Darkest Hour

JUSTAR   
                                                   
	Zaria had been trying to get to her 
isle but had somehow ended up in Justar.  Now knowing what Sentinei 
was preparing for, she was
 glad she had 
somehow made her way here.                               
''You okay?'' asked Sentinei ''You look a bit tired...'' 
Tired, that wasn't the half of it.  Magicwise she was at an all-time 
low.
It was a bit depressing, though there were others that could make do 
easily
without any magic at all..but, they probably didn't have a vengeful x 
(who happened to be an 
powerful ArchMage) after them.
At least not one even more powerful in the Art that Zaria herself, 
and that's
if she were fully up to strength.           
''I really haven't been at my best, as you know.  The trip 
to Crystalia and back really wasn't much of a help.'' Zaria       
answered ruefully.                                                    
''Maybe you should lay down, I need to go the Ealians have   
arrived.''
He was right as usual, she knew that, but she wasn't about to let him 
leave 
without saying anything at all.  
	For the first time in a long while she
was confused.   In her normally detached gaze there was hint 
of...something.  
She looked almost lost for a moment.  Her normally pale face (now 
almost literally
white as snow due to her recent experiences) surrounded by her deep 
black
hair contributed to it. She sighed and looked at him, ''I know..'' 
she said.  
She wanted to say something, but it all seemed so inadequate. Finally 
she settled
on something, it was so hard to say even this. She stepped forward, 
almost close enough to 
touch him, ''I.. just wanted to.. say 
good-bye and..'' for a moment conflicting ideas warred in her 
mind, ''good luck..I
guess.''  Her eyes shifted to a deep purple as she looked at him.  
Then she sighed
again and looked away.  Softly she spoke, her eyes focused on 
nothing, ''It is 
wrong for a mortal to love a god..'' It was the only way she could 
think of 
to express what she felt, and she wanted, needed to bring it into the 
light 
before he was gone, possibly forever.  A strange thought
how could an immortal, even a demigod, die?  This one stone-solid 
fact, in
watery unreality of everything else, did little to soothe her worried 
mind.
''And for a god to love someone of the mortal realm.''  
Sentinei said staring at Zaria. His words and tone startled her out 
of her
reverie; she lifted her eyes to his.   Then, 
despite what he had said, he reached to her face then pulled
it to his and embraced her in a long kiss. Then he    
turned and walked through a gleaming green portal.          

CRYSTALIA            
                                      
The sky turned black and lightning laced the sky.           
A loud rumble of thunder pounded at the DragonStar.         
''Sentinei's battle has begun.'' said Nity, almost in a trance, and 
not knowing that his
and the rest CF's was also about to start.                  
                                                            
VILE LAIR          
                                         
''The Darkens are ready, how about your Vile troops?'' asked  
Brakis.                                                     
''They are ready.'' answered Dolomite 
carelessly.                          
''Good.'' Brakis pulled out his sword the metallic ring was a  
beautiful sound to his ears.                                
''I didn't think you were going into battle yet.'' said         
Dolomite.                                                   
''I'm not you old fool.''                                      
''But I thought you said you only take out your sword to     
kill..?'' Dolomite asked, not realizing what was happening.  Then he 
noticed the last words, 
''Old fool?'' he said dangerously in his gravely voice as he 
struggled to stand and order Brakis 
out.                                                       
''Quite a memory you got Dolomite.'' Brakis pulled back the    
sword then shoved it through Dolomite's chest ''Very good   
memory indeed.''  He said with a smile.
                                            
CRYSTALIAN FOREST                                           

The Darken war ship raised into the air out of the clearing 
of the forest that it had been hidden in.                         
It shot off towards where the castle once stood. The
first attack of the Darken/Vile alliance was about to       
occur.                                                     
                                                            
DRAGONSTAR      
                                            
UA typed on the ships main computer making an analysis. ''Yeah, it 
looks like the Ealians are 
using the    
core of Crystalia, possibly inadvertently since a war of the gods 
really shouldn't concern us
 mortals, but they're creating a kind of backlash simply rip 
Crystalia apart. In forty-eight   
hours it will no longer exist.''                      
''NO!'' Eme fell to her knees in anguish with a choked 
cry.                      
''What about all the people?'' asked Zelda in horror.  ''Remember, 
they've been on evac 
standby since the natural disasters began.  I think they'll all be 
relocating to Earth through a 'port.  
They will be disguised of course.  I think they're going to Ireland 
specifically.'' ''What if the 
links don't work?'' ''Since when haven't I been prepared for every 
eventuality?  We've 
started work on teleportation devices, Pyro and Zealen are copying 
the prototype at the moment.''

CRYSTALIA                                                  

Another rumble across the land and another wound opens on   
its surface and it crumbles away. The world continues to   
fall apart as Eme's tears fall to her pillow.  She had know about the 
destruction for a while, 
she could feel it tearing at her heart.  Crystalia was part of her.  
She took a deep breath and 
looked around her cabin, spotting the evacuation notice that she had 
never thought she'd 
have to use.               
Sentinei is the last hope.                                  

Ganthet turns grim.  This had been his home for far too     
long.  He didn't want to loose it now.                      
  Solara was fairing worse.  ~Someone's going to destroy    
Crystalia?!  They can't!  Why would they?!  I know         
conditions have been bad lately...but why?!~                
  ~I don't know my friend, I wish I did. We'll fight this   
thing if we can,'' replies Ganthet, trying to comfort the    
newest CF.                                                  

UA checks some calculations on a few machines, then sets    
down the clipboard.  He walks through the ship and finds    
himself at Eme's cabin.  ~Best to leave her alone for now.~ he
decides.  ~I know what it's like to lose a home.~  He heads for
the back of the ship and checks the cargo area.             
He lifts his hand and opens a teleportal.  In seconds, the  
Rebel Quad Jet and the make-shift jet appears.  And so does 
UA.  He sits on the front of the quad and smiles.  
         
''You!''                                                      
''Me.  I was getting worried that you were beginning to like 
me, so I came here to make sure you still HATE me.''         
''Don't worry.  Your place in my heart is still secure.''     
''Good.  Then I can make sure it's there when I kill you, and 
I will.  We've formed an alliance with the Darkens...which, 
as memory serves, you personally haven't had the luxury of 
encountering
yet.  We will be combining our efforts to destroy you and   
your pathetic do gooders.''                                  
''Oh, that's original.  Still looking for global domination?''
''Well, since you brought it up...''                          
''Listen, 'bro', if there's something I've learned, its that 
bad guy alliances always end up in betrayal.  And yours is  
no different.''                                              
''Oh, I know that.  I've planned for every contingency.  Just
like you do.  By the way, that's some hot number you've     
acquired yourself there.  She just come off the hooker      
bandwagon or what?''                                         
''Why you--!''  UA dives but EUA 'ports.  ''I hope you like taking
over a world about to die!  And we will fight, soon, and I  
WILL WIN!!''                                                 
                                                            
UA meets everyone, though they hadn't been able to find Entropy, in a 
cabin reserved for 
meetings.  He     
brings in a new T.I.M. unit.                                
''T.I.M.!'' Everyone exclaims.                                
''Yep.  I found time to rebuild him.  Now, what's the latest 
updates?''

Entropy stands outside, staring into the raging storm with  
cold contempt in his eyes.  ~I let this happen on my        
homeworld.  I made my vows there.  I've seen the destruction
of cultures, worlds, and countless other things.~  Two words
come from his lips.                                         
  ''Never 
again.''                                                                           
Entropy returns into the DragonStar, quickly grabbing a
pen and a piece of paper.  He checks the readings, then     
starts writing.                                             
                                                            
   Tala-                                                    
   I know I'm probably gonna get myself killed this time    
   around, but I can't just sit here and do nothing while   
   this planet is dying.  I've checked the readings on      
   the vile ships, they're headed for the castle ruins.     
   I'm going to stop them.  I don't care what it takes,     
   but I will.  Please, don't follow me.  I've gotten       
   you into far more trouble than anything, and I don't     
   want to have than happen, especially now.  I'm           
   leaving this note for everyone, but especially to        
   you.  I wish I could do something more for you, but      
   I don't have anything left.  I can give you nothing,     
   except my soul, or what there is of it.  Should we       
   never meet again, know that I love you.  Farewell.       
                                                            
                                  Entropy Salander          

He folds it up, leaving it at Tala's door before heading out
again.  He shifts a pair of wings for himself, then leaps to
the skies, heading straight for the ruins.

DRAGONSTAR

Pyro was working in his portable lab aboard the DragonStar.  
Pikachu was trying to sleep in a corner waiting for Pyro to 
stop banging around.                                        
''FOUND IT!! AW $#^$@!'' Pyro pulls out his last Electron     
Cannon. ''THE POWER CELL'S DEAD!!''                           
Pyro knew he had no way to recharge it. Pikachu got fed up  
and wanted sleep badly, so it got up, and zapped Pyro.        
''WOAHHHHHH!!!'' The last thing Pyro saw before he blacked    
out was ''power....cell...charged..''  Pyro fell backwards    
blacked out. Pikachu comes over to Pyro, looks at him then  
falls backwards and to sleep in mimic.

ZELDA'S ROOM
                                                            
Zelda was sitting in her room, thinking.  It was not a good 
day.  She couldn't concentrate, not enough to get to the    
'psi plane', part of the Dreamworld, anyway.  She wished she
could do something for Eme, for her to have to loose her    
home, her dimension...at least they would be able to save   
the people and things living there, she hoped.              
                                                            
JUSTAR               
                                       
Zaria sat down, a small smile on her face, then she noticed 
that she had been playing with her necklace.  The           
silver-chained dark purple amethyst pendent that she had worn for so 
many 
years. The first time she had touched it and not     
immediately remembered what it stood for.  It seemed so long 
ago when she had been given it.  Now she was running from   
the one that had given it to her.  She sighed, were they
right? Was this wrong? But oh, it felt so right...  In aggravation 
she reminded herself that every 
time something like this   
happened..something bad came about.  This time it might be  
the Ealians.  She looked toward where the green portal had  
been and hoped that Sentinei would be all right.

VILE LAIR

UA appears back at the Vile lair.  He finds Brakis.         
''When does Dolomite wanna move out?''                        
''Oh, he's a little--DEAD to the world, right now.  I figured
we make a move in an hour.  This world will be ours, and so 
will all reality.''  He laughs as he walks off.  UA glares at
him under his mask.                                         
''That a fact?'' he asks himself.  ''We'll see about that...   
partner.''                                                   

DRAGONSTAR

''WARNING ENEMY SHIP APPROACHING'' the mechanical voice      
reported throughout the ship.                                
UA changes his readouts of Crystalia to another screen.     
''The Darken warship is approaching from the east''           
Nity finds a seat and types something in ''Their weapons are 
charged!''                                                    
UA opens the door to the bridge and pushes a com button     
''Pyro get to the bridge _now_ we are taking off'' UA waits   
for an answer but doesn't get one ''Pyro confirm!''             
''Where is he?'' asks Nity as Zealen walks in. ''Zealen go check 
on Pyro he's probably in his lab again.''
Zealen nods, not having anything else to do, then heads 
away.                                         
''Looks like I have to do this myself.'' says UA pushing a     
dozen buttons and the ship shudders to life.                
''The Darken ship is in range, firing lasers!'' yells Nity    
''Move it UA!'' The boosters ignite and then explode. ''We've been 
hit!''                                              
''Damn!'' UA hits the boosters again but the ship only         
shudders.                                                   
''BOOSTERS DAMAGED:  UNSALVAGEABLE'' reports the mechanical     
voice.                                                      
''The computers reporting that their getting ready to launch 
a few dozen missiles, UA lets get _out_ of here!''               
''Were sitting ducks!'' UA goes over the com link ''This is UA  
evacuate the ship.'' UA and Nity both run out of the bridge.  
                                                            
Zealen enters Pyro's lab ''Dangit Pyro what happened to you? 
Wake up we have to get out of here!'' 
T.I.M. picks up Pyro and runs out the door into the    
open air, Zealen follows holding Pikachu.                   
They look in to the sky and see the missiles flowing out of 
the massive ship.                                           
The rest of the CFs come stumbling out.                     
''Where is Entropy?'' asks Tala as she comes out.              
''Here I found this..it was on your door..'' Maia says handing her 
the letter left by
Entropy.                                                    
Tala quickly scans it, ''That IDIOT!''                          
''Keep moving people!'' yells UA. They run as the missiles fall 
upon the DragonStar like rain, the huge fireball can be seen 
for miles.                                                  
The concussion of the blast throws the CFs about a hundred  
feet.                                                       
They groan as they get up the Darken warship flies by  releasing a 
hundred Darken soldiers 
flying down on    
their jet packs.                                            

    Krakken swore under his breath as the DragonStar was    
transformed into a twisted mass of flaming metal.  They     
didn't have the castle.  They weren't going to have         
Crystalia.  Not even the ''DragonStar'' was left.  Cruel      
people would keep following them and ruining everything they
had, until... until what?  Until they struck back.          
    Krakken could feel the lush grass beneath his feet as he
tore across the turf, heading in the direction opposite they
were heading in.  ''Krakken!                                 
''Oh, so those are Darkens, huh?  Joy.''  UA opens a          
teleportal and swallows in all the CFs.  They appear some   
distance away.                                              
''Sorry, but I don't need people getting killed      
because we were ambushed.  Now, where's Entropy?''  Tala     
hands him the note.  ''That stupid--''  Suddenly, an          
earthquake hits.  Minor, but enough to give them a good     
shake.                                                      
''Planet's starting to go.'' UA says.  ''We need to get some   
shelter and figure out a plan.  Nity, you're in charge.  I'm
going after dippy.''  With that, he 'ports away.

