The Coming Darkness

There was an underlying feeling of guilt that was following Harley around, one that was almost constantly there but was mainly suppressed under loud music, drinking, drugs and chaos - anything to distract her from herself.

The disheveled mess of a girl was headed in the direction that all the other students were heading, but stopped in her tracks when she heard Kira say she needed to go back. It was then the stampede of students seemed to grow ever more frantic, making it hard for Harley to focus on the situation. She backtracked over to Kira, but before she could say anything to protest, David did. "Hey!" She glared at the boy, "That was my line!" Man did this kid step on her toes, and in her opinion was getting a little too close to Kira. At this rate Kira might fall for heroics like his.

"Tch... well, Specs is right. No way you're going up there. If it's that important I'll go with you."

Well the child with the flames emanating out of his body was plucky- Alarick thought. He also had many more an amusing thought when he focused in on his wife- steadily chanting away. Her powers were much akin to a viper- maybe you saw the shift of sands and grass about you before it laid its fangs into your body and injected its venom. Next thing you know you are trying to purify the blood that is steadily necrotizing your body; and before you know it your heart gives out with a wheeze and a puff of resignation. And honestly no matter what euphemism you could use to describe Beatrice’s power she was damn sexy casting her magic.

“They were never children,” Alarick remarked bored. “They were always tools for our resurrection. You don’t hate the lumberjack for chopping down a piece wood.” He paused and scratched the side of his face in thought. “Do bloody lumberjacks even exist? That is one of the first things I shall look into. Shortly after I take my beloved wife on a date; I’m thinking Thai- what you about? I mean we are close- Japan and all.”
It was then he turned his attention towards Enzo who had rather successfully dodged the haplessly aimed projectiles. Alarick frowned. “Hm- I’m really bad with guessing games. I never choose the right one. So- how about all of them?” With that he extended his hand and flicked his digits down- the entire ceiling above him seemed to section itself off and then crashed down towards Enzo in a single entity. This was an attempt to take care of the multiples all at one time. “Was I right? What did I win? A new car would be nice.”

---

JD on the other hand was still quite unconscious, and his pallor was paling into a deathly ill. The bloodied stump where his arm used to be was still bleeding, but it had slowed a bit as the proximity to his sister had begun to somewhat knit the wounds. He would never have that arm back again, but maybe just maybe he would live from this.

Referring to Enzo's friends as mere tools angered him, and only pushed him to charge faster. Unfortunately, he was too wrapped up in his own emotions that he noticed the collapsing ceiling too late, and it soon caved him in, inside of a large buildup. Sunlight shone through the hole, and the chilly air seeped in, spreading around the dust of the old ceiling even further.

Enzo's already worn body was nearly at the breaking point. The roofing had done some damage, and was able to break his concentration on the flames he had borrowed from his friends, leaving him with his ordinary Sky flame.

Outside the rubble, he heard a faint phrase being recited from the outside. He didn't understand it, so he decided to ignore it for now. Right now, he had to get back into the fight. His body reminded him that he was more used to dealing damage than taking it. God damn it.. He felt his head wet with blood, and it frustrated him that he fell for such a simple attack. He punched the rubble off of him with his armored glove, and freed himself from the stone prison.


The next thing he noticed was the fact that Silver was starting to lose it. It made her weak, and he would most likely have to protect her as well, at least until she got herself together. He felt himself growing more and more frustrated that his friends were used as tools for resurrection. "...I hate people like you..." He told off Alarick. His Sky flame slowly started to shrink back into his body as the rage collected. His most neglected Minus Fire burst out of his body, changing his eyes to the eerie green that shined ominously based on the amount of anger he held within him. His black and green flame, out of control, lashed about on the ground around him, tearing into the ground in a spiral fashion at first, then settling down on his forehead. "People like you don't deserve to have children like them.." He held his head, which was surging with pain from the ceiling. "..You don't have the slightest clue what roles they play.." He slowly dragged one foot in front of the other as he continued speaking. "You're lucky you are the parents of my two friends, or else i'd end you..."

