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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
 
How long had it been since the barrier had come down? Everything seemed so muddled together after they'd been drained for so long.

"Isabella, we need to see what's going on out there. Are you going to be able to function, or are you staying here with Lorelei?"

"Just leave her, we got shit to do." Claudia glanced at Nikolai, who was currently trying to snap the vampire out of her daze, then went back to double checking she had a weapon before doing the same to her friend. "We're going out to fight, there's probably a bunch of DSTF bitches still thinking they'll be rewarded for staying loyal even now. That, and the ones that are too scared to do otherwise." She scoffed. "Fucking pathetic, they'd rather die fighting for some stupid musician and his demon than risk the demon's wrath. They deserve whatever they get, even if it's a knife to the heart."

"Enough, Claudia." Nikolai sounded exasperated as he shook Isabella gently. "Isabella, I'm going out to see who needs help. We need to make sure the people in the city are safe, so anyone not able to find shelter needs to get moved. What about your doctor friend?"

"Carlisle?" That seemed to bring Isabella back to reality enough to participate in the conversation. "What about him?"

"Will he help shelter people and treat those who may be hurt?"

"As long as he's alive still, yeah. I don't know if he tried to evacuate when everything went down or if he stayed at the hospital." She frowned. "He would have been getting drained just as fast as everyone else, but at least at the hospital there's blood to help keep us vampires alive. Doesn't do shit for our magic, but it'll keep us from dying." She paused and looked thoughtful as her brain processed everything that had happened so far. "Yeah, I think he'll be there, so as long as no one came in and specifically killed him, he'll help." That meant they needed to get back to the other side of the city, though, and she didn't have the energy left to speed run herself there, much less another person. Claudia and the others were already on their way out the door, and Lorelei had disappeared into another part of the building after making it perfectly clear she wasn't going to join the physical side of fighting. "Too old for this" had been her excuse.

"I'm up, I'm up." She hauled herself off of the rickety chair she'd perched on and slapped at her cheeks lightly. "If he hasn't already depleted the supply there, maybe I can grab a quick snack for a pick me up too. Be more useful when I'm not half comatose."

With the others already out the door and ready for blood, Isabella and Nikolai finished preparing themselves and made their way into the city. Nikolai seemed to be lagging just as much as she was energy wise, but he was recovering enough to walk steadily since a portal was currently out of the question. The area that they had vacated to was mostly full of abandoned and broken-down buildings with an occasional human hiding from the war there, but the further into the city they ventured the most people Isabella could smell.

"I can hear fighting."

"I can feel the magic." Nikolai grunted at her side, already picked up the pace as they wound around corners and came face to face with the start of the bloodshed. There was a broken and bloodied body crumpled against a wall to their left, cars strewn around the street and some toppled over with dents and gouges taken out of them. "I'm getting too old to be going on murder sprees." He sighed, and Isabella snorted at him before matching his pace and advancing towards the distant figures fighting.

By the time they'd gotten partway through the city, both of them were splattered with blood and wet from the snow covering everything. Splotches of red littered the snow in various spots, giving the streets a haphazardly painted look as they stepped over the bodies of the DSTF soldiers they had just taken down. Isabella didn't bother to stop and check for pulses on them, though the thought had occurred to her as a potential way to get blood quicker. She had decided against it on the basis that she didn't want to taint herself with their filth, but the closer they got to the hospital they were seeking, the weaker she was starting to feel.

Then she heard it, the soft sound of sobbing coming from a side street. She jerked to a stop mid-step, throwing an arm out to halt Nikolai as she jerked her head in the direction of the noise. He gave her an inquisitive look but complied, pausing and following her as she stepped around another body that had been dead long before they'd gotten there. Tyrath and his kin had clearly been down this way at some point, if the bodies she'd found proved anything. At first she thought the sobbing would have been a human that had lost someone to the war, someone too stupid to drag themselves into shelter and away from the violence. Coming face to face with a werewolf hunched over the corpse of another one wasn't what she expected to find, a bewildered look crossing her face before she stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"You shouldn't be out here." The woman's head jerked up at the sound of Isabella's voice, tear-streaked cheeks covered with blood and other filth as she choked out another sob. "I'm sorry for whoever you lost, but it isn't safe. Are you injured too?" Now that she was up close to the two werewolves, she could smell their pungent lupine scent, her nose wrinkling briefly before she held out a hand.

"Come with us, I know someone at the hospital who helps people like us." The werewolf regarded her warily, amber eyes flickering between the dead werewolf they were hunched over and the vampire and her companion. She regarded Nikolai distrustfully, who in turn held his hands up to show he had nothing to endanger her. "He's a friend. He's with the mage and the Reaper." Understanding dawned in the werewolf's eyes as she struggled to pull herself up, grunting with the effort as a hand went to her abdomen and came away bloody.

"My pup." She reached for Isabella with her other hand before stumbling, forcing the vampire to catch her and hold her upright while Nikolai came to assist. "They took my pup's father, don't let them take it too."

There were too many casualties in this war, a pang of sorrow hitting Isabella as she murmured assurances to the werewolf and they set back on track for the hospital. Even the unborn were being drawn into the chaos that Maximillian and Malakai had started, and for a moment Isabella wondered what hope there was for this to end today. Adelaide had brought the spell down somehow and she knew there were demons on their side working their way through the city, but was Adelaide still alive after that? Was Isen still alive, or had he succumbed now that he was human? There were too many factors, too many risks.

"Well, if it isn't the mage bitch's friends. Max should have killed you when he had the chance."
 
"The more lives we spare out of the kindness of our hearts, the more it ends up biting us in the ass." Klaus grumbled, a version of himself still within the city now housing himself, hurried away from his loss to Ignas, but not giving any notion to anybody that he had been bested. Safeguarding his secret behind his traditional over confidence, the spiteful demon's eyes bounced between Isabella and Nikolai, huffing a sigh. "I've grown so very tired of all of this fighting. The mage, the human, the Reaper...nuisances, all of you."

From out of view, a cannister clinked against the dirt, bouncing over stone and rubble until it landed between them. Bursting into a cloud of green smoke, it filtered outwards, quickly, creating a cone that began to envelope Nikolai and Isabella as two DSTF soldiers slinked out of the shadows, their rifles pulsing with a blue, magical core, and trained on Klaus' current victims. Toxic to those with magic in their body, and debilitating to even a strong demon like Ignas, an old Task Force trick reared it's ugly head. A soldier handed a gas mask to Klaus, not unlike the one they wore, filtering out the toxins so that he would be unaffected, and the three hostile agents began to stride through the smoke towards their latest prey.

A quick moving force penetrated the cloud, swiping through to Klaus' right. By the time he turned his head, the soldier that had been accompanying him on that side was gone. "Hm?" He mused, just in time for the force to move in the opposite direction, stealing away his second assistant. Klaus pushed threw the smoke as he investigated, expecting to find a vampire and mage gasping for air and choking on the venomous gas, but instead, he saw two piercing eyes staring back at him. Suddenly, it dashed straight towards him, drawing blood from the demon's neck in a savage fashion.

From the outside of the cloud, Isabella and Nikolai watched on in confusion, having been snatched from the jaws of certain death. Though their lungs burned a little from what they had inhaled, it was a far cry from what would have happened to them had they been left to breathe in more of the concoction. A gas mask, shattered, exited the smoke, landing near their feet as they heard the coughing and screams of an obviously in pain Klaus, forced to endure the injury and the burn of the weapon he had tried to use against his foe. Finally, emerging from the green, their savior showed himself, holding a lifeless Klaus body in one hand while dragging two, equally still, and bloodied, soldiers in the other, dumping all three in a heap at his feet, having tanked through the pain of the gas to take care of the danger within.

With fangs on display, and dyed crimson, a newborn vampire's eyes locked onto that of the one who had sired him. Takami had returned, choosing to fight, placing his violent disposition towards the very force that had taken his life in the first place. "Not...the end..." He spoke out, struggling with his own control. His eyes lingered on Isabella's for a split second, sharing a moment, however brief, before the vampire left them and began to work on the path forward, clearing the way in violent fashion for Isabella and Nikolai to continue their trek towards the clinic without resistance.


A capsule exited the DSTF building, launched from the hangar that had been housed underneath. What once had been home to dozens of dangerous drones, and had been torn to sunders by Isen and Adelaide, had now housed only a couple of simple prototypes, barely complete without Lorelei's aid. The capsule exploded in the air, releasing what it had contained, causing chunks of metal to fall below into the courtyard of the building. A single drone began to hover, in the air, finding it's bearings, a redesign of one of the Acuity prototypes. It buzzed, finding stability before it began to move outwards, towards the city.

On it's back, a glass container housed more gas, revolving around inside of it like a furious, green tornado. Vents on the bottom of the drone began to disperse it's cargo, aiming to rain it down on the city below to put a quick end to the resistance that had invaded it's way into the city. It whizzed and whirled, emitting mechanical noises that didn't quite sound right, like the thing was about to fall from the sky at any moment, but it seemed to be doing it's intended job for now.

Streams of dangerous gas escaped the ventilation shafts, slowly descending on several city blocks with the devilish intent of choking out whoever remained within it, regardless of whether they were fighting or not. Those who had yet to recover from the drain of the spell would be helplessly left to bathe in the toxins while it provided cover and support for the soldiers and demons beneath.

A contingency plan. Rushed into production, and barely complete, but a contingency plan nevertheless.

Rykard had found himself a higher vantage point, scaling to the top of an apartment complex to try and see if the clinic had been occupied by demons or the DSTF after the fall of the spell. He was the first to notice the verdant death cloud descending onto Cresthaven. Holding his beloved Aryl in his arms, he found himself unsure how to handle what he was witnessing; should he try to stop it, and protect those on the ground? Or should he focus on saving the person he cared about most? He swallowed the notion of being a hero and began to cut through the smoke towards the clinic as intended, using the force of his speed to separate the smoke, letting the wind rippling around him clear his way to Carlisle.

He'd leave the hero stuff to the actual heroes.
 
"Something's coming." The injured werewolf between them rasped out the words, and Isabella turned her head at the sound of something hitting the ground. Apparently dragging a werewolf through the city in winter weather wasn't enough of a nuisance, and both Isabella and Nikolai cursed when green smoke began to wind its way up and spread out like a sentient fog, burning at their lungs as they attempted to cover their faces while still supporting the werewolf.

"Shit, move!" Nikolai wheezed the words out from behind his arm and prepared to run, but a flash of movement was wrenching them from the green cloud before he could pick a direction. The sound that Isabella made was somewhere between horror and relief as they found themselves standing a few feet away, watching the blur of limbs and pained shouts happening inside the gas. Whatever it was, it was taking down the people that had come to steal the life from them, and he could only hope that this person wasn't also an enemy saving them for last.

"He's alive." Isabella breathed out the words in a shaky tone, and Nikolai could hear the hitch in her voice that signified some sort of emotional attachment to the fighting blur. She could smell blood over all of the other scents layered together, her pupils dilating as she looked down to see a destroyed gas mask rolling through the snow in their direction.

