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Malreth moved to join the others at the promise of safe passage, his mouth snapping shut as he moved to stand beside Red, for a moment he reached out as if to pat the werewolf on the back like an oversized dog, but before he could even do so nets of blue lashed out, he barely had time to split his chest before he went flying back past Red and slamming into the wall slumping over.

The pain was even worse this time. His thoughts lingered, recalling his youngest brother, Maw. The gangly youth who had said he would be there for his graduation. He knew his family wouldn't come, just Maw, but he had hopped to see his brother when he finally completed school.

Slowly he slid down the wall, the strength to stand while wrapped in the net seeping from his body. His knees crashing against the ground he watched as the Reaper moved to protect them, he kept his word. That was a nice touch. He was falling sideways now slumped in the dirt his mouth trying to open against the net and failing, a trickle of acid coughing up but doing no good.

"S'this is it...." He lashed about in his net, body jerking in ways a body should never bend, something snapped and he let out a yelp, but he didn't disipate just yet. So much pain, he just wanted it to end.....

Finally. It did.

Arcana agreed with Moira. Selene had the right idea. After all this, when one laid down their weapon, it meant a truce, a forgiveness. If the others had died....taken for their efforts, Arcana didn't want to incur the wrath of that while they had such a opportune moment.

It was a shame that his last thought was that for once, Selene had strong for her conviction but could never voice his agreement with it. Just as he was, the nets flew, he crumpled to the ground, the net draining any strength he had.

He looked up once at the beautiful snake ghoul, Moira her friend and looked at them.

"Go.GO." He pressed against the net, he'd fight for the end of this. He wanted to be free, he wanted to go with Selene. But he wouldn't keep her here. "GO SELENE, PLEASE GO." He felt all his strength dissipating and tiredly whispered, "I'll always love Selene the best. Please.....love me always too." He blinked, and then looked over to his sister. Captured too, Westhor....everyone. They had been so close, almost free.

And they faded into black.

He'd been right again - something was different about this reaper, if that was what he really was. That bright red blood didn't smell like FEAR, just like the smudges. His stupid glowing vampirism had granted him the ability to understand that much, at least.

All of his incredibly wrong classmates were sinking to the ground beneath the weight and stinging pain of those nets, and more strange figures were coming along to haul them away to uncertainty.

He'd been right, but now was not the time to say so.

"Vanth," he called, voice cracking, barely making its way out of his throat. "Vanth we can't be here."

Worried that she might stay behind to help the others, where she'd inevitably end up trapped with the rest of them, he snatched at the back of her dress and tried to get both of them away from here.

So the reaper had intended to let them leave after all, but it wasn’t enough to stop the other hooded figures from appearing. Tarot’s grip on Westhor’s hand as she took a step back. What was happe—

She let out a hiss as she crumpled beneath a net. Her hand let go of the lightning elemental’s in favor of attempting to fling the net off, but the electricity was too much. Tarot tried to reach for her sword, but it was a struggle to even stand. Her knees buckled before she finally fell. “Arcana? Westhor? S-Sel…” she called out weakly. The reaper gritted her teeth, using all her strength to stay on her knees. Her eyes found the snake ghoul, still free. She echoed her twin’s words. “Selene, go…hurry.”

A shaky head reached out for Westhor’s again. “Westhor. I…love…”

Everything turned black.

As Quin and Vel shared Taru's fate, Malcolm found himself - for the first time in his life - at a complete loss. For a moment, he wondered where they were being taken, and he wondered if maybe Defenders really should stick together to the end, regardless of the ending. However, the breathing of the minipet in his arms reminded him that they were counting on him to go.

And to live on for their sake.

As he backed away from the flying nets, and towards the exit, he spotted Moira, the ghoul appearing to be... Hesitating about leaving despite her screaming for them to run? He frowned, and was about to yell at her to move when he realized that she was probably looking for Selene. The monster had spent a long time hiding behind her, after all - it was only natural for her to look for her at a time like this.

