TinSouRe's hand was outstretched in a serene looking invitation.

It was a hollow gesture in light of her dreadful intensions.

No one moved for a heartbeat, and after all the chaos in the room, there was a split second of disbelieving calm.

"You can't be serious," Ceodore asked, wondering why she even bothered.

Everyone in the room was intent to see her burn, one way or another, and some sudden gesture of false kindness wasn't a very logical course for her to take, either.

TinSouRe's features twisted to a mockery of a smile. "I am serious, as always. But I did not expect any of you to take my offer."

She closed her fist and pulled her hand back. "A shame, really. You could have died in whatever perfected world you wanted me to create, rather then in a painful explosion of Ves'per."

She shook her head, "Nevertheless, it is your choice."

One of the Uo'Ru from behind them suddenly flung a hand out. A spell shot at TinSouRe, but before it could make contact, it altered its' course to weave around her.

It hit a wall in the back of the room, useless.

TinSouRe frowned. "Now I use your words; you cannot be serious?" She held her hands up and open, "I am no longer mere mortal, you fools. Your rudimentary understanding of Ves'per is nothing compared to what I am. To what I am becoming."

"What you are, is insane," Kieran retorted.

Ceodore was pretty sure taunting her was a bad idea, but he was also sure they had no idea how to defeat her yet. Maybe stalling was a good tactic.

TinSouRe seemed unbothered by the comment, and instead shifted her gaze to a cluster of Uo'Ru nearby. "I can hear your thoughts."

Ceodore winced, worried about where this was going.

"Your virus will not work, but I applaud your attempt. Even if you could get close enough to administer it, I am not mortal. I do not know how many times I must say it."

"You may not be mortal, TinSouRe, but you aren't fully transcended yet either," BarZenDao reminder her sharply. "You are stalling us, hoping to gain enough time to complete your transformation."

She smiled again, "You are correct, of course. But what do you plan to do about it, child?"

BarZenDao's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

Her stalling made sense. Cuore had said she needed to core to actually release all its' Ves'per before TinSouRe would be purely energy.

"Regardless," the Lunarian said. "This is pointless."

Her hands began to glow and she crouched down to touch one to the floor. Despite the slow, deliberate motion, the result was anything but tranquil.

The very feel of the room changed in an instant, and light radiated from the spot she touched outward in a ring.

Ceodore braced for what he expected to be a powerful concussive force.

It didn't toss everyone in the room as he expected, but it did push them backwards. It felt like a magical shove, only off-balancing slightly and meant to more move them out of the way then hurt them.

All the metal fragments and corpses of fallen feral Uo'Ru moved with them. Ceodore wasn't the most graceful of the group and did trip a little trying to get out of the way of the debris.

"I do not quite understand your resistance," TinSouRe admitted, turning around to face the core. "But it is pointless. I will leave you alive or kill you, whatever you would prefer. I leave that option to you. You will die this close to the oncoming discharge, but if you chose a fate before that, so be it."

She reached out to touch her hand to the core and proceeded to ignore them.

"What a bitch," Ursula complained, holding one of her arms. Ceodore hadn't seen her get hurt, but the last few moments had been so wild he might have missed it.

"Well, we appear to have a problem." BarZenDao remarked. "The Uo'Ru are concerned that they will never get close enough to use the virus. Even if we somehow made it into a projectile, TinSouRe would likely sense it coming."

"Do you think it will even work at this point?" Ceodore asked. "She seems…well, she seems pretty much unstoppable."

"Then why was she stalling us?" BarZenDao countered. "No, she is more venerable now then she wants to admit."

"He's right," Cuore chimed in. "These last few moments before the core goes critical are vital to her transformation. One miscalculation, one change in the atmosphere, and she goes with the rest of us."

The teal haired young woman glanced over at their foe. "It was honestly a good dose of luck when it worked for Zemus, and I don't think TinSouRe wants to take any chances."

"Okay, so what is the plan?" Ursula asked, hands on her hips. "I can't hit her really hard, magic doesn't work, we tried that. If she's so venerable, how do we exploit that."

Kieran frowned, "Is there anyway to change the energy in this room? At least to distract her?"

BarZenDao gestured to the consoles that were all destroyed around the room. "She took care of that already,"

Ceodore paused, "Maybe not. We can make magic. Magic is the same as Ves'per, right? So…can we change it by casting enough opposing spells?"

Cuore and BarZenDo looked at each other.

"Maybe?" they both agreed.

Kieran rolled his eyes, "It's worth a shot. We have no other ideas,"

Cuore looked back to BarZenDao, "Do you and the other Uo'Ru think the virus would work?"

The boy looked to the former Lunarians and nodded. "Yes, we do."

"Then I will distract her and you can use it."

Ceodore frowned, "Distract her how?"

"By showing her what happened to Lun'Na." Cuore said. She closed her eyes and shook her head sadly. "TinSouRe is driven only by a will to survive. Maybe if she can see what that cost the Lunarians, if she could…feel something, then this could all be avoided."

She shrugged. "At the very least, it will provide a distraction."

Ceodore was usually optimistic and thought people deserved a second chance, but he was skeptical about Cuore's plan. He wondered if she even really believed it could work. But he wasn't about to tell her no, since they had no other options anyway.

Every second that ticked by brought them closer to an evitable death.

Cuore turned to the Uo'Ru; "Prepare your virus and use the magic idea as a back up in case this doesn't work."

Ceodore nodded, "Good luck,"

Cuore offered a sad, hollow smile that made him worry all the more.

"TinSouRe,"

The woman looked over her shoulder. "Ah, Cuore. Come to try and reason with me? Or, are you stalling so those deprived, failed experiments can try and use their foolish virus?"

Cuore shrugged, "A little of both, I guess."

TinSouRe gave a single laugh and turned around fully. "Such honesty,"

"I don't see why I wouldn't be," Cuore countered. "You know everything that's going on."

"More or less, yes."

Cuore frowned, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Become immortal?" TinSouRe asked. Her voice was all patronization. "Become perfection? Become something more then mere mortal, mere energy? Why would you even ask me such a question, Maenad."

"I guess because I don't get it," Cuore replied, being honest once more.

TinSouRe smiled, a cruel, disturbing expression. "No, you would not, would you? You have spent your entire existence trying to be something less. I suppose the concept of being more, of being better does not make sense to you."

"I guess we have to agree to disagree, then," Cuore replied, crossing her arms.

TinSouRe's smile softened a bit. "I suppose we must."

There was a pause.

"Are you sure you do not want to be placed in a nice, light metal scape to ease this?" TinSouRe asked. "I know how much your family means to you. I could create something pleasant so you could see them again."

"See a hollow, false, selfish illusion?" Cuore asked. "No, thank you. I've had my fill of Lunarian lies." She hesitated. "But what about you? Do you want to see something of Lun'Na before all is lost?"

"Are you…. offering me memories?" TinSouRe asked, looking genuinely surprised.

"I am."

"I did not foresee this,"

"Well?" Cuore asked.

TinSouRe suddenly laughed. A grating, harsh sound that echoed oddly among the Ves'per in the room. "Oh, you foolish little girl. I do not care what happened on Lun'Na, I cannot be persuaded by sentimentality."

"I wasn't asking," Cuore snapped, lunging forward to grasp TinSouRe's arm.

She had distracted her enough that her form remained solid, and once she touched the woman's skin, she gripped it as tightly as she could.

"You will witness exactly what mass destruction and death looks like, TinSouRe,"

"I can't believe we're doing this," Zemus grumbled.

KluYa sighed. "I can't believe you are still complaining about it. The council voted on it, and voted on your time wasting appeal about it…"

Zemus glared at him from across the chamber. "And it's my right to complain,"

"Can we throw him out?" KluYa asked to no one in particular.

YueSe rolled her eyes from where she was standing in the center of the crystalline dome. "If I didn't need either of you for this, I'd throw you both out."

They both frowned, but went back to work.

The circular room was bare accept for consoles ringed around it and a handful of crystal pillars spaced to hole up the mirrored dome above. The walls were almost entirely windows, showing stars and clouds beyond.

YueSe shook her head before glancing over her shoulder at another Lunarian. "FenRaiYu, is the device in place yet?"

The youngest of the room nodded. "Nearly. We are ready to begin the process."

"I really hope this works…" JhenJi whispered, clasping her hands together in her lap.

