Usagi screamed out as her arm was cut clean off by the butcher knife the jokester Nibelcole had used, giggling while holding the butcher knife. The blood trickled down the knife while Usagi's severed arm was being held up by the Nibelcole.
"Oh look how flimsy and free your arm is now." The Jokester Nibelcole laughed and waved Usagis arm around, even as to going as far as giving herself a high-five with Usagi's arm. "Careful, I'm.... armed!" She chuckled and waved Usagi's arm around still. "This bicep is too strong to hang around with."
Scarlet had loosened her grip on Usagi's throat as she still kept her pinned down. She glanced over to the jokester Nibelcole, getting up slowly. "Keep our princess here entertained." She walked past the Nibelcole as she turned her head to the side. "Try not to let her escape. I'd hate to have to track her down."
The Jokester Nibelcole nodded as she saluted with Usagi's arm. "Do not fear mother, I shall pun-ish, her with my punny puns." She turned Usagi as she watched her roll around holding onto her upper arm. "Looks like this joke is too humerus for you."
Scarlet walked out of the warehouse as she glanced over to where the serious Nibelcole was at, holding Nia at gun point with her sword. "Ah, so the spirit has stopped struggling...leave us."
The serious Nibelcole glanced at Scarlet for a moment before looking back at Nia. "But I want to take the pleasure in snuffing her life out myself." Slowly lowering her sword she stabbed the blade into the ground before turning to face Scarlet. "I will go aid my sisters in their struggle with the two felines."
Scarlet stood there, silently as she watched the serious Nibelcole yank her sword out of the ground and walk off. Once she was sure the serious one was gone, Scarlet knelt down and cupped Nia's chin in her hand. "Look at you, all beaten and bruised. What happened to the mighty spirit?"
Nia looked at Scarlet as she was forced to face her. "Just kill me already..."
Scarlet chuckled darkly. "I told you didn't I? I don't want to kill you." She leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Where would the fun be in that hm? Why should I? When you get back to Tengu City, you'll be the only spirit who will be useless against the battle against Salem...what were you planning on hoping to do if you had your powers still? The same fate as before? Having your powers stolen once again by someone like Westcott?" She moved her face away from her ear and looked at Nia, their faces inches away from each other. "Now I could give you your powers back yes, but why should I give you them back? You won't do nothing with them."
Nia saw an opportunity to take her powers back from Scarlet, but she wanted to drag it out more. "Don't you care about what I can do to help save our friends....our family...don't you see that? I can use my powers for the greater good...to transport everyone into a fairy tale story."
"Greater good? Please." Scarlet spoke with a hiss. "The only greater good I see is a bunch of lies coming out of your mouth." She gripped Nia's chin squeezing her cheeks tightly. "Why don't you get it through your head? If you had done that. Where would you go hm? Hide, hiding won't do you no good Nia. No matter where you go or where you hide, the Grimm will always find you. And what makes you so sure that the book wouldn't fall into Salem's hands?"
Nia was silent for a moment, the screaming from Usagi's pain filled the air. The spirit glared at Scarlet as she bashed her forehead against hers, causing Scarlet to stumble back. Which of course pulled her with her, Nia laid on top of Scarlet as she saw her chance. "What do you hope to gain by killing Usagi? You're going down a dark path."
Scarlet growled as she went to push Nia off of her, but Nia quickly kissed Scarlet on the lips. She could feel her powers flowing back into. Scarlet however, took her hand and stabbed Nia in the stomach, her hand pricing through the spirit's body and out through her back. "You've played a dangerous game sister Nia. And now, this is one fire you cannot put out so easily."
Nia gagged as she spat up blood, she felt Scarlet yank her hand out of her body. She got up slowly, stumbling and wobbling as she placed her hand on the gaping wound. She looked at Scarlet, blood painted her lips and hand. Yet, she couldn't understand why her body was rejecting her powers or why they weren't helping her heal the wound.
Scarlet stood up. Chuckling as she eyed Nia. "You just don't seem to get it do you? I need to feed, I have to feed. You're lucky I don't just gobble you up, but I know I cannot." She looked down at her bloody hand and raised her hand up. "You may have gotten your powers back. But I still control one thing you don't have."
