A/N: Here we are! A day or two later then I would have liked, perhaps, but no matter. We have arrived at the last proper chapter! (Sob sob gasp) But who's going to come out of this chapter?! Place your bets, folks, as we go into some final fight scenes that I had no ideas for and so are a little disappointing. (Sweatdrop) Still, there's some fun bits as well- mainly at Joey's expense. Please enjoy the finale:D

Disclaimer: Je ne achete pas Yu-Gi-Oh. And that probably made no sense, because I can't for the life of me remember if 'achete' means what I think it does, or even how it's spelt. Meh.

Fifteen- A Hero

"I apologise about all the stairs, Seto, we've only just had the basement built, so I haven't had an elevator installed yet. Of course, the floor extends half a mile in any direction, so I shouldn't complain. It's been wonderful for our… project."

Seto said nothing, fully concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. His body was despairing and threatening him with collapse if he kept this up. But he had no choice. He had no choice but to continue down the sterile white staircase in the hopes that his body would hold on a little longer. He could show no weakness. He had to reply.

"And what project is it that you're so anxious to show me?" He asked, unable to stop a gasp of pain. Rais glanced up at him, tutting.

"Where are those bandages?" He asked. "We can't have you bleeding all over the equipment…"

"We haven't got the coffee either." Seto remarked drably, unable to stop a smart-aleck comment. "I guess we'll just have to get by. Besides, you didn't have a problem with my bleeding all over your subordinates, I can't help but notice."

"Yes… well, subordinates are easier to replace- as you well know, after what Faceless did to them the last time we tried to have you killed. Besides, circumstances have changed." Rais flustered, and, for a second, a look of pure malice skimmed over his face. "Of course, I'd rather they'd… I'd rather it hadn't come to this, but as you're here, Seto, perhaps you'll help me."

Seto snorted. "Given the displays today? Do you really think that's likely?"

"You seem to forget, Seto, that you did not win. You merely survived. And the first thing you do is come right into my domain, without even resting, getting your wounds treated. You are a fool."

"Then why not kill me here?" Seto spat sarcastically.

"I said you were a fool, not that you were unintelligent. I'd like you to have a look at something I've been working on. One inventor to another." Rais moved down the final two steps, Seto emerging from behind him, and they stood together, looking out over the cavernous room. Rais spread his arms wide. "This, my boy, is the future of the Trust!" When this seemed to fail to impress, he flapped Seto forward impatiently. "Well go on, then!" He ushered. "Go and have a look!"

Seto walked calmly forward. This was a place he was used to, some sort of R&D lab, technicians in white coats and name tags scuttling across it's surface like reflected light. He knew places like this. He was familiar with it, at home here. It was just like the labs at Kaiba Corp, except with less computers and more noise. It was a buzzing, humming noise, which appeared to be originating from some large egg-shaped cylinders standing on end in the corner of the room; each about the size of a man; not dissimilar to the VR pods Seto had created not long ago, standing on end. Seto went and placed his hand on one. It was cold. He closed his eyes, snorting dismissively, and turned back to face Rais.

"Well?" The head asked.

"Huh. I'm not that much a fool. You didn't invent these." Seto said, coolly. "These are freezers. Branching out into cryogenics?"

"More or less." Rais conceded, coming over to stand by his side. "You see, it's so much… cleaner. We have reason to believe freezing people will destroy their powers, which would mean that we could dispose of competition without all that bother with getting rid of the bodies. We just thaw them out and let them go. Of course, if they then decided to talk, we'd have to take more permanent measures- but then, who would believe them? And then there's the fact that we don't know what state of mental aptitude they'd be in when they were thawed out. So far, everyone's come out a little dead. But I'm sure we're almost there!"

"Sounds to me like all you have are theories." Seto commented.

Rais nodded. "I know, I know. As I say, we believe the powers will be destroyed, and then we can eliminate anyone who would compete with us… the governments would have to comply too us then, you'd see. When we control the entire world's supply of heroes, either because they've joined us or because they've become useless, we'll have total control. We'll have whatever we want. It will truly be a golden time."

"Well, good luck with that." Seto said, dryly. "In the course of this conversation, I have spotted one hundred and seventy two possible faults in your machinery and your moronic plan."

