Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

Part Sixteen- Reclaim

(Grand Hall, the Castle in the Sky)

At the formation of LaShiec and Alisa's combined magic, the entire castle seemed to shudder unnaturally, as if pulled into another world. Dark purple light flared to life, seeping through the cracks in reality, guided by Alisa's hands as she pointed towards Nekishe. LaShiec raised his scepter aloft, and the four warriors felt as if existence itself were being destroyed.

"Don't look so surprised," Alisa taunted, her voice coming from all around the group. "You didn't think you were the only ones who could Collabo magic, did you?"

The green-purple shard of crystal Damoa had given to Lutz suddenly emitted its strange light, wrapping around Lutz and his companions as Aeternal Zero's continuum-destroying effects raged around them, a low-pitched hum like wind chimes emitting from the crystal.

"Holy crap!" Tairon and Myau said, almost at the same time. Tairon managed to finish, "That old fart was right!"

"That wasn't some random piece of glass!" Myau added.

Once the Collabo magic ended and reality returned to normal, the protective field from the Rykrosian crystal faded as well. Upon seeing Tairon, Nekishe, Lutz, and Myau still alive, Alisa's jaw dropped in shock.

"H-how... how the hell!?" she demanded. "How did you survive our magic!?"

"Consider yourselves lucky, fools!" LaShiec told the group of four. "Divine protection rarely happens twice!"

"Once is all we need, LaShiec!" Tairon said, levelling his rifle at the tyrant's chest. "Let's do this!"

With a savage battle cry, Nekishe lunged towards LaShiec, swinging his energy sword frantically. He heard LaShiec grunt in pain as the sword cut across his arm, but before he could get another swing against LaShiec, Alisa swung her shield into the young man, backing him away.

"Okay, Neks. Good idea," Myau started, "Lousy execution. Power!"

As it had during the fight against Doctor Mad, Nekishe felt his arms tighten, then loosen, his muscles becoming stronger. "Thanks, Myau," he replied, raising his sword into a defensive position. "You all right?"

"Meh, nothing a nice healing couldn't fix," Myau replied, watching Tairon fire a shot at LaShiec. The bolt from the laser rifle grazed LaShiec's neck, but was nowhere near enough to bring him down. Even still, Tairon found LaShiec's injured grunt satisfying.

"Gi Flaeli!"

A massive bolt of fire burst from Lutz's hand, striking LaShiec in the chest. Even with his pained grunts echoing through the Castle in the Sky's throne room, he still showed no sign of any diminished combat capability.

Odd... a normal Palman should have been on his knees by now, Lutz thought. His own magic can't be keeping him up.

"You... you dare attack your Lord and King?!" LaShiec boomed, eying his cuts and marred armor. "Know that attempted regicide is punishable by immediate execution, terrorists!"

"Allow me to execute these... peasants myself," Alisa said, taking a step towards the group, sword readied. She spat the word "peasants" as if it were a curse, as she looked down her nose at the four.

"My love, do as you wish with these curs," LaShiec told her, as he readied his scepter.

Alisa smirked cruelly as she approached her former friends. "I've been waiting a very long time for this, traitors. After stringing me along all these months, now I can show you how I felt about being used."

"Alisa, we never used you!" Myau said, uneasily backing away from her. "I always thought you were a great friend-"

"And let me show you true 'friendship,' cat. Megid!"

The central ruby of Alisa's Hell Crown flared red, as the red shimmer in her eyes intensified. A massive corona of purple energy pulsed from her raised hand, exploding when it reached Myau. The slow, intense burst buffeted Lutz, Tairon, and Nekishe, as energy from another dimension tore at them. Great gashes and burns formed as the spell dissipated, and Alisa leapt back, preparing for a retaliatory strike.

Despite the rapidly-spreading burns covering him, Tairon managed to sight LaShiec in his rifle's scope, and fired another burst of energy. His aim faltered through his pain, and the blue energy bolt narrowly missed LaShiec's head by inches.

