Genesis Crisis: Resurgence IC

Caltha - Palace Gates

- Ariana -

Ariana felt a surge of excitement at her successful attacks. After bringing Lorrin down, she turned to circle back on Annabelle when someone tackled her from behind. Crying out, she toppled into the snowy ground with her attacker grasping onto her.

“Get over here, Annabelle!” Lorrin yelled, his voice loud in her ears.

"Get... OFF!" she screamed back as Annabelle rushed toward them, her axe looming above.

She couldn't get loose, couldn't throw off the bigger and stronger Lorrin in time. There was only one thing she could do. Closing out her vision and focusing only on conjuring, she directed her hand toward the ground and cast.

"Bufula!"

An ice column erupted from the ground below her and Lorrin, thrusting them into the air. Lorrin lost his grip on her, and they tumbled away into the snow. Ariana scrambled to her knees, grappling for her dropped weapon. No... she'd lost it.

Straightening up, she got to her feet and quickly began to conjure as Annabelle circled around the remains of the ice column and headed for her.

"Bufudyne!" she called, sending a giant icicle skewering down from the sky.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Palace Halls

- Alexei -

Alexei chuckled a bit at Lisa's words. "No sense fearing things you can't see. Plenty of things to fear that you already can."

He glanced back at Nadenka, watching her check up on the soldiers. Despite her fear of loss, she was still here. With him.

The sounds of footsteps drew nearer. Alexei straightened up, nodding to Lisa.

Belo and three soldiers rounded the corner into the corridor in front of them. At Belo's signal, the Old Guard cast Magarudyne and Maragion spells, sending flaming cyclones spiraling toward them.

"Nadenka, get back!" Alexei roared.

He and Lisa sprang into action. They couldn't let Belo and his men past until James had finished with the jammer.

"Green Wall!" Lisa cast, a protective wind barrier siphoning and canceling out most of the wind from the combo spell.

"Haaah!" Alexei cried, edging past Lisa and swinging his baton. The magic dampening on the weapon as it crashed into the remains of the fiery cyclone dispersed it with a crash that knocked back everyone nearby.

Singed and soot-covered, Alexei staggered back and glared at Belo.

"So, you made it," he muttered.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Council Chamber

- Rise -

The sudden disappearance of the Blackcape brought everyone to a halt for a moment.

"Get up!" Keynes bellow, gesturing wildly at Raidon. "Get up and deal with the Redcapes in here! I've put Alex in time-out, but that's the last trick I had up my sleeve."

His voice seemed to rouse everyone from their momentary surprise. Raidon forced himself to his feet, wincing, and nodded at Keynes. Kokonoe rushed over to his side and put a hand on him.

"I don't have too many more shots to spare," she told him. "Get me a good opening for those Redcapes so I can take them down."

Rise edged back, letting Luke take the front on their attack. She quickly directed her fans toward Keynes and Raidon, letting her healing magic flow through her.

"Mediarama!" she called, sending a wave of healing energy surging through their veins and restoring their wounds.

Just in time.

"Rise!" Raidon barked.

Rise whirled about, bringing up her fans just in time to deflect the tendrils that lashed at her head. Raidon brought his sword whirling around and hacked one of them off, sending the Redcape skittering back.

"Can you take it?" Rise asked as Luke tried to carve an opening to the throne. "I'm going to take a shot at Maxim."

Raidon nodded and edged the Redcape away from Rise as she hurried toward the throne.

-------------------------

Jax pitched forward as his bonds were released, catching his balance just in time. He turned about and flashed Lenka a grim smile.

"I will be when we flush these bastards out of here," he said, punching his right fist into his left palm. He nodded over at Keynes, who rubbed at his chafed wrists.

"When we get through this, I'm finally going to take a vacation," Kokonoe told him, jabbing him in the chest. "And you're not going to leave my side the entire time. You hear me?"

She pulled him into a strong, swift kiss, then shoved him away and rushed after Raidon, preparing her next shot.

-------------------------

Maxim watched the proceedings down below with growing anxiety. The Blackcape had vanished - who knew where. And now the prisoners had been freed. This was nothing short of a disaster.

Still... they had a sliver of hope. Kurik could still capture Ariana and Alina Grey. They could salvage this. But he needed to buy Kurik time.

Digging through the pocket of his labcoat, Maxim tossed several hexagonal chips into the air, which hovered around him as Rise reached the foot of the steps to the High General's throne. They still underestimated him.

Rise brought up her fans and began to conjure, even as the hexagons attached themselves to him, growing across his flesh with metal and synthetic fiber armor until he was fully encased.

Spoiler:

"Maragidyne!" Rise called, sending three meteors hurtling down at him.

Too late.

Maxim took to the sky, dodging past the flaming bolts which crashed into the ground in a terrible burst.

"Your mobile doll technology is intriguing," Maxim said, hovering a few feet off the ground before her astonished face. "I couldn't help but make a few... adjustments of my own."

Between his metallic hands arced electricity, which he pulled thin into whip. With a cry, he lunged forward, swiping his whip at her with a sizzling burst of raw energy.

Belobog

“I was really hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but...” Belobog stared at Alexei, who was a clearest target. “For Arusia, it must be done.” Without hesitation, he fired his two pistols. “Send in another attack we can’t let them continue with what they are doing!”

Another man used his electric strain, “Maziodyne!” Where he could see jammer. Other two soldiers looked for opportunity to bypass Alexei to reach jammer

Nadenka

Nadenka managed to come out unscathed with all these chaos, however that doesn’t mean everyone else was. “Mediaharen!” The powerful healing lights touched allies, healing them from that combo spells, and she did so that everyone could concentrate what they were doing. She knew her lights would reach Alexei as well, but her eyes searched for him, when her eyes finally found Alexei, he was already ready for another battle. The tension coming from Alexei’s stance already gave her enough information; he was facing Belobog and other guards.

Then she spotted something on its way to jammer, “Look out!”

Aegis

- Lisa -

Lisa frowned as the heated air dissipated around her, leaving behind the faintest odor of singed hairs. Thankfully, it wasn't her that had taken the brunt of the attack, but she doubted that Nadenka would be pleased with the crispy ends that her man was now sporting. She was even less pleased to see the man who had shot her several days ago appear amidst the crowd.

Despite her own personal reservations, dealing with him wasn't her job. When Nadenka yelled out, Lisa twisted her fingers upward. The man that had been dashing past her was suddenly rocketed upwards, as if he'd been standing on a geyser, crashing into the ceiling and then falling back to the stone floor. Down the hallway, magic circles bloomed into life, bathing the room in light.

"Welcome to my parlor..." Lisa trailed off as the man started to stand. With another gesture of her hand, he was sucked back to the floor, where he struggled to right himself. "Said the spider to the fly."

"Every stone that I've touched as I walked this hallway might as well be a landmine or a flytrap." She glanced at the other members of Belo's team, each glancing at the glowing rings all around. "Would anyone else care to try?"

-------------------------------------------------------

- Alina -

In the somewhat serene silence of the whiteout, it was easy to hear Kurik's approaching footsteps. He seemed frantic now. Perhaps he knew this window was his best opportunity?

He might have been correct, if not for the fact that he was rushing forward without sight. As her rapier was pushed aside, Alina raised the scabbard, which she'd detached from her belt with the other hand. Even at the full extension of his arm, his attack wouldn't reach her before the hardened material drove into his stomach, bringing him to an abrupt halt.

Using that moment of surprise, she pivoted backwards, using the momentum of her twisting torso to whip her rapier at Kurik's face.

-------------------------------------------------------

- Marcus -

Rising back to his feet, Marcus glanced around the room. His mind processed each of the directions as if it were a still image, and the experience was unsettling, yet oddly familiar. With a step to his right, Marcus wrapped his fingers around one of the chairs at the table and flung it at Maxim's outstretched arm. Whether he dodged it or not, the chair would throw off the aim of his whip, causing it to miss Rise.

Turning towards the next image, he darted towards Luke, who was trying to hold off two of the Redcapes by himself.

-------------------------------------------------------

- Keynes -

"Vacation, huh?" Keynes chuckled to himself as Kokonoe dashed after Raidon. "Sounds nice."

He gave Lenka an appreciative salute before kneeling beside Serena, who was still bound to the next column. "You help them deal with the Redcapes. I've got this."

"I'm getting too old for this hand to hand crap, and they actually took all my useful weapons when they searched me the second time."

- Kurik -

Before his blade could connect, he was brought to an abrupt and painful halt when her scabbard connected with his stomach. His breathing faltered for a few seconds. When he got his bearing back, Alina was already twisting around.

Kurik bent back, trying to move out of reach of her rapier. Due to the cold, he saw the cut more than he could feel it. She had nicked him across the cheek with the tip of her rapier.

Using the momentum of the rapier, he used his own weapon to push it down further until it hit the ground. He needed to gain his advantage back and fast. Alina’s magic could return at any moment.

“Tentarafoo.”

A stream of lights and colors appeared to daze Alina.

He used his sai to take another stab at her, this time aiming for her throat.

-------------------------

- Annabelle and Lorrin -

Lorrin suddenly found himself airborne as ice appeared from underneath them. Thankfully, Annabelle retracted her axe in time and then circled around to go after Ariana.

Maybe it was the lingering effect of the cold or maybe she’d been just a little too slow, but Annabelle couldn’t dodge the icicle crashing down on her in time. It hit her shoulder, pain and frost shooting through her.

With a cry of pain, she dropped her axe.

Lorrin had scrambled to his feet, also making his way back around towards Ariana and Annabelle. Without giving Ariana another thought, he went over to Annabelle and helped her up. He too could feel the effect the sustained exposure to the snowstorm had on him.

“Diarama.”

-------------------------

- Lenka -

“Right.” Lenka nodded and took a second to survey the room.

The Blackcape had disappeared for now, but it would be only moments until it reappeared.

Luke and Marcus had taken on the Redcapes while Rise stood in the front, taking on Maxim. When her eyes fell on Maxim, Lenka gasped. His armour made him look like a mobile doll.

Without any conscious effort, her feet moved her past the Redcapes towards Rise and Maxim.

“Blue Wall” she shouted. The thought was good, but with all her excess energy and lack of control, the spell carved a visible rift in the ground as the shockwave almost split the room between Maxim and Rise. While this would cause backlash to both sides, it would absorb most of Maxim’s attack.