Entropy, meanwhile, stops in his flight, landing near an    
old, half-dead tree.  He re-absorbs his wings, then sees a  
flash on the horizon.  Shifting himself some better eyes, he
sees the Darkens' ship...and the DragonStar's wreckage.     
  ''No...''  He says, his eyes widening.  ''Tala...the         
others...'' His face twists into a fierce visage of pure     
hatred.  He instantly shifts his eyes back, instead shifting
up an increased metabolism for his legs.  Within moments, he
is off like a shot across the decaying landscape at over    
200mph, sword out and ready to taste the blood about to be  
spilled...                                                  

JUSTAR                                                      
                                                            
Zaria had been letting her mind wander when she realized,   
finally, where she was.  Justar.  Why? She had tried to go  
to her isle...she woke up here.  Sentinei wouldn't have..?  
Would he? She shook her head, nothing seemed to make sense  
anymore.  Had it ever? Suddenly though, she felt something.  It must 
have
been triggered by her thought of her isle which was near    
Hyrule.  Something was up there.  Zelda.  She had to help   
Zelda.  It was a good thing she had regained enough strength
to 'port already.  Actually, here she was even able to      
materialize completely.  For a moment another thought tugged 
her, she felt almost like this would be abandoning Sentinei.
 Again she shook her head, she was ~not~ going to be some   
placid maiden waiting for him to come home from a battle or 
whatever.  When she had something to do she would do it.    
Her life was based on her adherence to her mission, no matter how 
inconvenient it could be.  
At first she wasn't able to 'port then she sighed,   
''Gone so far?'' she asked herself quietly before adding a      
gesture and words to help along the spell, hoping that     
she'd end up in the right place this time.                  

Nity watches as UA leaves after Krakken. ''Zelda isn't       
Cathedral Caverns around here?''                                  
''Yes actually, it's right over there.'' Zelda 
points, "But..remember? It collapsed when we 
first came here.."                   
''There should be enough of it left for us to hideout   
in.  Come on guys, follow me.'' They all run after Nity towards the 
cave as the sound of the       
jetpacks follow.                                            
                                                            
The reach the half demolished cave. ''Kisutsu help me here,''  
says Nity, Kisutsu walks over to see what he needs help     
with. Nity is bent over Pyro, he flips a switch on Pyro's    
suit.                                                      
Round discs pop out of slots on his suit. ''What are they?'' Kisutsu 
asks curiously.  
''Invisible bombs, Pyro showed me them a while 
back.'' ''Err...they're not invisible to me..''  
''Just help me lay them out in front of the entrance of the cave.''   
They both grab the mines and go lay them out in front of the
cave.                                                       
''Now push the button on the top of them.'' orders Nity, the   
bombs turn invisible to the naked eye once the button is    
pushed down. Kisutsu and Nity return to the others.         
''The Darkens know where we are, when they trigger the bombs 
that's when we emerge and attack.''                            

Ganthet sighed.  They'd lost next to everything. Both their 
homes.  Now, they were going up against impossible odds.    
For once, he didn't relish battle.  He normally wasn't      
afraid of dying, but now he was.  Now, he had another life  
who was dependent on his.  If he died, so would Solara.     
He could never let that happen.   ''Perhaps we should scout them.
 Those of us with flying powers could see what they're doing
and be back here quickly,'' he says.                         
   ~I can fly too ya know, too bad you can't Crys,~ says    
Solara, using her nickname for him.                         
    ''Solara expresses a desire to do anything she can to    
help''

    Reaching the slowly-landing Darken troops, Krakken      
paused to consider what he was about to do.  An impromptu   
war had apparently sprung up, and at the worst possible     
time.  Without his powers, Krakken would be all but useless.
He had a powerful way to strike back, but it was so morally 
incorrect, even by Aldezaarian standards.  How would he     
sleep at night?  What if these men had families?  What if-- 
    Viciously quelling the doubt roiling inside him, Krakken
reached into his reliable pocket and violently tugged out a 
worn box.                                                   
    The bloodstained boots of the first Darken troops       
touched the ground.                                         
    Krakken desperately tried to pry open the lid of the    
box.                                                        
    Their comrades descending behind them, the leading      
troops cocked their rifles.                                 
    The muscles in the back of his hands bunching together, 
Krakken finally ripped the top off of his box.              
    Something intangible left the torn bodies of all of the 
soldiers and entered the old box.  Lifeless and soulless, the
empty husks that had been their bodies fell to the weeping  
earth.  As they did, Krakken wished he was dead.            
    ''What _was_ that?''                                      
    Krakken turned to face UA, who had finally caught up to 
him, ''It is the Soulkeeper.  There was nothing in it,       
because, like most vessels, its purpose is to be empty.  It 
tears the life and souls from living creatures.  I'm        
surprised you didn't lose your soul, either.''               
    UA suddenly realized that his life had been put in      
danger as well as the implications of the Soulkeeper, ''You 
b*stard.''                                      
    Krakken's gaze was remote and devoid of life, ''Yes.''   
''Krakken, I--can't believed you used that thing.  I mean,   
these could be sentient life-forms.''                        
''I--know, but they took so much from us...and...''           
''Look, try to refrain from using that thing except when     
ABSOLUTELY necessary.  And not around the CFs.  My guess is 
because of the mystic origin of my powers I wasn't affected.
I can't say the same thing for the others.''  Another tremor 
hits.  ''Let's go before we run out of time.''                 

As UA and Krakken talk, Entropy suddenly appears, blind to  
everything except the remaining Darkens.  He whips out his  
sword, activating it and charging into the fray.  He cleaved
two Darkens in half, before they crumble, he swings his      
sword, and it gets lodged in the skull of a third.  Turning 
back to the others, he extends viciously sharp claws from   
his fingers, quickly utilizing them in stabbing through     
another Darken.  As he pulls them out, blood sprays from the
wound as it dies.  

Entropy grabs his sword again, shifting  
his hands back to normal and charging at the newly landed   
troops.  He falls upon them like the darkness itself, black 
energies flying as he kills them one after another.  As more
of them land, Entropy suddenly charges up his energies,     
black powers pouring from his sword.  He pulls back, and    
stabs his sword into the ground, as a dome of pure darkness 
envelopes the area.  The Darkens touching it immediately    
crumble, and when it finally dissipates, Entropy is the only
one left standing.  

He pants for a second, then drops to his
knees, looking up at the Darkens' smaller ships.  He takes  
his sword, pointing it up to the rear ship.  He screams, a  
cry of pure hatred, and a massive blast of energy lances    
into the sky, splitting the air as it finally carves through
the small ship, splitting it in half.  Entropy smiles a bit 
as it goes down in flames, then collapses to the ground     
and passes out.    
                                         
Some time later Entropy awakes to see a figure standing
in front of him. ''So now you wake up..I thought you were    
dead there.'' Lark said softly. ''And by the way..who are you  
and why are you here?'' She asked with a little more         
attitude.                                                 
Entropy gets up, groaning a bit.  ''Go away.''  he says,      
sheathing his sword.  ''This planet's going to die in less   
than a day.  The last thing I need is another casualty on my
conscience.''  He suddenly looks back, glaring at her.  ''And  
don't think for a moment that I won't kill you unless you   
go.  I've killed sleeping 2-year-olds.  I don't have any    
problems with anything else.''    
She responds with a glare of her own. ''I really doubt you    
could kill me..People have tried before but failed, and     
plus..I'm a pretty strong warrior myself, and I can put up a
good fight.'' She stated. It appeared they had about the same 
temperament.                                                              
T.I.M. shows a scanner to Nity and then starts to 
calculate the odds, his face display looks grim.                   
Then T.I.M displays a picture of the layout of stinking bad guys  
on the wall and one of the shape of the cave.               
''I really think, Nity, that I should go and attack the ships 
now before we have to fight the Darkens. One on one, you     
know that I carry the most the air-born firepower and by my
calculations says that we have a 23.04% chance of victory If
I do.... well actually that's only 2.04% better than 
otherwise.''        
T.I.M.  says.                                              
''It would be seriously unwise to go alone T.I.M.,'' rumbles  
Ganthet.  ''You've sacrificed yourself too many times for us 
already.  If you go alone, it's likely you'll be destroyed  
again, but without anything left...we wouldn't be able to rebuild 
you...''                                                     

HYRULE

Suddenly, Zaria was caught in a cold embrace. She tried to take a 
breath as
 she felt Layarteb's spell draining her at a rate faster than she 
remembered,
 but the taste of salt filled her mouth and she choked on a breath of 
water.
  ~W-where..?~ she thought wildly as water crashed over her head and 
she 
struggled to..to..get SOMEwhere.  She couldn't see a thing, it was 
dark and 
the water pushed against her eyes.  Aparently, she'd made a wrong 
turn in her
 teleportation.  She reached her hand toward what she thought was up 
and 
suddenly it was washed over with a cold feeling. But, cold or not it 
was 
above the pressure of the water!  She kicked at the water, trying to 
get to 
the surface, but her dress was now soaked heavy and holding her 
down.  She 
started to feel dizzy from the lack of air, but she was determined 
that she 
wouldn't end like this!  She had to at least stop Layarteb first.  
Things 
had to be resolved before she could let herself the luxury of 
floating away 
into the abyss. She pulled at the water with her hands and then was 
able to 
bring her face into the cold.  Precious, air in a wind blew against 
her face
 in a freezing blanket.  She gasped it in and began to tread water.  
Through
 her confused mind came the thought that she could have used 
magic..but to 
teleport again? Who knew where she would end up next time! She wiped 
at her 
eyes, trying to get the stinging salt out of them, enough for her to 
see 
anyway.  ~So, not as far at all.~ she thought upon seeing her island 
through
 parting mist.  She smiled with relief and began to swim over to it.  

CRYSTALIA
                                                            
Entropy suddenly hears voices...familiar ones.  Turning 
towards them, he can barely make out...the CFs? 
''I don't believe it!''  he says as he runs towards them, Lark close 
behind.   
''Hey! Guys!''  He yells, arriving at their location.         
  ''It's about time.  Thank you very much for running off.''  
UA complains.                                               
  ''Hey, what I do and don't do is none of your concern.''  He
turns to the other CFs, ignoring UAs glare.  As leader he was 
responsible for all of them, it made 
his job that much harder when they ran off like children without 
telling him.  Though..they all 
should be able to take care of themselves.  ''I saw the 
DragonStar...I thought  
you were all dead.''                                         
  ''Come on, one little spaceship destruction and you think  
we died?  You really don't know us too well, do you?''  Nity 
smirks.                                                     
  ''Well, it's probably a good thing that I did, otherwise   
we'd have 5 Darken ships to deal with instead of four.''     
  ''Yeah, we noticed that little gem.'' Krakken adds.         
  ''So, what's the plan?''            
''Enough with the family reunion, who ~are~ you people?''
Zelda took Lark aside while the others began to talk of a battle plan.
Ganthet rumbled, ''It is my suggestion that we send our  
flyers-T.I.M., Nity in his Razis form, Solara, and ....,''  
he stops.  ''Kisutsu can you fly?  With your powers over the 
storm elements, you should be able to.''                     
  ''Yeah, I can, '' he replies.                               
  ''Anyway, the four of us..er them..er us,'' he fumbles with 
the next part.  He and Solara were linked.  It made for 
odd word usage sometimes.  ''We/they do whatever damage they 
can, hitting them hard.  We look for the others while the   
rest of you get as many people out of here as possible.''    
UA walks in just in time to hear Ganthet's battle plan.    
''Hold it!  No one's going anywhere.  Our top priority is    
making sure this planet has a smooth and quiet evac.  What  
we need to do is merely keep the Darkens and Vile at bay,   
then deal with them to ensure no civilian casualties.  If   
anyone has a problem with that plan, speak up now 'cause we 
ain't got no time to waste.''                                
	"You mean you're a Crystal Fighter too?" Zelda exclaimed in 
surprise after exchanging 
information with Lark.  "Of all the times..." she muttered.  "So tell 
me, why's everything so 
crazy around here, is it always like this?" Lark asked. Zelda 
answered ruefully as she realized 
it really was pretty much this crazy all the time, "Well..sometimes 
we get breaks...rarely.  
Our current crisis as you've heard is that..well..Crystalia is being 
destroyed..something about the 
Ealians and the core."

''UA's right'' says Nity.
Entropy turns, seeing UA arrive.  ''Hey, UA, I just got  
one question:  With the DragonStar wasted from the Darkens, 
and so few of us with teleportation powers, how're the  
rest of us going to get off this rock before it blows?''  The
others shift about nervously, thinking of the implications  
of that.  UA looked at him, ''I think you've got an idea, going to 
share it with us?'' ''An it 
please thee.. I say, we start up a distraction.  Those of us   
who can fly each carry one person, and I'll shift myself    
into a ship of some kind, to take two others to one of their
smaller ships.  While the others are attacking their main   
ship, my team gets into the small ship, takes over the      
bridge, and we use that to escape with everyone not         
evacuated already.  And I wouldn't worry about killing      
sentient lifeforms.  The Darkens are barely that.  They're  
all grown, at full maturity, programmed with the knowledge  
they need, and sent out to kill something.  The same goes   
with the Vile, basically.  Trust me, I know these 
people.''             
  ''And how's that?'' Pyro adds.                              
  ''I ran a couple jobs for the Darkens before hooking up    
with the Vile.''  He quickly answers.  ''Even so, I don't want
to spend what may be the last few hours of my life running  
away.  It's not my style.''     
                             
 ''Something is wrong here, the Darkens 
are men and women solely set up for the purpose of war as Entropy 
said..I    
don't think they could be taken out so easily.'' He walks   
out of the cave making sure to avoid the bombs.  Then he gets to  
one of the Darken bodies and pulls off the helmet, there is 
nothing there. ''A decoy.''                                     
''Correct'' says a Darken warrior as the soldiers come out of 
the cloaked form.                                           
''$^*%(!!'' Nity dives back into the cave with laser fire       
following.                                                  
The Darkens rush in after him into the bombs taking out    
their frontline.                                            
''This is it CF's the real fight is upon us.'' says UA.        
''Celestial Razis Crystal POWER!''                             
Rydia and Lark moved over towards the group.  Could this be their 
last stand?  Where else could
 they go? ''Mystical Rydia Lunaris POWER!'' she called, a bit of an 
echo to Nity.  Lark 
looked at them in amazement, "What the #@$ is wrong with you 
people?!" In annoyance she 
noticed that these things..these Darkens probably weren't about to 
stop for her, she'd been 
deemed one of these people by the soft-voiced elven girl, the 
youngest she had seen here.  
What were they doing sending kids into battle? Though, it looked like 
they were all quite 
experienced.  Lark sighed, it looked like she would have to battle 
with them or die.
''How quickly you forget the catacombs, E.'' UA says.         
''The what?'' Zealen asks.                                    
''Later.  Right now...'' FZZAMP!  The Darkens destroy the     
cave.                                                       
                                                            
CATACOMBS          
                                     
The CFs appear inside the underground place thanks to UA's 'port.  
They look     
around.                                                     
UA makes a motion and the CFs look to see the four
Rebel Jets.  ''I 'ported them off when the alarm went off.''  
''Great, so what now?''                                       
''Well, we need all the manp--..err... wit and strength we can get to 
ensure this   
planet is empty without tipping the Darkens off.  We need to
spare as few as possible for decoys.  Now, that's the most  
dangerous job.  And if some of you ARE decoys, then there's 
a slim chance you won't be coming back, so this is strictly 
voluntary.  Anyone who wants to keep the Darkens off the    
rest of our backs, please let us know.''                
     
