The Nexus Point between Otherworld and Lyonnese

 Arcadia stands over the dead body of Bres the Beautiful. She holds her golden sword aloft above her head to the cheers of the surviving Tuatha warriors.

" This day we have fought and destroyed your mortal enemy. The Tuatha people need never fear the Fomor again!" The soldiers begin a cheer than resounds around the valley.

" Hail Queen Arcadia, Blessed of Morrigan!"

She smiles, but her good humour is shattered as the landscape begins to shimmer and change. Ripples of warped reality begin to shower over the battlefield, Lyonnese and her Crusader comrades.

" Jesus, Mary Mother of God! What's happening now?"

Modred steps forward " Flee, M'lady - this plane and Otherworld are being merged. The ChaosBringer is triumphant!"

Dark humanoid shapes begin to manifest across the battlefield. The monsters turn and see the tired and wounded Tuatha. They fall upon them like wounded animals.

" Retreat! Fall back to Lyonnese!" Arcadia leaps onto her horse and gallops back to the landbridge. Her ally, Sherwood peppers the enemy to her left and right with plasma arrows, clearing a way through for her.

Above the battle, the STRIKE attack helicopters are battered by the fluctuations in reality. "Get us down to the ground, now!" screams Harkness.

The remaining Crusaders and Shadows gather at the gate of the City. Dai Thomas, Union Jack, Abbot, Malachi, Peter Wisdom, Emil Andrevitch, Modred, Mabon, The Interloper and Micromax.

Wisdom reaches into his jacket and lights a bent cigarette. He takes a deep breath of smoke and then exhales slowly " And here I was thinking we'd missed the fight!"

The Adversary looks around the field of battle from a balcony off the main chamber of the Starlight Citadel. All around him he could see the fragments of different worlds slowly melting together. Soon the Omniverse would fold in on itself and he will be the Supreme Being of a new and wondrous reality.

Behind him, the bodies of the Crusaders that were defending the Citadel float in mid-air, paralysed by his power - Black Knight, Meggan, Spitfire, Hern, The Destroyer and Captain UK, along with Prester John, the few Knights of Albion that still live and some of the Captain Britain Corps.

The Adversary turns and regards them for a moment. He strokes his chin. There are some excellent specimens here, that could be of use in the future. The Shapechanger? The Avatar? He waves a hand and Meggan and Sanjay float after him. He leaves the room with them following.

Minutes pass ….. and then a small door in the far wall opens. A tiny balding man in a white robe sticks his head out and looks around. He talks to himself " Good. The Glyph of Concealment worked. Sometimes the simplest charms are the most effective!" Merlyn gestures and three figures follow him - all Braddocks. The first is Betsy Braddock - known to the world as Psylocke. The second is the young woman known as Lissa, a Braddock from another dimension. The third is Brian Braddock, recreated by Merlyn's magicks and once again filled with the power of Captain Britain.

Psylocke looks at her brother and breaks into an uncontrollable grin. She wraps her arms around him and hugs as hard as she can. " I don’t know how he did it, and I don’t honestly care! You're back!!"

" It would appear so, wouldn't it. I'm still a little disorientated though."

" That would be expected, Captain Britain. This is the third time you have been 'born'. There is only so much magic can do. As it was I had to use the Braddock Gene belonging to your siblings here to recreate your powers."

" Siblings? Who is she?" Brian points at Lissa.

Merlyn sighs and answers before the german woman can answer. " 'She' is a Braddock from a different Earth, called Lissa. She is, to all intents and purposes, that world's version of Psylocke."

" Oh!"

" Indeed. Now, what are we going to do with your allies here?" Merlyn regards the situation and then snaps his fingers. The Crusaders and their comrades fall to the ground. Only then does Merlyn remember Roma and looking around in blind panic, sees her and rushes to her side.

Whilst he deals with her, The Crusaders gather themselves…. " BRIAN!" Captain UK launches herself across the room and envelopes her old friend.

