Rumble Down Under [Pt 7]
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Lila's request to him directly was abrupt and unexpected; the two had an amicable relationship, but Dario had never been called upon specifically for much of anything involving the Rebellion, outside of his capacity as a healer. Knowing what Vox and Lila were asking of Kendra, the stag made quick time to get to the younger Arnason child, borrowing a nearby dragon to expedite his efforts.
What are you doing, Hjort?
The half-breed ignored the painfully loud presence in his head, nearly skidding as he reached Kendra. He took a knee next to her, feeling his back burn from the still-fresh wound placed down the length of his spine.
Hel of a situation you've got yourself in, Kendra. Dario flashed her a gentle grin; he didn't notice that he was instinctually signing along with his mental transmission. If you're going to take a hit, I can help brace and ideally channel the energy alongside you.
The deer waddled his weight to Kendra's side, outstretching his arms and placing his hands on the backs of her own. A soft whisper generated the faintest glow between the two sets.
I'll bear whatever burden becomes too much for you, I promise.
"Here's the plan." Lila said to those nearest to the tomb and those capable of getting there swiftly, as well as Kendra, Dario, and the Changeling. "Her goal is the tomb. She's going to protect it at all costs. Which means if we lay into it, she'll likely try and stop us. When she fires, Kendra we need you to intercept and redirect to destroy those last two chains. Got it?"
Before Kendra could answer, another titanic groan rocked the underground, and the column that Kezia was lording on began to warp and slump. Like folds of thick flesh, the base of it began to slowly pillow outwards in mounds of black, cooling lava, with cracks of amber appearing and disappearing in intervals across its surface. The worm-like creature that clung to its circumference began to falter, legs slipping in desperate scrabbling waves. A huge fracture stabbed across its stone surface, lengthening once, twice, three times, dangerously destabilizing it.
Jin used the distraction to climb Daybreak and have the dragon grab Treepelt around the waist, and the dragon took off without another conversation, flying its full speed upwards and to the north side of the cavern. Dario helped Kendra to her feet, keeping their hands locked together as he held her back close to his chest, both facing down the monster dozens of meters above them. Around the hillside, rebels turned from targeting Kezia to throwing whatever they could at the tomb--arrows, spears, and dragon breath of all different kinds, creating a storm of heat, gas, ice and electricity in a grandiose display silhouetting the young archer and the old healer standing their ground in the center of the destroyed ritual. Their clothes and hair raged around them with the change in temperatures snapping back and forth, and even though Dario could feel Kendra's chest heaving, she stood steady, a mote of light growing in each palm.
Like a spotlight, everyone felt Kezia's intense presence flood over them, agony immediately gripping their temples, and with a scream, she coiled into a tighter spring, muscles bunching with anticipation. "A̷R̵R̶O̴G̸A̴N̴T̵ ̸F̷O̷O̶L̶S̸-̵-"
From behind her, the Arbiter lunged, feet smoking with the heat from the pillar, and his jaws closed around her human protrusion while he gripped at the being's head, shaking at dragging at her in a feral way. The signal from the owls swelled as it found a chink in Kezia's mental armor, and though it didn't hurt the hearing of the Rebellion, it seemed to target and utterly decimate the Tyrant's senses for a moment. It was goading, it was threatening, it was infuriating, it was baiting her towards the center. The Tyrant writhed in fury, and as its perch further grew unreliable, she did the only thing it was prepared for--it jumped.
A lengthy shadow covered the hilltop, and the rebels flooded out of the way, flying and teleporting and even just straight-up running, while the Tyrant's circular jaws yawned open again, and another unfathomable ray of pure light and heat exploded from its throat straight downwards. The Arbiter gripped at the flesh in his jaws and yanked, ensuring that it aimed directly at the two tiny people below them, and as gravity took hold, the force of the second laser-like attack shocked through both demons' bodies, even slowing their fall for a brief second. A wave of force shot out across the entire cavern as soon as the vertical blast made contact with the ground, and only a scream from Kendra could be heard as it consumed her, Dario, and the Changeling like dawn itself.
