Author's Note:

Thank you all for your support thus far; there is still a fair distance to go, so need it. I would really like some more feedback given that I have at least ~50,000 words to go, if not more. To think that I originally thought that this thing would be no more than 200,000 words. As always, enjoy and feel free to comment (and point out any typos that I missed if you notice any). Cheers!

Faroe Islands, Vágar Installation

Lightning crisscrossed the sky, irregular and fleeting like fragmented memories. It boomed and shook the earth, but it was only one of the many forces that did so. The sky, usually so dark with the clouds above, was tinted orange by the explosions and fires that were erupting far more regularly and far more lethally than the lightning. A battle was raging; a storm in its own right.

The flash of weapons fire was ubiquitous. Streams of anti-air fire rose up from all over the island along with constant volleys of missiles that left pillars of smoke in their wake. Bursts from laser cannons and conventional autocannons alike sporadically lit up the gloomy sky, where human and fairy aircraft were caught up in a brutal dogfight. To the south and east one could see the sea, in its dark waters drifting the sleek shapes of human warships as they harassed their enemy with the full might of their armaments. Aircraft tumbled from the sky, flaming in their final moments of glory, and upon the heaving ocean burned the fuel of fallen fighter jets.

Over all of this glowed the flowing streams of magic that connected to the main installation. It moved like weightless water and crackled with energy, a sea of raw power that was being channeled into the enormous towers and, ever so efficiently, into the spell ring that resided below them. The ring's glyphs and lines were now glowing hot with magic, no longer a mere outline. It took on a crimson hue rather than the blue color of the magic that was being used to fuel it, and the way it sparked and smoldered made it look as if the world was on fire. Perhaps it was, just not literally. Perhaps the fires of perdition were rising to the surface, creeping through the pulsing lines of the spell ring as if through cracks in ancient bedrock. Regardless, the scene was overall a hellish chaos, fraught with violence and death; a madhouse.

At the center of it all stood two Fowls of the same name but not the same mind; two sides of the coin of fate, one saved from the evil within man's soul while the other embraced it. Orion observed the madness with a faint smile, and before him worked the crimson rings of the spell that would unlock a power that Opal Koboi had failed to attain. Artemis stood behind him, yearning to act but incapable; a dozen red dots were on his chest, and another three on his head, meaning that should he try anything he would be killed fifteen times over. Behind him was Nº1, his magic useless and his body worn out. The imp couldn't even stand anymore, not after what Orion had forced him to do. Artemis knew various methods to nullify the warlock's inhibitor collar, but all of them required resources that he currently lacked; he was not in an empowering circumstance. He watched Orion, and despaired at what he had become in that other world; what he would have been as well, had life not been as it was. There was no point trying to talk the man out of it, nor was there any reason in condemning his actions. A Fowl was impervious to such things when his mind was certain about a course of action.

A muffled bang sounded above him, this time coming from an LEP ship as it lost control and slammed into the barrier. The ship flattened like a pancake against the impervious magic that formed the shield, and blew to little pieces that rolled down off of it like droplets of water from an umbrella. Artemis knew that Holly was in one of those ships, and he hoped that she was alright.

"You worry for your friends, as usual," Orion said suddenly.

Artemis said nothing.

"Remember what I said," the man continued. "You had best learn to let go of them. Holding on will only bring you suffering." He directed his attention once more upon the spell ring below, and spoke in a whisper. "It will be over soon, one way or another."

Outside the Barrier

The thump of cannon fire, the flash of outbound ordnance, the boom of explosions; Holly found herself caught up in the rhythmic orchestra of war, completely in line with its tune. She flew through the fire and death of the battle, doing all that she could do to survive; that was all there was to do now. A human fighter jet weaved around in front of her, trying to evade her shots. With an empty gaze she blew it to pieces.

The fighting was intense, and none of it was accomplishing anything. As they killed each other the real enemy stood secure with his victory at hand; a master of deception, pitting all of his potential enemies against each other. Holly was beyond furious at this point, and the thought of Orion winning was a drop in her ocean of spite, but she did not show any of it in the intense moments of combat for which there was no room for emotion. Outwardly she was cold and merciless, but inwardly she was burning with anger and sorrow alike.

"We're taking heavy losses!" informed one of her captains. "More human reinforcements are inbound!"

Ahead of her flew several of her comrades, but in flashes of fire they were blown to pieces by a group of pursuing jets. Several kilometers behind her appeared the assailants, a trio of Russian MiG-29s, and they wasted no time locking onto her and opening fire. Holly veered sharply, deploying countermeasures to divert the missiles; they worked as well as always, the advanced fairy technology directing the missiles off target. But almost immediately the fighters had closed in and were firing with their cannons. A burst of tracer rounds clipped her wing, but Holly didn't even blink. She feigned a loss of control, spiraling down towards the island's shield. The humans followed her; they knew she was faking it.

Another series of cannon bursts flashed past her as she dived towards the barrier; the high caliber rounds exploded against the shield in showers of sparks and flames. She pulled up abruptly, ignoring the g-force and skimming just above the surface of the shield. The human jets broke off, unable to follow her directly, but they would be on her again in due time. As she flew just above the barrier Holly tilted her ship to the right and looked down into the installation below. She could see the spell ring and the magic pouring into it, but more surprisingly she could see a trio of figures standing on a hill just a hundred feet from it—she also saw a number of dead corpses and an abandoned Section 0 shuttle. It caught her attention, and she didn't hesitate to magnify the view with her helmet's filters. What she saw made her gasp.

