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His breath was ripped from his lungs, eyes hazing over as he felt some crushing force driving blood from his throat, up through his mouth. Was the snap he heard his ribs? Groaning in agonizing pain, Alexi fell to his knees, hearing the sickening snaps of bones. Were those his team-mates, or his? Who was screaming? The Life Hunter had no idea where it all was coming from. He felt bile rise in his stomach, blood being expelled from his mouth at an alarming rate. One that he knew meant that this was it. This was all he had left. He'd gone into this knowing. Knowing it was suicide, knowing that even this wouldn't last. Nothing ever did right? He wished he'd been able to protect his people at least a little, but... His hand couldn't even reach out to take the barrier dagger from his side. Alexi doubted it would help anyways.

As his vision began to haze around the edges, the young man looked up at the sky, an ironic grin pressing itself onto full lips. The 25 year old man couldn't help the bubbling chuckle that rose from his chest. How ironic. Here beneath the stars...on top of a damn building, he was dying. His back hit cold stone and another burble of a laugh escaped him, followed by a body wracking cough. There it was then. On NEW YEARS....New year's eve...he was going to leave this world for good. Well, at least he went out trying to do something right.

At least, right in his mind. Haziness began to fade to black, and before he felt consciousness taken from him, the rainbow haired hunter managed to whisper, "...Happy.....mother-freaking.....new years..."

Every single nerve in her body cried out for death. She wanted it. Really, it would have been welcome, at this point. She heard, but could not see, the bodies of her boys falling one by one beside her. She felt their warmth still on her skin, as they formed the saddest of circles, and she stopped wailing long enough to grit her teeth, and ******** bear it.

That's right. Em wasn't going to lie there and die like a coward. The pain was unimaginable, but what was even more unimaginable was dying without purpose.

She was going to pilot her Argus.

She was going to blow some evil baddies out of the sky.

And most of all, most of all.. she was going to do what she'd promised herself, and make sure he knew how she truly felt, with her very last breath. Maybe she wouldn't make it to New Years, but she was going to make it to that. Nobody, not a Horseman, not an Apocalypse, and most definitely not a failing body was going to stop her from that.

She sat up, which in and of itself made her flush with pride, propped her broken body up against a wall, grabbed her helmet with her arms, smashing it on her head. It was all that she could do, before the sinking feeling of her organs being slowly crushed started to make her feel dizzy.

"I'm not dying without a fight." A haggard, wet voice bubbled out from the headset, into the main channel. "FOR THE HUNTERS!"

Her Argus flared to life, just as she screamed it.

Miriam could tell Neil wasn't happy with the suggestion and was starting to feel a little guilty for even bringing it up as a option... but they didn't have a whole lot of those at this point. The mission was set to start at any moment and it was important that they get into position and be ready to start the moment the signal came.

Not that it would have done them any good.

After getting into position and Neil starting up the Argus, Miriam was feeling a little on edge while waiting for the signal. Things had seemed to be going from bad to worse from the beginning of this mission, with no signs of of turning around anytime soon. Rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet while looking down at the masses Miri couldn't help but feel a small twinge of regret that she'd never taken the time to step out of the lab, make a few friends and have a bit of fun.

Little did she know that those regrets would be some of her last thoughts.

The next few moments seemed to go by in a rushed blurr. The message had barely finished coming over the radio as Miriam whipped her head around, fear flooding through her being as her eyes locked on the figure floating from roof top to roof top. There was no where to run and no hope of escape... and no matter how much of a fight they might have put up, there was no winning this battle. Suddenly Miriam collapsed on the ground, clutching her chest and gasping for air as Verdandi screamed in her mind, having fallen to the ground beside Miri when she fell.

Verdi berated, knowing that her Hunter was dying but still was refusing to give up. She knew that even without whatever this was... they couldn't have been strong enough to beat a Horseman. For the first time in a long time, the weapon was afraid. Not only for herself, but for the Hunter she'd come to know over the last 7 years. <Fight it... fight the pain please!>

Unfortunately anything that Miriam would have been able to reply to her weapon would have been mingled with fear and excruciating pain as the bones in her body began to break. Writhing on the ground in pain as first her ribs snapped, puncturing her lungs. Not long after that went her arms and legs... blood seeping out of her mouth and nose as she looked out across the roof with a blank stare. "I couldn't save them Verdi-unnggg... nothing I could do. I'm sorry... but it hurts so much... I can't-". The thought was interupted as another wave of pain flooded through her body as some of the larger bones were crushed and skull began to crack, her screams coming out as loud gurgles... blood clogging her throat. There was no fighting it anymore and knowing that there was no one that could help them, Miriam gave in and stopped trying to struggle. Darkness was closing in fast, signaling the end of another life... but just one of many that night.

"I'm sorry... couldn't keep my promise..."

<Sleep well my friend...>

And with that, Miriam Rosewood was no more.


[Miriam is dead.]

