Author's note: I am so sorry this took so long! First Christmas, then a trip to Florida, plus things have been just really stressful lately. So, hopefully this chapter won't disappoint. And as for your question, Loki, if the bullet hit Marcus' heart or brain, it could kill him even though he's a hybrid.

To Katylar and DZ Dillinger: The hybrid question was actually going to be addressed in this story, probably next chapter, so I won't answer it here. And as for Michael and Selene not being prominent, there are two reasons for that. One, I like Lucian and Sonja more, two, I'm actually afraid of writing Michael and Selene, because frankly, I am never sure if I get them in character or not. But it's mainly because this is MY sequel and I would rather have L/S. And to Katylar, L/S is canon, because it was established in the movie. M/S was the main ship of the movie, but both are canon. Thanks to both of you for your reviews though, and yes, I do have way too many OC, but half were developed as the story progressed and changed from what was planned.

Thanks for all the reviews, and this chapter isn't a cliffy. I don't think the next update will take so long, it should be completed next week actually. Hope everyone enjoys, and reviews, even negative ones, are wanted!

Disclaimer: You know the drill, see a previous chapter if you want to be reminded. Savvy?

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CHAPTER 23: IT ENDS TONIGHT

The blast echoed in the almost cavernous crypt, everyone frozen in perplexity, horror, shock, anger. Eyes turned to Marcus, those who knew his speed expecting him to move, those who didn't fearful that the bullet would indeed kill him.

But not a soul had expected someone to save the Elder. Not one person in that room, in the whole mansion, had ever thought that a lycan would be the one to push Marcus out of the way, his voice the one crying out in pain as the silver bullet propelled through his flesh towards his lung.

Marcus himself didn't know why he hadn't been able to move quickly enough, after all, a mere lycan had been quick enough, why not an Elder hybrid? Perhaps it was different for the one being shot at, perhaps it slowed one down, the instinctual fear or shock. Perhaps the lycan had moved before Anya had shot, knowing she would by a movement in her hand. He supposed he would never know.

Everyone watched in silence as Marcus sat up, looking down at the body next to him, blood pouring from the bullet hole. He was about to turn the lycan over onto his back, but Lucian beat him to it, almost cradling the lycan's head.

It was Radu, Rudolf as he was now called. The scent of scorching flesh, the lycan's flesh touched by the silver, filled the air while Lucian stared down at his dying nephew.

"Radu," Lucian whispered, his gray eyes soft and mourning as he watched the life fade from the younger lycan.

Coughing up a bit of blood, Radu smiled wanly. "I did not want to live past the war anyway," he managed, his voice strained and hoarse. "I do not know how to live without it." He coughed more, almost violently, hissing in pain as the fit died down.

Lucian nodded in understanding. "I know, I know. Be with your parents. Be at peace." Lucian stared down at his nephew, closing his eyes as the last breath left Radu. Reaching up, Lucian gently ran his fingers over Radu's eyelids, closing them. He grabbed Sonja's hand as she laid it on his shoulder. Facing her as she kneeled, his eyes turned black.

"Stay here, with him." Without waiting for a protest, Lucian stood and turned to go, glancing at Marcus almost accusingly.

Marcus sighed, pity in his pale eyes. He rose as well, though, because he would be damned if Lucian got the pleasure of killing Anya.

Suddenly, Alexis yelled out, "Erika, wait!"

Marcus and Lucian, as well as everyone else, turned just in time to see Erika run off after a fleeing Anya. Without warning, Marcus was off, Lucian immediately following even as those loyal to Anya opened fire on the lycans and Death Dealers.

You had best pray I do not find her harmed at all, Anya. Pray that, for your own sake. Marcus swore to himself he would reach them before anything could happen. He let himself change, the morph almost relieving.

***

Sonja pulled Radu's body away from the gunfire, unwilling to let anything happen to his corpse. The scent of blood began to fill the air. She knew they would win, they had to. There were not that many loyal to Anya, and those that were had no chance against the Death Dealers and changed lycans.

