The Legend of Heroes II: Trials by the Light

[Capt. Blu]

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[BCOLOR=transparent]Grandium: Royal Palace: Underground Metal Room: Babysitting[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]They managed to get Moira out of danger in the nick of time. At this rate, Nani was probably going to get gray hairs from all this stress. "Good, you're still in one piece." The fury in Moira's eyes was something she expected. She also expected to be shoved away by the berserker too. That pink shrimp had Moira's prized possession- well at least Nani assumed it was her prized possession. But with Moira as injured as she was, she couldn't really try pursuing the girl either. Speaking of… She searched around spotting Lucien and Thunderhawk cornered by the pink reaper. "Liz, tell me you've got some trick up your sleeve…"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Captain watched Kapi step and press all over buttons and watch the place come to life. The capybara had the right idea! Maybe if they pressed the right one, something would at least help. The bird stepped on a few buttons and then landed on a lever. With enough weight, he managed to pull it downward. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Nani looked around when more stuff machines were brought back to life and then glanced over at the companion duo on the control panel. At least they were trying to help… When Lisette decided she had a plan, Nani only nodded, keeping her one eye trained onto where Annabelle had headed. "Yeah, Moiry. I know. Leave ya behind, help the others. Can't do that. Not with you not able ta move. The others… They're at least able ta run. Or think of it as a tactical retreat if that makes ya happy." Nani kept in front of Moira, trying to get Annabelle's attention just yet. She had to make sure Lisette had a clear shot first.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Cephalogod]

Grandium: Underground Ruins: Weh

While Aria tried to regain her bearings from toppling over the railings, she could feel sand underneath her fingers and in her gloves. And in her clothes. And eyes. And mouth. There would find sand on herself, she was sure, months after this encounter was over. If they survived. If she died, her ghost would be that annoying one that trekked sand everywhere.

Okay, nothing was broken and all her limbs were still functioning. Standing up was slightly difficult as her hands and feet kept sinking and sliding though sand, but finally she was up and glaring at Grant again before quickly checking up on her friends. Her eyes first flitted to Lute who had Syed and Cole nearby, then to Selan. The woman looked exhausted and terrified and understandably so- the man could probably manipulate the now sand-filled cavern to bury or crush them in an instance if he wasn't demanding for a 'challenge'.

"Challenge, my ass," Aria coughed, grimacing as she felt sand crunch between her teeth. Ew. She stepped between Grant and Selan, hoping her blood streaked visage didn't serve to further terrify the dancer. There were even wet smears on her knives and she grimaced again, weighing the weapon in one hand before launching it at the sandman. Even if it didn't do any damage, it could at least relieve some of her frustration to see it hit.

 

[Fox of Spades]

Walkway:

Tobi was right, they weren't going to run away... they were in too deep to run away. And really, if they did, that psychopath would kill everyone—the princess, the people of Artar, everyone who ever mattered to them. It was a lose-lose situation, and Xan could only watch in horror as Syed's hands were pinned to his chest and as Lute remained slumped over before Grant as if he were an offering. And Marcus, was he still alive? Why couldn't she do more for friends?

Anger flashed across her face as she shot out towards Lute, Aria, and Dylan, but before the mettalurgist could gain any ground, Grant threw his arms to the side and the walkway shuddered as the ground beneath them gave way.

This was it.

Xan braced herself for the worst, but it never came. And instead, they found themselves lying on sand... just endless sand and endless possibilities for the masked man. Every cut and bruise ached, and while a part of her wanted to close her eyes and just lie there, doing so would mean giving up on everyone and everything and that wasn't something she could do. Wincing, she hauled herself up, dragging herself towards Lute, the nearest prone form. "Lute," Xan's voice was hoarse. "Snap out of it. Now isn't the time. We have to fight back."

---

Metalwork Room:

The imp had just caught sight of Moira and company, when suddenly, he and Thunderhawk were at the other end of a death sentence.

"Thinking will become a lot harder for you after I've removed your heads."

Lucien gaped as she sliced through metal in one swing. Out of reflex he took a step back and found himself crashing into the control panel. Annabelle was fast and powerful and Thunderhawk was right, if they wanted to win, they were going to have to do something, but he was far too terrified to think straight, especially now that they were staring at death and her pink pigtails.

As he threw a quick glance at the catwalks above, he noticed Lisette...

Maybe he could do something. Lucien poured his concentration into his imp, and the little mischief maker dropped from the ceiling in an attempt to dive bomb the reaper. "LISETTE! SHOOT!"

 

[Warden]

Walkway

The virtuoso was numb to the scathing criticism thrown his way. Even a brick to the head would've gotten the same effect. Accordingly, nobody in their group paid him any attention, and it was up to his familiar to jump to his defense.

