"Well, well, well... It seems that we have a new chapter here~. Not that I really care, but Author-baka is quite pleased with this chapter."

(-)

In order to surpass the limitations of the human body, Revenants must sacrifice that which makes them human. In exchange, they become stronger, faster, and more powerful than any man could ever hope to become. But the question still remains; does this make them less than human, or something more?

(-)

For his entire life -if it could even be called that- Grey saw himself as little more than a leech. An insignificant parasite whose only chance at survival was to take from others. Sure, none who he took from would suffer any adverse effects, but that didn't change the fact that everything he has, everything he is, was either given to him or something he took from others. Not a single aspect of his existence was earned or even there to begin with. His powers? All copied from the blood codes of his fellow revenants. His combat skill? Simply mimicking the styles he learned from others memories. Even his identity was born from the parting will of Cruz, who still slumbers deep within his mind.

This aspect of his nature is even apparent in his personality, as he would copy the attitude and mannerisms of those around him. When he first awoke as a Successor he initially began to mimic Io, causing him to act rather passive and subservient. It was for this reason that he was so willing to go along with his captors demands. Oliver was not present long enough for Grey to mimic, so the next major influence was Louis. The mans inquisitive nature sparked a thirst for knowledge in Grey, which made him eager to go out and explore the city. All-the-while Cruz's desire to save the Revenants continued to subtly exert its influence and steer him towards said goal. Whenever Grey needed to be snarky or jovial, he'd copy Yakumo. If a situation called for a more serious approach, it was Coco who he took cues from.

Sure, over time he managed to cobble together a somewhat proper 'identity' for himself, but it didn't change the fact that not a single aspect of his person was original. Even his name was something given to him by someone else.

When he was first brought back as a Revenant, it was during a more hectic era in the gaol where no one could spare any time to help the newcomers adjust and figure out their original identities. If you remembered your name when you woke up, then they handed you a weapon and pushed you out the door. If you couldn't remember your name, they'd give you a temporary one and then hand you a weapon and push you out the door. At the time, the government was desperate to create soldiers to fill the ranks, so learning to fight was prioritized over learning your name.

Say what you will, but Grey found his name to be rather appropriate. The name of a color that doesn't stand out, but doesn't quite blend into the background either. Undefined, neutral, balanced. Perfect for someone who was essentially a blank canvas.

Most would assume that such scenarios would lead to some kind of existential crisis for him, that he would stop and question where 'he' ends and the 'others' begin. But Grey was never one to care about things like that. For the bearer of the Queen's blood, all that mattered was making use of the skills he obtained in order to do what needed to be done. And what he needed to do was defeat the woman in front of him.

The two combatants remained unnaturally still, each waiting to see who would make the first move. It ended up being Grey who took initiative, needing to defeat the woman as soon as possible in order to bring a stop to her attack on the city. Rushing forward, Grey kept his body low in order to make himself a smaller target. The small conflagration in the woman's hand snapped forward and formed into a surge of flames poised to consume Grey and burn him alive. However a quick application of a Gift to shield him from the flames allowed him to dive through the fire and emerge from the other side unscathed. A pair of swords formed in his opponents hands as he performed an overhead swing. His weapon was deflected to the side, but he made use of the redirected momentum to spin 180 degrees and launch a kick below the woman's guard. The lack of an impact was a sign that his attack failed to connect, but Grey was already going through the motions of his next move.

Code shift; Demeter.

Running his free-hand along the length of Memento, the blade was coated in lightning, and as his foot returned to the ground, he spun on his heel and lunged forward for a high-voltage palm strike to his retreating opponent. The woman had backed out of Grey's immediate range, but wasn't far enough away that he couldn't close the distance between them. A blade of lightning met with blades of glass, with the woman somehow managing to withstand the strength behind Grey's sword. However his palm strike managed to pass under her guard, allowing him to just barely touch her before her elbow dropped down and knocked his hand away. It became evident that despite making contact with her torso, Grey's attack only managed to give her a little shock. Kicking upwards, the woman brought forth another swath of flames to both attack Grey and conceal herself from view. Flipping backwards, Grey avoided getting singed and quickly prepared for their next clash. Reaching into his hip-pouch, he pulled out a couple vials of ichor concentrate and crushed them in his hand, allowing the substance to seep into his blood through the small cuts.