"'Moronic'?" Rais echoed, sounding insulted. "I assure you, it is not! I thought you'd approve that we weren't going to kill anyone right away. I was certain sending you to Gozaburo would knock those idiotic morals out of you…"

"My morals aren't the problem." Seto interrupted. "I couldn't care less about what you do to those so called 'Superheroes'. I just want to be left in peace."

"But this is part of who you are." Rais pleaded.

"A part I don't need." Seto told him gruffly, tensing. It was about to kick off. "I've come here for the last time. This is when it all ends. I'm asking you nicely- leave me alone."

"If that's what you want…" Rais began, a glint of threat appearing in his eye. "I guess there is no other option… Perhaps, Seto, you would care to test these freezers and see if your one hundred and seventy two possible faults come to pass?"

"I'd be delighted," Seto said back, smiling a little maniacally, and forcing his tired body to stand straight. "Just as soon as I dispose of a little problem that's been bothering me…"

"Huh. Then let's get down to business. And try not to make too much of a mess on my floor." Rais replied, waving his technicians out of the room, until they stood alone, facing each other, waiting.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

He felt something cold and round pressing into the back of his head. It was not the first time he had felt it. There had been that occasion in the Supermarket queue. And then he had felt the effects in Penelope's house. He froze. The Pyromaniac began to laugh.

"He shot them. My Rachel… My Sarah… Do you get it now? Are you feeling what they felt? Are you praying for your life right now? Do you feel what they did? Are you suffering?" Ryou felt the vibration right through his skull as the safety catch was taken off. "…Tell me, Ryou Thomas Bakura, how useful are your skills against a real weapon?"

Ryou's heart and head were pounding, but he remained silent. He had one shot at this. One wrong move, and he was dead. The gun was pressed harder against the back of his head.

"I asked you a question!" The man roared. Ryou turned slowly, the gun kept level with his face the entire time.

"I'm sorry." He said, quietly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You… How?! How can you not know?! How can you not know what you did?!" The Pyromaniac screamed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot out, but then blew back, hitting off the gun's barrel and sending bullet and gun back into the far corner of the plane. Ryou gave a sigh of relief, lowering his hand. It had worked. But that bullet had been moving fast, and it had not been easy to deflect. He was not invincible- he needed to get them all out of her as soon as possible. He shook his sister, almost unrecognisable now, again.

"Amane… wake up."

She did, slowly stirring. She saw Ryou, and blinked in confusion, before sitting up and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Ryou! You made it…"

"So did you." Ryou answered. Then he yelped as he felt a claw hook his hair. He glanced back over his shoulder and noticed that several lengths of his hair were now lying detached on the floor behind him. "Amane! You're cutting my hair!"

"What?!" Amane loosened her hold and saw to. "Oh, gosh… I'm sorry, Ryou…" She leant around, looking at the back of his head. "Geez, it's a real mess now. You'll have to go to a hairdresser."

"Great…" Ryou sighed, then shook his head. "Oh, never mind that now! It's good to see you, Amane…"

"You to." She replied, hugging him again. Ryou could feel she was shaking a little. "I… I was going to kill him, Ryou. One moment I was mad at him for tossing Penelope out of the plane, and then, suddenly, I'm… like this." She waved a hand, with it's hair and claws in his face. "What's happening to me, Ryou? I wanted powers, but… but not like this… not ones I can't control! I… I didn't know who I was, Ryou…!"

"I know." Ryou answered, trying to be reassuring. "We'll work something out. Don't worry. It'll be alright."

"I just want to go home…"

"We will." Ryou promised.

"Um…" Serenity put in, sheepishly. "I hate to say it, but shouldn't we save the city first?"

"Just as soon as we've saved the city." Ryou nodded, slowly getting up and turning to face his opponent, speaking as he did so. "Okay, I get you want to kill me. But you didn't have to take it out on these guys. Why are you- Penelope! What are you doing?!"

It suddenly became apparent why the Pyromaniac had not done anything since the gun had been knocked from his hand. Penelope had claimed it, and now stood with the barrel jammed into their adversary's forehead. It shook slightly, but, in the main, stood firm.

"What else can we do, Ryou?" Penelope whispered, miserably. "He's going to kill us. It's self-defence." She placed her finger onto her trigger. "He's burnt down the city. Killed and harmed millions of innocent people and… and my family… he kidnapped Amane. He messed with my head. He… He deserves to die! He deserves it!"

