Desecration

"Desecration" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread started on [IRL DATE] and finished on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Like leaves circling in autumn, Sky Singer and Scoot descended lower in the cavern, at one point drifting closer so that Liam could vault from one dragonback to the other to relieve Sky Singer of the extra weight, and also to give Vox a flustered, embarrassed hug from behind, water and muck and soil and blood smeared across both of them.
"You shouldn't be down here," he managed to say, then redirected it to address both of the Felman kids as well. "You guys have to drop us off and book it back to Indigo. It's dangerous down here."
Apr 17
Dagny scoffed. "Are you kidding me?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "It's just as dangerous for you down here."
"And how exactly do you expect to get back up to the surface once you find the beacon?" Kari asked. They were able to find them because of the dragons. Liam and his group wouldn't stand a chance if they couldn't get back up to the surface. "It's better if we stay. We can help."
Apr 17
Liam blinked, white eyes briefly obscured by darkness. "Uh...shit, yeah, that's a good point. Okay. Just please don't get killed."
Apr 17
"Also, you're one to talk, buddy. None of us should be down here, but you're stuck with us." Vox rested his hand on Liam's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Let us know what you need. Don't want to keep us down here longer than we need to be."
Apr 18
"Get the egg, see what's down here, get out. That's it."
The dragons alighted in a huge stone tunnel, high enough off the ground that they could still be stealthy, but with a much better view of the proceedings than before. Everything seemed much the same, but there was less idle activity and preparation than before; guards had either left, taken up new stations around the city-sized encampment, or were quickly moving in squads from one area to another. There were many pools of rippling water across the three-mile-wide area, almost looking like a constellation of lakes and ponds. There was a small amount of underground greenery and moss feeding from the still water, but the thickest concentration of vegetation was up at the top of the natural mountainous dais where the body of the massive, centipede-like creature lay across in coils and heaps, and where the steady light of the tall box gave off an unusually comforting glow in the darkness. Since there was so much growth, it seemed like the light had been here for some time, but the body of the terrible creature was laid across the same growth in a way that indicated it had not been here long at all. The half-demons didn't feel like they were nearby.
Nio grumbled, squinting through the shadows at the scene. "Anyone got one of them scopes so we can see what we're looking at?"
Apr 18
"I've got it." Sav pulls down his goggles and twists the lenses causing them to extend out a little bit enhancing his vision. Jari had created them for him on one of her first few visits to the Warren. It was always a little disorienting at first but he turned to look at the box and the serpentine creature.
Apr 18
The lenses blurred and then focused as they managed to find the right distance. At the peak of the dais, the details of the box were far more clear. It was as tall as Nala's original porcelain and muscle body, judging by the handful of guards surrounding it. Made of stone, its corners were blunt and rounded, and it hovered a foot off of the ground. The carvings in it were complex, and still a bit difficult to see from this distance, but Sav could make out the shape of a body carved on the face of it, with arms crossed over its chest, and feather-like designs surrounded its shoulders. The entire thing was wrapped in glowing golden chains as thick as the mast of a ship, not rope like they had previously thought. The area around the box--or tomb, as Sav now realized--seemed incredibly ritualistic, with a huge patterned circle on the ground underneath it, pillars of stone and plenty of lighting in the form of torches and more white crystal. A well-worn desire path snaked around the mountain up to the tomb, though it was blocked in several spots by whatever monster lay across the dais.
He shifted to look at the body, and though he couldn't find where the head was, he studied long enough to see that the body was unmoving, but breathing, as though it were asleep.
Nio and Liam bundled closer, as though they were going to be able to see more just by being closer to Sav. "We should probably get over there, I bet that's where we can rescue the beacon," Liam whispered.
Apr 18
"Fuckin' 'ell." Sav murmured in his underground twang. He pulls off his goggles and holds them out for anyone who wants to see. "So first off, that box is massive. second that big snakey cunt down there ain't dead, just asleep. Thirdly, that ain't rope, that's chain. Thick too."
Apr 18
"Chain...?"
Nio eagerly took the goggles as Liam's fingertips drifted up and rested on his inner wrist, where underneath thick layers of shadow, the reddened link-shaped burns on his skin seemed to tingle. His eyes darted aimlessly back and forth as he thought. An idea struck him, and he reached hesitantly out to the only person he felt like he could trust to ask such a question.
Milae? Are you there?
What--Liam? Is that you? Where on earth have you been--! The Commander said to stop using--
Yeah, I don't know why. Listen, we're underground and there's something locked up with a bunch of golden chains. Remind you of anyone?
There was a worrying length of silence from Milae's end. Impossible...
Cool, just making sure I'm not crazy.
