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[Takosher]

Dragon

"Good Luck in there." Allia said, stepping forward to take the plunge, "And have fun."

The last to descend into darkness, Dragon entered the tomb with the will to fight.

...

A spotlight lit the area around Dragon, momentarily blinding her. When her sight returned, she saw that she wasn't alone. Across the cave, a similar light had illuminated a tall, strong-looking woman with short, scarlet hair and silver eyes. She was poised lightly on her feet, ready to jump into action the instant Dragon moved. Around her arms were a pair of metal bracers with rust-colored gems sprouting from them in the form of feathers. An obvious holy weapon if Dragon had ever seen one.

Monika

Lily nodded. "We're going all the way to the Stone Ocean, so we'll have to drive the rest of the way. With all the skirting around military activity we'll need to do, it might take us a few days to get there. I'll do my best to explain everything on the way."

The three of them bid Astarotte farewell and began the drive to the Stone Ocean. On the way, Lily explained the cosmic game played between gods, what Stewards, Knights, and other pieces were, and what Fate--Monika--and the Truth she held in her hands meant. It took a while for her to wrap her head around it all, but once she did, she understood fully what was happening. More importantly, she understood her role in it. She was Fate, the future itself. She had been chosen by the world itself to be the one who would decide its destiny. It was no small responsibility, but it had been entrusted to her nonetheless.

Several evenings later, they finally reached their destination. The Stone Ocean was oddly peaceful, nothing at all like what Monika had seen of it lapping at the cliffs on the outskirts of Katrespite. With the purple-orange of the sunset echoing off its grey expanse, it managed to look more beautiful than dangerous. What did look dangerous was the ominous stairway that led into the blackness down below. Layla had already explained where they were headed. The final resting place of the world itself. All Monika had to do was deliver herself and Truth down that staircase.

Kirari

Verna's breathing sped up and she clutched Kirari tighter. Kirari's face ended up smashed against Verna's neck, and the former monster's tears ran down her body in a warm stream of pent-up sorrow. Verna couldn't help crying herself, weeping into Kirari's hair. It was a strange sight to say the least. Two combatants from opposing armies, both vile by any humane standard, bawling in each others arms in the middle of a warzone. "It's okay Kirari." Verna was clearly struggling not to panic. "Doc says crying is good. It- it lets the bad stuff out." A strangled wail slipped out of her throat as she lost control of her voice again. Unable to voice her comfort through her own sobs, Verna chose instead to activate her weapon's power ever so slightly, bathing them both its warm, liberating glow.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Dragon

One glance around the cave and she knew it'd been too damn long since she'd last done this. The chick opposite her was just as foreign as the whole spot light setup. Didn't even know where or when she was, but she already knew that was no reason to be alarmed here. With nothing else to take in she let her gaze settle on the mystery woman.

Gauntlets eh? Probably a defensive ability of some kind. Or maybe something to do with punching. Or both.

"Oi, you there!" She called. "It's been a few- fuck, I don't know, Eons? -since I've done this song and dance. How about a little refresher on how we do things down in the tomb?"

Even as she asked, there was a flash of bronze light that replaced her humanoid form with a stone abomination that would've mimicked a dragon in shape and size... were it not for the four massive, writhing rock tentacles that sprouted from its back. She had a distinct feeling that her refresher might come in the form of a full on assault.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

The murderess continued to babble out incoherent apologies. Apologies for what she'd done. Apologies for what she hadn't done. Apologies for existing, and not existing. Apologies for apologizing. She eventually stopped, not because she ran out of apologies, but because she ran out of breath. When she was able to fill her lungs back up through choked sobs, she spoke again, voice croaking. "I still don't understand. I. . . why don't you hate me? Why won't Doc hate me? I can't, I can't make any sense of it. I don't understand. . ." As she trailed off, she shifted some of her weight back onto her own feet, if only to stop taxing the already-overstressed Verna.

