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[Sutoratosu Akira]

Dragon

No, of course you can't answer. Why would you? It seems I truly have become the greatest of our kind.

She didn't even waste the effort trying to shake the enraged harpy off. Just took a moment to truly appreciate that she was the endpoint of their evolution, the one who had gone beyond human and monster alike. Appreciate that no matter what happened, she would be not only the greatest dragon, but The Last Dragon.

"You've made a good effort, but it's time to rest, Whelp." Her words, foreign as they might be to her assailant, were punctuated by several of her back scales quickly merging into spikes long enough to impale the bird if she refused to leave her perch. But Eilyth already knew she would. The Bone whelp was basic compared to what waited at the end of their lineage, but not even that final manifestation was arrogant enough to think her a fool. Dragons lived and died on their combined tenacity and their wits.

Leaping back a bit in the opening the harpy's flight would create, Eilyth's armor once more shifted and morphed on the spot. When she landed, it was as a bipedal draconoid in what appeared to be full plate, barely any taller than her true height. A second, albeit still completely nonfunctional wing had formed on her back, and both appendages anchored themselves across her shoulders to create a writhing mantle of stone. A mantle that soon parted to reveal yet another wing sprouting from her own wrist, this one far smaller, sleeker, and it's edge so keen it glinted under the spotlight that surrounded her. Unlike Bone Dragon she had no need to snap the weapon off, for it simply folded itself into her grasp on demand.

"The world that will be born after today will have no need of dragons, for better or for ill." She continued, adopting a suspiciously tight stance set back on her retreating foot with her lead extended out, blade held at a ready angle near her head while her opposite arm extended out with a clawed grip. "Killing men is easy for us, trivial even. We both know that. But it wouldn't do to end this so unceremoniously, so I'll grant you an honor. I'll show you the form I developed not to kill men, but meisters."

[Takosher]

Dragon

As anticipated, Bone Dragon leapt back into the air in response to Dragon's attack. She landed a ways away, keeping back as Dragon transformed her armor. But despite Dragon's clear advantage, Bone Dragon wasn't yet at the cusp of defeat. She began her own transformation by turning her arms back to normal human appendages. Then, a massive wall of bone sprouted from her, reinforcing itself over and over in layer after layer of brittle protection. It was an impressive display, but Dragon would have no trouble breaking through it on weight alone. It seemed that Bone Dragon was simply outmatched.

Monika

Rxilu surpassed Monika's expectations. Just as fast as before, she met Monika in the air at the same time that Monika sent herself flying downwards. The unknown weapon at her hip had been drawn, revealing itself to be some kind of baton. A baton that Monika had just stabbed through her own stomach.

Following Monika's momentum, the two crashed to the ground in a heap. Neither had properly predicted the reaction speed of the other, and the situation was more than a little jarring. Rxilu used her jetpack to remove herself from Monika, leaving the weapon behind. "Shit, are you going to be okay?" she said. The look on her face was extremely disturbed, and Monika immediately recognized it from the first time she'd impaled an enemy meister on her halberd. Rxilu knew how to fight, clearly, but she had never been in a fight to the death.

Kirari

Yeah, that's what she's talking about.

The world opens up before Kirari as she reads those words, revealing the truth behind reality. Unfortunately, there's no time to inquire further, as the text continues on, showing Kirari the world in front of her through a third-person lens.

"I see you figured it out." Kallisto said, "Try to push it back and focus on your regular senses, it's not hard. Unlike most things in this world." She shot a glare in what should have been a random direction, but Kirari understood where that look was aimed, she could feel the same presence watching her from behind the words. "I wanted to ask you something, if that's alright." Kallisto said to Kirari, "How do you intend to fix your mistakes?"

Martyr

Ginevra nodded. "I understand, I'd do the same thing." She continued walking towards Arturia, hands raised and clearly not ready for a fight. She definitely wasn't going to make the first move.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Dragon

There was no point drawing this out any further. She had a goddess to slay and a world to save. Though her own wings could not fly, they held within them far more physical power than the bone dragon could likely leverage from her entire body. As Eilyth took a step forward every ounce of that strength poured out, slamming off the stone floor and violently launching her into the bone wall. She barely even registered as she smashed directly through it.

