UNBREAKABLE

Seems like its that time in the show when all the former characters show up. Need a quick plot twist? Former dead guy brought back from the dead. But this is worse than that, at least the undead are killable. Not the same with a pissed-off spirit.

Mercer's face is a mask of fury. I'm sure he remembers exactly what I put him through. But instead of ranting a lecture at me about my shortcomings, like all villains do, he charges me. I'm taken off my feet in an instant by his shoulder. My back slams into the ground with a sickening crack. I hear Serana scream but she's no match for him.

She never was. Maybe I wasn't either. Good thing I have Mother here. I let her take over, as much as she can, speaking through the void. Her power is lessened here. But it's enough. I light up with electricity, the power creates its own light source in this part of the Cairn. Mercer strikes again but blasts away with my power. I leap up and tear across the way just for one more hit.

His face goes flying backwards with that sucker punch. It actually felt so good I could do it again. So I do. I continue to pummel him, with hit after hit, until I hear her.

The one I was waiting for.

"You're here. I knew I felt you." She hisses.

Spark power like my own lashes into me. I fly off Mercer only to smack into the cold stone of a nearby tower. In my blurry gaze I see Potema stalking towards me. Her form as it was before, just a bundle of lighting if not a little dimmer.

I leap out of the way, then unexpectedly, I smack my hand so hard against the stone wall that I nearly expect my ring finger to come off. I wish it would. We need someone else right now.

"Let them in!" I yell to her.

The Night Mother, my Voice, is frazzled. She's panicking. I can't get to you.

"Try!" I scream again. Lighting nearly gets me in the abs, instead it cuts through the rock next to me. I roll and barely miss Mercer's foot towards my head. Too many enemies and the dragon isn't even near me.

She doesn't say anything so I'm on my own. I kick Mercer good in the shin before he can punch me. Then I dodge Potema. Her lighting is charging far faster than mine. I have no choice but to break into a run. Serana is right ahead and with my approach she gets the meaning. She runs just as I do. Up ahead is another tower but it's better than no cover.

We break through and to our good fortune I tumble into one of the "Keepers" we were tasked with killing. He wails when I hit him but that familiar thunder sounds. I duck just in time as the lighting from Potema strikes his head. His frying remains fall to the ground.

The door slams shut. Serana latches it with shaking hands. "What do we do?"

"Up." I point to the ceiling. We race up the eroding staircase only to find a room full of henchmen. A bunch of skeletons. Me and Serana butcher the lot of them. Then the last one walks our way, his bones pitch black and eyes gleaming with purple smoke. I raise the Ebony Blade ready to kick his ass.

Then his head explodes. What do you know? I'm ready to grab the vampire girl's hand and make a break for it, even if I have to drag her along, when the bones fall to the ground. Molag Bal stands in their wake.

"Took you long enough!" I yell at him.

He doesn't back down, just grins. "Oh, I'm just in time."

"What is this shit?!" I throw my hands up with the Ebony Blade in my right hand. "I thought you kept Potema and Mercer in your domain! Not here!"

The thunder rolls over the tower, shaking it to the core. Serana grabs onto the wall for support but Molag Bal is unshaken. He crosses his arms. "I bring them out when I want to play, but I've been a little busy with my siblings. Been having a piss poor time with that jewelry you have there."

The ring. I'm so close to telling him to cut that finger off but he continues, "Before you ask, no, I cannot go back to Coldharbour to retrieve them from their gems. But I can slow them down long enough for you to get your ass out there." His eyes burn with a certain intensity.

"What's the catch?" I get out.

"No catch." He laughs devilishly, "Just stay alive for my brothers and sisters. They'd be…positively heartbroken if you were to die now."

I don't trust him fully. "You sure? No more dead friends you're going to bring back to life?"

"Who are you talking to?" Serana cries.

Right. She can't see him. "Molag Bal." I say.

He laughs again. "Good. Strike fear and fire in the hearts of my followers. Consider the Champion as a gift for what you've given me. So many souls and so much fun. He's there to keep The Blood Flower in check. So don't tamper with him. Enough talk. There's blood to spill." His massive wings strike out, smashing the rocks behind him. Beyond him stand more towers in the distance. I grab Serana's hand and we jump.

