---

---

"Could say a lot of stuff about you both. You're not okay, and you still have getting out of herle to worry about when this is done."

”... And I didn't ask,” Adora said with a roll of her eyes. ”If I say I'm okay, I'm okay. That's it. Not everything requires your two cents.”

“How many of us can you boost?”

"I can technically boost-" Autumn tried to say before Layla and Alizee burst forward like two anime characters. "... everyone. But that's going to require time. Which we no longer have-"

Before Autumn could continue, Adora put a hand up in her face, making her sneer, but Adora didn't even look in her direction as she said, ”... We're short on time here. Just fuckin' roll with it, and stop bitching, sweetie.” Adora damn near hissed at Autumn. ”Boost those two. Then boost Aislin. Then boost me. Then Brit.”

Without another word, Autumn summoned the Apparition of Al Slaughter, and he pointed both hands, one at Alizee and the other at Layla. Then, the Apparition fired a beam that boosted their abstractions enough to be hopefully sufficient before turning to charge Aislin and Layla. However, when they stepped out of the tunnel, the Starving Dog stirred awake, marble grinding as its eyes opened. It loudly barked as it hopped out, splaying its four legs out as it got into a defensive position and snarled. The chains constricted its massive body, which only caused it to become more frenzied. Its marble paws cracked the floor as it fought to pull itself free. However, it fell over with a loud crack on the ground... before it used its colossal strength to violently roll on the ground towards Layla. It was sudden and fast enough to launch the two if they were stupid enough to hold on.

”Aislin, now!” Adora shouted.

---

---

---

In the (invisible) pirate ship above Elysium Island, the New Thule Society carefully observed the situation as the Magma Apparition was sealed and the House of Cards Mafia withdrew. William stared through the copper spyglass telescope, with Mabel at his side, as a portal opened up, and Paige Auclair and the Dragonslayer were through the portal. Paige slung her assault rifle over her shoulder as she said,

"All members of the Elite, save for the Lius, are off the island," Paige said with a nod. "Where is Berlioz?"

"He's still getting whatever he needs," William said before focusing on the underground group. Their aura was illuminated... Ah, that makes sense. That subhuman garbage wasn't here for a bloodbath but to get the Elite's resources. With the Elite's Apparition sealed, they needed to buy more time for whatever Berlioz had in mind. However, what was on William's mind was the rage that had driven him for years. His eyes burned with the promise of vengeance as he stared down at the island, where the combined forces of the subhumans were tearing apart the Elite's headquarters.

"This is it," Mabel murmured, "Time to make sure they know who they’re dealing with."

"You’re ready, then?" William said. "We show them nothing but hell."

Without another word, they both extended their hands forward, their Lux resonating with an ancient, dark power. The air around them seemed to distort, crackling with energy as dark tendrils of necrotic magic curled around their arms like serpents.

"Together," Mabel whispered.

They closed their eyes, and at that moment, the air around them grew cold; the sea below churned violently, the very atmosphere bending to their will. Black Lux shot from their joined hands, a swirling mass of black and violet light that surged into the sky, crackling with unnatural force. The ground below trembled as the magic took form, an immense skeletal structure rising from the ocean's depths. The bones creaked and groaned as they assembled, pieces of ancient bones fusing into a gargantuan form. A monstrous, undead skeleton towering over the island below, its eyes glowing with ominous, otherworldly light.

The massive skull turned toward Elysium Island with a hollow gaze. The skeleton's gigantic hands flexed, revealing talon-like claws, and its colossal feet stomped, sending shockwaves through the ocean and the island itself. A monstrous roar reverberated through the skies, a sound that could only be described as the death cry of an ancient titan.

Both William and Mabel nodded as they both said,

"... Crush them."

With a single word, the undead skeleton obeyed. The massive monster surged forward, its skeletal limbs thrashing through the clouds, plummeting toward Elysium Island. The ground beneath it cracked, splintered, and gave way as the beast landed on the island with a thunderous impact.

---

---

---

The gambit paid off.

The mysterious spooky ho sealed the Magma Apparition, and the problem disappeared. All the undead soldiers were deader. And it was oddly peaceful. Ruby thrust a fist into the air. Everyone cheered.

