MURDERER ATTEMPTS TO TAKE PRINCESSES' LIFE

"We find the defendant, Spike, guilty of all charges."

"I love you, Spike."

"Welcome to Castle Bahamut."

-9- DRAGON RAGE!

"Spike, I just want you to know that I'm sorry. I can only hope for forgiveness, but I cannot deny the law for one friend. If I were to overrule the courts, a potential uprising would occur. It's safer for us all if you just... wait in Castle Bahamut until we can sort this out. Comply and everything will be far easier for everypony. I just... I'm sorry. I can't pardon you due to the weight of the charges."

"I am not perfect. I'm just one pony no matter how many ponies idolize me. I raise the sun, and live for the ponies of Equestria, but I am not a divine entity. I get exhausted, and worn down, and I cannot stop all violence in Equestria. I can only shoulder the blame and hurt that is directed at me by those who see fit over the years. Discord... my sister... King Sombra, all of them have impacted my life in a way that set the country against me. And I cannot protect you at this time. You have always been like a son to me, even if you never saw me as a mother... even though you see my pupil as a mother."

"I'm sorry, Spike."

. . .

"You can pardon my friends when their shenanigans causes trouble... but because I'm a dragon, you draw the line?"

. . .

"No... this is goodbye... until when, I dunno. But I do not wish to see you ever again."

"When you return, ask anything and I'll grant it."

"You cannot buy me, Princess."

"I will do anything you ask of me."

"Even step down from the throne?"

. . .

"Yes."

. . .

"You can say that because we both know I'm never coming back."

[*][*][*]

"Your friend...?" I asked.

I got no response. Silence took over even though it was far from it. My mind refused to take in any of the noise in favour of granting me a moment of silence for Gelid. Nothing else mattered at that moment, not the fact that the rest of the dragons got up and once again began their futile assault on the Dragon God. Not the flock of Pegasi that rained down from the skies along with several Gryphons. Not the flock of armed Dragons that followed in. Not the Unicorns dropped off by the Pegasi. All of it was like a movie playing in the background; unnecessary noise and colour.

"THE TARGET IS THE LARGE DRAGON IN THE CENTRE OF THE CASTLE RUINS!" a loud voice boomed over the whole island.

The Equestrian Royal Guard had deployed Unicorns all over the castle after the Pegasi dropped them off and immediately they had begun a magical attack towards Bahamut. Gryphons in what was apparently their nation's armour zipped by, clawing at Bahamut or launching spears and arrows and dropping basket ball-sized bombs yielding a small explosion. The Pegasi were grabbing clouds and kicking them to launch bolts of lightning. The Dragons themselves were seemingly hesitant yet lunged in with their full force; claws, flame breath that dwarfed the Prison Guards' as well as what was apparently draconic magic in effect. Gems were being materialized and launched similar to a bullet; each of the gems lodged themselves into various parts all over Bahamut's body.

Yet none of it mattered. Gems that were lodged in his body fell out with no visible damage; the flame did nothing, neither did the ice or lightning breath some dragons had; the magic attacks from the Unicorns were useless as well as the weapons by the Gryphons.

Using my strength, I lifted Gelid up, cradling her body in my arms. Haruo was apparently screaming in my ear yet I heard none of it. I walked the few feet towards the large, broken gates of the prison. I turned the corner and several Unicorn's almost ran into me as they rushed into the courtyard.

The flickering lights and sounds behind me were similar to a fireworks show in a rock concert; noisy and seizure-inducing. Bahamut was roaring, slams against the ground were made, Unicorn's were thrown back, Gryphons and Dragons were swatted down all around me. I continued walking to a tree just outside of the prison and placed Gelid's body against the trunk and closed her eyes.

"My own nation has allied themselves with the lower species? Cease this nonsense and bow before your God, Bahamut," the large dragon roared, extending his massive wings and taking off into the sky.

Bahamut was no giant in comparison to the island but the prison was another thing; he towered over all structures except the Guard's Tower and Lockdown's Tower. With a single flap of his wings, all creatures on the ground had to brace themselves to not slide off and the ones in the air fought to not spiral towards the ground. Several more flaps followed and it was clear Bahamut was going to take off. From under the tree, I turned around and watched Bahamut lift into the air, each of the aerial armed forces separating to not get in the way. From in the air, Bahamut took a deep breath and spat a torrent of fire into the courtyards. The stone was seemingly vaporized yet when the blaze stopped, all forces in the courtyards were surrounded by a purple barrier.