In Nio's view, there was a brief flash up by the tomb, and a figure in a long dress and cape appeared, dragging a man by the scruff of his coat. It took a moment, but Nio was able to recognize the nix as Cervon, from the forward team. The surrounding guards scrambled to give their full attention to the new arrival, falling to one knee and bowing as the figure passed. They hoisted Cervon up easily and tossed him to the guards, who hastily caught his half-limp body and pulled him down the other side of the dais, out of view. "Whoa, hey, guys--"
You're underground? Milae said urgently.
Huge, fuckoff cavern. It seriously looks like the city's gonna fall on us. 
The figure turned, and Nio was barely able to see long, straw-colored plaits catch the firelight, along with an egg-shaped stone in her hands. "Oh, shit--"
All may not be lost, then. Liam, I have to tell you--
Also hey, what's happening with Nala!? What's going on up there?
She...is engaged with a demon; it looks like they are fighting for control of the Construct. But the other demons are helping her. Liam, listen--
Gods damn it... Liam ruffled his hair, distressed.
Liam--!
I should help--
LIAM ARNASON. The words shook his head like a war horn, and Liam grimaced in pain, shutting up to listen. Do you see Grand Illuminar Kezia down there with you? Anywhere?
"Uhh--" Liam half-answered aloud, looking to the others. "We're looking for a Kezia?"
Nio was flustered in response, trying to describe what they were seeing. "U-uh--beacon--Cervon--big lady--!?"
Apr 18
The name sent chills down the scout's spine; hearing it from his own son's mouth was orders of magnitudes worse.
"Liam, did you say Kezia?"
The feline half-breed's head spun quickly, giving his father only a nod. Vox felt his stomach drop at the confirmation. There were few that stood out as significant as the Triumvirate within High Central, and to see a person of such prestige this closely...
"It's her." The scout spoke softly now, despite the distance from Kezia. "No doubt in my mind."
Apr 18
“Who’s Kezia?” Kari asked raising an eyebrow as she readied her bow and arrow.
“I’m not sure,” Dagny said shrugging as she did the same watching the scene in front of her and still trying to process what she was seeing and hearing. She then turned to Vox, who was still on Scoot’s back with Kari. “Uncle Vox, you know this lady?”
"That's not fair, you know."
The deer half-breed kicked a rock a few feet ahead of him, pacing along the length of the courtyard. The centre was often quiet at dusk, allowing Vox and Dario to enjoy the departing light of day in solitude. "You have so much here."
"Do I really?" The boy carved at the wood in his left hand with a fairly dulled blade. His words carried a defeat not uncommon for him. "I can't expect you to be there every time I get into trouble, which is more reason for me to leave."
"You think I would be at all equipped to help you out there?" Dario pressed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Not to sound ungrateful, it's sweet of you... but things aren't going to get better here for me."
Vox sighed, falling back onto the grass behind him. Dario wasn't wrong; the Triumvirate continued to dominate the socio-political climate in High Central, and the hostility towards half-breeds bloomed in droves with each passing day.
"Not with the "Grand Illuminar" in power." Vox's words were laced with venom as he swung around air quotes - while not directly impacted by the regime, it wasn't difficult to notice the growing divide within their community. "I already made up my mind anyway, pal. You're stuck with me, remember?"
The stag chuckled, knowing there wasn't anything he could say or do to stop the boy. Loyalty to a fault was a double-edged sword.
"My burden to bear."
--
The scout shook his head, turning to face Dagny.
"The Grand Illuminar." Vox cleared his throat. "Kezia. She worked with Darien during my younger years here in High Central. I can't speak too much on what happened after I left, but she's about as dangerous as it gets."
Vox moved in closer to his son, maintaining some distance but wanting to be nearby in the event of the worst.
"You need to be careful, Liam. She didn't become one of the most prolific figures in High Central by doing nothing."
Apr 19
Indi had gotten a bit lost, somehow. Looking for people and very much not findng anyone, somehow, he'd flown in and out of a few tunnels, getting annoyed that he was stuck on underground duty, and sighing dramatically for every empty one he found.
"Ugh I'm getting absolutely sick of doing nothing." He mumbled, flying out of another hole like a bee and hovering there for a moment.
"Alright, I'm switching up my strategy. The others can probably handle getting them out, I have better talents than rescue. I'm going to check out that weird box and its dead guardian."
He flew right towards the centre of the hill and the box on top of it, not touching anything or taking any chances, and giving it and all of those guards plenty of space, but scanning from pretty high above it. He stopped when he realized there was a life sign in the massive bug thing.
"Oh stars that's not amazing. Hate giant bugs." He muttered to himself. "Better get as many scans as I can, and also look for that dropped beacon... maybe it's here." He scanned everything in sight, getting everything his suit could pick up on about this beast and the potential treasure in the strange box. And those people among the guards.
