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Everything had gone wrong.

When and where exactly it had was a mystery, but he was glad that he was there with the run. Both supply teams scattered ahead, covered by their kittens, but it was still only doing so much good with all the youma and patrols harrowing the way by sight. Nærøyfjord wanted to feel them, imagined as though he could. Imagining fondly, watching the shadows close in over bright hair and bright ribbons. Stars far, fay away, like evening song, calling back on their footsteps. Someone had to distract the lot, or all the supplies would be forfeit. Some of the take was tech and medical, so it wasn't an option to lose any of it. I am son-blooded of Njörðr. Son of sea and wealth and wind. Fly, friends, on wind with our wealth to our people. Earth has some champions left for courage.

All the chaos signatures then stopped, feeling auras of Order revealed without the mauvians. Himself and another knight of Earth some buildings away. Two lone, unmoving auras of Order to draw attention. Nærøyfjord lifted his hammer to her, and she her staff to him. She then disappeared, down into the alleys to draw what she could.

Then chaos roiled strong through his gut, sick churned like thorned snakes and too strong for any comfort. What did Hel birth from her half-rotted womb? The dead open is no place to defend.

His addled memory brought a terrible name to the feeling as he leapt to the roof of a skyscraper that was decorated with arbors and a green wall- a restaurant closed in the sleepy hour. That is the feel of a General King or Queen. What is one of them doing out? There's more with it. It's getting closer. Teleporting? Faster than running.

Nærøyfjord looked around the nearest rooves from the edge of grape-spiraled supports to the arbors. Bait can't leave. Have to draw it out. Keep attention long enough for the others to be clear.

It had taken far too long to convince the General-King to rise from his chair. In the end, he had had to resort to a threat. A patrol, while not the most prestigous of tasks, was far safer now than it had been previously. Getting Buddingtonite's boots back in the real world and away from the Rift had been Serpentine's true goal. He had half-hoped such a familiar task might help with his friend's ailing memory as well as his unused muscle. Stopping a supply line. What difficulty did that truly pose them?

Yet, his plan had failed. When his partner had insisted on brining his cronies with him, Serpentine knew that it would. Bringing the Lovelies had been a mistake from the get go. The masked man did not bother to hide his disdain for them as they scattered at Buddingtonite's command, all too eager to find some shred of proof that they deserved their master's favor. They lacked subtlety, and he knew from experience how poor some of them were at combat, despite his training. Better they rush forward like dogs after foxes, though, then linger any longer. 'Richard distracts himself with them. We needed no distraction tonight.'

He snorted at his King's complaint. There was nowhere left to get decent Indian food, outside of Sutai's kitchen, and he had not eaten it in what seemed an eternity. All the same, Serpentine knew the feeling of 'indigestion' only too well. Where once there had been numerous splinters of light that were snuffed out in the night, now only two Order auras burned especially bright. Not quite the uncontrollable brightness of a Transcended, nor the plasma sun of a Royal. Yet, bright and brilliant all the same. Either an Eternal Senshi or a Knight, surely? It had been a couple of months since he has been on patrol as well, but the last step of his training of new recruitments always a direct conflict with the enemy. And some sensations did not fade from memory.

The General uncoiled the whip from his side and glanced to Buddingtonite. Formally, his partner had final say in what they did. Serpentine merely hoped he had been convincing enough to get his King to follow through as he voiced his decision, "Let the rest hunt to insure none remain. These two, we can handle. Shall I go first?"

If Buddingtonite was aware of Serpentine's disdain, he did not openly express it, and for the moment, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Coming out on a patrol was just what he needed to get his heart pumping again, and the feel of Order aura was certainly exciting for a General-King that usually stayed cooped up inside an office most of the time. Of course it meant that their grunts weren't doing their job in ridding Destiny City of their pest problem, but maybe a General-King would do the trick. Nothing frightened away bothersome rats like a good, top of the line mouser.

Though these rats he felt would have certainly put up a good fight. A knight, which meant they had experience behind their strength, and that would have made him just as deadly as any Royal knight. Deadly for his Lovelies, perhaps, but he was confident in his own abilities and in that of Serpentine, though that wasn't why he turned to his friend and smiled sweetly. "Good idea, though I think I should be able to handle them? After all, I may have been pampered, but this cat still has his claws. Why don't you sit back and enjoy the show?"

It was humorous, to think Serpentine would agree to such a thing, but it was worth a shot. His friend had endured enough scars for his sake, but he also did so willing and without complaint, and Buddingtonite knew that asking him to sit a fight out would be like asking a fish to breathe out of water. But he figured he'd try. They couldn't say he didn't try!

