Silhouettes in the Night

"Silhouettes in the Night" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread started on [IRL DATE] and finished on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Blair/Ellis: Seeing Lila in this light was a welcomed change.
Blair's previous encounter with the Commander was less than ideal, much to his own credit, but seeing her steadfast approach to leading those under her was almost entrancing. Still clinging to the beacon fashioned against him, he stood near the gate cresting above the waters below. The commotion of battle, even if just speech in his current location, was jarring to his already sensitive ears; he couldn't help but wince at any sudden noise.
Not able to see the source of the command barked to his left, Blair felt himself recoil- only to then feel a set of paws envelop his ears.
"Start wearing something over your ears, Blair."
The ferret spun around, the momentum of the beacon nearly causing him to stumble to the feet of the taller copper man. The timbre of his voice was unmistakable.
"E-Ellis?" the mustelid stuttered in disbelief. "You... how are ye' here?"
"Easy, they didn't say no." The fox chuckled, placing his paws on either side of Blair's reddened face. "Dario mentioned you'd be here, and I wasn't going to sit back while mi amor saunters into danger."
"Do ye' see who we're in te' company of?" Blair forced an incredulous look to his parter, further turning to glance at the populous present in their vicinity. He could see the stag and the goat; inseparable. The sweet girl with her strange father... there was no shortage of fight to be had. "The last thing any of us will be doin' is saunterin'!"
"Calm yourself. I'm trying to bring some levity." The canid looked to the gate ahead, awaiting any signal from Lila to progress. "But I will say, I didn't expect any of this."
Blair studied the light armor and blade that adorned Ellis- it was in this moment he realized that he'd never seen his partner in any combat situation, and vice versa.
"I would 'ave been plussed if ye' had." The ferret sighed, feeling at least a semblance of relief in the present moment. "Either way, I'm glad te' have ye' here."
Lila/Jari: Lila nods hearing the report from the forward team. "Glad to hear it. Thought we might have lost you down there for a few minutes."
Her eyes scan over the battlefield, taking in the details as her tactical mind starts using them to calculate the timing. "Faysal, start the charge across. I went men through the gate moments after it's down. Jari, start bringing in the big guns. Forward team start bringing our soldiers into the city."
"You got it boss." The voice of the younger Ericson answered back. The trebuchets were wheeled back in exchange for cannons. As Faysal began the charge across, the air filled with loud crack, smoke, and the smell of black powder. Cannon balls flew through the air and began to impact against the wall with greater force than the trebuchets could hope to muster.
Lila watched this with satisfaction. This wasn't over, not by a long shot. But it was the first steps.
Naihi/Hiccup/The Warden: Naihi looked back at Hiccup nervously, tight curls blowing around her face, and he stared back from under his helmet, grim and pale under the otherworldly red light, but nodding in support. They had lost the others, and for now, it was time to continue with the mission.
Turning on her heel, she raised both hands to the pane of ice that spanned the alley, and focused intensely. With several bright flashes, a round of twenty or so nixes of varying backgrounds, builds and abilities leaped through, and most of them turned at once and helped to widen and strengthen the portal as the first waves of Rebellion soldiers began to pour into the street and head for the main causeway connecting the main gate and the secondary gate that led into the inner city. They all jumped and paused briefly as, over and through the buildings, they saw a sudden flurry of debris, layers of metal, stone, and other various materials shoot across their line of sight, all suddenly brightened by a sputtering white laser as thick as a guard tower. The Construct's breath weapon lowered across the street and slowly died out, and its eyes and mouth dimmed with the motion, jaw closing back up into its resting position. The gate was down, and Nala seemed to breathe with its fall, sucking in gales of water-cooled air to temper the extreme heat consuming her entire neck and threatening the pod in her heart. The forces on the bridge began their surge forward, as ordered by Lila. With the cannon fire, the deafening sound of the falling doors, and suddenly being caught in a pincer position with the new group behind them, the High Central guards defending the wall began to abandon their posts, trying to fall back to the second wall.
I FIND MYSELF WITHOUT DESTRUCTION TO CAUSE, the Warden rumbled directly to Lila, unlocking her limbs from her cannon-like position. SHALL I JOIN MY BROTHER BEHIND ENEMY LINES?
The beacon-holders also awaited new orders, as the network needed to spread wide enough to encompass both groups now.
Lila: "at your leisure." Lila responded with a chuckle as the soldiers began to move around her through the portal that had been created for them.
Spoke once more to her army as a whole. "I want at least two squads with a beacon carrier at all times. Carriers we are going to move you through the gap spread through the city. We can't afford to be cut off from communication. Remember your training and will make sure you get through this fine."
With that order given she turned her attention to those assaulting the gate. "Secure the gate and work any attempts to reclaim it by Central forces. If something unexpected comes up reach out to me or one of the other leaders immediately."
Finally she made her way through the portal herself and spoke to those assigned to take the tower. "The rest of us are making our way through the city to secure the tower and any leadership within to force a surrender. We will spread out and converge on the tower so that we are not all waylaid by any unforeseen obstacles. For now we'll hold our position until the beacon carriers come through. But as soon as they do we move out."
Blair/Ellis: Watching the droves of soldiers take positions and navigate to the points ordered by their Commander, Blair took note of a specific request relayed to him by a younger half-breed in passing - he was to report to Lila as soon as possible.
"Now's as good a time as any." The ferret gently gripped at Ellis' forearm, fighting the tremble with everything he could muster. "Let's get te' moving."
"Lead the way." Ellis adjusted his hilt against his hip before trailing Blair. He took care to avoid the crowd pushing in the opposite direction, nearly losing his short-statured partner in all of the chaos. The mustelid was much faster than he remembered.
"Lila- yer majesty- I mean, Commander, apologies." Blair rested his paws against his legs, catching his breath. "You beckoned a beacon bearer?"
Lila: She gives him a nod. "We're headed for the tower and I want to make sure that I have stable communications with everyone else. We'll keep you safe, but if things go sideways, just remember your training." She reiterates. "Now let's get moving." He says as she draws her sword and begins heading further into the city.
Dagny/Kari/Sven/Grey/Brandt: Meanwhile, outside, the battle continued on as the distraction team ducked, dodged, and attacked with everything they had, and the daughters of Chief Grey and Sir Brandt were not holding back one bit.
"Come on, Scoot," Kari said to her Night Fury. "Let's show them what rebels are made of."
Scoot crooned in response and fired another plasma blast at a canon on the gate causing a huge explosion.
"Nice shot, Kari!" Dagny said as she flew by on SkySinger.
------
Back at the gate, Sven hugged his parents goodbye and wasted no time in stepping through the portal. This was it. After a few months of being a part of the rebels...after training with Malak...he was going to get to help his parents and the rebellion bring down High Central once and for all.
He walked through and sure enough found himself at the gate of High Central, and he couldn't help but marvel at the size of it. He readied his sword--the very sword his parents gave him for his birthday. He was ready for battle.
------
Grey couldn't help but pace back and forth in the tunnel, and it was easy for Brandt and Shadow to see that she was itching for this. The Chief was more than ready. She could hear Lila giving orders via the beacons to the other teams, and she and Brandt thought about their children and how they were faring in this battle.
Brandt finally took a deep breath and gently grabbed Grey's hand causing her to stop pacing. He smiled at her.
"Everything will be okay," he whispered. "We're going to win this."
"I know we will," she replied smiling in return. "We have no choice but to."
The Chief and Brandt both perked when they heard Lila talking to Blair. Lila mentioned that it was time to move, and without saying anything to the Commander, the Chief and her second-in-command looked at each other and smiled again. They were ready. It didn't matter if there was tension in the family. All that mattered was that their little family survived today and brought down High Central.
"For better or for worse?" Brandt asked as they held hands.
"For better or for worse," Grey repeated. With that, they moved along with the rest of the team.
The Warden: The Warden had slowly been picking her way through the rear armies of the Rebellion, rotating west, legs delicately placing up and down in between thickets of soldiers, a thief quietly making her way across a room of caltrops, or perhaps a cat avoiding many puddles of water. Once she was clear, she turned to the opposite side of the moat, lowered herself, and then hundreds of massive pistons coiled and charged up with a whine. Her rear limbs sent her flying forward, gangly and unbalanced with the force of it. Mid-air across the moat, she began to lose velocity, and quickly she reacted by twisting her neck down to face the roaring waters below and spat one quick, scorching blast from her throat into the chasm. The propulsion jerked her body backwards, up into the air, and none-too-gracefully, the Construct's body fell across the wall, crushing the top third of it and sending High Central fighters through the air several street blocks away. The sound was unbelievable, like a million boulders cascading into a gigantic metal cauldron. She paddled her limbs, flipped, recovered, and began to slink into the city, going to join with the rearmost arriving team being teleported inside.
Communications were going well until a sudden, piercing ping disrupted both physical and mental hearing, and it held sustained for nearly a full minute. The Construct shook its head to rid itself of the noise, and in her mindscape, the Warden winced, reaching up to cover both ears as though to block it out. Further inside the city walls, those closest to a dilapidated captains' quarters just south of the secondary gate had it the worst; some of their gloves and gauntlets came away from their ears stained with blood.
