As the Companions face off yet again against Light and Darkness, Vee seems to continue to draw upon the wells.  As before the Companions combined efforts succeed at cutting down both of the gods.  Yet as before they rise once more.  This time however, anyone taking a glance towards the well of Darkness would notice what looks to be a much smaller orb seeming to rise out of the well and float a few feet from the surface.  The two gods seem poised to resume their attacks when they glance back and their eyes settle on that floating orb.

[Both at the same time] "NO!!"

A moment later a massive wave of force seems to explode outward from Vee.  The wave expands outwards, slamming into both of the gods and launching them backwards.  As the wave reaches each of the Companions it seems to harmlessly wash over them, though they find themselves seemingly unable to move.  The floating orb however seems to flicker and pulse as the wave reaches it.  Then a loud sound akin to glass shatter is heard as the orb cracks and breaks apart, seeming to fall back down towards the well before fading away.

DOWN ON THE BATTLEFIELD

The Seraph, Shaiton, and Ork forces continue to clash.  Jharm swings his hammer in a wide arc, sending a score of Shaiton flying backwards.

"Stand fast soldiers of Light!"

Then suddenly a massive wave of force flows over the battlefield.  In the blink of an eye the battlefield goes quiet as all of the combatants seem to find themselves unable to move.  Even the Ork kruisers above seem to have become immobilized.  While this might be rather concerning, it matters little as the Seraphims gaze falls upon the opponent in front of him, none other then Dervagon.  What bewilders the Seraphim though is the appearance of the General of Darkness. Gone is the mottled and twisted skin, forehead ridge of bone and twisted, almost demonic looking eyes.  What the Seraphim saw now...was a visage not all that different from his own.  The look on Dervagons face seems to also be that of bewilderment.

"What?  What is this sorcery?  What has your master done?!?"

"Darkness?  He has done nothing, clearly it is your Mistress that has unleashed some sort of trickery!"

The two beings look around as best as they can, their bodies seemingly frozen and only their eyes able to gaze around.  Confusion is clear on both of the leaders faces as both see that any opposing forces within their vision seem to have changed.  Where twisted and almost demonic forms seemed to once stand are now humanoid figures clad in silver or black armor and where dark leathery wings once protruded now feathered wings of pure white or black.

BACK AT THE WELL
Velgeim gets to her feet, the glowing orbs that seem to have replaced her eyes gaze at Light and Darkness as the two gods seem to struggle to get back to their feet.  They move as if lacking almost any energy, as if finally overwhelmed by the effort of their fighting against the Companions.

"This...this can't be."

"Oh...but it is. It's as I said before, you two have failed in the mission that was given to you.  Not only have you failed but...countless others have paid because of your actions."

As she speaks scenes seem to flash in the minds of the Companions.  First they see a man that bears some resemblance to Velgeim speaking to another individual before the two shake hands and seem to sign a paper before them.

"A peaceful world...until you two and your machinations against each other arrived."

Next an scene showing what looks to be a futuristic city, countless people traveling through the streets when suddenly there is a brilliant flash of light as what looks to be somthing akin to a meteor falls from the sky far in the distance.  A few moments later a massive meteor can be seen followed by another flash of light and then a wave of darkness washes over the city.

"In the blink of an eye anger and hatred overwhelmed and destruction followed."

The city from before can be seen once more but from a much further distance away.  Then a large missile comes screaming down and slams into the ground, a large mushroom cloud appearing, followed by many more across the visible expanse.  The scene shifts slightly to what looks to be a different city but with missiles also striking down.

"Now...practically a hellscape, torn apart by countless years of war....billions lost."

The city from before is seen once more but now almot all of it is rubble.  Smoking ruins fill the horizon, the sound of gunfire fills the air before the scene shifts again, showing the outskirts of the city, lines and lines of trenches.  A large space and then more lines of trenches.  Gunfire zips between the two groups of trenches, the area in between filled with destroyed machines of war and corpses.  The view shifts downwards, giving a closer view of one of the sets of trenches.  The beings clad in armor, gas masks covering most of their faces, though some do not seem to be wearing one.  Their skin is mottled and warped, their eyes hollowed but filled with anger as they gaze over at the other rows of trenches.

