Chapter 11
Rainbow Face Down
"My, my ... all things considered, you're a little far beyond the comfort of home, but then again, so are we," came a masculine voice.
Littlefoot had heard a great many things in his life. He'd charged forth in the face of roars, ignored snarls and screeches by the legions. His tail unleashed thunder like the roaring sky itself. No such things gave him pause, but those five words, uttered by that one voice? They hit harder than anything he had heard in a long time. He couldn't help but stare. They were there, after all those years.
The Rainbow Faces.
He knew he was supposed to reply, but his mind didn't comply. Littlefoot had fantasised about this day. He was supposed to be fighting back a tide of questions gushing from his mouth. Instead, only the howl of mountain wind met his ears. The breeze scattered a smattering of particles from copious dust coating the floor, accentuating the lack of activity. At the back of his mind, he noted that there wasn't supposed to be this much dust, but that was hardly relevant. Perhaps it was the abrupt change of circumstances: One moment, all his fears were coming to fruition. The next, they weren't. His mind was still galloping. It would take a while to accept the current reality for what it was ... whatever it was.
After several moments of awkward staring, the second Rainbow Face leant over to her counterpart.
"I don't think he remembers us," she suggested.
"What?" Littlefoot and the first blurted.
"They're not that dumb!" chastised her partner.
She shrugged. "I know. I was merely eliciting a response that was marginally more amusing than it had to be."
The way he stared at her? Littlefoot would have thought she'd sprouted a second tail.
"The world's not going to end because I have a sense of humour!" she snapped before turning to leave with a huff. "I'll go find the oviraptors. My social battery must remain on power-saving mode, lest it cannibalise my sanity."
Her counterpart continued to stare as she darted into the forest.
Littlefoot did a double take. She looked to be every bit as fast as Ruby and her siblings. Dare he say, faster. What were the odds of that? Stranger still, he had the uncanny feeling that she had ... taken something with her. He hadn't noticed it initially, but something felt different since The Rainbow Faces had arrived. It tickled at the edges of his senses, like the faintest whisper or the lightest touch. Was it in the air, the light or the sound? Perhaps the mere ambiance of everything around him? Either way, some of it had gone with her, leaving only that which remained with her partner.
"We haven't slept in weeks, and she finds prolonged social interaction to be taxing," he explained. "I, on the other hand, derive invigorating fascination from the presence of people! Our contrasting personalities are supposed to facilitate great teamwork ... and they do!"
"You do not sound convinced!" the other Rainbow Face shouted from the distance.
How she heard him was beyond Littlefoot.
Her unsurprised counterpart rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "In any event, she does what I won't do, and I do what she will not. When either of us goes too far, we pull each other back and combine the best of both worlds."
"Your amendment is acceptable!" she interjected again.
The Rainbow Face sighed as his gaze glazed with nostalgia. "Make no mistake ... she has one of the biggest hearts you will ever find. She merely keeps it vaulted away behind a veil of practicality and apathy. Of course, I'm not supposed to know that."
He paused, staring in her direction with a sly 'gotcha' smile.
She said nothing.
"... Well?" he goaded.
"Well, what?" she spat icily. "I don't entertain propaganda."
The male broke into laughter.
~They're just like Cera and I,~ Littlefoot thought, before his friend's wellbeing came to mind. "U-um ... excuse me for a moment, please."
Littlefoot hastened to get a better look at Cera. There she lay in the riverbed, alone and intact, as far as he could see. That didn't mean that she was okay. Then she began to snore. It was almost startlingly loud.
He squinted at her, concerned and confused.
"Cera's fine," the Rainbow Face assured. "She should be waking up soon."
"How do you know for sure?" asked Littlefoot.
"We healed her the moment we got here," smiled the Rainbow Face. "We healed most of you."
Littlefoot frowned and drew his tail in front of him, staring long and hard in disbelief. He flexed and examined it from various angles. Not a scratch. It wasn't even sore. If he was, somehow, in perfect condition, it stood to reason that Cera was as well.
"Ho ... how did-? I-it's not even ..." Littlefoot took a deep breath, steadied his thoughts and exhaled heavily. ~One mind boggling thing at a time.~ "Thank you ... so much. I think we would be dead or dying if you didn't step in. Wait, you healed 'most of' us?"
