Chapter 25

Fall

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, only my own OC's, Energy Magic, and Ideas

.:+:.

Orders were being barked out left and right, people running back and forth and rushing, yells and shouts and screams of terror ringing through the halls of Banore from outside- the Lower Warrens a sudden, terrible battle ground.

Spinning vortexes of white light had appeared through the Atrium only half an hour before, Fairy Tail rushing from the depths of the Teleportation Magic. There had been no warning and no time to think, the storm broke out near as soon as the night fell on the city and they had all been told their part to play, and the stars remained blotted out overhead by a mass of pitch black clouds. The earth had started to tremble not long after they arrived, the tremors under their feet interrupting Aisha's quick instructions to the lot of them, and setting everyone in both Fairy Tail and Adgnei on edge.

Chase stiffened, his attention snapping away from the meeting and upward toward the oculus set in the roof. He grimaced, his skin suddenly crawling with a new fervor as an all new surge of Power ignited on the air and rushed out what felt like the whole of Adgnei- ramming into him hard as Vulcan and snatching his breath away. He felt the ground under his feet tremble just as much as the air and the Energy all around suddenly did, everyone could feel it, all the people of Adgnei and Banore and Fairy Tail both... And they needn't be an Energy Mage to feel how terrible dark and off the world seemed to become.

Everything is wrong

"They are beginning." Saige Balthan- that mysterious and utterly enigmatic Wizard Saint that had popped into the picture without warning- he murmured the words lowly, his expression grim and orange eyes cast to the bit of the darkening crimson sky that could be seen from the oculus. He frowned, his orange gaze dropping again and fixing with the glittering purple one of Aisha, the MoonLight Mage's expression hardening slightly as the Saint nodded his head to her.

One, single, solemn nod.

Aisha's attention swept out ahead of her, her hand following suit as she beckoned toward all those assembled, each and every one in the hall suddenly fixed to her with the utmost attention. She commanded it without a word, she needn't ask for it- before them all was that Noble of this country they knew so very little of, she held power they had never known before now, and she held it even among the sheer chaos.

"You all know the plan! Stay together and do not get yourselves separated, follow your designated leader and do as you are told. Keep the Kullui and the Noble Caste busy, keep them occupied, and keep up your guard, no matter what." Her voice rung around the room clear and cold, and they all grimaced, bodies tense and emotions on high- but they kept themselves steady. Steady even as the fire and the fear grew stronger in their hearts, and even against what chill raced through them at seeing their own panic in the MoonLight Mage.

"This is now a war. You slip up, you die."


They were rushing, all of them already having left Banore and started out on the streets, racing toward that Palace and willing themselves to get there in time.

The plan was simple and yet so carefully laid out. Samuel's genius, the tact Adgnei's Thieves Guild, and the provided support of the Twin Cougar's Guild and their Benefactor Mr. Saige Balthan had erected a plan that... well, it had to work. And it was the only plan that ever had any chance to work, they knew Adgnei like no one else, and they needed that knowledge if any of this was going to turn out even remotely okay.

This country and their enemies, they were much too powerful to take on without careful planning- and still utterly dangerous even now with a plan in place. Aisha's last warning in Banore was running through their heads almost as incessantly as the rest of it was.

The plan, the situation, the danger, and the breathtakingly terrifying conformation of just what it was all of this was about in the first place.

Things had tumbled into full-blown chaos much too quickly to have allowed time to really relay to those in Adgnei just what it was that Moon had found out, and what Saige Balthan had confirmed for them. But what little they heard of it, was more than enough, and the fear in their hearts and the terror of what might happen to their Energy Dragon Slayer had grown a million times worse. The true aim of all of this insanity was something none of them could have fathomed, or would have ever dared to.

Adgnei, and that tower up in Okeal... the things seen in Carla's vision and the reason for the brutality shown to an Energess, the threat (and now reality) of a war within Adgnei. Every single bit of this was because of one thing... one terrible thing.

A Tomb for a Force of Creation is here, in Adgnei, in that tower, and the God-King wants Frea to open it.

They had to act, now. The Lower Warrens were already a mess, the Kullui and the Lower Caste already engaged in battles and firefights all throughout the streets, and without warning. It seemed the minute the sun hit the edge of the horizon and shadows began to cast over the city, the Kullui had started forward, moving and firing off their weapons, collaring the citizens and reacting violently even against the smallest sign of resistance or upset among the masses. And worse yet, there was no one commanding them. The Kullui seemed suddenly brutal and merciless and without any reason nor direction.

Saige had been right, Time was up... and in near to no time at all, everything was going so, so wrong. The horrors of Carla's Vision suddenly reigned in terrifying realness all around them, and they couldn't stop it. It was worse than they could have ever imagined.

People everywhere were running, screaming, fighting and falling. Weapons flashed and gunfire was a constant on their ears, men, woman, children, everyone- all of them fleeing or fighting, many of them already bleeding, and some of them no longer moving as they lay still on the cobbled, and bloodied ground. Those allied with the Thieves Guild and those with Therigist and his men were coming from Portals alight in the streets, emerging around corners from seemingly nowhere and all of them instantly taking a stand. And the Fairy Tailers joined them, backing them or leading the charge, guarding those looking to escape and staying on their guard more than they ever had in all their lives.

The whole of the Guild was spread out among Corrisette alongside those allied with them, split into groups and given strict instruction to follow whatever order's Therigist's people gave them- lest they end up injured, captured, lost, or worse in the unfamiliar territory. They had arrived in battalions of Wizard and Adgnein, transported into specific, carefully picked portions of the Lower Warrens that served as the larger, more frequented portions of the city, settled mostly in the center of the edges of the city itself. These were the places that were the most densely populated, and had the most back-doors and secret spaces and path's frequented by those involved in the Black Market- and for it, the places where their efforts of setting up footholds in the city and holding them would be the most successful.

Whether it was seen as a waste of time or not, in this war they had to establish some sort of foothold in the city and hold it against the unrelenting forces of the Kullui. They had to gain territory and be able to keep it- and once they did, they could push forward, and toward where they all desperately wanted to get to. And not only did it help in gaining ground, it also helped that setting up these footholds would help to cut off resources and reinforcements for the Kullui, splitting their forces up into smaller bands and leaving them vulnerable... if they could take the larger streets and block entry and movement, the Kullui would lose their advantage in numbers, and they could be surrounded. And then, the Fairy Tailers and Adgnein's alike could pick them off, defeat them, and push onward.

Of course all of these reasons were why Samuel had chosen to stage these footholds in the first place... as well as what funnel they would create in the movement, and placement of the Kullui overall. Separate them into smaller units, cut off their reinforcements, pin them, defeat them, and push them back- and above all, keep their utmost focus on these metaphorical hotbeds of conflict and battle spread out among the Lower Warrens. Use the foothold locations to funnel their forces out of the upper portions of the city, and lead them into the Lower Warrens.

In essence, keep the mass of them busy and distracted- and keep them in the Lower Warrens, and as far away away from Okeal for as long as possible. Let the war raging in the Lower Warren's keep the Kullui and the Vaide's attention away from the upper portions of the city, and most assuredly away from the outer edges of Corrissette. Let the conflict raging on the outer edges be light enough to allow two teams comprised of Fairy Tailer's and Cougar's to skirt around the edges of the city and wrap around the sides of the valley all the way toward Okeal sitting at the head of it. Let the Kullui's attention be focused elsewhere and enough they get to where they need, and the portion of their plan to invade the Palace could be set into motion... and let them bypass Okeal's Barriers and storm the castle in time. Let them get there in time to get to her, to suppress their enemies, and to get to the top of that tower and stop it from all happening... stop the true terror of what Carla's Vision had foretold from coming true.

Black Clouds were covering the whole of the sky in a thick, choking blanket. The heaviness on the air and the feel of slowly suffocating evil was getting worse with every minute... it was all moving so fast.. shit

They had to get there in time


"Watch it!"

The Thunder Legion stiffened at the call from Shae, the Exceed flying ahead of them and her head quickly snapping downward toward the smooth, polished metal ball suddenly streaming up into the air toward them. The trio separated quickly from one another, the sphere barely missing Bixlow by a few inches as the man jumped off his platform of Tiki Dolls and met midair to avoid it.