"Artemis…Nº1…" she whispered, relief and dread in her voice at the same time. They were static and clearly hostages, and ahead of them stood Orion. She also saw the bodies of Section 0 operatives, and it was hard to miss Briar Cudgeon even from a distance. The elf was dead along with all of his remaining subordinates; Orion had come out as the last one standing, and it did not surprise her at all. Briar had been a lunatic, and despite his resolve to not make the fatal mistakes Opal had, it was clear that he had still done so. The irony of it was not lost to Holly, but neither did it bring any pleasure. Briar's death was good thing, but she felt no gratification. She didn't feel anything apart from worry for her friends and anger towards the man who had played them all like instruments. She had to save them, and she had to stop Orion.

Holly broke away from the barrier and rejoined the fray, though as she did so she still multitasked.

"Trouble, I saw Artemis and Nº1 in there with that other Fowl, and Briar Cudgeon is dead. I need to get in there before the spell is completed!"

"Serves that bastard right," Trouble growled, referring to Briar. "We have been trying to find a way in since the barrier went up, but Foaly has no means of getting through remotely. I have tasked Qwan with breaching it; he said that he would need a minute to prepare the right spell."

"Then get on it!" Holly yelled.

"I am already finished," Qwan interjected, his voice calm despite the chaos that raged around him. "But the battlefield is far too fierce to navigate, and I will be defenseless once I start to conjure the spell. I need you to cover me until I am directly above the installation; follow my lead from there."

Holly had already taken the initiative and found the warlock's shuttle, and before she spoke she shot down two jets that were tailing it. "Already on it, I'll have a squadron back you up." She signaled to one of her best squadrons and had them form up around the shuttle, and she had an additional number of stealth transports—all containing Special Forces teams—come along as well. They would need all the firepower they could get once they made it through the barrier.

Ahead of them appeared a number of human jets, their pilots taking notice of the group of fairy ships. But from their sides came a squadron of LEP ships, tearing into them with their laser cannons.

"We'll cover you as well," Trouble said. "Good luck."

Holly nodded and set herself on guarding the shuttle. Around them their comrades drew the fire of the island's defenses, buying them some much needed time.

"We're almost at the target zone," Qwan said after a moment.

After dealing with a group of RAF fighters Holly came up alongside the warlock's ship. "How exactly do you plan on doing this?" she asked.

"I will disembark," the warlock said placidly.

"Really?"

"Of course."

Holly almost grinned. "Alright then." She looked to her right and saw that the shuttle's side door had opened, and in it stood Qwan, his robes billowing in the wind. The warlock nodded to her and spoke into his ear piece.

"I will only be able to make a brief opening; the barrier has too much magic powering it for me to stop it completely. You will have only a few seconds, so do try to keep up."

Holly nodded. "That won't be a problem."

"Then let us begin."

Qwan stood in the door of the shuttle as it passed over the installation, his visage without any worry or doubt. He looked down at the barrier below and the streams of magic that swirled beneath and above it, a calculating look in his eyes. He had been priming the spell for several minutes, and now he was ready.

"Well, this will be interesting…"

Without any hesitation the warlock walked right out of the shuttle, stepping into the open air and dropping like a rock. He fell straight down, face first and eyes glowing with magic. Alongside him and behind appeared a number of LEP ships, including Holly's, and they followed him down in his seemingly suicidal stunt.

Around Qwan suddenly appeared a glowing light, and as his hands gestured towards the barrier below an intricate spell circle formed in the air in front of him. There were only a few split seconds between them and the barrier, but there was no need to worry. The warlock's spell ring suddenly sent forth a beam of crackling blue energy, colliding with the competing magic of the barrier with a noiseless explosion of light. For a moment it appeared as though nothing would happen, but then, with a suddenness that was just in time, a tear formed in the shield.

"Alright, here we go!" Holly yelled, gripping the controls of her ship and following the warlock through the tear. Her squadron was right alongside her, and behind the shuttles were tailing; all of them passed through the hole in the shield in seconds, and soon they were within the barrier, the installation gleaming before them in all of its dreadful brilliance. Holly set her eyes on it, but also noted where Artemis was being held captive. Time to finish this. I will not let him win!

But it was not to be an easy task. The tear in the shield closed behind them, and from the moment they entered they were set upon by all of the nearby anti-air defenses; CIWS and missile batteries unloaded on them while they were still clumped together, and they would have been completely destroyed had Qwan not taken direct action. The warlock, still falling to the earth, cast a series of spells that sent waves of energy into the inbound attacks, dashing missiles apart and stopping cannon rounds in midair. Then the LEP forces spread out and engaged, and once they did so all hell broke loose.

"Trouble we're in!" Holly said loudly. She was diving low over the rolling hills, heading straight for the relay towers.

"Good work, and good luck!" the elf replied.

Holly nodded, her eyes falling on where Qwan was going to land. "All retrieval teams land and support Qwan. I want their control center in our hands and that bastard human ringleader detained pronto! Artemis and Nº1 are at the marked location as well; make sure they are secured." Holly then eyed the towers again. "All other ships attack the relay towers. Cut off the spell ring's power source."

She flew over a series of hills, and then right over top of where Artemis was standing. Being as she was, she found the time to roll upside down and flip off Orion as she passed; she could see his cold gaze from there. Then she was gone, blasting towards the nearest tower.

On the hill overlooking the scene Orion didn't even blink. He did, however, beget an amused expression.

"Well, things are indeed getting interesting. That elf is always full of surprises." He paused, turning to Artemis. "But just because they managed to breach the shield does not mean that they can stop what has been started. Their efforts will be futile if they think that merely blowing things up will accomplish anything." The man shook his head, again turning his attention to the battlefield. "They rush in like sheep to the slaughter; they know not what they do."

Overhead roared the turboshaft engines of attack helicopters, and moments later several dozen of the gunships—all AH-1Z Vipers of the U.S. Marine Corps—flew over top the hill and engaged the LEP forces. Armed with anti-air missiles and gatling guns, they began the assault on both air and ground targets, and soon explosions could be heard all over the place. Hot wind blew hard against Artemis as he watched the escalation, and the close flyby of more gunships nearly knocked him over. When he regained his balance his eyes fell on the place where Qwan had landed—it was awash with fire and magic, the two forces competing in a cataclysmic struggle for survival.