"We're not sure where Zircon and Amethyst are, but Zenith is looking for them. If they need healing, we'll provide it."
"'Zenith' ..." Littlefoot mused. "So that's her name. What should I call you?"
"That would be telling, wouldn't it?" the Rainbow Face winked.
Littlefoot's eye twitched.
The Rainbow Face laughed. "Just kidding! The time for taciturnity is over! My name is Apogee. It's a pleasure to properly make your acquaintance."
"The feeling's mutual," Littlefoot beamed.
His smile grew brighter as it sunk in: his friends were going to be okay, and he'd reconnected with two of the people he'd desired to see most for over half his life.
"I can't believe you're here!" Littlefoot gushed. "It's been ages! How are you guys?"
Apogee shrugged. "Sleepy and apprehensive, but otherwise fine."
"Ah, of course," Littlefoot replied. "Does that have anything to do with us? Are you tired from travelling here?"
"Yes and yes," Apogee replied.
"Sorry," Littlefoot sheepishly apologised.
Apogee shook his head. "Don't be. We have other reasons for being here."
~So do I,~ Littlefoot recalled. "Hang on a sec, there's a herd nearby. I gotta check on them."
"They're fine as well," Apogee assured.
Littlefoot glanced about. "Where are all the biters? There's no way they could have run off that quickly."
"They're, uh ..." Apogee awkwardly rubbed his arm. "Technically, they're still here. You just wouldn't recognise them ... in their current condition."
Apogee stared at one of many piles of dust as the wind nibbled its crest.
A chill ran down Littlefoot's spine as a sinking feeling curdled in his gut.
Apogee sighed. "If it's any consolation, all data strongly suggests that most of them would have been a big problem for you later. Those who might not be are still out and about, albeit cowering throughout the valley. One of them is stuck up a tree."
Littlefoot swallowed hard. "I see ... how do you know all this? Where my friends are, where the biters are ... you even know the names of Ruby's siblings. We didn't even know them, until now!"
Apogee grinned. "Long story short? The trees have eyes."
Littlefoot blinked at him, suffering a bad case of logical indigestion. "... Okay ... then how come you don't know where the fast runners are?"
Apogee frowned. "I am uncertain. It's as though they've vanished off the face of the Earth. I fear that-"
"Help us, please! P-please, help us!"
A purple fast runner emerging from the jungle, carrying a swimmer who appeared to be unconscious.
Apogee took one look at her.
([~])
[LOADING TIER 1 BATTLE PROTOCOL]
[~]
```[PSEUDOSOMATIC FUNCTIONS]
``````[Tier 1 Psychosomatic Inhibitors: UNLOCKED.]
``````[Cognitive Acceleration Factor: 7]
``````[Organic Processor Cap: 33.333%]
``````[Optimisation: DEFENSE]
``````[MyoMega Fibres: ACTIVATED.]
``````[Dermal Nano Armour: ACTIVATED.]
``````[Adipose Nano Armour: ACTIVATED.]
``````[Vascular Liquid Armour: ACTIVATED.]
``````[Peak Functionality: 33.333% of Recommended Maximum]
[~]
```[Antitech: ACTIVATED]
[~]
```[Tier 1 M.I.S.T (Microscopic Intuitive Synergistic Technology) Battle Configuration: ENGAGING]
``````[Emphasis: DEFENSE]
``````[Signal Fidelity: 98.8%]
``````[Shield Behaviour: ACTIVATED - Integrity: 99.1%]
``````[Energy Reserves: 97.3%]
``````[A.E.R.A (Ambient Energy Readily Available): 24%]
``````[Energy Output: 36%]
``````[Energy Transmission Fidelity: 98.5%]
``````[Concentrating Unit Distribution]
``````[Cloaking Integrity: 92.1%]
``````[Emergency Microforging: ON STANDBY]
[~]
```[Cold Fire: ON STANDBY]
[~]
```[Time Elapsed: 0.021 seconds]
([~])
Littlefoot immediately stepped forward. Something moved with him, or rather past him. The sensation was akin to Petrie swooping over his head, or Ducky wading past his ankles. However, it was everywhere. It tingled, almost buzzed. Was it him, or had the sky developed the slightest tint of red? In light of Amethyst's plight, such questions would have to wait.
