Convoluted
Commander Roghallach Tierney found himself leading a unit of Skylanders through the darkened forest floor of the elfwood. The initial surprise over their appearance quickly faded when their usefulness as the leaders of the charge was taken into account. It had been Roghallach's idea to lead them in when Queen Elanniah was taken aback by their sudden appearance. The Queen of Haven had given her consent, a part of her felt it would have been insulting to have Meir Valan's commander following the orders her own gave so she had agreed to the proposal quite easily. The Skylanders needed a guide through the forest and Uzern; it was holy ground and a political matter after all. Roghallach's presence satisfied the Queen and allowed her to rest easy with the addition of even more Skylanders.
Roghallach's unit was to quickly infiltrate the city and spread out to occupy the drow while the rest of Haven's army moved in slower and cleared the elfwood below before they ascended to the city itself. The Skylanders weren't the only surprises for the drow, word had reached the Wolf Clan of gargoyles and their warriors had arrived in force. Melee fighters, magisters and most important of all the psionics. Gargoyles normally kept to themselves, they weren't usually so involved in the affairs of the elves but when word reached them that the outcome could affect them as well they had decided it wise to act. They met with Commander Roghallach and his unit of Skylanders as well as Haven's Commander Caoimhe to refine their attack plan and sent psionics with each group to ensure communication flowed easily between them.
The gargoyles would go in at the same time the Skylanders did, they would come down on the city from above while the Skylanders rose up to it. Roghallach's stomach seemed to be doing cartwheels, it didn't matter how many battles he saw the feeling never went away. On the outside he was calm and collected, only his stomach betrayed him internally as his thoughts were full of strategy and tactics. For the moment his motley crew wasn't moving, Stealth Elf along with the only gargoyle psionic under the command of Roghallach had gone ahead to scout for delays and the rest of the force hung back biding their time. They were a good group but not military in rank and file, Roghallach wouldn't be able to issue many commands that they would follow exactly to the letter but with their track record he could overlook it this one time.
"Commander Roghallach?" a gruff voice said to the elf over the muted din of conversations.
The red haired eirian turned around to find Gill Grunt standing at attention before him. The gillman's soft form betrayed his fierceness and military history. "Yes?"
"Sir, I just wanted to clarify something with you that the gargoyle warrior mentioned." Gill seemed to hesitate for a moment then shook himself into action. "She said there is a chance the force that shielded the city from their mental probing is psionic as well and could turn allies into foes. How will we know if this has happened? I don't want anyone jumping at finding friends around a corner any more than you." Psionics were terribly new to Gill, to the rest of the Skylanders actually. He really didn't know what he was supposed to think or how to react to them.
Roghallach closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly, "I am sorry, Gill. There is no way to tell until they have attacked. Sometimes those under the sway of a psionic will act like normal until a certain command is issued and their conditioned response takes over."
Gill scratched his neck and stared off into space. "I was afraid of that. Thank you, Commander Roghallach." The gillman saluted the elf and turned to join Flameslinger and Fright Rider.
"Well?" Rider inquired. Fright was nervous and kept dancing in place. The ostrich's head swiveled in nearly every direction as he cocked it from side to side to hear everything at once. The undead elf reached out to stroke his mount's bare skull and the bird seemed to ease if only slightly.
"You were right," Gill nodded slowly. "We won't know if our allies have been compromised until it's too late to prepare for it."
"Oh this is bleak I am thinking. I am not liking it," Flameslinger shook his head.
"Just, be prepared," Gill sighed. "What is taking that woman so long?" he asked in agitation.
"Oh Stealth?" Flameslinger chuckled. "Ma chère is nothing if not very thorough. She is good at what she is to be doing."
Gill opened his mouth to say something but the mounted elf beat him to it. "Including brushing you off?" Rider said as he leaned forward onto the front edge of Fright's saddle. The undead elf smirked at Flameslinger's scowl and wave.
"Non, imbécile. She is playing the hard to get. I know this, you have no skill with the ladies," Flameslinger shook a finger at the mounted Skylander. "Chevalier sans espoir," he grinned.
"Augh," Rider grunted as he sat up straight again, "speak Common tongue, archer."
"You two sound like gossiping girls," Slam Bam said as he walked by them. There was no amusement on the white and blue four armed yeti's face as he moved up towards Commander Roghallach for conversation. It was obvious the Commander wasn't too keen on all the chatter around him and he kept his replies to the yeti short and to the point.
"He is right, you know," Gill smirked at the two of them.
"And they're both hopeless, no matter what the fire walker says." The sudden appearance of Stealth right in the middle of the three conversing Skylanders caused more than one to jump. She had quite literally appeared out of thin air. Stealth looked past her companions and strode up to the elven commander they were following.
"The drow are on the move, Commander Roghallach," Stealth informed him. She nodded to Slam Bam when the yeti stepped away to grant her an audience.
"Where are they, what are their numbers?"
"They're converging on the city. Unless we want to deal with all of them down here we're going to have to wait for them to take the lifts first. I can't see us managing to beat them to the lifts if more than one group is going to use the same one."
Roghallach growled and turned away, "That will put the gargoyle attack ahead of ours unless they care to wait. It also means we might meet extreme hostility the moment we arrive in the city. Where is the psionic that scouted with you?"
Stealth pointed into the forest. "Morning Dew lingered behind. We found something else; you'll want to see this. There's a spirit priest holding two drow that has asked for an officer from Haven. I told him we have you; he wants to meet."
