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Jane and Thunderbird gave the stranger a pensive look, Thunderbird's taking on an air of tension that suggested he was prepared to fight if necissary.  But the stranger, who was known as Magus Kaltavan, merely smiled, and surveyed them with a look of interest one might give a particularly fascinating insect.  "Thats right,"  she spoke, moving closer to Jane and weighing her with her eyes.  "This is my castle, and there is a price to be paid for trespassing."

"Don't hurt my----"  Thunderbird began, but was silenced and his movements arrested by a wave of the Magus' hand.  With the same hand she touched Jane's forehead as Jane froze, her eyes growing blank.  An icy chill went through her, as suddenly it became clear to her what the Magus was doing.

Images filled her mind, images that had floated in the deepest recesses of her consiousness ever since the first Round.  The shaman memories flooded her, pictures of the Tower from the outside, concepts she didn't understand on a consious level but somehow could grasp instinctively, of dimensions and gateways to worlds and times innumerable.  There was a sense of danger as images of the DHT and its people flashed through her mind, and with a start she knew.  Jane's capture, this whole tournament, it wasn't just a game, or even revenge for the DHT member she had slain.  Jane was just a pawn to be used for a bigger purpose.

The images and memories winked out as the Magus withdrew her hand, and Jane let out a long shuddering breath, only then realising she had been holding it.  Her father rubbed his arms as he, too, was released from the spell, and moved closer to Jane protectively.  Kaltavan turned away for a moment, speaking to Nicholas in a quiet whisper as the father and daughter pair collected themselves.

Finally she turned to address them again.  "I see.  So you are here through no fault of your own, and indeed that is also where the other has come from.  This castle, no, this world as a whole seems to be a passage through dimensions, the borders between must be thin here.  I should have realised...."  She trailed off momentarily before noticing the thoroughly lost expressions on their faces.  "Oh, yes of course.  You have no idea where you are do you?  Do you recall the floating islands populated by the primitive magic users?"  Without waiting for an answer she summoned up a small orb, an image of the planet they were on.  It zoomed in to reveal the very islands which she spoke of.  "The people once dwelled upon the surface of this world, but many centuries ago it had become uninhabitable.  A great necromancer summoned armies of the dead and forced the people of this world to create the floating land masses where they live today, lest they too succumb to the death of the surface.  That was me, I'm afraid."  She somehow managed to look apologetic despite saying she had destroyed the world.

Jane seemed a bit green upon hearing she was a guest of such a person, but the Magus either didn't notice or politely didn't take offense as she continued.  "I spend my time now living quietly and researching dimensions, but I do thank you for the warning given by the shaman."  The corners of her lips twitched into a faint smile, as though she spoke of an old aquaintence.  "Now, down to business.  Since you were so unceremoniously deposited into my home I will require your assistance in removing the more destructive intruder.  This shouldn't be a problem since the tournament requires this of you anyway, but I will be willing to provide you with a single gift in return. I have quite a few magical items I may be able to part with, as I can't afford to lose any more servants to that....boy...."  For the first time since the two met her, the Magus frowned.

Jane's ears pricked up at the mention of 'the other'.  It must be her opponent!  She had been getting antsy, living alone on the jungle planet taught her it was dangerous to remain in one place for too long, and she felt the paranoia of being caught off guard creeping into her thoughts.  Without thinking she stepped forward, a determined and almost desperate look on her face.  "I will find him and defeat him.  Show me the way out and---"

Her father cut her off in mid sentence however.  Pulling her aside so they may talk semi privately he tried to reason with her. "Jane, we talked about this.  You can't go off alone, its too dangerous."

Jane shook her head, emotions stirring within her.  For a brief moment, she felt like she was five again, where the world was safer and nothing could hurt her as long as Daddy was there.  No monsters in the night, no creatures in the day could touch her, while her hand was in his.  But she knew she could never feel that way again.  She was glad to have him back, glad he was alive, and that love was still there from when she was a child, but it would never be the same.  "Daddy...I have to go.  I must find him, I can't just stay here, waiting around.  I have to go and face him head on.  I don't feel safe here."