“I’m sorry,” Lenka said when she reached Rise and helped her up. “That might’ve been a little overboard.”

-------------------------

- James and Ehlana -

As soon as Belo fired his pistols, Ehlana left her position next to James. She couldn’t just stand here and do nothing.

One shot was deflected by her baton before it could reach anyone. Her other baton intercepted the lightning spell, dispersing it before it could reach its full potential.

“Stop it, Belo!” she called out. “We’re not enemies!”

James looked up just in time to duck behind one of the desks to get out of the line of fire. He tried not to think about the situation the other found themselves in. First, he needed to fix the jammers.

Typing frantically while ignoring the chaos around him, he finally managed to deactivate all the jammers. This also allowed him access back to the mainframe. This was ground he was familiar with.

“The jammers are turned off!” he called over and then activated his com.

“Lambda? Can you hear me?” he asked, studying his tablet while he waited for a response. “I’m streaming the recordings for the courtyard near the front gate with Alina and Ariana and the cameras in the Council Chamber towards you.”

James paused to survey the situation in the room. “We’re sort of trapped in the central security room. Is there somewhere we should head to urgently?”

Caltha - Palace Gates

- Ariana -

Ariana panted as Annabelle seemed down for the moment, and Lorrin, still able to move, chose to help her and heal her. Turning her head, Ariana saw Alina finally able to strike back at Kurik, though they still appeared evenly matched.

This was finally their chance to stand together, maybe decisively turn the tables. Ariana rushed over to Alina, just as Kurik pinned her weapon down and tried to fire off a spell at her.

"Look out!" Ariana called. She tackled Alina aside, the stream of colored light sailing over their heads. The two quickly scrambled up and as Kurik stabbed at Alina's throat, but without the spell's daze she was able to counter it and force him back.

Ariana and Alina quickly took a formation, standing back to back.

"We can do this if we work together," Ariana said, Alina's weight behind her reassuring.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Palace Halls

- Alexei -

Lisa appeared to have the rest of the guards under control, so Alexei kept his focus on Belo. Which was fortunate, as Belo didn't hesitate to launch an attack on him. Before he could act, Ehlana stepped in and deflected Belo's attacks, just as Nadenka's healing spell washed over him. He wished he could give her a smile or even just a nod to show his gratitude, but he couldn't afford to lose his concentration.

“Stop it, Belo!” Ehlana called out. “We’re not enemies!”

Ehlana moved to the left, and Alexei circled toward the right. He didn't want to make Belo an enemy either, but he wouldn't hesitate to give him some knuckles to make him come around.

"We're comrades, Belo," he said. "And sometimes, that means beating sense into each other. So whether we do this the easy way or hard way, we're bringing you back to our side."

-------------------------------------------------------

- Alexei -

Lambda had been nervously hovering near the Palace, waiting for news from the others. Finally, after an agonizing wait, James' voice came through to her.

“Lambda? Can you hear me? I’m streaming the recordings for the courtyard near the front gate with Alina and Ariana and the cameras in the Council Chamber towards you.”

Lambda received the video feed, quickly surveying the footage she was given and processing it instantly.

“We’re sort of trapped in the central security room. Is there somewhere we should head to urgently?”

"Head to the Council Chamber," Lambda told him. "They'll need you there. I'll assist Alina at the front gate, and we'll clear our way inward to you. Good luck."

The front gate. No time to lose. Lambda activated her strain and vanished in a flash of light.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Council Chamber

- Rise -

Raidon deflected one, two, three tendrils as they snaked toward him from unexpected angles. The Redcape snarled and dashed forward along the ground toward him.

"Got it."

Kokonoe slipped past him, took aim, and fired a dart. It nailed the Redcape in the shoulder, and it shrieked and crashed forward. Raidon grabbed hold of Kokonoe and pivoted both of them out of the way as the Redcape slid past them, tendrils peeling and falling away until Commander Barton tumbled free of them. He lay unconscious, but breathing steadily.

"One down, two to go," Kokonoe muttered as another circled in on them.

Suddenly, the Blackcape materialized once more, roaring loud enough to shake the room. The remaining two Redcapes scattered away from it as its tendrils flailed about manically.

"Leave the two Redcapes to us," Raidon told Luke and Marcus. "You two keep that thing under control. We need to get the captives out of here so they're not caught in the crossfire."

-------------------------

Rise stared in surprise as Maxim's electric whip sizzled toward her through the air, but a shout from behind her jolted her to life.

“Blue Wall!”

Electric energy formed a barrier that carved a visible rift in the ground between her and Maxim. As Maxim's whip connected, a shockwave burst the shield apart and sent Maxim flying back and Rise hurtling behind at Lenka's feet.

“I’m sorry,” Lenka said when she reached Rise and helped her up. “That might’ve been a little overboard.”

"Better than getting my neck whipped off," Rise said, laughing shakily. "Thanks."

As she got up, a blur shot past her. Jax! He threw a fist out as Maxim regained his footing and connected squarely with his chest. Maxim flew back against the stairs of the throne, collapsing to his knees. Jax fell to his knees as well, winded.

"Jax! Take it easy," Rise said, rushing to his side. She folded her hands as though praying and murmured. "Diarahan!"

Healing light washed over Jax, and he stood strong once more.

"You have no idea how much being tied up makes you want to crack your knuckles," Jax said, punching his fist into his palm. "You two ready?"

Rise nodded at Lenka and raised her fans. "Let's do it."

Maxim regained his footing, the eyes of his mask blazing. Shooting into the air, he held his palms out and fired two bursts of blue energy down at them.

-------------------------------------------------------

Serena looked up as Keynes hurried over to her and tried to unbind her from the column. Keynes quipped about being too old, and despite the horrible pain in her heart, she managed to smile.

"I know you all did this once before, but seeing it first hand..." She shook her head. "You were all made to do this. Aegis... truly a shield for this nation."

Belobog

Belobog quickly change his gear and fired three bullets, the three bullets head towards the three soldiers who were fighting with him. The three started scream in agonizing pain and they turned into three redcapes, one of the three, which turned slowly than the other two shouted. "What-? Why!?" and Lisa's threat fall to deaf ears.

Nadenka sighed and got herself in position to fight back as well, "Well, talk about patients that need tranquilizers." Said Nadenka.

Belobog gave a weak smile at Alexei's direction. "Not enemies? Comrades?" Belobog's smile quickly faded, "I was not there when you both were in need, I am no comrades of yours." Belobog pointed at Alexei and fired his gun, "And both of you weren't there when I needed you the most." another hand fired shot at the jammer with intention of blowing up since its use outlived it.

________________________________________________________________________________

Nadenka

One of the redcape rushed towards her, and launched its tendrils at her. Nadenka evaded without too much trouble as the monstrosity in front of her was just raging at its best. However, stunning them with her two fists were not going to work. In any case, she hoped that she was good enough keep one busy so that Lisa, and James could handle the two.

Then something was telling her and giving her confidence that she could do this; and she could also save the soul that was trapped inside that monstrosity. For the first time, her powers felt like her partner in saving lives.

Nadenka whispered, "давайте сделаем этого партнера. (Let's do this partner.)"

__________________________________________________________________________________

Luke Jaron

Luke quickly side-stepped tendrils, unlike last time, he was having a better time with his reaction to Redcapes tendrils and he gave another punch to its face. With Marcus helping him, the two redcapes were not something they could not handle. However, remembering how redcape works, Luke knew fully well that it needs to be taken care of or whoever was in that form would die soon or later.

That was then the roar of blackcape echoed, Luke turned around and there it was, Alex. Raidon told them to handle him instead so that captives could be safe. Luke nodded without straying his eyes away from Alex.

Luke quickly rushed in, "Alex! It's time for you to wake up!" With his over-limit already activated, "Sukukaja, Tarukaja!" With his enhanced speed and with his strengthened strength he gave a powerful kick to Alex on his abdomen so that connected or not Alex and himself could be further from the escaping captives and the others.

Aegis

- Alina -

Alina groaned as she rolled from beneath Ariana and pushed herself to her feet. With their backs to one another, she chanced a quip over her shoulder. "While I appreciate the help, can you be a little more gentle next time? Cobblestones aren't exactly the greatest cushion for a soft landing, even when they're not iced over."

Somewhere in the exchange, Alina had dropped her scabbard, but it didn't really matter. Kurik wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. Maybe a different one though? Grinning, she leaned forward and scooped up a handful of fresh snow. Next time Kurik closed in on her, she'd give him a frigid surprise.

At least that had been her plan before a flash of light appeared beside her, and Lambda stepped into the courtyard.

"Looks like the jammers are down."

-------------------------------------------------------

- Lisa -

Lisa's eyes widened in horror as Belo seemed to turn on his own men. Of course, it was even worse when she realized what he'd done to them. Clicking her teeth in frustration, she activated the circles in sequence, pushing the closest Redcape backwards, then throwing it to the ground. As it stood, she repeated the action, causing it to cry out in fury.

"James, you might want to request some backup, now that you can!" She yelled over her shoulder. "We're not exactly equipped to deal with these."

-------------------------------------------------------

- Marcus -

Again Marcus surveyed the room in a wash of still images. Blackcape. Redcapes. Hostages. Maxim.

Lenka.

Luke! He was already running towards the Blackcape, which dwarfed them both in size. Using a nearby pillar for leverage, Marcus launched himself upwards, twisting his body to plant his feet against the ceiling. As Luke kicked the Blackcape, Marcus dove towards it, gripping it by what served as shoulders, and threw it to the ground, using the momentum generated by Luke's kick.

Tendrils wrapped around his arms as he landed, but Marcus had better leverage and was able to pull his hands free. He'd need to remember it could do that though. Getting caught would be bad, even in this state.

-------------------------------------------------------

- Keynes -

Keynes let out a harsh laugh as he worked on Serena's bonds. "Some shield we are to let things get this bad before stepping in." As he worked the ropes loose, he glanced over at the others, locked in combat.

"It's not sustainable. A unit like this can't operate effectively within the rules defined by our government." Pulling the final cord away, he offered Serena a hand in reaching her feet. "One way or another, this needs to be our last intervention."

