Chapter 12: Eye of the Storm
Despite all the problems, things were actually going well. Nick and Golden Fox had slowly learned how to keep a good pace without putting too much energy into the braces. Cam's suit was slowly rebooting. Tex, with some coaxing from Mage, was able to break away from his argument now and again. Mr. Enter was able to see through the atrocities, if only slightly, by calling to mind the admirable animations. Mage seemed more in control of her powers than ever (Voice couldn't help but notice that Mage was most in control when she was walking next to Fire Brand). But, despite calm that had fallen over them, Voice couldn't help but find a problem.
"We already know that they're picking us off one by one. But we still don't know who they are, what they're doing, or why. And that's not all; me and Dr. Wolf still haven't been hit, and there no telling what they'll hit us with." Voice explained.
Dr. Wolf nodded, "The attacks have become more and more frequent, we have to be getting close."
"I could have told you that." Cam said, pointing to the large stone door at the end of the hall.
There was writing scrawl across it, "Beyond this door lies a final trial," Voice read aloud, "to decide victory, or exile. Open your eyes and see the other side, you haven't much time left to bide. If the leader cannot rise to the call, then all he has built shall fall."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Golden Fox Questioned. "Isn't it obvious?" Tex said, "Passed that door is the last trap. If we beat it, we get through, if not, not so much. If I had to guess, I'd say this one is for you Voice, and I recommend get it right. If the leader cannot rise to the call, then all he has built shall fall. You built the Rift, that omen doesn't bode well for the rest of us."
For a moment, there was silence as everyone processed the fact that Texeriax had just made an intelligent, logical deduction. Then they remembered that that was what they brought him for in the first place.
"But what about 'Open your eyes and see the other side, you haven't much time left to bide'?" Voice asked. "Simple, it's… hey! I already told you, I came up with the Sombre Concept!"
Voice sighed, "We lost him again." "I'm not as apt at head cannon as Tex," Dr. Wolf said, "but if I had to guess, I'd say that we are on some sort of time limit. And if we run out of time, we lose, whether you complete the trial or not." Voice nodded, it made sense. "Then I guess I better hurry."
"Are you sure you have to go in alone?" Ink Rose asked, worried. Voice nodded, "They want me to go up against the next challenge alone. I may not agree with that ideology, but I can't exactly object." Voice said, opening the door, and walking inside.
Three hours passed and there was nothing. No call from Voice, no sounds of conflict, just silence. It was getting on the analyst's nerves.
"His been alone too long, we have to check on him!" Ink Rose pleaded. "The instructions said that it was his battle." Tex said. "Instructions left by the bad guy." Nick pointed out. "What if it isn't really a test for Voice, but a test to see if we trust him enough to let him fight alone?" Cam wondered. "What if he's dying in there?" Golden Fox replied. "What if us going in distracts him and he dies because of us?" Mage said. "Quite please." Dr. Wolf said calmly, silencing everyone without even raising his voice.
"We have a rather interesting choice to make. We can stay, and risk Voice getting hurt, or we can go in, and rick all of us getting hurt. Tex, you were the first to say we should stay, what's your reasoning?"
"You all saw the sign, if we go in, we lose. This is a challenge he has to face alone. It sucks I know, but it's what has to happen." Tex said.
"It seems that all our challenges were meant to be handled one on one, and yet, almost none of them were. Golden Fox shared Nick's shackles, Cam survived his power down thanks to all the unicorns, Mage needed Fire Brand's help to gain control, and even you needed help ignoring your troll," Dr. Wolf said, "I'd be willing to bet that working together is how we were supposed to go about this all along."
Tex was ready to argue, but he could see the truth in Dr. Wolf statement, "If that's true, then let's get the damn door open!" he said.
Nick and Golden Fox, still the physically strongest even with the shackles, worked together to open the door, as it had locked itself after Voice went through.
What lied beyond the door wasn't a pretty sight. Voice was thrashing, screaming, cursing, and otherwise going ballistic seemingly for no reason.