"Then we should meet with him post haste. Stealth, I want you, Gill and Slam to keep the others quiet. At this rate the drow will hear us before we even know they are about."
"Imma bash me some heads," Slam said as he cracked the knuckles on all four of his hands.
"If you can do it silently," Stealth muttered under her breath.
It seemed all hope had vanished for what should have been the triumphant rescue party in Uzern's haunted streets. They had been subdued and restrained, there was nothing else that could be done to turn the tables. At least for the moment. If only the army would arrive the tables might turn.
Anicetus Reve walked with his head down and arms chained behind his back with his feet similarly shackled. He should have known the goliath was nothing more than a distraction. The Ignitorling was so focused on the hulking drow that he didn't realize a caster was preparing a spell until it was too late and the Ignitorling was paralyzed. He had made a promise to Seraphina to not use his chronokinesis unless a life depended upon it but now he had wished he had broken that promise. Anicetus found himself unable to do a thing; the spell the warlock had cast dulled his senses and made it hard for him to think. There was no way Anicetus could focus enough for a psionic attack.
Cart wheels squeaked as they clattered down the city streets. Trekkers drew flatbeds piled up with Skylanders, both Cores and the Tour natives. Drow armor clanked and saddles creaked as the procession traveled to the heart of the city; the palace district. There was no conversation exchanged, the group simply traveled in silence. At one point a steady thumping sound joined the caravan. The giant ent Timber walked on the fringes of the group like a shadow. He didn't even so much as bat an eye at the other Skylanders. He walked with purpose as any soldier would with his back straight and shoulders rolled back, the drow were completely at ease with him.
The deeper into Uzern the caravan traveled the more populated the city became. Drow had begun to clear vines from doors and windows so they could set up buildings for use. Residences as well as shop fronts were restored to operational status. Lights shone in windows again and elves moved through the rooms and halls freely. The light in the city itself was akin to twilight thanks to the canopy above and the drow had set up torches that burned a bitter fuel that gave off thick, oily, black smoke.
It looked like the military camp it was. Pens were set up to corral the animals the drow rode as well as used as beasts of burden. Growth in the streets that would hinder the wheels of carts was cleared and the city began to transform into a more recognizable habitat. Buildings that needed structural support now had poles to prop up walls that became compromised when too many vines were cleared away.
Anicetus could only see the drow. Hundreds of them milled about and further desecrated the holy city with their mere presence. Some took note of the Skylander procession and looked up with grins or prideful smirks. The spell that held the Ignitorling muted his anger, he knew what he saw was wrong but he was unable to process it. Well, no, Anicetus saw more than just drow. It seemed the closer to the heart of the city he came the more spirits he saw. They looked despondent and broken, heads down and eyes averted. Not a single one was seen outside of a building. It wounded Anicetus to see them in such a state, they lost their lives so long ago to the drow and now the drow had suppressed their spirits. Anicetus' heart ached for the Fallen of Uzern and he vowed to make sure they were set free.
"Hold," a voice ahead droned.
The eye patch wearing drow raised his hand and the group came to a halt, the wheeled carts creaked and groaned as if in protest. "What is this about?" the warlock asked in irritation. He looked at the Spyroling that had stopped them. Anger welled up inside at how quickly the puppet Skylanders were turned into favored allies.
"Asmodeus says they will remain a threat. The psionic that protected them put something in place to keep his pet's influence from taking hold. Restrain them before you bring them in," Scorch said.
The warlock gave him a blank stare in return then inhaled deeply. "You heard the puppet, restrain them." He drew rein on his solid black orniteryx as he waited for the others to carry out his orders. Oh, he was outwardly calm when it came to the puppet Skylanders but inside he didn't trust them one bit. They looked way too nonchalant; there were no glazed or vacant stares. They looked completely normal and no different from the Skylanders currently sleeping off sedatives.
The Ignitorling watched the drow tie up his companions as if he were in a dream helplessly watching events unfold. It pained him to see them bend Eloryn's neck back to tie her head to her tail and in turn stretch her legs out to tie the front with her neck and back with her tail. Spyro, Cynder, Camo and Windy were similarly tied. Everyone else saw similar treatment. They bent the others back to tie their hands with their feet behind them. It left everyone in a painful looking ring that would most certainly cause strained muscles when they fought to free themselves. They were so limp when the drow moved them off the carts to tie up then flung them back onto the cart beds again. Anicetus almost got the impression that they were dead and he felt fear for the first time since banishment. His flames had dimmed and turned an ashen sort of color, which drew attention from the drow but nothing more than pointing and murmured conversations.
"You may pass now," the Spyroling said as he walked right by the warlock and through the group to take a position opposite the enormous ent.
"We may pass now," the warlock parroted back in a mocking tone. He looked over his shoulder and tilted his head to indicate a departure before he moved his mount along. With a sneer the drow kept his one eye on the path ahead of him. The sooner they were done with the Skylanders the sooner they could get onto other things like infiltrating the nearest clan of gargoyles. That was what he had been looking forward to the most since he had learned of the secret Tour held.
By the time the procession had reached the palace the spell on Anicetus had finally worn off. Still much to his horror he found the chains that held him were enchanted and prevented him from slipping out of his armor to shake the shackles. All he could do was shuffle along in an awkward walk and swivel his head around. Great gates of stone and metal stood open, permanently so with the thick growth of the forest that had taken over. The wrought iron fence that separated the palace plaza from the rest of the city was a wall of green now with tiny flowers suited for such muted light. The palace itself was the same alabaster of the trees, indeed it was made of the trees. The whole thing was ripe with druidic magic that had allowed the trees to form the many wings of the building all without damaging their health or growth and still managed to look like something completely separate.