A father's anguish shown within Thunderbird's eyes.  "Jane, I am your father, I can keep you safe---"

"No you can't!"  Without meaning to the walls Jane had built around her fell, and tears sprang to her eyes.  "You can't keep me safe, your part in this tournament is over! I have to do this, and I have to go alone.  Dad..."  She hugged him and buried her face in his chest, trying to make him understand the truth the visions held.  "If you interfere in combat they will kill you.  I can't let that happen, even if---"  She sighed.  "I will survive Dad.  Surviving is all I've ever known."  She withdrew from his tight hug, her eyes full of resolve looking into his worried ones.  "I....love you..."

Stepping past him was probably the hardest thing she had ever done, as watching her leave was for him.  After receiving instructions from the Magus, Jane stepped through a portal in the wall without looking back.  Thunderbird found his shoulders slumping, shutting his eyes with a sigh.

"Suddenly I feel so old..."

~*~

The faint sounds of strings and flutes wafted over Jane's ears as she found herself once again in the ghostly ballroom.  The archway loomed tauntingly above her as she gave it a glare.  "The key..." she murmured.  "Stay focused, Jane."

And focus she did.  In an 80's style montage she prepared the ballroom for battle, weaving in and out of the spectral dancers, and setting traps for the living.  She knew eventually he would come here and when he did she would be ready.  She hadn't killed yet, not in this tournament anyway, but she would do anything she could to protect her father, and to survive.  When she felt the room was ready, she readied her weapons and hid.

A half hour or so had gone by, and while she had waited for her opponent to find them she noted some things of interest.  The dancers moved in a pattern, there were only two songs and each dancing couple moved in the exact spots and in the same way each time.  She noted this, and so was doubly alerted when she saw one of the couples missing after leaving the room for their scheduled 'breather'.

Jane crept closer in the shadows and watched the doorway where the couple had disappeared and never returned.  Sure enough she heard something murmuring in the hall, definately the voice of the living.  Jane smiled.  It was time.

~*~

"Shit, you would think killing skeletons wouldn't get old but I guess by the 684th one it does."  Neil S. Smiley stolled down the hall towards the light at the end of the tunnel murmuring to himself.  I looked bored.  Truth be told, he was bored.  He wanted to fight something living, something that could actually put up more of a fight.  Something like...
"My opponent?"  He stopped walking about 20 feet away from the large archway which opened up into the ballroom.  He could see more of the skeleton couples dancing beyond it, but they were not his focus.  In the middle of the archway stood a girl in torn camo, twirling a staff nonchalantly in her hands.  He smiled and started striding towards her with a renewed sense of purpose.  "Its about time bitch, I was getting bored.  How about you entertain me a bit before you hand over your key?"

The blond savage girl just stood there, giving him a grin and twirling her spear.  "No, I don't think I want to."  She twirled her spear for a few moments longer, letting her words sink in, before winking at him.  "Bye."

In one fluid motion she took off running.  Neil's eyes widened before growing angry.  "You cocky bitch!" He yelled as he fired off a fireball towards her before running after her.  The fireball flew straight towards Jane--before smashing into a twirling couple, which had danced into the place Jane was moments before.  The pattern she used to her advantage.  As for Neil, his foot caught a rope that had been engineered by Jane to be a rope trap, effectively swinging him upwards and hanging in the air by one foot.

~*~

The jolt sent the ball of Hatred flying out of his pocket, sailing through the air, before colliding with one of the dancing ghosts.  Rather than destroying the ghost, however, it diffused within it, and the ghost turned slowly, the misty gray it once was now spreading with a deep blood red.  Crimson eyes shone out of a face once neutral, now contorted with hostility, and twisted at once by a hateful smile, his gaze locked upon Neil.