"What's wrong?" he asked her.
(~Don't react. Stay put. I'll handle this,~) instructed Apogee.
Littlefoot resisted the urge to nod, but something was off about the Rainbow Face's voice. It sounded too close. No, more than that. It almost seemed as though imagined rather than heard. He didn't risk a glance, but if what he saw at the edge of his vision meant anything, Apogee's mouth had not moved.
Amethyst practically tripped over her words. "A-a black biter attacked us a-and-!"
"It's behind you!" Apogee exclaimed, pointing.
Her eyes widened as she looked back.
He blurred towards her, faster than anyone Littlefoot had ever seen. There was no way Amethyst could move like that ... and yet ... she did. Amethyst whisked aside and Apogee caught nothing but air, until she hurled the swimmer at him.
Littlefoot's heart practically stopped.
Apogee's paws shot up and snatched the swimmer from the air with the utmost care. That simple act was all the time it took for Amethyst to close the distance. At their speed, Littlefoot almost didn't see Apogee raise his leg. He heard the kick, though. It didn't sound like a kick. More like the noise Spike's tail made on impact.
The force of the blow threw them apart. The slightest hint of rainbows and something black flashed between the impact.
([~])
[WARNING!]
[~]
```[ENEMY ANTITECH DETECTED!]
``````[SHIELD-BREACHING EFFICIENCY: HIGH MODERATE]
[~]
```[COMPETING M.I.S.T. DETECTED!]
``````[THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE]
([~])
He crashed to his side, cradling the swimmer.
Mid-fall, Amethyst pushed herself to her feet with her tail. She zoomed at him.
He extended a paw towards her.
([~])
```[M.I.S.T. Construct]
``````[RH3MA Resonator 8.1]
``````[Configuration 1.1]
([~])
Amethyst pounced.
The way she raised her talons ... it almost looked like the lunge of a fast biter. Suddenly, she shrieked and flew back as though struck, but nothing had hit her. At least, nothing Littlefoot could spot. However, there was something new in the air: a throbbing hum that tickled his scales.
Amethyst attempted to rise, but the hum intensified. She fell to her knees. Littlefoot knew that some sounds could be felt, but not like this. Never like this. He could feel it pulsing through his flesh, his bones, his teeth: an insidious thing reaching inside him. It was ever-changing, held together by a thread of consistency, like a song, that didn't belong in this world. Was this 'song' hurting Amethyst?
Apogee pivoted to a stand. He didn't push off the ground or even roll to his feet. He simply did it, as though pulled upright by a friend who didn't exist. At no point did his paw cease reaching towards her. However, it wasn't just a paw anymore. Something had enveloped it, down to his elbow: green like his scales, albeit nuanced with rainbowed iridescence. It was smooth, with a vague glint to it, reminding Littlefoot of the texture of a crawler's shell. Its end widened into concentric rings, smooth and shiny like wet river stones, but they were nothing compared to the rings forming around it. Those ones touched nothing but air, pulsing with the frantic beat of the hum. They were beautiful, like misty, rainbow haloes that pulsed and danced to the song of the hum. In a blink, they shot forth and multiplied into a tunnel of rings bridging the distance between Apogee and Amethyst. Each ring morphed into a form more elaborate than the last, ever-changing with the hum's tonal shifts. They tightened and the hum silenced to a whisper. Whisper or not, it was affecting her more than ever. Were those rings ... focusing the sound upon her?
Amethyst heaved and spasmed.
Apogee's face was stone cold.
Littlefoot's unthinking, defensive instincts flared. At this rate, Apogee would end her! The longneck moved to help the runner, but stopped halfway as his mind had caught up with him. 'Amethyst' threw a swimmer child. Perhaps this was a giant misunderstanding. Maybe she had a history with Apogee, but the way she moved, the way she fought? A frightening theory had spawned within his mind. Its absurdity was such that neither imagination nor insanity could conceive it, but considering the 'impossibilities' he witnessed that the day? It was eerily likely.
