88. Plummet

A/N: Hi! Sorry I'm late on this one. I had to rewrite this damn thing twice, it really fought me. But I'm satisfied enough with it now, so I hope you enjoy! Here's the list of transformation themes, in order:
https://youtu.be/wBNFXlk2Bto
https://youtu.be/vRJXqfCwixQ
https://youtu.be/HtKpjOd-gmc
https://youtu.be/KoV4kKMwz5k

Terror flows around me, wafting from everyone on my team. I can't really blame them. I'm willing to admit when I've fucked up, and someone holding a blade to my master's throat is definitely a considerable fuckup. But like with all such cases, time slows to a crawl as my mind accelerates far beyond human levels. How big of a fuckup is this?

They're not attacking. They're threatening. That means they want something from us, and that's sort of fine because we want something from them, too. There's negotiation room here. And Melpomene… well, a glance at her shows her wearing her usual arrogant smile, and that's very reassuring, actually. She looks somewhat less insane than the last time I saw her, if only just, and I don't feel any outright malice from her toward Thea. If anything, she's… what is that, melancholy? A mix of yellow and blue. She missed Thea. 

Holy shit, are they bluffing? I think they might be bluffing. Not in the amount of power they can bring to bear (because the seemingly docile kaiju is absolutely bloody terrifying, make no mistake), but in their willingness to use it. Logically speaking, Thea is a horrible target to hold hostage here. They might not even know she's my master, and they definitely know that I know she's important to them. Aurora would have been the better person to grab, but Thea just happened to be closer to where Nanaya was hiding. What was their plan if I exited the portal last? Hold a knife to the jugular vein I don't have?

This is weird. Or… no. It's kind of not weird. It's the Dark Rebellion I'm used to. It's a bunch of traumatized kids with no real plan.

…Probably. Can I risk my master's life on a 'probably?' I don't think I can. Because if this does go bad, and they do try to kill us—and I know damn well they might—we are in very deep shit. These people are unstable. The way they usually act doesn't reliably dictate the way they're going to act right now. None of them are acting super aggressively besides Nanaya, and none of them are moving to attack us. Not even the army of monsters, which is… weird and concerning. When did the Dark Rebellion figure out how to control monsters? Ugh, being in the torment nexus for eight months really makes you miss out on life.

Whatever. They're talking. That means they want to talk. We may as well talk. All the while, I have shielding spells ready to stop Nanaya from splitting Thea like a butchered pig, and I've got the power reserves to stay in high-reflex mode like I should have been from the start. Ugh. So… who do I talk to? What do I say? Glancing around, the most reasonable member of the Rebellion is probably… wow. 

"Hey, Veritas," I greet her. "Where's Fulgora?"

"She's on the kaiju," Veritas answers.

"Uh. Like riding it?" I ask. "Isn't that super bad for people? Won't she get covered in crystals?"

"I'm fine!" calls out a muffled voice from within the kaiju's field of miasma. It doesn't sound all that much like Fulgora at all, but I suppose it might be the incarnate form of whoever is currently sharing her brain. Minerva and Fulgora had different voices, after all.

"Quiet," Nanaya hisses, tightening her grip on Thea. "This is not a social call. Thea is going to fix a few things for us. And then, if we are satisfied, you might get to live. Is that clear?"

"S-screw you, Nana," Thea hisses through chattering teeth. "I'm not doing anything for you."

"Woah!" I interrupt. "Let's not immediately jump into ultimatums, okay? Let's at least hear them out before we all get stepped on by a giant monster."

"I'm not going to—!"

"Thea," I press out loud. And then, through my communication spell, I continue. "Let's at least pretend to play along. We might end up with a better opening, and a better idea of what's going on."

Her eyes widen a little, but she relaxes at the compromise. I said the same thing to Anath and Aurora, giving both of them a little hope to hold onto as well. I might have completely fucked up by not anticipating an ambush, but I am so glad I got my communication spell active before we went through the portal.

"…Fine," Thea grumbles. I'm a little worried about how bad of a liar she is, but fortunately she doesn't need to fake how much she doesn't want to be in this situation. 

