Seeing that the dog had meant more business than of what Evangeline and Fenris had first believed, the two had started to move towards helping to remove the dog off of Lelinaa. However, the rogue had managed to hold her own against the giant dog and sent him on his way—with his tail even between his legs. Evangeline had sighed a bit; sliding her hands up and down against one another. Evangeline looked to where the dog had ran off to and watched a few moments longer in order to make certain that no one would suddenly reproach from the woodland area.
Fenris had rushed towards Leliana the moment that he was able to—or rather he tried to. Leliana had already scurried away and into a more defensive stance, which in turn had shifted Fenris into a well-conditioned protective stance. His ears twitched back slightly towards Leliana's questioning, which had been the only thing to have kept himself still for the moment.
The figure was bending its knees until it revealed itself to have been male. The sunlight had showne that it was; in fact Rhys, perched up high into the tree. His dark beard had grown out a little more; leaving the edges a bit scraggily, and to his back was a staff that looked like it was carved out of tree bark.
"Didn't know you were that much of a dog lover." He teased and looked towards Evangeline who had started to turn back in their direction and walk closer. Of course, at seeing her, Rhy's face had lit up a bit brighter than before, but his stance stayed firmly planted next to the tree.
"Rhys?—Rhys! Get out of there this instant!" Evangeline said exasperated and pointed down to the ground next to her.
"Down- As in down there, next to two possibly angry women?" The mage asked and twisted and pulled at the longer dark strands of his beard in thought. "Mm… No… I don't think I will, sorry."
Leliana narrowed her eyes when Rhy's was being a little persistent jerk. After all this time trying to find him, going through wastelands and swaps and running into people that wanted to kill her. Then this, the two animals somehow managing to almost do what the Starkhaven men couldn't come close to doing. It was maddening, and she was tempted to either climb up that tree and drag him all the way down and back to Kirkwall or just throw flying daggers at him until he stumbled out. Clearly she wouldn't aim for him but oh would she come close.
"Rhys… Please…" She spoke out towards him, here she stepped in a few feet and braced her hand against the trunk of the tree as she gazed up. "We need your help." Leliana didn't want to seem to pushy with her words, since she didn't want to upset Fenris more on the matter of bringing Anders back. Even if this was what their main objective was, she still had to hinder her words so she didn't seem to needy or would break down in the middle of saying them.
"We got word you were out here, so we came to find you. We couldn't leave you to the Starkhaven men to do as they pleased, your face is far too pretty for that." She attempted to joke. "Even though you seem of needing a bath right now." Upon pausing again she shifted her eyes more to the right side of her sockets. She wasn't certain if Rhy's had known of Anders fate, since by the looks of it, it had seemed he'd been living off in the Wilds for some time now. "We also came in hopes you could help Anders in some way, he was made tranquil."
"Ah-hah! I wish I was more aware of my good looks more often." The mage had chuckled some to Leliana's mentioning of himself, but he had seemed to have kept his head held high still. His blue hues scoured over the forest still, almost seeming as if he was either only half-paying attention to Leliana's pleading or trying to determine if there would have been another attack involved from somewhere else.
Fenris didn't like the personality of him one bit; plus he didn't really trust him—Fenris didn't really even know him; and somehow he was suppose to have remained completely at ease when around him. It was enough to cause him to groan at the very thought. Fenris was just about to have relaxed his shoulders when he heard the snapping of a twig. His ears had twitched again, and just as highstrung as before, the elf quickly turned towards the sound.
"Anders-?" Rhys questioned after a brief glance towards Leliana and then back to the sound of the twig snapping farther off into the distance.
The mage reached for his staff; flipping it from over his shoulder and aiming it towards the sound. A blast of lightning shot from the end of the carved-wooden feature and struck at the direction that Fenris and (by now) Evangeline was looking towards. There was the sound of a wire snapping and a few men giving a few cries from either fear or anguish.
Rhys then turned the staff to rest back against the side of his boot as he turned his head to look back down towards Leliana again. "I could have sworn the man died, along with the rest of the Union."
"The Union still lives, Rhys! It's just… more lost now." Evangeline said and winced at another holler of pain from far off in the distance. She felt bad for the hunters, but also knew where she stood.
"Really? …Here I was thinking that the Circle was going to have to start all over." Rhys started to say and moved towards one of the limbs on the tree.
However that tree branch had snapped and in a comical fall of grasping limbs only to fail and bounce down each tree branch underneath him; Rhys had fallen towards the ground. He started to wince and shout from each bump until he landed in a soft pile of leaves below him. Groaning a bit, and reached behind his lower back to rub a sore spot that remained there, from the fall. Only the staff had fallen lastly on his head and again Rhys had winced.
Evangeline's eyes had widened and she started to rush towards him. "Rhys, you fool—"
"No-no, stay back-!" Rhys warned just as a large net infused with a spring trap lifted up from the ground.
Fenris had seen the trap nearly too close to his and Leliana's feet; and seeing that Evangeline was rushing towards them too. He turned with both of his arms stretched out, took Leliana with him in one arm and knocked Evangeline into his opposite arm. He only had time to glance over his shoulder to see the net swooped up to capture Rhys into is and infused with electricity to shoot a powerful volt through the mage quickly. Rhys jumped a little from where he was sitting, and seethed from the pain between chattered teeth—but otherwise hadn't moved until the shock was done.
Feeling himself getting too exhausted for hardly anymore surprises for one day, Fenris sighted and released Evangeline and Leliana. He stood up and turned back towards the net and reached down to pull the net apart.
"You really have no sense, do you?" Fenris scoffed and continued to rip a larger hole within the net. "If you were meant to climb trees, you would have been born an elf, or had a tail."
"Well at least the trap worked..." Rhys smiled and started to dust himself off before reaching for his staff and rising back up to his feet. His tone then turned a bit more playfully dramatic as he continued onward. "I thought the dwarf I bought it from was just swindling this poor wanderer out of coin."
Leliana rolled her eyes to the words Rhy's had spoken. Her arms cross over her chest as she turned and leaned her upper back to base of the tree. Unlike most Leliana wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings that she didn't hear much of the cracking twigs behind them. She was mostly concerned on getting Rhy's out of his hiding tree and bringing him back to Kirkwall as soon as possible.
