CF #35

Ragnarok

Led by Pyro

The CFs were gathered in the meeting room. No one knew who called it or why until Kevin entered the room with an unusually serious look on his face.

"Here’s the situation," Kevin began, "in 29 days we will be attacked by a force like no one has ever seen."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked, their attention grabbed.

"The force's leader is named Trax. He is responsible for the destruction of entire timelines, as well as over 500 alternate sets of CFs. His forces are well trained in combat against every one of us. They know what to expect and exactly how to counter it."

"When it comes to Trax himself only I have any chance of actually hurting him, none of your Crystals will even affect him and anyone holding a Crystal can't even deal physical harm."

"You have 29 days before the war begins. Every one of you needs to spend the time preparing for it. If any one of us is not at peak condition-- we will fail. And we are the only thing standing between Trax and the destruction of not only this timeline, but every timeline in existence. It’s not gonna be pretty."

"I highly doubt we will all survive the battle, in fact, I don't even give any one of you even odds. You have 29 days before the fight of your life. Make use of it and train, get as strong as you possibly can, or its over."

Ganthet's expression turned grim.

"You mean to tell us, that we have little or no chance? That this is in fact, hopeless cause?" He held up his hand, forming it into a spiked ball, then back to normal. "The best kind of battle. The one that MUST be won."

"How can you talk like that, Ganthet?" Solara asked. "Battle should only happen if we can’t avoid it, never something to look forward to."

"I didn't say I was, little friend. I've died too many times to look forward to it again. I'm merely saying this is the kind of fight the Crystal Fighters were created for."

"Are you sure of this Kevin?" Doc Tachyon asked. "There must be something else we can do. Simple training is rarely enough. I take it you have enough data on our enemies to run simulations?"

Grey Wolfe scratched at an itch behind his ear. "We should find a place for battle of our choosing, so that when they arrive, we can lead them there, fight on a battle ground we've chosen, we've prepared."

"I don't need simulations," Kevin spoke firmly, "I've seen it enough times, but we have an advantage. This particular group of CFs are stronger then most, if anyone stands a chance of defeating Trax, it’s us."

"As for choosing our battle ground, its kind of worthless against someone who controls an army that has fought on nearly every conceivable battlefield. Ganthet is right; we have no choice but to win, and on their terms. We try to ambush them; I can guarantee it will get us killed. These aren’t vile, there some of the most well trained warriors in any timeline. It doesn't look good, and the longer we sit here the lesser our chances."

"Then..., if this is the kind of battle I think you're talking about," Solara said, "Then we're going to have use our powers to their fullest." She grew very quiet. "To lethal levels."

She was still in shock over her dimensional counter-part. That Solara had been so e v i l .... She was afraid of becoming that.

"No." Tachyon said flatly. "I won't kill. It goes against everything I believe in."

"Vile are one thing," Ganthet rumbled, "but living people are another. I've faced the embrace of death twice. I'm loathe to send others into its embrace." His mind flashed back to a time on Entropy's world, when he'd snapped the necks of their attackers, and back to his life on his world, as a warrior prince. He had enough blood on his hands.

"I've tasted enough blood," Grey growled, "Even if they are our enemies, killing them should be our last option. It's what Zelda would tell us. She'd say it's never an option."

"Granted, you have a point." Entropy said, looking to them all. "But I'm sure Kevin will agree with me when I say we can't pull our punches here. They've killed 500 copies of us; no matter how strong we are compared to them, they'll carve us up like a Christmas ham if we give ourselves any morals fighting them. It's kill or be killed, that's all I have to say. If you all would prefer, you can try to spare them. But I won't take that risk with all our lives on the line. Understood?"

"I agree. It's kill.. or be killed."

Laina nodded after Tala had spoken. She and Blade had no qualms about killing, by nature- they were hunters. It was a way of life for them. But they could understand why the others would.

"Look, I don't care what you think. But you've got 29 days to get ready for quite possibly the last battle of your life. I'm gonna hate this more then anyone of you. But I will not hesitate to destroy anything Trax throws at me to finish him." Kevin said as he teleported away.

"Looks like we got work to do people, and a lot of it." Pyro commented.

"I'm not worried about it but it would have been nice to have Moon with us. She has the ability to control time." Eme said, thinking.

"It would be nice, yes," Tachyon said to Eme, "but it would take time to travel to their universe...and put the Destiny at risk. ....Doing it again, aren't I, the science angle. I'm sorry..."

He shook his head, and put his helmet on. A quick ignition of his boot jets, he lifted into the air and headed out of the room. "You need me, I'll be in my lab. ...Trying to come up with something that could end this without death."

Solara frowned. "I'm going to fly around the planet a few dozen times. Try to clear my head."

Ganthet stood. "I'm going to train, and pray to the Warrior Gods that this won't end with us all celebrating our lives in the Hall of Warriors, where the brave go when they die."

"I wonder what got shoved up this Trax guy's butt to get him so pissed at us. I have noticed a lot of people come off at us like that." Lark frowned twirling her blade.

"Eme?" UA's voice asked over the installed intercom. "Can you meet me at the throne room, we need to talk."

Eme heard something odd in his voice she couldn't place, was this coming fight hitting him more then she imagined it would? Ever since the whole fight with Misery and Entropy taking the leader reins, UA had become more and more distant and lost in the back ground.

Eme pushed the door open to the room, "OH GODDESS!!!!"

The evil crooked grin shined in pleasure, he enjoyed playing with this one, "Hello sweet cheeks." EUA said lifting his hands behind his head and relaxing in Eme's throne.

"How the hell did you get in here!"

"Uh," the little lacky piped up, Razis "I kinda let him in." his grin was sadistic and insane.

"I hear you got quite a problem, let your boyfriend and the others know you got two now." EUA and Razis left in the usual portal.

DOCTOR TACHYON'S LAB:

"Shock it all," Tachyon swore as he used a welding laser to seal up a cannon barrel. "I'm deputy leader of this team, but do they ever ask my opinion? No. It's just, 'Tachyon we need this,' 'Tachyon we need that', 'Tachyon we need you to go inside the mouse hole and scare it out', 'Tachyon go inside the Dragonstar's engine and change the oil.' Do I ever get a chair in the meeting room, a nice scaled down one, little cup of coffee? No. I have to stand around. Shock it all. I hate being small, shocking dimension. And my room! Empty, except for a table with a freakin' dollhouse! I sleep in a dollhouse! I am not a toy, I am not a doll, I am a man!"

He wiped the sweat off his brow.

"One reducing ray, all ready. Guaranteed to shrink anything down to manageable sizes. Reduce size and mass, equals reduced power, equals zero threat, equals no killing. 'least I'm still big when it comes to the lab stuff."

Somewhere far from the castle, then right by it, then far, ect:

Solara loved flying, at the speed of light. She may not be solid anymore, but there were still things to enjoy. ...They had to bring her people back soon. This planet was so empty, save for the Crystal Fighters. So unlike the other dimension...

And the other Solara. How....how could any version of her fall to that level, become that evil? She....she couldn't let herself become that!

CASTLE COURTYARD:

Ganthet went through a variety of poses, fighting stances and something akin to praying.

"And so we go to battle, bravely. We fight for life, for justice, for those who have gone before. We fight because we must win. And even if we die, because we have gone bravely, in defense of others, for a worthy cause, our place is assured. In the Hall of Warriors, where the brave go when they die."

THE FOREST:

Grey Wolfe sniffed the air. Something just felt wrong.

"What's wrong?" Rupay asked. He'd been watching her today, trying to feel useful. With Zelda, Dakey, and Deyja gone, he was beginning to feel how little his vow to always protect them meant.

"Nothing," he said. "...Why don't we head back to the castle. I need to talk to Entropy."

DIANTHE'S ROOM

Dianthe knelt on the floor of her room. It wasn't much considering she had just joined the CFs and hadn't really settled into such a strange style of living. She shrugged away the thought and focused her concentration on her Kiav, starting a series of swift gestures. The motions resulted in an intricate carving of the plastic bottle in front of her. Normally she used rock, her Kiav's sharp ends were strong enough for that. However, she made due with what she had. It was the heart's prayer that counted, not the materials used in expression.

"Time will take me, erode life, but only change you as your faces pass." Only a third level invocation would suit this occasion, there was but one that was more powerful. It was said to summon the Goddess herself, but such askance was forbidden, even to a High Priestess. She knew the 'spell' for lack of a better term, but she had never practiced it, not even tried the words without the meaning and strength behind them. "I ask not of your overflowing bounty. I shall only take the least needed to sustain Be'jin's Gift [life]." Each invocation began with an identification of the deity, followed by praise for what had been and would be given.

By this time, Dianthe was deep in meditation and didn't even notice her twin couples of braids begin to float slightly. It *was* a spell. "Your blessed love feeds my soul more than any material sustenance. Your interpretive truth extends my mind to your abounding intellect."

She began to smile, retracting the blades of her Kiav and twisting it in a strange baton-whirl. "I thank you with my deepest heart. I pledge my life to you in whatever service you request from sacrifice for Durv, to a simple smile, all as you deem fit."

ELSEWHERE

Zaria shot the Goddness of Light a glare, "I will deal with you later." she said emphatically, lightly furious at being interrupted, "And," she added with a pointed glance at a barely conscious and definitely not coherent, Zelda, "And stay out of this. You've done enough damage." she pronounced. She didn't know how long it would take her to resolve matters she herself had put into motion--at the Goddess' instruction.

The Immortal just shook her head, refusing to portray a chastised child. Zaria had forced equality between them, something she could never have accepted before. Now it was the unstable way between them, not exactly the culmination of her carefully set plans of millennia ago...still, perhaps it would work out after all. At the moment though, she would consent the upper hand and a few decisions to her wayward pupil.

DIANTHE'S ROOM

The words hung in silent air as Dianthe drifted in meditation for almost five minutes more. Slowly, she came out of it, with no more insight than before, however, she felt better, more secure. The tradition was familiar, though she had never used a 3rd level outside of careful practice.

She stood, stretching a little then headed out to find one of the CFs. Preferably another recent addition, like herself. They were slightly more willing to accept her, though still none of them trusted her. It was depressing to be so reminded... She shook away the memories; she was a High Priestess as well as a CF. That was what mattered.

TACHYON'S LAB

Not long later, and also with a mind clouded by misgivings, Kaliana joined the miniscule doctor.

"Seen Kevin?" she asked shortly. He had basically given them a death sentence and then *left* without even a firm description of what these people could do. He'd pretty much just said that nothing the CFs were capable of would even annoy their new enemies in the least.

She knew the CFs had made enough mistakes in the past that they had some people after them, but she would still feel more comfortable if she knew the whys. Did these people even want anything besides the destruction of the CFs? And maybe... She began to wonder what type of communication they used.

"We need to know more about Trax and whoever. Forgive me for sounding like Zel, but they've gotta have their reasons. Maybe they're good ones." she shrugged ineffectually, "Or something. Rushing into a dead end battle without the background info--" she frowned.

----

Eme cursed and ran out to find Entropy.

"We have another problem. Razis has hooked up with EUA." She informed him.

"We just had a visit in the throne room.

----

Kevin sat floating by the "sun" protected by an energy bubble in a place that none could reach was actually somewhat calming.

"Damn you brother, why did it have to come this far." He swore at himself. He knew this battle would be his last, and everyone else would probably go with him.

"The blasted Haji clones will make this fight impossible. Unless... It may be time to play my trump card...." He understood everyone's frustration with him. He’d never been the most open of people and frankly, he wasn't sure what to expect himself. Its hard to tell someone how they’re gonna die when you don't know yourself. Even if you can make an educated guess.

"I hope they don't delude themselves into thinking they can even affect the Haji. I expect by now every trick has been tried and they've adapted.... I'm not even sure I can kill one of the accursed clones."

He had a lot to think about and even more to do.

Lark walked out into the courtyard, it smelled liked Crystalia, looked like Crystalia's land but the heart was still not their no matter how hard she hoped every time she walked out. The heart of Crystalia, the many people living on it's land, were never there.

Lark sighed, depressed. Maybe some exercise would ease her mind and emotions. She strolled up to Ganthet who was just coming out of his little speech/pray thing.

"Hey G if your not busy would mind a spar?" she twirled the tip of her sword on the ground making it spin in her hand, a habit she had been doing since a child.

TACHYON'S LAB:

"Oh. Kaliana," he said, "I think Kevin's up at the sun. Make's me nervous. No one being should be able to contain all that power he has...."

"But you're right. They might have a good reason, for wanting to kill us. For all we know, sometime in the future, we decide what's best for the galaxy is for us to rule it, to keep it safe. Thinking we create a utopia, we create more misery than the Vile ever did. ....or something like that."

COURTYARD:

Ganthet smiled and nodded. Lark was one of the few people who could really hold their own against him in a fair fight. "I wouldn't mind at all, Lark. It's been too long, since I've really had my skills tested." He held his hand out, and a small amount of matter seemed to expand from his hand. The crystal grew, forming into a powerful looking sword. "I don't claim to understand how my new powers work, but I do appreciate them."

****

Grey burst in to where Entropy and Eme were talking, Rupay riding on his back. He let her climb off, them spoke, "Entropy... I smelled something, something evil."

"We know, Grey. Evil UA and Razis showed up," the current leader of the Crystal Fighters said. "Like we need one more thing to worry about."

****

Solara landed just by a lake. Or at least, she almost landed. She hovered a few millimeters above the ground. There was a breeze blowing, but she couldn't feel it. The sun was shining warmly, but she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel anything, couldn't smell, couldn't taste. She had only her sight and hearing. She wasn't even solid. She stuck her fingers into the water, watching as it refracted them in all directions, like a prism. She began to try something Dele, of those other Crystal Fighters, had tried to teach her. She wore solid light, like she had so many times. But this time, just under the "skin" of her light form, forming solid light within herself. She tried moving, but it was difficult to keep the light moving with her. It proved to be too much strain, and the construct collapsed. If she still had tear ducts, she would have cried.

COURTYARD

Lark grinned, this would be fun, she had marveled at Ganthet's surprisingly speedy and fluidic movements with his sword even with his bulky size. Lark had been waiting for an opportunity to go head on with the big brute, she knew she could let loose with out to much worry of harming him.

Lark raised her sword and gave a quick sharp nod to Ganthet, then jumped forward quickly slashing her sword to deflect his sword from it's defensive position and dove quickly for his mid section, his girth moved quickly out of the way and she pulled back to block his counter attack.

LAKE

"Solara?"

She looked around, seeing two wolves had come near her. But hadn't she heard.. a voice?

"Are you alright?"

She blinked. The larger, white wolf had spoken this time, she was sure of it.

"Blade. Perhaps we should shift?"

"Oh! Laina, Blade. It's you two."

"Would you rather be alone? We didn't mean to intrude, but one could sense your sadness. What is wrong? Perhaps we could be of help?"

"Perhaps we could, if you slowed down, Laina."

Blade rebuked her, then winked at Solara.

--------

Tala was alone in her room, surrounded by darkness. Having accepted her dual nature, she found it easier to think in the dark.

She didn't know what she was going to do, but she knew one thing. She would take as many down as she could.

Pyro was in the forest practicing some tactics he liked to use. This whole thing hurt his head. He wakes up to find he’s got some new abilities and has been playing split persona for a month. Then he gets thrown right from that to finding out he’s gonna die(again)?

He wasn't taking that without a fight. He summoned his rage armor, which had become easier and easier as of late. He slammed his fist through a tree, which splintered where he hit it. He had to get used to this, and fast.

COURTYARD

Ganthet brought his sword around in a wide swipe, which Lark barely blocked, then winced as her blow chipped little bits of crystal from his side.

Lark was one of the most capable fighters he'd ever met, a hardened warrior if ever he knew one. But so angry.

"Well played," he grunted. He stabbed and she ducked. He had size, power, and reach, but she had speed.

Another strike from her tried to sever the sword from his hand, and he let it. The crystal sword shattered, as he rejected the mass and formed it again in his other hand. The equivalent of tossing the blade from one hand to the other, and the perfect surprise. He swung in a wide arch, blunting the edge of the blade so as not to cut her if he connected.

*****

Solara managed a smile for her friends. "I'm just feeling very, very sad. When I was bonded with Ganthet, I eventually got enough will to be solid, but that's because my body was changed to light by my Crystal. Now, my body was destroyed back in Crystal New York, and my crystal changed into light, like the rest of me. That's all I am now, light in the shape of a woman. I...I just want so much to be solid again."

****

"Ungh!" Lark grunted as the blunt of Ganthet's sword struck her shoulder, forcing her to stumble to the ground. She rolled onto her back and brought her sword up instinctively, catching Ganthet's downward swing, he had so much power that her muscles burned under the pressure. The moment was intense and she loved it, sword fighting had brought strength and stableness into her life since a little girl and the last time she had been able to exert herself this much in a swordfight was back when Entropy and her fought the double sword Wizrobe.

Her head pounded under Ganthet's forcing pressure, she was way to vulnerable laying down, she quickly, and as hard as she could kicked at Ganthet's knee forcing it backwards, a crack sounded and a few flakes of crystal jutted off. It was enough for him to let up and Lark pushed the sword away and rolled out of its range and got back to her feet to me Ganthet's next blow which nearly wrenched her sword free.

"Hehe your momma must have fed you well as a boy, such strength."

