"You think that you can kill me?" Zakan sneered, "A little mortal like you."

"How soon that you forget," Max shot back, "That body was once mortal."

"You want to kill the body of your mortal lover?" Zakan asked.

"I'd rather do that, then let the parasite that you are stay in there a minute longer," Max retorted, "I'm sure that Kenny would rather be dead then to be any part of what is going on here."

"You're going to suffer. I can make it hurt."

"So can I."

8888

"We have to help her!" Carter yelled, as he watched Zakan advance on Max.

"You can't help her," the King said from behind them, as he held his sword out inches from their necks, "Your try at taking at my army was not enough Nando, and that mortal is about to die very painfully. Zakan will make sure of it, after all, she is the one that destroyed Arcadia."

"Actually," Carter said carefully, "She didn't. I did."

"You did!" Zakan yelled, as he veered his attention away from Max, "Where is she?"

Carter stepped back as the rest of Nando's warriors charged up the stairs, "I'll never tell you!"

Max pulled the crumbled piece of paper from her pocket, and raised Ahtar's sword as she gazed at the man she once thought that she would spend the rest of her life with. I'm sorry, Kenny, so sorry, she thought, you know that. I love you, god I love you. Swallowing back the tears that threatened to fall she began to read, "Gather your immortal sons, ready them for your wild dance. Harrow beneath the waking moon. Bare them with your dreadful face."

"No!" Zakan yelled, as he flung her against the wall, "You little witch!"

"Max!" Skeeter yelled, at the still form on the ground, "Max!"

"You'll all die!" Zakan yelled, as lightening erupted from his hands.

"How the hell do we stop him?" Jimmy yelled, as he and Littleton hit the deck.

"Whatever she was doing seemed to get to him!" Littleton yelled back, as they watched the bodies exploding around them, "She's out cold!"

"The paper, the sword," Loho gasped, as blood poured out of his chest, "The words must be read!"

Jimmy eyed the pissed off God, who so resembled his old friend. It isn't Kenny, anymore than Max was Arcadia. Was is only two days ago? We didn't come all this way to fail!

"Zakan!" Jimmy yelled, trying to tear his attention away from an unconscious Max and a cowering Carter, "He wasn't the only one who helped destroy Arcadia!"

"You die!" Zakan yelled, as Max stirred her way back into consciousness.

"Where am I?" she mumbled, as she watched the bodies flying around her, "Oh shit."

Shaking her head, to clear the fog in her brain, she picked up the slip of paper again and began to read, ""Gather your immortal sons, ready them for your wild dance. Harrow beneath the waking moon. Bare them with your dreadful face. I bind you Zakan, to the void of eternity. Veramente. Toquis. I bind you Zakan, to the void of eternity. Veramente. Toquis. I bind you Zakan, to the void of eternity. Veramente. Toquis."

"No!" Zakan yelled, as he whirled around to face her again, as she jumped back to her feet, Ahtar's sword in hand, "You can't do this!"

"Veramente! Toquis!" Max yelled again, as a bright light erupted around him, "I bind you!"

"You can't do this!" the King yelled, before a sword sliced through his stomach.

Max stifled a scream of her own, as she raised Ahtar's sword, "I cast you out of this realm, Zakan! Veramente! Toquis!"

He stretched his arms out to her, as if to take her with her, "Arcadia!"

Max took a deep breath, as she plunged the sword into his stomach, "Veramente! Toquis!"

She stumbled back, as he screamed, and a dark cloud spilled from his mouth, "No!"

"Max! Get back!" Carter yelled, as he pulled her away from the dark cloud.

She shook her head, as she jerked free and watched as the black cloud was sucked into the portal, "Please . . ."

Watching as his body fell to the floor, she yanked herself the rest of the way out of Carter's arms and fell to the ground beside him.

"Please, oh, please," she begged, as she watched the blood pour out of the wound around the sword.

"Max," he groaned, "Max . . ."

"Kenny," she whispered, as she took his hand in hers.

"I didn't think that I would ever see you again," he whispered, "I tried, I was so lost, Max."

"I know," she sobbed, as she kissed his hand.

"I'm so cold."

"No," she begged, "Don't go. Stay with me, I can't lose you again."

"Max," he said again, as he stroked her cheek, "Max, I never stopped loving you."

"I love you too," she cried, "Stay with me, Kenny, I can't do this alone!"

"I can't feel my body."

"No," Max moaned, as she felt his hand go limp in hers and he closed his eyes, "No!"

"Max," Jimmy said after a long moment, as she sat motionless by Kenny's body, "We have to go."

"The curtains between the worlds are closing," Nando said.

She shook her head, as she willed his hand to squeeze hers again, "I can't."

"Max," Carter tried, as she lowered her head to Kenny's still chest, "He's gone."

She shook her head, as her tears trickled down onto his chest, "I can't leave him here."

"We'll take care of him," Nando supplied.

"No!" Max yelled, as she leapt up, "This isn't fair! It wasn't supposed to end like this!"

"Of course it isn't fair," Jill said, "Life isn't fair, Max. He did horrible things."

"That was Zakan! They stole our bodies, our lives! And now Kenny has to die because of it? We had," she choked out, before collapsing down beside him again, "I can't do this! I can't say good-bye."