The moment she was on the other side she brought her blade down with all her might, intent on giving her lesser a far cleaner and more dignified death than the hundreds upon hundreds who had previously fallen to the Dragon of Katria:

Decapitation.

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

Interesting. There's a lot to take in here. Luckily, she's had practice splitting up and focusing her own perceptions - and she has questions to answer.

"I don't." She angled her head down a touch, but maintained eye contact with the Queen before her. "I can't bring back the dead. I can't recreate the villages I broke for fun. I can't undo my sister's sacrifice or my response to it, and I certainly can't go back to pretending I'm nothing more than a broken girl with no past. What I can do is make the sacrifices people have made for me, voluntary or otherwise, worthwhile. For as long as I exist, I will be trying to atone for the damage I've done - but that damage can't be fixed." As she spoke this last, she gestured to her own body, the ultimate representation of her actions leading here.

Martyr

She returned the nod, and the barely-restrained sparks became a storm, wreathing herself in furious Power. Arturia advanced slowly on Ginevra, half because she preferred to fight defensively, and half to prepare herself for what she was about to do. Will I even be able to face her? It sounds like it's been so long. If I see her again, I'll have the blood of the Knight she chose as my successor on my hands. She grit her teeth. It has to be this way. It only gets harder. Always a bigger challenge, another thing to hurt her, or to hurt Lilith, another thing to rip apart what little remained of her humanity. Guilt wracked each deliberate step, sorrow lurking beneath determination in her gaze, as she closed on her unwilling foe.

"Damn it!" Breaking her stride, she lunged at Ginevra, leaping through the air on the power of pure frustration. Her power focused itself in her striking arm, warding her as she attacked. "Fuck all of this! Why am I doing this again!? Fuck!" Regardless of the result of her strike, she pulled back, only to redouble her assault with the last expletive.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

Layla's tits, why was it always her stomach? This was just like when she got hit full force by Mack's bat. Except this time there was a baton piercing through her stomach. She's had worse, naturally, but this was still not a good feeling. Still, as Rxilu worried over her, Monika responded with a light groan, bringing up a hand to feel her wound, wincing at the shot of pain that coursed through her body, "Don't worry about me. I've survived worse" was her initial comment, right before a small explosion erupted from her back, bringing Monika right back up to her feet (albeit with a little stumble). She didn't bother trying to remove the baton right now: She didn't have the medical supplies to really worry about it.

"Fuck, but that's going to sting for a while. I'm guessing you've never had to kill before, have you? Haven't met many people that worry about their opponent."

[Twinwolf]

Estela

With nothing more to do with the crazy situation she'd found herself in, Estela decided to focus on what she could figure out - what the heck was going on in her own camp with the mysterious woman with the radio. So she'd start marching off with Mirka in tow.

[Takosher]

Mirka and Estela

When Mirka and Estela approached the camp, they found several enlisted and officers knocked out by what appeared to be some sort of electrical charge. It quickly became apparent that the entire support crew they'd left behind had been knocked unconscious. All except the radio operator, who was tied up next to the girl who had taken the radio. Neither of them were yet aware of Mirka and Estela sneaking up, but things could easily get out of hand with a hostage involved, so it wasn't as simple as punching a steel ball into the back of the girl's head.

Monika

"Of course not!" Rxilu's eyes were wide with fear and uncertainty. She was shaking, and it would have surprised no one if she'd vomited. Again, Monika recalled her first duel and how disturbed she had felt the first time she spilled the blood of another. "Aster said this was a game, like rocketball, nobody dies in rocketball." Her eyes lit up with sudden alarm, more alert than the anxiety that had engulfed her features a moment before. "Oh god, you're going to kill me." She was suddenly wary of Monika, taking a step back as if to flee, if only there were anywhere left to flee to.