LAKE

Laina and Blade glanced at each other, then back to Solara.

"We can understand your want to be solid again. And.. there may be a way."

Blade nodded.

"I was reading your files, at that.. place. It was magic that transformed you, magic can transform you back. But, you may or may not loose your powers."

"And, with this upcoming battle.. You will have the easiest time fighting. You, and Tala. Being intangible has it's plus side."

"We will leave the decision up to you, Solara. Just let us know when you wish us to try."

Laina then grinned suddenly, a slightly odd thing to see on a wolf, but it was a smile- all the same.

"Would you train with us, perhaps? We could use someone with your speed to chase after. Or to chase us."

ANOTHER TIMELINE

Trax stood in ceremonial armor over his millions of troops. The majority of them looked the same. Striking at simulations of their targets. The main army was divided among the CFs, each division knowing the key tactics to destroy 1 or 2 CFs, but every division knew how to slow them down, preventing any previous group of CFs from getting the advantage by switching off who they were fighting.

Trax was just too damn smart to fall for that.

Of course, there was still his brother Kevin and his useless father. But they would hold till the end, and by that point he would be strong enough to kill Kevin in one blow. He looked at the item floating beside him. "The Obsidian Core" He said quietly. The Core glowed dimly; it had only attained energy from weak opponents up till this point. But when the Crystal Fighters are killed and their crystals' powers absorbed into the core.

The Core not only gave him access to the CF's powers, but protected him from them, making most of the CF's unable to use or sustain energy from the CFs.

But his brother and father’s Crystals couldn't be absorbed by the core. The Crystal just had too much power, and too chaotic of energy to control

No matter, in 29 days he would be so powerful that he wouldn't even need the Haji Clones. He would have the power of a god and NO ONE would be alive to stop him.

He couldn't help but grin

COURTYARD

Ganthet grunted as Lark dropped her resistance, letting him fall foreword. Her sword connected sharply with his stomach, cutting a gash in the crystalline matter.

"As UA once told me, 'You must have been eating your Wheaties, Lark," he said.

Her next strike hit him well below the belt, chipping away at his legs. He tried a different tactic, altering the matter in his middle, so he could swing his blade in a three-sixty degree arc.

****

"I would like to be solid again, be normal. But...at the same time, I like having my powers, like being a Crystal Fighter," Solara said.

She smiled, "But sure, why not. I haven't pushed my abilities in so long, never had much chance, when those awful people captured you and me."

***

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Zealen popped up. He had spent a lot of time traveling through alternate dimensions, and was currently thinking about a little Lizard Bard, who he had taken a liking to. Zealen was separated from the CF's, probably because he was the most alien. Sure, there was Ganthet, but he could actually talk and make sense. Zealen held within his head the ends and beginnings of hundreds of worlds, the fate of an empire, the power of the gods, the ability to pierce reality at will with his super intelligent brain. He locked the door to his room, and looked around his room at the castle.

There was his crystal, the thing that started it all. Chain, his brother, had used a device to summon creatures from another world to claim his empire during his absence. He had the burden of millions of dead Protoss on his hands.

Then there was his old suit, hung up in the Corner. It was his old power armor, before he had gotten the upgraded suit he has currently. It had so many memories.

He looked down at his hand, he held an amulet with a picture of him and Noran, the little lizard bard he had found in an alternate reality, and had liked. He hung it around his neck.

He sat down on his bed, for once, he was... sad.

COURTYARD

The momentum created from Ganthet's arcing slash was too great, crystal and metal clanged hard, Lark grimaced like she was sucking down several hundreds of lemons, she stayed like that as the sword tremble but even with her greatest effort the sword clattered to the ground.

Ganthet's momentum was still pulling him towards Lark and he used it to swing a good punch, though he held back immensely, he would have killed her if not. Instead it simply would give her a bit of a headache when she picked herself up off the ground.

Lark laid there sprawled on the grass with her bloodied lip.

"Ow," was her response. Ganthet smiled and offered his hand and Lark gladly excepted.

"You are an amazing fighter Lark, the equal of some of my world's best. Were it not for my strength... I doubt I could have kept up with you."

His eyes narrowed in concentration, as he formed another blade from his body. Lighter, but no less sharp or strong. It became a complete sword. He separated it from his body and handed it to her.

"Here. Take this, my gift to you. It's an improvement over your old one, and since it's prismatic, it will better channel your energies. We will need every advantage in the days to come."

TACHYON'S LAB

"Need any help?" Kaliana asked, surveying the lab with a quick glance of her eyes. The technological level of her world was about 25 century earth. Not quite up to the standards of Pyro or the doctor, but living in that type of society had given her at least *some* understanding.

***

Dianthe left her room, a little refreshed, and started a search for one of the other CFs. She wasn't quite sure who, actually she was still a little bit lost...and not just mentally, she soon realized.

COURTYARD

"Thanks Ganthet," Lark smiled brightly, his words meant a lot to her because she knew his honor did not allow lies to his escape his soul and his gift was one of caring, a piece of himself to her.

"You’re a good friend" Lark said wrapping her arms around him "I wish I had known that sooner, before these last gloomy days." she backed away "I'm going to go see if Entropy has a spare sheath for this." she said admiring the sword and then left for the castle.

Lark found Entropy looking quite angry and Eme just the same with concern etched into that anger, "What's up guys?"

"EUA."

ELSEWHERE

Grey had left with Rupay, preferring to let Entropy and Eme discuss the matter. He paused as he walked down the hall and sniffed the air. An only semi-familiar scent reached his nose.

"What is it Grey?" Rupay asked, holding on tightly to his mane.

"Dianthe," he replied. "Coming down the hall. ....I wish I could trust her like I do the others, but for her to appear right when we loose Zelda...."

"Yeah," the little girl replied, "I miss Zellie too."

TACHYON'S LAB:

"I'd appreciate it, Kali," he said, flying over to the control panel. "I've developed ray device that simply shorts out voluntary motor impulses, but it needs a power source. A plasma-cell would do nicely, but I think I can contain one of your miniature novas for an ever longer lasting one."

"...I wish it didn't have to come to this. We're going into battle against, essentially 'human' foes. I have no qualms about fighting Vile... But I won't kill. I know Grey, Ganthet, Solara, and likely Dianthe won't either. This is going to divide us..."

Kevin sat peacefully in his bubble near the sun. He started floating down slowly. He had to tell them what was going on, and he had to do it soon. He HAD to convince them that any weakness on their part would cost them their lives.

LAKE

"Alright!"

Laina wagged her tail, then glanced at Blade.

"Should we chase her, or have her chase us?"

"Chase us. We need to see if your speed has improved any."

Laina growled, Blade sighed, and Solara laughed.

"Okay, Solara. Tell us when to take off, and we shall."

"Okay."

They turned, tensing, waiting for her to say the word... "GO!"

They sprang, nearly in unison, then they were racing through the forest. Neither turned to look if Solara was following.

-------

Tala slowly returned to her room, the darkness retracting as she did so. Her hand reached up to touch her choker lightly, reassuring herself that it was still there. The Crystal has changed, instead of the four colors that were melded together; it was now a mixture of black and gray. She went to find the others, wondering if Kevin told them anything while she was away.

"Crap!" Lark said, "As if we didn't have enough on our minds how are we going to..."

"I'll take care of him," UA walked in, looking like a Pyro reject with several weapons and gadgets hanging off of him. "I'll finish this once and for all, no more hold ups."

"Woah, UA, calm down you can't be heading out on a mad hunt for EUA right now." Entropy holds him by the shoulders.

"I'm starting to get tired of your ordering me around Entropy."

"If you've forgotten-- you stepped down from the leader position. I'm the leader now, I give the orders" Entropy truthfully found the job harder then expected with little or no reward. He respected UA's leadership skills immensely but he just hadn't been himself for sometime.

"Then I'm quitting your damn orders Entropy, I'm no longer a CF." UA looked at him sternly, Entropy looked back trying to read his bluff but UA reached into his pocket and pulled out his Crystal, tossing it to him.

Entropy looked at the Crystal, now he was upset at UA's pissyness of late. "UA you can't leave, we have the biggest fight of our lives coming and you are most skilled, experienced and smartest fighter, it does no good to waste your energy with EUA right now, we have to prepare for..."

UA simply turned and headed through a portal disappearing to who knows where.

"Damnit!!!!!" Entropy screamed throwing UA's Crystal across the room "How the hell did I get into this?" Entropy stormed off.

Lark looked at Eme who looked distant in thought, she had known UA was hurting inside from something, , she wished she had confronted him now, now that things had gotten so far and out of hand.

"Eme," Lark rested a reassuring arm around her shoulders.

"I'll help you look for him if you'd like."

"Of all the stubborn, conceited, goddamn STUPID things he could f*cking do-" Entropy uttered a long string of curses as he angrily walked down the hallway, spontaneously cleaving a chair in half as he went out of pure anger. This was terrible! EUA on the loose, UA pursuing him with the conviction of a madman, and a well-trained and highly experienced army of CF-killers after them that would appear in no time. Sighing as he turned a corner, he resigned himself to it. They were doomed. He started down towards Tala's room. If he was going to die...then at least he would be spending his last free moments with her.

LAKE

Solara took off, pushing her speed and physics to the limit. She was going at speeds roughly a quarter that of light, and could proably push it even farther, but she was conserving some of her energy. She booster her speed just a little and accelerated.

****

Ganthet came back inside, heading to his room. More Spartan than most of the CF's rooms, he had little, needed little. Adorning the walls, however, were pictures of the various incarnations of the Crystal Fighters. There was one just after he'd joined: so full of pride, a warrior true, hung up on honor, and gifted with a skill for random displays of power. There was another, when they'd met Solara, after they'd been put through the Rites affair: Rupay was there, so were Kisutsu, and Maia; not the happiest of times, trying to save Crystalia from destruction, but they'd been a family of sorts. One from just before they'd come to Faia, after he'd gone home: Him in his new body, feeling so sorry for himself and walling off all emotions, and one from now: old friends reunited, and the team at perhaps the strongest it had ever been. But all this could change.... He sat down on his bed and held his head in his hands.

"Please," he prayed to his gods, "don't make me kill. I've seen too much death, gotten too much blood on my hands."

Dianthe smiled a hello at Grey and Rupay, "Any updates?" she asked, trying to be polite though it was frustrating that they still didn't let her in on anything. She had never met someone who did not instantly trust a High Priestess, and now that she was a CF..one of them, didn't that have any meaning for them?

"I'm not sure. Kevin hasn't told us anything else, if that's what you mean," Grey replied. "But in the meantime, we just had a visit from what I gather was an old foe...before my time, I'm afraid."

The Tyger was absently aware that his unease was making the fur on the back of his neck stand up, but didn't much care. A priestess Dianthe might be, and being a highly evolved form of plant life gave her a connection to nature that surpassed even his, but that she had replaced Zelda, even claimed her Crystal, it just worried him.

TACHYON'S LAB

Kaliana nodded, "Well?" she asked, waiting. He indicated a direction for the miniature nova.

"In there." he clarified, so that it wouldn't end up on the outside of the containment unit. A few seconds later a glowing ball of pent up energy appeared, veritably bubbling in the center of the unit.

"Good enough?" she asked, almost challengingly. It had *better* be good enough.

"Very nice," Tachyon said, "just what was needed. ....Why do I get the feeling that by the end of this month, it won't matter a shock's worth."

He sighed, "I designed this suit for exploratory purposes, but the first time I wore it was in battle, in defense of my shipmates. I nearly killed several people, bad men yes, but people just the same. It was perfect for Vile, and I've since refined the control so I don't kill anyone if I don't wish to... But the fact that my invention will be used for such a vile purpose..."

He continued, shaking his head, "I don't believe anyone has the right to take another life. ....and if that's what it comes down to... I'd rather die than have blood on my hands."

LAB

Lark and Eme waltz into Pyro's lab.
"Hey Pyro."

He didn't respond from his hunched over position at his work space.

"Deep in thought," Lark grinned "Must be hard at work trying to figure out how to blow up the world ten seconds faster then usual."

Lark walked over to tap his shoulder, "Py!"

He jumped from his seat slamming his head into the hanging light above, sparks shot into the air.

"%*&^$ what are you doing sneaking up....." suddenly he was aware of the hissing sound, a spark had found a fuse "*&^^#$*(*!" He was pulling Lark and Eme out the door as the blast threw them through the air.

Lark coughed "Queen Emerald!"

"Fine, Pyro?"

"(*&^%$ (*&^ *()&&%$ *(&)^%!" He went into to a survey the newest damage, "(*&#(*&$(*!!!!!!!!!!"

"Uh Pyro when you finish uh mopping things up, we were wondering if you could help us get a lock on UA's portal signature…" Lark sheepishly grinned and he glared back sternly, "When you’re done with your project of course, don't let us bother you." Lark quickly left with her queen afraid Pyro might actually bite her if she stayed any longer.

"I can help you find his portal signature." Came a voice from the back of the room. Zealen walked out of the shadows. "Here, use this, and in put the coordinates in the Parallax machine in my room, it will open a portal to where he went. He placed the disk on the table, and disappeared in the shadows.

"Do you know how to use it Majesty?" Lark asked.

"I've seen these things used enough times by UA, I can fumble my way through it. And Lark you don't have to call me Majesty anymore, I never quite liked people calling me that in the first place and I have no place to be Queen of anymore." Eme said looking at one of the last two links she had back to her people, Lark and Solara were the only ones of her people left with her.

"But here..." Lark began.

"You and I both know this isn't Crystalia, as much as we would love to make are selves believe it, we don't even know what this place is or where it came from, it looks like Crystalia but it will never hold it's soul."

Lark nodded and thought she might cry, she had known such things from the start but to hear her Queen speak in her own words proved it was the dire truth.

"Eme, we’ll do fine…" Lark nodded "Now let’s try and figure this thing out." Eme pushed some buttons and began tracking UA's bio signature.

"He's not on Destiny anymore" Lark said and Eme nodded.

"I'm not sure how much of a range this has, but I will try and check Faia." It took several minutes longer but they finally got a faint signature of UA's portal trail.

"I guess will be saying hello to the neighbors again, I hope they're in a better mood then last time"

"Hurry back." Entropy ordered once they had explained. "Don't be gone longer then a day or two, I don't care if you don't find him by then, we need you here, this attack could come at anytime."

They both nodded.

"Should we look for Kyle and T since they stayed back on Faia, and Deyja-- warn them of Trax?"

Entropy thought a moment then nodded, "I don't like either all that much but Kyle is powerful and could really help in this fight, you two be careful"

They both nodded again then headed for a transporter to Destiny and from there to Faia.

HALLWAY

Dianthe nodded, at least that was some new information, albeit bad information. "Reappearance...maybe he's teaming up with our new enemies?" she wondered out loud.

Grey gave the Tyger equivalent of a shrug, "Perhaps. Though, from what I've heard, he doesn't seem like one who would work as an underling--"

"While Trax, on the other hand," she finished, "probably wouldn't accept an underling like that. It sounds as if he has enough anyway." She frowned, shaking her head at the lack of theories. "Well, I'm off to..train I guess, and you?"

TACHYON'S LAB

"Whether there's a right or not, people do, life does." Kaliana shrugged, "If they're going to back us up against a wall, that's their problem. They'll be the ones to loose." Of that she was sure. She had too much riding on personally escaping unscathed.

----

Tala met Entropy in the hall, waiting for the others to leave before going up to him.

"What's wrong? More bad news?"

At his nod, she frowned thoughtfully, wondering what it was now.. but decided not to ask.

"C'mon, let's go."

"Where?"

"To the holo..whatever. We can train, and talk. And it's a bit more private then my room."

They headed off together, and Tala slipped her hand into his.

FAIA

Eme and Lark came out of the transport where their old head quarters had been. The HQ was now just a bunch of rubble. It barely even kept the skeletal castle shape they had last seen.

"Looks like the locals still have an itch with us." Lark said.

"Yeah we should find a safe place to hide and plan out how we’re going to do this before anything." Eme said and Lark nodded agreement, she touched her sword at her side knowing she couldn't use it if these people got out of hand but it was a good intimidator if needed.

Kevin floated down to the castle, finally getting his mind clear about what was going on. Emotions clouded things and up till now, he hadn't let them. Things were just getting too close for comfort. He found Pyro who was working diligently in his lab.

"Things aren’t looking good." Kevin said.

"No they’re not. I'm not sure everyone realizes what the stakes are." Pyro said as he was building a new heavy-weapon.

"Oh, they realize, they just don't want to deal with the fact that they aren’t getting out of this easily."

Suddenly a red light went off on Pyro's control panel, "We have intruders, maybe 6 of them."

"Vile?"

"No... something different."

"Damn." Kevin ran out with Pyro shortly behind, "It's probably Trax's exploratory team. They normally come a month before... they’re late."

"What?"

"6 of the Haji clones. Lightly outfitted, should be easy."

"Good." Pyro said as he brought out his Light Assault Pistol and checked the clip.

The two rounded the corner and saw the 6 clones, looking around for them.

"Don't use your armor, that’s our trump card."

"Right."

Kevin fired a blast, vaporizing one of the warriors. They turned and pointed their bladed staffs at him. Each staff fired a blast of energy, knocking Kevin out.