"Blah blah blah! Why don't you shut your filthy pie hole and shove that shit back where it came from!?" Delilah roared back when this ostentatious hooded figure, with his horrible fashion sense and penchant for exaggeration, had the gall to feel disappointed with Lute. She continued on, nearly overpowering his words with her own vehemence. "You don't know anything. You don't have the right to march up to him and tell him that you're disappointed. You don't get to tell us how you feel, asshole." Look, this retard coordinated a shitton of plots to undermine the queendom. She didn't know if he had other conspiracies up his sleeve, and if he was responsible for other heinous crimes. But she wasn't going to stand there and take it when a complete stranger harasses her partner for being weak, when the entire journey that led up to this point saw him fighting for an ideal that was bigger than anything she had ever experienced. Screw him and his pasty white mask.

So, the sensation of falling wasn't frightening, but it must have been to the humans. Delilah only felt air passing through her form, a slightly irritating rush that must be what a woman wearing a skirt during a windy day might experience. Lute still didn't stir. At least not voluntary. He got thrown to the furthest end of the walkway though, just beside Xandra. Again, she sent her thoughts bounding within the mental space they shared, hoping he would at least show a flicker of recognition. Nothing. Forget her compliments, the man stayed immobile like a damn brick.

"Yeah, Xan's right. You can drama it up later. Don't pay the asshat any mind. He's…" Delilah paused, showing a bit of hesitation in her features. Then, she added, "Well, we're in a frigging sand pit so obviously he's getting high on power play. Just another reason for you to get back in the game. C'mon." The sound spirit quieted down when no reaction followed her words, and she felt like Xandra was staring at her. Fine. Last try. "Dia said… Your mom, she uh… She was big on the redemption stories. She always thought that the people who made mistakes and spend the rest of their lives making up to it are… admirable. I thought they were hung up on the past but, um, I thought you might find that interesting."

Oddly enough, that did the trick. Lute's fists slammed down on the metal of the severed walkway and he reached for his sword, which had fallen nearby by pure chance. "What do we do?" Lute whispered, raising his head to wearily stare the metallurgist in the eye.

 

[Pachamac]

On and On​

Grandium: Underground Ruins: Walkway
Estelle, Marcus, Trixie, Cole, Tobi, Selan, Syed, Aria, Xandra, Lute – Grant

Oh gods… Marcus…!

The fall had been terrifying, but hardly of much concern to Estelle, especially when after the walkway they had been standing on landed on the bed of sand resting along the cavern's bottom she was able to see Marcus' body half buried a short distance away from them. Ignoring Grant and his taunting of her friends, Estelle leaped over the side of the broken walkway's railing and began an instant dash towards her beloved partner, at the same time Dylan did likewise after spotting him. As the two tended towards the wind mage, their other friends sought to aid both a still paralysed Lute and wage a desperate battle against an impossible foe.

"Yes…" Hissed Grant, a telltale smirk stretching across his concealed face from the knife that had flown through the air towards him from Aria and passed as harmlessly through his shoulder as it would through sand. "Yes! Try! Show me what you've got!!"

At the same time, his body became peppered by a smaller barrage of holes across his entire body, with a screaming Trixie firing her uzis at him with no respite. Fear, panic and horror might have gripped tiny Trixie's entire body, especially after seeing what had happened to Marmar and Echo and how close they had all just come to dying right now, however the young prankster refused to give up or bow down no matter what. If anything, witnessing everything that had happened to them only spurred her to fight on even harder like it did for the rest of their friends. Trixie wanted to live so badly! To escape from this horrible nightmare and be with Amy and Supersis and Miss Pretty and Doctor Evil and the others again, to be happy and have fun! And so it was she would fight on to achieve that, even whilst screaming and crying relentlessly!

Trixie's attacks however, much like Aria's knife throws, appeared however to be ultimately futile. Hole after barren hole formed across Grant's body, but still death did not take him. Just like Renee Alamont was able to shift her body into that of water, Grant could do the same into sand. Against such a foe, how was one supposed to succeed?

"Ahahaha…!" Grant laughed mockingly.

---

Grandium: Underground Ruins: Metalwork Room
Kara, Moira, Lucien, Lisette, Kapi, Nani, Thunderhawk, Marise, Quentin - Annabelle

Annabelle's reaction towards Lucien's incoming flying imp summon was the same as it had been towards her every other encounter so far: a complete lack of interest. To her the rambunctious summon was little more then a minor obstacle at its worst… or a helpful tool at its best. Briefly glancing away from the imp towards Lucien and Thunderhawk, Annabelle swiftly sized up the situation, before she effortlessly brandished Moira's titanic greatsword in one hand and batted the imp away using the sword's broad, blunt back. Struck with the fierce some might of a giant, metal bat, the pain which Lucien felt through his mental connection was incredible. It didn't end there, however, as Lucien's erstwhile partner in crime shared the summoner's pain, albeit on a more physical level, when Lucien's imp collided directly with Thunderhawk's head. With a loud guttural groan, Thunderhawk stumbled and fell over backwards.

