The ground shook beneath the feet of the battling titans as they threw themselves together in a bid to tear each other apart. One, an enormous hulking man-beast hell-bent on devouring the strongest enemy he could sense. The other, the dark specter of death incarnate. Both of these massive behemoths seemed equally matched at first. However, each of them held secrets not yet revealed.

Waldo, sensing that the roaring furball actually held an advantage in pure physical prowess, did the most logical thing that he could in that situation. He shifted a large portion of his energy to his shields and allowed the beast to force him back against a wall. Pinned in place by the beast once known as Scott, Waldo was forced to weather a series of bites and head butts that tore heavily at his shields despite the renewal of power that was utilized toward their restoration.

"Oh, it looks like the champion has the lord of sorrow on the ropes! Can Waldo find the strength to make a comeback?" asked the announcer, Emeritus, in an overly excited tone.

While Scott used his head as a battering ram, Waldo chose to utilize his own for a different purpose. He slipped his hands around Scott's furry waist like a lover then held him close. Rotting squeezed the man-beast's ribcage with all of the strength he could must then twisted around just enough to free himself from the wall. Scott instinctively tried to fight the sudden movement, but it was too late. Freed of the wall, Waldo's skeletal wings flew forward and wrapped around Scott from all sides. Trapped in a cage of bone and sorrow, he could do nothing in that moment but scream in pain and futile rage as dark energy coursed through his body.

The beast screamed again and again while Waldo laughed in triumph. Blood began to seep from the edges of Scott's eyes as steam rose up from his body. However, the laughter was cut short a moment later when his sensors detected an incredibly powerful surge of energy. "Wha—?" he began to ask, just before his own survival instinct kicked into overdrive. Waldo snapped his head hard to the left. His mecha followed suit just in time to partially avoid Scott's counter attack.

A sound that combined a howl with a roar rose up from the man-beast's throat and with it came power. Just like during his full-tilt race toward the battle field, the sound of his voice carried multiple strains of magical and physical energy that converged into a single cohesive force of overwhelming ferocity. The wave of energy that exploded outward from his mouth blasted the side of the giant mecha's face. Bone, blood, and decayed flesh were torn completely asunder as the force of the blow tore off a sizeable chunk of the mecha's head despite the partial miss.

Waldo unleashed a high-pitched shriek of agonized torment as the feedback system on his supernatural mecha registered a level of pain that the system itself could not absorb. He forcibly held one of his eyes closed to fight against the intense burning sensation in his eye socket, even as he released Scott and shoved him away with all of the force that he could muster.

The necromancer attempted to clutch at the side of his head to cradle the wound, an action that his mecha mimicked. A rapid fire series of damage messages appeared that reported a dire situation. His shields were down, possibly for good without an extensive amount of downtime for repairs. His audio-visual sensory information was vastly reduced because of the partial destruction of his mecha's skull.

Despite the dire nature of the warnings that he faced, Waldo still managed to notice Scott's movements out of the corner of his good eye. Ignoring the myriad warning messages for the moment, he turned to face the roaring bastard. Scott ran forward, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and a wild look of hunger in his red-rimmed eyes.

"First blood to the Lord of Sorrow, but a valiant and decisive reprisal by the incoherently raving champion! The playing field is evened out once more folks... but wait, what's this?" announced Emeritus just before Scott leapt into the air with one clawed hand extended toward his prey.

The world froze in place, leaving Scott suspended in mid-air. "Waldo broke a rule? There's an automatic request for judgment due to his actions? I'll have to pause this match for a moment and sort this situation out!"

"What the shit?" asked Waldo. Shocked by this sudden turn of events, he could find no better words to express the ridiculousness of the announcement. The gods were undeniably assholish trolls in his opinion, but they always kept their word. What rule could he have possibly broken? There were no rules in this encounter!

The colors of the world soon faded to a dull gray then shifted into an austere black and white. Only three spots of actual color remained. One full color item, was Waldo. Another was the blood dripping from Scott's eyes and ears. The third, surprisingly, was Saelil. The dark elf hovered in the air above a nearby building.

