Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Pool Room

Dylan stood ready, shield braced as he kept his eye on his friend. He was so focused on Lucy and what summon he could be preparing that he forgot to keep his eye out of Lisette.

"Don't you dare hurt her...!" Lisette screamed, grabbing Dylan from behind and trying with all of her strength to hold his arms down.

“Aislin!” he cursed as he struggled with her. The way she pinned him was incredibly awkward, but there was no way for him to comfortably break free. So he did the only thing that made sense to him. He toppled backwards into her, knocking them both onto the ground where he managed to wriggle free.

But it didn’t do him much good, since it gave Lucy’s cat plenty of time to bear down on him. He raised the shield as quick as he could and was able to block the creature’s charge. Though it impaled itself on the short spikes, the cat was still able to reach around with its claws and draw blood. Dylan cried out in pain from the attack. “Lucy,” he begged, “it’s me, please remember!”

The Grande Diamond: Basement
Where... where was she?

Moira groaned, her eyes remaining screwed shut. Everything hurt like absolute hell, even just lying here. A part of her just wanted to stay here - it was hardly comfortable, but it hurt less than trying to move.

Nonetheless she reached out with a hand, not at all sure which way was even up. While it turned out she was wrong, the fact that she could feel something shifting behind her was a good sign. What wasn't a good sign was the horrible stabbing pain in her side. She gritted her teeth, holding in a shout of pain.

She cracked her eyes open, coughing a little as the dust stung at them. Oh. Oh ouch this really hurt. She had survived the tower falling on them back in Vandrell, but there was a world of difference between being able to brace for an impact with a defensive buff and a suit or armor to being pretty much crushed to death only for the floor to collapse. Then getting kicked on top of that.

That man... that fucking man... he could overcome her strength. He could actually gods damned overcome her strength. Fucking ass!

She pushed against the rubble on top of her, pieces of wood and stone tiling creaking as they shifted away from her. Air! Not very good air, it was kind of stale and dusty, but it was better than she had under there. She gulped at it like she had never tasted it before as she sat back, the warm air feeling oddly cool on her bloodsoaked face.

Being able to move your chest freely was underrated as hell.

Now she was sat up, she still couldn't figure out where she was. A basement of some kind by the looks of it. Wherever it was, they needed to install some proper lighting. Although it probably didn't help that it looked like they busted right through where one of the strip-lights was.

Wait.

Where was Syed?

"Sy?" she croaked, suprising herself a little with how bad her voice sounded. Her eyes cast around herself through the thick dust filled air, among the rubble surrounding her. Nothing. "Sy?" she repeated. She shakily pulled herself completely from the debris, and began pulling pieces of it away. She didn't like how he wasn't responding. She didn't like how she didn't know where he was. She knew fully well how she could take more hits than most people, and he was only a mage.

"Answer you fuckin' arsehole!" she hissed, her digging becoming a little more desperate. The shards of wood and stone cut at her hands, although she didn't care. On the grand scale of things that was nothing.

She found his hand. His limp hand.

Scrambling over the debris, she quickly went to pull away at more of it until she uncovered his head. Oh. Oh that was a lot of blood.

"Shit!" She brushed some more of the debris away, uncovering his chest as well. She wasted no time in pulling him up to her chest, clenching her fingers in his blood-sodden hair. Well he was breathing. Thank the gods he was breathing. "Just say something, Sy. I don't give a shit what."

Silence. He remained floppy in her arms, his head lulling against her cheek. Well, he was alive. At least he was alive. Moira gritted her teeth, looking up to the gaping hole in the ceiling. They were still up there with him. She didn't know how she could get out of here either. As strong as she was she couldn't jump back up - her strength was mostly in her upper body. And she had no idea where the traditional way up to the ground floor was.

"Hhhhhh... you... shouldn't move someone with a head injury..." came a very familiar abeit very much worse for wear voice right by her ear, the tone implying at least a small smile.

Moira's eyes widened and her shoulders sagged with relief. Oh, thank the gods he wasn't injured enough to stop being a sarcastic ass. "About fuckin' time," she growled, letting go of him and standing back up. "Thought you were dead or somethin'. Come on."

"You should be so lucky." He weakly pulled himself free, although he had to rely on Moira's help for him to stand up again. He felt really light-headed and his chest hurt like hell. "Where's the others? I think I blacked out..."

"Up there with the two fuckers."

Syed went quiet again, squinting through the dim and dusty air. The basement itself must have been composed of several rooms, as this room was nowhere near big enough to be the whole thing. The room looked like a disused storage area, with various pieces of tableware in dusty boxes and... equipment under dust sheets. He didn't know what they were.

And in the corner of the room... was a few large gas cylinders. He bit his lip, a feeling of dread and fear building up in his stomach. Vayu help him...

"I have an idea."

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond - First Floor (Party Hall/Casino)

Xandra almost seemed to be negotiating a surrender by this point. Amy merely glared at her with wide eyes. This was - that was it, she must have some sort of plan to go along with that. Stalling, yes, she was stalling. Any movements from either of these two may as well result in a blast to Trixie's head, but seeing the way Bart bolted about almost weightlessly, maybe Moira and Syed were working on getting him to... to... knock into the shield and shock Heather out of the chokehold? That must have been what the rumblings were about now, right? Maybe??

Amy breathed deeply through her nose. What the fuck else was there to do!? She was a godsdamned healer, for Dyn's sake.

"Well, who do we get to kill next?"

She turned halfway, watching the muscle approach the girls with slow claps. Behind him lied devastating debris - a large hole where presumably Moira and Syed had been condemned to. Gods... Gods! He couldn't have killed them, could he!? She could feel herself growing desperate - but stopped short of it.

Inhale. Exhale. Amy turned back to watch Heather, closely scrutinizing the woman's hands, arms, eyes. Watching for a twitch, watching for a sudden change of movement. Watching as Trixie swung herself like an ornament. As Xandra herself said, they needn't be hasty; they couldn't afford it. Amy inhaled deeply again and clenched the gem hidden in her hand, resting by her side. She said nothing, calm as Xandra.



Though she squirmed and squirmed midair, Trixie couldn't break herself free - but there was no way she was giving up here. There was nothing more demeaning for a hero than being held hostage against those you wanted to protect, and the only thing she could think of was breaking free. Not Heather's conditions, not the gun against her own head, not what Xandra and Amy could be planning. She just had to break free, somehow, anyhow.

She was desperate now, gasping for air between seconds. The prankster couldn't even see Bart approaching, nor Moira and Syed's fall - and even then, what else could she do about it? She swung and kicked, swung and kicked, until she dangled close enough to Heather's body. With as much power as she could muster, Trixie - now glowing a faint green - then launched a kick directly into the woman's shin.

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond - Fourth Floor (Indoor Pool)

Dylan had wiped his slate clean in place of a spiked shield. At once Lucien, the darling that he was, jumped to Mordie's protection the moment she let go of him, and summoned a large feline to attack the blond. In the meantime, Lisette made her way behind Dylan and pulled him back.

Now was the perfect time to incapacitate him. One at a time, just like this.

Mordie nearly jumped for the opening, but froze in her tracks: a soaked hand gripped onto her calf. "What!?" she jerked her head, following where the hand came from. The man she had knocked into the pool earlier - Jerry, the lifeguard - had swam back to her and now attempted to pull her in with him.

But she wouldn't have none of that, no. It would ruin her beautiful white dress, for one thing. Before the bro could call out anything more than a few loud grunts (thanks to the now chaotic waters, from the rumbles downstairs now smacking him into the pool's wall), Mordie was quick to slam her free foot's heel atop his hand, sending him dropping back into the pool, gawking.

With the oil gone. Tom rushed forward to flank her, Cid following closely behind. But the woman was not deaf. She welcomed Tom's incoming arms with her own, and gripped onto them tightly before he could hers, jarring him. Nails digging into his skin and summoning blood, Tom squawked as well, then was chucked right into pool atop Jerry, sending them both sinking back into the pool waters. Cid was met with them not too long after.

"You boys think yer so cute."

Dusting her hands, Mordie turned in time to see Dylan crying out before toppling backwards atop Lisette, and Lucien's raging cat impaling itself just to attack its target. Oh, how she wanted to squeeze and hug the cute blue-haired cross-dressed boy for his determination, but she wouldn't dare disturb him in his meditative state.

Instead she approached the fallen Dylan and knelt down beside him, close enough that she could almost whisper. Hands almost as loving as a mother's, she helped tug Lisette loose from under Dylan's body - both to help her help herself, and to reassure her charm on the young guilder.

Oh, she could pitch in to help demoralize the boy even further, but leaving the dirty work to his own teammates was much more fun. She could only imagine what pain the other two would go through in the same circumstance. "Dylan baby, there's no need for this. Ah'm not so sure what your plan was for comin' here in the first place, but you should just drop it now n' give up. Please?"

Los Paraisos : the Grande Diamond- 9th floor

“Not your fault…”

Aria shook, both enraged and distraught as the blond ranger collapsed to the ground. She was not only angry at Kenneth for turning her attack against Chirps but much of that aggravation was directed to herself as well. How had she not sensed such an illusion being cast on her, or even realized that their places had been switched?

Her mind was working on overdrive, trying to think up a solution to this problem. Chirps was down, her usual illusions were all but useless, and to top it all off not only was her opponent stronger in his magic but in strength as well, promising defeat if she faced him head-on. Judging from the pandemonium downstairs she presumed there was no help coming, yet her stubbornness prevented her from even thinking about retreating without Selan and Marcus (both of who were, unknown to her, no longer in the room which she was trying so desperately to reach. But nobody bothered to tell her that now did they?). Perhaps she could try using her incomplete technique she was working on, but…

A glance at the ranger’s prone body made her clench her fists. There wasn’t much of a choice, was there?

Aria darted towards Kenneth with a snarl. He was caught slightly off guard at this unexpected action, but only watched on with mild amusement as he quickly cloaked himself once more, only to have his sight plunged into darkness.

So it had at least worked this time. Aria struggled to focus on keeping up the illusion, feeling her magic ebb away steadily as she kept it up. It was her strongest illusion that she could pull off occasionally, but unfortunately it occasionally failed, took up too much energy to use and while it plunged an enemy within five meters from her into complete darkness it did the same to her as well.