It was strange. She felt awful. Her face was smeared with snot, her cheeks stung, her eyes were sore, her throat was scratched. Kirari felt drained, in a way she didn't feel like she ever had. Even moreso than she had a seeming eternity ago, waking up as a different person, complete but so terribly broken still. Yet. . . there was a strange sort of comfort in this, as if she'd been holding her breath and finally inhaled fresh air. She closed her eyes, breathing in deliberate fashion. "Verna." Her voice wavered, but it was closer to her version of normal. A silence stretched out as she searched for what to say. "Thank you." Yes, that was it. That was also the near sum of what she could manage at the moment. "You'll. . . you'll be okay."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

Fate. It all made sense, in a way, when you put all the pieces together. And standing at the top of the descending staircase, at what may be the cusp of everything her life had been leading up to, Monika felt... Calm. She didn't know what, exactly, would happen when she descended, but she knew that whatever was thrown her way, she could handle. Not because of the fact that she was Fate, but because she was Monika; Daughter of Kellen Sydow, and one of the greatest duelists in Katria.

For a brief moment, Monika couldn't help but let out a small laugh, "One last dive into the unknown eh? Can't even have you by my side" she muttered to herself, her thoughts shifting to Kirari for a few moments. It hurt not having her partner with her right now, with how great of a pair they made... And for the fact that Kirari likely had no idea where she was right now. But they were both strong on their own. Monika could survive what was to come on her own, and Kirari didn't need her to hold her hand anymore.

... She might not have a choice in the matter, depending on how things played out.

"Alright. Let's get this done with" Monika finally said aloud, having taken a few moments to steel herself. With that, gripping the handle of her halberd tightly, Monika took the first step into the dark.

[Takosher]

Kirari

Verna nodded numbly, still unable to bring any words to her lips. With her best approximation of a smile, she let her weapon's light fade.

The radio interrupted again. "First Lieutenant Kirari, this is Captain Cay. Please give me your location so I can come pick you up, we need to return to Katrespite."

Dragon

In response to Dragon's transformation, the redhead sprouted a large bone from her wrist in the shape of a hook. She grabbed hold of it and twisted, bending it enough to snap free. With her grotesquely crafted weapon in hand, she broke into a sprint. The spotlight followed her across the cave as she rapidly closed the distance between herself and Dragon. Just before she got within Dragon's reach, she pushed off the ground in a forward leap, swinging the bone claw in front of her to catch whatever attack Dragon might have been preparing to throw.

{dragon theme}

Monika

A ring of bright, multicolored lights chased away the darkness around Monika. The cave that would serve as her final arena was revealed, as well as her opponent. Herself, past or future. Lily had explained the final trial as well. Each piece would face themselves in another time, fighting with the same goal to reach the final resting place of the world and allow their Steward to alter the Truth. Monika couldn't rely on her convictions, the other Sun that she faced would have the very same.

The Sun that stood in her path was a much younger girl dressed in strange clothes. She was wearing a skintight grey suit with some sort of strange sidearm attached to it through unknown means at the hip, what appeared to be skirts for her arms dangling down past her hands, and some kind of oddly-shaped backpack projecting a dull orange glow towards the floor. As for the girl herself, she looked equally as strange. She had deathly pale skin that Monika was almost certain was transparent, blood red eyes with some kind of strange gold patterning in the iris, and blonde hair with what appeared to be orange glowsticks woven into its short side braid. Monika also got the distinct impression that her alternate self was mentally undressing her, which might not have been quite as weird if the girl weren't clearly underage.

{sun theme}

Martyr

The cave Arturia found herself in flickered with the light of a campfire. It was a rather jarring thing to see, given her last memory before this moment was burning alive. Across from her stood a familiar face, although it was different at the same time. An image of herself, refracted across time and idea to form something new. A pair of nails pierced through the silver-haired girl's hands like the sword through Arturia's chest. Arturia didn't know how she had gotten here, but it was obvious from the other Arturia's sweaty face and nervous shaking that she was expecting a fight.

"You're the one Lily is looking for, right?" the other Arturia asked, "She said it would have to be you, since you're the only other Martyr." She raised her hands in front of her in an amateurish approximation of a fighting stance and started walking forward slowly. "Please let me fight you. I have to win so I can help her."

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

Kirari pried herself off Verna and took several deep breaths before responding. "Does-" Her voice cracked with what she'd just been doing. She cleared her throat before resuming her statement. "Does Katrespite lead toward the Major's last whereabouts? I can give you my coordinates, I'm not far from where she engaged Saro Ven, but I do not plan on reporting back until I have regrouped with her." She stopped speaking into the radio, instead turning her attention to her companion for the moment. "It's going to look very strange to them if you are still here. What do you plan on doing?"

