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Dissonant Hearts (Degusaurusrex x AndrewS)

Isen continued to wrestle at the demon holding him, searching for even an inch of weakness in the grip that was holding him taut, forcing him to watch as Danica approached Adelaide under Max's orders. The two went back and forth, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that Danica wasn't fighting back. What was her game? Was she still on their side or not? Max seemed equally as amused, watching from a safe distance away as the two tendrils retracted away.

"You've grown soft, Danica." He accused. "Malakai used to tell me many stories about you. Is this what you've become now?"

Realizing that his taunting was being drowned out, and too in love with his own voice to stay quiet, he began to walk around their struggle, coming closer to Isen and Klaus instead. "Quite the show, wouldn't you say?" As he got closer, he reached his hand up towards Klaus' arm, willing him to loosen his grip a little.

"Fuck you." Isen coughed out, immediately. "Stop this..."

"Consider it your consequence for trying to deceive me."

Busted.

"I was correct, wasn't I? The demon is no longer with you. You succeeded in separation. Fascinating."

Isen's heart dropped through his chest when Max connected the dots. He couldn't see beyond him, he could only hear the noises coming from behind. He had no idea if Adelaide was safe, he couldn't tell if Danica had finally snapped or if she was holding true to their plan.

"Shall I snap his neck, my liege?"

"No. No need." Max paused, briefly. "There may still be a use for him after all. We...hm?"

Alerted to the sudden shift in magic behind them, Malakai had warned Max to turn around and as he did, his eyes widened in shock and surprise at what awaited him. Merged together instead of at each other's throats, Adelaide and Danica created a surge of magic that defied the spell they were bound by, a temporary rush as their powers coalesced into something he never expected.

"Insolent little..." Max's eyes immediately swapped to blood red, Malakai forcing control away from him without consent to face the new threat. "How dare you defy me."

Isen was beginning to see beyond Maximilian, recognizing this form Adelaide had taken to be the same one she had donned weeks ago when they were facing off against demons in the city. He was well aware of the strength it provided, but also, the dangers. If Danica wrestled away control...he needed to get free, and he needed to get free now. He needed to be there to talk her out of this when the fight was over. He had came all this way for her, he wouldn't lose her now.

As Max's body moved towards Danica and Adelaide, Isen took advantage of the loosened grip employed by the distracted Klaus. He slipped his head free and swung his body, trying to shift his weight enough to pull Klaus off balance. Freeing his arm, he gripped Onigoshi as he rolled over onto his opposite side and up onto one knee. The sword unsheathed, it's magic rippling against the field, biting into what was left in the blade by it's rightful wielder, but it's edge was as sharp as always, and a threat regardless of whether it housed demon magic or not. Isen held it in front of himself, blade outwards and across his body, the sharpest edge aimed towards Klaus.

"You really want to do this?" Klaus asked him, scoffing at the idea. "Damn it, I have more important business than dealing with you..." He looked back at the fight that was about to happen, clearly wanting to help his master against his new opponent.

"Afraid you might lose to a human?"

"Not particularly. It's just so difficult washing out human blood stains, you know?"

He was worried about his suit? Isen groaned at the revelation, but he also realized that meant Klaus wasn't the type to get his hands dirty. "What about demon blood? Does that wash out any easier?"

"Let's make this quick. He said not to kill you, but maybe you could lose that tongue. I'll enjoy cutting it out of your mouth."
 
"You said it was my move, Danica."

"Yes, to tear down the spell, to kill Malakai. Quickly now, before he acts and we lose the power we have together."

"No, Danica, not to kill. I need your magic to help me power up my plan. We need to-- Move!" They must have looked ridiculous standing there having a conversation, two minds in one body that was forced to dodge an attack. "We don't have time for this, I had a plan, I just needed one of you to show up and lend me strength. I'm fucking sapped, you know."

"Are you going to blather on about how tired you are, as if I too, am not suffering, especially after you chose to mar my beautiful skin? Now we're prancing around in a circle because you haven't told me what you want to--"

"DANICA SHUT THE FUCK UP! I am trying to tell you, but it's kind of hard when you're bitching and whining and you also kind of have control over most of my body right now. It's in my bra."

"I beg your fucking pardon?"

"Just get it out, it's an EMP I used before, and I need you to get it out of my bra so I can power it up and reverse this spell."

"I didn't know you were into women, mageling. You do have very good taste if you see fit to flirt with me in the middle of a life or death situa--"

"THE EMP, DANICA!"

"Yes, yes, I will fondle you in order to get the weapon we need and then we will kill Malakai."

"No, Danica. We need Ignas for that, right now we need to break the spell."

"You just had to ruin the fun with that bastard's name, didn't you? Very well, let us move this along."

The feeling of clawed fingers sliding under her clothing and over her skin was a hard one to describe, especially when they were attached to her own limbs and she was effectively fondling herself to dig into her bra and pull out the EMP Samara had sent through Priscilla in the first week. Holding onto it, for whatever odd reason she had decided to, felt right now that she had a piece of Samara with her when things were finally coming to fruition. A piece of Samara to help take down the demon that was wreaking havoc and intent on destruction and death.

