Hecate's Orphanage

by BlackRoseRaven

Good God

Chapter One Hundred and Eight: Good God
~BlackRoseRaven

La Croix grimaced as he strode to the square in the center of town, brushing slowly at himself before his eyes roved moodily around: he took in the dust-choked fountain, and the stained walls of the ghost town, before his eyes drew upward, to the rooftops, where several ponies were laying in wait, cloaked in the darkness of the night. The only light came from the stars above, and even that light was faint and feeble, unable to permeate the dirty atmosphere above or the fog of dust rolling slowly along the ground below.

La Croix glanced over his shoulder: Moonflower and Cadence both stood behind him, the unicorn nodding to him encouragingly as Cadence only looked moodily around. The Loa nodded back to them, then he turned his eyes forward again, looking around for another moment before he said finally: “Mademoiselle, I don't wanna rush things, but...”

“Yes. Of course.” murmured a soft voice, and La Croix grimaced slightly as orbs of green light burst into life around the square, floating ominously above the ground and casting an eerie glow over the area. But La Croix did his best not to flinch, to keep his head high and proud until Veliuona appeared in a flicker of green flame in front of the fountain.

He carefully shoved himself up to his rear hooves, standing as she stood, and then they bowed to each other before La Croix grunted as he dropped back to all fours, apologizing: “Sorry, Madame, but... business, oui?”

“Business.” Veliuona chuckled quietly, then she gestured calmly around at the town, saying softly: “All of these souls have been put to sleep. They are safe, do not fear. I put them in a place where Bondye would not find them.”

“Why you workin' with him?” La Croix burst out desperately, and Veliuona frowned before she shifted and looked away when La Croix continued in a frustrated voice: “He ruined Darkwater, our home! He defies He Above, and worse, the Cycle! He ain't worthy of-”

“He is not. Nor is Loki. And nor am I.” Veliuona reached up and silently rubbed a hoof along the collar around her neck, before she closed her eyes as it sparked with eerie magic. “We are all false gods and goddesses, nothing but paper masks and lies. I am sorry, noble Loa. We do not deserve Darkwater. We do not deserve Dunia, we failed her and her people. That is why we all belong in the Void.”

She quieted, then said softly: “Loki knew Bondye's powers were incomplete. That he could not properly control the vodunsi who turned on him, who helped you seal him away. And after Bondye was made vulnerable, when his powers were stolen from him, Loki took him to the Void and remade him. For a broken spirit is a malleable one.

“Worse, Bondye was cast out, but still of Darkwater. And those of Darkwater can always find their way back, if they know which road to take. Bondye found his way back to Darkwater and brought Loki with him. Bondye was blind to what Loki did there: he did not give Bondye power, or make him master of Darkwater. He burned the bridges and poisoned the waters. He confused the signs on all the crossroads: now almost all paths lead not back to Dunia, but instead to the Void, where he waits to gobble up those souls.”

Veliuona sounded bitter and betrayed, Cadence thought, the Goddess of Cursed Shades shaking her head vehemently before she looked up and said quietly: “Loki has ordered me to seize your souls. He promises that he will set me free, and that I and my Velites will be left in peace. I know he lies and twists the truth. I know that even if he keeps his promise, it will only be so long before he destroys everything, and we are all returned to zero, anyway. But... that is only if I succeed.”

Veliuona smiled faintly, stepping forward and stretching a hoof towards La Croix as she said quietly: “Loa, and his marafiki. Melinda has spoken of you as the inheritors of this universe, that you are slowly proving your worth. Let us judge now how worthy you are.”

The Goddess of Cursed Shades straightened as walls of green fire erupted from the street behind them and around them, Veliuona raising her head high with a smile, and Cadence was surprised to see tears, shining in her eyes like gemstones, as she said softly: “Nakutakia kila la heri. And should you succeed... protect this world. Protect my children. Protect everything.”

“I will.” La Croix whispered, and then he leapt forward, sweeping his cape up to use it like a shield as Veliuona shoved her hooves out, a blast of wind sending a wave of sand erupting through the air towards them.

La Croix snapped his cape to the side, sending out a thrum of counterforce at the same time that blew the dust away before his eyes widened as Veliuona conjured a sphere of green energy between her hooves. “Moony! Shield!”

Moonflower snapped his horn out, creating a barrier, but Veliuona only smiled coldly before she threw the green fireball straight down into the ground, and La Croix blinked before he was blown backwards with a grunt as a pillar of eldritch fire ripped out of the earth beneath him.

A second pillar blasted out of the ground where Cadence had been a moment before as she dodged to the side, and a third knocked Moonflower off his hooves, the stallion squawking as his barrier vanished before Veliuona shouted something in her native tongue, and La Croix winced as what looked like a flock of blackbirds materialized in the air, diving down towards them with screams and caws. But Cadence reacted on instinct, snapping her horn out and sending a flare of white light into the cloud of birds that erupted into a bright flash, and the flock squealed as it scattered: not just fleeing, but bursting into streams of shadow and ash.

