[Imagine if Terence turned around just in time to see Dion rip a sconce from the wall. He doesn't, but it would be a very funny thing for him to try and explain. Anyway, he'll lead the way back down this winding set of dark stairs, the only light coming in through the cannon holds. Why did this fool not bring a torch.
Once they're outside, he glances to the left, to the right - and then makes a shushing motion before gesturing for Dion to follow. He doesn't go through the secret wall passage taken by the other guards earlier, but rather, heads to a separate part of the Castle. There are no windows on this building, and no guards at the heavily barricaded front gate. Terence leads the way through a side gate, instead, and heads down a set of stairs.]
The Director must have sent you, right? [Maybe a fool shouldn't make assumptions, but despite saying "right", he continues like he already has the answer.] We were able to pull a few of the bodies to the side to examine.
[The staircase leads them down into a dank cellar with large, sprawling halls. Terence heads toward a door, but before he even touches the knob, an alarm starts blaring. Hm.
At the Mariette Haters Anonymous meeting, Kaeya just watches with an arched brow as Diluc moves to smash open locks one by one.] Are you sure you want to do that?
[Because hey! Some people are innocents, sure, but all of them? Diluc gets maybe three-quarters of the way through one wall of cages, freeing twenty or so people - who all scramble for freedom without so much as a thanks and then move to the door - before someone gets the bright idea to swing their now-open door at him the second they're released, yelling as they charge.]
This is a Royal!!
[Oops. Scien's right to keep a watch on these prisoners, considering the ones closer to him turn to look at him and there are some murmurs of recognition. Some of them even turn their accusatory, hateful gazes toward Yuri, who is literally just standing next to Scien waiting to see if he can get the door open. She instinctively takes a step back, bumping into the wall.
The scanner crackles with electricity; it looks like it might give if he whacks it a few more times. But at roughly the same time, the shrill sound of an alarm starts up, and several of the prisoners lunge for Scien and Yuri with the clear intent to drag them away from the door. There's a lot of resentment for the Royal Family in this room, after all. What did you think would happen?]
[ He would've explained it with all the confidence of an unfettered white man, don't worry.
In any case, he follows after Terence, keeping careful note of where they are and how different it is from where he'd seen the other guards go. It's difficult to make sense of the castle layout at night, and being in an unfamiliar area sets him on edge.
Which might be justified, when the alarm suddenly sounds.
He grabs Terence immediately, pushing him against a wall. ]
assuming he's manage to avoid being totally clocked by the swinging cell door, he's going to spring right into action, using the flat and hilt of his blade to knock out whatever violent prisoners he can on his way to yuri and scien. hopefully they aren't too far away.
can't believe he has to immediately clean up the mess of his own making!!! he will try to avoid spilling blood, but if it seems necessary, he's not going to hold back either. ]
[ugh this is why scien doesn't save everyone they're all such ungrateful fucks. he rolls his eyes when they come swinging at him—up until he sees yuri get trapped. he'll immediately move to kick at the prisoners who leap for her. he's not as nice as diluc; with the weapon in his hands he'll aim right for the prisoners' heads to kill them.
speaking of diluc, scien will give one order even as he endures a hit to the shoulder, gritting his teeth against the blow:] Get the door.
[since diluc has a higher strength stat!!! and to yuri:] Run through it as soon as it's open.
[she deserves to live, more than anyone else. for some reason, he knows this to be so intrinsically true. now excuse him as he's ready to throw the hell down]
[Oh to be a generic looking lil gay white man pushed up against the wall by Dion.
Unfortunately Terence doesn't take this moment to enjoy the thinly veiled homosexuality, as he's too busy looking startled and panicked.]
What—?! No, no! I didn't set this off, this is the dungeon alarm...!
[That's probably fine! Speaking of, despite the fact that Dion hadn't seen another soul above ground, he'll hear the thundering sound of many feet heading in their general direction. Royal Guards enter from one hall, along with a cloaked figure wielding a halberd. One of the guards shouts out.]
Halt, you two!! Step away from that door, you're under arrest!
[Haha, uh oh! Well, there are still some hallways left to dart down if you don't want to try talking your way out of this one, at least.