~*~

"Where are you??"  Neil yelled as he reached upwards to try to free himself from the rope, before an arrow shot out of somewhere in the room, barely missing him but forcing him to withdraw his hands.  More arrows came from source unknown, shooting around Neil, just close enough to feel the breeze but not touching him, as Neil struggled in vain.  This enemy he could not see, he had been goaded into a trap.  This wasn't supposed to happen.  He was stronger than her, she was just a human, practically an ANIMAL!!  "Fuck youuuuuu!!!!!!" He howled as he thrashed about, trying to free himself.

~*~

If the positions were reversed, she was sure Neil would be laughing, toying with her.  But she took no pleasure in what she did, it was purely a means to an end.  And that end was finally realised when one of her arrows struck the loop on his key, pinning it to the wall.  She gave a sigh of relief, and began to make her way through the shadows to where he was, shooting an arrow every now and then to keep him busy and off guard.  This tactic she had learned from Spectre, and found it to be very effective when he had used it against her.  But she didn't wish her opponent any harm really.  She just wanted the key, after that it didn't matter what happened to him.  She just wanted out, thats all she had wanted, but something nagged at her at this thought, something she was slowly beginning to realise.  It wasn't just about her, the images had said that.  She wasn't in danger alone, the other worlds were too.  But thoughts like this warred within her with her innate sense of survival.  She had never had to care for anyone else.

Suddenly she stopped short, as she saw one of the ghosts breaking away from the pattern.  It strode towards her opponent, and his struggles ceased as he too saw the new threat.

~*~

"Remember me, fucker?"  A raspy voice caused Neil to quit his struggles, and looked down.  A crimson ghost filled him with unease, a new feeling for one who was used to being in control.  He looked into those red ghostly eyes, and saw something vaguely familiar.

The ghost smiled.  "Thats right, its me.  In a way I have to thank you, my old self wasn't as pure as I am now.  And the purity of my hate makes me much.  More. POWERFUL."  The ghost brought up a hand and grinned, but paused as Neil laughed.

"News flash douchebag, you're a fucking ghost, you can't hurt m---"  He was cut short, his eyes growing wide as the Hatred ghost drove his fist into Neil's chest, disappearing into it up to the elbow.  As it emerged, Hatred held a shining orb within his hand to Neil's horror.  "All your fancy tricks, all your cocky attitude, where are they without this?  How does it feel to be without the source of YOUR power?"

~*~

Jane witnessed this, but withdrew her consience from it.  She couldn't allow herself to care too much, she had to do what she could to survive.  He wouldn't help her if she was in his place, he would take the key and go.  She just had to take the key, and find her father, and they could move on.  She had to...

"Jane!!!"  The voice of her father rang out across the ballroom, the ghosts and skeletons still following the patterns they had done for centuries as he strode across the floor, caring not for any danger he may have been in.  Indeed, any danger he WAS in, for Hatred and Neil both noticed his arrival as surely as she had.  Groaning, Jane stepped out of hiding, standing in between her Father and her opponent.  Upon seeing her, he spoke her name, relieved, and ran to her. "Jane.  We are leaving.  Your opponent is obviously finished."

"Hey..." Neil pointed at him, and would have surely come up with a witty and insulting comeback but Thunderbird continued, ignoring him.  He held up a small marble sized orb.  "This opens up a gateway to one of the Caves of Infinity.  I believe it will take us to the nearest one, which is on the planet the Tower is on.  We can get out of here, leave the tournament.  We can be free."  She looked into his eyes, a desperate sense of wanting her safe shining within them.  She wanted to be free, she wanted to survive and go back home...

