feet sliding and shuffling against the floor. With one final gasp her foot slipped and she fell to her knees. She wasn't strong enough.
"I can't do it," she cried, gripping the bar with sweaty palms. On the other side of the door she heard the boys choking with dry coughs.
"Yes you ca-" John began to yell, pausing to cough, "can!" he managed to finish.

"No! I'm not strong enough," she called out, panic-triggered adrenaline pumping through her veins.
"Peggy you're the strongest person I know!" Seabury yelled. "Who got Hercules to hospital when he was bleeding out?" Seabury asked.
"PEGGY!" The boys cheered, voices hoarse and dry but still full of enthusiasm.
"Who sprinted to the kitchen ready to kick ass when my back was scorched?"
"PEGGY!"
"Who tasered the shit out of Conway when he attacked Alex?"
"PEGGY!"
"Who brought Lafayette back to us after Jefferson locked him away?"
"PEGGY!"
"Who is the reason we were able to rescue John tonight?"
"PEGGY!" One last cheer called out before the boys all fell into a fit of dry coughs, their lungs rattling with each breath.

Tears welled in Peggy's eyes and her heart swelled with determination.
"You are strong enough," Samuel spoke calmly, his voice cracking. Peggy inhaled a sharp breath and lifted the crowbar. She jabbed it into the crack in the door with all her might before pushing against it, her muscles throbbing with the force. Peggy clenched her teeth and screamed through them, the door groaning under the pressure.

BANG
Hisssss
BANG
"PEGGY!"

From down in the boiler room a small explosion sent flames spiralling out the doors. Like a sparkler quickly burning out, flames travelled along the electrical cables in the walls that powered the mechanical door until they reached the door's electrical panel. The panel exploded and with a loud bang the entire door was flung off it's hinges, cracking the wall around it and causing smoke to cascade out of the massive hole in the wall. The cracks continued to snap until they hit the roof and a chunk of the ceiling dropped from above.

The boys tumbled out of the stairwell coughing and spluttering as oxygen finally met their lungs. Dust and debris was flung everywhere, just adding to the hazards that prevented the boys from seeing anything. Seabury's head shot up and his eyes darted around worriedly.
"Peggy?" He called out, stumbling to his feet weakly.
No response.
"PEGGY?" He tried again, advancing towards the rubble of the roof and door.

The boys all began exclaiming her name, shuffling through the rubble and pulling away chunks of the roof until a shrill shout of horror came from where Alex was tugging away a chunk of plaster. A limp, dust-coated hand was laying delicately in the rubble, attached to an arm that lead under the largest chunk of the roof. The other boys rushed over and a chorus of gasps echoed through the hall.
"No no no no, PEGGY!" Sam screamed, surging forward and digging out under the slab. Hercules, Lafayette and Lee all got a grip on it and they carefully tugged it away, groaning at the weight but finally revealing Peggy's body clad in a blood-soaked uniform. Sam dove forward and pressed two fingers to her neck. "There's a pulse there's a pulse she's fine she's fine she's fine," He chanted in reassurance, preparing to lift her up, but as soon as his hands wrapped under her back her eyes shot open and she screamed in agonising pain.

Sam tugged his arms back at bullet speed as she heaved deep, rattling breaths, uneven and sharp. Her eyes darted around erratically, her hands shaking and twitching as they slowly reached up to her stomach where the blood was the darkest, almost black on her uniform.
"Peggy," John muttered, tears welling in his eyes. She didn't meet his gaze, instead focusing on reaching her hands up to the top button of her Vice Governor's jacket. Her hands were shaking far too much for her to get the button undone so Sam reached forward and pushed her hands out of the way. He undid each button with caution, cringing as he got her blood on his hands. Finally he reached the bottom and she gripped the coat, tugging it away with shivering arms. What they saw made Alex have to close his eyes, burying his face in John's shoulder.

The crowbar had fully impaled her, blood still pumping from the wound. She choked up a sob when she saw the wound and her head flew back, her face contorting into an expression of pure and utter pain. Tears slipped down her cheeks and she clenched her teeth, her body shaking as she cried, her hands now glazed in blood as they clutched at her shirt around the wound.
"Peggy Peggy sshhh you're okay," Sam whispered assuringly, grabbing her hands and holding them away from the wound, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles soothingly. "We're gonna get you to the hospital and you're going to be f-fine," he smiled unconvincingly, his own eyes showing immense fear as tears began to drip down his cheeks.
"No," she croaked weakly, her voice merely a breath. "Sam it hurts," she squeezed her eyes shut.