"Penelope…" Amane whispered. "No, please…"

"There's no other way." Penelope insisted firmly. "He has to die. He deserves to die!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The room had emptied, although the staff were gathering in viewing galleries around the top of the room, like old paintings depicting angels gathering around the dead, hanging in the balconies. Seto did not spare them a glance as he stood, waiting. Rais waved a hand at him.

"Hold on. I just want to get this ready for it's new occupant." He said, turning to one of the freezers and pulling the heavy door open, pressing the buttons to begin lowering the temperature. To his surprise, the door slammed shut again. He sighed, turning to face Seto.

"I'm impatient." Seto mocked. "And yet, I'm waiting."

Rais snorted. "You waste your time on cheap tricks when you have so little strength anyway. You're out of your depth, Seto!" He raised a hand, and immediately, a wave of water rose up behind him, and smashed into Seto, knocking him back into the wall.

The water gushed over Seto, flooding into every orifice, his mouth, eyes, and nose. He was drowning in the torrent being shot at him. But, at the same time, the cold water was… refreshing. It woke him up, at any rate, and once he was awake…

The water suddenly curved up into the air, rising up to the ceiling, and curving back towards who had been originally it's master. Rais struggled against it, the power of telekinesis and the power over water battling it out for control. Distracted, he did not notice Seto emerging at speed from the flume and landing a punch on his face. Rais was knocked backwards, smacking his head off the freezer, the water suddenly falling as rain, making the floor slippery and getting his precious equipment wet. Seto looked down at him, feeling vaguely satisfied. Powers or not, there was nothing quite like punching someone.

Rais climbed to his feet, taking a hand away from his bloody nose, eyes narrowed. "A moment ago, you could hardly stand." He hissed. "How are you fighting?"

"Perhaps I'm finally on the side of the angels?" Seto suggested, smirking. "Or perhaps you're getting too old for this?"

"I keep telling you…" Rais replied. "You're too impatient. This isn't over!" Seto found himself being thrown clear through the air as a geyser, formed from the fallen water, shot up from beneath him. There wasn't much he could do as he smashed into the wall and then crumpled to the floor, the geyser falling after him. Rolling to avoid it, Seto got to his feet, and again grabbed the water, wresting it away from Rais' control and sending it arching gracefully up into the balconies where the technicians yelled and scattered. Seto did not let concern show on his face, but registered the fact that this was hardly up to his usual standard. He needed to begin sending these things back at Rais rather then just reflecting them in any old direction… But the plumes of water came again and again, impossibly fast, it was all he could do to keep up and stop them hitting him.

Unless… perhaps hitting him was exactly what they needed to do. Sending one more burst of water spiralling up to the ceiling, he allowed the next flume to hit him in the back. He fell to his knees under the pressure, the drops of water hitting hard enough to bruise his back, making it hard to breathe. Ensuring he kept sending the water in the right direction, Rais stepped over to his opponent.

"On your knees… What a suitable ending." Rais snorted. "You should have learnt by now, Seto, there are some things you have to face up to, some things you can't avoid… You cannot change who and what you are."

Seto did not reply, still being beaten into the floor by the pressure of the water upon him. It hit his back, his neck, the back of his head, flowing over his body and down his face in rivers. He was gasping by now, being slowly crushed or drowned, but had Rais looked, he might have noticed the smirk of satisfaction on his apparent victim's face. However, he was too busy talking.

"You're a fool, Seto." He said, sounding disgusted. "You should have watched your back."

"Perhaps…" Seto said, slowly. "You could learn that same lesson."

Rais wheeled around, expecting to find something coming towards him. But there was not. Now he had his back to Seto, he could tell it had been a last, desperate ploy. Smirking, he turned back just in time to see the hundreds of litres that had just spilt over Seto and onto the floor gathering itself up and sweeping him up into a huge wave- into a suddenly opened door of one of the freezers. In less than a second, Rais was forced into one of the pods and a huge amount of water with him as the door slammed shut. Panting, Seto splashed through the shallow puddles and locked the door, turned the freezer on. Slowly, body and water began to freeze over. Seto turned to face the assembled technicians, who seemed torn between attacking and running, but without a leader had no real motivation to do either. Seto knew this, and spoke plainly.

"You have no leader." He said, bluntly. "Either you can try to defrost him and have him come out dead, or you can leave him in the unlikely hope that one day the technology will be around to revive him. If he doesn't drown as soon as the ice melts. You can chose. I couldn't care less what you do- stay here, elect a new leader, go back to your families, whatever- just leave me alone. If I see any of you again, you will be joining him." He pointed at the human icicle behind him, and then, knowing his message had had enough impact, he limped away, smiling to himself.

