Dynamic Equilibrium
a Bones/Felarya crossover
Chapter 35: Striving to Go Street-By-Street
11-30-2014
by Greyman
Disclaimer: Bones and all related characters are the property of 20th Century Fox. Felarya is the creation and property of Karbo, and all associated characters are the property of their respective creators.
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Vivian's decision to enlist Menyssan's help was righter than she knew. Though some may have loathed to admit it, what was playing out in Negav and the Deluran base today was very much like a game of chess. All moves and countermoves had to be carefully considered, the 'pieces' quickly scrambled to press an opening or defend a vital location. Thus, it was no surprise that Menyssan's counsel had proven invaluable. Their own fairy armada, though outnumbered by Coalition fairies and zombified harpies, was holding the line. Likewise, their units on the ground were pushing back against the growing Coalition encroachment, reclaiming the city.
Of course, to say the final stand against the Coalition was just like a chess game would've been a gross oversimplification. For one thing, those on Brennan and Vivian's side would be quite reluctant to sacrifice 'pieces'. On the other hand, the Coalition had their own disadvantage. They, and they alone, had distinctly critical pieces, not the least of which were Exona and Antonin Garrardo themselves. Their 'capture' would mean checkmate, while no one 'piece' lost on the opposing side would cost them the game.
Another critical difference from chess was that no one person was in total command of either side. Antonin Garrardo, of course, was no egotistical fool. He wanted subordinates who could keep their heads and take charge in his absence, blows to his image be damned. As for Brennan and Vivian's forces…to push back against the Coalition, they needed to coordinate.
And so, here in Subeta's workshop located deep underneath a tree, just outside the main entrance to her interdimensional workplace, was where their efforts were coordinated from. Not all taking part in this final stand were wading through the warzone. No, many Spetz officers were hanging back. They manned computer terminals set up on a huge granite block that served as a table for Subeta. All the pods crafted by Seliky and Angela, then surreptitiously placed all around Negav, fed these terminals data. Letting them keep track of their predators and ground units, while also alerting them to enemy activity. Thus, they could coordinate their forces more efficiently than the Coalition, giving them a huge advantage.
Not all manning these stations were Spetz officers, though. Sweets had one as well. Since basic biology was a fundamental part of any psychologist's education, he paid close attention to the vitals of their predators, along with closely studying enemy movements to decipher any patterns. And next to him was Hodgins, also in charge of monitoring the activity of the predators assigned to him. And there was one crucial asset in particular that Hodgins was charged with guiding.
At the moment, Hodgins had been paying close attention to activity in Mercenary Lane, located in the southeast area of Negav's Lower Tier. Their ground units were getting hammered, and a flock of zombified harpies was doing a good job of keeping reinforcements from coming in by air. Sure, fairies could shrink themselves down and then cut into the Coalition's ground forces. But as Hodgins stared at the computer readouts, his intuition told him there was no time for such a surgical strike. Those harpies would soon descend on their ground forces, and Coalition troops were already in a position to mop up the rest. Thankfully, one indicator for a friendly predator over in Negav's southwest, by the Jaslow Arena, caught his eye, a beacon of hope…
Holding a hand to the mic on his headset, Hodgins cried, "Hodgins to Frozen Oculus, immediate assistance is needed in Mercenary Lane. Heavy harpy activity and Squadrons Foxtrot and Gamma are pretty much pinned down. Prepare for immediate airlift. Frozen Oculus, please acknowledge."
For a moment, silence only marred by a brief hint of static, and then… "Please remind me why I agreed to this ridiculous 'codename' or whatever!" Kai spat back into her ear-mounted comm piece.
Hodgins smirked, feeling daring. "Well, I was going to suggest your codename have 'Godzilla' in it, but then I heard Booth explained the name's cultural significance."
Once again, silence lingered for a moment. "You do realize you're going to pay for that crack once this is over, right?" Kai snapped over their link.
"Consider that a little extra motivation for coming back alive," Hodgins said glibly. "In the meantime, I'll have Moon Turtle and Knight Wrecker move in for the airlift."
Kai muttered something unintelligible to herself, but Hodgins let himself be encouraged by her lack of protest. For such a loner, Kai had adapted to these team dynamics quite well. Hodgins watched the indicators for the two fairies called for the airlift swing toward the Jaslow Arena. Kai's indicator suddenly shot toward them, and then the path of all three curved in unison, heading straight for Mercenary Lane. Hodgins briefly wondered if, with all those harpies gathered there, Kai would have a chance to try Camille's 'cure'. No confirmed reports of a successful injection yet. But at least their forces had been giving the Coalition considerable resistance regardless, keeping them in check. So far, Hodgins noted silently.
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Katrika was pacing back and forth through Subeta's hideaway so much, she was certain her belly scales had carved permanent grooves in the floor. Once again, she passed that big granite block those Spetz and a couple Jeffersonians were situated on. They used those computer things to watch the fighting in Negav, and direct those who were fighting.
Even the humans and nekos and elves who didn't go to Negav, even THEY'RE making themselves useful! Katrika thought irritably. A hand shot up to feel her jaw, which had finally stopped aching and popping after all these weeks. She was one of the many predators Exona had hurt and humiliated that terrible, bloody day. But unlike the others, she lacked the strength and power to get some payback personally. Kai, Relina…it sometimes seemed like they were in this solely for that purpose. And Katrika found herself envying them. They suffered horrific injuries, too, but wasted no time readying for the next fight once they were healed. If only I could do something…ANYTHING! I'd be no good inside Negav, though, and the base… The thought of Anna under fire from all that stuff that supposedly could halt a score of Valka Fae in their tracks almost brought her to tears.
Katrika looked down at all those watching their monitors. They were all so wrapped up in the readouts of what unfolded many miles away, they showed no sign of noticing the predator hovering right over them, if they noticed at all. Even Sweets, perhaps the Jeffersonian most willing to listen to what a predator had to say, couldn't possibly spare a moment. Humans, nekos and elves working so hard to help predators, and heedless of the one right in their midst. Exona and Garrardo had already changed Felarya in more ways than one.
