MASS POST WARNING: GO BACK AND READ THE CHAPTER AFTER THE LAST ONE YOU READ. (That sentence sounds like a grammar nightmare.) First set of italics is a quote from "Love the Way You Lie, pt. 2", in case you didn't look it up. The second set is owned by me. A better edited version, the omnibus edition, will be available on my website, after I give the winner his personal copy. The illustrations will be done by yours truly, and maybe my friends.

The End is in near, but will their souls survive?

On the first page of our story,

The future seemed so bright

Then this thing turned out so evil

Don't know why I'm so surprised

Even Angels have their wicked schemes

And you take that to new extremes

But you'll always be my hero,

Even though you lost your mind.

Chapter 38 : Shutdown, pt. 2

It started with a phone call.

In the middle of the night, the ringer of a cellphone was what awoke Amber. Her cellphone.

Sitting up on bed, Amber rubbed her eye with a fist. It was only about eight in the afternoon, and she had decided to turn in early tonight, because she had been so exhausted the other day. Last night she and Garrett had arrived home from the gala, but the two of them had been so dejected that they had gone to sleep without even speaking. Today was no different, in terms of emotional well-being. They had basically stayed in and sulked the entire day. They had no motivation to talk. Amber didn't even eat. She barely moved.

Her sense of worry about her father never let up, either. She had tried calling him a few times when she was still at the gala, but there had been no answer. It was very very distressing.

Still, the phone was ringing now. As it glowed in the dark, it revealed a selfie of both her and Garrett from happier times. It was most likely Shawn calling, so she sleepily reached over and unlocked it.

"Hello?"

Instead of her goofy father, it was the silky smooth voice of a certain devilish Persocom.

"Hello, Yuuko," said Angel, smiling on the other end of the phone-call.

Immediately, all vestiges of sleep vanished. That voice and that voice alone would cause ice to flow through her veins. The person who had killed Dr. Mihara. The person who had stolen her legs away and toyed with her all this time. The ruthless murderer who would use any means possible to achieve her aims.

Victoria Lucrezia Hawley, also known as Angel.

"You…" whispered Amber. Her voice suddenly rose to a staggering volume. "What game are you playing now?!"

Angel clicked her tongue on the other end of the line. She did not reply in direct answer to the question, but continued in a mild, almost teasing tone. "Oh, dear girl. I had hoped you would just accept the inevitable. That you would hand yourself over to be killed. That you'd beg me to let you die. Let's not fight."

"No, let's," growled Amber, knowing fully the look of smug self-assurance Angel was now sporting. "You've dragged this out for too long."

"I suggest you turn on the television, butterfly," said the deranged Persocom on the other side.

A moment later the connection was cut, and the line went dead.

Staring in wide-eyed confusion at Garrett, who was staring at his partner with an identical expression, Amber's bottom lip quivered. With unbridled rage, she threw the phone across the room. It exploded when it hit the bathroom door, and the pieces rained onto the floor, making little plink plink noises when they made contact.

Unwillingly following Angel's instructions, Garrett ignored his partner's reaction and turned on the television with a flick of his wrist.

...

On screen was Angel. She was sitting on a golden throne, her head resting on her fist in boredom. Beside her was Kamijou, his hands folded behind his back. The space they were standing in was shrouded darkness, save for the one spotlight illuminating the villains from overhead.

On her lap...was a strange animal. It looked like a cat, in terms of body structure and fluffiness. However, unlike a cat, this creature had two tentacle-like structures protruding from its ears. Its eyes were glowing blood red as it stared straight ahead without any expression. Angel was stroking this creature absentmindedly and staring at the screen blankly.

"Hello, humans," she intoned. Angel grimaced, suddenly looking disgusted that she even said the word.

As the result of some very elaborate hacking, this message was being transmitted to every single screen in Japan simultaneously. From the digital billboards in the city, to handheld tablets, this message would be seen and heard by millions. Thanks to several quick-thinking people, it would be spread across the globe in no-time. The internet was a fearsome thing in the hands of the people, and thanks to a few renegades, the magical government was going to have a very hard time trying to cover this up.

"My name is Angel," said the ice cold beauty with golden eyes. "You may not have noticed because I have ears like these, but I am a Persocom." She smiled, gesturing to her humanlike ears. "I have a message for you. Well…" she reconsidered her word choice for a moment. "Only one of you, actually. Ms. Amber Lee-Young. I enjoy informing you that your father is under my careful watch. If you don't want pieces of him sent to you in little brown packages, tomorrow at noon you will meet me in downtown Tokyo to fight uselessly against your fate. Bring as many of your worthless friends as you'd like."