"Alright Murasame, time to test out the new modifications." Grey muttered to himself as he pulled on the trigger attached to Memento's handle. As per its usual transformation the blade split down the middle, however it then proceeded to extend the length of the lower half-blade by a few inches while the swords hilt folded in and shifted up the weapons length to form a makeshift foregrip. All it took was a few seconds for Memento to be transformed from a sword into a rifle.

Taking aim, Grey fired several wild shots through the fire in an attempt to keep the enemy pressured. Moments later the flames abated, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. Warning alarms blared in Grey's mind courtesy of his Active IFF, alerting him to the presence above him. Looking up, he spotted his opponent falling towards him with her bow drawn and three arrows notched on it. The ominous glow from the tips of the arrows did not bode well for Grey's health. Taking a page out of Louis' book, Grey turned to mist and dashed backwards just as the arrows struck the floor, resulting in a powerful explosion that left a large hole in the ground.

"Guard of Honor!" Grey shouted as he raised his arm, causing numerous large chunks of ice to form in the air behind him. The chunks then twisted in shape to form lances which then proceeded to hurl themselves at the woman.

Swiping her hand in front of her, the woman conjured several explosive blasts of fire that knocked the ice-lances of course and sent them crashing into the already debris-littered room. Landing with a certain grace that implied she wasn't the least bit pressured, the woman gazed at Grey with a condescending smile plastered on her face.

"I must say, you are quite a bit more impressive than I originally thought you'd be." she opined as flames began to rise from the floor around her, forming a protective barrier. "Though now that I posses the full power of the Fall Maiden, you can't hope to emerge from this fight victorious."

Grey took a firm grip of his sword, pulling the trigger to shift it back into sword form. "That remains to be seen."

"Hmph, well aren't you the confident one, and with a modicum of power to back it up. I suppose I could reward your skill with a small consolation prize, as I'm sure you'd like to know the name of the person who is about to kill you." she responded as she split her bow into a pair of swords. "You stand against the rightful bearer of the power of the Fall Maiden; Cinder Fall."

Lowering his sword and holding it in a reverse-grip, Grey switched gears to a different combat style.

Code Shift; Hermes.

"I don't know what that title means, so I doubt you'll recognize my own, but still I will tell you it." Grey spoke as his gaze narrowed on his target. "I am the Successor of the Blood; Queenslayer Grey."

Not allowing Cinder any time to ponder what his introduction meant, Grey crossed the distance between the two of them in the blink of an eye. His sword shot forward, aimed at the small opening near Cinder's left hip, but the sudden upward eruption of the flames surrounding the woman caused him to flip backwards and out of range. A moment later, the fire surged forward as a massive wall of flames that was set to crash over him like a tidal wave.

Code Shift; Fionn.

Enhancing his physical strength with ichor, Grey stomped down on the floor with such immense force, that the ground buckled and began to tilt. A large section of the room's floor was spun at a 90 degree angle, creating a wall between Grey and the fire. However this also caused the structure to further destabilize, resulting in the floor they were on completely collapsing to the next room down. Cinder looked genuinely surprised at the feat of strength, but quickly cooled her expression back to normal. Numerous chunks of stone debris floated in the air around Cinder as she fell and caught fire, before shooting off like mini-meteors with Grey as their target.

Code Shift; Isis.

Thrusting his palm forward, Grey launched a volley of orbs charged with voltaic energy to intercept the burning chunks of slag that were barreling towards him. Lightning met with fire and the resulting explosions shook the already compromised integrity of the current floor, as well as filled the air with a thick smoke. Using his heightened senses, Grey was able to track down Cinder's location and rushed forward. Cleaving horizontally through the smog, Grey finally felt his weapon make contact with his enemy, scoring a hit across Cinder's flank. The woman grunted in pain but quickly countered with a fiery explosion at point-blank range. With the entirety of its force directed at Grey, the blast was able to send him tumbling away with some burns as souvenirs. Recovering his posture, Grey raised his hand and prepared to fire off another attack into the fading smoke.

"Fourfold Verdict!"

Lightning crackled at Grey's fingertips before coalescing into several blobs of energy that floated in the air. Though Fourfold Verdict wasn't the fastest in terms of projectile speed, it made up for that by tracking its target and preventing them from staying put unless they wanted to suffer a massive shock.