Katrika decided to watch them a little longer. What little she knew of this technology, she had gleaned from Anna. From a certain point of view, these would-be morsels didn't seem to be doing all that much. But their faces…so small, yet so stern and focused. And though Katrika didn't understand how this technology worked much better than, say, Crisis, she understood what it did. It let them communicate with everyone in Negav, predator and prey alike, and coordinate the pushback. It was one of the few things that boosted the chances of some of Katrika's friends…making it back alive.
The horrific notion of some of her friends never coming back…it almost brought Katrika to tears again. That was when she felt a warm, reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't you worry none, honeybunch. Hodgins, Sweets and all them Spetz…they'll make sure all our friends make it back in one piece, you'll see." Eyes still watery, Katrika turned and looked up at Malika. The boisterous naga had a way of making it feel all your troubles melted away with that smile.
"I-I-I-I'm sure they will," said Katrika, half-lying. "It's just that…well, I wish I could do something. It seems even the ones who aren't fighting have a part to play except me."
Katrika let Malika tug her away from that granite block, an arm around her shoulder, to slither further down Subeta's hideaway. "Some of us just ain't cut out for fightin', sug. Just let those who are do their thing. And even when ya are – like me, I knocked me a couple jet-platforms outta the sky back in the Giant Tree – it ain't always a good idea. I mean, bringin' Crisis outta that dimension hub-thingie to better absorb the soil's healin' effects…the little darlin' needs a couple nagas lookin' out for her, right?"
That would have made Katrika feel better, had Malika not brought up Crisis. Upon awakening after Anna carried her out of the Giant Tree, her thoughts still muddy, Katrika briefly considered Exona might have had a point. That eating Velvet's family like that was bound to haunt her later. But one look at Crisis, being cradled by Vivian, exhausting herself to keep her friend time-locked…all such thoughts fled Katrika in an instant. Exona was the monster here, no doubt. But if I can't help bring her down, I guess I'll settle for helping the ones she tried to bring down.
"Anyway, time we check on Crisis again," Malika went on. "Good thing Noxcia left some of them needles with healing venom, in case o' emergencies. The way she made damn sure the job of lookin' after Crisis wouldn't have no nasty surprises…I dunno, there was somethin' about her. Like she felt…connected to me or somethin'. I mean, I know we got matchin' patterns and all, but…"
Katrika only half-heard Malika as they slithered over to another granite block. It was the one where Subeta's human assistant, Marken, was typically situated on and working. Katrika envied this human more than those fighting over in Negav. The calm he exuded defied description. He just went on with his usual work, plus whatever Subeta told him to do to help the fighting, with enviable nonchalance and detachment. But right then, Katrika sensed something…different. As if all his indifference had fled. "Marken, what's the matter?" Katrika asked as they approached. "Are the spirits…telling you something?" she added dubiously.
"That there will be much death today? Yes," Marken said stiffly, not even turning to glance at the nagas. "If Crisis will be one of them? They say nothing of her. And her fate is now more uncertain."
In the time it took for Katrika's eyes to widen, Malika dashed around to the other side of that block, to where a bed had been fashioned for Crisis. "I…don't believe it. Crisis…she's GONE!"
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Kai kept a firm, anxious grip on her sword's handle, keeping it sheathed until after her drop. Subeta was right behind her, her arms wrapped around her waist, while Temi held onto her tail. The three of them soared over Negav, chaos erupting in the skies above the city and in the streets below. By some miracle, they sailed toward their destination. Kai warily watched all the fighting in the air unfold. Just because she was a born warrior didn't mean she liked seeing total war erupt. And she liked the flying part of this war even less. I don't get how Crisis could even WANT to fly, Kai thought nervously.
But thinking of Crisis, remembering why she was here, snapped Kai back into focus. She looked over to the Higher Tier, now engulfed in a swirling blizzard that could spread out across the entire city any second. Now that Kai had another one of her temperature-resistant kimonos, that and her armored scales could block out the cold. But some biting, frosty winds were already nipping at her face. Thankfully, they had flying fire-wielders on their side, and powerful ones too, who might be able to contain it. And not only that, keep up the hit-and-run assault on Exona to distract her.
Kai squinted a little, and saw two shapes in those swirling mists. There was a bright flash of unnatural-looking flame, and some of the snow and haze dissipated. A reddish-skinned winged figure…Zycra shot forward, ducked under a swing from Exona's icy bludgeon, and tackled her. Exona immediately threw her off, then brought those bludgeons together, as if to fire some sort of cannon. It was then that Relina appeared behind Exona, slashing at whatever was mounted on her back with a flame scimitar. Some sparks flew, but whatever Exona had built was built to last. As Zycra retreated, Exona turned to face the Valka Fae.
"You'll get your chance, Kai," Subeta said, knowing what was on her mind. "They're just softening her up so all that boosted power won't mean spit."
"And we've got problems over here," added Temi. "I spot seven harpies ready to gobble up our ground troops. Five in the immediate vicinity that can move in on a moment's notice."
"As good a time as any to see if my antibodies work on them," Kai said sternly. If taking Exona head-on was currently impossible, then let her strike at the frost sprite that way. "Three of the harpies are near the Great Foundry. I'll take them. Throw me and drop me towards them."
"Nice one, Frozen Oculus. All reports indicate the south wing of the foundry and the surrounding streets are clear of civilians," Hodgins shrilled over their link. "Frozen Oculus, you are clear to drop."
Kai bristled at that stupid name again, along with the notion of needing PERMISSION to act! But if Subeta and Temi resented it, they showed no sign. They dove down, toward Mercenary Lane. "OK, Kai, here we go," said Temi. "In three, two, one… DROP!"