...But it wasn't about what she wanted anymore.  This tournament taught her a lot about herself, she found what was once lost, and a missing piece in her heart was now mended.  Most of all, she now knew that sometimes it wasn't about what was just good for you, sometimes you had to put yourself on the line for those who cannot defend themselves.  The shaman and the people of the Floating Islands, the people of that strange Urban Jungle, and even that large, planet devouring creature, they all deserved to have a chance to live.  Who knew how many countless other worlds this tower connected to, how many innocent people would be in danger of the Dark Horse Tournament was allowed to have their way.  No, she knew she couldn't walk away from what she now knew.  She had to win, because winning was the only way she would be able to stop them.

In one fluid motion, honed by a life where she needed to catch her own dinner, she snatched the orb from her fathers hand and threw it at the ground below her opponent.  Then, with lightning fast reflexes, she brought up her bow, notched an arrow, and let it fly---straight into the rope holding him aloft.  As he dropped into the portal, the sudden motion caused Hatred to lose his grip on the orb, and both fell through the Gate of Infinity, as it closed behind them.

Hatred looked at the floor where the portal once was.  "Mother fuckers....you took my kill from me."  His piercing, consuming gaze fell upon the two.  "Now you'll have to take his place...."

But before Hatred could so much as take a step he froze.  The Magus stepped from behind him, smiling that unfazed smile of hers as she studied him carefully, before giving Jane a glance.  "Well done, you may go now."  Turning back to Hatred, it was almost as if they ceased to exist.  "Yes..."  She cooed to the motionless form of Hatred as she withdrew the ball of hate from the ghost and gazing down upon it as if to a small child.  "There is much research to be done, and then perhaps you may live again..."

Jane removed the key from the wall as her father spoke.  "You said everything has a price while I was choosing the orb, Magus.  When something is received a gift must be given.  You have received that Hate from our actions."  Jane looked at her father.  It was almost like making a deal with a demon, what was he doing?

The Magus looked thoughtful before nodding.  "And what is your price then, human?"

Thunderbird pointed up at the archway.  "Its too high for us.  Levitate us up there so we may pass through together."

After a moment of thoughtfulness, the Lich gave a soft nod.  "Very well, I suppose that is to my benefit as well since it will be getting rid of you."  She waved a hand and the two began to rise towards the arch.  "Do hurry up, I have work to do."

Jane turned both keys as the portal rippled into existance. Giving one last look at each other, the father and daughter pair leaped in, wondering what secrets and dangers the bottom floor, the last battle, the final round held.

~*~

"Ow!  Mother fucker that hurt..."  Neil landed in the cold stone floor of the caves squarely on his head.  Standing up and rubbing it, he snatched up the glowing orb that was his power condensed and looked around.  "Wow, I'm sure glad no one saw tha..."

The sounds of snickering cut him short.  "Dude, looks like you just got owned."  His brother James laughed to Neil's inner dismay, which quickly turned to anger as he saw his brother had been dressing him down in front of a hot girl.

"Don't fuck with me James...." he growled dangerously, brushing off his clothes.  "Who's the chick?  She's hot."

James' laughter grew louder as he slapped Neil on the back.  "Thats our grandma idiot.  Anyway she helped to fix my problem so now that you're out of the game we're ready to go....hey, whats that?"  Neil tried to hide his orb but it was too late.

"Oh, you lost your power too? Oh shit man ahahahahahhaha!"

"Shut up!!!"

"Maybe our 'hot' grandma can get you fixed up too ahahahahahah!"

"Its not funny!!"

"AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA  poor little brother!!!!"

Their words and James' laughter faded as the portal closed, and they walked through the caves, talking and digging at each other as brothers do.  They had plans, to gather up their remaining family from the planet and withdraw....

But their plans weren't the only ones...as the leaders of the Dark Horse Tournament, sensing the culmination of all their research and work coming to a head.  The final level, the power which they sought, was nearly within their grasp.  And they would have it....

Unless a human named Jane could stop them.  And she would do anything in her power to not only defend her right to survive, but the rights of others.  Her father taught her that it was nothing to survive on her own, that the strong must protect the weak, and for that, she would be strong.  She had to.