The Ignitorling had never been to the palace before and now more than ever Anicetus felt a sense of deep sorrow and anger so intense he thought his flames must be burning brightly enough to melt his armor and bonds. The spirits were gathered there in the plaza; they had been so absent in other outdoor parts of the city but now he could see them. It was only the soldiers; the common residents were restricted to homes. Yet even then Anicetus knew he had only seen a small fraction of the Fallen of Uzern. The pale blue etheric soldiers lined the courtyard like sentries and sad eyes watched the Skylanders pass. On the other side of the gate Anicetus saw other Skylanders. He recognized one as Sprint and the others must have been Windy's other friends. Nearly instantly Anicetus noticed that their elements almost exactly matched the group he had originally traveled to Uzern with. Anger specifically for the Whirlwindling simmered within the prince's heart. She had planned to coax a reveal of secrets out of the city even though she had stated over and over that hadn't been her plan.
"Leave them here," Sprint said as she strode up to meet the newly arrived drow. "Remove them from the carts and line them up for an audience."
The warlock with the eye patch ground his teeth, his jaw worked as he glared at the Stealthling with his one good eye. Why Asmodeus insisted on letting his pet's puppets issue orders was beyond the warlock though he did find it rather insulting as his own superiors were not conversing with him.
"They are heavily sedated," Lunar the Hexling said as she stooped to force open one of Niall's eyes.
"Polo," the Ninjiniling Mystic called. The little blue grub bounced up to them and the other two Skylanders retreated as he puffed himself up like a balloon then belched.
The noxious gas disturbed the drow and caused more than a few to gag but it seemed to rouse the sedated Skylanders somewhat. Most stirred but a few snapped very quickly into awareness and began to thrash only to learn that moving their arms would pull their legs up further behind them and vice versa.
It was Wraith that roared in rage and blindly loosed globs of oil from a movement restricted palm. "Filthy dark suckers!" the giant hissed. He turned his molten stare on any drow that dared to look at him.
"Restrain him!" Ashlina scowled as she bound forward to swat at the giant's face. She hissed at him when he trashed around in an effort to thrust his smoldering flame topped head at her. The dragon lithely leapt atop the giant and purposely dug her claws in as she turned around to breathe shadow lightning in his face. A moment later and the giant once again stilled. His chest heaved as he breathed and his eyes rolled to watch the dragon but otherwise his movements were restrained by a spell. Satisfied that the drow had successfully tamed the giant, Ashlina hopped off and walked back to the rest of her group. Not before she kicked up dirt into Wraith's face though.
"Elo, are you alright?" Seraphina asked. She was painfully contorted with her arms pulled behind and tied to her legs. Unlike the others who were on their sides Seraphina was sitting on her belly and rocking ever so gently. It put a terrible strain on her shoulders and legs and the limbs burned with the pull they had on one another. The eldest princess couldn't turn her head; the pull on her shoulder simply wouldn't allow it. From the corners of her eyes she could see her sister lying motionless, if not for the steady rise and fall of her chest she could have passed for dead.
"My neck hurts," the Flashwingling said hoarsely. "If I try to stretch it or my tail the chain restricts and chokes me."
"Help," Windy mewed weakly. She was tied just like Eloryn and the other three dragons. If any of them tried to stretch out their limbs they would pull on the others horribly. Windy couldn't turn her head in any direction and all she could see currently was a motionless Meilyr. The Fizzling laid there with his eyes half closed and mouth hung open, Windy couldn't even tell if he was breathing. On the other side of Meilyr Camo lay in a similar state with his back to her.
"You'll pay for this," Spyro said darkly. He felt humiliated, looped up into a circle with his belly exposed and neck screaming at being held back so forcefully.
Rather than add to the banter Hex simply tried to conjure up a skull rain. She was forced to relinquish her hold on the magic when she hit Cynder a few times in the belly and took Ginny-Li under the chin. It was no help if she had to beat down her companions to do anything.
"Pathetic," the eye patch wearing drow grinned as he walked along the line of restrained Skylanders. "I had hoped for more of a challenge. But you went down so terribly easily." He shook his head and made a tsking sound.
"Step away from them, Rhet," a voice said calmly but in a volume that shouldn't have been possible. The eye patched warlock whipped around with a short bow then quickly strode off. Descending the leafy green steps from the palace was a rather peculiar drow. He had goliath lineage but unlike a full blooded goliath he wasn't a bulk of muscle. He stood as tall as a goliath but was very lean and toned with the finely crafted facial features of normal sized drow. His skin was a dark blue and it was either paint or tattoos on his face that gave him white stripes like a tiger. His delicate hands too were similarly marked and perhaps all of him had been done as such under the mockingly white silk warlock robe he wore.
His hair was slicked back and tied into a ponytail that rested high up on the back of his head. The tip of his brilliant white hair reached the middle of his back. In his right hand was a staff made of the finest obsidian topped with a blood-red garnet shaped like a spiked mace ball.
The puppet Skylanders parted like a curtain before the warlock when he reached the plaza. His gaze swept over the assemblage before settling on the white robe wearing Hexling. "We are cut from the same cloth, I see," he smirked at her. His eyes flicked to Niall momentarily, the orc too was was dressed as a priest but had chosen darker colors to clothe himself in. "I am Asmodeus," he actually bowed before the captive audience. "And you are to be my guests here in my home."
