One more jump. One more lunge. One more horrible, heavy blow. It doesn't matter that her form is so terrible now. It doesn't matter that she can't aim for shit. What matters is that her speed hasn't decreased. What matters is that the spear is still heavy enough to hurt. Because as long as she can keep that up, she can force retreat. 

She comes from the right, with no consideration for what might come from her at that angle. The voice in her ear drives her forward; as the unicorn steps back she presses, controlling space with the threat of her horrible arm. Her prey shrinks back, and she rises into the air where her spine twists at what should be an impossible angle as she whips around 180 degrees in the air to level a heavy, spiked bone foot at her fellow Diodekoi's head.

She watches the arm rise to block it. The kind of mistake only makes in fear. Bella twists her hip and shoves off that raised arm to push Sanalessa all the way into the pool. She lands heavily on her knees, braced by her one semi-functional arm, and gasps for air while she watches the trap swing shut. Light clamps around the legs channel just enough electricity into the water to freeze a body's muscles in place. A determined assassin could fight through this. A broken one might as well, but not before the final blow could be dealt. Bella gags in the iron, blood choked air and leaps into the air one last time, spear arm raised high to finish this.

She descends like a bolt of lightning. She buries the bone spear deep into the floor of the ship. A single pace away from the water's edge. She turns her exhausted eye to the trembling woman who had not been able to make a move in either defense or escape. And she spits.

"Hey little sister," she coughs out, "Got something to show you."

Bella plants her feet and hisses. For a moment all she can do is tremble. She squeezes her eyes shut in anticipation of the worst pain she'll have felt all day. Her breath comes in increasingly frantic, shallow, and terrified gasps until with one final snarl she begins to pull. 

It is a difficult thing that she needs to do, but her foot is planted firmly atop her buried arm. There is only one way that this can go. The air fills with small cracks and pops, and then louder sounds. Wetter sounds. Bella roars, because the alternative is screaming. Or worse: stopping. Bit by bit she tears her arm free from the prison of bone and claw she'd wrapped it in. Blood drips freely from the horrible wounded wreck that slips loose. 

No fur remains. No skin. Muscle and bone and fire are all she has left of her once proud right arm, and even that is mangled and bent at wrong angles in several places. Her fingers are twisted around each other and tangled so badly her arm seems to end in a single primitive claw, or maybe just a stump instead of anything resembling a proper hand. The smell of blood is everywhere. The pain is beyond description. She would rather be filled with Sagakhan's venoms again. Or filled with knives and set on fire. Anything. Anything but this. Though her teeth clench shut it's too much for her to handle, and before long her gagging and moaning is cut off by a wave of nausea she can't do anything to stop. 

Her breathing in the aftermath is ragged. She stumbles backwards several steps before she finally manages to master herself and stand up straight. Even then, pinkish sparkles of spit dribble from her lips. She moves to wipe her face clean, but all that does is smudge more disgusting grime all over her. She gurgles with amusement, and waits for it to stop sounding like coughing.

"It hurts." she manages after a moment. Stupid fuck thing to say.

"But you're... in there. Inside that shell. Don't know... your name. Don't, don't, fuck. Don't know your face. But you. The real you. Is inside there. Not out. And it hurts but. If you can endure that, you can... break free. Sorry you got caught up in this. Sorry for... ghhk. Hhhffffst. Sorry for putting you through all that. I couldn't think of. A better way."

Bella turns away from Sanalessa and heaves a sigh that's sadder and more exhausted than any noise she's ever made in her life. It turned out this was the actual impossible part. Every other time she'd thrown herself at a horrible enemy that was ten times or more her match she'd at least had the freedom to sink into unconsciousness afterwards. No such luck here. The way things were going she'd probably even have to hold it together long enough to slap Gemini. Why not make a full set?

She stops. Turns her head just enough to cast her voice over her shoulder.

"One more push, sister. Just like I showed you. Hurts less coming out of full armor then this improvised piece of shit. And then after that it's all over. I promise. Whoever you are. I'd like to meet you when we're done. You do tea? Coffee? Wine? Let's go find out."

Bella's shoulders lift proudly into place and she continues away. She does not look back to see how Sanalessa responds. If she doesn't give her full focus to scrabbling back up and out of the wreckage of their fight, she'll never make it back to Vesper.

[Bella rolls Finish with Wisdom: 5 + 4 + 1 = [b]10[/b]]