Age of Apocalypse: Redux: The Chains of Fate

by Doosri Pistole

Apocalypse has initiated the final game. Millions have fallen before his might. And only the Xmen can stop him. Features Scott, Remy, Jean, Logan, Rogue, Magneto and Xman, with appearances from all corners of the AoA and 616 universes. Complete.

14. My Immortal: Part IV: Eternal

And so it ends. The graaaannndd finale. Finished by me about 6 months back. Very late update. What can I say, life sucks.

Anyway, it's finally over.

So yeah.

Other than the epilogue, which I'll update in a couple of weeks.

Astonishing 18… awww, come on, I was sooo waiting for Cyclops to be really shooting people left right and centre. He should. Joss Whedon said he would be in some interview crap.

And Civil War 5 seemed really… incomplete. I mean, I was surprised when I was going through it and it ended. I mean all the previous issues left an ending that you could say, yeah this is the end of this issue, this issue just… ended.

And I'm sorry, Onslaught Reborn, without X-men? WTF???

And Civil War; X-men tie in was utter crap. OK, issue 1, I was like, ok so it does affect the X-men. Issue 2… OK… Sentinels just went robotech on us. Issue 3… Fine… action, but seriously… Issue 4… Oh for Fucks sake! Fine, you resolved the sentinel issue, but what, the Xmen all hold hands and sing along? It would have been so much better to keep tensions between Bishop and the original X-men.

Anyway, I'm done being a critic, enjoy.

My Immortal IV: Eternal

Scarlet Witch had regained consciousness as she heard Angel scream in pain. Slowly opening her eyes, she felt herself being gathered up by Apocalypse and then being carried by him away from the X-men.

She tried to move but her muscles would not obey her, and she lay limply against Apocalypse's chest. Apocalypse swiftly moved through a door, and Scarlet Witch could see only the dim wall behind her.

Suddenly she heard a hissing sound, and then the cubicle she was in began moving upwards, at what Scarlet Witch realized was a near frightening pace. In mere moments the 'lift' smoothly came to a stop. The doors hissed open again and she was carried along by Apocalypse.

Suddenly Apocalypse stopped. He dropped Scarlet Witch. She fell to the ground and weakly managed to turn her head. From between Apocalypse's boots she could see a room in shambles. Destroyed monitors lined the walls, with broken terminals ringing them; large pillars and other structures of indeterminate material lined the floor, broken. In the centre of the room stood a massive throne, whose back she could see; surrounded, at a lower level by other thrones. Just behind the thrones, Scarlet Witch could make out a very large amount of debris, made of similar material, yet she could make out metal and wires twisted around the rubble.

The room looked as though a war had been waged there. Off to the side Scarlet Witch could see broken statues of… what looked like ancient Egyptian warriors… It stood to reason, surmised Scarlet Witch. Apocalypse was of Egyptian descent, or so her father had told her. Her father was a confusing and complex man. He sometimes kept things from them, especially her and Pietro, and yet he shared many other things with them that he told no one else, other than perhaps Rogue. He brimmed with power… power he sometimes did not use to its full extent, fearful of the damage he could wreak. Only thrice had he ever used his power to its full extent. Once again Nemesis, when he destroyed his body, the second time against Apocalypse, in their first ever battle. The latest time had been against Plague, after the horseman had nearly killed Rogue.

Her relations with her father had soured once he married Rogue, and her friendship with Remy had led to an increased dislike of Rogue.

Apocalypse was moving now, and Scarlet Witch could see his fists clench, slightly. Could it be that Bishop had been successful? Her fathers plan was only half formulated, and based on blind luck, something he did not do often. Trusting to luck had always been Gambit's forte, and his risk taking had both annoyed and amused her. Of course, he had begun taking greater and greater risks after Rogue and Magneto had gotten together, and he had left to form Roulette. Then again, most of the issues had been resolved, at least between her and her father, as well as her acceptance of Rogue as a stepmother. The fact that Rogue was pregnant may have had something to do with that. The realization that Rogue could have a child, and that she would have a baby sibling… it had been enough to shred away the barriers Scarlet Witch held deep in her heart. Over the last year she had grown closer to Rogue, and had begun rebuilding her relationship with her father.

Scarlet Witch wondered if she would ever see him again.

-----

Apocalypse began to walk towards the thrones now, to the side of them, heading for the ruined area behind the thrones. Suddenly the topmost throne began to move, spinning around slowly.

Apocalypse turned and stared as the occupant of what was obviously his throne came into view.

"It cannot be!" Apocalypse's voice boomed in disbelief.

Scarlet Witch slowly got to her elbows and saw Bishop rising slowly from the throne. She wondered what he was doing. Had he or had he not managed to complete his mission? And was what he had said trustworthy, or was all of this a huge trap?

"Why not Apocalypse? This damned world should not be, yet it is. Your lackey tried to finish me off before I could put things right, but he fell before my power." Bishop stood looking down at Apocalypse impassively.

"That is impossible! He was stronger than you!" Apocalypse sounded amazed, the first time Scarlet Witch had ever heard him. It was better that he was unprepared for once. It would make it easier to try to defeat him. She slowly got up until she was on her elbows and knees, her joints still not moving properly; still numb and hurting.

"Me, maybe. Her no." Bishop pointed to the rubble, and Apocalypse seemed enraged by what he saw.

"So… Destiny sought to take matters into her own hands. The future cancelled the past, and leaves me with nothing but the present. It does not matter. The High Council is finished, and soon you X-men will follow. Already Magneto is coming, as are the rest of your idealistic friends. My own forces will arrive as well, and then the final battle shall begin. However, you are unnecessary. Your doom was foretold by the seer, and it shall come to pass now." Apocalypse was sure of himself again, and that was a bad sign.

Scarlet Witch forced herself to stand, but she could only get up into a sitting position. It would have to do. Focusing inwards, she began whispering ancient runes to herself, clearing her thoughts so that her concentration was fixed upon the spell she was preparing.

Meanwhile Bishop had engaged Apocalypse, leaping from the throne, and in a feat remarkable for a man his age, he somersaulted over Apocalypse and landed behind him, his fists blazing with temporal energy.

"The sheer amount of temporal energy in this place is amazing. The death of Destiny and Ozymandias released enough energy to keep me fully charged for weeks. I can take in power equivalent to that of a nuclear bomb, Apocalypse. Care to challenge me fully powered?" Bishop sounded almost… carefree, as though he was exhilarated in combat.

"Your pitiful powers cannot compare to mine, cockroach. To me you are as an insect, to crush beneath my heel. Understand what you are truly facing." As he spoke Apocalypse's own fists began to glow with energy, and he moved slowly but purposefully towards Bishop, towering over him.

------

Scarlet Witch threw her head back as she felt the arcane power surge through her body.

Screaming an incantation, she hurled all the arcane energy she had built up towards Apocalypse. Before the massive mutant could even think of retaliating, a light blue colored nimbus surrounded him. Apocalypse tried to break free of his confinement, but the spell was strong enough to hold him.

"Interesting work. I would have expected nothing less from the legendary daughter of Magneto, the Scarlet Witch, and in the true world, a mainstay Avenger as well. You caught him at the perfect moment, arrogant and off guard." Bishop walked up to Scarlet Witch and offered her his hand. Scarlet Witch composed herself and took it, allowing herself to be steadied by the big mutant. Strangely she realized that Bishop looked completely sane, and that he was relaxed.

"What… about… the plan?" Scarlet Witch slowly said. Her voice was not yet perfectly healed, and her shouted incantation had exacerbated the problem.

Bishop shook his head slowly.

"Nothing. I wasn't here two minutes when that old statue of a monster Ozymandias began attacking me, and my power had little to no effect on him. Thankfully Destiny managed to rig herself up to fall on top of him, crushing and destroying herself, and Ozymandias. In a brilliant stroke she took away Apocalypses' power over the future and the past. Also, if there is a time traveling device, it isn't here… and I probably wouldn't know how to work it." Bishop turned and stared at Apocalypse.

Apocalypse laughed once, a great booming, mocking sound.

"You are foolish indeed if you think me beaten. And you have no comprehension of my power over time itself, Anomaly."

Without warning the spell suddenly backfired on Scarlet Witch, sending her reeling in pain. The nimbus around Apocalypse disappeared, and he moved forward fast. Before Bishop could even move, Apocalypse was there, his left hand grasping Bishop and lifting him in the air. Bishop struggled against the death grip of the hand, but Apocalypse moved in and as fast as a blur his right fist struck Bishops stomach. Ribs cracked before the enormous stress, and Bishop flew through the air like a rag doll, skidding to a halt just below a terminals cracked monitor.

"You sought to challenge me? Your plan was doomed before it even began Anomaly. Magneto is devious, but I have spent five thousand years devising strategic methods to counteract every probable, if not possible eventuality. Accidents are allowed of course, but in my experience, the threat of defeat by an accident, for a proactive and prepared individual is negligible. Farewell anomaly. I have no further interest in you. Your genes may provide suitable fodder for McCoy though. I would not lose your temporal abilities. My own personal attention must be centered on the arcane for now. Mastery of that art shall make me nigh invulnerable." Bishop struggled weakly to his feet, clutching at his chest and coughing up blood.

In a last ditch attack Bishop brought his hands together and ejected a massive stream of pure energy, directed at Apocalypse. Apocalypse grunted, but gave no more reaction. As Bishops energy attack faltered, and his arms drooped, Apocalypse moved forward, his hand raised. Bishop could barely move, and he could not tap into his reserves of energy. He was too hurt to summon up the energy to fight, the temporal energy to utilize. Apocalypse's hand grew closer. Bishop sank to his knees, and Scarlet Witch watched in horror, unable to do anything, as Apocalypse's hand glowed once, and Bishop's body splattered onto the terminal, his entire front charred and completely blackened.

Apocalypse turned and walked towards Scarlet Witch, whose eyes widened in fear. She tried to go away, but Apocalypse advanced steadily, his gaze seeming to penetrate Scarlet Witch's very soul, and stripping away her defenses to reduce her to a quivering child.

x--------------------------------x

Jesse Bedlam and Meltdown had managed to gain entrance into the one time Thieves Guild Mines, the very same ones used by the X-men nearly a year ago to gain entrance into the Tower to save one of their own. The catacombs were now in bad condition, with many of the tunnels blocked or destroyed, by both Apocalypse's order and by Sinister's doing. Jesse moved carefully, his Prelate training making him cautious of the unknown. He moved boldly, as befitted one of his rank, but with extreme care. Close behind him came Meltdown, nervously looking around.

Jesse ran a hand through his curly hair, flicking his hand to the side to rid himself of the sweat dropping onto his face.

"Do you know where we're going?" Meltdown asked for what seemed the thousandth time. Jesse groaned, not bothering to reply. He didn't know where he was going, had never been to the catacombs before. And most of the tunnels had been destroyed, leaving them with very few options of where to go. And there could be enemies anywhere.

He came to a dead end, with two paths branching off, and wondered which way to go. He looked left, and then right, and then stopped, helpless.

"Let's just go right Jesse!" Meltdown was tired and hungry, and the catacombs unnerved her. She was a Rook, dealing death was her trade, but she was used to guarding the weak mutates and mutants in the containment chambers and the pens. She was used to her cushy power. This was… new.

"Yeah… go right… you might just end up back where you started from." Jesse spun around at the voice, but he couldn't see anyone. Meltdown shrank back towards Jesse. The voice was Terry Bedlam, but Jesse couldn't see his brother anywhere. Then out of the shadows the older brother appeared, dropping down from a ledge in the pitch black darkness above one of the archways of the fork.

"Terry! You're alive!" Jesse was overjoyed. Terry fended off his brothers attempts to hug him, pushing Jesse away.

"Looking happy to see me? You seemed pretty happy to run off with Tabby earlier." He sneered at Jesse, and then turned his attention to Meltdown.

"And you… 'I love you, Jesse' huh? What about us? What about our 'love'? You've been playing us Tabby, and I've had enough. You don't give two shits about either of us, do you?"

Terry advanced on Meltdown, who backed away.

Jesse's hand came down on Terry's forearm, holding Terry in place.

"Hey man, watch it… we knew the score with Tabby, don't be mad just because she chose me." Jesse gripped Terry's arm harder. Terry looked down at his brothers hand on his arm, then up at his brother.

"You're a fool Jesse… and I'm going to stop this witch's schemes right now. She's going to use us, abuse us, and then throw us away once she's done. She's small, but she's nasty." Terry brushed off Jesse's grasp and then advanced on Meltdown again.

"Jesse! Stop him!" Meltdown was scared, and Terry knew it. He smiled evilly.

Jesse put himself in front of Terry and Meltdown. He faced down Terry.

"I can't let you do it bro." Jesse's voice was thick.

"I'm going to kill her Jess. You'll have to kill me to stop me." Jesse sucked in his breath.

"Jesse! I order you to kill him!" Terry looked at her angrily, and Jesse turned in surprise, a sudden scowl darkening his features.

"You order me? I don't take orders from you, Tabby. And I wouldn't do that anyway." Jesse shook his head in anger.

Terry took the chance to punch his brother aside, flinging him into a wall. He moved forward, but as he drew nearer, Meltdown could tell he was having trouble breathing, and she could see his mouth trickled blood. She also knew that using her power would kill them all, and that even weakened as he was Terry could crush her easily.

"Look… Terry, you're right, it was all a lie. I used Jesse, and I'm sorry bout that, but seeing you get hit by the Juggernaut, I thought you were dead, and I was afraid. I loved you Terry! You were always more dominating, more exciting. Forget Jesse, we can get out of here! I can make your pain go away."

Terry shook his head.

"You're a fool Meltdown. Me and my bro… we're two of a kind. It was fun, but now… we're tired of running after a Rook." Jesse stood behind him now, shaking his head from the fall.

"You should have quit while you were ahead Tabby." Jesse crossed his arms.

"No! You guys… I like sneakers! Pretty purple onions… Siegfried and Roy! The Muffin Man!" Meltdowns eyes widened as she was unable to produce coherent thought, and she clutched her head. The brothers struck as one, Terry attacking high, Jesse low.

The cut down Meltdown quickly and efficiently. Terry and Jesse both reached for her neck at the same time.

"Go ahead man." Jesse said just as Terry said, "She's all yours bro."

They both laughed, and then Jesse gestured at Meltdowns head.

"Let's do it together man." Terry nodded in agreement.

"On the count of three… one… two… sonofabitch, you damn cheater!"

The catacombs echoed with the brothers' laughter.

x--------------------------------x

They moved quickly, trying to follow Magneto, but none of them could move as fast as the Master of Magnetism and the leader of the X-men, and Magneto had a lead on them. Nate floated more than flied, leading Iceman and Emma Frost, together on an ice sled, behind Sunfire, who, being the fastest of them followed Magneto's path as well as he could. Magneto was steadily heading upwards, tearing apart small obstacles before him such as walls and ceilings. If the material was resistant to his powers he had apparently used an object in the surrounding area. His daughters capture by Apocalypse had inflamed him to such an extent that he had seemingly loosed all restraint.

Sunfire cursed under his breath. Magneto had not really planned for anyone to follow him, and so had not taken any care. Before Sunfire, half the corridor stood collapsed, most likely by Magneto's mad rush.

"Damn… now what?" Nate slowed and turned to Sunfire. Behind Nate Sunfire could hear the sounds of Iceman's ice sled, the slight hissing skid as Iceman and Emma Frost moved towards them.

"I do not know. I can attempt to burn through this, but it shall take time." Sunfire turned to the rubble.

"No… I've had enough of this frantic pace. We know where Magneto's going. I don't want to risk staying in place too long. It'll be easier for us to loop around this place. Apocalypse's lair is near the old war room, where the Externals used to meet. From what Cyclops told us, the throne room should be a few floors up only. We should head that way." Emma Frost climbed off Iceman's sled as she spoke, the sled itself melting away into nothing as Iceman siphoned off the mass onto himself, making himself more dangerous looking.

Sunfire nodded, and they looked around the large corridor. There were many exits.

"Hmm… what does that sign say?" Iceman pointed at a sign a few meters ahead, partially hidden by the smooth rock like material that made up the Tower's inner walls.

Emma walked over and looked at the symbol embossed on the signboard. It appeared to look like a stylized O with a thin finger running down it. Behind the symbol was an emblem of a diamond. Emma frowned, and then telepathically contacted Phoenix.

Jean? This is Emma. Ask Scott what a symbol of a diamond, with a circle with a thin line running down it stands for? We've lost Magneto… so we figure heading for the War Room would be a good idea, since Apocalypse is supposed to live right above it or something…?

Emma had to wait only a second for Phoenix to reply.

He says Sinister! That's Sinister's symbol, and… he's saying that it's… those halls are in Sinister's personal chambers. He's saying the War Room is a few floors… three floors below you. Go down two floors, and you'll find a large hall with two massive doors at one end… inside is the War Room.

Emma sent back a telepathic nod, and then broke her link with Phoenix.

"Okay… this is not the place we need to be. We have to go down three floors, and apparently we'll find the war room there easily enough. Now we've tarried long enough, let's go!"