"It is you." When the figure finally emerged from the colored cloud and unceremoniously dumped bodies to the ground, Isabella felt her heart skip a beat as she laid eyes on Takami. "Not the end." It felt like there was a knot in her throat as she struggled not to run to him, not to ask questions or say anything that would set him off like their prior argument. Instead, she forced herself to be content sharing that brief look with him before she nodded, and by the time she and Nikolai began to move again Takami was already clearing a path ahead.

"No time for conversation, I guess." Nikolai's tone was somewhere between amused and exasperated as they continued their way through the city, and it was with great concern that they realized there was more of that green smoke spreading through the air. That couldn't possibly be from the canister they'd thrown before Takami's heroic appearance, so where the hell was it coming from now?

"Are we... Almost there.. yet?" Isabella could hear the werewolf's voice fading as they continued toward the hospital, and a quick glance down showed that the woman's face was an ashen gray that most definitely was not a werewolf's normal color. "My pup... Save my pup." Isabella cursed as they rounded a corner in the wake of Takami's continuing carnage and the hospital came into view, just in time for the weight of the werewolf to nearly double as her knees buckled and she fainted.

"You've got to be kidding me. Come on, almost... There." The weight normally wouldn't have been an obstacle for Isabella, especially with Nikolai carrying half of it, but the suddenness of the dead weight caused them both to stumble before catching themselves, looking at each other for assurance they could continue before they burst through the doors of the emergency department. The hospital was an absolute zoo swarming with humans and Dissonants alike, and when Isabella looked over her shoulder to see if Takami was following, he held her gaze only long enough to acknowledge her before he disappeared again. So that was how it was going to be. Her heart ached at his departure after the relief of knowing he was alive, but she had other things to attend to like the ongoing war.

"Carlisle!" She grabbed the first gurney she could find, ignoring the fact that the sheet on it was already stained with blood. Putting a half dead werewolf on top of some bloody sheets was the least of her worries right now, and she was able to heave up the unconscious woman with Nikolai's help before turning and bellowing across the chaotic room. "CARLISLE!"

"Thank fuck you're alive." She didn't question when the doctor appeared out of nowhere at her side, looking down at the werewolf with an analytic eye before he turned and shouted for one of the employees to take her off to an OR.

"She's pregnant. I don't know if the pup is still alive."

"You know where the werewolf blood is, Mer. Take her, run a quick ultrasound and do what you can. Make sure to use the OR I do for cases like this." He turned back to Isabella and Nikolai. "You two come with me, we'll go somewhere quieter." He led them off down a hall after scanning through with his badge, wiping hands that were bloody off on his scrubs and sighing wearily.

"This is a fucking nightmare. Isabella, do you need blood?"

"Eventually. We have bigger problems, though."

"Like what?" Carlisle finally stopped when they'd reached a back area where he had seen them previously after Takami's meltdown, turning to look at Isabella tiredly. "Can there be anything worse than this war going on? The entire city is under siege and I don't know who's on our side and who isn't. The fact that we have demons fighting for us is something I never would have thought I'd live to see."

"Like the fact that the DSTF has this green smoke that chokes you and fucks with your magic. We saw a bunch on the way here after we were attacked. Takami came and..." Her lip trembled as she thought back to the moment he'd appeared before them, and she sucked in a deep breath to steady herself. "He saved us, but there was more of it. No Dissonant that's outside is safe. I don't even know if inside is safe, if there's a way for it to get in..."

"I have some masks that we can use, but we're not equipped for this level of attack." Carlisle raked a hand through his hair and swore. "Any idea how to get rid of it? Whatever's dispelling it needs to be taken down or this entire city is going to be a mass grave."
 
"Any idea how to get rid of it?"

Rykard had arrived at the hospital at the tail end of the conversation, carrying Aryl in his arms. By now, her eyes had completely closed, and it felt like no matter how quickly he moved, it wouldn't be fast enough to get her to the hospital. He was of two minds when he finally reached the emergency department; he was relieved to see that Carlisle was here, and alive, but frustrated to see he had already been distracted by Isabella and Nikolai. "That's a problem for later." He interrupted, not even entirely sure what they were talking about, but presuming it had something to do with the green gas that was descending on the city outside. "Need your help again, doc. I know I owed you one, but I paid it up. I'll owe you again, just...just don't let her die, you hear me?"

Carlisle looked down at the woman in Rykard's arms, giving her a quick once over.

"She's a demon...probably needs some kind of magic shot or something...."

"A magic shot?" Carlisle rose a brow as another doctor whisked a gurney towards them to receive her. Rykard began to put her down, carefully, onto it. "Rykard, you know I'll do my best, but something like that doesn't exist, medically."

"Wait, what about one of those weird tube thingies in the DSTF weapons?" Isabella asked, the idea popping into her head.

"Theoretically, it could work, but..."

"I'll be back." Rykard whispered to Aryl before he turned, ready to run back outside, despite the fact that the green gas outside was already beginning to draw closer to the clinic's windows. Soon, they would be caged within the dangerous substance and choked out within it's grasp.

"Rykard, wait." Carlisle called out to him, drawing the demon's attention back. "Unless we do something about our new problem, the entire city will be a graveyard."

"He's right." Nikolai added, trying to build a stronger case. Though he didn't know Rykard, they needed all hands on deck, and clearly he was capable. "If we don't act now, Cresth-"

"What do you want me to do about that? I can't save everybody out there, but I can save her..."

"And then, she dies anyways?" Isabella tried to reason, but Rykard wasn't listening.

"Just take care of her. I'll be back."

Rykard sped off through the doors and back outside in search of the nearest DSTF soldier. He only made it a couple of feet outside of the clinic before he was stopped, suddenly, by the approach of Takami. The vampire snarled at the demon, interrupting his run and drawing him to a halt. Rykard stared at him, impatiently. "Can I help you, blood sucker?" Takami continued to stare at him, saying nothing. "Okay then. Freaky motherfucker..." He pushed past Takami, feeling the vampire's fingers digging into his arm, spinning him back around to stare at him once more. "Don't make me pull those fangs out of your mouth."

Pulling himself free, and unaware of how Takami was trying to intimidate him into helping with their plight, Rykard sped off once more, moving faster than Takami could follow if he even wanted to. He, instead, returned to his post, silently guarding the front of the clinic to prevent any further danger from coming to Isabella while she was inside.


Ember moved through the city, mostly avoiding the errant demons or soldiers unless they were in her way. She had been instructed to find and kill Klaus' real body, and then to protect Adelaide and Isen, but the moment she had minced her way through the clone she had found at the city entrance, she knew it wasn't the end of her search. She could still smell the demon's stench, she could still feel it's magic, somewhere deeper in the city. With the gas descending, flowing outwards from the DSTF building, she was separated from where she was almost certain she'd find both of her purposes waiting for her inside.

Her feline eyes caught the drone flying over head, but she was aware that she wouldn't be able to leap to it, or reach it safely, even from the highest building in the city.

There was one other place in the city she knew she could protect, for now. It was the place where she had been born, and a place she knew well; Samara's shop.

Finding the alley it was nestled into, she tore her way through a demon wandering through and stopped at the front of the building. The door was still broken from Klaus' attack, and although the place smelled of the demon, she knew he wasn't here. She forced her large body through the door frame, looking around, sniffing at the air. As she began to move behind the counter, she heard a concerned mage scream.

"Holy fucking shit, they're sending giants cat now??"


The poor DSTF soldier Rykard had found stood no chance, and was dead before he could even register that something was about to make impact with his body. With his speed, the chaos of the battle, and the obscuring green smoke, there was no chance anybody would have been able to react in time. Grabbing the rifle the man had dropped, Rykard ripped the arcane core from the weapon, feeling it's magic pulse against his palm. Recognizing this as what he was searching for, and only having a brief moment before the air pocket his speed had created filled back in with green death, he prepared to run back towards the hospital when he began to hear coughing and wheezing coming from nearby.

"God damn it." He grumbled, knowing now that he needed to investigate. With another burst forward, the gas in front of him temporarily dispersed outwards, revealing a shocking sight; two vampires, one old and one young, dying on the sidewalk. A mother, holding her child, cradling her as they both burnt from the inside out. The final gasp that he had heard came just a moment too soon to be replaced by the clean air that he had caused to rush around them. They were already gone.

Rykard had meant what he had said before. He didn't want to save everybody, he only wanted to save Aryl, but seeing what he had seen had been enough to shake him, at least a little bit. He began to run, again, causing the gas to push away from him. All the found, along the side walk, and in the alleyways, was death. More people who had been choked out by the DSTF's bio weapon, in similar, lifeless states. Innocent people, too, not just Dissonants, their lungs full of toxic gas that wrestled their life away.

By the time he had gotten back to the hospital, the gas had nearly followed him there. Takami dropped down, from an overhang on the clinic, to stand before Rykard again, snarling. "Save it, drac. I get it."

Back inside, he dropped the arcane core on a wheeled, metal tray in front of Carlise, it's magic shimmering inside the glass that contained it. "...if we were to try and stop the gas, what would you have me do?"
 
"Chill out, it's just Adelaide's fucking familiar." Claudia rolled her eyes at her screaming friend. "She gets big sometimes, why do you need to freak out over absolutely everything?"

"Maybe because I wasn't expecting to get drug into a literal war when you asked me for help. I'm not some overpowered badass like Adelaide or the old lady."

"Will you please not sit there and compliment Adelaide fucking Lancaster? All I've been hearing about since Nik started planning that rescue is all about her. When this is all over, I'll be thrilled if I never have to hear her fucking name again."

"Alright, alright, sorry." Mira pulled herself back up from where she'd landed when Ember surprised her, looking between the gigantic cat and Claudia who was still piecing together some sort of makeshift bazooka. "Hey, pretty kitty, you remember us, right?" Ember stared at her and cocked her head before meowing softly, backing up from behind the counter and letting both of the women move freely as she made her way through the shop and towards the stairs that led to the roof.

"Where the fuck is the cat going?"

"I have no idea, I think upstairs? Doesn't that go outside?"

"Yeah, which is where we're going to be going shortly, I'm almost done with this."

"What about me?"

"What about you, Mira? I already gave you a gun, put a spell on it to put some extra oomph in it when it fires. It sure as shit won't kill any demons or most Dissonants, but if you see any DSTF people... Aim for the head or the heart."

Claudia made killing people sound so easy, but for Mira it was so out of her comfort zone even when they were in the middle of a literal war. The two of them were such polar opposites that it was amazing they'd managed to keep a friendship for this long, but at the end of the day they were best friends that told each other everything, even when that meant Claudia oversharing things that Mira did not need to know.

"I think I finally got this figured out. Been awhile since I got to make anything like this. Let's get out there."

"Yes, yes, your penchant for destruction has been well noted." Was that weapon even going to fire properly? Mira eyed it distrustfully as Claudia grunted and hefted it up to rest on her shoulder before starting in the direction Ember had gone. She knew that the witch was fully capable of making working weapons with the proper materials and a little bit of magic, but making one on such short notice... Well, she wondered if Claudia had been carrying around components the entire time or just happened to find suitable pieces in the dead witch's shop! Either way, she was staying well out of the way of its range.