Kirari

Kallisto's face contorted with an emotion that Kirari was ill-equipped to recognize. "DO YOU THINK I HAVEN'T MADE SACRIFICES?!" she bellowed. Verna shrank to the ground, covering her head and whimpering. Kallisto took a step towards the two, her imposing presence aided by a deep red aura. "I HAVE GIVEN UP EVERYTHING! I SACRIFICED THE WORLD! I SACRIFICED MY HAPPINESS! I SACRIFICED MY OWN FUCKING SISTER! I CAN'T-" her rage suddenly broke into tears and she slumped her shoulders in defeat. She wept uncontrollably as she continued, "I couldn't atone even if I wanted to. I have to fix it, I have to." A sob slipped through her throat as she tried to force her brow to angle down in anger once more. The best she seemed to manage was a contorted mess of a face that was neither angry nor anguished. "I won't let you do this to me." she said quietly, not looking at Kirari anymore, "I won't let you get rid of me so easily."

Before Kirari had a chance to protest, Kallisto turned and marched towards the staircase. Just before she fully entered into the darkness, she held out a single finger towards the sky and shouted, "Fuck you!" After which she used her shield to collapse the entrance.

Eilyth

Eilyth's attack easily smashed through the wall of bones to slice through the Bone Dragon's spine. Only the spine.

Underneath Eilyth, the Bone Dragon leapt out from her burrow and used the long claws she had formed to start digging into Eilyth's armor directly, thing time managing to pry it open with much more efficient speed. She had also covered herself in multicolored plumage that would make it significantly harder to get any sort of attack through to her fleshier bits. Due to the sheer thickness of it, but also because the vibrant colors served to camouflage and disorient.

The Bone Dragon couldn't speak Eilyth's language, but her roar of determination needed no translation.

Trick

The mausoleum Trick found herself in was a bit on the nose, but she hadn't really expected anything less. It was a little odd that it was full of bookshelves, but she had seen stranger graves. Her counterpart was an older woman with greying blue hair tied up in a tight bun. She had narrow glasses sitting at the very end of her long nose, which she was looking down towards Trick. The rest of her outfit seemed like the sort of thing hoity-toity types would have worn three hundred years prior, although the fantastical-looking phone she was holding in her hand suggested that she was from another universe entirely.

"We can do away with the riddle-speak in here, right?" Trick asked cautiously.

"If you like." the alternate Gravestone answered, pocketing the phone inside her jacket, "I rather enjoy it myself. Confounding the youth is about the only joy left in my aging bones. It does get a bit tiring though." She took three mighty strides across the room and extended her hand to Trick. "Odessa Undertaker."

Trick took her hand and shook it. "Trick Patton."

"Hmmph, weak." Odessa said, raising as judgmental eyebrow towards Trick's rather flimsy looking arms. Odessa wasn't exactly a bodybuilding, but Trick could feel from her grip alone that the older woman kept in very good shape.

"Sorry to disappoint." Trick said with a shrug, "I guess I just haven't had much time to work out between running from the government and rebelling against the government."

"I cannot fight you, I would surely win against such a weak child." Odessa said, "Perhaps a game of wits would suit you better?"

"Honestly? I could use a break from fighting. It kinda sucks to run around naked all the time." Trick smirked confidently, "What kind of game did you have in mind, grandma?"

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

Kirari shrank back despite herself, though the woman's verbal assault didn't quite make her fold. Kallisto had struck with a deluge of pure emotion, and it was suffused with endless pain. Untangling the entire complex weave of feelings was beyond her at the moment, but that part, at least, she could recognize with certainty. The rest felt familiar, but that only made it more difficult to comprehend.

When it was over, she stepped toward Verna, offering a comforting hand on her shoulder - and to help her up, if she wanted. Her eyes didn't remain on the Neridan for long, though, her gaze drifting to the collapsed passage.

It's time, isn't it?

"Verna, you'll be okay. She's not here right now." She sighed. There were words that needed to be exchanged - assuming she could even get to where she needed to go. She'd save Monika from Lily of Damnation, if she still could, and it would likely be her final act. She was, quite frankly, terrified. Kirari faced what could very well be her own oblivion. Not death, oblivion. Death was a truth she had already accepted, a respite she'd yearned for at times. but what had been described. . . it went against every fiber of her being.

