Apocolypse [Part 3]
 
by -- Joseph de laCroix
 
     This story is based on characters created by Service and Games 
(SEGA), and on characters created by Archie Comic Publications, Inc.  
Any resemblance to actual characters are not coincidental.  ;)
 
     Joseph, Bahb, and all other independent creations of Joseph de 
laCroix are the copyrighted property of JoCo Inc. and are also protected  
by the firm of Louis, E. Ville, and Slugger.  Commander Packbell, 
Bookshire Draftwood, and Sandra Nightweaver are the copyrighted property 
of Bookshire S. Draftwood.  All other fanfic characters that may or may 
not be used in this or future works are protected under their respective 
copyrights.  All other rights reserved, etc.

 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     12:00.00.0 pm, Solstice Day
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     The last sattelite fell into position, aligning all of the 
sattelites for an instant in a glorious pattern above Mobius.
At that instant, they all decloaked, becoming visible to the 
naked eye.  Then, a beam of light started from one, racing all
around the world in a massive web that illuminated every side 
of the planet in beautiful golden light.
 
     The beam got tighter and tighter as it raced over every
surface of the world, causing all on the surface but three to
look up in mixed feelings of surprise and terror.  Thunder
rolled in the distance as the beam charged up the upper
atmosphere of the world, making storms erupt randomly
all over the world.
 
     As it crossed the Great Forest, a sudden warp bubble formed
around a now decloaked sattelite, changing the trajectory of the
powerful, terrible light to race into space.  It careened 
through the void silently, then violently passed through the 
shields of the _Apocolypse_ without so much as damaging them,
impacting with a part of the hull.
 
     For a moment, there was silence.
 
     Then, in an instant only described to this day as something 
akin to the pure, rightous wrath of the Goddess, the ship suddenly 
began to completely malfunction, beginning with the destruction of 
the shield emitter on the underbelly of the ship.
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     The lights flickered and dimmed ship-wide as the chaotic
virus infected every major system, making the ship into a
pure riot.  The artificial gravity deactivated, imploding upon
itself on deck 158 and causing a hull breach of catastrophic
proportions.  Half the lifts shot down to the lowest levels of the
ship and out, while the other half raced out of the top.  
The shields, which were now quite dead, insisted on stating they
were still at 90 percent and holding, while all the offensive
weapons decided that they were inoperable due to being submerged
in 100 atmospheres worth of water and shut down.
 
     The fighters outside the ship got contradictory commands
from the main computer, careening wildly around the Keld ship.
As they did so, their navigation computers forgot to tell them
where the other ships were, causing most of them to slam into 
each other within a few minutes.
 
     The virus continued to rage, doing damage in such short order
as to leave the bridge crew struggling to catch up.  As John began
to scream and yell, the intercom began to play a recorded tune
in an oddly maddening voice, accompanied by some sort of 
electrified string instrument.  Pictures of a blue hedgehog
popped up on every screen, seeming to denote this was the
author of the tune before the squealing from the finale got so
loud as to blow out most of the speakers.  As John began to shoot
at the remaining speakers to quiet them, the _Apocolypse_ began
to pull away from the planet of its own volition, setting a course
for the Mobian sun.
 
     John swore incoherently and foamed at the mouth, trying to
force the ship back on course using ill-hid magick.  By this time, 
of course, most of the crew was panicking too much to even notice
the dark reddish energy that was flowing from John's palms into 
his consoles.  It did nothing, however, but make the ship 
turn off the stabliziers, making everyone nearby a wall be 
thrown from it violently into the low-to-nil gravity of the 
ship without any method of slowing down.
     
     As the ship headed off, the Keld'yrians watching increduously,
a voice erupted out of the void on the basic subspace channels,
and began to speak:
 
     << "Hello, J'hohn.  You're probably wondering why you haven't
been able to see the destruction of Mobius, and why your ship
is heading towards the sun.  Pity I won't tell you.  However, 
I'll let you know that magick is a -wonderful- thing.  Truely,
it is." >>
 
     The voice laughed.  << "I am J'hosesophae Dae'La'Croix'ae-sur,
last Ur'thaen Orange and defender of this world.  I saw you
coming a mile away, J'hohn.  You've gotten sloppy.  And what
do I see you using now but stolen Keld'yrian technology?
For shame!  The title of hypocrite doesn't become an honorable fox,
J'hohn.  Of course, you never did have any sort of honor, did you?" >>
 
     << "Now please, die with dignity." >>
 
     The transmission ceased, and Joseph walked onto the smoking,
chaotic bridge.  Wasting no time, he lobbed some EMP grenades 
into the scene, paralysing or slaying most of the partially
cybernetic personnel.  Those that did not stay down, he shot
individually with his blaster, leaving them smoking corpses
on the floor.
 