Martyr

The orange glow was pain, pain and gruesome failure. The knight recoiled, shying just slightly away from the campfire without having time to properly process what it was. Then there was the girl. Herself? She seemed to be the same age, or close to, and it felt like looking in the mirror. The similarities of their weapons did not go unnoticed, either. And then there was her question; it wasn't exactly a mystery who Lily was, considering the circumstance.

"Fight you?" At the girl's approach, Arturia took up her own stance, one somewhat more practiced but still rough with inexperience. "I'm sick of fighting. All I want to do is help Lilith, why do we have to fight?" She only came here with the knowledge she'd had just before her untimely end(?); nothing in that told her that anything would require fighting a strange mirror of herself.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Dragon

"Not even a hello? Typical." Yes. It was all coming back. She wasn't quite sure when this one had been pulled from; time was convoluted in this place, with pieces centuries old and young alike phasing in and out. She recognized that type of reckless charge though, she'd gotten the first of many scars from committing to one just like it when she was younger. She'd called it.

Dragon pushed off the ground just before her opponent, leaping sideways well beyond her immediate reach. Her tentacles whipped in a frenzy before she even landed; A raucous boom split the silence that had fallen, and the air between Eilyth and her opponent was immediately filled with death as she loosed several dozen scales. The cloud of shrapnel was easily voluminous enough to intercept the woman's trajectory. Even if it didn't, the second volley that immediately followed embedded just as many into the stone floor around them, effectively serving as caltrops that were virtually impossible to spot beyond the perimeters of their spotlights. They would do nothing to impede her own mobility, but a mostly flesh and blood enemy's was a different story entirely.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

"So, you're me huh? Or at least a different version of me" Monika commented aloud once she saw her opponent, bringing a hand up to her chin as she too inspected the other Sun in front of her, "Hm... Quite the daring fashion sense I'd say. You'd likely be quite the looker if you were a bit older". It was nice to know that being Fate had its perks, though the paleness was a bit much. Still, looking into the red eyes that stared back at her... It was almost as if looking into a mirror. One that was admittedly trying to undress her mentally, but a mirror nonetheless.

"Unfortunately, we're not here for complimenting appearances, are we?" Monika added with a light sigh, spacing her feet apart and entering her traditional fighting stance, "Honestly, I'd hate to fight someone so young, but if you're anything like me, you're probably more than ready for this, am I right?"

[Takosher]

Monika

The other Sun grinned. "The Sun is hot no matter the era, right?" she joked, "The name's Rxilu, and I'm ready when you are." She took a small step forward and her muscles tensed, making it clear that she was, in fact, ready.

Dragon

The other Dragon threw her free hand forward and a bony shield rapidly sprouted from it. It blocked Dragon's attack, but each hit chipped it apart. By the end of the assault, the other Dragon had been knocked backwards out of the air and her shield was little more than chips of bone on the ground. She smiled, or at the very least bared her teeth. They were sharp and curved inwards, completely inhuman in nature. She spoke, but Dragon couldn't understand a word of it. It seemed that each Dragon was as much of a monster to each other as they were to everyone else.

Kirari

"What do you mean?" Verna tilted her head quizzically, "I'm going with you!"

Martyr

"If I don't defeat you, Lily will keep suffering." the other Arturia said, "Katrina is going to make things worse again. But if Lily gets to make a wish instead of Katrina, she'll finally get to be with you. Only one of us can go into the tomb, so we have to fight to decide who goes."

The fire pit crackled as a log broke in half and the flames reformed around the toppling wood.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

At the other Sun's response, Monika couldn't help but smile, "Right you are. Name's Monika" she replied, shifting her stance slightly as they got into position. Young or not, this was another Sun, and Monika never looked down upon others for their age. For all she knew, she could be (and likely was) a war hero in her own world, much like her. It was a battle of equals, both of them ready to fight to their last breath in order to get to the end.

It was almost poetic, in a way. Monika's final opponent was simply another version of herself.

With that thought, Monika made the first move, a sudden explosion erupting from her feet as she leapt forward, clearing the distance between the two of them, a flurry of smaller explosions erupting from around her body as she quickly spun in the air, creating a wide-arc as she slashed at Rxilu with her halberd.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

The former Dame just sort of looked at Verna. In that moment, she felt even closer to Doc than before. Then, she sighed. "Okay. Just. . . we'll pretend I captured you. Okay? The Katrian military isn't going to just accept a tagalong from someone like me, especially if that tagalong is someone like you." She paused to let Verna voice her opinion, then turned on the radio once more. "I've taken a captive. She is under control. My current coordinates are. . ."

