Hello!

Wow, what an amazing response to the last chapter, I am absolutely blown away. Thank you so much all of you for your kind words, I'm thrilled you all loved the reveal of Dark/Damien. A few of you got the connection to Who Killed Markiplier and I'm glad you all liked my take on it.

Special thanks for reviews: Subtle Shenanigans, Tifflinck, sarahlucylu, Tatsuki74

Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to Markiplier, JackSepticEye or Matthias/Hi5 Universe. If you wish to use anything relating to my own universe, please ask first.

And now…I believe this chapter is long overdue. Enjoy the battle everyone!

Chapter 15: The Best Laid Plans

Mark could feel his mind numbing at everything he had been told. The thoughts tumbled through his head, the weight of those revelations hauling his already fragile psyche further apart. It just couldn't be real.

Except, Dark was right about everything. The dreams, the story…all of it he got spot on. There's no way he could know all of that, unless…Oh fuck, he's telling the truth, isn't he? But how the- Why the fuck does he want me? I didn't do all that shit to him. Does this mean I'm a…re-incarnation of his dead brother? This is so fucking messed up. Damien really did do all of this to hurt me, this is all for revenge. Alix lost everything because of him, and he purposely brought Sean and Matt in here to hurt me even more. This is-It's too much. How the fuck do I stop this?!

Jack watched Mark's eyes dart around frantically, could see the madness descending across his face. This was bad. He glanced back across at Dark and Anti, and his stomach dropped at what he found. Dark was still poised with his flame pillars ready to strike on either side of him, eyes locked on Mark's ailing frame. Anti was smirking a few steps behind him, flipping his signature knife in his right hand. Jack dared not look up right now, else he would give away Alix's position. He instead spun to look to behind Mark and could see the illusion staring right at him. Her eyes were serious, focused on him as she nodded once determinedly. A few flashes of anger and hatred could be seen in her face, but Jack soon saw her lips moving. No sound came out, but he didn't need to hear to understand her message.

Help Mark.

Picking up on Alix's unspoken message that she was ready to fight, he turned his attention back to Mark. Jack pulled Mark's hands away from his head and sharply spun the other man to face him. "Mark!" he shouted, shaking his shoulders violently. "You've got to snap out of it, dude!" Mark's eyes snapped up to meet his, but Jack could see he was struggling to focus. "This is what he wants, Mark! He wants to see you suffer! This isn't your fault, Mark; no matter what he says, you did nothing. Even if what he says is true, you have done fuck all wrong. All you share with his brother is a name and a resemblance, you didn't make him into this.

"Mark, we need you to get out of here, man. Don't quit on us now!"

Jack's impassioned plea helped cut through the fog which had descended on Mark's mind and helped bring him some clarity. The Irishman was right, this was exactly what Damien wanted. And he needed to not worry about anything the shadow had said right now. Get out of the Dreamscape first, work on fixing everything later. Mark's eyes cleared and settled on Jack, and he raised the hand which the dark psychopaths couldn't see to rest on Jack's own, which was still on his shoulder. The younger man looked at him in surprise and Mark whispered to him lowly, hoping the other two wouldn't hear. "Thanks, Sean. I needed that. You ready to take these sons of bitches down?"

A small nod was his answer. "Let's kick some arse."

Mark squeezed the back of Jack's hand briefly before taking a step back from him. He then turned to glare at Dark. "So…what should I even call you, then?" Mark asked coldly. "What do you go by now?"

The shadow smirked at him. "I may have lost my body, but my name is still my own. As amusing as it is being called your dark side, I would rather have no assosciation to you."

"All right then, Damien. I guess the question becomes…what now?"

Anti laughed. "And here I was thinking you'd be a crumbling mess in the corner. Seems stubbornness is a trait you and Jack-a-boy share a little too much," he sneered. "As for the what now…wouldn't you love to know." His smile turned even more sinister. "Hey Damien, why don't we make this interesting? Let's make a bet on who's going to die first. I shotgun our lovely hostage behind us."

Damien rolled his eyes at the glitch's antics and snuffed out his fire pillars. "Fine, if we must. I guess that leaves me with the remnant, then." The shadow glared at the figure he could see between Jack and Mark briefly. Before anyone could even think of moving, Damien turned his wrist in mid-air and a new pillar of black flames roared to life behind the two Youtubers. They both stumbled away from each other as they backed away from the intense heat and momentarily froze. Seeing Damien's power this close was frightening. They were both glad Mark had thought of splitting Alix apart from them before entering the chamber. Had she been standing there and not her illusion, there would have been no surviving it.

