Theopalu sighed, standing from the chair he'd been sitting in. It was going to be time soon… he better head up to where the portal was now. If it was still open, anyhow. He knew that the Pillar-Born would be triumphant, the Greater Fiends were only mere mortals, after all, but now that their battle was done here, they would be moving to face Kazon, who Theopalu was almost certain was using the old Harkhall as his true lair.
The gateway should still be open, attuned to the Old Harkhall if Theopalu's suspicions were correct. He would wait by the portal, cast Third Eye, and wait until Kazon was brought low, or when the Spiral Amulet was seized from him. When that happened, he would take Lithia's amulet, and destroy it. If he did that, Lithia would never be a threat to Ahkoolis again. He would need to be fast, for surely Nolvi would attempt to return it to her. She'd not said so, but the Godling bore those eyes now, those same eyes that Lithia had. After she disappeared, he'd wondered if she'd been whisked away by Lithia. If that is truly what happened, then the Spiral Queen would no doubt task her descendent with returning the amulet.
He would not allow that to happen. He may not be able to intervene in the coming battle, but there was no rule set in place that disallowed him from seizing loot from his charges.
Jason stepped through the portal, shocked to see that he had ended up back in the Harkhall. No, that wasn't right, this place looked like the Harkhall he knew, the circular gnarled pit in the center, the thrones lining the short cliff overlooking it, and the glowing Harkcrystal that hung suspended overhead… but this place was cold, quiet. The bark was a pale purple, inscribed with thousands of spirals, the wood bent, broken and splintered in dozens of places, the Harkcrystal overhead glowing a bright white, instead of a sunlight yellow.
He was unsettled to see what seemed to writhe within the crystal. Thousands of screaming faces roiled within the confines of the corrupted Harkcrystal, their screams were muffled, but definitely audible. Was that where Kazon stored his souls? He scanned the room for the Lord of Hate, but saw nothing, not on infrared nor his motion tracker. The others emerged beside him, weapons drawn as they scanned the chamber.
"Where is he?" Lance asked, hands clutching her Visus, "There's no way he isn't here somewhere- By the Pillars!" She gasped, looking up at the corrupted Harkcrystal, "No…" She muttered to herself, "What has he done!?"
"Focus, Lance." Jason told her firmly, "Kazon first, then we'll worry about that."
Lance nodded, but her eyes were still moistening as they stared up at the crystal, "I'll free you from this, I swear it." She promised the crystal.
Alistair's eyes were peeled, as wide as they could go as he looked all around the Harkhall, "He's a weak coward, he knows his magic is nothing compared to mine."
Kid'ka sneered, "And that his might is nothing compared to mine."
"Keep cool heads," Twindil told them, "Remember, having our minds clouded by him will only hinder us."
Elum emerged from the portal behind them, the eye in his shoulder immediately focusing on a single point in the hall, the main root throne where the Harkmother would have sat.
The Ifrit pointed upward, "He is there."
Jason lifted the Perforatus and immediately opened fire in that direction, not questioning Elum's reasoning. The rounds tore through the throne, reducing it to nothing in a single second before Jason moved the firing line across the entire upper half of the chamber, destroying the other thrones and punching through the walls of the Harkhall with ease. Wood dust flew through the air as the barrels of the chaingun whirred, sending chunks of wood flying in all directions.
Massive holes carved themselves into the walls, the Harkcrystal seeming to shake with each and every impact. The tree was still technically alive, Jason realized, as a Fiend itself. This had to be causing it a great deal of pain, maybe shattering the crystal would put it out of its misery? He should break it anyway, he was certain that Kazon was using it to empower himself. Jason lifted up the barrel of the Perforatus, the barrels glowing a deep red as the bullets flew toward the crystal.
Only for those bullets to ricochet off some unseen force, reflecting back to the party. Jason stopped firing, dropping the Perforatus before drawing Zaiga, his arms a blur as he moved faster than could be seen. He then raised the shield, blocking any bullets from hitting Lance. He couldn't allow her to be hurt again, nor could he let the vehicle bottles get damaged. Depending on how this went, they would need them.
The party scrambled away from the rounds, all save for Kid'ka, who simply blurred as he moved to avoid the bullets, not moving from where he stood. Jason could see the motions clearly, but he doubted that anyone else would have been able to. Kid'ka was slowly coming to be as fast as Tuji had been, perhaps even faster. Suddenly, Kazon appeared before them, seeming to blink into reality from nothing. He appeared on Jason's motion tracker, indicating that this was the real man.
"So now here you've arrived, ready to-"
Jason immediately drew the Fortis and fired on Kazon, who batted away the rounds as if they were just bugs, using his index and middle fingers to do so.
"As I was saying, you've arrived, ready-"
Jason put away the Fortis quickly and drew the Magnus, bracing it against his shield before firing, charging at the Lord of Hate as he did so. Kazon ducked under the blasts, the root wall behind him cratering from the force of the impact. He flew over Jason quickly, avoiding the gunfire with apparent ease. He hovered overhead as Jason began to reload, stretching out his arms.
"You've arrived, finally ready to face your dest-"
A golden mote of fire sped up toward Kazon, the Lord of Hate dispelling it with a casual wave of his hand before Lance began firing on him with her rifle. He deflected the bullets, descending to the ground as Nolvi stared at him, a field of near transparent force surrounding him. Nolvi fell to her knees as Kazon punched straight through the field, the air itself seeming to shatter into glass before vanishing. She huffed, hand going to her brow as she struggled for breath. Whatever she'd done had taken a lot of power, for Kazon to just brush it aside did not bode well.
"To face your destiny-"
"Die you bastard!" Kid'ka shouted, darting forth and lashing out at Kazon's head with a kick.
Kazon caught Kid'ka's ankle, throwing him off into the wall right as Twindil bore down on him, a snarl on her face as she swung her blade. Kazon ducked back, Halm coming up behind him with both hands clasped over his head. He brought down both fists in unison, Kazon catching the Fiends wrists, his feet sinking deeply into the root floor.
"Your destiny!" Kazon shouted, right before crushing Halm's wrists.
The orc screamed in agony before Kazon slammed him into the ground, shaking the whole chamber.
"Fate has finally-" Kazon continued, right before Elum conjured a ball of acid that appeared right over the cloaked man's head.
He darted away from it, ducking another shot from the Magnus as Twindil quickly healed Halm. Kid'ka pressed Kazon with a flurry of blows, the Lord of Hate dodging each strike with apparent ease.
"Fine then!" Kazon shouted, voice filled with irritation. "You fools have no sense for spectacle, now perish!"
White tendrils exploded forth from the Harkcrystal above, each one writhing with thousands of screaming faces that called out to them, warning them to get away. Jason fired at the crystal again, but like last time the blast was deflected.
"Your souls are mine, now it's time for me to rise, as the new Pillar-God of Death!" Kazon shouted maniacally, sounding ecstatic.
Jason stepped away from the tendrils as they approached, the others scrambling to get as far away from them as possible. If those could trap his spirit inside the crystal, then he'd be suffering for eternity, it would be worse than even the Chair. Right before the tendrils reached them all though, Alistair snapped his fingers. Just like that, every single one of them dissipated, screaming spirits sent fluttering away, shouting their thanks as they vanished through the ceiling as white streamers of light. Kazon put a hand to his chest as this happened, shaking his head as he ducked away from Kid'ka's attacks.
