(Well, Jay Are Vee, you can't assume that I'm going to kill off Massoud just because the Super Dahaka wrapped his tentacle around him. No, he's not going to force them together for his naughty purposes, and for that merger thing… you're not entirely correct.)

One Last Chance:

Chapter Fourteen

"How is this possible? How is it still alive?" Kamal demanded as he approached Saeedeh, who watched the situation with interest. "Can you not figure it out? Your counterpart, Farah, Massoud, and Kaileena do not belong in this time, especially an alternate time. However, this is the same Dahaka your counterpart killed, only an alternate, just like this timeline."

"It is stronger though; how is that?"

"In a separate timeline parallel to yours, the Dahaka was not killed by the Prince of Persia, and only absorbed Kaileena, thus absorbing the Sands of Time."

"How can there be another alternate timeline?"

"Yes, but that was not an alternate timeline, only a separate one, connected to your main one."

"Wait, so the Dahaka is not one, single entity throughout all of time, even alternate timelines."

Saeedeh sighed. "Time cannot be allowed to be disturbed, which is why this Dahaka was born. In truth, the Dahaka which survived in the other timeline ceased existing because it was killed in the other, which is why the Sands passed onto the alternate Dahaka."

Kamal shook his head. "The Sands… what of them?"

"The Sands of time exist in entirety; in the future, past, and present. The Sands the Dahaka has are those of your time's, while the Sands my past self has are those of the past's." Kamal clutched the Water Sword tighter. "And yet you brought them here, to die…?" Saeedeh giggled. "No, not exactly. The Prince is responsible for this all, so he should be held responsible and be punished. Farah and Massoud are only caught up in this, but once I reform time itself, they will be revived in a perfect timeline, and my mother and I can finally be happy."

"Reform time itself; madness! That is improbable!"

"And yet possible; all I need is for Kaileena to follow me to the Essence, and it will be achieved!" She giggled once more. "That is the true destiny of the Empress of Time! Kaileena is the only one who can unlock the Essence of Time, which is why I forced that squid to attack the ship, and leave her unavailable for you to use as a sacrifice to wield the Cobra Sword; the Prince however, was not infused with the Water Sword's energy at the time, and was able to use the Cobra Sword."

Kamal backed away. "So, you've been orchestrating this, bending everything to your favor…"

"Yes, but I have no godly powers; I am one with time itself. Once time is unlocked, my soul will be freed, and a true, perfect time will exist!"

Kamal grinned. "But you're only a child! This plot of yours, is the result of a child's dream; it is unfathomable!" He readied the Water Sword. She smiled. "So, you will strike me down?"

"I do not want to be a part of a child's dream; I want to gain the power of the Sands of Time, and rule all of existence! You aspire to achieve a dream!" He advanced forward and slashed at Saeedeh, slicing her image in half, only causing it to begin to fade.

"A dream, Kamal? We are the same, deprived of our lives and everything meaningful to us. I suppose you are only a dream yourself…"

She faded completely, leaving Kamal to stand there for a moment. "A dream…?"

The Dahaka transfigured the tentacle around the Prince to clamp around him. It let out a laugh of some sort and swung the limb to the ground, slamming the Prince down. He cried out in agony as the beast did it again, and again.

Kaileena snapped back into reality and barely jumped to the side as another tentacle lashed out at her. "We cannot defeat it!" she thought aloud as the tentacles suddenly fell apart. Kamal landed swiftly onto the ground before standing from his crouched position. "I am not a dream! I am reality!" He roared and swiped at the Dahaka in the stomach, causing a tear in its abdomen. It staggered back slightly, allowing Farah, Massoud, and the Prince to gain their composure.

"Why are you helping us?" the Prince asked Kamal in-between breaths. "I… We must work together to stop this creature. Call it a truce if you will, but afterwards, we are enemies."

The Prince nodded and held the Water Sword ready as the Dahaka stood straight, before becoming consumed by the cloud again. "What? Where is it…?"

"The palace," Kamal confirmed before running inside the building. The others followed, leaving the Prince last to enter the building.

"Wait, please!" called the past Prince as he approached his future, alternate self. "That creature… You will need my assistance if you want to defeat both of them."

The present Prince shook his head. "No, you'll only get yourself killed; for now, your duty is to help regain the palace. This is not your battle; help the young woman and her daughter out of danger, and then help the other civilians."

"It is not your place to give me commands!" the past Prince retorted.

"Perhaps, but I know of what I am speaking! Do not get yourself involved; you will regret it." He then turned and headed into the palace, leaving the past Prince to only stare.

"Well then, miss, let us get going."

Arad entered his brother's office casually, glancing around. "He's not present; where-," he muttered before the wall suddenly collapsed in. A large, dark shadow approached him, in the shape of a giant. Arad, startled, backed away, holding the dagger as his only defense. The shadow advanced, and with a loud cry, Arad leapt forward and plunged the dagger into the beast's abdomen. The Dahaka roared in pain as a small amount of sand seeped into the dagger's blade from its wound.

Arad pulled his arm back and ran from the room and out of the hallway as the Dahaka chased after him.

He ran out into the entrance lobby, stepping over a few bodies as the beast turned into the chamber, enshrouding almost everything in darkness.

"No, you damn beast!" Kamal shouted as he rolled in front of the Dahaka, with the others close behind.