Any answer she could have received from the tattooed woman would never materialise. The primal, bestial roaring that reverberated throughout the train car alerted Nao immediately, her feet shifting with rapidity so that she could face the source of the terrible noise. Shrieking steel, the crunch of the train giving way ... her eyes widened, pupils dilated, as she gazed with horror upon the visage of the Kerberos ... the three-headed canine monstrosity that had torn its way into the carriage as if opening a tin can full of feed. She tried to open her mouth, tried to gasp for air ... nothing but a quiet choke left her. She wished she had not been so hasty. She wished she was dreaming. The sickly golden eyes ([i]her instincts screamed for her to run run run run run[/i]) bearing down upon them crushed that faint hope. This was all too real. The monster was real. She could hear the frantic drumming of the heart against her chest. She could smell the scent of the oozing flesh dripping off the beast. She could feel her entire body shake with [i]fear fear fear fear fear[/i]. Run. Hide. Run. Hide. This was impossible. It transcended all logic. The world could not possibly work in such a manner. She could not be possibly facing her death at the hands of d-d ... b-b ... [i]monster[/i]. But she could not deny what her eyes were seeing. Crunch. Snap. Skrtt. Skrtt. People were dying before her. She stood frozen. She couldn't move. She could only watch. Watch as frozen human bodies- [RIGHT][I]The black-suited salaryman on the opposing side of the car was quietly snoring into his window[/i] [I]A trio of middle school girls gossiped loudly[/I] [I]One bridesmaid brightly beaming[/I][/RIGHT] -were snapped up. Snapped up. She could scream. She wanted to scream. Fire hurtled across their heads, the sudden danger ([i]run now now now now[/i]) breaking her from her frozen reverie ([i]MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE[/i]) almost too late as she ducked down, the burst of sheer heat ([i]this is real real real real real real[/i]) and power singing the tips of her hair. She gasped for air. Gasped. Wide, panicking eyes stared down at her hands; she had nearly died. Nearly nearly died. And she was standing there like a rock and - "[color=DeepSkyBlue]Stop! This- this isn’t you! You’re,[/color]" The wisp. The wisp that had vowed to protect them. Brown, terrified eyes snapped up to see the back of the phantom. He'd made a pinky swear. She had to trust him. He was going to protect them. His heaving back. He'd protected them from the heat? They were fine- Thorns. No no no. A wordless scream of anguish. A spark of light died. Died. Her eyes were glued. Glued to the ... the charcoal doll. No. No. No no no. He had promised them. Vowed their safety. The skeletal creature lumbered closer. He hadn't. He had failed. Her body trembled as she pulled herself away from the remains of the poltergeist. She stared into the maw ([i]three of them three of them three of them[/i]) of the beast. The monster. The monster that had ([i]killed him KILLED HIM KILLED HIM KilLED[/i]) snuffed out every chance they had to live. The skeletal, rotting parasite. The failing body. The monster. A rotting, shambling beast. It was going to kill her. It was going to kill them. It killed- It killed the wisp ([i]the cute little wisp dead dead dead dead DEAD[/i]). She could shriek. She couldn't. What chance did she have? She couldn't survive here. She would never do what she wanted to do. She was going to die. She was going to leave her mum her dad her sister her uncle her responsibilities- Her responsibilities. Her dreams. She wasn't going to be able to achieve them. She was never going to become a policewoman. She couldn't protect anybody. A flood rose in her chest. Hysteria. Emotion bubbling over the edge. She laughed. Tears streamed down her pale face. Choked laughter. It was all so surreal. So surreal. She was going to die here. On a frozen train. To a monster dog. And she would never become a policewoman. She would never. Never. She wouldn't be able to protect them. Protect them. ... ... ... ... She was so stupid. She was so [b][i]so[/i][/b] [I]STUPID[/I]. [right][i]I am thou ...[/i][/right] "[color=a36209]Run,[/color]" she sobbed out. "[color=a36209]All of you, run.[/color]" She didn't want to die. Then she was so stupid. Why. Why was she doing this. Why. She didn't know. An eternity of movement. One step forward taken. [right][i]Thou art I ...[/i][/right] To protect and serve. The purpose of the police. She had a duty. She wanted to be a cop. She didn't want to die. But she had a duty. A responsibility a responsibility a [i]RESPONSIBILITY[/i]. They had to escape. She would make sure of it. Even if she died. She choked. She was such a reckless moron. [right][i]From the sea of thy soul, I come ...[/i][/right] Another step forward. A cold weight in her pocket. She didn't want to die. She didn't want them to die. If they survived then it was okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. That was justice. Making sure that everybody got their happy ending. Instinct gripped her. Primal instinct. Fight or flight? Fight. A pale hand shakily reached into her pocket. Grabbed hold of cold metal. Cold. Out it came. Out. Metal ringed around glass. So fragile. So so fragile. Like their lives. The lives she would save. The lives she needed to save. She raised her arm out, pointing towards the beast. The compass ([i]it ... it was a compass huh ...[/i]) gleamed ruby. The needle whirled, the stone snake wrapped around its length. She was scared. She was going to die. She took another step forward. Another step closer. Another step towards the hound. She was going to die. But if they lived. It was okay. Her lips moved of their own accord. "[color=a36209][b]Per[/b][/color] [center][color=a36209][b]so[/b][/color][/center] [right][color=a36209][b]na.[/b][/color]"[/right] The needle stopped. It gleamed a metallic silver. A forked tongue hissed. Where was due north? The beast. [right][i]The unsullied steward of mankind's fondest desires ... the guide who will illuminate a path through uncertainty ... [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLUa5O_xAIo]Dikē[/url].[/i][/right] A mask of bright blue stars. Eyes of burning crimson. A glossy silver sea. Golden scales tinkling. Words - strong, powerful, assured - reverberated through the air. "[color=a36209]Dikē! [b][i]ZAN![/i][/b][/color]" And the wave of kinetic force [i]flew[/i].