A Skittering Heart

by stewart92

Taylor's trigger was interrupted by a very different source of power. With Keyblade in hand, Taylor must open the way.

19. Chapter 19

Chapter 15: That is the Key

To Major, who fingers work magic.

Tattletales's hand rose of its own accord and she firmly slapped herself.

Taylor winced at the sound as skin met skin, her empty socket spasming beneath its patch.

The blonde girl snapped out of her fevered gaze and blinked, green eyes clearing. Then she turned and smacked Reg, who raised his hands and shrugged.

"You were going off to crazy land. I thought I'd help you out." He said, not really sounding concerned for Tattletale.

Tattletale rubbed her cheek as another fireball illuminated the street they were fleeing down, it looked familiar to Taylor, but the blur made it hard to tell.

"Next time, try shaking me." She snapped and turned back to Taylor, opened her mouth and...

"The deepest darkness lies waiting, all is connected, all is ending, the shadows wait, the light flickers, the Seeker waits in-" She said, eyes glazed over again and then she slapped herself once more.

The rise and fall of the guy's shoulder as Tattletale hit herself made Taylor suspect that he had some kind of master power, motor control or something similar.

"Seriously, what the hell?" Tattletale groaned, the dog beneath them leaped and they all passed another street. Taylor made the Keyblade vanish. This was happening because of her and even if these Capes were probably villains… They'd saved her and she didn't want to hurt them, even by accident and she was hurting one of them.

Well, the Keyblade was anyway. What was the girl's power? The eye on her chest made her think mystical, and the name 'Tattletale' was pretty tattling of its own. Taylor put her money on Thinker with information gathering abilities, but regardless, the Keyblade made the girl go into a trance and spout something that sounded like it belonged in Lord of the Rings. Still, her words rang true in a way, they seemed familiar to Taylor, almost like a half forgotten memory.

Well, Mog had said the Keyblade was not always what it seemed.

"You started to do your impression of the little girl from Exorcist again." Reg said and Tattletale looked at him.

"Was I? I don't... Exorcist? Look, it doesn't matter right now. Regent, does she have it out right now?" Tattletale asked him seriously, he leaned a little to the left and stared at her.

Reg, no, Regent paused and then he raised a finger, paused, then dropped it.

"Too easy, way too easy. But nope, she put her stick away." He said, popping the P.

Tattletale turned slowly and looked at her.

"New cape... girl... injured... knows what happened." She mumbled and then frowned.

"I rescue you and you no-sell me for repayment? Not a nice thing to do Keynote." Tattletale said with a smirk that seemed a little less friendly than before.

Taylor gulped, before straightening herself, confidence returning as she reminded herself these were Villains.

Taylor was a goddamn legal cape, this girl could go jump off a bridge for calling her Keynote.

Except... this girl did save her. She didn't have to. Tattletale could've ridden right past her, used her to slow down Lung or something. Taylor was alive because Tattletale kidnapped her.

Sabah was so going to kill her.

"Sorry, I didn't know that would happen." Taylor said, her tone soft in comparison to the accompanying explosions, where was the PRT? This amount of destruction had to be drawing attention.

"Forget about it, we got bigger problems right now. Can you do anything about Lung?" Tattletale said and motioned over her shoulder.

Taylor blinked at her. The blonde wanted her to stop Lung? Taylor had barely stopped Rune, not to sell the Nazi girl short, but she was no Lung. Not even close.

Lung was... for the most part, unstoppable. At least once he got going. After all, if the legend was true then he'd gone one on one with Leviathan the day the Endbringer sank Kyushu. That made Lung one of two capes ever to fight on par with an Endbringer and the other was Scion.

What hope did she stand against some like that? He was Lung.

The name meant dragon, unsurprisingly. His exact power seemed odd, he got pissed off and then got stronger, tougher, and bigger, along with some nasty pyrokinetics.

It sounded basic, but for some reason, he also turned into a dragon. That was the odd part, he grew wings and scales and claws and fangs, the whole nine yards.

This made him more memorable because it wasn't every day you ran into a naked man turning into a dragon. Not even for Earth-Bet.

But, if Lung was a pyrokinetic… Then maybe she could slow him down. Taylor opened her mouth, but Tattletale beat her and spoke first.

"Great, Keynote's got something. Regent, swap with her." She said and then an arm was suddenly wrapped around her waist. Taylor didn't even have time to really process what was going on as she ended up chest to chest with Tattletale, pushed back so the blonde girl was lying on top of her. There was a sudden feeling of pressure on her left side and she saw Regent clamber over them onto the dog's head. Taylors eyes almost bugged out as Tattletale moved to straddle her and then, in maneuver Taylor didn't quite understand, found herself at the back of the group, sat up, and facing backwards. Despite the blush that bloomed across her face in anger and embarrassment as she realized just how close she'd been with the villainess there was a far more pressing issue she had to address...

"My name isn't Key-" Taylor began but was cut off as the beast lost its footing.

The dog-monster stumbled as something swiped at its leg, causing all three of them slip and nearly fall. Taylor grabbed at a protrusion sticking out of the melted monster flesh for dear life. Lung tumbled, tripping over something as he chased them. The reprieve let the dog-monster right itself and Taylor got her first good look at the transformation that pictures couldn't do justice.

Lung really was a dragon. Silver scales plated most of his body, the remaining skin had turned black, and knives had replaced his fingers and toes. Flames flickered over his arms and legs, reflected by his metal body, and his eyes were visible as a yellow glow from inside the maw of his mask.

In the darkness, he was terrifying, a nightmare brought to life.

Taylor's breath snagged as Lung caught his balance and looked right at her.

He made a noise that sounded like a word, and not a very nice one.

"Tattletale, look away." Taylor warned as she summoned the Keyblade. The weight made her feel safer in the face of a man becoming a monster right before her eyes.

"Argh! It's really hard not to look. Regent, tell me if she does anything interesting." Tattletale said as she switched places with him, taking over the driving of the creature. A patch of darkness suddenly enveloped them all, making Lung vanish and Taylor gasped at the sudden numbness to... everything.

Except the Keyblade. It began to glow, with a gentle white light, it made her breathe easier, hear normally, and feel safer as the oppressive darkness was pushed back. The dark mist, the confinement… It was too close to the Locker.

"Well, she's doing something interesting." Regent said as though Taylor was a new interesting pet, his voice sounding much farther away.

Taylor heard a dull thump as Tattletale elbowed him.

"Details, please?" She asked, sounding like it pained her despite the watery quality the darkness gave her voice.

Regent answered back, sounding like the cat that ate the canary.

"She's glowing, kind'a like a firefly. I hope she sticks around, I like you a lot better when you aren't the smartest person in the room." Regent said.

"I'll make you feel like an idiot later. Mark my words pretty boy." Was the terse reply.

Taylor blocked them out, she needed to focus. She took a deep breath and released it, calling the feeling of despair to mind and its icy grip.

When the darkness finally faded Taylor saw Lung was a fair bit behind. Still, she pointed the Keyblade back and aimed at the dragon.

"Freeze!" She yelled and four large balls of ice flew from the Keyblade. The first once smashed into Lung's head, the second and third into his chest and the fourth overshot and smashed a car's windshield.

Lung roared as his face was suddenly coated in a thick layer of ice, blinding him. His ankle suddenly twisted then and he crashed into a lamp post, knocking it clean over and tripping, crashing mask first into asphalt.

Regent whistled. "Nice. Key girl just froze Lung."

Taylor heard Tattletale gasp as she took this in and quickly began to speak her mind.

"Can use ice? More than that? Or less? The key lets her do it, but it isn't tinker tech... Manipulates energy? Not really, not tinker tech, no internal power source. Uses her own energy? Possible, not like other peoples powers? What? Never mind. Hmm. She's... capable of far more, just learning. Ugh, this really starting to hurt." She said and rubbed at her head. Tattletale turned her head slightly and asked without looking at Taylor.

"You are a pain in my ass, but that just makes me more curious. How's Lung coming along?" She was answered when Lung charged at them, fire in his hands, his eyes burning yellow through the mask, his hands swiped and the very air turned hot as the flames shot over them.

Tattletale did some taps of the creatures head and it began to zig zag. Lung veered off to go after skull guy.

"Not good, he doesn't look happy." Taylor said and then wanted to slap herself. Look happy? She just froze his eye jelly or something. Of course he was unhappy! Taylor hadn't been happy when someone had done that to her. Well, burnt her eye but same difference, right?

Tattletale seemed to disagree though.

"Keep doing what you're doing. If he doesn't get a fight soon he'll start to lose steam. Maybe." She said with a hand wave. Taylor turned and looked at her, as the dog mask person veered closer on her own hell beast and suddenly lead them down an alley.

"Maybe? This is Lung! Can I get more than a maybe?" Taylor demanded.

Tattletale shrugged, her shoulders barely visible over Regent.

"The Tattletale information trade is currently suffering from a doozy of a headache. I'd rather not push myself and pass out right now, thanks." The villainess explained.

"What she means is, figure it out yourself hero." Regent said, facing her as they ran for their lives.

Taylor watched, mouth parting in audacity as Regent leaned back, using Tattletale as a back rest. She felt her lips twist slowly into a good impression of Sabah's snarl at his… his flippant attitude! Didin't he care if he died, if his friends died? How could he be so… so cold. He was just like them. All those who stared and laughed and walked away when she'd called and begged and pleaded.

This guy was getting chased by Lung and he was just an apathetic, the bastard.

"Aren't you a little worried that Lung might get faster?" Taylor asked a bit more forceful than she intended.

Regent shrugged and Taylor felt like he was staring at Lung with the same expression you might look at an interesting thing outside your window. Like how people had stared at her. It made her gut clench in revulsion.

Detached, but alert. Like he was just waiting to laugh at her.

"If he catches up, I'll boot you off and sacrifice you to the flamy one. Should buy us time, and who knows, he might choke on your key." He answered and Taylor felt a lot less secure on the back of the dog than before.