The residents of Tour bristled, Anicetus tried to step forward with a protest but found the business end of a spear wedged under the arm of his armor. "This is not your city!" the prince retorted hotly.
Asmodeus gave him a look of indifference, "When I arrived here the city was abandoned and surely you can see by its state that it has been as such for a very long time. So it stands to reason that I am able to claim it as mine."
"The Queen of Haven rules over this ancient city. It is unoccupied because we hold it as holy and sacred," Seraphina hissed. The Hexling rocked herself back and from the front she very much resembled a cobra about to strike with the fire in her eyes.
Asmodeus raised his hand and with but a word he had used a spell of force to slide the bound Skylanders across the plaza and closer to the drow that stood in front of the spirits. "My pet is unable to get past whatever wall your psionic benefactor put in place so I think I am going to have to approach taming you in a different way."
He tapped his staff on the paving stones and Anicetus's chains fell away in a loud clatter. The Ignitorling drew his sword swiftly and charged for the much taller drow in a heartbeat. His sword met one of Mystic's Wishblades and the Ninjiniling brought the other under his arms to force them up high and push him backwards. "You are a Skylander!" Anicetus roared at the entranced giant.
"It seems we have our first match," Asmodeus spoke to the gathered drow. Cheers erupted from them and they beat weapons on shields or the paving stones in celebration.
As the impossibly tall warlock drifted back up the stairs so too did the rest of puppet Skylanders retreat. The match didn't look even in the least; Anicetus only reached Mystic's knees. Well he would if she had any instead of the standard djinn tail. Anicetus looked back on his companions. He saw rage in the eyes of Wraith, Ginny-Li, Cynder and Spyro. Defeat in those of Eloryn and Windy and determination in Hex, Crevan and Niall. Camo, Meilyr and Nivaeus were still heavily drugged and looked to be struggling to hold themselves in a way to prevent their bonds from harming them. Seraphina though watched the warlock carefully, Anicetus could tell she was trying to read their foe and wasn't surprised when his sister looked right at him.
Ani, Seraphina's voice said into her brother's mind. It was weak, almost like a whisper. I need you, her voice kept drifting in and out like she was having trouble holding onto his mind, time alter to free.
Distorted, distant and unfocused. As awake and undaunted as she looked her mind was still fogged. Anicetus knew exactly what he needed to do. "Well then, let us test our skill against one another," the Ignitorling said to Mystic. He thrust his sword forward suddenly and managed to catch the djinn by surprise before he leapt up. Using his forced combat with the Ninjiniling as cover the Ignitorling altered time for just his sister.
Everything froze suddenly around Seraphina; it seemed the whole of the world had just stopped. A few massive purple leaves about the size of a giant's hand were held in mid-air and the cheering drow were frozen in poses of shouting and fist shaking. Her brother was hovering in the air following the leap he made to engage the Ninjiniling in armed combat. Closer inspection revealed that she wasn't frozen; things were moving slowly enough to make a snail's pace seem like a speeding projectile.
Seraphina closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, she was going to have to remain as still as possible for a while. The world hadn't stopped around her; rather she had been sped up so much it appeared to be still. Any movements she made would translate into convulsions in the time everyone else was in and possibly give her away. Until the effects of the sedative wore off she was going to have to be still. For her it would feel like an eternity, for those in the normal flow of time they had probably already seen her get up to make her move.
Anicetus' blade rang against one of the giant's Wishblades. He managed to avoid the slash from the other one and set his feet on it long enough to spring up higher yet again. The Ignitorling's foot hit the djinn's armored shoulder before he lunged to the side and twisted around to grab the giant's forehead and wrench her neck back with his weight and momentum. For just a second he allowed himself to glance at Seraphina, she vibrated steadily as she waited for the sedatives to wear off.
Mystic groaned when she felt the sharp pain in her neck from the Ignitorling's tug. A moment later and it turned to burning in her scalp when he grabbed her by her long red ponytail and pushed off her back with his feet only to crash back into her a moment later. The giant released the magic that summoned the blade in her right hand and began to grope blindly behind her to find the flaming knight. Her efforts were met with painful swats of his sword. Unless she wanted to use her own blade blindly behind her back she wasn't going to have much luck. Mystic got an idea though and leaned to one side so she could toss her head and in turn swing the Ignitorling around to the front.
"Not good," the Ignitorling hissed as he was swung out wide. In a moment of desperation the prince tried to hack through the red hair he held. His blade was sharp but her hair was so thick. He managed to sever a part of it and was forced to let go to avoid Mystic's grabbing hand. Anicetus was in effect tossed and as he soared backwards he spotted the most promising sight he could have hoped for. Seraphina vanished in the blink of an eye; in another blink his companions' limbs snapped back into comfortable positions and they began to stir.
"Stop them!" Asmodeus bellowed when the Ignitorling crashed into several spectator drow and the Skylanders scrambled to their feet. Things would have happened quickly if Anicetus hadn't acted again.
"What is happening?" Spyro asked when he tried to charge a drow that had just fired an arrow and realized the arrow was hovering in the air still. He turned a bewildered look to the side and saw everything else in a similar state. The only things that looked normal were his companions.
"Ani!" Eloryn cried as she was able to take the time to properly stretch and work out her stiffness. "This is his handy work!"
"Remarkable," Crevan murmured as he got to his feet. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton but he was up at least.
"You slowed the whole world?" Hex asked the prince in disbelief when he finally managed to separate himself from the drow he had become tangled with.
