[color=92278f]"Ehehe...That's right, play with Caroline, bring Caroline all the toys. Caroline wants to play more, more, MORE!"[/color]

[hider="Forbidden Sign, Forbidden Game"][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfshzyqZPJM[/youtube][/hider]

The onslaught upon Caroline persevered, and in fact only intensified when the crazed girl revealed yet another horrifying power. With the giant axe dragging behind her, she giggled heavily, and began moving towards the girls, undeterred by their efforts to stop her like a slasher movie villain; as tentacles and vines attempted to pierce and rope around her, they could not hold her malleable form. They saw how one of the Shadows launched themselves at her once its limb struck through her, only to be greeted by a maw-like opening that appeared at her side that swallowed the minion whole; her entire body now actively attempted to envelop and absorb the various attacking appendages that lashed at her, like a gluttonous blob. She seemed to ignore the portals that appeared at her eyes, causing a chilling effect on Eli as she had to contend with the pure, crimson madness that emanated from the two mirrors to her broken soul.

By this point, Shade had moved forwards and created just a bit of distance between Mariette and herself, her only confirmation to the portal-girl's earlier instructions being a determined nod. Her current intention was to be in a position where she could support the others and, if the situation allowed it, also go on the offensive. She had not let the possible futility in her actions go unnoticed. If this foe was able to avoid blows in such a manner, then "Shade" had very little she could pull off here. It wasn't possible for her to get a good running start and punch with enough momentum behind it to blow the girl away due to where they were fighting, and if the countless tentacles among other things wasn't doing their job, then why would Shade's own punches? 

Mentally, the DMG would prefer leaving the area and abandoning everybody, but that would result in a very unhappy Veronica, she imagined. So, she'd stand her ground and assist how she could. 

[color=077ae6]‘Tsk.’[/color] Mariette clicked her tongue again. As her Shadows proved ineffective she commanded them to stop their attacks, instead setting them on trying to unearth boulders from the tiled floor for projectiles. That probably wouldn't work. Mariette focused more on rerouting Suwako's arrows hoping they'd be more effective. To use the extra awareness that now went unused, she created portals under the surface of the lake, letting the water gush down from one portal into another to gain speed before blasting these waterfalls at Caroline from different directions, high-speed water appearing from portals to try to attack the girl and throw her off-guard to be peppered with arrows. Mariette wasn't actually sure how effective the water would be, but she was running out of options. She'd make arrangements if Suwako's arrows couldn't go through the water, and keep making sure Eli would be gazing into Caroline's eyes if at all possible.

Eli shivered, chills running through her due to the madness within the eyes she was looking into. Yet, she had to gaze ever deeper if she was to find the bane. The darkness harpy braved her fears, her eyes narrowing as she resolved to keep looking.

Caroline was unfazed by the splashes of water Mariette sent her way; though they did seem to slow her down a bit, it was not enough to make a noticeable difference, and only made her more vicious. She made a provocative move towards Suwako, and Shade stepped in, ready to defend the bow-using Beacon girl. However, Caroline had other plans for the two, and swung her arm to her side. At that moment, Suwako felt how Shade's stasis-frozen knuckles impacted right against her face, knocking the poor girl out with one punch. Shade then realized what happened: Caroline used the blood that splattered on her arms to control them from a distance.
And then, Caroline swept down, forcing Shade to drop down to her knees as her arms swung against the ground. There, the blood from the rain had coalesced as the battle had gone on, and Shade's arms were stuck in the crimson pool of liquid, unable to pull them out. With her legs soon following suit, she could only look on in horror as Caroline brought her attention to Mariette; she gave her another bout of deranged laughter, and turned the axe into a rapier.

Frustrated at how terribly this was going and that she hadn't been quick enough to create portals to prevent what had just happened to her allies, Mariette opened a portal beneath her feet to quickly relocate herself out of Caroline's reach, but...

