The Death of Malice

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Aerie - Outside

Ashley unleashed her Valkyrie intimidation power, Zach standing by her ready to amplify it with his own. She was about to charge forward when Zach SMACKED her ASS.

Orion: “Go get ‘em babe.”

Her eyes got wide and she shook her head, grumbling.

"Smack MY ass...I'll smack HIS ass..."

And then her eyes narrowed and her voice got louder:

"I'm gonna get YOU when this is over, bucko."

Her grouchiness seemed to dissipate though, and she was filled with a strong belief that they were going to win. She became almost euphoric. But not long afterward she noticed that something seriously weird was going on, and Ashley ordered Vivica to stay behind her until she figured her shit out. She didn't need Viv getting herself killed because of some stupid crap going on.

Oracle: "Uh...Valkyrie, keep an eye on Recall - get her to the mansion if you need to. But otherwise just push on and we'll figure it out afterward."

"You got it."

Recall: "Lead the way, Valkyrie. I've got it together for now, Oracle. And this is the apocalypse. Feel free to say fuck. It might be your last chance."

"Yeah, it's easy: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuckity fuck. Like that."

Oracle: "Valkyrie, if she's in danger, no matter what she says, you bring her to safety."

"I'll throw her over my shoulder if I have to."

She turned and grinned at Viv, sticking out her hand and shoving it against the forehead of a creature coming at her from her blind side. Ashley felt it crumple to the ground as she moved back in its direction, and pressed forward.

And then it got worse.

Oracle: "I know this is hard to believe...but there's a massive sandstorm heading for you."

MorningStar: "Get behind me!"

But it was incredibly hard to see as the sand blasted their skin.

Oracle: "Recall, Valkyrie, Morningstar is North Northeast from your position. Orion, North Northwest."

That meant that Zach was to her right. She started moving in that direction, her arms outstretched. It felt like she was taking baby steps in the face of all the wind. And then the sand cleared. Her hair whipped around her in the remaining wind, and she pushed it out of her eyes, spying Zach on his knees. She cried out to him and broke into a run.

Ashley's hands moved around him, helping him stand.

"Are you injured? Where does it hurt?"

There was a blinding light, and a loud noise, and then Vivica's voice in her ear.

Recall: "Dominique! She's falling! Somebody GRAB HER!"

"Or just let her fall..."

She murmured, still checking Zach over for wounds.
 
Karma
Karma
this bitch! :p
Aerie - Outside, on the Ground

She followed Blaze's blasts with her own, cleaning up the battlefield considerably. She could see what was happening in the air, but had to trust in Morgan and Dominique. Unless they drew Set to them, the battle in the air was in their hands alone.

But then the sandstorm came, and she was preoccupied with trying to shield the others from the blasting sand. Recall had found her way to her, but the others were still a distance away. She thought of moving her and Recall towards them, but then Oracle's voice came over the hearing thoughts spell.

Oracle: "Malice has been defeated."

And what that likely meant...

Minutes later, just as quickly as it had come, the sand began to lessen, and soon there was just wind to deal with. She saw Haleigh, who had done something with the sand, and moved towards her as her mind was again invaded by someone else's thoughts.

Prophet: "I did it....we did it. I'm back...but I have one last thing to do before I can get back to my body. Delilah, we did it. Malice is dead."

Delilah pushed back the tears that sprang to her eyes. They'd done it. She was gone. For good. She couldn't threaten Alexia ever again.

Haleigh had by this time reached her.

Black Widow: “Delilah, you okay?”

She nodded, a bit stunned, and for a moment forgot herself, a half smile coming to her face.

"He did it. He killed her. And he's alive. Haleigh, he's alive."

She reached out an put her hand on Haleigh's arm. And then she remembered where she was, what was happening.

"Nicolas?"

She saw it in Haleigh's face, and the smile left her own.

There was a bright light and as Delilah's eyes rose again to the battle in the sky, she noticed that the hole was gone. But all was not well.

Recall: "Dominique! She's falling! Somebody GRAB HER!"

Powered up by the intense amount of both sound and light she's just absorbed, she flung her palm up towards Isis, and giant hand made from hard white light manifested, catching Dominique and slowing her descent.

"Morgan! Get Isis!"
 
Aerie - Outside

Harbinger didn't need to be told when Nicolas was gone. His fate had been sealed as soon as he and Haleigh stepped into that underground room. Without his death, Cameron could not succeed.

As the sandstorm approached, Alison raised her arms, calling up a magickal shield around her, Karen and Mike. Sand buffeted against it, but they were well protected. She heard Oracle guiding the others towards Delilah, who was protecting them. Haleigh had emerged from the mansion, and used her power to redirect the sand, giving them a respite. Alison dropped her shield, and looked around her.

"Blaze, are you alright?"

Firebird: "A-ok, Harbinger. I flew above it."

Blaze touched down next to Karen.

Oracle: "Harbinger! Black Widow needs healing!"

"Karen?"

Shadow Weaver nodded, and she disappeared as a chime sounded, reappearing next to Haleigh.

Shadow Weaver: "Breathe deeply..."

Karen raises her hands, moving them in a circular pattern over Haleigh's body. A chime sounds as a golden ray of light softly shines down over her as her body is healed of her injuries.

Alison nodded. She had felt the moment Cameron was reunited with the piece of his soul she'd left for him on the Astral Plane. She breathed in sharply as she sensed him return to this plane, to his body.

Well done, baby brother.

Nicolas' sacrifice appeared to have saved them, but there was one life still hanging in the balance.

Shadow Weaver: "Oh my stars! Morgan, catch her!"

Set had been defeated, but Isis was now in freefall. Alison raised her staff and warped time around her, slowly her fall, as Delilah used her power to "catch" her. But it still wasn't clear to Harbinger whether it was going to be enough to save the avatar of the goddess.
 
Minerva’s Aerie

He heard Oracle trying to guide him towards the group, but was disoriented in the sandstorm, and still managing the grief. He sobbed in his helmet quietly, just to give the feeling an outlet. He was a bit glad for the sand in that moment, because it was mildly embarrassing to be crying in the middle of a battle, even if the emotion wasn’t really his.

Oracle mentioned something about Malice. It sounded like good news but he didn’t respond just yet. The seconds passed and the feedback he was getting started to subside quickly. He began to recover somewhat, and considered moving towards Morningstar, but it was tough to work out which direction to go. He wiped the dust from his visor, but that didn’t help much.

Slowly the sand seemed to shift direction and move away from him, and when he wiped his visor again he realized the sand was forming a dune as it moved and all that was life was the wind, which whipped around and howled, yet it had no effect on the sand anymore. He got sight of Ashley running towards him, and it was a huge relief. He straightened up as she reached him, pulling his helmet off. He was happy to be near her again and quickly started to feel better. She was asking if he was injured, and where it hurt. He dropped his helmet and brushed her hair back with both his hands, pulling her into a hug, inhaling deeply.

“I’m okay, are you okay?”

He asked over the sound of the wind. He heard Oracle in his ear, calling for Harbinger to heal Black Widow, and he looked around to find Haleigh looking worse than he had ever seen. Her face was bruised and caked with blood, her eyes were red and swollen with mascara running down her cheeks. Her throat was darkly bruised as well, and she wasn’t standing straight. Even still, she tried waving off Karen’s assistance, but the doctor wouldn’t have it.