He also looked for the beacon, hoping it was here.
5d ago
The beacon pinged easily, in the hands of a tall woman, but their signals were nearly drowned out by the shining radiance emanating from the upright tomb and its chains. It was blinding, but still contained somehow, with occasional streaks escaping off of its edges like solar flares. The creature, strangely enough, didn't show the same signs as someone who showed normal life signs. No biological processes were occurring, no blood was moving, no brain activity was happening. And yet it lived. There was a small bubble of completely void energy, where nothing could be read at all, embedded into the creature's bizarrely-shaped head.
"...Kezia has the beacon. There's no way she doesn't. And she's using it." Liam stood and made for one of the dragons. "We have to get over there and take it--"
Nio panicked and grabbed Sav's arm, scaring him while still staring out at the dais. "What the Hel is that flying over there--!?"
A quick conference amongst those watching confirmed that the person in the suit hovering over the scene was indeed on their side, at least for now.
"What's this, now..."
Indi suddenly felt a piercing coldness reach for his mind, and his scanners overloaded with activity as the woman's presence reached for him. On the ground, she turned and looked up directly at him, and the irises of her eyes glowed a pulsing red. Words were being spoken directly into the middle of his very brain, ringing loud and clear. "A lost sheep away from its flock, wandering where it shouldn't?" the voice purred.
"She saw him!" Nio pushed the goggles back to Sav and got to their feet, making a portal on instinct, but immediately dismissing it when it froze over once more. "We gotta go, now!"
5d ago
Indi let out a yelp as his suit, and his head, was attacked by a wave of whatever that was. He spun a moment, stared down at her, and shook his head to clear it.
"Ah. Evil empress. Welp, I'm out. I hate dictators." He flipped her off and activated his blasters, shooting up and far, far out of range with some information he could give the rebels for sure, he figured. "She gave me the worst vibes imaginable." He muttered, very high up now.
"Hmm. Better stay out of reach, that could knock my systems out entirely. But how to get this info to anyone useful... they don't have a comms system..."
He blinked. "...Wait, unless they do... is that what those magic rocks do? Oh of course. That's why they're important. ...maybe I should try tapping into that. ...I did see her holding something... is it compromised? Ah heck its too magical and complicated!" He sighed. "Where's the rest of those lost people. I'll just look for those kids."
The man eventually stopped muttering to himself and began looking for some allies. "Shouldn't have gotten lost."
5d ago
Dagny and Kari didn't get a chance to ask Vox any more questions about this Kezia. They bit their lips and looked at each other as they watched Indi flying all alone...being spotted by Kezia. Like Liam, they could see that she was holding a beacon, and there was no doubt that she must've been the reason why Lila told them to stop using the network. The daughters of Chief Grey glared at the woman messing with their friend's cousin.
"We have to help him," Kari whispered.
"How?" Dagny asked. "If we do anything, then the creepy lady is going to know we're here."
5d ago
"That's likely the case. I don't know that we would be able to escape without her knowing."
Vox leaned in towards Liam, Nio, and Sav, still keeping his eyes locked on the Grand Illuminar. Her presence was still terrifying after all of these years.
"I think we need to go for the beacon."
5d ago
"Roight, let's get to it then." Sav says as he looks at the two dragons. They were the only way they'd get to this Kezia person in a timely manner. "Looks like these two beasties are our only ticket to that cunt. But they seem a bit small for three riders each. Could probably manage if they carried one each. I volunteer for at least one o' them positions." He says with a grin. He'd never been carried before and was eager to try it out.
5d ago
"No objections here." Vox maneuvered over to Scoot, the less threatening of the two dragons. "I'd prefer to not be carried, if at all possible. Liam can take the other dragonback if Nio is okay with being carried."
4d ago
Liam nodded quickly while Nio sighed, but said, "I'll live."
They split up, Vox and Kari with Scoot, while Nio prepared to be lifted by the Night Fury, while Liam got on SkySinger's back with Dagny and Sav got between the dragon's feet, ready for liftoff.
Both dragons pumped their wings and took off from the tunnel entrance, scooping up Nio and Sav, and darting towards the center of the cavern, Scoot much more quickly than SkySinger being as sleek and powerful as she was, but trying to keep within reasonable distance.
Liam, on the way, nervously held onto Dagny's shoulder with one of his long-clawed paws, still covered in shadows. He was going on two, probably three hours straight of holding this form, and he could feel it wearing on him. Adrenaline was starting to be his last resort, the final pool of energy he could draw from; he was too scared to try and give himself a break now, to the point where he was worried that he wouldn't be able to summon it again if he let it go.