The good news was that one of them was moving towards them and not vice versa, and Buddingtonite was willing to wait it out. He brought his modified weapon out of negaspace now, gripping the hilt with barely contained excitement. Why chase down the vermin when they came to the cat? That's how Buddingtonite saw it, not at all considering that the hunter would ever become the hunted. When one was a General-King and was escorted by a loyal friend like Serpentine, what did he have to fear? The shout he heard was familiar in his ears, but just barely, and he looked towards the speaker of that voice. Blonde hair, a heavy hammer and a body well suited for wielding such a weapon. Could it be...

"And neither am I. Why don't you come down and we'll have a little talk?"

If talking was his weapon protruding through his chest, then he had plenty of 'words' to throw at the knight this evening.

The voice was not only familiar, but one that had once been a friend. Buddingtonite's bantering tones without a doubt, which meant the other General must be Serpentine. It had been rare, at best, that one was without the other before, and it was a fact that the Knight of Earth didn't expect would change. But Serpentine was already starting to move, and not in a direct path to himself.

No you don't

"Stay a while brother, the fight is with me. " It was called out booming, genial. The magic was in it, demanding Serpentine's intentions of battle and aggression towards the other Earth knight be expended on Nærøyfjord first.



The gauntlet laid for one, Nærøyfjord readied his hammer in case teleporting became involved, and he called to the General King, "Some wife of war, letting your husband do all the fighting? You have rank, but it is Serpentine wearing the mask and scars!"

His feet wouldn't let him leave. The General had been exposed to many forms of magic during his tenure. Elemental magic. Defensive magic. Attack magic. This magic? This magic was something new. No matter how Serpentine wanted to leave, to crush that other distant flame... all he could focus on was the behemoth before him. When he took a step forward to try and obey Buddingtonite's orders, he found the step moving towards the blond instead. When he tried to imagine the enemy in the distance, his eyes focused on the Knight before him, not the one far away.

Not that it was particularly difficult for him to rechannel his aggressions. Beneath the mask, his ears burned. Not from the fact that this Knight knew his name. On the contrary, he always enjoyed it when his reputaton proceeded him. No, it was the familarity, the genial tone that made him grind his teeth. It was inappropriate enough coming from an enemy... but this one, this one had not always been an enemy, had he? How had he not recognized him sooner? Why had it taken his speech to truly remind him?

Another one lost. So be it.

"Let him imply what he likes. A traitor's tongue could never harm me." Confident words, but ones with anger behind them. The mask, and the scars they helped hide, were his tradmarks now. He accepted them because he could not get rid of them, no matter how he tried. They were marks of his prowess, of his survival, his loyalty. But the vanity in him had never died. Each mark may as well have been an open wound to his carefully nursed ego. If Serpentine could not move to his intended target then the one on whom he was locked would have to do as an opponent. Perhaps adding marks of his own to unmarred flesh would help him feel better... as it had once done.

The General flicked his whip, but he did not rasie it yet. He gave his partner a signal first. "Business in the front." With those words spoken, he cracked the whip towards the Knight's chest. It had been a long time since they had used this particular strategy. Hopefully, it would still be effective with the General-King's heavier weapon.

He had spoken too soon, as whatever magic drew Serpentine to the Earth knight was now upon him, and even with his rank of General-King, he found the pull to be completely alluring. He didn't exactly know what was up with it- he was never one to know magic nor care for it and more often then not he was always on the receiving end of it, and now was no exception. But he had an idea of what this magic was meant for, and he was almost ashamed to admit it was working like a damn charm.

"Ugh, what is the point of being a General-King if I can't shrug off simple magic?!" Buddingtonite growled, trying to resist the urge to move towards Nærøyfjord and holding his ground for as long as possible. It wouldn't be long before he'd find himself in motion towards his former ally, but he figured he'd hold out for as long as possible, clinging to his weapon and thankful that no one could see just how white his knuckles had become thanks to his gloves. "As always, you're wasting your breath. Were you always this poetic or is it something you've picked up when you've lost your nerve?"

What was he even trying to accomplish? What was he even saying? Abandon Metallia? The very notion made him laugh, and he did so loudly, his tone nothing short of mocking, as though he were trying to outdo the crack of the whip. The sight of the whip connecting and drawing blood on Serpentine and his former ally brought him an insane amount of glee and only fueled that laughter, and that was enough for him to start a slow and steady approach towards Nærøyfjord. All the while, he listened to his poetic speech, hearing the honest-to-God conviction and almost admiring it, though too humored that anyone could think to maintain such hopes in these dark times.