"We all do," CharXanRoe replied, sitting next to her. "As Minister of Advancement, I can honestly say this is the closest thing we've had to a good idea in years. This may very well be our last best chance for survival."

"Too bad its' not going to work," Zemus muttered under his breath, furiously tapping his fingers into the runes in front of him. Louder, he spoke up in a rather mocking sort of voice. "All my scans indicate the core of the device is powered on."

YueSe nodded and took an audible, and visible, deep breath. "Then, my colleagues, begin the harmonic resonance process, and hope that the probability is on our side this day."

Everyone in the room nodded, and a chorus of voices reported the status of various parts of their Sel'Ena device.

"The harmonic field is holding constant," FenRaiYu reported.

"But I'm not detecting any change from the crystalline core," KluYa said, frowning. "It's possible the field is not strong enough."

YueSe crossed her arms. "Are we able to enhance the signal?"

"Not remotely," he replied. "We could recall the device and adjust it, but that would take weeks, and I do not know if-"

A sudden whining alarm went off. YueSe spun around, "What is that?"

"I'm not sure," FenRaiYu said, sounding nervous. "I-I've not seen readings like this before,"

Zemus rolled his eyes, "Because you are a fool who never should have been assigned this position,"

YueSe glared at him, "What are the readings?"

"Instability in the crystals are the core," Zemus said, gesturing vaguely to a readout on one of the large, flat tablets on the wall. "The crystals are…well, for lack of a more technical term, they are shaking."

"We did expect this," KluYa reminded calmly. "We just need to keep an eye on that vibration to make sure it does not damage the core."

"Perhaps we should recall the device," YueSe said. "We can gather data from this attempt and then proceed to improve upon it."

Whatever the others thought, they didn't get a chance to voice it as another alarm began beeping.

"What now?" she asked, frowning.

KluYa answered, although he sounded startled. "There's been a reaction in the core,"

"It actually worked?" CharXanRoe said, baffled.

Zemus scoffed, "No, this is the terrible sort of reaction. I am reading surges of energy,"

"Yes, the core is…its' reacting spontaneously. This…makes no sense…"

YueSe hurried to look over his shoulder and see the readings for herself. "This isn't good, the crystals are beginning to show extreme stress. The Sel'Ene device is hastening the decay. We need too-"

The whole room started shaking, planes of crystal rattling in their frames.

Another round of caution alarms rang true, but those warnings were far too late.

"The core is going critical!" FenRaiYu shouted.

Zemus practically hissed, "I told you this would happen, fools!"

YueSe glared over her shoulder at him, "Now is not the time for your arrogance, ZeMus! Try and remote denote the device before it destroys what's left of the core!"

He did as he was told, but quickly shook his head, "Even if we rid ourselves of the Sel'Ene device, the process has already began."

"He's right," KluYa said, shaking his head as he scanned over the readouts. "The device failed, backfired! We must act quickly and try to reverse the harmonic resonance to buy us enough time to evacuate."

"Evacuate?" CharXanRoe breathed, eyes widening. "Is there nothing that can be done?"

Zemus looked at him in disbelief. "Did you fail to hear us when we said the crystalline core had shattered?!"

YueSe was shaking her head, and had to yell over the din of alarms to speak. "I fear he is right. Lun'Na is doomed. We have hastened the destruction. We must evacuate as many people as we can. Launch the ships we had in reserve, before time runs out."

"Um…" Fen RaiYu stuttered, pointing out the window.

All eyes turned to see what he caught his attention.

A part of the land simply….fell away.

The world was literally cracking, crumbling as the core that supported it snapped. In the distance, the lights of other cities blinked from existence. One after the other.

"What have we done?" ZhenJi whispered, horrified.

She abruptly stood, rushing for the door. The jarring movement seemed to bring the others back to reality.

"ZhenJi, where are you going?!" CharXanRoe demanded.

She turned back, hand grasping the doorframe. "I am going to make the announcement. We have to warn everyone."

"They are already dead," Zemus pointed out, "as we will be sooner enough. We need to launch the city. It is now or never."

"But the others!" she insisted.

YueSe shook her head, "I'm afraid he's right."

"No!"

CharXanRoe stood, imploringly opening his hands, "JhenJi, you cannot save them,"

"Then I die with them," she said sadly. "I am the Voice of the People, and I will do my duty to the last, as will we all."

She was gone before they could argue, though they knew she was right. Those around their world should at least know the end was coming, if they had not realized already.

"Launch the capital," YueSe whispered, looking over to the Minister of Advancement. CharXanRoe nodded his agreement. "Launch."

"We should wait, to see if anyone else makes it into the supported structures," KluYa said, peering out the window again.

"The planet is literally coming apart!" Zemus snapped. "There's simply no time. We all knew what our total annihilation would look like. At least something will survive."

The other man said nothing, but two of the top level ministers had already spoken, and the capital city began its ascension.

Through the windows was the sight of a million shards falling and floating at the same time as the planet crumpled into itself.

The memories were abruptly cut off as Cuore felt a physical shove backwards from TinSouRe.

She stumbled back a few steps, horribly disoriented.

TinSouRe had tears on her cheeks, but she merely began laughing. A horribly, false laugh that sounded hollow and insane.

"Were you…honestly trying to tug at my heart strings?" the Lunarian asked, narrowing her eyes at Coure. She reached up to touch her cheek and pulled her hand back to gaze at her damp fingertips.

"The emotional transference was a nice touch, I must admit. But I believe that those images harmed you, more then me." TinSouRe mocked.

Cuore took a deep, staggering breath. She was trying desperately not to cry and remain impassive.

"I wanted you to see, to understand, what total loss looks like!" Cuore pleaded. "The Lunarians are gone, everything about them, nearly wiped from existence. Why do you insist on continuing their legacy of destruction and death?!"

"Death?" TinSouRe repeated, blinking. "Hardly. Once this is done, I will never perish. And now that you have given me memories of my people, I can even preserve those for sentimentality."

Cuore winced, and this time didn't bother to stop the tears. "I…have nothing more to say to you, because you are beyond anything I can comprehend."

A smirk twisted the woman's lips. "That was the idea, yes."

The distraction had worked, however, as TinSouRe reached back and pulled a large syringe from her back. She frowned at it before unceremoniously dropping it to the floor.

"You fools," she chided. "I told you I am beyond any of this, any of you. Your rudimentary virus only delays the evitable."

Cuore had been slowly backing up since TinSouRe began her diatribe, although she suspected she wasn't in any danger. The Lunarian had no need to dispose of them, since the explosion would do that anyway. In TinSouRe's mind, they were only minor annoyances.

Accessing the memories of Zemus had been a gamble, and an altogether horrible experience. But she had to try. She had to try and somehow save TinSouRe from her own madness.

But it seemed that she was beyond that and would only further the heritage of devastation prior Lunarians had started.

"So, the virus didn't seem to work," Cuore heard Ceodore mention to BarZenDao.

Cuore hurried the last few paces to rejoin the others at the rim of the light being cast by the core.

"No, it seems TinSouRe was not merely boasting when she claimed it would not hurt her." The boy confirmed. He frowned. "That leaves us with few options."

"We should try to whole disrupting magic thing," Ursula commented. "I mean, we have to do something. I want to go down fighting at the very least."

"It won't solve the problem of the core blowing up," Kieran complained.

"Cuore,"

As her friends continued to argue and plan, she tuned them out and favor of grasping at the threads of magic that connected her to the Feymarch.

"Yes, Anima?"

The Eidolon spoke in a more confident voice then Cuore had ever heard her use.

"We have been discussing the situation you are in here in the Feymarch, just as your friends discuss it now. Zodiark and Ultima seem to think that there might be a way to disperse the magic from the core to minimize the damage."

Cuore blinked. "How?"

"We are made of magic," Zodiark's echoing voice said. "We understand it because we are it."

"Zodiark and I can absorb the two forces of magic at play here." Ultima explained. "We can work in tandem to siphon it off from the core."

"That could work," Cuore said, thinking it through. "You could just channel it through yourselves, back into the Feymarch, and it won't overload here, and now."

"Precisely."

She frowned. "TinSouRe will realize what I'm doing,"

"That is where I can help." Anima said. "You know I can split magic, harm it, in aa sense. Not only will my voice tear the energy apart for Zodiark and Ultima, but it will, in essence…"

She hesitated.

