Archetype Biblical Star Empire (part 6 of 6)

a Original Fiction fanfiction by Kaiser

Sechs 

**********

"Ash, are you okay? Say something!"

Back in the (former) holding chamber of the Mahalah, Cream kneeled with 
a weakened and groaning Ash in her arms. Yoko stood beside them with her 
eyes on the door. There was always a chance that more Saviours could 
attack them. It was also odd that their C-Gears didn't hide them from 
the previous Slave-types. But the most important thing now was neither 
Zanaan nor the Saviours, but Rain. And that was the thought that brought 
Ash back to consciousness. The blonde man slowly opened his eyes and 
looked up, to see Cream smiling down at him with tears in her large, 
emotional eyes. 

"Cream...?"

The redhead wiped her eyes softly. "You big doofus. You gotta stop 
scaring me like that!"

"Ugh," Ash shook his head to clear out the cobwebs, then leaned back up 
into a sitting position. Cream then moved with him, helping him back up 
to his own feet. Ash glimpsed over at the container within which the 
Mahalah had once been in. Both it and Zanaan were gone, "that son of a 
bitch. He took that monster with him, didn't he?"

"Yeah." Yoko said.

Ash clenched his fist. "We'll deal with him later. Right now we have 
to-"

The Germanic teen was cut off when the far doors of the hall opened up. 
Ash, Cream, and Yoko all turned around to see what was happening. Around 
twenty armed troops of the Ministry working here marched in quickly with 
their boots stomping along the steel ground rhythmically. They came to a 
stop without taking their weapons into offensive positions. Still, Yoko 
was not so trusting; and acted accordingly. She withdrew one of her 
handguns and aimed at the first line of them provocatively. They didn't 
react and only remained still. Then two people stepped out from behind 
those men. One of them was the conductor herself, Dianus Maximus. The 
other was, of all people, Rain Sorel. Ash and Rain immediately locked 
eyes and stood stunned from it. Tears started welling up in Rain's 
emerald orbs as his fading smile started brightening. Ash, with his arm 
still slung over Cream's shoulder, pulled a warm, tired grin.

Rain couldn't contain himself. "Ash!"

The younger boy rushed away from Dianus and her troops, and flung 
himself into Ash's arms. The Darshana Division soldier chuckled at the 
embrace, wrapping both arms around Rain's body. The two of them remained 
with each other like that, while Yoko retained her sense of mistrust at 
the situation.

"What is this?" She asked.

Dianus sighed bluntly. "A sign of deference. At least in a minor sense."

"Or a peace offering?" Yoko snapped, "I've come to be cautious with 
people like you."

"You're Bardia's illegitimate daughter, aren't you?" Dianus stated, 
"you're in no position to threaten us. And I think we all agree that we 
have more concerns now than what mistakes we've made in the past. There 
is a greater problem to deal with."

"You mean Zanaan?" Cream suggested.

Dianus stared at Cream for a moment, evaluating her face with an 
expression of realization, and then answered for her. "Yes. It seems he 
has been planning this... for some time. I have thought that-"

"Hold on!" Everyone in the room directed their attentions to Ash when he 
yelled out like that. When he knew that he had their attention he 
continued, "I've been hearing people like you talk in riddles for far 
too long. I wanna know exactly what's going on here. Every last detail!"

Rain stared at him. "...Ash...?"

"Start talking," The blonde soldier ordered, at Dianus, "I can tell that 
all this business with the Mahalah, the Anti-Lambda Effect, Rain, my 
Parents, the Saviours; it's all connected somehow. I want to know 
everything about it. All you've done, all you've intended, all you know. 
Right NOW."

Dianus moved her head from side to side. "Fair enough. Follow me."

Yoko and Cream could both tell that the Ministry were being more casual 
with them because of the Zanaan situation. And Rain had a suspicion as 
to what that might mean. But in Ash's frame of mind, that was completely 
irrelevant now. All he wanted at this point, now that he had Rain, was 
answers. Dianus turned on her high heels and started marching for the 
corridor with her guards. Yoko and Cream followed after them while Ash 
and Rain walked together, taking up the rear. Dianus made a few commands 
to some of the guards about the chamber and they went about sealing it 
off. The other guards were told to deal with the random Saviour 
insurgencies across the multiple levels of Deuteronomy's layout. While 
they did that the others followed Dianus to the elevator at the end of 
the corridor outside the Mahalah containment facility. The five of them 
got on and were shunted up to one of the higher levels (now that Zanaan 
had relinquished the Mahalah's domination over Eleazar, all functions of 
Deuteronomy, including the elevators, were working at normal 
efficiency). When the lift stopped and the doors opened again; Dianus, 
Ash, Rain, Cream and Yoko walked down that new carpeted level and into 
an office of many. They closed the door behind them. Dianus strode 
around her desk and sat down. Behind her was a large window fixed along 
the length of the wall. From there, the Saviours attacking the Space 
Palace could be seen. But not only that. They could also see that 
glowing sphere of dark energy, orbiting Deuteronomy like a sister moon. 

Cream blinked at it. "What is that?"

"That orb," Dianus commented, "is a gateway."

Ash looked at her. "A gateway? A gateway to... what?"

"A miniature dimension within the faint anomalies of time and space," 
She said, "a place that your Mother and Father constructed with their 
infinite talents. A domain that we call Zone Bethlehem."

Yoko crossed her arms. "I remember him bringing that up. He said that 
the Anti-Lambda Effect data was the key to reaching that place. But 
what's the implication of it?"

"I suppose the only way to explain all the phenomena involved," Began 
Dianus, "is to start from the very beginning. Thousands of years ago, 
during the ancient Mu Civilization; the time of those who fled the Old 
Earth and repopulated other planets, a set of files were found. We refer 
to them as the Dead Sea Scrolls. They detailed talk of a great divinity 
-- a Goddess who was the Child of God; Ceres. And the dominion where she 
lived -- the Rhapsody Stratum. For generations, man attempted to reach 
that holy place. No attempt was ever successful. But regardless of that, 
no one could forget the revelations of the Dead Sea Scrolls, even in 
this age of scientific expansion. So the Ministry, in its eternal 
arrogance... decided if contact could not be made with divinity by man 
then man would create divinity. A being capable of fulfilling the 
prophecies of the Dead Sea Scrolls and perfecting the universe. A new 
God to replace the one mankind has been so blinded to."

"You wanted to re-create God?" Yoko said sceptically, "Are you serious?"

Dianus nodded. "Yes. That was the aim of the Ministry. By its doctrines, 
this universe has grown corrupt and impure. Possessed of an endless 
cycle of misery to which the people flock. This time of expansion has 
seen much progress scientifically speaking. But also a greatly weakened 
sense in the importance of human rights. The people of mankind have lost 
their pride in the great wonder of the universe and now... the Ministry 
has made it its mission to... change all of that. By restoring faith to 
a people eluded from it by the sin of their own hearts."

"But what does any of that have to do with my Father and Ash's parents?" 
Rain asked. 

"They were once involved with the Ministry. And they were members of the 
first team of scientists to research the Mu Civilization as a point of 
imperative. But they turned from the organization when they learned of 
what the Ministry planned to do. To make celestial power, they formed a 
strategy. The Master Plan. But the original hope for the plan was 
lost... and the Ministry were possessed with the lust for power. Rather 
than create a God to improve things... they saw it as a tool for 
attaining control over the entire Augusta Star System. When Dr. Sorel 
and the doctors Gestalt learned of the truth, they fled the Ministry. 
And they began to take steps to counter-act its activities as well as 
those of the Saviours."

"So they apposed this plan?" Ash asked.

"Correct," Dianus said to him, "the plan was divided into three parts. 
The first part was to deal with the Saviours themselves. We saw them as 
a threat to us and knew that they had to be stopped before our God was 
created. So we designed weapons systems to aid us in that end. One was 
the Zarathustra; a unit of four systems, each with the ability to 
convert energies of destruction into weapons. However the Zarathustra 
has not had the proper levels of power necessary in three of its 
systems, Asher, Judah and Zibeon, to be successful in completion. We 
planned to bred two human beings, perfectly synonymous with the 
respective energies, to empower the Zarathustra. That sub-project of the 
Master Plan was the Ghazali Project. That too has yet to reach an 
acceptable conclusion."

"What of the second weapon?" Prodded Yoko.

"That was the Baruva Cannon. The Zarathustra was designed specifically 
to destroy Saviours. The Baruva Cannon was not. It is the twin of the 
Longinus Cannon and was designed for the purpose of eradicating the 
Lambda Effect Wave Shield that surrounds the Cartesia Star System. The 
one that prevents us from fighting the Saviours in their own dominion. 
The majority of the funds for the Baruva was supplied by the Esdraelon 
Conglomerate -- it was what Michael Bardia required from the beginning. 
It was the only reason he worked with us. Though he does not know the 
true nature of the Master Plan. For all he knows... the Ministry only 
plans on making weapons to kill Saviours. His haste in the perfection of 
the Baruva Cannon was what made obtaining the Anti-Lambda Effect data so 
important."

