darkSpyro

Darkheart moved out of Raclaw's way. Between her affinity for darkness and the half-shadow state she was currently in, light was almost physically painful to her, but she'd gotten her eyes barely used enough to it they weren't watering. Pulling her shadow over them certainly helped.

Mischief's long repressed instincts finally sent chills down her own spine and she shivered, before gripping her head with both paws, whining a bit herself. "Oh... S... Something's wrong..." She nearly jumped out of her hide at Shade's exclamation. Gripping both arms, she winced as she gripped barely healed self-inflicted wounds that would soon be reopened. "Back? As in... Them? B... But that's what they took Angora to deal with..." Reaching to draw her staff she turned to stay with Maverick. If she couldn't protect Angora she could at least keep Maverick safe. As she drew her staff to ready any number of spells, her claws left gouges in the increasingly damaged wood of the handle. Her eyes briefly shifted to full gold as a psychopathic smirk momentarily appeared, before her expression became deathly serious.

After the failed attempt of taking the mounts out to the main deck and Dahlia's struggle to keep Maverick with her, the faun man returned without her, with just Mischief as company, only to have Shade talk to him. And not just any talk. He was warning him.
"¿Qué? Wha...? Wait, what did you say?" he asked, having taken a few seconds before processing what he just said. He then looked at the side of the ship to see a dark, massive cloud coming towards them. He was already familiar enough with that particular cloud.
"Back already? Oh no no no no! It's too soon! Angorita and the others haven't returned yet!" Maverick said terrified, white as a sheet of paper. He wanted so badly to leave the ship and find the group himself, but he knew nobody was going to let him leave, especially Mischief, Shade and the captain. He was trembling horribly as he drew his sword, searching for Ilasi and not noticing Mischief's change. When the dragolets arrived, it gave him some relief, but he was still deathly afraid of the group still on the island...

Angora left the scene of the flame as fast as she could, seeing a flow of light she immediately knew belonged to Raclaw.
"The fuse is lit Raclaw! We need to get out!" she said, not screaming but in a voice high enough to create an echo. She couldn't hear any explosions yet, which led her to believe the explosives had to be quite far away from the master fuse, no doubt arranged like that to give her and the rest of the party time to escape...

As the group proceeded, Latnok, sprinting, made his way through the rest of the passageway - having cut through enough of the mutants to escape the toxic gas and bog. Little did he know, the ishiuds were hot on his trail - just as planned. The orb's magic would indicate it was where Latnok was many minutes ago, causing the ishiuds to focus most of their effort through the bog.
The creatures didn't take any more kindly to the ishiuds and their presence than they did with Latnok's. They began engaging this new presence, already in a frenzied state from just Latnok's own movements. As mentioned by Julian, the toxin was especially dangerous to the ishiuds - they were not able to go far before succumbing to the effects.
Latnok would soon reach the rendezvous point from there - presumably with everyone else either there or nearby. There would be little time to wait.

Sere made his way back on deck, having seen the sight for himself through his window. He didn't need to give the order - someone rang the battle alarm while he was heading up, and the men were preparing their armor and weapons.
Ilasi shook, being deeply uncomfortable with these creatures after how close they had gotten to killing her on more than one occasion. The water purification job would have to wait - she needed to be ready to help out however she could. She tried to find a place by the entrance to the inner ship so she could focus her divination efforts on revealing any potential surprises.
Laszur, though disoriented for a second, jumped right into preparing himself as the alarm woke him up. The investigation he had begun would have to wait until after this battle. His own armor wasn't phoenix steel, but dragonhide - mobility was his most important weapon. He would soon arrive on deck, making his presence known to the captain.

The incoming threat didn't escape Risar's notice, whose mighty great axes eagered for more action.

"Good job, Amgora-- you did good. Now let's get out of here before we become the newest feast for a welcoming party. I'm sure they're already on their way..," Raclaw said quickly using his and Latnok's shared senses to begin to direct the party to a way out.

The exit wasn't far away - the group quickly made their way through, with no obstructions. They would find themselves on an outcrop, with some scrambling required. Most notably, however, were the ishiuds outside - many were around the island, but the majority were flying out in the distance, towards Mercenary Island.
The group didn't have much time to brace themselves. Very soon, a loud (if somewhat muffled) blast could be heard as the ground rumbled. The sound of falling rock could be heard inside...
...but it stopped before the group had gotten far. The cave network didn't collapse as planned.
Latnok stopped the group with a hand gesture. "Stop. Our mission isn't over yet. I can try to use my earth sense to find out, but I can only identify so much from here... or can I?" Latnok recalled how Raclaw's own abilities were able to work with his to great effect, most noticeably with the Sight. "Hey, Raclaw, mind giving me a hand here quickly? Maybe I can feel what's happened to the network with a bit of help."

"Of course not, Latnok.," Raclaw said without hesitation-- soon focusing his powers and merging them with that of Latnok's own. Between the two of them, they should be able to get an idea of what exactly was going on...

With Raclaw's assistance, Latnok put one hand to a rocky wall, while palming the wall repeatedly with his other hand as he tried to focus on the sensations he was getting. With Raclaw's own assistance, he was able to pick up on details that would have slipped his notice before, or would've been indecipherable. He felt...
The upper levels were blocked off in many places. There was limited movement - presumably because many of the ishiuds coming through there had died.
The very lowest level, however, felt the same as before. There were no changes - but a lot of movement.
Latnok pulled back from the wall. "The lower level explosives didn't go off, for whatever reason," he revealed to the group. "Likely the fuse was put out or cut off, either accidentally or intentionally. With how wild the creatures down there are, I'm guessing the former - the ishiuds would probably have pulled out if they identified the trap. Much of the network's integrity is contingent on the support in the lower level - we're not going to have many places here collapse without those explosives going off." What to do, what to do...