"Come on, we don't have all fucking day."

She followed after Claudia with a sigh, bounding up the stairs until they emerged in the cold winter air on top of the building. They could see most of the city from up there, and it looked terrible. There were still bodies strewn throughout the streets, shattered glass from multiple broken car windows and red staining various patches of the snow-covered ground. Car alarms were screaming in the distance, but the more concerning thing within their sight was the drone unsteadily making its way through the streets, and what was sputtering its way out of the drone was very problematic.

"Oh, fuck me. Mira, I see some people still outside, looks like they're wearing uniforms. Remember what I said, aim for the head or the--"

"Heart, I know. Just because I don't love violence like you do doesn't mean I'm stupid. You've seen my targets. Now shut up and do what you're gonna do, since I'm assuming you plan to take down whatever that thing is."

"You're fucking right I am." Claudia was already setting up by the end of the rooftop, one foot on the edge as she adjusted her stance and propped the bazooka up again. Mira was standing a few feet behind her taking aim at the panicking bodies moving below, concentrating on the distance and the speed at which they were moving before she fired off a shot that struck the DSTF soldier in the chest and sent him crumbling to the ground.

"Slow down, you bastard." Claudia was muttering to herself as she watched the drone sluggishly move around a corner still spewing that green smoke, her hands tightening around the weapon before she focused and then shot. The kickback sent the weapon clear over her shoulder and toward Mira as Claudia saluted from the rooftop, watching the projectile make its way over buildings before it connected with the drone in a loud explosion and burst of smoke. She whooped loudly as the salute turned into a middle finger raised toward the sky, a wide grin spread across her face as she whirled around to find Mira sprawled out on the ground moaning.

"The hell's the matter with you?"

"...Your fucking bazooka just gut punched me. Fucking bite me, Claudia."


"You're fast, as fast as us vampires if not more. If you channel enough wind, I think you could disperse a bunch of it." Carlisle looked thoughtful as the group of them tried to come up with a plan on how to move forward, but part of his attention was on what Rykard had brought back and slapped down on the tray. "I can try to figure out a way to fashion this into a form she can consume to regain strength. Might even be enough just holding it."

"What news you got for me?" Nikolai answered his phone without a standard greeting, holding up a finger at the others as he took a couple of steps away to listen. "I know, it's a nightmare. The gas is everywhere, we just barely got to the hospital safely, now we're trying to figure out a way to clear it without dying in the process." His normally neat braid was half undone as he raked a hand over his head with a weary expression. "I'm glad you're all alive, I know you've been taking care of stuff in the background where you're more suited." A pause.

"Interesting. You guys," Nikolai motioned to the others standing there, "I've got three separate barriers throughout the city. Not huge, but enough to try and block off some major intersections where there's buildings full of people trying to stay safe. The barriers are keeping the gas from breaching buildings and keeping tenants, but they can't hold them off forever. Rykard, you think if they hold the long enough, you can run through the streets and use the barriers to play ping pong with the smoke?"

"Fuck it. Let's do it." Rykard didn't look particularly thrilled by the thought of "ping ponging smoke" as Nikolai put it, but what choice did he have if he wanted to clear the smoke away and make sure Aryl survived all of this?

"Yeah, send me a pin for each of your locations... Oh, you already did. Of course you did." He sounded almost delirious when he laughed, worn out and thoroughly desperate for something to reduce the dangers they were currently handling. "See you on the other side." He hung up the phone and turned to the others, but Carlisle was already busy fussing with the arcane core, and Rykard and Isabella were heading for the door out back. "You wanna look at the pins, first?" He took a moment to show both Rykard and Isabella the locations of where the different barriers were set up.

"You should stay here, Nikolai." He gave Isabella a look of surprise when she spoke up. "Keep a barrier over the hospital while Carlisle fixes people up, we'll take care of the gas." She had a good point, and he nodded before watching them depart and turning back to Carlisle.

"The door back here has a pretty good seal, right? Since they're not automatic?" Carlisle grunted in reply, still working with the arcane core and examining Aryl's condition. "I'm going back to your emergency room and shielding off what I can for anyone still stumbling in." When another grunt was his only response, he turned heel and waded back through the craze of the hospital to the emergency room. A brief glance outside as he began to weave his magic showed a series of blurs working their way through the streets and the gas, and he took a deep breath and set to work.


"Holy shit! What the fuck was that?!" Isabella skidded to a stop and nearly ran into Rykard's back when he stopped to investigate the explosion. It was only a hand on her arm holding her steady that kept her upright, and a glance over her shoulder showed that Takami had followed them into the gas again, silent and deadly as ever.

"....Is that someone saluting?" Rykard's face was a mixture of emotions as he pointed in the direction of the shop, and Isabella craned her head and stretched up to get a better view. Through the large cloud of smoke that was spreading from the now destroyed drone, she could see multiple figures standing on top of the shop's roof.

"I think so... Oh, now it's a middle finger and a bunch of gibberish they're shouting. I wonder--" She realized that Rykard had started running again the moment they realized the drone spewing the deadly gas was no longer in the sky, and her feet started moving just as she caught sight of something launching itself off of Samara's roof. Was that Ember?
 
With the noise of an explosion lingering in the distance, it seemed as if now was as good a time as any to fully commit to their plan. If the drone had gone down, and it seemed like it had, there wouldn't be any more gas falling into the city to be concerned about. Now, they could focus on what was already lining the streets, and if they could manage to filter it out of the city, they could deal with it after all of the fighting had stopped.

"Try and keep up with me." Rykard grumbled, cutting off Isabella's musing as he started to run again. By now, the gas had to have been pretty close to the hospital, after all.

Each step, powerful and fluid, displaced the air around his legs and body, redirecting it outwards like a plane cutting through the sky. The gas was moving, but between the three of them, it wasn't going in the direction that they wanted. It scattered, but in all directions, almost randomly, meaning the most he was doing was clearing a street or two while pushing it off into an alley or a side street. What was worse was what was being uncovered within the smoke he was moving; more dead bodies, human and Dissonant, some wearing the DSTF emblem. Had they no loyalty?

Rykard doubled back around to the vampire pair, stopping them for another catch up. They were nearing the first magical barrier that Nikolai had arranged, and they were no closer to accomplishing their task than they had been when they started.

"This isn't working." He scoffed. He stared between Isabella and Takami. "You, or your shadow, have any other tricks up your sleeves?"

"Well, Nikolai said there's a barrier up ahead and..."

"And another about a mile deeper into the city." He mused, trying to piece it together in his head. "But there are too many streets and alleys, we're just pushing the gas into places that make it harder to reach. Unless..."

"Unless?"

"Maybe that's the point. Keep pushing it out until it makes it's way out of the city. We've been thinking of it as a vacuum, but maybe it needs to be a wind storm."

Isabella nodded her head, in agreement.

"I'll go first. Count to ten, then start following me. Have your freaky boyfriend do the same. We're going to work in a circle and start pushing our way out towards the outskirts. Clear the center of the city first."

Rykard took off in a full sprint first. Like he had instructed, ten seconds later, Isabella joined, and then, Takami. The three of them began to work in a circle that pushed the air flow outwards, the current carrying the gas into the alleys and crevices instead of out. Eventually, it began to work it's way through fences and gaps in the city layout, inching the verdant death gas towards the edge of the city one street at a time.

He tried to focus on nothing but the task at hand. He was moving so fast, pushing the limits of his speed and endurance, to the point where even a single mis timed step could see him flattened by his own momentum should he make impact or take a wrong turn down a dead end street. His body ached and burned, but he kept going, battling against the resistance of the air, and the barriers of his demonic resolve. He screamed in agony, then pushed harder. He wouldn't stop, even if his heart were to burst in his chest, until he knew Aryl was safe, and by association with that, the city itself.

Faster. Harder. Don't stop. Don't look back.

Faster. Harder. Don't stop. Don't look back.

Through streets, past fights and soldiers. Past allies and demons, past witches and Dissonants in conflict.

Faster. Harder. Don't stop. Don't...

Isabella began to slow down, not out of total exhaustion, but out of confusion, when a Rykard-shaped blur lapped her. Then, it did it again. He had always been the faster runner of the three given they were just vampires and he was a demon with a very unique form of magic, but this was something else. He was looping them, blitzing faster than they could possibly keep up with, pushing against all known boundaries, and with it, the gas exited the city at every possible point.

By the time he was finished, the majority of the gas had escaped the city and into the areas surrounding it. While still a problem for another time, at least the people in the city were safe, and any of the remaining pockets were small and more easily dealt with rather than a blanket of death hanging over every inch of Cresthaven. Rykard had built so much momentum that he could hardly stop himself, blitzing at a pace that had burnt through the soles of his shoes and had left his feet bloodied and bruised. The abuse he had put his body through had taken it's toll. His heart hammered at a pace near impossible to maintain, and as it began to seize and clench in on itself, he lost footing and found himself stumbling into a tumble towards the forest on the outside of the city.

Trees toppled, bones broke, and he remained in the wasteland he had created; a crater in a forest deep within the gas he had worked so hard to save the city from.

Isabella didn't know if demons could have heart attacks, but when she and Takami retrieved him from the gas, she was certain this was as close as they could get to it. The next time Rykard's eyes opened, it was a brief reappearance in the clinic, where he muttered something about wondering why they came to get him, but he drifted back unconcious from the pain shortly after. The second time his eyes opened, it was to greet the person in the bed next to him. Aryl was sleeping, but she seemed, as of now, stable.

He would not awaken again until long after the battle had run it's course.


Two demons remained in a constant clash. Malakai was limited by the fact that he was, despite powered up from what he had stolen, still within a Catalyst wielded by Max. Ignas, on the other hand, had no such restriction, and was fighting with a malice and hatred that seemed to make each blow land a little harder, be it fist or blade. Onigoshi cut and tore through a body that could barely handle the natural healing the demon could provide. Meanwhile, the scepter bent and buckled as a distraction while tendrils of dark magic lashed and cut at their opponent, trying to snare him to attempt a drain of his magic.

Isen saw a rage in Ignas that he had never seen before. This was the kind of emotion Ignas had always tried to calm him from feeling. It was wreckless, uncontrollable anger, but it was fueling Ignas in an overwhelming frenzy against the demon he had once been so afraid of. By taking the fight to Malakai and Max, Ignas was channeling every ounce of pain he had ever felt. From losing Clara, from seeing Isen hurt, from experiencing the very human emotions that their bond had forced him to feel for Meribell, for Samara, for every life that had been lost or taken by the hand of Malaki and the DSTF.

Onigoshi pierced through Max's stomach, and the musician coughed up blood, gasping desperately. Malakai forced him to clutch the blade with his palms, channeling as much of his dark magic into him as he could to will Max to pull the blade out by it's sharpest point. When they separated, Ignas stood over Max's bleeding body as the human whimpered in pain, asking for it to stop. For Malakai to let go.

"Where was this all those years ago?" Malakai scoffed through Max, forcing his voice to distort and strain as he continued to fight off the blood pooling inside of the human body's lungs. "It didn't have to be this way. We could have ruled them together."