Cuore finished or her; "Rip TinSouRe apart."

"…Yes,"

Cuore breathed out. She was resolved to killing TinSouRe, but she wasn't sure her Eidolon was.

"Are you alright with that? Can you…live with this after we're done?" she asked.

Anima held no hesitation when she spoke again after a along pause. "What we are doing is not killing someone. What we are doing is saving hundreds, perhaps more. I know that you would never ask me to do anything, Cuore. So, I'm asking you to summon me. Summon me and let us end this once and for all."

Cuore nodded and smiled slightly. "Alright."

"This is not without risks," Zodiark warned.

"I know," Cuore assured him. "I'm tired, and I've never heard of a summoner summoning three Eidolons at once before."

"Because it has never been done." Ultima added.

Cuore rolled her eyes, "Thanks for the input,"

"We are ready to do this, even if it costs us our lives." Zodiark assured her.

She heard the murmur of agreement from all the others as well and realized that she, too, was ready to die if it meant saving so many. But the thought of also sacrificing her Eidolons?

That was something she wasn't sure she could do.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

"Cuore?"

She realized her friends must have been trying to get her attention for some time because Ursula had resorted to shaking her arm a little.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I was trying to formulate a plan with the Eidolons."

"And?" Ceodore asked.

She sighed, "We came up with something that might work. It's worth a try. As Ursula said, I think we would all rather go down fighting."

The blonde grinned and socked her in the shoulder. "That's the spirit!"

"The constructs of magic are going to help us?" BarZenDao asked, sounding puzzled and amazed.

Cuore nodded, "Yes, they hate to see a loss of life, too."

Honestly, the fact that it was Zodiark and Ultima who were willing to help surprised her, too, but she wasn't about to go into that now. They had every reason to be apathetic to the plight of mere humans.

"Well, we are doing to try to also disrupt the magic or Ves'per or whatever is in the room, too." Ceodore mentioned. "That was the only plan we could think of at the moment."

"TinSouRe had locked us out of the systems entirely. I already checked." BarZenDao added. "We are all that is left. The other Uo'Ru are ready to help."

"Well, been nice knowing you all." Kieran said with a shrug.

Cuore rolled her eyes at the lackluster goodbye and Ursula and Ceodore both groaned.

"Worst last words ever, Kieran." the princess chided.

He shrugged, "I'm terrible at rousing, heroic speeches."

"Well," Ceodore started and Kieran rolled his eyes, muttering something about; "Here we go."

His friend glared at him briefly but didn't stop talking.

"Even if this is our last fight, at least it's our last fight together. There's no one else I'd rather be side by side with. All of us are in this together, and I'm proud to call you all friends. Even if we die today, at least we know we died trying to save the world. Even if-"

"Okay, we get it," Kieran cut in. "We're all friends and that's great. We don't really have time for this,"

"I was enjoying that rousing, heroic speech," BarZenDao argued.

Ursula giggled and Ceodore sighed. "We don't have time, I guess that is true."

"Then, let's save the world again." Ursula announced, sounding far too chipper for such a dire situation. Still, it was refreshing.

BarZenDao gestured to the Uo'Ru across the room, likely signaling them to begin their last assault.

Cuore hesitated. She was resolved that this would probably get them all killed, but for the first time in her life that realization somewhat bothered her.

She was sad she might never see her family again, that she might cost some of her Eidolons their lives.

Maybe she really was more human now, then before. After all, fear of death was a very human reaction.

Cuore caught Kieran's arm as he walked by and whispered; "Kieran…" She paused, not sure what to say. It would take hours to explain everything she needed to say, and they barely had a few seconds.

Noticing her indecision, he smiled and removed her hand from his arm in favor of giving it a squeeze.

"It's okay," he murmured. "I know."

Cuore bit her lip, unsatisfied with this being quite possibly their last conversation.

Kieran kissed her forehead, but she merely frowned. It wasn't enough.

But she didn't stop him from walking away with one last squeeze to her hand.

Cuore stood still for a heartbeat before exhaling and pushing all the distractions from her mind and heart.

She had Eidolons to summon.

Closing her eyes, she tried to temper her summonings, conserving as much magic as she could.

"Keeper of the percepts, lend me your strength of eclipsing dark. Zodiark, I summon thee!"

Zodiark appeared in a swirl of purplish energy, hoovering ominously.

The crest disappeared from the ground and Cuore took a deep breath, casting again.

"High seraph, with holy light bring nigh defeat to my enemies! Ultima, I summon thee!"

Ultima appeared much the same way, but her wings unfurled silently with a shower of yellow energy.

Cuore could feel the strain on her connection with the Feymarch when she reached out a third time. The magic was brittle, but beautiful. Like a thread of glass that connected her, grounded her, but at the same time promised nothing but uncertainty.

"Embodiment of pain and night, come forth and end this fight! Anima, I summon thee!"

Unlike the serene command of the other two, Anima's appearance was a reckoning of bedlam and raw power.

Cuore winced, finding it difficult to keep the three in the same space. Once the magic stabilized, she started breathing again and finally took in the rest of the room.

True to their plan, multiple magical spells were being thrown around haphazardly, not necessarily at any target.

It was working, though. Cuore could feel the shift in the air as the core's own power reacted with what was tainting the area.

TinSouRe had taken noticed of the difference, too, and spun around to look across the room at the various spells. Her eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

No one answered her, and Cuore nodded to the Eidolons, bracing herself for the task at hand.

True to their plan, Zodiark and Ultima started drawing the negative and positive magics to them and pulling them from the immediate area.

Through the blinding light of the core, there were flashes of fire, lightning and holy sparking every few seconds, throwing the forces in the room into sheer chaos.

TinSouRe growled, placing one hand on the core and the other outsretched in an attempt to stabilize the ves'per. Her own spells began to be cast, calmly, with deliberate words in the Lunarian tongue.

"You fools," the woman snapped. "You risk ruining everything!"

"That was the idea," Ursula replied, hands on her hips. "If you can ruin our world, then we'll make sure you at least don't get what you want either."

The woman glared at her, but didn't stop her chanting long enough to reply.

The tension in the air was getting thicker and thicker, as the magic threatened to implode or explode.

"Anima," Cuore warned, knowing they would in fact have to use her powers to avoid the same destruction they were trying to avoid.

With a shake, the fearsome, nightmarish Anima opened her mouth. The rattling of her chains was drowned out by the loud scream.

At once, TinSouRe cried out in obvious pain.

"What…what manner of power is this?!" she demanded.

Anima shrieked again.

Cuore winced, seeing TinSouRe collapse to her knees, spells faltering.

Zodiark and Ultima were continuing to pull the magic from the room, but the process was slow, and ongoing. After all, the core was still in the process of overloading.

TinSouRe suddenly stood, her skin luminous with light.

With a flick of her hand, the fallen robots and Uo'Ru from previously came back to a shallow imitation of life, limbs dangling awkwardly, as if they were puppets on strings.

TinSouRe smirked, "Did you know that with the right application of healing power, you can raise the fallen? In a manner of speaking, anyway."

Cuore had no idea what unnatural forces TinSouRe was capable of manipulating, but it couldn't be any good.

"Keep at the magic," Kieran called, "Ursula and I will deal with the minions."

Ursula nodded, "Yes, I needed something to do anyway."

Anima cried again and TinSouRe screamed in pain before pointing a trembling hand at the Eidolon. "Destroy that…that…thing!"

Apparently, the reanimated minions followed her orders, because all of them turned towards Anima and Cuore narrowed her eyes. She was unable to do anything but hold the three Eidolons in this world. She would have to rely on her friends and allies to keep them safe, because any falter in her focus would banish the magical creatures.

True to their word, Kieran and Ursula engaged the monsters and cut them down easily, but they merely got back up, as if they were a never ending zombie army.

Ursula flipped a robot over her shoulder, where it crashed against a wall and shattered to a million pieces. She nodded, "Ha! Let's see you get back up after that!"

Half the pieces rejoined and staggered upright.

"That was rhetorical," the princess complained.

The magic in the room wasn't draining as much as they needed it too, and Cuore feared that they were only drawing out their demise. Her Eidolons couldn't cycle the energy fast enough as the core produced more, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Uo'Ru and Ceodore getting tired and taking longer and longer with their spells.

This plan wasn't going to work, the more time that passed, the more that became clear.