     In the chaos, John only saw his adversary enter after his 
crew had been slain; immediately sensing his nemesis' power, he 
prepared to give him a proper welcome.  He wasted no time in 
projecting some dark red bolts of raw energy from the Malfean 
depths of darkness that he took his foul power from, trying to 
tear him in half with pure, unrefined hatred.
 
     Joseph lept into the air, countering by erecting a 
firm, healthily glowing orange energy sphere around him to
protect himself from the blasts, but it didn't last as long 
as he'd expected.  He quickly rolled behind some smoking 
furniture to prepare a counterassault, John mercilessly
blasting all the while.
 
     John blasted into the ground, forcing wires to erupt
like snakes from the synthsteel to ensnare his foe.  They
raced out dutifully with the sweet scent of ozone following
them, and weaved at Joseph to pull him through the sharp
abyss to his doom.
 
     Joseph would have none of that.  Activating his 
plasma cutter, he swiped at the wires, splicing them down
to ribbons before they could shock or strangle him.  He
fired a few times at John in the process, narrowly missing 
him as he ran from the bridge to get a wider area to work
with.
 
     They pursued each other through the top of the ship,
John attacking while Joseph mainly countered, each trying
to get the other to make a critical tactical error so that
the opportunistic victor could slay the other and buy 
time to escape.  Wires and control panels raced out at
Joseph all the while, but his speed and cunning enabled him
to survive all incoming strikes.
 
     John raced towards the lift, taking out a conventional
blaster and firing at Joseph with it.  Joseph, slightly
behind in his pursuit, ducked into a nearby doorway and shot
back, trying to find a clear shot through all the smoke and
debris his virus had already caused.
 
     The lift stated it would be present in exactly 90 seconds,
so John went on the offensive again, blasting and summoning
his evil power to smite the plucky, determined Joseph with.
<< "You'll die for what you've cost me!" >> swore John as
he continued to blast and rage at Joseph, trying to breach the
doorway by destroying the wall.  The incoming fire from
both sides was fast and furious, but finally John broke through and 
hit Joseph a few times in the left arm.  Recoiling from the pain,
he blasted at John three times, all three shots impacting into
the evil captain's abdomen.  Greenish blood flew from the wounds
via flying spheres in the reduced gravity, but pure manevolence kept
John from falling back.
 
     << "Prepare to be terminated," >> John swore, eyes flaming
with the dark red evil energy that flowed through his entire body.
However, just as he raised his blaster to fire, the elevator door
opened, allowing the vacuum of space to intrude.  In an instant,
John was swept from his location through the elevator doors,
and careened out into the darkness of space.
 
     Summoning all the power he could, Joseph quickly closed the
elevator doors before the remainder of the air could join John
in the icy void, taking a moment to rest before moving on.
His foe had been vanquished, he assumed, so now he could leave.
Quickly, he blasted down through the floor, heading to the level
which held the escape pod.
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     Ivo watched the ship go completely haywire, and quickly accessed
the escape pod slightly ahead of schedule.  He hopped in, sealing
its entrance behind him, then hit the blinking red button.  The
pod shook for a moment, then rocketed away from the craft, which was
well on its way to the sun.
 
     He sat back in the escape pod, relaxing and allowing himself a
chuckle.  The hedgehog had come through, in a way...the obnoxious
noises and its hideous singing had certainly thrown a snag into
John's plans that hadn't been there before.  Now he and the
irritating Joseph would burn together, ending all outside threats
to his perhaps slightly interrupted reign.  With the new 
technology he had stolen, and the element of surprise, he
should be able to reconquer the planet in a matter of days.
 
     He patted a few boxes as the pod approached Mobius again.
The light beams would certainly be useful; now the Freedom
Fighters wouldn't have darkness to assist them in their deeds
against him.  But as he was about to enter high Mobian orbit,
a recording began playing in the pod...
 