"Everyone, spread out!" Tairon ordered, starting to limp to one side. "Megid's like a slow combustion bomb- if we spread out, Alisa can only target one of us!"

"Let's ensure that she won't have Megid to fall back on," Lutz replied, raising his hand. "Seals!"

A white circle formed at Alisa's feet, and lines of energy started to trace a pattern in the circle. She raised an eyebrow as she recognized the pattern- it was a simple one Espers used to prevent someone from using magical energy. "Trying to seal away my magic, Lutz?" she asked. "I know you can do it... even with all that pain distracting you. You must hurt a lot, huh?"

Gritting his teeth, Lutz tried to finish drawing the Seals sigil, but was dropped to one knee by Megid's ongoing pain. Clutching his hand to his leg, the incomplete sigil flickered, then faded from sight.

"Awwww," Alisa said, her voice taunting. "And you were so! Close! A shame."

"One of the quirks of the labor class, Alisa dearest- these people can never do anything right." LaShiec laughed as he glared at the group. "They can't even kill us right."

"Screw you!" Nekishe shouted, running towards LaShiec. He thrust his energy sword forward, then gripped its handle with both hands as he tried to bring the searing blade to LaShiec's neck. He wasn't successful, but his empowered swing had cut a mark into the Lord King's chest. Grunting in pain and anger, LaShiec swung his scepter at Nekishe, its ornate head smashing the young man full on in the face. Blood dripped from his forehead and nose as he backed off, dazed from the impact of the swing.

"Are you all right?!" Tairon asked.

"I thig so. Iz ma node bokken?"

"Sounds it."

Grinning, LaShiec raised his scepter aloft again. "Prepare for the abyss, fools. Thunder Halberd!"

Arcs of electricity shot forth from the scepter, striking each warrior one by one in his chest. Even with the Rykrosian crystal nullifying what they had called "Hell Lightning," the thunder still packed quite a punch; the four screamed in pain with the spell's impact.

"Urrrgh... this... this should take some of the pain away, I hope," Myau groaned. "Do Heal!"

He was right, to a degree: While the Do Heal spell helped recover some of the group's injuries, they were still in bad shape. On the other hand, the burns left behind from Megid stopped spreading. Refreshed somewhat, Nekishe raised one of his dorjes, a crystal glowing dark blue.

"Brose!"

Freezing-cold air formed around LaShiec as his armor began icing over. Moments later, ice shards formed, spiking into his skin. Nekishe's dorje flared with its blue light, subsided, then returned to its brilliance. He readied his sword as Tairon fired another energy blast at LaShiec, shearing off some of the ice, bringing some layers of his skin with the ice sheets. The tyrant screamed, feeling actual pain for the first time in a very long time.

Dark Force, help us presevere, he quietly urged, watching Lutz raise his hand again.

"Gi Flaeli!"

Lutz formed another fireball, sending it blasting into the same scorch mark he left with his last Gi Flaeli spell. Once again, LaShiec grunted, knocked back by the force of the spell. Very unusual, the blue-haired Esper decided. Something IS keeping him going, I'm sure of it. But what? What could it-

"Cure!" Alisa called, her hand surrounded by pink energy. Myau and Lutz both found her choice of spell unusual- they hadn't done anything long-lasting to warrant such a simple spell.

"Unless..." Myau started. His eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Uh-oh!"

"Gi Flaeli!" LaShiec cast, forming a fireball in his hand. The fireball shot forth, then suddenly U-turned, merging with the curative energy around Alisa's hand.

"Collabo Magic... HELL GATE!"

The magical energy became a massive wave of fire, searing Nekishe and the others as the fire took on the shapes of various demons and monsters. To Nekishe, one particular lick of flame took on the shape of a demonic looking version of Alisa before disappearing completely.

"Y'know," Nekishe said, "Collabos really suck to be on the wrong end of."

"You're telling me," Tairon groaned, staggering to his feet. "Lil' Buddy, think you can start blocking those Collabos?"

"Hope so!" was the Musk Cat's reply. "Until then... Terror!"