"Moira, I've got her! GO!" He knew that Selene would try to get to Arcana, but he wasn't going to allow it. Without waiting for her consent, he placed Bee on top of Selene, and scooped them both up into his arms, the minipet perfectly balanced on her tummy. However, before he could leave, he spotted someone - someone who was stubborn, and prideful enough to stay back.

"Pyre!" His voice was loud, but that probably made the fact that he was choking up even more obvious. Despite the ghoul in his arms, he reached out and grabbed Pyre by her wrist, "We need to go." He can't lose another one. Not when he had already lost so many. Not when the strange reaper was giving them this window of opportunity to escape. Not when they still had a chance to live.

"Please," His eyes were moist as he stared at the ghoul, begging her to leave with him.

[GM'ED AS REQUESTED OF ME/IF YOU HAD ASKED because Zoo said she was gonna close this? :'D]

It was..over? Somehow Ashly didn't think it could be quite that easy. Not that any of this had been easy but..he was just going to give up and leave now?

Many of the students began to argue, and the zombie ghoul felt torn about who to agree with. She wanted to believe that the reaper would be true to his word, that he would let him go on peacefully. But there was still just something about him, something that was just so very off. The smell of his blood, the way he acted, how he had attacked them, how everyone kept asking him if he would return the others as well...

She watched him as he drug his way out of the pool. He certainly looked defeated, and some of the tension went out of Ashly's body, until she caught a glimpse of something else beyond the reaper. More figures, a multitude of them, all wearing robes and holding glowing weapons like his own. She gasped out loud, any words she might have shouted to her friends in a warning cut off by the coughs that suddenly racked her body. She wouldn't even get a chance to tell anybody to run, to make plea with her friends to leave those that were captured behind, to tell these reapers where to shove it as she was suddenly knocked to the ground with the force of a net that wrapped itself around her body. The pain was immediate, and it felt like nothing she'd ever felt before. She could feel herself getting weaker, her coughs lessening in force even as her body went from being completely rigid to limp and listless within a span of seconds that seemed to last for eternity. She was positioned in such a way that if she rolled her eyes she could see the exit behind her. She was able to witness that at least a few were able to escape before something was pulling on her, dragging her away from those who were leaving. She struggled weakly against it, but it was not enough, and each small movement brought on another jolt of pain. Eventually she just gave up, and closed her eyes, her mind spiraling away into oblivion.

Moira's head jerked up at Malcolm's call - she couldn't quite focus on the boil, not with the chaos all around them, but she screamed "OKAY!!" into the air and turned, stumbling and nearly smacking into a wall before she found her footing. She reached back and grabbed her headcrabs, tucking one under each arm as she grimly ran forward, going as quickly as she could and trying not to think about the reality of what she was doing.

She couldn't help. She couldn't defend them. There was nothing she could do.

She had failed.

Despite Liam's surrender, their victory was short lived. Several other hooded figures appeared. All of them armed with the same strange, but powerful weapons that the other had. Different in shape maybe, but the same regardless. The sight of them caused Avery's fur to bristle and he felt his confidence slipping away.

Just... just how many were there..?

However, though reinforcements had arrived, the scythe-reaper made no move to finish them. Instead, he informed the others to let them go. Intending to keep his promise to the students.

A promise which meant nothing to other hooded figures.

There was no time to think. No time to react as the nets rained down on them all. All Avery could do was stand there, frozen with fear as he watched his fellow classmates fall one by one, snared in those awful nets. That was until Liam urged them to leave.

The scythe-reaper, for whatever reason intended to defend them, allowing them to run. But how could he do that? How could he just abandon the others? If they left now that would mean the others would--

It wasn't until Cricket's yell reached him, that the behemoth was able to snap out of it and backed up along with others.

Reality was staring him in the face, giving him two choices. If he stayed, he would fall to the same fate. But if they left now, they might be able to do something for them later and though it might be too late for these students, they could at least try and prevent this disaster from ever happening again.

His choice was made. He ran.