Leliana tilted her head back some when she heard him rustling around up there though. When she saw he was reaching for his staff she raised her back from the trunk of the tree. "Yes… Anders—" She began to reply in a response to him but as soon as he used his elemental magic she felt herself jumping slightly from her standing point. She then quickly glanced in the direction of the screams to see the men far off in the distance of being electrocuted.
"That was unexpected…" She whispered some in a glance back up towards Rhys. She flinched some to his words of believing Anders was dead, it was like he already was in a sense, since he was without emotion and she couldn't see his face… Well she could… But she knew how much it would tear her to pieces and after her recovery she wanted to give herself enough time to where she wouldn't fall off the wagon again. Plus she wasn't certain where he was, Alistair and Fenris had done good at hiding him wherever he was.
"So are we going to get going or—" She began to ask but as quickly as she began to walk away, she heard the snapping overhead. She immediately stopped in her tracks and glanced up, when she saw Rhy's tumbling body she was tempted to run to him, but he had collided with the ground quicker than she was able to move. It hadn't stopped her to flinch and peak from her closest eye towards him. "Are you alright?" She dared to ask. She tried to approach him too but when Rhy's had shouted towards Evangeline she had stalled in her tracks and took her previous step back.
Soon she felt something or more so someone pulling her down towards the ground, her eyes widened and she tried to reach out onto any leverage she could since this was the second time and was brought down to the ground. In truth she thought it was another enemy whether that being a person or animal. When she reopened her eyes to see Fenris hovering above her, she blinked a few times before letting out a short lived chuckle. But as the second set of electricity was brought to her ears this brought her to look to the hovering Rhy's.
"Well… It looks like we're getting ourselves in all sort of trouble." She joked as she stood up to her feet for a second time once Fenris had walked away. Leliana didn't pursue in helping Rhy's since Fenris had taken it upon himself of freeing the mage, and truthfully Leliana had enough excitement for one day that she didn't want to get close in fear of the net emitting another electricity spasm.
Leliana had leaned back on her heels waiting as patiently as one could, she crossed her arms and sighed as her neck craned so that her gaze shifted to the branches above head, with the peaking sky beyond that. When her arms had dropped is when she had felt Rhy's hand grasped her own, a startled flinch came over her as she quickly was brought to look back down and to him.
When he spoke she tried to smile as if trying to speak words which hadn't come out. She knew if she had done so it was one step closer to breaking down, even the slightest crack of speaking of this topic brought her to crumble. Instead she looked away, or more towards their hands which were joined while giving a nod of her head to his last spoken sentence since she really wasn't given the room to respond due to Fenris's blunt statement.
Leliana's eyes had never faltered from Rhy's when Fenris's suddenly grasped on her shoulder. After the connection of her other shoulder to his chest she had attempted a light chuckle as her arm went around his center to brace herself as she situated herself in a more proper stance. "As he knows, we've told him. No need to remind him." She said towards Fenris's tranquil statement. It was more for herself than for Rhy's since as before, she didn't want to be reminded.
With Leliana's silence brought her to look towards Evangeline when she had spoken. Immediately she had felt her hopes being lifted and stepping outside of Fenris's grasp to walk up towards the two. She hadn't interrupted but looked towards Rhy's for some kind of answer. When he confirmed it was all possible, a wide smile had begun to smear across her lips. She was about to part her lips and speak or lunge out and hug him but everything froze when Fenris's words reached her ears and brought her to glance back.
Only a flinch had been her only expression, due to Rhy's counter towards him that it had brought her attention back to the mage. There was no point in scowling Fenris since it would have done no good but poured more salt into the wound Fenris was experiencing. But then what could she say? She almost felt like the monkey in the middle trying to act like she should have even though her emotions wanted to put forth a different set of actions.
"I never thought it possible… What are the risks?" She asked curiously, as her head perked up in that moment to catch a glance his way. "Will he be his old self or will he be different still?" She dared to ask; a part of her was tempted to look back to Fenris to see his expression on her question but hadn't done so in fear of it being too hard for her to take.
"From what we understood, it requires a demonic possession, which can lead to him becoming an abomination and that's before we even attempt anything." Rhys explained and then rubbed the back of his neck; as to shake off the cold sweat that wanted to form there. "When … my group arrived with Wynne and Shale, the building that housed the creature … it was catastrophic. Nearly beyond any horror I've ever seen."
Evangeline nodded some and looked towards Leliana as they began walking. "We did complete the experiment that was started; however, he was not the same after everything was finished."
"Honestly, I'm not ever certain if reversing a tranquil would be the best idea in the world. It's inclined to welcome demons first of all, so the entire process is a high-risked threat." Rhys concluded and shrugged his shoulders.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8
It was apparent though; no matter how uncertain that Rhys was about the issue, the decision had been made. They had to prepare though, so Fenris had taken Rhys and Evangeline to where Anders was told to stay. He was never given any orders or anything of the sort; but he did happen to remain in a room like a sick patient probably was.
This, among many things, had been gnawing at Fenris's nerves. Leliana had been showing way too many signs of wanting to have been more involved with Rhy's experiment, and he didn't like it. Fenris could never approve of magic being done on another person in this way. He didn't approve of the situation with Fenryl any less either.
However, tranquility had seemed to almost be a reasonable solution to him. He preferred Anders this way; not because of anything malicious—as he probably would have against any Tevinter Magister—but because after all this time, Fenris believed that Anders deserved some form of peace. He also knew that Naomi wouldn't have wanted Anders to have ever been killed, but he never knew of her own feelings of tranquility either.
Once he had gotten the notice from Rhys that the final preparations were being made, Fenris had been instructed to collect a large amount of lyrium for the 'trip.' This could have only meant one thing; going into the Fade. He hated the place; and had already decided that he was going to keep himself in the real world just in case if Anders did start to react like an abomination.
Leliana felt her heart stop the second she heard the word abomination. That was the last thing she had wanted for Anders. And it completely threw her mind for a loop questioning her decisions on all of this. If it was the right thing? But there was hope… Wasn't there? It was the only shining question that had flickered in her mind and kept her going through it all. If she didn't have that she would have been more lost by now.
When they had returned to Kirkwall, Leliana had stayed closely to Rhy's side. Possibly questioning him by the hour with probably the oddest and sensible questions she could think of. But she had to know; at least it had helped a little upon hearing what he said. Even if it didn't look like it. She was grateful he had put up with her endless questions.