"DO NOT TOUCH THEM!" Shining Armour's voice shouted.

I looked over at Shining Armour, my rage nearly tripling. I put it aside as we all had the same enemy. Bahamut was swatting the Dragons, Gryphons and Pegasi swarming around his body, launching attacks of all kind that proved useless. Tilting his body forward, Bahamut began moving around in the air. On top of being massive and nigh indestructible, he was faster than the other Dragons as well. He took off out over the ocean and turned around, coming back towards the island while taking a deep breath.

"MOVE, CLEAR THE CENTRE!" a Gryphon shouted.

Shining Armour stepped into the prison gates, his horn lightning up as all living creatures fighting Bahamut were shielded in their own lavender bubble. To my surprise, the inmates as well as myself were surrounded. Shining Armour was visibly straining himself as his legs shook. He was merely ten feet away from me and I was tempted run over and hit him, but the urge subsided.

In contrast to earlier, my rage wasn't the same. It didn't feel like frustration or complete hate towards others. It felt more genuine and like it was moving through my body. The feeling extended down my limbs and I felt the familiar feeling of magic I felt when Lockdown extracted it. I felt the warmth of magic reminiscent of times Twilight or Rarity levitated me into the air. My body felt like the time Greed forced my body to grow. My body... was feeling many things, yet rage stood out. It was as if the anger inside me was caressing my muscles, weaving itself through each cell. My body's numbness and pain subsided and I felt my bones moving. It was sickening... and I liked it.

Bahamut's flame coursed out over the island, incinerating the courtyard entirely as well as the rest of the castle. Only Lockdown's Tower was left standing after the attack while everywhere else was flattened or rubble. Numerous bodies piled up yet the Gryphons, Dragons, Unicorn's, Pegasi and Inmates were all almost even in numbers. Shining Armour's spell shielded every living soul that wasn't Bahamut. Looking around, he even shielded the trees, flowers and other vegetation on the island as well as the deceased.

"They will grow mad over the years of constant agony and it will come to the point where a dragon rage unlike any other erupts."

"A Dragon's heart is prone to greed; a steady diet to make growth speed."

"The Great Dragon God, Bahamut, has given us the ability to grow."

Then I'll grow.

. . .

"We're not doing anything. All attacks hit him yet no damage is left," Shining Armour said, watching Bahamut duke it out with a platoon of aerial creatures.

His eyes have been struck several times, only to heal. Weapons lodged into his wings, only to be patched up. Bombs opened a hole in his belly, only to be healed when the smoke cleared. Nothing was working against the god and nobody could tell why. A storm of flight creatures swirled around the skies anticipating retaliation from the dragon. The Unicorns on ground were split between launching spells to healing the wounded inmates as well as armed forces.

I stepped out from my shield towards Shining Armour as he levitated the crumbled gate walls off several inmates whom immediately took to the skies in panic. He looked around, eyes scanning the area before they landed on me. It was so simple; I could have gotten payback for sending me here. Just offing him and that's it, nopony would ever know. His eyes widened upon seeing me and for good reason; I was seething and steadily growing. I stopped several feet in front of him and looked at the now-smaller stallion.

"Not every Dragon is a murderer," I said.

And with that said, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Guilt and anger at my friends had disappeared entirely. None of them were at fault, it was just a misconception and I had done what Rainbow Dash told me to do: I had stayed strong... and now it's time to show it.

My whole body was encased with Twilight's magical aura and rather than an odd growing pain akin to my Greedy misadventure, my body grew in size, gently soothed and comforted as I did. The magic was warm and nullified any pain I felt and the anger and rage I had was directed at Bahamut. The one who had to be stopped.

Shining Armour backed off from me as I rose over him, my shape and form taking that of a sleek dragon with sharp spines. I stood five feet over him; three times larger than my other size yet horribly insignificant to Bahamut. It must have been Twilight's magic, as this growth didn't get out of hand; I never found myself giving into my rage and anger as I did with my greed. I was a tamed beast.

. . .

