[@Plank Sinatra] [@Crimmy] [@Enkryption]

Lia screamed.

There really was no way around it. The arms closed around her midriff, grip as tight as iron, and she screamed. From shock initially and then from terror at the idea that she was about to become one of those statues. That she was going to be another casualty, like Morimoto. The feeling was sickening. Paralyzing. That she was [i]already doomed[/i], faster than she could even blink, and that her defiance had been for nothing. That she was going to die anyway. That she couldn't even bring them down with her, because what was she going to do? Throw a shoe? Call them some more names? She was going to die, here, far from her family where no one would remember her once she was gone. She would [i]disappear.[/i] The terror made the fear reality, so real that she could [i]feel[/i] the fingers tearing into her skin to rend her asunder. Turn whatever was left into another one of [i]them[/i].

She was going to die without leaving a single mark on the world. Nothing that the winds of time wouldn't blow away, nothing that would not be forgotten within even her parents' lifetime. She was going to die without having [i]lived[/i]. Because she wasn't strong enough. Because she has no magecraft, no power, possessing only talents singularly [i]useless[/i] for preserving her own life. Because she was too inept not to die as soon as one of her protectors looked elsewhere. Because she was dead weight. So her name would join the people lost in whatever the [i]fuck[/i] was going on, and she could do [i]nothing[/i] while those arms dragged her to Hell.

For a moment, her resolve faltered.

[color=steelblue][i]That's enough of that.[/i][/color] The voice chided, softly, and brought with it clarity. [color=steelblue][i]It's easier to resist at the beginning than at the end, isn't it? It's difficult to know that your end has come, and resist it still. But that's when it's most important. And this is not your end, yet, Ms. Icecolle.[/i][/color]

The words, though she knew not where they came from, shielded her heart as much as the spiritrons her body. She was not dead. She was not dying. Hell had its grip on her, yes, but it was not over.

[color=steelblue][i]As the man said. Dig your heels in, bambina.[/i][/color]

She did. She did, to slow her own descent into Hell, and absent the fear came fury. This was [i]wrong[/i]. It was [i]fucked up[/i] that all of this could be inflicted upon innocent people. It [i]wasn't right.[/i]

[color=steelblue][i]No, it isn't. Shall we do something about it?[/i][/color]

Yes. She wanted to do something about it. She saw Jin, throwing herself into the fray. Dorian standing stalwart, delaying the darkness with a shield even darker than that. She wanted to [i]act[/i].

[color=steelblue][i]I'll walk you through it. Become...[/i][/color]

[color=green]"... Universal. Install."[/color]

[center][h3][color=steelblue]How Fearful! I Am Fearful Of Myself![/color]
[color=green]Know Of My Art![/color][/h3][/center]

Lia did not know where the strength within her came from, nor the armor upon her arm, nor the staff in her hand. Except she did. The effect upon her physicality was nothing compared to that upon her mind, the immediate expansion of her horizons. Her understanding of magecraft blossomed, from a meager knowledge to a towering awareness. And with it, came certain realizations.

[color=steelblue][i]Now you've got it. This is not a matter of strengths. This is a battle between magi. Let that girl and the nice Italian man- oooh, he [b]is[/b] nice- deal with the statues. Find the source.[/i][/color]

First, the hands of Hell upon her. She could understand, now, that their state was not irreversible. But she could not prioritize their safety over her own. To do so would not help them. But she could minimize their risk. The fingers of her mailed hand clenched, and in an instant, froze the statues behind her. To slip from their grasp, then, was simply a matter of sucking in her chest and slipping out of their grasp.

[color=green]"Sensei!"[/color] She called out, spinning her staff experimentally and advancing back to safety inside the teacher's effective range. She peered through the new glasses upon her face, feeling the concentrations of mana, and more importantly, od, in the air. [color=green]"Keep me clear, please, we need to remove the enemy magus. I can find him."[/color]

[color=steelblue][i]Yes, you can. Listen to the drumming. The drumming is key.[/i][/color]