predicament.

"Move and die." Steele said.

He laughed.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this, for this moment..." Steele said.

He walked down from the platfrom in front of them, and stood in front of Balto.

"..to see you like this wolf dog."

He chuckled.

"And here's something else I've wanted to do for a long time."

He nodded, and the blade lifted.

Then Steele hit him in the face."

Balto fell over backwards.

Jenna was still on the platform, she hadn't walked down with Steele, and she cringed, as Steele began to beat Balto senseless.

"Can I really do this to him?" Jenna thought.

Balto fell to the ground once more, and found he had difficulty standing.

Steele laughed.

"Not so easy to fight the dead, eh wolf dog?"

Balto finally made it to his feet and glared at Steele.

"Now, to the plan at hand." Steele said. "I want you to feel the fires of hell wolfie, I really do, they'er such an... eye opener, so my offer to you is this..."

He looked at Jenna , who had fallen to the ground without Balto's support. Mia and Aazule helped her up, never moving enough to cause the beasts behind them to take action.

"If I kill you, you'll go to Aniu, and all is better for you, eternal heaven and so forth... or you don't and..."

Steele looked at the guardian.

"...he kills you, and you burn in hell for all eternity."

"The choice is really up to you."

Balto glared at Steele.

"But she's dead too, if I can't kill you, why should I be able to kill her?"

"Oh I've taken care of that." Steele said.

Balto felt a tingling in his body, and looked down to find his paws glowing red.

"Red destroys blue, but not red, so don't even try it wolf dog."

Balto looked back up at him.

"I will not play you game Steele."

"Oh come on wolfie, she's dead anyway, she's not supposed to exist, look at her."

Balto did.

"She's more than half gone anyway, there's no saving her, end her life, and you will save your soul, as well as your freinds'"

"Do it Balto." Jenna said softly. "He's.. he's right, I'm... I'm through, done for, save yourself, end..."

She winced and almost fell again.

"...end this pain."

Balto sighed.

"Jen I..."

He look ed at his paws.

A grim determination set on his face, and he looked back up, the fire in his eyes directed at Steele.

"I won't."

Steele laughed.

"You never did have any guts wolfie, and now that's going to cost you, but I already knew you wouldn't, like I said, I know you better than you know yourself."

He leaned in close to Balto.

"Do you really think I want to see you go with Aniu?"

Balto said nothing.

"Well wolf dog." Steele said, walking back up to the pedastal. "You've made your choice, and now I'll make mine."

He stopped beside the massive guardian.

"Shaulaaine, kill the other male."

The guardian lumbered over to Aazule.

"Do it." Steele said.

A tentacle sprouted form the creature's back, and on the end was a large spike.

"NO!" Mia yelled.

She started forward, but a gentle tap from the blade at her throat was enough to convince her to stop.

The guardian threw it's spike forward, and into Aazule's chest.

He screamed.

The beast piked him up, and the blue glow around Aazule began to pulasate, and then turn red, finally, he exploded. Showers of shining blue sparkles fell to the ground.

"So that's what the death of a soul looks like." Steele said. "I always wondered..."

"I promise you!" Mia yelled. "I promise you with all Aniu's strength, you will burn in the darkest pits of hell for this!"

Steele laughed.

"And my next target is..."

He looked down the line.

"Poor little Jenna."

"No!" Balto yelled, but he knew he was powerless to save her.

Mia looked at him and winked, as the big beast lumbered over to Jenna.

Balto looked confused.

Mia hung her head.

The creature stopped in front of Jenna and drew it's spike back.

Suddenly Mia jerked her head up, and her wings sprouted from her back.

A blue explosion of energy spread out from her, and knocked all the guards back.

Mia took off, headed straight for Steele.

Balto jumped sideways, and knocked Jenna clear, just as the spike whistled through the air, missing him by inches.

The two of them rolled into a column and stopped.

Jenns was barely able to stand, and Balto helped her brace herself against the wall.

"Stay here Jen." Balto said. Then he turned and ran at the guardian.

