As the watery hand reared up, Eld tensed, preparing to move when the attack was launched. But when it did, he realized that he and Kaze weren't the targets; Oboreru himself was.

"What the hell...?" Eld asked in horror, watching the water seem to tear apart and dissolve the man he'd been about to fight. There were a few seconds when he wondered what happened to Kageko, thinking the fight was over...

...but while it might continue to seem that way to Kaze, Eld's head suddenly snapped back to the lake. There was a massive amount of spiritual energy coming from it.

"I...don't think it's over yet..." Eld warned as it began to rain. He continued to gather Qi about him, eyes fixed on the lake.

"W-wait-- wait! B-brother!!" Akizets screamed as she finally realized what happened, "Stop it-- stop it, you'll die!!"

She nearly dropped her fans to the ground as the conclusion hit her. She knew then that it wasn't over, just as Eld said. Although she didn't drop her weapons, she did lift her hands to her lips, covering a gasp and the sudden urge to break down. That, she couldn't allow. She needed that-- she needed her willpower, because this wasn't going to be the end of the fight. This was just the beginning.

Yes-- yes, she remembered exactly what was happening, now. Akizetsumei couldn't quite put her finger on why, but in the end, it didn't matter how or why she remembered it, only that she knew exactly what was happening. Eld might have started to come to a conclusion, but it might not be exactly what the truth of the matter had become.

"H-his . . ." she whispered, ". . . he--"

Akizets was trembling. The rain, now a downpour, was cold, and she was clearly in a state of shock. She watched as the arm pulled back, moving towards the center of the lake, but stopped only to press the flat of its palm upon the beach.

"I remember what it is, now," she finally started to speak in spite of her fear, shock, and awe, "I-it's his . . . his existence . . . h-he's-- merged-- he's merged with th-the water. H-he's giving up h-his . . . body . . ."

Kaze's sudden shout startled him, causing him to take his attention off the lake temporarily. Die? Well...it certainly looked like he was dead, but he wasn't sure why he'd do something like that.

Her explanation only caused him to stare at her. "What? That's not...how can...what's he..." he sputtered, as too many questions tried to cram their way out of his mouth at once.

That's not possible, right? How can he do that? What is he planning?

As much as he wanted to console Kaze about her brother, or even just focus on what to do now, with a rising feeling of dread he asked the question that shouldered past the rest in his mind. "What about Kageko--that is, my scythe? What happens to her?" he asked quietly.

"The-- the scythe? The Du-- . . . um . . . Dawn Reminder?" she asked, clearly already having forgotten what she was calling the scythe before.

It was the same deal as Hillcrest, and now Eld's name. She was making it a point to not address him by his name, in fact, because she couldn't remember it for the life of her. The same went for her brother, too-- and now, of course, the name they were calling Eld's scythe.

"I . . . don't know," she replied sadly, but only to stop in an instant, staring off towards the lake as Eld stared at her, and with shock spread over her face, Akizets grabbed Eld by the shoulder and pulled him towards her, shouting, "Watch out!!"

If Eld were to look in the same direction as Akizets, after she pulled him back as hard as she could (which wasn't hard at all; Eld would have to go with it and move the same direction as her), he'd find an image that was unlike the one Akizets originally saw. It was the same figure, but its pose was clearly different: Oboreru. He hadn't a figure anymore, nothing tangible, nothing concrete. A liquid form stood before Eld, its jagged figure pulsating along with what might appear to be the beating of a heart. It was just as the hand and arm: a mass of liquid in a solid state, yet not frozen-- damaging without a doubt, but not permanent.

It held onto what appeared to be a hazy blue, constantly shifting weapon: a scythe. It, too, was in the same state as Oboreru. No details existed for either of them, just their outlines formed by the collecting, yet disruptive rainwater. It looked, perhaps, as if it had already swung, with the scythe partially behind it, and its body leaned forward at the conclusion of a lunge.

So, there was no telling what happened to Kageko...that didn't put his mind at ease much. He didn't have much time to puzzle it over, though; Kageko pulled on him and shouted, and while she wouldn't be able to budge him if he didn't want to, he trusted her, and quickly moved in that direction.

When he looked for why, he...wasn't quite sure what to think. It was Oboreru, but...as though he were entirely made of water. Even given what he'd been through in the past few months, it was the most bizarre and unnerving sight he'd seen yet.

But he pushed that aside as he latched onto an important detail: he was holding a scythe.

"Kaze? I have an idea...try...aiming for his arm. Maybe if we get him to drop the scythe part..." He had no idea if that would work, but it was worth a try.

Akizets nodded to Eld quickly. She got the point fast, and knew that they had to act even faster. With an aggressive step forward, leaving her to brush past Eld to get ahead of him, she brought the left fan forward, swinging her arm out as hard as she could manage, intentionally putting the most force as she possibly could into one attack: one focused blow with a thinly opened fan, to generate an equally as focused rush of wind upon her target, a veritable cutting wind.