Nor hybrids, such as herself. She looked down at Radu, her eyes soft and glassy. So much death. So much bloodshed, and for what? For power and greed and fear of change. Because hardened, stern warlords and ancient princesses had been put in control of vampires, while the lycans remained loyal to their alphas, whoever that was at the time. Because one race was aristocratic and war hungry. The other, loyal and fierce. Both more alike than it would ever be stated though.

"It has to stop," she whispered, looking up at the fighting taking place. All the vampires that did not wish to participate in the violence had fled, the others to engaged in their battle to truly notice. She saw Selene, Michael, Adam, and many others she knew from her past life and her present one, fighting.

Suddenly, she heard someone approaching her from behind. She waited, knowing she could very easily take them. Vampire, the scent was clear. And unfamiliar. She knew that an ally would not take the stealth approach as this one had.

The foolish vampire was nearly upon her when she growled and turned, grabbing him by his throat, swiftly disarming him, and throwing him into the wall with an almost sickening thud.

Sonja looked down at the gun. Her father, this life's father, had taught her how to use one. She made certain it was loaded and ready, then knelt back down by Radu, prepared to shoot and tear any other ignorant vampire that tried to attack her.

She hoped Lucian was safe. Smiling softly, she realized he could be invincible and she would still worry about him.

***

Erika ran as fast as she could down the hallways after Anya. The older vampire had a head start, but Erika was gaining slowly. She pushed herself more, eager to finally put down the bitch. She was seething, she had never been so angry as she felt now.

Anya had tried to have her raped, had tried to push and prod her, goad her, had exiled Marcus and Erika herself, and had tried to kill Marcus. She had ended up killing a lycan, a lycan that had willingly saved Marcus.

Oh yes, that bitch was going down.

Erika turned a corner and saw she was close enough to tackle Anya. With all her might, she lunged at the female vampire, sending them both to the ground with a thud. Erika recovered first, sitting up and slamming her balled up fist down on Anya's chin. She smiled in satisfaction when she saw that the hit had drawn blood, as a small amount of the red liquid trickled down from Anya's lip.

The vamp beneath her growled and shoved Erika off, but Erika was quickly on her feet. But it was not fast enough, as she saw Anya was standing with a gun aimed at her heart. Just like before, with Marcus. Anya smirked and her finger moved to pull the trigger, but as the resounding blast of the gun was heard, Erika found herself lying on her stomach, a heavy weight on top of her.

"Shite, that hurts," a vaguely familiar and very strained voice grunted in her ear and she felt the weight move off of her. Erika turned and saw Brian on the ground beside her, looking at the bullet wound in his forearm. "Wait, where'd the tramp go?!" he asked as he looked up to find no trace of Anya.

Erika looked up as well, searching for any trace of Anya, but she was gone now. Cursing, Erika glared over at Brian. She saw him holding his arm in pain, but before she could question him, someone else spoke up.

"You!"

Erika and Brian both turned to see Marcus, in full hybrid form, his shirt and robes gone, his body dark blue, a silver sheen to it. His ribcage was larger and pronounced, his fingers long and forming sharp claws, while his eyes were completely black and his teeth were long and sharper than a normal vampire's. His pitch black eyes were fixed on Brian, his whole body trembling with rage.

Erika saw that he was ready to kill Brian, but she stood up, placing herself between the two males. She was almost scared, she had never gotten a good look at him in this form, and he was still visibly shaking with his anger. But she knew he would not hurt her, and he proved himself as he stopped abruptly, his face changing into an expression of confusion.

"Marcus, don't," Erika told him, holding her hand up and placing it on his chest. "He saved my life. Just, go, stop Anya before she gets away," she instructed softly, her eyes pleading for him to let it go with Brian.

Marcus nodded, but before he left her and Brian, he quickly pulled her to him, his still mostly human mouth swiftly claiming hers. He was gone before she could open eyes that had just closed a moment ago.

Well, that was unexpected, Erika thought to herself. She smirked. But not entirely unpleasant.