Then, after a breath, it pulled inwards, the shockwave reversing and pulling instead of pushing. The breath attack sputtered, the fall continued, while the light persisted, bending in orbital layered spheres around the tomb.
Kendra could only see white, and only feel pain. She knew she was moving her arms, trying to embrace the shower of destruction, but she couldn't sense them. She could only place utter faith in her own power, and she felt both the Changeling and Dario right beside her own thoughts, erasing the doubts, replacing them with affirmations.
I just have to do it.
Unable to be contained any longer, the convocation of energy in front of the tomb burst in a crowd of crepuscular rays, and several bright PINGS could be heard as the final chains shattered, floating slowly outwards, leaving the tomb hovering by itself and glowing the brightest anyone had seen it radiate since its discovery. Before Kezia could make contact with the ground, Nala had already launched herself into the air and body-slammed her away from the hill, the three demons entangling once more as they rolled across the ground in the direction of a third pillar.
Though scalded and battered, Kendra, Dario and the Changeling were still moving, picking themselves up from the ground and scooting away from the stone monolith, which slowly began to hiss and escalate the temperature around it. Kendra found Dario's hand in fright, clutching her now-useless broken leg and in turn, the plates of Changeling around it, shocked that they were alive, unsure of where to go now.
It felt like an eternity; hands desperately clinging to the limbs of Kendra, Dario could barely tolerate the searing light and heat. The invocation to bolster Kendra's own was the only thing the stag could bring himself to concentrate on, and even that was proving to be a monumental task. The burning against his spine grew more unbearable with each passing second, and before he could register it, a single recent memory flooded his mind.
The pressure and heat of stone - Dario had been thrust into his own consciousness without time to react. The entity occupying his head had managed to switch the pair before the half-breed could interject during their above-ground encounter that felt like only moments before. Feeling his hands beginning to falter, Dario wasted no time.
Don't let her die.
-
It was on fire.
Kalmah was ascended; beyond feeling pain. This was a sensation reserved for those who couldn't begin to understand the weight and purpose of divinity, and even the disgraced Lesser God would sooner be wiped from this plane before succumbing to a meager cheap shot.
It believed this, but only for a moment.
Feeling its essence sucked into a physical manifestation, Kalmah had no time to register the levels of shock and pain it was enduring. It could place its own location in this space, knowing its hands were bracing the youngest Arnason spawn, but it couldn't move. Dario had held concentration on his incantation, and it would kill them both to drop it. With sheer force of will, Kalmah held resolute; Kendra felt the hands supporting her grip tighter as the trio weathered the remaining light as Kendra managed to sever the remaining chains.
It coughed, feeling the ichor expelled from its lungs before it could see it. The color wasn't that of blood, but rather, a far deeper shade of crimson that was practically black. Without even a moment to thrust control back into Dario's proverbial hands, Kalmah felt Kendra grip at its own, and violently pulled her to the ground beneath it.
Be still, child.
Feeling the heat steadily increasing, Kalmah stared deep into the eyes of the frightened woman beneath it. To Kendra, this was Dario - but his voice, his eyes; this was not the man she knew. The deep ichor was mixing with blood as it streaked across its face and arms, a visibly distressing sight for Kendra. Despite its alleged superior constitution, it was clearly battered beyond what it had anticipated.
Kendra watched Dario blink, his eyes losing the unsettling dilation that peered daggers into her. Registering his own body and mind, Dario shook his head, looking apologetically down at Kendra before quickly shifting his weight away to rest beside her.
"Kendra, I'm- I'm sorry you had to see that." Dario choked on the last few words, wiping the various shades of fluid from his lips. Everything looked, felt, and tasted foul. The stag took note of her leg, shaking out his hands and preparing his incantation. "Your leg, please, let me..."