"... That's how it's motherfuckin' done! I TOLD YA'll WE COULD DO IT!"

Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs as Lily briefly hugged Liz - before immediately recoiling.

"... You did it mami-"

A chill, unnatural and foreboding, swept across the battlefield. Once churning with the battle's chaos, the ocean grew eerily still. The sea began to churn violently, waves crashing against the shores with a force that shook the ground beneath their feet. A dark, swirling light emerged from the depths, black and violet energy spiraling upward.

All eyes turned to the sea.

An immense structure began to rise from the depths—a skeletal hand, its talon-like fingers dripping with seawater. The bones, ancient and massive, creaked and groaned as they emerged from the ocean. The hand was followed by an arm, shoulder, and colossal ribcage that seemed to block out the horizon. The impossibly large skeleton continued rising, its massive skull breaking the surface with a roar reverberating. The sea cascaded off its towering frame as it stood, the full enormity of its form revealed.

Everyone was silent.

"... Aw, c'mon, man!" Jess shouted.

"This some bullshit!" Naomi shouted.

"Oh lord," Pearl facepalmed.

"You cannot be serious," Jasmine sneered.

"Are you for fuckin' real!?" James threw his hands up into the air. "This is sum' bullshit!"

Ruby just sighed.

Lily, smiling, turned towards Liz,

"... Get rid of that for me, and I'll love you forever - but twice as hard," Lily laughed as she pointed at the moment, "Like the wake up to breakfast ready every morning type love."

---

---

---

”We're leaving.”

”Get close and I'll portal you out. Or you can stay here. But,” A short chuckle. “I wouldn't recommend it.”

"... Leave?" Blake asked, tilting his head. "We will let them run us all off the island?!"

"Well, stay your stupid ass here and fight them, then," Jason said as he limped forward, using his cane as a brace as he took steps forward. He looked Valencia in the eyes, "I don't like you, but get us the hell out of this shitshow already."

Blake awkwardly looked around before he ran over to Valencia.

"... I'm certain Berlioz's people can handle it," He said pleadingly. "Let's go, ally!"

---

---

As Clancy talked, Luca nodded to show that he understood. Clancy was right. He would just get in his way. Luca trusted Clancy to handle it… more than he did most of the people there. Well, it wasn’t so much a lack of trust as it was worry that they’d get hurt. Or worse, killed.

There was no time to think further. Alizée and Layla ran forward without waiting for a boost… It was time to go. No more questioning or arguing.

”Let’s go,” Luca said to Sloane, glancing over at one of the Amara’s too. Hopefully she’d follow the plan but if not… Luca could watch Sloane’s back while she got the door open, and she could watch his if he had to step in.

He didn’t wait for acknowledgment from Sloane- he knew she’d follow, or even go ahead of him. It would be fastest to go directly across the large room, but with the Starving Dog there… he couldn’t. So he stuck to the walls, running as fast as his rotting legs would allow. By the time he reached the other side he was out of breath, stopping in the corner right beside the door. A hand went out to support him against the wall, rock starting to chip underneath his fingers.

”You… do what you have to… I’ll stop anything getting you…” he panted out to Sloane, eyes fixed on the fight that was starting. For now he’d get his breath back and wait… but if people started to get hurt he wasn’t sure he could stand by because of Sloane’s worries. He would get through faster than her, even if it was with brute force and a possible sacrifice of his own health.

But why wouldn’t he for people with so much more to live for? Why even suffer like this if he couldn’t use it one of the few times it would be a benefit?

”Just say if you need me to step in.”

_{Interactions: Artifact Group}

---

The boost was welcome, and both Layla and Alizée felt the boost enhance their chains. Namely, the chains grew burning white, siphoning the energy off the Starving Dog twice as fast. The dog struggled, but the duo was prepared.

”Hold on tight to him, Layla!” Alizée growled out, gnarled hands wrapped tight around her chains.

Well. At least, they thought they were prepared.

When the Starving Dog hit the floor and started rolling towards Layla, she saw her life flash across her eyes. The chains were dropped, and she narrowly escaped, her foot getting clipped, causing her to spin wildly and slide into the floor. Alizée was there in an instant, her own chains dropped from the dog as she scooped Layla in her arms and backed off.

