Six weeks later, Dave, Jo and Bethany were in the grounds of the citadel. Bethany was catching on to the basics quickly, forming very simple words. Then came the explosion. Dave reacted quickly getting Jo and Beth transported inside the citadel and he climbed up to the ramparts of the outer wall. There was a massive invasion force
approaching.
"Bridge, we have a problem!"
"Yes, sir," came the response. "We're assembling the armies now. There was no warning. Shields are down to 25% outside the walls. We cannot take another hit like that."
"Right. Get Sapphire out here. We're going to need her down here, not up with you. And keep my family safe!"
"Yessir!"
Dave went to one of the arms bunkers and readied himself for the battle. This would be the last battle, he thought. Win or lose, it'd all end here. By the time he was ready, Revare was out with the army behind him. They had been on many training missions but it had been a long while since the real thing. Another explosion hit the outer shield and it fell, taking a good amount of the wall and the gate with it. The enemy were through. Revare looked at Dave, who looked at Revare.
"Charge!" they cried out with a third voice behind them. Sapphire was with them and they rode out to meet the enemy. Missiles flew, shouts went up, blasts were fired and it became clear that the enemy had been ready for this for a long time, and were eager to fight. Dave, Revare and Sapphire fought long and they fought hard and the battle lasted a long time. Soon their armies were overpowered and they had to retreat to a citadel that was being heavily bombarded by enemy missiles. They had lost contact with the Bridge and in the soon the inner shield was damaged. Dave wanted to stay and fight but his family came first and in the confusion he slipped inside the citadel, where the enemy forces were being transported in. The citadel security forces were being decimated and Dave fought valiantly through many of them until he reached his room. Then he heard a scream from inside.
"Hang on, Jo!" he called. "I'm coming!" He kicked down the door to come face to face with the Dark Lord.
"I've waited a long time for this," called the Dark Lord as he turned on Dave, shoving Jo to the floor.
"You'll pay for that," said Dave, his anger rising, and he chraged at the Dark Lord who drew the staff and smacked Dave across the back. Just before it connected there was a subtle shift in his perceptions but after it connected it was gone. Dave knew the shift from somewhere but couldn't place it and was stunned by the blow. "The daystaff" he groaned as he picked himself off the floor. "Then it is you, Jolene."
"Yes, Goldfish. It is I, your oldest and deadliest enemy. I am your destruction." He took a swipe at Dave and knocked him across the head. Again was the shift in Dave's senses but again he couldn't place it. This time he was badly hurt and could barely stand. He staggered a bit and tripped over something, falling through the window and heading for the ground below. "Damn!" cursed the Dark Lord. "He was mine!" He turned to face Jo. "And now so are you. And your child."
"NO!" cried Jo as he grabbed her and transported them all out to the battlefield.
"Destroy it all," he ordered his army. "Nothing is to be left. Then burn their bodies." Then he laughed as his armies routed through the citadel. He'd won.
He dreamt of a time unknown to his memory. He saw friends old and new fighting an alien race in another dimension. He saw friends falling to lows hitherto unseen. He saw a family broken and another family reforging with old friends to hide their loss. He saw wars and destruction. He saw the end of life as it had been and the start of a new era of greatness for all concerned. He saw the destruction of them all in a blaze of fire, damnation and hatred. He did not see himself. Of him there was no trace. He called out his name, but no reply was forthcoming. Had he been forgotten? Had his name become nothing more significant than the breeze? Just as he was about to lose all hope he heard something. He strained to hear it and on the horizon, carried by the winds he heard it again. 'Chevalier' it called to him. 'Arise' it commanded. He knew the voice, but could not place it. He listened again. 'Goldfish' it said, over and over getting louder as it did so. The voice was no longer a single voice it was a multitude. It was the voice of the...
"...Fringe!" he called out, sitting upright in an instant. Dave Goldfish was still alive, though he knew not the significance of what he had seen.
"Who?" asked Sapphire, who stood next to him. He looked about as he reestablished his bearings. They were not in the citadel.
"What?" he said.
"Who is Fringe?" asked Sapphire.
"Friends," said Dave. "Where are we?"
"About ten miles from the citadel. Dave you've been unconcious for over two days. I've been calling your name, trying to get a response. What happened?"
"The Dark Lord gave me a good twatting and I fell through a window. Nearly died. Again." Then he realised something. "Who's we?"