The two fairies let Kai go, and gravity did the rest. The three harpies she spotted earlier noticed her descent, and started to rise up to meet her, but it was too late. Just before Kai slammed into Mercenary Lane, her tail slung around the torso of one harpy. Then she reached out and grabbed another by the leg, while wrapping her other arm around the last one's neck. Kai's trajectory took them all away from the fighting. The explosive impact left a huge crater in Mercenary Lane, along with kicking up a huge cloud of dirt and debris. The harpies wriggled free, but between the blinding dirt cloud and the jarring impact, they were in no position to strike back.
Kai, however, with her honed senses, had no trouble moving through the dirt cloud. She grabbed the nearest harpy, put a hand behind her head, and slammed her face into the foundry's roof. With its reinforced structure, it held up to the impact, the crack forming in the wall only travelling halfway down. The harpy, for the moment, was out cold. Drawn to the commotion, another harpy swooped through the dust cloud, talons bared. But one tail swipe from Kai sent her sailing into the foundry's premises, slamming face-first into a huge, steel tank.
The final harpy was just getting up. Kai recognized her as Belletia, one of the harpies that attacked the Giant Tree. She was supposedly one of the hardier harpies, but for the moment, she was still shaken.
A staggered harpy, but still conscious… Time to test Dr. Saroyan's cure, Kai decided. Kai bolted for Belletia just as the debris cloud had almost settled. With one arm slung around Belletia, the harpy's wings were pinned to her sides. Her legs reached back to rake with her talons, but she had no hope of penetrating Kai's scales. Realizing it had to be done now, while no other harpy could interfere, Kai reached into the waistband of her kimono and pulled out a huge syringe. After uncapping it with her teeth, Kai plunged it into Belletia's neck, slowly pumping the harpy full of her monoclonal antibodies.
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Kai had taken care of nearly half the harpies, leaving the others for Temi and Subeta. Soon after Kai made landfall, Temi tackled a harpy, forcing it down to the streets. Grabbing the middle of her wings so she couldn't easily spread them and fly, the two predators wrestled for a moment. Temi watched the harpy carefully, on guard for any hint of belching up bacteria-ridden breath. The Jeffersonians' masks were useless when enlarged, even if there had been enough to go around. Worse, Vivian's screening cloths wouldn't work so far away from their caster. So extra caution was needed.
Temi forced the harpy back, and their feet actually stomped in between the two opposing ground armies. At least we were in time to keep our teams from getting massacred, Temi thought glumly. For a moment, she wondered if any of the Spetz and Safe Harbor refugees needed her healing touch. Distracted by such thoughts, Temi didn't hear the harpy swooping behind her until it was too late.
But when Temi glanced over her shoulder, the ambushing harpy was pelted by a flurry of surface-to-air missiles, all coming from friendly squadrons. Sparing a second to glance down at the street, Temi saw Elia wielding one of the missile launchers. By her side was Isham, who had taken cover behind a bit of the upturned street, exchanging fire with Coalition troops. After reloading her launcher, Elia gave Temi a quick thumbs-up.
Temi flashed a small smile back, then returned her attention to the harpy. As she feared, she was set to spew its toxic breath at her. Moving in with a quick upwards palm strike to the chin fixed that problem. But by letting go of the harpy, Temi gave her a chance to flutter up and slash with her talons. A kick to the gut took care of that, and a right cross knocked the harpy into the side of a five-story building close to the foundry; half of it instantly crumbled under the harpy's weight. I hated spying on Brennan on her world, since I felt so weak, Temi thought bitterly. Not the case here. With my wings healed, I've got all the power I need. Exona won't be taking anyone else I love from me, not today…
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That was five harpies down, leaving the last two for Subeta. A well-timed lashing out with focused force through her glove sent one of them over into the foundry. This was mere seconds after Kai's tail smash did the same with another, with similar results. This left just one harpy, who was already obligingly swooping in with talons bared. Subeta soared up to meet her. In a flash, Subeta shrank herself down to the smallest size possible, letting her ascend even faster.
With the harpy befuddled for a brief moment, that gave Subeta the opening she needed. Flying behind her, Subeta shot back up to her maximum size and wrapped her arms around the harpy, pinning her wings to her side. Subeta forced her back down to the street, the impact of their feet making a small crater.
This would be a good time to try Cam's cure, Subeta mused. But…there was no way to test it! Is it worth letting one arm go to try? The wail of another harpy pricked Subeta's ears. Hold it…all these harpies, they've been dead silent so far! Looking over to the wail's source, Subeta saw Kai several hundred feet away, grappling with a harpy in a similar manner. Naturally, Kai had the strength to do it with one arm, and her free hand had…one of those syringes? The antibodies…Kai's injected them! But…will they actually work?
As Subeta stared at the purple-haired harpy struggling in Kai's hold, she noticed something change. The dull orange sheen over Belletia's eyes was fading, and their lifeless quality…it was vanishing? Belletia kept blinking, and…the light of intelligence was returning? It wasn't soon after that when Belletia wailed again, an anguished cry. Obviously confident her antibodies were working, Kai let Belletia go. The instant she did, Belletia took flight, heading for Negav's outer walls. She soared over them without looking back.
The Isolon Eye, it was working on her again! The antibodies work! Subeta realized. Hopefully that harpy won't make a habit of getting herself put under mind-control anymore… Wasting no more time, Subeta dug into one of the pockets on her enlarged Spetz uniform for a syringe. Before the harpy could flap her wings, Subeta stuck the needle into her neck and depressed the plunger.
It only took a few seconds before this harpy let out a wail of her own. Subeta threw her inside, convinced the antibodies would do the rest. Pressing a button on her earpiece, Subeta cried out, "Hodgins, the antibodies work! Spread the word! We can…"
"Not so fast, Knight Wrecker!" cried Hodgins. "Don't give too much intel over this line, but fear not, the word will be spread. In the meantime, I'm getting reports of a bunch of Negavians getting pinned down in a building, somewhere in your vicinity. I was cut off, so I can't give you the exact location, but…"
"That's no problem, Hodgins," Subeta beamed back. "Exona's not the only fairy with special magic tricks, you know." With that, Subeta cut the line and got to work. She couldn't afford to stand in one place too long in this warzone, especially at her maximum size. Thankfully, her scanning spells quickly let her figure out where her target was, as they always did. A tavern past where Kai had been grappling with Belletia, across the street from the closest barracks. Her scans revealed a lot of gunfire being exchanged within, along with a few offensive spells.