Kira almost snapped at David for stopping her. She glared at him as she tugged her wrist back harshly. She'd apologize later but right now... This was wasting time. Taking a step away from them, she was glad to have the swarm of students as a cover and distraction. Yay for diversions. Looking over at Harley at her comment, she almost gave her a pout for taking David's side. "Then come with me. I'm getting our things before anything of value is lost. Some of that stuff is rather, hard to come by, in a foreign land." she said, giving Harley a slight smirk. "Think your girl's there too." If anything, That would make Harley hightail it to the third floor.

Taking advantage of some students going between the three of them. Kira turned around and motioned for Harley, and or David to follow. She wanted to get her stuff before the whole floor collapsed. She'd taken a few steps up the stairs before the undeniable sound of something crashing down was heard above. Alrighty then.. Now there were sure to be casualties in that fight. She'd half a mind to Check on them. Something told her Harley and David would lynch her for even thinking on it.

As expected Dora was left once again, so she gathered up all the strength she could muster and darted down to hallway. She ran a good bit before she caught sight of the doors she had originally entered the day before, pushed them opened, and then continued to run for a few more moments. After which she kept up a decent pace and headed towards the beach.

If both Kira and David remembered they would know that they were all going to be there after breakfast. She nearly collapsed in the sand, but managed to seat herself as gently as possible. She summoned up something to eat an drink and had begun to finally eat. She watched an waited to see if they would come through the double doors.

David huffed as he watched Kira go up the stairs, quickly moving past the students that came between them and up the stairs to Kira, only to grab her arm again. "I can't let you do that. I don't even feel safe going up there. We don't know what's going on. I'm sure your things will be fine, so come on." He was willing to pick her up and carry her out, should she resist more. The look on his face was serious as well as slightly irritated.

Silver, on the other hand, was struggling a lot. Her arms and legs were shaking, and she kept arguing with herself. This was worse than anything she had dealt with before. Her head was pounding so much she could barely see straight. She felt like the feelings she was feeling inside were not limited to just inside, but they were all throughout her body. She could practically feel the anger and hatred oozing through her pores. She looked up at Enzo, who had a change in flames. It looked familiar, but she had a bad feeling about it. Then again, she had a bad feeling about everything right now. I can't be this weak... I have to help Enzo! I have to... I don't have a choice! "Whether I hate myself or not.." she mumbled to herself quietly finishing her own thoughts. Suddenly, she remembered Enzo's advice to her after their own training session.

"Instead of fighting it, Silver, direct it at your enemies."

She remembered how he helped her, and how supportive he was. She remembered how supportive everyone was, and how much she cared for them. She remembered how they cared for her just as much. "I don't have a choice.." she repeated to herself again. She gripped her swords again, and slowly pushed herself up, wiping her face a bit to clear away whatever tears had formed before. She glanced back to Enzo, concerned for his well-being. She knew he'd be okay, though. He always was. She glared back at Beatrice, having a feeling it was her the entire time. Still feeling a bit unsure of everything, she almost smiled. "Is that all you got, bitch?"

Volitaire really wanted to aid his friends, but he knew they could handle it. They were the most skilled fighters he knew. The staircase was in his sights, he took a deep breath letting go any anxieties he had for the result of this battle. He grabbed Sasha and warped into the shadow on the stairwell. With the four outside of the battle, Volitaire could focus on the twins. He saw Eos' tears was beginning to slow JD's bleeding, meaning his brief speculation was correct. Volitaire wasn't going to just simply scoop them up, that would be a horrible idea. He looked to them both, then to Sasha, then he had another idea. "Sasha. You control water, no? Could you be willing to bend Eos' tears around their wounds?" He spoke as clearly as he could, which was hard with him being shaken up by the entire situation.

Alarick looked rather bored at the rubble he had caused and offered a playful yawn in response to the flame boy’s quick and crushing demise- or at least what he had hoped to be the other’s demise. Mind you he wasn’t so daft as to chock it up to a win for his side, but he was rather bemused by the other’s resurrection from the entombing debris of the ceiling above. “You’re bleeding,” Alarick stated rather flatly as he pointed to his own head. “Might want to get that looked at- concussions are not good for kids your age.”