     "Ivo, you jerk, I told you not to leave without me.
Now you die."
 
     Red light filled the cabin as the voice ceased, a 
countdown beginning...and during Ivo's desperate attempt
to cease it, the pod was bumped off course by the remaining 
warp emissions of the sattelite over the Great Forest, and
flew right into the incredibly powerful beam of light...
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     Joseph reached the outside of the now departed escape pod,
well after its occupant had flown off to oblivion.  He growled and
hit the wall, but at least Robotnik was done for.  Mobius would
never again have to contend with the evil Doctor Ivo Robotnik,
his schemes, or the roboticizer.  The war was, at last, over.
 
     Joseph strode along as the _Apocolypse_ began exploding
in places, the rest of the viruses spawning destruction and
mayhem.  The ship was locked in a terminal course into the 
Mobian star, which would certainly take care of the dreadnought
once and for all.  All that remained was for him to escape.
 
     He couldn't quite call the energy to teleport, since he was
far from Mobius and reliant on what remaining life energy remained
on the _Apocolypse_.  However, after a period of meditation, he drew
enough force to surround himself in a protective chi shield,
blast through the hull, and fly from the ship while being protected
from the elements...rather, the lack thereof.  As he left, the
first solar flares began licking at the front of the ship,
melting down the hull.
 
     Joseph paused for a moment, watching the ship fly into the
sun.  As it disappeared, he pondered what remained for him. 
The deroboticizer software would be done by the evening,
releasing him from his last mundane duty to Mobius.
The destruction of Robotnik meant that there would be no
more SWATBots, since the last of them would be destroyed,
and nobody would bother to rebuild Robotropolis; it was
completely laid waste by the fighters.  Peace would reign
over the world after nearly 20 years of war, and Mobius
could heal.  Maybe he could finally sire those kits that
Sandra had been wanting...but that was in the future.
Now was the time to honor the dead and remember the past,
so that the sacrifices he had made against his own people 
would never be forgotten by time.  He bowed his head for a 
moment in silent contemplation as the last of the ship was
consumed by the fire, then began to turn to fly home.
 
     << "YOU BASTARD!" >> cried a rage-filled voice through the 
void; filling Joseph's mind with pain until he could raise
his psionic defenses and look to see the cause.
 
     John, or rather what was left of John, chose to attack
at that moment.  His left arm and part of his left leg had 
been torn off by the force of the vacuum, leaving only bloody, 
crystallized stubs behind.  Black-red energy crackled around him 
as he clashed against Joseph, trying to strangle him.
 
     Joseph fought back hard, lashing out with his remaining
energy.  He knew that he couldn't hold out in space for long,
especially when he was consuming all of his energy fighting, 
so he forced John back towards Mobius at an incredible rate
of speed by executing the hardest body slam he'd ever done.
 
     They flew through the airless, empty area of space, 
blasting wickedly at each other in any way they could.  
Lacking anything else to use as weapons, they used their 
own body parts as melee weapons, beating on each other
with magickally enhanced punches and kicks.  As they approached
the Mobian atmosphere, however, Joseph got his second wind
and began fighting harder, dragging John down through the
atmosphere of the world in an attempt to burn him to a cinder.
 
     Blood flew from both parties as they fought through the
sky, punch after punch landing on each wizard.  Joseph's ribs
had started to break again, while his right arm and shoulder
were beginning to dislocate.  John was weakening, however;
the magick of a world is different than that one can draw
from the abyss.  Teeth flew from John's jaw as Joseph 
repeatedly punched him, and John knew that his skull would
shatter if it kept up much longer.  They roared at each other,
both knowing that words were pointless; each knew the other's
only goal was to kill the opposing fox.
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     Bahb activated its final countdown sequence, the overload reaching
its zeinith.  Its last recorded thought was the pondering of the
phrase `The soul is eternal'.  Did it have a soul?  Well, it thought
as the fire raced up from the deepest depths of the complex, Bahb
was going to find out in approximately 10 seconds.
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     The duo raced closer and closer to the hard earth, continuing
to fight.  Joseph's throat had been torn open by a lucky shot 
by John, who was now missing an eye and was also rapidly losing
blood.  Pure adrenaline drove them on now, wanting to be sure
the other died first.
 