"No," the Ignitorling stumbled across the plaza. "I made us faster. Hurry, this also means we are aging."
Seraphina stood up from where she had kneeled by the forest dragon hybrid and stepped around him as he stirred. "Are we going to come out of this in adult forms?" Camo froze in the act of getting up. He was next to Meilyr and Seraphina, the latter of which who had cleared his head of the sedatives finally. "It will make things harder on our Portal Masters if they have full grown dragons to transport. The portals are too small, none have made any bigger!" He looked to Windy then Cynder and Spyro.
"You think your fur will turn grey?" Spyro tilted his head to Meilyr and Crevan. The latter Fizzling could only shrug.
"You are not that fast," Seraphina answered. She took the still sleeping Meilyr's head in her hands and concentrated on pushing the toxins through his system to render them useless.
"I always did dream of waking up next to you," the Fizzling gave her a stupid grin as he sat up.
"Keep dreaming," Seraphina said with the roll of her eyes as she hoisted him to his feet. Niall pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned slightly, now was not the time.
"Find the psionic," Wraith said from where he had covered a group of drow in oil then set ablaze. "Clear the area quickly."
Asmodeus wasn't sure what he was looking at. The Ninjiniling turned around in a slow circle utterly perplexed by the loss of her opponent and drow were bursting into flames while others fell over dead from wounds that seemed to suddenly bloom and escalate. The area was wet with puddles of acid that drow stepped into unknowingly. Things were simply appearing without any rhyme or reason.
Their psionic, a voice said in the back of the goliath warlock's head. It was strange being that it would change as it spoke to him. Almost as if it were two different voices speaking at the same time. You didn't find their psionic. The voice echoed that time, one part of it was plainly stating the thought while the other seemed to reprimand him for his lack of insight.
"Find him then, Surpin," Asmodeus growled the name of his pet.
I already have, the voice replied. That time there was no mistaking it. It was two voices. One was angry over the fact and the other smug. She is before you already.
"One of the Skylanders!?" Asmodeus responded incredulously. "Not possible!"
Nivaeus and Spyro both had the same idea, the duo charged Asmodeus on the stairs to the palace. Enough time had passed for him to be posed with his arm raised and pointing outward with a furious look on his face. Nivaeus reached the drow first and didn't expect what met him. He slammed into something hard. Rather than simply falling to the stairs the giant found himself flung backwards into a surprised Spyro. The two tumbled down the short length of stairs they had climbed and stopped just at the bottom with groans.
"Anyone catch the number of that train?" Spyro asked as he stood on shaky knees.
"Sorry," the giant Swarmling apologized. He rolled his shoulders and stretched out his neck. "I would rather not try that again. Leave him for now."
The tall warlock jumped back when the shield he had around him exploded suddenly. Something had attacked it but he couldn't see anything around him. Frantically he began to cast again to restore it; he couldn't chance being taken by surprise. "Take cover!" he called to the drow, it was no use fighting what they couldn't see. Blurs of motion zipped around and always preceded and followed an attack but moved so quickly there was no room for defense or retaliation. Other shields had popped up around casters and those they could extend the protection to. Some exploded as they were overwhelmed with rapid attacks and others lit up like fireworks as they held off attack after attack. "You!" Asmodeus pointed to the puppet Skylanders, "Stop them!"
"How?" Steek the Ignitorling asked. "We can't see them any more than you can."
There are so few of them, Surpin's strange double layer voice said into Asmodeus's mind.
"Show yourself, coward, and help!" the drow roared. His pet was willful, sometimes Asmodeus felt he was playing a dangerous game and sat on the edge of failure precariously.
"Converge in the center of the plaza," Anicetus called. They had dented the drow tremendously, others had traveled beyond the gate to ensure the drow there were taken care of and unable to bring aid. Breaths came out in gasps; the Skylanders had worn themselves out in their rampant death strokes.
"My arms ache from slinging potions!" Meilyr complained. Crevan too shared his pain; both Fizzlings were rubbing the arms they used most.
Windy's chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, "My fur is standing on end from all the tempest clouds I set up in the area." She couldn't help it and had to suppress a giggle, both of the Fizzlings were statically charged and their fur stood up straight without them seeming to care. The Whirlwindling's expression changed just as quickly and she looked to the frozen figures of her friends. "How, how do we bring them back to our side?" She nearly faltered as she walked up to the others. Eloryn and Anicetus looked pointedly to Seraphina.
"She can handle it, don't worry," Nivaeus said softly. "Once the drow are taken care of she can restore them."
"I hope so," Windy sighed in a forlorn manner.
"Seraphina can, I have seen it before," Niall nodded.
"You know, if Cali dug up some heroic challenges kinda like this I think we might have long ago pushed past the limits Kaos put on us," Spyro said after taking a large breath.
"Or gotten too overconfident," Cynder sighed. "We had nothing to challenge us. It was way too easy." She glanced up at the Ignitorling, "Although in this case I'm not complaining about how easy it is."
"Not anymore," Camo cringed when finally the sounds of their surroundings caught up to them. Screams of pain, shouts of confusion and all manner of chaos broke out as the Skylanders were returned to a normal flow of time.
"You!" Asmodeus howled and pointed furiously at Seraphina. "You were the first to vanish then this follows. You started it all!" He threw a spell at her that never landed, the shield the princess had erected mirrored the attack right back at the much taller drow. Niall cast his trip wire at the same time for insurance. Asmodeus found himself unable to move and the attacks hit him easily. The dark skinned drow stared in surprise at the princess that stared back at him equally perplexed. "Let me go!" Asmodeus demanded. When the priestess looked to her companions he realized it hadn't been her doing. "Release me at once!" he repeated to everyone present.