Cadence took the opportunity it gave her, leaping forward, but Veliuona caught her in a telekinetic vise, slamming her face-first into the ground before tossing her sharply to the side. Cadence twisted her body around at the last moment as she gritted her teeth, catching herself against a wall before she could slam into it, then she launched herself sharply back at the surprised Voidborn.

Veliuona shoved a hoof out, blasting Cadence out of the air with a surge of green lightning that stole the strength from Cadence's body, but then the zebra goddess gasped in pain as she was blasted backwards by a thrum of gravitational magic, barely catching herself against the fountain as the glammer around her body flickered. Before she could recover, a glass jar smashed into her and exploded, covering her in a foul dust that she flailed uselessly at before she suddenly arched her back and hissed in pain.

She seemed to bubble for a moment, her eyes bulging, before she slumped as her skin seemed to simply peel away from her body as her flesh dissolved. She stood, bare bones flexing slowly as veins pulsated eerily over them and organs thudded inside her chest, and then she calmly rose her skull as she said coldly: “All you have done is stripped away my outer layer.”

“Oui, but you ain't gonna be able to insulate yourself now 'gainst either Cygne or Moonflower's magic.” La Croix replied evenly, and Veliuona straightened slightly as the green fire in her eyes narrowed to pinpoints that focused in on the Loa.

Then Veliuona seemed to smile before she said calmly: “You still have to reach me, Loa. And this time, I won't be so careless as to allow either the mage or the bata-maji to touch me again.”

“We'll see about that.” Cadence growled, and then she lunged towards the skeletal goddess, but Veliuona only held up a hoof, a tornado of green flame ripping around her and swirling towards the sky.

The spiraling pillar spun out eternally, protecting the Goddess within it and driving Cadence back as she felt the supernatural power of the green fire nipping at both her body and spirit. Moonflower snapped his horn out, but he was only briefly able to punch a hole in the emerald barrier of hellfire before new magic flame spun into place.

Veliuona gestured sharply at him from behind the barrier, and toxic vines ripped out of the earth, lashing savagely at the unicorn; he winced as he staggered backwards, snapping his horn down to burn these away with a blast of flame, but then his eyes widened in horror as the flickering firelight illuminated the diving shadows for a moment before a flock of ash and darkness crashed into him, the supernatural birds cawing and shrieking as they danced around him, pecking and slashing at him from all sides.

La Croix grimaced as he hurriedly grabbed a packet out of his cloak and flung it at Moonflower, who yelped as it exploded in a blinding flash that dissolved the dust-crows, as Cadence felt the Swan take over, forcing her to her hooves in spite of the pain that wracked her body and spirit.

The Swan began to move forward, before she looked sharply to the side as Cadence felt a bolt of surprise when Moonflower shouted: “I'll... I'll destroy her barrier, but you have to drag her out of there!”

How? Cadence shouted mentally, but the Swan already nodded, spinning her daggers into her hooves before her horn gleamed, her bracers lighting up, and Cadence's eyes widened in surprise as she realized what the Swan intended to do: to put to use that new equipment she'd asked for from Hecate and had promptly forgotten to learn how to use.

But the Swan didn't need to be taught: the Swan simply knew, just as it listened when the suddenly assertive Moonflower snapped his horn forwards with a shout before Veliuona could react, blasting the cyclone of green hell encircling her with a powerful thrum of gravitational force.

The pillar of spiraling flame was torn apart as Cadence lunged forward, but Veliuona was already moving to counter: but before the Goddess of Cursed Shades could, a bottle crashed into her and exploded into a sticky, slimy substance that latched onto her, Veliuona flinching before her eyes widened as the slime began to drain away her magic. “Illrhapp!”

She ripped the slime off and threw it away, before two daggers shot by her, then spun violently around her body, gleaming silver wire snapping tightly around her limbs even as the pillar of green hell began to swirl upwards around her again. Veliuona swore, the light in her sockets intensifying, but anything she could do was too little, too late, as the silver string was yanked savagely, and the daggers caught against her like hooks before she was jerked painfully through the wall of green flame, crashing to the earth and skidding through red sand on her breastbone.

She began to push herself up, but the metal wire sang as it twisted around her throat several times before the Swan jerked her backwards, half-spinning to slam the Goddess of Cursed Shades painfully down on her back. Veliuona hissed in frustration, then shoved a hoof forward when she saw something leap at her.

La Croix was blown off his hooves with a yelp of pain, slamming into Moonflower and stumbling him, and Cadence swore mentally even as the Swan automatically leapt forward to try and end the fight. But Veliuona felt the slack in the wire, and she sharply flicked a hoof into the air as she shouted to the sky.

