Author's Note: Sorry I'm a little late getting this chapter up. I've had kind of a rough week this week. Plus lately I've been a little obsessed with playing Pokemon Sword (there really is a lot to do in that Crown Tundra expansion). Of course another reason this chapter is a little late going up is because I was doing work on another project.
A few months ago I was invited to take part in the Darker Oneshots, Halloween 2020 event happening on this site. So I had to spend a good chunk of this week putting the finishing touches on that story. The oneshot I did for that project is in fact another Sailor Moon story called The Vampire of Yuggoth. It's sort of a prequel to this and every other Sailor Moon fanfic done as part of this project, though nothing that happens in The Vampire of Yuggoth is relevant to what happens in this or any previous story I've done so far, so for the moment it's kind of a standalone. It will have relevance to a much later project though.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon, nor do I own the works of H.P. Lovecraft or August Derleth.
Chapter 9: The Doom That Came To Cydonia
"You're telling me this whole damn building has been transported to Mars?" Jadeite asked. "How is that even possible?"
"Do you recall me mentioning that there were crystals meant for channeling mystical energy embedded throughout the entire complex?" Grete responded. "It appears those crystals are the kind used for teleportation. Thurin-Xa obviously designed this building to be a means for him to travel to Mars instantly. Incidentally, this complex also seems to be generating an energy field that's providing the area outside with a breathable atmosphere, hence why we haven't all suffocated because of the window you left open."
"Okay, well how come Thurin-Xa only waited until now to use this teleportation system of his?"
"Because as he said, he didn't have a host he could use to channel sufficient power to activate the crystals, not until he gained control of Ms. Hino. I suspect he may still need her for something else."
Jadeite turned to Phobos and Deimos. "You two have known something about all of this from the beginning, haven't you? I think it's time you start talking."
Phobos and Deimos looked sadly to one another for a moment before turning back to Jadeite.
"Please forgive us, General," Phobos spoke. "We did sense the presence of this enemy from the time of our arrival at this place, but we decided to say nothing because we wanted to believe we were wrong about what we sensed."
"We just didn't want to believe that a monster the likes of Thurin-Xa had returned," Deimos added.
"Who is Thurin-Xa anyway?" Jadeite asked. "What is he?"
"Thurin-Xa…is the last king of Cydonia," Deimos answered. "He is also the last Cydonian to exist."
"So you're saying that two forms of intelligent life evolved on Mars?" Grete asked.
"At least," Phobos confirmed. "There were said to be two others, but they were often considered myth. But the Cydonians were very real."
"Rei told me a little about her world back during Silver Millennium when we worked together," Jadeite recalled. "But she never mentioned anything about these Cydonians."
"That's understandable," Phobos responded. "Because by the Princess's time, the Cydonians had been wiped out."
"It all happened at least twenty-thousand years before the Moon Kingdom rose as the ruling power of this solar system," Deimos began. "One thing you must understand is that back then, the Princess's people on Mars were a race of savage uninhibited warriors ruled by their passions."
"The Cydonians were not much different," Phobos continued. "They were a savage race of reptilian humanoids. Whether they were born naturally on Mars or came to this world from somewhere else like the people of Dead Moon, no one can say. But the Cydonians were a minority on the planet that was reviled by the other peoples of Mars. There was generally no trouble between the Cydonians and the regular Martians mainly because the Cydonians generally kept to their home region.
"Then one day a great warrior king named Thurin-Xa rose to power in Cydonia. It was said that Thurin-Xa was not just a warrior, but also a sort of prophet. His psychic abilities were far greater than those of the rest of his people, and it was through these abilities that he was able to make contact with a god of pure flames known as Cthugha. By making a pact with Cthugha, Thurin-Xa had gained a portion of the god's flame. This flame made him immortal and gave him the ability to wield poisonous black flames against his enemies."
"With his power, Thurin-Xa vowed to make Cydonia into an empire," Deimos continued. "He became the most celebrated king among his people. He was so revered that during his eighty-year reign, the Cydonians built a massive monument of Thurin-Xa's face looking up at the sky. The Cydonians wanted others to know their king as the true face of Mars."
"It was that monument that ultimately led to Cydonia's doom," Phobos continued. "The true king of Mars felt that Thurin-Xa and his people were becoming a threat to his authority and to the kingdom at large. Thus the king ordered his armies to slaughter the Cydonians before they could cause any real trouble."
