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Something made his limbs stop moving. Stop slicing. Something kept him from plunging the blades through her chest or skull. Instead he held one towards her throat, tip of the blade inches from the soft flesh. Perhaps it was that she'd fallen so easily. All that fire, gone so fast. Same couldn't be said for his rage. The pain in his body from the burns she'd made him imagine, the burning from his own blade, all condensed into the man seeing red.

The enemy was crushed. All around he could hear the sounds of bodies being ripped apart and falling. Even if she did regain her fighting spirit, to what end? Except a faster death. He didn't smile even as he mused on what a waste it was. All that fire... "You are a traitor, a parasite to this world." Even if the senshi had been born here, they had no claim to this world. Not even this universe at this point. They'd lost their chance. "Stand up."

He moved the blade back, giving her room to stand though he did not move. "I have no intent to kill you now. You cast me to hell. Eternal pain and torment." The corner of his lips twitched slightly. "The very least I can do is personally ensure you suffer the same fate before your body rots away." Reap what you sew, as far as he saw it. His hand holding the blade nearest her twitched, intentionally drawing attention to the blade so perfectly capable of bringing along such torture. He'd had practice. Years of it.

Ah. So the fire was still there. He was almost thankful to whatever force had stilled him, much as he knew he'd celebrate severing her head or cleaving open her chest cavity. "Oh little girl, hasn't anyone taught you? The Rule of Three. Whatever you put out into the world--" At this he paused, sheathing one of the swords to free a hand. A hand that moved to catch her hair close to the scalp, not an ounce of tenderness or care in his touch. "--will come back to you three fold. What other pain and tragedy has a parasite like you brought?"

He began to step back, already looking to where other captures were being hauled off to. More celebrations would be commencing shortly. If she were to be killed, would one of their leaders be taking that? Or would he have the option of finishing what he'd started? He was perhaps a tad bitter thinking of the likelihood of the former, even as his heavy boots began to fall. "Stand. Or be dragged. I have no issue beginning now." He was giving her yet another choice. He was in an oddly generous mood that day. Must have been the celebratory atmosphere.

With the way his hand and arm were angled to keep his grip on her, it wasn't particularly easy for him to keep out of her reach. He gave a grunt to the new sensation of nails biting into his skin, bloody crescents that would heal in due time. Nothing compared to her magic, but enough to irk him. Seraphinite gave her head a shake before he pressed his second sword against the bare skin at the back of her shoulders. "You seem to mistake me for someone with patience, Mirror Senshi."

The blade began to press against her skin as he walked, the hand holding her hair moving evenly with him. The threats were obvious: either she walked with him, or not only would he drag her by her hair but he'd begin to slice her skin. There was no hint to him teleporting. No, his intent was to make her walk or be dragged the length of the battlefield to where the survivors were being gathered. The General had enough in his favor as it was, his steps were long enough to make the trek quick. He was no fool though. Even if she came to a dead stop, he wouldn't put enough pressure to really hurt her.

At least. Not deep enough for a life threatening injury. Enough to burn and scar? Why. That was a given.

At some point some one had set off an attack that involved some sort of eggs and despite being small and low to the ground, Liryn hadn't managed to completely escape the goopy fall-out, bits of egg and shell clinging to and matting up parts of his fur.

Despite being in cat form, Liryn had fought with what he had - a bite here, a claw rake there. After all those who had come were fighting so desperately hard and the little tabby bobtail could do no less.

It wasn't enough - no matter how hard they fought it wasn't enough and he could feel the auras feel the auras start to wink out, as the candle flame of their lives were extinguished.

Here an eternal aura, there a Dark Mirror aura, slowly but surely the auras were falling.

Liryn kept fighting in his way, doing his best to dodge in between feet and be the element of surprise, to help one last senshi, one last ally as he had promised he would as the survivors from the ashes of the old camp - decided what to do next and a group of the survivors made the decision to make one final stand.

It was only when the youma came, when the powerful flare of the Dark Mirror Princess' aura fell that Liryn truly realised how very hopeless their stand really was, when Liryn realised that this would be his tomb.

But he kept fighting, because what else was there to do - it had been too late for him a long time before this night.

A flash of bronze and jade up ahead as Athene, battered and wounded, faced off against youma with some sort of stick.