"Voice! What's going on?" Dr. Wolf asked. Voice focused on the analysts, "R-run! They let him out!" was all Voice could say before he sank back down.
"Let who out?" Dr. Wolf asked. Voice's movements slowed, he turned to his friends and grinned, "Me."
It happened fast, Voice's color, mark, and build changed. The Voice of Reason had been transformed into Horror Score.
"Oh this is just too good!" Horror Score laughed, "Complete control! After all this time!"
Fire Brand took the first step of what would have been a war charge, but before he could go another step, Horror Score stamped his hoof on the ground and all the analysts flew backwards.
"And I've got all his powers! I don't know who this intruder is, but I got to send him a basket of muffins or something!" Horror Score kept laughing.
"Horror Score, I you have to stop! The intruders could be dangerous, not just to us, but to all of the Rift!" Ink Rose pleaded.
Horror Score grinned, "I think I'm the more immediate threat to the Rift. Now that I've got all Voice's powers, I can burn this place to the ground." The analysts gasped. "Oh it can't be that surprising, it was Voice's idea. He was supposed to wipe the slate after the Twilight's Kingdom review, but he went weak and bitched out. Now I can finish what he started."
Horror Score began to rise into the air as he let out waves of Rift magic. Ink Rose immediately felt the Rift deteriorating around them. In only a few seconds, the section of the Rift began to break apart, leaving Horror Score floating in a black void with the Rift falling away around him.
Ink Rose couldn't repair the damage faster than Horror Score could cause it, so there was nothing they could do but run.
The analysts got about fifteen feet away from the destruction when Dr. Wolf stopped.
"Hall ass man!" Tex called. Dr. Wolf watched the Rift fading, a look of determination in his eyes, "We can't leave him." He said simply. "Well we can't go back!" Tex said. "No man gets left behind." Fire Brand nodded.
Tex groaned, "Fine, what's the plan?" "Horror Score is an extension of Voice. If I can get him to listen to me, I may be able to bring him back." Dr. Wolf said. "He's still hostile, I'll go with you." Fire Brand said.
"You both seem to forgetting the part where he melted the floor!" Tex said. "Leave than one to me." Cam said, producing a small metallic sphere. "I made it before we came here. It basically lets you pass through Rift magic by absorbing it and dispersing it. You can use it to float in that void he's creating. It's got a limit to how much Rift magic it can take, so hurry."
Dr. Wolf and Fire Brand took the spheres and took off into the void.
Horror Score didn't notice them until Fire Brand hit him with a bolt of magic. Horror sneered and fired off Rift magic at them. He was confused when it didn't kill them, and even more confused when they started talking to him.
"Voice! You have to stop this!" Dr. Wolf called. "Voice isn't here at the moment, please leave a message after the beat!" Horror Score chuckled. "Voice, stop screwing around!" Dr. Wolf shouted.
It was a chilling moment. No one had ever heard Dr. Wolf yell before. He got worked up sure, but yell? Never. Even Horror Score seemed shocked.
"All the analysts, everything you've built, it's all on the line! Are you going to let it all go to hell because the Hyde to your Jekyll is an ass?!" There was a flash of Voice in Horror Score's eyes, "I-I can't." "Like hell you can't! You built this place brick by brick! Horror Score is you! You have always worked to be a sane voice against the insanity, a calm word against the madness, a Voice of Reason! Are you really going to let Horror Score throw all of that away because you were too lazy to kick his ass?"
Horror Score struggled with the effort is took to keep control. The Rift slowly began reconstructing itself around them as Horror Score sank to the floor. By the time he touched down, he was Voice again.
"So what do we do now?" Ink Rose asked. "The intruder entered our home, tormented us, and put us through hell in an attempt to wipe us out," Voice said, "I say we respond in kind."
"Brother, are we evil? I know we don't have a choice, but look at what we've done." "I know. I often wonder if we should simply stop. But we can't there's too much at stake and I'm not about to risk it all. They're getting close; we have to hope that they don't get here too quickly."