Confident she wasn't needed there any longer, Subeta shrank down to human proportions and shot down Mercenary Lane. Looking down to the street below, Subeta saw the Spetz and Safe Harborians finally advance on the troops who had them pinned down moments ago. Isham, in particular, looked quite eager to press on and end the carnage, while Elia had his back, missile launcher ready for any divebombing predator.
Luckily, Kai was still close by. Plus, Temi was still at her maximum size and had that covered. Temi had the harpy pinned down, one knee on her back and another on her wing, letting her inject some antibodies.
Subeta swerved around and approached from the tavern's east side. She used her scanning spell one last time. She had only a second or so to take in who was (potential) friend or foe, and how hectic the firefight inside was. The spell wasn't needed to hear the sounds of gunfire and spell-slinging inside.
With a wave of her gloved hand, the wall of intricately-laid stone blocks crumbled apart, making a hole small enough to fly through. Subeta dove right into the tavern's main area, while the potential friendlies were pinned down behind the main counter. Once she did, one punch from her gloved hand smashed through the protective barriers around a turncoat Isolon Fist battlemage, knocking her into two neko soldiers in Deluran gear. Not letting up, Subeta darted around the main lobby, shrinking and growing, taking out more and more Coalition goons before they could figure out who they were up against.
Unfortunately, things didn't exactly work that way. Just as Subeta had whittled down about half of the Coalition team, a fairy of theirs tackled her just as she enlarged. Both of them crashed atop the tavern counter, grappling each other. The defenders behind the counter…Subeta occasionally glimpsed some nervous stares from the humans and nekos, but none dared approach the fairies, or were still too wrapped up exchanging fire with the Coalition.
That was fine, since Subeta had her hands full. This particular fairy was strong. She had Subeta's gloved hand pinned down, and now had her hand over her protective headband. There was no time to try clawing at hers; any second now, this fairy would rip the only thing shielding her from the Isolon Eye clean off.
Feeling around desperately with her free hand, Subeta's fingers wrapped around what felt like the handle of a knife. With no time left, Subeta stabbed at the junction on her backpack, where the wire bundle from the headband went. She wiggled it around, digging as deeply as she could. Sparks began to fly. Before the other fairy could stop Subeta, her eyes suddenly clamped shut as she let out a wail. The Isolon Eye's power was seeping through! At least I can spare killing this one, hopefully… Subeta thought, not letting up. Shoving the fairy off of her, Subeta sliced the wings on her left slide clean off before ripping the headband off and tossing it aside. She fell behind the counter, sobbing, screaming and completely powerless.
Subeta looked down at her for a moment, feeling a little empathy. Whatever led her to follow Exona's lead, did she really deserve this pain? Did any of the Coalition fairies who had already died out there deserve their fate?
Those in here might argue that they did, Subeta realized glumly. Looking up, Subeta realized that the firefight was over. The tavern's defenders pressed the opening Subeta gave them, and now stared warily at her. There were a few Vishmitals armed to the teeth, a female neko adventurer armed with a crossbow, plus two Isolon Fist battlemages. A black-haired, rough-looking fellow with white robes and a long ponytail, along with some neko who wore a mask. Strangely, Subeta felt the most intense stare from that masked neko, who was rubbing his head. Blood was trickling through his fingers. Though his battlemage companion glared daggers, enough to unnerve Subeta a little.
Subeta shrugged her shoulders. "All yours," Subeta said simply, pointing at the screaming, powerless fairy, before flying back out the hole she made. She spared a glance back, seeing that neko adventurer and a Vishmital trudging toward the fairy…
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Ramtov watched the fairy in the unfamiliar military uniform fly back out, leaving them with a slew of unconscious terrorists to deal with, and plenty more dead bodies. Saved…by a predator… Ramtov silently marveled in disbelief. Here's hoping this sort of insanity doesn't happen too often. Looking back across behind the counter, that saucy neko adventurer was already tying up that other fairy. And for good measure, that Vishmital was stuffing a rag in her mouth to stop the screaming. Ramtov just shook his head. The morning had started off peacefully, with he and Thas enjoying some downtime after their last brief assignment out in Felarya. It hadn't been easy, though, with tensions getting WORSE after that Saidakin was exposed. He even came back to stories of Isolon Fist being needed to quell riots. Ramtov wasn't one to shy away from busting a few heads, but he wasn't craven enough to enjoy THAT excuse.
And then, if that wasn't enough, the city's warning sirens blare. And in the middle of trying to manage an orderly evacuation into the Lower Tier's underground mazes and bunkers…that's when the armies of this Coalition hit. In tandem with predators unharmed by the Isolon Eye. Clearly, those fairies had been lying in wait with sleeper cells, biding their time for the opportunity to enlarge them all and wreak havoc. Before Ramtov could really process what was going on, they were herded back into the tavern and pinned down. And just when Thas was confident he had a fix on some underground spot he could warp them to, a stray bullet grazed his head, temporarily putting him out of action.
Well, Thas was back on his feet, and there was still a besieged city that could use their help. But there wasn't anyone else from the Isolon Fist in there with them, and these Vishmitals didn't look like a high-ranking officials. Some of the Lower Tier's police force was in there too, and some had a bit of magical know-how. Not much for the start of a counterinsurgency, but it was something. So looks like I gotta lead this sorry lot. Lovely, Ramtov fumed inwardly. "OK people, anyone who wants to get underground to safety, Thas can warp you there. Anyone who wants a piece of these yahoos stomping all over Negav, come with me."
There were a few furtive, hesitant nods, but thankfully, some of the police, the Vishmitals, and that neko with a crossbow stepped forward. A few civilians also went and relieved the downed insurgents of their weapons before tying up the survivors. The rest obligingly dashed into the portal Thas crafted for them. Afterwards, Thas transported the renegade battlemages somewhere far, far outside Negav. If they wound up getting eaten…tough luck for them.