”Aislin, now!”

”Don’t gotta tell me twice!” Aislin called out as each of her hands clenched into fists, and she brought them down in a sharp motion. The boosting helped immensely, and the entire ceiling came away easily. Chunks of stone and concrete fell on the dog, boulders cracking the tiles and sending up waves of dust. In a matter of seconds, the dog was entirely consumed by a mountain of heavy stones, piled up near to the ceiling.

”Take that, y-ya bastard!” Aislin hollered, gagging and choking on dust.

Luca @FernStone, Adora, Doggo, Greenwood @Mixtape Ghost N & LaylAlizee, Aislin @Estylwen

---

Clancy shrugged off Adora's dismissal. She hadn't asked for his opinion nor demonstrate anything to suggest she'd follow it, and for all his efforts at trying to keep some of them alive, he wasn't her keeper.

For his part, he’d try and keep the pressing danger in front of them at arm’s length-



-too soon.

Alizee and Layla, the bound girls, rushed forward before the rest were ready, the dog's stone form grinding into motion.

What happened to the plan?!

It was too late for that now.

Before the boy could press forward on the offensive, Luca and a few others slipped past the corner of his gaze, too close for comfort as the dog snapped and bucked until it was crashing across the floor, threatening to bowl over them and Layla. Clancy's first instinct was to offer a layer of separation between them and the dog.

As he moved alongside the beast, a loose strand of chain dangled from its side, and for a half-second the boy grasped at the link and pulled in hoping to steer the dog in the opposite direction, only to feel the burning,hains flensing away at his strength.

As quickly as he'd grasped the white-hotmetal link, he let it slip through his grasp, the dog still flailing, and now moving ever-closer to Layla with each gesture to buck off the chains. Stupid girl. The only other instinct that came to him was a stupid idea, but it was likely no less idiotic than what he’d seen already.

Changing direction, the boy shifted back into a sprint - circling around as Layla was just narrowly pulled out of harm’s way by her new guest, then dropped to the floor, sliding along the marble floor so he could get around the creature’s bucking hindquarters as it kicked into the air, and then leaped onto the outcrop that counted for its neck and shoulders.

Clancy’s legs swung over the dog’s upper back as it rotated again to an upright position, heels digging in hard as the flailing creature shifted position in presumed response to his presence. The boy pressed his form downwards, one arm reaching to coil under the dog’s chin, while the other free hand temporarily grasped onto the stone facade of an ear for grip, uncertain of whether the strength and sheer force being exerted would just outright snap it off.

Whatever the dog’s intentions, whatever its strength, he intended to drag its attention onto him, force it to deal with him, if it could.

Buy them time.

”Meat!” he growled, an ancient, primal energy amplifying his voice, barely audible over the din of barking, snapping, snarling and stone crunching against stone.

Fingers dug into the marble with equal strength, raking through the stone facade like nails to chalkboard. As Aisilin moved to make her play, with the chains falling away and giving him a window to force a movie, Clancy jammed a third of his forearm into the creature’s jaws, again to force its attention on him, only him, the wretched flea atop its back.

”MEEaAt!” he snarled, his voice distorted in its repetition of the word, as the ceiling collapsed atop them both. Along with the dog, the boy disappeared beneath a cascade of darkness, dust and debris.

---

---

The feeling of satisfaction that came from everyone listening to and agreeing with her plan was stripped away the second Layla and Alizée rushed forward. Sloane grumbled under her breath how she had meant for them to chain up the dog after she had attempted her distraction, but they had to roll with it now. Sloane followed after Luca, quickly overtaking the sickly sprinter, flinching as her skin prickled as she ran just a bit too close to him. She resisted the instinct to pull away and take a wide berth around Luca, trying to reason with herself that a moment of discomfort was better than catching one of the now loose chains that whipped freely around as Clancy wrestled the Starving Dog. Sloane gritted her teeth as echoes of “meat” bounced around her head as she imagined the stench of her flesh rotting off yet again as she safely passed by Luca.

