Ranks of the Terpolite army rushed towards them. They stood their ground. No one dared make a move. Leo gave Amneris a sidelong glance. She nodded slightly before turning back to the crowd coming before them. She could not help a small smile at the feeling running through her body. The only reason no one else saw it was because she was standing at the head. She was in charge. She let out a battle cry. The warriors behind her took it up as they charged forward.

The Queen lashed out at all who had the courage who attacked her with her power and her khopesh. She had forgotten the thrill that came with a large battle instead of one against many. It had been so long since she felt this way. Sure, one-on-one battles gave her the feeling, but this was something different. As much as she preferred fighting on her own, there was something about being with an army that brought that feeling through her. She had not felt this particular ecstasy for five thousand years.

Amneris caught an attack on the blade of her sword. She ducked under the attacker, sweeping her foot up. They were knocked to the ground. She pushed her sword through their heart. Less than a second later, three others were upon her from all sides. She threw her power over one arm, swinging it towards them as though it were a cyan shield. They went flying into another group approaching her. She switched her khopesh for her staff, waiting until the next group were close enough. When they were, she spun, knocking them all away.

Seeing an opportunity, she jumped. Immediately, she was high above the battlefield, able to see everything.

Nikki was attacking from the air in her dragon form. Several winged soldiers attacked her with chains that were wrapped around her body and neck. She shifted again, returning to her preferred eagle form. The Shifter grasped her attackers in her claws before tossing them away. They were nothing but a dot on the horizon. She shifted again, returning to the dragon form and breathing fire towards the next set of warriors who came towards her. One managed to escape. She slammed her tail down on them and they went plummeting to the ground where they landed on another group. She roared.

Nearby, Leo and Jay were tag-teaming. Leo was moving forward, clearing the path for them with his twin gladii. The second someone stepping in his path, he sliced them down in a beautiful fashion. Jay stayed close behind, putting a stop to those who were attempting to take his partner by surprise with his power. One second, he would be sending bolts of green energy towards them as a distanced attack. The next, his power had morphed into a sword and he was on top of his attackers. The movements of the pair were so fast that the regular eyes of the soldiers had difficulty keeping up.

Across the field, Hathor was flying Ray into the sky. It was an amazing feat to watch, especially since Hathor almost never flew. Ray seemed to tell her to stop. The Dreama created a platform of power to stand upon as both women wielded bows. In unison, they both shot a single arrow into the sky. It vanished. Moments later, a shower of arrows fell upon the soldiers before them, some how distinguishing between friendly and not. The two women moved to stand back-to-back before repeating the process. More soldiers fell below them.

Something else quickly caught Amneris' eye. Colt was holding his blades up against Tara who was quite literally seated on her high horse. The strange thing was that no one else was around them. This was a one-on-one fight within the middle of a battle. What is that idiot up to? Amneris used her power to push herself towards them and landed beside Colt. She gave him a questioning look, almost jumping back at the darkness in his eyes. He wanted Tara all to himself.

She opened her mouth to stop him, but he was already racing towards her. Tara had dismantled and was mirroring his actions with her twin daggers in her hands. Somehow, Amneris understood. This was between them. She threw a shield around them to stop others from interfering before she herself interfered. She jumped between them, swinging her staff like a bat and whacking Tara to the edge of her shield. It shattered on impact from the force. Colt gave the Queen a look of amazement before rushing after Tara who had disappeared within the frenzy of solders. Amneris stayed close behind.

She was amazed by Colt's fighting abilities. He seemed to have come such a long way in the short time he had been a member of her Court. The strange thing was that his style looked so familiar. She could not place it! That changed in a matter of seconds. The realisation hit her the same time she punched a warrior who was attempting to sneak up on her from behind. Colt's style was a mixture of the Kemetic and Lyriumian fighting styles. There was only one other person she could think of who knew how to use both at once in such a stunning way, and they had died in the last battle.

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Amneris was so lost in thought that she did not notice an attacker until the were upon her. Their sword went across her chest. She managed to jump back in time for only the fabric of her jacket to be ripped open. "Dude!" she exclaimed, eyes flaring. "This is one of my best jackets!" She shoved her dagger through him, pulling it out just as fast. "No respect for the threads," she muttered, waving a hand over the threads which pulled back together. She resheathed her dagger, once again running after Colt.