Leliana believed somehow she could help, she wasn't certain how but if there was a way she had owed it to Anders to have done so. Thankfully she had known where the preparations were taking place and had begun walking to the area once she had been brave enough to do so. The whole time walking there the little voices in her head were arguing with her to turn back or keep going. Though she somehow pushed aside the negative one and eventually reached the door.
When she reached out for the knob of the door she had noticed someone coming out from the other side. So she wouldn't be in the way she stepped to the side and waited momentarily. Soon she found out it was Fenris and in her curiosity and perked brow she raised a hand as if to grasp his attention since she was standing there anyways she still didn't want to seem like she was ignoring him. "Hi there, Fenris." She spoke in a soft tone. "What are you doing? Over here?" She asked curiously, though it would have been obvious to know he was here to help Rhy's with the preparations of Anders tranquity. But she had little knowledge of what was going on and what was to happen.
"You know…." She started with a pause and glanced down. "I was thinking maybe I should help… In anyway I can. I hope you understand." Leliana's gaze hadn't shifted back up until she had sighed. "I just will never forgive myself if I don't help." She admitted with a slight smile.
From there she had stepped past Fenris and pushed to the door where he previously had stepped out of. Even though her hues were more towards the floor she had an odd sense fall on her that she had to look up and see what it was, and there she saw him and within mid-step she had stopped almost feeling herself on a berg of breaking from the beating of her heart making it so she had not only felt light headed but weak in the knees. The reminisce of tears formed in her eyes, ones she had hoped to fight but she wasn't strong enough. Not for this. How pitiful she might of looked, but there was no deterrent she could use from reacting in such a way as her eyes were set on him.
Upon exiting the door, Fenris had turned slightly towards the flash of red hair that caught his eyes. He blinked at first just as the woman had spoken before it registered in his mind that it was Leliana. In truth, he didn't believe Leliana was ever to have been allowed in this section of the gallows—simply for the reason of hiding Anders from her. No one would have wanted to see her upset, after all. He heard her question and almost stumbled forward before shuffling around to face her.
"Rhys needs lyrium for what he's about to do. I'm just getting the supplies." He answered with a slight glance over his shoulder. It almost had felt ironic to him that he would have been the one asked to retrieve it. He tried to shrug it off and return his focus back to her once more. "Nothing I can't handle… What are you doing over here?"
Then Leliana had began to answer him, and Fenris had felt a lump beginning to swell into his throat because of it. He tried to ignore it; swallow it down and be done with it but the feeling remained stuck there as Leliana had continued.
"You're not thinking of going, …are you?" He questioned and his features had briefly hardened before his eyebrows lifted in concern. "No. You can't go. Leliana-"
But as she walked past him, Fenris had reached for her arm. He missed and called her name again; this time preparing to have risen his voice a little. "Leliana, don't!"
Though, it was too late. Over all, the damage had been done when she walked through the door. Inside the room was about as empty and clean as one of the guestrooms upstairs. However the bed, and most of the furniture was moved away from the actual center of the room.
Rhys and Anders were standing in the center, where the two were placing down rune stones in a large circle around themselves and most of the room. All the while, Rhys was commending Anders's achievements with high appraisal. However, Anders hadn't taken a notice of anything other than the task he was asked to do. His head was down, and his empty eyes were staring at the floor; quietly continuing onward.
Fenris had approached from behind Leliana and pulled her closer towards him. Even if it was against her will, the elf had a determined hold in attempting to have kept her a few paces back. Fenris didn't expect for her to have entered the room on her own. It was like another nightmore for him to witness; only for Fenris it was more along the lines of Leliana discovering Anders, rather than anything directly from the mages.
"You were not suppose to see this." He said and then walked around to face her. He frowned with worry when Leliana's eyes began to fill with tears. She wasn't even looking at him and her bottom lip had seemed to quiver. Fenris reached up and tilted her cheek so that she would have been forced to look back at him.
"Don't look at them, look at me. Just look at me, and everything will turn out right, I promise." He continued and lightly shook his head afterwards. "They're going to take him into the Fade directly; where they can fix him. But you—you don't have to go anywhere. You would be safer here than in there, Leliana, please. Please don't go."
Leliana didn't even feel the slightest touch from Fenris. It was as if her whole body was numb from the inside out. Someone could have stabbed her in the heart a thousand times and she still wouldn't have felt it, for it already felt as if her heart was being strangled and plucked from the ends then at last stabbed. She did feel the warm tears though, it was probably the only sensation she was brought to realize from the trickling and sting feeling.
Even though how badly she wanted to avert her eyes, in hopes the pain would go away, she couldn't. Leliana wanted to run to him, and just hold him. As how her dreams had taunted her for nights that he would come back to her one day. But in the back of her mind she knew this would have been useless. But that hadn't stopped her thoughts in fantasizing about it.
When Fenris spoke it brought her to gaze away from Anders and she had felt herself fighting against it. There was a slight hope he would look in her direction. But none had come. Leliana couldn't help but bury her face into Fenris chest as her sobs had lingered but it was apparent she had been fighting against the harder cries that tried to push their way out. "It's not fair." She thought to herself why did everything bad have to seem to come to their plates? When it rained, it rained the hardest for them.
With her hands clenching at the attire of Fenris's Leliana had begun to gaze up finally to him once she believed to have regained herself enough to done so. One of her hands had released from his armor and wiped to each cheek before she put on a strong smile. She understood why Fenris didn't want her to go into the room for it could have been a disaster.
"I have to…" She paused with a glance away and towards Anders. She bit onto her lower lip hoping that in this pause she could come up with the right words. "I-I can help, I've been in the Fade before… It's all about ones willpower and how strong one is without being easily swayed. I know I can do it." She said confidently with a nod of her head. From there she reached for his hands and gave them a little squeeze. She was trying to be strong even after having her wound sliced back open. She wasn't even sure how she was doing it, but it was Fenris who had given her the strength to carry on this past year, and she suspected its why she was putting on such a strong front now."It's best if you go get that lyrium, so we can get this over with. Wouldn't you say?" It was a small push to get Fenris to have done what Rhy's requested of him, but she had hoped he known there was no way she was backing out of it, not now.
