To Save the Worlds
by Monica Rose, Qmodo

Chapter 6

The entrance to the garage was blocked by armored trucks, obviously the work of the invaders who were firing viciously upon the base security personnel. The gap between the trucks and where security crouched behind their vehicles was only a hundred feet, but seeing the other side was difficult. The air was blue with powder smoke and the acrid smell bit her nose and throat.

The setting was somehow exhilarating to her. She had not seen this kind of combat since she was Michael in Afghanistan. There was bloodlust all around her. She could feel how much everyone wanted to destroy their opponents. It would be so easy to feed those emotions and let them all loose in a berserker's rage.

As her own desire for death and destruction threatened to spiral out of control, a calmer part of her mind seemed to speak to her. This was not what she was there for. Someone she cared for was in that building and she needed Alexa's help. The realization that she was in danger of losing control sobered her. Pausing to take some deep breaths, she centered herself and prepared to finish her mission.

The invaders of the armory concentrated their firing at her almost exclusively when she stepped onto the field. The invisible barrier she had surrounded herself with kept bullets from reaching her, but it did nothing for the noise from the automatic weapons. The gunfire petered out as she passed out of view of the gunmen. Those who were foolish enough to expose themselves to shoot at her were fired upon by the soldiers from the base.

When it became apparent that the intruders were more intent upon stopping Alexa than shooting at them, the soldiers from the base security set out to follow her. There had been shouts of 'Get down!' and 'Get back!' when she had first stepped out, but that had stopped when they saw that she was somehow impervious to the bullets being fired at her.

She passed between the two trucks, followed by several soldiers. The remainder of her impromptu force flowed around the ends of the trucks. A large group of men confronted her as she stepped into the open, all of them armed. Because she was a single target, only the leading three or four men were actually able to shoot at her.

Taking a moment to look at her attackers, she saw that they had a manic expression on their faces as they tried to kill her. The battle dynamics changed as the men behind her made their presence known, showing no compunction in firing into the crowd in front of them. At the same time, the rest of the force attacked from behind. In the end, Alexa's shield stopped perhaps a dozen bullets. She had not used her batons even once.

From everything Alexa had seen, the intruders were crazed killers, regardless of who they might have been before. She did not attempt to stop the soldiers who had attached themselves to her from shooting them.

She scanned the small battlefield they had walked into and saw that the only dead were the intruders. Her men had managed to take them almost by surprise and had not suffered anything more than slashes or other non-fatal injuries. She noted absently that Nyx and Erebus had recruited only men. Either they were as sexist as most military leaders or they had not found women susceptible to their manner of corruption. The only woman she saw was Erebus herself. The goddess appeared to have suffered two or three gunshots early in the conflict. Her body lay at the back of the garage area and Alexa walked over to check. It was obvious that Erebus was no longer among the living. Apparently, she had truly been as mortal as anyone else.

Alexa was relieved that Harmony was not present, but Alexa had already been certain of that. If Harmony had been hurt or killed, she would have known it immediately.

The garage was a typical loading dock area. There were a couple of trucks parked to one side in addition to the larger vehicles that blocked the entrance. There were doors at the back that flanked a large entry door that would accommodate racks or carts of equipment. She focused on the large fire door that was built for people instead. That was sure to lead to where Harmony was. Ignoring everything else, she set off at a determined pace toward that door, followed by calls of 'Wait!' or 'Stop!'. She paid no attention to the group of men who formed up behind her.

Shotgun blasts greeted her as she threw open the door. Four large men stood in the corridor, obviously left as the next line of defense by Nyx. They were not wearing uniforms, so they must be part of the cadre Nyx and Erebus had recruited. The two who had fired at her were moving out of the way of the others so that they could take their turn. They never had a chance though as she launched herself forward into the group. They barely had time to register that their target had not fallen but was attacking instead. Her batons made short work of them all as she danced among the four. Short strokes, driven by her enhanced strength left them unconscious on the floor and with broken limbs. While they might merit capital punishment, she had determined that the Avatar of War would not leave a trail of blood and death until such time that she could not help it.

She strode down the corridor, ignoring blast doors on either side with their locks and seals still intact. Behind her, an entire squad of men followed her, almost like an honor guard. More soldiers filtered in from the garage to help secure the building. No one was trying to stop her. They weren't even sure if they could be of assistance but they didn't want to abandon her.