Tara had managed to corner him on the edge of a cliff. Amneris risked a look down and cringed, immediately deciding that she did not want to go down there. She rushed towards Colt who was now face-to-face with his older sister. He managed to push her back but did not see her feint. Tara stabbed Colt in the side. He gritted his teeth at what must have been a painful blow.

"Rookie mistake," Amneris muttered, though she was surprised. She had, for some reason, thought they would hold back against each other, even if only a little. They had seemed quite close when they first met. She ended up deciding that they must have had a falling out over something. Something big enough for Tara to stab her own little brother. Or was it something else entirely?

She did not have time to consider the possibilities as Tara threw something at her. She only realised it was a dagger once it was embedded in the stone. The heath was close enough that the skin on her cheek tingled. Amneris let out the breath she had not realised she was holding, turning her attention back to the battle between Tara and Colt. Tara was clearly in the lead now. Colt was struggling to keep up. His healing abilities were yet to properly adjust for wounds like the one he was dealing with.

Amneris allowed for her power to flare. She moved fast enough that she was able to reach Colt just as Tara lowed her blade to make the winning strike. It landed on the wood of the Queen's staff instead. She pushed her back, snarling, the wood of her staff whacking Tara's face

The Terpolite woman stumbled but was able to recover quickly. She spat blood form her mouth, looking between her opponents. "You're protecting him?" She laughed as a dark smile crossed her oddly lovely features. "He isn't who he says he is, you know."

Ignore the psychotic bitch, Amneris told herself. Well, not psychotic. That's you. But she's still a total bitch. Amneris held her staff out in front of them in a defensive stance. The crystals embedded in the staff glowed in response to the power she had not noticed was flaring around her. She held her other hand towards Colt. He took it immediately. She allowed for her power to flow through him, healing his would. She kept a firm hold to his hand as she spoke to Tara. "It doesn't matter what you say. I've claimed him."

The three of them knew the strength that was behind those words. There was almost no going back once someone had been claimed. In some cases, it could turn into an eternal bond/ Considering the spell used to bond him to her Court, she had a feeling that this one was going to be eternal. Colt squeezed her hand before letting go an holding his swords in front of them.

Tara must have seen some unspoken message. She laughed again. "You want him so bad?" Her body glowed red as her power built up. "Then you can have him!"

Tara lashed out with her power. A stream of red energy shot towards them. Amneris shoved Colt away and took the full force of Tara's strike. She screamed at the pain lashing through her body as she tried to keep her ground, but her power was failing her. She was thrown off her feet, straight towards the edge of the cliff. She managed to grab onto the ledge with a hand as she rolled over it, stopping her fall as her fingers dug into the dirt enough for them all to break. The Queen grunted as her head and body hit stone. She went into a daze, beginning the slip as her strength left her. She was falling –

A hand wrapped firmly around her wrist. Amneris managed to look up, barely able to see Colt's blurred figure. "I go you!" he called down. Opponent forgotten; he held his other hand towards her. With a groan, she reached out with her own, their fingertips brushing.

Her eyes widened at the blurred sight behind him. He must have seen the shocked look on her face. He turned. It was not fast enough. Tara slammed her knife into his spine. Colt roared, somehow still able to keep hold of her.

"I told you," Tara cried in delight, "You can have him if you want him so bad!" The tone in her voice turned from joy to anger. "You can go to Hell together."

"We'll see you there," Amneris retorted weakly. She could feel Colt's grip on her wrist slipping as the attack from Tara's knife slowly killed him. "Just let me go," she said. "I'll be fine."

"No!" His grip only tightened. "I already lost you once and I am not letting you go again!" He strained to pull her up but was unable to do so. "If you fall, then I fall."

"As you wish," Tara murmured.

She stepped back, readying her final attack. Red lightning flashed as thunder shook the skies. This was her last chance to take them both out and it was clear that she was not going to let the opportunity pass.

A flash of light.

A cry of pain.

They were falling.

"The Queen has been defeated! Soldiers, destroy the others!"

The last thing Amneris heard was Tara's triumphant cry as the world turned black.

The Terpolite woman had won.