Eclipse of Dusk

By: Hseru

Warnings: Shounen ai 1x2 3x4 5xM

Disclaimer: I own not Gundam Wing, but I do own the world the G-boys traverse. Fear my god power

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Chapter 30

The young feline's ears twitched forward in slight agitation as he didn't get an answer from the braided youth. Or rather, Duo didn't say anything. At all.

"Oi, I know you can talk. I heard you say something just a few minutes ago." He said, swinging his arms slightly, and hooking his hands behind his back in an absurdly childish looking gesture, brown eyes glinting with that certain translucent glow that a cat's eyes did.

Swallowing again, Duo was able to make his voice presentable when he next opened his mouth to speak.

"What are you doing here?" Came the less harsh vocals from his abused cords.

"See? Told ya you could do it." The feline said jovially, with a quirk of a smile. He seemed to be blissfully unaware of where they were, or what had transpired.

The feline youth, Solo, he'd said his name was, walked the short distance to take a seat perched lithely on the edge of the cot. Those ears of his seemed to never stop twitching and moving, appearing to pick up sounds that weren't obviously evident to Duo. It was a bit unnerving to watch, but all too similar to the animal this youth was apparently mixed with. Perhaps he was Fae? That would explain it too easily though, so Duo remained laying where he was, uncertain violet eyes on the feline youth.

"Come now, can't ye even tell me your name?" The youth persisted, and now Duo heard the obvious lilt that spoke of older cultures, called Gaelic by some. It was soft, but it was there nevertheless.
"…It's …Duo" He replied after a moment of unease, where all he saw was the translucence of those lively brown eyes flickering in an otherworldly way in the dim light of day that somehow managed to find its way down the ventilation shaft.

"Well then, Duo, glad to meet ye" The feline said, offering his right hand forward in the oldest sign of greeting. Hesitantly, Duo reached forward, noting in an offhanded sort of way that the hand he clasped lightly was not furred, but warm, and all too human feeling.

It was then that Duo remembered the manacles, as if they could have been forgotten, and that their absence was what had released him from the pain of Sarkan's magic. His glance aimed towards Solo was now one of question, and he voiced that question on a slow tongue.

"Where are those…things …that were around my wrists?" He asked slowly.

Solo blinked, and then pointed to a spot near the bed. There they lay, the hated things, in a pile of cold, lifeless metal. They were linked to the collar. Which meant that they were made, especially for him.

"You looked uncomfortable, so I took them off. Would you like me to put them back on?" The feline posed, frowning slightly, as if he thought he might have done something wrong, and would not wish to be yelled at for it. He even went so far as to begin to retrieve the offending articles.

"No, for the love of all the gods, no." Duo said quickly. For some reason, this young …man… Had taken the things off, and despite how much he did not wish to be put under their influence again, Duo didn't think he had the strength to fight the feline should he decide to do just that.

Solo shrugged, and retook his position on the edge of the bed, an almost relieved smile adorning his charming features.

"Good. I don't really like them." He said all charm and smiles again.

"…Neither do I." Duo agreed his natural urge to respond and speak temporarily overcoming his unease. After all, he'd not really spoken to anyone since….

His heart gripped as he remembered the last time he'd seen his friends, and traveling companions. It seemed so long ago, more than the handful of days they had been separated. It was almost like he could remember a lifetime spent in the confines of the dark fortress. It might well could have been.

And now, there was a chance that they could all be dead. That thought hit him hard, and he bit his lip to keep from breaking into tears before this stranger. He had to keep up that small hope, or else despair would weigh him down too far to care anymore. And he still needed to care, in order to survive and save the living earth.

Solo must not have noticed his inner struggle. Indeed, he didn't seem to notice much of anything. It was like talking to a well meaning ten year old in a much older body. He knew that there was someone here in discomfort, but did not have the capacity to get further into the situation.

How had he ended up like this? Or was this the way the young feline had always been?

Most importantly, why in all the nine hells was he in Sarkan's complex, not to bloody well mention Duo's own cell. As far as he knew, there were still guards at his door, with the big padlock tightly kept.

"How…did you get in here?" Duo asked then, a sudden thought coming to him.

Solo shrugged slightly.