Most surprisingly, Haleigh resigned to be cared for. He had never seen the fight leave her so completely, and he knew the feedback from before had come from her. It sunk in then that Nicolas had not survived, and that was confirmed when Delilah seemed to realize it too. He was saddened in his own right, but the previous expulsion of feeling left him in a good state to help the others, and they seemed strong, focused on the fight still.

There was a big commotion and a bright flash up above, and then everyone was working together to catch Isis, who he hoped was just unconscious. He couldn’t help her, so he resolved to help the team. He wiped his eyes with the back of his gloved hand and then stabilized the collective mood as best he could.
 
The Island of Aerie — Battleground

The wind whipped her hair around, but she had pushed the sand into dunes, then held it down and soon enough the wind was dissipating to a light breeze. Oracle called for medical attention right away, but Haleigh didn’t really need it.

“I’ll heal in a couple of hours, don’t waste your—”

She started in protest, but Karen was already healing her. She let it happen without further resistance, but only because she didn’t find it worth the argument. She was more concerned with checking on Delilah anyway. She asked if her friend was okay, and was relieved to see her nod, and even smile. Delilah told her that ‘he did it’, ‘he killed her’, and that ‘he was alive’.

Haleigh’s confusion was evident in her expression. She knew Delilah was was talking about Cameron, and Malice. Haleigh was pretty sure she had killed her mother, but she didn’t really care who got the recognition for it, so long as it was done. And there was a glimmer of hope, hearing Delilah assert that Cameron was alive. She wanted to believe something good could come out of this, but she was still so raw and aching from a pain Karen couldn’t heal to attach herself to the idea that Cameron was really okay.

Before she could formulate a response, Delilah asked about Nicolas. Haleigh’s face crumpled, unable to tell her that he hadn’t survived. She shook her head slowly.

“I’m so sorry…”

She said quietly.

“I had to make a decision. This is not what I wanted to happen, none of this is what I wanted. I only did what I had to.”

She added in a defeated tone. There was a bright flash, and then the others were calling attention to the fact that Isis was falling. Secretly, Haleigh was glad she wouldn’t have to deal with Dominique right away. Haleigh sensed a familiar influence, and glanced at Zach. He was stabilizing her emotions, and she assumed he was doing the same for everyone. She gave him a weak smile.

She felt numb and exhausted. They’d defeated her mother but she didn’t feel like she’d won. She had been fighting every step of the way, since she’d found out Malice was her mother. She had been fighting fate for any kind of win. She looked at Alison. She’d been so angry with Alison before, for letting her go into this blind, but it occurred to her now that Alison had been faced with a difficult choice of her own, and knowing what the potential outcomes were, had chosen the path required to end Malice. It had cost so much, but just as Haleigh had paid the price, Alison had as well, in her own way.

“Thanks for your help down there, Alison.”
 
Island of Aerie

<< Morgan felt helpless, but there was a strength in that resolve. She had done her best to inspire and rally Isis towards a killing blow, but it was no longer her move to make - it was Dominique's, and Morgan didn't want to admit how good that felt. To have the outcome of batlte not rest on her shoulders. If the world ended, it wouldn't be her fault, and there was something so freeing about that feeling that it almost made her burst into tears. But she had no time for that. She needed to get her pound of flesh into Set and set Dominique up for success, so she did. >>

"Hey SET! We have a SCORE to settle you SON OF A BITCH!"

<< She threw every bit of her superhuman strength and speed at him, wrapping her legs around him, her firsts bellowing left and right with lightning speed, each punch denting her hands, each strike more painful than the next, but she persisted, calling forthe her natural ELEMENTAL connection to the winds to assault him further, and it gave her pause that she didn't IMMEDIATELY feel Isis at her heels. She broke her gaze from the haunting red eyes of Set. >>

"Isis! It is time for us to send this man back to HELL! Blast him with all you got!"

<< Her mind raced with memories of the past. Years ago, she had brought Set to Limbo and destroyed him there. Now? She could bring him to Limbo, but she would need the help of Ororo to destroy him. And this wasn't her mantle. This wasn't her job. She had already lost Nicolas. She'd lost her magick. And the last few months had shown her just how decidedly human she still was. Dominique was the Avatar of Isis. She was destined to destroy Set. Morgan had to let her try and deal with the fallout if she couldn't. And right now, Dominique seemed shell shocked. A timely assist from Haleigh left Morgan with her soul sword manifesting in her hands. She tried to ignore the stains of Rampage's blood on her blade as she gripped it tightly. >>

Isis: "Isis, beautiful in all thy names, I call thee with the breath of my body..."

"Thank the Bright Lady..."

<< Dominique had found her strength, and began to weave very powerful magick. Despite not being able to channel it herself, her years as Sorceress Supreme gave her intimate knowledge and feeling of the magick being warped around her. This was exactly what was needed as Morgan tightened her thighs around his waist, digging in her nails to his eyes, using the full force of her strength as Dominique continued her incantation. >>

Isis: "You are LIFE. CREATION. REBIRTH! Behold the foul diety before you, and show no mercy! For he is a THREAT to ALL we hold sacred."

<< Her eyes made out a haunting visage in front of her from the tear as she blinked several times, sure she had seen a GHOST! >>

"CAMERON!?"

"In your name, I INVOKE thee - DESTROY HIM - ISIS!"

<< Morgan separated herself from Set at the last second as she watched Isis plunge her sceptre INSIDE of Set's chest as a chaotic feeback of magick EXPLODED all around them, the light BLINDED her as she struggled to see - but see she did! She saw Isis in front of Set, pouring the entirety of her power into him as she saw CAMERON! behind him, a dagger FIRMLY fixed in Set's back. >>

"NO!"

<< Whatever Cameron was doing, while effective, was also killing Isis in the process! >>

"Cameron NO! You're KILLING her!"

<< The swirling vortext of energy around her was so hard to navigate, but she pressed forward, inching her way back towards Dominique as she could feel BOTH Set and Isis dissipating around her! It couldn't end like this. They were TOO CLOSE! >>

"ISIS! Let go! Take my HAND!"

<< BOOOOOOMMMMM !!!! >>>

<< Everything went white, and when her icy violet eyes were able to perceive the battlefield once more, she saw no more Cameron King and tear in the sky, she only saw an unconscious Dominique, barreling towards the ground at record speed! >>

<< She heard the cries from the ground. >>

Recall: "Dominique! She's falling! Somebody GRAB HER!"

Morningstar: "Morgan! Get Isis!"

Shadow Weaver: "Oh my stars! Morgan, catch her!"

<< Spellbinder sprung into action, pushing both arms in front of her as she bulleted down with great speed, managing to CATCH Dominique in her hands and halting her from smacking against the ground at the last POSSIBLE second, Morgan's own feet bracing against the ground as it crumbled beneath her against both of their weight. >>

"I got her."

<< Morgan shifted Dominique in her arms, looking down at her unconscious face. She was alive....barely. Whatever it was that Set...and Cameron had done had robbed her of a great deal of power and energy. She wasn't sure that Isis would ever wake up, and she wasn't sure of what she saw, but she chose a different path. She could have lit Cameron's spot up, incited anger and rage, but they had just survived apocalypse, and Morgan was tired of the blame game. Malice and Set were destroyed. That was all that mattered. Semantics could be discussed in private. >>

"Mom....I need you. Dominique needs you."

