[@Enkryption]
	Thankful for Herne's advice, Noboru would nearly instantly find Maggie once again, then his heart sunk again. Why...why did he have to keep on fighting his mother? She was pursuing him so persistently in her stone prison, that he was almost convinced that this was a cruel joke. As if some god out there enjoyed his heart being torn apart, each string binding his limbs to hesitate and to hold back. But right now, Maggie's life was on the line, and she seemed unable to run. Taking a step forward he-

[color=f9ad81][b][i]"STOP! Noboru, something's wrong here..."[/i][/b][/color] the voice of Herne called out to him as he took another step forward, his gait turning into a sprint as he moved to try and save Maggie again.

[color=f9ad81][i][b]"Something's not right, here dammit! Listen to me!"[/b][/i][/color] another warning rang out, this time licks of fire started to kiss upon the air, their embers lost to the man with a heart of glass and an arm made of wood. All at once, Noboru's instincts would be called back to attention as Maggie...exploded. Mana forced him to take a step back as the heat of it singed his face, the damage healed quickly due to Herne's abilities, but his legs found themselves as firmly planted as his grove was. For the first time since installing Herne, he felt...fear. A fight or flight response not derived of selfless heroic action, but one of a genuine sort of terror, the kind a child bears when confronted with a large predator like a bear. 

His hesitation would give a gap for the terracotta soldier that was his mother to capitalize upon, her steps swift for her material composition as blade sliced through flesh, her blade becoming embedded in Noboru's side. Pain filled his senses, an anguished cry filling the air as he scarcely managed to stop the blade by gripping it hard with his wooden hand. Looking right into his mother's face, Noboru's fears only started to grow more and more.

[color=f9ad81][i]"Get a grip! You're not gonna turn to stone while I'm with you. Now kick her down a peg and we'll get the heck out of here."[/i][/color] Herne shouted, forced to move Noboru to keep him from faltering more, his body becoming relieved of the stony sword as he stepped back, his chain coiled tightly around the blade as he wrestled for possession of it with his mother. Clutching his side with his free hand, Noboru started to feel woozy, the experience of having his evisceration virginity taken from him leading only pain, nausea and confusion as he continued to play tug of war. Shakily, he looked at his mother with tears in his eyes welling up and spilling over. In a shaky voice that didn'tt carry any of the courage he had before, he said: [color=FFEFD5][b]"Mom, please...stop...I don't...I don't want to..."[/b][/color] in a desperate unheard plea.