"If the remaining fuse is still intact-- could we still get to it and light it, preferably with some room left for escape?," Raclaw asked thinking the possibilities. "A fireball perhaps? Assuming we could get a clear shot, possibly with the aide of distraction?," the Fur Dragon then suggested knowing that he would have to be very accurate with such a shot. And it would be taking a risk...

Angora reunited with Raclaw and Darkheart, for a moment considering mounting the former to get out of there faster, but then the bad memory on the way he reacted the last time she did that came crawling all over her mind, so she desisted. She could try Darkheart, but while the dragoness has been kind and polite to her from the very beginning, she still looked very wild, so she didn't take the risk. She used her own two feet, following the duo until r uniting with the rest. She heard the explosion clearer than the others given how sensitive her hearing was. She was afraid they would be caved in... but the rockslide stopped. They weren't trapped. She was relieved... until she remembered that's not exactly how it was suppose to happen. She heard what Latnok said and knew something did go wrong.
"Wh... what happened?" she asked quietly, afraid that she would be blamed for the failure.

Maverick located Ilasi, and immediately went to her side.
"No te preocupes Ilasi. We beat them before. This time should be no different, especially with Oscurito's family helping us." he assured but still very afraid, knowing they could be in higher number after their last defeat. It was a good thing they had a race as powerful as the dragolets on their side.

Latnok gave a grunt. "I don't know what happened for sure. I'm guessing the fuse got put out by accident somehow, personally. All the fighting going on down in the toxic waste bog right now is bound to knock something loose. Perhaps some debris covered up the fuse? Either way, it looks like I'll have to find and set the explosives off manually."
Latnok wasn't very fond of the idea of going back in those caves, trying to find the explosives amidst all the turmoil - but as far as he knew, he was the only one equipped to manage in the toxic waste. There was no helping it - and he would have to move quickly.
"The rest of you are going to have to find Julian and secure the escape. Don't wait too long for me."

Ilasi still trembled slightly, but felt more secure with Maverick's presence. "You're... you're right. We'll manage. I'll play my part." They had to get through this. They just had to - their future was contingent on it.

"Alright-- be careful Latnok and and come back. Please.," Raclaw said wishing he could do more to help the beloved Guardian in the task. He looked to Angora as if to ask 'Are you ready?' Meanwhile-- Chester found cover as the incoming threat got closer...

Darkheart shivered, looking at Raclaw. This wasn't according to plan at all... "A simple plan... Why is it that the simple plans never work out as simply as they should?" Even she didn't like the idea of Latnok getting into this mess. "Be careful, you. If you're going in, make sure you at least succeed. And preferably come back out, Raclaw's got a soft spot for you." she ordered with a tone that almost seemed like scolding.

Mischief gripped the staff tighter and tighter.
CRUNCH.
She looked down in shock as the snapped stave fell to the deck in two halves. She'd forgotten her increased physical power. Hurriedly grabbing the orb before the rocking of the ship made her have to chase it around the deck, she glowered at it as the swirling mix of colors displayed her duality. I can't believe it. That branch was carved and enchanted specifically to avoid breaking. We've grown mighty. Let's wipe out this genocidal cult. Agreed. She looked at the others somewhat nervously. "Sorry, we - uh... I'm a bit on edge." She gritted her teeth, glowering at the Dark Cloud of Badness (tm).

Maverick placed Ilasi behind him, and at the same time stayed close to Shade. His family would protect him, and they could use that. They were some very sturdy dragons, and they could keep everyone on the ship safe.

Quote: redwes

"Alright-- be careful Latnok and and come back. Please.," Raclaw said wishing he could do more to help the beloved Guardian in the task. He looked to Angora as if to ask 'Are you ready?' Meanwhile-- Chester found cover as the incoming threat got closer...

Angora was very relieved to know Latnok wasn't blaming her, and was being sensible for once. He was making sense at last, and she was happy about it. When Raclaw talked to her, she nodded, unable to feel any more ready. She would rather have him talk with his voice, but she wasn't going to complain right now. She wasn't fond of Latnok, but didn't like the idea of leaving him behind either. He probably wouldn't have had any trouble if it was the other way around, but she had no way to be certain. If she could somehow focus on that missing fuse and light it, there wouldn't have been any need for him to go there, but her magic wasn't that accurate yet...

"I'll try to come back - don't count on it, though," Latnok said, acknowledging the danger and urgency of the situation. "Again - you can't wait too long for me here, or chances are you're not going to make it out yourselves. Those things will be out in full force looking for the orb."
With that, he handed the orb back to Angora. "That thing has served its purpose for now. See what the others want you to do with it from here." Having nothing else pressing to say, he began his run back to the cave network - to find and set off the last set of explosives, somehow. Now, where would they have been put...?

The island had been performing its evacuation - the weak, sick, and infirm were brought to underground hovels. They would be out of the fight - but if the island fell, there would be nowhere for them to escape to.
Not a moment too soon - the ishiuds were closing the distance, and finally became discernible. So far, the typical affair - soldiers with their adaptive armor, and weavers with their toxins and string. It would seem that there was nothing unusual - not yet.
The ishiuds were soon in range. On command, a volley of cannonballs flew through the sky - ishiuds, being smaller targets than ships, wouldn't be particularly vulnerable to cannon fire as a whole, but it was as much use as the islanders figured they would get from them. The creatures only seemed to be coming from one direction so far, headfirst to the gates.
As Ilasi focused her magic, she tried to detect anything out of the ordinary - there was something she couldn't immediately identify, but it was somewhat far away.