"I see," Yoko said, "the Esdraelon Conglomerate funds the Ministry to a 
great extent. And the Baruva Cannon relies on the Anti-Lambda Effect 
data. If you didn't get that data then the Baruva couldn't be completed. 
And if the Baruva Cannon was left that way then Bardia would pull out of 
the project -- ultimately the Master Plan would then collapse. Because 
no one else would be prepared to supply the Ministry with that much 
money in secrecy, would they?"

"So that's why you kidnapped Rain?" Ash said with disbelief. 

Dianus folded her fingers together on the desk. "Exactly. The one who 
discovered the Anti-Lambda Effect was Dr. Sorel. Therefore he was the 
only one to know how to bring it about. It was a known fact that he had 
placed the data for the Effect in one of his 'test subjects'. We were 
preoccupied with the wrong subject, that's all."

"But how does the Mahalah fit into that?" Wondered Cream.

"The Mahalah sample is the nucleus of an ancient being that caused 
tremendous destruction during the Mu Civilization when it was first 
discovered. To stop that killing, they sealed it inside a tomb on Planet 
Golgotha, where it has rested for millennia. When we discovered the Dead 
Sea Scrolls ourselves and found record of the Mahalah, we realized that 
it was the only being that could attain true sanctity. The Mahalah has 
the power to draw in the consciousness and souls of human beings. It 
also has the ability to take on the shape and nature of whoever merges 
with it. Another of the sub-projects of the Master Plan, Project SIGMA, 
was intended to stimulate the nucleus of the Mahalah sample to the level 
at which it was possible for it to merge with a living being. We planned 
to have it unify with a bioandroid weapon -- the Zophim. A living being 
without a soul. Heh. 'Without a soul'...? I suppose... it's that kind of  
arrogance that led to this, but... the intention was to have the 
Zophim's shell of a body unify with the Mahalah and act as a 'model' for 
its intended nature. We call that state the Psychosis Jar. And the 
ability that the Mahalah has to absorb consciousness into itself was to 
assume the role of the missing soul. All that spirit, intelligence, 
knowledge, data; all that would account for a mind and soul with 
complete understanding of the universe and its temperament. Fused with 
the ultimate knowledge -- we would have the Mahalah's nucleus stimulated 
until the two became one. Naturally... the final result would be a 
perfect being. A bona fide, pristine God."

"And that was the second part?" Rain supposed, "The creation of a god 
via the Mahalah?"

Dianus nodded with a smile. "That's right. The third part of the Master 
Plan was merely having that God take over the Augusta Star System, 
crushing Esdraelon, the Tsar and the Pan-Galactic Confederacy 
underfoot."

"Is that right?!" Ash spat. He was disgusted with what he was hearing. 
But an all new thought was also coming to mind, "That may explain what 
the Ministry wants. But that doesn't explain what Zanaan is up to. What 
is he going to do in Zone Bethlehem?"

Dianus shook her head. "I have no idea what Zanaan wants. All I know... 
is that I want you... to stop him."

"Stop him?!" Ash spat again, "You've got some real front, you know that? 
You kidnap Rain twice, you throw me in prison, have me charged with 
execution, and when you're suddenly facing something beyond you, you 
have the nerve to ask ME for help?! You Ministry bastards are all the 
same."

"I have never considered myself a member of the Ministry," Dianus said 
with a sneer, "it has always been my firm intention to bring this 
organization to its knees."

"That's a lie!" Cream yelled, "You used the Longinus Cannon on the 
Saviours half an hour ago! That thing probably hit Rehoboam! Do you have 
any idea how many people you might have killed because of that!?"

Dianus stood up from her chair and frowned at Cream. "Don't be so na‹ve. 
I never once said that I am out to bring goodness and wonder to the 
world. I'm not doing this for some righteous philanthropy-trip. I want 
nothing but revenge."

Cream studied her. She was serious. "...Revenge...?"

"Yes. Do you know who it was that supplied Dr. Sorel and the doctors 
Gestalt with information about the true nature of the Master Plan? A 
promising young scientist named Alexandra. That woman was my lover. And 
when the Ministry learned of her betrayal, she was executed. They 
couldn't have killed Sorel or the Gestalts at that time. That would have 
created a backlash. But they had no problems killing Alexandra. And 
since that day... I have made it my purpose in life to destroy the 
Ministry. But rather than fight them overtly like the Gestalts, I 
planned to vanquish them from within. And when I heard about Zone 
Bethlehem, a time/space anomaly created intentionally as a replica of 
the Rhapsody Stratum, I knew that what lay within would be necessary in 
defeating the Ministry. Inside is a machine called Elzabad. It's a 
miniaturized IGP that produces the Lambda Effect. That Effect sealed it 
off from regular space up until now. But since Zanaan has stolen the 
Anti-Lambda Effect data from Ashriel Gestalt... he has countered the 
waves and opened up a gate to Zone Bethlehem. That gate... is the sphere 
you see outside this window."

Ash sighed. "So this is it. You want us to stop Zanaan."

"You have no choice," Dianus told him, "no matter what Zanaan plans to 
do in Zone Bethlehem, if he is allowed to use the Mahalah sample, there 
is a good chance he will bring doom to Rehoboam. I couldn't care less if 
he did... but the question is... are you all prepared to live with that 
should it happen? You've already seen what he's capable of. Are you 
willing to take that risk?"

Yoko, Cream, and Ash glared at this woman. The little act of good will, 
releasing Rain, was no more that a little bribe to get them to stop 
Zanaan. But she was right. If they didn't stop him there was no telling 
what damage he would do. He had to be brought down. Ash stepped forward 
and pressed his palm into the frame of Dianus' desk. "...I'm in. He and 
I have unfinished business anyway."

"I won't let him hurt people," Cream said, "I'm coming too."

The Asiatic daughter of Bardia wasn't going to buck the trend. "If 
they're going, then so am I. I am the leader of our field operations 
after all."

"Good," Dianus said with a nod, "then... I will make the necessary 
preparations."

**********

Operations on Deuteronomy started to regain some form of order after the 
liberation of the Eleazar from the control of Zanaan and the Mahalah. 
The main thing of importance though was the weapons systems. There were 
no follow up shots from the Longinus Cannon after the first. But the 
other weapons systems were being used at full force against the army of 
Behemoth-type Saviours blasting the Lambda Effect Wave Shields to get 
through. They were being held off quite well for now. The number of 
Behemoths were still quite large, but they were slowly thinning out with 
each passing minute. And while the multiple machine gun turrets and 
laser beam artillery held them off, the operatives of the Ministry loyal 
to Dianus went about securing things inside the Space Palace. Somehow 
Saviours had gotten on board Deuteronomy. Thus far they had killed at 
least 67 members of its personnel, if the reports were to be believed. 
However the few guards left on call were able to route the Slave-type 
Saviours to the upper levels. In time they would deal with them. But for 
now stopping the Behemoths took priority. Because the operatives of the 
Darshana Division would need to get past them to enter Zone Bethlehem 
and stop Zanaan once and for all. A few hours had passed since Ash and 
the others agreed to work with Dianus in dealing with Zanaan. They had 
all been given free access across the Space Palace, to the disbelief of 
those still in the dark about Dianus' real intentions. Yoko had spent 
most of that time getting her handguns upgraded in the gunsmith lab of 
level 9. Cream was off somewhere; on one knew where she was headed. But 
she had said that she just wanted to 'check the place out'. Ash wasn't 
as curious as that. And his mind was skewered between two issues. One 
was Rain. The other was Zanaan. 

The blonde youth lay upon the bedspread of a comfortable bed within a 
very lavishly decorated bedroom of Deuteronomy's dormitory area. It was 
a fancy place. Long throw rugs made from the fluffy hide of North 
Alvastine Snow Wolves, an open flame crackling over bark in a metal 
fireplace, glass tables with bottles of liquor, grapes and eight types 
of cheese, wall scrolls, landscape paintings, as well as a two-box 
stereo system and a widescreen video display. To be honest Ash wouldn't 
have cared less where he would stay. After all he still hated the 
Ministry with a passion -- but he took this room to relax and rest for a 
few hours before he headed out with the other into Zone Bethlehem. Rain 
had been with him the whole time. While it was only a few moments ago 
that Ash woke up, Rain had been here from the beginning. Just watching 
him sleep. If the truth were to be told, Ash was actually glad for it. 
In his current frame of mind, all he could picture wanting was to spend 
time with Rain. Especially thinking about what laying in wait for them.

Ash leaned up on his bed and stared out the long surrounding window of 
the back wall. The luxuries of this room came off as meaningless when he 
looked out at the ghastly purple light of spherical gateway into Zone 
Bethlehem. There was also all those flashing lights between the Saviours 
and Deuteronomy's armaments. The process of grinding down the Behemoths 
was taking its time, running into the hours, which was why Ash started 
to understand why Dianus had used the Longinus Cannon. Powerful as it 
was... that power was the only thing that could take out large numbers 
of Saviours at that speed. The way things were going now, this was going 
to devolve into a battle of attrition. 