Even if he hadn't left then, Leliana slipped her hold from Fenris's as well as his from hers and stepped aside to walk further in the room. With each step she had felt uneasy about approaching them both but she hadn't gotten to close, instead she stopped at the edges of the rune stones from where they were set. She looked to the design momentarily before looking to Rhy's in a shifty manner. "Do you need any help?" She asked, sensing her voice which cracked but had quickly cleared her throat and walked closer to Rhy's so she wouldn't have been closer to Anders and see him from her peripheral vision.
"I think… we just about got it." Rhys said and started to stand up. He brushed his hands against one another and looked towards Anders before looking up to find that Fenris was still reluctantly standing within the room. "The only thing we need left is the lyrium."
Fenris had stared back at Leliana with a growing frown before turning away and storming out of the room. There was really no need to have pondered what he was thinking at the time though.
Rhys looked back towards Leliana with concern as he attempted to guide her with him back towards a safer distance for the moment. "Now… Are you sure this is something that you want done? We will have to welcome a demon into his soul. After that, we will have to travel into the Fade to kill the demon, which may—possibly separate him from the Tranquil State. Though, once Anders is changed, there's no way to fix whatever's been done."
"Will you stop? You're scaring her." Evangeline questioned him and gave his arm a slight poke with her elbow before offering Leliana a kind smile. "Don't worry. We've done this before, and there's no way this plan's getting botched."
Rhys sighed and rubbed his arm before reflecting the same smile towards Evangeline and then at Leliana. He then turned away to instruct Anders of where to sit in the chair at the center of the room. "Right…. We can do this."
Once Fenris had returned with the lyrium, he was instructed to wait outside of the inner circle that was created for the Fade participants. He was now a bit more reluctant and undecisive of his decision to have been the one to stand guard-like a templar…. He understood now how Cullen must have felt during his early years in helping to cleanse the Harrowing members; being given the duty to kill mages if their trial didn't come to a success. The only thing Fenris could do was pray that they would succeed.
Once the first stage had been completed, the world of the Fade had awaited them. Though from there, the struggle of finding one another began.
Leliana frowned a bit when Rhy's had pulled her aside and began asking her questions. She wanted this more than anything as long as it had brought Anders back. She didn't need to be reminded of the risks that it held within doing this as she had gone over them a thousand times in her head. But she had nodded in a yes response to him as a quick and short response since Evangeline had walked up before she could properly answer him.
It was reassuring to hear the words she had spoken towards her. That the smile she had given her was quickly returned. "Thank you…" She muttered slowly under her breath. "Just as I told Fenris I want to get this over with. The fade was never my best experience back when I was traveling with Aragorn, so it will be interesting to find out what comes this time around."
When the ritual had begun and Leliana had waited patiently into the circle with Rhy's and Evangeline she had found a place to sit on the floor and begun to close her eyes. It was almost immediately after then she had an offset feeling surge through her than warmth that she had flinched. She believed she was still in the real world that she didn't open her eyes; she kept them closed until… She had heard the most familiar of voices.
"Isn't this place wonderful… We can finally live out our lives together in peace."
Leliana opened her eyes in a slow flutter, the light shining in them brought her to attempt to close them again but she fought against it to see whom this was speaking to her. It had been so long since she heard it. At first her eyes had looked to the lower regions of his attire before looking to his face, seeing silver and blue plated Warden armor and the higher she gazed the more she had found out it was Aragorn. Her breath had caught in her throat as she felt herself stepping closer.
"It is what you always wanted isn't it?"
"It is." She felt herself saying without hesitation as she had reached out towards him for a touch but hadn't given her fingers the pleasure in brushing across his arm.
"I feared I lost you for so long that I never want to let you go now." He spoke out in his outstretched arm towards her where he had grazed his fingertips against her cheek.
"W-Where did I go?" She asked hesitantly and cautiously not remembering of what he had spoken of.
"To that mage, but soon after I went to your tent and told you I'd always be here for you and you had come back to me." He reminisced proudly as a wide grin had been pulled to his lips.
Blinking a few times Leliana had pulled back and brought her hand up towards her cranium in a slight rub. His words had echoed in her mind like a nightmare, why couldn't she remember? "The mage?" She asked a bit hesitantly and glanced up from there.
Aragorn frowned, crossing his arms over his chest while giving a nod of his head. "Correct, the one that didn't protect you from Starkhaven and I had to—"
"You're not Aragorn…" She stated bluntly upon finally realizing what had truly happened. She could still hear the cheers from the audience and the boos from the people who opposed the killing of a Warden, then lastly the most painful feeling was when she heard the bellowed out scream from Aragorn's lips when he was stabbed through the heart. It had taken time to remember but just as she had told Fenris, one just needed to be strong enough to see through the cracks. "My past lover, my friend Aragorn died… And you're just not going to take form of him to control me. I refuse to be a part of your game."
"… Well…" Spoke a voice of a two toned demon, it was a mesh of Aragorn's and something darker and then quickly his form was gone when a mist had surrounded his body and replaced it with that of an abominations. "If you wish, let's see if you're still strong enough as you were then."
Leliana flinched and backed away a few steps, though her foot slipped and as she looked back she saw an endless canvass swirling inside was mist some kind of lighting and smoke. When she heard the footsteps of the abomination approach her she quickly reached back for her bow, but then stopped and went to her waist which held to her left and right side two elongated daggers and had slashed one to the neck of abominations while the other had sliced through his abdomen.
The abomination fell and soon Leliana had sheeted her daggers back in her holsters. With only a sigh pushing through her lips she had looked beyond herself to see the once calm setting the demon had provided for her changed into that of the fade before she had ventured off to find the rest of her companions.
It was moments later from when Leliana had caught up to the others, had she managed to see the opening of what looked a bigger realm. The opening had looked more like a huge cave and from within was a large skinny broodmother with long black hair. Evangeline and Rhys had been fighting the creature with everything they had. The odd thing about this being though was that it was speaking back them in verses and crazed phrases. The tentacles from the broodmother shot up and waved in serpentine motions. Some tried to strike at them while others attempted to capture them.
"What in Andraste's Name is that?" Evangeline asked with her blade drawn—only knowing that it truly wasn't her weapon, but just the image of what she believed it to be.
"Must be something of Anders's past." Rhys answered and lifted his staff high against the monster.
