Swan Song

The Unquiet Grave

The vines ignored the three standing before Vanitas, and started attacking the wall they stood on instead.

Nimue struck first, crouching down on the ground. She turned the stone Vanitas was standing on into mud, making the angel sink. He retaliated by reaching out with one hand, then making a squeezing motion with it. Nimue was lifted into the air as bruises in the shape of fingers appeared around her neck, and she felt her life being drained away.

Robin interrupted the spell by blasting Vanitas back with a gust of wind more vicious than anything she would've been capable of before, then followed up by turning herself into wind itself, traveling behind her former captor, then slashing him across the back with an invisible blade of air.

If the angel felt any pain from it, he was good at hiding it. Releasing green lightning all around him, he singed Robin's clothes and hair, but she managed to turn into wind and get away in time. The spell made him lose focus, so Nimue was dropped back down.

Lock stood back the entire time, watching the battle.

Vanitas focused on the water elemental again, pointing two fingers at her. Green lightning formed all across his farm, but then started condensing at the tips of his fingers, becoming purple in the process. All three of his opponents knew they would surely die if the attack hit them, so they all jumped away as the angel made a downward slashing motion. The spell cut straight down the walls of Camelot, then across the city itself, the stream following Vanitas' hand as it did a full three hundred and eighty degrees. Camelot was cut straight down the middle, causing the entire city to shake.

One of the knights who was still on top of the wall managed to collect his thoughts, and aimed his arrow at Vanitas, who was completely ignoring everything other than his three opponents. The arrow went straight through the two extended figures, taking them off in the process, and ending the powerful spell.

The Fallen Earl glared at the night, preparing a green flame to deal with him, but suddenly found himself encased in a sphere of water. It took all of Nimue's power just to stop the green fire from evaporating her magic, but it was enough time for Lock to react. Being versatile, unlike his two allies, he used a form of magic rarely seen, and froze the water, trapping Vanitas in ice.

"That won't do it," Nimue said as she relaxed slightly, already beginning to pant.

Robin landed next to Lock, nodding to him.

"I know," the boy said, and he thrust out his left palm as Robin thrust out her right. Fire shot from his, and wind from hers, and the two already powerful spells joined together, burning so hot the flames turned blue, then white. The attack made Camelot shake even more, and the screaming from beneath the ground made Lock aware of what was happening. He turned toward the knight who had shot the arrow. "They're all down under!?"

"I'll just go help them evacuate," Ted whispered from behind, acknowledging how out of his depth he truly was, and ran over to the knight, who presumably knew the way down.

A dark shadow covered the sun, grabbing Lock's attention. He stared at it as it took the form of man, and solidified into Vanitas, who had a soft smile on his face. "This," he said, making a grand gesture with his arm, "is glorious. For the first time in thousands of years, I am having fun. Can you imagine? This battle - these opponents of mine - all of it has finally made me accept the fact that my death is a possibility. Nothing has made me this excited in years." His soft smile widened from ear to ear, without him showing his teeth, making him eerily resemble a snake. "Please entertain me some more."

Oz, still stuck inside the world Vanitas had created for him, finally made his way to the end of the forest. Rather than find an exit, however, he stumbled upon a cave, and he knew nothing good could come of it.