Mischief readied her magick, the orb floating between her paws as elemental energy swirled around it, ready to be fired at a moment's notice. Her claws were meanwhile lengthened by Dark type power, and her eyes locked onto her soon to be victims. She half hoped she could catch a cult member and get some useful info. But it was unlikely there was anything other than the annoying oversized insects. She unconsciously licked her chops with anticipation.
A beak nuzzled her. "Kweh!"
Mischief turned and grinned at seeing Choco, ready for a fight. "Glad to have you join us Choco. Now, be careful. I couldn't bare to see you of all creatures harmed." She turned towards the Ishuids, resolve firmed by her companion's presence. "Let's squash them like the bugs they are!"

Maverick watched as the brave people battled the dastard ishiuds. When will this fiends give up? He was scared, but also angry to know a creature was so bent on destruction. What have they ever done to them? For all he knew, they could be just creatures looking for food, but the way they acted... it just didn't seem natural to him. He was ready to defend Ilasi when he remembered something important.
"Espera, where is Mischief?" he asked, but spotted her as soon as he finished the sentence. He was impressed by what he was seeing.
"You... you have magic?" Maverick said, having heard about that somewhere before, but didn't think it was true, at least in the user part. Choco was with her. Did he forget to close the enclosure? He would get his answer when he saw Dahlia appearing from downstairs, having followed Choco, ready to help as well. She was terrified, but she wanted to help everyone, especially her dumb, clumsy master...

Quote: A Guy

"I'll try to come back - don't count on it, though," Latnok said, acknowledging the danger and urgency of the situation. "Again - you can't wait too long for me here, or chances are you're not going to make it out yourselves. Those things will be out in full force looking for the orb."
With that, he handed the orb back to Angora. "That thing has served its purpose for now. See what the others want you to do with it from here." Having nothing else pressing to say, he began his run back to the cave network - to find and set off the last set of explosives, somehow. Now, where would they have been put...?

Angora looked at him in the eyes with concern as she took the orb. It was genuine concern. But why? Why for this man, who hated her and caused her a great deal of misery? She felt so stupid for feeling this worry about Latnok. She was determined to follow him... but if the Ishulgites captured her, it would've been all in vain. It was then that she made a decision when she started leaving the network...
"Neo, help me help him. If I go back, I face the risk of being captured, and that can't happen. This... this power, my shield, remove it from me and give it to him for the time being. To help protect him from the arduous task at hand..." Angora prayed concentrating as hard as she could. Sere once said she had some great magical potential, and now, it was time to prove it. Once she said those words, she started to extract a great deal of magic from her chest. Not all of it, but the once necessary to help him. It was coming from her in the shape of a sphere, similar in size of the orb, but a bright white color with orange edges, and shining as bright as a little sun. Asking for Neo's help again, Angora instructed him to help her guide the bauble of magic towards the tunnel Latnok disappeared to, so it could locate him and he could absorb it and use it's magic to help him survive the collapsing tunnel and following explosion. She wasn't planning on giving him the magic permanently, so once it has served it's purpose, she intended to have it back...

Mischief's arms crackled with fire and lightning and icicles came into being, as Mischief launched an all-out magickal assault. Drawing on stored Mana and the very air around her she attacked mercilessly. She paused a moment, fizzling slightly in surprise at Maverick's question. "Yeah, I've got magick. Very, very strong magick. I was trained by mages who left swathes of destruction in their wake. And they called us a prodigy of the Destructive Artes. I'm more than capable of defending myself, and Choco isn't exactly a pushover himself." She returned to blasting the Ishuids.
With each spell more elemental power swirled around her, and as she moved up spell ranks to more and more destructive blows against the enemy she carefully avoided using the same attack twice in a row, and readied her ultimate spell again as she stored up Mana, determined to make it worthwhile this time... And without it causing her to collapse. "Y'know, it's funny. For a group of people who insist they're only after peace, they seem distinctly intent on ripping us to pieces." her secondary personality noted dryly. Was... Was that a pun? I'm grouchy, not humorless. Fair enough. She readied her claws, just in case her grand finale wasn't quite enough to entirely wipe out this army. Which was irritatingly possible, considering their numbers.
Choco for his part kicked and pecked any Ishuids who made the dullwitted decision to get too close to the startlingly strong bird, or his master. Between the two, they were able to deal actual damage to the onslaught of horrid insects.

Maverick saw what Mischief was doing, and pulled Ilasi a little further away from her. He knew she was on their side, but her magic seemed almost evil. Looked like the kind that could hurt really badly, even unintentionally. But she would do her part, and he would do his. From his hyperspace bag, he took out a bow and some arrows.
"Know how to use this Ilasi? I'm better with a sword, and I want to have it with me in case those bugs get too close." Maverick asked, wanting to handle the more dangerous close attack range while Ilasi could attack from afar, and if she could, she could maybe enchant the arrows with her magic, even though Maverick didn't know if she could do that.

Dahlia was close behind the couple, ready to fight as well even though she was absolutely terrified...

Quote: Spyroconvexity

“My power shall protect him!” Neo said as the orb of Neo’s power and himself soon found Latnok and went into his chest. He would feel a great surge of power suddenly come to him as well as similar armor to what Neo gave Angora except the emerald parts seemed to merge with his armor. “I’m here to help you Latnok! Use my power use it to get through this!”

Angora left the rest to Neo, not expecting anything from him in return if he survived, not even a thank you. Neo's magic saved her life on more than one occasion, so perhaps he could do the same to him now. It was all up to Latnok and Neo now...

Latnok was startled with the sudden transformation, immediately drawing his axe and looking around before identifying the source as Neo. "Interesting. Normally, I would ask if you didn't think I had a plan - I'll take whatever I can get here, however."
Of course, Latnok wasn't without his own tricks. Reaching into his bag, he found just the thing he needed for this - some diluted dragon brew. Chugging the whole mixture in one go, he tossed the vial away, as the warmth and power from the mixture surged through his veins.
"Well, then... let's get to work."