Laughing wickedly, the Angel looked down with scornful jubilee.

"Hope to see you soon; I pray for your speedy defeat," waggling her fingers, she waved farewell. "Goodbye."

A second later, a single brown fist went straight through the television screen, and the entire thing snapped in half like a bar of chocolate.

"Oh, we'll meet," said Amber, grinding her teeth. "This is where it ends."

…

Those little scuffles at Minoru's house were nothing. All these interactions with other mages? The battle ahead would make all of those seem like a fistfight in highschool.

Of these few truths, Amber was undeniably certain:

First, Angel had kidnapped her father—the Persocom had challenged them all in this final fight to the death.

Second, it wasn't just her father's life was secured by the terms of the challenge. If Amber died, he also would die, but if Angel reached Elysium, it would spell the death of everything within existence.

Third, there was no way possible of getting out of the inevitable fight ahead.

Unsurprisingly, Minoru was already gathering his supplies.

Amber could feel a bitter nostalgia wash over her as they got prepared. For a moment she closed her eyes to center herself. Amber knew she had seen all of this before. A young woman and her seven friends facing off an undeniable evil threatening them—Amber could still hear the screams, the pain, and her friend was falling…falling…

No! She did not want to make the same mistakes again. Glancing over at Chii, Amber vowed she would do everything in her power to prevent a repeat of history.

'I'll protect you. I swear on my life that I'll protect you!'

The fire in her heart—that drive, it wasn't completely extinguished. The embers were still smoldering, still alive. Her reasons to live were here with her in this room, preparing for their upcoming clash with evil. Garrett, Kotoko, Chii, and Yuzuki were all sitting on chairs in the middle of the study. They were connected in a series, trying to perfect their integrated network of magic and science. On top of that, Garrett was running simulations with them to try and cleave a way toward victory.

All of these people rallying to help her, it was like the most fantastic dream.

Unfortunately, this entire thing was a giant nightmare.

Junji and Minako were scrambling to help in any way they could. After Garrett had informed them of the situation last night, they had been busy milling around the Eastern Ministry of Magic, trying to minimize the damage of the ensuing event. Amber had begged them to stay out of this fight, actually, and had instead requested that they try to minimize the amount of civilian casualties. So at the moment they were trying to rush the paperwork needed to create a people-clearing charm that encompassed a certain amount of land within Tokyo. The place they were told to meet Angel and Kamijou, in the large central park in downtown Tokyo, was really pushing the amount one normally could request. However, they were using the fact that this clash was prophesied to give them a bit of leeway with the rules. After all, if they didn't comply with the request, as Minako had reasoned with The Council, who knows how many people, Mundane and Mage alike, would get hurt. This helped to speed up the process of getting it approved, along with the fact that not many issues had been presented this morning for review by The Council.

…

Downtown Tokyo's Central Park was normally crowded every day of the week. This was not the case this morning. Not even the homeless could be seen wandering about. Instead, there were sixteen people standing on other sides of the red bridge spanning the large koi pond in the middle of the park. The cherry blossom trees were barren. The grass was slightly yellow. No birds, no insects, no animals were around.

Everything was silent.

Kupari. Thomas and Jack. The three of them were followed by an assortment of equally unsavory characters. There were three unidentified people walking next to the already known villains. One was a bald woman with all-green skin, wearing a skintight red jumpsuit and golden metal bracers. She was flanked by two redheaded teenaged boys in school uniforms with red plaid shorts. Behind the small army were Angel and Kamijou, who had the wickedest expressions of all.

Amber could hear her heart thundering in her ears. It was the only thing she could hear as they approached.

No one said anything in greeting. There was no need for such formalities.

The first thing said was a spell.

When they ran towards each other, everyone was already finishing the incantations to their more powerful spells. Kupari, with his immense weight, barreled across the bridge, his feet thundering on the wooden planks. He was followed closely by Thomas and Jack, who looked good as new, and raring to go. The three mystery mages behind them were more demure than that, and said no war cry, unlike the first three, but jumped into action. Kupari had already tried a binding spell using the water from the pond, but Amber and Minoru, using their mental link, had combined to dispel it.