Taylor turned back as they exited the alley and turned down a new road. She was disgusted by Regent. He really was just like all of them. Still, she had a stake in this too and… She was better than him.

Taylor fired another blast of ice, a cone of air this time, freezing the ground behind them into a sheet of ice. Taylor watched as Lung exited the alley, a freight train of burning death chasing them and ran straight on to the ice and his feet slipped, claws skittering across the mirror like finish. A few moments later he tripped again as a knee betrayed him and sent him once more crashing into the ground head first.

There was an odd moment when all three dogs slowed and stopped, everyone stared at the still form of Lung. Then, almost like a horror movie, Lung put one hand gently on either side of his head and the ice burst into steam amidst a billow of fire. Then Lung stood, wreathed in flames, the light dancing across his silvery scales, his mask shattered to reveal the inhuman monster beneath.

Taylor blanched staring at him. His face was distended, face bulging forward with a mouth too full of oversized fangs, eyes glowing like twin hell pits amidst more scales topped by flaming hair.

He stared at Taylor and pointed one talon at her.

"Aieme goo'ny eet oo fass." He said and Taylor ran it through her head a few times as he walked towards them.

Taylor felt the words unfold in her head, somehow understanding him despite the lisp.

I'm going to kill you first.

"Oh fuck. Move... Move!" Taylor said and smacked the mutant dog from the third circle of hell on its ass. It shot forward in a sudden burst of speed, bounding onto the roof tops.

Lung began to rush forward, his height brushing along the first floor windows on the buildings now, his claws scraping brick work out like wet clay, leaving glowing lines in his wake.

A higher building was coming up, forcing them back onto the street. Seizing his chance, Lung shot forward as all three dogs tried to turn and move, catching the skull guy's, Grue? Grue's ride by the leg and slamming into a wall. Grue was sent flying, tumbling down the street. Hands flung out even as he tumbled Grue disappeared in river of darkness.

Lung shot a fireball into it and Taylor watched as flames billowed out of the black into a bizarre mixture of light and dark. The fire petered out within a few seconds though and the darkness was standing menacingly in the otherwise well-lit street; a blight upon the world that made Taylor's skin crawl.

Lung stalked towards the darkness, intent on finishing Grue, but was Lung was blind-sided by the dog masked cape as they crashed full on into the dragon, the dog looking even bigger than before. The dog-cape whistled and the hell beast that Lung had knocked down earlier leapt at his torso, clawing and ripping at flesh and scales amidst monstrous snarls.

Lung bellowed and the air around him erupted into a wall of flame.

"Bitch!" Tattletale called out, worry in her voice. Bitch? The cape, and Taylor had to think it was a she with that name, called herself 'Bitch'? Seriously?

Shaking the thought from her head, Taylor filed it away for later. Refocusing Lung as he was getting savaged by the dogs, even though they were on fire, and Taylor felt the bottom of her stomach fall out.

Taylor knew this street. She knew that building. She knew the people who lived there. An Asian family with a daughter a few years younger than her. She was just up the road from home, from the studio…

From Sabah.

No.

She… She couldn't let him get any closer. She had to protect Sabah. She had to. Taylor refused to let anyone else get hurt because of her.

She… She'd failed her dad. She'd failed so many people. So many were dead because she hadn't protected them, hadn't saved them when they needed a Hero. Even if she was a Rogue, she would their Hero.

Taylor looked back over her shoulder at the Villains behind her. How easy would it be for her to knock them down, to offer them to Lung so he would leave everyone else alone? She could do so easily but…

She didn't care. Because if she did that would make her just like them. She was better than them.

If Taylor lead Lung anywhere else, then the problem would be the same, people would get hurt. The docks would have been a much better location, offering empty warehouses or the boat graveyard.

Lest this street was mostly up for rent, only a few houses where actually filled, being studio flats like Sabah's. Taylor would stay, she had to hold Lung off here as long as possible. There was still people scurrying about on the street, trying to escape the bedlam.

She'd save Mr. Xu and his wife and daughter, who always smiled at her when she walked past. She'd save Mr. Andrews who lived next door. She'd save Tattletale and her smug smile. She'd even save that bastard Regent because…

Because…

She remembered being alone, being afraid, the pain that made her want die. Her father so distant he never noticed, never reached out. Emma, her friend, her only friend, betraying her, killing her day by day while everyone else helped or… watched. Did nothing. They all did nothing.

Taylor wouldn't do nothing; she would to save them.

Taylor leaped off the dog, spinning into a flip mid-air to gain height, ignoring Tattletale as the villainess called after her and Regent's cheery good luck.

She would save them all!

Lung threw the dogs off him, one after the other, smashing them into on the other side of the street. Mortar crumbled and glass shattered as the first crushed a house, the second destroyed a parked car in a spray of blood. Bitch ran after them, her pace frantic as the third monster grew restless when she ran past.

Taylor watched amazed and disgusted as Lung's flesh knitted itself back together, muscle and scales writhing amidst his blood like one of those time lapse documentaries. With a flex of his muscles, Lung snorted, fire shooting out of the snout his face had become, giving them all a crocodile smile while his eyes narrowed into orange slits. His fingers flexed and the claws created a screeching sound, scraping against his armor in a promise pain and death.

She would not bow. She could not, even as she stared death in the face, she, Taylor Hebert, would hold strong. Because… Because it was the right thing to do. Because…

A wry smile crossed her lips and the Keyblade practically sang in her hands as she raised it..

It's what friends were for.

"Back off Lung. You're outside your territory, you're alone, outnumbered, and it won't be long until everyone from Kaiser to Armsmaster is breathing down your neck." Taylor spat.

She had to make him leave, make him retreat. Sabah was only just down the street, asleep, defenseless. If Lung went any further, if that had been her home Lung had thrown that dog-monster into… The image made her jaw clench and eye narrow, her voice steely as Lung pulled himself out of the wall the mutant dogs had smashed him into.

"Yoo ink aa scae's ee?" Lung said, voice mangled by his inhuman jaw and long tongue.

You think that scares me?

Taylor shook her head as flames curled around him.

"No, I think it makes you stupid." She said and flicked the Keyblade. Taylor put the fear of Lung finding Sabah into the Keyblade, the idea of Lung burning her, the soul crushing fear of her friend's death… The Keyblade vibrated and a cone, much large than before, swamped lung, turning him into a statue.

Learning from Circus and Lung had her leaping towards him Keyblade raised when one his arms broke free and caught her. Taylor struggled as she felt the knife like fingers dig into her back and stomach, the cloak stopped Lung from piercing her flesh, somehow, did Sabah sewn body armour or something there?

Taylor glared, still squirming as Lung lifted her closer and his face as the ice cracked and steamed. In splintered of frozen shard he opened his mouth and twisted his neck, shattering his prison in a show of strength.

Brining her closer Lung stared at her, his blazing eyes burning into her own single eye. Even with the hood and it's concealing darkness, Taylor felt her spine trembling with feeling he could see her.

Then Lung roared at her, his mouth inches from her face. The burning, wind would have blown her hood away if not for Mog's latest alchemical foray, some kind of glue that stuck to the air in front of her, preventing her hood from falling backwards once raised.

Taylor had tried to understand his explanation on the hood sticking to a small piece of mostly unmovable energy but she'd lost him. Still, if she pulled it up it stayed up until she pulled it down, Taylor understood that much. However, that meant if Lung were to rip it, the hood would give, but for this, the hot embers flying out his throat, licking at her face, the stink of rotten meat making her gag, it would hold…

And so would Taylor's courage. Sabah, Tattletale, everyone was counting on her. She was more than just Taylor right now, she was Portunes!

Snarling, Taylor stabbed forward, the Keyblade smashing its teeth into Lung's mouth and unleashed her fear as a blizzard down the monsters throat.

Lung dropped her, hands clutching at his throat as bloody icicles pierced outwards, rupturing his throat, making him choke. He screamed, rearing back, stumbling whilst his nostrils flared with smoke.

Grasping the side of building to steady himself Lung looked at her and Taylor could literally feel the anger washing out him, the air going from warm to burning as the flames flickering over the dragon roared. Then Lung stood, his face made even more inhuman by his rage.

Taylor pointed again, Keyblade aiming at him. She would stop him, no matter the cost. Sabah needed her.

Lung rushed forward then, and she rolled, dancing away across the street. Lung planted one foot down, claws cracking the concrete, and pushed after her.

Brining the Keyblade back, Taylor prepared to strike as Lung rushed her, closer, closer… He was almost on top of her when his foot suddenly went sideways, tripping the brute. Seizing her chance, Taylor darted in, slamming the Melody into Lung's, sending him crashing into a car in a spray of glass and smoke.

A whistle sounded out and Taylor turned to see Regent approach.

"Well, I hate to ruin a good fight to your death, but Tattletale wants you alive and she signs my pay checks." He explained and then twitched his head in Lung's direction, who was getting to his feet when his arm suddenly slipped out from under him, letting him land chin first on a metal spike… which bent beneath his scales.

"What are you doing to him?" Taylor asked as Lung's leg flopped uselessly. Lung seemed to be in no control of his own limbs, like Tattletale earlier when she'd slapped herself. Regent gave a wiggle of his fingers.

"I play with people's nerves, make their bodies lose control at the worst time. Want to try it?" He offered, pointing his fingers at her, Taylor shook her head and then Regent turned backed to Lung and sighed, he twitched his hand again, Lung who had been standing, toppled as his ankle turned the wrong way. Taylor blinked and then fired off a ball of ice, it smack on target and Lung's head snapped back with a crack.

"I'm not much use here, every second he gets less human and I can't do a whole lot with dragons. I think, I haven't tried , but let's not risk my neck, I'm rather attached to it." Regent said lightly, like Lung wasn't clawing his way towards them at that very moment in a squeal of metal. Another flick of the boys fingers sent the arm flying sideways and Lung face first in the concrete for a third time. Taylor glared at him, his bored tone annoying her. He raised his eyebrows as Taylor healed them both.

Taylor covered the ground in front Lung in ice, just for the lack of better ideas.