Shae streamed backward from her place at the head of their party and back toward where Bixlow was, her paws crackling blue-green electricity and lightning fast as she drew her paw across the smooth ball, and then quickly backed off again to a spot that placed her between the strange object and the rest of the Thunder Legion. The sphere crackled and sparked with her Magic, it's smooth surface quickly cut across by fissures in the metal as it began to chip and break apart from the inside out- Bixlow's feet hit the top of his Tiki Dolls again, catching him with ease as he kept his balance with little to no effort at all.

Shae's paw swept forward, the Guard on her wrist coming to life as a bright white wall of Magic spring up in air before them- and not a second too soon before the metal ball burned bright red from it's depths and imploded with a deafening boom. The barrier produced from the Guard was peppered with bits of metal and molten core, contrasting rather fervently against the violet hue of the sky around them... But matching the orange hue and glow of fires slowly spreading among the streets of the city consumed in chaos below them.

Everything had happened so fast, it was almost incomprehensible. They felt there had hardly been any time between Samuel, Therigist and Aisha laying out the plan before hell began to break loose over the city. And they were still reeling at how fast the true conflict began when the whole of the Guild back in Fiore and the mysterious Wizard Saint Saige suddenly broke through across the Chatterbox with their slightly panicked and dire news about just what it was that was sealed away in that Tower in Okeal.

Between the fighting breaking out, the realization of what danger Frea was in, and the sudden need to act- there had hardly been six minutes allotted for Aisha to recant the whole of the plan to everyone, before they were all out and moving. Rushing.

Things were coming to a head and they knew that the God-King's true intentions with Frea were to get the Tomb of a Force of Creation open... Why it had to be Frea, they were not sure, but at a guess it was because of her Magic, how much of it she had, and maybe even because she knew the Dragon Language. The tomb in Nvindorr had needed that lost dialect to open, right? And from what the Guild had heard of Hilshine, the Dragon Language had made another appearance in the cemetery and Power resting there too.

But whatever the reason why it had to be Frea- that bit wasn't what mattered the most. The most pressing thing about all of it was what would happen to her when the God-King tried to force her to open it. And He would have to force her, Frea would never open it willingly, the whole of Fairy Tail knew that- but that possibly made it even worse.

If Drennios intended to force Frea into opening the Tomb by stripping her Magic and using it to his own will, that act of stealing her Magic away was just as deadly as any Magic or Power that could come from that Tomb, and just as likely to kill her. Energy Mage's Magic were directly tied to their life, and to have it wrenched away- shit.

They had to get to her, fast, and long before it ever came to that. Get to her and stop her being forced to open that Gate, stop her Magic being ripped away, rescue her from the God-King's hands and get that terrible, terrible Collar off of her... And with all the rush the rest of the Guild still didn't know about the Collar, there hadn't been time to explain it- and maybe that was better too. They knew how high-strung the Guild was right now, and the added danger and rush of the battles running rampant in the streets didn't make it better. They all had to be careful, lest they end up hurt or worse, and if they knew the full extent of what pain Frea was being forced through, they would get angrier, livid even- and getting wrapped up in that much rage right now was just too risky. For however much they could, they all had to keep their heads and stick to the plan, and be careful.

But the Thunder Legion knew, and they knew if Frea's Magic was being forced into things- even against Frea's own will- the Collar would likely still react to the movement, and that was torture in itself for the Energy Dragon Slayer.

The whole day had gone so terribly wrong, and all three of them hated it- hated it even more when they knew that Frea was meant to be out on a job with them today, and not here and in this situation. They were supposed to be with her, alongside her if something had gone awry- and they hadn't been, and that was one of the worst parts about all of it. Rational or not, they felt responsible for the whole mess and they had long since vowed to do what it took to right this- to rescue her and make sure she got home safe.

This is on us... And we promised the boss we'd get her back!

And hell if we're gonna go back on it!

There isn't anything in the whole of Adgnei that will stop us!

So it didn't matter what was going on below, or what they would face- they pushed forward toward that looming figure of Okeal and they stayed fixed on their course, hearts steady and convictions too. They wouldn't slow up for anything, and they wouldn't let fear or unease or uncertainty cloud their thoughts or their actions. They couldn't afford to hesitate or to slip up, and even if faced with a wall- they had to get over it.

We will get to you Frea

Shae's Guard dropped as the brunt of the explosion faded, her orange eyes quickly flicking back toward the Thunder Legion and her tail lashing in air toward the Palace.

"Keep movin'! The longer we hover, the quicker the Kullui will get a bead on us!" She ordered, and they nodded stiffly, taking off in air ahead of the she-cat, and leading for only a few seconds before the Exceed darted back in front with that insane speed she had. "Handy you three can fly, ya know~!" Shae called to them over their shoulder after a moment, and with no new sign of any projectiles coming their way from below... And of course, even with all the chaos and terror below, a bit of her bright demeanor seemed to remain, though they weren't sure how.

"Makes gettin' through the war-zone easier! Betcha the ground team are having a lot more hiccups than we are~!"

The Thunder Legion grimaced slightly, their eyes moving amongst themselves wordlessly before trailing over toward the opposite end of the valley from them.

In accordance with the plan, it had been decided there would be two infiltration teams sent directly to Okeal in order to find a way to bypass the Barriers around the Palace. The Thunder Legion and Shae made up one of them, and they were tasked with moving along the left side of the valley toward Okeal- by air.

Doing so allowed them to avoid the bulk of the commotion on the ground, and also kept them more well hidden. According to Therigist and the other native Adgneins, there was an overhead barrier over the whole of the city, though it wasn't visible to the eye while inside of the city's boundaries (but was clearly visible should you look at Coriisette from outside... And was an actual barrier that prevented persons or anything else inside the city unless they were wanted). And just below this larger, overhead barrier encapsulating the city, there was a second, smaller barrier that hovered underneath it- entirely invisible, and only meant to be used to control and regulate passage between the different sections of the city, as well as control types of Communication Magic and the like.

However there was a bit of distortion that happened between these two barriers should you look upward. Anything sandwiched between the two was blurred and hard to see just by normal means- and the two Magics acted as a sort of shield from Magical Scan Tools and the like, making detection even harder. Add that advantage on top of it being dark outside, they had the best chance of not running into any serious trouble and staying out of sight on the way to Okeal should they stay sandwiched between these two Barriers. And because they were the few capable in the Guild of actually flying at all, Aisha had sent them along with Shae to maximize their success of getting into Okeal... And they were also the team Aisha was betting on getting passed Okeal's barriers, with Shae being there with them and having a Magic that could manage it (hopefully).

That being said though, Aisha and Samuel had agreed sending two teams was the best option- one with the intent of actually getting passed the barriers on one end of the castle, and the other serving as more a distraction for the Kullui stationed at Okeal.

So the second, and ground team, was on the opposite end of the valley and heading toward that edge of Okeal just as they were... Only they were making their way there from the ground, and they were meant to make a fuss on the opposite end of the Okeal from where the Thunder Legion was, so that their efforts against the Barrier went all the more unnoticed, and they might slip inside without alerting anyone.

The Air Team were the ones meant to actually make it inside Okeal and fight their way up to Frea, while the Ground Team was supposed to keep the Kullui distracted (and not really expected to get passed the barriers at all...).

Aisha, Samuel and Therigist had elected not to tell the Ground Team that they were essentially bait... And again, maybe that was for the best- though the Thunder Legion was very uneasy about it...Because the Ground Team was made up of Gray, Juvia, Chase, Aisha, Corbynn, and Laxus. And the idea of deliberately sending Laxus somewhere and only intending him to be a distraction was not a pleasant thought- less so when they imagined his reaction should he find out that had indeed been Aisha's plan.

The Thunder Legion had been entirely sure Laxus would not let himself get left behind and kept out of the forward party to begin with, though they had initially assumed Aisha would do just that... but that wasn't what happened at all. It had almost seemed to them that Aisha knew Laxus wasn't likely to listen if she had tried to keep him on one of the groups stuck fighting in the city, and not on the forward party toward Okeal. Aisha had just immediately placed him in her own forward party, and they went off- Laxus hadn't even had to protest or make his intention on going to the Palace clear.