The fact that they were dancing around the room sidestepping attacks from a Malakai wielding Maximillian made everything more hectic, but with Danica in control of the moving parts of her body, Adelaide was able to concentrate on pulling at the demoness' magic so that she could funnel it into something that would disrupt Malakai's dark magic, something capable of attacking and dismantling dark magic long enough to disorient him. The fact that it was going to affect everyone within a certain range... Well, no gain without pain, right?

"Hit it."

Adelaide could feel the press of the button under the finger they currently shared before the magic rippled out and then burst in a thunderous wave throughout the room. Her arms came up to protect her face as shockwaves shook the floor beneath them, glass shattering as a window across the room blew out and rained down on the earlier destruction of Max's organ. Then there was the ringing that started in her ears as she tried to determine if she was even standing or if she'd hit the floor again. So, so much ringing.
 
While the demoness and Max clashed behind them, Isen was focused on the current threat. If he couldn't get past Klaus, there was no point in worrying about pulling Adelaide out of her Danica-shaped prison. He had egged Klaus on enough to get him to make a move, but Isen was privy to the fact that Malakai's spell would do most of the work for him if he was able to stall this out long enough. Klaus didn't appear to be overly affected by it, but he that didn't mean it wasn't working, it just meant he wasn't showing it.

If he had to rely on his human body, and instincts, it was almost an advantage on this playing field, and he was lucky he was up against a demon that didn't seem to be particularly talented in close range combat. Because of this, the first couple of attacks, while fast, weren't impossible for him to respond to. Klaus had produced a knife from his belt, but unlike the one he had used before, there were no runes shimmering on the blade. This one, instead, seemed to have an enchantment that allowed the blade to extend at will, magically changing the length of his weapon to match that of Onigoshi.

"What are you without your Reaper?" Klaus taunted, shortening the blade and passing it to his other hand beneath one of Isen's swings. "You can barely hold that sword, yet you expect to kill me with it?"

"Keep talking." Isen grumbled, knowing this was working in his favor. "There's one thing about being a human that you're forgetting."

"Your fragility." Klaus spat, diving forward with a lunging stab that went errant. He stumbled to catch himself, feeling the effects of the spell on his body.

"We don't need magic to survive." Isen was already on him from behind, sharp edge of the blade to Klaus' neck, causing the demon to grow rigid in his hold. "We need each other."

He turned Klaus towards Max and Adelaide just as Danica activated the EMP. Isen didn't know what exactly she was doing, but he wanted Klaus to see his master lose. He wanted Klaus to know that they had lost.

Magic pulsed in a shockwave, outwards, from Adelaide's body. The pressure of the blast shattered windows and damaged the room, causing destruction from the sheer force. Isen, behind Klaus, was mostly protected from the wave that collided with the walls of the anti-magic field. Beyond their view, the barrier began to shake erratically, ripples shooting from the point of contact that bounced their way to the very top of the dome before it began to fall apart. Unraveling at the seams, the field began to fall, and all of the magic within it had been temporarily neutralized, including that of the demon in Isen's arms, and of Malakai as well, trapped in a catalyst that lost it's connection, reverting Max back into control of his human body with a sudden, unexpected gasp.

Having been knocked back by the blast, he was rested against some rubble in the corner. Malakai's magic had been enough to protect him from the initial blast, but now, he was, at least for a short while, unable to call upon his demon passenger for aid. As realization began to sit in, he gripped the scepter, trying to will it to life but no magic sprouted from the sphere at it's end. "What have you done...?"


Ignas' eyes narrowed as, from afar, he and Ember watched the rippling of the spell until it began to come down around the city, freeing it from Malakai's nefarious grasp.

"Look! Mistress must have done it."

"Isen..." Ignas spoke under his breath, a proud smile moving across his lips, albeit small and hidden. There was no turning back now. It was his turn. "Alright. Here goes..."

There were few spells in the demon world as daunting as performing a Calling. It required a very potent source of magic, but also a wielder equally as talented as they were strong. To bind every single demon to a singular purpose and place, to over ride the magic and motor functions of them all, was by no means an easy task. Even in his current state, as healthy and as powerful as he was, he had his doubts about how effective it would even be, but it was part of their plan, and it was a good plan, to be fair.

The more demons they could pull from the city, free from Malakai's grasp, the less they would need to try and fight through. Many of those demons were prisoners as much as the humans of Cresthaven were, surely some would join and fight back, or denounce any loyalty they had to Malakai now that fear and danger were no longer options. The worst case scenario was that he'd draw a bunch of spiteful demons to him, and away from the rest of the city, where he could deal with them on his own and free a path for Tyrath and his group to swoop into the city.

The sky began to darken, temporarily, as Ignas began to channel all of his magic into one, singular incantation. Ember, on his shoulder, dug her claws into him to steady herself, sharing as much of her own strength as she could, magic derived straight from the Lancaster blood line, mixing with the restorative magic of a would-be prince. Colliding and clashing like two different colors blending in a painting, magic rose from them into the sky, dotting the forest air with particles of purple, red and green.

