"Kill them all!" the Master roared. Triple soldiers swarmed from the buildings either side of us, clashing with World United soldiers. The Twins lost their concentration and Charlie broke free from their hold.

"Erin, move!" he yelled. I rolled painfully as Josh growled with frustration and slammed his fist down just where my head was. Charlie ran for him but Josh sent a powerful telekinesis blast at him which sent him tumbling to the side.

Meanwhile, Austin was clutching his shoulder which was bleeding just as bad a Adela's. They were still connected, I realised, just like Josh and I were. Austin still got hurt and I could still die. Adela wasn't moving on the floor but Austin stumbled to his feet, looking around wildly. His eyes were wide and unfocussed. I could see the panic sinking in.

"Grab him," the Master said to Josh. "Get up onto the wave and kill him. Finish your mission." Then he slunk into the background, out of sight. Josh's attention snapped away from me and to Austin who looked so confused and frightened in the midst of the battle. Before I could gather the strength to get up, Josh strode over to Austin, snatching him by the neck and dragging him to the wave.

"Charlie!" I groaned, pulling myself towards him. "Charlie, we have to stop Josh! He's going to kill Austin!" Charlie let out a grunt but yanked himself up, grabbing my arm and hauling me up after him.

"I don't like him much," he growled. "But we sure as hell aren't going to let the Master win this one." I held my side and limped through the frenzy of the battle. We ducked and dived under guns and the fist fights, the bodies falling one after the other.

Austin was struggling against Josh's tight grip but it was no use. Josh and Lucy together were unstoppable. The only way to win this was to break them apart.

Not quite sure to do that.

Josh levitated Austin and himself up the wave and to the crest. They disappeared over the top and were hidden by the foam. "How do we get up there?" Charlie asked. "Without Austin, you have no powers to get us up."

"Give me a boost," I said.

"Erin, I can't let you go up on your own!" he cried. "You saw what he did to you just now. He'll kill you!"

"He can't kill me without killing himself," I reminded him. "He just wants to dispose of me for a while. I bet the Master will have him kill me after he takes over the world... It's always been Josh's worst fear."

"Either way, he'll seriously hurt you," Charlie said. "I can't let you do this."

"You have to," I said. "Please, for the sake of Austin, for the sake of the world, Charlie just let me." Charlie looked at me with sad eyes.

"Be careful," was all he said, kneeling down for me to step up. He pushed me up and I was taken up by the water's strong current. I was swept away from Charlie, launched towards the top of the wave were the water swirled like a whirl pool. It was possible to stand up here so I managed to stand shakily, using the water to keep my balance.

Josh had thrown Austin onto the water which had become a solid floor under his feet. There was a gun in his hand pointing straight at Austin's face. On seeing me, Austin's eyes widened and his mouth mouthing the word: no. But I wasn't going to let Josh kill him. I wasn't going to let Josh kill anyone ever again.

I waded through the water with incredible speed, pushing past Josh and putting myself between Austin and the gun. Josh's eyes were cold and hard, not even showing a flicker of emotion as I stepped in front of him.

"Don't do this, Josh," I whispered. "This isn't you. Please."

"Get out of the way," he said. "My mission is not you."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "No. You're wrong."

"I am?" he asked, sounding a little confused and tilting his head to the side.

"Yes," I breathed. "Your mission has always been me. All you've ever done is protect me and nothing else. You've taken beatings for me, you've killed for me, you've done everything you ever could to shield me. You always said that I was the one good purpose of your life. If that is still you, if there is even a shred of the Josh I know in there, please don't do this."

"Move," he growled. He wasn't willing to shoot me but he made a point of cocking the gun. I stepped closer to him so the gun was resting on my forehead. He could shoot me if he wanted. I no longer cared.

"No," I said. "This isn't you. It's Lucy. So go ahead, shoot me. You won't last long after me."

"Erin, no," Austin said but I waved him back with tears in my eyes.

"I dare you, Josh," I said, opening up my arms. "Shoot me. Do it. At least then I will know that I've truly lost you." I stared at him with unwavering eyes. He stared back. For a moment, there wasn't a sound in the world. Nothing else mattered. There was only me and Josh. Josh and me.

That was when his eyes softened, his face slackened and the hand holding the gun started shaking. He took a deep breath like it was the only one he'd taken in years. It looked like the weight of the world had just crashed down on him.

"Erin?" he whispered softly.

"Josh?" I said. "Josh is that you?"

"Oh God," he gasped, dropping the gun and stumbling backwards. "Oh God, no. What have I done?" Suddenly, black smoke billowed from his mouth and nostrils, swirling around him like a whirlpool. He collapsed to his knees, arms wide.

The wave dropped from beneath us and we crashed to the ground. In a flash, Charlie was by my side.

"What happened?" he asked. I stood up groggily, looking around. The battle had ended and the World United soldiers were escorting away the remaining Triple soldiers. But it wasn't over yet.

"Josh," I cried. "Josh!" I crawled over to him where he lay pale and unmoving. A girl lay a few metres away and she too was motionless. Already two soldiers were picking her up and lifting her to a parked van, one of many driving in through the wreckage now. Charlie and Austin came up behind me as I tried to shake Josh awake.

"Please Josh," I whispered. "Wake up. Wake up! Don't leave me! Not now."

"He's alive, Erin," Charlie said softly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Why isn't he waking up?" I sobbed.

"Because his mind has been stretched to the limit," a voice said gently. I looked up to see the General crouching beside Josh and placing a hand on his forehead. "He is weak. Breaking free from the GE Lucy took much of his strength. His mind may be permanently damaged, Erin. I am sorry. Truly, I am."

"How are you here, General?" Charlie asked.

"I thought on what you said," he replied. "I made a mistake." That was all he could say before Josh gasped and turned to the side, coughing up water and black smoke.

"Wh-where am I?" he choked.

"Josh," I said as gently as I could. "It's me. It's Erin. Everything is fine. You fought her off. You're back."

"The Master-"

"My people are hunting him down as we speak," the General said. "Hello Josh. I am the General of the World United Army." Josh looked shocked and was speechless. His mouth was shaping words but no sound coming out.

"It's okay, Josh," I said. "You're fine." I quickly explained everything that had happened since we were separated. I told him how Austin had moved to our side and had helped us stop the Master. Josh didn't seem convinced so Austin wisely crept away.

"Err...sir," a soldier said, holding out a tablet for the General to take. "You may want to see this." The General took the tablet and looked at it, his face grave.

"What is it?" Charlie asked.

"The waves Josh and Lucy created before Austin stopped her," the General said. "They've not stopped. They'll hit Europe any minute now."

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Just when you thought it was all over... But sadly there will only be one or two more chapters plus an epilogue of this story.

So, comment and vote if you liked this one!

Love y'all and thank you so much for your support!!!

CricketCat