Seeing an opportunity, Mark drew his shield and sword. High above in the rafters, Alix saw her signal and pounced. Not expecting an attack from above, Anti did not spy Alix until it was too late. The glitch screamed in fury as the bladed end of her halberd plunged straight into his chest. He teleported away, but his shout caught Damien's attention. His fire pillar collapsed without the shadow's concentration and the two Youtubers charged into the fray. Mark threw himself at Damien, hurtling in with his shield raised before swinging his sword downwards. Snarling in frustration, the shadow vanished into a puddle in the floor.

In doing so, the shadow vines keeping Matt suspended went with him.

Jack, prepared for such an event, cast out his shield. He set it beneath Matt, but flipped it around so that the older man would land on the reflective side, hoping the shield's repellent nature would keep him from plunging to the depths below. It worked, and Matt came to a halt on the platform of light Jack had created. "Alix, go!" he shouted through gritted teeth, the strain already telling in his voice.

Alix dashed towards the opposite end of the room, skidding to a brief halt before she took her first tentative step on Jack's shield. She didn't want to add any more force than she had to and moved as slowly as she dared. Jack could feel her presence on his barrier and hissed as the tightening in his gut increased. He couldn't keep this up for long. "Hurry!" Just as he screamed at her, he could see movement out of the corner of his eye.

Anti appeared on Jack's left, about ten feet away, and fired lightning straight at him. Jack shut his eyes as he braced for the impact; he couldn't cast two shields at once, and he just had to pray he stayed conscious long enough for Alix to get Matt to safety. Salvation arrived in the form of Mark, who slid to a halt just in front of Jack and allowed his shield to take the blow. Anti watched in rage as the attack did nothing. "What?!" the gltich snarled as Mark lowered his shield to smirk at him.

"Didn't expect that, did you, asshole?" Mark sneered before charging at the glitch. Anti teleported away again and Mark quickly jumped back, knowing Jack needed the protection. He looked over and saw Alix had reached Matt. She soon realised he was in fact semi-conscious and hauled him upwards, swinging his arm across her shoulders as she pulled him up by the waist. Matt was aware enough to follow her lead and Alix threw them both off the platform when they got close to the edge. Mark and Jack sighed in relief and Jack lowered his shield, ready to concentrate on what was coming at them next.

Despite having both of them prepared, they couldn't stop the next assault. Damien reappeared behind them as Anti teleported into the centre of the room. Mark swore as he realised the pair were at 180 degrees from each other and pulled at Jack's arm, setting them as best he could. Anti fired another burst of lightning and Mark raised his shield, wincing at the sheer force of the attack as it seemed to go on and on. As much as he knew he could use the help, Jack had a much bigger problem. Damien had fired a stream of black fire at the Irishman and Jack raised his light shield to hold it back, but he soon realised he was trapped. The fire was intense, and Jack hadn't managed to recharge. If he didn't bring the shield down himself soon, it was going to break.

Knowing he had no choice, Jack dropped his magic and grabbed Mark, forcing him to the ground. The pair lay flat along the ground as Mark swung his shield above them. Both Anti's and Damien's attacks collided in mid-air, causing a small explosion. The resulting shockwave winded both Jack and Mark beneath it, while Anti and Damien shifted away. Not wasting any time, Jack injected himself with some stamina before they got back to their feet, knowing their respite wouldn't last long. They tried to glance over at Alix and Matt during the lull, but Mark soon caught movement in his peripheral vision. A glint of metal.

Realising who Anti was targeting, he shoved Jack away before raising his sword, the bladed weapons clashing in a sharp ring of metal. Jack stumbled and was about to throw a smoke bomb at Anti as he regained his footing before he saw Damien appear behind the duelling pair. He was ready to cast a shield in defence of Mark, but the shadow snapped its fingers. Jack watched in confusion as nothing apparently happened, but soon felt movement beneath his feet. A scream escaped him as he barely managed to raise his shield in time. And then he felt it. The constriction around his chest, stealing all the breath in his body. As much as the shadow vines may be wrapped around his light barrier, it felt as if they were ensnaring his physical body. Jack breathed heavily as he tried to reach for his inventory, but soon realised he couldn't do it under the strain. Damien had him completely pinned down, and he could only watch as Mark battled with Anti.