Shae's comment made them grimace though, imagining what sort of 'hiccups' that group was having at the moment... and what hiccups were sure to pop up when they actually reached Okeal's barrier and Aisha had to tell Laxus they weren't planning on going in.

They shuddered slightly at the thought of how angry Laxus would be- and more so at how he and Aisha were bound to butt heads about it... those two were not the sort of people to cross lightly, at all.

An argument between the two of them would be... unpleasant.

"Oh, don't look so grim~!" Shae called back with a smirk, "Lady Celene is a tough lady, and her Ilean has to be just as good, or she wouldn't have picked him~! And the rest of them in you're Guild totally rocked it in the GMG, they'll be fine~!" She hummed, her tail flicking and the rings on it clinking together slightly. "Plus Corr can kick just about anyone's ass, so all in all, they're in good shape to go against even all the Kullui in the city!" Shae paused a moment, one ear dropping a bit as she sighed. "They'll probably be fine against a Vaide too if they're all together~" She added in, "We probably oughtta focus on our part though~! Gettin' in the Barrier won't be too easy, and it'll be even worse makin' our way through Okeal~! Plus we gotta take the Barrier's down from the inside all on our lonesome too~! Safe bet to say we got the harder job, ya know~!" The Thunder Legion nodded stiffly,

"Right."

"- And we gotta pick up the pace, I think." Shae murmured, her orange eyes locked ahead and toward the Tower at the head of the valley. The whole of Okeal seemed to be shaking in front of them, the structure trembling just as much as the ground had been before they had lifted off. Her fur stood on end a little, her smile fading as she grumbled a bit under her breath, and the Thunder Legion looked where her eyes had gone too.

The clouds in the sky were thickening, the night sky blotted out by sickly black masses that were slowly, but surely swirling and converging in on one point- the top of the Tower.

"Can cloud's look ominous~? Cause I think those clouds look real ominous... mmm, Gods I hope that Energess' of yours can hold out long enough to not open whatever is behind that Tomb thing... my fur is crawlin'." Shae muttered under her breath, Bixlow's lips pulled further at the edges, his head tilting down and eyes flashing under his visor.

"... it ain't just the clouds that are lookin' off." He mumbled lowly, Freed and Evergreen glanced sideways at him and Shae's ears twitched in tell she heard him say they words. Freed and Evergreen saw the way his eyes were moving though, his attention fixed below on the city but not on the physical side of it.

And for him? A world filled with a wash of pale, but quite notably multicolored hue was starting to look very, very dark... fading quickly into something cold and suffocating, and sickly pitch black.

"... all those spirits and ghosts around here, they're starting to look real wrong too."


They were panting, their lungs on fire and their legs aching from the extended amount of running they were doing- but they didn't dare slow up... not that they could, without running the risk of getting left behind, mind you.

Chase, Aisha, Juvia, Gray and Corbynn were running along the cobbled streets of the upper portions of the city drawing steadily closer to the where the Barriers of Okeal sat- all the while following behind the golden glow and stream of lightning of Laxus in his Lightning-Form darting this way and that around them.

Technically Aisha was leading the party (since she was the only one besides Corbynn that actually knew where they were going), but she had long since actually been the one in the front of the group for most of their actual travel. And she didn't complain, but she did grumble about it internally- but so far it had gone well... Laxus was dodging about so much and moving so quickly he'd actually dispatched most of the spare few Kullui they had run into with rapid, powerful bursts of Magic and electricity that were in some ways brutal. And he defeated them all in quick succession. So much so, that they were making much better time than even Aisha had originally anticipated, and she found herself a little surprised at just how strong that blonde Dragon Slayer actually was... she'd known he was a power-house of course, but he was blowing through the Kullui so quickly it was insane.

Because the Kullui were a force to be reckoned with too, and were a major obstacle for most all Mages- even the Thunder Legion had been caught and nearly subdued in about five minutes- but Laxus?

He was making this look easy.

... though maybe it just went to show how worked up he was.

Aisha huffed a little under her breath, her purple eyes reflecting the golden flare of the S-Class as he bounced quickly up from the street and along the buildings on either side of them, keeping at least a little level with the rest of the group. Her eyes flickered away from him and toward Chase on her right, biting the inside of her cheek to see what utterly grim expression was on the Energy Mage's face, and of the like that was seldom ever seen in him... and she knew why it was there, and that sent a shiver down her spine.


"... I know we're in a hurry, and it might not make a difference now... and I can't spend time telling you all the details now either, but... when Teach was fighting Mordren, and she started to... to Fall... she lied to the Guild, the thing that drove her to that, it's a Darkness in her and it's still there... and it's eating at her, all the time, and she has to resist it or risk Falling again... but it's there and it came from Mordren, and I think... maybe that's what Jynx was talking about earlier." His blue eyes glittered as Aisha stood there in rigid silence, swallowing slightly at the sudden information- and the very grim and serious information at that. Information he probably wasn't supposed to be telling her at all, least of all lightly, and yet he was, and out of nowhere, and he... he was scared, she could see it, and the sudden realization made a flash of fear run through her too.

"She could have said 'Frea will not die today' but she said something else entirely... she said she wouldn't stop breathing, not that Frea wouldn't die." Chase murmured lowly, "... she was scared, and the way she was acting... we know what Mordren did, he destroyed the Energy Mages and the Old Adgnei with it, but what drove him to that...? Teach told me he wasn't always like that... whatever Darkness that was in him, it made him Fall, and now that same Darkness is in Teach... but where the hell did it come from in the first place?"


Her eyes fell to the road going passed underneath her, another shiver running down her spine on repeat... Because though she had begun to follow his train of thought when he told her all of that, now they both knew with a certainty that Chase had been right. That was clear the minute they had been told of what lay in the top of that Tower, and what Frea was meant to do to open it.

They had no way of confirming it, but it made sense. Whatever power of Force of Creation or whatever that was locked up inside of Okeal, there was no doubt in their minds that it had something to do with that question he had asked, and she had sent off to Seyre to be asked of Frea.

'Why did Mordren Fall?'

... and now they were both facing the worry that it was that Tomb. That maybe everything that had turned Mordren into the Monster he was, and was now living in Frea- all that evil and power came from that Tomb. It was festering inside of her and slowly eating her, maybe eventually leading her into an abyss... and now Frea was being lead right up to that Power's doors.

Aisha's jaw clenched, her eyes flashing.

Shit... there had already been so much to worry about with all of this- the Guild or Frea getting hurt or wounded, the war breaking out over Adgnei, all of that aside- now there was this, and Aisha was having a hard time thinking of any worse outcome than that.

.. Could... she really... Fall...? Right here... tonight...?

Aisha wanted to doubt it, just as much as Chase wanted to doubt it- but Aisha knew there were things in Frea that weren't as bright and cheery and pure as the Energy Dragon Slayer always seemed to come off as. And Chase knew how much that Darkness in his Old Mentor was hurting her even back in Fiore and at home, and he knew it was vying every second for more of her to taint and consume... and he knew being here was just going to make it worse, unbearable even, and he didn't know if Frea could take more pain on the count of that Darkness than everything he had already felt from her before.

It wasn't just her life in danger anymore... failing today might mean losing her in more ways than they had ever imagined they could.

Chase caught Aisha's eyes from the side and he grimaced a bit, she did the same and looked away.

Knowing what was at stake didn't make the fact that their party was intended to be little more than a decoy for the Thunder Legion any easier either.

They had to trust the Thunder Legion would get to her in time, halt whatever the God-King had planned, stop Frea from being forced to open that Gate... they had to hope they were going to get there in time, to avoid all of this... avoid the absolute worst.

... will the great Energy Dragon Slayer... Finally...?

Chase's eyes snapped shut against the sudden flare of that memory and that day... that bastard. He shook his head at himself, swallowing back the lurching and knotting in his core and doing his utmost to just.. not.

She won't... shit, she can't... please, Teach...