They returned the way they came, heading down three floors. As soon as they reached the third floor below them, they stopped. Quickly choosing a direction they moved, Sunfire again leading the way. The corridor looped around and suddenly they were in a massive hall, dominated by two huge doors at one end. The doors were partially open, and they could see signs of a battle fought inside. They moved quickly, heading for the doors, Sunfire leading them, Nate and Iceman close behind, with Emma bringing up the rear.

"Not so fast, race Traitor!" Suddenly a glowing beam shot towards Sunfire, who just barely managed to roll away form its path. He landed on the ground awkwardly, tripping and stumbling to a halt, desperately turning to meet the new threat.

"Holocaust!" Iceman's voice spewed venom.

The hulking son of Apocalypse stood there, his massive frame of regenerative armor looming over them. Holocaust smiled at the X-men.

"Pitiful, Sunfire. I would have expected more from the sole survivor of a once 'great' people. You are as weak and extinct as your one time countrymen, little fire mutant. I will take great pleasure in extinguishing your flame." Holocaust laughed and held up his cannon hand.

With a speed born of desperation Sunfire lunged through the air, his flame engulfed figure smashing into Holocaust before he could shoot him.

Holocaust was speechless for a split second as they flew through the air, and then he began laughing as the smashed into and through the big doors leading to the war room.

"A foolish move Sunfire. Brave, but foolish! Your death would have been quicker if you had fallen below one of my micro-nuclear blasts. Now I shall beat you to death." As he spoke his cannon hand smashed down on Sunfire's back, the armor not even feeling the heat.

Sunfire yelled in agony. Dimly he was aware of Nate, Emma and Iceman rushing into the room, and of someone confronting them from behind Holocaust, someone who gave them pause, as they hesitated.

Holocaust picked up Sunfire and used his cannon hand to bludgeon him across the face twice, before flinging him to the side.

Sunfire rolled over to his back and watched Holocaust walk towards him. He struggled to get up. Behind Holocaust he saw the others facing off against Apocalypse. The old mutant Bishop's body lay in another corner of the room, and Apocalypse held Scarlet Witch's cape in one large fist, her body dragging on the floor behind him. So Bishop dead, and Scarlet Witch if not dead, then soon to be. Sunfire felt his iron resolve and will crumble below the certainty that they would all die.

The thought was no sooner resolved in his mind that he felt a surge of hatred for Apocalypse and Holocaust. And with that hatred came rage and resolve. If he would die, then he would die fighting! Nobly.

Sunfire leaped to his feet, fueled by the adrenaline suddenly burning through him. The fire around him suddenly tripled in intensity causing Holocaust to hesitate. Even Apocalypse paused, turning to see if Sunfire could truly still have enough fight left in him.

Sunfire let the flames totally consume him, hurling himself at Holocaust, knowing even if successful, he would be burned to nothing by his attempt.

He felt himself strike Holocaust, and Holocaust screaming in either rage or pain. Then suddenly Holocaust's hand grasped Sunfire's throat and pulled Sunfire off himself.

Sunfire's hopes dimmed, and he felt Holocaust's cannon hand smash through his skull. For a split second Sunfire's eyes wept flames, and his body thrashed in Holocaust's hand, until it burned away to ashes. Holocaust loosened his grip, and ashes fell out of his hand, falling to the ground where flame still burnt. Sunfire's mask, broken clear off his face by Holocaust's cannon hand burned as well, destroying the last remains of the one time hero.

Nate, Emma and Iceman watched in horror as both Holocaust and Apocalypse faced them.

x--------------------------------------x

"I must applaud you. I had expected Magneto to be the first to find me. That you managed to do so does you credit. You are indeed fit. Or perhaps it was blind luck." Apocalypse walked slowly to the side, as the three mutants faced him warily.

"Capturing the Witch served two ends of course. Not only can I use her to study the mystic world of the arcane, but I can also inflame you all to the point that you will use your abilities to their maximum potential. Especially so in the case of her father. Magneto has rarely truly used his power. And each time he has, I have found it to be… refreshing. Seldom do I find challenges these days, and what being of respectable sentience can truly claim the title of being the 'greatest' till it has met and bested every challenge brought before it? Only two amongst you are worthy of my interest. The other is of course the one who somewhat bested my 'son', as you may put it. The creation of Sinister. Ah Sinister… A brilliant mind he had. Truly he was among the fittest of the Externals. Immortality brings with it both benefits and drawbacks, the deadliest amongst the latter being sloth. Too much time brings about indolence, which causes weakness. The weak should be culled. Only then can we dominate life, instead of life dominating us! Candra fell prey to this. And so she was culled. Even my greatest horseman, Selene, was in danger of becoming too slothful, with her physical desires. Vanity is another great weakness. For there to be pride, there must be strength, and challenge! Sinister was not a vain man, and neither was he slothful. Indeed he over occupied his time. However Sinister was ever curious about the genetic nature of life, and he strove to create perfection. Perfection is unattainable. That lesson was amongst the first I learned. Sinister did not."

Nate had grown bored of Apocalypse's speech, yet he did not move. His psionic senses reeled with the sheer amount of power resonating within the room. And it was not just Apocalypse, but rather hung around the room in almost palpable form. Something extremely important had happened, something that affected the entire planet. It was that more than any awe of Apocalypse that gave him pause. Well, that and the fact that he looked to Emma Frost to lead them.

She and Iceman had become rooted to their place, and Nate could smell the raw fear in them. However he could also sense the underlying steel of determination. And so he waited. He did not have to wait long. As soon as Apocalypse finished speaking, Emma moved forward a step.

"So you are trying to tell us that you massacred an entire species, and nearly caused global annihilation because of some misguided sense of competitiveness?" Emma sounded incredulous, yet Nate could not sense the shock her words conjured up. Rather she seemed more to be anxious, and only mildly surprised.

"Competitiveness? You do not understand then, I see. A pity. I expected more from you, White Queen. It is not competitiveness, but the desire to reach ones highest potential! And I… I have achieved near perfection, or as close to as is possible. As I said before, perfection is not possible. The lack of weakness is not perfection, but maximum potential. In over five millennia of life I have managed to beat down every weakness and replace it with strength. I believe myself to be near potential. Yet one can never maintain that potential through inaction. Only through constant challenge can one maintain potential, to constantly renew oneself. And through this… I have myself managed to keep-"

"Yeah yeah yeah. We know your doctrine. It's been blasted at us by you for most of our lives. And lemme tell you, ugly, for all your 'maximizing potential' crap… you still look like a dick with lips." Iceman's face, for all his mocking tone, was grim.

Apocalypse's lips curved slightly in a smile. His eyes however were flat, as always. Dull white orbs beneath his massive brow, his eyes were always dull, emotionless. Inhuman.

"Enough talk then. It is time to see whether this young one can offer me any challenge." Before Nate realized Apocalypse was talking about him, Holocaust ran forward towards Iceman, his cannon hand swinging around to bear on Emma. Emma cart wheeled to the side, Holocaust's deadly fire missing her by inches. Iceman bulked up with ice, using it to form spiky very solid looking armor. The air suddenly seemed chilled.

Apocalypse turned slowly towards Nate, his lips still curved in an almost smile.

"Now boy… let's see whether you are all that Sinister created you to be." As he spoke, his smile disappeared, and he seemed to blur forwards. One moment Apocalypse stood halfway across the room from him, near the rubble. Then next, Apocalypse was right next to him, by the door, his fist swinging around faster than his eye could follow. Instinctively Nate's psionic shields fell into place. Apocalypse's fist connected with the formless shield. As it did, Nate felt the shield shudder beneath the impact, as hard as though struck by one of Holocaust's blasts. Apocalypse's fists seemingly struck solid air, but Nate could feel his shield tremble below each hit, and he knew he couldn't take much more of this beating. His thoughts totally occupied with focusing the strength of his shield at the point Apocalypse struck at, he failed to notice that Apocalypse's knee had enlarged into a spiky protuberance. Suddenly he found himself facing three different attacks. The sudden attack at his midsection shattered his focus, and before he could fully recover and put up a strong shield, Apocalypse struck him hard with a right cross. Nate was flung aside, crashing to a halt near Bishop's broken and burnt body. He struggled to his feet, wiping away the blood pouring down his chin. His jaw felt like it was on fire. He swooned slightly, pain threatening to knock him unconscious. He willed away the pain, trying to keep it aside, focusing on Apocalypse, who was already rushing towards him.

Enough defense. No way I'm going to survive without attacking him. Nate channeled his power into a single deadly bolt of psionic power, hurling it at Apocalypse. In his minds eye he could see an intense bolt of glittering energy slam into Apocalypse's chest. As it struck, Nate felt the ground shudder, and realized his psionic power had taken physical form, such was its intensity. Apocalypse grunted, and paused his advance for a second, before shaking his head slightly and moving on.

Nate desperately hurled one after another of the psionic bolts, but each bolt seemed to do less and less damage. He sank to his knee's exhausted as Apocalypse reared above him.

"Now boy… I will finish you. You are powerful, true, but you are untrained, and so, will fall before my might." Apocalypse cocked a fist, ready to deliver a final crushing blow.

With a cry of desperation, Nate channeled all his power to his fists, striking at Apocalypse. His punches struck Apocalypse's midsection, psionic power strong enough to be seen as flashes of light every time Nate hit Apocalypse.

Nate felt wild elation rise in him as Apocalypse was forced back a step by the power of one of his punches. However as he struck again, Apocalypse grabbed his hand, and as he tried to strike with the other, Apocalypse grabbed that too, holding his arms outstretched.

"Enough lucky shots, boy. You are not experienced enough to beat me, and your raw power is no match for mine." He flung Nate down.

Nate was quick enough to prevent from being crushed by the floor, pulling up his shields before he struck the ground. The floor burst open beneath him, sending the two of them falling to the level below.

Nate struck the floor of the level below, and bounced, rising a few feet into the air before falling back down. The surprise and impact knocked away his shields again, and he lay on the ground, breathing hard, looking up at the gaping hole in the ceiling. He felt the ground shudder again, and he turned to see Apocalypse standing next to him.

"You live yet I see. Use your instincts boy, they will serve you well." He settled into battle stance, apparently waiting for him to rise.

Nate took to his feet again, staring at Apocalypse warily.

"Attack me." Apocalypse spoke simply, standing in one place, still in the same ready stance. Nate took to the air, floating a few feet in front of Apocalypse. He tried to focus his anger; anger at Sinister, at Apocalypse, at Holocaust… at all of his enemies, and the monsters who ruled this world. As his anger flared, so did his power. With a cry of rage he shot forward, his power directed in front of him.

This time he struck Apocalypse hard enough to send him flying.

He felt a swoop of excitement fill him. Apocalypse was down. His face settled in a grim fashion. It was time to end this fight.

As he flew towards Apocalypse, the monolithic figure tore out of the ground where he had fallen, and Apocalypse leaped up towards Nate. The two met in the air, where Apocalypse knocked Nate down with a double fisted smash. Nate fell on the ground. Apocalypse fell to the ground towards him, his fist ready to tear a hole though him. Nate instinctively ducked his head and lashed out with his power. A flare of psionic energy, flaring brighter than the sun struck Apocalypse square in the chest, knocking him back. Apocalypse fell to the ground. Nate again struck, this time with hundreds of slightly less powerful attacks, each one knocking Apocalypse back again, preventing him from finding his footing. With a roar of anger, Apocalypse let loose with an attack of his own, a massive surge of energy. It caused everything around Apocalypse to explode, and the shockwave knocked Nate clear off his feet. Nate stood slowly and leapt towards Apocalypse. Apocalypse and Nate went toe to toe, engaging in a fist fight. The blows were strong enough to cause small tremors every time one struck, with hollow booming noises accompanying each punch. Nate began lashing out with his hands and feet, but his attack was slowing, while Apocalypse's grew faster and harder.

Finally Nate sank to his knees in front of Apocalypse, too tired and hurt to continue. Apocalypse stared down at him.

"A fitting challenge you were boy. A pity you were not more experienced. Your instincts served you well. You however are no physical match for me. Not only am I far stronger than you, but I have trained my body for five thousand years. I am the best trained fighter in this world, faster and better trained than any other, including any trained by even the Hand, the one time fearsome ninja's of Japan. I met some of them on their terms, besting each easily, decreasing my strength and abilities to their level. I relished destroying each of them. As will I you." Apocalypse looked down at him, and Nate saw death in his dull white eyes. Nate struggled to one knee, and then focused his power. He needed one more shot!

Nate hurled his power out, focusing on destroying everything around him.

Apocalypse changed his attack at the last second. As Nate exploded with energy below him, Apocalypse set off a controlled reaction. The two powers collided, merged and exploded into something far more powerful. The powerful structure of the Tower, able to withstand the gravitational pull of a black hole, was shook to its very foundation.

Nate slipped into unconsciousness just as the two attacks met and exploded into something far worse.

x----------------------------------x

The sudden surge of power a few levels below him halted Magneto's headlong rush into the depths of the Tower. He paused mid-flight, erecting his shields around him, waiting for another surge. He didn't have to wait long. Suddenly greater and greater surges began to erupt in the magnetic field around him. Magneto felt the field shudder as atomic reactions took place very close by. Magneto realized that Apocalypse had to be below him. No one else could affect the earth's magnetic field like that otherwise.

He closed his eyes, giving in to the flow surrounding him, a flow that only he could command. Pinpointing the exact location of the surges, Magneto used magnetic repulsion to propel himself down at death defying speeds. The surges had stopped now. However Magneto knew that Apocalypse was still below him. And apparently engaged in battle. Fear for Rogue, and the rest of his family made him push himself harder, and he tore through the floors of each level as fast as he could, pushing aside the resistant material with all his strength. Suddenly a horrifically large surge came from below, and then as quickly as it had come, it multiplied in intensity. And it was directly below him. The floor below him suddenly burst open. Magneto stopped his rush, flinging his hands up instinctively as the very walls around him rang like a gong. The magnetic field around him twisted and warped, and for a second Magneto lost his grip on his powers. He fell through the hole into a maelstrom of power.

The floor of the room he had fallen into was almost completely gone, the only clues to there having been a floor separating two leviathan rooms being the cracked and jagged protrusions surrounding the massive hole that had replaced the floor. The floor of the room below was gone as well apparently, having fallen into the floor below… or perhaps two floors below. Where walls had once stood was destruction and chaos. The walls of the newly created battlefield sizzled and sparked with energy, remnants of whatever explosion had taken place. Some parts of the wall were on fire, and wind rushed around, swirling dust around the room. Magneto could make out small figures on the debris and rubble strewn ground far below him. Iceman, Emma Frost and the mangled and very certainly dead body of Bishop. So his plan had failed. Irrelevant he supposed. They had managed to do enough damage to Apocalypse's forces to set him back far enough in whatever plans he had. Enough for many to live. And he would personally ensure the Tower fell today. Closer to the centre of the room though, were those who commanded greater attention from him. His daughter's body was on the floor, unconscious or… he didn't want to think about it. Apocalypse and Holocaust stood flanking the body, and in Apocalypse's right hand was the body of Nate Grey. A battle indeed.

"Apocalypse!" He barely registered his cry of anger. All he knew was that in mere moments he had covered half the distance between him and Apocalypse and he was getting faster. Apocalypse flung Nate to the side and looked up at him, his monstrous face looking up at him with a semblance of… expectation? Whatever.

Magneto slammed into Apocalypse, sending both crashing into the ground. Magneto grabbed for Apocalypse's throat, wanting to choke the life out of this inhuman bastard who had caused the world, and him so much grief and anger. He smashed Apocalypse's head into the ground twice before Apocalypse could regain his bearings. His massive hands grabbed Magneto's wrists and slowly pushed Magneto's hands away from his neck.

"Invigorating Magneto. It was refreshing to see you use such… violence and unrestraint. I applaud you." His lips curled into a slight smile, and then he simply stood up, with Magneto's wrists still in his hands.

"Your power prevents me from crushing your wrists right now Magneto. However it is more satisfying to have a prolonged fight… and ours has been more prolonged than most." He let go of Magneto's wrists suddenly and then struck at him, fast as a viper. Magneto barely managed to block the attack, and deflect the next. The third however caught him on the side and he stumbled to the right. As Apocalypse kneed him in the stomach, Magneto realized that engaging Apocalypse in a hand to hand fight was not one of his smarter moves. He backpedaled as soon as he could, trying to create some distance between himself and Apocalypse. He pushed his hands together and let loose an EMP. It struck Apocalypse square in the chest, making him stagger slightly. Once again, in retaliation Apocalypse slammed his hands together; creating a ripple effect of such magnitude that Magneto was flung back by its effects. Magneto fell to the ground. Suddenly Apocalypse was kneeling next to him, and lifting him into the air. Apocalypse began slamming Magneto into the ground, harder and faster with each slam. Magneto struggled to keep his shields up, but he was getting dizzy, and his control nearly slipped a few times. Magneto finally stopped struggling, and began focusing his energies. Charles my old friend… Rogue… give me strength my fellow warriors, my X-men… With a great exclamation Magneto forced the molecules around him to push outwards, with enough force to crush a mountain. Apocalypse was flung aside, and Magneto fell to the ground.