The Prince's attention on the danger in front, unaware of the danger coming up behind as one of the ascended prowled in his direction.

Liryn, knew this senshi - recognised her as the nasty corrupt who had once dared to try and steal Athene's starseed. She had been terrible as a plain corrupted eternal, but ascension had turned her into something foul and as he watched her approach Athene's unguarded back, Liryn knew that he would never let her have him.

He charged, putting every once of kitty speed into the movement, muscles bunching and tensing, almost like a spring before he sprang, transforming as he did into the jade-haired cat man that was his other form, knowing the cat would be too small for what he had to do.

"Athene!" A scream of desperation, a cry of warning as he landed solidly in the path of the oncoming ascended.

Liryn couldn't stop the yelp that escaped as the whip that had been snaking for Athene's neck connected in a glancing blow, shredding cloth and stinging flesh.

It didn't stop him from standing firm however, or from glaring at the walking abomination that had once been a senshi.

"I. Won't. Let. You. Have. Him" he repeated as she swung the whip around and sent metal, needles and pain flying his way.

This time the whip struck true, needles drawing blood as they tore into flesh. But still Liryn refused to move, even as the whip tore away only to return.

He could hear the Ascended laughing, could hear Athene as he screamed for him to move, but still he stood there as he shielded his senshi in the only way he could.

A mauvian's duty was to protect - it was a tenant, a code and something that Liryn had always taken seriously.

But he had failed. Failed.

He had failed Chaonis and failed Tsui.

He had failed Ida and he had failed Athene.

But here at the last he could protect his senshi, even if it was just this one last time.

I love you. The thought was fierce as he willed it to Athene, willed Athene to hear as he shielded the Prince. I love you and Ida and Tsui and Chaonis.

The war had broken them apart, but they were still his team - would always be his team - always be the ones that he had chosen...

But as the whip continued to lash round him in its brutal caress, there came a time when Liryn could no longer hold out and his hold on his cat-human form loosened.

Then whip sang out one final time and it was the cat that fell, battered and bloodied to rest lifeless on the ground.

Maybe in some ways it was a blessing for it meant that he did not get see the Prince of Beads become overwhelmed like so many others, meant that he would not have to feel his heart break anew as the unconscious Prince being dragged off to where the rest of the survivors were being held.

And maybe in another lifetime they could meet again and this time he could do things right.

"Really? Because it doesn't seem like it." Came a voice.

Too bad it wasn't Damocles'.

"You just wasted your strongest magic on a whim, just because you think these people are a worthy target." The corrupt crawled over the edge, sitting on the lip and sat on her haunches. "You don't even know what they did. Who they killed. Who they tortured." The blonde snorted. "You weren't there. You can't even see." Her gaze then turned to her brother. "If you ask me.. He doesn't seem nearly as mad as he should be. Does he even know what became of his princess??" And when the Dark Mirror Eternal twitched, gritting his teeth together, the things began to click in Lellouch's head.

"You didn't tell him." The muttered curse was enough of an answer. "You didn't even tell your husband, that you saw your own princess get captured. How pathetic. Look at that Alistair... He's keeping things from you... Lord knows what other lies he's been spreading too... That's fine.." The corrupt then sprang up, sauntering over to the pair before separating Tantalus off from Damocles with her magic. "Lellouch Congress."



The female grabbed Tantalus, dragging him away from away from her brother. "Do you want to know what happened to your princess Ali?" She asked, her fingers slipping under the blindfold. Cracked skin traced the edges of jagged scars before slipping the blindfold off all together. "I took her..." Lellouch replied casually. "I took her and we had a marvelous time together... She didn't like it mind you.. I guess she doesn't like being shared if you catch my drift.. After that.." She blinked, realizing something where she turned to her brother for a moment. Lellouch regarded him for a moment before smiling. "You'll love this dear brothers of mine.. Persephone even showed up.." Lellouch could feel Tantalus tensing in her grip as she turned back to him and cupped his face, once again tracing the scars over his eyes. "That b***h showed up and well... We fought naturally." A shrug and a pause.

"Well, you can guess who won."