"Oh, when the sad songs die the children cry and cry! Mwahah!" The creature cackled and moved her tentacles down to the ground and across within a sweeping motion.
Evangeline saw where the attack was coming from, and quickly jumped to Rhys's side. She used herself as the bait in order to take the major hit. The tentacles slammed against Evangeline's leg; wrapping its end around her ankle. When it moved and started to lift her up and off the ground, Rhys turned the staff in his hands and concentrated on the energy to from a blade at the staff's end. He then sliced it across the tentacle, cutting it off in one quick sweeping motion.
Evangeline screamed upon falling down, and turned her sword so that she wouldn't have caused him any damage with it. Though Rhys was more concerned with catching her; not taking into consideration that the woman's heavy armor would actually be heavy into the Fade. Perhaps that was because, in his mind, Rhys had always known of heavy plated armor to have been heavy. It was that, and the fact that he had always seen Evangeline in Templar armor. So, Rhys suffered toppling to the ground instead.
"You fool…!" Evangeline breathed, but the tone of her voice had still shown concern when she rolled to her side; and quickly off of him. Her eyes shifted to the next set of tentacles coming her way, and so the Templar grabbed the Mage in one arm and used her sword as the momentum of pulling back to her feet and fighting defensively again.
Leliana was beyond happy when she had found both Rhy's and Evangeline. She wasn't very fond of the fade for many reasons, just as she wasn't fond of the Deep Roads either. Both were too dangerous, though if she had to choose one she would have chosen the fade. At least then she wouldn't have better control of her life in a sense. Since just a wrong move with a Dark Spawn would had brought the toughest of men down and Leliana wasn't a man of course but she still didn't consider herself strong enough to be able to venture in the Deep Roads alone as she had done so easily here.
When they approached the Broodmother is when Leliana had stalled in her tracks a few yards back. Of all things to be in Anders memory it had to be this… Why couldn't he be thinking of cute fluffy bunny's or unicorns, anything but this? "I swear he wants to make this difficult on us." She groaned before joking. "Always was a pain in my ass."
Quickly Leliana reached back for her bow this time and sighted her enemy with a single arrow. The tentacles were moving too fast and out of rhythm that she wasn't certain which one to hit. Some of her hits would have connected while others had flung past the swaying of tenticals and impaled to the abyss behind. At least then she could have distracted the beast long enough for Rhy's and Evangeline to move out of the way. That was her main objective in this was to protect them.
Leliana was aware with what had happened around her, hearing the screams of Evangeline and the crashing never went unnoticed. She even turned for a moment to check on them only to feel a tentacle slam up against her center and collide her against the ground and drag her almost too closely to the Broodmother. It felt like the air within her lungs was being strangled out of her and she knew she had to do something quickly before losing to this thing. She had reached for her dagger which was previously used and drove it into the nawing flesh of the fiend.
A bellowed scream is all which she heard and soon she was let go. Once her feet regained connected with the ground she had ran towards her bow which had slipped from her grasp a few feet away and readied two aligned arrowed to the skull of the Broodmother. Another scream filled the air and brought Leliana to reflectively raise her hands to her ears until the screaming ceased along with the life of the vile beast.
Though dead, the broodmother was expanding. Its body was starting to build in mass and somehow managed to grow even larger. It was like a water balloon that was being filled to its rim; and only one way such of a building force could be released. Evangeline and Rhys had recoiled a little in their fear when seeing the creature suddenly getting larger and larger. The two stumbled back, in their attempts to have stepped out of the way.
"What is it doing?" Evangeline started to question in her fright.
"Not sure, not caring." Rhys called once he turned and reached for Evangeline's wrists in order to drag her away. The mage then had soon grabbed Leliana in order to drag her along with them. "And we're running, we're running, we're running-"
Just about the time when the group had made enough distance away from the broodmother, the creature had exploded. Chunks of blood and rotten meat seemed to dangle from the walls of the cave. From inside was Anders; only he didn't look like he would have been covered in it. Anders was rocking back and forth from his fetal position on the ground.
It seemed that through his image, there had been nothing but dead mages, dead Andraste worshipers, and more Tranquil. The bodies began to materialize as if from thin air. The cave had even disintegrated, leaving behind images of what looked like Kirkwall, except for the city was being taken over with confused fighting and darkspawn.
Upon seeing that the location had changed, Rhys had halted in his tracks. He turned, looking back over his shoulder to see the changes that were taken place. He careful had started to set down the women as his attention had went more towards noticing the changes of the scenery. It was clearly something close to another battlefield but there was so much going on at once that there wasn't a side Rhys had been able to pinpoint.
"These are memories... but—" Rhys paused and looked back towards the women. "—they're not suppose to clash like this; not his—at least. I had not realized Anders fought so much; even in his current condition."
Though Evangeline hadn't paid much attention to the conditions Rhys was speaking of at the moment. Her focus was brought more towards what Rhys had pulled them away from, at the time. The broodmother had been defeated, and the corpse had still remained, but from what replaced it was another scene that had been replayed many times before in the mage's mind.
An image materialized from behind Anders. It was Naomi, with the dagger still in her hand. It was the same speech; the same questions and answers that had been given from the night that Anders's bomb had blown up the Chantry. Considerably this was old news, but that didn't mean it had haunted Anders any less. He hadn't sought redemption in any of this; obviously, because to do that would have meant that he had no intentions of making any changes. Instead, Anders had sought punishment, which was all that Naomi or any member of the Chantry could give him at this point.
Leliana yelped upon feeling Rhy's take grasp of her and drag her away. Her eyes hadn't left the Broodmother and its expanding form, even if she was tripping over her own feet to do so. But soon when the explosion had scattered everywhere Leliana quickly turned and lunged forward for any kind of cover she could take. Her hands and arms had covered over head as she felt the warm thick flesh and blood cake over her in soft slaps of disgusting muck.
Only little groans and whimpers had expelled past her lips as she reached to the flesh draping across her and quickly plucked one piece off in a raise of her lip before shaking the rest of in a shudder. "That was disgusting." She muttered to herself and began looking up. When she had she saw Anders not far off in the distance and quickly the rotting blood coating her was the least of her problems as her expression changed from repulse to concern.