Magic laced with fire and smoke, filling the air with crackling sparks and glowing embers. The earth was torn asunder by explosions and projectiles, large clumps of dirt and stone cast into an air in which nothing living could survive.

Ages it has been…

Amidst the chaos stood Qwan. The ancient warlock's robes billowed in the hot wind, and as fire and smoke danced around him his brilliant weaves of magic competed against them, a beautiful tool of destruction.

Since I have stood in the field of battle as I do now…

Qwan threw up a wall of magic, blocking a volley of missiles and deflecting a burst of cannon fire, sending the latter careening into the rotor blades of an approaching gunship. As the helicopter spun out of control and slammed into the ground to his right, the old warlock set his eyes on the burning fields ahead of him, and the distant flash of muzzle flare from coalition tanks.

The battle of Taillte…I thought that would be the last time I would have to spill human blood…

He sidestepped an incoming tank shell, and its passage produced a powerful gust of wind and a howling noise that was akin to a scream. The shell exploded a distance behind him, but he didn't even notice. His eyes were forward, ever upon the enemy that sought to destroy him.

I was wrong…

A series of flashes erupted in the distance, and seconds later a volley of tank shells flew right into the space around him, tearing up earth and filling the air with pressure waves and shrapnel. He absentmindedly swatted all of it aside with a defensive spell, not once blinking or taking his eyes from his target. Another shell, fired after the others, appeared right in front of him; it careened straight for his head, a blur in the nightmarish gloom.

But there is no other way…

Qwan reached out and opened his palm. The 120mm tank shell collided with his hand, but it stopped right there, and after a few seconds it ceased rotating and lost its energy entirely. He cast it aside without even the slightest hesitation, and brought both of his hands up in a gesture that immediately sent magic flying into the contingent of armored vehicles. The tanks were flipped over as if they weighed nothing, and the ground shook when their combined mass struck the earth simultaneously. Qwan eyed them coolly, and when he was certain that they were no longer a threat he switched his gaze to the relay towers in the distance. At the same time he was attacked by a squadron of gunships, but he fought them without having to see them. As he sent gusts of wind into the helicopters, the warlock watched the LEP ships close in on the relay towers. Some were shot down, but others, including Holly, were making it through. It made sense to attack the towers, but Qwan saw the spell ring and realized that perhaps it was otherwise. There was more than enough magic already at hand to carry out the spell; destroying the relays would not banish that which had already been absorbed. Nevertheless, it was worth a shot, and so he didn't bother stopping his colleagues. Redundancy was crucial in this deadly game.

A burst of cannon fire from one of the gunships tore series of deep holes in the earth beside him, and a volley of rockets slammed into him immediately thereafter. Fire, smoke, and shrapnel swirled in the air as he deflected the explosions with his magic, and he then seized the large chunks of hot metal with a spell and threw them right back at the gunship. The shrapnel tore the tail of the chopper clean off, and as the aircraft crashed the other two disengaged, clearly aware of the fact that they could do nothing against the warlock. Qwan watched them go, and then turned his eyes to the battle raging around him. The LEP shuttles had landed, and their Special Forces teams were taking over the control center. Others were trying to close in on where Artemis and Nº1 were being held, but they had been pinned down by sniper fire. Qwan could see the shots in the distance, as could he see the deadly results as they met their targets. He acted immediately.

Magic swirled around his arms like rivulets of brilliant blue water. He knew many spells, and he had one suitable for the job. For the sharpshooters positioned on the tall hills a kilometer away, there was no way of knowing what was about to happen. The air around them suddenly grew cold and damp, and then it was filled with static electricity. A rapid series of flashes, each a miniature strike of lightning, lashed out upon the hill. The sharpshooters and their spotters were all struck before they could do anything; the shock was intentionally limited to non-lethality, but it knocked them out cold and gave them some nasty burns.

With the snipers taken care of, Qwan set his eyes on the hill to his left. Upon that hill were Artemis, Nº1, and the Fowl from the alternate universe. Qwan knew that the spell ring was meant to answer to that older man, Orion, and for that reason he knew that it was his duty to take him down before he made any connection with the magic it was unlocking. He took a step towards the hill, but the earth in front of his feet was suddenly blown upwards by heavy weapons fire. The warlock turned and conjured a shield at just the right moment, blocking a wave of all sorts of deadly ordnance. As the smoke cleared he could see dozens of gunships in the air, and hundreds upon hundreds of human soldiers were positioned on a nearby ridge. They had at least fifty armored vehicles behind them, and the boom of supporting artillery sounded in the distance. It made the warlock frown. Just like human chess, he couldn't go straight for the king.

With a serious countenance Qwan readied himself, and then he took on all of the gathered forces at once. The earth shook with the reverberations of battle.

"This is Kilo-23, I'm going d—"

Another burst of static in Holly's ear; another comrade killed in action. But there was no time to let the arrows of sorrow have their way. The elf was flying through a hail of anti-air fire, explosions filling the sky around her and blast waves shaking her to the bone along with the inherent turbulence of evasive maneuvers. Her eyes were wide with adrenaline and stress, and her mouth was tightly shut in a deep, concentrated frown. Her hands worked away at the controls, moving out of instinct and habit, and her mind constantly calculated the dangers that she was contending with. It was enough to make one's head spin and subsequently explode, but not her—this was what she did best, among many other things.