From that once-cushy building, the front door suddenly buckled with a burst of licking flame, though the heat came not from a dragon's mouth or a thrown torch or grenade--it was quickly consumed by a flood of shining, glue-like liquid, igniting any wood it touched. It flowed from the building in jaw-dropping amounts, beginning to spill from weak spots, from windows, from corners. The smell was similar to magma, or perhaps a wildfire, but cleaner, less earthy. It chewed up fallen weapons and unattended carts like nothing, scorched the cobblestones in disrepair below it, and clouds of sparks flew upwards as the walls began to cave. It welled up more and more, as though forced out into the street by some kind of carbonation, and began to stick to the crosswalks and build upwards by itself, looking like an invisible container being filled with glowing honey. A barrier that was quickly blocking the Rebellion off from the secondary gate.
Multiple reports began to spill in from dragon riders, from those who were landing and climbing and teleporting across the outer wall to claim territory, along with confused, terrified snatches of words.
"Another trap?" "What is that!?" "Go around it? Avoid it?"
Jari: Jari saw it and ran through the properties it displayed were closely related to molten glass. If that were the case water should cause it to solidify. "Get water on it!" She called through the network. She pulled something from her belt and pulled the pin from it. She let it cook for a few moments before releasing it, water exploding out in a condensed area.
Dagny/Kari: Both Dagny and Kari pulled on their respective dragons' reigns to get them to stop midflight when they heard a cacophony of noises coming from the building below them. Brown and hazel eyes widened at the sight of the shining, glue-like liquid pouring out of the building, and it ignited any wood it came in contact with.
"What is that?!" Kari shouted to Dagny as they continued to stare.
"I'm not sure," Dagny called back. She could easily smell it, and it reminded her of the fires back on Haligan Island.
They heard Jari through the network to use water.
"Maybe we can help Jari!" Kari said. "Follow me!"
Dagny wasted no time in following her sister down to where their cousin should be.
The Warden: The buildings in High Central were considerably taller than the Jaw's, so Nala was doing her best to climb over and through them. Her limbs were super-hard and had no problems crushing these structures, but she was also trying not to constantly rain down rubble across their own forces. She ended up staying to the west of the incoming army, red gaze spotlighting the interesting obstacle in their way, which made it glisten with hellish scarlet. It also began to steam and smoke heavily as jets of water were sprayed across it, grenades and streams and waves and buckets, like it was a house fire being put out by the local township. I SHALL SHATTER IT WHEN IT HAS SOLIDIFIED, she confirmed with Jari.
Lila: "Good, that'll give me time." She reaches out into the network. "Deo, Jari, Grey, and Shadow, I need you over here. I have a plan for that gate."
Grey/Brandt: Grey and Shadow perked at their names being called. The Chief looked at Brandt and then back at Lila, and Brandt simply smiled and gripped her hand. Grey simply smiled in return and looked at Shadow, who crooned in encouragement.
“We’ll be back,” Grey whispered to Brandt.
“Okay,” Brandt said winking.
She then turned to her beloved Night Fury. “Come on, girl,” she said scratching Shadow’s snout. Let’s see what the Commander needs.”
With that, the two of them walked over to Lila. “What is it, Commander?” Grey said simply.
Jari/Deo/Lila: Jari and Deo arrive soon after and Lila begins to lay out her plan. "That gate is in the way. It needs to be opened if we are going to move into the heart of the City and get to the towers. Grey, I need you and shadow to fly over the other side and find some way to lift the gate. Take Jari with you in case you encounter some unexpected mechanical or magical complexities."
Grey: “Not a problem,” Grey said quickly as she mounted Shadow as the dragon crooned with excitement.
The Chief then looked at Jari with a small smile on her face and held her hand out to her niece. “Ready to help your old aunt out, Jari?” she asked.
Jari/Deo: She grins as she climbs on. "Hel yeah! Triple threat trouble."
As they fly off Deo speak. "So what did ye need me fer?"
"I want to make sure they have cover." She replies as she loops Nala and Deo into a mental conversation. "Deo, I need you to create an illusion of someone climbing the wall. Not anyone specific, otherwise they might see both versions and realize ones an illusion."
She turns to Nala next. "I need you to spotlight the illusion. They'll focus on the person free climbing the wall rather than the dragon flying over it."
Grey: Grey laughed as Jari climbed on, and then she turned to Shadow patting her on the head. “Let’s go, girl,” she said to the dragon. “Get us up there!”
Shadow crooned in reply and immediately took off with Grey and Jari on her back. It didn’t take long for them to land on the tower. Unfortunately…there was a problem.
“We’ve got company,” Grey said as she saw the High Central soldiers.
(Note: This thread splits off into the thread Cold Fusion at this point.)
Indigo: Indigo had been moving mostly in silence with his beacon, creeping away from dangers and silently encouraging his flock. Keeping their spirits up and making sure none were hurt. They were doing such a good job, and he was proud.
He listened to orders and moved in when he was told, eyes carefully scanning the battle and watching for danger.
He watched the enormous demon construct leap up over the wall and into the city, the forces marching slowly in, and winced at the loud sound that came from the strange molten goop in the city.
"....hmm."
He tried to see what it was.
"There's a molten substance? It needs to be cooled... I can help with that. Someone get me close to that stuff, I'll suck the heat right out of it." He grinned under his mask.
He could be even more useful to this fight.
"Heat is my specialty, remember." He made a little cackle to himself. "How shall I approach."
Dagny/Kari: “I think that’s the last of my water grenades,” Dagny called out to Kari as they flew near each other over the molten glass.
“Same here,” Kari said. “Hopefully, we got it all.”
Dagny looked around and eventually caught sight of Indigo flying nearby with his flock of nightmares. “Look, there’s Indigo,” she said to her sister. “Come on! Maybe we can figure out what to do with the glass.”
Kari smiled and wasted no time in following her sister. “Come on, Scoot!” she said.
Indigo: Indigo spotted two of Grey's children flying on their dragons towards him, and he straightened up a little, waving a hand.
"Ah, greetings, small ones. I can help with that molten stuff. I'm just unsure quite how to approach that, since I must guard this thing, and going right to the front with it seems foolish, especially on dragonback. They'll surely shoot me down if they get a chance."
He growled softly to himself, staring down the brighty molten glassy goop.
"...Is it still getting larger, even...?" He made some uneasy sounds. "Where does it even come from... Ah, but some instructions would be useful. Do I take this beacon with me even so close to the giant molten hazard."
Kari: “What could you do about it, Indigo?” Kari asked as they watched him form a plan in his head.
Indigo: Indigo looked back towards them, grinning under his mask again.
"Fire is my element. Heat is my specialty. Do you remember when I put out the fires on Haligan after the dragon attack? I can absorb it just as much as I can unleash it. I could soak up all of that heat like a sponge, cool it down enough for miss Demon to smash it to smithereens."
He made a little chuckle, pointing a clawed finger at the construct.
"I heard her say so. All you need is a way to cool it, and I'm the way to do that."
He looked all too eager to help with the battle, perched on the dragons back.
Dagny: Dagny thought for a moment, and suddenly an idea came to her. She looked at Indigo with a smile. “What if you gave the beacon to me or Kari?” she suggested. “We’ll give you some cover while you deal with the molten glass.”
Indigo: Indigo looked between the glass and the two girls, and then nodded. "That sounds like a solid enough solution to our problems. Here."
He had his dragon fly closer to hers and took off the beacon, slowwwwly lowering it over towards Dagny with a solid grip on it.
"Both of you keep a close eye on that, don't let it fall. Hug it like a hatchling." He grinned, looking up at the molten mess.
"Alright. Time for a snack. Though, looks like I'll have guests first."
He easily began flying his dragon towards the glass, hoping the others covered him, and news of his plan had already spread over this network of communication. He waved at the Warden on his way, leaping down onto the wall with a graceful bound, lit only by the light shining from the lavaish looking stuff and its reddish light, and catching the attention of plenty of guards as he hit the stone.
He immediately summoned some fire and began fighting the guards on the wall with practically no fear, nimbly dodging them and sending many down into the glass itself. He would need to have a moment of focus if he was going to pull heat from it, so his first order of business was to get a moment to himself.
The Phantom fought nearly like the demons he was compared to, almost having a little too much fun being in combat again.
Dagny/Kari: Dagny wasted no time in storing the beacon in her saddlebag and sealing it in tight. As much as she would’ve loved to hold it, she needed both hands to operate her bow and arrows. As soon as Indigo flew towards the wall, she and Kari followed him and the other Night Furies.
“Let’s give him some cover, Kari!” Dagny said as she readied her bow and arrows.
“You got it!” Kari added.
The two girls fired their arrows at the soldiers and watched as their targets fell.
“Scoot, tell all the Night Furies to fire at the guards!” Kari shouted at her dragon.
Scoot turned to her fellow Night Furies. “You heard her! Fire at the soldiers!” she roared.
Indigo: Indigo appreciated the backup from the dragons, watching the Furies shoot them off the wall, swarming the area. It was certainly drawing some attention, but maybe it wasn't a bad thing.
Once he had some space, he threw up some walls of flame inbetween him and the guards, sending fire along the wall and pushing them further away from him with a bit of a roar.
He pointed his flock into going to either side, and they followed his lead as they'd done many times before, keeping the guards busy and throwing them off or firing as they could, trying to save their shots as much as they could.
Finally having some space, he took a breath, focusing on his flames, on the sheer heat coming from the glass, and then with all his focus held on it, he began to pull heat away from the mass of glowing glass, slowly pulling it out and up. He absorbed it easily, fire had never been an issue for him. The heat made him stronger, if anything.
He could see it slowly cooling, and trusted the others to keep him covered while he cooled it off.
He laughed, adrenaline shooting through him. "All this heat... I haven't felt this hot in a while... I feel quite strong. That's nice." He muttered to himself.
