A/N: Hello my dearest Brothers and Sisters in darkness! I return to you with this! A new chapter! That was just so much fun to write! I rather enjoyed it, anyway. Let me know in a review if you did, too, and may the Dread Father whisper to you from the Void;)

Chapter 34: Oh, What a Performance!

Lucien was a wisp of blue next to me, and Shadowmere was racing along the uneven ground of Skyrim at breakneck speeds.

But it still felt slow. They're already there…. Please, let it have been a lie, let me pass them on the road; let them be camped around the corner….

But my silent prayers went unanswered.

We finally entered Falkreath Hold, and towards the end it became clear that the daedra have their limits. Shadowmere was coated in a slick sheen of sweat, panting heavily. Even Lucien in his ghost form was slowing down.

Then I heard the shouts, the commands. I dragged the reins to the right, off the main road. I smelt the heavy, thick smell of oil.

I howled, and threw myself off my steed, pulling out my daggers and charging at the first Pentius Oculatus agent. Lucien growled a curse behind me, and Shadowmere screamed.

And then there was chaos.

We attacked, and I dodged, kicked, cut, slashed and punched my way around the agents, doing my best to avoid the oil barrels and keep the fire away from them. Lucien followed a trio that ran off with a barrel, and a crash sounded through the forest, and the world stood still.

The cheers were enough to tell me the Sanctuary been breached. There was no more time to play. Thick smoke filled the air faster than I anticipated, and a sickening thought came to mind: the Sanctuary had been breached a long time ago, and something was caving in.

I had nothing left to lose, and I fought like it.

Instinct screamed at me to duck and roll out of the way when lightning arced past me and a freezing, violent blizzard tore through the remaining ranks of the agents. Perhaps three were still alive, and Lucien made quick and gleeful kills out of them. I ran towards where the magic had come from, thinking it was Festus who had blasted the agents.

Instead a strong golden hand grabbed my upper arm and pulled me to a stop.

"Alysa?"

I glared up into the golden eyes of Tawarthion the Dragonborn.

"Let go of me," I hissed, wrenching my arm out of his grip. "And while you're here, leave. This is none of your business!" I raced past, ignoring him and Uthgerd. I needed to get to the Sanctuary…. I threw myself over the boulders, whipping round to the door. Barrels of oil crowded by the door, both full and empty, and the Black Door was shattered. Only two agents lay dead outside.

My eyes widened in disbelief. "No…."

Weak, wet coughing made me snap my head up to a tree, and I felt the blood drain from my face, and hopeless fear seep into my body. "Festus… Festus, I'll get you down, I swear it to Sithis!" I cried, racing to the mage where he was pinned to the tree, at least ten arrows in his torso, two Imperial swords holding him in place against the thick trunk.
"Don't, Alysa, don't bother you idiot –" he wheezed, then coughed. Thick red blood pushing its way out of his veins, into his lungs. "I'm dead anyway, girl. Save the others. My Sithis and the Night Mother guide you, my Listener, and –" he coughed, blood spattering over my face.
"Festus… don't…." I stopped as he suddenly stopped, his face ashen. "Sithis take you to the Void."

I heard Tawarthion land heavily behind me, Uthgerd not far behind. "Sweet Ysmir…" she swore, noticing the Black Door for the first time. Lucien chuckled darkly from somewhere, talking about sending them to the Void for interfering.

"Enough, Speaker. We have a Sanctuary to save. Let them be for now, but kill them if they get in the way."

I snarled at the Black Door, at the smoke that started billowing out of it from the inner chambers. I started moving towards the passage.

"We'll help you, Alysa," Tawarthion said, surprising me. I turned to stare at him. Uthgerd was already protesting. "We'll help you clear this… Sanctuary, but that is all."
I dipped my head once. "Fine. Don't go any further than the main chamber, and help as many of my brothers and sisters get out as you can. Not that there are too many of us." I turned away and clambered over the rubble, following the black oil smoke into my home, my Sanctuary.