As another LEP ship burst into flames beside her, Holly veered towards the nearest tower. She was through most of the defenses, and now had a good shot. Ahead of her approached a number of human gunships, and in moments all of them were locking Sidewinder missiles onto her. But Holly was not in the mood to entertain these human assailants, and so instead of retreating she accelerated so quickly that she was on top of them as they fired. The missiles shot forth, but she was already behind them. With an intense glare Holly flew alongside the formation of gunships and turned towards them on an angle; she was flying right past them, drifting in midair in a rather improbable way. Without any remarks she fired, spraying a line of laser blasts across the formation as she passed it; the shots were all on mark, and all of the gunships were swiftly knocked out of the sky.

Holly resumed her main objective without pause. Before her loomed one of the circling relay towers; it was glowed bright with magic, and a number of anti-air cannons fired from its base towards her. She dodged the incoming fire and sped right towards the tower, now screaming with unrelenting courage. She selected half of her ship's remaining ordnance, and with the tower only a few hundred meters away she hit the fire control with her thumb. There was a boom, and her ship was shaken by the amount of missiles that were launching from it; dozens of the small missiles careened into the tower, exploding with extraordinary flashes of fire and sparks. As this happened Holly pulled up and flew along the vertical length of the tower, firing nonstop with her laser cannons. The blue bolts of energy blasted huge holes in the tower's sides, and from them burst flames and clouds of pure magic. Holly weaved between the outbursts, still firing, and then reached the summit of the tower and flew high into the night. Behind her the tower buckled and swayed, and in seconds it lost all of its integrity. With an outburst of fire and magic the tower toppled over, falling right into the side of another one of the towers. They both struck the ground with resounding crashes, and as they erupted into flame the magic that had been moving between them was cut off.

That's two down… Holly thought, her eyes immediately falling on the others. Despite the destruction of two of the towers, the others were still transmitting to the center tower. Magic still poured into the spell, and on the ground the bloody-red glyphs and lines of the spell circle got ever brighter. Holly only had once choice, and that was to take out the middle tower—the one that was most heavily defended. She veered towards it while checking her battle grid. Only a few of her ships remained in the air, and they were all caught in fierce battles of their own. She was on her own this time.

Fine by me…

With a fierce expression Holly blasted towards the massive tower, heedless of the impending danger. The turrets and missile batteries around it opened fire all at once, concentrating on that single LEP ship. As a wall of death flew towards her Holly took a steadying breath, putting aside all of her worries and regrets, and then opened up full throttle. Everything around her was suddenly awash with explosions and fire, and every fiber of her being shook with the force. She did her very best to evade the attacks, all while shooting laser blasts into the tower from afar. But there was too much. A cannon round clipped her wind, and a missile that didn't get drawn by her decoy's exploded in close proximity to her tail. The blast and shrapnel from the missile tore off part of her two engines and riddled the fuselage with holes, sending tremors through the ship. She swore as a cannon round pierced the canopy and screamed past her head; it blasted half of the cockpit off, leaving her partially in the open air. Even in her helmet and flight suit she could feel the powerful force of the wind and the heat from the glowing tracer rounds that kept flying past her. But she was not deterred.

This is nothing, nothing at all. I've had a lot worse…

Onward through the man-made hell she went, still in control despite the heavy damage to her ship. Bits and pieces broke off as she pushed it past its limit, but she ignored them; she was entirely focused on breaking through the defenses and hitting the tower with everything she had left. Another series of hits destroyed her targeting systems and important avionics, but she still carried on. It was after a few more seconds of this madness when she broke through, and though her ship was on fire and falling apart it was still piloted by Holly Short—she could turn just about anything into a hell raiser, and she did so now.

The tower was perhaps only fifty feet from her, and at her speed she would be past it in a blink. With an intense expression she dove downwards and, using manual sighting in place of her fire control systems, fired all of her remaining missiles. One by one the missiles plunged into the side of the tower, spaced out by her rapid descent. Fire blossomed from the strikes, and in moments there were thirty holes in the side of the tower; however, it did not fall or even lose its operational capability. Holly kept going down, switching to her lasers and blasting away at its base; more explosions riddled the installation, and this time she managed to cut off half of its output.

She pulled up at the last second, skimming the ground and somehow managing to keep the ruined ship aloft. That changed the moment a burst of anti-air fire punched a hole right through the center of the ship; it breached its fusion core and set the ship alight with even more fire. Holly felt the engines shut off as the core overloaded, and when she heard a shrill alert from her panel she knew that she had a few seconds to bail out before the ship exploded completely. She swore under her breath, but wasted no more time than that. Grabbing hold of the ejection latch with one hand while keeping the other on the controls, Holly brought the ship around until it faced the tower. Defensive fire from the installation blasted through the air, and the ship was literally torn apart, but not before Holly activated the ejection seat and was sent flying from the deadly wreck. As she flew through the air she saw her ship's pieces careen into the base of the tower and explode in a shower of flames and sparks; the tower leaned to the side a little bit, but otherwise remained functional. Holly eyed the destruction with a little satisfaction; yet again she had managed to total her ride, always at the expense of her enemy.

The rockets on Holly's ejection seat took her a fair distance away from the crash site, but the human forces didn't seem to want her to get off that easy. Before she reached the ground Holly's seat was clipped by a burst of cannon fire. Its thrusters were destroyed, and she found herself in the immediate predicament of falling out of the sky.

"Why does this always happen?!" she growled to herself, not afraid but rather very annoyed; still, she really wished she had a pair of wings right now. She flew towards the ground at her terminal velocity and slammed into it with a sudden explosion of disturbed earth. Her flight suit, which was interlaced with shock-absorbent nano-fibers, hardened and took the brunt of the impact, and due to its sudden solidity it turned Holly into a rock. Her speed did not decrease immediately upon landing due to this, and instead she dug a trench in the earth with her own body. When it was over she was almost six feet under with a fifty meter path of destruction behind her.

