izzyalienqueen | A hotel in Georgetown, later in the afternoon

Confused and upset after the confrontation at the beach, Meris returned to the hotel and paced about the room as Clayton watched, his frustration and anger growing.

"Meris, listen to me. You need to take control of this."

Meris shook her head. "I can't. She wants to go to them."

"Look at me," Clayton demanded, grabbing her arm tightly.

"No…" She tried to pull away, wanting nothing more then to return to the island.

Clayton shook her, his voice raising in anger. "Listen to me. I have spent the last ten years of my life - trying to find a cure for you, Meris! I have stolen patents for you... God, I've even killed people for you. Now, I didn't come this far to see you just throw it all away on some adolescent whim!"

"It's more then that," Meris cried out. "It's Isabel. She's trying to take over. She wants her friends. They're what's important. Such ties. So strong…"

"Alright," Clayton said. "Here's what you need to do. You need to break those ties."

"No, She won't let me."

"No, Meris," he replied gently. "You are not thinking clearly. Look, they're not your friends, your family. As long as they're alive... she has something to - to hold on to... something to fight for…" His voice dropped lower, cajoling her. "See...if they were dead, she would have to give up. Then...those voices in your head would stop."

Meris moaned, shaking her head as she tried to pull away from him. "No…I can't. She loves them."

"Don't say that!! Just forget about that! You have to break those ties, Meris. It doesn't matter how. You have to break those ties to be free! Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Increasingly confused by the conflicting emotions and the fear in her head, Meris continued to try to break from his grip.

"Meris, dammit! Kill them if you have to. It's the only way," he insisted.

Suddenly, remembering the power she'd felt on the beach, Meris lashed out. Clayton went flying, crashing head first through the French doors of the hotel suite. He didn't move as blood started to drip down the glass.

Horrified, and for the moment, back in control, Isabel stared at the lifeless body, then turned and fled.

[NFB, NFI, OOC is awesome. A whole lot of incredibly cheesy dialogue lifted from the Roswell Season 3 episode Chant Down Babylon]