LOST IZALITH
The Gravelord and the Crossbreed looked on the ruined palace-laboratory of the Witch of Izalith. Though saying a mostly unfeeling skeleton was anxious would be too much, they both had some degree of trepidation. They were there as final guards, in case something went horribly wrong. The prophet had explained that killing the Bed would have been a simple process. Determining whether the creature was Quel herself, another sibling, or just a mere demon would be much more work.
Jeremiah and Quelaag stood on the last step before the throne room solemnly, Lex seated behind his wife's torso on a fireproof saddle. Quelara coughed nervously as Vamos, wearing his golden helmet at last, adjusted the countless magic rings on her fingers and in her ears. Quelaav paced restlessly, still not quite used to having three legs instead of eight, while Kirk tried to calm her down. Several paces back so that her sisters wouldn't see her, Quelana blushed under her hood and gripped Laurentius' hand tightly. Quella towered in the middle distance, ready to break through the roof if he was ever needed.
"Let us begin," the King said quietly.
He pushed through the fog, and the others were swiftly behind him. Directly beyond it was a smooth stone ramp, to prevent any experimental monsters from escaping. The Witch had hardly counted on how powerful the Chaos demons would be. As such, while Quelaag and Quelaav had no problems, the others found no traction on the surface and quickly began the slide into the heart of the Chaos. Lex raised his talisman as Quelaag quickly raced ahead of the others.
Woo!
Oh yeah!
Rolling around at the speed of sound!
Got places to go, got to follow my rainbow!
Can't stick around, have to keep moving on!
Guess what lies ahead, only one to find out!
Must keep on moving ahead!
No time for guessing, follow my plan instead!
Trusting in what you can't see!
Take my lead, I'll set you free!
Follow me, set me free!
Trust me, and we'll escape from the city!
I'll make it through, follow me!
Follow me, set me free!
Truste me, and we'll escape from the city!
I'll make it through, prove it to you!
Follow me!
Oh yeah!
The spider demon shot out of the end of the tunnel like a bullet, a trail of divine power streaming behind her as she kicked into the air and over the throne. Jeremiah and Quelara shimmered like heat haze as they raced to opposite sides of the chamber at breakneck speeds. They quickly cut the golden sealing vines with ritual glass knives, then swung their whips at roots hanging overhead and dashed up the walls. Without warning, the immense mass of vines growing from the throne bolted upright, revealing its humanoid form and shrieking like a mandrake. A perfect sphere of flame rose above its head, and great skeletal scythes aflame erupted from it. As the monster tested its newfound strength and freedom, the ancient stone of the palace began to crumble beneath the group.
"Kirk, Vamos, now!"
The Knight of Thorns ran at the blacksmith, who stood at the edge of safety. Kirk jumped into Vamos' waiting hands, and the powerful old bones snapped back as if raising a hammer. The Knight sprung into the air, over the sweeping tendrils of the Bed and into a hole in the floor directly in front of it. His thorned armor easily caught hold of a broad root, and he rolled to his feet as he rushed beneath the demon. Abruptly, it crashed back down in front of him.
"I'm blocked!" he shouted as he faced down the eyeless head, fending off vine-like "hair" with his small shield.
"Not this again," Lex grumbled. "Quelaag?"
"Does it look like I'm anywhere near done?" she hissed as she continued running across the ceiling, weaving an elaborate web.
"Kirk!" Quelaav yelped.
The rest of the group had been waiting near the entrance while the plan unfolded, but now the Aquila demon stepped forward. She flapped her six wings rhythmically and slowly began to lift off the ground. Her flight was more like an insect's than a bird's as she buzzed left and right out of the way of danger without turning, but she quickly made her way into the seemingly bottomless pit beneath the Bed. Kirk had been forced to retreat to a lower supporting vine as smaller ones came after him in greater numbers, but seeing Quelaav, he grabbed hold of one of his attackers and swung himself up to her. As he arced through the air, she quickly caught him between two of her talons and flew straight up.