"I don't think so." The blonde sneered.
"You've grown stronger than I thought." Kazon noted begrudgingly, "But it doesn't matter, I will just need to harvest this crop by hand."
"I won't let you cast a single spell!" Alistair shouted, "The Harkhall will be your tomb!"
"None of us will." Elum said, glaring.
Jason could feel dozens of spells flare up from Kazon before pittering out, never able to be fully realized. He threw in his own Dispels as well, keeping the Lord of Hate from using his complete arsenal of spells. In a way, Kazon and the party almost completely cancelled one another out when it came to casting… almost. Kazon was still readying a spell, Jason didn't know what it was, but he, nor Alistair or Elum could Dispel it.
Baomiel charged up on Kazon's flank, summoning a spear of light before thrusting it at the Lord of Hate. Jason ran up on the other flank, drawing Malthung after magnetizing the Magnus and joining in on the barrage. Jason found himself baffled as Kazon avoided blows from all three of them with ease, batting away Malthung as if it were nothing but a plastic toy. His hatred grew, but Jason suppressed it, knowing that would do nothing to help him.
What Kazon had done to Lance and his fellow Ternans would be avenged, but he'd not let emotion sweep him away, not here, not in the middle of combat. He needed to be cold and ruthless, to feel nothing for his enemy except to acknowledge that he needed to die. Halm joined them with a mighty roar, Twindil beside him and his wrists fully healed. Kazon had no choice but to retreat away from the five of them, wriggling his fingers before four humanoid shapes emerged from the roots, breaking away from the wall before charging into the fray.
Golems, four of them, made up the spiral-etched root clusters. He was shocked to see that they resembled the Phalanx suit, if vaguely. This explained why he was constantly called a Golem.
"You may be able to block most of my castings, but not all of them!" Kazon laughed, gesturing the Golems forth.
Baomiel thrust his spear at one, the Golem twisting out of the way before delivering a brutal punch to the angel's midsection. Twindil carved an arm off of another, but that Golem then used the tip of that severed arm to try stabbing her. She ducked, countering the strike by slicing clean through its midsection. It fell to the ground in two pieces, right as Jason bisected his own foe with his blade.
Malthung pulsed as it bit through the gnarled wood, Jason for some reason feeling like the blade was…unsatisfied? Ridiculous, Artifact it may be, but it was still an inanimate object, tools did not have feelings. He bashed Zaiga straight through a wooden head, using the edge of the round shield and sending a hundred splinters flying across the chamber.
Halm grabbed one by the throat, the thing battering against his steel body uselessly before he slammed it into the ground, breaking into small chunks of wood. Baomiel used his body's lower half to consume his foe, crunching it between his massive lower jaws. The upper half pierced it through the head as the bestial maw masticated, spitting out the golem in pieces. Kid'ka maintained his assault on the Lord of Hate, but Kazon had other plans, darting past the Tongue quickly, running straight for Jason.
"Flip!" Kazon shouted, leaping up before tapping him on the helmet.
His whole perception of the world then turned upside down. The floor was now the ceiling, with Jason walking on top of it. Even with his view flipped, he still maintained perfect balance. He swung with Malthung, Kazon bracing a hand against the flat of the blade before leaping up in the air. The tip of the sword caught a small piece of his cloak however- tearing it free to reveal a suit of fluted silvery armor. The helmet only had two eye holes for vision, both glowing with a deep purple flame. An amulet in the shape of a spiral dangled from his neck, the exact Artifact he needed to retrieve for Lithia.
"He's a Reaver!" Twindil shouted, shocked, "Vile creature!"
"Indeed," Kazon told her, floating in the air. "You are the only ones who've survived me long enough to learn the truth, not that it matters!"
From both of his open palms, two long spiralling blades of purple light emerged. His hand grasped at the light itself as he landed, immediately being beset upon by Kid'ka. Kazon ducked a punch before countering with a slice from one of his spectral blades. It phased straight through Kid'ka's arm, leaving no apparent damage.
Yet Kid'ka let out a horrible scream of agony, the limb falling slack before turning from purple to grey. Lance fired more shots, but once again Kazon dodged the bullets with ease, Alistair coming up on his flank with hammer raised, Golden Flame enwrapping it. Kazon spun around Alistair quickly, dispelling the flame coating the hammer before thrusting straight for the blonde man's heart.
A gray tendril reached out from across the chamber, grabbing Kazon by the ankles before yanking him backwards roughly across the roots. Elum's arm had elongated, the hand vanishing to form a single thick point. Elum threw Kazon against the wall hard, face completely blank of emotion as the Reaver indented the wall. The tendril withdrew as Elum's eyes found Jason, clearly understanding what he wanted to do next.
Jason's vision was still flipped as he ran for the Perforatus, putting away his sword and shield before swiping it up from the ground. As this happened, Twindil rushed over to Kid'ka, putting her hand over his dead arm. That warm glow enveloped the limb, but the grayness didn't vanish.
"This can't be!" Twindil cried, "It's not healing!?"
He immediately opened fire where Kazon was stuck, the rounds denting and punching through the plate armor with ease. Wood dust filled the air where the rounds struck, occluding Kazon's body, yet despite that Jason continued to fire. He fired until the Perforatus clicked empty, the tips of the barrels a bright orange.
Were it made of anything other than tungsteel, the gun would have melted into slag from that barrage. He dropped the gun, drawing the Magnus as he clicked on his thermals. There was still a humanoid figure there, but the reading was cold, not warm. Had Kazon been eliminated-
The figure blurred toward him from the smoke, the armor gone to reveal a figure of pure purple flame and glowing white eyes. Jason fired, but the slug passed straight through Kazon as if he were made from air. Two ethereal blades sunk straight through the Phalanx suit, as if the armor wasn't even there before the spectral blades pierced him all the way through. It was like having two spikes of ice driven through him, paralyzing him in place. The cold wasn't just in his body, but something else… something deeper than that. Kazon then ripped the spectral blades upward, straight through Jason's lungs and shoulders, cutting off his breath and killing his arms. He fell to his knees, just before Kazon drove the blades straight through his helmet.
Then everything became black.
Lance stared wide eyed as Jason fell over, limp as a corpse as the flaming demon that was Kazon stood over his body. He would get up soon, something like that wouldn't be able to kill Jason, surely not… Yet as Kazon walked over his body, she was horrified to see that the man she loved didn't rise. She looked over to Kid'ka, Twindil's healing and his own regeneration failing to repair the damage those spectral blades had caused. She then looked back to Jason, a pit of deep despair forming in her chest as he continued to just- to just lay there.
Silence, just for a moment as everyone save for Elum and Kazon stared in shock at Jason's lifeless body. It just could not be, he couldn't be dead, not after all this! Tears began welling in her eyes as Kazon began to laugh, fully stepping over Jason's corpse.
"You think that a man who's ascended his body cannot ascend his spirit?" Kazon asked, shaking his flaming head, "Divinity is waiting for me to claim it, look," He continued, gesturing to Jason, "I've slain your Dragon and crippled a Son of Zodd himself." Kazon laughed, "The wounds these blades inflict cannot be healed, and I don't have a body that can be harmed, all that dodging earlier was merely to preserve my armor, and that has been ruined. It was the last remnant of my humanity, but it is fitting that I would shed that old shell now as I'm about to ascend to godhood!"
