Karazelle stood in place, staring at the great metal blockade as sirens went off all around her. Deeper into the Tempered Bastion, she could hear stomping boots, clashing weapons and barked orders. Just behind her, her companions were bickering and panicking, each yelling at the other as they struggled to both organise themselves and tend to Whitney as she struggled to block out the screaming klaxons.

It all faded into white noise as she stared at that cold, ironclad wall before her. All other thoughts were pushed out of her head as a single, burning question circulated in her mind.

Why? Why the Hell did she do this?

When Cobalt announced his intentions and marched off to his certain death, the entire school was stunned. That bizarre little clique - the Iron Hound Faithful, they called themselves - stopped anyone from pursuing him at the time, but once he was long gone, all Hell broke loose. Karazelle wasn't able to make head nor tail of the situation at the time, but in the ensuing chaos, she managed to get out of the assembly hall to get some air. In time, the others gravitated towards her. They didn't say much, but they could see the looks in their eyes; they were looking to her for an answer. Kind words that she always found it so easy to give. But not then. The Succubus was silent then.

That was when Brass found them. He rolled outside, looked them each in turn, and announced his intention to follow his son. The old Incubus asked them each in turn whether they wished to join in, and they each rebuffed him. Some with silence. Other with revulsion. But all made it clear that their faith in Cobalt Trayer had been well and truly spent. That it would be better for them to let him just walk on out of their lives.

Maybe they were right. But when he looked to Karazelle for help, she found her voice catching in her throat.

Cobalt... There was a cold sensation in the Succubus' chest whenever she thought of him, one that only worsened every time they locked eyes. She couldn't rightly say what it was, but it had completely overwhelmed whatever warm feelings he used to inspire. The callous words he spoke had cut through her in ways she couldn't have ever imagined. Two years of trust. Of friendship. Of love. All gone in an instant.

If Karazelle were a smarter woman, she would hate Cobalt Trayer. Right down to the marrow of his bones.

But... something stuck in her throat when she considered that fact. What her mother told her, about the things that had happened to him when he was younger. How she had twisted his mind; scrubbed it clean of all whom he was and made him into someone else. And then she thought of all the times since she knew Cobalt when he seemed like a different person. When his usual nervous demeanour slipped away to reveal something altogether more stalwart. That deep down, the old Cobalt was still in there. As charming and tenacious as she was led to believe.

Everything that he said... How much of it did he mean? And the conviction with which he said it... was it Cobalt's? Or just the facsimile that Viola helped create?

She...

She didn't know.

And that terrified her.

So she told Brass that he'd go with him. For Brimstone's sake, if not for Cobalt's. Whitney was the first to join her, claiming that she wasn't about to let her go alone. Quinn tagged along too, and though she disapproved, Lottie followed. Izzbelle was the most resistant - she claimed that Cobalt was beyond saving, and wasn't worth it to begin with - but it was Jelli who convinced her, spurred on by the others as she was. And Elya... she had overheard the entire thing from a hiding spot behind a tree. She joined them too, much to Quinn's chagrin. At the entrance to the school, they found Arnn Srenth languishing by the gates, and though he lacked the courage to join them, he did give them his father's keys to police van, to speed their efforts along.

For a while, it seemed to Karazelle as though they could actually make a difference. To do as they did before and take the fight to the Devils that threatened the town, and perhaps save Cobalt from whatever madness had gripped him. Despite everything - despite what they may claim - nobody wanted him dead.

Seeing him there, scurrying through the dust as Devils rained bolts down upon them from all angles... Something was eating at the Incubus from the inside out. The man she knew was completely gone, replaced with something maddened and borderline feral. And even still, she found herself-

"Kara!"

Quinn's sharp voice cut through her rampant inner monologue, bringing her back to the land of the living. Blinking, she looked around at her distraught companions.

As ever, she couldn't afford to languish in her own struggles. She was being relied upon, and with the sound of the Devils' jackboots growling closer, she had to take action now. Taking a deep breath, she nodded to the Imp.

"Does Lottie still snore?" she asked.

"What?! What the Hell are you-?!" Quinn cried, growing outraged for a moment.

Something quickly clicked with her, though, as she wordlessly took her bag off her back and began rummaging around, producing a small box of foam earplugs. Handing them to Karazelle, the Succubus pulled two out and rushed over to Whitney, kneeling by her side as she gently pushed them into her ears.

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"Quinn, Lottie; you two go in front. Down that way," Karazelle said urgently, pointing down the hall they had just come from as she helped Whitney to her feet.

She looked over her shoulder at Izzbelle, who was passing her weapon from one hand to the other.

"You and Jelli keep to the rear."

"Um... what about..." the Glutton murmured, pointing past Karazelle.

She followed her finger to find her gesturing to Elya. The Fallen was nervously pacing, wringing her hands as she did so. Noticing this, Quinn clicked her tongue with disgust.

"Say the word and I'll put a fucking bullet in her right now. Save us all the bother," she uttered spitefully, cocking the hammer on her Lead Revolver.

Karazelle just narrowed her eyes at Elya. True enough, the Fallen had always been more trouble than she was worth. But she alone had seen through the cracks in her maddened facade; how she seemed to be at odds with herself most of the time. And now, as she stood there fully clothed with her hair having grown longer, the Succubus found herself staring into Elya's glassy green eyes. There was not a hint of malice within them, only fear.