I'm still worried about her, though. She feels increasingly more angry than afraid, and that would be bad if a fight actually breaks out. It's not impossible that she could class change west, either, but… that would also be bad? Thea is angry right now, but she's not prone to anger. She'll likely burn out of it soon. I don't think class changes happen for fleeting emotions like that.

"Good," Nanaya says. "Now, here is what I need you to look at."

Carefully, she pulls her energy blade away from Thea's throat, opening up her cloak with a flourish and rummaging around in the pocket dimension inside. Eventually, she produces a large, somewhat smashed-up metal cylinder about the size of her own torso. Part of it has been melted to slag. 

"…What is it?" Thea asks, squatting down as Nanaya sets it on the ground.

It seems that despite herself, Thea can't help but be a little interested. What a cute nerd. …No, wait, stay focused, me. Now is not the time.

"How about you tell me?" Nanaya asks. "I would not want to color your first impression."

Thea frowns.

"Play along," I instruct. "I'll watch the others."

"I don't have any of my tools," Thea says.

"I brought them," Nanaya answers. "Tell me what you need."

Thea starts to describe them, and Nanaya extracts them from her cloak one by one, usually pulling out the wrong tool a couple times before getting the correct one. If I didn't know her better, I might assume Thea is deliberately describing them poorly just to be difficult, but no, she's just a little bad at descriptions. 

"…Veritas," Aurora speaks up, managing to push past her entirely reasonable terror over the situation to chat with her teammate. "Why aren't you standing with us? Please help me take Fulgora home."

"No," Veritas says. "You should stay here with us."

"Why?" Aurora groans. "Why would you think it's better here!?"

"…The food is way better," Veritas mumbles.

Oh my god.

"¿¡Eres estúpida!?" Aurora demands, wearing the most baffled and offended expression I've ever seen on an eleven-year-old. 

"Veritas, I will make you food!" I groan. "I know most of Nanaya's recipes anyway!"

"Not most," Nanaya insists.

"You don't make them for every meal," Veritas says, crossing her arms defensively.

"This is so fucking stupid," I complain. "She tried to kill you!"

"Look, Fulgora doesn't want to go, okay!?" Veritas insists. "And… and she's team leader, so what she says goes!"

"Minerva was our team leader, and we both know Minerva would tell you to get your butt out of the Dark World!" Aurora insists.

"Fulgora is just Minerva but cooler!" Veritas says.

Hidden in the kaiju's mist, I can hear a quiet choking sound, followed by a whine of pain.

"…I don't think Fulgora agrees with you on that point, Veritas," I say.

"I don't care!" Veritas snaps. "I'm staying until she says we're going, and that's final!"

"And what if the Dark Rebellion tries to kill us again?" I demand. "What if they try to kill Aurora again? Are you gonna help them?"

"I… they said they won't do that," Veritas answers. "If we have to fight you, they won't hurt Aurora."

I can't help but laugh at that.

"Oh, yeah. And I'm sure you're so confident you can trust them about that. These people just ooze trustworthiness. They'll change their ways just because they said so, right?"

"Shut up, Luna," Melpomene tries to order me.

"Guess what, fucko?" I fire back, flipping her the bird. "I don't have to listen to you anymore!"

"Yes, you do," Melpomene says. "I have a kaiju."

"And wouldn't it be a fitting end to your plans if you ended up unleashing it on us just because someone was mean to you," I answer.

"Luna!" Thea shouts at me. "Stop antagonizing them!"

Agh. I do have to follow that order, and… well, it's probably a good idea anyway. Unfortunately, this means Melpomene picks up on what's going on immediately.

"Thea!" she gasps, the fakest smile in the world crawling up her face. "You're the one who took her from me? I didn't think you had it in you, dearest. Well done."

"I'm ignoring you," Thea says.

"You left us over the situation with Luna," Melpomene says. "I never imagined it would be because you wanted to control her yourself."

Thea sighs, staying true to her word and not responding. Her feelings are still obvious to everyone, of course, but the combination of disgust, sadness, and pity doesn't seem to be the reaction Melpomene was fishing for. Assuming, of course, she had been fishing for any reaction in particular and not just lashing out for no reason. The silence is only broken once Thea puts down her tools.

"…This is part of a dimensional energy transfer device," she concludes. "Is that right, Nana?"