Alistair grit his teeth, stepping toward Kazon, "If you are so bold, then why dispel my Golden Flame?"
Kazon shook his head, "It is futile, I outclass you all. It would be easier if you just let me do this, give me your souls, and I can save Decuma." He told them, levelling his blades at them, "This world is doomed to repeat this cycle endlessly, to go through the Godling Wars again and again. If I ascend without destroying the world, Ahkoolis will have another millenia to develop, then by time the next Godling War begins, the mortals will actually stand a chance against the Pillar-Born." He stretched his arms out to the ceiling, "Don't you see? I am the savior of this world," He said, tone shaking with a madness Lance had scarcely heard before, "Your God of Death, waiting to claim his throne amongst the only ones worthy to be his equal! I will ascend without destroying Ahkoolis, thus saving it!"
"Shut up." Alistair snarled, "Your delusions of grandeur make me sick. You do not have the blood of divinity, no matter what you do Kazon, godhood will never be yours. You're a wannabe, nothing more."
"Your fiance screamed for you, you know?" Kazon asked Alistair, sounding as if he were suppressing a laugh, "When I took her soul, she pleaded for you to save her. Where were you, Alistair, when that happened? Where were you?" He repeated, mockery in his tone.
Alistair slapped his warhammer, coating it in Golden Flame before moving to strike the ground. Almost immediately the Flame dissipated, the hammer splintering the floor into a dozen chunks where it impacted.
"You'd bring down our arena so soon?" Kazon laughed, "I think not. Remember, the Rotting Ilum is a Fiend… being so reckless with Foundation could kill you all."
"I'll kill you!" Alistair screamed, face red and veins bulging.
Lance saw as Kazon began to glow brighter in response to Alistair's outburst. She could hardly bring herself to raise her rifle at the Lord of Hate, eyes still transfixed on Jason's body. The world became blurry, the tears unceasing as she failed to tear her eyes away from him. He couldn't just die like this, not after everything they had been through!
Kid'ka let out a scream of agony, so loud that it drew Lance's gaze away from Jason. She goggled at the Pillar Born, watching as he pulled at his useless arm with the remaining one. Twindil reached to stop him, but it was too late. Kid'ka tore off his own arm, flinging it at Kazon with a snarl. The limb passed straight through, landing with a wet plop against the wall.
"If I can't fix this arm, then I'll just grow a new one!" Kid'ka shouted, blood spurting from the stump.
Lance gasped as his arm began to regrow quickly, the veins on Kid'ka's face bulging as the limb quickly began to reform itself. It expanded downward, forging new bone before wrapping itself in muscle and flesh. Kazon ran forth, but Kid'ka leapt backward in response, buying himself more time to let his arm regrow. Baomiel thrust his spear at Kazon, and much to Lance's surprise, the Lord of Hate opted to dodge it. Wasn't he supposed to be immune to all attacks? She watched as Twindil clasped her hands together, gritting her teeth before a sudden sense of ease came over Lance.
Afina's peace washed over all who were present, almost completely erasing Lance's anguish and apparently purging Alistair's wrath. The redness in his face faded, the sheer hate in his eyes dimming as he began to focus. Kazon's flame began to dim slightly in response, and the Lord of Hate turned his attention to the paladin.
"Her peace has no place in a land of hate!" Kazon shouted, "Suffer!"
He waved his hand in her direction, Twindil gasping in shock before falling to her knees. Afina's peace floundered, filling Lance's heart with dread once again as she remembered Jason's state. Alistair once again snapped his fingers, and just like that, the pained expression on Twindil's face faded, the paladin rising to her feet once more. Halm drove a fist straight through Kazon's ethereal form, the strike passing straight through the flaming body as if it weren't there.
Kazon retaliated by slashing his blades through Halm's gut.
"Exist in eternal darkness, fool." Kazon laughed, ripping his blades up through Halm's torso before they passed through his skull.
No sound came from the orc as he fell to the ground, completely limp, expression blank as his glassy eyes stared at nothing. There was a brief instant of silence that passed before Kid'ka bared his teeth.
"You bastard!" Kid'ka shouted, "Prepare to die!"
"You can't regrow forever, boy-" Kazon began.
"You've forgotten me." Nolvi gasped in a cold tone, spiral eyes wide, "Don't move."
Every vein on her temple bulged as her eyes were locked firmly on Kazon. The Lord of Hate seemed completely motionless, unable to move. Lance, on instinct, lashed her blades across the room, straight for Kazon's neck. The amulet was still there, inexplicably suspended around his ethereal neck. Her aim wasn't to destroy the amulet, of course not, her chains weren't Artifacts, but if her guess was correct, then neither was the chain holding it to his neck!
The blade sliced through the chain, the amulet falling to the ground. A gasp from Kazon, the shock keeping him in place for just a moment longer as Lance scrambled for the amulet. Right as her hand was about to grab it, Kazon broke free from his paralysis, hearing Nolvi let out a gasp of agony as he did so. A spectral blade sped toward Lance's head, and right then she knew that she was going to die.
Only for Baomiel's light spear to deflect the spectral blade, knocking Kazon's arm away right as Lance's hand closed around Lithia's amulet. She embedded her other blade into a far wall, whispering a quick apology to the Rotted Ilum as she pulled herself away from danger.
"You bitch!" Kazon shouted angrily, his previous composer completely absent, "When I reach godhood, I will torment your very spirit for all eternity, right after I burn your precious forest to the ground!"
He then ducked through Baomiel's guard, thrusting his blades through the angel. Strangely, Baomiel's upper half smirked.
"Begone!" Alistair shouted, snapping his fingers again.
In that moment, Baomiel exploded into a ball of Golden Flame, enwrapping Kazon who let out a scream of agony, purple and gold mixing as he flailed wildly. Kazon dispelled the fire, but his glow was dimmer now, the flame nearly black instead of purple. Raw Foundation could hurt him after all, there was hope! She needed to keep this amulet away from him no matter what, she needed to get it to Nolvi!
She looked up, seeing the girl laying down, coated with sweat and shaking. It had taken everything she had to restrain Kazon for just that brief instant, but if she could get the amulet, then Lithia could whisk her away to safety, along with the Artifact. Lance darted around the battle, the Pillar-Born keeping Kazon busy as she darted toward Nolvi. Much to her surprise, Theopalu emerged from the portal, staring right at Lance.
"Good work. Give it to me." He ordered, stepping in front of Nolvi, "I will take care of it from here."
Lance hesitated, causing Theopalu to frown, "What is the matter? Hand it to me now! If I destroy it, Lithia will never threaten our world again!"
"I can't." She told him, "If I don't then Jason-"
"He is dead!" He reasoned, "I don't know what the Spiral Queen told you, but if you give Nolvi that amulet, Lithia's power will be restored!"
"She's bound, there is no way for her to escape anyhow!" Lance shouted back, "And you don't know that Jason's dead!"
He shook his head, walking toward her briskly, "Through the Third Eye I've seen what has happened. No one can recover from a Reaver's blade, girl. Now do the right thing and hand me that amulet."
