Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:12:16 -0800 (PST)
From: Silvenfox <silvenfox@yahoo.com>
Subject: Heaven's Trumpet - 10

The following is a complete work of fiction.

Any resemblance between the characters and any real life person is
completely coincidental.  Please do not copy or distribute the story
without the author's permission.

Disclaimer:

The following story may contain erotic situations. If it is illegal for you
to read this please leave now. Also expect blood, gore, incredibly funny
scenes and super-powered teenagers with a destiny to save the world. If
you're not a fan of any of these plus strong cursing and violence than this
is not your type of story.


Chapter 10


Unfortunately I couldn't stay unconscious forever. With a limp in my step I
walked through the mansion, or at least what was left of it. The
Unrelenting had all but destroyed the house when they broke in. Furniture
was torn and destroyed, walls had gaping holes, and paintings and
keepsakes, lay broken and shredded on the scarred hardwood floor. Adam
wrapped his arm around my waist, squeezing my side to gain my attention.

"They did a number on the place," he said softly.

I snorted. "That's an understatement, babe."

We turned into the sunroom and it was just as bad as the rest of the house.
Everyone was already there attempting to pick up what they could. Killian
threw down a pillow that looked it been offered up as a tiger's chew toy.

"Why are we even picking this crap up!" said Killian, glaring around the
room. "We're all about to die anyway."

Ryan placed a hand lightly on his arm, gray eyes touched with an almost
tangible sadness. "Killer, don't."

"No!" Killian exclaimed, rubbing at his eyes hard. I pretended like I
didn't see the tears he wiped at. "They kicked our asses and they have two
Keys. One more and we're done. If the Elder Spawn doesn't kill us then
Heaven's Trumpet will."

I had to admit I empathized with what he was feeling. I just couldn't say
it out loud. Maybe if this was a year ago I would have joined him in the
pity party. Now was a different story. I was prince and leader of this
group, and like it or not, I had to be strong. If not for myself then I had
to be strong for them. Honestly I was scared and just as frightened, hello
we just got our asses handed to us, but I made my facial expression tough
and strong.

"We haven't lost yet," I said, staring directly into Killian's eyes. "The
Elder Spawn still has no body, and Heaven's Trumpet hasn't been activated.
That means until we're dead, we are still going to keep fighting."

Killian laughed bitterly. "Newsflash we just got our asses kicked."

"I was there," I countered, crossing my arms. "So what? You want to just
give up now? Fine." I matched his glare and meant it when I said, "We don't
need someone who wants to quit on the team. So just turn around, walk out
that door, and leave."

His glare softened till he dropped it, lowering his gaze. "Stop that. You
know I wouldn't leave you guys."

I smiled softly. "We're all in this together, Killian. Too many people are
counting on us to lose faith in ourselves."

Nathaniel nodded. "Well said."

I shrugged with one shoulder. I really meant what I said. We had to keep
going. Sure we had got beaten, but after some healing we were all back on
our feet and ready for whatever else stood in our way. Too bad the whatever
else happened to be some of the biggest obstacles we've ever come up
against.

Adam looked at me fully, turning a speculative stare on me. "You have a
plan," he said in realization.

I nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. "You bet your ass I do."

Unconsciously I flicked my eyes to Celeste, wondering if she was bothered
by the swearing. I don't know how they rolled in Heaven. The angel wore a
tiny smile on her face so I guess she didn't take offense.

"So what's the plan?" asked Ryan.

I licked my lips, taking a second to organize my thoughts. "Simple. We find
the Unrelenting, take the Keys they have, and then get the hell out of
dodge."

"That's your plan," Killian countered with disbelief, eyes as big as
saucers.

I blinked. "What's wrong it?"

Adam cleared his throat. "We don't even know where the Keys are," he said
hesitantly.

"On the contrary..." interjected Celeste. All eyes turned to her as she
explained, "Two instruments that control power and reality respectively are
together in one location. They are practically leaking with power. I can
taste it from here."

I clapped my hands, mustering up a smile. "Great, we got ourselves a lead."

"Slow down, Hardy Boy," cautioned Adam, placing a hand on the back of my
neck. "There's still a matter of getting past them."

I waved off his concern. "These guys don't hold a candle to us in a fight.
We only lost because of sheer numbers. They overwhelmed us."

"We've killed over a thousand of them today," said Ryan slowly, agreeing.
"They have to be hurting bad from their loss."

Smacking a fist into my palm, I grinned savagely. "We can do this, guys. We
can." My grin wilted as the consequences hit home. "We don't have much of a
choice. We're fucked whether do or not."

Adam nodded, giving me a soft smile full of unwavering support. "I go
wherever you go, Summers."

"You lead and I'll follow," said Ryan, half smiling.

Killian smirked. "If we're going down, I want to go down swinging. Let's do
this."

"I'm going too," announced Nathaniel.

I opened my mouth to reason with him, but he crossed his arms and gave me
this determined look that stopped me cold. His expression was carefully
blank, and I knew it was useless to argue the point with him. He had made
his decision.

"I won't sit home idly waiting while everything hangs in the balance," said
Nathaniel, his tone holding a note of finality.

Chuckling, I shook my head. "If that's what you want. We need all the
firepower we can get."

Celeste looked up at the ceiling, listening. After a moment's pause she
turned to us looking resigned. "I have been ordered to return to Heaven. I
am sorry that I cannot be with you in the fight to come." She swept her
gaze over us, finally setting her sights on Nathaniel. "I wish you well."

Neither smiled as they held their stare, ignoring the rest of the world, as
they said all they needed to say with a look. I had to turn away, feeling
like I was intruding on a private moment. It was anything but one, yet it
felt intimate, and too personal. Warm white light erupted around her body,
and then faded away, taking her with it.

I looked at them, grimly. "We leave as soon as we get a solid location."

In the mean time I was going to go say my prayers.

***

	Damn. She was right. The map of Centennial filled the monitors in
various shades of blue. A blinking red circle covered a location that was
on the edge of downtown. I frowned at the power readings coming off the
circle. If I was closer I had no doubt I would be able to feel it. The Keys
close proximity showed a fluctuating power rate. Given a length of time I
was sure it would probably destabilize the space around them, as the
universe bent to their power, reacting to the true natures of their core.

"Jeez," muttered Adam, staring at the screen in awe. "Those are some high
readings."

Ryan pushed up his glasses, gaping at the screen. "It's enough to power the
entirety of Russia."