"It is," Nanaya nods. "Good. Can you use it to enhance your portal manipulation technology?"

"Enhance it to do what?" Thea asks. "You have a handheld device that opens and closes Dark World portals whenever you want. It's already a masterpiece; it doesn't need more power."

"We don't want to open a portal between the Dark World and Earth," Nanaya says. "We want to open a portal between the Dark World and the Preserver homeworld."

A heavy silence follows those words, everyone slowly coming to terms with the many implications of such an act. Melpomene, being an awful annoying bitch, explains them all out loud anyway.

"It's the one thing they fear," she says. "Truly fear, because it's the one thing that can hurt them. The Preservers don't even allow their false projections to get too close to the Dark World. The Great Execration is the concentrated wrath of an entire species turned against them. If it could flow into their world, it would rip them all apart. We could send the armies constantly assailing Earth to them instead! We could make them face the kaiju instead of us! We can finally give them what they deserve!"

Holy shit. The most surprising part of the plan is that it's almost sane. If they can open these portals at will, and create them in such a way that the burden of dealing with the Dark World falls on the people actually responsible for it instead of on us, that would save the suffering Earth Guardians from their all-too-common fate. It's actually almost something in line with the Dark Rebellion's purported ethos!

"…Nanaya thought of this plan, didn't she?" I ask Melpomene.

"Wh… why would you… what does it matter?" she asks.

"That's a yes," I say.

"Luna!" Thea snaps. "I said not to antagonize them!"

"Sorry," I wince.

"Ha!" Melpomene laughs. "As unruly for you as she was for me, I see!"

"You shut up too!" Thea shouts at her, pointing an accusing finger. "Do you want me to make your stupid portal or not!? I'm so done with you, Mel! All of this is your fault, so stop acting like you know what you're doing! I trusted you, and it ruined my whole life! I'm not here for you! Don't talk to me!"

Ahhhh. God, but I love my master. The look on Melpomene's face is so sweet I top back up to one hundred percent power in moments. The best part is that there's nothing more in line with my purpose right now than watching that face, delighting as it twists between betrayal and anger and sadness. I mean, Melpomene's unstable! She might attack Thea at any moment! I have to keep a very careful log of everything that hurts her.

"Anyway, yes," Thea says. "I think I can do it. The principle is the same, and if this box does have the correct coordinates and enough power to make it work, then it should be possible."

"Mmm. I knew you'd be able to do it," Nanaya hums with satisfaction. "It's easier now, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Thea asks.

"Your work," Nanaya clarifies. "It's easier now. I imagine you were having quite a bit of trouble working with Luna's body on Earth."

Thea pauses, looking up at Nanaya in horror.

"…What are you saying?" she asks.

"I am saying you are not merely gifted," Nanaya answers. "You were being given a gift. Your intuitive understanding of the Antipathy's technology is carried to you through the miasma. It is their will that you recover and repair the fruits of their labor, so that it may be used against their enemy once more."

Thea's eyes go wide, and she seems to be at a loss for words. I step in on her behalf.

"That's crazy," I say frankly.

"But I am correct, am I not?" Nanaya presses. "Her work must have stalled dramatically on Earth. Do you think it would have taken her so many months to repair you back at the castle?"

"She has a fucking magic 3D printer at the castle," I counter. "And of course she's having a harder time. She's working on harder things!"

"…Both of you be quiet," Thea says. "Just let me work."

"Mmm. Very well," Nanaya acquiesces, and of course it goes without saying that I shut up. Uncomfortable silence follows for quite some time, and I can't really bring myself to be surprised when the first person to speak up is Anath.

"…Thea," she says. "Would it be too distracting if I talk?"

"Go for it," Thea grumbles. "As long as you're not talking to me."

"Okay," Anath says, craning her neck up to the kaiju. "New Eliza! I can feel you up there! You're in an incarnate form!"

"That's true!" comes a shouted response.

"What's your name?"

Ah. I suppose that's a good question. We can't just keep calling her 'new Eliza' all the time.

"Antiphera!" new Eliza calls back down. I mean… shit. Whatever.