The Thunder Legion and Shae dropped back down onto the smooth white granite of a massive courtyard that opened up before them, the buildings of the upper portion of the city having thinned out and hundreds of lamps sporting Salmellion and Light-Lacrima alike lining the expanse of the clearing. The edge of the valley's terrain curled in a bit around the clearing itself, providing a large hill around the one side that cut off a portion of the courtyard from the rest of the city behind it, and connected naturally with an expanse of high, intricate smooth metal fencing that seemed to stretch on for miles in the other direction, and assuredly reached the other side of the valley.

And sitting right behind that wall, about a a few dozen miles farther and climbing up the curve of the valley- right there at the top stood the looming, dark figure of Okeal. The sky a swirling storm of dark clouds in constant motion right over that tallest point.

And in that clearing, everything was utterly silent... So much so it was eerie, and the Thunder Legion could see Shae's fur fluff up a bit.

"... right, this is super weird..." The Exceed muttered under her breath, her body giving off a blue glow as her form suddenly elongated into that of her Human Form and she slowly started across the clearing toward the gates. She beckoned to them with her hand in sign they follow her, and they stiffly trailed behind her, glancing around warily.

"... Weird?" Freed echoed softly and Shae grimaced.

"Even with Lady Celene's group trying to pull attention away from this area, and all the other commotion on the Lower Warrens- this is way too empty." Shae mumbled lowly, earning grimaces from the rest of them.

"... Do you think it's a trap...?" Evergreen asked slowly, her glasses reflecting the glow of the Light-Lacrima's and the Salmellion located around the square- of which the latter were in an array of pale, multi-color hues and strangely lacking the black glow that the rest of the city seemed to have adopted.

"Oh ya totally just jinxed us." Shae sighed and Evergreen stiffened,

"Don't say that!" Evergreen snapped back quietly, Shae just shrugged at her.

"I mean honestly, ya did." Shae mumbled, "This is just too weird, and it's settin' my fur on end... plus stuff like that always goes bad when ya say it out loud." Shae continued to mutter, still quickly but cautiously picking her way across the courtyard and toward the gates with the Freed, Evergreen and Bixlow trailing behind her in that order. "And if I am bein' honest, the only reasons I can think of why it's so empty is cause one- Samuel's plan worked really well and the Kullui all flocked into the Lower Warrens mindlessly, leaving Okeal unguarded... Which honestly, the Kullui aren't usually that stupid, but it's a thought." Shae mumbled, "Two- Lady Celene's party is causing such a commotion on the other end of the valley, that all the Kullui meant to be guardin' the gates are just too busy with them to notice us. Though that would mean they have to be really causin' trouble- and I saw that Dragon Slayer guy on the GMG, if he was going that hard I think we'd at least see some sparks in that direction or somethin'... Gods even Lady Celene would be causin' quite the show, bein' nighttime an' all." She went on, shrugging again. "And then three- it's a trap, and we're about to be surrounded an' ambushed by a whole unit of Kullui, and maybe even a Vaide too, for good measure."

"And now you just jinxed us." Bixlow mumbled with a wary smile, and Shae paused, her ears twitching. They drew up along the gates, Shae's orange eyes tracing the wall that was giving off no subtle amount of Magical Pressure now that they had approached it. There was no Magic visible or anything, and outside of their sturdy and imposing stature- it looked little like a barrier that could really keep them out on a normal day. They could easily fly over it, but they had heard enough about Okeal's defenses to know that would be a mistake, even without being able to feel the buzz of Magic and pressure.

The analogy about what would happen to them should they simply try to fly over the walls, was something like what would happen if a moth flew into a flame.

"... I suppose that's fair-" Shae chuckled a bit, turning slightly from looking the wall over and back toward Bixlow, though her words cut off and her head never turned the whole way around. She stiffened along with the rest of them, swaying slightly as the earth trembled violently under their feet and the stone of the gates creaked, while the Salmellions hanging around the space rattled.

The clouds swirling overhead were wrenched apart in sickly black Magic and Power suddenly erupting from the top of Okeal's highest tower. Everything was shaking, the air heavy, the feeling of thick, unending darkness seeping into the air and everything in the whole of the city and everywhere in between- enough to snatch their breath away and send a spear of ice racing through their very cores.

They heard someone screaming, even above the rattling of the earth and the deafening boom that erupted soon after the beam of Magic tore up into the sky.

"S-shit..." Shae hissed, her orange eyes wide and her smile shattered in the course of an instant. The Thunder Legion around her went rigid, eyes glittering in panic and fear as they watched the beam of black Magic spiral over the towers head, wild, jagged at the edges and quickly spanning passed the top of the tower and stretching out over the whole of the sky- and then begin to fall toward the ground.

The air shifted, a sudden gust of wind sweeping outward from the head of the valley and washing down, flooding the whole of the city in a violent, biting chill that forced them to shut their eyes and guard their faces from the debris and the dirt it carried with it.

'... quick... quick...'

The Thunder Legion and Shae froze, their eyes snapping open and stuck in place as the rush and drone of the wind was cut across by something else- voices, ethereal, hushed, far away, but voices none-the-less... and hundreds of them, maybe more.

"W-what the hell...?!" Shae hissed under her breath, glancing around warily as the wind persisted, and so did the voices- though there was no one they seemed to belong to. The Fairy Tailers could hardly move though, they were locked in place, all their attention fixed on their ears and those millions of voices that rose scarcely above indiscernible noise... but they heard it.

'... quick... she is falling... quick... evil is spreading...'

The Thunder Legion felt their hearts drop, shivers running up their spines and terror settling in even faster... and then faster still as the previously colorful lights of the Salmellions hung around the area began to fade into a sickly black glow.

"... oh no..." Evergreen breathed,

"... this are the same voices as back in DeathBolt..." Freed murmured lowly.

Bixlow grimaced, his eyes flashing under his visor as he quickly looked from the darkening Salmellions to the head of the Valley again, and toward Okeal and the Magic swirling up out of it... and though no one else could see it, the whole world was getting darker, not just the sky as the Magic spread. It was like a great deep, ending sickness was infecting everything, the air, the land, the spirits- and it was spreading out from that palace.

He had never seen so much... so much evil. Even his Tiki Dolls were rattling, circling overhead anxiously.

"Bad... bad... hurry... hurry!"

And then just as quickly as it came, the wind died down to total non-existence and the voices went with it- but the chilly pang of fear in their hearts didn't go away at all. Bixlow grit his teeth and looked away from the head of the valley, "We gotta go!" He said quickly, turning toward Shae and startling both her as well as Freed and Evergreen with how curt his voice was all of a sudden, especially against the silence that had fallen. Shae hesitated for half a second, before nodding quickly and turning toward the gates, her hands igniting in flickering blue-green light and clashing fiercely with the orange glow of her eyes.

Her hands slammed against the stone walls and immediately a wall of pale white Magic made itself visible, sparking loudly against the fury of the Disruption Magic flaring from Shae's hands and sending up small booms and smoke immediately. The green glow of the she-cat's Magic spread across the surface of the Barrier quickly, wavering and hissing as Shae winced slightly, her teeth gritting against the way her hands were immediately bruising.

"No time for subtlety, huh?!" She growled back to them, her voice nearly drowned out by the hiss and buzz of her Magic clashing with that of the Barrier. "Better get ready for a fight! I'm gonna tear a hole in the Barrier and ya can be damned sure the Kullui will notice it! But better to make a big bang and work fast, then take my time makin' a less conspicuous opening for us!" She hissed, wincing as the Magic of the Barrier rumbled heavier and her Magic flared higher in accordance with it- but her hands bruised more, and small tears opened up along her fingers, but she bit back at the pain.

"This is definitely gonna set off an alarm, but we gotta risk it! Get ready to go through! We'll only have a few seconds to get through before the Barrier repairs itself again, best be on the other side before that happens!" Shae ordered quickly, and the Thunder Legion nodded, tensing as they readied themselves to move and they watched the cracks of blue-green spread across the Barrier face, quickly moving upward until they were level with that distant and looming figure of Okeal.

The glow of Shae's Magic outmatched the glow of the Barrier, and they heard the sound of something beginning the shatter. Shae's eyes shut tight, body rigid and straining as blood began to splatter across the cobblestone underfoot, dripping quickly from her hands and then from cuts beginning to form across her arms, and still she pushed harder.

"Tch... come on...!" She grumbled, her body starting to shake.