"Can we draw straws on who gets to tell Lila about this even though she said stop talking?" he said, trying to inject some lightheartedness into his tone.
4d ago
Sav quickly moves and holds a finger to his nose. "Not it!" He says quickly before anyone else can.
4d ago
"Not it!" Dagny said quickly as she quickly placed a finger on her nose following Sav's lead. She's grown up with two other siblings, and needless to say...there were times they fought over what chores they needed to do. The middle Felman sibling had gotten quite good at that game.
"Not it!" Kari quickly added following her older sister's lead.
4d ago
"Odin's asscrack," Nio muttered, bopping their face. Liam grinned at his dad with a claw on his nose, the sharp teeth mildly unsettling as they appeared in his dark face below his white eyes.
Vox couldn't tell if he was humored or hurt by his son's betrayal; in either case, the young man's antics were in complete contrast to what the scout had grown accustomed to. Despite the current situation, there was a peace in that moment.
"If you insist." He continued to feel anxious each second that passed on the dragons, and a conversation with Lila was possibly worse.
Hey Lila! So, good news! We found the beacon!
Vox paused, seeing Liam stifling laughter during his transmission. "Keep laughing, kiddo."
Slightly less good news - Kezia, Grand Illuminar of High Central? Terrifying powerful woman? She's... here. Down here. Please don't ask me if we're engaging.
4d ago
There is a deafening, angry silence, that speaks louder than any words could.
4d ago
Kari looked over her shoulder at Vox curiously. Of course he wasn't saying his message to Lila out loud, but she couldn't help but feel curious as to what her cousin would be saying about the situation. Maybe there was a chance Lila was thrilled that they found the beacon. Then again...after what happened between Lila and Grey after Ai's interrogation...there was a chance her older cousin wasn't going to be thrilled.
"Umm...w-what is she saying, Uncle Vox?" she asked nervously.
4d ago
Vox choked at the question, struggling to breathe for a moment. He cleared his throat a few times before composing himself.
"She... she, uh, appreciates the heads up."
4d ago
Kari raised an eyebrow at Vox before looking to Dagny to see if she believed him.
Dagny of course doubted that Lila would be that thrilled that they were using the beacon after being told not to...and that they were going to try to get it back. Instead, she put a smile on her face. "Well, good," she said, "I'm glad we got her blessing."
She couldn't stop thinking about how their parents and Shadow were still with Lila when they separated. She was sure they were sticking together. "Oh boy...I do not want to be Mom and Dad right now," she thought to herself.
3d ago
She's gonna kill him. Liam felt a little bad, but they were literally on their way to right the wrong. "Okay, we got that sorted out. Any ideas on how to steal an egg from a crazy tyrant?"
3d ago
"Hmm..." Dagny mused as she observed the scene below them. She could see the snake-like creature surround the small hill with the box. Kezia and her guards were nearby. There was a nix down there, but they lost sight of him. "Well, we definitely don't want to fight her unless we absolutely have to, so we should start with stealth first."
"What are you thinking, Dags?" Kari asked.
"We need to distract them," Dagny replied. "If we can get Kezia to put down the egg somewhere..." her eyes widened, "Liam...you can use your shadow magic to sneak in, grab the egg, and then we'll be on our way back to the surface."
3d ago
"Well, if she knows how important it is, I reckon she ain't letting it out o' her sight, let alone out of reach. We've got some element of surprise so, my best suggestion would be to quickly swoop in, nab it and dip. Maybe meet up to do a little switcheroo so she doesn't know who has it."
3d ago
"Whatever plan gets us in and out the fastest." Vox clung to the dragon with a death grip. "Kari, Nio and I can keep distance so I'll have a more secluded shot if things go wrong."
His chest tightened, knowing what that meant for the others.
"Liam, do you have this?"
3d ago
"Am I sneaking or swooping?" Liam clarified, moving to carefully stand on the Nadder's hindquarters instead of crouch-sitting like he had before, tail lashing to keep his balance.
3d ago
"I think swoop but if yer gonna swoop, I'd recommend takin' the Fury. Swoopin' 'n' sneakin' is their whole deal if I recall." Sav pipes up. "Take me goggles. They'll keep the wind outta yer eyes."
3d ago
"Works for me."
Vox mimicked his son's movements, shakily getting to his feet before stumbling over the side of the dragon. By sheer luck, Kari was able to quickly lean herself back and brace her arm in Vox's. With sweaty palms and awkward footing, the scout managed to maneuver himself onto the other dragon, with Liam taking his place on Scoot.
"...okay, but that's the last time I'm doing that."
3d ago
Liam smoothly hunkered down on the Night Fury's back, gripping the saddle on either side of Kari, the spikes on his back lowering to help with the air racing past them. "Okay, let's get her done." Nio gave a thumbs up, terrified, but committed.