"You're a monster."

"But so are you. Did your time among the humans make you forget what you are? Look at what you've done..."

Malakai purposefully reverted control back to Max. For the first time since they had seen him, he looked afraid, and out of his depth. His eyes were panicked, his body was bleeding and broken. It looked like he was begging to be set free from the pain.

"Nice try." Ignas scoffed, not falling for the obvious ploy. "I'm not ashamed of what I've done."

"You should be."

Malakai snapped back into control, swinging the sceptre suddenly and landing a thud against Ignas' jaw with the blunt end of the catalyst, staggering him back. "The sad part is you don't even realize it, Ignas." Another blow followed, dazing the demon. "We were always the same. The same destiny, the same killer...we even had the same lover."

Ignas' head snapped up at that comment, rage returning across his visage. He swung Onigoshi forward with such force that the sceptre began to crack in the center from cushioning the blow. "You weren't enough for her. You weren't fit for the throne. You've never been enough for anyone, have you?" Malakai continued to taunt, seeing the gap in the armor. Tendrils snared forward, and Ignas began to slash at them, rapidly, angrily.

"Shut the fuck up!" He yelled, feeling Onigoshi carve through dark magic, recoiling with each touch. "You tricked her. You manipulated her."

"You failed her." Malakai continued, smirking through Max's face. "You weren't enough for her. You're not enough for Isen, either, were you? He always wanted to get rid of you. He traded you for a dirty mage."

Continuing to pick at Ignas, the slashes began faster, and began to slip through his unconcentrated rage.

"Ignas!" Isen tried to call out. "Don't listen to him. He's trying to mess with you."

But he couldn't hear it. Not over the fighting and the taunting, over the feeling of being consumed by dark magic that was beginning to war with his own. One of the magic streams pierced into his side. Another wrapped around Onigoshi's handle, draining from the catalyst next. As Ignas' purple magic was amalgamated into what had been taken, it began to flow through Max as well, accelerating the healing of his human body's injuries.

"That's the Ignas I knew...weak..."

Feeling the drain on his body, Ignas tried to use his magic again, but wasn't able to. He tried to free Onigoshi by teleporting it from Malakai's grasp, but it blipped into the same place it was being held then fell to the floor, clattering too far out of reach for Ignas to possibly grab. Demonic eyes met demonic eyes as Malakai's magic twisted and turned it's dark arcane around Ignas' body.

"...unworthy."

With a forward surge, Ignas' body was released at the apex of what was, essentially, a throw. He collided with the wreckage of the building wall and passed straight through, careening downwards from the third story. Isen couldn't see the landing, but from the noise it made, it had to have been devastating, perhaps even fatal.

Ignas was their best chance at stopping this, and now...he glanced over at Adelaide, overwhelming panic and concern in his eyes as a rejuvenated Maximilian sauntered towards them once more.

She was going to do something stupid. He just knew it. "Adelaide...you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking..." He warned, gripping her wrist.

"I told you before, Adelaide Lancaster. Nobody is coming to save you. You're going to die here. The question is...whom should I kill first? Should I make you watch while I pluck the heart from your beloved's chest? Or should I let him watch while I bleed you dry of everything that ever made you special? Choices..."
 
It felt like they'd been fighting forever.

Adelaide had long since lost the ability to tell time. Between the psychological torture she'd been forced to endure, a fatigue induced night of "rest", and everything that transpired since waking up to Roland in her face, it could have been one in the afternoon or one in the morning. No, there was still light outside, even if everything was white from the snow. She watched the two demons move back and forth in varying blurs of motion as they clashed, weapon against weapon with bursts of light that would have put the aurora to shame. The fact that the colors were dark and volatile gave them a certain beauty, fueled by years of emotions and pure hatred between the two demons.

"I don't like that Malakai is this strong even now." How much stronger would he have been freed from the scepter? He was making Ignas work for it with every blow landed, every block of a weapon against the other as they danced around the room exchanging attacks. Everything had built up to this fight going on before them now, and it was a fight she had anticipated going much quicker and much smoother than this. Malakai was taking every opportunity to land a verbal jab on his opponent, winding Ignas up in what she assumed were attempts to distract him so Malakai could get another blow in.

"Yes!" Adelaide hissed the word out when she saw Onigoshi pierce Malakai's host and the damage that it caused. Any pity she had felt for Maximilian had disappeared long ago, and the only grace he deserved was the death that would come when Ignas beat his catalyst. She clung onto Isen as they watched the two of them separate and Malakai reverted control to Max, attempting what she could only assume was some sort of ploy to make Ignas feel anything human toward the being he was fighting, as if the choice of host being human would curb his pent-up rage.

"Fucking idiot." She took the time that Malakai was choosing to taunt Ignas about Clara as an opportunity to pull herself and Isen toward where Roland still lay on the floor, nudging at him with her boot and earning a muffled groan in response. The fact that he was alive after all of this was a relief in itself, but now she had to think how best to keep the three of them safe while the demons continued their fight.

"Shit! Isen, look." Isen's attempt to call out to Ignas had apparently fallen on deaf ears, and as she caught sight of Malakai's deathly magic piercing Ignas' body and wrapping around Onigoshi, she felt her heart sink and her breath hitch. This was bad. This was really, really bad. "He's going to drain them both." She needed to get one of them away from Malakai's reach, but did she go for Ignas first, or the blade that was allowing Malakai to heal his human host?

"...What's he doing?" The blade clattered to the floor as she saw Ignas' body being lifted in the air, and before she had a chance to make a decision on which to go for, Malakai was launching Ignas through what remained of the wall to the outside world. "No!" The explosion of debris had Adelaide throwing up a protective shield in front of them to keep them from being impaled or blinded, the magic flickering and fighting as she struggled to keep it intact.

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck fuck!" She didn't have time to waste being afraid of the demon stalking toward them or what would happen if he reached them. She didn't have time for her magic to be uncooperative because she was weak, they needed to move now. The vials! Roland had been carrying some of those vials when everything had happened with Klaus, hadn't he? "Hold on." One hand gripped at whatever part of Roland was closest as she crouched down, her wrist still in Isen's hand as she concentrated and forcibly ripped open a portal to yank them across the room near where Onigoshi had fallen to lay uselessly.

"Grab it, Isen!" Her attention had already shifted to the barely conscious Roland who was trying to sit up, his face pale as he muttered about throwing up and held a hand to his head. "The vials, Roland. Vials, vials!" The dazed look on his face as Adelaide began to pat at his pockets and shove her hands into them quickly drew him back to reality as he swore, pushing her away and sitting up long enough to yank a handful of small vials from his pocket.

"Not going to help much, you should just leave while you can."

"Thanks for everything, Roland, if we don't see you again."

"...Huh? Adelaide, what are you--- Fucking mages and their..." Roland's voice trailed off as she pushed him backward into the portal that she'd opened, sending him somewhere outside of the crumbling building before she sagged back against Isen with a curse. They needed to get over to where Ignas had been thrown out of the building, needed to see what had happened to him when he'd been launched three stories down and see what had caused that sickening noise she presumed was him landing.
 
Isen's hand barely managed to grab the handle of the sword before he was pulled away again. He and Adelaide were practically holding each other up now, their legs strengthless and exhausted. Malakai observed them, curiously, continuing his slow approach towards them, unconcerned with their attempts to arm themselves or free Roland from his wrath. "Go ahead, burn away what's left of your magic. You're only making it easier for me." He taunted, eyes blood red and focusing on Isen next. "And you...you can barely even hold that thing. Do you really believe yourself strong enough to fight me without him?"

The unsteady tremble of Isen's hands proved Malakai's theory true without ever needing to test it. Even with both hands wrapped around the handle of Onigoshi, it's weight was still heavy. Adrenaline, as it did when he stared down Ignas with the blade in hand before, would only get him so far, and the sword felt different entirely. It felt empty. He hoped that was simply because the magic had been drained from the Catalyst, and not a precursor to a much worse fate for Ignas at the bottom of the building.

"You have nothing left for me to take from you but your lives. You've lost your city, you've lost your demon, you've lost your strength."

"If you kill her...you'll never get out of your Catalyst. And if you kill me, you know damn well she'll never do it for you..."

"Are you attempting to bargain with me? I've been around for hundreds of years, Isen Hiyori. I know better than to make deals with dead men."

"I've died before." He responded, looking back at Adelaide to make sure she was still even conscious. "Do you think I'm afraid to do it again?"

"Doubtful." Malakai's voice parted Max's lips, the vessel's face contorting into a look of condescension. "But losing her? That's what really scares you, isn't it?"

He gripped the sword a little tighter, trying not to show any sign that the words were cutting into him. Tendrils of magic, familiar and harrowing, flared from the Catalyst in Max's hand, waving wildly around Malakai like snakes eager to bite at fresh prey. "Maximilian broke after losing his first loved one, but your humanity has been much more stubborn. Your sister, your friends, through all of it, you held on to that wretched human side of yours, and we both know why that happened...thank you, Isen. You've helped me make my choice."

Isen felt the color drain from his face when he realized what Malakai had meant. His black, arcane whips began to close in, their target not on the faux-swordsman, but on the woman he treasured most. Lifting Onigoshi with as much strength as he could, he felt a lash against a blade that had no magic left to protect it, swinging the sharp edge of the sword back in recoil and nearly driving it into his own shoulder from his inability to control it's weight and force. It clanked to the floor, embedding itself into the already damaged flooring of the room, leaving both his arms pinned back as he struggled to pull it from tile like a sword embedded in a pedestal.


"M...Max...?"

His hands were red. Blood dripped between the fingers of his left hand, staining his skin and forming a puddle at his feet where the lifeless body of the girl he loved stared up at him. Her face was contorted and twisted into pure shock and fear, her eyes were still wide open even though the light he once saw in them had left them entirely. His right hand clutched a scepter, the gem on it's end splattered with the same shade of red as it glowed, melding shades of crimson and violet together.

He felt tears welling in the corners of his eyes. They dripped down into onto his red-burdened hand, but weren't nearly enough to wash out the sinful color that had dyed his fingers. Would they would never become clean again?

"What did I...how...how could..."

"She made you weak."

He heard that haunting voice in his head. That demon...she had warned him against it.

"This is your fault...this is..."

"Her blood is on your hands, is it not?"

Max couldn't hold back his tears as the shock and guilt began to wrack his system. He began to panic, feeling an overwhelming urge to vomit and run from this place. He needed to turn himself in. Maybe if he got a doctor in time he could...

His emotions strayed. It felt like the scepter in his hand was draining them away. He tried to let go, but he couldn't. It was like his extremities refused to move on their own accord as though they had been hijacked by something stronger than him.

"We are one, just as you've always wanted."

"N-no. That isn't what I wanted...it isn't..."

In his head, he could see visions of his first meeting with Malakai, speaking through that of another man under the demon's control. The scepter, the Catalyst which held him, had been passed into his hands for a brief moment before returned back to it's holder. A connection had been formed, a union that he didn't realize at the time.

His memories were betraying him. He didn't remember telling Malakai that Sharla needed to die. He didn't remember selling his soul to the darkness, he only wanted to make their dreams come true.