Just before the last flight of stairs into the Sanctuary, it shuddered and heaved, the Altmer and his companion slipping down the stairs in their steel. I stumbled sideways, but quickly rightened myself when the shuddering stopped. Two agents stood huddled around something, and one sneered at something on the ground to tell who had betrayed the Brotherhood, they wanted to know. I snarled, launching myself at two agents. They turned, and one threw me against an opposite wall, knocking the wind out of me. Calm down! Emotion won't save anyone! I gasped desperately, looking behind them as Uthgerd and Tar took them on. Veezara lay on the floor, bloody, cut and dying. The Shadowscale seemed to be on the last stretches of his life. "Veezara!" I managed, crawling over to the Argonian.

The Sanctuary shook again, and a section of the roof caved in where Astrid used to sleep. "Alysa…" he breathed, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Take him outside, heal him as much as you can!" I hissed at the Altmer.

"Wait, Alysa, there is another one like me… another Shadowscale. In Arkngthamz, the ruin I visited. You have to find her!" he demanded, a wild look in his eyes as he tried to grab me. "She must know, she has to…."
"You'll find her, Shadowscale. Go with them," I moved back, standing as the Dragonborn lifted the limp Argonian, trying to be gentle as Uthgerd helped carry him out.

Both the elf and the older Nord gritted their teeth, whether it was annoyance at being inside the Sanctuary, or because they, like I, believed Veezara would die, I wasn't sure. I didn't even know why I had tried to comfort him – I suppose it was the shock that I was finally experiencing what Cicero had, back in Bruma and Cheydinhal. No wonder he had lost his mind…. I shook my head, now wasn't the time to think. "Lucien!" I called, running deeper inside where the flames roared and licked hungrily at the stone. The stairs were crumbling and falling away – I had to jump down to reach the main chamber.

Arnbjorn was surrounded by six Oculatus agents. They clearly thought they were winning, with their wet rags tied over their noses and mouths while Arnbjorn coughed from the black smoke. But then he smiled, feral and wild, throwing down the axe he carried.

And he roared, ripping through his armor as he phased into the mealy white werewolf. Two immediately dropped their weapons and ran for the exit.

They didn't make it, and the stink of fear was beginning to fill the place as heavily as the smoke. Arnbjorn was bloody, his fur crimson and black in the harsh firelight. There were two agents left, one distracting him and leading him to a fire. The other snuck around to the side, and behind him.

I ran forwards, shouting his name even as I gulped in the smoke.

But I was too late.

Arnbjorn killed the decoy, and as he stood on his back legs, his back exposed to the agent behind, a sharp whine escaped him, and his wolf head jerked down to his chest. He slowly changed down to his human form, stumbling forwards and falling onto his knees when the agent grabbed his sword, pushing his foot against Arnbjorn's back to help pull it out. "Fools! You shall join our Father in the Void!" Lucien roared, a blue wisp ahead of me to kill the agent. I raced in deeper, passing by Gabriella's corpse, a strangely peaceful look on her face as she lay beside Lis, Babette's pet.

Seri fought back to back with Nazir, but they were both bloody and tired, Nazir was bleeding from his side.

I jumped in, fighting with them and coughing in the thick smoke. The dining table and chairs were burning, and the wooden stairs to the sleeping quarters weren't burning. Yet. Lucien was defeated in this fight, and when the last agent still stood, his blade caught Seri by surprise, and sliced across the soft flesh of her stomach. I howled, driving my daggers home into his face and neck, hauling them out as brains and blood splattered over me, the floor. Nazir had caught Seri as she tried desperately to hold her guts together. "I'm so sorry!" she gasped, her green eyes watering and wild with fear and remorse. "I'm so sorry Alysa! I never knew – I didn't mean –!" she stopped, sobbing, then died.

I glared down at my daggers as angry tears welled and fell. Nazir set her body down, clutching his side. For the first time I felt the sting of cuts over my arms, legs, the pounding of bruises elsewhere.