Whatever madness had possessed her, it had long since passed.

"Elya. You're unarmed, so stay close to me, okay?"

The Fallen's eyes widened with surprise before she nodded shakily. Over by the door, Quinn scoffed.

"Seriously?! You're taking her side?! After what she did to Lottie?!"

"This isn't about sides, Quinn. This is about staying alive."

Izzbelle cleared her throat before any more objections could be raised.

"If we're gonna move, then we better move now!"

Karazelle swallowed hard and laid a hand on Whitney's shoulder.

"Stay together, but don't stay in one place too long. Keep moving until we either find a way out, or all this ends."

"N- Not much of a plan, Whoretits," Whitney murmured, wincing as the klaxons kept blaring.

Karazelle peered down at the Leather Whip in her hands.

"... It's the only plan we got."

-----

Their eyes.

Their voices.

Their pained, baleful gazes.

It killed Cobalt. Tore him to pieces from the inside out. And yet he could blame nobody but himself.

All around him, the Tempered Bastion had been kicked into high gear; cogs spinning and sparking, pistons pumping, machinery grinding as the fortress prepared for war. With his father before him and Lilith guarding them, they had pushed ever deeper through hallways larger than streets and chambers taller than buildings. The annals of Devilish history passed him by with every step, and yet he could only look inwards. Even the gunshots and clashing steel from Lilith's encounters with mobilising guards failed to rouse him from his stupour.

He could feel the knife edge beneath his feet. Cutting him in two. Reminding him with every step that he was going to die, hated and alone.

"Stay with me, son!" Brass yelled as they forged on through the blackened arcades of the ancient structure, dogged at every turn by more Devils.

He couldn't respond, only dumbly nodding as he kept running.

"How many units did that prick bring?! All of them?!" their Devil companion growled, backpedaling as she unloaded a salvo of bullets behind them.

Again, all he could do was nod his head.

And what, by some cruel twist of fate, if he survived? If he was forced to live on as a monster; some small part of him always aware that he was despised and reviled long before the madness had ever taken him? That the girls running for their lives in the outer rings of the fortress were only here because of the mistakes he made? That he had ruined their lives, well and truly?

"What's in the bag, old timer?!" Lilith called, nodding to the satchel in Brass' lap.

He just grinned at her.

"Just a lil' somethin' cooked up by our genius friend!"

"Well don't keep me in suspense!"

"Nah, consider it a last resort! Don't wanna spoil the surprise unless I gotta!"

The halls around Cobalt began to look familiar, scarred by his battle with Delta as they were. The shot pellets lodged in the walls, the blast marks from the concussion grenades, the broken machinery from the Devil's many traps...

He winced as the fire burned in his gut, growing hotter with every step. It and the freezing hollow danced around and around within him, sapping him over every ounce of energy he had. He could barely even focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

"That's it! Up ahead!"

And indeed, there it was. A huge, circular chamber, the very same where Cobalt first met Delta, over half a year ago. The ferrohaem lamps weren't burning bright enough to see the ceiling, and the very centre was dominated by a huge elevator surrounded by dark iron scaffolding. As Cobalt pushed Brass into the room, Lilith fired at a panel on the wall, blowing it apart and causing a heavy door to crash shut, locking the Devils out.

"That'll only hold them for a minute! We gotta get this thing moving!" she cried, rushing ahead to the lift.

"Where are we takin' it?" Brass asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"Knowing him? Jump Gate chamber, further up!"

As she futzed around with the control panel by the door, Brass turned to look at Cobalt.

"You look like Hell, son," he said in a soft voice, eyes glinting with sympathy.

Cobalt swallowed hard, unable to form an answer.

"I know the feelin'. Incupsychosis, it's... just push through, you hear me?"

"I- I... I don't know if I can, Dad."

"You can. I know it. You got the tenacity to get this far; you can keep goin' a lil' longer."

The door dented as the Devils threw themselves upon the other side, fixing to rip their way into the chamber. Up ahead, Lilith swore and kicked a lever as the elevator slowly clanked and grinded.

"Can't this piece of shit move any faster?!" she roared, watching as a metal platform slowly lowered from above.

The sound of buckling metal rang out as the door strained beneath the Devils' onslaught. Brass ran a thumb across the leather satchel before him.

"This lil' gambit of ours... It ain't just for you, or me, or even them ladies of yours. Your mom and your sisters... they're countin' on you, son," the old Incubus told him as Cobalt wheeled him closer to the lift.

As bolts began to pop off the door, the elevator finally arrived. Lilith stepped inside and quickly gestured for the Incubi to join her.

"C'mon!" she cried, hurrying them along.

Cobalt nodded and made to push Brass inside, but his father shook his head and engaged the brakes. Before he could ask what was happening, he reached back and grabbed his son's sleeve, shoving him forward into the lift. With a sad smile, Brass placed his hand on the lever by the door.

"I'll buy you some time. Just hold on, alright?"

He winked.

"Make sure you see this through, son."

"DAD, NO!"

Brass pulled the lever. The elevator door slammed shut and the platform began to rise. Lilith and Cobalt stood there in stunned silence, their breaths held and eyes opened wide.

Neither spoke a word as they were conveyed to their final destination.