" Linda?!"

" My Captain! You have returned." Hauptmann Englander salutes Captain Britain. Brian nods and takes the greetings of the other members of the Corps.

" Brian. God it's good to see you again." Black Knight rests a hand on his old friend's shoulder.

" Dane? I didn't realise…"

" Lots of things have changed since you …went. Meggan … Great! Where's Meggan?"

" And Sanjay?" Spitfire looks around in panic.

Merlyn stands slowly from the prone figure of Roma. Before their eyes he begins to transform into a younger, more muscular figure. " My daughter tells me that our foe has taken them, but only after he raped her. This is unacceptable. We must stop the Adversary now!" He turns to Hern and raises an eyebrow.

" Oh yes they will. Crusaders, prepare yourselves for battle. Brian and Linda, get us more Corpsmen. Hern, We will talk to the Council of the Green!"

Merlyn steps sideways and enters the dimension of Nature and the huge, vaulted oak chamber than holds the Council of the Green. Hern follows him, nervously.

" You can stop being so pompous and help us save the Omniverse for a start." Around Merlyn the thousands of nature spirits and deities from pantheons all across the Omniverse break into shocked murmurs.

" Nature remains neutral in these matters. Even after the harshest avalanche or the fiercest flame, life goes on. It shall be so after the ChaosBringer." The voice of the Council speaks through their leader, an aboriginal tree spirit.

" NO IT WON'T! He wants to recreate reality in his own image and he might just not like the idea of some other gods hanging around. He will wipe us out with the bat of an eyelid. You must help!"

" He is right." A voice rises from the back of the room. A noble cowled figure silences the Council.

" Hooded One. Your position here is honorary. Remember that…" The Council leader looks worried

The Hooded Man moves down through the crowd. " Never presume to remind me of my place! I am the Hooded Man, the link between the Council and the People. I have served you for centuries past and I will serve you for centuries longer, but I cannot stand by and watch as the People are destroyed. In times past we have always stood for life and continuity. This is the end of both and I will not allow us to remain isolated any longer!"

He stands next to Merlyn and Hern. " Nor will I!" Hunter, the man who was Albion, stands " I may be new to the Council but these are my friends that are dying and if ignoring there pleas for help is the price for being a Hern then I don’t want to be a Hern!"

" I've tried Brian, but they just won't come for me." Linda finishes explaining to Brian what has transpired after the last battle with Bres. " Maybe you could try?"

" You're the leader of the Corps now, Linda. You hold the Star Sceptre."

" No Brian. I was always second best. I was always a stand-in. You're the original Captain Britain. You're by far the most powerful of us all, and the most committed. If they'll listen to anyone, it's you." She lifts the Star Sceptre and hand it to him, " Take it. It's yours by right."

Brian Braddock slowly grasps the Sceptre and feels the power flow through him and then back into the weapon. He glides his hands over the familiar golden shaft and handle. He was whole again. " Roma, can you allow me to contact the Corps?"

" I .. I .. think so…" She concentrates and the already battered dimensional barriers fade, allowing Captain Britain to contact the remaining Corpsmen all at once.

" Corpsmen! This is Captain Britain! I hold the Star Sceptre and take my place by birthright as your leader. Answer my call!," Across the Omniverse, Corps activity grinds to an all too sudden halt as shocked Captains realise that he has returned. " The Adversary has succeeded in beginning the merging of the Omniverse. We need all of you to come to Otherworld and help us defeat him. I cannot order you, but I appeal to all that makes you Corpsmen to come to our aid!"

Seconds pass and then a chilling reply returns " We cannot be sure that you are truly Brian Braddock. He is dead. What we do know is that the Omniverse is dying and we need to protect our homeworlds. If we leave we will condemn our worlds to death. We cannot aid you, false Captain."

