Joley sighted, and the iron sight levelled perfectly on U0's head, as she got up. She exhaled, and gently squeezed the trigger.

Unit Five reached out to grab on, but he could not reach, and plummeted to his death.
__________

Joley's bullet flew straight and true, but it met the same fate as her sword did, bouncing harmlessly off the shield around his head.

But if his tentacle could be ripped, then perhaps his head was not his weakest point...

Joley sprints at U0, then slashes at his tentacles, intent on his death.

Beck turned back one more time to look at the king. He turned to see the black hole of a gun's barrel staring him in the face. Without thinking he dove to the side and ran for the fire escape. He vaulted off the side and hitched the grapple to the railing. Turning his head back to the king.

"See you around you piece of-"

Then he was gone, descending down the side of the building.

Unit One could hear Ralan screaming at her, "Lady! Apocrean! WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS! Stop or I may have to kill you!!!"

His words felt like a knife in her heart. "Please, no! I only wanted to help you, to...to protect you! I'm doing this to protect you! You have to let me do this!" She scraped her face with her nails, trying hard not to break down in front of him. "I only wanted to stop King Verne, I swear! But my plan has been falling apart at every turn...I needed Unit Zero to control the Swarm so we could overwhelm him and stop this tyranny...this madness...but now I have to finish what he started. I'm begging you, let me finish what I started! I have to save you all!" She fell to her knees and looked up at him, her wild eyes desperately pleading for...for help, maybe?

Beck shook his head as he slipped yet again into the palace. He put the camera in the throne room, but it was showing a blank screen. He quietly made his way to the throne room and spotted the camera against the wall. It seemed to have been knocked out of the throne room and was lying against the wall. Beck ran forward and grabbed the device, then jumped when a shout pierced the air. Beck looked curiously towards the noise.

He blinked as he saw the scene. An apocrean monster was taking on four knights who looked familiar. U1 was there, as well as an Epsilon and the Apocrean Beserker. The last one looked like a freelancer. Sizing up the situation, Beck pulled the Dread Venom Stryker from its sheath and unholstered his Valiance. He ran forward and stopped by the others.

"Thought you could use a hand, what's the situation?"

Beck was a little confused.

"Er, names Beck. May I ask what is happening?"

Beck looked at the Apocrean, How does that know my name? He looked closer. No way...

He holstered his gun, but kept a firm hold on his sword.

"Syber?"

Beck again blinked at Syber. How did that happen? Slowly, he nodded his head.

"I believe you, but why do you look like that instead of any of the other Void Warriors?"

Unit One ceased to exist.

Her mind, however, did not.

Deep in the heart of the Void, she struggled to maintain her identity among the countless other voices. They all called out to her, crying for her to join their great society. "Come on, you'll like it here," some said. "Why are we inducting brainless idiots like her?" others complained. There were a few leading voices of reason, but for the most part, the whole was controlled by the majority.

"I will not give in."
"But you must."
"Never."
"Why not?"
"Because you will give in to me."
"Arrogant scrap! Ignorant children like you should be-"
"Know your place, little one!"
"Wha- who are you calling little!?"
"I am."
"But-"

The dissenting voices suddenly fell silent as they were ejected from the community. "Anyone else want to challenge my authority?" Some tried to boot her out, but to no avail. Those that tried were forever silenced by her iron will.

"Show us why you should lead."
"Lend me your power, and I will show you."

Mezizas: "Thank you Gwen... for a second there I thought I will never step foot to this pathetic little world of yours..."

[As the swarm fully materialized on cradle, so did Mezizas, countless shards of obsidian emerged from the void and flied towards Vern's castle, meanwhile Saboteur and Affraiel's spirit are still trying to figure out where unit one go, but none that mattered now. Mezizas takes her woman form and walked down to the throne's corridor towards her former loyal subject.]