"And hat's only from two Keys," Killian said what we all were thinking.
"Imagine if all three were together."

I smiled humorlessly, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. "We
already know what happens then."

Beta Armageddon.

That was if it sensed that there was no hope. Maybe if we stopped the Elder
Spawn then Heaven's Trumpet would sense there was no threat and deactivate.
Knowing our luck it was a pipe dream.

The doors opened and Nathaniel entered the Operations Room with a gleaming
bronze bracelet on his left arm adorned by an emerald gem as a centerpiece.
Gripped in his right hand was a bulky looking sword with a row of sharp
looking teeth covering the blade's edge.

I raised my eyebrow at Nathaniel. "Uh, I think it will take a lot more than
that if you plan on keeping up with us."

He didn't say anything. Instead he grinned slyly and slapped the gem on the
bracelet. A multi dimensional field flashed to life around him, unfolding
matter around his body according to a predefined matrix. In this case that
predefined matrix was the pinnacle of Atlantean Powered Field Plate armor.
Angular silver armor covered him, gleaming in the artificial lighting. His
neck up was left bare except for a solid black visor that wrapped around
his eyes.

Ryan's eyes widened. "I didn't know you had power armor." He shook his head
surprised. "I thought only the royal guard was assigned those."

Nathaniel smirked. "My armor was the first one issued. I broke the bracelet
years ago so I stashed it in subspace. Lan recently helped me fix it. It's
not as tough as your magical armor, but at least I won't be a smear on the
asphalt if I get smacked."

"Well I hope that sword can handle-" I stared to say, only to stop and
stare.

Nathaniel hit a big black button at the base of the hilt. The shiny jagged
teeth along the blade's edge came to life in a roar of whirring steel. The
torque caused his arm to jerk back, and he grabbed the sword handle with
two hands. Our mouths dropped as our well mannered, sharp dressing advisor,
presented a deadly sight that even made me back up a step.

"Chain sword," said Adam wide eyed, recognizing the blade for what it was.

I had to give the man his dues. "I have to say I almost peed my pants a
little."

"So everybody ready for this?" asked Killian.

Adam shrugged. "If you mean are we a little bit terrified, then yeah. I'm
about as ready as ever."

I must say I agreed wholeheartedly. "Let's go. My life will be so much
better if I never have to even glimpse the Elder Spawn in this lifetime.
Let's suit up."

Once again we transformed into the chosen soldiers graced by the divine
gods of the Heavens. I breathed deeply as my power coursed through me in a
familiar rush. It was warm and relaxing, and I felt energized. I wasn't up
to top form but it would have to do. We had no time to waste anymore. We
were so far behind it was a miracle we weren't all dead yet.

Omega grabbed my wrist pulling me to him, so I was pressed against his
chest. "Are you okay?"

I nodded against him then turned my head, so I looked up into his worried
eyes. "I'm fine. I still feel a little shaky from the earlier overload, but
I'm better."

"What if-" Omega started to say, but I placed a finger against his lips,
silencing him.

I smiled softly. "Hush, cowboy. I'll be okay. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that," he muttered, touching foreheads briefly before
letting me go.

I glanced at the others, who all thankfully let us be for our private
moment, and said, "Let's go."

It was time we put an end to this.

***

	The world was obscured by orange light as the scenery rushed by.
Solaris directed his bubble over the city, carrying us over the busy
streets full of people who had no idea the end of all life was so near. I
didn't need the Executioner to tell me we were near our destination as he
tapped away at his phone. The power of the Keys hit me like a slap in the
face, as a buzzing energy crawled along my skin like a thousand ants.

"The Keys are too close together," said the Executioner, frowning at the
phone display. "The power hasn't exploded outward yet and activated
Heaven's Trumpet, because the third Key will act as a sort of catalyst with
the added power boost, breaking the locks that hold back the weapon."

Solaris cursed under his breath. "That thing is too fucking powerful. I
mean, these keys hold the power of reality, power, time and space. All that
mixed together is..."

My lips pursed as I nodded. "The ultimate weapon."

He shook his head and his jaw clench tightly, "I was going to say
overkill."

He was right about that.

The bubble grew silent as we flew over downtown Centennial. There at the
edges was a large warehouse. This part of downtown was past the
entertainment venue, stores and trendy bars, so it was only sparsely
crowded as we landed in the alley across the street. The bubble faded away
and our feet touched solid ground.

"So that's their headquarters?" asked Nathaniel skeptically.

I was a little puzzled myself. "I know. Downtown Centennial is not what I
was expecting."

"Was anybody else thinking the sewers?" asked Solaris, smirking.

I snorted but then sobered up, getting serious. "We go in as quietly as
possible. Grab the Keys and beat it. I'll throw them in another dimension
if I have to. Let's just get them away from here."

"Agreed," said Nathaniel, nodding.

Everyone else nodded as well and I squared my shoulders. This was it then.
I put on an expression of calm control, and together we marched from the
alleyway and into the street. People gawked at us as we crossed the street
and we didn't break our stride at their pointing or random picture
snapping.

"Omega, take care of them," I muttered under my breath.

In mid step he waved his hand and sent a wide telepathic signal. It
wouldn't affect anyone with a strong mind or training in the mind arts, but
for normal everyday humans it was enough. Those watching unexpectedly found
better places to be, or things that they forgot to do. His low telepathic
wave cleared the whole street up to two blocks. It quickly grew empty and
quiet as the pedestrians ignored us, unconsciously focused on getting away
from the immediate area. It wouldn't have any adverse effects and would
wear off shortly, so we couldn't linger for long.

"Great job," I smiled.

He tipped his head with a half smile in answer. We crossed the parking lot
and came upon the warehouse. Solaris grabbed at the door and pulled. No
surprise, it didn't budge. He looked at our incredulous faces.

"What?" he asked defensively. "It was worth a shot."

I didn't expect guards to be posted at the door, this wasn't the mob, but I
expected they would employ the basic security measures of locking the door.

An idea came to me from left field. "How about we just go through the
door?"

"Like blow it up?" asked the Executioner. He cracked his knuckles.

I blinked at the feverish glint in his eyes and backtracked. "Uh, no. I'm
thinking I walk us through the wall itself."

"You can do that?" Omega asked, surprised.

Nathaniel chuckled. "This is the same boy who can level a fourth of the
city with a few words."

"Well more than a few..." I muttered flushing as they all shot me identical
skeptical looks.