The chance to heal herself and fire some more ice at Lung was appreciated, but it didn't make

"All right, he's all yours; show me what you got hero." Regent said causally and wiped a speck of ash off his shirt, before he walked, jogged really, over to help Bitch get her animal dislodged from the car, where it was whining pathetically at Bitch. So much for Hellhounds.

Taylor felt her hand twitch, the nerves spasming even as she tried to stop it by clenching it around the Keyblade. She wondered if Regent was pulling a fast one on her. He did say he wasn't above letting Lung eat her for a few more seconds. Looking up though she ignored it, she had bigger problems.

Lung was now back on his feet though he was ignoring her, aiming for Regent now. His pride winning out over a closer target. Or perhaps his anger.

Not that Taylor would let Lung. Even if Regent was disgusting… He was still someone her age, someone not so different from her. She was better then them.

Taylor spun, pivoting on her heel as she brought her arm in and let loose! The Keyblade flew off in a blur, whistling as it arched away with far more force than Taylor thought she could have possibly put into it. In a blur it struck Lung's head with a crunch and piercing whistle. It carried on past in a spray of blood, still spinning as it flew down the street and began to turn in a maneuver Taylor knew would bring it back to her.

Strike, she called it. She liked the sound of it.

Lung snarled, head snapping up to to follow the blur of metal and piercing whistle. He was wide open!

Taylor dived, the world blurring as rolled, coming up just meters from the dragon-man. Heart pounding she rushed him from behind and with a push from her legs, sent herself airborne, tucking into a spin as she rose above Lung.

The Keyblade came whistling back at the same time Taylor's feet left the ground and Lung swiped a hand out to catch the weapon. As his claws brushed the metal, Taylor summoned it back mid-spin and brought the Keyblade down upon the Dragon's head with all her might. There was a pinging sound and Lung roared as a horn went flying, sheared from his head. As Lung swiped at her, fire billowing from his hand Taylor leapt spinning and shoved both her feet against his wrist mid-air. She pushed off, aiming downwards and Lung's arm was rocketed back making the dragon stumble as Taylor hit the ground in a dive, already rolling between the dragon's legs despite the burning street. Coming up to her right Taylor spun on her heel, Keyblade rising as she pushed herself back with both legs into another jump to gain space.

Lung turned, flames washing over him as he breathed in… and fell to one knee as the other betrayed him. Barely missing a beat Lung slammed both fists into the road and breathed in, chest expanding like a bellows.

Whatever he was planning Taylor wouldn't let him spit it out. She shot forward, legs propelling her into a roll. Coming up next to Lung she swiped at his elbow, smashing the inside of it and flinging his arm wide. Spinning on her heel Taylor slammed the Keyblade into his other arm, lips quirking as it buckled with a wet pop. Flipping forwards Taylor planted her feet on Lung's snout and kicked off, flipping back and away as Lung's face smashed into the asphalt in an explosion of flames.

Standing back Taylor desperately tried to think of her next move when Lung exploded. A wall of fire spreading out from him which Taylor desperately rolled away from.

"Shit." Taylor swore as she looked at the street, now more reminiscent of Hell than the quiet road she lived on. Sweating as the temperature soared, she grimaced. Fire was bad. Fire was very bad. She remembered the last time she'd seen this much fire… Taylor winced at the phantom pain of her feet blistering and charring. Worse, while Taylor's cloak was in theory fire proof, Sabah had never designed it to with stand this and if her cloak caught flames then she would have two massive problems.

One: she would be unmasked, which while less a problem than previously was still a major concern. Two: She would have nothing protecting her skin from the lick of flames. She'd burn and… and she… She couldn't…

Lung roared, charging out of the inferno in a burst of flames. He was running on all fours in some twisted parody of a gorilla, every movement flinging flames off into the night. Taylor froze for a moment, terrified but…

She looked back, seeing her home. Sabah was there. Sabah was counting on her. There could be no retreat. She would save her friend!

Turning back Taylor took a deep breath, hot air night rushing between clenched teeth and steeled her resolve. She hated this, hated Lung. He… He was a monster who destroyed all he touched. Taylor felt her temper begin to boil. How dare he come here! This was her home and he dared attack her here?! She'd make him pay!

Taylor pulled at her magic, she needed the…

Cold, ice, fear, despair-

A fire ball shot past her, almost hitting her before she rolled away.

Gasping at the near miss, Taylor sucked in a lungful of air, feeling her throat scorch. It was hot, burning. She could feel her skin drying, her lips cracking in the heat. She looked at where the attack had impacted a building, the brickwork glowing a bright yellow as it began sag, the very bricks melting.

Taylor heard the alarms go off in the building and lights that weren't already clicked on, dozens of people screaming. For the first time Taylor really realized how many voices there were, wailing, yelling, screaming . All in pain and fear. She saw people running away, others hiding while some held up phones staring even as they ran from the chaos.

Then there were the bodies.

A crunching sound had Taylor snapping her head back to Lung. He was charging again, the street shattering and burning beneath his feet, growing even more. Taylor's jumping skills would only put her head level at this rate.

Taylor gripped the Keyblade tightly, she could feel her knuckles whitened even as they burned.

She had to to stop him. Lung… he was hurting people, killing people. She had to save them!

Without taking time to think she poured her feelings, anger, hate, rage, into the Keyblade. As Melody began to glow Taylor knew she was going to make Lung pay! She'd freeze him solid! Shove an icicle up his…

A medium sized fireball launched itself out of the Keyblade and harmlessly splashed across Lung's chest.

Taylor gaped at the Keyblade in horror.

Lung had stopped his charge, diving sideways when the Keyblade had glowed. Looking down he idly scratched where the fire had hit him with one giant claw. A grating rumble coming out of his mouth, teeth flashing in the firelight as he grinned.

"Ire eyote?"

Fire, Keynote?

Taylor's mouth pressed into a thin line.

Lung was laughing at her and worse, he had called her... Keynote.

Taylor had almost resigned herself to that name. Almost.

The way Lung said it though… it sounded like the worse slur possible, like he thought her weak, pathetic… and he was still laughing at her!

Lung, the Beast of Brockton Bay, the Unconquered Dragon, the cape who went one on one with Leviathan supposedly was laughing at her.

Taylor gritted her teeth, trembling with the force of her emotions. Lung was nothing but a bully.

The Keyblade flicked out, glowing and a wall of white streamed out.

Where before she would have managed a small cone or a few balls of ice, this was a wave, a tsunami of cold. Fire died, snow tumbled through the air, the ground froze and cracked, icy spikes driving up out of the ground in racing lines. A solid sheet of ice raced after, black and deadly, cold beyond anything Taylor had ever felt shattering everything it it's path, splintering into a jagged mess sharper than Sabah's needles. It was destruction made manifest.

As it approached Lung Taylor had a heart stopping moment where she thought she might kill him, unsure if she wanted to go down that level just yet. So she tried to reign the ice in at the last second, pulling the cold back, trying to hold onto it even as it felt like her head was splitting with the effort, her brain freezing in her skull.

The cracks in concrete stopped short of Lung and he looked at her and despite the screaming, the crackling flames, and groaning ice it seemed… quiet.

Lung tilted his head, looking at her. Then he snorted and smashed the closest piece of ice and walked past it.

Looking up as her eye watered, Taylor smiled. It felt like she was holding back the worlds worst sneeze with a killer migraine and then she just… let it go.

The ground under Lung erupted, ice shattering outwards as an iceberg the size of a car thrust up out of the earth. The, thankfully, rounded end barreled into Lung's stomach and smashed him into the air with a thunderous crack.

The ice stopped growing quickly, but the speed and force sent Lung hurtling down the street. Breathing heavily despite the now painfully chill air Taylor walked forward, careful amidst the needle sharp ice. As she passed the iceberg Taylor a slash with the Keyblade sliced it in half. Leaving it so big was just begging Lung to use it to beat her to death so she'd avoid that problem.

"Holy shit. That was awesome!" She heard Regent say from somewhere behind her.

"Not bad... So that makes four, no, five, six powers now? Really?" Tattletale said and Taylor turned to see her peeking with one eye through her fingers. Taylor waved the Keyblade at her and she snapped them shut with a groan.

Taylor spun the Keyblade in hand, her cloak billowing in the hot wind.

Taylor felt, dare she say it, cool. Lung, who had spent most of the time Taylor knew him on the ground, began to slowly pick himself up again. When he stood, well hunched, Taylor had spotted that he'd grown another foot in height, his lower jaw now split in two.

That wasn't good and with the feeling of ice running down her spine Taylor realized when she had launched down the street, she sent him closer to Sabah, almost on top of the studio now.

Shit.

Lung sent another bone shaking roar into the night. As he reared up Taylor saw police cars parked down at the far end of the street, away from chaos, away from Lung, and too far away to be of any use.

Where were the heroes? Lung on a rampage was important, right? It wasn't like she was fighting his twin dragon brother or someone less dangerous like Rune... And even then they'd shown up.

Tattletale called out suddenly.

"Merchant riot in the Docks. Since Lung is here, they're pushing for it. All the good guys are over there, Velocity might be here soon, but don't hold your breath on anyone else!" The blonde girl called out, a hand shielding her eyes as she looked down at a phone in her hand. The guy in the skull mask stood behind Tattletale and was looking directly at her.

Taylor wanted to swear again.

What were the odds? Lung's finally seemed to have composed himself again after getting punted by the ice. Snarling he took a step forward when a sphere of darkness enveloped him, two of the massive hell beasts hurled themselves into, muffled howls and roars echoing out.

"Do you need a hand?" Grue asked and, when he wasn't shouting or swearing, Taylor noted his voice was quite nice.

"Let me see if I can hold out, you guys don't exactly scream heroes with the dogs and skulls, but I owe you all one for getting me out of Lung's path , so you guys better get out of here before someone shows up and arrest you or something" Taylor said. She didn't really expect anyone to come, not after what Tattletale said. But she needed them to leave, to go away in case Sabah needed to escape as fast as possible.