"No," a deep voice rumbled as a massive shape landed hard beside him. A hulking figure colored like ashy bark righted himself and folded heavy leathery wings. He was slightly taller than the goliath hybrid next to him and filled out with broad shoulders and thick arms. A square face much like a lion's watched the area with black eyes broken only by two thin slivers of red in each. A black fin-like ridge ran from his forehead to the the back of his head, thick quills hung from the sides of his head down to his shoulders, the gargoyle psionic had arrived. It became apparent quickly that the gargoyle was undead, the gaping hole in his chest yawned a blackness so deep it almost seemed to swallow all the light around him. A red spark throbbed within the void, pulsating almost like a heart but it did nothing to illuminate the blackness around it despite the fact it glowed a baleful shade.
"Surpin!" Nivaeus, Ginny-Li and Wraith exclaimed at once. They knew him all too well, the Alpha male of the Shadow Clan located nearest their own clan. But why was he in Uzern and so far from home?
"It's strange how even though physically you are different you still smell the same." Surpin grinned, his fangs shone white and bright against his ashen hide. The undead gargoyle bowed deeply before the Skylanders. "You can thank me later for keeping the drow off your case. We have business to discuss."
"We have nothing to discuss with you," Ginny-Li told him as she folded her arms across her chest in defiance. The hulking undead gargoyle simply grinned at her.
"Who is he?" Spyro demanded of Anicetus. The Ignitorling was the closed one to him and a plausible font of information.
"Bad news," Eloryn growled. "Watch the shadows, if he brought any of his clan they will emerge from them for an ambush."
"A clan leader," Anicetus finally replied. "Head of one branch of the Shadow Clan. They are widespread across Tour and believe their race is supreme. You are either one of them or a slave, there is nothing else. These drow were played."
"Is he the psionic or necromancer? He is obviously a lich," Hex questioned. Lichs made her skin crawl, powerful undead who could control lesser undead and drain the life from the living to increase their power.
"I am both," Surpin replied simply. "The spirits of this city are docile because of me," he tightened one of his large hands into a fist. "Your fellow Skylanders obey me," he extended his other hand out to the group that had moved in behind the infiltrators. "And these silly drow thought to use me to overthrow Kaos. Simpletons to think they had me under their control," he laughed at Asmodeus still held by invisible forces at his side. "You have with you the only four individuals I truly see as worthy adversaries," he grinned as he looked between the three Reves then Nivaeus. "Though two are impotent." Again there was that tinge of a double voice.
The enemy gargoyle stared down the smaller and rather ragged looking Hexling in silence. No one made a move even with the tension in the air; it was as if the psionics were sizing one another up. Seraphina stood up straighter about the same time Surpin did; they seemed to have sensed something. As one they both looked up into the canopy overhead. The Hexling was the first to look back down and she did so with a wide grin. "Only four?" she asked in a sultry tone. Whatever the two psionics were talking about was a mystery to the others in the area. They hadn't seen nor heard a thing yet.
Surpin's wings snapped open as he leaned forward and roared at the Hexling. "You think the addition of other psionics will change a thing? I have what I wanted. The whereabouts of every clan of gargoyle that is not Shadow are known to a few of my puppets not here in Uzern. I have already sent them with their knowledge to spread the word. Kaos will learn of the gargoyles and their abilities. He will come to Tour in force to claim the power he needs to destroy the Skylanders!"
"You have damned yourself, Surpin!" Wraith bellowed. The fire golem leaned back and roared loudly just as the other gargoyles dropped in from the canopy on swooping wings to take by surprise the drow standing back in confusion over the events. "Kaos will find you too!"
Surpin laughed and the sound was joined by another that continued a little after he had quit. "We are more resilient than that. Besides," he grinned darkly, "Your efforts when combined with those of the Skylanders and Tour's armies will ensure we are safe. You and Kaos will wipe one another out and leave us to take control in the aftermath." The gargoyle drew himself up tall and began to walk backwards up the stairs.
"No! We cannot let him!" Seraphina yelled as she took off after the gargoyle.
The Skylanders held under Surpin's sway attacked without provocation and prevented anyone else from coming to her aid.
"What are you doing, Sprint, it's me!" Windy wailed as she slipped to the side to avoid her friend's blades. She had to backpedal quickly when Sprint came at her again with a sweeping slash followed by a roundhouse kick. "Sprint!" Windy cried in disbelief. "I don't want to fight you!"
"You do or you die!" Ginny-Li yelled in exaggeration as she took Timber by one of the wooden protrusions on his head that resembled horns. She wrenched the ent's head to the side and hit him hard in the back of the head with the pummel of her blade. The ent wouldn't be easy; his thick bark hide acted as a dampener. Ginny-Li knew she was in for a battle.
"Typical," Hex snorted at the copy of her in leather, "The reason I find so many of my copies appalling." Hex raised her hand to stop the phantom orbs Lunar had sent at her. "Don't you understand how your skills work?" she grumbled. Hex wasted no time and redirected the attack back at Lunar and was satisfied when it landed, the Hexling didn't even try to copy what she had done. "I certainly hope your dimwit is due to the psionic control," she muttered. Hex wasn't given time to gloat, a flaming sword from the rival Ignitorling slashed down next to her and singed her arm. The undead elf cried out in pain and surprise as she jerked away and looked at her ruined gauntlet.