Between Myau and Alisa, shadows formed into the shape of a mighty, heavily armored warrior. His red eyes glared beneath his helmet's eye slot, locking with the Lady Queen's equally red eyes. She simply scoffed and closed her eyes, turning her nose up at the hellish knight. Sighing in discontent, the knight hung his head in shame before disappearing.

"Well, crap," Myau said. "Looks like it didn't scare her."

"Of course not," Alisa replied, opening her eyes again. "I've seen that spell, Myau. Nothing you could do could actually scare me."

"Better to scare you out of fighting, than to harm you," Lutz told her. "Alisa, we're not here to fight you. Just LaShiec."

"Well, then, the gloves come off!" LaShiec replied. "If it's a fight you want, then it's one you get! Gi Tandle!"

"Hehe... Gi Flaeli!"

Alisa's magical fire combined with the thunder LaShiec had conjured. Immediately, Neksihe, Tairon, and Lutz raised their shields, knowing what was coming next.

"Collabo Magic... DISASTER!"

The magical energy exploded, both electrocuting and burning Lutz, Nekishe, Tairon, and Myau as it slammed them against the far wall of the throne room. Myau slid down the wall painfully, landing on his feet with a pained hiss.

"That really hurt," he grumbled as he shook his head. "Lutz, heads up! M-Barrier!"

The familiar prismatic hexagons swirled around Lutz, then faded from sight. Tairon's eye twitched as he ran up to Myau. "You freakin' cat! Why didn't you do that before!?" he shouted, somehow resisting the urge to strangle Myau.

"I thought healing and empowering would have been better, duh!"

While they argued, Lutz nodded to Nekishe. "I hate to do this to Alisa," he said, watching the blonde take a glowing yellow dorje out of his pocket. "But if it can distract her spellcasting, then we must. Gi Hewn!"

"Tandle!" The dorje struggled to contain the magical energy contained with it, cracking and shattering as it failed. Luckily, Nekishe had managed to cast his spell successfully.

"Collabo Magic... TORNADO!"

A massive whirlwind of energy formed between Nekishe and Lutz, and it spun towards Alisa and LaShiec. Chunks of debris and stonework slammed into them, buffeting them with choking winds and minor lightning pulses. As the tornado spun, Tairon fired another shot at LaShiec, then cursed as a steady beep emitted from the rifle. "Bad news!" he called to the group. "The big gun's out of juice!"

"That salesman said it was guaranteed for life!" Myau shouted. "When we get back to Skure, I'm gonna get our money back!"

"We'll argue this later, Myau!" Tairon called back, tossing the now useless laser rifle aside. Drawing his Laconia axe, he grinned and called, "I've still got THIS!"

"You don't say," LaShiec said, as if he saw the blue-green axe every day. "Alisa and I still have a few tricks up our sleeve, as well. Another Gate!"

"Of course, my dear Reipard! Megid!"

"Collabo Magic... AETERNAL ZERO!"

Once again, reality itself warped and folded around the four as what felt to be all the pain and suffering in the Algo system coursed through them. Nekishe suddenly found himself willing to run from the throne room, as fast and as far as he could. Myau wanted to see if Lutz had any Meseta or fish tucked into his mantle. Tairon seemed fine enough, just much more lethargic than usual, and Lutz felt physically drained.

Again, the crystallic shard of Rykross protected the four from spiritual and very real death, but Lutz and his companions were much worse for the wear. Tairon hefted his axe and swung at LaShiec, partially sinking it in his right shoulder in spite of all his movements being much slower.

"That Collabo's affecting us, Myau," Lutz told the Musk Cat. "Hewn!"

"Cure!"

"Collabo Magic... MEDICAL TREAT!"

The restorative magic guided itself into Lutz's miniature tornado, spreading it across Nekishe, Tairon, and themselves. The deletrious effects of Aeternal Zero faded away, and Nekishe found a new sense of resolve.

For Alisa, he thought, rushing LaShiec with his energy sword. I'm doing this to save you, Alisa. I can't let him hurt you any more.

He felt something give, as the energy blade cut into LaShiec's armor, a small vertical cut on his torso starting to bleed through the wrought dark armor. Backing off, he shouted, "It's over, LaShiec!"

"Damn right it is!" Tairon added, bringing his axe clean into the gash Nekishe just made. LaShiec screamed in agony, then kicked Tairon away just as the giant man ripped the Laconia weapon from the wound.

"It's not over," LaShiec groaned, limping towards Alisa. Feeling her bracing him on her shoulders, he continued, "Even if, by some freak chance, you manage to kill me, just how are you going to do with Alisa?"

"We'll stop that brainwashing you've done to her," Nekishe said. "That crown she's wearing-"

"Oh?" Alisa asked, amused. "You truly think that the Hell Crown is controlling me? Oh, Nekishe... silly, silly, Nekishe. The Hell Crown doesn't control me. I control it. I can take it off, put it in a box, cleave the crown in half a year later... I won't change. The only ones who tried to brainwash me are you four!"

"That's what LaShiec wants you to believe, Alisa!" Lutz urged. "Shrug off his control. You can do it!"

"'Control?' Reipard has no control over me," Alisa replied. The red shimmer in her eyes intensified as she said, "I have free will. All Reipard did was open my eyes to it."

"Alisa..." Nekishe started.

"I was a little nervous at first, becoming Reipard's queen, but now... the fear is gone. I have fully embraced the power Reipard has shown me, and now... no fears. No reservations. I must say, I've rather enjoyed being queen. Such power he's bestowed upon me... Reipard and I will usher in a new era for Algo. Now tremble, traitors to the crown!" Alisa shouted. "Become the first sacrifices to Reipard's, mine, and Algo's new God... Dark Force!"

"Myau, now! Gi Hewn!" Lutz shouted, anticipating another attack.

"Do Heal!"

"Collabo Magic... RECOVERY!"

Mixing together, the wind and healing magics fell upon the four warriors, completely revitalizing them. Some of their burns still remained, but they no longer hurt or oozed. Smirking, Alisa raised her hands.

"Gi Hewn!"

Nekishe quickly raised a dorje. "Hewn!" he cried, summoning a tempest of his own. The two dueling whirlwinds pressed against each other, before Nekishe's Hewn was subsumed into Alisa's more powerful spell. It had helped to blunt the impact of the spell, a fact the four Protectors of Algo considered as Alisa's spell impacted them.

"Thunder Halberd!" Lashiec's scepter raised upward, flared with energy that passed through the Protectors' bodies; this time, unblunted by a competing Tandle spell.

"Gi Flaeli!" Lutz cried, sending a bolt of fire towards LaShiec. Her ever-present malevolent smirk crossing her face, Alisa feigned a yawn, then raised her hand for a spell of her own.

"Gi Brose!"

The two spells slammed into each other, as both casters focused their will and energy into their magic; effectively, Lutz and Alisa canceled each others' spell.

"Hey, Big Guy! Here's some help for ya! Power!" Myau yelled, sending strength and might into Tairon.

He grinned, giving his axe a test swing. "Now I can do some damage!" he said, twirling the Laconia axe around.

Nekishe raised a glowing teal dorje, then pointed it at Tairon. "Heal!" he shouted. Tairon's injuries healed; not much, but it was the best he could do to keep the giant man standing and a-roaring.

"Dangerous move, boy," LaShiec said, clapping his hands in mock congratulations. "I think it's time you thought about what you've done. Hypnosis!"

The incessant ticking of clocks and watches filled Nekishe's mind as the effects of combat, blood loss, and a very long day at Camineet Spaceport came flowing over Nekishe. Valiantly, he struggled to stay awake.

"Nekishe," he heard a woman's voice whisper. "Nekishe, my dear, you must be tired..."

He recognized the voice, one he thought he would never hear again, a voice he knew and loved dearly. "A-Alisa?" he asked.

"That's right, Nekishe. You're so tired..." Alisa's fake voice echoed in his head, and the scent of some exotic perfume filled his nostrils. "Come to bed, Nekishe, dearest. You need your sleep."

Nekishe's eyes closed, and he slumped to the floor, snoring loudly. Lutz and Myau sweatdropped at the sight; Tairon instead roared in anger and swung his axe at LaShiec, chopping into his left leg.

"Gyaaah! Very persistent warriors, you are," LaShiec groaned, shifting his weight onto his right leg. "Perhaps there's some truth to be said about the Protectors of Algo having superhuman might, after all!"

"Dark Force shall empower us, my love," Alisa cooed, blocking Tairon's slashes with her tainted Laconia shield.

"Gi Flaeli!" Once again, Lutz had sent a bolt of fire towards LaShiec. Unlike the last few Gi Flaelis he cast, Alisa held her shield high, absorbing most of the magical blast.

This left Tairon free to hack away at LaShiec. Grunting with exertion, he slammed the axe's Laconia head into LaShiec's torso, then kicked him away. LaShiec tumbled, dropping his scepter, rolling behind the throne pathetically as he struggled to his feet, his injured leg hampering his efforts.

"Damn it, Nekishe! Now's not the time to sleep!" Myau yelled at the sleeping blonde. "Cure!"

In his dreams, Nekishe heard the clarion call of an alarm clock rousing him. Muttering to himself, he stood up, picking up his energy sword. "...I hate mornings," he groaned.

"It's three in the afternoon!" Myau told him. "Now stay awake! Tairon's got LaShiec in a corner!"

"Not for long, he doesn't, cat! Thunder Halberd!"

The scepter's head started to blaze blue, collecting its wielder's magical energy. Alisa raised her arm, then pointed at the scepter's head.

"Megid!"

Hellish purple energy formed in Alisa's hand, then floated into the central jewel of LaShiec's scepter. The twin energies turned black as night, and both LaShiec and Alisa smiled in recognition.

"Collabo Magic... BLACK WAVE!"

The energy coalesced into a black bolt of energy that enveloped Nekishe, lifting him off the ground as pain filtered through his entire body. As he screamed in pain, he could feel pinpricks and cuts forming in the trunk of his body.

My dorjes! he realized. They're all breaking! Damn!

Once the beam of energy faded, Nekishe was slammed roughly to the floor of the throne room, and Alisa laughed cruelly. "Did I hurt you?" she mocked, watching Lutz and Tairon help him up. "Get used to it, peasant- life hurts."

"And when it hurts, there's salvation at hand!" Myau chimed in. "Do Heal!"

Again, the group was healed. This time, Lutz and Myau realized that they were quickly running out of magical energy to use. Tairon could sense this, and started heading for them, a bottle of Trifluid in his hand.

"Uh-uh-uh! I don't think so!" he could hear Alisa say. "Megid!"

The purple energy sphere slammed into Tairon, exploding with supernatural might as the terrible energy tore into him and his companions. He could hear the Trifluid bottle shatter against the floor, dropped when the Megid blast first struck him.

Behind the throne, LaShiec gritted his teeth, trying to compose himself. They dare attack me, and they threaten my Alisa now? No, no... not today, Light. Ares and Hera's daughter is mine, and mine she shall remain. "Reinforce!"

He could feel himself tensing up, some of his injuries no longer throbbing, as the spell took effect. Gathering his scepter, LaShiec boldly marched back into the fray, murderous intent in his eyes. Seconds later, Tairon buried the Laconia axe into LaShiec's chest. There was no pain, no hurt- the axe merely bounced off ineffectively, just as it had before, to Tairon's considerable surprise.

"Hey, Lutz! Is that crystal doohickey still working!?" he asked, staring in surprise as LaShiec pushed the axe away.

"It is, indeed. Has LaShiec cast another spell?"

"I think so! I just tried to axe him, and it didn't do anything!"

"I see... Do Heal!"

