Well it seems like you guys are happy I'm updating again, good cause so am I! I plan to be getting these chapters done fairly quick so possibly by the end of this week or next this story will be finished.

Thank you all for being so patient and staying with me through the wait.

Disclaimers: boom de yada

Enjoy~

Ellie was woken by the sound of a horrid wail in the distance. The sound shook her to her very bones. Sitting up and pushing back her covers she found that it didn't even phase her sister or Sam at all. They slept peacefully while some monster wailed so loud it made her head spin. Another screech, but it sounded so much closer.

Getting up and tugging on her clothes and shoes she went to the balcony doors and looked outside. Again the wail came and in the distance she could see lights going out block by block. Something was coming. Reaching for the handle she gasped as a hand was placed over her own and stopped her from opening the door. Looking up she met the eyes of Clockwork in his full ghost form.

"Don't... We must go." He urged and took her hand pulling her along.

"Go? Go where? Clockwork, what's happening?" She asked as the wailing came back and her legs shook, but she just didn't know why. Digging her heels in the carpet she stopped Clockwork's pulling. "What is that thing Clockwork?!"

"The Reaper." He looked at her with by far the most serious expression he had ever had in her presence before. In those loving red eyes there was so much pain and fear of what was to come. But also determination. Turning fully to Ellie he rested his hands on her shoulders. "The Reaper has come for you Ellie. We need to leave now."

"B-But..."

"He's right." Dan walked through the wall and stepped up behind Clockwork. "It won't stop. It's got your scent now."

"I...I can't-"

"Clockwork, where will you even take her?" Writer walked through the door with his arms crossed over his chest. "To your decaying tower? We've run out of time, there has to be a solution."

"If there is... I don't know what is it or where to find it." Clockwork shook his head. "All we can do now is run. Ellie please, we don't have time to argue."

"But... my family. Sam. Tucker. What about them?" She looked over to Sam and Jazz as they slept peacefully oblivious to what was happening.

"It wants you and the longer we stay here the stronger your scent gets." Dan walked up and grabbed her arm. "If you want to save them and yourself then go ghost and fly as fast as you can away from here. This isn't a game anymore. The reaper won't play twenty questions or monologue giving you time to attack. It has no pity and no remorse. If it finds you it will end you without hesitation. It's suicide to stay."

"It will murder them if I run." She pulled her arm from his grasp and glared up at him. "That thing will kill everyone here and you know it. I have to lead it away."

"Ellie no! It will-" Writer tried to reason.

"Chase after me and leave everyone else alone. I'm sorry but I won't run until it see's me. Like you said we don't have time to argue so I'm going out there now!" Ellie focused her energy and became her ghost self. Snow white hair and bright green eyes looked back at them full of determination.

"I beg of you, don't do this Ellie." Clockwork pleaded with her.

"I'm sorry. But after yesterday there is no doubt in my mind, if there ever even was, that everyone here loves me. I can't let them die because this thing is after me. I'd never be able to forgive myself if that happened." She reached up and cupped his cheek. "I'll be okay. Once I'm far enough away from people I'll use the map or something to get away."

"Haven't you found out how to deal with it yet?" Dan hissed glaring at the two older ghosts.

"A crystal locked in a place without time is what we need. That's all the information I've been able to gather on what could possibly defeat a Reaper." Clockwork pinched the bridge of his nose. "A being outside of time and space can only be destroyed through an implement that was crafted under the same means."

"A crystal created outside of time and space." Writer hummed looking thoughtful. "Wait... that's it! Clockwork we have to go!" Writer grabbed Clockworks arm as if it physically pull him. "I think I know where the crystal is! We need to go now, there is no time to waste!"

"If you're sure. Ellie let's-"

"No. You two go find the crystal. I'm staying to keep it busy." Ellie stood firm, she wasn't going to be swayed.