"Every one of them would sacrifice more than they'd admit to keep things as they were, but the world they're fighting to protect, the world I'm fighting to protect, is one that has no place for us once this is over." Keynes pointed Serena towards the nearest column, where more members were still bound. "Think about that, and if you make it through this, take it to heart. The country is capable of shielding itself. Someone just has to be willing to be the arm."

- Kurik with Annabelle & Lorrin -

Before his blade could connect with Alina’s throat, Ariana interfered yet again, and both women fell to the ground. Both his spell and his attack failed.

Kurik gritted his teeth. This couldn’t be happening.

Alina and Ariana quickly stood up, standing back to back.

Probably just in time as Annabelle and Lorrin had tried stop Ariana and upon seeing that they were too late, appeared at Kurik’s side. They fanned out, to give each other room to move.

“Annabelle, use…”

Kurik’s voice cut off when light flashed through the darknees and Lambda appeared.

He knew what this meant. There wasn’t a moment to lose.

“Annabelle, Lorrin, distract her for as long as you can,” he quickly said. “I’ll finish this.”

There was a dark look in his eyes. It was now or never.

Annabelle and Lorrin moved their focus to Lambda.

“Mudo!” Annabelle cast and moved to the side. A dark circle appeared below Lambda. “Mamudoon!” In addition to the darkness, tendrils shot out of the ground to grasp as Lamdba’s limbs.

Lorrin moved in synch with Annabelle. “Tarukaja.” He cast on himself and raced for Lambda with his sword raised.


Kurik once again moved towards Alina and Ariana.

“Shibaboo,” he cast towards Ariana while the rest of his attention turned at Alina. The blade in his right hand feigned an attack at her stomach and turned upwards towards her throat in the last second while his left blade moved down to cut her leg.


--------------------

- Lenka -

Lenka was glad to see that Rise was okay. It had been more of a reflex to cast and the reaction showed her that she still wasn’t that much closer to having full control over her strain.

Yet, Rise and Jax looked at her full of confidence and she realized… they were counting on her to help them defeat Maxim. Lenka swallowed.

Yes, of course she would do what she could.

“Yes! Let’s go!”

Meanwhile Maxim had recovered and shot more energy towards them. Lenka panicked for a second. There was nowhere to hide to avoid it and before she could dive out of the way, the blue energy reached her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shielded herself with her hands, fully expecting pain.

But nothing happened.

Lenka peaked between her outstretched hands. They were tingling slightly, but they had been feeling like that since she cast her spell. It didn’t look like Rise or Jax had prevented the spell from reaching her. Surprise colored her face when it dawned on her that she must have just absorbed the energy.

Maybe she wasn’t as helpless or useless in this fight as she’d thought. Maybe she wasn’t out of her depth at all. With renewed determination, she gripped her weapon tightly and swung it towards Maxim. It caught his calf.

“So you like electricity?!” she called out. “Then tell me how you like this!”

Lenka clasped her hands together.

“Zionga!”

And instead of the ground, the electricity travelled along her whip right into Maxim. And just like before with her lack of control, there was a raw energy behind it that cause the spell to be much more powerful than normal.


--------------------

- James -

James quickly scrolled through the video feed. It looked like both the other two groups were in a tight spot as well. He gritted his teeth.

Rise.

Suddenly there was an explosion around him as Belo’s shot caused some of the equipment to explode. The fire re-ignited and he backed away, watching the jammer crumble. It was okay. Communications were restored and the back-up would fire up. They didn’t need to salvage this equipment.

Drawing his katanas, he made his way between the Redcapes over to Lisa.

“I can’t,” he replied to her and showed her the video feed from the front gate and the Council Chamber. “And I won’t. Lambda moved to the front gate and we have to get to the Council Chamber.”

The Redcape, that was held down by Lisa, writhed and tried to reach them with its tendrils. James jumped up and over it, pulling something from his pocket. He jammed it into the Redcapes neck just as the tendrils ensnared his leg, threatening to pull him away.

Suddenly the Redcape shrunk, leaving only the man from before, unconscious.

“If we’re not equipped to deal with them, then who is?” he asked her with a slight grin and held up another syringe.

Kokonoe had given him a few syringes with the anti-dote. Just in case.

Before he could turn to the Redcape that was kept distracted by Nadenka, the third Redcape attacked him from behind. As he struggled to escape the tendrils, the syringe fell to the floor.


--------------------

- Ehlana -

Belo turned his attention to Alexei, so she sneaked closer towards Belo. His guns were effective, but only as long as no one was within close combat range. In addition, the Redacpe serum wouldn’t work on her, even if he decided to shoot her.

That was a pain she could easily take. His words on the other hand. They hurt. But it also helped her realize how much Belo had suffered. The last time she’d seen him, they had left him for dead.

While he was distracted with Alexei and blowing up the jammers, Ehlana jumped from behind at Belo and used her Baton to create a choke hold around his neck.

“We’re here now, Belo!” she said “And we’re not going to let you throw your life away for that son-of-a-bitch Maxim!”

Caltha - Palace Gates

- Ariana -

Ariana grinned, half-proud and half-sheepish, though Alina couldn't see it. "Next time? Are you expecting me to keep saving you?"

Kurik recovered from the miss of his attack, and Lorrin and Annabelle swiftly joined his side. The three began to fan out, planning to cage them in, when a flash of light caught everyone's attention.

Lambda stepped out of the magic circle, her glowing red eye trained on Kurik and his teammates. Annabelle and Lorrin rushed for Lambda, trying to block her access to Kurik.

“Mudo!” Annabelle cast and moved to the side. A dark circle appeared below Lambda. “Mamudoon!” In addition to the darkness, tendrils shot out of the ground to grasp as Lamdba’s limbs.

"Trafuri."

Lambda momentarily vanished and appeared in front of Lorrin who, despite the surprise, managed to bring his raised sword down at Lambda's head. Even with his reinforced strength, Lambda brought up her arm and blocked the strike, holding his sword at bay.

"Surrender now," Lambda said. "While you have a chance."

Her glowing eye let loose a beam of ruby light, hitting Lorrin in the chest and knocking him back.

Meanwhile, Kurik moved again to strike. He cast his Shibaboo spell at Ariana, who dropped to the ground and rolled aside to avoid the stream of colored lights. When she regained her footing, Kurik was already unleashing blows at Alina.

Gritting her teeth, Ariana rushed in from behind Kurik. Between her and Alina, they could hopefully strike like pincers to crush him.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Palace Halls

- Alexei -

Belobog smiled weakly at Alexei's words. "Not enemies? Comrades?" Belobog's smile quickly faded. "I was not there when you both were in need, I am no comrades of yours."

Alexei frowned. "Belo..."

That wasn't his fault. The three of them couldn't help what had happened to each other since they'd arrived.

Belobog pointed at Alexei and fired his gun. "And both of you weren't there when I needed you the most."

Alexei's eyes widened. That stung, enough to freeze him a moment when Belo attacked. Alexei ducked to the side, but Belo's shot was able to graze his arm. Alexei cursed and winced as his arm bled, but luckily, his injury had given Ehlana a chance to attack from behind. With her baton at his windpipe, she got him in a powerful chokehold and tried to shout sense into him.

Alexei rushed forward, ready to strike Belo from his vulnerable front while Ehlana held him from behind.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Council Chamber

- Raidon -

The second Redcape cried out and collapsed to the ground, where another Commander rolled free from the withering tendrils, unconscious but safe.

"You've been holding out on us," Raidon said, smiling. "I didn't know you could handle battle so well."

Kokonoe, her breathing a bit heavy, trained her sights on the last Redcape. "Yeah, well, when you're always expecting a day when you or your husband or you kid or your friends are going to get captured, you start taking a little combat training of your own. Can't expect all of you to always be defending me."

"Let's hope this is the last time you need to use it," Raidon said, raising his sword as the last Redcape charged.

-------------------------

- Blackcape -

The Blackcape roared and skidded back from Luke's attack, but was ready to lash out with its tendrils when Marcus grabbed it by the shoulders and slammed it into the ground. Tendrils writhed and snatched at Marcus' limbs, but he pulled free and distanced himself.

Righting itself, the Blackcape began to quiver. Its tendrils lashed out, but then they seemed to vanish into portals of darkness. The next moment, dark rifts appeared below Luke and Marcus, out of which tendrils shot at them.

-------------------------

- Rise -

Rise and Jax, who'd been preparing to dodge Maxim's attack, drew up in surprise as Lenka appeared to absorb the electric energy.

No time for distractions, though. Maxim raced toward them, and Rise quickly raised her fans to cast.

"Agi!" she called, sending the fireball streaming toward him.

Maxim, a static field of energy emerging around his arm, deflected the fireball aside. Rise dodged as he continued on his path directly at Lenka, who caught his calf with her own whip.

“So you like electricity?!” she called out. “Then tell me how you like this! Zionga!”

Instead of the ground, the electricity channeled through her whip right into Maxim. The raw energy behind it made his body arc in pain before being throw back. Before he could hit the ground, Jax had charged up to him and delivered three rapid blows that bashed him back into the nearest pillar.

Maxim fell to his knees, winded. As powerful as his new invention was, he wasn't suited to combat. This Aegis group, however... they were born to do this.

Just as Kurik was born to lead.

Maxim put new strength into his limbs and stood. "I've come to far... to lose here."

Slashing his whip at Jax, he narrowly missed striking the police chief across the face. However, by the time, Jax had regained his footing, Maxim reached him and threw a powerful blow against his chest, blasting him back with a shot of electric energy that made him spasm.

"Jax!" Rise cried, but she couldn't reach him before Maxim turned on her next. She raised her fans and deflected his whip, sparks flying everywhere as he lashed at her again and again.

-------------------------------------------------------

- Serena -

Serena's eyes softened, and she put a hand on Keynes' arm.

"Let's leave the future for later," she said. "Right now, I want to do whatever I can to stop this madness."

Her eyes scanned the room, and her gaze fell on the unconscious Commanders saved from the Redcape state.

"We have to get them clear from here before they're hurt," Serena told Keynes. "Will you help me?"

She rushed forward, narrowly avoiding a stray fireball deflected by Maxim, and scooped up Commander Sarasin. Nodding toward Commander Barton's prone form, she began to drag Sarasin toward the doors.

