"No!No!" Victoria screamed in agony.

A distant voice surged through her conciousness. 'Let me take over, Vic. You're too weak. She'll defeat us for sure.' The figure of a woman emerged from the darkness. She reached out her hand. 'Take it. Put your faith in me. I won't let us down.'

Victoria reluctantly reached out her hand.

Orpheus ran to Anaera, rushing past the commotion of panic stricken tourists and crying children.

"Anaera!" He called out.

Chichiri No Otaku saw him knocking straght into Tigger. She had no time to worry about Orphy. Right now, Nyx was her main concern. The trechcoat freak had to be hurt badly. That blast ripped through all of Small World. Anaera saw something forming in the midst of the flames... it was a black hole of some sort. And it was becoming larger. Someone stepped through. It was Nyx! Soot and ash streaked across her cheesk, hands and neck, but she did not appear to be hurt. Even from the distance, Anaera sensed there was something wrong. She had sensed Nyx's aura before, but this time it was not her aura, and yet it was, but something was terribly wrong. The malevolent force was so thick, it wrapped around her spirit.

Nyx held the medallion straight out in front of her and cried out the incantation. "'Y ma shia ka ba bit!"

The ground beneath their feet began to tremble.

Orpheus grabed the nearest hand rail and pushed himself up. He could not get to Anaera, the crowd was going against him, pushing further and further back from her. "Anaera!"

Meanwhile, Milton had seen the flames shouting out of Small World. He knew Anaera had found her. "Vic..." He could no longer feel her. "Vic?" Why couldn't he feel her? Was she? Had Anaera? He ran headlong against the incoming crowd. The ground was shaking. An earthquake? Well, it is Southern California. He concentrated... but there was nothing from Victoria. She was gone. He felt someone else in her place. He had felt it before, long ago. Fear struck his heart like a javlin of ice. No. It couldn't be. Victoria would never...

Anaera aimed the Hammershaft Nitro-Arrow[tm] at Nyx. To her surprise, Nakago no Otaku made no effort to dodge the incoming assult. Instead, the girl raised her right hand and the arrow changed direction, returning to Anaera. With lightning speed, Anaera jumped into the air and landed on top of one of the nearby resturants. The blast tore through the ground, leaving a massive crater 20 feet wide by 6 ft. in depth. The ground was still shaking. The concrete split open and fire fused out from the cracks. It felt as though something was making its way through the ground.

A beastial roar vibrated from within.

RIP.

A flurry of crimson and black.

CLAWS.

WINGS.

A magestic dragon flew into the air. It soared over head and hovered beside Nyx whose eyes glowed an eerie yellow. She hopped on the beast and tugged at its reins. She opened her HammerSpace and drew out the Tzimice Spear[tm]. She swooped down and threw it at her opponent, causing the resturant to collapse. Anaera was trapped within the rubble, but blasted out using her chi blast. The dragon came in for another sweep. It opened its dreadful jaws and exhausted its flaming breath at its target: Chichiri no Otaku.

Anaera was about to counter measure when Malkivian's black flames engulfed her.

"NO!" Milton's worst fears had been confirmed.

TBC.....