Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

933 - Despair and Die

“STOP IT!!!”

Nenet didn’t have any sort of plan in mind as she put herself between Branwen and Gwynharwyf. None of the spells she had would – based on how easily the eladrin had defeated the vilderavn – so much as slow Gwynharwyf down, even if she enhanced them via metamagic. And the eladrin obviously preferred to fight physically rather than magically, which meant that countermagic was useless.

The only thing Nenet could think of was to appeal to the fact that Gwynharwyf at least wanted to do the right thing.

Even if she was clearly some sort of fanatic, and had an explosive temper, the eladrin was still motivated by a desire to help others. Her entire reason for being here, according to what she’d said before, was because she thought that Lex was abusing them. In fact, given how Lex himself had left them alone because he’d thought the same thing, and was also given to bouts of intransigence and fits of pique, Gwynharwyf was actually a lot like him.

And if I can get through to him, then even if we don’t have a soul-bond, maybe I can get through to Gwynharwyf too!

It was with that thought in mind that Nenet put herself in the way of the eladrin’s fist...

...which stopped a half-inch from her nose.

“What are you doing?!” hissed Gwynharwyf. “MOVE!”

“NO!” shot back Nenet, trying to keep from trembling. There was almost no space between them, Gwynharwyf already having been close enough to grab Branwen by the hair when Nenet had thrown herself in front of the raven knight. That was meant that she was now staring into the eladrin’s deep green eyes, the intensity they contained threatening to drown her. “Y-you said it yourself, the duel is already over! Leave Branwen alone!”

“If she wanted me to leave her alone, she should have kept her mouth shut!” Gwynharwyf’s face had already been twisted with rage before, but she looked even angrier now. “You heard what she said about me! About Morwel! She kept it up even after I told her to be quiet! She was daring me to finish her off, so I’m going to give her what she wants and put her out of my misery!”

Her anger was like a hurricane, making it hard for Nenet to think clearly. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Agapay staring at her with a terrified expression, the angel clearly wanting to help but worried that she’d make things worse if she stepped in.

Worse, everyone else had completely fallen under the sway of Branwen’s aura. Solvei was currently crossing swords with Yamini, clouds of steam erupting whenever her ice blade met with the tigress’s flaming sword, while a pair of ice elementals were being dismembered by Sirrush. Mei Li seemed to be locked in a staring contest with Carnelia, the air between them thick with magic. Further back, Dima was unleashing water spells at some sort of hideous tentacle monster that Spice had summoned, the succubus laughing and jeering as the creature tried to push its way toward the cerulean-skinned woman.

And Lex...Nenet couldn’t be sure, with their bond having been damaged, but if the momentary flashes of anxiety coming from him were any indication, he had his own problems at the moment.

No one was coming to help, which meant that just like before – when she’d had to recover Lex’s spine from Adagio, and then again when the undead had been breaking in while she’d been defending the captured Siren as well as Mei Li – she would need to solve things on her own.

“If you’re so angry at her, then...then...you can take it out on me instead!”

A sliver of confusion cut through the fury in Gwynharwyf’s eyes. “What? No! Get out of my way!”

Her free hand wrapped around Nenet’s upper arm and pulled, but Nenet dug her heels in place, knowing that the only reason she hadn’t been immediately yanked off her feet was because the eladrin was being gentle. “I’ll take her punishment in her place!” she yelled again. “I’ve been beaten before, I can take it! Just please, don’t hurt her anymore!”

The confusion in those green orbs was replaced by pity then, and Nenet could almost see it grow, pushing back against the rage. “You-”

“-pathetic little bitch!”

It wasn’t Branwen’s vicious snarl that made Nenet gasp, Gwynharwyf’s eyes narrowing as the empathy in them suddenly died.

It was the way the way the raven knight’s aura suddenly flared; Nenet hadn’t been able to feel it before, but now it was impossible not to notice.

Loathing. Vindictiveness. Spite. All of those words were too small to encompass the twisted, black wave of seething hatred that came off of the vilderavn then. It was a sickening feeling, and Nenet could almost feel the weight of it settle over her, pressing down with a lifetime of shattered hopes, bitter disappointments, and unending despair.

All things that Nenet remembered feeling before she’d met Lex.

“I don’t want your help!” shrieked Branwen. “I don’t want anyone’s help! I don’t need it! I didn’t need it after my parents were killed! I didn’t need it when their successors wanted to make sure they had no competition! I didn’t need it after this was done to me!” – although the vilderavn was behind her, Nenet could almost hear her touch the benighted, left side of her body – “AND I DON’T NEED IT NOW! ESPECIALLY NOT FROM SOME WEAK LITTLE NOBODY LIKE YOU!”