The beast roared as he got near, and swiped at him with one of it's paws.

It connected.

Balto felt as if he'd been hit by a truck.

He landed some thirty feet from where he'd been.

Balto stood up and shook his head.

"This is going to be interesting." Balto thought.

Then he ran at the creature again.

Meanwhile, Mia was faring pretty well with Steele.

She had an advantage over him in that she could fly, and she was making full use of that advantage, flitting from column to column, staying in one place for only a brief second, and then darting back down to attack, then it was back to the columns.

"Don't feel like fighitng fair do you?" Steele said, reeling from her last attack.

"Did you feel like fighting fair when you had Aazule murdered?" Mia said.

Steele shrugged.

"No, sure didn't."

"Then neither do I." Mia said, as she darted down to attack him again.

"Well that's just fine." Steele said, as he stumbled back and fell. "There are ways to take care of airborne forces..."

He stood up.

"Shaulaaine, give me some anti-air fire."

The guardian turned it's focus from Balto, and opened it's mouths.

Fireballs exploded from them, and hurled at Mia.

"Mia lookout!" Balto yelled.

She darted out of the way, as the fireballs slammed into the column she had been perched on.

The creature fired again and again, each time Mia barely emerged unchathed.

The creature stopped and calculated it's next move, and then, as Mia darted down at Steele's back...

....Shaulaaine fired again.

Mia never even saw the fireballs before they hit her.

Mia screamed as she was consumed in fire and didn't pull out of her dive, smashing into the ground and rolling into one of the pillars.

Balto watched as she crawled a few feet, and then stopped... and just...

...burned.

Tears clouded Balto's vision as he thought of his two new friends.

He shook it off.

"Later," He thought. "They'll be time for that later."

Right now he had to think of a way to bring this monster down.

He looked up at the ceiling above his head.

"Mom, I could sure use some help about now..." he whispered.

Then he saw the way out.

"I've only got one shot at this..." Balto thought. "I probably won't survive a second one."

Steele laughed.

"Angels sure do burn well." he said.

Balto ran at the creature.

Shaulaaine sensed something behind him, and turned, swatting Balto out of the air.

Balto flew back about ten feet before he hit the column...

... went through it.

Balto slammed to the ground amid crumbling rock, and felt something in his right front leg snap.

"Well I thought I'd only have one shot." He thought.

Balto looked up to see the ceiling crack.

"It's going to work!" Balto thought.

He stood up and ran, or as best he could run on three legs anyway, toward Jenna, but then he heard a crunch, and looked up to see a piece of the cling lodge at the top of the column, holding it up.

"No!" He yelled.

"An admirable effort wolf dog." Steele said. "I never said you were stupid..."

He laughed.

"Wait a minute, yes I did didn't I? Well you are, and now you will...."

Steele was cut off by a scream.

He looked over to see Jenna fall to the ground, the same blue arcs raging across and through her.

He laughed.

"Looks like I was right. I gave her two days."

He looked at Balto.

"That's right wolfie, your beloved Jenna will be dead soon, and there's nothing you can do about it."

On the Platform, Jenna's mind was racing.

"Why should I do this, he was going to kill me?" She thought. "You aren't supposed to exist anyway, she is." Another voice shouted back. "Still, you can live!" The first voice shouted again. "Yeah," She thought, "Balto tried to kill me, why should I care about.... him."

Jenna hung her head.

"I love you Balto, enough.. even for this, I hope you know."

Then she leapt off the platform, sprinting for the guardian.

"What are you doing?!" Steele yelled.

"Jenna NO!" Balto yelled.

Jenna leapt up, soaring toward the creature's back.

Shaulaaine once again sensed something behind him, and thurst his spike backwards, right into Jenna's throat.

She screamed, and started to shake, then slid off the spike to the ground.

In her place was a glowing blue image of herself.

As Balto watched, the creature pushed it's spike deeper into her, and she screamed anew.

Jenna started to turn red, and then her scream was silenced, as she, like