Still, the loss of sight side-effect was hardly too important against an invisible enemy, and Aria charged towards Kenneth’s position ready to strike, honing on the man using a specific little detail she had realized before when the other illusionist had her pinned down.

The faint smell of cigarette smoke.

"Don!" Selan cried, her eyes darting to where Crimson Justice's body lay. The superhero was showing signs of fatigue as he pulled himself up onto unsteady feet. Even though his eyes were hidden behind a visor, Selan was certain that his righteous fury was hitting its peak.

"Still at it, are you?" Neil taunted with his mouth full, spraying crumbs with every word. "Aren't you bored of this yet?"

Crimson Justice's fists pumped in the air with renewed vigor, as he sprang towards the man once again. Neil hardly blinked, watching intently at the blur of red and white coming towards him, arm extended in what would surely be a devastating punch...

"Ahhh...!!!"

From where Don was standing, Neil Hunter's face was obscured by a violet vortex, although he was not looking at him; instead, his attention was diverted towards the songstress who had let out a shrill, surprised scream.

A gloved fist was barely inches away from Selan's face, having emerged from a violet portal in front of her. She slid down the wall into a sitting position, trembling at the close call. Quickly, Crimson Justice pulled his arm back, and he too was startled by the man's blasted trickery.

Taking advantage, Neil was quick to deliver a hard punch to the gut of the crusader, sending him stumbling back but still remaining on his feet. Neil began to cackle cruelly, clearly pleased enough for all three of them.

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Pool Room

"Wah... Oof!" Lisette gasped as she landed hard on her back, knocking the wind out of her.

Her head was still spinning when Mordie, her precious person, helped her out from beneath Dylan and back onto her feet. "Thank you Mordie..." she murmured, looking up at the woman much like the most loyal of dogs would. Although Lisette's natural faithfulness remained in her charm state, there was something clearly very wrong when she displayed no reaction or hesitation to the harming of animals, even if they were only summons.

"Dylan baby, there's no need for this. Ah'm not so sure what your plan was for comin' here in the first place, but you should just drop it now n' give up. Please?"

"Yeah, just... Just leave us alone..." Lisette added, giving Dylan a cold look.

“Lucy, it’s me, please remember!”

The summoner winced. Something about this felt horribly wrong, but jumping into the fray to protect such a lovely lady was the right thing to do, wasn't it? Because what kind of person would he be if he left her to fend for herself against these horrible brutes! He and Lisette were protecting her and there was nothing wrong with that, right? Lucien watched as his summon swiped its claws at the artist. The animal was blinded by rage and wounded its own mouth and arms on the artist's spiked shield.

Lucien's expression contorted into a one of pain. He felt was it was feeling, but he had to protect Mordie!

His cat managed to draw blood and his eyes went wide. THIS, it was wrong. It was wrong on so many levels, but he didn't know why.

"Dylan baby, there's no need for this. Ah'm not so sure what your plan was for comin' here in the first place, but you should just drop it now n' give up. Please?"

"Yeah, just... Just leave us alone..."

He gave Dylan a clouded look before the cat exploded into a puff of smoke. "There's no need to fight, yeah?" He mustered a small, almost apologetic smile. "Just go and everything will be grand." Mordie was such a nice woman, he was sure she'd let Dylan and the thugs go if they just walked out and that was good. "Well, whatcha waiting for, go on." His eyebrows creased in irritation...something felt so off, but why it felt that way, he didn't know.



There was a loud crash, followed by a rumble.

"Well, who do we get to kill next?"

Xan turned to see a gaping hole in the floor and a confident looking Bart. Oh Gods...Moira and Syed. Were they alright? They were tough, she had seen it first hand but how deep was the fall? How hard has Bart pushed and all that debris. She could feel the calmness slipping away, but managed to remain calm. They still had Trixie and they couldn't just rush in and attack without putting the prankster at risk.

Her eyes flitted from Bart to Heather, hands clenching into fists. The prankster wriggled about in vain...until she actually managed to land a kick.

Xan's eyes went wide, this was their chance. "Now!" Trixie had managed to free herself and the gun was no longer on the prankster's head. The metallurgist dashed forward, reached out for Trixie's hand, and pulled the girl behind her. Her actions were executed a bit roughly, but she managed to distance the prankster from Heather and now stood between them. She froze for a solid second, mind working on overdrive. Heather still had the gun...

The metallurgist rushed forward, grabbing the woman by the wrist and fighting for the weapon. There was no time for planning or for using her magic, there was only time to act.

Heeled footsteps clacked down the hallway, echoing over and over. Their owner strode forwards, past the debris and destruction lying in their wake, one slender, delicate hand extending out to their side, wisps of green light emerging from their palm and circling around it. The soft, subtle glow grew stronger and stronger, growing more and more vibrant, before the hand suddenly shot forwards, the magical energy being unleashed. And the target, a set of double doors, were shattered into a thousand small, individual pieces as they clattered into the room they once blocked.

The men inside all raised their weapons up instinctively. Neil’s men, the bandits who stood watch over their truck and their helpless captives within, had all prepared and braced themselves for what might transpire. None of them had any idea what was happening within the Grande Diamond, not leaving their precious cargo to investigate under strict orders prewarned by Neil Hunter, but it did not mean they weren’t ready to defend themselves when necessary.

However… what they didn’t expect was for this stranger to be such a small and slender, delicate woman. She was beautiful to behold, and that split second hesitation was enough for all of the bandits to lose, even though it would have been impossible for them to succeed anyway.

The woman’s hands swept out across her body, and all of the men in the room were suddenly blown backwards by a tremendous gale. Their bodies were hefted off the floor, and thrown backwards to crash against the nearby walls with rough force. The majority of them cracked their heads and slipped into a ready sleep. The others, however, were pinned down, unable to stand back up again. Those who hadn’t dropped their guns had them wrenched free from their grasp, the weapons speeding forth into the air and stopping in midair around the woman. Boxes and crates that had been piled up around the room were then suddenly lifted up and thrown atop those still conscious bandits. After that, there were no more threats to pose a danger.




In the back of the van, Josette continued to kick and slam the floor of the truck as she shook her body from side to side, tugging at her bonds in an effort to free herself. Her explicit screams were nothing but a quiet muffle. Estelle, meanwhile, sat rigidly still, her arms were impossible to free, and sight and speech both lost to her. But her hearing was still there, and the exploding doors and resulting screams she heard from her aggressors prompted her to be calm and patient, awaiting with as much nerve as she could for what might come next. All she could hope, all she could pray for, was that whatever it was, would not do the same to her.

“It’s okay, Estelle.” The voice instantly calmed and cast her fears away. “I’m here.”

Marcus!

The blindfold was torn from around her face, and gingerly with much blinking, light returned to her world. But Estelle was left speechless, even when the gag was removed, that Marcus wasn’t there. She could have sworn she heard him though…?

“Are you okay?” The woman asked, moving away after untying the rope from around Estelle’s wrists and ankles, turning to Josette. “If they did anything… I’m sorry it took so long, Estelle. I really am.”



Wait. Wait, that voice was Marcus! There was no mistaking it! But that body… that dress, that makeup…

Estelle’s cheeks turned a shocking shade of red, to match that of her fiery hair.

“M-M-M-M-Marcus?!” Estelle shrieked. Josette’s eyes widened in disbelief once her bonds were removed, her expletive filled screaming dying down immediately. She too, turned as bashful as Estelle once she saw Marcus dressed as a woman. “W-W-W-What are you wearing?!”

Marcus looked down at his body, and laughed. It was almost as if he had forgotten how he had been transformed. “It’s… a long story, haha. Infiltration.”

“You look… you look!”

“You look… pretty…” Josette stammered inbetween disbelieving blinks. Then, her eyes widened in surprise, as she noticed something else lying in the truck that she didn’t know had been there before. She sprung to her feet, immediately running to their side. “Oh my gods! Serena?! Serena are you okay?!”



Josette eased her red haired coworker up, and gently eased her to wakefulness. Serena, along with the other two women who had been kidnapped with them, slowly, after much struggling, started to awaken. And then, there was the onset of panic as Serena started to understand that where she was, was NOT where she was supposed to be. And on top of that…!

“Mathias!” Serena screamed. “Where is Mathias?! Where is my baby?!”

The Pellagio’s card dealer started to struggle, to try and dash out of the truck, and out through the room, before Marcus and Josette managed to catch her quick enough and control her, before she could risk harming herself. Serena collapsed, clutching onto Josette and crying fitfully. Then, Marcus finally realised…

“A baby? We found a baby. In one of the Pellagio’s rooms,” Marcus explained. “A little boy, with red locks of hair… he’s alright, but we were looking for his parents. You wouldn’t happen to be…?”

“Yes!” Serena screamed. “That sounds like Mathias! I’m his mother! Oh, please! Please tell where he is! I need to find him, I need to-!”

“He’s safe,” Marcus smiled. “Safe and far away from here. On my word, I will bring you back to him, but we need to settle a few things here first, before we can…”

“Marcus, where are we?” Asked Estelle from behind, stepping out of the truck and helping the other two women to climb down as well. “What… what happened? Did we… did we really…?”

“The missing women,” Josette perked up. Her eyes then turned angry. “We were fucking kidnapped.”

“…yes.” Marcus admitted. “We’re at the Grande Diamond… Los Paraisos’ most prestigious building. However, the man in charge, Lord Alistair Dumont… he won’t be hurting anyone again. I can promise you that.”

“The Grande Diamond?!” Josette gasped, looking around in disbelief. “We’re… here?! We got kidnapped by a noble?!”

“Well…” Marcus’ face turned grim. “Not exactly. Dumont was buying women. The person who kidnapped you two… he’s still in the building somewhere. He took Selan. And the others… they’re all fighting Dumont’s security forces somewhere. We… well, we need to end this, quickly. We need to find that man, and Selan, and then we can-”

“We can kick some fucking ass!” Josette’s fists pounded together. She then turned, glaring towards the broken doorway Marcus had came through. There was one other exit that led outside, through the parking garage. “No one fucking does that to Josette and her friends and gets away with it!”