"Say ‘Ahhh’ boys!" Pyro raised his pistol and shot 3 of them in the head with a short burst. Frankly, anyone who could knock the kid out with 1 hit was too dangerous to play nice with.

The remaining 2 warriors charged Pyro, the first one taking a swing and earning a sharp clang as his staff met Pyro's mechanical arm, Pyro grabbed his Neck and held hard, choking the clone.

The other clone took a stab at Pyro as he was holding the first clone. Pyro casually shot the stabbing clone with a light burst from his LAP.

"Tell your boss that we’re not gonna be as easy as he..." Pyro started to say but a green flash from behind the remaining clone made it a moot point, "Hey, he was beaten!"

"Check his damn hand!" Kevin yelled. Pyro looked down and, sure enough, in the clone’s hand was a dagger that would have easily put a nice hole in Pyro, "I told you we can show no mercy, THAT’S WHY!"

Before Pyro could even respond the bodies of the clones disappeared into thin air, "What the #!$%^?"

"The bodies are just recycled into Protoplasm to make more of those damnable clones. They’re alive, sure, but their recyclable."

"Plastic Warriors, what'll they think of next."

"Lark, I want you to find Kyle and T and bring them back to Destiny. I'll take care of UA."

"But Eme.."

"No buts. Do it ok? And take care of yourself." Eme said walking out.

"Yes your majesty." Lark gave a slight bow and then caught the stern look of Eme "I mean..." it was hard to get it out, "…Eme."

Eme nodded approval at the correction and Lark fled off down the late night streets of the town to find where Kyle and T were held up.

~Thank the goddess it's night here and nobody’s out.~ Lark thought, still keeping to the shadows in case someone was having a fit of insomnia.

It didn't take long for Kaliana and Dianthe to rush onto the scene (in fact they almost skidded into each other when rounding the same corner).

"Excuse me." Dianthe said, trying to be polite to the apparently volatile CF. Kaliana never seemed too pleased when she was around. She only got a glare in return because Kaliana was too busy grilling Pyro and Kevin about what had happened. "Are there any more intruders?" Dianthe asked before Kaliana got too carried away, not that either Kevin or Pyro really noticed.

"No more, there’s a small peak of temporal energy about a month before the major spike. Call it a warning shock, It allows Trax to send a small force in to check the place and soften it up." Kevin explained, "But he won't be getting any intel. about this place. Dead clones tell no tales."

Pyro was a little shaken. He'd killed people before, it wasn't a big deal. But normally they STAYED dead. And this time... they just disappear and get recycled? This was way too weird for him.

"So, how much harder are the *real* guys gonna be?" Kaliana asked, surprised that it had only taken Pyro and Kevin to dispatch these clones after all the talk of how the CFs were doomed.

Kevin looked up, "They were scouts, poorly armed and generally trained. The brunt of their force is trained to kill individually. There’s a group trained to kill you, Pyro, me, and everyone else, one by one. Killing the 6 of them is like beating a child compared to the power of even one of their main warriors. That’s not even counting the powers of the generals and more importantly, Trax's Obsidian Core."

"The what?" Tachyon asked, flying onto the scene, Grey and Rupay behind him. "And just so everyone knows, I've got a number of incapacitating, if non-lethal weapons prepared now. Neuro-disrupters, shrink rays, cryo-freezers, stasis projectors, deceleration fields, etc. We might be able to stop them without getting blood on our hands."

"I don't know if you people understand this, but restraining them or 'incapacitating' them just pisses ‘em off. How can I make you people understand that these stupid clones are barely alive. They get killed and recycled faster then freakin’ Vile, that's why they have such overwhelming numbers!"

"Now, the Obsidian Core is a crystal that totally lacks power. It is more of a void then a power source. It absorbs the energy from our Crystals into it, granting Trax total invulnerability from our powers and the ability to USE our powers at will. It's also what allows him to create the Haji Clones by the millions.

"You should have said so in the beginning," Tachyon said. "If they are, a you say, recyclable clones,...drones really, than I have less qualms about battling them. Cloning...is a perversion of science and life. It's an abomination. This, I do not believe I have a problem fighting."

"Then what the h*ll are we supposed to *do*?!" Kaliana burst out in frustration.

Dianthe nodded, trying to get on her good side as well as add her opinion, "It's true. All you've told us is that they're tough, so? What do we do about it? You've pretty much rejected any ideas we've had as impossible against the odds, but if we don't have anything possible.." she trained off, unintentionally ominous.

Kaliana pushed roughly past her and exited the room, "Call me if you have anything *useful* to tell us. And it d*mn well better not be how we're 'sposed to *die*."

Kevin looked at Kaliana, "We have a chance, I wouldn't be here if there wasn't. Our only chance is to fight like we've never fought before. The less we leave of the clones, the less they'll come back. The Protoplasm is not easily gotten. Even Trax only has a limited amount. We CAN win."

Kevin looked up at the ceiling, "Get everyone together, I'll tell you EVERYTHING I know."

Kevin vanished, leaving several people with stupid looks on their faces behind.

"Now what?" Dianthe asked.

"Do what the kid says, time for a War Council."

The CFs still on Destiny met in one of the hanger bays that Pyro had converted into a war room. Kevin was standing in front of the large situation screen.

"Here’s what’s going on. Trax is sending his army, which is made almost entirely of clones of a long dead warrior race called the Haji. These things are basically robots made of skin and bone, no more alive then a rock. All that bleeds is not life,"

"The Haji have been divided between all of us. Each group knowing how to disable and kill a specific CF. Once dead, your Crystal is taken to Trax who absorbs the power from the Crystal into a crystal of its own form."

"This crystal is called the Obsidian Core. It looks like a black stone about the size of my fist. It actually seems to absorb light so, as such, I'm not ENTIRELY sure what it looks like. Not that that really matters. The Core absorbs the power from our crystals and grants Trax the use of these powers as well as making him invulnerable to those powers. Trax can't be hurt by you."

"There is a plus side to this. Trax can't absorb the power of my crystal. It’s just too much. My crystal is more of a portal then a power source. Since he can't absorb my Crystal, I can hurt him. I am the only one who can."

“He’s gonna try and kill us with the Haji as fast as possible. In 20 days when he comes-- in an instant we'll be buried under an army of troops. The first few days will be hell, I am certain we won't be able to hold the castle. We'll be on the run for the majority of the time. We have the advantage there. We can be mobile. But more then anything, we have to be able to hold our ground when it comes down to it. Our only hope to actually slow down their forces is to VAPORISE them. The less of the clone we leave around the less that Trax can recycle into new warriors."

"Expect them to pray on your weaknesses like no other opponent. They know you better then you know yourselves. Treat them like every clone can kill you. Cause every one of them can."

"Any questions?"

Laina raised a hand, nervously.

"Uh, Blade doesn't have a Crystal... So maybe they won't be after him? He could always help you, if that's the case. I'm not too worried about me, after all.. all mine does is make my natural shifting ability better."

Kevin smiled slightly, "Trax is crazier then Pyro. He’s also quite genocidal. He'll kill anyone around us and all of us. Useful Crystal or not. Its a genetics thing."

"You *still* haven't told us what we're supposed to use *against* these guys." Kaliana said, leaning against a metallic wall.

"Throw whatever you can at them. Whatever you can use to deal the most damage the fastest. Like I said, the less you leave of them, the less we have to worry about an hour later. Vaporizing them is the best option."

"I...think I can do that," Solara said. "If I can keep my energy levels up, I can throw off the heat and light of a fair sized star."

Ganthet nodded mute agreement. Walking corpses, zombies then. Those he had no problem killing, they weren't alive, just like the Vile. He admitted, he'd wanted to really cut loose for a while.

"I'm confident we'll win this one too," Grey Wolfe said, "we always have before, no matter what the odds."

"I....think I may have something that will help us," Tachyon said. "It's a bomb. I was able to analyze Kaliana's energy...and duplicate it. It's a nova bomb. Like a controlled burst of solar fire."

Zealen popped up from behind the shadows. "I'll be here to help, I can either also 'blast' them, or simply keep everyone else replenished. It's up to you."

Kaliana sighed heavily, "See ya in the Depths." she said with dismal sarcasm. If these clones and Trax and whoever knew their powers and how to counter them than nothing they already knew would help. She turned away from the group and headed back to Tachyon's lab, just for the off chance that she might actually learn something useful.

Dianthe looked curiously at Zealen, "Replenish? How so, a type of amplification?" She wondered if he might be able to help her gain more access of the Rydia Crystal. She just didn't know enough yet, and she wasn't able to access it outside of a life-threatening battle to test it.

"Do what you have too. You have 20 days left to get yourselves to your peak. I have my own training to do" Kevin said as he teleported away.

Pyro just grinned, he knew this was gonna be a real war. And he loved the thought of kicking some serious butt

FAIA

Lark with the cowl pulled over her head to hide her face a bit, humans and Faians didn't look too different but Lark wasn't sure if anyone would recognize her as a CF.

Lark walked into a bar where a few lamps were still burning slightly for the minimal late night drinkers. Lark took a seat at the bar and waited for the bartender to come to her.

"Drink ma’am?" he asked.

"Uh...water," she said slightly keeping her head lowered.

"Hmph," he bellowed. Apparently he wasn't accustomed to selling water, especially late at night like it was when the only people who were out, were out looking for a drink of alcohol.

The bartender set the dirty glass of brownish water in front of her, "That all?"

"I'm fine," Lark said then quickly "wait I was wondering, have you heard anything about those couple of renegade Crystal Fighters, that are supposedly still scouring the planet?"

"What, you some kind of bounty hunter or something?" the bartender asked quite suspicious, first the late night water run and now questions of the renegade CFs.

"Maybe, so any news?"

"What do I care about you for?" the bartender asked, Lark shrugged knowing what he wanted and dropped a few extra coins on to the table.

He scraped them up examining them, "Last I heard, they burnt down the Carney barn, it was struck by lightning that those CFs made and went up in flames."

Lark shrugged again, Kyle didn't have the power to make lightning and T didn't even have powers, it seemed these people were grasping at thin air to make the CFs look like villains but still, "Where’s the Carney ranch?"

"Just a mile out of town straight down the road."

Lark nodded getting up and leaving her untouched water behind, "As she swung out away from the wobbly stool she slammed into a woman scurrying by towards the back.

"Ungh" Lark cried out as she tumbled to the floor.

"Oh so sorry," the woman cried quickly, offering her hand to pull her up. Lark had fallen into the shadows but as she raised up into the light her cowl had fallen away and her face could be seen.

"Oh my goddess, Lark it's you!!!!!!!!!!"

Lark glanced at the woman. She didn't seem familiar.

"Who are you?" Lark asked after she had stood again. "Lark, it's me..Necile.. Don't you remember me?" Necile asked. Lark just stayed in a daze.

DESTINY

Dianthe shrugged, she didn't want to count on her power resurfacing in the midst of a battle, but there was one more thing she could practice with, her bladed Kiav. She glanced nervously at the remaining CFs, doubting that anyone would want to train with her, still, it was worth a shot, "Sparring, anyone?" she asked, raising her weapon which, at the moment, had it's blades sheathed within the hollow wood.

FAIA

"Lark?" the bartender perked up now, he looked confused like he was trying desperately to remember something.

~Uh oh~ Lark thought desperately, how had this Necile known her name, why did she act like Lark should know her, and had she blown her cover on purpose. Lark looked back as if waiting for the bartender to work his way through that dusty brain of his, even though she knew she should be running.

"Lark?" his face still distant in thought but in a split second it changed to surprise and then to anger.

"Lark!!!! You’re one of those damn Crystal Fighters aren’t you, in here making a fool of me!!!!!" he was reaching for the convenient wooden club behind the counter.

Lark was going for her own weapon when Necile pushed her away, pulling a blaster weapon out from under her hanging robe attire. She fired once and the tender was thrown back into a shelf bringing down several bottles of alcohol to the floor.

"Come on!!"

Necile was pulling her to the exit, forcing her to start moving. In a way, Lark was embarrassed to find her warrior training had gone out the end at such a sudden occurrence of drastic and weird change of events. She would have to reassert herself to get out of things alive.

Lark watched as the nearby drunks were finally pulling their faces away from there drinks to see what the commotion was about, and wanting some Crystal Fighter blood to go with their drinks of course.

Lark thanked the goddess as they stumbled over themselves trying to chase them out--at least they would have a head start before word got out there was a Crystal Fighter in town to be crucified.

"Wait, wait! Who are you?!" Lark finally jolted out at the female pulling her along in the run.

"There's no time to explain now Lark. Just keep running..."

DESTINY

Pyro had constructed a stronghold in the mountains using the Destiny's Terraforming technology, he was arming it with as many heavy weapons as possible, no matter how useless they were.

Meanwhile Kevin had teleported to a deserted planetoid in a near by asteroid belt and was doing a little target practice. He was blowing up the asteroids like they were nothing, but he knew he may have to release his full power. He also knew it would not only destroy his brother, but the entire universe as well. If that’s what took, then so be it. He may fall, but this is the last timeline his brother will destroy.

Dianthe shrugged at the silent response, she hadn't expected much anyway. She turned back down the hallway to an empty, unused room where she delved into a physical meditation session (what others might call repetitive practice with her respective weapon).

Kaliana keyed a few commands into a larger computer that was hooked up to Tachyon's desktop.

"--Error: Illegal action.

Error: Invalid command.

Error: Unrecognized action.

Error: Illegal action.

Error: Invalid command.

Error: Unrecognized action.--" The list just kept going and going, no matter what she tried. She had programmed in what information they had about the clones and was *attempting* to find a solution to the problem. However, the computer rejected each solution before it even went into a simulation. Well, there was *one* that a sim came up for, but that was accidental, she wasn't even sure which key she had hit. Not that it had worked anyway, their forces had been decimated within five minutes, a slight improvement from their unaltered scenario which took 4 minutes for them to be destroyed.

On a small planet in another timeline a collection of vehicles and airships hovered around a small steel gate. Inside the largest ship Trax was surveying his troops. He was not going to have a hard time with this. He had summoned troops from every timeline he had control of. There were easily a million Haji Clones that were trained for each Crystal Fighter. Not to mention the recycling system, newly upgraded and redesigned for more efficient use of the protoplasm.

"10 More days before the portal opens Sir." Arkjan, Trax's chief advisor told him.

"Good, and in 10 days, the last obstacle in our path will be gone. As will the prophecy of the 12th Haji will be as useless as it was the day it was told."

Back at Destiny Kevin was sitting in the Mountain Stronghold as Pyro was putting the finishing touches on the Electron cannons that would make up the turrets. It was time to play his trump card.

"Wakey wakey," he said as quietly as he could, "Where the hell are you.... #!%# Trax you son of a #!%#$ How the hell did you find out about them?!"

So much for his trump card. It was up to him. He should have seen it coming, after all, the clones WERE of the 11 Haji Leaders. It would make sense he would kill them once he had their genetic structure. But Trax missed one. There was still the 12th Haji. That’s all he would need.

Tachyon removed his helmet, disconnected the leads to the computer, and shook his head. Every simulation he'd run had ended with them getting killed. There'd been some better ones. Heavily arming the castle with auto-cannons had given them an advantage, for a time. He wondered absently for a moment. The Destiny could create any world, by partial use of a chrono-field. It had, in fact, created its own Crystal Fighters when they had first arrived. What if they were to do that again, reform Crystalia once more, so that it would generate more chrono-clones, and even up the odds. He should talk to Kevin.

***

Just outside the castle: Ganthet and Solara were going at it, locked in mock combat. His prismatic nature made it easy to absorb her light bolts and send them right back at her. She, by the same token could pretend to be hit, dodge, or just re-channel or redirect it. Neither could hurt the other, but it would none-the-less keep them combat sharp, for they could do their worst to each other and never once cause injury. Grey Wolfe watched on the sidelines, marveling at the power unleashed.

They stopped for a moment, about to go at it again, when the air in front of them sparkled and crackled with an unearthly light. It shimmered for a second more, and then a figure stepped through. He wore a military style uniform, and a helmet that concealed his features. Ganthet and Grey adopted battled stances, but Solara was more trusting.

"Who are you?" she asked holding out a hand created from solid light.

The man nodded once, then spoke. "Lt. Fugate of the Authority for Anti-Chaos." He fired a beam from his glove, freezing the Tyger in his tracks. "This doesn't concern him. But it does the two of you. You're walking loose ends. Uncontrolled wells of chaos, twisted by time and other powers so that you disrupt all reality."

"Not our choice," Ganthet said, grimly. "We did not ask for our lots."

"Wha...what do you mean?" Solara asked.

"The Authority has ordered me to tie up this loose end, meaning you."

"You mean to kill us?" Ganthet said, his hands forming spiked maces.

"Nothing of the sort.. at least, I mean only death to you as you are now. In one way, you will live on," the Lt. replied. His gloves glowed with power and a beam lanced out from each, striking both Ganthet and Solara. They glowed a green color and seemed to break apart into more energy. That energy came together and slowly became a physical being. This being was made of a crystal-like material, and was the height of Ganthet. But the build and features, down to stands of crystal hair, was Solara. A glowing sphere of light, where this being's heart was, pulsed.

"There," the Lt. said, "The chaos had ended, by merging the two into one, tying all ends together. I worry about some of the effects... Memories will be from both, but this new being will have little sense of identity...confused about its own nature. But its powers will be incredible. Ganthet's strength and battle-form shifting, combined with the power of Solara's light." With that, he vanished, and time resumed.