Furthermore, it proved to be correct.
'Amethyst' released a guttural snarl as her purple scales rippled, rose and rent like the storm-torn surface of The Big Water. They began to tear away, revealing scales black as midnight; savage teeth of unworldly white, in jaws too long to fit within her snout.
The thing beneath the purple scales screeched.
Littlefoot staggered back. It was like claws to the ears, undulating in pattern like the Rainbow Face's hum, yet completely disharmonic.
([~])
[WARNING!]
```[ENEMY RESONANT ATTACK DEPLOYED!]
``````[TARGETED RESONATING FREQUENCIES MATCH USER M.I.S.T. AND SAURIAN NOCICEPTOR PROTEINS!]
([~])
Pure, primal pain tore at Littlefoot's every scale, digging deep into his flesh as it sought to tear out his very soul.
Apogee's singing rings pulsed all the harder.
([~])
[WARNING!]
```[ENEMY FREQUENCIES SYNCING RAPIDLY!]
``````[RESULT: ANTINOISE]
([~])
For a moment, the world grew silent. Wind blew, but it didn't even whisper. Beyond the ringing in his ears, Littlefoot could vaguely make out the otherworldly hums, but they sounded distant. The eldritch tension in the air was almost painful. He felt his scales crawl as those sounds danced back and forth across the outer fringes of his hearing, faster and faster. His head spun. This was a battle for dominance beyond his comprehension.
The black being's jaws gaped in a perpetual, nigh-silent scream. All semblance of Amethyst had been stripped away. What remained was the shadowy thing shaped like a fast biter.
Apogee's singing rings never faltered.
For a time, they seemed locked in a dead heat of equal might, until Apogee aimed the singing rings a little lower.
The ground consumed the biter's legs like water before a column of dirt erupted beneath him.
Littlefoot gawked. He doubted a biter could survive that. And yet ...
A blur of black shot from the dirt cloud, crescent like The Night Circle. Apogee threw himself to the side. His speed failed him as it streaked through his elbow. The singing ring maker fell, paw and all.
There was no blood.
The black biter blazed from the dust on the heels of the crescent thing. Apogee's singing rings had yet to hit the ground before the biter rammed his chest with rib-collapsing force. Blink and you'd miss it, but the impact was laced with the faintest burst of black and rainbowed mist.
Apogee dropped.
With a purr, the biter snared down at his vanquished victim. He slowly turned his gaze upon Littlefoot.
The longneck adopted a battle stance. He thunder-cracked a threat from his tail.
Without so much as a blink, the black biter sauntered towards Littlefoot.
([~])
[LOADING TIER 3 BATTLE PROTOCOL]
[~]
```[PSEUDOSOMATIC FUNCTIONS]
``````[Tier 3 Psychosomatic Inhibitors: UNLOCKED]
``````[Cognitive Acceleration Factor: 18]
``````[Organic Processor Cap: 100%]
``````[Optimisation: OFFENSE]
``````[Pain Receptors: OFFLINE]
``````[Peak Functionality: 100% Recommended Maximum]
```[ENGAGING COLD FIRE]
``````[Quantum Processors: ONLINE]
``````[Quantum Interface: ONLINE]
``````[Cold Fire: ENGAGED]
[~]
[Time Elapsed: 0.031 seconds.]
([~])
The black biter stopped.
His head whipped towards Apogee. What greeted him was the sight of icy blue and white flames nuanced with rainbow hues, and they were about to engulf him. The biter's scream was abysmal, melding with the ethereal song of the flames. Those flames dragged him off the ground and threw him into a tree trunk at breakneck speed. It cracked. Barely had it begun to fall before the biter was flung into another: trees and rocks all broke against his sorry body. It was all at the command of Apogee's upraised paw, sweeping back and forth, casting cold fire without burning as the biter's body mirroring its movements. Wasn't that the same paw he had lost a moment earlier?