Taking the initiative, Ramtov stepped out the tavern's front door. There was a lot of debris strewn across the street, and there was kicked-up dirt lingering in the air. But for the moment, no insurgent armies were marching down the street, no giant predators flew overhead. Encouraged a little, Ramtov stepped out into the street, motioning for some of the others to follow. It was then that he heard the fluttering of wings somewhere to the left. HUGE fairy wings. Ramtov was about to yell for everyone to retreat back into the tavern, but then there was…something. Not something Ramtov heard so much as sensed, and then a rush of air a moment later. Then he heard and felt something crash down close to the tavern, right next to Negav's wall. Ramtov spun around to see the wide, green eyes of a giant fairy, looking directly ahead. Instinct took over, and Ramtov readied one hell of a telekinetic punch to plant those eyes, but something stopped him.
Mainly, the sensation of something warm and wet flowing over his feet.
Shocked, Ramtov spared a glance down. It was a wave of freshly-shed fairy blood. Looking back up at those eyes, it finally hit him. This fairy was dead. And when he walked around the corner of the tavern, Ramtov say no body attached to it. Some long, huge sparking wires, but nothing else. All Ramtov could get besides that was a brief glimpse of expansive red cloth with floral patterns, plus some orange scales, which all swiftly vanished behind the other side of the structure the tavern was part of.
Ramtov could only shake his head. So much insanity, no matter where he turned. Negav turned upside-down in just over an hour. Well, might as well try and do my job, and do something about it. He motioned for all those who volunteered to follow him, and turned westward toward the Higher Tier, assuming that's where the real trouble was brewing.
The instant he did, Ramtov realized he was righter than he knew. Once again, he could only stand there, mouth agape. In the brief time he and Thas were stuck in that tavern, some sort of snowy vortex had swallowed up the entire Higher Tier. And it seemed like it was spreading outward, ready to engulf all of Negav. Thick clouds over Negav now blotted out Felarya's current sun, whereas it had been a sunny morning. And having been so wrapped up with keeping himself in one piece, Ramtov hadn't noticed the surreptitious drop in temperature. Now, even with his battlemage robes, it seemed quite chilly. Snow was even beginning to fall.
"Am I correct in believing you want us to investigate the snowstorm covering the Higher Tier?" Thas asked him dryly. A bullet grazing his head obviously hadn't done lasting damage, not if he could still be so ridiculously matter-of-fact.
Ramtov growled as he looked over to Thas. "Any chance you can warp us right into that mess?"
Silence was Ramtov's only answer for a moment. "I…do not believe it's wise to try, at least not yet. This…seems like fairy magic of some sort, but of an intensity I've never encountered before. And like fairies themselves, the interaction with my magic may prove…chaotic. Besides, we don't know WHERE we need to go in the Higher Tier, and we may not have the time to investigate properly before we freeze to death. I must get closer, get a better idea of what we face, and weigh our options carefully."
Ramtov gritted his teeth and shook his head. Careful planning at a time like THIS!? Then again, his approach has gotten us out of worse out in the jungle, Ramtov privately admitted. "What about getting us deep into the Middle Tier, where the snowstorm has yet to sweep over?"
"Same problem. We may appear in the middle of another firefight," Thas pointed out.
Ramtov facepalmed, then looked down Mercenary Lane. Along many stretches of the road, there were upturned chunks of street. And some of the deeper gouges in the street…marks from harpies' talons! Are there were spots where giant harpies had clearly fallen unconscious, causing more damage just with their insane mass.
Ramtov glanced overhead again. No harpies or fairies directly overhead, but farther away, there were plenty of them. Fairies with uniforms just like that orange-haired one, clashing with fairies in dark jumpsuits, probably cold-resistant. I don't care which are the 'good' fairies and which aren't… All I know is that I'm not taking this ragtag band on a long slog into the Higher Tier, not with all this insanity overhead. "Sorry Thas, but we need to risk using your portals. Going the long way ain't an option. You'll have to make a small portal, peek through, and assess whether it's safe to…"
Gunfire let loose by their volunteers made Ramtov and Thas look over to the barracks. Some straggling enemy troops were advancing again, and a couple mages were with them. One cut loose with a lightning bolt, but Thas was on it. A portal opened up in front of him, which swallowed up the lightning bolt. It shot out of the hole that appeared next to the barracks wall, incinerating some of the troops and scattering many more. But they pressed on, and worse still, those weren't the only ones. Some were coming up along the street to the east, trying to flank them. "Come straight at us, or from multiple angles," Ramtov spat as he cracked his knuckles, ready to unleash some telekinetic hell. He reared a fist back. "Either way, you jokers are in for…"
A lot more than a telekinetic barrage, it turned out. From out of nowhere, serpentine torrents of water lanced out, scattering the enemy troops further. And the fire Ramtov's little squad kept taking, it suddenly bounced off a hastily-erected magical barrier. Telekinetic barriers weren't exactly Ramtov's thing, and definitely not Thas's, so who…
More torrents of water cleared away the stragglers, and weapons fire from unseen allies took care of the rest. As the barrier dissipated, some figures ran up. Humans and nekos who wore the same uniform that the orange-haired fairy had. At last, Ramtov recognized them. The Spetz, those self-absorbed hotshots we sometimes run into over by the Ascarlin Mines, Ramtov thought irritably. There was one who seemed to lead this squad, a grizzled man who had the air of someone who'd seen plenty of hellish combat on more than one world. Right behind him was someone Ramtov never expected to see again: that 'Jeffersonian' doctor, Camille Saroyan. She wore a Spetz uniform and brandished a rifle, yet somehow didn't look the least bit out of place. There were also two mages at their side. One he was happily familiar with, that scrumptious slip of a hydromancer known as Milia Moonleith. The other, however… "Frerik Mezzus, the traitor!?" Ramtov spat, unable to hold his tongue.
"Perhaps now is not the best time to vent grudges concerning collaborators with fairies," Thas suggested delicately.