 Entropy looks at the jets, then at the others.  ''Nonetheless,
these jets won't be able to take all of us.  I'm still      
willing to go on with my plan, and those who don't fly decoy
or go with me should stay behind and help with the evac.    
Even so, I need at least 2 people to help me out on this.''  
         
HYRULE

Soon Zaria's feet touched shifting sand and the waves pushed her on 
towards 
the dry sand of the beach she could see just ahead.  Soon she reached 
the 
dry area and collpased upon the soft white sand with a sigh.  As soon 
as she
had touched the dry sand, she felt the web spell relinquish its grip
on her.  ~Not much longer,~ she thought, ~not much longer.~  She 
closed her
 eyes for a few seconds to catch her breath, then she stood up and 
walked 
along the beach until she hit a grove of lush trees.  She nodded to 
herself 
and moved gracefully through them.  
                                                  
THE VILE LAIR                  
                             
UA watches the attack on his monitor, and grits his teeth.  
''An hour, huh?  I don't like unplanned double-crosses,      
Brakis.  Time you learned who the hell you're dealing with!''
He stands, turns with a flip of his cape and storms out as  
another tremor hits.                                        
                                                            
THE SURFACE                                                 
                                                            
As the Darkens continue their surveillance of the planet, 2 
more ships, one looking as if it were made of liquid metal, 
the other looking like the night itself, suddenly appear    
nearby.  The shadow ship backs off, as the metallic one     
hovers over the darken fleet, silent.  Two of the small     
cruisers from the fleet go up to investigate.  Suddenly,    
there is a bright flash, and the two cruisers are gone.  The
spherical ship moves on, landing and taking on a dome shape 
as it touches down.  A hatch opens up, and hundreds of      
freakish spider-centaur creatures with cybernetically       
augmented weapons pour out, getting into a complex          
formation.  A hologram of another one of the creatures      
appears over the ship.                                      
  ''People of Crystalia.  Lower your weapons and submit to 
assimilation.  Resistance will be met with your destruction.
 We are the Angammon.  We shall not be opposed.''            
From the black ship's bridge, Nokomis smiles wickedly.      
''Won't this be an enjoyable alliance...''  she says, then    
chuckles to herself.           

CATACOMBS
                             
''You guys go...I'm dying with my world and I going to   
die fighting.'' She says, basically stating she'll be the one
who gets the Darkens off their back.                        
''You'll need backup Eme,'' says Ganthet, covering Rydia's cry of 
protest.  ''Nothing I can do, 
but Solara can.  Solara switch!''   There's a flash of light,
and once more Solara stands where Ganthet once was.         
   ''I can't let you go alone my queen.  This is my world    
too.  Let me help,'' she says.  She knew she could put a     
thorn in these Darkens' sides, even as a distraction.  She  
may not be solid, but her light blasts packed a punch.  And,
she was learning to manipulate light for other effects, like
holograms and invisibility.                                 
''Okay, Entropy, Eme and, er...''                             
''Solara.''                                                   
''Thanks.  Solara will take the point while the rest of us   
make sure everyone has a safe evac.  And let's just hope    
that it won't come down to people dying.  We've lost too    
many as it is.  Good luck and be careful.''  They head out.  
UA stops Eme and kisses her on the lips.  ''Especially you.'' 
Shocked UA finally made a move, she slowly leaves.  UA turns to the 
others.                                                     
''We have work to do.  Let's go.''                            
                                                            
Zelda sighed, she wanted to help Eme but there didn't seem  
to be anything that she could do.  Now it seemed like       
Crystalia was doomed to fall apart, what could they do?     
Finally, she decided that she wanted to go with             
Gan--err..Solara and Eme, she did have some powers after    
all.  She was determined to be of at least some use.        
''I'm coming too.'' she said, walking over to Eme and Solara. 
Lark watched the CFs from a short distance. ''Okay It's time 
to join this group..'' She sighed and ran up, she looked at  
Zelda, Eme, & Solara for a second. ''I   
wanna help..'' She stated. ''I'm a good fighter if you'll let 
me join..I know about the Crystal Fighters..Zelda explained..and 
that's      
probably why I'm here..cause I really have a feeling that I 
could just be of some use.'' She stopped to catch her breath.

''T.I.M., Zealen, Pyro you guys start going to the villages  
with the transport devices'' says Razis, he steps out of the 
catacombs and sees cybernetic spiders crawling every where.
There is a woman standing in the middle of the spiders.     
''Who is she?'' asks Razis.                                    
''Her name is Nokomis''                                       
''Isn't that um Tala's sister she told us about?''             
''Yep she is one nasty *^$*%.''                                
''I bet Tala will be happy to see her sister.'' Razis smirks,   
''Let's clean her clock.''  
Solara is in the air before anyone could blink.  Advantage  
of being made of light, was moving at the speed of light.   
She's at the battle field before anyone.  ''Solar light      
blast!'' she cries as she releases beams of light and heat.  
The reflect off the body's of the space bugs.   ''What are   
they made of?'' she whispers.                                
   ~Wish I knew, Solara,~ says Ganthet in her mind.  ~Try   
taking one out from the inside.~                            
   ~Good idea, G.~  She flies towards one, hoping to phase  
through its skin and blast it from within.  As she makes    
contact, the energy field repels her.  ''Not good,'' she     
quips.    

~The Soulkeeper.  Perhaps I could use it on those   
creatures...~    Just like with the poison, Krakken received
a thought for no logical reason.  They didn't have souls.   
Soulless creatures had no right to live, let alone kill.     
Disgusted, Krakken drew his large knife, ''Let the damned    
fall beneath our blades!  I do not need a Crystal against   
warped creations of some sinful dynasty!''         

ISLE OF MYST

Zaria sighed almost happily as she saw the trees part to reveal her 
temple.  
"Didst thou miss me Uihau..sanctuary?" she spoke softly in a slightly 
breathy voice as she walked up the steps.  Zaria put a hand to her 
head, 
she felt lightheaded and still dizzy.  ~Won't have to keep this up 
for much
 longer.~ she thought, then repeated the thought aloud, "Not much 
longer.." 
Inside the temple she reached the room where her staff was suspended 
in a 
ray of light.  She reached into the light and grasped the reasurring 
staff 
in her hand.  As she began to pull it away she almost laughed, how 
awkward 
it would have been had she had it in Justar! She pulled the staff 
towards 
her and held it against her bosom almost with maternal protection.  
As soon
 as it was fully out of the light, the light disapeared completly.  
Zaria 
stared calmly into the dark, the dark like an abyss..like the abyss 
she would
 soon relax into.. The end was coming.  She could feel it.  

CATACOMBS

''Okay guys, here's the plan. I want you guys to go. Go with UA
and the others. Leave me here, please.'' Eme says sternly,   
pushing them away. ''GO!''                                  
''You're taking that much of a risk?'' Lark asked. ''You're    
wanting us to leave you here..okay since I'm new I'll just  
follow this plan.''  
''Eme..please...'' Zelda said, but Eme stayed firm, ''Are you  
really sure you can do this alone?''                         

OUTSIDE
                                                                                                        
''Hm.'' Entropy says, hanging back for a moment.  ''Those must 
be the Angammon.  Don't look too tough.''  He charges        
foreword, quickly telling the others to stay away from      
Nokomis, she's very powerful.  He picks out the nearest     
Angammon, rushing at it with sword outstretched.  He takes a
wide slash, attempting to cleave the man-sized creature in  
half at the ''waist'' but his sword suddenly stops, then is   
reflected away by some kind of energy shielding.  Its four  
arms each carry vicious metal claws, and each of them       
contains a different weapon in the palms.  The Angammon, not
surprised or even startled in the least, starts towards      
Entropy, extending a long, scepter-like device from its     
lower-left palm, electricity crackling from the end.        
Entropy struggles to fight back, raining blows down on it,  
but the energy shielding holds, leaving it unaffected and   
Entropy both exhausted and pissed.  The Angammon suddenly   
strikes with the rod, too quickly for Entropy to dodge.  He 
screams as hundreds of volts of electricity are shot through
his liquid-based form, burning him from the outside in.  As 
he collapses, the Angammon retracts its cattle prod,        
quickly radioing to the rest of its brethren.  ''Encountered 
planetary defense force, threat value minimum.  Attack at   
will.''  

The huge formation of Angammon slowly turns towards 
the CFs, starting a slow march foreword.  Entropy barely    
regains consciousness in time to avoid a crushing blow from  
the Angammon.  ''Bad thing....'' He says to himself.  ''Guys, I
think this is your ideal ''run like hell'' situation.         
Agreed?''    
                                                
''SOLARA!  You're supposed to be out there with Eme and      
Zelda!'' UA exclaims.                                        
''Well, Eme kinda wanted to do this on her own...''           
''I'm in charge here.  NOT Eme.  You wanna be a Crystal      
Fighter, you follow MY orders.  Now go.''                    
''But--''                                                    
''GO!''  She flies out.  Pyro backs up to UA, blasting at the 
creatures.                                                  
''Great.  What now, o fearless leader?''                      
''Well, we can't beat 'em, but maybe we can trap 'em.''  UA   
begins to hopscotch his way off their shields and into the  
QRJ.  He hits a button and an energy net ensnares all the   
creatures, rapping them closely together.                   
''That won't hold 'em for long.'' Entropy says.               
''Long enough.''  UA starts the jet's engine. ''T.I.M., the    
other ship!''  T.I.M. flies over to the make-shift jet and   
transforms into a humanoid.  He starts the jet and they take off
through the ground.  ''CFs, MOVE!''  The CFs run out of the   
underground HQ through the secret boulder entrance and run  
far away from it as the jets circle back and drop little    
packages.  They fly after the CFs as the whole area explodes
with a loud BOOM.                                           
The jets hover over the CFs.                                
''That won't stop them.'' Entropy says, after recovering 
somewhat.  ''Nothing can.''     
''It only has to give us enough time to help with the evac.  
Now split up and move as fast as you can.''  The jets streak 
off and the CFs separate.                                   
Razis surveys the surroundings. ''Oh my Goddess!'' he says.     
''Aren't we going to get a break today?''                       
''What do you mean'' asks Pyro.                              
''Darkens coming over the east hill, Angammon scrabbling over 
the south hill and can you believe it Vile coming over the  
west hill.''                                                  
''I believe this is called a gauntlet.'' says Kisutsu.         
''Lets move it you guys or we aren't going to make it out of  
here!!!!!''    
                                              
Eme and Zelda split away from the rest of the CFs, but stayed 
together.  ''Zelda, get every 
CF off Crystalia, Please. Leave me here.
I'm going to blow it up. Not a living thing can survive the  
blast.'' She says firmly trying to get Zelda to understand. 
''It's the only way, otherwise no one will live through      
this.'' She looks down. ''Tell UA that I'll always love       
him..''                                                     
''Eme no...you tell him.  I don't have anything to leave behind other 
than what I've already 
left..and the CFs..''

Entropy flies over in one of the 
rebel jets, grabbing Eme and Zelda with a towline and bringing them up 
to the cockpit.                                             
  ''What the ^&*%^()& are you doing!'' She yells.             
  ''It took me this long to get you and UA together, you     
honestly think I'm gonna let you commit suicide now?''  He   
turns back to her.  ''Besides, the others can help the evac. 
I need you and Tala to help me get the Darken cruiser so we 
can get off this rock before it blows.''                     
  ''But-''                                                    
  ''No buts.  You may be the queen here, but I've been       
through these sort of things, and I know what I'm doing.    
I'm not gonna let you die after all that everyone's been    
through.  You think UA's gonna understand if you kill       
yourself?''  He then gets his eyes back on the air in front  
of him.  ''Besides that, everything's already going to get   
destroyed when the planet goes.  Overkill is nice, but when 
it starts killing my friends, it's not quite as great.''     

OUTSIDE

Pyro finally makes it to the village and sets up the        
device. ''Now how does this work? Oh yeah! No.... Wish UA    
had made this a little more clear.'' He pushes a button       
randomly and the portal opens up, ''Alright! Pyro's luck     
does it again''                                              
Nity and Zealen reach the first village.                    
''Everyone, we need you all to evac   
from the planet, now!''  The people gather around them, and  
nod.  After a few minutes...         
                       
''Why isn't anyone going?'' Zealen asks a creature.           
''With the planet dying, our teleportation links are dead.   
We're all connected to the planet through that.'' he answers.
''Good thing we made these things, huh?'' Zealen says, tossing
a teleportation device from his armor into the center of the
crowd.  The portal opens up.                                
''Everyone please step through.'' Nity says.  The people begin
moving in.  He turns to Zealen.  ''This is gonna take a lot  
longer than we thought.''                                    
                                                            
ELSEWHERE            
                                       
UA flies the jet over another village.  He finds out the same
information and opens a teleportal to allow the people      
through.  ~Not good,~ he thinks.  ~We'll be sitting ducks while
we make sure these people get to safety.  Hope the others   
are faring well.~                                            
 
ISLE OF MYST

Slowly she walked out of the room, unconsiously she walked across the hall, 
her wet dress leaving a streak of water on the marble floor.  She stopped 
suddenly after entering the next room.  In it stood a small desk with a book 
atop it.  "My--" she started to say, her voice echoing in the empty temple.  
She took a few quick, halting steps towards it and reached for it.  She had 
written the book in hopes of someone understanding..learning from her 
mistakes. The mistakes that had caused the death of friends, of innocents, 
of univereses.  She sighed, there had been so much that she left out. But 
it hurt her, the memories...no..no she had to supress them until the end.  
Her life was supression of herself.  "Eternity have mercy.." she spoke it 
so softly that it didn't echoe. But the Fates had never had mercy on her. 
She was a servent to Fate..always a servent..subject to the same whims she 
helped subject others to..just to fulfill prophecy..just to fill the empty 
space inside her.  It had never worked.  