"You mean they launched an unprovoked attack?" Jadeite asked.
Deimos nodded. "You must remember that during this time, the people of Mars were a savage uninhibited warrior race that had yet to achieve the level of discipline you have seen in the Princess. They showed the Cydonians no mercy, but of course the Cydonians would not going to go down without a fight. A great war ensued, but it was a war that the Cydonians were quickly on the verge of losing due to their small numbers."
"The one hope the Cydonians had was for Thurin-Xa to release the god Cthugha from his fabled prison and call him to Mars," Phobos continued. "Had he succeeded, the Cydonians would've been reborn as beings of pure flame, or so the legends went. Fortunately the current queen of Mars at the time had managed to stop Thurin-Xa with the help of her band of priestesses. They were unable to kill Thurin-Xa because of his immortality, but they did at least manage to restrain him. Thus the Cydonians were slaughtered while Thurin-Xa was imprisoned beneath the central palace of Mars, which was where he remained for the next twenty thousand years."
"Then eventually the tragedy struck," Deimos continued. "One day, Thurin-Xa somehow escaped from his prison. The first thing he did when he escaped was to gain revenge for his people by slaughtering the current king and queen of Mars, the parents of our princess. You already know this part of the story from what the Princess told you about her nightmares."
"Thurin-Xa was the one she saw standing over the bodies of her parents," Jadeite recalled.
Deimos nodded. "The nightmare that the Princess has been having was a repressed memory from her former life which was awakened when Princess Mercury innocently showed her that image of Thurin-Xa's monument. It is strange that something like this would happen right before encountering that monster, but then perhaps her seeing the face was a sign of what was to come."
"How did Rei survive encountering Thurin-Xa back then?" Jadeite asked.
"Fortune was thankfully on her side," Phobos answered. "Right when Thurin-Xa was about to attack her, Queen Serenity I of the Moon arrived with a pair of soldiers, apparently to visit our king and queen. One of Queen Serenity's soldiers managed to decapitate Thurin-Xa before he could inflict any serious damage to anyone, but despite his head being separated from his body the monster still lived. Thus Queen Serenity decided to imprison Thurin-Xa again, but took even greater precautions. Thurin-Xa's body was entombed here on Mars, in the heart of Cydonia where we are now, while his still living head was entombed on Earth."
"But somehow Thurin-Xa's head got free of its prison," Jadeite deduced. "And he used those mind powers of his to control people and build the Cydonia Foundation, all so he could get back to Mars and get his body back."
"Once he does, Princess Mars will be in even greater danger," Phobos added. "Not only that, he will likely try and call forth that wicked god of his, Cthugha."
"I was a fool," Grete spoke. "I should've taken Ms. Hino's nightmares more seriously. I knew we'd likely be dealing with some sort of high priest or herald to Cthugha, but I never anticipated that enemy being someone connected so deeply to Ms. Hino's past."
"I think it's time you told us who you really are, Grete," Jadeite told her. "And about just what this Cthugha thing you're after is."
"Very well. At this point there's no reason to keep hiding my identity." With that, Grete put a hand to her chest. "Gunnr Star Power MAKE-UP!"
A pillar of blinding silver light enveloped Grete, fading away a few moments later to reveal her in a new form. She had on an outfit similar to that of a sailor guardian, only more armored. A plate of silver armor covered the front of her torso, and on her chest was a black bow with a heart-shaped crystalline broach in the center. A short black skirt hung down around her waist, and two pieces of golden armor covered her shoulders. On her legs she wore a pair of knee-high silver boots, and a pair of elbow-high silver gloves covered her hands. A black tiara covered the dark-haired girl's forehead, and decorating the sides of her head was a pair of white metal wings.
"Guided by the Gunnr Moon of Planet Folkvangr, I am Sailor Gunnr!" the dark-haired warrior declared as she struck a dramatic pose.
"You're a Sailor Guardian?" a stunned Phobos asked.
"I am a member of one of the oldest Sailor Guardian teams in the galaxy," Gunnr answered. "The Sailor Valkyries. And I was sent here on a mission to prevent the release of Cthugha."
"And what is this Cthugha thing?" Jadeite asked.
"It is one a group of malignant beings known as the Great Old Ones. They are incarnations of chaos. Think of them as cancer cells that if left to grow would forever distort and destroy the universe, as we know it. Cthugha was one of the most destructive of the Old Ones; a being of pure fire that wished to consume everything. Ages ago during the time of my gods, the Aesir, Cthugha went on a rampage and threatened to burn away all of existence.
"Not even the god, Thor could slay the beast. In fact his thunder attacks only seemed to make Cthugha stronger, likely because lightning can act as a catalyst of fire. In the end it fell to Odin the all-father and the treacherous Loki the trickster to find a way to at least seal Cthugha. Odin ordered the dwarves of Planet Nidavellir to create a cage to contain Cthugha, a great box that would vanish from this dimension once the god of flames was sealed. As soon as the box had been forged, it was placed near the star, Fomalhaut.
Once the cage was ready, Loki used his shape-shifting ability to transform into a type of large space-faring butterfly which Cthugha was drawn to for unknown reasons. Loki used this form to lure Cthugha into the box, where Odin used his great magic to seal the Old One. Once the seal was completed, the box vanished from our dimension into another plain of existence. Unfortunately because of an imperfection with the box's design, the box reappears in our dimension whenever Fomalhaut is in the right celestial alignment. During those times, those with the knowledge can break the seal and release Cthugha into the universe."
"I'm guessing that star you're talking about is in that proper alignment right now," Jadeite deduced.
Gunnr nodded. "Which is why it is urgent we stop Thurin-Xa before he can undo the seal. If that were to happen, nothing could stop Cthugha. Nothing except Sailor Moon perhaps, but that is far from a certainty. That is why we must prevent Thurin-Xa from breaking the seal in the first place."
"And we have to go save Rei," Jadeite added as he finally got off the bed. "So what the hell are we waiting for? Let's move it!"
As Jadeite and the others were preparing to head off on their rescue, Thurin-Xa was leading a procession across the wastes of Cydonia using Rei's body. Following right behind Rei was Dr. Higgins, who was carrying the sphere containing Thurin-Xa's head. Takashi, Dr. Ichinose and Virginia followed along after Dr. Higgins. The rest of the procession was made up of Foundation security officers and several Dragon's Teeth soldiers that had completed their final metamorphosis. The small army was following Rei to where the monster using her like a puppet sensed the presence of his body.
As they traveled across the red desert, Thurin-Xa reflected on everything that had happened to get him to this moment. Ages ago when his head had been entombed on Earth, Thurin-Xa felt all had been lost to him, that all he could do was lie in the darkness and curse fate for all eternity. Then one day in a year he would later learn to be the Earth year of 1921 when a team of archeologists entered his tomb located in what he would later learn to be the country of Greece. Thurin-Xa seized on the opportunity for freedom and took control of the head archeologist, who to his fortune turned out to be an aging but wealthy adventurer named Arthur Livingston Douglass III. Using the resources of his newest puppet, Thurin-Xa began building an organization that would eventually become the Cydonia Foundation.
During the years that followed, Thurin-Xa learned all he could about Earth and the knowledge its people possessed. He was disappointed that the modern humans who had unearthed his head had no possession of magic, but their technology had promise and he felt it only a matter of time before they developed the technology he could one day use to return to Mars. Years later when the countries of the United Sates and Soviet Union began their race to reach the Moon, Thurin-Xa paid close attention to each of their missions. He had watched each and every American moon landing and was pleased to learn the empire of the Moon Kingdom had perished, as had life on the other planets of the solar system. Of course Thurin-Xa feared there might be some trace of the Moon Kingdom left on Earth that could once again thwart him.
Using his knowledge of the mystical arts, Thurin-Xa conducted a very advanced form of flame reading – a kind more powerful than the type of flame reading which Rei occasionally used to peak into the future – and discovered that one day the princess of the Moon Kingdom would be reborn in the modern era along with her four guardians. To Thurin-Xa's surprise though, one of the guardians of this princess was in fact Princess Mars, the little girl he had failed to slaughter all those years ago thanks to the intervention of that wretched Moon Queen. At first Thurin-Xa saw this as a troubling development, but then he realized he could use the power of Princess Mars to get him back to his body far faster than any human-built space vehicle. Thurin-Xa already knew how to find an abundance of the crystals used for teleportation back during the Moon Kingdom era, but none of his available puppets could channel a sufficient amount of his power to activate them. The Princess of Mars though would be a far different story.