Belobog

Ehlana's choke hold surprised him, and telling him to not to throw away his life... However, Belobog sunk his pistols to the gap between baton and his neck. Belobog pushed baton away from his neck, and toss Ehlana to Alexei.

"I am not and I won't! My life, I am always ready to throw away for Arusia! Not Maxim!" He shouted, "And, and I always was ready to throw away for my two comrades..." He looked at them, catching his breath, "But, not any more!" He fired his pistols at the two.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Nadenka

Nadenka was not so sure where her confidence came from, but it seemed like her body knew what to do. The redcape that was having a stand off with her quickly chased after her using its tendrils, and instead of evading it, Nadenka got hold of it.

The Tendrils looked like to suck life out of Nadenka, but the light started to spread the tendrils that caught her. The tendrils of redcape retreated, surprised and fearful what would have happened if it did not let go early, but it was too late. The little light spread across and soon the light covered redcape; a man fall out from the light, unconscious.

Then Nadenka looked at the other redcapes who were distracted by the other two. She quickly rushed to the one that got hold of James. The Redcape that hold James saw her closing by and quickly shoot out its tendrils at it, too. But alas, the light devoured the tendrils and redcape decided to run away, but not too far it went. It, too, became a human as well and made its fall.

The final one saw what Nadenka could do to others and for its first time felt fear. It tried to run. Nadenka was not so sure she could reach in time to tackle it. "Lisa, James! Don't let it get away!" she asked support from the other two.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Luke

Luke saw that move before, it was something that Lambda had performed in front of them. Then Luke realized where its tendrils were heading, "Watch out!" Said Luke and he jumped away from the magic circle that was formed underneath. Luke smiled weakly. "Hey, Alex, you are conscious aren't you?" He asked the blackcape. "Then come out from that shell!" He rushed towards it to give another kick, this time to its chest area. "Don't run away! You are still needed here!"

- Alina -

Cheeky. Alina grinned at Ariana's words. Despite her failings, the girl had the potential to be an outstanding woman someday.

Kurik's swift response to the changing situation caught Alina slightly off guard, but his attacks had become almost reckless now. While he still feinted a blow, by backpedaling away from it, she was able to dodge both the fake and the true attack. As the tip of his blade sliced over her leg, leaving a shallow cut, Alina chucked the snowball she'd made into Kurik's face at point blank. It didn't matter how fast the man could think if he couldn't see. Plus, she was beginning to feel the cold around her again. Soon, she would be ready to make her counterattack.

For now, Alina stepped backwards, flicking the tip of her rapier towards Kurik's wrist in passing. If she could disable his hands, he wouldn't be able to make use of those blades.

-------------------------------------------------------

- Lisa -

"You didn't tell me that you had the cure." Lisa muttered as the first Redcape returned to its original form. Before she could react, James was suddenly pulled from his feet, the other syringe clattering to the floor.

"James!" She dashed after him, but came to an abrupt halt as a soft light engulfed the Redcape. As it reverted to its original form, Lisa took note of Nadenka's outstretched hand. Did the woman have the ability to nullify a person's strain? She shivered at the thought, but didn't have the time to think about it, as the last Redcape was shuffling away now.

Diving to the floor, she wrapped her fingers around the syringe that James had dropped and threw it at the Redcape. It took a wide arc to the side and then lit up with the glow of a magic circle as it pivoted and drove itself into the fleeing creature. A moment later, the darkness melted away as another guard fell to the floor.

"Can you handle things here?" Lisa asked Nadenka as James was pushing himself back to his feet.

-------------------------------------------------------

- Marcus -

Luke's warning hadn't even registered to Marcus yet when he realized that the tendrils were coming up from below him. He could have easily dodged them, but instead, Marcus gripped one of them and pulled. Reorienting himself, he used it as leverage, not to pull the Blackcape, but to throw himself downward, through the hole.

As Luke jumped to kick it in the chest, Marcus emerged from the portal, throwing his shoulder into the Blackcape's head. In the moment of surprise this created, he planted his feet on its shoulder and kicked off, putting distance back between the Blackcape and himself.

Caltha – Palace Gates

- Kurik -

He wanted to move in with a follow up attack when Alina moved back. However, he was stopped when a snowball landed in his face. For a second, he was stunned and confused. This was unexpected. And clever.

Unable to see for a few seconds, he moved back. And just in time. He could feel Alina’s rapier bite into his forearm. By the sting, it was probably only a shallow cut, but he still wasn’t interested in getting any more of those.

While moving back, he could Ariana approach from behind and tensed. They both had proven to be unpredictable, so he was unsure on what she would do.

As a pre-caution, he moved to the side and cast between the two women.

“Tentarafoo.”

----------------------------

- Annabelle & Lorrin -

Lorrin poured his strength into his sword when Lambda suddenly appeared before him, but she managed to block his strike with her arm. Even with a boost from his spell, he couldn’t even make a dent.

“If I was the type to give up, I would’ve retired two years ago,” Lorrin retorted. Despite the cold, sweat formed on his forehead. He knew he wouldn’t be able to parry Lambda much longer.

Suddenly a beam of ruby light hit him squarely in the chest and blasted him back. He hit the ground and for a few seconds he was just lying there.

“Dia.”

The healing light washed over him and he got back on his feet. He would continue attacking until he either couldn’t heal himself anymore or there was nothing left to heal.

So, once again, he raised his sword and came for Lambda.

Meanwhile, Annabelle had used those seconds where Lambda focused on Lorrin to stalk up behind her.

“Shadow Scythe,” she called out and raised her ax, ready to cleave it into Lamdba’s back. Her Overlimit manifested and a dark shadow enveloped the ax, making it larger and more powerful as the darkness of the Mudo strain fused with it.

----------------------------

Caltha – Palace Halls

- Ehlana -

Ehlana pulled her grip tighter as Belo tried to pry it open with his pistol. They were locked in a still battle for what felt like an eternity. However, eventually, Belo gained the upper hand by expanding his leverage and broke her grip.

In the next second, Ehlana flew through the air, landing hard on Alexei who was already rushing in. They both quickly got up and squared towards Belo.

Belo was still angry. Too angry to understand that in reality they were fighting for the same thing. Arusia.

“And you think we wouldn’t do the same for Arusia?” she shouted back. “That’s exactly what we’re fighting for! A better future for our home country!”

Ehlana knew Belo would take the shot before she heard the gun. Still, she made no move to dodge.

The bullet ripped through her shoulder and she stumbled for a second. Warm blood began to stain her shirt, but despite this, she walked up towards Belo, not caring if he fired again.

“Is this what it takes?” she asked him, her voice already sounding strained. “That we continue fighting until we’re all dead?”

“Do you want to die that badly? And who wins then? Only Maxim. Not Arusia. He deceived us all, why can’t you see that? When was the last time you saw him report back to Arusia?”

Ehlana fought to keep her balance.

“What outcomes do you see for this conflict, Belo?” she asked him and gripped the collar of his jacket to force him to look at her, “That Arusia will overpower Kaddath? A nation that doesn’t even know how to handle the sun? Or the sea? Fuck that doesn’t even know how to handle being outside?”

“We literally know nothing about how to survive in this world. We need help. We need the people of Kaddath to show us how to share this world. Arusia can’t do this alone. And the only one standing in the way of that is Maxim and his own selfish plans.”

“He used us, Belo. Please see that. We’re the only ones who can help put an end to this so we can't become martyrs.”

“And we don’t want to build that future without you.” There was emotion in her voice. She genuinely cared about Belo.

Ehlana hung her head. She didn’t want this pointless fight to continue.

“I don’t want to fight my comrade and friend,” she said. “If the only outcome you see here is to kill me, then go ahead.”

“Maxim already condemned me to die when I was taken prisoner. Since you claim he still fights for our beloved Arusia… it would be cruel to of me to prolong anyone’s suffering. That’s not my style.”

Did she want to die? Hell no!

Was she the martyr type? Of course not!

Was the aware of the risk? Unfortunately, yes. But at the same time, she had faith in Belo. She trusted him to do the right thing. If they couldn’t rely on each other…who else could they trust?

----------------------------


- James -

James fell to the floor when the Redcape suddenly disappeared. He coughed, trying to catch his breath.

The last Redcape was fleeing, but Lisa managed to make use of her Overlimit and the dropped syringe shot like an arrow into the Redcape’s neck, revealing the human it once was.

“Thanks,” James said to Nadenka. “I didn’t know an Overlimit could do that.”

He glanced over to the Arusians. It looked like they were still in a fierce fight.

“With his Redcape ammunition, it’s too dangerous for Lisa or you to stay here,” he said to Nadenka and held out the remaining two syringes to her. “But I understand if you want to stay for Alexei.”

“Lisa and I have to get to the Council Chamber and help the others, so I leave the choice up to you.”

James picked up his katanas and joined Lisa at the door. “Meet us at the Council Chamber when you’re done here!” he called out.

----------------------------

Caltha – Council Chamber
- Lenka -

Before Lenka could become too celebratory because her attack actually worked, Maxim recovered and continued attacking first Jax and then Rise.

Lenka bit her lip and stepped forward and raised her weapon. Using the chain seemed to be a good way to channel all of her energy.

“Blue Wall!” Waiting for the right moment, she stepped in between Maxim’s ferocious attacks and Rise’s fans. Her hands were raised with a piece of chain tight between them. Maxim’s next attack seemed to his an invisible wall with sparks flying everywhere as it manifested like a shield, absorbing most of the damage.

“Go! Go!” Lenka urged Rise as she held up her hands again to block another attack. “I got this.”

Caltha - Palace Gates

- Ariana -

As Ariana approached, Kurik broke off from Alina to cast his Tentarafoo spell at them once more. Unable to stop her momentum this time, Ariana decided to go offensive this time.

"Mabufudyne!" she cried, raining down several huge icicles like spears at Kurik. As she did, Kurik's spell collided with her, and she sank to one knee as a dizzying array of colors washed over her vision like a psychedelic dream. Raising her weapon in front of her, she tried to focus on her hearing, listening for the telltale crunch of snow beneath his feet while praying her attack had been enough to stop him - or, at least, slow him down.

