Cold Fusion

"Cold Fusion" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread started on [IRL DATE] and finished on [IRL DATE].
Note: This thread is split off of "Silhouettes in the Night."
==Summary==
[Write a summary of the thread's events here, including spoilers and important plot details. Check the Order of Threads to see if the thread you are placing already has a summary, to make less work for yourself.]
==Full Text==
"Well they're focused more on that." She points to the illusion climbing the wall. The sounds of their rifles, the flash of their muzzles and the smell of black powder filled the air. "How do you want to handle this? Just rush the gate and try clobber everything inside, or maybe we land behind the gate and try and sneak in. Of course I'm open to suggestions if you have any, but whatever we do we should do it quickly."
Apr 1
Grey surveyed the scene behind her. As Jari pointed out, the soldiers were running towards the illusion climbing the wall, so they didn’t need to worry about fighting them. However, they still needed a way to get into the tower to open the gate as Lila told them to, and they needed to act quickly.
“If we rush the gate, we cause an even bigger scene,” Grey mused. She narrowed her eyes as she eyed the towers. “Sneaking in is our best bet.”
Apr 1
She nods. "We should set Shadow behind those buildings over there." She whispers
Apr 1
“You got it,” the Chief whispered back. She then turned to Shadow gently patting her on the head. “Shadow, take us to those buildings over there. Come on.”
Shadow crooned and followed Grey’s directions turning to land on some building not too far from the gate.
“Alright, what’s the fastest way we can get in undetected?” Grey asked as soon as Shadow landed.
Apr 1
She hops off the dragon and peeks out pas the corner, pulling out her spyglass. It was difficult to see, even with the red light of the blood moon. But she was used to the dark. "It looks like there's an entrance at the bottom of the tower closest to us. It's probably guarded though."
Apr 1
Grey followed Jari’s direction and looked at the entrance with Shadow not too far behind biting her lip as she thought about how to go about this next.
“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Grey said. It was dark, but she had no doubt that there were more soldiers waiting to fight the rebels. “Any idea on how many are there?”
Apr 1
"No way to tell, and it could go all the way up." She says as her eyes travel up the tower.
Apr 1
Grey nodded as she eyed the tower looking for anything…anything that could give a clue as to how they can get to the tower and open the gate. It was just too dark to see anything…despite the blood moon. They would probably have no choice but to fight whoever was in there, but…it would be dangerous to just rush in with only herself, her niece, and Shadow.
However…an idea came to her. If they had some help, they could go in and fight off whoever was there. “I may have an idea,” she said. “It’s a bit risky, but if we do it right, we can get to the top without problems.”
Apr 1
"Alright, lets hear it." She says, eager to get to it.
Apr 1
Grey couldn’t help but smile at Jari. “You, Shadow, and I will rush in and fight off whoever is in there,” she began, “but while we’re doing that, we need my old comrade Vox to cover for us. He can sneak around and take some of them out to give us some cover.”
Apr 1
"Maybe we drop him off upstairs and we work out way towards each other?"
Apr 1
“Exactly,” Grey replied with a confident smile. This had to work. It just had to.
Apr 1
"Alright, go grab him. I'll keep an eye out here."
Apr 1
Grey nodded confidently. “We’ll be back,” she said as she mounted Shadow. “Come on, girl, we’ve got to find Vox. He can help us.”
Shadow crooned in reply and took off into the air leaving Jari behind to watch the tower.
Apr 1
"...and back in my day, we would have just rushed it. Reckless abandon, demon possession, the whole nine."
"We'll do as the Commander ordered. What you do from here is on you, scout."
Vox chuckled, knowing he had thoroughly gotten under one of the Rebellion soldier's skin. He was never the type to pull any sort of rank, but there was a welcomed reprieve in reminiscing on old Rebellion endeavors. The younger man sneered at him, sheathing his weapon before moving out with his assigned team.
The scout glanced upward, taking note of the points he would be least likely to be spotted once he started scaling the gate.
This is going to be such a mess.
His limbs weren't nearly as capable compared to his younger years, but the adrenaline of the day would have to be enough to keep him moving. Before he could plot anything substantial, a nearly imperceptible entity entered his peripheral vision. It took a moment to register, but the familiar sight was a relief. He cupped his hand around his mouth to amplify his voice.
"Would it be too much to ask to hitch a ride?"
Apr 1
The Chief chuckled as she landed her Night Fury in front of Vox. “Well, that depends on where you want to go,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “You willing to show these whippersnappers how it’s done?”