It was then the older man pouted a bit rubbed his eyes in a feigned look of tear streaked cheeks. “Awe you hate me- but why Enzo- we could have been best friends?” He sighed. It was apparent that the boy’s flame was evolving steadily, and that caused Alarick a bit of worry. Mind you not the slightest pique of concern crossed his eyes, and if anything he just rammed his hands in his pockets and watched the intense burning of power pile in front of him.
“Are you lecturing me?” Alarick asked shortly. “You do realize I am twice your age- do you? And more handsome too- ah genetics,” he grinned wildly and brushed a hand through his dark mane. “Look. Had those people not come all those nights ago and killed me and Beatrice then we would have never have come to this little impasse. Eos and Janus would still be alive, and to be honest you would probably be facing them now. It is unfortunate circumstances, but alas- isn’t it better you had known them as you did than not at all?” He sighed softly. “I know though you probably still won’t take that well ‘you should have never of killed them- they were your children’. I just can hear it now. So save me from it.” He paused and then whispered- loudly- “but hey at least Janus left a legacy. Just between you and me. No protection was to be had between Silver or him on that hotel. I mean. It only takes once. That would be sweet right? I would be a grandfather.” He paused again. “Ah no- wait- that would make me old. Gah. Nevermind.”

It was then Alarick frowned. “Not going to end me- well you are going to regret that, because if you kids don’t stop your imbecilic mission to try to defeat Darkness then I will end up killing you. Now all I have to do is stoke the fire a bit- see what you are capable of, and then I think it is on to Thailand for a date. So lets’ stoke the fire.” It was then that Alarick popped his knuckles and activated Godhand once again. The plumbing that coursed through the building like veins in a body wrenched out of their place between the floors and began to crunch and reform into sharp hand-like appendages. There were three exactly about the size of a person and each of them wrenched towards Enzo with speed and proficiency. Along with that Alarick began working on the floor- altering its’ molecular formation to become a liquid instead of a solid. It was then he lifted his hands and pieces of the fallen rubble began to shirt upwards and aim themselves at the boy.

Enzo stood in place, watching and panting heavily as each of the sharp claws tore through his place. His legs did not move. His muscles working against him, if anything. "GAAAH!" He yelped in pain before landing on his back with a thud. The floor had changed form, and would have hindered Enzo had he enough time to recover. However, the fallen rubble had shot up into the air, and back down onto Enzo.


Despite the beating, his flame burned brightly. It was fueled by anger, hate, and regret. None of that would desert him here. He saw Volitaire and Sasha escape the room safely, and he sighed of relief knowing that both he and Silver bought them enough time. Still, that left the problem of Alarick and Beatrice. Enzo used his flame of hatred to blast away small portions of rubble, freeing him up and allowing him to sluggishly rise back up to his feet.


It wasn't looking good. Enzo's vision blurred, his life force draining rapidly. The Minus Fire was a poison. When it was used, it would consume the Sky flame - which was basically his soul. It also intensified the burning in his chest. Blood from his head covered over his right eye by now, restricting him from using it.

"You haven't won yet..." He muttered, then closed his other eye. He blocked out his surroundings, allowing himself to only rely on his sense of hearing, smell, and touch. Attribute of.. the Sky: S-...Serene Mind

Sasha nodded at Voli's request, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Got it." Out of the corner of her eye, she noted Enzo dodging some projectiles, and getting more and more frustrated by whatever that Alarick was doing. Her heart went out to him, and Sasha nearly moved to help the youth with his ordeal, but her eyes shot back to Voli. Stay focused... The female gritted her teeth as they were warped into some sort of darkness.

Looking up at Volitaire, Sasha heard his question, then nodded, "I can try." Sasha's eyes closed, and she lifted a hand up over the tears of Eos, and slowly but surely, the glowing tears began to expand.