Diluc's only clipped by the swinging jail door, and fortunately for him, these are all generally unwell and injured people so they aren't exactly in top fighting form. They're also hellaciously determined, though; he'll have to shed some blood to make it back to the door by Scien and Yuri.
Scien's just bashing brains in over where he's at in the meantime, and these weakened and weaponless prisoners are largely outmatched. Roll for injuries if you wish, but they won't have too many to worry about in this room. Yuri stands behind him, waiting for the door to be opened. Kaeya also slides on over in the chaos to join them, sensing a chance to escape the room.]
[ Great! This is even worse. Dion looks from the guards back at Terence. ]
You had better be speaking the truth. [ Because he might care about Terence, for some reason, but he doesn't tolerate treachery. ] For now, follow my lead.
[ And he'll let him go, turning to face the guards. He's going to talk his way out of this, yeah. Why would he go running like a common criminal? ]
[ i really love that the vibes of this jailbreak are violence, violence everywhere, and also kaeya is here. (of course he is.)
i will not be rolling for injuries from peasants, but know i am waiting with great anticipation for a Future Opportunity. anyway, diluc murmurs to scien and yuri, ]
He's with me.
[ —before he proceeds to beat the shit out of the door handle. let them in!!!!! ]
[Terence just stands slightly behind Dion and lets him take the lead like the big bottom he looks like he is. He's silent, glancing nervously between a confident bluffing white man and a wholeass army of white men with weapons. Surely this will end well.
The guard leaves his weapon drawn, approaching with the intent to surround Dion and Terence.]
Don't try to play coy! Prisoners are loose in this wing, and who else is here?
[Speaking of, he might hear loud door creak from just around the corner! The cloaked figure darts off in that direction like a flash.
YOU REALLY SAID FUCK THEM PEASANTS HUH.
Well, Scien is making quick work of these prisoners who are just like "what the fck is happening" as they get their asses beat by a Royal. Aren't Royals supposed to be useless?? Don't they just run whenever direct conflict happens?? HELLO!!
Yuri, Diluc and Kaeya are left largely alone for the time being, if only because Scien is doing a great job at keeping these peasants at bay. Diluc's able to bash the handle out of its handle socket! Yay! It clatters uselessly to the floor and the door creaks open. Yuri moves first, pushing it further open with the intent to escaping, run through it as soon as it's open--
And in the next blink, her body is flying through the air like a ragdoll, blasting past Scien and crashing into the opposite wall with such force that the brick cracks beneath her. She doesn't collapse to the ground, though; her torso is pinned to the wall by a halberd, which flew through the open door at mach fuck. Through said door, they'll see the single silhouette of a cloaked person. The alarm continues to blare.]
Do you truly think me a prisoner, when I am dressed in this fashion?
[ Hello? He's wearing Versace?
But he definitely thought that cloaked figure was part of the guard, and when he sees them dart away - ] That cloaked individual is clearly whom you should be questioning! [ - he's going to forget about negotiations and chase after them, sconce still in hand.
the moment happens too quickly before any of them can react, but the sight of the girl suddenly and violently impaled against the wall triggers a distant memory. (a terrible one—filled with maggots and glimpses of a golden bough.)
he's mindful that scien and kaeya are still with him. that there's danger ahead, and a door now open to it. if he doesn't do anything, any of them could be next.
so he lunges at the cloaked silhouette to strike them down. ]
[you know that one asw that's just 'sometimes i think of the people i love dying and all the new things i'd get to feel'
yea
scien's heart isn't busted here. he is a normal man with a slightly below normal range of emotions, but his memories are a jumble. they bend and break and in the crevices there's only a sudden surge of shock and grief. he's never felt those things before, not in such close conjunction.
I want to live. More than anything, that's what I want to do.
forget the peasants, forget the cloaked fucker, he's walking back to yuri to pry the halberd from her. she probably didn't make it, he knows, that, but what if she did—
a keen reminder: he is no longer a god that grants salvation.]
If not a prisoner, than clearly the one who aids in their escape!
[AND LOOK, they're being proven correct?! THE BITCH IS RUNNING?? Dion really left Terence to die, huh. He shouts a simple: wait a moment—!, but that's about all he can get out before the other Royal Guards are on him to arrest him for his traitorous acts.