Holly brushed dirt and chunks of stone off of her helmet, frowning deeply. Gods, that hurt. She had broken at least three bones despite her suit's help, and her head was pounding from a near-concussion. Her magic swiftly solved these problems with brilliant swirls of sparkling blue light, and when she was recuperated the elf looked upwards towards the sky, where fighters still contended with one another and explosions still blossomed with appalling frequency. Holly narrowed her eyes, her visage hard and intense, and then applied herself to climbing out of the hole. The earth was damp and it yielded to her fists, and after only a few seconds she was looking over the lip of the trench towards a sizable hill. Even from where she was she could see the man standing at its summit, his black coat blowing in the wind and his eyes—by the gods his eyes—glinting with a frightening intelligence.

There you are, you monster…

Holly glared at the distant figure, and reached to her holster. With a hateful expression she drew her neutrino and pulled herself out of the pit completely. Then she set a brisk pace, walking through the fields of fire and death with one intention in mind.

From atop the hill one could see the full extent of the damage to the installation. Two relay towers were now a pile of burning wreckage, and the middle one—leaning a little precariously to the east—was burning in multiple locations. Despite this the magic that was pouring overhead from around the world still channeled into what remained of the installation, and though the central tower was nearly destroyed it still managed to force more power into the growing spell ring. Orion observed it coolly, his face impassive despite the chaos waging everywhere but upon the hill itself.

"A commendable effort Major," he said smoothly, "However, even if you destroyed the rest of the towers it would make no relevant difference. More than enough magic flows within the ring already."

His communicator beeped, and a frantic voice yelled over it.

"Sir, they're taking over the control center! We can't hold out much longer! You need to—"

Orion pressed the off button on the device and summarily tossed it to the ground, where he then put a bullet in it. He never took his eyes off the scene before him as he did this.

Artemis flinched when the shot rang out, but he was nevertheless determined to act. A simple glance to the hills in the distance indicated that the sharpshooters had already been eliminated by Qwan's magic; there were also no longer any laser dots on his body. It was safe to deduce that he was safe, because when he tampered with his restraints there were no repercussions. He had the handcuffs off in seconds—they were quite pathetic in their design—and he immediately set his eyes on Orion. The man seemed absorbed in what he was seeing; perhaps he thought his victory was assured. Artemis saw a number of weapons on the ground around him, but he knew from past experience that he was not the best with firearms and frankly wasn't a killer; Orion would sense him and have him dead before he could bring the weapon to bear. He could also see Nº1 to his immediate right, and he knew that if he could free the imp of his collar the situation would turn remarkably in his favor. But that too was foolish, for Orion would surely catch him in the act. No, Artemis really had only one option, and it was to stop Orion's plan directly.

The young man slowly walked towards Orion, but not before discretely stuffing a thick piece of metal—shrapnel from a nearby explosion—into his right side pocket. He intentionally nicked his finger on the metal in the process, but he hid the bleeding wound by balling his fist within the sleeve of his coat and putting his arms behind his back as if still in their cuffs. He was at Orion's left in a few seconds, and the man was not surprised.

"Come to see things as I have?" he asked calmly.

Artemis was cold and in control. "I just want to be here. I detest having to stand behind you like a pet; I would rather see it all from where you stand, even if it is to only witness my defeat."

Orion nodded. "I would do the same."

Together the two Fowls—of the same blood—watched as the spell ring exploded with energy. Crimson sparks and a bloody glow erupted from the lines of the spell like lava from cracks in the earth's crust; it bathed the battlefield in its haunting light, draping everything with various shades of red. The magic from the towers overhead kept flowing, but now, as the spell circle began to change, the natural blue of the streams of magic changed into that same hellish red that emanated from the glyphs and lines of the ancient spellcraft. Everything began to shake, and in the air came a chill that was like death.

"Can you feel it?" Orion asked. "Can you feel the destiny of this world now rising from the depths?"

Artemis nodded solemnly. "I can feel it."

"Then you must know that it is nearly over," Orion stated.

Again, Artemis nodded. "It is to my eternal shame that you speak correctly."

Orion didn't say anything for a few moments. He stared out into the growing abyss of magic, a yearning glimmer in his eyes. "Indeed, you should be ashamed."

There was another burst of crimson magic from the spell ring, and this time it opened a hole into an entirely different realm. Dark magic suddenly exploded from the earth, filling the air between the towers with its cancerous plight and scaring the hell out of everyone both human and fairy. There was no sound to it, just like most magic, but it made up for it with the absolutely horrifying sensation it elicited within every fiber of one's being. Artemis felt it strike him, and it was as worse as it had been a year ago. It felt terribly wrong—absolutely evil.

But for all of its intimidating might, the dark magic did nothing to frighten Orion. The man observed it with a faint smile, and the more devilish the magic got the bigger that smile grew. "Extraordinary," he whispered after a moment. "After all this time, I finally set my eyes on it." He reached out towards it, his hands open in a commanding gesture. There was an immediate response from the sliver of dark magic within him; it surfaced on his palms, making them glow a sickly red. The dark magic in the distance suddenly twitched and ceased its random movement, instead forming into a massive stream that coiled through the air like an enormous serpent. The flowing stream of dark magic, so concentrated that it was completely opaque, started moving directly towards Orion.

Artemis watched as this happened, looking defeated. But in reality he was about to try his last resort. He understood how the magic worked—how it was now tied to Orion's blood—and as such he knew that there was still a way, so long as he was there alongside his other self. With Orion captivated by the magic before him, Artemis slowly moved his right arm until it was at his side. Then he let his hand unclench, letting the blood from the intentional wound drip from his finger. He paused, inwardly shuddering at the thought of what he must do, but he did not hesitate for long. With a rush of determination he reached up with his bloodied hand and put it ahead of Orion's. The effect was immediate. The magic that was closing in on them suddenly changed directions, ever so slightly to target Artemis instead of Orion. The reason was simple: they were both of the same blood, and the dark magic that was infused within Orion made no distinction between whether that blood was in one body or two—as far as the magic was concerned Artemis was exactly the same, and by putting his bloody hand a little closer than Orion's he gave the magic a path of least resistance. Orion noticed after a moment, and he looked at Artemis with a cold expression.