REBEL JET

''All right, let's get to that cruiser.''  Entropy says,  
locking in a flight path.  ''Ok, Tala, you with us?''         
  ''Yeah, right here.  What's our plan?'' Tala's voice says,  
coming over the commline as her jet pulls up nearby.        
  ''Ok, computer, transmit plan of operation black dagger.''  
Entropy says, causing a map to appear in front of all three 
of them.  ''All right, the plan is this.  First, we do a     
strafing run over the cruiser, aiming for the main          
atmospheric vents.  We'll then ditch the jets, setting them 
on auto-pilot, and get into the ship.  Following that, we   
travel via the ventilation system to the bridge, do a quick 
hostile takeover job, eject the crew out to the waiting     
pincers of the Angammon, and steer that tub over to the     
other CFs, escaping to some other nearby planet before this 
particular one blows.  Any questions?''                      
  ''Are you sure you need me for this?''  Eme asks from the   
backseat.  ''I'm needed elsewhere.''                          
  ''Again, I'm not letting you commit suicide.  You may have 
a responsibility to this planet, but you also have a        
responsibility to its people, and they aren't going to all  
blow up.''  Entropy smiles a bit as the cruiser comes into   
view.  ''Ok, everyone ready?''                                
  ''As I'll ever be.'' Comes Tala's answer.                   
  ''Do I have a choice?''  Eme snarls.                        
  ''Well, you'd better be that way, because here it comes.''  
Entropy pushes the jet to the limits of its speed as the    
cruiser surface comes into view.  ''Let's ROCK!''             

ELSEWHERE

''UA this is taking to long and we running out of     
portals devises and that's the good news.... there are six..
No seven. Wait, eight wormhole's opening over the Southern   
hemisphere. It look like this party is getting bigger by 
the hour.'' T.I.M. says over the radio.                     
Razis and T.I.M. slice through the skyline. T.I.M. is in his
board form and Maia is riding on the back of him.          
The three drop transporters as they fly over the ruined     
land. The huge gaps can been seen everywhere from their position.
Razis spots the glint of bright orange ahead. ''Looks like   
the Vile attacked a village ahead, it is on fire''           
''The chances of this being a trap is 49 to 83'' says T.I.M.  
''It most definitely is a trap.'' says Razis.                  
''But we have to do something!'' says Maia.                    
''Yeah I know''              
                                 
T.I.M., Razis, and Maia land but don't see anyone around, no
villagers or Vile.                                          
''BWAAAAA'' the wail is heard as the creature jumps out of the
earth.
The huge creature uses the surprise tactic to quickly 
overcome Maia, its eight legs wrap around Maia and hold her 
firmly.                                                     
''I can't move! HELP!!'' screams Maia.                                 
''Razis Crystal Fl....''                                      
''BWAAAAA'' the scream pierces Razis' brain and he drops to   
his knees.                                                  
''Release her now.'' orders T.I.M. and readies his lasers.     
''Ahahah'' evil UA laughs and punches through T.I.M. yanking out   
a handful of wires.                                       
T.I.M. turns towards UA ''Hoooow diiiiid yooouuuu geeet      
hee...'' he drops to the ground.                             
''Good boy you little Angammon you.'' UA says and he pats it on
what is the head. The Angammon suddenly pulls back its legs 
from Maia's body. She only gives out a whimper as the sharp  
metallic legs come back and pierce through her body.        
''Ahhhhhhhhh'' yells Razis and he fights past the pain he     
feels in his head that had kept him on his knees till now,  
he rushes forward and catches Maia's lifeless body in his   
arms.       
                                                
''You...'' evil UA comes up from behind and snaps a yellow    
brace around Razis' neck and he demorphs.                   
''You *&*($()& $%&(*) $(&()$&!!!!!!!'' yells Nity and launches       
himself at UA. UA drives a punch to Nity's stomach and a    
back hand to his face.                                      
''You can't do anything for her now you fool, that neck brace 
on you is a nullifier so you can't change to Razis, all you  
can do now is get yourself killed and....Zelda'' UA says.    
''What have you down with Zelda?!?!'' Nity jumps at him.          
''Just calm down and come with me'' the storm grows worse and 
lightning ignites the sky as UA and Nity 'port away.       

OUTSIDE
                                                            
A portal appears and out steps a figure once familiar to    
this land, he scans the area as lightning cackles and       
thunder bellows.                                            
The uneven torn apart land is horrible and the fires that   
stretch out across it.                                    
~What the hell happened here?~ Anakin asks himself. He comes 
to the castle in ruins, ''No! The CFs--!!'' ~What has happened to  
this place, Sentinei wasn't exaggerating this place is in   
chaos~                                                      
''I can sense your presence here Brakis, and when I find you 
there will be hell to pay brother.'' Anakin moves on as he    
lets his gut instinct guide him to the brother he had hoped 
had died back all the time ago on Domoglin.    

ISLE OF MYST

Zaria took up the book, the emptyness growing as she realized just how empty
 the book was..how much of her tormented life of mistakes she had left 
out.  Why was she asking for mercy? She had shown none on others 
afterwards... The mistakes she had made..they did not deserve mercy.. She 
hoped desperatly for peaceful oblivian, but knew it would still be a time in 
coming..if death really was oblivian.  Or had she earned eternal torture
for her mistakes...the ones that tormented her in this world..how could she 
possibly be punished more? 
         
VILE LAIR                                                   

Nity is strapped to a chair, it seems the nullifier doesn't  
only keep his Crystal from working but it also makes him    
extremely weak. ''Why am I here?'' demands Nity.                 
''Well, you see I'm not stupid, I know this planet is going   
under, I just have a few questions, tell me what the CF's   
are planning and how they're getting out of Crystalia.''    
''Screw you.'' says Nity.                                      
EUA gives a frown ''You know I notice you kinda have    
somesort of an attachment to one of these Crystal Fighters,  
yo always seem to be protecting her, like you have to.'' UA   
grabs Nity's chair and turns it around to face Zelda lying  
on the floor bound and gagged her eyes opened wide with      
fright. ''Now give me the information or....'' UA's arm forms 
into a large blade and he presses the end to Zelda's heart  
''....she dies''                                              

VILLAGE

Pyro pushed the last person through the portal. ''Whew. I    
gotta get back to then DragonStar. Something is wrong.'' He  
starts running when the Pikachu grabs onto his leg and yells     
''PIKA''                                                      
''What do you want?'' He stops as Pikachu lets go and points  
towards the portal.                                         
''You're smart for a yellow rodent.'' He runs towards the       
portal.  He sets a few bombs, then redirects it to 'port to a Rebel 
Jet, which he was planning to 
modify into a second DragonStar. ''No reason the Vile should get 
their paws on    
this thing.'' He picks up Pikachu and throws him through     
then jumps through himself. Just as the portal closes, the  
bomb goes off.                                              

VILE LAIR

''Not talking, huh?  Well, think about this.''  He cuts       
Zelda's face and her arm. Then he spoke coldly as she writhed in 
pain.  ''I can do a lot 
more than that.  
Think about it.''                                            
''You #$@%!''  UA walks out and is met by some Darkens.  He
presses a button on his belt and turns into Brakis.         
''These CFs are well trained.  And remind me to thank UA for 
leaving these holographic devices in his absence.''          
                                                            
A VILLAGE FAR, FAR AWAY      
                               
UA watches the last of people leave, then turns to find a   
Vile.  Just one.  A regular, ordinary, solitary Vile.       
''What do you want?''  It hands him a tube, then turns and    
leaves.  UA checks it out, then jumps into the jet.  He     
inserts it into a slot by the monitor and presses a few     
buttons.  The screen glows as something appears.            
''I don't believe it.''                                       

ISLE OF MYST

Zaria's nails dug into the book as she strove to lock away her memories.  
Why? Why were they surfacing now? She had been able to almost forget about 
them for so long.. It wasn't working, she couldn't lock them away..that 
book..useless! Few, if any, of the most important things, the most important
 mistakes, they weren't in there! Higher and higher the anger at herself
 and the book elevated.  She started to breathe hard, gasping in air
with the building rage as she dug her nails partially through the leather
 binding of the book.  Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore, "YUKRESA!" 
she screamed. The violent shriek of that one harsh word, "leave me be" or 
"be gone" in her original language, vented some of her wrath.  The word 
rebervirated against the walls of the temple, if anyone or anything had 
been around they would have been silenced by the blind fury in her voice 
as she hurled the book as hard as she could against the floor.  Right 
when it had been about to hit the floor she made a sharp gesture with her 
hand and it disapeared. 

THE DARKEN CRUISER                                          
                                                            
Entropy gives a quick look below, before kicking through the
vent and dropping down into the hallway.  Tala and Eme soon 
follow, brushing the dust off their clothes.                
  ''Well, we're in, and it doesn't look like anyone's noticed
yet.  That's good.  The thing is, there should be more      
people around here than this.  That's bad.''                 
  ''Will you quit rambling and start moving?''  Eme snaps in a
barely contained whisper.                                   
  ''All right, all right, I'm going.''  the three continue    
through the hallways, finally reaching what should be the   
cruiser's bridge.                              
             
  ''All right, we're going in.''  Entropy suddenly shifts into
a Darken.  ''Make it look like you're holding me hostage.''   
  ''No problem.''  Eme says with a wicked grin, quickly       
grabbing him in a painful headlock.                         
  ''Good, that's good!''  Entropy says through a slightly     
choked off windpipe.  Tala hits the door switch, and Eme    
rushes in, holding Entropy in front of her as a living      
shield.  ''All right, nobody-''                               
  Nothing.                                                  
  Not a single person in the room.  Eme immediately releases
Entropy, looking pissed.                                    
   ''What is this!?'' she yells.  ''You drag me all the way up 
here for an empty ship?  I don't even get to fight something
so I can calm down!''                                        
   ''Well, it isn't exactly empty...''  Tala says from one of 
the terminals.                                              
   ''What is it?'' Entropy asks after pulling himself to his  
feet.  Tala turns the main panel around, revealing a        
countdown timer, now descending from 10 minutes.  Entropy's 
eyes bug out as he shifts back, then he looks to Eme.       
''Well, you were the one who wanted to die, I guess you get  
your wish!''                                                 
   ''Hey, you designed this plan, how're we getting out of   
here?!''                                                     
   ''I don't know!  The jets were shot down, the ship isn't  
getting us anywhere, and we can't even jump because of the  
Angammon!''                                                  
   ''Then what ARE we going to do?''  Tala asks.  ''Ride it out
and pray the Angammon like hostages?''                       
   ''That's it!''  Entropy says.  ''Where could we be safe from
the bomb explosion?''                                        
   ''Uhm, let me check...''  Eme says, looking at a terminal. 
''We should have brought Pyro, he knows how to do this!''     
   ''But we didn't, so quit whining!''  Entropy snaps back.   
He checks another terminal, finding the perfect place.      
''All right, we get to the escape pods.  When the bomb blows,
it'll launch us, and we might be able to avoid the Angammon 
and get back to the catacombs.''                             
  ''That's impossible!''  Tala says.                          
  ''You got a better idea?''  Eme returns, running for the    
door. 

Arriving at the pod bay, Entropy looks through the    
area.                                                       
  ''One left!''  he yells to the others.                      
  ''One minute!'' Tala replies as they quickly get in.        
Entropy seals the hatch, quickly motioning to them to strap 
themselves in.  ''Only ten seconds left!''  Tala says as they 
finish up.  Entropy keeps his hand on the launch trigger.   
  ''5 seconds...four...'' Entropy presses the trigger,        
launching the pod.  The cruiser shudders for a second, then 
explodes, debris raining down on the Angammon and reflecting
off their energy shields.  The pod, however, is not so      
lucky.  A piece of debris lodges itself into one of the     
thrusters, sending it plummeting to the ground.             
  ''Great plan, Entropy, real great!''  Eme yells over the    
sound of the pod's fall.                                    
  ''Shut up!  Just shut up!''  The pod suddenly stops.        
  ''What the...'' Tala says, looking out the window.  An      
Angammon stares back, its 8 eyes observing all three of them
as it admires its catch.
''I really have to stop listening to your plans,        
Entropy.''  Tala says as the three of them are ushered into a
holding cell on the Angammon ship.                          
  ''The prisoners will observe silence.''  Says the guard in a
monotone voice.                                             
  ''How was I supposed to know it was a trap?''  Entropy asks.
  ''The prisoners will observe silence or they will be       
disciplined.''  The guard says, displaying its laser to them 
Electricity crackles from the end, and Entropy immediately  
shuts up.  He knew how much that hurt last time.  Eme did   
not.                                                        
  ''You can 'discipline' as much as you want, ugly!  We will 
talk when we want to talk, and-''  Eme suddenly stops as the 
guard steps through the energy barrier, his eyes glowing    
red.  She steps back, against the wall.  ''Of course, I'm    
open to suggest-EYAAGH!''  She screams as the laser makes    
contact with her skin, causing her to convulse once, then   
slump down in a heap against the wall.                      
  ''The prisoners will observe SILENCE.''  the guard repeats  
as he turns and walks back to his post.                     
  The guard turns back to them.  ''Make no effort to assist  
her, or you too will be disciplined.''  Entropy curls his    
hand into a fist, then struggles to calm himself as he sits 
down, leaning against the cold metal of the cell wall and   
trying to figure a way out of all this.                     