------------------------------

- Lambda -

Lambda frowned as Lorrin raised himself from the ground, still intending to attack despite being hopelessly outclassed.

"Life is precious. It shouldn't be wasted," she said. "Please."

In that moment, she heard the whisper behind her. "Shadow Scythe."

Lambda turned, activating her thrusters as a dark crescent arced through the air toward it. It scored a gash along her torso as she backpedaled, forcing her to her knee.

"Ugh." It was well struck, a blow that would require a substantial repair.

Not enough to stop her, however.

"I apologize," she said, getting to her feet, her crimson eye blazing. "I underestimated you. I won't make that mistake again."

She began to hover in the air, crossing both arms in front of her body as a magic circle appeared before her. "Overlimit activate: Angelic Ray."

She thrust out both arms toward the circle. Dimensional wormholes began to appear around the battlefield, out of which fired powerful beams of magical energy. Quickly, the entire area surrounding Lorrin and Annabelle turned into a deadly field of crisscrossing lasers.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Palace Halls

- Alexei -

Just as Alexei was ready to strike Belo, he broke free from Ehlana's grip and threw her off.

Right into him.

They both went down, quickly pushing off each other to gain the momentum they needed to roll back onto their feet. Getting through to Belo seemed impossible right now. How could they-

“You think we wouldn’t do the same for Arusia?” Ehlana shouted at im. “That’s exactly what we’re fighting for! A better future for our home country!”

Her words were barely out before a shot cracked through the air. Alexei stiffened a moment, too stunned to realize where the shot had gone, before Ehlana buckled. Alexei stared at the blood running down her arm as she stalked up to Belo and grabbed him by the collar.

“Is this what it takes?” she asked him, her voice already sounding strained. “That we continue fighting until we’re all dead? Do you want to die that badly? And who wins then? Only Maxim. Not Arusia. He deceived us all, why can’t you see that? When was the last time you saw him report back to Arusia?”

Her balance wavered, and Alexei took a step forward but stopped short. He couldn't interrupt her, even to keep her standing. Not now.

“What outcomes do you see for this conflict, Belo? That Arusia will overpower Kaddath? A nation that doesn’t even know how to handle the sun? Or the sea? That doesn’t even know how to handle being outside? We literally know nothing about how to survive in this world. We need help. We need the people of Kaddath to show us how to share this world.”

Alexei turned to look at Nadenka, his gaze softening as she turned to look at him, having managed to subdue the Redcapes Belo had created. Arusia and Kaddath... they were proof that the two didn't have to exist separately. That together, they might even be better.

“He used us, Belo. Please see that. We’re the only ones who can help put an end to this so we can't become martyrs.”

Martyrs... Alexei's grip tightened on his baton. He hadn't forgotten how quickly Maxim had turned on him, offered him and Nadenka up like sheep to the slaughter to keep up his agenda. How he'd left Ehlana alone to die...

“And we don’t want to build that future without you. I don’t want to fight my comrade and friend. If the only outcome you see here is to kill me, then go ahead.”

Alexei's eyes widened. "Ehlana..." he murmured before he could stop himself.

His eyes darted between Ehlana and Belo, not daring to make a move and yet terrified about not being able to act in time. Maybe he would finally listen, but if he didn't, if he finished things now... he'd be truly lost.

Alexei's grip tightened harder on his baton as he stared at the two of them, praying Belo didn't cross that line. Because if Ehlana didn't walk out of here... neither would Belo.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Council Chamber

- Blackcape -

At Luke's words, the Blackcape momentarily shrank back, drawing into itself.

Then Marcus emerged through one of the portals it had created, slamming his shoulder into the Blackcape's head before kicking off of it. The Blackcape shrieked in rage and pounced forward, tendrils writhing and flailing, as it clawed at Marcus.

------------------------------

- Rise -

Rise's leg buckled under Maxim's attack, and his next attack came, she swung her fans up, knowing her technique was off. He'd surely knock them away and go in for the decisive strike.

But it never came.

“Blue Wall!” Lenka once more stepped in, blocking the attack with her electric shield.

“Go! Go!” she urged Rise. “I got this.”

Rise nodded and sidestepped around her, mind racing as she decided whether to go help Jax or attack Maxim. That decision was quickly made as Maxim raised up one of his legs, the pointed tip gleaming like one of Lambda's eye beams.

"You're quite the nuisance," he growled at Lenka. "I'm going to need you out of the way."

He fired the blast beneath Lenka's barrier, striking her in the chest.

"Lenka!" Rise cried. She raised up her fans, anger surging red-hot through her veins. "Fire Amp! Agidyne!"

Conjuring the amplified meteor, she sent it hurling straight at Maxim. He pivoted and brought up his hands to catch it, a deflective force field around his hands enabling him to hold it off even as it sent him skidding across the floor.

"You Kaddathians have your magic," he said. "But our technology is just as strong!"

"You forgot about our recklessness!"

He turned his head just as Jax pounced on him from behind, pinning his arms to his side.

"What? No, you-!"

No longer able to hold it at bay, the fireball slammed into Maxim and Jax in a blinding flash of light. Rise covered her eyes, daring to look after a few moments. Maxim's suit was damaged, pieces blasted completely away, others sparking and smoking. But after a few moments, he shakily stood to his feet.

Jax, on the other hand, laid completely still. Unconscious or... no, she couldn't think that.

Maxim turned toward him, whip crackling in his hand. "I can't fail here. I... can't." He condensed it between his hands, turning it into a crackling ball of electricity that send bolts of lightning arcing through the air, scorching all around him.

Jax couldn't possibly defend himself, and she was too far away to reach him in time, even with a spell. Raidon and Kokonoe were too close, and Keynes and Serena, along with the captives they were helping out, would get caught up as well.

"Lenka!" she called. "Finish it! You can do it!"

Caltha - Palace Halls
Belobog

Belobog did fire his pistol, but given circumstances, he knew fully well that other two could dodge it, without a scratch.

“And you think we wouldn’t do the same for Arusia?” she shouted back. “That’s exactly what we’re fighting for! A better future for our home country!"

But one of the two did not dodge, but take it head on. "Why...." Belobog whispered, astonished that Ehlana did not dodge it.

“Is this what it takes? That we continue fighting until we’re all dead? Do you want to die that badly? And who wins then? Only Maxim. Not Arusia. He deceived us all, why can’t you see that? When was the last time you saw him report back to Arusia?"

Belobog had his pistol pointing at Ehlana, his hand was giving a unnoticeable shaking, but his face tried so hard to focus on incoming hostile...no, his comrade was walking toward him... "Stay back..." that's what he thought he said, but his words did not come out.

“What outcomes do you see for this conflict, Belo? That Arusia will overpower Kaddath? A nation that doesn’t even know how to handle the sun? Or the sea? That doesn’t even know how to handle being outside? We literally know nothing about how to survive in this world. We need help. We need the people of Kaddath to show us how to share this world.”

Ehlana was now really close, too close for her own good. She was bleeding, and Belobog's pistols were now visually shaking.

“He used us, Belo. Please see that. We’re the only ones who can help put an end to this so we can't become martyrs. And we don’t want to build that future without you. I don’t want to fight my comrade and friend. If the only outcome you see here is to kill me, then go ahead." Ehlana added "Maxim already condemned me to die when I was taken prisoner. Since you claim he still fights for our beloved Arusia… it would be cruel to of me to prolong anyone’s suffering. That’s not my style."

Belobog's guns were dropped to the ground, Belobog finally found his voice, "I wanted to save you, but I heard you were dead... thought you betrayed me and Alexei... and when someone framed Alexei, I wanted to prove Alexei's innocence so that we all could be together... But all I was told, all I can think of ....You know, only one thing kept me going... my gut was telling me all was about to end. If all ends, I thought I could be, no, we could be free to do whatever we want... That kept me going..."

He looked at Ehlana, and Alexei "Am I still your comrade?" Belobog, "Could I watch your backs just like good old days?"

__________________________________________________________________________________

Nadenka

"Nice shot." Said Nadenka, commenting on how Lisa being able to shot down fleeing redcape. "I didn't know it could do this either." Said Nadenka, replying to what James said, and she gave a nod as Lisa and James take off to help others.

As Nadenka finally turned attention to Alexei's side, she could not, but notice the blood trails from Ehlana. She also noticed Alexei showing sign of restrain.

She could see Ehlana and Belobog talking to each other, than the man dropped his weapons. A sign of surrender? She rushed to the side of Alexei, "Is it over?" Said Nadenka, worriedly, and ready to heal Ehlana as soon as Alexei give her okay.

- Alina -

This time, she was expecting the spell, and Alina dove to the side, rolling away from the flashing lights and colors. As she pushed herself back to her feet, Ariana's spell rained down over Kurik. Instead of charging into the chaos, Alina stretched out her fingers, feeling the cold wrap around them.

Their opponent was too quick to be caught by the falling ice, but it might injure him at least. As the snow settled, Alina scanned the horizon for Kurik. When his form became apparent amidst the rubble, she reached up and pulled the frozen crown from her head. The ring of ice rested heavily in her hand as she swung it backwards, then threw it at Kurik.

"You want this crown?" She called to him as it sailed through the air towards him. "You can have it."

In midair, the circle expanded, growing to a diameter that could easily encompass someone. When it hit the ground, it would constrict and freeze anything within its grasp.

-------------------------------------------------------

- Lisa -

Lisa cast one last glance at Nadenka as she and James left the room. Hopefully, the woman would be alright. She cringed again at the thought of that Overlimit. Maybe it just cured them without taking their magic? Why was she even thinking about this right now?

Shaking her head to clear it, Lisa kept her focus down the hallway ahead of them. "How are they doing in the Council Chamber?" She asked James, who could probably run and watch the tablet at the same time as easily as breathing. "What are we gonna be running into?"

-------------------------------------------------------

- Marcus -

Not fast enough.

Marcus was jerked backwards by a single tendril that had wrapped around his ankle. As he twisted to grip it between his fingers, another wrapped around his torso, and the Blackcape flung him upwards. His world turned red for a second as his body crashed into the roof.

Not tough enough.

Marcus barely had time to gasp before the tendrils flung him downward, throwing him with an equal force into the floor.

Not strong enough.

His grip relaxed slightly as his muscles threatened to give out, but he maintained his hold.