     Joseph glanced down at the land racing up against them.
It was the Great Forest, and they were currently above the
Dome region.  In fact, Joseph thought as he dragged John 
across another series of ice-filled air currents, he could
probably smash John right on top of the Dome...he then noticed
that the Dome was now obsedian black, and was beginning to form
orange cracks in its surface.
 
     He quickly knew what was going to happen, and decided to
make it work in his favor.  << "JOHN!  YOU WANT POWER?!" >>
He threw John face-down towards the Dome, knee pressing into 
his back and holding him still.  
 
     << "HERE'S ALL THE POWER YOU'LL EVER NEED!" >>
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     In a flash, the Dome erupted violently, an orange cylinder
of raw power shattering through its blackened exterior.  It shot
through both parties in an instant, the force equivelent to a
600 megaton nuclear blast while only being contained in a circular
area about 12 feet wide.  Both of them were instantly obliterated,
barely even consuming a wit of the energy in the blast.
 
     A shockwave blasted through the forest, an circular orange 
power shockwall racing through the trees.  The surge dispersed
the fog around the Dome immediately, then suddenly reduced to
only a stiff wind around the perimeter of the lands Joseph 
held, perhaps knocking over a garbage can or two in Knothole.
Lightning crashed in the upper atmosphere, the blast just adding
to the turbulent conditions world-wide.
 
     Then, as abruptly as it began, it ceased.  The skies cleared,
the sun shined, and all was at peace.   At that moment, Sally
wrote in her journal, and no sooner, did the war end.
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     12:30:00 pm
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     The Keld'yrian ship took out the remaining sattelites, 
still undergoing repairs for the damages done by the _Apocolypse_.
A few fighters from the Keld'yrian ship chased after the shock
troops of a group of infamous space pirates who must have seen
the tussle, and wanted in on the action, far from the Mobian system.
Communications were reestablished, and soon the fear that held 
the populace finally came to an end.  The remains of Solstice 
Day that year were used as a requiem for the one that had fallen
for them; a quiet, mysterious alien named `Joseph'.
 
     The ceremony was small, due to the fact that there were  
only a handful of people left in Knothole, but the lack of
physical bodies was made up for by the amount of passion
but forth into the small, formal gathering.
 
     A few people made speeches, while others, lacking the 
proper words to put their feelings into words, simply stayed
respectfully silent.  However, Bunnie, tears welling in her 
eyes, ascended the podium after a few moments, and spoke to 
those who had been with her all her lives.
 
     "Ah'm not much for givin' a send-off.  All Ah can seem to
say is that, even tho 'e wasn' the m'st open fellah in the world,
he cared 'bout people.  He spent most of his time here tryin'
to give somethin' back to us, t' make up for the pas'.  An' people
still talked behin' his back and made him seem like some sorta
bad guy."
 
     She wiped her eyes.  "'e gave me back muh arm and muh legs. 
He didn' ask for a `thank yew'.  All he did was give muh a hug
and set me free t' do as Ah would.  An' t' the day, Ah wished
Ah could have thanked 'im again."  Crying, she quietly left
the podium, comforted by the friends she'd always knew she'd
have; Sally, Sonic, Tails, Rotor, and even Antoine.
 
     They couldn't find anything left of the Dome that would
have been suitable for burial, so they simply draped a white
cloth over the top of the dead SpyGlobe that had given the 
information to Sally that had saved the world, dug out the 
grave with their bare hands according to custom, and slowly
covered it again using the same medium outside the 
edge of the village, under a transplanted orange tree.
 
     The rest of the Freedom Fighters dispersed after the grave 
had been filled in, except Sonic, Sally, and Tails.  They stood
there after the procession had left, helping David retrofit
the transponder back to normal.  "Aunt Sally?"
 
     Sally rested her paw on his shoulder.  "Yes, Tails?"
 
     "Where's Sandra?"
 
     Sally blinked.  "I...I don't know.  Perhaps she escaped.
I guess we'll never know."
 
     Tails frowned, resting his head against Sally's shoulder.
"I hope she's okay.  It's not fair that both of them should die..."
 
     Sonic bowed his head.  "I'll miss ya, Joe.  You always did
know how to make an exit..."  A few tears fell from his eyes.
"G'bye, pal."  With that, he ran off into the forest.  "He just
needs to be alone," said Sally, gently stroking the back of 
Tails' head.  "It's been a very hard day."
 
