Lord of Azure Flame Final Chapter: Victory or Death

[-Cynthia-]

"Very well," Morgan agreed. It is not like I could be in many other positions other than behind him regardless, she thought to herself, holding onto Lev with one hand with her tome in the other.

[Phoenix]

When Lightning Strikes Twice

The chase continued, and the wyvern had carried Stephanie well over a mile from the main group, something Irina was beginning to worry about. Even if they weren't being led straight into an ambush, they had been easily divided and almost half of the crimson wielders were now out here, separated from the rest of the battalion escorting them. "We have to find a way to rescue Stephanie, and fast. We're way too far out right now and in the middle of nowhere."

"Urgh, there's no telling what will happen to her if we let him get away, and the longer this chase lasts, the more likely that is. Irina! We're going to have to try to fly in and get to her. After that, I don't know, but we'll have to find some way to free her," Iso called out to Irina. (Even if we have to let that bastard get away in the end, we have to rescue Stephanie.)

Farther behind the spread out group of pursuers, Lev and Morgan raced through the air to try and catch up. Lev doubted they would catch up before someone on their side made a move, so he was musing about how the fight might play out with the royal siblings near the front. It was extremely dangerous for those two to be fighting a shapeshifter again, with or without help ... especially if it was Shanice. That was when he noticed another flier toward the middle of those pursuing the demon. They were so high overhead that he couldn't even tell if the mount they were riding was a pegasus or a wyvern, but they seemed to be heading in the same direction as everyone else. "Hey, Morgan, up there," he said, pointing overhead to the black speck in the sky. It was pulling ahead of them rapidly and beginning to descend. "Don't know who that is but I hope they're on our side ..."

Once they had gained enough speed from the dive, the mysterious flier caught up to the front of the pack. It was also clear now just who this flier was. It was Stratos, Ixion's four winged chimera, and it was carrying both Ixion and Miranda on its back, with Miranda in the front.

Of the Orlov siblings, Irina spotted them first, as her focus wasn't just on the fleeing demon, but also their whole situation, and she wasn't sure it was actually Ixion and Miranda first when she saw them. "Gah! I-Iso!"

"What?" He looked to her and saw that she was looking elsewhere, and so he tried to find what she was gawking at, and just as he spotted the pair of intercepting magic wielders, they flew right on ahead at high speed, leaving a gust in their wake that nearly threw Kiev off balance. The young wyvern groaned in protest. "Argh! Ixioooon ... urgh ... and ... was that Miranda? Did they follow us all the way out here? But how?!"

"Hahahahahah! Don't run," Miranda called out to the fleeing demon before loosing a red lightning bolt on it. The demon flipped over to use Stephanie as a shield, but Miranda had aimed so high that the demon was struck in the head. The bolt caused a small explosion of smoke and the demon began barreling out of control and toward the ground, dropping Stephanie in the process.

Irina had to think very quickly because at their current speed, Ixion and Miranda wouldn't be able to catch Stephanie in time. Iso had neither the expertise or the speed required, and while Irina felt she had a slim chance, better than the aforementioned, it wasn't worth gambling on alone. "Tas! Follow me! One of us HAS to catch her!" Not waiting for a reply or even to see if he'd heard her, she raced off and dove after Stephanie.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

"I do not think so- I sense a demonic presence coming from that creature," Morgan said, referring to the speck. "We need to catch up quickly," she insisted, frowning down at Krinkov.

--

Charlotte and Tristan were closing in when a strange creature got in front of them, carrying two magic users. That's Miranda and Ixion- why would they be here right now? They didn't come along with us or help in the battle... This line of thought was interrupted by a lightning bolt striking Shanice and Stephanie dropping towards the ground. "We need to go catch her!" Charlotte commanded.

Tristan was about to move in when he saw Irina's wyvern dive after Stephanie and shook his head. "Too much chance of a collision from here- I don't have enough room to maneuver," he protested.

"Then we need to follow Shanice and make sure it doesn't escape!" Charlotte responded.