Magneto slowly stood and saw with some relief that Apocalypse was also slowly rising to his feet a few meters away.

"You bastard… for everyone that has died… but most of all for killing my daughter, I will destroy you." Magneto laced every word with as much venom as he could. Even an extra ordinary person would have been chilled by his words.

"Killed? You believe your daughter to be dead? You presume so much Magneto. Your daughter is very much alive. After all, I have reasons for kidnapping her. It was not to lure you into an engagement. In fact you have nothing to do with my reason for kidnapping her. A foolish reason to lose your head Magneto. You disappoint me."

Apocalypse began walking towards Magneto, the ground rumbling menacingly below him. The field had been changed again by their fight, Magneto saw. Holocaust stood to the side, and Emma Frost, Iceman and Scarlet Witch were on the other side, Iceman holding both woman close. He gave Magneto a thumb up as he noticed Magneto looking. Nate Grey and Bishops body were nowhere to be seen.

Magneto began gathering in his power. Apocalypse had just given him another reason to finish this fight quickly. Magneto knew from experience that he would tire long before Apocalypse would, so a protracted fight was not in his best interests. Gathering all his power to himself, Magneto leapt at Apocalypse again. This time however he summoned all the metal in the room to his side, flinging debris at Apocalypse, before coating his body in a suit of armor molded from the debris in the room. With another cry of rage, Magneto struck at Apocalypse, augmenting his punch. He struck Apocalypse hard enough to make the walls shake. Apocalypse went down on one knee, and Magneto doubled his fists together, ready to smash Apocalypse into the ground like an insect.

Suddenly Apocalypse looked up, and his right fist shot upwards into Magneto's solar plexus. Magneto sailed through the air and fell to the ground a hundred meters away. His makeshift armor fell off him, and he lay on the ground wheezing. He struggled onto one elbow. His chest heaved below his Kevlar and armor chest plate. He couldn't fail… He had to win!

Suddenly he became aware of two other forms descending from above. Exodus and War landed next to Apocalypse. Apocalypse looked at Magneto from across the room. Magneto's heart sunk in his chest. Even if he through some miracle managed to defeat Apocalypse, War and Exodus would easily destroy him after it. And if not them, then Holocaust would.

They were screwed.

x-----------------------x

Nate hurt all over. He slowly opened his eyes. He was in an unfamiliar room. What had Apocalypse done? And how could he hope to match his power? He done his best, but even then Apocalypse had managed to defeat him. With comparative ease. But why had he not killed Nate? Nate wasn't exactly displeased about it… but it didn't seem right to tell him that he would die, and then not kill him. The room he was in was fairly generic. Then again, it was so shadowed it could have a whole circus hidden somewhere.

You really are a foolish boy… The voice appeared out of nowhere, ringing in his head. Nate sprung to his feet; or rather tried to, but his body hadn't become as alert as his mind just yet, and Nate's hands flopped about a little. Nate glared at them, but nothing else really happened. He realized his body was numb. For a second fear of paralysis shook him, but then he realized that feeling was returning to his limbs, albeit slowly.

Come on boy… I expected more from you… The voice rang in his head again, except this time Nate was almost sure he could also hear a sibilant sort of whisper, emanating form one of the shadowy corners… even all the shadowy corners. Was he trapped in here with some telepathic snakes who liked to hide in shadows?

A pity Sinister did not teach you more… A pity you tried to kill him. He could have taught you much. He was not as skilled as I, but he knew a lot. Enough to survive a purely telepathic encounter with Xavier. Not many can claim such a feat. Know me Nathaniel Grey. I am The Shadow King. The voice reverberated like thunder at the end, the title the Shadow King gave to itself sounding like an explosion inside his head… Nate winced and then lashed out with his powers. Psychic shocks slammed into every part of the room, and in the deep recesses of his mind Nate could feel the Shadow King's pain. Small pain, but pain nonetheless.

Enough playing boy. Your mind is open to me. I will take you now!

Suddenly Nate felt an inward clenching and then he felt himself soar out of his body, and all of a sudden he could see the room in a different light. The very walls of the room were covered by a grinning demonic head with shining red eyes, and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. He could see his body blurring away below him, and then suddenly he was in a limitless space, extending all around him, and he floated on nothingness. Brilliant flashes of light spiraled around him. He heard a rushing sound, and then a great darkness loomed before him, coalescing into a gigantic armored humanoid. It wore pitch black armor that seemed to suck in the nothingness into it like a black hole. It had a massive visor and helmet beneath which blazing red eyes stared out at Nate. The being held a sword that seemed to be made of blackest fire in its hands, and a shield made of the same substance as his armor, sucking away the light.

"Welcome Nate Grey, to the astral plane! This is my domain, and it is here that I shall take over you, bending you completely and irrevocably to my will." The Shadow King chuckled, his voice magnified to suit his size.

Before Nate could retort the Shadow King struck, his sword swiping at Nate. Nate backpedaled, and the sword cleaved through the air in front of him.

"Bend me to your will?" In a flash Nate's confusion as gone. It was as if in stating his intentions, the Shadow King had rid Nate of any doubts or panic and disorientation. Within seconds Nate began to feel the astral plane through every one of his psychic senses. He was not just in the plane, he was one with the plane. And in identifying what he wanted the Shadow King had lent Nate focus. The Shadow King was an enemy, just like others. And Nate knew that telepathy was a psychic power, and Nate had never met anyone even close to being his equal in terms of psychic power. As always, Nate let himself go, drowning in his instincts. It was what had always worked for him before. Except against Apocalypse. But this creature was surely subservient to Apocalypse.

He needed protection.

As he thought, he was suddenly encased in fiery armor, and a shield was buckled to his left arm. He immediately thought of a weapon, and a shiny sword that seemed to be composed of the same blue his body was appeared in his right hand.

"So… the boy knows some tricks… do you truly believe you have enough power to take me down? I have more skill than you can imagine! Do you believe your power will save you form me? Raw power can never match sheer skill. And you are not even the most powerful, are you Nathaniel Grey?" The Shadow King's voice was gleefully confident.

Nate began to doubt himself. As he did the Shadow King swelled in size and struck again. Nate caught the blow on his shield, but he was forced back by the strength of the Shadow King. Nate tried to attack with a psychic blast, but he couldn't. Shocked Nate realized that the attacks he depended upon were useless. He hurriedly blocked another slash, but the Shadow King had seemingly doubled in size again, and his sword clove through Nate's shield, flinging Nate back, sending him rolling through the nothingness of the astral plane.

The Shadow Kings struck again, too fast for Nate to parry with his sword, and Nate felt the burning edge of the Shadow Kings blade slice through his left hand cleanly. The pain was intense, and Nate fell, onto some sort of meteor. He clutched his stub of an arm, a glowing blue stub.

Despair overcame him as he realized he could not defeat the Shadow King. Not here… The Shadow King loomed large over him, ten times his size. Looking at his sword, Nate realized it would be of less use than a toothpick. IN desperation he reached out to the only person he could.

He visualized Phoenix, Jean Grey's face in his mind, his mother, and he called to her desperately.

Her face appeared between him and the Shadow King looking at him in worry.

"What is it Nate?" her voice was laced with worry and fear.

"Help me Je… Phoenix! The Shadow King has me in something called the astral plane. I have to get out of here! Help me!" The Shadow King had not moved and was staring down at Jean's head in puzzlement.

"Astral plane? Shadow king!? I know the astral plane but I cannot help you now Nate! We're under attack ourselves! I can help you in one way though! The astral plane is simply an extension of your very psyche, and your psyche is controlled by what you believe! I don't know about the Shadow Kings power Nate, but he is probably a trained and dangerous opponent if Apocalypse has managed to hide him from us! Take care Nate, I'll try to help as soon as I can, but even maintaining a link as weak as this is…" Jean's face vanished mid sentence. Nate looked up at the massive Shadow King looking down at him with an evil grin.

"So… a mothers' bond. The only way anyone could have contacted you when brought here by me is through an unforeseen bond. It only served to prolong your death boy. I shall feed on you and your power for eternity! And perhaps then I can take your mother. Xavier's finest pupil. It will be a taste to remember." The foul beasts tongue snaked out and tasted the air as though relishing a meal.

Nate felt white hot rage flare through him. He had lost Forge to Sinister. Apocalypse had defeated him. But he would make this animal beg for mercy before he was done. And thanks to Phoenix he knew what to do. Willing his arm back, Nate watched in satisfaction as his arm grew back.

"I know what you are, Shadow 'King'. You're nothing but an insect, feeding on your human prey. You live in darkness, hidden in the shadows like a coward. You draw strength from us don't you? I don't know how you get your power, or how you use it, or whatever! But whatever you do, I can do better!" Nate suddenly increased his size to match the Shadow King.

"I see you have finally learned to use the plane… Foolish boy, I am still more experienced than you, and I know the pitfalls of the Plane!" Nate smiled grimly. He didn't know if this would work but…

"Then let's fight outside the plane!" Nate leapt at the Shadow King and wrenched backwards, simply wanting out. Suddenly he heard a great keening, and then he suddenly felt as though someone had plunged him into freezing water.

"NO! This is impossible! You cannot tear your astral spirit through to the corporeal world! This is impossible!" The Shadow King shrunk in Nate's hands, resisting being pulled into the real plane. But Nate had a death grip, and he instinctively knew what to do. Nate pulled again.

"Please… spare me, oh great and mighty one. I will serve you I will… I…" The Shadow Kings voice degenerated to a squeak, and then a wail as they both suddenly got torn out of the astral plane. Nate could see his body still on the floor. But the Shadow King… He was spasming in his hands. All of a sudden the Shadow King screamed, and then his astral spirit seemed to implode, and it was as if the soul was sucked away into nothingness. Nate fell back, and into his own body, somehow instinctively knowing how to return.

He opened his eyes and looked around the room. The Shadow King was dead. He knew it. Somehow he had known how to kill the demonic entity.

Feeling tired beyond all measure, Nate fell back on the floor and rested.

x-------------------------x

Cecilia had found Nightcrawler and Shadowcat heading up from the containment cells, with a mass of mutants in tow, including Mystique, Black John Cassidy and the Juggernaut. Cassidy tended to limp and that drew Cecilia to fret over him immediately. Cecilia was a natural healer, and she hated it when anyone was hurt. Especially when she knew there was nothing she could do about it.

Only moments later an explosion somewhere had shaken the Tower, and the ceiling had started to collapse. Since then she had been leading them from place to place, attempting to find shelter or escape. Shadowcat and Nightcrawler's orders had been simple. They were to free as many prisoners as possible, and generally cause havoc and chaos. Now they had to actually free the prisoners.

Cecilia had known what to do and had immediately sent out a mental cry for help. Phoenix had taught her the trick, of how to contact a telepath if you weren't a telepath yourself. Phoenix had quickly taken stock of the situation and had relayed to Cecilia an update of what had happened as well as on what to do. Now Cecilia led them to the hangar bay, where Cecilia would flee with the freed prisoners, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler would then rendezvous to where the other X-men were, along with Mystique.

Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the great doors to the hangar up ahead. There were no guards. All the guard had been summoned by Apocalypse to fight off the X-men, and many had been wiped out by the fights that had taken place outside the Tower.

Cecilia quickly opened the doors and they entered. A vast array of ships awaited their eyes. Cecilia immediately dismissed the smaller ships and focused on the larger ones, the transport cruisers. Though the ones stored in the hangar were not quite as large as the impossibly large Infinite transports, some would easily store all of the freed prisoners. She turned to face the people with her.

"All right. All the ships should have enough supplies and fuel to let us go almost anywhere in the world. There should be some medical equipment as well. Once we escape I can tend to any wounds or illnesses." She sounded businesslike, she knew, but when it came to being a doctor and saving lives… it was her business.

Shadowcat and Nightcrawler nodded to her.

"Danke, gud doctor. We appreciate all zee help you have given us." Nightcrawler offered her a small bow.

"Yeah, thanks a lot. Now we have to leave you. Let me contact Jean and find out where to go." Shadowcat began frowning, as though deep in thought.

Cecilia turned away form them and began organizing the freed prisoners into some order to enter the transport cruiser. Nearby Juggernaut and Black Tom seemed to be discussing something. Finally Black Tom shrugged, and they turned and walked towards her.

"Listen doc… I know we said we'd get outta here with ya… but well, we changed our minds. We wanna take out the big man with the X-men. So… well you're on your own, can ya handle it?" Juggernaut seemed much like a man who had recently been reformed into being polite.

Cecilia wasn't quite certain that she could handle all the people, but she knew that taking down Apocalypse was more important.

"I can deal with it. Defeating Apocalypse is more important. Do what you must."

Juggernaut grinned at her from beneath his helmet and then he and Black Tom turned and walked away, towards Mystique, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat.

Cecilia shrugged and resumed counting the freed prisoners entering the ship.

Before long Shadowcat had walked up to her.

"All right doctor Reyes. We know where to find Jean and the other X-men. They're all heading for what Cyclops calls the War Room. Jean and Betsy have pinpointed that as being the source of all the explosions. Apparently they were part psychic. Will you be all right?" The young mutants concern touched Cecilia.

"I'll be fine." In her heart however Cecilia worried about her 'children'. Already she had lost so many of them. And she knew that one way or another she would lose more. She knew that Polaris and Havok were twisted by the world around them, a world Cyclops had narrowly escaped. But in her heart they were still the children that she had comforted when young, the children that had dubbed her Cece, when even she had been barely out of her teens. The children were merely a decade or so younger than her, but they were each of them children to her. She sighed. Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Juggernaut, Black Tom and Mystique were already leaving. She wished she'd had a chance for a proper goodbye with all the kids.

She turned away, shaking her head to rid herself of gloom. She had a job to do right now. She could focus on any grief later.

x---------x

Three floors below the War Room Cyclops stopped.

"What the hell?" The entire floor was half covered with rubble, and much of the walls had been knocked down. It was not exactly rubble though. Pieces of the substance that the Tower was made of covered the floor. They had gotten together again, all of them, except for those who had followed Magneto. Phoenix was still worried about Nate, but she knew she could do nothing for him right now. She had tried to reach him again as soon as she had dealt with the enemies around her, but she could not find his mind. This either meant he was unconscious or… Phoenix did not want to even think of the second option. Although she did not know the boy, although she had never seen him grow, had never given birth to him, she had loved her son from the moment she found out what he was, a love that was purely primal, a bond between mother and son, a bond heightened by their similar powers. She knew that she would know when and if he died.

She turned to Cyclops as he stopped. Once they had all met up on the way to the War Room, they had formulated plans and discarded them. Finally they had agreed with Weapon X. They would play it by ear. Somehow unanimously Cyclops had become their guide, if not leader. He was the one who knew the Tower best, and therefore he was best suited to lead them.

"The War Rooms two floors up… But from this I think it's safe to say that the floors above are completely collapsed." He paused thinking for a second. Then he turned to Blink.

"You! Blink. You can teleport us if I tell you where to go right?" Blink shrank back a little at Cyclops's abrupt question, but then regained her composure and nodded.

"Good. Jean?" Phoenix knew instantly what he wanted, his thoughts conveyed through their bond. She quickly linked Blink's mind to Cyclops's. In a few seconds Blink nodded again. She quickly pulled out a dagger and flung it into the air. A small black disc appeared, seemingly revolving. It was impossible to tell since the discs were pitch black. It grew larger in moments, until it was large enough for most of them to jump through. They went through, Rogue and Quicksilver taking the lead. Phoenix knew how they felt. Her son was also somewhere out there, beyond the blackness of the portal disc of Blink's.

Before she could step through however, she felt a familiar presence nearby. She spun around quickly, but she was not fast enough.

Polaris suddenly appeared, and her outstretched hand curled into a fist and pulled back. As though a fist had caught him Cyclops was pulled back and into the air. He yelled in surprise and pain as Polaris smashed him through a wall. The two of them disappeared from her view in seconds.

Weapon X and the others had noticed, but Phoenix turned to them.

"Go! Stop Apocalypse. I'll handle Polaris." She was about to turn back, but then stopped and turned back, to glare at Weapon X who was following her.

"You too Logan! Go, I can do this." Weapon X growled but turned as asked.

Phoenix took to the air and darted after Cyclops.

Weapon X didn't like it that Phoenix was going off alone, but he knew that Phoenix could probably handle Polaris. With Cyclops's help it was almost a given. He was about to leap through the portal when suddenly a scent hit his nostrils. A scent he knew well. A scent that curdled his stomach.

"Creed. You and Blink go," he told Sabretooth and Blink, the only two remaining X-men bluntly.

"But…" Sabretooth protested slightly, but then he caught the scent too. "Right. Put that one down runt."

Weapon X smiled at him.

"The same way I always put you down bub, but this time I'll put that bastard down for good."