"I'm allowed to go anywhere around here. The master lets me do what I want." Solos answered, smiling brightly. "I heard someone was here, so I came to visit." There was no deception in those brown eyes. The feline was actually telling the truth. Duo now highly doubted his ability to tell a lie in the first place. Solo just seemed too innocent to think about such, much less carry through with it convincingly.

"Listen, Solo…" Duo began slowly. "Do you think that you could do something for me?"

Solo blinked at him, then smiled, and nodded. Anything to please, it seemed.

"Could you bring me some sort of…weapon?" He continued. There was no telling where this would lead.

Solo seemed to ponder the question for a minute, then with sad eyes, he shook his head, ears slightly back in apology.

"I'm not allowed to carry weapons. The master thinks I might hurt myself." He answered, and Duo's plan flew to pieces. Well, maybe there was something else that Solo could work with.

The feline suddenly brightened, as if he'd just thought of a wonderful idea.

"I know where the weapons are, though. I can show you where." He said happily. Duo looked at him, just a slight bit puzzled, and maybe just a bit annoyed.

"I doubt that they would let me leave the cell to go and look for the weaponry room." Duo said, voice heavy with sarcasm, and just a little defeat.

"Maybe they would let you out for a little while if you promised to come back." Solo then suggested, all smiles. He'd not gotten the concept of Duo's sarcasm.

Despite the current situation, Solo's absurd idea had the effect of bringing the smallest of smiles to Duo's face, the first there in some time. True, it was filled with exasperation, but still, it was there.

He couldn't go further with this line of thought that involved using the young feline. Duo would not have been able to stand it if the naïve little feline got in trouble with Sarkan for Duo's coercing him into helping the braided youth.

Maybe something would come up that had not before….

He had no other real choice at the moment, save for waiting, and building back up his strength.

There was no telling how much longer it would be until the new moon rode the night sky at the winter solstice.

…

It was a day's hard ride away that one perfect soldier and one little mage nursed their two fallen comrades back to health. They were running dangerously low on time. There was a total of three days before the Winter Solstice came to its peak at midnight. If they weren't there to stop Sarkan, then death would cover the face of their world in a thick, choking blanket of malevolence.

After the fight with the raiders, they had withdrawn some distance away from the scene of carnage. If anything came looking for a meal of remains, then they did not wish to be close enough to attract predatory attention. Especially not with two fallen in their small party.

Meiran and Wufei mirrored each other in their unconscious conditions. Both had deep, even breathing, steady pulse, and no wounds. However, they both did not regain consciousness until the uneventful night had passed, and morning dawned crisp and cold on the four.

Heero and Quatre had both taken their turn at watch, switching four times in order to get a more evenly spaced sleep during the night.

Now, as the sun's welcome rays pierced through the copse of trees they had commandeered for the previous night, Heero's second watch ended on seeing Meiran begin to stir.

Coming over to the female warrior, Heero knelt next to her as her dark eyes opened. Slight confusion entered her eyes as she met his, and she sat up, apparently with little to no adverse effects remaining from the fight.

"How do you feel?" Heero asked anyway, watching for signs of shock. Meiran looked around as she mumbled a "fine…" Then, her eyes landed on the yet prostrate form of Wufei, and she abruptly stood, moving to his side with a worried look on her face. She remembered his near death.

Quatre, by this time, was waking as well, and upon seeing Meiran walking about, shot up himself, and went to her.

"Meiran… are you ok? What happened back there?" He asked in a breathless flurry of words.

The warrior maiden looked askance at the blond mage, then glanced back at Wufei.

"When I saw him go down, I couldn't just sit there and watch as he died…" She absently brushed some of the jet black hair from before his face, scowling even in sleep.

"As far back in my family as can be remembered, on the female side, we have the ability to absorb the wounds of others, and the heal them within our own bodies. As it is, we heal supernaturally fast, so we can absorb a lot of damage, and have it healed in moments. We, however, yet go through the pain and depletion of acquiring the wounds, so it drains us, as well as the one who took the original wound… sometimes more because of the advanced healing." She fell into silence, watching the sword master's even breathing.

"That's…amazing" Quatre said after a moment.

Heero was satisfied, as it solved the problem of what had happened, and moved away from the three to begin packing up camp. Her abilities would most definitely come in useful later. That is, if they made it in time.