Bahamut soared through the skies, whipping Gryphons, Pegasi and Dragons around with his tail and sheer air thrown by his wings. Spells and fire lit up the skies like a thunderstorm at nighttime, the whole island as well as the surrounding ocean most likely visible to the nearest shore, and certainly to any ship still incoming from the mainlands. Bahamut's white flame had shot throughout the sky, roasting the few unlucky soldiers to get in its way and lit up the whole island as if the sun were spotlighting it; anyone looking at it would go temporarily blind from the sheer light.

Bahamut descended through the air and levelled out, flying back towards the island in an attempt to end the ground troops as well as the rest of the inmates... I wasn't going to have that.

As Bahamut approached and took in a deep breath, I turned away from Shining Armour as he discovered I wasn't going to end his life and broke out into a run. I leaped up into the air, launching off like a Pegasi taking flight as my new body had amazing strength. Like a bullet, I zoomed in on Bahamut and extended my arms. Feeling Twilight's magic inside my body, I closed my eyes in memory.

"Magic works like pretend; a good imagination means good aura shaping," Twilight said.

"That explains why you blow things out of proportion," I responded, snorting while cooking a meal.

Twilight crinkled her snout and pouted her lips, flicking me with magic. The impact made me rub my scalp and look over to her just as she giggled.

"I imagined a small hand next to your head in a flicking motion, and it happened. All you have to do is imagine your magic taking the shape."

Imagine it taking shape, I said in my mind.

I opened my eyes to see an arm-shaped by magical aura extending from my arm. My now-five-foot arm had a ten-foot magical extension. The purple, magic hand grew to a larger size and wrapped around Bahamut's whole snout. I envisioned a weight below me as a magical aura formed below me with what looked like a cartoonish one-tonne weight dangling. I felt my whole body grow heavy and Bahamut was dragged down by his snout. His eyes turned to spot me and he snorted white fire at me, causing me to let go and allow the magical weight to drag me down to the ground. The magic impacted the ground and disappeared with a flash and I landed on all four claws, merely feeling discomfort from the landing. Looking above, Bahamut set his eyes on me and remained stationary in the air. Attacks from the others were still being made, all but ignored as Bahamut descended.

A quick glance around revealed I was on the large steps and I waited for Bahamut's response. He landed at the base of the large steps, the empty space next to the harbour his ground. His wings folded back in, he leaned over onto his two front claws and he lowered his head to better see me.

"A baby dragon challenging a God; no matter what you may have learned here, that is not brave or heroic. Just st—" I cut Bahamut off by thrusting my right arm forward, once again using my imagination as well as magic. An aura formed around my arm and extended off around twenty feet in the shape of a blade. The tip of the 'blade' pierced his left eye and I swung my arm to the right, cutting out part of his eye as well as the left side of his socket. "—uPID!" his voice took on a higher tone as his word turned into a shout of pain. He immediately pulled his head back, his left hand coming up to rub his damaged eye.

The flickering lights from the flying army above stopped to stare as Bahamut recovered from this attack with the exception that he showed visible pain. Not wasting any time, I ceased the magical flow, vanishing the blade around my arm and ran as fast as my legs would allow. I curved to the right to where his arm was pulled up and ran under his body. He truly was massive as in his 'laid out on belly' position, his belly was still 13 feet from the ground, three feet above my head. I reimagined the blade on my arm and sliced at his gut, this time watching as his wound wasn't healing right away. Instead, it was as if my magic was fighting against his magic; violet versus white.

No grunt came from this slice even though blood almost immediately started flowing out of him like a fountain (to him, it was nothing but a small cut) and I skidded to a stop on his right side. His right arm came back, an attempt to elbow me while I 'wasn't suspecting anything'. The blade once again vanished and this time, I attempted one of Twilight and Shining's own spells; a shield formed around me and I utilized the blade 'spell' once more. A large, knife-shaped aura formed in front of the shield. Its base was on the ground and pointing ahead of me in a diagonal manner so the tip was in the air. Bahamut's elbow didn't stop once, the magical aura slicing clean through his elbow and into his forearm. His elbow smashed against the shield, both the shield and his elbow cracking. The blade had sliced his bone yet the smash had done even more to it. That really got to Bahamut as he immediately rolled to the left, off the island and into the harbour while only smashing one of the ten docks. His body practically sunk in the bay while his head poked out, a trail of blood coming from my magical knife into the ocean.