He stalked off, with Sabretooth's laughter ringing in his ears, even though he and Blink had disappeared through the portal disc. A disc which had disappeared. He knew that Phoenix and Cyclops could face Polaris. But a surprise attack by the Dark Beast as well? That would be stretching the odds. He smiled grimly. The dark Beast was everything he was not. Something that had lost itself to its desires completely.

x----------------x

The sudden entry into chaos unnerved Rogue for a second. It was as if Blink's teleportation disc had attracted the building maelstrom towards them. Winds buffeted the X-men around her. The ones who couldn't fly began to fall, and the ones that could fly were flung about by the winds they tried to gain purchase in the air from. Suddenly Rogue heard a cry of great effort and suddenly the winds weren't tearing at her anymore. Orienting herself she turned to see Storm in a posture of great effort, pulling all the winds to her.

"Get down all of you; I cannot contain this much longer! It is more primal than anything else I have ever encountered! I must release it!" Storm's voice was cracked with pain. Rogue immediately shouted an order for the X-men to get to the ground. Most had already begun complying with Storm's order.

Rogue had barely touched down onto the floor when Storm let loose her grip on the maelstrom inside and immediately flew downwards. The winds took almost physical form, and Rogue knew that it was no ordinary maelstrom up there. She shuddered remembering the maelstrom that had been created in Wundagore. If that was taking place here… that meant Magneto was nearby! The thought suddenly hit her and she turned about. A few meters away from them, watching them calmly were Apocalypse, Exodus, Holocaust and War. Magneto lay on the ground between the X-men and Apocalypse and his lieutenants. Behind Apocalypse Rogue could see the forms of Iceman, Emma Frost and Scarlet Witch. Before Rogue could say or do anything, Quicksilver darted past her. In a flash he had reached Magneto and was already dragging him away from Apocalypse and his lieutenants.

"Ah, the rest of the X-men. Your leader has already fallen before our might, and two of your strongest allies have been destroyed as well. Do you believe you can stand against my power?" Apocalypse's tone was almost mocking.

Rogue felt her temper flare, and she felt coldness spread through her body. Not the cool of fear, but rather one born of pure fury. Her voice came out emotionless.

"You've tried all that ya could to take down the X-men, ugly. But yoah time is ovah. We X-men knew the risks we ran comin here. And we're all willing tah take whatevah risk is necessary to finish you for good. Even if it means our deaths." Rogue could almost feel the approval and resolve of the X-men around her.

Apocalypse smiled.

"Excellent. The greater the resolve in you all, the greater the flare of passion, the greater will be the strength you employ. I have brought you all to the breaking point. You will fight with all you have, I can already feel your power flare to its potential! This fight will be etched in time as assuredly as the running of time itself. A challenge worthy of being taken up." Apocalypse's smile widened and then he stepped back.

Holocaust began to walk towards them, moving fast with each step until he was running towards them. Exodus and War took to the skies, War unsheathing her sword and beginning a complicated step in midair. Beyond Apocalypse Iceman took to his feet, helping up Emma Frost and Scarlet Witch. Scarlet Witch was in worse condition than the other two, apparently, since she had to be help up by Iceman, while Emma Frost managed to stand on her own. She grabbed Iceman's free arm and Iceman began sledding over to the other X-men using an ice slide, skirting Apocalypse, Holocaust, Exodus and War.

Making sure Magneto and Scarlet Witch were behind them, the X-men got ready for the onslaught.

Holocaust struck first, his micro nuclear blast swathing across the X-men. They just barely managed to avoid it, and Rogue realized they had to take them on immediately.

The ground forces; Juggernaut, Sabretooth, Iceman and Colossus charged forward, Juggernaut leading the charge. Angel, with his leg in splints stayed in the air, behind everyone, aiding the others by watching out for any hidden attacks. The winds were not as dangerous closer to the ground, and Angel managed to stay airborne easily. Rogue, a recovering Storm and Mystique took to the air, Mystique as a pterodactyl, one of the dinosaurs she had seen in the savage land. Psylocke and Emma Frost linked everyone's mind's while buffering them against Exodus's telepathic assaults. Blinks and Nightcrawler teleported in a zigzag fashion, using their powers to get closer to their enemies. Quicksilver and Shadowcat followed behind Juggernaut, Colossus, Iceman and Sabretooth. Black Tom Cassidy stood guard over Magneto and Scarlet Witch, staff in hand.

Holocaust and Juggernaut crashed together, and Juggernaut proved the stronger. Holocaust fell backwards, with Juggernaut on top hand raised to crush Holocausts armor.

Juggernaut managed to hit Holocaust twice before Holocaust managed to get his cannon hand between the two of them and fired upwards, sending Juggernaut flying off him. Holocaust jumped to his feet, but Colossus and Sabretooth were there, punching at him. He barely managed to fend off the attacks when Iceman and Quicksilver attacked, Iceman raining shards of razor sharp ice at him and Quicksilver punching him faster than he could block. Slowly Holocaust was driven back by the assault.

Rogue met Exodus in the air. The two hurled themselves at each other, each trying to knock the other back, but in terms of strength they were evenly matched. Exodus focused his telepathic attacks on Rogue, but Emma and Psylocke managed to block that line of attack easily, knowing his telepathic touch very well by now. Finally Exodus managed to grab Rogue and strike her twice across the face before she knew what was happening. Dazed Rogue slumped a little in Exodus's arms. Exodus smiled evilly, then suddenly his eyes widened in surprise. He twisted aside, but not fast enough as Nightcrawler suddenly appeared behind him and thrust his sword forward. Exodus screamed in pain as Nightcrawler's sword plunged through his right shoulder. Exodus flew backwards, the sword being wrenched out of him as he moved away from Nightcrawler. However before Nightcrawler could teleport and attack again, Exodus let loose with a powerful psychic blast. The shockwave hit everything around him, sending Rogue and Nightcrawler to the ground.

Storm and Mystique flew around War, circling her. War appeared completely at ease though, her sword almost lazily tracing an intricate pattern through the air. Storm watched the pattern warily, knowing that at any moment War could attack with a spell. Suddenly the sword became faster and a glowing rune appeared in front of War. Storm braced herself for an attack, but it never came. Suddenly a glowing pink dagger hurtled into the rune itself. War flew backward hastily as the rune before her suddenly became disrupted. The spell rebounded on her, and War fell to the ground clutching her head. The rune shimmered and then exploded into pure arcane energy. Storm and Mystique were hurled backwards, Mystique resuming her normal form as she fell.

As they all fell, across the room Scarlet Witch suddenly opened her eyes and sat up, as arcane energy washed over her. Black Tom Cassidy watched a little nervously as she stood, took in the melee around her and then made a decision. Scarlet Witch began to float in midair, her eyes flashing with power. Black Tom Cautiously took a step backwards and to the side.

Apocalypse noticed Scarlet Witch get up and he smiled, beginning to watch with a little more interest. Already events proceeded as he thought they might.

Holocaust managed to finally take down Quicksilver, landing a solid punch to the head of Quicksilver, knocking the mutant down flat. He then turned his attention to Colossus. Meeting him punch for punch, and ignoring the attacks of Iceman and Sabretooth as best he could, Holocaust finally stunned Colossus with a massive blow from his cannon hand. However taking him down had cost Holocaust, and his cannon hand had been slightly cracked. Holocaust grabbed Sabretooth and flung him away and met another attack by Juggernaut. Holocaust knew immediately that Juggernaut was far stronger than him, and he quickly backpedaled, knowing that he could not face him in a hand to hand battle. Juggernaut charged after Holocaust who quickly swung his cannon hand around and let loose with all he had. The powerful blast hit Juggernaut point blank. Juggernaut flew backwards and smashed into the wall, close to losing consciousness. Holocaust's cannon was beginning to crack further, the energy inside threatening to seep out. Sabretooth and iceman noticed and immediately took advantage, focusing their attacks on Holocaust's cannon. Holocaust desperately staved off their attacks, realizing that he could not use his powers to help him, not until they cooled down a little.

As they fought, Rogue and Exodus suddenly crashed to the ground, grappling for advantage right between Holocaust and Sabretooth and Iceman. They stood stunned for a second, and then Sabretooth grabbed Exodus and pulled him off Rogue. Exodus immediately turned and struck Sabretooth with a powerful blow, fully augmented by his psychic strength. Sabretooth was hurled backwards. Rogue immediately turned her attention to Holocaust. Before Holocaust could do anything, Rogue had grabbed his cannon hand and began punching his face plate. Holocaust was struck three times before he managed to adjust to the sudden attack. He pulled Rogue off with his other hand. And struck her twice with his cannon hand. He flung Rogue to the ground where she lay dazed. Holocaust pointed his cannon at her, unsure whether he should fire or not. If he fired and his cannon hand was torn apart, his life energy could be destroyed by the explosion of nuclear energy. However he could kill Rogue right now with a single blast.

His indecision cost him anyway. Iceman swung him around suddenly. Iceman had gathered all the moisture around to him, forming a massively strong shield of pure ice around him, hardened to near diamond levels. His whole body was spiky, with razor sharp protuberances, and he had extended his fingers into a scythe like form. He had also created a lance like weapon of ice and he plunged it into Holocaust's cannon hand. Holocaust stumbled backwards, fearing that he would be blown apart any minute. However the ice worked against Iceman, cooling down the flux of energies in Holocaust's cannon. Holocaust smiled as he realized Iceman had solved his dilemma. Iceman, realizing his gambit had failed, clawed at Holocaust, driving the son of Apocalypse backwards. Holocaust however was strong enough to withstand the attack, and he struck back, ignoring the blows Iceman hit. Iceman's armor shattered before Holocaust's superior strength. Finally Holocaust knocked Iceman to the ground. His ethereal death's head grinning evilly, Holocaust aimed his cannon at Iceman. Iceman was too stunned to move and Holocaust's cannon began to glow as he gathered the flux of energies together to create a micro nuclear blast that would eradicate Iceman.

Suddenly a massive hand clamped down on the cannon. Juggernaut had arrived and he swung his other fist at Holocaust. The punch struck Holocaust's already weakened face plate and it began to crack. Holocaust lurched backwards, but Juggernaut had his cannon in a death grip and he continued to punch at Holocaust with his free hand. Desperately Holocaust tried to free his cannon, but Juggernaut would not let go. Finally Holocaust grabbed at Juggernauts hand on his cannon and flung himself backwards, igniting his cannon at the same time. The blast flung them both backwards. Juggernaut landed next to Rogue, unconscious, and Holocaust fell to the ground a few feet from Iceman. Holocausts cannon was almost completely destroyed, and energies began to ignite in his cannon, sending out short powerful blasts. With a supreme act of will Holocaust managed to control the energies. He pointed the cannon at Juggernaut and Rogue, knowing that he could easily kill them. Once he killed them the energy overload would be over, and although his cannon would be useless, he would have eliminated the only physically stronger opponent of his, as well as destroying Rogue.

Iceman realized that even though Colossus was charging Holocaust he would be too late, and Quicksilver was too groggy from the punch to the head to get to Holocaust in time. Iceman knew that jumping in front of the blast would only destroy him and not quite stop Holocaust. Using his powers as never before Iceman froze the entire ground around him for a few meters, including that below Holocaust. Iceman created himself into pure ice and willed himself next to Holocaust, recreating himself right next to Holocaust, traveling through the ice at the speed of sound.

Holocaust was surprised for an instant, and Iceman used that time to grab Holocaust's cannon and face plate. Before Holocaust could fire, Iceman made the temperature around them drop to absolute zero. Nothing could survive in that temperature and Holocausts energy dissipated into nothingness. Holocaust managed to turn his hand towards Apocalypse imploringly before he felt his own life energy begin to freeze at absolute zero temperature. Iceman smiled as he realized he had defeated Holocaust and survived. He felt Holocaust disappear into nothingness, and began pulling himself back.

He suddenly felt intense heat and his eyes widened in surprise. Then he and Holocausts body were shattered by a blast of nuclear energy from Apocalypse.

Apocalypse turned away from the melted rubble that marked the spot where Iceman and Holocaust had been destroyed. One down, and as he had expected the first of his own to fall had been Holocaust. However he had expected Holocaust to take down at least one or two more X-men with him. A disappointment in the end.

Angel screamed in anguish and flew down towards Apocalypse, his grief at the loss of his best friend sending him into near madness. As he flew towards Apocalypse, he felt arms suddenly grab him. He tried to pull away but the grip was too strong.

"Hold yer horses laddie. There's no way ye can take on that cairne."

Angel turned in shock to confirm what his ears were telling him. Banshee looked seriously at him.

"Ach boyo, ye thought me dead? It takes a wee bit more than a slap and a throw to take out ol' Sean Cassidy." Banshee looked down at the battle raging.

"Now stay back here, boyo. Grieve later, fer now jus' handle what ye always do. Meself… I'm gonna kick some arse." So saying Banshee flew down towards Exodus, his mouth open in a scream.

Exodus had grabbed Nightcrawler and was slowly drawing the psychic energy out of him, healing himself in the process. He was not prepared for Banshee rushing him. The sonic scream hit his ears hard and Exodus dropped Nightcrawler, who fell limply to the floor. Exodus had managed to block all of Emma Frost's and Psylocke's attacks, but he was not prepared for Banshee, whom he had presumed dead. The external grabbed his ears, trying to block out the crippling sound.

Banshee stopped to take a breath.

"Ye liked that, didn't ya, ye big leech?" He blew out again and Exodus was knocked backwards, reeling before the onslaught. Banshee grew more and more optimistic, putting more effort into his scream. Exodus was falling back!

Suddenly Exodus fell backwards, deliberately, rolling with the impact and letting his momentum launch him up and backwards into the air. Before Banshee could adjust his scream, Exodus flew at him. Banshee's scream hit Exodus again, but Exodus was moving to fast and he slammed into Banshee, knocking both mutants to the ground.

"Pitiful worm!" Exodus sat astride Banshee and began punching him, not giving him a chance to scream. Banshee felt the dark grip of unconsciousness falling over him. He tried to fight it, but the pain was too strong. As he fell under, he felt Exodus's hands grasp his throat and begin to apply dreadful pressure. Banshee's last thought before he blacked out was that Exodus must be taking his time.

Rat bastard… He did'nae have to take so bloody long…

Black Tom had steadily stepped backwards until he was, so he presumed, a safe distance form Scarlet Witch. Magneto's daughter had begun muttering something in a guttural language, invoking incantations.

Blasted Witch! Black Tom had gotten used to seeing a lot of things in his lifetime, but he had an intrinsic fear of witches, a fear handed down over the centuries in his family. He was wondering whether or not it would be prudent to get the hell out of here when he heard a very distinctive sound. He turned towards his cousin, Sean Cassidy, Banshee. They had never gotten along, Banshee and he; an enmity developed when young had only grown over the years. But in this fight, he and Banshee were allies. Besides, if anyone should ever kill his cousin, it should be Black Tom. Not one of Apocalypse's lackeys. Black Tom carefully skirted Scarlet Witch, heading towards his cousin, who was surprisingly keeping Exodus on his toes.

"Damn, he's better'nae expected. He's even keepin' the bugger down. Och, maybe he don't need me help… ah that's it, he's dead." Black Tom swung out his staff, using it to propel himself faster, swinging on it like he used to in his younger days as a thief.

Exodus was just about to finally snap Banshee's neck, when a staff charged with all of Black Tom's power struck him squarely in the face. Exodus was flung off Banshee. However he landed on his feet and glared at Black Tom who was already checking on his cousin.

"You Cassidy's are beginning to vex me greatly." Suddenly Exodus disappeared in a flash of light. The next moment Black Tom was flung forwards as Exodus reappeared behind him and kicked him in the small of his back. Black Tom fell on his face, clutching his back, which had nearly broken before the impact. Exodus grabbed Banshee and walked towards Black Tom.

"You both managed to catch me off guard. That will not happen again."

He smashed Banshee's body down onto Black Tom's. Before he could do anything else, Psylocke smashed into his back with a flying kick. Exodus stumbled forward, and spun around quickly. Psylocke again kicked him, this time a sweeping kick at his shins, which knocked him down on his behind.

"Enough of this shit Exodus. Us girls, we're going to finish you off now."

Exodus looked up and saw that Emma Frost, Psylocke, Shadowcat and Blink stood arrayed against him. Before he could do anything further, Emma and Psylocke unleashed telepathic attacks on his mind. As he countered those, Blink hurled a dagger at him, while Shadowcat phased into the rubble below him. Exodus was hard pressed. Shadowcat could theoretically kill him, by phasing through his normally near invulnerable form and tearing out his heart; unless he stopped her telepathically. But with his telepathy concentrated on keeping Emma and Psylocke at bay, he was in danger. And Blink's dagger posed the same problem as Shadowcat and Nightcrawler. All three could bypass his defenses.

With the knowledge that he could die goading him, Exodus took to the air, Blink's dagger just missing him. He reasoned that Shadowcat could not reach him now. He furiously hurled back Emma and Psylocke's attacks, but the two worked in tandem, not letting him hit back. And as long as he could not focus all his concentration on telepathy he was not fast enough to block their attacks and retaliate as well. Still focusing on Emma and Psylocke's attacks, Exodus lunged at Blink, zigzagging to avoid her daggers. As he did, Shadowcat suddenly flew up out of the ground behind him.