At some point, Alexa reached a section of the corridor where it widened out for another door. Instead of its being a blast door, it obviously lead into some sort of conference room with the requisite tables and chairs. She stood before the doors, listening to her inner sense. She knew that Nyx was in there as well as Harmony.

She turned to the men who had bunched up behind her. "Stay out here," she said, her command reinforced by the power of War. The soldiers acknowledged her order with a silent nod.

The doors opened outward and she pulled them both open. Being designed to close slowly after opening, they did not touch her as she stepped through. As she entered, she swung her combat batons up to block the sword that Nyx swung at her. She was glad that her weapons were reinforced because the sword bade stopped dead upon impact. Even with the strength that being an avatar endowed her with, the impact was enough to numb her hands with the vibrations. Still, she forced the sword down and to the floor in a single fluid motion. The sword still had enough energy in it that the point of the blade buried itself more than an inch into the concrete.

Alexa finished entering the room and was able to see Harmony to one side of the room, tied securely to a chair and lit by a spotlight.

She faced Nyx as the woman raised her sword again. "Hello, Nyx. I can't say I'm surprised that you would try to ambush me." Nyx stood a few inches taller, which put Alexa at a disadvantage with Nyx's longer reach and the length of her sword. She wasn't overly concerned about this though. Her greater speed and dexterity would let her use the batons to block any sword strike. Her increased strength was an added plus.

"You little bitch!" Nyx snarled. "You have been a pain in my ass since I got here. Don't you realize what we are trying to do? When we are finished, you will be the most powerful person on the planet!" The woman was practically spitting as she spoke.

Alexa smiled thinly as she tried to circle the goddess. The soldiers who had been following her stayed grouped in the corridor. The ones in the lead had seen Nyx waving her sword around and wisely followed Alexa's instruction to remain in the corridor, keeping everyone back. Enough of them had seen things they did not understand, but they knew that spraying bullets around would not help. It might even result in greater danger to themselves or the base. The doors were allowed to swing closed so that Nyx would not be able to harm anyone in the corridor.

"Give me a clue," Alexa said. "What should I be thanking you for?" The missile that was supposed to kill me in Afghanistan? Or is it for the beating I got in the barracks? I have no doubt that your thugs at the airport would have been just as happy to leave me dead when they tried to grab Harmony.

"You and your sister have left a trail of death across the world and I'm certainly not going to thank you for that. I don't know how long you have been at this, but I intend to stop it."

The conference room was large, with a high ceiling. It had apparently been converted from one of the munitions storage rooms. The contents of the conference room had been piled to one side of the room, leaving a plenty of space to move around in. Alexa could see that Nyx would be able to attack with downward strikes of her sword which would be hard to defend against with just her batons.

Nyx had positioned herself between Alexa and Harmony, obviously aware that she would lose any leverage over Alexa if she allowed the two women to reach each other. Alexa's greatest fear was that Nyx would decide to kill Harmony out of hand. The only way to prevent that was to keep the woman focused upon her.

She held her batons before her in a combat ready stance. They weren't as intimidating as the sword Nyx brandished, but she had already demonstrated that she could use them to block the sword. As she attempted to move around Nyx, it forced the goddess to move forward to keep Alexa back. She saw Nyx glance at the door a couple of times while the two of them engaged in their dance. Nyx was obviously waiting for her sister to arrive and change the dynamics of the fight.

Alexa attempted to distract her by talking while trying to circle around. "Do you really plan to destroy the world?" she asked. "What will that accomplish?"

"We are going to return the cosmos back to what it was on the eve of creation. Chaos and disorder existed before anything else and we will have it again! We will guide the formation of the worlds." Nyx had a half-crazed expression as she declared their plans. She had obviously glossed over the fact that destroying all worlds also meant that they would have no believers and that they would also cease to exist. It would be up to the Creator to start things over at that point.

While Nyx had been taking looks toward the door, Alexa had been glancing over at Harmony. She looked okay, just tied very tightly in the chair, the gag in her mouth just as tight. It was obvious she was very uncomfortable, if not in pain. Nyx and Erebus would not have been concerned about her comfort. Alexa wracked her brain trying to think of a way to stop Nyx and save the woman she already cared for.