Brian Braddock is a man of wild emotions. That response pushes him too far. " You cannot aid me! You are fools and cowards. How much will be left of your worlds when the Adversary has cancelled them from reality? You are not concerned for your friends, you have just lost the spine to admit that you are unwilling to sacrifice yourself in battle alongside your comrades, your brothers in arms, for the good of the Omniverse. Damn you! Damn you all! I have been brought back to life but I would gladly throw down my life again to save one person's life, never mind an infinite number. We don't need you cowards. Get lost!|" And with that he severs the connection

" Brian!"

" We'll fight Linda and we'll win and we'll do it without them." Captain Britain turns to his allies. We cannot wait for Merlyn to return. We need to strike now!"

"ATTACK ME MINIONS. TAKE DOWN THIS CITY AND ALL THAT LIVE IN IT!" The Adversary stands above his army and directs them into the battle. The bodies of Meggan and Sanjay float next to him.Thousands of black skinned monsters charge over the landbridge. Standing between them and the City of Lyonnese are three men; Peter Wisdom, and The Interloper.

" Reminds me one of those old war films? ' Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eyes!" Wisdom looks tense and the ebony stampede grows nearer. He shakes his head " But these don’t have eyes."

" Then I would suggest we attack them now!" bellows the Interloper as he lets loose a blast of Eternal energy. He is joined by the hot knives of Wisdom .The first group of the Adversary's troops shatters and explodes under the onslaught.

" Keep it up! Only another …ohhh… four thousand to go!" Wisdom shakes his head and hurls more energy.

In the City, the Tuatha warriors prepare for the coming battle alongside the small group of STRIKE soldiers and ShockForce troopers than managed to land. Commanders Harkness, Myers and Lomax are organising them, alongside Eiaan.

Sherwood has taken a vantage point in a tall tower and is still firing bolts into the enemy. Her arm is tired but she knows she cannot stop.

Arcadia and Micromax look at the situation. " That man that just appeared seems to be the leader. We should take him down." Arcadia looks worried.

" I agree. We can't rely on Wisdom and the Interloper to hold them off for long."

" Then we should go sooner rather than later," Arcadia looks around ," Joey, Modred, Emil - you're with me and Scott. We're going to take that tattooed man down. Modred, if you can get the kid to do the dragon thing again, it would be great?"

" I am afraid I can neither do that or accompany you. I have seen the future and Mabon's future lies far away from here. We must leave!" The mage waves his arms and both him and the boy disappear.

" NO!" Arcadia hangs her head " OK, we go alone. Dai? Can you and the rest hold this gate?"

" Me and … the vampire and the priest. Yeah, sure, why not?" Dai's sarcasm bites into Arcadia.

" I…"

" Don't worry. I was due some leave when this happened. I reckon I'll still be able to make my plane to Barbados if we can beat them in … three hours. That's all the motivation I need."

And with that the Crusaders and the joint forces of the Tuatha and STRIKE spill forth from the castle.

If the Adversary had been a man of deep emotion, even he would have been moved by the sight that greeted him as he approached the City of Lyonnese. His forces were being held back by mortal men and enchanted warriors. They fought with the passion of a zealot, not caring whether they lived or died, just that they protected their pathetic little world.

His attention is caught, however, by the two pronged attack that he finds himself under. From behind him, a rush of bodies comes from the Starlight Citadel, lead by Captain Britain. A similar group bursts from the City, lead by Arcadia.

The Adversary throws his hands into the air and a wave of fiery energy runs from his body. It explodes against the on-rushing heroes like a battering ram, scattering them.

Emil tries to exercise his power against the Adversary. He warps time around him. The entity turns his head and smiles. Emil clutches his forehead and slumps to the ground, unconscious.

The Interloper stands forwards and challenges the Adversary. They lock gazes and their energies meet. The gargantuan Eternal strains under the onslaught of his foe and screams. His body is wracked by the Adversaries entropic energy and he fades from existence.