"Enough of the childish antics," Hissed Annabelle, dropping Moira's greatsword into a clatter on the ground and rushing towards the dazed Lucien. "It's time for you to grow up." Lucien had only the briefest moment of time to see Annabelle consume his entire vision, the summoner's eyes opening wide in horror. The pink haired reaper's free hand shot out and grabbed him by the face, a bright white light enveloping the spot completely.

For the others inside the metalwork room, finding where Annabelle, Lucien and Thunderhawk were fighting at was now never more clearer. However for Lisette, who had climbed onto the higher catwalks and had been poised to fire on Annabelle, the blinding bubble of light made it impossible to see where exactly Annabelle was, and to fire on her now was far too dangerous without the risk of hurting her friends! Fortunately the blast of light was short lived, but what became revealed afterwards caused Lisette to become paralysed with disbelief and shock at the sight that waited before her, all thoughts of now firing upon Annabelle lost.

"Uhn… Lucien…" Groaning with his hand against his head, Thunderhawk swung his body back up. "How the hell can such a small monster hurt… so… much… the hell?"

Like Lisette, Thunderhawk couldn't believe his eyes. The scene in front of them was simply unbelievable…!

Delicately taking her hand away from Lucien's face, Annabelle took a careful step back to inspect her handiwork. Where once before there had been a youthful and vibrant young man, now in his place was someone much more different. It was still Lucien, but the figure standing before them was not the same summoner they all knew and loved. He had become older, much, much older, with a body weakened with age. Skin that had once been young and smooth was now wrinkled and sagged, blemished with a vast number of liver spots. The thick, dark navy hair that Lucien once had was now replaced with one much thinner and grey, complete with a receding hairline. A body that had once been active and strong (or as much as one could be for a soda chugging, spiritually lazy mage at least) had now become one that struggled not only to not breathe laboriously but remain standing upright without his shaking knees giving out from beneath him.

What on Ddaear had happened to him?!

"Much better," Smirked Annabelle, twirling her Magitech Scythe.

 

[Dannyel]

Grandium -> Underground -> SAND PIT

Dylan rushed over to Marcus, hot on Estelle's heels. He fell to his knees at the wind mage's side, shoving sand out of the way. The sand kept pushing against him, filling the hole as quickly as he made it. Pausing to draw and cover a couple of short shovels, he thrust one into Estelle's hands.

"Quickly, then, I don't know how long they can hold off the asshole."

With Estelle's help, they quickly dug Marcus free. "Come on man," he said quietly, shaking his shoulders hard. "We need you. Please be alright. Please Aislin, let him be alright!"

 

[Capt. Blu]

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[BCOLOR=transparent]Grandium: Royal Palace: Underground Metal Room: Babysitting[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Luc- No!" The flash of light made her cover her eye. She didn't know what happened but it couldn't have been pretty. When the light faded and her eyesight adjusted, Nani unfortunately saw the Pink Tantrum still standing. What she didn't expect however was… "What…?" Nani's confusion outweighed her anger at the moment. What she saw was completely unexpected… Lucien was so...old?!? [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]That shrimp had a magic scythe? Or did she just have magic in general?? Just about everything was magic lately! But hers made people old!? Or...Or was Lucien an old man in a young person's body already…? "Magic is so confusin'." There wasn't time to contemplate just what exactly happened in the span of a few seconds. Something needed to be done before Annabelle realized Lisette was aiming for her. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]But what could she do!? If touching her resulted in being aged into a mass of wrinkles, she was going to have to pass… But she also needed Annabelle not to kill the pride. "Petty thievin' was a lot more safe than this. Hell, losin' an eye was a lot safer than this…"[/BCOLOR]

 

[Bunanigans]

Sand pit!

Cole said nothing as he continued to work, leaving Syed to his own thoughts. He wasn't sure Lute heard him either, but in a situation like this, everything was just too overwhelming to expect a person to notice everything. His friends were all crumbling. They were crumbling, and there was nothing some tired old electromage like him could do about it.

Or was there?

His hands free, he pushed himself back up, the sand causing his footing to slip. He sighed, closing his eyes. Internally gathering all the energy he had left. "Selan? Do you have anything left in you? I would appreciate it," he turned to her, smiling. Then turning back to Grant, the pleasant expression vanished entirely. Electricity began to swarm his body, the brilliant light throwing his features into sharp contrast as it illuminated the area some more, clinging to his hair as his eyes began to glow.