A growl escaped Grey Wolfe's throat, as he saw the strange being...woman.

"Why...are you so angry Grey? What has happened?" the being asked.

"Who are you? Where are Ganthet and Solara?"

"I...I... Call me Ganthra. I... I do not know what I am. I remember being Solara... But I also remember being Ganthet. I have all their memories, but none of my own. I...do not know how to explain..."

Grey's mouth opened and closed for a few seconds, then he finally slapped the communicator on the castle wall with his paw. "Uh...," he said, "I think we have a situation here people. A bad one..."

Tala waited while Entropy paced. Whatever he needed to tell her, he would do so in time. For now, she was content to sit and watch him.

She hoped Laina and Blade were solving their differences. Blade wanted Laina to leave, while Laina wanted to stay. She assumed it must be hard. To be dead, then brought to a world where you have no place. No place, because you don't have a Crystal.

She wondered then, what would happen if they were to all lay down their Crystals? It would be giving up, she knew that. And they'd be killed, even more easily. After all, just because they had set them aside.. didn't mean that they wouldn't pick them up again.

"Entropy..."

He paused, waiting for her to continue.

"I assume that everyone is thinking the worst. That we are all about to die. What do you think?"

FAIA

Lark raced blindly through the streets following her new found protector, she couldn't trust her yet and Lark was ready to cut her down if things turn ugly with the young woman but right now she was helping Lark out of trouble and that’s all that mattered.

Word traveled fast, probably because it was a smaller town and the bartender’s yelling easily traveled to almost all the sleeping ears, and when the town guard troops came rushing out of there hold up in the town inn, their cries woke those who the bartender hadn't.

Lark risked a glance back to see the troops assembling, they would make it out of town before they could make up the distance between Lark and the woman but the townspeople were coming onto the streets all around them and pelting them with a barrage of whatever the could find. Mostly rocks or bottles, no matter they would hurt if they connected but Lark didn't want to harm these misguided people.

TACHYON'S LAB:

"I... I don't have a clue people," Tachyon said. "The crystal material is the same as Ganthet's body, but...the light energy is unmistakably Solara. Other bio-readings fall somewhere in-between the two."

"That is what I told you," Ganthra said. "I have no memories of my own, save until I saw Grey growling at me up until now. I can remember what happened, from both Ganthet and Solara's viewpoint... then pain, as two souls became one."

"Absolutely amazing...," Dianthe said. "I never would have believed it if you hadn't asked me to see this for myself. Two souls, forced to become one, individuality lost... Who would do this kind of thing?"

"He called himself an agent of the Authority of Anti-Chaos. Called Ganthet and Solara ‘disruptions on reality’. Called me a solution."

Grey scratched behind his ears, "I don't know what to make of it either. "Ganthra" has a smell like Ganthet's and like Solara. It is most confusing."

"Maybe Tala can help...," Tachyon said, "She's a telepath. She might be able to sort things out."

Practically, Kaliana asked, "Well, will this help or hinder us?" Before they had two separate powers, now they had one new one.

"Perhaps." Tachyon responded, "Considering Kevin said they know the strengths and weaknesses of Ganthet and Solara, but do they even know of the existence of Ganthra?" "You had better stay as hidden as you can." Dianthe suggested to the new being, "If Trax doesn't know about you yet, we should keep it that way."

FAIA

As Lark wildly ran, dodging townspeople almost to the point of unbalancing her gait, she half tripped over a raven haired woman who she *swore* had not been there just a second ago..though she *had* been distracted by a particularly vile substance that had collided with her arm.. Suddenly, however, she looked back up to make sure her new companion was still in sight. To her surprise, the woman was only a couple feet away from her. ~What..?~ she wondered, then shrugged it off, just being glad of her good luck.

Necile stared back at Lark. She didn't look too impressed, but Lark looked away from Necile's eyes.

"Ya know,,I really hate to point this out to ya Lark, But now isn't a great time to be stopping."

"Really good advice.." Lark muttered under her breath.

DESTINY

"What do I think? I've always treated every moment like it could be my last, it's why I can usually keep my cool in most situations." Entropy hesitated a moment. ~Yeah, like with this.~ "I honestly don't know. I've never been scared of any prophesies before. And I've heard plenty. Still....I don't know why, but this whole deal worries me. I never let myself think that something was eventually going to catch up with me...but....if we do end up dying on this-"

"You shouldn't think about that, even so."

"No. I need to do this." He walked back over to her, kneeling, palming the ring he had kept for so long. "If we live through this..." he held the ring up to her, not daring to watch her reaction. "Tala....will you marry me?"

Tala did not believe what she was seeing. When he had knelt, she thought he was going to give some sort sort of speech.. or something along those lines. Not show a ring. His first answer from her was a shocked intake of breath, since he could not see the play of emotions on her face. Then...

"Entropy?"

He looked up, to see the hugest smile on her face, then she pulled him towards her.

"Yes! Yes! I will marry you!"

She then wrapped her arms around him, starting to cry.

FAIA

Necile reached out a helping hand for Lark and she tentatively took it, taking a couple seconds to think of the consequences then took the hand. Necile was already hoisting Lark up when the free flying bottle caught her just above the left brow.

"Ugh!!" Necile cried and released her grip on Lark, falling back to the ground hard.

Necile stumbled around, feeling her forehead for a couple seconds then when she pulled her hand away to find the blood spread across her fingers it seemed to tell her mind it was ok to fall unconscious now.

Necile stumbled forward, lids closed over dizzied eyes. Blood flowing quite freely from her brow, she fell straight onto Lark. Now they both lay there together and the first arrows were zinging by from the guards who had made up considerable distance in the two's downtime.

Lark grunted, pushing Necile off of her then rolling to her feet. Lark covered her head as she examined Necile.

~She got hit bad,~ she thought. ~I wonder how much she weighs.~ Lark pondered, then debated if she should even take her. But she had helped and had shown no signs of foul play towards her.

"*&^%" she muttered as she hoisted Necile over her shoulder and began running again. But now she was moving at half the speed, a speed much too slow and the arrows were cutting the air much too close and the guards footfalls pounded much too near.

Kaliana just about kicked the stupid machine, "Don't like that one either, huh? Well why don't *you* think of something!" she said in a furious undertone directed at the computer.

Dianthe raised an eyebrow at Kaliana, then shrugged helplessness at Ganthra, "I think she's always like this."

Kaliana, however, had heard her, "Oh? And what would *you* know *newbie*?" she spat. The other woman winced slightly, she knew most of Kaliana's anger wasn't because of her, but still, it was true, maybe she *had* overstepped the boundaries.

Ganthra nodded, "She has much anger in her... But rightfully so, I think. Everything my memories tell me suggests that she had been through a lot, before becoming one of us."

Tachyon landed on the computer by Kaliana.

"Try this," he said, "Pyro's setting up weapons in the mountains, I've got auto-cannons being prepares for the castle, and now we have an element of surprise... Ganthra. We might actually stand a chance."

Ganthra raised a hand, "If you do not mind, I think I would like to continue to train. I know how to use Ganthet's powers, and Solara's, because I used to be them... But I am not sure how well I can use them, since I have a little of both of them inside my head, a mixture of identity and experience and emotion." A look of vague confusion passed over her chiseled crystal features, as various memories bubble to the surface and she tried to sort through them.

Dianthe nodded at Ganthra, "If...you think you could..with the abilities and all, we could train together." She suggested, as sort of a new CF, perhaps Ganthra wouldn't reject the idea so easily.

Kaliana frowned, "Well...we can *try* it, but I *know* it's not going to be enough!" she added obstinately, "We *need* more!"

"I would not mind that, I think," Ganthra said. "Neither of my past selves distrusted you... at least not very much. Ganthet trusted you more, he just seemed to have a sense for these things."

Dianthe smiled, a little hesitantly, and replied, "Thanks, any particular place? We should probably leave the doctor and Kali..." She didn't want to accidentally damage any of his equipment.

"The courtyard?" she suggested. "That was...is...was Ganthet's favorite place to train."

"Be that as it may, Kali," Tachyon said, "we have no choice but to try. But we have another advantage now: we can unleash the full fury of our powers, without having to worry about claiming a life. Powers like yours will prove most useful in this kind of war zone."

Grey stood, then spoke, "I think I shall be going too. I have a few ideas of my own, to train myself for the coming battle."

When they had reached the courtyard, Dianthe balanced her Kiav in her hands and out of each end sprouted a pointed spear-head-type metal object.

"You said is." She started, she had been thinking about the word choice and finally was speaking up, "Do, then, Ganthet and Solara still exist individually within yourself? Two entities that, together, form a whole?" Her eyes took on a far away look as she remembered the times before she had left the others. There was a legend that sounded like that, but she couldn't bring to mind the details.

Ganthra held her hand out, forming a foot long cylinder of crystal. From the ends of this, long beams of laser light extended.

"I said 'is'," she said, "because I am not sure. I have both of their memories... and I am unsure how much of my personality, my thoughts and feelings belong to them. I have very little sense of self... I am unsure who am I, what I am meant to be."

"Of whatever making, you are Ganthra." Dianthe said firmly, "As for your place...that is, as always, the decision of the Gods." She switched her Kiav to one hand and as she took it, she continued to turn her wrist in a fluid gesture. One end was whipped forward towards Ganthra's right, but her reactions were quick and she had already set her own weapon in defense. The ends collided with an otherworldly chime as the ends vibrated on differing pitches. In the seconds it took to move, Ganthra had and their weapons clashed again. Dianthe took a step back, impressed but not at all daunted. She blocked the attack then jolted her Kiav against Ganthra's weapon, shifting the balance. She drew her Kiav back quickly in a small, simple twirl and brought it down forcefully upon the other end of her opponents weapon.

Entropy and Tala walked out into the courtyard, hands intertwined as Entropy kissed her lightly. His attention was rapidly drawn by Ganthra.

"Griever." The sword was in his hand instantly, and within a split second the blade had separated Ganthra and Dianthe.

"Dianthe, mind introducing me to your playmate here?"

"Uhm...." she eloquently began. "It's, well, it's Ganthet...and Solara. Some...person showed up and merged them."

".....Dear lord, G, for a man made of solid crystal you change too damn much."

"I am afraid I cannot do much about my current form."

"I know. Just noting."

"Um...Entropy?" Dianthe asked. "Not that it's anything important...but..."

"What? With an army of death-dealing monstrosities trained to kill all of us coming, one minor problem I take as a blessing."

"Weren't you wearing a belt before?" She gave him an odd look.

"What?" Entropy looked down, sure enough. "Oh...um...I, ah....must've...uhm, lost it. Yeah." Tala suppressed a snicker, as Entropy turned on his heel and started heading back. "Well, what're you two waiting for, there's an army of rather disgruntled things coming for us, you'll need all the training you can get." He walked over to Tala, trying not to bash himself in the head for his own stupidity. "I'm going to go check up on the others. You gonna be all right here?"

"Of course. But I'd get your belt back before you deal with anybody else."

Entropy shut his eyes, grumbling slightly before heading off.

Tala watched him go, trying very hard not to laugh. She turned back to the others, smiling slightly.

"Sorry about that. I didn't know that you had metal sheathed inside your staff, Dianthe. I thought you used it for prayers and whatnot."

While saying this, she studied Ganthra. She wondered how this had happened, remembering that they had used to trade places. But now, they were one? How confusing... But at least they were together now, in a way.

Dianthe smiled, still continuing the exercise, "Ah, yes. But, prayers do not have to be done with peaceful and soft gestures."

Tala nods. She could understand that.

Laina and Blade finally appeared from where ever they were, and Laina did a double take upon seeing their .. newest .. member.

"Who's that?"

"A combo of Solara and G."

"In one body?!?"

"Yep. Not the first time, though."

"Whoa. That's some magic. Did you do it on your own, or did someone else merge you guys?"

"Someone else."

"Hmm.. Wow." Laina nodded at this, never having been the most magically adept. Blade however, was totally awed by this, and wondered how it was done. However, he was not going to be rude enough to ask. That could wait, till later.

Without any warning Destiny shuddered. Kevin looked up from where he was meditating. "Destiny's reacting to the building energ...

“OH ^%&$, PYRO! SEND THE ALERT, TRAX IS ON HIS WAY!!"

Pyro had just finished mounting and arming the last electron cannon, "WHAT? I thought we had another week!"

"I MISCALCULATED!" Kevin yelled as he ran to the gun encampment, "I wager we got 10 min. That’s IT!" He grabbed Pyro by the arm and they teleported to the castle. Kevin hit the nearest alarm, "INCOMING!"

Outside Destiny, hundreds of landing craft surrounded a battleship only slightly smaller then Destiny. Inside the bridge Trax sat in front of a tactical display.

"Prepare to board."

DESTINY

Dianthe picked herself up from the floor, "Um...I really don't think that was a good sign.." Moments later, they heard the alarm sound.

"Yeah. That's definitely bad." Tala replied tensely.

"It's Trax." Laina confirmed with a dark frown. "Aparently our timing was off."

Ganthra absorbed the staff back into her body.

"Let's do this, Dianthe. ….My memories tell me that Ganthet would say something like 'Today is a good day to die!' But the memories I get from Solara's side of me say to 'Be careful. We still don't know what we're really up against.' Talk about contradictions."

Tachyon flew from his lab to join the others. "Castle is prepped gang. Energy autocannons on every turret."

Grey came running too. "This is going to be messy," he said. "I just want to say now, that if we do not make it... I'm proud to have known and fought beside all of you."

Entropy soon returned as well, looking to all of them. "Leave doubt for the dying, Grey. We've got a rat bastard to kill now." He looked around a moment, trying to make sure everyone was accounted for. "Wait. Eme, UA and Lark aren't back yet?"

"I'm afraid not." was Tachyon's only reply.

"Ugh. I knew this was gonna happen, we need them. However...there might be one way of doing all this. Doc, if Ganthra, Kevin, and me were gone, how long do you think you could hold out?"

"Not long, not long at all from what Kevin's told us."

"Kev, you're the only one who can hurt Trax, correct?"

"Yes."

"How well can he and his men fight in a vacuum?"

"What?"

"If the three of us sneak onboard and plant some explosives in the engines of Trax's ship, we can destroy it, and you'll probably have a better chance than normal of getting him."

"The security's tight on there. You probably wouldn't be able to set them with a long enough timer to escape before they would be found and deactivated."

"That's just it. If I keep an activation switch on me, I can set them for a 5 second timer whenever I need to, and they're undetectable if they aren't active. If it works out properly, we might be able to get in a strong hit on them."

"I hate to tell you this, but Trax is better at thinking ahead then I'll ever be. Our chances of getting on the ship is about our chances of drinking nitro and not blowing up. As for the Haji, they’re trained to fight anywhere. They might be a little disoriented initially. But the clones don't really breathe, they just exist. Trust me I never figured it out." Kevin sighed.

"Our best bet is to disable the weapons, being that only a couple of us can survive in a vacuum he might get desperate enough to try to destroy Destiny and the planet itself, then if we take out the cloning facilities, we only have to worry about the existing Haji instead of additional output."

"I could always try to get someone into the cloning facilities. Since I can phase through almost anything."

Tala offered, unsure about this though. Hadn't he said that Trax knew everything about their powers and how to get around them? Well, hopefully .. not everything. She scowled for a moment, thinking.

"I could take Laina and Blade with me. Her shifting powers would probably be helpful. And his magic..?"

Then she shrugged.

"Or I could go do whatever. After all, you're the one that knows him best- not us."

"Here’s the real problem with any plan to take the offensive, every person we take off the planet reduces the chances of the people still on the planet by 10 to 25 percent. Unfortunately I haven't seen any of Trax's equipment in a good 15 years. I can't be sure what’s going to happen."

Outside

"Our troops are ready to attack Lord Trax"

"Good, tell them to begin phasing through the hull."

"I think any point is moot," Tachyon said. He tapped a finger against his helmet, indicating the constant link he kept with the Destiny's computers. "I'm detecting some kind of weird energy build up... It's like what Tala uses when she phases, but not quite. ...Should I bring the Destiny's weapons on-line? We might be able to take them out before they all get here."

The fur on Grey's back rose up, bristling. "What about Rupay?" he asked. "This is way too dangerous...someone should protect her. I can take her up to the Destiny. If anything comes, I'll hold them off."

"Grey, the castle's just as safe... and we need every fighting body here," Entropy said.

"Entropy... I'm not making this an issue for debate. I failed Zelda, failed Dakey, you might even say I failed Deyja. I won't fail that little girl... She doesn't deserve to be drawn into this."

"We didn't fail anyone Grey," Laina said. "The things that happened...were beyond your control."

"But I took a vow to keep them safe, and now... Deyja has left, Dakey is dead, and Zelda... My own powers are not significant... I am best left to the role of guardian. I will not argue it. I merely wanted you to know what I'd be doing during the fight."

I'll go with Grey," Dianthe volunteered after a couple seconds of tense silence. She looked Entropy in the eye, asking him to trust her to protect not only Rupay, but Grey. The two were feeling the strain and she was fresh to the disasters.

FAIA

Lark's breathing was far too heavy and ragged. Her head was whirling about in dizzying fits but she pushed on, Necile slung over her shoulder. She could understand feeling weak and tired from running so hard under the weight of the young woman but it was more then that, she felt far worse then she should.

