Bound to the Burn

"Bound to the Burn" is a BOTGD 2 Act III thread started on [IRL DATE] and finished on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Vox/Blair/Ellis: Bounding down multiple steps at a time, Vox made quick time of getting to the bottom of the tower. If he was going to do this, it had to be quick. Knowing the distance he had to cover to make it back to Lila and the squad, he fought the burn in his lungs and pushed forward.
The scout could see enemy soldiers retreating in the distance upon exiting the tower; it seemed that enough progress was made with the glass to force Central's hand. Ensuring he had a clear path forward, he pushed on, following the mark he haphazardly indicated on his map. If he could make it to Blair and Ellis, there was a chance for him to push one of the beacons even further into the city, closer to the towers that loomed in the distance.
Jin/Kendra: One of the dragons circling above the wall rapidly turned and dove, a huge Stormcutter that Vox barely had time to recognize as Daybreak before its two huge claws grabbed him under each arm and lifted him off the wall, banking back towards the ground to a safe area away from the flaming demonic struggle.
"Hey, pops-in-law!" Jin called down from Daybreak's back. Kendra leaned over the dragon's round neck, signing to Vox, but mostly using their mental connection to speak.
Where do you need to go? Her tone carried a dark urgency--this wasn't what she wanted to ask, but it was what she needed to know first.
Vox: He couldn't even scream. This was a nightmare. One dragon had been enough for the day, but a sudden swoop and being airlifted nearly caused his heart to go into arrest. Vox managed to compose himself enough to hear Jin's hearty greeting, and Kendra's disconcerting inquiry.
Lila. I need to get to Blair. The scout matched the energy of his daughter, knowing there would be time for a lighter mood later. I'll explain when we get there. It's good to see you both.
Kendra/Jin: Daybreak obediently pumped all four wings in the direction of the Commander. Kendra's gaze was hidden, but still piercing.
Does she know where Liam is?
Vox: He cringed at the name - in all of the chaos, he admittedly hadn't thought about any of his family. Whether it was intrinsic trust in their skills or not, he now wondered the same.
I'm... not certain. We can find out, though.
Kendra/Jin: She did not approve of his answer. Find Mom. The Stormcutter adjusted her grip, left foot holding Vox around the waist, so that he didn't hit the ground running too hard, and then let go with both as she ascended once more. A rogue Vesall sprinted out from an alley, stumbling to a stop as it saw Vox and the tower team behind him, and Daybreak dipped below to grab him between her teeth, wings churning and sparks swirling as she crunched down on his ribcage and took off, leaving only his scream behind.
Vox: The pain of hearing Kendra in anything but high spirits would have to wait. Surveying the area for any further threats, it seemed clear enough to bound the final few blocks towards Lila.
Find Mom.
As if by divine intervention, Treepelt was the first in his eyesight - the scout looked back to wave down Kendra and Jin, but they had taken off before he could do anything. With a deep breath, Vox braced himself as he approached.
"Tree, you good?" He kept a respectable distance while he gauged her demeanor. "Kendra and Jin are well. I haven't seen Liam... hoping you might know where he is?"
Treepelt: Treepelt faced him as he spoke, and though she had an alarming spillage of blood across half her face and over her helmet, the angle made it clear it wasn't hers. She set her hammer down with a thump on the street by her foot, lifted the top "jaw" of it and squinted at him. Her hair was in a tight criss-cross plait over the back of her head and down her back, but a loose fringe had escaped and hung around her cheekbones as it always did.
"That wasn't what I was hoping you'd say," she sighed, throat slightly raspy from use. "He never came up from underground. He must still be down there." She paused, trying to measure Vox's reaction to the news, whether or not he was there to comfort her or if he was the one in need of comfort. "He's capable, he can handle himself. We have to trust him."
Vox/Blair/Ellis: "Yeah... yeah. He's fine, I'm sure."
Vox maintained his position, looking past Tree to the Commander. Blair and Ellis were in tow, and he didn't have time to waste.
"Listen, I have an idea. When I was a kid, there were burrows that tunneled through the city that I would wander. I can't say for sure that they're still there, or that they aren't currently occupied, but I think it's worth a shot to explore them."
He moved in to stand a few feet from Tree; the scout couldn't help but think back to their time in Walpurgisnacht and Ragnarok. She had changed so much since then. He liked to think for the better, despite him.
"I'll be taking Blair and Ellis with me. If this works, we'll get deeper into the city with a beacon. I'm not sure what else I can do, but I want to at least try."
Vox stopped, plagued by the question he wanted so desperately to ask. I want to at least try.
"Do you want to come with me?"