She wanted to make her Father proud.
~*~*~*~

FIN~

Description
Jane and Thunderbird gave the stranger a pensive look, Thunderbird's taking on an air of tension that suggested he was prepared to fight if necissary.  But the stranger, who was known as Magus Kaltavan, merely smiled, and surveyed them with a look of interest one might give a particularly fascinating insect.  "Thats right,"  she spoke, moving closer to Jane and weighing her with her eyes.  "This is my castle, and there is a price to be paid for trespassing."

"Don't hurt my----"  Thunderbird began, but was silenced and his movements arrested by a wave of the Magus' hand.  With the same hand she touched Jane's forehead as Jane froze, her eyes growing blank.  An icy chill went through her, as suddenly it became clear to her what the Magus was doing.

Images filled her mind, images that had floated in the deepest recesses of her consiousness ever since the first Round.  The shaman memories flooded her, pictures of the Tower from the outside, concepts she didn't understand on a consious level but somehow could grasp instinctively, of dimensions and gateways to worlds and times innumerable.  There was a sense of danger as images of the DHT and its people flashed through her mind, and with a start she knew.  Jane's capture, this whole tournament, it wasn't just a game, or even revenge for the DHT member she had slain.  Jane was just a pawn to be used for a bigger purpose.

The images and memories winked out as the Magus withdrew her hand, and Jane let out a long shuddering breath, only then realising she had been holding it.  Her father rubbed his arms as he, too, was released from the spell, and moved closer to Jane protectively.  Kaltavan turned away for a moment, speaking to Nicholas in a quiet whisper as the father and daughter pair collected themselves.

Finally she turned to address them again.  "I see.  So you are here through no fault of your own, and indeed that is also where the other has come from.  This castle, no, this world as a whole seems to be a passage through dimensions, the borders between must be thin here.  I should have realised...."  She trailed off momentarily before noticing the thoroughly lost expressions on their faces.  "Oh, yes of course.  You have no idea where you are do you?  Do you recall the floating islands populated by the primitive magic users?"  Without waiting for an answer she summoned up a small orb, an image of the planet they were on.  It zoomed in to reveal the very islands which she spoke of.  "The people once dwelled upon the surface of this world, but many centuries ago it had become uninhabitable.  A great necromancer summoned armies of the dead and forced the people of this world to create the floating land masses where they live today, lest they too succumb to the death of the surface.  That was me, I'm afraid."  She somehow managed to look apologetic despite saying she had destroyed the world.

Jane seemed a bit green upon hearing she was a guest of such a person, but the Magus either didn't notice or politely didn't take offense as she continued.  "I spend my time now living quietly and researching dimensions, but I do thank you for the warning given by the shaman."  The corners of her lips twitched into a faint smile, as though she spoke of an old aquaintence.  "Now, down to business.  Since you were so unceremoniously deposited into my home I will require your assistance in removing the more destructive intruder.  This shouldn't be a problem since the tournament requires this of you anyway, but I will be willing to provide you with a single gift in return. I have quite a few magical items I may be able to part with, as I can't afford to lose any more servants to that....boy...."  For the first time since the two met her, the Magus frowned.

Jane's ears pricked up at the mention of 'the other'.  It must be her opponent!  She had been getting antsy, living alone on the jungle planet taught her it was dangerous to remain in one place for too long, and she felt the paranoia of being caught off guard creeping into her thoughts.  Without thinking she stepped forward, a determined and almost desperate look on her face.  "I will find him and defeat him.  Show me the way out and---"

Her father cut her off in mid sentence however.  Pulling her aside so they may talk semi privately he tried to reason with her. "Jane, we talked about this.  You can't go off alone, its too dangerous."

Jane shook her head, emotions stirring within her.  For a brief moment, she felt like she was five again, where the world was safer and nothing could hurt her as long as Daddy was there.  No monsters in the night, no creatures in the day could touch her, while her hand was in his.  But she knew she could never feel that way again.  She was glad to have him back, glad he was alive, and that love was still there from when she was a child, but it would never be the same.  "Daddy...I have to go.  I must find him, I can't just stay here, waiting around.  I have to go and face him head on.  I don't feel safe here."