To demons, the burning sky was a signal. For humans, a memory they would never recall. For Malakai, it was a warning.

An eclipsed sun, a yearning to travel to the point of origin. An order to return some place other than the streets of the city. Demons were already moving, from cobblestone to dirt and forest, some moving faster than others. Some were resisting, strong enough to fight it's pull, but succumbing regardless, falling within the reach of a spell that cast it's shadow over the entire city.

A calling, from king to subject, to come home.
 
"Get up, mageling. It's done. You can still change your mind, you know. We can still go for his throat, slit it while he's down. We don't need Ignas."

"Stop talking, you're making my headache worse." At some point she had gotten to her feet, or perhaps Danica had forced her to them. "We need Ignas, and I... I need to rest." The draining effects of the spell had disappeared as soon as the field had come down, and with it the agony of being constantly brought to the edge of death was finally gone. It did nothing to rejuvenate her, however, even as she felt the ring in all its infinite glory working to replenish her magic. It might have been infinite, but it wasn't immediate, and she could feel the exhaustion still eating away at her as Danica raved about how they would rule so well together, two powerful women with their boots on the necks of lesser men.

"Fine. If you want that pathetic bastard as king then..." Danica trailed off, turning their shared body to look out what had once been a window. "Have fun with your king, little magic princess," She sneered, "It's time we part ways. Oh, how I shall miss the sweet taste of your ring's magic. You, however, I shan't cry if we never meet again." The speed at which Danica separated from her was enough to send Adelaide to her knees at the disruption, her limbs like lead as she lifted her head in Danica's direction just in time to see the demoness open a messy portal and duck through it.

"Isen..." Adelaide was able to pull herself to her feet a moment later and spot him, making a staggered line in his direction before she reached for him. The sky outside was illuminated in an odd trifecta of green, purple and red, hanging ominously over the city as she reached Isen and made a clumsy grab for his shirt before she collapsed.

"You're real." She looked at him with a dazed expression as her fingers tightened in his clothing, her expression shifting to something closer to fury as she pulled back a hand and then punched him in the chest. The fact that it wasn't very hard in her current condition didn't matter, what mattered was the fact that he was right there in front of her keeping her from falling to the floor. "You idiot! I told you not to come! Now you're here and the sky's weird colors, why the fuck are you here when--"
 
Isen felt Klaus begin to struggle against his hold, but it wasn't a violent struggle. It was more like a gentle pull, persuaded to move in the direction of the door. Isen stopped, for a moment, out of confusion, releasing his hold and watching as Klaus, completely unresponsive, walked straight past him and out of the exit. "Uh, hello...?" So much for fighting.

He looked towards Adelaide next, only to find that Danica had already separated from her. That demon was nowhere to be seen, while Max, still cradling his catalyst, seemed frozen as well, but for a different reason. He was mumbling in protest, but Isen couldn't hear it. Malakai was talking to him, over and over again, in an unheard conversation, the result of whatever was happening. The orange glow invading the gaps in the walls and the broken windows, the strange action of the demons...it had worked. Ignas had done it.

Knowing that neither of them were in any danger until the sun returned to it's normal state, Isen came towards Adelaide, dropping Onigoshi as he reached her and met in the middle, catching his beloved in his arms and holding her up. He cradled her as she talked through what was happening, feeling her fist collide with his chest in a less than forceful manner while she ranted. He couldn't imagine what she had been through, and he didn't bother to ask where Danica had gone. It didn't matter, and he didn't care.
"Why the fuck are you here when--"

Isen silenced her question before it even finished, colliding his lips into hers. He kissed her like it was the very first time their lips had touched. Gentle, with just enough force to quiet her down and pause her rapidly processing mind. He held her there, caught in a moment that would soon be lost to time itself when the Calling completed itself, finding something oddly romantic about the gesture. On the brink of war, in an impossible minute, the love that brought him back from the brink returned to him.

"For that." He told her, shortly, letting a low laugh follow suit as his eyes opened back up to meet hers. The sky continued to burn, but it was fading. His hand cupped her cheek, lovingly, trying to make their reprise last a little longer before the hellscape that was their life stole them back to their dangerous reality.

"Ignas did it...his own Calling." Isen tried to explain, realizing time was about to run short. "And you....you took the whole damn thing down. You're incredible. You're..." He shook his head. "I love you, Adelaide Lancaster..."

Blue replaced orange, and the chattering behind them began to end. Isen slowly leaned down, still keeping his arm around Adelaide's shoulder, to grip Onigoshi like he was somehow going to be able to wield it and protect them against the odds when Malakai took back over.

"You've made him mad..." Max spoke, standing back up. "And now, he won't. Shut. Up."

Isen knew all too well what that felt like.

"I'd be upset too if my big, bad plan failed."

"Failed?" Max asked, laughing, though his laughter sounded more unhinged than usual. "It hasn't failed. Do you think that was all we had in store?" He asked, his eyes beginning to darken and change color. "That was simply act one."