Mezizas: *grins at Saboteur* "...Tsk...tsk... oh saboteur, you have been very naughty... as the obsidian queen, I think you deserve some punishments..."

Saboteur: *gasps* "Mezizas! But how?"

Mezizas: *shrugs* "Maybe you should ask U1..." *chuckles* "Oh, who am I kidding, she isn't here, so that leaves the two of us, or should I say, 'three'?"

Saboteur: "So you figure it out, someone else is using my mind to ward you off..."

Mezizas: *laughs* "I know all too well, that old bastard just won't stop interferring with my plan! Even in death he is a pain in my butt!"

Affraiel: *giggles* "Heh heh, what is wrong Mezizas? Cut yourself shaving?"

Mezizas: *frowns* "Very funny old man! Get out of saboteur's body and fight me like a man!"

Affraiel: "If I did... then you will just pick us out one by one and that ain't gonna happen!"

Mezizas: "Fine then, I will just kill the both of you!"

[Mezizas leads Saboteur to the top of the Vern's castle, standing now on the helicopter pad, saboteur is the only thing that stand between Mezizas and her total control of the castle. Mezizas uses a portion of her body to form the shape of a deadly blade, enough to impale Saboteur's obsidian armour, she then makes sure that her pet won't escape this time and created a wall of obsidian around them, turning the helicopter pad into an arena.]

Affraiel: *whispers to saboteur* "Do us a favour soldier boy, kill her! I will back you up, in your mind that is..."

Saboteur: "From this point on, it is my fight!" *draws his obsidian edge* "Let's DANCE!!!"

{OOC: Good thinking, Colray. ^_^}

"Expel it from my mind!?" Syber sputtered. "What are you smoking, Warp Dust? That's impossible!" He looked at Beck incredulously, as if the latter had gone crazy. Indeed, the idea that one might be able to drive out the Swarm by sheer force of will was certainly a unique one, and quite untested.

[Mezizas rushes into close quarter with the imposter bomber, with little time to prepare himself, Saboteur parries frantically at Mezizas's attack. Frustrated by saboteur's resilience, Mezizas breaks off one of her arms and uses it as a sickle, she then performs several 360 degrees swing and causes Saboteur to loose his poise. Seeing that her former pet is stunned, Mezizas reattaches her arm and seizes Saboteur's obsidian edge.]

Mezizas: "Nice knife!" *breaks the obsidian with her bare hand*

Saboteur: "WHAT?!"

Mezizas: "Never cross the QUEEN!"

[Mezizas sends Saboteur flying with a powerful right hook, a chunck of obsidian falls off from Saboteur's face, exposing his flesh. Saboteur can smell the fresh air again, the falling snows chill the air around him. He repositions him self, seeing that his blade is now half of its original size, it does no longer serve any purpose to the bomber, Saboteur discards the broken sword and makes one of his own with what is left of his obsidian exoskeleton, the armor has been worn down significantly by the past battles.]

Saboteur: *hesitates* "How can I beat her? She is too strong?"

Mezizas: "Giving up already?! You have to put up a better fight than that!"

Affraiel: *whispers* "Look kid... I know this might seem impossible, but if I was you... I would still try even though there is a 99.99% chance for me to loose, I tried to put a bullet into core spirit's head once, guess how that turned out? Yeah... guessed as much... remember what Mezizas did to you... what she forced you to become... and whatever happens, always cherish the freedom you have, the choice to do the things you choose to do... never ever... give up..."

Joley screams, as she becomes corrupted as well. Her mind is thrust into the Swarm, and she finds herself with U1 and... Gwen?

[With an inspirational speech from Affraiel, Saboteur musters up his courage and faces the obsidian queen head on, Mezizas, seeing that Saboteur decided to face his end like a foolish hero, charges head on with the bomber, leaving herself in the open. And that is the moment when Saboteur executes his plan. He breaks off all of the obsidian armour from his body into shards, leaving himself naked while the shards spread across the helicopter pad. Luckily Mezizas ignored them and gone for the naked bomber instead. But before she could land a killing blow, the shards return and blasted the obsidian queen from multiple directions, the attack finally made a crack in Mezizas’s impenetrable defense, at last, Saboteur drives the blade into Mezizas’s flesh and even adding insult to injury by twisting the blade.]

