E Revolution

by Giampi

The end is here.

11. 11th Revolution: Humanity

E. Revolution

-11th Revolution-

::Humanity::

"How is he?"

"His condition…has not improved in the slightest. He insists on the fact that he knows her, but I am afraid his mind is merely playing tricks on him."

"He kept insisting on a picture…did he show it to you, Professor?"

"According to the guards who were on duty at the time, he shows that picture to anybody who cares to listen. Regrettably it is but a scrap of paper that he scrounged up from the floor. His delusions have reached a very high level indeed."

"We can't worry about that now, though. Why did you want to come back here anyway, uncle?"

"I wished to get some documents from my private library…specifically these books."

"What are they?"

"The Science Arks. The results of Professor Andonuts' research, condensed into six volumes."

"I plan to entrust them, along with SANCTUARY's collection of Scaraban artifacts and the command of SANCTUARY itself, to you, Jeff."

"…me? Are you serious?"

"I am always serious, my boy."

"But…why?"

"Because…"

"We don't have time for this, Professor. We'd better get to the shelter."

"…because the end is near."

Frank Fly struggled internally to adopt a stoic-looking, nonchalant pose that would completely contradict the feelings of fear and turmoil in his head and communicate a sense of ease and understanding to everyone around him. It wasn't working—not that anyone would have noticed anyway.

After the last major attack only two areas of SANCTUARY had been left unscathed; both of them were hangars, and they had been cleared out quickly enough. DREAMERS had taken hold of the first and larger hangar, and put it to use as a base of operations. SANCTUARY, on the other hand, employed the building as a shelter, putting the survival of its members above the success of its mission. At the moment most everyone was busy eking out a personal space amidst the sea of people, rations, blankets, and first-aid kits—due to the sheer number of people, half of which were either injured, dying, or dead, there was precious little space to do anything other than sit and wait. Some decided to add prayer to that short list, while others were too busy forsaking whatever deity they worshipped and damning everyone and everything to think of anything else. Some women broke into tears. Some men were crying as well, but they were trying to hide it. Absolutely everyone wanted to go home and never have to think of this dreadful place again.

Everyone except for Frank Fly, that is. His only concern at that time was when Giygas would strike again—which it would—and whether or not he'd be able to pull through again.

After what seemed like a lifetime of trying to look cool in front of absolutely no one, Frank Fly noticed a familiar pair of faces walk by his side. He recognized them as the two scientists who were with him in Onett.

"Hey, you guys! Over here!"

Orange switched the first aid kit he was holding onto one arm. "Hmm? Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"Whatta I look like I want anything?" Frank's demeanor, was, as always, completely apathetic on the outside. "I just noticed you guys walking around, and…well, you know, I though you could use some company."

"Company." Orange shifted his parcel to his other arm. "You think that, after all that's happened, what we really need right now is company."

Now that he thought about it, it was pretty dumb. Frank shrugged. "You know, whatever. 'S getting boring in here an' I thought, you know…maybe you guys need some help, sum'in like that."

Orange scoffed and shoved his parcel into Frank's arms. "Why Frank, how good of you to say so," he said derisively. "As a matter of fact, we could use another able body to lug around some of the heavier packages by the infirmary."

A polished, black eyebrow rose over the pink rim of Frank's sunglasses. "Do I look like the kind of person that lugs stuff around?"

"Yes."

The gangster was about to protest when Orange shot him an angry look. Within seconds he was on his way to the infirmary.

Apple watched him go. "I don't think it's a good idea to trust him with our work," he commented, more to himself than to Orange. "What if he drops something?"

"He has to do something around here," replied Orange. "Otherwise he's dead weight. Besides, we've been playing errand boy all day now, we could use some rest."

Apple could find no fault in Orange's logic, so instead of trying to argue ethics he decided to focus his attention on the redhead in the green uniform who was rapidly approaching from the entrance to the hangar.

"Hi, you two," said Tony, chipper as always. "It's good to see you."

Apple saw that Orange was about to make a rude remark and took over before he could say something offensive. "Tony, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with the other DREAMERS?"

Tony flashed one of his characteristic half-smiles and flicked a red bang out of his eyes. "Not anymore. After everything that happened I defected."

The two researchers exchanged glances. They weren't entirely surprised, but…

"I take it you finally saw Maxwell Labs for the lunatic that he is," said Orange.