Rain stood over a basin across the room, ringing out a damp towel. When 
he turned back around he noticed that Ash was awake and staring at the 
battle raging on outside. "Ash? You're up already?"

"...Yeah," He looked at his left hand. Then he balled it into a fist, 
"but I'm feeling better now. After the pasting I got from the guards in 
the Esdraelon Conglomerate HQ and... Zanaan taking that Anti-Lambda 
thing... I've been feeling a little ragged. But all I needed was a few 
hours rest."

Rain cast a disapproving glare at him. "I don't think so. Lie down 
again."

The blonde boy pulled a smile and did as he was told. Then Rain came 
around to his bedside with that towel in his hands. He folded it into a 
square and gently pressed it against Ash's cheeks and forehead, to both 
keep him cool and clean up his cuts at the same time. Though the 
nanomachine restoratives given to him by Cream were good, they weren't 
perfect. And Ash wasn't crazy about injecting his body with machines, no 
matter how small they were. But Rain did that, dabbing Ash's face, the 
older boy couldn't help but stare at him. Even now, Rain's foremost 
concern was for Ash's welfare. Even though he had been locked up for 
almost three days; the Sorel boy was fully prepared to let it roll of 
his back and continue on. How could Ash ever learn to be like that?

"You've gotta stop worrying so much about others."

The chestnut-haired Rain blinked when he heard that, out of surprise. 
"Huh?"

"You're too good a person to care so little about yourself," Ash said 
bluntly, "...but knowing me, that's probably one of the reasons I love 
you as much as I do."

Rain smiled bashfully. "...Why are you saying this to me?"

"I just needed you to know it. Before I go and face him. You know? You 
haven't said it, but... these past two years have been hard for you... 
without me. Haven't they?"

To anyone else that might have sounded somewhat arrogant. As if, Rain 
couldn't get over Ash. But that really wasn't the point. What mattered 
to Ash was the fact that Rain had been living in such sadness since he 
was kidnapped from the Gestalt Research Facility. Not because he was 
imprisoned, not because he was abducted, but because Ash was no longer 
in his life. Rain had spent the last two years believing that Ash was 
dead. Now the most glaring fact was staring them in the face. What if 
Ash actually did die in this thing? Would Rain mourn him for the rest of 
his life, ignoring the happiness he could attain with others? The very 
thought of someone holding Rain in a romantic way made Ash cringe. But 
his will to see the feminine boy happy was far more powerful than that. 

Rain's eyes saddened. "...I can't lose you. Not now... not again..."

Ash gave his partner a genuine smile, leaning up and holding him by the 
shoulders. "Look. I can't sit here and tell you that everything's going 
to be okay. Even if we do beat Zanaan, we'll have to face everything 
else. There will still be Saviours running around and tearing the shit 
out of everything. I'll still have to be brought before Rehoboam court 
and charged for 'kidnapping' you, as well as escaping custody. And the 
Ministry will still be out there acting as though they owned everything. 
But despite all of that... I won't stop hoping. Hoping that I can stop 
Zanaan and the Mahalah before they hurt anyone else. Hoping that I'll 
come back and we can start a life together. Hoping that the Ministry 
will be stopped and that the army will stop the Saviours. If we don't 
have hope... then what do we have? It was hope that kept me going two 
years ago when I was left all alone like that. Hope that I'd see you 
again and that I could make up for what I should have said and what I 
should have done. If you give up hope... then you've lost the battle 
before it's even begun."

Rain's eyes were welling up again. He lowered himself to Ash's shoulder 
and sobbed, while Ash just stroked that silky chestnut hair of his and 
continued, "Zanaan was right about one thing, Rain. I've been a coward 
up to this point. I ran away from my feelings for you two years ago when 
I... thought that making an oath of protection... was enough to say 'I 
love you'. I ran away when I watched and cried while Zanaan killed Mom 
and Dad even though I knew I had the power to help them. I ran away when 
I ignored my powers and joined the army to find a 'normal strength'. And 
you know what...? I'm tired of running away. I'm going to stop Zanaan 
once and for all. I'm going to face him... and bury my demons. And when 
I'm done, I'll do all I can to come right back to you. Just keep hoping. 
It might sound kinda stupid, but... things really do have a habit of 
working out."

"...Ash..." Rain muttered between sobs, "...I love you... I love you so 
much..."

The blonde smiled. "Yeah. I know."

Far from the dormitories that Ash and Rain were in, a good five levels 
below that was one of the thirty docking bays of Deuteronomy. It had 
space enough for more than six starships in this one hanger alone. But 
now there was only one there. That one happened to be the Charlemagne -- 
Dianus' personal ship. Cream stood silently on one of the railing 
balconies that overlooked the space of the hanger. But she was not 
alone. A few moments after she stopped and looked down, Dianus came by 
and did that same thing. 

Cream crossed her arms on the railing. "...What are you doing here?"

"...Looking for you."

"...I can guess why," Replied the redhead, "is it because of how I 
look?"

Dianus smiled dryly, looking out to the Charlemagne. "That's the major 
reason. Of course... had you changed some aspects of yourself more... I 
might not have guessed that you were one of them."

Cream scowled lightly. "I tried to ignore it before, but... I'm pretty 
sure that I can't. That Zanaan guy knew. It took that thing you said 
about your lover, Alexandra, for me to realize who you were. I just 
didn't think that I would ever see you again."

"You were an anomaly," Dianus said, "you are the only one of the 
BAS-Series to have displayed human personality traits without any 
programming. When the workers on Shem realized what they were dealing 
with, they had no choice but to claim you to be legally human."

"But you people didn't have any problems shipping me off to Ladeny, did 
you? That was convenient. The Ministry only concerns itself with what is 
efficient or resourceful. So a thing that was intended to be nothing 
more than a commodity can't have any emotions. How do people like that 
get born into the world? People like you? Is that what it means to be a 
'true human'...?"

"No. Of course not."

"Then how can you see things like love as an inconvenience?" Cream 
asked. 

Dianus sighed. "I never did. Man makes development a reality with his 
brain. But man is inclined to make developments with his heart. It's the 
will that guides us... but it's also emotion that drives us. Up until 
today I was inclined to believe that bioandroids like you... were no 
more than soulless beings without any real sense of place or importance. 
Then, my secretary, another BAS-model, ended up saving my life of her 
own accord by sacrificing her own. I did not program her to do anything 
other than follow my orders. Yet... she acted of her own will and 
emotions. Now that I've seen that, I... can't honestly call you an 
'anomaly' anymore."

"I suppose it was love that caused you... to make all of us in the 
visage of Alexandra?"

"...Exactly."

Cream's frown turned into a tiny smile. "I guess you've thrown away your 
conscience... but not your heart."

"Emotions like love are a fundamental part of the human existence. Just 
as much as pain and sorrow. I won't stand here and tell you that I enjoy 
thinking about the past. It just reminds me of all that I've lost. But 
when I do look back I can sometimes peer into a happier time in my life. 
My times with Alexandra. And that makes me recall all that she meant to 
me. With the Ministry still in existence... I'll never be able to look 
back on those memories without feeling guilt for the way I failed her. 
So... I had no choice... but to cast away any feeling for the plight of 
others."

Cream shook her head. "Some people would call that... casting away your 
humanity."

"Well as things stand," Dianus ran a hand through the bangs of her hair, 
"you're probably more human than I am at this point. If you can know 
pain and treat others with kindness... then I really did succeed in 
making a replica of her. A true human. A true woman."

The redheaded girl turned back to the railing. "...Thanks."

**********

"So. Do you all understand what it is that you must do?"

Ash, Cream, and Yoko all nodded to Dianus with resolute expressions on 
their faces. They were redressed in azure and silver Ministry variant 
suits. Each one had a set of oxygenated capsule nanomachines running 
through them. Those were injected into their bloodstream directly from 
the tiny wire between the collar of the suit which had been injected 
into the back of their necks. So even if the air was completely 
un-breathable in Zone Bethlehem (which itself was doubtful) they would 
have a supply of oxygen to run on for a maximum of six hours. They were 
all armed with powered-up variants of their old weapons. Ash's sword had 
been re-sharpened with more acids and lasers to enhance its cutting 
power. Cream's bow string had been tightened and her arrows had been 
restocked. Yoko's handguns were also modified to carry more bullets and 
yet lessen its recoil. The three of them stood before Dianus on the 
ground level of the hanger that the Charlemagne was on. Next to the 
leader of the Ministry's council was a silent Rain. Dianus peered at him 
from the corner and saw that he was exchanging a longing glance with 
Ash. And Ash was staring back at him with the same, albeit more stern, 
expression. Dianus shook her head at Ash. "You don't have to worry. He 
will be cared for until you return. Consider it payment for what you're 
about to do."