“Right.” Estelle added, bending down at the body of one of the fallen bandits, snatching his sword. It was nowhere near as good as her former Magitech Sword, or the new sword she had gotten from Tiberius, but it’d do. “And anyone who thinks they can take Selan… has got another thing coming.”

“Serena.” Marcus turned to the card dealer, smiling in as hopeful and disarming a manner as possible. “Would it be okay for you to help lead the other women out of here? You don’t need to go far, but to just get out of here and hide would be best. It’s not safe here for you… but you don’t need to worry. We won’t take long to end this.”

“Yes…” Serena nodded, calming down after hearing her child was safe. “Yes, I will. Thank you. Thank you so much!” With a determined nod, she looked towards the other two fearful women, and the trio raced for the open exit leading to the exterior carpark and premise exit.

“Marcus.” Estelle walked beside her partner, looking up to him. “What should we do? Do you know where everyone is? Where the kidnapper is?”

“No… but I think I have a way to end all the battles everyone is in.” Marcus smiled back. “But the kidnapper… he’s a rogue, and dangerous element, Estelle. If he was to go anywhere, I think it’s back here. To his men and their truck. So…”

“So stay here. Right. I’ve got it.” Estelle nodded. Marcus paused and hesitated for a spell, but Estelle laughed. “Don’t worry about me. I’m through with letting people get the slip of me. Next time I see him, he won’t know what’s coming. Isn’t that right, Josette?”

“Oh you better fucking believe it.” Josette nodded. “This fucker… he’d better come back here. He’s going to die for what he’s done.”

Marcus looked at both of his friends and sighed in relief at their confidence. With a short, understanding nod, he turned and moved back through the corridor he came down, heading back towards the lobby.

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Lobby: Ninth Floor

Kenneth flinched.

He was taken aback, genuinely impressed by Aria’s next trick. This… this was something new, and something he had never encountered before. Somehow… somehow he had been absolutely blinded, in a sea of complete nothingness. What was this? This wasn’t like any typical illusion he had ever faced before. If it was, he’d be able to break through it, no problem at all. But he couldn’t. This… this was something else entirely. It was new. Exciting.

He wanted to speak out, to taunt Aria by congratulating her, by marking how impressed he was. But doing that, even if it was fun, brought him to an incredible disadvantage, and he wasn’t stupid.

He couldn’t use his illusions on her. To do so, he needed to be able to see a target. He needed to be able to physically see her, but he couldn’t. And so it was, that his innate invisibility illusion was rendered moot… although at the same time, those benefits had still been held, thanks to Aria’s own imposed blindness. As much as that didn’t change, however, he had been swamped with a far greater disadvantage, with no benefits from it to speak of. That was annoying. And fun. And exciting.

Kenneth’s blind eyes widened, and it was with luck he could feel the wind shift and just barely recoil from the sharp blade that swung out in front of him, Aria’s fan slicing off a few strands of his hair. By the gods! Even though they were both blinded, she could still find him!

Another flail, and another near miss, and it was then that Kenneth began to confirm his suspicions. He was able to deduce that Aria’s fancy new trick had its own drawbacks, otherwise she would have been able to finish this the moment she could ‘see’ him. But she hadn’t, lest she was the type to toy with an opponent like he was, but he doubted it. He was able to guess that she must have been imposed from her technique just like he had… and it made sense. Powerful magic like this, magic that could best his own ability to see through her illusions had to have drawbacks of their own. Confidence began to return to Kenneth once he understood that. The playing field had been levelled a tad… they were equal. Nearly. Because for some reason, even though she must have been blinded like he had… she still had a good, general understanding of where he was. How?

Another swing of her fan, this time with Kenneth being too slow to avoid it completely. The fan sliced its way across his face, leaving a shallow cut across his cheek and right ear. That handsome face had been besmirched. But it didn’t send Kenneth into anger. Instead he remained calm and collected. She had to have a way of finding him… what was the solution?

Another blind slice, and a cut ripped through his suit and forearm, drawing more blood. And then another, hitting his other arm’s shoulders. By the gods, this woman was quick…!

And then another, creating a thin nick in his neck, barely missing the aorta. This girl was good, but it made Kenneth pause. Her fighting was reckless, especially considering Guilders were charged not to kill. To be better, and above that. Had he really pushed her this far?

Another slice. This time missing his dodging body, to cut through his cigarette instead, dropping half of it to the floor to rebound off his shoes…

And that’s when it hit him. The reason she could find. Smell.

Another foxy grin spread over Kenneth’s face. This girl was all cute, smart, talented and deadly… if he wasn’t devoted to Mordie, then he might definitely have been interested in her. But two could play at that game.

Just as his cigarette smoke was a glaring sign, so too was her perfume. He pulled out his other switch knife, and with both in hand, he stepped forwards.

A cornered fox is more dangerous then a jackal.

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Ground Floor: Casino/Party Hall

The little girl’s foot swung out, startling Heather just long enough for her to loosen her hold. The mercenary turned, to fire Trixie’s weapon at her, but Xandra threw herself in front of the pair, and started wrestling with the cool and confident woman for possession of the gun. She barely knew either Trixie or Amy, barely knowing them over a day, but she wouldn’t let them be hurt. She couldn’t.

Her prosthetic hand tightened on Heather’s wrist, and the gun, with surprising strength. She could wrench it free… she would…!

And her heart caught in her throat. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him coming. Charging towards her, his fist reared back to strike with maddening glee. Bart.

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Sixth Floor: Restaurant

Crimson Justice’s feet wobbled, and his feet took several steps back, his knees threatening to keel over and collapse, but he held his ground. He looked on, to that wretched, cackling man in front of him, whose sharp teeth glistened as he grinned towards his opponent. The superhero clutched his head, shaking it from side to side, to shake the exhaustion and pain out of his body.

It was now that he was beginning to understand what he was fighting, and what Neil was able to conjure. The way in which he had almost hit Selan sent shivers run up his spine. It was close. Too close. If he had hurt her… he didn’t know what he would have done. His fists clenched tigher. His resolve strengthening.

He couldn’t fully comprehend what Neil’s powers were all about, but that those purple, swirling vortexes he could create but bad news. For some reason, if something went in one, they would reappear elsewhere. Like his fists, disappearing hitting himself, or almost Selan. Neil’s leg, sweeping him off his feet. They were dangerous… unbelievably so. With magic like that, how could he win? He could create one of those purple vortexes whenever he wanted, defending his body and throwing Crimson Justice to who knows where. Hitting himself was one thing. He could take that, but not Selan. It made his ability to know what to do waver. And at the same time… kept him at a far enough distance for Neil to take advantage of that.

Suddenly, two more of the purple vortexes appeared before Neil. The bandit braced his body, throwing his fists out, punching the portals. And from there…

Portals began to flash and disappear all around Crimson Justice’s body. From them, an unending flurry of fists were sent flying out, punching him anywhere and everywhere. His arms, legs, chest, back, head… nowhere was safe. Caught in a buffet of attacks, he could do nothing but be pummelled over, and over again.

“Don!” Selan cried out, watching as the poor man took the full assault. Eventually, Neil stopped, beginning to tire and grow weary of such an attack. Crimson Justice’s body was left staggering, swaying back and forth. Neil lifted his leg up, summoned another vortex in front of him…

…and his sole crashed straight into the hero’s chest, sending him flying back, to crash in a heap against the wall and floor, dust and debris clattering on top of him.

“Feh.” Neil laughed, amused at his handiwork. “What a joker. Anyway,” The bandit turned, fixing his gaze on Selan again. She turned to spy him, there at the other end of the room, but in the blink of an eye was soon subjected to him towering over her, bending over with that venomous grin of his, overshadowing her completely. “Now that that’s done, I think it’s about time we got on our way, don’t you agree?”

That shadow turned into light.

Gattai Nante Kusokurae!!
A fist enveloped in light and fire smacked into Neil’s face from the side, sending him flying away from Selan to crash onto and skid along a bar full of drinks and glasses before crashing and falling off to the floor adjacent. Selan’s eyes turned, to the owner of the fist, and to him, the costumed man who’d defend her no matter what. To the buffoon who called himself Crimson Justice, but was really-

“No one… touches… Selan…” He breathed heavily. He walked away from Selan, shaking his fist out before gripping it tightly again, facing Neil once more. This battle wasn’t over until he said it was.

“You… are beginning… to annoy me…” Neil wiped fresh blood trickling from a gash on his cheek.

“I know how to beat you.” His adversary said with clear determination. His pose tightened again. This time with confidence. “It’s over.”

Neil’s eyes flickered. He stood back up, assuming his own fighting stance. Arms stretched apart, he threw his fists out in front of him. “Oh, it’s over, alright. I’ve had enough of this.” A crackle of purple energy erupted inbetween his fists, and his left hand pulled onto it, gripping something, and then pulling away from the vortex…

At the same time Crimson Justice’s body surged forwards, both arms, both fists reared back behind him, burning with all of his power and might. With all his courage and heroism. There was one way to beat him. To overcome that portal power of his. He had to be fast. Faster then anyone knew possible. Faster then he could use or activate them. Fast. And strong enough to end it in one more punch.

His body was upon the bandit’s. His fists flew out, aimed for a simultaneous final attack on Neil. This was it! He had done it!!

Crimson Justice’s fists, and body, sailed through empty air. Small sparks of purple energy drifted past him, before slowly ebbing away. The superhero’s boots hit the ground, a look of pure horror enveloping the face hidden behind the visor, as the power and might within his fists dissipated to nothing. An uneasy sense of understanding hit him.

He hadn’t been quick enough.

Behind him, within the blink of an eye, Neil reappeared from the portal door he had hidden in. And in his hand glimmered the deadly shine of something else he had pulled from the vortex. That he had unsheathed-


His body convulsed. His arms fell to his side, and he couldn’t understand, couldn’t comprehend why. And then… then his head drooped, looking down towards his chest, and the strange object that emerged from it. It gleamed from the overhead light above him, shining in his visor's reflection. He then understood. He understood what it was… what the thing was that pierced his chest… but he couldn’t understand why it didn’t hurt.