Quatre talked with Meiran for just a little bit longer, learning that she had indeed been taken by surprise by a large number of the raiders. It had been a disgusting experience, but she had managed to get the upper hand when the boss had gotten the idea into his head to try and force himself upon her. Until that time, however, she'd been kept, tied, in a separate tent. All in all, it had been a very short captivity, but one that she did not wish to have repeated.

They were close to being ready to depart when Wufei finally came to. He was greeted by two anxious faces, and another as stoically worried as was unobtrusively possible. A half frown came to his features, and as he sat up, the proceedings of the following day and night were related to him in short order.

He was not as weak as was expected, and by the time they reached Sarkan's fortress, he would be hale again.

Mounting up, the party set out on their 'merry way', heading towards a fortress that was closer than they thought, and a companion whose unknown doom was nearer at hand. A deep sense of foreboding fell upon the group as they continued on through an uneventful day. It was during the morning time that Quatre had felt the easing of the pain which had stayed constantly in his chest for some time. He didn't know if that was good, or bad. They'd just have to see.

Traveling until dusk, they set up camp, and had an uneventful night, each taking a turn at watch, though Meiran and Wufei's were not as long as the other two, much to their disgruntled annoyance at such hen pecking. The next morning dawned early, and they made a quick breakfast, their rations beginning to grow low because they'd not stopped to supplement it with wild game.

It was close to noon of that day that they began to see signs of drawing near to the Keep. The evergreen trees began to thin gradually, and wagon tracks, as well as those of large groups of horses began to cross their own trek, the snow on the ground having thinned through the day to nothing more than the barest of covering. Heero called the halt.

They backtracked to a thicker part of the forest, where they could no longer see any of the tracks, and set a carefully hidden camp there, absent of a fire. Heero went out again on Shiroi as the others worked on a fire-less meal.

Riding as far as the trees would hide Shiroi's blazing white coat, He then slipped from the saddle, and moved further forward on foot, instructing the Illian to stay put while he did a bit of reconnaissance.

The Fortress was exactly as Phenris had showed them. Barren, and of a malevolent black that seemed to suck at the very heavens. The sun yet rode high in the sky, and yet, the fortress was cast in shadow, such was the darkness that hung about it.

He watched the workings of the fortress for the greater part of that day's end, memorizing the outer structure, and getting a general idea of the lay of the land about the place, until the sun began to sink below the line of the mountains, and the already limited light began to fade.

As he made his way silently back to where Shiroi was waiting patiently, munching on some sparse grass he'd found, he began to formulate a plan for getting in. Well, a couple of plans actually, but they would be better sorted with the others' input.

For now, they would wait the night, coming back periodically to see if anything changed.

…

Solo stayed with Duo, trying to strike up a lively conversation for just about the rest of the day. The next day saw the feline youth visiting him again, coming in with his food this time. The fare was noticeably better than it had been, and Duo wondered just what Solo's place in the fortress was. The feline youth tried to get him to play a game, but Duo wasn't up to more than just talking. So, periodically finding a new place to perch, Solo talked, and Duo talked in turn, about a great many things that were as innocent as Duo could make them.

It wasn't until early on the third day that things had transpired such that the approach of someone other than a guard was noted, and Solo jumped up from the cot where he'd currently been perched like he'd been shot, taking a few steps from Duo as the door was unbarred, and opened.

Sarkan entered then, blonde hair bound at his neck, black-blue eyes widening in the slightest show of surprise as he saw the feline youth with the dragon. His clothes were more modest than Duo had seen him wear before, a simple black shirt, and tight black breeches tucked into calf high leather boots trimmed in silver.

Solo executed a low bow, coming back up with a smile.

"Good evening Master! I do hope your day went well." The feline youth said, beaming.

It was with the highest amount of shock, though he tried to hide it, that Duo saw a gentle affection enter into the sorcerer's dark eyes, and that soft mouth, so cruel before, held an easy smile that could have spoken of so much more than Duo wanted to think the sorcerer capable of.

"It did, Solo. I wonder though, what you are doing down here." He said, a slightly reproachful tone to his voice that had Solo's ears flat against his head.

"I'm sorry master…I was just talking to him. He looked so sad and uncomfortable that I wanted to try and cheer him up." Solo said in a voice that was a tone lower than before, afraid that he was angry.

Sarkan, of all things, shook his head ruefully, holding out a hand to the feline youth. Solo's ears perked up, and he practically jumped forward to take hold of the sorcerer's hand, and lift it upwards so he could rub the back of it to the side of his face, much like the domesticated cat does to someone it wants attention or a good petting from.