The world seemed to slow down as she considered plans and possibilities. In raw terms, this was nothing more than a knife fight and she was using a club. But her odds were far better than if Nyx were using a gun. Alexa could see that Nyx had no place on her body to conceal that kind of weapon. The downside of this fight was that Nyx was using a knife that was almost four feet long and she held it like a pro. But Alexa was just as capable with her batons as Nyx was with her sword.

Once she had reduced things to a simpler form, a plan of action came to her. But she needed to act before Nyx realized that her sister was not coming.

She moved forward, feinting with one hand. Once she was inside Nyx's ability to swing her sword, the advantage of the longer weapon was removed. This reduced Nyx to only using the sword to slash, which Alexa was able to bat away.

Nyx realized that she was at a disadvantage almost immediately and fell back a step or two, Alexa advancing to make sure that she stayed too close for Nyx to use the sword. As she did so, the long sword Nyx held morphed into a much shorter blade. It was still longer than a regular knife, but it was not the sword she had been swinging around. Then, a second blade appeared in her other hand.

Nyx sneered at her and said, "I think that this will even things up now. You have two weapons and I have two."

Still on guard, Alexa smiled thinly and said, "That's true. But I know how to use mine. Do you?"

Her jibe had the desired result as Nyx lunged at her, swinging at her with one blade and trying to stab her with the other. Alexa handled the attack with ease as she had mastered this kind of combat long ago, both as Michael and as Alexa. As long as she remained ready to attack, Nyx could not direct any kind of attack at Harmony. But Alexa needed to get Harmony to safety. The blade Nyx swung at her was deflected away and she sidestepped the stabbing thrust.

As a result, Nyx stumbled past her because Alexa was not there to absorb the momentum of her attack and Alexa found herself between the fallen goddess and Harmony. She smiled in satisfaction at the move and began backing to where Harmony was seated.

Nyx whirled, still holding her knives. Seeing that she had been feinted out of position, she snarled in fury. "Bitch! She is still going to die. One way or another!"

Nyx threw one of her knives, almost seeming to just flick her wrist, and it flew from her hand at Harmony. Alexa leaped forward at the blade as it went past and grabbed the handle. She used the knife's momentum and her own to deflect the knife's path and to then land almost beside Harmony. She smiled triumphantly at stopping the attack, but her smile was wiped away abruptly as she was staggered back by the impact of Nyx's second knife slamming into her belly.

She knew that the damage was serious, but not fatal. She had already learned that being an avatar would help her heal rapidly from her injuries. But she was incapacitated long enough that was unable to prevent Nyx from stepping up and driving a newly formed sword blade into Harmony's abdomen. Harmony screamed into the gag in her mouth, the pain and fear she felt still coming through.

Nyx turned to Alexa and smiled in triumph. "I told you. We win and you will be the most powerful person in the world. And you will destroy the world for us."

Alexa looked up at Nyx, her face a mix of despair and hate. "That might be, but you and your sister won't see it." She pulled the knife out of her belly and blood reddening her clothes. "Your sister is laying outside in the garage and you…" Alexa drove the knife up into Nyx's midriff. The goddess's expression was a mask of pain and shock and Alexa continued, "…are just as dead."

She did not watch Nyx's body collapse as she fell to her knees beside Harmony. She pulled the sword out of Harmony using it to cut away the ropes holding her prisoner before dropping it to the floor. She removed the gag from her mouth and Alexa pulled her close, completely ignoring the additional blood. She knew that Harmony would not enjoy the same advantages of healing that she had been given. She laid Harmony out on the floor in order to get access to her wound. It wasn't a very large cut, but it was bleeding freely pulsing in time with her heartbeat. Alexa tried to hold the wound closed, but she could feel how bad the internal damage was.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Her tears blurred her vision. "I tried to save you. I love you."

Harmony gasped, blood soaking through her front. "I love you too. I wanted to be with you too." She lifted a shaky hand to brush some of Alexa's hair away from the side of her head. "You need to get your ears pierced." Then her hand dropped to her side.

Alexa drew a deep breath and choked out a sob that communicated her pain and loss. She hugged Harmony's body to her, not wanting to accept her loss. She had lost teammates before and had been with some of them when they passed, but she had never felt it this deeply. She knew that Harmony would quickly go limp and start to cool, but she refused to accept it. She cursed at herself for the fumbled planning and protection she had provided.