[color=92278f]"You've been a fun to play with, Mariette! The most fun Caroline has had in centuries!"[/color] She suddenly dashed right before her, and gripped the Dark Magical Girl by her neck before she could fall, lifting her to the air. [color=92278f]"Caroline had never had a friend like you, you know. So Caroline will let you have fun too! You get to see how Caroline plays with Ellie! And then, Mariette sees how gentle Caroline will be...Hee hee..."[/color]

[color=077ae6]‘Kh...!’[/color] Mariette made a complaining sound, hanging uselessly in the air, her hands hanging by her sides. Dark tentacles tried to spawn under Caroline's hand to give her breathing room, numerous portals gazing at the scene from angles to prepare to open portals for self-defense. She knew that was pointless, however. At the mention of Eli, Mariette quickly threw open a portal under Eli to send her far away...

Except Eli saw it coming by Third Eye and sidestepped off where the portal opened, keeping her eyes focused at Caroline. Eli was shuddering, expression one of panic seeing her mistress in such a state, yet she had resolved to stay. Mariette could but grunt in frustration that the girl refused to be saved.

Caroline only squeezed tighter as Mariette continued resisting, until she was gasping for air, and her portals closed. Then, with a cackle, she threw her to the ground, her clothes and hair dirtied as wet sand stuck to her. In but mere seconds, even the Reflective Witch herself was brought to such a degraded position, helpless before the demon-like girl. Then, she turned towards Eli, who shuddered as the eyes of the devil once again met hers.

[color=92278f]"Ellie...Caroline has waited for...this moment...Ever since Caroline had a taste, Caroline couldn't stop thinking about you."[/color] She slowly walked towards her, her eyes unflinching as they gazed on Eli's own. The harpy staggered back a few steps as Caroline approached, fear coursing through her, but ultimately she steeled herself and gazed back, despite her fright. She wasn’t there yet. She couldn’t see the deepest parts…! She winced as Caroline started speaking again.

[color=92278f]"Hmm...You're quiet, Ellie...Did you see something?"[/color]

With that said, the vampiric girl's body began changing. Her dress turned black, her hair fell and grew straighter and purple. Her body and facial-structure changed, and Eli gasped as she realized what Caroline was changing herself to. Standing right before Eli was now her twin sister, her Twinned Soul, Deni, exactly as she remembered her to be, yet her smile was gone and she was frowning with sad eyes at her. A severe pain struck through Eli, like she had been stabbed in the heart. Those eyes, which Eli knew so well, showing such sadness. Eli could see straight through them, and there…

There she saw it.

[color=ff00d0]‘What do you see?’[/color]
 
[color=57a345]‘Love.’[/color]

Deni’s eyes widened, her lips turned into a horrible snarl.
[color=ff00d0]‘L-L-Love? LOVE?’[/color]

[hider="Demon Strundum"][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xChPWUVvvO4[/youtube][/hider]

Eli took a deep breath, gathered her thoughts, and then focused again on the being before her. The words came naturally to her as she spoke.

[color=57a345]‘Deni… You were always the original. I was the intruder. When people looked to us, it was “Denise” they called for. By all rights, I was the inconvenience, the one that shouldn’t exist…’[/color] Eli took a step forward, lifting a hand and stroking it along the cheek of the false Deni before her, the eyes of the slime harpy leaking with fluids replicating tears.

Caroline’s teeth now showed from her disguise, twisted into a growling expression.
[color=ff00d0]‘Hate! I Hate you!’[/color] But despite her protests, she did not move, her mind grinding to a halt.

[color=57a345]‘… Yet you didn’t hate me. You teased me endlessly and got me into trouble for your amusement, sure, but you accepted me as your sister, your twin existence, and loved me. The first thing you did when we got our own bodies was not to run away with your new freedom, but you hugged me. You loved the world and those in it, you had so much love to give. I… I’m so sorry, that you never got to experience true freedom…’[/color] Eli leaned forward, letting her wings close around the Deni-copy, hugging, pressing their bodies together. Deni… was in there, wasn’t she? Absorbed by Caroline… 

Deni’s body shuddered, trying to fight back, but she was paralyzed by the act of love that Eli gave to her. Bright red veins could be seen coursing through her limbs and cheeks.
[color=ff00d0]‘Ellie! You can’t! It hurts!’[/color]

Eli repressed her powers, she didn’t need them. For right now, she established her disguise, visually changing her body back to that of a tiny girl with black, short hair, currently wearing glasses because it was part of the disguise, and a school uniform. So now, she was but a normal girl, hugging what remained of her sister.

