Jack hacked for a few moments, seeing as he just had deadly poison spurt out of his nose in a weirdass sneeze. He wiped it on his gauntlet, before healing the wound. "I don't really give a damn what a Supreme Arch is right now, as long as you get these kids out of here." He said. He looked to Marshall. "That means you, kid."

Marshall pointed to himself. "Me?"

"Yes, you." Jack replied with a sigh.

"You'll die if you fight Kaimiri alone, Jack Atlas." Uriel said, lowering his hood and unblocking his aura. "I cannot let you do this."

"Frankly, you don't have a choice, since you're the only one here who can get these kids out of here." Jack replied. "Don't worry about me. I'll port back to my own time once you're back with Kamikaze."

Laria gasped.
"P....P....papa? Y...y....you're a supreme angel?" she stammered. Amelia helped Marshall and Yurine to get away.

Uriel nodded, working on a healing spell on Yurine. He was transferring some of his power to her as well, to aid in her regaining strength. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to reveal this to you, not until you were ready to succeed me."

"Succeed you?" Laria asked, "I...I'm not succeeding you. I'm not powerful as you papa." That was followed by a laugh by Kaimiri.

(Why no IM?)

"Not yet, but you will be." Uriel said. Seeing as my time is running out.

The small group looked to where Kaimiri was standing, laughing. Lying bleeding on the ground, unconscious, was Jack Atlas. "Well, it looks like you aren't going anywhere after all." The dark god said.

"JACK!" Laria cried and rushed to Jack's aid. Then she looked up at him.
"I swear, by the sun and the moon, you will die by my hand and my hand alone" she growled.

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Kaimiri said. "Because you'll already be dead."

Uriel stepped between Kaimiri and Laria. "Go. Help Marshall and Amelia get Yurine Fudo out of here." He said. His face deepened into a scowl. "I'll take care of Kaimiri. He isn't the only one here with the powers of a god."

"But I'm still here" Laria replied, "And as you are well aware, I can hurt you by day and asorb you attacks by night." That made both Kaimiri and Uriel freeze.

"Ruled by the sun and moon," Uriel murmured. He shook his head slightly and held is arms out in front of him. Ice-white fire ignited along the length of his arms, which were sheathed in metal gauntlets of Atlantean design. "That's yet another reason you need to get the rest out of here." He said. "I can send Jack Atlas to his own time, with a message for Yusei Fudo. The young man needs healing, and bad."

"Right" Laria said, "But why me?"

"I wish I could tell you, but I honestly don't know." Uriel said. The energy around his arms crackled, and indigo static crackled through his hair. "Go. Now. I'll hold him off."

"I'm NOT leaving your side papa" Laria said, "and you can't force me to go."

"Just like your mother," Uriel sighed. "If you're that determined, then fine. Can you handle Yurine on your own, Marshall Atlas?"

Marshall nodded. The weird levels were off the charts for him right now, and it was setting his teeth on edge. "Good. Then go."

Kaimiri snorted. "I don't think so." He snapped, and a force field erected itself around the group. "Nobody can leave this space. Not even you two, Uriel and Laria."

"Hence why you are stubborn" Laria sighed, "as a time guardian traniee, i knew this would happen."

"You aren't the only one." Uriel said. "Marshall. Heal Yurine as best you can. I will return Jack to his timeframe."

Marshall nodded and went to his task, the tone in the angel's voice not being one for arguing. He didn't have much energy to spare, but he did what he could. From the looks of it, at least, Yurine was conscious enough to add her power to the healing as well, bringing the bleeding down to a not-so-scary level. Hang in there, Yurine. He thought desperately.

Amelia froze as Kaimiri's eyes landed on her.
What is he going to do now? she thought as he walked over to her. Then he did something that no-one expected.
He kissed her. While that was going on, Laria mindlinked Melhana.
'Emerald is a go, I repeat, Emerald is a go' she said. Emerald was the code name for the raid.

Melhana looked up from her phone, where she was watching an anime. She turned her attention to the room at large. "It's time." She said.

Selena nodded. "I'll have my implant off for the whole raid, so you'll have to contact me via mindlink." She said. "The rest of you ready?"

The group nodded, and Yuma gulped. He looked nervous and scared, and she could see that Astral was agitated as well. Dartz, at Selena's request, had given Yuma the job of carrying the portable defibrillator. The reason they were bringing the medical device was because, once they found Ryoga, they were going to break the collar off of him. With luck, they'd be able to do a defib and get his heart restarted. As such, Yuma and Astral were going to be staying with Selena, whereas Dartz was with Atem and Melhana.

As they set out, Selena turned off her implant and sent a mindlink to Yugi: 'We're coming, buddy. It's our turn to save you.'

---

Kaimiri savored the moment, tasting Amelia as he kissed her gently, tenderly. As he did so, he implanted a bit of his power in her.

They won't be able to detect it, not even a guardian of time or a supreme arch angel, he thought. They won't know it's there until the last minute, not even Amelia.

"And why did you want my help?" Rei asked, "I'm not at full strength yet."
"Don't ask me" Aria replied, "Ask Melhana."

---

Amelia pushed Kaimiri away.
"You are a sick little creep!" she growled as she preparing for an attack.
"Careful" Laria said.

"We'll need all the strength we can get." Melhana said. "Haine and Sakura can't be released yet, or we'd have two Swordsmen instead of just one."

"Speaking of which, where is Marshall?" Aoitori--who'd been approached by Atem and had everything explained to him--asked. "Yurine and Jiyann, too. I'm the only one here!"

---

"I wouldn't attack him if I were you." Uriel said. "He might be planning something."

"Right you are, Uriel." Kaimiri said with a sneer. "This." And he sent a shadow lightning bolt at Marshall and Yurine.

"NO!" Uriel shouted, jumping into the path of the bolt. He took the attack, and intense pain erupted all over his body as the dark energy-fueled electricity pumped through every nerve and every cell in his body.

"PAPA!" Laria cried as she rushed towards Uriel, at the same moment as Lanchia appeared. A bust of rose filled the air.
"It's a shame that we have to loose you so suddenly" she said, "luckly for you Laria, this the Uriel of this time, not of your own time."
"But...."

Marshall watched as the angel took the attack, and heard his scream of pain. It made Marshall wince, to hear that kind of screech come out of someone, preternatural or not. If Kaimiri can do that to an angel with the power level Uriel has, then I'd hate to see what he can do to a human....

Lanchia handed Laria a mirror. It was similar to the Crimson Mirror.
"Use this to contact to your own time" she said, "I have to take Uriel of this time back, so the Queen can say her goodbyes before he reincarnates for another time for the final chaper. And sadly, he volonteered." She went over and lifted Uriel up.

"Wait; he's going to die?!" Marshall asked in disbelief.

"Yes and no" Lanchia replied, "Yes he is going to die, but no, it's one of two ways. Recarnation is the nicest one, since when your new life die, you can come back. I can't explain what the second way is." And with that, she left with Uriel back to the angel plane.

Marshall looked from the spot where Lanchia had dissapeared with the dying Uriel to Laria, his eyes wide with fear. "Uh, we still have a criminally insane god of destruction to deal with!" He said, sounding like he had gotten hit in the crotch.