She hesitated, looking back to see that the battle with Kazon was still ongoing. He was desperately trying to fight his way past the party to reach her, screaming in rage every time he was disrupted by Alistair. Twindil was still emanating Afina's peace, eyes shut as she poured everything she had into maintaining the aura. Elum had joined the fray as well finally, flinging balls of Silver Flame at the Lord of Hate. It wasn't clear if Kazon understood what it was, but he moved to dodge them regardless. Kazon was fully focused on dispelling Alistair's spells, needing to focus on keeping the Rotting Ilum from burning.
"Lance." Theopalu snarled, grabbing her wrist and twisting painfully, "The amulet." He ordered firmly, "Now. Don't make me hurt you, girl."
His eyes were wide, the only emotion on display in his green eyes being urgency. She tried and failed to pull away from him, his fingers like steel. He then began to squeeze, eliciting a cry of agony from her as she felt the bones grind together. She shut her eyes, shaking her head as he moved to pry her hand open.
"He's not dead!" Lance shouted, "He's not! I need to get this to Nolvi or he'll be Lithia's slave forever!"
"That's not my issue. I care not what deals he has made, they are null anyway." He told her, "He's a dead man."
"Negative."
She opened her eyes to see Jason grabbing Theopalu by the back of the neck, "Release her." He ordered, his tone darker than she'd ever heard it before, "Or I'll kill you."
"You don't know what you are doing." Theopalu gasped, not releasing Lance's wrist, "If you return the-"
Jason squeezed, cracking Theopalu's neck like a twig. The Watcher crumpled limply to the ground, but instead of rushing to her fellow Watcher's side… she shamefully found herself rushing to embrace Jason, burying her face in his chestplate and weeping with relief. To her horror she found she cared not for Theopalu's death, only that Jason was alive- thank the Pillars, he was alive!
"Get the amulet to Nolvi." He told her, "Quickly."
Lance didn't say a word as she darted toward the girl, amulet in hand as Theopalu slowly began to rise, his neck cracking back into place. Lance didn't stop to glance behind herself as she went, but she heard Theopalu screaming.
"No, don't do it!" He yelled, Lance ignoring his plea, "You leave me no choice!"
She turned, seeing a mote of Golden Flame fast approaching her. Green eyes widened in shock as her death drew close- only for the mote to fizzle out before it could reach her. Jason was holding Theopalu back, the Demigod struggling against the Outworlder's grip. The fact that Theopalu could even put up a struggle against Jason was testament to his hidden strength. She turned back away, running toward Nolvi before the ground rose up to meet Lance, her forehead impacting the floor hard as something unseen pulled her back toward Theopalu.
Looking back, she could see one of Theopalu's hands stretched out toward her, his face red with effort. Jason withdrew his Sectis, thrusting straight for the demigods heart, keeping a firm hold on his shoulder as he did so. Theopalu batted the knife away with a slap, palm striking the flat of the blade just before it could make impact, this distraction freed Lance, who scrambled to her feet, running for Nolvi. Once again, she tripped, catching herself on one hand before using the other to toss the amulet to Nolvi.
"No!" Theopalu shouted, finally breaking free of Jason's grip, after avoiding another knife thrust, "You'll kill us all!"
Nolvi caught the amulet, still sweating profusely before she slid it over her neck-
Everything froze in that instant. Lance found herself unable to move from where she stood, stuck in place. What was happening?
Jason couldn't move, but why? Lithia had given him her protections against his armor being locked up by Kazon, hadn't she? Theopalu was also similarly frozen in place, unable to move as Jason was. Only his cameras allowed him to see what had happened to everyone else. The Pillar-Born, along with Kazon himself, were also frozen in place, stuck where they stood. Nolvi stood shakily, coughing violently before stumbling toward Jason. She shook her head, rubbing at her eyes a moment before coughing again, falling to all fours as she began to hurl.
She looked up at Jason, veins around her temples bulging, "What- What's happening- I," She coughed again, more violently this time, "I don't feel right-"
Jason tried to move, to run to her and remove the amulet, but he was still unable to so much as part his lips, much less move his legs. The amulet was clearly causing some kind of negative reaction, Theopalu had said just before this happened that this would kill them all. He strained against his paralysis more as he remembered what Nolvi had told him before, back in Lithia's jail. She wanted the chance to live a good, normal life, if that amulet wasn't removed, she'd never get the chance to live it to the fullest. He needed to help her!
Nolvi looked to Lance, "Can you t-take this necklace off of me?" She asked her, "I can't-" She gasped, "I can't grasp it… Lance?" She asked, narrowing her eyes in apparent confusion.
She then turned to the party, still frozen in combat with Kazon, "Twindil? Alistair? Kid'ka?" She asked, "Elum? Can any of you m-move?" She asked, shuddering.
When she received no answer, her head craned up toward Theopalu, "What is happening?" She asked him, once again receiving no answer.
"C-Cousin?" Nolvi asked, skin growing pale as her spiralling eyes found Jason, "Please h-help me."
There had to be a way to break this. He channeled raw Foundation, pushing to dispel whatever it was that held him still. Nolvi's life was in danger, and as strange as it was to admit, she was his family by blood. He couldn't just let her die, not like this, not due to some strange allergic reaction! Jason would save her, he just needed to push himself a little harder. He drew in more Foundation, nearing to the point where it became painful to hold. He felt like a balloon that was about to pop, yet when he pushed all that Foundation into Dispel… it had no effect. He was still completely frozen in place.
Blood began to seep from Nolvi's eyes, the bloody tears flowing down each cheek as she tried to crawl toward Jason, reaching out to him, "Cousin?" She asked, "Please- I can't-"
Then she suddenly rose, like a marionette on strings, suspended in the air as she began to scream, "I don't want to go! Mother!? Mother help me!"
The blood continued to pour from her eyes, a waterfall of crimson that refused to drip to the floor. Rather, it enwrapped Nolvi, congealing into a cocoon that slowly descended to the ground, hovering above the shattered roots. After a moment, a crack appeared in the hardened blood, splitting open with a flash of purple fire before it all melted away, seeping into the roots to reveal Nolvi standing there, her back turned toward them all.
What had just happened? Was she alright? Suddenly Nolvi stretched her arms high into the air, letting out a long sigh before turning toward them all, eyes shut.
That was not Nolvi. Her face was similar, but the nose was more bold, reminding Jason of an eagle. It was not unbecoming, rather it complimented the rest of her perfectly symmetrical face. Her raven dark hair was long, falling down to the middle of her back in a dozen spiralling curls. She wore Nolvi's clothes, but they were ill-fitted to her fuller frame. The spiral necklace that hung from her neck glowed a dim purple now, as opposed to looking like stone.
"You cannot blame me for this." The woman wearing Nolvi's clothes said, opening her spiraling eyes, "This was the only opportunity for me to escape my prison, to be free of that damnable cylinder. You will hate me for what I have done to Nolvi, and believe me, I wish it didn't have to be this way… I loved her, this is true, but I love my freedom far more."
...Lithia!?
She shook her head, "Kazon, you fool, you've gotten yourself in a bind it seems." Lithia told him, crossing her arms, "Well do not expect me to save you this time, you've brought this fate upon yourself the instant you betrayed me. I didn't know that you had become a Reaver, but that wouldn't have made you any more a god than before. You had a mortal body, the spirit is not what ascends the Pillar-Born, it is their divine blood. You have been wasting your time with this foolish game." She scolded, pointing a derisive finger at him, "Honestly." She then frowned, looking down at Lance, "I'm sorry for having lied to you about the true effects of my amulet, but it needed to be done to ensure I gained the freedom that I deserve. Nolvi never would have been born without my blood anyhow, in a way, she's merely repaying the existence I granted her. A final gift from grandaughter to grandmother. I'm sure she would have wanted it this way."
