Grand showdowns are the things that people remember; however, sometimes it is the quiet deaths that mean so much more. To say that they fought and in the end they won is unnecessary. After all, someone survived to tell the tale. If Apocalypse had won, well, we can all say that the story would have died with those who chose to stand in his way. Such is his way. However, as I write this, the final chapter in a story over 200 years in the making, I find myself wondering if the ending is really all that important. If hearing of that final great sacrifice is really worthwhile. Mistress Essex, Poisyn, Chemistry, and in her final moments, Pestilence died. Not without her moment of redemption, not without the memory of her husband's face in her eyes and mind, but simply she did what had to be done and she died. I've brought you this far, I suppose I owe it to those who have read all the way through to this point an ending, even if it is one with which none will agree.

The horsemen (Death, Pestilence, Famine, & War) turned eyes toward the Mutant Nation. Apocalypse stayed behind at his stronghold. The Essexes, all of them, had gathered and were on one accord regarding the disposition of the Queen Mother. The stage was set for the showdown.

Billie was the youngest, the thinnest, but far from the weakest of the Essex children. Madonna teleported the group in and then turned to her sister and said,

"Scout." Billie made a chittering sound with her teeth and took off. The others hunkered down to wait. The little girl would do what she did best, find out the layout, get a troop count, and bring it back. Meanwhile, Madonna determined where exactly Apocalypse was within the stronghold and prepared to move her family members to the spots that were best. They still had the element of surprise. It would be wonderful if they could keep it that way. Billie crawled through and around the building, carefully staying out of sight when others came close until she had the building memorized. Then she headed 

back. When she returned, Madonna embraced her sister, opening her mind to the memories that Billie had just recently acquired.

"Edward and Nathan, prepping to send you to the primary command post. You're going to have to disable the technology. Raven, dropping you in the middle of the troop depot. Billie and Father are going after Apocalypse and I'll stay here, out of sight, so I can pull you out if you need me." That was the agreed upon plan. Now if only things would continue to go according to plan. Splitting up, they went their separate ways.

If Essex had to pick which one of his children he liked best, it was most likely Billie just because she was quiet and knew how to be unobtrusive, very rarely did she see the need to be bothersome in the time that he had spent with her. Now, teleported into the throne room where Apocalypse stood, she showed him again why she might be his favorite. She awaited no order but immediately fell upon the Chancellor like a ton of bricks despite her negligible size. Apocalypse only turned to watch as his underling sought to save his own life from the monster shadow that descended upon him.

The battle actually made him smile an old wolf smile. Perhaps there were other members of the Essex family he could make use of.

While Essex and Apocalypse stood opposite one another like two kings on a nearly empty chessboard and the Chancellor fought for his life, Raven was decimating the acquired human forces. Her body nearly invulnerable save for a few key places, she used her super strength to knock back the defenders, turning their own weapons back on them. Perhaps the worse part of it was how she laughed that low chuckle of hers through the entire encounter. So like her, to laugh like a maniac as death followed in her wake. Her 

brothers had finished off the guards in the control room and Edward had just slammed his hands down on the keyboard.

"You can keep them out?"

"You're making it sound like this is the first time I've covered your ass while you do something," Jonathan forced the doors shut and barred them with his telekinesis. "Just hurry up. Raven's lost the element of surprise and you know how much she hates to have to deal with lasers." Even as Jonathan spoke, Edward was losing distinctness save for around his hands were a green glow had appeared. That glow was draining into the keyboard, allowing him to abandon his physical form and take over the computer system. "I'd rather not give her a reason to thump my skull."

"I can always go hide in the defense network until she calms down," the voice was now coming through the PA system. Edward was fully integrated into the security system of the fortress.

"Oh shut up, showoff," a few guards had started to realize what was going on and were rushing the door causing Jonathan some minor strain as he held off their advances. "Shit," an alarm started to go off, the lights going from their fluorescent white to deep red. Then a safety door slammed shut, cutting off the control room.

"Take a breath, junior," the computer advised him. "I just activated the security protocol to protect the control room from outside invasion. We're safe for now." In another part of the fortress, that same computerized voice notified Madonna that it was now safe to move to the control room, they had it sealed. The younger sister moved, thankful that she hadn't been caught in any real action as of yet. Not 

that Madonna couldn't fight. She just didn't want to. More of a slink around in the dark personality really.

Computers generally don't curse; however, when it was taken over by a human mind, computers do a lot of things that they don't normally do. The computer, well Edward really, released a string of curses that said nothing good about whatever it was that he had seen.

"The Horsemen are coming back. QUICKLY!"