Mark heard Jack's scream and his breath caught at seeing the vines wrapped tightly around a ball of light. He wanted desperately to help his friend but the glitch which was currently trying to stab him in the chest was causing him a lot of problems. Mark parried away Anti's swings and jabs as best he could, but he knew he had to strike back. Anti was a lot faster than him, and it was only a matter of time before he slipped up. When Mark saw Anti take a step back to go for a sweeping blow, he swung out wildly with his shield, hoping to force the glitch back before following it with a sharp stab of his sword. Mark looked around in confusion when he saw he'd hit nothing but air, the glitch nowhere to be see.

But Jack could see him. "Mark!"

Jack's desperate cry came too late and Mark cried in agony as he felt a cold burn seep its way through his back, and then into his stomach. A second scream was torn from his throat as he felt the same pain lance through his left arm, and he looked down to see two knives protruding from his body: one from his back through his abdomen, and the other straight through his left forearm. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt the whisper on the back of his neck. "Well, you can't use any of your fancy potions without your left arm, can you?" Anti sniggered.

Mark's blood ran cold as the implication sank in. The knife sticking through his left arm was coated red in blood, the gauntlet which signified his inventory now dull and useless. Anti had targeted Mark's inventory so that the half-Korean couldn't heal himself. Both knives were pulled out savagely and Mark gasped as Anti shoved him aside. Jack screamed Mark's name as he saw his friend crash into the ground on his back, watching as Mark struggled with the pain. Anti's smirk grew as he sauntered over to Damien, the shadow still holding Jack in place. The glitch came up beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Got a present for you, Damien. Didn't quite manage to gift-wrap him, but I think you'll like the decorating touches of his two new punctures!" Damien gave him a cool stare as Anti continued. "I'm a psychopath, but I know how to handle my knives, asshole. That stab won't finish him, its just rendered him useless."

The glitch's smile turned sinister as he turned to focus on Jack. "After all, didn't you say you wanted him alive to watch?" he finished intently. Jack's gaze fell from the dark duo to Mark on the floor, his friend having managed to turn onto his side. Mark's left arm lay uselessly on the floor as he used his right hand to cover his abdominal wound. Not that it would really do Mark any good.

Mark's eyes raised to meet Jack's, but Damien's voice soon caught their attention. "Well, well. I didn't know you were so kind, Anti," Damien drawled sarcastically. A small smile came to his face as he turned to look at Mark. "You've held your end of the bargain." Mark's heart clenched as he heard Jack scream breifly, Damien having just tightened his tendrils around Jack's barrier. "Enjoy your prize," he sneered before wandering over to Mark. He made sure Mark was watching as he clenched even tighter on Jack's shield, causing the Irishman's head to spin from the strain.

Mark coughed as he tried to drag in enough breath to speak. "Damien, let them go," he begged as the shadow raised an eyebrow at him. "You want me, and you've got me. You've won! Let Sean, Matt and Alix go, please!" Mark spluttered up blood as he finished, his head swimming from the blood loss.

Damien crouched to meet Mark's level, staring at him triumphantly. "Oh Mark…were it that simple," he chuckled. "If killing you was all I wanted, I could have done it so many ways by now. No…I want you to watch, helpless – just as I was – and see the life that you love stolen away from you. And we can start with this." Damien smirked as he stood again, clenching his fist tight and causing Jack to scream in agony. Jack crumpled to his knees, barely hanging on as he saw Anti standing over his shield, circling him like a vulture. "Anti." The glitch turned to give Damien an unimpressed look, clearly having had enough of waiting. "Make sure he suffers."

Anti's frown flipped into a gleeful smile. "Oh don't you worry, Damien. I'm going to adore making Jack-a-boy beg for the end." Anti spun back to Jack, laughing maniacally. "Now, hurry the fuck up!"

Mark locked eyes with Jack as Damien smiled briefly before locking his vines together viciously, intent on crushing Jack. The Irishman all but passed out under the strain, and he knew he was stuck in a no-win situation. Whether he dropped his shield willingly or not, they had him. "I'm sorry, Mark…" Jack managed to whisper before his final energy failed him, his barrier falling with it.

Anti laughed in triumph before shifting into a data stream, and then hurtled straight into Jack's forehead.

