Time seemed to come to a standstill. It wasn't until the weakened figure looked up and made eye contact with Vi'karac that things seemed to unfreeze. Slowly, almost as if he was in a daze, he approached the other Darka'ash that laid before the smug Twilight King.

"K-Ki'aras?" he managed to get out. That one word alone carried an ageless grief with it.

"V-Vi'karac?" the other figure breathed. Once Vik helped her sit up, I noticed the silver scars that covered her entire body, "I-Is that r-really you?"

A deep sob escaped my friend, and I fumbled with my rifle as I made sure I had a fresh clip primed and ready for Sal'kahnak. The instant I saw him take a step forward, I trained my firearm on him.

"You cannot harm me," he drawled, only to stumble back several steps when I shot him in the shoulder.

"There is no place for hubris in a sovereign," I growled, advancing forward until I stood beside Vik, "Stay the fuck away, you monster."

Thankfully, the bastard was stuck in a corner, so he couldn't go anywhere.

"Wh-What did you just shoot me with? " Sal'kahnak demanded, a snarl creeping into his voice.

A crooked smirk spread across my features. "May have had my wife make some special bullets for me before my crew started to pursue you."

"So that was your contingency plan..." Vik breathed, shaking his head in disbelief, "I would be mad at you, but I will let this pass for now."

"Hey, nothing says efficiency more than Palladium bullets," I replied, smugness dripping from my voice as I turned back to regard Sal'kahnak, "The one Terran thing that truly harms a Darka'ash. You shared that little fact with the UTF, didn't you?"

"I was foolish to think they could help me," he snapped, "They used me in their little games, and I plan to use them in turn."

I snorted, "I should've let you die in that ancient weapon."

With that, I shot his kneecaps out and hummed to myself as his otherworldly screams graced my eardrums.

"Is Ki'aras okay?" I prompted Vik.

"She...I do not know," he breathed, his voice heavy with emotion, "She...is unresponsive."

"What did you do to her?" I demanded, training Sintel on Sal'kahnak's chest, "Start talkin', and don't even consider moving toward us."

"I sent her to the Void for every moment she spent with my devious guard captain–name any style of execution that has been perfected throughout the stars, I have used it," he hissed, dragging himself to his feet, "Darka'ash are not allowed to foster any relationships other than ones with me–I am the only person my people can revere!"

In response, I shot him in the left breast–around where the human heart was normally located.

"Geez, your god complex is through the fucking roof," I grumbled, only to pause when I heard Vik speak.

"Ki'aras, please talk to me," he pleaded with her. When no response could be heard, I felt my heart drop.

"Even through all of the torture I put her through, Ki'aras thought you'd come to rescue her," the Twilight King goaded, holding a hand over the place I had most recently shot him, "And you were none the wiser, my good little puppet."

My finger itched toward the trigger, but I paused when Vik stood up and forced the barrel of my gun down.

"He is mine," Vi'karac growled.

Before I could respond, four dark tendrils snaked out from Vik's back and shot toward Sal'kahnak. each tendril found its target in the Twilight King's arms and legs.

"mögest du vergessen werden," my friend rumbled, advancing on the panicking sovereign, "May you be forgotten for the horrible deeds you have committed not only against me, but against your own people."

"G-Guards!" Sal'kahnak roared, "Guards, come deal with these fiends!"

"No one will come for you," Vik whispered once he stood directly before the Twilight King, his very being billowing and lapping at the air like liquid fire, "No one at all."

In the next instant, I heard a ragged gasp, followed by Sal'kahnak collapsing to the ground with a knife in his chest.

"I'll...see you in the Void, you monster!" the Sovereign managed to get out, sending Vik flying back with a blow to the chest. The Twilight King staggered to his feet, only to be sent staggering back when I unloaded more rounds into his chest. With a savage snarl, Sal'kahnak sent me sailing backward with a simple wave of his hand.

"Fools! All of you!" he roared while I hopped back to my feet, "You will learn the true meaning of despair after I am done with you."

Even with alarm bells ringing in my head, I quickly loaded in my second clip of Palladium bullets and worked to incapacitate the Twilight King long enough for Vik to get back up.

"Vi'karac, now would be a good time to help me out!" I snapped, loosing two more rounds that punched through the bastard's abdomen. I attempted to make some forward progress toward Ki'aras, but I was promptly halted by the enraged sovereign.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get to the downed Darka'ash in time: with what seemed like a careless kick, the Twilight King sent Ki'aras flying through the air toward me. Dropping my rifle, I scrambled to catch her, only to be faced with a curved blade of dark energy.

"Fool," he hissed while I knelt before him, "They all kneel in the end."

I closed my eyes and huffed to myself. "That's what you think."

When I wasn't greeted by the vast nothingness of Oblivion, I opened my eyes and looked up. Standing over me was Vi'karac. His hand was burrowed into Sal'kahnak's chest, and the slightest of gurgles graced my eardrums.

"May you be forgotten," Vik muttered, removing his hand from the Twilight King's chest cavity. In that instant, I came to two realizations: Vik had removed his right gauntlet, and Sal'kahnak's black heart was in the palm of his hand. Dark energy billowed and licked at the organ like fire, and Vi'karac disintegrated it with a simple thought. After that, he shoved the being who once was king back.

Like a rock, Sal'kahnak hit the ground hard. He only managed to raise a shaky hand above him before he started to slowly fall apart. In what felt like mere fleeting seconds, all that remained of the Twilight King was a pile of black ashes.

"He is dead," Vik declared, his voice heavy with weariness as he put his gauntlet back on, "Typically, Darka'ash fade into mists and shadows when they die under normal circumstances. I have seen some of my kin reduced to piles of ash before. They did not return."