"What are you doing?"

Artemis kept his eyes forward. "Whatever it takes."

Artemis knew that what he was doing would end his life. He intended to take the power that Orion had wanted for himself, and subsequently end his own life before he lost control of it. He knew that there was no way of living freely with that darkness within him, and he did not want anything it had to offer him. All that he wanted was to keep it from falling into Orion's hands, and if that meant killing himself then so be it. So many had died for nothing over the course of the senseless war; perhaps he could die for something, and in the process save those who remained. He thought of his friends and family, of Holly and Butler and the others, and knew that this was what he wanted. There was no other way.

Orion suddenly noticed the blood on Artemis' hand, and immediately drew the connection. He did not understand magic as well as Artemis, but he knew exactly what the boy was trying to do. However, he was far from desperate. "A noble gesture," he said smoothly, spite creeping into his usually controlled voice. "But I am afraid that you have miscalculated." He procured his handgun and summarily pressed it into Artemis' side, right where the heart was. "I am sorry." He pulled the trigger after saying those words, sending a bullet screaming into Artemis' side.

The shot that rang out was unnoticeable in the chaos, but its effects were unmistakable for Artemis. He winced upon feeling the impact, a sharp pain arcing through his body, and he nearly lost his footing from the kinetic force. But through willpower and adrenaline he remained standing, eventually ignoring the pain entirely. He knew that he was not dead—the pain he felt was the kinetic force from the shot, not the bullet tearing through him. He had known all along where Orion would aim the gun. The piece of metal he had pocketed earlier had done exactly what he had hoped—not only did it spare his life; it also bought him the last few seconds that he needed to succeed.

Orion had expected Artemis to die then and there, and seeing him doing otherwise actually surprised him. His gun was still ready, but in that moment of uncertainty he actually froze for a split second, and that was all Artemis needed. With the magic careening towards them, now only a few meters away, Artemis reached towards it with all of his might. At the same time Orion yelled out in anger and grabbed the young man by the shoulder, pulling him back whilst bringing his firearm to bear. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and to Artemis it appeared as though it was all finished. He could feel the magic as it began to spark against his fingertips, and he could sense the impending doom it would bring to his soul. But he wanted this, so he did not fight it. What he failed to notice was the gun raised to the side of his head, and the furious man pulling its trigger.

Stop!

He felt something force him back, exactly at the same time as Orion fired. His right eardrum burst from the pressure wave of the shot, and the bullet just barely grazed his cheek. He stared as he fell backwards, horrified by what had happened. Now Orion stood to receive the magic, not Artemis. But in the slow motion of that pivotal moment he saw the one who had saved his life from Orion's shot, and that someone appeared in a flash of light right between Orion and the coming tide of dark magic. It was Qwan.

There was an explosion of raw energy as the magic collided with the warlock, and it filled the air with such a powerful light that no one could see anything for a few seconds. When Artemis' sight returned he saw Qwan standing before a writhing mass of dark magic, his own magic extended against its crimson sea in a wall of brilliant blue. The forces fought against one another, one holding the other back from its nefarious will. It was a cataclysmic scene, with so much magic filling the air around them, and an appalling rumble shook everything and mixed with the distant roar of gunfire and explosions.

"I am sorry, Artemis," Qwan said after a moment, his voice strained and his words rasped. "I could not let you die. And even if you managed to take the magic for yourself you would be incapable of stopping its will." The warlock paused, setting his eyes on Orion. "And you. I could not let you become the same monster that Opal wanted to be. This world has suffered far too much already."

Orion was furious, but he hid it very well. With a terrifying calm he studied the warlock, and then spoke coldly. "You cannot keep it at bay forever. Eventually you will break, and the end result will be unchanged."

Qwan glared at the man. "You thirst for that power, but you do not know the mistake you are making."

"I make no mistakes," Orion replied.

As he said this the dark magic tripled its efforts, slamming into Qwan's magic with incredible force. The warlock gritted his teeth, and sweat poured down his face. It was clear that he was putting every ounce of his power into keeping the darkness at bay, and even that was not enough. The sparkling blue of the warlock's magic was steadily consumed by the crimson tide with every second that passed, like flood waters creeping closer and closer inland. It was evident that there was no stopping the power that Orion had summoned; not even a warlock as powerful as Qwan could hope to stand against it. But he tried nonetheless, ignoring the danger and the mounting odds and pushing himself past his own limits. The magic pushed back, undeterred and ravenous.

Artemis was on the ground, and beside him Nº1 was still flat on his face. But the imp suddenly pulled himself up, his eyes wide and looking at his teacher.

"Qwan…?" the imp rasped, his voice filled with disbelief and fear—fear for the other warlock.

"Aye," Qwan replied, giving his young apprentice a half smile. But he could not do so for any more than a second, for his task demanded his full attention.

Orion watched all of this with a cold expression, and then cocked his head. "So you are completely invested in trying to stop it, and by doing so you are powerless to affect what happens beyond your struggle. While I am waiting for you to crumble into dust, I may as well take care of my loose ends." He turned around, looming over Artemis and Nº1, and raised his gun. He didn't say anything, nor did he hesitate—unlike Briar Cudgeon he wasted no time at all. But as he pulled the trigger a familiar voice yelled out over the chaos, and it was so loud and terrifying that he actually stopped a nanosecond short of blowing Artemis' brains out.

"Drop the gun you bastard!"