The last Keeper was almost dead. He was too evasive. I shifted into Vampire Lord form, so I flap my wings, soaring over him to tear his heart out, or what is left of it, from behind. He falls to ash like the others. I shift back just as the thunder rolls. The boiling pitch-black clouds we've been running from are far away now. Molag Bal has Potema and probably Mercer occupied over there.

"You never said what that was about." Serana mentions.

"Molag Bal? He's here to help. I think."

"Let's just get back to my mother." The vampire seems shaken. Might be a bad time to tell her it's just another day in the life of Eve.

Thankfully, the invisible wall that barricaded us all is gone. The happy family reunion resumes. Once Serana and her mom break from their nearly hour-long hug she turns to me. "I thought that was you with the lighting, I've heard of your power."

News travels fast, even across realms. "Nope, you don't want to know who's wielding it. Where's the Scroll? We need to get out of here now."

The thunder sounds again. Closer. It would be just like Molag Bal to disappear and leave them to hunt us right when we were so close to our goals.

The mom just raises an eyebrow, "Follow me. Keep watch for Durnehviir. With the prison barrier down, he's almost certain to investigate."

I keep out the Ebony Blade and light up power in my left hand. Just in case. We enter the coliseum like area. At first, there was a sense of peace, just like when we entered the Cairn. I lead the way since I know what we're up against. I keep us at a good pace, jumping over rocks and dodging sketchy ground. That's when we hear it.

The inhuman screech from the sky clashes with the approaching thunderstorm. No sooner than ten seconds later a dark dragon falls from the sky. His scales glitter in the strange light here, reflecting the violet lighting flashing in the distance. At first, I think he's injured, but right as he hits the ground his vast wings flare out like a cloak. He soars over our heads to grab Serana in his talons.

"No!" Her mom screams.

Thankfully, I have the Nightingale Bow with me. I quickly draw and ready more arrows while the dragon circles around. Serana's screams are piercing the air as much as my arrows. I clench my jaw, if the mustard yellow dragon would just quit wobbling then I would have a better aim.

I reach back for another arrow, my fingers just brush the feathery end, when something cold smacks me in the back of the head. I drop and roll out of it before it can do more damage. I swirl, bow ready now and find Mercer stalking me.

"I give you entrance to the Guild and this is how you repay me?!" His voice is as sniveling as ever.

"Oh, you mean goad me into joining your club, so you serve me on a platter to the vamps?" I release the arrow and it thankfully pierces his chest. He jolts with the impact but doesn't go down. I go for another one.

"If you stopped digging that never would have had to happen! After all I did for you… I gave you food, water, a place to stay off the streets to earn money. And a stab through the back is what you give me?" He looks good an angry if his tone didn't indicate it first.

"You aided in the murder of my parents, then stole from the Guild. Tell me what I was supposed to do? If you're so smart!" I shoot the next arrow. Right through the eye. He barely blinks.

"Follow my orders! That's all I asked! Instead I'm sent to Oblivion with the prince of darkness!" His rage conceals it, but I hear the brokenness beneath the surface.

"Sounds like where you're meant to be then." I finish, then send as many arrows as I can until he's riddled with them. He lunges but I'm faster. I trip him up then fling my power at him. He goes down, covered in the purple webs.

Can a ghost die? Molag Bal said he didn't have time to retrieve him. So, I might just be holding him off till we get to the exit. Shit.

I swing my head around in time to see Serana's mom sending blazing firebolts up to the dragon, he still had Serana gripped in his talons and was breathing a strange sort of purple fire. I ready an arrow when the ground shakes.

Thunder roars across the sky. Lighting streaks to follow it's path. I raise my eyes to see her. Potema slowly emerges from the clouds, a floating vortex of storm. Her eyes find mine and promise vengeance. I gulp when I see the streaks of lighting flowing from her to the clouds. She's more powerful than I thought. I ready the Bow with another arrow. Time for round two.