"Heads up!" Spyro called as he swooped over Hex's head and spat out bolts of electricity. With a little manipulation of the charge the purple dragon was able to successfully cage the Ignitorling and left Hex free to take care of her copy.
Satisfied that Hex could hold her own the dragon turned to other matters. Niall found himself pressed by the Ninjiniling when she resorted to bottle rockets. Their erratic movements were hard to predict and the Voodoodling was stuck in defense mode.
"Two can play that game," Spyro muttered. He wheeled around and opened his jaws to charge the magic needed for his own "missile" attack. The dragon circled once, twice and yet again before the charge was complete and he set it loose on the rival Ninjiniling. Midway through its trajectory the green orb exploded into four separate shards of rock that all hit their target.
The giant was dazed as she popped out of her now shattered bottle. The magic surrounding it would reform the bottle but for now she couldn't retreat to the shards. Niall set two trip wires, one right on the giant before she could move and the other behind her in hopes that would be where she tried to retreat. It wasn't but Niall was able to set another that did drive her into it.
"Need a hand?" Cynder asked as she flew by Crevan and the Wrecking Balling Polo. She had seen the little blue grub eat no less than three of Crevan's potions and the worst it ever did was make him belch up fire or an acidic mist that mysteriously didn't harm the grub. The dragon noticed something was wrong with the other Skylander's tongue but seeing as how it didn't stop him from eating Crevan's potions she didn't give it any mind.
"Flank him!" Crevan yelled. He kept throwing potions just to distract the grub. Without making it obvious he was doing so Crevan watched Cynder circle around and cringed when she used her poison breath on the little grub. The sickness that followed made Crevan turn and run, he didn't want anything to do with it.
"Sorry," Cynder murmured as she swooped down and grabbed the gremlin in her front claws. She moved him out of the area to join Anicetus in dealing with Ashlina the Cynderling.
"Disgustingly effective," Crevan replied while glancing back. At least Polo was so distracted by illness that he couldn't see to attack anyone else. "Take this," Crevan said as Cynder set him down. He rummaged through his pack and handed her a flask. "Give it to him to stop the poison from worsening. He will still be out of commission though."
Cynder nodded and zipped off to do it, she would stay with the grub for a while to make sure he didn't trouble anyone before she returned to deal with Ashlina.
"So you think you're hot stuff huh?"
Spyro hadn't even seen it coming; he had been too busy spitting ice balls at the newly freed Steek the Ignitorling. The dragon stifled a howl of pain when his Copy slammed into him with the force of a freight train. Spyro hit the upper story on one of the buildings outside the palace and broke through the wall with a crash and pop of vines. Spyro groaned as he pulled himself to his feet, he hardly had time to react when Scorch barged into the hole Spyro had made and spat out a series of fireballs at him. "Yeah, Hex is right. There is something insulting about being ambushed by yourself," Spyro growled after setting up a small wall of ice to hold the fire at bay.
"How the…?" the Copy blinked in surprise. "I've gone down the blitz path and burner path after multiple resets. I've never even seen elements other than fire!" Scorch was familiar with the magic of the upgrade fairies as they had been affectionately named and never had he seen anything like Spyro's abilities. After the curse fairy magic was the only way a Skylander could learn new abilities attuned to their alignment with the elements and skills shared with the original Core. Spyro though seemed to have more somehow.
"Nothing beats the original," Spyro promised before he popped up over the barrier and snapped his head forward for a breath of ice replete with shards.
Pelted and peppered with ice Scorch was forced to raise a wing for protection and in his attempt to escape the dragon got his foot tangled in a loose vine and slipped to land hard on his belly. The vine around his foot froze and the frost crept up onto his leg to hold it in place.
Spyro wrinkled his nose as he carefully froze the Spyroling's jaws shut while still leaving the other purple dragon's nostrils free. "Sorry, um, me, but you can't be running around causing trouble right now. We'll fix you up, I promise," Spyro told him before he made sure the other dragon was stuck in place.
Eloryn and Wraith found their skills better suited for dealing with the drow that managed to get past the gargoyles. Seraphina must have exchanged information with them for they didn't attack the puppet Skylanders.
"Coming your way!" Wraith bellowed as he grabbed a drow by the collar and slammed him into the ground. The dark elf bounced once and slid to a stop near Eloryn's feet.
The Flashwingling raked the prone figure with her claws as she jumped off him to slam into another drow that thought he could charge the two Skylanders in surprise. "Not so fast!" she hissed as she let loose a barrage of crystal shards. The drow jerked with each one and his forward momentum eventually turned into a stagger before he fell.
"Help the others when you find time," Wraith said as he moved in next to the Flashwingling.
Two shadow dashes used against one another made for interesting results. Cynder smirked to herself as she bucked her Copy up and off her back. She didn't get the chance to show Ashlina how to apply finesse to her attacks when Camo bowled the Copy over with a snarl and bound her instantly in vines.
"Well then," Anicetus huffed as he sheathed his sword and looked to Crevan. The Fizzling could only shrug.
"Incapacitate them quickly!" the green, leafy dragon said with the swishing of his tail. "We can't afford to let the fruit rot on the vine." It was an odd allegory but the others got it at least.