It's an interesting choice of name. I'm not exactly sure how names are chosen, come to think of it. I definitely didn't name myself 'Muramasa' on purpose; the transformation stone decided on that name for me. I can't say it doesn't fit, unfortunately, and that means I'm immediately concerned about the implications of that name. I have most of Wikipedia downloaded my head, after all, and a quick search finds that Antiphera is not a mythological deity of some sort, but a mythological slave from Aetolia. The king of the land falls for her (which in Greek mythology probably means 'he raped her') and when the queen finds out she gets her revenge by murdering one of her own sons that she had with said king. Not Antiphera's son, her own.

What the hell would have to happen to a person for the transformation stone to match them with a figure like that? 

"I'd like your full name, if that's okay," Anath clarifies.

"Oh. Um… I think it was Grasping Champion Bound Antiphera?" Antiphera answers.

Yeah, that doesn't make it better.

"Can I see you?" Anath asks.

"Um… sure, I guess."

With a puff of miasma, a figure pops out of the cloud surrounding the kaiju and starts to fall. Rather than simply flying to catch herself, however, Antiphera summons a pillar of water up from the ground beneath her to catch herself with, diving in headfirst and then letting herself float back up to the top. The water lowers her to the ground, her body sticking out of it at about waist-level, and it remains even when her tail brushes against the ground.

Antiphera's incarnate form is… concerning. At a glance, it's maybe not so bad—it's nearly identical to what Eliza's physical body looks like now, just with most of the teal crystals rearranged or replaced with orange ones—but the more I pay attention to why certain changes were made, the more I start to see an uncomfortable metaphor. Eliza's physical body had crystals growing all over it, but the most relevant ones here are a set of three lines on either side of her neck that looked kind of like gills. Her actual gills are built into her ribcage, but her fake gills catch the eye. Said fake gills are some of the only crystals that are still teal, and instead of three lines, there are now four. No… five. Two of them wrap around the back of her neck.

The crystal formation there hasn't changed a lot, but it doesn't look like gills anymore at all. It looks like a pair of hands, wrapping around her neck like someone is choking her from behind. All of the crystals that are still teal share that formation. They're hands holding her back, pulling at her arms and tail, claw-tipped fingers digging into her skin. The only saving grace is that Antiphera herself doesn't seem to notice them; they're not real hands, and they don't actually pull on her like an outside force. They're just part of her, like everything else.

…Also, the other main difference between Antiphera's incarnate form and the time I chatted with her real body is that she's wearing clothes now. It's a pretty simple Earth Guardian 'uniform,' much like Minerva's but orange instead of green and without any gloves or boots or the like given her webbed fingers and vestigial legs. The skirt looks nice on her, honestly. I kinda thought a mermaid in a skirt might look a little odd, but she really makes it work.

"Hey," Anath says. "Good to see you. I'm here because I promised I would be."

"Oh! Yeah, um… thank you," Antiphera says awkwardly. "Er… the thing is though, I kind of… don't want to go anymore?"

"I don't believe you," Anath says.

"No, I mean it!" Antiphera insists. "Fulgora's not really torturing me anymore, and Melpomene is kinda more silly than scary when you get to know her, and I'm having a good time!"

"Torturing you?" Aurora asks.

"I don't believe you," Anath repeats.

"I mean it!" Antiphera insists, pouting childishly.

"You meant it when you asked for my help, too," Anath says. "So I'm gonna help you, and that's final."

"Ugh!" Antiphera groans, crossing her arms. "You are so stubborn. I guess I should have expected that…"

"Yeah," Anath agrees. "That's true. I've always been stubborn."

"Yeah," Antiphera huffs. "Anyway, how are you doing, Aurora? It's… good to see you."

"I don't… think I know you," Aurora answers, frowning.

"Oh," Antiphera says. "I… guess not. Sorry. I still remember you, though. Like, um… you know how Minerva and Fulgora were like, using the same body?"

"No, I get that," Aurora confirms. "You're just… not acting like either of them, I guess. Sorry, I don't want to be rude."

"Nah, I'm not offended! I'm not either of them, so that makes sense!" Antiphera beams.

"How's Fulgora, though?" Aurora asks.

"Oh, um… she's fine," Antiphera answers.

"That's a lie," Anath says.

"Yeah, even I could feel that was a lie," Aurora agrees. "What are you doing to her?"

Antiphera recoils in shock, the smile on her face dropping to horror all at once.