Suddenly, Dominique came running up, her eyes moving quickly from Erika to Brian who still sat on the floor holding his arm. "Oh, wonderful. You go and get shot!" She rushed over to him, kneeling and looking at the wound. "And you had the nerve to scold me about it?!"

Brian glared at her. "At least I got shot saving someone. You were just standing around!" He tried to push her away, but she slapped his hand back down. "Ow. Would you leave me be!" Brian exclaimed, but something told Erika he was actually enjoying the attention.

"Dom, why don't you take him down to the infirmary and get him patched up," Erika said, but the sound of someone rapidly nearing grabbed her attention. She turned to see Lucian, in hybrid form as well, running past her, probably following Anya and Marcus' scents.

Erika watched him go. She hoped and prayed he wouldn't take out his anger on Marcus should the Elder reach Anya first. But she wasn't so certain. She had seen Lucian fight, she had seen him in anger over lesser things.

She knew Lucian could very well kill Marcus. But she knew that he probably would not let himself lose his last chance at peace.

Returning her attention back to her best friend and Brian, she decided to just help Dom with the still protesting Death Dealer.

***

It was chaos in the throne room. The cavernous chamber echoed with the sounds of battle, gunshots resounding, shouts and yells bouncing off the walls. Adam at first had been completely freaked out, even more so when he had let the change take over.

But something inside him was taking hold, some instinct, and calming him, telling him what to do. He had a feeling that in his normal state of mind, he would think of his acts as monstrous. But now it was survival and nature, and that was all that mattered for the moment.

He grabbed one of the closer vampires, ignoring the bullets entering his body. He swiftly broke the vampire's neck, then moved on. He felt a stab of pain in his back and whirled around to see another vampire, holding a bloody dagger. The bestial part of him growled with rage and he snapped at the grinning male. The dead vampire's throat soon hit the ground next to the body.

Looking back up, he saw that the fighting had died down. He turned to see Michael change back into human form and Adam followed his friend's lead. He panted and took in his surroundings. He looked down at the two corpse's lying at his feet. He suddenly felt sick and next thing he knew, he was on the ground, vomiting.

"What's wrong?" a soft voice asked and he looked up for a moment to see Alexis, her eyes concerned though her expression was blank. He turned away and vomited one last time. "I know, it takes some getting used to. But it was all in self defense. Trust me, you could have done worse and simply mutilated an innocent," she told him, her voice assuring.

Adam wiped his mouth and looked back up at her. "Are you speaking from experience, or did you just make that up now to ease my conscious and my stomach?"

"I speak from experience. My second kill was a young human who had nearly been killed by a lycan," she told him. "The werewolf had cut him, and the scent of his blood overwhelmed me after I killed the lycan."

Adam nodded slowly, not saying a word. He didn't really know what to say, so he decided not to make a fool of himself and say something stupid.

***

Erika looked warily at Brian while Dominique busied herself snapping at the Death Dealer and tending to his wound. She had no idea what had happened between Dominique and Brian, but she could see Brian was enjoying Dom's attention.

For a moment, Erika almost felt worried for her friend, after all, she hadn't had the best experience with Brian. But then, he had saved her life, and had ended up letting them back, giving the Death Dealers orders not to open fire or cause any trouble.

So, how the bloody hell was she supposed to act around him? Just shake his hand and let bygones be bygones? Completely forget the incident in the library? Or just, keep silent and wait until she could peak with Dominique alone, try and determine Brian's behavior?

With the way she's fussing over him, I think I want to go with plan B. This is quite interesting to watch.

Erika smirked as the two kept bickering at each other. She decided she wasn't needed and turned to go. She needed to know what was happening anyway. But she would definitely have to talk with Dom and then Marcus about Brian.

"Ow! Bloody woman, you hurt more then the sodding bullet!" Brian yelled out as she wrapped the bandage around his arm. He then groaned as Dominique slapped his shoulder before she herself grimaced. "What the bloody hell was that for?!"

"For that! Watch you language, you're swearing as much as a sailor!" Dominique scolded and tightened the bandage on his arm. "And you deserve payback for earlier."

Erika shook her head and left. She had a feeling she might see a bit of groping in a few minutes the way they were going.