He had heard of mages who, in their desperation, had drawn on their own life force to continue fighting. He had heard of such situations turning the tide, at the expense of health and eventually a long lifespan. Well, his current lifespan looked like it would be around ten minutes tops, so anything had to be better than that. Anything had to be better than watching his friends suffer, as Grant aimed a blast of sand towards a panicking Trixie. They needed someone to push them onwards, to keep fighting, to be the spine of the group to go with Estelle's heart. And, well. He was a teacher. If he had to push himself beyond his limits to do so, so be it.

His electricity would be useless. Defense wasn't working. But Sy was always versatile. His magnetism was still viable. "Okay. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm tired of the goading."

Suddenly, a chunk of the metallic walkway was flung around to flank Grant. He had a second piece ready on backup for the instant he reformed himself - one which he would fling much faster directly at the man. The plus side of Grant plunging them - he provided Sy with quite the supply of metal.

 

[Taerinn]

Grandium: Underground Ruins: Sand Pit
Estelle, Marcus, Trixie, Cole, Tobi, Selan, Syed, Aria, Xandra, Lute - Grant

Syed's surprising request for her assistance briefly diverted her attention from her own fears. "I... Yes," she replied, shaking her head as if to physically rid herself of doubts.

This was it. They had to make a stand now, while Grant was seemingly willing to watch them try.

She closed her eyes; she needed to find her center, a source of strength that she could draw upon. It turned out she had an abundance, more than she ever thought she would have in her life. The love she had for her friends, and... there was a certain possession she always had on her person these days, a symbol of many things she kept hidden away. Both together and apart, they had all overcome a plethora of trials and tribulations to get to this point. They would see this through or perish in the attempt. But they would never give up.

The songstress began to sing a soulful aria that filled each member of the Pride with newly bolstered strength, both physical and (unlike previous enchantments) magical. Although Selan tried her best to remain focused on empowering her friends, there was a sense that her exertion was becoming increasingly more taxing as she neared her limits on how much she could draw from the magic inherent within her very being.

 

[Fox of Spades]

Walkway

"What do we do?"

She didn't know. Everything anyone had tried against Grant had been turned against them... but they couldn't just do nothing. Not when there was just so, so much at stake! "I..." Xan wavered, but a second later, a chunk of the mettalic walkway crashed into Grant. It put an end to his infuriating laughter and Xan nodded her head, a quiet determination burning in her eyes. "We give him hell, Lute."

Without saying another word Xan dashed towards where Aria and Trixie were, Lute hot on her heels.

If they were going to die, they were going to be as annoying as they could be. Xan readied up a laser blast as Selan's buff reached them. A warm blue glow emanated from her prosthetic and she turned to Lute to give him a nod.

---

Metalwork Room

He wasn't dead... and yet, he felt like he was dying. Lucien stared at his wrinkly hands, his vision doubling. Everything was hurting and even breathing was a chore. He attempted to push Annabelle away, but instead, he fell to the ground with a thud, heaving like a fish out of water.

This was the way it was going to end, not with a bang but a whimper.

 

[Warden]

I'll Meet You In The Pit, Jessica

Grant's laughter petered down into a mumble before a rack of metal crashed against him. It wasn't because he decided he's had his fill of comedy for tonight. "Man, I've had enough of that nasal giggling. Always been one for the rumbly baritones. Mmm," Delilah casually mentioned, as if they weren't at risk of being buried alive in sand. Then again, the familiar has shown time and again that she was never one for long-term planning.

Xandra and Lute charged towards Grant, the vibrant blue glow from the metallurgist's beam intensifying as they neared. She raised her arm and a volley of lasers shot out one after another, almost like a continuous strain of energy as the lines blurred into each other. The pellets rained on the surface of Grant's form, mixing in with the holes Trixie's attacks already made.

Lute aimed a low, sweeping shockwave at the man's legs, working in tandem with Xan as she strove to unsettle the sand mage's upper half. Would it work? What else could they do?

 

[Pachamac]

On and On
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Grandium: Underground Ruins: Cavern Basin
Estelle, Marcus, Trixie, Cole, Tobi, Selan, Syed, Aria, Xandra, Lute – Grant

"Come on man," Dylan said quietly, shaking Marcus' shoulders hard. "We need you. Please be alright. Please Aislin, let him be alright!"

A twitch. It was the most minute and slightest of ones, and yet a twitch it was. Alongside it a pained wheeze escaped Marcus' lips, signalling to a relieved Dylan and Estelle that the wind mage was still alive. There was no way of knowing just what the extent of their friends' injuries could be… for anyone else an attack like that would have been fatal, but Marcus was strong, surprisingly so. And he was still alive. He'd pull through and make it, just like Estelle planned for all of them to do.