3d ago
Indi was still far, far above them all, flying in slow circles around them like a vulture soaring high on the winds, recovering from the blast he'd been hit with and pondering his next move. He'd spotted the movement of the others moving towards the centre from the edge of the cave and used his helmet to zoom in, watching their maneuvers from far above. "Ah..... what are they doing...?" He muttered, watching them fly and swap around mid flight. "Do they have a plan? I don't know if they have a plan. They might get killed. Oh dear." He said, increasingly worried. Cuz, you need to tell your friends this, if you can hear me. There's a terrifying box, an even scarier worm that's more of a zombie than you are, and an even more scary woman who nearly knocked me out of the sky with her head and has the beacon egg thing. The others are going for it. I'm going to help them not die if I can okay I'm going in bye!
He rambled in a long but speedy line of thought. He got a short sound of reply from Indigo and that was all he needed, his wings folded and he dove lower, aiming to do anything he could to help.
Indigo was stunned by this, but quickly found Lila's mind in the many without the beacon and carefully gave her the information to use as she needed, straight from his cousin. I hope none of them get themselves killed down there.
3d ago
"Hey, good luck." Sav says to Liam and Kari. "We'll be right with ya if shit goes south."
3d ago
"Thanks, Sav," Kari said nodding with a small smile. Her heart was pounding slightly.
"Kari, please, be careful," Dagny said pleadingly. She didn't like the idea of her little sister facing Kezia, but she knew that Scoot was the safer option.
"Don't worry, Dags, I'll be fine," Kari said. She couldn't believe that she was helping with retrieving something as important as a beacon, her, Scoot, Dagny, and SkySinger. A part of her wished that Sven and their parents were there, but they would find them later. Right now, they needed to focus. So, she looked to Liam and Nio. "You guys ready?"
2d ago
Before he answered, Liam put a paw on Kari's back. "Just so you know, if Kezia worked with Darien, she's gonna try to mess with your brain. Can you sing something to yourself? Quietly, since we're doing a stealth flyby. I promise it'll help. Just keep calm and you're gonna do great."
"Oh, I don't get a pep talk?" Nio piped up from Scoot's claws.
"You're not a teenager, dumbass."
"Maybe I'm a very tall teenager. You don't know."
"Shut up."
2d ago
Kari thought for a moment about Liam’s words. Grey had told them about how High Central erased the memories of the prisoners with magic…and she was aware of Darien’s abilities to mess with people’s heads. There was no doubt Kezia would certainly have the same abilities. She took a deep breath and thought about something…and that was when a song came to her.
“I’ve got something in mind,” she said smiling. “Thanks, Liam. I hope I make everyone proud.”
"You will." Liam certainly felt like he was in no headspace to be offering comfort. He was out of his mind worried about Nala, trying over and over to reach out to her and feeling her mind repeatedly slipping off of his. He was torn in half, wishing he could be there beside her, and knowing that he had to be down here instead. There wasn't enough time to organize a backup; who knew what the Illuminar could be doing in the precious minutes it would take to bring down help? He had to cope with his thoughts by letting Kari believe she was more scared than he was. Liam hunkered down, willing the shadows to spread out around them, masking them the best that he could. The top of the hill was approaching. SkySinger peeled off, circling around the west side of the tomb at a watchful distance.
"Let's get some height. Time to disappear."
1d ago
As soon as the shadows spread out around them, Kari took a deep breath and looked to Scoot.
“Okay, girl,” she whispered, “you heard him. Let’s get a little higher up and dive down.”
Scoot crooned in response and ascended higher in the cavern putting as much distance as she could from the ground to give them enough room to swoop down and grab the beacon. As she did, Kari began to sing a song to herself…it was a song that she had known for a long time. Grey sang it to her and her brother and sister during one of the Grounded Dungeon Rebellion stories…
“I have a dream…you are there…high above the clouds somewhere…” she sang to herself.
Once Scoot was high enough, Kari tapped her on the head signaling to her that they needed to make a descent. Scoot began to dive down…
20h ago
The bluish shadow of the Night Fury paused over the scene they were about to dive bomb, and as the dragon's wings stilled and widened, catching the scarlet moonlight, gravity lifted for a moment and then took hold, and Scoot furthered the plunge by thrusting her wings forward and then back as soon as they were facing the ground. Nio, who had rotated to be chest to chest with the dragon, kicked their legs back and forth in the exact same beat, as though they were on a swing, and Scoot caught them with her back legs to hold the nix against her belly, while Nio braced their feet against the Night Fury's legs to remain as streamlined as possible. Liam let his weight drop forward so he was all but hugging Kari against the saddle, hands locked over hers to prevent her from falling off, only letting go to tug Sav's goggles over his face and squint down at the ground, waiting for things to come into focus to see where they needed to strike. They had darkness on their side, but they couldn't prevent the signature slow-building shriek of the air whistling past Scoot's wing and tail tips, gray contrails whipping faintly around them.
