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Nino trudged after Isadora to Lt. John, giving him a nod. "Alright... this battle is pretty much done... There's just some stupid morph soldiers and we can go face... him." She said quietly.
She looked back around for Rath. For the life of her she didn't want to lose him again... She was almost tempted to just tell him "Skip the battle with Loki just in case we all die."

But she couldn't tell him that because she knew he'd refuse. When she joined John in walking towards the cave she noticed someone who was already there. Rhys... And MADRIANA?!

She stopped, then took a few more steps backwards.
What the heck is she doing there? She's dead, right? Memories of what had happened in that castle she was taken to flooded back. Halloween... last year... What a hell that was.

She looked around. She wasn't about to move forward with Madriana standing right there... "Rath? Rath! Where did you go?"

Victoria looked around, at last noticing that the morphs were even slowing down. She shot off a few purge spells to fend off the remaining numbers, but she was even able to use extra time now, what she never had before... to raise her Fortify staff high into the air and once again heal her allies. One more time before they faced Loki.. that should fix them up.

Even the reckless fools.

"Now, I should try and meet with one of them at least.." she muttered. The fray had long separated her from Blossom and Aidan. Hopefully those two stayed together.

She stared in the distance, spotting someone... luckily familiar.

"Arashe?" she asked. He'd survived, much to her relief. He didn't look badly hurt, though... for her Fortify had covered everyone.

A gauntlet fell on Leon's shoulder and suddenly pulled him around, and then a second moved in and shoved him back against a rock as Captain Steely Dan leaned in close. "Boy!" he shouted, before lowering his voice to a growl, "I coul' swear I taught yeh better'n tah grab 'n axe what's curs't!" He growled, stepping back and glancing over his shoulder at Dullahan, which had dug half its blade into the ground and stuck out with its handle in the air. "Yeh dun' mess wi' that s**t, boy... yeh dun'. Lot o' stories o' men hunted f'r that axe, Leon," he muttered, turning and sitting down against the rock. "An' they says men who finds it, everythin' bad in 'em comes out. Yeh be careful wi' that thing... if's a fight with a god, may be the only thin' lets yeh hurt 'im. But if yeh can' handle it, yer more a help ta him than us, yeh see?" He shook his head again. "A weapon yeh dun' know how ta use belongs to yer enemy."

Tibarn thundered through the sky, tearing through the last remaining flying morphs with his unstoppable talons, and when the skies were clear once more, a flash of green returned him to his laguz form, and he slowly brought himself to the ground. "So," he murmured to Nino. "Finally ending this? You have my wings. The longer we wait, now, the more ready he'll be..."

Sue, whom was now free to roam wherever she pleased without the morphs breathing down her neck rode freely to reunite with Rath, Isadora, and the others. She'd flinched the moment she saw Dan... what looked like giving his poor subordinate a good thrashing. She'd leave them alone.. that was their business.

The nomad had finally caught up, drinking the 2nd of her shots of elixir. "What's the plan?" she asked the gathering of FEFers. "How are we to strike a god... Father... Nino... everyone..?"

"Wha the..." Leon suddenly found himself, he, the subordinate, the Lieutenant, the younger, the nerve to actually talk back to his own superior and hero. He couldn't help it, he was clearly just badgering him! "The 'ell is it yer bus'niss wha' I do?! I jus' wanted t' feel it's strength... ev'n once, an ya get on m' case for bein' more powerful than ya for a sec'nd! It be m' first time holdin' it, 'o course it'll mess me up some, but I wasn't goin' choppin' Watchmen wi' it! I know better than that, Cap'n!!!"

However... his words were all that was strong. He couldn't bring himself to rise.. not an inch from the rock he was just slammed against. He'd truly been wore out from using far too much strength at once.

"Well miss Sue. I dont think Fighting a God is going to be easy. I should think that who ever has fought a god could give us a few pointers." John said to the group hoping to get what little feedback he could to go help save octavio.

"Ah..." Leon shut his eyes, expecting another blow, but none came. At this moment, he didn't feel fear, but... at last... shame. He was ashamed that he'd lost control, that he'd disobeyed. And here he was, saying how much he had oaths to keep, when he was breaking every last one of them! "C...Cap'n... I... I'm sorry.. that thin', it called t' me, ya know? We be needin'... all them heroes' weapons t' defeat Loki, they can't be missin' 'un..." his eyes turned, only his eyes to the axe that had fallen blade first into the ground. "When I 'eld that thin' though... I saw m'self get hurt an' not care... an' I tired m'self out like this... that thin' coulda killed me, and yet... we need it, dun we? We need it..."

Sue nodded to Nino and Tibarn, agreeing that they needed to move forward. They didn't want to give Loki any more time to prepare for them, did they? Of course not. Instead, she urged Andre forward, at a slow enough, but fast enough pace. It was time.

Madriana turned as Tibarn, Sue, Nino, and the others approached her... She felt worried for some reason...

Why should I feel worried?
I don't know why I should be worried...
I can't remember why
What am I forgetting
Why?
What?
Who?
Nino and Tibarn... Rath. Their names.
No need to worry. I am goo---

I was doing it again. Damn it... Why do my thoughts come out like that even now?

She shook her head. It still hadn't come back to her... What had she done to these people to make her have to worry about their approach...?

She caught Nino's eyes... But Nino looked startled, then looked down...

Amelia turned her eyes back to the Hawk King and Nino, slowly getting off of Tuomas' back when they reached the mouth of the cave. The quintessence Renault had used to heal her did wonders for her energy, because she found herself not having much trouble at all with staying on her feet. She held her naginata in both hands, turning her eyes down to her hips. She had lost half of her arrows, but her bow was still intact... if it would even be of any use against a dark god.

Blossom kept Vezra in her hands. All the Heroes were dead... Castello's body was gone, taken away to be buried, Teifi had perished before the battle, and Evelyn had never appeared, but the others were scattered about the battlefield. She gulped, took in a deep breath to steady her nerves, and looked around the battlefield. Where had Chickenwire gone? He was okay, right?

"Chickenwire?" she called, taking a few steps away from Aidan. Where was that man? You'd think a big guy like him wouldn't be able to disappear easily, she thought. "Chickenwire...!"