Ilasi took the bow and arrows as she was completing her reading of her divination spell. "Uh... I've shot these a few times..." she said nervously as she took aim at one of the flying soldiers. The bow was smaller, but still had high tension on the string, and pulling it was no easy task for her like it would be for Latnok. As she did, the sound of Veris bursting through the pen door Sere left open could be heard, as the wyvern let out a shriek in his excitement. Meal time for the wyvern.
With the powerful retaliation launched by the crew, the soldiers took casualties. As some of the soldiers fell, however, weavers attended to them, patching up their wounds and getting them right back into the fight. This wasn't going to be an easy task.

Ilasi was finally able to identify... something. Something big. Something she had never seen or known about before.
It was approaching the opposite side of the island.
"T-there's... the other side! The island! The other side! We need to watch out!" Ilasi cried out, not sure, in the moment, how to communicate her message...

Dahlia bellowed with fear when she saw Veris. Out of all the dragons present, he looked the most feral, so she feared him the most. Maverick forcefully mounted her to calm her down, at fist not hearing what Ilasi said.
"Dahlia! My sweet girl! Cálmate. Por favor. Look. Veris is just here to help us." he said, petting her head, but as she calmed down, she started trembling. Except it wasn't Beris she was looking at...

Sand Dune, Opium and Random were on the main deck, ready to battle but realizing that their healing was more needed. Sand Dune heard what Ilasi said.
"What in Orion's creation is THAT!?" he yelled, getting Maverick's attention. He sweated with the scare, which Dahlia sensed. He had to pet her again to calm her down, but how could he when he himself was nervous? Just what was that? A dragon? No, couldn't be. Wait... a behemoth? But on an island? Couldn't be either. His biggest fear was that it was another abomination of a creature product of the crazy society's experiments, sent to destroy them. But what if it was an ally? It was too hard to tell...

Angora continued running along with the dragon couple, hoping to reunite with Julien right away. She was worried about Latnok, but there was no way she would let anyone know that. When she removed her magic, she didn't take all of it, just the one enough that would believe would help him. He already had his own magic, and Angkra didn't want to risk Latnok being detectable if he had an overwhelming amount of magic. At first she thought removing it would've painful, but it felt more like a needle being removed. She felt lighter, and a bit fatigued, but otherwise fine and capable of running by herself.

Raclaw and company made great haste towards both finding Julian and exit-- the Fur Dragon following the Guardian's orders and using his enhanced senses to help aide their quest. Meanwhile-- Risar hacked and slashed, hopefully taking out more than were currently being healed back up. And elsewhere on deck, Chester layed low and safety sat *outside* of the ongoing fighting. He hoped that Raclaw and the others were doing alright...

Mischief was almost obscured by the quantities of magickal energy surrounding her. Just a bit more... Then everyone started panicking as something big came into view. "What the... What is that?! What is it?!" Despite volume, she sounded less scared and more enthusiastically curious.

Darkheart happily put all of her immense talents towards protecting the group. Especially Angora and Raclaw.

Once the trio reached Julien, Angora was restless, still looking behind her.
"Latnok stayed behind. One of the fuses didn't work." she explained to Julien, trying very hard to hide her concern and acting as casual as she could. Why would she be worried about someone who brought her so much miseri? Neo. Neo was with Latnok. Yeah, that's it. That has to be it...

Maverick knew he couldn't distract himself by looking at the beast beyond, but whatever it was, it looked dangerously hostile, not to mention huge. Luckily. Veris seemed to be doing short work on some of the ishiuds before getting a chance to even land a blow, so it was lucky. But soon they could be overwhelmed, and there was no telling what that monster was, or what it's intentions were...

On the other side of the island, what could best be described as a brutal monstrosity scaled the rocky ledge to a relatively undefended wall. It would make its presence known by repeatedly slamming its solid body against the wall, with the wall section soon collapsing. The creature would march through, the ground rumbling with every step.
Its head and snout looked similar to that of a crocodile's, its red eyes producing a most terrible visage as it stared down potential challengers. Its four legs were firm and solid supporting its massive weight. Its bluish-green skin appeared to be solid and rocky - like that of a behemoth's.
The creature roared as it moved forward. It was not friendly.

Julian shook his head, visibly disappointed. "We knew the plan might have hitches... going back there though? That's a suicide mission. I don't know what he was..."
His speech was interrupted when he realized that the group had grabbed the attention of a few soldiers and weavers, who would soon be landing in front of them. "We don't have much time before we're overwhelmed here. Latnok must hurry... if he can."

Angora readied her poisonous knife and Veris' fang, turned into a weapon. She was ready to slice those things to pieces.
"I'll try to buy him... and us some time." she said, nervous but also ready. If there was a time where her agility was needed, it was now. She would try to drive them crazy trying to catch her, maybe even make them attack and crash into each other in the attempt...

Quote: A Guy

On the other side of the island, what could best be described as a brutal monstrosity scaled the rocky ledge to a relatively undefended wall. It would make its presence known by repeatedly slamming its solid body against the wall, with the wall section soon collapsing. The creature would march through, the ground rumbling with every step.
Its head and snout looked similar to that of a crocodile's, its red eyes producing a most terrible visage as it stared down potential challengers. Its four legs were firm and solid supporting its massive weight. Its bluish-green skin appeared to be solid and rocky - like that of a behemoth's.
The creature roared as it moved forward. It was not friendly.