When the metallic warm taste filled her mouth, she finally realized that at some point in the mayhem she had been struck by an arrow. Blood crowded up into her mouth and seeped out down her chin

"Oh goddess!" she teared, but she kept ruining. To stop would be instant death.

Then the world shuddered below her already unsteady feet--the shockwave of Trax's entrance--and she finally lost it, she hit the ground. Necile was tossed ahead of her, spilling even harder and groaning.

"What?" the woman asked dazed but Lark didn't answer her she just spit out a glob of blood and saliva and watched the guards fall upon them.

DESTINY

Distortions in Destiny's hull started becoming apparent as several small, boxlike black APCs came phasing through. An initial volley of almost unnoticeable weapons shook the castle. They continued firing as more and more APCs came out and they started descending towards the planet.

INSIDE THE CASTLE

Alarms went off everywhere, pieces of the ceiling started crashing down towards the floor. Pyro ran towards a computer console and started activating the automated defensive systems. Guns popped out of the ground under the APCs, blasting away at the floating boxes. Unfortunately the blasts just bounced off harmlessly.

"Here we go people, its time to fight, or die" Pyro said with a grin, he loved this.

"He *would* enjoy this." Kaliana stated with a sigh of long suffering. As their world shook, an idea popped into her head. Her power was mostly just making things blow up, however, if she could hold it just at the critical point, she *might* be able to form a shield. She hadn't yet bothered trying to make the attacking guns explode because, if their information was right, it wouldn't have much of an effect. Soon, beneath the power of her Crystal she was holding a crackling shield of chaotic force striving to separate.

As she struggled to keep it from backfiring, their enemies easily burst through, "D*mn!" She exclaimed, they really *did* know how to neutralize her Crystal, even when she used it in a way that she had only just figured out.

Elsewhere, Dianthe was with Grey who was half-curled protectively around Rupay. She stood a few feet away, wishing she could comfort the girl more. But, there wasn't much she could do. Rupay didn't know her well enough, the girl would probably shy away if she even took a few steps forward. Also, it didn't help her much that she had the Rydia Crystal, from what she could tell Rupay had been fairly close to it's previous Holder.

Still, Dianthe wanted to do *some*thing so she tried to converse with Rupay, "So.." she began, suddenly deciding not to ask what she had done during the day, they had all trained, even Rupay, "what..is your favorite thing to do?" she finished weakly, attempting a friendly smile.

"My favorite thing to do is... to fight for what is right." The child's voice came from the door behind Dianthe. When Dianthe turned towards the door, she saw the fleeting image of Rupay running out. When Dianthe turned back to who she thought was Rupay, the image slowly disappeared. Rupay had used her powers on the two to make them think they saw and felt Rupay, when really Rupay was getting ready to go into battle. And now she has.

Dianthe cast a look towards Grey, shaking her head with a half-smile and an exasperated, "Kids! Well, apparently our job is better done else ware." she said and started off after Rupay.

Grey bounded ahead, all four legs pumping furiously. The battle was no place for a child like Rupay! ....Why, why in the name of Tiger Tyger, first of the Tygers, did she want to be a part of what would ultimately be a suicide battle?!

Dianthe was only a few steps behind Grey as he shot out of the room. She wanted to call out 'wait!' but, she decided against it. Rupay was more important.

The outer defenses were beginning to fold. The weapons had worked initially, vaporizing several clones but almost immediately, they adapted. Sure it still killed them, but they weren’t destroyed and could be recovered for more clones. They weren’t disappearing though as Kevin said they would.

"Multiple new life signs. If I'm reading this correctly, the clones are just getting back up!" Pyro yelled as he struggled to keep track of the hundreds of thousands of clones advancing on the castle, "Who picked this spot for a castle anyway, we’re getting overrun like its nothing."

Kaliana just shook her head, "Well, *Destiny* created the thing, talk to *it*, are we still loosing?" she asked with a minor grin.

“Yathink?!” Pyro replied.

"Looks like Trax developed some new tricks in the last 30 years." Kevin muttered as he watched the screen.

"No way are you 30 years old." Pyro said punching some more buttons.

"Time traveling tends to slow down aging, I'm probably older then you really."

"And yet you still act like a teenager." Pyro muttered.

"I heard that, but anyway, we need to start warming up the..." Before Kevin could finish his sentence siren lights went off.

"They’re inside the castle, we need to evacuate now. I'd estimate 2 min before they’re in this room. I'm already warming up the transports." Pyro said as he started wiping the computer systems, no use in telling Trax where they were going.

OUTSIDE

The clones were attacking the walls of the castle, striking them with their energy staffs. The walls began to crumble from the onslaught

IN THE SITUATION ROOM.

"Destiny put the castle where it was on the original, so don't look

at me." Pyro said as he finished warming up the Dragonstar. Suddenly the room shook and the ceiling began to fall apart.

"IT’S COMMING DOWN!" Pyro yelled as he headed for the door.

Only inches from the door a clone appeared with his energy staff extended, as the celing came down more and more started pouring in from the holes in the ceiling.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOU RIGHT NOW!" Pyro yelled as he released a flame burst from his hand, it hit the Haji in the head but left no marks, "What th?"

The clone said nothing but poked at Pyro with his staff. Even though it hadn't connected he could already feel the cold of the tip giving him frostbite, "GEEZ! That’s COLD!"

As the clones outside continued to flood into the breached castle, something happened. The ground shuddered, and a haze of energy permeated the air slightly west of the castle. A moment later, a massive crater opened, a sleek ship, blacker than midnight and looking more organic than mechanical, rose from it, a haze of energy fading around it.

The Azrael had arrived.

Entropy gunned the controls, sending waves of energy rippling across the ground and through the clones, vaporizing them by the hundreds as more materialized in their place.

"Castle command, this is Azrael. Sorry I'm late. Start up the evac and get the others the hell out of there. I'll hold 'em off as long as I can, should buy you enough time to do the job."

"Entropy, what the hell do you think you're doing? You won't last five minutes, even with Azrael and Griever."

"You think I don't know that?" He snapped back over the commline. "Just get everybody out! Don't worry about me, I knew the responsibilities when I took this job!" The Azrael's weaponry flared away, the clones melting away like water. More attention turned to him, the clones clawing up onto the ship's surface, some firing blasts from their energy staffs to impact off the ship's shields.

"As Ganthet once said...." Entropy smiled, as another impact rocked the ship. "Today is a good day to die!"

"Evacuated?" Kaliana gasped between blows, "You wanna just *let* them have Destiny??"

A large group of the clones broke off to engage the new enemy. They readjusted their energy staffs and started firing on the ships. This time the shields began to grow more and more stressed from the energy blasts. It would only be a matter of time before they crashed.

"Damnit, if we didn't need the Dragonstar for the evac I'd be up there helping." Pyro swore as he avoided the freezing energy blasts from the clones. His conventional weapons weren’t working. Maybe he could try something else.

"KRIMSON BLAST!" Pyro yelled as he opened the Krimson Reactor in his arm and fired a blast of white hot energy into and through the clones, blowing a part of the castle wall out in the process.

Kevin was using his own powers to try and fell some of the clones, they were adapting faster then he had ever expected. It was beginning to look bad for them; he just didn't know what to do. It was just too much for him, after half a century of preparing for this he still wasn't ready.

"I'M SICK OF THIS!" Kevin yelled as he opened up with his energy blasts as fast as he could, destroying both the clones and the castle in front of him, "That felt better. I wonder why they haven't tried to group up on us."

"I don't think they have to, they've been adapting to our tactics faster then I can think up new ones. We need to get out of here and get to the mountain stronghold NOW, we need the locational advantage!

"HEY! Watch what you blast, Pyro, that was part of our CASTLE you just blew up!" Kaliana shouted over the noise of the battle and her own short bursts of explosion. Though, it had gotten to the point that the genetic makeup of the clones was almost impossible to tear apart. At the moment, she did her best trying to explode other things nearby to slow them down a bit. Not that there was much left to use, not if they wanted anything left of their HQ.

"Geez.." Kaliana commented as what was left of the castle before her was completely decimated, "You two are *way* too much alike for the universe's safety." She skidded away from a blast that left her covered in pebbles, dust, and a spray of blood, "Any advantage is better than none..let's go for it." She said, taking a few dodging steps toward Kevin and Pyro.

Miraculously, Dianthe made it outside alive without much more than a few bruises. The first person she saw was Kaliana who was already running the other way, towards the stronghold she had heard about. She gave a quick sigh, then sped up until she was able to grab Kaliana's arm to get her attention, "Rupay's gone, she came out to help." she informed Kaliana urgently.

"By the depths---DIA!" The other woman growled quickly, how could this stupid girl have let the child out of her sight?

Going back would be suicide, "What the h*ll did you come *here* for?!" she yelled, Dianthe should have kept looking rather than coming here with information they couldn't do anything *about.*

"I...I'm sorry..." Dianthe said, keeping up with them fairly well. Then she decided to turn to Pyro who might be slightly less fierce. She hoped. "Is everyone collecting at this same place?" The question hadn't exactly come out right, she just didn't want to be leaving anyone behind though, they all still were on Destiny’s Child.

"They all should be, I figure if they’re not, then they’re probably dead." Pyro said as he blew away the last clones between him and the Dragonstar.

"I think we can hold this point for a few minutes while the others get here," Kevin said as he quickly erected a force field, "I'd say 5, probably less.

Pyro ran into the cockpit of the Dragonstar and activated it, scanning the area around him for any nasty surprises, "If we have to, we’re gone. If they’re not here by the time we have to launch, chances are they won't make it anyway."

FAIA

Lark lay unmoving as the guards surrounded her. Her body was unresponsive and her mind told her it was useless anyway.

Lark simply wondered looking up at the armor clothed men, just how fast her death would be. Would she be tortured and raped, that was the only thing she could hope against now. Luckily from past experience she knew the Faians were basically good people just their blame was misplaced on the CFs, for their own problems.

One very burly guard stepped forward with a large spear, he seemed like he was probably the ringleader, he lifted the spear high over his head mentally picturing Larks heart.

~Yes, it'll be fast.~ she thought.

Then he was gone, all of them were gone, propelled through the air by a wave of TK energy.

"What?!?!" Lark actually yelled in surprise, so confused it took her a moment to realize there was a new figure standing over her, Kyle.

"Come on," he groaned, hoisting Lark up, "I don't feel like fighting those guys." Lark looked to see the dazed guards several feet away, picking themselves up off the ground.

"Should I take her?" a woman’s voice asked, Lark looked to see T who was referring to Necile who moved away, unsure of their apparent saviors.

"Sure, she's pretty enough." Kyle smiled, and T rolled her eyes grabbing Necile and telling her to stop squirming as she hoisted her over her shoulder, Kyle cradled Lark in his arms like a baby and the four of them made their way out of town.

"Lark, I truly don't know how this whole deal works. But I don't want to be harmed by these people." Necile muttered. Lark blinked.

"Don't worry. I know these 'people'." Lark responded dryly.

DESTINY

The shadows squirmed around the area Pyro was working, then Laina and Blade appeared.

"That.. sucked. Horribly bad. And we still have to deal with more? I hope one of you two have figured out something."

Laina spoke, helping Blade lean against the wall. They both looked horrible, cuts and bruises everywhere. Before Pyro could say anything, Laina continued.

"Anyway, Tala got us here. She's gonna stay with Entropy though. What do you want us to do?"

------

Tala appeared beside Entropy, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"While it might be, let us hope that we don't."

"What ever happened to being *effective*?" Kaliana wondered under her breath, "Laina, Blade," she suggested, "As we move, focus your efforts on the stronghold. It'd be nice if it was still *standing* when we got there."

Pyro just shook his head, "From what I've seen, if Trax knows about the mountain stronghold, it won't be there. But I doubt even he could see through the lava flow we have cloaking it."

Kevin sighed, "Not that it may matter in the long run."

"Geez. Would you guys stop being all dark and apocalyptic??" Kaliana groaned.

"I'm a realist. I know were running out of options a little too fast." Pyro said as he checked the Mountain Stronghold. It seemed to be empty and intact, and apparently the clones hadn't found it yet. With the DragonStar's speed they could make it and have a chance to get defenses up long before the clones came.

Tachyon checked a series of figures as he had his armor's computer compute them. Not good.

"I think we can slow them down even more... but it means giving up the castle. I wired the whole thing with nova bombs, copied from Kaliana's power. It'll take a lot of them out."

The fur on Grey's back rose up as his anger built. "We still haven't found Rupay!"

Ganthra watched as the clones continued to advance. "What spectrum do these things see in? I might be able to make us invisible."

Kaliana rolled her eyes, "I'd bet every." she responded to Ganthra, "It would go along with the rest of their omnipotent powers."

"Should we...go back to the castle?" Dianthe asked about Rupay.

"That's suicide." Kaliana said, though it'd make *her* life easier.

The High Priestess whirled on her, "I have respected you as a CF and as a friend of those that welcomed me, but how can you be so cold when a child's life is at stake?"

She shrugged in reply, "A life is a life, they’re all the same, or they’re all meaningless. But there's no point in adding to the pile another sacrifice."

Dianthe winced away from the sudden dark mood, ~But..isn't that precisely why we have to go after her? There *is* not point in sacrificing who,~ she refused to use the objectifying 'what,' Rupay wasn't just a symbol of a girl, she *was* a child and one of their friends as *well* as comrades, ~we might be able to save.~ She looked toward Grey, hoping for a course of action.

ELSEWHERE

Rupay cowered.

She had tried to be brave, strike out on her own, not sit idly by with the others not fighting because of their obligation to protect her. At first she thought she would help fight but once alone, the world changes, things intensify and become just that much scarier.

At least if she hid, the others could go fight instead of sitting around with her.

Now everyone was gone and she sat huddled in a small pocket within the debris alone. She could hear the sounds of searching Haji about her.

She tucked her head thinking of the others Grey, Dakey, Zelda, so much she wanted to be held by them, then came the ball of light, through the ceiling and lowering towards her, it took a shape similar to her own, a man with a flop of gray hair, he smiled, though it seemed unpracticed, and offered a hand.

"Come with me Rupay."

WITH THE OTHERS

"Were running out of time, anyone still IN the castle is probably dead, but if they got out...." Kevin said as he could feel the clones almost breaching the force-field, "Look, we gotta save who we can and forget the rest. If they’re lucky enough to be alive right now, they won't be by the time we stop bickering."

Pyro was already warming up the DragonStar, "If you’re coming, get on now. If not, see you in your next life."

"There." Kaliana pronounced half-triumphantly at Dianthe before she boarded the vessel, ~Geez..how many ships do these people have just lying around?~ she wondered, mentally taking notes.

Dianthe frowned grimly, but prepared to take her cue from Grey.

Grey sniffed the air once, then twice. "I ...can no longer sense Rupay. Even if....even if, I would still be able to pick up her scent. She is no longer on the planet." The Tyger wished that he knew what was going on, but jumped aboard the jet anyway.

Tachyon flew past the Tyger, heading to the cockpit and landing on the co-pilot's panel. Linking his suit to the ship, he started priming the weapons sequences in case they had to fight in the air.

Ganthra looked at the on-coming troops. "No matter what, they'll over-take us if we don't do something. I am an unknown quality to them... I'll slow them down."

Pyro revved up the Dragonstar's engines and began to lift off just as Kevin's shield shattered. He got above the flood of clones and faced downwards, "FRY!"

A wave of fire erupted from the dragon's mouth, torching the clones that were even still rushing into the landing bay. Meanwhile Kevin was reaching for the comm.

"Everyone head for the mountain base, we'll make our final stand there."

As the ship moved, Kaliana focused on imploding the clones. She was able to strike five at a shot, but after that they, of course, adapted though she wasn't quite sure how.

"Stupid genetic mutations." she mumbled, "If I've learned anything today it's that I *hate* clones."

Dianthe stared out a clear port and half-smiled at Kaliana's comments. The same as always. But, she wasn't really listening. IF anything, she was attempting to bring up the power of the Rydia Crystal, however, she wasn't getting very far. The Crystal just refused to respond. It still emitted warmth and subdued hues of blue-purple but that was normal. She sighed, wondering if she would ever be able contribute. She had actually felt like she was helping out when they were with Rupay, now the only taks they had trusted her at..she had failed.

"Kaliana, do be quiet." she finally said, though she knew she'd be ignored.

Kaliana gave her a sharp look, almost as if she was angry that she had been overheard. Without a word she headed to another part of the ship: Communications.

Pyro was controlling the ship as usual, avoiding any sensor emissions from the floating APCs that seemed to be everywhere. He turned towards Kevin, "Boy, these guys take invasions seriously. I'm having a heck of a time maneuvering around these APCs."

"Yeah, Trax always was a perfectionist."

"ETA, 15 minuets."

Laina and Blade watched as well, Blade trying to figure out how in the hell they were gonna get out of this mess. Laina meanwhile, was studying the APCs and everything else that was around them. This seemed so surreal to her, like something out of a nightmare.

-------

"Well, I guess they got everyone. I mean.. I hope so."

Tala watched as the others went, and then turned to Entropy again.

"Are we going to follow? Or blast a few more of these clones. Too bad there isn't a way to stop them from regenerating. You know, like short circuit them or something."