Somehow, amidst the charging, the groups had separated themselves. This did not weaken their mental network, and were aware of the fighting going on with the other members, but if one were in serious danger, they would be able to help in a pinch. Angel and Kamijou, most obviously, had headed straight for Amber and Garrett, chasing them across the set field to the edge of the park, so the others were left to their own devices. The obvious allies to the heiress and her knight were simply there to help keep the other fiends from attacking her.

Most notably, Minoru and Yuzuki seemed to be facing off against the unknown green-skinned woman. Her name was Myra Aileen, and her two companions were named Robert and Edward. She was quite reptilian in appearance, once you got close enough. Her eyes were catlike golden slits, and the large alligator scales that composed her skin were very prominent. She was quite obviously, not human, and neither were her partners, who were both Persocoms.

Yuzuki quite literally had her hands full with defending against the two of them at once. She had changed her artefact into dual pistols, and had been trying to slow them down by firing off an impressive barrage of bullets. Tracking the two of them with her eyes, Yuzuki generated bullets as fast as Minoru could supply the mana to her, and was focused solely on disabling their mobility. The two elf-eared young men were perfectly in synch, both running around Yuzuki in a circle, lunging forward when needed to attack.

They were more adept at medium-ranged attacks, and they each had a blade: two halves of a single artefact that resulted in an identical weapon for each. The blades were able to unleash a wave of glowing energy that was inspired by the elements. Robert had the red, or fire, sword, and Edward had its twin, which glowed blue and emitted waves of freezing energy.

In front of Yuzuki, the ground was alternating between bubbling from heat and cracking due to the cold.

Yuzuki, due to the optimal flow of mana being supplied, was able to track and dodge these energy attacks. However, her clothing was getting damaged more than she was. The upgrade of her processor had increased her reflexes, yes, but the two of them were guarding against her attacks with great precision, and only a few stray bullets were getting through.

Minoru, however, was clashing more up close and personal with Myra. He had buffered his body with a spell called Cantus Bellax, and now he was wielding strength comparable to a full-grown man's, if stronger. She was very strong herself, though, because she was giving heavy blows without any such support. Amber, being a very good teacher, despite her quirks, had been teaching him martial arts along with magecraft.

After being thrown to the ground several times by a certain strange young woman, Minoru had learned to track movement much better than he had previously. However, even after those weeks of training….

Three short punches landed in the middle of Minoru's stomach. He was thrown backwards a bit, stunned slightly. He skidded backwards two feet before he charged ahead again, readying another spell. Myra was more than ready for this, and his naivety left him open again.

"Emittam!" Minoru lunged forward, using his elbow to try to break through her defense; his next attack was strengthened using a delayed ice spell.

Myra, though, leaned backwards with a strange, slinky movement. Her breath was seen, though, because the spell's effective range extended a few inches away from his arm, and it had cooled down the area significantly. He wouldn't let that stop him, though. 'Locos Umbrae Regnans Scáthach! In Manum Meum Dedo Iaculum Daemonium Cum Spinis Triginta! Jaculatio Fulgoris!' Although Yuzuki was draining his mana, he would press on. She tried sweeping him off his feet, but instead of falling on his face, the boy rolled onto his side and countered with a bout of lightning arrows. 'Emittam!'

The preparation paid off, but only slightly. Myra had leapt backwards, to avoid the lightning. Her smile, though, was confident. The Spears were more easily dodged than other spells, but not all of them were avoided. Myra was using her bracers to block them from hitting her vital areas, and she had skillfully directed the current to the ground by manipulating the mana directly.

Minoru used his artefact, the spellbook strapped to his back, to create a shield. But Myra slashed through it, to his surprise.

Panicking that his defense had been shattered so quickly, Minoru used the most obvious action at the moment: to go up. He sent a burst of mana to his legs, launching him into the air. Using the marcos that Minoru had saved in his grimore artefact, he unleashed mid-air, another spell, swinging both his arms down.

"…Frozen Breath, Fire! Falling Snow!"

An avalanche of heavy snow came crashing down. As he fell, his artefact slowed his descent, and Minoru landed lightly on top of the large hill of white, panting. His breath was visible in front of him, and Minoru could see Yuzuki and the two boys fighting from a ways away. It appeared that the two partners gave the impression that they were either unconcerned or too preoccupied by the blue-haired gunner to help Myra. Yuzuki had improved, thanks to some tips from Mami. The blonde woman was still quite skilled with her firearms, and helping her son's partner to help him survive was the only reason Mami had even tried to speak to Yuzuki when she found her training in the courtyard late one night.