Bradly was looking around, noticing other hunters grouping together, some friends and some new acquaintances. With as many hunters gathered, he just assumed that all the strange faces were from groups he hadn't encountered yet.


Yet, something seemed to tip him off when he noticed a few team leaders that were not from his fraction.


Looking very much like the kid who sat in a classroom only to notice halfway through the lecture he was in the wrong class, Bradly stood looking around and trying to act cool while sweating bullets. Here they were in one of the most important missions of all time, having been stressed about the importance to listen, and he wandered into the wrong group.

He tried to find a hunter he knew and plea to them to take him into their team. He had to find cover FAST!

With a grunt, Adam fell back, leaving Cecil to himself. The pain was... unimaginable. Too much. He had broken his arm once as a kid, but that was nothing like this. He closed his eyes and breathed... and heard ribs crack. His face twisted. Can't breathe, can't move... losing consciousness.

No, no.

He wasn't going to go out like this.

The Life Hunter rolled over and hefted Petia to a shoulder, feeling his bones creak under her recoil as he fired at the retreating shape. Cecil was right. He was meant to protect him. His legs were gone... but nothing said you couldn't fire laying down.

"Go," he huffed, giving Cecil a nudge. Horny b*****d couldn't go out like this either! Some damage had to be done. Breath was gurgled and rasped through gritted red teeth, but it was there. Pain became a distant thought. He had been trained to handle this more than once. Never abandon your brothers, not as long as your heart was beating.

Wheezing, Julio stared as Em was fighting against all the odds, and sticking to the mission. A hunter truly to the end. With a weak smile, he started to crawl closer to her, leaving a trail of blood behind. He continued to drag his bloodied staff with too. After all, he couldn't give in just yet either.

"That's my Mariposita... Get him. Show them.." he said as he finally got up over towards her otherside, there to provide backup.

"I.. have to say. This pressure.. compared to being pinned down by ... some girl instead? Definitely not so great," he wheezed out, giving a weak attempt to crack a joke, even as he could feel his body failing him. Slumping against the wall, he propped up his weapon. His movement was very limited now, but he could still stick it into a few things that managed to get past Lowe. Either that or he could use a last ditch attempt to set up a barrier for Em. Since that was a limited skill, he'd save it for when it was really needed.

"Never did like frogs legs..." he murmured as he saw some of the creatures advancing.

Mercutio didn’t need to tell her twice. Flair dashed for the Argus, suddenly glad she was rather limb and nimble. She slid into the contraption and her hands reached out for the helmet first. It snugly fit over her head. Then she groped around for the gloves and hastily began to turn on the machine. As it began to hum to life she managed to see colored blobs move across the scene. Flair frowned. She had always disliked the poor vision she received while piloting the damn thing. She looked over at the rest of her group. “Come o—“

Flair found her command cut off when a voice yelled over the headset. Immediately, an unsettling feeling formed in her stomach. She heard words she preferred not to hear—words that always brought a bitter taste to her mouth regardless of who uttered the phrase. A flurry of thoughts flowed through her head, and she took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking into her headset.



The last bit was an absolute lie, but perhaps it would be better that way—dying, but knowing that the situation for the rest would somehow turn out alright. But a lie was still a lie.

Flair managed a weakly-amused grin as she heard Mercutio mimic the voice’s message. “For the hunters,” she murmured. Then her voice grew loud again. "You guys. On the Argus. Now."

Em lost sight of the world around her, as the Argus took control. It was almost a relief, and easy to push back the pain, when she started to fly away. Her hands lifted to maneuver it, and her lips, tainted with coughed up blood, lifted up in a weak grin.

"I'm flying, you guys." She whispered, just before a spray of blood splattered out of her mouth. She laughed it off, shutting everything out except the exhilarating view she was treated to.

What a lovely way to die.

She saw a flock of birds headed for the hunters who were still alive, and her Argus swiveled towards them, hurtling quickly as they swooped in on a few of the very last hunters left standing. She saw that beautiful face as she tried, with all the might left in her, to make it there before the birds did.

"Come on.. come on.." She growled out, feeling the Argus shake as she pushed it to it's limit. "I'm not gonna make it.."

Her hand whipped out to the right, and the Argus suddenly lurched, cutting the birds off seconds before they fell upon C, Selena, and Mark. In her left hand, the self destruct button waited, pressed the instant she had thrown the Argus in the path of the assailants, and-

BOOM

She felt the shake of the explosion even where she was, as it had been too close to the Marriot and the Hunters standing up there, for comfort. The world went black as the Argus exploded, taking the second wave of birds that had set their sights on C's delicious flesh. She hadn't stopped them all.. but it had been enough.

"Get-" Em whimpered as her hands dropped to her sides, and she laughed, until the laughter turned into a fit of coughing. "-Get this helmet off me, somebody." She couldn't move her arms anymore, nor would the rest of her body respond.

But she felt like a million bucks.