"Ready as I'll ever be, Chief."
He swallowed, pushing down the reluctance to climb on Shadow with everything he could muster. His history with dragons was not a kind one, but given the circumstances, the alternatives were few. The scout saddled himself and clung to Grey without regard to anything but his own safety.
"Just get me up there in one piece and I'll owe you one."
Apr 1
The Chief smiled sadly at her former comrade and gently patted his hand comfortingly. She had known about how uneasy Vox was around dragons, but she felt honored that he was comfortable with Shadow enough to mount her.
“Don’t worry, we will,” she said. “Shadow, take us up, girl…gently.”
The Shadow crooned and wasted no time in taking off while being mindful of Vox.
“The tower that I’m dropping you off at, my niece Jari and I need to enter to open up the gate,” Grey said as they flew back toward the tower. “We need you to cover for us at the top, and Jari and I will enter from the bottom.”
Apr 1
"Right, right." Vox continued to grasp tightly to Grey, looking any direction but down. He could never get used to the sensation of flight. "Just drop me wherever you need me."
Apr 1
Grey nodded as they continued to fly toward the tower. Thankfully, the armor kept Shadow from being spotted, and Grey flew to the roof of the tower allowing Vox to dismount.
“Just be careful, Vox," Grey said. "I don't exactly need Tree coming after me." She smirked as she and Shadow flew back over to Jari.
Apr 1
"I'd say 'join the club', but it's definitely not one you want to be a part of." Vox gripped Grey's shoulder in gratitude before swinging his right leg over Shadow to dismount. In the heightened stress of the flight, the scout seemed to forget the vacant end of his left limb as he attempted to brace it against the dragon while dropping off, causing him to slide sideways and landing on his back against the roof of the tower.
Ouch.
From a prone position, he rolled to face Grey and flashed a thumbs up. "I'm... fine. Please leave. And don't tell anyone this happened."
Apr 1
Both Grey and Shadow cringed as they watched Vox land on his back after he slid off Shadow.
"Ooooh..." Grey said as she cringed and hissed.
However, she was relieved when she saw him flash a thumbs up at her, and she chuckled. "Don't worry, Vox," she said shaking her head. "Your secret is safe with me."
Apr 1
Jari watches from a distance with her spyglass and giggles as she watches Vox slide off. She knows Grey will be back soon so she readies herself for battle.
Apr 1
Grey and Shadow flew back over to where Jari waited for them. "He's in position," the Chief quickly said. "You ready?"
Apr 1
She smirks and smacks her fists together, lightning jumping between them. "Let's light shit up." She says as she starts heading towards the tower.
Apr 1
Grey and Shadow smirked as well as the Chief readied her sword and the Night Fury readied her plasma blast. Then the two of them followed Jari toward the tower.
Apr 2
She knew it would be a little too small for shadow to slip through the door so she figured it was best to let Shadow light it up first.
Apr 2
Shadow ran ahead of Grey as they made their way to the door, and as soon as the Night Fury stopped, she looked at her rider.
“You know what to do, girl,” the Chief said with a smirk on her face. “Light it up.”
Shadow crooned and fired a plasma blast right at the door, and as soon as the door was blown off its hinges, Grey could hear voices and footsteps. She stood and readied her sword.
Apr 2
The room swiftly fills with plasma based fire and most within perished. Two of the remaining guards come out, burns clearly visible on them and their armor ready to take on the pair. Jari in response though charges herself with lightening and shocks them both putting them out of their misery. "Come on let's get moving."
Apr 2
Vox watched the exceptional showing of Grey, Jari, and Shadow below as he timed his descent. Despite his age and prior mishap with Shadow, the muscle memory from his time scouting years ago was coming back to him. Wedging the end of a grappling hook into the top of the tower, he waited for the moment Shadow prepared a plasma blast before repelling past the guard tower opening.
Once safely on the wall and concealed by the shadow of the tower, he prepped an arrow between his teeth and moved quietly along the length of the wall, stopping at points that held crates and barrels for additional cover while the a pair of opposition soldiers discussed strategy.
"...keep at least one of us here. They've got plenty of troops monitoring the tower, they'll handle it." The soldier turned to look upon the tower with a look of concern.
"Right. A dragon, though..."
