This is the second to last chapter of Power. Like I said everyone, it's almost done.

Quote: Denial is a beautiful thing, but it always make reality that much more painful when you finally face it.

Chapter Thirteen: Final Fight

Daisuke hurt all over. His body was covered in blood and cuts. None of the wounds were deep enough to be fatal; the purpose of them was not to kill, but to bleed. They were bleeding him until there was nothing left.

And it hurt.

Daisuke opened his eyes and was dismayed to see Him still standing there, watching. He tried to glare at him, he really did, but Daisuke was just too tired to do anything but lay still. Even the simple act of breathing hurt him. Daisuke didn't understand why was this happening. Why did this…this…thing keeping torturing him? The red-head had a very high tolerance for pain, after all, who wouldn't after growing up with cancer? And yet, as he lay, tied up to some weird altar, he couldn't help but cry. Everything was so wrong. All the little boy wanted was to go home and hide under his bed. But that wouldn't happen, he could feel himself slipping away…to were, he didn't know.

And it still hurt.

Dark had taken the lead and was confidently leading the way through the maze like halls. To anyone who didn't know where they were going, this place would be impossible to navigate. But Dark knew, he knew how to get from point A to point B. There was a trick to these halls, a trick that very few people knew. You had to tell the halls where you wanted to go. You couldn't just wander around and expect to end up somewhere. Nope, if you did that, you'd end up walking lost until you died of starvation and thirst.

Of course, the others didn't know this trick. It was only Dark who knew how to get where. They followed him willing, believing completely in his abilities; even Satoshi didn't doubt the purple haired boy's determination. So they followed him, and ran as fast as they could. All the while, hoping they weren't too late.

How long had he'd been there? It felt like days but was probably only a few hours. Daisuke didn't cry anymore, he had nothing left to cry. Where once there was a happy, energetic little boy, now there was a fading child; slowly slipping away from the world around him. There was only one thing keeping him tethered to reality.

It still hurt.

A door appeared up ahead in front of the four men. Their pace slowed until they came to a stop right before it.

"This is it," Dark stated, "The door to the ritual room. They'll be here."

"Fine," Satoshi looked at the three of them. "Krad, I want you to take care of the Master's followers. Kosuke, you are going to go straight to Daisuke and I'll be covering you. Dark," Satoshi looked into Dark's eyes and nodded. "Get the Master." They all nodded and braced themselves as Dark walked to the door. When everyone signaled they were ready, he grabbed the large brass knob and pushed it open.

Daisuke felt something strange through the pain. He didn't know what it was or where it was coming from. All he could tell was that it was comforting. It was welcomed after all the pain he was still feeling. Daisuke reached out and tried to grab onto the feeling, tried to hold it tight. He managed to grasp it and hold on. For one glorious moment, Daisuke's pain was gone. Then the feeling shifted.

And it hurt. Bad.

The four stepped into a dimly lit chamber. The room was big enough to fit a small house inside and was lit by torches adorning the wall. Columns were placed in rows the entire length of the room and decorated with graphic pictures of torture and death. Right in the center of the room was an altar. It was directly underneath a hole in the ceiling and bathed in a reddish type of moonlight.

Tied to this altar was Daisuke.

The four froze, horrified at the sight before them. Daisuke was covered in his own red blood and tied down so tightly there his hands and ankles were blue from lack of circulation. He was stripped bare and barely breathing. Standing over him was none other then the Master. The four trembled with fury as they saw that he was smiling.

"Well, I was wondering when you would show up," Damien smirked. "The Wing Masters…and who is this? A human? An average one at that, nothing more then a Norm."

"What…" Kosuke hissed, his rage barely kept in check. "What have you done to my son?"

"Son?" Damien smiled wider. "Well, that explains that. As for your question, Norm, it is quiet obvious what I'm doing, to anyone who cares to look close."

"Satoshi?" Dark asked quietly. He didn't understand this anymore then Kosuke. Usually when this ritual was preformed the person's body had to be unmarked and they had to be a perfect health or you'd run the risk of damaging the power you were trying to take.

Satoshi's eyes were trained hard on Daisuke's unconscious form. He suddenly blinked at looked at them all, in shock and fear.