I was being serious. It was more than just foolish words and some hand
waving when it came to using power like that. It took emotion, intent, will
and enough concentration and focus to utilize the amount of power to work a
feat like that. Nathaniel understood the basics, but he was a wizard. His
power was based mostly only enchanted items with a strong grounding in
physics. My magic was like a sentient tool that relied more on mysticism,
and my connection to the universe through my celestial bindings.

I took a deep breath, focusing on myself and my teammates. I closed my eyes
and I touched upon my power, stretching it out and wrapping it around them
with my mind eye. With a whisper of an ancient word between my lips, and a
bit of will, I slowly opened my eyes. Our forms glowed pale violet, and
after a small nod from me, we stepped forward as one through the wall.
There was a second of vision filled drab gray as we moved through solid
matter.

Then it was gone and our bodies were tangible and wholly ourselves. I
looked around at our surroundings. The interior was barely lit, hiding much
of the space in shadow. And there was so much space. Instead of the empty
warehouse I expected, we stood inside a factory. I frowned at the enormous
space, taking in the distant sound of machinery, and hollow noises drifting
through the air. This wasn't the same place. It was impossible. It didn't
match the outside at all. What happened? Was the door some type of portal
to another place?

The Executioner already had his phone out running scans before we even
realized. "Fascinating."

"What readings are you getting?" asked Nathaniel, glancing around.

We were alert and tense, watching the area around us for any signs of the
Unrelenting. So far so good, but that didn't mean much. The Executioner
made another noise of surprise and the finally looked up.

"From the data I'm getting we aren't in a different location," he
explained. "But in a transcendental dimension. Incredible. Somehow they've
managed to fit a localized fourth dimension within these walls. This is
beyond even Atlantean science! Relatively we're still in the same point in
space, but locally I would say that a tesseract effect is taki-"

"Can someone explain in English please?" I cut in before he got even more
into the techno babble.

Omega smiled with his eyes, and simply replied, "The inside is bigger than
the outside."

"Oooooh," said Solaris, nodding. He grinned at his boyfriend. "You have to
dumb it down for us folk with IQ's less than 130."

I took point at the front of the group and the Executioner was at the end,
covering our backs. The facility was bigger than I initially thought. We
walked for over ten minutes and still hadn't run across anyone. We came out
of a corridor, and immediately were overwhelmed by cold, misty fog. It
covered the floor, rolling throughout the room in a thick sheet of light
gray. We looked wide-eyed at the rows and rows of tables lined in columns.
Naked men lay on the tables seemingly asleep, and their rising and falling
chests was the only signal that they were even alive.

"What the hell is this?" I gasped out, staring.

Nathaniel shook his head, completely baffled. "There has to be over
thousands..."

"Three thousand, four hundred and forty eight," the Executioner corrected,
eyes glued to the phone display.

We walked further into the room. I went to the nearest man. He looked like
he was in a deep sleep. His chest was smooth and it rose and fell slowly as
he dreamed on. His brown hair looked darker as it lay wet across his
forehead and his eyelids twitched every so often like he was in the middle
of dreaming. I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Sir, are you okay?" I said softly, speaking close to his face.

Eyes snapped open at my touch and his hand shot out, grabbing my wrist in a
vice like grip. I shouted and it mingled with the yells of the rest of my
teammates, as they all were caught in an identical situation. Sonofabitch.

Abruptly the man's blank brown eyes widened, and his body began to shake as
if electricity jolted straight down his spine. His shaking grew
uncontrollable and then suddenly he went still, and his body fell apart.
Not exploded but fell apart. If I blinked I would have missed it. His body
instantly morphed into green slime and fell, splashing on the table.

I wiped slime off my gloves and flicked off a piece that hung on the end of
my nose. Gross. Gross. Gross. I chanted silently staring at the goo with
horror. My eye twitching, I turned to the others to see them in similar
states of distress.

"What the hell was that!" yelled Solaris, mortified.

Nathaniel stepped away from his table, flinging goo off his breastplate.
"That was most distressing."

"They're clones," said the Executioner, frowning at his phone readings. "We
must have interrupted the process and the bodies destabilized."

Omega snapped his fingers, his eyes bright with realization. "It's how they
have so many skinwalkers. They're all clones!"

I snapped my head around as clarity rang in my head like a clear bell. It
made so much sense now. The way they moved as one at times, their blank
expressions, and their enormous numbers, all of it made so much sense with
this added bit of information.

"I knew the Elder Spawn couldn't possibly have so many worshippers," said
Solaris, sounding distinctly pleased with himself. "The Order has been
fucking growing them."

I nodded decisively. "Well this means we'll just have to torch them. All of
them, before they can become a threat."

Nathaniel and I stood side by side, and in our palms flames gathered. My
fire was bright red and orange and Nathaniel's was a cool blue. We raised
our arms preparing to throw when chanting reached our ears. Flames vanished
as we dropped our arms, listening.

"It's coming from the room up ahead," said the Executioner.

We creped forward moving silently into the room beyond. It opened into a
circular room, and the ground floor had to be reached by going down a long
set of steps that twisted and turned. We stood on the railway looking down
into the floor below as the chanting drifted up, echoing off the walls,
making the droning voices louder and unfortunately more imposing. The Order
of the Dying Star was in session.

The Unrelenting gathered below us in a mix of gray and purple robes. Their
hoods were pulled up as they stood in loose circle around symbols drawn
into the floor. It had to be done in blood. Even this high I recognized the
dark reddish brown substance staining the floor. In the middle of the
intertwining symbols was the red gem I recognized as the Key of Power, its
blood red facets shined deep scarlet. Next to the stone was an axe-hammer,
both hammerhead and blade glowed, radiating a mystifying cerulean light.
Power swelled between the two artifacts, jumping in the space between,
amplifying and feeding off each other.

A door opened below and the Black Pope swept into the room, his dark cape
billowing behind him. He marched onto a raised platform and his hell red
eyes fell upon his followers. Their chanting continued, as he raised his
hands for their attention, but now it was like soft background noise in a
large room.

"Our time is coming, brothers," said the Black Pope, his delight sounded
too intense, almost scarily ecstatic. "We will use Heaven's weapon, and all
will be set right."

"Fev'o'Rex-lell," the voices chanted at once.

I stumbled back, clutching my heart as an awful, gathering power grew.
Omega supported me as an abominating presence filled the room like a cold
wind, sucking what little heat existed in the room. I swallowed heavily
watching as the Black Pope grinned savagely, looking satisfied and joyful,
drunk on the power.