Taylor didn't want Lung to out her friend and the fewer witnesses the better, if she would blend in with the evacuating civilians then all the better. While this group seemed... less murderous than the last few capes she had met, why takes chances?

"But…" Grue began to protest as Regent walked past him.

"Let's go Grue, leave the ass kicking to the girl who can actually dish it out. If she wants us gone then it's no skin off our noses." He said and climbed on to the remaining dog, behind Bitch.

"I hate to agree, but at this rate, he's going to start crushing Bitch's dogs." Tattletale said with a frown. Without looking at Taylor she nodded and spoke.

"Don't die. I don't know anything about you, which is something I haven't been able to say in a long time. So don't go doing something stupid like dying or I'll be pissed." The blonde villainess said as Bitch whistled loudly.

"Brutus! Angelica!" Bitch's rough voice snapped and the two mammoths, one named Angelica apparently, leapt out of Grue's darkness, landing next to them with a crash. As the remaining villains climbed on, Grue paused, turning to look over his shoulder.

"There's room for one more?" He offered as the darkness began to fade.

Taylor looked back towards Lung, bleeding from his neck and beyond him at the building with the Studio under it.

"Grue, she won't come. There's someone else out here." Tattletale said and Taylor's head snapped to the villain.

"I thought I no sold you?" Taylor asked with a raised brow.

"You do, but I don't need to use my psychic powers to see that you got someone close to you nearby. See ya Keynote, I'll hit you up tomorrow."

"Shove an icicle up there for me Keynote!" Regent called out with a wave as the Hell Hounds turned to run.

Then Grue lead the way forward, the beasts dripping blood and slobber as they vanished into the night and Taylor frowned after them.

"I'm not Keynote..." She said with a sigh.

Crashing steps behind her had Taylor diving forward, rolling twice in a row away from the noise.

Taylor came up with her Keyblade at the ready, but Lung was already there, right on her heels. He swung at her with one hand, spewing fire with the other. Taylor twirled The Keyblade, directing the fire to spin around her as she back handed Lung's talons with the Keyblade. Then Lung's other fist slammed in her back, smashing her into the street. As Taylor bounced her kicked her, sending Taylor flying across the street.

As she flew Taylor lashed out, the Keyblade scouring a line in the street as she righted herself, bracing her feet to land against the wall and…

Smashed through a window.

Taylor's foot clipped the window edge and she ended up tumbling into the room. She saw stars and felt electricity pass between her eyes as her head clipped the edge of a table and she ended up smashing through two chairs to slam into a wall.

Gasping as her world flickered, and swayed Taylor struggled to catch her breath. It… it hurt, her head really hurt. Lung hadn't held back. With a struggle Taylor sucked in a lung full of too warm air pushing the darkness at the edge of her vision away.

She… She couldn't afford to pass out now. Had to be a hero, save everyone… Protect Sabah.

Digging the Keyblade into the wooden floor, Taylor used it as a crutch to push herself up, standing on wobbly legs. A quick flex of her arms and neck showed that despite how sore her back was nothing was broken.

A flick of her Keyblade and green sparks showered her body and the bone deep throbbing and searing pain reduced to a simple ache.

Magic was god damn magical. Lung saw her act, spying the green flash through the window and charged at her, head down to plow through the wall in shower of bricks and flames.

Even as Taylor felt the oppressive heat of Lung's fire she was already rolling, diving under Lung's sweeping claws to wind up back in the street. As she stopped though Taylor froze.

Right in front of her were the steps leading down to her home, the studio's door a pleasant blue.

Sabah.

"Ite ee!" Came the distorted roar of Lung.

Fight Me!

Taylor turned, seeing him charging her again. His entire body was covered in fire, silvery scales flashing amidst the inferno, face something straight from a nightmare, hands ending in foot long blades. The ground beneath him burst into flames and the air shimmered, scorched by the heat.

He was a monster, a dragon straight out of legend. He would kill her but… She couldn't run. People were counting on her. Taylor wouldn't let herself run. If it came down to it, Taylor would try to take Lung with her.

Taylor didn't think, didn't need to, there was no other choice. She raised the Keyblade across her body in a guard, and stood her ground.

She would protect Sabah with her life!

There was only thought in her head, repeating over and over.

Protect Sabah.

Lung crashed into her and Taylor felt herself skidding backwards as Lung smashed into the Keyblade jaws first. His teeth snapped down on the shaft of the Keyblade hard and there was a screeching noise as he tried to rip it from Taylor's grip with his bite alone, his breathe actually began to burn her exposed chin, even worse she wa sno where near strong enough to push him back.

Taylor dropped her hold on the blade, diving under Lung between his legs. Spinning on her heel as she came up right, Taylor recalled. As Lung stumbled forward at the loss of resistance she lashed out as Keyblade appeared in her and smashed into his back.

She'd shown him despair!

A layer of ice inches thick imprisoned Lung. Sucking in great gulps of suddenly frigid air, Taylor used her reprieve to try and catch her breath… But the ice was already steaming; fire churning beneath the frost and a sound like shattering glass pierced the night as Lung exploded out of his prison in a burst of flame. He turned to Taylor, flames dripping from his jaws as they split into four and opened wide.

Taylor didn't think, didn't blink, just pointed and fired as much ice as she could and a cone of cold met the stream of fire that spewed from Lung's mouth.

Dragon's breath met her frozen desperation. The ice melting on contact, the fire dying as it was consumed.

Lung looked like he was about to stop, leaning back and up from how he'd hunched down when he just walked forward on all fours,still spewing flames. The heat he was producing skyrocketing as he forced his fire to burn hotter as his burning body drew closer.

Taylor felt the Keyblade vibrate faster and harder, shaking in her grip as she kept ice flying out to match the onslaught.

With her very being aching from the magic use and the Keyblade shaking almost out of control, Taylor didn't see the hand smash into her body. She was lifted clear off the ground and sent flying through the air, her cloak replying most of the blow, but the heat of his hit sunk in and Taylor could felt skin sear with pain. With a swallowed scream Taylor landed in a roll, tumbling across the blazing shattered ground. Lung's strength was too much though and she wasn't slowing down as she rolled out of control. As she bounced of a particularly large piece of rubble Taylor swung the Keyblade wildly and managed to impale the Keyblade into the street. Still moving though now controlled, Taylor used the Keyblade to flip to her feet as she skidded back, gouging a narrow line through the street. Digging the blade in deeper Taylor quickly slowed to a stop.

The Melody of the Lost was now shaking so hard it was painful to hold. Lung roared, in triumph or mindlessly, Taylor didn't know, but she stumbled forward, tripping on rubble. She was hurt and tired and wanted to go home.

Sabah. Protect Sabah.

She caught herself breaking into a run as she headed back towards Lung without a plan but, well…

Beat the crap out of him seemed as good as any plan right now, if she ran now, Lung would chase her, and any other street would be much fuller with civilians by now, if she pulled a vanishing act, then Lung might cool off, or maybe not , was Taylor willing to risk any incoming police force or PRT lives if she dumped Lung on them like this?

Stalling for time until another cape came to help was all she could think off, nothing else was worth the risk.

But if no one came and she just kept ramping Lung up, then was it worth the risk too?

As Taylor drew close, she hunched down and pirouetted under Lungs claws, spinning on her heel once more. As she spun Taylor lashed out and her vibrating blade crashed into Lung's armored stomach.

The Melody impacted dead center and there was a boom and burst of light.

Lung shot off in a blur; there one second, gone the next. Taylor blinked at the trail of claw marks showing where his feet had been dragged by the force of her hit.

Taylor watched as Lung crashed through an abandoned car, then a fallen lamp post, and finally smashed into one, hopefully empty, garage.

Taylor stared at Lung and then at the now calm Keyblade.

"Holy shit." Taylor breathed. She had just sent Lung flying like she out brute-ed him by an order of magnitude. It was like, for just an instant, she'd had the strength of Alexandria herself.

Taylor turned the Keyblade and looked for damage, smiling when she found none.

Lung picked himself up and wobbled, his hand to his stomach which Taylor saw was crushed inwards, as if he'd been smashed by the hammer of an angry god, not Taylor Hebert.

Then Lung screamed; a grating noise even from where she stood.

Unlike the other times his stomach didn't fill itself out, in fact it didn't seem to be healing at all. Taylor rushed forward, not missing the golden opportunity of Lung being unable to move or even breath after having his stomach caved in.

Had the Keyblade's ability by passed Lung's healing? Had the damage stuck with him after Taylor had lost contact with him? Was it related to how Melody of the Lost somehow negated powers, were his powers limited in some way that she had been able to mess up?

It didn't matter right now, his stomach was finally moving and she was still a fair distance away. Taylor jumped up and sideways as Lung shot a stream fire from his hand in an attempt to hold her back.

Landing on a window ledge Taylor kicked off it, jumping almost straight forward. Aiming just below her at the building she knew what she wanted, no needed, to do.

"Freeze." Taylor commanded and more ice fired from the Keyblade even as her heart ached from magic use. A ramp appeared, smooth ice growing from the building. Drawing her feet up Taylor landed on her ice and began to slide, riding it down, spraying more ice. She spotted another burst of flames coming towards her and shifted, the ramp arching down and away, out into the street in a steep slope. Sliding down Taylor arched her slide into a loop the loop, dodging first one, then two blasts as she shot across the road, her slide latching onto the buildings again. A final gout of flame rushed at Taylor as she closed in.

Taylor just grinned, feeling her magic respond much faster despite the bone deep ache. She finished her path with a ramp, the end curving up as she slid off and up, back flipping over Lung's desperate blast and high into the sky, passing even the building tops.

As she hung there for a moment Taylor grinned. Maybe Mog was right about her? Maybe she really was talented? It was hard to believe that she had struggled to cast even a single 'Blizzard' before when she was creating a winter wonderland to move about.

Then she began to fall, Melody whistling a defiant note as Taylor hefted her faith weapon high.

