Synthesis of the Atheist

by BlackRoseRaven

The Malice Of Friendship

Chapter Thirty Nine: The Malice Of Friendship
~BlackRoseRaven

Princess Celestia breathed hard in and out, her head lowered, her horn sparking, but a smile on her face in spite of how drained she felt. In spite of how much her whole body was hurting, as her younger sibling gaped up at her, and the Archmage Wand Elf remarked quietly: “Now that is a show of force I've never seen in all my years, Princess. And years ago I saw an entire forest given life for an entire day... but summoning meteors of heavenly force...”

“I've been practicing.” Princess Celestia murmured after a moment through her exhaustion, and then she smiled slightly, looking up at the floating island... but then shivering a little. She could see... things she couldn't identify, and it looked not like chaos given form, but order forced on madness: and the feeling that emanated out of it, that awful, terrible vitality that it reeked of... “Luna...”

The sapphire mare looked up at her, and Princess Celestia hesitated as she drew her eyes to her younger sibling... then simply smiled faintly. No, no matter what they were getting into, she couldn't say no now, she couldn't just tell Luna to stop. “Good luck.”

Princess Luna smiled warmly after a moment, then nodded firmly before she traded a tight, fierce hug with her sister before drawing back and turning her eyes to the floating island. The Royal Guard were all already in position, with General Silvergrim standing at the front of the line beside the ponies from another layer: Morning Glory, Sleipnir, and Meadowlark. Out of respect, they were waiting for her, and she knew she couldn't make them wait any longer as she said quietly: “I will fulfill my promise, sister. Twilight Sparkle, Archmage Wand, watch over my sister. Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, watch over Canterlot.”

The ponies all nodded firmly, and then Little Luna turned and leapt forwards, spreading her wings and flying quickly to the head of the group of soldiers. Most of them were Pegasus Guard, but much of the front line was composed of Luna's own personal elite, Night Pegasi with leathery wings and larger, stronger bodies.

The sapphire winged unicorn turned around, hovering in front of the group as all eyes looked up at her attentively, before she hesitated and looked awkwardly at Morning Glory and Sleipnir. “I... appreciate your desire to join the attack, but... how will you reach the island?”

Sleipnir looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing up... and then he simply smiled before saying cheerfully: “I shall jump. Morning Glory, what of thee? Shall I throw thee?”

Morning Glory only snorted, and then the demon grinned as she leaned forwards as steel plates snapped upwards over her features, Little Luna wincing back a bit in surprise at the death mask of metal that formed over the mare's face. “Kind of you, Sleipnir, but this is only foal's play. Shall we volunteer to serve as the vanguard?”

“I think we shall, and besides, we must break company from our generous host to catch up to Antares. Meadowlark, we shall await thee with my nephew, thou should be able to find us amongst the furor.” Sleipnir said agreeably, and then the stallion reached back into one of the oversized saddlebags hanging off his body, winking at Little Luna. “Beautiful close-to-sister, give us but a moment of head start, then follow with thy legions.”

Little Luna didn't even know what to say, so she only nodded as Meadowlark blushed but leapt up into the air, beginning to fly towards the floating island that was ominously floating high above. It had to be almost as high as the clouds, but neither demon nor Sleipnir seemed unperturbed, as the earth pony pulled out a rolled-up rope with a thin grappling hook at the end it. He slipped the coils around his foreleg and grasped the neck of the grappling hook lightly in one hoof as he asked easily: “I suppose if I must ask for thy aid, thou shall give it, elegant battlemaiden?”

“Generously.” Morning Glory replied calmly, and then she cantered to the side, sending up sparks as her steel hooves pounded against the cement of the overlook and her horn began to glow with golden light. She began to pick up speed as she ran along the edge of the square, drawing all eyes to her before the demon turned quickly around as her hooves burst into golden flames, beginning to sprint straight back towards Sleipnir and Little Luna before suddenly veering to the side and leaping into the air.

The jump took her surprisingly high, but it wasn't even a fifth of the distance necessary... except then, to the shock of many of those watching, Morning Glory simply began to run upwards through the air like it was solid, leaving golden ripples through the sky as she sprinted towards the island. Sleipnir only laughed cheerfully, however, the stallion grinning widely as he took a few steps backwards and called: “Thou makes a most gorgeous Nightmare, I must say, Morning Glory! Now I hope thou does not mind a nudge!”

And with that, Sleipnir hopped forwards before springing off the ground, shattering the stone beneath him with the force he shoved off and flying high into the air, Little Luna staring in amazement as the enormous earth pony sailed upwards to land smoothly on Morning Glory's back, only to kick off her a moment later and throw himself higher. The Destroyer barely seemed to notice the immense pony using her like a step as she continued to run, however, instead grinning up at the stallion as she put on a burst of speed, sprinting faster through the air in a race towards the top.

Sleipnir was stretching into the sky, grinning widely as the wind blew back his mane and tail of vines, keeping his enormous body as streamlined as possible before he felt himself beginning to fall. The floating island was close now, but the underside was nothing but a mess of metal and rock, and at least fifty feet of wall stood above the base that he would have to climb to finally be able to get on top of this structure... and yet none of that worried him in the slightest as his eyes locked immediately on a large, bent girder standing out like a hook from the bottom of the island.

The stallion spun around in midair, using the momentum to add to his strength as he flung the grappling hook upwards with a grunt. The rope rapidly unwound as it shot through the air, before Sleipnir seized the end of the coil tightly and snapped it downwards, and the end of the line swung down and wrapped smoothly around the girder before the hook caught against the metal.