It was time to go home.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"What else can we do, Ryou?" Penelope whispered, miserably. "He's going to kill us. It's self-defence." She placed her finger onto her trigger. "He's burnt down the city. Killed and harmed millions of innocent people and… and my family… he kidnapped Amane. He messed with my head. He… He deserves to die! He deserves it!"

"Penelope…" Amane whispered. "No, please…"

"There's no other way." Penelope insisted firmly. "He has to die. He deserves to die!"

"I can't let you do that." The Pyromaniac said, softly. "I can't go now. Not like this. I… I don't care if I die, just let me take him out first! He killed them! He killed them both!"

"Tell me." Ryou said, suddenly. "Tell me… who I killed."

"Ryou!" Amane protested, but Ryou held up a hand to stop her and gestured at the Pyromaniac.

"My wife and daughter." He shuddered. "Do you remember…Faceless? That Christmas, back in England… You saved Seto Kaiba's life, stopped me killing him, and got my family killed instead!"

Ryou recoiled, gasping. "You're… Miller. Tom Miller. You're the reason I stopped handing people over to the police! I… screwed up… you went to prison for something you didn't do… Phantom and Eclipse caught the real guy in the end, I remember reading about it in the paper."

"It was too late by then!" Tom yelled. "They were dead! The 'real guy' had killed them, and because of you, I wasn't there to protect them! You have blood on your hands!"

"I…" Ryou looked away at this news. He wanted to say how desperately sorry he was, but it was too little, too late. "I… I know. I know."

"Don't agree!" Tom screeched at him. "That's as bad as excusing what you've done! I'll kill you!"

"I can't let you do that." Penelope said, sounding uncertain, but keeping the gun in place nether the less. "I… have a better idea." With a quick jerk of her arm, she tossed the gun away. It spiralled through the air and disappeared into the ether through the still open hatch. "Okay? Now you don't have a weapon, but we have three superheroes. Just let it go!"

"I…"

"I've hurt you too much already." Ryou stated. "Please don't make me do anymore."

"You're not to blame for this, Ryou!" Serenity burst out, suddenly. "It was a mistake!"

"That makes no difference!" Tom yelled, suddenly darting across the room, forcing Penelope to one side. "It won't bring them back!"

Yelling in surprise, Ryou managed to evade to one side, jumping away. "Please…" He begged, but Tom swung at him again, and he was forced to take this fight seriously. Things were looking bad. There was very little room, and with the others around, he didn't want them to get hurt. But, then again, he had already fought Kaiba not long ago, and if he could get through that, he could probably deal with a middle aged man that didn't have such powers. There were only two problems- that Ryou felt inclined to hold back and that Tom was being spurred on by a festering hatred and an unbalanced mind. Like a bulldozer, he kept swinging and swinging, giving Ryou little time to do anything but dodge. At last, a fist came into contact with his head, with such momentum as to send him stumbling away. Moving in for the kill, Tom raised a hand- and Ryou knew once he was knocked to the floor, he'd be done for. Luckily, the fist never came down as a hand suddenly grasped his wrist, another coming and securing his other hand behind his back. Serenity, still standing a metre or two away, held him firm, before swinging him around with her amazingly fluid arms into one of the walls. He groaned in pain, but Serenity was forced to let him go as her untrained limbs and powers began to protest.

"That's pretty cool." Ryou grinned.

"Thank you. Whoa!" Seeing him sneaking up behind Ryou's back, Serenity spewed her leg out to an impossible length, but not used to such gangly limbs, missed her aim. However, Tom toppled to one side, yelling, regardless; and Penelope came into view, lowering her leg.

"I've been playing too much football." She admitted as she gave him a kick where he would not want to be kicked and, losing his balance, he fell to the floor; suddenly finding a very peed off half-wolf pining him down.

"Don't try anything." Amane snarled, making sure he got a good view of her new fangs. "I warn you, I hate planes, and I get a little… testy when I'm scared."

"I…" He began, then suddenly gained resolution. "I don't care!" Screaming, he gained a sudden, desperate strength, and threw her off. "I have to! They can't rest in peace till I don't!"