Tony shook his head. "He may be that way now, but…" The cadet's eyes began to wander, searching for old memories. "Commander Labs was—is—a brilliant man. I initially joined DREAMERS just so I could feel like I was worth something to the world…the Commander made me feel that way ever since I signed up. Every day I was with him before coming to SANCTUARY was like walking with a god…to me, he was invincible. But all that's changed now…like he's been possessed by some sort of monster. Maybe he's always been a monster, and I've been too blinded by his brilliance to see it."

Orange put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "All people are monsters," he said. "They just stay caged most of the time."

With those words, Orange turned and walked away, muttering something about keeping an eye on Frank.

Tony cocked his head to the side. "That was…really deep."

Apple nodded. "Yeah…not like him at all."

People…there were people nearby…above, perhaps, on the same wing of the base, but on a different level. Most of them were talking amongst themselves…they were too far away to hear what about, though.

Ness' cell was the only one that was occupied in the whole base. It made very little sense to him that they would lock him up here, by himself, and keep him from the outside world, especially given all that was happening. He wasn't going to hurt anybody, either…not unless they deserved it.

"Hey, you two. Yeah, the two of you outside."

The two guards didn't react. They had been ordered not to, after all. Ness could have screamed for hours and the guards would not have so much as flinched.

"You're not going to let me out of here, are you?"

What a dumb question, he thought to himself, almost simultaneously. If I were standing out there I wouldn't let me out either.

"No, huh? What if I choose to let myself out?"

No sooner had he finished than he felt a tremendous pressure in his head, right behind his eyes. The pressure quickly changed to a sharp, blinding pain that forced Ness to the floor. He probably screamed, but the pain made it difficult to tell.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I won't break out, I promise!"

Immediately the pain subsided. Since the two guards had no way of physically interacting with him from their posts, they had resorted to psychic aggression as a means of keeping Ness in check. They weren't part of SANCTUARY for nothing.

Ness dug into his pockets and produced the photograph of Paula he had with him. He had examined the photograph a thousand times over now, and could probably trace every single contour of Paula's face with his eyes if he so chose. He had tried showing it to his friends, but none of them had been able to believe him.

But how can they think this is a piece of ordinary paper? I can see it, I can feel it…why doesn't anyone believe me? Why can't they remember Paula?

Ness was about to speak up again when he heard two dull, heavy thuds outside his cell. After that came the sound of two tumbling bodies. After that the door to his cell burst open and two men in green uniforms hit him over the head with the butts of their shotguns. After that, darkness.

"We've got trouble."

Agent Poo approached Apple and Orange with a stern look on his face. His glasses were off.

"What is it?" Apple put down the console he was working with. "Is it…Giygas?"

The agent barely nodded, but it was more than enough to confirm Apple's concerns. "We detected it a few minutes ago. It's still far away, but it's coming. The Professor sent me to fetch you two, said something about an emergency defense system."

Orange adjusted his specs and scoffed. "Figures. It's the only defense we have left once the base is compromised. If the Prof's starting it up then he must be really desperate."

Poo's brow creased. This was the first time the Professor had set up something within the base and not told him about it.

"I guess it can't be helped," chirped Apple. "Agent Poo, could you please evacuate everyone from the base? Once the system starts up it means the base is done for."

The two scientists dropped whatever they were doing and ran off to a part of the base only they knew existed. In the meantime Poo looked around and spotted a familiar figure clad in pink.

"Hey, you," Poo grabbed Frank Fly by the collar and plunked him down in front of him. "I need some help."

"Say what?"

"I need you to help me evacuate all these people."

Frank raised an eyebrow. "You kiddin'? I don't even work for you people!"

"You do now. I've just hired you as a cadet. Now help me."

"A cadet?! That's it?! What, you can't make me a general or something?"

"Just shut up and help me!"

"All right, all right…"

Tony was nearby, and through a little eavesdropping heard the entire conversation. Immediately his thoughts turned to doing something in another part of the base, and he ran off.

A slap to the face brought Ness out of the darkness and back to the world of the living. His vision was still blurry, but he could feel his hands and feet bound by restraints, and there was something heavy bearing down on his head. It was terribly cold…maybe someone had taken his shirt off.

"Wake up. Wake up, damn it!"

That voice was…Maxwell Labs.

Ness' vision finally settled, and he saw the figure of the DREAMERS commander standing above him. It finally dawned on Ness that he was lying down, strapped to a table of some sort.

"Where am I?"