Shadowcat had used the earth's rotation to give her a boost and she soared through the air, her calculations perfect. Making herself a little more dense, Shadowcat began floating in mid-air, a little shakily, as she had not done so many times before, but easily. She began moving towards Exodus, who had crashed to the ground where Blink had been previously.

Exodus turned and saw another dagger hurtling at him, as well as Shadowcat floating through the air towards him like a pretty little ghost.

Desperately Exodus reached within himself and began using more and more power. Moving faster than he ever had before he flashed towards the two telepaths opposing him. Emma and Psylocke fell to the ground hard, reeling from Exodus's punches. Shadowcat suddenly found her will being turned on her, and she became material falling to the ground. Blink's dagger exploded in mid air as Exodus grabbed it using psychic energy. Once again he lashed out with his psychic power, knocking Blink backwards unconscious, and blood trickling from her nose as her nerves got fried.

Exodus walked up to Shadowcat and began draining her, feeding on her psychic energy. He had utilized his own life-force in the last attack, and he needed to replenish himself.

Black Tom had watched the girls befuddle Exodus for a while, and had taken the time to get himself together and wake Banshee. Banshee had woken up, groggy, but ready to take on Exodus.

They launched themselves at him, Banshee going high, Black Tom low. Exodus fell forward, dropping Shadowcat. But he was up in a flash again.

Black Tom swung his staff, hitting Exodus with all his power, but Exodus seemed to shrug it off.

Banshee's wails had no effect either. Black Tom realized they really needed to come up with a new strategy. Then Exodus struck. Banshee fell to the ground as a psychic bolt tore through his skull. At the same time Exodus struck Black Tom with a powerful bolt of energy. Black Tom lay stunned as Exodus walked up, death in his eyes. Exodus picked up Black Tom's staff and slammed it down hard. As he died, Black Tom heard Juggernaut yelling in anger.

Banshee saw his cousin get impaled on his own staff, but he could not move. Exodus walked up to him as well. Banshee saw Angel fly down from behind Exodus, and got ready to do something… anything. He tried to stand, and managed to get onto his knees.

Angel was getting closer.

Suddenly Exodus took to the air just as Angel was about to strike. Rushing ahead below Exodus, Angel slammed into Banshee and the two fell on the ground, Angel aggravating his knee. Angel clutched his knee in pain, while Banshee flopped about, trying to rid himself of the numbness that Exodus had caused. Suddenly Exodus was above him, crashing down onto Banshee's neck, crushing the cartilage with his armored boots.

Banshee died with a gurgle.

Exodus smiled and looked down at Angel, writhing below him. Suddenly something smashed into him faster than he could avoid. Exodus fell to the ground and looked up to see Juggernaut running at him. Behind Juggernaut he could see Colossus tending to Shadowcat. There was no one nearby, and so Exodus began to feed on his life energy, needing to take down Juggernaut quickly.

Juggernaut and Exodus met, fist to fist, head to head, punching at each other with all their might. Juggernaut was strong, but Exodus had tapped into his own life-force and his power more than matched Juggernaut's. Exodus matched Juggernaut blow for blow, and then began hitting him harder and harder. Adding his psychic might to his blows. Juggernaut fell back, staggering and then to the ground. Exodus smiled slightly, and then moved forward, ready to begin feeding of Juggernaut, relishing the power that would come to him. Enough to replenish his life-force and add to his power. But Juggernaut did not stay down. He got up again, swinging and swearing for all he was worth. Exodus managed to avoid one, block another and strike back, again sending Juggernaut to his knees. But Juggernaut struck him again. And again. Exodus desperately hit Juggernaut with a double uppercut, launching him back into the air. But Juggernaut got up and launched himself at Exodus again.

Getting alarmed now Exodus began draining more of his life energy, and struck Juggernaut hard enough to finally knock him out.

Exodus desperately reached for Juggernaut needing to replenish himself quickly. Before he could however, his brain alerted him to sudden danger.

Quicksilver began running around him, punching every few random moments, but spinning faster, creating a whirlwind around Exodus. Drawing further on himself Exodus struck psychically, sending Quicksilver reeling away and to the ground. Exodus tried to attack again, to shut down Quicksilver's brain, but Emma and Psylocke were up again and they thwarted him. Then they attacked him, again working step by step, attacking in turns to keep him off balance. But he was stronger now.

Emma's attack was blocked, and then returned tenfold, at the same time as Psylocke's was blocked and returned tenfold. They both fell clutching their heads, and only their own shields preventing Exodus from completely destroying them. However Exodus's powers were waning now. He desperately turned to Juggernaut. Suddenly he sensed another danger, and turned to see Colossus charging him. His brain alerted him to another danger, and Exodus erected a force field quickly.

However Nightcrawler simply teleported through it and teleported his sword into Exodus's heart.

Exodus pulled it out and reeled around, feeling his life force suddenly begin to fade away. He grabbed Nightcrawler, and began trying to drain him, but Colossus grabbed him from behind and flung him away. Exodus stood up again and knew that if he did not begin to drain someone he would die. He saw Psylocke nearby, with Emma a little further. Emma… yes, he would take Emma Frost. He began walking towards her, reaching.

Nightcrawler and Colossus were coming closer, readying their attacks. Exodus was only a few feet away.

He wouldn't make it, he realized.

He turned and glared at the two X-men.

"Damn you to hell, you bastards!" And he struck, utilizing the last of his power to completely destroy them, sizzling energy bolts rushing from his hands and eyes.

As Nightcrawler and Colossus braced themselves, the energy slammed into a shield around them. They looked around in surprise; surprise that they weren't dead.

Exodus fell before them, screaming, jets of energy shooting out of his eyes, mouth, fingertips. Then his chest exploded with energy which spiraled up into the air, disappearing into nothingness.

The shield around Nightcrawler and Colossus faded.

They turned to see Scarlet Witch float above them, her power being just able to hold back Exodus's attack.

Scarlet Witch knew that Nightcrawler and Colossus were surprised, but she could not answer them. She was nearly one with her magic, and she knew that her power now was nearly unbeatable.

She turned and saw War fighting with Storm and Rogue, War's magic defense proving too much for the two X-women. Scarlet Witch knew how to stop War.

x---------------x

Apocalypse smiled as he saw Exodus die. Just as he had foreseen, Exodus had proved himself to be all that Apocalypse had hoped. And Scarlet Witch had finally done as Apocalypse wanted. Now all Apocalypse needed was to test how powerful Scarlet Witch had grown. This was why he had kept War by his side. In order to test Scarlet Witch, to bring about her awakening. Apocalypse's smile widened.

x--------------x

The remaining X-men formed up around War. Sabretooth and Colossus hurled debris and rubble up at War, while Rogue, Storm and Mystique attacked her from the air. However War had pulled up a powerful shield, and was focusing on another spell, judging from the intricate patterns her sword was making in the air.

Nightcrawler was teleporting around War, unable to get inside the arcane shield she had summoned to protect her.

However Scarlet Witch was there now, and was working actively to counter War's spells. Her mind felt free and easy, and she felt one with her magic, as she had never felt before. Ability surged through her, and she began contrasting symbols which she did not know, symbols that came from the magic within her.

Scarlet Witch cast her spell, and immediately a searing red bolt shot from between her fingertips and slammed into War's shield. Immediately the shield dissipated. But War had finished her spell.

Scarlet Witch's eyes widened as she realized the spell War had used. She immediately conjured up a shield around her, but she could not do so for her friends. Like a snake, energy coiled out of War and shot into Mystique. As the X-men watched horrified, more coils of energy streamed out of Mystique, and shot through each of the X-men. As it hit and passed through, each of the X-men dropped to the ground, their bodies churning with pain. Finally Mystique fell to the ground, her corpse blackened.

"I have cleared the battlefield, Witch. It is now between you and me." War slowly removed her spiky helmet, revealing the youthful and beautiful features of Selene, the one time Black Queen of the Club Hellfire, and Sorceress of legend.

Scarlet Witch smiled at her, refusing to be daunted, unable to be daunted. The magic in her filled her with power, and Scarlet Witch was confident.

The two began circling in the air, judging, waiting.

War struck first. Her hand shot forward and she cried out an incantation. Scarlet Witch was just able to duck the fiery bolt that War had thrown. Immediately Scarlet Witch countered with a bolt of energy that would confuse and disorient War. However War was far too strong to be taken down by a hastily conjured spell, and she brushed it aside.

"Enough play." War suddenly shot forward, her sword flashing through the air. Scarlet Witch strafed to the side, the sword just missing her, but cutting through her cape. As War passed a shockwave was created and Scarlet Witch was flung backwards.

Her eyes flashing with anger at being caught so easily by War's attack, Scarlet Witch rose to a level height with War again.

As War rushed her again, Scarlet Witch created her own sword and met War's attacks with parries and blocks. However Scarlet Witch knew only the rudiments of sword fighting, and War was an accomplished swordswoman. Scarlet Witch immediately abandoned that tactic and instead began releasing a string of fireballs from her hands. War fell back before the onslaught attempting to knock the fireballs away with her sword, but there were too many, and she stood too close to Scarlet Witch.

War fell to the ground, trying to heal herself. Scarlet Witch didn't let her by showering her with shards of ice. War had to keep on moving. Finally War reached a distance far enough from Scarlet Witch to counter her fireballs, and she began brushing them aside as she had the previous confusion spell. Then War conjured up a shield.

"It is time to end this, Witch." War's tone was curt and emotionless. She began muttering an incantation.

Scarlet Witch's eyes widened as she realized the spell War was about to cast. Hastily she began conjuring up a spell as powerful, knowing that they could both die, but also sure that if she didn't counter War's spell with another as powerful, she would surely be dead.

The magic told her what to say, the magic in her aided her as never before. Scarlet Witch did not know any spells of the magnitude War was trying, but the magic in her did. It was old magic, and it remembered.

Words flew to her mouth, and her hands began weaving an intricate dance.

The maelstrom created by Nate and Apocalypse suddenly ceased and instead whirls of arcane energy descended around the two sorceresses. The entire room became darker as they continued the spells, and the only light emanated from the two of them.

Apocalypse began walking towards them, knowing that this was the moment he had been waiting for.

War released first, the air around her whirling and collapsing, until it was whining at a near deafening level. Scarlet Witch followed an instant later. A rush of energy swarmed towards both sorceresses, tinged all colors and none. Apocalypse launched himself into the middle of the blast, letting the energy hit him. As he did so, he set off nuclear reactions all around him.

The primal energies met, fused and erupted. Both Scarlet Witch and War were flung backwards. But the energy discharge did not blow up the Tower and the miles around as expected. Instead the energy rushed inwards. Laughing in triumph Apocalypse began to leech the energy out of the air, growing larger and larger.

Finally the energy was all gone. The celestial armor that Apocalypse wore was slightly charred, and its instruments were destroyed, but it had served its purpose. For centuries Apocalypse had used it to drain the energies of others, using the energies to extend his own life. And now he had used it one last time. He absorbed the only source of energy he had been unable to for so long. Arcane energy. And it had been so simple. To set the stage for a battle between two sorcerers, or sorceresses, and wait for the ultimate build of arcane power, and then fuse it with energy he could manipulate. And so allow him to take the arcane energies as well. And learn its mysteries. And learn its power. And add it to his own.

Now all he had to do was to drain more from the last remaining users of the arcane in the world. And perhaps find others who he did not know of.

He felt a stirring to one side and turned, and saw the last of his horsemen, and the last of the Externals, Selene – War emerge from the rubble. He smiled. She had served her purpose well. He began to move purposefully towards her.

x---------------------x

Cyclops felt his armor shudder as he smashed through the walls into another room, pulled by the unbreakable grip of Polaris. Finally he was flung against the wall of a room he didn't recognize at all.

He slid down, only to be caught by Polaris' grip again.

"So, dear leader. Finally, we meet in open air. Your betrayal cost us, Cyclops. If you hadn't turned the odds would have been in our favor the night the X-men returned to attack the Tower. The night I lost my father. In some ways, you're to blame for that. Cece tried to make us forgive you… but Cece always liked you best. She's a traitor like you, in the end." Polaris slowly let him drop to the ground, where Cyclops lay for a second, stunned by Polaris' sudden attack.

"Did you really think I'd let you get away with what you'd done? You and Alex, the both of you? You ruined my life, you Summers brothers, and now I'm going to finish this once and for all." Polaris pointed down the room, and Cyclops saw Havok, nearly stripped of his armor, lying on a table. Havok's eyes were closed and he was breathing slowly.

Cyclops's eyes narrowed.

"What did you do to Alex?" he growled softly.

"Do to him? What he deserved. The fool found me unconscious and brought me to where Cece should have been, but she was gone too, turned traitor, just like you. You betrayed us Scott, and Alex betrayed me. So I took out my anger on Alex. The poor boy thought he could get away with it. Fool. As soon as I was conscious I tore apart his armor, and took him out easily. He never knew what hit him. Now once I'm done killing both of you… slowly… I'll take care of Magneto. As a finale." Polaris threw back her head and began laughing.

Cyclops smiled up at the woman he had once thought of as almost a sister. They had all been twisted, but Polaris was now at the brink of madness, if not over it. He had to move carefully, but if he played his cards right, and she didn't try to kill him right out, he could finish this. IN his weakened state, Polaris could finish him easily.

"So much hate Lorna. I never meant to betray you, you know. It happened that way. Kill me if you want to, but spare Alex." Even though Cyclops knew that it would probably be better if his brother was dead, he couldn't really let him get killed. He had made a promise long ago. But he needed to slowly push Lorna into this…

"Spare him? That's rich Scott. If only the tables were turned on you two. He'd waste no time in trying to kill you. He hates you more than anything else Scotty." Polaris smiled languorously. Cyclops had to talk faster, that smile meant she was ready to act.

"Fine kill us then, but what about your real family Lorna? Wouldn't you like to have a family?" Polaris froze, her hand half raised. She slowly lowered it.

"What do you mean?" Polaris's voice was soft, with an edge. It wouldn't take much to send her over.

"As High Prelate and all but Sinister's adopted son I had access to a lot more information than you. I know who your parents were Lorna. I know who your father is." Just enough emphasis…

"Is? You mean he's still alive?" There was enough of a touch of hope in Polaris's voice to make Cyclops feel sick about what he was doing, but it had to be done.

"I thought it would be obvious Lorna. Your mother was a latent mutant from Latveria. She met a mutant who she was so taken with that she slept and conceived a child with him. When she found out that he was a mutant she ran away from him, and reached America, a few weeks shy of when you were born. She raised you as best she could, but she died during the ascension, and you, a mutant whose potential rocked the charts was brought to Apocalypse. He saw the potential you had immediately, and set you up as one of his chief lieutenants' daughter. One who hated another mutant very similar to you. A mutant who hailed from Europe, a mutant who Apocalypse knew could one day be his chief rival for domination. A mutant who later commanded the team of mutant heroes dedicated to Apocalypse's removal."

Cyclops stopped talking and looked at Polaris. Her eyes were wide and her body was trembling. Cyclops wondered what she was going through, and if it would be enough to give him an edge.

"Do you know who named you Lorna? It was all in your mothers diaries, recovered from your house. A mutant she loved had named you, a mutant she referred to as only Erik. A mutant whose description leaves no doubt to his identity." Cyclops trailed off slowly, and watched as Polaris's eyes grew wider, and then her eyes literally sparked power.

Her hand moved as she screamed, "LIAR!" But Cyclops was ready for her, and he leapt to the side as a sheet of magnetic energy furrowed through the spot he had just been standing. As he leapt aside he let loose with an optic blast. It caught Polaris in the side. As his shot hit Polaris however, something else slammed into Polaris, knocking her aside.

Cyclops looked to the side and there stood Phoenix, her eyes burning with anger. Cyclops wasn't sure but he could have sworn that for a second a fiery bird shaped nimbus had surrounded Phoenix.

"That bitch… are you all right?" Phoenix walked over to Cyclops who had gotten up from the floor.

"Yeah…" Cyclops smiled down at her.

Phoenix smiled back and then narrowed her eyes.

"All that you said to her… was it true?" Her voice sounded demanding.

"No. That's ridiculous. The only reason Apocalypse was interested in her was because she was a potentially very powerful mutant. He didn't give a damn about Magneto back then." Cyclops frowned a little, "it could be true though… ah who cares." Cyclops shook his head, and then hugged Phoenix closer.

"We should go back about now shouldn't we? They'll need us." Phoenix whispered into his chest.

Cyclops nodded, and then stopped.

"Wait… Alex…" He was about to turn when a voice interrupted him.

"Yes, Alex. Nice to be remembered brother. I gave you enough time to take out Polaris and spend a little time with your whore. Now it's time for vengeance."

Cyclops turned to see Havok getting off the table, his arms bent at the elbow, and his fists glowing with power.

"It's my time now brother. Thanks to you, that bitch, Lorna won't be in my way any longer." Havok laughed slightly, and then stopped, gazing at Polaris's body almost hungrily for an instant.

"Your time? Screw you asshole." Phoenix focused on Havok, and Cyclops could almost see a shining force wrap around Havok.