She sure gets shrill when she's angry, Tristan thought briefly to himself, moving Bellerophon in the direction of the falling demon. He wasn't too keen on charging towards it or getting under it so he attempted to have Bellerophon keep a fair distance from it.

[Mercakete]

For most of the flight Tas hadn't known what to do. He had little to no real combat experience or training. Really, the only reason he'd flown along so far was because Irina told him to. The strange, pink and black wyvern with the four wings from Zaftra only held his attention for a moment. He was relieved and might've cheered when the other strange wyvern that had kidnapped Stephanie was struck and began to fall, too, but Irina's call alerted him to the staff-user's plight. Oh my goodness! Of course they had to catch her! And, unlike fighting demons, this was something within Tas' skill set -- something he was confident he could accomplish. The time to hold back had passed. Now it was time to use that speed that had been both bred and trained into Namid.

Namid picked up significant speed at Tas' unspoken signal. Having less bulk made it easier for mountain wyeverns to slip through the air than plains-dwellers so it wasn't too hard for Namid to pass Nikita. After he'd gained enough speed with his long wings, the wyvern pulled in his wings and arced through the air like a whizzing arrow, Tas lying flat in the saddle, towards the falling cleric. Or, more specifically, the air space just below her. Just as they reached her, Namid's wings shot open and he adjusted his angle to slow them down wile Tas raised himself off of Namid's neck and, with both arms grabbed Stephanie out of the air. Then, he quickly grabbed at his reins with one hand while holding tightly to the priestess with the other arm and he and Namid made a sharp turn back the way they came and upwards. It was probably best to get away from the falling wyvern as quickly as possible, after all.

Edited October 1, 2013 by Mercakete

[Snike]

Alex

"... Grab me.... my lance...," Alex said, as the younger girl took her free shoulder and tried to help her walk back to the others. "I can... use it as a prop.."

Eric

"Thank you," Eric said to the Grand Marshall, before turning to Jasmine. "I need to follow the others in chasing down that demon. Could you let me ride along? It'll payback for that one time at the mansion."

[Phoenix]

Crash and Burn

Stephanie was saved by Tas, but the demon was saved by no one and crashed into the ground, kicking up a ton of dirt and debris along with droplets of blood. After a long grind over the ground, it came to a stop and disappeared in the dust cloud it had caused.

Iso and Kiev circled over the cloud of dust surrounding the demon wyvern, fearing it might transform again soon in order to try and lose them. When Stratos sped by, traveling perpendicular to them, he could see as clearly that Miranda and Ixion were astride. "HEY!!!" He wasn't sure if either of them would respond to him calling out to them, but he wanted to know what they were doing way out here. Instead, they flew down to the front of the dust cloud, and Miranda leaped off of Stratos. Iso reluctantly began descending to follow.

Irina meanwhile took advantage of her initial dive, intended for Stephanie's rescue, and came down to land near where the crash had started. There was nothing there now but a long track and lingering dust hanging over it, but still in sight, and less than a hundred and fifty feet away from her was the demon wyvern. She stayed put for the time being, figuring that going in alone wasn't a good idea and getting too close while waiting for the others would be equally bad. For now, the demon didn't have any hostages or shields, so their long range magic was a valid option again ... it probably wasn't getting away this time.

Viveka came to the same conclusion as Irina once she caught up and realized that Stephanie hadn't gone down with the demon, but she knew that all of that dust was going to pose a problem. The demon had already concealed itself in a crowd before and it had taken them this long to coax it out ... she wasn't even sure how they accomplished that much. She decided to stay airborne for the moment, since Susann was more comfortable in the air at times like this, and Viveka herself felt that someone had to stay up there at least to keep an eye on the situation as a whole.

Just before Morgan and Lev caught up to those at the front of the pack, Henric and Jasmine caught up to them. "Hey, what's going on over there?! I saw a red thunder spell! Was that Arrin or someone else?!" Jasmine called over.

Lev shrugged at her but immediately assumed a gesture that small would be nearly impossible to spot right now. "It might be Miranda, actually," he called back.

