EXISTENCE END

Part Seven: The Fury Protocols

the 82^nd tale of agc

written and created by Mark Bousquet

THE BATTLE FOR EARTH

The Current State of Affairs:

New York City: The Olympians (Army of Doom) vs. The White Rider (The Third Army of Franklin Richards), vs. The Army of Kang, witnessed by Michelangelo Stark (neutral)

Paris: The Angelux (AoD) vs. The Red Rider (Third) vs. the Army of Kang

Moscow: The Eternals (AoD) vs. the Pale Rider (Third) vs. the Black Knight (neutral) vs. the Army of Kang

Tokyo: Claimed by the Alliance

Hong Kong: Claimed by the Alliance

Alexandria, Egypt: Daimon Hellstrom and the Demons of the Earth Underworld (AoD) vs. Apocalypse and the Avengers (Third) vs. The Army of Kang

At the Gates of Attilan: Hawkeye, Crystal, K'Zan, Golden Eagle, Dr. H2O, Kendar, and Kendra (Alliance)

The Florida Everglades: The Alliance of Asgard

2202 / JANUARY

THE FANTASTIC COLONIES

John Francis Saint swore at the sight behind him.

"You shouldn't swear," the out-of-shape young man Green said to him.

Saint shot Green an angry look as the Colonies rumbled, falling apart. "What's happening?" Green asked, feigning curiosity.

"The FC is coming apart," Saint explained. "The Colonies are built from ships and stations connected together. Some of those ships are cutting bait and making a break for it on their own. Can't really say I blame them."

"Why would they run? Aren't we safe?" Green asked, stifling a yawn.

Saint pushed down the urge to slap him. "Aren't you supposed to be the Celestial Messiah? Can't you do something about this?"

The FC Commander grabbed the young man's shoulders and spun him around, giving Green a view of what went on out beyond the rear of the station. Green and Saint watched as a planet and it’s moons began to crumble, swallowed by an oncoming wave of total darkness. "Pretty," Green said, scratching his fat stomach through his tee-shirt.

"Pretty?" Saint hollered. "That's the collapse of the universe we're watching you little sh-"

Green snapped his fingers, silencing Saint. "Please don't swear. I hate it when people swear. The plants never swear, you know. The Cotati taught me a hundred million languages of the green and not a single one of them contains a profanity." Green turned around and faced the exasperated Commander. He crooked a thumb at the devastation behind them. "This is nothing. It's going to get a lot worse before it's over."

"You don't say," Saint grumbled, turning away.

"I just did," Green said. "By the way, all of the snack machines are out of cheese doodles. Do you know when we'll be getting any more?"

"Get out of my sight!"

Neither noticed the Ro'nin warrior hidden in the air vent above them.

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT

Apocalypse fell.

Kang the Conqueror smiled.

Armies cannot win without leaders, he knew. The Third Army of Franklin Richards had lost its leader here, in Egypt, and the meaningless ants that were called soldiers would soon fall. Now, if he could find Hellstrom he could slay Doom's leader and leave this forsaken place. There were other battles that needed to be fought.

He wondered, as he looked around the hand-to-hand combat on the field of battle, as he looked through the smoke and fire, when his father would realize that Kang the Conqueror had thought of everything.

KANSAS

THE KENT HOMESTEAD

Captain America, Eshir, and the woman called Diana stood inside a barn in the middle of the Kansas farmlands.

"The Fury Protocols are located here?" Eshir asked, looking around at what appeared to be a very ordinary, and very empty, barn.

"They are hidden beneath the surface," Cap answered, moving quickly to an empty horse's stall to their left.

"Wait," Eshir said as Diana ushered him to join Cap. "Don't you need that book Ben-Vell took from the Dall before Asgard fell?"

Steve shook his head. "No, that was in case I was unable to come here and activate the controls myself. We left plenty of dummy plans in place over the years in order to throw people off our track. The truth is, only myself, Beta Ray Bill, Balder, Diana, and Clark knew how to activate the Protocols." Steve pressed a button on the wall three times, and a small console emerged from the floor.

"What are the Fury Protocols anyway?" Eshir asked. "And why are they so important?"

