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A wicked grin laced the Roc's face as he watched the icicles stabbed into the Frei's small body, he was so slow to react, he was no match to his might! Raising his hand, he was going to send a few more icicles to Zul's way when he noticed the strange transformation with the Baphomet. That weird, crooked grin, like he was mocking him, mocking a king! The grin on his face faded then, turning neutral more than anything else. He is confused, it was pretty obvious that the Frei was on the disadvantage here, but yet he looked like he was enjoying it all, with that smart a** grin.

Then, the even weirder thing happened as he saw the icicle in Zul's chest begin to shrink. It was not melting, but instead it was as if being absorbed by the Frei. What..? Is this Zul... someone like him too? Wary and keen eyes however, watched all of Zul's movement carefully. Although just for a flicker of a second, he saw the Frei trembled a little, and yet he still had the guts to laugh in his current situation.

However, the words that came out from that ugly masked grin later was like a sharp knife stabbing into a festering wound. Handsome porcelain face twisted into an ugly scowl as he practically flung the icicles towards Zul, at the same time when Zul hurled the javelin at him. "RIVENER IS MINE!! MINE!!! MINE!!!!!" In his enraged state, he was careless with his defenses and reflex. When he saw the javelin coming, it was too late. Ducking to a side he was able to avoid the javelin from stabbing into his shoulder, but it hit his overly large wing, stabbing cleanly through it.

A ghostly scream erupted in the room as he felt the pain. Twisting around, he grabbed the long javelin and attempted to pull it out. The ice Raevan had the power to freeze, but lack the ability to melt. Another scream followed as he managed to pull the javelin out by a few inches. It was no use, the javelin practically impaled his wing. Well then, he will just have to absorb the ice back in then, although it is a slow process.

Being half turned around though, that was when he noticed the three Sigels behind him. Rivener and Lazarus had been... freed? So this was what their plan was all along, to distract and rescue! Throwing a seething glare at Zul, as if daring him, he raised his arm up high and flung icicles towards Melisande and Lazarus. He want to protect right? Well let's see him protect them!

Lazarus watched as Melisande came in between them, her eyes looked... different, and her voice sounded ethereal. Crimson eyes looked away when she faced him, ashamed that she saw him at such a vulnerable state. The hug that came was unexpected, but he did not resist as the muse lifted him up in her arms. In fact, it felt... really nice. The warmth of her body pressed against his, and their cheeks pressed against each other, it made him felt very aware that there are practically no distance between their bodies. But it was very comforting, and he was glad to be away from the icy surface. "Thank you..." He whispered in her ears with a light blush, his broken wrist resting on her shoulders as he leans into her embrace.

Then, the sight before him - behind Melisande, caught his attention. The raise of the arm, and the icicles that came flying. It immediately sent his body into alert mode. Finding renewed energy he turned their bodies around and wrapped his wings around the muse, shielding Melisande with his own body. His crimson eyes were shut tight as he waited for the impending hit. A sharp pain erupted from his left shoulder, and he felt a knock on his right horn, probably an icicle that hit it, but the horn was way harder than ice. Despite all this, he waited with bated breath, more are coming soon... but they didn't come. That's weird, he saw many, many more ice shards than this. Warily he unfolded his wings a little and turn around to see what was happening, and that was when he saw it...

Rivener?

Crimson eyes went wide as he quickly let go of Melisande and broke free from her embrace, not caring if his wrist or shoulder hurt or not. "No!!" He cried as he 'knelt' down beside Rivener. "Don't die on me now!" Not caring if it hurts him or not, he pulled the ice shards out one by one. Thankfully they were only shallow wounds, most likely none of the vital organs were hit. It was as if someone tried to halt the flying shards in their path.

Lifting his eyes, he glared at the ice Sigel, who looked stunned at what just happened as well. Teeth gritted, he felt the need, the urge to do something! Anything! Stretching out his good arm, he opened his palm and glared at Roux, willing for something to happen. But for a long moment, nothing happened. Grunting in frustration, he gritted his teeth and concentrate harder, he must revenge for Rivener! Then miraculously, it happened. Although it was small, but Roux's good wing bursts into flames, earning a sharp shriek. Lowering his arms, he directed his gaze at Zul, it's all in his hands now, that was the last bit of power that he has. "Go..." He mouthed towards the Frei, having every last bit of confidence that he will win.

Despite the cold, Lazarus was warm in her arms. Pasha held him delicately, her forehead tilted towards his shoulder, and tried to ignore the horrible reality of the conflict behind her. As strange as it would have seemed a year ago, she had faith in Rivener...and Zul was as fierce and frightening (in her mind) as a Frei could ever be. Melisande squeezed her eyes shut, and nodded mutely as Lazarus whispered his thanks.