Everything turned black as it was wrenched free, slithering back into his chest and out of his back from where it was stabbed into. His body fell to the ground in an unmoving heap, as Neil raised the crimson katana up to wipe clean… his carnivorous grin even more sinister.

“Whoops.” Neil cackled. “I think I just killed a superhero. Does that make me a supervillain?”

He turned, laughing longer, walking towards Selan. This time, at a far more leisurely pace, leaving the blood pooling superhero behind…

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Pool Room

He was cornered, he was down, a feral cat in front of him, a mind-warping witch at his side, and his friends turned against him. Is this what Lucy had been going through just moments before? It sucked, and it left him feeling incredibly hopeless.

"Dylan baby, there's no need for this. Ah'm not so sure what your plan was for comin' here in the first place, but you should just drop it now n' give up. Please?"

Was she really giving him a out? It seemed unlikely, with the way she seemed to enjoy toying with them.

"Yeah, just... Just leave us alone..." Lisette added, giving Dylan a cold look.

"There's no need to fight, yeah?" Lucy said. "Just go and everything will be grand. Well, whatcha waiting for, go on."

For a moment he considered agreeing, hoping against all reason that she would be true to her word. It would just be a strategic retreat on his part, allowing him to regroup with the others and return on more equal footing. But even if she was being truthful, that would still mean leaving Lisette and Lucy in her control. And that...that he couldn’t do.

He had to reach them somehow. Had to remind them of their friendship and they where fighting for. “Fine,” he said as he scrubbed his slate clean, dismissing the spiked shield. “You want to play it that way, fine.” He rose to his feet, hands out in surrender. “But I’m not leaving, not till we find what we came for. Estelle! Josette! Many other women who’ve vanished and been taken.

“The friends I knew, the Guilders I knew, would be with me in finding and rescuing them. Because that’s what we do. I’m not leaving, and if that means you’re going to kill me then just do it already!”

Chin held high, he stared his friends in the face. If there was anything left of their bond they could snap out of it. If not...then he didn't have much other choice anyway.

“Oh Aislin, protect me,” he whispered.



Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Casino/Party Hall

The brat kicked unreasonably hard, startling her long enough for Trixie to wriggle free. It wasn’t going to be that simple though. Heather whirled the gun on the girl, about to fire it when Xan surged forward and grappled with her. She fought hard for the weapon, though neither knew it to be empty, but started to loose it just a bit when Xan caught her in a vice-grip.

She hissed in pain, quickly contemplating the value of the gun versus that of a broken wrist. She had just decided to release the weapon when Bart came flying forward, and spun away from the coming collision. The impact forced Xan to release her hold, the gun flying aside and away from the whole group. Heather darted as soon as she was free, sliding on the ground towards the other gun of Trixie’s, the other she had kicked back.

As soon as she grabbed it, she turned back around and threw up another shield.

The Grande Diamond: Basement
There was no time to waste.

Four gas cylinders. Four columns to support the vast room above them. Moira ran around the room, roughly placing each cylinder underneath as Syed stumbled weakly after her. She wasn't particular about how neat her placement was. As long as it was right by it's target, that was enough.

And when that was done they both returned back to the rubble, Syed cringing a little by how bloody it was. Please let them be okay up there. He wished he had some way of telling them his plan, but in doing so he'd give the game away to Heather and Bart. He had to trust they'd be fine, but he muttered a silent prayer anyway.

He then turned to Moira, the pair of them exchanging silent looks. Moira wore her usual disgruntled fury on her face, while Syed trembled in a sort of terrified determination. They were in agreement. They'd never let the three still above be alone with a pair of arseholes like those two. However it was only when Moira gave Syed a rough reassuring pat on the back (to which Syed barely suppressed a yelp of pain) when he finally spoke.

"You'd best get down. I... you know."

He closed his eyes and breathed. He could hear a scuffle going on up there, although right now he needed to focus. Not pay any attention to that, or to the painful memory which loomed in his mind. Focus. You're getting better at it, when you're not getting crushed to death anyway. Focus. He trembled and shook, and it took him a good moment to get a hold of himself.

When he opened his eyes again, they shone a brilliant, bright yellow. His body may be worse for wear, but luckily the fall hadn't done any damage to his mind.

Electricity began to swarm his body, starting at his feet and travelling upwards. It whipped at his torn short sleeved shirt, tugged at his sodden hair, little pieces of metal lifting around him. His arms and hands moved in fluid, precise movements, the electricity leaving a brilliant trail in his wake.

If anyone were paying attention to the chasm in the floor above, they may have seen the faint light beginning to flicker and brighten within. A certain metalurgist may have even felt an increase of electricity in the air. But back in the basement, Moira just remained crouched with gritted teeth and held on tightly to Syed's belt, ready to pull him down as soon as she needed to.

Focus.

Breathe.

He was not leaving this place without everyone. It wasn't an option. Even if it did make him a criminal. Unless he got killed, which was still a very real possibility what with oh he was thinking about it too much again.

He fired.

---

The main hall suddenly jolted as a loud, ear-piercing boom shook it right from it's very foundations. Flames leapt up out of the chasm as a massive web of cracks raced across the floor. It was as if hell had opened up directly below them, intent on swallowing the room whole. The inferno only lasted for a couple of seconds at most though, before dying back down. The roar of flames was instead replaced by the creaking and crackling of...

Quite suddenly, the whole floor gave away, dropping both friend and foe right into the basement below in a hail of rubble and debris. Thick dust billowed out in all directions, illuminated orange by the patches of flame still scattered across the room.

As the dust began to thin and settle, a shillouette became visible, backlighted with a firey red. An overweight woman in a torn up summer dress, her hands on her hips as she rested a foot on a piece of rubble. And as it cleared some more her cold grey eyes came into focus, burning in fury.

"WE AIN'T DEAD YET MOTHERFUCKERS!" Moira bellowed, her hair whipping a little from the heat currents. Covered in blood, battered and bruised, she was the very picture of fury.

"Is everyone okay?!" Syed shouted after her, his voice raspy and hoarse as his eyes desperately peered through the thick air with worry. Unlike his partner he still remained crouched down, although large arcs of residual electricity still discharged from his body. He relaxed his arms from their position crossed across his chest, the small electrical shield dissipating from above Amy as the least agile of the three. Please let them all be okay. Please be okay. Please...!

"The man's a weight manipulator, don't let him hit you!" he coughed, beginning to heave himself up and as much as his body screamed against it. He strained his gaze for either of their opponents. Now was their chance!

"Well, it ain't a sword..." Moira bent down and picked up a large, solid looking metal pipe. She swept it to one side, dust swirling in it's wake. Setting both feet apart, she held the pipe at around eye level just to one side, ready to strike at a split-second's notice. "...But come and get some!"

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond - Fourth Floor (Indoor Pool)

"Ah meant what ah said earlier, hun. If ya just surrender, ah'll take ya right out. Probably with a little spank at the door for breakin' in to begin with, but that's what ah'm paid for, innit? 'Weren't for folks like you, ah wouldn't be 'round here~" Mordie smiled, impish but sweetly, as Lisette and Lucien backed her up. Her grip on them remained strong, from the looks of it. While the buffoons splashed in the water behind them (seems that Tom and Cid could not swim), Dylan straightened himself up and... disarmed himself. He had too much heart to fight his teammates. It was almost baffling, really, how such good-natured people would stage an infiltration...

Then he explained himself. His friends had been kidnapped. Many other women from the likes of it. But Mordie displayed no obvious reaction.

"The friends I knew, the Guilders I knew, would be with me in finding and rescuing them. Because that’s what we do. I’m not leaving, and if that means you’re going to kill me then just do it already!"

He was trying to break through to them. Mordie brushed her fingers softly along both Lucien's and Lisette's arm as she rose to her feet as well, making sure to maintain her charm. "Guilders? No wonder you--hun, listen to yourself. If your kidnapped friends are as coordinated as you, ah'm sure they'll break out just fine. Then we'll kick everyone outta here all together, n' everybody will be happy! Sounds charmin', dunnit?"

Hopefully that knocked sense into the poor boy. But she couldn't risk anything further, even with his sweet surrender. She calculated her next movements, her plans with the remaining four. Once Dylan was incapacitated, then...

With a warm smile towards Lisette, she leaned into Lucien's ear - "Knock him out for me, sugar." - before backing away from the scene. Retrieving a fallen baton, she brought a finger to her lips and watched the scene before her.

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond - First Floor (Party Hall/Casino)

It worked! It worked! Trixie was freed. The second Heather loosed her grip, Trixie flopped to the ground and thanked the gods for air before scrambling away from that hostile woman, to let Xandra take the next step. In an instant the glow encasing Trixie vanished, seemingly transferring itself to the metallurgist; Amy had stepped aside, murmuring a quick defensive buff for her as she watched Bart charge in from her peripherals.

The prankster darted next for the other gun, the loaded pistol, but was beaten by Heather. So she skid to a stop, cursed - "Son of a duck!" - and ran around to her backside, in order to flank her, which opened her to seeing Bart incoming as well. Boy was that motherfather fast! "Oh no, no no no no no...!"

She stopped herself with a gasp. What on earth were those flashing lights behind Bart!?

And then... "Fire!" Trixie screamed, pointing at the eruption.

Amy froze on cue, and the entire floor rumbled with madness, before sending everyone plummeting into a smokey abyss that was the basement. Moira and Syed were still alive. Of course they couldn't fall here. Amy smile subconsciously as they announced themselves, as she landed safely atop one of the unused boxes scattered along the floor, protected with the mage's shield from any debris collapsing atop her. Though the smoke was quick to wipe her smile away, as she fell into a fit of coughs. Hopping off the box with one arm around her mouth, she outstretched her other arm to feel for the walls, or something large enough to stand hidden by.

With a cough, she sealed her eyes shut, both her body and her gem glowing a soft yellow. She couldn't see the others, but she could sense their auras, a feel for their distance away from her - and it seemed that everyone, ally and foe, had survived the crash. "Who needs help?" she called out, and moved into a healing chant without further hesitation. Moira shouted out something next, hopefully deterring any enemy attention her way instead of to the cleric.