Giving in to reality, she laid Harmony's body down on the concrete floor and arranged her hands to conceal the wound that had killed her. With the loss of Harmony, it felt like she had lost a part of herself that she did not even know she had. As she cried, she felt that she could understand what poets meant about heartbreak because it felt like she was being torn in two.

Her eyes fell on the sword that had killed the woman she loved. In that moment, that sword became the focus of everything that had gone wrong with her mission and the mistakes she had made. With a scream, she grabbed up the sword and drove it almost halfway into the concrete. A single sidewise pull snapped the blade off at the floor.

The soldiers who had begun entering the room pulled up short at Alexa's painful shriek. They looked at each other, not sure how to react or what to say to her. Most of them had seen her outside and literally ignored bullets being fired at her. Then she had swept through men like a farmer with a scythe to reach the demon woman that had taken over the building. All they could do now was watch helplessly as Alexa sat on the floor sobbing.

Eventually, she had cried herself out and one of the men deemed it okay to approach her. "Ma'am? We will move the bodies to a holding room near the garage. I promise that we will treat your friend as if she is one of our own. If you have any special instructions for us, we will follow them."

Alexa nodded. She looked up at the soldier. "Thank you. This was Harmony Moon. She was the lead negotiator for U. N. peace missions. We should return her body to New York. I will escort her back."

Emotionally and physically spent, her attention was focused solely upon the soldier standing beside her. She saw nothing else, so it was a major shock to her when a hand brushed the hair away from the side of Alexa's face. A soft voice said, "We definitely need to get your ears pierced."

Alexa's head snapped up to look into Harmony's blue eyes. As she took in Harmony sitting before her with her legs curled under, her shock turned into a smile that almost literally lit her face with joy.

"I was sure that Nyx had killed you!" Alexa said, her smile almost making it hard to speak.

"I don't know," Harmony replied. "Maybe she did and I got over it. Is that her?" She gestured to Nyx's body. "I heard you say that Erebus was killed, so does that mean that this is over?"

Alexa did not answer her. She just swept Harmony into a tight hug and began to cry again. Harmony joined her, both were smiling like mad men. The men who had entered the room to remove Nyx and Harmony's bodies elected to return to the corridor until the two women were ready to leave.

"I need some new clothes," Harmony said. "These are pretty much a lost cause." She gestured to her blood-soaked clothes. She held her blouse closed with one hand.

"We should be able to take care of that," Alexa replied with a smile. "If security has not started the cleanup at those barracks, we can retrieve our bags. But I don't think I want to be there for any longer than that." She gave a brief summary of what had happened after Harmony had been taken away.

They got to their feet and made their way out of the building, nodding to the soldiers that they passed. Once out to the loading docks, they saw the men Alexa had incapacitated being secured for transport. There were multiple lines of shrouded bodies laid out across the floor of the garage area, the casualties of the occupation of the armory.

Alexa sought out the officer in charge of investigating the whole incident. She didn't envy the man even a little bit. He actually deserved her sympathy. He had multiple crime scenes to deal with, security breaches to investigate, and the various links to others across the world. While his career would benefit from this work, he and many others would be working on this case for a very long time.

She and Harmony were striking figures among all of the security and medical staff that were rushing about as their clothes gave the appearance that they had been bathed in blood. No one tried to stop them as they walked through the pandemonium. They had to wait a few minutes as various soldiers reported to him and got direction from him. Once he was available, Alexa briefed him on what had happened in the conference room, even though she knew that runners had preceded them. She kept him from asking questions about their clothes by explaining that there was another crime scene on the base that he might not be aware of as yet and she promised to report it to base security as soon as she returned there.

Before he had a chance to stop them, she and Harmony walked away and into a small equipment room. The moment that she was sure they were out of sight, Alexa turned to Harmony and put an arm around her. Drawing upon War's ability to home in on locations of conflict, she searched for where conflict had been recently and was able to identify the barracks they had been living in. It only took a thought for Alexa to transport the two of them to where their luggage was.

"That's an entertaining way to get around," Harmony said. "You didn't tell me that you could do that."

Alexa's smile was sheepish. "I didn't know I could until just after they took you away from me."

"Is it part of being an avatar?" That would mean I can do it too!" Harmony's eyes were wide with excitement.

Alexa expected that L would not want mortals exercising god-like powers on a regular basis.

"I think that I’m a special case actually. War gave me some of his abilities so that I could protect you properly. But I did not know what I could do until I fully accepted being War's avatar. If I had actually gotten my head out of my butt, we could have avoided all of this and you would not have been killed."