The world rushed by as the Blackcape flicked him to one side and then flung him across the room.

"To hell with it."

Marcus gripped the tendril harder, using the force of its own throw, he pulled the Blackcape with him, jerking it off balance. As his feet hit the floor, Marcus pulled the tendril over his shoulder, catapulting the Blackcape over him and into the ceiling in a similar manner as it had done to him, causing the entire room to shake with the impact.

Of course, the thud of it hitting the ground afterwards wasn't as satisfying, but hey, he'd take it.

Luke

After all the hell lose, the brawl with Marcus and Blackcape, Luke quickly launched himself to Alex, with his fist ready to send a blow to its thick blackcape’s skin “We haven’t finished training yet,” said Luke as he increased his speed and his blow, “so, you like it or not, I am bringing you home!” He increased his speed and power further, pushing his overlimit’s capabilities to the max, “WAKE UP ALEX!” He punched it to its face, hoping it would knocked him out or really wake Alex who is inside that blackcape.

Caltha – Palace Gates

- Kurik -

That little brat seemed to get a boost from the ice as Ariana was able to unleash a powerful ice spell before getting his with a stream of lights.

Kurik jumped back to avoid the icicles, but he was too slow. The last one slammed into him and send him flying backwards.

“Tarukaja.”

Cast mid-air, the spell cushioned his impact on the ground. Kurik rose to his feet. While he had avoided some damage, he had also lost his advantage and was too far away to re-engage in close-combat.

A quick glance to the side showed him that both Lorrin and Annabelle were hopelessly outclassed by Lambda, who just activated her Overlimit. It would only be a matter of moments before she turned her attention to him.

It dawned on him that their plan was failing.

Could he really still succeed in his task of capturing Ariana? Maybe it was time to retreat and re-group with Maxim. He glanced at the doors behind him, calculating.

Alina’s voice pulled him from his thoughts and he cursed at himself for being so careless. She threw her icy crown towards him. It seemed to expand. That couldn’t be a good sign.

That decided it. He gave one last long look towards Annabelle and Lorrin. Surely they would be left alone. The focus of Alina, Ariana and Lambda was solely on him now.

Swiftly, he turned around and headed back inside.

----------------------------

- Annabelle & Lorrin -

When Annabelle struck Lambda successfully, for a moment Lorrin thought they had a chance. Until Lambda released her Overlimit.

All around them lights began to appear and soon enough the entire area was a laser field. Neither Annabelle nor Lorrin were equipped or fit to deal with this. Even fully healed and with no previous battle this would’ve been a challenge.

As the lasers tore up the area with small explosions, Lorrin felt himself become airborne. He landed hard on the frozen ground. Instead of getting up, he just stared at the dark sky.

“I’m sorry, Kurik,” he murmured. They were done. He didn’t have the energy to get back up.

A few moments later, Annabelle slammed into a rock nearby and sunk to the ground. Lorrin forced his body to move until he lightly touched her unmoving hand.

“Diarahan.”

Healing light washed over Annabelle. Lorrin watched the glow until his own eyes closed from exhaustion. This was all the energy he could muster.

A few seconds later, Annabelle opened her eyes. It took her a moment to get her bearings. She was shocked at first when she saw Lorrin, but the white cloud of air around his head showed her that he was still breathing. Still stiff, she pulled him towards her and placed his head in her lap while she leaned back against the hard rock of the palace wall.

“Idiot,” was her only comment.

She also knew they were out of this fight now. They were just lucky to be alive. On the other side of the courtyard, she could see how Kurik disappeared through the doors, heading back inside.

----------------------------

Caltha – Palace Halls

- Ehlana -

Ehlana exhaled audibly when she heard Belo’s guns drop to the floor. The tension left her body.

She pulled him into a light hug.

“You never stopped being our comrade, Belobog,” she said quietly. “No matter what they do, they can never take that away.”

She straightened up and released him. Then she slowly bent down and picked up his guns, placing them gently in Belo’s hand.

“I wouldn’t trust anyone else to watch my back. Let’s go fight for our country like we’re supposed to do.”

Finally, she allowed herself to register the pain and grimaced. She turned around to Alexei and Nadenka and gave them a pained half-smile and a thumbs up.

From Nadenka’s worried expression, she could guess that the woman was about to unleash her magic on her and she held up her hand before she could move. “No magic, please,” she said to Nadenka and gestured towards the medical kit. It took effort. If she couldn’t get that bleeding stopped soon, she wouldn’t be standing much longer.

----------------------------

Caltha – Council Chamber
- Lenka -

The beam from Maxim hit her squarely in the chest and she was blasted back. Pain flooded through her and she tried to catch her breath. She just wanted to curl up and cry.

Then Rise’s voice reached her and she forced herself to stand up. The image before her was devastating. Another explosion had rocketed the room and Jax was lying in the debris, unmoving.

Maxim stood high above him with a ball of electricity that sent out lightning in all directions. Everyone in the room was in danger.

“No,” Lenka whispered. She put her foot down. This had to stop. “No! I won’t let you hurt them!”

She took a deep breath, concentrating and then raised her hand, holding up her whip.

“Overlimit: Full Counter!”

It was as if the lightning was suddenly drawn towards Lenka. The crackling ball of electricity still sent out a flurry of lightning strikes, but they all redirected towards Lenka where they were being absorbed.

When finally the energy from Maxim’s lightning ball was drained, Lenka opened her eyes. They were glowing. For a moment there was an eerie silence in the room. Then, with one decisive blow, she let her whip crack towards Maxim. Even though she was too far away to touch him, lightning traveled along the whip and connected them.

With a massive burst, all the absorbed energy was released back towards Maxim at once with double the force she had received.

When the attack was finished, Lenka sank to her hands and knees. She felt like she just ran a marathon. For the first time since her strain awoke, she felt exhaustion. It scared her for a second. What if she fainted now?

Breathing hard, she gave herself a few seconds until her heartbeat and her breathing slowed down. Yes, this didn’t feel like a fainting attack. This was just normal exhaustion. Eventually, she looked up to survey the aftermath of her attack.

OOC: here’s a description of her Overlimit, including limits and restrictions. Let me know if it’s not balanced enough.

Spoiler:

----------------------------

- James -

James pulled out his tablet and scrolled through the video feed.

“The Blackcape is still there, going berserk,” he said between two breaths. “Most of the hostages are freed, but trapped in the back of the room.”

“And this Maxim guy is wearing something that looks like a mobile doll suit. It seems Rise, Lenka and Jax are concentrating on him.” He tried to keep the worry from his voice.

When they turned a corner towards the Council Chamber, he could see that the door was splintered into pieces. Even from afar he could hear the noise of the fight.

They rushed forward, but James stopped dead when he saw the scene before him. They were just in time to see Lenka use her Overlimit.

Lenka then sunk on her knees. Jax was unconscious on the ground. The whole room covered in debris and dust. Marcus and Luke fighting fiercely against the Blackcape.

He touched his com.

“Lambda, Lisa and I arrived at the Council Chamber. The Blackcape is still out of control. All the Redcapes are taken care of. Once the situation on your end is clear, send in reinforcements from the Army to sweep and clear the palace and take care of the Old Guard soldiers while we deal with the Blackcape in the Council Chamber.”

Caltha – Council Chamber

- Maxim -

"What...?" Maxim murmured.

No, it couldn't be. All of his electric discharge was being redirected and absorbed. How could she possibly being doing that?

Maxim dropped to his knees, his energy full drained. He looked up to see Lenka's eyes glowing like a deadly portent.

Then, she struck.

Her whip crack towards him, and with a massive burst, all the energy she'd absorbed released at him with double the power he'd put out. Maxim could only stare, wide-eyed behind his mask, as his vision blotted out in white.

"So, this is the true power of strain magic. I... never stood a chance."

A terrible surge of pain raced through every nerve in his body, and he lost all sense of time and space before crashing down into darkness.

Smoke... noise... coughs. His coughs.

Maxim stirred feebly, he senses returning sluggishly. His body was racked with pain, and he could barely crawl to prop himself against the steps leading to the High General's chair.

This was it then. He'd failed.

Most of his face plate had cracked away, but he still had part of the display functioning. He tapped into his com, his breathing heavy in his ears as he recorded his message. His last message.

"Kurik... I couldn't stop them. Forgive me... I was never suited to this sort of work. My plan failed. My hope, my dream for you failed. I... failed."

His eyes burned, and tears streaked through the dust and grime on his face.

"Escape, Kurik. Back to Arusia, if you can. It won't be much of a life, not the life I wanted for you, but it's still life. Life is possibility. And... I want you to live."

His hand drifted to the chest plate, cracked but functional enough to do what he needed to do.

"Goodbye, Kurik. Our time together... meant everything to me."

Maxim cut the feed and swallowed thickly as he pressed his hand to the center of his chest plate, activating the self-destruct sequence. Maybe, he could do enough damage to allow Kurik to get away. Maybe, he could still do this much.

His hand was suddenly wrenched away. Maxim looked around, wide-eyed, as Jax gripped onto his arm.

"Let... go..." Maxim gasped, struggling to break free. Jax's hold was weak, but his own strength was weaker. Feebly, he fell back, a sob slipping past his throat.

"Don't," Jax growled. "I don't care who you are or what you've done. Don't you go throwing away your life like that, dammit."

"There's nothing left to throw away," Maxim whispered, shutting his eyes.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Palace Gates

- Ariana -

Ariana's vision swam back into focus in time to see Kurik's retreating back as he slipped back into the Palace. Wobbling, she got back onto her feet and wiped at her eyes, trying to remove the last remains of disorientation.

There. Everything seemed normal again. Letting out a shaky sigh, she turned around to Alina, still standing and looking strong.

"Did we do it?" she asked. "Did we really win?"

----------------------------

- Lambda -

Lambda gazed at her two opponents, defeated but alive... and together. Peace settled over her, and she turned to inspect Alina and Ariana, both strong and sound.

"Lambda."

The mobile doll perked up at James' voice as his transmission came through.

“Lisa and I arrived at the Council Chamber. The Blackcape is still out of control. All the Redcapes are taken care of. Once the situation on your end is clear, send in reinforcements from the Army to sweep and clear the palace and take care of the Old Guard soldiers while we deal with the Blackcape in the Council Chamber.”