"Now, McCoy!" Havok cried out hurriedly.

A gray blur slammed into Phoenix from behind, and the invisible force around Havok went away. Havok dropped gently to the ground and stood straight staring straight at Cyclops.

"Now brother, it is time to end this." Havok smiled and began walking towards Cyclops.

Cyclops raised his hands in a defensive posture.

"There's still time Alex. Forget this business, and come with me, with the X-men. We can defeat Apocalypse. Is death what you want?" Cyclops tried to reason with his brother one last time.

"Death? No brother. I want the power to finish you off once and for all, and the power of immortality. Apocalypse shall grant me what he gave to Sinister and Exodus. Think of it, brother, near unlimited power, for all time. It shall be glorious." Havok smiled, and Cyclops saw the gleam in his eye. Was this what would have become of him, Cyclops wondered. Would he have become as twisted as Polaris and Havok?

"Glory? Nah, that don't suit you kid." Cyclops turned his head slightly in astonishment as Weapon X barreled into the room, leaping over the rubble of the broken wall and leaping straight for Havok. Havok snarled in anger and sidestepped the attack. However Weapon X just kept on moving, and used the table Havok had been lying as a springboard, back flipping onto Havok. Weapon X's adamantium club hand smashed into Havok's back, and Havok cried out in pain.

Angrily he sent energy bursting out from his back, straight onto Weapon X who was flung back by the power.

"You mongrel… I'll make you suffer for that." Havok turned back to Weapon X who had sprawled onto Polaris's body.

"Alex. Enough." Cyclops stood straight, although it hurt his back a little. After being knocked through a few walls, Cyclops supposed it had reason to.

Havok turned back to his brother and stared at Cyclops with a mask of hate imprinted across his face.

"It is time to die, Scott." He walked forward, his fists curling and uncurling.

"No… it's time for you all to die." Suddenly they were all flung to the ground by a magnetic surge. Polaris floated above them, her power nearly visible around her. Nearby the Dark Beast looked up at Polaris with a smirk on his face.

"I'm afraid that sort of thing just doesn't work on me anymore dear." The Dark Beast cackled with glee. He had changed a little. His fur had become spikier, and his hands were more like claws now, with large sharp nails. Half the hair on his face had been burned off, and what was left on his head was no longer black, but silver instead.

"I seem to have… evolved a little. I must thank you Cyclops and Phoenix. If not for your earlier defeat of me, I may not have gained so much. As it stands, I…" Dark Beast was cut off as Polaris flew at him, screeching.

He deftly avoided her, and then kicked her as she whizzed past him. Polaris smashed through the wall.

"As I was saying… I managed to enter the field unharmed, and sought refuge in the chamber of the monolithic being. It appears that it changed me, but I also fear the power supply of the Tower has been destroyed. You X-men have succeeded in destroying the Tower. A pity, the loss of research, but I can begin anew, elsewhere. Apocalypse's death camps will not be able to function anymore, meaning he will soon wear out this body. And so he shall fall. It matters not, since I will then establish my own world order, an order created by me." The Dark Beast began laughing again. Weapon X growled low in his throat and then lunged forwards, his right hand extended to kill.

Cyclops turned his attention to Havok, who was gaping at Dark Beast. Havok shook his head, and then turned to Cyclops.

"He is useless it seems." Havok shrugged and then scowled at Cyclops.

Cyclops raised his hands in a defensive posture. He would wait for Havok to make the first move.

Phoenix got up unsteadily. The magnetic surge had caught her unawares. She had been trying to get a grip on the Dark Beast, but he was changed, and his sudden attack had disoriented her.

She saw Weapon X rolling on the ground with Dark Beast, and beyond them Cyclops and Havok facing off. Phoenix raised her arms in order to grab both Havok and Dark Beast. She had only a moments warning thanks to her telepathy, and she quickly turned and erected a force shield to counter an EMP blast.

"You bitch, I'll KILL you!" Polaris was getting repetitive, thought Phoenix bemusedly. Her mind had no semblance of thought left except to kill. Hatred seemed to envelop her. Phoenix shied away from such a mind.

Her anger growing, and her frustration at the little delays mounting, Phoenix took to the air as well, her power surging through her as never before.

"Who're you calling a bitch, BITCH!" Phoenix beat back Polaris's attacks and countered with her own telekinetic force wave. Surprisingly Polaris avoided her attack easily and hit back harder. Phoenix began to be hard pressed as Polaris threw all her might at Phoenix.

Gritting her teeth, Phoenix erected a stronger shield. And in desperation struck back at the same time. Phoenix had never been able to use her powers in two different ways, but it was as if a sluice gate had been opened by that one act.

Phoenix let her power fill her and struck.

She strengthened her shield and then struck at Polaris from two different directions, while at the same time creating a wall of rubble around Polaris.

Polaris struggled to protect herself from the attacks, but there were too many.

Finally encased completely in rubble Polaris fell to the ground. Phoenix watched the makeshift tomb critically, knowing it was only a matter of seconds before Polaris reappeared, but she needed to formulate a plan.

She looked around and smiled as her eyes lit upon exactly what she needed.

The tomb glowed for a second and then burst open as Polaris forced her way out. She looked around and saw Phoenix only a few feet away from her.

"Die, you traitorous bitch!" Polaris flew at Phoenix, her hands outstretched, her face contorted in hatred.

Phoenix waited until the last possible second, and then threw up the strongest shield she could. Polaris struck her shield hard, screaming as she tried to ineffectually break past it.

Phoenix waited foe the right moment, and then stepped aside, dropping the shield, so that Polaris fell forward and onto the ground. Polaris spun in place and then stretched her hands out, sending out waves of EMP towards Phoenix.

At that moment Phoenix grabbed at Weapon X with her telekinesis and flung him at Dark Beast. Weapon X cried out, startled, and struck Dark Beast hard, who had no time to evade the sudden move. His claws sunk into Dark Beast's fur and flesh. Dark beast howled in pain, but Phoenix had pulled Weapon X and Dark Beast around and towards Polaris and her. As Polaris struck, Phoenix slammed Dark Beast onto her, with Weapon X on top of Dark Beast. Polaris had a second to cry out in shock, before Weapon X sunk his claws into her chest.

Phoenix finally let Weapon X have control again, and he turned to glare at her, still straddling Polaris and Dark Beast.

"Next time you wanna try something like that Jeannie, you lemme know first!" Weapon X sounded a little… off balance. Phoenix loved throwing Weapon X off balance. People like him and Gambit were too self-confident sometimes for their own good.

As she began laughing, Dark Beast suddenly sprang off the ground, right at Weapon X. Weapon X dodged him, and struck Dark Beast a glancing blow to the head with his clubbed right hand.

Dark Beast fell to the side, and as he did Phoenix grabbed him in intangible and unbreakable coils of pure air molecules.

"This is for all the bullshit you've put me through, asshole." Before Dark Beast could say anything in reply, Phoenix slammed him headfirst into a wall. When she was done, only his legs still stuck out of the wall, twitching feebly.

"Not bad Jeannie… you're a little messy though." Rubble still fell from the wall as Weapon X pointed at the ruined wall Dark Beast was in with his claws to make his point.

Phoenix laughed slightly.

A sudden increase in the heat level of the room alerted her to the attack, but before she could erect any real defense, a plasma blast knocked Weapon X onto her, burning some of his skin away and knocking her out.

"Lornaa!!!!!!" Havok ran forward, skirting Cyclops's attack, and watching in horror as Polaris and Dark Beast were finished off. Before Cyclops could prevent his attack, Havok let loose, firing off a plasma blast down where Phoenix and Weapon X were.

During their fight, Havok and Cyclops had managed to get onto higher ground than the others, Havok's attacks and Cyclops's defense bringing them around the room to a spot 20 feet above the ground. The plane they were on had no railing, and a drop onto rubble would likely kill one of them, or both.

Cyclops grabbed him before he jumped down to finish off Phoenix and Weapon X, and knocked him back with an uppercut.

Havok reeled back, and Cyclops took the time to check on Phoenix and Weapon X. They were both down, and his link with Phoenix told him nothing. She was unconscious. Not dead, thankfully.

Cyclops turned to Havok who had regained his footing, and was advancing on Cyclops, with murder in his eyes.

Cyclops sighed, knowing that he had to either kill his brother, or be killed. He had so far maintained a defensive posture, trying to wear out Havok and then convince him to turn. Naïve, was all he could think of that idea now. He muttered a silent apology to his dead parents, and then ran forward.

Havok struck first, a punch that Cyclops didn't even try to avoid, instead taking the shot and striking back with one of his own. There was no finesse, no real technique, the two brother punched and kicked at each other with pure savagery. They locked together in a deadly embrace, trying to rip out each others arms. Havok went for the remaining tube connecting Cyclops's left gauntlet and visor. Cyclops meanwhile continuously struck at Havok's head, powerful blows that made Havok's head ring.

They broke free and leaped back together, punching and kicking again, Havok trying to strike at Cyclops's tube, Cyclops targeting Havok's head.

Finally Havok tried to get Cyclops into a bear hug, and he succeeded in wrapping his arms around Cyclops's hips. He tried to maneuver Cyclops into position, so he could crush his ribs, but Cyclops made it easy for him. He slipped lower, and as Havok began pressing down, he suddenly breathed out, let his chest expand and then suddenly contract and slipped low enough to smash his visor against Havok's nose. Havok let go of him and cursed, one hand covering his nose, which was leaking blood.

"You sonofabitch!" Havok cried out in anger.

"Don't insult mom, little brother!" Cyclops chose his words carefully, knowing the reminder of his kinship, and calling him 'little' would inflame Havok to the point that he made stupid mistakes.

It worked. Havok yelled in rage, an unintelligible sound, and rushed Cyclops. Cyclops sidestepped him, and kicked his head from the back. As Havok stumbled Cyclops finally utilized some of the fighting techniques he had learnt, and grabbed Havok's arm, spun him around, using his own momentum, and smashed his elbow into Havok's nose again.

Havok reeled back, his nose letting loose a fountain of blood. He covered his nose to protect it, and smeared his face with his own blood. Cyclops darted forward again, and pulled Havok forward with his left hand, while kicking his legs back. Havok tripped, and as he fell forward, Cyclops used his right hand to uppercut Havok backwards. As Havok teetered near an edge, Cyclops ran forward and powering up his left gauntlet, punched Havok hard on the side of his head. Havok's eyes glazed over and he fell off the edge, falling down. As he fell, Cyclops used his powers again, hitting Havok hard. Although it wouldn't damage Havok as it would someone else, the force of the attack sped up his descent, and Havok smashed onto the ground, hard.

Cyclops relaxed a little and sighed. He again silently apologized to his parents, and then began walking down the way he and Havok had come up. As he reached the bottom he noticed Weapon X walking over to him, holding Phoenix in his arms. Cyclops walked over to them.

"Is she all right?" Cyclops stroked Phoenix's forehead, brushing back strands of hair.

Weapon X grunted an affirmative, and then handed Phoenix to him.

"One sec, bub." As Cyclops watched confusedly, Weapon X walked over to Havok's body and bent down. Grabbing Havok's head, Weapon X cleanly snapped his neck.

"What the hell was that for?" Cyclops was mildly annoyed.

"Just making sure pal. Now lets go get ol' lips. I don't want the fight to finish before we get there."

Weapon X began walking towards the hole in the wall they had come from.

Cyclops shook his head and followed, Phoenix still unconscious in his arms.

x---------------x

Weapon X burst into the large room the rest of the X-men had gone into only to find chaos.

Bodies lay scattered amongst the debris of the room. Not one room, more like two large halls, the floor of one of which had collapsed, filling the lower hall with rubble and rock-like material – it wasn't stone, neither was it metal, but a somewhat different type of substance – a lot of it, so much so that Weapon X could sense that there was a lot of the lower hall below the rubble. The walls crackled with energy, and high above them a maelstrom thundered. Only one figure stood in the room, that of Apocalypse, holding up the body of Scarlet Witch with one hand, the other pressed against her body. Weapon X could not tell, but it seemed as though Apocalypse was draining her. His heightened senses told him that the other X-men, at least not all of them, were not dead. However the very fact that some were dead, and that the X-men's defeat had been near total, drove him into a berserker rage. Weapon X tried to speak, but a totally animal growl erupted from his throat.

Clenching the fist on his one good hand he leapt forward, the claws extended. Apocalypse seemed a little surprised. So much so that he didn't move in time. Weapon X smashed into him, forcing Scarlet Witch's body form his hands. His claws drove into his armored body again and again, but no blood erupted, which served only to frustrate the animal in Weapon X.

Finally Apocalypse managed to get a grip on Weapon X and flung him off him.

Weapon X landed on his feet however, and ran forward again. However Apocalypse stunned him with a blast of energy that knocked him to his senses.

"I take no pleasure in taming an animal. I will however take pleasure in a battle of skill. I will fight you on your terms, animal." Apocalypse seemed amused.

Apocalypse swelled for a second and then shrunk a little, until he was roughly the size of a very large man, rather than a small giant.

"Now come, feral. Test your skill against mine..." Apocalypse smiled slightly.

Weapon X began circling Apocalypse. His opponent was tricky, and there was no telling that he would abide by his word. Weapon X was self-effacing enough to know that he was no match for Apocalypse normally. And now… in a test of pure skill Weapon X would match himself against anyone, but Apocalypse was the oldest living being on the planet. Who knows how much skill he had picked up over the years?

Weapon X feinted to Apocalypse's left, but Apocalypse made no move. He feinted again, this tie to the right, and then quickly rushed forward to attack Apocalypse's legs. Apocalypse again made no move against the feint, but as Weapon X attacked in earnest, he jumped back slightly, avoiding the blow to the legs that would have crippled a human or physically un-augmented mutant. Weapon X didn't stop moving but followed up with another move, and another, each successively avoided by Apocalypse. Weapon X was getting annoyed, since as far as he could tell, Apocalypse wasn't moving all that fast, just that he was always one step ahead of him.

"Damn you, stop cheating!" Weapon X couldn't help but let the complaint huff out.

Apocalypse… laughed, almost mockingly. He seemed to be in fine spirits. Not something Weapon X had seen much.

"Cheating? I gave my word, feral. I do not renege on it… unless it suits me to of course. In any case, I am not cheating now. I am currently holding myself back to the physical condition of a human that is in top condition, such fitness as would be needed to handle the repertoire of skills at my command." Apocalypse gestured to Weapon X to begin again.

"You're reading my mind. You can't avoid all my moves!" Weapon X was getting annoyed.

"Mind reading? You attribute a skill to me that I do not have… yet. However, I am not using telepathy. I am merely analyzing your posture and assuming what moves you will use next. Your swing on the hunting hawk is a little off. It should be like… this!" And then Apocalypse moved, three kicks connecting square on Weapon X's chest, each kick sending both combatants higher, until the third kick knocked Weapon X down to the ground hard, all the breath knocked out of him. Before he could recover, Apocalypse's heel was above his neck.

"You are finished, feral. I win." Weapon X was confused, how could Apocalypse have defeated him so easily? Only his sensei had ever managed to so soundly defeat him with the moves he had been taught. Apocalypse had performed the maneuver perfectly, as his sensei had.

However as Weapon X finally realized he was about to die, and do anything to stop it, twin crimson blasts struck Apocalypse hard.

Apocalypse staggered back, and Weapon X used the chance to roll back and away from Apocalypse.

"Get away from him." Cyclops spoke with a quiet air of authority, and Apocalypse raised part of his massive forehead, in an approximation of what a raised eyebrow would look like, in amused surprise.

"Ordering me, my rebellious High Prelate? I once had great hopes for you. A disappointment… weak at the end." Apocalypse sneered and turned away, walking away from them. Weapon X tensed for an attack, but then Apocalypse turned and asked, almost conversationally;

"I suppose you have defeated your brother? I would take it amiss had you not yet taken care of him. And that fool Polaris. I know they had some plan with the Dark Beast. I suppose I should thank you, and yet with both Sinister and Dark Beast dead… I have no one to watch over the genetic advancement of this world. I could do it myself… but that distracts one from the big picture." Apocalypse stopped talking.

He then grew again, to the familiar size, looming over them from twenty feet away.

"It is time to finish, X-men, time to be done. I have waited long for this… my ultimate victory on this earth, a testament to victories I have won, and victories I will win."

He began moving forward, raising his hands slowly. Weapon X tensed, and felt Cyclops tense beside him.

"NO!" Suddenly the ground a few yards to Apocalypse's left seemed to erupt as Magneto rose up. Weapon X had barely noticed him, half buried as he had been.

"I am not finished yet butcher, and neither are my X-men!" Magneto gestured and suddenly pieces of debris floated to him, coating him in armor. His eyes shone with the amount of power he was wielding.

"I have given myself over completely, you understand Apocalypse? Completely. I am my power. I am the very bedrock, the very foundation of this worlds existence on which all psionic energy allows life to grow. I am your bane!" Suddenly Magneto flashed with power, and the maelstrom above began growing wilder, the sound tearing at Weapon X's heightened senses. Magneto raised a hand and then the maelstrom expanded and suddenly shrunk, imploding from inside as it did. A rain of energy swirled out, and Weapon X felt his adamantium skeleton move inside him. His hair was standing on end, and the animal in him wanted to howl with fear and confusion.