For the life of her, Nenet couldn’t have explained why, but she suddenly felt certain that Branwen was talking to herself as much as to her.

But there was no time to process that idea, as Branwen’s left hand – the stiff, chalky fingers curled back save for the index and middle digits, which were pointing outward – shot forward, making contact with Gwynharwyf’s middle. “The one who suffers will be YOU!”

It was like all of the hate in her aura flowed through her arm then, condensing and rushing along her limb and into the eladrin’s body-

Only for Gwynharwyf to shrug it off, knocking Branwen’s hand away with a snarl. “Since you refused to stand down, this still counts as part of our duel,” she spat, the compassion completely gone from her face.

“Wait!” pleaded Nenet. “I’ll-”

She didn’t have a chance to finish as a sudden gale sprung up, the wind swirling around her like a miniature tornado as it lifted her up and tossed her aside, wings flapping uselessly as she went tumbling through the air, hitting the ground over a dozen yards away.

Agapay was instantly at her side, darting around where everyone else was fighting to help the sphinx up. “Nenet! Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine, but Branwen...”

She couldn’t finish, tears choking her at the thought of how awful the raven knight’s life must have been. That could have been me, she knew. If I hadn’t met Lex, if Grisela had kept abusing me, and I found out that Adagio was lying to me about my father...I could have turned out just like her.

“We have to protect her,” she decided, standing back up. “You find a way to stop what her aura’s doing to everyone, and I’ll-”

Her words caught in her throat as she looked back at where the eladrin and the vilderavn were...just in time to see Gwynharwyf catch one of her scimitars as it flew into her grasp of its own accord.

Then she stabbed it directly through Branwen’s chest.

The raven knight stiffened, but the hateful look in her eyes only grew more intense. She opened her mouth as a trickle of blood ran from the corner of it, raising both hands this time...

Only for Gwynharwyf to twist the blade, making Branwen shudder, her arms falling as the strength suddenly left her.

“Just so you know, my swords are truedeath weapons,” spat Gwynharwyf. “The kind that shatter souls. No afterlife, no resurrection.”

She put her foot on the vilderavn’s shoulder. “Good riddance.”

Then she kicked her off the blade.

Branwen was dead before she hit the ground.

“NOOOOOO!!!”

The scream tore itself from Nenet’s throat, forgetting everything else as she flew back toward the fallen knight so fast that it made her wings ache. She didn’t notice how everyone else stopped what they were doing, eyes going wide as if suddenly waking up. She didn’t hear Agapay call out her name, trying and failing to catch her. She didn’t even see the pitying look Gwynharwyf gave her then, the eladrin casually retrieving her other scimitar.

All she was aware of was Branwen lying in a pool of her own blood, her eyes open but unseeing.

“Branwen!” Nenet shrieked as she threw herself down next to the vilderavn’s body. “BRANWEN! Don’t...don’t give up!” For some reason that seemed like the most appropriate thing to say. “Please don’t give up!”

“She gave up a long time ago.” In contrast to how furious she’d been before, Gwynharwyf suddenly sounded calmer, as though the slaughter she’d just performed had quenched her rage. “I think this was what she wanted; to have it finally end.”

“How can you say that?” Nenet wanted to be angry, then. She wanted to be furious, to hurl as many hurtful things as she could think of at the eladrin. But for some reason the rage wouldn’t come, leaving her feeling heartbroken instead. “You heard her before. She lost her parents. She was hunted and disfigured. She didn’t have anyone. If you’d tried reaching out to her-”

“You tried reaching out to her,” cut in Gwynharwyf. “Was she grateful for it? Did she appreciate that you put yourself in danger for her?”

Nenet shuddered, but didn’t answer, weeping softly as she cradled Branwen’s body.

“Tragic monsters are still monsters,” continued Gwynharwyf. “I’m sure that Lex Legis had an awful childhood too, but my sympathy for creatures like him ends when they start taking their misery out on innocent people. Once that happens-”

“SHUT UP!!!”

Solvei’s angry shout was accompanied by a storm of ice descending on Gwynharwyf. Nor was it alone, leading the way for a huge blast of fire, multiple streams of pressurized water, a cascade of lightning, and other waves of magic. They hit the eladrin full-on, obscuring her figure beneath a huge cloud of dust, giving everyone else – Solvei, Mei Li, and the other six women that Lex had brought back – time to form up around where Nenet was still sobbing softly, not having so much as looked up the entire time.