Solara had made it back just in time to see Entropy and the 
others get taken.  ''Aw man...what do I do?!'' she cries out. 
   ~No ideas.  These spider-things are totally              
indestructible, but the ship is not.  Perhaps you should get 
inside, then see what you can do,~ sends Ganthet. He was    
amazed, by pure conviction to rescue her homeworld, Solara  
had managed to push her ability to remain coherent to new   
levels.                                                     
  ~Right,~ she replies, ~and if we need muscle, I know where
to find ya.~                                                
  She dives towards the ship she saw Entropy and the others 
take to.   She passes harmlessly through the hull and is 
inside.  She manipulates her photonic form until she is only
a inch tall.  Then, she flies off at light speed, searching 
the entire ship until she finds the others.  She pauses     
before an energy barriers.   Instead of speaking, she        
projects small holes of letters into the air.  She hoped    
Entropy and Tala would notice.  Then she saw Eme.  She     
resisted to urge to break down.  To see the queen like that 
was almost too much to bare.                                
  Her message read:  Entropy, Tala it's Solara.  What can I
do?  Is       Eme ok?                                       

ISLE OF MYST

Where the book ended up is uncertian..though she had been aiming for a 
library...ANY library.. The end was unresolved, but was that how life was? 
She hadn't written anything since Layarteb resurfaced.  She knew without a 
doubt that she would never write in that book again. Then her face went 
white as she realized the language that had been brought back
after all these years...how had she remembered it?  Let alone used it so
nautrally..it had been so long.  Her native language. Back when her life
had been simple.  Her family never even knew what happened to her. She had
vowed to sever all ties with them.  Consious ones she could sever..but
there was still a bond..deep within her heart..to those people..that planet.
After all these millenia... A tear fell slowly from her eye as she 
remembered what she had given up.  What she had givin up for what? Pain, 
horror, apathy.

NEO DRAGONSTAR

''Where is everyone?'' Pyro said as he checked his scanners.  
He had long since planted homing devices on all the CFs,    
but none of them where registering. ''WHAT IS GOING ON?!''    
He suddenly saw a huge blip on his screen. ''Oh boy.'' A      
Angammon bursts through the 
door. ''Not good.'' Pyro punched it with all his might but it 
didn't phase him. Pyro was slammed into the control panel.  
''Okay....'' He set the DragonStar on autopilot, to return to 
where it started. He slammed against the Angammon and sent them both 
flying out the door as    
the DragonStar flew off. ''This is gonna hurt'' Pyro braced   
to hit the ground, but the thing grabbed him and lifted off 
heading towards the huge ship. 
''Stupid bug'' Pyro said  before one of the arms punched him  
out.                                                        

ANGAMMON SHIP

 Entropy looked, watching the letters slowly roll by.  He   
gave a quick point towards the guard, then called up some of
his sign language to sign ~Watch it.~  As ''OK'' Appeared, he 
began again.  ~Eme is fine, shocked by guard.  Can't help   
without getting shocked, think she'll be fine.  Tell others 
we are all right.  Tell UA to-~  He suddenly stopped as Tala
looked at what he was doing.                                
  ''What are you telling her-?'' The guard's head suddenly    
whipped around, detecting the noise of her whisper.  He also
noticed the words.                                          
  ''Intruder!  Intruder! Security personnel, to the          
detainment area!  Bring a containment Crystal, target is an 
energy creature, 1 inch tall.  Suspect high-speed           
transportation possible.  Consider a minor threat.''  The    
guard stalked foreword, leaving the security personnel to   
Solara while he carried out his job and walked into the     
cell.                                                       
 ''Oh, great...'' Tala said, backing as far away from the     
guard as she could.  ''I'm...Sorry..''  The now-familiar laser 
emerged.                                                    
  Entropy leaped in front of Tala, screaming as the charge    
shot through him.  He crumpled to the floor, and Tala was at
his side instantly as the guard walked off.                 
  Tala mouthed ''Why?'' to him.                               
  He held up his arm, shifting a sentence onto it.          
  ''I won't let them hurt you.''  He then fell unconscious, the
words melding back into his skin.  Tala looked back at Eme, 
then at him.  At least she didn't have a reason to say      
anything.                                                   

VILE LAIR
                                                            
''Are you okay?'' Nity asked after ungaging her. Zelda shook her 
head, ''N-no..'' she gasped; there  
were tears coming from the corners of her eyes.             
~Something is wrong, Zelda seems....different~ thought Nity 
then UA returned and for the first time Nity noticed the    
belt he wore which held a small box.                        
''Now this is your last chance tell me what I want to        
know!!!'' yelled UA and he raised a sword above his head aimed at 
Zelda.    
''Wait, I will tell you!'' UA smiled at this ''The CFs we, we   
are the ones that are doing this to Crystalia. We have been 
using Ganthet's harmonics to create the illusion that       
Crystalia is coming apart, in the hope that you, the Vile, 
and the Darkens would evacuate and leave this place''        
UA grinned ''Brilliant, you are quite the sneaky little fools 
aren't you?'' UA brought down the sword, to slice right through 
Zelda. "NOOOO!!!!" 

Nity cut short his scream as the sword disappeared and Zelda's form 
started to waver. 
''An illusion'' said UA as is    
this, he pushed a button on the top of his  belt box and the
hologram around him disappeared, Brakis. Then Zelda changed 
back to her true form, Striker.                             
Nity glared back at the two of them, ''You tricked me!'' he yelled 
furiously.       
''Oh don't feel bad.'' Brakis laughed and walked out the door.  
Striker walked up to Nity and kissed him ''Thanks dwarf.'' Then she 
pushed him and he toppled back in his chair.                
Brakis turned back to Nity, ''I'm just glad you didn't force  
me to use the real one.'' said Brakis and he pushed the real  
Zelda into the room ''I hate to harm a pretty face.'' he       
laughed and walked out with Striker.                        
''Thanks for the information.''                                
''Nity you didn't--!'' asked Zelda as she pulled him up.        
Nity got a big grin ''Oh I gave them information alright,   
information that will send them to there doom.''              
Zelda smiled with relief, ''I knew you wouldn't betray us.''  ''Zel, 
how did you get here anyway?'' 
''Long story..but basically I was trying to stop Eme from going down 
with Crystalia when Entropy 
brought us to a hijacked Darken ship, then he Eme and Tala went their 
way and dropped me 
off at one of the villages.  Just happened to be the one that Brakis 
was in..''
                                                            
Brakis walked up to the Darken General ''Call back your troops
there is no threat here.''                                    
''But sir--''                                                
''Don't worry General, the dwarf told me everything'' the   
General nodded and walked out.                               
''You are really becoming a fool in your old age aren't you  
brother.'' said Anakin stepping out of the shadows.           

SOMEWHERE ON CRYSTALIA                                      

Another tremor hits and abandoned village, this one stronger
than the others.  The ground begins to break and rise.  It  
pulsates as the earth shakes and slowly moves it up.  Huts  
are trashed as the mountain continues to grow.  Then, the   
top explodes, releasing the hot, deadly lava from the       
crater.                                                     

VILE LAIR

"Are you all right?" Zelda asked with concern.  ''Just fine, though I 
need to get this thing off.'' 
says Nity pulling at the     
nullifier brace.                                            
''What is it?''                                                
''Some kind of new Crystal nullifier.''                        
''Oh wonderful.. It doesn't seem to be effecting me, it might just 
work on   
the wearer'' Zelda changed into Rydia and stuck her finger up
to a slot on the brace ''Now if I understood UA, water can   
really mess with gizmos.'' Rydia said with a mischievous look.  Water 
shot from her finger into    
the slot and sparks shot out of it.  The collar gave a whine as 
it slipped off.                                             
Nity rubbed his neck ''Ah, much better.''                      
''I was wondering where you were dear brother of mine.'' says  
Brakis pulling out his own sword. ''When I didn't see you    
among the Crystal Fighters I thought you might be dead''     
''I hope you shed a couple tears, I know I didn't when I      
thought you died on Domoglin.'' says Anakin reading his sword.
''Oh, I shed a few tears all right--because I thought I had    
missed out on killing you.''                                  
''Well here is your chance!'' Brakis and Anakin's swords       
collided, the metallic clang symbolize the final fight      
between the two brothers had begun.                 
                                                            
A series of earth shattering claps of thunder ripped through
the air. The Ground rumbled a quit unearthly rumble.        
The seems began to rip in tear.                             
                                                            
''Ah Goddess! What is this?  No...no..it is happening, the final 
hour..'' Zelda gasped in a mix 
of terror and dismay.         
''That means Sentinei failed.'' said Nity, not quite believing 
it, ''we have to get out of here''                            
Rydia hammered a hole through the ceiling with a blast of    
water.                                                      
''Celestial Razis Crystal POWER'' The two shot up through the 
hole.                                                       
''We've got to get back to the catacombs and get the other Rebel     
Jet!'' said Razis.     
                                        
                                                            
All over the world of Crystalia the CFs felt the shaking  
would not stop until the world of Crystalia was gone. The 
Darkest Hour was upon them.                                 

ANGAMMON SHIP

Nokomis headed down to where the prisoners were kept. Her  
sister was taken, as was that lovely shape-shifter. The     
guard noticed her approach, and said nothing. She stared    
down at the touching scene before her.                     
 ''How wonderful to see you again, Sister. Enjoying my visit,
I hope?''                                                    
 She smiled, darkly. This was too rich. She knew that other 
of the dark were after this..planet, and the little         
do-gooders, and here she had the queen. This was too, too   
rich. She motioned to Eme.                                  
 ''I believe something might be wrong with that one. Contain 
her, and bring her to the lab. If she's just ..asleep, wake 
her up. If she's out of it, make sure she stays alive. If   
she's dead, dump the body.''                                 
 The guard moved to do her bidding, as another one brought  
Pyro in. She frowned thoughtfully. ''Contain him as well, but 
be careful. Understand? I don't know too much on him.''      
 The guard nodded, putting him in a different cell.          

Tala glared up at her sister.                               
 ''You'll pay for this. You know you will. I will be the one 
to pass judgement on you, if it's the last thing I do.''     
 The guard began to speak. ''Prisoner's shall..''             
Nokomis held up a hand, and the guard broke off.            
 ''Do you really, sister? Do you really think you can defeat 
me now? After I beat you then? You still know nothing about 
the full ranges of your crystal's, unlike me. I can get     
yours at any time I want, and recall, it is I who have an   
alliance, not you. If I wish you dead, you will be dead.    
Your little boyfriend, too.''                                
 Tala's eyes flashed, and she stood. In a quick motion, a   
ray of light was hurled at Nokomis, striking her in the     
chest. Nokomis yelped in pain, and stumbled backwards,      
scorched. The smell of burnt flesh permeated the air.  
She scowled at her sister. ''You will pay for that, sister   
dear.'' It ended on a hiss of pain. The guard reached in with
the laser, and Tala wasn't able to phase fast enough to get 
out of being shocked. The volts ran through her body, and   
she slumped to the floor.                                   
 ''Bring her to my quarters.''                                
The guard reached into the cell, and brought her put, doing 
as asked.                                                   
 ''I'll just take your Crystals now, instead of later,       
sister. Finish you, even as this planet is being finished.  
But first...''                                               
 She moved into the cell, kneeling down by Entropy. ''Wakey, 
wakey...''                                                   
 She ran her fingers over the side of his face, and his     
eyelids fluttered open. ''..Tala..'' ''Not her, darling.''      
He jerked fully awake, one hand grabbing her wrist.         
 ''Where is she?''                                            
His eyes had grown cold, so had his voice. Nokomis smiled.  
Oo, here was one that would be fun to tame, if she had the  
time. But she didn't.                                       
 ''I just wanted to let you know, your little girlfriend is  
about to be killed, and her Crystal, will become mine. Do   
you have any last words you wish to say to her?''            
 Entropy struggled with his anger, and a mix of pain. She   
waited. Another guard came into the room.                   
 ''Queen Nokomis, one of the fighters has escaped. Her light 
allowed her to get out of the shadow pod.'' Nokomis rose,    
and whirled around, her eyes flashing with anger.           
 ''Damnit! Put the Queen into one of the metallic cells, and 
make sure that this one doesn't get out. As for you.''       
 She placed her hands out in front of her, palms up, fingers
displayed. Shadows twined around her fingers.                 
 ''For your incompetence, I ban you.''                        
The guards felt little, they had been trained that way. But 
they feared her, and what she could to them. The shadows    
snaked from her fingers and Crystal, and began to wrap      
around the guard's form. As that finished, she turned back  
to Entropy. ''Sorry to cut this short, but I have.. things to
finish.'' ''You'll pay for this.'' ''Funny, that's what she said."
.. However, before I go, any last words? Last chance.''      
 Entropy smiled. ''Yes, I have some last words. You're going 
to die. Bi..'' He trailed off as a guard stepped forward with
a laser.                                                    
 ''No, no..keep him awake. I have a gift for him, and he     
needs to be awake to see this.''                             
 Nokomis formed a small sphere, pure onyx, and handed it to 
him.                                                        
 ''Now, everything I do to her, you'll be able to see. Enjoy  
the show.''                                                  
 She smirked, and as he raised his hand, she was gone.      
''Warn me if any ships approach, and for gods sakes, find    
that damned light Crystal Fighter. The Angammons are doing their 
duty, now you
do yours. You know what will happen to you if we do not      
uphold our end of the bargain.''                              
 And she had only taken it because she alone could deal with
something like them. With her sister's Crystals, she could 
even possibly stop a whole horde of them at once. But, that 
was for later.                                              
 She stepped into her room, keeping the door open. This     
shouldn't take long. Tala awakened slightly, peering up into
the dark eyes of her sister.                                
 ''It ends now, and you, are already the looser.''
Pyro sits in his cell, trying to figure how to use his arm  
to escape, that's the only thing he had when he was         
captured.                                                   
''This is the worst day of my life, GETTING CAPTURED BY UGLY 
BUGS!!''                                                     
Entropy sits alone in the cell, looking at Nokomis's little 
''Present,'' and struggling against the urge to crush it in   
his hands.  There had to be some way he could help her.     
Some way he could get out, some way...that he could keep    
from just sitting there and watching her die!  He looked    
back at the little crystal ball.  ~Wait a second,~ he       
thought.  ~Nokomis's powers are shadow-based...the energy   
barrier's powered by light waves.  If I can...~ He looked at
the barrier, then back at the ball.  He allowed himself a   
smirk as he began to plan out his escape.                   
As the guard moved into Pyro's cell, Entropy readied himself
to begin.  He knew the features of the room, he knew this   
would be his only chance to help Tala and maybe get them off
this ship.  He felt sorry for the others, but he couldn't   
save them all.  This was it.  He threw the crystal ball from
Nokomis into the energy barrier.  It instantly stopped, then
cracked.  A wave of black energy shot out, creating a hole  
in the barrier.  He ran, leaping through and shifting       
himself into an Angammon as he landed, taking off as quickly
as possible down the hallways and praying he was going in   
the right direction.   