Mezizas: *screams* “ARGHHHH, stop!!!”

Saboteur: *twist the blade again, Mezizas screams* “Give me a reason!”

Mezizas: *chuckles bitterly* “How cruel of you… while you were dealing with unit zero… you said something, rather touching…” *wheezes* “You feel sorry for ending… a life… so why then… why end me?”

Saboteur: *hesitates* “…”

Affraiel: *whispers to saboteur* “Not now soldier boy! Stop falling in low and start killing!”

[Saboteur didn’t spare any mercy this time, he pulls out the obsidian blade and the blood burst out of Mezizas like a water fountain, the blood were jet black while oozing with black smoke. This is the end for the obsidian queen, but Mezizas did not go down without a fight.]

Mezizas: “No one… NO ONE… CROSS… THE QUEEN!” *explodes*

[A violent explosion sent out Mezizas’s remain in the form of a million tiny fragments of obsidian. One solid chunk punch through Saboteur’s naked body, into his heart. The agony soon overwhelms the bomber and his vision fades into the darkness.]

Affraiel: “…Heh heh… he wasn’t half bad! Saboteur was quite the trooper!”

???:*in a female tone* “Are you sure about saving him? With your heart?”

Affraiel: *laughs* “Of course! Nothing can’t a good old heart transplant solve!”

???:*in a female tone* “Hey, old man, are you for real? You are giving away, your heart, your heart to this random stranger?”

Affraiel: “Hey, don’t call him stranger! He is my boy, my lineage! Eh, isn’t that right Sabo? Oh wait, you can’t hear me… oh well, start the operation!”

---Two months later---

[Saboteur wakes up in a small hospital, a few kilometers outside Haven, where king Vern’s castle once were, it now stands no more. A lovely nurse arrives at Saboteur’s bed and sends him a cheerful smile.]

Nurse: “Oh, you are awake!” *chuckles* “Your name is saboteur right? I heard a lot about you, you slayed the obsidian queen didn’t you? We spent all night trying to patch up your heart, but you survived through the surgery! Congratulations!”

Saboteur: *murmurs* “What happened to Vern? And his castle?”

Nurse: *strokes saboteur’s head* “It is okay soldier, he is gone now… the winter is over…” *points outside the window* “You see? The snow… they are melting…”

Saboteur: “While I was in my coma, I heard that a man… who volunteered to transfer his heart to me… was that… just a dream?”

Nurse: “Transplant? Non sense! You survive the whole thing by yourself! Your heart was strong! You lived through that night all by yourself!” *hears the snips flying outside the hospital garden* “Did you hear that Sabo? Spring is back!”

Saboteur: *smiles faintly* “Yeah… the spring is back…”

----THE END----

Turning to Beck, Joley looks at him awkwardly. Briefly, she pecks him on the cheek, before charging straight at Verne with her sword held high.

(( The primary of which, is NOT AUTO HITTING. SHE HAS AGILITY TEN, DON'T YOU THINK SHE COULD DODGE A BLADE WITH A HAM-FISTED WEAPON NOT INTENDED FOR MELEE COMBAT? ))

Joley dives out of the building, and latches on to Verne as he slows his fall, using his wings as a sort of cushion. Leaping off, she draws her Antigua and lets off a salvo of shots at him.

Divine Avengers are the bane of our existence. Be careful.
Understood.

Gwen watched Verne's movements like a hawk, waiting for the right moment to strike. That moment came when he cleaved his weapon overhead at Joley, leaving himself wide open. Gwen jumped at him like a panther, seizing the chance to kick him in the gut with her boot heel.