Dagny/Kari: “Keep it up, Kari!” Dagny said as she loaded yet another arrow and fired it at the soldiers.
“I’m trying, Dags!” Kari shouted back. She was sweating and wiped the sweat off her brow. “What do we do if we run low on arrows?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Dagny replied as she fired another arrow.
Indigo: Indigo finally seeped up the last bits of heat that he could from the glass, happy to see it cooled and brittle now. He'd done it.
He could feel heat threatening to seep right out of him, though it didn't hurt. It just made him eager to let it loose. The fire that never went out was raging away inside him, and he couldn't help but laugh with glee.
"Cold as ice now, my companions! Miss demon, it's your turn for some fun! Let's get out of your way!" He let out a controlled burst of flames to shoot in each direction, torching more of the guards attacking his dragons and the girls. He was soon picked up by one of his dragons again, nimbly leaping up onto their back.
"Give her space, let's back up once more!" He shouted to the girls and dragons alike. "But I'm quite powered up, so let me know if you need flames, I can make plenty of them."
He cackled a little, some purple flames leaking out the top of his helmet and hood. "Oh, I sure can..."
The Warden/The Glassmaker: The Warden's terrible gaze swept away from the wall temporarily, lighting her path as the Construct began to move with purpose, each limb crushing the street beneath with a resonant crack. She used the force of her very mind to push any friendly troops further away from the glass wall, which was spreading to the sides much slower thanks to the volatile kinetic heat being leeched out of it. It was a strange trap or spell, whatever it was, but she would knock it away easily.
C--OLD--...
The piercing ring returned, louder this time, and it seemed to originate from the heart of the glass. It threw a spectrum of rainbow fractals across the main road as Nala focused on it, pausing in sudden alarm with a grind of pipes and gears and joints. The sound was not physical--she could tell now. It was scraping across her astral senses like a knife across the strings of a harp. The glass surface, warped like frozen water and already heavily cracked from the Rebellion's efforts, suddenly cracked once more time, an opaque starburst materializing out of nowhere. Then another, and another, without Nala so much as approaching it..
The shattered glass became convex towards the Rebellion, away from the second gate, and there was a collective sound of terrified astonishment. At first, it seemed like a group hallucination, a mass pareidolia. A nose? A brow? People pointed and shouted, distracted from the push forward into the street blocks.
SO--CO--LD...
Nala didn't wait to see more. GET AWAY FROM THE STREET, she bellowed, and her pipe-bound heart briefly blasted white and then cooled to gold and copper, snapping like firecrackers, as she began charging down the street, a wild mare started into uncontrollable movement. She threw her consciousness forward before she was anywhere near the glass, and it met something--an immovable wall that pushed back just as heavily, unaffected by the wild, passionate flames of her mind. The bright, hot colors of her essence dimmed to deep indigo shot through with streaks of cyan, and had she a stomach, it would've dropped to her feet.
Before the rest of the supposed face pushed further through, something else blurred through and gripped the ground before it. Then another, reaching out for the barracks on its right, and a third, to the left. The head emerged from its vitreous birth canal, glass shards peeling away in waves to form its new shape, though seemingly hollow through the inside. The three spindly humanoid arms pulled it further forward, a similarly malnourished body made of a mosaic of millions of shimmering fragments. A hair-raising presence flooded the entire outer city, feeling like needles across even the dullest mortal senses. The impossible creature began to push itself to its knees, and three more arms formed out of the debris left by its appearance. Across its spine, transparent eyes rolled in immovable sockets with the sound of massive glass marbles, attempting to focus on the chaos around it. As it finally stood, taller than Nala being on all fours, two hands pressed together in a prayer position, two hands lowered palms-out next to vaguely feminine hips, and the final two arms reached out for the charging Construct, crystalline shards spreading and contracting in an agitated manner. Her core began to glow orange and steam once more.
NA--LAA--GURA...
Indigo: Indigo looked pleased when the Warden' construct began moving towards the glass, only to wince when a nasty wave of something hit him so hard he blinked and shook his head.
Wait a second. That thing isn't just lava or glass.
The realization came even as he flew the dragons much further away, guiding Grey's kids away as well as if protecting his own flock as well. He growled at the growing presence he could feel scraping across his mind, every instinct in him was to fight or run.
"STAY BACK" He roared in dragonese as a command to his flock and any others nearby, warning them of this imminent danger perhaps too late while the construct bucked and ran and... something came out of the glass. If he had much hair, they'd be standing on end.
"What in the name of the MOON is THAT." He snarled to himself and the Fury he was riding, which shook its head and snarled as well. "Warden do you KNOW THIS... guy? Gal? Behemoth?" He yelped, a bit frightened. "What... what's the plan now, everyone?"
Dagny/Kari/Sven: “Uhh…I-I don’t know…” Dagny said as she stared at the being coming out of the glass in absolute horror.
“Should we help Aunt Nala?” Kari asked with just as much horror in her voice.
“I-I don’t know,” Dagny said simply.
—-
Meanwhile, Sven and his dragon Pyro were fighting off the soldiers at the gate with the rest of the Gate Team. He stopped when he heard a cacophony of noises from behind him. He managed to overpower a soldier with his sword and looked at his Monstrous Nightmare.
“What was that?” the Heir asked.
The Changeling: The Changeling gasped as he felt a new mental presence flood his senses, one he'd never felt before but he could identify as being demonic in nature. Curiosity got the better of him, and if this was a demon, one he had not met, it was likely dangerous, and his cousin could use some help. Besides it was getting boring here anyways. He shapeshifted into an owl and flew to where he could still see the Construct, abandoning his post on the wall. With his enhanced vision, he could also see the strange glass creature and tentatively probed it with his mind.
The Warden/The Glassmaker: He encountered the same structure of mind that the Warden did, tall and cold and smooth like the walls of High Central itself. One of the eyes rolled in his direction, locking onto the thread of essence that brushed against her consciousness. The Changeling felt a sudden build-up and whine, and just managed to arrange himself to avoid the worst of a cluster of needle-sized mental lances, barbed and razor sharp. One of them stuck through his astral body and he could feel it as though he had been struck with an actual harpoon, blades digging deeply into his insubstantial flesh. It was painful and hampering, but not fatally so. The owl form faltered but stayed aloft.
The Warden was running through scenarios and possibilities at a speed she had never been through before, pulling an enormous swath of power from the amplifier at her heart to help her do so. The tubes of her body went through a rainbow of hues in milliseconds. The only thing she could start out doing was to throw herself at this new demon and see what it could do. The jaw of the Construct dropped as it screamed once more, quickening its last few bounds to throw its two forelimbs together into a scythelike shape and dive towards the center mass of the glass demon's body.
...KI-LL...?
The syrupy, glowing semi-liquid accepted the charge with barely a stumble, and Nala found it difficult to extract, planting both rear legs several meters into the ground and expressing gallons of steam as she pulled backwards, roaring with the effort. Two of the she-demon's arms braced against the buildings around her, and the other four grabbed Nala's head and long neck, shards pinging off of stone and ivory with clear, beautiful, deafening notes. They began to wrestle with feral ferocity, with the Glassmaker driving the Construct forward and attempting to push it back down the street, straining against the well-crafted machinery. Nala's limbs began to carve gouges in the earth as she started to lose ground.
K--ILL--!!
A small cluster of alerts went off from the left side of the battlefield, towards the southern end of the city--the rebels had encountered another gorge, and something had crawled out of it at lightning speed and escaped into the city. They could barely identify it as vaguely humanoid, having a covered head and a back covered in quills or barbs.
The Changeling: The changeling cried out in pain as he was lanced by the glass maker. His altitude faltered but he did not even as he landed taking on a more human appearance now. He was not suited for combat, not like his cousins or siblings. He was more suited to trickery and deception. Yet he persisted. His self-preservation demanded run, to get away as far away as he could. But he knew he could not abandon those he had grown so attached to so he persisted towards the battle.
Lila watched from a distance as Nala and the glass maker did battle, and she was surprised to see how much the construct was putting in, and yet it still was not enough. She ran through options in her head as quickly as she could. Her first thought was to last the thing to smithereens. However, seeing what little effect brute Force seem to have she quickly scrapped the idea. Instead something else came to mind.
She reached out through the mental Network and called out to the entire army. "I need every single underground mix at my location immediately!" She commanded, her voice filled with urgency.
One by one the began to appear around her, and once she had gathered all they could muster she spoke up. "Listen up! This thing is tougher than most of the defenses this city can boast. If it can go toe to toe with the Construct our arm will do nothing to it, so we're not going to brute force it.
"Instead, I want every last one of you to turn that square from the glass monster to the wall into lava, as deep as you can make it. We're gonna melt this bitch."
Indigo: Indigo perked up when he saw nixes popping in and immediately focused on the network the rebels were using to communicate, speaking instead of just listening, and directing his words at Lila.
"If you need extra heat, I can help with that. But considering it was just molten before, I should hope this plan works. Shall I stay up here with the beacon and Grey's hatch-- er. Daughters, or should I work with you to make lava?"
He glanced at Dagny and Kari, wondering if perhaps they could handle the beacon while he helped with this plan.
"I can help 'melt this b----'."
The night fury he was riding snorted at hearing him parrot Lila's profanity.
Dagny/Kari/Sven: Dagny and Kari briefly cringed at Indigo repeating the swear word, but now was not the time to correct him. But they heard him talking to their older cousin, and they finally had an idea.