Martyr

Arturia tensed again at the mention of 'Katrina.' As usual, it was her. The bitch who killed her. The one she should have taken the head off of, instead of getting thrown into the flames like the useless trash she was. "If it's to screw her over, I'm up for anything." Not quite true, of course, but she was angry. "Especially if it means saving Lilith. I made a promise to her and I'm going to keep it." She turned to face the other Arturia more directly, forcing herself to make eye contact as she spoke. "You're nice to her. Nobody else seems to be. I really don't want to fight you. But if it's really the only way to save her, then I'll do it."

She let her eyes drop to a slightly more comfortable position. "I want to know your name, though. Even if only one of us walks out of here, I don't wanna just. . . I don't know. It wouldn't feel right. So, um. I'm Arturia Eberhardt."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Dragon

"Sorry, Whelp, afraid I don't speak gibberish." She began to slowly circle her lesser, studying the ruined shield fragments. A direct hit would probably smash any further instance of it apart, but she was still unsure whether that brittleness paid for increased offensive potential. Simply sticking to ranged and wearing her down slowly until she made a fatal error was certainly plausible, but terribly boring.   

You can't even peek behind the Veil can you? Answer me, wretch.

Eilyth gave no time to respond though, even if her other self could. Beneath her armor she pulled back the tentacles of her right flank, leaving the mere fraction of the stone extension they occupied now empty. She had long since learned to see her armor not as a static stone wall to be built and rebuilt against the world, but as a fluid construct to be twisted and molded as she desired. Against Layla she'd had to discard and reform portions of it in order to change it's configuration. Against this pretender though, she merely issued the neural impulse, and instantly the scales of the empty tentacles shifted and morphed to form a single massive wing, it's exterior layer bristling with stone spikes.

Eilyth was already moving again, quickly accelerating to her armor's top speed as she curled the deadly limb in front of her as a shield. Yet before she was close enough to impale the other monster, another deafening boom sounded as the wing violently unfurled. Another volley of razor sharp shrapnel was loosed upon the Bone Dragon, and as they flew, Eilyth skid to halt and twisted her body. Her full momentum was transferred into her tentacles as they both cleaved 180 degree arcs in front of her; Arcs that were massive enough to offend anywhere her opponent might dodge to, and powerful enough to smash through her shield if she dared to block the volley again.

[Takosher]

Dragon

Dragon's own attack masked the movements of her enemy. But then, her enemy didn't seem to be moving, as the spotlight around her remained completely still. Which made it very unusual when her sweeping tentacles met no resistance. It was only when the light shifted directly above her and a weight unexpectedly landed on her back that she was able to realize what had happened.

The Bone Dragon could fly. While Dragon had been shifting, she'd created her own wings. Multicolored feathers sprouted all along what had previously been her arms, making her look like some sort of fanged bird-person.

Unfortunately for Dragon's more mobile double, Amicus's scales were too resilient to be overcome by chipping away at them with clawed toes. Although the Bone Dragon was surely an adept fighter, she simply didn't have the tools at her disposal to overcome Dragon's regeneration.

Kirari

Verna put her hands behind her back and sat down, waiting with a surprising amount of patience for Kirari's allies to pick them up. When Cay arrived, Verna made sure to give them a friendly wave before returning her hands to their "captured" position.

On the way back to Katrespite, Cay informed Kirari that Lily of Damnation had somehow reached the battlefield and, after killing Emmery, had abducted Monika. It was unclear where she had taken her, but their general direction seemed to lead towards the Stone Ocean. They needed to return to the capital for more information, and so the higher ups could make sure Kirari hadn't done anything stupid.

After a week of deliberation and a lot of effort convincing said higher ups that letting her bring Verna along did not constitute "something stupid", Kirari was greenlit to chase after Monika, who had been spotted approaching the Stone Ocean near the border.

Kirari isn't aware of the fact that this is all Astarotte pulling strings, but that's why it seems so convenient.