"As usual, Thas is right," Milia said dryly. "As much as the words leave a vile taste in my mouth, we're not coming out of this without predator help. To fight monsters, we'll need monsters of our own this time."
Ramtov forced his anger down, considering his next words carefully. "OK, since we know about Mezzus, who's this guy leading these Spetz? And why is that doctor from before with them? And what the hell's going on with the Higher Tier?"
"The name's Yuri Nikalavich, and I have my own reasons for allying the Spetz with Negav," said Nikalavich roughly. "We can fill you in on the rest while we're on the move. We cannot afford to stay in one spot too long."
"Take it from someone who knows a thing or two about chaotic urban jungles: he's right," said Saroyan, the grip on her weapon tightening.
"Then let's get moving," said Milia. Then she raised her voice a little. "Listen up everyone, everyone who wants to take the fight to the Coalition, come with us! We'll let the predators on our side take out the ones in the air! It's our job to drive these bastards out of Negav, taking one street at a time!"
Ramtov turned to see many of the ones with him nodding slowly, still willing to do something about their home being trampled over. He felt a small sting of resentment about Milia usurping his brief leadership role, but he could let it slide. Leading wasn't his thing anyway. He was in this for the sizeable pay, bashing predators' skulls, and netting hot women with the prestige the Isolon Fist brought. Too bad Milia was never one of them, Ramtov mused.
The members of their squad of misfits used upturned chunks of street as cover, and stuck close to the buildings. Ramtov, meanwhile, stuck close to Milia, wanting something nice in his peripheral vision until he spotted some more of this 'Coalition' to smash up. Though, once again, he found Saroyan quite easy on the eyes.
Unfortunately, Milia barely seemed to acknowledge he was there. She wound up talking to Thas instead. "Voidfingers, we're going to need your power to free up a lot of friendlies trapped in the Blue Zone and University of Magic. At the moment, Exona's got them all sealed off with her ice barricades."
"Exona? That fairy who assisted Dr. Brennan?" Thas asked. For once, he sounded a bit surprised.
"I just knew that hot piece of fairy ass was trouble, but would anyone listen to me?" Ramtov added hotly.
"You know what they say about broken clocks," Milia said dismissively. "But yes, not only is Exona a frost sprite, she's Garrardo lover and right-hand enforcer. And right now, she's jacked into the Isolon Eye, draining its power to become a Guardian. Part of her plan was to have you out of the city, Thas, while she walled off anyone who might interfere. You and Telekline were given another assignment, so you couldn't warp friendlies out. By the way, just what are you two doing back in Negav so soon? We made a point of keeping track of you, but suddenly you and Thas couldn't be found, and then the Coalition struck."
"Let's…just say that for once, it was somewhat fortunate Ramtov convinced me to warp us all the way back into Negav for a quick drink and a decent meal," Thas said dismissively.
"At least you're here now," said Mezzus. "Though we could've used you during the escape from the Higher Tier. Exona's surprise blizzard came so suddenly, it was a minor miracle my barriers were strong enough to get out as many as we did."
Milia flashed a wry smile. "At any rate, we'll need to find out just WHERE in the Higher Tier are forces are walled in." It was then that Ramtov noticed a peculiar device nestled in Milia's ear, when she reached up to press a button on it. "Steel Iris to Knight Wrecker, we're going to need scans done on the interior of the Blue Zone and University of Magic. Means to evacuate trapped friendlies has been secured. Do you copy, Knight Wrecker?"
Whoever was responding to Milia, Ramtov couldn't hear, but the hydromancer was nodding encouragingly. "Voidfingers, I've got a canopy fairy who might be able to slip through Exona's blizzard. Just long enough to scan for trapped friendlies. Just be ready to get them out once she does. In the meantime, the closest gate between the Lower and Middle Tiers is clear for one of your portals."
Of all the weirdness I've seen thus far, seeing Milia talk so casually about fairies helping out takes the damn cake, Ramtov silently noted. But he wasn't given long to dwell on that. Thas had simply nodded to Milia, and conjured a portal leading to somewhere just over a mile away.
Milia seemed not to notice, however. She was nodding again, as if getting another message. The tip of her staff dug into the ground as she came to a halt, and see held up her other hand for everyone else to do the same. "There's another enemy squad, right up on the other side of the Middle Tier's wall. Voidfingers's portal will let up take them by surprise. Anyone who wants to hang back to cover our flank, speak up now." Amazingly, no one looked especially eager to stay out of the fighting. "Fine. Nikalavich, you and Cam pick who'll be best to cover our asses. Mezzus, Telekline, Voidfingers…we'll lead the charge." Milia took a moment to look over those not in the Spetz, especially the civilians who had taken up arms. "I know it's a lot to ask, swallowing this bizarre turn of events," said Milia, addressing them in particular. "But right now's not the time for reflection, for trying to make sense of it…but for action. If we keep at it, we'll win." Milia then raised her staff in the air. "Negav…will still stand!"
That finally got some badly-needed enthusiasm to seep into everyone else. Confident everybody was ready to move, Milia turned back around and charged into Thas's portal, Mezzus, Saroyan and Nikalavich hot on her heels. Ramtov exchanged one last glance with Thas. Of course, there was no way to read Thas's expression with that mask, but his following them through a second later said it all. "Well, SOMEONE'S gotta watch that kitty-eared ray-of-sunshine's back," Ramtov grumbled as he dove through the portal.
The portal took them right up to the gate separating the two tiers. Only the huge gate doors of wood and iron…were now just a mangled mess, easily passable. The doing of a predator? A powerful spell blast? Didn't matter at this point. Their ragtag squad charged through the ruined gate. Even though they wound up flanking an enemy squad, total war erupting all around them, Ramtov couldn't help but notice it was even more snowy here. Just a mile or so closer to the Higher Tier.
That wound up providing Milia extra fuel for her powers, and the fellow battlemage was already cutting loose with even bigger torrents of water than before. She howled like a wild beast as her torrents cut into the advancing Coalition lines. Only when she had to duck and roll to avoid gunfire or spells did Milia relent.