Unfortunately, Minoru's win was short-lived. From beneath where he stood, the hill of compacted snow began to shake. This was highly disturbing. The snow was unusually heavy, and if one didn't avoid the attack, it would result in broken bones, or worse. However, it wasn't impossible, for Myra had surrounded herself in a capsule of compressed air before it hit. Now, the base of the hill was melting, due to some unknown fire spell.

Minoru, since his footing was now begin shaken to pieces, tripped, rolled, and slid into the grass, using his artefact's ability to cushion his fall. His eyes widening, Minoru readied for another attack from the pile of snow. He could already see the mound begin to slump, and the green flames peeking forth, eating a hole through one side of the sinking pillar.

He didn't know why he was shaking, but he steadied his hands. He was already beginning the incantation for 'Snowstorm of Darkness', a spell similar to the one he had used on those thugs who had stabbed Amber at the march. Although he was banged up, and there were dark bruises forming on his arms and legs, Minoru stumbled to his feet. His left cheek was bleeding, and the other was swollen, but he readied his mana.

When Myra finally emerged, they clashed again, a flurry of arms and legs, exchanging blows. Minoru winced—if he didn't have his mana enforcing him, he would have had far worse injuries by now. However, the pain was getting distracting and his reactions were slowing. He didn't have enough time to use a healing spell on himself, the pace was so fast.

Cackling, Myra slipped through his defense when his block faltered. With her bony green fingers with sharpened fingernails, she gripped Minoru by the throat, and held him high, above her head. He winced, struggling to keep his eyes open. His hands were grasping at hers desperately. Any more pressure and his trachea would be crushed. Minoru thrashed for a moment, but with a bit of quick thinking, he succeeded in shocking her hands with a mild lightning spell. When her hand locked up, Minoru took the opportunity to pry her hands away.

Rasping in air, he fell to the ground. Minoru wanted to shuffle backwards to try and escape. However, Myra already had a spell planned.

"Basilisk, Lizard with Eight Legs and Evil Eyes!" she shouted, "Breath of Poison Stealing Time! Breath of Stone!" Focusing her piercing golden eyes on her prey, Myra inhaled deeply, and forced out all of the air in her lungs. Following the sweeping breath a cloud of grey dust followed.

Minoru had been startled, and his eyes widened, but when he realized what this spell was, it had already washed over him. He had tried to cover his mouth and nose, but the dust had already infiltrated his system. His artefact had tried to draw off most of the effect, but it already was starting to affect him.

At the same moment, the fighting between the three Persocoms came to an end. Emerging from the rising flames on the grass, Yuzuki stood, siphoning off heat through her mouth, panting openly. The showdown with Edward and Robert had ended with them being unable to move, their legs riddled with so many bullets that they could no longer stand. They could only scowl angrily as they struggled to sit up amidst the still-smoldering grass.

Yelling, Yuzuki brandished the guns, her hair in complete disarray and her clothes in shreds. The muzzles flashing, she sprinted towards Myra, irate vehemence in her glare.

Coughing, Minoru could feel his limbs stiffen. He was trying to run, to retreat somewhere, but the petrification was already affecting his toes. His balance was leaving. Staggering out of Yuzuki's line of fire, he settled onto the pavement, panting as the sweat poured down his face.

Myra was dodging the bullets with poise far greater than her partners' remarkable evasion skills. Even with Yuzuki's auto-aim feature on her guns, the woman was moving so fast, she had to use so much of her memory to keep up with the lizard-woman. Nevertheless, that agility would not serve Myra for long.

For the woman who hurt Minoru, Yuzuki had two raging guns that were about to pump Myra full of holes.

Meanwhile, Thomas and Jack were being handled by Kotoko and Kojima.

The duo of mystical gloves and longsword was evenly matched with the tricky pair of Mage and Persocom. Kojima had really beefed up his attack spells, and Kotoko, likewise, had taken some Martial Arts lessons from Amber.

The purple-haired beauty had been advised against anything that required strength, for it simply did not match Kotoko at all. Although she was a Persocom, there were many mages who could very well be stronger than Kotoko, even when operating at optimal performance. Instead, Amber had trained her in the style of fighting that she herself preferred.

That is…

The art of the fan.

Kotoko was up against Thomas, while Kojima was trying to out-magic Jack.