Sleipnir fell, as Morning Glory continued to rise, the demon shaking her head in wry amusement as the enormous earth pony let himself freefall while grasping the rope tightly with both front hooves and grinning like a child. He fell until the rope went taut, then kicked both hind legs outwards and swung himself on it with a sound of exertion, swinging through the air and beneath the floating island.

He caught sight of some kind of enormous, dome-shape protuberance beneath the island, hidden otherwise from view by both the shadows and the jutting rock and metal that camouflaged it from a distance. There was no time to inspect it or even get too good a look though, as he swung towards the underside of the island... but with ease, Sleipnir brought both hind legs up, catching himself and flexing his muscles before kicking off, launching himself swinging in the other direction like a rocket caught on a sharp orbit.

He hurtled through the air, laughing as he swung back out beneath the island, and then upwards, stone wall blurring by before the stallion's body arched with surprising grace and he landed smoothly on the edge of the fortress roof, foreleg wrapped in rope raised in the air and flicking almost daintily to free the grappling hook far below. And a moment later, Morning Glory leapt up to the roof beside him and skidded over the stone, golden flames bursting upwards around her legs for a moment before finally extinguishing themselves with loud hisses and streams of white smoke as she said mildly: “You are the strangest warrior I have ever met, earth pony.”

“Thou hast my thanks for that, I take quite a delight in being deemed so eccentric.” Sleipnir replied with a slight smile, and then he winked at her before turning his eyes downwards, seeing that Meadowlark was only a little over halfway up towards them, and Little Luna was just now calling her forces to the air to lead the charge. “Well now, they gave us a better start than I expected. Let us hope that we do not steal all the glory to be found here before they arrive.”

“There are many puppets here, Sleipnir.” Morning Glory replied quietly, and the earth pony frowned as he finished winding up his grappling hook, turning and putting it absently away before he stared in surprise: all along the enormous, strange crystalline cliffs, countless Thunderbirds stood in bizarre flocks of metal, and Dullahan had gathered over many other rooftops in large groups, formed into phalanx and defensive lines. And there were other creatures and forces of Clockwork World here and there that Sleipnir recognized all too well, his features becoming more solemn as Morning Glory said contemptibly: “Look at them. Toys of tin... they disgust me. And even now, while we stand here, they do not move against us.”

“Maybe we should be happy about that.” called a wry voice, and both ponies glanced to the side to see Antares approaching with a smile, the rest of his team moving with him. Apart from the Pegasi, they all looked like they were in relatively good condition, and Morning Glory nodded politely to the unicorn as he approached. A small gesture, but one that visibly did a world for the young stallion, as he straightened a little and then asked: “Do either of you want to take over?”

“Nay Antares. Thou art the leader here. 'Tis both thy privilege and responsibility... and besides, I am no great leader, and I do not think the graceful battlemaiden desires to lead, only to punish.” Sleipnir replied cheerfully, and Morning Glory only grunted as Antares nodded with an awkward, slightly-embarrassed smile.

“Okay. They're guarding the entrances, I think... they're trying to keep us out of the fortress, but they aren't attacking us even with their superior numbers and knowing this terrain. I get the feeling that there's a lot more of them inside, too... but if they're trying so hard to keep us out and hold us off, it gives me the bad feeling they're preparing something to drive us back or worse.” Antares said quietly, and Sleipnir nodded thoughtfully before the young stallion turned his eyes to the uniformed Pegasi. “You three did great. Spitfire, Dash, leave your explosives here. Sleipnir, do you have enough room to carry them?”

“Aye, I should.” Sleipnir nodded, patting one of his oversized saddlebags lightly... and then he frowned slightly, looking curiously at it even as Antares turned his attention back towards the Pegasi. Rainbow Dash argued about staying even as she took off her explosives, but the unicorn stallion managed to send the three of them back down to Canterlot: their part was over, after all, and they had injuries to take care of. Sleipnir was too busy with slowly opening his saddlebag to care, though... and then he simply peered into it for the longest time before saying mildly: “I shall have thee know I am going to be murdered by thy mother now.”

Antares frowned, looking over at Sleipnir... before staring stupidly when the enormous stallion calmly scooped Tender Trust out of one of his large satchels and set the half-Phooka, half-Pegasus down. He gaped at her, mouthing wordlessly, as Aphrodisia simply threw her forelegs up with a little cheer, and Tender Trust blushed and lowered her head as she murmured quietly: “I apologize. But I didn't want to be left behind, alone in Canterlot. I want to help.”

“Then let her help. Antares, we don't have time for anything else.” Morning Glory cut in before the stallion could even find coherency again, and the glossy-black unicorn simply nodded dumbly as Avalon grinned in the air and shook her head slowly, and Pinkamena rolled her eyes. “What do you want us to do?”

“I...” Antares looked over his shoulder, and he caught sight of Meadowlark below as she slowly made her way up towards them, and beyond her, the quickly-approaching army led by Little Luna. Then he turned his eyes to the waiting lines of Dullahan and Thunderbird and other Clockwork machination, studied their positioning, how they weren't moving, were just waiting...

“It's on that side. None of Clockwork World's forces are on this side of the fortress anymore... everything that's active is over there.” Antares said slowly, feeling instinctively like it was true before he simply nodded once as Sleipnir gathered up the satchels of bombs and put them into the bag Tender Trust had stowed herself in previously. “We'll wait for Meadowlark to reach us, and then we're going to go into the abandoned side of the facility. If I'm right, it'll be mostly abandoned, and I think the army will draw out the rest of those forces.”

The stallion hesitated, looking nervously at the enemy forces again before he bit his lip apprehensively, and Morning Glory said quietly: “You understand that this is a trap, don't you? No enemy is stupid enough to sit and wait passively for an army to approach. To let us simply enter any part of their lair, old and abandoned or not. We...”

