Ianita stood in the centre of the room, her sword in one hand and a ball of purple magic in the other. Her expression was cold and full of unbridled rage, each scar on her body clearly visible as she stood against the one who caused so much pain to her and those she loved. She didn't look like a child at that moment, her hair streaked with crimson blood and her clothes torn in several places. She stood as if she had been fighting all her life, on the balls of her feet, every muscle wound up and ready to strike. Her tattered shirt only emphasised the muscles Ianita had gained over the months of training with Caitlin, making her an incredibly imposing enemy when you took the time to properly look her over.

The Shadows turned from Jordan's limp form to see the young goddess, an expression of confusion on their face. All the wounds that they had inflicted onto Ianita were gone, along with the fear that she had been living with since she was kidnapped. This wasn't the same little girl that they had taken all those weeks ago. Cautiously, it moved from Jordan's side and walked into the centre of the room – standing directly opposite her and circling around, with Ianita matching it step by step. It was a game of cat and mouse, with both of them waiting for the opportune moment to make the first blow. The Shadows wouldn't toy with her like it did with the others; it knew what was at stake at this point. This was a fight to the death. A bloody, agonising death.

No words were exchanged. No taunts or cruel jibes, both of them knowing that one wrong move would result in a fatal wound along with everything they've worked towards being shredded into pieces. If you didn't understand the context of what was happening then their movements were almost rhythmic, elegant and measured steps carrying them around the room. If the spectators squinted, they could see an eerie glow emanating from the two combatants, a fierce purple struggling to outshine a soulless blackness. As the two of them prepared to fight, their auras and their magic began to emerge – purple mist circling Ianita's hands whilst shadowy blades hovered behind The Shadows shoulder.

As suddenly as their confrontation had begun, they launched themselves at one another. The Shadows dived towards Ianita, attempting to rake its shadow claws down her side but she swiftly moved to the side, spinning out of range. Crouching, she began to launch small projectiles at The Shadows – tiny purple arrows raining down from the ceiling. The Shadows moved unnaturally, dancing across the floor with a smug expression on its face as it flawlessly dodged every arrow that Ianita threw at it. It looked around the room, making a direct run to where Ianita was crouched but just before it got to her, it feinted to the side and swept its arm into the air – launching Ianita into the wall at the far end of the room.

Ianita barely flinched. Absorbing the impact and landing flawlessly on her feet, she moved forward – keeping a wary eye on what direction The Shadow's arms were moving, just in case it tried to pull the same trick again. She muttered something under her breath before launching her knife across the room at the creature, running the other direction around the room. The air surrounded her feet, boosting her into the air and allowing her to run across the wall, grabbing the knife out of the air and slicing it across the creature's shoulder. The creature howled in agony, slashing out at Ianita's flying form and achieving a deep cut across Ianita's arm. Their blood intermingled in the floor, the crimson blood standing out against the darkness.

Landing firmly on her feet, Ianita twirled the knife between her fingers – keeping it constantly moving, not allowing The Shadows to see whether she was going to hold it or throw it. The Shadows grinned menacingly, raising its arms and allowing the mist to rise. The room became cold and eerie, causing everyone to have to squint to see the action between Ianita and The Shadows. The Shadows stalked around the room, slinking from one patch of darkness to another in an attempt to sneak up on Ianita. Ianita merely stood where she had landed, with her eyes closed and her face blank as she concentrated.

CRASH!

Jordan jerked awake from his near comatose state, his bleary eyes adjusting just in time to see a large piece of debris crumbling from the ceiling and tumbling towards where Ianita was standing. He tried to move his mouth to warn her but no words came out, merely a groan of pain. The other heroes had begun to wake up as well, with Sonja helping Wag to his feet and Tucker attempting to get the door open – taking over from Mianite who looked very close to passing out. They were all forced to watch in horror as the sharp boulder tumbled towards Ianita still form, aiming to sever her neck and kill her almost instantly. The Shadows watched from the corner with gruesome anticipation glowing in its eyes, the bloodlust that consumed its soul begging to be satiated.

