As the two armies collide, the task force sent to Dark World searches for Kain's retreat on the shores of Blood Sea. Kain himself is blasting toward the battle in space in order to save a world that may not be his in mere hours. Tifa rushes to try and stop him. She has learned of her unexpected feelings for Kain and decides to act on them. Transmetal flies around space firing at anything that will stand still long enough for him to aim at. Barbie Boy stands alone on the highest tower of Kain's retreat. The unknown force is coming closer still. Kain is making one last ditch effort to stop it. This is the deciding battle.

Kain's ship docks with the Romanian Nobleman. Ship hands scurry about preparing to help Kain out of his ship. Without any warning, the hatch flies open. Kain leaps from the cockpit onto the steel floor of the ship. He runs as fast as he can to the control stopping only if he needs to open a door. Kain's mind races, trying to find a way to stop the coming onslaught. How can he stop it? Who must die in order to ensure peace? Maybe it isn't war that he wants. Maybe he wants to get us to be quiet and have nice, peaceful lives. Kain knows this is as big a lie as anyone has heard. He continues to search for truth in a pond full of deceit.

In the control room, Shadow feeds tactics to the officers. He commands them to do this and that. Some maneuvers are successful. Some are not. He continues to dish out orders when the control room door rush open. Shadow looks back, stunned. Kain impatiently walks through the doorway. "Let me guess, Kain. You don't think we're moving fast enough so you came to push us harder."

"Shut up, Shadow." Kain's eyes stay on the battle for moments. Shadow had just been kidding. Something was really bothering Kain. Shadow is dumbfounded. He can't figure out what would have Kain in this mood. Kain spins around and looks at the radar screen. "Do you only use this to look at the battle?"

"Yes, that is what I'm up here for." Kain spins on Shadow, making him jump into the air slightly. He turns back to the radar and maximizes its range. A green ring suddenly surrounds the battle. Shadow looks baffled as the ring becomes bigger. "What is that?"

"That, my dear friend, is the means to an end. I sent messages up to those things trying to communicate with it. It sent back a coded message. The message was coded using binary and it was in our symbol structure. Shadow, the message said 'Yarr'. Do you know what that means? My old Resistance friend commands those ships. My best friend in a time that I had none. Jabox 4 is leading that army." Shadow's eyes are wide and his mouth hangs open. Jabox 4. That name has not been spoken in so long. Kain himself wouldn't let anyone speak that name in his presence. Now, Jabox 4 is a name that is more sacred than most religious names. He is coming with an army. The pact Kain had made with him long before Dark World existed obviously meant nothing now. Jabox 4 is coming.

"How could he have an army like this? There is no way that he could have communicated with alien life. How could he possibly..."

"When he left Earth in order to find intelligent life, and a new form of metal, he had told me that his latest attempt to make a stronger assault drone or 'bot' as he called them, had left him with a system that could take any order and fulfill it. Not only that, but if the 'bot' itself could not do the task, they could replicate and form more of themselves in order to get the task done. I assume that his army is made of space 'bots'. If this is true, then we have a much bigger problem than we ever had with Bingo."

"Maybe he doesn't want to fight."

"I'll always leave that as a possibility, but with the force he's packing, I can't take the risk." Shadow nods solemnly. The door rushes open once and Tifa runs in. Kain looks up just as Tifa throws her arms around his chest. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to let you face this monster alone, Kain. What kind of wife would I be if I did that?"

"A live one." Tifa twisted around to scold Shadow for joking, but to her surprise, Shadow was being serious. She looks up at Kain, who puts his hand on her shoulder and pushes her away. Tifa stands there holding herself as Kain turns to Shadow. "I'm going to talk to Transmetal and try to get him to ally with us so we can take Jabox 4 on. If he won't..."