The orb at the end of the sphere began to spark back to life again, filling with it's ominous, dark magic. Tendrils produced from the scepter, lashing at them angrily, colliding with the steel of Onigoshi and causing the entire weapon not just to buckle backwards from the force, but to practically hiss in refusal of the powerful, tainted arcane it had touched.

"Act two is the one where you die, Isen Hiyori, and act three? If you're lucky, she will live to see it in all of it's splendor. But if not..."

Isen gripped Onigoshi tighter, trying to steady as much of his human resolve he had left, but standing next to her and in the face of something he wasn't ready for, he was shocked he wasn't completely frozen in fear and terror of the sight before them; Max, deranged, his eyes turning feral as tendrils of unstable dark magic swung and sliced at the air around him.

"Her magic will fuel the end."


As the Calling began to end, Ignas fell to a knee. Ember jumped off, back onto the ground, a little better off than he was. Her feline eyes scanned what awaited them, hissing slightly. "Are you seeing this...?"

A collection of demons stood in the clearing, in front of the space where Ignas had cast his spell. Most of them were still entranced, but some had already begun to come back down, resisting the lingering effects of the spell. Chatter began to follow as they began to question what the hell had just happened, but most concerning of all, in that moment, was the demon pushing his way through to the front before speaking up with a familiar, arrogant voice.

"If you wanted to ask me over for tea, you only needed to ask, Ignas."

Klaus eyed down the demon in front of him, as well as the familiar at his feet, standing ahead of the rest of the demons who were in varying degrees of lucidity.

"I was just spending some quality time with your human friends before you rudely interrupted us."

Both Ignas and Ember seemed to tense at the mention.

"Oh, they're both alive...I wouldn't say alive and well, but definitely alive. Probably. I would know for sure, but you decided to pull me halfway across the god damn state!"

"What do you want?"

"What do I want? You're the one who called us all here! Some malcontented attempt for the throne, no doubt. Do you really think stopping his spell is going to prevent him from slaughtering everybody in that city? Especially your delectably mortal, and all too annoying, pain in the ass friends? You can force all of the demons in this world to where you stand, but not a single one of them would willingly follow you."

"Ironic, considering Malakai did the exact same thing. I don't have time to bicker with you. If you want to fight, let's fight. I'll end all nine of your lives if I have to." He glanced down at Ember, sighing. "Sorry. You know what I meant."

"Let me help you rip out his throat." She told him, staring straight for Klaus' neck. "You need time to recover after your spell. I ca-"

"You need to get to the city."

"What?"

"Buy me some time. Find his real body. It has to be somewhere in the city."

She practically growled, but had no reason to argue with him when he continued. "And then, make sure Adelaide and Isen are protected until I can get there. Please."

Ignas had said please. She had heard it all. But it also helped her recognize how deadly serious he was. "Fine. See you soon?"

"Of course, furball." He replied, in turn.

"Promise me."

"I...promise you."

"You two are adorable. I'll be sure they bury you both close by."

Ember dashed past Klaus, who, despite talking cocky, seemed to be weary of her as she ran by. When she was gone, disappearing into the trees, her turned back to Ignas, who whispered a goodbye beneath his breath to his friend, uncertain whether he could actually fulfill that promise. Producing his magical blade, Klaus took note of the fact that Ignas was unharmed, but what he didn't expect was for one of the demons behind him, now awake and familiar of the situation, to grab onto his arm and yank the knife from him.

"How dare you touch me. What are you doing?"

"You do not speak for us all."

Several of the demons began to stand beside him while others, still loyal to Malakai despite his manipulation, began to pull away.

"You would choose this...disgrace, over our king?"

"Your king. Not ours."

The demon pushed Klaus forward, without his weapon, to stand demon-to-demon with Ignas. He had no advantage anymore. For the first time, Klaus was losing control. He wasn't the strongest, he didn't have any tricks, and he could feel his magic slowly recovering but he wasn't sure he had enough after the EMP blast to port himself out just yet. As the demon congregation began to bicker and get antsy with each other, Ignas stared straight through his foe now on even ground despite him still needing some more time to get his full strength back.

"...I have somewhere I need to be. Step aside, or I'll take your head back with me for him to see."
 
How was she supposed to be angry when he did things like kiss her and hold her so tenderly? This wasn't just him being gentle with her battered body and holding her up so that she didn't collapse on the floor. This was a gentle, tender kiss and a warm hand on her face pulling her out of the depths of the hell she had endured, her anger at his appearance fading away as relief coursed through her. She nearly sagged from the weight of her realization, that she wasn't going to die without seeing Isen again. Ignas had succeeded in doing a Calling of his own, not only pulling Klaus away from the building but undoubtedly a plethora of demons from inside and around the city. Was Tyrath there with what remained of his army, as well?

"I love you too. I didn't do it on my own, though, I had help." She wasn't given a chance to explain Roland's role in it or even look around to check on him yet, not where she realized that the muttering in the background was Maximillian and that Isen was reaching for Onigoshi again. How was he even handling the weight of the blade, both physical and mentally with the dark magic that was attached to it? She managed to turn while allowing Isen to hold her upright, catching sight of Maximillian as his expression and mounting laughter seemed to grow more maniacal by the moment. Had he finally lost what was left of his sanity when Malakai had been bested?

