Upon that misty night
in secrecy, beyond such mortal sight
Without a guide or light than that which burned so deeply in my heart
That fire t'was led me on and shone more bright than of the midday sun
-Lyrics to 'The Dark Night of My Soul' performed by Loreena McKennitt
Elements of Great Design Part 61
News of the arrival of the new recruits joining up to join the White Fang spread through what remained of the original band of rebels like a wildfire. Those who had all but given up were suddenly flooded with relief and hope again. And at the realization of just how many had not only arrived but were still on the way, there was actually celebration amongst the ranks.
Along with the Fighters, civilians and other volunteers that had shown, so did even more gifted of varying, remarkable gifts. Thanks to them, numbers seeing to the wounded had grown four times over to make the effort efficient as well as quick for those still in need of care.
One of those new recruits was sought out by a certain Alchemist. Upon the mystics' happy reunion, the two rushed for the cut off section of the camp where the injured soldiers were being treated. Pulling back the flap of the first infirmary tent, Hilde peeked inside to take in the faces of those amputees conversing with their loved ones or healers.
Spotting the Fighter that she was looking for, the short-haired young woman smiled and gently pulled her acquaintance behind her by their joined hands. Gracefully weaving around the makeshift beds and people around, she brought them to a stop by the cot that she had singled out. "There you are," Schbieker greeted.
Alex raised his head from where he lay in his bed, his lover and their friends gathered around all peering up to take in the gifted. Dressed in a short-sleeved tunic, the blonde-haired soldier's right arm poked out as only a smooth and rounded stump just beyond the fabric.
But even the loss of his appendage did not keep the Fighter from smiling along with Meiran, Relena, Trent, Dorothy and Mueller as he returned, "Hey, Hilde. Who is your friend?"
Stepping aside to fully reveal the handsome young man of the same physical age as she, the Alchemist tugged him close to her side and announced, "Everyone, this is my husband, Solo Aspen. We had parted ways to gain as many reinforcements as we could early on in the war. This is the first we have seen each other in months."
Gasps and shouts of excitement filled the space as the band of friends all but jumped to their feet to personally have a moment to meet to the newcomer. Chuckling after all of the introductions, the gifted bowed his head of shaggy, blonde hair and grinned wide enough that the smile was shining in his green eyes.
"It is an honor to meet all of you," Solo began sincerely, "my dear wife has told me much about you as she pulled me along the way here."
Mueller shook his head, "Nice to meet you as well." Facing the other gifted, he frowned, "You never mentioned that you were married, Hilde."
With a shrug, Schbieker smirked, "You never asked." To the eye rolls, she laughed loudly as her head fell back. Waving a hand as she recovered, her grin faded along with her amusement. "No, it honestly upset me to not know of his whereabouts and so I kept him to myself," she sighed deeply. "It helped keep me focused as opposed to worrying about him all the time."
His shoulders slumping, Solo whispered sadly, "Hil." Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her close and kissed her temple. "It was the same for me," muttered by her ear. "Thank the Creator our days apart are behind us. I have no intention of ever leaving your side again."
Blinking away the tears that had begun to fill her eyes and beaming at her husband, the Alchemist reached up to cup the sides of his face and leaned in for a sound kiss. When they broke away her face turned a deep red as she faced her snickering friends that she had completely forgotten about.
"Yes, well," she stammered, clearing her throat. "I rushed to bring Solo here for you in particular, Alex." The Fighter tilted his head in confusion. "There are many variations of Healers in the world, all focused on very specific aspects of mending ailments."
A hand reaching out to her soul mate, Hilde stated, "Solo is what we gifted call a Sculptor and his kind are very rare in the world- enough so that there are few who know of their very existence in Gaia."
The soldier's eyes grew. "Oh," he finally replied, "So... what is it that a Sculptor can do?"
Sitting himself on the right side of the patient bed, Solo grinned, "I think that showing what I can do would serve better to answer that than my trying to explain." Before Alex or anyone could question him further, the gifted wrapped his hands around the stump end that had once been an arm.
At the warm sensation that filled his shoulder, the soldier gasped and watched in shock as it began to glow. And right in front of him, he watched a muscular extension grow in to finish with a hand to match the other in his lap.
Falling back, his friends' jaws dropped and their eyes shimmered when the gold light faded to reveal the new arm with strange etchings in the skin that appeared like healed stitches in a patchwork pattern.
"Nothing lost can ever be returned exactly as it had been," Solo informed as he sat up. A pleased smile curved his lips when he inspected his work and he nodded firmly, "This new arm will take time to get used to, but I have little doubt in a warrior like yourself finding a way to work it in to your needs."