"I need to. . . I need to tell you something. And I'm sorry if you aren't ready to hear it, but not as sorry as I am for what it is." Kirari took a deep breath, trying to control the sudden swell of the feelings that'd rendered her a blubbering mess last week. She turned to face Verna. "I'm going to go down there. If I manage to. . . I most likely won't return. Unless I've made a mistake, this will be the last time we speak." Tears threatened to break through again, and again she threw her weight against that hatch, staving them off until she said what she needed to.

This is painful. Possibly moreso than feeling myself die of a gunshot wound. I'm correct, no? This is where I pay my end of the bargain?

"I care about you and I am happy to see that you've gotten stronger. I didn't understand you when we met and I still don't. You're a fascinating individual. I'm glad to have had you in my life. Thank you for caring about me." Another steadying breath, though its efficacy was in doubt, given it itself was rather unsteady. "And I need to ask you one last favor. When you see Doc, tell her. . . tell her I said thanks. Monika may have kept me on this path, but I don't know I would have found it at all if it wasn't for her. I suppose you could say she saved me. I'll never forget either of you."

If it is, then I just need to know what to do. And finish saying goodbye, before I have another breakdown.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Eilyth
Annoyance mixed with an odd pride even as she missed. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. One wing had already wrapped back around as soon as she noticed the motion beneath her, and all the Bone Dragon ended up tearing into was a fully expendable wall of stone that was already reforming even as it broke apart. She'd been too lenient so far, too defensive, but no more. Bone dragon's roar of determination was met by silence, and Eilyth's shield shifted as her blade cleaved through the bone claws that were assaulting it. A second blade simultaneously arced up to cleave through the arm they were attached to, complimenting the original strike such that from head-on, the technique resembled a pair of massive stone scissors devouring the plumed arm.

The colors were garish and irritating, sure, but they were nothing compared to what a dedicated Cipher could do, and Eilyth was already far too experienced against their ilk to be tricked by this rather mundane imitation. An extended limb was still an extended limb at the end of the day, and she had the power of a small mountain on her side.

Tank crews trembled before her gaze.
Layla had been pinned beneath her.
Even the goddess herself had failed to kill her.

And yet you persist despite the gods themselves already failing. I expect nothing less of my ancestor in spirit.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

"... Honestly, I wasn't planning to unless I had to. Life... Can get rough, to put it simply" Monika replied with a sigh, hand on her stomach as she planted her halberd beside her, "Killing you would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Like putting down a mirror image of myself. I can take pride in my skill, but I've never liked ending someone's life. But..." she continued, taking a look around the room the two were in, her cheerful expression fading as she put the truth of the matter in front of her, "... I doubt I know much more than you about this whole 'game'. But this is a chance to make my world a better place. A place where... Well, women like me wouldn't have to die and kill for someone else's demands. So I'm giving you this chance to stand down. If there's a chance that both of us can make it back to our friends in one piece, I would love to take it, but I'm not backing down" Fate finished, eyes narrowing as she stared at her counterpart. She didn't even know if there was a chance for both of them to leave this place alive if one stood down, perhaps only one would be able to leave.

And if that was the case, then Fate may have to add one more name to her list of regrets.

[Takosher]

Martyr

Despite her obvious reservations, Ginevra wasn't about to blow over in the face of a stiff breeze. She avoided Arturia's more than telegraphed attack and fired back with a spike-enhanced punch of her own. Despite appearances, she actually seemed a good deal faster than Arturia.

Monika

Rxilu seemed to take a while to process everything that Monika had said. "Alright. Okay. I'll give up." she said eventually, "I know this is world-changingly important, but I'm not going to put my life on the line for Aster." She took off her pack and set it on the ground, making it very clear she had no intention of fighting anymore.

Despite Rxilu's surrender, nothing happened.

[Chevaleresse]

Martyr

Arturia hurled herself sideways in response, but she was far too committed to her initial attack to dodge entirely. The attack thumped into her side with no small amount of force, opening up a rent in her side. She cried out through gritted teeth, but managed to stumble her way into a fighting stance and away from the encroaching flames. That's not good, not good at all. Way to go, dumbass. Still backpedaling, she quickly ran through her options. I'm already hurt on the first exchange and she's faster than me. My aura didn't do anything to stop her, either. I can't win by stalling.