Cap's hands calmly punched in a series of passwords into the console. "They are the last hope of humanity," he said. "After the Millenium Encounter and the fall of Diana's world, it became apparent that we needed to create an ultimate back-up plan. The beginning of the 21^st century was a time of much restlessness. There was a sense of unease in the air - corporations were becoming globalized as individual countries were becoming isolationists. There were few wars, but military budgets increased a hundred-fold across the globe. Espionage work was never more prevalent, which led to even more mistrust. There were so many cover agents in the field that no one really knew who anyone was allied with. This led to President Stark's Iron Sentinels program." Cap shook his head and glanced briefly at Eshir. "Sorry. This is not the time for long-winded explanations. Suffice it to say we called a meeting of all the main heroes of the day and asked for ideas on what to do. We would teach the next generation of heroes, of course, and they would teach the next and so on down the line, but … well, it just wasn't good enough. We were nervous, too. We needed some way to guarantee that we'd be able to exert a stronger influence when the time came. That meant sacrifice. Not of life, but of a life lived."

The final code was entered and the barn rumbled to life with old machinery. Slowly but steadily, six large cylinders emerged from the ground, covered in dust.

"Six heroes sacrificed their lives to come back to us in our moment of need," Captain America explained, looking wistfully at the tubes. The three moved out to stand in the middle of them, three cylinders on each side.

Steve pointed to each of the six tubes in order: "Namor, Prince of Atlantis. Wolverine. Nick Fury. Jean Grey. Storm." His finger rested on the last of the cylinders, one that was nearly three times the size as the rest. "The Hulk."

Diana spoke to Eshir but her eyes were on Steve. "Six heroes who willingly agreed to be placed in stasis chambers, giving up their lives so they could be ready when the time came to defend this world."

"At the time," Steve said, moving to Fury's cylinder, "we didn't know Franklin would resurrect the rest of the First Age, or that some of us would live this long. This was Fury's idea - that's why we named the Protocols after him." Steve wiped the dust off the front of Fury's glass tube and the small smile that had crept onto his face at the memories of his old friends vanished.

"What's wrong?" Diana asked, concerned.

"He's not there," Steve said. He moved to the cylinders control panel and unlocked the door. The rotting body of Nick Fury crumpled forward.

"Did you really think I would allow the Fury Protocols to ever be unleashed, father?"

Cap, Diana, and Eshir turned to see Kang the Conqueror standing in the doorway to the barn. "Hello, mother," he chided. "You're looking old and decrepit."

"How did you do this?" Steve asked, anger in his voice.

"I'm a time traveler," Kang snorted. "Did you really think you could keep the codes from me?"

Silence descended onto the barn, broken after a few moments by Kang's cold, hard laugh. "Failure fits you so well, father. After all this time, after two centuries that you spent wondering about the six men and women who gave their lives, in the end, it was all for nothing. I hope you feel disappointed, father, because that was what I felt when I learned just who it was who had fathered, then abandoned me."

Kang took a step back away from them and out into the daylight. "Now stay out of my way. I have a planet to save. You have been rendered useless. Do not fret - such a day comes for all parents."

OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN

K'Zan held aloft a group of heroes inside a large red box that he created with his powers. K'Zan flew above the construct, enabling him to look out to see where they were going and down to see the group of heroes assembled within: Hawkeye, Crystal, Golden Eagle, Dr. H2O, Kendar, and Kendra.

"A box?" the hero known as Hawkeye asked him for the 100^th time. "You couldn't have made a plane?"

"These powers are still new to me," K'Zan explained, wondering if it would be all that bad to make a hole appear beneath the archer. "And the power cosmic is weakening, so please, accept this box as-"

"Yeah, yeah," Clint said. "It's okay. We should be there any minute now anyway."

K'Zan said nothing, wondering how it was that Captain America trusted this guy.

NEW YORK CITY

Ash'lin and Angelica made their way cautiously through the city, avoiding conflict wherever and whenever possible. The city was awash in chaos as the Olympians, the forces of the White Rider, and the Army of Kang fought for control. Large Iron Sentinels stalked the city between them, battling both the Army of Doom and Franklin.

"I don't like this," Ash'lin seethed, pulling her dark green cloak in tight around her. "We should not have split up."

"I agree," Angelica replied, pulling Ash'lin out of the way as a piece of building crashed down onto the pavement. "But it makes sense. As Brono said, what's important is that someone gets to the ULN and gets them to release the Saviors. It does us no good for all four of us to be ambushed together."

Ash'lin looked at the young woman with scorn. "Do not fall into that trap, Angelica."

