Hello everyone! It's yet another chapter as we begin to reach the end of this story. I'm guessing this will end with chapter 23 but I'm not sure. Everything adds up to ending it there so that kind of tells you where we are in the scheme of things. Also, I've always named my chapters to match the situation but I've noticed as of late I've been naming the chapters after phrases in the chapter. They still match and all but I just thought I'd bring it up because the three words 'now or never' come up twice in this chapter so that's part of the reason I named it that. Also, thanks for the reviews and thanks for the faves/subscribes! They always make me happy when I see them in my inbox! Either way, enough of my talking! On with the show!

Read, Enjoy and Review!

Chapter Twenty One- Now or Never

With a quick swipe at his feet, Yuri nearly knocked the ex-General off balance. The black haired man was able to jump beyond the tip of the blade, landing back a couple inches and then swinging at Yuri.

The blade was headed towards Yuri's left side, so he blocked with his blade, twisting Chandler's blade away and taking a swing of his own. The two continued to attack each other, blades crashing and ringing in the empty hallway. It was a melody to accompany the crashes of thunder, which were increasing in strength with every passing minute.

Yuri could tell he was losing time by fighting Chandler but there wasn't another option. Getting Chandler to surrender was the only way, though Yuri wasn't sure he would give up. The swordsman had convinced himself, if worst came to worst, death was an acceptable option. Although killing Chandler might release the aer that was being trapped inside of Justice, causing the bomb to go off anyway. But it was a risk he had to take.

The ex-General caught Yuri off guard when he swung his long blade downwards, slamming into Yuri's sword. The swordsman watched as Chandler pressed down, lowering his blade inch by slow inch. With some effort, the dark haired man pushed back, attempting to cause Chandler to back up and give themselves some space again. However, Chandler twirled, kicking Yuri's right side which knocked him down.

Followed closely after that, a wave of energy came rushing forth from Chandler's sword, "Demon Fang!"

Yuri shifted, throwing himself back up on his feet before the light could hit him, Yuri narrowly escaping the attack. Chandler wasn't giving in, though. He charged Yuri, side swiping his blade. In a quick second, the two had skidded their blades together and then apart, both jumping back to catch their breath.

Yuri's side still stung from the impact as he glared at Chandler, "You're really serious about this."

"Did you think I wasn't?" Chandler's voice had taken on a very different tone. The lightness had dissipated into a thick dark coat that seemed to seep and seethe as the words escaped his mouth. The Chandler Yuri had known was all but gone, leaving behind the man who had at one time been Commandant. A man who had legends written about him, a man who had killed for his country in the name of honor and glory, a man who had no doubt seen so much corruption he could never imagine a world without it.

It was almost ironic, Yuri thought. The way he thought was similar to Flynn, both seeking to end the corruption and both seeking a way to make the empire prospered, but they had somehow come out differently.

Chandler had indicated with some strength that he knew Justice, though Yuri was unsure of their relationship, he figured he had a good idea. The two had conspired together, hoping they could create an empire that would prosper for eternity. The only problem was that greed had gotten in the way and that lead to the events of these past hours.

Chandler spat some blood up, most likely from his previous wounds, and started at the swordsman, "You don't have time to gawk at me. If you want to stop the Ending, you'll have to get through me first."

"Do you want to die?"

"I didn't say that."

"I know, that's why I'm asking. If you're capable of stopping it, then stop it. You're not going to gain anything by destroying it all. If you destroy this empire, another will step in to take its place and, guess what, they're going to be just as bad, if not worse, than this one is. You can't end corruption by destroying it. It's human nature…"

"Human nature?" Chandler turned around, looking through the hallway as if searching for something. He turned his attention back to Yuri, his eyes void of any feeling, "Yes, Yuri. You're right about that. It is human nature to be greedy and power-hungry. It is human nature to push others down to advance, to not be left behind. But does that justify it?"

The blood in Yuri's veins began to boil, "I'm not justifying it or trying to make it right but you're doing the same thing. Killing everyone is just another way of not being left behind, isn't it?"

To this, the ex-General didn't immediately respond. He looked about, eyes causally glancing out the window and then back around the hall. Yuri was beginning to wonder if he'd ever answer, when the man spoke up finally, "I suppose you're right about that. Unfortunately, I've become a victim of 'human nature' but that can't be helped now." He walked over to the windows, tracing his finger down one, leaving a faint line.

Just like when he had talked earlier, something was off. His entire poise was different, earning a raised eyebrow from the swordsman. Was Chandler up to something?

Catching Yuri off guard, Chandler threw his fist into the glass. The crystal fractured and flew everywhere as the man's hand became soaked with black liquid. To the dark haired man, this move was pointless. Smashing glass wasn't very important at a time like this and it didn't seem to be something he needed to do to trigger the Ending.

Chandler looked towards Yuri, eyes now void of anything except something Yuri couldn't place. The man was losing his mind and Yuri could only guess why.

The ex-General removed his hand from the hole it'd made and he examined the cuts. After taking in the view of his own blood he looked at Yuri. With a cold smile on his face, he said, "How about we take this outside?"

Before Yuri could reply, Chandler's body light up and the light around it crashed into the wall. The loud sound hurt the swordsman's ears as he looked past the dust to see what Chandler had done. Beyond the man was a huge hole, rain sloshing its way inside as the ex-General escaped to the roof.