Slowly raising his new hand before his face, Alex opened and closed the fingers. Yes, there was a delay in reaction from his commands to his body reacting, but it was far better than he would have ever hoped for. Against his defences, tears rolled down his face as he laughed.
Biting his lip as he looked to the smirking Sculptor, he breathed, "Thank you."
Uncomfortable with the sentiment, Solo winced and pat the Fighter's arm. "No need for that as it is the least I can do. What you and your fellow soldiers have been doing here is far greater a feat than anything my gift can do." Clearing his throat, he stood and gestured to his wife. "And on that note, we should see to the others that I can heal."
Hilde slipped her hand back into his, nodding, "'ll take you to them." Waving their goodbyes, they disappeared into the background of people around.
Shifting his new arm this way and that, Alex could not help the wide smile on his face as he whispered an awed, "Wow."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
An entire underground kingdom unbeknownst to any resident of Gaia.
That was what lay before the stunned Alliance as they took in the caverns serpentined way the strategically through the opening's lining walls in what would have been a great form of transportation for the creatures that had once inhabited the land.
Now, vacant with the exception of a massive tower that rose up from deep within the floor to just pass beyond the great crater above that opened out to the world above with cascade of rugged, leveled gaps that wrapped its sides. [1]
It took several blinks of the warriors' eyes to clear their vision that had been briefly blinded by the unexpected natural light pouring down on them from the wide gap in the earth above. A couple of loose rocks from the doorway that had been burnt open fell the couple of feet below the travelers to click loudly at their impacts, the sound echoing from the massive space of a barren cavern.
Magnificent as the discovered realm was, it was the countless bones of fully decayed carcasses littering the surface that had the Keepers frozen in horror. Those remains revealed beings of varying sizes once belonging to anything from rabbits to monstrous dragons.
All around, the earth was gray and cold to only add to the eeriness of the scene. "The land is decaying," Heero breathed as soon as the realization came to him.
The lowering of Wufei's ears and the soft whimper that escaped him only confirmed the Fighter's suggestion as he lifted his head to his lover with shimmering, onyx eyes. "Do not worry, love," Anna reassured softly, latching onto the fur at the top of his head in an affectionate squeeze. "You will have it restored in no time as soon as you have the Earth Stone."
Raising his head to the distant top of the tower in the center of the realm, Trowa noted the streak of brilliant white in the abstract shape of a human streaked across what must have been the peak. "Just a simple climb up and you'll have your hands on it, Chang," he announced.
Quatre bit his lower lip as his curved blades dropped to his sides. "It cannot be that easy," he murmured, the edge of panic setting in. "We are in the middle of Abbadon's forces." He gestured up to the pitch black skies beyond the crater. "This has to be some sort of a trap.. unless they truly never considered our being able to burrow our way here."
His back rigid, Duo kept his own focus on to their target at the zenith of the tower and dipped the staff of his scythe as he snapped under his breath, "Well just in case they are not expecting us, let's try to get in and out of here before they do know we're here." That said, he took the first step forward to be quickly followed by the rest of his teammates.
As soon as they stepped out of the gaping hole together and hopped onto the flat surface just beneath them, the black wolf halted as his hair stood on end. That was enough for his allies to stop cold in their own tracks while he took a long sniff of the air. Bearing his teeth he gave a deep growl that sent chills up the other Keeper's spines.
That rumble from the Wufei remained the only sound in the cave. And the was not so much as a single movement amongst the bones.
Eyes narrowing, Anna glared ahead of her and tightened her hold on the bow already in hand to set it ablaze.
"We're not alone," she hissed. Hearts pounding, her comrades raised all of their weapons as she removed an arrow from the quiver against her back and nooked it in place as quickly as the blink of an eye.
Sending the burning projectile into a hole at the base of the tower to set off a massive explosion, the thief's eyes narrowed again when there was suddenly a deafening roar of crazed monsters.
Dark-clad bodies of beasts fell through the opening overhead. They came through the tunnels and the gaps within the pillar, some burning but refusing to go down easily. More rose from beneath the bony remains spread throughout. In fact, the entire cave seemed to come to life with Abaddon's minions that had been waiting for the arrival of their unwanted guests.
Momentarily taken aback by the sheer scale of what they were up against, the warriors gathered themselves and scrambled.
Heero swung his sword to cleave off the head of an oncoming ogre at the same time that Duo stabbed the whole blade of his scythe into the hide of a mammoth-like creature that had charged him. Before the son of Shinigami retracted his weapon, the dark magic of his heritage seeped into the giant beast to kill it instantly. [2]
Red-eyed rams stormed the other end of the team to be met by Trowa and Quatre as the pair worked together to head off the stampede by washing them away in tidal waves and wiping the rest away with incredible gusts of wind. Still more challengers came one after another, leaving the Keepers little time to breath in between the attempts on their lives.