"It will work, Cuore," Anima whispered through their link, as if she was aware of her doubts. "We will make it work."

Cuore nodded, steadying her breathing and renewing her focus.

TinSouRe laughed suddenly, "I can see what you are trying to do. You are trying to disrupt the magic to make my transformation impossible. But the process has gone too far. All ves'per only makes me stronger."

There was an audible and visible cracking in the air after she finished speaking, as if all the magic in the air suddenly began igniting. TinSouRe was chanting something, but it was lost in the hum of ves'per.

Cuore only realized what was happening when TinSouRe flung a translucent hand in the direction of one of the cluster of Uo'Ru.

The attack resembled a thousand shards of lights, but despite the tranquil appearance, the spell was deadly. It resembled no elements, because it was none of them and all of them at the same time.

Cuore knew what it was because Zeromus had used it.

Any warning she could have given to the Uo'Ru would have been too late, and the attack hit them straight on. In the resulting flash of light, everything was still and quiet for a moment, before all the magic in the air suddenly shook, as if exhaling like a living being.

As the light and dust cleared, that group of Uo'Ru were dead, nothing but piles of ash smeared across the now concave metal plates that had been the floor.

The other cluster of Uo'Ru smartly broke into smaller groups, likely knowing they should make harder targets.

Anima's screams continued, and TinSouRe spun around to glare at the beast. "As for you, you Ev'Si I'Tennin*, I have grown tired of your continued interference. You are nothing but an abomination of ves'per. Begone!"

The Lunarian's hand shot out again, power cackling forward in a shower of star like energies.

Cuore had enough time to yell a warning this time, but Anima wasn't a mobile creature by any means, and had no choice but to take the hit straight on.

The moment the spell hit her, Anima cried out in something other than the soul wrenching shrieks she normally produced. This was a cry of pain.

Cuore felt the pain through their connection, like burning from the inside out, and she winced, bracing against the wall.

She was disoriented and wasn't prepared for TinSouRe's second spell.

Anima screamed again, recoiling from the force of the attack, her form taking on a shimmery, translucent quality.

Cuore knew what that meant, it meant she was coming as close to dying as Eidolons ever did. It less a death, more of a scattering of the magic, the molecules that made up their forms.

Oddly, the pain felt dull. It was still present, but not as searing as Cuore would have expected. It made her bones ache, and her breath shallow, but it didn't hurt.

A moment later she realized she didn't have the strength to stand and collapsed under her own weight, hitting the ground with a gasp.

Cuore blinked, confused, and then promptly cried out and shrank into herself when something else struck Anima.

"No," she gasped out, looking up to see her poor Eidolon slumped down, obviously injured. Anima's form was growing transparent, something that signaled she didn't have the strength to maintain her form in this world much longer.

Cuore struggled to get to her hands and knees and realized that she must have released Ultima and Zodiark, even accidently, because they were back in the Feymarch.

Reaching out with her magic, she began to sever the ties that bound Anima.

"No!" Anima screeched. "I can stop her!"

"Your dying!" Cuore argued.

Anima chuckled mirthlessly. "I know, child. I know. But, you aren't. I assumed this would cost me my life, but it won't cost you yours, or anyone else theirs."

"What?" Cuore said, pausing. "I won't die? But…"

"You are not the same as others, surely you can tell." Anima replied. "But now is not the time for talk."

Mustering another scream, Anima released all her remaining power in one shattering cry.

Cuore winced once more, struck by the sheer power of the sound, even if she wasn't the intended target. The whole room shuttered.

TinSouRe, through a scream of agony, managed to conjure more magic.

Cuore snapped the tether off from Anima before the spell hit her, resulting in a destroyed wall instead.

The feedback from the abrupt separating made her cough, falling back against the wall behind her. When she drew her hand back, blood speckled her palm and fingertips.

She closed her eyes, terribly disoriented.

She knew Anima was safe, but without any magical reserves left, she was too tired to reach out to her Eidolons.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she realized that they had failed. Even if TinSouRe was undone by that last scream, they had nothing to stop the core from going critical.

Cuore felt selfish for protecting her Eidolon rather then let her die at the chance to stop this, but how could they be sure it would have worked? At least this way Anima survived.

At least this way she saved someone.

An inhuman laughing was echoing through the chamber, and it was then Cuore realized that the entire room, likely the whole ruined ship, was shaking.

TinSouRe was the one laughing.

Or rather, whatever was left of TinSouRe.

Her form was a mangled, terrible vision. She was still humanoid in general shape, but her skin was nothing but scales and shells, hands like razors and eyes like an insect.

Cuore shut her eyes, mildly irritated that was the last thing she was going to see.

"Cuore!" Ursula's voice shouted, along with a shake on her shoulder. "Cuore, come on, wake up."

The teal haired young woman forced her eyes open to stare at her worried friend. Blonde hair was matted to her forehead and neck by sweat and blood.

"Hey, you stay with me," Ursula pleaded, brushing Cuore's own hair back with trembling hands.

"Why?" she murmured. "We're dead anyway."

Ursula didn't argue, only swallowed thickly.

Over Ursula's shoulder, Cuore could see TinSouRe run clawed nails down her arm, splitting the scaly skin. Rather then bleed, she glowed where the skin was broken.

Her laughter only grew louder, more demented as she tore at her own body. More and more light spilled from her as she did so.

"I wish one of those spells had hit me so I didn't have to see that," Kieran complained with a hoarse voice as he limped over.

"She's forcibly destroying her body to release the ves'per inside. It's like the casing on the core, containing the energy inside." Cuore replied dully, unable to stop giving information.

"It's disgusting," Kieran retorted, dropping to sit on the ground.

Sometime during their commentary, Ceodore had wandered over. Cuore had never seen him look so…lifeless.

Beyond the obvious fatigue, he looked drained completely. His expression was hard to read, but easy to understand. It was the look of total defeat.

"The Uo'Ru are still trying to…I don't know." he whispered, gesturing haphazardly to where the few remaining mutated Lunarians were hurling spells at the monster TinSouRe had become.

Most of the spells didn't even hit her as some sort of aura surrounded her. Each attack fizzled or redirected harmlessly away.

BarZenDao, however, wasn't bothering, and instead looked on in a mixture of horror and curiosity at TinSouRe's display of madness.

Cuore closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall.

This was it.

This was how everything ended, then.

Everything the world had survived so far, and this was how it ended. An unknown force of destruction that they wouldn't even be able to see coming.

She only hoped the core was deep enough underground that the damage didn't destroy everything.

She missed her family.

Her back hurt.

Cuore suddenly blinked.

Her back hurt because her katanas were digging into it.

If she's had the strength to slap herself, she would have.

Ursula was still kneeling beside her, holding her hand and Cuore gave it a squeeze to draw her friend's attention. "Ursula,"

The princess looked at her, probably expecting some sort of goodbye. Cuore struggled to find the words she needed. She was so tired…

"My blades. One of them has a crystal,"

Ursula made a face, "Wait, one of your katanas?"

She couldn't nod, so she spoke again, her words slurring. "Yes, yes, one of them has a crystal. I don't…it might not trap…but, it holds ves'per,"

Ceodore glanced over, "That's right! It can hold magic! Wait, how does that help us?"

Cuore wanted to sigh, but she didn't have the energy. "If…if…it needs…both negative and positive, it…TinSouRe is vulnerable, in a…a…state of flux."

Cuore winced, dragging her free hand across her face. It felt wet.

She knew why when she saw the blood smeared across the back of her hand. She ignored it and tried to continue.

"If…if we…stab her, with…magic…"

Kieran must have caught onto her plan because he hopped to his feet. "If the crystal in the blade has both kinds of magic in it, and we stab TinSouRe with it, then it overloads her. Like a system overloading with too much power."

Cuore nodded.

"Won't that just give her what she wants?" Ursula asked.

"No," Cuore murmured. "Not now. Not when she's basically energy. It has…it has to be now, though."

"We're stabbing her right into her core," Kieran added. "It's worth a try."

Cuore coughed again. "I…can't…"

"Here," Ursula said, helping her lean forward. Cuore was amused when it took all three of her friends to finally free the right blade from her back.

Ursula helped her lean back against the wall, and Cuore took a deep breath. "I don't have the strength to…to…fill that with magic,"

"I can fill it with white magic," Ceodore said, glancing down at the katana in his hands. "But, how will we get close enough to use this?"