"Wait!" Yuri called, giving chase. He could feel it in his gut that it wasn't a good idea. He just knew that something bad was going to happen if he followed but he also knew he didn't have a choice. It was now or never, the destruction of the Capitol or the destruction of the man.

The loud booming sound from the hall had caught Flynn off guard. He turned his head to see what could have caused such a noise but all he could see was dust bellowing through the doorway, covering the dying General who'd been behind his kidnapping. That reminded the blonde that one key player was missing. He'd been there before but he wasn't there now.

Florence had fled the scene, the cowards slipping away amongst the fighting.

From behind, Tao's large axe came swinging down. Flynn dodged, narrowly evading the ground smashing blow.

Tao huffed to catch his breath, "You're to fast."

"Maybe you're too slow," Flynn mocked, though he knew it wasn't a very good come back. The large man took in a massive breath and swung again, this time trying to lop off the blonde's head. Flynn ducked and dashed towards the giant, swinging his sword at his knees. With a terrible roar, Tao tumbled backwards, landing on the table and causing it to fly up, hitting him as well.

Flynn flung his blade to the right, traces of blood slipping off its sleek end and he turned away. Tao was only the begging. Although he was large, he wasn't anything compared to the others they had to face.

Rummaging came from behind and Flynn turned to look. Tao was pushing himself up, blood seeping from his knees. He was down but he wasn't out. Honestly, Flynn didn't want to waste his time with Tao, finding himself far more worried about Yuri after the large crash had sounded in the hall.

The giant stood up, glaring down at the blonde, "You can't beat me that easily." He grinned as he lifted his axe off the ground, "Just stand still and I'll make this quick."

Flynn glared harder at the man, feeling the anxiety grow as the larger of the two began to ready himself for striking.

Yuri, Flynn thought.

Tao raised up the weapon, swinging it down. The blonde dodged magnificently, twirling around to swing at Tao again. To his surprise, the larger dodged and swung again, this time nearly slicing Flynn in two. To his surprise, Tao was starting to take Flynn seriously so Flynn decided he'd better do the same.

Flynn forced himself to concentrate, all the while thinking about his friend. Stay strong, Yuri…

Florence had managed to get outside of the Capital, coming to a resting spot when he reached the stronghold.

It wasn't exactly his style to leave a fight but now that his boss was 'unemployed' it meant Florence could do as he pleased and dying wasn't what he pleased himself to do. It bothered him, though, that Rita was there. He hadn't seen her for years, ever since he was imprisoned at the very least. He wasn't sure if she'd noticed him but he sure noticed her. She'd gotten a lot older, like most people do, and she'd grown quiet tall.

Florence shook his head, letting the images of Rita that floated in his mind dissolve. He didn't have time to be thinking about her. She would be dead soon anyway and that was something he knew he couldn't get down about. She had been a part of his life at one time but she most certainly wasn't now. He'd made that choice when he'd killed them.

He knew that.

She knew that.

Florence stood at the entrance to the hold, gazing back at the black-stained Capital. The once bright windows, stained with every color of the rainbow, glowed a dim black, the reds, oranges and yellows nothing but a memory for the pictures those colors created. The white building was marred by red and black, the sky above the castle, once beaming, cast a dark shadow on it. The entire scene was depressing and no doubt those from all around who could see were curious, curious as to what was going on.

"That surely means death is well on its way to the citizens of the Capital."

Florence turned his head to see a strange man standing next to him. The devil was sure he hadn't heard the stranger walk up beside him. He studied the man as the stranger looked towards the skies that covered the city.

In all his life, the demon was sure he'd never seen someone who looked so out of place. The stranger's hair was a bright red, not unlike his own, that was long on one side of his head and then swiftly changed to short on the other, creating a very sharp diagonal along the man's back. His clothes were odd for a stronghold citizen, a robe-like coat that he wore buttoned at the top, letting it fly open at the bottom. He didn't look like he lived in the hold. Hell, he didn't look like he could live anywhere, except Aspio. But Florence didn't say any of this as he observed the man.

The stranger turned and looked into Florence's eyes. The golden iris' reflected the devil's image as he looked into them. It was only a second of eye contact because the man turned his head and started walking away.

Florence watched, eyes catching on the cuts on the man's neck, showing where the hair was cut short. There, written with scars, were the words 'A Crow'.

Chandler had reached the roof, running up to the top of the castle only glancing back to make sure Yuri was following. And, to the ex-General's relief, he was.

The dark haired man was following like hawk, navigating his way up the castle roof as the black rain showered down. It wouldn't be long, Chandler knew. The Ending would be triggered soon and Yuri had yet to defeat him.

They would all pay the ultimate price. That was, of course, if Yuri couldn't manage to take Chandler down. He knew he wasn't going to give up without a fight since it was the only way to actually help the empire but Yuri had some potential.

If he could defeat the ex-General, he might just be able to save the world. With a quick turn, Chandler brought himself to the very top of the castle, the roof flattening as it met his feet. With their final battle place chosen, Chandler turned to face his enemy. It wasn't long before Yuri got to the top as well, eyes fixed.

"Are we done playing cat and mouse?" Yuri asked as he readied his blade.

"Yes," Chandler raised his sword, pointing it directly at Yuri, "It's time to choose this cities destiny. I win, it's destroyed. You win and it just might be saved."

Chandler watched as Yuri positioned himself to charge. The strength in his gaze told the ex-General this wasn't going to be an easy fight.

"Come at me with everything you have, Yuri," Chandler braced himself, "It's now or never."