He turned and glared at me, barring his teeth as he let out a loud growl through his sharp fangs. Using his (probably) still injured right arm, he thrust it forward, presumably into the ground. The cobblestone beneath me started to crack and the ground rumbled as it rose up. I figured out what he was doing and turned and started running backwards, far faster than I could before. The ground continued to raise up in a straight line until Bahamut ripped chunks of the clearing out from the rock and threw it up into the air towards the castle. Chunks of rock, sand and trees were flying everywhere and impacting all over the place as water flooded into what was left of the clearing between the harbour and staircase.

I turned around as Bahamut's massive form still allowed him to reach me even though I had made it across the 30-foot-radial clearing. He swatted his claws at me at such a fast speed that I barely dashed to the side. The large hand slammed into the staircase, the claws digging into the ground. With little effort, like a filly playing in the sand, his hand slid towards me, tearing up the staircase even after I jumped the railing and ran into the large field of fire lilies. He retracted his hand and crawled onto the land, just as those in the air resumed their attack. Bahamut stopped chasing after me, obviously tired of his smaller enemies, and raised his chin until he was looking straight up. Taking a deep breath, he blew fire into the air as it spread out, shooting off in all directions like a meteor shower; many were struck by the flames, many burst into flames simply by being near a ball of fire and very few had escaped the onslaught. Gryphons, Dragons and Pegasi alike slammed into the ground, either in a hurried attempt to get out of the skies or because they were already roasted to death. The population of the armed forces was lowered from its original 400 to only around 80, majority being Unicorns.

In response, I took a deep breath, feeling my magic as well as fire well up inside my gut. Blowing hard, I spit a fireball out of my mouth made of both green flames and violet magic; it was like watching a meteor as it impacted one of Bahamut's claws as he crawled forward. It hit his knee, causing an explosion of magic and green flames. He retracted his arm from the impact yelped as it did damage. Looking at it, the green flames were left burning on his bones and flesh while the magic itself seemed to be vaporizing his whole arm through.

"The magic that runs through you spawned from Twilight's magic, and unfortunately for you, it bonds with me. I know her, it has grown in my body. It counters your white crap and exposes your lie; you keep taking damage yet you're not invincible. Your magic just heals it in a flash." I took a step forward, holding up a large fist towards him. My voice was far deeper and louder than before, perfect for my form as well as my emotions. "NOT ANYMORE!"

I ran forward as he visibly activated his magic this time, his eyes glowing white. Water spawned over his leg, putting out the flames while he visibly winced. My magic had died out and his wound was healing far slower than normal, like watching someone tear their skin off slowly in reverse. I leaped into the air, going towards his face. I yanked my fist back in preparation for a strike to the scalp. As I got closer to his head, he held his hand up to catch my fist.

"Not this time, Spike," he said, the hostility dripping from his tongue like acid.

"RAAAAAGH!" I roared louder than I thought I could.

I thrust my fist forward, a magical blade forming around my arm the instant I did. As soon as the blade finished forming, the tip impacted his hand and pierced it completely. I put my legs forward while keeping the blade in place and my feet impacted his palm. The force shoved his hand back against his head, driving my blade right between his eyes.

Once again, he let out a loud cry showing his suffering as he stumbled back. Reaching over with my free arm, a magical claw extended off my own and I had it grab the top of his eyelid. With a firm grip, I yanked myself over, slicing towards his wrist and out of his arm just below his thumb. The magical blade had trouble further down, due to his thick skull, yet it still cut through and exited through his eye. The magic vanished as I stopped focusing, feeling exhaustion.

Now I understand why Twilight needs breaks, I thought, panting a bit.

I landed halfway up the staircase, Bahamut over 50 feet away from me. A throbbing in my head indicated I had used the magic too frequently and I shook my head, dragging my hand over my face to wipe the sweat from my brow. Bahamut pulled his hand back and his eyes once more glowed white as he healed his skull and hand. Only now was his arm just recovering from the flame attack.

"A fine warrior you would be, but those who strike Bahamut will not live. What is a peasant to their God? Servants of the Holy Land," Bahamut said, his body shaking as he stepped towards me. "Too scared to move, as expected from a baby."