Treepelt: "Of course I do." Her reply was surprisingly instant. "You can't protect those squirts by yourself." Tree closed the distance, pulled down the top of his hood over his eyes teasingly, and then hefted her hammer to sling it over her back, tying it so it wouldn't smash into the backs of her legs. "Besides, you never did show me around your hometown. Isn't that what romantic couples do?" Her voice was equal amounts brevity and acid; she found it extremely cathartic to shoot the shit with her soon-to-be-ex-husband as though they weren't standing in a literal war zone.
Vox: He couldn't suppress a laugh. Whether it the stress of the day, or the relief of Tree not keeping him at arms length, he could decompress. It was enough. 
"I'd give anything to show you anywhere else, but when in High Central, I guess." Vox flashed a grin, thankful for the moment of levity. "Let me run it by Lila and get the go-ahead."
Approaching the Commander, he felt a similar tension to before. Their interactions had been limited over the years, and he could never get a good read on her.
"Ahem, Lila. Kindly requesting a moment of your time."
Lila: "Make it quick." She says, only partially paying attention.
Vox: "I might have a way to move a beacon further towards the towers. I need to take Blair and Ellis with me, if you approve." Vox glanced in the direction of Lila's attention, feeling more comfortable in his decision to head underground. "Might be able to give us more to work with if all pans out." 
Lila: She looks over her shoulder at him curiously. "Explain." 
Vox/Blair/Ellis: ...I thought I did.
"There were burrows at one point under the city. I spent a lot of time exploring them as a child. If they haven't been destroyed or commandeered, I think it can cover a lot more distance discreetly than we could above ground."
Vox looked to Blair, clutching the beacon close to his chest.
"Of course, only if you're comfortable. I can always take the beacon and go alone."
The ferret gripped Ellis' hand. Anything that wasn't here sounded like a good plan to him.
"Aye. Ye' can take me where ye' need me. Commander?"
Lila: She listens and considers it for a few moments. "I haven't heard from some of the forward team in a while. They might still be underground. If they are see if you can find them. I don't like being out of contact with them for this long."
Vox/Blair/Ellis: "Understood. Thank you, Lila."
Vox agreed - while he knew Liam was more than capable of fending for himself, it was concerning that nobody else in the Rebellion could account for him. The thought had been looming since Kendra had asked the scout of his son's whereabouts, and if he could accomplish two things in one go, it would make the plan worth it.
"Blair, Ellis, just keep up with me. You'll have an easier time navigating through whatever is left of the burrows. My wi- ah, Treepelt, will be joining us."
The fox gave a silent nod, while Blair's ears flicked nervously. Scanning the area, Vox had a moment of recognition when his eyes passed a particular alleyway. The scout turned to his wife.
"Tree, I think we're ready to go."
Treepelt: "Try to keep up," was the most she delivered to the two strangers, tugging her reinforced gauntlets down over her hands. As they took off towards the entrance to the burrows, she caught up alongside Vox, jogging shoulder to shoulder, ears laying back a bit. Inwardly, she was so annoyed with him and she couldn't even tell him why. Taking charge, delving into danger, scaling towers and doing it all while looking like...that. Black hood over tufts of graying hair, lower face covered by a blood-flecked gaiter and mask, covered in dark leathers and folds of quiet fabric with a bow as tall as he was hooked over his shoulder. Every time he looked at her, his crow's feet wrinkled. So unfair. She wanted to slap him.
"What's the plan?" she said forcefully.
Vox/Blair/Ellis: He was able to keep his gaze fixed forward for the most part, but managed to sneak a few glances down Tree as they made quick time towards the closest burrow entrance he could recall. There was something viscerally attractive about the blood still clinging to the side of her face, but that would have to wait.
"If things go well, we push under the gate undetected." Vox felt his legs begin to burn - not a surprise given his age and the amount of effort he had already given. "I didn't follow the burrows through all the way when I was younger, but I know they'll get us far enough to make the signal wider than what we have now."
The scout took another moment to look at the woman he had spent many perilous moments with. It wasn't the adrenaline of the day making him feel that warmth in his chest. No, he was sure of it.
"And if all goes well, we should be able to find Liam. That's more important to me than anything."
The group slowed as they approached a vine-covered metal grate. Vox didn't recognize it; this was placed here sometime after he had fled High Central. Turning back to see Ellis pulling Blair's tiny legs along, he gripped the sides of the grate and pulled it to the side, revealing a pitch black cavern just over half his height.
"You three will have a much easier time navigating it, so I'll keep watch from the back. Please take it slow, I'm not sure what portions are still in tact." 
Treepelt: Tree marched forward and crouched down, pupils dilating in the darkness, and she reached back for Ellis' hand, having him grip onto a loose length of belt on her waist. She was unskilled at using her mind like Nala and Liam could, but she had learned some of the basics, and she pushed forward as best she could, searching for a way forward and downward. "If you guys get a signal from someone down below, speak up and make it loud." She had an extremely loose understanding of the sewers from the plan B on backup, should the forward team have failed completely, and this seemed to be going below them. The group was making lots of guesses, taking slopes when they spotted them, keeping track of orders and images from up above. The sounds of battle were already muffled, and the darkness and moist scent and taste quickly pressed in on Tree's senses and became uncomfortably disturbing. She swore she could hear water rushing nearby.
