Fall Of The Empire
Rating: T-17+
Disclaimer: I don't own this. . . or do I? Nah, I don't. So don't sue me. I'm already in enough debt with my student loans.
Author's Notes: So, I am an idiot. I really am surprised nobody went, "Er? War? War, something's not right with this chapter. It feels really jarring."
And that, dear reader, is because the first half of the chapter magically did not upload. I'm like oh my god, what the hell?! I have opted to delete and reupload. I am so so so so so sorry that that happened. ;=;
Also a short status update: I have roughly ~3 other fics I'm working on and trying to update. ROOTA is coming up on the update list, pinky promise! I'm getting a huge kick out of reading the #TeamErica/Echo hashtags. ROOTA's next chapter is about to be in development soon, and trust me, it'll be good! Thank you all so much for hanging in there, I just got booted back to 40 hours a week again. . . And I'm pretty much addicted to Destiny. I can't quit that game.
Now excuse me, I have to go pick up a sword and kill the Son of Oryx again before he can slaughter what's left of humanity. And look absolutely #Frabjous while doing it.
Warnings: Nothing, except for stylistic things FF loves to om nom. Mild cursing. If you see anything with the first-person in it, it should be italicized. That is all.
. . . this text is here for a mysterious reason.
Lion-O breathed, his breaths rattling in his ears, and he was absolutely positive that the thundering of his heart could be heard throughout the entire cave. For a while, time was frozen. It was completely, and utterly still - nobody moved. All eyes were trained on the spot where Echo had disappeared, stepping off the rocky ledge. He stared at the space where the white-haired human had disappeared, and he was completely fixated on the area. Those eyes were burned into his mind - and he could still see them, glimmering with hate and madness, boring into his soul. . . After six months, and everything that had happened, he'd seen her again.
Like broken glass, his memories dragged themselves to the forefront of his mind, and that day in Avista began to replay itself. He'd waged war on Mumm-Ra's forces, holding nothing back, fighting with a strength and clarity he'd never possessed before. And then he'd fought Mumm-Ra himself, Omens vibrating wildly in his hands and it practically begged for him to put an end to the monstrosity once and for all. He'd been so surprised when the window had exploded above him, and glittering shards of glass had gently fallen to the ground. . .
And he'd stood over her.
Lion-O swore, and he would always swear, to his last, dying breath that she'd been about to aim that gun of hers up at him. His battle instincts had clogged his mind, and he'd reacted, without really looking. . . Lion-O allowed his eyes close as he relived that memory. She. . . How had she looked? An expression of relief, of heartbreak. . . pain. His hand trembled as Omens reduced its size and mechanically, he slid it into his gauntlet. Emotional pain rose in him, and he worked on shoving the tidal wave back, locking it up. He couldn't focus on his own pain. He had to concentrate. He'd looked at her face that day, and there, maybe it was just his imagination, but just for a fraction of a second, Lion-O believed he'd seen a smile.
And that, in itself, gave him pause.
Why would she smile?
None of it was making any sense. Her journal they'd recovered - and was still sitting safely in the Feliner - told an entirely different story. She'd known about things that couldn't have possibly happened, but they were, cataloged, plain as day.
Breathing in a steadying breath, Lion-O finally opened his eyes. The brightly glowing lines on the cave's wall were still pulsing, as if trying to assuage him from the pain of his failure. I need to look at that journal again. It's got to have the answers.
But. . . Why should he?
Echo had betrayed them - and the entirety of Third Earth - she was clearly working for Mumm-Ra now. . .
Or was she? If she were working for Mumm-Ra, Kaynar and Addicus were suspiciously absent. Not even Slithe had shown his scaly face. . . Which had to mean there was more afoot than what he thought. Of course, if the power she'd showcased meant anything, then it was highly likely she didn't need them, he mused morbidly. Just concentrate on getting to the journal and reading through it. There's got to be clues in there somewhere. . .
Movement snapped him back to reality, and he saw Tygra getting up to his feet. Shaking his head, Lion-O dusted crystal shards off of himself and stood. The rest of the Cats followed suit, and for a moment, it was quiet again as everybody stopped and looked at the platform, but Tygra was the first to speak. Sheer rage coiled off of his brother, the aura of it almost tangible as he whirled on him, and Lion-O steeled himself as Tygra stalked over to him, his hands balling into fists.