A rage like Jason had never felt before sent his blood to boiling. It overwhelmed Afina's peace, and he drew more Foundation than ever before, feeling something within him begin to burn. His mouth forced its way open.
"How dare you!?" He screamed, still unable to move the rest of his body, "How could you do this to her!? She was your own flesh and blood! She trusted you!"
Lithia frowned, turning to Jason, "You've grown strong, my student." She told him, approaching at a casual pace, "You ask how I could have done such a thing… Think of what your father, the Banished Child, did to you. He viewed you as a useful tool; I felt the same way about Nolvi. She served her purpose and was useful, she was a good tool for me, as you were to Jyn." She shrugged, "Despite what I've done, I loved her."
"She wanted to live her own life, a quiet and peaceful one!" Jason shouted, tearing his vocal chords, "She wasn't born to be used by you! Don't you dare say you loved her!"
He clenched his jaw, pushing himself further until he felt himself burning away. The golden glow of Foundation began to wrap around his armor, forming an aura that removed the paralysis. Free to move, he immediately charged Lithia, blurring straight next to her in an instant before rearing back the Sectis to stab her through the heart.
But she vanished in that instant, the Sectis only finding air. She appeared behind him, visible on his rear camera, and he swung for her head with the back of his fist. He moved faster than a bullet, but despite that, she vanished again, Jason only hitting air.
"I'll kill you!" He screamed, the force of the shout seeming to shake the entire chamber, "Lithia!" Blood coated the interior of his helmet, his wrath tearing his throat asunder.
He barely noticed the fields of force that covered Lance and the party, saving their eardrums from being burst.
"You'll knock down the tree at this rate." Lithia giggled, floating above him, "You've crippled yourself permanently with this stunt of yours."
Jason jumped up at her, snarling like an animal as he glowed gold. She shook her head, a gigantic spectral hand emerging from nowhere to grab him in mid-air. In an instant, Foundation fled him, leaving him as an empty husk. Something felt deeply wrong with him now- like he'd just lost something he could never get back.
"It was impressive that you could free yourself, even under my power." Lithia sighed, "But it is pointless, dear Jason. You'll never be able to use Foundation again, you've burnt yourself out completely."
"You don't know everything." Jason gasped, still glaring up at her.
"Oh?" She asked, quirking a brow, "Some Outworlder knowledge that I'm not privy to? No matter, I'm done playing with you now." She finished, dropping Jason to the ground.
The anger didn't leave him, but his body refused to respond to his commands, simply laying there as he gasped for breath. Lithia landed beside Theopalu, frowning deeply at him.
"If I see you again after this, I will not be so merciful… but to honor the long nights we've shared, I'll spare you this once." She whispered in his ear, "Goodbye, Theopalu." She pulled away from him, looking to Lance, "And to you, Watcher, I expect you to uphold your promise once all is said and done. If I don't hear of Lance's Vineyard in a few years time, I will be upset with you." She then grinned devilishly before turning back to Kazon, "I think it's only fair that these Pillar-Born get to have some fun with you, proper fun. Being a Reaver isn't irreversible, after all." She said, approaching him, "But I'm sure you didn't know that either. Allow me to demonstrate!"
When she reached Kazon's fiery form, she summoned a raw mote of Foundation, the color shifting from brilliant gold, to deep violet. She then thrust her hand straight through Kazon's chest, the Lord of Hate twitching in response.
"Consider this a gift to you all." Lithia said, "A way of making up for what I've done here…" She smirked, looking again to Kazon, his form beginning to solidify, "Now that I have divine blood, Kazon, the seat of Death is within my grasp now, isn't it?" She asked, before immediately disappearing.
He struggled to move, floundering for Foundation to repair himself… but it wasn't there. It was as if a limb had been completely removed from him, he felt lesser, yet despite that, he could feel a connection being rebuilt. It was slow going, but his capability to wield Foundation was returning. Just like how he recovered from Kazon's blades, his nanomachines were repairing his connection to Foundation.
His body slowly began to rise… and Jason could see that the party were continuing to fight, Twindil sobbing as she maintained her aura of peace. A pale skinned naked man was desperately ducking and dodging the blows that came his way, completely bald but with deep yellow eyes, this had to be Kazon's mortal form. He was lithe and wiry, with not a single scar stitched into his skin. Lance ran to him, tears similarly streaming down her own face as Theopalu glared at her.
"You've destroyed this world. You don't know what you've just done…" He told her, turning back to the portal as the Pillar-Born continued to fight, "I will not look upon you again, lest I lose control and crush your skull." He finished, stepping back through.
Jason bared his teeth beneath the helmet. He would have risen to kill Theopalu for good, but the elf was already gone and they still had Kazon to deal with. He struggled to his feet, Lance trying to help him stand.
"I can't believe what I've done-" Lance began, sobbing.
"Don't." Jason told her, "We were lied to, Lithia is the one who did this to Nolvi, not you, not me, her." He reasoned, "And one day, I'll make her pay for it, but right now, we need to neutralize Kazon."
He stumbled forth, falling to a knee as he tried to reach the battle. He was recovering, but at this rate the fight would be done before he could reach them. His grasp on Foundation was strengthening again, and he drew on some, but it wasn't enough to dispel anything Kazon was casting.
Alistair, Elum, and Kid'ka were still on the backfoot despite Kazon entering this weakened state. His spectral blades gone, he relied on fighting with his hands and feet, battering away at the three men as Kazon continuously tried to reach Twindil. Elum intercepted a kick with his tendril-arm, wrapping it around Kazon's ankle before pulling the Lord of Hate back toward him violently, Kazon's feet leaving the ground as he travelled back toward Elum-
Jason't eyes widened as Kazon reared back his foot, lashing it forth as he passed by the Ifrit and kicking Elum in the skull, caving in half of the Ifrit's head and splattering brain matter across the Harkhall.
"No!" Alistair and Kid'ka screamed in unison as Elum's lifeless body hit the ground.
"Your souls will be mine- my plan will still succeed, and I will become death!" Kazon shouted, reaching a hand up toward the crystal after rising back to his feet. Another white tendril stretched down toward Elum quickly, but Jason wouldn't allow this to happen. He may not be able to do much now… but he had just enough Foundation to pull off one final spell. If he couldn't pull this off, the battle would be lost. He grit his teeth as he focused, staring right at Kazon.
He drew in air and Foundation both, filling his lungs before letting out a powerful throat-tearing shout once again, the air bursting as he cast Voice Throw right in Kazon's left ear. Blood exploded from the orifice, Kazon falling to a knee before cradling his bleeding ear. Kid'ka wasted no time, launching a knee straight into the Lord of Hate's nose and shattering it completely, sending him flying toward Alistair. With teeth bared, the Son of Draoi reared back his hammer, smashing it into Kazon's back with a vicious crunch of bone.
Kazon flew straight back toward Kid'ka who grabbed him out of the air before smashing him into the ground. The impact shook the chamber, kicking up dust and debris that obscured what happened next from sight. Jason clicked on his thermals, seeing Kid'ka bashing Kazon in the face over and over again, a brutal flurry of blows that the Lord of Hate couldn't defend himself from. The figure of Alistair ran forth as well, bringing the hammer crashing down onto Kazon's legs and arms as Kid'ka continued to smash Kazon's head. The two then stood over Kazon's form, stomping viciously, sounding like rapid animals as they tore the body apart.