Mark watched in horror as Jack began screaming in agony, clutching his head as his eyes clamped shut. Electricity crackled all around him as the pair began fighting for control of Jack's body. The screeches which left Jack bordered on inhuman and Mark's heart clenched in pure fear. Was this really going to be the end of Jack?

A whistle pierced through the air and Damien snarled as an arrow lodged itself into the shadow's back, quickly followed by another. Damien roared in anger before summoning a shadow spear, hurtling it to the other end of the room. Mark stared in disbelief as he saw the impossible happening: Matt was awake and fighting. The spear impaled a broken pillar as Matt dove for cover. The next Mark knew, a swirl of purple and white was surrounding Damien as Alix's many illusions descended on him, but the programmer herself was stood far away. She split her halberd in half and launched the axe end at Damien, the shadow left with little choice but to melt away into a puddle as it came careening towards his head.

Alix and Matt both emerged and looked on in shock at seeing what lay before them. Jack was shuddering in kneeling position, screaming in pure pain as Mark lay on his side, barely conscious and watching helplessly. They dashed towards Mark, Matt pulling out a red healing serum as Alix retrieved a stamina boost. It took several seconds before they could see any change in Mark's condition, and Alix gasped at seeing Mark's left arm. "Shit, this is bad-" She abruptly stopped as Jack's scream changed pitch, both Matt and Alix turning to stare at him. As the seconds ticked by the electricity surrounding him flickered between blue and green, and they watched in concern. The energy soon collided with the ground not far from them and they pulled Mark backwards, out of range.

Unbeknwonst to them, Damien watched in the distance, eager to see the first part of his plan come to fruition.

Time moved by at a crawl as they all watched the internal struggle between Jack and Anti, the tension thick as they waited to see who was going to come out on top. Mark had slowly come back to his senses, all his injuries courtesy of the psychotic glitch healed, and he struggled up to his knees. He clapped a hand on Matt's back, catching his attention before crushing him in a tight hug. Matt grasped back tightly for a second before pulling back, directing Mark's attention to their situation concerning Jack. Everyone stared for what felt like an eternity before the screaming eventually came to a halt, and the energy surrounding Jack stopped abruptly.

One last bolt of lightning was expelled from Jack's chest and he collapsed in a heaving mess on his forearms, dragging in breath desperately. A rage of fury came from the opposite end of the room and Mark, Matt and Alix looked on to see the lightning reforming into Anti, who was glitching on the floor, struggling to get back to his feet. It seemed the internal struggle had crippled him just as much as Jack. Realising now that Jack was still Jack, the trio raced over to him and pulled him back to cover. Alix injected him with a stamina serum as Mark and Matt gave them some cover. Matt spied Damien lurking in the distance and fired at him. The shadow vanished into a puddle, but not before hurling another shadow spear at Matt.

Matt and Mark re-joined the other two as Jack woke back up, dragging in shaky breaths. The three of them shared a disbelieving stare for a few seconds before Matt heard movement. He quickly stood up and fired, forcing Anti to teleport to dodge. "Okay, as much as we've all got something to say right now, we need to finish this first," Matt said quickly. "Any suggestions on how to fight them?"

Jack scoffed. "Well our plan got Mark stabbed and me almost possessed, so I think we'll leave the planning to you, Matt."

Alix jumped in, having observed most of the fight as she had waited for Matt to recover from whatever damage Damien had caused. "Damien seems way too dangerous at close range, we'll need time to dodge his attacks."

Jack nodded. "I'll second that, but I don't think we can fight them together, they'll overwhelm us."

Matt quickly came up with a plan. "All right, here's what we're going to do. Mark, Alix, you two try and separate Anti any way you can. He seems weaker right now and you may be able to take him out. Jack and I will keep Damien busy in the meantime."

Alix caught Mark's eye. "Mark, be extra careful. We've lost your inventory, and that means the resources you were carrying are gone too. We can't afford to get injured too much." Mark nodded back at her, knowing the care he had to take. Anti had already caught him out once, he couldn't afford for it to happen again.

Jack caught Matt's arm. "Matt, Damien will not hesitate to kill you now. Don't stay still for too long, or he'll ensnare you in his vines. If either of us gets trapped like that again, we'll be history."