Other guards follow after Dion as he runs, and he'll run right into sweet Diluc and Scien's group! Which is to say, he comes across the open prison door and the cloaked figure, who's now engaged in battle with Diluc.
Unfortunately for Diluc, the figure he faces possesses a truly monstrous, unimaginable strength. Even without their halberd, they move with a fluid grace that implies years of training. They have enough power behind their kicks and punches to break even brick with blinding ease, let alone bone, and they aim to incapacitate. Quick strikes toward Diluc's dominant hand and both of his legs.
Back with Scien, he'll have to work to pry that halberd from Yuri's body. It's embedded freakishly deep into the wall, somehow, despite being thrown from such a distance. If he puts his back into it, though, he can eventually wiggle it free. Yuri's body collapses forward. She's breathing, but just barely, and her mouth moves but it's hard to hear what she's saying.
While he's busy with that, the tattered and beaten prisoners are busy setting the rest of their comrades free. There are now about fifty or so people in all, most trying to rush the door, many stopping to strip the weapons from the torture room's wall. This is truly pandemonium.
Also, the guards who were following Dion are coming! Yippee!]
[ Terence will be okay. He's his second-in-command for a reason. Or something. Not that Dion would know.
This is clearly not going to go well for any of them, but it's too late now. At least if he gets arrested, he'll get arrested in Versace.
He is a little startled to see Yuri skewered against the wall, but his ire quickly turns back on the cloaked figure. He'll take advantage of their preoccupation with Diluc to come at them from behind, reaching out with one hand to grab their cloak, and the swinging the sconce at their head with the other. ]
[ i guess JUST his dominant hand is broken. his legs are FINE because he moves out of the way in time, i was really going to let that nat 20 wipe him out but this is only part 1 i suppose.
he ducks to retrieve his dropped weapon with his other hand—he can still fight through the pain, and as this newcomer in versace swings the sconce, diluc will aim his blade low, driving it towards the cloaked figure's gut, or thigh, or frankly whatever he can manage to strike. ]
[just like in canon, scien lets the bigger jocks do all the hard work for him EVEN THOUGH ONE OF THEM IS ALREADY ALMOST FALLING APART OH NO. he's distantly aware of the other prisoners looking to set their comrades free and the torture weapons getting ripped from the walls. that'll suck to deal with when he decides to deal with it.
but for right now there is a darling girl and she is dying. and scien's struggling in his mess of memories, somewhere between prisoner and new hire and one girl that he wanted to live—
he'll lift her just so that someone can hear her last words if she still wants them to be heard, evaluating the distance between himself and the closest door. yes he got in this mess but no he didn't do this crazy shit with a cloaked figure and a jailbreak so he's doing the mental math of just peacing out]
[Will Terence be okay in all of this mess? Hard to tell! An all-out brawl is unfolding around them, after all, and people do get lost quickly in the mayhem.
Anyway, Dion gets the jump on this cloaked figure, yanking them back and whacking them soundly across the head with the sconce. At the same time, Diluc drives a weapon through their gut, and the figure staggers back but doesn't collapse. Unfortunately, Diluc and Dion have unlocked a Terminator boss, who aims a sweeping kick behind themself in an attempt to knock Dion over.
Several guards also jump into the fray, though Kaeya - looking a bit surprised at even his own choice - darts in to parry a blade crashing toward Diluc. In the chaos, the two of them will see other familiarfaces in the guards, and some among theprisoners as well.
The words that Yuri whispers, when Scien lifts her to hear them, are a simple and shaky:]
Why... weren't you enough...?
[He'd promised her freedom and gotten her so, so very close to it, but in the end, she'd slipped through the moment he turned his back. Life is pretty unfair, huh? Her body stills after that, and it's easy to tell through her unseeing eyes that she's now dead.
The door closest to Scien is the one the first came through, that leads back into the open room and the library. Most of the fighting has spilled out into the hall Dion and Diluc are in, but there's still a fair amount of flailing and stabbing happening in here, too. There are even a few stray arrows being fired, so that's fun.]
[ Okay, well. It was very satisfying to hit this figure in the head because they are now Dion's mortal enemy for getting him into this mess, but unfortunately the sight of Sylvestre among the guards immediately kills that rush.