Littlefoot's jaw dropped as he took a step back. This vicious display reminded him of the way sharpteeth shook their catches, but even Red Claw was gentle compared to this. Not for the first time, it occurred to him that he didn't know what The Rainbow Faces were. He knew they were not what they appeared to be. If the biter's disguise were relevant to the matter, it was possible that they looked quite different under their skins. He always assumed they were leafeaters, but what if they weren't? For the time being, it did not matter. They were helping. Besides, even sharpteeth could be friendly.
As he tossed to and fro, the biter swung a paw at Apogee. Another black crescent condensed from ... Littlefoot didn't know where, and flew from his claws. It lanced deep into the side of Apogee's chest. Again, no blood, not even the pink of flesh. Only green, surrounding a ball of light nestled where the heart should be. Apogee never winced.
The biter writhed free of the cold fire's grip, landing on his feet and throwing Apogee a snarl. Something was ... summoned from the air around him: a dark, sinister miasma of mist. It hissed and writhed about his body as though alive and starving for flesh. The biter puffed his chest in attempted bravado as the miasma blazed like black fire.
Apogee smiled. The wind shifted towards him. Rivers of rainbow congealed in the air, laced with the silver glean of water. A mellifluous hum accentuated their movements as they gracefully raced towards the Rainbow Face. Littlefoot finally understood. This was the thing that had been hiding in the air since The Rainbow Faces got there, and it was breathtaking. It swayed about Apogee like the dancing lights of the frozen wastes. As pretty as the biter's black mist was fearsome, it looked utterly toothless by comparison.
Then it changed.
The rainbows were all but gone. What remained was an inferno of cold fire that surged and sang around him. Only the slightest hint of rainbows betrayed its humble beginnings. That fire filled the gaping wound in his chest and pulled it together. He walked towards the biter, frigid flames rippling from his every step. He grinned as they licked from his luminous eyes.
His voice boomed through Littlefoot's head, but his mouth remained closed. {~Mimic to your heart's content. You will NEVER be one of us.~}
The biter's mist flickered and died as his confidence shattered. He began to back away, until his tail flinched from a ring of cold fire that burnt a semicircle behind him. He skittered away from it as Zenith emerged from the flames, a smirk on her beak, flames in her eyes.
Her laugh echoed in Littlefoot's skull like The Cave of Many Voices. {~I'm sorry. You thought you ENDED me? One does not attain the name 'Zenith' without merit.~}
Mustering a shaky roar, the biter flung her a black crescent born of mist. She dissipated it with a wave of her paw. The biter never saw, having charged Apogee the moment it left him. His speeding slashes were deftly deflected by Apogee's paws. It looked almost effortless, like a big brother fending off his sibling.
Littlefoot's lips parted in fascination. Apogee wasn't overpowering him, it seemed. If that were the case, the impacts should have been louder. Instead, his ability to predict and parry blows was so perfect that he didn't need to use much might. No movements were wasted, as far as Littlefoot could tell. Doc had taught him the value of technique vs. effort, but this was beyond any technique he could imagine. There was something else at play as well. Every movement or impact was punctuated by the flashes of black miasma or cold fire tinted with rainbows. Sometimes, the biter scored glancing blows ... or, what should have been glancing blows, but they never seemed to connect. Instead, flares of rainbowed cold flame would appear between the blow and Apogee. Then the blow ... just wouldn't happen, as though it had been pushed away, or slipped off some kind of barrier. Were their strange auras somehow protecting them, helping them fight?
A sharp slap snapped Littlefoot from his thoughts.
The biter staggered back, nursing his cheek. He rumbled a growl. His arms flinched and its feathers alighted like fire. He lunged forward. Air rippled around those feathers as he swung them about in a dizzying threat display of melee. There was no telling where they'd strike, until they converged on Apogee's throat.
They never reached it.
Paws to claws, Apogee snatched the biter's limbs mid-swing and twisted them apart. {~̷̫̉Sṷ̴́rren̴̫̓dẽ̶ͅr.̴̧͛~̵̳̋}
Crumpling to a crouch, the biter screeched before forcing a defiant glare. Steam rose from between their palms. He grinned.
~Is he ... burning Apogee with his touch?~ wondered Littlefoot. ~Maybe, but it doesn't seem to be working.~
The Rainbow Face raised a nonplussed eyebrow. A flash of cold fire devoured the steam and both their pairs of paws. It then proceeded to smother the fire from the feathers.
