I don't own anything except Victor Corvin, James MacPherson, and Tamara Klein

Note: As mentioned in the previous chapter's notes, this begins from a third-person perspective

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After leaving Victor behind to face his old enemy on his own, the rest of the group hurried on, trying to reach the reactor before Albedo could fire the cannon.

"I hope he'll be all right," Shion said to Tamara as they ran. "He said he wasn't sure he could win..."

Tamara shook her head. "Don't worry about Victor. With Immortals, unless he's completely confident, he's a pessimist. You'd have noticed it yourself, except that the only enemies he's faced since you've known of his Immortality were Immortals of considerably lesser skill. Unless Victor flips out completely, which, by the way, I've never seen him do, he should be fine."

"Yeah," Jr. interjected, "he made short work of that Nevsky guy on the Durandal. Didn't even break a sweat or look even a little scared. Don't worry about him unless you see his sword out of his hands. Victor never lets it out of his sight."

Shion touched the hilt of the broadsword she wore at her side. Victor had given her a few lessons with it, though she was far from his skill with a blade. She had carried it with her to Proto Merkabah in part because of the possibility Albedo wouldn't expect it. Of course, there was the small problem that none of them knew how to kill the monster...

"He'll be okay," chaos agreed. "He's an Immortal. Victor won't stop fighting until he's dead."

"Yeah..."

Small comfort, Tamara thought. Despite her words, she knew that Victor was truly uncertain of his ability to defeat MacPherson. In the two thousand years we've known each other, I've never known Victor to be frightened of any Immortal. Come to think of it, the only things I've ever seen him scared of are people who turn into Gnosis and losing Shion. The former we're not even sure can affect Immortals, and the latter was never very likely with him around. She sighed. Come on, Vic, take his head. For all of us...

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Upon reaching the reactor room, they were relieved to see that the reactor itself was still thrumming with power, which meant that the energy had not yet been discharged into the weapons systems.

The relief was short-lived, however. "It's about time," Albedo said, standing atop the reactor. "I was about to give up on you, Rubedo." He patted the reactor. "Take a look around. This thing has a full belly already."

Shion could see that Albedo held something in his other hand. When she saw what it was, she gasped. "No!"

Albedo held in his hand Victor's blade, Lady Vivamus. He laughed at Shion's reaction. "Did you really think that he would survive? His old enemy was simply much stronger than he. Now Corvin lies dead, headless at the feet of his nemesis! And it was I that gave his old friend James the power to defeat him!"

"N-no..." Shion sank to her knees. "It... can't be..."

Tamara's blade whipped out of its scabbard as if it had a life of its own, and she leveled it at Albedo. "You'll die for this, you bastard! You and MacPherson both, if it takes me all eternity!"

The madman simply kept laughing, then he lightly dropped down before them. Around him, a blue aura appeared, spreading into the chamber. Above him, it appeared to have dark, blinking eyes. "What the..." Jr. said, confused. "Are you- How are you doing that?"

"Don't look so surprised," Albedo said mockingly. "This is the power of will. A fundamental power that exists within everyone. What you are seeing is merely your perception of it." He cackled. "And you know what? Perception and pain are but one and the same. So go ahead... Feel my pain for yourself!"

"Youuu devil!" Tamara snarled, charging Albedo. No plan of attack, no coordination with the others, simply pure hatred and ferocity. "I'll kill you!"

"Tamara, wait!" Jr. called, then cursed. "Well, if you're gonna try to get yourself killed, I'll just have to try to get you out of this mess..." He raised his guns. "Eat this! Angelic Requiem!"

Jr.'s blow hit Albedo just as the U.R.T.V. struck Tamara, knocking her backwards into the wall. He didn't even flinch. "Is that all you've got, Rubedo? Even your Immortal friend can't hurt me. And any time now, James MacPherson will be here to take her head, as well. Don't you hate me?"

"Yes!" The answer ripped from Jr.'s throat, and he struck again. "Moonlit Serenade!"