Kendra put a hand out; with her gloves completely obliterated by reflecting the light, her bare, bleeding palm met Dario's and stopped him. She met his eyes seriously again, and she knew just enough about what happened that even with her wholehearted trust in Dario, she was hesitant to let him do anything. Over Dario's shoulder, past the shuddering tomb, the Construct's head whipped upright, metallic face coated with the Tyrant's steaming blood, aperture eyes focusing in on the split-second confrontation. One of its legs disengaged from the heavily wounded Tyrant, which began to writhe its body in undulating loops, gaining its footing again.
Why is it here? Kendra's sign language gestured at a person that was not there. But she was certain Dario understood. What does it want?
Her swift interruption caught the stag off guard, but he couldn't fault her. Dario knew the optics of what had just occurred were less than favorable, and Kendra was far too smart for him to be able to lie to her. It wouldn't stop him from trying, however.
I... don't know. It has been here for a while. Dario's hands shook as he signed - primarily from the pain still wreaking havoc on his back, but at least some could be attributed to the explanation. It certainly did not do him any favors in trying to convince his niece. It has been with me since I returned to... to life. I know what this looks like, but you have to trust me. I won't let it harm you.
Dario watched the suspended tomb with great concern, feeling his co-habitant growing increasingly restless.
We don't have much time. We need to get out of here. Please, let me help you.
Without another word, Kendra grabbed his forearm and hoisted both of them to their feet, the Changeling forming a sturdy cast around her leg to assist her. She could feel her jaw clench, but they had very few options left. The Rebellion was slowly being driven up to higher ground from the rising water levels. More and more water was gushing out of the sky, the smell of wet stone and marshy earth filling the air, testament to the number that the fight was doing on its underground supports. Huge slabs of stone were beginning to rain down in clusters, throwing up tall splashes of water like cannonballs shot from a galleon.
Dad, Kendra spoke through the network, hoping he could still hear her. The chains are--
She suddenly grabbed Dario's chest in fright as a flurry of movement exploded from near the third pillar. The Warden's distraction had allowed Kezia to circle around and pin the Construct to the stone, crushing her against its surface, and it made horrific grinding noises as its limbs and neck were wrenched into awkward angles. Nala screamed Daemon curses at the Tyrant while it squeezed harder, the same cracks racing upwards towards the surface with ear-splitting sounds. Kezia looked to be in horrible shape--mangled by both the Arbiter and the Construct, seizing occasionally with Jari's electricity, acidic blood spilling and blooming across the choppy underground waters like oil. But then, like a rush of blood to the head, the scenery around everyone seemed to flicker and shift, and Kezia's form began to occasionally jitter back and forth between heavily injured and thriving at full power, unscathed. Dario's knees suddenly buckled as Kendra's weight hit his arms, and he looked down in shock, seeing her very clearly and obviously dead in his arms, neck broken and eyes gray. Then the air shimmered again and she gasped back to life with the same wounds she had before, the fatal injury gone like it had never existed, stumbling back to her feet on her one good leg. Across the hilltop, clusters of rebels died right in front of each other, and then the illusion vanished and they were returned to standing and breathing again. The bound Construct itself powered down completely, losing all energy and going slack against the pillar, before stuttering back up again, blues and golds surging brighter before settling into scarlet. Kezia's voice split the air in a crazed laugh, and she lifted her broken, healed, broken, healed arms to the surface, where the golden glow was getting stronger and stronger. She tightened her grip on the Warden, as though trying to choke her out of air she did not breathe.
"I̴ ̵S̶E̷E̵ ̶I̶T̵," the Illuminar cackled, entreating the sky as though worshipping. "I̴ ̵S̶E̷E̵ ̶I̶T̵!! I̸ ̸S̷E̸E̷ T̴H̷E̴ ̸O̴N̸L̸Y̴ T̶H̵I̸N̶G̷ ̶T̵H̵A̴T̵ ̷W̵I̷L̵L̴ S̴T̶O̵P̸ ̸T̶H̶E̵ ̶F̷L̴O̴O̷D̷ O̵F̶ F̴I̸L̸T̴H̷Y ̵M̴O̶R̷T̶A̴L̸S̸, ̵T̶H̴E̶ ̴E̵T̴E̶R̴N̸A̶L̷ ̸C̴Y̷C̸L̷E̴ ̴O̷F̶ ̸U̵P̸R̷I̴S̵I̴N̵G̶S̴!!"