There was no reason for Ash to believe that after everything Dianus and 
the Ministry had done to the boy. But the fact was that Rain did not 
have the Anti-Lambda data. Neither did Ash. There was no need that they 
had for him now. So Ash was forced to accept that he would have to leave 
Rain in their care for now. "I'm trusting you to look after him."

Dianus grunted a yes. Ash then gave one last look of love to Rain; 
before turning around with the girls and walking to the transportation 
pad underneath the Charlemagne. "Yoko, Cream? Lets do this."

Rain held back his tears and watched his lover and his friends be beamed 
into the large innards of Dianus' personal starship. He and the 
conductor then ran away from the Charlemagne into one of the hallways 
via the surrounding doors of the hanger. The steel doors closing off the 
hanger slowly parted themselves for the Charlemagne. A vacuum tore 
through that paddock from the starry distance of space. And the loud 
sound of exchanged laser/bullet fire between the Behemoths and 
Deuteronomy's minor weapons systems could be heard in the distance. The 
sleek tail boost thrusters of the Charlemagne then ignited with blue 
propulsive energy. It shot forward and blew out into space, leaving the 
hanger behind. The starship cut out from there and then onwards into the 
cloud of Saviours that were standing between Deuteronomy and the gateway 
to Zone Bethlehem. The ship was no equipped with a C-Gear. So the 
Saviours could clearly see it and detect that it had life on it. But 
Dianus had planned for that in two ways. The frontal weapons systems of 
the Space Palace aimed the space around the ship has it pushed ahead. 
Then all the laser cannons and bullet mortars started firing in that 
area. The Behemoths around were gunned down after each other, cutting 
them out of the way for the Charlemagne to pass. But there were dozens 
more Behemoths waiting for it directly ahead of the helm. Hence the 
second part of Dianus' plan. On the upper roof of the Charlemagne was a 
transformable set of doors. They opened and curled into the frame of the 
ship. And then a secondary platform arose from the opening. Standing in 
the centre of it was the Zophim. And this time she was armed with her 
Crescentius-PRO8000. The Zophim stood up from her crouched position 
(fully able to breathe in space thanks to the oxygenated nanomachine 
capsules running through her bloodstream). The quartet slender metal 
extensions from her lower back and waist then sudden came alive with a 
humming chime. Four wings, made purely of blue propulsion energy, 
expanded from them and glistened in the dark void of space. The Zophim 
then flew upwards and burst forward. It flew ahead of the Charlemagne 
and gripped the Crescentius with a two-hand hold. She aimed at the first 
line of Saviours and her whole body jerked when she fired. A blast of 
powerful sapphire energy was shot from the snub-end of the weapon and 
thrown into the first line of Behemoths that stood in the Charlemagne's 
way. It sliced its way through two of them, cutting them up into a mass 
of blood and flesh. The Zophim took off faster and aimed more blasts at 
the rest of them. It used the Crescentius to blow down all those in the 
ship's way to the left. The right had a more special end to their fate 
in mind. The Zophim opened its free palm and pushed it ahead to point at 
the Saviours on that side. The flesh in the centre of her hand opened up 
and revealed a blue blood-covered orb. Then suddenly came a flashing 
wave of both black and white light from that orb. It had no effect on 
the Charlemagne; but to the Behemoths (as well as the Slave-types and 
Cherubim-types inside them) it was like a corrosive acid. The Zophim's 
photokinetic wave burned at the flesh and bone of the Behemoths and 
incinerated more than twenty of them in one blast. The Zophim then 
closed its palm and turned around to face the helm of the Charlemagne. 
It aimed the Crescentius at some of the Saviours that were tailing it, 
gunning them down ruthlessly, whilst the ship passed her by. It 
travelled onwards now that the path ahead was clear. And those on the 
helm braced themselves when they came before the spherical time/space 
anomaly that acted as a gateway into Zone Bethlehem. The head of the 
Charlemagne dipped into it, covered in that horrifying violet light. The 
body and the tail also plunged into the dark sphere. Until the entire 
sphere had consumed it. The lifeless eyes of the Zophim then recognized 
that the ship had successfully entered the gate. So she flew back into 
the cloud of Behemoths with most blasts from her weapon, to aid the 
protection of Deuteronomy. 

For the crew on board the Charlemagne, the harder part was just 
beginning. The ship was travelling through what could only be described 
as a swirling vortex of energy that was both 'everything' and 
surrounding 'everything'. The void was composed of the same energy that 
shaped the gate into Zone Bethlehem. But it was far more turbulent. The 
people on board the Charlemagne were forced to hang on tight to their 
seats. The helmsmen went about raising the Charlemagne's Wave Shields to 
counteract the force of the waves that were surrounding the ship as it 
passed down that space/time corridor. The boost thrusters were pushed to 
their maximum limit and the Charlemagne pushed further ahead. Even at 
its full horsepower, the ship could only move to about 30% of its total 
speed thanks to the resistance of the waves that emanated down that 
corridor. But the starship slowly chugged forwards, staying strong long 
enough to reach the end. When it did another bright flash broke open 
ahead of them. All those on the helm closed their eyes to stop 
themselves from being blinded by it. It was the same dark light that had 
appeared when Zanaan had first conjured the gateway. But when it 
disappeared into time; the turbulent waves inundating the body of the 
ship. Once the people on the helm realized it they got themselves 
together and took the according actions, both lowering the Wave Shields 
and lessening the intensity of the boost thrusters. Once the ship slowed 
down into a unhurried hover, the operatives on the bridge as well as 
Ash, Cream, and Yoko, stared out through the video screen and absorbed 
the sight of the location they were now in. 

Zone Bethlehem.

It was unreal. The lowest part of its surface was a smoothed over void 
of the same amethyst light that the gateway and the space/time corridor 
consisted of. The only parts of this dimension that gave a foothold were 
the large marble stone pillars and floating platforms that surrounded a 
much large piece of land. On that marble field was a colossal tower that 
climbed up for miles from the centre of the field. At the foot of the 
tower was the complex of a polished marble and rock palace. The skies of 
this place were of the same light as before, a but this time in a 
brighter share purple. What looked to be moons were hovering around in 
them. The expansive void of Zone Bethlehem was quiet. But every once in 
a while that silence was broken by the crackle of a bolt of lightning -- 
in this domain, both thunder and lightning were merged. In certain 
points of the world, blue runic symbols rose up from random places. The 
Charlemagne landed on one of the white marble pillars. One that was 
large enough to accommodate for it. Then teleportation energy was cast 
on the ground beneath it. Ash, Yoko, and Cream were beamed down onto the 
surface of the pillar. They were all astounded by this place when they 
drank in the sight of it.

"This is..." Cream started, "Zone Bethlehem...?"

Ash studied the place. "This is odd. How could my parents have... 'made' 
something like this?"

Suddenly when Ash and the girls looked ahead they saw something waiting 
for them. Or someone. A transparent and spectral image of a man. Dressed 
in a lab coat and donning a pair of glasses, with a hairstyle that 
looked like a slightly longer version of Zanaan's. Cream and Yoko 
reached for their weapons immediately, but Ash just stood there with a 
dumbfounded expression. "...D-Dad?"

"That ghost?!" Cream yelled, "That ghost is your father!?"

The 'spectre' of Wilhelm Gestalt smiled. "Hello, son. It's good to see 
you."

"Dad...?"

"Don't be alarmed," It said, "I am merely a projection. Cast by the data 
frame of this place you now stand in. I created this form to explain to 
you the nature of this world. As well as its purpose. Your mother and I 
knew that you would be coming here one day. That... was our intention."

Ash lowered his hand from the hilt of the Sigmund-PRO8000. "So then... 
what is it?"

"This is Zone Bethlehem," Stated Wilhelm's projection, "it is an 
alternate world that we were commanded by the Ministry to make. But that 
was before the nature of their plans changed to evil. This is the 
replica of the Rhapsody Stratum that we ended up fashioning. The 
beginning and the end of our struggle. And when we became aware of what 
the Ministry truly intended to do with the Mahalah sample... we decided 
that this place would be our sanctuary. But it was too unstable... too 
dependant on the mind."

Cream tilted her head to one side. "The mind?"

"Zone Bethlehem has no fixed, predetermined form. It is cognisant of 
those within it. It assumes the shape of whichever being opens it and 
seeks to dwell within it. This place alters itself to fit the profile of 
the mind of the one who unlocks it."

"You mean Zanaan." Yoko put forth.

The projection of Wilhelm nodded. "So you know. His mind has become 
perverted by the quest for power as well as the influence of the Mahalah 
sample. It began with his jealousy over the success of Ash in the 
Anti-Saviour Eugenic Paramilitary Plan and has fuelled him up to this 
point. The current state of Zone Bethlehem is a reflection of his 
insanity. But his Id is strong enough to superimpose on the Mahalah. It 
is not controlling him and he is not controlling it; but rather they are 
fusing together slowly to become an entirely new form. The runes you see 
rising from the atmosphere are the visible manifestations of the 
knowledge and spirit that the Mahalah and Zanaan are absorbing into 
themselves. Their egos are on the very brink of symbiosis. And now 
because of their impending union, they seek only one thing -- 
destruction."