“Lila, we can help Aunt Nala too!” Dagny quickly said.
“Yeah, we can!” Kari said quickly. “We can get Sven and we can help the Nixes with our dragons!”
———-
Sven eyed the glass maker as he and Pyro fought more of the High Central soldiers. He tried to remember everything his former teacher, Malak taught him, but there was a part of him that wished he was there with him.
“Eat shit, you High Central asshole!” Sven shouted as he crossed swords with another soldier. He managed to slash his sword at the soldier’s shoulder causing him to fall over.
Then Pyro wasted no time in using his head to get him back on his back and breathed fire at the soldier.
“Thanks, boy!” Sven said patting his neck. He then turned around and saw the battle between the Warden and the Glass maker. “Aunt Nala…” There had to be a way to help.
Lila considers it for a moment before shaking her head. “No, the Nixes can handle it. You can help by rallying the other dragons and riders and blasting the guards along the walls. They’re grouped up right now, that’s a problem for us. Go make it a problem for them.” She says before adding. “Keep away from this gate. We have friendlies securing it.”
Dagny/Kari: Dagny and Kari looked at each other and nodded knowing exactly what they could do.
“You got it, cuz!” Kari said quickly. She then turned to Dagny. “We’ll start with Sven and gather everyone from there.”
“Just what I was thinking,” Dagny said. She turned back to the network. “Leave it to us, Lila.” She then turned to Indigo. “Come on, Indigo, let’s gather all the dragons.”
Indigo: Indigo grinned, looking plenty alright with that. “No problem. That I can do. Let’s turn up the heat!” He laughed and dipped into action, hanging off the side of the flying dragon and having it fly speedily over the wall.
The Indigo Phantom unleashed a large spray of flame into the central forces on the wall, flying along and dodging their attempts to hit him with ease. He and Storm worked as one, and eventually he leaped off the dragon and landed fearlessly among yet more guards, blasting them with more fire that seemed to really never run out. He just kept torching them, having Storm and a few of the other dragons cover him, calling them in with his mind and easily guiding them as he used to.
The smells of fire, ash, and burnt flesh came from that part of the wall, growing as he made his way along it. This time, fighting for the rebels, and the screams came from central instead of innocents. He felt like he’d come a long way. Maybe she’d be proud of him.
Lila: As the riders scattered to wreak havoc and gather the others the underground nixes began to work focusing with all their might as they began to turn the top layer of street and the 15 feet below it into lava, stretching it further and further until it reached the glass wall.
Lila for her part created a ring of blue fire around the Glassmaker and heated it higher and higher, as hot as it could get, trying to get the process started.
Dagny/Kari/Sven/Brandt: Dagny and Kari wasted no time in finding their older brother and his dragon. They were able to find him among the chaos between the rebels and the High Central soldiers.
“Sven! Sven!” Dagny called down to him.
The Heir of the Haligan Tribe looked up from where he sat on Pyro and smiled at the sight of his sisters as he flew up to them. “What are you guys doing here?” he asked.
“Didn’t you get the message?” Kari asked. “Aunt Nala is fighting that thing over there. The Nixes are going to help, but Lila needs us to gather any dragons and their riders to deal with the soldiers on the wall.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Sven said. “Let’s go!”
The Heir and his sisters all gathered the dragons and their riders leading them to the wall, where Indigo was.
“Alright, everyone,” Sven called out, “let’s blast these assholes away! Ready…FIRE!”
With that, Pyro, SkySinger, and Scoot all obeyed their riders’ commands and breathed fire on the High Central soliders below.
—-
Brandt swung his sword at the High Central soldiers ducking and dodging wherever he could trying to protect Lila as she helped the Warden fight the Glass Maker. He knew his kids were out there on their dragons, but there was still no sign of Grey, Shadow, or Jari. He could only pray that they were having success in their part of the fight.
The Warden/The Glassmaker: With all of their new literal firepower, the Rebellion was quickly turning around their initial plan to freeze into a new plan: to melt. The initial wall of glass began to sag and twist. The Glassmaker’s wrists deformed and slipped as her hands stayed in place, pale glass eyes fixed on the Warden while her body danced and shimmered with new heat. Her legs did their best to find footing in the lava bath appearing below her. She let out another piercing resonance, and then Nala made a guttural noise as the demon slammed the entire force of her consciousness into her. The lights of the Construct briefly went dark, flickering for a moment, then slowly brightening again as Nala pushed back fiercely. It was the same effort as raising an entire building off of herself. Every part of her being trembled.
During the brief outage, the Glassmaker abruptly dragged at the Construct’s throat and tried to drag it into the lava with her. Machinery whirred with a low buzz as Nala resisted, and then she took the opportunity to go with the movement, pushing the newborn demon over onto her back. Lava splashed in a huge radius across the city block, even splashing on the second gate that the rebels were working on lowering, and they began to fight like starving children in the dirt, Nala biting and crushing every chance she got, and the Glassmaker’s limbs melting and re-forming around the Construct’s joints, fists clenched with cracking and squeaking magnified tenfold through High Central. The edges and points of the Conclave’s old weapon started to dully glow red.
Between the Commander’s cobalt flames and the growing pool of magma, the ambient heat was enormous; clouds of sparks started to jump dangerously from ground to cart to barn to barrack. Clouds of flame blossomed and exploded across the second wall; nearly all of the soldiers had been driven from the gate’s guard towers to retreat back towards the third and final wall guarding the Triumvirate’s towers. The Rebellion milled on either side of the demon fight, glass shards and pumice cracking in showers across their bone helmets; they were getting anxious to push through further, the more control they gained over the outer city limits. They were starting to arrange their gear to scale the walls as High Central was driven back and the threat of gunfire was no longer as present, though they would wait for a final command to do so.
Lila: The gates swing open with a loud creak. “Everyone through the gate!” She ordered through the network. Now that the lava was created it would take some time for it to cool naturally. “You got this?” She asks Nala.
The Warden/The Guardian/The Matriarch: TAKE THE CITY. The Warden’s normally vibrant, composed voice was clearly strained, though she had enough focus to respond directly to the question. For a moment, Lila felt rather than saw a reassuring smile, the brief warmth of a setting sun on her skin. I WILL BE FINE.
They were interrupted by a gallant laugh, and past the tower team, a huge, vaguely-humanoid mechanical being sprinted past, feet thundering down the street. The Guardian reached out and scooped up a chunk of rubble from the wall almost as big as he was, and then zig-zagged between a few lava nixes, who heated up the stone in his hand like a massive glowing ember. Then he hucked it overhead with both hands, and it sank halfway into the back of the Glassmaker’s head, partially exploding in a shower of dirt and charred grit. The new demon screamed its disapproval with the sound of metal grinding against a thick wineglass. Its eyes whipped around to look at the Guardian on the ground, and he put his huge metal fists up like a boxer, clouds of steam erupting from his knuckles. How about you pick on someone your own size! he bellowed. She reached for him with two arms and the Warden took the opportunity to hook her forelimbs around the demon’s neck and smash her transparent head back into the edge of the lava pool, burning rocks and hot glass shards spraying everywhere.
From behind the remains of the glass wall, a ripple of translucent magic spread, green shifting into deep teals with motes flashing like tiny stars. Faysal had planted himself between the open gate and the demon fight, and for now, the Rebellion would be protected as they entered the inner city. We will defend the masses, a voice gentle and firm, quieter than the Guardian’s, hummed to Lila’s subconscious. The Matriarch’s presence shivered like an instrumental wire, soothing but empowering. Go.
(Continued from Cold Fusion)
Grey/Brandt: Grey and Shadow flew over the chaos, and both of them fired plasma blasts at the High Central soldiers. Both the Chief and her Night Fury stared in shock at the sight of Nala fighting another large being with other dragons and their riders flying nearby. She had no doubt that her three kids were somewhere in that mix, and now she needed to focus on finding her husband and the Commander.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find Brandt with the other rebels fighting soldiers with Lila nearby. One soldier was advancing on Brandt from behind, and Grey wasted no time in jumping off Shadow legs first kicking the soldier to the ground causing Brandt to turn around.
“Oh hey, my love,” Brandt said with a smile.
“Hi,” Grey said with a smile of her own. “What did I miss?”
Lila/The Changeling: There’s a moment where she considers ignoring her command and staying to fight when a hand clapped onto her shoulder. She turned to see the Changeling. “Go on commander. She’s not alone and the troops need their leader. We’ll bring up the rear.” He grins, his teeth sharp as knives.
She nods and circles around the demons, letting them duke it out as she headed to meet her soldiers once more.
Indigo/Indi: Indigo laughed as he grabbed another guard and threw them off the wall with a clawed fist, forming fire gauntlets and sending more and more of them off the edge. He'd nearly been hit by a couple arrows, but he could swear he smelled their panic now. Nothing could slow him down and he pushed them further and further back, central casualties piling on that end of the wall and at the base of it. He climbed up one of the towers and shot more fire down at them, taking out anybody in the top of the tower and then having just a moment to breathe.
"Stars I missed this." He panted, claws digging into the wall a little with adrenaline.
I can't believe you didn't invite me along, Cuz!
He heard a very familiar mental voice hit his mind through the many. One that, despite him not listening for, still found him. One from his twin.
Indi was flying straight in from the north, fully geared and ready for a fight. He landed on the tower Indigo was inside and peeked down.
"Dude, not cool. How do you not invite your alter ego to the big bash? I want in! Move over!"
He gave Indigo a thumbs up, looking around to see who was friendly and who wasn't. "So who do I attack?"