ELSEWHERE

UA flies towards the next destination.  He checks his       
scanners and finds most of the populace still remains.  The 
evac has slowed.  Not good.  He picks up the radio.         
''Crystal Fighters, status report.''  Nothing.       
UA flies the jet over a village that's now a ravine.  He    
sees remnants of bodies scattered around.                   
This village was still inhabited.  Where are the CFs?  UA   
looks at the tube the Vile gave him sitting on the console. 
If the CFs are captured, then I have to save the rest of    
Crystalia.  But then I may be too late to save THEM.        
Civilians or fighters.  Civilians or fighters...  If I save 
the CFs, then that means people will die.  But if I save the
people, the multiverse may lose the only heroes who can save
them.  If only I had my symbiote, I could split myself in   
two like I used to in situations like this.  UA looks at the
monitor.  Four villages remain.      
                       
They're close enough together.  Maybe I can...man, this is  
gonna be painful.  He clenches his eyes and begins to       
concentrate.  Sweat begins to pour down his face.  On the   
2-D image, a huge red oval appears by the lower corner of   
the planet.  It moves closer and swallows up a small       
percentage.  Then, the portal closes and the chunk of planet
is gone.  UA falls back in his seat, panting.               
''C-Computer, D-darken Ship...NOW!'' he gasps out.  The jet   
beeps in response and streaks off.                          
One of the great       
inventions that UA made was a small version Johnny 5 (yes    
from the movie) and that starts to repair T.I.M. 

    From with in the fresh poring lava, a god like arm     
reaches out, from this molten rocks out stretched hand a from
begins to come site. The lava slides up the arm  a  
storm cloud forms and wind begins to blow. moments later the
elements called and with a blinding flash...                 
                      ...A man is made.                     
       And from this man Light and Darkness flow. And the   
                     world stops to bow.                    

ANGAMMON SHIP

 ~No good can come of this...~ Entropy thinks as he skitters
along in his Angammon form, still trying to find out where  
Tala and Nokomis are.  ~Okay, I memorized the contents of   
the room, what were some outstanding things?  Okay, window  
on the door.  What was on the outside?  Uhm...Damn!  I hate 
this!~  He suddenly hears an alarm go off.  ~This is bad...~
   ''Alert to all security units!  The shapeshifter has      
escaped, consider expendable.  Attack on sight and destroy if 
necessary.  End communication.''
                     
   ~Ok, not much time.  Not good.  I think I'm getting      
closer.  Good.  I have no explanation for why I think that. 
Not good.~ He suddenly hears a laugh behind a nearby door.  
Nokomis's laugh.  ~I know where they are.  Very good.~  He  
walks past the door, then shifts into a floor panel, sliding
under the door undetectably.  Tala looked all right, for    
now.  He could wait.  Besides, Nokomis was too ready for the
fight.  He needed to catch her off guard, since his sword   
wouldn't work on her.  So he stayed there, and waited.      
   This was going to be one hell of a show.                 

''Stupid bugs, stupid stupid bugs'' Pyro stands up and arms   
his Krimson reactor. ''KRIMSON MEGA BOLT'' the Crystal inside 
supercharges the blast into a bolt of energy that slams     
against the barrier, overloading it severely.                 
He runs into the hall. a small panel flips out of the top   
of his hand. ''trackers located... this way.'' Pyro runs off  
towards the tracking bleep, preparing for a long battle.    

''Come on Sister, do wake up.''                               
 Nokomis pulls her up by the necklace, then hears the warning.      
''How in the hell did he get out?'', she growls, more aloud to
herself then anything. Tala hears her, moans, then her      
eyelids flutter open.                                       
 ''So, you're awake. Ha.''                                    
Nokomis drops her back down to the ground, then glances around her  
room. Something wasn't right. There was something..off..    
Could he have gotten in? No, not possible. Still better safe
then sorry. She had to hurry, and she had to do it now.     
After all, she could only get all the Crystals if her sister 
was dead. Pity, really..she would have made a lovely servant, perhaps 
she would have given
her to the guards to enjoy   
during their off duty hours. No time for regrets now       
though.
                                                     
 Nokomis concentrated, a ball of shadows appearing in her   
hands. It grew longer, becoming razor sharp at the tip, then
begin to fill out as it's length appeared. She was creating 
a short sword for herself. Perhaps she'd give Tala a fighting
chance. But it wouldn't remain shadow, oh no..too easy for  
light to destroy it. She mumbled something in a tongue akin 
to a serpent's hiss, and the blade grew dark green scales,  
the handle silver one's. A demon sword. It could be destroyed,
but only with magic. Tala had the power, but didn't know    
the spell. Nokomis spoke aloud, glancing at the screen.     
 ''Once again, guards, contact me if any other ships come    
into the area.'' ''Yes, Queen Nokomis.''                       
 She pointed the tip of the blade at her sister.            
''Time to die, Sis. I should have killed you long ago, but I 
wasn't at my full power then. I am now. And you, are        
history.''     

Solara had been taken to some kind of lab.  She was trapped 
in a Crystal that her light blasts didn't break.  She smiled
''Not a problem.''                                            
   ~Hey, G,~ she sends, ~now's the time for muscle and      
size.~                                                      
   ~I was thinking the same thing,~ he replies.             
  ''GANTHET SWITCH!'' cries Solara.   There's a flash of light
and Ganthet reappears.  The Crystal that had held Solara    
shattered around his massive frame.  He punches out the     
door, and looks to find the others.   Turning the corner
he does. ''So what happened?'' he asks.                       
                                              
 Tala just looked at the sword, then at her sister. Her eyes
narrowed, and before Nokomis could react, she moved forward,
nearly impaling herself with the sword. A blur of light went
through her fingertips, and through Nokomis' stomach.       
 '''Less.. less yappin', more scrappin'.'' She had no idea    
where that came from, it just popped into her head. Nokomis 
stepped back, making an odd sound from her throat. A        
''hurking'' noise. Tala rose, shakily.                        
 ''I told you, you would pay. And I meant it. Do you not     
think that I have learned anything during my three years of
exile. Did you not think I would learn about my Crystals?   
Did you!''                                                   
 The last came out a near deadly whisper, and Nokomis just   
stared at her. Then, with a quick motion, she swung the     
sword at her. The blade whistled through the air, and Tala  
stepped back, trying to phase, but the blade cut her. That  
gave her pause, the sword could adapt to her power, and     
still hurt her. Nokomis grinned evilly. She hadn't been      
expecting that. However, Tala hadn't been lying about       
practicing. As she moved to strike again, Tala ducked, then 
whirled about, throwing small star shaped beams of light,   
that crackled with the energy of lighting. Two went crazy,  
and hit the wall, one struck Nokomis on the left side,      
burying itself between two ribs. She must have gotten a     
lung, because blood began to leak from her mouth. She       
stopped for a minute, and spat some out.                    
 Her eyes glowed, this was not how it was supposed to go.   
She raised the sword over her head, rushing at her sister.  
Tala saw it coming, this was child's play, really.. stepped 
back, stuck one foot, and with a shove.. Her sister was     
down, landing on Entropy. She knew there had been something 
wrong. She rolls, and slams the sword down into him instead.
 Since the sword could adapt to powers (most, not all, mind 
you), it cut him. Tala's eyes widened, seeing the floor     
panel leak blood. ''Nokomis propped herself up on one elbow, 
and just smirked at her sister, then turned her head, and   
spat on Entropy.     
                                       
 Tala frowned. Then, her whole demeanor changed. Before, she 
had just been angry, this was all different. She had been   
named for the wolf, now, that showed. She growled at        
Nokomis, the cupped her hands as if gripping a katana. A   
blade of blue lightning began to form, pinpricked with      
silver, and white as well. It continued to charge, as her   
anger grew. Nokomis saw it, and her eyes widened. Perhaps it
would be best if she left now. Her eyes darted left to right
as she tried to rise. Tala noticed this, and stalked        
towards.          
                                          
 ''The only place you're going to, is hell.''                 
Bluntly stated, in a neural snarl. After saying that, she    
plunged the blade into her heart, as deeply as she could.   
The blade went through Nokomis, nearly getting Entropy as   
well. She then pulled it out, and took Nokomis by the arm,  
dragging her off him. She stared down at her, a smirk growing. ''Any 
last words?'' She then
 began to smile, darkly. And   
swung the blade, detaching her sister's head from her     
body.                                            
           
 As Nokomis died, the demon's sword began to fade away, as  
did her body. Since she was mostly magic made, she didn't   
have a body..or well, not too much of one. Tala leaned over,
and plucked the crystal from where it lay. She then unhooked
her necklace, taking off the three, and then went over to   
Entropy.                     
                               
 She kneeled down beside him, placing each Crystal in a     
different corner. She hoped to her all her gods, and his,   
that this worked. They began to glow, each standing up on   
end, and spinning around rapidly. The glow spread over his   
wound, healing it, but just enough so he could reshape into 
himself within too much noticeable pain. Then they rose into
the air, moving closer and closer to each other, till they  
fused. A flash of blinding light filled the room, then the  
nearly formed Crystal dropped into Tala's hands.            
 She looked down at it. And then went to the screen, and    
pressed the intercom button.                                
 ''Guards.. release all the prisoners. Alert me if any ships 
come into the area. The don't seem to be one of ours.''      
 The guard frowned, and went to video link. He saw Noko..no,
Queen Tala?!? ''Uh..My Queen...'' ''Just do it!'' ''Yes, Queen ..
..Tala.''                       
                             
 She blinked heavily, all the spell casting had taken too   
much from her. Her friends were free now, so, she could     
return home..if there was a home to return to. That thought  
semi-sickened her, and she leaned against the wall, then    
slid to the ground. And closed her eyes.                    
 Entropy suddenly shifts back, the cut showing a bit in  
his shoulder.  ''Ow...''  he starts to say.  He  flexes his   
arm for a second, then gets up off the floor, going over to 
Tala as the transmission ended.  ''Are you all right?''  he   
asks.                                                       
  ''You saw the whole thing.  It's nothing I can't heal.  At 
least she's gone now.''                                      
  ''For some reason, I'm not so sure about that.''            
  ''What do you mean?  I killed her, you saw me kill her.''   
  ''Evil is infinite, Tala.  She was created by magic, I've  
 known magical beings to keep themselves alive one way or   
another.  Anyway, we'd better try and get the others back to
the catacombs.  That way we can get off this rock before it 
blows.''  He notices her slightly troubled look as he starts 
to leave.  ''Come on, we don't have all day, literally.      
Besides, All those magical beings I was talking about?  I   
didn't see them for years after I killed 'em.  Don't worry  
about her now.''                        
                     
~ 'Don't worry.' he says, Fine thing for him to have nothing to
worry about. I know she's still around..I can feel her.~    
 *Of course you can, Sister. I'm in the crystal, after all. 
Bonded with you now. Power has it's price. If I had won, you
would have bonded with me.*                                 
 Tala groaned. Entropy turned to look back at her, but she  
just waved him on. Now she had to figure out how to stop    
those spider things. If Nokomis had been able to align with 
them somehow..she knew something about them that no one else
did.                                                        
 ~So, you going to tell me, or shall I destroy all the      
Crystals?~ Tala responded, shocked. *You wouldn't dare!* ''Wouldn't I..?''    
spoken aloud, but she didn't realize it till Entropy turned
to look at her again, about to say something..but at the    
moment, Ganthet appears.                                    
 ~Saved. Whew.~                                             
She moves forward.                                          
 ''Are you two alright?''                                     
Her gaze moves around, seeing that the guards had done her  
bidding, everyone was free.                                 
 ''We have to find the Queen, then get off this ship. I don't
know how much longer it will hold.''               
          
 At that moment, it pitches wildly, sending everyone        
stumbling. She knocks into Entropy, murmuring a sorry as she
places a hand on him and the ship steadies itself.            
 ''Great. Just great. I thought my magic..'' Tala trails off,      
blinking.                                                   
 ''Uh, status report!''                                        
''Queen Tala! Something is going on inside, all of you need  
to get off the ship now!''                                   
 She glances at the others.                                 
''You heard the man.. Go, I'll get the Queen. It's my fault  
we're in this mess.''  ''Not without me, you're not!''  Entropy says 
as he follows 
her out.                                                    
  ''I can handle this!''  Tala says as he catches up.         
  ''I got you and Eme into this mess, I'm at least going to  
help getting you out of it.  Besides, I told her I wasn't   
letting her commit suicide, and I may as well be doing that 
if we don't get her out of here.''                           
  ''All right.''  She looks around.  All the hallways look    
exactly alike.  ''So how are we going to find her?''  Entropy 
flashes his watch, revealing a map and three blinking spots 
on it.  ''Tracking device?''                                  
  ''Planted them on both of you when the Angammon caught     
the escape pod.  Anyway, we're here, and Eme's...that way!'' 
He says, pointing down one hallway and taking off.          
  ''Why do I always listen to him?''  Tala asks herself before
following.                                                  

ISLE OF MYST

Zaria gasped and staggared backwards into a wall.  He was here.  Not on her 
island, he could never reach her when she was there.  But he was in Hyrule, 
not only that but he was nearby.  She could feel his presence..the presence 
that had so long ago been an embrace of love and warmth...now it was so 
cold..cold and sinuous.  She shuddered, it was time to face the past.  She 
took a deep breath, there was no time for recovery this time and how she 
would survive long enough outside safety to stop him for good she did not 
know, but she had to try.  Adreneline started to rush through her veins at 
her thoughts, this was the final battle.  There was no denying that.  If 
she won, she might just be allowed to slip away into the abyss.  Upon coming
 through her teleportation she had completly forgotten about Sentinei, 
forgotten that there was something left to her life, as long as she did 
not know that the Ealians had won.  Now, if she failed..well..she wouldn't 
fail. She couldn't.

CRYSTALIA

For a few minutes Rydia didn't fully grasp what Nity had    
said, ''Failed..but how?'' She didn't know much about Sentinei
other than he was a demigod that Nity was somehow connected 
to.  But how could a demigod loose? Unless he had been      
fighting against gods or other demigods (or goddesses for   
that matter) still..it just seemed so unthinkable! 
''The way that Crystalia rumbles, the Ealians have full     
control now that must mean that Sentinei is... well.. dead.''   
Craters and mountains were rising all around. Most of the  
ground was just falling away into nothingness though.       
''What are the Darkens doing?'' asked Rydia, trying not to think of 
the implications of what he 
had just said.                  
''I don't know they are returning back to the Vile lair, but 
why?''                                                        
''Shouldn't we do something?''                                     
''Not to sound like Nity or anything but let them die if they
want to, we've got to get to the Rebel jet. I don't know which  
direction is which the land just keeps shifting.            