The original Martyr placed one hand on the grip protruding from her chest, and drew a deep breath. With a grunt of effort and discomfort, she pulled the blade from it, a burst of lightning announcing its unsheathing. "I'm not gonna make it that easy." With that, she began a much more careful advance, hoping to exploit her superior reach to her foe.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Monika

As soon as Rxilu put her pack down, Monika gave a small smile, though the fierce look in her eye didn't falter, "Thank goodness. That solves that immediate problem. Now..." ignoring the pain in her stomach, Monika cast her gaze around the room, bringing a hand to her chin, "How are we going to leave..?"

Truthfully, she had hoped that once Rxilu surrendered, whatever 'rules' held this place together would acknowledge it and let her continue while letting Rxilu leave. But she wasn't an idiot, and as she thought, nothing had happened. Evidently, that meant that surrendering wasn't an option: Someone had to die. She'd have to kill her counterpart.

... At least, that's what the rules said. But she was Fate. If she were anyone else, then Monika would have to be content with her fate and kill Rxilu. But Fate would bend the rules to it's own liking. If even one less person had to die in this game of Gods, then Fate would be happy. So Fate believed, pushing towards a future where the two girls could live. This cruel game had gone on long enough.

[Takosher]

Dragon

Dragon had woefully underestimated her prehistoric ancestor's prowess at both digging and misdirection. The arm she cleaved through was made of naught but bone and feather, any flesh was far removed from the exposed appendage. Further, three more arms sprouted up to rip into the blades that had bisected the first, ripping them apart with surprising ease. That in itself was a lucky break, had those extra arms aimed for Dragon's heart, her fate may have been sealed.

It seemed that for all their creativity and adaptation, the two Dragons shared a fatal flaw: The need to win with superior strength.

Too bad for the Bone Dragon then, that Eilyth's strength simply surpassed hers.

Kirari

Kirari knows. If she simply wills the grave to reopen, it will do so. Just walk up to it.

Martyr

"Neither will I!" Ginevra's shout quavered with uncertainty. It was a declaration for her, not Arturia. Still, it held truth. Ginevra stabbed her fists into the ground, sending a ripple of electricity outwards to ward off Arturia's advance.

The flames continued to slowly consume the floor. Without a resolution soon, both Martyrs would be doomed to their inevitable fate.

Monika

Fate, huh? I suppose turnabout is fair play.

The earlier blackness suddenly swept over the cavern, indicating the end of the battle. Monika would never know Rxilu's Fate for certain, but given she was the one who designed it, it was safe to assume that the younger Sun would live on.

Monika involuntarily took another step down the stairs she didn't even know had returned. A few more steps and she reached the bottom, denoted by a simple wooden door.

Monika finds herself in what appears to be someone's living room. It's a rather huge mess, with a large section walled off entirely by stacks of board games and documents that should have been shredded years ago. Arranged just far enough away to leave a hallway of sorts leading elsewhere into the house is a set of chairs and a couch all facing a small entertainment setup. Just next to this setup is a window, but no light filters in from the outside world. It just looks blank, like reality has been ripped away from it entirely.

The television on top of the entertainment stand--which was clearly designed to have a TV inside the large boxed area in the center but whatever--flickers to life, and words begin to type themselves on it.

Welcome, Monika
You're the first one here
So you'll have to wait a bit

[Chevaleresse]

Kirari

The murderess-turned-Steward turned toward the ruined passage, beginning to walk forth. "I won't tell you whether you should follow me in or not. I don't truly know what will happen here." She willed the grave to reopen itself for her - and for Verna, if she wished to descend as well. "Either way, I expect you to keep your promise."

Martyr

Arturia held her blade at a low angle ahead of her. She leapt forward in response to Ginevra's defense, charging her weapon and forming a wedge of her own energy to protect herself as she moved forward. Fear and determination both drove her further ahead after she landed, running full speed toward Ginevra. A small part of her tried to warn Arturia off recklessness, but the rest of her desperately clawed for a chance to redeem herself. With a shout, she swept her blade in a blazing arc toward Ginevra, aiming to end this decisively before they were both consumed by the flames.