Lung, almost fully healed, covered his heads with both arms, trying to soften her downward blow.

Taylor landed of his arms, feet rolling around his arm she kicked off again, rocketing towards the ground. As she rushed past Taylor swung, aiming for Lung's undefended back, aiming to hammer his stomach from the other side.

Lung stumbled though, her kick having spun him slightly and he used this to turn far faster than he had done before, catching Taylor off guard. She brought up Keyblade, just in time to stop herself from losing her remaining eye, the knife like claws twitching inches from her face. Caught in mid-air though the spinning blow flung Taylor away, back the way she had come. Though she managed to use the throw to spin herself, landing on her feet and once more slamming the Keyblade into the ground to slow herself down.

Lung stood where he was watching her slide away. Pausing as she finally stopped, Taylor frowned. This was odd, different. Earlier Lung had been in her face the entire time, constantly charging and closing in. She felt this was a new tactic, one that she had seconds to figure out before she was worse off.

Taylor's thoughts were confirmed as a man in red demon mask with more teeth than even Lung carved into it appeared in front of her, dropping two pins at her feet.

Taylor looked up as the masked villain tried to hug her...

And rolled backwards. Even as she gained distance, the moment she felt her roll end Taylor was lifted clean of her feet by what felt like a sledge hammer and flung still further back. Idly Taylor wondered if this was how Lung had felt.

Rubbing her jaw when she stopped, Taylor spat out a mouthful of blood. Beneath her fingers the skin felt blistered and raw, fresh cuts oozing blood form the explosion. She looked up, seeing the red masked figure perfectly fine perched on top the building next to her. She knew that mask.

Oni Lee.

This is just what she needed. More villains, why didn't she just send an invitation to Kaiser and be done with it?

Taylor stood to see another Oni Lee flanking Lung… He was fast. The pair of them began walking towards her then. Taylor idly wondered how Oni Lee managed to stand the heat.

Shaking her head and errant thoughts away, Taylor took stock of the situation, trying to keep herself from panicking.

Lung: beast, pyrokinetic, regenerator, though enough hits to stall his healing might do something, if the Keyblade was truly capable of stalling his regenration.

Oni Lee: teleporter, cloner, and serial suicide bomber. Maybe if she could freeze him or get one solid hit on his head he might be taken out of the fight early.

No back up, no escape, and little to no chance of winning.

So, a good day at Winslow before Sophia left then. She could do this!

Just stick a flowing red wig on Lung and a black pony tail to Oni Lee and pretend it's another day at school.

"Two on one? Doesn't speak well for the ABB!" Taylor yelled at them. The odd, idiotic, civilian that was still hanging about with camera's all took a step back.

Oni Lee twitched and Taylor moved as second Oni Lee came down on her with a pair knives in hand. The one beside Lung flaked into ash.

Taylor raised the Keyblade and parried the double lunge by the demon masked cape. A feeling niggled at her and she dropped as the real Oni Lee tried to back stab her.

Taylor swiped at him and the Keyblade smashed into his arm, both clones disintegrating into ash at the same time, obscuring her sight.

Taylor froze as the ash fell around. That feeling... suddenly snapped into her mind on the left. Focusing only on that particular feeling she felt something click and she knew where Oni Lee was.

Taylor lunged forward and got a startled Oni Lee straight in the stomach with an ice ball. He flew back…

And Lung grabbed her.

His hand fit around her entire chest now and turning her to face his monstrous face, he began to squeeze. His touch burning her, searing her. The nerves in her arms going haywire.

Taylor coughed, choking as pressure unlike anything she had ever experienced crushed her chest. It hurt, she couldn't breathe, she was… was burning and she couldn't breathe and she was being crushed, burning…

Lung leaned in close as Taylor choked and gasped, trying to scream.

Taylor's vision went white and she dropped the Keyblade, it vanished before it even hit the burning ground.

Lung somehow smiled, despite his maw being made of four pieces. They only made Lung more inhumane than she'd thought possible.

And Taylor realized that this was it, this was death.

She was going to die.

It was more painful than she wanted, but at least she was going out with a bang. Fighting Lung, saving the innocent, protecting Sabah...

Sabah... She was so important to Taylor, so important. Without her Taylor was nothing… It was Sabah who drove her forward, who let her dream. Sabah looked after her, comforted her and made her smile. And now she would only see a faint final image, not the vibrant girl she remembered. Taylor would have preferred her in one of her weird tops than in costume, but she guessed you didn't get to be picky at Death's door. Then for a startling moment her vision cleared.

Sabah!

A giant plush hand grabbed Lung and in a reverse situation, lifting him up, held between two giant fists. His body set the fabric on fire, but unlike Taylor, the cloth did't blacken, it tore in some places, but without a fuss, pulled itself back together.

Sabah, riding a giant gorilla stared down at Lung, her body half hidden behind the giant head for protection against the heat. lung snarled and began to rip at the hands holding him, the damage seem to do little to help.

"Leave. Her. Alone." Sabah said and jumped off, the the stuffed gorilla smashed Lung straight down, planting him head first into the concrete with a crunching sound.

Sabah picked him up again and his head rolled as his snout began to regrow and unflatten itself. Sabah crossed her arms and the gorilla hand which had the most holes in it exploded in a loud bang, sending Lung flying.

Taylor coughed, lying on the ground amidst the flames, rubble and melting ice as she tried to get her chest to work normally, the fire wasn't helping . Standing and without thinking she cast some healing magic over herself and blinked at how weak it was. Then she remembered that she didn't have her Keyblade in hand.

Taylor could do magic without the Keyblade? The magic came from her, sure, but she didn't actually believe that she herself was magical. This whole time she had thought the Keyblade did it all.

Sabah hopped down form her ride and ran to her. Oni Lee appeared and try to cut her, but quickly moved away when unseen needles pressed close to Sabah's body suddenly lanced out at his hand.

"Ta- Ke- Po- whatever. Are you okay?" She asked, begged, flinching as she looked Taylor over, taking a step back.

"You look like hell. What's going on?" She asked as the gorilla finally re-inflated itself and Oni Lee ashed away from it and then landed on it, exploding. Sabah winced at the loud pop.

"Lung, and Oni Lee I guess, were chasing these people, teens, and I got kidnapped and then I broke one of them and then Lung came and then we fought and then Oni Lee came, and we sort of fought and then you came! We aren't going to fight about this, are we?" Taylor asked, sounding a bit worn out, even to herself. Not that it wasn't understandable, fighting Lung on any day was going to be a challenge for anyone.

"Not now, maybe later, when there is no one else for me to be mad at." Sabah said and Oni Lee appeared beside them again, pins dropping.

Taylor tackled Sabah as the clone exploded, taking the searing heat and slashing pain across her back.

They rolled and the solid ground seemed to add salt to her new wound, as the burning feeling ratcheted up a notch. Sabah's gorilla stomped forward, head missing, the neck seal over and removed another clone that appeared near them by standing on him.

"Port, are you okay?" Sabah asked and then two more animals joined the fray. A rabbit and a snake came to rest nearby, or as Sabah called them, Flops and Noodle.

The Keyblade flashed into her hands, making Taylor feel better already. A flick of her wrist created a shower of green which had her feeling almost 100%, minus her ribs which still ached.

"I'll be fine, but Lung's heading back this way, you need to stay away from him, he's partial to setting things on fire." Taylor warned and Sabah nodded.

"So I'll try to distract Oni Lee?" Sabah asked and Taylor bit her lip.

Taylor would rather Sabah run to safety and leave her behind, but she knew her friend better than.

"Keep your back to one of the animals or try to hide and direct them from somewhere safe. He doesn't give any signs that he's teleported or cloned himself." Taylor said as she rushed towards the even bigger Lung.

Taylor hoped, prayed to God, Scion, anyone that she hadn't just left Sabah to her death. She couldn't lose her, it just… She couldn't. Taylor gritted her teeth terrified now more than ever as her friend fought at her back… but Taylor trusted Sabah to watch her back more than anyone.

Lung saw her coming as she raced forward and roared with delight, his body now accompanied by a tail.

The intense focus that was on Oni Lee snapped to Lung and she felt.. .how healthy he was? How much he could take?

It was a lot.

This was some new thing from being a Keyblade wielder, but damn if it wasn't helpful.

Still, Taylor didn't really have a plan besides stall for time and whack Lung in the head a lot and hope she got lucky.

Lung made the entire street in front of her erupt into flames but Taylor didn't stop. She swiped with the Keyblade and the red sea parted before her.

Lung didn't seem to be discouraged though, as he charged at her in leaping bounds on all four limbs. His claws, now closer to short swords than knives, struck out and Taylor ducked under them, but was forced to take a step back as the other hand reached for her, to grab her again.

With both hands still swinging from the miss, Taylor jabbed the Keyblade point black at his face and froze it solid. Lung reeled back and Taylor sucker punched him with the Keyblade in the stomach. The whistling noise and vibrations starting to build again.

Taylor rolled, dodging Lung's retaliation and coming up by his side as the ice ramp she'd made collapsed next to them in a wave of water. Seizing the opening as Lung's flames dimmed she slashed at Lung's knee, popping the joint sideways in a manner it was never meant to bend and sending him toppling. Taylor rolled under the tail as it lashed at her, scales not yet formed on the appendage, and saw Sabah in distance bury herself under the snake, as an explosion covered her, Oni Lee appeared a short distance away.

That bastard!

Taylor angrily swiped down and as Lung's tail swiped at her again and… It was cleanly severed, steaming blood flowing heavily from the stump as Lung screamed, belching flames.

Taylor watched disgusted as the severed tail flopped and writhed before it suddenly shrank and vanished.

Taylor backed away and looked in horror at the Keyblade.

So maybe she shouldn't have lost her temper? She'd hurt him pretty badly but he was trying to kill her. She shouldn't hurt people to the point of permanent harm but there was a limit of what was acceptable and was just being stubborn, it would come to bite her in the ass later but he would grow it back right?

Not permanent if it regrows. Moral dilemma neatly side stepped.