Moments later, the world spun around her. Her curls whipped to the side, fluffed wings slimming and locking shut against her back. Pink lips parted with a gasp, and her eyes opened in shock...just in time to see Laz squeeze his eyes shut and brace. She felt the impact of the ice lance jar through him, against her, and flinched as a second ricocheted off his horn.

Suddenly, Laz had left her arms, and the scene before her came into focus. Burning feathers erupted into the air, drifting like burning snow through the frozen room. The Muse reeled as she took in Rivener crumped on the floor, Roux burning, and Laz kneeling over the other Sigel's body. Her fear re-surged, slamming her irises black, but her composure was suddenly immaculate. The Muse pulled herself straight, eyes burning with a desperate hope she'd always held for her love. Always held, but never had the chance to give.

"O breath of Heaven, come breathe within
There must be more than this...
Fill us anew we pray!"

Her voice was a sigh, almost inaudible...certainly not enough to attract Roux's attention. But the words lit her like a spotlight from above, slowly and dramatically, with an ethereal light that ghosted through the ice-blocked ceiling and caught in the rising mist. Melisande's dark eyes locked onto Roux, through her curls, through the feathers, and through the snapping fog. Her voice became urgent, sharper...as though she were warning him of a threat most dire. Her acting was credit to Zoe, her teacher, and Lucia, her most admired friend. The Sigel clasped her hands to her chest, like she used to when she was young and when the Ice King used to call her "mine."

"Consuming fire, fan into flames
A passion for Your name
Spirit, fall in this place
Almighty have Your way!"

Pasha flung her hand out towards Roux, towards his other wing. She pulled on the divine retribution of her innermost nature, conjuring an illusion like she'd done so many times before, but acting as though she was warning him.

"Come like a rushing wind
Clothe us with power from on high
Now set the captives free!
Leave us abandoned to Your praise
Let Your glory fall
Let Your glory fall!"

The false flames surged higher, encompassing Roux's other wing, but only by the gospel's graces. In truth, Meli didn't know or care if the others even saw the illusion...she focused her pain for her friends and her regret for Zaviers loss onto Roux with no remorse. She didn't wish to hurt him, not truly, but the idea of Roux encompassed in a block of ice filled her mind, inspiring her. Melisande bent to lean over Riv and Laz, wings spreading as though she could pull them both close, but her eyes moved to Zul. He was so brave, and so alone...

Most of the display given by the Sigels was lost on the Frei, who fought his own personal battle while they distracted the Roc. The ice he was absorbing was inflicting such pain, the likes of which he had never known; it felt as though his very breath was beginning to get heavy with ice crystals, his teeth aching with the chill. The molten part of him was outraged, but slowed by foreign matter in his blood, making his armor slower to regenerate. The second volley of ice that was thrown at him shattered some of it around his arms, but the one that struck him in the forearm was quickly absorbed. Zul felt both immensely weak as the coldness began to steal over him, and a deadly, accepting calm of one who was freezing to death.

By the time he got his eyes to focus, the black gloss of them now trickling with small veins of neon blue, he saw Rivener on the ground and the other two near him - and looking at him. The Frei clutched at his chest by his heart, the beat of which seemed abnormally slow and calm for the calamity around him. They were looking at him. They were depending on him. Zul didn't know what demon was inside him to make him stand up to an insane feathered beast and to earn the faith of three Sigel's but he was damn sure going to find out if he survived this.

Watching Roux approach, the hardened molten armor climbing down his collar bone and sliding up towards his elbows, he realized that the warmth in him was not going to work. The Roc's power was too great, overwhelming his own abilities with an icy grip -- which meant that Zul would have to use the other's element against him, much like he had when breaking in to the Lab. He had limited control over the encroaching ice, the coldness begging for violence and rage, the likes of which sprung to his aid when he called to it. The frigid ice stung as it poured out of his body, gliding over his half-formed chest like translucent armor, crawling over his gloves and forming claw-like appendages where his fingers were.

"Roo," he acknowledged the other, his posture very nearly lethargic, but only by appearances. He had to remember the fight with Lazarus, the tangle with possessed-Lucia; he had to take their weakness and use it against them. If he was going to do that with Roux, he'd have to get to him before the heat in his body disappeared completely under the sway of the Eternal Ice. Not one to wait, the Frei lunged towards the icy Sigel, one hand reaching for the javelin or the arm holding it, the other for Roux's crown. He had an idea, but he'd have to disarm the frigid Valkyrie first.

The effects of the muse's song faded, lost in the harsh snapping of ice. She watched helplessly as the translucent armor crept over Zul, misunderstanding at first. Was this Roux's ice?! She started forward with a gasp, not knowing enough to even curl her hands into fists. Pasha was starting to shake, not just from the numbing cold. It was becoming obvious...there was nothing she could do to help.