ELSEWHERE

The man stands and from his perch he scans the   
land. He barely remembers. He brushes long hair from in       
in front of his eyes he realizes the gray at his temples,    
then the flows of Light & Dark.                             
 As the flows weave to and fro, they form a Jet board of   
Blackness. From the board's nose a beam of light points the  
way. The man steps forth, the jet board flies toward home.   
                                                            
T.I.M. sits up and thanks Johnny 5 and   
scans for the others ''WOW how long have I been out?'' '26    
minutes 43 sec.' says a voice from his arm. ''Thanks'' says   
T.I.M. he stands and flies toward the nearest CF.             

VILE LAIR

*CLANG* 
Steel met steel. The two swords filled with energy and
struck each other counteracting the magic within them, both 
Anakin and Brakis were knocked back.                         
Anakin came back hard.                                      
''You know brother I have been wondering where have you been 
all this time.'' asked Brakis.                                
''Fighting a war for a kingdom known as Rolba.'' said Anakin. ''I
was brought back by a demigod named Sentinei to finally    
take you out.''                                               
''HA HA'' Brakis laughed as his blast shot at Anakin ''Maybe   
when I finish you and the rest of the Crystal Fighters I    
will destroy Rolba.'' Anakin sent a few blast of white energy 
from his sword.                                             
Brakis absorbed the energy into his own sword shifting it   
and corrupting it into black energy and sent it back in a   
wave. Anakin dove out of the way and swung is sword up into  
Brakis'. 
*CLANG*                                             
                                                            
REBEL JET                   
                                
*FZZT* came the intercom ''Kisutsu report-- *STATIC*               
--approach--*STATIC*--ast village''                             
~Thank god~ UA looked at his screen and saw the two red dots
that were Kisutsu and Zealen running towards the last       
village that needed to be evacuated.                       

ON THE GROUND                                               

Zealen and Kisutsu ran hard as the ground tumbled away at   
their backs. The village was just ahead but it wouldn't be  
there in a couple of minutes.                               
Zealen and Kisutsu would have to evacuate with the          
villagers.                                                  
Suddenly the ground tumbled away a few dozen feet ahead.    
''Crap'' the ground was still crumbling behind them, chasing 
them.                                                       
''Were going to have to jump!''                                
''When I say now.''                                            
They run as hard as they can there legs and arms pump as    
hard as possible.                                           
''NOW!'' they both jump. Just as they were almost there the sky cackles and 
lightning rips into Zealen the living lightning rod.         
Zealen's velocity comes to an end and he falls towards the     
gaping hole.                                                
Kisutsu twists in the air to grab Zealen's hand and is       
successful but falls short of solid land, he grabs the lip of
the cliff and he and Zealen slam into the wall.             
Kisutsu instantly feels his hand slipping, Zealen is heavy. 
Zealen is out cold maybe dead, no help there. The villagers 
stand just ten feet away but to afraid to move.             
Kisutsu definitely isn't strong enough to pull himself up.  
He could feel his hand slipping on the wet grass.     
He looked to his pocket and saw the small device that was the
transporter. If he let go he might be able to quickly grab  
it and turn it on and transport him and Zealen away before  
they fell to there deaths. Then there was all the villagers 
just ahead. Villagers or Self, villagers or self.           
Kisutsu's hand slipped away from the cliff and him and      
Zealen began there decent. Kisutsu grabbed the teleporter  
and heaved it as hard is he could as he fell back. The      
transporter device just got over the ledge and tumbled over 
to the villagers and set itself off and the Villagers jumped
through as the ground tumbled away.                         

Kisutsu closed his eyes and let the tears roll out of them 
as he dropped down what seem to be an endless drop.         
Kisutsu opened his eyes to see down the dark hole and could 
see a yellow light.                                         
~Crystalia's core~ Kisutsu thought. It quickly rushed up to
Zealen and him and as they were engulfed by it there were two small 
flashes of light.                
                                                            
''I will kill them just like I killed your little girlfriend, 
Soumly.'' said Brakis.                                        
This memory ignited something in Anakin and he sent a place 
well stronger then any he had sent before.                  
Brakis moved his sword to block it but his sword shattered.  
Brakis looked at his sword in shock, then  Anakin's sword   
went right up through Brakis' shoulder.                    
More shocked flooded into his face. Anakin pulled back his  
sword and Brakis dropped and cowered on the floor.           
''You won't survive.'' said Brakis ''The Darkens are coming back 
all one-hundred-six of them.''                                
''Oh dear brother I am counting on it.'' Anakin pointed his sword
straight up towards the ceiling.       
                       
''DON'T MOVE'' at least thirty Darkens rushed into the room and 
the rest were right out the doors.                          
Brakis smiled for a second but it faded when he saw how     
Anakin's sword was glowing such a bright white.             
''You wouldn't!'' Brakis yelled.                               
''Oh, I would.'' Anakin looked calmly at his brother ''You and  
the Darkens are a threat to the Crystal Fighter's lives. I  
definitely would.'' with that he shoved the blade into the    
ground and Brakis held his breath.                          
                                                            
Razis and Rydia ran avoiding the gaping holes in the ground 
then the whole Vile lair exploded behind them. White energy 
flowed up to the heavens from it. The whole place vaporized.
Razis and Rydia were thrown forwards by the blast.          
They looked back from there spots on the ground.            
''What do you think happened?!'' asked Rydia.                   
''I don't know I guess the CF's have a friend somewhere..''     
Rydia got back to her feet and looked hopefully at Razis,   
''Do you think Sentinei....?'' 
Razis shook his head sadly, looking away as he saw the despair return 
to her eyes.                               

ANGAMMON SHIP                                             
                                                            
 Entropy bursts into the medlab, followed closely by Tala.   
Eme lies motionless on the table, her skin having a distinct
green tint to it.  Entropy looks at the machines around her 
before starting to disconnect them.  ''Medvitae.'' he says as 
he holds up the IV bag of green fluid, almost empty now.    
''She should be fine.''  Another tremor rocks the ship.  ''Come
on, we have to get out of here.''  Entropy quickly picks up  
Eme's unconscious form, then rushes out, trying to avoid some
of the more prominent objects in the way of her head.  As   
they leave, her head is met by the door frame.              
  ''Entropy!''  Tala scolds.  ''Be careful!''                   
  ''Well, she always DID need a good knock upside the head,  
and besides, it'll help wake her up.''      
                 
Pyro finally catches up with the others. ''@$#^ you guys run 
fast.''
Due to Eme's weak body, the door pierced her forehead leaving a
long cut that slowly bled. Being unconscious and medicated, 
her systems can't kick in a heal this simple wound.          
''Look what you did!''                                        
 Tala stops Entropy, having noticed the blood. She carefully probes   
Eme's forehead, not having any idea about healing, but she knows a bit
about basic field medicine. A ribbon of shadow flows from   
her fingers, forming a bandage which she then wraps to      
staunch the bleeding.                                       
 ''Now, I remember why I don't listen to you. Just keep an   
eye out for stuff.''                                         
 Tala rolls her eyes as she falls back behind him.          
     
''You know..that reminds me.. Mr. Man-with-the-plan.. How do 
we get out, without the spiders noticing a certain someone  
is..well, not here?''
  ''Well...I think this should work.''  Entropy suddenly      
shifts into an Angammon soldier, then turns to Tala, cutting
his hand and putting a drop of his blood on her clothes.    
  ''What are you doing?''  Tala's uniform suddenly shifts into
exactly what Nokomis had been wearing before she died.      
  ''You and Nokomis look almost exactly alike, we should be  
able to fool them into thinking you're supervising Eme's    
transportation.''  He says as his hand heals up.  ''We'd best 
get going, then, this planet won't hold for long.''
Ganthet turns to Tala and Entropy.  ''The quickest way to get
between two points is a straight line,'' he rumbles as he    
punches a large hole in the side of the ship.  ''I make a    
better door than window, no?'' he jokes before leaping out   
the hole.                                                              
''All well and good, bud, but I think you better give me     
Eme.'' The wall says to them.                                
''Huh?''  Entropy looks to see UA materialize.                
''UA!'' Tala exclaims.                                        
''How'd you get here so fast?''                               
''I was given the schematics for the ship by one strange     
source.  I'll tell you later.  I got the jet on stealth and 
hover outside.  I'll put Eme there, then we gotta get the   
other CFs out of here now.''                                 
''You seem a little urgent.'' Tala says.                      
''I am.  The deterioration of Crystalia is hastening.  We've 
got hours now.''                                             
''Great.'' Entropy says.  He hands Eme to UA and he and Tala  
run out.  UA 'ports.                                        

ISLE OF MYST

Zaria could sense that something was happening, the PROPHECY! She 
remembered.
It aparently, was time for the final battle between Cataclysma and 
Link. Neb
Ibonak was the turning point.  She knew which way he'd turn.  There 
was no
doub there, but she sensed Layarteb.  She was not a telepath, but she 
could
move her consiousness to those levals... But Layarteb.  She didn't 
need
telepathy to sense him.  She sighed, this would be her final battle 
as well.
She wondered if either of them would come out of it 
alive.                                 
Before they know, they are back in the jet, and Tala set    
Krakken down. Entropy goes over to her.                     
 ''What kind of damn fool stunt was that?!?''                 
She just looks at him. Then away, as she leans against the  
wall.                                                       
 ''Is everyone else here?''                                   

THE 'ISLAND'

After five minutes, both of them are pretty bloody.  Ninja  
moves.  Samurai moves.  Korean moves.  All of them the same.
All of them the counter of the other.  It's basically like  
fighting a blasted mirror.  They both know what the other is
thinking.  They both know what openings are set up.  They   
both know how to close them fast.         
                  
One is Ultra Avenger of the Crystal Fighters.  Trapped in   
alternate realities due to a major battle, he's only hope is
to find his way home to fight crime and injustice.          
The other is the same man, but from a different world.  This
Ultra Avenger is a ruthless cold blooded killer.  But no    
matter how good, no matter how ruthless, there's no denying 
one fact--                                                  
They're equal in every skill they have.      
               
''This is getting us nowhere...fast.'' UA says, punching UA   
with his enhanced strength.                                 
''Fair fights suck.'' EUA says, hitting him with double the   
strength due to his symbiotic costume.  Luckily for UA, he's
learned to take hits from guys stronger than him.  He falls 
and kicks out his legs.  EUA falls, but trips him back.  UA  
almost hits the lava.                     
                  
''Well, I guess that means only one thing.'' EUA smiles evilly 
then jumps on UA.  He begins to strangle him and force him  
back into the molten rock.                                  
''Hkkk!'' is all UA could get out.  EUA smiles as he forces   
him back, knowing without leverage, there was no way UA     
could get him off.  Now, UA has never had much luck in his  
life...dead parents, dead first-love, dead teammates, lost  
in alternate realities.  Not exactly George Baily.  But,    
fate smiled on him once again, as the lava dissolved the     
center of the island, forcing UA to let go in order to keep 
from falling in.  Now, they were on two separate islands.   
''Well, this is a predicament.'' EUA smiles as he sees his    
chunk is WAAAAAAAAAAAY bigger than UA's.     
               
''Yeah.  SO much for our FAIR fight.''                        
''Yeah.  So much.  So, it's time to end it.''  EUA smiles as  
he raises his arm and points upward.  Clouds begin to form  
fast.  Dark clouds.  The kind of clouds one usually sees    
before a                                                    
''TORNADO!?'' UA exclaims.                                    
''Yup.  Saw it heading this way.  Thought I'd speed it up    
with the powers YOU don't have.  Ciao.''  He smiles and      
'ports.                                                     
''Gotta get the CFs outta...''  Just as he's about to 'port,  
his island explodes, sending him upwards and confusing him  
long enough so that on his downward spiral, he heads right  
into the center of the river.                  
             
It is time for Razis to play with his own Tornado, it shoots
out capturing UA. UA is flung back up away from the river 
of Lava.                                                    
It definitely wasn't one of the smoothest rides UA had ever 
taken but it had saved him nonetheless.                     
''I'm sure it's safe to assume we don't want to know.''  
Entropy replies to Zelda, going up to Razis ''Can this tub still fly?''                        
   ''You want the Vegas odds on that?''                       
   ''Just move over.''  He says, taking the seat up front as  
Nity moves back to the passenger seating.  He shifts his    
arms, turning them both into an insane amount of circuitry  
cords.  Each one links up to a specific place in the jet.   
   ''What're you doing?''  Nity asks.                         
   ''The only way we're going to be able to avoid this guy   
and the Angammon, along with get ourselves off this planet, 
is to fly this thing at almost inhuman skill.  I can't do   
that, so I'm interfacing directly.  I should be able to     
control this thing at the speed of thought.''                

''And so a world dies,'' says Ganthet.  He was staring out the
window at the destruction. ''And if the land we've sworn to  
protect dies, where do we go from here?''                    
   ~I can't believe it's all dying or dead.  Everything I    
knew, my world, friends....all gone,~ weeps Solara.         
    ~You're not alone Solara, as long as the other CFs and I
are here,~ he replies.             
                         
UA lands on the ground, hard.  Ganthet runs up to him.       
''You okay?''                                                 
''Don't worry about me.  Someone's gotta call HELEN HUNT,    
cause here comes a twister.''  Sure enough, in the time it   
takes to morph his mask and cape back on, a funnel of wind  
appears in the distance and heads for the battle ground.    
After detaching himself from the controls and allowing UA to
take over, Entropy heads back to where Tala is looking out a
window at what they all once called home.    
               
