Boots tramping through the battleground, Balder silver rebuking Azure masses, a hulking figure passed through the battlefield undettered. His gait and confidence gave the impression that he was on a midday stroll, even through swords a guns clattered and fired around him. Boss Cerulean was only impeded just as he reached the gate, one of the knights driving a sword into his face, which glanced aside, repelled. Cerulean raised a hand, palm pressing into his armor, which scraped as it was torn asunder, blood spilling from the flesh that had come with it as Cerulean had scooped into his body as if it were sand. As the solider fell, those around him stopped, morale faltering. "Let him by!" roared a pompadour sporting knight, gold cape signifying his position as second in command. As Cerulean shot him an eye, he elaborated, "Johannes will handle him!" Moving past the fighting and tearing through the gate, he scoffed, "He'll try." The line broken, the Azure Company tried to press on, but were held at bay, though they were being pressed more and more... --- Saffron, clearly exhaused from his speed technique, made no move against Lina, who'd held her sword, but clearly favored one side, blood running down her other, the royalty looking on, locked in silence. "I'll recover before you, you know," Saff muttered, still catching his breath. Lina's eyes narrowed, before her feet shuffled after him, sword flashing. Saffron kept it at bay handily, shifting his feet only slightly. Growing frustrated, Lina's attacks increased in intensity, making Saffron smirk slightly. One strong blow later, Lina's arms were deflected, Saff shifting his feet, eyes darting to the king or queen. Unable to get herself in his way, Lina shouted, "Duck!" Saffron darted off just as the king and queen fell away, Bucky grabbing Sika and dropping them to the ground. Saffron's sword slashed into his arm, spraying the floor in blood as the boy sailed past, shoulder slamming into the opposite wall. Saffron clicked his tongue, "Shouldn't have gone for both." As Lina readied herself to go after him, Saffron shifted to a sitting position, scoffing, "Why help them?" Lina charged, "[i]You[/i] went after [i]us[/i]!" Rage bubbling, her blade clashed with his, Saffron being pressed against the wall, his legs still wobbly. "You Companies attacked my Captain and held my home under your thumbs!" "That's the way of the world!" Saffron argued, pushing away from the wall, angling his blade in a way that cut Lina's face. "That's [i]your[/i] world!" Lina said, conceding ground, forced back. "You brought us into it." "And what matters most in this world? Azure says power, Verdan luck, Crimson majority, and Quartz influence. If you lack in those, then you're not going to last!" Lina was pushed back, heels bumping against some of the stacked bills, making her fall. Shifting her body, she rolled across it, landing on the other side as several stacks of bills plopped down next to her. Sensing that they were in danger, the royal pair moved away, but the two fighters had stopped, exhausted from the fighting. Raising her sword again, after a few moments Lina swung it across the bills, but Saff stepped back out of range. Lina said, "If you brought us in to your world, then we'll just have to beat you at your own game." Saffron scoffed. "With what power? With what influence?" Raising a hand, he said, "Why not just join me instead? Give up on your friends and I'll show you what it takes to run our world." "My father is too old for his duty, and the other Heads...Cerulean thinks in terms of power, Vermilion in majority, but that's just a means to an end. Power enforces influence. Majority is the result of influence. Quartz is poised to dominate in ideals alone!" Lina was quiet, head slightly lowered. "Thinking about it? You can't beat me." Stepping around the pile of bills, Lina said, "Maybe we can work something out..." Saffron shrugged, "The king and queen don't have to die: they'd potentially be of use alive." Still on guard, Lina cautiously approached, but Saffron made no move, sword lowered. As she got closer, he raised his hand, reaching to hers. Lina's eyes lingered on it, before she raised her own, coming closer to his. Saffron's sword founder her chest, the stab making her gasp out. "Pity, the girl I came to fancy wouldn't have taken my hand so easily." Lina's eyes were wide as she glanced down as the sword in her chest, before looking back up at Saffron. They narrowed, "You sure didn't stab that hard." Saffron gasped as Lina slipped half a step back, sword coming out without a drop of blood, before she streaked forward, cutting by Saffron with a spurt of blood. Clutching his torn front, Saffron sputtered, already wobbly legs finally collapsing in full. From behind him, Lina loosened her dress a bit, letting a few stacks of bills fall out. Picking up one that had a hole pierced into it from Saffron's sword, she mused, "Guess money isn't as unhelpful as I thought~" --- Just outside the cell door, a dark clad ninja waited, hands going over the mechanisms keeping the door locked tight. He chortled, "My plan was a success. Now that they're trapped like rats, once the run out of air they'll have to come out!" Marv would never acknowledge that his detour had made him fall behind and now he was out of options. Ninja skills detecting a presence, the hairs on the back of his neck perked up just as a metal clad hand grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. "Aha! I have you now!" Marv cried before his head was smashed relentlessly against the safe door. "N-ninja Hart – A-anti Feshbash no Jutshu," he sputtered through gurgles of blood and missing teeth, before passing out. Standing over his fallen body, armor scraped, blood coming from a few spots, Johannes still had the strength to stand resolute, and it refused to waver, even some minutes later when the unscathed Boss Cerulean came down, all by his lonesome. "You have a lot of strength for someone fighting in a country that's not yours." Grabbing his halberd in both hands, Johannes offered, "Then perhaps I can show you what it means to have honor."