"You are not at liberty to be asking questions," replied Labs. "All you have to do is lie there." The commander disappeared from Ness' view, apparently to do some sort of chore somewhere else.

Ness moved his head around. He was in one of the hangars, but it was difficult to tell which, exactly. DREAMERS soldiers were swarming around him, testing electrodes attached to his chest, checking measurements, and preparing weapons. To his left, on a similar table, Ness spotted a young woman in a SANCTUARY uniform. Her pale countenance was indicative of the fact that she was dead.

"This is…Operation Rainy Circle, isn't it?"

Maxwell Labs reappeared above Ness. "Very perceptive of you. Last time we were able to capture one of your grunts, but she was too weak to be of any use. But you," Maxwell Labs grabbed Ness' face and squeezed it painfully, causing the boy to grunt. "You, I have high hopes for. You have the kind of power that can wipe them out permanently."

Ness' eyes narrowed. "You can't make me do anything to help you."

Maxwell Labs chortled. "Oh, we'll see about that. All I need is a tiny surge of psychic energy…once that happens, the system will take hold of you and do the rest on its own. Of course, it'll kill you in the process, but that's a small price to pay." The commander paused for a second. "Funny, that's the same thing I said to that girl when I last used this machine."

That girl…was he talking about Paula?

"But that's in the past." Maxwell Labs disappeared from Ness' view once more. "After today, I'll have destroyed it, every last bit. There won't be anything left."

"Are you talking about Giygas or SANCTUARY?"

Maxwell Labs was unable to answer that question. Instead he walked away and ordered one of his subordinates to begin Operation Rainy Circle as soon as possible.

There was a room, somewhere around the place where the old laboratory used to be, that had a very well-hidden secret door, its frame a delicate, barely visible outline etched into the white wall. The recent destruction wrought on the base by Giygas had made sure that the mechanisms responsible for keeping the wall clean, and by extension, making sure the door stayed hidden, had fallen into disrepair; thus the door became somewhat more visible than it would have been under other circumstances, although it was still impossible to discern from anything else in the base by the naked eye.

Apple and Orange knew what to do: they waved their key cards in front of a scanner built into the wall, also concealed behind the white panels. Two panels slid away to reveal a pair of secondary scanners on each side of the door, spaced far enough apart so that the two could not be accessed simultaneously by the same person. The two researchers placed their palms on the scanners and lowered their heads so that their retinas could be scanned. Once these two checkpoints were taken care of a third, larger panel appeared on the door itself, with the words 'VOICEPRINT AUTHORIZATION' written on them in big, bold letters.

"Prodeo Obveat Ordinatio," said Orange loudly, and clearly. After Apple said the same thing, in the same tone, the door finally flashed a final message, 'WELCOME TO MAGNET HILL', and then slid away, revealing a narrow staircase leading up. Without so much as a snide comment Orange started climbing it; Apple followed without complaining.

The room they ended up in was at the highest point of SANCTUARY. It was a large command center, large enough to house several people, although most of the consoles were concentrated in the front, next to a large window that overlooked the entire complex and the immediate area beyond it. The only exception was a central podium in the center of the room, that was raised a step. Standing on that podium were a haggard old man and his wide-eyed, blonde nephew.

"We're here, Professor," said Orange while taking up a seat at a console up front. "We came as soon as possible."

"Good," replied the professor. "I am glad you could make it. I did not want to resort to such extreme measures, but the situation calls for it."

Jeff shifted his weight onto one foot uncomfortably. "I still don't get it," he said. "What is this room for? Why is it such a secret?"

Apple also took up his place at a console and booted it up. "This is SANCTUARY's final line of defense against a frontal attack by Giygas. However, the Professor foresaw that the use of such an extreme measure would imply the depletion of our psychic forces."

"Therefore," continued Orange, "he designed this system keeping more 'traditional' methods of defense in mind."

"Traditional is a relative word," replied Andonuts. "Although the weaponry here was acquired—discreetly, I might add—from the Eagleland military, I have made some 'improvements', shall we say, that make this system much more advanced than any other in the world."

Jeff frowned. "Why did you keep this a secret? Why not just use this system in the first place?"

"Because, my dear boy, I don't want to kill Giygas; I want to eliminate its chaotic essence from the Earth. Conventional weaponry, no matter how advanced, cannot do that."

Jeff was about to reply when he felt the cells in his body tugging him towards something in the distance. He adjusted his glasses.

"It's here."