"We have to stop him!" Cream said. 

"Yes. So you must continue," The projection of Wilhelm pointed backwards 
at the palace and tower in the middle of Zone Bethlehem, "In the centre 
of this dimension is Dream Palace. In which the Elzabad Mechanism is 
stored. The tower that runs up from it is referred to as Babel. That 
tower is the axis of this domain. There you will find him. And there you 
will learn... of what he intends for this place. Be careful. And good 
luck."

The projection of Wilhelm vanished. Ash, Cream, and Yoko all turned to 
each other. Ash clutched his hand into a fist and steeled his resolve. 
"It's just as he said. We have to stop Zanaan here and now. Once and for 
all. Are you guys with me?!"

Cream grinned. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't!"

"Lets do it," Yoko commented, "Lets stop him for good."

Ash pulled a smile. "Alright then. Lets move."

The three Darshana Division soldiers started walking towards the centre 
of the minute dimension. They jumped from pillar to pillar, platform to 
platform, crossing across the marble footings as best as they could to 
get themselves to the centre. Eventually they found themselves walking 
across the smooth marble floating platform that the Dream Palace was on. 
When they came to the frontage gates of the towering walls that were 
surrounding it; the metal arch doors opened. Ash, Cream, and Yoko 
marched into Dream Palace with the opening newly made. They found 
themselves inside the main courtyard of that palace. It was crowded with 
tall hedge mazes and water fountains, as well as rose gardens and 
statues cast in the image of the Goddess Ceres. They stared at it all 
but kept walking along the cobblestone path that cut through the gardens 
to reach the archway of Dream Palace with the impossibly tall Babel 
Tower rising from it. They came through that archway and entered the 
main building. A large waiting chamber. Abundantly furnished with wall 
paintings and stone statues. At the other end of the room was another 
set of doors. Ash and the girls stepped along the red carpet that led to 
it. They got over there and pushed the pine wooden doors open. This 
brought them to another room. A large one of Dream Palace. At the back 
of that chamber was a huge circular column fixed part of the way into 
the wall. That was part of Babel Tower. To the left of the pillar was a 
gigantic IGP. It was wired into the marble mast pulsing with 
electrically energy. And sitting on a steel throne just before the 
pillar itself was none other than Zanaan. The three Darshana Division 
soldiers scowled when they saw him. He was still dressed in his cloak. 
But his skin had transformed into a dark shade of silver. His veins were 
now pulsing purple. His spiky brown hair had grown into a longer length; 
one that trailed all the way down to his ankles. His body had become 
more muscular and his limbs, in particular the arms, were crackling with 
icy blue streaks of energy. His whole demeanour had changed. Rather than 
coming off as the psychopathic man that he was, Zanaan was now 
restrained and calm of mind, almost like reality itself was nothing more 
than a game to him. 

Ash's anger peaked. "Zanaan..."

Zanaan's head was lulled. So when he heard Ash's voice; he looked up. 
"Little Brother. Welcome to my new home; Dream Palace."

"Your mind is being fused with the Mahalah," Yoko told him, "Eventually 
you will simply cease to be who you are now. Just give this up."

The former Archangel sniggered derisively. "Don't be ridiculous. You've 
come too far to think that mere words will be enough to sway me from my 
course. I have attained all the power I need to finally begin my plans."

"Your plans?" Cream questioned. 

"That's right. The very Star System of Augusta is obese with the sin of 
science. The serendipity of the Ministry and the helplessness of the 
Tsar, the complacency of the Pan-Galactic Confederacy and the ingestion 
of the people serving them; are chewing at the strings that maintain 
this universe. This entire galaxy has been perverted by people who seek 
only to indulge themselves by running away from pain. By doing this they 
ignore the very nature of our punishment. We were cast from the bounty 
of the Garden of Eden to suffer and seek redemption for our sins. Yet 
mankind has forgotten that and will hunt for no more than a debauched 
life of ignorance. The time has come to wipe the slate clean. To start 
afresh."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Cried Ash.

Zanaan extended his hand with a smile. "The machine you see next to me 
is the Elzabad Mechanism. It is the thing that produced the Wave Shields 
that sealed off Zone Bethlehem. And now that I have the Anti-Lambda 
Effect data, I can manipulate the waves of the Elzabad Mechanism as I 
see fit. I will increase the output of the machine... but from within 
Zone Bethlehem."

Yoko scowled. "What's the sense in that?"

"Zone Bethlehem will expand," He replied, "the spherical gate into this 
dimension will enlarge at an exponential rate. Eventually all of the 
Augusta Star System will be swallowed up into it and will be destroyed 
by the counter-resistance of the barriers you experienced earlier. Then 
with the power of the Mahalah... I will begin anew. A newborn race. 
Another dawn. Another Eden. The Ministry's Master Plan will come to 
pass. They will have a new God. But it will not be as they had 
envisioned. For that Supreme Being will be me. And they will not live to 
see my magnificent ascension."

Ash unsheathed the Sigmund-PRO8000 from its sheath on his back. "The 
hell you will! This ends now!"

"That's right!" Cream took out her bow and pulled one of her arrows from 
her quiver. It was a lightning tip. She placed them together and took 
aim at Zanaan, "You've hurt too many people! I won't let you get away 
with it! None of us will!"

"It's just as they say. This is the end." Yoko remarked, pulling out 
both of her handguns.

Zanaan smiled calmly at them. "I had suspected that you would be foolish 
enough to try and stop me. It would have been better for you to merely 
wait for Zone Bethlehem to consume and dispose of you. But if this is 
what you want then you shall have it. A farewell gift from the next King 
of the Universe. I shall judge your stagnant souls myself."

The brown-haired man stood up from his throne whilst the others prepared 
himself. Zanaan gave them a leisurely smirk and threw his arm down with 
a shout of 'ha!'. A smoggy cloud of smoke surrounded his body. And it 
expanded to a larger size through the moments it took to amass. When 
that smoke started about the process of fading away, Zanaan's body had 
changed completely. His height was now an astounding nine and a half 
feet. His torso had grown far more muscular but with a lithe ordination. 
The colour of his skin had reverted from a pale grey to a very pale 
white. And a long mane of flowing golden blonde hair now came down from 
the scalp of his skull. To the sides of his head extended two white 
feathered wings, each one was about 2.3 metres long, to give a total 
wingspan of 4.6 metres. A third wing of the same length extended from 
the back of his right shoulder plate. But from the left shoulder plate 
there was a third arm. One that was bonier and more humanlike than the 
rest of this godly new form. His arms and legs were both muscular. But 
the twenty fingers and toes of his hands and feet were replaced with 
twelve ivory talons, three to either foot and three to either hand. The 
lower half of his body was covered by a flocking white and gold toga, 
leaving the muscles of his rippling chest bared. This creature was no 
longer either Zanaan or the Mahalah. It was the fused physical form of 
both, cast in the shape of their unified mind, reflected in Zone 
Bethlehem. 

This was the Mal'akh. 

Ash, Yoko and Cream stared with shock at the transformed Demi-God, but 
held their nerve. Cream was the first to act in the struggle. She drew 
back her arrow and took aim at the head of the Mal'akh. She released the 
string and fired the arrow, which was sent straight on target for the 
being's face. The Mal'akh smirked ethereally and let the arrow strike 
him in the face. The arrow pieced the flesh of his cheek, which rippled 
like a pebble thrown into a pond. But the electrical tip of arrow had no 
effect whatsoever. Cream looked on with terror when the arrow was 
ingested into the face of the Mal'akh, like it had never even been hit. 
Yoko scowled and took action herself. She strafed to one side of the 
beast and started firing rapidly at its chest, offloading as many 
bullets as possible with her itching trigger finger. All of the bullets 
bounced off the Mal'akh's chest and shoulders without so much as denting 
the flesh of it -- which appeared to be infinitely malleable to the 
Mal'akh's will. Ash cried an outrageously loud war shout and ran at the 
Mal'akh with his Sigmund-PRO8000 behind him. He jumped up from the 
marble floor and descended at the head of his target. The bony third arm 
of the Mal'akh reached around and grabbed the blade before it reached 
within seconds of hitting his head. Ash found himself dangling 
helplessly in the air, his hands locked around the Sigmund-PRO8000, 
while the Mal'akh held up both the sword and Ash.

"Damn you...!" Cursed the boy.