"Well, this is certainly a fine mess," said the announcer lightly. "Shall we begin with you, Waldo."

A column of light appeared around Waldo that illuminated the darkness and provided better visibility for any who might be viewing the scene. Meanwhile the rest of the area remained in perpetual black and white that provided only dark silhouettes on even darker backgrounds.

"What's the meaning of this?" demanded Waldo. "What rule have I broken, and why is that bitch here?"

"Ah, yes. By all means, let us get to the point," said the announcer. "You Waldo, have violated a recently made contract. Normally, this would be an automa—"

"Violated my contract!" snapped Waldo, "The hell I did!"

"Waldo. I will not tolerate further interruptions. If you continue to be belligerent I will rule summarily against you, as the evidence is clear," said the announcer.

Waldo started to speak, but stopped before a full word was spoken. If he continued to speak, it would only go badly for him.

"Now then..." said the announcer, "You broke your contract. By all rights it should be void and the other party should receive compensation."

"Might I at least ask what I did to break this contract?" asked Waldo as politely as he could manage.

"Yes," said the announcer. "You specified in your contract that you would do no further harm to the other party or her associates. Yet, you have physically manhandled one of those associates and attempted to cook them from the inside out with your dark power."

"What?" asked Waldo, the one remaining eye on his mecha widening incredulously in the process. "That fool attacked me!"

"The reason does not matter. There is no citation in the contract stating exclusions on this matter in regards to self-defense. The other party and her associates did not have to avoid injuring you. However, you did have a contractual obligation not to injure any of them further," replied the announcer.

"That's..." Waldo growled low under his breath. However, his anger turned to cunning. "She broke the contract first! I asked her for the ritual information, and she refused to give it!"

"Ah, you seek to make a counter-claim?" asked Emeritus.

"You damned right, I do," said Waldo.

The announcer grew silent for a moment. When he spoke again it was in agreement with Waldo's request. "I find that you have validity in your counter-claim. You may make a case for it, now."

"Case?" asked Waldo. "It's pretty obvious! I gave her the name she wanted. She refused to give me the information she agreed to give me."

"I see," said the announcer. The column of light shifted from Waldo and reappeared at Saelil's position. "You stand accused of violating your contract for the reasons stated. Do you agree with the other party's claim?"

Saelil bit her lower lip then drew her hands close and clasped them before her chest. Her eyes widened and took on the appearance of an innocent and frightened young girl. "I had no such intention! I never denied him the information I promised. I merely pointed out that he would have trouble learning anything while my beloved attempted to devour him."

From the darkness that now enshrouded Waldo, a loud noise reminiscent of an explosive fart echoed through the air. *Pbbbt!* He had used his mecha to perform an action known as blowing a raspberry.

"That does sound like you denied him his rightful part of the contract..." said the announcer.

Saelil gasped softly, then acquired a thoughtful look. It gave her the appearance of a wide-eyed and innocent maiden attempting to consider something grand, something beyond her knowledge. "Certainly that was not my intention, but I also do not recall any specifications in the contract pertaining to a deadline for sharing the promised ritual knowledge."

"Oh come on!" shouted Waldo from the darkness.

The announcer remained silent for a moment. Several tense seconds passed for the involved parties before the voice returned, "I find no fault with your assessment. There is no mention of a time-frame in the original contract. Quite honestly, it was an oversight that would have allowed you to never actually have to live up to your part of the deal."

Saelil took in a deep breath then loudly exhaled in a cute manner. "That is such a relief. I'm new to these sorts of contracts. I mean, I have talent but I'm not really used to dealing with gods and necromancers of far greater caliber than I could ever hope to be."

"What! That can't be true!" cried Waldo. "You so-called gods pride yourselves on the letter and the spirit of a contract! You would never allow her to deny me forever when we have a contract that you witnessed."

"True, if you felt she was taking too long you could have potentially filed a claim against her," said the announcer. "In that respect it is important to know her true intentions.