Trixie too smiled - though now she was out of sight. She had landed right on her bum, the worse way to fall, and truly she felt like rolling over and passing out and letting everyone else do all the slash-slash-bang-bang... but the unfortunate truth was she still had some fight in her. Ugh. The pains of being a superhero. Moaning, she gripped into her back like an old woman and pushed herself up. "Someone owes me a massage after this..."

Dust enshrouded the room, allowing her to hunch over and maneuver unseen. All she had to do was find her guns, or anything else projectile down there.

"No!" Selan cried, tears spilling from her eyes immediately. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, it was going to happen again, and at the cost of...

"You bastard!" Selan screamed, slapping Neil across the face as hard as she could, shoving him away from her. She didn't care if he ran her through with the katana right then and there, the anguish she felt now overwhelmed her enough to dispel any fear she felt towards him.

Neil took a step back, not even fazed by the increasingly reddening mark on his cheek. He still had a grin on his face, greatly amused by the reaction he had brought out of her. His fingers tensed around the hilt of the katana. "A bastard? You're acting like this is something new."

Selan ignored him, walking quickly past him, to see if there was anything she could do for Don.

Neil Hunter wasn't having it.

"... Ahh!" Selan shouted in pain, feeling herself being yanked backwards. Neil had seized her hair as close to the scalp as he could, digging his fingers in. "Let me go!" she screamed, reaching back to grab his hand with both of her own. Her eyes were still set on the motionless body of Crimson Justice, on the growing pool of blood.

"The guy's dead, it's over! This guy was no match, you saw it! And for what? For you?" Neil hissed into her ear. His smile widened as he realized she was sobbing, and decided to twist the knife even further. "You might as well have stabbed him yourself."

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Pool Room

Standing by Mordie's side, Lisette listened to Dylan's words intently. She cocked her head to the side, trying to understand the confusing, contradictory statements he was making. Rescuing women? Estelle? Josette? She was protecting Mordie, wasn't she?

"Guilders...? Killing... But I don't... want to kill anyone..." Lisette mumbled, holding her head again. The throbbing pain intensified again, and the fuzzy memories were coming back into focus ever so slightly.

Mordie gently brushed her arm reassuringly, and her thoughts became a static-y jumble once again. Still, Lisette's frown remained, and she stepped back a little as Mordie whispered something into Lucien's ear. She couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was sure that she knew how to handle this.

"Knock him out for me, sugar."

The words bounced around inside his head. They didn't sound right, but Mordie had spoken those words herself, so they had to be...

Lucien froze in place. None of this was right. He was here for a reason...but that reason, it escaped him, flitted out of reach. "W-Why are we here, Lisette?" He found himself mumbling. However, Mordie simply placed a hand on his shoulder and most of his doubts flew out the window. They were here to protect Mordie from a bunch of brutes.

“The friends I knew, the Guilders I knew, would be with me in finding and rescuing them. Because that’s what we do. I’m not leaving, and if that means you’re going to kill me then just do it already!”

They were this man's friends? He looked to Lisette then back to Mordie before his eyes locked on Dylan. This man was obviously trying to trick him, so he could get to Mordie. Lucien marched forwards with fists clenched and gritted his teeth. All these things about missing women and guilders, they couldn't be true! Mordie wouldn't lie to him or Lisette, would she. His head began to pound. Everything seemed like one big contradiction. Everything Mordie was telling them to do felt noble and right yet deep inside something told him this was wrong, that this wasn't why they were here.

He grabbed Dylan by the colar of his dress and pulled the man close. "Stop spewing lies, yeah? We're sick and tired of this BS." His voice quavered just before he could finish. The summoner felt a pang of hesitation but Mordie simply had to egg him on. Lucien's grip tightened and he pushed Dylan back into the nearest wall and pulled back a fist. It shook, and for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to knock the matter artist out. "I-I can't do it." Flashes of Weir, Vandrell, and cheery smiles came rushing back.

Lucien dropped his fist, but he didn't let go. "I...I can't."



If she could just get a hold of the gun...!

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him. Suddenly, Heather released the gun and Xan who had been tugging, staggered back, the weapon now in her hands. She spun around in an attempt to retaliate but was not fast enough. Bart's fist caught her in the stomach and the next thing she knew she was on the ground, on the opposite side of the room. The room was spinning and everything was hurting. Breathing hurt, attempting to get up hurt, and she felt like she wanted to throw up.

Xan let out a few hacking coughs before curling up on the ground. How had Moira and Syed gotten back up so many times?

"Fire!"

What? She pushed herself to her knees arms shaking beneath her own weight. Had she bruised a rib? She couldn't really tell, everything just hurt.

The metallurgist let out a couple more coughs before pushing herself onto wobbly knees, but before she could steady herself the ground shook and she looked up just in time to see a bright flash. Suddenly, they were falling. There was the sound of falling debris, then contact with the floor. The girl let out a hiss, that was enough action for one day.

Familiar voices announced their presence, and Xan cracked open an eye. Through the dust she could see their outlines. Moira and Syed, they were okay.

She pushed herself up onto wobbly knees...it seemed things weren't over yet.

Los Paraisos : the Grande Diamond- 9th floor

One big drawback of being completely blind was that it was impossible to see exactly where she was hitting, forcing her to pull her strikes just in case she hit too hard or too deep. She darted forward once more towards the source of the smoke, feeling her fan slice through fabric before Kenneth pulled back again.

Aria was pushing to keep up the illusion, starting to feel the strain on her mind. She took a moment to regain her focus, trying to keep her heavy breaths as silent as possible. Judging by the dizziness tugging at the back of her consciousness she would have to release the blindness soon lest she deplete her magic entirely. Just a bit longer-
A loud explosion rocked the building, causing her concentration to waver and the darkness flickered for a moment just in time for Aria see the man lunging towards her, a switchblade in each hand. She quickly staggered back as the darkness enveloped them both once again, but not fast enough to completely avoid Kenneth’s attack.
She winced as a blade made a shallow gash on her arm, but before the stinging pain cut in she was forced backwards as she felt a light gust of wind rush past, the switchblade narrowly missing her face. Had the man managed to break through her illusion? No, his attacks were too haphazard for him to have regained sight. Perhaps he had figured out her trick as well?

She was being forced into the defensive now, parrying as best she could as she moved back but still accumulating a good amount of stinging gashes across her arms. Her illusion was flickering more often now despite her efforts but before she could dispel the now mostly useless illusion a particularly vicious strike forced her to leap back, only to trip over something on the ground. She fell backwards with a yelp, fans dropping to the ground as she clutched her head that had thudded painfully onto the (thankfully) carpeted floor.

The impact had successfully broken the illusion and Aria cracked open one eye only to see Kenneth standing over her with a victorious smirk. She glared back. It seemed that the wavering illusion had allowed him to push her all the way back to where Thunderhawk was collapsed on the ground, causing her to trip over his legs and land in a painful heap. Her hands began edging toward her fallen weapons but froze at the golden switchblade pointed to her throat.

The two stared at each other for a moment, neither blinking. A low groan from the blond-haired ranger on the ground tore Aria’s gaze away and she scanned the man worriedly. Luckily he hadn’t fallen on the knives and the wounds weren’t too deep, while bleeding had been kept to a minimal due to the blades still wedged firmly in his flesh. He wasn’t in any immediate danger.

With a small sigh Aria flopped back onto the ground, hissing as the cuts on her arms throbbed and looked tiredly up at the other illusionist. She didn’t have enough energy to try her illusion again, and she certainly couldn’t jump up without getting skewered, but was ready nevertheless to move out of the way just in case. She eyed the man warily, but could help but give a dry laugh.

"Looks like you win this one."

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Ground Floor: Lobby

His feet quickly reached the centre of the Grande Diamond’s lobby, his head lifting up into the air and peering at the many floors and distant ceiling above. His eyes narrowed, scrutinising the distance, deliberating at how much magic was needed for his next task. On his way down falling from the tenth floor, he had spied them, and committed it to memory for his next destination after rescuing Estelle and Josette. He could only hope that they were still there, otherwise he have to resort to searching for them. And now, as those frantic, devastating battles continued… every minute counted. He needed them to end now.

As if proving Marcus’ inner ruminations right, the building suddenly rumbled and shook. To his right, through the destroyed double doors that led to the casino beyond, Marcus could spy with disbelief the room itself disappearing. Cracks ran across the floor from it, and the area was swept up in flames and screams. Marcus took a step towards it, beginning to run and assist whatever was occurring within that room, before suddenly stopping. He didn’t know what was happening… didn’t know how badly injured his friends could be. And he needed to help them. But rushing in like that wasn’t the answer. There was a quicker and easier way to solving all of this at once, and that was what he needed to pursue. He just hoped his friends could hold on a little bit longer!

His knees bent, and his body crouched low, as emerald energy spiralled and swarmed around his body, concentrating around his feet. The next second, he was propelled upwards, dashing with incredible speed to the ceiling above.

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Sixth Floor: Restaurant

"The guy's dead, it's over! This guy was no match, you saw it! And for what? For you?" Neil hissed into her ear. His smile widened as he realized she was sobbing, and decided to twist the knife even further. "You might as well have stabbed him yourself."

Selan didn’t seem to respond, her body becoming still after Neil’s last cutting remark. Even her struggle against his hands tugging on her hair seemed to soften, with Selan lost in disbelief at the horror that just occurred before her. Through the tears, her eyes were on him. He wouldn’t move. No. No. No!

Neil meanwhile, cast another sinister grin towards the bloody costumed man. He still had no idea who or what the man was, but he had to admit he was impressed. He was no match for fighting against him, but his punches and kicks hurt, and that determination… well, it was something, even if it was ridiculous. And the fact that it was all for her, Miss Selan Leclair… well, it made her seem even more valuable to him now. Not only for her beauty, her singing and dancing prowess, or whatever hidden magics she might have. But to inspire someone to fight and die for her? She certainly helped justify Neil’s decisions today, all right. Even breaking out to actually get his hands dirty and fight, something he avoided doing for the most part, didn’t bother him like it otherwise might have.