Then Morning Glory blinked suddenly before gritting her teeth and grasping at her skull, and Antares frowned as he looked nervously over at her before he stumbled as his vision went blurry. There was only a swirl of sound and light as he gargled, losing all sense of time and place and control, his body shivering violently as vertigo ripped through his senses... and the next thing he knew, he was laying on a cold stone floor that was lit up by thrumming crystals clutched in the claws of stone gargoyles, the stallion breathing unevenly as he staggered up to his hooves.

The room was almost dome-shaped, with abandoned, dusty seats looking coldly down into this... no, it wasn't an arena. In spite of the dried blood, and the two heavy iron gates leading in and out, it was too small to be an arena. Antares thought it was much crueler than that... it was some kind of research theater, where monsters were pitted against each other and studied, and somehow that was more sickening to him than the thought of pitting fighters against each other for entertainment. A forced fight to the death was still cruel, yes... but the thought of people calmly analyzing every detail of the battle, not doing it for any purpose but as some macabre 'experiment...' Antares couldn't explain how it was worse but to him, it was.

The stallion breathed slowly in and out, shivering a little... and then a voice said calmly behind him: “Perhaps it bothers you so much, little colt, because it removes all possibility of freedom and choice. Because to barbarians, strength is at least enjoyed and worshiped: here it is merely dissected.”

Antares turned around slowly, shivering slowly as his eyes locked on a unicorn. One eye of gold, the other dead black, and her horn was a swirl of both... Psukhikos, if he remembered the name Thesis had called her. And when she smiled at him contemptibly, he knew he had. “Congratulations. What an accomplishment, you remembered the name of your worst enemy.”

“Where am I? And where are my friends?” Antares asked quietly, looking uneasily back and forth, and Psukhikos laughed derisively, the glossy-black unicorn gritting his teeth. “Do you think-”

“I do think, yes, but you clearly don't. Go ahead, try and hit me, pony, but I'm not even really here.” Psukhikos reached up and smiled mockingly, the Clockwork Pony easily pushing a hoof through her own chest with a ripple of her image, and Antares grimaced: that was why he couldn't sense her presence, why alarm bells weren't going off in his head. It was just an illusion. “And your friends will be along shortly, don't worry. Now, unfortunately, Lord Thesis had decreed that we're not allowed to kill you. But there are still plenty of ways for me to take some entertainment from you lower life forms.

“Now, I'm very tired: some of your bodyguards were much harder to puppet than I expected, even if it was a simple matter to brainwash most of your friends. I'm going to have a short little nap, and I expect that by the time I wake up, a clear winner will have been decided. Don't worry, I'll get to you sooner or later, too, but there's a lot to do now... although I should thank you, really. I can only imagine how delighted Lord Thesis will be when I present him all the soldiers I'll be harvesting... but... after my nap, and after I deal with you. Let the silly fools outside fight for now.” Psukhikos yawned loudly before she smiled at him, adding derisively: “Let's see if you deserve your crown of leader or not, Antares Mīrus. If you win, maybe I'll keep you for myself instead of letting Protelea sink her stinger into you.”

With that, the illusion tittered mockingly and faded from sight, and Antares cursed under his breath, looking back and forth at the arena around him. From what he could see, all the exits were blocked, but the door he could see in the seating area looked frail in spite of the chains that barricaded it. Before he could take to the air, however, the stallion's eyes were drawn towards the solid iron gate across from him as he heard the distinct sound of hoofsteps... and then he smiled in relief as he saw a familiar, small figure striding towards him, hurrying towards the gate. “Avalon!'

Avalon stopped on the other side of the thick gate, staring in at him, and Antares felt a bolt of unease roll through him before the Pegasus calmly turned and grabbed a handle standing out of the wall beside her. She began to rotate it slowly, and with a loud clank, the gate slowly began to rise, but Antares only stepped further backwards, not wanting to believe what he was seeing, shaking his head slowly as he whispered: “Ava... no...”

After the gate rose roughly halfway, Avalon turned and unhurriedly strode through. The old gate creaked loudly as the handle shuddered for a moment, then rapidly began to spin back in the other direction as the loose mechanism gave way, and the gate fell back into place behind the Pegasus... but she didn't even twitch, only continuing to stare at Antares Mīrus, fully armored and with her eyes glowing strangely.

Then the mare shuddered, and a snarl spread over her features as the glow in her eyes intensified, jumping into the air and hovering just above the ground as she shoved a hoof towards him, shouting furiously: “This is all your fault! You're a traitor, and a liar, and I'm going to break your goddamn legs for what you've done to us!”

“Stop it, Ava!” Antares shouted almost desperately, but Avalon replied by shooting forwards, trying to ram herself into him, and it was only the stallion's agility that saved him as he cursed and flung himself out of the way. But the Pegasus spun herself around with a roar in midair and dove towards him again, forcing the stallion to throw himself backwards, the mare just scraping past.

She smashed into the ground instead, cracking the concrete with her impact, but if it caused her any pain she either didn't notice or didn't care. Instead, she shot forwards, and Antares staggered away before he narrowly dodged when she swung her hooves out, cursing under his breath as she roared: “Stay still, you coward! I should have goddamn known, you bastard!”

Avalon leapt at him, and Antares cursed as he brought both hooves up to block... and in a flash of gold, the Pegasus spread her wings and launched herself behind him, flipping around to slam both hind legs into his back and knock him down onto his stomach with a cry of pain, that became a howl when she smashed herself into his spine with a crushing stomp, then violently began to trample up and down. “How do you like it, you son of a bitch? Well this is nothing compared to what you did to us, I'm just getting started paying you back!”