“Elder Sister Nenet,” murmured Mei Li, her voice thick with regret. “Forgive me if this sounds cruel, but we must flee at once.”

“There’s nothing we can do for Branwen now,” added Agapay, laying a hand on Nenet’s shoulder. “Right now, the priority is getting you three to safety.”

“We’ll cover you,” promised Yamini, her voice gruff. “No matter what, I swear we’ll buy you the time-”

“No one is going anywhere.”

Gwynharwyf’s voice came out of the dust cloud, which was instantly dispelled a moment later by a sudden gust of wind, revealing the eladrin.

For all the power that had been unleashed at her, she didn’t have so much as a scratch to show for it.

“I’m taking Lex Legis’s torture victims back with me, and anyone who tries to get in my way will share Branwen’s fate.”

“Is that supposed to be scary?” sneered Sirrush, brandishing her claws.

“A beautiful death is far more palatable than running away in an ugly display of cowardice,” agreed Dima.

“Not to mention His Highness’s anger is far more frightening than mere oblivion,” snorted Carnelia.

“And if we pull this off and survive, I bet he’ll give us a great, big, throbbing reward!” squealed Spice.

Gwynharwyf spat on the ground, raising her scimitars. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up about that, considering who he’s up against right now.”

Solvei frowned, her ears flickering back. “What does that mean?”

Gwynharwyf opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, another voice cut through the air.

“It means that its time for this little sideshow to come to an end.”

The speaker appeared in mid-sentence, stepping into everyone’s field of vision from seemingly out of nowhere, and Solvei’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped, recognizing him at once. “You?!”

Sanguine Disposition’s lips curled up in a fanged smile as he inclined his head toward her. “Indeed. And while your valiant stand is quite the heroic display, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut it short. Duty calls, and all that. Please do forgive the rough accommodations in the meantime.”

Gwynharwyf frowned. “I don’t know who you are, but if you think-”

“Hold that thought, if you would,” cut in Sanguine Disposition, even as magic gathered around him. “I’ll deal with you in a moment.”

“I won’t let-”

That was the last thing Nenet heard before she and the others were suddenly whisked away.

Author's Note:

Unable to save Branwen, Nenet is grief-stricken as Gwynharwyf slays the vilderavn, only for Sanguine Disposition to suddenly appear!

What is the vampire doing there? Has he sent the girls to safety, or will Gwynharwyf not be so easily denied?

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

First the Sun Queen and now Sanguine? Do they have Lex bugged or something? I recall that Lex had magic that would have allowed him to detect if anyone tried to scy him but I also remembered that it got screwed up by Aria and Sonata with no indication of it being restored to my knowledge. Of course, as a titan, he might have something similar though I suppose having scrying magic used by the gods should be nigh undetectable to most.

Regardless, Sanguine being so nonchalant about everything is odd. Champion or not, one does not dismiss such a terrifying individual like Gwynharwyf. Hopefully due to his previous disposition towards Lex in the Darkest Night, he's actually rescuing the girls and not taking them hostage.

[Booster Spice]

I wonder if Sangine stepped in in order to get the squabbling kids away from the play pen before they trash it and erase the mortals within?

[Alzrius]

11871665 Well, it doesn't necessarily need to be Lex that they're locking in on. After all, at this point you've got an avatar (which is essentially a god in its own right), a full-on deity (since as far as we know the Sun Queen is there herself), a titan of considerable power (i.e. Gwynharwyf), and another divine champion (i.e. Burly Brawl) all in the same place. Given that not many of them seem that interested in hiding their presence, you have to figure that it's probably not that hard for those with the capability to do so to sense that something's going on. The more notable question is why Sanguine Disposition is here.

Of course, you're not wrong that Gwynharwyf is now his problem to deal with. We know that he's a divine champion of the Night Mare like Lex, but unlike Lex there's nothing to suggest that he's a titan. A powerful wizard, certainly, and a vampire, but a titan on the same level as Gwynharwyf? There's nothing to suggest that so far...and yet Sanguine Disposition still has a rather, er, sanguine disposition. What secret has the Secreta given him (if indeed that's what it is) that he's so unconcerned about the eladrin titan?

[Alzrius]

11871946 I mean, it seems more likely that Lex's ladies were themselves going to be erased, considering what happened to Branwen, but I suppose we'll see.

[Booster Spice]

11872307

Thing that always puzzled me though. How does a Soul Break etc work against time shifters etc? 6th Day really breaks a lot of stories.

Or as Pratchett once put it.

THERES ALWAYS ONE LAST MOMENT.