Mal'akh chortled in that dual-voice and tightened the pressure of its 
third hand around the blade of the sword. It shattered instantly. Ash 
released it a dropped to the ground in shock, while the Mal'akh tossed 
the remains of the weapon out of his way. It then used one of its 
regular hands and made only a tiny waving gesture. But regardless of how 
minute it seemed, Ash was forced to cover his face and scream as the 
wind pressure of that movement blew him backwards. The blonde boy was 
thrown hard into the far wall of this hall, with such speed and force he 
coughed up a shot of blood upon impact. Ash slouched down weakly from 
the crater his back had created, while Cream tried her hand once more. 
She ran at the Mal'akh herself and pulled out a ice-tip arrow from her 
quiver. She aligned it and then shot, this time at the chest of the 
Mal'akh. The ice-tip struck the breast of the God-Being. But it didn't 
pierce the skin. The arrowhead broke into pieces and unleashed in the 
liquid nitrogen over the Mal'akh's chest. That ice had absolutely no 
effect. Mal'akh absorbed the nitrogen into itself like a sponge 
absorbing water. The tall monster shouted in an ancient language and 
punched the ground underneath it with the left of its regular arms. The 
marble flooring was nothing compared to that. And the whole Dream Palace 
shook at the force of the punch. The marble under its fist started 
breaking apart in a trailing streak that edged its way over to Cream. 
She leapt off her position and bounded away before he was caught up in 
it. Then screamed when she felt the shockwaves of the crushed marble 
ramming into the far wall. Rock and marble was spat in every direction 
with a thunderous rumbling. And the impact shook Yoko almost to the 
point of falling. She held steady though, and stated firing again, 
crossing her handguns over each other. Once again the Mal'akh did not 
move. It merely let the bullets bounce of its body and spike the floor 
and walls from the repelling actions. Then she ran out of bullets. Yoko 
scowled and ejected the cartridges from her guns. Then she removed two 
new ones from the ammo belt at her waist and replaced them. Yoko again 
started firing a meaningless and uses hail of bullets at the Mal'akh. 
But this time it started walking towards her. Yoko stepped back and 
belligerently tried to keep shooting. But it was obvious now that that 
course of action was completely useless. 

"Yoko!" Cream saw that the Asian girl was in danger and scrambled off 
her knees to get over there. She took out another of her arrow, a 
lightning-tip, and shot once more for the head of the Mal'akh. It 
sneered at her and batted the arrow away with the back of its right 
head-wing. The lightning-tip went twirling out of the way and the 
Mal'akh reacted to Cream's attack. It extended its hand and its palm 
opened like an eyeball. A slithering white tentacle shot out and reached 
for the redheaded teen. Cream screamed fearfully as that tentacle 
wrapped itself around her body; binding her in place. She was then 
dragged towards Mal'akh as it started recalling the tentacle through its 
arm.

Yoko's eyes widened. "Cream!"

She sheathed her guns and then ran at the Mal'akh whilst it dragged the 
girl towards it. Yoko cried out and drew her fist back. Then she leapt 
up and thrust a punch into its face. The moment that Yoko's punch 
connected with the face of the God-Being, there was a bloodcurdling 
scream ringing in that hall. And it did not belong to the Mal'akh. The 
creature's face was like stone. And the bone of her hand was fractured 
the very instant that her fist connected the punch. Yoko flopped 
backward with shrieks of agony. But though she was in pain, her eyes 
drifted back to Cream, who was now being held by the claws of Mal'akh.

"Don't you... touch her... damn you..." She struggled to say.

Across the room, Ash groaned and opened his eyes slowly, shaking off the 
effects of what the Mal'akh had done to him. He scanned the room and saw 
a grounded Yoko laying before the bird-like feet of the Mal'akh; and 
Cream was actually trapped in his grip. Ash pulled himself up into a 
standing position and frowned. His sword was gone. But he would have to 
use that power if he wanted to save his friends as well as the Augusta 
Star System. The young man concentrated his thoughts and opened his 
hands. He extended both arms forward and placed those hands together. 
Ash's eyes narrowed and his muscles tightened. Then came the boiling 
heat in his veins. Flames sprang to life around his hands and moulted 
themselves into a spherical shape. Ash's growled and wrenched back; 
shooting the globe of flame magic straight for the Mal'akh. The sound of 
burning cleaved its way through the room and nailed the God-Being in the 
stomach. It wasn't strong enough to kill him. Far from it. It wasn't 
even strong enough to wound it. But it was strong enough to distract the 
Mal'akh for at least a few seconds. And those few seconds of distraction 
were enough to allow Cream to wriggle free from its grip. 

When she landed to the marble floor, she quickly inspected her love. 
"Yoko!? Are you alright?!"

"Cream!" Ash yelled, charging up another flame ball in his right hand, 
"Get her clear!"

Cream replied 'right!' and helped Yoko up to her feet, while Ash resumed 
his attack. He swung his arm around his body and threw another fireball 
straight at the Mal'akh. It widened its smile and brought one of its 
head-wings around. The Mal'akh batted that wing into the fireball and 
crushed it effortlessly. Then that being lifted its own hand for magic. 
A searing and forceful blast of pure negative energy was shot from its 
talons at Ash. The blonde boy dived for his life to avoid it as it 
burned through the air and smashed the far wall of the chamber. Ash 
rolled backwards as fast as he could and shifted himself closer to Cream 
and Yoko. Once they were together again, Ash stepped before the girls 
protectively and caught his breath. 

"It's no use!" Cream shouted, "No matter what we throw at him, he 
smothers it! He's too powerful!"

Ash drew back his hand when the Mal'akh started walking towards him past 
the trench his savage magical blast has created in the marble ground. He 
gathered up another flame ball. "We can't just give up now! If we let 
him win here then life as we know it is finished! This isn't just about 
us!"

With that last comment, Ash throw the fireball he had generated at the 
advancing Mal'akh. Once again it curled one of its head-wings around its 
body and shielded itself from the flames. It proceeded ever onwards 
toward the three of them, unabated. Yoko let her injured arm dangle 
while she watched the Mal'akh come at them. "...I never dreamed that 
Zanaan would have gained these kinds of powers from merging himself with 
the Mahalah. Nothing works..."

"Damnit," Ash cursed, "It can't end like this..."

Cream shook her head. "But what can we do...?"

Ash searched his mind. Yoko's bullets were ineffective. Cream's arrows 
barely scratched it. Ash's sword was gone and even his pyrokinetic 
powers were worthless against the Mal'akh. It was stronger than any 
Saviour ever could have hoped to be. And none of them expected to see 
this kind of strength from Zanaan. Ash closed his eyes for a moment 
while the Mal'akh reached within twenty metres of them. He wracked his 
brain for an idea. And then suddenly it occurred to him. Ash's eyes 
opened once more. And he focused his eyesight only on the Mal'akh. 
"Cream, Yoko. Stand back."

"What are you doing?" Cream asked him.

Ash balled his hands into fists. Then his whole body was completely 
ignited in fire. The roar and glow of the flames shined over the two 
other Darshana soldiers. It was clear that he had something planned. But 
what was it? The flaming Ash looked over his shoulder at the two girls. 
"If I don't succeed in this... then get back to the Charlemagne and 
escape."

"Ash?" Yoko said curiously.

The blonde boy ran forwards with his flames around his torso, yelling a 
rising battle cry. He charged right for the idly walking Mal'akh. The 
space between the two began to lessen. Then Ash jumped into the air and 
made a leopard-like lunge at the chest of his mutated brother. Cream and 
Yoko both gasped when they saw Ash's smouldering body be completely 
ingested by the Mal'akh's chest. Ash himself had been absorbed.

**********

"Where...? Where am I...?"

It seemed like he had been asleep for a year. But Ash opened his eyes 
and adjusted to his new surroundings. Gone was the Dream Palace and the 
chambers within it. Cream and Yoko were nowhere in sight. This place was 
different from the bastion inside Zone Bethlehem. It was another void; 
but of a different make up to that of Zone Bethlehem. This place was 
like a sky. Blue and full of puffy white clouds. It was serene. But also 
very lonely. There was an air of melancholy here. Ash could feel it very 
frankly in his heart as he floated through this atmospheric abyss. But 
there were more important things to think of now. Like how he got here 
and what he could do about the Mal'akh. Then came the sound of the 
materialization of energy. Ash stared across from him at the blue, 
liquid energy that emerged from the nothingness. It took on the shape of 
a man. Then it turned into the man that it was. Zanaan. Ash's eyes 
studied him. He seemed to be back to his old self. His short spiky brown 
hair, his blood red eyes, his insane grin. Zanaan crossed his arms while 
his cloak flocked around his legs, body and shoulders. 

Then he spoke. "Little brother... I must say, I am impressed. I never 
thought you had the courage to allow yourself to merge with the Mahalah. 
That was unusually brave of you."

"Zanaan..." Ash observed him, "Where are we?"

"This? This is the home of the equilibrium formed between the three of 
us in the mind of the Mal'akh. It is simple now. You are the superego. I 
am the Id. The Mahalah is the ego. Together we operate as one now. And 
the one who succeeds here is the one who will dominate our fusion -- the 
Mal'akh."

