Hein could feel his chest starting to throb uncomfortably as his ship docked with Zeus, but he did his best to hide it as he floated past the line of troops that greeted him. The last thing he needed now was to be quarantined.

'Sir,' the last soldier in the line said, saluting. 'The New York council got in touch with us as soon as they reached Atlanta. They want to speak with you as soon as possible,' Hein nodded, hiding the sneer. So, he wasn't the only survivor; the council had ever so bravely run away as well. At least he had taken an injury; they'd probably been well away before the first death.

'I'll speak with them now,' he replied, ignoring a stab of pain from his chest. The soldier nodded and led him to the control room, already buzzing with activity as the techs prepped the cannon for firing. Hein took a moment to just watch the main screen; the earth floating slowly before him. It was missing a few million inhabitants now, and that was his fault. He suddenly wondered if doctor Ross and her entourage had managed to get out, or whether they had died still locked in the cells. At least they can't argue with me now, It was a hollow victory and a nauseating one at that, he realised as he took a seat. Almost immediately, a communication screen popped up in front of him; Drake's strained face floating in mid-air.

'General Hein, I'm relieved you made it out alive,' Drake said, prompting Hein to nod.

'And I'm glad to see the council all got out to Atlanta,' he lied, allowing his face to twist into a nonchalant frown. 'Just a shame no-one else did,' Drake decided not to respond to that, instead shaking his head.

'A terrible loss was suffered tonight, and as such we have reviewed your proposal to fire the Zeus cannon,' Hein felt a muted sense of victory shoot through him, though it was quickly dampened by sharp shot of pain.

'Oh?' was all he managed to say without letting on just how much he was hurting. Drake nodded.

'We're sending the clearance codes now. The phantoms must be stopped before another tragedy like tonight can occur. This all ends here,' Hein scowled ever so slightly. Why didn't you say that after San Francisco? Wasn't that tragic enough for you? he thought bitterly.

(They did not care. They do not care.)

Hein blinked; the sudden movement the only sign of his shock as that voice whispered through his mind again. His head swam suddenly, almost forcing him to lose his balance. His thoughts grew vague; dizzy. The voice was the only thing that seemed to make sense. But, no. Not now. He couldn't stop now.

(It is almost time.)

He couldn't let them stop him now. He cared about the losses, even if they didn't. He collected himself, ignoring the suspicious frown he was receiving from Drake.

'Something wrong, general?' the councillor asked, obviously wary.

(Nothing is wrong.)

Hein shook his head, a customary smirk settling on his face; masking the pain that flared up. Why let Drake know what had happened?

'Of course not, councillor. Just a little space sickness,' Little white lies never hurt anyone. The older man was not convinced, but he knew he had no choice.

'If you're sure,' Hein nodded.

'I'm sure. And I assure you, the phantoms will be stopped,' Drake didn't look quite so confident.

(They do not trust you.)

'Good luck,' he said, before cutting the transmission. Hein stared at the blank screen for a moment. This was it; the moment of his vengeance was so near. Everything he had been working towards for the last seven years was so close to being completed. So why did he feel so hollow inside; why wasn't he happy about this? Why didn't he feel satisfied?

(This is not your purpose.)

'Ready the cannon for firing,' he said to the nearest tech, suddenly aware that his chest was icy cold; totally numb, and the throbbing in his head was growing louder and louder; masking all the other sounds around him. Only that voice rang clearly. Something was wrong here;

(Nothing is wrong.)

the ice was slowly creeping, spreading throughout his body.

(Do not fight.)

It was all he could do to keep his expression neutral as he stood,

(Come to us.)

rather uncomfortably.

'Inform me when it's ready,' he said, turning and pressing a hand to his chest. Not now.

(Now.)

Not when he was so close. 'I'll be in my quarters,' The tech nodded, preoccupied with his work. No-one noticed as Hein crept out; a hand crushed to his chest and an expression of sheer terror on his face.