(Also, the thought of Sylvestre doing literally any labour is hilarious.)
He stops immediately in his tracks, this particular figure halting him better than any of the others, and ] Father—?
[ Before he totally wipes when the cloaked figure kicks him, sending him crashing to the ground. He will aim a kick of his own at the Terminator's ankles however, once he's down. ]
[ NOT THIS TERMINATOR BOSS. diluc wastes no time trying to strike at tendon next, like trying to cut a puppet from its strings. unfortunately he can't really split his attention well, though he is alarmed (and yet not entirely surprised?) to see kaeya leap into the fray. (increasingly alarmed to see more familiar faces among the guards and prisoners.)
—but no, he has to focus on the fight, and dodging stray arrows, the fuck.
with these increasing numbers, he's forced to consider a retreat. is it possible to incapacitate this terminator binch enough to break away safely? ]
[why wasn't he enough? something about this is entirely at odds with scien's worldview. like something about this place is meant to be his domain—but why? is it his royal blood making him so arrogant?
and yet he is so powerless. yuri slips away, and he knows he will never see her again—why did he expect to? he raises a hand to slip her eyes shut, making a brief detour to place her body slightly out of the way where it won't be trampled in the chaos, taking an arrow or two in the arm and leg for his distraction.
he thought about just leaving, but that was more for the sake of getting yuri help. she's gone, and now he's just pissed. what was the point of opening that door. diluc and scien are now switching tactics.
it's fine, he probably has a backup. he doesn't need these memories or emotions—he can just answer this feeling of rage on someone else's behalf. he'll kick his way through the dungeon, heading toward the hallway with a dagger in hand. what a mess! fuck emotions!]
[Sylvestre is leaving his king days behind... He's tired of being lazy fatcat royalty, now he wants power of a different sort.
Dion's kick can land and the Terminator falls and will stay fallen for at least a little while, as Diluc severs a tendon. Can't do much about basic biology 101, even as a Terminator.
That said, as Diluc is considering his escape, Shouxue is cornered by Gregor, and he doesn't look like he's here to take prisoners alive. Her eyes catch Diluc's, and the look in them is desperately afraid of the death right before her. At the same time, he'll hear Kaeya cry out from behind him, squaring off against a much stronger guard. But Diluc only has so many arms, huh?
Sylvestre moves forward toward the fallen Dion at the same time.]
You're under arrest for treason against the Crown!
[Is he under arrest, though?? Because all Sylvestre does is move to swing his sword down toward him in an executionary arc.
As Scien marinates in the horrors of having a heart and mows his way through the dungeon and into the hall, he'll catch sight of Shoma pinned to the ground by a guard who's currently in the process of twisting his arms behind his back at a horrible angle, trying to cuff him. He cries out in pain. Want to try saving someone again?]
[ This really does not feel like an arrest at all. Dion really isn't in a state of mind where he's prepared to fight Sylvestre, letting out a futile, ] Stop!
[ But the sword comes down, and the only thing that he can think of doing in this moment is grabbing the Terminator and yanking him on top of him to act as a meat shield against Sylvestre's blade. ]
[ he's going to deal as much damage to the terminator as he can while it's down, targeting tendons and joints to incapacitate its movements—until two distinct cries distract him. he'll have to trust dion and kaeya to fend for themselves (and he instinctively does, even if he shouldn't in this scenario).
so, he races for shouxue, and attempts to tackle gregor out of the way. ]
[you fucking bitch! no he doesn't want to try saving someone again! he's a █████████ and he doesn't form attachments to saving individuals because it's █████████—
well that's not this life, is it. because there's something in scien's brain that itches and then burns at seeing shoma pinned like that, disrespected. what the actual fuck. so even though he's already beaten to hell and back he's fully intending on kicking this guard in the face with his steel-plated boots.
just you wait terminator he's after your ass next if you don't get kebabed by a shitty king]
[Yall are really pincushioning this terminator, huh. Diluc's attempts at incapacitation make it easier for Dion to pull their body over his own as a shield, though Sylvestre's blade is quick enough that it still carves deeply into Dion's shoulder.