Lazarus's quiet voice pulled her attention from the fight. He cradled Rivener, pulling as though- "You can't! You're hurt!!" Melisande kept her voice to a whisper, not wanting to attract Roux's attention. She pushed close to the pair and insinuated herself between them...frosted curls brushing against both of their faces as she tried to support Lazarus and Riv. Her arms were spread, crossing each of their backs, and her wings stretched wide as though she could protect them.

"Downstairs." Pasha repeated almost silently, and blinked a few times. Unshed tears froze and stung her eyes, sadness and pain and worry. She tugged the Sigels along as best she could...keeping them both close as though she could warm them, though the last of her heat had left her. If this was all she could do to help, then Meli would do it. Surprisingly, the delicate Sigel was stronger than she looked. Casting one last look back at Roux and Zul, Pasha flinched as they came together. She felt as though she were abandoning the Demon to his fight, and the thought chilled has as deeply as the ice.

There! As he had Roux bent and inert, he had his chance! The demon lowered his free hand towards the Sigel's stricken form, summoning the heat of unforgiving lava within his veins--

And there was nothing.

Not a flicker of warmth, not a spark, nothing. As the Roc freed himself of his crown, the iced bauble falling from Zul's grip, the Frei felt a small jolt of fear in the absence of his warming power. It was as though the ice that now encompassed him had also filled him: an unnatural ice, a hungry, parasitic power that was draining him of half his essence. He found that his chest was beginning to feel heavy, as though the ice adorning him as armor was far too weighted and was beginning to fill what little body he had. His arms ached, even as the wounds that still gaped in his dark skin began to numb. Zul was getting cold enough that he could no longer see his breath in the cold room, the absence of heat in his body accumulating dangerously.

Even so, the Frei was not slowed, he was not cowed. He had three Very Important People to save, that he would have to entrust with finding and sparing his woman if he were to fall. Though the warmth that was a part of him was fading, the ice that was absorbing into his form seemed to give him a different life, one he had little control over. Zul saw the shards but he felt he wouldn't be quick enough to move, his conscious mind taking a backseat to bodily reaction. An arm lifted to block his face, the shards that collided with his 'armor' cracking and shattering it on impact. A few more nicked his ears, burning with white hot rending that quickly fell numb. A handful more caught his ribbon and made him spin to the side, though he was again moving without thinking, using the momentum and splaying his fingers towards Roux, trying to expel the voracious ice from his body.

The ice was heaved violently from him, but without the precision and control as his body began to give. The Frei hurled shrapnel of ice towards Roux, debilitated further as the shards of cold in his ribbon began to be absorbed. With each attack, Zul felt his awareness slip and something more base, more carnal begin to take over. It felt not unlike the virus, but seeing as he was neck-deep in ice, he had to admit that the beast was not an infection, but the very core of what he was. A beast that was quickly clawing to the surface for control and was very, very pissed off.

The wild cry of the other startled him. He thought for a moment that his minor shards of ice had hurt the Roc, but the twist of his features and the agony in his voice had little to do with physical pain. Zul swung himself low and to the side of the Sigel, watching him wearily and with a great deal of uncertainty. Even now, all he understood was that the icy male wanted Rivener for himself -- something that he, in his own warped way, understood. What was unforgivable was Roux taking his woman and Kyou hostage in the effort; he trusted in his Scorpion, but his woman was not as resilient as he and thus needed to be protected, to some degree. The virus had proven that.

The air became positively frigid to breathe, his lungs feeling pin-pricked with shards of ice on each breath. The ice that still clung to his skin shriveled at the cold temperature -- even though the ice was not his, it was part of his power then, and thus could not stand the onslaught of the purest form of ice there was. His skin felt dry and his throat burned, vision blurring between the pain and the succumbing to his soul; he felt like a puppet, a marionette on strings tugged by the inner workings of what made him what he was. Marbled wings curled around his body to protect him from the fragments of the javelin, his dull blue eyes peering over the bone out of reflex more than actually seeing. Zul was moving on instinct, now, relying on his other senses to support him.

And then the Sigel became angry. He'd seen Roux's wrath and he'd felt his upset, but the sheer outrage that poured off of the elder Raevan was absolutely intoxicating. His beauty was terrifying and somewhere in the back of his mind, Zul lamented the situation and knowing he'd never know what really made the Sigel tick. Following the protocol of prey now in his own role, he carefully slid back and kept the Sigel at his forefront. Wings shuddering behind himself, his breath a thick cloud that very nearly wheezed beyond his nose, he flung himself to the side of the fragmented shield, unaware of the danger above.

Unwittingly, Zul threw himself directly into the line of the stalactites.