Bunanigans
Eyes wide with horror, Syed attempted - abeit very weakly - to push himself away from Nikki. He appreciated her help, he really did, but he couldn't cast if someone was holding onto him. His casts tended to create quite a lot of additional discharge, and the last thing he needed on top of everything else was to injure her with his electricity. Again.
He couldn't let Lucifer take Lisette. He couldn't! The thought just made him angry, of the kindly, mild-mannered archer being taken like that. She had been though so much lately, what with Museo and Wier. He knew what it was like to go into a dark place mentally - he knew more than many, probably. But even after all that she still stuck with them all, brightening up the room like always. They were all his friends, but she was closer than most.
Don't you take her, don't you bloody well take her. A small amount of electricity buzzed across his body as he tried to push himself away again, causing Nikki to involuntarily flinch and stop supporting him. He mumbled an apology and staggered forwards clumsily, before raising a hand to the heavens...
...Then collapsed back to the floor. He couldn't, he couldn't... damnit! He could do nothing but lie on his side and look up, his eyes drifting in and out of focus. "Don't... don't... please..." he whispered before his face screwed up with fustration, self-loathing and dispair. He couldn't even do that... he couldn't...
Then suddenly, everything went to hell. A figure shot across the sky, and suddenly someone started falling. It was difficult to see who from this distance, although Moira had an easier time of it. She squinted, straining her eyes to focus.
What the fuck was going on...?
By the time Lil'Mari... big... Mari...??? Oh who knew, the clone of Marise had arrived in possibly the most simultaniously badass and dramatic way Moira could have imagined, she felt like she could do with a lie down in the mud as well. Bloody hell, she was huge. Made Frank look small. Made Moira suddenly feel the pressing need to give the woman a thumbs up. Yeah, show the patriarchy who's boss. And also this arsehole. Especially this arsehole.
Brushing aside the uncomfortable feeling of intimidation she now felt from both the puncher and the punchee, she gritted her teeth and looked back around them. She felt a little overwhelmed, really. She wanted to help, but what was she good at? Just hitting people. She would have said she was good at keeping people's attention on her too, but after everything which had happened with this group she had realised this was anything but the case. She may be exceptionally strong for a H-rank, but she was bloody useless at her job.
But she knew she was no use to an injured person either other than maybe carrying them. However with her own injuries which were very much hurting her dispite her best attempts to act otherwise, along with being stuck with Syed who had well and truely had it, she didn't know if she could even do that. Even he was getting picked up again by Nikki, as much as he weakly insisted she should check on the others. He didn't feel he deserved any help, and as injured and exhausted as he was, he didn't fail to notice how she kept glancing over to Trent.
So she looked to the sky instead, at the two figures floating above them. One of them... one of them was definately Lisette. And the other was bloody unmissable with that shock of red hair of hers, illuminated by the glow of her sword. Her face dropped.
"They're okay..." she breathed. "Both of them."
Taerinn
Like jumping into a cold pool, and that shocking, shivering feeling never going away.
Like standing on your feet all day and being unable to sit down or stretch out your legs.
Like that tingly, needly feeling in your limbs when they fall asleep.
It was similar, but still nothing even remotely close to the sensation Lucifer subjected Lisette to. Everything happy, everything alive, everything Lisette had inside her, it felt like Lucifer was forcibly taking it out of her, and there was nothing she could do. She had been able to struggle before, but now her body was tensed and still, and she was forced to look into Lucifer's horrible eyes and watch him drain the life from her.
A familiar voice rang through the air, just as loud as the thunder. Lisette thought maybe she was dreaming, that she couldn't possibly have heard the voice she thought she heard.
And she was falling, and falling. She tried to scream, but it only came out as a loud whimper. Strangely, despite being bereft of nearly all of her energy, she knew she wasn't ready to die, and was terrified that it was quickly approaching.
But then there she was, her leader, her hero, her friend.
"Estelle..." Lisette whispered weakly, smiling despite the utter exhaustion that was slowly overtaking her body. The relief from seeing her friend's face was too much. Her head tipped back, and she drifted out of consciousness. She needed to rest, but thanks to Estelle and Marise, she was spared just in time from being in the same state that Trent had succumbed to.
Estelle's sudden appearance and Lisette's safe retrieval was one thing, but the sight of a gigantic version of her close friend left Selan flabbergasted. She didn't know Marise was capable of such a form, but there she was, striking Lucifer over and over.
She still clutched the boarder close to her, immensely thankful that Lisette had been rescued but still anguished that Trent had not been so lucky. By this point, she refused to look at his face anymore; it was too painful, too cruel that he had to endure such a thing.
Estelle was here now, she knew that much. But would her presence be enough, after Lucifer had injured or otherwise incapacitated nearly the whole lot of them? There was something different about Estelle, something that made her believe that this battle could still end with the Pride victorious.
Dannyel
He waited on bated breath as the others approached Lucifier's fallen form, hoping that the daggers had made for Celeste could help. But it seemed that he had conjured them for nothing, since it appeared that the villain was dead. His heart lightened as he let out the tiniest sigh of relief. He had just started to turn to look back at Selan when he heard him, the sound of his voice chilling him to the bone.
