AN: Part of this next series of events was influenced by another piece of fiction for this series that I cannot, for the life of me, find anymore. It was violent, brutal, explorative and played toward the Zera/Pyrus ship I also back. If you are that author, please let me know so I can properly thank you here, or in another chapter.
If you as a reader find this fic, PLEASE TELL ME. I want to be able to cite and refer to anyone I borrow ideas from.
Again, I am writing this primarily for myself, and hope that if it is something you enjoy, that you will take the time to leave a constructive review.
Xerxes gaped at the rifts that opened, just barely in view from their position below the fleet, having never seen such outside of Samateus' bringing in the Virtues or summoning Ashtareen herself. The beings that emerged were so much like, yet vastly different to the Virtues, and they moved to strike his fleet on either side. Their blades contacted the shields of the World Ships, knocked back by the shield but had visibly caused each World ship to shudder.
**Xerxes! What in the hells are those!?** Jade asked hurriedly, Xerxes almost envisioning her wide-eyed and angry expression. Xerxes shook himself, having frozen and wide-eyed at the appearance of the massive beings that were obviously a response to Samateus' bringing a Virtue into their realm seven weeks ago. Briefly checking his scans and seeing they were still not close enough to the Maker's ark for its systems to automate and help them. Jade and Cryos caught this sentiment, Xerxes quickly squashing it by pointedly reaching out to Samateus.
**Yeah, they're from the Void. Another Alternate realm, not one I've visited but one I know of.** Samateus responded, informing the entire group of leaders as she could be seen physically passing through several beast drones and destroying them as she slashed them through with light energy wreathed around her forepaws and wings. Lightning arced along her form, showing she was infuriated. Xerxes quickly weighed his options, taking in a deep breath and steeling himself, one hand rising to his chest above his heart as he reached a decision, eyes opening and focused solely on the Beast.
**Ashatreen's Light, your servant calls on thee.** Xerxes' words then dropped everyone from the conversation, Samateus roaring as her armour melted away, light shining through brighter than a neutron star. The three void thrashers then turned their attentions to her, a moment too late as a beam of light lanced through each one, and they were promptly sent back to whence they came, their rifts closing behind them.
Cryos, aboard the Aurora for a routine check before the meeting on Rock, watched from the Aurora as the three nightmarish beings were destroyed by Samateus, though not her, as when he touched his scale-stone where it was in his pocket, it burned his fingertips and repelled his mind. Thinking quickly, he ordered for communications to be brought up and connected to Rock, Bone and the Firian palace, attempting to reach Pyrus and Zera as an afterthought. Xerxes soon joined their connection from his ship, his eyes not focused at the camera drone surprised Cryos.
"Okay, just what is Sam doing? This isn't like before, what did you do?" Jade angrily grilled Xerxes, who sighed.
"I've asked Ashtareen to help us." His simple response was met with a cascade of questions of why he would do such a thing, without asking the others their input on doing so. The one they least expected to protect him, spoke next, Sternum met with a gape from Femur at his side.
"Samateus cannot be in multiple places at once. Ashtareen, a diety, would be able to do much more. The Beast caught us with our backs turned, penned us in, and spread our efforts thinly. If the Maker is unable to help us, I can see no better option." Sternum frowned lightly. "As much as I dislike being omitted from the conversation before making such a choice, this has bought us time to try and figure out another way to fight those new creations of the beast." Femur nodded solemnly, Graveheart next to Jade simply shrugged at her questioning glance as he had no input on the decision, Cryos and Blaze most concerned for what could happen to the belief systems of their respective peoples when word got out about Ashtareen making a physical appearance.
"Ashtareen is Light in its purest form. All that is good and just, but also balance. We will talk on this later, for now, I'm on my way to help with the last force Voyd sent at Rock." Xerxes explained simply, cutting his commlink. Blaze frowned, Cryos mirrored it and grit his teeth lightly.