"I'm staying with her. If nothing else I can slow it down a little." Dan insisted as he put his hand on her shoulder and lead her towards the glass doors to the balcony. "We don't have time for lengthy lovey bull shit. Go get the damn crystal."

"I love you both." Ellie said before charging through the window with Dan right on her tail.

It hurt to let her go but they had little choice. The time was dire and they were running out of it far too quickly. With another tug from Writer Clockwork snapped back into gear and summoned his scepter. They'd find the crystal in time, they just had too.

Dan and Ellie flew out onto the beach and dropped down letting the sand shift under their shoes. The wails were loud enough to break their skulls at that point. The lights going out even faster and racing towards them.

"Scared?" Dan asked as he rolled his neck.

"Yup. You?" Ellie smirked a small bit as she readied her fighting stance.

"Yup." Dan gave her a toothy grin and mentally prepared himself for what was to come. "Keep your eyes open."

The black mist descended on the beach and wafted over the sand like the very water. The air around them became like ice as the temperature dropped. Frost and ice built up on the moving waves freezing them in place. Before them now stood The Reaper. Clad in black with only it's red eyes and toothy grin visible. Setting it's blood red eyes on the two ghosts it let out another wail towards the sky and charged at them.

Ellie and Dan didn't waste time as they took to the skies and hauled ass in the other direction. The Reaper of course gave chase towards them and away from Ellie's loved one's. As the Reaper would get too close they'd send blasts at it. Anything from a ghostly wail to an energy beam. Anything they could throw at it to keep it at bay. They were running out of speed though and the Reaper was catching on. It would not be idle for much longer.

"We have to fight." Ellie yelled to Dan over the roar of the wind.

"We fight... we die." Dan called back grimly.

"We don't fight, we die. At least we can go down swinging." Ellie didn't like it any better than him. But it had to be done. Time was up and they were out of ways to slow it down. The Reaper was just letting them waste energy like this just so it can claim a kill. It was go down swinging or let it slowly tear them apart.

"To the gorge. Drag it there and then we fight." Dan instructed. Ellie nodded and charged up another attack. Sending blast after blast to slow it just a little more the Reaper dodged her attacks before they even got close. It had learned her habits and was ready to make the kill. It wanted blood and wasn't going to loose it's prey now.

Diving down into the rock gorge the Reaper eagerly followed them down. Dan wasted no time in hitting the walls and bringing down pile after pile of rocks. But it was all futile. The Reaper swung it's scythe and stopped the rocks from falling before they even hit it. The rocks vanished and in the next moment appeared above their heads.

Neither of them had the time to focus and go intangible. They were forced to dodge every last boulder before it made contact with their heads. All around them the air started the break and crumble. Space and time were becoming undone as the Reaper kept sending wave after wave of rocks at them. It was laughing manically all the while.

"It's playing with us!" Dan hissed as he punched a rock away.

"The Reaper is destroying everything!" Ellie gasped as over the water storms started to form.

The sky as breaking and the weather was changing all over. In one patch of land it started to snow. In another there was a hurricane. A patch of blazing desert. Planes falling out of the sky. Comets breaking through the atmosphere. Everything was happening so fast that she could hardly keep up. It looked like the end of everything and it probably was. The Reaper didn't care about the damage it caused. Only about getting it's prey and claiming yet another soul.

Ellie wasn't able to take any more of this cat and mouse game. Her world was literally being torn asunder and she needed to act. Kicking one last rock out of the way she charged the Reaper and punched it hard sending it back. Before it could hit the stone wall it teleported behind her and moved to take a slice out of her. Dodging the attack she was sliced on her side from the hit and was forced to retreat. Dan witnessed the attack and let loose a wail to distract it and let Ellie run.

The Reaper was done with this game and rose up it's clawed hand tearing up the very earth around them. Slowly huge chunks of stone and dirt rose from the ground and more of the sky shattered. The cracks were getting bigger and bigger. There was no telling how much more the universe could take before everything would just stop.