<< It had been the first words she'd spoken to her mother in months, and it brought her great comfort to feel Karen come to the side of her, graze her shoulder with her fingers and give a comforting squeeze before pulling Dominique from her arms and tending to her. In a state of reflex, her eyes met quickly with Haleigh and then to Alison, and she felt a tinge of remorse. Alison had been so kind to her earlier. And she realized it was because she knew - that Nicolas would die. That Haleigh would have to kill him. These were feelings that Morgan had learned to compartmentalize as of late, so she did so again, and patted herself down. >>

"Does anyone else need medical attention? Do we have eyes on Oracle and Jezebel?[/B]
 
The Island of Aerie

"You got about as long as it takes me to fix this HOLE in the sky, kid. Then your ass is coming with me, whether you like it or NOT!"

She called upon her sword, shfiting into her heavenly form.

"I'm gonna need your sword."

Michael: "It is always yours, Gloriana."

"The Power of Christ compels you....BITCH!"

Here, she was strong. She was no longer a woman in her sixties, but an immortal paladin, with a heavenly purpose and the strength of the heavens. She sliced through the horde with ease, with a singular purpose - to save those in the mortal realm from the demons who wanted to end them here. She fought, and she sliced and she killed with reckless abandon - the fiery sword of the archangel Michael as her weapon - she fought for so long and for so hard, that she almost missed everything. In fact, her mind only went back into focus when she saw Cameron dangle dangerously close to Set from beyong the perimeter of the tear in the sky.

"In your name, I INVOKE thee - DESTROY HIM - ISIS!"

The light was blinding, so much so that only her third eye could see. Cameron had killed Malice and now he was working on Set. But the gift he had gotten from his mother was turning against him. Rae's purpose was to protect the Other Side - not Cameron, so she went about her work, using Michael's holy blade to SEW the hole in the sky CLOSED with her power, and she did so - until --

<< BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!! >>>

She watched as Cameron fell through The Other Side as if he were sky diving, falling down so fast and so violently, but with purpose. It had been her worst fears confirmed. Though she had not told the others, she had seen Cameron win this battle in her mind. She had also seen and heard the trumpets of battle as Cameron waged war upon the world against anyone who dared threatened those he loved. She had seen governments crumble against his power, she had seen utter ruin and desolation on Earth against his power. Yet so many around her had called her to save him. She didn't know what to do other than to let things play out and stay true to herself. And as he fell, she knew that she was right. The little fail safe he created with Alison meant nothing, and as his soul passed through it, guding him back to Earth, Rae felt the part of his soul he had to leave behind him as he left, and she did her best to redirect it to a positive place with her power.

"Lord protect him...he doesn't even know what he's lost..."

The voice of her compaion, her guide, the archangel Michael filled her mind.

Michael: "You have to watch over him, Rae. His humanity is like a sieve now. The amount of power he's taken into himself..while valiant...is dangerous. If unchecked, he will become the very monster he just destroyed. But much worse. There is always a cost to death, and this one comes with a price tag that no mortal soul can pay on their own...He needs you. They need you, my dear girl. Go to him, I implore you."

"I can't do this, Michael...I'm too old... they won't listen. I don't know that I have enough in me to save him..."

Michael: "We are never given more than we can handle, my sweet Gloriana. You are a servant of the light. Whatever guidance you can give him, whatever hope you can help him cling to - it might make all the difference... or none at all. But it is your destiny."

"And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil..."

Michael: "For we are with you, your rod and your staff, we shall comfort you."

She left go, screaming in exasperation as she found herself awake in her physical body, several feet from Oracle, coughing and gasping for air for dear life.

*cough cough cough cough*

Rae pounded on her own chest, heaving and coughing until she could get a hold of herself, looking at Oracle, her eyes watering.

"Jesus Christ that was rough....let's get out there. We won."
 
Ashley was ready to turn that hearing thoughts thing off now, please and thank you. Everyone was all "OMG Isis!" "Catch Isis!" "Isis is going to die!" "Isis Isis ISIS!" Meanwhile, Zach was clearly in distress. She was busy examining him for wounds when he pulled her into a hug. Her entire body seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief.

Zach: “I’m okay, are you okay?”

"I'm okay if YOU'RE okay."

She pulled him tight to her, not wanting to let go. But then the moment was ruined, with Oracle in their ears talking about Haleigh, and Zach picking up his head to look.

Ashley knew what it meant, that Haleigh had come out. Alone.

Two men enter, one man leave.

She had heard Oracle say that Nicolas was gone, but now it was clear that he really was dead. It was a shame, he was a brave fighter.

Karen healed Isis and it looked like she was going to live, hurrah. Though maybe she would be a vegetable, so there was hope. The doctor, after instructing that Isis be taken inside to the Infirmary, had now turned and was marching towards her. Ashley raised her hands in the air.

"I don't need healing, jeesh!"

Karen was wearing her usual expression of disdain mixed with constipation.

Karen: "Come with me."

Karen reached out and grabbed her forearm, and before Ashley could say anything, a chime sounded and they were suddenly in a basement. Ashley took a moment to look around before moving. She saw Nicolas' body, his axe across his chest. That was good, he would need it in the afterlife. The angry tirade aimed at Karen for this kidnapping died on her tongue. She looked around the room, saw the chains, lots of blood. There had been a battle here.

The doctor was bent over the body, inspecting it. She looked frantic, and her voice matched.

Karen: "Is Nicolas' soul around his body? Are there any others? When I heal him I need to make sure it's his that re-enters his body."

Ashley looked around the room, then back at Karen, shaking her head.

"There's no one here. He's moved on already."

The doctor's jaw set.

Karen: "Well, then, I'll just have to bring him back."

Ashley moved closer immediately, warning in her voice.

"Karen, no, you can't do that. People don't come back the same. They're not even...people. I know you don't like me, but this is something I know about."

She wasn't listening, just kept moving around Nicolas body as if making preparations.

"Listen, I knew Rampage well enough to know he wouldn't want this. He's gone on to the next world. He has his axe. He'll be happy there. He was a brave fighter. He's earned peace now. Karen-"

She was standing on the other side of Nicolas's body from Karen now, her eyes imploring.

"You know this isn't right. Don't turn him into his father. Let him rest."

Karen stopped then, and looked up into Ashley's eyes. Ashley could see the tears in Karen's own, glinting in the light.

"Karen..."

Karen: "But how can I tell Michael that he's dead?"

Ashley reached out and put a hand on Karen's forearm. She spoke sadly.

"He already knows, Karen. All you can do now is be with him so he's not alone. He'll think he wants to be alone, but he doesn't. He will need your strength."

She moved around to the same side of the body as Karen, standing next to her, and looked down at Nicolas' form.

"We're never going to be friends, but one thing I do know about you is how much strength you have to give. He will get through this."

Karen nodded, defeated, her head hanging down. After a few moments standing there, Ashley tentatively put a hand on Karen's shoulder.

"I'll start on the pyre."

She left the room and walked up to the main floor, exiting the mansion. She saw the others but kept on going inland towards the forest.
 
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Karma
Karma
wow :(
Aerie - Outside

Cameron had sent her a message! Everything was going to be okay! And then she remembered, and she asked about Nicolas, and saw in the shake of Haleigh's head that he was really gone. She took her hand off Haleigh's arm.

Haleigh: “I’m so sorry…I had to make a decision. This is not what I wanted to happen, none of this is what I wanted. I only did what I had to.”