As the Protectors' injuries suddenly waned, Nekishe raised his energy blade. "Hey, Tairon!" he shouted to him. "Maybe we need two people!"

"Maybe! Let's do this!"

LaShiec watched smugly, as Nekishe and Tairon both rushed him simultaneously. There were two swings, one crunch and one burning sensation, but no pain. The two warriors stared dumbfounded as LaShiec lifted them off their feet, then threw them back into the center of the throne room.

"And now, my next spell... Thunder Halberd!"

Again, arcs of energy shot from the scepter, burning the four warriors, the Rykrosian crystal deflecting the more harmful effects. Myau tried valiantly to rush the tyrant king in an effort to drive the Silver Fang through his head, but found himself quickly staring at the LaShiec family crest emblazoned on Alisa's shield as she knocked him away.

"Damn Musk Cat," she sighed as she stepped up to Nekishe, sword drawn. "Reipard, my love, what say we leave the cat for last? They still have those Laerma nuts he loves... and I could use a nice fur cape for winter."

"Then my queen shall have it!" LaShiec grinned.

"And as for you, Nekishe," Alisa continued, raising her sword. "You were only Nero's friend in an effort to get into my skirt, weren't you."

"No! No, Alisa!" Nekishe pleaded. "I... Alisa, Nero was a great friend of mine, but... my feelings for you... I've always had them."

"Lies! Damned lies!" she screamed, swinging her Laconia sword at Nekishe. Nekishe dodged the swing, and rolled close to Tairon, not taking his eyes off of Alisa. Her blood-red eyes stared angrily at him as she slowly advanced.

Behind him, Lutz raised the Psycho Wand over his head, showering LaShiec in green light. He could sense the Reinforce effect lifting away from the evil king, and he called, "I dispelled the magic keeping him up! Tairon! Nekishe! Go for it!"

"Rock and roll, chummer!" Tairon called, dashing towards LaShiec, watching him slump to one knee. Nekishe advanced as well, raising his sword just as Tairon raised his axe.

There was a sickening crunch, and Alisa watched, helpless and horrified, as Reipard LaShiec slumped to the floor, a bloodied cross smashed into his chest from the simultaneous attacks. Blood starting to pool beneath him as he wheezed in agony.

Alisa's jaw quivered, her red eyes furrowing in hatred as she viewed the four warriors. "You... you made me a widow," she finally said. "You will not leave this castle. MEGID!"

Another Megid blast tore through the warriors. Myau rose to his four feet first, saying, "Alisa, LaShiec's gonna die in a few minutes! It's time to end the spell he has cast on you! Cure!"

"We must exorcise this evil magic from you, Alisa... Cure!"

The twin Cure spells flowed into Alisa, showering her in pink energy. When it faded, Alisa glared at the group, hatred still in her eyes. "You thought Reipard has me under a spell?" she demanded. "Here's a spell for you: MEGID!"

Fueled by Alisa's raw anger, this particular Megid sent Myau, Tairon, and Lutz to opposite corners of the throne room, slamming them with brutal force into the walls. Nekishe found himself slammed backwards into a pillar, his energy sword sent spinning across the throne room from the force of the impact. "You!" she called to Nekishe. "You're not going anywhere! Magic Rope!"

A bright white rope suddenly formed from nowhere, looping around Nekishe and binding him to the pillar. Once the rope tied off, Alisa glared at the Protectors, then shouted, "Megid!"

Once again, agony for the Protectors as Megid blasted through them. They were near death, and they knew it.

"And now, Nekishe," Alisa said, standing in front of him. She held her sword to his throat. "It was a valiant effort, you see. But..." Her blood-red lips curved once again into her cruel smirk. "I've beaten you. No more Protectors."

"Alisa..."

Out of the corner of his eye, Nekishe could see the crystal shard lodged into the column, probably by one of the Megid blasts, he figured. By startling coincidence, he was pinned with it right next to his head.

"Any last words, Nekishe Eushys, before Reipard and I usher in a new age for Algo?"