She had never seen him like this before, he was always so strong. That it had pulled at her heart strings upon seeing him so broken in front of her. Without notice for her own doing she had stepped forward. But she hadn't gotten far as the scenes around them brought the rouge to pause in her worry for Anders. Leliana couldn't help but frown at some of the images that appeared before them, before looking back to Anders with the pervious concerned look. She had wished she could have taken all the worry and pain away. Or that this would be ended so he wouldn't have to dealt with it as he was now.
Upon hearing Rhy's, Leliana turned to look to him and give him an arch of her sculpted brow when he had paused. Though when he had finished she looked back to Anders. "He has always been a fighter." She commented as she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed with a close of her eyes.
When she had reopened them, it was due to the voices of the next scene playing in front of them. She had remembered the females voice, and being reminded about it brought her to look what had been played out next. Though when she saw soon it was Naomi and Anders and their last moment together Leliana couldn't help but flinch. For the main reason of what she had held in her hand more than anything else. Leliana had known for a long time of what Naomi had done, but to still see it brought a worryiness to splash across her face and soon with it brought her arm to drop.
"Anders…" She whispered in a sigh, there was little Leliana could do to stop this scene from replaying in Anders memories but it still had hurt that she couldn't help in anyway. She had tried to look away upon Anders being stabbed by his previous lover but she couldn't, nor could she stop the pain that swelled her heart when she saw the traumatic ending.
Anders's body remained on the ground lifeless and emotionless. His eyes had glanced towards the three who were far off in the distance. After slowly closing his eyes for a moment, his eyes had started to snap open again. Only this time, his hues had changed into a bright pale blue that extended far over his iris. The mage reached towards his back in the attempt of pulling out the knife, but when he did a sudden pain had shot through his entire body that he hollered in response. Anders's arm had quickly retracted away from the injury and he braced himself up against the floor once more.
It wasn't Anders though. The mage was struggling in between the personas that continued to attempt in claiming over him. He reached for his head, clutching at it tightly and ensnaring his fingers deep into his blonde locks.
"You won't get away with this! I refuse it!" Justice scowled from behind her, only to raise his head and smash his head back down against the ground. "Stop! No—I forbid it!"
"There is no power you can control here, demon. Not against me in that body… You are not welcomed there." Naomi sneered briefly and bent forward towards the mage's hind-side.
She grasped the knife and twisted it a little upon pulling him up at an angle. Given little choice of the matter, Anders's image was stumbling forward and fumbling back to his feet just to avoid the harsh tearing of flesh that Naomi was inflicting. His eyes closed tightly, but his skin protruded out spikes of black horns and long golden fingernails.
"Now, I'm going to ask nicely once more. Leave that vessel alone. It's too full as it is." Naomi warned and pulled the body close.
"N-Never!" The voice from the mage howled; nearly in three tones of separate victims.
"Why is there three voices coming from him? There should only be two." Evangeline pondered curiously as she watched along with the others near her.
" Oh, damn-oh-damn-oh-damn..." Rhys's eyes widened as he looked from the scene and then towards Leliana. "Has he already been possessed? Why didn't someone tell me about that earlier?"
"Would it have made a difference?" Evangeline asked and soon found herself marching towards the unknown spirit who seemed to have been torturing the Anders-Mutation/Abomination at the time.
"I don't know, but his mind can't possibly take much more!" Rhys started and started to hurry after her.
Though from behind them, a separate woman began to approach them. She was dressed in what looked like long white robes that were slimming to her figure. Across her stomach was the only pattern displayed of bright red rose petals; that almost had seemed to signify of an injury—or at least if there was one, but there were no marks hidden from underneath the sheer rose patterns to show. Only those who actually had known her would have been able to reflect a name to a face, but the only name that could be pronounced would have been Anna.
Evangeline shifted some; still feeling tense at these spirits beginning to collect like wildflowers. "Great… Another one?"
"It would be our luck, wouldn't it?" Rhys had started to say; feeling his feet shift to a standstill to turn around. Though, when he had seen the blonde woman in white, he faltered; reaching back to steady Evangeline's prepared sword-arm. "Wait…"
Lost of her love and her child, it was considered a miracle for her soul to have been preserved into such of a state; rather than allowing a demon to devour and mutate it. Then again; the same could have been said for Naomi and her own short-comings; but Anna was the bloodmage (in her lifetime) so she would have been the most shocked result. Anna raised her hands outward and down near her hips in the display of a surrender upon her approach. Her arms soon lifted as she started to pass by them; her hands lightly tapped along Leliana's and Evangeline's shoulders, leaving a warm resonation there until she had made her way past them.
"A soul should not be tormented by so much hatred." She spoke in a soft voice that seemed to echo around her even more.
"Anna… Ease m-my pain—"Anders's form had turned his head towards her from the back-bend that Naomi's protruding blade had seemed to keep him in. He stretched his arm out towards her while the tears started to flow down his cheeks. Anders's form had then scowled and writhed a bit; jerking his arm away from it's previous stretch and quickly snapped back towards trying to hit Naomi instead. "No! She's here to kill us! Devour us! Sense the bllodmagic stained through her soul—she'll swallow us whole!"
Naomi dodged the swinging arm, but still managed to have kept her hold against Anders's body firm. Her eyes winced some towards Anna. "What are you here for, Spirit?"
"I am only here to cleanse and repair. If the host will let me in…" Anna answered without even glancing towards Naomi's way.
Instead, the blood/spirit mage continued to step forward; despite the confused whimpering and struggling that Anders had done. Anna continued to step through until her spirit form seemed to have stepped right into Anders's body. He froze momentarily, and completely still by then. It took maybe a few seconds later until a powerful white light began to form from him. Within a blast of an controlled energy, Naomi was knocked away. Her grip onto her knife remained tight—which in turn had pulled out the knife—at least.
Anna had finally fell towards the other side of remained of the body—that soon began to shape shift into two to three people. She cradled her arms around a person who had looked like Anders, but the male was asleep. From the previous standing position, there had only been the image of Justice and a Demon of Pride standing there. The remaining two were automatically fighting each other; which in turn had caused Naomi to throw her knife at the Pride Demon.
Rhys just stared at the confusing scene unfolding. Because to him, none of this had made any sense what-so-ever. He scratched his head; trying to figure out what was going on as his eyes looked towards Naomi—who by now was reaching for what looked like a long blade from it's back holster, and charging towards the Pride Demon.