And indeed, it cut through the air. Rain splashed against the blow and the air between Akizetsumei and the middle of Oboreru's arm, an instantaneous splash of water against such a small, yet powerful strike-- one which may well have cut through a human being had she been so inclined, one she could have defeated Eld outright with.

But yet, as soon as it struck in the instant it was unleashed, it wasn't just Oboreru's arm and scythe that broke away, it was the entire contents of his body. The close form of water splashed in an instant, exploding its contents upon them, leaving nothing behind but a larger amount of water collected upon the ground puddles around them.

Akizets was clearly dumbfounded, but Eld wouldn't have the time to think too much on it, as it was within half of a second after Akizetsumei's attack that he'd spot another watery image at his own left side, nearly behind Akizets, well into her blind spot, already fully formed as a rainwater silhouette, scythe in both hands over his head, formed in the midst of an attack, and coming down upon the both of them perhaps just as quick as Akizetsumei's own strike.

"Damn, that didn't--" He stopped short as he sensed something at the same time he caught water-Oboreru out of the corner of his eye. He turned and held his palm out, firing a Qi blast strengthened by some of the power he'd been gathering. If Kaze's air slash had taken it down, this blast would be certain to as well.

"Kaze, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "This...could get pretty hairy, and you're hurt."

Not to mention, he thought, you might have to kill what's left of your brother. If she wanted to sit out and get somewhere safe, he certainly wouldn't blame her. It might be more difficult on his own, but he'd figure something out.

Akizetsumei looked back behind her, to the mass of water that suddenly burst into another soaking splash. She hadn't expected an attack from behind. The woman looked up to Eld, then. She also hadn't expected him to ask that.

"I--" she began.

But was cut off quickly. It wasn't more than a split second after Eld erased one form that another stood before Akizetsumei. It was just the same as the last two, already standing as if it were in the middle of an attack, scythe in both hands, out to its side, swing horizontal, perhaps intending to cut through both Eldridge and Akizetsumei. Just like the last two, the attack as quick; it left absolutely no room for error. If they saw one, they had to attack it instantly, hesitating would lead to a premature end to the battle and the deaths of both of them.

The scythe may have appeared to be liquid, but it would cut right through them if it struck them-- and it seemed all of his intended strikes were wide arcs, too. It was something they couldn't allow to happen.

And so, as soon as Akizetsumei spotted it just feet before her, a silhouette within the rain, this time in Eld's blind spot-- scythe out, swinging in. She took a step forward and with brute quickness, slapped her right fan up from hip level to over her head, decimating form with a wind's edge, expelling the cold lake and rainwater in all directions, further lowering her own body temperature. By this point, she was soaked to the bone.

And yet, she still wouldn't have the time to reply to Eld, for as soon as she erased one, there was another in their now equal blind-spot, where both their backs faced to, a shadow in the rain, already swinging in at them.

Eld was practically still feeling the back blast of his own attack when Kaze dispatched another one aimed for them. Briefly, he wondered if Oboreru could even cut them, the scythe currently being made of water, but he decided quickly he'd rather not test it.

While another one appeared behind both of them, Oboreru was now giving off spirit energy, and so long as he was Eld might as well as not have any blind spots. He half-turned and extended his other arm, firing another Qi blast to dispatch the latest one.

Kaze hadn't answered yet, but the fact that Eld would clearly be overwhelmed on his own might influence her decision...

And again--

This one came from above, but this time not for Eld and Akizets both-- but for Akizetsumei in particular. With the scythe in both hands, the shadow of Oboreru was in the midst of an overhead swing, down for Akizetsumei's head. This one, she couldn't move towards. Now, she was realizing that there wasn't any way to make ground on it. She took a step back this time, and this time swung belatedly, dodging back first, hitting her back against Eld's back, allowing the shadow of her brother to complete the attack, albeit hitting nothing at all.

It was when Akizetsumei reared back into Eld that she swung the left fan across, dispatching this next one. Tactics and deep thoughts were not her forte, but she couldn't help but wonder how they could make ground like this.

What Akizetsumei did not realize was that at the same time as she started to attack, there was another silhouette, this time before Eld, ducked down low to the ground, already in the midst of a rush towards him, in an attempt to strike his blade through Eld and Akizetsumei both.

If only for a brief moment, there was two of him. Akizets did not feel this, but . . .

Though he could sense the one that appeared above Kaze, Eld couldn't attack again so quickly. Fortunately, causing bumping into him did little to disturb him; she didn't have enough mass to actually affect him much.

But as he noticed the form appear in front of him, he realized something, even as he extended his hand again and blasted it apart. "Kaze, these aren't really him; he can have multiple of them!" And the only other thing he that was registering to his senses was...

"I...I think we need to attack the lake!" He hesitated, simply because of how absurd it sounded...