Chaos, it seems, must always manifest in a somewhat orderly fashion if it wishes to be perceived. The fact alone that it seems to have a will of its own indicates that there is at least some order to it. Thus it was not surprising that the latest manifestation of Giygas looked, despite its form, to be coherent within itself.

It had taken bits of pieces of everything to assemble its 'body': the head was made out of chunks of metal and concrete, in order to resemble something like the serpentine head of a dragon; the torso looked organic, like it had taken a normal animal and mutated it, then attached a long tail made of mud and soil to the end. The limbs were made of rock as well, although pieces of flesh had been integrated into it. Long, silver ribbons of energy, perhaps light, sprouted from the back of the beast and kept it airborne. What was peculiar about it was that none of the pieces seemed to be attached to each other; each was, apparently, its own independent entity, constantly shifting around as to give the whole the illusion of a fluid coherence. Even the composition of the pieces themselves changed constantly, with the head being of concrete one moment and of flesh the next.

Professor Andonuts did not give the Devourer the option of a first attack. "Destroy it," he commanded.

"What if DREAMERS attacks? What about Rainy Circle?"

"There is no time! We must destroy it now!"

Apple and Orange did as they were told, and after typing a few commands into their consoles the room began to rumble. Missiles poured out of a silo just above them and streamed towards the Devourer like locusts. The jets of stream they left in their wake weaved a fluffy tapestry in the sky, while the ammunition itself screamed towards its target. The Devourer saw it coming and emitted an invisible pulse, stopping the missiles in its tracks. The warheads went dead and fell to the ground.

"Oh no, it's not over yet!" Orange typed in another command. "Take this!"

The 'dead' warheads sprang to life again and broke in half, revealing the shiny, spherical pods in their interior. These spheres immediately flew up to the Devourer once more; before it had a chance to react the pods surrounded it and created a contained electromagnetic field, trapping the Devourer and zapping it. The creature writhed and screamed in pain.

Another barrage of missiles, conventional this time, was launched. However, before they could reach their target the Devourer changed its structural integrity, covering itself with its organic parts so as to shield itself from the electromagnetic wave. It used its massive tail to destroy the pods surrounding it, then immediately changed its composition, petrifying itself so it could withstand the second barrage of missiles. After that it resumed its original configuration and started moving towards the base.

"It's cleared the first line," reported Apple. "Our ballistic array is unusable now…the blast would affect us too."

"Initiate the second defensive wave," ordered Andonuts. "Try to lure it back out to missile range."

Jeff looked on in awe. Something inside the Giygas was beginning to change.

"Something's hurting it, but it's not us," he mused. "I think they're starting Operation Rainy Circle…"

Maxwell Labs approached the table where Ness lay with a syringe in his hand. The mere sight of it made Ness nauseous.

"What are you going to do to me?"

The DREAMERS commander smiled. "I'm just going to give you a little something to relax. It'll activate the psychic centers of your brain, and once I activate the machine they won't be able to stop themselves."

"That doesn't sound relaxing."

"Well, it relaxes me quite a bit, in any case," said Labs.

Ness mustered up the most defiant look he could and sneered at his captor. "You can't kill me…if anything happens to me SANCTUARY will get you faster than you can blink."

"Ha! I'd like to see them try," retorted Labs. "They'll be too busy dying to do anything."

Ness' once-defiant look vanished, replaced by confusion and fear. "You…you're going to kill them all…all those people are gonna die…"

"It would surprise you to know how very little I care. But that's neither here nor there…let's get started, shall we?"

Without much ceremony he jabbed the needle into Ness' arm and emptied its contents into his bloodstream.

The liquid felt very cold, like ice, and coursed through Ness' veins at an unbelievable speed. Within seconds the drug made its way to Ness' head, and soon the cold sensation concentrated in his head, behind his eyes. The cold quickly turned to pain, then to agony, then to darkness as Ness lost control over his senses and lost the ability to see. He could feel the chemical probing his brain, switching on some of his own neurons against his will and forcing them into action. He tried to resist, but there was nothing to fight with; he was fighting a losing battle against his own brain, who had surrendered control of itself to Maxwell Labs' artificial drug. There was nothing nepenthean about it.