The ground beneath the Adversary erupts as a column of earth hurls him skyward. " These people are not alone, Evil One, The Council of the Green grants them protection!" Hern appears in the air and uses the earth battering ram to piledrive the Adversary into the ground. Rock and soil pummel into him.

Captain Britain flies up to the floating figures of Meggan and Sanjay and tears the energy tethers from them. Sanjay falls to the ground, but he holds Meggan in his arms. Slowly her eyes open and she looks up. Her eyes keep opening, getting wider and wider until her face explodes in happiness and she screams.

" BRIAN!!!!!!!!!" She wraps her arms around him and he embraces her. Their reunion is short-lived as the pile of earth disappears and the Adversary stands, unmarked.

" I TIRE OF THIS SO-CALLED BATTLE…." He clicks his fingers and ground beneath the Crusaders explodes. Bodies are hurled into the air, like rag dolls. When the dust settles, Black Knight, Psylocke, Lissa and Peter Wisdom lie unconscious.

" AND I CANNOT REMEMBER EVER RELINQUISHING MY CLAIM ON THE CHANGELING?" He throws out an arm to grapple Meggan with energy but Captain Britain intercepts it with the Star Sceptre.

" I've just got her back, and I'm not letting anyone have her again!"

" HOW …. GALLANT? AND SUCH A PITY IT IS SO FUTILE." He unleashes a massive bolt of fire towards Meggan. Brian catches it in his chest but the ensuing blast topples Meggan and slams her into the ground. Captain Britain raises his head, slowly and steadily.

" That's all I can stand! You've pushed me too far now…" He bursts forwards, smashing the head of the Adversary with the Star Sceptre. The cold metal rod - the only substance the Adversary is vulnerable to - shatters the entities jaw. Blood sprays from his mouth and he screams. He reaches out and grabs Braddock by the throat, holding him high in the air. The other Crusaders look on as the two men struggle in mid-air.

Linda McQuillan cannot stand by and watch her friend be killed. She takes to the air and ploughs towards the pair. The Adversary sees her and hurls the limp body of Captain Britain at her. She catches it in mid-air. He is still breathing.

" You bastard! Crusaders! Get him!!" She launches herself like a human missile at him. Sanjay batters him with black bolts. Hern concentrates all of his new Earth power at him. Union Jack hurls massive boulders at him.

A crushing force presses the heroes down into the ground, crushing their faces into the bloodied earth. Around the Adversary, the barriers between worlds become thinner and thinner, worlds begin to merge and disappear.

The Tuatha and STRIKE troops are holding the Landbridge, with the help of the remaining Knights of Albion and the few of the original Corps that are left. High above Sherwood looks on through tears. Her friends are dying out there and she is here. Obeying orders was one thing but this….

In the Citadel, Merlyn stands with Roma " I reckon that now would be a good.. Oh, look, they're early!"

As the boundaries that hold reality together are destroyed, a cry - no, a thunder erupts from all over the battlefield. Around, above and below the Adversary, multicoloured starbursts erupt and red, white and blue figures explode into Otherworld.

Each has one thought - that man, that vitriol, can only be the real Brian Braddock. They don't want to know how he returned from the dead - they just know they will aid him, and stand by his side against any enemy, to the death.

The Adversary is hit from every side, again and again, battered and bruised by the sheer power of the Corps. They are desperate people with no real reason to live except to defeat him. He staggers backwards and forwards under the terrific force of their attack and then, during a momentary lull, throws back his head and laughs through the pain of his jaw.

He flings out his arms and they fall from the sky. He defeats the Corps with the flick of a wrist.

The Crusaders, released from their prisons by the distraction, crawl towards each other.

" It's just us now…. We're all that's left." Micromax looks distant. His mind is here, but his heart is with his wife and the unborn child he will never see.

" I can't see how we'll beat him. He's too powerful!" Arcadia sounds desperate.