     Something, perhaps a few hundred yards away, stirred.  A red
glow began to fill a rectangular area on its surface, which was
attached to a humanoid shape.  Slowly, it rose, taking stock of
the sitation, and began to walk...
 
     While Sally stroked the back of Tails' skull and looked at
the grave she'd helped to dig, Tails' acute senses detected
movement.  He sniffed the wind.  Ozone, oil...SWATBot.
 
     In a blur of motion, Tails pulled violently away from 
Sally, lept through an area of forest, and saw his adversary.
The SWATBot looked up at him and raised its weapon; but Tails,
being trained in `The Perfect Art', knew immediately how to
react.  Almost instinctively, he made a fist while still in
midair, called upon all of his might, and powered it through the 
SWATBot's head.
 
     A blueish blast of electricity erupted from Tails and the
SWATBot, the force from the punch tearing through it like 
a brick through a stained-glass window.  It split down the 
middle at nearly a perfectly symmetrical way, causing a powerful
flash of light and a clap of near-thunder as it fell to the 
ground.
 
     Perhaps two seconds had passed during this time, and just
then Sally began to react.  Quickly, she ran through the forest
to find Tails standing between a split SWATBot, blue electricity
crackling off of his calm, relaxed body.  Some sort of motherly
instinct caused her to pull him from it, however, and back behind
her.  Neither party came to any harm by this, she noticed, and
when she looked again, the SWATBot's remains were gone.
 
     Tails stood there silently, a muted expression of pleasure
on his face.  Confusion filled Sally's mind for a few seconds.
"What was that?"
 
     Tails smiled calmly.  "My last test.  Now I am ready."
 
     Sally scratched her head, looking oddly at Tails.
"A test?  A test for readiness for what?"
 
     Tails answered her by twirling his tails at a incredible
speed, and easily gliding above the ground.  He flew about
her easily, laughing.  "My last test of my skills!  Joseph
told me once that when I perfected the Perfect Art, I could
do anything!  Well, here I am!"  With a laugh, he raced through
the tops of the trees, high into the sky.  Sally could only
watch astonishedly, wonderment overtaking her.  Tears of 
joy filled her eyes as Tails' wish came true, and her only
nagging doubt was about where the SWATBot went...
 
     "I hope he enjoys his gift," a familiar voice said,
"a pity I won't be able to watch the rest of his adolescence
first-hand."
 
     Sally turned to face the voice, but there was nothing there
but the wind...which carried only a single statement before
it too faded away.  "Happy Solstice, Tails."
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     2:30 pm
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     Sandra awoke on the beach of Boulder Bay, some sand in her
fur and her right foot asleep.  For a moment, she thought that she 
had died.  However, the appearance of an UsagiBOT walking around the 
perimeter in the distance immediately eliminated that illusion.  
"There aren't any robots in Heaven," Sandra grumbled, and sat up to 
look around.
 
     It was a lovely afternoon.  The wind was cool without being
too cold, and she figured it was about 70 degrees.  The water
crashed softly against the rocks of the beach, and some storm
clouds laid in the distance.  Occasionally, she heard thunder.
And, if it wasn't for the apparent death of her mate in the
morning, she might have enjoyed it.
 
     She sat there, resting her muzzle on her knees and wrapping her
arms around her legs, looking out over the water.  Sandra couldn't
cry anymore; even now, she was tired from the strain this morning.
Instead, she chose to deal with the situation at hand...for example,
why wasn't she in the Dome?  This wasn't anywhere near the Great
Forest, she realized, and there were guards posted.  Perhaps Bahb
had taken her here in order to lift her spirits.  It was a valiant
attempt, computer, she thought, but it wasn't going to cut it.
 
     Sandra stood.  It was time, she thought, to take stock of 
what she had left.  She walked over to the UsagiBOT, being
followed by two SpyGlobes.  "Unit, report status."
 
     The robot looked at her.  >< "Units posted here are 
functional; one UsagiBOT unit, two SpyGlobe units.  Power levels
at optimum levels." ><
 
     Sandra nodded.  She at least had some protection.
"Very well.  Bahb, channel through UsagiBOT in front of me and
report status."
 
