Darken watched Lanicrus for a long time before he realized he was holding his breath. He had seen the destruction Phoenix had wrought; trying to annihilate him permanently, and it hadn't taken.

Damn, he thought. What would it take to kill this creature?

"He looks a bit different than before," Vertigo said.

"He's evolving," Phoenix replied. "Every time he's completely destroyed, he remakes himself in a new body."

"So what do we do then?" Darken asked, his fists clenching. He was watching Vertigo who looked intently up at Lanicrus.

"Well, for starters, you've been looking at this the wrong way," Vertigo said flatly. "His outer aspect is nothing--you could destroy him a million times and he would be able to re-create his physical body in new and more powerful ways."

"Oh," Phoenix said. "Thanks for the encouragement Vertigo, really. Darken, why did we save her again?"

"Hang on," Darken said. "I think she might be onto something. We can't just destroy his body--we have to destroy his power source too."

Vertigo looked at him, and slowly, her lips parted in a smile. "That's it exactly. Hold on to him, Phoenix--I find brains and brawn mighty sexy. I might just steal him from you."

"I'd kill you first," Phoenix mumbled under her breath.

* * *

Lanicrus watched the people below him silently. A smile crossed his lips. He could destroy them at any time, he knew this. That pathetic goddess had tried to destroy him, oh yes. What a pity she had failed. In fact, he felt he should thank her, because now he felt even more powerful than before.

He looked at his ebony metal talons, gleaming with the razor-keen sharpness they had not had before. They seemed to hum with energy, with potential.

A sudden movement caught his eye. A wedge of white-clad angels flew towards him, spears drawn. He watched the advance--blood in their eyes, murder in their hearts--with a sort of bemused fascination.

There were many things he could have done to stop them, but he decided against it, preferring instead to extend the halo of chaotic fire around him and flash-burned the whole wing with a contemptuous wave of his hand.

That was too easy, he thought. He looked down, his cybernetic eye zooming in on Darken and Phoenix. He wanted them. He wanted a rematch.

* * *

Kirone pried some of the debris away from the top of the bridge, peering out on the scene outside the Skyshadow. Monstructor was busy concentrating on the remaining debris, merging them into monster-machines of various sizes and function, all of which were supposed to hold the advancing Seraphim from their position.

"Monstructor," she said. "You aren't going to believe this. Lanicrus is still alive--but he looks. . .different. Darker, somehow. He just killed a whole group of Armisael."

Monstructor didn't stop, move, or otherwise acknowledge what she said, so she went on talking anyway.

"And there's Darken, and . . .Vertigo? VERTIGO?!?!?" Kirone was positively livid with rage. "I thought she was dead, or at least permanent energy for us. That . . .that . . .BITCH! I swear I'll kill her myself next time."

Monstructor finally collapsed, the energy web that had been creating monsters faded. The last of the machine monsters skittered through he hole as he sank to his knees.

"Forgive me, my lady," he said weakly. Kirone rushed to his side. "I. . .have given too much. . .my life force. . .nearly gone."

Kirone unconsciously began to cradle him in her arms. "It's all right," she said, surprisingly tender. "You did all you could, all I ever asked of you."

"Then there is nothing to regret, my lady. I hope . . .in the . . .next life . . . I," Monstructor reached out, and Kirone took his hand. And in less time than it took to tell, the last of his life slipped away.

Kirone was aghast. She thought about all the times they had been together--when she found the Skyshadow, when they had unleashed the virus into the Mother Machine. Mostly she thought about how she had taken him for granted, taken his blind loyalty as something that would always be there for her to exploit. And now--he was gone. His thin body rustled a bit as he stilled--forever this time.

And Kirone, who had never cared for another living creature, wept.

* * *

Liandra watched the charred skeletons of the Armisael fall to the ground though her fairies. Behind her, the battle for the Skyshadow was raging. Before her stood Darken, Phoenix, and someone else--she wasn't sure who--stood on one of the piles of rubble.

She swooped ahead to meet them, in time to hear the end of what Darken was saying.

"Liandra!" He said, dropping the conversation to embrace her warmly. "Are you all right?"

"I'm OK," she said. "But how did Lanicrus--how did you--?"

"Never mind that right now, OK?" Darken said. "Right now I need your help."

"You've got it," she said. "Does this have something to do with Lanicrus up there?"

"Something?" Vertigo said, readying her sword. "No. Everything--I'd say yes. You see, the next ten minutes are going to determine whether or not your world has a future or if Lanicrus does what he did to the last one."

"Which was?"

"Not really important right now," Vertigo said. Purple flames began to issue forth from her sword into her. "What is important is that we destroy him."

* * *

Sandalphon's red-clad soldiers charged inside the halls of the Skyshadow and met with no resistance until they joined Sachiel's group.

"We're just about done here, Sandalphon," Sachiel said, his robes torn and his arms nicked and cut. At the moment, he didn't look or feel particularly princely. "These creatures, whatever they are, seem to have quit coming."

"Then we should go from here, my prince," Sandalphon replied calmly.

"But--"

"No," Sandalphon said. "I am the Captain of the Seraphim. I am also the Royal Protector, and I will put myself between you and danger."

Before Sachiel could offer any resistance, he was pushed aside, and Sandalphon and a small group of his men had rushed through. Leiliel stood beside Sachiel, taking his hands in hers.

"Are you all right?" Leiliel asked him.

"I guess I'll have to be, won't I?" Sachiel said. "Apparently being prince of the Angels isn't enough. Apparently standing and fighting against Lanicrus isn't enough. How do you explain that you don't need to be protected any more?"

* * *

Lanicrus sensed Darken was there before he saw him. He slowly turned towards him, his lips breaking into a fanged grin.

"Lanicrus," Darken said, his voice like steel.

"Darken," he replied. Darken noticed his voice was different, the metallic rasp now almost melodic, like a voice from a nightmare. "Are you going to make me chase you again?"

"No," Darken said, summoning his Dive spear. He hurled it with all his might. The spear transformed into brilliant blue energy and stopped short of striking him.

"You can't have expected this to actually touch me," Lanicrus said.

"That's OK," Darken said. "It wasn't meant to. . . SOUL CALIBER!"

Before Lanicrus knew what was happening to him he was blasted full-force from the skies, plummeting downward to the ground below. His halo of fire dissipated as he struck the ground, coming face to face with Phoenix.

"And the Goddess as well," he said, rising from the rubble. "I was wondering if you'd survived. Pretty brazen, destroying that whole sphere to keep me from taking its power."

"So is this," Phoenix said. "SOL INFERNO!"

Lanicrus felt himself blasted high into the sky on a geyser of flame, his metal heating up and softening under the nova heat of the flame. He felt the flame dissipate and was unable to gain the concentration necessary to fly. It had always been difficult before, and now it seemed--harder somehow.

He felt himself slam hard into a castle turret and falling to the causeway beneath. He weakly looked up and caught a glimpse of something familiar--white boots with purple wraps around it.

"V-vertigo?" He asked.

"Yes," she said, trying to sound angry but failing. "You told me a while ago that it wasn't your life to give away. I'm here to take it from you--no matter whose it is."

She struck him hard with her sword, cutting him deeply. Lanicrus realized with mounting horror that the gash wasn't healing--his power wasn't responding.

He swiped at her with his tail. She leapt, rolled to the side and lopped it off with one smooth motion. It stood there, twitching, but did not dissipate and re-attach.

"Well well," Vertigo said. "How odd that I can hurt you. Could it have something to do with the fact that I gave you this power? I really don't think it matters though, do you?"

She slashed at him again. The armor on his arm tore like paper.

"Do you know what it was like? In that machine?" Vertigo asked, stabbing her sword all the way into his leg. "Let me give you a hint: It wasn't pleasant. I died a million times every second, and every time I died I thought of you."

Vertigo tried to pull the blade out, but it was caught in Lanicrus' leg.

Lanicrus whipped his hand across her face--too fast for her to see, and caught her with his deadly talons. She spun around in the air and hit the causeway hard.

Lanicrus pulled the sword out of his leg and stabbed it hard into the castle wall. "I wish I could have cared for you Vertigo," he said. "But even now--even evolved to this state--I do not have a heart, only this . . ."

The panels on his chest opened and the coruscating energy of his black hole heart was there in all its glory. Purple chaos lightning arced off of the heart.

"Where there is no heart, there can be no love," Lanicrus said. "But in another life, I would like to think that I could have loved you."

Vertigo leapt up, her eyes wild. She jerked the sword from the wall, her arms screaming in protest. She brought her sword quickly into a ready position.

"GRAAAAAAAAAA!" With one blow from her sword, she shredded the panels off of his body. Lanicrus, deciding he hand had enough, seized her by the hair and gored her with the talons of her other hand.

Vertigo felt blood well up in her mouth. Her grip on the sword loosed, but she did not let go. He dropped her like a sack of grain. The pain ripping through her, the cold fingers of death beginning to reach around her.

But she couldn't die, yet.

"Though I cannot love," Lanicrus said, leaning over her. "I am not without pity." His face moved close to hers, his lips parting and his white fangs gleaming. "I will offer you a kiss before dying."

Vertigo spat blood on his face. It hissed and boiled away. Vertigo balled her fists up, ignoring the pain and summoning all her chaotic energy. With a mighty blow, she fired point-blank into his chest. Lanicrus felt himself rising again, unable to stop.

He summoned the last of his energies himself and righted his flight. The halo of fire returned around him.

Darken whipped around faster than before and caught him a glancing blow with his Dive Spear.

"NOWWWWWWW!" Darken cried.

* * *

Liandra saw them high above her, her fairies already charging up their light energy. With all her might, she commanded them to blast forth.

Twin beams of light burned into Lanicrus' body. He felt them, tearing through the metal already damaged by Phoenix's Sol Inferno. But unlike the battle with Vertigo, he was healing.

Yes, he thought. The wounds were closing. I will live!

* * *

Phoenix unleashed a tight beam of fire from her hands, at the center of which was heat hotter than the largest sun in the universe. Her brow was knit in concentration, focusing on destroying him, just as Darken had said.

Unfortunately, her mind was also on Vertigo, whom she was loath to admit, had been invaluable. Somehow, she was able to hurt him permanently, even if they couldn't.

She wondered what this would mean. Fighting Vertigo was one thing, having to accept her as an ally was like clutching a viper to her heart--asking for trouble. What would they do?

Lanicrus felt the fire pass through him, melting him even more. He cried out this time, in pain and shock, but he could feel the familiar sensation. He was healing, despite the damage.

* * *

Darken took his shot, firing yet another Soul Caliber into Lanicrus' chest. Liandra, Phoenix and his own beams were warping the features of his body. For an evolved for this didn't seem particularly difficult.

Then he caught a glimpse of it. He could see, underneath the rends in Lanicrus' armor, the circuitry was beginning to regenerate, to re-form. Soon he might be able to repel their attacks, or move out of the way, and they'd be too exhausted to catch him again.

He stopped firing and flew behind Lanicrus, thinking about Phoenix, and all his plans for the future. He had planned to build a house--somewhere private where they could go to avoid all this strife.

He thought about growing old with her and he grabbed Lanicrus in a head and arm hold. He thought about being in her arms and kissing her as he felt the heat from Liandra's lasers and Phoenix's beam. Chaos lightning from Lanicrus' exposed heart stung him like angry hornets.

Phoenix, he thought. I love you more than life itself. He kept thinking of her as long as he could, holding Lanicrus fast. He wanted his last thoughts to be of her.