  ''You all right?''                                          
  ''Uhm, yeah, I guess.  It's just...''                       
  ''Hard seeing all you've worked for going up like this?''   
  ''Sort of.''                                                
  ''Hey, one of the best parts of life is that you can start 
over.  The people are safe, Eme's recovering due to the     
medvitae in her system, and we might be able to get out of  
here alive.  Things'll work out.  Besides, it's a wonder    
everyone hasn't blamed me for all this.''                    
  ''What do you mean?''                                       
  ''Well, back when I was fighting Phyllite, I got the staff 
that could've saved this place.  I had the damn thing in my 
hands, and then UA's not-so-nice double came in, bashed me  
in the head, and threw it into a teleportal.  It's my fault 
all this has happened.''  At this point he too is looking out
the window, seeing not only the devastation of a            
once-beautiful land, but another sin to add to his list.    
Tala places a hand on his shoulder.                              
 ''It wasn't your fault you lost it. And besides, perhaps    
this was meant to happen. The Fates have ways of being      
fickle. Or, sometimes throwing two people together, who     
never would have ended up so otherwise... You can never tell  
on what they plan to do next.''                              
 Even though she was saying it to comfort him, she was      
meaning it for herself as well. With Nokomis inside her head
, gods only knew what she could try to do.                  
 ''Besides, people who fight against good are needed         
everywhere. I'm sure there'll be a place we can go.. I just 
hope Eme will be alright through all this.'' Her gaze moves  
back to look at what was once her home. Even though it had  
only been called such for a short while, it had meant a lot 
to her while she had been there.                 
          
 ~Good point.~  Entropy thought as she looked back out  
the window.  He did as well, though he hardly wanted to see 
the blasted landscape.  This WAS his doing, there was no way
around that.  He had lost the staff due to his own          
relaxation in enemy territory, a mistake a rookie hunter    
would have made.  Still, it wasn't as if there was any      
really bad thing to go with it.  The people were gone, all  
of them were alive, at least for the moment, and...and she  
was there.  He didn't really want to think he was that out  
of it, but again, there wasn't really any way around it.    
  Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her gently, saying
nothing, except ''Thank you.''  He then started back towards  
the front of the jet, hoping there was a way for him to help
the others get off of this rock before it stoned them to    
death.                                                      
Pyro sees everyone getting into the jet so he grabs the     
radio ''Guys, I'll keep the vile busy while you lift off'' He 
starts firing missiles into the crowds of vile to get their 
attention.                                                  

ISLE OF MYST

Zaria moved to her room, fairly ordinary for the most powerful 
(possibly
with the exception of Layarteb) mortal to exist.  She had an open 
closet in
which extra clothing was kept in stasis, it wouldn't do for it to 
decay
while she was busy over a century or so.  They were all the same.  
Thin layer
simple dresses of purple, black, or white.  Plus capes of midnight 
black that
kept in either warmth or the cold. She laid out her ocean-wet 
clothing on the
floor.  If she survived, she'd clean it, if not then there was no 
wasted effort.
She pulled out out of the capes as well as a black dress.  This was a 
battle
where she should unmake Layarteb.  But could she, or would she have to
stop at his death? Either way, death was in the air.  She could feel 
the end
of many of the Crystal Fighters already.  The dress..black..as black 
as the
gaping abyss that would open for so many soon...  It wouldn't do for 
her to
be late to her our funeral she thought ruefully, quickly walking out 
of her 
temple with the fresh clothes.  She laid them on the fresh clean 
grass and
washed the salt off herself in the lake near her waterfall.  
Hurriedly she
dried off and clipped her hair out of her face as she dressed.  This 
was it.
She took a deep breath and a last glance around her isle..her 
sanctuary..then
she risked a teleport to Layarteb's location. (Detials and 
continuation in
"Death of Champtions" check the FoxxDen in "Zelda Fanfiction" (the 
most recent stories ("Death of Champions" and "The Mrynaith" aren't 
up as of 
this EM, but they should be up soon)or EM me
(Ldy_Zelda@hotmail.com) for that story)

REBEL JET

Zelda sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of her face,  
she felt like crying but she just couldn't.  This was too   
much, even for tears.  Crystalia had been their home for so 
long and no it seemed there was nothing they could do to    
save it..not for lack of trying, but she wished she could   
have been able to help somehow.  +Selfish.+ she thought with
annoyance at herself.  Eme and Solara were probably much    
worse off.  This had always been their home, hadn't it?     
Zelda sighed, where would they go now? Then she smiled a    
little, everyone was still alive weren't they? The          
Crystalians had escaped and the Crystal Fighters were       
escaping.  Then a sudden thought caught at her, and she     
started to look around the ship, ''Where are Maia, Zealen,   
and Kisutsu?'' she asked anxiously, remembering Deena.       

Staying away from the cockpit, (It was crowded enough) 
Entropy wanders back to the rear of the jet, where Eme is,  
while unconscious, recovering from the injuries afflicted    
upon her.  Making
sure she is all right, he sits down nearby, not really      
having anything else to do.  Suddenly, a painful *SNAP*       
shoots through his brain, and he yells something before     
collapsing on the floor.  A mark, looking like the wings of 
an angel over a scythe, burns itself into his arm, going    
deeper and deeper.  He has long since slipped into          
unconsciousness, as he dreams...                        
     
  ''What the...Where the ^&*%^% am I?  Where's the others?   
What's going on!''  Entropy says as he looks around.  The    
place doesn't seem to have a structure to it, as waves of   
color fly through the background.  Images suddenly flash    
before his eyes, seeing a tortured, once beautiful planet,  
two people he has never known...the wrath of an impatient   
god...Image after image shoots in front of him, filling his 
mind with images no one alive has seen...                   
  ''Stop!  Stop it!  I don't want to see this!  Who are these
people?  STOP IT!!!''                                        
                                                            
  ''AAAAGH!''                                                 
  Entropy's eyes snap open, and he quickly looks around.    
Tala kneels over him nearby.  ''What happened?  Are you all  
right?''                                                     
  ''I...uh,  I'm all right.  It's...nothing.''                
  ''Just tell me.  You know I'll find out eventually if not  
now.''                                                       
  ''Seriously, it's nothing.  Just, well, my head started    
hurting, that's it.''                                        
''It's not your fault, E.  If I hadn't gotten suckered by    
Death in my home, I would've never met that other me and he 
wouldn't be here now 'cause he'd have no one to chase       
through reality.  In the grand scheme of things, trying to  
save this world--I caused its demise.  But that's not       
important right now.  Where're Eme, Kisutsu and Makara?'' UA
says, avoiding the flying objects in the wind.     

BRIDGE
 
''Look you guys this isn't over yet!!!'' says Razis ''We've still 
got the book of Jerium Prime it can lead us to the staff.''   
''You mean Crystalia can still be saved?'' asks Ganthet.      
''Exactly but we got to get out of here first.''               
Zelda then mentions Maia, Kisutsu, and Zealen.              
Razis turns to her, ''Maia died in my arms,'' he shakes his    
head ''as for Zealen and Kisutsu I just hopped they          
teleported out with the villagers.''                          
''Another innocent CF dead and why? What is the point of all 
this fighting? Where has it gotten us but good     
people dead and the destruction of an entire world?'' Zelda 
responded, trying to keep from
 crying.
''I know how you feel.'' 

Suddenly Eme goes into convulsions as 
the rest of the CFs run for the jet.                                
Her body flips 
about like rubber, shaking and of the like. A white liquid  
with some blood seep slowly out of her moth. The machines   
hooked up to her lose their connections.                    
 ''Hunh?''  Entropy says, looking at Eme.  ''Damn it!  UA,     
gimme a hand.''                                              
 ''What?''                                                    
 ''You want her alive, don't you?  Gimme a hand!''  Quickly,  
the two hook the instruments back in, and, with the help of 
the others, they stabilize her...for the moment.  Entropy   
takes a small sample of the white fluid, then looks to UA.  
 ''We have any sort of analyzing equipment on this thing?''   
Entropy suddenly takes UA away from his bedside vigil at
Eme, getting him over where no one can hear them.     
      
  ''What is it?''                                             
  ''Look, I don't wanna say this, but-''                      
  ''But you're going to anyway.  Talk.''                      
  ''Well...her body's rejecting the medvitae in her system.  
If it weren't so far along in its progress, we could simply 
take her off it and let it run its course.  However...Have  
you noticed the green in her skin?''                         
  ''Yeah, so?''                                               
  ''That means, basically, she's been on it for too long.    
It's as mixed in with her system as her blood now.  It's    
going to be a very difficult process to remove the stuff.   
If she isn't taken off, though, and it isn't purged from her
system, she might die from this.''                           
  ''So what do we do?''                                       
  ''Wait.''                      
                             
''Yeah.'' UA says, trying to mask the worry in his voice.  He 
clicks on the autopilot marked ''TORNADO EVADE'' and holds a  
device up to Eme.  ''Whatever happened to her on that ship is
having an extreme negative reaction with her physiology.  As
close to human as she is genetically, there are too many    
differences for me to do anything.  I'm stuck.''  There's    
just a touch of defeat in his voice.  That's when the ship  
shudders.  ''And no one'll be able to help her if we don't   
get outta here.  We still got CFs out there, and not enough 
room in here.''  He picks up the radio as he avoids a tree.  
''T.I.M., get that flippin' jet over here and pick up the    
last of the CFs.  Move it!  I got Eme, Tala, Entropy, Nity  
and Zelda.  Get the others NOW!''           

DRAGONSTAR

T.I.M. flew out over the dying Crystalia scanning the area for CFs.  
According to his 
internal list they were missing Rupay, Maia, Zealen, Kistusu, 
Krakken, Zarina, 
Anakin and Pyro.  Bad news was, only Pyro and Krakken showed up on 
his scans.  
It appeared that Pyro was in his own ship at the moment..the scan 
showed it at one of the 
Rebel Jets, but it seemed to be modified into a new DragonStar. T.I.M 
spotted Krakken 
on a small island of land surrounded by scorching lava.  "T.I.M.!" 
Krakken exclaimed in relief, 
"Thought you guys were going to abandon me." he said as T.I.M. 
scooped him up and the lava 
overflowed over the last piece of land.  "There _was_ a 29.874% 
chance that we would abandon 
you.  At Krakken's look, T.I.M. beeped, "A joke."  Then T.I.M. zoomed 
over to the DragonStar, 
"Hey Pyro, let us in!" Krakken yelled.  A few moments later, they 
were inside the DragonStar.                  
''We got trouble!'' yells Pyro. ''There's something out there and it 
ain't *(&)& happy!'' he turns 
and shoots 
a missile at the thing but it has no effect.   

REBEL QUAD JET
              
''Hurry UA, that thing isn't happy and the last of this world 
is collapsing below us!'' says Razis.                        
UA doesn't want to leave Eme's side but he must, he runs to 
the controls and starts hitting buttons. The boosters ignite.
The creature races at them in a sprint.                
The Rebel jet launches into the air.                        
The CFs just about lose there launch from the Gs they get   
when UA takes evasive maneuvers to avoid the creatures       
slashing claws.                                             
The CFs watch out the back window as they shoot past the    
creature.                                                   
It leaps.             

DRAGONSTAR
                                      
''*(()&'' yells Pyro as he looked on his viewscreen, the others were 
all in that jet..       
"Anything we can do?" "I tried blowing it up." "Not surprised.. 
there's got to be a way to stop it."

REBEL QUAD JET

Ganthet can only stare out the porthole as the world   
dies.  For all his power, there was nothing he could do.    
This had been his home for too long.  It hurt him to see it 
die, almost as much as it had when his brother was killed.  
   ~I can't believe it G,~ cries Solara, ~my world's dead,  
all my family is already gone, some of your friends are     
dead, Eme's dying.....*sob*~                                
    ~Solara....things will work out.  The world may be dead,
but the people live on.  And you have people here who care  
about you,~ Ganthet replies.                   
  ~But....isn't there anything we can do?~ she asks.        
   ~Pray.~                                    
                                               
The creature shrinks as it comes closer, it shrinks into the
form of ''STRIKER!!!'' she grabs the tail of the rebel jet.   
''Launching teleporter,'' says UA he pushes a button. The      
device shoots into the air and explodes leaving a portal in 
its place. The jet shoots at the portal, their last chance   
for escape.                                                 
The jet shudders to a halt in mid air ''What the hell?!'' says  
UA checking his systems.                                    
''Striker she is doing something to the ship she is holding  
it down somehow!!!''                                         
The last bit of Crystalia collapses and falls into the     
core.                                                       
''We got to get her off!!!'' yells UA ''All that is left for   
Crystalia to do is for the core to explode, when that      
happens we will be incinerated!''                             
The yellow ball that is the core hangs there in the vast empty
world.                                                      
''How long do we have?'' asks Entropy.                         
''Thirty seconds at the most''                                
''I will do this.'' says Entropy.                              
''No Entropy, I will.'' says Nity ''You have got Tala you  
can't leave her. Besides I believe this is why I was sent    
here. I know you always wonder why a hermit dwarf with a    
short temper would be here, no powers no special skills,  
well this is why.'' he pulls the Jerium Prime book from his   
pocket and hands it to Zelda. ''Take care of it for me.''
''Nity, please! Don't do this!" Zelda begs him to stop.       
''Fifteen seconds before the core explodes.''
''I have to.''       

ELSEWHERE

The man of opposing forces hovered silently over the lava, the end 
would usher in a new
begining for those that could take it.  He would be one of those.  
His form wavered and then 
vansished.

REBEL QUAD JET
           
Nity nods to UA and climbs up through the hatch at the roof 
of the Jet and crawls out to face Striker.  
   Ganthet then notices Zelda.  She looked pretty bad       
emotionally.  ''Zelda,'' he says, ''are you alright?  You look  
like you're being put through the wringer.''                 
Zelda clutched the book tightly, if there was anyway to
save Crystalia she was _not_ going to let go of it.  Then   
Ganthet spoke to her.  She sighed and shook her head, ''I    
just don't know if it's worth it anymore.'' she said,        
ignoring the movement of the ship, ''We've lost so many..but 
what have we gained? So far, not much.  Maia..and Coda...   
and who knows if we'll ever see Zealen and Kisutsu again?   
They might even be dead already! And Eme.. now Nity as well...on 
that..what was the word?
 Kamakazi?''                                 
''Why are you doing this!!!'' yells Nity.                     
''For Master Phyllite!'' she yells back to him continuing to  
use some sort of power to hold down the 
ship.                                                                           
''Ten seconds'' the portal hangs just twenty feet 
away.                                                                    
''Phyllite is DEAD!  Striker...you were once one of us...You can stop 
this and come with us.  
We'll save you, please!'' yells Nity.            
Striker spits at 
him.                                                                                                   
''Five seconds''                                              
Nity leaps at Striker as the core explodes.                 
  --THE END.....FOREVER!?!
Main Island
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