Through the smoke and shadows to Orion's right appeared Holly Short. The elf was a total mess, but her weapon was aimed and her trigger finger was able, and her eyes, mismatched hazel and blue, burned with fury and violent intentions. She froze a dozen yards from Orion. Her eyes never left him, but an anxious shimmer in them made it evident that she was dreadfully afraid for her friends. "You heard me," she growled at the man. "Drop the gun, or I swear I'll kill you."

Orion looked at her, but his gun was still pressed against Artemis' forehead. The young man didn't dare move—he was a thinker, not a fighter, and therefore he would be of little use if the contents of his cranium were pureed by a bullet.

"Major Short, what an unpleasant surprise," Orion stated coldly. "Here I am already having to deal with three vexatious opponents, and you just show up at the most inopportune of moments. These two would be dead right now if you did not have your weapon trained on me."

Holly glared at him. "Yeah, that's the idea. Now drop the damn gun!"

Orion smirked at her. "I have no intention of doing so."

"Alright then," Holly said angrily. Without warning she pulled the trigger, and a bolt of lethal energy shot forth from her neutrino. Its blue glare was blinding, and it moved so fast that even Orion had no time to react. The energy blast struck him right in the chest, and the force of its impact sent him sprawling onto the ground. There he remained, unmoving. Holly stood still, her weapon still aimed and its barrel steaming from usage. Her eyes were as hard as stone; merciless and unforgiving.

"I was going to shoot you anyway," she rasped.

Artemis stared, incapable of believing that it was over. No, it couldn't be. Holly was at his side a second later, and she put her hands on his shoulders in a worried gesture.

"Artemis, are you alright?"

"I am fine," he said immediately, smiling thinly. He would have said something more had a familiar laugh not drifted into his ears from ahead. It was cold and calculating, just like his used to be. Both he and Holly looked to where Orion was, and they immediately saw that he was moving. The man patted his hand on where Holly's shot had struck, still laughing, and he then got to his feet. There was a huge smile on his face, one that a man wore when an experiment yielded extraordinary results.

"Just as I predicted," he said with amusement.

Holly was on her feet in and instant, and she shot him again without hesitation. Orion stumbled back, but the shot merely diffused into nothingness when it struck him. A faint glow of crimson magic appeared where the bolt had collided. Holly and Artemis were horrified. Orion was pleased.

"Of course it would do that," he said smoothly through his smile. "The fragment that is within my body on a cellular level retains enough magic in order to make me impervious to your weapon. It makes sense, because to the magic that I am releasing I am its only ticket out its eternal prison. It is simply protecting its own interests. How fascinating..." He paused, looking over to Artemis. "But you, you do not have such protection. The magic is not in your blood, even though your blood is the same as mine. Now, please do me a kind favor and let me kill you both."

"Shut up!" Holly yelled. She suddenly sprinted towards Orion, and as she did so she looked over her shoulder. "Artemis, get Nº1 out of that collar now!"

Artemis nodded—it was the most sensible thing to do in the situation.

Holly aimed her blaster and opened fire, riddling Orion with shots and forcing him to take a few steps back. But the man wasn't fazed. "You were always the reckless one," he said smoothly. He reached into his suit jacket and procured another pistol, this one a backup SIG Sauer P238, and aimed at the charging elf. With a cool expression he pulled the trigger, and his aim was very true. He shot Holly's neutrino right out of her hand.

D'Arvit! Holly thought as bullet fragments bounced from her visor, but she did not hesitate despite having lost her weapon. Instead she increased her speed and ran right at the man, screaming furiously. Orion fired shot after shot, and all of them met their mark. Holly felt the powerful .380 ACP bullets as they pinged off her armor with resounding cracks, and she nearly fell over when one nearly shattered her helmet's visor, but she kept going strong; it was all she could do. Besides, there was one thing that she could count on with human weapons—they ran out of bullets. After one more shot Orion's pistol clicked, and Holly was on top of him before he could reach for a spare magazine. Orion was a tall man, and Holly was much smaller, but that didn't mean that she wasn't capable of beating the shit out of him. She was used to fighting with her hands, and she packed one hell of a right hook. This was nothing compared to a scrap with a troll.

With an angry cry Holly tackled Orion to the ground, taking his legs out from under him and immediately trying to get him into a submission hold. Her efforts failed when the man slipped out of the hold and delivered a powerful kick to her chest, sending her sprawling onto the ground. She was on her feet in an instant, and without pause she attacked Orion before he could get up. Landing on his chest she pinned him down with her legs and started to pummel him in the face with her fists. Over and over she struck him, and each time she could feel his flesh yielding beneath her knuckles. But her efforts were actually pointless, because every blow she delivered was reduced to nothing by the magic that protected Orion from harm.

"You will have to do better than that," he said, grinning at her as she pummeled his face.

"Just die already!" Holly seethed, unwilling to give up.

Orion suddenly grabbed her by the neck with one hand, and it was such a powerful grip that she found herself choking instantly. Her fists stopped moving as she started to run out of air, and by that time Orion had gotten to his feet. He lifted her up, looking her in the eye with his deadly stare, and then sent a perfect uppercut into her chin. The blow snapped her head back and sent her helmet flying off, and for a moment she blacked out. When her vision returned she was falling, tossed aside by Orion like a weightless doll. Her breath was knocked out when she struck the ground, and for a moment she lay there, gasping for air.

"Very persistent, I can respect that," Orion stated. He turned to Artemis and Nº1, his eyes never losing their chill.

Artemis had been working at the warlock's collar for the entire time, and by now he was nearly finished. With one more little tweak he had the device removed, and after tossing it aside her shook the groggy imp gently. "Nº1! Your collar is off, use your magic!" He paused, noting how the warlock had not improved. No, something else was wrong, and he knew what when he saw the tiny holes in the imp's neck. Orion spoke directly behind him.