"What trap?"

"The trap of agreeing to everything your man says. This is a bad plan. Strength comes in numbers, not in stealth."

Angelica felt her back rise up in anger. "I'm not agreeing with Brono because he's 'my man,' as you put it, Ambassador. The plan makes sense. Let Brono and Spider work their way through the underground tunnels while we make our way across the city's surface." Ash'lin waved away a reply and they moved out again, cautiously eyeing an Iron Sentinel looming above them.

They never saw the attack that came from behind.

An explosion rocked the pavement behind them, sending the two women sprawling forward. Angelica was blasted into a soldier of Franklin and Ash'lin was slammed hard into the side of the SCN/Bugle Building. The soldier pushed Angelica to the ground, and as she fell she recognized the man's costume.

Spider-Man.

"Spiders and goblins!" a shrill voice shrieked above them. Angelica leaned her head back as she lay on the pavement to see that her mother, the Green Gobliness, had come to join them.

THE CITADEL

"This is outrageous!" Sibearia roared, slamming his hairy paws against a locked door. "We were created to save the Earth! How can the ULN keep us locked away here like rats in a cage?"

Princess Sand said nothing. There was nothing to say. They all felt what Sibearia expressed. Did the ULN have any idea what it meant to be kept from fulfilling one's purpose in life? How could they-

"Uhhhhhh," she moaned, then fell limp to the floor.

Sibearia spun on his hindquarters. "You!" he roared.

"Me," said the Vision. "I am sorry, Sibearia, about this confinement, but it cannot be helped."

"Helped?" the Russian bear roared. "You are in control of the Earth's defenses. You could prevent this! Free us, Vision, the Earth needs us."

"I am afraid," the Vision said, his cold voice matter-of-fact, "that the Earth is doomed."

"But the Alliance-"

"The Alliance cannot win," the Vision said, taking a step towards Sibearia. "And as it is my duty to protect the Earth, and as it is my conclusion the Earth cannot be saved, it is only natural that the Saviors must stay here."

"Why?" the bear pleaded.

The Vision did not answer. Sibearia angrily swiped a paw at the synthezoid, but the Vision had gone intangible, its hand reaching for the bears' brain. In moments, Sibearia joined his teammate, unconscious on the floor.

CHRONOPOLIS

Doom watched the Battle for Earth play out on monitors before him as he pondered the reappearance of Kang. The battle itself meant nothing. The Alliance had taken Tokyo and Hong Kong? Doom would sacrifice his entire army to defeat without hesitation - so long as they bought him the time required to move the Infinity and Virus Bombs into place. No, it was Kang the Conqueror who was on Doom's mind. It was obvious this Kang was responsible for the murder of his adopted, Eternal son Kang. Or maybe not. The problem with time and universe jumpers was that one never really knew anything about them unless they knew it all.

Doom turned to check on the status of Attumidunn and Athena, who guarded the Virus and Infinity Bombs. Attumidunn would have to die. Of course, Doom knew, that was always the plan. "The young," he said aloud with derision. Did Attumidunn really believe she would survive the detonation of the Virus Bomb?

A loud thunder-crack blasted across the sky. For a quarter-moment, Doom let the sound wash over him, thinking nothing of it. The monarch then remembered he was not in his castle in Latveria, but inside Limbo. There should be no thunder in the realm devoid of air. Without panic (indeed it was with much curiosity), Doom's hands went to his console and brought up images of outside the castle. For the second time today, Doom received a surprise.

He did not like surprises, especially now, on the eve of his greatest victory. What he saw now brought Doom the greatest shock of his life.

Two Kree and three Shi'ar space ships had entered the sky directly above Chronopolis.

They began to fire.

THE TUNNELS BENEATH NEW YORK CITY

Brono and the Spider walked silently through the abandoned subway tunnels beneath New York City.

"When I was a child, Thor once thrilled me with a story of these tunnels," Brono said softly. "It was a magical tale of strange and wild creatures that lived under the earth. Of course, it being an Asgardian who was telling the tale, Thor didst emblazen it with a lie about him turning into a frog."

The Spider didn't turn around as he slogged forward through the inch-deep water. "Keep your voice down. These tunnels are more alive than the surface. Cross the wrong path and neither of us will ever see sunlight again."