The majority cleaves through the hooded figure's corpse in a single killing blow, and yet... they still seem to cling to life. They grab hold of the blade sinking into them, using it to yank Sylvestre in. They reach out toward his face, grab hold of it. Unfortunately with that 3, Dion will just have to watch - Sylvestre makes eye contact, and there's a brief flash of recognition, of some sort of horror at the realization of what he'd almost done, a soft Dion, I- - as the figure crushes his head like a grape. Blood and brain viscera shower down on them both.
It's nice that Diluc trusts Dion and Kaeya to be able to fend for themselves, though! They're both capable, probably! In fact, Kaeya even manages to fight off the guard slashing at him - but there are a lot of guards and only one Kaeya, you know? It's really just a numbers game in the end, and it's one Kaeya's about to lose as a polearm pierces through his chest from behind.
Diluc may hear his choked yell in the seconds before he tackles Gregor over. Gregor hits the ground and Shouxue attempts to scurry away, but with that sadge roll, a fallen guard grabs at her ankle. She's sent stumbling and crashing into the floor, twisting her foot with a cry. Looks like she's not going to be able to get far like that, huh? Gregor, in the meanwhile, gives Diluc a concerned and confused look as he moves to try grappling him into place since he's clearly unwell.]
Your Majesty, what are you doing—!?
[Scien gets the jump on this guard bullying Shoma, and he falls to the side spitting out blood and probably a few teeth. Gaross. Shoma looks up at Scien with wariness, panic and confusion, immediately moving to grab a fallen knife on the floor. It's kill or be killed here, isn't it? He's ready to kill, but he seems to hesitate. Maybe because Scien has like 3 feet on him, damn.
Scien won't have much time to consider his next move, though, since an archer is taking aim at Shoma in eyesight and letting the arrow fly.]
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Once they're outside, he glances to the left, to the right - and then makes a shushing motion before gesturing for Dion to follow. He doesn't go through the secret wall passage taken by the other guards earlier, but rather, heads to a separate part of the Castle. There are no windows on this building, and no guards at the heavily barricaded front gate. Terence leads the way through a side gate, instead, and heads down a set of stairs.]
The Director must have sent you, right? [Maybe a fool shouldn't make assumptions, but despite saying "right", he continues like he already has the answer.] We were able to pull a few of the bodies to the side to examine.
[The staircase leads them down into a dank cellar with large, sprawling halls. Terence heads toward a door, but before he even touches the knob, an alarm starts blaring. Hm.
At the Mariette Haters Anonymous meeting, Kaeya just watches with an arched brow as Diluc moves to smash open locks one by one.] Are you sure you want to do that?
[Because hey! Some people are innocents, sure, but all of them? Diluc gets maybe three-quarters of the way through one wall of cages, freeing twenty or so people - who all scramble for freedom without so much as a thanks and then move to the door - before someone gets the bright idea to swing their now-open door at him the second they're released, yelling as they charge.]
This is a Royal!!
[Oops. Scien's right to keep a watch on these prisoners, considering the ones closer to him turn to look at him and there are some murmurs of recognition. Some of them even turn their accusatory, hateful gazes toward Yuri, who is literally just standing next to Scien waiting to see if he can get the door open. She instinctively takes a step back, bumping into the wall.
The scanner crackles with electricity; it looks like it might give if he whacks it a few more times. But at roughly the same time, the shrill sound of an alarm starts up, and several of the prisoners lunge for Scien and Yuri with the clear intent to drag them away from the door. There's a lot of resentment for the Royal Family in this room, after all. What did you think would happen?]
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In any case, he follows after Terence, keeping careful note of where they are and how different it is from where he'd seen the other guards go. It's difficult to make sense of the castle layout at night, and being in an unfamiliar area sets him on edge.
Which might be justified, when the alarm suddenly sounds.
He grabs Terence immediately, pushing him against a wall. ]
Have you lured me to a trap?
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diluc, reaping: hell no!
assuming he's manage to avoid being totally clocked by the swinging cell door, he's going to spring right into action, using the flat and hilt of his blade to knock out whatever violent prisoners he can on his way to yuri and scien. hopefully they aren't too far away.
can't believe he has to immediately clean up the mess of his own making!!! he will try to avoid spilling blood, but if it seems necessary, he's not going to hold back either. ]
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speaking of diluc, scien will give one order even as he endures a hit to the shoulder, gritting his teeth against the blow:] Get the door.