That's when the dragon blows her away. She screams in the tide of purple flames. That was easy. When they subside she regenerates herself. The power of lighting streaks from her, she turns to the dragon with barely concealed rage. Just like Mercer. The dragon and the deity. I guess they needed to decide who rules the sky.

Even though it is a lovely sight, the dragon racing across the clouds to meet the floating woman covered in sparks, I have to save my friend. Serana is still on the edge of the top of the castle. She appears to be injured by the way she leans on her leg. "Jump!" I yell to her.

She glances down with hesitation. Dragon swoops by, nearly missing my shoulder, I steady my feet. The ground next to me disintegrates with a hit of lighting. "Now Serana! I can't hold them off!" With our odds something terribly wrong should have happened. Instead, the vampire girl falls into my arms. I let us roll when another sound of lighting zaps near us.

"Go!" I scream to her, then I shove her at her mom. The Ebony Blade is needed, the pulsing power grows.

I pull it out and ready myself in a fighting stance. The dragon circles us in the air, his gaze moving from me to the deity behind me. I'm not sure who would be worse to turn my back on.

"Let them fight." His glee is unrestrained.

I pivot to see Molag Bal towering behind me. "You followed them?"

"As I should, but I also have a message." His eyes are fiery with the glow of Oblivion. His fangs drip with a sort of venom. I should be scared but this is the first time I've had this chance since Barbas.

"What is it? What have you all found?" I keep a good grip on the Blade. Just in case.

"The dog told you she is hunting something. He is right. Something in that castle she wants." His voice deepens with the revelation. The Night Mother screams and tries to take my over but I keep her down.

"What is it? Harkon?"

"That." He grins. "And more. In the dungeons. Be careful. My siblings call." In a blink of an eye he's gone.

I scream out in frustration. "Why?! Why must you leave me with more questions! The fate of our existence shouldn't hinge on riddles!"

I'm a mess and I'm locked in the middle of a battle with horrible creatures. Hands grasp my shoulders and lead me on. Serana and her mother rush me to the entrance of another part of the castle.

"Who was that?" Her mom asks.

"Molag Bal." I say for the second time today. "He had information for me but was too cryptic."

"As expected," She agrees. Serana keeps her hand on my elbow to lead me. The mom continues, "We need to get the Scroll and get out of here. I would bet the dragon would not be bested, but with that woman's power…I'm not certain. We need to leave before one of them wins and is waiting outside for us."

She didn't have to say that again. In a smaller room stood an even smaller box. If I weren't the wiser, I would guess a sword was locked in there. For a moment, I'm taken back to my first meeting with the Ebony Blade. How it was sitting there, as if waiting for me this whole time. Once I lifted it from it's cradle, I was taken under it's spell and without the Night Mother's intervention…

I shake my head to snap out of it. The box opens under the older vampire's deft hands and inside lays the object of everyone's desire. The second Elder Scroll. Serana takes it from her mother's grasp. "Thank you." She whispers.

A roar sounds up above. We all freeze when the stones surrounding us shake. Thunder sounds then everything is silent.

"You must go." The mother says.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Serana cries.

"No. I am a Daughter of Coldharbour just as you are. If I enter Tamriel again the chances are doubled that the prophecy will be fulfilled. I must stay." She cradles her daughter's face, "I'll be safe."

"We can come back for you." I say.

She only smiles in acknowledgement. "Keep my daughter safe. And don't trust whatever Harkon says. After spending some time with you, I see that won't be a problem." She smiles again when lighting races over my arms.

I'm ready for the fight we have outside. If it's the dragon, I might be better off with the Ebony Blade. However, if it's Potema, I'm not sure what we can do besides run. "You ready?" I ask Serana.

She nods solemnly, "The sooner we get home with the Scroll, the sooner we can deal with my father."

I take that as a yes and shove the door open using my forearm. The musty air hits me like a ton of bricks. It's humid from the storm that just came through. Outside, it looks the same as it did before. Purple sky and barren landscape, no signs of the fight of the century that was just going on.

Ten steps later and I see the error in that line of thinking. I crouch with the Blade at the ready and allow myself a moment of relief. The dragon survived. He's sitting on the rocky outcrop right outside the gates of the castle.