"Affirmative," Lambda replied.

Approaching Alina and Ariana, she relayed James' transmission.

"Hurry on ahead. I'll rejoin you shortly."

Ariana and Alina nodded to her and started heading for the palace doors. Ariana paused, glancing back at her, and smiled. "Thank you. We couldn't have done it without you."

Lambda's lips parted in surprise before pulling into a smile as well. "Likewise."

Now it was Ariana's turn to look surprised before hurrying after Alina.

Lambda turned back to Annabelle and Lorin, already sending transmissions to Ignis Imperius to mobilize and secure the palace. With her messages sent, she slowly approached the two soldier resting by the palace wall, careful to move slowly and as non-threateningly as a walking weapon can.

She knelt and placed two fingers to Lorrin's neck, reading his pulse and vitals. "He'll be fine. He's very strong."

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Palace Halls

- Alexei -

Belo's guns hit the ground, the metallic clang signaling the end. Alexei felt his shoulders sag with relief, and he trudged to Belo and Ehlana, who'd pulled him into a hug.

"Comrades," Alexei rumbled, placing a firm hand on each of their shoulders. "Now and always."

Ehlana rushed over to them, and Alexei broke away from the others to grab hold of her. "It's over," he breathed, eyes roving of her.

She was all right. They all were.

Ehlana grimaced, and they all turned to her. Alexei was ready to ask Nadenka to work her magic when Ehlana held up a hand, cutting them off preemptively.

“No magic, please,” she said to Nadenka and gestured towards the medical kit.

"Ehlana-" he began, but stopped. He didn't want her to fear magic, knew magic was nothing to fear after what he'd seen Nadenka do. But he also wanted to respect her wishes. Her reasons were her own.

Nodding, Alexei retrieved the med kit and carried over to Ehlana and Nadenka. Nadenka set to work treating the wound and wrapping it up properly. Ehlana took it all with no complaints. Tough as nails, that one.

Once Ehlana was fully treated, she stood up and tested her arm. Alexei nodded approvingly and glanced around at the rest of the group. His group.

"All right, squad, let's move out. There's still a mission left to finish, and I don't intend to let the Kaddathians get all the credit," he said, grinning.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Council Chamber

- Rise -

It was over.

Rise sagged with exhaustion, allowing herself a moment's reprieve. It couldn't last though. As the Blackcape's roars echoed through the chamber, she straightened up, biting her lip.

Alex... he was still trapped in that thing.

Shaking her head, she hurried over to Lenka's side and helped her up. "Diarahan."

The healing magic swept through Lenka, healing her wounds and restoring her energy. Smiling, Rise pulled Lenka into a quick hug.

"You did it. I knew you could."

Letting her go, Rise turned her attention to Maxim. A brief moment's panic flashed through her as she realized what he was planning to do, but he was brought short by Jax, exhausted but alive. Rise hurried to his side, casting the Diarahan spell over him as well.

"Thanks, Rise," he said, getting to his feet and grinning.

"Idiot!" She punched him in the arm. "Don't pull that kind of stupid, reckless macho crap like that again! How could I face Alina and tell her I accidentally blew you up with a meteor strike!"

Jax half-laughed, half-grimaced. "We'll just... keep that between us."

"What do we do with him?" Rise asked, biting her lip as she glanced at Maxim.

Jax shook his head. "Nothing. Not right now. We have bigger fish to fry."

They turned their attention to the Blackcape as it crashed into the ceiling, then dropped to the floor, thanks to Marcus. Before it could recover, Luke rushed in, raining repeated blows against it. The Blackcape shrieked and fell back, curling in on itself as Alex's assault finally abated.

"Is it... over?" Rise murmured. She turned just as James and Lisa appeared in the doorway. Her heart soared, and she rushed over to throw herself into his arms.

"You're okay," she mumbled into his jacket. "I think we finally-"

Her words were cut short by a terrible howl. Whirling about, she saw the Blackcape's body ripple like black, glassy water. It's body began to change, its limbs shrinking and retracting back. Its torso began to elongate and its face sharpen, become less bestial and more... serpent-like.

"No..." Rise's eyes widened. "It's changing. The virus... its corrupting further and further into Alex's unified gene. If it keeps going..."

Caltha – Palace Gates

- Annabelle & Lorrin -

Calmness settled over the area before the palace gates once Alina and Ariana disappeared. It wouldn’t stay that way. Surely reinforcements would arrive soon. Lambda was only a precursor to the rest of the Grand Army.

Annabelle’s dark eyes watched her carefully as she walked over towards them. Her grip tightened around the small blade at her belt, unsure what to expect.

However, Lambda simply bent down to check Lorrin’s pulse.

Annabelle exhaled audibly when Lambda straightened up again and allowed herself to relax. She nodded. “He’s also a prize idiot with a heart too big for his own good.”

“How long until the Army arrives?”

She pulled the blade from her belt and stared at it for a long moment. Then, with a smooth movement, she tossed it away from her. No need to make this more difficult for anyone.

----------------------------

Caltha – Palace Halls

- Ehlana -

Ehlana smiled a forced smile at Alexei. She could see that he didn’t quite approve her decision.

“These things make us stronger,” she said to him. “They are a reminder of what we went through and were able to overcome. They shouldn’t just disappear with the snap of a finger.”

Ehlana looked at Nadenka when she began to bandage her shoulder. “Thank you,” she said calmly. “I really appreciate this.”

Apparently she could be nice, if she wanted to.

----------------------------

Caltha – Council Chamber

- Lenka -

“Thanks,” Lenka said and got up. The healing spell helped immensely, but she could tell that she used up a lot of her energy. At least now, she didn’t feel so “over-charged” anymore.

For a few seconds, her eyes searched the room, trying to see if Marcus was okay.

Curiously, she stepped up towards Maxim and Jax, looking at the destruction she’d caused.

“Did you get hit by what I did?” she asked Jax.

----------------------------

- James -

It took him a few seconds to register what had just happened. And in the next moment, Rise was already before him and threw herself in his arms. He pulled her close, not planning on letting go any time soon.

It felt like a huge weight lifted off his shoulders when he saw that she was okay even though she looked weary.

It wasn’t until the Blackcape shrieked and changed that he paid attention to the rest of the room.

Lenka seemed okay and so did everyone else he cared about.

Alex

He was still in there. And they needed to save him. Well that was the foremost thought on his mind until Kurik barged through the doors.

----------------------------

- Kurik -

Once Kurik had slipped inside, he meant to stay behind the door and observe, but suddenly Maxim’s voice rang through his com.

His voice sounded strained and choppy.

Without giving Alina and Ariana another thought, he turned around and ran towards the Council Chamber.

“Maxim! Hold on,” he replied. “I’m almost there!”

Maxim’s words cut off and it almost made his heart stop. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.

He forced his legs to move faster and faster. It felt like an eternity until her arrived at the Council Chamber, even though it could only have been a few moments.

Kurik skidded to a halt at the entrance and as soon as his eyes found Maxim he rushed in, not even taking the proper time to survey the entire room.

“Tetrakarn”

The spell was cast with so much emotion and power, that anyone standing in his vicinity on his way towards Maxim was pushed back by an invisible force.

What had they done to him?! Anger welled up inside of him.

When he arrived at the steps, he kneeled down over Maxim and gently touched his face. He could feel tears in his eyes.

“I’m done running away, Maxim,” he said in a low voice and wiped across his eyes. “I can’t let another dear friend die.”

“The least I can do, is avenge you.” There was a dark undertone in his voice and he got up, turning to face Aegis and the rest.

“What have you done to him?!” he called out, enraged. “Who did this?”

His anger turned to the people still closest to Maxim, which were unfortunately Jax and Lenka, who had wandered over to see how Jax was doing.

“Enervate!” his words caused a magic circle to appear beneath them. It erupted in a blast.

- Alina -

"We won this round." Alina responded as she watched Kurik's retreating form in the distance. Gritting her teeth against the pain from her multiple cuts and bruises, she bent over to retrieve her scabbard from the snow.

"But the fight isn't over yet." Locking it back onto her belt, she sheathed her rapier and let out a long breath while Lambda relayed James' message.

Narrowing her eyes, she nodded in response to Lambda's request. "Do what you need to clean things up. We'll deal with Alex."

Taking another steadying breath, she forced herself to march towards the Council Chamber with Ariana following behind her.

"Your swordplay needs work." She said as they stepped into the castle. "But you did good back there."

-------------------------------------------------------

- Lisa -

While James and Rise shared an embrace, Lisa moved past them, her eyes drawn to the writhing Blackcape.

"Oh, Alex. What have they done to you?"

As if responding to her, it let out a primal shriek, and its body rippled, distorting in the air.

"No. No. No." She covered her mouth, unable to process what was going on. Hadn't the cure worked?

The image of Alex's track marks flashed through her mind. Of course it hadn't worked.

-------------------------------------------------------

- Marcus -

Still breathing heavily, Marcus turned towards the new voices entering the room. Lisa and James were expected. The third form to dart in behind them wasn't, and no one else seemed to notice the man.

As Marcus watched, he cast a spell that caused Jax to stumble backwards, and Lenka was pushed along the floor.

No!

Even as he darted towards them, the figure looked up from Maxim and raised a hand towards Lenka. Jax, apparently realizing what was going on, was pulling Lenka to her feet and turning his back towards the spell, intending to shield her with his body.

Just before it hit, Marcus pushed the both of them out of the circle, and darkness enveloped him.

His vision, which had still been red from the crash into the ceiling went black, and he collapsed to the floor with the sound of his heartbeat ringing in his ears. Every muscle in his body suddenly cried out in protest, and it took him a moment to process the fact that the sound he was hearing, something between a moan and a scream, was coming from his own lips.

Nadenka and Belobog

Belobog was surprised by the warmth from his two comrades and he shook his head as he heard Ehlana why she was so reluctant on being cured by magic or strain.

Nadenka sighed lightly, smiling and get her hands and fingers working to patch up Ehlana. “You know, I admire your courage, not many woman would have preferred scar over their looks.” She added, “then again, with these two handsome gentlemen being your comrades, I think it’s worth it.” Said jokingly.