At the scene of the crash, Miranda stood out in front of the cloud, waiting for the demon to make a move. "It's been risky, just hanging back so they wouldn't have any distractions, but it certainly paying off thus far. I'm glad you survived that confrontation, Shanice, but now it's time for us to finish this once and for all." After she said this, a low rumble came from the dust as it began to clear, as if a large creature was growling at her, but as the dust faded, so did the rumble, and the demon's body was apparently gone. Just as Iso and Viveka had feared, it transformed into somethings small again. "Congratulations, you've bought yourself ten seconds. Use them well," she mocked it.

[-Cynthia-]

"Miranda would make more sense, Arrin was in no condition to fight last I saw," Morgan called out. She could have arrived earlier, although I was not anticipating her arrival at all, Morgan thought to herself.

Tristan saw with relief that Tas appeared to catch Stephanie- seeing the priestess fall to her death would not have been kind to his conscience. Charlotte kept her attention directed on Shanice, who seemed to use the dust cloud to disappear. How can we catch a shapeshifter anyway?

[eclipse]

"Yes ma'am!" Midori said cheerfully. She somehow managed to juggle the requested item and the wounded woman, without impaling the latter, before handing the lance back to its owner. "Easy now! You don't want to make it worse than it already is!"

[Mercakete]

Most everyone still wasn't heading back, so that meant they were probably going to confront the first unusual wyvern. He wondered for a moment whether he should keep going to their allies or if he should stick around in case they needed him around. His first thought was that Stephanie needed healing and that he wasn't any good in combat. Then, he remembered the last time he'd flown away from a fight, leaving someone behind. He'd survived with the eggs and Niket, but his father and Riggs had been killed as he'd flown away. If I leave, will that happen again?

The thought gave him very uneasy pause. This wyvern was dangerous. Tas was sensible, however, and the thought was soon replaced. Back then, with the marauders...I couldn't have done anything. If I'd stayed with them, then we'd all be dead... I did the right thing then...and I'll do the right thing now. They'll be fine. I'll come back after I get Stephanie somewhere safe. With that resolved, he and Namid sped back to the ones they'd left behind.

[Phoenix]

End of the Line

"Oh I plan to use them well, Miranda," came a voice that sounded almost exactly like Miranda's. To her surprise, a doppleganger of herself leaped from the clearing dust and tackled her to the ground.

"Oh that's the dumbest idea you've EVER had," Miranda scolded her attacker. "Pretending to be me?! You know they're just going to shoot us both, right?!"

"Shut up," the doppleganger shot back before being punched in the face and tossed aside. Miranda used that opportunity to get up. Shanice could mimic her appearance, but not her powers, and vice versa, so as far as she was concerned, this really wasn't going to do Shanice a whole lot of good. She decided to demonstrate this by firing a lightning bolt into her opponent and then leaping back. "Urg- ... damn ..."

"End of the liiiine~"

The fight itself wasn't going anywhere, Irina landed, hoping to back up Iso if he decided to rush in blindly at some point, which, let's face it, he probably would. Lev and Jasmine also landed their mounts nearby, allowing their passengers to get a much closer look at the confrontation, or join in recklessly.

Near the scene, Stratos had also landed, and Ixion got down in order to observe this final confrontation and offer Miranda assistance if she needed it, though thanks to that confident smirk on her face, and the sheer dismay on Shanice's, he doubted she would need his help with anything other than keeping Morgan from trying to blast both of them. He was a little annoyed that she had bothered to show up at all since it meant they might be asked to explain their presence here.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte and Tristan watched the scene from atop Bellerophon- there appeared to be two Mirandas now.

"I don't think going in there is a good idea- we'll get caught in the crossfire and that would be bad for our health," Tristan said, stating the obvious.

"I agree- we can't really tell which demon is which anyway and Miranda is our ally," Charlotte agreed. At least I think she and Ixion are our allies... she thought to herself, although she was not as confident in this as she liked to be.

Morgan saw the scene unfold between Miranda and Shanice and decided to make a hasty judgment. We could have need of Miranda's powers later- but if Shanice survives it could undermine our entire efforts against the Lord of Azure Flame. Miranda seemed quite adept at avoiding my attacks in the past regardless, she decided, pouring her energy into Midnight and firing off large crimson spheres at the Mirandas.