The rain of energy struck Apocalypse, driving the behemoth back. For an instant Weapon X thought he could see anxiety on Apocalypse's face, and then it was replaced by cold determination. Weapon X knew that look.

Magneto's rain continued to drive Apocalypse back, but now it seemed to be pushing him back only rather than hurting and driving him back.

Magneto dropped his hand, and Apocalypse still stood strong, though slightly bent. Whatever it was Magneto had done, it had hurt Apocalypse.

"Feel my might demon." Magneto gestured again and the Tower shook as something was pulled into it. Suddenly the walls were torn apart as huge ships tore through them. Apocalypse's infinite carriers… Magneto had raised them from the wrecks they were outside and brought them in. Magneto had never shown this much power before… Weapon X wondered exactly what Magneto had meant by 'giving' himself to the power.

"Not just his." As the ships swept by him and Cyclops, Weapon X saw the X-men begin to rise. Rogue flew up nearby her husband while speaking, and the other X-men rose from the ground. It wasn't heroic in the sense of stories where men and women rose up as though given new life. It was men and women standing on their last legs. Colossus stood by Angel, supporting the winged mutant. Angel's leg was clearly broken. Nightcrawler and Shadowcat stood nearby, back to back almost using each other as support. Sabretooth held Blinks body in his arms. She wasn't dead, just out cold. Storm rose proudly into the air. Quicksilver was already kneeling by his sister, too close to Apocalypse for comfort really. Psylocke and Emma stood holding onto Juggernaut's arms using the tireless giant as support. The X-men were up, but they were almost finished. Magneto had woke them up? Weapon X didn't know.

No stupid. I did… Weapon X would have recognized that tone anywhere. Jean… no Phoenix was up. And ready to fight. But how had she woken them all up?

"I just did Logan. WE all do what we must, you and Scott both taught me that." Weapon X turned slightly to see both Cyclops and Phoenix standing nearby, shoulder to shoulder. She turned her head towards Cyclops and he nodded.

"You stand with us Logan. Attack, we'll cover." Then she pressed her hand to her forehead, and Weapon X heard her voice in his mind, and he knew that everyone else heard it too.

It's time to really take the fight to this monster, X-men. I'll keep us linked, along with Psylocke and Emma. We just need to wait about 2 seconds… yeah that's it, here he comes. The last bit smacked of pride, and then the ground right in front of Apocalypse burst upwards, and a blur of pure golden shot out of the ground.

Before Apocalypse could do anything it struck him, hard and Apocalypse fell back onto one knee. The golden blur shimmered and resolved into Nate, with glowing nimbus of energy around him. One of his eyes was emitting a constant golden light, much like Magneto's eyes were emitting Magnetic light, but Nate's was much brighter.

"Now! Attack!" Magneto's command sprung them like tightly wound coils. Out of the corner of his eye as he sped towards Apocalypse, Weapon X saw Sabretooth put Blink down before running forward, snarling as well. Colossus ran forward as did Juggernaut, bearing down on him from two sides. Nightcrawler grabbed Shadowcat and disappeared. Rogue flew towards Apocalypse, while Storm gathered her wind around her. With the outside atmosphere open to her, the wind-rider was able to use her power more effectively. Cyclops held Phoenix's hand with his un-powered gauntlet hand, and raised his other to point at Apocalypse. Phoenix's other hand was raised to her head, as were Emma's and Psylocke's. Rogue swooped down on Apocalypse, while Quicksilver ran from the other side, his features twisted in vengeance.

Apocalypse laughed once as they rushed him. Then there was too much chaos for laughter. Weapon X reached him first, striking hard, but Apocalypse managed to swat him aside. Weapon X bounced, but managed to land on his feet. He snarled once and ran back. Colossus reached him next, managing to get a hit in, before Apocalypse struck him away. Colossus fell backwards, but also got up again. Sabretooth reached him at the same time as Quicksilver and he clawed at Apocalypse and Quicksilver began running in a circle around Apocalypse, but far enough away to not draw Sabretooth into the circle of wind he was creating. Apocalypse finally managed to knock away Sabretooth, just in time to get flung back by Juggernaut. The two went head to head, and for a second Juggernaut seemed to gain the advantage, knocking Apocalypse down to one knee again. But Apocalypse got up with an uppercut knocking Juggernaut back, and struck again three times in quick succession, so that Juggernaut was flung back. Rogue hit him next, while Quicksilver continued to run around. Rogue managed to dart under his hands as he reached for her, and struck him hard below the chin. He seemed to absorb the punch however, and struck back, crumpling her to the ground in front of her.

Nightcrawler and Shadowcat suddenly appeared, Shadowcat turning Rogue immaterial, and Apocalypse grabbed only air as he clawed at the spot Rogue was. Nightcrawler grabbed them as Apocalypse raised his fist to use some energy attack, and bamfed them out as the energy erupted from Apocalypse's hands.

Stop Logan. It's our turn. Phoenix was commanding and Weapon X realized they were all moving in perfect co-ordination.

Magneto, Storm, Cyclops, Nate and the three telepaths all aimed at Apocalypse, and let loose. As they did, Quicksilver rapidly decreased the radius of his circle, and spun Apocalypse into the air. As he did, lightning struck Apocalypse, followed by two crimson beams, and a blast of Magnetic energy. Something unseen struck at Apocalypse again, as Weapon X saw him flinch. And then Nate struck, almost tangible psionic energy rushing from his hands to strike at Apocalypse.

As the attacks ceased, Quicksilver stopped running and ran to his step-mother, who was crouched nearby Scarlet Witch, who Shadowcat and Nightcrawler were raising up to a sitting position. It was good to know she was alive.

Apocalypse fell hard, and for a second there was no movement. Weapon X was seized by an impossible hope. But then Apocalypse stood again, seemingly unhurt. However his face was twisted in rage… and maybe excitement...?

"I have rarely faced such an attack, such determination. Such… force of will to match mine. Too little too late." Weapon X was coming to another conclusion about Apocalypse. The monster, rumored to be mostly silent and intimidating, was fairly talkative. Still intimidating though.

Apocalypse suddenly struck three times in succession. He slammed his hands together in the air, sending vibrations through the air, disorienting Magneto, Storm and Nate, and then slammed his fists into the ground, sending out a shockwave that toppled over anyone on their feet. He followed this by raising his hands which flexed once. Suddenly an explosion occurred there, and energy smashed through everyone in the room.

Cyclops coughed and spat out blood, rising shakily to his hands and knees. He had bitten his tongue. He looked around and saw Phoenix rising to her feet shakily. Her telekinetic shield had spared her much of the assault of the explosion… likely caused by a fusion reaction… Apocalypse knew how to use those with deadly efficiency. He looked around to see most of the X-men rising to their feet, but Angel, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler were down. Cyclops doubted they were dead, the explosion had not been that bad. Sabretooth and Weapon X were already running towards Apocalypse again, while Magneto was taking to the skies. Emma and Psylocke seemed no worse for wear either. For a moment Cyclops couldn't find Nate, and then he breathed in relief as he found him, and then his throat constricted again. Nate was heading right for Apocalypse, and this time Apocalypse was grinning openly, almost welcoming Nate. Juggernaut and Colossus were both standing again, although Colossus was a little woozy. Scarlet Witch was back up, as was Rogue. Quicksilver was supporting his sister. Near Magneto, Storm rose into the air as well. 14 X-men still stood and fought. Cyclops reached for Phoenix's hand again. Her small hand firmed around his large gauntleted one, and squeezed briefly.

Nate smashed into Apocalypse, and both of them were suddenly in the air, grappling. How Nate could grapple with someone three times his size was beyond Cyclops, but he was. Then Cyclops saw Nate gesture to his side and suddenly a blazing rod of psionic flame was clasped in his hand. He struck at Apocalypse, who winced as the rod struck him. A weapon that could hurt him! Cyclops felt proud, but knew Apocalypse would see Nate as the most dangerous enemy now.

Cyclops and Phoenix struck as one, two crimsons beams from Cyclops, and a telekinetic representation of Phoenix's power, a fiery bird… fitted to her new codename. Nate dodged to the side just in time and the bird and the beams hit Apocalypse hard. Apocalypse stumbled slightly, and then straightened and began laughing. The X-men attacked again, Weapon X and Sabretooth running around him, hacking and clawing, while Storm struck with ball lightning. Colossus and Juggernaut hit him from two different sides, and Magneto hit him intermittently with EMP and energy beams. Meanwhile Rogue and Quicksilver helped Scarlet Witch get back to her feet and were talking to her.

Suddenly Phoenix's voice was in his head again.

Okay, we'll be hitting him through ranged attacks now. Keep him off balance guys, Wanda's going to go for a big spell…

The X-men struck again, attacking and attacking without any respite. As Apocalypse knocked one X-man away, another took his place. Sabretooth was flung away, and Weapon X took his place. Apocalypse threw Weapon X to the side, and Rogue darted in to hit him a few times. Apocalypse swatted Rogue aside, and Quicksilver was there, trying to hit him hard enough to hurt. Colossus and Juggernaut continued to pummel him from either side, and Apocalypse was slowly lagging in his responses and attacks. They were doing it! With a massively powerful blow Juggernaut finally knocked Apocalypse down. Rogue, Colossus and Juggernaut beat on the fallen Apocalypse, until Cyclops couldn't see Apocalypse anymore, so deep was he buried in rubble and debris. Suddenly Juggernaut and Colossus's arms stopped moving, as though caught in a vice. They were flung aside, and then Apocalypse began to grow. He was suddenly nearly twenty feet tall, and he kicked Rogue aside contemptuously. Quicksilver stopped attacking, and darted away before he could be crushed.

Magneto and Storm just began attacking harder and faster, as did Cyclops, and he could feel Phoenix attacking too. He assumed Emma and Psylocke were attacking as well. Nate was there again, and he struck with his rod, again causing the most damage. Then Cyclops saw Nate attempting a sort of combination maneuver, and realized that Nate knew how to wield his staff… in much the same way as Gambit had. Indeed Nate seemed to be using the very moves Gambit did. He wondered how he had learnt them. Nate hit Apocalypse three times in rapid succession, staff blurring into a circle of energy, and then struck at Apocalypse with a beam of energy as wide as the circle made by the staff. As the flash of light died out Cyclops saw that Apocalypse was still standing. Laughing he grabbed Nate in his huge hands and flung him down, and was about to crush him, when suddenly Magneto was there.

Magneto grabbed his leg and pushed back. Apocalypse pushed harder and Magneto was driven back. Suddenly Juggernaut was below him and he pushed up, as did Rogue, and then Apocalypse was pushed back and up.

The behemoth crashed to the ground, sending up a cloud of dirt.

Cyclops looked to the side as a humming grew. Scarlet Witch floated in the air, her hair flying around her and her eyes glowing with power. Strange chants echoed along the walls, a haunting verse, and Cyclops felt the hair on his hands and nape stand on end. Apocalypse stood and looked at Scarlet Witch. He began running towards her, knocking everyone out of the way. Magneto tried to hold him back, but Apocalypse smashed past him easily, and knocked Juggernaut down as well, by simply using Juggernauts own momentum to trip him up. He jumped into the air, but Scarlet Witch was done. Hundreds, or rather thousands of red tendrils suddenly leapt out of thin air and rushed towards Apocalypse. Smashing into him, and disappearing into him. Within a few seconds all the tendrils had gone into Apocalypse who was glowing red. Explosions began to take place all over Apocalypse's body, glowing balls of fire and energy of all other colors exploding on and inside Apocalypse. He fell to the ground and a strange rune suddenly began glowing below him. It began to rotate, and another superimposed on the first rotated the other way. Suddenly the walls thundered and the top of the Tower was split open as a beam of pure white light fell from the heavens and hit Apocalypse. The X-men were flung back.

Magneto shook his head to get rid of the after glare still stinging his eyes. He looked around. Nate was down, as was Quicksilver. Colossus was struggling to stand, but then collapsed. Rogue was moving, and Emma, Cyclops and Phoenix seemed to be much better off than the others. Psylocke was down. Apparently she had been in front of Emma when the light struck. Cyclops and Phoenix were hurrying towards Nate now. Storm was fine in the sky as well. Juggernaut was helping Sabretooth and Weapon X up, but far away. Magneto searched out his daughter and saw her still hovering in the air.

Slowly Scarlet Witch descended. Her eyes were still glowing, and her hands seemed to blur as she moved.

Magneto floated over to her, and she looked at him blankly.

"I feel… I feel funny father. I have never tried such a strong spell before." She stumbled, but before Magneto could catch her she was upright again.

"You'll be fine my dear. You have made me proud. It's over." Magneto tried to hug her, but Scarlet Witch drew back.

"Over? No… it's not over just yet." She pointed behind him, and Magneto turned slowly. Could Apocalypse have survived even this?

Apocalypse had. He was climbing slowly out of the hole he had been blasted into. His armor was blackened in many places, and his face was torn. Magneto could see parts of his skull beneath his forehead.

"You… have hurt me more than I have ever been hurt in my five thousand years of existence. I was right to want this power… And I will have it!" Apocalypse began moving again, and before Magneto or Scarlet Witch could react, a beam of intense energy shot out of Apocalypse's eyes. It struck Magneto, knocking him down. Scarlet Witch began preparing a spell, but Apocalypse was suddenly looming over her. He shrunk to his normal size again, but he was still nearly twice her height.

"Not this time." Magneto tried to stand, but his legs felt like rubber. Whatever had hit him, he had been slowed down, and …

Magneto wanted to scream but he couldn't. Apocalypse struck Scarlet Witch hard. She fell back, but then suddenly she was growing to match his size.

"Try me now, monster." Her voice was detached and cold. The two went at it, but Magneto could see immediately Apocalypse was clearly dominant.

The two fought, and as they did, fire and beams of energy flew everywhere. Each blow they struck shot out sparks of energy.

Scarlet Witch tried to curse him, to hex him, but Apocalypse was always too fast.

"I have faced and defeated a sorceress before… and she was far more experienced. You stand no chance." Apocalypse sounded grimmer than death. And then he latched onto Scarlet Witch. Before she could do anything, his hands burned once, and then her eyes widened. She tried to scream, but it was too late.

Her mouth erupted with purple fire, and her eyes shot out gouts of flame. Apocalypse flung her away and she fell, her eyes burned away, leaving only sockets, smoke rising slowly from her mouth.

"I have been weakened Magneto… but I know you are at your strongest now, even though you too hurt. Come!" Apocalypse turned and Magneto rushed him, screaming in rage.

Magneto and Apocalypse exchanged blows, Magneto striking harder and more furiously than she had believed possible. Phoenix could see them almost blur as they fought. Her senses were still spinning. For some reason her power level had jumped up crazily, especially after the fight with Sinister and the fight with Polaris, Havok and Dark Beast. She was far more aware of everything around her, as well as others thoughts.

The X-men gathered their strength. The battle between Magneto and Apocalypse was too close, too furious for any to consider joining. She turned her attention back to Cyclops and her son. Nate was breathing slowly, but surely. That was a relief. She could feel Nate's awareness… feel his condition. He was hurting, but he would be fine. Cyclops was also fine, he was barely winded. He was a little saddened, but then he had had to kill his own brother. He was hard in many ways, much harder than her, but she knew that like everyone, he was vulnerable in some places. Cyclops finished making a make shift resting place for Nate and then turned to her, getting up slowly.

"He's not falling Jean. Even he showed have been done by now. No one has such a vast supply of mutant energy, no one… Unless he's feeding himself somehow." Cyclops sounded thoughtful. Phoenix knew the answer though. She didn't know how, just that it was part of this power she had begun manifesting.

"It's his manipulation of molecules. Every time he sets of an explosion, he creates a lot of energy. But to keep that energy form destroying everything around, like a nuclear bomb would, he draws some of the energy into himself. He constantly replenishes himself. That's why we need to get away from him, fight him not from close quarters but ranged." Phoenix knew that now… and she needed to figure out how to implement it.

Suddenly Cyclops was there in her mind. Their link was two way.

Leave implementation to me. Magneto's in no shape to lead right now, he's interested in vengeance. He's still our strongest ranged member. We need to break that fight. Cyclops sounded calm, and somehow completely in his element.

The other X-men were slowly getting up, but some didn't stand after the first attempt. Rogue, Juggernaut, Sabretooth, Weapon X, Storm, Emma Frost and the two of them were all who were left standing. The others were either unconscious or dead.

"Link us all Jean." Cyclops's voice held an air of command.

Phoenix put her hands to her head, and then contacted Emma. Together the two of them used their power to telepathically connect everyone, excepting Magneto who was too focused on Apocalypse to care.

Cyclops spoke to everyone in her head, quickly outlining what needed to be done.