"Being dead doesn't mean I cannot survive your feeble attacks."
Turning, Dylan was far too slow, unable to see the attack that felled his friends. But yet it had happened - Celeste, Juilius, Lucien, Syed, and Moira all falling before him. Not yet done, Lucifer leapt forward and grabbed Lisette in the same way that he had Trent.
"NO!" he howled, his cry rough and primal as it was tore free from his throat. It was all so hopeless. They were reduced to such a small number, and the majority of those left were not even combat specialists. How were they expected to take him on? They kept throwing everything they had at him, again and again, and for what?
"Get the hell away from my friend!"
"Estelle?" he breathed, too afraid to make a sound yet too surprised to keep silent.
"INVOKE! GIANT MARI!"
There! A shining light that burned his eyes and forced him to look away. Covering his face, he did not see the first attack but felt it, the shockwave of her strike rippling across the battlefield as Lucifer was sent flying.
Dylan was exhausted, not just physically or magically, but emotionally. He had dangled on the edge of despair again and again, only to be brought back from the brink at the last moment by another spectacular attack. Giant Mari was truly a force to be reckoned with, but at this point he didn't believe anything would make a difference.
Pushing himself to his feet, he staggered forward, all thoughts of attack and strategy gone from his mind. No, there was only one thing left that he cared about, and that was the friends who lay hurt on the ground. He crossed the courtyard with a grim determination, skidding to a stop next to Moira.
"Come on, you lug," he said as he worked his way under her arm, hoisting her up with all her strength. Nodding at Nikki, he forced Moria back towards Selan and Trent, step by bloody step. "Not gonna let a little wound like that slow you down, are you?"
Fox of Spades
They had actually done it…
Lucien couldn’t help but grin. There was Lucifer, on the ground – dead. It was almost too good to be true. The bear sniffed at the fallen Lucifer only for his death to be confirmed. They had did it, they had won!
Lucien released his summon and with wide eyes began staggering towards the others, ready to pull the first person he reached into a clumsy and maybe even painful hug. Hell, he was ready to pull them all into a group hug despite his aching body.
His eyes prickled with tears…they had done it – they had really done it. Lucien didn’t care that he looked like a mess, didn’t care that he was hurting all over. Lucifer was dead and a foxlike grin wormed its way onto his face as he began approaching the others with open arms and a shaky smile.
“Being dead doesn’t mean I cannot survive your feeble attacks.”
The smile was wiped off his face and before he could call out to any of the others pain froze him in place. It raced across his body with a great intensity, in fact, he didn’t have time to do anything but gasp and before he knew it he crumpled to the ground. Several thuds reached his ears and he figured the others were falling down as well. Black dots swam around his vision and the world began to tilt at ridiculous angles. His eyes flitted to his arms and he watched as blood seeped from the several gashes.
He tilted his head, eyes focused on Lucifer…that was him, right?
The world was going out of focus…but it couldn’t end like this. It just couldn’t…but who was he kidding they were all tired and Lucifer deflected everything with absolute ease. Lisette was raised into the air and Lucien grimaced. No, no, no! With a shaky arm he reached for his deck of cards, but he couldn’t concentrate at all…couldn’t pull his thoughts together. Lisette struggled in vain and he did what cowards did best – he looked away.
“Get the hell away from my friend!!!”
Lucien opened his eyes only to see a flash of red. At first he thought it was the archer’s blood but after blinking several times it became clear, it was Estelle. Everything that happened next was a blur. Their leader’s necklace began to glow, a giant appeared out of nowhere and Lisette was saved. He stared on in awe as the magical girl from the prison began beating the crap out of Lucifer and found himself laughing. Each chuckle sent a wave of pain up his side, but he couldn’t stop.
The timing of Estelle’s arrival had been perfect and it reminded him of the time she had saved him from the Chupacabra bear thing back in Weir.
He felt just a little bit braver and slowly, with a wince he pushed himself onto his knees then staggered to his feet. They weren’t going down – not yet.
Rexcalibur
Once Lisette was snatched into Lucifer's hands, Trixie let out a scream for her friend and fell to her knees. Everybody was dying against this guy. How many people would have to die until they won? Until it was the end? This was unbearable.
Amy felt the smaller's eyes fall upon her. She felt Trixie silently begging to save Lisette - to save everyone. She was the healing savior. She's in charge of preventing people from dying. But her healing spells could only go so far--
"Get the hell away from my friend!"
Everyone looked up at once. Then a flash of familiar golden light flooded the battlefield - and a giant emerged. Marise. Amy gaped at the sight, staring in awe as the secretary pummeled Lucifer again and again. Of all things unexpected...
Meanwhile Trixie's eyes were elsewhere - pinned on the red star falling from the sky. She bolted off towards her hero, a trail of tears sparkling behind her with each bounce. She was here. She was here now. Trixie knew she'd come, because that's exactly what superheroes do! And she brought along a sidekick that's the size of the moon to beat the snot out of the bad guy!
In the labs, against those monsters, against the giant mutant, against the devil - any despair, any doubts still lingering in Trixie's heart had washed away. Their redheaded wonder-savior was here, and she was falling from the sky like the star that she was. She was invincible.
Everything was gonna be all right.