And then, the room rumbled. Chairs and tables rocked back and forth, before tumbling over, the contents of their plates, food and glasses full of drinks tumbling to the ground and shattering. Neil looked about himself, frowning, before turning back to look at the prize gripped within his fingers.

He had spent enough time here already. Time to go.

A purple vortex ripped open from beneath their feet, and the pair sunk into it, vanishing as the portal closed after them, leaving the restaurant, and Crimson Justice, behind.

---

Los Paraisos : The Grande Diamond: 9th Floor: Lobby

Kenneth towered over Aria’s helpless body, his knife pressed towards her throat, preventing her with any means of retreat or escape. His chest rose and fell, haggard breaths leaving his body as he looked his opponent over, and at the multitude of cuts and injuries she had sustained to match his own. Neither one of them had came away from that fracas unscathed. But after breathing hard for a spell, and taking in deep lungfuls of air, Kenneth’s body began to calm down again, and a smile creep across his lips. He laughed.

“You’re good, kid.” Kenneth grinned. “Real good. Ain’t never seen another illusionist that good, that young.”

Aria’s expression in return was one of weariness and disgust. She was too tired for this. For the games and the witty repartee. Kenneth noticed this, she could only reply with a agitated 'you win', and from it his eyes glimmered.

“Aww, now don’t you fret none, young’un.” Kenneth spoke apologetically. “You gave it your all. It’s just a known fact that the better man won, is all. Don’t look that way. You’re gonna break ol’Kenny’s heartaaagh!”

The conman’s body was suddenly ripped off and away from Aria by a powerful gust of wind, his back slammed into the nearest wall, his knives clattering harmlessly to the ground. As Aria watched with disbelief, her eyes following Kenneth, and then spinning to the source of such an assault, Kenneth’s own eyes flared up with fiery indignation. His hands reached for the two golden switchknifes, but before he could grasp them they were ripped into the air and away from him, straight into the hands of-

“Well, well, well. Lookie who it is,” Another foxish grin started, the rugged blonde rising to his feet, straightening his tie and dusting down his suit. A wary eye fell upon the silver haired woman standing across him. “Now how did you manage to get out here, little one? And what on Ddaear was-”



Meanwhile, however, Marcus had walked towards Aria, bending down and offering her a kind hand, back up to her feet.

“Are you okay, Aria? You look like you were in a tremendous fight… sorry it took so long for me to help… but you did good now. You can rest. It’s over. Is Thunderhawk…?” Marcus’s concerned eyes switched from the illusionist to the groaning ranger, and back up again.

Aria was silent, before nodding. “He’s… okay. He’s D Rank, isn’t he? He’d better be!”

Marcus chuckled.

“Over?” Kenneth interrupted, lighting up another cigarette and take a hearty lungful, blowing it into the air and looking down his eyes towards the crossdressing man. “And what, may I ask, makes you say that?”

“Because it’s over.” Marcus explained, one hand resting on Aria’s shoulder, the other holding the conman’s knives. “The fighting’s done. There’s no need for it anymore.”

Kenneth frowned, scrutinising the woman over. But for the first time this day, he was confused, and lacked control of the scene. He didn’t like it.

“Explain yourself.”

“Go back up, and take a look at Dumont’s room. You’ll see what I mean. There’s no more need for fighting today.” Marcus responded cryptically. One of Kenneth’s eyebrows arched in curiosity, and he took another puff of his cigarette. He wasn’t one to believe the first thing someone said, but the fact that this woman was here instead of that room… that she could even be talking to him like this. Saying these words… an ominous feeling of dread started to rain over him. Before Marcus even asked for Aria’s help next, he already knew that what he said was true. But it didn’t stop his eyes from bugging out in startled amazement at Marcus’ revelation.

“Aria,” Marcus asked with a gentle smile to the illusionist. “I’d hate to ask considering how tired you look already… but could you make a small illusion, to show Mr. Lay what I really look like?”

She nodded, if albeit a little confused. And Kenneth, he made no attempts to resist and see through her illusions. He saw it… and his cigarette tumbled out of his lips.

The woman was not a woman at all, but a man. And not only that, but Kenneth recognised the man. The same man who was attracting all of the ladies’ attention when he battled him in the Pellagio Hotel’s casino at Poker. The man with the soft, gentle face, and the incredible-

“Hmph. Okay.” Kenneth craned and cricked his neck. “I’ll let you two on out of here. I reckon you’re probably right… I’ll still need to check, but…”

“This is no bluff.” Marcus answered. As Kenneth walked towards them, with the stairs to the tenth, and final floor behind them, Marcus made no effort to act out of turn. Instead, he just calmly handed Kenneth back his knives, as Aria watched in disbelief.

“Heh. Well, if it isn’t… then good game, Mister…?”

“Wiseman.”

“Good game, Mr. Wiseman. Naturally, I’ll still check, and if I find you’re lying then… well, we’ll have to continue this song and dance, but… you’re not, are you? Hmph.” Kenneth shook his head, smiling again. He reached into his jacket pocket, pulling a neat and spotless pair of cards. On the one hand, a symbol of a ♠. On the other, a string of numbers. He handed one each to Marcus and Aria.

“If you ever need a job doing, and have the money for it, well… give me a call.” Kenneth grinned. Aria’s jaw dropped, ready to say something, but Kenneth caught her before she could, a finger on her lips keeping them closed, a charming shake of his head from side to side to inform her ‘no.’ “Now, now, darling. This wasn’t personal. This was just business. A job. Doesn’t mean that next time, we can’t be friends. Heh.”

Kenneth placed his hands in his pockets, and walked away, up the stairs towards the Grande Suite.

Marcus turned to look to Aria, and bent down, lifting Thunderhawk up and shouldering him.

“C’mon,” Marcus smiled. “It’s a long way down.”

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Fourth Floor: Pool Room

Amidst the swirling tension gripping the leisure room, where the beautiful charmer Mordie Locklear laughingly toyed with and played with the heartstrings of Lucien, Dylan, Lisette and the three bros Tom, Cid and Jerry, their battle was upset the moment the building quaked and the room shook from side to side. Water from the pool sloshed over the sides, with some almost splashing onto Mordie and her sultry dress, before things started to calm down and quieten. Her head shifted and looked around, searching for any sign of the source of the tremor, but found nothing. Another quick, dirty glance towards the Guilders showed no change from their current hesitation. Annoyingly enough, Lucien wouldn’t deliver the blow which she asked for… but he still seemed to be enamoured and caught under her spell. That was good. But quakes like that… they wouldn’t help. And the others. Were they alright?

“Kenny? Bart? Heather? Any o’you gorgeous guys and gals know what that just was… ?!”

From the ceiling, a purple swirling vortex appeared, crushing in size before reaching a peak. And then, seconds later, a man and woman dropped to the ground, the man landing on his feet by the side of the pool. He glanced up, looking with confusion and surprise at Mordie, the Guilders, and the bros.

Mordie’s eyes started on him, and then to the woman he was clutching. Selan!

“Hey! Ain’tchoo that-”

“Whoops, this isn’t my stop.” Neil laughed, another vortex forming beneath his feet that he and Selan dropped through. With the purple portal’s subsequent quick disappearance, it was like they weren’t ever there.

Mordie was stopped in her tracks. Between fighting the Guilders and Bros, that was the man Kenny had said to keep an eye on and apprehend! Neil Hunter! What should she do next? What should-

And then a voice rung out into her ear’s inner communicator, bequeathing her, Heather and Bart new orders. The voice was unmistakable.

“Mordie, Heather, Bart… time to pack up, folks. We’re done here.”

“Kenneth?”

“Huh? Done? Are you fucking kidding? Some fat fucking bitch just dropped the floor out from under me and now I’m going to drop her and-”

“It’s done, Bart.” Kenneth’s calm and collected voice commanded. The voice’s owner sucked on his latest cigarette, before removing it to exhale a thin new trail of smoke to wisp into the air. He shuffled his body from side to side, dusting down his suit, and tapping his shoes more comfortably, sidestepping the pooling blood that trickled into the floor. He turned, walking towards the Grande Suite’s exit.

“Job’s officially over everyone. Let’s go home.”

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Ground Floor: Storage Room

Once more, the surface of the room’s ceiling bristled with violet energy. From its center, a swirling mass, a vortex, grew into being, pulsing and throbbing. From it, two figures fell, landing on the ground, besides the storage room’s sole vehicle inside, Neil Hunter’s truck. The cocky grey haired man rose to his feet, that wolfish grin stretched from ear to ear, elated at the success of his mission, and the prize gripped tightly in his hand. Selan Leclair, the other women in the back of his truck… this had been a job well done.

His azure eyes first focused on the truck, and then they turned, scanning the room from one wall to the last. His head and body turning, his jaw… slowly… dropping…

“What… the hell…?”

His men, dropped and lying unconscious across the room. Unmoving and unresponsive. What in the world had just?

BAM

For the umpteenth time today, Neil felt the sharp smack of pain grip his cheek, sending him flying backwards and crashing into the metal chassis of his vehicle. At the same time, his grip softened and released on Selan’s hair, and once more the songstress was taken from him. His eyes snapped open immediately, wild anger gripping the bandit at the audacity of him being attacked. Again. Who the fu-



“WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!” Josette shouted, her right leg still aloft in the air after colliding with Neil. Behind her, Estelle had rescued Selan, crouching beside her and gripping her arms with worry and concern.



“Selan?” Estelle softly spoke. Selan resembling none of the cool, confident woman who Estelle called her friend, her role model. “Are you okay?”

“I’M GOING TO KICK THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!” Josette burst forwards.

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Casino/Party Hall

The ground shook suddenly beneath her feet, a blazing column of fire rising through the hole that Bart had created, and the floor split. Still holding tight to her new gun, she pulled her shield in around her to create a buffer. Though she fell through the floor into the basement, she protected herself so well that she came out unscratched. Raising her gun, she pointed it at the glowing cleric and was just about to fire when the message came.

“Mordie, Heather, Bart… time to pack up, folks. We’re done here.”

“Yes sir,” she said immediately, throwing the small gun to the side. She glanced at her partner, but Bart was having none of it.