The indecision of her thoughts cost Taylor as Lung spun to face her, preventing any follow up on her success as she rolled backwards and away.

"ICCC!" Lung howled and grabbed at a street light, ripping it out the ground mount. He paused for a moment, testing the weight and then swung.

Bitch!

Taylor rolled, then rolled again, and again. Lung swung effortlessly and he finally caught Taylor mid paused between rolls right on her aching ribs.

Taylor heard and felt a crack even as she was thrown back into a wall, slumping onto the shattered sidewalk. Pain spread across her body and made Taylor moan as she lay there on the ground.

"H-heal m-eee." Taylor wheezed.

The magic rushed through her to heal what damage it could, but Lung's foot lashed out catching Taylor in the side and sent her skittering across the destroyed street seeing stars.

Taylor came to a stop, her world spinning, the edges of her vision black and colored flashes skittering across her eye. She coughed, blood spraying out in red droplets and dribbling down her cheek.

She sent green sparks racing across her body again, and once more for good measure.

The rib still felt cracked, but everything else settled back into place.

Taylor spat out a mouth full of blood, coughing to clear her throat and backed away from Lung as he approached, her back hitting the stone of an apartment building.

A quick glance showed it was her's and Sabah's. The studio was right behind her.

Taylor gritted her teeth and stood tall.

If Sabah was in her place, then Taylor would be scared shitless and angry.

Now? Taylor felt like she would get out, she would make the right move at the right time and escape. This confidence was staggering yet she held on to it, to the point of almost believing it.

Lung snarled and raised a hand to strike her down.

Then Circus was straddling his face before planting two knives into his eyes.

Lung screamed, fire spewed everywhere as Circus back flipped off Lung to land beside her, pressing Taylor into the street, the space behind them consumed by flames

Taylor's mouths dropped open as Lung kept slashing at the air around him as the daggers remained stuck in his skull.

"Holy fucking shit, you were facing down Lung like you were made of fucking metal!" Circus said when they reached a relatively safe distance, Lung was tearing at his face, trying to remove the weapons, but they clearly seemed stuck on something.

Taylor panted at the sudden adrenaline triple dose that shot through her.

"What the hell are you doing here and where did you come from? "

"I was just in the neighborhood and can we pleas ekeep moving, I just did a very stupid thing." Circus lied with a straight face.

Taylor stared at her, using the Sabah look. Circus shrugged. Taylor winced as the heat from Lung washed over from them, even form a distance. Circus seemeed entirely unaffected.

"I was tailing the Undersiders, another shitty job from Coil. Saw you fighting fucking Lung, doing pretty good too, then he fucking cornered you and I still owe you from last time, so bobs yer fucking uncle, daggers in the eyes, and here I am." Circus said palms up, grinning like a loon.

Lung ran forward at the sound of their voices, knives still in his head.

They both back pedalled and Lung angled the wrong way, missing them.

How could he hear them from over here, and yet didn't hear Circus approaching?

Taylor shook her head, she really did want back up, but did it have to be Circus?

Well, beggars can't be choosers, even if the only choice is a psychotic clown.

"Go help Parian, she's got Oni Lee after her." Taylor ordered and Circus looked over and nodded.

"Save the girl, stab the fucking demon and get back to following the Scooby gang." Circus listed off and saluted Taylor.

"Live long and fucking prosper, Key." Circus said solemnly and ran towards the coiled snake that held Sabah save as Oni Lee bombed her.. Taylor gritted her teeth.

"It's Port-" Taylor began to say in a yell before a wave of fire erupted from Lungs still flailing form.

The knifes in his head melted and ran down his face in silver rivulets, horns where now proudly stretching the length of his head and his eyes balls rebuilding themselves as she watched, visible as two growing pits of fire in his skull.

"Lucky bastard." Taylor muttered, cursing her luck.

Taylor began firing another wave of ice, trying to recreate the process of super charging her Keyblade again.

Lung just walked through the ice, untouched, his body producing so much heat the tar of the road was bursting into flame beneath him, leaving fiery foot prints in his wake.

Taylor grimaced at the heat, if he went near anyone now, they might not be walking afterwards.

Taylor felt the Keyblade vibrate slightly more, but was it enough? Taylor flung the Keyblade straight up, spinning away from her. Lung's head snapped up, following it, firing a cone of flame at it, before realizing his mistake as it disappeared in a flash of light and trying to look back down. Taylor had closed the distance though and was already slamming the Keyblade into his chest, her chin, burning instantly.

Lung skidded a modest 20 feet before stopping. Taylor cursed and tried to back pedal, but Lung wasn't just stronger, he was faster.

She didn't even have time to react before Lung was on her. She managed to block his swipe, desperately trying to shield herself but the blow still threw her up into the air and, with some demented thought process, Lung volley balled her into the Studio. Taylor smashed through the wall, bricks and glass crumbling around her and cratered into the opposite wall, near Sabah's work desks. She fell forward, legs buckling as they hit the table and face planting into the floor with a wheezing cry of pain.

The only saving grace was it seem the Lung couldn't produce fire when he was power locked from her super hit, she needed a better name for it. The ambient heat was still pretty bad though.

There was noise, but Taylor couldn't hear anything, too dazed, woozy… She felt like everything was fuzzy and far away, yet too sharp, brittle…

Then Lung gave a roar and the walls, ceiling and everything shook. The world spun and as Taylor stumbled to her feet despite her body's insistence she lie back down. As she struggled not to be sick there were three loud crashes and everything shook again. Taylor looked up as a sickening crack echoed above her and dived as the building began to fall on top of her.

The noise was deafening; the explosion terrifying as the roof fell and dust went everywhere, hiding everything in the dark. From her prone position Taylor scrambled forward, hoping she dived the right the way. Reaching forward she felt a table leg. Success! Desperately she crawled forward, hiding under one of the desks as more crashes rumbled above her, dust and debris flying about her. Then every source of light vanished, and Taylor was left trapped.

Taylor had the Keyblade across her knees, curled up under the desk. The only reason the rubble hadn't crush her being the Keyblade holding it back and the desk protecting her head.

With only enough space to keep her knees to her chest Taylor began to hyperventilate

She was buried alive.

This space, it was making it hard to breath, she was trapped, unable to move, nowhere to go. Buried alive. The walls… they rubble was shifting, moving, pressing in. It was going to crush her. She was trapped! Buried alive!

Had… had to get out! Out! No, she wanted out!

Closing her eyes Taylor tried to calm her racing heart, trying to take slow deep breaths… But she was trapped. Trapped! They trapped her here with the blood and things and… and she could feel them crawling on her! She flinched, shrieking as something brushed her leg. There was blood, blood she could smell it, taste it.

Taylor whimpered, curling in on herself. She was trapped and alone and there was blood and things were nibbling on her. Tears trailed down her cheek while her empty socket stung and burned. She was trapped, it was crushing her and no one would ever let her out and…

Sabah was still out there.

Taylor focused. She wasn't in the locker. She wasn't! She turned her thoughts to her friend, her wonderful irreplaceable friend. Taylor could see her, arms clasping her sides as she smiled, beautiful blue eyes shining as she cocked her head, just looking at Taylor.

Sabah was out there, trapped with Oni Lee and Lung. Taylor couldn't allow that, couldn't stay here, stay trapped.

Taylor would do something at lest because if she just stood by and did nothing, people would die, and Taylor be just like them, the kids that watched her get stuffed into the locker, not helping because it was easier not to.

But she was better, not because of who she was, but because… because a complete stranger had reached out to her in her hour of need. Sabah had saved her and Taylor would save her. Armsmaster, Dragon… They had to be so busy, some of the worlds greatest heroes, with so much on their plate and yet they had reached out to her, helped her.

Because like Sabah, Armsmaster, Dragon… She would not stand aside when she was needed!

Eye snapping open Taylor laughed, a small snort almost. How could she possibly think of giving up here, alone in the dark? She was stronger than that.

Holding out her hand she recalled the thought of Lung outside, the thought of the place Taylor called home now lying in pieces around her, broken and destroyed. Her rage at the injustice of it, her hate for Lung and all he stood for… All the Emma's of the world, tearing others down just because they could.

Taylor's hand ignited with fire, drawing a breath of relief, the flames licked gently at her skin, warm and safe. The fire glowed, illuminating the sheer destruction of the studio around her and the idea of any escape vanished.

Taylor was completely trapped.

With a worried look she stared up at Sabah's work desk, the only thing preventing her from becoming a bloody smear. The industrial steel frame held against the load bearing down on it for now, but what if Lung kept attacking?

Taylor's eye flicked around and a half sob, half scream tore itself out her throat.

Taylor curled up on herself as the fire in her hand dimmed.

"Please... help me." Taylor choked out, not sure who she was asking for help. She wanted to, needed to help so badly… Yet she couldn't. She couldn't help because she was trapped. She couldn't even save herself.

Taylor looked around in the soft fire light but… No one answered, no one appeared.

There was no Sabah coming to save her this time.

Taylor gritted her teeth, eye clenched shut as she struggled not to scream. No one would find her, not in time. She was fine going down fighting Lung, at least it would have been worth something, she could have saved Sabah, but this?

This was a tomb made out of happy memories. She remembered all the good times they'd had here. Her and Sabah, watching movies on the lying tucked up couch together, seeing Sabah's face light up as Taylor brought over a pot of tea, trying to cook new things as Sabah was useless in the kitchen and where even the cleaning up was as fun when she dabbed bubbles on Sabah's nose, soaking Mog slightly.

He always poofed up when they blow dried him.

Now it was all gone, destroyed by Lung. Just because he could, and the worst thing was...

Lung didn't even know what he had done.

Taylor, paused in her morbid thoughts. Had she heard something? Then more noises leaked through the steel and stone.

Scratching, crunching. Lung maybe? Claws on stone defiantly.

Was he standing on the rubble, claiming his victory for all to see? Taylor hoped he didn't see Sabah up there. Taylor desperately hoped her friend got away, because if she heard Sabah scream… then she would claw her way out here with her nails if she had to.