"I know. You'll go alone." Tifa looks up startled. Tears begin to stream down her face. Once more she runs to Kain. She begs him not to. Shadow jumps up, grabs Tifa, and pins her to the wall. "I also know what you will ask me to do, Kain. I answer like this: I will do my best to keep Tifa safe." Kain nods and walks to the telecom room. After his long talk with Transmetal and his vice president, Vladimir Forin, Kain walks into his chambers. He looks at once to Tifa sitting on his bed with her back turned to him. Her head is low and he can tell that she does not want Kain to know she had been crying. He walks over to her and sits down. She asks him in a slightly quivering voice, "How did the negotiations go?"

"Transmetal doesn't trust my motives. He thinks much like they all do. They still believe that Jabox 4 died all those years ago in the Omega Project. I admit, the Omega Project was a nightmare, but I would never use my most trusted friend and second-in-command as a test subject. Jabox 4 left on his own accord. I'll talk with Transmetal again tomorrow. I just wish that he'd stop listening to that communist punk, Forin."

"We all have had our problems with the Forin family. I just don't want to see all those that I care about die. Kain, if it comes down to you having to go, will you please try to stay alive?"

"Always." Tifa kisses Kain on the cheek and hangs on his arm. Tifa, the Dominion, is now reduced to a simple girl in love. Could Kain really have taken the heart of a girl like her? Kain shrugged it off and put his arm around her.

With the cease-fire that had been set down for the negotiations, Transmetal has to amuse himself by playing Chess with Forin. "Damn! You beat me again!"

"I beat you throughout the election, too, Trans. Let's see, that's 2463 to 0."

"...You're fired."

"Don't be a sore loser."

"You're right, the janitors fired."

"Okay, whatever." Transmetal and Forin continue to play Chess. Transmetal keeps thinking back to his conversation with Kain. "Jabox 4 could have lived past the Omega Project. Kain could be telling the truth. Kain did look desperate. Ah, when has Kain ever told the whole truth though? I doubt even Tifa knows about Kain's past. He hasn't told anyone. I was a fellow soldier and he didn't even tell me!"

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. What did you say?"

"...Nevermind."

The next morning (in Dark World time) Kain walks into the control room. Shadow is already there. He walks up to the radar screen. Kain's eyes gleam with the light from the radar screen. The blue screen makes his red eyes appear purple. "Where's Tifa?"

"She's still asleep. Listen, Shadow, you remember that I need you to take care of Tifa for me. Transmetal won't budge as long as he keeps listening to Forin. I'm going to go to Jabox 4's flagship. I assume he'll send a message to us soon."

"He already has. It says..."

"All your base are belong to us?"

"How did you know?"

"I had a feeling." Kain's eyes turn toward the door. "I'm going now. Keep Tifa safe. If you need to, take her and run from the battle. Just don't let her die."

"I won't. Godspeed Kain."

"You know I'm Fatalist."

"Just an expression."

"Regardless of how it seems, Shadow. I'm not doing this to make up for all the wrong I've done."

"I know. Just go already. If you wait too long, someone else might take all the glory." Kain chuckles, turns, and leaves. Shadow looks down to the floor. He may not like Kain very much, but he couldn't deny what kind of man it takes to make this sacrifice. Though, it is unknown if a sacrifice must be made.

Deep in space, a vast army of computer-controlled ships, known as bots, slowly makes its way to the battlefield. At the head of this army, a huge flagship with a happy face logo on both sides is charging its most dreaded weapon. This ship has seen many galaxies and many systems. All are under its power. Armed soldier bots stalk the passages of this ship. All intruders are to be exterminated with extreme prejudice. In the core of the ship lies a chamber. In this chamber are a computer system and a man. This man is linked with the computer system by many long cords attached to his arms, legs, and the base of his skull. He is literally a human-computer. He controls all his ships mentally, as if they were a part of him. In a way, they are. His mind is their mind. Their eyes are his eyes. He speaks and thinks for all of them. As a result of this connection, he has instantaneous communication with all of his bots. Kain and Transmetal's communications have slight delays and must be formed into language in order to be understood. Jabox 4 controls his bots like you would an arm or leg. His resources are vast and come from countless galaxies. His army is three times the size of Nemesis. If there is a chance for survival, the colonists and the citizens of Dark World will have to join forces. Victory is uncertain and time is all but up.