20h ago
"Roight, they're off so we need to get into position and be ready. When they come back we're going to play a bit o' hot potata or not potata depending on whether they decide to pass us the beacon. Either way, act like we've got it and punch it to that there laser hole."
20h ago
As she sang, Kari felt Liam drop his weight forward on top of her and his hands come upon hers, and she appreciated that he anchored her down to prevent her from falling off. Her heart started pounding a little more as Scoot dove down, but she took a deep breath to keep herself calm as she remembered what Liam told her.
"No more worries...no more fears...you have made them disappear..." she continued to sing quietly. A determined glare on her face. This was it. They were going to get that beacon back.
-----
Dagny watched as Liam's shadow magic spread over the Night Fury, the cat half-breed, the nix, and her little sister. Her heart was pounding as she wished that her parents or even Sven were there with them, but her little family was a little spread out right now. One of her mother's former comrades was there, and she felt a little more at ease. But it didn't make it easier to watch her baby sister go up against a tyrant.
She heard Sav make another suggestion and nodded. "Okay," she said quietly as she directed SkySinger to move a little closer to one of the tunnels closer to the top. "Come on, Kari...you can do it."
Shadows hissed and howled around them as they twisted to cover all four of them entirely, and for several heartbeats, they seemed to have gone completely invisible in the night. The piercing shriek persisted, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. Liam squinted through the goggles, focusing in on the ground below them, trying to get a lock on Kezia. They were approaching, he could count guards even through his thumping adrenaline, maybe ten? A dozen? But none of them were Kezia. He furrowed his brow in dark confusion.
Seconds from the ground. The dread realization began to set in.
"Shit. Shit. Kari, Scoot, she's gone. Whatever you do, don't pull up! Nio! Hold on! Get ready to fight!"
Scoot's wings began to slowly dissolve into clouds of black, spiraling past them like ink, and the dissolution crept in towards the riders. Right before the dragon would've lost her nerve and threw her wings out like a parachute, everyone vanished.
A gigantic puff of shadow hit the ground at breakneck speed, and like a smoke bomb, dark particles flooded the ritual circle in front of the tomb and hung in the air, completely obscuring the area. The surrounding soldiers shouted in alarm, drawing weapons, spinning up magic, blindly looking for their attackers. The only source of light came from the chains on the tomb, and only for a very short distance.
Everyone reformed in the darkness hidden from enemy eyes, with Scoot curled protectively around Kari. There was a pause. Then Kari, Scoot, and Nio could all see their enemies outlined in the darkness, though the guards themselves still seemed to be blinded, and then Liam's disembodied growl rippled through the air.
"Get 'em."
Apr 26
"What in galaxies is that for cloaking tech... well, not tech, magic, I suppose..." Indi mumbled, still heading in as fast as he dared. He turned the purple glow to a minimum and tried to go in as stealthy as possible, landing among the black shadows everywhere standing back up among the allies.
"Figured you folks needed extra hands. Lucky for you, I'm here." He told them, purple wings vanishing into his back and a sword appearing in each hand. "I'd like to see them try to do more than scrape the molecules off my space armor."
He looked excited to fight with them. "Lets goOooo!" He ran out and immediately slashed at a guard, glowing back up with excitement.
Apr 26
Kari and Scoot barely had any time to process what was happening before they landed with Scoot curled up around her rider protecting her. As soon as she heard Liam’s voice among the shadows, Kari knew what had to be done . They needed to fight.
So she took her bow and arrows and fired at High Central soldiers while standing on Scoot’s right side. Scoot began to fire her plasma blasts at the guards watching them go down.
——
Dagny stared wide-eyed at the sight below from Sky-Singer.
“What the heck are they doing?!” Dagny whispered furiously. “They were supposed to grab the beacon!”
Apr 26
"Fack fack fack fack!" Sav exclaims colorfully. "Clearly something's gone wrong. We gotta get down there."
Apr 26
"Yeah, no kidding!" Dagny shouted completely forgetting about stealth. Her little sister was down there with High Central soldiers and their tyrannical leader. "Let's go, SkySinger!"
SkySinger squawked and obeyed her beloved rider diving down toward the soldiers and this black mass that surrounded them. As SkySinger dove down, Dagny readied her bow and arrows. "Uncle Vox, let's give them some aerial cover!" she shouted before firing her arrows at the soldiers below.