Then the noise got closer.

Was he going to pull her out? To do what? Keep her body as a snack or a trophy, or maybe like everyone else in the damn city he wanted the Keyblade?

The scratching was far off now, Taylor pondered letting the fire in her hand die.

There was sense giving the monster any help. But if what she'd read was true, her rapid heart-beat was all he needed. Taylor frowned but decided to keep the flames. Even if they helped Lung… They helped her too, offering comfort and light against the darkness.

The scratching and noises continued and Taylor noted they sounded like a beast. Had Lung gone and completely lost himself?

Could the city handle that?

Voices leaked down then, none them Lung's.

Arguing, shouting and something familiar Taylor couldn't place about the last voice.

"...Fuckers need to stand back and let me show how it's fucking done."

Ah, that was it. Circus. Then light began to leak through tiny pockets of space.

"You sure she's this way? It looks fucking empty." Circus said as they were getting closer at an alarming rate.

"Judas smells her, she rode on him." A gruff voice replied. Then suddenly the rubble cleared in front of her and Circus was looking down at her.

"You're on fucking fire." Circus said, crossing her arms. His arms? Taylor had never quite worked that part out.

Taylor blinked, looked down at her hand and then poked her head out from under the desk.

A path had been cleared from the outside to where she had been trapped like someone had scooped everything out neatly. The girl, Bitch, stood at the far end with one of the giant monsters, it's claws white from tearing into the rubble.

"How…" Taylor began, but Circus pulled her to her feet.

"Short answer, I sucked everything up and now I feel fucking bloated again. Shorter answer, I'm fucking awesome. Let's move before the shit above moves down here." Circus moved her slowly but when Taylor showed no signs of injury and began to hurry, Circus grinned.

"Fucking brute, you look like a stick, but you can deck it out with fucking Lung." The jester said with a shake of the head.

Taylor glared at them.

"I'm not a stick, I'm just tall." Taylor said as she climbed up the rubble to stand near Bitch, the dog mask looking out to the source of the noise Taylor heard.

"Why are you here? I thought you rode off with the rest?" Taylor said and blinked as she saw the pure chaos on the street before her. Bitch didn't answer for a few seconds.

"Grue wanted to come back, Tattletale too. So we came back." Bitch said and stomped down the street away from the ruined building and Judas followed her obediently.

Circus whistled.

"Girl's rougher than fucking glass, but she didn't hesitate to dig you out, her other two dogs are being fucking beaten pretty badly out there." Circus pointed to a sphere of darkness which one of Bitch's dogs flew out of and crashed loudly in to the ground.

Bitch broke out running, the dog seem to react faster as she got closer.

"Where is the Protectorate or the PRT?" Talyor demanded, her eyes scanning for Armsmaster or Assault. Surely the Merchants can't have been taking this long. They were the Merchants!

Circus shook her head.

"The Merchants, one of their fucking capes, Mash or something, apparently had been waiting towards the end of the fight before fucking sucking up an entire landfill's worth of trash. He went super-mode and is doing a shitty impression of Big Rig. They're having trouble containing him, since his fucking body could be anywhere in the trash. Tattletale told me when she landed, dun'no who her spy is on the ground though." Circus said, sounding curious.

Grue gave a wave to Regent and the masked boy gave a series of hand gestures.

Taylor hoped his powers still worked on Lung.

"Great, Oni Lee?" Taylor asked and Circus smirked.

"He tried to out knife me."

"And?" Taylor said as she cast a healing spell over her shaking body.

"And he lost. Got a pretty good hit on his neck, he ran away like a little bitch. Well, not like Bitch, guess I need a new curse word, cause that one has forever been badassed by giant fucking hell hounds." Circus said speculatively.

Taylor nodded, not sure what to say to that.

"Thanks and I'll call things even between us now." Then Taylor turned and ran down the street, Circus's voice coming behind her.

"Not by a long shot." Circus said.

Taylor didn't reply, her mind too busy looking, trying to find Sabah. She spotted Grue standing closest to her after Bitch, his hand outstretched as if feeling for something, a huge protion of darkness not far off in front of him, a series of quick flashes seem to erupt from the darkness.

Taylor guessed she knew where Lung was, form what she remembered, the darkness might be enough to slow Lung down, if it effected his powers.

Tattletale and Regent stood off to one side, further away from the darkness, behind a flipped car. Taylor thought they'd be better off much further back and away from potential objects that might exploded with Lung around.

Then Taylor spotted her and Taylor felt herself sag in relief.

Sabah was alive.

Her friend was near Tattletale and Regent, on her hands and knees. She was visibly shaking, even at this distance and the fake blonde curls were bouncing as she shook her head back in forth in denial.

Tattletale peered out at her, talking to her.

"Listen, you have got to get away from there, you're too close if Lung bursts out. When, not if, Keynote gets out of that building, then she'd want you to be safe. You know that, I know that, so move!" Tattletale yelled at her but just Sabah shook her head more. Regent whispered something and Tattletale shook her head at his words.

The darkness remained a solid sphere as Grue retreated.

"Lung killed her, he's gone and killed my best friend. I never... I never got to tell her. I never got to tell her, tell her how I felt, and now I can't. I hate him and I hope, I hope he hears me. You hear me your bastard?! I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!" Sabah screamed rocking back onto her knees as her giant rabbit and gorilla rushed into the darkness.

Sabah took a few steps back and Tattletale reached out to grab her.

The gorilla disappeared altogether into the murk. The rabbit was just visible at the edge. Flops, the rabbit raised one cuddly foot kicked into the darkness. It hit something and shook with the impact and then vanished as it was yanked inside.

"Parian!" Taylor yelled and everyone turn to see her running, favoring one side with her free hand, the other holding the Keyblade. Sabah stood slowly and reached out for her, like she could touch Taylor from a distance.

" Ta- Portunes! Oh god... I thought you were... I thought..." She broke off in a half sob and walked, mostly stumbling, towards her. Taylor felt a smile tug at her face and her heart felt like it could burst from joy. Sabah was alive!

As she jogged, wincing as her ribs violently protested, Taylor was so happy. Sabah was alive and unharmed. Even if she was hurt, he ribs were probably broken after punted through solid walls, how much was the Keyblade changing her? How weird was it for her to still be walking after a fight with Lung? Or was it the cloak? Did Mog add something without saying anything?

And what else was happening that she didn't know about? Never mind, she could worry about it later, it just wasn't important right now. She had almost reached Sabah! Taylor took a few more steps, eager to close the distance between her and Sabah, either to hug her or throttle her for taunting a dragon or do… do… She'd do something, that's for sure!

Taylor slowed as her mind snapped to Sabah, her energy feeling huge, hot and angry.

No.

It was coming from behind Sabah!

The doll cape had her back to the black sphere when Lung stepped out the darkness holding Bitch's last dog by the throat while it squirmed in his grasp, the mottled flesh bubbling in his touch. His horns now shorted, his form shrunk down since he pitched Taylor through the studio, his fire only shimmered around his feet now.

Lung had been bored by the Undersiders and now he was calming down. If Sabah wasn't right there, Taylor would have hid, let Lung slink off into the night.

Sabah turned her mask slightly, lifting it away with one hand so that Taylor could she her hand wiping away tears from her blue eyes, a wide smile on her face.

Sabah hadn't seen or heard Lung, Grue's darkness muffling his steps.

Taylor broke into a sprint, running as fast as she could, faster even, faster than she was capable of. Her ribs screaming at her, threatening to break altogether. She didn't care. The feeling in her mind snapped to Sabah, her energy feeling warm and soft, comforting to Taylor.

Taylor drew near, close enough to roll to, her ribs making her unsure if she would go straight, but still so far, too far to run. Sabah's smile faltered, her mask hanging loosely in her hand, still held up away from her face. Lung stared right at Taylor, his eyes now an angry red. A single fireball was growing in strength in one clawed hand.

Bitch whistled to her dogs, Tattletale screamed at Sabah, Grue tried to move his darkness, Taylor dived forward into a roll.

Taylor watched as the world accelerated, her vision tunneling as the rest of the world blurred and she accelerated. Her shoulder hit the ground and she was flying forward so fast, her ribs making an odd popping sound that she ignored. She was coming up, the ground flashing beneath her and…

It was all for nothing.

Sabah was still turning when she was engulfed in fire. Her body silhouetted, a shadowy figure in the fire for a moment before vanishing, her body reduced to ash in an instant, not even enough time to scream as her warm presence vanished from Taylor's mind.

Taylor stopped a few feet shy of the bonfire, the pyre.

Suddenly there was a lot of noise happening all at once. Lung was tackled by the last two dogs and pushed back, Circus said something as the jester ran past her, throwing knifes and making steel beams appear out of thin air, smashing them into Lung's face again and again with little effect, Lung ignored her entirely.

She couldn't… Couldn't hear them... Hear them though. There was a rushing sound, like a river or waterfall… No, no… Screaming. There was screaming and all… all she… she… All she could hear was screaming.

Someone spoke to her, shaking her by the shoulder… Tattletale?

Taylor didn't hear, couldn't here. There was only screaming. She didn't care about Tattletale, about her words… words. Who was screaming?

Taylor fell to her knees, the Keybalde clattering onto the ground beside her. She reached out towards the pyre, hand and fingers trembling; the fire just barely touched her skin, the pink flesh turning red, then blistering, peeling.

A flash brought the Keyblade back into her hand even as it burned. She slashed at the pyre, splitting the flames in two. Taylor had to see, had to check that Sabah was... That she really was…

Gone.

Sabah was gone.

Close to Taylor, staring up at her, was Sabah's mask, slowly turning from royal white to charred black. The ruby eye liner melted to an ugly tar that dripped across the mask like bloody tears.

There… There was… was nothing else, Sabah had just been there and now… now she was gone. No… No goodbyes, no final words, not even the fucking dignity to see the final blow coming.

It was unfair, Taylor thought, pulling the mask close to her gently, hugging it to herself.

