tightening it against his throat. “Cleanse this!” he growled, forming a black tentacle of bacteria in the air, preparing to shoot it into Balto’s lungs. Balto desperately twisted one virus arm around Nemesis’ leg and stabbed its teeth into his thigh. He cried out and tried to move back, but Balto kept the teeth locked into his flesh. Becoming enraged, Nemesis shot streams of bacteria from his body, lifting off from the deck with Balto still attached to him. As they flew into the air, Balto created a stream of his own, propelling himself in different directions than Nemesis was trying to fly, disrupting their path of travel.

Jenna, Boris, Muk and Luk were shocked out of their observation of the fight when they noticed that the levitation streams, containing live airborne pathogens, were headed right for them. They dove out of the way, darting and dodging around the deck, making sure to keep as much distance as possible from the threatening columns.

It took several punches and a slash of claws to Balto’s hind leg, but Nemesis was finally able to force the virus arm biting his leg to let go, and the combatants separated. However, they hadn’t adjusted their levitation streams for keeping themselves aloft separately, and they began tumbling out of control, finally crashing into each other and falling to the ship, landing on the wheelhouse. Getting up, they struggled with one another, each trying to throw the other off the tilted roof. Balto won, seizing a loose board and breaking it against Nemesis’ leg, causing him to slip and fall, landing hard in the snow, finally seeming to tire. Balto leapt down, standing in front of the advance form as he got to his feet. “Had enough?” Balto asked. Nemesis snarled. “Not until you’re dead.” Balto shrugged his shoulders. “Fine.” He jumped forward suddenly and grabbed Nemesis, shoving a virus arm’s head into his mouth. Nemesis let out a shout and tried to push Balto away, but Balto wrapped his other virus arm around Nemesis’ neck, tightening it hard, choking the advance form and keeping his mouth open at the same time. He then let out the long tongue of the virus arm in Nemesis’ mouth, shoving it down his throat. The advance form began uttering gurgling cries of pain and anger as he struggled with Balto, finally getting a good hold on the virus arm in his mouth and shoving it out. He spluttered for a few moments as Balto backed away. “What was that for?” he said. Balto sat down calmly. “Have a taste of your own pathogen.” Nemesis laughed loudly. “If I had known you were that stupid…” His voice suddenly became horribly rasping, and he stopped speaking, standing there with a strange look on his face. Jenna had run down the ramp and around the ship, and she stopped beside Balto, unsure of what exactly he had done. Nemesis, however, was rapidly finding out; he coughed, thick and wet, holding his chest, taking wheezing breaths that were rapidly becoming more difficult. Suddenly, there was a wet ripping noise from Nemesis’ body, and he seized, grabbing the left side of his chest and screaming in agony. This was quickly followed by a similar sound, and Nemesis grabbed the right side of his chest as well, continuing to scream. He gasped for breath, his face contorted with pain, and let out a final yell as his chest seemed to expand with a noise like a loud, slimy burst. He stopped moving, stopped breathing, his eyes glazing as blood, gobbets of lung tissue, and pasty white necrotic cell matter dripped from his mouth, and collapsed on his back, dead.

It felt like a kick in the head to Sorrow, a sudden telepathic shockwave that nearly seemed to physically rattle his brain. He fell to one knee, shaking as he regained control of his body, finally standing up on unsteady legs. If it had been earlier in his plan, he may not have been able to tell what had happened, but as it were, he knew full well.

“Nemesis has failed,” he whispered, his voice containing disbelief, anger…and fear.

Balto went back up on the ship hastily, anxious to find if Boris, Muk, and Luk were hurt. “Are you alright?” he gasped. “Yes, yes,” Muk said. “But untie us, please!” Balto bit through the rope, releasing his friends. Boris was almost beside himself with worry at seeing the virus arms. “What happened to you, my boy? What in the world did this?” “A friend,” Balto replied. “He gave them to me to help me save you, and everyone else I know.” “So…everyone was going to be killed by these…beasts?” “Yes. The only reason they’re threatening you and the others is because they want to kill me.” “Ah, well. You’ve nearly gotten me killed so many times I’m used to it.” Balto chuckled, and Muk and Luk studied the virus arms. Luk hummed something, and Muk translated for Balto. “He says ‘are you a monster, too?’” Balto shook his head. “No. These things are living off my body, but they aren’t a part of my mind.” “Well,” said Boris, “I hope you can get rid of them when you’re done.” “Will there be more of them?” Muk asked fearfully. “I’m not sure,” said Balto. “I don’t know what their leader has left. The thing that attacked you may have been his last servant.” “Let’s hope so,” said Boris. “I can’t handle more than one monster attack a day.” Everyone laughed, and Balto and Jenna set off for town to have Boris, Muk, and Luk join Abaddon and the others.

By the time Balto and Jenna were able to return to the warehouse, there was a quite unexpected clue waiting for them. “Why do you think he brought this one so fast?” Jenna asked. “I don’t know,” Balto replied, “but there must be something different happening now.” He opened the envelope and took out the letter, which had a map on the back.

Balto,

I must announce to you that we have reached the end of our game of death. There is one final turn remaining. Follow the map on the back of this letter to reach an old boathouse. I will be waiting for you there, alone. No tricks. No traps. No jokes. This is where the final outcome is decided. If you beat me, I will return to the future and leave you and everyone else here in peace forever. But if I win, you will die. Be there later today.

Regards,

Sorrow