The Magic Rope spell ended; much sooner than Alisa had anticipated. Nekishe grabbed the crystal shard as Alisa reared back with her sword.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Alisa!"

The Rykrosian shard thrust forth, as did Alisa's blade...

There was give.

Alisa looked at Nekishe, totally surprised, as he buried the crystal within her heart. Her grip slacked, and her sword and shield clattered to the floor with resounding thuds. Tears streamed down Nekishe's face as he continued, "I'm sorry, Alisa... I didn't want to... but... I had to save Algo..."

"Nekishe... you..."

She slumped to her knees, then fell to her back, separating from her body as she saw the devastated throne room. There was no sound as Nekishe walked away from Alisa, towards LaShiec's dying form. The energy sword raised...

"No!" Alisa cried out, but Nekishe didn't hear her. She watched Nekishe behead her husband, then give assistance to his companions. They spoke soundlessly, then left the throne room. Almost immediately, she felt herself returning to her body. Pain radiated all through her, originating from the crystal Nekishe had stabbed her with.

"Such a succulent morsel," she heard a voice say, everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was the very first time she heard the voice, but she felt as if she knew it.

"Dark Force," she said.

"Yes... Alisa LaShiec, I told you the last time we met that I would have you as a bride," Dark Force replied. "And now, you are Mine. Much more powerful than that fool, Jonathan Hope, by any means... accept Me, Alisa LaShiec... accept Dark Force."

"I... yes. I do, Dark Force. I accept," Alisa said, her voice nearly a whisper.

And with that, the pain subsided. Her wounds healed, and Alisa experienced a strange sensation. She saw a hideous, mawed face staring down upon her- a face that all of a sudden didn't seem so hideous.

That face, she thought. Just like the one I saw when we were at the Governor's mansion...

She remembered the nightmare all too well- a massive demon destroying her companions effortlessly, then turning upon her, ravaging her as she shrieked for mercy. The nightmare was happening again, this time all too real. This time, however, Alisa did not beg, she did not plead, nor beg as she felt Dark Force set itself upon her. Instead, there was nothing but pleasure. Alisa was enjoying herself this time, and Dark Force knew it.

"And at long last, you are Mine, Alisa LaShiec," Dark Force whispered.

"And I... am Yours," Alisa gasped in reply.

An hour passed, then two, and Alisa rose from the throne room's ruined floor, centering the Hell Crown upon her forehead. Sighing in content, she smoothed the wrinkles from her dress, then looked out the large window of the castle's throne room. Expecting to see the vistas of Palma outside the window, instead she saw a new world; one whose soil consisted of strangely checkered tiles, its sky milky white with black pinprick stars. Mountains resembling Mandelbrot plots rose from the surface of the world, and seas that looked like liquid stained glass bubbled in the distance.

"Where are we?" Alisa asked, looking at a massive city made of glass and steel in the distant horizon.

"This is The Edge, whence My Progenitor sleeps," she heard Dark Force explain. "The seal the Great Light placed upon Algo has redoubled its strength, thenceforth I have been forced to return here. As this castle originated within The Edge, it too returned."

"I see... and we are forced to remain here?" Alisa asked.

"Unfortunately so, damn the Great Light. Do not despair, Alisa. We shall return to Algo with time. One thousand years and one day hence, the seal shall weaken again... and We shall return. You, Myself... and the child growing within you."

"A child?" Alisa asked the demon, who motioned her to the window. Looking at her reflection in the window, she could see her stomach starting to swell, growing noticeably rounder within the reach of ten heartbeats.

"Our child, Alisa," Dark Force replied.

Her ruby lips curled into a satisfied smile as she the first signs of movement inside her. "Prepare yourselves, people of Algo..." Alisa whispered. "Together, your worlds shall be reduced to cinders in space. For I am Alisa LaShiec, the bride of Dark Force," she continued.

Behind her, Dark Force's claw-like arms folded around her, cradling her and their unborn child. Hopefully, she prayed, the first of many.

"Now... and forever."

The end? Like Shir it is!