This is just a small little work with my boy Vili that i decided to make after reading the Power of the Dark Crystal. They is my first character who used "they/them" pronoums, so I wanted to see how it was like to write it.
Spoilers for the Power of the Dark Crystal I guess!
Issue 1
Vili blinked once or twice, while their eyes got used to the new place they had just fallen onto. It didn't feel like the ground of the UrSkek's land, it felt different, cold, but strangely familiar.
They heard the hustle of clothes and big forms moving around. It had been a long time since Vili had felt unsafe, but their instincts were still there. They raised their head, looking up at the looming forms above.
"Free!" A voice screamed, letting out a loud cackle.
"No…" Vili would recognize the form in front of them anywhere. "Papa…!"
UrSon opened his golden eyes, looking down at Vili without moving. He stretched his lower arm towards the gelfling, who instinctively ran to him, hiding underneath his large and hunched form.
Vili processed what was happening, feeling confused, worried, lost. Their heart hammered hard inside their chest, making it hard to breathe. They turned to the other side, noticing that UrSon wasn't the only one there; the other Mystics were there as well, as were the Skeksis.
Vili wasn't even sure if they were happy or not to see that SkekTar was there too, standing confused in front of UrSon, who had his first set of hands pressing against his back, as if supporting him.
What happened? Why was TarSon separated? Why was it happening again?
The little gelfling let out a groan as pain ran through them and a strong, violent humming ringed inside their ears. And when Vili looked up, they felt breathless. The Crystal of Truth loomed behind them, shining in a strong and dark purple color. It was corrupted again, taken by darkness. When did that happen? Who did that to the Crystal?
"UrSon…" SkekTar called as the Skeksis backed away from their mystics, screeching at them in disgust.
"Hide…!" Vili said in a hiss, hoping he heard.
SkekTar hesitated, looking from his fellow Skeksis to his Urru. UrSon nodded at his counterpart. When the Skeksis were more focused on accessing their situation, SkekTar backed away from the Crystal, ignoring the scared gelflings and podlings that watched him as he found a place in the corner of the room, where he expected not to be seen.
Vili felt uncomfortable being that far from SkekTar, but they would rather see the Skeksis safe than close. They felt UrSon's long fingers holding on to their small form a bit tighter, knowing that their feelings were shared.
"Punishment!" SkekNa screeched, raising a healed hand. "Vengeance for our imprisonment!"
Vili shook their head. Once again, the Skeksis had no memory of their time as UrSkek. Vili was happy to know that at least SkekTar seemed to remember – but it wasn't like he was going to forget it, was it?
"Who? Who is to blame?" SkekOk asked, adjusting his glasses.
"We know who…" SkekUng practically growled, turning to the Skeksis not too far from him. "HIM! Whimpering Chamberlain!"
The Chamberlain was taken back, letting out a startled "mmmmn?" as claws were pointed at him.
But Vili didn't care for the Skeksis and their stupid quarrels. They focused on the Mystics, especially UrSon. While the Skeksis didn't seem to mind being split again, it was easy to see the UrRu were shaken by the change. Vili couldn't blame them. After waiting for so long to be reunited, just to be separated once more, so suddenly and so soon, would make anyone feel like that.
Vili held on tightly to UrSon's arm as the Skeksis made even more noise.
"Quickly…" The gelfling recognized that voice, even if it sounded so different, so old, so full of wisdom and fear. "While they squabble… F-find the shard…"
They also recognized the other, soft, sweeter, but just as fearful and pained as the first one:
"We can stop the horror… Before it begins…"
Sitting not too far from them, up in a balcony above the Crystal, were two very finely dressed gelflings. Their white hair seemed to shine, reflecting the purple of the Crystal's darkened light. They leaned against each other, weak, breathing hard. Even the Fizzgig on their arms seemed affected by the Crystal's corruption.
And, even with the many wrinkles of age that covered their faces, Vili would recognize them anywhere.
"Jen… Kira…!"
-o-
SkekTar watched from his hiding spot as the Skeksis put all blame on the Chamberlain, but noticed something that nobody else seemed to be paying attention to.
A warm light flickered not too far from him, moving slowly and silently on the floor. It looked like a gelfling, but at the same time it didn't, especially thanks to the fire that adorned it's head instead of hair or any type of headdress.
And not too far from it, forgotten on the floor, was…
"A shard…" A shiver ran down SkekTar's back and he felt stuck in place.
So that was it. The shard that forced them to split again, the one that brought them back to Thra. Someone shattered it, but who? And why? Was it-
"There! Look! The heretic! The Crystal Breaker!" A well-dressed gelfling yelled, just as the fire-gelfling reached the crystal shard. "She'll feed the shard to her fires! She'll doom us forever! S-Seize her!"