(You are ours.)

'This is taking too long,' Ryan muttered as another alpha leapt at him, tendrils aimed at his throat. He grabbed the arm of his attacker and threw it to the side, watching as it collided with another phantom.

'Where're they all coming from? Are we stood on top of a nest or something?' Neil exclaimed. Well, he had a point. Every time they got rid of one wave of phantoms, a new one would replace it. It was like there was a limitless supply of phantoms and they were fighting right at the source. Gray knew he and his soldiers couldn't keep this up for much longer. He himself was exhausted; he could only imagine how the others were feeling. He just saw Jane stumble out of the corner of his eye, remembering what the techs had told them all on the day of her infection. Magic drained the energy of a person intensely, unless they had mastered it. Jane might be a natural with her powers, but she was still only a novice; each burst of flame or ice took more and more out of her. It sapped her more than she wanted to admit, even just to herself.

'Jane, you alright?' he asked, swiping the nearest phantom out of his way and running to her. He caught her just in time, stopping her from sliding to the ground.

'I'm just a little tired, captain,' she said, her tone betraying her weariness as she leant on him for support. 'I can go on,'

'No you can't,' Gray replied firmly, taking the moment to check on the others. The tide of phantoms seemed to have diminished for the moment, only a couple still causing trouble. The rest were keeping back, as if they were wary of something. The gamma was still heading towards them though, and his troops were tired. Neil had run out of ammo long ago and had taken to using makeshift bombs he had made out of used ova-packs. Ryan looked as if he didn't have enough strength left to harm an insect, and Jane was ready to collapse. Gray himself felt so weary, almost to the extent where he couldn't lift his sword from the ground anymore. Hurry it up, Aki, he thought, glancing towards her. She was stood completely still, her eyes closed as she whispered something under her breath. He couldn't even imagine what she was doing.

'Captain,' Gray span towards the ship, frowning slightly as he saw Sid stood inside, waving them all towards him. We're stuck in the middle of a battlefield, and he decides to go walkabout? he thought incredulously. Well, if the last few days had taught him anything, it was that scientists were far more suicidal than they let on.

'We still have to protect Aki,' he argued, though he felt he could barely protect himself right now, let alone her. Sid shook his head, his eyes taking on an expression that made Gray uneasy.

'You and your men have to get undercover now, before she finishes,' Gray opened his mouth to reply, turning to face Aki. The words never came. She was still stood as still as she had been, but she was now surrounded by a cool blue glow that rippled and pulsed as she continued to murmur. She had her palms outstretched before her now, and it was here that the glow seemed to be coming from; erupting from her fingertips before spreading to cover her whole body.

'What the. . .?' he whispered, transfixed. This was more than just magic; this was so much more.

'Captain!' Sid hissed. Gray snapped his gaze away from Aki and began to run towards the ship, though not as fast as he would like. Try as she might, Jane couldn't seem to pick her feet off the floor properly; her eyelids were drooping even as he dragged her to safety.

He didn't even see the phantom until it was almost on top of them; shooting out of the floor several feet to his left and sprinting at him. Gray turned towards it, desperate to get between it and Jane. He had already let her get infected once, and he was damned if he was going to let her suffer like that again. The phantom snarled silently, before leaping at them; tentacles already outstretched. Gray reflexively closed his eyes. At least he was going to die in battle.

The stab of icy cold never came, prompting Gray to open his eyes and gasp loudly. The phantom had stopped mid-leap; tendrils inches away from his chest. All around him, the other phantoms were in a similar state; completely still and unable to move as if they were frozen in time. The blue glow around Aki was now fierce; spiking harshly in pulses as she opened her eyes; which were glowing the same cool, fierce blue as the aura around her. Realising that now was a good time to get to the ship, Gray picked up Jane and ran.