"Dylan, if you can… cover him," Ordered Estelle, rising up from her knees and wiping away the tears that covered her eyes with the back of her sleeve. Her hand reached down to the hilt of her sheathed sword, and she drew it with one swift and sure movement. Along the blades' length a burst of flame ignited, coating the sword from top to bottom, the heat and light flickering about as if in a dance. "We're going to beat this guy and all go home together… right?"

Dylan stared back towards Estelle and with a smile, nodded in return. You bet your ass they weren't failing here.

Together the Pride came together to battle against this indomitable foe. Never before had the danger been greater, the stakes higher or the possibility of failure ever so real. But even against the impossible the Pride were resolute in their determination not to give up. They would not lose. They would win this, no matter what!!

Whilst Aria and Trixie's attacks seemed to have little effect in actually wearing Grant down, they did serve as a fine distraction whilst the rest of their friends rose to stand up and fight again! First was the chunk of metal walkway that was sent soaring through the air to crash into Grant's back, an attack which took the Sand Mage by surprise and with no small wonder – it broke his spine. Body stumbling forwards, his back arched over in a manner that looked most uncomfortable and impossible. Grant wasn't laughing anymore.

But that wasn't all. It was merely a prelude to what came next, a salvo of attacks from both Xandra and Lute. Xandra's laser cannon fired rapid burst after burst towards Grant, peppering his chest with more holes like Aria's knives and Trixie's gunfire did. The metallurgist's attacks however had a much more longer lasting effect though, when the laser seared through and incinerated whatever sand particles had once been in its path. At the same time, Lute's shockwave attacks towards Grant's legs caused the sand that compromised the man's lower half to be blasted away entirely. The Masked Man tumbled towards the ground, his torso falling face first into the sand.

"Try laughing through this," Grunted Tobi, aiming his gunblade towards Grant and joining in on the relentless assault by firing his gunblade's few remaining shotgun shells at him, blasting more and more holes within the Mage's body, even taking away the man's jaw.

But after a spell he began to laugh once more, when his jaw, and that of the rest of his body including his cloak slowly started to reform, courtesy of all of the sand lining the cavern's basin. It flowed through the air towards him, regenerating the man's body first by materialising in a form of sand and then taking human form again.

"Yes, this… this is better! It's all naturally futile of course, but at least you're trying!" Was it futile though? Maybe it was… or maybe it wasn't… Grant couldn't be invincible. Nobody was. He was sure to have held a weakness somewhere, just like other suck impossibly seeming foes of theirs from before did too. Exposing it or simply overwhelming him, either way the Pride would win this day somehow. They would not lose!!

---

Grandium: Underground Ruins: Metalwork Room
Kara, Moira, Lucien, Lisette, Kapi, Nani, Thunderhawk, Marise, Quentin - Annabelle

"Crap!" Shouted Thunderhawk, dashing in front of the collapsed Lucien. Thunderhawk could scarcely believe his eyes everytime he looked towards the aged pensioner. How on Ddaear could a man have been like they had been one minute and then the next turned into… this?!

Gods what if she did the same to him? He was too young to become so old! He still had so much more to do in his life! All the women and drinks…!

"Tsk. Come on then!" Scoffed Thunderhawk, sweeping both of his javelins in front of him and preparing himself to do battle with Annabelle. The small pig tailed girl just looked back towards the Ranger and laughed. To her he really was of no consequence at all, wasn't he? She swept her Magitech Scythe up before her, turning to enter a fighting stance.

And then suddenly… screaming.

"BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~~~~~~~!!"

Twirling in surprise, Annabelle caught a faceful of fist directly in her cheek, smacking at her hard and blasting her off her feet and further on into the metalwork room. Thunderhawk stared in slackjawed amazement at the sudden miraculous (and yet still infuriating) reappearance of someone that… well, someone who should have been there whatsoever!

But of course logic never did apply to Don, did it?

"BRO!? Are you alright?! What happened to you, bro?! Your mojo... it's... it's all gone!!" Don immediately snapped to Lucien's side, propping the aged man up and shaking his body from side to side with far too much force then was really necessary right now; Lucien's body waved back and forth like a ragdoll. Don, his body a bruised and battered mess, was awash with a pulsating pink and orange aura brimming with manly passion. Thunderhawk couldn't believe his eyes. The man shouldn't have been there any yet… as loathe as he was to admit it… thank the gods he was.

He wasn't the only one either. After suddenly awakening and jolting straight up after overhearing Marise's clone relay the details of the Pride's fight with the group of military personnel left behind, Don had leapt to his feet and grabbed Amy, throwing her onto his shoulder. Without a single pause he had dashed off again, chasing after his friends as quickly as he could.

And now they were here. Amy was speechless at Lucien's condition. Even if she wasn't already exhausted, she had no idea how she'd be able to heal the man, if it was even possible. On top of all that, the Pride were fighting a small girl?!