But Albedo was no longer there; he was behind Jr. Laughing maniacally, he picked him up by the back of his collar and tossed him into the reactor wall. "You were once much faster than this, Rubedo. What happened? Have you lived in peace for so many years that you've forgotten how to fight?"

Ziggy attacked next, leaping into the air. "Ready! Meteor Strike!"

"Angel Blow!" chaos called out, hitting Albedo at the same moment as Ziggy.

Shion was still kneeling near the door, still in shock. "He can't be gone..." she murmured to herself. "He can't..." She watched without seeing as both Ziggy and chaos were thrown back, falling hard.

Only MOMO and KOS-MOS were still on their feet. MOMO was terrified of the man who had already violated her consciousness once, and KOS-MOS was working out a plan of attack that did not involve a suicidal rush. Noting that the other fighters were injured, however, and Shion dazed, her calculations altered. Allied combatants injured, her computer mind noted. Shion is unprotected and assumed incapacitated. Follow primary directive: Protect Shion Uzuki.

These thoughts went through KOS-MOS' mind in an instant, and she chose her attack. She fired two blasts from her laser pistol, then changed the shape of her arm. "Charging. R-Cannon!"

Albedo actually seemed to recoil from these attacks, but he quickly recovered, regenerating the holes in his body. "I don't think so." He rushed forward, slamming into the android. Despite her weight, KOS-MOS was flung into the air by his shoulder tackle, and slammed headfirst into a bulkhead. Her body was too heavily armored for the blow to completely incapacitate her, but KOS-MOS was nonetheless out of the fight, while her systems recalibrated.

Laughing in his victory, Albedo advanced toward MOMO, the member of the team still uninjured. "Well, well, ma peche. Shall we continue where we left off?"

Unexpectedly, his head vanished in a red mist, and his body stumbled backwards. Jr. had pushed himself up on one arm (his other, as well as his right leg, were broken), and fired a single shot with his gun. "Stay away from her, you..." He trailed off, voice weak.

In another moment, Albedo's head reappeared. "Nice try, Rubedo. But surely you didn't think that that would be enough to stop me, did you?" The he doubled over in agony, clutching his stomach. "What-"

"How about this, you monster?" Shion snarled, burying Excalibur deep in Albedo's guts. "Weren't expecting that, were you?" She thrust the enchanted blade even deeper, then released it, leaving it trapped in Albedo's body.

"How... dare you...?" Albedo gasped. Then, with a howl of pure rage, he yanked the sword out of his body, tossed it aside, and held Lady Vivamus in both hands. "I admit," he said after a moment, letting his flesh mend, "that you have actually surprised me. But it will avail you not!" He raised the blade, and the sword-

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-Never came down. There was a flash and a thunderclap, and when the light faded, Albedo was lying in a crumpled heap in front of the reactor, and the Lady Vivamus was standing upright, point-down, in the deck. "It... cannot be..." Albedo whispered, trying to stand. "What... what was..."

"That was me, bastard," came a familiar voice from the other end of the room.

Shion raised her eyes. Then froze in shock. "What...?"

The tall, lean young man floated a meter over the deck, near the door. Though the armor was battered, his helmet was gone, and he had a gash from his left temple to the right side of his chin, there was only one man it could be, for the silver rose on his chest was unmarred. "But... you're dead..." Albedo said in disbelief.

"Should have made sure of that, Albedo," Victor Corvin said. "I took MacPherson's toy away from him and killed him with it." He smiled coldly. "One thing you've never learned: Don't be sure someone's dead unless you see the body."

Albedo struggled to his feet. He seemed to notice for the first time that Victor's feet did not touch the deck. "How are you...?"

"There are few Immortals left, monster," Victor answered, "and we are the strongest that ever lived. When I absorbed MacPherson's spirit, it unlocked the powers that lay dormant within all of us. I am the strongest Immortal alive, and I will kill you now."