A black cloud of birds slammed into the Swan and knocked her to the ground, but the Swan's retaliation was almost immediate as she unleashed a tremendous flash of white light, eradicating the swarm of phantasmal crows.

It still gave Veliuona enough time to rip the daggers free from her skeletal body and shake her way out of the wire, however, the Goddess of Cursed Shades shoving herself back to her rear hooves before she irritably flicked a front hoof at the Swan and slapped her to the side with telekinesis. The Swan hit a wall, then gritted her teeth as she was pinned against it by psychokinetic pressure, slowly crushed chest-first into the brick as she squirmed uselessly, her armor groaning as it began to dent and bend inward under the immense power of the goddess.

Veliuona sensed it before she heard the thrum, half-turning with a wave of her hoof to create a barrier of green fire that a magic missile bounced uselessly off of. Moonflower followed up with several more attacks, but all of these were easily deflected by the emerald shield, Veliuona snorting in disgust before she said contemptibly: “I expected much better from you, mchawi.”

Moonflower only glared at her, snapping his horn back and forth to send blades of gravitational force hammering into the barrier, but Veliuona easily kept the shield intact even as she grimaced slightly at the force of impact. “Stronger than your average pony. But that is not saying much.”

“I am Moonflower, the... the Moonflowery!” shouted the unicorn, and Veliuona couldn't help but slowly tilt her head as the unicorn blushed ever-so-slightly. “That didn't come out right. But... my name alone will inspire fear and terror and amazement and awe and-”

Veliuona's sockets flashed, and Moonflower squeaked as he was blasted backward. The Goddess of Cursed Shades snorted, but then scowled as Moonflower rolled backwards to his hooves with a grin, and she felt the energy in the air shift before her eyes widened as she realized she'd lost track of the others.

She turned, just in time for a kick from Cadence to slam into her face and knock her crashing backwards. The Voidborn retaliated with a powerful blast of telekinesis, but it washed harmlessly over Cadence as the Swan hit the ground before lunging forward, daggers leaping to her hooves before she slammed both down into the goddess' ribs, Veliuona howling in pain before the Swan twisted savagely to either side, shattering bone and tearing her ribcage apart in a hail of splinters.

A blast of emerald flame slammed the Swan into the air before savage roots ripped out of the earth and seized around her, swinging her back against the ground with a tremendous bang. Cadence could feel deadly thorns scratching her armor and knicking bare flesh, but the Swan seemed unaware of the pan as she slashed herself free with her daggers, rolling back to her hooves as Veliuona panted and grasped at her ruined ribcage, her visible organs flexing and pulsating as she rasped: “I am both pleased... and infuriated. Is this all you have to offer? Can you truly do no better than this?”

Cadence narrowed her eyes as she felt the Swan giving control back to her, flexing her hooves slowly as her daggers floated to ready positions in front of her. “Oh, don't worry. I'm just getting started with you.”

“Good. Because I am just getting started with you.” Veliuona replied coldly, slowly raising her front hooves in front of herself, and spirals of emerald flame twisted across her body before they solidified into a pair of emerald serpents that hissed at Cadence. “Kuendalea.”

The serpents both lunged off her at Cadence, and the ivory mare dodged to the side as she slashed viciously into the face of one, before her eyes widened in shock as her knife passed through the snake with a flare of green flame before it smashed into her with a very physical weight, immediately slithering around her body before it savagely bit into the side of her throat.

Cadence howled in pain as the second snake twined itself around her forelegs to try and restrain her, but then both serpents were driven back when La Croix blasted them with a jolt of green lightning, shouting: “Allez, allez!”

Cadence swore as she shoved herself to her hooves, before grimacing as telekinesis washed across her. But the potion that La Croix had washed over her armor deflected the worst of the powerful blast as Veliuona snorted in contempt, then simply waved her hoof out, and Cadence shouted in frustration as the ground beneath her tore apart as massive vines snared around her limbs, shoving her high into the air.

She flailed uselessly before a jet of flame ripped through the vines beneath her, charring them away to nothing, and Cadence twisted her body hard, backflipping and dropping to her hooves with a grunt before she lunged forward-

A serpent crashed into her and coiled around her, crushing her breastplate and making her gasp before the Swan took over. White flame flared to life around a hoof before it slammed through the snake's face when it tried to snap at her, and the serpent burst apart into ashes and dust before the second struck-

This one, La Croix caught with a grunt by the back of the neck, stomping it into the ground before green lightning surged across it and transformed it into a harmless stick. He was blasted off his hooves a moment later by Veliuona, however, who was now protected by a series of orbs of eerie flame that floated around her.

Magic shot at her from Moonflower, but the missile was intercepted by one of the orbs, which glowed for a moment before it vomited a streak of ghostly energy out at Moonflower in response. The stallion yelped and narrowly staggered out of the way of the counterattack as Veliuona rose a hoof above her head, shouting a now-familiar word to the sky.