"…You're deluded." Ryou whispered, feeling as much pity as you can for a man with a taste for your death. "I'm sure… I'm sure they would not want you to do this."

"How would you know?!" He protested, madness glinting in his eyes. "If it wasn't for you, they'd still be here to tell me, wouldn't they?! You don't have a clue what it's like to lose everything!"

"Of course I do!" Ryou screamed back. "I've lost both my parents, and I thought I'd lost Amane to! I know what it's like to have nothing! I knew the day…" He slowed down as the Pyromaniac began grinning dementedly. "I knew when our house burnt down. You did it, didn't you? You… You killed our mom."

For a second, a trace of guilt flicked across his face. "It was meant to be you! She was just in the wrong place!"

"You killed our mom…" Amane echoed, in disbelief.

"Yes!" The Pyromaniac shouted, suddenly. "I killed her! And I'll kill him, to! All of you, stay out of this if you want to survive!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Yugi!"

"Téa!" Yugi answered in surprise as she ran up to join him. "What are you doing out here? There's fires everywhere! And you were in the hospital!"

"That's why I'm here!" Téa smiled slightly. "The city needs saving! Just like old times! That's why you're here to, right?"

"I suppose…" Yugi answered sheepishly. "But I'm afraid I'm at a bit of a loss this time. I'm not even sure if this is anything to do with us."

"Still-" Téa began, being abruptly cut off as someone bumped into her as he sprinted past.

"Excuse me!" He called back, over his shoulder, as he disappeared around the corner.

"Wasn't that… Joey?" Téa wondered, looking up the street after the passer-by. Suddenly, she was pushed aside once again by a group of police officers.

"Sorry miss!" One called back as Yugi helped her regain her balance.

"I don't know who it was…" He replied to her earlier question. "But I'm not entirely sure I want to find out. Let's just go and see if we can find out what's happening on that plane!"

"Right." Téa nodded, and they set off with haste, but not so much as Joey had, still running as fast as he could, acting as a decoy for Masquerade. Finally, he seemed to be drawing ahead of them; which was a good job, because he was getting tired.

"How do I get into these things?!" He yelled in frustration at himself, closing his eyes in disbelief. This is never a good a idea when running, and, naturally, Joey smashed into something tall, wet, and coming in the opposite direction. He opened his eyes. "Hey, sorry, I…" He trailed off.

As if this day could get any worse.

"You seem to be in a hurry." Kaiba remarked, dryly. "Has a candy truck overturned in the street?"

"Actually, I'm running from the police!" Joey snapped, irritably, but then looked again at Kaiba. Not only was he wet, he was beaten up and bleeding. "What the heck happened to you, anyway?!"

Seto looked down at himself, as though surprised. "I…I…"

A hurt and stammering Kaiba was not one Joey was used to, and it made him uneasy. "Hey, you alright…?"

"There he is!" A voice came from the corner.

"Are you sure? The sun's in my eyes! I can't see him!"

"Oh crud!" Joey yelled as he ran off again, swinging around the other end of the road to the left. The police came and stopped at the corner of the road, hesitating. Seto watched with slight amusement.

"Hey, sir! Did you see where he went?" One officer called out to him.

"I'm not blind." Seto retorted. "He went…" he raised his arm and pointed. "That way. I think he was heading for the docks."

The officers did not pause to thank him, racing around the corner and heading off down the road in entirely the opposite direction to Joey. Seto sighed.

"Idiots. No wonder Bakura has so much work to do… how pathetic…" Seto raised a hand to his head, and then noticed that this hurt a bruise on the top of his head, and became aware that his head was spinning. Collapsing in the street was not something he intended to do anytime soon, or ever. How embarrassing that would be. Instead, he continued his limp home.

He had to get home.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto closed the front door behind him. At last, he was home. He sighed in relief, allowing himself a satisfied smile. He was home. That was the main thing. Now he could sleep… Mokuba's voice came from the top of the stairs.

"Seto! You're home! I was worried with all these fires, especially how you always seem to…" He trailed off as his brother turned around and looked up at him. "…What happened?" He whispered in silent horror, coming closer. No-one had ever managed to beat up his brother like this before. Seto had two black, tired eyes, stood as though he could collapse, was dusty, dirty, soaked through, bleeding, bruised and battered and smiling- that was odd in itself. Seto was smiling…?

"It doesn't matter." He told Mokuba, quietly. "It's over now."