The battle had been going well at this point. Although he had a sword, Kotoko, was something awe-inspiring with her fan. It was a normal fan, by most accounts. It was not an artefact. Kotoko had also been using her artefact to control many 'copies' of herself at once.

Graceful, yet powerful. Simple, yet unyielding. Precise, yet still imperfect…Kotoko was moving with the light footsteps of a dancer. The sword would come towards her, but she would not fear it. Fear would cut down on the response time, anyway. Instead, she would misdirect it elsewhere with her fan, or dodge it altogether. It also didn't help that her copies were all doing different things, and the most distracting part of her routine was that Thomas had to try and figure out which was the real Kotoko. They did have some substance to them, so it was a little confusing.

Thomas jabbed forward, and she smacked away his sword with a flourish, twirling out of the way for the second attack.

However.

The sword came down from a direction Kotoko had not suspected. Although she had been confident that she had not been found out—Thomas had found her real body. Kotoko noticed him just in time, however, and avoided destruction by trying to dodge.

Yet, it was not a perfect maneuver.

Thomas brought down his sword cleanly, but instead of slicing her in half as he intended, the shining silver instrument cleaved through one of her arms, instead.

Still, she couldn't stand there in shock. Kotoko knew this battle would only have one ending. She lifted her fan and beckoned him with it, continuing their tango to the death. Right now, Kojima's trifling yells of worry were far away—Kotoko was in the zone, and this battle wasn't over, not by a long-shot.

Meanwhile…Kupari seemed thoroughly engaged with Chii and Hideki. He had one of the most impressive mana stores of the competitors, and handling two people at once was not a problem for him, even without his Persocom Partners. The most obvious attack that he tried to use was one that Amber had warned Hideki of during training. "Mist of Sleep" was its formal name, and it had made Minoru faint once before.

Chii was unaffected, but Hideki held his breath and sprinted through the gathering fog. Using his artefact he gathered wind spirits around his sword like Garrett had taught him to. With one slash, Hideki swept the fog away, and continued to run. Chii was beside him, and she already had sent colorful petal-bombs barreling towards Kupari. The opposing mage although very pudgy, was not sluggish at all.

Kupari was able to put up a shield to protect himself from Chii's projectiles. The little Chobit hung back when she noticed this, and decided to up the ante.

"Mobiliter!" muttered Chii. Although most mages were prone to use Cantus Bellax to bolster their body, Chii was a Persocom. Mana didn't affect them in the same manner. Thus, this 'High Speed Maneuver' spell was the closest she could get to instantaneous movement. Her processing may have been excellent, but the durability of her body was nothing compared to Garrett or Angel.

While Hideki distracted Kupari, Chii leapt into the sky, sailing over them like a pure dove. She landed behind the two men, and since they were trying too hard to land blows on one another, Hideki with his sword and Kupari with his spells, she had no problem unleashing an attack. She had moved too fast for Kupari and his human brain to register, anyway.

Kupari was using an impressive level of agility to push aside Hideki's swings. Moreover, Hideki himself was wearing out fast, due to his inexperience with handling mana. But he wasn't going to give up. Well, not until he saw Chii waving at him from a distance, looking like she was up to something dangerous.

Just as Kupari singed the edge of Hideki's hair, Chii slapped the fiend on the back of his head with her bouquet.

It wasn't enough to do serious damage, but it did give Hideki enough time to slip away before she unleashed her spell. Chii swept her leg under Kupari, and he stumbled, still having been stunned by her last attack. She was only a yard away when the little Chobit finished her incantation.

"Frozen Earth!"

All of the moisture lingering along the ground froze instantly, avoiding Chii altogether, but causing the surrounding ground to suddenly have fearsome jagged spikes to protrude from the earth. It started directly Chii, and blossomed outwards towards Kupari. The spikes were shining and translucent, and Kupari, who had been trying to pick himself up from the ground, was skewered immediately.

Three spikes had managed to cut holes through him, lifting him off the ground and hanging him up like some sad little voodoo doll pinned in mid-air. He was still alive, however, as Chii's precision in controlling the spikes, was, as Amber would say, 'completely unfair'.

"Chiii!" chimed the Persocom happily, as Hideki looked on in amazed silence. "Chii has you!" She skipped over to the trapped man. Kupari was in too much pain to move, much less gather his mana. Especially so, because now there was blood cascading down the sharp icicles of death, and Kupari was looking ahead with a violent, but mute, expression.

