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The world was blurring by the second and Chris choked on his words as he tried to call out the Chel, to bring her back to his side and away from whatever dark deal she was making.

The pain was coming in waves, now, and he couldn't form words around the agony.

He squinted as Holly fell and the crystals receded. He could see the difference in Chel's posture as the throne went from skulls and death to gold and scarlet. He let out a shuddering breath, half pain and half wonder. Even in her chaos his cousin created glorious things.

Shun clenched his hands into fists as the bolt was pulled out of his leg finally. A loud grunt escaped and his eyes shut tight. Blood began to flow freely once the object was out.

"I'm fine, now what the bloody hell just happened to the room? Merlin, or whatever that power came from, wasn't destroyed, sealed, or whatever."

HP: 38

Slowly, Hollandaise rolled up and sat stiffly up. Her head dropped into her hands as she massaged her throbbing temples. Had... had she said all that? She hadn't killed anyone, not really, and she breathed out a shallow sigh. Perhaps the worst thing was that, within the things she said were kernels of truth. She had only ever wanted to belong. Groaning, she tried to pull herself up.

Bren was very still. It seemed it was enough to keep attention off of him for the time being, not that he'd had that as a goal while he was doing it. He didn't move because he was paralyzed with fright, the sight of the gold knight coming back to life, the blue being brutally run through, and the black making her dark bargain playing out in front of him like a mummer's farce gone horribly wrong.

He remembered to breathe when he saw Ignatius step in front of him, raising his free hand slightly then lowering it again when he realized the young man probably wouldn't appreciate being told not to protect someone.

"Thank you," he breathed instead, his attention on Chel. "Keep your eyes open."

Arrakis was not surprised to see so many people in the throne room once he had reached it. What had surprised him a bit more--though perhaps not as much as he would have otherwise been, considering--was that all was not well between the people themselves. The throne's whispering had, when he'd first come in, chilled him deeply. It spoke to his desire to be able to change things, to maybe have some degree of control over what was happening in his lives and the lives of those around him. But something about it had made every hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Almost in the same way those crystals had, really. Was the offer tempting? Oh yes, and for half a second Arrakis had turned toward the throne himself before a note of panic shut that down.

The fighting that broke out afterwards was not any better, and Arrakis deemed it best to get to the side and try to watch out for any of the blues. They had covered what would happen if fighting any enemies, but fighting people that were supposed to be their allies... Arrakis didn't really know what to do about that. So he would try to ensure that his brigade didn't get too badly hurt in the chaos. ...If he could even find them. ...The crystals receding certainly helped make everything a bit more visible. And the throne was suddenly breathtaking, Arrakis unable to look away from it for a good moment or two.

...Was... this a good omen...?

Crashcrashcrash.

He didn't remember if his hands ever exactly stopped. Pushed away, they grasped at the ground, and then at the crystal, blindly trying to rip it off Chris as he did try to keep Chel from molding onto it. (No more otherworlds, no more memories that were his and also not his, no more.) And none came. Just blood and pleas and a single look that made him question the worth of his title. He made no move to stop her; he doubted he could even if he had wanted to.

And then the tide seemed to turn with just three simple words. Abruptly the crystals started to recede from his (bloodied, he belatedly realized) hands, and he turned to look at Chel, curious, reading, observing, trying to catch her eye. She wasn't being coated in crystals this time, nor were her eyes turning black. It could be a trick again, or...

The pride of a good man.

He wondered.

"Kari," he said as he turned. "Go see to Hollandaise for me; someone needs to look after her. I can handle Chris." Space. First and foremost, they needed space. He started trying to gather the knight into his arms.

"R-right," Kari stuttered at Jack's command after a moment of though. He was the new Great Knight that she served under. It felt weird taking orders from someone who'd been her equal not long ago. It was a small thought in the face of everything that happened. His order alongside Chel's snarl signaled that she should go.

Hoisting herself up once more, she winced as she made her way over to Holly. Easing herself down next to the gold knight, Kari tried to look her in the eyes. "Just so you know, I'm mad at you... you caused us quite a bit of trouble," she said, her face stern and an eye going towards her own injuries. "Even worse, you attacked us claiming it was for our sake... but what's happened has happened and I can only guess that you're sane now... how are you holding up after your beat down?" She felt bitter towards the knight, admittedly. Another ally may be dying from her actions, after all. But she also felt bitter towards herself for once again failing her allies.

HP: 15/50