They all looked over at TinSouRe, still laughing manically and ripping into her flesh.

"She seems distracted enough," Kieran commented dryly.

Cuore swallowed. "Hurry, this may be the last thing we ever do."

Ceodore nodded, "Maybe BarZenDao can help with the black magic part of this."

He wasted no time in dashing off towards the Lunarian boy, skirting the edges of light from the core.

Cuore felt a bit of cheerfulness that she had come up with something useful, even if it turned out to be worthless. But mostly she just felt weak.

Ceodore tried his best to explain the plan to BarZenDao as quickly as possible while still having it make sense. It was a Cuore plan, after all. He was bound to fail a few details.

BarZenDao grabbed the weapon from his hands and looked over the crystal. It glinted a rainbow of colors when moved, but ultimately looked perfect clear, like cheap glass. "This…might work. This is Cuore's plan?"

Ceodore nodded. "Yes,"

"Then it will work." the boy replied, grinning slightly. "She is right that the crystal cannot contain as much ves'per as would be needed to trap TinSouRe, but if we act now, and use both negative and positive forces, we may be able to dissolve the bounds that hold what's left of TinSouRe."

"Um….sure." Ceodore commented. "Can you charge the crystal with black magic? Cuore is too drained."

BarZenDao nodded. "You are tired as well. I was charge the crystal with both. I don't have the upper body strength to wield this weapon. That task, you will have to complete."

"Yeah, I figured…" Ceodore muttered.

He wasn't thrilled with having to murder someone, even a madwoman like TinSouRe, but it was necessary, and it had to be done.

As BarZenDao chanted, the crystal began to glow, brighter and brighter with each spell cast into it's reflective surface.

Ceodore fidgeted uneasily as BarZenDao continued. He felt a warring combination of hope for this plan and utter dread that they had failed to stop TinSouRe and the core.

And even if they stopped TinSouRe, it didn't really solve the problem of the core going critical.

He shook his head, frustrated at himself for even starting down that darkened path.

Pessimism wasn't going to help them.

BarZenDao's words cut off and the boy scanned the blade quickly before nodding decisively. He held it back out to the prince. "It's charged and ready."

"Now I just have to hope TinSouRe won't try to stop me," he mentioned.

BarZenDao peered around him, "I don't think that will be a problem,"

Ceodore followed his gaze and saw the others limping up. Cuore was being half-drug by Ursula, who offered a wan smile. "Figured you might need help,"

"In case TinSouRe doesn't want to be stabbed," Kieran added, crossing his arms.

Ceodore laughed shortly, humorlessly. He was too tried for true laughter. "Thanks…"

Ursula winced and shifted Cuore's weight. BarZenDao noticed and reached out to offer the teal haired woman support. "My magic will be ineffectual against TinSouRe. I'll stay with Cuore."

"Logical," Cuore muttered.

Despite what he said, BarZenDao struggled to keep Cuore upright considering his height and slender form. If the world hadn't been about to end, it would have been amusing.

Ceodore was concerned Coure had used far too much of her own strength recently, but they had other things to worry about.

"Are we ready?" he asked, tightening his grip on Cuore's katana. The weapon felt strange in his hand.

Kieran grinned, "I think Ursula and I have wanted to punch TinSouRe in the face for a while now,"

"Can't argue with that!" the blonde said, hands on her hips.

Ceodore nodded, "Then let's go."

They strode towards the woman in question.

The Uo'Ru must have given up their magical attacks because everything was eerily still and heavy in the room. The core pulsed widely, growing faster and bright with each heartbeat that passed.

TinSouRe, however, merely trembled with laughter, obviously enjoying her transformation. She looked up as they approached, and her distorted face shifted to a wicker grin.

"Are you going to attempt to stop me once more?" she asked.

Her voice was deep, guttural, with an unnatural echo.

"We are." Ceodore said with much more confidence then he felt.

She laughed once more, throwing her head back in utter madness.

"I love your foolish tenacity!" she exclaimed.

Her head rotated back to look at them, now standing close enough to touch. She took her clawed hand and slowly dragged it down her face, diagonally. Where the razors cut, the incrusted skin split to reveal blinding white light behind it.

Her prismatic eyes narrowed. "Give me your best shot."

Kieran was the first one to take a swing at her, but she raised her hand and caught his weapon mid-air in a swirl of silvery mist.

He grunted at the sudden stop and TinSouRe chuckled. "Your Ven'tu weapons are truly pathetic. When we will you learn I am beyond mortal, beyond matter. I am beyond your comprehension, beyond your understanding! I am infinity incarnate!"

Her tirade was cut short when Ursula actually managed to land a kick to side of her face.

TinSouRe's focus snapped to the princess and she growled a most inhuman sound that grated on the ears.

She released Kieran with enough force to make him stumble back a few steps, unbalanced. In the same motion she tore up a tile of the floor underneath Ursula, who wobbled and had to roll away as the plates were pulled up.

Ceodore hesitated. He needed a clear path to her, because the first hit with the katana would released the magic inside. There was no second chance.

TinSouRe's body lifted of its' own accord, raising from her kneeling position to levitate a few inches from the ground.

She opened one hand and Ceodore realized she was charging what was sure to be a nasty spell. He quickly spoke the words aloud to shield them all in a spell of protection.

He flinched when her ethereal lightning hit the protective barriers. Even with the spell, he could feel the heat and energy behind the attack.

As if to remind them they were running out of time, the core shook, making the room quake with it.

He exchanged a glace with Ursula and Kieran, and it was as if an unspoken agreement was made.

The princess wound up a fist and punched TinSouRe on the side of the face, hard. The Lunarian hissed, recoiling and turning her head. Before she could retaliate, Kieran landed from his small jump and jammed the blade of his swallow an inch from her. He had purposely missed, but it was enough to startle her into turning around.

And there it was. An opening.

Ceodore was behind her and she had foolishly turned her back to him.

He reached out to grab her shoulder, to hold her still, and then stabbed as hard as he could into her back.

He wasn't used to the feel of Cuore's blade, and its slender edge slide so neatly into TinSouRe that the hilt hit her back, running her through completely. She sagged back against him and he winced.

There was a tense pause before she suddenly gasped.

"Wh-what did you…what is that?"

Both Ursula and Kieran looked ready to continue the fight if they needed too. Ceodore didn't dare move at all, and found he was supporting TinSouRe as she half stood, half laid, frozen.

"I-I…do not…understand…wh-what…"

Ursula bit her lip, "A special sword, one with magic in it."

Feeling uncomfortable, Ceodore carefully removed himself from having to hold her and as carefully as he could, slid the katana free of her back.

He stepped back a few paces as she laid on the floor, eyes wide and disbelieving.

"No, no, no," she began to intone.

Ceodore was still worried she might get back up, but she made no moves to do so.

He saw out of the corner of his eye BarZenDao and Cuore wander up. "Did it work?" the boy asked.

Before they could reply, TinSouRe tilted her head to look at him. "You."

He frowned. "You did this to yourself, TinSouRe. You threw away everything that could have been, for what should never have been, instead."

"You have ruined everything!" she screeched to the ceiling, obviously at no one in particular. "I-I was…I-I could have…"

"BarZenDao is right," Kieran said. "You did this to yourself."

Ceodore swallowed thickly. "I am sorry it had to come to this, TinSouRe."

She laughed, but the sound no longer echoed, and instead sounded like it was watery. "And so the Lunarians die forever, now. I hope this is everything you wanted."

"It didn't have to come to this!" Cuore snapped, sounding weak, but resolved. "We offered you another choice."

TinSouRe merely continued to laugh, even as the lights that previously shined through her scratches began to fade, leaving bones with nothing between in their wake. It was a gruesome sight, as parts of her merely faded from existence.

And still, she laughed.

"Farewell, then." TinSouRe finally whispered. "At least I die knowing you die too."

The last of her body crumpled to the ground as nothing but a pile of mismatched bones and scales.

Ceodore felt ill at what they had just witnessed. It seemed the sentiment was shared, judging by the looks on his friend's faces.

"Then, it's over." BarZenDao sighed. "The bonds that held her together have dissolved before she could fully ascend."

"Are we sure she's gone?" Ursula asked, hugging herself, hands gripping her upper arms. "Like, she's not going to show back up at some point, a spirit out for revenge?"

Cuore shook her head. "No. She wasn't…like Zeromus. She was still partially…mortal. She's gone. We killed her."

