"Let's finish this, right here, right now."

Kuroyama looked in to the eyes of his enemy and he did not understand what he saw.

He had fought this man twice, once to a standstill and the second time he defeated him, but Kuroyama would swear that this was not the same man. However he knew it was and he charged toward him, brandishing the Honour Sword of the Clan Yashida, ready to take the man apart. The Hand and Wolverine's many enemies would celebrate the death of Logan across the world.

He could see the oncoming set of bone claws and Kuroyama knew where to strike with the sword so that he could remove Logan's other hand without taking a single strike and the sword cut through the air.

Yet the slice struck nothing as Logan anticipated, saw, twisted while retracting the claws and slammed the ball of his hand in to Kuroyama's face, the knuckles at the ends of his fingers striking the Black Mountain's eyes. Kuroyama didn't even see it coming and he fell back, dropping the Honour Sword, but as he landed he braced himself and leapt back up.

"Impressive," said Kuroyama. The months Logan had spent with Elektra had obviously been more than meditation. He had been training for this, he had to have been. Logan was undoubtedly good but that was the attack he'd expect of a Master.

"Bub, I'm the best there is." Logan seemed to read his mind and he gave that smile and Kuroyama was suddenly angered.

"We will see, mutant." He attacked, striking fast with hands, arms and legs, throwing shot after shot after shot after shot, varying in strength, height and style. Logan blocked them all and followed it with a roundhouse kick knocking Kuroyama on his back once again. Kuroyama couldn't believe it - it was as if he were fighting Ogun back at the dojo all those years ago.

Logan picked up the Honour Sword.

"You took yer best shot, bub. Now it's my turn."

Elektra knew what she had to do. She knew why she was here, and Logan, though she loved him and didn't doubt he would be able to kill Nina with ease, would not be able to do this.

It was a dark path she was on now, but she was an assassin, she had killed often and remorselessly and she had tried to put that behind her and put her life on the right tracks. However there were some things that were worth more than personal redemption and she had her sai ready to do what she needed to.

If she was right then Logan would have to go through Kuroyama to get to Nina, as he would have had to do with any father, but Elektra was different. They needed her for the birth, and she knew that there would only be a few moments after the birth when the Destroyer was vulnerable to attack. She knew of a creature called the Ens Entium, from the lore of the Chaste she had studied in her attempt to restore the order.

The pieces finally fit together when she first came to Ganna Nia, and she had been afraid of the future. She had lied to Logan, and he had believed her. He had no reason not to, but he did not understand the ways of the Hand as she did. Because Nina was undead she would have to kill her by beheading or something and that would not ensure the death of the Destroyer in the womb. Plus she would more than likely be surrounded by the High Priests of the hand, chanting their mantras and protecting the woman. To defeat them she needed to be on top of her game, and she knew there was sorrow in her heart that would prevent that.

No, she would let the child be born and she would look in to the eyes of pure evil before she slammed her sai in to it over and over again until the creature was most assuredly dead. Then she would kill Nina, something she knew must pass now. She had tried to save her, but she had failed. There were no options left.

The shade of Stick appeared before her, pointing in the right direction. She nodded, for no words needed to be said. He knew that this would cost her and that this was not her fight, but she was the one who must do this. She walked past him toward the chamber and Stick turned to Gateway.

I hope Logan forgives her for this.

He will, but it will not be enough.

What aren't you telling me?

She will fail.

No, that wasn't part of this.

It is too late.

I just sent her in there.

As you knew you must.

The Prophecy....

Will be fulfilled, it is Logan's destiny.

You set this up.

I serve a greater power.

This is why we threw you out.

The Path is greater than the Chaste.

What have I done?

You have....

What?

This cannot be.

What?

I must go.

Now?! Gateway? GATEWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The aborigine was gone, leaving Stick to do nothing more but watch this drama alone. Gateway had betrayed him once more, but he would not do so again and he went after his protégé, and watched as she struck out at the enemy who were guarding the antechamber.

There was a fury within her that she was unleashing because she knew what this might cost her. Logan had certain standards, a code of honour that he lived by. Killing a child was not something she was sure he could understand. If she lost him again, it would not be something she could forgive herself for and she did not know what she would do.

Her blades flashed and the Hand fell to the floor, blowing away on the breeze as they did so and soon there was none left, and Stick could see she had taken some hits on the way and she was bleeding. Her blood was the catalyst that would birth the Destroyer and the door opened before her, as slaves bid her enter.

Nina was lying on a stone altar in the middle of the room, surrounded by the high priests.

"Hello, Nina," said Elektra as she looked at her former friend.

"So you came," said Nina, sweating, pain in here eyes as the contractions continued. "So how is this going to be?" she asked, but not to Elektra and the young Greek turned to see her mentor, almost whole.

"Stick," she said.

"You are the Genesis," said Stick. "Elektra is the Origin. You know this already."

"So what does she do?" said Nina, taunting the powerless shade.

"She needs your blood, Elektra. That contains the mystic energy that will release the Ens Entium, the creature you call the Destroyer."

