"Hey there." Life stopped for a moment as her world constricted to the two of them. Before she could even consciously realize it, her hand reached out. Nothing else mattered as the back of her hand brushed across him, a small smile crossing her face. "I missed you." She kept her voice low, trying not to broadcast the relief and happiness in her voice she felt as she stepped closer to him. Her head slowly tilted towards him, bumping against him gently. "Let's not do that again." She smiled as she felt him nuzzle her in agreement, no words needed as her hands slowly passed over him.

Gradually, she became aware of her name being called. The world shattered again to include everyone else as she turned, taking in the rest of the group talking among themselves as they got ready and the man coming closer to her. She raised her chin as he stopped, silently acknowledging him. "Judith. Ba'ul." He nodded to both of them, white hair shining in the dawning sun. "As I've told your companions, we've come to the conclusion it would be for the best that I not accompany you on this trip. As it is, the majority of your group is already putting themselves in danger of being infected. If things do not go as hoped..." His face darkened, a cloud of sorrow tempering his eyes. "I wish you the best of luck," he said instead. His eyes cast over her form for a moment, and in that time she could see the softness appear. She saw how her features were replaced in his mind by another's mask. Before anything else could be said, he pressed his hand to his heart in a salute and turned, leaving.

She took a deep breath, her hand instinctively searching for where her spear rest. "That bodes well," she muttered under her breath, only to be met with odd looks as a rolling chuckle filled the air.

In a nicely lit study, surrounded by the trappings of civilization, the plan sounded perfectly normal and not out of the realms of possible. In fact, it sounded downright boring after saving the world from a madman and the Adephagos. But in the forests while Yuri knew only a short walk away was a bloodbath...

"Are we sure this is going to work?" Yuri panted, the wound at his side sending waves of pain through him with every step. Estelle slowed to his side, her hand hovering by his arm with a questioning look on her face. He shook his head, looking in the general direction of where Judy was. If he looked directly at her, a crimson burst of rage spiked through him as he remembered how late she had been, how it hadn't saved Flynn, how she and Duke looked at each other, and how she was infected too. Most of it, he knew was ridiculous. They were never an exclusive couple, and even if they had come back before Flynn killed Raven it didn't guarantee that he would have been okay. He just could not stop the realization that he had already lost one lover, at his own hands no less, and he was on his way to losing everyone.

Or that it might be better to do so.

Judy shrugged. "It should," she said, her voice careful. He could hear the similar anger bubbling under her skin, and wrestled with the twin guilt at putting it there and snide annoyance that she was the one that was angry. It pulsed in his chest, right through where the stone lay and across his arms and fingertips, making them twitch for a weapon. It took Estelle's hand tightening on his arm for him to realize that he had started to reach for one, and he shook his head fiercely.

"It'll work," Estelle whispered to him, her voice as equally intense. Yuri looked down at her, seeing an echo of grief as the memory of Raven and Flynn hit her too. "I promise."

The forest silenced as everyone stopped moving forward, no animal stirring around them. None even dared get this close to where it felt so wrong; even Repede had given them a 'what the hell, human, no way' look and went back to curl up with Ba'ul. Seemed like the only animal dumb enough to keep moving on was human, Yuri thought wryly as he looked at the cautiously curious faces around him. His dark eyes stopped on Judy's, catching a mirror of his own dark pulse of emotion rushing through him. Her eyes flicked down to Estelle's arm, and he nearly laughed and cried at the same time, hearing Flynn's voice in his head.

"-and I'm pretty certain Lady Estellise has zero interest in men."

Seeing Judy jealous of her... it was a testament to how much this thing was messing with them. Yuri took a deep breath, fighting back the sudden need to scream. At who, or what, or why, he didn't know. "Let's go," he said curtly instead. This shit needed to stop. He'd rip the place apart with his bare hands if it didn't work no matter what it did to him, just as long as it-

"Yuri!" He looked down at the hiss, seeing Estelle's frantic face staring up at him. "Please, get a hold of yourself."

"What?" He grinned at her, knowing it would look lopsided and sickly. The wound in his side burned, radiating furious spikes through his body that melded with the twines of wild emotion he was fighting to control. "It's nothing. Promise. I got this."

She gave him a flat look, her eyes then moving to track Judy and Rita's forms turning to continue through the forest. "You were growling."