The light around Saelil flashed for a few seconds then grew steady. "When did you plan to give him what he wanted? Be careful of your answer, I will know if you attempt to lie."

Saelil clutched her hands fretfully to her chest and then looked down toward the ground below. Just a young, innocent, girl caught up in a situation beyond her wildest dreams, how could she remain calm during such a meeting? She glanced fearfully toward the dark silhouette that was Waldo then gasped slightly when he seemed to take notice of her.

After collecting her wits and taking a deep breath, she said, "I was not in a place of sound mental judgment originally. However, as I looked upon the contract that I was graciously offered, I realized that there were possibilities that I could try to use to the advantage of myself and my associates."

"Such as?" asked the announcer.

"Well, the truth is that the necromancer that we came to fight has proven to be far stronger than we initially believed. Too strong to defeat with what we could rely upon..." Saelil glanced briefly over to Waldo then bit her lip slightly and looked away while her cheeks darkened slightly at the shame of admitting such a thing.

Waldo puffed up a little and offered a broken smile with the portion of his mecha's face that remained intact. It was true enough. He was clearly superior to the rabble that came for him.

She fidgeted a little, showing clear signs of agitation and fright. "So, I decided to try a gamble. I doubted that it would work, but it was our best chance!"

The announcer grunted then said, "Stop stalling, please."

"Yes! O-of course!" exclaimed Saelil before she unleashed a vapid little laugh that made her sound like an innocent girl who knew little regarding the dark truths of the world.

"Well, you see there was no mention of a time limit and the necromancer was held to a promise not to harm me or my associates," said Saelil. She took a deep breath, her chest rising up in a way that most would deem unintentionally provocative. "I discerned that I could use that as leverage and force him to grant us safe passage to the obelisk before I gave him the information he craved."

Waldo snorted derisively. "As if I would be swayed so easily..."

Saelil turned her wide, innocent, eyes toward Waldo and clutched her hands even more tightly to her breasts. "I knew it was a foolish hope, but it seemed plausible. If you harmed my friends I would owe you nothing. You seemed to have spent a large amount of time hunting down such spells, and a few more minutes would be seen as little more than an irritant. Correct?"

Waldo grunted slightly, but said nothing. The answer was obvious.

"If that was the case, why not require that detail to be added to the original contract?" asked the announcer.

Saelil unleashed a short nervous laugh then accidentally presented her maidenly charms as she brushed an errant strand of hair back from her face. "As I said, I was not completely in my proper frame of mind and the situation escalated quickly. I hoped, in the end, that I could turn it to my advantage despite the overwhelming power that is the great necromancer Waldo."

Waldo smirked in amusement then nodded his head. "I get it now... What the little fool was trying to do."

The announcer remained silent for a moment then snorted in derision. The derisive snort turned into a soft sigh a moment later? "Do you? Do you, really?"

"Huh?" asked Waldo.

"It doesn't matter. At any rate, you can both be seen as having violated the contract, though only one did so in a flagrant manner that cannot be denied," continued the announcer. "In light of that, the contract may be suspended entirely, without further compensation for either party, or it may be amended."

"I want those spells," said Waldo with a snort.

"I want my people to be safe..." said Saelil, her eyes wide and her gaze filled with emotion.

"So, decide on a few amendments then..." said the announcer in a bored tone.

Saelil and Waldo looked to each other briefly. Soon they began to discuss the details of the amended contract. Waldo spoke in big brash words and acted aggressively, while Saelil flinched and drew back now and then. In the eyes of the red robed necromancer she was little more than a stupid girl who had gotten in over her head. It was a wonder that she even knew how to cast such magic. After a time, he came to the conclusion that she was no doubt some pampered lord's daughter and daddy bought her everything she wanted.

"So, the amendment process is complete?" asked the announcer.

"Yeah, it's fine now. The stupid girl over there and her friends, including the princess, are free to leave and head to the safety of the obelisk since nothing can harm them there. I won't be penalized for fighting with the furball since he can't be reasoned with at the moment," said Waldo. "Oh, and I need to keep him busy while they escape since he might even attack them if he notices their presence."