Though it was now overcast in all of Negav, it was easy for Ramtov to notice the huge shadows that suddenly loomed over them. Ramtov whirled around and looked up, readying another telekinetic whammy. As he feared, at least five gigantic fairies in jumpsuits were swooping down to give their ground troops a hand. A huge telekinetic wallop from Ramtov made one stagger back, but the rest were still coming.
"Voidfingers, give me a portal right behind the lead fairy," Mezzus demanded without preamble. Ramtov had half a mind to thump the treasonous mage for ordering Isolon Fist about like that, but Thas obeyed without complaint. Wasting no time, Mezzus fired a lightning bolt into the portal. It wound up frying the backpack thing the lead fairy was wearing, shorting out that headband apparently protecting her from the Isolon Eye. She crashed face-first into the wall separating the Middle and Lower Tiers, screaming her head off before doing so.
"One down, four to go," said Saroyan over the din of total war. She and Nikalavich ducked and rolled behind cover to avoid a fire blast from an opposing mage, then returned fire on the Coalition goons trying to flank them in turn. "We've got some incoming reinforcements. PREDATOR reinforcement, but…she's not exactly a flyer. Better brace for impact."
Ramtov was too busy trying to keep the fairies from landing with his telekinetic impacts to worry too much about whatever collateral damage any 'good' predators would do. Then Ramtov caught a glimpse of something was shooting toward them from the Elven District, cutting through the snowy air. That same combination of colors, red fabric and orange-ish rocks and now…long, reddish-brown flowing hair?
The big whatever it was tackled one of the fairies just before it would've landed. They smacked right into the wall separating the tiers, and it was a minor miracle that it hadn't toppled over. Through the cloud of debris, Ramtov watched the fairy stagger to get back up. But then he could see what had just clobbered her. A massive naga in a red kimono grabbed the fairy by her hair, slammed her face into the cracked wall, then ripped her headband clean off. Before she could even scream, the naga hurled grabbed the collar of her jumpsuit. In one fluid motion, she flung the flailing fairy at one of her compatriots swooping in. What remained of the gate was smashed into huge splinters as both fairies got flung back into the Lower Tier.
Thas and Mezzus's combo maneuver took out the protective gear for another fairy, just as the last one finally landed about a hundred feet away. That naga in a kimono stood between their ragtag squad and the fairy. Ramtov was right beside her, the hem of her kimono fluttering several dozen feet overhead. As she unsheathed a katana, the fairy produced a Vishmitali and charged. That Vishmitali became a deadly blur, but the swordsnaga parried each and every blow.
Confident that he could breathe a little easier with this behemoth of a swordsnaga watching his back, Ramtov turned his attention back to mopping up the Coalition dregs on the street. A hail of bullets forced Ramtov to duck behind a chunk of that mangled wall for cover, forcing him to be patient about sticking his head out to strike back. Soon enough, though, the gunfire let up a little. Given that opening, he popped out, ready with a telekinetic whammy. Two more Deluran troops got knocked back, out cold.
Just as he ducked back behind cover, Ramtov saw that last fairy was rushing at the swordsnaga, Vishmitali raised. The naga just ducked to the side a little and made a straight stab. With surgeon-like precision, her blade slung over the side of the fairy's neck, and then sliced through the thick tubing that housed her headband's wiring. The fairy crumpled to her knees at once, wailing, and one smack with a few hundred tons of armored scales had her sailing into the Lower Tier to join her friends. Still pinned down, Ramtov could only watch as the swordsnaga coiled her tail up, then shot off like a rocket, vanishing into the snowy winds.
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Menyssan wasn't exactly the only person in the counter-resistance that excelled at chess. Sweets, in years past, had been an exemplary chess player, and often found the mental proficiency the game called for useful in his work. This was another one of those times. It was his duty to keep an eye on the vitals of several predators, while studying the movements of Coalition forces to detect patterns at the same time. Multiple monitors were set up before him, and Sweets had to take it all in.
So far, however, Sweets wasn't noticing any particular pattern to the Coalition's movements. Maybe Deluran military strategy was eluding him. Since he never exactly studied military science back on Earth, perhaps he wasn't qualified to assess this sort of thing in-depth. Or I can just hope that we hit the Coalition so hard and so fast, they're disorganized, especially with Relina and her fellow fire-wielders keeping Exona busy, Sweets mused hopefully. Yeah, let's go with that.
At least keeping track of all the predators' vitals was more up his alley. Suddenly, the monitor keeping track of the predators assigned to him let out a disturbing beep. Turning to it, Sweets couldn't help but frown. The data box containing Kai's vitals had gone from a green outline to a flashing yellow. Wasting no time, Sweets fingers flew to his headset. But the image of Kai's stern face that stared back at him…it plainly said what the real Kai undoubtedly would fire back at him.
Still, it was his job to let Kai know. "Frozen Oculus, your data box just flashed a Stage 1 alert." Kai would know what that meant. Her protective headgear drew upon her own aura, but since that special variety of ascarlin hadn't had as long to cure and settle as the Coalition's gear, it was prone to give out if the wearer overexerted herself. Seliky estimated each unit would last, on average, a few hours. And knowing Kai, her time would be an outlier, giving out far too early.
It was a few seconds before Kai deigned to answer him, every bit as willful and brusque as Sweets anticipated. "I can't slow up now, Sweets. Still too many squads of harpies and fairies trying to sneak up on our ground forces. I'll still have enough left for Exona, don't worry." Sweets opened his mouth again, still wanting to reason with Kai, but the swordsnaga cut in again. "There IS something else, however, that I'm worried about."
Not since Kai's reaction to being asked her age had the swordsnaga caught Sweets off-guard like this. Kai, admitting to anxiety? Knowing it had to be something important, Sweets asked, "Report then, Frozen Oculus. What should we be looking out for?"