"Daisuke is innocent," Satoshi breathed. "He hasn't been tainted with an act of sin." Krad and Kosuke looked at him confused but Dark's eyes widen in fear. He turned back to the Master and before anyone could stop him, Dark launched himself at the so-called man.

The pain had gotten worse. He now desperately wished he had never grabbed at that feeling. Whatever it was, it was making its way through every inch of his body. He could feel down in his very bones, invading him, assaulting his senses with cold pain. It was slowly consuming him.

The pain grew ten-fold.

"Dark!" Krad shouted after the purpled haired boy. But Dark ignored him and attacked the Master with a furious passion. Satoshi shouted at Kosuke to get Daisuke and drew two knives that seemed to appear out of no where. The two took off towards the altar and Krad made to follow, but two blasts of energy got in his way.

Krad snapped his attention to his left then his right. Tane and Eda had finally decided to make an appearance. Krad growled at them and raised his hand, summoning his own energy.

Here's where the fun began.

Satoshi had drawn his knives and was currently hacking away at the Master's minions that kept coming at them. He could use his magic, he knew, but Satoshi felt it was better not to for awhile. Dark and Krad excelled at magical fighting while Satoshi was better with weapons. He didn't have much magic to begin with, and once it was gone, that was it. He would need at least a days rest to get it back. No, it was definitely wiser to wait until he absolutely needed it before drawing on his magical abilities.

At the moment, he didn't need them. The low-class demons were pathetically weak. The only reason Satoshi was having trouble with them was because there were so many. They were like ants, swarming at him in droves. Kosuke was trying to fight them, but the older man had no experiences with this type of bloody fighting. It was up to Satoshi to protect them both.

The blue haired youth struck down another enemy and risked a glance around at his friends. Krad had his hands full with the two Neshi who had appeared and Dark and the Master were nowhere to be seen. This didn't worry Satoshi all that much, he knew Dark could take care of himself and if not…well, it was own fault for running off. Satoshi growled in annoyance as more lower-class demons appeared and jumped at him and Kosuke.

This was getting ridiculous.

Krad dodged another attack from Tane only to be hit in the arm by Eda's attack. These two worked very well together, almost in perfect sync. Krad was holding his own against them, but knew that he was wearing down. He couldn't beat them both at once, may one on one, but not two on one. He needed some backup, but Dark had disappeared with the Master and Satoshi was too weak to fight these two, even if he didn't already have his hands full. Krad was on his own for this fight. But that didn't mean he was going to lose.

The blond half-breed revealed his wings and took to the air, shooting weak energy balls at the two full-blooded demons. He was trying to lure them together so he could use his ace, his greatest skill. Krad didn't like using the KajiRetsu but this was an emergency. Once Eda and Tane were close enough together he would strike. Though, something happened that he had not counted on and messed up his plans a little bit.

Tane and Eda both had wings as well.

Dark had chased the Master out of the ritual room and down many winding halls. He wasn't worried about getting lost; he knew this castle just as well as Damien did. They finally stopped playing cat and mouse as a window appeared up ahead and Damien jumped out of it. Dark followed without hesitation, relying on his wings to stop him from falling.

The two were hovering about a hundred feet above the ground. Dark lazily flapping his wings to stay afloat, but Damien, well, he just hovered. How he hovered, seemingly without any help, Dark didn't know or care. He was trembling with fury as he glared hatefully at Damien, who just smirked and glared back. Before anyone could blink, Dark was racing forward and the two had begun fighting.

Dark punched and kicked while trying to dodge his enemy's attacks. Damien moved gracefully, as if he was dancing and not fighting. This went on for a while, before Dark finally realized something was wrong and pulled back. It seemed that no matter how hard he hit Damien, the other didn't even flinch. Dark was panting slightly, a light sheen of sweat covering his face, but the Master simply looked bored, as if they hadn't just been fighting.

"Oh, finished already, Dark?" Damien teased. Dark glared at the man.

"What's going on?" He demanded, something was simply not right.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" The Master smirked. "I believe we are fighting."

"No, I'm fighting," Dark snapped. "You're just…hovering." Damien smiled a wicked smile.

"Very well, Dark," he grinned. "If you want me to fight, then I shall fight." Damien shot forward and swung his fist at Dark's face. The purple haired boy didn't even have time to flinch before the fist connected with his lip. Dark was sent hurtling into the wall of the castle, his body making a sickening crunch as it connected with the cold stone.

