Hello again, dear readers. So here we are with a new chapter-probably one of my longest ones yet. I was so excited to get started on this one, because this is where the real fun begins. ^^ Anyway, I hope you enjoy my little early Easter gift and I hope you all have a great weekend.
Disclaimer: I don't own Darksiders, as it belongs to the original creators and game developers.
Chapter Nine: The Ashlands
All around the room, the echoes of hammer hitting metal rang piercingly as Ulthane toiled away at his work. While many would have been at least alarmed by a flying hammer that all but splintered the front door and barely missed his brow as it went flying by, he didn't even flinch. In fact, he afforded a smug, knowing smile to himself before he looked up from his work.
"Ah, welcome back, Horseman." he greeted, "You could have knocked. But I suppose that isn't your way, is it? I see you still have the wee dove followin' ya." The mentioned angel, who had timidly followed the mentioned Horseman into the room, was startled out of her frightened stupor to acknowledge the Maker with a polite nod.
War grimaced, changing the subject with an irritated rasp. "Why are you here?" he asked.
"Strange question, seein' how you're the one, broke into MY house!" Ulthane answered as he paused in his hammering. Sariele almost feared that there would be another attempt at physical confrontation between the two, but heaved a sigh of relief as the Old One went back to his hammering.
"You weren't always the 'Black Hammer'." War pointed out. "You huddle in exile- a hermit among tombstones. Why? What role did you play in this, Ulthane?" Ulthane paused again as War stepped forward. This time, Sariele could see the unreadable expression on the Maker's face. After a moment, he returned to his usual nonchalant self.
"Horseman..." he began, and at this point, she was convinced that this would not end well. "I've got something for you. A bit o' fair work, but... it's a bit dainty for me. It'll serve you better." He held up a giant pistol, allowing it to gleam before their eyes in the firelight before he tossed it towards War, who held it out like an extension of his arm.
'Dainty?!' she echoed in her mind as she eyed the pistol. 'The barrels on that thing alone are bigger than my arm! If I tried to use that thing, the recoil would knock me back a few meters.' It was with a heavily beating heart, however, that she realized that War wasn't just looking at the gun- he was pointing it directly at Ulthane.
"You didn't answer my question, Old One." he snarled.
"Maybe I like the scenery. What's it to you." the mentioned Old One retorted. "You asked for my help, and I gave it."
"He's right, War." Sariele pointed out quietly. "Let's go." She was irritated to discover that she was being ignored as the two larger beings stared each other down. Ulthane bent down, now level with War.
"You go on bein' ungrateful and I'm liable to get upset." Ulthane threatened. Sariele's nervous gaze flickered in between the both of them. War cocked the pistol in response, causing her eyes to widen. Ulthane lowered his head so that his brow touched the cool metal end of the barrels. "Do I look like I'm afraid o' death, boy?" After that, everything fell silent, and she tensed for the incoming fight.
The tense moment ended quickly, with War shoving the Old One's head back with the gun and then pulling away. He walked towards the exit, turning only to give the maker a fierce glare over his shoulder. "It's not 'death' you should fear." he answered before walking away completely, leaving Sariele to watch his retreating back with a concerned stare.
Shoving off the tension, Ulthane let out a light growl before returning to his anvil. "There's somethin' for you, too, wee dove." he told her, pointing to the wall behind him. With a curious stare, she approached, finding it easily. It truly was a work of mastery, this bow. The body was longer and made of a thicker, far more sturdy material than her last one. Yet for all that, it was light. "Open it up." he told her. She shot him a puzzled look before her gaze retreated to the bow. Just around the center of the body, she found a small piece that swiveled with just the push of her finger. Pulling the it apart, Sariele found, to her surprise that the blades revealed were made of a black metal that shone purple in the light. She allowed herself a moment to memorize the fine detail and craftsmanship before turning to Ulthane with eyes widened in amazement.
"This is... beautiful, Master Ulthane." she said, although it was barely above a whisper, as she was almost too stunned to even breathe.