"Lion-O," Tygra snarled, baring his fangs, "You had her! You froze! Why?!"
Tygra was so angry, the words had trouble emerging - but they were uttered in a furious, guttural snarl. Lion-O felt his own anger rising in retaliation, and he glared at Tygra, who finally stalked close enough that Lion-O had to resist the urge to shove his brother's chest just to give himself a little space.
"You had an opportunity! Why didn't you attack her?!"
For a moment, Lion-O was flustered as he tried to answer the question himself. Why hadn't he?
"You locked up! You stopped! You could have ended this! She betrayed us-"
"I know!" Lion-O snarled, shouting over his brother. He shoved Tygra, reclaiming some of his space, and maybe it was the look he sent his brother's way, but Tygra stopped himself from retaliating, though Lion-O knew that the tiger wanted to punch him bloody and raw over and over again.
Silence settled over the pair of them, and Lion-O took several long moments to cage his own anger before he spoke to his brother again.
"Something's not right here. Something's wrong with Echo. . . That wasn't Echo. Even in Avista she'd. . . Something's wrong." He knew the words he was saying didn't make sense, but it was enough to get his point across. Tygra's frame rippled with fury, and he growled again, his eyes slitting in rage.
"We settled this, brother. Months ago! You need to finish what you started. Echo. Is. GONE!"
Cheetara laid a hand on Tygra's breast plate, keeping the tiger from launching himself at him. Lion-O almost had half a mind to tell her to let him - the way Tygra was snapping at him, Lion-O almost wished for a fistfight. With the stress of being king and his brother choosing now to snap at him. . . Drawing blood, getting hurt, and punching him seemed like an excellent idea. The cleric murmured to Tygra, finally managing to draw the tiger's attention away from himself and to the cleric. Lion-O scrubbed a hand over his face, heaving a sigh, and glanced warily at Pumyra as she approached him.
She looked far from happy - she actually looked angry, too - but she didn't snap at him like Tygra did. "You swore to all of us that you would end this." She said, wariness in her voice.
"I will, I just - something's not right. I looked in her eyes and-"
Pumyra shook her head. "She's a traitor, Lion-O. Through and through. By Thunderian law, she deserves death."
Lion-O's eyes, which had fallen on the broken crystal shards, snapped to Pumyra, and the thought of having to raise his own sword to Echo to kill her. . . mentally, he barked a harsh, disbelieving laugh. I already have. Or I tried to. And look where that got us. Pumyra stared at him, closely examining him, and under the scrutiny of her gaze, he straightened himself, standing tall. I don't know how she does it. Just her look and I can pull myself up again. . .
"Listen," Lion-O said, getting the attention of his subjects, "It's true that Echo is a traitor - I'm not denying that. But I deserve a chance to find out what's going on. . . And if her intentions are what we believe them to be. . . Then I'll. . . do what has to be done."
At the end, his tone wavered, and he swallowed against a tightness in his throat. Yeah. . . Under Thunderian rule, Echo was most certainly branded as more than an enemy of the crown - she'd be labeled as an assassin. . . and her punishment would be death by execution. By his hand.
Tygra was not at all pleased with his words, and he displayed it by baring his fangs and snarling at him, his eyes tiny slits as he spit out a furious, "Weak!" and turned his back on him. he utmost disrespect to a king, and even more so coming from his brother - Lion-O had half a mind to stalk over and give Tygra a well-deserved right hook to the cheek, but he reigned in his temper, breathing in and out slowly through his nose as fought to contain himself.
Pumyra glared at him, a light growl marring her own voice. "Your kindness and mercy will be the death of you - of all cats-"
From the back of their group, Panthro finally stirred. He chuckled - and that startled Lion-O in itself, because he could count the times Panthro laughed on a single hand - but the other Cats looked equally confused, and everyone turned to look at the grizzled war general.
"I told the kid the same thing, once. . . and look where we are now." Panthro was easing himself up to his feet, and for a moment, Lion-O felt a pang of guilt that he'd forgotten about the general for so long. Echo had almost cracked his skull open, he'd crashed into the wall that hard. . . if the crater was any indication.