The earth rumbled again and the Magic swirling across the sky moved faster, the bits falling down toward the earth spilling out across the ground and starting to crawl through the streets of Corrisette at an alarming rate. But above that, and the rumble of Shae's Magic and the earth, they heard a scream ring out from the head of the valley, loud, agonized, blood-curdling.

"... Frea...!" The Thunder Legion hissed, Shae growled.

"Gods... hold on Energess..." the she-cat muttered under her breath, pressing her bleeding hands harder against the Barrier and willing her Magic to fight faster, harder.

Hold on

The blue-green light of Shae's Magic reached an all out brilliance, and the sound of Frea's screaming got drowned by the sound of the Barrier breaking apart and collapsing.

"Go!"

They leapt forward, wincing against the sting of Magic pecking at their bodies as they leapt through the shaking and flickering opening wrenched through the Barrier, breaking through the stone walls and hearing Shae's Magic implode behind them.

The dark sky on the far end of the valley ignited in a wash of brilliant, gold... lightning arcing across the black backdrop of clouds as the rumble of thunder in the distance washed out over the whole of the valley.

'... hurry... the Malurey... is falling...'


Stop

The air was like pitch and tar, the glow of the Magic blinding and yet so consuming and dark all at once.

Stop

The floor was shaking without end, fissures opening up in the stone and the marble and spreading like wildfire. Bits and sections of the roof and the pillars holding it up were crumbling too, creating a minefield of jagged pieces littered among a space one could scarcely walk through- let alone escape from, as all the Nobles had already begun doing. The last of them were struggling out of the room just now, cursing, coughing and yelling in frantic, terrified words as they fled from the that terrible thing they had come to witness, and now couldn't get away from fast enough.

Stop

The Kullui dropped, after having been suspended in place and deaf of every order given to them from the Nobles and Lord Tuvral alike. They all collapsed, hitting the floor with a clatter of metal and stone, almost lifeless and as hollow as they were often described to be. They crumbled, their armor banging on the stone and their hooded faces smashing into the ground, still as death.

Stop

Lord Tuvral was the last one of the Nobles to stay, yellow eyes narrowed warily at what was happening all around them, and fixed to that sickly mass of Magic spilling from a halfway open Door... And before it, standing the man and the God that he was not meant to look upon, but he kept his attention fixed to, constantly glancing between his God-King and the Energess who was still screaming, but getting weaker and weaker by the second- her struggling against the bonds holding her fading fast.

In the sudden shadow that held the whole room hostage, and the suffocating effect the black of the Magic from the Door and that had stained the Energess' Magic- she remained a crimson red glow, the Collar around her neck activated on a high that it should never have reached, and only grew all the more wild as things continued to fall apart around them. A red glow that illuminated the blood that splattered against the floor at her feet, and the tears falling freely from her eyes. Her body convulsed with every stab and shock the Collar brought on, every wrench of her Magic being torn away by the Siphon attached to the door, every agonizing pull and surge of her Magic trying to break free of it's own accord, the Darkness in her soul wanting so, so badly to drag her all the way down... Her screams hoarse and tearing at her throat that felt like it was on fire, and then a hundred times worse as she broke off to cough they sticky scarlet onto the floor in larger and larger quantity as her fighting against the surge of her Magic only ended up with her body starting to be torn apart faster from the inside out.

And more and more, her will to keep fighting against that sheet torture and chilly stain on her soul was fading as quickly as her strength was... more and more she just wanted it to stop.

Make the pain stop... anything to make it...

Drennios was right in front of the door, facing it without any shred of worry or fear- staring into that sliver allowed by the half-open gates that lead into sheer, unending, tumultuous darkness. The God-King's hands raised, reaching out to that storm of sheer power spilling from the confines, ready to seize it and uncaring of anything, or anyone else left in that room. Not the fallen Kullui, not Edryd rooted to his spot, not Talarr frozen further back... And assuredly not the Energes whose life was being drained into nothing just to open that Door the little bit it had.

She saw none of it, not the door or the God-King or anyone else. Her vision has darkened long beforehand, her mind a whirl and all her attention consumed by all of it... Everything was just terrible, agonizing, torturous, pain

Please... Just make it...

... Anything... To...

... E..Even...

She sucked in a sharp breath of air and it broke off in a sob, her head falling and her tears splashing against the blood-riddled floor.

... make... make it s...stop... even if it... m...eans...

It didn't matter how much her life felt it was fading, or how quickly her mind was going with it- she never faded far enough for it to stop, or to sink into the depths of unconsciousness that would be oh so free of the agony... no, it wouldn't let her.

There would be no respite from this, either she died in an instant without being allowed that merciful dark and numb, or... o..or...

... make it... s...stop... just... j..just...

Her screams faded off a bit, replaced with sobs, her lungs heaving as she sucked in air and gasped, her head hanging low and her body sinking toward the ground at the behest of gravity- but she was still pinned in air.

"You feel it growing, don't you Malunafrey? There, deep in you...? Something... Cold, perhaps...?"

... I... I knew... b... but...

"You're stigma against it is... heh, commendable I suppose. But the longer you fight it, Malunafrey, the more pain you will be in."

...I... I knew it w...would get worse...b...but...

"Eventually... you'll have no choice but to give in..."

... i... I didn't... I... can't... i...i... d...on't...

"Did it not feel good? To have all that pain and struggle against it just disappear? To be free of guilt and conscience, if only for those few minutes?"

... i... I was numb... everything... s..stopped... w..when...

"Eventually, you will gladly give in, if only to stop the pain."

... l... like... you did... y..you fought... s...so hard... in... in so much agony... n...not to...b...but... but after...R...reyan...

She hissed, swallowing back at the cries that shook her and the awful taste of blood and tears on her tongue.

The world was so quiet, everything suddenly dead silent and only broken by the sound of her own pounding heart, and the echoes of Mordren's voice hissing in her ear. She imaged she would have seen him, had she the strength to open her eyes, and if the pain were not so blinding... the pain that was so, so much worse than she had ever imagined or felt, even from him.

This was just... too much.

T... there's n..no way out... except...

The Energess fell quiet, her silent tears slowing in their splashing against the floor, her body growing limp in her bonds, and the silver ends of her hair slowly draining away into grey and then something darker... something black.

"The abyss is more inviting than you know."

... it... i..t...

She let out a low, feeble, painful breath that broke in half by a sob, and then fell utterly quiet again. She felt the pain, blinding and overtaking everything, start to blissfully dull as the cold in her center began to creep further through her. She felt her mind fading away with it, to places dark and untouched and so utterly empty of... any of it.

... just... let it... stop...

She let herself tip over the edge of that Abyss, and she had no will to stop herself, not anymore. Not even when... when it meant...

... I'll be... when... I.. will...

Kill

Like where her thoughts had gone when Chase tried to stop her... Like she had cost Chaitanya, had cost... and would cost so many more.

Murder

Like how Mordren had with Reyan, and countless, countless others... and now maybe she would take even more than he ever had.

Destroy

Not just herself, her home... but the world maybe... Turn it all to ruin like Mordren had... and do it so, so easily.

Hurt

... Them. All of them. Everyone she loved, cared for... And she might hurt them beyond repair... she would hurt them beyond repair. Rip their hearts out and destroy them, break them down and... she just couldn't... care.

... just... make the pain... stop... none of it... matters... just...

Her tears stopped, all of the pain fading fast, the worry, the fear, all of it. Everything was being gripped in a chilly numbness and a sense of emptiness that brought nothing but relief. And all the terror, the will not to do it, the fear of what would happen... it's not there, anymore.

"Almost there, Malunafrey. It will be freeing, to not worry about pain or righteousness... To not have a care in the world about the violence and the brutality of your actions... alluring isn't it?"

It felt... so good

"You could have become oh so very dark, and you would be incredible at it too... Shame that potential might have been wasted... but now,"

I never had a chance

"... finish it, open the Door. Let it out, let it do it's will, it's work... let it lay waste to this world and render it's Judgment on every soul in the Clear."

Her fingers twitched, the Magic flowing from her more freely than ever before, the Siphon's work inconsequential... she wasn't holding it back, the Darkness wasn't having to force it from her.