"Our master has been sleeping in the Void far too long," said the Red Eyed
Man. "Now is the coming of the Elder Spawn, oldest of the old, the ruin of
a thousand galaxies. Blood will rain from the sky, my brothers!"

"Fev'o'Rex-lell!" they screamed as one.

The presence slithered over my skin, swelling in the room, a great
malevolent force of perversion and destruction. The symbols on the ground
flared, and the Keys reacted glowing brighter, but they couldn't execute
their true purpose without the third Key. I swallowed, trying to clear my
throat that had gone suddenly tight.

"We can't let this go on any longer," I muttered after I found my voice.

"He will reward his faithful and those loyal," shouted the Black Pope,
raising his arms toward the ceiling. "And we shall bask in his beautiful
glory."

"Fev'o'Rex-lell!"

The cold in the room intensified, and the sense of power grew more deadly,
as his damned ranks spoke his name, a name that should never be spoken. The
Abomination that was the Elder Spawn was a creature so old that his name
had a power of its own, as years of worshipers had given it such strength
to feed upon. Those who sought such evil out with their minds opened a door
into their heart, letting the evil in, twisting their souls into a mockery
of what it once was.

"We have to go down there and get those Keys," whispered Nathaniel. I
couldn't see his eyes but his lips were turned down in a harsh frown.

"Not just yet."

We spun around as from the dark of the corridor behind us stepped Ian and
Isabella. I stiffened as shock permeated deep in my veins at the sight.
What they hell were they doing here? Possibilities raced through my head,
swift and fleeting. I glanced at the others and they looked just as
surprised, but each tried to hide our surprise before it could give us
away. The redheads were in all black clothes, green eyes bright against
pale skin.

Ian smirked. "What? Surprised to see us?"

"Ian, stop," said Isabella, her smooth voice sent me further into shock.
The bitch could talk! She looked at me apologetically. "You have to come
with us, Chad. Otherwise you're all going to die."

I fought through my shock to get a word in. She and Ian moved and I fell
into a defensive stance instinctively, as we all formed a united front.
They clasped hands tightly and then simultaneously snapped their fingers.
The world twisted in a whirlwind of color, twisting and turning, spinning
us through a vortex of muted sound. Just as suddenly the world returned to
normal and our feet touched concrete.

The blue sky was above us, and I took a deep breath of the autumn wind. We
stood on the rooftop of a building less than a quarter of a mile away from
the warehouse. From the view I could see the warehouse, and the rest of
Centennial stretched out before us.

I fought off whatever shock still lingered. "How do you know who I am?" I
asked, glaring at the siblings. "Who or what are you really?"

"He's with the Order," spat Solaris, staring hard at Ian with undisguised
loathing. "Why else would they be there? I say we pour plasma down their
throats." He hand erupted with a bright yellow light

Nathaniel cleared his throat. "Maybe we should hear them out."

"I agree," muttered the Executioner.

Isabella looked at the ground and then looked at us, almost shyly. "We know
who you all are."

Omega grinned wolfishly. "Oh, good." He strode forward with two quick,
purposeful steps. He reached back and his fist connected solidly with Ian's
nose.

"What the fuck!" Ian screamed, clutching his bleeding nose. He stumbled
back and fell on his ass. Blood fell down in thick streams, smearing across
the lower half of his face as he glared up at Omega with wet, pained eyed.
"What was that for?"

Omega glared down at him, hazel eyes turning brown with restrained anger.
"That's for kissing my boyfriend, asshole." He clenched his fists tightly,
taking a step backward. "If I didn't want to hear what you had to say I
would throw you off this building."

"That's what I'm talking about," Solaris cheered, laughing.

I grabbed Omega's arm pulling him back near me. A little part of me was
touched that he did that for me. Another part was worried he may have hurt
him too much. The bigger part of me was more than a little turned on.
Jealous Adam really kind of did it for me, but I ignored all those pieces
of me, focusing on the here and now.

"You have a right to be angry over what my brother did," said Isabella. She
glanced at Ian who was wiping at the blood on his face. "I was furious when
I found out."

I shook my head. "So this whole time you could talk?" I pointed my finger
at her. "Did you transfer to our school to spy on us for the Order?"

"We aren't part of the Order of the Dying Star," Ian denied, still holding
his nose. "I didn't even know you were Chosen till a few days ago."

Omega raised an eyebrow and said disbelievingly, "So are we supposed to
believe you? We thought she was mute, and look at how that turned out."

"I'm sorry for the deception," apologized Isabella, sounding truly
remorseful. "It's a lie I've been using my entire life. The only person who
knew I could talk was Ian. Not even our father knew."

I was actually curious at that fact. "Why not?"

They traded glances and it was Ian who spoke this time. "We have to be very
careful around our dad."

"Why?" I asked, tipping my head. "He seemed alright when I met him."

Ian snorted, shaking his head. "You didn't really meet him then. You might
better know him as the Black Pope of Damnation."

"No way," said Solaris in a breathy whisper.

We all stared at them as if they had two heads. This was becoming too much.
It was just so much information too quickly. I shook my head trying to
clear up some of the thoughts that cycled through my head in an endless
loop. Mr. Graison, with his kind eyes and polite manners, was the evil
jackass who got off on worshipping ancient entities? Oh hell no. It sounded
insane, but it explained their presence in the warehouse.

I rubbed my temples, trying to stop the headache that was forming. "Okay,
start from the beginning. This isn't making much sense."

"Our father has worshipped the Elder Spawn like his father, and his father
before him who first read the sacred text in the Abomination's forgotten
temple, Al'kanesh," said Isabella, stopping to glance at the warehouse on
the horizon. "Our mother was a runaway Faerie princess, who grew tired of
Sidhe politics and court life, and wanted to live amongst humans."

I almost stopped her story right there. Faeries? Yeah right. I opened my
mouth to tell her to shove the story up her ass, when a clear memory of
tall, beautiful, shining people filled my vision, stirring forth buried
knowledge. They lived in seclusion in their pocket dimensions, but they had
been a wondrous people who were friendly to the Atlanteans, even though the
two peoples were completely different. While the Sidhe didn't have any
advanced technology, their harmony with nature and unique magic made them a
marvelous race of people. Not Homo sapiens, my mind whispered, but Homo
arcanus.

I blinked and the vision faded. Well wasn't this just a day full of
surprises. All that was left was a daytime talk show host to pop out and
claim I was the baby's the father, and the surprise-a-thon would be
concluded.