A small glint of light was reflected from one of the nearby burning fires, and Grey turned his head to the side at the last moment to avoid the arrow aimed at his head. However the glass construct did manage to trace a cut across his forehead.

"Can't you use a gun like a normal person?" Grey grumbled in annoyance. "Bows are too quiet."

"Now why would I do that?" Cinder replied with a hint of amusement in her tone as she circled around Grey to avoid his lightning. "If I can kill my opponent before they even realize I'm there, then it makes my job that much easier."

Making some gestures with her hands, Cinder launched a salvo of fireballs at Grey while continuing to strafe across the room. Grey raised his blade and used it to cut down the numerous projectiles before they could hit him, but briefly paused when he felt the ground beneath him heat up. A quick glance to the floor and Grey realized that the fireballs were a distraction.

Code Shift; Atlas!

A massive conflagration erupted from beneath Grey's feet and swallowed him whole. Cinder wasn't satisfied with just that however, and continued her assault by firing off even more fireballs to add to the blaze. As the flames continued to grow in size, Cinder drew her bow once more, but this time it was notched with an arrow that was tipped with a wind dust crystal. The arrow was loosed and was engulfed in the flames, only to violently exploded a moment later and turn the wildfire into a blazing hellstorm. Cinder was confident that Grey had surely perished in the attack, but she felt something was off. Where were his screams of agony from being burned alive?

Before the blaze had even began to die down, a projectile came flying out from its depths and was poised to skewer Cinder. Bringing her swords up, the Fall Maiden managed to deflect Memento upwards, however this left her chest unguarded. Grey emerged from the fire moments later, his face covered in burns and with flames still clinging to his outfit. Spittle flew out of Cinder's mouth as Grey drove his elbow into her gut with incredible force, which knocked her off her feet and sent her staggering backwards several meters.

Snapping her gaze up to glare at her opponent, Cinder noted that Grey's burns were already healing at a considerable rate, meaning he must still have plenty of Aura in reserve. Catching his blade as it dropped down from its impromptu flight, it was clear that Grey was far from finished.

The floor cracked and trembled beneath them. It would seem as if their battle would last until the tower itself collapses.

(-)

Kurt Redmund took a deep breath to calm himself as he pressed his body against the wall for cover. It had only been several months since he joined up with the Vale branch of the White Fang, and prior to this assault hadn't taken part in any live combat. He had been mostly delegated to menial labor and the like, but with how major of an operation this attack was, his superiors decided it was time for 'all hands on deck' and armed every last member for battle. Kurt was still trying to keep his excitement jitters in check from having lost his 'battle virginity', but was finding it increasingly difficult to do so with each human he gunned down.

"Fucking humans. This is what you pieces of shit get for opposing the White Fang!" he muttered to himself with a manic grin beneath his mask.

Reaching into his vest pocket, Kurt pulled out a fresh ammo clip for his AR and replaced the empty one with it. Pulling back the slide, he was rewarded with the satisfying *click* of the next bullet sliding into the chamber. Casting a glance to his side, he spotted his two squadmates struggling to do the same with the ease that he did.

"Hurry it up already!"

The first of his companions nearly dropped the ammo clip he was holding before finally managing to jam it in place, while the other guy was having trouble pulling back the slide.

"We are! Stop rushing us!"

Kurt clicked his tongue. "Do I look like I care? We gotta keep moving! That damn evac point has to be somewhere nearby if all this VTOL traffic is anything to go by." he barked in response with a sense of urgency.

The White Fang grunt figured that by finding where all the wounded and civilians were being evacuated to, killing a bunch of humans would be a rather simple matter. Maybe if he got a high enough kill count, he might even get a promotion in the organization. So it was that his overconfidence and reckless ambition led him to grab a couple of his fellow grunts and drag them along in his search, despite going against orders. Besides, once he was successful it wouldn't matter how much trouble he would have been in as the higher ups would no doubt praise him for his actions.

"I still think this isn't a very good idea." one of his companions grumbled as he peeked around the corner to look for hostiles. "Why did I agree to go along with this insanity? Even if we find the place, we'll definitely be outnumbered."

"Quit your whining!" Kurt responded with an audible growl. "They won't be in any condition to fight, especially if we get the drop on them."

Switching positions with the other faunas, Kurt took point as he stuck his head out from cover to check the street for enemies. The block looked clear so he gestured for his pals to follow.

"C'mon, we must be getting close."

