​     Hoby was down, unconscious, on the floor, his armor, in pieces, splayed all around him.

​     As for Belle...                                                                             ​                          She was a tough one. Gramps had to give her that. Even as Gramps and Noel recrossed the auditorium, he watched her slump in her torn armor back over to Estelle's unconscious form. Her scorpion tail weaved around Belle as if eagerly awaiting an order. It looked like Belle planned to direct the tail to bury its pincer in Estelle's gut.

​     No way could Gramps and Noel get to them in time, and Brock was still regaining his strength.

​     The tail rose. Down it would go, punching a hole so wide and deep that...​

​     WHAP!

​     The fighting staff caught Belle in the skull with such force that it all but knocked her off her feet, in spite of the armor she wore.

     It was Shawnacy, back in the fight and with her extended battle staff in her grasp.

​     Nacy smacked Belle with that battle staff again, again, again. Belle retreated stumbling from the onslaught. Belle's tail defended her. Shawnacy had to react quick to avoid both the tail and the raining debris while she continued to wail on Belle.

​     The tail side-swiped Nacy, knocking her off her feet.

     The tail prepared to strike Shawnacy with its paralyzing agent a second time when...

​     No!

     Estelle was back on her feet and on the attack!

​     Estelle grabbed that fucking scorpion tail...

​     and, in one motion, ripped it loose from the rest of Belle's armor.

​     Now Belle really was out of options. Her armor hung in tatters from her body. Her scorpion tail writhed on its own on the floor and hurting nobody.

     Shawnacy came at Belle with her battle staff.

​     Several quick hits all in a row. BAP! BAP! BAP! To the knee. To the skull. To the abdomen. To the other knee. To the skull. To the skull. To the skull. As Brock used his azure energy to right his wheelchair with him still in it, he was in the exact right position to get a good look at Shawnacy's face, and what he saw there intimidated him just the slightest bit. He was used to the deep souled, compassionate expression that Shawnacy usually wore. That expression was now nowhere to be found. What replaced it was pure, near insane fury. She gave Belle one last, solid WHUMP! on the thigh with her battle staff. As Belle bent, Estelle smacked Belle's helmet so hard she heard alloy crack.

​     Belle was down. No more fight from Belle.

     Then,

​     A chunk of shrapnel zizzed down at an angle from above to take out a chunk of Estelle's left calf. 

​     "Ow! Fuck!"

     Shawnacy kind of tackled Estelle just as Noel and Gramps reached them. Together, Shawnacy and Estelle flew at the open door of the van.

​     Brock followed them right in.

​     Noel waited until Gramps was totally inside his van before returning to his own.

     Gramps patted Noel's shoulder as he, at last, released his grip.

​     "Thank you, my friend," he said.

     Noel nodded in reply.

​     "Let's finish this up," he said.

​                                                          CONTINUE