Taeyeon snatched the blade from Pegasus and charged ahead as the commander transported to safety.  Her small legs charged ahead, continuing the path set out, the beast charging behind her.  As if on cue, Chen charged towards her, snatching the prize from her.  The Saurian slid to a halt as Taeyeon jumped out of the way, only for it to turn and charge towards the cadet.  He turned towards the monument and powered ahead, hoping that the diversion slowed the creature enough.  Lemley took the baton from Chen and continued her journey, swerving left and right.  She was thankful for her dexterity, her ability to quickly change direction where the heavy beast struggled to make such quick changes.  She tumbled out of the way, clutching at the blade, until Optimus took charge of the pursuit.  As he powered ahead, he took out a looped lace from his wrist and wrapped it around the handle of the sword.  His pace slowed whilst he was doing so, but he powered ahead once he was satisfied the lace was secure.  Sprinting ahead of him was his target: Jessica.  He held the sword to her.

“One chance,” he warned, relinquishing his grip on the sword.

She took hold of it and loaded it into her bow, pointing it high into the vast sky directly above the monument.  She closed her eyes and slowed her pace.

“Please, Sunny,” she whispered, closing her eyes.  “One chance.”

In between her heartbeats, she fired the blade above her and tumbled out of the way in perfect motion.  The Saurian stretched out to reach the escaping blade, but fell short even of the hanging lace.  It roared in anger as the weapon flew higher into the night sky.  Every angel watched the sword as it fired towards some perceived target.  The light of the moon hit the blades as the stone glowed brighter.

A bright pulse of light fired high up in the dark sky as two bodies appeared; a small woman in the arms of an older winged man, silhouetted by the moonlight.

“Sunny, are you sure about this?” Helix asked.

“It’s all we can do, Sir,” she replied, confidence emanating from her voice, although not as much as her Admiral would have liked.

Every angel held its breath as the fearless cadet leaned backwards, her protector releasing his grasp on her body, watching as she fell, head first, on a collision course with fate.  Sunny stretched her arms out, before folding them back against her, streamlining her body for the descent.  She hid every ounce of fear she felt, focussing only on her plan.  She could see the blade heading towards her, the glow from the stone lighting its position.

The Saurian stood far from the edge of the pit, roaring at the sky.  It swiped left and right, destroying stones that had been part of the monument, its anger clear as the full moon in the empty sky.

Sunny closed her eyes, took a deep breath and held out her hand.  She prayed and willed with all her might for success, before she opened her eyes.  As if a mystical power had heard her, she caught the lace attached to the sword and gripped the handle.  Quickly she held the weapon to her side as she continued her descent, aiming her body for the abyss the Saurian had been imprisoned in for many era.

As she fell closer, the beast continued its roaring and reached out to grip its prize.  Luck prevailed for Sunny as she fell into the hole before the monster could take hold of her.  It lost its footing and fell after her, tumbling into the void, roaring and screaming.  Every nearby angel clamoured around the hole, every soul wishing for Sunny to escape, praying that she would not be lost to the Fallen.  The cries of the beast echoed and bounced off the edges, before a loud, piercing scream fired from the crater.  Jessica and Taeyeon hugged each other and wept, fearful for their comrade.

Orbs of energy floated out of the rift, a mixture of pink and silver, with a slight hint of emerald.  They hovered out of the now silent hole and floated away from the monument.  As they gathered together, all witnesses held their breaths.  Before them, floating from the ground, was Sunny.  Just as she looked before she had fallen.  Her tunic, her leggings, her ties, her ponytail, everything intact, albeit covered in sickly green and orange slime.  In her hand, she held tightly onto the sword she had caught, which glowed the brightest green it had so far.  As the ethereal glow from around her died down, it took only a moment for Taeyeon to speak of the one difference she and everyone else had noticed.

“Sunny, you … you have your wings!!”

With tears of pride, she lowered herself to the ground.  Sure enough, sprouting from Sunny’s shoulders were two magnificent, pure white wings.  She landed, catching her breath, as the other cadets rushed forward to her, embracing their hero.  The rancid sludge that covered her body was irrelevant to them all.

Sunny nodded.  “It’s gone,” she confirmed.  “Forever.”

Tears of joy and relief poured from the group as screams of pain and anguish erupted from Lucy.  The group span around, looking at the source.  She was still leeching energy from the Fallen souls, but with no outlet, the power was causing her untold agony.

“Let me,” Jessica took the blade from Sunny.  “It’ll be quicker.”  She ran from the group, towards the stage.  In the most superbly co-ordinated fashion, she stepped on the crouching soul of a Fallen agent and flipped in mid-air, straightened her body and fired the sword from her crossbow, directly into the core of Ms Lucy Foresraine.  As soon as she landed, she recalled something from her airborne moment.

Lying on the floor, next to the financer of the concert, was a body.  Sebastian’s body.  Even though he had been possessed, to remain as lifeless as he had surely meant that he was human again.  To an angel, that meant he was worth saving.  Without a second thought, Jessica gripped her pendant and transported herself to the stage, arriving moments before the sword found its target.  She kept her grip on her pendent, covering the stretched out human body.  From her own soul came a glowing orb of protective energy, one that she and many other angels had deployed many times before.  It covered both of them, protecting Sebastian from the effect of the Fallen.  As it enclosed the pair, she could feel that he was indeed fully human.  The agent that had possessed him was no longer there.  With a piercing scream and a plasmatic explosion, Jessica felt Lucy’s presence disappear and the murmuring of a confused crowd took its place.  The protective field disappeared as she turned her body.  The Fallen were there, but exceedingly weak, too weak to remain in their human hosts.  She nodded, satisfied that the world would be safe.

“You …” she heard from nearby.  The voice was faint and forced, but still clear.  “You saved me.”

She turned her head towards Sebastian, who was still lying there in front of her.  His eyes opened slightly and he weakly lifted his arm towards Jessica.  As she held her breath, he collapsed, his arm falling, his eyes closing and his head turning to its side.  As she stood, shocked by the sight, medical staff rushed onto the stage.  With a moment’s notice, she clutched her pendent and vanished into the night.