Albedo froze for a moment, then moved in a flash to pick up the Excalibur and hold it to Shion's throat. "Don't even think about it, Corvin, or I'll cut your girlfriend an extra smile."

Victor didn't even blink. "Kill her and you kill the only thing that is keeping you alive. Release her, and there's always the chance that you will defeat me in a fair fight. Don't release her, however, and I'll just be forced to kill you the hard way."

Albedo sneered. "Pretty cocky, are we, boy?" Then he thrust Shion away. "But I think this will be entertaining." He smiled. "Come on."

"Delighted," Victor said in the same, cold voice, and then flew straight at his adversary.

The devil, as Tamara had called him, moved at the same moment, and the combatants collided in the center of the room. The titanic clash resulted in Albedo slamming into a wall with such force as to severely dent it, nearly breaking through entirely.

Shion and MOMO had begun healing the other members of the team when Victor and Albedo faced off. Now they looked on in amazement as Victor calmly strode toward his felled opponent, who was just climbing to his feet and attempting to regenerate himself after the powerful blow.

Victor didn't give him the chance; he picked Albedo up by the neck and just looked at him for a moment. "I did warn you, Albedo," he said softly, then threw him into the wall again. The strike was sufficient to put a hole clear through the already weakened bulkhead.

This time, he allowed Albedo to drag himself to his feet. "Not bad... Corvin," he wheezed. "But surely... you don't think that you can actually kill me?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Victor replied in that maddeningly calm voice. "But you can't kill me, so the possibility exists that we could spend all eternity in this battle, assuming you don't age either. Either way, though, I found it very enjoyable to beat you to a bloody pulp after all the misery you've put us through."

Albedo snarled wordlessly, then tried to punch Victor in the face. He didn't bother to dodge; simply caught the fist, looked at it for a moment, then twisted the hand with sufficient force to break his arm. He followed up with a roundhouse kick that broke several ribs, then a left uppercut that broke his jaw. Victor finished the series of blows by punching Albedo hard enough to put his fist right through his chest and out his back.

Victor then pulled back, summoned Lady Vivamus apparently with a simple act of will, and sliced off Albedo's head. "Does it hurt, freak? I certainly hope so."

Albedo's body lay lifeless on the deck for a time, and then it began to pull itself back together, first mending his ribs, arm, and chest, and then his head appeared once more. "If my head gets knocked off one more time," Albedo muttered almost inaudibly, "I'm going to get very angry." He pulled himself to his feet and glared at Victor. "All right, Corvin, I see that you have some skill. Just enough to irritate me."

Jr. finally stood once more. "Tell me..." he demanded. "Why are you doing this? There's absolutely nothing you can hope to gain out of this!"

"Au contraire," Albedo replied. "I... am doing all this... for your sake, Rubedo."

Jr. stared, uncomprehending. "For... my sake?"

"Have you forgotten, Rubedo? That fateful day, fourteen years ago?" Albedo glared at him. "Have you forgotten what you did to us!?"

"I-" Memories were flooding through Jr.'s mind, memories of the Miltian Conflict. Memories he had tried to lock away.

"When you closed yourself off from us, our mental link was broken," Albedo said. "And one by one, we succumbed to the power of the Song. Left behind in that horror," he said accusingly, "did we have any choice but to submit to it!?"

"It's- It's true I-" Jr. managed.

Albedo barked a laugh. "So you finally admit to it, you coward?"

"All right!" Jr. snarled. "I couldn't control my fear!"

"Yes," Albedo said, "and so you most atone for your sins, atone with your life! I am the executor for all those who were destroyed!" He paused for a moment, gazing at his own fist. "Although... I'm actually grateful to you, Rubedo. Because of you, I alone was able to find the way. The way to a whole new world."

"What do you mean, a whole new world?" Jr. demanded.

"That's all that I seek," Albedo replied enigmatically. "It's quite simple, don't you think?" Abruptly, he jumped, landing atop the reactor once more. "Come on, entertain me!"