Harmony shrugged and sat down on the boxes of supplies that had remained in the room. "Maybe," she replied. "But I've found that things often happen for a reason. After all, if we had been able to escape earlier, they would still be chasing us. I'll admit that I could have done without being stabbed through the heart with a sword, but I really don't remember much of that. There was some pain and I remember talking to you for a moment. Then I woke up."

"That's probably a good thing," Alexa said, nodding in acknowledgement. She looked around. "We should take care of our stuff here before we call base security. They might already be on the way here anyway. I would imagine that the entire base is on a major alert right now. We'll have to come up with a good story for them."

They both skinned out of their bloody garments. As Harmony removed her blouse, Alexa stared at the exposed skin on her chest.

"The spot where Nyx stabbed you isn't even there!" she exclaimed. "The only way you would know that you had been hurt is from all of the blood on your clothes."

Harmony brushed the spot where the sword had entered her chest.

"I can't say that I'm surprised. Considering what we have been through in the past few days. Not having a cut or scar on our bodies is just another thing. You're doing pretty good for yourself, considering that you took a knife to your gut." She grinned at Alexa.

Alexa blinked in surprise. In all of her concern for Harmony, she had forgotten that she had suffered her own injuries during her fight with Nyx. She finished removing her own top and looked at her middle. Sure enough, the skin was completely unmarked. She looked up at Harmony, her amazed look morphing into a grin to match Harmony's.

"Let's get cleaned up before we get invaded by everyone who is not at the armory."

Dropping the remainder of their clothing, they scrambled to the shower. They took turns washing the other's hair, back, and fronts. Washing was interrupted at times by hugs, caresses, and kisses. When they started to get pruny, they agreed that they needed to remember where they were and to get moving again.

The apartment itself was clean, even though bags had been searched and the contents left half-strewn on the floor. The mess did not prevent them from quickly finding towels and clothes. They dressed quickly and hurriedly stuffed clothing and documents that they needed into bags. The documentation might help them deal with the military in the long run. Alexa fully expected that they would find themselves in custody for a number of hours.

When they were ready, they stepped into the corridor to leave. Even though it had been a handful of hours since they were attacked, the area smelled like a slaughter house. Bodies littered the floor. Even knowing that these men had been supporting Nyx and Erebus and had demonstrated their willingness to engage in violence, the loss of life was saddening.

"On the bright side," Alexa said, 'the world should be more stable with Nyx and Erebus gone."

Harmony nodded grimly. "Maybe my job will get easier too."

Going down to the parking lot of the barracks, it was easy to flag down soldiers in a passing jeep. When Alexa informed them of the situation inside and that they needed to notify the colonel at the armory, their status as anonymous civilians in the wrong place was upgraded to quasi-prisoner.

They were treated politely enough and guns were never pointed directly at them. Alexa had the impression that their guards were partly afraid of them and partly wanting to be friends. She suspected that it was due to the aura she was still projecting as War.

They allowed themselves to be escorted to the base security offices where they were placed in a conference room.

"At least we aren't locked in cells," Harmony said with a half-smile.

"That's true," Alexa agreed. "The good thing is that we now have the time to relax. Anyone who was employed by Nyx and Erebus or worshipped them in some way are pretty much harmless now. But we need to be on the watch for any potential dangers to us."

They sat in the conference room for hours. Decent food was provided when they were hungry and they were escorted to the facilities as necessary, but they had nothing to pass the time except to talk. The two women found it to be a perfect opportunity to learn even more about each other.

At long last, the colonel in charge of security appeared.

"Ladies," he began politely. "I really don't know if you are the reason or the cause of this disasters. To tell the truth, it doesn't really matter. After we reviewed your documents and reported it up the line, I was ordered to extend all courtesies and to facilitate your return to Washington. You don't look like you are involved with counterespionage, but that is what it sounds like." He looked expectantly at them for a moment before seeing that no kind of confirmation was forthcoming.

"Now, I am currently in command of the base and the general who would be standing here would be more likely to try to hold on to you. For no other reason than because he could. Since he is still on a plane back from the U. S. and I have not received orders to the contrary, I am going to get you out of here." His expression when he referred to the general communicated his general feelings about the man.