"My vessel..." Malakai continued. "Do you have any idea how long I've searched for you? How many countless other lives I've consumed? You are special, Maximilian. So very, very special..."

"I'm a murderer..."

"Only if you choose to view it as murder. What we've done here is the first step to getting what you want. Fame. Fortune. Power. Your wildest dreams are mine to make true."

"She was my friend! I loved her...I..."

"I am your friend now. I have always been your friend, isn't that right?"

Max's mind continued to fracture. His emotions were being toyed with, his memories imprinted upon. Malakai's darkness was spreading through his body, starting with his brain, twisting his desires into sinister seeds to sprout, infecting his innocent mind with a demonic corruption.

"...we...we're friends?"

"Yes, Max. We're friends. And friends help each other, isn't that right?"

"R-right...friends help each other..."

He wanted her gone. Love was a distraction. Sharla was an anchor. He was better off without her. He didn't need her. He needed Malakai. He needed...

"That's not how it happened...she wasn't a weakness..."

The memory seemed to fade, abruptly, fraying at the ends until it collapsed in on itself. "This isn't what I wanted."

Max's voice echoed in a void somewhere deep in his own head. A prison he had been buried in, shackled by Malakai's overwhelming darkness. The more he consumed, the stronger his influence became. Where once, there was syncopation and manipulation, there now existed clarity, but it was a clarity that brought with it a heavy sadness to the human that remained trapped inside of his own body while a demon attempted to play God in a world he had helped devastate.

Was this the right way? Was love truly a weakness?


Darkness surged through each, dangerous line of magic. Isen pulled Onigoshi out of it's resting place, but was far too slow in doing so. He couldn't wield it to deflect the next attack, and he felt one of the tendrils sear into his arm, pulling him easily up off of the ground. Behind him, the rest surged forward towards Adelaide, forcing him to watch as he felt his world turn upside down in the grasp of Malakai's black magic.

For a brief moment, Malakai's eyes began to flicker. He grunted, continuing his assault as he maliciously grabbed at Adelaide next, wishing to drain her of her magic, and her life.

"Adelaide!!" Isen screamed out towards her, his voice breaking from anger and urgency. "Stop! Don't do this..." He pleaded with the dark entity that pulled at their lives, feeling a dizzying rush of blood drill into his head as he continued to dangle aloft in agony and fear. "I...I love you..." He whispered, hoping she'd hear it. If this were to be the end, he'd fall on that damn sword on his way down so that she wouldn't need to face it alone.

"Love is a weakness." Malakai inferred, devilishly. "To you, and to your demon."

"This isn't what I wanted..."

That voice. That wasn't Malakai.

The tendril holding Isen lowered down before dropping him. Those that were trying to end Adelaide's life also pulled back, retreating and retracting into the Catalyst. "What are you doing!?"

"This is our finale..."

Were they...arguing with each other? Isen backed away, slowly, towards Adelaide, watching as Maximilian's body tossed the scepter aside into the rubble with a thud, trying to separate his connection to the demon housed in his body. "What's the point of a beautiful symphony when there's nobody in the audience to hear it?" He spoke, inwardly, to Malakai, biting back at the demon as he tried to wrestle away control over his body. "Go." He instructed them, next. "Do not waste my kindness."

Max's eyes glossed over as Malakai went to work once more, overpowering the humanity that remained inside of his body. He plucked at memories again, tore at emotions, with such anger and strength that he was practically tearing Maximilian's mind apart. Bit by bit, memory by memory, all faded into nothing. He had been many things in his life; a friend, a musician, a politician, a ruler. He had never come to see the role he had truly been playing; a puppet. When Malakai was done, his vessel would be just that; strings to be pulled, vacant and voiceless, comatose in a body that had betrayed him.

"You and me, just like we always have."

"You and...me..."

As he went blank and fell to his knees, he saw one last, fleeting memory of Sharla before his eyes turned red and Malakai took control once more, crawling across the floor towards the discarded Catalyst, shedding what remained of the human that Maximilian had once been.
 
This wasn't how it ended. This couldn't be how it ended, clinging to each other until the very last moment just like her parents had. No, she wouldn't give Malakai the satisfaction of seeing them on their hands and knees, bloodied and struggling to pull themselves toward each other. She would not leave a scene like what she'd found in her childhood home, one parent desperately trying to claw their way across the floor to the other in their dying moments. Had Malakai and Maximilian been the ones to order the attack with the help of Lorelei and her brainwashed betrayal, was she standing face to face with the reason for her parents death, for those of her friends and destroyed apartment?

"But losing her? That's what really scares you, isn't it?"

The flashback of the carnage in her home, of her parents' corpses and clear love to the very end had distracted her from the conversation, and it was that question that drew her back to reality. The back-to-back teleportations had drained her of a large amount of energy, and no matter how infinite the magic in her catalyst was, she was struggling to pull from anything without overdoing it and passing out.

"Go fuck yourself, Malakai." Adelaide hissed the words when she saw those dark tendrils coming their way, fully prepared to step in front of Isen and defend him before she realized they were coming for her. Isen's struggle to hold Onigoshi was amplified by Malakai's magic wrapping around him and lifting him from the ground, the weapon out of reach as the dark magic reached Adelaide and began to leech away the small reserve of magic she had left.


"If you're ever caught and think there's no way to escape, play dead and then fight like hell the second you sense a weakness."

"Why would I ever get caught and need to fight my way out? You secretly in the mafia or something I don't know about?" Adelaide laughed at her dad from her corner of the couch, her eyes glued to the movie playing on the television and a handful of popcorn halfway to her mouth. She uttered a muffled complaint when the movie paused just as she shoved food in her mouth, her hands going in the air as she turned to see what the hell had made her father pause the movie and look like that. She swallowed her food, analyzing the serious look on his face and the way that her mother stared wearily at the wall beside him.

"What's going on?"

"We just want you to be able to take care of yourself when you're on your own someday." Her mother's voice was soft as she laid a hand on her husband's shoulder, and they exchanged a brief look before some of the tension eased from his body.

"Just realized we never really talked about proper self-defense in a life-or-death situation. We've taught you how to control some of your magic and things like housekeeping and cooking... But never what to do if someone came for you because of what you can do."

"Should I be worried?"

"...No. We just want you to know just in case. The cities can be dangerous, especially as a young woman. When you play dead or pretend you pass out, the aggressor tends to relax. You're not a threat anymore, after all. The second they relax you fight like hell and you don't stop until you're somewhere safe."

The brief pause had been enough for her to feel a sliver of concern, but it was clear that the conversation was over when her father pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and turned the movie back on.

"Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too."


The memory was broken when both she and Isen hit the ground, the impact forcing a sharp gasp from her as she tried to pull herself into a semblance of coherency. That damn drain was going to be the end of her if she didn't get them away from Malakai, and it was bound to take Isen quicker than it was her since he had no magic to take before his life. That wasn't something she could allow to happen; she refused to find herself crawling toward his lifeless body because she couldn't get him to safety quick enough.

"Isen." Even her throat felt raw when she rasped out his name and forced herself to her feet, dragging her heavy limbs across the room until they were grabbing at each other desperately. "Do you trust me?" It seemed like such a silly question after everything that they'd been through together, but she knew if she didn't ask it first then she was going to feel terrible about it later. She pressed herself into him even as her feet continued to move, shifting them backward and away from Malakai and towards the broken wall Ignas had been thrown through. She already knew what his answer would be before he uttered it, but the confirmation spread a smile across her face nonetheless when she drew them to a halt at the edge.

"Don't let go." It was the only warning she gave before her hand twisted in the front of his shirt and she pushed, sending them both tumbling over the edge and into the cold winter air. Her stomach lurched when their feet left the ground, everything inside her screaming that this was the end and that they would never make it, that she didn't have enough left in her to get them safely to the ground below. Even the air in her lungs was being stolen away by the wind whipping around them as they plunged downward, her hand still fisted in his shirt as the other found his wrapped around Onigoshi and held tight to the weapon they needed to bring with them. If they could just get it down to Ignas without becoming a pile of broken bones and blood themselves... Well, they needed the chance if they had any hope of beating Malakai.

"I love you." She wasn't sure if Isen could even hear the words over the wind howling during their descent, tears stinging at her eyes as she struggled to keep them open and draw her face closer to his. It was a struggle she continued to fight toward even she fought for control of her magic, pulling and unwinding from the ring as she pressed her forehead to his and squeezed the hand on the sword. "In this life, or the next."

She squeezed her eyes closed and prayed, feeling the pulsing and burning at her finger as the ring fought to fuel her drained body. It reminded her of when she'd first synced herself with it at Samara's shop, the burn spreading its way from where the ring wrapped around her finger, working its way through every nerve before it exploded outward and abruptly pulled them out of the air to deposit them harshly on the ground below. They landed hard, and for a moment she thought for sure that she had broken something when the portal ripped them from their fall and dropped them mere feet above the ground.

"Isen." It wasn't until she was sure he had survived the fall that she released him and they pulled themselves to their feet to find Ignas. The street was eerily empty and quiet even as she saw curtains moving in nearby windows, and when she staggered to her feet to look at Ignas she thought her heart would stop. "Please don't be dead." They had come a long way from her wanting to rip out his heart herself to the way she was pleading for him to be alive now, each step unsteady as they made their way toward the demon that had left a crater in the ground upon impact. The rise and fall of his chest was barely visible when they approached, and the amount of blood staining the snow would have meant death for a human.

"No, no, no no. Ignas, wake up! We have your sword, you just... You need to wake up and fight!" Malakai would be down there with them any minute; they had no time to waste and he was just lying there in a broken pile! "Ignas, get up!" She looked around them at the destruction that had befallen the city throughout the day, at the damaged buildings and overturned cars, the blood in the streets and the bodies she could see a block or two away still crumpled on the ground. If Ignas didn't get up and fight then there was no one left to defend this, no one to keep the city and its occupants safe. No one to keep Isen safe.

"I'll come back to you." Her shoulders had already dropped as a defeated expression crossed her face, and when she turned to Isen she was already opening a portal behind him. Lorelei wouldn't have joined the physical fight, she knew that damn well, and she could keep Isen safe until this was over, however it ended. "In this life or the next, I'll find you no matter what it takes."
 
While it wasn't his preferred escape plan, especially without a demon in his body to cure broken bones, Isen understood the urgency and didn't really resist when she began to pull them towards the gap in the wall. Did he want to jump? Not really. But when she asked if he trusted her, he knew she had something in mind, and he replied without a moment's hesitation.

"Always."

Before he knew it, they were plummeting. He felt the air ripple around them as they cut through it in a straight descent towards the snow. His eyes shut and he held on tight, fearing the impact but trusting that she would figure it out. Anything was better than staying up there with Malakai in the state he was in.

Isen stumbled forward, feeling magic ripple around them both, protecting them from the same fate as Ignas. He clambered forward, feeling the chill of snow against his hands as the soft blanket of the ground enveloped Onigoshi from his attempt at stabilizing himself. They were okay? He checked her over once, really quickly, just to make sure, but feeling no pain or finding no broken bones in his own body was a big improvement from the fate they were about to face just moments prior.