With one swift movement, Ianita dodged to the side of the boulder – taking advantage of the dust cloud that the collision created as well as the mist that surrounded them all to practically vanish from sight. All you could see of her were minor glimpses of her silhouette moving in the distance. The Shadows were clearly having an issue as well, its eyes flickering around the room constantly in an attempt to predict where she was going to come from. Nobody moved a muscle, not wanting to draw attention in fear of being caught in the crossfire. They were all injured and exhausted; their last chance fell to Ianita. They all knew that and so did Ianita. She was throwing everything she had at The Shadows, combining magic and physical combat in such a way that she avoided being attacked by the vicious claws the creature was so fond of using.

Moving once again, The Shadows began to circle around the room towards Ianita. It was evident that it was trying to get behind her or at least be able to get out of her line of sight. Ianita moved with it, knowing exactly what was happening. There was nothing she could do about it but try to stay one step ahead. Suddenly, The Shadows lifted its arm and summoned a gust of the wind that battered all of those in the vicinity. However, Ianita was prepared for this and slammed her fist into the ground – causing a purple mist to rise that surrounded her in a protective circle. The winds howled all around her but not a hair on her head was ruffled. The growl of fury from The Shadows was spine chilling but Ianita was not put off, waiting until the winds died down and then allowing her mist to dissipate, clearing the rest of the battlefield from the lingering darkness.

The Shadows stood still and began to chant something underneath its breath, its hands moving faster than any human eye could follow – a blur of movement that emanated an unnerving aura. Everyone was unsure what was going to happen next. Ianita stepped forward cautiously, every muscle in her body ready to react to the danger that was sure to appear at any moment. However, moving was the worst decision she could've made. A large crunching sound followed by a scream of agony caused everyone to look up in terror, only to see Ianita's leg being crushed by a bear trap that was clearly infused with all sorts of dark magic. The blood seeped onto the floor and you could see the white of Ianita's splintering bones jutting through her skin.

An evil laugh escaped The Shadows mouth as it clicked its fingers, causing another set of chains to rise from the floor and wrap themselves tightly around Ianita – deliberately crushing her bones with each attempt she made to break free. It strolled towards her now prone form, strolling around her with a smug expression on its face.

"Not so tough now are you? You're just as bad as your family, stubborn and relentless not to mention stupid. You were prepared for anything magical that I could throw at you but the moment I get something mundane and put it in your way, you step right into it! Naïve little Ianita... This is your downfall."

The creature stepped forward and pulled out its claws, stroking down Ianita's cheek and relishing the tears of agony and grief in her eyes. Despair filled the air as the creature began to dig into her cheek, slicing through skin and muscle as if it was butter, leaving Ianita with a gaping wound that cried blood with each second that went past. Her tears tracked down her cheeks and dripped onto the floor as she stared into the creature's empty eyes, not wanting to show fear but also unable to hide the growing terror she felt.

"Ianita! Don't you touch her, leave her alone. Please, take me instead just leave her alone!"

Martha's cries from the corner of the room grabbed The Shadows attention, as it turned to smirk at her weeping form – triumph and smugness igniting in its eyes. It went to turn back towards Ianita but never got there, with its throat being torn open by the same shadowy blade that had sliced through Caitlin's throat. Ianita stood behind the creature, her bones barely holding together as she pulled the knife out of its neck and stabbing it over and over again in different parts of its body. Wounds began to appear all over The Shadows body, black blood spurting out all over the floor as the creature fell to its knees – its whole body shaking as its human form began to shut down. The magic within the blade was forcing the creature out of the body, destroying the very fabric of darkness that kept the whole creature alive.

The creature fell to the floor, shuddering and writhing in the throes of death. Its flesh began to melt off its bones, leaving a skeleton made of darkness that reached towards Jordan and managed to say:

"If I die, I will take many of you with me."

The skeleton then exploded into thousands of shards that were as black as night, racing through the air and aiming towards several specific people. Jordan, Tom, Wag and Mianite were helpless as the shards slammed into their chests, throwing them onto the floor with the sheer impact of the shards. Everyone stared in horror as those they loved began to writhe on the floor in agony, screaming and crying as the shards began to move through their bodies. Tom was desperately scratching at his chest, trying to rip the shards out whilst Wag curled into a shuddering ball of pain and just sat there. Mianite panted with exertion as he focused on removing the shards using what little magic he had left whilst Jordan's already battered and broken body just lay there, jerking every time the shards hit a nerve. Soon, a grunt of triumph came from Mianite as the shards launched themselves back out of his body and onto the floor, stained with his blood.

