Glade whips the arms of his vine at the last of the statues coming at him. Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, he looks over his shoulder at Lamplighter. The leader of the Cardinal Alliance turns his hands towards two more of the shambling statues and shines a freezing cold light on them before blasting the pieces of them away to join the rest of the debris littering the ground. Fighting these things told them two very important things. First, Grotesque apparently has dominion over this entire building and every stone structure within. Second, once things are broken, they stay that way. Which is good news for them.

Lamplighter drops his hands and shoulders with a grunt. "And that was just the welcoming committee."

He looks back towards the maze, where the rest of their teammates are fighting Hellion and Reaper. "Let's get in there and help them."

Lamplighter slaps the vine on the arm as he starts jogging towards the entrance of the maze. "Time to join the party!"

He follows closely behind the blaster, releasing more seeds as they go. The statues weren't terribly difficult to deal with, but he's not sure what they're running into. They know that Hellion and Reaper are in here, Monolith is trying his best to destroy the convoluted battlefield, and that Crusade ran over the maze with Desperado just minutes ago. He's just hoping they can get to their teammates before anything catastrophic happens.

Lamplighter turns this way and that, trying to follow a straight line towards Monolith, but that's not how mazes work. They get hung up on their second dead end before Glade huffs. They need to move faster. Extending one of the vine's arms, he wraps it gently around Lamplighter. "Come on, I know a shortcut." He reaches the top of the maze wall with his other arm and pulls them up, grasping growths latching onto the stone. Lamplighter cries out in surprise as he grabs onto the branches for some stability.

Up above the maze, Glade can finally see the rest of the Triple Six base of operations. The Basilica is massive. The maze itself spans the width of the building and extends about 60 or 70 ft deep. On the far side is a fountain of blood with a giant goat statue in the middle with two arcing staircases behind it. Monolith is straight ahead of him, his massive arms swinging slowly at something near the base of him. At the far edge of the maze, Hellion crawls along the top of the wall looking at something on the floor. A grasping claw sinks into the dragon-bat's side and he screeches, snapping at the connection. Crusade wind walks up from the ground and slams her sword into his other side. Hellion looks towards the sky and a geyser of flames erupts from his mouth as he writhes in pain. There's chatter over the comms; Jackass needs an evac. Crusade's on it.

Using the dryads he released to extend his legs, Glade easily leaps from one wall of the maze to the next. They make their way across the walls to the last remaining one and jump down onto the rubble. He sets his passenger on his feet and releases him. The entire center of the maze is demolished with bits of stone everywhere. Monolith keeps working outward, destroying more of the maze with every swing.

Lamplighter looks up at the giant pillar and then back at Glade. "We need to find Reaper. I'm gonna get a bird's eye view and give you some air support." He talks into the comm. "Wanna give me a boost, big guy? Seven o'clock." Monolith turns as his massive hand reaches down and settles on the ground. Lamplighter climbs onto it and the giant hand raises again as he scurries up the arm to Monolith's shoulder.

Glade scurries down the pile of smashed stones and starts to pick his way across the space to one of the remaining entrances to the maze. As he goes to enter, the walls shift and the gap closes. He looks around to find another path only to see all the openings shifting shut. He needs a way out if he's going to find Reaper.

"Hey Monolith, mind making me a door?" There's no response over the comm, just the deafening sound of crumbling stone as he brings a fist down on a wall. The floor vibrates under his feet and a huge plume of dust billows up.

He climbs over the rubble, carefully making his way through the dust cloud, and into the maze. Picking a random direction, he runs down the corridor. He knows Reaper can completely desiccate his plants, so he's going to have to keep his distance. How the hell is he actually going to do anything to him when he finds him? He needs something that will do some real damage without just being a source of healing for him. Either way, he'll have to get him into Lamplighter's line of fire. As he runs, he has the dryads he released start weaving together to form two sturdy trunks.

Turning a corner, Glade sees someone, but it's not Reaper. Hellion, free of Tether's grasp, beats his wings and flies over the maze, black blood oozing from wounds on both his sides. His mouth opens and fire spurts out towards the ground. Glade freezes for a moment, not sure which way to run to avoid the flames. If he gets caught in that fire, he's done. Hellion banks a little to the left, then to the right, coming towards him at an angle. Glade sprints down the corridor and throws himself to the ground against the wall nearest Hellion, his trunks right behind him.