[since diluc has a higher strength stat!!! and to yuri:] Run through it as soon as it's open.
[she deserves to live, more than anyone else. for some reason, he knows this to be so intrinsically true. now excuse him as he's ready to throw the hell down]
now in the right place
Unfortunately Terence doesn't take this moment to enjoy the thinly veiled homosexuality, as he's too busy looking startled and panicked.]
What—?! No, no! I didn't set this off, this is the dungeon alarm...!
[That's probably fine! Speaking of, despite the fact that Dion hadn't seen another soul above ground, he'll hear the thundering sound of many feet heading in their general direction. Royal Guards enter from one hall, along with a cloaked figure wielding a halberd. One of the guards shouts out.]
Halt, you two!! Step away from that door, you're under arrest!
[Haha, uh oh! Well, there are still some hallways left to dart down if you don't want to try talking your way out of this one, at least.
Diluc's only clipped by the swinging jail door, and fortunately for him, these are all generally unwell and injured people so they aren't exactly in top fighting form. They're also hellaciously determined, though; he'll have to shed some blood to make it back to the door by Scien and Yuri.
Scien's just bashing brains in over where he's at in the meantime, and these weakened and weaponless prisoners are largely outmatched. Roll for injuries if you wish, but they won't have too many to worry about in this room. Yuri stands behind him, waiting for the door to be opened. Kaeya also slides on over in the chaos to join them, sensing a chance to escape the room.]
also moves
You had better be speaking the truth. [ Because he might care about Terence, for some reason, but he doesn't tolerate treachery. ] For now, follow my lead.
[ And he'll let him go, turning to face the guards. He's going to talk his way out of this, yeah. Why would he go running like a common criminal? ]
For what reason are we to be arrested?
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i will not be rolling for injuries from peasants, but know i am waiting with great anticipation for a Future Opportunity. anyway, diluc murmurs to scien and yuri, ]
He's with me.
[ —before he proceeds to beat the shit out of the door handle. let them in!!!!! ]
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scien is truly just working out twenty-something years of anger(?) by attacking the people who attack him for once]
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The guard leaves his weapon drawn, approaching with the intent to surround Dion and Terence.]
Don't try to play coy! Prisoners are loose in this wing, and who else is here?
[Speaking of, he might hear loud door creak from just around the corner! The cloaked figure darts off in that direction like a flash.
YOU REALLY SAID FUCK THEM PEASANTS HUH.
Well, Scien is making quick work of these prisoners who are just like "what the fck is happening" as they get their asses beat by a Royal. Aren't Royals supposed to be useless?? Don't they just run whenever direct conflict happens?? HELLO!!
Yuri, Diluc and Kaeya are left largely alone for the time being, if only because Scien is doing a great job at keeping these peasants at bay. Diluc's able to bash the handle out of its handle socket! Yay! It clatters uselessly to the floor and the door creaks open. Yuri moves first, pushing it further open with the intent to escaping, run through it as soon as it's open--
And in the next blink, her body is flying through the air like a ragdoll, blasting past Scien and crashing into the opposite wall with such force that the brick cracks beneath her. She doesn't collapse to the ground, though; her torso is pinned to the wall by a halberd, which flew through the open door at mach fuck. Through said door, they'll see the single silhouette of a cloaked person. The alarm continues to blare.]
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[ Hello? He's wearing Versace?
But he definitely thought that cloaked figure was part of the guard, and when he sees them dart away - ] That cloaked individual is clearly whom you should be questioning! [ - he's going to forget about negotiations and chase after them, sconce still in hand.
Good luck, Terence. ]
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the moment happens too quickly before any of them can react, but the sight of the girl suddenly and violently impaled against the wall triggers a distant memory. (a terrible one—filled with maggots and glimpses of a golden bough.)
he's mindful that scien and kaeya are still with him. that there's danger ahead, and a door now open to it. if he doesn't do anything, any of them could be next.
so he lunges at the cloaked silhouette to strike them down. ]
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yea
scien's heart isn't busted here. he is a normal man with a slightly below normal range of emotions, but his memories are a jumble. they bend and break and in the crevices there's only a sudden surge of shock and grief. he's never felt those things before, not in such close conjunction.