As Velgeim speaks she stands almost motionless, the tone of her voice seeming to lack any emotion at all.  However, as she says "billions lost" a single tear rolls down her face and her hands shift her long coat backwards a bit, revealing her holsters on her hips before her hands dangle near them.

Light and Darkness stand, facing the woman in silence as she speaks.  Then a few moments pass in silence before both Light and Darkness raise their weapons and seem to start to charge.  However as they take a step forward two loud booms echo through the area.  In her hands Velgeim now holds her guns, faint trails of glowing light flows around the gun aimed at Darkness while shimmering darkness flows around the one aimed at Light.  The two deities stumble slightly, before dropping to their knees.  Darkness gazes down at his chest and there is a single bullet hole visible, ebony blood seeping from it.  His hands release their grip on his weapons, the blades clanging down onto the ground.

"W...well then.  Perhaps....we...were both..."

He then collapses forward.  His body seems to shimmer and glow faintly but unlike before it starts to almost crumble and turn into dust before flowing back into the well.  Light watches as this happens before her sword and shield slip from her grip and clatter to the ground as her gaze shifts to Velgeim.  Her voice is raspy as if she struggles to speak.

"Wrong. Yes...perhaps so.  Maybe they will do better then us.  Use what we have left...to...remove our stain...from your world."

Then with that Light also collapses.  Her body also glows faintly before crumbling, though the trail of dust seems to flow off in the opposite direction, undoubtedly back towards the well of Light.  Velgeim stands there for a moment or two almost unmoving before she spins her guns and slips them back into their holsters.  The faint figure from before seems to briefly reappear, placing a hand on her shoulder.  Her head seems to shift as if she looks at the hand but does little else and the figure fades away a moment later.  Then, as suddenly as the immobilization happened, it is gone.

BACK ON THE BATTLEFIELD
As the three armies remain immobilized, Jharm and Dervagon can do little other then ponder at what is going on, their respective forces seeming to equally be bewildered and confused by what they see before them.  Then two loud booms can be heard from far above and the two leaders both let out a grunt of pain.

"N.no...it can't be....She is..."

"He is..."

Then suddenly the immobilization is gone.  The two armies find themselves able to move once more.  The two leaders look at each other with a mixture of confusion and almost horror before approaching each other, though their weapons remain lowered.

"They're both gone...I don't understand."

"Neither do I...to say nothing of what I see before me now."

The two leaders then look at each other and seem to nod before focusing inwardly.

Nethanya, Drayvon...have our forces stand down.  Much has happened...much is unknown now.  Do what you can to...to protect the Shaiton from the Orkz if they do not cease combat.  Gulgrim, I can only hope Im able to reach you but have your forces stand down at once.

"It is done, though I am unsure if my green....."allies" will stop as easily.  We will do what we can to stop them but perhaps it would be best if we seek out my friends.  I can only hope perhaps they might be able to explain anything of whats happened.  Then we may be able to proceed from there."

The General of Darkness nods as he sheathes his weapons and the two leaders take to the air and fly off towards where the rest of the Companions are.

My friends, we are on the way...there is much to discuss it seems.

The stress of storing Darkness' energy, however briefly, had left Phaerys' suit rather worse for wear. Internal systems had suffered some damage, and the joints in the left side were unpleasantly stiff. Nothing beyond repair, yet nothing that could be properly looked at in the heat of battle. He would have to make do.

The Ataran looked up from his suit to see that, ultimately, his attack had proven ineffective - Light had regenerated back to fighting form. He was about to tap into the well of Darkness once more, but sensed the energy flowing elsewhere, into Vee. Likewise, Light's power from the other well was drawn into her. A curious phenomenon that seemed to have left Light truly unsettled. Regardless of the unknown voice's request, Phaerys recognised the opportunity to turn the tide of battle.