The winged creature flies directly over where he had been standing, fire scorching the stone floor and walls. He banks, coming back around, until a grapple claw grabs his tail and yanks. Hellion's wings beat in vain as he is whipped to the ground. A light shines on the spot and the creature lets out a high-pitched shriek, sending shivers down Glade's spine. Climbing to his feet, he keeps running down the corridor and turns the next corridor, trunks following along with him.

"What the hell?! Shit! Somebody, get this gargoyle off me!"

Glade looks up to see Tether being held by one of the gargoyles, its large stone teeth biting at his tech.

Crusade's voice comes over the comm. "I'm coming, Tether."

Glade speaks into his mic. "You have to completely destroy it, Crusade, or it'll just keep coming."

"Got it!" She sprints through the air over his head towards Tether, a big hammer in each hand.

Glade catches a glimpse of black fabric trailing through an opening as he rounds another corner. Got him. As he runs, though, a wall of the maze bends and seals the hall creating a dead end. There's a grinding of stone on stone behind him and he turns. Wall after wall open up, creating a straight path to the other side of the maze from the entrance. After a second, dozens of little scurrying creatures come through the new opening in the wall. Rite's minions come in all shapes and sizes with weird angles, barely contained liquid swishing back and forth as they start sprinting in. Shit, he doesn't have time for this! His trunks stay to deal with the bloody creatures and he turns, extending his vine's arm to the top of the wall.

Perched atop the walls again, Glade finally gets eyes on Reaper. The imposing figure makes his way over the rubble and into the center of the maze. He raises his scythe over his head and brings it down into Monolith, piercing deep into his base. Monolith tries to swat at Reaper, but he side-steps, his cloak swooshing as he slashes the hand as it swings by.

Glade jumps down off the wall, grunting a little at the jolt it sends up his injured leg. He pulls a seed out and puts all his focus on it, remembering back to the glen where Crusade taught him how to use his power in new ways. Plants can do all sorts of things; he just needs to find the potential in his.

He wills the seed to grow into a long, thick spear, the sharp leaf-shaped blade glistening with sticky sap. Hemlock is one of the most common poisonous plants in the world. It's most effective when ingested, but the sap is poisonous too. Hopefully it's strong enough to slow down Reaper's healing. He looks over at his quarry and his grip on the weapon tightens.

The cloaked man catches sight of Glade and turns towards him. With a roll of his shoulders, he glides towards him, scythe poised in front of him. Glade jogs towards him and, as he comes into range, thrusts the spear at him. Reaper sidesteps and swings the scythe low at him, biting into the wood of his vine. Glade pulls himself back, the long blade dislodging from his armor, and swings his spear down onto Reaper. The Triple Six menace is a big guy, normally dwarfing him. But in his vine like this, Glade is bigger, and Reaper struggles to block a strike from above.

The sticky point of the spear cuts into his robes and buries into his shoulder. Reaper falters, staggering a little under the weight of the attack. Glade twists the spear as he pulls it back and spins it around, slashing at Reaper's legs as he backs up a little. The blade slashes at Reaper's thigh, just barely nicking it. Reaper puts a hand to his shoulder, pressing his fingertips into the layers of fabric, and pulls it away, blood coating his fingertips. He looks at the blood and then at Glade. His shoulders bounce a little, like he's laughing, and he raises the scythe again.

Glade steps back to avoid Reaper's swing and jabs the spear at him again. Reaper avoids it by lurching backwards. Getting some distance, they both circle a little, sizing each other up. Neither one of them wants to get hit by the other's massive weapons.

Crusade groans over the comm as she works to free Tether from the hold of another gargoyle. "Jackass! Any luck finding Grotesque?"

Bits of stone rain over them, bouncing off his vine and onto the ground. Reaper darts in, scythe raised.

Jackass' pants in his ear. "No! I've been looking everywhere. I'm not seeing any other people here!"

Glade grunts as he leaps out of the way of Reaper's two and a half foot blade, creating space between them again. "What if he's disguised somehow? A grotesque is a type of statue, isn't it?"

Lamplighter groans over the comm. "And it would make sense that he needs to see what's going on. Hiding in plain sight would be smart. But there are dozens of gargoyles here!"

Jackass chimes in again. "I'll figure it out, you guys just focus on them!"

Glade swings his spear in an arc at Reaper. He's definitely slowing down a little, but he's still dodging most of his attacks. How is a guy this big so fast?

Lamplighter's voice comes through. "Tether, just stick with Monolith for now. Stay away from those statues."

Desperado's voice chimes in, full of fear. "Uh, guys. I think he's onto us. This goat statue is movin'."