     The UsagiBOT paused for a moment.  >< "Bahb is no longer
active.  The Dome has been destroyed." ><
 
     Her spirits sank.  Not only had the love of her life left
her, but now she lacked a home and food to return to.  She 
sensed that this was the situation she was in last year, and
did not fail to appreciate the irony.  "I see."
 
     >< "More units are in the vicinity.  A new place of  
residence can be constructed for you, and energy crystal
deposits have been detected 5 klicks to the northwest.
You can have a home constructed for you within hours." ><
 
     She sighed.  Well, at least she'd have a home.
An empty, cold home using the rather personality-less
drones that Joseph had left, but a home no less.
Perhaps she could use that as a base of operations
to start her life over.  Spies and thieves would be
needed in the new civilization that would soon be 
organized, after all, and with her mate's advanced
technology, she could make sure his name and her own
would be remembered for all time.  "Fine.  Go pick 
out a good place.  I'm going on a walk."  With that,
she turned from the robots, walking down the beach.
 
     Sandra was going to have to rebuild a tough exterior,  
she realized, in order to be sure that her heart was
never broken again.  This last one was the worst by
far, she noted, because the love had been more than mutual.
Both of them doted on the other with equal zeal, and 
losing that made her heart ache every time she thought
about it.  She tried to put it from her mind, but it
wouldn't stop coming up.
 
     She ran down the beach, trying to distract herself
by physical exertion.  After a while, she saw a 
large fisherman, clothed in a black cloak that covered
all but his darkened paws and the stick he was using.  
Probably a bear of some flavor, she thought, perhaps a refugee.  
Since dwelling on her own thoughts was becoming mentally 
draining, she concluded, she'd start a conversation with 
the large figure.
 
     The vixen padded over, looking over at the person.
A muzzle was visible, but the coloration was impossible to
figure due to the glare of the light off the water.  
"Hey, catch anything?"
 
     The figure growled quietly when he spoke, the voice
deep, scratchy, and unfamiliar.  "Not yet."
 
     Sandra sat down next to him.  "You don't have a bucket
to hold fish in, you know."
 
     "I'll eat it raw," he simply replied.
 
     Sandra looked somewhat disgusted, but covered it well.
"Come here much?"
 
     "First time."
 
     "Live around here?"
 
     "No."
 
     "Got anybody with you?"
 
     "Yes."
 
     Sandra smiled.  Finally, some progress.  "Who?"
 
     "She's my mate," a less scratchy voice said, which took
on a vaguely familiar accent.  "A nice vixen."
 
     "Oh?  Does she live around here?"
 
     "Nope."
 
     Sandra smiled.  "Does she eat fish raw as well?"
 
     The figure took off his hood, revealing a beaten-up looking,
flamboyantly neon orange, head of a fox.  "I don't know," Joseph
said, "do you?"
 
     Sandra gasped in shock, then embraced her mate firmly,
tears running down her face.  "Joseph!"
 
     Joseph smiled, displaying a few gaps in his teeth.  "Hi there."
 
     Sandra cried a bit, holding him tightly.  "I thought you were 
dead!  How did--"
 
     Joseph sshed.  "I'll tell you all about it later."
 
     She sobbed tears of joy, not wanting to let go.  "Is it over?"
 
     Joseph picked her up, holding her in his arms.  "Yes, it's
over.  It's all over now, Sandra.  Mobius is safe."
 
     Sandra smiled, kissing him softly.  "But what will we do
now?  We're homeless."
 
     Joseph shrugged.  "Depends on what you mean by homeless.
Mobius is our home."
 
     Sandra giggled softly, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Silly.  I meant where will we live?  The Dome is gone."
 
     Joseph lifted from the ground, gliding over the water.
"Well, I have this friend, you see, who has this nice tropical
island...I hope he's not still mad about that tussle we had a 
year or two ago..."
 
     They glided off into the horizon, leaving the land behind
for the endless ocean that spanned Mobius; thinking it was the
last time they'd ever have to fight the forces of evil...
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     From a smoking crater in the Great Unknown, a figure stirred,
extending a gleaming steel arm from the depths of the smoke and flames;
slowly pulling itself up...the pupils of the figure glowing a
flaming, angry red...
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -
 
     The End?  Perhaps.  Perhaps not.
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - - - - - - - -