I do not own Di-Gata Defenders. Why do I get the feeling that I've said that before? Hmmm . . . .
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Seth and Mel sped around a corner, four cultists and two soldiers behind them. The latter were waving their weapons, and shouting, filling the tunnel with noise.

"You know, you'd think that they'd eventually get tired of all the running around," Mel said, glancing back over her shoulder.

"They're a bunch of warrior cultists, they never get tired," Seth answered. They rounded another curve, the path and walls becoming filled with darkened lighting crystals, some smashed, shards lying on the floor. Seth and Mel, dressed as they were in darker clothing, were soon swallowed up in the windowless, darkened area.

One soldier held up a hand, halting the rest of his group. Activating his shockstaff, he held it up, the electric blue glow faintly illuminating the area. The six started forward again, searching for their quarry.

Seth and Mel, pressed into a still-dark corner where a crystal-stand met the wall, held their breath, unmoving. The guards and cultists advanced slowly.

Seth looked at the glow edging toward them, then at the Wizard girl beside him. He shifted his eyes significantly at the ever-nearing light. Mel nodded, one hand ready.

Two metres away from the Defender's hiding spot, the shockstaff closed down of it's own accord, the soldier wielding looking at his weapon, perplexed. "What the . . . ."

"Fuyrs, you forgot to charge the thing again, didn't you?!" his partner groaned. "This is great, we'll never catch those Defenders now!"

"What about your staff?"

"It's, um . . . not charged either . . . ."

Mel raised her left hand, ready to cast a Wizard spell, but Seth clamped a hand over her mouth, pressing her back against the wall. Her eyes moved to look at him, one eyebrow raised in an unspoken "What the heck are you doing?"

He winked, then nodded his head toward the group now fumbling through the darkness. Mel watched them edge past . . . only five of them . . . . The sixth, a cultist, was flailing around with one hand, trying to find the wall . . . and was close to hitting Seth.

Pushing off the wall, pivoting around Seth, Mel planted one hand flat against the cultist's stomach, freezing him instantly, with a minimal light flash. Looking back at Seth, she was surprised to find his nose barely a centimetre from her own.

Neither moved or spoke for a split-second before Mel stepped back. "We'd . . . better get moving," she said quietly.

Seth nodded. "I'll agree to that. I don't want to be here when those guys realize their buddy is missing."

¤

Erik and Adam nearly collided with Arvengus as her came whipping around a corner, carrying Rion and Kara. The Guardian skidded to a halt, his two passengers climbing off.

"Where've you two been?" Erik asked as Arvengus returned to his stone.

Kara glanced over shoulder, back the way she and Rion had come. "Getting chased by a bunch cat-loving cultists," she said. "What about you?"

"Same, but they preferred clones," Erik answered. Adam shot him a glare.

"Moving on . . . ." Dual roars sounded from each corridor.

Rion started off at a run. "Definitely moving on!" The other three caught up to him, all of them pelting down another tunnel.

"Either of you see Seth and Mel?" Adam asked. Two seconds later, the two in question bolted out of another corridor, joining the others.

"Looking for us?" the dark-haired leader said, falling into step beside Adam. The thief shrugged.

"Not necessarily. Just wondering where you were is all."

Mel spoke up as another roar sounded from behind the group. "Uh, guys, you want to save your breath for running?"

Kara pointed to a dark doorway up ahead. "Quick, through there!" All six dove through the entrance, pressing back either side of the door, out of sight. Mixed cultists and soldiers stampeded past, unaware of the Defenders' vanishing act.

The group gave a sigh of relief, before Seth's voice spoke. "Erik, see if you can get a reading of what this place looks like. We need to find a way out."

There was a pause, in which Erik fiddled with the controls of his gauntlet, watching the little screen intently. "Aha! Got it!" The triumphant smile slipped from his face. "But it's not that good."

"What is it?" Rion asked, leaning forward to see.

"There are hundreds of tunnels down here. In all our running around, who knows how many of them are between us and the exit."

Seth studied the image on the screen. "It's like a maze. All we have to do is find a way out, without running into more cultists or guards."