DESTINY

"Who are you?" Rupay asked as she slowly stood up and took a step back.

"What do you want from me?" She didn't trust this figure that was before her but something was familiar.

"Don't worry Rupay." the man comforted, "I'll take you to a safe haven free of tragedy and death, I will take you home."

Rupay was puzzled but nodded.

"Good," he had a whispery tone about him "now close your eyes and relax." Rupay complied and under his power she soon was home, in the DreamWorld.

FAIA

They had come to the burned down cottage the bartender had mentioned, Lark didn't believe that Kyle really would have burned the place down but then she never knew what to expect from Kyle.

"No wonder we’re getting a bad name, you’re burning these peoples homes down!" Lark said, she tried to get Kyle to lower her.

"It's not burned down!" Kyle said shrugging "It's just a mental illusion so T and I could have a safe place to live unbothered"

Lark wasn't sure what he meant until they come to the door, as it opened she saw a perfectly untouched home.

"I've been able to work on my psi-abilities since I've been here, it's paying off, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah neat trick, making some family abandon their home because you made them think it had been destroyed in a lightning storm, real nice."

Lark grumbled, she never liked him, but who did.

"Well aren’t you just grateful!" Kyle yelled when T groaned as she dropped Necile unto a bed and flopped down exhausted.

"You really shouldn't over exert yourself sweetie" Kyle gave a smirk.

"Oh like you care, you nerf herding pig!" she rolled her eyes and turned to take a nap.

"She's expecting" Kyle beamed with pleasure.

"You mean you two…??" Lark looked back and forth between T and Kyle, "Oh goddess!"

DREAMWORLD

"I have her." the man said looking at the other "they can't corrupt her any longer."

"Don't forget the agreement, if those Crystal Fighters die, you lose your little prize, she'll die with them understand, Ariah?"

"Of course" Ariah nodded "I'm heading back now."

NEO-CRYSTALIA

Ganthra was giving the CFs the time they needed. A wild card, the clones had no idea how to deal with her. Ganthet's physical power, and Solara's mastery of light flowed through her.

The crystalline woman raised a hand and fired dozens of crystal spikes. On contact, those spikes exploded into a shower of photon sparks. The clones went down, vaporized.

She surrounded herself in a nimbus of light, lifting into the air. Glowing like a star, she released a blinding white light, one which penetrated every level of the light spectrum. The clones were blinded, at least for a second. She landed, morphing arms into blades and fought. Even if I fall, she thought, my friends will live on.

FAIA

"Come on Kyle, this is your fight too, we need you to come back and fight, you’re one of the strongest CFs." Lark pleaded as Necile tended to her wounds and T rested.

"Hah, I know you think I'm an idiot but I know a lose-lose situation when I see one." Kyle turned away.

Lark grabbed him forcefully and spun him back around, "They’re going to come after you when they're through with the rest of us-- just because you don't care about being a CF doesn't mean you don't have a Crystal and that’s all that matters to them when they sign our death warrants."

Kyle glared "So be it when they come, I'll deal with it myself"

"Please, you wouldn't stand a chance" Lark did her own glaring. "Just do it because it's the right thing, like the way you saved Necile and me, if you don't care then why did you do that?"

Kyle came in close "I couldn't let a couple of pretty ladies die with out the pleasures of spending one last night with their dreamboat Kyle." he grabbed at her behind.

Lark's face turned crimson red and she smacked him hard enough to loosen a couple teeth "You arrogant....!"

"Calm down Lark, I'll deal with this" T said grabbing Kyle by the collar of his shirt, she just stared at him for a couple seconds then knocked his lights out.

DRAGONSTAR

The cockpit of the DragonStar erupted suddenly with sirens and lights.

"PROXIMITY ALARM!" Pyro yelled as he looked ahead, an APC had gotten around them and was cutting them off. Pyro stopped the Dragonstar immediately. He didn't want to chance ramming the thing. The roof of the APC opened and a mysterious armored figure floated up.

"TRAX!" Kevin yelled, "I'm gonna end this, get to the mountain base, NOW!"

Kevin teleported to right in front of Trax and with a single blast, sent the APC crashing to the ground.

"Decided to face me after all eh, brother?" Trax laughed.

"It ends NOW!" Kevin tackled his brother and in a flash they were gone.

"That kid's nuts.... But that don't matter right now." Pyro said to himself as he turned the Dragonstar back to full thrust. He knew the element of surprise he'd been banking on just went to pot. He just hoped to beat the army of clones to the stronghold.

By this time Kaliana had returned and was able to roll her eyes at Pyro's comment, "As if *you're* not as homicidally insane?"

Now always feeling like she had to ask permission before taking any action, Dianthe asked, "Is there anything we can do to help him?"

"Make it to the stronghold alive." Pyro replied, tapping away at the controls.

FAIA

"So if this is all true, don't you want to be back helping your friends?" Necile asked.

"Of course but I don't have access to the Destiny transporters, that means we have to wait for Kyle to regain consciousness so he can transport us to Destiny." Lark said.

"Yeah, sorry about that." T rubbed her knuckles "I just really hate that guy."

"Then why the hell....?" Lark said looking, now she could tell the small bulge forming at T's stomach.

"Lets not get into…" T warned.

Lark nodded and sighed, dropping down in a chair next to Necile.

"You really don't remember me do you?" she asked.

Lark shook her head, "I've tried to place the face, the name but there is nothing!"

"I guess it's understandable, we were only about the age of five when I was abducted from Crystalia but before then we were the best of friends." Necile watched Lark's face slowly turn from complete puzzlement to total horrified shock.

"Necile!!!" the name held meaning now. It truly was very long ago, she had totally forgotten about it, it had been a dark time in Crystalia when a hundred or so young children had disappeared from their beds at night, it was never proven but the Demoglobins had been accused of the crimes, but they had always denied it.

"Demoglobin?" Lark asked she was beginning to cry, when she had lost her best friend at so young it had been so long.

Necile nodded, "Yes, we were abducted to be the test pilots of their new transdimensional technology, they sent us through to gather information for them, they were too spineless to do it themselves." she shook her head crying to at the sight of Lark's tears, they embraced in hug.

"How did you find...?" Lark asked chocked up.

"My ship detected Crystalian life within the system, I didn't believe it was possible, I had been searching Faia for a couple weeks before tonight and I... I was so happy."

"I don't believe I could've forgotten you Necile." Lark murmured.

Necile blinked, shoving a piece of her hair out of her face. "You've made quite the life for yourself. I don't blame you for forgetting. After all...I mean you forgot a lot."

"And what does that mean?" Lark snapped slightly.

"It only means, you've had a lot happen. You've lost your family. And friends. And had to start over. I didn't mean it as you didn't care about anyone enough to remember. Just that there's been more happening." Necile looked to T, then to Kyle.

"It seems he's waking up."

Kevin and Trax reappeared on a small planetoid a light year from Destiny.

"Interesting choice of battle grounds." Trax commented as he stood up.

"This way I can kill you and none’s gonna know the difference." Kevin said with a grin.

"Fat chance."

OUTSIDE

Still holding her ground, Ganthra was never the less fighting a loosing battle. She'd tapped into one of Ganthet's powers, growing to a gigantic size. Plasma bolts and other energy splattered against her giant form, sending chips flying in any and all directions.

The merged Crystal Fighter fell, hitting the ground with a massive thud. The clones that were still moving opened fire once more, causing Ganthra to glow like a star. There was a massive surge of energy, was the body of Ganthra was consumed by unearthly energies. But she had done her job; the CFs had made their escape. They were safe. And two tortured souls, made one in their final hour, knew peace.

*****

Tachyon grimaced behind his helmet as he saw the flash of energy. "We lost Ganthet...Solara...Ganthra. Shock it all to Hades!" The diminutive scientist slammed a fist against the control panel.

Grey Wolfe suppressed the urge to growl. "Dakey....Zelda...Krakken...Rupay...Ganthet and Solara. We've lost so many of them.... No more. We will loose no more."

Shocked, Dianthe immediately snapped into a prayer, "Oh Great Goddess..merciful Isalla, embrace the souls of Ganthra..send them on their way to Durv, please Goddess, implore kindness of him." she said quickly, her words running into each other.

FAIA

Some distance away from where Lark and the others were, a man fought against impossible odds. But then, the cloaked figure raised a Crystal, spoke in ancient Faian. Flames spewed forth, roasting his foes and driving them back.

Deyja pulled back his hood. He'd been on the run since he came back to Faia, restored to his prime and with all his memories back. But the last few hours... his crystal had been acting strangely. It seemed to be detecting other Crystal Fighters. But why had they come back? He had to find them.

"Come on Kyle it's wakey wakey time, now take us to Destiny!" Lark demanded hoisting Kyle up.

"Ok ok, gather round" Kyle groaned "you coming sweety?"

"Don't call me sweetie!" T snarled.

"No she isn’t coming, this isn't her fight and she is in no condition as if a self centered pompous @ss like you would care." Lark just wanted to pound him so hard, if only he wasn't their ticket back.

"What about your dorkboy leader UA and his Queen prissy?"

"How did you know?"

"Uh," Kyle made a dumb face while tapping his head "high level telepath here?"

Lark repressed the urge to belt him, "No Queen Emerald wanted to deal with UA on her own."

"And Deyja?" Kyle groaned like he was bored of asking about the others.

"Deyja, I nearly forgot he was here in all the chaos." Lark shook her head.

"Well he is right outside if you want a reunion." Lark looked at him untrustingly and went to look outside. "Anything to delay our deaths."

Lark opened the door and saw a man standing over on a hill.

"Deyja!?" she yelled to him.

DRAGONSTAR

Pyro sighed. As much as he loved a good fight, this was just not going well. They had all been a little cocky going into this. Pyro at least knew that he had survived things that would make a normal person die from fright and laughed it off... There was something about Kevin though.. He just couldn't shrug the kid off.

************

Kevin and Trax stared each other down. Neither wanted to make the first move. Trax was so sure of him self he failed to notice the fact that Kevin was slowly gathering energy in his Crystal. He WOULD take Trax down, at any cost.

BEYOND TIME AND SPACE

"Life means nothing to you then, and more so souls." Zaria stated coldly, furious ice freezing her eyes in blue.

The Goddess of Light shook her head sadly, "You know I have no control over life and death, they are not my domain."

"You have power." Zaria returned with contempt, "There are ways to work around such 'domains.' How long before CF, morality collapses because *you* have done nothing? How long before they drown in death and *give up*?"

"You know not of what you speak!"

"Don't I?" Emotionless. The words had lost their anger, but gained nothing in return.

"Dear child, you take it too much to heart. This has nothing to do with you."

Zaria raised a skeptical brow, "Really now? I seem to recall that 'existence is one infinite, tangled web..if one string were disconnected it would cease to exist' " To escape the seemingly inevitable, she had once become the web's proponent, arrogant enough to believe it gave her life some measure of meaning.

The Goddess almost smiled, "Now, if only you followed everything I taught you as this." Her wayward student took a visible step backwards, immediately misinterpreting the words, "Oh no, not so low as that." she hissed back before regaining her composure. "It happened all according to your horrible, pretty little plan you sadistic..." Abruptly, she stopped. She was wasting too much effort on this omnipresent figure. The Goddess sighed out human tension as the ArchMage left, progress was slow, too slow. She hasn't made mistakes; she just had misjudged the cost.

DRAGONSTAR

Grey shook his head slowly from side to side. Could it be that Pyro didn't know? He'd figured it out since the moment he got the two of them in the same room. Their scents were too close not to be related, directly related. He'd just assumed the other CF had known. If they lived through this, someone should tell him.

Doc Tachyon watched the various ships by linking his armor through the Dragonstar's scanners. Things were not going well. The APCs were closing fast, but they just beat them...he hoped. If they could just make it there... And what about Kevin? What was he doing? Was he already dead?

FAIA

Deyja pulled back his hood and smiled.

"Lark! Kyle," he was obviously much happier to see her than the telepath. "I wondered if I would ever see you or the others again. But...why are you here? I thought you were still looking for Jerium Prime."

Another cloaked figure arrived, backing into Kyle.

"Oh I'm so sor...oh it's you!" Eme scowled at Kyle and then saw T and managed to look even less happy.

DRAGONSTAR

Pyro had been forced to double back several times in trying to lose the APCs, and it just wasn't working.

"Okay... time for the emergency plan!" Pyro yelled as the Rage armor formed over his mechanical arm, "EAT MY BACKWASH!" He slammed his arm into a small hatch in the control panel and fired a blast of energy into the engines.

The Afterburners erupted in red light, destroying the APCs following close behind. The DragonStar leapt forward as fast as the ship's airframe would let it go.

"I think we lost them." Pyro said with a grin, shaking off the residual energy as the armor receded.

"I hope so, for their sake."

Laina remarked, wryly. She had nearly fallen over with that sudden jerky movement. She then frowned thoughtfully, as if spotting something. Hmm. Turning to Pyro, she questioned, "Do you think Kevin can beat him? This Trax person, I mean."

********

Trax stood there with a grin on his face. His brother had no chance at defeating him. He had already taken care of the prophecy, he was impervious to harm. The last Haji was dead long ago.

Kevin focused his mind on his strike, he leapt forward and in a flash of green light, dumped all the energy he had stored up into Trax's chest.

Trax went flying across the planetoid, but was no worse for wear, "Nice hit brother. Too bad you're nowhere near powerful enough to stop me" He grinned evilly.

"You don't know half of what I can do!" Kevin shot back as Trax charged him.

------

Tala had cloaked the ship in a huge shadow, wishing she had enough to save the castle as well. Poor G, and Solara.. at last, they had known peace. And they were together this time. She had a feeling they'd be back though.

~Alright.. now to get us to wherever Pyro was headed...~

She closed her eyes, and the ship appeared over the mountain base, a little worse for wear, but still holding together.

"Woohoo! We made it!"

They had all finally relaxed at least for a couple minutes, they had reached the mountain stronghold everything would be fine.

Suddenly, thirty or so cloned filled APCs decloaked around their one badly damaged ship.

Pyro's head drop and he gave a slight sigh of defeat, "The DragonStar won't be able to take them." No one knew what to say so they stayed silent.

Then a voice drum through the motionless cockpit, "Don't worry." it said simply as the streak of light shot over head like a rocket then burst open spreading it self out into several smaller pieces that each entered an APC.

Ariah burrowed his way into all of the many Haji, into what little they had left of a mind. He projected a lifelike dream altering their perception forcing up to be down and down to be up in their mind's eye.

Without an effort the CF's watched as the APCs began to fly wildly as if in an insane dogfight till they slammed into the ground erupting a flames and recycled flesh the disappeared a few seconds later.

"D*MN!" Kaliana cursed loudly, then after a couple seconds of silence and widened eyes she added, "Uh...scratch that? I sure hope this guy is on *our* side, anyone know him?" Dianthe shrugged, "Either way, he or she deserves our thanks."

FAIA

"Eme! You're alright!!" Lark said. Necile put her hands on her hips. "So am I the only one no one will know?" Necile asked, looking a bit out of place. "I don't know really anyone right here. And..."

"Necile. Just shut it." Lark muttered. "You should be grateful to them for helping you."

"Oh I'm thankful they helped. More than enough. I just would like to know who everyone is."

"I know it's been so long but this is Queen Emerald." Lark said.

Necile, surprised and horrified, she wept, "Of forgive me your majesty, I hadn't recognized you it had been so long." Necile fell into Eme's arms.

"Lark?" Eme asked for an explanation.

"It's a long story Quee...Eme, but right now I think we should get to Destiny." Eme agreed and soon, after a bit of coercing, Kyle had pulled them across several billions of miles of space and onto the land of the Crystalia look alike within Destiny.

ELSEWHERE

"You see then. Events will play out and we need not touch them." The Goddess of Light spoke for emphasis. Zaria, despite her apparent disappearing act, was still floating around in some sense of existence. She heard what was said and she saw what had happened--that didn't mean she would let her the Immortal *know* that. Inwardly however, she sighed. Of course the Goddess knew she was nearby, she didn't truly try and fool herself into believing that she had somehow won some minor battle.

Though Destiny was too far away to see it, the entire solar system that witnessed the battle between Trax and Kevin lit up with every blow. The planetoid they were on was bit by bit being vaporized, along with the nearest planets in the system. Though each was giving all they could, it was doing almost nothing to each other.

"This is going no where fast," Kevin grunted after fending off Trax's latest attack

"That it is, you merely delaying the inevitable. Soon my warriors will have killed all your friends and you will be of little use to anyone." Trax smiled, "Besides brother, you never could hold a candle to me when it came to sheer destructive power!"

"He's got no clue what he’s getting into," Kevin thought with a grin, "Makes what I have to do easier."

DRAGONSTAR

"WELL SCREW THIS!" Pyro yelled as he gunned it around crashing APCs and made a B-line for the stronghold, they were there in only a few minutes, "Everyone out, last stop!"

Pyro ran to the control center and warmed up the base's power supply and defenses, "Everyone get to your battle stations, the army has moved farther then I thought, they'll be here in 10 minutes!"

"Arrghh!" Kaliana exclaimed in frustration, "Okay, next time we OVERestimate, all right??" She squinted angrily at the keys on her station. At least half of them were blinking red which even Zelda would have been able to tell meant 'very bad.' Quickly, her fingers danced across the buttons bringing up schematics and adding a few more blasts to Pyro's arsenal.