"What in the world…?" He questioned slowly and then pointed towards Naomi. "So… She's not against Anders anymore?...Or is she fighting all three of them? Or four?"
"I think the only target right now is the Pride Demon…" Evangeline shrugged and prepared to charge into battle; leaving Rhys and Leliana to remain at the sidelines with their long-ranged weapons to use.
Leliana jumped in unison upon seeing Anders once lifeless body lunge back to life. Her heartbeat rose with it, bringing the thudding beat to her throat. In response to this she rested her hand to her chest and sighed. Sadly though for her nerves calming, it hadn't been long for them to peak again once she saw Naomi approaching Anders. She hadn't thought not much on it and wasn't going to interfere just yet and instead watched from afar like Rhy's and Evangeline. Even if it was painful to watch she still believed Naomi should have been given a chance to do what she thought was right. Whatever that was.
When she had reached for the blade though is when Leliana had budged from her frozen shocked state and reached out as if this was going to stop her. It was as if Leliana hadn't heard the term "demon" Naomi had used to call Anders. She had just wanted her to stop, even if that had meant her trying to come between this matter and try and stop it herself. Though as she was about to rush forward the details of what Naomi was trying to draw out begun to take its shape and Leliana's once expanded arm dropped with it without her pace gaining.
At that moment Leliana had to turn, at least to one side to try and ignore it. Though the three multi-toned voice was difficult to ignore. Thankfully during this time Rhy's and Evangeline's conversation perked her interest enough and brought her to glance over towards them as if trying to distract herself as all she had done was chuckle nervously to his words and whisper the single word. "Opps." She hadn't thought to have told Rhy's of Justice for many reason. One she hadn't gone around saying it, and two she would have thought Rhy's to have known already for some strange reason. Leliana was curious how badly this could have been for Anders, but as she had glanced back to Naomi and Anders and had soon found that thought not mattering, since they were determined to bring Anders back… All of them. And she knew Anders had to be determined too.
From the corner of her eyes while she was watching the duo fight she had seen a shimmering white light, and in fascination Leliana turned to this. When she had she could practically feel her lips separate in a drop of her mouth. Never again did she believe she would have seen her again, yet here she was in all her radiance and flawlessness. She couldn't stop the tears from puckering at the corner of her sockets as she felt herself quickly choke when Evangeline had questioned of 'another one' she had just nodded her head.
"It's Anna…" She spoke softly with a smile. Even though she had wanted to reach out towards her, she hadn't for many reasons of knowing she wouldn't be able to grasp her like she once could to her dear friend. All she had done was bite on her lower lip and watched her as she passed each of them by and when the warm radiating touch had soaked into the area Anna had touched Leliana had closed her eyes.
When she had reopened them she had looked to Anna and Anders both as they spoke to one another briefly. Again the surging pain sored through her, making it so she had wanted to be by Anders side even if she had known it wasn't the best of times. She had just hated seeing him in such pain and when he had cried she had also, if not on the outside than on the inside.
After Anna's step forward, Leliana hadn't shifted a single glance away from the blonde bloodmage. Though it made it quickly impossible to do so once the white light had engulfed them. In response Leliana reflectively raised her arm up to block the rays as her eyes came to a momentarily close. When she had reopened them she had found out soon that Anders form was with Anna while the other two, Justice and the Demon were battling it out.
Once she had seen Anders was resting and was no longer bellowing out in pain she had not only sighed but also shifted her attention more directly towards Justice and the Demon. Not to mention Naomi running toward the battle as well. If they were to help in anyway, it might have been here. In that moment she had nodded towards Evangeline's statement. It was true, their main objective was that of the demon and nothing else. That once this was clear in all their minds Leliana had reached back for her bow and brought it in front of her where she had reached back again with her right hand for a single arrow that she lined and sighted to the demons core, then a second shot to its skull and any opening which was provided for a main hit.
The battle against the Pride Demon was harsh and a bit chaotic, but it ended when all members of the party had at last cooperated together. It was moments later when the Pride Demon had actually fallen, Rhys had looked around towards the others before starting to cheer in their efforts. It seemed for the most part that the confusion had finally focused and then settled.
"We won? We won!" He was quick to confirm himself and practically jumped for joy.
The dark haired mage would have done even more, but the Spirit in heavy armor quickly turned his weapon against the short-haired blonde woman with the large long-blade. It seemed that his cheering had came to soon since these two Spirits had been set on an untimely unrest. It caused Rhys to step back, which in turn guided Evangeline to have taken a point in guarding the "choke-line" once more.
"You had no business to interfere!" Justice scowled at Naomi and rushed towards her. Their blades clashed against one another; even through the after-life. "Interfering has done nothing but killed you and it will kill you again!"
"Practice what you bloody preach!" Naomi bit back and with an abrupt shove, she had pushed Justice a few steps backwards.
Rhys leaned to one side towards Leliana and started to whisper to her, "So-uh… Why don't we just sneak Anders out while this little side-show ensues?"
Meanwhile, Anna had been keeping Anders cradled still in her arms. She hadn't done any fighting, but her aura around him had been set up as a protective barrier away from the other Spirits that would have possibly taken over him again. She smiled, still tucking back his blonde hair and awaiting for Anders to have woken up on his own.
"We have no right to cross into their world anymore. We have lived our life with our given choices. They have the right to do the same." She spoke peacefully, and then lifted her head towards the two stubborn Spirits still engaged in their endless grudged-battle. "Hasn't enough damage been done? Stop this before anymore you care for suffer from it…"
Leliana had looked to Rhy's in his cheer and shook her head. But just as his excitement was ceased, Leliana's attention was lifted from him and brought to the two spirits confliction. She had just stood there and blinked a few times. It was a bit oddly seeing the two stand off as they had, but the two always had an odd relationship. One Leliana could never understand even if she tried. After all they now had the chance to actually talk yet they had drawn arms instead.
When Rhy's approached her, Leliana had nodded her head in a single motion. Though she held up one single finger after that as if asking him to wait a moment. "I'll be right back." She spoke and had quickly stepped closer towards both of Naomi and Justice from there. Though her attention wasn't on Justice but Naomi instead, even if the two were at wits end with one another and about to have a brawl in front of them all she had to say what had needed to be said. "Naomi…" She spoke out in a soft tone in hopes to grasp her attention before continuing. "I wanted to thank you for helping with Anders, even after everything he has done you had still put that aside for a moment and for that I'm eternally grateful… I just wish there was a way I could repay you."