He never thought he'd thank Max for anything, but he seemed to have given them one last chance at survival against the overwhelming odds they were now up against.

Adelaide was the first to reach Ignas, but it wasn't for lack of effort. Isen's mortal body still had yet to get used to teleportation, he stumbled a little, using Onigoshi as a crutch to balance himself out until he reached the demon's side. What he saw, in the cratered snow beneath them, was a far cry from the powerful demon they had known. Battered, and bleeding, he laid broken from his fall, and even as Isen placed the sword down on top of Ignas' chest, there was no response or reaction from him.

"Damn it, Ignas." He swore, leaning over him. "You're gonna let that asshole do you in? After every thing we've been through?" He pushed against the demon's chest, trying to shake him awake to no avail. "Come on...you've got to wake up. It's not over...it can't be over..."

As he stood, defeated, he picked up the sword with him. He stood, with his back to Adelaide for a moment, eyes shut as he drank in the responsibility that had befallen them. Malakai was right. Nobody was coming to save them. They were beaten, and defeated, but maybe they were all that was left standing between Malakai and an extinction. He didn't know if Isabella or Takami were still out there, or what had become of Tyrath and his army, or if Ember was alive somewhere in the city. If they were the last line, they would hold it. They had to hold it.

That familiar ripple of magic drew his attention, and his eyes glanced towards the opening portal before snapping directly back to Adelaide.

"I know that look...Adelaide..." He attempted to argue, beginning to walk towards her with slow, calculate steps. His free hand reached out towards her, palm outstretched. "No, no, no...don't do this. Don't you dare do this..." Isen pleaded, meeting his eyes to hers, communicating the urgency and sadness he was feeling through the way they softened as they looked upon her. "We do this together. Don't play hero..."

"In this life or the next."

From behind her, Max's body began to descend from the opening in the third floor wall, scepter in hand. His eyes were red, black energy swirled and encircled him like a cocoon. He was entirely gone. This wasn't Maximilian anymore, this was Malakai, as pure as possible while still within his Catalyst. There was no time for them to argue, and certainly no time for her to waste her magic trying to get him out of there.

"Fuck, Adelaide, please..."

The look on her face showed determination, she wasn't going to be swayed. He did the only thing he could think of and closed the remaining distance, sealing his lips to hers, stealing what could be their final kiss. Maybe it would be enough to change her mind...but if it wasn't...he refused to think that. He held on as tightly as he could, dropping the sword to tangle his fingers in her hair, passionately sharing a potential goodbye in a desperate attempt that she would let him stay and face this at her side.
 
Damn him for being able to read her so easily.

"I need to keep you safe, Isen, and right now anywhere but here is safe." She hated the way that he was looking at her so desperately as if she was betraying him by trying to keep him safe. There was a part of her that wanted to agree with him, to keep him by her side so that he was the last thing that she saw if Malakai killed her. The more logical part of her brain knew that wasn't an option, that being selfish and wanting him near would only end in his death as well as hers and the best thing she could do was send him away. She didn't want to play hero.

She could feel Malakai's magic coming closer, could tell that he was coming out of the building one way or another and that they were out of time. Then Isen was on her, his lips on hers and his hands tangled in her hair as if it would center his presence there and change her mind. She wanted to melt into the desperate passion of the kiss, wanted to relive it over and over again like they had before she'd come back to Cresthaven to fight this war. When the sword thudded on the snowy ground she grabbed at the front of his shirt with both hands, rising up on her toes and stealing one last greedy kiss before she pulled her mouth away.

"I love you." Isen's face was already a blur as her eyes filled with tears and she shoved him hard, propelling him backwards into the flickering portal and closing it the second he was safely through. All she could do now was hope that Lorelei was still on the other side, that he was successfully far enough away that he couldn't come running down the street to try and rejoin the fight now that he had only his human strength to transport himself. The last of the portal rippled and then disappeared before she slowly turned to where Isen had dropped Onigoshi, leaning down and hefting it up out of the snow.

"Not today, Satan. Not today."
 
Isen felt a rush of air around him as he was separated from Adelaide, tumbling backwards into the portal he had tried so hard to get her to close. He fell onto his back, staring up at what seemed to be a familiar ceiling, but he couldn't place it just yet. He was still processing the emotions he had been wrestling with; sadness, frustration, maybe even a little bit of betrayal.

"In this life or the next." He repeated, jamming his fist against the tiled flooring. "Damn it, Adelaide!"

"What has she gotten herself into this time?"

That voice.

Isen sat up, almost immediately, finding Lorelei staring at the position he had fallen into. She was seated at a table, thumbing through a tome, but now, her eyes were fixated on him. Her brow raised, expecting a response the way a teacher would to a question, but Isen was far from one of her students at a college lecture. "Send me back to her." He just said, abruptly, avoiding the question entirely and driving his demand with a sense of urgency. "Now. Send me back."

"Where?" Lorelei groaned, seeing Isen's emotional instability. "If you don't calm down, the only place I'm sending you is to an asylum."

He took a deep breath, but he felt like he was trembling. There was no time for this. He needed to go. He started looking around the room, frantically. If she wouldn't do it, there had to be some one, or something, here that could. He felt a spell take hold over his body, locking him into place as he began to scramble through a nearby cabinet, holding him in the awkward position.

"Let's try this again. Where is my grand daughter? We sent her in, and I presume she's had something to do with the spell falling, and all of the fighting happening outside?"

"She's fighting Malakai. She needs me. I need to go back."

Lorelei's expression seemed to turn, on a dime. "If she's fighting Malakai on her own, I'm afraid there will be nobody left for you to go back to.... What's become of your demon?"

"He...he lost."

"Right." Her face continued to show loss, and acceptance. It was already too late. "I'm sorry, Isen. I'm sorry for what you've lost, but I would be doing a disservice to both of their memories if I were to send you like a lamb to the slaughter as well."

"Don't you talk about their memories. They showed up to fight, to save people. What have you been doing?"

The spell constricted around him, placing pressure on every inch of his body, pushing inwards. Isen swore he could feel his bones creaking and compressing, but he couldn't move, and he refused to give her any satisfaction of knowing she was hurting him.

"Acuity. The DSTF. You were a part of all of it. And instead of trying to make it right, you hid, you let your grand daughter fight your battle for you and now, you're leaving her to die!"

"Isen Hiyori. I am willing to forgive you because I know you're emotional, but regardless of how special as you were to her, if you continue to speak to me that way..."

"You'll what? You'll kill me?" Isen spat back, spitefully. This was Ignas all over again. A powerful being refusing to take action because they were scared, deciding to choose to be docile while the rest of the world suffered around them. "About time you did something."

A silence fell between them, the strength of the spell lessening. He could feel his body begin to move again, though still held in place, looser than before.

"...what would you have me do? If even Ignas couldn't stop him, what do you expect from me? What do you think you can do? If she sent you back here, willingly, then it was to assure your safety."

"She thinks she's protecting me by keeping me alive, but she isn't. Until I found her...I didn't want to live in the first place. I can't go back to feeling like that. I tried hundreds of different ways to end my life, and I couldn't. I prayed until I got tired of searching for God. I cried until I forgot what it felt like to be happy, and I wished every single day that somebody like Malakai would come along, end my suffering and bring me back to my sister..."

"I...understand." She empathized, recalling her own situation with the DSTF. The abuse, the emotional manipulation, the weight of being responsible for a horrible tragedy. She had been there too.

"Then you need to send me back to her. Lorelei, I'd rather die with her than live without her. My life doesn't matter if it's in a world where she has been taken from me."

"You're wrong about that." She mused, sighing. She let the spell drop, freeing Isen from the hold. "Your life does matter. All lives do. I've learned that recently." One of the nearby drawers extended itself, under her control, revealing a device contained inside. Assuming he was meant to take it, Isen picked it up, noticing the DSTF logo branded on the side of what appeared to be a version of the teleportation device he had seen Orion van Dyne use in the past. "I was the cause of a calamity. I do not take that lightly. I can't take any of it back, but I hope some day to give reason for my life to matter as well."

Isen held onto the device in his right hand, turning back towards Lorelei. "There's an entire city out there that could use you. Atone for one tragedy by preventing another."

Lorelei waited a moment, avoiding Isen's statement. "Think of where you want it to take you. By my estimation, you probably have three or four charges left, at most, after the core's deterioration from Malakai's spell. I won't be the one to weave the spell that sends you to your death, but if this is the path you wish to take..."

Isen gave her one last look of frustration, then pulled the trigger, vanishing from the shop entirely before she could even finish her sentence.

"....bring my grand daughter back to me."

Lorelei let out a sigh, her eyes glancing back down to the tome she had been reading through before Isen had interrupted her. Outside, she could still hear the distant noise of fighting, the war waging in the streets of Cresthaven continuing while she remained sheltered, wallowing in her self pity. She stood, from the table, and walked into a different room. Waving her hand, a spell lost it's hold, revealing some old trinkets and gear that she had been hiding there. They were branded by the DSTF, but they were her designs and prototypes, once used to create weapons that were passed off as prevention.

Adelaide's purpose was to destroy the DSTF.

Isen's purpose was Adelaide.

Maybe it wasn't too late to find one for herself.
 
"I'm surprised there are still so many humans left."

"Just means more for us to kill."

"As if you weren't gagging on that gas same as the rest of us. You're lucky Rykard's dumb ass was still around to move it out."

"I still don't think that was Rykard, there were two others with whoever it was so maybe it was some idiots vamps."

"I'm telling you, it was Rykard."

"You two quit bickering. I thought you were separating, anyway." Tyrath turned his annoyance at the two white haired demons at his side. "No, don't give me an explanation, I don't care. If you're here, stick to the fucking task and clear the path. We need to get closer and find out where the Lancaster girl is and where Ignas is. I don't like the sound of whatever's going on across the city, I want to see with my own eyes who left a hole in the ground." The way that the city itself had seemed to shake had been enough to halt Tyrath mid-step when it had happened, but it hadn't deterred him from continuing his way through the city with whatever demons remained alive. The gas had put a dent in their numbers, sending several demons into a near comatose state with some of them running for shelter in the human's buildings.

"If I don't see this... To the end, puppet my ass there. Don't let my brother have all the fun."

"Shut the fuck up, Dante, just because you're not as good as me doesn't mean you still won't make it. You're still gonna come in second place, though."

"I don't want to be buried. Throw my ass into the water or burn me in the backyard, but don't put my body six feet under to rot with the humans."

"Enough." Tyrath stopped walking and turned to look at the two brothers. "What are you two babbling on about?" It wasn't until he looked between the two of them that he saw the blood soaked through Dante's clothing, saw the way that his steps were more sluggish as he came to a halt when Tyrath did.

"Virgil. Take your brother back."

"Hell no, I'm not passing up a chance to see Malakai fall. It's too late for me, just make sure I get a front row seat to the show."

"Fuck me. Why didn't you say something?" The amusement had all but disappeared from Virgil's face as he surveyed his brother, shoving his coat out of the way to look closely at the damage before he cursed. "You're a fucking idiot. When we get out of this alive--"

"If."