I nodded and turned my attention to Ki'aras. Judging by her shallow breathing and generally-catatonic state, I could safely assume she was in bad shape.

"Ki'aras," Vik breathed, kneeling in front of me and reaching a shaky hand out toward her, "P-Please, don't leave me–not again..."

To my surprise, her eyes opened. She took Vik's hand in hers and loosed a quaking breath. "I...am right here. Forgive...Me."

"No no no, you did nothing wrong," he answered, bowing his head as silver drops appeared to escape his eyes, "I should be the one apologizing–I should have fought Sal'kahnak back then instead of allowing him to control me like his...puppet."

"If...you fought, we would have been met with a f-fate worse than death," she got out. Quickly, I passed Ki'aras to Vik, and he held her close as she continued to speak, "F-For what it is worth, I am...just happy to s-see you one l-last time."

"No, you will not die," he declared, his voice breaking on the last word, "There is so much left we still have to do–so much left to see."

Her flawless silver eyes drifted closed, and a soft huff escaped her. "I...fear my time is short..."

"No," Vi'karac rasped out, "Th-There must be something we can do!"

All while this was happening, I struggled to figure out what the hell we could do. Come on, damn it! There has to be something–wait...

"I got an idea," I muttered, raising my voice when I realized this may work, "Vik, I know what we can do."

"Continue."

"It may be a huge gamble, but what if we could bind Ki'aras to one of my crew members? Our bond keeps you in this realm, yes?"

"Yes it does–and that may work. However, who would we bind Ki'aras to?"

I considered his question before testing my luck. "Alannah, I need your help."

"Sure, what's up love?" she replied through comms.

"Um...this may be difficult to explain–may not even have time to explain everything."

"No worries. We're close to your position–the tracker on your suit has been spotty as hell, but we've still managed to keep up a decent pace."

"How much longer do you think you'll be?"

"Um...maybe ten or so minutes? Do keep in mind I have a kid growing in me, so I can only go so fast."

"I understand–sorry love. Don't push yourself too hard."

"Do you want me to hurry or take it easy? Can't do both, silly."

I tried to respond, but fumbled over my words. "Sorry...just be careful."

"I will."

When I was done speaking with my wife, I regarded Vik. "Our crew should be here soon. Can we stabilize Ki'aras somehow? Could she piggyback off our bond?"

"I will have to see," he said, "To put it simply, our bond keeps us both alive–that is why I can push myself to my breaking point and not have to worry as much about fading away. However, our tether has its limits."

"You have a bond with Ki'aras, yeah?"

"Darka'ash typically form bonds with others they have grown close to, so yes."

"And that is why Sal'kahnak wanted his people to form a bond with only him," I said, coming to a rather fucked up realization, "That's how he controlled you–how he controlled everyone. He was able to manipulate the countless bonds he held with his people, so you should be able to do something with the bond you have with Ki'aras."

"We do not have the time to argue about this, so I might as well try something," he muttered, placing a hand on her forehead. He remained silent for several tense moments before loosing a soft breath, "Alright, I think I managed to do something. Do you feel any different, Cylus?"

"Not really, no. Why?"

"Our bond is meant to be a two-way road, if you will. I supply you with my lifeforce, and you do the same. If a third party is included in this bond, things may get...unstable. Even if Ki'aras is weakly connected to our bond, one wrong move could cause us both immeasurable pain."

"Ah...well, guess that makes sense," I muttered, moving to where I could help Vik prop his friend up, "Wait, what about Er'faniir? I think he's still with my team."

"He should be. One moment please."

Vi'karac fell silent once more. When he spoke again, a hint of hope lingered in his voice, "Er'faniir is blinking over here now with Alannah."

"Good," I breathed, only to pause when I heard a gasp behind me.

"I was not expecting any of this!" Alannah exclaimed, "What–where are we?"

"That matters not," Vik answered, "Alannah, what I need to ask of you is no small favor."

"Dude, you're my best friend. Ask away."

"I...need you to forge a bond with Ki'aras. She is...close to death, but this may save her."

"Sure. I'll see what I can do."

A few moments later, Alannah knelt beside me.

"Before we continue on with this, I need to know: will our child be safe?" I prompted Vik, "I know we are doing this to save Ki'aras, but can you guarantee my family's safety when we go through with this?"

"Alannah and your unborn child will be safe, Cylus. Even if something were to go awry, the sigil I placed on your wife would direct any harm my way," he reminded me.

"Right...Thank you, Vik."

"I should be the one thanking you. No matter...Ki'aras, can you please wake up?"

Slowly, she complied, and she looked at Vik with hazy eyes.

"Do you have it in you to forge a bond?" he prompted her in a gentle tone, "I am sorry for asking this of you, but...you do not deserve to die–not after everything Sal'kahnak has done to you."

"I...will try," she murmured, "I almost thought I had a-already gone to the Void, but I now realize you...did something."

"Call me selfish, but I do not wish to see you fade away," Vik murmured, touching his forehead against Ki'aras', "Please...do not leave me."

"I...am still here," she wisped out, taking his hand in hers.

"So...Ali," I began, turning to regard my wife, "Ready to try this out?"

She shrugged. "Sure, let's say I am. What do I have to do?"

Ki'aras looked her way and studied her with surprising clarity in her eyes.

"You...are worthy," she murmured. Before I could ask any questions, she dissipated into a heavy mist.

"Wait–wait!" Vik exclaimed, but it was too late.

I turned to regard my wife, who was currently resting her head on my shoulder. I tried to rouse her from her slumber, but to no avail.

Fuck....fuck fuck fuck...this is what I had to go through...Ali is strong enough to get through this....