Marcus had been sitting on a piece of driftwood atop the sandy beach, watching the structure tremble as students and staff clamored out of the double doors. A small tremor followed every shake of the building and dust and debris began falling from the rooftop. "We just got here, and already the place is blowing up..." The teacher sighed, still watching the doors for the 'group' he was with.
The first one out was Dora, who looked a bit dizzy from all the confusion but found herself a seat near by in the sand. A small meal appeared in front of her, causing Marcus to raise and eyebrow in bewilderment, and his stomach to growl in envy. "Conjuration, nice power." He smiled at her and turned his attention back to the double doors just in time to see Ines staggering out. She irked at the sight of the sun and her lips pulled into a frown as she shielded her eyes from it. Slowly, but surely, she stumbled herself to sit beside him. Her face was pale, her hair was a mess, and he could catch a whiff of booze on her breath when she sighed. "Rough night?" Before she could get an answer out, there was a loud groan from the building followed by a crash as part of the roof caved in. Ines of course grabbed her head as the loud noise activated her hangover headache. She let out an exaggerated groan and Marcus patted her on the back softly. "Don't worry, it'll all before over in a couple of hours." He chuckled softly in an attempt to mask his concern for those still inside, hoping no one was injured. Or worse yet, killed.

Something was especially powerful about those brightly glowing tears that flowed from her closed eyelid, and could be best explained as Eos' healing power in it's purest form - and although they could never heal the physical and mental scars this day offered, they could save them from the brink of death. Although Volitaire and Sasha would never admit it, with their quick thinking and powers would be responsible for saving the lives of both JD and Eos - and perhaps even more due to the domino effect of keeping those two alive.

As Sasha began to bend and manipulate her tears around them, weaving them through the air like a web, once they began to touch the devastating wounds that the twins bared, they would slowly begin to close up. But they would still remain unconscious unless Sasha and Volitaire could find a way to replace the drastic blood loss.

Beatrice was letting Silver eat away at her mind and soul, watching with greedy eyes. Because of the way Alarick worked, the room around them was becoming unstable to rely on, and upon that realization Beatrice let the blood red mist that brought her carry her body upward so that it appeared as though she was floating above the floorboards.

As she loomed towards her, she was ready to take feast on the prey that had cornered itself - but in a sudden moment it seemed as though Silver was breaking away from her hex. "Impossible! I sense the darkness within you! It runs through your veins and darkens your blood!" She sneered, her angled brows furrowing in fury.

"Ah, it seems you've learned my pet name!" It looked as though this fight would be a little less easy than she had first assumed, Beatrice now swooping downward to take hold of Silvers throat.

Harley watched as David stubbornly protested against Kira heading upstairs, which was probably the best and most responsible position to take. But Harley saw it not only as an opportunity to keep Kira safe but happy at the same time, but as a way to one up Specs at impressing Kira. "I'll go, okay?!" She yelled as the crashing seemed to continue, "Specs, take her outside!" And with that she leaped up the stairs.

This better work, and I better get a kiss on the cheek or somethin'.

"Okay, at least the wounds have closed... But I doubt they'll come-to anytime soon. Lets just get them away from here." Volitaire looked out a window on the stairwell, spotting all the people being rushed out the base. It seems like the council has taken notice to what may be going on and had the people evacuate. Volitaire felt it may be some of Kenji's doing, considering they hadn't decided to show up. "Sasha, lets get them outside. I can see a medical bay being prepared outside." He hoisted JD, with some trouble because of the blonde's more developed physique, and carefully made his way back down the steps. He turned his head back, seeing Enzo caved under the debris. He had every urge to run back, his squinted his eyes and his grip on JD tightened a bit... He looked down to spot a shadow being cast by one of the physicians outside. He wasn't used to warping that far in an instant, but he had to try. He focused his stare at the shadow, placed his hand on Sasha's shoulder and blinked, warping away in a black smog, reappearing behind the physician. He was startled and nearly fell on his back, bu was probably even more horrified by the wounded twins. He looked for an adjustable bed to lay JD on. He hauled the man over to the closest, and what seemed to be the only, one prepared. He carefully layed him down, fearing the bed would fold in half if he was too careless. He didn't say another words before warping back into the building. Every shadow he saw, he phased into it making for a quicker way of making it back to the scene of battle. He returned to the same shadow under the stairwell he was in a moment ago with Sasha. He made one last warp that transported him back to the heavily damaged third floor. He soon joined the battle with Enzo, he couldn't leave his best friend behind. Before taking a breath he met his eyes with Alarick, it felt so familiar... A man like this. He hasn't felt the tight grip of fear in his heart since his fight with Venciersio. He let out a single breath, letting go of any worries. "Enzo, do you have any idea how we should go about Alarick?"