Barbie Boy sits in the cathedral reminisces with Kylie of past adventures and the people they met. They talk of friends they lost along the way and friends that were once enemies. Barbie Boy begins to talk of how he was Kain's main slave. Kylie's face begins to turn red. "I hate Kain. All he does is cause pain and suffering. Even when he tries to be nice, he ends up hurting people."

"Well, he did trap me in a 3½in. floppy disc. He did start a war with the colonists. He did try to kill you, me, Cheesy Boy, an old guy down the street, all the colonists of the Container, Many people in his kingdom, the prophet, the soothsayer, Shadow, Alicia, the people of Tengu Mountain, my little green men, the Smurfs, the psychic surgeons, the people who tried to make marshmallows out of paint chips, all of his assistants, the Dark Council, Transmetal, Biosoldier, the guy who made the coffee, Sasha, whatever that girl's name was that kicked him in the shin, the doctor that helped him, the scientists that refused to help him, the bad Elvis impersonators, the man in the iron mask, the people who came up with the idea of New Coke, the guy who developed the safety switch for rocket launchers..."

"Being perfectly honest, he did kill most of them. The guy who developed the safety switch was the only one who deserved it though. I mean, come on, a safety switch? For rocket launchers?"

"Yeah, I know. The guys who developed New Coke deserved it too."

"Okay, I'll give you that." Kylie finds herself laughing with Barbie Boy about Kain's killings. Why would she laugh at that? She shrugs it off and looks at Barbie Boy. He is now on his side on the floor running in a circle. She can't remember the last time she laughed so hard.

The Romanian Nobleman floats in space. Its appearance is calm. One small light can be seen leaving it from a dock. Kain is making his approach to Jabox 4's flagship. His sword, the Dread Maker, is strapped to his back. His ship is full of fuel, but has no weapons. He needs speed, not power. At full speed, he races to Jabox 4. He knows he won't return, but nothing will stop him. Kain likes to have final showdowns. It's a vice of his. Near the flagship, Kain is greeted with fifty bots. With a rush of adrenalin, Kain lets out a mighty war cry and flies straight into battle.

At the precise moment of his cry, Tifa sits straight up in bed. She looks as if she woke up from a nightmare. Sweat drips from her face. Her breathing is heavy. Her eyes are wide, and move quickly. Her body quivers. She looks all around the room. Not finding what she is looking for, she jumps out of bed.

Shadow stands at the radar screen watching the dot that represents Kain's ship dodge and weave between all of Jabox 4's bots. He thinks to himself, Kain is a pretty good pilot. He wouldn't last too long in a battle in space but he never really liked using long-range weapons. Kain likes the more direct hand-to-hand combat. Tifa burst into the room, derailing Shadow's train of thought. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

"You know who. Where is Kain?"

"He left a little while ago. He just met up with Jabox 4's bots a minute ago."

"Get a ship ready. I'm going to go help him."

"No, you're not." Tifa looks disgusted.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You can't order me around. Now prepare a ship."

"No."

"You insolent bastard! Do you want Kain to die?"

"Sort of, but that's not why I won't let you go. I promised Kain that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. Therefore, I can't let you go. I cannot let you leave." Tifa stands in front of him. Her eyes are moist from tears that are preparing to come. Her body still quivers. For the first time since she was a little girl, she prays. She prays for someone to protect Kain. If Kain heard her praying, he would laugh and spew one of his fatalistic remarks at her. He wouldn't do this to force his beliefs on her, but he would to put her at ease. It never works, but it is the thought that counts. She thinks back to Maximus. Why would I fall for Kain so easily and not for Maximus? Kain and he are so alike. Both are power-hungry dictators. Kain wasn't planning on enslaving everyone then selling them to his gods. Maximus had planned to take his people and sacrifice every last one of them. Kain didn't want to kill all of his people. He wanted to have more and more of them to rule over. The more people there are, the bigger your kingdom. Kain did rule all of Dark World, but that is never enough. Tifa's thoughts are interrupted when Shadow grabs her and puts her over his shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm taking you to another ship. We're leaving. If we can get to another place, then you'll survive. I won't let Kain down." Tifa stopped trying to tear away from Shadow. She knew she wouldn't get far. She knows she can take down Shadow, but she also knows Shadow is quick with the tranquillizer gun in his left holster. Shadow throws her into a seat in a small vessel and fires up the engines. The ship leaves silently. No one will know that they left. They disappear into the darkness, never to grace the battlefield again. Tifa still wonders about Kain. Will he be okay?