"Ow…" Dark gasped, as he barely managed to keep himself in the air. "That hurt."

"Yes, it looked like it did," Damien was hovering before him, smirking. His hand shot out and grabbed him around the throat.

Satoshi was not happy. Actually, he was beyond not happy, he was pissed. The blue haired boy was starting to get tired as numerous lower level demons kept attacking them. Kosuke was standing behind him, so that they were back to back, and wasn't in much better shape. It was really infuriating for them both to be stopped by such low life creatures. But despite the creatures' weakness, their numbers were just too great and were slowly wearing them both down.

For any one that they killed, three more appeared to take its place. They weren't getting any closer Daisuke and the longer they took; the worse things would go for the little red-head. With a mighty yell, Kosuke was suddenly springing away from Satoshi and towards the enemy. Satoshi blinked at the older man, looks like he had found his second wind. Shrugging, Satoshi decided it was time for him to find his as well. He narrowed his eyes and leapt head first into the fight.

It was only a minor set back. Krad could still beat these two, even if he had lost his advantage. Tane and Eda both had wings of solid black streaked with blood red. The black representing their non-existent hearts and the red their desire for blood. Although Krad loathed admitting it, the two made a very formidable pair. If they were fighting one on one, Krad would be able to win, but when they were fighting two on one…

Krad was losing strength a little too fast for his comfort. If this kept up, he wouldn't have enough power to release the KajiRetsu and that would definitely be a bad thing. Things were not looking good for the blonde half-breed and he was just contemplating a way to beat at least one of them, when helped arrived in the most unexpected manner.

Everything still hurt, but beyond that was something else. The pain was slowly starting to fade. Whatever had entered his body was till there, Daisuke was certain of that, but…it didn't hurt as much anymore. His body was slowly starting to get used to the foreign presence and slowly, it was starting to accept. The more it accepted it, the less it hurt.

The pain was slowly fading away.

Krad couldn't believe his eyes. One minute he was fighting against Tane and Eda, the next…Luke and Devin were fighting against Tane and Eda. Krad blinked in confusion as the five landed on the floor, Luke and Devin standing before Krad in an almost protective way. Tane and Eda looked as though they were about to explode with rage as they glared at the two younger demons.

"Luke, what are you…" Krad began but he didn't get a chance to finish.

"Don't get any ideas, half-breed," Luke snapped. "We're not here to help you or your stupid friends. We came only to protect the Power and stop our brethren from making a mistake. Nothing more."

"You have put up a valiant fight, half-breed," Devin said in a soft voice. "But now it is time for you to let us take over. This battle is personal." He smirked a little. "Besides, your friends are in need of your assistance." Krad looked over and saw that Satoshi and Kosuke could really use some help. Higher class demons had started appearing and though Satoshi was strong, he couldn't protect Kosuke and fight at the same time.

"You sure you guys know what you're doing?" Krad asked cautiously.

"We know better then you," Luke snapped. Krad glared.

"Fine, just don't go teleporting two people at once though," he smirked. Luke and Devin flinched slightly, annoyed at the reminder of their past mistake. Having gotten the last word in, Krad turned and ran towards his cousin.

Luke turned to his older brother. "Hello Eda," he stated.

Eda glared at him. "This is your final betrayal, Luke," he hissed. "You will not walk away from this fight alive."

"Neither will you, brother," Luke answered, his eyes narrowing. "Let's fight." The four former allies launched themselves at each other without another word.

Dark's eye sight was starting to get fuzzy as the Master tightened his grip on his neck. He was trying to get air into his longs and not having much luck. Dark swore, that if he lived though this then he would never taken breathing for granted again.

Damien smirked at him, "What ever is the matter, Dark? You look positively blue." Dark's face was starting to turn blue from lack of oxygen.

Dark summoned up the strength to glare at Damien. With a little difficulty, he managed to spit in his face. Damien growled and jumped back, releasing his choke hold so he could wipe his face. Dark gulped in some needed air.

"That was disgusting," Damien scolded, Dark rolled his eyes.

"Ya think?" Dark snapped while trying not to cough.

Damien frowned at him. "Now Dark, I thought I had taught you better then that."

Dark growled at him, "Taught? You didn't teach me anything other then how to be cruel and how to kill."