Cheetara and Pumyra moved to intercept him, ignoring his grumpy vows of, 'blast it, I'm fine,' and after a short examination, declared him fit and whole. Lion-O, finally given time alone without any intense stares and anger, turned - and found the twins at the podium he'd been sitting at just a few minutes prior. Both of them looked perfectly fine - either they'd managed to avoid the confrontation with Echo, or she'd deliberately left them out of her attacks.
Which would make sense, actually, given out sweet she was on the kittens. There hadn't been a moment that had gone by that she hadn't been concerned with their well-being. Long ago, he'd teased her about it, and had called her a Mother Cluck. . . a bird that was notorious for over-protecting her babies. If she were still with us. . . she'd be so proud of how strong they've become. Both of the twins were whispering furiously to one another, and upon noticing his approach, quickly scampered away to continue speaking to one another. From what snippets he overheard, however, he clearly made out, 'convince' and 'not a spy' and 'Echo.'
They'd never given up on her innocence. . .
Heaving a sigh, Lion-O bent down and picked up a few of the shattered crystal shards. In his hands, they were as light as air, but somehow cold, the jagged edges nearly as freezing as snow against his fur. It was blue. . . The same blue that Echo's eyes were. And in a flash, he wondered if he should regret his decision to see the truth behind Echo's actions, to finally learn why. There was such darkness, stark madness. . . It all directly contrasted to the Echo in his memories.
And then, just to spite him, he actually sees her. Had Lion-O been a lesser lion, he would have jumped in shock and uttered a sharp cry, but he was growing quite used to these phantom images - and he knew he was the one conjuring them. Echo had been his only friend.
Ghost Echo sighed, and reached a translucent hand down to stroke over the crystal shards. "Look at this mess. Sheesh. . . Hey, don't you think this was too easy? I mean, c'mon. Like they'd leave some Stone laying in a dark cavern. . . Gotta be more to it than that, don't you think?"
Lion-O forcibly shook his head, and when he opened his eyes, Echo was gone. He couldn't afford to start hallucinating her now. Dropping the crystals onto the ground, Lion-O turned back to his group, and saw Panthro busying himself by examining the crater he'd been sitting in, Tygra glaring bloody murder any chance he got, and both Pumyra and Cheetara discussing the mechanics of the cave. Or, more specifically, how a certain human had happened to wander in when it was guarded by powerful spells. . .
"So if the scroll was here," Lion-O said, "What was its purpose?"
At that, Cheetara perked up, and in a strange mimicry of what he'd seen Ghost Echo do, she joined him by his side, crouched, and ran her hands over the crystals.
"It would be silly to assume that the Stone would be so out in the open. Even the Book of Omens required trials just to see it. . . I have a feeling we're not seeing the bigger picture."
Lion-O couldn't suppress a huff.
"Haven't heard that one before." He groused.
Cheetara's lips quirked into a small semblance of a smile before she got to her feet. "The road to the treasure is what makes such riches worth reaping, Lion-O. Still, I sense that something is not quite right about this cave. . . A scroll would be too simple, too obvious. . ." The cleric murmured to herself as she moved away from them, towards the wall, where the glowing, pulsating lines were shining an innocent blue light upon them all.
Pumyra appeared at his elbow, watching the cleric with interest.
"Is she always this way? Speaking in riddles? And what is she doing with her hands?"
Lion-O snickered. Pumyra had only joined them at the very end of their first journey, and he highly doubted as a regular combat medic that she ever got to see the Guardians of the Crown in action. Not to mention the reclusive nature of clerics in general.
"Clerics always had their noses stuck into books," Lion-O explained, "They made for boring company. It wasn't uncommon for them to engage in riddle competitions - claims it sharpens the mind and all that junk. But she's feeling the spells."
Pumyra snorted. "Riddles are a waste of time. State your purpose clearly the first time and nobody will misunderstand your intentions."
She was still angry with him - he could see it in her eyes - but there was amusement there, too. Pumyra had a temper, he wouldn't deny that, but it was fickle, coming and going as it pleased. Lion-O smiled back at her, and it helped him ignore the burning coals pressing into his side, where Tygra was trying to kill him through stare alone. Panthro grumbled, but finally rejoined their group and uttered a grunt.