Indigo climbed up next to him with a sigh, shaking his head. "Alright, well since you're here you may as well fight. I'll tell the others you're friendly, but you'll have tons of explaining to do later." He caught an arrow before it could hit his mask, and then pointed at the massive glass bohemoth. "Either the large glass beast, or any of the central forces along the walls. If they're shooting at you, best assume they're hostile. And don't get into trouble, kid."
He whapped Indi on his helmet and jumped back down to continue the fight, sending a message through the network.
"There's what looks and sounds like a second me joining us. He'll be useful, I'm sure. Don't attack either weirdo in purple, please."
The Warden/The Glassmaker: Once the Rebellion was certain of their grasp on a large portion of the second wall, they began to flood inwards, spreading out sideways into the buildings so as not to become overwhelmed. The squad commands on the left immediately pinpointed stockpiles, armories, supplies and guard stations all clustered on the ground behind the wall of the largest guard tower, which pointed southward on the second wall, already unable to defend High Central from the rebels storming the city behind it. There were rows and rows of Central soldiers lined up on the sidewalks behind cover, and barricades were in the middle of being placed on the next main street curving off to the west. They'd had more time to prepare, versus the outer city which had been quickly overrun in surprise. Arrows and gunfire began striking the first to enter, which hastened to pull forward anyone with a wolven bone shield and form a line behind which rebels parted like water.
The Warden shrieked with the sound of a feral creature as the Glassmaker continued to lock into her mentally, with burning hot, crystallized astral spears shooting for chinks in her defenses. It was painful, but she still managed to deflect the worst of it, and the newborn demon hadn't struck anything vital yet. However, the heat was climbing through the Construct's internal systems, and she grew more and more protective of the Bookkeeper nestled inside; as deeply connected as they were, she could feel sweat breaking out over rosy skin, and heavy panting through panicked lungs. Nala dosed him with calm again, a feminine long-fingered hand cradling the side of his head, and when she had a moment, she disengaged from her foe, stumbling back out of the pit of magma, letting her brother cover her as the Glassmaker vibrated furiously at him. In that few seconds of respite, she did many things.
First, she threw a mental tether out to Indigo and his mirror. I NEED ASSISTANCE. ON MY MARK, YOU MUST DRAW HEAT FROM HER AGAIN.
Nala began trapping the heat inside of the operator's pod in a tight bubble; it would need to stay warm for what was to come. Around her, she began sucking the radiant heat from her own body, from the ground, from the circle of superheated flame, and they began to smoke and then steam as their warmth drained rapidly, so rapidly that the surrounding rooftops began to encrust with frost and icicles grew upwards in the direction of her long throat, which was growing red-hot once more. Loops of fire rose into the air and fed into the calefaction of the vibracrystalline beam, the sound of it spooling up echoing out over the city.
H--OT L--IGH--T, the Glassmaker warbled, once again losing focus on the Guardian and turning to the Warden, its single target.
Milae: Milae nervously paced across an abandoned balcony, eyes locked on the Warden. The journal on his arm snapped open and he grabbed at it in shock and anxiety, expecting his eyes to speed over another long message, but instead, he saw the following:
MOIRAI: S _ _ _ _ _
Grey/Brandt/Sven/Dagny/Kari: Thankfully, it didn't take long for Brandt and Grey to get each other up to speed on what happened while they were separated as they continued to fight the shoulders. Once Lila led them into the city past the gates, Grey and Brandt hopped on Shadow and flew in through the gates staying close by to Lila to await further directions while sending a mental note via the network to their kids to help with securing the walls and that they would find each other later.
Grey couldn't help but look back at Nala as she and Brandt flew away on Shadow as concern etched onto her face. She couldn't help but worry for her friend and for her three kids. "Please, be careful," she whispered to herself.
Brandt placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," he said gently, "they'll all be fine."
Grey smiled at her husband and nodded placing a hand over his squeezing it and thanking him. Then they turned their focus back to the battle below them with Grey and Shadow firing plasma blasts at any soldier or barricade they could find. The battle was far from over.
------
Sven led his two sisters over the wall as their three dragons fired at the soldiers below.
"Keep going!" the Heir shouted to them as Pyro breathed more fire at the enemy. "We can get them on the run!" The Heir then wasted no time in standing up on Pyro's neck with his sword ready. "Alright, boy," he whispered. "Just like we practiced!" He jumped onto his dragon's head, who then flung it up causing Sven to fall toward the soldiers feet first kicking one of them to the ground.
Immediately, he was met with swords, but Pyro was quick as he ignited himself landing behind his rider roaring. Then he rammed into a few guards while Sven crossed swords.
Dagny flew nearby over them. "Come on, SkySinger!" she shouted.
The Deadly Nadder responded by throwing her signature spikes from her tail right at the guards below...stabbing a few of them in the process.
Kari looked into her bag only to see that she was out of arrows. "Alright, Scoot," she said to her Night Fury, "you'll have to cover for me until I get more."
Scoot crooned in response and fired at the soldiers with a plasma blast of her own.
Indigo/Indi: Indigo immediately acknowledged Nala's request and threw more of the guards from the wall down below, or impaling them through the chest with his flaming gauntlets. "You've got it, Miss Warden." He told her, ready and waiting for her signal and trying to clear out a good space to do so. He had the furies fly around above him, ready to give him the opening he needed to do so again.
Indi was watching for the moment and hadn't taken off just yet, perched on the roof of that one tower and trying to figure out which ones were allies and which were enemies. He was having his suit identify them on the fly, but winced when he was swept with Nala's voice. "Holy quasars that was nebulous. Wow. Who... oh you!" He noticed where the voice came from, staring at the construct. "Dang, she's loud. Cosmic. Aight, time to cause some havoc. I bet I can get twice the kills Indigo has." He jumped off and flew, activating one of the many energy modes his suit had, and was soon slashing away with purple swords, his space suit deflecting simple arrows and swords without issue. He was just as effective as Indigo, just for different reasons. "Wooo!"
Indigo glanced over at his alternate self and rolled his eyes a little. "Don't overdo it, cuz. You get carried away easy."
The Changeling: The Changeling followed the Guardian's lead and threw chunks of debris, feints in one area forcing the Glassmaker to move in another. Anything he could do to give the Warden time she would need.
Meanwhile, deeper in the city as Central took up lines and began to slow their advance, Lila began to organize, having the rangers move up the buildings into vantage points, finding weaknesses in their lines, flanking them. Having the dragon riders torch their lines as they advanced and sending some to cut off their retreat should they try again while harrying the final wall.
The Warden/The Glassmaker: In a wave, the joined Central forces seemed to obey their own telepathic signal, and they parted from the road, pulling into the side streets and narrow alleys and using the eaves and rooftops to take cover from the dragonfire raining from above. Much of the gunfire moved from attacking the rebels to aiming for the dragons above, caring little about who or what they hit, as long as they hit.
The Warden's breath weapon continued to build to full power, but she was struggling to pin down the Glassmaker. The heat was helping with any crushing physical attacks, but it was making her extremely formless and flexible, simply deforming under any major attacks made. Nala signaled to Indigo to get into position, and then pulled a huge swath of energy from Juro's amplification, coloring the heat gathering around her with shimmering gold as well as deep amber. She repositioned by backing up several yards, rotating south so that she was facing the wall between the inner and outer cities, and then charged the new demon forward in both body and mind.
Her insubstantial attack collided with the Glassmaker's wall of defense, and then the night echoed with a wrathful shriek as that wall exploded outwards, hardened glass fragments ripping through her essence and shredding...something within her. The dragonlike mech was flung in a way that threw its head backwards, and its nose slammed all the way back into its spine as the attack slivered upwards through the front of her astral body.
Deep within herself, the healed scars from her last encounter with the Construct, the obsidian wall she had raised to protect Liam, the cooled acceptance from killing the Praetor, the dried wounds from the Empress' disappearance, the remnants of Hel's missive, and every iron band she had forged around herself, swearing never to let herself lose control and harm those she possessed--Greg, Stonegit, Treepelt--ever again...every barrier of restraint that had made her who she was became obliterated by brilliant fractals. The Construct's eyes blazed an impossible red. The sky above was struck with spotlights and beams of radiant light, like those of a festival. Inside her refuge, the Bookkeeper saw Nala arch her back in the same painful way as her body, and her mask split upwards in half, a few cracks branching outwards from the split, and it too became alight with psychedelic rays. The Warden very slowly looked back down at the Glassmaker, whose body was slopping in hot red waves across the wall she was backed up against.
= I A M U N B O U N D! =
The voice was like the very call of life and death itself, a foaming bloodlusted rage, a primal keening sob, a crazed joyous laugh, all in one. Temperatures near her continued to drop as everything ebbed towards the demon. The mouth of the Construct was as wide as it would go, and it was ready to fire.
Indigo: Indigo was perched neatly on the tower once more now, watching and waiting patiently for Nala's signal while the dragons covered him and flew around drawing any fire away from him and not getting hit themselves. Even with Central's redoubled efforts to shoot them down, they were doing an excellent job of not getting hit. He knew his flock could more than handle themselves against these people. He watched with confusion, not understanding truly what was happening between the Warden and the Glass demon, but hoping the signal would be obvious. He blinked when her loud voice blew across the area, making him scoot backwards a little with how much it was. He swore softly, but figured now was as good a time as any. He let out a soft growl and put his focus on the Glassmaker again, and began pulling as much heat from her as he physically could, cackling softly as it pulsed into him. "Mmmm... more flames to turn for us..." He chuckled. "Freeze. Freeeeeze." Before long she had no heat left in her that he could really take, and he glanced sideways at the construct, and the massive cannon in the mouth. "....that's gonna hurt."