I stood my ground and looked up at him, scowling at the larger dragon. My body shook just as much as his did, rage swelling up in my body. The exhaustion was getting to me yet I couldn't go down. I knew he could be hurt and I knew he wasn't invincible. In the midst of my thoughts, a clopping sound entered my ears. Shining Armour stood next to me and glanced at me as his horn began to glow. I felt my body feeling lighter, better as my stamina seemed to replenish itself. Shining Armour was exhausting himself to what seemed to be a near fatal point as his body dropped after, heavy and coarse panting coming from his mouth as his legs wobbled.

"I'm not scared, I'm angry," I said quietly.

Shining Armour's horn glowed once more, this time brightly as he vanished due to a teleportation spell. Shining Armour was nowhere near us, which was good; the instant I said that, Bahamut stampeded towards me, his claws sinking into the ground and shattering the very ground he stepped on. I ran towards him as he extended his wings and thrust the tips of them at me like spears. I sidestepped both as they punctured the ground not a foot away from me and I wrapped my claws around both tips. He yanked his wings back in an attempt to tear me in half. I summoned up more magic and a hand came from my tail, the claws rooting themselves deep into the ground. It went far deeper than the island's shores, ensuring I was well-placed. Magic came from my hands and wrapped themselves around his wings so I didn't have to.

Using all the strength I physically had while exerting my magic, I yanked Bahamut off his feet and over my head. He swung his claws at me to stop the slam that would come; instead, I let go and threw him back into the courtyard. His body took up half of the space that was left from the ruins of the once-great prison. The magic vanished and I started running on all fours. A quick glance behind me revealed that Shining Armour and the other unicorns and living creatures had escaped the dead zone. Very good.

I ran past what would be the gates and leaped into the air as Bahamut rolled towards the gates to get back on his feet. Swinging my left arm to the right, a blade formed as I approached his back and the magical blade extended from my arm, slicing cleanly through his wing. The base itself had to be at least the size of a Redwood's trunk; blood flowed from the wound and Bahamut didn't bother shouting, his whole body moving faster than I thought to react to my attack. His left claw, closest to the door, slammed into the area where I would have hit. Instead, I abused the mass of magic that had welled up inside of me to craft a magic chute that slowed my movement in the air, causing Bahamut to slam his fist into his own side. He didn't act phased and turned his head to blow fire at me as his eyes lit up to fix the fact that I severed his wing.

"HOW ABOUT I CAUTERIZE THAT FOR YOU!?" I shouted.

Magic; lovely magic, what would I do without you? A magical claw reached forward, wrapping around the base of his wing as Bahamut pulled his hand back. I yanked myself forward and blew my green and violet flames onto his back. The fire spread out, engulfing both wing bases as well as several of his large spines. They singed and burned through him with the help of magic and vaporized the stubs, removing both of his wings. His white magic surrounded the area where his wings were, healing the scales while not healing the wings; they were gone for good.

Bahamut threw his whole body backwards, smashing his back against Lockdown's Tower. I was thrown through the wall and into the opposing wall on the other side. I landed on the steps with a grunt, feeling the pain shooting through my whole back. The training in prison as well as the magic and literal emotional growth did wonders for me. A magical hand reached up the few flights of stairs and grabbed onto the top floor's entrance, yanking myself up. Lockdown's office looked like someone threw a few papers around; it was relatively untouched.

I ran towards the window and threw myself out of it. Bahamut was still up against the wall, obviously suffering pain from the attack. As I fell down, I reached out both arms and magical hands reached forward and grabbed onto his jowls. His eyes rolled up just in time to see me yank myself down and smash into the centre of his snout. His mouth was thrown open from the impact and his body tilted forward, the "God" falling back onto hands and knees.

I let go of his jowls and kept my balance on his snout as he fell down. The wind was whirling all around, zipping by furiously so I crouched down to avoid being thrown off into free fall. Bahamut's front claws landed on the ground, causing the whole Dragon to brace. The bigger they are, the harder they fall happens to be true, I thought as I braced my whole legs.

As his head bobbed back up from the drop, I hopped off the tip of his snout and spun around in the air. Two claws came from my arms and grabbed onto his snout again. Instantly, he swung a claw at me, unable to breathe fire due to the sore mouth. His jaw still hung low and I smirked; I yanked myself up while avoiding the swipe and positioned my feet as though I were stomping on his bottom jaw. Imagine a knife. A blade formed around my legs and I put all of my strength in yanking me towards him.