Reaper feints to one side and brings his weapon around to the other. The blade pierces through Glade's vine, through his armor, and into his ribs. It doesn't stab very deep before getting wedged in the wood of his vine, but pain radiates through his torso nonetheless. He grits his teeth and grunts as Reaper yanks the blade towards him. The point tears through his side and the scythe dislodges, knocking Glade a little off balance. He finds his footing and presses his hand to his side.

Crusade shouts. "I'm on my way! Lamplighter, can you slow it down?"

"Not unless you want me to let up on Hellion."

Tether's voice joins in. "Let me worry about Hellion, you help with that statue."

Glade glances up as Crusade runs through the air towards the back of the building. Momentarily distracted, a cry erupts from him as pain blooms in his left leg. Reaper pulls back his scythe, blood coating the long edge, and he hits Glade with the staff of the weapon. He falls onto his back, rocks jabbing into him. Reaper looms over him, scythe raised, and Glade lifts his spear to deflect the hit. The blade slices through the shaft of the spear, the blade clanging into the stone floor. As Reaper brings his massive weapon up and then down again, Glade rolls to the side and stabs the blade of the broken spear into Reaper's stomach. The weapon sticks there as Reaper stumbles backwards. He grabs the shaft with one hand and wrenches it out, dropping it on the ground, before pressing his hand to the wound. He keeps backing up slowly, stumbling over his own feet.

As Glade stands back up, clutching his bleeding leg, a big red figure catches his eye. Hellion climbs over a wall into the center of the maze. He has several more cuts than he did last time, but that's not even the half of it. His wings are black and withered, with bits of ice still clinging to the boney structure of them. He screeches as he half leaps half falls onto the ground. With what little energy he has, the creature runs over to Reaper and curls his long body and tail around his teammate. He puts one hand on Hellion's back, almost tenderly, and reaches his other bloody hand out, setting it on Monolith's leg.

Glade's eyes bulge as he realizes what's happening. He limps forward, arm raised to whip Reaper's arm away from Monolith, but Hellion turns towards him with a growl. His mouth opens, light flickering deep in his throat. Glade stops and turns, running as fast as his vine can go, trying to find any sort of cover he can. Flames shoot out, chasing him across the empty center of the maze. He dives behind a pile of rubble, trying to make himself as small as possible. The back branches of his vine are singed and smoldering, and he has to roll onto his back to keep them from catching the rest of the tree on fire. Without the vine, he'll just be a sitting duck.

Panting, Glade shouts into the comm. "We have a problem! Reaper has hands on Monolith and is healing himself and Hellion! I can't do anything, I nearly got immolated. Someone help him!"

Panic erupts over the comm, the extended team trying to figure out who can go and stop Reaper before he kills Monolith. Lamplighter can't get a good angle on him without hurting Monolith more, but Tether is on his way with Crusade joining in once she finishes dealing with the goat statue. Peeking out from behind the rubble, he sees Tether swing down to the top of a maze wall and aims his grapple gun at the pair. The grasping claw fires at Reaper, but Hellion's repaired tail flicks and knocks it out of the air. Tether curses and reels it back as Hellion opens his jaws towards him. Tether disappears behind the wall as fire blasts through the air. If they can keep his attention over that way, maybe Glade can come in from the other side and get Reaper away from Monolith.

"Tether, keep Hellion's attention over there and I'll go around." The tinker confirms in his ear as he climbs to his feet and skirts around the opposite side of the space.

Lamplighter's worried voice comes over the comm. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast! Monolith doesn't look so good." Glade glances up at Monolith; he's pale and his arms seem a little thinner than they were. But with someone as massive as he is, it's hard to tell.

The trunks he left behind have long since been taken down by Rite's minions, so he releases seeds to create two new vines. He can't get them quite as big as the vine he's currently in, but hopefully it's close enough to help keep attention away from him. One of the vines follows him around Monolith's base while the other goes back into Hellion's line of view.

Glade rounds Monolith's base until he can see Reaper and Hellion from behind. Positioning himself and the other vine, he extends both of their arms out and wraps them around both of Reaper's arms. They yank, trying to pull him away. His hands separate from Monolith and Hellion as he's pulled backwards, but Hellion's body must be wrapped pretty tightly around him because he stands his ground. The dragon-bat twists his neck to see what is happening behind him and swipes his tail in an arc. Glade jumps, avoiding the long appendage, but his other vine doesn't. It gets knocked to the ground and Reaper manages to get that hand back onto Monolith.

There's a loud groan and Lamplighter shouts. "Look out! Monolith's collapsing!"