"Chii can't let you go, but you might leave anyway," she said airily. Chii looked up to where he was hanging and lifted her bouquet. She placed it a few inches below his forehead and softly murmured a spell.

Her bouquet glowed for a few moments, and several petals floated up to his face. When the petals met his skin, Kupari looked dazed for a moment, but then dozed off immediately.

"Night-night," giggled Chii, turning to Hideki, looking satisfied.

Although he should have been more disturbed than this, Hideki gripped his sword and tried to keep alert. "Let's go help the others," said her boyfriend urgently. As he looked around, it didn't seem that they were on the winning team.

Kupari had finally been dispatched, so Chii and Hideki turned to help Minoru with his injury. However, when they arrived, the young man, wincing in pain, waved them off. He gritted his teeth, shaking his head. Petrification could only be reversed by a skilled healer. Even if Chii tried her hand at it, she could possibly cause more harm than help. In the distance, Myra and Yuzuki were still battling it out.

"Never mind me!" said Minoru, the stone already had encroached towards the middle of his left shin. "Yuzuki's here. Go help everyone else!"

Kotoko and Kojima had already led Thomas and Jack away, which helped a bit, but these two final 'bosses' seemed to be even tougher than they estimated. Still, from what Hideki had noticed, Kotoko had lost an arm, which wasn't helping their odds.

"You go to Amber and Garrett, and I'll help to Kotoko and Kojima, okay?"

"Rodger, Hideki!" Chii said, saluting with her bouquet. Her mission was set, and now she was going to do her due diligence. That's was what being friends was about, after all, having their backs when times got tough.

The little Chobit followed her little brother's GPS coordinates, sprinting off to the battle that had somehow migrated into the city.

It wasn't surprising that Angel and Kamijou were left to Amber and Garrett. They had the hardest fight of them all. Even after the heiress had summoned a flying staff, Angel and Kamijou had pursued them on foot, lunging through the air at such a monstrous speed that it was mind-boggling. Garrett had tried to steer while his partner let off spells to slow down the two fiends, but it wasn't any use. If he had known how to cast any, Garrett would have just done it himself.

Unfortunately, Kamijou had released a spell while they were rounding the corner.

"Magic Archer! Six arrows of darkness!"

Sure enough, six pillars of dark energy materialized from around the grey-haired young man. They never wavered in their arc, striking Amber and Garrett on the staff. It went haywire, then, and despite Garrett's efforts to slow down, the two of them ended up crashing into the asphalt in the middle of downtown.

Garrett landed almost perfectly into a roll, and summoned back his artefact when he regained his balance. Within moments he was on his feet, standing at a slight crouch. Amber was not so lucky, and ended up rolling around like a cigar before struggling to her feet and getting into a defensive stance. Her face was already covered in dirt and scratches, and there was some blood leaking from her left ear.

Angel and Kamijou didn't even stop to fight, they were already lunging towards the two who had braced themselves, and the beatdown began anew.

Most notably, Angel had begun pummeling Amber with a barrage of punches and kicks. If the heiress hadn't applied so many layers of protection, she would have been dead already. However, the blows were still extremely painful, and she knew better not to counter unless her fists were powered up with even more mana. At the same time Garrett and Kamijou were already clashing swords. The loud clanging of metal against metal was rhythmic and even, almost like the ambient sounds heard within a blacksmith's business.

"No! Amber! Don't!"

She wasn't listening to him. Again. If she used that power…eventually she would be consumed by her own darkness.

"Connecting to my thema…" Again, within the blink of an eye, Amber had reverted to that all-black outfit more suited to a dark mage. "Fracture!"

The scepter materialized in her palm, and she blocked against Angel's dual blades, sparks flying when the weapons met.

"Flame Armament," Amber muttered from gritted teeth. Within that moment, Angel pushed her away, sending the girl off-balance. However, Amber regained it quickly and bounded forward once more, her eyes burning with fury. Bright red flames sprang from her skin. Wincing, she held out the scepter she was holding. Unlike most armor spells, this hurt somewhat. Mana was leeching out of her at a steady place, but it wasn't draining enough for her not to endure through it. This amount was nothing compared to setting off one attack from Gungir. Amber could feel the hunger gnawing at the bad of her mind, tempting her to the darkness of her soul. But if she did that now, she would be 'consumed', and as long as she had Garrett by her side, she would not let that ever happen.

Angel was happy to carve into her opponent, despite the flames. Her blade was getting charred, but it mattered not. As long as she got what she wanted in the end, nothing mattered.