Lila: Lila felt her blood ran cold as she heard the demonic screech of Nalaagura.
= I A M U N B O U N D! =
The sound that followed was so... Manic. So unhinged. She was unsure if it came from the Glassmaker or her aunt. Regardless if Nala had let herself loose there was no telling what would happen to any of them, especially if... Whatever that sound was came from her.
"Everyone! Off the main street!" She ordered. It was a sound tactic regardless. If Central was going to weave in and out of the roads they would need to adapt. With the soldiers firing indiscriminately in the air she ordered the riders to back off and take to assaulting the back wall, where there were assumedly less of them.
The Warden/The Glassmaker/Milae: This was a tiny hunting ground. This was a barrel full of fish. This was a dog's bowl of daily scraps, sitting easily on a kitchen floor in the afternoon sunlight. Nala's exhaustion, fear, anxiety, anticipation, it all culminated into a single driven emotion--hunger.
Milae stood flabbergasted in his same position, pencil dropping from his hoof midway through explaining what he saw, not even noticing the Library open back up on his arm, flickering through several more letters before settling on: S A _ _ _ A
The Glassmaker's eyes, half-melted in their sockets, could only stare up in shock at the Construct above it. H--ELP, she thrummed, her own voice sounding thin and weak in comparison to the foghorn calls drowning her out. The Guardian and the Matriarch were already backpedaling, with Sol charging even more void-like energy into the shield, readying to absorb whatever came. Rebels were either through the gate or pushed away from it; there was no idling in between, they made sure of that.
There was a brief silence--pure silence, as a frequency beyond mortal hearing still managed to drown out all normal noise throughout the city. Then another sustained flash of blinding white.
The Construct's destructive beam shot down through the Glassmaker's core, into the wall at an angle, and all the way into the ground. Clouds of rubble and dust and concrete and stone began to billow outwards, some of it molten, some of it burning, some of it smashed to pebble moving fast enough to shred clothing. A vaporized cloud rolled up into the sky around the point of impact, illuminated by the laser below it. The wall to the east side of the gate began to crumble and falter, losing support from under it the longer Nala saw fit to ravage the demon below her.
Grey/Brandt/Sven/Dagny/Kari: Shadow bobbed and weaved as the soldiers fired at her, Grey, and Brandt from below, but they wasted no time in firing back at the back wall as the soldiers made to retreat.
"Come on, girl!" Grey shouted as she threw another fire blast down at the soldier. "We've got them on the run! Once we get to the back wall, we can--"
Grey stopped when they suddenly heard an unhuman screech, and they turned around only to see Nala stil engaged in a fight with the Glassmaker, and then...she opened her mouth.
"What's...happening?" Brandt asked.
They heard Lila calling for everyone to take cover, and both Grey and Brandt felt a cold realization wash over them.
"BRANDT, THE KIDS!!" Grey shouted. She was about to pull on Shadow's reigns to turn back toward the front.
However, Brandt was quicker. "SHADOW, LAND!! NOW!!" he shouted as he took control of the reigns.
Shadow wasted no time in doing as Brandt said and landed on the back wall all while Grey was protesting.
"NO!! NO!!" Grey shouted. "BRANDT, WE HAVE TO GO GET THEM!!"
"We will, I promise you," Brandt said firmly. It pained him to do that as a husband and as a father, but he needed to protect his wife. Sven, Dagny, and Kari were too far away. They wouldn't reach them in time. "We need to help ourselves first."
Tears flooded her eyes as she realized her husband was right. They had to take cover first, and then they could go get their kids as soon as the danger was over. Shadow wasted no time in shielding them with her body as Brandt held her close. Both of them with tears running down their faces.
"I love you, Grey," Brandt said.
"I love you, too, Brandt," Grey replied.
Then...they heard an explosion, and it wasn't long before they could feel the rubble...the dust raining down on them. Some of it was hot, and Grey could feel it against her skin, but she couldn't focus on that now.
-----
The minute Sven saw Nala's mouth open, his eyes widened in fear. Whatever was going to happen next was not going to be good. He wasted no time in cupping his mouth with his hands and shouting, "EVERYONE, TAKE COVER!!"
He led his sisters and their respective dragons as far away from the demons.
"Go ahead!" Kari shouted as she flew Scoot toward the ground. "I'm going to help anyone, who needs it!"
"WHAT?!" Dagny shouted. "KARI, NO!! WE NEED TO STAY TOGETHER!!"
"I'LL CATCH UP, DAGS!!" Kari shouted back. She flew down towards the ground, and it didn't take long to see Aria on the ground. The youngest Felman wasted no time in grabbing her by the hand and pulling her onto Scoot.
Just as she was about to catch up with her older siblings...the laser fired...and then there was clouds of dust, rubble...billowing out.
Sven...Dagny...and Kari could feel themselves falling to the ground with their dragons and Aria.
Indigo/Indi: Indigo heard the warning calls from everywhere and realized what was about to happen, eyes widening under his mask. He had been given a blessed few seconds to act, and his first decision was to send a sharp mental call out to his flock, making them get as far away from the blast as he could. The dragons scattered away like a panicked flock of pigeons, gaining precious distance in those few seconds.
His next act was to dive away from the massive laser that struck the area behind him, hitting the wall, the ground, the glass demon, sending hot clouds of dirt and dust and pebbles everywhere. He managed to get away, his cape taking a few hits, his armor holding up well. The hot blast didn't affect him, but he did get smacked by a few flying rocks and pebbles, dazed for a second afterwards, ears ringing in the wake of it.
He spotted Grey's kids all falling and leaped off the wall, gliding as best he could toward them and calling a few dragons to him once more. Sharp caught Sven and Pyro, Storm caught Dagny, Tael just managed to catch her dragon, and Indigo wrapped himself around Kari to protect her from the fall as Song grabbed Scoot and got her flying again as well.
Indigo protected the girl as they hit the ground and then nudged her to see if she was okay, looking around through the clouds of dust. "Are you in one piece, small one? I hope I made a better cushion than the ground." He had felt a few bones go out of place when he'd hit the stone, but they tended to fix themselves just fine. She wouldn't have been quite as fine.
Indi had been closer to the blast than Indigo was, and had barely managed to fly away when Nala fired. "YIKES" He'd yelped, feeling the heat through his suit. It wasn't as hot as a sun, or a ships core exploding, but it was HOT. He yelped again and kept flying up, trying to get his bearings. "Holy NOVA girl that was INSANE. She has a whole cannon for a face!! That's kind of awesome but not so when I'm close to it! Don't hit me with that, giant fire babe!"
Sven/Dagny/Kari: Sven, Dagny, and Kari felt themselves being thrown off their dragons and their ears ringing from the explosion, and it was hard to see the ground or each other or any of their dragons as the dust billowed around them. Their eyes stung from the dust as they continued to fall.
“Mom…Dad…help…” Sven thought to himself as he continued to fall.
Suddenly, Sven was jolted out of his thoughts when he…stopped. He felt someone…or something grab his armor from behind stopping him from falling in midair. He looked only to see that whoever stopped him from falling…managed to grab Pyro as well, and he immediately recognized it as the legs of a Night Fury. His brown eyes widened as he looked up to see who it was.
“Shadow?” Sven asked. However, it was easy to see that it wasn’t his mother’s Night Fury given that the dragon had no saddle, and his parents were nowhere to be found. “Oh…” his eyes widened, “you’re Indigo’s Night Fury.”
Meanwhile, Dagny felt herself stopping in her fall when something grabbed her from her middle. She looked up and widened her eyes in amazing as well. Another one of Indigo’s dragons saved her. Then she stopped when she felt a cold realization…as she looked around. “SkySinger?!” she called.
She heard a familiar squawk, and she looked to her left and saw her beloved Deadly Nadder in the grip of another Night Fury, and she smiled. “SkySinger!!” Dagny exclaimed. “You’re okay!!”
The Deadly Nadder squawked again.
“Dagny?!” a voice called out to her. And she immediately recognized her big brother’s voice, but she couldn’t see him.
“I’m here, Sven!” Dagny replied.
“Do you see Kari anywhere or Scoot?” Sven asked.
Dagny widened her eyes again and looked around frantically. The last time she saw Kari, their little sister was helping Akkey’s niece Aria. “No, I-I don’t see her!” Dagny replied frantically.
Sven felt his heart pounding at the sound of Dagny’s frantic voice. Thankfully, the Night Fury, Sharp got the hint and brought them down to the ground along with Storm, who caught Dagny, and Tael with SkySinger.
Sven and Dagny quickly thanked the dragons, who caught them and immediately ran to find Kari.
“KARI!!” Sven shouted before coughing with the dust around him.
“KARI!!” Dagny called out as they ran with the dragons not too far behind.
Thankfully, Indigo managed to catch Kari and Aria, and the three of them hit the ground. Kari felt her ears ringing, and she felt dizzy as Indigo talked to her slowly releasing her and Aria.
“I-I think…I think so…” Kari said as she slowly sat up. “T-Thank you, Indigo. You saved my life.”
As soon as Scoot and Song landed, Scoot wasted no time in running over to Kari.
“Hey, girl!” Kari said as Scoot nuzzled her. “You’re okay!”
“KARI!” voices shouted.