The biter's grin turned to a grimace. His second scream reached a new pitch, but he was not done. That evil, writhing mist pounced upon Apogee. It fled when cold flames flared from the Rainbow Face. His voice was the essence of devastation itself.
.
̶̢̧̼͚̠̲͍̣͇̯̠̯̭̘͆{̷̡̢̘͈̣̏͌̈́́̀̅̒̏͋͠ͅ ̶̙̱̗͚̐̍͗̽͛̊͐͆̍̈̌̚{̶̡̛̟̯̻̀͌̄̓̀̂̕~̶̰͆̎S̴̥̳̻͚̙͈͉̙̗̙̾̐̈́́́̓̕Ǔ̸͇̣͝͝R̸̨̧͙͖̈́̂̏̾̈́́̈́̆̏̊̈́̀́̃͝R̸͍̰̜͋̓́̔̀̃́̄̇̑͒̚͜Ē̸̛͎̺̌̔̈̐̓̈̊͐̅̃̅͘N̵̨̠͉̖̫̻͚̱̻̰̲͚̯̐̎ͅD̷̢̢͉͕̺̙̹̲͇̺͓̖͙̊̆̾͒̅̑̏͝ͅĘ̸̛̥̯̬͉͈͔̠͋̒̌́̉̃́̐̓̕Ŗ̴̨̭̦̥͕͖͍͔̘͚̮̙̝̈́̽̏̇͊͋͐̔̾̀̊͘͘͘̕͜!̷̯̳̯͖͚̑̏̆̌̒͑͊́̉̀͂͛~̷͚̱̲̪̞̬͓̟̣̈́͜}̷̨̢̲͖̟͉̔͊̑̆̂̔̄͆͌̌͐̀͘ ̴̻͓͙͔̦̯̬̾̌͗̌}̶̣̜̇̍̈́̌́͛̈́̾̆̓͑̐͋̑͝
,
With nothing left to scream, a whine gurgled from the biter's throat. He pulled away. Apogee allowed it without a fuss, but there was nowhere to go.
The Rainbow Faces calmly closed in on him.
Then he was gone. He didn't run, or hide. He simply disappeared.
Zenith dashed to the side, grabbed ahold of something Littlefoot couldn't see and swung it between herself and Apogee. There, the black biter reappeared, scrambling to his feet.
Realisation struck Littlefoot. ~So THIS is a hidden runner?~
{~You believed you would be the one to take us down?~} a grinning Zenith laughed, though her lips never moved. {~You have no concept of that which we have faced. The breadth of our lives would rupture your mind. The nightmares we've conquered would drive you to madness. We build worlds. We tame the laws of nature. What have YOU done with your life?~}
Suddenly, the biter stilled. His fear washed away. Something had changed in his mannerisms as he surveyed the pair. He flexed crackles from his knuckles and rolled his neck in an eerily unbiter-like way.
He tilted a nod of concession to The Rainbow Faces. {~I suppose it takes one to break one.~}
Black spikes leapt from his misty miasma, striking The Rainbow Faces' heads, paws and chests. In a blink, he reached Apogee and unleashed melee. His speed hadn't changed, but the slashes were different. Some of them weren't even slashes.
Apogee struggled to defend himself. Some strikes broke through. He was forced back. Finally, a palm to the face made him stumble.
Zenith grabbed the biter's tail and swung him high into the air. His kick broke her grip mid-swing. He twisted and landed feet first, blindside to Zenith. It seemed that didn't matter. His tail lashed at the charging Rainbow Face. She leapt and spiraled over it without a feather's room to spare. Her landing was too quick, as though something pulled her down faster than the speed of falling. Scarcely slowing, she grabbed the back of his skull as she ran by and planted his face in the dirt. Her tail thumped it deeper into the surface as she passed.
What followed? Littlefoot would be hard-pressed to say. All he saw was a flurry of motion as the Rainbow Faces pressed their attacks from both sides. Rapid bursts of cold fire clashed with black. It was anyone's guess who was winning. Finally, near-simultaneous blows separated the fighters. They all fell.