Ceodore flinched.

It was silly on his part that killing a person made him so uneasy. She was insane and trying to destroy the world. And yet, still, she was close enough to human for the loss of life to bother him.

It didn't help that he had been the one to stab her.

They all stayed perfectly still for another moment before Kieran frowned. "She was right, though. We're all dead too. I guess she still gets the last laugh…"

BarZenDao shook his head and offered a surprisingly devious grin. "That is not actually true,"

They all looked at him.

"I did not say anything before because I was concerned what TinSouRe might do with the knowledge, but the Uo'Ru have told me there is another, possibly working, matter transportation device."

"Wait, what?" Ursula demanded. She scowled at him. "And your just now telling us this!"

BarZenDao frowned. "Did you not hear me just explain why I withheld the information?"

Ceodore held his hand up in a pacifying gesture, "Alright, alright, let's just take this one step at a time."

When no one objected, he turned to the boy. "Does it work?"

"I am…not sure," BarZenDao admitted. "The Uo'Ru were never intent on using it, nor was it ever used to transport anything but supplies. I'm not sure it will work on living organisms. However, the Uo'Ru have told me of it. They never intended to use it. Once they stopped TinSouRe they had every intention of just…well…dying."

He tipped his head to the last few Uo'Ru that were alive, hanging around nearby. "However, they shared this with me now, knowing that you four would likely want to use it."

"Five," Cuore muttered, obviously including the Lunarian in the group.

"The others could come, too…" Ceodore said hesitantly.

BarZenDao shook his head. "No. They…know what they are. They would rather remain. JinYaSol said it best. She told me that once TinSouRe was gone, then they would have to go as well, so that every last mistake of the Lunarians was forgotten."

"That seems…harsh." Ceodore argued.

BarZenDao merely shrugged.

"Okay, so next question; where is this device?" Kieran asked, crossing his arms.

BarZenDao opened his mouth to reply but the entire room rumbled, reminding them that the core was still very much a threat.

Cuore winced, "I-I could try to summon Carbuncle. He…could maybe lessen the blast of magical energy…"

Ceodore was about to tell her what a terrible idea that was when Ursula beat him too it.

"Cuore, you can't even stand up. How in the world are you going to summon?"

The teal haired woman narrowed her eyes. "We're all dead with or without a transportation device if that goes critical. I might as well try."

The Uo'Ru moved towards the core with deliberate steps.

BarZenDao answered the unasked question; "The other reason the Uo'Ru are planning to stay behind. They know that the core will damage your world. They told me that too much has already happened because of them, because of…us."

He sighed. "None of this was intended to be this way. They will use their magic to contain as much of the blast as they can. Hopefully minimize the damage to your world. But you cannot be here. I would suspect that the ship will be utterly destroyed."

"They…are okay with this?" Ursula asked, sounding skeptical.

He nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes. We Lunarians are logical, perhaps to a fault, but not all of us seek wanton destruction and death."

Proving his point, the Uo'Ru that remined, only six total, circled the core and cast the familiar spell of reflect, likely hoping to bounce the magical discharge back towards the core.

"Regardless, you need to leave," BarZenDao finished, hastily adding; "We don't have much time before the core explodes."

He grunted, shifting Cuore's weight, and Ceodore reached out to help. He slung her arm around his shoulder so BarZenDao could move.

The boy shot him a grateful half smile and swept towards the door. "The device should be easy to find. Follow this corridor until its' end, then look for the sign that points the way to the TrAce'De Mar."

Ursula frowned, "Sounds easy, what's the catch?"

"Catch?" BarZenDao queried, looking puzzled.

Ceodore shook his head, shifting Cuore's weight again. "She means is that it? No traps or fail safes?"

"None that I, or the Uo'Ru, are aware of." he replied.

Cuore spoke up, "Why would we need to look for a sign? Can't you just show us where it is?"

BarZenDao hesitated.

Ceodore got the sneaking suspicion he wasn't being entirely honest with them.

"BarZenDao," Cuore asked, sharper this time. She suddenly seemed more alert. "You…are coming with us…?"

The Lunarian boy sighed and closed his eyes. "No."

"What?" Ceodore asked, before he could think better of it.

"I…had every intension of joining you," BarZenDao said, haltingly. "However, that was before this turned out the way that it has."

The room shook.

He frowned, "There isn't time to discuss this. You need to go. Now."

Kieran winced as some machinery rattled overhead. "Why are you staying, though?"

"Only six Uo'Ru remain. We are not confident that they have enough strength to contain the core's fallout. The chances increase with a seventh." BarZenDao explained.

"You have to come with us," Cuore argued. "We don't know that seven will be enough, either. This is a super powered core we're talking about!"

"Which is why you need to leave!" BarZenDao snapped back. It was the first time he sounded genuinely aggravated.

Cuore pulled away from Ceodore who tried a moment too late to grab her back. He wasn't sure she could stand on her own. She did sway, but for all her obvious exhaustion, she was unexpectedly attentive.

"BarZenDao," she said, voice quiet and pleading. "you don't have to stay. Come with us."

He merely shook his head and offered her a sad smile. "Cuore, I'm not coming with you. That would be a mistake. Even if the Uo'Ru could contain the blast, I am still infected with this blight, this…curse. I would not want to endanger your world. Your…. home."

Ceodore frowned, "I'm not worried about that, I don't think any of us are. You should come with us."

"We should all leave," Ursula hurriedly reminded them, pointing at the core. "That thing is about to go super nova. All five of us need to be gone when it blows."

"I'm staying," BarZenDao said firmly.

Cuore shook her head, "You can't!"

"I think you'll find that I can," he countered.

Before their argument could continue, alarms began blaring all around them and the Uo'Ru who remained increased the reflect spells strength, hiding the core behind translucent, shimmery magic.

Ceodore could feel the change in the air. It made his skin crawl and his hair stick on end.

Next to him Kieran winced, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Ursula is right," the young man snapped, leaning away from the core. "We need to go!"

"Go!" BarZenDao insisted, pointing down the hallway.

Ursula glanced at the others, looking quite ready to take his advice and bolt.

"Guys…" she warned.

Ceodore felt the same way she did. As much as he wanted BarZenDao to come with them, they didn't have an option short of knocking him out and forcibly dragging him with them.

The floor panels shuddered beneath their feet, once more reminding them of the impending doom.

BarZenDao scowled at them before taking a few steps towards the core, obviously ready to join in the reflect spell.

Cuore reached out to grab his arm, stalling his movements. "No, no, you have to come with us," she explained rapidly, desperately.

"Cuore, I can't," he emphasized. "I need to stay. I need to make sure that you, all of you, survive. I don't belong to your world. As much as I would love to see it, I would rather know I saved it."

"BarZenDao," she started again, only to be cut off as he reached out lightly grasp her wrist. There was a spark of magic before Cuore recoiled.

She nearly fell completely, obviously disoriented, but Kieran caught her shoulders and waist.

Ceodore tossed BarZenDao a look.

"A mild shock. She will recover." the boy explained. "She wouldn't have let go otherwise. You need to leave, please," he said, pointing once more to the hallway.

Ursula sighed, "Kid, I didn't really like you, but…well, I'm sorry about that. You aren't so bad. I…had hoped you'd come with us."

He grinned slightly, and nodded.

Ursula bounced on her feet, "Come on," she urged the others, moving past the bulkhead.

Ceodore reluctantly followed her, casting one more pleading look over his shoulder. "Are you sure? We…we would have loved for you to join us,"

BarZenDao smiled again. "I know. But yes, I am sure. My place is here."

As soon as they crossed the threshold of the bulkhead, BarZenDao typed a code into the panel beside it and a door zipped shut. It was damaged, with cracks and dents that still showed parts of the room beyond it through its metallic surface.

However, it locked into place once closed with an ominous clang.

The sound was enough for Cuore to shake off the slight daze of her earlier shook spell. Despite Kieran telling her not too, she wrenched herself free from his grasp and nearly fell against the door.

BarZenDao sighed. "Cuore, please, you must go."

"No!" she insisted, using the wall to stand. "You have to come with us, please. BarZenDao, this…this isn't…it doesn't have to end like this."

The boy shook his head at her sadly. "Cuore, you don't understand. I'm not…this isn't a bad ending. I was always dying. I was always going to die. But…for the first time in my life, that actually means something."