She looked up only to see Sven and Dagny running towards her with their dragons and the other Night Furies.
“SVEN!! DAGNY!!” Kari shouted as she stood up. However, as she stood up, she felt dizzy and stumbled a bit, but thankfully, Sven and Dagny gathered her into a group hug.
“You’re okay!!” Dagny shouted happily.
Kettil: Kettil had not been concerned with announcements. He had been tending to a soldier who's condition was critical at the time. He was on his way up the wall when it happened. His feet disappeared from under him and her fell with a gasp. He tried to create a cushion of air beneath himself but while it helped to save his life he landed with a snap and a searing pain in his left arm, letting out a loud cry.
Indigo: Indigo waited until everyone had gotten up off of him to slowly get to his feet, some bones popping back into place as his aggressive healing took over. He nodded at Kari and Aria, rubbing at his back a little. "Not a problem, little lady. Just another of the many ways I work to repay my debt today. I am very glad you're okay, since Scoot cares so deeply for you." He patted Scoot on the forehead, making sure all the dragons were okay, including Skysinger and Pyro. He checked them over with the utmost care, getting some grumpy "I'm fine"s from Storm and Sharp. Tael just looked around at the rebels they'd landed in the middle of, and started trying to fan the dust away with his wings. Song was softly nudging Scoot with gentle worry, licking her.
"It seems all are okay. Good." Indigo said with a nod. "I'll stay with the bunch of you until you're good to go, or your parents join us, at least. Mmmm and perhaps I should put the beacon at my back once more. It is my responsibility."
Lila/Jari: As the beam fired Lila turned away, hoping to shield her eyes as well as any of her extremities from the blast. She could feel the heat coming off it, even from here across the street from it. As she turned to survey the damage she let out a gasp as her blood ran cold.
The main street was relatively unscathed. The beam had gone through the wall itself, right into a group of soldiers. Right where she had ordered them to go. They were no more than shadows on the walls now and she pressed a hand over her mouth as tears began to prick at her eyes. She had seen death before, this was war after all, it was expected. But to have her men decimated like this because of a choice she made... It was hard to bear. But bear it she must. If she were to fall apart now the others could fall just as easily. She put it aside for now. She would remember them. But later, lest they all be forgotten.
~~~
Jari was on western side of the wall when the construct fired its beam. Even from such a distance it was as loud and thunderous as a Canon. She tried not to worry about the others on the second front in focused on the soldiers on her side of the equation. She tried to quietly jump from building to building so that she might flank the central soldiers and wreak havoc in their back line.
Sven/Dagny/Kari: Dagny nodded and dug into her bag taking the beacon out and handing it to Indigo. “Thank you for saving us,” she said to Indigo. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you and the Night Furies didn’t catch us in time.”
“What do we do now?” Kari asked as Scoot nuzzled her closely. “Should we try to find Mom and Dad?”
Sven thought for a moment as he scratched Pyro’s chin. Kari was right. They should try to find their parents. They were probably worried sick, and even worse, there was no telling if they were injured from that explosion. However, Sven looked around seeing some rebels slowly standing up clearly needing help in some way, shape, or form.
“What are you thinking, big brother?” Dagny asked.
Sven sighed. “I would love to try to find Mom and Dad now,” he began, “but we should try to help the other rebels. We should make sure no one was hurt.”
Dagny and Kari nodded. “And besides,” Dagny said, “I’m sure they’ll be trying to find us.”
————
Grey, Brandt, and Shadow slowly opened their eyes once the explosion died down. Immediately their eyes stung from the dust and debris.
“Agh…” Grey grunted at the stinging feeling. She forced her eyes to stay closed as she felt around on Shadow’s saddle until she found her water skin. She grabbed it and opened it pouring the cool water on her eyes, and she was able to open her eyes a little. Then she poured water on her hands before she used them to rub her eyes to clear her vision.
When she did, the Chief gasped at what she saw. There was dust everywhere. She could hardly see anything in front of her. But she couldn’t think about that right now. She had to help Brandt and Shadow, and then they needed to find their children…their babies.
“Here, my love,” Grey said gently as she took his face into her hand. “This will help.” She poured water on his eyes and hands.
“Agh..." Brandt grunted as he felt the cool water on his eyes and hands. He wasted no time in rubbing his eyes to get rid of the dust out of his eyes. "Thank you, my love."
"You're welcome," Grey quickly replied before moving onto Shadow.
Once Shadow was taken care of, Grey and Brandt turned to look at the terrain. There was nothing but dust and rebels and soldiers struggling to get up. But that was the farthest thing from their minds right now.
"Come on, we've got to find the kids," Grey said as she mounted Shadow.
"Don't have to tell me twice," Brandt said quickly as he followed.
Then Shadow wasted no time in taking off into the air toward Nala was.
The Warden/The Glassmaker: The edges of the hole Nala was burning into the Glassmaker were beyond melting--they were frying, spitting and dancing like hot oil. She had used all six arms to try and pull herself up onto the wall, but with the crumbling stone and her own superheated body, she kept sliding back down into the vaporizing blast, keening an eerie tune. The demon instead fused all of her arms into one strong limb, which shakily reached up into the radiance, hand shaking, fingers clawing for its last saving grace--Nala's heart. It closed the last few inches, glass steaming and molten, and the Glassmaker's palm met the surface of the pilot's pod.
The beam sputtered and died, and Nala's eyes began flashing back and forth between platinum white and deep carmine. She stumbled away from the wall, shaking her head and neck, causing vitreous globs to splatter across shingles with several hisses. The glass was now encasing many panels and spaces inside of the Construct's chest cavity like a crystal spiderweb, chiming and shattering with each movement. The giant mechanical being began to teeter sideways, following the wall north in a drunken pattern, mouth smoking and not quite closing all the way, but destructive energy tamed for the moment.
Central had begun pulling away from the scene of ruination, afraid of being close to the beast should it strike again. They clustered in the northeast set of city blocks, moving to spread in front of the gate to try to pull together their final defense of the city. The Rebels were gaining an alarming amount of ground.
Indigo/Indi: Indigo watched the two demons from the ground, the beacon now safely in the straps under his cape again. He saw the glass demon grab into the constructs chest, and looked alarmed to say the least. "Well, that can't be good." He muttered, still protecting Grey's kids a the moment. Indi, do you see what's happening with the demons? See if you can find a way to stop the glass one from damaging our ally. He sent to his counterpart.
Indi laughed, flying far over the two demons like a helicopter out of reach. You kidding? I got this EASY, cuz. My cannon can make quick work of that glass arm. I've blown up things tougher than this on the regular!
Don't get cocky.
PFFF. Like I said, Easy.
Indi turned into a dive, putting both his arms together and building that purple goop that fueled him up into both, a cool and intricate cannon of what looked like blades of purple glass appearing in a pattern around his arms, looking much like his wings. He dove in as it built, forming a cannon, and he hovered in close enough and fired with all his might right at the glass demon's one arm.
And it missed, exploding into the open air between the two demons instead, not even hitting his target. He let out a string of expletives and flew up out of reach again, upset. "DANGIT its gonna take like half an hour to recharge that again! Sorry Cuz uh my fingers slipped!" He apologized.
Indigo facepalmed so hard he nearly damaged his mask, making a frustrated growl under his breath. "YOU HAD ONE JOB INDI" He yelled, shaking a fist at his flighty other self. "HIT it next time you stupid space man!!"
Indi visibly shrugged way up in the air, equally disappointed in himself. "SORRYYYY"
Grey/Brandt/Sven/Dagny/Kari: Sven, Dagny, and Kari could only stare in shock at the sight of one of their beloved aunts falling to the ground with this mysterious new demon...grabbing at their aunt's chest.
"AUNT NALA!" Dagny shouted as she tried to run toward the former Warden...only to be held back by her brother and sister.
"Dags, no! There's nothing we can do for her!" Sven yelled keeping a firm on his sister's arm.
"We have to--" Kari tried to say before she was interrupted. She looked out of the corner of her eye only to see the Warden and the new demon falling to the ground.
"RUN!!" Sven shouted. He led his sisters, the dragons, Aria, Indigo, and his dragons away from the falling demon.
When she finally fell to the ground, the children of Chief Grey felt the ground shaking behind them before the demon made impact causing them to fall to the ground on their hands and knees.
"AUNT NALA!!" Sven, Dagny, and Kari shouted.
-------
Grey and Brandt flew back on Shadow toward the front gate through the clouds of dust. It was hard to see anything, but the water on her eyes definiitely helped somewhat to be able to see a little bitter in the large dust cloud.
It wasn't long before a loud noise was heard as Nala fell to the ground with the Glassmaker, which appeared to fall down next to her. However, Grey didn't care. Neither of them did as they urged Shadow to go faster.
There was dust everywhere, and she could smell the smoke that spread throughout the city. The Chief's heart pounded as she coughed trying to look for any signs of Sven, Dagny, Kari, or their dragons. All she and Brandt cared about was finding their three children. Both of them silently agreed that Sven, Dagny, and Kari came first. The Rebellion had to wait. She couldn't help but think about to when there were 2 other times she found a loved one lying down dead in a battlefield...Greg and her own father.
"No!" she thought to herself as she shook the head of the negative memories. "No! They're going to be fine!"
She was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts when Brandt placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
"We'll find them, I promise," he said gently. "They're just like us. They will be fine."
Grey smiled in return gripping his hand in appreciation. "I know, I know," she replied, "but...I can't help but worry. I mean . I am their mother."