She launched herself off, flying up to the ceiling with a snarl and flipping around to shove all four legs against it, defying gravity for a moment before lunging off and shooting straight down at him. But at the last moment, Antares rolled sideways to his hooves, and Avalon didn't have any time to slow down before she crashed into the hard cement, bouncing several times: any other Pegasus would have been reduced to mush by the impact, but hardy, tiny armored Avalon simply bounced across the floor like a rubber ball before landing in a stunned sprawl.

Antares hated to do this, as he scrambled towards her and gritted his teeth, but he knew he had no other choice as he quickly leapt onto her back. The stallion pinned her down as Avalon cursed angrily, blinking rapidly as the sense came back to her... and then she screamed when Antares grabbed her wing and firmly twisted, dislocating the joint before she bucked him off and then slammed both rear legs in a savage kick into his stomach.

The stallion cursed as he bounced backwards several times, then rolled quickly to his hooves, gasping for breath and feeling his armor clearly dented in as Avalon shoved up to her hooves. With one wing hanging limp at her side, it reduced her mobility enough to give him fighting chance... except she was strong, still lightning fast, and how mad she had been before was nothing compared to how pissed off she clearly was now. “I'm going to rip your horn out of your face and shove it up your ass for that! And then I'm gonna kick your ass so hard you'll be spitting chunks of your own horn for weeks!”

Antares grimaced and readied himself: on the bright side, when she got this angry, he knew that Avalon lost all self-control and he'd very easily be able to keep track of where she was and guess what she would likely try next. But she was also going to hit him with everything she had... and even unable to take to the air, she was still faster on hoof than he was and maybe even a better fighter. Except...

As she pawed at the ground, the stallion said in a patronizing voice, even as he mentally apologized: “What's wrong, Ava? All this big-girl talk but I see you trembling over there in the corner like a little baby filly, just like your Mommy would. And of course by that I mean Rainbow Dash.”

Avalon shook violently, her mouth working, tears forming in her eyes as she gasped breaths in and out, and for a moment Antares thought she was having a stroke before the tiny Pegasus screamed in fury and charged straight at him. In berserk rage, she forgot all training, all focus, all everything, as she just bolted at him... and if Antares didn't have his ability to understand what was about to happen, to see things the way he did, he thought she would have easily grabbed him... and then probably bludgeoned him to death with her bare hooves.

Instead, just as she jumped, Antares sidestepped and swung a hoof up, giving another silent apology at the same time as he managed to catch the back of her head and give her just enough of an extra push to send her past him... and headfirst into the wall with a loud crunch. Cement broke with her impact, and Avalon's helmet crumpled as the large metal ridges became lodged in the stone, the mare's body going limp.

Her forelegs twitched weakly, hooves dangling just above the ground as her head rested in the helmet, neck twisted awkwardly before she gave a burbling moan. Then her head slipped out of the helm, and she toppled silently onto her side, blood dribbling out of one ear, one eye, and one large, ugly wound torn through her scalp.

Antares swallowed thickly as he looked down at her... and then he looked up sharply as a loud roaring filled the air, echoing out of the tunnel Avalon had emerged from. The stallion trembled as he stepped slowly forwards, gazing through the iron gate as he whispered: “No... no, please... no...”

A Dullahan grasped the crank with its front hooves, turning it rapidly and raising the gate as Antares snarled and ran to the center of the arena, shivering, even as that monstrous roar ripped through the air again: not from any Clockwork monster, but instead from the demon that was trapped inside a wheeled iron cage, drooling like a hungry animal as her eyes glowed with poisonous green light, her raven black mane hanging loose and uneven around her skull-like features and large, curling ram's horns standing out to either side of her face. Her pale pink coat had torn open in places to reveal the pulsing, powerful muscles flexing beneath, her once-slender frame now bulky, her cloven hooves separated into ripping claws.

Aphrodisia's glowing eyes locked on him, and she breathed out a gust of orange poison as her forked tongue licked greedily at her teeth, beginning to pant roughly as she leapt forwards and rasped: “Big... b-brother... mine, my stallion... mine... promised...”

She trembled, then grabbed at her face, hissing and growling as she trembled violently, and then the front of the rolling cage was shoved just through the lip of the gate by another Dullahan before a ghostly glow surrounded the simple latch on the front of the cage, and it popped open. Aphrodisia immediately looked up at the click, then leapt forwards and smashed through the ajar doors, roaring with power as she freed herself before digging her claws into the ground, her body bulging and flexing as Antares staggered backwards at the feelings that ripped through him just from looking at her: lust and malice, love and hate, power and need. “Y-You... Nova... mine!”

The Dullahan hurriedly dragged the cage backwards, and the other shoved on the crank as it let go, sending the gate crashing down, but Aphrodisia didn't look over her shoulder at the sound of the crash. Antares could feel all her attention focused on him, and when their eyes met by accident, her grin stretched wider, and orange-tinged saliva leaked from her mouth as she began to breathe harder, more eagerly. And even knowing that she was all demonic instinct, that she had been twisted into becoming primal and terrible and nothing but a mix of violence and desire, Antares couldn't stop himself from shouting: “Apps! Little sister, look at me! Fight it, fight whatever the hell Psukhikos did to you, you're better than this!”

“Make you... mine...” Aphrodisia rumbled in response, and then she grinned before charging eagerly towards him, baring her fangs. “Make you mine!”