I coughed, my eyes watering even more from the smoke. "So you're alive, then? I was beginning to wonder," Nazir said, standing, his scimitar dragging on the stones.
I nodded, and headed for the stairs. "It was a trap! Someone from the inside set us up!" I scowled, thinking it would be better to leave Astrid out of it until I could find that bitch.
"I figured as much, since almost everyone is dead. I'll admit I thought it was you until you saved my sorry ass just now!" he rumbled with a grin, coughing a little as we reached the top of the stairs.
I snorted, throwing him a half-grin.

The Sanctuary shuddered violently, heaving and groaning.

"We have to get out before the place crumbles around us, Nazir! Go! We can talk later!"

"Some words of wisdom you have there, Alysa!" he sheathed his scimitar, immediately clutching his side and started running. We passed through the corridors, but I was falling behind as I stumbled along, losing my footing as the cavern continued to shake.

I was going to die inside my home, I realized. But I wasn't afraid – I didn't feel peace, though, either.

I was numb to the thought of death.

Come to me, my Listener, and embrace my ancient bones….

I followed the call without thought, running to the Night Mother's coffin and shutting myself inside, coughing violently from all the smoke in the air. I gasped in the cold and clear air, tasting the oils on my tongue as I gasped desperately, trying to stay awake.

A sudden thought came to me as I struggled to keep my eyes open, struggled to stay rooted in this moment: where were Uvelaes and Aventus? And what about Babette? Did she make it out, or has she perished in the fires, with nothing left to say she had lived?

Would Tawarthion help those who made it out? Or would he call others to kill my siblings? Would any of the others come in looking for me?

Sleep, my Listener, and embrace your fate on this day, this one, true –

A violent crash blocked out the rest of her words, and the coffin lurched, falling, and I tossed about inside, finally cracking my head against something metal.

Voices, voices – so many voices to hear. There was a butcher and then there wasn't. There was a mother and a father, and they would not speak. Not to him – me, us? Them? And then it was the end, and then she came along, when everything was broken and being fixed and then she left…. And then there was that special lesson, and so everything changed again, with another she and a pet and a great many others, and then the family was happy, together, growing. Thriving, even. And there she was again, and then terrible things happened, and wonderful things, and things that may never happen again in this nothingness. This absolute nothingness….

Voices… I hear voices….

I could only breathe; the blackness surrounding my head, pulling down on my body was too heavy and thick to allow anything else. They were calling, or singing, or screaming – I didn't know, couldn't really hear that well. There was too much around me which affected my senses. A few crashes sounded, and the shouting got louder and louder, until a shrill voice shouted nearby, sounding exasperated.

"I'm telling you, she's in there!"
"Why would –?!"
The voices continued arguing until a slightly silky and smooth voice interrupted. "– out, either way."

I wished I could hear everything they were saying, whoever they were. Would they wake me up, take me out of this blackness I was in? I wanted them to lift me, and put me in a proper bed. I was horribly uncomfortable, lying on something hard and strange-smelling and inside something cold.

I was close to drifting off again when I was jerked awake by something which made what I was inside to lurch in a direction. My eyes flew open in shock, only to see a dark shape in front of me. I searched my mind: what had happened? What was in front of me?

"Hurry, you three! I'm telling you, she's in there! Stop huffing and start pulling!" a young voice called – the same shrill one from earlier.
"Shut up you stupid she-devil! We're going as… uh! As fast… yyyyeeeeaaaarrrrrrggggg! As we… nnnyyyyaaaahhhhhhh! Can!" a deeper voice huffed, apparently pulling or pushing something close to me.
"I don't see you helping!" a young man called, grunting from some kind of effort.
"I wasn't exactly made for manual labor, in case you haven't noticed…" the shrill voice replied slyly.

Whatever I was inside rocked and swayed a little.

"How sure are you that she'll be inside, Child?" a calmer, male voice asked. There was something funny about his voice, something hiding underneath it….
"No sane Nord would hide from a fire in that, no matter what kind of… profession… she follows," an older woman spat out. Her voice was familiar, too. How did I know these people?

I lurched forwards, my head connecting with – apparently metal – above my head. I swore, my hands reaching for my painful and tender head.