"That's not normal. What's eating him?" Femur frowned, looking at the others and then up at Sternum a moment. His observation was correct, that Xerxes would be so curt with them and not try to explain everything now, while he had them on comms, was worrysome. All stiffened and tensed when Zera hurriedly connected to their comms from Pyrus' ship. They could tell immediately that something was wrong, sparks flying from a panel somewhere behind her alerting all that they were caught in the battle.
"We've been singled out by a bunch of drones, Taal are around doing what they can, but we need help!" Zera managed to blurt out before their ship was hit once more and the communications cut out. Cryos stiffened, fearing the worst as the Obsidian Flare suddenly powered past the Aurora toward Rock pursuing a ship they had only seen once. Xerxes' personal craft, a strange spear shaped ship approximately the same size as a Bladewing with much larger engines clustered together at the aft of the ship. It then promptly teleported away as Cryos watched, the Icean gaping lightly as he understood immediately what Xerxes going silent had meant.
"Cryos, what's going on?" Graveheart saw Cryos stiffen and look off from the screens before him and the others, the Rockian's eyes wide.
"Xerxes is in his personal ship, Obsidian Flare following it just plowed past us. I worry what has him in such a rush." Cryos and the others all winced as a powerful, loud and oppresive roar wafted over every mind within the vicinity of Samateus, her light dimming only enough to show the massive form of Ashtareen herself in all her glory. Two long tendrils of light then passed over and through the alliance, harmless to anything it touched, except the Beast and its minions. Even the ships in the atmosphere of Sand, Ice, Rock and Bone were annihilated as it passed over them, some who had been injured found themselves healed in a breath, more extreme injuries were lessened considerably, and even some with old illness or injury from prior events found they were no longer plagued by their ailments.
Moving on toward the Beast planet itself, Ashtareen then could be seen crying challenge to the sphere that attempted to fire bolts of null energy to protect itself. Too late, as Ashtareen's four bladed limbs dispersed the bolts effortlessly as she approached, Voyd coming to a full stop, unprepared and outmatched by the being before him. Another roar of challenge wafted through the Alliance, this one carrying an unspoken ask for support, to put an end to or send the dreaded black sphere far from them. Light blossomed upon her back, envigorated by the outpouring of support against the Beast from the many people within the alliance, many tendrils of light spreading out like wings behind her as she floated forward, knocking aside one last bolt as her four bladed limbs lanced forward and punctured the shell of the Beast. Its maw opened ever so slightly, as though it howled in agony, those observing saw Ashtareen float away from the Alliance ships dragging the Beast planet with her as she spun once around, and threw the Beast as hard as she could, the Sphere disappearing far beyond even the Ahr'aht scanners.
Zera found she could barely breathe with the smoke piling up in the cabin, realising that Pyrus was forcing himself to continue to pilot his ship. The consoles around her were busted open and sparks ushered forth from almost every one of them, the control yoke from her co-pilot seat had snapped somewhere in the panel before her out of view, the override control refusing to engage. Zera quickly checked herself over, as she had not been able to during the initial attack, surprised that the strange sharp pain at the back of her neck had no fluid or sign of cracks in her exoskeleton, figuring it had to have been healed from when the wave of light had passed over them.
Zera's hands shot to her mouth when she looked to Pyrus, to stifle her scream of terror. Something from the console next to and between the two of them had been blown off, pieces of jagged shrapnel and what looked like the end of a long pipe stuck out of his abdomen, but he kept control of the ship as he pushed for an upper ledge nearby, knowing that going down into the ravines would likely kill them. They were too low, not for lack of trying, however it appeared the main engine had given out, the secondary unable to cover and provide enough power to get them up higher. Blood, what Zera knew to be Firian blood anyway, had begun to trickle from the corner of Pyrus' mouth as he pushed the ship higher.