Antares cursed and leapt out of the way as she lunged at him and slashed outwards with one claw, before the demon roared and attempted to tackle him, but he flung himself upwards and flapped his wings hard. Aphrodisia snarled at this, lunging upwards and clawing wildly at him as he hovered high above, where she couldn't reach, and he trembled, tears in his eyes. And it hurt so much more than Avalon because he knew that while Avalon had been brainwashed... this was who Aphrodisia was at her core. This was what was inside her, and she fought every goddamn day to control. And Psukhikos had just ripped down all the work Aphrodisia had done, everything she had learned, everything she had fought to be like... like...

The glossy-black unicorn couldn't finish the thought, cursing as the Dominia leapt up and clawed at him, before roaring in frustration as she spun and leapt upwards to claw her way up the wall and into the seating area. And then Antares cursed as the demon ripped up one of the chairs and then flung it at him, roaring: “You... you mine! Mine!”

Antares dodged another chair that she tore out of the cement with ease and flung like a toy, then he snarled as he batted a third away before shouting: “Apps, stop it! Listen to me, think of Pinkamena, of Sleipnir! Your Mom and Dad, and Burning Desire, and... look at me, you don't want to do this!”

Aphrodisia snarled at him in response as she began to yank up another chair... then whimpered and grabbed at her face, trembling violently. For a moment, Antares stared in hope, but then the demon howled in anguish and ripped loose the chair she was leaning on, flinging it and screaming: “Mine!”

The chair slammed into the stallion, knocking him out of the air with a cry of pain, and Aphrodisia eagerly charged down and flung herself back into the arena, crashing down in front of him as Antares dragged himself backwards. He began to claw to his hooves, but the demon leaned forwards and belched out a thick blast of orange smoke that washed over him, and the stallion felt this flooding into his nose and mouth as he coughed hard several times and tried to fling himself out of the toxic fog.

But already, he could feel his body going numb, and a tingling pleasure beginning to replace the sense of urgency: yes, pleasure. It made it hard to concentrate, hard to remember why he was so desperate, hard to do anything as he staggered up to his hooves and shuddered, his mouth going dry, his eyes losing focus, a heat starting to flood his body and tingle his nerves...

And then Aphrodisia pounced on top of him, slamming him down to the ground, and Antares looked over his shoulder at her with fear that drove back the numbness and pleasure. He tried to scramble out from beneath her, but she was too large, too heavy, and one of her claws easily shoved down against his back to hold him in place like a bug as the other raked at his shoulder several times, ripping up the metal armor as she growled hungrily, then managed to tear loose most of the plating covering the area before she leaned down and bit into him.

Her fangs sank through metal as easily as they tore into his flesh, and Antares howled in agony for a moment, his eyes bulging before... it ceased to matter. Bubbling orange poison pumped up from the wound, and Antares shivered once, but it wasn't from pain any longer, as his body first went numb... then filled with euphoria. No, nothing mattered at all anymore, because... everything was going to be okay, wasn't it? Yes, yes, it was... he was fine. He felt pleasure. Pleasure was good.

The demon drew her head back, then she grinned as she rolled him over, and he stared up at her as he breathed unevenly before Aphrodisia grabbed his face and tilted his head back and forth. Antares gurgled, then gave a dumb smile up to her before the demon growled at him eagerly, rasping: “Mine... b-brother is mine... No... va...”

She licked her lips slowly, then locked gazes with him, and her eyes glowed brightly as Antares gasped, before his entire body began to tremble beneath her. His body overloaded with feelings, his nerves lit on fire, ecstasy and euphoria thrumming through him so powerfully that it made parts of his body hurt so goddamn bad, but so goddamn bad it felt so goddamn good. It made him moan weakly, shivering and twisting beneath her, his mind starting to snap under the strain as Aphrodisia fed hungrily on his emotions, with him helpless to resist. His pleasure and his pain fueled her, made her stronger, made her want to connect deeper and oh tasted so good and she just wanted to press a little harder, a little harder, feed a little more even though he was... he was...

Aphrodisia's eyes flickered, and then she whined in her throat and suddenly drew back, grabbing at her face again and curling up. And Antares gasped as the trance broke, staring up at the ceiling above, and now the pleasure was fading but the pain stayed and drove a spike of sanity into his almost-broken brain. The pain of all his nerves having been excited at once, and the pain of his mind having been twisted and abused, and... Apps, what about... what about Apps?

Slowly, Antares forced himself to sit up, and he stared at the demon as she whimpered, eyes closed, claws covering her face. She trembled a little, and Antares stared at her before he grunted as he forced himself up to his hooves, and the demon looked up at him, breathing hard before she slowly reached a claw up, rasping: “B-Big.... brother... help, n-not hurt... Nova...”

“Yes. Yes, Apps, yes, that's right. You help. You don't hurt...” Antares said quietly, reaching up and taking her claw gently, and then he leaned down and kissed it softly. Aphrodisia looked at him for a moment longer, then the demon leapt forwards and picked him up in an embrace, crushing him against her body as he groaned loudly in pain and his eyes bulged, rasping: “A-Apps!”

“Nova...” Aphrodisia nuzzled into his neck with a rumble, but her grip loosened even as she pulled him closer into her embrace. And then her eyes glowed faintly, and she rumbled quietly, breathing out orange smoke before nuzzling into him a little more eagerly, making Antares wince... but a moment later, the demon whimpered and turned her head quickly away, whispering: “N-No... no, bad... Mommy will... be... mad... Daddy... said... be s-strong...”

“And remember what Burning Desire taught you, that... that you need to master yourself.” Antares added quickly, as he wiggled backwards a bit before wheezing in relief as she let him go, and he staggered to his hooves before shaking himself out, then reaching up quietly to touch her shoulder as the demon trembled. “Can you return to normal?”