As vines rushed out of the floor to chase after them, Lex swung past on a spare thread and hacked away at them. The Bed shrieked again and rose to face him. As it lashed at him with its burning bones, he rolled his body rhythmically to keep the thread swinging out of danger.
"So!" he said awkwardly. "Hi, I guess! I'm, uh, uh, uh, well, uh, hi!"
"Grow a spine!" Quelaag shouted from above.
"That's rich coming from an invertebrate!" He sighed before continuing, "So anyway, I'm Lex, Quelaag's husband! Nice to meet you! Obviously, we couldn't invite you to the wedding because you'd have killed everyone, but it was nice!"
Now, instead of flailing wildly, the Bed tried to crush him between its palms like a fly. Quelaav quickly jerked the thread, yanking him up and out of danger at the last moment.
"Whoa! Thanks, imouto!"
He quickly twisted his hips and swung toward the Bed instead, jumping to land on its shoulder.
"You know, I was always disappointed that no one really tried to integrate Shadow of the Colossus gameplay. That should have been the beginning of a new genre."
The tree-woman swatted at him like a mosquito, but he hopped aside. As he awkwardly rolled across the stone bark, the flame entity that rose above it swatted at him with its tendrils of burning bone.
"So there are-"
He ducked under a blazing scythe.
"-a lot of plot holes in the sequel, but-"
The tree body jerked and tried to buck him off.
"-the Lost Sinner actually seemed to be-"
A wave of burning tendrils swept across the back, and he was forced to quickly clamber up onto the Bed's head.
"-pretty lucid, actually. To say nothing of Aldia, but he's a Mary Sue anyway. So the question becomes why one of the original Lords went utterly insane when these random Undead didn't."
The hair tentacles quickly bound his arms and legs so he couldn't get away again.
"You probably want to get this cut with all the fire around. When I had long hair, I almost caught it on fire when I was lighting a Bunsen burner in chemistry class. Anyway. Quelaag! Help!"
The second daughter shook her head and sighed.
"Sister, Father, on my mark!"
Quelara and Jeremiah readied themselves from their positions on the sides of the domed roof while Quelaag centered herself above the Bed.
"Mark!"
The crown princess and the king swung down on singular threads. As they reached the ends of their arcs, the bits of web anchoring them to the ceiling slipped loose, and they swung lower and faster. Point after point fell loose from the ceiling, each thread connected to three more. In the blink of an eye, Quelara and Jeremiah swung under the Bed and past each other, tumbling to safety on the opposite sides of the chamber. An enormous net of fireproof demon-silk bound not just the physical body of the tree-woman but the body of Chaos flame that hovered above it as well.
Now, Quelana and Laurentius stepped forward. The last uncorrupted Daughter began weaving another seal, drawing burning glyphs in the air with the might of her soul. Her apprentice followed suit, though his own patterns were crude and misshapen. The brands began to shoot through the air, binding to the stone flesh of the Bed. The tree-woman shrieked again but was held firmly by the strength of the net.
Satisfied with her handiwork, Quelaag swung down to Lex. By now, he'd been crushed half to death, but freeing him was a simple matter. She hacked through the tendrils violently, using nothing but the jagged edges of her sword since fire wouldn't work.
"Remind me to have someone else cut my hair," the prophet choked out as he caught his breath.
She yanked him out from under the net and threw him onto her back before any vines could snake out after him.
"Kirk, try now!" she barked.
He nodded, and Quelaav hovered down to drop him into the pit again. Just as she was about to let go, however, the sound of a rope snapping echoed through the chamber. All eyes went to the net, looking for a break. More and more snaps rang out from the Bed like a strand of firecrackers until it became a continuous ripping. The Bed's tiny insect wings buzzed, and it raised itself up straight with its four arms.
Still more of the floor broke away as roots burst up from below. They twisted until they broke, and the Bed of Chaos rose on crude legs. It staggered forward over the pit, still bound but bent on stopping Quelana and Laurentius. Quelaav quickly swept backward, interposing herself between her mother and sister. She grasped her hands together as if in prayer, and columns of sunfire burst from the floor in front of her, blocking the Bed's passage like Gwyn's golden fog.