Apr 26
The scout was by no means prepared to engage now that he was called to do so - the burden of a single limb missing was glaringly apparent in this moment.
Mustering up strength he didn't know he had in his thighs to remain on the dragon, he managed to kick off a handful of arrows towards the opposition before a sudden shift in the dragon's pathing caused him to begin slipping. He attempted to reach and grip on saddles, clothing... anything he would be able to cling to; but to no avail.
Vox felt time slow as his position fell below the dragon, dropping perilously towards the earth below.
Apr 27
Dagny had no idea what made her look behind, but she was grateful that she did. She turned around to see if Vox could give her some arrows, but she turned around and saw that he was gone. She looked down and saw Vox falling from SkySinger, and her heart dropped. She quickly yanked on SkySinger’s saddle to get her to turn to go after the scout.
“UNCLE VOX!!” Dagny shouted at the top of her lungs. She reached out her hand and leaned over Sky Singer. She had to save him. She had to.
May 1
As the Nadder dove after him, spackled wings fluttering in the dim light, Dagny heard a splash a dozen meters below them, and when she pulled up to avoid hitting the earth, she couldn't see a sign of Vox anywhere. The only conspicuous trace of someone's presence was a large spillage of water settling, as though it had just been tossed from a huge bucket and was now slowly trickling through the tough rock and soil.
In the roiling mass of dense shadows covering the lower half of the tomb, several skirmishes were taking place--bright flashes of violet blades, blindly-swung spears, and several sharp pops and explosions of scarlet and blue sparks, almost like firecrackers. It became clear that the light was magically charged, as it began to dispel patches of the smoke around a muscular woman who wore long, pristine black and white robes, wearing the engraved helmet of a captain, wielding nothing but tight metal gauntlets. With a gesture, she cleared the area immediately around her with a wave of light, and as the shadows slid backwards, they revealed a crouched redhead in front of her, tail dripping darkness as it swayed back and forth.
The captain wasted little time in targeting Liam, but the magnesium-like flare passed him by as he shifted his shoulders to the left, throwing himself out of the way, and was on top of her in a second. His paws slammed into her chest, and threw her into one of the stone pillars surrounding the ritual, making dust and pebbles rain down on them. Her arms swung from behind her and met before her with her wrists crossed, and streaks of snapping fire followed the movement, forcing Liam to cover his face or be blinded. More of his own shadows swirled around his feet and they threw themselves at each other, hot gloves meeting shade-covered arms and calves with loud hisses and zaps. Around them, similar battles were raging, slowly picking off the guards that were climbing the hill to deal with the sudden intruders. There was still no sign of the Illuminar among them.
May 1
Dagny looked down below frantically from where she sat on SkySinger looking for any signs of Vox. This couldn't be happening. This just couldn't be happening. They were supposed to stick together, and now they lost one of the few people who knew a bit about High Central...and one of her mother's former comrades. "UNCLE VOX!!" she shouted. "UNCLE VOX!! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
She breathed heavily as she looked hoping to catch any sign of the scout, and she heard a water splash down below. She couldn't help but stop to wonder. Was there supposed to be water down here? She shook her head trying to find Vox.
Meanwhile, Kari found herself running low on arrows as Scoot fired plasma blasts at any soldiers, who came after them. Kari looked around frantically as the soldiers surrounded them, and she realized that Liam was right. There was no sign of Kezia anywhere.
"Where is she?" she whispered to herself.
May 1
"Dagny!" Sav says insistently. "He's gone! He went through a portal, he's gone. We can't help him, but we can help those guys up there. We have to go."
May 2
Dagny stared at the ground listening to Sav realizing that he was right. As much as she hated leaving Vox, they couldn’t help him now. They needed to focus on the battle at hand. She sighed in defeat.
“You’re right, Sav,” she said. “Come on, SkySinger, we have to help Kari and the others.” She had to hope that wherever Vox ended up, he was okay.
Water roared in Vox's ears in a low rumble, bubbles rushing past him, and then he was quite literally thrown up out of the surface, dripping freezing water across the shore of one of the bodies of water in the cavern. He only had a moment to gasp for air and get to a knee before ice solidified around his calf, sharp points piercing his skin, bringing him back down to the ground. He rolled to the side to barely avoid another heavy spike hitting the ground, and by doing so, he saw a horrifyingly familiar figure running up out of the water, a stream of water flooding in behind him, eyes glowing silver.
May 3
Vox frantically pulled at his leg with the one hand he had, hoping there would be away to free himself - but the moment he tried to move it, the sharp spines dug deeper into flesh. Emitting a pained yelp, he managed to shift his focus to the entity before him... a terrifyingly familiar presence.