Never held convictions. Lacked them. Never cared for this Earth.

"Maybe you thought so, but I was always in this to safeguard myself," said Buddingtonite, his spirits high as he now held his weapon in both hands, making his intentions very, very clear. Since he could not pull himself away thanks to his magic, he might as well put his strength to some use, right? After all, he struck at Serpentine and that simply would not be allowed! "Maybe you were bamboozled, but we got everything we want and could possibly ever need, so you're wasting your time."

He calls you both brothers.

He laughed at the thought, before growing serious, his smile crumbling into a scowl, as he picked up his pace.

He carried you to safety.

Serpentine's shout did not go unheard, and Buddingtonite sprung into action, leaping into the air and aiming to shoot over the two, and once he landed, he twisted around and swung his weapon around, aiming for Nærøyfjord's back, shouting loudly. "Party in the back!"

Poetic? He thought his sentences were pretty short, but being called poetic by Buddy had to be some kind of compliment. Buddy had always seemed to know exactly what to say- to have answers. What is bamboozled? unimportant. 'everything' ...

The finish of the strike to Serpentine, bringing the dragon-headed counterweight around with the head of the hammer, didn't leave room for dodging. He felt the weapon hot across his shoulder blades- the heavy fur and wool cape of his uniform collapsed audibly to the roof between them, cut from shoulder to shoulder. Expression of pain, not wholly physical, came on a single word, roared-
"Liar!"


Rather than fully turn, telecasting the intent of attack, Nærøyfjord didn't swing to strike with the hammer head, he shot the haft with lead hand through the guide hand like a pool-cue, trying to jam the double-dragon counterweight into the General-King's stomach.

"You love!"

" You love him and you eat him like she eats everything else. You tell yourself you will possess everything, but you're losing it all! Him and yourself! Why won't you fight to be with him?"

"When did you look under that mask last? You keep him near like a possession, but your hearts are dying. Don't let them!" The last word was hissed through his teeth like it was a curse. How can you do it? You love each other. You cannot love like this. You cannot keep being this. You both need to leave her, or it will be worse than death.

Serpentine's vision was still blurred, and his ears still rung. He was out of practice in taking harsh hits; his own training would need to be improved, when next he entered the Rift. He still had enough experience and strength to overcome these obstacles, though he wished that the verbal sparrage would end. Fighting was easier than speaking for him; it always had been. Now, he found it even more distracting as the Earth Knight unflinchingly discussed that which neither he nor his partner wanted to hear. The words were not directed at him... but they might as well have been. It annoyed him how much they affected him.

It was easier to answer Buddingtonite's call than to listen any further. Composure regained, he dashed for Nærøyfjord's open back. In and out. A very clear directive to take a starseed. Serpentine had lost count of how many he had taken over the years, how many had died when he plucked out that small, powerful light. His victims had been on all sides of the war. Senshi, Knights, civilians... even Negaverse officers, when the need arose. 'Mica... yours was the hardest. Will his now rival it? Will I miss him, as I miss you?'

Once he had his hand in the Knight's back, he did not gloat. He did not sneer. That had never been his style. Yet, he did not immediately rummage around to find the starseed that he was supposed to be tugging. He easily could. He had done it before. Now? He merely asked a question, perhaps as surprised as anyone that he would.

"Can you save him?"

If one went by voice alone, it was an ambigiously directed question. By voice alone, Serpentine could well be asking if the General-King could recorrupt their former ally and 'save' him from fighting for the wrong side. Likely, that was how his words would be interpreted. The way he kept his face low, to better reach a certain ear and to keep his gaze hidden from Buddingtonite, however, showed that the harsh whisper was truly meant for Nærøyfjord. The mask may have hid the General's expression, but Richard had known him too long. One look in his eyes would betray him.

He was not even sure if he wanted to hear the answer... but he had to know. He could not make a decision until he knew. He had watched as his partner grew steadily worse. Richard forgot more and more. Buddingtonite powered down less. How long would it be before he was fully consumed? If treachery like Nærøyfjord's could save his friend, then Serpentine was more than willing to take the fall.

'We already wear the traitor's brand. Anything we do is excusable. But I will not betray him until I know for sure he can be saved. If he is already too far gone... then we will die together, whenever the Dark Gift no longer has use for us. '