A Magic Circle flashed over the halfway open door, the edges cracking as she let her Magic surge out toward it at fullspeed, the edges of it sharpening into points, ready to tear apart the seal that held the door from opening all the way... a seal forged in his Magic, that same Magic that had torn her body apart, and struck clean through her heart oh so many months ago.

A Seal she had seen him place, in all that fury of memory and time she had never wished she'd witnessed... the Seal he placed there on a Door he had no right to open, but that he'd pried open anyway, driven by need and greed... and urged too.

The Power behind that door wanted out, so, so badly... it had reached him in some way, even trapped, lead him here... like it had lead her, and she hadn't a choice.

I never had... a chance...

"... open the Door, Malurey..."

"... let us out.. let us go... free..."

"... let us purge the weak... let us Decide the fate of them all..."

"... let us out... let us consume them all..."

"... let us expose all the Darkness in this world..."

"... finish it... finish what the Black God began..."

"... Let us out..."

And she let go... and the Door swung wide open, the pits of Darkness spilling from it like a terrible storm, engulfing everything. Monstrous, twisted, wicked and indiscernible things moved amongst the Darkness, whispers and voices and ghostly screeching echoing all around and immeasurable in quantity.

All of it, sheer, unrelenting, unfathomable Evil... and only just reaching the depths of that Darkness consuming every last bit of her. That smallest, last, and so very minuscule piece of Light left in her core, fading- and she didn't try and stop it.

I'm done... spent

"Let it be over, Malurey."

No more of this... let go

"You will no longer feel it... none of it at all. No more pain... Nothing but cold... nothing but rage."

It was almost gone, one little sliver left of Light

Finally... Fall

"Malurey."

Her head snapped up, the Darkness and the Evil still swimming passed her on all sides, and unending current of it- but there before her stood someone, parting that sea of unrelenting shadow and so tall and so resolute even amidst the sheer Force of it all. There amongst the unending black was a small, pale beacon of red, and her eyes matched with a gaze of crimson that seemed to flare amongst all the dark. Her face was nothing but calm and control, unperturbed with the misshapen horrors flooding past on all sides, she never looked away, and Frea couldn't either.

She... she looked so different, like some new person... and there, she could feel it... some feeling from her, a pressure with some new, deep, thrumming... Power... Power she had never had before-

"... Jynx...?" Her voice was so harsh and so low, it was nearly drowned by the whispers and the screams echoing all around, but the ghost nodded solemnly.

"You have finished what you were needed to." Jynx murmured softly, "You have done your part, Malurey, and it is time I do mine... finish what we were both lead here to do." Sadness flashed across Jynx's face, but Frea felt nothing from her... nothing came through, not even confusion, or question, she still just didn't feel any of it... she didn't care, the Darkness didn't want to let her care.

But it stopped, just for a moment, that sliver of Light still flickering, faintly, not yet consumed- and with the hesitation came a stab of pain so terrible she couldn't help but yelp at it, her eyes breaking from the Spirit Mage... and with the pain did come something, some question;

... finished what I needed to...? What we... were supposed to do...?

"... your part is over with, but you cannot give in." Jynx's voice reached her again, low and calm and steady. "I know you want to, and I know how painful it is for you... but of anything to happen this day, do not let it be the day that Darkness wins over you. Do not let yourself Fall, fight it, as you have all these months... win, despite everything."

The pain was getting worse, exponentially so and Jynx's voice sounded so muffled, yet so incredibly loud on her ears. Her vision blurred, but not enough she couldn't see the way the ghost's eyes were blazing, blood-red amongst the black.

No... it wasn't just red, there was something else too, behind her... faint... but... green eyes... and grey... someone with pale blue hair shimmering in the dark and the figure of someone else beside that, lean and grey eyes glinting.

N... no...

"Fight." Jynx hissed, "Of anyone in this world, and throughout all of time- you, Malurey- are the only one who can stand against this, and win. You are the only one I have ever believed might be capable of not bowing to this, and you must not bend."

She was so close to the bottom, so far away from the edge and so, so near to the end- to falter then was agony unlike anything, but her eyes were locked, and as the pain got worse, the fear did too- she felt it. Her mind wasn't numb anymore, her thoughts no longer stilled- and now they were whirling and she felt the turmoil raging more than it ever had.

They gazed at her, steady and tall and fixed in that churning, tumultuous sea of unending evil- and yet they shown like brands of gold and shimmering, rich black behind Jynx... b.. but... t...that... can't be...! T..they...!

The woman smirked, her green eyes flashing, and the man beside her smiled slightly, his grey eyes glimmering, and both of them dipped their heads to her, nodding just once. Frea felt her heart skip a beat,

"Fight."

Pulling herself back from the edge hurt worse than anything, it was agonizing to rip herself away from that cold dark, unending bliss and to let herself feel it again- all of it... the hurt and the fear and the terror.

To feel the drive and the need to care- to fight... and fight so, so hard not to become that thing she was so afraid of being, and was so close to becoming.

She screamed, writhing and fidgeting and fighting with every inch of herself and her Magic, reigning it back in and refusing that Darkness the full control it was so close to having. She pulled, willing with everything she had for her Magic to stop spinning, to stop rising in all it's fervor and to do what she wanted- to stop feeding that damned Door and deny the Siphon any more of her Power. Every second of struggle against it, trying to claw her way back from the Abyss, to stop her Magic from tearing her apart, to just be in control- it was agonizing, terrible, impossible even, and she felt her mind unhinging as quickly as her body felt like it was being wrenched apart.

She wanted it to stop, wanted it more badly then ever before- but this time she didn't lose it... that very worst thing she had forgotten before because the pain was just so blinding-

-D..damn it... no...!

The very worst thing, worse than dying, worse than anything- and she had willingly let herself fall so close to it she was inches from being it... being him.

Inches away from doing what he had done so, so long ago... all those thousands of years, right here in this place. Inches away from letting herself Fall willingly into that Abyss, and just to make the suffering end.

Inches away from becoming that monster... that monster who slaughtered thousands, and didn't feel it- didn't care... not his friends, not his family... and not her, in the end... the emptiness had been better than the torture, and she knew it- felt it... b.. but...

N..not... Not today...

Every milisecond, every gasping breath, every pull against the bonds, every bit of tearing back at her Magic- all of it was a million shots through her very center, stabbed with millions of blades, torn apart at every inch, shocked, burned, everything. The Darkness did not want to let go, not any small bit of what it had been allowed to take, and every attempt of pulling back just earned more and more pain growing twice, three, five, ten, thousand- millionfold.

So much pain, and so much strain... and she didn't know if she could do it, if any of it would be enough, if her mind and her body would hold together long enough to win... to come back.

... b.. but... I... I have to...

Stop

She screamed again, her voice shrill, her mouth tasting of blood, her body and soul an inferno- her Magic a ripping, terrible tornado inside of her, in every vein.

... i... if I can't...

She could feel their blood lapping at her feet, feel the ice in her heart, feel nothing but emptiness as their bodies crumbled around her, dead eyes wide in terror and pain- their bodies ripped apart by Magic as black as tar... her Magic

All of them, torn to shreds, bleeding out onto the cobbles, mouths open in soundless screams- cut off abruptly by little but a flick of a hand, and not a second of thought or feeling or anything at all as the bodies of those she had once called Family fell around her... at her own hands

There was pain this time, not physical, not her Magic wrenching her apart, not the Siphon, and not the Collar hurting her so mercilessly- this was heart wrenching. Pain and hurt and all of it fueled in sheer and utter terror, terror rising exponentially with every flash of their broken bodies racing through her minds eye, the sensation of absolute numb as she killed them, and did not care.

... I'll... m.. murder them... everyone... I... I ca..re about... i..if...

She never stopped crying, her lungs rattled by screams and sobs alike, hampered by the metallic taste of blood and heaving- and it only got worse as she watched everyone get ripped to pieces in a wash of sheer black, directed by the wave of her hands.

I...I'll hurt... all of them... e..everyone... I...

The worst thing... how could anything have seemed better than... than the possibility that she...?

How... how did it still seem better... then living with... this.. much... p...pain...?

... P... please...