"Slammin' me into a wall. . . Treating me like a blasted feather."
Lion-O knew what that meant: Panthro was going to start working out, packing more muscle onto his body than possible for a cat. Still, all of the cats stood in a rough semicircle as Cheetara felt along the wall - and Lion-O felt himself tense as she stopped.
"Here." She said. "Right here. I feel it. The spell - one meant for a cleric."
Her hands were tracing around a glowing line barely bigger than two of her fingers put together. Tygra, somehow gathering up enough civility to speak, quirked his head slightly. "A cleric's spell? And what does that mean?"
Cheetara closed her eyes, mouth murmuring words in a language Lion-O didn't understand.
"It means," She said, switching back to Thunderian, "That another cleric knew that one of our own would come looking later. Much, much later. This spell is ancient. And there's a release. . . Hang on. I don't know what's going to happen."
Without waiting for approval, Cheeta withdrew her staff, and spinning it with dizzying speed, extended it and stuck the end of the staff into the center of the glowing line. For a long, tense moment, nothing happened. But then, right as Lion-O was about to suggest they try another way, the lines grew brighter, increasing in luminosity - and the lion actually had to shield his eyes as he became blinded by the light. After a few more seconds it died down, and Lion-O slowly eased down his arm. . . and his eyes grew wide.
Phantom images - almost like hallucinations - played out in the air. Some were symbols, others were faces of kings and clerics from the long, long past. More things flickered in the images, things he didn't understand, but he thought they were mysterious and stunning all the same. A beat later, and the other Cats let out equal sounds of shock and awe.
"Is this. . . technology?" Lion-O asked, his tone a bit breathless. Normally he'd be a bit abashed at how he sounded, but at the moment, he really didn't care.
"No," Cheetara replied, stepping away from the wall. Several brilliant strands of blue light wrapped around her hand to greet her as she reached up to touch it, and with a flick, the images and faces and mysterious runes moved, responding to her touch, "It was a cleric's spell, nothing more. But that's not important, Lion-O. . . All of this is. . . concerning."
"What is it now?" Panthro said, his tone weary, "Giant beasts? The fury of nature herself?"
"A combination of both, I'm afraid."
She waved her hand, and a rough diagram appeared in the air. It was an eight-pointed shape, and currently, three of its points were brightened and highlighted. Lion-O looked up at the picture, examining the strange symbols that were present near each one. They looked familiar somehow, but he wasn't quite sure how he knew them. Puzzled, he stared, examining, and finally, from the dredges of his memories, he remembered once, long ago, when he'd been forced to attend lessons detailing the history of the Sword of Omens. . . the Eye of Thundera had its own symbol.
And that symbol was now blazing in the air in front of him.
"Those are the stones! Right? But if those are the stones. . ." Lion-O trailed off.
"Then what are the other connecting points for?" Tygra finished, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Elements." The cleric replied.
"Stop being cryptic." Pumyra replied, slightly curt. Lion-O gave her a little nudge, and a stern stare, but the puma merely shook her head and planted her hands on her hips. "Please." She added.
"The stones are. . . guarded. In order to unlock the full potential of the stone, we must find this Guardian and take its essence. They have the very core of the stone inside of them - their heart, for lack of a better phrase. We need to harness these essences before Mumm-Ra."
"But without the stones, would the hearts even be any use?" Panthro asked, shaking his head.
"I don't know, but I don't want to chance it." Lion-O answered. "Cheetara, which one is the closest?"
"The Guardian of Water. . . If what I'm ready is correct, it's got to be the Ramlak."
Lion-O nodded.
"No point in wasting time. Let's go."
If anybody wanted to say anything, ask him 'what about Echo?' Lion-O deliberately sped up his footsteps, leading the cats out of the cave and back into the tunnels.
Slithe didn't like the smell of her.
Humans. They smelled like rotting meat and bags of blood. Nothing more, nothing less. He hated her even more knowing that she was in charge of him, possessing the title of second in command. . . It burned him. Inside of his chest, it ignited a rage, a hate, and a jealously so potent, he was honestly surprised she didn't combust into flames just by being close to him some days. He glared at her as he watched her form appear, bits and pieces of her body materializing in the air before becoming whole again.