Maverick's heart beat faster as the creature got closer, something so ugly and menacing he knew immediately it couldn't be natural. And when he saw it tear down the island's wall as if it was made of paper, he knew they were in deep trouble. The beast seemed to be growing and growing as it approached, as Maverick feared it might be even behemoth sized, and he has seen that creature at close range. A beast almost impossible to defeat. This one though, not only did it look similar except for the head, it looked even more dangerous, and one look at it's skin made it look like it was made of rock. Maverick wanted to say something to console Ilasi, but he couldn't even bear to look at her in the eyes. What was he suppose to say to her? What they were they suppose to do now? Even f they could defeat a few ishiuds, that giant beast seemed to be heading their way, and one earth shaking roar was enough to convince Maverick that it wasn't there to help them. What was captain Sere thinking right now?

Dahlia almost threw herself overboard, but remembered she was also afraid of water. Being a desert creature wasn't one to help in such a moment, even if she did tolerated the occasional bath. Like Maverick, she also take a look at the approaching beast, and it was so monstrous in appearance it made Veris look like a bunny looking for a cuddle. She bellowed in fear. This was it. Her, her master, these humans, maybe even the dragons themselves, they were doomed. What was the point of battling a losing battle?

Sand Dune, Opium and Random were too busy attending the injured, though the mute man took one look at the creature and wheezed. Like Maverick, he was very afraid, and wondered if they could win...

The massive monstrosity refused to so much as budge as it was slammed by the White Shadow, pushing forward at the same pace as before. As the White Shadow stood in front of it, it pressed on, indifferent to the White Shadow's presence. It was seemingly hellbent on one thing - complete ruination of everything on the island - and would sweep aside anything in the way.
As the creature pushed on, the few left in those areas retreated, helpless to do anything but watch as their home was callously demolished by the monster. They would, however, only have so much space to run before they would have their backs to the wall.

From atop Veris, Sere looked with concern at the new development. One thing was certain - taking it head-on was suicide. There had to be something that could be done...
Meanwhile, Ilasi, feeling fatigued by wielding the bow she was not used to, saw what was happening, and could only feel shock. She had seen behemoths before - but she was never on the opposite side. What could they do?

Mischief's jaw fell open at the sight of the beast, staying that way for several long seconds. At first she seemed frightened, then she disproves it when she speaks. "No clue what it is, but I won't surrender. It's not like it'll give us quarter... And every beast has a weakness. Why don't we find that weakness?" She watched it move. Slow but powerful. Not to mention nigh indestructible. "Mighty Glacier template, doesn't move fast but it doesn't have to. Sheer size means it'll probably connect anyway, and that thick hide's probably close to impenetrable. I'm sure it's softer inside, but that's generally moot. If it managed to reach the ship we're pretty much doomed, but since it's so slow that'll take a bit. That rocky hide isn't going to be affected much by arrows or spears unless we find a weakness point, which is unlikely. I'd suggest a strategic retreat, but since some of us won't escape that's not an option. Probably could hurt it in one of the few unarmored spots, but which of us could get that far?" This was aggravating. This thing had like two weaknesses. Eyes or insides. Who will bell the cat? What? Err, nevermind. Let's find a way to kill it. Yeah... "Anyone got any ideas? There's got to be a way to kill it. Or at least have it not kill us." Think! Think! Think!!! Maybe an illusion would help?

Darkheart growled. "Angora, please... Allow me to assist. This place is delightfully dark, I'm truly in my element. Only an earth dragon would be more at home." She moved slightly, shadows twisting around her and rendering her nearly invisible.

Maverick was in shock when the White Shadow appeared. It was once against them, but now it seemed to be trying to defend the island... although it could be a simple case of territory defense.
"Ilasi's? Is that thing... a behemoth?" he asked, not looking exactly like one, even though it's size and skin seemed to be similar. Was it perhaps a subspecies? Or something not natural like he originally suspected? One thing was becoming certain though. The beast didn't look like it was hunting. It's only goal seemed to be decimating everything below it. Was it heading to the ship out of coincidence? Maverick didn't want to find out. A creature that size could clearly destroy the ship effortlessly like it did with the wall earlier.

But this was no time for distractions. The battle was quite a sight to behold, but they still had those giant insects to deal with, and it seemed like there were some injuries already. No matter where Maverick looked, it always seemed like something was out to destroy them. He didn't know if the beast was a product of the society as well, but the way things were looking as, it really looked like it...

Quote: darknessdawn

Darkheart growled. "Angora, please... Allow me to assist. This place is delightfully dark, I'm truly in my element. Only an earth dragon would be more at home." She moved slightly, shadows twisting around her and rendering her nearly invisible.

Angora was too distracted to really pay attention to Darkheart, but she did manage to hear some of what she said.
"I'm trying to buy Latnok some time. But we might need to run soon." Angora said, knowing they wouldn't be able to keep this up if more of those fiends kept appearing. Just how many of these things existed? Surely many died in the explosions that did happen, so where were they all coming from? It was frustrating! She dreaded to the idea of leaving Latnok behind with these monsters around, but if they had no choice but to retreat, Latnok's only hope was her magic combined with his own. Perhaps having double magic would increase his chances of survival, maybe even locate that annoying fuse faster...

Latnok rushed his way through the tunnels, back to the bog - which was easily distinguishable by the gas which settled by the bottom. This was it. His armor was incandescent with the effects the dragon brew had on him. He would push through.
...why did he even care about this? Do you really want to do this? Risk your life in such a way for people who see you as nothing more than disposable? You will never be anything more than a means to an end for someone. A weapon, for Sere to use... a killer, to keep ungrateful people safe... a provider, to give a fur dragon sustenance and care he would struggle to find himself. Why must you do this? You have so much to gain by seeking out your own satisfaction. You can be more than you ever were to anyone... you don't owe anyone anything. You have already given so much.
Latnok was unsure where this thought of his came from, and hesitated. Why was he thinking of this now, of all times? ...what if he had a point? For so long, he had acted out of a sense of duty. But why? Why did he need to? Why didn't he at least do things to ensure his own survival?
Did he have that choice right now?
Latnok hesitated. What should he do? What was right for himself?
Wait, why was he even thinking this? Of course he had to push on. People were counting on him. People he did not care about... wait, that wasn't completely true. There was at least one he did, and at least one dog, too. He had to do this for them. He had to...