The reactor began opening then, bathing the room in bright light. Victor's eyes narrowed as it did so; using his new-found abilities, he sensed something strange about the reactor. Something... alive.

When the reactor had fully opened, a strange beast was revealed within, and Jr. cursed. "You fused the Gnosis... with the reactor!?"

"You must first destroy this, in order to stop Proto Merkabah," Albedo taunted. "You do realize that... Oh, almost forgot the time!" He snickered. "Not much left nooow. I'd say five minutes at best." He gazed speculatively at them. "I wonder how far you'll get in your current condition?"

"He's so cruel," MOMO said. "He's tormenting Jr. just for fun."

"Well, it's time for me to say goodbye, for now," Albedo said. "I'm sure we'll meet again, if you survive. Rubedo, my other half..." And he was gone.

"Albedo!" Jr. screamed. He charged toward the reactor.

"Jr., look out!" MOMO shouted.

"Whoa!" Jr. stopped abruptly, using his U.R.T.V. abilities to prevent the field surrounding the Gnosis from coming into contact with him. "We have to destroy this thing first!"

"Right, this takes priority," Ziggy agreed.

"Be careful, everyone!" chaos warned. "That's no longer just a machine!"

"Right," Shion said. "Let's do it, KOS-MOS!"

"Affirmative," KOS-MOS responded. "Switching to maximum output for all combat systems."

Victor nodded. "Let's take this thing down!"

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Switch to Victor's POV

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I glared at the abomination Albedo had created. Did that maniac always have to through yet one more obstacle in our path? And I was hardly in the best condition to fight it; my duel with James MacPherson had left me tired, and the sheer amount of power I'd used on Albedo had further drained my strength. If we didn't kill it quickly, I might have to drop back to recover.

In the meantime, however, I held my blade in a high attack position. In order to stop Proto Merkabah, this had to be done.

My comrades were still somewhat bemused by my survival, but there was no time to ask questions. After I rejoined them, Tamara had merely said "What kept you?" and turned her attention to the Gnosis.

Shion was the first to strike; after Albedo, seemed to be in a rather bad mood. "Take this! Rain Blade!"

"Eat this! Soul Rhapsody!" Jr. was next, with his wounds fully healed. Firing a gun of an unfamiliar type, the disc that struck the Sophie Peithos caused considerable harm. But it was then that the beast made its first attack.

Light Column. The strange, not-so-light strike blew Jr. off his feet, but gave me an opening. Using a little more energy, I ran along the wall until I was behind it, striking it from that position. If it was anything like other enemies I'd encounter over the millennia, it would be weaker there.

And so it was, but it retaliated by summoning a helper, which promptly self-destructed in my face. It couldn't kill me, but it could and did knock the wind out of me, leaving me gasping on the deck.

"Ready! Apocalypse Strike!" Ziggy had moved in, hitting the thing with his own weaponry, and giving me the time I needed to recover. It also gave chaos an opening.

"Heaven's Wrath!" The electrical attack was intercepted at the last moment by another one of the things the Sophie Peithos summoned, annihilating it instead. The monster promptly used Light Column again, knocking him back.

"Mystic powers! Grant me a miracle!" MOMO called out, giving chaos a dose of healing power.

KOS-MOS chose that moment to hit it with an Ether move of her own, chanting something I couldn't quite hear. The result was an energy blast that came seemingly from nowhere, cleaving a chunk off the monster.

Fortunately for us, the Gnosis was relatively weak, and soon Tamara delivered the killing blow. Even before it finished dying, we were out of the room and running for our lives.

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Before we had run very far, there was a rumble, and Shion stumbled and fell. "What was that!?" Ziggy demanded.

"More explosions?" MOMO wondered.

chaos shook his head. "No, it feels like we're changing direction."

"Shion," KOS-MOS said, "I have confirmed activation of the Proto Merkabah's engine units. It is descending toward Second Miltia now."

After a moment of stunned silence, Shion shook herself. "KOS-MOS, are you sure?"

