Lethe watched in horror as Gil pulled himself to his knees.  His chest was half open and red just seeped out of him.  No. No! She wasn’t going to let them die.<span style="color: silver"> “VALIAR!!”</span>The desperate scream tore itself out of her mouth even as she went running towards Victorie.  She needed to get Victorie<span style="font-style: italic">away</span>from Gil.  She instinctively reached for her Heaven’s Judgment blades, yanking them all back to her.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>“Oh.. uh.. thanks.. I guess.”  Cricket muttered in response, stepping out of the way of the Reaper Valiar-Copy-2 had just thrown.  He<span style="font-style: italic">guessed</span>that it was good they were here; at least another seven or eight swords would finish these Reapers faster.  Seriously, had that barrack held all three thousand of the Reapers?!  It didn’t look that big!  He joined in the group’s defensive triangle, now square with his addition.  He was just about to hack off a Reaper that the non-Valiar-copy was subduing when he felt something..<span style="font-style: italic">weird</span>.  He froze at the unfamiliar tugging, his Faith almost burning his skin.  “Uh.. I think—” his words were cut off when he was suddenly yanked through an intricate white circle.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>Valiar startled at the sudden scream of his name.  Why was Captain?  “Eyes forward!” Deimos shouted from beside him, dashing forward to block a blast of Sin.  The cleric, the entire group really, tried to turn their eyes on the Reapers surrounding them but it was hard.  They<span style="font-style: italic">all</span>knew that voice and they recognized that tone. Their Faiths suddenly burned and pulled them forward through familiar runes.<br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>All over the battlefield, the seven members of Team Blonde suddenly vanished.  Lethe skidded around a body that suddenly appeared in front of her.  There were other<span style="font-style: italic">thump!</span>s around her and then she was tripping over something.  Her half healed arm screamed in protest when it hit the ground, but she ignored it as she tried to get to her feet.  Why was she suddenly so tired?<br/><br/>“Lethe?”  She turned her head, trying to blink through the dots of black in her vision.  Seraphim was staring at her in concern.  Why was Seraphim here?  In fact, why was her entire team here?  Dazed blue eyes focused on something right in front of her subordinate.  It was a small key, white in color with a red bead at its head.  She felt herself blanch in horror.  “Lethe?!” Lights above, how had she screwed up so bad?  Oh Lights above.  A wet laugh from behind her broke her from her impending panic attack.  Team Blonde turned to face the chuckling mayor who was staring at them with half crazed eyes.<br/><br/><span style="color: turquoise">“YOU!”</span>Victorie screamed in hatred.<span style="color: turquoise"> “YOU! I’LL KILL YOU! LYING SERAPH!”</span>The woman leapt towards the lavender-haired Seraph, hand transforming into a claw.  Seraphim reached down to haul Lethe back but the other woman was already on her feet to meet the charge.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“Stay back! Heal Gil!”</span>Lethe ordered Seraphim and Adair, who had come to support her sides.  She wasn’t letting them get involved with this.  Now with all of her blades to help her, she could engage properly in battle.  Though Victorie was stronger, each of her attacks was blocked by a fan of keyblades.  However, Syndra wasn’t so easy to take down either.  Just because Victorie had been injured didn’t mean Syndra herself had been.  Victorie threw her claw out and countless threads went flying into the Reapers around them.  In mass, they all turned their attention to the Knights in their midst.  Syndra knew Victorie wouldn’t be able to survive, but if she could just get one of the Seraphs..  So close.  Victory was so close.<br/><br/>Countless Reapers flew towards the flying blades and tried to subdue them.  Though many died from the holy blades, the creatures were successful in keeping them far away enough that they couldn’t return to block Victorie’s next attack.  Lethe felt her feet leave the ground from the blow but before she could travel far, a hand grabbed her and slammed her into the ground.  The glow of prayer shattered around her and countless vines made of Sin pinned her to the ground, eliciting a scream of horror as pure Sin slid over her skin.<br/><br/>Crazed bi-color eyes stared at her as Victorie leaned down to whisper with malice,<span style="color: turquoise">“Sweetest Thea, I wonder what look will take over your face when I kill them?”</span>The blonde turned her attention towards the group of Knights, desperately trying to defend these suddenly empowered Reapers as Valiar and YunQiao poured healing magic into the wounded Seraph.  From here, both could see the creeping advance of more vines.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“No..”</span>Lethe sobbed, ignoring the burns as she struggled to get free.  Syndra simply got to her feet and transformed her remaining arm into a blade.  This body wouldn’t last much longer, but it’d be just long enough to break this girl.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver"> “No!”</span><br/><br/>But vines were already springing around the eight Knights and Syndra was starting to walk away.<br/><br/><span style="color: silver">“NO!”</span>They couldn’t die! Not because of her! Not because she’d screwed up so badly and got them in this mess and Oh Lights, why had she forgotten and brought them and no. No. No. NO.  She lunged to her feet, nearly dislocating her arm from the force because she was still being held back and oh Light no. Not her team.  Not them, please.<br/><span style="font-style: italic"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: silver">you who shines like gold upon the streams of life</span></div></span><br/>The words tumbling from her mouth were barely coherent from over her scream and it was pure stupidity to be trying this, attempting this, when she had no magic left.<br/><span style="font-style: italic"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: silver">gather at my hands!</span></div></span><br/>And she just didn’t care.  She didn’t care if she died or if Luciano got destroyed and others died because all she wanted, all she fucking wanted was for them to be safe and oh Light why had she done this. Why did she keep screwing up and she didn’t care if they ended up forsaking her because,<br/><span style="font-style: italic"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: silver">together let us walk as one upon the Path of Glory</span></div></span><br/>it didn’t matter as long as her family was safe.<br/><span style="font-style: italic"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: silver">BY THE POWERS OF YOU AND I COMBINED!</span></div></span><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/>Luciano lit up like the sun.  Light poured through the city and the surrounding areas, a harsh light that exposed the ugly truths rampant in Luciano.  Countless people—Sin creatures, members of the Royal Palaugrimian forces, civilians—screamed as divine light washed through them and pierced the darkness that had hidden in their hearts.  Sin had become so commonplace in Sovereign Palaugrim, no one was spared and<span style="font-style: italic">they all—</span><br/><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><br/><span style="font-style: italic">screamed.</span>She could hear them.  She could hear them<span style="font-style: italic">screaming</span>.  Not just Sinners.  Not just Victorie.  Countless civilians, countless humans, so seeped in the Sin that prevailed in these lands they could no longer live without it.  She could hear their screams too as they died before the wrathful divine magic.  But she just didn't<span style="font-style: italic">care</span>.  She kept the spell active, her body a gateway between this realm and the divine.  The magic she'd called upon had long ago broken her feeble constraints and even though they kept screaming, she just kept letting the divine magic in because Victorie was still threatening her family and no. No. That wasn't allowed.  Because if she had to choose between her family and these countless people...  Because even Seraphs could be selfish.