"Vox," she said, the word ringing out in the tight burrow. "How long do we look for?" The implication was heavy in her words--she wanted to know if there was a point they should give up looking for the lost team. For their son.
Vox/Blair/Ellis: "Until we find them."
His voice carried the start of a growl; while unintentional, it helped to convey his conviction. Vox had abandoned Liam once before - his entire family once before. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
"If we get to a point where you need to turn back, I'll continue on. I promise you, I'll find Liam."
Treepelt: The answer calmed Tree more than she thought it would. "You'll get more scared than I will--I bet I could outlast you down here." The coping mechanism of her smirk was obvious in her words.
Vox/Blair/Ellis: It was a shame that the blush on Vox's face couldn't provide more light in the dark of the burrow.
"You're short. You have an advantage."
Ellis let out a chuckle at Vox's remark, prompting a swift elbow to the ribs from Blair. The partnered half-breed's were small enough to more easily navigate the dim labyrinth, but the scout continued to struggle with being almost at a crawl. His fixation on the woman leading the way distracted him long enough to wander directly into a jagged stone jutting out from the side wall, slicing Vox under the eye.
"Gods, damn it!"
Treepelt: Tree's ears flattened completely and her tail bushed out as the curse rang through the burrow, repeating twice, and she crouched to a stop, holding up the four of them to rotate her squat back in Vox's direction. "What'd you do!?" she demanded.
Vox/Blair/Ellis: Vox held at the cut with his hand, emitting a soft groan before looking up through one eye at Tree.
“Sorry, it’s a little tight in here!” His voice was leveling out at an aggressive whisper. “Don’t see as well as I used to.”
Treepelt/Aursis: "Do you need to be patched up?" She did her best not to sound patronizing, reaching out semi-blindly past Blair and Ellis to check on Vox.
A tremor shook the burrow, and then a crooked, whispery voice floated out from behind them, followed by a wave of hot, astral prickles.
"Four little weasels, hiding underground..."
The heat drained out of Tree's face, and everyone froze.
"Little did they know that they would be found..."
Two round, pale eyes flashed in the dark, many yards back down the burrow in the direction they'd all come from.
Vox/Blair/Ellis: "Ye' called us a fuckin' what?"
Blair looked to both ends of the burrow, gifted with decent dark vision. It was a fraction of a second that he had turned to face behind them when he let out a blood-chilling scream. 
"What in te' everloving fuck is that?"
Treepelt/Aursis: Either the shriek, the profanity, or the creature finally seeing them galvanized it into action, the eyes blinked and blurred and then several projectiles whistled past, and Vox's reaction time let him reach across and throw his arms across Blair's smaller body. The scout was nicked, and the beacon-holder was unscathed. Ellis and Tree, however, found themselves with thin, barbed razor blades pierced through skin and muscle, Ellis through his calf and Treepelt through her upper thigh. Her sound of pain scared her, a guttural scream that started low in her belly and escalated.
The monster cackled. "When Aursis decides she wants to play, the weasels will never see the light of day!"
"Run!" she shouted, fumbling for Ellis' forearm and dragging him forward, breaking into a sprint down the burrow.
Vox/Blair/Ellis: The fox didn't even have a moment to register what had happened. It was just a searing, sudden sharp sensation barreling into flesh. Ellis yelped as he was pulled along by the feline half-breed further into the dark of the burrow. Any weight put on his leg was a brief moment of torture. 
"Treepelt, wait-"
His vision caught the glimmer of light off of his partner's dagger; Blair had caught up rather quickly, with Vox hunched behind in tow. The scout's height was still a hinderance, but with the looming threat approaching, he had to get through as quickly as possible.
"Do not fuckin' stop! What te' fuck is going on here?"
"We- we can talk about it when we get away from whatever that thing is!" Vox's breathing was heavy in between words. "This route goes pretty straight for a while, so go as fast as you can!"
The burrows shook with a bigger tremor, and Tree stumbled as she ran, but kept moving forward, fumbling with her leg and making several attempts to rip the intrusion free so it would cause less damage. The earth violently threw all four of them all against the side of the burrow, and even their pursuer was tossed to the ground for a second, shrieking and growling, but refusing to give up. The wind was knocked out of Tree; she couldn't even gather the breath to warn anyone or tell them to keep running, and the dust filling the burrow wasn't helping. She really felt like she was going to die down here, buried in pitch-black lightless earth. Were they sliding backwards? That couldn't be possible.
Vox/Blair/Ellis: It was all in an instant.
