Deliver Us
"Hurry, Aegis!"
He could hear the strain in his Soulweaver's voice even through the sounds of blood and battle, through the screeching of dravirs as they flew overhead, the dragons' emerald streaks against the bloody scarlet of the Badlands' skies. He looks forward; his Soulweaver - currently a Cryptic - was propelling herself forward, teeth gritted, blood streaming down from a cut over her left eyebrow, as she engaged her enemy, a dravir that just wouldn't quit. Her knuckles were white around the dagger she gripped with her actual hand as she parried her foe's strikes, the blade crackling with electricity each time it clashed against the dravir's curved daggers. Her other dagger flew back and forth, held not by hand but by telekinesis, scoring deep slashes into the dravir's flesh, kept controlled by subtle flicks of her free hand. She could take care of herself, of that he had not doubt and though he wanted to help, with two dravirs on his own tail, he had his own set of problems to worry about. Yet -
"Aegis," she calls out, her one, visible eye bright with worry even as she plunged the blade she held into the dravir's gut then twisted, lightning crackling at her knife's edge. "We're running out of time - "
She wanted his help. He hears her.
Arms raised, he stops, not even caring for the dravir as they tore at his form with claws and blades, his charm aglow as he focuses magic skyward then pulls. Swords of glacial power fall from the skies like hail, piercing wings and blinding foes. All around him, dravirs scream. He can feel his Soulweaver's satisfaction thrum through their bond, even spy a hint of a smile spreading over her face, just before he is forced to duck (is told to duck) as she, now given enough the space to really maneuver her weapons, swept her daggers outward in wide arcs, lightning crackling around their edges as they sliced through scale and flesh, armor and bone. The ones already dying are killed outright and the ones remaining he kills himself, impaling them by making icicles grow from beneath their feet.
But before he can feel any sort of satisfaction himself, another pair of dravirs come speeding at them from behind, one at him and the other at his allied partner, even as she turned to begin running for their destination once more, eyes set forward, trusting him to watch her back.
He tries to yell out a warning but is forced to stop by a dravir as he drove at him, twin daggers held outward, only barely blocking the blow by shaping his hand into an icy blade. Growling, he drives it at the dravir's armor, forcing him to back off for the moment before turning back to face the direction his soulweaver was heading and seeing, with some shock, just how far the dravir had flown when he wasn't looking. His soulweaver still had yet to turn to face him and he was coming at her with full force, curved blades shining wickedly in the bloody light. With momentum on his side, he could strike with critical damage. If he could reach her.
And he would. If he can't get this one down right now, he would reach her and -
Ice crystals bloom at his feet as his eyes flash a brilliant white. Icy fractals bursting about the charm at his wrist, he hurls waves of ice and snow at the dravir as it sped ahead, forcing more power through his charm than he'd ever had to in his fights before. Miraculously, though he'd thought the dravir beyond his range, the attack connects, frost spreading over the airborne dravir's wings and immobilizing one in its entirety. He has to move to intercept the other dravir before he could try to fly at his Cryptic-Soulweaver but he knew, instinctively, that the fall would be enough to kill the one he'd attacked.
The roar of the dravir he'd failed to kill brings his attention back to him but before he could so much as aim a hand, a sparking dagger slams into its head, hurled by both hand and telekinetic hold. The dravir dies instantly.
The dravir might've been fast but his Soul-allied partner was unbelievable. She must've turned back when she'd seen him getting attacked because she is much closer now than she had been when he'd last seen her. She is settled on the ground when he reaches her, his partner tugging the dagger she'd thrown back to her with strings of lilac light, gasping for breath as the exhaustion finally caught up with her.
"Thanks for the save," she wheezes, in between choking coughs. The air around them was thick with smoke and the two of them had been fighting for hours now, having been forced to make the trek from Falconreach on foot. With both the gryphons and Draco out of the picture from the scale-rot outbreak, they had no choice, no matter the fact that making the trip with the little time they had and the little resources they had on hand was near-impossible. She was the Hero, after all. Doing the impossible was in the job description. And of course -
"I've got your back," he says, putting a hand on her back as she tried to regain her breath. "And right back at you."
She flashes him a faint but genuine smile before looking on ahead. The sun was truly setting, now, the deep red skies shifting into even darker shades. It was almost night.
That meant -
"We're running out of time," she whispers. "Aegis - "
The way ahead is clear, though he can sense more monsters coming up from behind. She can fight while moving; he has to stop before he can fight. The decision is easy.
"Go! I'll catch up later!"
She runs.