She was breathing as heavily as Luca when she reached the door, taking the opposite side from him to avoid the aura of the Rot, although unlike her friend it wasn’t due to physical exertion. A rare look of alarm was in Sloane’s eyes as she glanced towards Luca while he told her that he’d step in on breaking through the vault door if necessary. She grunted in confirmation as she tapped her Channeler to her knife, the blade twisting as she cursed it while a wave of dust and debris scattered across the room as Aislin buried the guardian and Clancy. Coughing as the dust settled, Sloane slid her cursed knife across the floor until it hit the wall opposite of the one Luca and her had hugged on their way across the vault room. She hoped that the burial was enough, but if the Starving Dog broke free than perhaps it would get distracted by her Object of Obsession.

Sloane turned to the vault door. She had never seen one quite like it, crafted out of parts that look like it had been repurposed from an old locomotive. The sapphire gave her a pause. There was a possibility that it was a backup magical defense system. It was also possible that it was just an ostentatious design for a biometric scanner. Either way, she decided against touching the gem. Sloane threaded her Channeler between pipes and rivets until it touched the metal door beyond it, her wrist pressed uncomfortably close against the teeth of a gear, the fear that it would start moving somehow and snap her wrist pushed to the back of her head. A light flared from behind the pipes as her opposing Lux ignited and tagged the door with her Hexmark, a blue circle crossed by an orange x.

Her Hexmark was no bigger than the eraser on a pencil and much too small for what she was hoping to accomplish, but Sloane wasn’t done channeling lux into her spell. She began to twist and turn her hand, awkwardly navigating between the web of warm iron as she continued to weave her Lux into the door. She pulled her Channeler out of the steamworks, the old tarot card rolled up in such a way that it evoked an image of a pen or a brush with an orange tip streaming faint blue smoke as Sloane continued to expand her Hexmark as the door became her easel. Scribbled phrases in archaic symbols from dead languages flowed through her hand onto the metal, quickly fading as she moved her hand to graffiti another part of the door before pulling her hand back and violently slashing lines between the invisible instructions like an upset artist trying to deface their latest piece of work.

However, with each slash the Hexmark expanded, growing in diameter until it reached the border of her invisible writing, where she would once again begin to repeat the process. Her hand was starting to cramp up but she didn’t stop channeling Lux into the door, nor did she look over her shoulder to see if the rock pile had started to move. Her Possession Hexmark was over halfway done now. While breaking the door with a Fragile or Glitched one would be quicker, the odds of requiring additional Hexmarks to get through or triggering a failsafe were too high. If she was able to finish her Hexmark then there would be nothing preventing Sloane from opening the door.

Only a handful more seconds and they would be in, able to grab the goods, and radio their supports to get teleported out.

---

---

Sully gave Liz a salute as she thanked him. As Liz turned to offer her assistance to the group, Sully turned his head down to try and figure out why everything was so cold all of the sudden and let out a little yelp as he ducked behind Lila’s wing for cover. “Don’t move, bro,” said Sully, crouching awkwardly behind Lila to hide his junk from the group. Of all the times to not have a blanket lying around to make a toga. Sully scanned the horizon for an evergreen shrub to jump behind that hadn’t been blasted by dragonfire, knowing that Lila wouldn’t be able to stay grounded forever. He saw one and made his move, ducking low and blocking himself with the Chalice.

"... Wasn't that your boy?" hollered James as Sully poked his head up from behind the bush. He was a bit too late in looking, and instead of catching Drake getting sucked into the dragon dimension Sully saw Liz seal up the magma monster instead.

Mildly confused, thinking that James was implying that Sully was supposed to have the sealed magma monster, Sully replied, “Nah it’s cool, she can have him. She’s with us!” Then with a thumbs up, Sully hollered at Liz, “Great job, cuz!”

There was a quick survey of the field now that the Magma Monster was sealed and the Dragon had disappeared as Sully looked for any of their crew that was in dire straits. While there were plenty of bodies scattered across the ground all of them appeared to have been previously dead from before. It was over, they had won, and with a quick little head count it appeared as if none of them had been lost. An unbelievable total victory. Sully let out a cheer as Ruby raised her fist into the air and shouted. The Chalice began to overflow with gatorade that he was ready to dump on the Coven leader when he paused, doing another quick headcount.