Act one?

Adelaide tensed under Isen's arm and prepared herself. She'd been relying on the assumption that Malakai's goal was to steal magic from all of the demons and Dissonants in the area to fuel himself, to wipe their lives off the board and move onto conquering bigger places once he was freed. If this wasn't stopping him from his end goal, just what did he have in store? She could see the sphere of the scepter changing color as Malakai gathered together his magic and sent it out in those wriggling deathly tendrils, lashing against Onigoshi in a chorus of otherworldly hisses and screeching while the magics battled.

"Sorry, Ignas, I have to borrow just a little before you get it back." The ring wasn't refueling her nearly as quickly as she needed it to, and Adelaide reflexively threw up a shield against Maximillian's onslaught of attacks while she grasped blindly for Onigoshi. "Isen, we need to move." She found his hand before she found the blade, wrapping her fingers around his and tugging at the magic still clinging to Onigoshi as it waited for its owners return.

Trying to dodge around attacks while Isen was holding her up was proving problematic. Between their height difference and the fact that he was trying to wield a sword he'd only used during coexistence with Ignas, it was bound to get one or both of them killed. She gave him an apologetic look before pulling herself away and taking an unsteady stand, trying to split her energy between upholding a shield around Isen and forming the flames in her hand into something more fitting.

"Fuck you, Danica, I don't need you." The flames seemed to flicker and fade before they flared to life in a brilliant blue, dancing along her palm as she felt a rush of adrenaline coupled with Danica's and Onigoshi's magic. Was this what happened when you mixed magic from multiple demons and amplified it with a magic ring? It was invigorating, it was new, and it was downright intoxicating as her posture straightened and a bounce slipped into her step. "Go to hell, Malakai. You're just a prissy little bitch," She flung the first blazing skull at him with a snarl, "who wants to play God," another skull went soaring across the room, its skeletal mouth opening and closing in silent laughter, "at the cost of everyone around you!"

She should have stopped to check on Isen, to ensure that the shield was holding up around him and that he was still standing, but the only threat to him was standing across from her raging and spewing shaky tendrils of dark magic. This was the source of all the pain that she'd endured in the last day, the last month, the last several years as her family was murdered and brainwashed, forced to make weapons of mass destruction and genocide. This was the source of Ignas and Isen's pain, the reason that Isen had been saddled with a demon for years and years, blackout after blackout and death after death.

"The only thing worthwhile that has come out of your existence is the fact that I met Isen." She continued bombarding him with skull after skull despite the meager damage that they did, despite the fact that her opponent seemed to be regaining some control over his magic. "And fuck that stupid piano of yours!" The flames extinguished themselves with a loud snap as they lost the oxygen fueling them, and she pivoted before searching her memory for a spell she hadn't used in quite some time. Her magic slithered its way towards some of the remains of the organ, weaving and wrapping around a large piece of wood before she lifted it and heaved it through the air toward Max.
 
Isen tried to keep Adelaide at his side, but she pulled herself away to try and act on her own. Stubborn, as always, he knew she was going to try and protect him, but that also put her in direct danger. He had come too far to be dead weight, he wanted to help her, but with a magical shield wrapping around him that was deflecting the ravaging tendrils, he had little option but to wait out the initial, angry storm.

Mixing two sources of powerful, demonic magic, was a recipe for disaster in the hands of most mages, but she was not most mages. Her natural aptitude and ability allowed her to somehow bend both Danica and Ignas' strength together, giving her a chance, at least while Malakai continued to recover from the EMP, to do some serious damage to a foe who outclassed her. While he wasn't a fan of her hurling insults at Max and Malakai, given their penchant for violent repercussion, he couldn't deny that she seemed to have things well under control.

The burning skulls were swatted away by the tendrils, but it also pulled their attention away from their original target. Focused now on deflecting and defending against a sudden, unexpected assault, Max waved the scepter harder, channeling Malakai through the catalyst as the demon's influence continued to grow over the man's body. How much of Max was even still in there, in control, now? The balance they had formed, their incredible syncopancy, seemed to have been shattered in favor of letting the demon run shop.

The longer she attacked him, the more he seemed to stabilize. It was like he was thriving in the chaos, the once shaking and unstable lines of magic becoming more solid, the way they had been before. When a chunk of Max's precious piano had been launched their way, it separated in mid air before it even reached them, shattering into splinters on either side of Malakai's undamaged vessel.

"Are you done?"

The chilling echo of Malakai's distorted voice seemed to surround them. Isen, still gripping Onigoshi in a state of almost stupor, started to slowly inch towards Adelaide, fearing for what might come next. Malakai, in full control of his strength, was well aware, and he made sure they both knew it. Shards of the room around them, stone and wood, glass and debris, began to float, engulfed in a black hue. Without question, or delay, they started to swirl clockwise, acting like a tornado, spinning around the trio with them stuck in the epicenter of the oncoming storm. It shrank, with each second, bringing the controlled chaos inwards, snuffing out the space Isen and Adelaide had to move within.