Flocks of black birds shot down through the night air, but the Swan simply focused, her horn lighting up with white radiance that shielded her from the crows. La Croix only snapped up his cape, hiding beneath it like a shield as it sparked with green energy every time the shadow-birds crashed against it, the flock cawing and hawing around him.

The Swan charged at Veliuona, but she was repelled by the green orbs suddenly and violently twisting themselves towards her, lashing angrily back and forth at the ivory mare as Veliuona waved a hoof with another command: a great white owl appeared out of nowhere, sweeping in behind the Swan and clawing against her helmet before it swooped sharply away, easily avoiding the sweep of the Swan's daggers as it instead twisted towards Moonflower.

The stallion squawked as the owl raked its talons across his head and knocked his helmet off, stumbling before he swore as a flock of birds descended on him, covering his bloody head with a curse before his horn flashed brightly, dissolving the flock of shadow birds. He leapt to his hooves with a snarl, eyes blazing as the owl shot back towards Veliuona, before the stallion lashed his horn forward and unleashed a flare of light that filled the entire square with radiance.

Veliuona was blinded by it, covering her face in surprise as her owl careened out of control and the black birds vanished in puffs of smoke. The orbs of green flame protecting her stuttered, swinging wildly out at the air, and the Swan saw her chance.

She drove forward and leapt straight at Veliuona, twisting her body elegantly between the lashing, spinning orbs of fire before her whole body glowed white, becoming a streak of light that pierced through Veliuona's chest, organs exploding into mush and white flame ripping across the Goddess of Cursed Shades as she cried out in shock, staggering backwards before she narrowly caught herself on her hind hooves, forelegs hanging limply as the Swan landed calmly on the other side of the Voidborn.

Veliuona's collar sparked, then fell away in two smoking halves as energy steamed off her body, her remaining organs slowly burning away to ash as she lowered her head. The skeletal goddess trembled for a moment, and then she gave a weak, rasping laugh as her magic died, fading from the world around them, leaving them standing in the dim illumination that was left behind from Moonflower's spell. “Yes... almost.

“Bata-maji, you cannot finish me. That is not your duty. It belongs to another.” Veliuona said quietly, as her eyes roved calmly towards La Croix, who grimaced for a moment before the Goddess of Cursed Shades said something, soft and gentle, in her old language.

La Croix lowered his head, then he gave a brief nod before he sighed and answered back almost despondently. But Veliuona only seemed to smile at him, straightening as she shook her head and said gently: “Then let things be as they will be. There is nothing else we can do.”

The two looked at each other for a moment, and La Croix half-rose a hoof-

The earth erupted beneath Veliuona, tossing the Voidborn into the air before she fell with a scream into the jaws of the massive monster that had torn out of the ground beneath her. Huge teeth chomped down around her, crushing and rending bone and sending steaming energy vomiting out the sides of the beast's jaws before it greedily inhaled, drinking down the spiritual force of the Voidborn before it laughed brutally.

“No!” La Croix shouted as he staggered backwards, staring with horror as the huge, mutant crocodile dropped forwards out of the hole. “Bondye, you diable!”

“I am no Devil. I am a God.” Bondye growled, the massive crocodile slithering forwards on its belly. His huge claws raked against the earth, his body bleeding black muck and ooze from between the cracks in ashen, armor-like scale, his face covered by the broken skull of some hideous monster from the Void. Beady green eyes glared furiously, eagerly, at La Croix as he crawled forwards, jaws yawning open as he drooled like a beast even as he mocked: “What's wrong? Afraid? Ready to surrender? Be sacrifice, then, La Croix, be sacrifice and-”

“I ain't afraid of you!” La Croix burst out, so vehemently he even seemed to startle himself, and Bondye stumbled to a stop before he snarled and reared back as the Loa pointed at him and shouted: “I done had about enough of your merde, Bondye! This ends, here and now! This time, I ain't gonna send you anywhere where Loki can scrape you back up, you bellycrawlin' newt!”

“Shut your insolent mouth, La Croix.” hissed Bondye, and La Croix snarled in pain as green lightning ripped across his body, before Bondye's eyes widened in surprise: even as tears filled the Loa's eyes, even as his limbs quaked and his body trembled, he refused to fall. “What?”

“I ain't afraid... I ain't gonna bow to you!” La Croix snarled, and then he simply shrugged off the lightning coursing over his body, green energy sparking out of existence as he glared up at Bondye in defiance. “I ain't your puppet, and I ain't your toy, and I ain't alone!”

“Neither am I. Nzambi!” snarled Bondye, and zebra zombies appeared in flashes of green light around the courtyard and smashed through windows, many of them outfitted with advanced equipment and weaponry. “Superior soldiers and better weapons than your toys!”

“They look just like our toys, actually.” Cadence said coldly from behind Bondye, readying herself as two Nzambi landed in front of her, one armed with a long dagger dripping with poison, the other aiming a rifle at her with a cruel grin. “Better hope they know how to actually use them.”