Maxwell Labs motioned to one of his subordinates, who activated the machine Ness was strapped to. The system sprung to life, drawing psychic energy from Ness' unconscious body and sapping it of life simultaneously. The machine was connected to a large converter, a huge, metallic spire with a series of consoles at the bottom, all of which recorded, transformed, and filtered the raw energy that was being fed to it, and then broadcast it through a transmitter at the top of the cone. The entire thing hardly made any noise, and the only real moving 'part' was Ness' body, writhing as several different sources shocked it with jolts of electricity. Ironically, one of these devices was a defibrillator designed to stop him from dying before he had been drained prematurely. The DREAMERS elites swarmed around the device, checking readings and making sure the system was working properly. In the meantime Maxwell Labs stood a few paces away and watched, entranced by the spectacle and consumed by a childish glee that would have been marvelous had it not been so sickening.

For a moment Maxwell Labs fancied himself a savior, a prophet of an unknown god.

"Professor Andonuts, I've been looking for—agh!"

Kai Poo had barely stepped into Magnet Hill when he was racked by a violent spasm that forced him to the floor. Jeff immediately rushed to his side and took the agent in his arms; to his horror he was coughing up blood, and whatever he couldn't cough up was quickly making its way out of his body through his eyes, nose, and ears.

"What's happening to him? It's like he's dying…"

Andonuts, after examining Poo's condition, went back to his console and focused his attention on the battle taking place outside. "Mr. Apple, show me the progress on the evacuation of the base."

"Roger." A few seconds later several screens, showing different parts of the evacuation route, came into view, superimposed on the glass. Every single shot showed SANCTUARY agents falling to the ground, wriggling in pain and letting out screams of pure agony. Frank Fly, the one coordinating the evacuation and the only person unaffected by these mysterious symptoms, rushed to the person nearest him and knelt down. Ignoring his own vanity and personal grooming, he slipped off his pink jacket and used it to wipe off as much blood as he could while futilely trying to revive the injured young woman.

Professor Andonuts shook his head sadly. "What about Giygas?"

Orange typed a command into his console, and the gruesome images of the SANCTUARY agents disappeared, leaving only the normal view of the Devourer. Statistics and readouts began to pour onto the glass, displaying various bits of information. Red circles appeared on various spots of the Devourer's body.

"I don't believe this," said Orange. "It's falling apart…like something's tearing it apart from the inside…"

Jeff took off his glasses and wiped his brow. He felt no pain, but the sensation was almost unbearable. He too felt like something was clawing away at him from the inside; it almost made him want to scream like the creature just outside the window.

"As I feared," replied Andonuts. "Operation Rainy Circle has begun. We must stop this at once!"

Jeff took his sweater off and rolled it up to make a headrest for Poo, who had stopped convulsing but was still bleeding. "I'll do it," he said. "Just tell me what to do."

Professor Andonuts looked upon his nephew and felt for the first time that perhaps the young man would not have to grow up to become like his uncle.

"Bring me Maxwell Labs," he said.

Maxwell Labs was about to erupt into another fit of laughter when the walls of the hangar were rocked by a loud explosion that obliterated one of the walls facing the outside. Most of the elites were caught by the debris, and anyone who wasn't was forced to retreat just so they wouldn't be trampled by the gargantuan Sky Runner that broke in and occupied half the hangar.

The front ramp came down quickly, revealing the lone form of Tony, the sole occupant of the mammoth transport. Before anyone could react he dashed forward, lobbing a grenade at the tall spire that powered Labs' terrible machine, and then took cover by diving to the floor. The machine was completely destroyed almost instantly by the explosive. Immediately thereafter Ness' body stopped convulsing and he began to regain control of his body.

"No…" Labs dropped to his knees. "No! No no no You traitor! You fucking traitor!! I'm going to kill you!!"

Tony got up, brushed himself off, and shot Maxwell Labs a disappointed look. "To think I used to look up to you," he said softly before rushing to Ness' side and disconnecting him from the machine.

A couple of DREAMERS elites tried to stop Tony by rushing into him; he, in turn, bit down on his thumb, and then took out his gun. The hemoglobin-activated firearm made short work of the elites and cleared the way.

"Ness! Ness, can you hear me? It's me, Tony! Ness!"

The youth's eyes opened slowly. His head swiveled around drunkenly and finally fixated on the dull blur that was Tony's face. He tried to speak, but the most he could manage was a faint whisper, inaudible over the noise.

Tony tried to speak again when Maxwell Labs tackled him from behind, sending Ness crashing to the floor and separating the cadet from his gun.

"You fucking bastard!" Labs began to pummel the cadet mercilessly, like someone ready and willing to kill. "You ruined everything! I'm going to kill you!"