"...she thought he was just a gifted sorcerer and fell in love with him.
She didn't learn the truth till almost five years after we were born, when
she found the ancient texts, and then she knew what father really was."

Isabella stopped, getting a little worked up, so Ian continued. "She tried
to take us and run, but our dad killed her. Before she died she used every
bit of magic she lad left to bind our powers."

"Or at least that's what it looked like to father," added Isabella with a
small sad smile. "Any trance of magic or capacity of magic was masked. Even
if you were to actively look for traces of magic in us you would find
none."

I nodded, understanding now. "Faerie glamour. A strong one too."

"Exactly," admitted Isabella.

Nathaniel tipped his head. "What kind of powers do you have?" he asked,
watching them appraisingly.

"Together we can teleport ourselves and others," began Ian. "Like how we
got here."

Isabella looked at us through her eyelashes, bashfully. "I have the power
to know the entire history of anything I touch. It's part of the reason why
I pretend to be mute. It prevents me from slipping up, and letting on that
I know too much of what I shouldn't." She looked at me, suddenly serious.
"Its how I knew you were Chosen. When I bumped into you and dropped my
books, I got a read off of you."

"You've known all this time," I said, stunned. That had been almost a month
ago. "Why didn't you tell your father?"

Ian laughed and I wanted to hit him. When I caught sight of his face all my
irritation died. He looked bitter but beyond that there was a desperate
sadness that caught my breath.

"We hate him," he said tonelessly. "The fucked up part is he doesn't even
know. He and his entire cult are psychos and I would like nothing more than
to watch them burn. He took our mother from us, and now he wants to take
away the world we live in. I'll never forgive him."

"So you two decided to Wonder Twin it, and fight the forces of dear old
dad?" I asked skeptically.

They did that thing where they traded looks again, and Isabella replied,
"We only recently decided to strike out against father. When you left our
house so quickly the other day I figured Ian had done something to you."
Ian rolled his eyes, and made a sound in the back of his throat. She
continued not bothered by it. "He confirmed it when he came to me and told
me what you did. I had kept your secret about being Chosen, but he knew you
were different when you resisted his kiss."

Omega narrowed his eyes. "Was he supposed to fall in love with one kiss?"
he asked with a dangerous edge to his tone.

Ian scrutinized him, measuring him with his stare. "Not in love. In lust."
He moved his stare to me. "My power is to draw lust in a person with a
kiss."

That was a faerie power alright. I don't know much about modern fey
society, but back in Prince Emrys' day they were particularly fond of their
inborn powers at seduction that rivaled the unnatural beauty that graced
all their kind. The full implications of what he said caught up to me.

"You tried to whammy me?" I snapped, glaring. Anger pounded deep in my gut
like a second heart. "What makes you think I won't melt you on the spot?"

Ian raised an eyebrow, looking extremely self satisfied. "Well we did just
save your lives," he said smugly.

The Executioner straightened to his full height, tall, dangerous, and
intimidating, showing how he got his name. He turned cool gray eyes on the
redhead who tried to meet his stare, but had to glance away as those
predator eyes assessed him like he was prey.

"I don't recall being in danger," replied the champion of soul coolly, his
voice caused Ian to shiver on the spot, almost shrinking into himself.

It wasn't just an intimidation thing, like he was scared. It was more than
that. As the champion of soul, Ryan had a slight empathy, and the ability
let him project feelings with careful manipulation of his voice. It wasn't
something he talked about or even employed often, but when he did he could
make a grown man cry. It wasn't a strong power now, but in time it would be
a powerful ability on its own.

Isabella answered for her brother, "It wasn't a threat. Our father was in
the middle of preparing for phase two of their mission."

"What was phase one?" I asked frowning.

"Gather at least two Keys," answered Ian. "They have that so now they can
start the next part of dear old dad's master plan."

A thunderous noise sounded through the air, and I snapped my head to the
warehouse in the distance. The door blew open and from it streamed the
Unrelenting. The skinwalkers marched forth from the doors in a flood of
gray. I sucked in a breath as they ran into the street, constantly pouring
from the building in a never-ending flood.

People screamed as the skinwalkers overwhelmed the streets, stopping
traffic and sending walking pedestrians scattering. Flashes of light and
explosions sent people in a blind panic, as the Unrelenting began ripping
into people with magic and their bare hands. Everyone in their way fell to
their murderous rampage. It was a bloodbath.

"They're killing people!" screamed Solaris.

Gritting my teeth, I turned to the siblings and hissed, "Is this phase
two?"

They nodded solemnly. "They've awakened all of the clones," stated
Isabella. "With only one Key left to find they want to offer up death and
chaos as a tribute to the Elder Spawn."

The Unrelenting blew apart buildings and savagely ripped into people with
brutal displays of magic. In the span of four minutes Madison through 7th
street looked like a hurricane had touched down.

"Ahh!" Omega screamed, grabbing his head. He fell against me his face
pinched in pain. "They're killing everyone in their path. So many people
are screaming out. It hurts..."

"Adam," I whispered into his ear, biting my lower lip worriedly.

He shook against me. "I can hear them crying out in my head," he said
softly, pain clear in his voice.

Something inside me broke hearing him cry out in pain. It struck my heart
like a blow, and I clenched my teeth seeing him close his eyes, fighting
back his pain. My fingers ran through his hair, and he leaned into the
touch breathing out a soft sigh.

"I will kill them all."

They all looked at me as I glared at the spectacle below. "What are you
going to do?" asked Ian.

I turned my glare on him. "I'm going to do what needs to be done." I could
feel power leak out and imagined my eyes were glowing blue, as magic
erupted to life in my veins. "I already owe you pain. Don't stand in my
way."

"Whatever," Ian muttered, holding up his hands, surrendering.

Nathaniel gently took Omega from my arms and stepped back. "What are you
planning, Chad?" he asked.

I looked at him and declared, "I'm going to bring the rain."

"Uh oh," said the Executioner under his breath.

He and Solaris took a collective step back next to Nathaniel. The siblings
frowned at their worried faces and hastily followed their actions. I closed
my eyes taking a deep breath, reaching and touching that part of my core
that I usually didn't access. It was the darker parts of my soul that took
joy in revenge and festered anger. It was the primal part of the soul that
everyone carried, but ignored it due to societal constraints. For the spell
I was about to use it needed those darker, base emotions to feed upon as I
readied myself to touch chaos.