The Nzambi with the rifle swore at her before he leaned forward as he shifted his grip, and Cadence took the moment it gave her, trusting in the others to do the same. Her dagger slashed against the bottom of the rifle, knocking it out of the zebra's grip, and the Nzambi had a moment to look stupid before Cadence caught the gun in midair and slammed the butt of the rifle into its face with enough force to shatter its skull and knock it crashing down on its back.

The other Nzambi lunged at her, and Cadence caught the dagger against the stock of the rifle before she simply slammed it across the Nzambi like a baseball bat, knocking the zebra crashing backwards before she tossed the weapon aside even as she ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding a bullet.

The Nzambi sniper swore as he leaned back into the window, before he was seized by the back of the head and slammed face-first into the windowsill, then flung out with a howl of surprise. A moment later, Miss Take leapt out after him, dropping squarely down on top of the Nzambi, whose spine broke her fall as it snapped beneath her hooves.

She smiled calmly as she looked back and forth at the surprised zebra, saying thoughtfully: “Now, if this is the kind of unpleasantness dear Cadence has to deal with on a daily basis... it's no wonder she's gotten a little crankier.”

She paused, then clicked her tongue and smiled at the nearest Nzambi, leaning towards him and adding: “You know, I never met a real live – oh, excuse the language, dear! – zombie before, though. I think Pain was rather close, but-”

The Nzambi snarled at her before it lunged forward, attempting to drive a dagger into her neck, but a moment later it was on the ground, dagger buried through its own throat as Miss Take pinned him by the foreleg to keep the knife lodged in place, the mare saying in a colder voice: “I don't usually like to kill. But I suppose this isn't much of an exception.”

Another Nzambi leapt at her, and the gemstone on her head flashed, blinding the deathless zebra around her and turning the lunge of the nearest into a stagger. She leapt up and caught it around the throat, twisting savagely as she leapt past, and its neck snapped loudly before she flung the limp corpse into two others like a sack of bricks.

Moonflower blasted another Nzambi sky-high with a thrum of magic, and it was promptly smashed out of the air by a sickly ray of green energy from the rooftops, Chrysalis chortling before she grinned as she fired several more lasers of emerald hell down into the square. “I like this!”

Bondye snarled as his scales were charred by several blasts of emerald energy, and then he turned and roared, sending a shockwave of force slamming into the building Chrysalis was on with enough force to rip off an entire corner of the rooftop, the Changeling Queen howling as she was knocked tumbling backwards with a squeal of: “I don't like it!”

Bondye snarled, then hissed in frustration when a bottle smashed against the skull he was wearing, acid splattering over the bone and rapidly eating into the material as La Croix snapped: “Your fight be with me, cocodril!”

“I have always hated you, and your filthy, backwoods patois.” Bondye snarled, before he stomped both of his front claws down, and La Croix staggered before his eyes widened in shock as the ground transformed not to the muck of the bayou, but the mire and sludge of corruption, Bondye's eyes burning with hate as he roared: “I will use the powers I have been given to erase you all!”

The mire began to bubble violently, before both Thesis and Sombra leapt down from the rooftops, slamming their hooves into the mire and making Bondye snarl before the massive crocodile roared in shock as the black poison not only failed to carry his powers, it began to crystallize around his claws, the massive beast flinching away as Thesis shouted: “We'll stop the corruption! You concentrate on putting a stop to that asshole!”

“No!” Bondye ripped his claws free from the ground, turning towards Thesis with a snarl of fury before he leaned forwards with a roar, but Shining Armor slid in front of the stallion and gritted his teeth as he summoned a barrier, wincing as shockwaves of force ripped across the wall of energy with enough force to crack it, but not enough to shatter completely through.

“This is awkward, huh?” Thesis asked almost cheerfully, grinning in spite of the effort it took to counter Bondye's corruption, and Shining Armor glared at him over his shoulder as one of his eyes twitched. “Hi, by the way!”

“Horses of Heaven, how has Cadence not killed you yet?” Shining snapped as Bondye was distracted by a blast of magic from Moonflower, turning with a roar of frustration towards the black unicorn. Shining Armor immediately took the opportunity to recharge his barrier, adding sharply: “I don't know if I can protect you from all those zebra as well as this guy, they're-”

Nzambi appeared like ghosts on either side of the ponies, one with a needle at the ready and the other holding a long stiletto, but before they could attack, they were locked in place by spikes of black crystal that tore up from the ground around the two, Thesis grimacing only slightly as his exoskeleton sparked. “You concentrate on that barrier, and I'll deal with them!”

Bondye snarled as the black unicorn pelted him with more magic, but he was able to shrug off all but the worst of it, turning instead towards Sombra. He felt the corruption crawling over him again, but he ripped himself loose, stumbling in the direction of the unicorn before he snarled when Sombra simply vanished into the ground, hissing: “You can't hide from me forever!”