I... I don't want... to... I don't want... t..to... be that... please... don't...

She had to stop... take control, fight back... she had to stop her Magic, stop the Darkness... she had to get out, she couldn't stay here, the Door was too strong.

... I can't... be him... I.. I don't wanna be that... p.. please... I... I can't stop...

She felt it still pulling, the Door, the Power, her Magic- she tried to bite back at it, but it kept going... and she couldn't hold on.

... p...please... let... me go... make... make it... stop... b.. before...

I.. can't... control it... fight it... it's... too...

"E-Energess...!"

Her eyes snapped open, her attention snatched up immediately by the sensation of someone's hands landing on her shoulders, and then reaching, grasping at the binds wrapped around her wrists, pulling. She heard them wince, stifling yelps of pain but continuing to pull none the less, dig their fingers into the binds and pull with everything they had.

Everything was a red and black haze, she couldn't make them out, not their faces or their features... nothing but the muddied, almost fragmented flashes of pain and fear coming from them, and the guilt.

W.. who...?

".. I'm... I'm so sorry...! G-Gods... forgive me...!" The voice went on, pained and shaking terribly- terrified, but...

She heard something crack, just faintly, and she had no clue what it was... whoever that voice belonged to, they just kept pulling... even though she could feel their pain getting worse, it breaking through the haze of insane, impossible chaos.

".. I.. I'm so sorry... p-please... I..."

... I... know that voice... this...

There was another crack, another pull at the bonds, and this time the voice broke off in a short, pained yell that came in tandem with a stab of pain she felt more clearly than all the rest. But there was no hesitation, she felt his hands fall back on the chains, still pulling, still struggling... still trying.

"... I'm sorry... but... please...! I... I have to get you out...! I never... Gods please...!"

H.. he...

"... this isn't right... this wasn't supposed to happen... I never wanted this... Energess I am so sorry...!"

She blinked, scrunching her eyes closed, trying her best to clear her vision... just enough to see him, make him out in all the dark, in a world consumed by a never-ending sea of shadow, with creatures and beasts and wicked things moving passed on all sides. Her body felt heavy, and lifting her head enough to turn it was a chore unlike any other, her vision swimming as much as the Power... and in that black-red haze her world had been consumed in, she saw him, just barely... his pale face, his glasses cracking, the fear... the blood and burns on his hands as he pulled at the bonds and didn't dare stop, not even for those strips of jagged red electricity sparking off the collar and ramming into him so fiercely he surely shouldn't have been able to stay standing... but he didn't stop.

T.. Talarr...

Her eyes flashed, dull, hazy, halfway open, and she felt her heart skip a beat as something salty and wet hit her arm. She saw his flesh tearing, his body jolted by Magic non-stop- felt his pain rising with every second, but still he didn't stop, didn't even hesitate, he just...

Talarr hissed, teeth gritting and face twisted, tears falling from his eyes and pulling with all his might against the binds around her arms, in one hand held a small, thin, sharp metal tool of some sort she had no clue what it was, nor the energy to really try and wonder on it. He was using it to chip away at the chains, break and bend links here and there, trying to loosen them, to get her free- even just barely.

He had to try, he had to get her out of that Magic Circle, away from the Siphon quickly draining her life away to nothing, and then away- out of the room, away from the Door... as far, far away as he possibly could. Every single second here, in all this chaos and madness, in this sea of stifling, choking Power- she was dying, and she was trying so hard to just fight, and he knew it.

She was tearing herself apart and he just... he had to make it stop

His feet had been moving before he realized it, he was next to her without a thought, trying desperately to break the chains binding her and mind whirling, trying to come up with some plan, some way out of this. Some way to get her free, to stop this torture, to stop the Siphon even, and stop that Collar too- it was killing her as fast as the Siphon was... his creation.

The Door was open and so much Evil was pouring out, all around him, terrible, terrible things... things that chilled him to the core, things that sent fear racing through him, set him on edge- should have kept him frozen, or running for his life- but he couldn't stop, he had to get her out. Not even the pain stopped him, not the backlash of the Magic on the chains biting him as he tried to break them apart, not the agonizing jolt and fiery heat of the wanton Magic spilling from the Collar ramming into him.

He couldn't give in, he couldn't run away, and he couldn't let the pain halt him.

He had to make this stop... Help her... save her. Do something

This is my fault, I let this happen, I made these things... these terrible things that are killing her

She warned me... she told me this would be nothing but evil... and I... I didn't listen

I should have... I knew but.. I...

He nearly choked on a sob and a hiss of pain all at once, his eyes stinging as the tears kept coming and he struck hard at the top of the chains, and another link broke with a metallic shing. The Magic embedded deep within the metal shot up in an instant though, tearing the flesh of his hand and arm in dozens of places more than it already had, deeper and earning more and more of his blood to drop against the floor and mix with the Energess'.

Frea's eyes dropped, her head to heavy to hold up and try to see him any longer, her chest tightening as she felt the Darkness pull violently at her core, and it felt like her body was being torn in two. The Magic of the Collar lurched forward in tandem with it, the crimson haze around her body a deeper blood red as hundreds of jolts of electricity surged through her body and rammed into Tallar too- he yelled, cringing and unable to push passed it this time, but his hands held tight the chains and he didn't dare move away from her... not even when it would have spared him the uncontrolled backlash of the Collar.

His hand wrapped around the chain around her left arm, slick with blood and his legs trembling as he struggled to stay standing, his other hand falling over her hand, holding on to her as his head bowed, his teeth gritting.

He could spend all day chipping away at every link on these chains and he would never break them fast enough to save her, the vitals flashing in front of his vision via his Scan-Glasses told him he was running out of time... even if not for the Siphon and the Door seeming to be killing her, and making her Magic so volatile it was tearing her apart from the inside out- the Collar he had made was damaged, and breaking with all this wanton Power and Magic. It wasn't just hurting her anymore, and causing pain- it was causing real, physical damage, and he had no way to stop it.

What do I do...? She can't take much more of this... a...and even if I can get her free... all of this... she's hurt... terribly... and the Collar will...

... Gods forgive me, what have I done...?

"...Gods... forgive me... please... end this... help me stop this..." He hissed, his voice cracking.

... stop this... free her... anything

"... break the Siphon..."

Talarr stiffened, his eyes snapping open and glancing around quickly, the whisper of a voice seemingly next to his his ear though no one was there, save the Energess who was hissing and groaning, her body limp and shaking, suspending in air and quickly losing what battle she was fighting. It was not her voice he heard just then, though for a moment he swore it was- but it couldn't have been... and yet he saw no one else.

A shiver ran up his spine, mind whirling and suddenly his heart leaping- could that have been...?

... did... the Gods... just answer...?

It seemed absolutely ludicrous, but- w..what else is that voice to belong to, then...? Surely not one of these vile creatures spilling from the Door...

"... break the Siphon. Disrupt the circle..."

"... stall the connection. Shatter the link the Door has to her Magic..."

"... break them apart... keep the Door from feeding off her..."

Talarr gulped, shivering again as the voices wove around him, hissing in his ears, low and soft and formless... before he grimaced and let go of the chains, his eyes dropping to the Magic Circle under their feet, and hissing as the Magic of the Collar flared again.

The Energess hissed, coughing as more blood hit the floor, staining the terrible dark glow of the Siphon, but not bothering it in the slightest. Tallar bit down on his tongue, willing himself not to bend or falter under the jolt of electricity, steeling himself against it as he gripped the metal tool in both hands as tightly as he could.

He had no clue what those voices were, or why- but it was the only direction he had, and he had to try.

He hissed, his hands swinging down as he rammed the tip of the metal into the stone floor and the edge of the Magic Circle with it- Magic sparking from the tool itself and clashing with that of the Siphon, quickly climbing up his hands and through his body. He yelled at the pain, but bit back at it again, forcing the metal into the floor further, against the resistance of the Magic Circle and further still though he felt his body beginning to break under the backlash.

And the backlash of the Siphon didn't just hit him, either- it's Magic sprung up from the floor, sparking and lashing out at everything around it- the floor, Talarr, and Frea stuck in it's center- and the Energess yelled, her body curling painfully against it as the Siphon stripped her Magic in quick, terrible, soul-wrenching bursts, and still she tried to hold back against it.