Exiting their cover, the trio made haste as they traversed the open ground to the next piece of viable cover. Keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of movement, Kurt was certain that the enemy had yet to notice them, despite how close they must have been to the evac point. Glancing over his shoulder, he checked on his buddies to make sure they were keeping up with him. A muffled *bang* was heard in the distance, and Kurt almost missed seeing a cloud of red mist explode out the back of the head of the guy who was pulling up the rear. It was a clean headshot that pierced through the paltry amount of Aura that the grunt possessed. He was as good as dead the moment the shot was fired.

Alarm bells began ringing something fierce in Kurt's head, and adrenaline was rapidly pumped into his bloodstream as he rushed for cover behind an overturned car.

"Sniper!" he shouted in warning for all it was worth, as his only remaining companion had already ducked behind a pile of rubble.

"Oh god! What the hell just happened?!" the man shouted in panic.

"Calm the fuck down! It's a sniper!" Kurt answered in aggravation. He was less concerned about the death of his companion and more annoyed that they'd been spotted. "Marlowe, did you see where the shot came from?!"

"S-shit! Carmine's dead! They fucking killed him!"

"I said calm down!" Kurt roared in anger as the man started to lose it.

"He was right! We never should've done this! Now we're gonna die here!" the faunas cried as he dropped his gun and held his head, trying to block out what was happening.

Grabbing a rock off the ground, Kurt threw it at Marlowe to get his attention back. "Focus already! We can get through this alive! Just follow my orders!"

"Your orders are what got us here in the first place!"

Another gunshot went off, and the car that Kurt was hiding behind shook from the impact of the projectile, causing the faunas to startle. The sniper was trying to provoke a reaction.

Kurt cursed under his breath before ripping off the rear view mirror from the car. Holding it out, he managed to angle it to safely reflect the view from down the street. He spotted a four-story building that would be a viable sniper position, but couldn't confirm it as the mirror was shot out of his hand a moment later.

"Shit!" he cried in alarm as he tossed away the remnants of the mirror.

"We're dead men! That sniper is gonna kill us the moment we try to run!"

"Then we don't fucking run!" Kurt responded as he tightened his grip on his weapon. "Let's kill this bastard!"

He tried to muster up some courage in the hopes that Marlowe would get at least slightly riled up, but the man sat in place crying and begging for forgiveness for all the bad he's done.

"I'm sorry! My mom was right, joining the White Fang was a mistake! Please forgive me, I didn't realize what I was doing! This isn't what I wanted to happen!"

Kurt clicked his tongue in disdain. Marlowe would be of absolutely no help whatsoever. It was all up to him at this point. Turning back was not an option, as he would just get shot, so all he could do was press onward. Taking a deep breath, Kurt decided on his course of action. The sniper had to be in that four-story building. If he unloaded an entire clip at it he might get lucky and hit them, or at the very least force them to take cover for a moment. More than enough time for him to switch positions.

"Alright you prick! Let's do this!"

Rising from cover, Kurt quickly aimed towards the target building and pulled the trigger. The gun kicked from the recoil, but he still managed to keep it steady enough to pepper the building with bullets. Soon the magazine was empty, and the sniper had yet to shoot back. Kurt smirked in satisfaction.

"Hah! How do you like that you-!"

Marlowe heard a *bang* in the distance, followed shortly after by the sound of Kurt's body collapsing to the ground. Now it was just him. Marlowe sat behind his cover in relative silence for what seemed like hours, but was actually about a minute. He thought back on his life and all the decisions he had made which led to his current situation. It felt as if this sniper was tasked with the duty of enacting his punishment.

Knowing that there wasn't anyway for him to escape with his life, the faunas resigned himself to death and slowly stepped out from cover. If he was going to die, he'd rather hurry up and get it over with instead of spending his last moments suffering in mental anguish due to fear. Kneeling down in the center of the street, Marlowe removed his mask and placed it on the ground in front of him and waited for the end to come.

One final *bang* echoed through the streets.

(-)

Lowering her rifle, Mia released a small sigh as she watched the White Fang soldier somberly walk back to the direction he came from, albeit without his mask, which now had a massive hole in it. She didn't like having to kill people, but it wasn't something she was unfamiliar with. During her time spent in the Gaol she killed her fair share of Revenants, some of which were unable to revive as a result of their hearts being destroyed. But here, it was unsettling how the corpse of the person she just killed remained behind, serving as a reminder to what just happened. Lost and Revenants never left behind anything substantial, which made it easy for her when travelling with fake-Nicola. No need to shelter the child from the violence around them if there was no evidence of said violence ever having occurred.