Delilah looked into Haleigh's face solemnly, and nodded once.

"I know."

If anyone knew about being forced into a bad choice, it was Delilah. And faced with the same choice, Delilah knew she would have done the same. Malice's death was more important than any of them. If it wasn't, none of them would have been here at all. And now it was done.

There was a flash of light in the sky and Delilah turned to see Dominique falling from the sky. She used her power to slow her descent, and called for Morgan to catch her. Morgan brought Isis to Karen for healing, but she didn't look good.

There was an anticlimactic feeling in the air, Delilah thought. The whole in the sky had closed, the hordes of demons were gone, Set was vanquished, Malice was dead. It felt like there should be something more. Something more than burying their dead. Something to fill this quiet.

"Now what do we do?"
 
The Mansion - Executive Study

The battle with Set ended in a flash of light and Isis falling out of the sky. She was saved from hitting the ground, and healed by Dr. Victoria, but Oracle still wasn't sure that she would pull through. Poor Nicolas was dead, and Zizi knew how hard that would hit Dominique, on top of everything else.

She turned quickly as she heard coughing and gasping behind her. Rae was waking up from wherever it was she had been.

"Are you allRIGHT?"

Zizi wheeled toward a bar cart and filled a glass with water from a pitcher, taking it to Rae and holding it out to her.

Rae: "Jesus Christ that was rough....let's get out there. We won."

"Won" was a relative term. It didn't feel like winning. But Zizi nodded and followed Rae outside.

Spellbinder: "Does anyone else need medical attention? Do we have eyes on Oracle and Jezebel?

"We're here!"

Zizi moved closer to the group.

"I think Rae might be a little shaken up though..."

She eyed the psychic with concern. Then she managed a weak smile.

"You all did magnificent."

Zizi looked around.

"I should go to Karen...then I'll sit with Dominique."

She typed something on the control pad on her wrist. In Recall's field of vision, she would see the typed message:

>>> And I want to run your vitals ASAP!

Zizi turned toward the mansion.

"I wonder if there's any tea inside..."
 
Aerie - Outside

Spellbinder: "I got her."

Thankfully Morgan was able to stop Isis from hitting the ground. Her future still hung in the balance, but it was most likely that she would survive. They had done all they could. Alison stood on the bluff, her blue-black hair blowing in the breeze as she stared out to sea. Haleigh's words echoed in her mind.

I had to make a decision. This is not what I wanted to happen, none of this is what I wanted. I only did what I had to.

It was appropriate. It was how Alison felt most of the time. She just hoped the others would be more understanding with Haleigh than they were with her. Harbinger ended the hearing thoughts spell, as if it could banish the memory with it. Alison blinked and reappeared next to the others.

Haleigh met her eyes.

Haleigh: “Thanks for your help down there, Alison.”

She recalled what Haleigh had said to her before the battle.

"Just happy to not fail miserably at my one job for once."

Alison raised one eyebrow before her lips spread into a bit of a smile.

Spellbinder: "Does anyone else need medical attention? Do we have eyes on Oracle and Jezebel?

Oracle: "We're here! You all did magnificent."

Alison nodded.

"You did."

She looked at Morgan, knowing how hard today was going to hit her. But she wouldn't show it just now.

MorningStar: "Now what do we do?"

Alison looked around at the group solemnly. She had been so quick to write Nicolas off the first time they had fought Set, to call for his death. And now that she had seen how wrong she had been then, it was too late to save him.

"We bury our dead."

Her eyes flashed a solid cobalt blue for a moment.

"Someone is coming. A friend."
 
Cameron lay sprawled across the floor of his foyer, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to steady his breath, realizing that his attempt to get to get to Aerie so quickly had perhaps been in jest. The cold marble beneath him cooled his skin as his eyes remained remained fixed on the chandelier above him, watching as specs of light danced through the darkness, cascading the room in various shadows as he continued to breathe, trying desperately to accelerate the process of getting used to being in his body. Cameron was someone who really did love being alive, despite how frequently he had died. For so long, he felt like he had nothing to live for, and now it felt like he had everything to lose. It was why he had gone so far.

He reached out with his mind, as he had a dozen times in the last ninety seconds, as he would in perpetuity, searching for any remnant of her, any open door she might have left, any shell, any host, despite knowing that he had completely obliterated her. She was really gone. And so was Nicolas. He grimaced audibly at the thought. Nicolas died as a victim of Malice, because Cameron had shifted focus long enough for her to take him. It was something that he would never forgive himself for, but it was also something he had no intention of hiding. He wouldn't let Haleigh or Morgan blame themselves, and he would take whatever anger or pain they had about it in stride.

The rest had given him enough strength to get off the floor as he hobbled into his bedroom and into his closet, pulling himself up on the top of his vanity, taking a look at himself for the first time in months. He had only been out of commission for months, but it felt like years, and the alarming amount of salt and pepper that now decorated his head and impressive beard seemed to agree with his sentiment. And it was a bit comforting to know that after months of being a vessel of pure psychic energy, it took only moments to settle back into his mortal vanity. He shook his head pulling out a white t-shirt and pulling it on over his body before pulling a pair of jeans over his bare ass, sitting on an ottoman and sliding into a pair of boots, lacing them up. All of it seemed frivolous, but it was important to him. His body still needed rest, needed time to figure out how to contain all of the power that he absorbed, but they needed him. They needed to know that he could die, that he could walk into hell for them and walk out without a scratch. Even if it was all for show, even if it would likely anger those not in The Six. It was important. So he ran some water through his fingers and then through his hair, fought the urge to pass out for a hundred years and walked from his bedroom down the long hall of his penthouse, stopping at the door at the very end of the hallway, an ornate door that didn't match the others, the one that led to Aerie, and walked through, entering his bedroom in Minerva's mansion, which was unsurprisingly lit with candles. Cameron noted the change of clothes left on his bed, and the smells of rose water and essentials oils coming from his bathroom. It gave him great comfort to know that his sister still believed in him.

"Uggghhhhh...."

He winced in pain as his mind began to connect with those on Aerie, feeling their pain and anguish, their loss. His eyes widened as for the first time in decades he realized that without her magick, he could enter Morgan's mind. Just a precursor to the new world that awaited him as he made his way through the halls of the mansion and down the front steps.

Morningstar: "Now what do we do?"

Harbinger: "We bury our dead. Someone is coming. A friend."

Boom. Everything that felt empty inside him suddenly felt full the second he saw Haleigh. So much so that almost everything around him felt blurred except for her. She was the best at what she did, so her face never betrayed her true feelings. She looked at him with the same steel resolve that she would look at anyone with, but he knew her so well he could see the tells she didn't know she had. And it took everything in his body not to run to her, to take her, to taste the sweet salvation her beautiful lips had to offer him. First, he embraced his sister in a deep and warm hug, his first human contact, and was oddly comforted by her natural cold temperature, almost reminding him of the marble floor he had laid against moments before for comfort. He missed her as he whispered into her ear.

"Not just a friend, Ally Cat. Your brother....I've missed you...."