"You may have ruined my ritual, but I've stolen enough magic to kill you both a thousand times over. Don't bother running. There is no place you could hide from me."


Ignas really found no trouble whatsoever in subduing the unarmed Klaus. He spoke a big game, but he wasn't a fighter, and it was clear in the untrained way he swung his fists, and the hesitancy he had behind those blows. His opponent was faster, stronger, even in his weakened state, and without any tricks up his sleeve to even the field, Klaus had been downed rather quickly, with Ignas standing over him.

"Tell Malakai I'm coming for him." Ignas threatened, his foot against Klaus' throat.

As the arguing amongst the demons began to continue, he was interrupted before he could finish the job by the feeling of somebody stabbing at his lower back. Ignas turned, quickly, letting his clawed fingers slice through the skin of the demon attacking him only to find that the bleeding body on the ground next to him was that of a brash, reactionary child. He looked up, fearful, blood trailing down his chest in three, deep gashes. Ignas froze, long enough for Klaus to get back up. He leapt onto Ignas's back, piercing his own talon-like claws into his shoulder and neck, plunging deeply between muscle and bone.

One of the demons came to check on the child, while Ignas struggled to keep footing.

"Even the young ones hate you." Klaus snarled into his ear, digging and tearing away at flesh which rapidly regenerated in a swirl of purple magic, causing the pain and the action to repeat again and again as Ignas' body reacted and his magic flared in protection of his form. "What good is it to rule a kingdom where you are unwanted? Unloved? They're afraid of you, reject."

Ignas turned his claws on himself after finding it impossible for him to properly strike at Klaus in this position. He groaned in pain as he drove his claws, with force, through his own abdomen and back. The pointed ends of his clawed fingers eventually breached through the other side and began doing the same to Klaus as he had been doing to him. Unfortunately for Klaus, his body, while having it's own regenerative capabilities, wasn't as quick in recovering. He let go, reflexively, from the pain, forced to watch as Ignas ripped his hand from his sternum only to see the hole he had made begin to fill itself back in.

"They should be."

With no further delay, Ignas knelt over Klaus and drove his hand through the demon's chest, gripping his heart. Klaus' eyes went dormant as he ported out at the last moment, fearful for his life, while Ignas crushed the organ, ending this body's usefulness to the deceptive demon. As he rose back to his feet, all eyes were on him again, both those who opposed Malakai and those whom supported him.

He turned back towards the child who had attacked him, still bleeding and in pain, cradled in the arms of another demon who had come to check on them.

For a moment, Ignas wasn't Ignas. He was Isen, staring down at his baby sister, helpless and in the line of fire. Ignas got closer to the child, and he could feel the air separate from the boy's lungs. Everybody was expecting him to take his revenge, the way a demon would, but instead, Ignas brought his hand to the wounds he had inflicted, and let his violet magic seal the wounds the young demon's healing factor was not yet strong enough to do on it's own.

Silence remained around him as he addressed the crowd one last time. "If you hate the thought of me being in charge, I don't blame you. You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anybody. Malakai is a scourge to our kind. He was willing to take your freedom and steal your lives to fuel his own desire. That's what he is, a demon of death. Fuck the throne, I don't want it. What I want is to see him pay. If you want the same, join me in taking back Cresthaven, and if you disagree...run."

They could go anywhere else, but not back to the city. He didn't want anybody to get it twisted. He wasn't going soft, he was giving them a chance to be free from any kind of monarchy. If they chose to support the old order, he would not hesitate to cut them down to get to Malakai, but at least he had given them a choice. Their free will. He would not do to them what the DSTF had done to the humans, and to all of the other Dissonants in their country.


"Adelaide..." Isen began to speak to her, hurriedly and concerned as the rotating wall of debris got closer. He didn't know what to do. This was exactly what he had been warned about. He wasn't meant to fight this battle, he wasn't meant to be a part of this war. He was human. Vulnerable, scared, useless, depending on somebody stronger to save him. He tried to voice it, but couldn't, and instead, he defaulted to the only thing that still made sense.

"I love you."

With one hand still on Onigoshi and the other reaching for hers, Isen watched as Max's body began to float slightly off the ground. The demented look on it's face showed that Malakai was far too happy to be in this position, to have their lives in the palm of his hands. His original plan to spare Adelaide also appeared to be out of the question now, spurred on by her interference with his plan and her attack on him just moments prior.

Feeling the air currents ripple, he felt a shard of glass slice against his shoulder, drawing blood. He gripped tighter, to both the handle and her hand, preparing to endure what came next.

Onigoshi began to shake between his fingers. Something was happening.

Outside of the dangerous tornado, a figure had arrived in a teleportation, standing triumphantly outside of view. Malakai sensed it even when Isen couldn't. It was a blur of movement. Something, or someone, cutting through the danger. For a brief moment, as he passed through the back end of the tornado, Isen a glance of Ignas, slicing through the eye of the storm.