Sobbing, she brushed his hair back and pulled the sword out from his abdomen, "I'm so sorry! Please, please, please, come back to me! I'll do anything you want!"

"What's that?" Skeeter asked, as he watched the bright light coming down, "I hate this place!"

"I said I would bring you home, and I always keep my word."

"Marbruk," Max gasped, as she watched him materialize in front of her.

"My warriors," he said, " I am sorry for all that has happened."

She turned back to Kenny before replying, "I thought that you were dead."

"I am," he sighed, as he looked at his fallen warrior, "I'd say I owe you both a favor. Stand back."

"No way," Carter said, as the dead wizard knelt before Kenny, "This isn't possible."

Max stood there shaking, as she watched the golden light heal the wound on Kenny's stomach, "Marbruk?"

"You know that anything is possible," he said, "My warrior."

Max gasped, as she watched Kenny's chest rise and fall again, "How?"

"You ask me how?" Marbruk sighed, "After all of this?"

She shook her head, "I was so mad at you."

"I know," he said, stroking her cheek, "Be strong, brave warrior. I will always be looking out for you. As for the damage that Zakan, Arcadia and the King created, the previous worlds are being restored to their old glory, while Ital will have to find its way again. "
"He's alive?" Carter asked numbly, as Max knelt down again shakily.

She nodded slowly, as she carefully ran her hand over where she had stuck the sword, "He's breathing."

Nando nodded, "I am glad. For now, we must leave this castle. The King and Queen are dead, their army gone, chaos is going to erupt, despite the prophecy being destroyed."

"What happens now?" Jimmy asked, "To this whole world?

Nando shrugged, "Most of the strong warriors have been killed, Ital is in shambles."

"What about you?" Carter asked, "And your people."

"We'll have to see, much has to happen," Nando said thoughtfully, "We must return you to your own dimension. Our former Gods seem kind of distracted."

"How do we get home again?" Carter asked.

"Easily," Marbruk said, as he opened the portal, "Be safe. Farewell."

"Thank you," Max said, as he vanished into the night.

"He's out cold," Skeeter said, nodding toward Kenny, "Think we can lift him?"

"Let's hurry," Littleton said, as the men hefted Kenny up.

"Nando," Max said.

"It's been a pleasure, former Goddess, but let's not do it again," Nando replied.

"Okay," Max agreed, as she nodded toward the others, "Thank you."

8888

"It took Max awhile to wake up too," Carter said quietly, "And Zakan's death, banishment, whatever, seemed a lot more violent than what we did to her."

Jimmy nodded, as he looked back into the living room where Kenny laid on the couch, and Max sat with him, "I know."

"What happened between them?" Jill asked, "After Zakan was gone, you heard what they were saying to each other. And that kiss that we all saw at the end of their quest, through this whole thing Max never mentioned it. She was prepared to kill him. She did kill him."

"Not Kenny," Jimmy replied, "Zakan. She knew that."

"She still took the chance," Jill argued.

"She had to have known what would happen if the universal takeovers happened," Carter said, "I don't think she wanted to make the same mistake twice."

"Which would be?" Littleton asked.

"Saving one to sacrifice thousands, like they did with Lupa," Carter continued, "If they let the King kill her, they wouldn't have been changed."

"And they couldn't let him kill her," Skeeter sighed, "It goes against both of their natures too much."

"She was amazing out there," Jimmy said, as he watched her through the doorway.

"She knows what Arcadia knew," Carter supplied, "Ancient scriptures and ways . . . I wonder if she retained any of her powers? She opened that portal."

"Don't you think that she would have used them to kill Zakan then?" Skeeter asked.

"Maybe she doesn't know yet," Carter replied.

8888

"Kenny?" Max whispered, as she felt his fingers move in hers.

"Max," he groaned, "Where . . . I can't find you."

"I'm here. I'll always be here."

"Not real . . . Always a trick."

"No," she sobbed, as she squeezed his hand more tightly in her own, "We made it, we're home . . . Just like we planned on."

"Max," he groaned again, as he fought his way toward her voice and forcing himself to open his eyes, "It's you."

She nodded, as she wiped her tears of joy away, "I was so worried about you."

"How?"

She shook her head, as she stroked his cheek, "It's long and complicated . . . Just rest? Oh, Kenny."

8888

"Give them a few minutes," Jill said, as the others planned to charge into the living room after Kenny woke up, "They need it."

"Listen to them," Skeeter said thoughtfully, "Wasn't Max supposed to be getting married before any of this happened? When the hell did she and Kenny . . . I don't even know what to call it."

8888

He raised his hand to her cheek, and stroked it in wonder, "You're really here."

She laid her hand over his, "So are you."

"I tried to hurt you."

"It wasn't you," she whispered, "Zakan . . . he's gone now. Banished again to some void."

"You did that. I wanted to help you . . ."

"I know," she whispered, "All to well what it's like."

"I died there."

"You were brought back," she said softly, trying to think of some way to explain it to him, "Marbruk . . . he owed us a favor."

"I didn't want to leave you."

"I didn't want you too," Max choked out, "I'm so sorry, for everything . . ."

"Hi guys," Jimmy said, as the others slowly made their way back into the room, "We're not interrupting?"

Max shook her head, as Kenny squeezed her hand more tightly in his, "No, we're just . . ."

Jimmy nodded, "Okay, we'll have time for this later. Welcome home."

The End.