"Fuck off. When we get out of this alive, you're never going to live this down. Carrying on quietly with a severe wound like one of those fuckin' human movie heroes. Move your ass, you don't die tonight." He clapped Dante on the back and started walking again, spurring the other two demons to follow suit as they rounded another street and took in the continuing damage the city had taken.

"Should take some of them with us, Ty. You know you want to. There's enough to make a little army of your--" Virgil's sentence was cut off as a heavy weight hit him from behind and sent him face first into the ground, sharp claws digging through his clothing as the sound of a ferocious snarl filled the corpse riddled street. There was a brief moment of silence after the snarl before Tyrath began to boom with laughter and the weight lifted, allowing Virgil to roll onto his back and look up at the overgrown beast of a cat staring him down with her teeth bared.

"Hello again, Ember. Let's go find your mistress, shall we?"
 
With a click of a trigger, Isen felt his body rushed forward by the magic in the device, transporting him immediately from the relative safety of Lorelei and into the buzzing streets of the city. There was wreckage wherever he looked, bodies strewn across the streets where the fight had been raging. He was thinking of Adelaide the entire time, just as he had been instructed, but without Ignas or her to guide him, his lack of experience with magic made it impossible for him to control where the device had flung him. He tapped on the trigger again, over and over, but it sputtered without a reaction. The core inside pulsed, dim, it's magic waning, while a small meter on the side of the handheld began to refill. At least it wasn't dead. It just needed time to recharge.

Time, however, was fleeting. Not just for Adelaide at the DSTF building, but for Isen as well.

The fighting was far from over. Remnants of a dark green gas remained in small pockets of the street, reminding him of a similar substance that had once stung him from the inside out. He avoided it and began to run. He had a basic understanding of Cresthaven's layout; they had spent enough time there, after all, but he wasn't exactly street wise. He was trying to find his way through roads and buildings, catching a glance of the larger DSTF building in the distance and using it like a north star to try and guide him. Rounding a corner, he encroached upon a fight between a pair of demons and ducked himself into a side street to try and avoid getting himself involved. His heart beat raced as he found a dead end and was forced to turn back. By the time he returned, the two demons had barreled themselves through the brick wall of a laundromat, and he was able to slip by unnoticed.

The device buzzed in his palm. He refocused and pushed on it's button again.


He stumbled forward against a gurney, toppling it over as it collided with other medical equipment, creating a scene and causing an uproar in the hallway of what seemed to be a hospital.

"Isen? What the fuck?"

As he pulled himself up, ignoring the bruising that would no doubt be forming on his shoulder, he saw Isabella staring at him, dumbfounded, alongside someone who appeared to be a doctor. He had stepped out of a room that, beyond the doctor's coat, he could see a familiar face laying unconscious on a bed. Before he could ask, or explain himself, he found his body being slammed back against the wall by Takami, who had swooped in within the blink of an eye to assess the sudden threat on the inside of the clinic. His vampiric eyes looked at Isen, curiously, fangs bared. Isabella grabbed on his shoulder, tugging him back, and his glare lightened as he let Isen back down onto his own feet.

"You brought Takami back?"

"I-sen..."

"Well, he, um, he came back to save me..." She replied, feeling her cheeks start to flush a little, speaking it out loud. Her hand was still curled around his bicep, and he hadn't moved an inch from her touch, staying close to her, protectively.

"So, he's like your guardian...vampire. That's great, it means you're safe."

"Yeah...but what about you? And Adelaide!?"

"She's still with Malakai...I'm working on it." He said, holding up the device in his hand that he still had yet to master. "This is a lot harder than she made it look."

"You're letting the magic control you instead of the other way around." Carlisle interjected, offering his own advice. Isen turned his head towards the doctor, addressing him directly. "Do you have anything of hers that you could use to help you with finding her?"

Isen's hand drew into a fist, showing the ring that she had gifted him. The birth stones embedded were still in tact, despite all of the abuse he had gone through.

"He's a friend, Isen. You can trust him." Isabella reassured, with a nod of her head.

Isen swapped the device over into his other hand, wrapping his fingers around the handle. "Okay. Thank you...and Rykard?"

"He's going to be okay." Carlisle reassured. "He saved a lot of people today."

Isen seemed to take some pride in that, given their previous history and conversation. "I knew he would. You guys should stay here until it's all over, Takami can help protect you."

The vampire, despite still struggling to adapt to his new physiology, understood that well enough and gave a grunt in agreement. Isen chuckled to himself, gave a passing glance to Isabella and Carlisle, then pulled the trigger once more as the device began to vibrate with charge.

"He said she was still with Malakai.." Isabella whispered, as Isen blipped away, concern written across her face as she tried to figure out what that would mean for her friend. Suddenly, staying still here, didn't seem all that easy, despite Takami's look of warning.


Isen stumbled forward as he reappeared back in the city. He caught himself just before he had another accidental collision on his hands, cushioning his fall against an alleyway wall. He still wasn't there...but he was closer. He could see the shadow of the building towering over them, and he could hear the sound of fighting. He had to keep going. The device began to recharge, giving him at least one last pull, but as he exited out onto the streets, he found himself, this time, unable to avoid detection by a demon that had spotted him.

The demon snarled, his lips turning into a smirk as he brandished an axe that appeared to have amalgamated with his arm like it was a prosthetic. Isen began to back up, but over his shoulder, he could see that the alley he had teleported into was another dead end. As his mind raced in search of an escape, a large feline leapt across the opening to the passage and tackled the demon. He heard tearing and ripping, watching as the axe hand bounced across the pavement. Ember's eyes peered in at him before she took off again, towards the building.

Isen began to give chase, but she was much faster, and had already found her way into the courtyard of the building. From behind him, the demon that had been attacked by Ember, began to stir once more. Not yet dead, it began to rise back to it's feet. Though unarmed with it's weapon, it's opposite hand bore dangerously sharp claws. Behind him, the demon ripped through two DSTF guards who had come out of a building with rifles armed, drawing Isen's attention back towards the commotion just in time. He turned at the last moment, narrowly avoiding being skewered by a dashing attack. The demon smashed against the courtyard fence, then turned on a dime back towards Isen again. His hand, however, was stuck between the bars, and the demon began to tear it off himself to free himself from the trap.

Isen clicked on the teleportation device, but it refused to cooperate, leaving him no choice but to try and defend himself, so instead, he made for the guards who had just been killed to try and steal their weaponry. Isen reached for the rifle, then watched in terror as the lifeless body that held onto it tightened their grip. He stumbled backwards, confused, trapped between what appeared to be two, reanimating soldiers, and the sound of flesh breaking as the demon wrenched itself free. Now, without either hand, it left a trail of blood behind as it came closer, attempting to use the only thing it had left as a weapon; it's own mouth and teeth.

The soldier, risen from the dead, fired it's rifle past Isen, drilling into the chest of the demon with arcane rounds that began to stagger it. The second solider readied what appeared to be a grenade in it's other hand, and Isen knew better than to wait around and ask questions.

"Great." He grumbled to himself. "Zombies. Of course there's fucking zombies. Why wouldn't there be zombies?" He continued to mumble, pulled out of his ramble by the teleportation device buzzing once again.

Since he was already close enough, he decided to tuck it into his pocket for now as a panic button and began to climb the fencing around the courtyard, desperate to try and get back to Adelaide and Ignas before it was too late.
 
"We really gotta get one of those. Reminds me of the hounds." Virgil cackled as Ember sped off in front of them, although she was never quite far enough away to be fully out of sight. Whatever she was after, there was clearly some sort of end goal that included getting to the end of the city with the DSTF building. The fact that she was taking down human and demon alike during her journey was something that the three of them found themselves impressed with, although it was clear that Virgil was the most obsessed with having a homicidal animal companion at his side.

"Good luck finding a hound stupid enough to put up with your dumb ass if we survive this." Dante's banter with his brother hadn't stopped despite the way that he was clearly slowing down, and twice now Tyrath had to slow his pace not to lose the two brothers behind. There was a part of him that was tempted to leave them dragging behind while he went ahead to find Adelaide, Isen and Ignas, but logic overruled the instinct when he remembered just who they were up against. Malakai had clearly kept a hold over many demons and humans alike for there to be any resistance still spread throughout the city. He had thought the gas would drive most of them back if it didn't kill them, but enough of them had been able to hide from the weapon and reemerge ready to fight and defend their disgusting organization.

"There's another demon near, and it isn't a friendly." Tyrath stopped and listened to the sound of shouting coming from around the corner, followed by what sounded distinctively like brick smashing and then a vicious snarl that echoed around the streets. "Let's make sure our little friend didn't get in over her furry head, shall we?" He started to move before either of the brothers had even responded, although a glance from the corner of his eye showed him that Virgil was already drawing his blade and Dante had sped up despite his free bleeding injury.

"She's fine. Look, they left you puppets." Ember was already bounding away from the scene when it came into view, and Tyrath could spot what looked an awful lot like Isen standing there with a demon moving towards him. "What about the human?"

"He's one of ours. Retrieve him."

"Not close enough to make it in time. You're up, puppet master."

"I told you never to call me that again."

"Since when do I ever listen?"

It was a valid, albeit annoying point that the other demon had, and Tyrath shook his head as the two advanced down the street while he paused. Puppet master. Well, the humans foolish enough to serve the DSTF might as well be useful for a change, so why not? They were nothing but corpses laying on the ground battered and broken, but they still had weapons capable of causing damage to Dissonants and demons alike, so there something to be done with them.

He didn't start to walk again until the bodies began to sluggishly rise from the ground, taking aim at the demon intent on causing Isen harm. The creature might have been some sort of prideful demon once, but now it was only bits and pieces still held together by what he assumed was pure determination and spite, limbs broken and missing as it roared and staggered back under each blow from the arcane weapons.

"Not the grenade, boss man." Right, that wouldn't do any of them good now, would it? Instead he watched Isen take the opportunity to start climbing the fence of the courtyard they were nearing, his eyebrow shooting up as he watched the determined human work his way up as Dante and Virgil reached the area, blades already buried in what was left of the behemoth demon that had attacked Isen.

"Get off the fence, Hiyori. Virgil, get him down before he goes down with it."

"Fence ain't falling, boss."

"Not yet." The two DSTF corpses he had taken control of stood off to the side with vacant expressions and tilted heads, all but drooling in catatonic states as he focused his attention on the armless demon the brothers had finished off. "Make yourself useful, filthy creature." He took a moment to ensure that Isen had been properly plucked off the fence despite any protests, meeting the human's eyes long enough to make his presence known before the maimed demon was stumbling to its feet and rushing at the fence with a garbled roar. He didn't know why Isen was intent on going in or through that courtyard, and he didn't particularly care what the man's end goal was. Still, he wasn't cruel enough to leave him quite literally on the fence when he was passing by, and he gave a small grunt of satisfaction when the rampaging demon pushed through the fence until it caved with an ear grating screech of metal that collapsed in on itself.