He looked directly at Alexa as he said, "From the reports I have seen so far, you were instrumental in neutralizing the terrorists who took over the armory and prevented them from gaining access to any serious weapons. I was to personally thank you for that. I think you should know that the bodies of both women disappeared from the armory and I can't explain how or why."

Wide-eyed, Alexa and Harmony exchanged looks. The disappearance of their bodies could mean almost anything.

Alexa looked the colonel in the eye and said, "There is a great deal that I am not permitted to share with you, Colonel. I know for a fact that those two women were mortal and they are dead. I don't know why their bodies are gone, but I'm sure that we do not need to worry about it for now. I will make sure that my superiors are aware of what has happened." Some of Alexa's command voice came through in her speech and the colonel could only nod in agreement. She hoped that what she had told the officer was true. She also knew that her statements only reinforced his suspicions of who they might be.

In less than an hour, the ladies were escorted to the airport and put aboard a chartered flight back to the United States. Even though they were the only passengers, the flight still boasted a pair of flight attendants who treated them like royalty. After enjoying a meal that was no longer found on commercial flights, the two of them spent the rest of the flight asleep in each other's arms.

* * * * *

Instead of Washington, they discovered that their flight had been directed to New York instead. Alexa was not concerned as she already had experience with Stoddard and how he had essentially been a sleeper agent for L. It wouldn't surprise her to find that the pilots were not beholding to L as well.

They were met at the hangar by Kemel. Instead of the yellow taxicab Alexa had last seen him in, he was driving a limousine instead.

"Hello, Kemel," Alexa said. "It's good to see you again."

Harmony looked at her with a confused frown.

Alexa smiled at her and said, "Kemel drove me to the airport when I came to meet you in Britain. Of course, he was driving a cab then."

Kemel nodded respectfully to both women. "I have several vehicles at my disposal. It just depends upon the particular occasion." Alexa noted how his expression changed slightly when he said vehicles, but it seemed that Harmony missed it. There was probably more to Kemel than was apparent, but she was not going to pursue it now.

They were ushered to the car and relaxed while Kemel navigated traffic. Eventually, arrived in the square that was overlooked by the hotel.

Pulling over to the curb, Kemel said, "We're here, ladies."

"Thank you, Kemel. Please have a good day," Alexa said as she turned to leave the car. Before she could open the door, it was opened by Horace who held his hand out to assist them out of the vehicle.

As Harmony prepared to leave, she added her thanks, "Thank you, Kemel. It was nice to have met you."

Kemel turned in his seat to look at her. "The pleasure was all mine, ma'am. Thank you for what you have done."

The limousine pulled away after Horace finished taking their bags from the trunk. He handled the cart he was using easily and gestured that the ladies should follow him.

He held the door for them and Alexa favored him with a smile as she passed into the lobby. L and Luk stood in the lobby waiting for her. They both gave her a brief welcoming bow as they entered.

Alexa responded with a deep bow. She had learned a great deal about them and herself over the past week. Her world was certainly much more than she knew. In fact, the universe was larger than she could even imagine and she and Harmony were important parts of it.

"Ladies," L said, "your room is ready for you. We would like to speak to you both before you retire first."

"Yes, of course," Alexa responded.

L gestured to the back of the lobby where the wall dissolved into an opening filled with haze.

"Wasn't there a restaurant back there before?" Alexa asked. She really was not surprised at the change. After what she had experienced, having the building change itself on the whim of its proprietor was a minor thing.

"We don't need the restaurant right now," L said. "But we do have a meeting to go to." L escorted the two of them back to the apparent portal, Luk slightly behind him. They stepped into the haze, Harmony hesitating slightly but encouraged to continue by Alexa's grasp on her hand.

They found themselves in the outdoor amphitheater that Alexa recognized from her first meeting with Peace and War. Once again, the seats along the hillside were filled with gods wearing a wide variety of clothing.

Peace and War stood waiting on the dais. Both wore satisfied smiles. They nodded their thanks to L before turning to Alexa and Harmony.

Peace stepped forward to Harmony. Harmony looked both confused and very happy as Peace embraced her in welcome. "Welcome my avatar. It is good to be able to meet you." Harmony could only smile and nod her head in acknowledgement.

At the same time, War stood before Alexa and held out his hand. As Alexa took his hand in hers, he said, "Good job. It took you longer than I expected to step into your role, but you did good." Alexa's smile was broad as she nodded her thanks.