Thus Thurin-Xa had shifted his focus towards building a facility that would transport him to Mars. He also began efforts to find the young woman who would turn out to be Princess Mars's reincarnation. Years later when that space probe took the blurry image of his monument on the surface of Cydonia, Thurin-Xa decided to take his organization more public under the name of the Cydonia Foundation. He also decided to take great measures to disguise future images of his monument which might likely be taken by more advanced probes sent to Mars, as he didn't want to alert the Princess to his existence, at least not until the time was right. And now, after years of waiting and building up his organization, Thurin-Xa's goal of being reunited with his body was finally about to be reached.
"Master, forgive me for asking this, but how can you be certain that your body won't simply be a dried-up mummy or a pile of bones?" Dr. Higgins asked.
Rei smirked. "Back in 1945 if memory serves, my primary puppet was a professor at a school called Miskatonic University. Using him I was able to gain access and read an enlightening little book known as the Necromonicon. In that book was a memorable little phrase that went, 'That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.' Like my head, my body does not age or decay. Right now it is merely in a dormant state, but it will awaken once my head is finally rejoined with it."
"You're absolutely certain of this?"
"I can sense it. I must say though Dr., I find your lack of faith in my powers disturbing."
Dr. Higgins smiled. "Forgive me Master. I am a man of science, so a lot of this is a little hard for me to comprehend."
"But of course. Your puny human mind is incapable of comprehending such matters. Now be silent and carry my head. We're almost at our destination."
Eventually the procession made it to a small structure that looked like a mausoleum made of red stone. Several ornate carvings were engraved upon the doors, many of them Thurin-Xa recognized as Martian glyphs.
"So I was right," Rei spoke as Thurin-Xa read the carvings through her eyes. "That wretched Queen of the Moon carved a warning on this tomb to try and scare away anyone who would dare disturb it. She also made it so that only a member of Mars royalty could open it. Unfortunately for her, she underestimated my power."
Thus Rei stepped forward and placed a hand on the center of the door. The carvings on the door glowed red and it soon swung inward with a loud grinding noise, revealing a large black metal coffin on a pedestal inside.
"Retrieve my body!" Rei ordered the soldiers. "The moment of my true resurrection has finally come."
At about the time Thurin-Xa's small army had come upon the tomb containing his body, Jadeite and Gunnr were dashing across the Cydonian wasteland at incredible speed as Phobos and Deimos flew ahead of them by air. The two bird fairies had been able to lock onto Rei's energy and thus point the way to Thurin-Xa's location.
"How much further until we get to her?" Jadeite asked the two fairies.
"Not much longer!" Phobos answered. "The Princess should be just over that next ridge!"
Jadeite nodded and turned to Gunnr. "So if Thurin-Xa gets his body back, does that mean it's game over?"
"It would take some time for Thurin-Xa to undo the seal on Cthugha's cage, so all would not be completely lost if we are too late to prevent him from regaining his body," Gunnr answered. "Still, it would be best to prevent him from getting that far."
It took almost five minutes for two of the Foundation security officers to open the metal casket containing Thurin-Xa's body. When the lid had finally been pried off, inside they found the lean headless body of a reptilian humanoid alien covered in white scales. His slender arms were crossed over his chest, and on his wrists were two black manacles with broken chains hanging from them. Armor the color of dried blood covered his upper torso, and covering his waist was a sort of tattered red kilt. Despite how long the coffin had been in that tomb, it looked as though it had died perhaps only minutes ago.
"And now it is time," Rei spoke. "Remove my head from the containment sphere and place it in the coffin with my body."
Suddenly Rei fell to the ground unconscious. Thurin-Xa had released his control over her. Dr. Higgins meanwhile placed the sphere he was carrying on the ground and opened up the front. He then removed Thurin-Xa's head, finding that its eyes had opened, and placed it in the coffin right above the stump of the neck. Black flames suddenly shot from the bottom of the head and seared the flesh of the two neck sections together.
A few moments after the head and body were rejoined, Thurin-Xa sat up in his metal coffin and took a deep breath. "Ah! To breathe again with my own lungs! There were so many times I thought this day would never come, but at long last I am whole again."
Dr. Higgins and the rest of the procession all got down on one knee. "All hail Thurin-Xa, King of Cydonia!"
Thurin-Xa got up and stepped out of the coffin. "I command my soldiers to secure the area! Now that I am whole, I must begin the incantation to undo the seal on Great Cthugha's cage and summon him here."
Jadeite and the others at last made it to the ridge where Phobos and Deimos had sensed Rei's presence. In the desolate valley down below, they Thurin-Xa's small around patrolling the area. Most of the army was made up of the Dragon's Teeth soldiers, with the Foundation security officers sticking close to a large rock. Atop of this rock, Jadeite and Gunnr spotted a reptilian humanoid sitting cross-legged and in the midst of some sort of chant.
"It appears we are too late," Gunnr observed. "Hopefully though we have arrived in time to prevent Thurin-Xa from finishing the incantation to unlock Cthugha's cage. The incantation is long and complex. Any disruption to the recitation will force Thurin-Xa to start all over."
"Unfortunately it looks like it won't be easy getting to that scaly bastard," Jadeite observed. "The human security should be no problem, but I counted at least a hundred of those lizard soldiers of his down there."
"General! Look!" Deimos called as she pointed down towards Thurin-Xa's rock. "It's the Princess!"
Jadeite put a hand above his eyes to try and increase the range of his view and spotted Rei lying on the ground right in front of the Cydonian King's rock. She was unconscious but looked unharmed.
"I will handle the soldiers, Jadeite," Gunnr told him. "You worry about getting to Thurin-Xa and Ms. Hino."
"You sure? There are a lot of them," Jadeite pointed out.
Gunnr smirked. "Relax. These soldiers will be nothing before me."
"Okay then. Phobos, Deimos, you stick close to Sailor Gunnr. It'll probably be safer with her than with me."
With a flash of silvery light, two long single-handed swords appeared in each of Gunnr's hands. Each one had a long narrow blade made of black metal, and a gold handle ending with a carving made to look like the head of a snake.
"I'll go down first and draw the bulk of the soldiers to me," Gunnr told Jadeite. "While they're distracted, you go for Thurin-Xa."
With the plan decided, Gunnr charged down the hill with Phobos and Deimos following close behind. Five of the Dragon's Teeth spotted her immediately and came after her. As the pack of beasts charged in they all spewed streams of fire from their mouths.
Gunnr crossed the blades of her swords in front of herself as she ran at them. "Inverse Mischief! Fire to Water!"
Just as the five streams of flame were about it reach their target, they suddenly turned to streams of water and hit an invisible barrier that seemed to form in front of Gunnr.
Gunnr uncrossed her swords. "Niflheim Shadow Slash!"
Suddenly Gunnr vanished in a cloud of black mist, causing Phobos and Deimos to stop and try and find her. The five Dragon's Teeth stopped as well and began scanning the surroundings. Suddenly all five soldiers were slashed in half. As the pieces of their dismembered bodies feel to the ground, Sailor Gunnr reappeared.
"Come!" Gunnr told Phobos and Deimos. "There's much work that needs to be done."
Meanwhile Jadeite was heading straight for Thurin-Xa's rock. As they had hoped, the Dragon's Teeth were focusing their attention on Gunnr. With all of the Dragon's Teeth converging on Gunner's location, Jadeite was totally free to go after Thurin-Xa. As Jadeite got near the rock, the Foundation Security officers opened fire on him. Jadeite blocked the bullets with an icy mist from his sword that caused the projectiles to freeze in midair and fall to the ground.
As soon as Jadeite was in range, he used his Deep Freeze Slumber attack to encase the soldiers in ice to be revived later. Jadeite began to close in on the rock and heard the words of Thurin-Xa's chant.
Jadeite thrust his sword into the air towards the King of Cydonia. "Sub Zero Lance!"
A spear of ice shot from Jadeite's sword up towards Thurin-Xa. The reptilian king's eyes snapped open and a wall of black flames appeared in front of him and caused the spear of ice to melt instantly. Jadeite continued his charge, and right when he was about to get to Rei Thurin-Xa jumped down from the rock and got between them.
Thurin-Xa grinned and waved a long index finger in the air. "If you wanted to save the girl, you should've waited until you got closer before attacking."
"Knowing what you're trying to unleash upon this solar system, it was important that I stop you as soon as possible," Jadeite responded. "I know all about your god, and I know that I can't let it be released."