Latnok pressed forward, the screeching and sounds of combat ringing throughout the battlefield. He had to find those fuses. Where could they be?
They wouldn't be directly exposed here - no way the people who planted them risked going through these creatures. Likely dropped from a level above or similar. With his earth sense, he pounded the wall - and found a relatively hollow space behind it, in the distance. That was it - he just needed to get somewhere he could take a clear shot.
Latnok waded into the melee. Swinging his axe with the power he had been imbued with, he swatted whatever creature dared to get in his way. The ishiuds were of little threat, most succumbing to the toxin - the warped creatures were the more pressing threat. And yet, with so much power on hand, and with his helmet protecting him from the toxins, he could not be stopped.
Passing a bend, Latnok was finally in view of the site he had detected. Cutting down an incoming warped bat with another swing of his axe, he put the weapon away, taking out the bow. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion to him, with how alert he was at the moment. He had the spot memorized. Focusing an explosion spell on his arrow, he took aim at the wall, and loosed the arrow. The wall cracked and fell apart, revealing some explosives - likely connected to many others. This was it.
"Here goes nothing." As more of the warped creatures threatened to close in on him, Latnok took aim once again at the explosives, preparing a fire spell, and loosed the arrow.
The arrow hit its mark without an issue. The resulting explosion resounded throughout the whole cave network and for a distance beyond. With the many explosives going off, the ceiling soon began to collapse under its own weight, as did those of the other levels.
"Here's hoping this works." Latnok prepared his best force barrier spell - recalling a similar event when he had first engaged Shade. He prayed that, with all the power he had right now, it would be enough...

Angora battled the creatures with much bravery, though it was more like distraction and running away than actual battling. Running around all over place to make the creatures chase her, some crashed onto walls, or onto each other, with the force of the crash stunning and sometimes even killing them. But her luck soon ran out when one of the frightening bugs managed to cling on her leg, but before it could do some major damage, she stabbed it right in the face, releasing her but doing some injury. Thankfully, her skin was harder than a human's and almost as strong as an armor, but the bite still penetrated some of the skin. It wasn't much, but just enough to alter her running speed.
"Ugh! Hurry up Latnok!" Angora said, though more to herself than anyone else. She didn't know if her telepathy would work given the large amount of magic she had given up for this moment, so she didn't even try. She tried to do her shield to see if some of it remained, but all she managed were sparks. Her trusty shield, it wasn't there anymore. From her hands however, came something she had forgotten about; a force bolt. It wasn't as strong as it normally was, and didn't do much injury to the monsters, but it was enough to stun and blind the creatures momentarily.
"Raclaw, see if you can create a reaction with your fire!" she instructed as more of the fiends came her way. If the force bolt exploded upon contact with fire, it would buy them even more time...

The monstrosity seemed to stop for a few moments, despite the bite not penetrating its skin. it shuddered, before letting out a mighty roar.
It was not a roar of pain.
Soon, electricity seemed to surge through the creature's entire body, its skin tone changing slightly as its eyes became more focused. The creature raised its forelegs before slamming them into the ground, letting out a wave of electricity which was able to set fire to objects along the ground in front of it for many yards - with so much voltage that it was able to path through ground.
Sere continued to observe from above. So this is their trump card for this battle... a nigh invulnerable creature. Able to ignore or absorb whatever is thrown at it. It made sense. If nothing could damage it, there was no way to stop it from overtaking the island, even if it wasn't the fastest creature.
There was no monster the Guardians had met that they weren't able to figure out how to kill. Sere did not intend for that to change today. They had time.

Martus and Levia were within the walls at the gates, keeping themselves updated on the battle. There would be no safe space for the people on this island if the monster wasn't dealt with.
"We have to evacuate the non-combatants somewhere else," Levia urged. "The... the docks. We have to be ready to leave."
"And what? We'll be overtaken by those damned bugs if we try!" Martus reminded Levia. "We have to stand our ground here and find a solution."
"...we're at least killing some of the insects," Levia replied. "We just need to buy our people enough time so we can destroy this thing." The islanders were in a bind - but they had survived other things, and they would weather this storm.

Julian launched force bolts at some of the soldiers followed by wooden spikes. They would hold on for as long as they could - but that would only be so long.
Suddenly, the creatures appeared to halt for a moment, only to regroup. They were preparing to attack as a group instead of a swarm of individuals.
"A mastermind is directing his attention," Julian warned. And, on cue, the root Julian had summoned seemed to want to close. "It is trying to wrest control of the root network from me. We need to leave. Now."

'Latnok-- come find us. Please.,' Raclaw internally prayed as he turned to Julian and offered a solemn nod. "I'll.. I'll make it easier for him to find us. Collar, track location.," Raclaw then said in an uneasy tone. With any luck.. Latnok would be able to hone in on his signal, even as they escaped. He used his fire to help booster Angora's force bolts in the meanwhile, although he hated the idea of leaving his friend and technically legal owner behind.

Angora wanted to keep fighting, but she knew that if they reunited like that, they would be overwhelmed. With much hesitation, the limping troll followed Julien and the dragons as she kept the force bolts coming, terrified.
"Neo... hurry..." Angora begged in a whisper, wondering what would happen if Latnok died. Would Neo die too? Or would he simply leave his body? Angora didn't care. She didn't want anyone dying, not even the man who brought her so much misery. Her past self wouldn't care, and would probably be happy to have someone like Latnok die... but this feeling, she couldn't help it. She blamed Maverick for teaching her too much empathy. It hurts...