Aphrodisia nodded a few times, licking her lips hesitantly before she closed her eyes... and little-by-little, her body started to shrink, her hooves locking together, her horns twisting backwards as they shrank out of existence. She gasped for breath, then looked down and shook herself out, her black mane still hanging loosely around her face before she looked up and trembled, tears filling her eyes as she whispered: “I... I'm s-s-sorry... I... I wanted to hurt you and love you so bad, I... I couldn't... I forgot everything Mommy and Daddy and Burning t-taught me, and that y-you always... taught me... Nova, I... I'm s-sorry...”

Antares only stepped forwards and hugged her tightly, and Aphrodisia buried her face against his neck, sobbing quietly as she clung tightly to him. With her demonic body and full strength repressed, her natural urges faded into something more controllable as well, but her emotions... they remained as powerful as ever. So for a moment, he only held tightly onto her... but then swallowed thickly and looked up as he heard the gate being cranked open a third time.

He couldn't do this again, though. He didn't have the strength to fight another friend, as he looked weakly up and saw Tender Trust calmly turning the crank, until she stopped once the gate was halfway raised to the ceiling. But then she looked up, and the stallion felt like maybe there was some divine force looking out for them after all, as the half-Phooka said quietly: “Quickly. Please get Avalon. I'll keep the gate open.”

Aphrodisia growled uncertainly, but Antares only patted her reassuringly on the back, and the demon rumbled nervously before turning and hurrying over towards Avalon. He glanced over at her nervously, feeling clearly that whatever Psukhikos had done to the demon hadn't worn off... the Clockwork Pony just didn't know the strength that Aphrodisia had. Maybe he didn't either, considering what he had been thinking...

He shook his head slowly, then strode towards the gate as Aphrodisia picked up the tiny Pegasus and set her carefully across her back. Both the demon and the stallion strode through the gate at almost the same time, and Tender Trust looked from one to the other, studying them silently before she nodded once and murmured: “We have little time.”

“So she couldn't control your mind?” Antares asked finally, as the half-Phooka turned away from the crank and naturally took the lead down the long corridor, and Aphrodisia growled uneasily. But when Tender Trust simply nodded, Antares believed her: the half-Phooka didn't look to his eyes to be anything but herself, and it admittedly filled him with relief as he gazed ahead and murmured, as they continued to head straight past doors and offshoots without slowing: “Good. Because I really don't think I can stand to fight any of you again.”

Tender Trust smiled faintly as Aphrodisia gave a wordless murmur of agreement, and then the half-Phooka said quietly: “The maci-manitow believes itself all-powerful. It was easy to fool, because it had already fooled itself. But forcing our bodies to do things is not the same as forcing our minds to believe... and while even I am not immune to its powers invading my mind, it cannot steal my consciousness or compel my spirit. But we must be wary... I felt its mind. It was dark and mechanical and it hates us and is scared of us. The maci-manitow's servants are doing awful things to our friends.”

“Then we have to save them.” Aphrodisia almost shouted, and Avalon twitched with a moan on her back and Tender Trust quickly turned and made a motion at her to be quiet. The demon growled, but then nodded uneasily and rumbled worriedly.

Antares turned a questioning look to the half-Phooka, but she only shook her head slowly. “I was conscious, but saw only what was going on around me. The creature numbed our senses and took over our bodies first, and forced us to walk down to its lair... I could see, but could not control my own actions. It sits with a great and terrible Eye of crystal... this was how it found us. This was how it exerted so much power over us all. And this was how it tried to force us all into servitude. But our elders were too powerful for it, and fought. All it could do was silence them, and then whisper lies into our minds. But not yours... you, the maci-manitow could not touch.”

The stallion grimaced, shifting uneasily before he looked forwards as they stopped at the end of a long corridor, Tender Trust peering quickly out through the archway into the wide stone room beyond. It looked almost like some kind of gathering hall, but it was empty, and the half-Phooka nodded before murmuring: “We must find the others. And we must destroy its Eye.”

“When you talk like this, it always makes me nervous. Because I know you don't talk about smashing stuff unless it's really serious, T.” Antares muttered as they strode out into the wide, open cement meeting area, and he thought for a moment, analyzing the situation before saying finally: “Alright. Apps, can you sense either of your parents?”

Aphrodisia shivered a little, and Antares softened before she looked up and nodded firmly once. “No, I... I'm fine. I can stay in control and still use my senses and everything, it's just... you... smell good too... so good...”

She licked her lips slowly, then shivered and shook her head hurriedly before pointing to the right, murmuring: “There. That way. I... I think I smell Morning Glory, too. But I don't know her as well...”

“Then we're going to find them first, and then we'll destroy the Eye. I doubt we'll be able to sneak in and just snatch it or anything, and if we ambush her as a full group we might be able to capture her.” Antares said quietly, and the half-Phooka and demon both nodded, before the unicorn bit his lip and asked hesitantly: “What about Avalon, T? Her mind...”

“We'll only know when she awakens.” Tender Trust replied quietly, and Antares nodded before his horn glowed, and he carefully, gently lifted the tiny mare with telekinesis to set her down on his back. Aphrodisia rumbled at him uneasily, looking almost hurt, but she settled when the stallion smiled at her and gestured for her to go ahead.

“You lead us, we'll follow. I'll carry Avalon for now because... I still feel pretty sore, and I trust you two.” Antares said quietly, and Aphrodisia smiled before leaning over and licking his face firmly, and the stallion laughed a little despite himself, unable to tell if it was because of how she had been affected or if it was just Apps being Apps.

