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“You see, Hearts,” Spider hissed through his respirator, flicking his gaze from the blade of pure Light at his throat back to Ikora’s eyes, “this...this is your problem. You’re depraved. And through this depravation...” he paused to chuckle, which earned a quick tilt of the Queen’s head as she began to reassess the situation, “...you’ve lost touch with rationality. You’ve gotten sloppy.” The Spider would later revel in the widening of her eyes as she realized that, somehow, she was the one in true danger here.
With a surprisingly deft – and brave – shove from Spider’s secondary pair of arms, the Queen of Hearts found herself knocked off of his chest and winded. Her blade fell from her hand and began to dissipate, but a pained growl from Spider told her that he had at least gotten a burn from the concentrated, non-elemental Light – a hard wound to treat, even compared to a typical Light-based injury. Herself deft, the Queen managed to partially right herself before hitting the floor, allowing her to slide into a crouch, from which she could jump back to her feet and leap in for a real gash at Spider’s throat--
She got about halfway through the train of thought and hit the crouch as planned before being grabbed unexpectedly by Spider-soldiers he must have called. This would never be a problem: She would simply utilize Light-enhanced CQC techniques to escape their grasp.
She would, were she not very fatigued all of the sudden. It almost felt like a burning sensation where their claws touched her, even through her thick leather and metal armor, and a quick series of glances filled one gap and created another. Her knees felt weak, and she felt lightheadedness slowly creep up her spine.
“You see.” The Spider raised all four of his hands in celebration as he bellowed out a deep laugh, head thrown back. “Ahh, heh, oh, my Queen of Hearts....” He leaned forward, and the Fallen – now practically holding her on her feet – stepped forward to close some of the distance. The smell of purified Ether surrounded her, and she slowly turned her head to look at the Fallen’s claws again: A net-like holo-field was creeping out from their palms along her body the longer they held her. The mechanisms on the backs of their hands looked familiar, but she couldn’t place it in the moment. She returned her fading attention to Spider, racking her brain for where she had seen this before.
“You think you’re the only one who has connections to desperate, longing individuals who would give anything to win for once. But, my dear Hearts,” he wheezed out softly, “consider this a coup.”
Sword. Nothing. Sword! Nothing.
Oh.
The Red Legion.
Spider had caged her Light.
“No Wrath or Knight to save you now, heh heh. I’m taking back my Shore. And you, my dearest Hearts, will make a fine example of what happens when you cross The Spider. And after that...I’m not quite sure what I’ll do with you, but it will be very entertaining. That much I am sure of.”
Ikora woke up with Spider’s laugh still ringing in her ears. A quick scan of her surroundings told her she was safe in her Ketch ruins. Petra laid next to her, snoring softly, with her back to Ikora. Trethriks’ breathing was steady across the room where he sat propped against the wall, wrapped in his own cloak. One last thing.
Sword.
A flaming blade of Light appeared in her outstretched hand, and Petra woke with a start at the sudden heat, her eye wide.
“Traveler’s Light, Rey! What the hell are you doing?!”
Trethriks’ eyes blinked open, and his mandibles clicked out a similar question as he watched the fire flicker in her hand.
The Queen snuffed her Light as quickly as she had summoned it, and let a lopsided grin tug at her lips despite the tears beading at the edges of her eyes.
All was well.