[Phoenix]

The Pain

Right on schedule, Morgan began her ranged assault, and Ixion was only able to reach out uselessly as the crimson spheres sped off toward both Miranda and her desperate doppleganger. "Morgan! Wait," Iso called out, only slightly less of a useless gesture than what Ixion had done. Lev expected this, Morgan's attack at least, and so remained in the saddle, not reacting to the situation at all.

"Leave it to her to shoot first, given the opportunity," Viveka muttered to herself while flying overhead.

The targets of those crimson spheres saw them coming, and both would have gotten out of the way, but as her prey tried to get away, she decided to ruin them. Miranda quickly grabbed Shanice's leg as it leaped away and stunted the demon's attempt to get away before getting behind them and putting them in a choke hold. At worst, she would lose an arm, but Shanice was going to receive the full force of the attack, minimum. "Might want to bite down on something," she teased, just before the spheres began colliding with them.

"AAAAAAAAA-" Once the assault had ended, Miranda launched one of her own, releasing Shanice from behind and sending another thunderbolt into their back, forcing them into the dirt. "Urgh ... d-dammit ..." the demon cursed as it began a slow crawl away from Miranda and toward the crimsons. "... hrg ... ... Mi-Miranda ... s-stop. Don't do th-this ...."

"Don't do what? Don't do this?" she asked, shocking Shanice immediately afterward, causing the demon to sprawl out on its stomach and twitch several times afterward. As Shanice curled up to protect its body, Miranda said, "Stop using my face ... it's ridiculous. Do that, and maybe I'll let up."

Seemingly complying with Miranda's instruction, Shanice took on another form, a pain stricken Iso, curled up on the ground before her. Miranda wasn't sure if the demon was looking for actual sympathy, or an opening, but it would receive neither for that move. She scowled and then struck Shanice with the strongest bolt she had fired yet that day, nearly frying the demon then and there. "... not that face, either ...."

Meanwhile, Ixion approached Morgan. "I insist that you hold off your attacks. As fitting an end as this would be for Shanice, I still need him alive, just until Miranda is finished with him."

"What are you two even doing out here?" Lev asked, though it was quietly spoken and he wasn't expecting an answer.

[Mercakete]

Soon, Tas and Namid arrived back at where they'd left the Elyisimians and part of the crimson group. As soon as Namid landed, Tas jumped to the ground, Stephanie in his arms, and, looking around, asked everyone in the general vicinity, "Is there a healer somewhere around here?" If he sounded alarmed it was because he was. Before he'd just been focusing on being helpful and getting her to safety but she was in pretty bad shape and he noticed that a little before they landed.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte flinched as she saw Miranda assault Isotov, despite knowing full well that it was Shanice. Tristan pondered why the demon didn't turn into a mouse or a fly or something instead of bothering with large forms, but he supposed the demon was either stupid or couldn't turn into small things for some reason.

Morgan was prepared to attack again- it was certainly easier to choose targets now that Shanice had conveniently transformed- but Ixion's request interrupted her. "Explain. Quickly," she ordered the druid, having no idea what he and Miranda were planning.

[Inactive Account]

OOC: yeah this post is starting while the fight's still dying down

Kelas looked about for a healer, but her desperation wasn't quite necessary, as the fight was ending. Charlotte came by and healed both Tessa and Arrin, and Kelas remained by them while everyone regrouped.

The momentary calm wasn't to last, though, as word of another demon spread across the field. When Shanice revealed itself and took off flying away, Kelas froze, wanting to pursue, but she was needed more here, and wouldn't be able to keep up. A chase would likely tire Amari more than she could afford at the moment, too.

She remained in frustrated inaction, helping Arrin sit up as he began to stir, and finally Tas returned from the direction the chase had gone, carrying Stephanie with him. "Tas! Is everyone else all right?" she called.