"And if I don't?" asked Elektra. Nobody made a move.

"Then they'll take it anyway." Stick looked down. "It shouldn't have happened like this, Elektra. I'm sorry." The High Priests pulled swords from their cloaks and Elektra knew she was outnumbered. However it fitted with her plan.

"No," she said as she walked over to Nina. "I give you my blood."

Stick watched as Elektra took a sai and sliced open the palm of her hand and let the blood flow freely.

"Place your hands on the child," said a priest, and Elektra stood between Nina's parted legs and reached to the crowning child, and she could feel the power of evil flowing in it. She could not break the contact with the child and she screamed in terror as the pain of the world passed through her as Nina began to push.

"Elektra!" said Kwannon, as she and Tarrant fought against the Hand army outside, and she grabbed her head in pain.

"What is it?" asked Tarrant.

"She's helping to unleash the Destroyer," said Kwannon in horror, her telepathy touching Elektra's mind. "I see her plan, but she can't succeed. Not without the Sword of Life."

"Damn it," said Tarrant. "Where the hell is this Wraith? He's suppoised ot have the weapon by now."

"I don't know," said Kwannon, but I have to warn Logan and Matsuo what's happening. They have to stop her, before she kills us all..."

This is one fight I feel I was born for.

I remember Kuroyama from when I was training with Ogun, and I've been trying to work this out, and this fight gives me the perfect opportunity. My sword versus his sickle - gonna be interesting, I'll tell you that, but he ain't gonna win. Too much at stake for that to happen.

I see his eyes, as we meet, each cutting the other as we pass. There's not the care I had earlier because we're moving so fast an' that suits me. He's undead and I heal fast, so the odds are as even as you get.

Kuroyama's older than most other men, but then again so was Ogun, and I gotta guess that my sensei passed on more than his training in the martial arts to him. The mystic arts had to be in there as well. Makes sense, because Matsuo told me that Kuroyama betrayed Ogun and you only do that to someone like Ogun if you have an edge.

Wonder how old Kuroyama really is? It takes some getting' used to that I'm over a hundred years old. Wonder what Jubilee will think of that?

The thing is, I don't feel like it an' I never have. Sure there have been times when I've wondered how much longer I can go on, but I've never felt old. Guess if you do what you enjoy, then you'll never really be old. However I ain't got time for this fight and I'm done playin'.

Kuroyama comes towards me again, but I know these moves. I've seen him fight twice, I know who trained him an' I know the natural extensions of that trainin' and the Black Mountain's not done half the things I have in my lifetime. As he comes down with the sickle, I thrust the sword up to meet it but before I do I drop the sword and catch his wrist in my hand. He wasn't expectin' that and he's a lot stronger than me, but I know where the nerve in his wrist is that will take him down.

He may be undead, but he still has mortal weaknesses and in a moment he'll recover, but he ain't got a moment left, as I knee him in the gut, release him and slap him with the back of my hand. Except this time the claws are out and his chest gets three new grooves down them. He staggers a moment and I dice down, grab the Honour Sword at the same time slashing at his legs with my claws and the Black Mountain falls. This fight's over and he knows he's been bested.

"You are Ogun's chosen one."

I can see the realisation in his eyes that I'm the man of legend, the legend he always thought he could live up to. The fact he knows he's wrong is the best defeat, because he's broken in spirit as well as body.

"Tell me somethin' I don't know," I say and then I take off his head with the Honour Sword and it rolls down the hallway. Let's see someone bring him back from that. "That was for Kenuchiuo." The Clan Yashida is avenged.

"Well fought, X-Man," says a voice. Matsuo. I forgot he was there. He did what he could against the Black Mountain, with the Black Blade no less. Got his ass kicked but good, but he softened him up. He's missing an arm, an' I guess he's on the way out for good this time. Apparently if you kill one of Mephsito's undead people, they're gone for good. Can't say I'm too bothered.

"He was a good fighter. I was better," I say. "Now..."

Elektra's scream cuts me off. It's a cry of terror, a cry I've heard too many times from the people I care about.

"Elektra..."

"Logan, hurry," Kwannon's voice echoes in my head, tellin' me what's goin' ona dn then she's cut off and it's like a thousand needles are stickin' in my brain. Matsuo's feelin' it too, but it's it's an after effect. Something bad is going down on the Astral Plane. For the moment it lasted, it felt like the Shadow King and... Chuck? Couldn't have been Xavier, he's dead but it was so familiar.

"Catch up, bub," I tell Matsuo, because I've taken more telepathic hits than I'd like and Xavier's training showed me how to cope with them, besides the woman I love needs me. Her scent fills my nostrils as I run, faster than I thought possible, with only her on my mind.

The hell with Wraith and Culloden. I'll find a way to kill the Destroyer without the Sword of Life, I don't have a choice.

"Where is it?" Zoë Culloden demanded, as they scoured the ruins of the Royal Palace of Madripoor. "We're running out of time."