"...Tezz." Vox's voice shook, convinced what he was seeing wasn't real. "You're- you died. How?..."
Tezz did not yield; he continued his approach, eyes directed on the scout.
"Tezz, it's me. It's Vox. I don't know what's happening, but Liam is in danger. We're all in danger. Kezia, she's..."
He managed to steady his bow in his hand, unsure how he would reach an arrow if the situation called for it.
"You've got to help us, Tezz. Please."
May 3
Water splashed in his face harmlessly; as he sputtered it away, he realized that if it were ice, it likely would've killed him. Tezz stood in place, breathing heavily, staring at Vox, and then slowly crumbling to both knees, clutching face and shuddering. The water around him fell to the ground, slowly running back to the lake behind them. His eyes squinted through blackened, dirty fingers. "Liam...?"
May 3
The sudden shift in demeanor, coupled with Tezz' drop, was enough to disarm him in the eyes of the scout. Still unable to move from where he was locked to the ground via ice, Vox continued to speak softly.
"Liam, you've... met. My son, Treepelt's son." He set the bow to his side, balancing his weight on his elbow. "I was just with him. He's grown... a lot, since you last saw him. He looks so much like his mother."
Careful not to move too much, he held out his hand while propped up on the opposite arm. His eyes were soft, with as much of a smile he could muster given the pain in his leg.
"Help me help them, Tezz. I need you."
May 5
Through the fingers of his only good hand, Tezz watched Vox speak, and then shakily reached out, their fingers brushing. Then he suddenly gripped harder, causing Vox's heart to jump into his throat. Tezz's battered skin felt frozen. The ice around his leg melted, stinging the new cuts with the bloody, unclean water, but freeing the scout. It was difficult to tell with his cloudy eyes, but Tezz seemed to study the severe injury before looking Vox in the eye again. "She's not down here, is she?"
May 5
The scout's heart rate was rapid - seeing Tezz in this condition, feeling Tezz as he was, chilled him to bone. Even so, seeing him alive... or in whatever state he was in, gave Vox hope.
"No, she went up. Back to the surface." His voice trembled as he spoke. "We have to go back for Liam, I don't know if he and the others are safe."
May 5
"...you're hurt. I'll bring you back to...to Treepelt. And I'll come back for Liam." Vox saw the smallest of sparks, the flicker of recognition, for the selflessness of a man he once knew, and a touch of guilt for putting Vox in this situation. It was quickly washed away by a very strange mental connection seizing the front of his mind. It forced Vox to tell Tezz of her location, and when the scout didn't specifically know where she was, Tezz's mind wormed through to the part of Vox's mind still connected to the network, and quickly determined Tree's location from there.
Pulling away abruptly, Tezz's grip shifted from Vox's fingers to his wrist. "Come on."
May 5
Vox pulled away, fighting feelings of guilt as he did so.
"I can't, Tezz. I promised Tree that I would come back with Liam." His attempt to stand was short lived, as the scout fell back to the ground with a wince. "I don't doubt you, I really don't... but you have to understand. I can't leave Liam again."
May 6
Tezz grimaced in regret, eyes flickering between Vox's.
HEY DEADBEAT!! Nio's voice smashed into the scout's skull as they stood in mild confrontation. Are you dead!?
"The nix can heal you," Tezz said softly. "I'll be back. I have to make sure she's safe, too." And before Vox could argue, the half-demon had portaled out again, ice shards exploding into powder and drifting down to the shore.
Oh my fucking gods, he's dead--
May 6
I'm not dead, calm yourself. 
Vox placed his hand tenderly on his substantially damaged leg, afraid to move should it make things any worse. The thought of Tezz finding Tree brought some comfort, though not knowing his mental state did cast a cloud of worry over the scout.
I think... I got portaled. I'm not entirely sure where I'm at. I'm not going to be able to walk, so I need you to find me.
May 6
Nio backed out of the fight temporarily, throwing up a thick ice shield and frantically looking around for the Deadly Nadder circling above. They splashed the rider with water to get her attention, and then bellowed, "I found scout guy! Look for the big-ass spout of water!"
With that, they made a gloved fist and slammed it down towards their hip, and with the motion, a far-away jet of water exploded up from the lake Vox had emerged from, reaching heights of easily a hundred feet or more, signaling Vox's location to Dagny.
May 6
Dagny stayed put on SkySinger as the Deadly Nadder fired at the soldiers below and she her arrows to give her sister and the others some aerial cover. She stopped when something splashed her, and the teen looked only to see that it was Nio getting her attention. She widened her eyes as she looked only to see Vox emerging from the water fountain that shot up from the ground. "Uncle Vox!" she said. "Come on, SkySinger!"
The Deadly Nadder flew over to Vox and managed to catch him just in time.