The black biter was almost first to his feet. Well, not if Littlefoot had something to say about it.
His tail pounded the biter to the ground, again and again and again. Each blow packed enough force to flatten a normal biter. Ordinarily, that would bother Littlefoot, but he had a pretty good idea of what the black biter could take. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't hitting hard enough.
The Rainbow Faces sat up and watched. Apogee put a paw to his beak, hiding a smirk. Zenith outright laughed and pointed until tears squeezed from her eyes.
After several solid moments of beating, Littlefoot heard cheering.
"Attaboy, Littlefoot! WOOHOO!" Cera whooped.
His tail stopped mid-smash.
He spun to face her. "Cera! You really are okay!"
"Uh huh," she nodded. "Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are- Oof! Alright. This is happening."
He'd wrapped his tail around her, cheek to her back as he beamed brighter than The Circle.
Cera reciprocated his joy with a smile, albeit awkwardly.
She cleared her throat. "It's funny. I'm not even sore. I coulda sworn I lost a horn. What happened?"
Littlefoot stiffened and released her. "How much are you aware of?"
Cera shrugged. "The biters rolled a big rock right in my face. I smashed it, of course, but apparently I'm not as tough as I thought. After passing out, I woke up to find you whaling on that biter over there, which felt SO good to watch, but I'm curious about what he did to earn that kind of overki-"
For the first time, she noticed The Rainbow Faces. To be fair, they weren't particularly conspicuous until they waved at her.
"Hey! You weirdos are back!" Cera chirped. "Wait, that wasn't a nice thing to say. Sorry, it's been a long day. You folks-I-don't-really-understand-but-would-kinda-like-to are back! Did you just get your tails kicked by that guy?"
Zenith huffed and crossed her arms while Apogee rubbed the back of his neck.
Cera's face fell. "Sorry. I can't not be offensive, can I?"
"You've gotten much better, and I think you're great!" Littlefoot praised.
She fidgeted smilingly. "See that? That's why they say I've gotten soft. There's this mushy longneck conspiring against me ... but keep it coming! I'm past the point of no return!"
Littlefoot gave an effervescent laugh and a tail pat to the back.
Cera tilted her head. "Huh. That's strange."
He followed her gaze and spotted the black biter passively peering at them. He didn't seem to care that his lower body was embedded in the crater Littlefoot had created. The Rainbow Faces hurried to their feet and extended their paws towards him, which did little to sway Cera's opinion of their weirdness.
She frowned at them, shook her head with an eye roll and stepped forward. "Want me to have a go at him?"
Littlefoot was quick to block her with his tail. She stared up at him in confusion and a touch of annoyance.
"He's dangerous," warned Littlefoot.
"I'm dangerous," Cera retorted.
"Not like him. He was stunned when I hit him," Littlefoot explained. "You didn't see what he did before that."
Her confusion turned to curiosity as she squinted at the biter.
Hauling himself out of the dirt, the biter stumbled at the edge of the crater. His neck twitched bizarrely.
Cera's eyes widened. His thigh was bent in a way that didn't make sense. Thighs didn't bend. They broke. She had to wonder what kind of bones he had under those scales.
He stared them square in the eyes one by one and smiled.
"Try anything and your vessel is dust!" Zenith hissed.
The biter snorted and sat on his haunches. "As if I care for a lowly omega. Heh, he had an 'alpha's blessing' and everything: all the bells and whistles to pierce your near-whimsical tech, but against you two? Might as well try to drink an ocean dry."
"Who are you?" demanded Zenith.
"Give yourself some credit," Apogee suggested. "Your playthings have nearly taken our lives more than once. We've been doing this for years, and still you elude us. That requires a mind equal to our own, if not greater. Tell me your name, so that I may acknowledge a worthy opponent."
The biter belted an ugly, raspy laugh. "Fame and flattery will get you nowhere! I am one of many, and I don't require your validation. Your cajoling attempts are as callow as your moral-addled mind."
Apogee growled with a scowl. That seemed to strike a nerve. He raised his paw just a little higher.
A tear leaked from the biter's eye. He grinned and licked it from his cheek, slowly wagging his head as he savoured it with a croon.
Apogee's eyes widened before he bared his teeth.