Silver frowned at the mention of the darkness that ran through her veins. She knew exactly what Beatrice meant by it, and it irked her that it was that obvious. But now wasn't the time for that. Still fighting with herself, she couldn't move before Beatrice grabbed her neck. Her hands made their way up to Beatrice's arms, trying to pull her away. "Guh!"

David watched as Harley bolted past the both of them to go upstairs. "Oh- God dammit Harley! Come back here!!" He sighed as he walked past Kira, stopping to look back at her. "You go find Dora and stay with her. I mean it!" He didn't mean to yell, but he didn't want her to get hurt. He didn't want Harley to get hurt either. He didn't want anyone to get hurt. Before he could let Kira respond, he bolted up the stairs after Harley. Dammit, why do these people gotta be so god damn stubborn!?

Taking a deep breath to stop herself from cursing at David for yet again stopping her, Kira gave him an annoyed stare. But, he also didn't seem happy with her. She was about to retort back before she noticed Harley running past them, saying something about her getting the items. Oh shit. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Harley!" Fuck. Half expecting David to drag her away per Harley's request, she moved to go up the stairs. To her utter amazement, David Also had the same idea.

"You go find Dora and stay with her. I mean it!"

Seriously? He expected her to listen. She wanted to head after them. Harley was important to her. Uuugh.. David was more, capable of dodging everything. They'd both rip her one if she followed them. "Harley, if you die I'm going to res and kill you again." she muttered, frowning before taking their advice and headed down the stairs. If Harley Did manage to get their things without injury, well... She'd really be thankful and relieved her friend was alright.

His eyes closed, Enzo could feel the air around him. It served him much better than his eyes. He knew Volitaire was beside him, so it didn't startle him like it would if Enzo were in his normal state. "His hand. He's got some kind of magic called 'GodHand'." He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to Volitaire. "We need to remove it."

Just then, he heard trouble. It sounded like Silver. "Silver?!" The room was dark enough that it was hard to see where everyone was exactly. Enzo closed his eyes and scanned the room using the air around him. Areas were the air would feel odd and push against the overall flow, was the sign of struggled breathing. "There!" He shot forward, leaving behind a trail of green flame coated in a black border. He closed in on both Beatrice and Silver.

Once he was within range, he gave himself one last burst of speed before going in for a kick to the woman's arm, which would hopefully break the hold she had on Silver's neck.

"Is that so?" He let Enzo go to Silver's aid. He faced Alarik again, jabbing his sword into his shadow and dragging the shadows up from the tip of his blade, leaving a whip-like wave behind his swings.

Such attacks in rapid succession were one of Alarick’s strong points along with being able to manipulate matter at its most base of form. Unfortunately he had expelled too much energy too fast and now it was catching up to him. “That was a bit much right out of the box,” he stated rather calmly. “Ah well not like there is much left of you anyway- you are quite the tough prat aren’t you? No wonder my son rallied behind you. I always figured he would be a sad sheep. No matter…” Honestly he had thought that would have been enough, and Enzo would have collapsed already from fatigue- he was using a lot of energy to combat what the man was throwing at him.

The way he seemed to lethargically stand before Alarick made the man not even bat an eye at how easy this was going to be. “Odd- and here I had thought you were the savoir of all mankind.” He knelt down slowly and withdrew the knife from its blood soaked spot on the ground. The floor wasn’t stable underneath them but honestly if it decided to give way he would be able to remove himself from the situation with ease and affable grace.
About that time the angered dark-haired boy returned- Voltaire was his name. Alarick sighed out of boredom as they seemed to somewhat form a tag team and Enzo flared off to take care of Beatrice. “So- did you save their lives?” He questioned as he palmed the blade. “Do they live to see another day? Do you think it is worth it to let them have such lives? Betrayed by their parents, wounded beyond repair, and their powers have been damaged. Little do you know that Beatrice and I kept their abilities in check- those pendants weren’t just fashionable. They’re going to be no use to you against the Darkness. Sorry chap, but that is the way this is going to work. Ah well~” Alarick held the blade out and pressed his hand against the hilt- the blade lengthened and stole fragments from the metal around it to extend it into a full sword. He then reinforced it so it wouldn’t crumble so easily underneath Voltaire’s own blade. “Is it your turn now? Maybe you’ll be a trifle bit more amusing.”