As the pillars receded, she dropped Kirk and backed away while Vamos stepped to the fore with a greataxe and spider shield. Still trapped by the net, the Bed simply fell forward in an attempt to ram through them and into the pyromancers. The Knight and the blacksmith grit their teeth and raised their shields as the raging behemoth plowed into them. They were pushed back but managed to keep their footing as the demon was unexpectedly slowed. Behind it, two new threads were hastily lashed onto its newfound legs.
Quelaag dragged one leg out from under it with the stability of her multi-legged body, while Lex, Quelara, and Jeremiah struggled to avoid being dragged along by the other strand. Still, the combined effort halted the monster's charge, and gave Quelara enough time to finish her incantations. Vines not under the demon archtree's command erupted from the broken earth and wrenched it to the floor. As it tried to rise again and to slash at its restraints with its burning bone blades, still more wrapped around it, growing tighter and tighter. A ring of arcane runes formed an absolute boundary around the Bed, through which it could never pass.
"Well, not quite according to plan, but that worked out well enough, I guess," Lex said, sighing. "Now who wants to see the totally gross maggot?"
Though both the tree body and the flame body writhed against the bindings, the Bed was no more able to free itself than Beatrice had been.
"Do hurry," Quelana said quietly. "I can hardly bear to see Mother in this state. I don't think I could bear anything more."
"If there is no need for me, I'll remain here as well," Quelaav added.
"I'll stay with Laav," Kirk said quickly.
"I've done more than enough here," Vamos grumbled.
"I-if you don't mind, I want to stay as far away from madness as I can, Master Lex," Laurentius said at last.
Lex nodded, and he led Quelaag, Quelara, and Jeremiah into the sealed area. No sooner had he done so when the Bed screamed and unleashed a Chaos Firestorm.
"Oh, give it a rest!" Quelaag hissed as she walked through a column of flame unharmed. "Honestly, I can't believe that this thing could be Mother. It is utterly lacking in grace."
"We will see, Quelaag," Jeremiah said anxiously. "I hope that thou'rt right, for Quel's sake."
Lex led them to the throne, and without the bulk of the body there to block their way, the three humanoids were able to simply climb down into the insect's burrow without jumping onto the dangling root below. Quelaag, of course, had trouble fitting and was forced to hack through the roots as best she could. Flame burst from every direction as they descended, in a last desperate defense by the Bed. Lex and Jeremiah calmly evaded them, but here it became obvious that Quelara too was a demon, as she walked through the pillars of fire without flinching. At last, they came to end of the path, a small domed room of roots where something lay writhing.
It was a maggot the size of Siegmeyer's torso, an odd number of too-small misshapen legs flailing helplessly beneath it. It lay on its side, too fat to roll over and flee, and glowing eyes that struggled to remain open glared malevolently at the trespassers. At the end of its curled body was a long, trailing tail that led into the root formation.
"Right, so," Lex said awkwardly. "I wouldn't say I'm an expert on the matter, but this kind of looks, uh, you know, fetus-y. Right? I mentioned the Lost Sinner earlier – she had a bug like this but smaller that goes inside her eye and maybe controls her. Or maybe the bug is the Sinner. Hard to say."
The others grimaced and looked at the maggot carefully.
"That's beside the point," Quelara said at last. "Whatever this is, we need to decide if we can control it or if it must be destroyed. If we keep it, then we must find some means of taking it to the Firelink Altar. I, for one, don't want to take the risk. I was with Mother when this thing was created. Still, killing it means that one of us will be burdened with that corrupted Soul."
Quelaag nodded.
"I agree, sister. Birds eat fat, juicy bugs like this one. Velka would snatch it right up. If it would not be presumptuous, I volunteer to take Mother's Soul. I am the strongest of us and would be the most resistant to whatever madness it may cause."
Jeremiah ground his teeth.
"I do not wish to judge even this thing. I know what prejudice one mighteth experience for possessing terrible power. And I do not wish to lose Quel if there is any chance the creature is her. Most of all, though, I fear to lose any one of you shouldeth the power prove too great. If the decision is to slay the creature, then allow me take the Soul. It is the duty of a parent to beareth his children's burdens."