Sarkan's eyes still held that gentle affection, and he moved his hand to ruffle the lad's short brown hair, much to Solo's joy.

"Now, run along and play somewhere else Solo. I have some business to attend to here." The sorcerer said softly, directing the youth to the door. Solo waved at Duo before scampering off through the door, and down the hall to Gods only knew where.

Duo couldn't but help the look of incredulity upon his face as the feline youth left. What the hell had he just seen? What game was Sarkan playing at with the feline youth?

As the sorcerer turned to face him again, he could not remove the look in time, and Sarkan gazed full upon his disbelief.

It brought that twisted smile back to the sorcerer's features, though it was slightly more abated than before.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Duo said before he could think about it.

"Do? I did nothing to him, save for raise him." Sarkan replied, placing his hands behind his back, and clasping them there loosely. It was similar in gesture to the action Solo had first made.

"Does it shock you? I would imagine so, seeing as you hold me in the same respect as, say, a murderer who rapes women and children for their own pleasure. However, I do feel, and love. It is merely that what I do, I do for my master, as Solo would do anything for me." The speech had nothing to do with trying to justify himself. He had all the justification he needed, in his own eyes.

"You realize, that in releasing your 'master' that you'll kill Solo as well?" Duo spat out, incensed to a short-lived point of not thinking clearly.

"So it will be, but so it must. There is nothing for it, save for that I treat him as well as I may." Was Sarkan's reply.

"Now, despite Solo's softhearted actions, I have come up with a use for you." He continued in a conversational tone. He snapped his fingers, and four guards entered the room to seize hold of the braided youth before he could resist. That is, if he'd possessed the strength to do so.

"Come, I'll show you your special new room." And then Sarkan left, followed by the guards carrying Duo.

Trying to see and remember where they were going, the braided youth was eventually lost again in the labyrinth beneath the black fortress, unable to discern even which direction was which out of the four poles.

They came to a large room that was startling bright in its lighting, mainly because of the fact that magefire was wreathed about the ceiling and walls, alive, and yet not, as most fire was.

All around the floor, glowing marks were etched into the stone underfoot, inscribing a series of circles. Muttering something beneath his breath, Sarkan then motioned the guards forward, and they carried Duo to the very center of the room, then dumped him unceremoniously there, within the marked circles.

Pulling himself to his feet, the guards left then, and suddenly the room was empty save for Sarkan and himself. What was going on?

"Now, I'm going to tell you what I plan to use you for." Sarkan said, hands again clasped behind his back.

"Because you are the living form of Shinigami's soul, you therefore hold a great power yourself, when in conjunction to the dragon. As it is, I already plan to use Shinigami's life force to open the portal, but I believe, that by tempering you, I might be able to pull more power from the beast, which would be optional for my needs." All of this was still in that conversational tone that ate steadily at Duo's control.

It was with a sudden destructive need that the braided youth launched himself towards the sorcerer, intent obvious, but was stopped painfully and suddenly by some kind of barrier that sent a painful current of energy through him. Dazed, Duo fell back, hitting the stone floor painfully.

Sarkan laughed, not a pleasant sound.

"Did you think it would be that easy? This entire room is spell protected, and tied to the collar you wear. There is no getting out unless I say so." A smirk came to the sorcerer's lips then.

"Plus, I can do this…" Reaching out his right hand adorned with a single silver band about the middle finger, Sarkan made an upwards motion, then brought his other hand to meet it, fingertips touching. Closing his hands into fists, he then began a slow pulling motion between the two, separating his hands, ever so slowly.

It was then that Duo's world dissolved.

His eyes went dark immediately from the so sudden pain the flared to life within him. A thousand knives buried deep, molten lava coursing through his veins, being flayed alive; every nerve was aflame with an excruciating agony that ate at him, and tore through him like a wild beast starved past recognition and tempted every day by a tantalizing piece of meat held just out of reach. Voices screamed in his mind, a million voices speaking of their own soul shattering agony, added to his own. He could not control his body, could not feel the floor beneath him, couldn't breath, couldn't see. A lightless abyss that ripped him apart, piece by excruciating piece was his to live in. Now, and forever.