Barbie Boy is still running in circles on his side in the cathedral. Kylie lost interest in it hours ago. She is sipping tea and eating a biscuit. An explosion rocks the cathedral. Kylie screams. Barbie Boy is running faster, but he's still on his side so he isn't going anywhere. Kylie lifts up a small piece of wood that blocks a hole in the wall. She sees the remaining Nemesis fighting off colonists. She grabs Barbie Boy's hand, pulls him up and takes him through the secret exit that leads to the center of the city. The cathedral is in the center of the city, so the exit is pretty short. Taking alleyways, the two rush out of the city. In the wooded areas of Lockehorn Acres, they devise a plan to go to Kain's retreat and see Cheesy Boy about this crisis.

Kain's ship crashes into the wall just under the docking bay's opening. Kain reaches up and grabs the ledge. He pulls himself into the bay. Standing up, he brushes himself off and walks through the passages of the mighty ship. He quickly runs afoul of soldier bots. Kain's lips twist into a smile. He brings his hand up to the Dread Maker. Unveiling his sword, Kain proceeds to swing it about. The bots start after Kain but are quickly cut down to mere rubble. Kain proceeds down the hallways to Jabox 4 as fast as he can, cutting down the bots on his way. He finally reaches the door to Jabox 4's control center. The bots guarding this are bigger than the ones he just cut down. He swings, but the bots block. The red one on the right has huge claws, but it's short and slow. The blue one on the left is tall and fast, but only has one rifle. Kain steps to the left, then lunges to the right. He catches the red bot in the leg. The blue bot promptly shoots Kain in the right shoulder. As Kain falls to the floor, the red bot gets up. It swings its claws at Kain. Kain barely manages to dodge. A rifle shot flies past Kain's ear. He has an idea. Kain lunges at the blue bot, but swings behind him. The red bot's arm is cut into two. He then trips the blue bot. Kain stands up to face the red bot, but is caught by the claws. Kain has three long slashes in his chest. He manages to block the next attack, but it takes him off balance. As he falls, he puts the Dread Maker face down. He falls onto the blue bot, impaling it. "One down, one to go." The red bot takes a step back. Right before it lunges at Kain, Kain throws the blue bot into it. The blue bot explodes from the pressure, taking the red bot with it. Kain opens the door and runs in.

Transmetal sits in his command room playing Bull with Forin and two captains. Transmetal has managed to pick up over half the deck. "You know, as president, I should be..."

"We're not going to let you win."

"Damn it." Transmetal continues to play Bull while listening to the reports on how his attack on Dark World is going. Unfortunately, this is causing him to put down the wrong number on his turn.

"Bull!"

"You're on threes not fours."

"Right, what did I say?" This goes on for quite a while so...

Back on Dark World, Kylie and Barbie Boy are speaking with Cheesy Boy about the attack. "They attacked us?"

"Yes, I've just explained that to you in three different ways and in five different languages."

"Something must be done. Nemesis!"

"They're already fighting."

"Then I've done all I can." Kylie slaps her hand on her forehead. Cheesy Boy hasn't changed, even after all these years. "Look, why don't we go up into space and see if Kain can do anything."

"Yeah, ok." Within an hour or two, they launched off to space. They had to go back within five minutes because they forgot Cheesy Boy, but an hour after that; they were on their way to the Romanian Nobleman. Barbie Boy sits next to Kylie and asks her, "Are you sure you want to go? Kain will be there."