	"Darkness against the moonlight,
       	 Blight in the souls of all men,
       	 In the heart of the universe
        	 is where all great Power breeds."


The words fell from my lips, sounding like a hundred voices speaking as
one. Red and black light slid up from a circle around my feet, rising into
my hands that pointed toward the ground.

	 "I feed to you my word of honor,
	   that the bounty bestowed to me,
	   is paid in blood and devastation."


A geyser of wind erupted around me, blowing back my hair with brutal force.
The power slid into my hands forming a ball of tightly coiled black and red
light. One stray thought, one mispronounced word, and we were all dead. The
dark god of destruction I was calling upon didn't take such things lightly.
His power was a dangerous and powerful one that few dared to harness
because of the devastating consequences of a mistake.

	 "Destruction is what I pledge to reap
	   upon my enemies, that beholds the power
	   invested in me. In thy great name. Amen."


I grimaced as the foreign power licked at my soul like a cold flame. My
feet left the ground as the gravity nullified in the circle of power around
me. Slowly I raised my arms, twisting my wrist, letting the globe of power
grow stable. The power jumped sharply in both my hands and heart, and my
eyes snapped open.

	  "HELL GROUND ZERO!"


Instead of throwing it like a grenade and letting the disbursement of
energy level half of downtown, I gradually released the power. The ray of
light stabbed through the air in a twisting multicolored column of thick
light. It slammed into the mass of skinwalkers like a sunray, as wide as a
city street, obliterated them before they could scream. They were ripped
apart under the intense ray of dark magic.

I dragged the beam wide, and the ray slid up the street in a focused ray,
annihilating the clone army. It was almost like taking a magnifying lens to
ants from up here. The street tore up as the beam dug into the concrete,
throwing up stone and dust, burning through cars, and killing anything
alive in its path.

They didn't stand a shot even with a defense. Their shields, no matter how
well constructed, fell under the attack. Parts of buildings melted off as
the beam cut too close. Still I poured more power into it, imagining my
boyfriend's pained face in my mind pushed me to go harder. With a yell the
beam doubled, and moving faster it mowed through the skinwalkers like a
super powered laser till there was nothing left.

I cut the attack off releasing the power back to the borrowed source. I
looked down and took in what my actions had wrought. The resulting
devastation was enormous. The attack carved so deeply into the street that
it revealed the innards of the levels below the sewers. The building faces
too close to the beam still glowed red hot from being superheated.

A tired sigh left my lips and I stumbled back a step. I fell into a pair of
waiting arms, and looked up into Omega's soft warm gaze. He brushed hair
away from my forehead, placing a gentle kiss between my eyebrows.

"Are you okay?"

I managed a jerky nod. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired. I have to give a little
of myself in exchange for that type of power."

"You're going to drain yourself with these heavy spells you keep using
today," chided Omega, softly speaking into my ear.

Isabella shook her head and she looked at me with a wondrous smile. For a
split second when the light caught her just right she almost glowed. In
that moment I could truly see the influence of faerie blood in her veins.

"You killed them all," she breathed incredulous.

Ian mirrored her amazement. "It took dad a better part of a year to grow
those clones."

Omega's arms slid around my waist, pulling me back into his chest. His
embrace was warm and chased away the lingering coldness in my veins. I
sighed and shot him a thankful smile.

"Are you two always so Disney cute?" asked Ian, crossing his arms with a
derisive curl of his lip.

"Do you want round two to start already?" retorted Omega with a frosty
chill coating his voice.

Ian's eyes went blank as he wiped the scornful expression off his face. He
shrugged turning his head, dismissing us with an eye roll. I refrained from
pointing out to him that the threat was very real, and Adam meant every
word he said. If the two of them were alone I knew without a doubt that Ian
would be kissing dirt by now. Possessiveness was a quality that Adam had in
abundance when it came to me, and I feared for those that dared to flirt
with me, especially if Adam was near by. I might be a little insane, but I
loved him more for it. I was his. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

"What do we do now?" asked Solaris, surveying the destroyed areas of the
city.

"I just dealt with their army so I say let's go in and grab the Keys," I
replied, pulling away from Omega. "We've crippled them. They can't complete
the rest of their plans now."

The Executioner nodded. "We'll have to go in there and strike hard, fast."

"Then let's go," agreed Omega. "The longer they have two Keys in their
possession the worse our odds are."

Lightning split the air and slammed into all of us, throwing us into the
ground. I fell over on my back screaming as the lightning hit my chest in
an unyielding current of pain. The screams of the others were just as loud
and pain filled, mixing with my own in a song of agony. I struggled to open
my eyes, watching dizzily as the Black Pope appeared on the rooftop.

"How dare you destroy my skinwalkers!?" he asked as if he couldn't believe
I had the audacity to do such a thing. "They hadn't even served their true
purpose."

The streaming lightning stopped, and the Executioner rose to his feet with
a cry of fury, promising retribution. The Black Pope snapped his fingers
and symbols blazed to life around us. The Executioner smacked against a
barrier that suddenly appeared. There was a flash of light and he cried
out, skidding back as sparks of turquoise light jumped off his skin.

Solaris ran to the edge of the barrier, and his hands full of liquid plasma
blazed furious gold. He threw the balls of plasma forward and they
rebounded off the entrapment, striking him low in the gut. He fell in a
rolling heap near the Executioner, with thick black smoke rising off his
suit.

"What is this?" I spat, glaring at the smirking man.

The Black Pope gestured grandly with his hands. "Oh, this? I'm sure you of
all people have heard of a Saint's Cage."

Nathaniel shook his head, and said, "That's impossible. You just can't
conjure a Saint's Trap. It takes preparation. The symbols alone take almost
a half hour of chanting over in Latin."

I knew what a Saint's Cage was, but I didn't know how to make one. I didn't
want to know either. The damn thing was a piece of magic that I didn't want
to have any knowledge of. I had been under the effects of one last year
when a shapeshifter had posed as a cat and infiltrated my home. The
creature had stolen me from my bedroom, and trapped me in Saint's Cage
right in my own backyard. It stops humans from getting in or out, and harms
the caster if magic is used. If Adam hadn't rescued me there was no way I
would have escaped. And this time Adam was in the trap with me.

What Nathaniel said made sense. How had the Black Pope trapped us? It
shouldn't' have been possible. He had just got here. It takes time to
prepare a Saint's Cage. More than that, our teleporting here had been
completely random. Ian and Isabella had-

My head whipped around to glare at the siblings, who stood outside the
Saint's Cage. Fire gushed up from deep in my stomach filling my body with
an instant rage that built up as furious as a monsoon.