He follows after her best he can, his soul-bound ally a hastily shrinking figure on the horizon. He knows she can do it, there's no real doubt about it. She was faster than him even on foot, unpropelled by Cryptic-telekinesis. So long as he can keep her safe, keep the dravir from attacking her from behind, there was no doubt in his mind that she would make it in time.
And as it turned out, keeping her safe just happened to be his specialty.
But, wonder of wonders, a good ten minutes pass before the first dravir comes speeding out from behind them. The dragon-man's eyes were fixed on his partner as he rushed out towards her from high in the skies, blades held out, fangs bared in a snarl.
He stops this one right in its tracks with just one hand, the dravir smashing against his ice wall with a satisfying crunch. He has to leap back in order to avoid the monster's fiery counter-attack but he can't help the smirk that crosses his face as he prepares his own follow-up, solid frost coating his semi-corporeal hands as he channeled the power of the icy domain into his charm.
They made it. He was sure of it.
His eyes flash white as he unleashes the power from his charm, snowy winds catching the dravir mid-charge and sending him flying back head over heels, slamming against a wall with another satisfying smack. Stunned by the attack, the dravir was defenseless as he delivered a coup de grâce, putting the dravir out of his misery by way of an icicle through the throat.
Allowing himself to feel just a bit of satisfaction, he turns back to the direction he knew his soulweaver was heading, his soulweaver now only barely a lilac-limned speck within his line of sight.
He hadn't fully realized it on the chase but they'd almost made it into Willowshire proper, the dead trees and ruined forts of the Badlands now almost completely replaced by Willowshire's dying trees and battered forts. His Cryptic-Soulweaver's made it far, far ahead and he is almost certain that she's made it, the faint frustration he can sense through their bond the only reason he's isn't completely certain. He goes off after her as quickly as he can but he is far from fast enough to catch up to her at her fastest and it's an honest struggle just to go fast enough to keep her in his line of sight, especially when he has to remember to turn every now and then so as to keep watch for any signs of more oncoming dravir.
They're into Willowshire proper now; all around him, he can see old houses battered by dravir-fire, forts that had been long since abandoned and, more rarely than the two former, still-manned forts, ones with Guardians standing watchful at the windows. Their destination was one such fort, the Fort Lyalla. He should hope his soulweaver has seen it by now; he can already see the banners of Fort Lyalla fluttering atop the entrance of the fort just at his left.
He can see the banner of Fort Lyalla hanging above the entrance of the fort just at his left –
"She overextended," he gasps, the realization making him stop right in his tracks. "She didn't notice she'd gone past - oh, by the Lords of Lore - "
He turns into the direction of his soulweaver and yells, half-panicked as he tried to make her know that she'd overextended, that their destination was right here. She was the one they really needed, the one bearing what they sought; even if he did reach it in time, it was pointless if it wasn't with her.
His soul-allied partner had only barely been in his line of sight when he'd shouted her name but, still, somehow, she'd heard him, practically skidding to a stop as she forcefully turned on her heel. Her expression was one of abject terror as she propelled herself forward, moving faster than he's ever seen her before. He doesn't know the exact time but he feels that they can make it - if she hurried just enough, they could all -
"AEGIS!"
Dravir – another trio of the draconic monsters burst into his line of sight, swooping in from high above. The sight of them makes him stop, makes him ready his charm, but they only fly high over his head, their eyes fixed on - on -
– the gates at the far side of Fort Lyalla, flames burning around the daggers clenched in their fists.
He rushes after them, his charm exuding frost as he held it at the ready –
"Aegis!"
They were almost out of time and she was still much too far. She wouldn't be able to make it, not without help, and if they were too late, they'd –
– But if he didn't go an stop them, he'd be leaving the dravir free to batter at the wooden gates of fort Lyalla with their flaming blades and –
He could stop them himself but if he did, he wouldn't be able to assist his soulweaver and they'd all be too late. If he assisted his soulweaver, he'd leave the fort defenseless against their sudden attack.
His soul-allied Cryptic was running like a madman, lilac light pulsing in her wake as she forced herself into greater and greater speeds, moving with the same haste (perhaps even more) she did when she soul-blinked but even she wouldn't have enough speed to make it before they did, not when the dravir had both an aerial advantage and a massive head-start.
"Aegis," she whispers, and he can hear her voice even from this far. She still hasn't given up, even now. He could see that fact glowing in the blue of her eyes. "Aegis."
"I'm here," he calls out, bearing only a germ of a plan in mind but forcing himself to believe in her (in them) despite that. "I've got you."
Even from this far, he can see her nodding, his partner trusting him as she always did.