Matt gave Jack a short nod and the foursome shared a look before they left their cover behind the pillars. "See you on the other side, guys," the older man said strongly before he and Jack broke away, racing to the other side of the room. The pair simultaneously fired projectiles at Damien, catching the shadow's attention. It snarled at them before vanishing into the surroundings.

Anti had reappeared in the centre of the room and was about to fire lightning at Jack when Mark's voice broke through. "Hey! Suckface!" The glitch spun to glare at him before another, female voice this time, chimed at him too.

"Awww, did little Anti get his arse kicked? That's okay, I guess that's how it's meant to go: the fucked up sub-personality loses!" Alix taunted. Anti hissed and teleported behind her, but Alix was ready for that. She tumbled forward, dodging the glitch's swipe as Mark stabbed straight at him. Anti released a lightning burst and Mark took cover behind his shield as Alix hid behind a pillar. She stared at her blade and knew she'd need the other end of her halberd to be effective against Anti. Pulling a smoke bomb out of her pocket, she threw it at them. "Mark, bomb!"

Mark held his breath and closed his eyes as it hit the ground, Anti spluttering at the smog. Alix dashed for her axe and reattached it, completing her weapon once more as Mark threw his shield into Anti's side. The glitch screeched as the spike impaled him before teleporting away. It was then that they noticed something. Anti was starting to become more…glitchy, as if he couldn't hold his physical form any more. Both of them came to the same conclusion: as Anti took more damage, he was losing his body. If they could damage him enough, he would lose his physicality and hopefully no longer be a danger.

Now with a firm plan in mind, Alix and Mark simultaneously charged him, Alix launching from on high as Mark swung for his legs. The glitch teleported, and Mark stretched out his shield, blocking the knife which almost struck Alix before she split her weapon again and threw both halves. While the axe may have missed, the blade implanted itself firmly in Anti's chest. He screamed in equal measures fury and pain before using his lightning, intent on crippling them. Mark pulled Alix in so that she was between him and his shield and the pair held it firm in front of them. The force pushed them back along the floor until Mark's back slammed into a wall.

Anti roared in anger and frustration as his lightning continued to be absorbed by Mark's shield, but it wasn't completely protecting them. Alix's legs were taking a beating from some smaller bolts and both their arms were exhausted from keeping the shield in front of them. They just needed to hold out…Anti couldn't keep this up forever. Sure enough, as time went on the glitch began to phase out more and more, until he was forced to stop. As the attack stopped, Alix took a hold of Mark's shield and the pair separated, charging at Anti from opposite sides. He was still recovering from using so much of his depleted energy at once and couldn't teleport away. Mark roared as he viciously thrust his sword into Anti's chest, the blade stopping as it collided with the spikes of the shield which Alix had thrust into his back.

Mark snarled at Anti as his form began to go crazy, dissolving back into data. "Fuck off…and never come back," he spat before the glitch dissipated completely. The pair stood in shock for a couple of seconds, stunned that Anti was gone, before they heard an agonised scream from the other half of the room. Remembering that it wasn't over yet, Mark took back his shield as Alix retrieved both halves of her weapon. They then injected themselves with serums from Alix's inventory before they charged to the aid of their companions.

On the opposite side of the chamber, Jack and Matt were barely staying ahead of Damien. The shadow creature was hurtling fireballs and spears at each of them, forcing them to stay moving. It meant that neither really had much of a chance to attack. Knowing they needed to change the momentum of the fight, Jack deliberately took the hit from a fireball, hoping it would do a lot less damage than one of the spears. He hissed as the projectile hit his barrier, the force pushing him back several feet. Damien's focus shifted to him for a split second, giving Matt the opening Jack was hoping for.

Damien hissed as an arrow implanted itself in his arm, raising a pillar of fire where Matt was standing. Matt just managed to throw himself out of the way and landed on the ground hard as Jack quickly topped up his stamina. Now with a window of opportunity himself, Jack quickly charged a lightning ball and flung it at Damien. The shadow prepared to dodge it but Jack fired a lightning bolt right after it, setting it off prematurely. Though it struck all three of them, Matt mostly escaped harm. A quick blue health serum fixed him right up, while Jack had managed to block it. Damien's suit was now scorched black from the assault, and he was rapidly losing patience. What had started out as an amusement was rapidly turning into an annoyance.

