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Aysun sniffled against Leon's chest. "I-I'm sorry, I-I just wanted t-to h-help." he whimpered then hesitantly looked behind him at the chaos. He could barely see through the rain. The thunder scared him back into burying his face into Leon's chest. "Wh-What's happening?"

Shiloh put the mask back on, returning to Arthur's full form. "That's because you idiots are charging him. You don't have any kind of plan, and he's taking advantage of that." he guffawed. Despite the two emotions on his mask, it was easy to tell that he was annoyed. "I spent a good chunk of the fight observing him. Nikolai's all offense. He aims most of his attacks on one person and tries to counter other attacks. When he's in a bind he'll rely on brute strength or using that marionette board to get an ally." He tilted his head from side to side, the bells on his hat chiming again. More and more clones appeared, many of them looking like the other Sins. "Nikolai's arms are the key. If we can get him to stop using them, maybe even break them, then that'll mean victory. I'll try to have my clones do the job. Maybe you idiots should learn to use your powers instead of swinging your fists, huh?" Arthur and a few of his clones shot into the sky to fight Nikolai, whose temper was rising with the onslaught of attacks.

Ish stood up and went back to his Full-Sin form, looking up at the fight. "He's right." he said and looked at Beatrice. "I was being reckless earlier and didn't utilize all my powers. You may not be able to tap into all your powers, but those pennies distract Nikolai. Maybe you can distract him when he's fighting someone?"

"I'll attack. If Nikolai starts to get the upper hand or goes for someone else then try to draw him to you so I can sneak up on him." Ish said. He looked back to Nikolai, who had used one of Arthur's clones to attack the other clone. The mouths on the Sin's hands licked their teeth, eager to taste Nikolai once more, and Ish shot into the sky.

With a plan formulated Nikolai found himself overwhelmed very easily. The mess of clones attacking him were annoying, but he could tell they were weak because of how many there were. It was nothing more than swatting at gnats. He sliced through two clones and hurled three more away from them by the time he felt a pain at his ankle. He looked down to see Ish clinging to his leg, the mouth chewing hungrily. Nikolai lifted his other foot and stomped down on the unyielding Sin, shaking his other leg in an attempt to make him fall. No such luck.
Something shot through the sky. Nikolai glanced over, seeing nothing through the wall of rain. He did, however, noticed the clouds moving frantically above him. No, that wasn't it. He was falling. Nikolai looked over his shoulder to see that one of his wings had been sliced into, no longer capable of keeping him in the air. He grit his teeth and spun around to see who had done it. He could barely make out Pride just before she shot out more daggers.
Nikolai snarled as two daggers sunk into him, yanking one out and hurling it back at her. As he got closer to the ground he angled his good wing so that he could fly at Pride once he landed. However, as his wing moved he felt yet another stinging pain at his back. Ish had climbed on him and dug the dagger in his back deeper. Nikolai coughed up some blood and grabbed at Ish, trying to get him off. He forgot all about the ground and hit it hard.
The ground shook like an earthquake and a crater formed where Nikolai fell. He clambered to his feet, too much blood coming out to be washed off. His eyes glowed with anger and hatred as he wiped his mouth.
"Did you think your new bout of determination would stop me? Oh how absolutely cute." he seethed. With a roar his purple fog shot out in every direction, coating the land in a fog. All who would touch it would fall asleep, and once they entered the dream world they would be under Nikolai's mercy.
However, the Sins would not fall for that trick so easily. Wrath's golden mist snaked around the circle of purple, the wind was picking up. Both mists lifted into the air, the purple trapped by the gold as it towered into a furious tornado. Nikolai held an arm in front of his enraged face to keep the debris from hurting him. He tried to stand strong, but he could feel the wind pulling him towards the tornado. The monstrous force of nature began to turn on its own, like it was a living creature. It curved its head, like a snake looking for an intruder. Nikolai's eyes widened as the tornado looked down at him, finding its target and slamming down on him in a mess of razor sharp winds and heavy debris.

The Sins surrounded the crater made inside the crater. Was it over? Did Nikolai finally lose?
No.
He wasn't even in the crater, Luxure noticed when she peered down. She gasped as he appeared behind her, guillotine kicking her down into the hole. Wrath tried to grab Nikolai, but he had bounced off of Luxure and used the distance to send another kick to Wrath's face, knocking them back.