"Couldn't have a dove without her talons." he commented, the hints of pride showing in his expression. Although puzzled at the change in names, she allowed herself a soft smile as she looked at the new weapon.
"I don't know how I can thank you." she began. Ulthane paused once again and looked at her.
"Namin' it well and slayin' a few demons with it would be a good start." he told her. Sariele nodded, her smile widening. She nodded in humble thanks before placing it at her shoulders and racing after War, leaving Ulthane to his hammering.
War was waiting for her out in the yard, apparently having calmed down. She joined him with a curious stare. "Shall we?" she asked. He conceded with a slight, quiet nod.
"A new weapon?" he questioned as they walked along. She nodded. "Did you test it yet?" he asked. She smiled a knowing smirk as she walked beside him.
"Consider the next enemy that crosses us my first test." she replied coyly.
Upon arriving through a serpent hole, they approached the island of Samael's prison once more, where the Demon Lord was waiting for them.
"Did you enjoy yourself? War and the Black Hammer 'plucking pigeons'?" he asked. His gaze turned to Sariele. "And you, Sariele? How did it feel to reunite with someone you held so dear, only to exchange blows of the sword? Did it bring back raw memories?" Sariele's gaze widened before she looked to the floor in an attempt to will herself away from the tormenting words. War regarded the demon.
"You see a great many things from inside a prison, Samael." he pointed out harshly.
Samael stepped forward. "There is little you can keep from me Horseman, once I have a mind to know it." he answered.
"And what do you know of Uriel?" the Horseman questioned. Samael only laughed lowly.
"Oh, I thought the Horseman were above such earthly pursuits." he admonished mockingly. "Beware, you might make your little friend jealous." Samael's gaze shifted to Sariele, who kept her head down.
"She believes I killed Abaddon." War growled in clarification.
"Your young friend might know the story better than I, but the Hellguard-," he paused to gaze at her before a wicked grin stretched onto his face. "Well, most of them worshipped their fallen lord and leader. And Uriel..." He paused to let out a light chuckle. "Some might say her admiration was a little less than professional. She will stop at nothing to punish the one responsible." War gazed at Sariele and it became clear to him why Sariele truly left the Hellguard. To himself, however, he wondered at what she had said earlier, when she had questioned her decision. Settling his brow into its usual frown, he gazed back at Samael.
"I fought the demon who killed Abbadon." he insisted. "And he will be punished."
"Straga is the strongest of the Chosen." Samael argued. "No doubt you will face him again- he draws power from the spire, and won't stand to be away from it for long. With all I have taught you, you might even survive the reunion."
"Who's Heart would you have, demon?" War asked impatiently.
"The Stygian is King of the ancient worms that now plague the Ashlands." The small shudder he saw Sariele take filled him with malevolent glee. "Ah, I see you are familiar with the Ashworms."
"A little more than I care to be." she admitted flatly. Samael's gaze shifted back to War.
"It won't be easy. The worms grow well in such fertile ground."
"'Fertile'?" War echoed.
"Fertile with death. Decay. All the land is covered in it. The ashes of the dead."
"They make it very hard to run through." Sariele added in.
"But you may be in luck." Samael continued. "It seems that some fool demons have taken to capturing the worms for sport. And they hunt... other creatures as well. The strongest are made to fight in cruel arenas. The demons seek to tame the Stygian. Not knowing that deep within the monster, there beats a black Heart of the Chosen."
"How do the demons avoid the Ashworms?" War asked.
"You know of the Chronospheres?"
"A gift of the Old Ones. It is said that to master the Chronosphere is to master time itself. One could stop time, or even move it- forward and back." War answered.
"Indeed." Samael commented. "None of the old masters exist, but the demons have learned to use them, to a lesser degree... I can grant you a basic understanding of the Chronospheres. It won't be much- perhaps just enough to avoid the worms." With that, the Demon Lord's hand became surrounded by a light blue essence that he then held out to War. The Horseman, in response, held out his gauntlet, and the power seeped into it.
"Perhaps?" War echoed angrily.
"Perhaps not. What in this life is certain, Horseman...?... other than our word of course?"
"What of Sariele?" War quipped.
"You need not worry for your angel friend, Horseman. All she need do is touch you as you activate the Chronosphere and she will move as you do, at your pace." he answered simply before turning to the mentioned angel. "You would do your best then to keep up with the Horseman." he warned. As she gazed at him, she could not help but feel her blood boil beneath her skin as she heard the Watcher snicker with sick glee. She shook it off and took off toward the long walkway to solid ground. War followed her closely.
"You know where to go?" he asked. She nodded.
"It's north of here, close to the spire." she answered. Together, they took the path that wound around the lake of magma below, with him dispatching the crystal with the use of the Tremor Gauntlet. A long tunnel was opened to them, one that suddenly veered to their left, through the bent bars into a smaller tunnel. It was discovered as they made a turn that they were not alone. He noticed upon gazing down at her that she had been itching to use her new weapon. War conceded and let her step forward as the Wicked approached. She pulled the invisible string of her new bow back like clockwork. With a deep breath, she let the glowing blue arrow go. It sliced through the rotted skin of the closest Wicked easily, splattering its rotten innards onto its comrades. She was then running toward them, drawing the bow apart and revealing the black blades, to War's surprise. With a confident arm, she cut through the enemies, allowing them no quarter to attacker. War didn't even receive a chance to attack. With a final jab, Sariele tumbled, sending the enemy flying as it faded into embers, and landed in a crouch.
War granted her a nod of approval before the two took off again, turning into a larger tunnel. From the ceiling fell a Duskwing that she quickly dispatched with a single arrow. War, meanwhile, broke the crystal blocking a room off to the side, as he had taken time to notice that the path had been blocked off by a large metal gate, which was most likely opened by the switch in the middle of the small room. Next to it, he found a rune stone that had a strange blue aura surrounding it. In order to provide a quick experiment, Sariele pulled the lever; there was a loud creak and she found herself mentally counting. About fifteen seconds later, she heard the loud slam as the gate was lowered back down. She held out her hand to him and with one hand, she turned the switch and then reached for him. War then activated the Chronosphere and the two moved as the world seemed to be swallowed in a massive blur. She didn't have time, however to look around in awe, as they were moving toward the gate, her dashing beside him.
As they took a few steps beyond the gate, they heard it crash to the floor behind them, but they were too busy drawing their weapons in order to take care of a Fleshbuster. She found it surprisingly easy now to dispatch enemies, she discovered as she cut into its skin like a hot knife through butter. It was he that finished off this enemy, however, in order for them to keep up their pace. Up several flights of stairs they went until they reached an empty floor- well, mostly empty, since Sariele was able to shoot both Wicked lingering around before they even caught sight of them.
War, who had caught sight of the exposed metal ledges above, scooped Sariele up and jumped for them. From there, he jumped back onto a track and set her down, allowing her to follow it as it twisted and turned through the ground and out through another bent grating. The first thing that Sariele noticed was the intense heat that threatened to swallow her. She then pulled her goggles down to protect her eyes. Quickly did she pull the cloth from her waist around her shoulders and then pull the hood up. They followed a narrow valley until they came across another Duskwing, but to her, something felt very odd about this one. She didn't notice the powerful blast it let loose until it was nearly too late, but she quickly managed to dodge and strung up her bow, firing three arrows simultaneously. The strange Duskwing faltered, but then was struck dead with a blow from the Crossblade.
The valley opened to a wide space, and to their surprise, they were met with only a few weak enemies, ones which War allowed Sariele to pick off. Something about this place, however, set off his nerves. He realized what it was as Sariele finished off a Wicked with a swipe of one of her black blades. It only took one look to understand what they were- black wings wide, double-bladed glaives shining in the intense sunlight, and then in the lapse of a mere second, one of the Corrupted Angels swooped down to take down the unsuspecting angel.
"Sariele!" War called. The angel took only a fraction of a second to look up before she somersaulted back, instead letting the Corrupted Angel hit the ground where she had been mere seconds ago. He quickly recovered, however and swooped in but was blocked, however, when she quickly brought out one of the obsidian swords. Its comrade went for War, who was not fazed by the attack, slicing back ferociously. Sariele, in the meantime, managed to duck underneath a sweeping blade and then delivered a sound high kick to the Corrupted Angel's chin, sending it off course before she jabbed into its abdomen and then finished it with a wide slice across its throat.
She looked to her hands upon the realization that she had just killed what had at one point been one of her kind- maybe even one of her former comrades in the Hellguard. Yet, she argued, they had attacked her first, and she had fought to defend herself, keep herself safe.
It wasn't until she noticed War dashing toward her that she realized that she was about to become the victim of a slash from another oncoming angel. She would not be able to clear this one in time and shut her eyes... only to be jostled and pulled against something solid and have a loud clang ring in her ears. With wide eyes, she looked up at War, who had caught the blade of the angel's glaive with his raised gauntlet. The rest of his body curled around her protectively, holding her close.
He didn't face her, but rather glared the angel down before pulling his gauntlet free. Moments later, he caught the glaive- as well as the angel's hands holding it- and swung him into his airborne comrade. He let Sariele go and marched towards the angels. She could only watch in alarm and amazement as they fell in a deadly, beautiful dance only he could have ever hoped to master. The memory of being pressed to his chest in such an urgent way as to protect her thrilled her to no end. Never had he ever so fervently safeguarded her like that. This time, she found it hard to swallow down the pleasant feeling she received from such treatment, at least for another moment. She wasn't sure about these sensations, only that they left her as he turned to her. She responded with not a word but a nod of assent and thanks.
They treaded onward, beneath the remnants of a nearly dilapidated bridge and into another wide tunnel, where as they took a few steps in and encountered a barrier in the form of a pile of wrecked cars. Just as they were both mentally formulating a plan to get rid of it, the obstacle was destroyed by a charging Prowler demon. War leapt for the enemy while Sariele went for the surrounding Wicked, managing them from afar as she hopped to the top of an abandoned car and picked them off with very accurate arrows. one who came too close to her received a well-placed, boot-clad kick to the head, sending mentioned appendage flying from its body. The body itself fell to the ground, but she didn't linger for long to see what would happen, as the Prowler- with War astride it- came her way. She joined him atop the creature's shoulders as it crashed into the car. Parting her bow to unsheathe the swords, she stuck one in the shoulder. The Prowler thrashed and she jumped to the side, clinging for dear life to the bars. Her legs kicked until she was able to situate her feet and pull herself up the wall to the ash-covered walkway above. From there, she fired an endless barrage of arrows to distract the demon while War gripped it by one of its horns and swung his sword wide.
He leapt off as the Prowler's head- cleared of its horns- landed at the feet of its lifeless body. Sariele joined him at the base of a giant ash pile and the two walked forward, toward a rather large ravine. While War thought of a way across to the exposed ledge, she took notice of the patch of noxious drool on the ground, causing her to look up. She quietly tapped War and nodded toward the Goremaw above and the block it was apparently teething on, drool escaping its open jaw. She backtracked to a set of stairs that put her in perfect firing range of her impressive aim. As predicted, the Goremaw dropped the block, allowing War to jump up. When the creature retrieved its chewing block, it lifted the Horseman and he took a gliding leap, joined by Sariele, who swung around on one of the cables made from her holy matter. War, noticing a barricade in the form of reddish crystals, found an answer to that problem in the form of a small bomb plant. He hefted and then gathered Sariele into one arm before falling to the small outcropping of rock below. From there, he glided across with her and caught the exposed railing, running down its length until he again reached a small tunnel. They traversed its turning path until they stopped short at another ravine. This one proved to have only one way across: a long wire that stretched perpendicular to the pipe. Over the pipe, however, was the main problem: overhead, there were more three more Goremaws, salivating in wait for an approaching meal.
Without so much as another pause, War brought out the Crossblade and heaved it towards them. Its intended path was not hindered by its multiple targets, but returned to its master's grip. No sooner had he caught it, he scooped the angel up, throwing her over his shoulder and leaping for the wire, catching it and making his way toward the wall covered in demonic growth at his left. He was just in time, as the demonic creature closest to the wall nearly closed its enormous jaws on them, had he not jumped off of the wire in time and gotten them to safety. Quickly did he move across from one wall to the next until they had safely reached the pipe on the other side. Only then did he release her on safe ground.
It wasn't long before they emerged from the pipe and into open air. Sariele stilled as she saw ahead of them, open like a great mouth, was their entrance into the Ashlands. She approached behind him with cautious steps. As they came to the edge of the 'cave', it could be heard like a great rumbling as it made its way through the ashes and Sariele could see the long, familiar red spine protruding from its back. War paid very little attention to it, whilst hers seemed to be fixated on it.
"Sariele." he beckoned. His voice brought her back and she moved to touch him. With that, he brought out the Crossblade and hoisted it toward the Chronosphere he had seen attached to a block floating meters above their heads. "Stay with me." he ordered.
As she felt the odd sensation of time slowing down around them, she took off into the ashes, repressing a shudder as her boot sank deep into them with her effort. She picked it up and began a quick, but steady pace, attempting to ignore the sounds of the very slowly approaching Ashworm. She could hear the seconds ticking by all the faster in her head and it set her heart beating rapidly, her breath escaping her in short puffs.
Thankfully, they reached the other side with mere seconds to spare and War ushered her forward. This area made her nervous, however, as the 'other side' consisted of a mere narrow strip of raised rock that kept them just barely out of the reach of the abyssal beast that had let out a frustrated roar and abandoned this chase. It would likely not give up, though, and to fall into the ashes would surely mean death.
"Samael wasn't kidding about those worms!" the Watcher declared as it appeared in its usual poof of black smoke. "And the Stygian's supposed to be the 'mean' one..."
"I don't know how he expects us to get its heart, at least like this." Sariele murmured.
"Let's worry about finding it, first, and then we will deliberate a way to defeat it." War answered. She assented with another murmur of 'right' before she took to following him down this stony path once more. Once, they came across a gap in the path; War scooped Sariele up and quickly tossed her to the other side, quickly following by grabbing the ledge and pulling himself up.
Unfortunately for them, they were met with a trio of Corrupted Angels. Sariele, after remembering what happened on the Dry Road, as she had come to call that area, remained still, even after War had pushed past her, Chaoseater at the ready and thirsting for battle-shed blood. It only took her a moment to snap out of it as she saw the glint of the glaive of the third angel as it came up behind him, ready to kill at the best possible moment.
"War!" she called, rushing in. He turned upon hearing the clanging clash of blades. Sariele's eyes visibly hardened, her teeth gritted with the amount of force she tried to press back towards the Corrupted Angel. With a swift, speedy movement, she raised a leg and jabbed it hard into the angel's abdomen. With that, the angel backed away. "I need a boost!" she called over her shoulder. He obliged, crooking out his arm. She jumped onto said appendage, crouching low. In order to build momentum, he rapidly twisted a full revolution. As he lifted his arm, she straightened herself out. She sailed rapidly through the air and collided with her airborne enemy, piercing through his armor with the black blades- it surprised her to know that such blades could go through Heavenly armor.
The angel fell to the ground, dead from its wounds, and Sariele landed nearby. She approached only to pull out the blade while War walked away from the embers that remained of the other two. She breathed as she looked at the blades before slashing them out in midair to get the blood out. "I didn't think that my new swords would be sharp enough to pierce through armor." she noted.
"Those blades are made of obsidian." he answered. "Such a material has been known to make blades with an unparalleled ability to cut through the most durable metals."
Their path opened to a cave, although faint tremors caused them to pause. Ashes fell in slight streams from the ceiling and War knew that the Ashworm had shifted closer to them outside. Regardless, he dropped down in the deep ravine of the hole in the floor. Looking back up at Sariele, he held his arms out in silent offer to catch her. The angel inhaled and closed her eyes before stepping off. The fall was short and ended abruptly as she landed into his hard, firm body, his arms forming a secure cage of steel around her. To her amazement, he wasn't even jarred by her awkward landing. She was glad that the shade provided by her impromptu hood blocked out the vision of her blood rushing to her face as she felt his right hand on her waist.
'What is wrong with me?!' she questioned herself as he put her on her feet once more. She straightened herself out to make it look like she still had a little bit of dignity, pulling her hood a little further over her face before trailing after him.
He saw their path just beyond, just past a rickety-looking tower. "What is this?" he asked.
"They were just laying the foundations for this the last time I was here." she answered distantly. He looked at her, his eyes narrowed in emphasis of need for clarification. "I think they are trying to build tunnels to encourage and trap the worms in the arenas Samael mentioned earlier."
"Meaning that there must be one nearby." War pointed out.
"Although we might have something that stands in our way." she pointed out, her finger gesturing towards the outer area, where the Ashworm was indeed nearby. His eyes searched and eventually found a Chronosphere caged high up in the tower. The problem was, however, that they needed a way to bring it down to their level, or they wouldn't successfully get past the Ashworm. "Maybe we can lower it." she suggested after seeing it herself. "I think I see some sort of mechanism up there."
"It may be our only chance." he noted beneath his breath. With that, he went up the walkway to the next level of the tower, taking notice of the stationary drill below.
"This one seems to have been out of commission for some time, but I think there might be others over there." she noted aloud, nodding towards the west. "One of them might prove to be our way into the arena." With that, she entered the inside area of the drill tower and began climbing up the demonic growth that climbed its way up the inside and over the surface of the ceiling, War following her diligently. He allowed her to fiddle with the device that would allow the small platform with the Chronosphere to drop before he pulled her to him and the two dropped back down to the walkway. He, still holding onto her, then activated the magical device and- despite the protests from the angel, began his trek across the sand.
Her eyes were left to gaze upon the creature as it very slowly inched its way towards, them, although War was fast enough to get them away from striking distance. Time resumed as they reached the other side- another stone walkway that wound its way around and then ended at the base of three large, fully functioning drill towers. Further inspection showed that they would have to make their way through any tunnels formed, as the towers were surrounded on all sides by the ashes. The two forged ahead, with Sariele following him on foot, her bow at the ready.
She was right to have, for demons came to meet him as he rounded a corner, and they were prepared for battle. What they weren't prepared for was the giant head of the Ashworm they had narrowly dodged to erupt from the ground, breaking off part of the pathway and claiming one of the demons as it went back down into the ashes. Although it left her a little frightened, he was more surprised, but he did not let it get to him- and she was quick to recover, pelting the flesh of one of the demons with arrows until it resembled a very grotesque pincushion. The two ran ahead, able to hear the call of demons ahead.
War felt the tremors before anything and managed to grab Sariele and swing her back before the Ashworm made another jump for them, breaking off the path before them altogether. He watched it disappear beneath the surface of the ashes with narrowed eyes before he regarded her shaking form. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Y-yeah," she replied in a voice barely above a whisper before swallowing heavily, "just a l-little shaken, but I'll live." He nodded in approval before gently leaning down and picking her up as if she were again a frightened child- it wouldn't do if she was too shaky, and she pressed herself close to him, not caring about how awkward this would be. Many times over, she realized, that she owed this being her life and somehow she would find a way to pay him back.