But just because she was used to it, didn't mean she liked having to do it. Still, it was either her or them, and she had people counting on her to protect them. If these terrorists showed no signs of remorse for the killing of innocent civilians, then it made it that much easier for her to steel her heart and pull the trigger.

A loud roar shifted her attention and she leaned out from behind the chimney she was using for cover to get a clear look at the source. The massive dragon that was circling the skies above the city had made an abrupt change from its usual flight pattern and was no headed straight for the tower in the distance; the same tower where her friends were at.

"Damn it." she cursed softly under her breath. She had an ominous feeling that things were about to get much worse for everyone around the tower, as she had already witnessed the flying monstrosity spawn even more beasts from its blood.

Glancing about her surroundings to confirm that the area was clear, Mia then reached into her hip-pouch and pulled out a needle which she proceeded to prick her finger with. A sense of being turned into thousands of particles of dust before flying off through the air assaulted her, causing a fair amount of dizziness before her body reformed back at the evac point where Murasame was.

Shaking the slight feeling of nausea from her head, Mia quickly made her way over to the orange-haired girl just as she was finishing up work on repairing a bullhead.

"Try giving the the engine another go!" she shouted to the pilot.

"Still nothing!"

Murasame grumbled an obscenity under her breath before kicking the vehicle on the side with enough force to shake the entire chassis. Moments later the engine roared to life.

"Murasame!" Mia called out as she joined up with her fellow Revenant. "We might have a slight problem."

"Aside from everything else going on?" the slightly shorter girl responded as she gather her tools together.

Nodding, Mia gestured towards the tower. "That dragon is acting up. And it's heading straight for the others." she answered grimly. "I know the guys are strong, but I'm still worried."

"I understand where you're coming from, but we need to trust in their capabilities. They're counting on us to stay safe down here." the former gymnast replied, albeit with her own sense of worry seeping into her voice.

However Mia wasn't paying attention to her. The blonde's gaze was fixed on the tower in the distance, her eyes widening in horror as the structure started to come crashing down in a shower of debris the size of a small house.

"Oh god..." she muttered weakly as she raised a hand to cover her heart as a pang of fear shot through it.

Murasame quickly turned to see what had her friend spooked, only to match the girls own look of horror with her own upon seeing the tower crumble and fall. Sparing only a few moments longer to come to terms with what was happening, the orangette dashed over to the recently repaired bullhead and clamored inside.

"Mia! Get over here!" she shouted before addressing the pilot. "Get us over to that tower!"

Looking over his shoulder the pilot managed to catch the tail-end of the collapse, as well as take notice of the obviously enraged dragon that was flying around the ruins.

"No way in hell am I getting near that thing!" the man responded as he flipped several switches to initiate a take-off. "If you want to go on a suicide mission, find another airship-!"

The pilot abruptly stopped his tirade when the business end of a rifle was pointed at his face. "Tough luck, we want this one." Mia spoke with steel in her voice that left no room for negotiation.

"Y-you can't make m-!"

A vice-like grip found purchase on the back of the pilots neck with strength that belied the stature of the hands owner.

"Our friends are up there, and if anything happens to them, I'll have your head." Murasame spoke with uncharacteristic anger. "I'm not losing anyone ever again."

Feeling that his voice might betray him, the pilot silently nodded his head, even as the grip on his neck remained strong.

(-)

Grey had to admit, Cinder was quickly proving to be just as tough an opponent as Mido was, especially with her constant fire manipulation. Sure, Grey had to restrain himself somewhat in order to ensure the tower didn't collapse and kill everyone below, but that didn't mean having access to his full power would simplify the fight. Cinder was cunning, keeping near-constant pressure on the Revenant with hit-and-run tactics while also utilizing feints and distractions to hide her 'true' attacks. Not to mention that since the woman was human she lacked ichor and thus what strikes Grey managed to land against her did nothing to replenish his supply. He was also down to his last vial of ichor concentrate, so he'd need to exercise caution with his next few Gifts lest he need to draw upon his own life-force to continue using them.

