The confrontation with Damien is here! Who will be victorious; the X-Men or will evil take over? Read to find out!

I own nothing you recognize.

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The X-Men slowly entered the monastery and glanced around. They halted when they saw a figure standing over several mutilated bodies. Damien slowly turned to face them and grinned.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to find me," he sneered.

"We can work this out," Xavier said. "But you need to stop."

Damien laughed. "Stop what? Being a god? I think not. I will rule this galaxy. All will bow before me!"

"Guess there's only one way to solve this then," Cyclops said and the X-Men rushed him, multiple powers activating. Damien managed to knock them all back with his telekinesis. He laughed, his voice cruel.

Cassie ran out of the X-Jet and skidded to a halt when she saw the X-Men lying still on the ground. Anger welled up inside of her and she glared at Damien. She shoved both of her hands in front of her and knocked him to the ground.

Damien slowly rose to his feet and wiped a small amount of blood from his lip. "You dare to defy me?" he roared.

"I loved you Sage. The X-Men cared about you! And this is how you repay them? With death by your hand?" she demanded.

"Love is for the weak," he sneered. "I took this body because I knew how powerful it would become. I knew that it would be wasted on the boy Sage. So I claimed it."

"So you really are a demon," she said sadly.

"What are you gonna do about it?" he taunted.

Cassie closed her eyes, not knowing what to do. "Cassie, this is Sage!" a voice shouted in her head. "I don't have much time. You have to stop me by whatever means. It's the only way to make sure I don't hurt anyone else."

"I can't kill you…" she whispered.

"You have to. He'll kill you and everyone who stands in his way. I'm limiting his power as much as possible, but I can't do it forever. Right now his powers are on par with the Phoenix. You have to take him out now. I know you can do it. You have to. Please. I don't…I don't want to see him kill anymore…"

Tears crept out of Cassie's closed eyes. Her jaw tightened and her eyes snapped open, a yellow tinge to their depths. She ran up to Damien and slugged him hard across the jaw, enhancing the punch with her powers. Without thinking a glowing pinkish-purple staff appeared in her hands and she began striking Damien with all of her might and skill, pushing him back.

Damien staggered back, shocked at the sudden outburst from the girl. He grunted in pain when he felt several ribs crack. Cassie rammed the end of the staff into his gut and he doubled over in pain. She then brought the staff up and with a resounding crack Damien flipped head over heels and landed in a heap. He dazedly regained his feet only to be struck again and again by Cassie.

The teen paused and Damien looked at her, blood dripping from his head, face, arms, chest and back. An eye was swollen shut which diminished the effect his glare would have had.

"How? How do you have this much power?" he demanded.

"Because I love people," she returned coolly and brought the staff slamming into his head. He crumpled to the floor and the tattoos slowly turned back to their original black. The X-Men slowly came around and stared in disbelief at the scene.

The staff disappeared from Cassie's hand and she knelt down next to Damien. His eyes fluttered open and Cassie noticed that they were back to their original hue. He coughed and blood dribbled out of his mouth. He weakly swallowed and smiled.

"The…thank…you…" he whispered hoarsely grasping Cassie's hand. "Y…you saved…me…"

Tears streamed out of Cassie's eyes as Jean knelt down on the opposite side. "I'm so sorry Sage. I…" she began.

"Did…what I…asked…" he wheezed. "Y…You saved…the…galaxy…"

"There had to have been another way," Cassie argued, clutching his hand tightly.

"There was…no…other…way. The…pendant…was…losing its…power…I don't…blame…you…" he said.

"But…" she began when he weakly reached up and held her face.

"I…love…you…" he whispered. His head fell back and his eyes misted over. Cassie began crying, tightly holding Sage's hand; sobs wracking her body. A warm hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up at Jean.

"Thank you," she said softly. "You've freed my brother from his curse."

"I'm sorry I killed him…" she began.

Jean cut her off. "Damien was killing him. If he asked you to stop him by whatever means necessary, he knew that death was his only escape. I don't blame you."

Cassie nodded. "I just…I didn't want…"

"Taking a life is never easy," Sam said softly. "Especially if it's someone we care about. Just know that I'm here if you want to talk to someone."

"We all are kiddo," Wolverine said.

"Let's return to the mansion and give Sage a proper burial," Xavier said. Beast reached down to gather Sage's body into his arms when a bright white light emerged from Sage's clothes. Sam and Cassie stared in awe.

"What the…" Cyclops began.

"My God…" Nightcrawler whispered.

"I don't believe it," Cassie said, a grin on her face.

"He did it…" Sam said.

"Did what?" Jean asked.

"Ascended," the two replied.

"What?" Beast asked.

"When a person's mind is enlightened, they Ascend to a higher plane of existence," Sam explained. "Daniel Ascended about two years ago, but was Descended for interfering in our plane of existence."

"I believe you'll be able to tell us more at the mansion…" Xavier began when the bodies of the monks began glowing and disappeared along with Sage's essence.

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Only a few more chapters left! And thanks to everyone who reviewed. You shall get your pudding...after I make some more...reviewing makes me make pudding faster.