Alexa has had this nightmare before.

Of him, alive and whole. Of him holding out his hands, of that small not-quite-a-smirk, of that voice that brooks no disobedience. Of the command for the Pallas Rex to return to his side. To be, once more, the blade in the hand.

She wishes that every dream ended with her turning away.

This apparition is even worse than the dreams, for her dreams are of him as he was--dignified, regal, organized, composed. This Molech is as a temple that is reclaimed by nature, thrust through with tokens of what he once was but mired in the signs of what she did. Of the decay that she failed to prevent--no, actively aided! This is the terror that Nero promised she would never see again!

She feels the spears in her hands, but it is not their familiar warmth that centers her. Instead, it is the weight of the burden she carries. It is the princess, growing cold and pallid in her arms, that wraps her arms bracingly tight, that turns her stumbling footsteps to centered power sprints.  It is the promise of something better that grips her spears tight, straightens her back. Here, at last, is the figure from the dioramas, form perfect and spears lethally aimed.

Here and now, with fear hounding behind her and a promise in her arms, the Pallas Rex strikes.
[Finish with Courage: [b]9[/b]]