Onigoshi apparated, from Isen's hand, into Ignas', and the force of his speedy appearance gave him all the momentum he needed to swing the blade directly towards Malakai. The scepter intercepted the blow, causing a violent clash of catalysts that sent another wave of energy outwards. Glass shattered to the floor once more. Wood, stone and metal clanked against the ground, harmlessly, dispelled from their dangerous state, leaving a ring around them all which, at the center, housed a tug of war between the two most powerful beings in the entire demon kingdom.

"They are under my protection." He told his opponent, staring, unafraid, into Maximilian's crimson red eyes, echoing the sentiment he had made the first time he had been freed from Onigoshi's blade. "That means get the fuck out of my sight."
 
"Are you done?"

"Oh, shit."

The pure confidence in the demonic voice filling the room was enough to give Adelaide pause. Then there was the red of Maximillian's eyes alerting her that there was no longer a human in control, only Malakai puppeteering Maximillian toward his goal.

"Shit, shit, shit." Adelaide could see Isen moving towards her from the corner of her eye, and she spotted a seemingly unconscious Roland on the floor. The EMP must have taken him out completely, putting him out of commission and leaving her one more body to concern herself with. At least Isen was awake and able to move around, Roland was just lying there being useless, but he'd saved them so many times she couldn't help but feel responsible for him.

"Isen." Her voice was strained as she moved closer to him, glancing down briefly at Roland and assuring herself that he was at least breathing. "I know, I see it too." There was an entire army of emotions warring inside of her as she sucked in a deep breath and watched the tornado of debris begin to close in. Anger that the EMP hadn't taken Malakai out of commission long enough to do some serious damage and wait for Ignas to get there. Anger that Danica had abandoned them when her strength would have been a helpful addition. Frustration that she hadn't been strong enough to finish this sooner, that she was watching death incarnate approach them ready to suffocate them in a ring of debris and magic until there was nothing left of them. Fear, that she was going to die right here and now after everything that they'd put into this.

Most of all, there was grief. Grief that she'd lost her family, her friends, and now she was losing the chance to live happily with the man standing by her side.

"I love you too." She grasped for the hand that reached for her, turning her head to meet his eyes while her own glittered with tears. She didn't turn when Malakai lifted Maximillian's body into a float, or when she saw the blood trickling from Isen's shoulder as glass sliced through it. "I'll see you in the next life." She was prepared to fight against the current of magic circling her battered body to move herself closer to Isen, to wrap him in her arms and hold tight when they left this world together. She'd accepted that they had been defeated, that this would be their graveyard and now she held tight to the hope that Ignas would avenge them and destroy Malakai.

The vibrations from Onigoshi drew her attention away from Isen's face as her brow creased. Was the blade's magic reacting to Malakai being so close? No, there was something else working its way through the tornado of debris, and she had to squint to make out the source of the disruption. By the time her brain registered that it was Ignas, Onigoshi had been ripped from Isen's hand by an invisible force and clashed into the scepter with an explosion of magic that sent them sprawling backward.

"...Hell of an entrance, Ignas."


"Which way do you think we should split up? Should some of us go straight for the headquarters to assist Ignas when he reaches it?"

"No, stick to the city. Our concern is taking down whatever demons remain loyal to Malakai now that the barrier is down."

Tyrath was watching the flickers and sparks in the sky as he felt it coming down, a sense of trepidation working its way through his body. His tail twitched erratically behind him as he observed the city in all of its snow blanketed glory, knowing that at the far end of its reach there would be two demons battling to the death. It was a battle that had been coming for many, many years, but now that it was coming to fruition it almost seemed unreal. All the decades of preparation that he had done for this point in time had been worthwhile, even as he'd lost kin to the enemy and thought himself insane more than once. Danica's periodic presence certainly hadn't helped with his sanity, but even she was a better alternative to the demon in the scepter. No, today Malakai would die, or the entirety of Cresthaven was doomed to fall.

"Virgil. You're with me." He nodded his head toward a white-haired demon that looked restless, one clawed hand on the sword at his side and the other curling and uncurling his fingers over and over again. "Don't let your blade overrule your brain. I don't want to be picking up bodies of our own because you forgot who was the enemy." Virgil snorted in response and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, boss man. I'm ready to go. Just make sure Dante's ass goes with one of the other groups," His lips curled back as he ran his tongue over sharp teeth and gave another white haired demon a look of disgust. "We both know he doesn't have the same stomach for blood as you and I do."

"Enough. You will control yourself and sink your blade only into those opposing us. Leave the innocent humans to flee from this battle and do them no harm. Prepare yourselves and pray you do not meet your demise out there."

They approached the streets of Cresthaven, each step faster than the last as the hoard of demons prepared to split and make their way through the veins of the city. Tyrath could see Virgil moving to pull his blade free and swing on the first body he saw when a streak of black shot past them all, throwing Tyrath off balance as he watched the streak grow in size and propel itself into the snow. Several of them skidded to a stop to analyze the situation when Tyrath watched the growing mass dig its back legs into the ground and skid around a car, contorting in half and latching its maw onto a body that had been hiding inside an alleyway.