" How can we keep him there?" Linda is confused.

" I think Sanjay is suggesting we sacrifice ourselves - battle him for as long as we can and hopefully he will die in this Dark with us?"

" Is this Sanjay talking, or the Destroyer?" Spitfire looks at her lover.

" I'm not letting you go there alone. Never." Spitfire holds the teenagers hand.

" And wherever a Falsworth goes, a Chapman follows, right 'M'Lady'?" Union Jack smiles an ironic smile.

" These are my people. I have to protect them." There is a tear in Arcadia's eye.

" Oh God! I'm not going to let you all have the fun. Anyway, now that Brian's back I don’t have a world and you know the rules - no more than one Captain per reality. Count me in…" Captain UK sets her jaw.

Micromax is silent. He looks around. They have power, but they need him too. There they are, the original Crusaders - all that stands between the Adversary and the end of everything. He has to do it, or his baby will never be born. There was a time when he would have been called a coward for the way he carried out his heroic career. Not this time. " Me too. Lets do it!"

They move as one group, leaping up and running, almost in slow motion towards the Adversary. The entity does not see the black hole appear behind him, he just smiles as he watches their suicidal attack. Legs pump the ground and hearts beat faster and faster. The seven friends smash into him and take him barreling backwards into the hole that leads to The Dark.

The Adversary screams out but to no avail. He plummets into the Void and falls, surrounded by the Crusaders, to their doom.

" Bring them back! Bring them back now!" Sherwood has Merlyn by the throat.

" I cannot. Even if I could track them, wherever they are, they did what they did of there own free will. There are certain laws that rule all of existence and that is one of them. Anyway, my powers are needed to rebuild the Omniverse. Sherwood drops him and storms off, tears streaming down her face. Black Knight and Psylocke move to comfort her.

Roma walks to the remaining Crusaders " I will transport you back to your world. All except Captain Britain."

" What?"

" I'm afraid that when you were recreated again it took too much Otherworldly energy to maintain you. If you were to leave Otherworld, you would cease to exist. You cannot leave."

" Then he'll stay, and so will I!, " Meggan holds the hand of her lover ," I'm not leaving him. I'm sorry, but if that means I have to stay here, then I'll stay."

" You are both more than welcome to stay at the Citadel, as we rebuild it. Anyway, I will transport you all home. We cannot thank you enough for your aid - Crusaders, Knights, Corpsmen, Tuatha, mortals - without you everything would have ended.

Dai Thomas grunts in " You may not have noticed, but for some of us, it has ended…"

A harrowed Prime Minister stands before the press pack outside 10 Downing Street. He looks like a man who hasn't slept for days. The crowd of reporters and photographers fall silent when he begins to speak. His first few words are punctuated by the flare of the occasional camera flash

" For the second time in three years, the United Kingdom has come under attack by forces beyond our ken. After the first such attack, my Government agreed to the formation of a United Kingdom Superhero team - something that had not been done since the war. We recruited brave men and women to serve their country and they did so with grace and honour. It is my sad duty today to report the deaths of more than half the people we have come to know as the Crusaders. In a battle against a foe known as The Adversary, seven of the team sacrificed their lives so that we could all live. Those people were Micromax, Union Jack, Captain UK, Spitfire, Arcadia, Hern and the Destroyer. Also missing in action is the former member of Excalibur, Meggan, who was aiding the Crusaders at the time. I am sure that I speak for the entire nation when I express the feelings of loss and sorrow at their passing."

Reston, Harkness and Thomas sit together quietly, cradling glasses of whisky in their hands. This is the first time Reston has allowed Dai to drink in front of him.

" What do we do now?" Harkness asks.

" It's up to them, really. If they want to stay, then I suppose we carry on. We've had some trainees in the works for a while now." Reston replied.

" How on Earth can you two think about stuff like that after what just happened?" Dai spits out his words.