"Affirmative," she confirmed. "If it continues at present speed, Proto Merkabah will reenter the atmosphere in approximately eight minutes."

"Looks like he planned this from the very beginning," Ziggy said.

"That bastard!" Jr. said. "He's got too many tricks up his sleeve!"

"We've got to stop it somehow," I said grimly. "We didn't come all this way just to see a space station destroy the planet. That's what we came here to stop."

"Right," Shion agreed. "If something this size crashes into Second Miltia, the planet will be..."

"Based on the angle of approach," KOS-MOS said, "breaking the facility into approximately 28,000 pieces would result in 99.6% of them vaporizing before impact."

"If we detach each subcompartment?"

"Just a second!" MOMO interrupted. "I'll search through my memory banks." After a moment of odd light surrounding her, she opened her eye. "The control room..." she said. "The control room on level 43 will allow us to detach the facility!"

"Hurry," chaos urged. "There's no time!"

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Upon reaching the control room, MOMO hurriedly began inputting commands into the console. Before long, though, she ran into problems. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?" Ziggy asked.

"The process from system startup to complete detachment takes one whole minute!" MOMO cried. "That not enough time for us to return to the Elsa!"

"This is the only place we can do it from? We can't do it remotely?"

MOMO shook her head. "No! The system was set up so that the command can only be accepted from here!"

Jr. cursed. "So the only way we can stop this thing is to go down with it?"

"This can't be..." Shion said. "There has to be another way..."

"There isn't!" MOMO seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I've search again and again, but the command can only be activated from here!"

I clenched my fists in frustration. Even I couldn't do it and survive; it was thought that complete incineration would have the same effect as ordinary beheading, since the entire body, including the head, is destroyed. And there was also the possibility that a chunk of debris would hit my neck. We've come all this way, and now all we can do is die? This cannot be...

"Please head back now."

Shion glanced at KOS-MOS. "What, KOS-MOS?"

"Shion, please return to the Elsa with the others. I will stay behind to initiate the detachment sequence."

"What?" Shion blinked. "Stay behind...?"

"My self-preservation programming is functioning properly," KOS-MOS said, moving to the console. "I have no intention of remaining on this facility to the very end. At maximum speed, I can reach the Elsa in under one minute." She starting hitting keys.

"You're sure?" Ziggy asked.

"Yes. This option guarantees the highest probability for success."

"All right. Let's go, Shion." He turned to leave.

"But..." Shion protested.

"Trust her," Jr. said. "She'll be okay. Now come on!"

As the others turned to leave, MOMO and chaos paused, seeing Shion still hesitating. "Shion...?"

"Shion," chaos said, more forcefully.

"Let's go, now," I said, heading for the door.

Finally, she turned and ran for the door. But as she left, Shion paused. "KOS-MOS! You'd better make it back! You hear me? You better!"

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Things started to collapse even as we fled, raining debris as the outermost compartments began to fall away from the main body of the station.

"Think KOS-MOS will get out alright?" Tamara asked me. "You've been with that project from the beginning, so I assume you'd know?"

I thought about it as we ran. "I think so. KOS-MOS is far superior to any human, in speed, power, and even grace. We designed her movements to be more fluid than a normal human, and, though I'll probably never understand why, Shion included an aesthetics program. The end result: an android who is stronger, faster, more graceful... and fastidious. Very strange. But anyway, yeah, she'll make it."

We reached the Elsa before too long, rushing aboard as Proto Merkabah tore itself apart around us. Jr. and MOMO immediately dashed for the Bridge, while Ziggy stayed near the airlock, chaos headed for who-knew-where, and Shion paused at the airlock itself.

"KOS-MOS, please," I heard her say, as I made for the Bridge. "Hurry back..."

"Matthews!" Jr. shouted as we entered the Bridge.

The captain turned in his seat. "Little Master? What's all this shaking?"

"Proto Merkabah is about to reenter the atmosphere! If left unchecked, it'll crash into the planet!"