Tony made a feeble attempt at defending himself, but his commander and mentor was much too strong. Eventually he was completely overpowered, and he fell to the ground. The DREAMERS commander reached for a jagged piece of debris and held it over his head, ready to impale Tony when he felt a cold object jab into his back gently.

"One more move and I shoot you," said Jeff. "I know how these things work, and I took care to dowse it with a little blood."

Labs came to his senses somewhat and dropped his makeshift weapon, then put his hands up. In the meantime Tony scampered back a few paces and wiped his mouth.

"My hero," he joked.

"Save it for later," retorted Jeff. "For now, just get some of the wires from that table over there and tie his hands."

Tony did as he was told, and after taking care of Labs he went over to Ness. After acknowledging that he was still alive, the former cadet hoisted him up over one shoulder.

"Take that Sky Runner and pick up the SANCTUARY guys outside," commanded Jeff authoritatively. "After that, take them far away from the base, got it?"

Tony did a mock salute and headed for the Sky Runner. "Don't die," he said before boarding the craft and closing the entry ramp. Soon afterwards the Sky Runner took off.

Jeff watched the craft fly away, and then fixed his attention on his new prisoner. "Come on, you, my uncle has some unfinished business to take care of."

A grunt from behind him told Professor Andonuts that Poo was recovering from the near fatal seizure he had suffered some minutes before.

"How are you feeling?" He asked with genuine concern in his voice, but without turning to look at him.

"I've…been better," replied Poo weakly. He leaned on the Jun Zhu Tan and used it as a crutch to get back on his feet. "What…happened?"

"Minutiae. It is not important right now," said Andonuts. "We have, you see, bigger problems to worry about."

After shaking his head Poo was able to focus on the window in the front of his room. The sight of the Devourer, now closer than ever, almost made him faint again.

The monster had begun attacking the base now that it was closer. The close-range weaponry was having little to no effect, and any artillery sent its way was shattered by invisible pulses of energy. The tendrils of light that shot out of the Devourer's back whipped forward viciously, scarring the ground below it and the parts of the base that it managed to come in contact with. Whatever was harming it before was gone now, and the only real thing it had managed in the end was to make it mad.

"I'm back," announced Jeff as he ran in with Maxwell Labs in tow. "He had Ness strapped to this machine, but that's taken care of."

The Devourer scored a direct hit near Magnet Hill, sending a violent vibration through the floor and walls. Apple and Orange typed furiously, their fingers veritable blurs as they entered any number of commands into the defense system, but it was for naught. The Devourer was simply too close.

Two machine gun turrets sprouted out of the outside wall and began firing rounds of electromagnetically-enhanced bullets at the monster, which simply changed its composition to solid rock and absorbed the enemy fire harmlessly. More missiles were fired, and the explosions managed to shatter the window, showering everyone inside with shards; still the creature was unaffected.

"It's no use," muttered Apple. "He can see everything we throw at it from a mile away…"

Professor Andonuts frowned. He glanced at Poo, then Apple and Orange, then at Maxwell Labs, and finally at Jeff. His gaze lingered on the blonde for a particularly long time.

"Mr. Apple, Mr. Orange," he commanded. "Please cease any further countermeasures."

The two researchers swiveled around in their chairs. They looked at each other, and then at their superior officer.

The researcher did not give them time to try and start an argument. "Kai, please escort everyone to the last hangar. There should still be some form of transportation there that will allow you to escape the base."

The agent sensed what Andonuts planned to do and shot him a defiant look. "You can't be serious," he complained. "If you stay here by yourself then you'll get killed for sure."

"I know," replied Andonuts. "That is why I plan to take that monster with me."

Another violent seism shook the base. Jeff dropped the gun he was holding and ran up to his uncle.

"Please don't do this," he pleaded. "I…there's still so much we have to talk about…"

The old man took his nephew and embraced him warmly. The blonde began to cry as he clung to the only real family he had left.

"I have already told you everything that needs to be said," he whispered. "Just know that I love you, and I am very proud of the person you have become."

Jeff nodded, sobbing slightly, and hugged his uncle tighter.

Kai Poo slipped on his sunglasses, presumably to hide his tears, and bowed respectfully to his mentor. "I am…very grateful for everything that you have done for me," he said. "I will make sure your sacrifice does not go in vain. I only wish to become half the man you are."