When the dust settled, Latnok saw the area around him. Mostly collapsed rock... the barrier shifted the rocks which would have fallen on him, so he was, at the very least, not trapped. He was, however, hopelessly lost - the ground too irregular for his earth sense to do anything meaningful here. He would have to hopelessly dig his way out, and he doubted he would be able to do so before he succumbed to other things.
Having accepted his situation, Latnok was ready to lay down and figure out what to do later - when he saw something in his mind. A beacon - even if he wasn't able to physically see it, he could identify where it was, and how he had to move to get there. He instantly knew who it was.
"Raclaw. He still wants me back... I can't stop now." Latnok still had some power surging through him, though he knew he wouldn't last. He had to be quick - for his sake, Raclaw's, and Chester's.
Gathering the rest of his power, he began charging and launching powerful force bolts to blast fallen debris out of his way. He would make it back. He had to.

"We have to get going - we don't-"
Julian was ready to leave - prepared to gather everyone and pull the root out now - when he caught the distinctive sound of rock shattering in the distance. The sound was drawing nearer - making a beeline for their position. "That's Latnok. It has to be. We will hold on a little longer for him."
The ishiuds in the immediate area were dwindling in number, most of their reinforcements having been lost in the tunnel collapse. The group only had to hold off the few left here.

Ilasi observed as the creature continued its rampage. She slowly shook her head as Maverick asked her about the creature.
"That isn't like any behemoth I've ever seen," she said anxiously. "They certainly can't do anything like that. I've never seen this thing before." Ilasi had little idea what to do - battle was not her forte, much less something like this.

Raclaw's ears perked-- almost like that of a dog eager to see it's human. He continued to help hold off the few remaining ishiuds alongside Angora and Darkheart, using his fire in combination with his own tail spikes.

Angora gave a small smile when she saw Latnok returning.
"No you idiot. He might see you." Angora said in her mind, not wanting Latnok to know how worried she has been. She didn't know how he was funding his way around this mess, but assumed Neo was helping him. She was too distracted attacking the creatures to notice Raclaw's actual play in this. They only needed a few seconds... a few seconds, and every single one of them could get out of there alive. If only those darn bugs would leave them alone...

Quote: A Guy

Ilasi observed as the creature continued its rampage. She slowly shook her head as Maverick asked her about the creature.
"That isn't like any behemoth I've ever seen," she said anxiously. "They certainly can't do anything like that. I've never seen this thing before." Ilasi had little idea what to do - battle was not her forte, much less something like this.

Maverick put his hand on her shoulder, sensing her despair. On his other side, Dahlia looked for his comfort as well. He saw around him, Mischief also looking at the beast in awe and terror. It's like they all knew that if reached the ship, they would likely be all doomed. Not even the White Shadow, who was literally a deity,mwas enough to stop it. It slowed it down at best, but it wasn't stopping it. What were they suppose to do against a creature like this? What if it was stronger than even a behemoth itself? But... surely the Guardians have faced something similar to this... haven't they?

Darkheart couldn't help but smile slightly seeing Latnok return safely. "Congratulations on surviving. No seriously. Now then... Let's get out of here."

Mischief continued to observe the beast even in the middle of the fight, strangely calm all things considered. "Lightning energy. Nice touch, as if this beast wasn't overkill already. There's got to be a solution. We'll find its weakness. Then we'll kill it." The vixen started approaching, to better observe the monster, weaving a path of destruction through the chaotic melee. She seemed emotionless, unnaturally calm. Unnervingly serene. She gathered her Mana to prepare for one of the most devastating spells ever, praying to whoever was in charge that she could do something to stop this beast before anyone else got hurt. "Well, Choco. This is it. Now or never. If we don't survive, I want you to know I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess." She was practically glowing, so much Mana swirling around her she was hard to see.
Choco loyally followed her. If this was the end, he'd go down fighting.

The monstrosity continued its unstoppable onslaught, not so much as blinking in response to cannon fire. Its heavy tail slammed into buildings that it missed as it marched forward.
Veris flew over the creature, barely skimming it as he did so, as Sere tried to get a read on its capabilities. The monster either was unable or didn't care enough to strike at the flying duo, though Sere made sure to remain clear of the tail.
Its skin doesn't have any noticeable weak spots... Sere noted as he made his passes. If the thing could be immobilized somehow, perhaps it could be made vulnerable...
Hmm...

As Latnok moved forward, he continued to blast his way through all of the debris standing in between him and the locator. Though it pained him to keep pushing himself, he knew the others were waiting for him. He couldn't afford to stop.
Finally, he blasted the last wall of debris out of his way. There was a clear path from here. He kept pushing forward.
The telltale sounds of combat. Ishiuds were nearby. They weren't ready for him to join the fight. He was soon in range, charging a powerful force bolt and blasting away two of the ones in his way, revealing his allies.
"Latnok!" Julian called out as he shot another wooden spike. "Get in, quick!" Latnok would oblige, soon entering the root.

Angora helped pull in the rest of his body, avoiding his gaze. She was relieved to have him there at last, though there was no way she was going to admit it. It was finally time to get out of there. As crazy and unbelievable as it sounded, it looked like all of them were going to get out of there at last. It was only a matter of the root doing it's job now...

Quote: A Guy

The monstrosity continued its unstoppable onslaught, not so much as blinking in response to cannon fire. Its heavy tail slammed into buildings that it missed as it marched forward.
Veris flew over the creature, barely skimming it as he did so, as Sere tried to get a read on its capabilities. The monster either was unable or didn't care enough to strike at the flying duo, though Sere made sure to remain clear of the tail.
Its skin doesn't have any noticeable weak spots... Sere noted as he made his passes. If the thing could be immobilized somehow, perhaps it could be made vulnerable...
Hmm...