"How do you stop something made from time and space that can control both?" Ellie panted as she held her bleeding side.

"By giving it what it wants." Clockwork appeared before her and fell to his knees with a groan. Writer tripped out of his shaky portal with him. Clockwork's very color looked drained, his glass chest was cracked and the gears inside of him looked rusted and chipped.

"We found the crystal but..." Writer held up a pale grey crystal with odd writing on it. "It will stop the Reaper but only if it get's what it wants first..."

All around them shards of space fell from the sky and shattered against the ground and vanished into dust. Piece by piece it broke apart until there was nothing left. No more stars or lights. No plants or dirt. No water or sand. Nothing. Just blackness all around them. Only the five of them were left with the Reaper in a universe that no longer existed.

"W-what... what happened?" Ellie looked around and couldn't see anything but the men with her. Just black all around, the only bit of color or life was the four of them. "Where is the Reaper?"

"We are in it's domain now. It destroyed everything. A place without time or space. Nothingness." Clockwork said as he struggled to get up to his feet and failed no matter how hard he tried. "It destroyed everything and is collecting it's strength to finish us all off."

"Everything is gone for good?" Dan asked glaring at the nothingness all around him. The blank space reminded him far too much of his time trapped in the thermos.

"No. If we can trap the Reaper in this crystal then we can stop it... but we have to give it what it wants." Writer looked down at the ground with a hopeless expression.

"What do you mean?" Ellie pleaded as she knelled by Clockwork and looked up at Writer. Both of them had pained expressions. Their entire worlds felt like they were coming to an end both figuratively and literally.

"It wants Danny. The only way to stop it is to give it what it wants. After that it will be trapped in this crystal forever. Everything will go back to how it was. That's what the crystal says." Writer glared at the crystal as if it was the most horrid thing ever created.

Deafening silence followed. Clockwork had lost everything and would soon loose himself as well. A being of time could not remain in a place without time. Writer would fade away into the nothingness like everything else would, the effects of this place were already draining him. Dan was pulled from time but there was no telling what would happen to him if he remained in this dimension. Ellie was what it wanted and she would have to die to save everyone. She was only seventeen and she was being forced to meet her end. Fate was so cruel.

"Okay. Give me the crystal." Ellie reached out and took it from Writer with a look of conviction on her face. "You all try to go... somewhere away from me. I'm going to end this."

"Ellie no! I won't let you do this!" Clockwork tried to force himself to his feet but just didn't have the strength and fell back to his knees. Writer tried to take the crystal back but fell down as well. His power was quickly depleting. "Ellie I beg of you, don't."

"I'm sorry. I love you both so much." She knelled down in front of them and cupped their cheeks to raise their gazes to her own. She looked at them with all the love and hope she could muster. Tears formed in her eyes as she realized this was the last time she'd ever see either of them again. A smile formed on her face even as tears slid down her cheeks. "I love you both. Which is why I have to do this. If I can save you then it will all be worth it."

Standing back up she let out a shaky breath and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Clockwork and Writer couldn't even work up the strength to reach out to her anymore. Their powers were gone and their strength vanished. Despair was all they had left. Looking to Dan she smiled softly.

"Look after them for me. Please." Dan nodded stiffly to her as he still had some strength left. Enough to do as asked of him. "You told me once that you were looking for redemption. The fact that you stayed by my side for all of this definitely earned you that right." Dan could only look down at the ground after being given such kind words. To think that she could forgive him after all he had done was not something he could wrap his head around.

A harsh gut wrenching wail broke through the silence. The Reaper was charged and ready to claim it's kill. With the Crystal gripped tightly in her hand she gave one last loving look to her lovers and flew off before anyone could stop her. Not even the cries of her name from Clockwork and Writer could stop her now. Wither she liked it or not she had a fight with destiny.

Oh no! What's going to happen to Ellie?!

Is this really the end?!

Will Ellie die?!

Post a review to unlock the next chapter and find out!

R&R