Nikolai had almost managed to stop Wrath once again when he was hit by the coins. He snarled and turned to face her, but the other Sins were instantly on him. Ish and Wrath grabbed his arms, Ish taking the tail as well. Nikolai flailed and sneered viciously at the group like a wild animal, frustrated by his helplessness. But he was still strong! He would-
Arthur appeared in front of Nikolai. He held up one of his gloved hands, watching as his green aura solidified into a staff with a toy ball at the top... and a knife at the end. He reared the spear back and plunged it into Nikolai's gut, making sure to avoid the major organs.
Nikolai gagged as he felt the spear leave his body. The pain was numbing, he could even summon the fog to help him endure it. The spear was pulled out, and Nikolai was cut again, gasping for air only to be met with blood. His flailing stopped, and he fell to his knees. His full form reverted, reducing him to his old self, only with tattered clothes and blood gushing from everywhere. Arthur nudged his head, and the two Sins carried weary Nikolai to where Leon and Aysun were.

Nikolai was placed a few feet away from Leon, Wrath and Ish still keeping firm grips on his arms. He lifted his head a little, one eye visible through his silver curls. There was still hatred swimming through the lime green as he looked at his "family".
"Talk to him." Arthur said from besides the group, his mask hiding whatever emotion his face would've shown. "He's weak now, and if anyone can bring him back to reality, it's you."

Nikolai watched Leon carefully as he approached him, briefly staring at the boy that clung to the man's arm, scared. His green eyes, void of emotion, flickered back to Leon as the man said his piece, watching the emotion flow through his eyes. Nikolai stayed quiet for a moment, then he smiled. It was pleasant and kind, filled with love.
"What disgusting tears." he said, contradicting his expression. "I'm afraid there's no point in shedding crocodile tears when it's raining like this, dearie. There wouldn't be a point in it anyway. I've seen these tricks far more than I've used them myself. I'd rather you went ahead and killed me so I could actually be with my family, hmm? Or do you want me to get angry enough to go into a frenzy once more?"

Nikolai grit his teeth and looked away, not wanting to look at their faces. Those weren't even their faces, they didn't deserve to wear those disguises. The Sin closed his eyes. His heart sank as he was reminded of his wedding. Part of him wanted to fall for those snake words and hug Leon, but he had to stay strong, he had to-
Nikolai tensed up when he was touched. That warm feeling... Growling, he shook the hand off him and glowered at Leon. "Stop this!" he half-yelled, half-pleaded. His anger was breaking into helpless frustration. "You're not the real one, none of you are. I know because I saw!" he cried, hanging his head to avoid looking at everyone. "I remember watching you leave and you never came back! You never..." His words faded into the roaring rain.

Arthur tilted his head at Nikolai's strange confession. Remember? So the reason for his insanity was because his memories had been reorganized. But Sloth was the only one capable of looking through memories. Arthur tilted his head to the other side. Sloth... He must have been imprisoned in Nikolai's head this entire time. If they can get Nikolai back then maybe Sloth would be able to shed some light on what happened.

With every secret Leon exposed, Nikolai felt the barrier put over his mind crack. His mind began playing back all those times he spent with Leon and Aysun, the times they watch movies together, the board games they played, all the laughter and happiness they shared.
That's why it hurt so much. Because this wasn't his family, it was a fake. They didn't know the real joy he went through. Even as hot tears blurred Nikolai's vision, he weakly tugged at his arms. He had to stop the doppelganger, he had to save Leon and Aysun, he had to protect his... his family...
As the last word went through Nikolai's head, the wall in his mind broke. His memories were a mess, and he had trouble distinguishing what was real and what wasn't, but there was one thing he knew for sure. Sniffling, Nikolai closed his eyes and cried out. Wrath and Ish exchanged looks then released his arms, which he used only to hug Leon.

Arthur and the other Sins returned to their normal selves as they watched Nikolai cry, knowing that he wouldn't fight anyone anymore. Although a great relieving moment, some of the Sins couldn't help but wonder if the same fate waited for them.

Arthur merely looked away when Leon looked at him. He hated himself for helping, he couldn't even understand why. No, he did, he just didn't want to admit it. He still loved Leon. No matter how many times the teacher rejected him, years of love kept his feelings strong. That's why he came, so he could protect Leon, even if it meant saving the guy he loved most.
Sighing, Arthur turned around and began to walk away, but not until he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was a boy, Leon's kid. He walked towards something and plopped down, looking very sad. Arthur got closer, realizing that what the boy was looking at was a crow. Now that he thought about it, wasn't that Nikolai's crow?
Ezekiel chirped weakly as Aysun picked him up. There was a deep gash in his left wing, it was still bleeding too. Aysun sniffled and held crow gently to his chest. "I-I'm sorry for g-getting you hurt." he whimpered, the crow cawing quietly as if to comfort him. Hearing footsteps beside him, Aysun looked up to see a man he didn't recognize looking down at him. He hesitated, but the man didn't seem harmful, despite his scowl. He knelt down beside the two and began to change his appearance to Shiloh's, holding his hands up to start healing Ezekiel.

Ish looked down at Beatrice. He stayed quiet for a while. "Scared?" he grunted. "Is that what you're feeling? Scared? Because of the fight?"