Dimly, as if on the barest edge of consciousness, a laugh was heard, and then a roaring so loud that it could burst eardrums. Strangely birdlike, this roar shuddered through the deepest parts of Duo, vibrating with his innermost core, there finding a home to roost.

And then, everything was gone.

…

Their plan had been laid a day earlier, and since then, they had observed the black fortress in hopes of seeing a time when they could come upon the huge place unnoticed from some angle, even if it be on foot. It was doubtful that they could ride in horsed, even if they apprehended a wagon and stole inside thusly.

The change of the guards was smooth, and routine, and there seemed to be no gaps in the Fortress's garrison. However, it was Quatre, who saw their opportunity. The little mage had accompanied the others, for all of their eyes were needed, especially if they wished to catch something that was unnoticed by most.

Regularly, groups of horsemen entered and left the well-guarded gates, and it was only with close inspection that it was noted, that the same groups never left and came back together. They always seemed to return in a mix that was different from whence they left.

So, the plan formed itself. They would simply back track, and join one of the incoming groups. Surely, everyone could not recognize the face of those who were constantly in the Fortress; it was simply too big for that to be so. Still, Heero had all too many misgivings about it, as did the others. There were too many holes where problems could occur. They might join a group who was counted, or get with those whom all recognized their comrades.

Despite this, there seemed no other way into the Fortress short of turning themselves in, in the hopes that they would be taken inside as captives.

Well, they could fight if it was required. Heero always had his fire, and the others could fight well with the weapons they had. It was really this, or nothing.

So, on the morning of the Winter Solstice, they set out to find one of the groups that patrolled outside the castle. They did not need to worry about their clothes, for there was no set uniform that they could discern among those who guarded the Keep, other than random bits of armor, so there really were no problems there. Meiran would have to be careful to keep herself unnoticed, as there were very few women evident in those who guarded, though a few were picked out by the group.

After a time, they finally found what they searched for, a large group of riders spread out, and scouring the area for intruders.

Using the hale they had seen others of the garrison use, Heero called to one of the riders, who immediately called one of his comrades, and cantered over.

"Who are you?" He asked brusquely, eyeing the four who were not immediately recognized.

"They're new recruits from my regiment, Lieutenant." Came a voice from behind them, and as they looked to see who had claimed them, it was all that Quatre could do to not run for and throw himself at the person who had so suddenly shown up.

"Ah, Kaelig. If they're from your regiment, I suggest you make sure they follow your orders, rather than gallivanting about in my search area." The Lieutenant replied to the familiar man, or perhaps, familiar elf, astride the unfamiliar steed.

Trowa, or perhaps it was Kaelig now, saluted briskly, then nodded to the four to follow him, which they did without a word.

When they were far enough away from the riders to not be seen or heard, it was with a glad cry that Quatre did just what his first want had been, leaping off his horse, and launching himself at the elf, who had also dismounted, sobbing his relief as they held each other.

The others stayed mounted, but it was with glad hearts that they watched, happy that one of their lost comrades was again found. Or, perhaps he had found them. Either way, it made the dark situation just a little lighter.

Trowa soothingly held Quatre as the mage began to calm down, and Heero nudged Shiroi forward.

"How did you plant yourself into their ranks?" He asked, yet aware that the clock was ticking down.

Trowa looked over at him.

"There are many things that elves are capable of. It was a simple process of getting inside, and taking the place of a new recruit that many did not know the face of." He replied. "I took on his name, and eventually, his title. I made sure that I was always in the group that patrolled the area, as I knew that you would be trying to get in to get to Duo."

At the sound of his name, Heero's heart did a little flip.

"So he is here?" He asked, and the elf nodded his reply.

"He's held in a room far below ground. Sarkan's taking no chances that he'll get away again. However, because the ceremony takes place tonight, he is to be moved to another chamber. From then, the ceremony will be held in the courtyard, and there will be our only opportunity to stop Sarkan." The elf sounded like he'd been doing some research, which was probably the case.

"Come, and I'll get you inside the Keep. From there, we can better plan a search for Duo, and a way to get him out of there."

Nodding their agreement, everyone mounted up again, and headed at a fast canter towards the black fortress. They came in contact with a few more men, but of those they met, some saluted Trowa, and others simply ignored him, as he was of a lower rank.

They finally broke through the trees, merging with the main path leading up to the main gate.

