Cecile was quick to spot the truck. "Hey, who are those?"

[Landon! Do you have an armored truck dispatched on our location?]

She said as she made her approach towards the building. She needed an answer fast.

Bulwark watched as the trucks sped toward the others. He looked to Cecile as she radioed Landon and' knew she didn't have a clue as to who was in the truck.
He looked around as to see if, he could spot something about the truck recognize anything about it, but to no avail.

Who is that, did Landon send them, are they going to help? He thought to himself.

He looked to Cecile and said
"whoever it is they are heading for the others".

Vi kept sprinting towards her objective, the staff caused many wounds on her but she ignored the pain as much as she could. She had a painful frown on her face as she prepared her attack. Once she was close enough, Vi stretched 3 of her legs "You asked for it", she thought as she attacked the man, stabing him with one of her legs on his chest, and with the other 2 she pierced his arms and kept him still.

Draou stared at Virachne for a moment, confused as to why she was frowning. He slowly dropped his gaze downward.

"Oh... h..."

A bit more blood trickled down from Draou's nearly closed mouth down his chin as his head rolled to the side, dangling unsupported. For some reason he felt a bit sad. Just the feeling a child gets when they have to move away to a new home, but can't really understand why. Forcing himself to look forward again, he stared down with a blank face.

"Too.... t-t-too many p-people. Numbers... they ended a long-g time a-ago. I... I shouldn't have... no. No-t-t a-all can be ss-saved from i-it. Martha... b-bless her he... ar... t.. t." Draou looked around slowly as he spoke, face drained of color. He stopped when he saw the knight missing.

Something changed slightly in his mind, the tiny bit of plausible thought that remained took over.

Draou spoke again, this time more clearly in a whisper, he could feel the pain rising up now. It was horrible, yet at the same time it freed his thoughts, "I would've been the next knight you know. Sent to travel between perceptions of space, my body killing hundreds of people... You saved me from that fall. Something wanted me to die... it wasn't you... it wasn't what sent... him... something strange... it isn't a thing... it is... no, it won't matter now. I wasn't meant to be... The moment I walked into this reality I doomed myself in the grand design of things. But... I finally have one... I have a soul." A small smile grew from the blank expression. He had wanted nothing else.

Time... time is wasting...

"I need you to do something for me... just this once. You're the only one of them that would understand anyway. Please." The whisper was so quiet it would only stretch to Virachne before becoming inaudible.

This is what happens when you try to take too much blame for others... I must like the sensation... Someone has to. Thoughts clouding beyond that point, Draou waited for her answer. The only thing giving him any will to stay being what he promised his daughter months before.

Whatever was happening with him, it's over now. Vi stood in silent as she help him up in the air, he was babling about some weird stuff... that had really nothing to do with their mission. As cold as ice, she took her legs out and drop him to the floor. She waited for him to stop talking "I don't know what you want from me.... whatever it was. Should've asked earlier, I got a misison to complete here". The lady shook the blood off her legs and turned towards Magnus, then she started to walk away. By this point, she just wants to finish the mission and go back.

Frank stood in shock for half a second, before dashing to Draou after Vi coldly disposed of him and was crawling away on her blood-stains pincers.
"Aw strewth, Draou, I'm sorry it had to end like this... Wait, I might be able to stabilize you until Cecile comes.."
Quickly taking out numerous medical supplies, Frank put on some clean elastic gloves.
"Hold still."

Figuring it was a lost hope anyway, Draou lost focus in his sight. Martha would manage, with or without the full truth. Now that he thought of it... he realized that leaving her alone as he went to fight against the corporation was a mistake in itself. He wasn't preserving her own future... he had thought if he went in her place it would be better... he was wrong. But he was going to fix it... at least enough for her to recover from the rest herself.

Curse my poor choices... I have to talk to Martha... like this...

"It was stupid of me to ask. None of you would understand yet. FRANK... LET... ME... DIE! My time in this world is over." Draou held out his hand for Frank to back away, "I'm sorry... but I can't... you're a good friend Frank... all of you are. Maybe someday you'll understand it the same way I do. I'm a father... I have someone I need to say goodbye to." As Draou spoke, he pulled himself up to a sitting position, blood pouring rapidly out the hole in his back.

Draou's voice was suddenly much lower than before, despite the added pain he made sure only Frank could hear him as he grasped the guy's shoulders with both hands, "Frank... you need to delete all research on those suits I've been making... he will try to stop you. Winning this "war" won't do anything besides bring another force just as horrific into power. The one you're fighting against is already leading you in a double life... figure it out." Eyes staring dead serious for a moment, Draou soon lost his focus of sight again. Any more energy used and he wouldn't have enough strength to do what he had to do next.

Draou reached back, grabbing his staff as he pushed himself off the floor slowly. He had already given up trying to live through it, he knew the one thing he had left to do.

Barely standing off the ground, Draou let himself fall backwards as he opened up a portal behind himself.

"The world would be better off... without supers like us."

Draou dissipated into nothing for the last time, going somewhere much farther away so he could end in resting peace with his inner feelings.

There was one item left behind. Slowly, a black baseball cap drifted down to the floor in front of Frank. Inside the key-code for accessing the files on the suit progress was phased in bold letters.

"Fuck..." cursed Meredith as she grimaced at the moonlight overhead.

Sitting up to quickly, she felt blood rush through her head followed by nausea.

"Who woulda thought Poison Princess could...hit so hard," she complained rubbing the back of her head gingerly. Slowly, she pulled herself to her feet balancing on her robotic arm. Struggling to remember, her mind was only filled with flashes of lightning and rain. The rooftop was devoid of either though, all that was there was simply dust and moonlight.

Stricken by an errant bolt of grief, Meredith turned around to be greeted by a large purple, familiar suit of armor. The worst thing about it was that it was completely empty, devoid of any life, as though it had always been so.

For some reason she couldn't take her eyes off the armor, but the feeling of sadness had quickly evaporated, replaced by emptiness. Although it wasn't raining, she could feel wetness on her cheeks. Curious, she felt a couple of streams and tasted them.

"Salty..."

Last time had been a fluke. This death was real.
Frank had someone die on every adventure he had taken, but this hit home.
"I'm sorry..."
Looking down, he saw the baseball cap.
He put it on, and vowed to keep it until the day his luck would run out.
"Cecile, Draou's... dead. I'm sorry, I'm not a medic.."
While waiting for a response, Frank considered Draou's words, which were clear and true.
"Destroy one, and another one comes into power. It's a never-ending cycle... Is our struggle really justified? Draou's right, maybe if supers would not be on this planet... Godspeed, my friend."

Cecile was about to talk to over the radio when the news of Draou's death came first. She was speechless and for a moment, she stopped breathing. But she grit her teeth, gripped the steering wheel tight and headed off to the warehouse. No one else dies.

She heard Frank's apology, she knew it was sincere. She'd tell him it was alright, she'd tell him it would be okay... that would come later though. She breathed in and focused on the warehouse.

[Sword, Helm, there is an armored van coming your way, I don't know if its Landon's or some one else's but someone has to intercept it. I am on my way to meet Amanita.]

The truck veered towards the structure and she immediately got out of the truck.

"Everyone, we need to search the premises for Amanita. Destroy any creature you see," she said.