Maverick was about to ask the captain what they should do now,mbut he was shocked to see that he wasn't there. Wait, was that... Veris? If he was there, it meant Sere was mounting him. How come he didn't notice until now? Too many distractions no doubt. He should've known he would try to face that thing head on. It was crazy, but probably something Sere was used to. His real concern started when he saw what Mischief was doing.
"Mi... Muschief! What are you doing!? Get back here!" he scolded, not wanting anything to happen to the tall fox on his watch...

Maverick continued seeing the might of the beast slamming everything in it's path, and the White Shadow once again trying hard to stop it. He was more worried about Mischief.
"Oscurito! Protect Mischief however you can!" he instructed, not caring if he was forbidden from talking to him. Clearly this was a different circumstance, so it shouldn't count. Thanks to the dragolets, many of the ishiuds were being destroyed before they were even given a chance to come to the ship, but with them in a hive, Maverick still had to intercept some with his sword, and some still managed to bring injury to the sailors. He wondered if there were any deaths by now, but he couldn't afford any distractions. He didn't know if there were fatalities yet, but he knew with certainty that if the beast reached the ship, it would be absolute...

The monster would not be stopped, continuing its motion forward as if the White Shadow wasn't there. At most, it would give the Shadow a token tail swing; it was, however, more focused on destroying the buildings on the island, and pushing forward.
The skin's too thick... Sere thought to himself, as he watched the futile attack on the monster. Skin's too thick. We need to attack this creature in a way that does not involve trying to hurt it by hitting its body directly. To that end, he had a plan. It was a bit of a gambit, but perhaps it could work out.

As the root finally began its motion, Latnok stood up as best he could, trying not to show how absolutely fatigued he was. There was more to come. He couldn't afford to show weakness now, lest the others question his capabilities.
He didn't say anything immediately. He was still processing everything that had happened. They had dealt a major blow to the enemy, using their own tricks against them. This was a win. Now there was another battle to attend to.

Darkheart stayed with Raclaw, snuggling him affectionately.

Mischief shook her head, unable to see any weak point in reach. Swinging her arms out to clear Ishiuds away with a blast of raw Mana, which few creatures had any defenses against, she growled in frustration. The skin is too thick and I don't see a way to approach the few unarmored spots. Maybe the mind is less well armored. And what does that mean? If we use a mental attack, we don't have to worry about that armor. And how do you propose we do that? There's a move called Extrasensory. It's a purely mental attack, but deals actual harm by showing the victim a terrible vision. Essentially gives the victim a heart attack. Am I to assume you know how to use it? That's not a surprise. You're not exactly nice, so being that merciless is entirely in character. Hush. We're out of range anyway. Until we've got a plan of attack, we should do a strategic retreat. I... Guess that's sensible. She glanced up at Sere and Veris, while storing the excess Mana in her orb and returning it to her bag with a sigh. She nodded at Choco, gesturing for him to return to Maverick. Choco was reluctant but obeyed. Mischief covered her arms in dark energy and slammed downward, unleashing a shockwave of dark power in the form of a Night Daze. She used her agility to return to Maverick and communicate with him. "I can't find any physical methods to hurt that thing. It may have weaker mental defenses, but that still requires getting close and we haven't got a way to do that. And the Captain's up there, so we can't really ask him. Any ideas? I've never fought something I couldn't just blow to smithereens, and the Ishiuds are less durable than that thing."

Maverick was relieved to have Mischief and Choco back, but also angry at the stunt they tried to pull.
"That thing is dangerous Mischief! Stay here!" he said upset, but also relieved to have them back and glad that Mischief wasn't above not listening to others. To be fair, Maverick did think of distracting the beast himself at some point mounting Dahlia, but he wasn't going to endanger his beloved mount like that, not to mention they were likely going to be electrocuted before even having a chance to get close. Sere seemed to be distracting the beast himself, or at least trying to. The distance was far, but enough to see what was going on. Veris looked like nothing but an annoying fly to the beast, and not even the White Shadow was enough to stop it. Destruction seemed to be it's only goal. He didn't know what Sere had in mind, but trusted that with his experience, he had some sort of plan to stop even this monster...

Quote: A Guy

As the root finally began its motion, Latnok stood up as best he could, trying not to show how absolutely fatigued he was. There was more to come. He couldn't afford to show weakness now, lest the others question his capabilities.
He didn't say anything immediately. He was still processing everything that had happened. They had dealt a major blow to the enemy, using their own tricks against them. This was a win. Now there was another battle to attend to.

Angora was trembling with the close call, but finally, they seemed to be leaving without any more setbacks. It looked like they left just in time too. Despite how many of those dead creatures were, and how many were dying with the falling debris, more always seemed to come, and a few minutes more and Angora was certain the bugs would've surrounded them. As they finally left that infernal place, Angora could see how mighty Latnok looked with his armor combined with the magical armor Neo provided, but as always, she wasn't going to let anyone notice. As they left, Angora sensed what felt like little tremors all around her, but she dismissed them as nothing more than the explosions making everything rumble. She didn't know what the ship was going through, even less believed something could go wrong after this victory...

Mischief grumbled. "I did ask a question. I'd appreciate responses once in a while. If nobody else has an idea, we're just plain doomed. That thing's indestructible from the outside, and who's brave or crazy enough to try going in? Out of those, who can actually get close enough? I can't fly. Neither can Choco. And my polymorph spells are a bit too slow for use here." She continued muttering, more to herself, trying to make a plan.

Darkheart sighs in relief... But something made her instinctively tense up. "Something's not right. Something's very wrong. We need to hurry..."