With his other hand he invoked the ground to form a shield between him and the shadow, and took steps back as not be pelted with the debris once Voltaire snapped through it- and when the other did Alarick would be waiting with his blade. All the while the ground underneath them was losing its’ support and crumbling all around. This wasn’t just hazardous for the Guardians but for Alarick and Beatrice as well- as much as they were commanders of their surroundings the filament was degrading a bit too quickly to surmise when everything would bow under.

Volitaire leaped back, keeping his eye on his acknowledged opponent. "Disregarding your comment of how unamusing I am, I'm not here to put on a show. Mr. VanCise. Though, I am curious to your power, this 'God Hand'? You're able to manipulate the structure of whatever your hand so touches. But, it seems like you need to take from something else in order to make that object into whatever shape you want. So judging from how much you've been scavenging from this room, I doubt it will hold up soon. If that's the case then our footing will fall beneath us." Black words of text spun around his hand, within the ring of text are pulses of a near invisible force. Volitaire opened his hand and the ring blew through the walls circling itself outside the room, the pulsing force followed behind creating a shield that encased the room. "I don't want to toot my own horn Mr. VanCise, but I can disrupt and bend the space around us at will. Though it will take a good bit out of me to maintain this I created a spatial 'shield' around the room. Only the room is encased, leaving you limited to what you're able to manipulate. Once you begin to wear down the room what will you use? Trying to go through the shield is almost the same as grinding your skin against asphalt. I had to sacrifice my shadow weaving to do this so things are limited for me as well. Lastly, I'm going to save you the speech about your children. I already know there's no getting through to you about that." With the room encased in his spatial shield Alarick had not much room for manipulation. Volitaire hoped his idea would work, he did count on Alarick having another trick up his sleeve besides the God Hand. He griped his sword and prepared another ring of text for a second spell.

Her dagger like nails gripped tightly into the flesh of Silvers neck, the polish of her nails the same color as the blood that began to drip from the small wounds she was invoking upon the girl. "Sleep, you little wench, sleep!" Her body tensed as she attempted to squeeze the life out of her, her easily set off rage consuming all of her attention - allowing Enzo to deliver a crippling blow to her arm, breaking the bones so that they were now visible through torn flesh.

Falling backward, she took hold of the now useless limb and snarled, baring her teeth. "I barely got to use this body and you've already vandalized it!" Bracing herself, she ripped the limb from her body and tossed it to the ground. It would just take the blood of another to materialize another limb but for now, she was disabled with only one casting hand.

It was then, in that moment of re-evaluation she realized her attacker was Enzo, the boy that Alarick should have done away with. "Alarick, you fool! Can you not even keep this mutt off me?" This was a common pattern in their not so conventional, psychologically abusive relationship. A peek in perhaps one of the flaws that the due had to offer, Beatrice was quick to blame her downfalls on her husband even when he wasn't necessarily at fault.

Her now disabled vision began to light up and refocus as she was laid back on the cot beside her brother. "Hnn..." Her moan was light, and still very weak. "What's... what is..." Eos was confused as to where she was, or what exactly had happened in that moment, like waking up in a room that was not your own. But all in a single moment it had returned.

JD... Mama... Papa...?

Were they all against her? It seemed that all signs pointed to her parents being just as evil and bloodthirsty as their lore had described, but it still just couldn't sit with her. How could her own mother and father not love her? Not love JD? Use them in such a way...? It all just didn't seem fair... it didn't seem right.

Crashes, screams and simple chaos could be heard in the distance. Sensing the auras in the area, she knew exactly who it was, and she couldn't let this battle go on any longer. "JD..." She called out, in a tone that sounded much like pleading. "We need to get up..." Looking over to Sasha, she reached out her weak and trembling hand. "Please, we must go.... I need the rings he ripped from our fingers." She could remember them being tossed in a bag not far from where she was hanging. It was clear the condition the two were in with the amount of bustling going on around them, but she couldn't stay.