Lellouch laughed as Damocles snarled at her. "Leto didn't like it much when I popped Persephone's starseed. ...Liked it even less when I crushed it like the worthless stain of exsistance it was." Damocles snarls quickly died down before turning into a choked noise. "Don't even get me started on how she reacted to me eating the seed!" Her brother tried charging at her, but Lellouch quickly spun, mirroring her actions from earlier and placed the loved one between her and her opponent.

"Don't even. I'm not done with my story. Like I said, Leto was there. She was pretty hysterical.. By the way, you all should have done better then a metal leg. How do you think I got her in the first place? Anyway. Leto, right. That girls got quite the temper, did you know that?" Again, Lellouch shrugged. "She doesn't think very clearly when she's mad. You can guess what happened."

"Your princesses, Leto; Dark Mirror of Camoflauge and Persephone; Corrupt of Pomergrantes are dead!"

Delphi had been shocked by the senshi at her side being killed, but what could she do against a General Queen. It was after that senshi's death that she moved through the crowd, smacking whatever agents of chaos she came upon with her staff, looking for what she didn't know. She had no set path and no set idea aside from take out whatever agents of chaos she could.

It was in passing that she teamed up, for a short while, with a senshi to help them. Throwing up a shield to keep them safe before she was on her way again. Heels hit the ground as she moved around and through the masses of people, many running and others fighting.

it was only toward the end, and what brought about this end she didn't know, that her senses went haywire as she felt so many youma turning up that she looked for a place to run so she could power down and escape but she was unable to as she was brought to the ground by a large youma. Rolling over and lashing out with her staff, trying to back it off, she staggered to her feet and found herself soon surrounded and come upon by several youma.

She tried to fight, swung at them, even used a shield but it didn't last, her shield couldn't last forever, but it was all for nothing as she was overcome by the youma and soon was on the ground with the last dregs of air escaping her lungs out her mouth as lavender eyes remained open but clouded over. The youma fleeing from her remains as their task was done with her.

Against Lellouch's threats, Tantalus was silent. He'd told Damocles that this wasn't a suicide run, but in the end - well. In the end, it sort of was. Everything he'd wanted out of life was impossible. The Negasverse knew who he was, knew where he lived - and without eyes, he was too much of a liability to make into one of their soldiers, if that was even possible for someone already touched by Chaos.

Lellouch insisted they were the same, that what blackened their fukus was exactly the same thing - and maybe she was right, maybe everyone who had ever told him that he was no better than the Negaverse was correct, but he carried with him the knowledge that he had died resisting that idea with every bit of himself. He had fought to end their tyranny, even when he knew the battle was ultimately hopeless.

He had worked side by side with Order, made friends - Dionysia, a brother in the past and a teacher now, and who he hoped fervently was able to escape this, somehow, some way.

He hoped Damocles could get out too, get anywhere but Destiny City.

He had heard Chariklo's death cries, and Amytis was gone - but in the best case, Failyn had the twins, and if they would be safe with anyone, they would be safe with her.

The flicker of a General's signature merely confirmed his cause of death. And when the blade passed through his chest, oddly enough, he smiled, briefly. Death on the point of a sword was not nearly as final as he knew she would like. And that was all he needed - the flicker of hope that he might, someday, live again.

He would not give her the satisfaction of a scream, even though the twist of the blade, and having it yanked out, was incredibly agonizing.

"I would rather die a thousand deaths than call you family," he said.

Her magic brought the building down from under him, and he fell, and landed with a sickening wet noise on some sharp bit of debris - rebar, perhaps - that left him with a second hole in his torso. He brought his fingers to it, almost distantly, and thry came away wet with blood.

Damocles was calling his name, pushing through the rubble, and Tantalus called back - his voice alarmingly faint, even to his own ears. The shifting stopped, and a warm pair of arms scooped him up. The brunet reached up to brush his fingers across Damocles's face, feeling wetness on his cheeks.

"Don't you fret, my dear Prince," he said, softly. "I don't feel any pain, not anymore. And I promise, if it takes me a hundred or a thousand lifetimes, I will find you again." It was hard to keep his hand on Damocles's face. Harder than it ought to be. "So let me fall asleep in your embrace, one last time."

A final breath left Tantalus's body, and then his fingers went limp, dragging a trail of red down Damocles's cheek.