When the dust cleared, Alistair and Kid'ka could be seen, gasping for air as they stood over a mangled corpse that barely resembled anything human. It was in bloody pieces, scraps of pale flesh, organs, and bones being the only thing left of the Lord of Hate. The battle was finally won.
But it was a pyrrhic victory, Halm was effectively dead, Nolvi was gone, and Elum was finished.
Twindil's hands went to cover her face as she sobbed, clearly overwrought. Jason finally stood on shaking legs. Kid'ka spat on Kazon's corpse, Alistair immediately following suit before he looked over to Elum's body. He hid his face with his hands, looking away from the corpse with shaking shoulders. Kid'ka wept openly, but silently, tears flowing down his cheeks as he just stared ahead at nothing. The son of Zodd then bit his tongue so hard that it drew blood, bowing his head as he clenched his fists.
"We did it…" Lance whispered, "But it doesn't feel like we've won at all." She finished, her head hanging.
"We aren't done yet." Jason said, looking up at the Harkcrystal, "We need to break that open next."
"Destroy the Harkcrystal!?" Lance asked, baffled, "But-"
"I won't leave those souls in there for eternity." Jason told her, brows knitting together, "It isn't right."
Lance paused for a moment before she acquiesced, "I understand."
Jason drew the Magnus, aiming it straight at the crystal before pulling the trigger. The slug struck the crystal, blowing off massive chunks. Pieces of the crystal fell to the ground, white streamers billowing out from the holes made. He heard voices thanking him for freeing them, that they would remember what they had done for them for all eternity… but there were voices mixed in as well that targeted Alistair, Twindil, and Kid'ka.
The three froze, eyes wide as they told them their thanks, that they were proud of what they had accomplished and that they would be reunited one day. Alistair fell to his knees when one feminine voice said that she forgave him, dropping his hammer as he reached up to the crystal.
"Yvenne!" He cried, "Don't go! I'll treat you the way you deserved! Just please don't leave yet! Yvenne!" He yelled desperately.
"No matter how far away, I will always love you." The voice replied, "Farewell, Alistair."
"Yvenne…" Alistair replied, shoulders slackening as he stared up at the ceiling.
"You've done me proud, girl." Another deep rumbling voice said to Twindil, "As I taught you to forge good weapons, I too want you to forge for yourself a good life. Love you sweetheart, I'll see you again one day."
"I always viewed you as my real father!" Twindil cried, "I love you Hedwig!" She called out, her voice echoing through the Harkhall.
"My son." Another deep voice called out, "You've become more than any man in our bloodline ever has, you make me proud."
"Thank you, father." Kid'ka bowed, "Rest in peace."
"I'll try. Farealright- uh, I mean fareright-." The voice replied.
"I understand father." Kid'ka smiled despite the tears rolling down his face.
Jason waited until the rest of the crystal was emptied, until only the familiar golden glow of the Harkcrystal remained.
"The Greater Fae is still in there." Lance noted, "Why won't it flee?"
"Maybe it can't." Jason said, feeling a bit more steady on his feet.
"...It is not so simple." A young boy's voice echoed from the crystal, "I am Groli, the Greater Fae of this tree… I cannot leave this husk, not unless the crystal is shattered and the tree burned, that would effectively end my existence. I don't want to die though, not when my jailer has finally been laid low."
"How can we save you?" Lance asked, "Please, tell us."
"The giant man there." Groli said, "Please, take me into your home."
Jason frowned, "What does that mean?"
"I must inhabit something, or my spirit will break apart in the ether." Groli explained, "It needs to be an Artifact, a sizable one. The armor you wear would be the only way I can escape this place. If you do not wish to take me in however, death would be preferable to living like this."
Let the Greater Fae inhabit the Phalanx suit? Absolutely not, there were too many unknowns involved with such an action, it could ruin the technology that helped the suit run for all he knew. Best to just shatter the crystal and give it relief that way… however, when he looked down at Lance, there was a sort of look in her eye. A sort of desperation filled them, wide as she put a hand on his chestplate, mouthing the word 'please'.
And against all reason, he acquiesced.
"Affirmative." Jason told Groli.
"Thank you, hero." The Greater Fae replied, "I will not be a bother to you, I promise that as long as I'm under your roof, that I will look out for you and your interests."
That golden light then streamed out of the crystal, wrapping itself around Jason's armor in a gentle stream. Once it fully surrounded him, the light sunk into the Phalanx suit, eventually disappearing. Outwardly, the suit didn't feel or look all too different, but something felt different now. The suit had never been heavy on him before, but now it felt even lighter than it was originally.
"Now," Groli's voice crackled over the radio in Jason's helmet, "I must take time to rest; to recover from the millennia of torment that has been wrought upon me. Great hero, I ask of you to put my body to rest, set it alight with the Golden Flame, return its ashes to the soil. Forgive me for making such a request after you've already done so much for me. We will speak again… when next I awake."
"I can do that." Jason told the fae.
"Thank you." Groli replied in a grateful, yet bone-tired tone.
The fae didn't continue to speak after that. Jason looked to Elum's body-
"Where did he go?" Jason asked, pointing to where Elum's corpse had been.
Twindil and the others looked up, seeing that the space Elum had been was now completely empty. What had happened to him? A scan of the floor showed that he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Had he somehow healed from that injury, and had left through the portal already? It was possible, with his mutations he may be able to regenerate as well.
"Some good news?" Twindil asked, wiping away the tears in her eyes, "Maybe he got up and left?"
"Let me check up above before we make any assumptions." Jason said, pointing up to the ruined thrones of the Harkhall, "He could have been blasted up there for all we know."
He moved over to the root cluster, but Alistair was already quickly ascending the roots, face determined. Once he reached the top, Alistair looked around, but let out a curse.
"He isn't up here." He told them as he began to climb back down.
Twindil perked up, "He could be alive!"
"We won't find out until we head back through that portal." Alistair told them, immediately striding for it.
"I'm bringing Halm." Kid'ka told them, "I won't leave him here."
"Let me help you." Jason said, walking over to the orc's body.
The wounds inflicted by a Reavers blade were apparently permanent, they could not be healed. Kid'ka circumvented that rule by completely tearing off his arm to grow a new one, and Jason's nanomachines had completely replaced the parts of him that had been killed… Halm had neither of these capabilities, and likewise had no chance of recovery, he would be left a piece of unthinking meat for the rest of eternity. Jason wouldn't let him suffer that way, he'd been a steadfast ally through all of this, it wouldn't be right to let him carry on as an unmoving husk. As soon as they got back to castle Blackgaze, he'd explain to Kid'ka what would need to be done.
He heaved Halm up by the shoulders, Kid'ka grabbing his legs before they carried him over to the portal. Alistair passed through on his own, purpose in his steps. Twindil lingered by the portal for a long while, burying her face in her hands and weeping. She had loved Nolvi as if she were her own sister, at least it seemed so to Jason.
"We'll make Lithia pay." Jason told her, setting Halm down beside the portal as Lance moved to comfort her, putting her arms around the Pillar-Born.
"Let's go." Lance told her, ushering her toward the portal.