"Doing to—nothing!" she insists. "She's the one being terrible, not me!"

Aurora scrunches her eyebrows in confusion.

"But… Fulgora wouldn't do anything terrible?" she reasons. "Veritas, do you know what's going on?"

"…I haven't spoken to Fulgora much since I got here," Veritas admits. "It's mostly been weird bubbly Fulgora."

"Antiphera!" Antiphera insists. "Look… Fulgora is… I mean she's just… we were in the Dark World alone for a long time, okay? Things… happened."

Fear and sadness. Given what I saw of Fulgora's incarnate form, I'm inclined to believe Antiphera, but I also can't blame the girls for trusting the Eliza they know over the Eliza they don't.

"I want to talk to Fulgora," Aurora says. 

"I'd also like to talk to Fulgora," Veritas agrees.

"I don't… I don't think that's a good idea," Antiphera hedges.

"Okay, I'm ready. I need the portal device, Nanaya," Thea says.

"No," Nanaya says.

"What do you mean 'no?'" Thea asks.

"I am not a fool. I can tell you are planning to escape. Giving you the key out of the situation we've locked you in would be an obvious blunder," Nanaya says.

"Nanaya, I obviously need the portal device if you want me to modify the portal device," Thea says reasonably. "Just remove the batteries before giving it to me, I'm not going to work on it while it's powered on anyway. You can even hold onto it to keep it steady for me if you really want."

"Mmm. Very well. But any betrayal will not go well for you," Nanaya says.

"I am keenly aware of that, thank you," Thea grumbles.

And then, through our private communication, she whispers something else.

"Everyone get ready."

"Ready for what?" I ask.

"A fight," she answers.

That causes a surge of fear to pulse through most of us. I'm somewhat worried the Rebellion will notice, but thankfully Anath's surge of excitement does a good job of not making it too obvious.

Still… shit. What's Thea going to do? Nanaya does indeed remove the portal control device's power source, but… oh, shit. The power source is magic. And Thea designed it! Is she going to manually inject her own magic into it to power it on anyway? Antiphera is right in front of us, and Veritas has walked up right next to her. If I react fast enough I can grab them and teleport us all through the portal the moment it appears!

"If Fulgora's not doing well I definitely want to talk to her," Aurora insists. "Bring Fulgora out!"

"Oh, no," Antiphera whimpers, clutching her head. "No, no, no, no, no…"

"Back off, child," Melpomene growls, stepping between Aurora and Antiphera. "You do not know what she has suffered."

Shit! It's going to be a lot harder to grab them now. Two teleports, then? I'm so used to thinking about everything I do in terms of power efficiency, but I finally have power to spare, right? I should be using it all.

"But it's your fault that she suffered at all, isn't it!?" Aurora accuses Melpomene. "I don't want to hear what's wrong from you! If she was in her right mind, she wouldn't be anywhere near you!"

"Nooooo…" Antiphera whines.

"Here you are," Nanaya says, handing Thea the de-powered portal device. "Do not make me regret this."

"You don't know the meaning of the word," Thea growls, picking up her tools to work on it… or pretend to, at least.

"You would tell me that I do not know regret?" Nanaya asks dangerously. "Me? You know what I have suffered."

"Oh, you suffer, all right," Thea answers. "But regret implies that you wish things were different. Regret means you've figured out that you're the one in the wrong!"

"I am not unaware that I am a villain, Thea," Nanaya says. "But I cannot stop now. Not when we are so close. I will worry about the weight of my immortal soul after justice has been served."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that," Thea says, reaching out and grasping the portal device firmly.

"Somehow, I imagine you do not mean—wait, stop!"

Nanaya attempts to yank the portal device away as the magic tome on Thea's hip suddenly flutters open, power surging through it to her hand. But Thea's grip is strong and her magic is quick. With a surge of power… a massive explosion engulfs her and Nanaya both. 

…What!? Oh god, Thea! My plans to grab the people we came here to save are instantly abandoned, and I turn to boost towards my master at full speed.

"Gʀᴀɴᴛ Mᴇ Cᴏᴜʀᴀɢᴇ! Fᴇᴀʀғᴜʟ Sᴀɢᴇ Dᴏᴏᴍᴇᴅ Aᴍᴀʟᴛʜᴇᴀ!"