Kamijou was preparing for something vile, however. He succeeded in kicking Garrett into the air—to the height of a third-story building. But the attack did not stop there. Mr. Miki jumped, following Garrett to that height, and released his delayed spell. A blast of air sent the Persocom flying into the nearest glass-covered building. As Garrett flew through the skyscraper, the shockwave of Kamijou's sound-based spell made all of the windows shatter.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see that building in the way!" shouted the psychopath, hanging onto the steel structure that was the remnant of the wall. In the hand at his side, his rapier hung loosely in his grip.

How in the name of Elysium was he so strong? His strength was on the level of Thomas's, but his skill in using it surpassed even that man.

Garrett didn't have time to contemplate this, however, because Kamijou had actually pursued him into the ruined building and grabbed hold of his ankle. It was only a moment later that Garrett was thrown from there, back onto the street level, not unlike a ragdoll. The asphalt spiderwebbed outwards when Garrett collided with it. From the corner of his eye, he could see the instant Angel backhanded his partner away as if she were a tennis ball. There was a trail of blood following her, but he could tell that the injury wasn't too bad that Amber couldn't heal it in seconds. Still, Kamjiou was giving him a beating as well, and Garrett very well could not help her.

Amber had climbed to her feet as fast as she possibly could muster.

However, something absolutely dreadful was about to happen. As try as she might, Amber could never have prepared for this.

Chii came jogging towards them.

She was standing at the intersection, having finally found out where their fight had travelled. The little Persocom looked proud of herself, then, immediately going to help Amber against Angel. Stern as could be, she held her bouquet up, and was just about to unleash a spell, when—

The monster noticed her.

Honestly, Angel didn't even care at this point. Even if Chii's was the gatekeeper, as long as her memory storage was intact, Angel didn't need her to be conscious to access her data. The fellow Chobit was in the way, and Angel was going to slice through her in one blow. She leapt into the air, hoping to use the momentum of her gravity to aid her in this wicked wish. Hoping to meet her in mid-air, Chii had jumped the millisecond after.

Amber, though, had noticed this too late. Dread had shot through her in that instant.

"No." Her voice was softer than freshly fallen snow, but was far colder in temperature.

Amber was a moth. Angel was the flame. In only a moment, she was about to throw her life into the blaze and immolate herself. Time had slowed. Amber's feet had sped up. She waded through the current, ahead of it, against nature itself to reach for Chii.

Jumping into the air, she planned to intercept that hungry, vicious blade.

'Not again! Never again!'

Amber was straining every bit of mana she could spare. Her nose was even starting to bleed within this colorless world of frozen time. She had planned to block the attack, but, her reaction was too slow. Amber neither had the mana nor the stamina to keep time frozen and give a counter-spell.

But the realization of her situation hit her a moment too late.

The only way for Amber to escape was to die. That was the eventual outcome she was trying to prevent, but as the evidence would prove, that was impossible.

"Game Over," whispered the cruel Angel.

Time unfroze, and Amber's own body was used to shield Chii from the devastating attack.

A direct hit. One that sliced through the air with little to no noise. Amber didn't even scream. She simply closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

It ended with a sacrifice.

This golden time will end

I will take my silver scissors

Snip, snip

And I will seek your very soul

Caress the life-line gently

Snip, Snip

I'll cut through you lovingly

I'll grant your wish, you suicidal girl

Snip, Snip

With my silver scissors

T/N: The first whole spell I quote for Minoru is called 'Jaculatio Fulgoris', translated that's 'Throwing Spears of Lightning'. The incantation, translated, goes "Scathach, who reigns over the Realm of Shadows! Surrender unto my hands thirty thorn-bearing spirit lances. Throwing Spears of Lightning!" I realized, though, that looking at random foreign phrases is tiring, so as I promised, the others were in English.

A/N: Honestly, for gala I had intended Angel to attack then, and have Freya use her link with Chii to help them out. But…I scrapped that. Especially since I accidentally overwrote that part. Or, I deleted it on purpose. I can't remember which it is. It was good, but I felt it was a little contrived. She was going to be sent by that unnamed goddess I keep mentioning, but felt like it would be a contradiction with what I said in the other chapter about ComiFest.

Hang on, everyone—don't abandon me yet! Fighting!

The next section's song is 'Close Your Eyes' by Egoist. Get ready. Brace yourself.