"We're going to see if Kain can stop the invasion, of course we want him there. I'm actually looking forward to seeing Kain. The one thing that I liked about Kain is that he looks almost exactly like Damien. It will be kind of nice to see at least a likeness of him again." Barbie Boy nods and falls out of his chair. Kylie laughs a little and stares out into space. She begins to think of Damien and all their adventures. Damien was like her big brother. He was always her best friend. She can't help but think of when her family was killed. It was Damien that took her under his wing. She misses him.

Kain stands in the central control center, clawed and bruised. His right shoulder is in less than perfect shape. Still he clutches the Dread Maker as he stares into the eyes of his former best friend. "Yo, Kain." Listening to his voice is like listening to a man talk simultaneously with a mechanized voice. Very creepy.

"Jabox 4, why have come to attack us? I helped you escape Earth. I demand an explanation."

"Yarr. I know you want to believe that this is all just a misunderstanding, but it isn't. I've conquered so many galaxies with the bots from the Omega Project that you funded. Now, I've come to take over this galaxy. I was surprised to find most of it blown away. Your doing?"

"And who else would build a giant beam cannon and fire at practically everything?"

"True. Biosoldier probably would but I doubt he'd be able to."

"Well, obviously. I mean, c'mon, his attention span is less than ours."

"Word." Kain and Jabox 4's conversation goes on with idle chat for a few hours before Kain starts getting into the serious issues.

"Jabox, stop this invasion. If we make an alliance, we can conquer so much more."

"Nah. I'd rather be sole leader of everything. Nothing personal but I need to kill you in order to rule your people."

"Well, I can understand that. No personal objections. Wait! Look! Air!" Jabox 4 looks behind him. It suddenly dawns on him what just happened. He turns back and, sure enough, Kain is gone. "Ooooh, fire the Yarr Cannon at Kain's ship!"

As Kain blasts at full speed back to the Romanian Nobleman, he can see the tip of the flagship turn bright orange. Kain realizes what's happening and turns the ship around. He prepares to fly straight into the cannon in order to bust it wide open. Bots appear from nowhere trying to hinder his attack. Kain can't make it through. It's too late. The cannon fires at Kain's ship. The beam cuts through space like a hot knife through butter. Kain hangs on for as long as he can, but it isn't long enough. His last words are, "Sorry, Tifa."

Tifa suddenly jumps in her seat. A terrible feeling of dread has come to her. "Kain's dead." Shadow turns to her questioningly, but then just turns back around. Tifa sits there, stunned. Tears creep down her pale cheeks.

The beam continues to roar through space making its way to the battlefield just above Dark World's atmosphere. It lights the battlefield up as it goes between the Romanian Nobleman and the Colonial Flagship. Forin and the two captains run to the viewing ports as the beam cuts across. Transmetal smiles, "Four sevens." He looks around. "Where did everyone go? Damn it, tell me when something big happens, will ya?" He runs over to the viewing ports just as the beam begins to die down. They stand there stunned.

"What the hell was that?" Forin screams.

"I want one." Everyone looks at Transmetal. "Well I do." Forin shakes his head as the two captains laugh and pat Transmetal on the back.

Cheesy Boy is just arriving at the Romanian Nobleman when the beam cuts through. "So, where's Kain?"

"We lost contact with him, Shadow, and Tifa hours ago."

"Shit, that means I'm in charge."

"Oh God, NO!"

"Yeah, I command you to get me a sandwich. A cheese sandwich."

"Yes sir." The guard runs off. Kylie looks at the ground. She can't believe it. She is overwhelmed with emotion. She is joyful because Kain is finally dead, but at the same time a little sad because the last remnants of her best friend are gone. Barbie Boy is following a fly as it zips around the room. He follows it right up to where it leads him into the soda machine. Barbie Boy is now unconscious on the floor. No one knows what to expect now.

To Be Continued...

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