"See?! I told you she was inside there! Open it up, open it up!" the shrill voice shouted excitedly.

Shut up, I thought.

"Alright, here we go…" the silky voice stage-whispered, counting to three.

Suddenly a dim glow came in from above, and I stared right into the gaping maw of the Night Mother. I gasped in shock, squealing as I rocketed out of the coffin and fell over onto my back.

Everything came rushing back as someone with small, cold hands touched my forehead. I groaned loudly, prying my eyes open to look into the concerned brown eyes of Babette. Uvelaes was hovering by the coffin, and Aventus came with a waterskin. Nazir was huffing and swearing elsewhere, judging by the deep rumble I heard.

"Thank Sithis we're alive," I breathed, throwing an arm over my eyes before rubbing my face. Aventus helped my sit up, and held up the waterskin. I drank slowly from it, and I tried to ignore Babette's insistent prodding all over my body. I knew she meant well, but I hurt everywhere.

"Hm, drink this," she finally said, snapping her fingers at someone behind me. Heavy footsteps moved and metal chimed and chinked as the person came closer. I turned stiffly to see that Tawarthion and Uthgerd were still here, and he held out a potent looking potion. The elf offered me a small smile, his eyes glancing over the Night Mother and her coffin curiously, cautiously. Babette took the deep pink potion and uncorked it, holding it out to me. "Drink, Alysa," she commanded, her eyes glowing red briefly.

"She-devil," I muttered to myself as I automatically reached for the potion, pretending that she hadn't used an Illusion spell on me.

I felt better once I had seen everyone around me was still alive and alright. Veezara was on the border, apparently, and there was nothing more Babette or any skilled healer could do for him now. My siblings were just as wary of the Dragonborn and his companion as they were of my siblings.

"What happens now, that they've seen us and know who we are, Listener?" Uvelaes asked much later, once we had cleared an area enough to set up a small camp. Tawarthion and Uthgerd stood to one side, watching us carefully.
I shook my head, standing up and brushing off dust and ashes from my battered armor. "Nothing. Nothing happens unless they decide to tell the Empire or the Stormcloaks about us and that we have survived."

Uthgerd looked shocked, Nazir was outraged. "Enough, no – they will leave here, now." I looked up at the Dragonborn. "You still have to save us all from the World-Eater, don't you, Dragonborn?"

The remaining members of my Family went silent – he was the Dragonborn I had spoken of? I smirked at the elf. "Now you know what I do for people, and how I 'get things done'. Anyway, you should go. Lisette is probably worried about you, and like I said, you need to save the world from Alduin. Never mind the fact that I'd probably lose to you if it ever came down to a fight," I threw him a tired grin.

The Altmer chuckled wryly, running his fingers through his long auburn hair and glanced around the cavern. "I don't suppose you can stay here, with all the damage it's taken."
"Don't worry about us – there are a few tricks up our sleeves. Mine, especially," I replied, thinking of the Dawnstar Sanctuary. Very few – if any – of my siblings knew about its existence, and I preferred it that way.
"Very well, then. We'll take our leave." Tar said, turning to a pack on the floor and hoisting it onto his shoulders. "But before I forget…. This is yours, Alysa," he pulled out a long red scarf I recognized as the one I has lost in somewhere on the way back from my trip to Dawnstar. "Thanks," I muttered automatically, taking the scarf from him. I could feel the incredulous eyes of my siblings on us. "If you ever need someone taken care of… discretely, you know who to talk to."
He snorted. "I doubt that would ever happen, but I suppose it's a generous offer, anyway. Farewell, Alysa Ice-Wrath."

Uthgerd only narrowed her eyes, looking me over with a mild look of disgust before she followed the elf out. I felt my lips pull into a wry smile as I twisted my scarf in my hands.

My Listener….

I looked up, cocking my head towards the Night Mother's coffin.

Astrid is still alive, within the Sanctuary, and you must speak with her.

So the pretender-bitch was still alive, then? She'll be praying that she died in the fire before long.