* * *

Vertigo dragged herself to her feet, and drew power from the sword again. Her wounds didn't close, but the rush of the power made her feel so good it didn't matter. She hefted the sword--her father's sword-- and summoned more power.

"GRYPHON CALIBER!" Vertigo cried, unleashing a bolt of energy on Lanicrus. It struck him against the heart. She held it as long as she could.

Her mind was alive with thoughts. Thoughts about Lanicrus. She still loved him--she knew that, but didn't know why at all.

She was also thinking of what Darken said, about how maybe there was another way, some other path for her. Some way she could go back, back before she summoned the sword's power, back to the young girl she remembered being.

Could that happen?

* * *

Lanicrus' head swiveled to look at Darken, his mouth in a sick grin, his eyes burning red.

"It's not working, you know," he said. "I can feel it, Darken. I am regenerating, rebuilding myself. And when I do I will kill them all. Liandra, Vertigo, and Phoenix. I will wipe her blood from my mouth after I eat their hearts. And you will watch me, because I will kill you last."

Darken felt his muscles tense. Another stray bolt of lightning arced off of his hands, causing him to let go.

"You have no hope of standing against me," Lanicrus continued evenly, parts of his body now glowing from the heat of his metals. "My power is beyond your comprehension."

"You're . . .so impressed with you power, aren't you?" Darken said. "Well, all I can say is . . .SHUT UP!"

Darken shifted his weight and pushed Lanicrus' head, unguarded into his own heart. The energy of the black hole began drawing him in, a flash of chaos lightning ripping over Darken. Darken tired to let go, but couldn't, the energy had him.

He thought of Phoenix once again and held onto that thought as he waited for death to claim him.

There was a sudden jerk on his scarf and Darken felt himself strangled and thrown off of Lanicrus, who was steadily imploding, his own heart devouring his body.

He looked backwards in time to see Vertigo throw herself between Lanicrus and him. She looked at him once then threw herself into the growing vortex of energy around Lanicrus.

Darken felt himself falling down, unable to gather his wings under him.

He watched as a corona of chaotic fire lashed out, igniting the skies above him. Then nothing passed before his eyes until he felt himself stop.

He looked around, suddenly alert. Then a smile played across his face.

He would have said something, but he was to busy wrapping his arms around Phoenix and kissing her deeply.

* * *

In a flash it was over. The surge of chaotic fire blazed over the sky. Then lightning split the peace of the sky and thunder shook the city. There was a low flat report that shattered almost every window still standing. Then, in a matter of seconds, it was all over.

For a time, things were quiet.

The angels who had been in hiding since Lanicrus' first assault started cautiously emerging from their hiding places. Cautiously they moved about over the ruins of the city, in shock over the damage, but still proud to see that their city had withstood the worst of it.

Some walked to the edge of the palace, where the fighting had been the worst. They looked at the piled of rubble and burning ruin that had once been their capitol. Only the largest tower stood now, and beside it loomed the command tower of the Skyshadow, like two spires of light and darkness.

Some felt a bit of hope, that perhaps the threat that had driven them into hiding was gone forever. Some looked at the twin spires, framed by the orange skies of the setting sun and felt an unnamable fear, as if this were just the beginning of a long dark night.

* * *

Kirone heard them before she knew what was happening. Before she knew it, a Royal Seraphim guard surrounded her. She knew there may have been perhaps 30 ways for her to leave, to teleport away. But to where? Her ship was destroyed, Monstructor was dead, and her army no doubt dead or routed and captured.

She could have boiled the blood in their veins, changed them into doves, disintegrated them where she stood. She could have turned invisible and slipped out between them, or turned into mist.

One of them leveled a sword at her. He wore no helmet, and his uniform marked him as one of the Royal Court.

"Kirone Witchfire," he said. "I am Lord Sandalphon of the Angelic Kingdom. For the charge of crimes against our people, I am placing you under arrest."

Kirone let a smile play over her lips, shrugged, and raised her hands to surrender. Two guards grabbed her arms and put her in manacles.