He looked over his shoulder, lashing his tail back and carelessly knocking a Nzambi flying before it hammered against Shining's barrier: the unicorn grunted in pain as he stumbled, but he immediately resolidified the shield with a gasp of effort.

Bondye began to yank himself back around, but then he howled in pain when a packet crashed directly into his eye and exploded. He shook his head violently back and forth, clutching uselessly at his face before he snarled in rage down at La Croix, who grinned mirthlessly up at the Voidborn as he said contemptibly: “You still ain't nothin' but a lizard from the bayou, Bondye. You got the same weaknesses. Loki ain't made you better. You just an experiment gone wrong.”

Bondye roared as he lurched towards La Croix, but the zebra leapt sharply backwards before he flung another packet out, hitting the rim of the other socket. But it was close enough that the explosion of light and dust blinded Bondye completely, sending him crashing down into the mire on his face with a howl of misery as he covered his skull mask for a moment, then looked up with blinded, scarred, sightless eyes, howling in fury: “La Croix! What have you done! How dare you raise bo against me!”

“Ain't bo, Bondye. Ain't nothin' you taught me.” La Croix replied disgustedly as he pulled a horn of powder out of his jacket, and then his eyes widened in shock as Bondye roared, and skeletal Velites appeared in flashes of green lightning.

They seemed confused more than hostile, before they flinched as Bondye snarled: “Kill them! Kill all of them!”

The Velites didn't seem to know whether or not to obey, before they looked up sharply as La Croix shouted a warning to them in the old language. But Bondye only snarled in disgust before he seized one of the nearest skeletons, crushing its bones in his grip as he held it up and snarled: “I gave you an order, and you will see it through, or-”

Bondye spluttered to a stop, then he choked, belching green fire as his body spasmed. The Velite slipped from his grip, and the other Velites rushed to grab it and carry it away as the massive crocodile spasmed. He clawed at himself, then howled in agony as his own bones twisted, snapping themselves apart into spears that ripped out through his own flesh as he gasped out: “Veliuona! You... b-betrayer! Traitor... traitor!”

“Quick! Sérénité, Thesis, hold him in place!” La Croix shouted, and Thesis gritted his teeth with a nod as he pressed harder into the mire beneath him, the corruption surging up across Bondye and forcing the great crocodile to bend backwards with a snarl, before he roared as crystalline tendrils snapped around his forelegs, throat, and body, bending him backwards even as they hardened into unbreakable bonds of obsidian.

Bondye twisted back and forth, clawing uselessly at the air, spittle flying from his jaws as his own shattered ribs ripped out of his chest, tearing flesh and scale alike from the inside out. His blind eyes glared at the universe with hate and malice as he roared and spat threats and insults uselessly, his front claws flexing, his hind legs trying to drag himself free from the corruption that had snared him.

“Cygne!” La Croix shouted, and Cadence spun away from the Nzambi she had been engaging, slamming a rear hoof into its face before she flung herself into the air and streaked over the crocodile's head, narrowly avoiding a reflexive bite from his jaws before she simply let herself drop with a snarl, her twin daggers slamming into his chest as they glowed white.

Bondye's breast was torn open like paper, the massive crocodile howling in pain as his twisted ribs seemed to shudder and bend further away, his revealed, beating black heart giving a double-thud. He snarled, then leaned forwards, roaring furiously, but Cadence leapt back in front of La Croix as her wings glowed white, shielding them both from the barrage of sound and force.

Bondye choked on his own roars as his ribs twisted themselves outwards, green lightning surging across his body, and La Croix gritted his teeth before he leapt past Cadence, then turned ethereal as he lunged upward, his hornet needle extending before he became solid again as he shot towards Bondye's exposed heart.

The needle of his bracer slammed into the pulsating organ, and Bondye screamed before La Croix tore himself backwards, landing in the muck and glaring defiantly upward as Bondye spasmed, jerking himself back and forth and ripping free of the crystal restraining him, but all he did was stumble and stagger before he fell forward with a tremendous crash, gasping and staring in disbelief at the ground as veins of gray began to spread through his heart.

He snarled, then looked up with fury and fear, trembling in rage as he opened his mouth, but he only coughed ashes and dust. And, slowly but steadily, the mighty crocodile began to petrify as La Croix pushed himself to his hooves, saying coldly: “You were the one who taught us all that gifts don't come without strings, Bondye. Oh, I know what 'power' Loki gave you. I seen it plenty.”

Bondye choked and grasped at himself, or tried to, rather: his claw would no longer rise, his trembles beginning to die out as his body stilled and petrified, his jaws working uselessly as ashes and dust spilled out of his jaws in a waterfall, and his blind eyes stared with fury and disbelief at La Croix. “And I learned to carry a bit of antidote to everything I seen. Because you never know what you might find hidin' under a rock somewhere.”

