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[color=hotpink]"Hey! Hey now! That's literally the exact opposite of wha-"[/color] aaand the point was moot since she was now dead. Great. Should have figured from the dozens of timelines that Riku would still opt for a peaceful conclusion, but there was something in Akiko that knew better. That knew that Riku might go for something that would crack through the Abyss. Alas, as the dog fell towards the ground, Akiko slapped her hand against her forehead. 

[color=red][That's not what you were hoping for, I suppose.][/color] [color=hotpink]"Yeah, no shit. Thankfully, we might still be able to pull something out here."[/color]

As the dragon roared and thrashed, managing to shake Thomas and Akiko off, Akiko's arms stretched into the large wings of a vulture, and she quickly managed to right herself before she started to glide towards the ground. The perks of being a shapeshifter knew no bounds, and with the dragon imploding in on itself, it left Akiko in silent contemplation for a moment. 

As she landed near Thomas and Riku, she found herself walking through the blackened fire with... intention. She stepped towards the duo, her steps somehow piercing through the crackling fire and dust starting to fall around the world. The world was starting to crumble, no doubt due in part to some extension on forces largely unseen except for a battlefield that she had seen once before. She suspected this was Runa's doing, but she was uncaring at the moment.

Instead, she mused.

[color=hotpink]"But who are we to mess with the throes of time? Madmen? Mortals? Misaligned misanthropes? The world around us crumbles within a roaring fight, the data of this very world struggling to keep up with the force of the individuals around us. Who are we but Nobodies, reaching out to try and become Somebodies?"[/color] She stood over Thomas and Riku, a grim smile over her face. The plan had succeeded, it just took a different route than normal.

She bent down to Thomas, placing a hand on his shoulder and gently taking Riku from his grasp. [color=hotpink]"She'll be back. Try as some might, she'll come back."[/color] Akiko laid Riku out on the ground, letting the air cover her and giving Thomas some distance, but she stepped closer, hovering her foot above Riku's lifeless body. Her eyes were flashing crimson, as if she was [color=red]reading[/color] the outcomes before they happened.

[hider=Behind Akiko's Gaze][url=https://youtu.be/BghMpfOQTxE]Then Castle's foot came down onto Riku's chest, Akiko's foot along with it.[/url]

[color=hotpink]"Meaning, it doesn't matter that [i]she[/i] dies here. [i]She[/i] doesn't understand we'd be stuck here if she'd kept crying over Katie. Boo-fucking-hoo."[/color] Akiko's voice was... different. No longer was the calm and collected psychiatrist, rather someone who showed genuine frustration. It would almost be humanizing, if she wasn't dead-set on pressing her foot harder and harder into Riku's chest to crack through her ribs. [color=hotpink]"No no, we understand Riku. You'd lose Katie, and you'd be sad. Poor puppy would have to whine and whimper over a girl that only she could love."[/color]

Akiko's foot pressed harder, managing to push down a little more. [color=hotpink]"Others of us loved Katie here, too, y'know? Others of us cared about [i]you[/i], too, y'know? But you don't."[/color] She huffed, verging on the border of tears. [color=hotpink]"Because the pretty princess gets to have [i]whatever she wants.[/i] Pathetic."[/color]

She pushed all the way through, the cracks of bones punctuating her foot managing to leave a hole in Riku's chest, before she pulled her foot out and stepped back to shake the blood off. [color=hotpink]"It's good you gave up a claim to a kingdom, because you'd make a [i]horrible[/i] ruler."[/color][/hider]
She snapped back from zoning out, but she kept her eyes on Riku, pulling her foot back before she made a decision she wouldn't come to enjoy. Something about the outcomes there... didn't seem enjoyable. She wiped the tears from her eyes all the same, though. 

[color=hotpink]"Make no mistake, Thomas. Riku's an idiot."[/color] Akiko's voice was blunt, her tone nonchalant. [color=hotpink]"But it's better that you two are alive for now..."[/color] She paused at that statement. [color=hotpink]"... you one? Eh, she'll get back up. For now, we should regroup with the others."[/color] 

Akiko bent over and lifted Riku up onto her back, struggling a little bit initially but seeming like she could handle it. [color=hotpink]"Don't worry about me. Go find Kanbaru and the others. This place is going to come down and we need to be ready when it does."[/color]

Castle manifested overtop Akiko and Riku. [color=red][You're not sure if Runa's visions and the sudden enlightenment are helping, now, correct?][/color]

[color=hotpink]"Yeah, but across everything I've never been this... disorganized."[/color] Akiko didn't care if Thomas was listening to her ramble, she needed to talk this out for her own sake. [color=hotpink]"Something's different. I don't know if that's good or bad, though."[/color]

[color=red][Perhaps time will tell. It's about the only thing you can do right now, anyway.][/color]

Over on the other side of the arena, where Kanbaru and Hellsword were standing, Hellsword mused to the two. [color=forestgreen][b]"We're not going to act like we know what to expect from you Jesters, but I will say that [i]she's[/i] unpredictable."[/b][/color] The world continued to crumble, with rows and patches of fungi being the only solid ground in the entire area. Hellsword made sure to keep their web up so they could reunite with the rest of the group, not that they had any issues. [color=forestgreen][b]"Serei tend to know their masters pretty well, and she's a whole other beast entirely. The only one who's managed closeness so far have been you and Lorelai, but even the knight was hesitant when the illusions of this world failed on Akiko. She changed, and we don't know if it was for the better or worse."[/b][/color]

They turned to Kanbaru. [color=forestgreen][b]"Be careful, Kanbaru. You might be a Jester, but I don't think [i]she[/i] cares for labels."[/b][/color] With that, Hellsword gave a tip of their hat, and fizzled away to return to Akiko.