"You can do this Pegs, remember, y-you're strong. Peggy you're the strongest person I know," Sam whimpered, letting go of one of her hands to caress her cheek gently.
"I-I'm dead Sam!" She burst, swallowing hard and resuming her rattling, uneven breaths. "I-I-" she stammered, looking down at the metal bar stabbed straight through her small body. Sam leaned down and pressed a delicate kiss to her cheek, leaning back and brushing his hand through her blood-mattered hair.
"Please please please," Sam pleaded in a high pitched whisper, his whole face red from a combination of the boiling temperature and his immense amount of crying. "Stay Alive d-don't do this Peggy please,"
"It's too late," she murmured, slightly gurgling with the blood rising in her throat. She sucked in a sharp breath, her body shaking a little as she struggled to exhale. Peggy coughed and caught her breath again. "St-stay happy, do what you l-love," she spluttered. "Tell my sisters, I lo-" she began to speak before a sharp gasp snapped her neck backwards.

She stopped breathing for a moment. Her eyes were wide. Sam caressed her cheek in his hand, he was a sobbing mess. Exhale Inhale. All she could hear was her heartbeat thumping in her ears. Mouths moved and shouted silently. Exhale Inhale. John grabbed her free hand, Alex by his side. Exhale Inhale. Suddenly, the pain disappeared. She was content. She smiled.
Exhale.

"NO!" Sam screamed at the top of his lungs, grabbing her shoulder with shivering hands. "P-Peggy, Peggy wake up, Peggy," he pleaded, shaking her lightly. She lay limp in the rubble, her skin pale and waxy, eyes still open gazing up at the sky, her face relaxing out of her gentle smile. "PEGGY!" Sam cried, Charles trying to pull him away. "NO! NO PEGGY PLEASE please," he cried desperately. He crumpled and finally gave in physically, letting Charles pull him away.

John reached forward and closed her eyes gently, leaning down and pressing a delicate kiss to her forehead. Alex shuffled forward and repeated the gesture before moving to stand beside John.
"Peggy Schuyler was the hero this prison needed," John spoke with a sad smile. They were interrupted by a loud BOOM.

"We need to get out of here," Hercules called out over the racket from the boiler room. The crew wiped away their tears, there wasn't going to be any mourning if there wasn't any people to do the mourning. Sam scooped Peggy's lifeless body up in his arms and they began to jog through the halls.
BOOM

Another small explosion shook the floor, like a mini earthquake. The hot plaster walls were growing weak around the boiler room. If it caved in that segment of the prison would fall too.
They ran.
They ran as fast as they could as the sound of sirens began to become more apparent.

Suddenly, two firemen came running straight towards them.
"This way let's go!" One of them shouted, leading the boys down the halls. The exit came into view and they sprinted, legs throbbing, launching themselves out of the building right as the boiler room-

BOOM
John and Alex collapsed on the ground, shaking and holding each other tightly while the explosion sent thick billows of smoke wafting into the sky at the back of the prison. Alex buried his head in the crook of John's neck and squeezed him tightly.
"I love you," Alex muttered desperately into John's embrace.
"I love you too," John sighed, pulling away and kissing Alex softly. It was short lived but much needed.

Firemen ran into the prison, hoses at the ready, a helicopter over head was already dousing the building.
John jolted when he remembered something and turned to Alex with wide eyes, reflecting the orange glow in the distance.
"Levi Weeks is dead." He whispered, a slight triumphant smile creeping onto his lips.
"Levi Weeks is dead," Alex repeated with a sigh of relief. "It's over,"
John smiled uncontrollably and pulled Alex into a tight hug, crying with joy.
Paramedics helped the boys over to the ambulance and they began to receive treatment for their injuries, especially John's burns.
Once they were done they both sat, hand in hand, at the back of an ambulance, their legs swinging off the edge like small children. They watched as Peggy's body was laid out on a stretcher and covered under a white blanket, everyone still distraught with tears. John felt another round well up in his eyes and Alex must've noticed because he rest his head on John's shoulder and began to rub his back soothingly before letting his arm slink around John's waist. John held Alex tightly and let his eyes flutter closed.
"So," he mumbled, opening his eyes to watch the thick black smoke wind and twist above, eating away at the night sky.

"What comes next?"