Andonuts shook his head with a sigh. "Kai, please dispense with the formalities, they make you sound stuck up," he chuckled. "Do not worry for me…I am merely making sure that you all have a future to enjoy."

Kai Poo nodded, and then looked away; he did not want anyone to see his tears of grief. "Good bye, Professor."

Apple and Orange were the last to say goodbye. They praised the old researcher for everything he had accomplished, shook his hand, and promised to keep on fighting until their last breath. They wanted to say more, but another explosion, closer that the previous ones, reminded them of the urgency of their departure. With one final, teary goodbye they turned to leave, followed by Jeff and Poo.

Maxwell Labs turned to leave as well, when he felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder and hold him back.

"Not you," said Andonuts sternly. "You're staying here with me."

Labs struggled against the old man's grasp, but in his present condition he was practically trapped. "You can't be serious."

"My dear boy, I am always serious."

Maxwell Labs ripped himself away and glared incredulously at Andonuts. "I'm not going to die here in the name of your little crusade. If you want to die, then die alone!"

Professor Andonuts produced two small key rings from his pocket. "These two keys operate the self-destruct mechanism," he explained. "But they fit on opposite ends of the room. I need a second person to activate the mechanism with me."

Maxwell Labs shook his head. "You're twisted."

"I learned that from you."

Once more the commander of what was left of DREAMERS broke into hysteria. "You—you can't! It's insane, you think you can make me do this? Huh? What do I look like, some kinda idiot? There's no way you can make me…"

He was quickly silence by a solid slap to the face. Professor Andonuts glared at his former pupil reprehensively.

"What do you think she would say if she saw you now?"

Maxwell Labs stared blankly at his teacher for a long time. Something within him clicked.

Eventually he whirled around and raised his hands, which were still bound.

"I can't do this if you don't untie me," he protested. Once he was untied, he snatched one of the keys from Andonuts' hand, stormed over to one side of the room and shoved his key into the console there.

The professor nodded solemnly and did the same on the other side of the room. Another explosion was felt, and the Devourer's tendrils snaked into the room, making short work of the consoles in the front.

A tendril lashed at Andonuts' arm, but he maintained his poise. "On my mark!"

Labs nodded and leaned back to avoid another tendril.

"1…2…"

The last thought that went through Maxwell Labs' head was that of a woman that he loved a long time ago. The last thought that went through Professor Andonuts' head was that of hope, and the future he had imagined for his nephew. The last thing either of them heard was the sound of a girl crying softly.

The entire SANCTUARY base was consumed in one terrifying explosion. The Devourer, no matter how powerful, simply could not withstand an attack of that magnitude, and began to shriek in pain as parts of it dropped off and melted. The flames consumed it, dissolved it within them mercilessly, along with everything else that was nearby. If the Devourer felt fear, it was short-lived.

The small Sky Runner that was flying overhead shook violently from the shockwave produced by the blast. The Runner's passengers could only look sadly as the blast consumed their former home, their former life.

Jeff pounded on the glass. "No…"

Ness came to at around that time. Tony had dressed him up with his old clothes, which he had found in the remnants of his cell earlier that day, and brought him up to speed with regards to what had happened to him. The explosion, which seemed very far away but sounded very close, told him the rest. He did not need to be told that Professor Andonuts had staged all of it.

They had landed in a clearing a few kilometers away from the base. Tony had helped set up a temporary infirmary along with Frank, and they were helping with the treatment of the wounded, but the damage was too severe. Several members of SANCTUARY had died during Operation Rainy Circle at the mercy of Maxwell Labs' machine, and those that hadn't suffered extensive injuries, both physical and psychological.

Eventually the Sky Runner holding Jeff, Poo, Apple, and Orange touched down next to them, and Ness got the chance to receive the news of Andonuts' death personally. He too had things to share, and related his experiences as an unwilling weapon. Everyone was too sad to bring up the fact that earlier that day Ness was locked in a prison cell.

"So that's it, then…SANCTUARY's gone," remarked Jeff dejectedly. It was clear that he spoke of both the base and the institution.

"What do we do now?" Poo crossed his arms and glanced at the Jun Zhu Tan. "I'd like to say that we'll keep on fighting…but I don't know if there's anything left to fight for."

"Not like we'd make much of a difference anyway," spat Jeff. He spread his arms to indicate the remnants of SANCTUARY's work force. "Look at us. Right now we wouldn't be able to kill a fly."