The shockwave from her transformation blows away the dust and debris kicked up by the explosion, revealing Thea in her incarnate form and the completely destroyed slag of the tech Nanaya brought for her to work on.

"THEEEAAAAAAAAA!" Nanaya roars with rage, stumbling back to her feet from where the blast knocked her away. Her face and arm are still regenerating from where the blast seared her skin off. 

"I'm not some helpless kid you can boss around anymore," Thea declares.

"No? And here I thought you'd rejoined the Earth Guardians," Melpomene growls. "Fine, then. Actions have consequences."

And just like that, whatever was keeping the horde of monsters still suddenly snaps, and they rush toward us.

It truly is a massive army that they've gathered. The kaiju isn't moving yet, but a battle of this scale might be enough to kill a normal magical girl team through attrition alone. We are not, thankfully, a normal magical girl team… but we don't have only the monster horde to worry about, either.

"Thea!!!" I shout. "I thought you were going to use your own magic to power the device, not blow it up! How are we going to get home!?"

"I don't know," Thea answers. "Your plan sounds way smarter than mine. Gɪғᴛ ᴏғ Tᴇʀʀᴏʀ, Assᴀᴜʟᴛ Aʀᴍᴏʀ, Qᴜᴀᴅ Pᴜʟsᴇ Rᴀʏ!"

"¡Esᴄᴜᴅᴏ ᴅᴇ Aᴍᴏʀ!" Aurora incants, joining Thea in passing around buffs. 

It's on now. We are going. I'm not sure how we could ever possibly win this, of course. I'm pretty strong; maybe I could hold Melpomene off long enough for the rest of my team to complete our main objectives, but Melpomene and a kaiju, and a thousand weaker monsters on top of that? I don't like our odds. But still… that's no reason not to play my hand as best I can. And the cards I have today are all ramp.

"Fᴏʀ Yᴏᴜ, Aɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ," I incant. "Eɴʀᴀᴘᴛᴜʀᴇᴅ Wᴇᴀᴘᴏɴ Uɴsʜᴇᴀᴛʜᴇᴅ Mᴜʀᴀᴍᴀsᴀ!"

I really hated this, at first. The first time I transformed was incredibly traumatic for just about everyone involved, and that pain stuck with me. It still does, a bit. I can't help but be reminded of the way my old master used to wield me, heartless and cruel in the face of my helplessness. But if it's for Thea… I don't much mind being a weapon anymore.

The rush of power and feeling that accompanies my incarnate form is like nothing else in the world. Though still metal, my true body has a warmth to it that the Cage lacks. I would love to stay like this all the time, to have the best of both mechanical and human traits, but I'm nowhere near skilled enough for that yet. Still… I suppose I can indulge in the sensations a little. It's energy-efficient to enjoy myself!

My incarnate weapons unleash sweeping beams of deadly light, the same kind I used to slice Amaterasu's legs off. The attacks start to carve through the monster horde, though in a flash the kaiju suddenly intercepts, body-blocking most of the strike and receiving barely any damage in the process. It's annoying, but less dangerous than whatever else the kaiju could be doing right now. Better than it killing us, right? Also, as powerful as the kaiju is, it physically can't bodyblock for the entire swarm at once. 

It's definitely an unexpected move, though. Something feels off compared to the last kaiju we fought. Its movements are slower, more stilted. A side effect of whatever they're doing to control it? Whatever, I'm thankful for it, but I won't expect or rely on it. The kaiju could become unchained at any moment.

"I knew this wouldn't work," Antiphera mumbles to herself, still clutching her head. "I knew it…"

Yeah? Let's see if this works.

"Aʙʀᴇᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ: Cᴜʀsᴇsᴘʟɪᴛᴛᴇʀ!" I shout, combining three of my incarnate weapons to summon the giant blade I used to cleave a kaiju in two. The remaining three fire their sweeping beams again, prompting the kaiju to stick out its leg to block. It's a perfect target. I bring the sword down, slicing the offending leg clean off.

"Ploobly!" Antiphera shouts with concern, which is very weird but probably best ignored. The arc of my swing keeps going, my sword growing longer and long and longer as I move my target from the kaiju to the horde of monsters behind it. My blade annihilates them as it passes through, the enormous size of it potentially enough to wipe through half of them in a single blow!