A father's anguish shown within Thunderbird's eyes.  "Jane, I am your father, I can keep you safe---"

"No you can't!"  Without meaning to the walls Jane had built around her fell, and tears sprang to her eyes.  "You can't keep me safe, your part in this tournament is over! I have to do this, and I have to go alone.  Dad..."  She hugged him and buried her face in his chest, trying to make him understand the truth the visions held.  "If you interfere in combat they will kill you.  I can't let that happen, even if---"  She sighed.  "I will survive Dad.  Surviving is all I've ever known."  She withdrew from his tight hug, her eyes full of resolve looking into his worried ones.  "I....love you..."

Stepping past him was probably the hardest thing she had ever done, as watching her leave was for him.  After receiving instructions from the Magus, Jane stepped through a portal in the wall without looking back.  Thunderbird found his shoulders slumping, shutting his eyes with a sigh.

"Suddenly I feel so old..."

~*~

The faint sounds of strings and flutes wafted over Jane's ears as she found herself once again in the ghostly ballroom.  The archway loomed tauntingly above her as she gave it a glare.  "The key..." she murmured.  "Stay focused, Jane."

And focus she did.  In an 80's style montage she prepared the ballroom for battle, weaving in and out of the spectral dancers, and setting traps for the living.  She knew eventually he would come here and when he did she would be ready.  She hadn't killed yet, not in this tournament anyway, but she would do anything she could to protect her father, and to survive.  When she felt the room was ready, she readied her weapons and hid.

A half hour or so had gone by, and while she had waited for her opponent to find them she noted some things of interest.  The dancers moved in a pattern, there were only two songs and each dancing couple moved in the exact spots and in the same way each time.  She noted this, and so was doubly alerted when she saw one of the couples missing after leaving the room for their scheduled 'breather'.

Jane crept closer in the shadows and watched the doorway where the couple had disappeared and never returned.  Sure enough she heard something murmuring in the hall, definately the voice of the living.  Jane smiled.  It was time.

~*~

"Shit, you would think killing skeletons wouldn't get old but I guess by the 684th one it does."  Neil S. Smiley stolled down the hall towards the light at the end of the tunnel murmuring to himself.  I looked bored.  Truth be told, he was bored.  He wanted to fight something living, something that could actually put up more of a fight.  Something like...
"My opponent?"  He stopped walking about 20 feet away from the large archway which opened up into the ballroom.  He could see more of the skeleton couples dancing beyond it, but they were not his focus.  In the middle of the archway stood a girl in torn camo, twirling a staff nonchalantly in her hands.  He smiled and started striding towards her with a renewed sense of purpose.  "Its about time bitch, I was getting bored.  How about you entertain me a bit before you hand over your key?"

The blond savage girl just stood there, giving him a grin and twirling her spear.  "No, I don't think I want to."  She twirled her spear for a few moments longer, letting her words sink in, before winking at him.  "Bye."

In one fluid motion she took off running.  Neil's eyes widened before growing angry.  "You cocky bitch!" He yelled as he fired off a fireball towards her before running after her.  The fireball flew straight towards Jane--before smashing into a twirling couple, which had danced into the place Jane was moments before.  The pattern she used to her advantage.  As for Neil, his foot caught a rope that had been engineered by Jane to be a rope trap, effectively swinging him upwards and hanging in the air by one foot.

~*~

The jolt sent the ball of Hatred flying out of his pocket, sailing through the air, before colliding with one of the dancing ghosts.  Rather than destroying the ghost, however, it diffused within it, and the ghost turned slowly, the misty gray it once was now spreading with a deep blood red.  Crimson eyes shone out of a face once neutral, now contorted with hostility, and twisted at once by a hateful smile, his gaze locked upon Neil.