Racing up the stairs, it wasn't long until she noticed David running up along with her. "Tch!" Ruffling her brows and running at an even quicker pace she growled, "I don't need your help, Specs!" But as quick as she let out that phrase, she felt the need to take it back - eventually reaching the battleground that was crumbling in every direction, the creaks and cracks of the environment akin to that of a condemned building.

"Wrong room." Slamming the door shut again she looked at David with wide eyes, "We shouldn't get involved, should we?"

Silver winced in pain as she felt Beatrice's nails digging into her skin, feeling the warm blood flow down her neck. She tried to pull Beatrice's hand away, but it wasn't working. Silver was too weak at this point. Suddenly Enzo came in and managed to kick the woman's arm away from Silver, causing her to let go. Silver fell to the ground, gripping her neck and coughing a bit. She looked up to see Enzo standing over her, and smiled a bit. She tried pushing herself back up, but she clearly wasn't doing too well. Seeing her swords on the ground next to her, she reached out to grab them before somehow managing to stand again. As she stood there panting, she glanced between Enzo, Beatrice, Alarick, and Volitaire. When did Volitaire get here?..

Silver still had the same pounding headache she had earlier, but refused to let it show. Instead, she figured it might have been time for her to show off some of her powers, too. "Enzo... Sh-Should I.. Use my magic?.." She looked back to him, almost not wanting to hear the answer. He knew about how unsure she was, especially with this hex Beatrice had over her. It hadn't been broken, and Silver was still struggling to keep her thoughts and feelings straight.
You can't even control yourself, just give up already!
Silver shook the thoughts away, trying to only listen to Enzo rather than herself.

David finally caught up with Harley, rolling his eyes when she claimed to not need his help. After they had arrived at the scene of the battle, David peered in to see exactly what was going on, his eyes growing wide at the sight. Enzo and Silver weren't looking so good. "Silver.." Harley slammed the door shut and stared up at him, and he stared back. "No, we shouldn't... God dammit, hurry up, let's get you and Kira's things and leave." Before Harley could say anything, he grabbed her wrist, pulling her along away from the scene in the direction that he thought their room was.

Enzo had successfully freed Silver from the mad woman's grip. It had taken a lot more of his energy than he predicted. He panted heavily, and watched as Beatrice disposed of her own arm as if it were nothing. It made him winch in pain.

Thankfully, Silver had diverted him from thinking on that too much, and asked him if she should unleash her 'other side'. Enzo shook his head. "No - don't push yourself! Save as much magic energy as you can." Enzo didn't want the two of them running out of energy early in the match. Volitaire would need support, and the Magic Council could do little to aid them.

The burning inside of Enzo's body grew, and his Minus Fire cut out suddenly. His vision blurred and his head felt heavy. Fortunately, he was able to stay on his feet, and mask it for the most part. "Gaah.. I need to slow down.."

"Matter cannot be created or destroyed." Alarick explained shortly. "But it can be altered- extensively. That is what I doing- altering the nature of the matter around me. Loosening or tightening bonds, changing the molecular structure, and plausibly adding a thermodynamic action to it. What do they teach you kids nowadays?" With that the man shrugged. “If the floor gives way then I move on- what do you think I’m limited here?” That blade was still held up- quite ready for Voltaire’s attack whenever it came. He could tell that the boy was scavenging for details of his powers and limitations, and while Alarick had given it to him effortlessly it didn’t change his attack plan. There wasn’t a plane without matter or mass him to alter at his own whim.
Voltaire had apparently realized that as well and set about a spell that sealed the room- practically altered their existence from the existence of all the matter about him. “Terribly interesting- didn’t realize you kid were allowed to even touch space and time. I figured that would screw with our inevitable existence, create a paradox or something.” Alarick palmed his sword. “But clever nonetheless- though you happened to forget one smidgen of detail. Humans are still made of matter,” he smiled wickedly and lifted the blade to point at Voltaire, “and I do still have a sword.”