"Indeed, the collar also injected an inhibitive serum into his system. He will not be doing anything to help you."

Orion had a gun in his hand, and he was ready to use it. Artemis threw caution into the wind and rose to meet him, willing to do anything to keep the man at bay. But then, at the last second, a sudden explosion shook the earth. Both of them fell over, and despite being enemies they both looked towards where the explosion had originated from. It was Qwan—he was nearly consumed by the dark magic.

"I cannot keep it at bay any longer…" the old warlock said to himself, his face lined with fatigue and illness. He knew that was impossible all along, but he had hoped for otherwise nonetheless. Now he was left with no other option—there was only one thing he could do now, and it was a last resort that he had feared for a while. But now, now that he had to use it, he was not afraid. He had been alive for a long time, for ages and ages; perhaps it was time for him to let it go for the sake of the young world he lived in. Yes, that was it. It was what his own teacher, from many millennia ago, would have done. It made him smile a little. Even after all those years he was still learning a thing or two from life, and this was his last lesson.

The dark magic was pressing into him, trying to get past his barrier, and by now it had breached most of it. In a few seconds it would break free. A few seconds was all he needed. With a sudden burst of energy—all that he had left—Qwan forced the sea of darkness back with one of his hands, while with the other he gestured towards Artemis and Orion. Magic glowed on his fingers, and with a few silently uttered words he cast a spell. Nothing appeared to happen, but then, all of the sudden, something happened.

Orion looked down to see that his hands were glowing crimson, and then that same bloody red energy seeped out of him. He stared as all of the microscopic bits of the fragments left his body and flew to Qwan.

"What…what is this!" he growled.

Qwan spoke softly. "It is the only way for me to banish this magic from the world. I will send it back."

The crimson dust soaked into Qwan in moments, and that elicited an immediate response from the sea of darkness. It lost interest in Orion and Artemis—neither of whom bore any trace of the magic that called it—and instead descended down upon the old warlock. This happened like lightening, and it resulted in a huge gust of wind that knocked everyone over again. When they looked up again they could see Qwan within a writhing mass of dark magic, glowing bright in its darkness.

"Qwan!" Nº1 yelled out, suddenly awake—the trauma of what he saw snapped him out of whatever agent infected his system. His young face was contorted with fear and sorrow, for he knew what his teacher—his greatest friend—was doing. He tried to get to his feet, but stumbled almost immediately. He reached out, yelling loudly. "Don't do it! Please!"

There was no way of hearing Qwan's voice in that sea of madness, but the young warlock could sense his response.

I am sorry, Nº1, but there is no other way. That which has been taken from the depths must be returned, or it will destroy this world. I must do this.

Nº1 would have none of it. He lashed out with his magic, suddenly furious, but the might of the force that surrounded Qwan swatted him aside and left him writhing on the ground beside Artemis. Holly was lying down a few meters ahead of them, doing her best not to be blown away. Near her was Orion, and he was absolutely livid. Gone was his composure and sanity. With a terrifying expression he slowly got up to his knees.

"You fool! What have you done!?" Orion yelled. When he got no response he pointed his gun forward and fired shot after shot at the warlock. The bullets dissolved in the rushing whirlwind of magic, doing absolutely nothing to change what was happening. Orion grimaced, tossing the weapon aside with acrimony. There was nothing he could do, and in his rare fit of rage he suddenly lost hold of the ground and was tossed down the hill, nearly taking Artemis with him.

Inside the mass of dark magic Qwan gritted his teeth. He could feel the darkness pouring into him like venom, searing his soul and eating away at his sanity. It was overwhelming, and he knew that if he hesitated any longer he would be lost.

I must make the exchange…

He worked with his magic, weaving a spell around his own life force and using its power to amplify its might. As he did so the darkness pressed harder, as if it sensed his intentions—by the gods how painful its presence was within his body! But he held on, until the very last second, and then let out a commanding shout.

"Return to your prison, you reckless evil, for an eternity more!"

He finished the last piece of his spell, and then, with a simple but commanding gesture, let it loose. A brilliant light erupted from within him, cutting apart the darkness and forcing it back. It weaved into the tide of crimson magic, and shot forth into the sky like a beacon. Night became day—a brilliant sunny day—and as the brilliant light filled the sky the dark magic was pushed back further until it was no longer within or even near the warlock. The serpentine trail of crimson energy convulsed and shimmered, and suddenly parts of it exploded with a blue light. This series of magical implosions ran along the massive stream of dark magic until it reached the spell ring. The glyphs and lines distorted and fell apart, and from the ring shot forth another burst of blue magic, this time into the base of the central relay tower. It ran up its length until it reached the top, where it then exploded in a shower of brilliant sparks and a shockwave of light. The relay tower buckled and flamed, and the other relay towers suddenly ceased functioning. Overhead, where the battle was still raging, the streams of magic from the world's relays fizzled out completely, and the shield fell apart like glass. Then all of the magic faded from existence, leaving everything in the darkness of the night and the hot glow of the fires that burned on the battlefield.

Artemis had kept his head down the whole time, and when he looked up he saw Nº1 ahead of him, kneeling beside Qwan. Holly was just getting up too, and she immediately helped Artemis to his feet. The two of them approached the warlocks, but a sudden boom filled the air and caught their attention. The massive central relay tower lurched and began to fall, its burning mass falling apart in midair. It fell right towards them—an impending storm of countless tons of steel and wiring.

"We have to move, now!" Holly yelled, grabbing Nº1 by the shoulder.

The little warlock nodded, his voice hollowed out by sorrow. "I know..."

Magic shot from the imp's body and surrounded them in a cocoon of soft blue light. Then, as the tower came down upon them, they vanished from the hilltop—spirited away by the warlock's spell at the last possible moment. Not a second later the entire hilltop was crushed by the falling debris, and all was consumed by fire and destruction.