“Huh? Done? Are you fucking kidding? Some fat fucking bitch just dropped the floor out from under me and now I’m going to drop her and-”

“It’s done, Bart.” Kenneth’s calm and collected voice commanded. “Job’s officially over everyone. Let’s go home.”

Stepping forward, she grabbed Bart by the shoulder. “We have our orders.”

“Fuck that!” he shouted, moving to slam his fist into Moira’s face, but he stopped mid-step gasping for air.

Heather stood behind him, face as still as stone, as she held the shield in place around his head. It was similar to what she had done to Trixie, and she couldn’t hold it long. But that didn’t matter, Bart was already running out of breath since he kept cussing her out. Releasing her magic, she watched as the man fell to his knees. “Are you done?”

She swore she heard him mutter at him under his breath, but he got to his feet and returned to her side. Heather nodded towards the Guilders, a gesture of respect for a fight well fought. “Good luck with your business.” Arm linked firmly with Bart’s, she forcibly dragged him out of the room before activating her communicator. “Kenneth, Bart and I are heading out.”

The Grande Diamond: Basement
Moira's grip on her pipe did not shift for one second, staying stock still as she watched the woman warily. Unlike her partner, whose hands dropped slightly from his interrupted shield spell despite still looking twitchy as hell. What on earth was she doing?

What the fuck was this?!

A fist suddenly burst through the smoke and dust, causing Moira to step and bend backwards as she attempted to evade the punch...

Except that stopped abruptly too. What? WHAT?! Was he just... suffocating there?! She lost her balance, landing in a not at all dignified manner. She glowered at them, completely perplexed. What the hell was going on?! Once he had gotten over... whatever it was, the pair then just stopped. Just. Stopped.

She had her badass reentry into the fight... for this?!

“Good luck with your business.”

"WHAT?!" Moira screeched as she stood herself back up. Her knuckes went white, her pupils contracted, her lips curling in rage. "Don't you dare turn your backs on me! DON'T YOU DARE!!!" She began to pace forward briskly, the pipe dragging behind her. Any words the others may have had for her fell upon deaf ears. All that mattered to her was that she was in the middle of something. She was in the middle of something and she was going to finish it! And she was not going to let them out of her sight!

"COWARDS!" she screamed as they passed through the door. "FILTHY, FUCKIN ****ING COWARDS!!! THAT'S IT, RUN AWAY, YOU FUCKIN' ARSEHOLES! RUN AWAY!!!" She brought her arm back, her muscles tensing before she flung the pipe right at the door.

Only for the pipe to suddenly change trajectory in the air, smashing into one of the walls instead. Syed stood just behind her, his extended fingers still buzzing from the electricity.

"It's over, Moira," he said softly, watching her carefully. He couldn't really believe it either, but if Heather was willing to actually harm Bart to stop him attacking then it was only really fair to not attack back. Unless it was a trap of course, but he wasn't willing to push his luck any further.

"IS IT FUCK OVER!" Her eyes flicked over to her partner. She looked completely wild, like she was teetering on the edge of losing it. "LIKE HELL DO YOU KNOW WHEN SOMETHING IS OVER! OVEREMOTIONAL PIECE OF SHIT!"

With that she continued storming after the pair, making a beeline to pick the pipe back up as she went. She wasn't going to let them escape! She wasn't!

Only for her to feel something wrap around her chest. Looking down she saw the familiar long thin arms of her partner, bloodied and dirty from the battle. His hands however remained tensed, ready to gesture at a split-second's notice.

"Don't make me, Moira." He said quietly as he pressed his bloodied forehead into her back. Bending over so much was hardly comfortable, but at least this way left his hands free. "Have some dignity. Let's just find everyone. That's why we're here, remember?"

He lifted his head once more, looking over to the others. Xan, Amy and Trixie. "Come on, let's go."

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond - Fourth Floor (Indoor Pool)

Lisette and Lucien were beginning to snap out of it, Mordie's hold on them becoming blurry by the second. This was to be expected; her Charm can only last on targets for so long, and she was quick to switch from Dylan the second he began showing some resistance. These guilders - they had will. Quite a lot of it. Those were the funnest to play with.

With an air of confidence, Mordie began striding towards the entrance, keeping her eyes on the three fighters, two of them more confused than anything of the situation now, and Dylan bleeding. Luckily for the bros, Jerry was a lifeguard and managed to rescue both Tom and Cid before they could drown. And these guilders... with their hearts of gold, they couldn't risk hurting or allowing these others to get hurt, could they?

Mordie wasn't quite done toying with their emotions - until someone dropped into the room and left just as quickly. The man's entry would have left Mordie uneasy had familiar voices not buzzed in her ear with mission updates immediately after. "Kenny?" She pressed a hand to her cheek, listening in.

Then, her Charm on the two guilders dropped, and Mordie's stride resumed towards the door.

"Looks like we're done here, boys n' gal. It's been real charmin'. We should play again sometime!"

That was it. The game was over. The Suits made their impact and called it a day, just like that. She followed up on Heather's announcement as she pressed open the door, glancing back at the three guilders and winking playfully at them. "Me too. Ah'll be takin' the lift downstairs."

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond - Basement

So... the baddies were done? Just like that? Bart and Heather could have easily kept the fight going with their vigor, but the fight was over in an instant. Just as Heather forced Bart out of the room, Syed too held Moira back from charging after them. Both Trixie and Amy were left equally baffled at this.

The prankster could only blink in amazement as she watched the man and woman link arms and depart the dusty room. "Ummm. Did we win?"

During this sudden, almost disquieting downtime, Amy took Syed's word and headed towards the way out of this basement. As she moved, she looked to her four teammates for any visible damages, gem clenched at her side and ready to cast. This was... this couldn't be some ploy, could it? Just walking out of a fight like that? Amy twitched her lips. While that made things easier for the Pride to continue looking for their kidnapped friends in this ruckus, it left quite a bitter taste on her tongue - not that she'd pursue them of course.

But if their departure was genuine, time could not be wasted any further. Amy nodded firmly, eyes flitting between the others. Estelle and Josette were still out there somewhere.

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Ground Floor: Storage Room

Selan was pulled back, away from the cruel, vicious man. Estelle gripped her shaking arms, her eyes filled with worry at the sight of the songstress's tear-stained, colorless cheeks and swollen, reddened eyes. Her shoulders and lips were trembling, and Selan wasn't looking at Neil, or Estelle -- she was looking at Josette, the sister of the man she just watched...

"Selan?" Estelle said gently.

"Estelle, that man, h-he... Don... I..."

"I'M GOING TO KICK THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!" Josette screamed, shades of her brother showing in her eyes.

"You're not even worth the-- shit!" Neil snarled from the floor in front of his truck. The sounds of muffled screams and shifting erupted from the back of the truck, from the women terrified of whatever had hit the vehicle. Neil raised his hand, summoning a vortex immediately upon seeing the blue-haired woman charging at him again.

Josette suddenly stopped in mid-kick; he was right there a second ago! Did he just sink through the floor?

"Like I was saying..."

Josette's head snapped toward the darkest corner of the room, behind the truck. Neil walked forward, the dim lighting casting a sinister shadow across his face.

"... You're not even worth the money it's gonna take to fix that dent." Neil said slowly, a grin spreading across his face. As cocky as he was, his eyes were scanning the room, looking for his katana, which had clattered to the floor somewhere.

"Looking for this?" Estelle called. She had left Selan's side, and the katana was in her hands. The blade was still wet with Don's blood, although she hadn't yet pieced together what Selan was trying to say.

Neil's cool grey eyes turned icy, and the corner of his mouth twitched in anger. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me. I have a policy on damaging the merch, but if you want to play with swords, I'll make an exception."

"I'm not playing!" Estelle yelled, leaping forward, sword at the ready.

Josette sprang towards the man as well, opting for a punch.

Standing between the two women, across from Selan, Neil cracked his neck on both sides. Nothing about his expression or body language indicated what was about to happen next.

"Game over."

Purple vortexes appeared in the center of the room, casting an ominous violet glow on each of the four faces. Josette was the first to reach Neil, who grabbed her arm and twisted it away into an awkward position, effectively stopping her momentum dead in its tracks. Estelle was second, and she thrust the sword forward, the sharp point disappearing through a vortex and emerging somewhere else. Neil seized her wrist with his other hand, holding it in place. "I wouldn't move if I were you." he said, turning his head toward Selan. Both Estelle and Josette turned their heads as well.

Selan's head was tilted back, the blade just a hair away from her neck. Lethargy had settled into her eyes, but her lips trembled involuntarily, knowing that the slightest movement would end her life.

Neil suddenly ripped the katana out of Estelle's hands, retracting it from the portal and twirled it around to jab her in the stomach with the hilt. With his other hand, he pulled down hard on Josette's arm, causing her to scream and fall to her knees.

"Got that out of your systems now?" Neil spat, looking toward his truck.

---

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Pool Room

It was as if the lights suddenly came on, illuminating a room full of darkness. Lisette's eyes perked up familiarly as Mordie strode from the room.

"Looks like we're done here, boys n' gal. It's been real charmin'. We should play again sometime!"

And with that, she left the room.

Lisette, still dripping pool water from her hair and clothes, looked around in confusion, struggling to reconcile what had happened with what she thought had happened. But one look at Dylan and the bros made everything come flooding back.

"Everyone, I'm so sorry!" she cried, crawling over to Dylan. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry!"

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamonde: Ground Floor: Storage Room

“Nnn!”

“Ah!!”

Both Estelle and Josette crumpeled to the floor in front of Neil, the pair having been laid low within seconds and dealt painful injuries before they could even scarcely comprehend what had happened. Was it in part due to the effects of the hangover they were still recovering from, or was this guy really that tough? He couldn’t be. She had been through, and defeated worse. This was just another cackling who needed to be taught a lesson!

But Estelle hacked and coughed. The jab to her stomach had knocked the wind out of her, and it was hard to even stand again. She continued to sputter, hacking and retching. Damn… him…

“You… prick!” Josette was the first to move, swinging her leg in the air, aimed towards Neil’s face. As much as her arm screamed with agony, there was no way she’d sit down and take something like this. As her foot swung through the air, Neil’s eyes turned to see the approaching attack. And this time, he didn’t even need to use his magic. With his free hand, he casually gripped Josette at her ankle, and lifted her into the air. Before then violently slamming her back down onto the ground.