"Thank you, Guardian," Peace said as she strode over to Alexa. "Harmony Moon recovered quickly because you shared your own life force with her. It was a great sacrifice you made."

"Well, I did have an extra helping of life, ma'am," she replied, giving War a long look. He looked away after meeting her gaze for a moment, but he smiled at her before he did so. "I've come the care a great deal for Harmony, ma'am. I did not realize what was happening at the time. "

War was solemn, a stark difference from the cocky attitude Alexa had seen on her first day. "I don't believe that you understand, Alexa," he said. "You gave her some of your own life force to bring her back to life when she died, even though you were gifted with more than normal."

Alexa frowned. That had to be the tearing sensation she felt when she had held Harmony when Nyx had stabbed her. It had been barely noticeable in her grief. Then she had been so relieved when she realized that Harmony had not died after all. But, if Harmony had died, had she brought her back as they said?

L stepped up beside the other two gods. He looked appraisingly at Alexa, almost as if he could see through her.

"You have done well, Alexa," he said. "Your actions have ensured the safety of us all and the stability of the worlds we all live in. We owe you a great deal." His statement seemed to hang in the air as he finished.

It took her a moment to realize that everything seemed to have stopped again. The only ones apparently still active were herself and L. He stood there studying her, as if waiting on some action from her.

She stood still, thinking. She had returned here to make sure that she was no longer required by War and Peace. Surely things were going to be okay because Nyx and Erebus were gone. That meant that her presence as Alexa was no longer necessary and she could return to being Michael. Was that what she wanted though? If Michael became real again, he would be considered to be some sort of war criminal. That was a minor issue when compared with the fact that the time spent with Harmony would probably be lost. It meant that he would need to win Harmony over from the beginning. Knowing what she knew now, she was not confident that Michael could do that.

"What happens next," she asked L.

"We will return you to being Michael Davis and you can resume your life," he answered.

This was what she had guessed would happen. "Does it have to happen like that? Couldn't I stay like this?"

L smiled at her, actually looking at her. "We are at a point in time where we can do anything we want," he said gravely. "You can remain as Alexa Concordia Davis forever. However, it is necessary that you are no longer the avatar of War."

Alexa nodded her understanding, her head shaking a bit too vigorously. Becoming a normal mortal was not as great a disappointment as the L seemed to think. Harmony cared for her as Alexa. She did not think that Harmony would accept Michael in the same way as she had Alexa.

"I can live with that," she said happily.

As she stated her agreement, she found her vision dimming. The last thing she saw was War stepping forward to catch her as she passed out. She did not see Peace acting to do the same for Harmony.

* * * * *

Epilogue

The two children slammed the screen door open as they ran into the backyard. The fenced yard was huge, with a swing set off to one side. The rest of the yard was completely open for whatever games the children might decide to play.

The two blonde women followed the kids through the door and set their lemonades on the patio table. They took seats under the umbrella so that they did not need to worry about getting sunburnt too quickly. They watched their son and daughter chase each other around the yard. When one caught the other, they would suddenly change direction and the one being chased would become the chaser.

The children were a study in contrasts. The boy was sturdily built, with black hair and dark eyes. His features hinted at having an olive complexion. The girl was just as well built, with golden blonde hair and green eyes. She was as fair skinned as her brother was swarthy.

While Alexa and Harmony watched their children play, they were themselves watched by the two invisible people on the hill beside them. The slightly glowing being beside L wore a simple white robe. It was impossible to tell if the angel was male or female as the features and build were entirely androgynous.

"You did well," it said to L. Even the voice made it impossible to say male or female.

"I did nothing. Alexa saved everything by stopping the renegades. She deserves her reward." L looked at Alexa with a bit of pride. All he had done was choose a likely candidate to fulfill the task. She had chosen her own path.

"The children of War and Peace should have interesting lives," the angel observed. "If there are ever any tests of the children, it will be difficult to explain how Harmony Moon and Alexa Davis are the parents of those two children."

"We will watch out for the children and their parents. Alexa and Harmony will remember nothing about us or having been avatars," L stated. "They will have happy lives and will be good parents. HE has nothing to worry about. Please thank HIM for everything we needed help with."

The angel turned to face L and placed both hands on his shoulders. "Tell HIM yourself, L. HE listens to your prayers too."

The two of them faded away to go about their own pursuits while Alexa and Harmony continued to watch their children chase each other.