Having grown tired of their pestering, Damien raised a fire pillar just below Matt. The older man dodged, but not successfully. His right arm was caught inside the pillar and badly burned, causing Matt to screech in pain and crumple to his knee. Damien followed this attack with a stream of black fire, aimed straight at Matt. It soon slammed into a light barrier. Smirking, Damien kept up his fire attack while turning to look at Jack. The Irishman was concentrating on keeping Matt safe from the assault, but it was so wide that it was hitting Jack's shield and then streaming past Matt almost like a black river. Matt was boxed in, he couldn't break free.

Jack's blood ran cold as Damien summoned a spear in his other hand. "Choose, Jack," he declared, his smirk growing. "Choose who out of you or Matt dies!" Then he hurled the spear straight at Jack.

For a few seconds, the world moved in slow motion for Jack. There was no choice, not in his mind. He just prayed it didn't hurt too much. From the angle it was heading at him, it was going to go clean through his neck. At least this way whatever Anti's plan was, it was going to be foiled. Or is it? What would happen if I died, but Anti could use my body in the outside world? That momentary thought almost gave Jack reason to change his mind.

And then, it was decided for him.

Jack watched in disbelief as a figure suddenly blocked the view. "Damn you!" the shadow screeched as the spear came to a stop, and Jack's eyes widened. The tip of it almost was touching his own chest, having gone clean through the human shield standing in front of him. Jack stood frozen as he saw Mark begin to shake in front of him, his whole body shutting down from the spear impaled through his chest. Finally, Jack came back to his senses and caught Mark as he collapsed.

Damien hissed at seeing Mark willingly stand in front of Jack, holding his shield to try and block the attack. The shadow knew before he'd seen the result exactly what was going to happen, and he was sure Mark did too. An attack that powerful was only ever going to do one thing – it struck into Mark's shield and punctured straight through it. The momentum carried it on through the metal, straight to the next barrier it met: Mark's breastplate. It had come to a halt before it claimed Jack too, but Damien was furious. This was not what was meant to happen, this was not what he expected. A cursory glance over the surroundings revealed that Anti was gone, and Alix had sped over to heal Matt's injuries.

This will not do. I will not have my revenge like this. This is not what I want.

"I am disappointed," he spoke as he watched Jack pulled the spear out from Mark's chest, plunging a red health serum into the grievous wound. Mark would recover, but this was not what Damien wanted. Not what he needed. He wanted Mark to suffer, and this was giving him no satisfaction.

My second plan is already in motion. My chance will come again.

And then he was gone, vanishing in a puddle of dark goo.

Alix and Matt watched the scene for what felt like half an hour before they realised that Damien wasn't reappearing. For some reason, the shadow had left them, just as it seemed he was about to claim his victory. In reality, it had only been about twenty seconds, but the anticipation of the continuing battle had distorted all sense of time for them. It was seeing Jack frantically working on Mark that caused them to stop waiting for the shadow and rush over to see what damage had transpired. The red serum wasn't working fully, Mark was still bleeding out, and Jack didn't know what to do. Alix fished another from her own inventory along with a stamina serum, plunging both into the site of Mark's wound. Jack gave her a distressed look, and she looked equally perturbed. "Why isn't it working?" he asked desperately.

"Damien's magic was probably infused into the spear," she guessed. "I really don't know, Jack. Damien is-he's not something I know. Not that I'm really sure I know anything anymore."

Matt put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Guys, look," he urged, pointing them to the site of the wound. It was slowly closing. Jack sighed in shaky relief as Matt and Alix both exhaled deeply. "Looks like it's working now. My question is…where the hell did Damien go? And why?"

Jack stared at Mark's wound slowly closing, his emotions in turmoil. "He said he was disappointed. Maybe he realised he was about to lose and left?"

The older man shook his head. "That doesn't seem right; it didn't feel like we were winning."

Alix shook her head at both of them. "This isn't the time or place for this, guys. We don't know if we're safe yet." She quickly jumped up and headed towards the altar at the far end of the room, glad to see it had mostly escaped the carnage of their battle. She picked up the Overseer's Staff and raced back to them, pulling a teleportation stone out of her inventory as she did so. "Let's work this out in the safety of Glaysha."

They teleported away, leaving the battle - and its unanswered questions - behind them.

So, what did you all think of the battle? It took a good few goes to get it as I wanted, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Please let me know your thoughts! We've only one more chapter of this part, which I will be back with soon!

See you all then!

*Smooch*