"Two lessons you never fully did grasp," Damien answered. "Now your brother…" Dark roared and summoned up a powerful energy ball, flinging it at Damien. Damien quickly dodged it, only receiving a small singe on his clothes.

"Don't talk about my brother," he hissed.

"Oh but why not?" Damien smirked. "You two got along so well."

"Ya until you went and killed him!" Dark screamed and started to attack Damien again with renewed fury.

"He was too disobedient," Damien shrugged as he dodged all of Dark's attacks. "I had no choice."

"You tortured him to death, right in front of me!" Dark cried.

"Oh, is that why you ran away from me?" Damien asked, nonchalant. "Because I made you watch your brother die?" He blocked Dark's fist then swung his own at him. Dark was sent flying back, but not as hard as last time. He managed to right himself quick enough.

"I don't see why you care so much," Damien continued. "You two weren't even related by blood. You just happen to grow up together, you weren't real brothers."

"It doesn't matter," Dark snapped. "It was real to me. I loved him, and he loved me. That's all that mattered; blood had nothing to do with it."

"Hmm, so that is why you are so attached to his younger brother," Damien mused. Dark stopped right before he was about to attack.

"What?"

Damien smiled at him. "Oh come now, Dark," he shook his head. "You don't really think it a coincidence that the Host seems so familiar to you. That you get strange feelings of déjà vu when you're with the Niwas?" He clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Think Dark; think about your brother and that Host."

Dark's eyes glazed over thoughtfully. He thought about the boy he had grown up with, the only person he had loved until he met Krad. His brother, maybe not by birth or blood, but definitely by love. They would have done anything for each other; they had done anything for each other. When Damien had murdered him, a piece of Dark had died as well. But what was he talking about? Was there a connection between Daigo and Daisuke?

Then it hit him. Like a ton of bricks falling from the sky and landing on his head. Dark gasped as he realized what Damien was blabbering about. His brother, Daigo, was a Niwa. It all made sense now. Dark had entered Daigo's mind many times growing up, trying to figure out how to use his magic. Daigo had no memories of his child, but instead he had impression and those impressions and rubbed off on Dark. That was why the Niwas felt so familiar, why it had felt like he had been to their home before and why he had subconsciously known to watch for traps when he was there.

The picture he had found in Daisuke's room, the picture of the Niwa family but with a person scratched out of it. That person was Daigo. It explained so much, why Dark was so protective of Daisuke, it was because Daigo had been protective of his little brother before the Master got hold of him. Before the Master had kidnapped him and stolen his memories.

Daigo was Daisuke's big brother.

"Is that why you kidnapped him?" Dark asked, his voice far away, "Because you knew that Dai was going to be the next Host?"

"No," Damien answered. He did not elaborate.

"No?" Dark hissed. "Then why? Why did you take him from his home! Why did you take me from mine! Why us! Why me and Daigo! What did we have that was so damn special!"

Blinded by rage and not waiting for an answer, Dark summoned all the energy he could muster. His violet eyes started glowing bright silver as energy gathered in between his hands. Damien's eye widened in shock as he saw what was going n. Dark meant to finish him in one blow. Well, he couldn't have that, now could he?

Damien began to summon his own energy and called upon his own magic to fight for him. For a minute the two did nothing but gather their power and prepare to strike. Then, as one, they released their magic and launched it at the other. The two blasts met halfway in the air before exploding with a tremendous crash.

It had taken some time, but eventually Krad and Satoshi had managed to clear a path to the altar that Daisuke was tied on. Kosuke wasted no time in running up the stone steps and untying his son. He had tears falling down his cheeks as he lifted his cold body into his arms. Krad and Satoshi came up behind him, their opponents finally defeated. Krad slipped off his long white trench coat and wrapped it around Daisuke's naked body.

The red head stirred a little and gently opened his eyes. He blinked once then smiled before falling fast asleep. Kosuke and the others smiled and allowed themselves a deep breath of relief. A loud crash interrupted their moment though and Krad's head shot up, realizing he didn't know where Dark was.

Without a word, Krad was gone and racing down hallways, desperately trying to find his purpled haired koi. (A/N: "Koi" means "lover.")

