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[birdy51]

: "Thank you... Have a good night dear."

Miguel turned back to his room and snuck inside. His hands fumbled blindly, removing each scrap of his armor with care. Upon his wrinkled arms he could see the splotches of red and purple bruises caused by the chafing of his armor and the blows of his foes.

He was old. When he had started this all, it was like a game. A chance to play the hero for those last few twilight days. But now it was quite different from those early days.

Next came the leg plates. Then the shoulder pads. Tonight was no victory. But whether one was even possible in the first place was a mystery. He glanced down at his aging hands. The only metal remaining on his hand was a simple brass and gold wedding band. He clasped it close to him and bowed toward it in deep thought.

: "Things are getting tougher... But I'm still holding on to our dream... I miss you dear..."

[Swordstar]

Ciera stared sadly at Leo before shaking her head.

"I tried to convince myself that what I was doing was right. But after seeing Efa... I ruined everything tonight. I keep messing up. All I'll ever be to you all is a burden. I'm sorry that you have to deal with me. I know you were just trying to help but... Really, you don't need to bother."

She smiled sadly at him before pushing past, heading to one of the abandoned bedrooms where she curled up on an empty bed and stared at the wall, trying to figure out how she could ever fix this.

[Blade Master Model 42]

Sheila wandered for a short while and came upon Julius and Alec after Sepin had left. "Hey you two. How are you guys holding up?"

[CrimsonEon]

Carefully putting the sack into his larger pack again, he noticed Sheila approaching.
: "Fine, physically." Alec shrugged as he answered Sheila, "We've got a whole lot of problems in a short timespan though. Again."

[Blade Master Model 42]

"Would you mind telling me what happened? Ciera is in a bad way. I mean, she kind of told me what happened near the end of the fight but..." Sheila trailed off. She was sure that, whatever it was, the reason Ciera had killed Efa's sister had been a good one.

[CrimsonEon]

Alec flinched on hearing Sheila mention Ciera, after scratching the back of his head he looked a little to the side.
: "A sniper that resembled Efa's sister led a contingent here. I don't know if that was actually the real one or a fake but... for all intents and purposes she seemed like the real deal. Convinced Efa herself, for sure, to the point she tried to shake her to her senses and ask for enough time to convince her sister otherwise."
: "Ciera was dead-set on taking her out before we could restrain her or talk her out of it, since Efa's sister seemed pretty set on the Empire's side. Candy and I tried both before Fly Girl dealt the final blow, but ultimately it didn't work."

[Powder Miner]

Efa, by this point, had put her hand over her face and simply sat, hunched over and slightly shaking, against one of the walls.

[Blade Master Model 42]

"I see..." Sheila looked at the floor, arms crossed over her chest. "Did she say why she was fighting us? Did she try to get Efa to join her or anything?"

[CrimsonEon]

: "No, she seemed monotonous and solely driven by her mission, which apparently was to find whoever brought us out here and execute all of us. She hesitated slightly when first talking to Efa, but quickly reverted after that, down to shooting Efa herself. Nothing after that even made her flinch."
: "I wonder if that's a side effect of whatever made her into that construct... revenant... thing. You know what, I need to come up with a proper name sometime."

[Blade Master Model 42]

"Wait, construct revenant what now?" Sheila tilted her head to one side, looking bewildered.

[CrimsonEon]

: "Er, right. When Ciera dealt the killing blow Efa's sister degraded into dust. A lot like Duke Kretos did."
Alec quickly explained before sighing and muttering.
: _{"Right... I know it wasn't a person but... I wish she wouldn't be so ready and willing to martyr herself."}

[Blade Master Model 42]

"The hell?" Sheila scratched at the top of her head, confused. "I thought that happened to the Duke because he'd extended his life with magic or something. But Efa's sister would have been young, wouldn't she? Why would that happen?"

[CrimsonEon]

: "Beats me. My best guess says either Duke Kretos worked with the Empire to develop that kind of magic, or the Empire stole it from him, or vice versa. Point is, there's likely a connection, and we need to know what we're up against."

[Blade Master Model 42]

"I definitely agree there. Whatever is going on with it, I doubt it's anything that's going to be good for us anytime soon." Sheila's face twisted into a scowl. "We need to figure out where those berserk staves are coming from too. Those things are just wrong."

[CrimsonEon]

: "You don't need to tell me twice. I had some inspiration to finish work on a counter-song for it lately, but I'm not sure if it works."
Alec shifted on his feet slightly.
: "Was Ciera at least healed up last you saw her?"