Lastland's Last Stand: The Prince's Ascension

In the Heat of Battle

"Nothing like a good, old-fashioned Corruptor fight, eh, Iris?!" Storm joked darkly over the din of battle, whirling and twirling, cutting through alien invaders left and right. No matter how long she was in the army, her strength and zeal for battle never waned.

And once again, I get to be her most perfect partner! Iris was smug as she raced alongside her wife, matching step for step and blow for blow. The sword she wielded was the very one Storm made for her so many years ago, and that same sword—with its extendable blade and amethyst and aquamarine embedded in the hilt—also helped her recover her memory and humanity after Silas' work pushed her fully into her Corruptor self.

The poetry and symbolism were in the shining, silver blade as it swung in smooth synchronization with Storm's matching sword. They danced together, and the music was in the clashing of metal against Corruptor. Iris and Storm stood back to back, defending one another, a literal whirlwind of death and destruction. All around them, allies from every war camp were equally lost in the heat of battle.

Gale stood in the distance, instructed by Pascal to oversee the troops from above. Pascal was trying to find their deputy and switch out with them so that the deputy could take a brief respite inside while Pascal took their place on the frontlines.

Scarlet and Theodore fought back as well, crossing paths with Iris and Storm during the fight.

"Howdy, Iris!" Scarlet waved, voice tinkling and cheerful as she and Theodore rushed past.

"Hey, Scarlet!" Iris laughed and waved back, glowing purple meeting glowing black. While Iris decayed her foes, Scarlet used her mind control to compel them to turn against one another, or to self-terminate.

Tatiana managed to rally a small group of soldiers to follow her into battle as well. In essence, she was doing the same thing Gale was, but because she was not constrained by Pascal's commands, she was free to lead from the ground and the frontlines, rather than from above and behind. And more help was on its way with every second that the soldiers in Westcliff could buy.

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"Hey guys, long time no see!" Three identical men spoke in unison and raced over to the other Gifted in perfect synchronization.

"Hey, Rexy!" Emma was the first to spot them, hopping up and down to wave cheerfully at them.

"Hey! Emmie! What's up?!" One of Rexus' clones held out his hands for a high-ten while the other two guarded his and Emma's flanks. The rest of Rexus' clones were spread out across the mountaintop. Help from Lastland had at last arrived!

"Rowan, you're also doing a great job holding down the fort!" Another one of Rexus' clones flashed Rowan a big smile and two big thumbs up. He and the other Rexus clones had seen the fires popping up across the mountaintop as they spread out into position. The fact that the fires were all unusually contained despite occurring in the middle of free-for-all made it clear that they weren't just ordinary flames.

"Thank you," Rowan chuckled, dipping their head politely. Their eyes burned like twin flames themselves and their long, coarse, glossy black hair was tied back, making the brightness of their eyes contrast even more sharply against their dark, copper skin.

"You're the real MVP!" Quincy agreed, flashing the other man a thumbs up as well. The Quad Squad united as soon as they could and had fought together ever since. After greeting Rexus, Emma turned back into a snake, having at last been persuaded by Mallory once she showed up at Westcliff in person. Emma slithered and coiled herself around Mallory's neck, instructing the other girl with her head about where to point her laser vision next. It was the only way Mallory was able to get Emma to see how useful her Gift was. She could see while she was using her Gift of Laser Vision, but there was always a large glare right in the center of her sightline and Emma helped mitigate that as Mallory's extra pair of eyes.