Saelil spoke up in a slightly quavering voice, "I-I—" she began before taking a breath to calm her nerves. "I need to escort my people to the obelisk and wait there for the outcome of the short battle between Waldo and my foolish associate. We can't leave without my beloved anyway, and he needs to be brought to the obelisk alive or dead."

She fidgeted a little then acquired a fretful tone once more. "W-when the Lord of Sorrow is victorious, he will bring the champion's body to the obelisk. We will resurrect him, and then I will teach the great necromancer the spells that are foolishly wasted on someone like me."

"Right..." said the announcer in a deliberately drawn out manner, "If both parties are agreed, then accept the amendments. We can then finish this business and receive a proper outcome at last."

Light blue message screens appeared before the involved parties. Each of them accepted the new contract. The moment they did so, the black and white nature of the world began to shift back to grey status. Soon, the only one left in the place outside of time and space was the announcer. A soft chuckle echoed briefly through the air before he said, "She laid it on a bit thick, didn't she Perival?"

A buzzing and whimpering noise arose that caused the announcer to laugh even more. "Let's see how this all plays out in the end, shall we?"

Time restarted. Waldo was left with just enough maneuvering room to whip his skeletal wings around in a bid to create a physical barrier to stop Scott's incoming assault. The beast's powerful fist struck the barrier with a fierce and thunderous crash that cracked bones and sent splintered shards flying about the area. Waldo was knocked back half a step by the blow.

Staggered slightly by the ferocity of the assault, the Lord of Sorrow was forced to weather another rapid fire series of punches and clawing attacks as Scott howled his rage. Bone, along with bits of flesh and other gore were sent flying about the area as the beast tore into the giant mecha like a rabid animal.

Saelil floated down to where Vita was hiding, her hands still clutched fearfully to her chest. Vita looked to her wide-eyed and asked, "What just happened?"

The dark elf's demeanor changed from an innocent girl in over her head, to a far more calculating one. "Scott's going to keep the Lord of Overconfidence busy while we complete the mission. We need to gather everyone and head to the obelisk while they fight it out."

"What? There's—" began Vita. "I don't even know what's going on anymore!"

"I'll tell you on the way. It's not safe to remain here," said Saelil. As though life chose that moment to emphasize her point, the two behemoths crashed heavily into a nearby four story building. The expertly crafted masonry shattered with little fanfare as the monstrosities wrestled mightily within the confines of the rubble.

The princess blinked owlishly. "I see," she said in a surprisingly quiet tone, "By all means, let us take our leave..."

"Damned furball!" snarled Waldo just before he snaked his arms around Scott's head and launched a knee strike toward Scott's chin. A shockwave rippled outward as the blow struck causing dust to fly around and loose debris to rattle lightly.

A howl of inarticulate rage erupted from Scott's throat as he launched himself forward in response to the powerful strike. He knocked Waldo off balance then instinctively dropped low and slammed his arms around the waist of the evil monstrosity, trapping an arm in the process.

Caught in the immeasurably strong grasp of the man-beast Waldo was helpless to prevent the sudden swift motion that came after. Scott hurled his upper body down and back in such a way that Waldo was sent crashing head first into the rest of the remaining back wall of the building shattering it in the process.

Scott rolled with the momentum of the impromptu throw and now had the oversized necromantic horror pinned atop a pile of debris. Had it been a battle between men, it would possibly have ended in that moment. However, it was a battle of beasts, one of which was merely a man buried deep inside of the body of a rotting nightmare.

A brief struggle ensued wherein weakly Waldo tried to break free, but the maw of the man-beast opened wide and snapped down quickly. Scott tore into the throat of the wicked machine, his oversized teeth shearing through flesh, bone, and underlying metal alike.

"What's going on?" asked Samantha as Saelil drew near. The fight that broke out seemed to have spanned less than half a minute from her point of view. Yet, the destruction to the surrounding area was ridiculous.

"We need to go," said Saelil. She saw Kitty and Chaine running toward them, though sadly Onion remained unmoving.