-----------------------------------

As the battle had progressed, Baatar had got the fleeing horses under control and brought the herd to retreat at the top of a nearby hill. He watched the fight keenly. This group was a strange lot, none too cooperative, but it appeared that they could at least kill things. They were heretics and soldiers and witches, but they stood for now on the right side. He noticed the younger brother of the woman who'd hired him throwing lightning among the chaos. When this was over, he was going to have a lot of questions for those two.

"<They're crazy,>" he remarked to Hakkar and Tacharka, "<but they might actually have a chance.>" His face darkened. "<Though I think we'd best turn around and leave Asura as soon as we get them there all the same.>"

As the fighting died down he decided he'd wait for someone to summon them again before heading back to the group, just in case the fight wasn't properly over. His caution was justified; moments later another demon appeared. "<Hope that thing doesn't lead them too far away if they're expecting us to come find them after,>" he muttered as several of his charges took off in pursuit after the flying beast.

[Mercakete]

"They're fighting something, I think," Tas replied to Kelas, though he remained where he was. The worry on his face was clear, but exactly what it was for wasn't entirely clear with Stephanie still being unconscious. He added after a brief pause, "But I think so! They were all fine when I left."

[Phoenix]

The Fear

"It's too dangerous to share everything right this moment, but soon," Ixion began. "Miranda has been tracking Shanice, waiting for a chance to ambush him and merge the hearts they share. It is something of a gamble; either or both of them could be killed in this struggle, but Shanice is in no condition to escape, now. I need you to wait until this is over before acting. If all goes well, there won't be any need to do anything more, here."

Meanwhile, beneath the smoke rising from Shanice's body, the demon abandoned Iso's appearance and changed shape once again, this time shrinking down to a puppy, a young white and violet terrier. Before long, it's blue eyes became brown and its patches of violet fur changed to a more pale auburn. Despite Shanice's injuries, it had pulled off a complete transformation this time and tried to look as nonthreatening as it could.

Miranda smiled at the puppy. "Cute~, only now, you're small enough to stomp on."

Miranda raised her foot to crush the demon puppy and it immediately changed shape, having to choose between something large, durable, and mobile, or something small, difficult to track and hit. Miranda's foot ended up coming down hard onto Shanice's stomach just as it transformed back into its usual form, the lithe, androgynous, blue haired humanoid. Shanice was apparently out of ideas. "Hrg ..."

"I think we should get started, before your suffering gets boring, don't you agree?"

"... urgh ..." Shanice began looking around to see if there was anything else that could be done, but saw nothing but enemies behind it. "H- ... he-help ..." Miranda didn't wait around for Shanice to make some kind of last ditch plea and quickly straightened her fingers for what she was about to do. "Iso ..."

"What ...?" Iso was surprised he had Shanice's attention all of a sudden. That was when Miranda made her move, and rammed her hand into Shanice's chest, causing the demon to cry out in agony. Irina looked away, not expecting that kind of brutality, but Iso merely flinched and continued to gawk at the scene.

Shanice stretched out with its hand, trying to reach Iso, while grabbing Miranda's wrist with the other, but Iso was over twenty feet away, and well out of reach. "Arghuuahhh ... I-Iso! Please ... HELP ME! ... please ... p-pleeeease!"

(He's asking me ... for help? Is he that afraid of dying ...?)

"I'll ... I'll do a-anything you say, j-just-hrg-stop her! PLEAAAAAAASE?!!! PLEEEE-HARGH!" Shanice's pleas were interrupted by a twist of Miranda's hand that pushed every organ around it out of place. Shanice countered by changing shape again, this time taking on Irina's appearance. All that was lacking was the armor. "ISOOOOO!!!"

Iso barely managed to stop himself from intervening on instinct at the sound of Irina's screams, and quickly turned away, covered his ears as tightly as he could, and fell to his knees. Irina, in response to her doppleganger, got down from Nikita and rushed over to him as quickly as she could.

The Joy

With Stephanie's relatively safe return, it marked the end of the hostage situation Reese had been quietly dreading. The others hadn't returned yet which likely meant there was still some fighting, but he trusted they wouldn't be overwhelmed by a single demon, shapeshifter or not.