"Ah! You're quite well informed, boy. But even knowing what you do, it is far beyond your power to stop me."
"Just to satisfy my own curiosity, why the hell are you even doing all this anyway? Why release this Cthugha of yours?"
"Because the universe has become dead wood that must be burned to ash. It is my destiny to bring about that great inferno."
"Did this inferno of yours include the lives of your own people?"
"My people and I would've been reborn as beings of pure flame that would've eternally served Cthugha had not that detestable king of Mars slaughtered them. The dead remnants of his kingdom and that loathsome Moon Kingdom both deserve to be burned for that atrocity!"
"I feel sorry for what happened to your people, but I can't let your plans go any further! This is where you finally die!"
Jadeite then fired another Sub Zero Lance at Thurin-Xa. Once again though, the King of Cydonia conjured another wall of black flames that melted the lance. Jadeite couldn't help but feel how hot those black flames were now that he had gotten so close. Thurin-Xa fired a stream of those black flames from his clawed right hand at Jadeite, forcing him to strike his sword into the ground and create another Absolute Ice Fort. The flames melted the four walls of ice in an instant.
Suddenly Jadeite noticed that he wasn't feeling right. He found that he felt sick to his stomach, and somehow he could still feel the heat of those black flames on his skin even though they had subsided.
Thurin-Xa chuckled. "I can tell that my flames are getting to you. You may have heard my black flames are poisonous. Thanks to the human knowledge I've acquired over my years of exile, I can now call that poison by its proper name, radiation. It's essentially the same type of poison inflicted by the materials used to make your atomic bombs. Your shield of ice is incapable of protecting you from it. If you go on battling, it won't be much longer before you drop."
"Maybe," Jadeite spoke as he struggled to remain standing. "But I won't give up…not until I've stopped you and saved Rei…or at least…die trying!"
By then Rei had finally regained consciousness. She looked up and saw Jadeite confronting Thurin-Xa, and she could see immediately that he wasn't doing well.
"You'd throw your life away to protect that weak little girl, eh?" Thurin-Xa asked with a fanged grin. "How amusing since you proved to be the bane of her existence and the cause of her death during your previous lives."
"I know that," Jadeite responded. "And that's why…I don't give a crap what happens to me. I deserve to die for all I did, but before I go…I'm going to make sure you don't harm her!"
With one last surge of strength, Jadeite fired another ice lance from his sword at Thurin-Xa. This time the King of Cydonia countered with a stream of black flames from his hand. The flames melted the lance to nothing and struck Jadeite in the chest. The attack undid Jadeite's transformation and knocked him unconscious.
Thurin-Xa pointed his clawed hand down at Jun. "And now boy…you shall be the first of your kind who shall be burned to ash."
"Mars Crystal Power MAKE-UP!" Rei called out as she got to her feet.
Thurin-Xa looked back in into to see Rei complete her transformation into Sailor Mars. The raven-haired priestess charged past the King of Cydonia and went to Jun's side. She lifted the blonde off the ground to thankfully discover that he was still breathing, but he was not doing well. Mars looked to Thurin-Xa and then suddenly froze. She had charged in without realizing the monster from her nightmares was standing right in front of her.
"Well hello, Princess," Thurin-Xa spoke. "Are you going to try and stop me now? You know you don't have the strength for it. I am far too powerful of an opponent for you."
Mars took a deep breath. "Phobos! Deimos! To me!"
On cue, the two bird fairies flew to Sailor Mars's side. A few seconds later, Gunnr came over to their side as well after mowing through a few more Dragon's Teeth.
"I relieved to see you unharmed, Sailor Mars," Gunnr spoke.
"Never mind me," Mars responded. "Phobos, Deimos, I need you to get us to my castle in orbit, right now!"
"Princess?" the two bird fairies responded together.
"Just do it quickly!"
Phobos and Deimos nodded before closing their eyes and putting their hands over their chests. In moments the two fairies began to give off a soft red light. Thurin-Xa meanwhile fired another stream of black flames towards them, but before the attack could hit the five of them vanished with a burst of red fire.
"You decided to run and hide, eh?" Thurin-Xa spoke. "So like the child you are. Well, no matter. It makes no difference where you go or if I destroy you now or later. In the end, you and your friends will all be burned to ash."
Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed this latest installment. I'll try and be back a little earlier next week with the next update. Until then, please review and let me know what you think.