“What did I say?” Neil shook his head from side to side. “I said it’s game over. You ladies… you’re all coming with me. Even you two little brats. You’ve definitely helped to make yourselves more valuable, y’know.”

“Eat… shit… mother… fucker…”

“And you definitely need a gag again.” Neil’s foot swung out, booting Josette in the stomach and forcing her to collapse onto the ground again. His foot trod upon the azure haired woman’s back, pushing her down, forcing her to submit, as his katana hung dangerously close towards Estelle, ready to strike should she too show the idiocy to try and keep fighting.

Women… they needed to learn their place.

As Neil bent down to grab Josette’s arm, yanking her up to be the first dragged to his truck, he was suddenly stopped in his tracks. The entire room shook once again, hit by a violent tremor. A tremor that Estelle and Josette also noticed and felt, whereas Selan – the sensation didn’t even faze her. Her mind was elsewhere.

In his pause, Neil looked around him. What was with this place and all of these reverberations-

And then another. This time louder, closer, rocking the entire room with greater force and frenetic horror than before. And then a long, and lingering pause. Neil shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He lifted Josette to her feet with one hand, whilst the other scabbarded his katana into a vortex. With that one’s diminishing, his other hand looked over to grab Estelle by her hair, as another, larger vortex appeared before him, leading to the back of the truck.

And then there it was again. Another quake. This time bigger then the first two. Neil stopped but for a fraction of a second, before continuing his work. It really didn’t matte-

And then another. This time much louder, much closer then before.

“Okay,”

Another explosive quake.

“What the fuck is going on?!”

It was as if the ceiling above suddenly exploded. Vast chunks of masonry and debris was sent raining down to the ground, pieces of stone, brickwork and tiles clattering and rebounding off the floor into small, cracked pieces amongst the heavier pieces of debris, mere inches away from Neil, Estelle and Josette. The two girls shrieked, snapping their eyes shut to protect themselves from the dust, as Neil dropped his hold off Estelle in order to shield his eyes.

This… again? It couldn’t be!

He dropped his hands, gingerly opening his eyes, before they snapped wide to attention. Standing directly in front of them, mere centimetres away, from the newly created hole in the wall…

“What the hell… I… I killed you!”



He said nothing, his form and posture perfectly still and silent. He simply stared at Neil, as Neil stared at his own startled reflection shining in the visor, his jaw dropping. Impossible!

Selan’s eyes looked up, unable to believe or process what she was seeing amidst the tears. He… he had…!

Frustrated, degraded, down before you're done
Rejection, depression, can't get what you want

His head turned, the visor looking towards Neil’s struggling captives. First to Estelle, who looked up amidst sputtering coughs. Then to Josette, bruised and wincing, struggling vainly for freedom. And then, past the pair of them to a little further away. To Selan, hunched on the floor, drenched in tears. His head tilted its angle back to Neil. The pebbles on the ground started to clatter and shake, some even rising into the air.

You ask me how I make my way
You ask me everywhere and why

Sparks shot across his body. The smoke grew more bulbous in volume, pouring from his body.

You hang on every word I say
But the truth sounds like a lie

His fist swung out.


Live to win, 'till you die, 'till the light dies in your eyes
Live to win, take it all, just keep fighting till you fall

Neil’s body was suddenly hurtled backwards, careening through the room at frightening speed, pain enveloping his whole body, his whole being. He was able to just barely summon a vortex on the wall behind him to slip through instead of crash, with another summoned on the floor, for him to rise through, and with his momentum slowed by gravity, land back on his feet. His eyes snapping up to him. He should have been dead. He WILL be dead.

Estelle and Josette fell to the floor, left in shock and disbelief at what just happened, as their saviour strode forwards.

“D… Don…?”

“What… the fuck… is he wearing…?”

Obsessive, compulsive, suffocates your mind
Confusion, delusions, kill your dreams in time

He continued to walk forwards, towards Neil, and to Selan who sat on the floor inbetween. Her eyes were transfixed on him approaching, unable to believe the impossible. She couldn’t register it. Couldn’t understand. She looked at his chest, at the dark stain atop his crimson and white ensemble. There was no doubt. It had happened. But?

His hands brushed her shoulder as he passed, onwards towards Neil. By now the bandit had summoned his strength and prepared himself again, one hand holding his katana, the other throbbing and pulsing with violet energies crackling about, ready to summon a vortex when needed. The only times he had been hit was when he’d been caught off guard. No more.

You ask me how I took the pain
Crawled up from my lowest low
Step by step and day by day
'Till there's one last breath to go

A fiercesome standoff. And then!


Live to win, 'till you die, 'till the light dies in your eyes
Live to win, take it all, just keep fighting till you fall
Day by day, kickin' all the way, I'm not cavin' in
Let another round begin, live to win
Yeah, live, yeah, win

He was upon him before Neil could react. The bandit was left speechless. Even with a gaping wound through his chest, he was somehow faster then ever before, and so it was he was graced with another kick to his face! But even despite the hit, Neil was able to bear it. The brunt of that impact felt… weak. Pitiful. For all the fierce determination his adversary had, Neil had taken the measure of it… and survived. He could win.

The katana swung out, ready to dismember his foe in one clean slice, but he had dodged. The katana swung out again, this time accompanied with Neil’s vortexes, the blade dancing in the air in every direction. Impossible to predict. Impossible to dodge.

And yet he did.

Narrowly avoiding the tip of the blade to slice along his side, the hero then reached in, through the portal and grabbed Neil’s wrist, clenching it tightly, with strength Neil did not know he could possess. His hold on the katana faultered, and his grip was released. But that wasn’t it. He was being pulled, tugged straight through the vortex, and thrown across the length of the room, directly towards the truck.

He managed to see it just in time, summoning another two portals on either side of the truck, to pass through one and out the other, avoiding a crushing impact on the heavy vehicle. But as he skidded out of the other portal, turning around to gain his bearings and renew his assault on this absurd hero, his breath was caught stifled in his throat, as the truck itself was thrown through the air, directly at him. Behind it, that man having punched it with all his might to strike him. Neil ducked through another vortex just in time to avoid the automobile sailing overhead, to crash into, and through, the far off wall.

“What… the hell?” Neil popped out of his vortex onto solid ground. He glared towards the smoking man, anger racing through his body. Disarmed, hurt, injured, insulted like this… and all from a man who should be dead!

His body shifted, his fists rising up. If he wanted this, then come on! Come on!

“BRING IT ON THEN!” Neil yelled.

Live to win, 'till you die, 'till the light dies in your eyes
Live to win, take it all, just keep fighting 'till you fall
Day by day, kickin' all the way, I'm not cavin' in
Let another round begin, live to win

As if on cue, the crimson man burst forwards, his body broiling in yellow, white and red flame. Estelle, Josette and Selan could do nothing but stare in disbelief, as the hero surged forwards, his right leg bursting with energy and swinging forwards at Neil’s head. The bandit roared, and a vortex appeared in the leg’s path, its opposite aimed for the hero’s chest, and the wound with which he’d been cut through.

But at the last second Crimson Justice’s foot stopped, all momentum halting before it passed through the vortex. His body shifted, spinning, and his foot swung out in a flip, roundhouse kicking over the vortex and into the back of Neil’s head. Pushing him forwards, into his own portal, and stumbling out the other side in a confused daze. The tables had turned, and this was the end.

He spun, unwilling to let that be it. He could still fight. Still win!

But he was there! Clutching Neil’s forearms in his hands, his legs pushing against his chest and forcing him to topple back. He was too close… too close for his vortexes to possibly work… to fight free! And being this close to him, to that infernal man, he could see his reflection in that visor again… and knew. Knew that he could do nothing. And that he’d made an impossible… awful mistake.

Live to win
Live to win

His head reared back, enveloped in a white light of passion. It swung forwards at Neil’s own.


Yeah,

Cracks emerged from the point of impact across his helmet.

Live,

The metal and plastic shifted, breaking.

Yeah,

It shattered.

Win!!

Neil's body crashed to the ground, his head slamming into the floor and his body lying motionless, as Don fell to his knees beside him, huffing and puffing, staring down at his fallen enemy, and making sure he didn't get up again. He didn't. Don took a deep breath and exhaled, the smoke and light surrounding his body fading into nothing. Upon his tired and wearisome face, the baldness that had gripped his head head earlier in the day had already begun to grow back.



He looked up, across the room, to Estelle, Josette and Selan. The three most important women in his life. Estelle reached for Selan, to help her to his feet as Josette started dashing towards her brother.

He smiled. They were safe.

His body fell to the ground, consciousness departing his body.

Los Paraisos: The Grande Diamond: Pool Room

Dylan remained standing, his head held high as he watched the scene before him. Poor Lisette looked like she might break through, then a soft touch of the arm from Mordie had her slipping back into the delusion. The witch leaned in to whisper something into Lucien’s ear, and the blue hair man charged forward, seizing him by his dress.

"Stop spewing lies, yeah? We're sick and tired of this BS." Dylan said nothing, but simply meet Lucy’s gaze, searching for any sign of his friend. “I-I can't do it." Lucien dropped his fist, but he didn't let go. "I...I can't."

Dylan let out a sigh of relief, believing that he had managed to reach them. Somehow he had done it, and in this way they were stronger than he had been. He cast a glance at Mordie, as if to challange her, but then the unbelievable happened.

"Looks like we're done here, boys n' gal. It's been real charmin'. We should play again sometime!"

He sagged in relief. Part of him wanted to question it - it made no sense for to just up and leave - but he’d take what he could get. Lisette and Lucy snapped out of her control, or maybe she released them, and he offered a weak smile. “No,” he said in response to Lisette’s apology, “don’t be sorry. She got all of us. What’s important is that we’re now ourselves, and we can go find the others.” 



Stepping out of Lucy’s grip, Dylan torn off his wig and cast it to the floor. “We have work to do.”