"Forgive me," said Tyger Tiger, the latest addition to the Landau, Luckman, Lake and Lequare (Retired) organisation, a price she had demanded in exchange for help. "It's been a long time since I was last in Madripoor. The place has changed during my time in prison."

"Do you have any indication at all?" asked John Wraith.

"Before his death at the hands of Roughouse and Bloodscream, I saw the Sword of Life in the LLL office, and I asked him about it. He looked at me and smiled and told me it was the most powerful weapon Logan had never held. Before I could press him further, the two brutes came in and trashed the place, and then things got difficult. I retrieved the sword, because I have more than a passing interest in Logan."

"I'm not interested in history," snapped Zoë.

"You never did sleep with him, did you?" commented Tyger, picking up on the hint of jealousy in her tone. "How sad, considering the amount of time you spent with him."

"Ladies!" said Wraith, before this got to blood shed.

"Keep pushing me," warned Culloden, and Tyger simply smiled and Wraith sighed. This was not going well at all and they were running out of time. Then a light started to flash on his bracelet, as on Zoë's and Tyger's. "Tepe event," said Culloden. "Not our section, Wraith."

"I hope there's no lasting damage from this one," said Wraith. "I saw the data on the last tepe event of this scale. Telepaths were lucky to get their powers back at all."

"Here!" said Tyger, as they looked over the remains of the old palace of Madripoor. There was a wooden box with the sword resting in it. "I was right. I thought they would have put it here."

"Who?" asked Wraith.

"Hydra," said Tyger. "When Viper ran this island, she wanted as much information on Logan as she could get. I knew the Sword had a connection to him, and they wanted a weapon to use against him. Except they couldn't scan it as anything other than a normal sword."

"They wouldn't have," said Wraith, as he pulled a device from his belt and moved it up and down the sword, emitting a small beam of light at it. "They wouldn't have a scanner like this one. It's the Sword of Life all right." Zoe didn't answer and Wraith knew that the Overboss was getting instructions from her bosses.

"I'm needed at HQ for the tepe event," she said, quiet fear echoing in her voice. Apparently, Onslaught and the Shadow King are duking it out and..."

"No need, boss," said Wraith, feeling the dread in his stomach over that kind of conflict. "We can handle this." Culloden nodded and vanished leaving the Expediter alone with Tyger.

"So what happens now?" she asked.

"We go to Ganna Nia."

"Where?"

"You'll see." He held her hand and the two of them vanished and Wraith hoped they had the timing right, or this was going to be a wasted trip and he also hoped that the stories he'd heard about the Sword of Life weren't true.

"You shall not pass."

~SCHLUKT!~

The guy falls down a second after speaking the words. She's in there, I can hear her breathing and I burst through the door to the first cry of a newborn child and the barrage of priests that come to try and stop me. It's going to take me a moment or two to finish these losers off, but Elektra is just standing there, shaking and it looks as though she lost bladder control.

God knows what happened to her.

The child is taken from Elektra, who can't fight and one of the costumed jokers who ain't fightin' me shows it to Nina McCabe.

"My son," says McCabe, seeing her child for the first time, but I see something behind her.

"ELEKTRA!" I cry but she reacts too slow, and by the time she's seen the threat, it's too late and the sword comes down and takes off Nina's head, with McCabe wondering why. The child is bathed in the remaining blood within McCabe's body. She had her heart cut out buy Kuroyama, but there was some remaining in her and somehow it was keeping the child alive. Now it drips from the neck and the child screams for a moment then stops and laughs.

We're too late and the Destroyer is loosed on the world.

Then I see Elektra, her sai in her hand and she dispatches the priest. The child falls to the floor and cries again, but Elektra and plunges the sai in to the child as the blood of McCabe drips on them both and the crying stops. She drops the said to the floor as I finish the last of the priests.

"Darlin'," I whisper, as I get close, but there's something pushing me back. Then I see it, a form I've not seen in over decades. The being that is the Destoryer. It leaches from the dead baby and surrounds Elektra, connecting to her from the spots of blood McCabe and the child that have mingled with own bleeding wounds.

"NO!"

I remember how it felt to be taken by it, to know what you could do to the world with a wave of your hand. The power to extinguish stars, to cast death to everyone by sight alone.

"This body," says Elektra, but I know it ain't her. "This glorious shell. Such darkness within the spirit. I have risen, worship me, little man."

"Get out of her, take me!"

"I know you, little man." The voice that speaks to me is so warma nd gentle, but it chills me to the bone anyway. The Destroyer remembers as well as I do what happened the last time we met.

"Damn right."

"We have been bound before, but the taint of goodness clings to you. I could not take you even if I wanted to, but this body remembers you." A gesture and I'm brought forward. I can't move, fight her, or do a thing as she looks me up and down. "You have good genetic stock. We will keep you, breed from you and our progeny will build a new existence from the destruction of the old." She kisses me and it's like every evil I've ever known comes in to me, an' I can feel my body rebelling against me.

She releases me and I fall to the floor, unable to move and surrounded by my own body wastes as she vanishes, laughing as she goes.

And then the screaming starts.