~*~

"Where are you??"  Neil yelled as he reached upwards to try to free himself from the rope, before an arrow shot out of somewhere in the room, barely missing him but forcing him to withdraw his hands.  More arrows came from source unknown, shooting around Neil, just close enough to feel the breeze but not touching him, as Neil struggled in vain.  This enemy he could not see, he had been goaded into a trap.  This wasn't supposed to happen.  He was stronger than her, she was just a human, practically an ANIMAL!!  "Fuck youuuuuu!!!!!!" He howled as he thrashed about, trying to free himself.

~*~

If the positions were reversed, she was sure Neil would be laughing, toying with her.  But she took no pleasure in what she did, it was purely a means to an end.  And that end was finally realised when one of her arrows struck the loop on his key, pinning it to the wall.  She gave a sigh of relief, and began to make her way through the shadows to where he was, shooting an arrow every now and then to keep him busy and off guard.  This tactic she had learned from Spectre, and found it to be very effective when he had used it against her.  But she didn't wish her opponent any harm really.  She just wanted the key, after that it didn't matter what happened to him.  She just wanted out, thats all she had wanted, but something nagged at her at this thought, something she was slowly beginning to realise.  It wasn't just about her, the images had said that.  She wasn't in danger alone, the other worlds were too.  But thoughts like this warred within her with her innate sense of survival.  She had never had to care for anyone else.

Suddenly she stopped short, as she saw one of the ghosts breaking away from the pattern.  It strode towards her opponent, and his struggles ceased as he too saw the new threat.

~*~

"Remember me, fucker?"  A raspy voice caused Neil to quit his struggles, and looked down.  A crimson ghost filled him with unease, a new feeling for one who was used to being in control.  He looked into those red ghostly eyes, and saw something vaguely familiar.

The ghost smiled.  "Thats right, its me.  In a way I have to thank you, my old self wasn't as pure as I am now.  And the purity of my hate makes me much.  More. POWERFUL."  The ghost brought up a hand and grinned, but paused as Neil laughed.

"News flash douchebag, you're a fucking ghost, you can't hurt m---"  He was cut short, his eyes growing wide as the Hatred ghost drove his fist into Neil's chest, disappearing into it up to the elbow.  As it emerged, Hatred held a shining orb within his hand to Neil's horror.  "All your fancy tricks, all your cocky attitude, where are they without this?  How does it feel to be without the source of YOUR power?"

~*~

Jane witnessed this, but withdrew her consience from it.  She couldn't allow herself to care too much, she had to do what she could to survive.  He wouldn't help her if she was in his place, he would take the key and go.  She just had to take the key, and find her father, and they could move on.  She had to...

"Jane!!!"  The voice of her father rang out across the ballroom, the ghosts and skeletons still following the patterns they had done for centuries as he strode across the floor, caring not for any danger he may have been in.  Indeed, any danger he WAS in, for Hatred and Neil both noticed his arrival as surely as she had.  Groaning, Jane stepped out of hiding, standing in between her Father and her opponent.  Upon seeing her, he spoke her name, relieved, and ran to her. "Jane.  We are leaving.  Your opponent is obviously finished."

"Hey..." Neil pointed at him, and would have surely come up with a witty and insulting comeback but Thunderbird continued, ignoring him.  He held up a small marble sized orb.  "This opens up a gateway to one of the Caves of Infinity.  I believe it will take us to the nearest one, which is on the planet the Tower is on.  We can get out of here, leave the tournament.  We can be free."  She looked into his eyes, a desperate sense of wanting her safe shining within them.  She wanted to be free, she wanted to survive and go back home...