His charm gleams a brilliant white as he grasps at the link between them, their bond immaterial, invisible, and only barely tangible even with his ethereal hands yet, somehow, still stronger than any force he could think to name, focusing on her, focusing on the idea of standing by her side then letting himself get swept away by it. He can perceive the sights of the Elemental Plane of Spirits through the soul-matter of his closed eyelids for the fastest flicker of a second before he materializes at her side, his body reforming in a flash of frost and icy blue light. She's propelling herself at such speeds that he is quickly left in the dust but that wasn't what mattered, at this range, he could do it. He knew he could.
With a slash of his hand, icy magic exploded out from the scorched ground before his soulweaver, shining whorls of icy power solidifying in a rough check-shape with a surface as smooth as glass. Not slowing even for a second, his allied-Cryptic propelled herself forward, her hooved shoes sliding easily over the mirror smooth surface, lilac magic for once not keeping her afloat but pushing her onto even greater speeds as she forced more and more magic at her wake, her daggers flying not far behind her. Even from afar, even without having to speak, he knew what she wanted of him the moment she caught his eye as she slid over the frozen ramp. Turning on his heel, he pushed out upward, his charm flashing white-blue at his wrist, and more ice burst into formation just before where his Soulweaver was racing forward, the shining crystals forming another wedge slanting sharply upward.
Propelled onward by both her running start and her Cryptic telekinesis, she accelerated over the ice, gaining more and more momentum as she forced herself upward, her whole body now outlined in lilac as she pushed herself onto even greater speeds. Upon reaching its peak, she forced on another burst of Cryptic magic behind her, grit her teeth, then flew, defying gravity with speed, determination, and magic, her daggers following suit as they were tugged along by strings of lilac light. Even from afar, he can see the surprised grin spreading over her face as she fully understood that their ploy had worked.
Somehow, he manages to catches her eye as she flew high overhead. The smile she shows him at that moment is brilliant, bloodthirsty, and proud, and she salutes him once with a construct of a lilac hand as she began her descent, her actual hands held outward as she guided her blades ahead. He salutes back, grinning as he turned to follow her flight, watching as she arced over where he'd stood before he'd gone to her side, falling at the dravir from high behind them. They didn't stand a chance.
Caught completely off-guard, the dravir were completely defenseless against the Hero as she began her assault. Her blades slammed through the dravir flanking the one leading the charge, electricity sparking out from the points of impalement, both dravir dying immediately in that one strike, their hearts run through by her electrified blades. The leading dravir didn't even the time to panic because, barely a second later, she crashed right onto him, her hooved-boots catching him just under his chin, his scaled flesh deforming from the force of the impact as he was forced beneath the Hero's feet.
Crouching over him, her smile just on the wrong side of vicious, she slammed her hands against his temples, hands and eyes glowing a brilliant lilac as she pushed inward into his skull. A sound like glass shattering rang through the air and the dravir's eyes went dull, the flesh of his face seeming to turn to putty in her hands before the dravir himself turned limp, falling down to the ground without so much as a whimper. Recalling her daggers back to her sides with a curl of her fingers, his allied-Cryptic stood before the corpses of their enemies, panting as she tried to regain her breath, satisfaction shining in her eyes regardless of exhaustion. There were no more dravirs, no more monsters, and she was standing right before their destination. They made it.
Against all odds, they made it in time.
He materializes at her side, beaming. "We've made it," he exclaims. "We're here."
Still out of breath, she didn't seem able to speak. Regardless, her grin was just as wide as she reached out to grasp his hand, giving it a squeeze as he pulls her to her feet. Even panting and obviously exhausted, with sweat and blood running down her face from the whole ordeal they'd had to face, she smiled as if she were on the verge of laughing from the sheer, honest joy of it all, from the giddy, gleeful disbelief of how they'd managed to do the impossible.
There was only one left to do, really. They were done. They'd done it.
Now, having finally regained her breath, still grinning like she wanted to laugh, she bangs at the door and yells:
"Falconreach Postal Service! Delivery for a Guardian Sheldon!"
AN: My sister told me there was a shipping thing going on so I, uh... tried. This counts, right? Right... (I am so sorry)
Also, I wanted to try writing fight scenes. I'm not all that confident in mine, usually, but I do like how this one turned out. I hope someone liked this, anyway.
Man, though... all this set up for a stupid joke. Someone should take my keyboard away from me.
Feedback's always appreciated. R&R and all that.
(Just a note, there's going to be a follow-up chapter thing. This was going to be one big oneshot, at first, but methinks this'll flow better as a two-shot. So, there's that, to anyone who liked this. I'll write it when I'm done touching up the other stuff. Look forward, if you will)