Adam snorted quietly. "Yeah, no big deal. Run around with out any idea where we're going, and try to avoid the nasty cultsits that crop up unexpectedly, and can squash us in an instant."

Kara punched his arm lightly. "Way to be optimistic."

Two guards rushed into the audience chamber, stopping in front of the throne. Both bowed, not looking up to where the black curtains hid their ruler from view.

"You have something to report?" Fyorn's voice rasped from within his shroud. Both guards stood to attention staring straight ahead.

"Your Highness, the six Defenders have escaped, and are currently being pursued through the halls of your castle. Do you have special instructions for their recapture?"

Fyorn was silent a moment, tapping his tentacle-fingers on the arm of his seat. "Only that when they are caught, destroy them. All of them."

The two soldiers nodded, saluted, then left, leaving the Ethos alone with his thoughts. "For the good of the Ethos," he said quietly, "The Defenders must fall."

¤

The six Defenders finally escaped into the dying sunlight. Adam immediately fell face forward, hugging the grass.

"If I never see that place again, it'll be too soon," he said, rolling onto his back. The suns were just sinking below the horizon, the sky darkening. Thunderheads were rolling in from the west, lightning flashing every so often.

"We'd better get under shelter," Seth said, watching the approaching storm. "We'll get back to Ailaena and Professor Alnar, tell them what we've found out."

"And then what?" Rion asked, looking back over his shoulder at the forbidding Ethos fortress.

"And then we come back and take out Fyorn," Mel said grimly. Rain began to patter down, quickly increasing until it was a downpour. Adam stood, and the six started off, away from the fortress.

Behind them, a blue light started flashing, alarms beginning to sound. Visible through the rain, lines of soldiers were running out of the front entrance, after the Defenders.

"Guys, can we speed things up here?" Kara said, watching the guards approach. The six broke into a run, heading off into the darkening storm.

The guard captain halted, holding up a hand. "It's no use. We'll never find them in this weather." Turning, he addressed the troops in a shout. "Back to the fortress. On the double! Move!"

¤

"So you just let them escape?" Fyorn said from within the curtains. The guard captain nodded nervously.

"They had disappeared, my lord. Trying to find them in the storm would be a fool's errand. I saw no other choice than to -"

"Silence." The guard's mouth closed, waiting until the King spoke again. "Captain, have any of my men ever seen my face?"

"No, Fearsome One. No one dares to look upon you, by your own decree."

"Then you shall have the first honour. Look up to my throne, Captain. It is time you see the face of your leader."

Slowly, the guard captain raised his eyes to the throne, in time to see a shadowy figure launch itself from the seat. Huge teeth, glowing violet eyes, leathery skin combined into a nightmarish face, that drew nearer, nearer . . . .

From outside the closed door of the audience chamber, there was a scream, and then silence.

¤

Several days later, the Defenders stood in front of Ailaena and Professor Alnar, having finally made it back.

"You were gone for longer than expected," Alnar said, studying the line of his students before him. "We were beginning to worry."

"We had a little bit of . . . trouble," Erik said. "Which is putting it mildly."

Ailaena nodded. "What have you learned?"

"The Maligor army is planning a push into this area of RaDos," Adam said. "It was being led by a Warlord: Rorsh."

Alnar's eyebrows lifted. "Was?"

Mel smiled slightly. "Rorsh has been taken care of. Right now, he's nothing more than an ice statue."

Ailaena nodded. "I see. Please, continue."

"We were caught by Rorsh's group, then sent on to the Maligorian royal city," Seth explained. "The ruler there is Fyorn, the Ethos leader from three years ago. He somehow escaped the banishment. He's convinced a group of warrior cultists to join his army as well."

Both Alnar and Ailaena were silent for a moment, contemplating this revelation. After a moment, Alnar spoke again.

"Then we must prepare ourselves. You, Defenders, will lead the resistance against the Maligor army. The people of RaDos will stand to fight, and it will be your job to lead them."

Ailaena nodded. "I agree. But for now, go and rest. You've earned it, all of you."