He held her for a few moments as his eyes met with Delilah, and he successfully choked back any tears he might have produced. He wanted to show strength, but there was a part of him that wanted to cry, to break down in her arms, to sing to the heavens and to ride off to Limbo to get her daughter. But he didn't. Despite how good he felt to see them, he had been for what he now realized had been months. Their lives had gone on without him, and he didn't know how any of them would feel to see him, or how they feel to know that he had been responsible not just for the death of Malice, but of one of their own....and also the near death of Isis. And then he looked at Morgan, still not taking the temptation of entering her mind because she looked...as...not put together as he had ever seen her, and the well of emotions he could sense her swallowing let him know that she was careening towards disaster if she wasn't already there.

"Wherever I am needed, I will go."
 
The Island of Aerie — Battleground

Haleigh was only holding it together through sheer force of iron will. When it came to the subject of Nicolas, she said she only did what she had to, and that was true. She expected Delilah to be mad at her, she expected an argument again. It was the same argument they were always having now, and Haleigh wasn’t so sure she had the energy for it at the moment. Just like leaving for Hellfire, just like all the choices she’d made since, there was no way to truly succeed. To Haleigh’s surprise, Delilah didn’t start the argument this time, and instead just replied that she knew. Haleigh stared at her for a moment, and then decided not to press her luck.

She thanked Alison for the help, after realizing that she’d maybe been a little harsh on the precog. She understood Alison had been forced to make more than one difficult decision herself. The path she had chosen had been rough, on Haleigh and everyone else, but Malice was dead. It didn’t feel like a victory, but despite their losses, the end had to be worth the means. Alison mentioned just being glad not to fail at her one job. Haleigh smirked at that.

“Yeah well I don’t recommend making it a habit. People start expecting things from you. Or WORSE— you might start mistaking yourself for a hero.”

And the reality check was like a fall down a mountain. To distract herself from sinking into that particular pit, Haleigh investigated the reason for Karen stealing off with Ashley. They were both still wearing their body cams, and just in case there was about to be Valkyrie-Shadow Weaver situation, Haleigh tapped in to both their feeds. It was not easy to watch. Karen did NOT want to accept Nic’s death, though Ashley was handling it surprisingly well. The ever perky Oracle rolled up to cheerily tell them all they’d done magnificent. Haleigh turned away, thinking about driving the soul sword through her friend and how it felt; it was the opposite of magnificent. Delilah asked what they should do now and Alison replied that they should bury their dead. Haleigh’s gaze shifted to Morgan.

“Did he…. want to be buried? Because if so we should probably let her know we don’t need the bonfire.”

Haleigh said, hiking her thumb in Ashley’s direction as the women disappeared into the forest, with Zach hot on her heels. Alison said that someone was coming, and Haleigh’s hand dropped to the pistol holstered on her thigh. A friend, Alison added, though Haleigh was still suspicious. Then Cameron appeared, and Haleigh’s eyes locked onto him cautiously.

Malice: What if it’s not him? What if you FAILED and only managed to murder poor Nicolas?

Haleigh swallowed hard and grit her teeth. Her fingers closed around the grip of her sidearm as she watched ‘Cameron’ going to Alison and hugging her. It didn’t seem like something Malice could convincingly fake. Haleigh relaxed her hand a bit as she monitored the situation. Cameron looked at Delilah, then Morgan, and Haleigh could tell in his expression that he was trying to be strong, but he had been through a hell of his own. It had to be him, or else she didn’t know how she was going to survive it. He told them that wherever he was needed, he would go. I need you, she wanted to tell him, but she was still suspicious that this was too good to be true.

Malice: This man will be your undoing.

It may have been true, but Haleigh didn’t care anymore. She had kept everything locked down for so long that she was starting to feel like coming undone wouldn’t be the worst thing. She moved closer to him, and the closer she got the more it seemed to her like everyone else had left. She reached for him, both her hands framing his face. Her eyes locked with his, searching. Something frozen deep down was thawing. Something she hadn’t felt since the night she’d left for Hellfire stirred. It was him. More than just knowing it, she felt it. Her mother was gone, and Cameron was back.

“No more heroics, stud. Let’s just go home.”
 
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Aerie - Outside the Mansion

Morningstar: "Now what do we do?"

Harbinger: "We bury our dead.."

<< Her heart fell into her stomach. Nicolas King was dead. And despite how much she had distanced herself from him the last few months, it felt like a knife in her gut. Yet another thing she had lost. >>

<< What really made her feel like shit was that she couldn't decipher what she missed more - her magick or Nicolas. She truly was the monster they thought her to be. Magick had given her agency. Freedom. It was what gave her the confidence to be who she was, to not have to answer to anyone. And when she was really honest with herself? She knew that Nicolas was just another victim of her rampant narcissism. He loved her, but he didn't know her. Morgan had manipulated him, forced him to be what she thought the ideal version of a loyal and trustworthy man was. And he was more than willing to play the part. As much as she wanted to believe that he wanted to play that part because he really did love her, she knew. She knew that she drew him to her because she wanted to prove to everybody that she could be loved by someone. And he wanted to prove that he was worthy of being loved by a woman like her. >>

"And now you'll never know, Morgan...because you couldn't be honest...when it mattered the most..."

<< Everything was being stripped from her, and she felt like a gaping wound. Tonight was the longest she had gone without a drink and it wasn't that long at all. But still, the hint of sobriety that hit her when she moved Isis from her arms to her mother's was telling. Without magick, she had still done what most of them couldn't do. She had gone toe to toe with Set and lived. Morgan had felt so weak in the last few months, but the last hour had shown her, that despite what others might say about her, the strength she had, and where it came from, was something that was no match for those around her. Morgan was a force of nature, and for the first time in months, she felt like it. >>

"But what good did it do?"

<< She wanted to rage, she wanted to hurt whoever she could, because she didn't want to feel this. She didn't want to face them, to let them know that she was hurting, that she hated Isis, hated Haleigh, hated Cameron, hated Delilah for ALL of this. When the dust settled, they would get everything they wanted - Haleigh would get Cameron, Delilah would get her daughter..and Morgan? She would have to smile and pretend that it didn't come at the cost of one of the only people she had left that loved her for who she was, despited how misguided Nicolas may have been as to her true nature. >>

Haleigh: “Did he…. want to be buried? Because if so we should probably let her know we don’t need the bonfire.”

"He wanted to die a hero. And he would expect nothing less than the death rites of one..."

Harbinger: "Someone is coming...a friend."

<< And then she saw him. Cameron King. God what a tumultuous relationship she had with him, and yet...it was so good to see him. The Six...they had gone through so much, and she hated him so much...for so long, but to see him in the flesh after months of wondering...it felt good. Despite everything, despite their differences...when it came down to it...Morgan, Cameron, Alison and Haleigh had endured. They may have been The Six...but this four? They were indelibly tied together forever. Alison was her best friend, Cameron was her best friend's brother. Cameron's soulmate was Morgan's sister. As fucked up as it was, they were family. It was a bond that sometimes felt deeper than the one she had with Blaze. Firebird came into her life later. Cameron, Alison and Haleigh...she had lived history with. Had fought alongside and against. Moreso, Morgan was realizing that she had fought against it too much. Because she didn't want to let people in. Because it was easier and safer for her to monopolize Alison's love than to admit to herself that she might care for others in a vulnerable way. But something about seeing the way that Haleigh moved to be closer to Cameron shifted something in her. It was love in a way she had never experienced. >>

Cameron: "Wherever I am needed, I will go."

Haleigh: "No more heroics, stud. Let's just go home."

"Not yet...None of us will leave until Nicolas reaches Valhalla...we owe it to him.."
 
