Through a haze of green, Nethra fell fast. She stopped a few feet above the ground, floating for a moment. She reached down to touch the dirt, and immediately gravity started working again. She looked around frantically. Stroud was standing sideways on a slab of rock.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"We were falling." Hawke spoke. "Is this…are we dead?"
"No…" Solas stepped out from behind a boulder, "This is The Fade. The Inquisitor opened a rift. We came through…and survived." The sky glowed green. Black rocks stuck out from all around. "I never thought I would ever find myself here physically…Look. The Black City, almost close enough to touch."
"I understand that this is exciting Solas, but any advice you have on how to get us back would be wonderful." Nethra spoke.
"Cole," Solas turned to the spirit, "How does it feel to be back home?"
"I-I-I can't be here! Not like this, not like me!" He flailed around, clearly distraught.
"It's alright. We'll make it right."
"This place is wrong. I made myself forget when I made myself real, but I know it wasn't like this."
"It's not how I remember The Fade either." Hawke walked towards them. "Perhaps it's because we're here physically, instead of just dreaming. The stories say you walked out of the fade at Haven. Was it like this?"
"I'm not sure. I still can't remember what happened."
"Well, whatever happened at Haven, we can't assume we're safe now." Stroud said, crossing his arms.
"That huge demon was right on the other side of that rift Erimond was using, and there could be others."
"Oh, this is shitty." Iron Bull shook his head in rage. "I'll fight whatever you give me, Boss, but nobody said nothing about getting dragged through the ass end of demon town."
"In our world, the rift the demons came through was nearby. In the Main Hall. Can we escape the same way?"
"We can bloody well try." Nethra said. "Let's go."
The group trudged through black lake water and candle-lit caves. Demons popped up everywhere.
Solas was busy gushing about how interesting the Fade was, and Iron Bull was trying to not freak the hell out. Nethra wandered off, a glint of a flower distracting her.
As she grew closer she found it was a purple rose laying by a tombstone. She brushed away the dust to find her own name written.
Nethra Ashanril: Betrayed by a Loved One
"What is that supposed to…?" She stepped back, staring at the rest of the tombstones. Each one had a companion's name and a reason for dying.
Solas: Dying Alone
Iron Bull: Madness
Cole: Despair
She looked at one hidden in the back.
Cullen: Losing to Addiction
A footstep caused her to turn around. There was a body standing there, covered head to toe in Templar armour. Their body was familiar. They turned around to show Cullen's face, covered in red lyrium. It lit up his veins, pulsing with his heartbeat. His eyes were sunken in and glazed over.
"Nethra." He whispered. His voice had a strange echo to it.
"What is this…?" She spoke, backing up as the shell of a man walked toward her.
"He became this way after the war." A loud voice echoed in her head, "Your dear Cullen was left too weak to resist the lyrium. The song screamed through his veins. He needed it."
"I needed it." The strange Cullen whispered.
"You abandoned him in his time of need. You went back to your clan."
"I needed you."
"Cullen," Nethra's voice was shaky. She knew it wasn't real, but it looked real.
"Where were you?" He shouted at her, his eyes misty. He began walking toward her. "I needed you!"
"Stop this-"
"I needed you! I needed you!" His voice kept repeating as he raised his sword in the air. "Filthy mage!"
Nethra fell back, bracing for impact.
"Nethra!" Solas' voice broke through the apparition's noise. It disappeared immediately. She blinked at the elf. "We must make haste."
A pride demon greeted them near the top of a set of stairs. They each took turns hacking and slashing at the monster. It whipped electricity around, hitting Stroud straight in the chest and knocking him back straight into the pointed part of a rock, impaling him instantly.
"STROUD!" Hawke called. It was too late. Blood was running down his mouth as his eyes grew dull.
"Fuck!" Iron Bull bashed the demon's face in in a fit of rage, knocking it down.
"He was happy to die for a cause." Cole mumbled.
"We… have to move on." Hawke spoke, her voice cracking.
It felt as though demons were spawning every minute. The quintet continued fighting their way up the steps.
There, they were greeted by a fear demon. Throughout their time in The Fade, the demon had been talking to each of them in an attempt to invoke fear.
"Dirth me, harellan. Ma banal enasalin. Mar solas ena mar din." Its voice echoed in everyone's head. Have you learned, trickster? That was no victory. Your pride will be your death."
Nethra stared at Solas with furrowed brows. What was it talking about?
"Banal nadas." Shut up. Solas spoke back to it.
They managed to weaken the demon, only to find a much larger, putrid monster raising up from behind the fear demon.
"There!" Hawke pointed to a small green rift opening from the other side of the battlegrounds. "Run!"
The monster crawled up to them. It pressed its leg in between them and the rift.
"Go! I'll cover you and clear a path."
"Hawke, no-" Nethra started.
"We have to go!" Iron Bull grabbed Nethra's arm, but she stood still.
"Hawke, you can't-"
"Tell Varric goodbye for me. Tell Fenris I love him." She gave Nethra an earnest smile.
"Hawke-"
"Sorry in advance, boss." Iron Bull grabs the elf by the waist, hoisting her over his shoulder.
"Wait, Bull! No!"
"We need to leave!" Solas shouted from the rift.
Nethra frantically grabbed onto Bull's armour in an attempt to crawl out of his grip.
"Boss, she made her choice!" He held tighter, running to the rift.
"Hawke! Wait for Hawke!"
"We have no time!"
"NOOOOOOOO!"
Everything flashed white, and just like that, they were back on Adamant Fortress. The cries had died down and swords weren't clashing anymore.
Nethra was still screaming. She kicked Bull in a certain area, causing his grip to finally loosen.
"What the fuck, Boss!" Bull roared.
She crawled over his back frantically, making a break for what remained of the Fade rift.
"She must not go back in!" Solas shouted.
An arrow shot straight through Nethra's leg. Hot tears were already trickling down her face as she fell down.
"Sorry, Inky!"
She continued to crawl, reaching out. She could see the prickly hair on Hawke's head through the green, almost like a window. The monster blocked out the vision. Nethra grunted, pulling her body closer. She reached her hand out.
All of a sudden, it was gone.
Her eyes widened. She screamed in despair. She gripped the stone under her, tears pouring down her cheeks.
"What's happening?" She heard a soldier say from behind her. Her eyes were shut, her body trembling. She let out another sob.
The last chapter was twice as long as normal so I'm sorry if this one seems short! Thank you Meeli for the kind reviews! They are much appreciated!
Feel free to fav/follow/review! I love that shit!
Also, quick side note - would you guys like 'bloopers'? I did some on my other story and people seemed to like them. Let me know! :)