Not one but two healers rushed over to help the injured priestess. Chi and the soldier mage who had knocked Stephanie out cold with a thunder spell approached as well, but more slowly, Chi with a lack of urgency, and the mage with a sense of guilt. It wasn't half a minute after healing her wounds that the priestess regained consciousness. The mage immediately jogged over and said, "Please ... please forgive my complete thoughtlessness. I almost killed you back there ...."

Stephanie was awake now, but she was still disoriented and confused, so her response was little more than a befuddled groan.

[Balcerzak]

It still hurt a little to swallow, Tessa noted when she flicked her eyelids open at the sound of voices tinged with excitement or maybe urgency. The troubadour pushed her body upward, towards a sitting position, and she turned her head and swept the area. No demons, check. No templar, at least hostile ones, check. No bandits, check. No forest fires, check. Blinking a few times to get some of the grit clear from her eyes, cursing the desert not for the first time, nor for the last, the young healer then focused in on the scene at hand, more collected now than when enveloped in that first general haze that accompanies awakening.

Kelas had her hands on her brother, helping Arrin to sit up and be comfortable. The sight of that was accompanied by a passing twinge, somewhere in her chest, but there wasn't much time to focus on that. Tessa saw that Tas was carrying Stephanie with one arm crooked beneath her knees and the other supporting her back, having swiftly dropped down from his wyvern. She hadn't really caught the words, but the expression on his face, and the general circumstances conveyed the situation well enough.

Work to be done, huh?

But, somewhat to her embarrassment and dismay, before she could gather herself to stand, grab her staff, and go to help out, a pair of healers from the accompanying forces were already in action. Giving a sigh of resignation, Tessa just breathed out heavily and closed her eyes again. Crowding would just make things worse. She was still stinging from the feeling that she hadn't quite done enough in this previous fight, and the shame of a healer needing healing. It would only take a few more moments of rest to pull it together, right? But then, after that, what should she do next?

Various thoughts flittered and twittered about, vying for dominance. As for which would come out on top, that was still anybody's guess.

-----------------------------------

Okay, that was just abominable. If that dangerous witch hadn't had things firmly under control, Iris would have certainly lit up that blue shapeshifting bastard of a demon with her most powerful spells. There are some lines that just shouldn't be crossed. The Orlovs had some difficulties of their own, handling it switching its guises from among their own appearances, but for the moment they seemed to be managing, the sister comforting the brother. Nothing to be gained barging in on that, nothing to be gained barging in on the demon fight. There wasn't any good to come from that woman, especially not as far as the prince was concerned, but the shapeshifter was even more trouble.

Frederikov was so absorbed in weighing her options that the fact she were biting her lip a little too hard would have escaped her notice if not for the sharp tang of iron. Unclenching her fists, she swung a thoughtful gaze at Ixion. Just what was his game here? Just what hidden agendas did Zaftra's new emperor's pet master of the dark arts have hidden up those voluminous sleeves of his?

[-Cynthia-]

Putting her hand in the organs like that all seems rather gratuitous, but killing demons is messy business I suppose, Tristan thought to himself, his lack of distress even surprising himself a bit. Charlotte had to avert her gaze and cover her ears after a short while, as terrible a creature as Shanice was she couldn't help but feel some pity for it at the moment.

"Why do you want to merge their hearts?" Morgan asked Ixion impatiently. Asking for answers is delaying me and giving them the time they want regardless of their answer, but perhaps using Shanice's heart is vital for something...damn it this is no time to be hesitating, Morgan thought to herself, scowling.

[Phoenix]

The Sorrow

"It's what she desires the most right now, control of her life back, at any cost," Ixion explained. "She is merely responding to the flaw in my own design, the design that led to her ... a demon with the mind of a human being. I cannot explain the rest until later."

"Why the hell not?" Lev cut in. "If you think we'll overreact then maybe it's a bad idea, and not just something we need to 'come to understand in time' or whatever other excuse you might come up with."

"I won't let you get in her way in either case, which is why I choose to remain silent for the moment. This is not the time for us to be at odds. For now, simply know that we have absolutely no intention of preventing you from destroying the Lord of Azure Flame, or even slowing you down in that endeavor."