Mokuba felt rather inclined to insist it did matter, but something in Seto's tone of voice stopped him. He took a step forward, to get a closer look at his brother's wounds, but to his surprise, Seto put his hands on his shoulders to stop him. Mokuba looked up, scared, and on seeing this look, Seto pulled him in close and they hugged each other tight.

"It's okay." Seto muttered tiredly. "I promise, it's done now. It's all over. We're free, Mokuba!"

"Um… good?" Mokuba tried, bewildered. "From what, Seto? What happened?"

"I…"

"Seto, what's going on?!"

"Nothing… nothing's going on now… not anymore…"

"Then what…?" Mokuba frowned, suddenly yelping as his brother slumped forward. Struggling to support his brother's weight, his frown deepened. "Hey! No fair! You can't go to sleep just to evade my questioning!"

But, apparently, he could. Mokuba sighed. "I hate to even think what you've been doing, Seto…" He grumbled. "You always get into trouble… but I'm glad you won, Big Brother."

As if there had been any doubt. Seto never lost.

Well, except on a few occasions to the Pharaoh, but those so didn't count. Seto would have kicked his butt if he'd stuck around a little longer for sure. However, that was irrelevant right now.

Mokuba lowered his brother to the floor, not able to hold him up anymore. He wondered vaguely just how the heck he was supposed to get someone so tall and lanky up the stairs, and then gave up. He didn't know what had happened and wasn't entirely sure Seto was going to let him find out, but he knew it was over now, and he knew Seto was happy about it. That was good enough for him.

…For now, anyway.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"You can't kill them!" Ryou protested. "Your fight is with me!"

"Then fight me." Tom prompted. "Don't hold back." Ryou took his word, and, using the anger at his mother's murder, called the winds. Air rushed up through the hatch, engulfed the Pyromaniac, and blew him up into the roof, the walls, and let him drop, scattering the few remaining balloons. Tom pulled his head up, his face slightly bruised, and smiled manically. "That's better."

In an instant, he was on his feet, dashing at Ryou, swinging a punch, but then found himself blown backwards by an incredible wind. He hit the floor again, the impact painful, but began to drag himself back upwards.

"Please!" Ryou yelled, getting some self restraint back. "Give this up! Let's end this madness now!"

"I intend to!" Tom roared back, running towards the boy; this time his kick making contact with Ryou's stomach, making him double up, and knocking him to the ground with a punch to the head. He clasped his hands around Ryou's throat. "How much help is ruling over air when even you can't get it into your body?" He smirked.

"Let go of him!" Amane growled, diving across the room, slicing his face again, and pushing him off. In a tangle of tooth and claw they rolled about, fighting tribally, biting and scratching; dangerously close to the hatch.

"Watch out!" Serenity screamed, and before she knew what had happened had somehow managed to stretch herself completely out of shape, making a kind of bridge over the hatch. The two rolled across it safely, and Serenity, her weak powers once again worn out, snapped back to her normal shape and managed to cling onto the edge of the hatch just before tumbling out herself. Thankfully, Penelope was there to pull her back in, and crouched with the scared, panting, girl.

"You alright?" Penelope checked.

"Yeah…" Serenity said, panting. "That was close."

"I told you not to interfere!" Suddenly, he was behind her, ready to push her back out and down to her fate, but then, he was once again blown away by a colossal wind. Ryou had finally recovered himself, and as Amane also staggered to her feet from where she had been thrown off, they were back in business. Tom hesitated.

"Come on." Ryou pleaded, one final time. "That's enough."

"It's not enough until you're dead." The Pyromaniac hissed back, and, before anyone could react, had ran at Ryou, forcing into his stomach with all his might, and sending the hero toppling out of the plane.

Ryou felt himself falling out of the plane, but the fact barely had time to register, let alone give him chance to use his powers and save himself, when he felt two hands grab his. Serenity smiled down at him past her long, tired arms.

"Now I've saved you." She commented.

They were not out of the woods yet. Back on board, the Pyromaniac was being carried by his own momentum. He stumbled back, once, twice, and teetered on the edge of the hatch. As he fell backwards, his eyes became lost, full of pain, regret, and fear. He tumbled out of the plane, and fell down towards the far distant ground; a reflection of what his life had been like since his family had been killed. He did not scream. Suddenly, he was in an endless sky, just being tinted orange and golden. He had fallen from a nightmare into a beautiful world at the level of the clouds. He knew he was going to die, but for now, he was falling, flying, free. Free as a bird, they said. He was heading towards the ground, perhaps heading home. It was all over. At last, it was over.

Ryou watched him fall, his first instinct to let him fall onto a cushion of air just as Penelope had. Yet, as he began to draw the air together, he thought again, and slowly let it drop. The man was insane. He had lost everything, and, unlike Ryou, had not been able to rebuild it again. If he survived, he would only end up back in prison, and Ryou wasn't sure what that would do to him. But it wouldn't be good. So Ryou did not draw the air together. He let the man fall, and let him be free. He watched as Tom Miller disappeared below him as the others pulled him back into the plane.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"He's gone." Serenity declared, softly, as the police began to reform in a circle around him. "It's over."

"Not yet it's not!" Amane reminded everyone. "We're still stuck on this stupid plane! And I'd just like to tell you all that today explained exactly why I hate flying!"

"Relax." Ryou said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure we'll land soon… Right?"

They all exchanged looks. Ryou suddenly slapped a hand to his head.

"Let me guess. Nobody's flying the plane, are they?"

"I'm never flying again." Amane muttered to herself. "Ever. If I survive this, of course, because the only way down is to wait until we run out of fuel and crash!"

"Calm down." Penelope said, swallowing. "I… I can land the plane." In theory, she added to herself. "My dad's a pilot, remember? I've been with him in the cockpit loads of times, and…"

"Thank you." Ryou smiled, and, swallowing nervously, Penelope headed towards the cockpit itself.

"You could give me a little help." She suggested, slowly leaning forward to turn the autopilot that had kept them drifting off. "You know, make the air thicken, whatever it is you do; slow our descent a little."

"Sure." Ryou nodded.

"Hold on, everyone." Penelope said, suddenly calm. "This is my first time, so it may be a little bumpy. You might want to hang onto something."

"Perhaps you could try and get it so that if we hit anything, it's the wings that take the impact?" Serenity put in, holding onto one of the hooks Amane had been tied to. Amane, clinging to the other one, was very pale.

"I hate you all…" She whimpered, her ears and teeth beginning to shrink back to their normal size, her claws and tail slurping back into her.

"Never mind." Serenity said, comfortingly. "Maybe it'll be fun!"

Amane's response was lost as they began their descent. After a few minutes of chaos that Amane would from then on try to blank from her memory, they touched somewhat bumpily down onto the ground.

"Please…" Amane begged. "Let's never do that again…"

"Well, we have bigger problems now…" Serenity pointed out, backing away from one of the windows, out of sight. The plane was being swarmed by police and media. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't even have my mask…" Ryou said, worrying his lip. "We just need a distraction so we can get out of here…"

Right on cue, one was just arriving.

Panting, Joey ran up and quickly lost himself in the assembled crowd. The police were far too concerned with the plane now to bother about him, although judging by the white package they were hastily carted off, the villain had already… been apprehended. Now all he had to do was stand and wait for his sister to come back out.

Except…

Joey sighed as he realised that Masquerade had left his mask behind and so could not emerge unless everyone went away. He needed a distraction, and luckily, Joey had one as he conveniently spotted a helping hand on the floor. Slightly trampled underfoot was that discarded mask. Checking that no-one was looking, he pulled it on, hoping the hero could forgive him and that he'd be able to distract everyone long enough before they realised he wasn't the real deal. Someone jostled him, and, turning to apologise, saw who 'he' was.

"Masquerade!" The reporter gasped, raising a camera, and immediately, everyone began turning around. It was time to get out of here. Having just about got his breath back, Joey legged it away once again. How he wished he really could fly…

Back on the plane, they watched him go.

"Who is that…?" Ryou wondered, bewildered as the watched the impostor run, stumbling slightly and yelling. "Oh… It's Joey." He chuckled. "Serenity, your brother is a saviour." He turned away from the window. "Well, let's get out of here."

"No." Penelope said, slowly. "The police are going to need someone to question. And… and the papers are going to want someone to interview… I'll do it."

"You don't have to-" Ryou began, but she cut him off.

"They know Amane and I were up here, and probably Serenity to. If we don't give them something, they'll chase us forever, and who knows what lies will end up in print?" She smiled softly. "Besides… I sorta have a lot to make up for."

"…Thanks." Ryou answered, giving up. "Well, I suppose that'll make it easier to get us all out of here. I can fly us out."

"No way." Amane laughed worriedly. "No way. I am never going higher than the first floor again. Ever. I'd rather face the police then that!"

"But-"

"No!" Amane repeated, grinning at Penelope. "Besides, I have to make sure she doesn't admit something that'll get any of us arrested. Go ahead, you two. I'll see you at home."

"Um… right." Ryou swallowed, turning to Serenity. Suddenly, without the anxiety of the situation, this seemed a lot more awkward. "Um… may I?"

Serenity came over, and, feeling increasingly embarrassed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and, carefully, he lifted her.

"We'll have to take off as soon as we get out of the door," Ryou flustered. "But… just in case, do you think you could lean forward and cover my face, or something?"

"S…sure." Serenity answered, doing so. A moment later, they were out of the door and, in the blink of an eye, away. Amane rolled her eyes at Penelope.

"Let's just hope he does something. Those two are useless."

"I think he will." Penelope said, confidently. "They've just rescued the city together, saved each other's lives, and now she's ended up flying through the air where a winter sun is just setting, in his arms. If they don't do anything, it's a complete waste of time." She swallowed nervously. "Alright, then. Now they're out the way…"

"Let's do this." Amane nodded, and the two headed out of the plane, blinking in the setting sun of the early evening. Immediately, the remaining media were all over them, but, luckily, enough had chased after Joey to allow the police to reach them fairly quickly, and the two released hostages were hastened away.

"That's it." Ryou commented, watching his sister and Penelope being let into a car and driven out of harm's way. "It's over. I guess I'd better get you home."

"Don't rush." Serenity answered, looking up at him. "I love this."

"I…" Ryou replied, brilliantly, as he realised once again how close she was to him and became suddenly flustered. The same seemed to be happening to Serenity, and she turned away to look at the view.

"Flying, I mean." She added. "It's amazing. I wish I could do it."

"It's something I was born able to do." Ryou answered. "It's like breathing or blinking in that way. But, being up here with…um, being up here- Yes, it's amazing. I never fly for fun. I don't really get chance to appreciate it, I guess." Then he looked down below them. "Here it is. Can you get in from the roof?"

Serenity nodded, but felt confused. "Yes, but… how can you tell? They all look the same to me."

"Just practise." Ryou shrugged, setting her gently down. They stood together on the roof a little longer. "I should go." He said, reluctantly.

"Me to." Serenity muttered, but neither of them moved. "But I don't want to."

"Nor me." Ryou admitted, as they looked over the city, the last of the fires being put out, people emerging out onto the streets to check their neighbours were okay, and generally resuming their lives. Ryou shook his head. "People just move on, don't they? It's pretty wonderful."

"Moving on is what we're meant to do." Serenity commented. "Some of us… just go slower then others."

Ryou nodded, still looking out, the air blowing around them. "Yes. But I think… I think maybe I'm finally ready."

"Good." Serenity answered, and her hand slowly found his. Neither let go. "I think maybe I'll come with you. But… I guess the question is, where will we move on to?"

Ryou turned to her, smiling. "I guess we'll found out when we get there, Serenity."

"In that case, I'm packing my beach stuff." She joked, and then they fell into silence, standing on the rooftop hand in hand, watching the sun sink on the nightmare that had gone before.

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Flying is an amazing thing. You're suddenly in this endless sky, where you can go in any direction for any distance, there are no limits, no boundaries. It is freedom. I feel so released when I'm up in that boundless sky, it makes my heart sing. You can look down, and see the world and all it's problems seem so small, so blown out of proportion, below you. Flying is the sense of something 'more', that maybe the things you worry about don't matter quite so much after all, that maybe the world is a generally good place to be. I never used to keep that feeling when I came back down to earth; but something's changed. I've changed. My relationships with those around me have changed and grown. My perception of my past has changed. I don't lock it away anymore. The door's been opened, and, slowly, it's seeping out into that open sky. The possibilities are endless. I feel refreshed, renewed. Today, I flew for the first time.

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A/N: And there we have it! It's almost the end! The epilogue will either be posted tomorrow or later today- probably today, because who wants to read this crud on Christmas Eve? But before I write it- and it's only short, to wrap up a few little bits- I have to go and clean the bathroom. Heh. I tell you what, though- it feels weird not having any rhetorical questions! No matter… I shall hopefully return in a few hours… If the smell of bleach doesn't kill me. XD