The demon gladly stepped ahead though, leading them quickly to the door, but she didn't break through it. Instead, she gestured at Tender Trust, and Antares admittedly felt relief at this, as the half-Phooka silently pushed the door open and glanced through, then nodded when she saw it was clear. Aphrodisia was in control after all, and having something to focus on was probably helping her, even if she was concentrating on her enhanced senses. Sure, there was the risk she could lock onto something that might set off her Wrath or Lust instincts again, but right now, they were tracking down her parents... and if there was one thing that Aphrodisia could override even her own desires for, it was to help her family when they were in trouble.

Antares was careful to close the door behind them as they made their way to an intersection, and the demon stopped to look back and forth before growling and continuing straight. The stallion was glad: the intersecting hallway was much longer, and if they had to remain as hidden as possible, then long, straight hallways with nowhere to hide were bad. But when Aphrodisia gestured at Tender Trust to check through this door, the half-Phooka looked only for a moment before she pulled her head back and shook it quickly, murmuring: “Lesser manitou are ahead, of sadness and metal.”

The stallion stepped forwards with a grimace, slipping by so he could take a look through the cracked-open door: there were two Dullahan inside, calmly polishing their weapons and shields with their backs to them. Antares hesitated for a few moments, then he carefully pulled the door all the way open... and when they didn't react, he whispered quietly: “We're going to try and sneak past them, okay?”

Aphrodisia visibly bit back a growl as Tender Trust nodded, and the stallion gestured for her to go first. The Phooka smiled calmly, then soundlessly strode through the room, looking as calm and confident as if she was only taking a stroll through the familiar streets of Ponyville, and Antares envied the way she moved as she reached the double doors in the far corner.

She studied it for a moment, then carefully pushed them open and slipped through: a moment later, she leaned back into the doorway and gestured at them, and Antares nodded as he followed quietly. He winced with every step of his hooves against the stone, but neither Dullahan seemed to notice... and it was only once they had reached the doors that Antares realized Aphrodisia was slinking along behind him with her back arched like a cat, features tightened into a skull-like mask as her eyes glowed and she visibly fought down the urge to attack the Clockwork creatures.

He winced a bit, then quickly patted her on the shoulder and gestured awkwardly at the demon, and she untensed slightly and nodded to him as she turned and hurried through the open doors. Antares followed, and Tender Trust silently closed the double doors behind him, as the stallion wheezed in relief as he gazed back over his shoulder and tried to process that they'd actually made it, before Aphrodisia murmured: “They're close. Mommy and Daddy are close.”

Antares nodded slowly, looking forwards and gazing down the hall ahead: it curved slowly upwards, and the stallion hesitated for a moment before he said quietly: “Then let's get going. We must have gotten lucky, most of the forces here must be deployed above.”

Both mares nodded, and Antares gestured at Aphrodisia to take the lead again, the demon shaking her head and her features smoothing out beneath her messily-hanging black mane. Tender Trust strode quietly beside her, and Antares let himself fall back a little, glancing apprehensively over his shoulder at Avalon as she shifted uneasily: she was still unconscious, just twitching a little now and then, and glad as he was she was out of it, he was beginning to get worried about what that could mean.

The corridor curved upwards in a gradual spiral, until they reached a closed steel portcullis. It was tightly shut, but through the crisscrossing metal bars could be seen...

Aphrodisia opened her mouth to call out, but Tender Trust hurriedly reached up and covered her mouth. The demon gave a muffled snarl, but then bit back her emotions even as she trembled violently: trapped inside a runic circle carved into the floor of the room beyond was Pinkamena, her armor still on but her axe gone. The Devourer was bleeding heavily and breathing slowly, and floating calmly outside the circle was a reaper, its scythe hanging from one silver claw and hollow eyes staring out of its mask.

Then Tender Trust shoved Aphrodisia to side, pushing her firmly into corner of the hall as Antares staggered to the other side of the heavy gate, squishing himself up against the wall as the reaper's head turned slightly. The three held their breaths, not speaking a word... before Antares trembled as the reaper calmly passed through the portcullis like it was only air, its hollow eyes staring down the hallway before it slowly, silently floated backwards into the room.

Antares loosened slowly up, and Apps and Tender Trust both relaxed after a moment before the stallion let out a weak sigh, and nervously nodded when the half-Phooka gave him a look. Tender Trust seemed hesitant as well, but after a moment she leaned carefully forwards, nervously looking around the corner... and relaxing slightly when she saw the reaper was gone, glancing over at Antares with a small smile.

The stallion gave a relieved smile in return, before he frowned a little when he saw Aphrodisia's features tighten and she bared her fangs. And then he felt it too: that cold, awful presence that could only be one thing, as he fearfully turned his eyes down the hall, and Tender Trust followed the gazes of the two after a moment, all three ponies staring in horror at the sight of the reaper's masked head and shoulders sticking out of the floor.

Its hollow eyes locked on Antares, and then it floated slowly upwards, emerging from the ground as it rose its scythe in front of itself and said quietly: “Break the spirit, not the body.”

Antares cursed, and then his eyes widened in horror before he shouted a warning to Tender Trust and Apps and dropped flat to the ground: and out of the walls on either side of the hall, two more reapers shot out, lashing their scythes in vicious arcs as they passed through solid stone with ease.

Aphrodisia and Tender Trust barely managed to duck, before the demon snarled and leapt suddenly upwards, sprinting along the wall and throwing herself at the reaper above her. She slammed into its masked features, knocking the reaper backwards as she hissed and then yanked it down towards the ground, attempting to slam its face into the hard cement.