**Zera! Pyrus isn't responding to me and I can tell he's hurt, brace yourself!** Xerxes' thoughts rang through her mind, the Icean tensing lightly but moved to sit back in her seat. Xerxes' ship materialized just behind theirs, moved closer and closer as the refurbished Icean craft billowed smoke from both engines, Xerxes going by instinct and untrusting of his eyes as he guided his ship forward, ever so slightly lifting the nose up and connecting to the underside of the back of the badly damaged ship. Xerxes then powered his engines, uncaring of how close he would get to the edge of the cliff face looming before them, lifting the Icean ship up just enough for it to miss the edge, however his did not. The Aurora arrived moments after Xerxes' ship caught up with Pyrus', Cryos watching the viewport before him and tensing almost painfully as he watched the events unfolding below.
Pyrus' ship hit the ground and skidded sideways before flipping once completely, landing hard on its driver's side and slowly sliding to a stop. Xerxes' ship hit the edge of the cliff face and was flipped up and over itself in a tailspin before it struck the ground, bounced once, and crumpled into its opposite side several dozen meters from where Pyrus' ship rested. Above, Cryos had almost collapsed on the bridge of the Aurora, fearing the worst as he watched the crash helplessly.
"Talk to us, Cryos, we aren't seeing what you are!" Femur yelled, surprising the others with how calm he had managed to remain until now. Before he could respond, Xerxes hailed, but only the symbol of Ashtareen appeared.
"Thank the Glacier you're still alive, what's going on down there, the smoke..." Cryos breathed shakily, visibly shuddering in place.
"Zera... is unharmed... Pyrus... Cryos, no matter what, he is priority." Xerxes' voice sounded different, his pained cough worse than what they had heard before likely from an injury he accrued in the crash. Blaze could be seen closing his eyes and appeared almost pained, Jade and Sternum picking up on this but did not interrupt. "I'm injured, however he is more so. Samateus and Khilseith also know my wishes." Cryos was angry then, glaring at the symbol he knew represented the Ahr'aht.
"Damn you, NOW? You can't do that to him!" Cryos raged, the only other time he had been so enraged was when the Beast had taken Zera. He gaped as the connection cut out, quickly looking to the viewport which showed a view of the ground beneath the Aurora as a Firian raced across the stone from Xerxes' fallen ship to Pyrus', Cryos shaking visibly.
"What in the Hell are you going on about? Xerxes-" Femur was cut off by Samateus' cry of anguish, rage and hate sounding in all of their minds as she streaked through and landed heavily on the bluff near the crash, helplessly watching as the Firian disappeared from her view. She pawed the ground angrily, leaving massive rents in the stone as Zera quickly appeared and ran over to her. Cryos relaxed only just as a tense moment passed, Samateus moving to shield Zera as the Firian reappeared carrying who they could only assume was Pyrus, gently put him down, and shielded him as Pyrus' ship exploded in a brilliant wave of flame.
As they watched, Cryos bracing and awaiting for the ball of fire to impact the underside of the Aurora, it instead condensed down, gathering in a single writhing ball before it was launched harmlessly into the air well away from them. The Firian they had seen running to help Pyrus then collapsed next to him, Samateus standing helplessly in shock. Before Cryos could relay what he witnessed, Khilseith joined their comms.
"I'm teleporting the two injured to the Aurora infirmary, are the rest clear to meet there?" He said simply, his feathers visibly constrained and shuddering lightly. "I'll answer your questions in person." Khilseith leaving his ship had been unheard of before now, Samateus remained silent and the rest were stunned and filled with questions that some suspected they knew the answers to already, however were too distraught to voice them. A series of confirmations had everyone in the Aurora's table room in a flash, Khilseith teleporting in after a moment, followed by Zera and Samateus, who shifted to her bipedal form and almost collapsed against the wall. Zera ran to her father to embrace him when he entered from the hall a moment later, Khilseith and Samateus sharing a brief embrace themselves before Jade let her rage out.
"Alright, enough of this shit. Just what the fuck was that?" Graveheart had a scowl matching his fiance, Sternum and Femur wearing two of their own. Blaze sighed, looking to Khilseith who nodded sadly.
"Xerxes is Pyrus' father."