Brono fell silent, and his thoughts turned to Angelica. He had wanted her and Ash'lin to take the tunnels, thinking it was the safer path, but the Spider insisted, even with the battle raging on the surface, that here, in the darkness, lay the more dangerous path.

They emerged out of the tunnel into an open area jammed with strange-looking humans. "Subway platform," Spider whispered. "Morlocks usually leave it alone though. Something's got them spooked. Walk quickly. Catch no one's eye."

"Morlocks?" Brono asked, quickening his pace to walk beside the Spider.

"Mutants that have been forced underground," the Spider explained. "There are families that have lived down here for 200 years, but new runaways are always coming down to join them."

A voice from the platform called down to them. "This is no place for the surface walkers, Spider."

Without stopping, Spider turned to look over his shoulder at a young woman, dressed in a purple robe. "Hello, Ravyn. What's new?"

"Surface walkers are flooding our tunnels. Strangers that seek to cause us harm. What is your business in the Morlock tunnels."

Brono stopped walking and faced the girl. "We seek passage to the United League of Nations. We seek allies to help save the Earth."

"Save the Earth?" Ravyn asked skeptically. "Why would you want to do a thing like that? Can't you tell it's broke? We've heard all the talk about the end of the world. Frankly," she waved her arms around at the Morlocks behind her, "we welcome it. Maybe the next world will be better for us."

Brono started to say something but Spider grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Let it go, Brono."

"Or maybe," Ravyn continued, "all of you high and mighties will wipe each other out, letting us meek inherit your wasteland."

The kingdomless King looked around at the sad, lost faces, and any words he had were lost. Even though these were not his people, he'd never felt less worthy of the title "King."

ABOVE GROUND

Angelica rolled to the side as her mother fired bullets from the tips of her gloves at Spider-Man. All of her life seemed to unfold inside her in a sudden rush. During her childhood she'd been told over and over again by her mother that Spider-Man was the enemy, that Osborns were meant to kill Parkers and Brocks and Spiders and Reillys. Seeing the First Age Spider-Man in the flesh, even corrupted as he was by Franklin Richards, unleashed a surge of emotions deep inside Angelica.

She curled into a fetal position, huddling against a transport vehicle, watching the dance of combat. Spider-Man moved faster than humanly possible, leaping from the sidewalk, climbing up the walls of the building, darting back and forth, always one step ahead of whatever weapon the Green Gobliness hurled at him.

"Kill him!" a voice screamed inside her head. Drool began to drip from the corners of her mouth as she watched her mother's nightmarish alter ego dance with Spider-Man from atop her goblin glider.

"Angelica," Ash'lin whispered, wiping the blood from her face, a product of a broken nose. "Let's move."

Angelica paid the Shi'ar Ambassador no heed. To the youngest Osborn, there was goblins and spiders and nothing else to the world. Gone was the memories she'd accumulated since the night the Black Pantheress stole her away from her mother and delivered her to Asgard. Volstagg, the Orphans, Balder, Beta Ray Bill, Thor, Odin … none of it meant anything to her. She was mentally transformed back into the small child who wanted nothing more than to kill Spider-Man.

"Let the hatred out!" the voice in her head screamed again. It was a male voice, she noted. "Kill, kill, kill!"

"Yes," she mumbled. "Kill the spider."

Somewhere a cautionary voice called to her. "It's the Goblin Legacy! You must fight it! Do not give in to the madness!" Angelica pushed that voice - a female voice - away.

"What?" Ash'lin asked from ten feet away, mistakenly thinking Angelica was talking to her. "Come on, let's move." She watched Angelica rise to her feet and take a step towards Spider-Man and the Gobliness, and swore under her breath. The skirmish would soon attract the attention of others around them, attention they did not need.

The battle now raged twenty feet above the street, but that did not stop Angelica from unsheathing the sword at her side. She watched as Spider-Man, his feet connecting him to the wall, shot webbing at the Gobliness and connected to her glider. He pulled hard and the Gobliness was caught off balance. Surprising the former hero, the Gobliness lunged forward, jumping off the glider and grabbing ahold of Spider-Man.

"They look like they're locked in a lover's embrace," the feminine voice in Angelica's head remarked.

"Disgusting!" the male voice spat. "Spiders are to be killed, not loved!"

Ash'lin noted there were tears in Angelica's eyes, and she found she could not move. Whatever it was that Angelica was experiencing, the Shi'ar Ambassador knew this was a scene that must play itself out.