The Nzambi were fleeing, Cadence noted: if there was any better proof that Bondye's power was broken, she couldn't think of anything, except maybe for the way that Bondye himself was trying uselessly to drag himself forward, gasping and choking on dust as he whispered weakly: “I will... y-you can't... my powers... are the powers of...”

“Of nothing. Y'think you're death, Bondye, or God, or whatever... but y'ain't any of that. You just a big, overgrown gator who ate somethin' that didn't agree with him, and then got a sting to the heart. And even if I ain't nothin' but a bug to you... some bugs kill.” La Croix answered fearlessly, striding forward to stand before Bondye as the crocodile leaned down with a furious snarl, but that was all he was able to do: snarl and tremble, a few feet away from La Croix, but unable to stretch any further, to close that distance, as his features began to stiffen to stone.

La Croix looked up with contempt and disgust and pity all at once, shaking his head slowly before he said quietly: “Damn it all to enfer. I can't even find it in me to stay mad at you. You too damn pathetic. Too beaten. And there ain't nothin' to gain from it.”

Bondye snarled, then tried to speak, but all that came out was a mist of dust, and La Croix grimaced slightly before he said quietly: “Go ahead. Say your last Bondye. But y'see, here's the real interestin' thing about that corruption you been filled with. It changes the spirit, holds energy real tight... meaning that stone of your body, all your energy be encased in it, and it ain't goin' anywhere.”

For a few moments, Bondye only struggled and snarled, before his blind eyes widened, and he managed to rasp out, even as his muzzle steadily turned to stone, as his features froze literally in horror: “No... no! You lie!”

“I be a Loa, Bondye. We messengers are a lot of things, but I sure ain't no liar.” La Croix answered with a wry smile, before he stepped backwards as Bondye gave some last, desperate sound that was meant to be either a roar or a scream, but all that came out was one last gasp of dust, before Bondye fell still, petrified completely and eternally.

The Loa made a quick gesture across his breast, then he asked finally, without looking away from the stone goliath: “Who wants to do the honors? I ain't got what's necessary to shatter him myself.”

Cadence shifted, and Thesis smiled awkwardly as he straightened, and Moonflower bit his lip, before all eyes looked up in surprise as the statue of Bondye burst into emerald flames. La Croix grimaced as he leaned back, half-covering his leg before his eyes widened in surprise as something seized his prosthetic hoof, jerking firmly on it and holding it out.

La Croix's eyes widened, but only he and Cadence could see the spirit among the flickers of green, as Veliuona floated calmly. Her spirit was already dissolving, breaking apart as it lost cohesion as Bondye's statue broke apart, and Cadence couldn't imagine the force of will it took as she examined La Croix's wooden hoof slowly before she finally nodded and said silently: It will do.

With that, the spirit became a flare of green energy that twisted upwards, then slammed down into La Croix's prosthetic leg, the Loa staggering backwards with a hiss of pain as he clutched at his limb, clenching his eyes shut as his whole body shivered before he looked up with a gasp as the emerald flames whiffed out, and Bondye's statue collapsed into rubble in a final belch of smoke and ash and scattered fireworks of energy.

Beneath their hooves, the mire rapidly turned to dust, and the red sand lost its eerie copper color as a soft wind blew across the town, dissolving much of the supernatural desert that had spilled into this world.

La Croix flexed his prosthetic hoof slowly, rubbing uneasily at his leg before he mumbled what almost sounded like a 'thank you,' and then he cleared his throat and looked up as Cadence asked: “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, oui. Fine, Cygne... fine. Don't you go frettin' about me now. We got other things to worry about.” La Croix said finally, but Thesis only smiled wryly at this.

“I'm not detecting any other Voidborn in the vicinity. I think we're safe for the moment... hey, Electra, can you hear me?” Thesis called, and then he smiled slightly as, after a moment, the Changeling herself came calmly gliding down from the sky on her silken wings. “I guess that means we're safe, huh?”

“The... invaders fled, and discarded their...” Electra made the slightest of faces. “Bodies... some distance away. I can no longer feel their minds, or the minds of anything else, for that matter. Although I do sense...”

Her eyes roved towards La Croix, and he rubbed slowly at his prosthetic, looking down at it as it gave an eerie thrum in response before he murmured: “'Swarm. I don't know what she did, but I wanna say that I trust her... but...”

Electra held a hoof towards him, and La Croix hesitated for a moment, then stretched his prosthetic towards her. The Changeling closed her eyes as she brushed against it, frowning faintly... but after a few moments, her features cleared, and she gave a small smile to La Croix and a slow nod.

La Croix nodded awkwardly back, but he seemed at least a little reassured as he looked down at his prosthetic for a moment before he cleared his throat, saying finally: “I just hope this means that now Darkwater will have an honest chance to rebuild itself. It ain't fair that...”