"He . . . wha--" Akizets began with initial surprise, only to be cut off prematurely, resulting in her letting out a surprised, "AH!"

Akizets, with both fans closed, blocked a sudden jab with the scythe's blade towards her face. She crossed the closed fans over her face and backed even closer into Eld. That attack had come so fast . . . it was almost like it was bearing down upon her while she dispatched the previous shadow.

Whilst another appeared at Eld's right, scythe up, over his head, aimed straight for the space between their backs, Akizetsumei could see another looming close behind the one she was yet to destroy. Were Eld to take out the one nearest him, the one that attacked them both, he'd find another before him, swinging a wide arc straight for him-- and then, another, this time to the right, then above, over his head, and bearing down upon him with a near endless succession of attacks.

Soon, they were practically chained together. One attacked-- in the blink of an eye, there was another, another, and another, all striking in succession, all striking so quick that even Eldridge Tsukimono would run out of spiritual energy if he continuously dispatched them with blasts of it. In fact, they might even be coming so quick that he wouldn't have the opportunity to charge another by the next the next was upon him.

It had all started small, all with one form, but quickly escalated, now launched into rapid fire combination strikes, all in direct proximity, leaving not even the time to think or take in a deep breath, let alone make a break for the lake.

Perhaps it was easier said than done.

"Tch! This is..."

His hand stretched out once more, another burst of wind to obliterate the one that appeared on his right. But even as he did so he could feel another one coming.

"...getting us..."

Unable to fire another burst of Qi so quickly, he swung the quarterstaff horizontally, smashing through the one in front of him, which by sheer luck continued and took out the one that just appeared to his right again.

"...nowhere!" he complained, firing a blast straight up to take out one that appeared above him.

It was a continual barrage, and he couldn't spare much time to think about what to do to get out of it; he wasn't sure at what point he'd run out of Qi, as it hadn't happened yet, but he didn't want to find out if he could avoid it.

And even without running out of energy, he was having trouble keeping up. "Duck!" he shouted suddenly, forcing to do so himself when he couldn't hit one of the water clones in time.

Tearing the iron pole through it, he finally gritted his teeth just as they were about to get overrun. With a wide sweep of his hands, he let loose Qi in all directions (though originating past Kaze so she wouldn't be caught in it), giving them a few seconds to breathe.

Eld took a deep breath; ordinarily being soaked as he was would be very uncomfortable, but with how much he was exerting himself the rain felt--

The rain!

"Kaze, it's the rain!" he exclaimed suddenly. "So long as its raining, he can probably create those clones everywhere, as often as he wants!"

At Eld's command to duck, she bent low at her knees, nearly hitting the ground at the same time as Eld. Likewise, the very same moment that Tsukimono stood, so did Akizetsumei, standing with an upward attack to eradicate one silhouette getting the move on her, then another in a combination swipe. By this point, she had nearly gotten used to it. It was almost like carrying on a rhythm, yes-- an endless rhythm, perhaps, but a rhythm all the same.

It was just a matter of figuring out how to stop it before they ran out of steam.

"How do we--"

Akizets stopped only when she realized that they were, in fact, being completely overrun on all sides. By this point, by the time they took out one, there were two others incoming. They needed something, some sort of reprieve. She didn't have it on her end, but Eld, if only for a brief moment, had it on his, when he used a wide arcing wind to eradicate a mass of them in his general forward direction.

"--make it--" She continued as she enacted an on-the fly plan . . .

Eld would feel her right arm lock with his left arm-- back to back as they were, it was almost like those two elbows were meeting all the time. For this plan to work, they had to move in complete sync with each other, and considering the rhythm they were both fighting at, it seemed like they were.

Once their arms were locked (something she'd have to do quickly), she'd kick to the side with her right foot, the whole string of actions happening quick enough that a silhouette didn't quite have the chance to get a jump on her. The goal? To use her own personal and supernatural speed to force her and Eld to spin around and switch places, whilst she unleashes a wide arching attack to cover the shadows ahead of her, only to keep it going even when she was in what was Eld's position. If all went well, Eld would flow with it, and perhaps even do something similar.

If, indeed, successful, she'd unlock her arm from around Eld's, and prepare for the next wave that was bound to come for them any second.

"--stop?"

"Good question."

Feeling Kaze move, and not having time to really think about it, Eld simply went with it. He spun with her, keeping them back to back and lashing out with the quarterstaff in a wide arc, taking out any of the water figures that approached in his view, and firing the occasional Qi blast into the air to take out one trying to attack from above.

The tactic was effective enough that he could afford to think a bit about her question. Rain only stopped when the moisture ran out (not likely to happen in this case) or when the storm blew through...

"Kaze...if I were to jump, how high do you think you could blow me?" he asked, twirling the staff in a high arc, over their heads, to bring it back around for another horizontal swing.