"It looks like they've had it for the night," someone cried. "They're breaking, retreating into the Darkness!"
"Didn't think they have the reserves for a long fight," The Ancient One moaned.
"Esther got one!" somebody cried, "It's dying and won't accept any help."
"Come on!" The Ancient One snapped.
David quickly followed them. When they arrived David found Esther and Durga standing over what appeared to be a child of about twelve that seemed to be getting younger. Esther quickly clung to David but she couldn't take her eyes off from the scene before her. "It's not expanding," she moaned, "but they say it's dying. What's happening to it?"
"It's starving to death," The Ancient One explained. "It's giving off more energy than it can draw in. It's how creatures of Darkness finally meet their end. This is the fate they all suffer sooner or later."
The thing on the ground now appeared to be a twisted, grotesque infant. It shrieked and wailed as it shrank smaller and smaller. Finally there was a sucking sound and it seemed to disappear within itself, and was gone.
"That's gotta hurt!" David moaned, looking at the others.
"We can only imagine," The Ancient One answered. "But it appears to be agonizing beyond anything imaginable! I've seen it unnumberable times and I will admit, it even makes me feel sorry for them! But each of them foolishly believes they'll be the creature of Darkness that achieves immortality, that becomes like The Bearers Of Light. Isn't ever gonna happen! This will be their fate forever. Well, come on. Have to complete our other mission tonight, then we can just prowl around, look for targets of opportunity. Oh, I've got a question," The Ancient One continued, "maybe you know. This guy in Belgium that kept his daughter in the cellar for 22 years, was he Catholic?"
"What?" Esther asked.
"Just wondering," The Ancient One put in "what he told the priest in confession."
"You bastard!" Esther snapped, "You damned bastard!"
"Whoa!" David put his hand over her mouth. "Whoa!" The look in his eyes was more than enough to tell Esther what he was thinking.
"Sorry!" she moaned, after David took his hand away.
"Nothing to be sorry about!" The Ancient One laughed. "I don't argue the fact that I'm probably the worst damned bastard that ever came into existance! Now, we're going to Saudi Arabia. Mary's protecting The Royal Family over there, doing an incredible job. But the family members need a recharge of energy. Trying to keep all that mess in control is almost too much for anyone and We desperately need them. There's not that many that We empower so it will only take us like three hours. Then we'll head for Afghanistan. There's some Taliban I'd like to have run into some unfortunate accidents."
"Is there any possibility," David asked, "of us ever winning one military campaign without your assistance?"
"None!" The Ancient One answered. "Look at Napoleon. Look at the Confederates, look at the Nazis. Without Our support no military organization, no matter how mighty they are, can sustaion victory forever. The minute We turn against them they're doomed!"
"You forgot the British!" Esther sighed. "You forgot what you did to the British, how You destroyed The Empire. Many people thought that wasn't such a good thing."
"Ghandi didn't!" The Ancient One snapped.
They completed their efforts and The Ancient One stopped off by his companions' home for a few moments. "Why?" Esther asked "Why do you make me see these things? Why do you make me feel this way?"
"I have found," The Ancient One answered, "over the ages that no matter how much you tell somebody something they don't fully understand it 'til they see it themselves. Now, tell me, You wanted to help people, to keep them away from the Darkness before I showed you these things. What are your freelings now?"
"That I want to keep any mother from knowing that their child is going to suffer one of those fates," Esther snapped, "that I want to do anything in my power to keep that from happening to any soul, to make sure that all of them have immortality. Damnit, why do you always have to be right? Why do you always have to be right?" She put her head on David's shoulder and began to weep.
The Ancient One sighed and answered, "Because I'm fighting for the right side, because I know what's right and wrong, because hate destroyed most of my race and I'm one of the few of them left? Because We know what hate does to a people and We want to make sure it doesn't happen to any other race?"
He spread his wings and soared skyward. "I'm sorry," Durga apologized, "when he's in pain he gets even nastier than usual and doesn't hold anything back. You get used to it."
Esther lifted her head and stopped sobbing. "How you must love him!" she managed, "How great that love must be!"
"He grows on you," Durga answered. "He can be a miserable pain in the ass but he grows on you!" She spun her shield and soared away.
"What are we going to do?" Esther moaned, "What are we going to do?"

THE END