“Alright.” Said Nadenka helping Ehlana to stand, “That should do you good for another rough battle.” And Nadenka took the lead and went where others were.

“You know, Alexei, she’s one tough woman.” Said Belobog, “I am happy for you. I hope she takes good care of you.” He gave friendly tap on his muscled back as a sign of encouragement.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Luke

Luke eyes were widened as to see what was happening to Alex, was it his fault? He thought it would wake Alex, but perhaps it had different effect?

“I won’t let you!” Said Luke, there were noises around him, but his focus was on Alex alone. “Alex, I won’t lose my life here,” said Luke, clenching his fist, “And I won’t lose you either!” Luke shouted. “You are not alone! You don’t need to bear that burden by yourself!”

Luke’s body could feel his body was screaming for rest, but Luke’s will was way stronger. Luke slowly felt his strain waking up to him further and started to charging up. “It’s not over, yet, Alex!” Starring at Alex.

Caltha – Council Chamber

- Lambda -

They may have been on opposite sides, but Lambda couldn't help but smile at Annabelle's words.

“He’s also a prize idiot with a heart too big for his own good.”

The affection in her words was obvious. It was hard for many people to admit that there could be good people on both sides of a conflict.

Lambda watched as Annabelle tossed her weapon away, signaling the end of the conflict for good.

"They'll be here soon," she said quietly. "If I may ask... why did you do it? Why did you join the Old Guard?"

----------------------------

- Ariana -

It was immediately obvious that Alina was hurt, but she was trying her best not to show it. Ariana watched her back as they ran, wondering how long se could keep it up.

Well, if Alina couldn't fight at her best, then Ariana would just have to make up for what she couldn't do.

"Your swordplay needs work. But you did good back there."

Ariana blinked in surprise, cheeks flushed. "I... thanks."

Alina was right. The fight wasn't over yet. But in that moment, she felt like she could take on anything.

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Palace Halls

Alexei shook his head, unable to help but smile when Ehlana allowed Nadenka to bandage her shoulder, even thanked her for the help.

"Living dangerously," Alexei cautioned, grinning as Belo teased Ehlana about the scar and her looks. "She only just forgave you, you know. Don't give her a reason to hit choke you again."

When Ehlana was patched up and good to go, they headed off after Lisa and James. Alexei and Belo took the lead, and Belo gave him a pat on the shoulder as they ran.

“You know, Alexei, she’s one tough woman,” he said. “I am happy for you. I hope she takes good care of you.”

"That she is," Alexei replied, glancing over his shoulder. "I hope I can take good care of her too."

-------------------------------------------------------

Caltha - Council Chamber

- Rise  -

Jax smiled at Lenka, trying to diffuse her worry.

"No, you didn't," he said, shaking his head. "Don't worry. You did good out there, kid."

No sooner had he patted her shoulder than the were both knocked back by a sudden barrier thrown up around Maxim. Jax caught Lenka before she could fall and whirled around to face their attacker.

"You..." he growled, glaring at Kurik. Kurik was more focused on his fallen friend, however.

"Kurik...?" Maxim murmured, staring up at him. "You shouldn't be here. I told you-"

A tear splashed across his cheek, and his breath caught.

“I’m done running away, Maxim,” Kurik said in a low voice and wiped across his eyes. “I can’t let another dear friend die.”

He'd never seen Kurik drop his walls so completely, bare his pain in such a raw way. All the hurt he'd endured from his days in the Army became so evident that it made Maxim's heart ache.

"Kurik..."

He reached out, but Kurik was already standing to face Aegis, ready to take them all on. Maxim's words were drowned out as Kurik unleashed his Enervate spell on Jax and Lenka. Jax quickly pulled Lenka into his arms, trying to shield her with his body, but Marcus intervened, taking the blow instead.

"Marcus!" Rise cried, racing toward them. From behind, she could hear a rush of footsteps and confused voices - Alina and Ariana, the Arusians - but it was lost in a sudden bellow from the Blackcape as it leaped into the air and landed in the middle of the chamber. Rise stopped short as a black tendril cut off her path, whipping wildly through the air.

"Kurik, you have to go," Maxim said, crawling to catch hold of his leg. "Something's happening to the Blackcape. The Unified Strain... it's having unexpected reactions to the virus. I don't know what might happen next. You need to leave... before it's too late."

Unfortunately, it was already too late. The Blackcape threw back its head in a roar, and a magic circle expanded from beneath its body to encompass the entire room. The light was blinding, cutting off all sight and even sound.

The first thing Rise noticed was the cold. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to orient herself. She knew the sensation of that spell quite well. The Traesto spell. But where had the Blackcape moved them?

She took a step forward, treading in something soft. She blinked down at the white powder at her feet, then gazed around at the breathtaking landscape of snow as far as the eye could see.

"Where are we?" she murmured.

From beside her, she heard Maxim's weak reply. "The wastelands of Arusia."

Caltha – Palace Gates

- Annabelle & Lorrin -

Annabelle looked up into the sky. There was a silence before she answered.

“After the events with the Leviathan and Aegis, things changed…” she began. “With the invention of strain silencing, the Army didn’t forcibly draft people anymore. There was a transition period. Unfortunately that meant that a lot of people with an active strain suddenly roamed the streets and they were left unchecked.”

Annabelle lowered her eyes. “I had a daughter. She was still very young, too young to know if she would have a strain or not. Still, she wanted to be in the Army, she wanted to make her mother proud. She was so full of hopes and dreams,” her voice thickened.

“Then one day, she met some people. It was at a bus stop on her way home from school, a path she’d taken a million times. They engaged in conversation, but unfortunately, these people hated the Army. They argued. And in the end, one of them struck her with a Bufu spell and impaled her.”

Tears dropped from Annabelle’s eyes.

“They didn’t even call an ambulance. They just left her in the street and she died.” Annabelle looked up, her expression a mixture of anger and pain. “And you know what the Army did? They told me, since these people were not soldiers, it was a police matter.”

“A police matter!” Annabelle sounded disgusted. “The police couldn’t do anything. No one had seen anything, there were no leads aside from the use of magic.”

“This wouldn’t have happened with the old system. The Army would’ve been all over this. They would’ve known who the strain users are.” Annabelle clenched her fists in frustration.

“How can you leave people with the potential to be weapons untrained and unchecked?”

She pressed her lips together.

“So I joined the Old Guard. I wanted the old system back, where magic was solely in control of the military and government.”

----------------------------

Caltha – Council Chamber

- Ehlana -

„I never cared much for my looks,” Ehlana replied to Nadenka before they took off towards the council Chamber.

When they arrived, the scene before them was quite different from her expectation. The Blackcape had mutated further. It hardly resembled a Redcape anymore, but turned more serpent like.

With a sort of satisfaction, she saw that Maxim was down and looked badly beaten. Served him right.

Overall, it appeared that Aegis was already in control of the situation…until the Blackcape roared loudly and with a flash of light transported them to a snowy landscape.

“It doesn’t look like Maxim planned for this,” she said to her comrades.

----------------------------

- Lenka -

At Jax answer, Lenka beamed up at him with a bright smile. It was so easy to make her happy. Suddenly, an invisible barrier pushed them back as Kurik dashed past them towards Maxim. Luckily Jax caught her before she fell to the floor.

For a moment, Lenka was too stunned to realize what was going on. While her brain played catch up, Kurik turned around and glared at her and Jax, releasing a spell.

There was no time to react when Jax pulled her up and shielded her with his body from the spell. They were hit, but not from the direction she expected to. Wide-eyed she stared at Marcus who had pushed them out of the spell circle.

In the next moment he went down, crying out in pain. Lenka pulled away from Jax and fell to her knees next to Marcus, completely oblivious if and what danger Kurik still posed.

“Marcus?” she asked, her voice quivering. “What’s going on?”

The light and the Traesto spell also took her by surprise. She shivered when she saw the vast snowy landscape.

----------------------------

- James -

James reluctantly let go of Rise when she rushed over to Jax, Lenka and Marcus.

“We’ll find a way to save him, Lisa,” he replied to her quiet words. “We just have to.”

So many things happened at once. It seemed at soon as Alina, Ariana and the Arusians arrived, the Blackcape used a Traesto spell. Wind whipped around them and when James took a step, he felt the snow crunch under his feet. Snow. They must be so far north.

He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for this. This wasn’t over yet.

“Nadenka,” he called her over, noticing that especially Alina looked a little worse for the wear. “Would you mind?” he gestured towards Alina.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said to her.

He touched his com, but received only static. James grimaced. “I can’t contact Lambda,” he said. “We must be miles away from the last tower.”

----------------------------

- Kurik -

Kurik turned back to Maxim when he felt his hand on his leg.

He put his hands on Maxim’s shoulders.

“Don’t you understand?” he asked. “No matter what you say. I’m not leaving you.”

Suddenly the room was engulfed in a blinding light and they were transported with the Traesto spell.

When Kurik opened his eyes again, they were on a snowy plane that Maxim recognized.

This was unexpected. He helped Maxim sit up.

“Why would it take us here?” Kurik asked.

________________________________________________________________________________

Nadenka

Nadenka was surprised by the snow as the blinding faded and got her sight back. She quickly cast her strain to cure all major wounds with Alina, Ariana and all available personal. Her powerful healing strain even reached out to Kurik as well.

"Whatever reason is, I don't think it has friendly intention." Said Nadenka, replying back to what Kurik said.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Belobog

Belobog was stunned to see what was in front of them. The biggest question was "Did he know we existed?" Said Belobog, looking at Maxim. Belobog's eyes were searching for truthful answer from Maxim. "Did Alex know Arusian's existence?" Belobog was not aware of this, or perhaps he was not himself with all the conversations, but to have Arusian's wasteland to be so easily reached by people of Kaddath, he could not help but ask.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Luke

Luke could feel it, his body was screaming in tiredness and his power was not going to be enough to stop what it was going to do. However, Luke still held on to every ounce of his strength. When the beaming light surrounded them and moved to the colder plain, it was hard for himself to focus or even spot Alex.

Was this a new battleground? Thought Luke, then he got his head back in the game and managed to lock on Alex and still managed to hold on this strength, a charged attack to at least give others some time.

"We are gonna go back home!" Luke shouted releasing all the energy he held and launching himself to Alex one more time, in hope that he was not to late.