I can't... ke...ep it... in... c...contr...ol...

Her heart was pounding in her ears, rapid, thundering, uneven- her breaths the same, her screams hoarse, her body nothing but agony- and agony that was mirrored in Tallar, the feel of it hitting her in waves even as he kept on, forcing the Magic Circle fueling the Siphon to crack. Breaking, slowly, but not enough-

"... Malurey... let go."

She heard that voice, clear and pristine- she heard it above everything else, her heart, lungs, body, Magic, and she froze.

W..what...?

"Let go."

She hissed, her jaw clenching, her fangs grinding down on each other, body rigid. She shook her head furiously, pulling against the chains holding her up and so hard her arms felt like they were going to snap, but she didn't care. She threw her weight back, and let go of what little hold she had been trying to keep on her Magic- and instead forced it forward, flowing wild, free, desperate... willing her Magic outward of her own accord and hoping it was enough.

She poured every last shred of strength of force of will she had left into it, letting it rise to the surface, swirl inside her veins and in her body, pour itself into the Siphon and much faster than it had ever been trying to steal it away from her. She didn't try to control it, she let it do as it will, wild and tearing and stifling- she let go, and it was like a terrible storm, and she only wanted one thing.

"STOOOOOOOP!"

The edges of the Siphon blazed, the Magic cracking and shattering at an alarming rate as Magic flooded out from it, engulfing Frea and Talarr alike and expanding within that sea of sheer and unrelenting Evil like a burning, terrifying explosion. The air and the earth trembled, the Magic flooding from the Gate hissing and the creatures in it's depths wailing as the air itself shifted, the wind howling, tearing as it swirled out to the edges of the room, and then quickly turned back and every bit of the air seemed to suck back in as if a vacuum.

The chains shattered, the Energess' voice broken in an instant, and her broken body quickly falling toward the floor- the shadows quickly moving on all sides and receding in toward the Door that hadn't been able to be seen in much too long a time.

Talarr hissed, jumping forward on legs that were shaking too much to hold him, his arms shooting out to catch the Energess before she hit the floor, and holding to her tightly as the Power swept straight passed them both.

And there before that massive, horrid Door, stood a young girl who was not buffeted by the wind or the sudden vacuum at all.

The sea of pitch black Power folded back inside the Doorway, disappearing into depths unseen in the matter of a few seconds, following the slow, calm movement of her arms inward- and then the Doors slammed shut with a single, decisive clap of the Seleyn's hands, a crescent moon symbol blazing across the face of the mountainside and the Gate.

The air boomed, waves of pressure, force and air cascading back out from being sucked in so forcefully- and sent off in a deafening cacophony as the Door sealed shut, and blew everything back with terrifying force.

The stained glass lining the edges of the tower blew outward, a shrill, and high-pitched burst of noise sweeping out from the inside of the tower and over the whole of the Valley below it, sending everything and everyone skidding to a halt. The earth shook under their feet one last time, deep and rattling, the clouds amassed above the tower shredded by that burst of power that had erupted from the inside of it, and the Magic that had stained the sky and been quickly consuming the land below it suddenly ripped apart and shredded into millions of wispy, trailing pieces.

The tower collapsed

The Thunder Legion stared, eyes wide and their hearts dropping into their feet as their endless struggle upward through the winding halls of Okeal came to a standstill. Near to an hour of breaching the Gates surrounding the Palace, and fighting up to the head of the Valley, and all through the Palace itself- they were hardly halfway up the lengths of this massive place, and they were moving much, much too slowly. Every step of their way had been blocked by band after band of Kullui, fighting tooth and claw against enemies and tools rivaling their own Magic, struggling to keep from being caught and Collared, and soon enough bleeding and panting from every hit and blow they had taken. They kept forward, pressing harder, more desperate, their Magic flaring, the glint of Freed's sword and Runes, the glitter of Evergreen's Magic, and the dark glow allowed by Bixlow and his Dolls. The blinding flash of blue-green owed to Shae as she darted among the Kullui at a speed almost impossible, taking down those she could and keeping the bulk of their heavier blows from reaching the rest of her companions by use of the Guard on her wrist- all the while leaving a trail of blood spatter behind, her injured paws and arms bleeding without end with all the constant fighting.

They were grounded, and had to rely on their feet to carry them forward- Shae and Aisha alike had warned them beforehand that even inside the Barriers surrounding Okeal, there were hundreds of other defenses stapled to the buildings- and specifically ones that targeted and destroyed airborn projectiles that might be thrown at the Palace. And though they themselves were considerably smaller than what might be expected to be thrown at the Palace, they would likely trigger the defenses anyway, and it was too much a risk to hope dodging the Magic and whatever else thrown at them in midair would be enough. So even if they were constantly being hampered by Kullui on the ground, it was better alternative than risking being shot out of the sky the other way around... even if would have been faster.

But they didn't let up, not even when they got hit, or knocked down- they couldn't relent, and they surely couldn't lose ground or be detained. They had to make it, fight their way through the Palace and through every defense and every foe, and make it to the top, and to that Tower to which Magic had been spilling from faster and faster as the minutes ticked by in constant, chaotic motion. Minutes of incessant fighting, running, conflict- the earth constantly shaking, the Palace groaning under the abuse, the rest of the city below engulfed in war- and all the way through, they could hear her screaming. Heard the pain... pain mirrored in those few and far between groups of Barren, Servants, and fleeing people alike that they ran into in all those halls. Some of them simply running, others being attacked and cut down in front of their eyes, and they did their best to stop the needless violence- but in some, and much too many cases, they crossed paths with the broken and bloody bodies of those who had already fallen to the cruelty. It was a sight fairly frequent in the Palace itself, and they could only imagine the magnitude of the carnage in the rest of the city... they shuddered at the thought.

They couldn't hesitate though on all the death, they had to keep going, the endless screams and shuddering of the earth urging them on faster and faster, despite the wounds, or the exhaustion, or the terrible things going on. They kept forward, without hesitation, hating the screams... until it all cut off, in an instant.

And still they were too far away

Their constant flight through the palace came to a dead-halt, Shae, Freed, Bixlow and Evergreen panting, covered in blood and bruises and injuries all of them, standing for the moment in a small, round atrium of the Palace whose roof opened up to the sky and the Tower far overhead. They could see the Tower, see the Magic spilling from it, the storm raging- they heard one last, heart-wrenching scream from it's depths, and then they felt the air move. Like it was suddenly snatched up from around them and sucked in toward that Tower, the breath snatched from their throats- before they winced, their ears ringing from the high-pitched burst of noise that followed, and then they saw the top of the Tower explode.

Dust and debris and dark colored light burst from the inside, large bits of stone and structure alike sent flying through the air and then left to the behest of gravity. The force behind the explosion and the trembling of the earth with it was enough to shatter the glass over their heads, and they looked away and shielded their faces as a rain of glass fell over them. When they dared looked up again afterward, the structure of the tower groaned, before cracking up along it's side, and whole sections of it began to break off and fall away. The whole tower, collapsing in on itself and showering the sections of the Palace below it with massive, hundred-ton sections of stone and whatever else, crushing everything they fell atop.

They felt their hearts drop, their blood running cold and eyes wide in terror. Shae's ears pressed flat against her head, and the Thunder Legion paled. They stood, rigid and paralyzed, stuck in place and not daring to breathe, watching the Tower crumble away and a downpour of destruction fall down toward the earth and the haze of dust swirling at the top.

N-no... we can't have...

They couldn't look away, they stood utterly still, fixed as time seemed to slow, and everything continued to fall... havoc like a dark raincloud letting loose a flurry of ruin to hurtle toward the earth.

... we... were too late...?

They stiffened, gulping as their eyes flashed and they felt panic set in deeper than ever before- their hearts suddenly began to pound in their ears at an erratic tempo.

"Gods..."

"Frea!"


Hello everyone!

Once again, I am not dead! And I managed to get through this chapter in a few days, once I actually forced myself to sit down and write XD

I do hope you enjoyed this chapter! I hope to get through the next one quicker this time around, since I have reinvigorated myself for this story!

Please, follow, fav and Review! Thank you!