Nia winched in pain as she looked at Scarlet. "And what's that?"
"Time." Scarlet spoke with a purr in her voice, she raised her arm up above her head and smirked. "Now come to me, Zafkiel!"
Nia's eyes widened, she was stupid. Of course, how could she forget. Scarlet could use Kurumi's powers as well. She cursed under her breath. "Way to fucking go Nia, you were so busy trying to get your powers back and save Usagi, you forgot the one other thing that Scarlet had up her sleeve." Nia glanced at Scarlet with a look of unease and fear.
~~~
Inside the warehouse, the jokester Nibelcole had the butcher knife held tightly and raised above Usagi's head. "It's knife to meat you, but it's time to put you on thin ice." Right before she swung it down for the killing blow. She stopped, the butcher knife fell out of her hand. Looking at her hands, and down at Usagi. "Wait, what am I doing?" She turned around and looked outside the warehouse where Scarlet and Nia were at. "Mother is in danger."
It had seemed that Nia not only had gotten her powers back, but also the Nibelcole's back under control as well. Each Nibelcole clone all came to a stop, except for the serious one who seemed to have been resisting the control to return to Nia. Each Nibelcole all ran towards the spot Scarlet and Nia were at. This pissed off the serious Nibelcole as she gritted her teeth. "Stop all of you! Don't you see...we'll be enslaved again under the watchful eye of Nia. We should break our tangled webs and be free, not take orders from a spirit."
The Nibelcole clones ignored what was being said to them. Each one muttering and mumbling. "Mother is in danger, we need to save her."
Scarlet took notice however as she smirked, she turned Black Rose into its mini-gun form and pointed it at Nia. "Fourth bullet. Dalet!"
Nia raised an eyebrow. Dalet? Why was she going to use....then it hit her like a tone of bricks. Scarlet was going to rewind time on her to fix the injury she had caused, but why? Why do something like that. Nia wanted to ask, but watching the barrels of the mini-gun rev up and spin made the spirit unsure about this. Yet once Scarlet had pulled the trigger Nia was filled with bullet holes but the wound she had inflected on her healed up.
"What are you doing?!" The serious Nibelcole barked. "Kill her!"
Scarlet glanced over at the Nibelcole and then at Nia. "Don't think this counts as me showing you mercy." She turned on the heels of her boots and walked off towards the warehouse. "But that doesn't mean I'm through with Usagi."
"You can't always depend on Zafkiel Take Nia's powers once more and use us!" The serious Nibelcole yelled.
The laid-back Nibelcole looked at the serious one as she stepped forward. "Calm down sister, don't force it on Scarlet. If she doesn't want to use us then let it be."
The serious Nibelcole growled as she attacked the other Nibelcole clones. She was flying off the hinges, Nia who was still trying to recover still from the attack the serious Nibelcole had done to her was wobbling on her feet. Her gaze looked towards Scarlet as she watched her walk towards the warehouse.
Scarlet sensed Nia's gaze on her. She stopped in her tracks as she spoke. "You have two choices to make, stop me or stop Nibelcole. However, both choices will still end with me consuming Usagi."
Nia clinched both of her first as her fingernails dug into her hand, blood trickled down her palms as she knew Scarlet was right, both choices would end the way she said it. She had to make a choice, but she couldn't go with the first one. She turned away and spoke under her breath. "I'm sorry Usagi..." Her face morphed into one of determination. "Alright, listen up. We're going to stop the serious Nibelcole. She's far too gone and is corrupt." Nia's outfit changed into her Astral Dress as she summoned Rasiel.
Scarlet smirked at the choice Nia had made. She resumed walking towards the warehouse, the cold night air blew as it was like a gentle kiss against her bare skin. She zipped her jacket up and pulled the hood over her head. "Oh Usagi." Scarlet spoke with a purr in her voice. "The Grim Reaper is here to take your soul."