He laughed once. "These past few weeks, with all of you, have made me actually feel alive. For the first time in my life I can make a choice. My choice. I would have thought you would understand why this actually brings me great joy."

Cuore shook her head, "I get it, but you don't have to stay!"

BarZenDao nodded back into the room. "You can see how much this spell taxes them. They have no vocal cords to inflect the proper tones to cast spells. Their magic is powerful, but they cannot sustain it."

Ceodore could see what he was talking about. The Uo'Ru were unsteady on their legs, wobbling under the obvious strain of the spell.

"I need to do this." the boy whispered.

Cuore tried the door and it beeped loudly at her, angry.

"I locked you out." BarZenDao stated calmly.

Ceodore winced when Cuore slammed the palms of her hands flat against the metal door so hard it shook. He was surprised she hadn't broken bones.

She sobbed, "No, please…"

BarZenDao placed his hands softly on the door, leaning forward. "Cuore, please, don't. I…think I understand now, why you injected yourself with that virus. I think I understand…love. Would you deny me the chance to do something…good?"

Ceodore hated how helpless the situation was. And as the core pulsed ever brighter, and the room trembled as if it was coming apart at the seams, Cuore finally let go of the wall and collapsed to her hands and knees, weeping.

BarZenDao looked equal parts remorseful and calm, obviously at peace with his decision.

"Cuore," he murmured, waiting for her to look up before he continued.

"Xia Nik'Tev RuNe-Eyz Kia Shi Va'I Shi. Kia Rem-En Va'I Selo-Dee Selo, Kia Jhet'Leya Tez Zen Xia."

Ceodore caught none of that, but Cuore understood, because she shook her head, sniffing. "Then, continuing living."

BarZenDao shook his head. "Kia Dav'Kak. Kia T'u-Uz Tez Xia Shi, Tez Siam'A-Yan Xia TatRa Para'A Shi. Kia K'Ash Va'I'Tem-Tem love Xia Kia. Kia Shi…Ack-Lar Fem'Dar. Kia Rem-En Nik'Tev Nev'Se…Aja-Van. Tez Kia Y'Ice, Zen Kia Rem-En Tem-Iss Aja-Shi, Aja Sha-Ver shi."

Cuore shut her eyes, still crying, but much quieter now.

"Please, go," BarZenDao whispered.

Kieran hesitated before reaching out and setting his hands on her shoulders. "Cuore, we…we have to go."

She still didn't move, but Kieran glanced up at the Lunarian. "BarZenDao, I am sorry you aren't coming with us. Still…thanks for saving our world. Sorry I was so mean to you."

Ceodore was half surprised he even bothered with the apology, although judging by the tone of his voice, he meant it sincerely.

They most likely all felt the same way; sad BarZenDao wouldn't be joining them, but also understanding of his decision.

BarZenDao inclined his head, obviously accepting the apology. "Thank you…for everything."

He glanced back down at Cuore, who was still crying, and added; "Promise me you'll take care of her?"

"You have my word," Kieran said, nodding. "I will."

BarZenDao offered another half-smile, "Jhet'Leya, Dov'Ah-Mut K'Ash Eeli'Os,"

Cuore lifted her head and took a deep breath, whispering after she'd steadied her voice; "Kia Yensa-Ran'U Gar-O Xia, BarZenDao. Siam'A-Yan Xia Kia KayMor Mel'Deis Drak-Pla'As I'net."

BarZenDao smiled once more, but it dissolved as he pointed to the corridor. "Now, go!"

Kieran tugged on Cuore once more. "Come on,"

She didn't move, but she also didn't resist being pulled to her feet and pratacially dragged with them as they began to move.

BarZenDao offered one last wave and smile. "Thank you, my friends. Farewell."

Ceodore felt terrible, leaving the boy to such a fate, but there wasn't anything to be done about it now.

They hurried as fast as they could, leaving the core and its' light behind them, in the general direction BarZenDao had pointed out.

They came to the split in the pathways, and likely the way they needed to go based on the signs was opened and not collapsed, as so much of the ship was.

Ceodore had to watch his footing as the corridor lurched from the shaking, and made sure he paused before continuing onward.

A ceiling tile rattled loose and slammed into the ground, right in front of them. Ursula winced, "Yeah, this place is definitely coming apart!"

No one bothered to reply to her and just kept running, dodging debris as the very floor and walls trembled around them.

They rounded a corner and came to what remained of a door. The panels were tossed aside, the frame dented. But beyond it was a familiar sight.

A mostly intact transportation device.

They stepped inside, but after trying to use the device, it wouldn't power on.

"Of course," Kieran muttered, shifting Cuore's weight. "Ceodore, can you pry that panel open? We need to see inside."

Ceodore did was requested, using his scabbard for leverage on the edge of the metal. Kieran and Cuore both looked inside and the teal hair woman nodded to one side. "There," she murmured. "Those cells are cracked. They have no power."

"We need another power source," Kieran finished.

Cuore was breathing unevenly, but still offered a solution. "Not…a power…source, just…new…" She winced and Kieran filled in the blanks. "Just new crystals? Can I use some from another system?"

She nodded and he shifted her weight, "Alright, I saw a console back there. Sorry, Cuore, but I need to set you down."

Ursula reached out to take hold of her friend, "I've got her."

Kieran nodded his thanks before sprinting back down the hallway a bit. Ceodore bit his lip, looking over the rest of the device. It looked mostly undamaged, although there were dents in the main, raised platform, and some wires appeared to be pulled out. Hopefully they could get it working.

Everything around them rattled, reminding them they were on borrowed time.

Kieran returned, stumbling a little as the quaking abruptly stopped, and began inserting the crystals into the drive.

"We're still going to need to jump start this thing," he mentioned. "We'll need something to power it on,"

Usually Cuore was their walking magical battery, but with her on the brink of passing out, it seemed unlikely she could help. Still, she glanced up. "Ceodore, you can charge those. White magic…isn't…as effective, but…it might be enough for one use."

Ceodore glanced at Kieran for confirmation.

His friend looked unsure.

"It's worth a try, although one shot is all we'll get. These replacement parts will work, but looking at the rest of this system…I'm not surprised the Uo'Ru weren't sure it would work. It's damaged and cracked, on its' last leg, so to speak."

He stepped back. "Alright, its' now or never. Give it a shot."

"Any particular spell?" Ceodore asked, looking over at Cuore.

She shook her head. "Just…aim at…those crystals."

Ceodore began chanting, trying not to rush the incantation and fail, only to start all over. They didn't have that kind of time.

"Cure," he whispered. The crystals showed a visible change to their appearance, flashing brightly in a rainbow of colors before settling on a stunning greenish-yellow color.

The device likewise made a humming noise, and half the parts lit up. But the power was short lived, and the colors faded as the light receded into nothing.

Ursula sighed. "Well…. damn."

Ceodore winced, wondering if it had to do with his magic or if the systems were just overly fried.

Cuore frowned, "Is…the central praxis alright?"

Kieran nodded, leaning closer to peer at the inner workings. "Yeah, it looks fine. I don't think it's a connection issue, actually…I think it has to do with the actual structure."

Ceodore looked around, "Those wires?"

"Shouldn't cause…this sort of problem," Cuore replied, moaning slightly before shaking her head. "It might be the relays underneath, but…we…don't have the time to…"

She didn't finish her thought. Either she was too tried too, or she didn't want to continue down that gloomy path.

Kieran was peering upwards. "I see the problem, the…things that transfer the magic aren't aligned properly."

He pointed to where the metal columns were, then up once more to where the visible crystal shards were. "I might be able to jump up there and knock them into place,"

Ceodore blinked, "But, this machine only has one burst to get us out of here, and if you're up there…"

He purposely trailed off.

Kieran frowned, flicking him a look. "I'm hoping I can just drop down and gravity will pull me into the transportation beam."

"Your hoping?" Ursula repeated, looking at him like he was crazy.

Ceodore thought much the same.

Kieran tossed his hands open. "We're going to blow up anyway,"

"Fair enough…" the blonde princess muttered, looking put out.

Ceodore wanted to argue more about this plan, but it honestly didn't matter. Kieran was right; this transportation device working at all was no guarantee they would get out alive anyway. There was nothing else to be done, unless they wanted to sit and wait for death to come to them.