As Miranda drove her hand deeper into Shanice's chest, it transformed into Natasha. The screams of Irina were eerily replaced by the screams of her own mother, and she noticed this instantly. Irina looked over and was shocked to see who Shanice had turned into this time. Now it was forcing her to endure her mother's death in person? "Urgh! You were the one who killed her, weren't you?! Those were the cries YOU caused," she yelled over at the demon. Iso noticed this, and opened his eyes, but didn't uncover his ears for fear of hearing more familiar screams.

"Irinaaa ... I'm ... sorry ... I'm SORRY!!!"

"Found it," Miranda uttered with a smirk. She quickly pulled her hand out of Shanice's chest, taking Shanice's half of their core with it. Along with it came arteries and blood. The core was still well attached to the body, but Miranda planned to sever every last connection momentarily.

"P-please don't let her do this to me! Please ..."

For the first time in a long time, Lev was in as much pain as the Orlov siblings. He hated seeing Natasha of all people in such a state. He hated hearing these screams, which he feared were exactly like the ones that marked the real Natasha's death. It brought tears to his eyes and a few of them even fell as he watched. "Is he just going to keep tormenting us like this until he's dead?" (Goddess dammit, Miranda, just FINISH IT, already ... before he changes into someone else.)

[Mercakete]

Now that Stephanie had not only been passed to their allies but was already being healed and even spoken to, Tas began to feel a little relieved. That was a fairly short-lived though, as he began to worry about the others facing that wyvern thing. He still wasn't really sure what was going on regarding that whole fiasco. After a short moment of debate, the courier climbed back into Namid's saddle. Then, wordlessly, the two shot back into the sky and began speeding back to where they'd left the others. He'd managed to be of assistance regarding Stephanie. Maybe there was something else that needed doing, though none immediately came to mind...except some that he wouldn't allow himself to consider.

[-Cynthia-]

"I'm not sure if she's a sadist or if she's going to do something with that," Tristan remarked. His first thought was that she was going to eat it, but that seemed ridiculous. Charlotte opened her eyes at this and looked down at Miranda with curiosity.

"If this were simply something for Miranda's continued existence, why not inform us of this beforehand? Your lack of disclosure on this matter is incredibly suspicious," Morgan said, narrowing her eyes at Ixion.

[Phoenix]

The Fury

"Obviously there is more to it than that; nonetheless, I cannot have you interfering, not at this stage," Ixion quickly shot back. At that point, he was keeping his eyes on the struggle between Shanice and Miranda, because they were both vulnerable in this state, and even if someone else didn't attack, Shanice could still turn the tables in an instant if Miranda let her guard down.

"What's he getting at?" Lev muttered to himself, trying to figure out what Ixion was really up to on his own. He captured Shanice awhile back to make Miranda, and now he was letting Miranda loose on Shanice in order to fuse their hearts together, but what did Ixion gain for all this? "Ixion, you said you've got no intention of stopping us from taking down the demon king, right? Then why the secrecy?"

Ixion glanced slightly toward Lev and eventually replied, "... Neither Miranda nor I can trust you to see things the way we do. In this one instance, we are not truly allies."

With a vicious tug, Miranda severed Shanice's core from its body, causing the demon's eyes to widen in horror. "I can't die heeeere! IXION!!!"

"Don't worry, you won't die ... not completely. You get to live on, as a part of me, that is~"

As Shanice's eyes filled with tears, it reached out with a bloody hand, trying desperately to reach Miranda's face, but to no avail. "DAMN YOU, YOU BITCH!!!" Immediately, Shanice's entire body froze solid and was encased in ice, along with Miranda's legs and her lower torso.

"Ow! Urgh ... I should have gotten up faster. Now I'm stuck." Miranda began scanning the area. They were still watching for the most part. "Iso!" She called over hoping to get the fire mage's attention, but his ears were still covered. Fortunately for Miranda, Irina got him to stop doing that, and directed his eyes toward the now half frozen former teacher of his.

"Miranda?" (What the hell happened to Shanice?! What's happening to Miranda, she's trapped in the ice?!)