Ash understood that much. "It didn't have to be this way."

"Oh, but it did..." Zanaan replied, "even if it was not me... this was 
an inevitable eventuality. Do you know the true nature of the Mahalah?"

The younger brother shook his head for a no.

"The Mahalah is the nucleus of the Original Saviour. All Saviours were 
spawned from this organism in the Cartesia Star System. It has the 
ability to control all other Saviours. However; its traitorous offspring 
gained an independent will of their own and shrugged off the 
manipulation of the Mahalah. They then sent it out of their star system 
and had it sent here into Augustine space thousands of years ago. 
Allured to its power, the people of the Mu Civilization attempted to 
oppress its force. This caused untold damage and spelt the end of their 
era. In a last ditch attempt to secure what was left of their nations, 
the Mu Civilization had the Mahalah entombed on Planet Golgotha. And 
when the Ministry awakened Mahalah 49 years ago, this wondrous being did 
the only thing that it could in its weakened state. It summoned the 
Saviours to come to its rescue."

Ash's eyes widened. "You mean...?"

"That's right," Zanaan said with a smile, "the Saviour Invasion was 
caused by the power-lust of the Ministry. Though it took time for the 
Mahalah's call to reach them... they came. The thousands of people 
murdered by the Saviours since that day could have lived on... if not 
for them. And yet you stand there and oppose me as well as fight for 
their cause? You are a fool."

Ash grabbed his left hand into a fist. "I'm not excusing the Ministry! 
But you can't kill everyone in Augustine Space because of that! Or 
because of what you feel they've diverted themselves from! No one gave 
you that right! And I'll be damned before I let you carry this out!"

Zanaan smirked and opened his right hand. Blue water started gathering 
above it in spherical form. He was gathering up his next and final 
attack. "You are just as deluded as ever. What I do, I do not for 
myself. But for the future. You seek to sustain a people who do nothing 
but blind themselves and feed off of their own greed; mistaking 
arrogance for generosity and polluting the planets they infest with 
their eternal quest for ever greater power. I will make everything the 
way it was intended. I will usher in a new future for this universe and 
construct an eternal utopia within the sanctity of God's grace. But to 
do so I must slaughter the ignorant peoples of space and return all they 
have constructed to nothing. As Mal'akh, I can do that. And now you are 
the last factor standing in my way. Those who defy me shall have nothing 
other than death...!"

Ash knew what he had to do. If he fell here, in the dominion of the 
Mal'akh's mind, then Rain and all the other innocent people of this 
galaxy would be killed. There was no other choice. Ash focused his power 
and charged up an orb of his own. But one of fire. Ash's body was 
covered in a glow of orange. Zanaan's body was covered in a glow of 
cobalt. Then the two yelled out in unison and fired their twin attacks 
at each other. A vertically-moving pillar of fire was thrown from Ash's 
hand at Zanaan. And Zanaan countered by blasting his jet of magically 
controlled water into the clustered head of Ash's flames. The two 
attacks collided with each other and brightened the land of Mal'akh's 
mind with both red and blue light. They forced against each other, 
struggled to gain ground, both battling to overpower the other. Streaks 
of electrical force passed up and down both magical beams. Waves of the 
collision impact were forced outwardly from that point. They spread 
across the distance and blew at the hair and clothes of both fighters. 
Ash and Zanaan screamed at each other with battle cries and forced more 
and more of their powers into the stand-off. 

"This is it, Little Brother!" Zanaan said loudly, to be heard over the 
loudness of the clash, "once you die I shall render the universe pure!"

Ash pressed his free hand into the arm that was outstretched. "Not if... 
I have... anything to say... about it!"

The flame pillar and the water pillar increased in their fervency. Then 
suddenly the water pillar was starting to progress and push back the 
flame one. Ash frowned while Zanaan widened his bright grin. A greater 
level of blue light was overtaking the stand-off. The Darshana Soldier 
at the other end tightened his eyes shut and focused himself. That was 
all he could do. 

"I have to focus," He said to himself, sweat dripping down his face, "I 
have to remember... what's at state. Rain. Cream. Yoko. The Commander. 
Everyone in the Augusta Star System is counting on me... and I won't let 
them down... not now... and I won't run away... I will not give up... 
and I will not lose... not to him... or anyone else... as long... as I 
have him..."

An image of Rain came into his thoughts. "...I won't lose!"

A larger wave of flames appeared at the hand of Ash's that was 
maintaining his flame attack. That new level of fire surged up the 
length of the beam and enlarged the size of it. It crashed into the 
point of collision. The loudness of the blasts increased. But Zanaan was 
the one left feeling the heat. The new force inside Ash's fire pillar 
burned away rapidly at the length of his water blast. So quickly in fact 
that he could barely understand the speed of it. 

"No... this can't be!" Zanaan crossed his arms over his face once his 
beam was completely destroyed, "you can't! The Mal'akh is mine, damn 
you! Nooooooooooo!"

The 'Id' of the Mal'akh that was Zanaan screamed his last breath when 
Ash's charged blast of flames burned over him and engulfed his body 
completely. His flesh was boiled away from his bones and soon they too 
were blown away like nothing. When the flame beam faded, Ash's hand was 
smoking. And there was no trace of Zanaan left. The superego that was 
Ashriel Gestalt had gained control over the body of Mal'akh. The effects 
of that were felt in the dominion of the material world. Inside the 
Dream Palace of Zone Bethlehem, Cream and an injured Yoko looked on at 
the now weakened Mal'akh. The titanic beast lowered itself to one knee 
and lifted its head up to stare at the two women. 

Cream held onto Yoko. "What's going on?!"

"...The Elzabad... mechanism..." The Mal'akh was speaking with a voice 
that was a lot like Ash's, "it... can't be... destroyed... by... us... 
it... has to... remain... sealed... I will... reverse... the wave... 
form... and restore the... seal... of... Zone Bethlehem. Go... now..."

Cream was horrified at this. "A-Ash?! Ash?! Is that you?!"

"...Yes..."

Yoko blinked. "You merged with the Mahalah to stop Zanaan, didn't you!?"

"...Yes..." The Mal'akh was still too weakened by the battle between its 
Id and Superego to be any better at displaying its needs than this. All 
that mattered was that the two left Zone Bethlehem for him to close the 
seal, "...now... please... go... and tell... Rain... I am... sorry..."

The Asiatic leader of operations nodded seriously to Ash and held onto 
Cream. "We have to go!"

"But what about Ash!?" Cream yelled back, "We can't leave him like this! 
He saved our lives!"

Yoko grabbed her by the shoulders. "Cream, listen to me! Ash was right 
before! This is bigger than us! There are billions of lives at stake 
here! Zanaan might be gone, but if the Mahalah were ever to fall into 
the wrong hands again then someone else could take his place! The 
Mahalah and Zone Bethlehem must remain sealed or someone else will go 
through this nightmare again! You have to respect his choice and know 
that was he did was for the benefit of everyone, including you and me!"

Cream was stunned by that. And she knew that Yoko was right. The Elzabad 
Mechanism, Zone Bethlehem, the Mahalah; they were all temptations too 
great for this galaxy to bare. Cream resigned herself to this fate and 
turned to the Mal'akh, casting a look of regret and love at it. It was 
now her best friend. But she knew in her mind and heart that he had done 
the right thing. Cream gave the Mal'akh one last smile. And the Mal'akh 
pulled a smile back at her. Then Yoko and Cream made their escape. The 
two of them ran out of that hall and out of Dream Palace's main building 
with Babel Tower overlooking them. They dashed down the cobblestone path 
in the middle of the courtyard gardens and back out through the marble 
walls to the platform that Dream Palace was rested on. They hopped 
across the pillars of Zone Bethlehem and began to note that the scene 
had changed. The sunny skies of Rehoboam summer were in place of the 
previous dark light. The will of Ash/Mal'akh had already began reshaping 
Zone Bethlehem now that Zanaan was dead. Cream and Yoko jumped from each 
of the platforms and pillars back to the place where the Charlemagne had 
landed. When the operatives on the bridge saw that two of the Darshana 
Soldiers were coming back, they waited for them to get into position and 
beamed them into the ship. They both ran to the bridge and without 
explaining anything about Ash, ordered the helmsmen to take off. They 
were shocked that someone had been left behind, even though they didn't 
know the reason, but only followed orders. The Charlemagne's boost 
thrusters and Wave Shields were applied. Then it rose up and took off, 
plunging itself back into the same space/time corridor that it had 
gotten through to get to Zone Bethlehem. 

Inside Dream Palace, the Mal'akh regained some of its strength. It 
lumbered over to the Elzabad Mechanism and waited. In those seconds, the 
body of the beast reverted into a more human form. Ash's human form. But 
he was not the same. He was just as Zanaan had been when they first saw 
him sitting on that through. Light grey skin, throbbing purple veins; 
Ash would never be the same again. But he was not thinking of that now. 
All he saw was his duty. The oath he had made to Rain, to always protect 
had to be upheld. That was what Ash's heart was demanding. And more 
importantly... his fusion with the Mahalah meant that if he ever left 
this place, the world of Rehoboam would be in danger. The transformed 
Ash pressed his hands into the machine and started the process of 
reversing the Lambda Effect and restoring the seal. 