"Tell Raven to shift position to intercept. Jonathan, come on," Madonna was pulling her older brother to his feet and urging him into one of the shiny metal walls. "We've got to slow them down." Notably, she didn't say stop them. Madonna had no thought at all that she or any of her siblings except maybe Raven had any chance at all of surviving a head to head battle with one of the horsemen.

"You're joking right," was the last thing that Edward remembered hearing before the sound of Madonna screaming. That was going to haunt him for the rest of his natural life; however long that happened to actually be. Yet he relayed the message, thinking of how much Madonna reminded him of their mother, bossy but generally right. Though one had to wonder exactly what they were buying time for. Their Father hadn't thrown the first punch at Apocalypse yet. They were all going to be sacrificed to a maniac. If that wasn't so damn typical, he'd have been pissed.

The Chancellor put up a good fight, one that was just ending as War knocked down the throne room doors. Billie had just skewered him through and was flagging his limp body around like some kind of ragdoll, a smile underneath those alien black eyes. The little girl did so enjoy a good kill. Her excitement 

was short lived as Madonna's body was tossed across the marble floor toward her, lifeless. The child spider abandoned one corpse for another, gathering up her twin and hugging her to her small chest, a keening wail building in her throat. Then she launched herself at War, fully intent upon destroying the offender. Both leaders simply looked on, impassive. Death appeared out of War's shadow and took one shot at Billie, pushed off target by Jonathan who leaned against the broken doors. He'd been too late to help Madonna, since he'd been dealing with bringing down Famine, but he wasn't going to miss twice. Just as Death moved to fire again, he stamped down on her mentally, crushing her body to the floor. He'd kill that bitch if he could, to keep her from destroying any more of his family.

Pestilence entered and snatched Jonathan up by the back of his neck and he screamed at her,

"Mother, stop!" In that moment, she hesitated. War and Billie danced across the floor, striking at each other and the blows seeming to simply glance off. Death, however, took that moment to take another shot, not at Billie but at Essex. A futility, but she took it anyway. It bounced off his armor and broke the paralysis that seemed to have covered him. Jonathan continued to scream, though it was becoming less articulate as it went on. Then she discarded him to the floor.

Apocalypse still just looked on, no more interested in the proceedings than he had been in most affairs. Whoever won this battle, he would still come out the winner. He would still come to rule in the end. His operatives throughout the human world were already moving to take their objectives. The fact that the horsemen had been derailed was of little importance. Things would be set to rights as soon as Pestilence got rid of Essex, just as he knew she would. The two were coming across the floor at each other like a pair of titans.



No, something was wrong. He sensed it and started to move. Pestilence grabbed ahold of War as she passed, easily inserting her nails into the other woman's skin as if her defenses were down. With nothing but a touch, she poisoned War. Death didn't even see her do it, busy with Jonathan who was blocking her repeated attacks with telekinesis that was rapidly failing.

"Do you still have that vial of my blood?," she asked the question as Pestilence drew past Sinister.

"Yes."

"Then do what it is in your nature to do." He shot Death away from Jonathan and gathered up his son. Billie joined him in heading out of the throne room. Madonna was left behind, but that made little difference. If he cloned her once, he could do so again. Edward joined them as they escaped from the stronghold and asked the question,

"Where's Mother?"

"She's not coming." The walls were starting to take on an odd sheen. "We need to go, now." Gathering them together, he teleported them out.

Mystique and Storm walked out of the Australian desert together three days later, both of them looking as though they had seen ghosts, a strange look for either of them considering what they had been through previously. Neither of them could answer what exactly had happened to the Lady Essex, only that Apocalypse was gone as she was. Essex himself only listened politely as they gave their statements to Master Wagner. He'd been offered his place back, but what difference did it make to him? The 

Mutant Nation was no longer his concern. He had lost his wife and two of his three daughters to Apocalypse's machinations.

In truth, he wanted nothing more than to just settle into his retirement and do what it was in his nature to do, just as his wife asked. He had yet to go back to London when the word came that the humans were once again in trouble. Surprising, not at all, he just shrugged when asked about it. Let the humans kill themselves. Perhaps Apocalypse had achieved his aim after all. The humans were doing what it was in their nature to do also; killing each other off as quickly as they possibly could.

Once again in Quiet Man's hall, he sat looking at the blue/green glow that came from the cloning tube that he kept there. Just looking at the glow and the body that was starting to grow within it. Already she was starting to become herself, that beautiful, darling woman that she had once been. She was poison perhaps, but he was immune. It was just in his nature, just like it was in hers. Poison and depravity, two perfect little companions.