“Hey James, you seen Drake?” asked Sully.

However, there was no chance for an answer as the ocean began to bubble and swirl as a dark mass emerged from it, a gigantic skeleton that shook the whole island with its roar, seafoam rolling off its bones. If only Sully was truly Brosideon, then perhaps he could summon the fury of the sea to pull this party pooper down in the undertow and whisk the skeleton away from their victory celebration. Unfortunately, he was just a naked bald dude with a cup hiding behind a bush, so all he could do was shout his disapproval alongside Greenwood as the skeleton smashed its fist unto the beach and sent shockwaves throughout the island. Falling down to his knees, Sully pointed at the skeleton and screamed:

Well.

Shit.

They got the Magma Titan, that was good news.

The bad news was that it was just replaced with a much bigger titan made of bone. Stormy wasn’t exactly a heavy hitter in the sense that he hit things. He could throw a mean punch, but this? No, they needed magic that could put something down quickly to deal with that, and several of them were starting to lose steam. And Stormy wasn’t at 100% right now himself, not after that Hallow Blast.

His channeler showed another nine minutes before he could use Phantombane in any capacity.

Maybe he could dig up a Barrier Storm or maybe a Phantomblade, if Drake were around here. But he’d vanished. Stormy didn’t trust his shields to stand up strong against that thing’s foot; If it slammed down on them, his Iron Fortress would take it with no trouble, but it was too small. Think. How could-

Oh, yeah.

”I know what to do… LEON! I have a plan!” Stormy shouted.

Leon had been staring upward when Drake vanished, and had been in hesitant awe ever since. There was a moment of waiting before Stormy got his answer… He could hear the bubbling of Kenshiro’s levitation in the sky ahead, and hoped he wasn’t making a headlong dive toward this new threat.

"Stormy!?”
His voice echoed across the muddy field, and Leon pressed off the ground hard enough to cause dirt to fly up and around him before skidding to a stop.
"Plan up, hit me!”

”Back at Kari’s house, there was this flesh creature that 8th Street sent after us… It didn’t have an emotional field, and it was undead.”

He pointed up at the gigantic fuckass skeleton. ”That thing is undead, too. I’m thinking if you use some of Lelou’s strength, you can hurl me at it like a damned missile,” he explained. ”And I’ll force my Consecration spell on it.”

He bumped his left shoulder with his right hand, and green scales made of his Lux crawled up Stormy’s skin. ”I’ll grab on. Worst case scenario, I fall and hit the ground, but Dragonhide will keep me alive. If this works, it’ll be too distracted by the fact that it’s withering to fight us!.”
The Holy Missile! Leon pointed a long and muscular finger at Stormy and his eyes widened.
"Oooh, you’re going fuckin’ long!”
Immediately, Leon had Stormy half by the shirt and half by the belt. Purposefully, he aimed Stormy’s face toward the faint purple light in the sky nearby.
"If you start to miss, scream for Ken! I know he’ll catch you! Brace yourself!”

There was a strange rubber snapping sound like bands breaking as they get wrapped around a ball directly next to Stormy’s head. Like something constantly rotating, coiling… And then Leon’s torso began to contort fully, ribs and organs being tugged into a smaller, tighter space. He was rotating his spine in place, and as it came to the extent that it appeared as if he may snap in two, the whole world would start to spin around Stormy.
Round and round, heavier and heavier gravitational rotations pressed the two tighter together until all at once, there was nothing holding him back. Just the sensation of air passing through Stormy’s hair.

Stormy went up, up and up higher. For a moment, he was free and weightless and simply aimed a hand out. As he soared above the battlefield, a note of green energy snapped into being between his fingers.

He started dropping, and the titan came closer.

Stormy crashed right into the ribs, feeling the strain against his chest as he wrapped both arms around the huge bone. If he hadn’t used Dragonhide, he might’ve ruptured something.

On contact with the bone titan, he let the Consecration spell do its thing, and felt that drag on his soul. It taxed him by taking a piece of what made him who he was, but that was a fact Stormy was used to. He’d walk it off.

All that was left now was to wait and see if it worked.