Twindil nodded, the two of them passing through and vanishing. Kid'ka moved over to Jason, right before dragging Halm through the portal, not saying a word as he did so. Jason heaved up the Perforatus from the ground, giving the Harkhall one final look around before conjuring a small mote of Foundation in his hands. He flung it into the roots, the Golden Flame spreading quickly across the chamber before he left through the portal.
Jason had burned the tree.
…It was done, Kazon, the Lord of Hate, was dead. Lance could scarcely believe that it had happened, it was all so surreal, especially since she had been involved. She had hoped that she would have been cured of the curse, but Lithia had clearly lied about that. Lance would be doomed to spend the rest of eternity as a Fiend. The thought of it nearly sent her into a fit of weeping, but now wasn't the time for that, they were still in the Fiendwood after all, still in castle Blackgaze, she could agonize over her future after they had left this horrible place.
The chamber they all entered through was still and empty as a corpse. There were no Fiendish guards rushing through to attack them, no traps to fall into, no vampiric dwarves to torment them- the quest was done, and somehow she had survived, though not unscathed. None of them were. Alistair looked around the chamber, letting out another curse before he began calling out for Elum to show himself, that these antics of his weren't funny…
There was a desperation in his tone as he continued to call for Elum, one that only intensified as he began searching through the castle on his own.
"Dear sweet Nolvi, I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you…" Twindil wept, "I failed her."
"That wasn't your fault!" Lance insisted, "Lithia betrayed her trust."
"I was supposed to keep everyone alive." She muttered, shaking her head, "What good am I? Elum is missing or dead, Nolvi has been killed, Halm may as well be dead-" Her voice caught, "I have no business leading others."
Kid'ka passed through the portal, dragging Halm along with him.
"No one on this planet could have done better, Twindil." Lance told her sincerely, "The odds were impossible, but we prevailed anyhow."
She didn't respond, head hanging as Lance guided her into sitting down. Jason finally stepped through, Perforatus in hand.
"Where is Alistair and Theopalu?" Jason asked.
Lance was glad that the demigod wasn't in the same room as them, Jason may attack him on sight at this point. She'd had enough of fighting for one day.
"Alistair's looking for Elum, as for Theopalu I don't know." She sighed, "We need to get out of here."
"Agreed." Jason told her, "We need to track down Lithia and neutralize her, after I force her to cure you."
Lance smiled, "I'm glad you want to help me, but I fear that Lithia was lying to us Jason. I'm going to be like this forever-"
"No you won't." He told her firmly, "I won't allow it."
She smiled again, but right when she was about to explain to him the permanence of her affliction… she began to feel strange. Lance looked down to her hands, seeing the purple of her flesh begin to retract into the spirals in her skin. Once the purple was gone, the spirals began to spin rapidly, shrinking until they completely vanished.
"Lance!?" Jason cried out, relief clear in his voice.
It was strange hearing such a tone from him, but it was welcome nonetheless. She was relieved as well, but before she could think on why she had been cured, she took note of Halm. The orc had returned to being a deep green shade, the spirals in his skin vanishing… but he was still unconscious. Kid'ka as well had returned to normal, flexing his fingers as he stared down at Halm. Much to Lance's shock, Halm's flesh was rapidly beginning to wrinkle, his face sagging as the skin began to hang loosely from his massive frame.
Kid'ka then looked up to the ceiling, "Zodd!" Kid'ka screamed, lifting his hands to the air, "My Third Father, grant your son and servant this one Boon! Allow me to engage in Tomah with Halm, so I might put him to rest the proper way! I beg of you, he has been suffering for all these years, Halm deserves to die properly!"
And much to Lance's shock, Kid'ka, along with Halm, disappeared from the chamber. She goggled at the space they had been, Twindil hopping up to her feet when she saw him vanish.
"Don't tell me…" Twindil whispered, "Zodd was listening to him?"
"What happened?" Jason asked, "Are we in danger?"
Twindil shook her head, sitting back down, "No. Those who dedicate themselves to a deity, such as the Tongues, may ask a Boon of their god. It's rare, but occasionally the Pillars grant these requests. Zodd himself must have seen everything, and granted Kid'ka his wish."
"Will they come back?" Lance asked, hopeful.
Twindil shook her head, "Kid'ka will come back… but not Halm."
Lance's head hung, she understood.
"We need to leave." Jason said, "Come on, Lance."
"Wait, what about you?" Lance directed at Twindil.
"I will wait here for Alistair and Kid'ka." Twindil said, tone melancholic, "Please, do not wait for me. I doubt you will wish to travel with us, especially after everything that just happened with Theopalu."
"Affirmative." Jason said, "The mission was successful, it was a pleasure working with you. I hope you find a cure." He told her.
"If you're all hearing this," Kazon's voice echoed through the halls, "Then somehow you managed to kill me. If I can't have your souls," Kazon's voice echoed in her mind, "If you would deny me godhood, then I deny you life! You may have killed me, but you will never leave Castle Blackgaze alive!"
Twindil shot to her feet, "Run! He must have put in some kind of failsafe in case we slew him!"
Jason, with his free arm, heaved Lance up and darted out of the chamber immediately, Twindil following just behind.
Jason ran quickly, Twindil barely managing to keep up with him as he went. The castle was beginning to shake now, violently. He barely managed to keep his footing, and all the gear he carried wasn't making that easier. Twindil stumbled forward, barely catching herself before continuing on. Thinking quickly, Jason dropped to a knee.
"On!" He shouted.
Twindil leapt onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck before he started to run. There wasn't an inch of space left on his back for anything else, in fact, there wasn't even enough space for Twindil. She was braced against the shield, not his armor directly. Yet she held on regardless, screaming for Alistair to escape. Thankfully the man wasn't far off, rushing toward the stairs that led down just as they were.
"Hop on!" Jason shouted at him.
"There's no room!" He yelled back as the ceiling began to crumble, "Gah, very well!"
The blonde man hopped up, grasping Jason's shoulder plate. He felt Alistair's hands magnetize to the armor, his gauntlets glowing gold as they did so. Jason then charged down the stairs, there was no time to search for Elum right now, if he really was alive, he'd need to make it out of the castle on his own. He charged the main doors, kicking straight through them and sending chunks of stone debris flying everywhere into the plaza.
As soon as he was out, he yelled, "Lance, bottle!"
She scrambled to grab one, not bothering to look at its contents before handing it to him. The ground was beginning to split open now, and a bright golden glow shone up from the spreading fissures. The ground of the plaza was spiderwebbing quickly as Jason inspected the bottle, seeing that it was the T-57 Rhino. He would have preferred the carrier but they could bring that out in a second. Jason aimed the bottle away from himself, the Rhino being spit out before them before it landed hard on the cracking stone.
It was a massive four wheeled vehicle, ten times heavier than Jason was, it was an imposing dark block of metal on wheels that could crush through nearly anything. This model, thankfully, was designed to carry troops as opposed to mounted weaponry, so the wide platform in the back was lined with a metal bench bolted right in.
"Get in now!" Jason shouted, still carrying Lance as Twindil and Alistair got off his back. He hopped into the driver's seat, cramped as it was, tossing Lance into the passenger side before clipping in her seatbelt. Twindil and Alistair, upon seeing the belts, buckled themselves in as well, eyes wide as Jason put his massive sabaton to the pedal.