Aerie - Outside

Alison cryptically announced they were getting a visitor. Even though she knew Cameron was alive, it was a very different thing to see him come down the front steps of Minerva's Mansion. Her breath caught, and her eyes misted. He greeted Alison, then met Delilah's eyes before going to Haleigh.

Cameron: "Wherever I am needed, I will go."

Haleigh: "No more heroics, stud. Let’s just go home.”

Morgan: "Not yet...None of us will leave until Nicolas reaches Valhalla...we owe it to him.."

Delilah moved towards the mansion. The elation on knowing Cameron had made it was being replaced with reality quickly slamming down. Nicolas was dead. And he wasn't coming back. How could this have happened? Could they never have a win without a loss? She started to wonder if she'd had tunnel vision, been so focused on Cameron that she hadn't given real thought to how she could help protect Nicolas. But everything had happened so quickly...

She slipped her arm around Morgan's shoulder's for a moment, before turning towards Cameron.

"Help me carry him. He shouldn't be in a basement."
 
The Island of Aerie — Battleground

For a moment, it was almost like the sun came out. She was sure of Cameron being himself, she had no doubt about that. There was even a faint possibility that maybe they could claw their way back from this. She wasn’t hopeful that she could ever get back to being good, or ever balance the scales, but there was a chance she could find a glimmer of happiness again.

Morgan: “Not yet. None of us will leave until Nicolas reaches Valhalla. We owe it to him.”

Haleigh’s hands slid down Cameron’s beard and neck to his chest. She sighed quietly as reality crashed back down on her like another blow from the axe in Nic’s hands. Her gaze shifted to look at Morgan, and Delilah, who was offering to help move Nicolas out of the basement. Just like that, Haleigh was back down there, in her mind.

She was hunkered down under a shield that was crumpling under the onslaught, trying to withstand it. She could feel the impact reverberating in her bones again, as she tried to delay the inevitable. She heard the ear-piercing ring of the axe on the metal shield, and she knew she couldn’t avoid it forever. Then she had the sword in her hand, and she was pushing the blade up through his torso. She could see the pain in his eyes, and the lights going out. She’d made it as quick as she could, but dying was not pleasant, and she knew it. But she had to do it.

Malice: And now, KILLER, go down there and watch everybody cry over his dead body.

Haleigh took a step back. She wasn’t ready to be the monster in the room again, not yet. She was trying to detach and failing miserably. She felt an instinctual belligerence and grit her teeth, swallowing hard.

“You guys go ahead, I’m gonna go help Valkyrie get the wood.”

She needed a moment to get her mind right. She needed to give the others time to react to seeing his corpse, because there was nothing she could do to help them, and the idea of awkwardly standing by while his death became real to them was very destabilizing for her.

“And I need to call Ava, let her know what’s happened. She’ll want to be here.”

Two perfectly logical excuses reasons to split off for a breather. She’d come back when she felt strong enough to grapple with the consequences of what she’d done.
 
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The Island of Aerie

Everything felt slow motion for a bit. She watched Isis fall from the sky, spiraling dangerously close to the ground until Morgan swooped her up like a proper hero. And then...it was over. The sky was healing. Nicholas was dead. Isis was barely alive. Cameron was back. Vivica was barely in her body. She felt as if she were watching one of Elizabeth's feeds. A message appeared in her optics.

>> And I want to run your vitals ASAP!

She re-entered her body, steadied her pulse and allowed herself a full range of vision. This was not a good night for Vivica. Recall had always prided herself on her ability to work in the field. To get down to the nuts and bolts of things and perform at a level that was higher than her peers. She had proved that at the Battle at Hellfire, almost singlehandedly taking down The Black Wing in her wake. But here? She had failed. Her body and her power had betrayed her. She had spent months away from the team only to return as much of a mess as she always thought herself to be. But she didn't have time to worry about herself as the weight of reality crashed down around her and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Nicky..."

People spoke around her, moved out of her peripheral, but she couldn't pay much attention. Her emotions had gotten the best of her. Nicholas King was dead. And The Six would do their dance, make their peace, and move on. But it would never be as simple for her. In a world of supers, he was one of the few who was like her. Granted, he had grown up in a world so different than her, but when push came to shove, they still walked the world together in a way that nobody else in this circle did. He had been someone who understood her point of view, who got where her anger came from, who could comiserate with her when it came to what it meant to be not just in the orbit of The Six...but being BLACK in the orbit of The Six. For as much as their allegiances differed, they shared a kinship. And it wasn't until she laid eyes upon Mike that she fell apart. As he made his way towards the main garden area outside of the mansion, their eyes locked together, and she found herself bridging the gap between them quickly, enveloping him in her arms as she wept openly.

"I'm so sorry, Mike...I'm soo...soo sorry...[voice breaking] please...don't..."

His wet and quiet sobs, and warm breath hit her neck like acid as she gripped him with all of her might.

Arsenal: "He deserved better than this shit, Viv...BETTER.."

"I know....I know, Mike..but he knew who he was...what the risks were...doesn't make it right, but I know...he doesn't regret a damn thing."

Arsenal: "He doesn't...but I do...'

"Karen is gonna need you...Morgan is gonna need you. You know as well as I do we won't get the luxury of time to mourn..we gotta get our game faces up..."

Arsenal: "I'm sick of the game, Viv..."

"Me tooo..."

She kissed his cheek and wiped the tears from his cheek as she smiled, happy to know that outside of everything, Nicholas had a friend like him.

"But we got no choice but to play it...Call me in a few hours, when things settle..."

Arsenal: "I will, I promise..."

The two shared a knowing nod to each other, before returning to their perspective groups, strong and regal and brave as ever.

Morgan: "Not yet...None of us will leave until Nicolas reaches Valhalla...we owe it to him."

"We owe him more than THAT...but I agree."

The Six began to congregate, while Vivica ignored it, turning to the Birds.

"I'm so glad you are all okay..and I'm sorry for not being my best out there...I don't know what happened to me, but...I'm happy to figure it out with all of you happy and healthy by my side..."
 
He wanted to consume her - to breathe her in and exhale her very essence. He had waited so long. And he found that his human body was far weaker than the spirit form he had been in for the last few months. Every single movement she made, every breath Haleigh took, Cameron wanted to be a part of. But as it was in the mortal coil, it just couldn't be that simple. She had killed Rampage, and she had done so because of HIS weakness. Because he hesitated. Because he shifted focus from the task at hand to his own selfish machinations. If he would have just killed Kelly Shaw on the astral plane, he might have been able to save Nic, but he hadn't. And the swell of power he had now let him know how intimately hurt she was because of it.

Malice: "And now, KILLER, go down there and watch everybody cry over his dead body."

"Haleigh STOP. She's gone."

It was an odd feeling. Cameron had never felt more powerful in his entire life, and while he had always had access to Haleigh's psyche, hearing this manifestation she had created was very unsettling. She had split herself. The part of her that wanted to go to Hellfire, that wanted to know her mother, that wanted to IDENTIFY with her mother - was now some kind of sick machination she used to torture herself. With his boon in power he saw it so clearly.

Haleigh: "You guys go ahead, I'm gonna go help Valkyrie get the wood. And I need to call Ava, let her know what's happened. She'll want to be here."

He didn't stop her. This was something that would not be solved tonight, but he would not be silent about what happened, and as they made their way towards the basement of Aerie and Delilah spoke to him, he felt compelled to ritual and circumstance.