"Whaa?" Matthews seemed to have lost the ability to form coherent sentences, I noted.

"We detached all the subcompartments, and that's what's causing the shaking!" Jr. explained. "Anyway, we'll get to the details later. Prepare for immediate liftoff!"

"Prepare?" Matthews protested. "We're not lifting off right now?"

"KOS-MOS is still inside! We gotta wait for her!"

"But if it's already detaching, then aren't we in danger!?"

"I'm aware of that!" Jr. snapped. "But if I say we wait, we wait!"

"And before you protest any further, Captain," I said quietly, "you should remember just who it is that writes your paychecks."

The captain chose then to remain silent for a time.

Even I was beginning to worry, however, as the minute passed with no sign of KOS-MOS. She should be here by now, I thought. C'mon, KOS-MOS, hurry!

"Captain!" Allen shouted. "Up there!"

"What?" A chunk of debris struck the starboard side of the ship then, just forward of the Logic Drive.

"Captain," Tony said, "we can't stay here much longer!"

"No kidding!" He turned to Jr. "Little Master!"

"What's taking her- Come on, come on..."

It wasn't long before the shaking indicated that it was becoming far too dangerous aboard the massive station. The sounds of debris hitting the hull were becoming more frequent, and louder. After a particularly nasty bump, Tony yelled. "Captainnnn!"

"Little Master!"

Jr. looked frustrated. "All right, all right." He waved his arm. "Lift off!"

As the Logic Drive ignited at last, I heard Shion's scream at the airlock. "KOS-MOS!" The fact that I could hear it at all said much about how Shion felt right then, and I sympathized.

There has to be a way, I thought desperately. We can't just leave her...

I turned abruptly, running back toward the airlock.

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As I neared it, I heard Shion's voice over the intercom. "Captain, please go back! KOS-MOS is still inside!"

"Are you crazy!?" Matthews demanded. "We barely got out of there! We're leaving, now!"

"You can't!"

I froze as I heard Nephilim's voice, speaking in my mind (and, from all appearances, Shion's as well). "Don't be afraid, Shion. Everything will be all right. See with your heart."

Shion's eyes closed at the same time mine did, and I saw KOS-MOS running down a corridor. I couldn't tell exactly where she was, but apparently Shion could. "Captain, the wall!" she shouted over the intercom. "Four hundred meters to the port side! Take her in close!"

"What!?"

"Trust me, just hurry!" she implored.

"What do you mean, hurry?"

Then another voice broke in. "Shion! Port side, four hundred meters, right!?"

"Tony!"

As Captain Matthews protested on the Bridge, the Elsa began to move. Given the length of the ship, as well as her speed, it took a couple of seconds to reach the necessary point.

For a moment, we saw nothing, but then the wall began to glow. After a moment, it exploded outward, releasing flames and debris... and KOS-MOS. "KOS-MOS!" Shion called, holding out a hand to catch the android.

KOS-MOS caught her hand, and swung into the ship's hull. But Shion wasn't strong enough to pull her aboard, and the android slipped from her grip. I was too far away...

But Ziggy was not. He reached out, grabbing KOS-MOS' hand just as Shion's grip failed. "Ziggy?"

I moved forward, and together the cyborg and I pulled KOS-MOS into the ship. That was far, far too close, I thought. But we succeeded. Now all we need to do is escape. Compared to everything else we've done, though, that should be a piece of cake.

Shion slumped against the wall, next to KOS-MOS. "KOS-MOS," she gasped, relieved, "I really ought to put you on a diet." The android looked at her wordlessly, and then Shion hugged her. "Thank goodness..."

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But we weren't out of the woods yet, even though we successfully exited Proto Merkabah itself. It seemed that we had gone from the frying pan straight to the inferno, without stopping to greet the fire. I was back on the Bridge when Allen realized something was wrong. "What was that!?" Matthews shouted over the noise that filled the room. "I can't hear you!"

"I said," Allen repeated, "the angle of approach is too steep!"