"You traitorous bastards!" I yelled at the redheads. "You tricked us the
whole time!"

Ian shook his head wildly, his eyes wide with palpable confusion. "It's not
like that, I swear I didn't know!" He glared at his smirking father with
and spat, "How?"

"I've known your true loyalties for some time now," said the Black Pope,
surveying his son dispassionately. "I've known that the champion of magic
was an acquaintance of yours since he visited our home. When he bumped into
me, I could practically feel his power burn against my skin like the
brightest stars in the night."

I recalled bumping into him and my heart sunk with the recollection. My
shields were strong enough to hide my power from an active scan, but if
someone with preternatural abilities touched me then I had no control over
what they would sense. Frankly I was too powerful to ever come off as truly
human. And now it had come back to bite me in the ass.

"When I felt his power I knew Chad Summers wasn't the human he pretended to
be. I went to your sister and rolled her mind to figure out what she knew.
Imagine my shock when I found out what my dear children have been hiding
from me."

Ian touched Isabella's arm, gently. "Izzy?" he asked softly, concerned.

"Don't bother," laughed the Black Pope. "She's my thrall now, just a
mindless slave to my will, like a good girl."

Tears trickled down Ian's face as he stared at Isabella's face that was
blank as a canvas. Her eyes were dark and unseeing, as she stared straight
ahead at nothing. Her mind was wrapped tightly around the mental fingers of
her father, and I knew she wouldn't move till she got a command from her
new master.

"You took away our mother," hissed Ian, his face fixed with so much rage.
"Now you would do this to your only daughter. I'll kill you."

The Black Pope moved with liquid quickness. His arm shot forward before I
even registered the movement. There was a sickening sucking sound, and his
hand shot out of Ian's back dripping blood and thick inside parts. Ian made
a chocking sound, and blood gurgled from mouth dark red, almost black. His
pleading, pained eyes moved from his father and fell on me.

He dropped to the ground with a gaping hole in his sternum. The Black Pope
snapped his hand, flinging blood along the cooling body. He shook his head
at his dead son, kicking at the body.

"Pity," the Pope muttered, shaking his head. "There was so much potential
for you, son."

Isabella seemed to break free from whatever spell her father had her under,
as she suddenly blinked and screamed, dropping down next her brother's
body. She wailed, heartbroken and full of despair, rocking Ian's head in
her lap as the blood spread around her kneeling form. A tear fell from my
eye and I wiped it away quickly, flicking my eyes away from the
heartrending scene.

The Black Pope sighed. "How can you two be my own flesh and blood?"

He lifted his hand and a thin laser like beam shot from his finger. Her
head snapped back and her mouth fell open, as a thin line of blood trailed
down a hole drilled clean through her forehead. She was already dead before
she fell, slumped over Ian.

Dimly I heard Nathaniel say a prayer behind me. Everything seemed to be
happening in another world, not right here in front of me. It was all going
to hell. Everything. I was starting to shake with reaction, shock. My mind
buzzed, going numb like I was in the middle of a snowstorm, slowing
freezing to death. Maybe I was.

My voice squeezed out between my teeth, shaky and tight. "You killed them.
Your own children."

He stared down at me on my knees and laughed, uncaringly and detached.
"They were a disgrace to the blood that ran in their veins." He sneered at
their bodies. "I should've killed them when they were children."

Omega blinked at him, his stare full of fresh horror. "You're a monster."

A slow smile spread across his face, and he tipped his head. "Thank you."
He clapped his hands and trained those demonic red eyes on us. "Since phase
two is shot, looks like we'll have to just start phase three ahead of
schedule."

Ripples in the air appeared near him, depositing three yellow robed
Unrelenting from the warped space. Their hooded faces were shadowed beneath
the folds of fabric. They were still and silent as they took places behind
the Black Pope. With the curling smoke from the destroyed parts of the city
drifting behind them, they looked like a painting of hell come to life. The
fabric shifted around their hands, and my heartbeat went into overtime when
I saw the Keys in their hands. We jumped to our feet, and winced as the
Saint's Cage pulsed in warning.

"You can't activate Heaven's Trumpet!" shouted Solaris, almost pleadingly.
"It will kill us all if it senses the Elder Spawn."

The Black Pope cocked his head. "Our lord is stronger than you can
perceive. A tool of Heaven will never be his end."

I stared at him through narrowed eyes. Anger, but behind that terror. He
had us right where he wanted us, and there was not a damn thing we could do
about it from in here. He could break us and we couldn't do a thing to
protect ourselves.

"It's time," he said in a voice that sent a shiver down my spine, straight
to my heart.

The skinwalkers moved. The two holding the Key of Power and the Key of
Reality shifted positions, so they stood at least 15 feet apart. The third
Unrelenting moved away from them, closer to the Black Pope. The blood red
diamond and the hammer-axe began to pulse, their glow growing brighter like
the revving of an engine, getting brighter with each pulse.

"What are you doing?" demanded Nathaniel. "You can't hope to accomplish
anything with only two of the Keys."

He laughed again, wild and pure, sickening delight carrying the chiming
sound through the air. If I hadn't been so out of it, emotions whirling, I
would have spit in his face.

"Who says I don't have three Keys?" he asked. The Black Pope stepped
forward.

I jerked under an invisible force that pulled me against the barrier. The
others moved to grab me and they fell to their knees, as the same forced
brought them to their knees. I fought against whatever the force was, but
it moved against my efforts like putty. Taking in power I pounded against
it, only to have it mold itself just that much more around my body, holding
me in place. I fell to my knees like the others, gritting my teeth to choke
back the pained cry that almost fell from my throat.

The Black Pope knelt in front of me. His robes flowed around him like
living water. He bent at the waist so he could look me in the eyes. "Even
you can't stop what's coming, Prince Emrys."

My head snapped up, surprise stealing the breath from my body. "You say
that like you know me."

"I've been reading legends of you my whole life." He pressed his face
nearly into mine. I wanted to burn his skin, flay him alive. I didn't want
him to touch me. "I know you better than you realize." His breath ghosted
across my eyelashes. "The Key of Time and Space..." He ran his hand over
the star pendent at the base of my neck. "Hidden in plain sight..."

I chocked on a sudden gasp of air. "What?"