The magical blade surrounding my lower half went directly into his jaw, slamming it shut on his tongue and continued. I let go of his snout, allowing the magical claws to vanish. I saw part of his tongue fall down, the Dragon obviously having bit it off. Simultaneously, I took a deep breath. Blade or not, Bahamut was still flesh and he was still large; my momentum slowed down in his snout and I found my legs in his nasal cavity, my head just inside his mouth.

Smells rancid; better freshen it up. I spat a torrent of the magical fire inside his mouth and once more, it did its job; his tongue seemed to melt rather than vaporize and his lower jaw had sustained significant damage. His lower jaw opened up to let the flames out rather than feed off his breathing. The tip of his lower jaw had already been burned off and I yanked my legs out of the flesh, my legs stained with blood, and rolled off his tongue.

I descended into the courtyard and this time, Bahamut got the jump on me. His eyes were thin as slits as he tilted his head forward, drool and blood dripping out of his damaged mouth as the magic dissolved his jaw until ceasing with Bahamut's white magic taking effect. His right hand came from below and slapped against my back, launching me into the air. I took a deep breath as I zipped by his head, pain ringing in my ears. Passing his face, I shot a burst of flames into his right eye, watching as it sizzled like... bacon in a pan. Yeah, Fluttershy made that for me once (almost made her pass out).

I flew up towards the top of the tower, slowing down until I landed with zero momentum on the shingles near the edge. Turning around and looking down, Bahamut rolled onto his back and held his eye as well as his jaw, both sources of extreme pain.

"If God can bleed, why do the living call him God?" I asked, staring down at the wounded creature.

Bahamut's white magic lit up in his eyes and his right eye was patched up; not healed, but functional. Squinting at me, his eyes were staring at the sun with my silhouette visible. No clouds in sight, the Pegasi had done their job and abused the clouds to oblivion. Bahamut took a deep breath once more, scowling as our eyes met. I leaped off the tip of the tower in a T shape as if I were an Olympic swimmer doing a dive. Bahamut spat out a torrent of white flame at me. Rather than look away, I faced it head-on, my eyes not bothered by the light. Each bend, each wave of fire was visible to me. It was as if I could stare at the sun and make out every detail. Time slowed down as if to grant me this opportunity to study the flame of a so-called God that had still had his way even millennia after his death.

His 'Holy Land' as the gathering of scum... the worst piece of shit in this prison is a thousand times better than you. Violet magic surrounded me in a perfect sphere. The fire did nothing to the shield as I went through it. Coming through the bottom of the flames was like a dolphin breaking the water; graceful and free. I fell, the shield disappearing as my speed built up. Instead, magic surrounded my fist taking the shape of a larger hand. As I came down, I thrust it forward and impacted Bahamut directly where his heart would be.

"THAT WAS FOR GELID AND LOCKDOWN!" I shouted as Bahamut lost all breath in his lungs from the impact.

Even though the fist had made contact, I continued falling at my speed. The fist vanished and I was halfway down the tower. To think all of this could happen in a few seconds is insane; talk about bullet time.

"Gods are myths, SO DO US A FAVOUR AND STAY ONE!"

The violet magic surrounded my body, this time in the same form; it wrapped around me like clothes on a mannequin. I extended my right arm, opening my claw as I headed towards his heart. I felt the warmth of magic surging through me, similar to my mother putting me to bed in early years. The anger was gone from my body at this point, my monstrous form replaced with the same body I had upon leaving solitary last. All of the magic in my body was flowing like blood and a lot of it built up into my hand, causing it to glow brightly.

I impacted his chest and went right through it. Bahamut arched his back from the impact and pain that shot through him (no pun intended) and I passed through him clean, like a bullet. Exiting his back, I threw my legs forward and braced myself with the help of magic, landing with some pain. Above me, Bahamut's body started to flake apart in brilliant white sparkles. Slowly, the white turned to violet as the warmth of Twilight's magic surrounded me and the whole island. The wind carried the sparkles away and I closed my eyes, allowing a wave of serenity and catharsis to wash over me. In my hand was the jewel that Lockdown sought to bring him his catharsis; Bahamut's Sacred Heart. It was no bigger than my fist at this time, obviously because it wasn't an actual heart.

"How long were you waiting for happiness?" I opened my eyes to see Shining Armour, other inmates and other armed forces walking into what was left of the courtyard, looking up in wonder as violet sparkles spread out like floating lamps. "Gelid... you're with your friend, now."