Brandt's smile widened. "Damn right, you are," he said, "and now let's make sure our kids are safe."
Shadow urged Shadow to go faster, and sure enough, they were able to reach the front. It was easy to see that Nala and the Glassmaker had fallen to the ground with a thundering boom.
"SVEN!!" Grey shouted.
"SVEN!!" Brandt shouted.
"DAGNY!!" Grey shouted again. "KAR!, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Lila: Getting the message from Vox was... Distressing to put it mildly. It felt like everything was falling apart. "Vox, we're sending people down to come get you. Stay alive." She made it a blanket message to try and reach Vox if they'd lost the beacon. She immediately turned to Darien. "I need the closest entrance to the burrows, now." She orders.
Darien: Darien wasn't the highest performing soldier by a long shot, but he had been doing his best to keep up with the tower team, and they refused to let him lag behind. He put a hand to his stomach, catching his breath, and looked at the Commander like she had lost her mind.
"I have no idea what you're referencing. What burrows?" he demanded.
Lila: "Vox said that there were a series of tunnels underground where he was taking the beacon and we just lost contact with him. Does anything like that sound familiar?"
Darien: Darien struggled to comprehend. "The sewers?" he sputtered. "Those are masoned, those aren't tunnels--"
Lila: "Darien! Focus." She says sternly. "Where is the closest entrance to the sewers." She says talking slowly hoping it would get him to concentrate.
Darien: He got his bearings and then mutely pointed in the correct direction, several blocks to the west and across the cul-de-sac below the largest guard tower on the other side of the secondary wall. "Surely you're sending someone else? The towers--"
He flinched and ducked as another section of the wall near the Warden crumbled under its own weight. The demon herself was still moving away from them as though intoxicated, occasionally violently flinging its head like it was trying to displace an insect.
Lila: She puts out a general call for a healer and soldiers to perform a rescue mission asap. There were too many under her command to accurately organize and decide who would go so she'd start with volunteers for now.
Grey/Brandt/Sven/Dagny/Kari: Grey and Brandt continued to search for Sven, Dagny, and Kari amidst the dust and debris shouting for their children. Grey didn't even think to try to use the beacon. All the Chief wanted was to make sure they were safe.
However, as the Chief and her husband called out for their children, Sven, Dagny, and Kari each perked at the sound of their names recognizing that it was their parents looking for them. It was still a little hard to see with the dust, so Dagny had an idea. She stood near to Indigo trying to get Grey and Brandt to hear her thoughts.
"Mom! Dad!" she said through the beacon. "It's me, Dagny! We're here! We're okay!"
Grey and Brandt each jumped when they heard Dagny calling out to them mentally, and they looked at each other smiling. "Dagny!" Grey said loudly. "Oh thank goodness! You, your brother, and sister stay where you are! We're coming to you!"
Thankfully, it didn't take long for the Felmans to find each other as Grey and Brandt found all three of their children with Indigo and the dragons--both her children's and Indigo's.
"MOM! DAD!" Sven, Dagny, and Kari shouted in unison as Grey and Brandt landed and dismounted Shadow. They wasted no time in running into their parents arms.
Grey and Brandt wasted no time in gathering them into their arms thankful that the entire family was together again. They could see that each of them was covered in dust and a few cuts and bruises, but nobody cared.
"Oh my little darlings," Grey said as tears flowed down her cheeks. "You're all okay." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that the Construct was hobbling around like a drunkard, but she would get to that in a minute. Right now, she just wanted to be a mother and hold her children with her husband.
"We were so worried about you," Brandt said holding his wife and three kids tightly.
"We're okay, Dad, really," Dagny said smiling up at her mother and father. "We owe it all to Indigo. He and the other dragons saved us."
Grey looked up and saw Indigo and the dragons standing not too far from them, and she couldn't help but smile and nod in thanks.
"Are you guys okay?" Sven asked looking up at them.
"Yes, yes, we're fine," Grey answered quickly touching each of their cheeks to wipe the dust away. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Construct hobbling around like a drunkard, and she was quickly thrown back into Rebellion mode. "We need to--" Before she could see anything else, they all heard Lila calling out through the beacon asking for help. She needed soliders and a healer as soon as possible. She couldn't help but remember that she thought she heard Vox calling out for help. She then looked at Brandt, who nodded.
"We better see what the problem is," Brandt said.
"We'll come too," Sven said as he and his sisters stood up and wasted no time in mounting their dragons.
Grey and Brandt wasted no time in doing the same and mounting Shadow.
The Felmans flew all the way back toward where Lila waited for them on their respective dragons.
"What happened, Commander?" Grey asked quickly as they landed. "Was it Vox?"
"Vox got in touch with us. Said he was in trouble and that he'd lost the beacon. First Priority is going to be getting him and the others out of there. Secondary objective is to recover the beacon."
Indigo/Indi: Indigo had stood in silence since Indi's miss on the glass demon's arm, thinking and listening and watching over Grey's children until their parents arrived.
Hmmm. Lots going on... I must think...
"Oh, uh, you're welcome for saving you. Please stay safe." He told the kids, watching them, glancing up at the construct, and then hearing Lila and huffing.
"One of the beacons... that's trouble. Well, I know one guy who might be useful." He turned his attention to his other self high in the sky.
Get to Lila. You're going to help them recover those fallen down the hole and the beacon. You can fly, so you'll be very useful. Don't mess THIS up as well.
Indi sighed, turning towards where Indigo told him to. "Man, I hate confined places. Especially freaky holes." He grumbled, shooting off towards where Lila was to join this rescue squad.
He landed with a bit of flair. "My cuz told me you need help with some retrieval? Down a hole somewhere? Well, I got volunteered for it. So count me in. Where's this awful pit people fell in, and who am I working with?" He asked.
Grey/Brandt/Sven/Dagny/Kari: Grey, Brandt, Sven, Dagny, and Kari all listened to Lila's recap, but before either of them could respond, Indi jumped in volunteering for the mission to rescue Vox. Grey thought for a moment. She and Brandt could volunteer to help, but they had their places on the Tower Team. They were needed for that surely. She then saw Sven looking at her from the corner of her eye, and she turned to her eldest son...her heir.
"Mom..." Sven said smiling, "I think we can handle it."
Grey couldn't help but smile. Ever since Sven had been kidnapped by Rhenco, she had seen him change. He was taking charge more. He mastered sword fighting with Malak. He led the tribe when the Rebellion was conquered by Ai and her crew. He volunteered to join the Rebellion in her place after Lila discharged her. It wasn't just him who changed. Her daughters, Dagny and Kari did too. Ever since Sven joined the Rebellion, they wanted to help too. All three of them wanted to help their parents and the Rebellion bring down High Central, and she couldn't be more proud of her three beautiful children. She then turned to Brandt to see if he agreed.
Much to her delight, he did as he smiled and nodded.
Then Grey turned back to Sven, Dagny, and Kari as Brandt placed a hand on her shoulder. "We think you can too, sweetheart," she said. "Just promise us you'll be careful."
"We'll be fine," Sven said, "we promise."
"That's all we ask," Grey replied.
"Do you think Indigo can keep an eye on our dragons?" Kari asked hopefully.
"You'll have to ask him," Brandt said, "but I don't see why not."
Sven nodded before they turned back to their older cousin. "My sisters and I will go, too, Lila," he said confidently.
Indigo: Indigo nodded at the kids, reaching out to gently pet Skysinger and Pyro. "I'll take good care of them both and return them to you. I wouldn't harm a single scale." He was very soft with the dragons, a tenderness in his voice.
He gave them each a scratch under the chin, assuring them, and nodded to Scoot as well. "They can fly with the rest of the flock until their friends return from this mission. Take care. Don't get hurt." He told them. He figured for now he would be on standby in the sky, and hopped gracefully onto Storms back, guiding the dragons back up into the reddened sky.
Lila: She directs them to the nearest entrance to the sewers. "I'm not sure if the sewers are in the burrows or what have you. You might have to explore a little. Be safe."
Sven/Dagny/Kari: Sven, Dagny, and Kari all looked to the other side of the street. There was a large hole from where Nala’s laser beam hit, so they decided to head down that way instead with Indi and a few other volunteers in tow.
As soon as they got there, Sven looked down at the ditch. “I can’t tell how deep it is,” he said, “but we should be able to get down to where Uncle Vox is.”
“Let’s get some rope,” Dagny suggested.
The Felman kids gathered some rope and used it to drop it into the pit.
“Alright, Indi,” Sven said turning to Indigo’s “cousin,” “you have anything that can be a light source? I don’t know how dark it is down there.”
——-
“Please be careful,” Grey said as she and Brandt watched their children begin their mission.
“They’ll be fine,” Brandt said placing a hand on her shoulder.
Grey turned to her husband and smiled realizing that he was right. They needed to believe in them. Sven, Dagny, and Kari were going to succeed.
Indi: The pirate looked the three kids over from behind his mask, a bit confused, but shrugged. Maybe teenagers were stronger in this dimension or world than the one he was from.
He looked down the hole with a sigh, helping secure the rope tight to the top of the hole. "Right... oh, yeah. I can totally light the way." His suit was already faintly glowing on its own, so he just turned that up.
"Radioactive flashlight pirate at your service." He said with a bit of sarcasm and a chuckle. He turned and began flying down the large hole, looking for anything of note while everything was bathed in purple light. "Don't see anything yet!" He yelled up, squinting along the walls and letting his suit tell him how the sides of the walls looked. He hadn't gone too far yet, though, waiting for the rest of this strange rescue team.