Growling deeply, Anna pulled the arrow that she had just shot into the head of an ogre from its hideous face as it fell lifelessly. Without pause, she ran to stab the jagged tip of the shaft that she had set ablaze into the neck of a Behemoth screaming into the scene. Meanwhile, Chang made fast work in biting and clawing out the eyes, throats and any other vital organ from the monsters rushing for him.
Throughout the cave, a fine cloud from the ground was picking up to bring on a fine haze. Having to use his White Magic to light the area by means of a glowing ball of light, Quatre was nearly swiped by a lance that Trowa had hurried in to block with his spear. The pair had only a second to catch each others' relieved gazes before they were engaged once again.
Only pausing in her strikes to pay close mind to the cloud filling the air, the Fire Keeper breathed, "Coal dust." Peering over her shoulder, she called, "Air! Ever seen a spark touch a powder keg?"
Picking up on her meaning, Barton finished taking down the ogre that reached him and looked on his sister. The corner of his mouth curling up, he tapped into the energy from the Elemental Stone secured in the satchel at his hip and raised a hand high. A burst of wind rose to kick up the loose particles to make the entire realm almost black with dust.
Not about to wait for an order, Quatre prepared his own power as Heero, Duo and Wufei rushed to stand close with the rest of their family. Opening her hand and bringing it up to her mouth, Anna gave a quiet blow through her pursed lips.
A few brilliant embers danced from her fingertips to float on the breeze when the White Mage called forth a tall belled surge of water that shielded the team as the world beyond shook with a series of violent explosions.
So powerful were those blasts that the travelers were not certain if the kingdom they had discovered would still be standing when their protective dome dissipated. But when the flashing waves fell through the ground, the tower was still standing... unscathed amongst the strewn body parts of the demons that had been completely obliterated.
Their shoulders slumping, the Keepers smiled and laughed to each other.
Unfortunately, that reprieve was short-lived when the low hum of raised voices slowly but steadily grew as the armies both above and from deep inside the channels closed in.
"We have maybe three minutes to move it," Heero told his teammates. Gesturing to the thief and the wolf, he urged, "We better get Wufei back into his body and hurry this up."
Her hand already reaching back, deep into her quiver, Anna nodded firmly, "Way ahead of you, brother." Producing the Monk's robe and the vile that she had stored close to her, she slipped her thumb beneath the edge of the cork securing the potion inside as her lover watched anxiously.
But just as the seal was about to come off, a powerful blast fell inches from the Alliance, knocking them all from their feet and violently slamming them into the walls behind them. Knocked motionless for a moment, the Keepers groaned and slowly pushed themselves up.
"What in the Creator's name was that?" Duo half-moaned as he shook his braided head to clear out the loud ringing in his ears.
Hissing through his teeth in pain as he finally got to his feet, Heero rolled his armored shoulders that had stiffened from the blow they took. "I do not know," he replied, wincing when he bent down to grip the hilt of his sword. "Did anyone else catch where that came from?"
Negatives in the form of grunts and pained mumbles responded as the rest of the lot rose, retrieving their weapons. Once the screaming buzz that filled their hearing passed, the clamor of their enemies closing in had only picked up to new levels that had their minds whirling with panic.
With a sharp gasp, Anna's wide eyes peered down to her empty hands. Frantically scanning the floor around, she spotted the vile still in tact, rolled away from her spot by ten yards. And as she prepared to spring for it, something moved from the top of the tower until it hovered in the air close enough for the warriors to make it out.
Draped in a billowing purple cape was the horrific sight of a tall, living human skeleton. A hand of bone wrapped tightly around a tall scepter as a pair of red irises glowed behind the hollowed eyes of the skull staring down at its targets. The grey-white jaw filled with razor-sharp teeth pulled back in a sinister grin and the ribs of the monster's chest rose and fell in silent laughter that would be no more haunting if there were a voice to make the sound.
Easily the most gruesome of the four guardians sent by Abaddon, this being had rendered the Alliance shocked still with their hearts racing in their chests.
But Anna was the first to shift by the means of glancing from the corner of her eye to the vile so very close and yet so far from her reach. Swallowing roughly, she set her narrowed eyes onto her goal and darted off in a ball of flame... only for another blinding blast to reflect from the glass at the same time that her hand was about to wrap around it.