Looking to Justice next Leliana had only briefly smiled as her hands clasped to in front of her. "And I'll even miss you even if you were a grouch." She teased before turning to walk over to Anna and Anders next. When she had gotten close enough and walked through the barrier Anna held up, Leliana had knelt down besides Anders, right across from Anna. She had smiled down to him proudly before looking back up and towards Anna. She wasn't certain what to say, not once but twice Anna was there for her family. The time of Baelfire's birth and now for Anders sake. Even if they had pulled all together and defeated what needed to be taken down. It was still her that had brought the demon out.
"I miss you Anna." She admitted softly as a small smile cracked to her lips, she was on the verge of breaking into tears but she had fought against it at all costs. If this was the last time she was to see her than she wanted it to be one where she had held herself together. In these insecurity's her arms had wrapped around her core and held tightly. "I'm glad though, that I got to see you again… Thank you for everything. I'm sure Anders will come out okay thanks to the help of everyone here." During this time she had looked behind her to each and every single person. Her eyes though stopped at Rhy's and had given a bit of a nod of her head. "I think it's time to go home."
As Leliana had scooted away from Rhys and began her announcement of leaving, Rhys had folded his arms with a confused expression still etched onto his face. After all; he didn't know any of these Spirits excluding of what was left Anders—and that was taking into consideration of any-and-all possibility that this "Anna" had done to him. Rhys didn't know; but he did feel that she was a good-sort.
"So much for sneaking…" He mumbled more to himself at the moment and watched as Naomi and Justice had started to inch back from their fight momentarily.
The two spirits had seemed a little confused as well since, Leliana appeared to have been making her rounds while giving goodbyes. For the moment, it had been enough to stall them. If only such of a thing could have lasted longer—or at least until the two could have learned that they were not both after possessing any of the living inhabitants within the Fade Realm.
A warm smile remained across Anna's lips when Leliana had approached the barrier. She welcomed her within actions of scooting back her arms from their once protective hold around Anders. She hadn't said anything though; there hadn't been a real need to. Anna lifted her head towards Rhys and Evangeline when Leliana had mentioned about leaving.
Even that couple had seemed a little stunned for the moment; well until Evangeline had elbowed Rhys. It was the given signal for him to have snapped out of it and complete their duty there.
"Oh! Right…" Rhys mentioned and fumbled forward. He approached Leliana and Anna next upon kneeling down and giving Anders' cheek a few strong smacks. "Hey. Hey."
Anders groaned a bit but barely opened his eyes. Squinting his eyes and turning away to shut them again, Rhys chuckled some and then took his hand into his.
"Looks like I'll have to do it this way…" Rhys mentioned.
Anna nodded and closed her eyes momentarily. She then opened them to look back to Leliana warmly once more. "It is good to see you too, but this is not a place to dwell in for long."
"Yeah, we don't intend to." Rhys mentioned in a light joke; though at the oddest of times. Though, he of all people knew that staying in the Fade in this manner could kill a person too.
He took closed his eyes and started to chant the words of his spell. When, in a flash of light, and suddenly growing dim—Leliana, Anders, Rhys, and Evangeline soon awoken from inside of the gallows at Kirkwall. Of course near the wall from within the room, Fenris remained, ready as ever to have swung a killing blow if he had thought for a moment that someone—out of anybody there—would have came back as an abomination. He hoped that wasn't the case.
Leliana chuckled upon seeing Anders resistance of not wanting to wake. There she had reached out for him and rested a hand on his chest as she whispered closely towards his features. "We'll be home soon." With that said Leliana had looked back to Anna and smiled. How she would miss seeing her, but she had always hoped to one day see her again in the afterlife wherever that may have lead all of them.
Again Leliana had closed her eyes when Rhy's chant had passed by her ears. In a sense she had figured this would help with the transfer, if anything. She wasn't for certain. But when she had opened her eyes at last she was quick to notice they were back where they had needed to be, in the Gallows where they started this journey. Leliana's shifted eyes went to Fenris and his patient posture against the wall, but what had mostly been brought to her attention was the sword at his hip. To free his mind of any worry Leliana had stood up in a slight groan and smiled in her return. "We're back. All of us."
Soon Leliana had turned and looked to where Anders had been sitting, where he was still sleeping. Without much waiting on her part she had stepped closer towards him until she had been no more than that of a few feet away from him and began to kneel down. From this new perspective she had glanced up to him as if awaiting some kind of sign that he would wake up. Hesitantly she reached for his hand without thinking of what Fenris would have thought and had given it a light squeeze. If he was to wake up then she had wanted him to see her face first for many reasons.
"Anders, can you hear me?" She asked hesitantly, though her impatience didn't allow her to wait for an answer as she shifted her head some to look over her shoulder to where Rhy's would have been. "Do you think he'll wake up soon?"
Upon seeing Leliana's reaction towards him, Fenris was more at ease than a soldier in this position probably should have been. Then again; he wanted to believe in Leliana's words and he wanted to believe that everything was truly going to be fine. Fenris wanted to believe in this so much that her words about "all of us" had passed by his perfect hearing even then.
"Thank goodness…" Fenris sighed and finally started to move from the wall; in his walk towards them. However, his movements had slowed a bit when he saw Leliana rushing towards Anders's side and looking up at him from the chair he sat in at that time.
When she had called to him, and after getting no reaction; Rhys had shrugged a little in response to her words. "I… can't really say."
"It seemed like during the first time, that mage just awoke and walked right out of the enchanted area." Evangeline answered and glanced towards Rhys for any confirmation.
Though after the silence given, Anders had started to open his eyes and see on his own. For the first time, in—well Anders didn't really know for how long—the mage was able to view the world with his own eyes once more. He looked towards Leliana-and her face had been the first thing that he saw.
"Leli—" He croaked at first; and then as if all movement had sprung into action, Anders had lunged forward and held onto Leliana as tightly as he could. The tears that started to swell from his eyes didn't stop, and his tumbling forward had nearly knocked them both to the ground at least until Anders had pulled back to sit back into his chair once more. "—Leliana!"