"Sorry love," Alarick stated in a flat tone as he charged towards Voltaire. Honestly he could never appease his wife, and as much as he tried she had always found a way to hound him into complacency. Some had accused her of bewitching him when they had first started courting, and the VanCise heir had denied it so readily and with so much heart that it made it seem truer. Even so that was the past- aged around the edges- and now he was fighting these petty little children in an attempt to possibly cull their numbers before returning to the Darkness and helping rewrite this world.
With every step that he made- that body seemed to be more and more lacquered in a metallic armor that seemed almost identical to what JD could form except that it was far hardier. “How long can you keep that barrier up when you are being attacked?” Alarick questioned as he leapt towards Voltaire with his sword pressed forward- aimed for his neck.

JD was floating in a sea of dark torment. The pained visions that swam in front of his sealed eyes were those dastardly deeds that he committed there at the end. All he could see was Eos begging for him to stop, her eye being cut from her face, and her just hanging there limp and bleeding. After that he couldn’t quite fathom what had happened to him, but he inevitably managed to see the forms of his parents hovering over him. His father’s eyes were the same color as his, and truth be told- JD’s hair was that same dark hue but he had constantly dyed it that people didn’t know that he wasn’t blonde. It was almost as if he was glancing into the future, and all that he saw was that he would repeat the circle of pain and violence until there was nothing left. Did this darkness run in his veins as well? If he ever had children- would this be their fate too?
All those childish notions that his parents had died to protect them from those ‘monsters’ that had come after his family were dashed. No they probably came to end the reign of two completely evil people and hopefully to set their children on a far greater path- and Eos and JD had run away from them. They had fallen into the trap that their parents had set due to their own ignorance.
JD was as much as fault as them- and he knew it. Yet at the same time he was aware that unlike Alarick and Beatrice he had a way to atone for his sins and set himself on a better path; not only for him, but for Eos, and those that he coveted.

Awakening was painful on that note, and yet he was able to let his eyes flutter open and meet the daylight. Last thing he remembered was that he was inside, and now he could see the clouds dancing in the pale blue sky. Quickly he jerked up, and wretched his head around to his sister awake, but lacking the eye that he had sliced out with morbid ease. “E,” JD stated with welling sympathy and tears began to roll down his face.
“We need you to remain still- you shouldn’t move.” Came the voice of a physician hovering over them. JD ignored their beckons and went to try to stand- first by putting his hands out before him. Immediately he was greeted with an odd sensation as he felt his arm move, but was quickly not given any visual at all of one.
“What?” He asked in a confused voice.
“Sir we need for you to stop moving.” They repeated again and JD glanced upwards as if this was some joke and they were about to laugh. “You received critical injuries.”
“What about-?”
“It is gone.”
With that all the fight that JD had buried in his heart quickly leaked out and no longer was there a soft patter of tears down his cheeks but instead they came out like rolling waves across that tan flesh. Anger, sadness, confusion, and pain all welled inside of him and he ripped out an aching scream as he fell back. “Oh god- what have I done?”

"Excuse me for being so ill-advised. This is an entirely new power, and I'm only going by what I've seen." Volitaire's shadow crept back and joined with his feet. Alarick's blade drove right into Volitaire's neck, a black liquid spurted out with the rest of the body turning a transparent black and falling over with the real body leaping out and driving his blade down towards Alarick's head. "I'll keep this barrier up as long as I need to."

Sasha gripped Eos's hand tightly, a determined look in her eyes, "I'll get them for you. Just you wait, I'll fucking slaughter whoever did this to yo-" Her voice was cut off by

"Aw, crap!" Sasha's eyes skittered to towards JD, who'd just woken up. He seemed to be in great distress, and her worries were confirmed as the male let out a scream. Sasha looked back towards Eos, "Gimme a second," she whispered, and turned towards JD, "Yo, blonde idiot," she started to say, "You..."

Seeing JD in this state sent a pang running through Sasha’s usually unforgiving heart. No matter how annoying that idiot was, no one deserved crap like that. No one deserved to be used in that horrid way.

She hesitated before speaking again, "Look. It wasn't your fault. Even though you hurt your beloved sister, that wasn't really you, was it? So suck it up, and keep going."