"Hey, bomb boy," she said, staring intently at the screen, "Think you can pilot this thing into the stronghold without blowing us all to h*ll?" Theoretically, it looked like they could fit...with the right maneuvering, however if the data was off... Still, if it worked they'd have double the protection.

Dianthe tightened her grip on the Kiav and looked towards Grey, "If there's anything you people need me to do, just say it. I want to help." At the moment actually, she was feeling a bit helpless, though Pyro and some of the others seemed right in their element.

Moments later, Kaliana was staring at another screen, and nodding to herself. "Dianthe, take this." she said, thrusting the responsibility on the new CF.

"Wh-what?!" came the startled reply.

Kaliana rolled her eyes, "Fine. Don't. Get the doctor."

"Umm..and where might he be?"
"How in all depths am *I* supposed to know?"

Dianthe shrugged and set off to find Tachyon.

"Here," Tachyon said, buzzing above their heads. He landed on the control pad, touched it briefly with his gauntlet and took off again. "I downloaded another copy of the castle's defense programs, which, since I based it off Pyro's brain patterns, should be more than adequate for holding them off."

Grey looked around, feeling even more useless than Dianthe. He could do even less now than she, being non-human in configuration. Wait. He might be able to. His crystal should have built up the energy it needed for this trick. He focused, and his form shimmered in light. "Grey Wolfe transform to... Were-Gabu!" He stood up, in his were-wolf form, and sat down at another control board, brining missiles on-line. "They're still coming!" he called out. "And they're adapting to the plasma missile!"

"Well of *course* they would." Kaliana groaned, "All right..Doc, remember the XCR-2B?" "Yes, one of the many which failed every scenario."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I *know* but what if we use it...differently?" The doctor began to nod his miniscule head, "It might just work." he mused, thinking through the details.

Pyro had warmed up the scanners, and even he was surprised at what he saw. "I count over Three hundred thousand clones, still more coming in sensor range. I hate to say it, but without the kid's mass destruction capabilities thinks look bad, very bad."

* * * * * *

Kevin had been losing badly, Trying to store up energy while Trax was beating him senseless was just not working. Not matter the size of the blast, it wasn't affecting him. The Obsidian Core was dampening his energy a bit too much.

"You can't win brother, I'm infinitely more powerful then you'll ever be." Trax said with a laugh, kicking Kevin in his already broken ribs.

"Oh well.... Didn't wanna do this..." Kevin coughed, he figured one of the ribs had punctured something cause he was beginning to taste blood in his mouth, he was running out of options fast. Kevin grabbed his Crystal and focused whatever energy he had left into it. Above the planetoid a giant rift of green energy appeared, releasing a shock wave that shook not only the solar system they were in, but even as far as Destiny the tremor hit.

"What the hell?" Trax looked up, almost knocked off his feet by the intital shock wave.

Kevin struggled to his feet, coughing blood the whole way. "It.... Ends... HERE!" A wave of green energy from the rift lashed out and engulfed the entire solar system, destroying everything it touched.

Moments latter the rift closed, and the solar system was gone, along with everything in it.

Kaliana stared at the screen, jaw gaping in shock at what had just happened, "Th-the power..." she gasped.

"What? What is it?" Dianthe asked worriedly.

"They just took out a SOLAR SYSTEM..."

"WHAT?!?!"

"What about Kevin, Trax?"

"Gone with it, as far as I can tell."

"But--"

"Shut up." Kaliana returned shortly, she seemed to say that quite a lot. "I just *told* you what happened."

ELSEWHERE

"They'll be decimated." Zaria said, her body and mind calm, neutral.

"Neither of us know the future." The Goddess of Light returned, putting a 'hand' of consciousness across Zaria's shoulders in comfort. For the first time since the training, Zaria did not shake off the careful half-embrace, "Yet we may predict."

"Ah..but perhaps we are not taking all into consideration within this prediction?"

Her student gave her a suspicious look, "Oh?"

The Goddess simply offered an ethereal, knowing smile while the woman was left to flounder for an answer.

DRAGONSTAR

Pyro didn't have time to worry about the tremors that shook the ship, the clones were still rushing towards the stronghold, "7 minuets till their in range" He said to himself as he armed the last of the defense lasers. Whatever was going on outside, the clones sure weren’t missing a beat. The auto defenses would probably kill a good portion of the clones, but some would breach and get into the stronghold. He would be ready for a fight when they did.

The laser fire moved rapidly across the land, picking off clone after clone from the turrets along the stronghold wall.

"They're working well." Tachyon noted.

Pyro nodded, "Just wish they had more impact." Suddenly, a large explosion engulfed the ground several hundred feet below the ship. Chunks of debris sailed trough the air and hit the Dragonstar, forcing it to buck turbulently about.

"More impact you said" Tachyon said looking wide eyed at Pyro.

"That wasn't our damned auto defense, at least not from the stronghold, that's Destiny's weapons, for some how they must be turned back in towards the planet!!!!"

"But how, they shouldn't even be firing in the first place" Entropy demanded.

Kaliana, coldly as if it were terrible burden to be around those who hadn't figured it out yet "It's obvious Trax has taken control of our own weapons." Another missile skimmed just past the Dragonstar barely missing and taking out a gaping hole of land.

"*&^^#%" Pyro yelled, Kaliana was right.

"What's that?" Necile asked as they moved across the land toward the stronghold.

"What’s wha..." Lark asked looking to where Necile pointed, something was moving incredibly fast from over a thousand miles up where the laser fire had been rapidly ejected from the gun systems at the surface of Destiny.

"Kyle get us out of here quick"

"I just ported us across millions of miles of space, I'm wasted!" Kyle whined.

"Then run!!!" Lark yelled.

"Come on," Eme's angelic wings burst from her back, she grabbed Lark's hand, "Necile hold on to Lark." Necile grabbed Lark’s arm tightly, the land to glow pink from the approaching laser fire. Eme grabbed Deyja with her other hand and lifted her wings high above her head flexing the strong muscles within them and then thrust them down her forcing her forward like a jet a dragging the others with her.

"What about me… AHHHHHH!!!" Kyle asked as they flew passed and Deyja grabbed him by the hair and pulled him along.

The ground eroded in a flash behind them leaving them in a cloud of dust as they sped away on Eme's angelic wings.

"Deyja, drop Kyle. He's dead weight!" Eme yelled over the sound of rushing wind. For once she was glad she was stronger then ten mortal men. It came in handy once in a while.

ELSEWHERE

With a tortured stance, the Goddess of Light conceded that she had to look over the many rather than the few.

"Then those left must suffer?" Zaria returned swiftly with a deep frown marring her aquiline features. She was one of those few.

"If they must." The Goddess replied firmly, she had been aware since the beginning of Time and knew that there was no way out of the situation.

"You leave them no choice but to hate, loathe you and even decrease your own strength by declaring your nonexistence." The ArchMage continued in an attempt to hit the Goddess where it would hurt the most.

The light of the immortal dimmed slightly and the words softly entered Zaria's mind with a subdued tone, "How many and much more would they hate if I set in motion perfect lives for a selected few, rather than content ones for the majority?"

Zaria crossed her arms, but her body gave a sigh as she understood the logic, "But....how can you just leave them to suffer?!?...you--!"

"My dear pupil, have you not realized yet? This is where you come in."

"M-me??" Zaria was startled. Of all the culminating effects of her life...of all the purposes wrought from them...this was one she had not considered. She knew the Goddess had used her as a pawn many times over, but that she was *still* up to these *games*... Again, the light came to surround and sooth the troubled woman, "Hush my dear, you are not yet ready."

At that, Zaria broke violently away, "Not yet? Not *YET*?! How much more will you hurt me? How many more will DIE in YOUR name?!"

"Zaria..." The Goddess frowned to herself, this was all part of the binding web, she knew it would happen..still...it did not make her occupation any easier. Some days she was unsure of whether this new volatile creature would ever be ready to again interfere with the lives of mortals. Perhaps.... it *had* been a mistake to leave Sentinei to the Ealians, in relation to Zaria anyway, for any and all other reasons it was more than warranted. Again, that did not make things at all easier.

DRAGONSTAR

"Well, lock 'em out, will you? It's *your* d*mned ship!" Kaliana yelled towards Pyro, trying to keep her balance. "Oh, *great* until we get control back we can't even *try* it." she added, frowning at Tachyon as if it was *his* fault. She gave the lower half of the console a swift kick, "You--! ARGH!" No matter what she she hit, she got an infuriating error beep. Not a nice beep mind, a horrible glaring off-key beep.

"I can't get through whatever Trax was using to grab the weapons, and we can't get to the control room of the ship with those weapons firing." Pyro swore under his breath, "Maybe there’s a way, this may kill our chances, but its better then having those guns firing down on us."

Pyro summoned his Rage armor, "I think I got flying down in this stupid thing, I'll just have to buzz up there. If it comes down to it, I SHOULD be able to take a blast or 2 from Destiny's weapons... Should being the operative term there." Pyro turned and started headed for the door.

"Wait Pyro. I should go with you. I can phase you through the weapon blasts."

Kaliana nodded, "Oh, by the way, don't loose your concentration out there when the doc and I start experimenting. We might actually be able to get you over there in less than charred condition." The project they had been working on was a type of energy bubble/shockwave which theoretically would destroy any living thing it passed through. However, they had earlier determined that it wouldn't work on the clones. It could though...again, in theory, neutralize a certain amount of the blasts. If they were lucky, and modulated it correctly, they might even be able to take in the very energy that was attacking them.

"Tach," Kaliana began, already calculating both in mind and on the console, "Dunno if we can get it to travel with him..not without major modifications... unless you've got some ideas? Otherwise, it'll be a one shot deal."

~Unfortunately Pyro's safety is the least of your worries.~ a voice spoke in their heads-- an odd but familiar way of communicating to the Crystal Fighters, puzzling though was that the voice was just as odd but faintly familiar.

They finally noticed the ball of light floating within the Stronghold. It seemed to glow brighter as it spoke directly to their minds, ~You have several friends in danger outside~ an image entered the CF's minds of Eme, Lark, Deja, Kyle, and Necile on an constant move as firepower rained down behind them churning up the land ~I was able to manipulate the APC pilot's minds to force them to crash but the weapons that threaten your friends can not be persuaded by the mind.~

They nodded.

"Why are you helping us?" Entropy asked.

~GO!~ he only replied and Tachyon took the controls pulling the ship back away from the stronghold they had fought so desperately to get to, and they headed for the others.

"I can take a few hits. Lord knows I've taken worse," Pyro said as the building shook again, "I just have to wonder who they've got targeting those damn things, or how they pointed them inside."

"But that was when we assumed the troops were living Kali," Tachyon said, "since we know now that they're mostly protomatter, a pulse modified to focus more in the subatomic range of particles should break them down, and deny them the resource for building more. ...I hope."

"Even better." Kaliana said, "Now what's with the creepy voice, doesn't *any*one around here do anything by normal means??"

ELSEWHERE

The Goddess smiled, predictably her errant student returned with more questions..and more anger. She wished that there could be the one without the other, but at the moment Zaria had not reached that level.

"Why do you not heal her?" Zaria asked, her flaring emotions for the time suppressed. "Ah..Zelda.." The Goddess said musingly, "I do not know if I--"

"You *can*! I know your power, your center!"

"I will *not* change her psyche! It *must* be natural."

"Natural??" The word was rife with scorn, "The *natural* course of all life is *death.*" Zaria hissed in a dire tone, "And hers...you *want* her to die of a broken, shattered, *desecrated* heart!?!"

"No!" Was the sharp reply, the Goddness knew all too well that it was a possibility.

"We must wait."

"Wait, yes *oh* so *patiently*," Zaria replied caustically, "Do you nothing but wait?"

"You have done the time a time." That comment earned a glare from the unstable ArchMage. "Wait, you'll see that there is a reason. There are many things to be done and she needs not to be injured any more."

"At least that I will agree with."

OUTSIDE

"He may be an ass but I won't drop him off to die." Deyja protested.

Eme shrugged, "Well it was worth a try." and Kyle sneered back at her.

"Need a lift?" the voice boomed from the outboard speakers of the Dragonstar as it slowed above them.

"Thank the goddess." Lark said as Eme slowed and lowered them all to the ground and retracted her wings.

"Friends?" Necile asked.

Lark nodded, "Powerful friends."

"You’re right, thank the goddess!" Necile admired the battle ravaged ship as it lowered towards the ground, but things couldn't be that easy-- a large bolt of laser fire turned the right wing into flaming mesh and the Dragonstar tumbled the rest of the way to the ground forcing the others on the ground to dive out of the way.

Flames quickly spread through the ship and the five on the ground could hear the eerie banging of there trapped friends.

Eme and Deyja quickly grabbed at the crumpled door and tug hard with no reward. Necile pulled out her blaster and set a charge then shot it point blank but the firepower simply ricocheted.

"Pyro certainly would make his ship stronger then that, stand back." Lark ordered.

Lark brandished the crystal sword formed from Ganthet's own matter, it caught the light in awesome prisms as she raised over her head and drove it back into the metallic door, with a pop with punched through and she sawed away the hatch.

The others scrambled free quickly.

"Pyro's going to be pissed!" Kaliana said.

"It's salvageable, but right now we got death rays raining down from above and the Haji moving in at 6 o'clock." Tachyon pointed out their dire situation.

"Move out, we can't engage in battle with the clones until Pyro shuts down Destiny's weapons." Entropy led them away from the massive army of kamikaze killers.

Grey, transformed back into his original form, looked at the army of advancing clones and growled. "Let the planet itself join the fight," he said. His Crystal began to glow, "Call of the Wild!" The grass, the plants, the dirt, everything nature began to glow and move. Plants grabbed at the clones, the grass came loose and flew in their faces, and pollen spore choked their lungs.

"It won't hold them for long," the Tyger said, "They'll adapt. But we've got a few minutes now."

"Deyja, Kalina," Tachyon said, "you can generate a lot of heat. Hit 'im with it. Then, Tala, use your weather powers to make an ice storm ...Laina boost it with your power."

"We're working on it, we're working on it." Kaliana said impatiently, "Eh. Now's as good a time as any, all right doc, fire it up." A few minutes later the XRC was on-line to form a kind of bubble-shield that grew outward to react with the clones. "Well..it's stopping some of the weapons anyway...as to the clones, let's see--" If things got any worse they'd have to just cut the wires, in a sense, to Destiny’s weapons. No matter how much control Trax..or..well, whoever, had if the weapons were dead, they were dead.

Pyro was still getting the hang of the new powers... Mystic stuff never sat well with him, but at this point he didn't have a choice.

"Chances are the entry ports are all sealed, we'll have to penetrate the hull, and that’s not gonna be easy. We might have a chance if..." Pyro stopped in mid-sentence as a green flash filled the room, a small portal opened up and Kevin fell out, battered, bruised and barely alive, "If we had a teleporter."

Kevin stumbled to his feet, coughing the whole way thanks to the multiple broken ribs, "Trax is dead. His army should be disbanding on its own."

"Wrong, look around." Pyro pointed towards a view screen, "And to top it off we've got Destiny's weapons firing on us."

"That’s impossible, the clones are under Trax's direct control. Unless he saw it coming and gave someone else the control of them."

"Who would he give control too?"

"That’s the least of our worries, we need to get those weapons off our backs, and my Crystal is powerless for at least a day or 2."

"I can teleport you."

Tala had created the storm, per Tachyon's wishes. Laina was now the one controlling it. Ice was falling upon the clones, heavy large sized chunks of it.

"Eme should be able to heal Kevin, and I can get you inside, at least. Let's go."

Amongst a few protests, she grabbed a hold of Pyro.

"Hey, and bonus, I can phase through almost everything in there. So, you should be at the control room in no time. Now, let's go."

Instead of a flash, or anything like that, they just seemed to meld into the shadows, and were gone.

They reappeared, within.... Tala glanced around, then at Pyro.

"Okay. We can either do this the long way, room by room .. Or I can just get you to the control room."

"Why didn't you take me there in the first place?!?"

"You said we just needed to get past the hull, I did as you asked. We are inside, aren't we?"

Pyro looked around, "Close enough, chances are good they've got a block around the control room itself anyway..... INCOMING!"

The room started flooding with clones, "We don't have time for this, I'm gonna try and rush the control room, do what you have to to survive."

Pyro extended an energy blade from his right arm and started slashing through the crowd of clones.

"Damn."

Tala muttered, phasing through a couple of shots, but then decided to rely on her magic more. Several clones got snagged by the shadows, and disappeared.

"Hey, don't you have..." She ducked, then resumed.

"Any of those big bombs whatevers on you? Throw one, I can get us out of the room!"

OUTSIDE

Dianthe steeled herself and turned to Kaliana, "What you were speaking of before...the shield, might Grey and I use it?" She looked back at the Tyger, they were both itching to *do* something, to contribute.

Kaliana shrugged, "Can't tell you how safe it is."

"We have to try." She was half thinking of striking back at their enemies finally...but the other half was focused on Rupay, she felt somehow like they had abandoned the girl. She still hadn't turned up...she must surely be dead or captured by now, but at least they might be able to know for sure.

