Axel arrives at the dam and isn't sure if he's gotten there before or after Natasha, but knows he has to help her. He spots a figure that might be her on the dam, but it turns out to be the necromancer himself, Valicross.

Confused, Axel doesn't want to hurt the man at first, until Valicross uses his dark magic. That's enough to trigger Axel's instinct to wipe out un-life, and he flares up and attacks. For a moment, the two seem matched, but Valicross begins to finally win out as Axel tires. Surprising the bird-man with a physical attack, Valicross knocks the fight out of Axel.

The necromancer casts a spell to make Axel his servant, and the possessed man does try to block Natasha from getting to him, but Valicross tells him to let her pass. The two old foes one another, hurling insults as the necromancer pushes Natasha's buttons regarding her past.

When Natasha is struck, Axel automatically goes to hold her – and hears her voice telling him to get far away. Valicross also tells Axel to leave, so that he can savor his victory alone. Axel flies off, and then Natasha reveals her mage robes and releases the spell she'd been hiding behind a ward: her major dispel. It creates a crater in the dam.

Axel lands next to Amelia, who charges at Valicross. Only then does the necromancer realize his own power has been nullified, and he can do nothing while Amelia stabs him through his heart. She sends Axel off to look for Natasha, assuming that since Valicross wasn't killed by the blast, then neither was Natasha.

Olivia and Djivan arrive, and find Natasha washed up on the riverbank as Axel does. Against all odds, the woman is still barely alive!