He quieted, looking away, and then he shook his head when Sombra grasped his shoulder gently, murmuring: “No. Can't think about that just yet. First we gotta put a stop to Loki. Then, and only then, can we hope to put everything right, the way it's supposed to be.”

Cadence nodded in agreement as Thesis glanced around the square, saying finally: “Then I think the best thing we can do is rest here until dawn, then see if we can find where Veliuona hid the 'souls,' and hope to the Horses of Heaven that means they're still actually alive and not... you know. Souls.”

La Croix glanced at his prosthetic as it shuddered, and then he said after a moment: “I think they are. Otherwise, Bondye would have sent a lot more unhappy dead folk at us.” He grimaced a bit, then shook his head quickly before he cleared his throat and turned his eyes towards Thesis. “I can ward a building pretty easily. Should be enough to keep any vengeful spirits or Nzambi out.”

“Oh, wonderful. This has all gone spectacularly.” Chrysalis said moodily as she sailed down to join them from above, grumpily wiping a bit of dirt from her body. “If it's all the same to you, there's a hive outpost not far from here, and-”

“Well, dear, we'd miss your company!” Miss Take said enthusiastically, before she hopped up and yanked Chrysalis out of the air to put her in a half-hug, half-headlock. “So I have to insist that you stay with us until the very end. You were invaluable here, after all!”

Chrysalis grumbled and struggled uselessly for a few moments, then she sighed loudly and relented, dropping her head and muttering: “I figured as much. Electra, please at least tell me that you can hunt down wherever the ghoulies hid the bodies. Dead or alive, they could be dead or alive!” Chrysalis added quickly when Miss Take gave her a firm little shake, and La Croix rubbed uncomfortably at his wooden limb.

“They'll be alive.” he said before anyone could speak, and Cadence gave him an odd look, but the Loa only shook his head and gestured dismissively for now, giving her a look that almost pleaded for more time; and, while she was tired of the Loa keeping so much to himself... fine. One more time. “Look, uh... there, that one there. Doors are open for us and everything. We all should get some rest.”

“We should.” Thesis agreed, giving Cadence a slight nod, and she grumbled under her breath but nodded grouchily back: she had already agreed, after all. She would at least wait until things quieted down before she started asking La Croix what the hell was going on.

“After we secure this place, I will be more than happy to go with my sisters and see if I can track down the lost ones. Chrysalis is right, I should be able to find them easily.” Electra said quietly, smiling briefly as she looked up at them, and Thesis nodded even as La Croix shifted slowly.

“I appreciate it. But for now, we could use the help of yourself and your sisters securing this building.” Thesis paused, then he ordered: “Cadence, I want you to make sure the second floor is cleared out. Miss Take, Electra, Chrysalis, please go with them: make sure there's not signals from the living or the dead in there. Moonflower, Shining Armor, go with La Croix and help him ward the building. Sombra, I want you to start barricading entrances. I'll get in contact with Archon and update him as to the situation.”

Cadence saluted, and that seemed to be enough to get the rest of the team to fall in line. Thesis watched as they filtered off on their duties, before he glanced up in surprise as Sombra said gently: “You need to be more careful with yourself, cavaliere. I know it is different for you, but all the same, the corruption... takes its toll.”

“Yes, it does.” Thesis murmured, and then he cleared his throat and shook his head, adding with a small smile: “But I'm alright. It uh... stings a little, sure, but I'm okay.”

Sombra studied him for a few moments, and then he advised, courteous but chiding: “You are not living just for yourself any more, Thesis. You are living for my daughter, too. If you are to be a good husband and partner to her, you must take care of yourself. There will never be enough moments for you to spend with her to do all that you want, even if you were to live a thousand lifetimes; but I do expect you to live long enough to make at least one of her dreams come true. You owe that to yourself.”

“You're confusing.” Thesis said mildly, and then he winced and leaned backwards when Sombra smiled and leaned towards him.

“I am a concerned father, that is all. My daughter is the most precious person in my life, amico. I want her to live the best, most fulfilling life she can, especially in these difficult days.” Sombra strode towards Thesis, then he reached up and gently grasped his shoulder, squeezing it for a moment before he said kindly: “A cane scottato l 'acqua fredda pare calda. But it is better not to burnt at all, isn't it? Take care of yourself, or someone else will take care of you.”

Sombra patted Thesis on the cheek, then he strode past him, and the stallion blinked slowly before he scowled over his shoulder and shouted: “You don't have to keep threatening me, goddammit!”

Sombra cocked an eyebrow as he looked back over his shoulder, and Thesis wilted before he spun around, hurriedly hammering at his Mission Drive as he mumbled: “Chi parla assai, falla spesso. That mostly goes for your face, Thesis, so shut up.”

Sombra smiled wryly as he looked at the stallion for a moment longer, then nodded once before he turned and headed inside. He was a good boy, he thought, a good match for his daughter... he just needs to learn to take care of himself. But that's not such a great failing.

We all have our flaws.