While Cay and Sally, the only other members of the Wrath of God still in fighting shape, accompanied Kirari most of the way, she and Verna were the only ones to actually approach the Stone Ocean. And Kirsten. She looked completely different, but Kirari knew it was her. "You're here." Kirsten recognized Kirari as well. She turned to face the monster, her own eyes failing to conceal the guilt that engulfed Kirari's own. The magnitude of things this woman had done was beyond anything even Kirari could imagine. "Did you look behind the veil? No, you probably haven't yet." Kirsten smirked, "I'd like to speak with you again, before we descend."

The mention of a descent drew Kirari's eyes to the staircase visible in the now-still Stone Ocean. She might have had thoughts on what it could mean, but Verna shaking her arm prevented them. "Kirari, who is that??"

Martyr

"Ginevra Hertz." the other Arturia introduced herself.

As if in response, the fire suddenly went dark. After a few chilling moments, more fire sparked to life, this time in a ring around the fire pit. It was slowly spreading outwards, threatening to engulf the entire cave in but a few minutes.

Monika

Monika was fast, fast enough to be hard to follow at times. Most people who weren't trained fighters were easily overwhelmed by her raw speed alone.

Compared to Rxilu, Monika was the untrained fighter. She didn't even have time to see her alternate self start moving, the girl was simply behind her while her slash struck empty space. Rxilu's backpack spewed jets of flame that wrapped around her arms and launched forwards in a stream towards Monika.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

A week. She'd wanted to leave immediately, and she'd been held up for a week. The span had been spent with precious little sleep, and not just because she was anxious to find her commanding officer. If she was going to be stuck waiting for the gears of bureaucracy to grind out an answer, then she was going to take the opportunity. Kirari worked on her journals, ensuring no detail had gone unrecorded. The fight with Marionette, and Verna's sudden change. The strange experience she'd had inside Mia's head, and the promise to carry a memory forward. Things of the past, as well. A record of her life from as far back of her childhood, told in as much detail as could be managed in the time she had, up to her awakening in that hospital.

When she finally left for the Stone Ocean, her pale skin was marked with more than just esoteric, shadowy lines comprehensible only to her. A part of her had been reticent to meddle with Aia's body, but the rest wanted it. It felt right. Aia was gone, and Kirari was not, for however long until her end of the bargain was paid. The memoirs she had of Monika, of Verna and Doc, of Miru, those few people who had, for some inexplicable reason, been kind to a person like her, found a second home on her arms. Her flesh was still pink with irritation, fresh ink finding its resting place, as they set off northward.

Kirari was grateful that the other two had stayed behind. Whatever was about to happen, she didn't want them mixed up in it. Verna was also someone she didn't want here, for the same reason, but she could handle herself, and wouldn't have taken no for an answer. Her thoughts on the matter were reinforced when an unfamiliar, yet recognizable face greeted her at the shore. "Kirsten," she said, as both answer and acknowledgement. "You seem to be making a habit of showing up in unexpected places." The veil again. What did she mean? There was only one thing she'd experienced that she would call 'beyond the veil' with the weight she seemed to give it. Given the woman's seemingly impossible communications, perhaps that was what she meant. A part of her thoughts turned toward that memory, the bargain she'd made. Is this what Kirsten spoke of?

Martyr

Arturia's breath caught in her throat, the gasp echoing through the cave. Guess that means we're taking too much time. "Alright. Ginevra, I'm not going to let you win. I promised her, and promised me, that I would find a way to get back to her. I need to fix what I broke. If there's any chance that I can be there to do it, I'm taking it." She took a step toward Ginevra, yellow sparks raising themselves from her arms and snapping at the air nearby. "I'm sorry."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

In the instant her counterpart vanished, Monika couldn't help but let a surprised look creep into her expression. But, in that same instant, Monika let her instincts take the reigns, and explosion launching herself further upwards, barely avoiding the two jets of flame that roared through where she had been a mere moment ago. In any other situation, Monika would've been shocked at the speed her counterpart had just showed... But in this situation, she didn't have much time to think. Especially when she was the slower of the two.

So, with another series of explosions, Monika quickly righted herself in the air, before another detonation sent her back down towards Rxilu, her Halberd thrusting out to try and skewer her counterpart. Though with the speed she had just shown, Monika practically expected her to easily dodge the attack, and thus, once her feet hit the ground, Monika would waste no time setting off another explosion, launching herself to the side in the event of another attack.