"Oh please! Wipe that stupid look off your face and put your paw down!" the biter mocked snappily.
"What is even happening right now?" whispered Cera.
"I'm still trying to figure that out," Littlefoot whispered back.
"Hey, is all this talk really necessary?" Cera spoke up. "We're kinda pressed for time."
Littlefoot frantically shook his head for here to quit drawing attention to herself.
The biter's lips curled in a malicious smile. "Welllll ... we could skip to the part where you die."
"Pfft. What are you gonna do, hobble me to death?" Cera taunted.
"If you engage her, we will flip the table," warned Apogee.
"Awww, come ooon!" whined Cera and the biter.
"Also, what's a 'table'?" Cera added.
"Trikes die in nature all the time," argued the biter. "What makes her so special?"
"You know full well 'what makes her so special'," growled Apogee. "Your vessel, on the other hand, has no moral, sentimental or practical relevance to you. We have him. There's nothing we can learn from his mind or inner workings that we don't already know. Why don't you disconnect and we'll take him off your hands?"
Zenith raised an eyebrow at her partner. It seemed they were not on the same leaf.
The biter narrowed his eyes. "Do you have any idea how much this vessel cost?"
"At this stage? Literally nothing, Umbra?" Zenith deadpanned.
The biter, or 'Umbra', whipped his head towards her in surprise.
Apogee gave her a congratulatory smile.
She smirked back with the slightest blush.
Again, Umbra laughed. "If not for your silly scruples, I think we could have been friends! You're right, unless the cost is quantified in time, brilliance and the willto make it happen."
"That's called 'evil'," Apogee elucidated in a tone suggesting that he was done with this.
The biter's face scrunched as though he tasted something bitter. "No. 'The Circle of Life' has no regard for evil, and we surpass all Circles. Such naive terminology undermines our intelligence. The point is, he was cheap and expendable, yet his purpose remains: to eliminate the targets. Even you have your limits, and you're both so very close to him! 958 kilotons should do ..."
Panic flashed across rainbowed faces. There was no time to run. No time to scream. One moment, there were earth, sky and trees. Next, there was only light. There was only sound. No desert was hot enough, no landslide loud enough, to describe that which Littlefoot endured. And yet, he did endure, even as the heat seared straight through his bones. Tears burnt away from his eyes. He couldn't tell if he was standing or falling. He couldn't even hear his own scream. His only hope was that he'd managed to dive in front of Cera before it claimed her.
([~])
```[WARNING: SYSTEMS CRITICAL!]
``````[NUCLEAR DETONATION DETECTED]
`````````[RADIATION EXPOSURE: 837% RECOMMENDED MAXIMUM!]
[~]
```[WORMHOLE MITIGATION: 97% SUCCESSFUL]
``````[SIPHONING AUXILIARY ENERGY FROM SOL: זר]
[~]
```[COLD FIRE: OVERCLOCKED]
``````[COLD FIRE MITIGATION: 99% SUCCESSFUL]
[~]
```[PSEUDOSOMATIC DAMAGE: EXTENSIVE]
```[CORE DEGRADATION: LIKELY]
```[CHANCES OF FATALITY: 53% - BEYOND THRESHOLD]
[~]
```[ATTEMPTING EMERGENCY WORMHOLE AUTO EVAC-]
``````[EMERGENCY AUTO EVAC OVERRODE]
([~])
The light dimmed just enough for Littlefoot's eyes to glean a glimpse of the scene. He saw silhouettes of the Rainbow Faces, paws raised on either side of an inferno like The Bright Circle. Rippling spheres hugged its mass, swallowing its light like The Bending Black from his dream. Cold fire smothered amber flames, blasting past him in a chaotic combination of unimaginable heat and chill. He saw the vicious determination in The Rainbow Faces' stances. Somehow, he knew they were fighting it.
That was the last he knew before consciousness deserted him.
Finally, The Rainbow Faces get some time in the limelight!
As you can see, I've made a little update to the format of the psycho-technological data that runs through The Rainbow Faces' minds. Given the density of the information, it seemed to need a format change for clarity. I hope it wasn't too information-dense, and not too novice-like at the same time.