Delilah: "Help me, he shouldn't be in a basement."

Cameron helped her.

"He shouldn't be dead...."

He eyed Delilah and then Morgan. And then he subtly influenced Haleigh to just so happen to be eagle eye focused on the audio in the basement room than she might have normally been.

"This one is on my hands...Delilah, please..."

Cameron nodded to her as she took his body and laid him out on the ground in front of them, crossing his arms in an "x' pattern and closing his eyes with his fingers as he looked back to the group.

"I can't let him go...without you both knowing that he died because of me.."

[eyeing Delilah and then Morgan pensively]

"The second I went after her in the astral plane, the second she absorbed his power....I knew...his life was in my hands..."

Cameron leaned in and kissed Nicolas on the forehead and cradled him for a moment before sitting back up and looking at Morgan and Delilah with regret and concern.

"I hesitated....right before this last confrontation, Talisman showed up and she offered me a weapon that could take out Set...contingent only on the decision of us leaving her alone. It was such a short conversation, but when it ended....I found out I was too late...I was going to get Diana right before she took Nic, but......my own selfish desire to speak with Talisman...it cost Nic his life. He was dead as soon as she took him..."

Prophet amplified the frequency for Haleigh to hear, trying to give her the space she wanted but allowing her to hear that she was not at fault. None of it felt good but Cameron continued.

"We rarely saw eye to eye...but...Nic was one of us....one of The Six...and what that meant...was that when we needed somebody to do what nobody else could? He did it...We wouldn't have survived The Blue Moon without him. We would all be dead. I look at him, and it makes me sad...because it feels like no matter what we do? No matter how hard we fight? We lose. And we've lived through the Banes, through the Tempests...and he was one of the good ones. Annoyingly valorous? Yes. Pernicious? yes....But he was...family....and I'm gonna miss him..."

Cameron rose to his feet.

"He was a casualty of war. But the result of that war....is that we won. We finally won. Everything we fought for over the last two decades.....is done. Diana is dead. She is gone. Anybody who could ever dream of threatening us again has no standing, has nothing...and his death helped secured that. Helped secured not only our safety, but the safety of our children...of Alexia's safety."

[gazing off into the distance]

"My actions destroyed not only Nicolas, but also nearly destroyed Dominique. And I will take whatever consequences come from that, but I cannot sit here, not in front of him, and pretend that he wouldn't have given his life freely for this outcome. It's over...this war? It's really fucking over. And I don't know where we go from here, but I do know...that after today? Gods will pause before they decide to fuck with The Six..."

[sighing]

"So, I ask you reserve any judgment of me until we give Rampage the send off he deserves."
 
<< It was both a comforting and depressing revelation to know that despite spending the last few months in an emotional freefall on her path towards becoming a weapon of mass CONSUMPTION that her default state when the stakes were so high, when her very PSYCHE was in danger of breaking, she could still pull it all in completely without trying. It was a coping mechanism that she had earned, though it had cost her so much. She watched Vivica and Mike openly embrace each other, weeping over Nicolas' death so freely. It felt perverse to her. She never had that luxury. Every single ounce of weakness or real emotion she had ever experienced had been used against her or had resulted in somebody using her feelings to try and find the cracks in her demeanor. Everytime she had acted with her heart it had ended in utter desolation. And so there she was, unable to cry over the death of perhaps the greatest love she had ever known, a love she had been actively trying to destroy for quite some time now. And it put her on edge because she felt the glow of the spotlight on her again. And she knew that she could never give the reaction that people wanted from her, because she never had before. So she stood in icy silence, her violet eyes glassy, on the brink of tears, unable to let the waves swell within her. >>

<< Valkyrie wanted to give Nicolas a hero's send off, and it was what he deserved. She wanted to thank the woman, she wanted to scream, she wanted to cry out in his name, but she couldn't, so she didn't. Everything was so surreal, and it was hitting her in waves that made her desperately want a drink, and it was Delilah's swift movement towards the mansion that re-focused her. Instinctively, Morgan and Cameron followed suit. >>

Haleigh: "You guys go ahead, I'm gonna help Valkyrie get the wood. And I need to call Ava, let her know what's happened. She'll want to be here."

<< It was getting harder to control herself. She had basically forced Haleigh into this situation because she couldn't handle it herself, because she didn't want to be the one to kill Nic. She'd done enough to him over the last few months. It was a big ask, but Haleigh did what she always did and pretended it wasn't and did what needed to be done. The last thing Haleigh needed was Morgan by her side right now, so she continued on her journey into the mansion and down to the basement, immediately regretting her choice. >>

"Oh...my...GOD!"

<< His body. His once beautiful, muscular smooth and strong body. Gutted. His eyes. They wouldn't stop LOOKING at her! >>

"STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP!!!!!!"

<< Her expression remained cold, but the swell of pain in her stomach felt like it was climaxing. She needed to get the FUCK out of here and FAST! >>

Delilah: "Help me, he shouldn't be in a basement."

Cameron: "He shouldn't be dead..."

"Cameron STOP!"

<< She couldn't take one of his self indulgent monologues right now. She just COULDN'T. But then? He looked at her, with the same haunting cobalt blue eyes of his sister, and it was the first thing in what felt like hours that broke her fixation on Nicolas' pupils. >>

Cameron: "This one is on my hands...Delilah, please....I can't let him go...without you both knowing that he died because of me..."

<< NO. >>

"Cameron, please....[softly] I can't do this right now. PLEASE...let's just get him OUT of here..."

<< But he continued because he was Cameron King. >>

Cameron: "I hesitated...right before the last confrontation, Talisman showed up and she offered me a weapon that could take out Set...contingent only on the decision of us leaving her alone. It was a short conversation, but when it ended...I found out I was too late...I was going to get Diana right before she took Nic, but...my own selfish desire to speak with Talisman...it cost Nic his life. He was dead as soon as she took him.."

<< Ahhhh. There it was. Her RAGE. The one emotion that made her who she was. She wanted to THROTTLE him. She wanted to BANG his head against the wall until he was nothing but MUSH! Of COURSE he failed. This entire ORDEAL had been because he wanted to prove himself, because he wanted to try and BE somebody. Be the HERO. But when push came to shove he did what he always did and worried about HIMSELF!? Nic would have never let this happened, he would have SLAUGHTERED that technomancer bitch AND saved Cameron. And the sweet feeling of envisioning herself wipe out the majority of the King family line was the ONLY thing stopping her from ACTUALLY doing it in this moment. The tightness in her stomach WRITHED in pain as she placed her hand over it...her glassy eyes BEGGING her to release. She would NOT! >>

Cameron: "We rarely saw eye to eye...but...Nic was one of us....one of The Six...and what that meant...was that when we needed somebody to do what nobody else could? He did it...We wouldn't have survived The Blue Moon without him. We would all be dead. I look at him, and it makes me sad...because it feels like no matter what we do? No matter how hard we fight? We lose. And we've lived through the Banes, through the Tempests...and he was one of the good ones. Annoyingly valorous? Yes. Pernicious? yes....But he was...family....and I'm gonna miss him..."