Dragging his blade through the ground beneath him, Grey ripped Memento upwards and flung a mess of rubble at Cinder who swiftly dived out of the way. The woman raised a hand full of hellfire and unleashed a concentrated stream in Grey's direction. Lacking the necessary space to dodge due to the large piles of rubble that fell from the previous floor, Grey stomped on the already weakened ground and fell down to the next level of the tower. It turned out to be not the smartest move to make, as now the ceiling of his current floor began to glow with the telltale sign of Cinder's power, moments before it exploded downward in a torrent of shrapnel comprised of superheated metal and stone. The Revenant had a feeling that he had just fallen for a trap that Cinder devised on the fly. Grey was forced to grit his teeth and weather the omni-directional barrage as best he could. After several agonizing seconds of being pelted by debris, Grey was given a momentary respite which he used to inject a regen inducer to help speed up his healing process.

"I do have to hand it to you, you are putting up a much better fight than what your boss managed to muster." Cinder gloated as she floated down to the same floor that Grey was on. "Time must have really gotten to the old fool. At least you are giving me some good exercise with my new power."

Grey let out a huff of amusement. "Thanks for the compliment." he responded dryly. "But I hope you don't expect one in return from me."

"Well aren't you rude?" the woman remarked as she began circling the room from the opposite side, causing Grey to do the same in order to maintain distance. "Not as rude as that old crow however. That damn bird interrupted me during a very important meeting."

"I'm sure he had his reasons."

There was a moment of silence between the two, interrupted only by the sound of battle coming from the base of the tower. Then a massive shadow sped past the side of the tower behind Cinder, the air pressure from its flight pounding against the windows with enough force for them to explode inwards in a veritable shotgun spray of glass. Grey stabbed the ends of his mantle into the floor, only for them to emerge as a wall of blades that shielded him from the shrapnel. He could hear the sound of rapid footsteps as Cinder was already rushing him for a follow-up. Retracting the blades from his veil, Grey kicked off the ground and intercepted Cinder's rush, swinging his own sword in a wide arc to extend his reach. The woman skidded to a halt, but not before Memento sliced across her forearm, although it had yet to draw blood. Grey's minor victory was short-lived, as the smirk on Cinder's face warned him that she wasn't done yet. Ducking her head, the Fall Maiden revealed the arrow that hung in the air which was concealed behind her.

Grey mentally cursed the woman once more. He was far too used to fighting relatively mindless Lost, not people with the intelligence to think ten steps ahead. Bringing Memento up to guard, the arrow impacted the blade and detonated in a violent blast that sent Grey flying backwards and out one of the broken windows.

"Shit!"

Calling upon what little ichor he had left the Revenant created a pillar of ice behind him, allowing him to kick off the construct and launch himself back into the tower through a window another floor down. He estimated he had about five seconds tops before Cinder realized he wasn't dead and dropped down to continue their battle. Glancing out the window he entered through, Grey noticed that only Yakumo, Louis, and a handful of other survivors were left below. Their evacuation was nearly complete and he could see another airship in the distance that was headed their way.

"Alright then." Grey muttered as he crushed the last vial of ichor he had. He'd just have to hope they escaped before the tower came crashing down.

A thunderous crash came from behind him, and Grey slowly turned to glare at the woman who was causing him so much trouble. Cinder stood in the center of the room, looking slightly winded from their fight with how long it was dragging on, but still maintained a sense of confidence that she would win. Flames began to rise behind her, giving her a rather menacing appearance as her eyes glowed in the shadows that were cast.

"You are proving to be surprisingly hard to kill." she remarked, finally starting to sound a little annoyed.

Grey chuckled. "Lady, you don't know the half of it." he replied as he focused his mind for what he was about to do. "But I think it's about time we end this."

Cinder smirked. "I couldn't agree more~." she spoke as the flames grew behind her.

"Tell me Cinder; have you ever seen a real monster?" Grey asked as his eye color changed from pale-red to a glowing deep blue while his sclera turned black.

Code Shift; Queen.

The woman's eyes widened in both surprise and alarm, even before the temperature dropped and hoarfrost gathered at the tips of Grey's fingers.

"WHAT?! How do you have that power?!"

Deigning not to answer her question, Grey held his hand aloft with his palm pointed at Cinder.

"Baba Yaga's Gaze!"