"Paquxa. She's not here," said Kai, sounding a little disappointed. Perhaps she had hoped the shadow naga would be a nice warm-up for Exona? "I've covered most of the Lower and Middle Tiers, but I have yet to spot that shadow naga. No one else has run into her either. And bleakness like that…even if Paquxa's hiding in that snowstorm, it couldn't mask a dark aura like that, not if her power is being boosted."
That was indeed a cause for concern. Almost all of their tactical projections had placed Paquxa in Negav. If Paquxa wasn't in the city, there was only one other place she could be.
"Acknowledged, Frozen Oculus. And do keep in mind that you've triggered a Stage 1 alert already," Sweets threw in empathically before cutting the line. No point giving Kai an opportunity to fire back. Sweets's fingers flew over his keyboard, opening an emergency line to their forces at the Deluran base. "Pink Disaster, come in. This is urgent. Pink Disaster, do you copy?"
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With the booms of missiles detonating overhead, barely triggered in time by Alvar, Fiona and Noxcia's cover fire, and blasts from the Deluran base's particle beam and sonic cannons, it was little wonder that Anna didn't immediately notice someone was trying to contact her. Plus, there was the matter of dodging all those cannon blasts. Little by little, Anna had been adapting to getting around with a giant snake tail. But she was nowhere near as swift as Kai or Crisis. It seemed like only pure force of will was letting her stay one (figurative) step ahead. Vivian wasn't proving much swifter, often relying on her magical barriers to deflect a lethal blow.
Even as the sound of her own particle beam blaster shrilled in her ears, however, Anna eventually became aware of the grating beeping in her earpiece. Everyone back in Subeta's workplace…they knew better than to try and distract them during a firefight like this. If someone was contacting her, it HAD to be important.
"Vivian, fall back for a moment, we got an incoming communiqué," Anna shouted to the naga next to her. Vivian had fired off another shadowy blast of steamy, murky water. Whatever that stuff was, it finally smashed through the protective barrier of another missile turret, rendering it useless. Even if this was all a diversion to help their commando team, depressingly few weapon fortifications had been downed. So it was no surprise that Vivian flashed a disbelieving glare, clearly wanting to keep the pressure on. "I said fall back for now, Vivian. Don't forget, I was the logical one for giving orders here, remember?"
Letting out a disgruntled sigh, Vivian erected another barrier, this time a dome that glided with them as they retreated. Missiles and particle beams pelted it as they fell back, and fortunately, it held as they ducked back into the surrounding forest. Not as deeply into the woods as Noxcia and Fiona were sticking, but just out of reach of the base's nastier weapons. And more importantly, Anna could hear whoever was pestering her. "This is Pink Disaster. Whoever this is, make it QUICK!"
"Very well, Pink Disaster," came Sweets know-it-all voice. Anna briefly wondered if some of her friends here in Felarya felt she sounded that way. "There've been no sightings of Paquxa in Negav, not even by our rocket-spring-jumping swordsnaga. So she's got to be there, waiting until the power transfer hits her."
As if the endless barrage from the base wasn't bad enough, Anna thought, wide-eyed with sudden fear. That shadow naga had been strong enough to tackle Vivian head-on at her base power. No one had counted on facing Paquxa here, least of all Anna. It just didn't seem to mesh with typical Deluran tactics. Noxcia and Alvar could even the odds, but that would give the base too wide an opening. Too many of their weapon fortifications were still online.
So if Vivian's old student had been ordered to hang back, there wasn't a second to waste. Anna turned to Vivian, who was busy parrying blasts from whatever particle beam cannons could lock onto them from this distance. "Vivian, we got a problem. Paquxa's not in Negav, so she's around here, fixing to ambush us."
"All too true," came a familiar, hauntingly deep, imperious voice from deeper in the forest.
Vivian and Anna both whirled around, staff and particle blaster at the ready. But they were too late. In an eyeblink, what looked like some shadowy glop overwhelmed them, smashing into them as if it were a physical thing. Both nagas hit the ground hard, dropping their weapons. Though every muscle in her body throbbed with some mysterious, unnatural pain, Anna willed herself to prop herself up and look ahead.
There, a few hundred feet away, they could make out a naga with bleach-blond hair and jet-black scales, wearing a dark jacket. But all of that was hard to make out, thanks to the billowing, pulsating darkness that swirled around Paquxa. Black lighting crackled all around her as well. Even with a sun directly overhead, Paquxa's augmented shadow power seemed to suck away most of the light around her. But it was the cold, vengeful glint in those black eyes that threatened to suck away what little courage Anna could muster. Paquxa drew the halves of her double-ended glaive, and charged…
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Felarya character credits:
Crisis, Anna Demorah, Vivian, Temi, Léa, Lily, Belletia, Melany, Subeta, Aya, Frerik Mezzus, Alastazia Lesona, Zil, Gramon Baltazhar, Alvar, Anko, Menyssan, Thas Voidfingers, Myreli Seluvine, Ramtov Telekline, Marken and Queen Nemyra belong to Karbo
Milly, Isham, Elia, Calina, Lucilya, Yemic, Jissy, Roshan, Ajab, Tina, Joanna, Tan, Pal Sebrit, Palaye, Rajan Dyab and Chol belong to FrenchSnack
Remus vir Patstriker, Xanthe, Ciel, Meringue, Nicholai Vardamis and Batten belong to NickInAmerica
Noxcia, Malika, Relina and Natalie belong to turboman500
Jora Fenderen, Jade and Tanny belong to Ravana3K
Nikita, Aniya and Yuri Nikalavich belong to Tora044
Katrika and Velvet belong to Zoekin3
Milia Moonleith and Zycra Zordford belong to vaderaz
Seliky Serela and Aurora belong to kikijonson
Helia and Atreus Karminari belong to Heavenless-Star/TheLightLost
Fiona belongs to rcs169
Kai Roga Mayin belongs to JiroKatsu
Garnet belongs to Petite-Emi
Zarynia belongs to AndurilWielder
Exona, Antonin Garrardo, Imkza, Paquxa and Shandra belong to yours truly, Grey-X