An explosion cause Ash'lin's eyes to look up and she saw the hero and villain fall to the ground, bits of what looked like a burning pumpkin falling with them. The bodies crashed hard into the pavement with a sick thud. There was moaning. Ash'lin thought they were lucky to be alive.

It was not to last.

Angelica walked to Spider-Man and placed her foot on his chest. The male voice was screaming in her head. "I must kill you," she said, her voice scared and child-like. "I am sorry for this." She raised her sword and stabbed him through the heart.

Behind her, the Green Gobliness cackled with glee, though she still lay on the pavement, her legs twisted horribly beneath her.

Angelica paid her mother no attention as she reached down and removed Spider-Man's mask. The male voice inside her mind urged her to do despicable things, but Angelica pushed that voice away. She looked at the young, almost nerdish face, and tears began to fall softly from her eyes. "Peter Parker," she whispered, her mind rolling forward to remember all of the stories from Beta Ray Bill's histories. "You were always my favorite story book hero. Children should not have to grow up to kill their heroes, should they? You were better than this. I swear to you that Franklin Richards will pay for the blasphemy he's created by resurrecting the First Age."

"What is that your mumbling, my daughter?" the Gobliness wheezed, spitting blood up through her mask. "Quickly, come to me. Remove my mask and claim the mantle of the Goblin. You are a true Osborn, Angelica. It is time to embrace your legacy."

Pulling her sword from the heart of Spider-Man, Angelica watched the blood dripping off the tip. The Orphan moved to stand above her mother.

"Take the mask," her mother urged.

Angelica did just that, reaching down and removing the Goblin mask to look upon the face of her mother one last time.

"You are Goblin!" her mother laughed. "You have heard the Voice in your head! I know this! Norman calls to you, my sweet. Embrace your legacy!"

Angelica, tears blurring her vision, dropped the mask of the Green Goblin down onto her mother's chest, directly above her heart. "Good-bye, mother," she said, the tears flowing freely. "I am sorry that I will disappoint you one last time."

Angelica Osborn thrust her sword through the goblin mask and into the heart of her mother. The voices in her head went away, and she knew they would never come back.

KANSAS

THE KENT HOMESTEAD

Ben-Vell Parker descended from the sky to stand next to Eshir. He had seen Captain America standing with a woman across the wheat fields, but thought better than to land beside them.

"Ben," Eshir greeted.

"Esh," Ben greeted back. "What's going on? Who's the woman?"

"Diana, the … the mother of …" Eshir shook his head. "It would take to long to explain. Suffice it to say, the Fury Protocols will bring us no assistance."

Ben cocked his head. "The Fury Protocols? They're here? What are they?"

Eshir pointed to the barn at his back. "In there. Six dead heroes from the First Age."

"Well," Ben said, looking back to Cap and the woman, "that sucks."

Eshir frowned. "What really sucks, to use your wonderful word-choice - you really should have paid more attention in school - was that the Protocols turned out to be another batch of First Agers. The heroes of that time had so little faith in those that would follow them that six of them agreed to be placed on ice in order to save the world one day."

"King Arthur Syndrome," Ben nodded, looking back to a surprised Eshir. "Hey, I paid attention in Literature class."

Eshir smiled as he shook his head, then turned serious as Captain America and Diana approached. "What's wrong?" he asked, noting the scowl on their faces.

"We've been fooled," Cap said flatly. "If these six were really dead, why haven't we seen them among the ranks of the Franklin's Third Army."

Eshir's mind gave him a moment of hope, followed by doubt. "The world is large, Captain. They could be out there and we just haven't seen them."

Diana shook her head. "That may be true for five of them, but we would've noticed the Hulk."

"The thin nerdy guy?" Eshir asked, thinking of how small the scientist looked falling out of the large cylinder. Neither Cap nor Diana answered, having moved past Eshir and into the barn. The Orphans exchanged a quick glance, then followed the former lovers into the barn.

They were greeted by the image of a blond woman, wrapped inside a dark blue cloak. "I am Nightmare," the woman explained, the robe billowing about her despite the stillness in the air.

"It is good to see you, Dagger," Captain America said cautiously.

