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Penthesilea made a noise of fury when a sword found the cat before she could, but she kept going, because, well - if nothing else, that would make it so much easier to catch him. She would have at least cat blood on her hands, today, even if she didn't quite get to the two Senshi she so desperately wanted.

"Come on, kitty, I'll even make it quick, it won't hurt much at all," she said, even though she knew that wouldn't be much of a comforting promise at all.

When he rounded on her, she stopped, and the beam struck her dead in the chest, and the Corrupted Eternal swore loudly, violently.

"Ohhh, I lied," she said, diving for him with hands outstretched. "I'm not gonna make it quick, I'll wring your furry little neck!"



With the General-King's hands on her throat, Amytis was no longer able to speak, but she did struggle to get her hands up, hoping to grab his arm. She knew, right then, that it was very likely she was going to die - but if she held his attention long enough for Chariklo to get away, that would be plenty for her.

She continued to struggle, and before words were lost to her completely - with tar over her eyes (and oh, she wanted to scream, because even if she survived this she would be as blind as Tantalus and she did not have time to learn, like he did) and dripping near her mouth and her nose - she gasped out to Chariklo, not sure even if her wife could hear her but desperate, anyway.

"Chari, go, please!" She begged, "don't die here!" It was a foolish mistake because it gave the stuff free entrance down her throat, and she made soft, garbled gasps, but her legs flailed in a desperate attempt to do some damage before she was completely suffocated.

Faust froze temporarily in shock when his kittybeam offered little more than an angering agent for the corrupt. And while he tried to escape, tried to hobble away toward his senshi again, Faust felt the wench's grasping fingers coil around his fluffy body. He yelped again, heavily pained by the pressure on his thigh. "Thraen!" He called toward the eternal once more, though he doubted the blonde would hear him over the din.

Blood gushed over her fingers and wetted his fur, enough that he was able to wrench his injured leg free from her grasp for a weak kick. He felt exhausted from the beam, ineffectual as it was. Already he felt the tightened shock of the end closing in on his heart.

Whipping around in her grasp, Faust determined to give it his all in memory of the friends and family he gathered over the course of his Mauvian life. All of those he awakened, upgraded, chatted with, and warmed at the edge of the hospital beds came to mind while he clawed furiously for the corrupted senshi's eyes, fully prepared to put out what sights reminded him so heavily of who Penthesilea was and what she stood for. A loud hiss loosed from the feline while he struck, who felt a jolt of adrenaline course through his body, and fought desperately for freedom or hollowing out the witch's skull.

If nothing else, Thraen would remember him for his ferocity... Provided the blonde lived much longer than he.

Luckily Megrez caught on, and Faust shouted to her to do as much damage as she could. "Stab the b***h in the throat, Megrez! Take out 'er damn arteries!" Though he had little more to say given his compromising position.




CONTENT WARNING: Mutilation

To watch her struggle to speak, to issue a last message to her friend or ally or lover, provided Bischofite a special pleasure in seeing the brightest sparks of humanity from the girl before they deteriorated into a hollowness pervaded by death. He smiled, all teeth and snarl, before he slipped a count of eight fingers into her mouth, with both thumbs pressed against her chin to force it open. His fingers coiled, digging into the meat of her cheeks with enough force to puncture through and form bloody handles while he forced knuckles deep into the fore of her throat. And the tar poured in rivulets down his arms, pooling into her mouth and spilling over lips to stain her hair with blood and black.

"Let me tell you somesing of your condition before you go, senshi. If you don't drown in tar in ze coming moments, as surely you're inhaling enough for it to coat your lungs, zen I will loose your jaw from your skull and you'll bleed out ze last of your lof'e for your despicable court. Imagine how zat will look to zose who knew you as you are - how your jaw so widened and agape will permanently taint what memories zey still haf' of you. Imagine how zey'll remember you a wretched corpse for ze last moments of zeir lives, before ze Negaverse claims what's left of zeir usefulness.

Imagine it and weep, Senshi."

Afterward Bischofite forced his fists into her throat to the very limit of his powered strength, looming over her in his attempt. To speed the process, the wings so poised over her form drew inward to the limits provided by their tar membrane, and a pair of long bones jutted into her sides to worm their way toward her lungs. If nothing else, he would know satisfaction in watching the tar pool out of those holes, as it traveled down throat and through lungs to find freedom to meet the cold September air once more.

