**"Take your position Mr. Solo, Mr. Lovecraft. The enemy is drawing closer."**

Napoleon had known fear in his life, in fact, had been experiencing a lot of it just in the past couple of days but this was outside his experience. How could they fight this? It rose from the earth, the smell of mold and decay surrounding it. It was huge, tentacled, oozing evil as if it were a living entity that accompanied the creature wherever it went.

And it wasn't alone. The forest appeared to be coming alive as creatures began to move out of its concealment. The ground shook with their approach. It was the stuff nightmares were made of. There were too many to count, misshapen bodies, creatures more horrible to the eye than any monster created for the entertainment of the masses. Next to this army of evil, the battalions called into being by the powerful entity inhabiting Illya seemed paltry, their light dimmed by comparison.

Napoleon could feel all hope being leeched away. What was the point? They couldn't possibly win. It was just a matter of time before everyone and everything he had ever loved was laid to waste before his eyes. He sank to his knees, overwhelmed with his uselessness.

Then he became aware that someone was speaking to him; it was Lovecraft. "Fight it, Napoleon. This is one of its weapons. It weakens its enemy by taking away all your hope, ending your resistance. You must fight it."

Napoleon closed his eyes but all he saw was a darkness that threatened to suck him into hell. He snapped his eyes open and looked up at Illya. There was his strength. His love for this man. Napoleon focused on it, drawing hope from the memory of their time together, the promise of their future. His jaw clenched and he rose to his feet. There was no damn way he was giving that up.

He moved to stand next to Illya, knowing that Illya was there, inside, and his place was at his side. Illya looked at him, and for a second Napoleon could see the man he loved. Then Illya's body began to glow. Napoleon could feel the heat pouring off his body and when he glanced down he could see sparks coming off the ends of Illya's fingertips.

The entity controlling Illya let out a yell. "It begins now." With that he lifted his hands and flames shot out to attack the enemy.

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