She fell onto her knees, shivering, though the scent of fear was not present.
Another thing he loathed her for: she lacked fear. She was more than willing to step foot into situations he deemed suicidal, and she came out alive. He hated her.
Ohhhhh, how Slithe despised her.
Next to him, Kaynar let out a nervous laugh.
"Don't do it, No Fur. Don't do it don't do it - awwwww, you did it!"
She made a sound, a disgusting, human sound, and in the span of a heartbeat, he was throwing up a messy, stinking pile of yellow-ish fluid from her mouth. She choked, coughing and spitting, her hands gripping at the floor. Kaynar laughed, as though it were the most hilarious thing in the world, but Slithe grimaced.
"Wretched." He hissed.
She either didn't hear him or didn't care - Sltihe smiled smugly. It had to be the former. If she'd heard him, she would've crushed a rib or two or sent him flying.
"Still getting used to teleporting, human?" Addicus said, smiling at her.
Alien blue eyes flicked over to him, and just for a second, the ape looked uncertain of himself. In the six months she'd been present on the Black Pyramid, the human had made it very clear that she was not to be played with. Her rages were silent, but explosive - she'd killed more than one lizard during her stay. As if Slithe needed another reason to want to disembowel her. Still, he respected Addicus. . . grudgingly. Where Kaynar accidentally antagonized the girl, Addicus did it on purpose. Just to see how far he could push her that day.
Out of the shadows of the antechamber, the little robotic bearpigthing rolled out of the shadows, crying a name that sounded alien. Irritated, the girl pushed it away, scrubbing at her mouth with her furless hands. It produced a towel from thin air, chirping up at her with an assortment of all kinds of buzzes and clicks, but she kept ignoring it.
"What's the matter?" Addicus said, taking a few steps closer to her, "Afraid your bear will get dirt-urk."
The ape's head snapped back, and in his fur, Slithe could see muscles indenting, as though her hands were wrapped around his throat. The human said nothing, just stared, the strange scent of metal and magic rising from her body. Addicus pressed her too far again.
"Enough." A powerful voice commanded.
Slithe looked at the entryway of the antechamber, where Mumm-Ra (clad in his ugly human form, something he indulged for the human girl's sake) was entering the room, instantly drawing everyone's attention. Lord Mumm-Ra had that effect on everyone he encountered: he was powerful, strong, and commanded absolute loyalty.
"Release him, lieutenant." Mumm-Ra ordered.
The girl's eyes flicked to the ape for a second before she did as commanded, and Slithe felt another pang of smugness upon realizing that even she was not immune to his presence. Addicus stumbled back, wheezing, and the girl finally gave into the bear's incessant whining. She snatched at the towel and wiped at her mouth.
"Still acclimating to teleportation, I see."
"I knew better than to eat something before I went this time."
Lord Mumm-Ra's lips quirked in a strange, human smile. "You'll get used to it soon. Now. Did you retrieve the scroll?"
"Yes," Slithe wanted to sneer, "Did you?"
But the human held out her hand and offered it to Lord Mumm-Ra. "Here." She said.
Lord Mumm-Ra wasted no time in opening the scroll, but his expression turned knowing. "I was correct. The true map laid on the cave's walls. . . Much as it pains me to admit, the clerisy proves a witting opponent, even centuries later."
"So what?" Addicus said, rubbing at his throat, "What do we do, Lord Mumm-Ra?"
"A spell is no match for my own knowledge. I require you to harvest the essences of the greatest forces Third Earth has ever known. The Cats are already en route to the first essence. Are you prepared?"
Slithe felt a thrill of honor as he realized Lord Mumm-Ra was looking at him, asking him. "Yes, Lord Mumm-Ra. Simply say the word and your forces will be at your beck and call."
A clipped nod, and Mumm-Ra looked a the girl. "Lieutenant?"
For a moment, she was still, and Slithe hoped she would say 'no, I'm tired' or 'no, I don't think I can hurt my friends.'
But she smiled. It was dark, and full of madness and rage.
"Oh, yes. . . I think it's time to play."
And Slithe glared at her, adding another tally to why he hated her.
He hated her because. . .
Because, deep down, he knew she was so much better at war than he was.