In the caves above, Milae tripped to his knees, then realized that he only had one left when a rush of scarlet began spreading below him. He gripped his spasming thigh in horror, bile rising at the onset of blinding pain--his left leg was missing from the hock down. He lost balance again as he blinked and it was back, whole again, like this was a fleeting nightmare, and yet the pool of blood remained below him, soaking his fur. He looked down at the Construct's chest in utter tearful despair, and with a flourish of space, he and Virion vanished. The illusions crashed over the Rebellion again, feeling more real this time, more permanent, before washing away once again.
"W̸O̶U̵L̴D̶ ̵T̵H̸A̸T̴ ̸I̷ ̶C̴O̷U̴L̸D̶ ̷K̴E̸E̴P̷ ̴T̵H̴I̷S̶ ̶D̶O̷M̸A̸I̶N̸ ̵A̴S̵ ̶A̵ ̸T̸R̶O̶P̵H̵Y̷ ̷I̸N̸ ̸P̸E̸R̶P̶E̶T̶U̸I̷T̶Y̸ ̴A̸N̶D̵ ̵S̶T̷O̷R̸E̸ ̴Y̶O̴U̷R̸ ̴C̸O̸R̸P̵S̶E̸S̶ ̸I̵N̴ ̸I̶T̶S̷ ̴F̵O̵U̵N̷D̶A̴T̸I̸O̸N̸S̷," Kezia crowed, as the column behind her made a snap like a glacier. "B̷U̷T̶ T̵H̸E̵ ̷L̵O̴O̸M̴ ̶R̵E̵V̶E̷A̷L̵S̵ ̵A̷L̷L̴ ̷T̴O̶ ̴M̷E!! I̷ ̵W̷I̵L̵L̴ ̷B̷I̵N̵D̸ I̵T̷ ̵A̸S̴ ̵O̵N̶E̵,̷ A̸N̷D̶ ̴I̴N̷ O̸N̵E̴...B̴E̴C̶O̸M̷E̸S̷ ̵N̸O̷N̴E̵!!"
With a a strength beyond mortal possibility, Kezia crushed the base of the third pillar as though it were chalk in a man's fist. Dust and water both misted rapidly into the air, and silhouetted in the choking gray, they saw the Tyrant's mouth pick up the limp Construct in its jaws, and fling it overhead, sending it careening into the fourth pillar with another explosion of granite shards. The city above flexed and trembled and warped, shedding more and more light on the underground.
Lila. Grey. Tezz sounded eerily calm for the pure chaos around them. If Darien's tower is destroyed, we are about to lose our last chance to finish her for good.
"T̴H̶E̸ ̸W̸O̴R̵L̸D̸ ̷W̴I̷L̶L̵ ̷B̵U̸I̸L̴D̷ ̴A̶ ̶T̵H̶O̴U̶S̴A̴N̴D̶ ̴M̷O̷R̴E̴ ̷C̴I̴T̴I̴E̶S̷ ̷I̵N̷ ̵M̶Y̶ ̴N̵A̶M̵E̴,̷ ̴A̸N̸D̸ ̸I̷ ̸S̵H̴A̷L̴L̸ ̴O̷B̵L̵I̷T̵E̷R̶A̵T̶E̸ ̵A̶L̶L̸ ̴O̵F̶ ̸T̶H̴E̵M̴-̶-̷J̵U̴S̵T̷ ̵A̶S̸ ̶I̵ ̵S̷H̷A̶L̶L̶ ̸T̷H̶I̷S̵ ̵O̷N̷E̵!̸!̵"
Reality rippled again, another alternate ending crashed into the present day, and this time, the entire Rebellion was extinct of life, for several seconds before life was restored once more. Kendra clutched Dario from where they both had fallen, speechless with terror. She didn't even know if her family was still alive. Maybe it didn't matter. She shut her eyes, bracing herself. The end of the world was closing its jaws on them for the last time.