The Rhino sped forward immediately, the wheels getting quick traction as the vehicle sped toward the closed gate. The ground leading up to the gate was uneven, but despite that the Rhino quickly gained momentum, the front of the vehicle speeding toward it like a battering ram.
"Brace!" Jason shouted just before they hit the gate.
The Rhino smashed through it with ease, as if the iron bars were nothing but paper. The ground continued to crack open, and a low hum could be heard from the ground, slowly getting louder as they drove away from the palace. It seemed the entire mesa was getting ready to explode, some sort of explosive charge had been put in place underground, likely set to go off if Kazon died.
Thankfully Kazon hadn't anticipated that they'd be fast enough to escape the blast, Jason just hoped that his fellow Outworlders would be far enough away by now. He held a hand out to Lance.
"Hand me the largest one in there." He told her.
"O-Okay." She replied, green eyes wide as she reached with shaking hands into her bag.
The ground shifted again, Jason's own eyes going wide as a massive fissure split the city in two, and it was quickly growing. Buildings were swallowed up by the crack, Golden Flames licking the buildings as they flared up from the abyss below. He couldn't jump that with the Rhino, not with how wide it was now. There had to be another way to cross it!
Right as he had the thought, one of the taller buildings tipped over, forming a temporary bridge. Jason immediately shifted directions, heading straight for the building. He cursed as he saw that the tipped foundation of the building wasn't suitable as a ramp, but there had to be a way to get the Rhino up there-
"Just go for it!" Alistair yelled, "I will form a way!"
Jason saw the blonde's face redden as he stared at the ground near the base of the tipped over building. Raw Golden Flame formed there for an instant as the Rhino approached, solidifying into a bridge of gold-colored light.
"I've never done this before-" Alistair gasped, "Go quickly or it will flounder!"
Jason did so, speeding toward the light-ramp quickly. Right as they sped onto the tilted wall of the building, the ramp vanished, Alistair huffing and puffing as they sped up the makeshift ramp. He pressed the pedal down as far as it could go, rapidly accelerating as the hum of the impending explosion grew louder. They couldn't afford to drive out of here, not even the Rhino would be able to get them out of here in time.
He looked down to see Lance holding a bottle to him, her other hand clutching the Rhino's door tightly as she stared ahead, clearly terrified. Just as he wanted, she had handed him the Franklin Mini Carrier. His Logiotech coprocessor went into overdrive, slowing his perception of time to a crawl. There were problems with his plan, for instance, they didn't have the time to park and get inside the carrier before the explosion went off, at least it wasn't likely that they could. Based on how loud that hum had gotten and the golden fire that spat up from the fissures, they only had a minute or so to do this.
He didn't know that for sure, of course, but he didn't want to assume more time than that. So they couldn't park, meaning that they would need to quickly get into the carrier while driving. That could be possible, inspecting the bottle, he could see that the back of the F.M.C was wide open. There was yet another issue however, opening the bottle the same way as with the Rhino may be dangerous, it could send them crashing into a fissure once released, if it's done too closely. He needed to open it from afar, and thankfully he had just the right tool for the job.
He grabbed the bottle as they neared the end of the ramp, the Rhino reaching its top speed. Jason calculated the throw, how the bottle would turn, and where he would need to shoot it in order to leave the carrier undamaged. For all he knew, if the bullet hit the craft directly, it could be destroyed before it could regrow to it's original size. There was also a risk with this plan, if the F.M.C didn't get back up to full size once the glass was broken, they would be done for. Jason himself might survive, but Lance and the others would not…
If Lance died, then Jason would have no real reason to live, he may as well die if she did. He wasn't as good a shot as Nyx, none of the Hoplites were, but that didn't mean he was a bad shot, not in the least. He threw the bottle hard, drawing out the Fortis and aiming at the bottle as it twisted in the air. The bullet needed to clip the bottle, not punch straight through it, else he'd risk damaging the carrier.
He fired, the bullet flying through the air and shattering the corkside of the bottle. The carrier broke through the rest of the glass, nearly the size of a house, the black vehicle was little more than a long square of dark metal. The back was wide open, holding enough space to carry in a hundred troops as well as their vehicles. It slowly rotated in the air as the Rhino flew into the hangar, Jason jumping from the vehicle mid flight and landing on his feet. He was already in the cockpit well before the Rhino hit the ground. He knelt beside the pilot seat, pressing the wide red button beside the wheel and hearing the carrier hum to life. He pushed another button to seal the hangar right before yanking the wheel upward.
The jets kept the carrier stable, the vehicle rising quickly through the air before he made it fly forth, directly away from the castle. It reached its top speed quickly, flying through the city before it finally broke the mesa. A pillar of Golden Fire erupted from the city of Blackgaze, engulfing everything atop the mesa. This whittling Foundational inferno stretched higher than Jason could see on the carriers rear view cameras, stretching into the very heavens themselves.
Hopefully the Outworlders weren't hit by that, it would be unlikely that they would survive something like that. His thoughts strangely wandered to Maesh, the Yugoro. Had he also escaped the explosion, or had he remained in Blackgaze to wait for Jason? He couldn't say, but he at least knew how to get in contact with the Ternans. He took a moment to breathe first, relief filling him as he put more distance between the carrier and the pillar of fire.
Lance stumbled in, face green and eyes wide, "Jason," She said, "I'm going to puke."
"Please don't." He pleaded with her, "Please."
"I don't want to," She told him, stumbling toward him, "Please forgive me if I vomit on you."
"Why would you-"
Lance then wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face against the nape of his neck as she held onto him, letting out a deep sigh. Jason dearly hoped that she wasn't actually going to sick up here in the cockpit, her stomach was so fragile that she couldn't even keep herself upright by herself, relying on Jason to keep her stance stable.
"We need to link up with the Ternans so I can brief them on our situation." Jason told her, "After that, if Maesh is somehow with them, I'll need to settle our score."
"Please Jason, no more fighting today." She pleaded with him, "I can't stomach another second of conflict."
He frowned, "If he's not with them, Lance."
"I suppose that's all I can ask for." Lance said, "I know we just got done with the most terrifying quest of all time… but I need to ask you something."
"What is it?" He asked her.
"What did you mean when you said that I was yours?" She asked.
Jason's heart sank, his eyes going wide, "I'm sorry." He told her, "I didn't mean to say that."
"It's okay." Lance told him, "I'm-" She hesitated, lips drawing to a fine line, "I'm flattered."
Jason blinked, confused, "You're what?"
"Just keep flying the damn ship." She sighed, holding him tighter.
Something in Jason urged him not to press the subject, so he didn't. In fact, he didn't want to think on it any further, his heart felt like it was going to explode the more attention he gave it. There were other more pressing things that needed his attention right now anyway, he needed to find the Ternans, finish things with Maesh, and plan out how he was going to get revenge on Lithia… For the former, he'd need to turn back and scout around the base of the mesa. Their escape route, if they survived, should lead straight to the bottom.
Besides that intention, his thoughts were in turmoil, thinking about Lance, the battle against Kazon and subsequent disappearance of Kid'ka along with Halm, and Lithia's betrayal, not to mention Theopalu. Where had he gone after he'd left the Harkhall? Had he left on his own already? He let out a sigh of his own, opting to push those thoughts to the side and just fly the carrier, enjoying Lance's arms around him.