"Can't you adjust it!?"

"It's no use," Tony said. "The controls aren't responding!"

"That can't be!" Hammer protested. "All control functions are in the green!"

"The apogee and reentry balancers were damaged by the debris," Tony replied. "We can't adjust the Logical Drive angle any farther than this!"

"Ya moron!" Matthews snapped, using what seemed to be his favorite insult, "stop whining and do something about it!"

Shion and Ziggy arrived on the Bridge then. "What's going on?" Shion asked me.

"Well," I said grimly, "unless we do something very quickly, we're about to be incinerated." I smiled humorlessly. "I guess we go down with the ship, after all."

Hammer jerked upright. "The aft hatch, it's open!"

Matthews jerked his head around. "What!? Who's the moron doing that!? Is he trying to burn all of us from the inside out!?"

"It can't be!" Shion cried. A moment later, the reason for her distress became apparent, as, on the monitor, KOS-MOS was seen to be falling beneath the ship. "KOS-MOS! What are you doing!?"

"Shion, I will proceed to shield the Elsa with my energy field. Please stabilize the ship during that time."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Shion said. "What can you possibly accomplish by doing that!?"

"Maintaining this position for one minute and twenty seconds will save the Elsa."

"But you'll be incinerated if you do that!" Shion protested. "Stop this at once!"

"I am happy... to be of service..." KOS-MOS said, and then the monitor went dead.

"External cameras destroyed!" Hammer shouted.

"KOS-MOS!" Shion cried. "Please, stoppp!"

"Hull temperature exceeding maximum limit!"

This is it, I thought. We all die here. Fitting....

But before we were vaporized, there was a bright light, and everything faded...

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When I came to, there was sunlight pouring through the forward viewports. Everyone else was already conscious, most looking somewhat depressed or bemused.

"Are we... okay?" Matthews whispered. He raised his seat to look out the viewport. Then he gasped. "H-hey! Ms. Vector!" He motioned to Hammer. "Activate the secondary bow camera!"

"Uh, roger!" The monitor appeared over the deck once again, and I froze as I saw the figure that stood upon the Elsa's bow.

"KOS-MOS...?" Shion whispered. She slowly stood. "KOS-MOS!"

The android stood calmly on the hull forward of the Bridge, hair waving in the wind. Whatever had happened on the way in, she had survived it. Somehow...

Without really thinking about what I was doing, my feet carried me back toward the restaurant, and the others, except for chaos, who was still elsewhere, followed.

Once there, I poured myself a shot and downed it. We made it! I thought. We actually did it! Take that, Albedo! You took your best shot, and here we are. We're the princes of the universe... I thought, reflecting then on MacPherson. Fighting for survival... We could have been friends, you and I, had the circumstances been just a little different. We were so much alike, and I certainly respected you. But I could never respect what you did. I shrugged. Well, let your death be the end of our feud. If some vestige of you still exists, let our long conflict be over, and a clean slate be between us. Farewell, worthy adversary, old nemesis. In some ways, I shall miss our battles... For you were the only one who ever gave me much of a fight...

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to look at Tamara. "Something on your mind, mon ami?"

"Just the Game, old friend. Just the Game."

Behind us, I heard Jr. whack Allen on the back, and then silence. Puzzled, I turned, and saw chaos just entering the room, with... KOS-MOS. Her visor was gone, but she seemed otherwise intact.

One by one, we went to meet her, until only Shion, standing at the viewport, was unaware of what was going on. But she must have sensed something, for she turned, eyes widening. "Mission complete, Shion," KOS-MOS said.

Shion was silent for a moment. Then she smiled. "Welcome back..."

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Author's note: Yeah, I know that wasn't the best way to end the story. But according to what I've heard, the second game starts only minutes after the first ends, so I can't really do anything beyond the point at which it closes. Hopefully, I'll have a little more leeway with the sequel, but I didn't have any here. My apologies for a somewhat unoriginal ending. Solid Shark