"...Is that a giant cat, boss?"

"That would be the Lancaster girl's familiar."

He watched the gigantic cat sink its teeth into the body held in its jaw, his head tilting to the side as he realized that it was one of Klaus' copies he'd left carelessly lying around the city. There was a mix of excited shouts and annoyed curses when the cat shook the body violently, sending a splatter of blood flying toward anyone unwise enough to come close to it. What he'd last seen as a tiny cat prancing around his now destroyed house was a large black beast treating the dormant Klaus as a chew toy, shaking him all over the place before she flung the body across the street where it collided with brick in a sickening series of crunches.

"Shit, can we get one of them?"

Tyrath shook his head and began moving again, watching as Ember stopped only long enough to assure herself that the broken heap that had once been Klaus wasn't going to move again before she was bounding down the street. Virgil was at his side with his blade drawn and a twisted grin on his face, his eyes alight with excitement as they traversed the streets until they met their first wave of resistance.

"See you on the other side, boss."
 
Cresthaven had once been home to the most prolific advancements in arcane technology. Under the watch of the DSTF, technology had evolved to combine magic in an attempt to build military power, but it had bled over into the city itself as well. After the drain, and the EMP, it felt like the city itself had died entirely. Humans were confined inside, demons and Dissonants were brought to the edge of life, the weaker of which had already succumbed to Malakai's madness. In the streets, those still loyal to their king, either out of fear or from past grudges and beliefs, began to wake up. The remainder of the DSTF's forces, equipped with what remained of their arcane-technology, were the first to react to the sudden infiltration of their enemy when the spell had died, but even their weapons were affected by the pulse, leaving the majority of their remaining soldiers and guards ill equipped to deal with what was coming.

First, a rage-filled familiar, ripping and tearing through the streets. Next, an army of demons, aiming to liberate what was left of their kind. New Year's Eve wasn't about Dissonants versus humans, or demons versus the other supernatural races they believed themselves to be better than. It wasn't vampires, mages and werewolves fighting each other, it was about saving what remained of the magical world. To believe humans and Dissonants could coincide may have been short sighted, and it was that very belief that led to the fear the DSTF had instilled, but now, on the verge of a potential catastrophe, all were united in one common cause; regardless of the outcome of Malakai's ill intent, the DSTF would end today. For better, or for worse, their world would change.

Tyrath's demons began sifting through the streets, making quick work of the soldiers who tried to oppose them. They found injured Dissonants, some barely clinging to life, and began to evacuate whomever they could. After a short delay, however, the demons who were still loyal joined in their defense effort, and things suddenly became far messier. A clash of dark magic, claws and weaponry laid waste to the alleys and streets, causing more casualties and injuries in the wake of the battle they were waging. Not only were they trying to defeat the oppressing forces, but they also needed to take care of the injured and protect whomever they could from joining a list of those who lost their lives in the crisis.

Rykard moved through the streets at full speed, evading the detection and ire of most of his enemies. Weaving through the chaos, he arrived at the only place in Cresthaven he had called home. A bar, nestled away under the eye of the DSTF. A home for those without a home, not unlike what Samara and her shop had become. A supposed safe place where all Dissonant life could come to share a drink, and escape the nightmare that the city had become. Rykard found work there as a bouncer after his life had been spared by Isen and Ignas, completing odd jobs for free drinks and purpose after defecting from Malakai's control. If Isen had Adelaide, and Ignas had Isen, the closest thing Rykard had to a reason for fighting was the few people he had become acquainted with at the tavern. The sign read Aryl's Drycleaning, but the basement was where he was headed. He expected to fight, but he found the entrance unguarded, and the cover shop completely empty.

Busting through the door, he was horrified at what he saw on the inside.

Bodies were strewn across the bar haphazardly. There weren't any signs of blood, or an attack, they had been drained out by Malakai's spell, unable to escape, or perhaps, having nowhere to escape to. Rykard's blood boiled, his anger beginning to spike until he heard a weak voice calling out his name from behind the bar counter.

"R-Ry...?"

He was behind it, in the blink of an eye, and at the side of the barkeeper he had been fond of. She could barely open her eyes, leaning in a sitting position against the counter, a half empty bottle in her hand. Perhaps she was trying to drink herself unconscious to avoid the fear of bleeding out her magic.

"Aryl...fuck." He swore, under his breath, trying to lift her body up. She was almost entirely limp, barely clinging on to life. Had it been a little bit longer...had they failed...

"Can you hold on to me?"

When she didn't reply, he took that as his answer. Swearing a second time, he lifted the girl up into his arms and began to carry her back out to the street. In his panicked mind, there was only one place he could take her, he just had to hope beyond anything that Carlisle was still alive and standing. If not, it wasn't just Aryl who might not make it. "C'mon, doc..." He spoke to himself. He wanted to believe. He needed to. Now, he properly understood what had driven Isen to such length that he would fight a demon, unarmed, for a chance at saving the person he cared for. Was this what love was?

Yes.

Yes, it was
 
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