All heads look up at the giant pillar. He sways back and forth a little before he starts toppling over towards the back of the building. Hellion grabs Reaper by the scruff of the robes and beats his healed wings, getting them away from the falling vigilante. Tether cries out Monolith's name as he hits the ground on his face, smashing the remains of the maze walls beneath him. The ground shakes and Glade has trouble keeping his balance. Through the clouds of dust, he can see Monolith shrink back down to normal size as Tether runs towards him.

Glade runs over as the tinker falls to his knees and leans over Monolith. "Come on, buddy, talk to me!" He rolls him over and grabs his face. Monolith is covered in bruises and cuts and his skin is ghostly pale. Glade grows a couple soothers and sends them over to the unconscious cape. Tether presses a few fingers to Monolith's neck and sighs in relief. "He's alive, I gotta get him out of here!"

As much as he wants to help get Monolith to safety, they need as many of them as possible to stay here and keep fighting. Everything they did up until this point was just undone by Reaper and now they'll be down two. He'll send the soothers with them, but he has to stay. He waves an arm. "Go, we'll cover you!"

Tether leverages his friend up and onto his back, wrapping his enhanced ropes around him, and starts dragging him back towards the front. Glade makes sure the two soothers he made are latched onto Monolith and won't fall off.

He turns to look around the ruined maze; where did Hellion and Reaper go? Taking a step forward, the pain in his leg jolts. He's not going to be much use if he can't fight too. Sprouting another soother, he has the small creature latch onto his back, patting him and cooing as he looks around for their enemies.

He spies Lamplighter up on the ledge looking down at his teammates in concern. "Lamplighter, do you see where they went?"

The leader of the Cardinal Alliance shakes his head and looks up, peering around the building. He points to a wall that fell over and leans on another wall. "There!" He looks back and forth along the wall, then back down at the floor. "Glade, can you help me down? I'm not going to be much use up here."

Glade pulls out a couple of seeds and tosses them onto the ground underneath Lamplighter. The seeds sprout and long, thick branches climb towards the ledge, weaving together back and forth to create a ladder. The growths latch onto the stone lip, finding every nook and cranny to anchor into. Lamplighter stomps on the top rung a couple times, testing the integrity, before climbing quickly down. He waves Glade over and they make their way across the space together. As he starts growing another vine the same size as him, Lamplighter cracks his knuckles and looks up at him. "We need to keep them separated. We're never going to make it out of this if Reaper just keeps healing Hellion every time we make a dent."

He nods as he pulls out a seed, sprouting it into a poisonous spear. He opens his mouth to respond, but is cut off by a high-pitched screech and the sound of wings beating. Back in the air, Hellion zooms towards them, spitting fire at them. They dive off to either side, flames licking their feet, as the creature flies overhead. Glade cries out in pain as he lands on his side, pain radiating through his entire abdomen. As Hellion banks to come back for a second pass, Lamplighter jumps to his feet and points his hands at him, light shining on his wings. The leathery appendages immediately slow down and he loses altitude, gliding back towards the ground. Glade climbs to his feet and backs away from the flames, sending the other vine in the same direction as Lamplighter.

Hellion lands with a snarl, his tail flicking in agitation, as he flexes his wings in and out a few times. He darts towards Lamplighter and the empty vine, sharp teeth bared. Lamplighter shines his light in the creature's eyes and he stops, shrieking and turning his head away. The vine wraps its arms around the dragon-bat's wings and creates a web of branches binding them together. The arms disconnect and its body shifts to create new ones, making it slightly smaller. Hellion turns and snaps at the foliage, but he can't seem to just rip it off.

Lamplighter shouts as he keeps the light shining on Hellion. "Glade, behind you!"

Glade throws himself to the side without thinking. As he rolls, he sees Reaper's scythe cut through the air where he had just been standing. He climbs back to his feet, the slash in his leg throbbing, with his spear at the ready. Reaper doesn't hesitate; he brings his scythe overhead and back down, but Glade dodges. He jabs the spear at Reaper, but his target brings the long blade around and through the spear, cutting it in half. The tip goes flying away, leaving him with just the handle. Dammit! Reaper slashes at him over and over, keeping him on his heels. He doesn't even have an opening to grow a new spear.

Looking over his shoulder, he realizes Reaper is herding him towards Hellion. Lamplighter glances over at him and shifts one of his hands over, shining a light on Reaper. The illuminated spot catches fire and Reaper staggers backwards, slapping at the fire with one hand.