Ness was about to agree with Jeff's pessimism when a stray draft knocked his cap off his head. Wordlessly he watched as the cap rolled onto the ground and a few steps behind him. It was when he went to pick it up that he noticed something in the distance, floating in the sky.

"Paula…"

Jeff and Poo heard Ness' voice and glanced over at him. It didn't take long for them to follow Ness' gaze and spot what he was looking at. She was far away, floating in the sky like an angel, her pink dress and long hair billowing in the wind. It was hard to make out her shape in the distance, but she was definitely there, and she was definitely Paula.

"No way…" Jeff slipped off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and placed the lenses back on. "Is that…?"

"Paula," said Poo incredulously, as if he himself didn't believe it. "Suddenly I feel like I just remembered something important…"

"So Ness was right all along…he wasn't insane…"

Then, as quickly as she had appeared, she vanished. No smoke, no flashes of light, nothing…she was there one second, and gone the next.

Ness turned to face his companions. They stared back at him, their faces full of grief and sorrow, waiting for something or someone to tell them what to do. They were without a leader, and they were afraid.

The silence was broken when Ness placed his red cap back on his head, straitened up, and regained his composure.

"We need to go back to Fourside."

Jeff shook his head. "Why? We can't do anything."

"That's not true." Ness' hands balled into fists. "Besides, Paula's waiting for us. She still needs our help, and I refuse to stand here and do nothing while she's suffering."

Poo spoke up, with his thick oriental accent. "What makes you so sure she's in Fourside? For all we know she's not even on the planet anymore."

Ness fixed his gaze on the horizon. "Can't you hear her calling us? She's in Fourside, I'm sure of it."

The agent had to admit that he did not hear anyone calling him. However, in light of recent events he was willing to give Ness the benefit of the doubt.

"But what about all these people?"

Ness looked at his blonde friend. "Most of them are in pretty bad shape. Maybe they just want to go home."

The blonde nodded in agreement. "Do you want to talk to them or should I?"

Ness waved his friend off. "I'm the reason they're in this mess. I'll do it"

That said, Ness turned to face the remaining members of SANCTUARY and yelled for their attention. When the troupe of injured, demoralized troops stared at him, he felt the blood rush up to his head—he had never spoken in front of so many people before.

"Um…I have an announcement," he began, slowly and softly at first, but with more confidence each passing second. "We're going back to Fourside…we're going to finish this war once and for all. I know most of you are tired, so I don't want to force you to go anywhere you don't want to…but we need all the help we can get. So if you wanna come with me, fine…if you don't you can always take the other Sky Runner and go home."

Not surprisingly, the crowd grew silent. Ness' heart dropped and he lowered his gaze.

"I'll go with you."

Frank Fly stepped forward. His pink jacket, which was covered in blood, was slung casually over his shoulder. The crowd separated to let him through, and he strutted nonchalantly towards Ness, with one hand holding the jacket over his shoulder and the other poised daringly on his hip. Ironically, he had never looked cooler.

"Are you sure?" Ness smiled weakly, realizing that he just might have scared the only person willing to help him with that question.

Frank averted his gaze and stared at the ground. "Because of you I've been chased by the police, attacked by mutant monsters, sent to some base in the middle of nowhere, made into a cadet against my will, and forced to risk my life more times than I wanna think about. And you made me ruin my favorite jacket. If you think I'm just gonna leave after all that, you got another thing coming."

Ness felt a hand on his shoulder; it was Apple. He and Orange smiled at Ness reassuringly.

"We promised the Professor we'd see this thing through 'till the end," said the pudgy researcher. "We'll follow you to Hell itself if we have to."

"But…"

"No buts," said Orange. "We're going because we want to. That's what friends are for, right?"

Ness' smile grew wider. He turned to face Jeff, Tony, and Poo, the first of which gave Ness a thumbs-up.

"I'll go prep the Sky Runner," said Tony, and then walked away.

The people that made up what was left of SANCTUARY said their goodbyes and poured into the larger Sky Runner, ready to go home. Ness understood that they too had a difficult task ahead of them: recuperating, taking the dead to their families, and mourning the loss of everything they had worked for. They had the will to fight, just not the capacity.

A few minutes later they took off once more, casting one last look at the smoldering remains of SANCTUARY. There was a big, black hole where the base once was; it was hard to believe that there had ever been anything there at all. The flight to Fourside would be long and quiet, as each person mourned for what they had lost that day.

Far away from there, near Fourside, something began to stir.