He reached the hatch and turned back, eager to see what was going to happen. He wasn't the only one; even Jane had managed to stay awake long enough to stare in trepidation. At first it appeared as though there was nothing; the entire hangar was silent and completely still. Gray suddenly realised that everything around him had become muffled and blurred around the edges; he couldn't hear his heart, though he knew it was pounding desperately. It was as if time itself was slowing down.

Suddenly, there was a thunderous noise and the actual air behind Aki began to rip apart - tearing as easily as paper – to reveal a dark, empty void that seemed to contain nothing at all. Gray stared at the abyss as it widened and lengthened before his very eyes, seemingly acting under its own influence. And then. . .

'My god. . .' he whispered. Something stepped out of the cavity; something that could only be described as a monster. It looked like the phantoms did after they had passed through bioetheric energy; its scales and veins and pores glowing a pale blue colour. In fact, he could have sworn it was a phantom; some kind of invader he had never laid eyes on before. It looked like a dragon; tall and scaly with a long, lashing tail and two huge wings that seemed to spread forever. It towered over Aki as it stepped in front of her; sunken eyes surveying everything that lay before it with contempt. It fixed its gaze on the gamma and snarled silently, nostrils smoking slightly as it looked down at Aki. Understanding came to it, and it leapt into the air; huge wings unfurling and beating to take it higher and higher. Gray wasn't able to tear his gaze away as an aura appeared around the dragon; the same colour and consistency as the one around Aki. If he had taken a look at the scientist, he would have noticed that the glow around her was diminishing, lessening in power as the one around the dragon grew stronger and stronger. The energy began to pool near its mouth, gathering into a huge, crackling ball of light; so bright it hurt Gray's eyes to look at it. A silent roar, and suddenly the ball was hurtling down to earth, still growing bigger and brighter; bathing everything in an unnatural blue glow.

Gut instinct made him turn away as the ball hit the ground; the crash of explosions near-deafening him and the blindingly bright glow still hurting him through his tightly closed eyes. A thought suddenly hit him. Aki!

The noise suddenly stopped - as if someone had flicked a switch and muted it all – and the glow disappeared. Gray turned, gingerly opening his eyes and gasping as he saw that it had all disappeared; the dragon, the rip, the phantoms. But most of the hangar was missing as well, leaving a smoking pile of rubble dimly illuminated in the moonlight. All that remained was an exhausted Aki, who had already sunk to her knees. The pale glow around her was fading and disappearing now before his very eyes, leaving him to gape at her. A stunned silence hung in the air, broken only as Sid jogged across to Aki, holding her upright.

'Did we just see. . .?' Neil asked, slightly unsure of what had just happened.

'I think so. . .' Jane replied, the weariness in her voice replaced by stunned shock for the moment. Ryan couldn't even manage words and just stared at Aki – as Gray did – as a concerned-looking Sid helped her to the ship. Gray helped them both on board, still staring incredulously as she smiled weakly at him.

'You look like you've had a shock,' she joked softly.

'What was that?' Gray gasped, earning a frown from Sid.

'We'll have time to talk about that later. Aki needs to rest, captain, and we need to get out of here,' Gray nodded a little, only years of taking orders making him do as Sid said.

'Neil,' he started. 'You can fly this, right?'

'They haven't invented anything I can't fly, sir,' Neil boasted, earning a gentle punch from Jane.

'Show-off,' she mumbled, leaning against the nearest wall.

'You get us in the air then. We'll head to Trenton, it's the closest city I can think of,' Neil nodded and, after casting a final amazed look at Aki, jogged into the cockpit. Gray then turned his attention to Ryan and Jane, both of whom looked ready to drop dead.

'Haven't had to fight like that since that cleansing mission in Washington,' Ryan said.

'I hate magic,' Jane muttered.

'You two rest,' Gray told them. 'You've earned it,' They nodded gladly, which left only one person. Aki. He turned towards her, ready to ask her about what had just happened, but he never got there. She was already asleep.