"How can we save them? It's going to require a lot more magic than we have just to keep them alive never mind to fix the damage those shards are causing!"

Martha's rhetorical question was interrupted by the door behind them being blasted open with what sounded like copious amounts of TNT. They all dived to protect Tom, Jordan and Wag from the flying shrapnel and debris, watching as the figures of Andor and a stranger walked through the smoke and ran to their sides. Ianita nodded in greeting; clearly, she had seen this as a possibility in her visions of the future. Andor looked around the room, seeing the state that his friends were in and catching a glimpse of Caitlin's dead body lying on the other side of the room – his face flashing with recognition and grief as he saw the deceased form of his saviour. The stranger nodded at Mianite who gave him a weak grin in return – clearly focusing more on healing himself than greeting others at that moment. Martha looked up, saw the stranger and then instantly tackled him in a hug, shouting:

"Dianite! Thank goddess you are back in full physical form, we need you. They're going to die and we can't see a way to get the shards out of them!"

Dianite held his niece tight for a moment before crouching down and looking at the situation. He waved Ianita, Martha and the now healed Mianite over to the dying hero's sides and spoke quietly:

"There's no real way to get the shards out without going through the void again. We need to get them all to the void as fast as possible. That's the only way to disintegrate them properly and ensure The Shadows never return."

Martha's response was immediate and filled with concern:

"They're going to die before we can even get out of here! How can we get them to the void if they're going to bleed out on the floor in front of us?"

Dianite placed his hand on Martha's shoulder and muttered something quietly in her ear. She nodded and everybody moved as one, with Tucker, Sonja and Andor each holding down one of Tom, Wag and Jordan whilst Mianite, Dianite and Martha started to use their magic to halt the shards in their tracks. The victims were bucking and writhing in their attempts to escape the pain, constantly struggling against those that were pinning them down – gaining various cuts and bruises in order to keep their friends as safe as possible. Various magical incantations were being chanted, so many in such rapid succession that it was almost like they were trapped in some form of demonic ritual. Jordan was suffering the most, his struggles more frantic and his screams tortured as he tried to escape from the agony that was consuming his soul.

Suddenly he collapsed, not moving a muscle – excluding his gaze that was fixed on some point in the distance, an expression of awe on his face as his body was ripped apart from the inside. Jordan stared forward, seeing an unknown figure walking towards him. As his vision cleared, he saw Ianite standing before him. She looked exactly the same as she had looked on the day of her death; pale, frail and as if she was going to shatter in front of him. However, her smile was as radiant as ever. Kindness glowed in her eyes as she knelt down in front of his agonised form and stroked his cheek, the phantom feeling of warmth seeping through his entire body. She smiled one sadder smile before disappearing, leaving her final words:

"Live on for me my champion. Live and love to make up for the time that I never got."

Jordan blinked sad tears out of his eyes before closing them, forcing his body to calm down as much as possible, suppressing the agony and allowing the magic to work the best that it could.

A cry of triumph rose from those performing magic, with the shards freezing in their tracks and the various wounds caused by them being healed as much as possible. Some of the damage was irreparable through magic as the damage was too deeply tainted by the darkness the shards had contained, but it was enough for the heroes to get to the void in time. They all clambered to their feet, supporting one another through the immense pain and stumbled out of the door, climbing the stairs in a desperate attempt to reach daylight, knowing that each second that passed was a second closer to death for those that they loved. However, their haste made them careless and as a trapdoor on the floor clicked under their feet – not all of them were fast enough to react.