...But it wasn't about what she wanted anymore.  This tournament taught her a lot about herself, she found what was once lost, and a missing piece in her heart was now mended.  Most of all, she now knew that sometimes it wasn't about what was just good for you, sometimes you had to put yourself on the line for those who cannot defend themselves.  The shaman and the people of the Floating Islands, the people of that strange Urban Jungle, and even that large, planet devouring creature, they all deserved to have a chance to live.  Who knew how many countless other worlds this tower connected to, how many innocent people would be in danger of the Dark Horse Tournament was allowed to have their way.  No, she knew she couldn't walk away from what she now knew.  She had to win, because winning was the only way she would be able to stop them.

In one fluid motion, honed by a life where she needed to catch her own dinner, she snatched the orb from her fathers hand and threw it at the ground below her opponent.  Then, with lightning fast reflexes, she brought up her bow, notched an arrow, and let it fly---straight into the rope holding him aloft.  As he dropped into the portal, the sudden motion caused Hatred to lose his grip on the orb, and both fell through the Gate of Infinity, as it closed behind them.

Hatred looked at the floor where the portal once was.  "Mother fuckers....you took my kill from me."  His piercing, consuming gaze fell upon the two.  "Now you'll have to take his place...."

But before Hatred could so much as take a step he froze.  The Magus stepped from behind him, smiling that unfazed smile of hers as she studied him carefully, before giving Jane a glance.  "Well done, you may go now."  Turning back to Hatred, it was almost as if they ceased to exist.  "Yes..."  She cooed to the motionless form of Hatred as she withdrew the ball of hate from the ghost and gazing down upon it as if to a small child.  "There is much research to be done, and then perhaps you may live again..."

Jane removed the key from the wall as her father spoke.  "You said everything has a price while I was choosing the orb, Magus.  When something is received a gift must be given.  You have received that Hate from our actions."  Jane looked at her father.  It was almost like making a deal with a demon, what was he doing?

The Magus looked thoughtful before nodding.  "And what is your price then, human?"

Thunderbird pointed up at the archway.  "Its too high for us.  Levitate us up there so we may pass through together."

After a moment of thoughtfulness, the Lich gave a soft nod.  "Very well, I suppose that is to my benefit as well since it will be getting rid of you."  She waved a hand and the two began to rise towards the arch.  "Do hurry up, I have work to do."

Jane turned both keys as the portal rippled into existance. Giving one last look at each other, the father and daughter pair leaped in, wondering what secrets and dangers the bottom floor, the last battle, the final round held.

~*~

"Ow!  Mother fucker that hurt..."  Neil landed in the cold stone floor of the caves squarely on his head.  Standing up and rubbing it, he snatched up the glowing orb that was his power condensed and looked around.  "Wow, I'm sure glad no one saw tha..."

The sounds of snickering cut him short.  "Dude, looks like you just got owned."  His brother James laughed to Neil's inner dismay, which quickly turned to anger as he saw his brother had been dressing him down in front of a hot girl.

"Don't fuck with me James...." he growled dangerously, brushing off his clothes.  "Who's the chick?  She's hot."

James' laughter grew louder as he slapped Neil on the back.  "Thats our grandma idiot.  Anyway she helped to fix my problem so now that you're out of the game we're ready to go....hey, whats that?"  Neil tried to hide his orb but it was too late.

"Oh, you lost your power too? Oh shit man ahahahahahhaha!"

"Shut up!!!"

"Maybe our 'hot' grandma can get you fixed up too ahahahahahah!"

"Its not funny!!"

"AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA  poor little brother!!!!"

Their words and James' laughter faded as the portal closed, and they walked through the caves, talking and digging at each other as brothers do.  They had plans, to gather up their remaining family from the planet and withdraw....

But their plans weren't the only ones...as the leaders of the Dark Horse Tournament, sensing the culmination of all their research and work coming to a head.  The final level, the power which they sought, was nearly within their grasp.  And they would have it....

Unless a human named Jane could stop them.  And she would do anything in her power to not only defend her right to survive, but the rights of others.  Her father taught her that it was nothing to survive on her own, that the strong must protect the weak, and for that, she would be strong.  She had to.

She wanted to make her Father proud.
~*~*~*~

FIN~