…Or so I'd hoped. Naturally, one person stands in my way. My sword stops, Melpomene's incarnate shield, miniscule in comparison to my abreaction, halts it in place, barely doing more than forcing Melpomene to slide a few inches backwards.

"So that's what you really look like, is it?" she asks, a mad grin on her face. "Have some decency, Luna! Or is it that you think weapons don't wear clothes?"

"Says the woman who stood me in a corner and made me watch her sleep in the nude all damn night," I fire back. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to kill you."

"I'm pretty sure I have a fairly accurate date and time," Melpomene answers. "And don't worry, darling! The feeling is very much mutual! I Wɪʟʟ Nᴇᴠᴇʀ Tᴜʀɴ Bᴀᴄᴋ!!!"

The transformation enlarges her explosively, over doubling in size. Four massive arms, four massive wings, and a long serpent's tail replacing her legs, she becomes as much monster as she is woman.

"Cᴏɴᴛᴇᴍᴘᴛᴜᴏᴜs Qᴜᴇᴇɴ Lɪɢʜᴛʙʀɪɴɢᴇʀ Mᴇʟᴘᴏᴍᴇɴᴇ!"

"God, you are such a cliché!" I shout at her. "For fuck's sake, you're turning yourself into a snake!"

"Sᴏᴜɴᴅsʜᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ Tʜʀᴜsᴛ!" is her only response, launching herself at me with no apparent care for the physics of acceleration, going from stationary to impossible speed in no time at all.

But I can see that kind of speed. I can think at that kind of speed. My reaction time has always been my greatest asset in a fight, and my incarnate form only improves it. Leaning around the thrust, I let it pass by me, using her momentum to close into point-blank range. The range of her lance is dangerous, but the defense offered by her shield is far more of a problem. That thing took my kaiju-killing Abreaction like it was nothing, and I don't really have anything stronger to throw at her unless I suddenly come up with a Catharsis. Better to avoid the shield entirely than try to challenge it; it's a huge tower shield in this form, so it's basically impossible to stop her from using it to intercept long-range attacks, but up close I can keep to her relatively unprotected right side. 

"Rᴀɪᴋᴏᴜsᴇɴ!" I incant, grabbing one of my incarnate gunswords and wreathing it in lightning. 

In a flash, I pass through Melpomene's unprotected flank, a trail of lightning arcing between my start and entry points. Melpomene lets out a slight grunt of pain, but it doesn't slow her down. She forces me back with a wild swing of her lance.

"Ha!" she laughs at me. "Lightning? You thought you could hurt me with lightning? That's my element, Luna!"

"What are you, a Pokémon!?" I ask, but okay fine that's good to know I suppose. Good thing magic lets you make shit up on the fly! "Rʏᴜᴇɴᴊɪɴ!"

This time, I attack with fire, rushing in to swing my magical blade at her right side again. She anticipates it, though, rotating her body to accept the hit on her shield while lashing out with one of her wings. I don't expect it to hit as hard as it does and end up getting clobbered in the side of the head, though I quickly right myself with bursts of magical thrust. I don't… actually have my thrusters right now, but I suppose my incarnate form accepts commands to them anyway. That's kinda nice. I like my thrusters.

"Exᴇᴄʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ Tʜᴜɴᴅᴇʀ!" Melpomene follows up, but I'm already prepared.

"Mɪʀʀᴏʀ Fᴏʀᴄᴇ!" I counter, absorbing as much energy as I can and preparing to send it right back at her… but I'm distracted by a cry of pain behind me.

Thea! She and Nanaya are fighting! I immediately turn around to help her, but the moment I look away Melpomene is on me, grabbing my skull with one of her two new arms and thrusting me head-first into the ground.

"You think you can afford to be distracted against me?" Melpomene asks. "Luna darling, this will be the last time we see each other! At least try to make it last long enough to be memorable!"

Her final word is punctuated by a golf swing of her lance into my gut that sends me careening towards the kaiju, who is more than happy to take a little bit of revenge for the leg I severed. Roaring down at me, the black mists swirling around its head gather and concentrate in front of its mouth, swirling with gleaming darkness into a smaller and smaller point.