"Don't get killed, Hiyori." It was the only sense of a goodbye that he gave before he was moving again, pulling his magic back from the demon now shrouded in the broken fence and instead focusing on the DSTF agents he'd taken control of. They might be useful for a brief period of time, at least with those weapons in their hands. At the very least, they would be temporary shields to soak up whatever attack came their way next.

"Got more demons. Probably a block, maybe two away. I'm surprised the cat didn't take them out considering the way she pounced on me."

"I believe the mage's familiar has a specific task to see to. Are you suddenly unhappy with the amount of blood you're being allowed to spill?"

"...Shut up, puppet master."

Lugging around fresh corpses was more work than Tyrath had remembered, even if they were walking on their own dead legs. The amount of concentration that it required meant he was allowing the brothers to take the lead on their venture through the city, something Virgil was thrilled to do every time he got to swing his blade at a potential victim and even more so when he ran them through with it. They were closer than ever to their intended destination, the DSTF building well within sight and complete with gaping hole on the third floor. Presumably, one demon had sent the other crashing through it at some point or another, and he could feel the anticipation building as they grew closer to and closer to the source of the war. Even being this close to the source of all the magic that was thrumming at the center of it all was enough to make him break a sweat, his focus drawn between too many things as he prepared himself to be in the presence of Malakai's current host.

"FUCKING MOVE!" Dante's shout drew him out of his thoughts just as the ground started to shake. There was no warning tremble, no stomping or growling to alert them to the presence of the demon that had come barreling out of the alley and taken out a chunk of the brick wall without slowing. Everything happened so fast that Tyrath knew there was no hope of reaching them in time, and he found himself watching in mild horror as Dante shoved his brother and went down in a tumble of brick and blood as the rampaging demon plunged claws into his gut.

"You motherfucker!" Tyrath stood rooted in place as Virgil pulled himself up and towards the other demons, wrenching back the enemy with a feral snarl and dislodging his claws from his brother's stomach by way of pulling the arm clean off with a wet squelch. They really didn't have the time to be stopping and feeding Virgil's bloodlust by dismembering the offending demon, and he'd just barely taken a step when he realized the severity of the situation. "Mother! Fucker!" Virgil's claws were tearing into the demon he'd thrown to the pavement, but Dante was still laying where he'd fallen taking shallow breaths and bleeding all over the snow.

"Virgil, finish up and get your brother. I do believe he needs help standing." Whatever Dante was trying to say came out as gibberish through the mouthful of blood he was starting to choke on, and Tyrath sighed before making his way over and crouching beside the demon. The damage to his body was extensive and would have been deadly even if he hadn't been injured before, and he surveyed the damage with a grimace before looking over where Virgil was still tearing into the now unresponsive demon. "Virgil. Your brother is not long for this world."

"Then fix him, boss man."

"Virgil." The change in Tyrath's tone was enough for Virgil to lift his head and stop maiming the other, and when his eyes settled on his brother gurgling on blood and gasping he hauled himself over and lifted Dante's head onto his legs.

"What'd you have to go and do that for, idiot? I could have taken the hit."

"And let you hold it over my head forever that you took a hit for me? Not a chance in hell." Dante chuckled, but the sound came out strangled and clearly took great effort from him. "I meant what I said before. Puppet me if you have to, but I want to be a part of..." When he coughed again it splattered blood all over his brother, who either didn't notice it or didn't acknowledge it as he tried to make Dante comfortable. "...I wanna be a part of... Taking down Malakai. Let me put my sword in the cocky bastard. Promise me."

"Aye, you have my word."

"Shut up, both of you. You're gonna be fine. Who else am I gonna fuck with if you die? Come on, get up. Up, Dante." Virgil shifted and tried to haul his brother onto his feet, succeeding only in making Dante groan and spit out another mouthful of blood before he shuddered violently and let out a loud rattling breath before slumping against Virgil.

"You're not funny, Dante. Knock it off." Virgil shook him angrily as Tyrath stepped back, already aware that the demon's life had vacated his body. He watched Virgil shake his brother until his head lolled back, blood-streaked face expressionless as Virgil finally grasped reality and lowered his brother's body to the ground. Tyrath prepared to focus his magic on the maimed demon and raise him to walk with the catatonic DSTF members, but the ear shattering scream that Virgil was expelling was enough to startle him and send him a full step back. The noise didn't stop when Virgil stumbled around his brother's corpse, swinging his leg back and delivering a harsh kick to the body of the demon that had stolen his brother's life. What started as one kick turned into two, and two turned into scrabbling for hunks of broken brick to lift and smash into the creature's face long after it was already dead.

"Virgil." Tyrath raised his voice to be heard over the repetitive noise of brick hitting a caved in demon skull. "Come. Let us avenge your brother, and everyone else that Malakai's war has taken from us."


It felt like she'd been fighting forever. It always felt like she'd been fighting forever. If the fight ever ended and she survived to see the world without Malakai in it, Adelaide was going to have to relearn her sense of time. The vials she'd gotten from Roland before portaling him off somewhere safe were barely enough to make up for the multiple portals she'd opened in such a short time, and the magic she'd taken from them had been depleted some time ago. Now it just felt like playing a game of hide and seek, dodging attacks and keeping herself as far from Malakai's attacks as she could. Trying to launch any attacks back were weak and winded her immensely, the ring struggling to keep up with her demands for its dark magic to launch attacks so closely together.

The sight of magic streaking past her in Malakai's direction was enough to make her scream and stumble back. It had come out of nowhere without warning, and when she regained her footing and spun to see where it had come from, she could see an odd grouping of demon and human alike coming their way. The blast had come from a DSTF soldier still holding his weapon awkwardly, and the longer she stared the odder the entire group looked. Tyrath walked at the back, flanked by two other demons and a small group of human soldiers. All of the DSTF members walked like they were drugged or under a spell, shuffling through the snow with no regard for the cold and blank expressions on their face.

One of the demons strode forward with purpose, a blade in his hand and his face splattered with blood that made his furious expression even more terrifying. The other, who looked remarkably like the furious one that saw fit to approach the area with a shout, was stumbling sluggishly not far from Tyrath as Adelaide tried to decipher what was going on. Why did it look like Tyrath had brought a small group of zombies into this fight?

"Little mage." Tyrath greeted her as he stopped not far from her side, but she could see that his attention was focused on the soldiers that were taking aim at Malakai and firing wildly.

"So. Zombies?" She wiped some of the blood from her face and patted at what had once been a braid, realizing that the mane of blonde had become a filthy, matted mess of blood barely held together by her hair tie.

"You humans and your zombie fascination." Tyrath's lip quirked as he watched one of the soldiers get struck down by Malakai with little effort. "More or less. Do you have any bright ideas on how to dig Ignas out of that crater over there, or are you intent on fighting Malakai by yourself?"

"I'm just kind of winging it."
 
Isen looked, incredulously, back at Tyrath, realizing how ridiculous he must have looked in that moment he had been caught in. He stumbled down, back to the ground, watching as the demon and his allies pushed through into the courtyard, ahead of him. "I...be careful." He spouted to them, though they were already moving. At least it meant capable help was on the way, now he just needed to hope that Adelaide and Ignas were still alive to even receive it. The sound of fighting continued in the distance, emanating from the other side of the building. The demons were rounding the corner, but Isen decided to move straight through.

He knew, above all else, that he was no match for Malakai in his current state. That couldn't be his plan. If his idea of helping was throwing himself between two magical juggernauts, he wasn't going to get very far. He needed to try and be smarter about things, use the fact that he was just a normal human now, with no magic in his body, who wouldn't be sensed by Malakai, especially in the heat of a fight. All he needed was to get Onigoshi and... Isen glanced down at the teleportation device he was carrying. It was flashing red, enough charge for one more burst. He knew he was right to have kept it, just in case, but he needed to use it properly this time. He couldn't afford to teleport himself anywhere else when push came to shove.

The front door had been broken, which felt a little foreboding, but as Isen passed through the DSTF building, it instead just felt eerie. It was so empty, and in disarray. An elevator shaft had been broken open, and he stayed away from it, or from anything that looked like it might start to fall apart if he touched it. He scanned for any sign of a weapon, or anything he could take with him, but found nothing but empty space and rubble. Anybody who had been inside must have been called to fight. He didn't even see a sign of Klaus, or one of his copies, anywhere around, meaning that he was safe to continue his passage through. Nearing the door on the back, he pushed it open and quickly ducked down, hiding behind the railing as, in the near distance, Tyrath stood beside Adelaide, opposite Malakai.

She was still alive. He felt relief like he had never known before, and watched through the bars as the soldiers and allies that accompanied him continued to shamble in movement, just like the ones he had seen before. Coming to understand that they were somehow under Tyrath's control, Isen watched in confusion as they began to fight for them, his eyes scanning the battlefield in search of where Onigoshi had been left in the wake of his impromptu teleportation.


A large, feline body smashed through the glass door at the front of the DSTF building.

She dashed across the tiled flooring, ignoring the wreckage, her nose tuned to a scent that was leading her into the belly of the beast. She knew Adelaide was right outside, but she had also made a promise to Ignas, one that needed to be followed through first. Moving as fast as she could, she tackled the metal doors of the elevator, causing them to break inwards. Falling with them down the shaft, Ember's claws scraped into the inner workings of the downward tunnel, slowing her descent until she landed on top of the elevator cart that would normally have been called to the main floor to bring somebody down.

She, of course, landed perfectly on her feet. Cats always did when they fell.

The hangar that had once been full of drones was as empty now as the upper floors of the building were. A place that had once been the location of a battle waged by Isen and her mistress to try and thin the numbers of a calamitous event now stood dormant and dark. Peering through the lack of light, and following the scent she had been tracking, she moved into a different part of the basement where, at the end of a long hallway, stood a vault door. He was behind it. He had to be.

As she began to get closer, portions of the wall opened up and began to activate. The lighting turned into a disorienting red as a pair of arcane pulse weapons emerged from the walls. As they clicked to fire, Ember prepared to dodge a magical blast, but instead, a pair of empty shells crashed into the walls, causing craters to form against the paneling. Seeing an obvious solution to her problem, she leapt on top of one of the cannons, turning the weapon, which had been drained of it's magic by Max's spell, towards the vault door. It fired, crashing into the protective barrier, causing it to buckle.

On the inside, surrounded by a vault of magical objects, hid Klaus.

The real Klaus. The last Klaus.

Trying to hide a body in a place he thought safe, both for defense and due to the magic signatures around him, he had concealed his final self beneath the building and had been forced to return to it after his last, active body had been killed. Trapped inside of the vault with no way to escape it, he heard the noise of something powerful impact the door and seized in fear. He was weak, he had no out. Whatever was on the other side was here to kill him, and he knew that. Grasping at what he could, he tried to find an object he could use as a weapon in place of his lack of physical skill, but when a second shell impacted the vault door and caused it to collapse inwards, he watched in horror as the shape of a large feline stood in the door frame. Framed in the red emergency lights, a pair of piercing eyes broke through her black shadow as she growled, leaping directly towards the demon, leaving nothing identifiable to be found by whomever had the misfortunate of coming to the basement next.
 
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