"No time to collect him," murmured Saelil as she saw the state of her overcooked child. She would need to return for him later, if there was a later.

The handful of remaining summoned beasts that she called forth previously trotted up behind her, and the group took off toward the bridge area. Scott continued to worry and gnaw at Mecha Waldo's throat in the background, but the Lord of Sorrow had already begun to move again now that he he'd had the time to regain proper mental coherence once more.

Roughly half of a minute passed before anyone spoke. As the roars of giant beasts echoed through the air, Samantha asked, "Are you really going to give him your technology?"

"Technology?" asked Saelil as she floated along swiftly at just above ground level.

"Your rituals?" pressed Samantha. "Are you truly planning to give them to him?"

All eyes were on Saelil for a moment, as the group continued to run forward at a decent pace. Saelil merely shrugged then said, "Of course. Though, only if he is victorious and survives to claim that knowledge."

"You would truly give that creature access to such powerful magic?" asked Vita incredulously. She hopped over a fallen corpse, narrowly avoiding a puddle of black blood and continued to run. Briefly, she was overjoyed that she was not wearing a dress that might be soiled in the blood of the fallen, but then remembered that she wore nothing but her undergarments. Her feet were stained with the disgusting ichor of the undead.

"Ah, yes. It's not like it really matters whether I do or do not," said Saelil.

"Why is that?" asked Kitty before she hopped onto a sidewalk bench in order to avoid a corpse pile.

Saelil blinked owlishly for a moment then laughed softly as she realized something. "Right, I sometimes forget little details that I know that others would not."

The dark elf chuckled once more to herself then shrugged. "I'm sure he already knows of variations to at least one or two of the spells I used. He would not recognize them at all if he had not studied them."

"How does that change the fact that you plan to give them to him?" asked Chaine. Unlike the others there was no need for him to jump over anything at that moment. His path ahead was relatively clear.

"That knowledge is his downfall," said Saelil before she rose up a little higher into the air to fly over the top of a dead giant ghoul. "Despite his access to his current power, he is clearly not a true necromancer of the sixth level casting variety. His magical potential is barely fifth level, if that."

"I don't know what that means, but how does that change anything?" asked Samantha, before she powered up a charge shot.

Saelil answered Samantha's question just before the armored girl fired off her attack. "It means that despite his apparent power, it is obvious that his only knowledge of higher level spells comes from hearsay and ancient manuscripts. Further, I would wager that he has never crafted spells more potent than the fourth level before."

Samantha's attack hit a large pile of corpses and debris up ahead. The resultant explosion blew a clear path through the area, and soon the bridge was in sight once more.

The dark elf floated through the emptied area and continued her explanation, "Creating spells is simple in the first few levels. Even a complete fool can do so. Beyond the third level there comes advanced spell work, but even the fourth level is nothing more than child-s play in comparison to what lies ahead in the future."

Saelil took a breath then said, "By the time sixth level spell creation is achievable, the caster puts so much of themselves into their working that the spell becomes an extension of their being. No one else can ever cast that spell in exactly the same manner as the creator, especially if that creator is abnormal in some manner."

"That makes sense...." said Kitty, but she immediately acquired a thoughtful expression, "But if that's the case how come that jerk back there can use that sorrow spell thing?"

Saelil slowed her forward movements and lowered her head, "The only way I can think to explain that is if he found something lost to the ages that contained the power. Even so, it is clearly not the exact same casting as the original. He used some sort of bizarre golem made of flesh and metal as the base."

Samantha trotted forward to catch up with her. "He called your name back there, is that how you know the truth about that spell?"

"My memories are torn and scattered, and it is difficult to piece together moment from many parts of my life. I remember a little more each day, but at first I did not remember anything about the ritual he performed," said Saelil. She took a soft breath then slowly released it, "That changed not long ago. I don't recall exact details, nor do I want to do so. However, I easily discerned that the power he called upon was well beyond his talent. In truth, if my beloved does not kill Waldo in a berserk animalistic rage tonight, I would be surprised if the overreaching fool did not destroy himself soon. Even if he survives the battle, the energy flow for his device is not particularly efficient."