SkekTar needed to do something. He readied himself to leave the shadows he hid in, but didn't dare move once all the Skeksis turned to the little fire-gelfling. They wondered between themselves what to do with the crystal breaker, until SkekUng decided:
"Let fire-brat take shard!" He screeched, a smirk taking over his beak. "Then Skeksis rule FOREVER!"
"No." SkekTar couldn't let that happen, not again.
He waited as the fire-gelfling walked away, and looked over to his family. UrSon kept his eyes down, his lower set of arms still wrapped around the smaller form of Vili underneath. They were fine, they would be fine, the Skeksis wouldn't want to get close to the Mystics.
SkekTar went after the fire-gelfling. He didn't know if she was really against the gelflings, he didn't know if she wanted to destroy the shard she took with herself, so SkekTar decided not to antagonize her straight up. He would be careful, like UrSon taught him, even if that was different from what Skeksis normally did.
The firefling ran down a corridor, the noises of the Crystal Chamber being left behind. And as he walked, SkekTar noticed other footsteps beside his and the fireling's. And all he needed was a long and high-pitched whimper to know who accompanied them.
"Chamberlain…"
The Chamberlain's fine clothes were in pieces, dragging on the floor; his face was covered in scratches, left by the Crystal Bats that attacked him; and the way that he threw one of the most intact pieces of clothing over his head, didn't really do much for his lousy appearance.
"Mmmm… Shard… Important…!" SkekSil muttered to himself, apparently not noticing he wasn't the only skeksis there. "Shard is power!"
He raised an arm above his head and SkekTar noticed he was holding a rock, aiming it at the fireling. Acting quickly, SkekTar pushed SkekSil with his whole body, making him fall with a loud screech.
"Stay away from the gelfling, spithead!" The Entertainer hissed. He heard a gasp, knowing that the fireling had noticed she was being followed by two Skeksis.
He turned to the little one, who stared up at him with wide dark eyes, clutching the purple piece of crystal to her chest. And for a moment he didn't know if he needed to say anything. He just knew he needed the shard.
SkekTar took a few steps towards the fireling, who quickly took some steps back, before running again. He made a start to run after her, but-
"Mmmm… Entertainer is here too!"
"Ack!" And before SkekTar could react, something hard and heavy hit the side of his head, making him lose balance and fall. His head vibrated with pain, and he could feel warm blood running down his temple. He couldn't even focus his vision, but was able to see as SkekSil got up.
"Chamberlain will get shard… And you better stay out of my way!" And saying that, Chamberlain brought the stone down again, this time hitting the back of SkekTar's hand.
"No! Come back!" The far away cry of the fireling seemed to make SkekSil remember what he was doing in the first place. He let out a hissing "mmm", leaving SkekTar behind and following after the fireling with the bloodied stone still in hand.
SkekTar sat there for a while, hands covering his wounded head as it slowly stopped shaking.
-o-
"Aah…!" UrSon moaned in pain, covering his head with his hands.
"Papa, you're bleeding!"
He wasn't the only one being hurt, as the Skeksis attacked the gelfling guards, pushing them and their spears away while having no weapons of their own.
UrSon didn't seem to mind his own pain, more worried about keeping Vili hidden underneath him. But the gelfling squirmed their way from underneath the UrRu, checking the bloodied area. Head and hand were harmed, but UrSon wasn't hit directly.
"Papa is hurt…" Vili wondered what had caused such wounds on SkekTar. They looked around, but they couldn't find the Skeksis anywhere, especially with the chaos the others were causing.
They tried to leave the Mystic's side, only to be stopped by a big hand holding on to their small wrist. UrSon didn't tug, didn't even use strength, Vili just naturally stopped.
"Vili." UrSon said, calmly, softly. "Not now."
"But…"
Vili was silenced by a sound that made their skin crawl. They shrunk underneath UrSon's bigger form once again, more out of instinct than actual fear.
"Skeksis…" Jen spoke once again. "Surrender."
"You dare command Skeksis?!" SkekUng growled. "I am emperor! I am Garthim master!"
The noise came closer and closer, that damned "click clack click" that haunted Vili's dreams for so long. Vili couldn't see from that position, but they could almost imagine the big, bulky creatures entering the Crystal's Chamber just like they had done so long ago, back when Jen and Kira were still young, and Vili was there with them.
"That's my scepter!" SkekUng roared.
"No." Jen said with conviction, over the sound of the Garthim. "It's not."
And even the Skeksis didn't seem to know what to say to that. From their hidden position, Vili finally had a glimpse of those big, purple and lifeless eyes. And, for the first time, the shiny orbs weren't focused on them, but on the Skeksis in front of it.