It was all so unfair.

First her Mom, then Emma, her Dad, and now... Sabah. Gone. All gone. Sabah, who had helped Taylor on the very first time they met, and never stopped helping her. Sabah who never turned her away or left her, supported her through every hard choice in her cape career.

Held her when Dad had lost himself. No one else was there. No one else would be.

The same girl who had been so important to Taylor now, shared with Taylor so many memories, shared her friends, Mog and Boco.

Oh god.

If Sabah was… was… If Sabah was de-… de-… gone, then that meant they were gone as well. Mog had said that didn't hadn't he? That Sabah continued their existence on Earth-Bet and now that she was g-gone, they would be nothing more than p-piles of fabric.

Unmoving. Unresponsive. As good as dead.

Taylor choked as the idea hit her.

Taylor was alone, utterly alone. All her friends had been taken from her. She… she was all alone again.

Taylor began to choke, sobbing. She couldn't breathe, couldn't… couldn't breathe. Each time she tried she could only sob came up.

Sabah was dead!

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair! This wasn't how it was supposed to be! Taylor was supposed to protect her, protect them all. Defeat Lung, do a good deed and be at home relaxing with Sabah.

Now her home was rubble, rubbish to be swept away and Sabah was ash, already gone by the time Taylor had reached her, dust upon the wind.

Taylor had failed Sabah. She'd failed her friend, failed her in the worst way possible. She hadn't protected her. She'd failed! Failed Mog, failed Boco, failed her father, failed the Wards, and failed Armsmaster and Dragon.

She wasn't a hero.

Taylor was nothing! Just a useless fucking failure who couldn't save the people she loved!

The mask in her hands cracked a little as the material began to cool and turn brittle.

Like Taylor.

Too weak to ever help anyone.

She cried, tears running down her face, mouth trembling unable to even voice her greif. Her chest ached, her heart… breaking. Everyone was gone and she was all alone. Sabah was gone. She'd never see her again, never feel her warmth or hear her laugh or…

Taylor screamed. She screamed and she screamed.

She'd… she'd failed. She'd failed. She'd failed! She'd failed! She'd failed!

No, that wasn't true.

She hadn't… she'd t-tried. She tried and Lung had… He'd killed her. He killed Sabah.

It was… It was all his fault.

She'd tried.

Taylor felt the mask snap beneath her fingers. She looked down and knew she'd been wrong. She wasn't cold, she wasn't weak… It was all his fault. He'd taken her away! He killed Sabah!

Taylor gritted her teeth, grinding them. She was angry. Angry beyond words.

Tears streaming down her face she felt herself flush, unable to contain her anger… her rage! She wasn't cold! She wasn't weak! She hot, burning. Burning! They… they would all pay. They would all pay! Lung, Tattletale, Regent, Bitch, Grue… They brought Lung here! They were responsible too! They'd all pay, they'd all burn.

They all deserved to burn, to die like Sabah had. To vanish, disappear. Go away!

She'd make them, she'd burn them all… Turn them into ash! She'd send them all to brun in the fires of Hell!

She'd burn them all with Hellfire!

Because she, Taylor Hebert, weak, skinny failure who couldn't save a single person… was absolutely fucking burning inside!

Life wasn't fucking fair and she'd had enough of it. She was tired of this game where Taylor kept losing; tired of people just coming into her life and leaving so violently.

So she'd stop playing their game and start playing her own.

Blinking to clear tears away, Taylor turned her head, raking her eye across the street.

The rest of the capes were much further down now, standing back, arguing with each other, Lung was obscured by another dome like cloud of Grue's darkness, but he wasn't staying put and Grue was conjuring more as he moved. Hoping to deramp lung maybe.

Taylor's wet eye dragged over it, seeing Lung's limbs flashing in and out along with gouts of flame.

He'd burn.

Tattletale had run off to stand near Grue, just visible on the other side of the darkness, crouching behind a larger piece of rubble.

Taylor didn't care. It didn't matter.

They'd burn too.

Taylor stood, her knees feeling solid under her, her shaking gone. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt to stand. She knew it should but she couldn't feel it, couldn't hear her body protest over the inferno in her ears.

Life wasn't fair and Taylor was going to fix that. The Keyblade was already in her hand when she raised it. Sabah's mask clenched firmly in the other.

Around Taylor the flames began to spin, a great circle forming around her.

Her ribs were broken, but pain couldn't breech her grief. Her back was damaged from having a building dropped on her and there was a white noise slowly filling her head but it couldn't touch her, burnt by her rage. Taylor stared at the flames.

"Sa... Sabah... I'm so sorry." Taylor choked out, the words sounding hollow and pointless.

Taylor took a breath and then screamed.

Except… It was different. She didn't scream in pain or despair. It just as loud, just as hurt but… She screamed in fury. Her rage given physical form.

Rising to her feet, everything Taylor felt and couldn't translate into words she poured into her scream until it was nothing but noise, no longer human. Taylor raised the Keyblade above her head, spinning it. The circling flames roared back at her, taking up her pain, her grief, her fury, her desire…

Grasping the blade as the inferno howled around her Taylor pointed the Keyblade at Lung, hearing him roar, in response to her or just because she didn't know. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was still alive and not burning.

The Keyblade grew hot under her touch as she swiped at the spinning inferno, drawing tongues of flame to her in great sweeping ribbons. The fire pooled at the tip of the Keyblade, held high above her head.

What now? What was she doing? Wasn't she allowed to even grieve without something bullshit happening?

Burn them all!

Taylor snarled at the Keyblade her rage breaking and smashed it point first into the concrete, the fireball exploding to fill the large spider web of cracks spreading out form the impact. The lines flickered, glowing, burning in an otherworldly pattern.

It didn't make her feel better though.

Nothing would.

Until they were all burning in Hell!

Taylor screamed again and slammed the Keyblade into the ground again, and again; the cracks widening each time, more fire spilling out until Taylor stood ankle deep in flames.

"I'm going to make him fucking burn. I'll burn him. I'll burn this entire fucking city if I have to. I'll make Lung pay!" Taylor promised herself and felt the idea settle into her, flow through her, giving her purpose, strength.

The Keyblade shone with the same purpose, glowing an angry red and when she smashed it into the ground one last time, the cracks widened even further and Lungs fire, Taylor's fury and Sabah's ashes, seeped into them like it was liquid.

As she watched Taylor felt the words slip from her lips.

"Burn them. Burn them all."

Then every crack Taylor had made glowed, dark red, sickly flames billowing upward into the night.

Brian Laborn, known as to most Grue, would never thought he willingly lose Lung and then go back to fight him again.

It was a mindless thing that Bitch might do or a crazy plan that might Tattletale come up with.

But him? He always tried to be the sensible one, the leader. It was a job, just a simple job. Get in, rob the casino, get out. Simple, easy and now it had all gone so wrong, but the idea of leaving that girl, Keynote, to Lung just so they could get away made him feel...

Like his father.

All dirty inside.

Like a coward.

Tattletale, of course noticed, being extra snappy since Keynote shut her down hard somehow. She'd have needled at his conscious until he would have run back anyway. So, in part to save face, part to stop Tattletale being so smug… and mostly because he felt guilty they'd come back.

Shit had gone down-hill since then sadly. Parian was toast and Keynote was officially out of the fight, Tattletale telling him the girl was having a psychotic break after she'd broken down screaming over the death of her friend… Lover according to Tattletale. Grue decided to tape Tattletale's mouth shut from now on.

It was suppose to be rush in, grab keynote and get out. They hadn't planned on digging her out and Grue wrote her off as dead. Tattletale was going to have double his pay if she wanted him to stay after tnoight.

Lung stood in the semi-circle made up of the Undersiders and Circus, his darkness billowing behind the dragon-man as he tried to creep it closer.

He didn't know why Circus was here, he just accepted it. This night was just one crazy thing after then next and the more the merrier at this point.

Lung eyes slowly moved over them, the monster's height almost double his own, and iThe bulk was blocking Grue from seeing Keynote. He hoped she would retreat or run. The cloaked girl had taken her share and more of a beating from Lung tonight.

Lung lunged forward and Tattletale spoke quickly

"If you wait, then some one stronger is coming, you want that don't you? A good fight?" she said.

Lung smiled at them, his chest rumbling with laughter as he slowly and deliberately sized them up.

"Not us, you know we're nothing. Someone just as strong as you is coming, and if you kill us, then he might not come." Tattletale said, sounding confident.

Grue knew at lest that last part was a lie, Lisa's tell was showing.

A single finger curling at her side.

Bitch shook as she stared at Lung. Most people would think fear, but Grue knew she was pissed.

Tattletale spoke softly next to him. Grue leaned in as Lung snapped at Bitch, who was surrounded by her dogs.

"Got a plan?" He asked hopefully.

"He's going to burn everything." Tattletale breathed and took a step back. Great, she was panicking.

"The bringer of flame, the monster, the hell beast, his eyes are set on his target." Tattletale said trembling slightly.

"Okay, anything else." Grue urged quickly as Lung swung his gaze back to them, ignoring the barking dogs. Tattletale nodded; hopefully she had a plan now.

"He's not going to stop until he's burned everything. Until we're dead and all is turned to ash." She repeated and Grue shouted as Lung stepped towards them.

"I know what Lung is going to do, how about a way out before that happens?" He asked and before he could bring his darkness and engulf the dragon Tattletale spoke. She was so quiet that Grue almost didn't hear.

"I wasn't talking about Lung." She whispered.

Grue frowned then looked eyes widening as five huge claws grabbed Lung by the horns and lifted him so the dragon and the… the thing were face to face… Grue's mind went blank, unable to comprehend what he was looking at. Tattletale began to pull at his arm, urging him to run away.

"What is that thing?" Grue whispered, unable to move

"A demon." Tattletale answered him seriously.

Grue watched as Lung roared at the demon, wings unfurling.

Flecks of lava dripping from monstrous jaws, horns bigger than a car curling from its head, fire rippling on and beneath its skin…

And the demon roared back.