<< She was breaking. So much so that she could not STOP the whimper that escaped from her lips as her body began to feel like it was vibrating in pain. Everything moved through her energetically. All they had lost...every time he had ever written her a note, gotten her flowers. Every single kiss she had shared with Derek while he waited for her on Aerie. Haleigh and Cameron had did what they had to do, and had delivered her from the pain she was about to inflict on him. They weren't to blame...she was. She used to be one of the most powerful people on the planet...in the UNIVERSE...and now she was a drunk who couldn't save the one person who ALWAYS saved her. >>

Cameron: "He was a casualty of war. But the result of that war....is that we won. We finally won. Everything we fought for over the last two decades.....is done. Diana is dead. She is gone. Anybody who could ever dream of threatening us again has no standing, has nothing...and his death helped secured that. Helped secured not only our safety, but the safety of our children...of Alexia's safety."

"No...no no no...."

<< Her voice cracked as she broke out in tears of startling volume. Of the chest heaving, unable to breath variety, and she could not stop herself no matter what she did...the last two decades, of everything they had gone through, of losing him, of winning, of being here in this moment. It completely overwhelmed her. >>

"Oh god.......oh god......[crying] ohhhhhhhh.....my god......."

Cameron: "My actions destroyed not only Nicolas, but also nearly destroyed Dominique. And I will take whatever consequences come from that, but I cannot sit here, not in front of him, and pretend that he wouldn't have given his life freely for this outcome. It's over...this war? It's really fucking over. And I don't know where we go from here, but I do know...that after today? Gods will pause before they decide to fuck with The Six...So, I ask you reserve any judgment of me until we give Rampage the send off he deserves."

<< She wept for all of it. For every word that he said, for every single thing she had held back over the years. All the loss. All the trauma, all of the unresolved feelings she had. She had lost control over her body as she slumped down on her knees, crying and gesticulating wildly. Morgan found herself wrapping her arms around Delilah's legs. >>

"He's dead.......he's dead, Delilah....and.....[chest heaving] I ---- I can't.....It's....It's tooooo muccchhh...I'm sorry....I'm SORRY...please.....I..... [whimpering] I....I can't do this....I......."

<< Her eyes met Cameron's again and she tried to gain composure. >

"I.....don't blame you....I........love you....I just.....I can't seee him. I can't do this. I'm sorry I know I........[swallowing hard] should be strong....but I can't.....I can't do this guys....I want to try but I can't....I just.....I need.... I don't know what I need....but I can't.....please, make this go away.....take it back, I, I, I --- was sooo horrible to him, these past few months.....I was HORRIBLE. I'm never gonna be able to forgive myself for this....I....I can't survive this....I mean it....I...."

<< And then she couldn't speak anymore, only weep. Only mourn, only cry. She had never been like this in her entire life. The crystal cage she had so carefully crafted around herself over the years....had finally broken. >>
 
Aerie — Basement Room

Cameron - Morgan too - followed her back inside the mansion, and down into the room where Nicolas had died. She wanted to tell Morgan she didn't have to, that they would take care of it, of him, but the words died on her lips. If Morgan needed to come, to see, then she would never have closure if she didn't. And who was Delilah to take that from her.

Cameron: "He shouldn't be dead...."

Morgan: "Cameron STOP!"

"No, he shouldn't."

Delilah looked down at the still form of Rampage. Who had been one of the most powerful among them - and all that power had not been enough. It was incomprehensible, really, that he should die without even the chance to really fight.

"But he is."

She was silent for a few moments.

"We should carry him. Outside. We can-"

Cameron: "This one is on my hands...Delilah, please..."

Cameron closed Nicolas' eyes, which in the moment seemed like the greatest blessing.

Cameron: "I can't let him go...without you both knowing that he died because of me.."

Morgan: "Cameron, please....[softly] I can't do this right now. PLEASE...let's just get him OUT of here..."

"Cameron-"

This wasn't the time for false guilt, or whatever this was that Cameron was feeling. He hadn't even been here. Not for a long time.

Cameron: "The second I went after her in the astral plane, the second she absorbed his power....I knew...his life was in my hands..."

Delilah shook her head.

"How could you know that? Stop this now. Let's take him outside. Do our mourning..."

The look on Cameron's face as he turned towards her and Morgan...

Cameron: "I hesitated....right before this last confrontation, Talisman showed up and she offered me a weapon that could take out Set...contingent only on the decision of us leaving her alone. It was such a short conversation, but when it ended....I found out I was too late...I was going to get Diana right before she took Nic, but......my own selfish desire to speak with Talisman...it cost Nic his life. He was dead as soon as she took him..."

She went quickly to Cameron, and took both his hands, shaking her head.

"No, Cameron, no. It wasn't selfish. Nicolas would have been the first to tell you that defeating Set was a top priority, over anything else. He died because he believed that. It's not your fault."

She breathed out, exasperated at the entire situation. Raising her hands briefly in surrender.

"It's no one's fault. Except Malice's. And Set's. You did the best you could."

She met his eyes.

"You did."

Cameron: "He was a casualty of war. But the result of that war....is that we won. We finally won. Everything we fought for over the last two decades.....is done. Diana is dead. She is gone. Anybody who could ever dream of threatening us again has no standing, has nothing...and his death helped secured that. Helped secured not only our safety, but the safety of our children...of Alexia's safety."

Delilah looked away. She had felt such a sense of victory before. But now...

"There will always be another."

She whispered it, and wasn't sure if the others even heard.

Morgan: "Oh god.......oh god......[crying] ohhhhhhhh.....my god......."

Delilah finally looked at Morgan.

"Morgan?"

Alarm bells started going off. She took a few steps towards her.

Cameron: "My actions destroyed not only Nicolas, but also nearly destroyed Dominique. And I will take whatever consequences come from that, but I cannot sit here, not in front of him, and pretend that he wouldn't have given his life freely for this outcome. It's over...this war? It's really fucking over. And I don't know where we go from here, but I do know...that after today? Gods will pause before they decide to fuck with The Six... So, I ask you reserve any judgment of me until we give Rampage the send off he deserves."

Delilah froze, then turned her head to look at Cameron. She was taken aback by the hubris of what he'd just said. It made her physically blink. She studied him for a moment, a seed of concern planting itself in her stomach. Finally she shook her head.

"Oh Cameron, it's never 'over'."

And then it was like a damn broke inside of Morgan and she was sobbing, collapsing. Delilah closed the gap between them but Morgan's arms came around Delilah's legs before she could do anything, as if clinging to a life raft.

Morgan: "He's dead.......he's dead, Delilah....and.....[chest heaving] I ---- I can't.....It's....It's tooooo muccchhh...I'm sorry....I'm SORRY...please.....I..... [whimpering] I....I can't do this....I......."

Delilah went down on her knees, putting her arms around Morgan. For that moment everything that had happened between them was forgotten, and it was just her best friend, who she had known almost all of her life, crying on the floor in front of her.

"You CAN. We'll help you. I'll help you. We'll get through this together. Just like always."

Morgan: "I.....don't blame you....I........love you....I just.....I can't seee him. I can't do this. I'm sorry I know I........[swallowing hard] should be strong....but I can't.....I can't do this guys....I want to try but I can't....I just.....I need.... I don't know what I need....but I can't.....please, make this go away.....take it back, I, I, I --- was sooo horrible to him, these past few months.....I was HORRIBLE. I'm never gonna be able to forgive myself for this....I....I can't survive this....I mean it....I...."

Delilah rocked Morgan and rubbed her back, but she felt helpless. Because there was no way to fix this.
 
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