The loud call was heard again after they crossed and they saw at the top of the drill tower one of the demons shouting something in that harsh demon tongue. It didn't take Sariele but a second to realize that it meant attack, for at that moment, several demons came down via zip-lines onto the pathway. War set Sariele down before the two charged into battle. They made quick work of these enemies, especially when Sariele kicked one of the demons over the edge. With a keen eye, she saw another pathway that headed west, over a deep ravine where the Ashlands ended and into a heavily shadowed area. When she had noticed that War had jumped into the deep pit where they were drilling and had begun climbing up the side, she also jumped down and followed him up the side, following him to the outside walkway to climb up to the next level. She beat him to the demon, taking it out with an arrow from afar. He then pulled the mechanism and lowered the Chronosphere.
They returned and Sariele scrambled up to his shoulders so that they could climb together after he unleashed the released Chronosphere. She watched as the blades of the normally rapidly spinning drill slowed monumentally. War climbed his way up and across while she held onto him. There was a lone demon who was utterly failing at keeping a lookout. With one solid punch, War sent it plummeting into the ashes below before he and the angel glided over to the wall of demonic growth. More walkways had been built here that linked the towers together. Demons lined them, but War's response- as well as Sariele's was to knock them into the pits of Ashes- a proper feast for the worms, she thought, with satisfaction. They circled the lowest level of this particular tower, but neither of them could find a particular way up to find a Chronosphere. Sariele approached the outer edge and pointed to a shadow current for War to traverse. As he lifted her up and the two drifted across, again she reveled in the floating, something she had not allowed herself to do in so long- although she was also temporarily startled when the current jetted them upward, but prepared to climb when the need came to retrieve a bomb to blow up the crystal blocking the area where they could lower a Chronosphere. They were met, however, with a posse of demons awaiting them.
To War's surprise, Sariele was ready, crouching low and slowly pulling out the blades. He was impressed with how much more progress she had made with a blade; her movements with her blade and her footing were both far more steady. She was no longer tripping over herself and she had learned to use her small stature more to her advantage, he noted as she twisted her way out of an attack and ended up kicking the offending demon into the spinning beam in the middle, knocking it around and then unconscious. War busied himself by slashing in an arc about one hundred eighty degrees around, taking out a row of enemies. Sariele took out the last one with an arrow that lodged itself into the demons brain through its eye socket.
"Wait here." War told her before picking up a plant bomb and activating the Chronosphere. Below mere seconds later, she felt the tremor of the plant bomb as it exploded. She took that as a signal and lowered the caged Chronosphere before lowering herself as well. Again, War activated this Chronosphere and the two made their way around the top before coming across another walkway- one that bridged to the previous tower. From there, they merely had to drop the Chronosphere and then return to the ground in order to make their way around once more to reach the higher level. From there, they could climb to the highest point on the tower. As War took to deactivating the machine, something caught Sariele's eye on the pathway.
"War," she called, "we might want to get moving." She felt the tower lurch as the drill below them stopped and pulled away from the hole it had created. "Let's go." he told her. The two made their way back down to the ground beneath the tower.
"I will go first." he told her before jumping in. She was about to follow when a screeching pain in her head forced her to stop.
'No,' she thought through the pain, 'not now. Please don't let it start now...' Already she could feel her senses weakening and the muscles in her limbs begin to spasm. A dull ache began to bloom in her back and shoulders. The Horseman called her from the tunnel below, but she then had other things on her mind. What she had seen on the path had been a whole horde of demons, and they had caught up with her. The first one to approach had been subdued by one of her flying arrows. The others were coming at her quickly, far more quickly than her body could have kept up with in her current state.
From the deep pool at the bottom of the tunnel, War could hear the sounds of a fight. There must've been at least a dozen demons up there, and he had left her alone to face them. The next thing he heard was her blood curdling cry of his name, growing faint. They had carried her off.
*ducking and crouching in preparation for thrown items* I know that was not the best way to end a chapter, my dear readers, but I will get right on the next chapter after the Easter weekend. All will be explained shortly, I promise you that much. As I said before, though, I hope you all have a great Easter, and I will have a new chapter posted as soon as I can.