CHAPTER FIFTY ONE

Times Square, New York

Philip Dresden has always seen this day coming in his dreams. He knew what must happen, but not how the pieces would fall, and many would fall. The sides were set, the arena ready for the great battle. This was the beginning of the end for the human race. No matter what happened today, no matter which side claimed triumph over the world to come, the outcome would remain the same. One day our Sun will go out and destroy the Earth and there will be no winners.

Philip had to find it in himself to fight for the time they had left, to not let humanity surrender so easily to anarchy. Once the world sees what happens here in New York...

"Everything will change." DarkFlood told his men, Moses StoneThrower and Vladislav Geronimov.

"What do we do?"

"We wait," DarkFlood told them.

"For what?"

"Not what, but who."

* * *

Jason crawled out of the way as Sensei knocked the Shadow Man back with his pure white samurai sword. He looked exactly the same, except for his robes of light, like a dream. He had to move. He tried to run to Lazarus and Yannie but Hydro reformed from the obscure channel of water running in between them, facing Lazarus. Jason wanted to stay and fight, he admired Yannie for his bravery, but he knew DarkFlood was out there somewhere, and needed to be reunited with Sensei. Without Laz’s connection that would be impossible. So he ran.

In the windowsill of one of the square's many skyscrapers a man and woman were vigorously going at it as they feared the end of the world was upon them. Her cheek was pressed against the glass. He scratched at her back and bit her shoulder and the snipers all across the square were too distracted by this to see DarkFlood, Moses, and Geronimo. That’s until the woman pressed her hand on the glass double-pane, shatterproof window and crushed it to dust. Her transformation gone by unnoticed. They lost their balance and both plummeted naked to their deaths in the middle of Times Square. The crowd of people being rounded up went crazy and the spotlights were turned on to aid the snipers.

Their cover was blown so DarkFlood told them to drop down. Before he could, he was stopped by a sixth sense, or at this point a ninth or tenth sense. Something told him not to go just yet. Even though he would be abandoning his men in the fight, he needed to wait.

Up in Westchester County a man looked at his hands as the very strands of his flesh unraveled, turning to negative electricity, what ancient civilizations used to call absent lightning. Times Square went dark, along with the rest of Manhattan, Jason finished climbing the rafters above the Times Square Building itself. Philip watched him from the adjacent rooftop as the kid punched into the mainframe of the building and used it as a giant conductor to jump-start the city's power supply.

The building's lights came back on and revealed Jason to the snipers. DarkFlood teleported over to him, removing him from plain sight before he was shot. The storm above cracked a bolt of lightning to the ground, pinning DarkFlood in place. He wasn’t able to finish his teleportation, both he and Jason were stuck in between dimensions. Fitzsimons dragged the bolt of lightning to Times Square where he released them. DarkFlood got up. They were on a stage in front of every human who has transformed in the city. Jason caught his breath as he looked around, "We're going to die."

Vlad and Moses posed as captives walking through the interment camp. There were fences edged with barbed-wire almost fifty feet high at the crossroads of every street in the square. Above that, in the actual intersections were guard towers equipped with floodlights and turrets. Soldiers herded the people in through the gates and used a process to separate them that both Vlad and Moses were going through now. First their information was taken down, name and background, etc. After that they were forced to show their powers to government research scientists at gunpoint. Yvonne, Oliver, and the Alchemist all supervised this phase of the process. They enjoyed the rich essence of killing a champion. Yvonne had still yet to murder anyone herself, and felt safe overseeing this part of Fitzsimons' process compared to the final stages.

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It was now Vlad and Moses' turn to showcase their powers, they both found no better a moment to begin their assault. Moses pulled chunks of the earth out of the ground and Vlad turned the gravity off in the camp. Everyone floated into the air. He magnetized all the guns to the floor and brought himself over to the scientists. The prisoners were set free. Fitzsimons, Jason, and Philip could hear them cheering as they took the gates.

"RUN!"

The Mad Hatter jumped on stage and kicked Jason in the face with a roundhouse. "Be still, boy!"

The Square went dark and the shadow wound up together like a swirling curtain on stage to create the Shadow Man. Light blasted through as Sensei knocked Hatter to the floor with the handle of his sword. Lazarus and Yannie still fought Hydro in the alleyway.

The boulders Moses controled crushed the weapons and pinned down the soldiers and scientists as Vlad reset the gravity. He levitated Moses and himself to the stage. Jason backed up next to DarkFlood, Moses, Geronimo, and Sensei. The Alchemist, along with Yvonne and Ollie got onstage next to Fitzsimons, the Mad Hatter, and the Shadow Man.

"We're outmatched," Moses whispered to Philip.

"No we're not. She won't fight," he pointed to Yvonne.

"Wrong again, DarkFlood!" the Hatter yelled out.

Fitzsimons nodded his head and one of the soldiers radioed Faulkner. He was posted outside of the Square rounding up all of the prisoners trying to escape. They were escorted back into the camp by Faulkner's squadron.

"Vlad, go." Philip knew nothing could stop him, especially after this.

The Shadow Man disappeared and so did Sensei. Vlad flew away and Fitzsimons ordered Oliver after him, "Kill the Russian."

Faulkner walked onstage and Yvonne backed away from the line. "Now you're outmatched," Fitzsimons informed him. It was Philip, Moses, and the kid versus the four of them. Philip knew what he had to do. He teleported back to Moses' Apartment where Dr. Randolph was still waiting.

"What do you say, Doc? Come to the rescue one more time?" Philip rubbed his hands together and they began to light up in a blue flame. "Concentrate on which of my powers you like most." Philip threw his hands forward and propelled a charge into the Doctor's chest. He fell over and tried to say something. "No time!" Philip grabbed him and teleported back to Times Square. Randolph got to his feet on the stage and felt a new sensation coursing through his body. He stared over at every adversary ever to come across Philip, past and present. Directly in front of him was the Mad Hatter.

"Enough of this!"

"Tonight you pay for what you've done."

"Kill them all!" Fitzsimons yelled out as The Alchemist attacked Moses, and the Hatter punched Dr. Randolph. Faulkner did not go after Jason but joined Fitzsimons in their final confrontation with Philip Dresden. "It's okay kid, I got this. Go help your Grandpa."

The Battle for New York City was upon them. Sensei flew around the square with the mysterious warrior of shadow; as Vlad called upon the prisoners to fight for their freedom against Ollie and the super squadron of soldiers. Jason backed away and Yvonne stared at him from across the stage. Lazarus and Yannie ran their spirit array around Hydro, ensnaring him, trying to contain his unyielding fury. Moses collided with the Alchemist, stone against gold and Randolph launched two pulse blasts at the Mad Hatter; all of which happening around Philip who tried to reason with Fitzsimons one last time.

"If you stop all of this now I might still show you mercy."

"You are not the only one who can see into the future, DarkFlood. This was never meant to be how the world goes out."

"What are you talking about?"

"You wrought this on us all, Philip Dresden. As long as you keep the Divine Catalyst alive, you bring about the end of days."

"You're lying."

"You know not the bounds of my existence. I am the Storm Harvester, the constant throughout time and space, keeper of the key to the universe."

Philip could recognize the difference between talking with Fitzsimons and addressing the Storm Harvester, this was one of those times, when all traces of humanity were erased from his voice and his eyes bled the winds of the tornado in his pupils. Philip had to know after all this time, what all this really was.

"Then what am I?"

"The Divine Catalyst."

"And what is the Divine Catalyst?"

"A thief."