"Hey."
Kendra didn't hear the word with her ears, but she felt it in her chest, and she snapped her eyes open. Everything was white again, but it was...quieter. More peaceful. She turned, her burned, bloodstained braid moving slowly in the space like she was underwater. Endless white stretched for miles, leaving her completely alone, except for...
She immediately sobbed, and Liam looked alarmed, not hesitating to move forward and open his arms to let her throw herself into them. He still looked and smelled like war, in his dirtied clothes and bone armor, but he didn't appear to be injured anywhere. Kendra wailed into her brother, and he grew even more worried, pushing her flushed face up and away from his shoulder so he could sign Hey, hey, what's wrong? to her.
We died!! she barely managed to respond, her hands trembling violently, and Liam looked around in shock, like he was just seeing their surroundings for the first time.
Whoa--no, oh my gods, I'm so sorry. He pulled her close again, but left a paw free so he could sign in front of her face while it was pressed to his chest, something they hadn't done for years. I just wanted to reach out before I came back, I'm sorry. I'm not good at this yet.
What? What? Kendra lurched away while repeating the sign, still crying, but now out of bewilderment. What do you mean?
Liam studied her face for a second, then gave a wry smile, making the freckles on his cheekbones wrinkle. It's okay. You'll think it's cool. He made a sign to get her attention, even though they were definitely both locked into the conversation. You should get Dario's help near the tomb, though. You're badass but I don't know if you can carry two people.
Carry people? Kendra shook Liam's shoulder urgently; she barely took the time to wonder why he knew Dario was nearby. Kezia is bringing the city down on us. It's too late. It's over.
Liam appeared to consider the information, and Kendra started to feel the roar of the battle rumble in her chest again. He nodded a bit, satisfied with some internal conclusion, and cupped her face with a hand, speaking with the other.
It's not over until we say it's over.
Kendra's eyes widened as the phrase encompassed her entire state of mind. It's not over until we say it's over. She jerked her head up, back on the ground, back to the horrors raining down from above, but the difference in the sight before her was a thin golden seam between the lid and the body of the tomb. It's not over until we say it's over. The lights in the carved valkyrie's eyes brightened, and Kendra grabbed Dario and pulled him upright, both of them stumbling towards it as the lid split in two and pulled away from the tomb. It's not over until we say it's over. Like a brightly lit room, the inside of the tomb shed pure white in the shape of a door frame, and in pure trust, Kendra put out her arms and caught the unconscious body of a person falling out of the stone walls--Verdandi, looking much worse for wear in prisoner's rags, but whole and alive. Kendra quickly backed away and Dario copied her, shocked to pull an awake but extremely fatigued Vox in his arms.
It was a good thing that they both made an effort to drag the two newcomers away; the floating tomb started to vibrate and glow again, its surfaces running with molten platinum droplets, shining ice on a hot summer's day, and the material began to morph and pull into a brand new shape, stained with shadow and painted with light, taller than any human, two wings outstretching as wide as a dragon's, a long, lashing tail, half-breed forearms and clawed feet, and shining horns with two halves of a broken halo floating around them. It opened its eyes twice; one set gold, the other white, with oily tracks over its cheeks and nose. Its hair was a brilliant, curly gold. It was physically painful to behold, and everyone felt that if they looked away, it would spell their doom. It looked over its shoulder at everyone, and Kendra felt like she had never even pulled away from Liam--in fact, she felt like he had poured into her, and refused to leave her heart. It was him. It hoped they knew it was him.
It turned its attention to the Tyrant Eternal, who was slamming its body into the Construct over and over, making it spit sparks and arcane liquid as it was torn to pieces against the final column. As it began to crack, she became aware of the glow like daylight in the island at the center, and turned her whole insectoid body to face it, flaring her legs wide in a threat display, mouth stretching in a deep roar. The entire cavern shuddered and cracked, compromised and filling with water.
High Central, bisected, started to fall.
And then Tezzeret whipped out his massive dick.
Blair liked that.