"Iso, if this doesn't work out, we're probably never going to see each other again, so ..." she paused to take a breath. "... don't look away."

"What are you doing?!"

[-Cynthia-]

"Er, should we be helping her get out of that?" Tristan asked Charlotte, watching the scene with curiosity.

"I'm not sure who we should be helping at this point," she replied, feeling rather indecisive. This is definitely beyond just killing Shanice at this point- what's going on here? she wondered, the pair still hovering above the demons.

"You used Shanice to create Miranda before- you are probably trying to harvest its parts for future creations," Morgan guessed. "I would advise against this- even the small amount of demonic energies in the Crimson Weapons is difficult to control and this is much greater." Part of her considered blasting Ixion out of the way, but she was still weakened from the previous battle and he was not, so words would have to suffice for the moment.

Edited October 13, 2013 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

The End

"Miranda is the only one who will be burdened with 'control'; my plans can go no further unless she overcomes Shanice," Ixion explained.

"She seems to be doing just fine," Lev bitterly noted. He felt almost compelled to take back that statement when Miranda used her fingers to stab into her own chest. "... what the hell?"

"Hrrr-rrrgh, this hurts sooo much ... but I can't swallow this thing, so ..." Miranda began trying to force the core she'd taken from Shanice into her body, and it took more effort than she expected just to get it partway in. She also had to bear intense pain throughout the gruesome organ transplant. About half a minute after she wounded herself to begin the graphic procedure, she managed to get Shanice's half of their shared core into her body, and that was that ....

"Miranda?" Iso tried to see if she was alright from a safe distance. As much as he wanted to go over there, Irina was right there, and he knew she wouldn't let him take any unnecessary risks.

Whether from the intense pain or from the two halves of their hearts now merging together, Miranda was in a light daze. "I'm glad I didn't have to use you as a shield, Iso. I wasn't looking forward to that." After telling Iso that, arcs of red lightning began to spring out from her body by the dozens, each running along either the ground around her or Shanice's frozen body. Steam quickly began to rise up from them both shortly afterward. "The real fight's just beginning for me, I think ... but if I win, I'll finally be free."

"Free to what?" Iso tried to stand up on reflex, but just as he'd suspected earlier, Irina wouldn't let him go any closer and forced him back down onto one knee. "Miranda, what- ... what are you doing?!"

Just as he was about to try and force his way up again, an explosion of vapor engulfed Miranda and Shanice and shards of ice and arcs of red thunder began to fly outward in all direction. Irina quickly tackled Iso to the ground and covered both of their heads with her gauntlets as shards began bombarded them. Ixion just stood there as the tiny fragments smashed into his barrier. The arcs were a bigger threat, but they were underpowered and simply danced over the surface of his barrier. Lev meanwhile, moved Krinkov in front of Morgan while shielding his face. There was nothing he could do about the thunder though, and Krinkov ended up being zapped several times. "Argh! Should have brought a damn helmet ..."

Viveka and Susann fared worse than the wyvern riders, as the latter received a number of scrapes and cuts while the former was stunned by an arc temporarily and nearly fell off as a result. She also received a few cuts herself, but her biggest problem was that she was hanging on by one of the saddle stirrups and nothing else. Her lance had already fallen all the way to the ground and embedded itself in the dirt. Realizing that her rider couldn't climb back into the saddle like this, Susann swooped down to land away from the scene.

"Urgh ... Miranda, what the hell was that?" Iso pulled his head up once the ice shower had passed and tried to see what had happened at the center of the blast. There was nothing to see for the moment, just a thick cloud and occasional sparks. (No, please don't tell me she's gone ... along with Shanice.)

"I suppose now it is time to see if our gamble paid off," Ixion quietly noted to himself. "Morgan, I believe the merger of their hearts has caused them to become one again, though I'm not sure what caused that violent power discharge just now. Miranda's body and mind was the one that serves as the base for this merged heart, however, which means there is a relatively good chance that she will still be there when the fog clears. If Shanice is still in control ... I will help you destroy it ... once and for all."