[color=ff00d0]‘No! Noo-’[/color][color=92278f]NOOO!"[/color] 
Now Caroline’s voice came out of Deni’s lips, and the disguise began slowly melting away, like snow, returning her back to her true form. Her red dress roiled and bubbled like a boiled pot of water.

[color=57a345]‘Th-thank you for everything, Deni. I… I love you, my sister.’[/color]

[color=92278f]"AAAAGHHHH!"[/color]

With a final scream, Caroline turned limp, her posture slumped, only held up by Eli’s embrace. Her dress turned normal, and the blood in the lake shore seemed to dry away, freeing Shade. Eli felt that Caroline was still alive, but only barely; she had been knocked out. Caroline was defeated.

And there, as if carried by a wind of magic, Eli heard the smallest whisper.

[color=ff00d0]‘...I love you too...’[/color]

[hr]
A sound of rumbling could be heard coming from under the lake, as Makoto struck against the tunnel wall, creating a thick hole to the other tunnel where Ilia was. The monster boy was caught by surprise, and the debris hit him with great force, sending him flailing back.
[color=Maroon]"Ouch! I knew you bastards would try to worm your way through here!"[/color] He spat out, visibly wounded, as he swiftly coiled around back up. and brought his Toxic Censer to bear; it exhuded vile fumes as it was swung around.
"Makoto, you idiot!" Helga screamed as she dashed around the corner to Ilia. She struck at Ilia with a claw, only to realize it was only his duplicate as it soon faded into green mist.
[color=Maroon]"These catacombs will be your tomb!"[/color] He spoke about 50 meters down the tunnel, and drew in a deep breath. He then exhaled, and a wave of poisonous mist blew through the tight confines, filling the air with poison strong enough to weaken Mahou. Helga scratched at her cheek in fury. "Now look what you did!" She managed to speak amidst her coughing.

[hr]

Alicia succeeded in carpet-bombing Earth Bastion's vicinity with her arrows, piercing through the thick ice and cracking it into several large pieces; the ship swayed a bit as it was now capable of moving around, if only in place, as there was still some distance of ice in front of them.
[color=00aeef]"Ice integrity compromised. Commencing restoration."[/color]
Doris, undeterred by anyone, held her open palms before her, and soon enough the floating pieces were brought together to form walls around Earth Bastion, preventing it from turning. The ice crept up the side of the ship, until it reached the deck.

Alicia then attempted to shoot at all four of the Curie Corps with her arrows, and it turned out to be a mistake on her part; with her still recovering from going all out against the Gorelions, and with no clear target to focus on, she ended up creating a fireworks show, arrows exploding in the air randomly. However, it did mean that Kimble ended up being too busy dodging the explosions to attack, flying around rapidly and hissing like an irritated cat, ignoring Sue as she took the gunner's seat.
[color=8dc73f]"Fnyack nyouh!"[/color]

Curie kept her eyes on the ship as she swayed back and forth to avoid the random explosions that were still forming in the air.
[color=ed1c24]"What have you to gain from this assault?"[/color] She asked with a hateful glare. 
[color=ed1c24]"Answer me, or be purified in the fires of nuclear fusion!"[/color] She then lifted a hand up, and a fireball began forming and expanding over it; it glowed brighter than regular flame, brimming with energy.

Amber launched herself up into the air before she performed a landing roll, her hair now frazzled. But appearances were a small sacrifice to having finally reached the Visceral castle, and its upper parts to boot. She sneaked around to the other side, and found Umeko still shooting down towards the lake. With a resounding boom, she landed a shot right through Alicia's distracting lightshow, and the bullet hit her through the elbow, causing the Beacon girl to drop her bow as she was overcome with not only physical, but mental pain, knocking her down.
[color=9e0039][b][u]”Don't you dare, you bitch!”[/u][/b][/color] Penny screamed, and shot her gauss discharge at Umeko, and it hit her in her leg, causing her to crouch down.
[color=2F4F4F]"Damn..."[/color] Amber could hear her mutter to herself.
[color=2F4F4F]"I'm not paid enough for this."[/color]