Cinder thought she knew cold. However not even the frigid nights on Atlas' icy-waste's could compare to what she was feeling right now. She couldn't breathe for fear of her lungs freezing. She couldn't feel the frost that crawled across her skin. She couldn't see anything but white. It was almost as if she was in the cold embrace of Death itself.

Something snapped.

"NO!"

A roaring blaze erupted as Cinder expended a massive portion of her reserves to escape her prison of ice. Her chest heaved as she drank in the air after having been starved of it. The cold sweat dripping down her body was indistinguishable from the frigid water that coated her, even after the explosion of heat. Taking a shuddering breath, Cinder leveled her gaze at Grey, though her vision was currently blurred. The Revenant had dropped to one knee, evidently just as exhausted as she was.

That was the closest Cinder had come to death in a very long time, and she wasn't keen on experiencing it again. Forcing herself to her feet, Cinder staggered into a sprint as the tower trembled and collapsed around her. Stabbing her glass-sword forward, the tip of the blade was plunged into Grey's chest and emerged out his back. Finally feeling as if the battle was over, Cinder dropped her guard and loosened her grip on her sword.

A hand snapped up and grabbed her by the arm with a firm grip. Cinder could almost see the smirk beneath Grey's mask. Pulling hard, Grey dragged the woman out the window with him, both of them falling through the air as the tower came crashing down.

Grey had expected for that to be the end of things. A few moments of weightlessly falling through the air followed by near instantaneous death upon colliding with the ground. It upset him that he had to resort to a literal suicide tactic to defeat his enemy, but Cinder was someone that needed to be dealt with. However the drop came to a sudden end much sooner than expected, and Grey found himself tumbling about after smashing into what felt like concrete. The ground beneath him felt as if it were spinning and left him feeling very disoriented. Stabbing Memento into the ground, Grey brought his flailing about to an end, which allowed him to regain his bearings. Powerful winds buffeted his form as he forced his eyes open, surprised to see that he was still high above the city, albeit moving at an outrageous speed.

Against all odds, Grey and Cinder both had landed on the back of the massive dragon that had been circling the tower. Steadying his footing, Grey turned his gaze up to meet the burning glare of Cinder who was also struggling to maintain her poise while riding the beast. Pain began to assault the Revenants chest as his senses caught up to the fact he had been stabbed. Lifting his free-hand up, Grey grasped the handle of the sword and proceeded to yank the weapon out of his chest cavity. Cinder stared with widened eyes in equal parts shock and intrigue as the hole in Grey's chest slowly began to close.

"You aren't human..." she remarked in disbelief, Grey still managing to hear her despite the roaring winds around them.

"I never said I was." he responded as he tossed the glass-sword away.

Raising her remaining sword, Cinder was on-guard even more than before. "Just what are you?"

The Revenants eyes seemed to gaze far into the distance at the question, as if he were trying to remember an answer that he had long forgotten. Coming up blank, he gave a somber chuckle. "I honestly have no idea at this point." he answered as he readied his sword. "Just another in a long line of walking corpses."

An uncomfortable silence was shared by the two, neither knowing how exactly to continue their fight while riding on top of a dragon. The decision was taken out of their hands however, when their impromptu mount banked to the left and caused the 'ground' beneath them to shift. Stumbling for only a moment, Grey ran across the back of the dragon and took a swing at Cinder. Both opponents swords clashed in a shower of sparks, the force behind the collision causing them to lose their footing slightly. Grey stumbled backwards, allowing Cinder to jump towards him and bring her blade down from above. Redirecting the attack to the side with Memento, the Revenant followed up with a backflip and kicked Cinder in the chest. Letting out a pained cough, Cinder channeled what little power she had left to steady herself in the air and threw her last explosive arrow at Grey. Due to interference from the wind the arrow missed the Revenant, but careened off to the side before detonating. The shock wave was enough to cause Grey to stumble, but it also resulted in the dragon flapping its wings to get rid of its passengers.

Grey was bucked into the air and nearly fell clear off his ride, but managed to stab Memento into the beasts tail and remain airborne. He then waited for the tail to flick upwards, which let him fling his body forwards and towards a more steady foothold. Landing into a roll, Grey rushed to his feet and charged Cinder once more. It had become evident that the powers the two of them were using were pretty much exhausted, so the battle came down to a simple clashing of swords (if fighting on the back of a massive dragon could be considered simple).