He just looked at her, trying to decide if she was cracking a joke at the worst possible moment or not. Estelle was sheltered, and though she had gotten to know more of the world than most people could ever seen, she still occasionally didn't quite get it. But there was no humor in her face, none hiding in her mien. Yuri took a deep breath, looking away sharply as he pulled his arm free of her grasp, striding after the others.

So this was a disaster already. Rita glanced behind her at Estelle's form, taking in how her face fell a bit as Yuri yanked his arm from her. So there was an emotionally hurt girlfriend, a crazed swordsman, and at the head of all this insanity a Krityan ready to fall off the same cliff Yuri and Flynn did. And her in the middle of it all. Rita took a deep breath, her fingers searching for her chain. Against Yuri and Judith, yeah, not really worth anything. But if she could distract them long enough to get Estelle's ass out of here...

Her feet slowed, letting Yuri pass her as she started to match her stride with Estelle's. At first, she didn't notice, her thoughts too caught up with whatever she was trying to figure out. Trying to solve everything ever, probably. Finally, she reached over and took Estelle's hand, sighing as she jumped and looked over at Rita with wide eyes. "Oh. You startled me," she confessed on a soft breath. "I'm okay, Rita. I was just thinking."

"About what?" She kept her voice just as quiet, matching Estelle's tone.

"I..." Estelle let the helpless word trail off, looking at Yuri and Judith. "I should have been able to do more, Rita. To at least save Flynn's life, if not Raven's... and it might even be too late." Her hand clenched on Rita's, the only hint she was giving of how much it hurt her to think of that. Sometimes it drove her crazy how Estelle kept her emotions to herself when she thought it was going to hurt someone. "I'm going to fix this, Rita. I promise. I'll do anything to fix it now. To end this. I-"

Rita felt her hand tug from her grasp as Estelle stopped, her words jerking to a sudden halt. She turned, frowning. "What?"

"Huh?" Estelle looked up at her, distracted. "You don't hear that?"

"Hear what?" It was eerily quiet, not even the sounds of insects around them. If she didn't know something was wrong already she'd have a pretty good guess from that alone. The only thing she could hear was them talking and the sounds of walking. "I don't hear anything."

Estelle looked around, her brow furrowed. "It's a... hum or... something. You really don't hear it?"

Did she call this a disaster? Yeah it was starting to become beyond that to terrifying. "There's no hum." Rita reached out, taking Estelle's elbow. "Are you sure you're hearing-"

The sound of metal striking metal interrupted her, and Rita jumped, whirling to see Yuri block a thrust from Judith, a manic grin on his face. "And the situation has officially been upgraded from disaster to fucked beyond repair," she muttered under her breath.

She could hear it. Whatever it was, it called to her. It called to her very bones, invading every piece of her. It spoke to her in a way she knew and yet never felt before. She should have known what it was. She'd felt this before, all her life. It was something she was born with, something she could hear no one else could. But at the same time, it was wrong. It jangled against her skin in a way that hurt. Hooks grabbed under her skin, beckoning her, dragging her in almost unwillingly. She could hear something familiar, something that made her want to tense and pull out her sword, but it was so distant. It almost didn't matter, not next to what called her.

Trees passed by her. Wouldn't that mean she was moving? But she didn't feel like her feet were walking. She could hear her name, pinging through the hum. That voice... it was a good voice. She was love. But it got fainter and fainter, even as it got more and more impassioned. She didn't want that, though. She wanted that voice, that person. If she could just turn around-

Then it hit her. It was a rush, overwhelming, horridly familiar, yet twisted. It knew threats, it knew something was getting close, it knew she was strong enough to purge it. She opened her mouth to cry out, the force closing her vocal cords as she fell to her knees. Pain blossomed in her veins, rocks stabbing through her as she huddled in the unnatural krene, feeling the twisted emotions of the one that created it try to protect itself and turn her immediately.

Yuri... Flynn... Raven... Judith... Rita... I'm so sorry...

Her fingers stopped moving. She could barely even feel them. Her eyes rolled down, seeing the skin darken and harden. A stone, they had called it. A laughing sob bubbled in her throat as she watched her body reject the changes, trying to protect itself, unable to think past the pain. Then her vision dimmed, one eye closing over suddenly. She should have guessed. She should have known. She could have not given in so easily, not left the group-

"-elle? Estelle?! Damn it, where did you-"

She lifted her head, a small sliver of strength winding through her again. Rita. A wordless croak escaped her lips as she tried to respond. No, she shouldn't- she was going to- "Rita, no," she finally whispered, managing to lift one arm and throw it out to where she thought she heard the voice. "Please, run. It's a trap. Please..."