"P-Ploobly, wait!" Antiphera shouts, but the tiny point of darkness erupts into a pitch-black beam of annihilation, aimed directly towards me.

"Hʏᴘᴇʀsᴘᴀᴄᴇ!" I borrow from Castalia once again, teleporting out of the way of the attack, but the monster flicks its head to the side, re-aiming the beam at heart-stopping speeds. The destructive blast carves a new canyon into the ground as it crashes into me, completely vaporizing one of my legs. 

And unfortunately, my body can feel things right now. As much as I don't want to give Melpomene the satisfaction, I let out an agonized scream, blood like quicksilver pouring from my wound. Shit! I can fly in this form, so I might not need a leg to fight, but I might need whatever passes for my blood!

"Lɪʙᴇʀᴀᴄɪᴏ́ɴ: Cᴜʀᴀ Dᴏʀᴀᴅᴀ!" 

Aurora shouts out her Abreaction, and I immediately feel the pain from my missing leg cease, a golden light forming the outline of where that leg should be and rebuilding it out of raw magical power. That's right! I'm in an incarnate form! Aurora's healing spells work on me like this! Unfortunately, it's at this moment that the surviving monsters of the swarm rush around Antiphera and reach Aurora's position.

"Veritas!" Aurora shouts, switching her focus entirely to surviving the incoming onslaught. "Veritas, help me!"

Veritas stands stock-still, panic and indecision locking her in place. She glances between Aurora, fighting off the monsters alone, and Antiphera, still clutching her own head and staring wide-eyed at nothing. Elsewhere, Thea and Nanaya face off, Thea doing her best to keep her distance as Nanaya single-mindedly attempts to beat her into the dirt.

Anath, meanwhile, seems to have been struggling to decide where to intervene. She doesn't know whether to go after Nanaya or Antiphera, but as the situation shifts she makes her decision, leaping in to back up Aurora and start smashing monster heads into pulp. Aurora seems surprised and more than a little betrayed that her backup ends up being Anath rather than any member of her former team, but the level-headed girl takes it about as well as anyone could, focusing her efforts on staying alive.

"Antiphera! Hey!" Anath calls out as she fights. "Antiphera! Look at me!"

Antiphera blinks a couple times, managing to do just that. She and Anath lock eyes, each of them full of different kinds of desperation.

"Exᴇᴄʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ—"

Shit, right! Melpomene!

"Hʏᴘᴇʀsᴘᴀᴄᴇ!" I incant.

"—Tʜᴜɴᴅᴇʀ!"

Melpomene's attack aims for Anath, but I take the attack in place of her, gritting my teeth through the pain.

"Antiphera!" Anath repeats. "You are our way out! You can save us!"

"…Huh?" Antiphera manages.

"Like you did at the lake!" Anath clarifies, though I have no idea what she means. "You got out somehow, right? Out of the Dark World! Take us there! Take us back to Earth!"

"I… it's dangerous there," Antiphera says blankly.

"More dangerous than here!?" Anath asks.

"But… the plan," Antiphera says.

"We ruined your plan! Thea smashed your stuff! Do you want us to die for it?"

"N…no…" Antiphera admits. 

"Then take us home!" Anath begs. "We can do it together! Jim misses you!"

Melpomene winds up another attack, so I launch myself right at her, doing everything I can to keep her attention on me. She seems to have come to the same conclusion I just did: Anath's pleas are our best and likely only hope of getting out of here intact. As much as I love Thea, and as much as I support her brave decision to screw over the Dark Rebellion's plans for—let's face it—attempted genocide, we are so incredibly fucked right now. If Anath is right and Antiphera can get us out of here, well, she's the only thing that can get us out of here. I'll damn well take it. 

But while Antiphera's panicked stare starts to gain a bit more clarity at Anath's words… the outpouring of teal that accompanies it does not signify anything good.

"Anath, you horrible, stupid bitch," Fulgora says, her voice recognizable even in Antiphera's incarnate form. "That is the last time you will ever get to say his name."

Incarnate energies swirl around her, and our odds of winning go from slim to none.

"Oɴᴄᴇ Aɢᴀɪɴ, I Fᴀɪʟ!"

It's over.