"It's all set up, PM," the caution-taped Dersite confided. "If he comes, we'll be ready."
The peregrine mendicant nodded, sword in hand. She would have to fend off Bec Noir if he did come in order to give AR time to blow the stations.
"Where's WV?" she asked.
"Still in the command station down there-" The Dersite stuttered to a halt, starting at something over PM's shoulder. She whirled around, raising her sword against the advancing Noir.
Wings spread, doglike face curled into an evil smirk, Bec Noir's own sword appeared in a flash of green light, already slick with blood. PM realized with a jolt that he had already killed WQ.
With a pang of guilt, AR hit the first toggle, and the temple, containing the White Queen and King, exploded violently. Bec Noir glanced over his shoulder at the jarring explosion, then advanced on the renegade, snarling. AR quickly hit the second and third toggles, backing away from the advancing Noir. PM was thrown off her feet from the explosions, white noise ringing in her ears. She managed to look up. One command station was still standing, but WV and Serenity were still inside.
AR seemed to realize this as well, and he hesitated. With a glint of black steel, he was gone, decapitated head spiraling into the sky, framed by the morning light, before tumbling back to the earth. PM screamed. Noir vanished in a green light, presumably to attack the vagabond and his insect friend, and she slumped down in the sand.
With tears welling up, she made her way down the ladder. Serenity came up to meet her and showed her the bleeding but alive WV. PM carefully shouldered her dying friend and ascended the ladder once more, unsure of what to do. She hated Noir. He had murdered her friends and taken away everything important to her out here. What could she do now?
A shimmer of gold caught her eye, and she bent down and examined the still-intact ring. She picked it up with wide eyes and a conflicted mind. With this ring, she could have power to match Noir's, but the ring was destined for the one friend she had left. She decided in an instant that with Noir around and WV dying, he might not get the chance to heal up and fight before their world was destroyed.
With trembling hands, she pushed the metal circle onto her finger and nearly cried out as the power of the first guardian began surging through her veins. She could feel wings unfold, ears sprout, a new sword generate. She whipped it out as Noir returned, his eyes growing wide. Was that a tinge of pink around his cheeks?
This was no time for crushes. He was off in a flurry of fur and feathers, and she rose up to follow him. He had destroyed her life, and she would hound him until she hunted him down. Pursuit was mandatory.