With Lamplighter's attention split, Hellion spins, swiping his tail at Lamplighter and Glade. Neither of them sees it in time and they both go crashing to the ground. The creature turns his head and makes a noise at Reaper, who swings his scythe and easily cuts through the branches holding Hellion's wings together. The dragon-bat shakes his wings out and turns back towards them. Lamplighter puts his palm out again, but Hellion snaps at his hand, making him pull it back again.

Reaper glides towards them, his massive weapon out in front of him. Lamplighter jumps to his feet and points a palm at him, Reaper stops moving and, after a moment, starts floating off the ground. The blaster puts out his other hand and Reaper flies backwards, landing hard on his back. The leader of the Cardinal Alliance looks at Glade. "I got him, keep Hellion off my back." He jogs after Reaper, hands out.

The dragon-bat's head turns, following Lamplighter's movement. Grabbing a handful of seeds, Glade throws them underneath Hellion and will them to grow into lurkers. The ensnaring traps immediately go off and grapple his stout legs, his tail, and his neck. His head, though, stays free and it whips towards him. His mouth opens and fire spurts out.

Glade runs, trying to get behind Hellion, but the flames catch his heel, setting one leg of his vine on fire. He sheds the wood on that leg, hopping on one foot to keep his balance. The remains of the other vine runs over and wrap around his leg, combining with his suit and replacing the armor.

Hellions squirms and writhes, snapping branch after branch, in an effort to free himself. He bites at the plants around his leg and tears them away. Glade whips his extra long arms at Hellion, leaving behind a dozen cuts. Hellion shrieks and rolls, snapping the rest of the lurkers. Spreading his wings wide, he beats them and rockets himself at Glade. He barrels right into him, knocking him to the ground, and tears at the wood of his vine with his teeth and claws. Glade tries to knock him off, but he can't get the legs bent with the creature on top of him. Hellion snarls, his hot breath permeating the living armor. With his two front feet planted on Glade's chest, he rears his head back and opens his mouth, flames flickering. Shit, he has to get out of here!

Fire pours out of Hellion and the vine is set ablaze. Glade opens the top of the enclosure and pulls himself out, crawling along the floor with one leg dragging behind him as fast as he can. Clear of the burning branches, he tries to climb to his feet, but the gash in his leg throbs and he falls back down. Rolling, he tries to leverage himself backwards with his arms.

As he turns, he sees Hellion stalk towards him, slinking through the flames unbothered. He growls as he approaches, tail swishing back and forth along the stone floor. Glade tries to go faster, but he's scooting as fast as he can. He tries to call for help, but nothing comes out when he opens his mouth. Glade's back bumps up against the remains of a wall and that's it, he has nowhere left to go. This is it.

The red creature spreads his wings and bares his teeth menacingly. With a screech, he leaps up a little and dives at Glade, jaws wide. Glade clenches his eyes shut, arms in front of his face, but nothing happens. Cracking one eye open, he sees the world in blue. Hellion slams his face into the barrier over and over, trying in vain to bite him. Crusade lands next to him, left hand extended over his head, and swings her giant sword at Hellion. The blade bites into his neck and he jerks away, shrieking. As Crusade gets in between him at the dragon-bat, the barrier protecting him disappears.

She glances back at Glade, fear in her eyes. "You ok?" He nods and she waves her arm. "Get out of here, I need you back on your feet!" She turns back to her quarry and swings the sword, the long blade slicing into his wing, tearing the leathery membrane. Hellion rears up and breathes fire on her, but she just plows right through them and stabs at his underbelly. Black blood oozes down her blade and drips onto the floor as the creature screeches. He falls backwards but quickly rights himself again. His teeth latch onto her sword and he tries to yank it away, but it's stuck in her grasp. She jerks the blade away from him and swings it around her head and at his chest. Hellion beats his wings and dodges the hit, lurching backwards.

His wings keep flapping and he struggles to lift off the ground with the tear in his wing. Crusade lets out a noise that can only be described as a growl and shouts no as she starts sprinting at him. Using her wind walk, she gets up above him and slams her sword into his wing and they both go crashing back down to the ground. Crusade's blade stays wedged in Hellion's wing and he writhes, trying to pull it away. Crusade shouts again and grabs the end of his wing, jerking it back. Raising her foot, she kicks at the joint. There's a loud crunching noise and Hellion screeches and flops to the ground as Crusade tears the wing off and flings it away, black blood splattering on the ground.

Glade's eyes bulge as he leverages himself up the wall, seeds clutched in his hand. Crusade is relentless, not giving Hellion a single inch. He's only seen this look in her eye once before. His broken leg aches and he can't seem to tear his eyes away from them. But he has to. He needs to get back in the fight before someone else gets hurt.