"What is going on…?" Asked a flabbergasted Amy.

 

[Capt. Blu]

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[BCOLOR=transparent]Grandium: Royal Palace: Underground Metal Room: Babysitting[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]At some point, she was really going to have to stop being surprised by Don's entrances. If anything, she should have been used to it by now… But Don never ceased to amaze her in the short time she knew the Pride. Knocking Annabelle down a peg gave Nani the opportunity to rush forward, grabbing -and struggling- to get Moira's sword. Geez that kid was strong enough to carry this!? [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Towards Amy's shock, Nani decided to answer. "That pink ball of evil is tryn' ta kill us. There's not much else besides she can do- well that!" Nani gestured towards Lucien, who at this point should have been broken thanks to Don. She began dragging Moira's sword to her. There wasn't much more explanation Nani could give. By the injuries and the aged Lucien, it was obvious they needed help. And a lot of it. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I dunno how ya manage ta lug this thing around, but here." She dropped it next to Moira and then looked around. Not seeing their enemy was more than unnerving. Reinforcements was comforting, but not comforting enough to ease Nani's conscience. She was once more on the defensive, cautiously waiting for Annabelle to strike again. Or who knows, maybe that surprise punch knocked her unconscious. It occurred to her Lisette was still hiding above them and waiting to strike. They still had the opportunity to surprise Annabelle once more. Hopefully.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Dannyel]

Grandium -> Underground -> SAND PIT

"Dylan, if you can… cover him," ordered Estelle. "We're going to beat this guy and all go home together… right?"

Dylan nodded at Estelle, resolve flashing in his eyes. "Damn straight!" With a breath he released the magic holding together the shovels. Together the rest of the Pride came together to attack Grant, but he focused first on protecting Marcus.

Though he cared for all of his friends, the weight of Estelle's order was heavy on his shoulders. Though she might not admit it, even to herself, Dylan knew that Marcus was her heart. To leave him in his hands, well, that was both a hefty order and terrific honor.

So he drew - building Marcus an entire safe haven. It was a glass box, large enough to have enough air to supply him, but completely sealed from the outside. When he awoke, if he was ready to join the fray, he would be able to open it from the inside. But Grant would not be able to sneak his sand in there without a full force attack, and if it came to that, Dylan would funnel every last ounce of his magic into that.

Now that it was done, though, he drew a second construct onto his slate before sliding it back into his jacket. That laser gun from before was back, the smaller one he had used with Lucy, for he had seen just how effective Xan's attack had been. It would have a much smaller beam than her cannon, naturally, but if it took them a thousand cuts to bring him down, Dylan was ready to do his part.

With a roar Dylan aimed and opened fire.

 

[Cephalogod]

Grandium: Underground Ruins: love me

No effect. It wasn't working. Was it working? No, it wasn't. Even as Grant's front half crashed into the sand, wounds that should've rendered a person dead several times over closed as sand seeped from the ground and was reintegrated into the man's body. Of course, if he was any other person there would also be a lot more blood and guts strewn around the room.

She glanced to Estelle as flames flashed in her peripherals- This may have seemed to be an useless battle- 'futile', in the hooded figure's words- but none of them were planning to give up until they had won. And after they'd won, they could figure out how they were climbing up back up the pit. But first things first.

This time she aimed for the eyes- If she couldn't do damage, at least she could blind her while conserving magic.

"Estelle, think your fire's hot enough to melt sand?" At this point they were practically screwed anyways, what harm could more glass do?

 

[Bunanigans]

Cavern Basin

A part of Syed felt sick to the stomach - they were attacking like they never had before, inflicting damage which would be far beyond excessive in any other situation. But they were against a man who was treating them much like a cat playing with it's prey before the kill, a man who could reform himself in an instant... yet self defence still seemed kind of empty.

Aria had a great idea, and he was willing to help with that. His arms moved in large and accurate movements. He could feel Selan's buff flowing through his veins. He could feel Aria channelling something. He could feel their determination and focus as they all pulled together after all. He also felt like he was burning, both inside and out, but he could worry about that if he survived. He pulled the smaller shard from his pocket, throwing it into the air. His magic growing brighter was as good of an indication as any for the others to move out of his way. Holding two fingers out, he closed one eye to aim and as the shard fell to the same level as his fingers...

"Enough with the goading," he said, the electricity even crackling through his voice.

He fired, the shockwave blowing sand away in all directions.

---

Metalwork Room

Moira didn't say a word. She couldn't, actually. The sight of what had happened - the sight of Lucien so inexplicably old and decrepit - has sent her over the edge in a way she hadn't felt in an extremely long time. The aura around her was suffocatingly thick, as she silently grabbed her greatsword back. She wasn't really herself anymore. Sorry Amy, no explanations from her.