There were a few times Hvergelmir could still remember -- times from long ago, before their lives had become this -- where she'd felt the sudden sensation of multitudes of Chaos signatures all appearing at once. It was like five headaches coming on all at once. It was like bile rising in her throat.

She felt pure dread. They all did; they looked around for the first moment, sharing the hideous experience of seeing it written on each other's faces.

We're too late.

Dionysia took her hand. Or she took his hand. She didn't know.

Ida was calling for her. Yes. God, that was what she needed right now. They were all going to be slaughtered, weren't they? She wanted to be with the people she loved. She wanted to die knowing their bodies were near.

Hvergelmir looked to her right. She pointed at Snowball, then at herself. Then she made a forcefield shaped gesture in the air. She hoped this conveyed, as simply as possible, Will you come with me? Will you do aura dampening? For herself, she didn't need it -- but if they were evacuating the hospital, they'd have enough enemies following them just by sight; they didn't need the added problem of all their auras converging in one place.

To Niflhel, too, she tilted her head toward the door. His help would be welcome, covering the hospital's evacuation. And Azzo had entered this life the same way she had -- in the smoke and haze of Barren Pines, a long decade ago. They'd been together at the beginning. It was fitting that he should be there at the end.

She had to go. So did Dionysia. She turned back to him, but he was already in motion, raising her hand between both of his to press her knuckles to his forehead, as though in a gesture of gratitude or friendship.

"Peace to you, little sister," he said his goodbye. She squeezed his hand and signed, And you. Then, with a silly, extravagant bow and a grin, he took his leave.

She had somewhere to be, too. Hvergelmir spared a last second to tear off most of the trailing ends of her skirt -- then she dumped her long scarf on the floor and took off at a dead run toward the hospital, hoping Niflhel and Snowball would decide to join.

It wasn't hard to find and follow Næryofjord's broad back through the crush and clatter of people. He was warm and brave and decent, and following him made her feel safe, as it always had, even though they both knew where they were going. Even though they both knew what they went to do. Focusing only on her destination, she let herself pretend awhile instead. She imagined there was no battle. She imagined it was winter, instead, and they were running through the snow, and when she caught him up he'd let her sneak under his arm and hide inside his cloak, the way sometimes when it was cold, he'd sit on the ground and let the camp's children huddle up under it to borrow his warmth. They could be safe there, some lost winter, far away from here. Safe and happy.

It was a nicer thought to hold onto, she decided, than anything else -- and it wasn't like it mattered what she thought about. She might as well think of something nice.

Hvergelmir wondered what he thought of, waiting to face his end. Were there regrets in his heart? Uncertainties? He'd walked away from a life with the Negaverse, and in the end, they hadn't been able to win at all. She wondered if it seemed at all worthless in his eyes. Look what an end I've led you to. About to die forgotten and insignificant in the woods. He was such a good person. It would've been nice to see him live. Please smile at me one last time. Please let me believe you were happy.

The sounds of battle were breaking out all around them -- but the field hospital was in sight.

Næryofjord was a hand-to-hand and close range combatant, but heavy, huge blunt force weapons like his needed room to work. She left him to choose his staging ground, and took a place standing in the entryway to the Oasis.

Ida had been harder to keep track of in the mess of people. Hvergelmir looked around for her now, hoping she was already coordinating things. People needed to be moved, and they needed to be moved by triage. The least ill, if they could fight, would have to take up arms to defend the evacuation. The most ill would be left behind or taken last, if they could be moved. Those in between the two groups would go first, along with the children.

The last mirror is for you, sweet Orah. Please take it. If you live, we'll have something to have fought for. I'd like to imagine you happy, some far-off day. Stubborn as you are, please don't stay here and die.

Chariklo would be here soon, if she wasn't already. Hvergelmir was sure of that. It would've been nice to have the other people she loved with her too -- Kairatos, Camelot, Babylon, Avalon -- she wondered where poor, newly arrived Helicon had gotten to in all this -- and always, always, Aquarius most of all -- but there were other things to fight for, and this was enough, to have Nær, Chari, and Ida. Her friends were here -- a piece of her little family. To die surrounded by friends was the best possible end.

This was it. This was her moment. In battle, Aludra didn’t have to think. There was only movement and energy, just the single-minded purpose of destruction. It was pure, perfect fun, the type she sought again and again. They would win. She knew this without a doubt. After all, they had the number, they had the strength. The enemy would put up a brilliant fight but one by one would be snuffed out, like candles.