" Because we have to Dai. Because it's our job. I'm a soldier and I've seen more people die in battle than I did yesterday. Harsh as it may sound, they knew the risks, and God bless them, they did what they did with open hearts and good grace. We owe it to them to carry on." Harkness' voice never wavers but the effort to hold back the tears makes his face hurt.

The door to the office opens and Sadie pops her head around. " Mr Thomas? Sirs? They're ready..." The three men stand as one and walk slowly through the door into a room full of heroes. They walk to the front of the group and rest against a table.

" Well?"

Sherwood steps forward " We've decided that, well, it's the least we can do to stay on and carry on the fight, sir."

Reston smiles " All of you?"

" Yes, sir., all except Abbot and Malachi - they have chosen to leave us. Understandably." She gestures around the room to her fellow heroes ; Black Knight, Tangerine, Psylocke, Emil Andrevitch and Peter Wisdom ," if you want us, we'll continue being the Crusaders."

Two women share the same emotions. Rebecca Wright stands at the window of her Docklands flat, her hands holding her stomach. It was too early for the pregnancy to show, but she still felt as if she wanted to comfort the life that was growing inside her body. Oh Scott! Why did it have to be you? Why now? Why did you do it? She stands, looking out into the night sky, sobbing uncontrollably.

In Millennium Tower, Sherwood stalks around the gym. Her body is rigid with tension and her face is like a woman possessed. Joey, you bastard! How could you leave me like that! It had taken me years to get the courage back to be close to a man and you go and die on me! She picks up a barbell and hurls it into the wall.

" WHY! Why me! Why now! I wanted you so much you stupid fool......." She falls onto her knees and cries until she falls asleep on the gym mat.

Two figures stand in one of the few towers that are still standing in the Starlight Citadel. One is a huge man, the other a slight woman.

" Brian, I never thought I would have you back..."

" Ssshh, sweetheart. I'm still coming to terms with it myself. I mean, I'm not exactly free to go wherever you want. You'll have to stay in Otherworld with me?"

" Don't be silly. I'd go anywhere to be with you." Meggan rests her head on Captain Britain's chest and they both look out over the shifting landscape of Otherworld as it heals itself.

" Love you Meggan."

" Love you too, Brian."

Roma watches them from a distance. Her father's plan had worked and the plot of the Adversary was finally thwarted. All's well that end's well. She walks away slowly, and with purpose. She has to try to block out the abuse she suffered at the hands of the ChaosBringer. She had to ignore the fact that her omnipresent powers were telling here that she was pregnant. She had to survive and yet....

She turns her head to you, brave reader and grins. Her eyes flash, not their normal blue, but an evil ( and horridly familiar ) ebony!

Never the end......

NEXT ISSUE: Wait and see.........

Green and Pleasant Letters

In some ways I can't believe this is the end. Crusaders was MV1's first Creator Controlled title and a massive gamble. UK books have never worked in the MU and there was no reason why a collection of third rate characters should have done so in MV1, but it's with some pride that I say it has. I'm so proud of the Crusaders and the other titles and stories that have spawned off it. It has been, and will always be my baby.

So why stop? Well, there are only so many stories you can write about one set of characters and I need to try something different. I'm looking at Captain America and Ms Marvel as fresh challenges. Something to recharge my batteries, so to speak. Don't worry though, I'm too attached to the characters to let them disappear forever.

And in closing I'd like to thank all of the readers, old and new, that have supported the book and helped make it a success. I'd especially like to thank ( and in no particular order, mind you..) Randy Lander, Barry Reese, Alex Maggi, Kell Carpenter, TJ Burns and of course, Stephen Mellor, for their help and support.

And as a final note, it has been said many times before that there are no original stories so I'd just like to tip my hat to the following tales that inspired this final tale - The original Tales of the Green Lantern Corps LS, Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Last Days of the Justice Society, Onslaught and The Korvac Saga.

Until next time, ta ta!

Neil