Lex shook his head.
"I don't think I have any right to vote on this," he said solemnly. "And since I've missed out on absorbing the other Lord Soul chunks, I don't know how stressful that is. Sorry, but I can't even offer foresight here."
Quelaag nodded.
"Then now is a good time to decide the matter of succession. If we believe that this creature is Mother, then Father is her regent. If we do not, then rule passes to sister. This is fair, is it not?"
They both nodded.
"Practically speaking, even if the maggot is Mother, she will be in no state to rule for the foreseeable future. We are deciding, in essence, who will command Izalith when it wages war on the world of man."
Quelara swallowed and licked her lips.
"I can't accept the crown in good conscience. Not while the Chaos still eats away at my body."
Jeremiah smiled.
"Likewise. A coward who fledeth when his people needed him has no right to leadeth them to glory."
They both looked at Quelaag expectantly. She snorted.
"You can't expect me to do it! How am I supposed to command the legions while I'm drowning in legislation?"
Quelara crossed her arms.
"Gwyn managed."
"And Vendrick and the Ivory King and Straid's BFF," Lex added.
"Traitor!" Quelaag hissed.
"So it's settled," Quelara chuckled. "The creature is not Mother, and I hereby abdicate. Take your inheritance, Witch of Izalith."
Quelaag sighed, grimacing.
"You had best remember this the next time you think of commanding me, sister."
She had remained a distance back due to the height of the burrow, but now she squeezed in as best she could. Dispassionately, she raised her Furysword, then in a single motion, lopped off the maggot's head. The power of the Bed leapt immediately from the corpse and into the aura of Chaos flame that cloaked the Daughter. It ran from the tip of her sword up her arm and across her entire body. She shuddered and dug her nails into her own arms.
"I… may have misjudged my own strength…" she wheezed.
Her eyes shone like lanterns, and when she opened her mouth, lava oozed out. Her spider wasn't much better off, a constant stream of lava drooling from its mouth, and its legs twitching one direction, then another. Both her own body and the spider's cracked and tore as gouts of flame spurted out. She took one deep breath after another.
"Quelara. Tell Quelana to ready another seal. I don't think I can-"
"Give me half of it."
She stared at Lex.
"What? Gwyn split his soul a bamillion times. Come on, let's do the Guardians of the Galaxy thing. Give me your hand."
Quelaag smirked.
"You're as incorrigible as you're irreverent. Asking someone to split their mother's soul, honestly?"
"Yeah, that does sound bad out of context," he said as she reached for his extended pyromancy flame.
The moment before they touched, there was a spark of power, and an instant later, the Flame of Chaos raced up his arm to consume him. This wasn't like before, a simple spell that used life force as fuel. His body burned, his mind burned, his soul burned. His darkest instincts sizzled at the forefront of his thoughts as his skin split to reveal vines underneath instead of muscle. Fortunately, the darkest instincts of a gamer were nothing like those of the hardened warriors who were usually Chosen.
He jerked Quelaag forward and kissed her savagely. As the Chaos Soul struggled to find equilibrium between them, she fumbled for the clips on his armor, and failing to find them, simply tore out the belts themselves. Even as the leather and steel dug into his flesh, the Flame within him regenerated his Undead body.
"Are you two going to-" Quelara started. When there was no response, she nodded and instead said, "Well, Father, I believe we should make ourselves scarce. Though I wonder if this brings back any memories. Sometimes the throne room was unexpectedly locked…"
Jeremiah turned away and started walking back up the burrow.
"A child should hardly inquireth about her parents' private matters. For what it is worth, your mother did once admitteth that the tradition of bare midriffs had no cultural basis. She constructed the norm from whole cloth as a feat of social engineering."
Quelara hurried after him before things got too heated.
"Wait, you mean to say that-"
"Indeed. There was no fertility symbolism to it. It was simply Quel's preference."
He rapped on his own exposed abs and laughed sadly as he headed back outside.