Sonja was jerked from Tom's side, a cry of surprise escaping her mouth as the vines that coated the walls came alive and pulled her sharply into the wall. The breath was knocked out of her lungs as she was slammed into the cold stone. Tucker turned to grab her, only to stop and stare in horror at the giant spear sticking out of her chest. Coughing, Sonja wiped her mouth only to come away with crimson blood. Her eyes were filled with fear and pain, staring at Tucker as the stain spread across her chest. It seeped into her clothing and began to drip onto the floor – her whimpers of the pain getting louder and louder with each second that went past. Tucker moved to her side instantly, putting pressure on the wound and looking around in anguish, begging someone to do something to save her.

"We can't just stand here and watch her die! Help me! Do some of that healing stuff you did to them in there! Please! I-I can't lose her now. Not when we are so close to being happy again. Please."

Martha stepped forward and placed her hand on Sonja's shoulder, glowing slightly as she tried to understand the extent of the damage that the spike had caused to Sonja. Her face paled as she received the feedback, turning to Tucker with a grieved expression. Tucker stared at her, waiting for her to say something but no words escaped her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears and she turned into Wag's shoulder – who was struggling to stand as it was. Dianite stepped forward in Martha's place; speaking softly as if the quieter the words were spoken, the less they would hurt.

"That spear is infused with poison. Similar to the truth serum that The Shadows used on Ianita but a lethal dose that has already seeped throughout Sonja's body. If the punctured lungs and the heavy artery damage didn't kill her already, then this certainly will. She has minutes to live."

Listening in horror, Sonja began to cry – the fear of death and the pain she was in overwhelming was little bravery she had left. Everyone just stared in silence as their friend's life force slowly drained away. Sonja's face lost all colour, her skin turning an unnerving white that emphasised the struggling veins in her body as they attempted to push blood that was no longer there to crucial organs. Tears fell from Sonja's eyes as mingled with the tears of all her loved ones as they watched her die in front of her eyes. Tucker was sobbing his heart out, his chest heaving as the light began to fade from the eyes of the woman he loved with every fiber of his being. As her head fell and the life fled from her body, she whispered three words that nobody would forget for as long as they lived.

"Forgive them, Tucker."

With that, Sonja died. The joyful, caring and sassy woman that had blessed their lives with her kindness and her friendship, her cooking and her fierce loyalty and most of all, her devotion to those she cared most about. Tucker held her for a moment longer before gently pulling her off of the spear and carrying her corpse in his arms, clearly not wanting to leave her in such a place to rest. They all climbed the stairs together and waited at the top for Ianita, peering into daylight with hope and caution. Soon Ianita emerged behind them, carrying Caitlin's corpse in her arms – clearly, nobody was going to be left behind in such a dark and depressing place. They carried them outside and dug a small hole for each of them, placing them gently in the hole and then covering them with dirt. As the dirt was placed over them, they all just watched in silence and thought of the friends that had given their lives so that they could make it this far. None of them would be here without Caitlin's bravery and none of them would have had the courage to make it this far without Sonja's support.

The rain began to fall, intermingling with their tears as they stared at where their friends lay. They would never move again, never fight and their loved ones would never be able to hold them. Sonja's warmth, Caitlin's sarcasm – the world seemed a darker place without them in it. However, they couldn't stand there forever, so they moved on as a group, remembering where they had buried their friends so that they could face their demons one day. Tucker slung Tom's arm over his shoulder, supporting his suffering friend and moving quickly in the direction of the void. Mianite led the way; with Dianite occasionally dropping back to check that nothing malicious was following them. It was a depressing march towards their last chance, instead of the belief they had all clung to on their way here.

They staggered past the village in which their hellish experience had begun, Ianita stopping to stare for a moment at the place where her friend had lived through such anguish. Martha gently nudged her along, knowing that time was of the essence and if anyone really stopped to think, their demons would weigh them down. Mianite and Wag staggered together, each of them subtly focusing on using what little magic they had left to keep Jordan and Tom alive. The god's normal bright auras were subdued and faded depending on the amount of trauma they had been through, Dianite's was glowing a bright orange whilst Martha's was a dwindling purple. The void was slowly coming into sight, a big dark hole in the centre of some form of abandoned scientific facility. Obviously whoever had been here before had left as quickly as possible as there were signs that people had once lived here, with a dusty makeshift bed in the corner and horribly rotten food sitting on various workstations.