We need to hit him with ranged attacks. Rogue, Weapon X, Sabretooth and Juggernaut… you'll have to hit him hard but fast. Don't stick around, just get in and out. Keep him distracted from Emma, Storm, Jean and I. We'll be hitting him from the back. We need to deplete his energy sources, or we'll never win. And every time he's engaged in close quarters he uses a controlled nuclear explosion, which only increases his strength and energy. If we can keep at it for a while, we can take him out. Right now though we have to get him away from Magneto. Rogue, appeal to him with Emma's help. The rest of you, we'll have to break them apart. Cyclops finished talking. Rogue eyed him for a moment. Technically, she was Magneto's second. Still, she nodded agreeing with Cyclops's plan.

They faced the battle raging in the middle again. Magneto was still brutally attacking Apocalypse, but his attacks were getting slower, while Apocalypse took it, only sporadically hitting back. Each of Apocalypse's hits was delivered with the same precise speed and strength, and it was more like he was slowly wearing out Magneto, than from any exhaustion on his part.

They began attacking, trying to break the two combatants apart, but neither Apocalypse, nor Magneto seemed to budge from any attack.

Finally Weapon X, Juggernaut, Sabretooth and Rogue went in to rip the two of them away.

Suddenly Apocalypse began to speed up his attack, landing two solid blows that drove Magneto down, and then letting off another nuclear blast as soon as the four X-men got close.

Magneto was just able to get his shields up, but the others were flung away, Sabretooth the closest smashed into Juggernaut and the two of them collapsed near the doorway they had all entered from. Weapon X fell, his skin and flesh again burning. Rogue was mostly unmarked, and she was getting up again soon after the explosion. Juggernaut got up too, but Sabretooth was unconscious. Even Weapon X had trouble getting to his feet.

As they fell, Magneto rose again and smashed his fist into the ground right in front of Apocalypse, creating a huge magnetic wave that spread outward for a few meters before dying out. Where he struck however a huge pillar of energy erupted from the ground, driving back Apocalypse. Magneto rose in the air above the temporarily downed Apocalypse like an executioner.

"For all you have murdered, for my daughter, for this world… I will destroy you utterly." Magneto sped downward, his eyes spitting magnetic energy now. His hands glowed as bright as the sun, and Phoenix had to shield her eyes. The very air around him began to ripple and flux, as though caught in a maelstrom. As he crashed into Apocalypse, Apocalypse smashed his hands together, and another explosion took place, not so controlled this time. A great ball of fire erupted, surrounded by crackling energy and lightning. The ball of fire bloomed and then collapsed, the energy around it seemingly pushing it down. It knocked them all off their feet, and sent Phoenix flying. Magneto slammed into the ground a few feet away, and the energy dissipated to reveal a large hole where Apocalypse had been.

Is it over? Phoenix wasn't sure. Could Apocalypse have been defeated, after all this time? Phoenix didn't know. She tried to stand up, but the ground seemed to lurch beneath her feet. Maybe she was just dizzy, but she could swear she couldn't stand properly.

Rogue got up again and began walking slowly, and very unsteadily to where Magneto lay. Phoenix didn't think Rogue could move any faster.

Nearby Weapon X stirred, and began rising. Juggernaut stood slowly, lifting Sabretooth in his arms. Sabretooth kept on slipping, although Juggernaut held him tight. Storm took to the air, but almost at the same began diving down. She crashed next to Phoenix.

"What is going on? The very earth and the winds are impossible to navigate right now… By the Goddess… I hope this is the end."

Cyclops rose from the one knee he had been driven to, nodding agreement with what Storm had said. Even he seemed unbalanced even though he stood with a firm stance.

Magneto slowly moved as well, his shattered helmet falling to the ground. He got onto his hands and knees. His eyes seemed glazed over, and they weren't shining anymore. Phoenix felt hope rise in her chest.

Suddenly the ground rumbled, and then a figure shot out from under the hole. Apocalypse roared in fury as he landed on his feet next to Magneto.

"NO!" Rogue screamed and began running, or trying to, but she couldn't place her feet properly, and ended up tripping more often than not. Phoenix was stunned into inaction.

Apocalypse grabbed Magneto by the neck and lifted him into the air.

"So finally, your power is almost gone. The magnetic currents here have been almost entirely displaced. Can you not feel it X-men? The very earth no longer holds you securely. It will realign in a matter of seconds. But that is all the time I need. My plan worked brilliantly. Force Magneto to utilize his power to the limit, shaping the very current of this place. And then set off a nuclear explosion in the center of it. His power was ripped away from him, and lost for a few seconds.

When it returns he will be too weak even then to erect even the weakest of shields." As he finished speaking he raised Magneto above his head and then smashed him down hard. Most of Magneto's hips and back smashed into Apocalypse's upraised knee, and Magneto screamed in pain. Apocalypse tossed him to the ground and then stamped his boot onto Magneto's back again. Phoenix could hear the sound of bone being shattered. Magneto flopped around below Apocalypse. Laughing Apocalypse placed his hand behind Magneto's head.

"Farewell, old enemy. First Xavier, then the High Council, and now you. The only real threat to me dies with you." Apocalypse's hand began to glow.

Phoenix broke free of the paralysis that had caught her and raised her hand, to do anything, to stop him. Cyclops beside her tried to focus a target, and shot his optic blast. Storm hurled ball lightning, and Phoenix could sense Emma hurling telepathic attacks at Apocalypse. Juggernaut and Weapon X were on their feet, and making their way to Apocalypse, still lurching but not as unsteady as before. Rogue began to scream in horror.

There was a small flash, and then Magneto's eyes and mouth burst open as energy shot through his head. Magneto's head flopped down, his eye sockets burning in almost the same way as his daughter's had.

Rogue's scream turned into a wail of horror. And ironically, the magnetic current stabilized at that moment. Rogue's sluggish movements became fluid suddenly. She stumbled and fell at Apocalypse's feet, near her husband's dead body.

Phoenix was knocked off balance, as was Cyclops, both falling back. Juggernaut kept on moving, mainly because he was not so much affected by the change in magnetic currents. Weapon X also stumbled, but kept on moving, regaining his balance quickly. Storm was already taking to the air. Emma had fallen, and was trying to get up.

The still standing X-men attacked savagely, including her. They struck at Apocalypse blindly, hitting him with all they had. Except Rogue who only crawled to her husband. Juggernaut and Weapon X leapt at Apocalypse. Weapon X hacked at his head, while Juggernaut punched him backwards, away from Rogue and Magneto's body.

Rogue was crying, holding Magneto tightly to her.

Cyclops was shouting something but Phoenix could not tell what. The bond pulsed with urgency, but she was too angry right now. Apocalypse had already killed so many, directly or indirectly. She wanted it to end. She felt the power in her burgeon, but she held it back, unconsciously knowing that to let loose would lead to disaster.

Cyclops suddenly grabbed her left arm.

"Stop it Jean! This isn't the way to kill him! We need to hit him strategically, keep him off balance. Not attack the same way again and again. That will set up a pattern. We need to break free of any pattern. Get this into everyone's heads!" Her sudden rage died, and she nodded. Cyclops left her hand then and began to charge up his gauntlet.

STOP! We have to work with the earlier plan. Weapon X, Juggernaut, short and sweet. Storm, Emma, we need to hit him hard and in different ways. Move around, make him waste energy. Phoenix's message was the equivalent of a thousand man fanfare. The X-men got it, each gripping his or her head for a few seconds. Apocalypse used the time to push away Juggernaut and Weapon X, but the two jumped back on him, and then Storm and Cyclops began striking at Apocalypse in the spaces Weapon X and Juggernaut left. Phoenix and Emma waited for the instant to strike, and hit him telepathically whenever he was weakest there. Phoenix began hitting him telekinetically as well, psionic strikes that made one of her eyes glow like Nate's had.

They kept attacking for a bit, and suddenly Phoenix realized Apocalypse was tiring. And she could feel other X-men stirring. Including Nate. She felt hope surge in her. They could do it!

Cyclops rolled closer to Apocalypse and shot him hard with his visor and his gauntlet. He began rolling back quickly, and his hands were moving, telling them where to hit, and how to hit. His plan was working.

And then suddenly with a cry of rage, Apocalypse threw off Weapon X and Juggernaut, and then shot at Juggernaut with an intense blast of energy. Juggernaut fell, and was still. To take out Juggernaut he must have expended a lot of energy. Phoenix smiled. He was losing energy, she could sense it. His size was shrinking, though he was still almost fifteen feet tall. She kept on smiling as she hit him, and then she realized his target. Her smile slipped.

Apocalypse was heading right for Cyclops.

"You! You traitor… you're the one planning this attack. You're the one I have to finish off now." Apocalypse was too fast. He smashed into Cyclops knocking him far back. Phoenix tried to hold Apocalypse back with her power, but he was too strong, breaking free. How much energy could he have left? She began running forward. Weapon X was coming form behind Apocalypse too.

Apocalypse lifted Cyclops, and then backhanded him hard with a glowing fist. Cyclops's visor shattered and his eyes shot out crimson energy before he managed to close them. He fell, trying to find a place, and Apocalypse hit him again, and Phoenix could feel Cyclops's shoulder crack. Suddenly Apocalypse lifted Cyclops. His free hand grabbed Cyclops face and he forced his eyes open. The energy surged out, and into Apocalypse's hand. And then Apocalypse was sucking the energy into himself. Within a few seconds he was done and he threw Cyclops aside. Phoenix could feel her link diminish. Cyclops wasn't dead, but he was close to it.

Disaster be damned… She gritted her teeth and felt the power in her flare to impossible heights, and then she was the flame. She was the Phoenix. She was power.

Cyclops fell to the ground with a soft grunt. He barely had energy left to do anything else. He felt strange. He opened his eyes and the world was there in vivid color. He would have gasped, except he couldn't. He flopped around on the ground for a few seconds, waiting for the end. And then he heard Apocalypse's cry of anger and shock. He felt wind rushing behind him, and then Apocalypse's cry of alarm. He heard muffled thumps, like those from explosions.

The link hummed with rage, and something… alien. He desperately tried to turn around, and finally managed to. What he saw was impossible.

Apocalypse was being tossed around , gripped in the claws of a huge fiery bird. A bird that surrounded Phoenix. A phoenix in fact! She was beautiful. Cyclops had never seen her through his eyes in all colors. Her hair shone red, and her skin was creamy, yet reddened slightly by the sun. Apocalypse fell to the ground, and Phoenix swooped down behind him. Apocalypse stood hastily, and turned to fight against his enemy. Phoenix struck at him, each blow accompanied by one from the fiery bird like nimbus surrounding her. Apocalypse struck back, and was successful in getting in a few hits, but Phoenix was unstoppable.

Cyclops began to feel uneasy. This was not Jean! Something else was within her. He could move, but slowly.

Phoenix and Apocalypse were going toe-to-toe now. She struck at him, he struck back. Each blow cost the other some, but Apocalypse was staggering more than Phoenix.

Finally Apocalypse fell to the ground, and began backing away.

"Who… what… this is impossible. Not yet, this cannot happen so soon!" Apocalypse stood again, his face showing slight apprehension and a hint of excitement.

"I have waited eons for this, dark one. I expected this moment to come much later. I sensed the aberration before, when the High Prelate first rebelled and tried to rescue you. I did not know it for what it was then, but now I do. I readied this world for you, destroyer, but too little too late. Events wait on no one, not even I. Come then!" Apocalypse leapt forward, and then Phoenix spoke. The second she did however, Cyclops knew something else was in here, something Apocalypse knew, or knew of.

"So, you know of me, 'dread lord'? Do you know what burns through my veins? I am life incarnate, I am power itself. I am the end and beginning of all, the ruler of all and nothing. I was, I am, and I will be, forever. You could never be ready for me. I am PHOENIX!" The entity controlling Jean, the Phoenix spread its arms wide, and then the entire room was filled with blazing light.

"I will destroy you, and then this world. I will take it all." Then the Phoenix lunged forward.

Apocalypse met Phoenix again, and the exchanged blows, hard and strong enough to make the walls tremble with every strike. The very ground shook as the two titanic forces met. However Apocalypse was losing. The Phoenix was stronger.

Cyclops was torn. Phoenix was going to destroy the world, it had said so. It had taken over Jean. But it would also rid the world of Apocalypse. Could he afford to wait? Wait till it destroyed Apocalypse? No. He had to think of Jean.

"Jean…" the word croaked in his mouth, and he gathered his strength.

"JEAN!" He screamed with all his heart and the bond trembled, and then was pulsing with life. He fed all his hopes, dreams and love into the bond, and felt an echo, an echo that drove away the entity.

Jean… Cyclops sighed with relief.

I'm here, love. I am sorry… I thought… I… Jean was tempted, tempted sorely. Cyclops could feel it. The Phoenix promised much, yet it could not control Jean yet. It was not fully awakened. It could only lure so far, only have acceptance to continue. Cyclops determinedly sent forward his hopes again, and a warning to Jean. Even Apocalypse was apprehensive of the Phoenix, and the Phoenix would just be another Apocalypse, another destroyer, it had named itself so. Jean's resolve hardened.

No… I want no part of this. Suddenly the Phoenix flared around Jean for a second, and then was gone. Cyclops felt the essence of the entity vanish, and felt it leave, through Jean. It was regretful, almost peevish, but not grudging.

As it left, Jean collapsed. Cyclops crawled to where she lay.

A few feet away, Apocalypse crouched, staring at Jean.

"So… it is gone then? It will return. And when it does, I intend to be ready. Prepare yourself X-men." Apocalypse stood again, but this time Cyclops was close enough to see that Apocalypse's legs trembled. He was extremely low on energy. Dangerously, fatally low. He had no power left, but the others did.

The battle had awoken more than one of the X-men.

Nearly all who had fallen unconscious were back up, with the exception of Juggernaut and Jean.

Emma, Psylocke, send this message to everyone. Emma you know the plan, tell everyone else, and implement it. Cyclops was blunt, but Emma knew what to do, as did Storm. Storm immediately began issuing orders, and the X-men began to attack.

Apocalypse was hit from every side at once. Lightning rained from the sky outside, while telepathy hit him from the inside. Sabretooth and Weapon X hacked at him, while Colossus and Rogue – her face a wooden mask of revenge – punched him. Nightcrawler and Shadowcat attacked him as well, Nightcrawler bamfing in and out of the thick of it, Shadowcat phasing anyone in danger of being hit by his punches. Blink hurled her daggers; which Apocalypse avoided as much as possible. Her daggers more than anything else prevented Apocalypse from letting loose with another controlled reaction. They disrupted the fusion reaction, not allowing it to complete, in fact teleporting away certain molecules. Quicksilver alone was not attacking. He stood in shock over his father and his sisters bodies.

Finally Nate floated in the air above his parents, his eye glowing as brightly as before. He hurled psionic energy at Apocalypse, hurting him more than anyone else.

Apocalypse stood it as long as he could. But the combined toll had drained him completely. His armor began to fall apart, and below that his body began to shatter before the attacks.

"No, I will not die, so easily…" In desperation he set off multiple reactions all over his body. A final act that could crush them all.

But his protection from telepathy had faded away, and he was open to Emma and Psylocke. They knew what he planned, and they took steps. As he began the explosions, Blink teleported them all away from him, using multiple daggers, thrown faster than she had ever thrown before, and Nightcrawler bamfed the ones who could not reach Blinks portals before the explosions. Apocalypse stood in the middle of the room, and began to explode.

Nate levitated all the ones who were down, including the dead bodies of those who had fallen, and flew out of the Tower through the opening in the side.

The X-men hurried outside, through flying, or teleportation.

They had made it out when Apocalypse finally fell. The explosions, with no one to control them exploded with full power.

The entire Tower, once the testament of his strength was torn to nothing by the power of the explosion. The X-men, miles away already were sent reeling from the aftershock.

Scott finally managed to get the taste of sand out of his mouth, and the grains from out of his eyes.

He could still see color, but his head did not hurt anymore. He could feel the pressure building again. The sun was recharging him already. He would need another visor. Luckily, he always did have spares. Not now though. He had spares at Wundagore, and in the Hybrid.

He could still see for the moment though. He looked around. The others were standing, most of them, and they were looking at something off to the left. He turned to look and saw the massive miles high pillar of smoke. With an explosion so strong the Tower had to have been destroyed. But many of them had died. But at least Apocalypse and all his armies were gone, forever.

He turned to the left, and saw Jean lying on the ground, unconscious, yet serene. Nate crouched over her, his hand lying comfortingly on her shoulder, although he too stared at the smoke rising from where they had come from.

He stumbled over to them and knelt by Jean, stroking her face. It was done, it was over. Off to the side he could see Logan and Victor standing next to each other staring at the smoke, Clarice between them, leaning against Victor. A little behind them, Rogue and Pietro stood over the bodies of Magnus and Wanda. They were not looking at the smoke. Pietro hesitantly hugged Rogue, who collapsed against him, in tears. They had lost much. Too much. No one would have to lose again though. Scott swore that much to himself. If he could, he would make sure of it.

The sun was low in the sky. It had taken them the greater part of the day, but as the day ended, Scott knew that tomorrow would dawn a better day.

He stroked Jean's cheek again.

And that's the finale chapter done.

I'll upload the epilogue in a while yo.