"Get that Wrecking Balling out of Meilyr's way!" Cynder called as she raced over to help the Fizzling. Crevan's potion must have healed him too much; he didn't seem sick at all anymore. The little blue grub was very apt at blocking the gremlin's use of potions without devouring them during his second bought with a Pop Fizzling. Cynder skid to a stop when the giant Nivaeus did the unexpected and punted the other Skylander right into the back of Timber's head. Ginny-Li didn't waste a moment and forced Timber's arms to reach behind him as much as possible with the knot of wood on his back.
"Like peas in a pod," Camo grinned once he had wrapped Timber and Polo in vines.
"Watch yourself!" Crevan gasped as he stepped in to grab Sprint by the wrists. The Stealthling thrashed and managed to get a foot up against the gremlin's chest. He grunted but refused to let go.
"Oh, forgive me!" Windy cringed with tightly closed eyes before she used a harmful blast from her horn on her oldest friend. It broke her heart to hear Sprint cry out in pain then Crevan grunt as he used the opportunity to subdue her.
"Go help Hex," Crevan said suddenly. "I think she is toying with your friend now. We do not have time for that."
"We can handle her from here," Anicetus said as he joined Crevan in restraining Sprint.
Windy turned to find the two figures wearing the same face; it looked like Crevan was right. Hex blocked anything Lunar threw at her and used only enough force to break through the Hexling's defenses but not stun her. "Can this day get any more wonk?" the unicorn and dragon hybrid asked sadly.
When Surpin had turned to flee he set loose the drow warlock. It was a delay tactic that had worked. Seraphina found herself hung up on the warlock that had attacked her out of fear that she would do away with him before she went after the gargoyle. Seraphina was content to completely ignore him but the warlock wouldn't have it.
"You are wasting my time!" the princess snapped at the much taller warlock when he had managed to get in closer in an attempt to crack his staff against her throat. The Hexling grabbed it to prevent the hit but the unfortunate side effect was his height and strength allowed him to lift her up off the ground and left her dangling from his staff like she was doing a pull-up. Seraphina kicked out and much to her dismay found the eternal effect of being a Hexling meant the bottom of her foot never actually connected with him, the purple mist was there to keep it just inches away from him.
"I had one psionic under my thumb, it should not be hard to take you as well," the warlock snarled. He grabbed the foot Seraphina had tried to kick him with and was able to keep her suspended with his other arm while she thrashed and tried to remove his hand from her leg. "Why have you not used your psionics?" he demanded as he pulled her leg out to the side.
Seraphina yelped, her attention was divided truth be told. She was trying desperately to keep Surpin from leaving the area and the other psionic was putting up quite the fight. Asmodeus wasn't her focus even though physically he was the most dangerous to her. She wanted Surpin; if she couldn't get to him then she was going to bring the allied gargoyle psionics down on him. "You are not my target. I want the gargoyle!" Seraphina yelled at him. She squealed in pain when he pulled on her leg harder, if she kept her death grip on his staff he would dislocate her hip. If she let go she would be at his mercy. Seraphina had no choice, she divided her attention long enough to force Asmodeus to let her go. She hit the large warlock across the face with psionic energy and spun him around as she stumbled down the steps.
"I got you," Meilyr said as he stepped up to catch the tumbling Hexling. Cynder leapt over their heads with her banshee scream to render the warlock impotent before she head butted him furiously in the chest with a leap.
"Can you help Cynder?" Seraphina asked Meilyr as she stood on her own. "Surpin has not stopped assaulting me since he set the warlock on me. I cannot afford to have my attention divided for long."
"I've got Cynder, you watch Seraphina," Spyro said as he charged by.
"Very well," Seraphina nodded to Meilyr. She moved away from the palace steps to one of the other buildings before she put her back against it and closed her eyes.
"You had better be careful," Meilyr murmured under his breath. "I hate it when you do that."
Seraphina vaguely heard Meilyr's warning. She had already sent her consciousness to meet with Surpin's in a battle field of the mind. Surpin had initiated it so the landscape was his choosing. The Hexling found herself standing in the middle of a fog covered swamp with twisted tree roots sticking up out of the marshy ground that gave the illusion of the trees trying to stand up and walk. Hot, humid air assaulted her and the smell of plant decay was thick. No sun was present, the dark clouds roiled overhead with a promise of something other than rain in their red-lined borders. Even though the dark clouds were boiling there was no wind and no thunder present.
The elven psionic took some solace in the fact she could appear however she wished in this plane of existence and had resumed her normal eirian elf form with golden brown skin and blonde hair. "Show yourselves," Seraphina said in a voice she willed to be painfully loud. The trees quaked and their branches rattled with the force.
Laughter came from two distinct directions and in two separate voices.
"She thinks herself smart for realizing we came together," one hissed like a snake to the other.
The other voice answered, this one obviously Surpin's deep tone, "One of the most powerful psionics outside of the gargoyles. But her other half is not present, she is of no threat to us."
Seraphina turned slightly as Surpin took shape ankle deep in the murky water. Like her he chose a different form, he looked alive now with chocolate brown skin and normal eyes as well as a distinct lack of a hole in his chest. To Seraphina's left was the other psionic, he decided to remain shadowy in form and could have been any number of creatures with large folded wings and eyes that burned like hot coals.
"Bane," the elven psionic said simply.
"Shalu'Bane," he hissed harshly at her, "You have not earned the respect required to be allowed to shorten my name! You are not gargoyle, you are not worthy of respect!"
"I am not here for idle chatter," Seraphina said as she held her arms out and levitated off the soggy ground. It was a dangerous game she played and she knew it, she was stronger than either one of them but with their combined will it was a whole other story. Oh Kaelin, she thought to herself, I need you now.