"That lack of efficiency will do what exactly?" pressed Samantha.

Saelil snorted, "Waldo thinks himself to be a new dark emperor rising to ascension. I doubt his toy golem could withstand the forces necessary to house more than thirty thousand souls at most without generating a massive explosion. He might become a regional plague at best, even if the spells he wanted from me would actually work for him."

"How many souls did he possess in this battle?" asked Samantha.

"A few thousand at most, I should think. A proper high-level raiding party of skilled adventurers could have defeated him, despite his bluster. We were simply ill-equipped and understaffed for this battle," said Saelil.

"We threw everything we had at that guy, and barely made a dent," said Samantha.

"True, we were not wielding the proper spells and equipment. We did damage him frequently, but his regeneration rate and shield power were fearsome in comparison to our abilities," admitted Saelil.

Chaine trotted up to join them. He mostly kept his own counsel after recent events, but he needed answers, "You were fine with giving a man like that even more power? You admit that he would have become a threat to an entire region, and did so casually."

Saelil shook her head, "I get it. You're some sort of hero. I'll forgive you for not realizing the truth since you no doubt spend your entire life denying fate and fighting the good fight."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Chaine, a hint of an edge coming into his voice.

"It means exactly what Samantha said earlier. We threw everything we had at Waldo, and barely made a dent. Are you forgetting the mission requirements? I'm still uncertain about the rules for such things, but the information provided was clear. We're the only team that will be sent to deal with this since we accepted the mission. If we die, who will stop Waldo before he grows in power once more?" asked Saelil.

"I get that! But you planned to set that man loose on another unsuspecting wor—" began Chaine, only for Saelil to shoot him a cold look that brought him up short.

"We needed to complete this mission. I arranged things so that we could complete it no matter the outcome of the battle," said Saelil. "The most important thing was getting your princess to that obelisk so that no matter what happens next, we can be assured of at least that much of a victory."

She stared at Chaine briefly then floated toward him, her eyebrows pressed inward. "After recovering from my shock, I arranged things so that Waldo would even help us finish this mission with positive results."

The dark elf stopped in front of Chaine and looked down at him from her slightly elevated height. "I did so by offering that fool access to spells that are impossible for him to use. Even if he did discover a method to do so to some degree, it would take him years to achieve a comparable result, and even longer to acquire the reagents necessary to cast them even once."

Saelil took a breath then increased the intensity of her stare, "Without a certain innate internal design, he would only be able to cast them as a normal man might cast them. That means that he would have access to those spells for only a few minutes once every several years due to the rarity of the ingredients."

Saelil glared imperiously down at Chaine for a moment then snorted, "The only thing I promised to give that fool was enough rope to hang himself. While he attempted to live his dreams of grandeur, we would acquire new abilities, strength, and equipment. Long before he even gained a whiff of the power he craved, he would have been destroyed."

Chaine stared angrily back at her then snorted as well, "You make that claim, but did he not say that sometime in the past you nearly conquered an entire world with those powers."

"Yes. He did," said Saelil, her eyes narrowing. The light glittered off of her eyes like they were embedded with tiny diamonds. "However, he is not me. It does not matter how powerful he becomes, he will never be able to use those spells to the same degree that I could, if at all."

"What makes you so certain?" asked Chaine, his gaze never leaving Saelil's eyes. He refused to look away from her despite the menace that the formerly cheerful girl radiated in that moment.

"He is mortal. His soul is bound inside of his original flesh. Only someone in an exceptionally rare situation such as myself may use those spells to their fullest potential without destroying themselves. They are useless to him in their current form," she said in a derisive tone.

"Think you've got it all figured out, huh?" asked Chaine in a heated tone.

"Yes," said Saelil simply.

They continued to stare hatefully at each other for a moment. Eventually, Vita walked over and grabbed Chaine by the ear and pulled him to the side. "Stop being an idiot and come on."