She used her greatsword to prop herself up, her eyes solely on where Annabelle had flown off to. Then without another word she leapt away - too suddenly to be followed. It hurt her leg - it hurt like hell, the pain screaming through her body with enough strength to cause most to fall. Her moving was actually making it worse. But if anything, it only fueled her rage more.

It was nobody's fucking right to do something like that to someone. Nobody had any fucking right to change Lucien into some ancient fragile being. Aging was slow, it was painful, and he should have had so many years to go. You couldn't just fucking skip the tiredness and the creaky knees and the aches and pains. He had so much he was still supposed to do, like find himself some woman who could tolerate him, maybe have some awful pun-spewing kids which would make everyone else want to projectile vomit then move house away from them. You couldn't skip all of that! She wasn't particularly close to Lucien herself, admittedly. But she was still protective of him, like he was everyone. She'd protect them all like they were her own children. And she knew how much it would devastate Syed if he knew, too - it would actually destroy him.

Change him back.

Change him fucking back you bitch!

With an inhuman scream, streaming with blood, she swung her greatsword to create the biggest slicing shockwave yet.[/hr]

 

[Pachamac]

Grandium: Underground Ruins: Metalwork Room
Don, Amy, Kara, Moira, Lucien, Lisette, Kapi, Nani, Thunderhawk, Marise, Quentin - Annabelle

Even despite Nani's explanation, Amy couldn't help but gawk in utter confusion. Lucien's condition was still do utterly baffling, but they would have to try and fix it later, if such a thing could be fixed. Closing her eyes and channelling her magic through her gem atopped staff, Amy tried her absolute best to begin breaking her friends, with Lucien's frail condition taking precedent. There was no way of knowing whether or not it would help at all, and considering the state of Moira's wounds there was no doubt she needed as much aid as she could give as well, however... well, Amy just couldn't bear the thought of Lucien ever remaining that easy, even for a second. If she could help she would. Moira would follow second.

Except her berserker friend was already off in a rampaging charge towards where Annabelle had been blasted away by Don, wasting no time in exacting what vengeance she could. Swinging her might Greatsword down before her, a powerful shockwaves ripped out directly towards where Annabelle was riding, a thick, deep gouge being left embedded in both the ceiling and ground to mark it's trail.

But Annabelle sidestepped the mighty strike effortlessly, and retorted with a counter strike of her own - several of them in fact! Following three deft swings, arcs of lasers shot out from the tip of her Magitech Scythe, and sliced straight through anything in its path, cleaving any and all ancient machinery or person in its way. Moira likewise managed to sidestep Annabelle's insidious attack in the nick of time to avoid the worst of it and any potentially fatal hits, but she was still not quite fast enough to avoid the agonising gash that tore through even the chest armour on her side. Yet another injury to add to the pile then...

As for the others, their survival was only possible through a last ditch leap to the sides, with Nani saving Amy and Don protecting Lucien. The group still suffered injuries however, with a gash ripping open on the back of Nani's left leg and one along Thunderhawk's shoulder. They simply couldn't catch a break, could they?! And as if that wasn't enough, the walkway Lisette was standing upon had now been left in a precarious position when two of its supports were severed in two! With a terrible screech of metal scraping across metal the catwalk began to list forward. Any second later and the entire section Lisette was standing on was sure to topple completely!

"Oh this is not good... Lisette!!" Shouted out Quentin from below, where he had been hiding behind his cover.

Meanwhile back on the ground, Annabelle still wasn't finished. Whilst the Pride reeled from her terrible onslaught she started to run forward, charging straight at Moira and, leaping forward, delivered a fierce roundhouse kick that shot her straight into the side of a metal container. Moira gasped in excruciating pain. Annabelle then continued her dash towards the rest of the Pride, whom were only now starting to regain their senses after Annabelle's scythe strikes. This time she was on a direct beeline... straight towards Don!

Narrowing his eyes, Don pushed the frail Lucien away towards Thunderhawk and raised his fists up to meet the pink haired reaper, manly passion flaring. He swung his fist out just as Annabelle was upon him, in an attack that should have surely hit. But instead he had missed, the tiny, petite pink haired slayer vanishing before his eyes. In a blur of unfollowable speed she reappeared, thrusting her free hand out and onto Don's face. His eyes bulged out wide as the room became enveloped once more in an intense white light.

Several moments later the blinding array of light started to die down, and the Pride were once more able to see their surroundings again. Towards where Don and Annabelle stood, there was little else that could describe their reactions as anything other then pure shock, horror and confusion.

This was a bad nightmare. It had to be!!

The tall, pompadour rocking bro was cool. Instead, buried under his mound of clothes was a young toddler no more then two, with a short, spiralling coif of hair simply blinking in confusion. He then started to wail and cry at a pitch which only a baby could achieve!