He felt warmth, it was gentle and comforting. All of the pain had gone, there was nothing left of it. There wasn't even anything to show that it had once been there. He felt someone pick him up then something was wrapped around his body. He opened his eyes slowly and blinked, before closing them again. The pain was all gone.

Daisuke smiled.

A/N: All right everyone, second to last chapter is done. Next chapter will end it all. If there's any questions or things you'd like to see before I post the last one the PLEASE TELL ME! I don't want to end the story with little plot holes hanging around. If you also want me to elaborate on some point, then just say I will be more the happy to do it.

I really don't have too much to say on this chapter. I wasn't really happy with the fighting scenes this time 'round. I wanted Krad and Satoshi to have more action, but I guess this worked out. Did you all get the thing about Daigo and Daisuke being brothers? Because Daigo and Daisuke are real brothers by blood, and Daigo and Dark are brothers just because they love each other and grew up together.

I guess that's it, now on to REVIEWS!

Fildar- Well here's another update to entertain you! Glad you liked, thanks for reviewing

Seena58- Well I was just wondering because that "tra la la la" thing you keep humming is sung in those. I mean, the main guy is a singer and that's like in one of his songs. I was just curious. Minomi is old. He's fat and bald, so you decide how old he really is. I know, that was gross, but it was oddly amusing to write. It was actually the S who had me write it.

Darkandme4eva- Yes, lots of people thought it was gross as well. I thought it was. Yes, but Krad is strong, he could take it. I'm so glad you like the Dark/Krad pairing, that's awesome. Can't wait to see your fic when it's up. As for E.E., well I'll get back to it soon. I decided that I would finish this one first because it was easier to. So now that it's just about done, I'm going to head back to E.E. I'll try and update that by next weekend. Thanks for reviewing!

Neko-Salosa- Oh come one…I'm not that bad with cliffies am I? Thanks for reviewing.

SpinningAvia- Yay, no more Minomi, thanks for reviewing!

Rekkaboziegirl- Wha…I'm sorry. I thought it was fun, drawing it out like that. Well, here's an update that doesn't draw everything out. I'm sorry…

Classy Raven- Damien doesn't need any other reason to attack Daisuke. He's just twisted and creepy. But he's gone now, so everything is good! Thanks for reviewing!

Luna- Ok. I hope you review the last chapter; I would love to know what you say when there's nothing more to continue because the story is over.

Mujyakina-Hitokoroshiya- I liked that particular rule. Though, it was obvious that it was a written in plot device. Thanks for reviewing!

DarkSapphireDragon- Glad you liked that then. I was kinda worried about making Krad like that, but it turned out ok. Everyone liked Dark's reaction to it. That was kinda gross… Thanks for reviewing!

Golden-flame4- Glad you like, whether or not Dai was raped wont be said until the sequel, so sorry. Thanks for reviewing!

Liliath- Why does everyone think that I'm going to end my chapters in cliffhangers? I'm not that bad with it them…am I? Confusion is very fun for me, I enjoy making people confused. All right, you can't think that about Daisuke. At least until the sequel, because I don't plan on revealing that until the sequel. Thanks for reviewing!

Dimnoyo-anghel- Krad said that Sato needed the cross because…how do I explain it? Like if someone was just picking on you and you needed a hug afterwards. That was what Krad meant when he said that Sato needed it after getting chased by Dark. Makes sense now? And no, Krad kept the other cross; he said he'd give it to Satoshi later when he decided he wanted Sato to have it. Thanks for reviewing!

Lord Scribbles- I'm sorry! You're the third person to yell at me for that cliffhanger. I didn't even think it was that bad…I had lots of fun writing from Minomi's POV, I've never tried something like that before and was very pleased with how it turned out. Heh, yes, our Krad did give our little Satoshi a plot device…but we won't go there now. I don't think the demons have quiet grasped the use technology yet. They prefer magic. (blinks) Um, oh ok, no more sugar for you… Wow, did that really happen? That's awesome, how strange. (blink) That made no sense to me. All of your guesses were the total best. I enjoyed reading them sooo much! But, as was revealed in this chapter, Daigo was Daisuke's brother before the Master tortured him to death, right in front of Dark. How sad. Thanks so much for all your reviews, it's been so fun.

Kute Anime Kitty- Yes, buh-by Minomi! Thanks for reviewing!

All for now, don't forget to drop me a review!