"My time is at an end," Nightmare replied, ignoring the greeting. "I grow weaker by the minute. The actions of Franklin Richards and Doom have wrought great havoc onto the Everything. The universe is collapsing. I fear death will claim all life, no matter who wins this Battle for Earth." She spread open the cape, revealing a complete abyss of blackness where her body should have been. "The Concepts are dying. Order, Chaos, and Death have already fallen. The Old Ones have vanished. The Elders have died, the Celestials have died, and the Living Tribunal will soon follow. Galactus is missing," she said sadly. "Galactus is missing."

Cap took a cautious step forward. "Dagger," he said gently, "is there anything we can do for you?"

"I will be the last of the Concepts to fade away, I fear," she said in response, her voice almost a beautiful, sad song. "Nightmares will be with humanity until the end." Her eyes now found Cap's. "There is nothing you can do for me, Captain, but there is one gift that I can give to you. The six who lie here dead I attempted to save. When their souls passed from their bodies, I shepherded them away, to live inside this darkness." Her eyes dropped. "I failed. I could not hold them and they faded away. Their souls are lost, somewhere in the never-ending night."

The four watched as a small, but intense, pinpoint of bright white light formed inside the cloak's darkness. Quickly it grew, an expanding circle of light that eventually filled the entire cloak. The four shielded their eyes from the glow.

Nightmare's sad voice called to them. "Only one was I able to save. This is my gift to you."

Through the blinding glow, they could make out a variation as a soul escaped from Nightmare's hiding place and into the room. As it left, the blinding light vanished. Nightmare folded shut her cloak, then she, too, faded away.

"What just happened?" Ben asked. His answer came in a sharp exhalation of breath from behind him.

The four turned their gazes to the thin scientist, whose decayed body gasped for breath. "Bruce!" Steve called, moving towards the fallen man.

"Cap," the decayed Banner forced out through rotted lungs. "I am sorry."

"Back away," Diana urged the Orphans, pulling them away.

The Orphans were stunned to see the rotted body curl into a fetal position, then explode outward. Flesh turned green and muscles extrapolated themselves as the thin, rotted body inflated into that of a seven-foot tall, raging green monster. "HULK ANGRY!" the monster raged.

Captain America stood before the raging, child-like monster defiantly. "Hulk," he said gently. "Do you remember me?"

The Hulk looked down at Cap and growled. "Flag man," he said, the rage ebbing slightly. "Friend of banner. Friend of … Hulk?"

"This will break his heart," Diana whispered to Esh and Ben. They watched as Cap nodded to the Hulk, then walked over to the Hulk's cylinder, removing a plain manila folder. "Do you remember this woman, Hulk?" he asked, his voice wracked with emotions, as he held up a picture.

The Hulk looked at the picture and reached out to gently take it from Captain America with his large, green hands. "Betty," Hulk said. "Betty loved Hulk."

"Betty did," Steve said softly. He flipped through a series of pictures until he found the one he wanted.

"Where is Betty?" Hulk asked.

"Betty is dead, Hulk," Steve answered.

"Betty dead?" the Hulk repeated, his anger quickly returning.

"Yes, I'm afraid she's dead," Steve answered. He held up a picture, but Esh and Ben couldn't see of whom. "This is the man who killed her, Hulk. His name is Kang."

"Kang kill Betty?!?" the Hulk asked, stomping his massive foot onto the ground and causing a tremor to rumble through the barn. "Kang kill Betty? Then Hulk kill Kang!"

"Yes, Hulk," Cap said, hating the words as they poured out of his mouth. "Kill Kang."

"Where Kang is?!?" Hulk screamed, his veins popping across his body.

Captain America reached into the cylinder and pulled out a large box. He placed the box aon the ground and opened it to remove a circular metallic disk. "This will lead you to him, Hulk. Wherever he is on Earth, this will lead you to him." The Hulk took the disk from Steve and looked at the device strangely. "Look to the center of the disk, Hulk. Do you see a red arrow flashing?"

"Hulk see arrow."

"The arrow will always point to Kang," Cap finished. "Now, go Hulk. Go and kill the man who killed Betty."

The Hulk stared at the flashing arrow for several seconds, then leapt upwards, smashing through the roof of the barn, headed for wherever the arrow told him.

Steve looked to Diana. "God forgive me. God forgive us all."

EXISTENCE END to be continued …

They never saw the attack that came from behind.

YGGDRASIL

Comments to bousquet22@earthlink.net

Mark Bousquet

8 January 2004

Northern Bear Productions