"Ow! Hey!" cried Chaine as the princess dragged him off by the ear. "Why are you always doing this to me in public? Don't you know how embarrassing it is!"

"Listen to your mother, and do as you're told young man," said Vita in a strangely cheerful manner as she continued to pull on Chaine's ear. Her expression belied her words, however. She held the appearance of a woman deep in thought.

"I wasn't in the wrong!" howled Chaine as the pain in his ear intensified.

"Her plan was foolish enough to be something you would try," countered Vita.

Chaine cried out, "That doesn't give you the right to pull my ear off!"

Saelil watched the strange comedic continue forward for a moment before she unleashed a weary sigh and looked down toward the ground. A lot had happened in the last few minutes. It was difficult for her to process everything despite her supposed cunning.

"When you said that Waldo was mortal, and only someone like you could use those spells. What did you mean?" asked Kitty softly. "What are you, Saelil?"

The dark elf lifted her head then turned an emotionless, yet chilling, gaze toward her feline companion. "An abomination."

Kitty blinked softly then tilted her head. Curious about her companion's words, she started to press for details. "Saelil, I—" but her words were overwhelmed by a roar that echoed through the area. A split second later a nearby three story office building exploded backwards as a wave of energy washed over it. Wood, glass, metal, and stone showered the area.

The wave of energy continued forward causing the destruction of another building across the street. However, there was something unseen inside of the building that caused a fiery backlash.

"Down!" cried Samantha, but she was too late. Most of the debris from the secondary explosion passed harmlessly by the group. For the most part the shrapnel offered only a few stinging cuts or bruises. One thick shard proved quite a different matter, however. A thick piece of metal, shaped much like an oversized arrow, slammed into Kitty's chest in a sickening display of force. Similar in some ways to someone shot by a Roman ballista bolt, the shard of metal shot through one side of her body and partially out of the other, completely skewering her in the process. Bits of flesh, bone, and bodily organs were dragged through the hole in her chest and left peeking out at the shocked onlookers.

Kitty's mouth opened and closed slowly while her eyes were filled with uncomprehending shock. In that single careless moment, her life had ended. She collapsed to the ground while fire raged just down the street.

"Kitty!" cried Samantha the instant her own shock at the gruesome scene managed to pass. She rushed over to the girl to see if there was anything that could be done.

"Does anyone have a healing tonic?" she asked quickly. However, all such items were used during the previous battle.

"What happened?" called Vita from just up ahead.

She trotted back toward the group, but Samantha waved her off. "I'll take her. We need to get out of here, now. As long as those two are fighting, this could be any one of us."

The armored bounty hunter looked to Vita. "If it ends up being you then everything we did here will be for nothing."

Vita flinched visibly, but said nothing. She did not know all of the details of their so-called mission but she did hear enough from Saelil during their raid on the necromancer's reagent stores to get the gist of it. None of them would be there save for their need to rescue her from Waldo.

Samantha hefted the limp body of her companion and cradled her as best she could. The catgirl showed no sign of responding to the movement. "Dammit..." she said after a quick scan of the girl's body with her suit's internal diagnostic system.

"What? Is she?" asked Saelil, her gaze softening. Her expression transformed further into one that was less anger and shock, and more of an expression of concern and growing fear.

"That obelisk better be everything it was said to be," said Samantha. "Otherwise..."

"On my world, they allow certain people to return to life for a price... I don't know what they can do here," admitted Saelil, her eyes beginning to moisten. The sight of Kitty lying limply in Samantha's arms was one that caused several strange sensations to growing inside of her.

The group grew silent. It was a strange situation. There was no time to mourn. Despite the emotions welling up inside they were uncertain if mourning was even appropriate, should the obelisk prove to work as advertised. Either way, their silent reflection did not last long. They needed to reach a safe point to regroup. Nowhere in the city would be safe outside of the obelisk safe zone.

The race was on once more, but this time only four remained who could run it. In the background, the roar of an enraged beast tore through the night, its cries punctuated by intense flashes of blinding light and the sound of buildings being torn completely apart.