"Revare and myself. We found you and we brought you out in the confusion. They've killed everyone, D. My people are gone."
"Where are Jo and Beth?"
"We don't know. Revare went to scout for word of them but..." she stopped. Dave looked lost. His family were gone, most probably dead. "Oh, Dave," said Sapphire and she put her arms around him and pulled him close. He didn't resist, going towards her willingly. He looked in her eyes. She looked in his and they pressed their lips together, lightly, gently, yet full of passion. They were only interuppted by Revare's return, who fortunately saw nothing. He had good news.
"They're alive. The Dark Lord has them." Dave backed away from Sapphire, who closed her own eyes.
"Thanks, Revare," she said with a sigh. Revare nodded and went away to act as look out. "Oh, Dave," said Sapphire.
"Oh, God," Dave responded. What the hell had he been thinking, he asked himself. You know EXACTLY what you were thinking, came the reply. He looked at Sapphire.
"You can't deny it. We both felt it," she said to him. Dave nodded, unable to reply. "So what do we do?" Dave shook his head.
"For starters, we do not tell Jo about this."
"And after?"
"I don't know, Cloak. I don't know." He got up and went for a walk. He needed to think.
The Dark Lord sat in his fortress. He was master of all he surveyed, or at least almost. The father was dead, for no one could survive the fall he had taken. The child and all her power was his. Only the mother remained, and she was a problem. Her damn healing field prevented the mind control devices and techniques from breaking her to his will. However she would not resist blackmail, he decided. And he did have one bargaining chip...
Dave was walking, thinking about the battle he lost with Jolene. There were anomalies in the fight. The daystaff was virtually indestructible, even though it resembled little more than a wooden staff. With the Dark Lord's strength, Dave should have been snapped in two by each blow, yet he had not been. Granted, he had been stunned yet he thought that would have been the result of a pulled punch by Jolene. Then there was the question of Dave's perceptions. The feeling he had felt had been familiar, like a taste of something from long ago. He thought of what it was, searching his memory for what it could be, but without success. If he could feel it again he was certain he could remember. And as for the fall - well, his luck had held again. He had managed to slow his fall, even though he could not stop it and that had saved his life, he was certain. He knew he'd blacked out before he hit the floor because he woke up when he hit his head, so he knew it had to be it. There was only one thing for it - an assault on the Dark Lord's fortress. Just him, Revare and Sapphire. He sighed as he thought of the kiss they had shared. He'd never been unfaithful to Jo, but he'd never felt like this before.
"Well that's another fine mess you've gotten us into," he whispered to himself. He'd have to deal with it later. He had his family to rescue.
The Dark Lord went to see his new guest.
"The widow Goldfish," he said to her.
"You'll pay for that," she said, with venom in her voice.
"Really?" he asked. "Exactly how? You have no teleportational capabilities, your allies are mostly dead - the survivors will be dealt with soon - and I have your child. So tell me, how will I pay?"
He laughed as he finished. Jo stared at him defiantly.
"Well, you'll never break me to your will. My child will never truly be yours."
"You know you're right," he said. "So I have a solution that will benefit us all." He clicked his fingers and a guard came in, holding Bethany who was sleeping. "She's been drugged of course," he said.
"What are you doing?" asked Jo, fear in her voice.
"Ah," said the Dark Lord. "You're frightened. You have cause for if you do not agree to become my wife - legally making the child mine - I will kill her. Then neither of us will have her. I shall then remove you to a cell where you will be chained up and the body of your dead baby will be suspended in front of your face. You will see her blood stained corpse every time you open your eyes, until the day you die. Which I assure you will not occur for a very, very long time." He motioned for the guard to bring in someone else. "You will sign a contract agreeing to this and that you will not harm me in any way or what I described will occur. You have 30 seconds to make up your mind.
"You're bluffing," said Jo.
"Try me," warned the Dark Lord. "20 seconds." Jo looked for a way out of this nightmare situation. She could not feel Dave in her mind. He had to be dead this time. If Beth lived she could one day avenge her father. Jo looked at the Dark Lord.
"I don't have a choice, do I?" The Dark Lord smiled and shook his head. "Then I accept your terms. I'll become your wife." She looked down. I'm sorry, Dave, she thought as she signed the document. The Dark Lord had truly won.
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