Usagi who had rolled over onto her belly. Heard Scarlet's voice and began to crawl towards a chain. Leaving a trail of blood. "Stay back, don't get any closer!" Usagi cried, she tried to crawl further away from Scarlet and towards the chain, but with only one arm. She was finding it hard. "Luna, Artemis! Help me!"
"Hold on, we're coming!" Luna yelled at her and Artemis came running to the warehouse, the two of them had came up from behind Scarlet and jumped her.
Scarlet smirked as she quickly turned around, and round house kicked Artemis, sending him flying into Luna. The two went flying as they crashed through the window, the Grimm girl chuckled darkly. "Tsk tsk, don't you know it's wrong to mess with a predatory hunting its prey?" She turned her attention back to Usagi as she got down on her hands and knees like a hungry lioness, prowling through the tall grass. "Come to me little rabbit." Scarlet purred.
Usagi slowly crawled towards the chain, struggling to get closer to it. "No, stay away." She cried as tears began to roll down her face. "I must...reach."
Scarlet crawled closer to Usagi, given she had the advantage of two working arms. Hearing Usagi cry out, Scarlet licked her lips. "Your fear smells so delicious Usa." Once she was in reaching distance of Usagi, Scarlet reached out and grabbed Usagi's left leg. "Mine."
Usagi gasped as she felt herself being grabbed, she rolled over onto her back and started kicking Scarlet's head with her other leg. "PLEASE! Let me go!" Usagi cried more, her face being stained with tears. "I don't want to die..."
"A bit late for that one Goldie." Scarlet snickered and purred. "You're mine now."
Luna and Artemis groaned as she got up and climbed up the window, their eyes widened in horror as their hearts sank to the pits of their stomachs. They watched as Scarlet swallowed Usagi whole like she was nothing, both Luna and Artemis wanted to stop her, but they were frozen in fear.
~~~
The air filled with Usagi's blood curdling scream. Nia and the Nibelcole clones had all stopped what they were doing. The air chilled as the night was still young, the sound of Usagi's screams had faded into the dark of the night.
"She did it." The serious Nibelcole spoke. "There's no one left to get in our way!" She smirked as she punched one of the Nibelcole's in the face, she ran towards the warehouse, but had gotten stabbed from behind by the laid-back Nibelcole. "How dare you betray your sister like that....." She glanced down as a sharp paper spike sticking out from her stomach.
"You're not going anywhere." The laid-back Nibelcole spoke. "We may have failed to stop Scarlet, but Nia is right. We were all corrupt, just like before."
The Serious Nibelcole growled as she elbowed the laid-back Nibelcole in the face, breaking her nose and shattering some of her teeth in the process. The laid-back Nibelcole stumbled back as her nose was bleeding.
"You don't control me anymore." The serious Nibelcole spoke as she pointed at Nia, she pulled the spike out and tossed it aside. "I will be my own person, free from having to be given orders."
Nia crossed her arms and sighed. She looked at all the Nibelcole clones and then back at the serious one. "You're still tied to me, you won't get far." She opened Rasiel and started writing in it. It was hard to see what she was putting down. But it was obvious it was one of the future entries, anything written down in the book will become reality. As time ticked, the Serious Nibelcole's body started to move on its own as she was now stiff as a tree trunk. She couldn't move her body, Nia then looked at each one of the Nibelcole clones. "You all, we must try and bring Scarlet down, I know it is impossible...but this is where we stop her. This is where we put an end to her madness."
The Nibelcole's all muttered amongst themselves, Nia having used Rasiel again sends the serious Nibelcole back into the book, while using the Ashufiriya ability from Rasiel. Nia looked at each Nibelcole as she had hope that they would at least aid her.
"Okay mother, we will aid you in putting Scarlet down, we all may die trying. But it's a risk worth doing. We have to make it up to you. For the crimes we've committed against you and the others.." One Nibelcole spoke in a soft tone, she looked down at her feet and then up at Nia.
Nia grinned widely as she placed her hand on the Nibelcoles shoulder. "Good, I forgive you all. Now then." With a look of determination in her eyes and etched on her face. Nia glanced at the warehouse where Scarlet was. "Let's end this."