Andor rushed across to the void, trying to understand whether it was safe to jump into or not. They were lucky in their journey through the void before, which had all been predicted by the gods as being the safest way back home, however, none of the gods had seen what happened after they all jumped into the void. All they could see was blackness. Supporting one another, everyone staggered towards the void – lining up at its edge so that they could all jump in together.

Tom fell from Tucker's arms onto the floor, convulsing once again as the shards moved towards his heart. Jordan pulled himself across the room to his best friend's side, ignoring the screaming agony in his body and focusing on trying to save his friend. Black liquid oozed from Tom's mouth as he jerked and writhed in Jordan's arms, his eyes filled with endless agony and fear. Looking around the room, Jordan's face echoed the anguish that Tucker's had experienced mere hours ago. Jordan had lost the woman he loved so long ago that all he had left was his family and his friends. But now, his best friend was dying in his arms. Dianite looked remorseful as his champion passed away, Tom coughing out litres of blood before finally falling still. The shards were taking effect, Jordan and Wag had a matter of minutes to live.

Wag doubled over, his shards clearly taking effect, triggered by the death of his friend. Martha looked from Tom's now still form to Wag's suffering body, running to his side and placing her hands on his temples. She muttered:

"Nobody else will die today."

A fierce purple glow began to exude from her, similar to the one Jordan had experienced when restoring his memory but with ten times the brightness. Mianite and Dianite were yelling something intelligible about how it would kill her if she overused her magic but Martha was not listening, the man she loved even after all the horrible things they had been through, was going to die if she did not intervene. The light eventually grew too bright to look directly at, with everyone turning away and shielding their eyes. When the light faded, Martha lay unconscious on the floor, her violet hair spilling out around her like a halo. Wag was standing upright, completely healed – the shards disintegrating on the floor in front of him. He stared in awe at Martha, before picking her up gently in his arms and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

Dianite walked over to Tom's body and closed his eyes gently, muttering a magical incantation before watching Tom's body vanish from the room. Upon questioning, he told the group that Tom had gone to rest with Sonja and Caitlin. With that, they all turned to Jordan who showed no current signs of collapsing on them. Ianita stood by her father's side, looking at up at him with hope and determination, clearly not wanting to lose the last proper family member that she had left. Jordan squeezed her shoulder before being helped up the steps and staring into the void. They all stood together on the edge and made eye contact, knowing that they might not make it out of the dark abyss together or at all. This was their only chance at freedom and survival.

"Good luck."

Stepping forward, they allowed their bodies to fall into the cold abyss. The wind whipped against their faces, battering their clothing and ripping them apart from one another. Jordan watched helplessly as each of his friends disappeared into blackness, leaving only him and Ianita falling side by side. A spike of pain in his chest caused Jordan to hunch over but by the moment he had recovered from it, Ianita was gone too. He was completely alone in the darkness. He could feel the shards slowly dissolving inside of him until the pain and discomfort caused by it were gone.

The cold fingers of unconsciousness beckoned him to fall into its grasp, fading Jordan's limited vision and making his eyelids heavier and heavier. Soon Jordan fell into the darkness and floated there, alone, unconscious and left to survive the whims of the void.

The End.

A/N

88 Pages, 53,210 words and a long journey that we've all been on together. This book has been in development for over a year now and watching both my audience and my skills as a writer grow has been a phenomenal experience. This book wouldn't be complete right now if it wasn't for you guys, I probably would have given up on it if it wasn't for all of your support. 

So thank you. More than anything. Writing has gotten me through some of the worst times of my life so having you all there supporting me has been a precious gift that I wouldn't trade for anything.

So. What next I hear you cry?

Well... I was considering doing either:

1) A spinoff involving what happened between Caitlin and Mianite before all these events began. Aka big backstory of Caitlin leading up to her demise.

2) A completely original story with brand new characters. Not Mianite related at all.

3) Or Both?

I know most of you came here for Mianite so I don't want to lose you all so the Mianite Oneshots book will be frequently updated to keep you all amused. 

Let me know your vote and please support this final chapter, I'll post an update to explain the next steps that I am taking once I have you guy's opinions! 

Vote, comment and share!

Much love,

Caitlin.