I want to live. More than anything, that's what I want to do.
forget the peasants, forget the cloaked fucker, he's walking back to yuri to pry the halberd from her. she probably didn't make it, he knows, that, but what if she did—
a keen reminder: he is no longer a god that grants salvation.]
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If not a prisoner, than clearly the one who aids in their escape!
[AND LOOK, they're being proven correct?! THE BITCH IS RUNNING?? Dion really left Terence to die, huh. He shouts a simple: wait a moment—!, but that's about all he can get out before the other Royal Guards are on him to arrest him for his traitorous acts.
Other guards follow after Dion as he runs, and he'll run right into sweet Diluc and Scien's group! Which is to say, he comes across the open prison door and the cloaked figure, who's now engaged in battle with Diluc.
Unfortunately for Diluc, the figure he faces possesses a truly monstrous, unimaginable strength. Even without their halberd, they move with a fluid grace that implies years of training. They have enough power behind their kicks and punches to break even brick with blinding ease, let alone bone, and they aim to incapacitate. Quick strikes toward Diluc's dominant hand and both of his legs.
Back with Scien, he'll have to work to pry that halberd from Yuri's body. It's embedded freakishly deep into the wall, somehow, despite being thrown from such a distance. If he puts his back into it, though, he can eventually wiggle it free. Yuri's body collapses forward. She's breathing, but just barely, and her mouth moves but it's hard to hear what she's saying.
While he's busy with that, the tattered and beaten prisoners are busy setting the rest of their comrades free. There are now about fifty or so people in all, most trying to rush the door, many stopping to strip the weapons from the torture room's wall. This is truly pandemonium.
Also, the guards who were following Dion are coming! Yippee!]
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This is clearly not going to go well for any of them, but it's too late now. At least if he gets arrested, he'll get arrested in Versace.
He is a little startled to see Yuri skewered against the wall, but his ire quickly turns back on the cloaked figure. He'll take advantage of their preoccupation with Diluc to come at them from behind, reaching out with one hand to grab their cloak, and the swinging the sconce at their head with the other. ]
just kidding hehe?
he ducks to retrieve his dropped weapon with his other hand—he can still fight through the pain, and as this newcomer in versace swings the sconce, diluc will aim his blade low, driving it towards the cloaked figure's gut, or thigh, or frankly whatever he can manage to strike. ]
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but for right now there is a darling girl and she is dying. and scien's struggling in his mess of memories, somewhere between prisoner and new hire and one girl that he wanted to live—
he'll lift her just so that someone can hear her last words if she still wants them to be heard, evaluating the distance between himself and the closest door. yes he got in this mess but no he didn't do this crazy shit with a cloaked figure and a jailbreak so he's doing the mental math of just peacing out]
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Anyway, Dion gets the jump on this cloaked figure, yanking them back and whacking them soundly across the head with the sconce. At the same time, Diluc drives a weapon through their gut, and the figure staggers back but doesn't collapse. Unfortunately, Diluc and Dion have unlocked a Terminator boss, who aims a sweeping kick behind themself in an attempt to knock Dion over.
Several guards also jump into the fray, though Kaeya - looking a bit surprised at even his own choice - darts in to parry a blade crashing toward Diluc. In the chaos, the two of them will see other familiar faces in the guards, and some among the prisoners as well.
The words that Yuri whispers, when Scien lifts her to hear them, are a simple and shaky:]
Why... weren't you enough...?
[He'd promised her freedom and gotten her so, so very close to it, but in the end, she'd slipped through the moment he turned his back. Life is pretty unfair, huh? Her body stills after that, and it's easy to tell through her unseeing eyes that she's now dead.
The door closest to Scien is the one the first came through, that leads back into the open room and the library. Most of the fighting has spilled out into the hall Dion and Diluc are in, but there's still a fair amount of flailing and stabbing happening in here, too. There are even a few stray arrows being fired, so that's fun.]
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(Also, the thought of Sylvestre doing literally any labour is hilarious.)
He stops immediately in his tracks, this particular figure halting him better than any of the others, and ] Father—?