He said something that rang a distant chord in my soul. "...Gifted to the
weapon's heart to protect with love."

He snatched the pendent from my cloak and I fell backward. The others
picked me up, helping me to my feet. I barely registered their presence as
my brain ran in an unending loop, thoughts, feelings, half formed memories
ran rampant.

My pendant was the Key of Time and Space. As if some geis had been lifted,
it became the truth to my mind, and I knew it was so. It resonated strongly
within my very being like a clear bell.

"Your pendant, Chad..."

I nodded at Nathaniel's unformed query. "Yeah...The Key of Time and Space
has been with me all this time, since I was first Chosen in Atlantis."

The third Unrelenting took my pendant from the Black Pope, and with him
joining the others, they made a triangle shape with their bodies. The Keys
hummed like a wind chime, and that was all the warning we got before they
burst to life. A bright light blasted to life, exploding into being before
us, like a captive star. It was warm and white, a shining glowing
brilliance. It should have hurt my eyes to even look in the dazzling
radiance, but instead it warmed my heart, chasing back the aches that
clawed at my soul.

The sound of the chime grew louder as the light grew brighter. Its radiance
spread out like a shockwave, spreading its power throughout the world. I
could feel that holy force travel the globe, many times the speed of light,
like some mass broadcast wave. It humbled and left me in an almost blind
awe that brought tears to my eyes, as something inside of my chest eased by
seeing that powerful light.

Then all that mighty light sucked back in on itself. The three Keys glowed
spectacularly, and from the artifacts lines of power stretched out,
connecting each Key, forming a glowing triangle. And all that light went
into that triangle's center in a swirling funnel of cosmic energy. Down,
down, down the energy went, coalescing, forming into a shape. Then it blew
up in an explosion of light. White light washed over us in a shockwave of
wind and tingly warm energy.

Stars dotted my eyes and I blinked hard to clear the spots. When I opened
them the light in the triangle was gone. It was eerily silent as we all
regained our senses to look upon the triangle's center.

There was a frozen moment of time and then it moved slowly, as shock moved
through my body. It left me in a paralysis where all I could do was blink.
Clothed in holey jeans and a long sleeved black shirt was Kevin. My Kevin.
My best friend. His dark hair caught the wind and fell across his face, as
he blinked around his surroundings, brown eyes filled with stunned
confusion that left him shaking.

"Prince Gaius," said Nathaniel in a strangled whisper.

We all heard it but I was quicker with my vehement reply, "That's Kevin,
Nathaniel!"

No one could see his eyes behind the dark visor, but I could read the rest
of his face. His expression went slack with surprise.

"Your Kevin," he replied quickly. "The friend you're always talking about?"
He shook his head. "I have all my memories from Atlantis, and I'm telling
you that is Prince Gaius. The Crown Prince. Your brother."

Voices shouted around me from the Chosen, and the Unrelenting sudden
chanting erupted to life. I processed all this distantly as the world
around me crawled along at a snail's pace. Time crawled by as the full
weight pressed upon me. This was all wrong. Nathaniel had to be wrong. He
had to be! Kevin wasn't involved in this. Not my Kevin. I swallowed and
didn't even realize moving as I struck against the barrier, pounding
against the force, ignoring the pain fed back on me.

I screamed Kevin's name in an echoing cry. All I knew was that I had to get
him out of here. His safety was important. I would kill everyone on this
roof if they hurt my brother. I stopped after that thought flashed across
my mind. I froze as Kevin looked across the distance separating us and met
my eyes. He looked through the magic masking my appearance, and saw
straight through the charms, seeing right through to my true face.

His face flashed with momentary confusion that was overwhelmed by relief,
happiness, and hope as he saw me, truly saw me, as if the magic wasn't even
hiding my appearance. That's when I knew the truth with crystal clarity. I
could read his soul clear as day, and the hidden truth washed through my
mind like the opening of a door.

"Chad!" he screamed, fighting against the force holding him. "Chad!"

I fought off the shock, reaching out to him. "Kevin!"

The Black Pope joined his brethren in chanting while the Keys in their
hands lifted into the air. They met in the middle of the triangle. Light
flared around them in a blinding flash. The Keys disappeared and in their
place was a long staff. It shined gold like the morning sun. Its top was a
large circle inlaid at each cardinal location by a red stone. In the
circle's center supported by a rod was an even brighter stone, blood red,
and radiating as brightly as the staff.

Kevin's eyes strayed from my own, and my heart pounded insanely hard in my
chest, threatening to burst. Kevin looked up at the staff, and some part of
me knew that the end was here. He reached out and I screamed his name again
as his hands closed around the middle of the long staff.

Light sparked at his fingers traveling down his arms. Where the light
touched it changed him. His clothes morphed into an elaborate robe of
shining white. Light shined from the cloth, radiating pure and bright,
almost burning my eyes. Gold trimmed the edges and two crisscrossing sashes
went across his chest, and tied around his waist with an equally gold belt.
His whole body seemed to glow, and a halo of light existed around his head
like every picture of an angel I've ever seen.

His head looked up slowly and I sucked in a sharp breath. Those eyes. The
normal shining light of hidden humor was gone from his honey brown eyes.
They were dark and blank. I could read nothing in them. They went on and on
with no visible emotion. I tried to meet his eyes but he looked at me, no,
he looked through me. There wasn't a spark of recognition or anything. He
didn't know me.

The Black Pope laughed triumphantly. "Heaven's Trumpet!"

Blank brown eyes trailed over all present. "Why have I been awakened?"

Tears fell down my cheeks as the cold, toneless voice reached my ears. I
didn't bother to wipe them away. Nothing was going to be okay. I was so
stupid. We all were. How could we have not known? Kevin was Gaius all this
time. I looked at the boy, my best friend, my brother, in front of me and
fresh tears fell again. I choked back a sob as a tightness swelled in my
gut. This shouldn't have happened. Heaven's Trumpet wasn't a thing. It
never had been. The ultimate weapon was Kevin.

Kevin was going to destroy us all.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Okay. Deep breaths. Take it all in guys. I know it's a surprise. I don't
think anyone saw that coming like this. I hope that you all enjoyed this
installment. Look out for the last two chapters soon as we start to finally
wrap this baby up.

As always you can email me at Batmanhater@aol.com. Or you can drop a line
at the discussion board about whatever you like or the story. It's really
easy, no sign up or anything required:
http://www.quicktopic.com/39/H/fXmyJ3NcYt7Z