"Stay your weapons. I would speak with you, Nikrent." His voice is deep and dark, a booming sound like what I heard from the clouds minutes ago. Fitting for a dragon.

"Potema didn't kill you? You got her?" I stand but keep the Ebony Blade out, it still glows red.

"Dead? She is not dead, things here never die, Nikrent. She is merely asleep and transported elsewhere. She was an annoyance. I won't die because I am cursed. Doomed to exist in this form for eternity. Trapped between laas and dinok, between life and death."

"So? Doesn't change the fact that you tried to kill us." I move so I'm shielding Serana and the new Scroll.

"The hostility was necessary. I was bound to an oath." He speaks and his mouth moves like it's filled with giant marbles.

"That's fair, why do you want to talk now?" I look behind him, then over my shoulder, to make sure this isn't a trap him and Potema devised.

He snorts, "I believe in civility among seasoned warriors, and I find your ear worthy of my words. My claws have ravaged the flesh of innumerable foes, but I have never heard of one such as you."

My face falls. Of course, he knows who I am. He laughs as much as a dragon can, "Don't look surprised, with some of the souls sent here, they have brought stories of their own. They speak of a woman who is trapped with a curse but has survive many dire plights. This is why I honor name you 'Nikrent', or Unbroken in your tongue."

Huh, now I have a leg up on Ungherd. An actual dragon was naming me. We sit in awkward silence for a minute or two. "You're equally worthy." I say.

He seems to light up. "Your words do me great honor, Nikrent. My desire to speak with you was born from the result of the battle I was in. The divine spark user is bound here to this realm but you are not. I heard stories of your…nobility. I merely wish to respectfully ask a favor of you."

We need to get out of here. So I wave him on. "Go on."

"For countless years I've roamed the Soul Cairn, in unintended service to the Ideal Masters. Before this, I roamed the skies above Tamriel. I desire to return there."

I sheath the Blade, will make us quicker. "What stops you?"

"I fear that my time here has taken its toll upon me. I share a bond with this dreaded place. If I ventured far from the Soul Cairn, my strength would begin to wane until I was no more."

"What would you have us do?" Serana steps around me, her hands still holding the Scroll in a death grip, I see that she's itching to get out of here too.

"I will place my name with Nikrent and grant her the right to call my name from Tamriel." He turns his massive face towards me before I can take in the information. "Do me this simple honor and I will fight at your side as your Grah Zeymahzin, your Ally, and teach you my Thu'um."

No clue what that means but I'll roll with it. "Sounds good, just call your name to Tamriel?"

"Trivial in your mind, perhaps." He shoots back, "For me, it would mean a great deal. I don't require an answer, Nikrent. Simply speak my name to the heavens when you feel the time is right." He pauses, "I do not believe you have the power of the Voice, but I will grant you my bond, so you can all me easily."

Power of the voice? Whatever, can't ask more questions now. I swallow, "Okay, what's your name? Never picked up on it." Please, gods, let this one be easy to remember.

"Durnehviir." He bows his head. "At your service Nikrent."

"Alright, Dumble…" I correct myself, "Durnehviir, if you would show us safe passage out of this Oblivion hole it would be my honor to call you to the skies of Tamriel."

"Gladly," He grins with sharp teeth, but I've seen far sharper. Serana races behind me when Durnehviir takes flight. "That was smart! Good thinking."

For having an opportunity like calling a dragon to my aid falling into my lap? Nope, that's pure luck. Just wait until the Night Mother hears of my new power, I only pray she won't meddle with that too.

Cicero's Journal Entry

Again, the vampire stalks around me. I told him that no harm will come to him Mother. I think you are right. Cicero thinks the Daedric Prince abandoned him. Hahahaha! Abandoned! Poor fool…if only he knew what a good Mother would do, hm?

Listener is far and that makes Cicero weary. She dove into the portal with the vampire…the daughter. If they are gone any longer, then Cicero will have to chase after them. We just need her to defeat the vampire lord first…then everything will fall into place.