The two fighters locked swords once again, only to break contact immediately and respond with another attack, and another, and another. What started out as a fight between two people who practically had the power of the elements at their fingertips, had devolved into a match to see whose swordplay was better. A deadly dance of blades filled with blocks, parries, and counters as each combatant fought to outlast the other. After a particularly fierce clash, the two skid away from one another to catch their breath.

Cinder scowled at Grey as she wiped some sweat out of her eye. "You have officially gone from being a simple nuisance to an outright threat." she growled in annoyance. "Even if you survive this, know that you will bring Her wrath down upon you and all you love."

Grey scoffed weakly. "Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?"

The woman smirked. "No, it's a promise."

"Well you can take that promise and shove it where the sun don't shine, 'cause I just figured out how I can win this."

"Oh? Do you feel like letting me in on your little strategy? We both may be out of power, but with this dragon I can ensure your defeat."

The tails of Grey's mantle came to life as they stabbed into the dragons back, right on a spot that wasn't covered in protective bone. "My power comes from the ichor of the Lost, including the Horrors that me and my friends have faced on our journey. The only reason for that to be possible, is if the Horrors and the Lost share some form of kinship."

Cinder raised a brow in confusion, as she had no idea what Grey was going on about.

"And given the course of events that led to the birth of the Revenants, it means that the Horrors were essentially our progenitors." he let out a mirthless chuckle as if having figured out some ironic truth that he didn't care for. "The red eyes when we use our powers, the thirst for human blood, dispersing into mist, it makes too much friggin sense."

Lowering his gaze, Grey's cold eyes locked onto Cinder's own.

"We were infected with the very thing we sought to defeat. The BOR parasite is a Horror. And that means,"

Ichor from the dragon was rapidly drained and poured into Grey. He activated the blade split on Memento to allow massive amount of blood to pour into it and greatly extend the blades length.

"that I can make the dragons strength my own!"

Raising his sword upwards, the blood-blade was now practically the length of the dragon itself.

"WHAT?!" Cinder shouted before rushing towards Grey. She needed to stop his attack.

"This is it! SANGUINE,"

Stabbing her sword into Grey's chest, Cinder was just short of reaching his heart as the blade came down.

"FALLS!"

Blood rained down from the heavens as the dragon was cleanly bisected, with Cinder and Grey falling on opposite halves. The Revenant could faintly hear Cinder cursing him as the distance between the two of them grew. He couldn't help but laugh. Even if he applied a Gift to soften his drop, plummeting from his current height would still likely result in death. So he simply closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"GREY!"

Only to have his eyes snap open upon hearing a familiar voice. Twisting his body mid-air, Grey spotted an airship that was on a direct course for his freefall. And leaning out the door of said airship was a familiar girl of incredible strength, yet diminutive size.

"YOU CRAZY IDIOT! GRAB MY HAND!" Murasame yelled as she reached out towards him.

Smiling behind his mask, the Revenant couldn't be prouder of the little blacksmith for the stunt she was pulling. Stretching out his arm, Grey took a firm grip of Murasame's hand and proceeded to be yanked inside the vehicle.

"That was the most insane thing you've ever done!" the orangette shouted in equal measures anger and concern. "What were you thinking?!"

Grey channeled a bit of Yakumo as he shrugged. "I was thinking it would look pretty awesome. Was I right?"

The girl snorted in amusement before she began pounding his chest in an attempt to maintain her anger. "Baka! Baka, baka, baka!" she began cursing in her native tongue. It wasn't long before she gave up on being angry and pulled Grey into a tight embrace.

Grey spotted Mia watching them from up front with the pilot, her eyes filled with jealousy. Now say what you want about Grey, but he is by no means some kind of oblivious moron. He wasn't like one of those protagonists in the Mistrali comics Louis reads that can't recognize when a girl is interested them. Nor is he an idiot like Yakumo who can't interpret Emily's feelings towards him. No, Grey was well aware that both Murasame and Mia held some form of romantic feelings for him. So it came as no surprise that Mia climbed out of her seat and joined in on the group hug. But since Grey was still mourning the loss of Io, he wanted to wait for the time being when it came to romance. Only when the girls decided to make an actual attempt would he respond.

As the trio sat there while the pilot flew back to the evac point, Grey felt a new power being added to his collection.

Grim Menace Obliterated.

Blood Code Acquired; Siegfried.