That was when the deafening cry arced across the heavens. It was there, suddenly, a black on black creature in the sky, winging over the small party of comrades as they rode towards the Fortress. Bellowing a shriek that almost split eardrums, the thunderous wing beats drove air down on everything beneath the flying monstrosity.

This was Shinigami. Their first look at the oldest creature in existence, an ebon mass of steel corded muscle and sinew, great leathery pinions wheeling the beast about as if it where nothing more than a dragonfly on the wing. The long, snakelike body was topped by a head that looked huge, even so far away, with jaws that could hold a man standing fully upright, and blazing crystalline eyes that glowed even in the bright light of the sun that was past its midday heights. A glittering wave of spiked hair rode, like a mane, about the beast's head, and down it's ridged back, long, sharp barbs thrusting dangerously into the air all the way down the dragon's long spine. The long, serpentine tail ended in a cudgel-like mass of spikes that could toss a horse with a blow, or just as easily spear it.

Ebony claws were sheathed on each toe, massively powerful hind legs rearing forward, as if it were about to land atop the fortress, long, powerful forearms reaching.

And then, Shinigami let loose with another feral roar, this one filled with anger. It back winged those vast leathery pinions, sending a hurricane of air down onto the garrison, knocking men flat on their backs and generally causing an uproar.

Then, a great searing gout of dark flames were suddenly released from the dragon's cavernous mouth, thundering down onto the fortress, only to be deflected by a magic field. Awe filled everyone watching. Sarkan was powerful enough to avert a direct attack from the beast? It was impossible that such fury could be turned aside by a mere mortal.

The dragon released another ball of flame downwards, to be cut short again before it reached the Garrison huddling in terror below.

A sudden gasp of pain tore from Quatre's throat as the feeling of something clawing its way about his heart had him leaning over in the saddle, grasping tight hold of his chest for fear that his heart would be torn from him.

He put two and two together, and suddenly things became clear to him about what was happening.

Shinigami and Duo were one and the same. If Sarkan had Duo, he had control of Shinigami, despite how it looked now. The dragon's rage-driven flames could not penetrate the barrier, because Sarkan had tapped into Duo's connection to Shinigami. This pain was nothing to what Duo would be feeling now, as his other half attacked his own soul, weakening the both of them in the process.

Indeed, the dragon drew one more breath, as if to launch another attack, and suddenly, began to falter, as if it no longer had the strength to keep its great wings in motion. It fell then, loosing it's almost magickal airborne abilities in one fell swoop.

The ebon dragon crashed into the barrier, then through into the courtyard of the Fortress. Despite the dragon's size, he was dwarfed slightly by the sheer size of the fortress, which they all realized now, had been built for this reason, and this reason alone. There was no other way to explain why the building was so big, with such an expansive courtyard. It was meant to house a dragon, used to open a portal to the demon realm in order for a true monster to come through, and lay thickly a pallor on the land that meant death.

And they rode onwards, now trying to beat the onward swinging strokes of the pendulum of Time.

--------------------------------------------

Back with a bang, as they say. It took me these long months to finally figure out just how I wanted this to end, and now, I have it.

It's going to be beautiful…

I sped things up in this super-extended update chapter, and I'd like to know whether or not it works. I figured that I had drawn this one out long enough. It needs to be finished, so that I can lay it to rest, and begin anew.

I much appreciate all of the reviews I have gotten on this piece. I noticed that people kept reviewing, even months after my last update. It makes me glad that sometimes, people just search for things to read. They'll come across my fic, and perhaps be amazed. Or maybe just disgusted, as their tendencies go.

Now, coming soon, the amazing and unexpected ending to Eclipse of Dusk. I should be able to wrap it up in one more super-long chapter. Or, maybe I'll just keep writing. Depends on how the ending goes.

I hope you enjoy this fic as much as I do writing it. I went through and re-read the thing in its entirety, and was filled with the urge to finish, which ended up being the inspiration for this chapter, done in a single day, over a period of about seven to eight hours of 'diligent' work.

I also believe that my style of writing changed since the beginning, and I've had others tell me the same. I would hope that it is a change for the better, as this is a profession I intend to pursue.

Enough of my blather. Enjoy the story, and if you feel the need, give me a review that says how annoyed you, my loyal readers, are to have had such a long wait.

Apologies.

-Hseru