"...Goodbye, Rain..." Ash said, a tear trickling down from his left eye, 
"...keep safe."

Outside in regular space, the Saviours attacking Deuteronomy had almost 
been completely destroyed. The Zophim flew around the precinct of the 
area and finished off any random Behemoths that happened to be around 
with futile, lingering hopes of winning the battle. Then she and all 
those watching through video screens in the Space Palace; saw the head 
of the Charlemagne ripping its way out of the globular gateway into Zone 
Bethlehem. Once it came out of it completely, the gateway started to 
react. It opened up like the peel of an orange and then reversed, 
closing into itself. With a flash of light, like a blink, the gateway 
disappeared. The crew of the Charlemagne were silent and the personnel 
of Deuteronomy were cheering happily. But only Cream and Yoko knew the 
full significance of what had transpired in that place. The two stood 
together at the side window of the Charlemagne's bridge. Cream closed 
her eyes and forced herself to hold back her tears. 

"Ash..." Cream banged her fists against the window, "It's not fair! He 
sacrificed himself... now he's trapped inside that horrible place... in 
the body of a monster... forever. It's just not fair..."

Yoko turned to Cream and opened her arms apologetically. Cream through 
herself into them and wept without shame. The older woman just brought 
the bioandroid closer to her and ran a hand through her hair, caringly, 
"I know."

One of the helmsmen turned to the pair of them when his computer screen 
started flashing. "We've got someone trying to contact you from 
Deuteronomy..."

"Who is it?" Asked Yoko.

The helmsman nodded to his screen. "That boy called... Rain Sorel."

**********

A month had passed to the date since the sealing off of Zone Bethlehem.

Much had changed since then. The first and foremost of all those changes 
was that the Saviour Invasion had ended. Once the Mahalah was sealed 
off, the Saviours stopped responding to its calls and they remained in 
the Cartesia Star System. The Anti-Lambda Effect data had been lost so 
nobody could have thought about launching a counter-invasion. Over 
200,000 lives had been lost during that day and more than 78.9 billion 
credits worth of damage had been done to the attacked cities of Rehoboam 
-- all the result of the Saviour attacks. But work was already starting 
to repair the damage done. The Darshana Division then went public with 
the details behind the Master Plan. All leading members of the Ministry; 
Ezra, Nehemiah, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, 
Obadiah, Jonah and Malachi, were arrested and the organization was 
disbanded. Michael Bardia and his Archangels were arrested for their 
part in the dealing of the Seraphim Replicates. And the Seraphim 
Replicates themselves, who were to be used against the Saviours were 
freed and given the legal rights of human beings. All aside from Zophim; 
who opted to have herself sealed off in a carbon prison so that her 
powers remained dormant. Because of their help in stopping Zanaan and 
the Ministry, all charges against Cream, Yoko and Commander Eldiah were 
dropped. And Rain had been given a confirmed legal right of 
self-ownership. Because of the illegal use of the Longinus Cannon, 
Deuteronomy was now under the custody of the Pan-Galactic Confederacy. 
Dianus Maximus was up for more than a few prosecutions. No matter what 
her true intentions were, she had been involved heavily with the Master 
Plan and had also been the one to use the Longinus Cannon without 
permission of the Tsar. But she had disappeared. No one knew where she 
went. And no one had found her. With the threat of the Saviours over; 
the Rehoboam Regular and Foreign Militaries were put to use in aiding 
the reconstruction of Crux Cartha and Protea as well as the dismantling 
of the Ministry's power base. This action was commanded by the Tsar 
himself and no one was in any position to argue with him. 

But now was the time for some people not to celebrate, but rather to 
mourn a lost friend. To the far edge of the city of Crux Cartha, three 
people stood together. They were surrounded by tombstones and crypts but 
their minds were on one small block of stone with details about on them. 
The name at the head of the artifice read Ashriel 'Ash' Gestalt. And the 
three people standing in front of it were Rain Sorel, holding a bouquet 
of flowers in hand, Kathleen 'Cream' Daitokuji nee Stenzel, and Yoko 
Daitokuji. Rain kneeled to the artifice and placed the flower before it, 
smiling. They all knew he wasn't dead. But they had paid for an artifice 
anyway. Something to pay their respects to. 

"I can't believe it's been a whole month already," Rain said wistfully, 
"since that day..."

Cream smiled. "It really doesn't seem that long does it? Man, if only he 
could see this... he wouldn't believe how much has changed since then. I 
just wish Commander Eldiah was here."

"Kathleen," Yoko prodded, "you know that he is busy with the restoration 
of Crux Cartha. It was a good move to promote him after the disbanding 
of the Darshana Division, but I know that he'd rather be here to visit 
Ash's artifice."

The redheaded woman pouted and pressed her hands into her hips, 
brandishing the diamond engagement ring on one of them. "I don't like 
being called that name! And especially not by my fianc‚e of all people! 
You should know better than that! I swear, ever since you took over 
you're Dad's business you've just become so scatterbrained!"

Yoko pressed a hand into her cheek. "You're calling me scatterbrained? 
You're the one still referring to Donovan as 'the Commander'. And not 
just anyone could run something like the Esdraelon Conglomerate. I've 
been so busy I actually had to go out of my way to free up time just to 
come here today. Besides. My company is the one heading the 
reconstruction projects."

"You two have certainly changed since then," Rain said with a giggle, 
"or at least you have, Yoko."

The Asian woman smoothed out her suit. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Well," Cream looked up at the landscape around them. The sun was 
setting, "it's getting late. We should probably head back to the hotel. 
We can come back tomorrow."

Rain bobbed his head. "I understand. You two go on ahead, okay? I want 
to stay here for a little longer."

They accepted that and started walked down the path around the cemetery. 
Rain watched them go for the moment, then turned back to Ash's artifice. 
His smile faded a bit. Rain missed Ash tremendously. As much as he 
enjoyed spending time with Cream and Yoko, it just wasn't the same. But 
the memory of Ash wasn't too far away, in more than one manner of 
speaking. Rain rubbed his hands up and down the side of his arms when he 
felt a little chill in the air. Then he gasped when he saw a spectral 
version of Ash, dressed in his Darshana Division armour, standing behind 
the artifice.

Rain clutched at his chest fearfully. "This can't be..."

"Hey, don't get scared," The apparition said, "you know that I'm not 
dead, right?"

The brown-haired boy still couldn't believe it. "Is this... an 
illusion...?"

Ash's projection smirked. "I told you; don't be scared. This isn't a 
ghost. This is just... a representation of the me that exists within 
your mind. By using that as a model, I can contact you like this. I 
suppose you could think of it as an astral projection, cast in the shape 
of the 'me' that exists in your mind. Though it's not something I can do 
easily..."

"Is that really you?!" 

"It's just my voice. The image of me that you see of me is an illusion 
as you said. After I merged with the Mahalah and gained full control 
over the Mal'akh, I started becoming aware of some of its powers. This 
is one of them. I just... wanted to speak to you one last time."

Tears trailed down from Rain's eyes. "Oh God, Ash... I miss you so 
much..."

"And THAT'S what I wanted to talk about," Ash's projection said, "listen 
to me, Rain. Isolating yourself from others is so lonely. I don't want 
you to hesitate to let others into your heart. You don't know how happy 
it'll make me to know that you're happy."

Rain shook his head. "I can't do that! Are you asking me to forget about 
you?!"

"Not forget. Just hold onto the memory of me -- without letting it rule 
you. That was what we talked about before, right?" He stated.

The younger one wiped the tears from his eyes with a weak smile. "...I 
guess..."

"Listen to me, Rain. What happened with Zanaan and the Ministry was 
tragic. But you should know that there is a greater force out there. One 
that makes Mahalah look like nothing."

Rain became alert. "Huh?"

The projection of Ash frowned. "With the powers of the Mahalah I have 
been able to see into the future. Thousands of years from now, during a 
time of great war, that power will emerge. The power that lurks within 
the Rhapsody Stratum. But there will be a girl; one named 'Miharu Aoba'. 
And she will be there to stand against it. That girl will be the 
descendant of one of the three children you'll have in the space of the 
next thirty years."

"I am to have children?" Rain said with wonder.

Ash's projection kneeled down to him at eye level and smiled. "That's 
right. I know it seems hopeless now. But you will be happy again. I 
promise you. This is the last time you and I will see each other. And I 
can't interfere with your life anymore. I just wanted you to know that. 
Goodbye, Rain. I'll miss you."

Rain lowered his head with a frigid smile, when the apparition faded 
away. "...I'll miss you too."

**********

END OF ARCHETYPE BIBLICAL STAR EMPIRE

**********

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