Cuore, however, looked terrified at the suggestion and pulled away form Ursula to reach out and grab Kieran's arm, before he could spring away.

"I-I can't lose you," she said, voice breaking.

Ceodore felt bad for her. She was clearly an emotional wreak at the moment and most likely delirious from the battle.

Kieran didn't promise her anything, but he did gently pry her hand off his arm and give it a squeeze before kissing the back of it.

Cuore didn't seem the least bit appeased by the action, but Ursula coaxed her back onto the rune-lined platform before she could attempt to stall Kieran any longer.

Ceodore shot his friend a warning look, dropping his voice low to whisper; "You better try your best to make it back,"

Kieran grinned, "Yeah, I know, somebody has to fly you home,"

Despite the dire situation and the flat tone of voice, Ceodore had to chuckle once at the comment. He hopped up, back onto the platform as Kieran jumped out of view.

The ship shook again, and there was an ominous cracking sound from somewhere nearby.

Ceodore looked up, craning to see anything in the darkened area above their heads. He saw movement of some sort, and if he strained, he could hear banging and loud clangs of metal.

Glancing at Ursula, he saw she looked just as anxious, however her attention was on Cuore, who was leaning all her weight on the blonde.

If they did make it back, Ceodore was never, ever, going to anywhere Lunarian again.

There was a particularly loud crash that sparked the pylons to life with bluish veins and pulsing symbols.

It still glowed irregularly, and the sounds it made were less then promising, but after a heartbeat or two, the runes beneath their feet began to glow.

And then, without further warning, then were gone from the ship, and before a second had passed, they were somewhere else entirely.

The blinding sunlight of the outside was positively painful, as was the foot drop of hoovering midair, to the ground.

They all landed in ungraceful heaps with a series of protesting sounds.

One second passed, then two, then three, but finally Kieran materialized out of seemingly thin air with a dazzle of blue energy.

He appeared in the air as they had and crashed just as clumsily to ground, too.

"Ow!"

Ceodore exhaled a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding in relief.

Sitting up, they all took their time looking around at the endless expanse of sand in all directions.

But the survey was short lived, as they braced against a sudden shaking.

Any relief he felt was instantly washed away as the earthquake intensified, making the prince wonder if this was ever going to end.

Terrified they were still about to die, even getting out of the ship, Ceodore winced as the ground began to roil, the sand rippling in waves as the quake ramped up.

But the ground merely shook for a minute or so, and then the desert was deathly still.

It appeared that they and the planet, had avoided a catastrophe.

After a moment, Ceodore sighed once more, thinking that the final quake must have been the core finally exploding, putting a definite end to the recent events.

The silence of the desert was broken when Cuore began to sob.

Her cries grew in pitch and intensity as she sat on her hands and knees. Her teal hair, matted and messy, hid her face, but didn't muffle the sound of sorrow.

It was a painful reminder that not everything had worked out for the best.

Author's Note:

I've been working on this chapter for 3 weeks, convinced every day that I would finish it and post it...but it just kept going...and going...and going...haha. Without this note, it was 12k words. I thought about splitting it, but that just ruined the flow.

However, I'm not happy with this one. It feels...I don't know, less-awesome then it should be, since this is the climax of the story. All well, after spending so long on it and writing and re-writing, I'm not sure I know what to change to make it better anyway.

I hope no one is disappointed! (At least it is long,)

Now, onto more important things! The chapter its' self.

Yes, BarZenDao died. I realize that his death was somewhat telegraphed from past chapters, however, I hope it still held some weight. It was the best conclusion to his character arc, anyway, to finally understand everything he was missing and die on his terms, rather then someone, or some things, whim.

The spell TinSouRe cast was Big Bang, Zeromus signature move. But that name is stupid, and I was too lazy to re-name it, so I just left the name out completely.

Fun fact; I had 3 different ways for them to kill TinSouRe, and only after the story was mostly over did I settle on the one the used. I wasn't sure which made the most sense, and would work the best, until we got closer to the end.

Also, I'm well aware of it being ridiculously convenient that there is a transportation device for them to use, but...I already know that, so you don't need to point it out ;)

They are finally free of the ruins! But, that doesn't mean the story is over. I think there's going to be a couple more chapters and an epilogue. We'll see.

As always, a big thank you to everyone reading/reviewing. Here's to another chapter and another step closer to the conclusion of SoH!

Your Lunarian lesson for the chapter is a long, complex one, since I used quite a few words:

BarZenDao's 2 sections:

"Cuore, you(Xia) have(Nik'Tev) taught(RuNe-Eyz )me(Kia) what it means ( Va'I)to live(Shi). I(Kia) never(Rem-En )understood(Va'I) before(Selo-Dee) now(Selo), I am(Kia) thankful(Jhet'Leya) for that(Tez), and(Zen) you(Xia)."

And

"I(Kia) cannot (Dav'Kak). But this way I(Kia) can ensure(T'u-Uz) that(Tez) you(Xia) will live(Shi), that(Tez) everything(Siam'A-Yan) you(Xia) hold(TatRa) dear(Para'A) will live(Shi). Let me(Kia) act(K'Ash) on this understanding(Va'I'Tem-Tem) of love you've(Xia) shown me(Kia). Let my(Kia) life(Shi) be…worth(Ack-Lar) something(Fem'Dar). I(Kia) never( Rem-En) had a(Nik'Tev) focus(Nev'Se), but this…is better(Aja-Van). This(Tez) is my(Kia) choice(Y'Ice), and(Zen) I've(Kia) never(Rem-En) felt(Tem-Iss) so alive(Aja- Shi), even so (Aja) close(Sha-Ver) to death(shi)."

And his comment to Kieran: "Jhet'Leya, Dov'Ah-Mut K'Ash Eeli'Os,"

"Thank you, dragon slayer"

Cuore's words to BarZenDao:

"I(Kia) won't forget(Ran'U Gar-O )you(Xia), BarZenDao. Everything(Siam'A-Yan) you(Xia) are, I(Kia) will remember(KayMor Mel'Deis), until the end of time(Drak-Pla'As I'net).

These aren't all direct translations, so see the break down of words below:

Sel'ene device (Rendered in the negative because it failed. Otherwise rendered as Sel'Ene in ancient texts

Tem-Tem – As in making a word a verb, like adding ING to the end of a word; "Living" "Running" "Flying" etc. Always added with a '

Drak-Pla'As I'net – "The End of Time" A phrase the Lunarians use

TrAce'De Mar – The Lunarian phrase used to describe transporters. "Matter transport stream"

Xia – "You"

Kia – "Me" or "I", to refer to oneself

Zen – Not a direct translation, more an explanation of having more then something, used in a sentence like the word "And"

Tez – "The", "This", "That", etc.

Jhet'Leya – "Thank you" – an expression of gratitude

Yensa/YenSa – Rendered deferent. In negative means "No", in positive means "Yes"

Shi – Meaning "Live, life, etc"

K'Ash – An action, as in, "To go" "To come from" to "Move" as it were

K'Ash Eeli'Os – Literal translation is "to kill"; not death, or the end of life, but the action of killing something

Dav'Kak - Inability, unable, etc. (Can't)

Ack'Lar – "Value" – denotes something of value, or worth. Also "Valuable" not in terms of money

Fem'Dar – "Object" or "Item", usually with a modifier to further describe

Nik'Tev – To possess, to own (Also used as the word 'have')

Selo-Dee – Past

Selo – Present

Sha-Ver – Close, as in, a position. Standing close to other another, etc.

Para'A'- An object of great importance

Nev'Se – "Focus", in terms of a focus to do something; your calling in life, a job.

Siam'A-Yan

RuNe-Eyz – Knowledge, to know something

Siam'A-Yan – Describes the concept of "everything". Not a direct translation of the word everything, but the idea of ALL

Ran'U Gar-O – Forget, Forgotten

Dov'Ah-Mut – "Dragon" or, a certain creature of dragon-like appearance. Similar to Bahamut (Rendered Ba'Ha-Mut)

Va'I – "Understanding" or, similar meaning

Tem'Iss – Emotion, feelings (Board term, usually used with a modifier of what type of emotion)

T'u-Uz – A phrase of assurance, or surety. Not a direct translation to any word, more of a board term

Van – "Good"

Aja – Infinite, endless, etc

Y'Ice – "Choice"

Rem-En – Never, none, similar words

TatRa – "Wait", "Hold", "Stop"