Vox took his opportunity to strike, swiftly pulling one of the soldiers into a headlock and slicing at his throat. As the body fell to the gate floor, his eyes locked with the second soldier, who was now aware of the intruder. Upon approach, the scout nearly made it to his target before a rope caught his ankle and pulled him back several yards.
"Stop! Mikkael, alert the-"
The third soldier's words were quickly cut short by an arrow through the chest, sent expeditiously by the Rebellion scout. Vox wasted no time in pulling a second arrow back, spinning himself around now that the rope was slacked, and launching it into the remaining soldier's leg.
"You'll alert no one. Stay down, stay quiet. You get this one warning."
Apr 2
Sure enough, just as they climbed the stairs…more soldiers came running down toward them.
“Stop right there, rebellion scum!” one of them shouted as they made their way toward Grey and Shadow.
Shadow growled as her eyes narrowed into slits. Then she fired another plasma blasts at three of the soldiers causing them both to fall over…only for more to come right towards them.
Grey looked at the soldiers and then at Shadow, and then an idea came to her as she remembered her sparring match with Akkey. She smirked as she ran onto Shadow’s back.
“I got it, girl!” the Chief shouted.
Once Grey stood up on her dragon’s back, she threw herself forward flipping over her head with her legs aiming at the shoulders. Her feet made contact with one of them in the chest, and she wasted no time in swinging her sword at the others. Then she fired plasma from her hands knocking them down.
Apr 2
It seemed like the guards were neverending, streaming forth from their tower endlessly. "Stand back." Says as she focuses and begins to charge her entire form with electricity. Blue lightning began to dance across her form and she lifted a few inches off the ground. She began to move forward her arms outstretched as she began to launch an endless torrent of chain lightning as she raced up the tower towards the mechanism, frying anyone who dared to step in their path.
Vox bound the soldier and placed him gagged behind a set of crates, content that it would be enough to keep this specific portion of wall quiet for the time being. The tower was too much to handle for now, which left the remaining forces on the gate to his east.
No time like the present.
The little vantage he had to see the upcoming soliders gave him enough information to know that he was far outnumbered. Handling three was proving to be enough work on it's own - he wouldn't be able to make it far enough down the wall without additional support. Looking down from the wall, he could see a massive gash in the earth; one that certainly hadn't been there at any point he could recall.
Taking stock of his options, the scout pulled his hood and sat with his back against the wall behind him. He tapped his fingers against his leg, before it hit him.
The burrows.
Apr 2
Grey and Shadow watched in astonishment as Jari used her lightning powers to kill the guards that kept coming for them. It reminded her a lot of when Greg sacrificed his life to protect his home…his family with his fire magic.
She smiled to herself as they continued up the stairs watching as the guards fell one by one.
“Like father, like daughter,” she thought to herself.
Apr 2
He loomed over the edge of the wall, noting the distance to the ground. Realizing his grappling hook was still affixed to the top of the tower, there was no chance for him to recover it in time to repel down; even if he could, the odds of him making it without taking enemy fire was slim.
Looking to the tower, he knew his only way down was the dragon. Detesting the idea of having to endure that again, he swallowed his pride and ducked down as he rushed back towards Grey and Jari.
Apr 2
The soldiers seemed thin out surprisingly as they got near the top. "Looks like they're retreating." She says as they reach the top, the lightning dissipating from her form. She began to examine the winch. It was a bit complicated but something she was able to easily explain to Grey. "It looks like there's another one on the other side. You get that side I get this one."
Apr 2
Grey nodded a thanks to Vox as they finally reached the top with Shadow right behind her.
"You got it, sweetheart," Grey said as she ran to the other side as Jari directed her to. "Do we pull them at the same time?"
Apr 2
"I don't think it matters, it just takes a second to do." She says as she works on her side.
Apr 2
Grey nodded and quickly began to work on her side as well doing exactly as Jari explained to her while Shadow looked over her shoulder watching closing.
Apr 2
"You two seem to have a handle on this. I have to go - be safe!"
Vox sped down the stairs of the guard tower, making mental plans of where he would need to go once he found Lila. It was a long shot; the addition of a massive crevice in the city may have altered the burrows, but he couldn't pass on the chance to check.
Apr 2
As the gates opened and vox made his way down through the tower outside she reconvened with Grey. "I'm gonna go get the other gate you should join the riders and harry the retreating soldiers."
Apr 3
“Okay,” Grey said as she quickly mounted Shadow, “I’ll find your sister and bring her up to speed. We’ll meet you at the next gate. Be careful.”