For a moment, there was silence. Her heart pounded as she hoped, prayed. Please have left. Please save yourself, save them... Then she felt the pressure of fingers interlace with hers, and her eye met Rita's worried loving gaze. "Estelle, what are you..."

"No..." she whispered. "Please, get out of here." For a brief moment, she felt her limbs surge with energy as she was overcome with the need to push her away. To save her. She could see Rita shaking her head, pulling her closer. "No, Rita, please-" She had to save her! She had to stop this, keep Rita from entering the unnatural area. If one of them had to die, to be infected by this thing, it had to be her. She shoved her, slumping over as her balance suddenly shifted under her. If she could just... For a moment, she could feel her fingers move, lace themselves together. Deep within her, buried ever since she was born, always there to manipulate aer and able to cast artes no matter what, she pulled on her abilities and grabbed the dense, blackened aer around her. Please. If there is anything good left inside you, anything at all, work with me.

It felt impossible at first. Corrupted beyond all belief, feeling uncomfortably oily and tainted, it fought her. It stabbed her, corrupting her body and making her heart skip. But then- she felt it. Light, spreading. She held onto it, holding her breath as she worked, hoping she could do it. Hoping it wasn't too poisoned and she could heal it. She managed Halure, she could do this...!

Which was when she faltered. Her vision started to turn dark as her consciousness faded, her heartbeats weakening. It wouldn't be enough. Her body wouldn't make it long enough to fix this. Slowly, she felt her lids close, frustration a distant feeling as her breath tumbled out. She was so close. They had been so close to winning, only to fail here.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't you fucking say that!" With those harsh words, spoken on the edge of tears, she felt a blazing sun on her forehead, then lips. Estelle opened her eye, seeing Rita kissing her before pulling back, tears running down her face. "You're not fucking sorry; you're going to get up and do this right, Princess Estellise! Now get up and do this!"

Estelle smiled at her weakly. That's right. They got this far. They could do this. With a deep breath, she summoned one last burst of energy. "For everyone we've lost," she whispered, squeezing her hands together, not even feeling it anymore. For a brief moment, she felt her hair fly back as she forced the cast, forced the last bit of darkness from the aer around her.

"Estelle..." The wonder in Rita's voice made her look up, wondering why she couldn't focus at first. Then, she realized- Rita's face was being covered by flying motes. By the occasional lazy light. By...

Purification.

"Rita..." Estelle laughed a little, smiling. She did it.

And then darkness claimed her.

Manic glee filled him, the need to punish something, to hurt. How dare they think they know him. How dare they think they can fix him, fix this. They deserved to hurt, to be punished for it. They were so trite, the way they pretended to care after he had to kill his lover to keep him from going on a rampage. They should have known how much that cost him. How much it hurt. How much he wanted to kill himself and join him out of the guilt of unjustly killing someone he loved so much.

And her. Her. So soon, jumping on another's dick. Was that was she was doing when she went alone? And then she was jealous of him with a woman that had no interest in men. How dare she. He grinned as his sword came down towards her neck, grunting as the shaft of her spear blocked the blow. Her lips answered the grin as a leg came up, aimed at his injured side. At least she was a good fighter. She always had been, as well as funny as a good listener and good in bed and... he had loved her too, in his own way.

He had loved them all, hadn't he. In some way or another. Not wanting to fuck them all, but in some way, they were family. They were his. He started to slow his blows, lowering his arms. How could he raise his sword to his family? To the people he loved? How could he just let this happen? He didn't miss the triumphant flash in her eyes, the way her body twisted for the killing blow. But maybe it was for the best. Maybe if he was going to do this, if he was going to be a threat like this-

Then, the point inches from his chest, she stopped, her eyes wide and clear. She looked at him, her chest heaving as she suddenly threw her polearm down. "Yuri," she said, her voice strangled. "What were we doing? Why... why were we fighting? What- Where's Estelle?" She whipped her head around as he tried to make sense of what was going on. Why did she stop? What happened? Before he could say anything, before the anger detonating in his chest could start the fight again, her breath inhaled suddenly. "Estelle."

He followed her line of sight, and felt his heart stop. Rita was carrying her out, unconscious, one arm thrown across her shoulder as she dragged her. Her hands were black and stony, one leg looked like the knee no longer wanted to bend. From what he could tell, one eye was completely covered from the stone crawling over her face, as well as the corner of her lips.

And... she didn't look like she was breathing.