AN- Alright, here's chapter 10 of 'Janus'! I hope you guys and gals like this, cause this is the biggie (but not the last chapter, necessarily). Anyway… here it is!

Chapter 10: The Last Struggle

Rayman rushed through the Fairy Council, lashing out at every one of Janus' men that got in his way. He was filled with fury; Janus had turned the Fairy Council from a beautiful haven of peace into a grim prison of stone and metal. His black eyes burned with fury; the only thing he could see was the figure of Janus always ahead of him.

Finally, Rayman arrived in a large assembly hall. It was devoid of any furniture or anything else that could be used; the only thing in it was the Godking. Janus stood with his back to Rayman with arrogant smirk on his face.

"I have been expecting you, Rai' Muana."

"So have I, Janus!" Rayman yelled. "Let's end this here and now!"

"Not so fast." Janus said with a trace of mocking laughter in his voice. "You seemed very intent on coming here, so why don't you take your time? I have a few people that I think you'd like to see…"

At that, Janus raised his left hand. Soldiers came storming into the room, dragging several prisoners along. Rayman gasped. Ly the fairy and Globox's wife Uglette were placed up against the wall, surrounded by armed soldiers.

"Surprised, eh?" Janus laughed. "You came all the way here, leaving your other friends behind as well… but don't worry, I managed to find them."

At that, Janus gave a shrill whistle. More soldiers rushed in the room, this time escorting Murfy, Simon and Orchid.

"You see, Rai' Muana, I have been waiting for this day to come for so long. If you so much as lay a finger on me, your friends will all die right before your very eyes. Is that what you want? My blood for theirs?"

"You… you wouldn't do that! You couldn't!" Rayman yelled.

"Wouldn't I?" Janus mocked. He then pointed at Orchid. "Kill the girl." He rasped in a voice completely drained of emotion. "Now."

"No!" Rayman yelled. "Don't!"

"Well, Rai' Muana, the tables are turned. Now, what can you do…"

His words were cut off by a gasp that one of his soldiers gave. The soldier fell to the ground, struck by a rock, as another rock came flying into the room. Then, Globox rolled into the room in the form of a ball.

"I'm not scared, I'm not scared, I'm not scared, I'm not… Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Globox yelled as he bowled over the soldiers. Sam then rushed in and hurried out of the room with Rayman's friends.

Janus' face was distorted in rage, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he merely pointed at Rayman. Suddenly, a black light spread from his hand, engulfing the room. Then, Rayman blacked out.

*******

When he came to, Rayman found himself in a strange place. The floor beneath him appeared to be a chessboard, and the sky swirled around with a myriad of dark hues. In the middle of the strange place stood Janus. His gray eyes shone with a strange power, and a slight smile shone on his face.

"Now we fight, Rai' Muana." He said. "And now you die." At that, Janus removed his sword from its sheath and hurled himself at Rayman. He ducked, striking Janus in the side with his staff. Janus winced with pain and doubled over as Rayman hit him again. Suddenly, Janus leaped and struck at Rayman with his sword. Only Rayman's reflexes saved the hero from death as the point jabbed his stomach.

Janus then raised his left hand. A black ball of energy began to form in Janus' hand, growing until it was about the size of Rayman himself. Rayman moved quickly to dodge the blast as it flew towards him. Turning towards Janus, Rayman was struck by another one of the energy balls and was knocked down to the ground. He winced in pain as Janus struck him unmercifully with blast after blast, laughing all the time. Finally, the sneering Godking walked slowly to where Rayman lay.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this." Janus laughed. "Good bye forever, Rai' Muana!" At that Janus thrust his sword down to impale his enemy. At the last moment, however, Rayman picked up his staff and deflected Janus' blow. Janus reeled back at the force of the parry, allowing Rayman to rise and strike Janus with a beam of light.

Janus lifted a hand to his face, wiping a trace of blood from his mouth. "Why don't you just die?" He screamed, shooting pillars of fire at Rayman. The hero dodged all of the pillars, striking Janus in the stomach with his staff. The Godking doubled over as Rayman struck him in the chin, knocking him to the floor. Rayman placed one edge of the staff on Janus' chest to prevent the Godking from rising.

"Janus, you have fought and you have lost. What do you have to say?" Rayman asked, his eyes burning with righteous indignation.

"I don't have anything to say except this." At that, Janus' amulet began to glow. Before Rayman knew what was happening, black energy shot forth from the amulet, knocking Rayman into the air. The ground that Rayman landed on then began to melt, causing him to be partially submerged into the floor.

"You fool." Janus sneered. "Now, as I was saying, goodbye forever!" At that, Janus lifted his amulet as it glowed with the dark energy. Suddenly, Rayman reached for his staff. With the last ounce of energy he could muster, Rayman struck Janus' amulet with his staff, causing the chain that held it to his neck to break.

"My amulet!" Janus yelled, diving for it. He was stopped by Rayman, who had managed to pull himself from the floor. He stood before Janus, blocking his path to the amulet.

"Janus," Rayman said, "listed closely. You have spread your evil within this world for hundreds of years. You have tainted this world with your foul presence, and now your reign of terror will end. But I'm not doing this because I hate you. On the contrary, it is because I love this world so much, and it is my duty as the Rai' Muana to keep it safe from the likes of yourself." At this, Rayman raised his staff and pointed the Lum Crystal towards Janus.

"Goodbye, Janus." Rayman said, closing his eyes as the staff's power enveloped the evil being before him. So ended the reign of terror of Janus, the great king of evil.