Kaliana pointed towards the right and gave them a few directions. "Not sure how long it'll last, I'll activate it once you're out, but if it draws too much power I'll shut it off." Dianthe looked a little nervous, but nodded, "You're sure you'll be able to activate it in time?" "Trust me." Kaliana returned with an obviosly sarcastic grin. Somehow, Dianthe was felt less assured by the assurance.

ELSEWHERE

The Goddess of Light held up a faintly preventing shield, "Leave them be. They must do it on their own. Would you have accepted by help had I intervened at any small obstacle in your life?"

"Small ob--??" Zaria started to exclaim in fury, then she stopped and her eyes narrowed, "This time. Other business can be done first."

DESTINY

Pyro fought through wave after wave of clones until he reached the control room. After blowing the door off its hinges he charged into the room, the second he finished, a bullet slammed into his arm, going right through his armor.

"&%#^%&!" Pyro swore as he fell back, "WHO ARE YOU?!"

"My name is unimportant," it was Trax's second in command, "All you have to know is that I am the last true Haji, and I have the sole power to kill you all."

"Oh hell no!" Pyro jumped up and extended his forearm energy blade, he'd take this SOB down at close range. Pyro ran in, avoiding blasts and at the last possible moment brought his sword up, slashing his opponent across the chest.

"AGH!" He screamed as the energy tore his armor to pieces, "IMPOSSIBLE!!!! THE PROPHECY IS MINE AND I WILL FALL TO NO MAN!"

"The fights just started you loud mouthed $!$#"

OUTSIDE

"I'm getting a scent," Grey reported and Dianthe went t to check it out.

The castle had now been clear of Haji and the two CFs were free to search the rubble for Rupay, though in some ways they feared finding her.

Grey was sniffing out a small pocket of space hidden within large scraps of debris, a perfect hiding place for little Rupay, Dianthe thought.

"Her scent disappears though," Grey says, Dianthe shakes her head, "that’s not the most alarming thing though, there was another scent here."

"Haji!" Dianthe almost began to cry, she couldn't help but feel total responsibility, she had let the girl out of her sight.

"No not Haji," Grey shook his head "it is Be'jinian like you Dianthe."

She looked up surprised, "That’s impossible."

"My nose doesn't lie," Grey said "and I've smelt this particular scent before, when that ball of light entered the Dragonstar and helped us escape the APCs, and from the doctor Ariah."

"Ariah?" Dianthe asked.

"Before we met you Zelda had fallen unconscious and somehow trapped in her own dream, he helped her out of it," Grey shook his head "but I knew something was suspicious about him, the nose doesn't lie."

Dianthe's brow furrowed, "Then's he's taken her. At least she *might* be safe... but if he has that kind of power....dreams, the mental side and that's Rupay's base." She began to frown very darkly, "She won't be safe for long....this may be even worse than if we had.." she paused, flinching at the dire thought, "found her."

The fur on Grey's back rose as he slowly stalked toward the origin of the scent. Ariah might be Be'jinian, but there was something else about him..... and that only added to his distrust. Dianthe followed cautiously, popping the spearheads on each side of her Kiav. Suddenly, Grey's head snapped around, "Zelda's Crystal?" he asked, at first she was confused but then she realized that her Kiav was emitting some sort of strange radiance which she was sure Grey could detect on other levels.

Dianthe suddenly 'saw' magic..it was just how she had imagined it would be if Isalla came to give her a more physical answer to her prayers. It flowed around her in a circle, more a feeling than a sight, though she swore she saw bits of blue out of the corners of her half-closed eyes. Abruptly, her eyes snapped open. She had seen it.... seen in a very strange sense of the word.

"He opened a gate...." she said, almost in a trance, "The residue is there, he fairly ripped reality..." she didn't like the feel of the power her had used. Though, if it had been Zelda in her position...the elven girl would have noticed it's familiarity...maybe even placed it... But, Dianthe was new to the group, inexperienced; she didn't know what it was, where this power came from, "Dear Goddess... "

"Dianthe." Grey said, bringing her out of it, urgent for more information about their charge. "He brought her to the Dreamworld... hmm, the traces...there's still enough. With the Crystal" they always called it Zelda's Crystal, she couldn't call it her own but Zelda was dead, with Durv, they would have to accept that eventually, "I might be able to get us through."

"We should consult the others. We cannot face Ariah alone, if it does work."

"Still...I'm not sure how long the traces will last..."

DESTINY

Pyro and the real Haji were going nowhere fast, Whatever Pyro could do, the no-named warrior could block and return a burst from his rifle, which Pyro dodged.

"This is getting annoying," Pyro was beginning to feel the effects of a week without sleep.

"You are weak, no match for me." The Haji wasn't losing a step. He opened up with his rifle again and Pyro dodged, trying to get inside again. But this time the Haji was ready, releasing a blast into Pyro's head.

Pyro spun back and his armor dissolved, he landed unconscious.

"Far to easy," The Haji brought his weapon up for a final blast. He never got the chance, a green energy bolt blew the gun to pieces.

"Forget it Nikar, it’s just not your day," Kevin said with a grimace, his ribs were still killing him, and now he was using his powers without the stability of the Crystal.... This was bad.

Tala had finally been able to follow Pyro, and scowled when she saw him lying upon the floor. She shook her head, seeing Kevin stare down another man, but didn't say anything. If they were busy trying to stare down each other, she might be able to help Pyro. But, Kevin also needed help. Gah.

She knelt down beside Pyro, making sure that he was still alive. Huh, he didn't look to badly injured, considering where he'd be shot. Must have been flying through all those doors that saved him.

~All right, hopefully this works...~

She quickly set 'creating' a few tings she needed, and stopped Pyro's bleeding. Meanwhile, she kept checking to see if either of the other two could see here. Hopefully, all they still saw was Pyro's prone body.

OUTSIDE

A cannon raised behind the line of Haji.

"What's that?" Kaliana asked.

"Hold on," Tachyon said.

Everyone kind of duck and covered as the pulse cannon shot into the large bubble forcing an overload that shot back into Kaliana.

"A backlash," Tachyon said, Kaliana was down for the count and the Haji were coming in hordes and the CF were without defense.

Grey and Dianthe were suddenly aware that Kaliana's protection bubbles were no longer with them, "Something happened to Kaliana" Grey said.

"They're in trouble" Grey nodded to Dianthe's comment.

"We know where Rupay is, she doesn't appear to be in any immediate danger so lets get to our friends and finish this Trax business for good." Grey and Dianthe retreated back towards the battle.

Since Kaliana was unconscious and vulnerable the others made a circle of protection around and began to fight the onslaught of Haji.

Lark used both her sword, and the crystalline one forged by Ganthet, to the best of her abilities, gutting two Haji then criss-crossing the swords to cut a third Haji in half, then spun to take out a head from one and the legs of another.

Necile rapidly fired her blaster and full capacity basically disintegrating the coming Haji.

The CFs had good stamina and skill but as they looked out across the Haji army it seemed that the enemy would have an eternity, and stamina and skill just doesn't hold up for that long.

Grey and Dianthe, because of their current position, advanced on the clones from the opposite side of the rest of the CFs...if the odds weren't so overwhelming, they might have been able to use their position as a military-style hammer and anvil tactic.

Invisible balls of energy formed at the tips of the Kiav which Dianthe used to block blasts, though at every hit the balls winced smaller. Still, the power of the Rydia Crystal swelled at the presence of so much attacking energy and she knew she had to use it. But, she dare not advanced to Rydia Lunaris form, she just couldn't do that to the CFs no matter how much extra power she could access from that level.

"Maelstrom ARISE!" She shouted, spinning her Kiav above her head, which somehow, strangely enough, resulted in amplifying the attack. The ground occupied by the clones in front of her began to rumble and shake faintly, but ominously.

"Please..Goddess of Trans.." she prayed softly and quickly as she cleanly controlled the power she had tapped and summoned.

Suddenly, bolts of electrical, spiritual, and even physical energy began to zap across the landscape, criss-crossing in a chaotic dance of crackling, swishing and thunder-silent violent forces. Each massive discharge shuddered spasmodically and burst larger with the bubbly force of water--definitely not in it's usual docile state.

Dianthe staggered a little after the emanation, but she didn't stop the fight, like the others she was doing her part...but it just seemed like there were not enough CFs and far too many of the opposition.

"Ice Chimaera--" she next invoked, calling forth a spirit and infusing it with one of the powers of the Rydia Crystal. It became her defender while she called on yet more from the Crystal which Zelda had never taxed like this, "Tempest..." she took a breath, demanding of herself as much as she demanded of the object that had made her a CF in the heart, "SUBMEEEEEEERGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENCE!!!!!!!!"

Eme continued to fight the Haji. She didn’t want to admit it, but the Haji were hard to fight. She was mostly getting physical on them but she'd throw in a fire ball and a lightening bolt here and there.

DESTINY

Kevin looked at Nikar, "You are mistaken, the prophecy reads the last initiate, not the last born."

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF THE PROPHECY." Nikar shot back.

"I was taught it well, by Tyrin lord of the clan." Kevin said as well he could, the busted ribs were making it hard to breathe, what little power that was left in his crystal was all that was holding him together.

"TYRIN IS DEAD!"

"CAUSE YOU KILLED HIM!" Kevin yelled back, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Nikar just laughed it off, "Of course I did, I chose to be the last Haji, and would make sure of it."

"I pity you, cause I'm gonna send you to hell myself. I challenge you to a 1 on 1 battle, a fight to the death, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

"I will accept your foolish challenge, for I cannot die, I have destroyed the false one, I am the warrior of prophecy."

"You’re crazier then Pyro, you know that?" Kevin muttered under his breath

OUTSIDE

Entropy stood against the masses of Haji, the Griever cutting a swath of death across the area. One after another, the cloned warriors fell before him, as each one disintegrated before his eyes another took its place.

"Come on!" He screamed to them as each one fell, slaughtering them like goats despite his growing fatigue. "COME ON!! Is this the best you can do! Come get me! Can't you kill off one damned-" Interrupted, the leader of the CFs cursed aloud as one of the Haji weapons found home, digging a rent in his side. Another bored into his shoulder. Entropy staggered slightly, but didn't fall. "Not yet....You haven't gotten me yet...." He scowled again, gritting his teeth as his blue blood stained his lips, trickling down across his forehead, bleeding from a small gash over his eyebrow from head butting one of them as they approached. "No matter what...." He growled, gutting another Haji, the body disintegrating even as he plunged the Griever into another one of the soldiers.

"I-"

"WILL-"

"NOT-"

"BE-"

"BEATEN!!!!"

Screaming a massive battle cry, the bloody warrior swung his blade in circles, the blackened sword singing as it tasted the lives of countless Haji, glowing as it was charged with dark energies. The blue blood of the shifter seeped into the blade, and it seemed to almost laugh with glee as the powers of the sword enveloped both blade and wielder. Haji and CF alike shielded their eyes as the glare became too great, and then....

Wave upon wave of the Haji around Entropy vanished in a ring of blackened energies, blue flames edged in darkness springing to life around them and devouring all in their path.

In the center, a lone figure collapsed, a black sword in his hand.

"Tala...I'm sorry, I did all I could..." He choked out, as the Haji swarmed around him, overwhelming the exhausted warrior.

Ariah came down in the usual ball of light, then slowly manifested himself into what had once been his original form, a Ben'jinian like Dianthe. He first took to the dog-pile of Haji swarming over Entropy. He invaded their minds and spread his force through their nervous system like flowing fire and they spontaneously combusted after several violent convulsions.

Deyja assisted ripping others away from Entropy.

"E's down!!" Dianthe heard the cry go up and faltered slightly...wasn't E their leader? "Dear Goddess Isalla lend us strength if it is within the bounds of righteousness...." she said urgently, continuing the watery attacks and still lightly "cursing" the fact that she daren't use all the power she could. When..NO...If they lost anyone, she would end with blaming it on herself when it was within her power to take out even more Haji. But, she just couldn't do it. Grey let loose with a few howling blasters and even more attacks against the clones, taking them out like the earlier CFs took out Vile. Then, when the discharge from his last attack cleared, he quickly sniffed the air--just a surveillance really but to his surprise, there was a new scent in the air...

"There's another Be'jinian..." he informed Dianthe who was nearby performing a silent sea-form implosion on as many Haji as she could get to with it's effect in tact.

DESTINY

Nikar charged at Kevin, extending a sword from his gauntlet. Kevin dodged easily, letting the training he had received so long ago do its job. The two fought back and forth, neither gaining any room.

"DIE DAMN YOU!" Nikar was getting frustrated, he couldn't lay a hand on him.

"You first." Kevin said with a grin, truth was Kevin knew what would happen, he didn't like it, but he knew what would happen. Kevin couldn't last much longer, under his armor his skin was beginning to burn because of the untamed energies he was summoning.

"I CANNOT DIE!!!!" Nikar charged and thrust with all his might into Kevin's chest. Kevin did not move.

"Ow...." The blade was pushed straight through Kevin's heart, but all he did was grin, "That hurt, but you obviously forgot the one thing that Tyrin taught you."

"I WAS TAUGHT NOTHING!"

"Good cannot exist without evil, and vice versa. For one to die," Kevin grabbed the blade in his chest, "THE OTHERS GOTTA GO TOO!"

Kevin released all his stored energy into the blade, engulfing Nikar in green energy. When the blade finally vaporized, Kevin fell. There wasn't enough left of Nikar to fall.

Kevin's armor had disappeared, smoke was rising from his body and he wasn't moving. Pyro woke up to see what was left of the control room, as everything behind Nikar was turned to molten slag.

"Crist kid, when you take someone out you really take em out." Pyro said with a grimace, he was gonna have a migraine for a week, "Aw #$%^"

Pyro stumbled over to where Kevin was laying, Pyro didn't say anything, he knew what had happened. Kevin focused his crystals energies into himself, and using the sword as a conduit, shifted all his energy into Nikar, Killing them both.

"Its over." Pyro said turning to Tala.

ON THE PLANET

The Haji clones started falling over and dissolving into nothing, their controller and power source gone, they had no way to maintain physical form.

LATER...

Pyro had jury rigged one of the shuttle craft that came with Destiny into operating condition and loaded Kevin into the back.

"All aboard for home, we'd best find out who's left so we can start rebuilding." Pyro said with no emotion what so ever, "You never know who’s gonna muck with us next."

As Pyro pulled away from the dock, he couldn't help but think that something was wrong about this, very wrong. But he couldn't think about that now. Now he just had to worry about who all was left. The first decision that he had ever honestly regretted, cause he wasn't sure if any of his friends would be waiting for him when he got back.

PLANETSIDE

"Well, this certainly *looks* like a good thing." Dianthe said as her opponents began to fall--without any assistance. Before long, the barrier of Haji that had separated them from the other CFs was down. Dianthe and Grey jogged, Grey limping slightly, over to their companions.

"We won?" was the first thing she asked.

Kaliana, finally conscious, nodded as Pyro's shuttle landed, "Despite everything, this time I think we really did." The Bej'inian smiled at their surroundings, how had they made it through such impossible odds? And with so many...all? left alive...

Her smile faltered suddenly and she began counting up those she was unsure of...Tala, Entropy, Kevin, Pyro....who knew who was flying that shuttle.... And then the injuries. Kali wasn't even *standing* yet...as for herself, she was... fine... At that, she dropped to her knees, too dizzy to wipe away the blood that streamed down her body. Then she couldn't decide whether or not it was because she was so dizzy that her vision was tilted, skewed. She tried to blink her right eye, but no off-set darkness ensued.

"As it is your will.." She mused to her goddess while Kaliana glared, a bit weakly, at her, "Don't trade it off to fate just yet. There *is* something called medical treatment."

"My agreement is sealed and finished, I'll leave now." Ariah backed away, beginning to cascade back into a ball of light.

The hair on Grey's back raised and he yelled, "WAIT! STOP HIM!!!" Grey bounded towards the fading Be'jinian. As he leapt he felt the arms grasp him and pull him down and the light streaked off.

"Who?!" Grey growled at Lark had tackled him, "What's wrong with you!"

"Grey calm down, that...thing was some kind of friend," Lark said trying to calm the one she thought was confused.

"No," Grey shook his head "he was some two-faced liar, he has Rupay and you just let him get away." Grey moaned solemnly.

"Are you sure?"

Dianthe stepped up "His nose never lies, but there is a gateway to the Dreamworld still faintly lingering in the castle, if we can get Laina to the castle she may be able to revitalize it."

Laina nodded, up to the challenge. The transport landed nearby and Pyro emerged.

"Rupay isn't our only problem," Eme said, "UA...he wouldn't come back for me, either he has lost or is being manipulated by EUA. I was no match for EUA or what’s left of his Vile army so I rushed back for help, but UA may only have so much time."

Entropy had begun to recover as Tala ran from the transport to him. With Tala's help he stood, "In this aftermath of pain and torment we must rise again from one of are hardest battles. The life of a CF is never one of rest, this time we aren’t fighting for our own lives but those of our friends. In this we must find the strength to go on"

Physically they all looked beaten and battered, but their souls burned brighter then ever.

Grey Wolfe, Dianthe, Laina, Blade, Deyja, Tachyon left into he transport back to the castle and hopefully to the aid of Rupay.

Eme, Entropy, Tala, Pyro, Lark, and Laina all gathered into Kyle's teleportal back to Faia to get back UA.

Their battles had just begun.

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