[ Before he totally wipes when the cloaked figure kicks him, sending him crashing to the ground. He will aim a kick of his own at the Terminator's ankles however, once he's down. ]
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—but no, he has to focus on the fight, and dodging stray arrows, the fuck.
with these increasing numbers, he's forced to consider a retreat. is it possible to incapacitate this terminator binch enough to break away safely? ]
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and yet he is so powerless. yuri slips away, and he knows he will never see her again—why did he expect to? he raises a hand to slip her eyes shut, making a brief detour to place her body slightly out of the way where it won't be trampled in the chaos, taking an arrow or two in the arm and leg for his distraction.
he thought about just leaving, but that was more for the sake of getting yuri help. she's gone, and now he's just pissed. what was the point of opening that door. diluc and scien are now switching tactics.
it's fine, he probably has a backup. he doesn't need these memories or emotions—he can just answer this feeling of rage on someone else's behalf. he'll kick his way through the dungeon, heading toward the hallway with a dagger in hand. what a mess! fuck emotions!]
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Dion's kick can land and the Terminator falls and will stay fallen for at least a little while, as Diluc severs a tendon. Can't do much about basic biology 101, even as a Terminator.
That said, as Diluc is considering his escape, Shouxue is cornered by Gregor, and he doesn't look like he's here to take prisoners alive. Her eyes catch Diluc's, and the look in them is desperately afraid of the death right before her. At the same time, he'll hear Kaeya cry out from behind him, squaring off against a much stronger guard. But Diluc only has so many arms, huh?
Sylvestre moves forward toward the fallen Dion at the same time.]
You're under arrest for treason against the Crown!
[Is he under arrest, though?? Because all Sylvestre does is move to swing his sword down toward him in an executionary arc.
As Scien marinates in the horrors of having a heart and mows his way through the dungeon and into the hall, he'll catch sight of Shoma pinned to the ground by a guard who's currently in the process of twisting his arms behind his back at a horrible angle, trying to cuff him. He cries out in pain. Want to try saving someone again?]
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[ But the sword comes down, and the only thing that he can think of doing in this moment is grabbing the Terminator and yanking him on top of him to act as a meat shield against Sylvestre's blade. ]
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so, he races for shouxue, and attempts to tackle gregor out of the way. ]
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well that's not this life, is it. because there's something in scien's brain that itches and then burns at seeing shoma pinned like that, disrespected. what the actual fuck. so even though he's already beaten to hell and back he's fully intending on kicking this guard in the face with his steel-plated boots.
just you wait terminator he's after your ass next if you don't get kebabed by a shitty king]
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The majority cleaves through the hooded figure's corpse in a single killing blow, and yet... they still seem to cling to life. They grab hold of the blade sinking into them, using it to yank Sylvestre in. They reach out toward his face, grab hold of it. Unfortunately with that 3, Dion will just have to watch - Sylvestre makes eye contact, and there's a brief flash of recognition, of some sort of horror at the realization of what he'd almost done, a soft Dion, I- - as the figure crushes his head like a grape. Blood and brain viscera shower down on them both.
It's nice that Diluc trusts Dion and Kaeya to be able to fend for themselves, though! They're both capable, probably! In fact, Kaeya even manages to fight off the guard slashing at him - but there are a lot of guards and only one Kaeya, you know? It's really just a numbers game in the end, and it's one Kaeya's about to lose as a polearm pierces through his chest from behind.
Diluc may hear his choked yell in the seconds before he tackles Gregor over. Gregor hits the ground and Shouxue attempts to scurry away, but with that sadge roll, a fallen guard grabs at her ankle. She's sent stumbling and crashing into the floor, twisting her foot with a cry. Looks like she's not going to be able to get far like that, huh? Gregor, in the meanwhile, gives Diluc a concerned and confused look as he moves to try grappling him into place since he's clearly unwell.]
Your Majesty, what are you doing—!?
[Scien gets the jump on this guard bullying Shoma, and he falls to the side spitting out blood and probably a few teeth. Gaross. Shoma looks up at Scien with wariness, panic and confusion, immediately moving to grab a fallen knife on the floor. It's kill or be killed here, isn't it? He's ready to kill, but he seems to hesitate. Maybe because Scien has like 3 feet on him, damn.
Scien won't have much time to consider his next move, though, since an archer is taking aim at Shoma in eyesight and letting the arrow fly.]
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