She was slammed roughly against the closest wall, crying out in surprise and agony when her head crashed against the rock and she collapsed face-first into the ground. Along with the worried bellow that came from Wufei, the other Keepers cried, "Anna!" In fact, they were in every bit as much danger, they realized too late.
Yet another beam collided with those still standing, knocking them back to the ground in the blink of an eye.
"Damn that thing is fast," Anna growled, rising shakily and spitting out a mouthful of blood. Well aware of the importance of reaching the vile that continued to be pushed further and further away from her, the elemental had no other option than to try again, changing her direction in a zigzag in effort to throw off the aim of the projected energy.
Only every time the scepter glowed to send out its power, the ball of energy only grew. And so she was sent back into the wall.
By then, the reinforcements of the dark army poured back into the scene through the crater and the tunnels after trampling over the bodies that continued to smolder. It was with that added confusion that the Alliance struggled to keep themselves alive while at the same time keeping an eye on the vile that had narrowly missed being stomped on, in more than one occasion.
In a bold move, Barton tried to bring the glass toward him on a sharp gust, but that was rendered useless when the skeletal figure raised its weapon to fire a beam into the Keeper's chest. The blow not only sent him into the wall, but knocked the Dragoon unconscious as he fell in a heap onto the floor. "Trowa!" Quatre cried, hurrying to remove his immediate challengers so that he could slide to his knees at his lover's side.
Carefully holding the sides of Air's face, the White Mage promised quietly, "It's going to be okay, Air. I've got you." As he spoke the words, his healing powers were already at work and causing his hands to glow.
Back in the thick of the fight, Heero and Duo were close enough to the tower that they caught what had just transpired... not only to Trowa, but how their most difficult enemy was obtaining his energy.
Not far from the pair, Wufei stared up at the demon with a fiery glare. Arching his back of raised hair, the wolf let out a primal growl. "I saw it too, Fei," Maxwell nodded, his own violet eyes staring at the top of the tower. A bolt of power fell from that pinnacle to enter the large, blue stone at the top of their enemy's scepter seconds before he released it in another surge on Anna.
"That... thing is draining the Earth Stone. He can't touch the stone, but he found a way to use it," Heero all but whispered, reeling back when a pike swiped in to impale him. Spinning on his heels to snap the staff in half, he then brought his sword up to take out the gremlin that had made the move on him. "Tha- that's why everything.... around here is dying," he managed through his gasps for air.
Duo mumbled under his breath, "Helps that he is already dead, himself." Ducking quickly, he felt the hairs at the back of his head singe at the fireball that he came within a heartbeat of colliding with.
Never once losing her focus on the vile that she was determined to regain, Anna paid no mind to the blood rolling down the left side of her face from the nasty gash along her hairline that she had earned from the last hit she endured. Finally finding herself just beyond arm's length, she crouched down low as she gritted her teeth and charged forth in a fireball.
A series of events happened in that next instant...
Overhead, the demon pulled back its cloak to reveal the full extent of its bony frame. Its skull falling back, the scepter was raised to gather the longest pull of power from the Earth Stone up to that time.
Swinging the weapon down, six strings shot off in very clear shots at each of the keepers. However, instead of having the lot fall back, the strikes disappeared just beneath the warriors to reemerge as giant hands of clay that scooped them up. Hurling themselves at the walls to impale their 'fingers' into the stone there, they became prison cells for the wolf and the people trapped within.
Trowa blinked in confusion and fear in his coming to as he discovered himself sealed off in a hardened prison. Just beside him, Heero was already forcing their weapons onto the 'bars' securing them. Duo and Quatre were bringing their light and dark magic together to hold off the oncoming waved of monsters that wanted to make good on the helpless state of the Keepers.
And Wufei, who had been desperately searching for his wife released a horrified howl when he spotted her in the wall only a few feet away.
Half-hanging from the wall behind her, one of the 'fingers' cleanly impaling her left shoulder and suspending her up like that, Anna hissed sharply in pain. Blood coursed down the side of her purple corset as sweat from the strain streamed down her face. Then, when she raised her head from its slump against her chest, the redhead peered through the bars above her to smirk at their captor...
...and opened her hand to reveal the vile that she claimed.
The next howl to follow was not from Wufei, but it was an infuriated one from the monster.
Swiftly bringing the cork to her mouth, Fire removed it from the glass with her teeth and spit it away. Making eye contact with the anxious wolf, a trickle of blood ran down the corner of her lips as she shouted, "Get him, baby!"
At that, she then threw the poison back in one gulp to fall away from the world.
TBC...
[1] Inspired by this Final Fantasy image
[2] Tarbh Uisge
[3] Mosshorn
[4] Lich
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