Though not the first time Vox had been thrown against a wall, it never got easier. He could feel his spine absorb a majority of the shock at impact, and with a cry, he sunk to the still-tremoring floor below. His perception of gravity felt... off, as if his balance had been altered by the weight of the hit.
Opening his eyes, he could make out silhouettes in the dark, dusty cavern. He was moving - as were his three companions. Pulling a knife from his waist, he slammed it into the wall behind him, managing to grip Tree with his other arm before she could slide past him.
"Cover your mouth if you can, I've got you!" The scout pulled her in as tightly as he could while watching the precariously placed blade. They didn't have a lot of time before it gave way. "Blair! *cough* ...Ellis!"
-
It felt like an eternity.
Blair, managing to cling to the ground below, attempted to scramble to escape the pursuit of the uninvited guest. His ears rung in pain from the roar of the earth around them, but his instinct to survive was far greater. The sizable beacon strapped to him was proving to be a hinderance, prompting him to roll to the side and attempt to find purchase with his paws against the shaking wall.
Before he could get air into his lungs to call out, the ferret watched a fox fly past him, departing into the black void beckoning them with every passing second. Ellis could do nothing to slow the momentum, as the shadows swallowed him. 
Treepelt/Aursis: The closest thing Treepelt managed to see was Blair's bushy tail, thrashing as he struggled to regain his footing in the sliding earth. In a flurry of barbs, the creature chasing them slammed her arms, then an extra pair of mechanical forelimbs resembling an insect's into the ground beside Blair, and she swiped for the egg-shaped stone hanging off of his back. She only managed to snag a strap, tearing it, and then the ground tilted further, and she was also lost to the dark. Like Ellis.
Tree clutched the front of Vox's armor, trying to get his attention. "We have to drop the beacon!!" she rasped, tasting blood while trying to be heard. "If we die--if we lose it--if we lose Liam--"
Vox/Blair: It wasn't until Vox heard his son's name, but he knew she was right. They were cornered, and their prospects as a Rebellion fared better in fate's hands.
"Blair!"
The ferret breathed heavily, struggling to maintain his grip. Blair's paws weren't conditioned for this much weight. "I'm a little busy, friend! Wha' do ye' need?"
Vox felt tree slip slightly, and he adjusted his arm to catch under hers. "You need to drop the beacon, now! Just trust us." His voice was hoarse, but still carried a timbre of fear. "...and then you need to jump."
Even if the words shocked him, Blair didn't second guess it - he'd rather live to face Lila's wrath than whatever the alternative would be. Struggling with a single paw, he managed to pull open the clasp that held the beacon to him. The ferret rolled slightly to the side, allowing the beacon to drop out and tumble down the darkened path that his partner had only moments ago. Feeling his chest tighten, the mustelid turned to Vox and Tree.
"Ye' better be right fuckin' behind me then."
With eyes closed tight, Blair released his grip on the wall, allowing himself to succumb to the physics of his world.
Treepelt: Tree's arms were burning with the difficulty of clinging to Vox; she was out of her mind overwhelmed with the danger they were in. Her fingertips were freezing with blood loss; she pressed her face into Vox's neck, only able to smell and taste dirt. It felt like the entire world was about to cave in around them.
"I don't wanna die," she choked.
Vox: There was a split second where Vox thought he heard his heart shatter. This vulnerability - this version of Tree that he hadn't seen in over a decade. She clung to him with the same devastation and panic that he saw in the aftermath of their many engagements in their youth. Walpurgisnacht... Ragnarok...
...they had survived so much before this.
Mayday, mayday, mayday.
The dust and earth filled his sinuses; he struggled to breathe, but he had to get the message out.
Burrows. A few dozen feet down. Collapsed; beacon is unaccounted for. Forward team still MIA.
His eyes clenched shut. Vox could feel Tree shaking against him.
Send help.
"Treepelt." His voice, strained but strong, commanded her attention. He lowered his head to rest barely inches from her face. "We do not die here. We've weathered worse, and our children are waiting for us."
His body moved quicker than his mind could. With a passion he hadn't felt in many years, Vox's lips locked tightly against hers. Cherishing the few seconds he could afford to give, the scout pulled back, looking behind them at the only way forward. There was no guarantee that their way forward wasn't collapsed, and with no beacon, it wouldn't make sense.
But the other option was far more terrifying.
"I need you to trust me. Unconditionally. Tree, I know you have every reason to hate me. I am an absolute fuck-up of a man... of a husband. Even with all of that, I still love you."
The ground began to rumble more violently, with pieces of wall and ceiling starting to drop around the pair.
"I don't know where we go from here... but I promise I'll do whatever it takes to get to that conversation."
As the last syllables left his lips, the scout leaned forward - before she could object, the pair were launched forward by Vox, barreling into the dark from whence they had arrived.