Perhaps to match his mentality, Don had been physically regressed into infancy!

 

[Capt. Blu]

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[BCOLOR=transparent]Grandium: Royal Palace: Underground Metal Room: Babysitting the Old and Young[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]That woman was insane and drunk off anger, but there was no way Nani was going to be able to stop her. The volley of attacks not only went towards Moira, but towards the rest of the group as well. "Movemovemove-!" Nani, quite literally shoved Amy down and out of the way. The last thing they needed was for their healer to be even more injured than she was. Fortunately, the only injury Amy may have sustained was just soreness from the fall. Nani on the other hand… When the attack hit, she bit down, preventing herself from crying out. No, no, she'd scream internally and also later when they were done with all this. Yep. That would be the perfect time to scream about all this. "...Good, you're okay." Nani managed to wheeze out before using her sword to push herself back into a barely standing position. Her weight was more on her sword than her leg but that wasn't going to keep her down.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]To her unfortunate surprise, after being blinded again, she was looking straight at a baby pompadour. "...Makin' friends your age, yeah?" Nani ignored the pain in her leg and stood straight. First priority was to get baby Don out of harm's way and also get him to stop screaming. Now, she could make a beeline straight for the kid and possibly get attacked doing so, or she could try luring Annabelle away- which would probably only give them about half a second to try. "Ya know, that's not how ya make friends kid…" What to do, what to-[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]She noticed Captain flying from behind Annabelle. Gripped in his talons was a wrench, that he decided to drop right on her head.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Fox of Spades]

Walkway:

The way his back bent, the way his jaw had been wiped clean off his face... Grant should have been dead, and yet, he'd risen from the ground, rebuilt himself so he could continue on with his arrogant laughter. They were making progress, and yet they weren't doing a thing. It was infuriating and Xan bit back a scowl as her canon began to dim. Leroux had given her a well-needed charge during their battle, but it wouldn't last forever.

Damn it, if they could just find his weak spot, or maybe a weakness.

Xan prepared her canon for a more concentrated blast, but before she could charge it up, Syed spoke, his voice crackling with electricity. There was a shockwave that sent sand scattering, but would it be enough? The man had picked himself up after a chunk of the walkway had been flung at him. Xan kept her eyes on Grant, canon charging and ready to fire.

---

Metalwork Room:

He was so... so tired.

 

[Taerinn]

Grandium: Underground Ruins: Sand Pit
Estelle, Marcus, Trixie, Cole, Tobi, Selan, Syed, Aria, Xandra, Lute - Grant

Selan continued her song, amidst the incredible and frightening bursts of power her friends launched against their foe. The man seemed inhuman, continuing to taunt them after recovering from attacks that should have ceased his mockery.

She was as far away as she could be from the immediate danger zone, but even still, she could feel the crackling of Syed's lightning in the air, the heat from Xan's cannon, the sprays of sand being scattered from every blast.

It all had to be for something, right? Please, let them find a weakness, anything that would turn this battle in their favor...

---

Grandium: Underground Ruins: Metalwork Room
Kara, Moira, Lucien, Lisette, Kapi, Nani, Thunderhawk, Marise, Quentin - Annabelle

The catwalk pitched forward, teetering precariously on uneven support beams. Having had her chance to fire upon Annabelle swiftly thwarted, Lisette had her own dilemma to worry about now; she clung to the edge of the walkway she stood upon while all too aware that both she and Kapi were beyond reach or rescue. "It'll be okay, I promise..." she said in an effort to soothe her trembling companion, holding him against her chest with one arm.

The platform suddenly jerked forward, pitching Lisette over the edge. By sheer luck, her bow hooked behind a pair of beams, preventing them from falling. At the same time, Lisette's barely-closed shoulder wound was forcibly torn open, eliciting a surprised shriek of pain. Kapi squeaked in terror. There wouldn't be much time before the catwalk collapsed, she knew that. And that was if she wouldn't be forced to let go first. "Hold still, Kapi." she said, a little more urgent and serious in tone than he was used to.

Kapi felt something creeping over him, and realized that a vine was growing around him, from a seed tucked against him and Lisette's hand. The ends thickened and grew upwards toward a beam not far above them, wrapping around it several times. Lisette let go of the capybara, revealing that he was now suspended and encased in a web of roots. With a single push from his now teary-eyed master, Kapi swung forward in a large arc between two towering support beams.

The catwalks collapsed.

The vine that tethered Kapi to the overhead beam suddenly and rapidly began to wilt, and he tumbled in the air to Quentin's waiting arms below. An ear-splitting cacophony of metal upon metal filled the room, and where the catwalks once stood tall, was now a massive pile of steel on top of now-broken machinery parts.