While Soul Reaver intercepted Light's attack, Phaerys reassessed his combat priorities. He did not fancy the risk of tapping into the well again, and so turned his attention to Darkness' duplicates this time. Phaerys distanced himself from the well and cast a spread of fireballs at the closest copy. He kept himself on the move - limping slightly from the damage to his suit - adopting a hit-and-run approach as he sought to position himself back behind his allies before the inevitable counterattack.

Soul Reaver takes a step back, breathing hard through gritted teeth as silver blood runs in rivulets around his feet.  Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, he once again detects the surge the energy that heralds the resurrection of his glowing foe.  It had been too much to hope that perhaps Phaerys' attack might have disrupted her cycle of resurrection.

As Light and Darkness speak, Soul Reaver listens with one ear while his mind races, coming up with alternative attack plans.  But his attention shifts wholly onto Vee as she rises and begins to draw power from both the Light and Dark wells.

While he wasn't yet sure what to make of this, the fact was that Vee was - or at least, had been - on their side, and neither Light nor Darkness seemed to be on hers.  Perhaps with the combined might of both the wells, Vee would have some means to counter the two deities, or at least discover a means to disrupt their resurrection cycle.  She was currently his best bet for defeating the two foes before him.

Even without the sudden urging of a mysterious voice to protect Vee, Soul Reaver is already on it.  Sidestepping to intersperse himself between Light and Vee - or whoever she was becoming - Soul Reaver hefts his blade in both hands.  Red lightning begins to crackle and arc off his body as his biceps tense and his mouth draws into a snarl.  Blooddrinker's blade begins to shimmer and sizzle faintly as it splits the atoms of the air it passes through.  He leaps forward at Light, the sword leaving a glimmering trail.

To Light's right side the Fire Daemon, now fully regenerated, puffs out its cheeks and sends a roaring, rolling cloud of flames to envelop Light's head, intent on blinding her just as Soul Reaver brings Blooddrinker to bear upon her.

Kitharsis could sense the building power from the well of Darkness, and a similar occurrence a ways off.  The two seemingly dead gods rose to their feet once more in a flash.  Gulgrim was giddy at the prospect, but Kitharsis shared in Soul Reaver's sentiment.

The Tirthandara finds himself untargeted, as Darkness and Light attack Gulgrim and Soul Reaver.  He takes advantage of the reprieve to make a quick assessment.

Phaerys was onto something, working away at Darkness's well.  If their assumptions were correct, and the gods could only be destroyed by one another, then this was the play.

But if Phaerys is found out, the plan would be for naught.  Kitharsis wills a stream of sand to gather around Phaerys's feet.  It organizes into a large rune underneath the Ataran.  Should any attacks target Phaerys the rune will activate, forming a domed shield around him.

Kitharsis plants himself at Phaerys's flank.  The runes on his stony skin are glowing brighter now, infused with more of his power.  He will attempt to block or deflect any attacks directed toward himself or Phaerys.

The spark of elation is swiftly extinguished with dismay as Soul Reaver watches both Darkness and Light rise again.  There was more going on here than just two errant gods.

At his side, a tendril from Light carves through the Steelheart's magical plate and slices it in two.  The two halves clatter and squelch to the floor, gouting black ichor, before crumbling into black dust.  Soul Reaver takes several steps back, raising his sword ready to strike.

Soul Reaver's eyes flicker from Light to Darkness and back again.

So the only way to kill them is to get them to kill each other?

Some distance away, Gulgrim was gleefully laying into Darkness, but unlike the Warboss, Soul Reaver didn't welcome this turn of events as Light comes barrelling toward him, a scintillating shield before her.  He didn't have time to come up with a clever plan right now - he would have to leave that to Phaerys.

Soul Reaver plants his feet and draws back his sword, ready to deliver a mighty swing.  Just as Light is about bowl into him, Blightwing acts and unleashes a powerful antimagic spell, shearing into Light's shield.  At the same time, Soul Reaver's muscles ripple in his arms and back as he counterswings with Blooddrinker - hopefully it would once again break through the now-weakened barrier and strike at Light herself.