The Corrupt Eternal moved from tree branch to tree branch, leaping nimbly until she reached the camp and then she was amongst the fray. There was almost too much to process. She wavered, seeking a target, an ally, something to latch onto. But the multitude of fleeing and fighting and- ooooh, pretty big shield.

Aludra jumped over a puddle of tar, watched as Bischofite began to squeeze the life out of some girl and decided she’d have to work hard to make everyone just as proud. When she was done here, Persephone would be so pleased.

She finally found someone to focus on, giving a high-pitched and gleeful laugh as she appeared alongside Haumea. "Let’s kill them all together!"

Seireitei watched in horror at what Bischofite had done. Right there, in front of them. Tears of anger burned down her face. They would pay for this. One of her hands nearly crushed her pathetic excuse for a weapon, an inner tube. She turned to Cruithne and Remarque whom she didn't know the names of, "Take the kids to safety now. Use whatever force necessary to get this done. I'm staying here." She helped them usher as much kids as she could away from the fight before heading into the fray.

As Sabina, she had said she would fight. While evacuating others to safety was of high importance to her. Just seeing what that freak of the Negaverse just did, it brought out something inside of her that wouldn't allow her to turn her back. What she needed to do was find Fai.

A couple low level slugs attacked her. Seireitei deflected one attack with her tube then kicked the other one in the face. Lucky for them, she had no weapon on her that could do fatal damage. When one tried to punch her in the face, she moved her head slightly and then bit that ******** arm as hard as she could till she tasted blood. The scream of pain only made her bite harder. She was forced to release the arm when his friend nearly made her double over with a kick. Luckily, zombie apocalypse was too busy nursing his bitten through arm. So she bent low and uppercut his friend's nuts. Leaving them on the ground crying, she ran in the direction Fai had been.

"Fai!!!" All that was good in this world, that woman better be okay. She had promised that baby a better future. "Fai, where are you?!" Then she spotted her, not powered up at all. "Why aren't you powered..." s**t, girl was pregnant. Seireitei didn't know if she just plain couldn't power up at all or if she chose not to because it'd be bad for the baby. "You can't. Okay, I don't know this area. Tell me how to get you out of here." In a lower voice she asked, "Is Magiore here?"

He didn't hesitate the moment he felt the evil, his chain appeared in his hand and his eyes narrowed. Fear there was but for Niflhel he was ready. He'd glanced back to Hver who was making a shield and he looked to snowball who was sitting on his shoulder. "We have to hurry." He said nodding to Hver and following Snowball's claws digging into the knight's shoulder to hold on for dear life. Niflhel would hold for as long as he could.

"Hver, make sure to keep snowball with you." He shoved Polaris' pen into the cat's mouth, "Put that in your subspace. Don't lose it. That's important. If anything should happen to me, write Polaris send the pen, have Hver send it. The letter will know where to go." He was saying this where Snowball could hopefully only hear it.

"What the he--" Snowball's eyes grew as he felt the rise and wave of Chaos. The vile evil and the sudden panic. When Niflhel moved though snowball wasn't ready for it and dug his claws into the knight's shoulder to keep from falling.

When the pen was shoved into his mouth and he was told to send it to subspace Snowball did and suddenly he looked at Niflhel. "What are you saying!?" He asked in a raised voice unlike Niflhel's quite one though as they ran for the hospital snowball realized there wasn't time for explanations. However he got the part about writing to Polaris but Polaris was dead right?

Shalott barely had time to think. He first thought was of her baby, Sarah, asleep in her bed somewhere in the camp. Then everything froze when she saw Painite. Shalott let out a sound and squeezed her husband's hand beside her. Weeks of working to find her without success and the b***h actually came to her? Nevermind the chaos around her, her focus was plain.

"PAINITE!" she bellowed, her voice echoing through the space. To her and Camelot this was entirely personal. Someone was with her, she didn't really care. Her side was more or less patched up and she felt stronger with Shangri-la's care.

"You came to the wrong place. You don't know how much I've been wanting this."

And now that she wasn't alone she didn't need to rely on a power up hail mary to make sure she stayed alive. She crossed the room hoping that her husband was close behind. She needed to do this for Harmony, for Nathan, and God help her but to protect her Sarah.