***

Michael looked around at the bodies lying on the floor. Some of the fighting had moved out of the room, and whispers of gunfire outside the chamber could still be heard. He searched for Selene, his eyes wandering until they found her.

She was kneeling next to a fallen Death Dealer, and as Michael neared, he recognized the vampire from earlier, he had been one of those that accompanied Marcus. Selene rose when Michael stopped, standing next to her. She glanced at him, her eyes raking over him, searching for wounds.

"You reopened your scars from the fight with Lucian," she stated. "You need to be more careful. Blood of any kind will make a vampire more fierce in their attack."

Michael simply met her cool gaze. He had known she would be this way. He knew the moment he saw her kneeling beside her fallen comrade. He knew she was blocking out the grief, putting away until she could find a moment to let it out, though he knew when that moment came she would be terrified to let it go.

Tomorrow the cold distance would be gone between them, and he could wait. Besides, he had a feeling the time for her to let go was coming soon.

"Where is Kahn? He will want to know about Mason," she whispered, looking around for the lead Death Dealer. She spotted him and they both walked over, noticing Adam and Alexis coming over as well.

Kahn was looking around, searching for any vampires or lycans that were still alive but wounded. Xander was with him, searching as well, Avery helping as well. They noticed the other approaching and faced them.

"Mason is dead," Selene stated blankly. "As well as Zahra," she added, looking over at Xander and Avery.

Michael gave them each a sympathetic look. He knew Zahra had been like a mother to them, and they had taken Raze's death hard enough as it was. Now her, they would grieve for many years. Then something in him made he look up, searching, searching until he saw Sonja, crouched beside Rudolf's corpse.

"Sonja, are you all right?" he called out.

The female hybrid turned towards him, nodding. "Yes, I'm fine. Where's Lucian?" she asked, standing up. She stayed beside Rudolf though. "Any sign of him or Marcus?"

"They're after Anya, she's run off," another voice answered, and they turned to see Erika enter. "Last I saw, anyway, they may have caught her." Erika walked over to Sonja and Rudolf's corpse, kneeling beside him. "Thank you," she whispered.

Michael walked over to Sonja and Erika, Selene following him. "Which way were they going?" Michael asked. He had a feeling that both wanted Anya's blood, but only one would spill it. The one left out, well, Michael did not want another fight breaking out.

"Towards the garage, through this floor, do you know the way?" she asked.

"I do," Selene said. "We'll both go."

Michael nodded and followed her lead.

***

Marcus ran as fast as his hybrid form could, his speed bringing him closer and closer to Anya, her scent was growing stronger, and as he rounded the next corner, he could see her. Within a second, he had her throat in a iron like grip.

Anya stared at him in horror, her eyes wide with terror at his new form. She gasped for breath, struggling, but Marcus' hand was unrelenting.

"You nearly killed Erika. You tried to have her raped. You tried to exile me and take control, you helped a traitor." His eye's narrowed. "You will not even have to wait for judgment." Suddenly he dropped her and reached down, his claws digging into her flesh.

Anya did not even have the time to scream as Marcus' claws ripped her throat clean out, her head nearly severed. Her lifeless body fell to the floor, limp.

Marcus stood up straight, letting himself return to his normal form. He heard someone coming from behind and turned to see Lucian run into the hallway, stopping at the sight of the Elder and the bloody corpse at his feet.

Lucian was also in his hybrid form, his pitch black eyes fixed on Anya's body. He then, slowly, looked up at Marcus, and for a moment the Elder thought Lucian would attack. They stood completely still save for their breathing. Finally, Lucian growled and turned, walking away even as he changed back.

"You should come too, they will be waiting for your guidance now," he stated as he rounded the corner. "She will be waiting for your safe return."

Marcus nodded to himself and followed Lucian. Perhaps because this was their chance to end the war, or perhaps because Lucian would not let himself become like Viktor, either way, he would not stir up a fight with Marcus.

"You are frightfully slow when in normal form, aren't you?" Lucian asked irritably as he turned and saw how far behind Marcus was.