DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own anything or anyone related to "Criminal Minds". If I did, I'm pretty sure you would hear in the news that one or more of the cast members had gone missing, and the show would likely be put on hold as a result and there'd be active search parties and all that sort of thing going on.

A/N: Squeezing this in just under the wire, but hey, it's in, right? Slightly alternate one-off take on the season 8 finale, but still a dusting of spoilers involved for those who still have yet to see it, and slight allusion to the episode preceding the finale, "#6", as well. The character chosen to die in my assignment was Alex Blake. First time writing for the "Criminal Minds" series, so I hope I can do this justice!

Also, I would like to dedicate this to little purple butterflies.

The first thing Aaron Hotchner felt upon waking up was a sharp pain in his neck. Whiplash, likely. He blinked a few times as he struggled to regain his senses.

I'm in a helicopter. Why am I in a helicopter? A glance behind him. There's Reid…Reid…he's moving…

Then the memories slowly started to flood back in, and names flashed through his mind. Sean. Erin. The Replicator… Alex...

Hotch's eyes flew open at this, and he (slowly, because of his neck) took another glance around the interior of the helicopter. Alex was nowhere to be found.

The door suddenly flew open and blue lights briefly blinded him. "Are you guys all right?" Derek Morgan asked, his voice anxious.

"Yeah," Spencer Reid answered, rubbing his eyes. He still had yet to catch up to what Hotch noticed.

"Where's Blake?" JJ continued, her flashlight scanning the seats.

In a nearby field, a woman stirred slightly, only to hiss at the intense sensations that spread through her.

Alex Blake blinked a couple of times. Then she tried to move her legs, to no avail. Her face was wet and sticky – blood, to be sure – and her breathing shallow.

"Hot…" she started, but her mouth was dry. She swallowed, and tried again.

"James…" A small smile appeared on her face as she thought of her husband.

"I want to be a couple again." The statement from their most recent discussion floated through her mind over and over again, and she felt a sense of peace as her eyes slowly closed and her breathing continued to slow down, down, down…

Someday, my dear, we will be.

At hearing JJ's question, Reid's eyes properly snapped open and he did his own look around. He then heard three words that one never wants to hear a fellow agent say.

"I don't know," Hotch said. His tone was tired and unnervingly scared. Morgan took off running at that, calls of "Blake!" echoing through the wooded area. JJ took it upon herself to help Hotch and Reid out of the helicopter, and held them steady as they stumbled around, aiding in the search.

A few short moments later, JJ's flashlight illuminated Morgan's figure, and her heart sank.

He was kneeling next to a body. A woman's body. His hand was up on her shoulder, his head down as in mourning.

"Morgan?" JJ said tentatively, unsteadily.

As the three of them came closer, Morgan looked up and shook his head, his face the definition of the word "sorrow". The flashlight traveled down to the body next to him, all askew and bloody, dark hair splayed out.

"No…" Reid whispered.

Hotch stepped aside to call for an ambulance. JJ squeezed Morgan's shoulder, and then went to do the same for Reid. But Reid just stepped aside and backed away, hands in his pockets, eyes dark with horror. He didn't move until the ambulance crew came to check him and the others out. Morgan didn't move until Blake's body was taken away, and he soon began showing the same look in his eyes as Reid.

And Hotch, after his examination, stood aside, dread filling his entire body. It was bad enough that he had to notify Penelope Garcia and David Rossi of yet another death that night. To say nothing of how I'm going to be able to explain this to the higher ups.

But he also knew the Replicator was still out there. Lurking. Waiting.

And for the second time in his career, he felt truly helpless.

Reviews/critiques, of course, are welcome!