But the reaper dove willingly, passing into the floor and tearing itself free from the demon's grip: meanwhile, the second reaper that had appeared swung its scythe in a vertical, dropping cut towards Antares, trying to hook him with the end of the polearm. The stallion quickly flung himself backwards with a curse, barely avoiding being caught by the deadly weapon before he leapt forwards and seized the scythe by the neck of the pole.

He yanked and twisted hard, but the reaper moved with the scythe, refusing to let go of its weapon. Antares winced as it pulled back, then twisted the weapon in return, trying to flip the blade over so it could either swing it upwards into him or hook him by a limb or neck with it: either would let it do devastating damage to the unicorn.

The last reaper automatically turned its attention to Tender Trust, who wilted back in the corner as it floated calmly forwards past the others. The half-Phooka trembled, staring up at this hollow-eyed monster as it hovered over her and looked emotionlessly back, deadly scythe hanging loosely from one silver claw.

Tender Trust breathed heavily in and out, shivering and trying to make herself smaller as the awful, blood-chilling entity calmly rose a silver claw and held it out towards the terrified half-Phooka. The darkly-ethereal mare whimpered and tilted her head away, her glowing eyes trying to look anywhere but at the reaper as its claw began to glow...

Aphrodisia leapt backwards as a reaper's claw grabbed at her out of the ground, and then she seized it with both front hooves and yanked savagely upwards, pulling the creature halfway out of the cement before slamming a hoof straight into its masked features. Its head snapped back as it was knocked out from hiding beneath the floor, and then Aphrodisia seized its defensively-raised scythe by the pole and used this as an axle, spinning her body around it before slamming both rear hooves into its masked features as she shoved forwards with her front hooves at the same time against the polearm.

The scythe was torn out of its grip, and the reaper fell to the ground with a clang as Apps skidded forwards along the floor, clutching the weapon in her front hooves as she grinned viciously. Her eyes glowed as they locked on the reaper ahead of her that was slowly lowering its claw towards Tender Trust, and the demon hissed before leaping forwards and slashing its scythe outwards, cutting the creature's arm off in a burst of dark smoke before swinging the weapon around in a wide, curling stab into the monster's chest.

The reaper shrieked, howling in misery as it clutched at the scythe buried through its chest, dropping its own polearm as energy and black smoke began to spill up from its body. It was left helpless, body convulsing in midair, and then Aphrodisia grinned savagely and spun around to slam the scythe downwards with a roar, the blade almost cutting the mask of the reaper behind her in half and leaving the pierced death entity pinned to the face of its compatriot.

The scythe began to glow violently as both reapers gave unnatural, echoing screams, and then the creatures exploded in a shockwave of black force and energy. It was enough to knock Aphrodisia sprawling and send the reaper harrying Antares with quick slices out of the air, dark lightning shocking along its body as it lost its ethereality.

Antares took the moment that the reaper was stunned to lean forwards and unleash a telekinetic blast, sending the reaper flopping backwards. Its scythe was almost flung into the air, swinging stupidly upwards with the pole held between both claws: an easy target for Antares as he leapt forwards and slashed his horn down, hitting the weapon dead-center and slicing it in half as his horn flashed with white light.

The scythe exploded, and the reaper burst apart into smoke and chunks of metal debris, Antares giving a sigh of relief before he looked quickly over at the others. Tender Trust was slowly recovering, her eyes closed as she carefully picked herself up, while Aphrodisia was leaning over her with an almost maternal look on the demon's features. And Antares stared in surprise as he saw that while the reapers were gone, Aphrodisia still had one of their scythes held easily across her shoulders.

He shot an uneasy look back and forth, but he could no longer feel the chilling presence of the reapers, even though the scythe itself was pulsing with energy, leaving him wondering how the soulbound weapon had survived. But they could deal with that in a moment, as Antares hurried to the gate and then slipped Avalon carefully off his back. He set her gently down, then grabbed the bottom of the portcullis as he said over his shoulder: “Apps, give me a hoof here, okay?”

Aphrodisia grunted and nodded, hurrying over to the portcullis and tossing the scythe aside to grasp the bottom of it alongside the stallion, and they both flexed before slowly pulling upwards, both gritting their teeth in effort. The gate clanked and rumbled as it rose slowly, before Tender Trust hurried forwards and slipped beneath it, shoving upwards and arching her back before locking her legs in place beneath her as she said quietly: “Go through, I'll keep it open.”

“You sure, T?” Antares asked nervously, but when the half-Phooka only nodded calmly, both he and Aphrodisia carefully released the gate and the demon quickly swept up her scythe, holding it almost as if ready to try and jam the portcullis open. Tender Trust shivered a little, but then steadied herself, and the stallion sighed in relief before he turned around and gently grasped Avalon, carefully pulling her behind him as he and Aphrodisia both slipped beneath the raised gate.

They entered into a large, octagonal chamber, and Antares stared around in disbelief as he set Avalon gently down to one side: the roof was covered in complex patterns and designs, and circles of runes were carved into the floor at regular intervals. Pinkamena was trapped in one of these, Morning Glory in another... and inside a heavy, spiked cage that was secured by chains spiked into the floor and ceiling, was Sleipnir.

The enormous earth pony had his eyes closed and head bowed, breathing calmly in and out despite the thin metal rods pierced through his chest and out his back, which were then clamped into the walls of the cage around him to keep him still. Morning Glory, likewise, was laying prone with a series of large silver stakes pierced through her body, golden fire mane and tail burning low. But when Tender Trust stepped quickly forwards and the gate slammed down behind her, Pinkamena opened one eye and said tiredly: “Took you long enough to get here, kids. Get me the hell out of here.”

“Mommy!” Aphrodisia ran towards her, then skidded to a halt beside the circle, looking down at it worriedly before she shook her head uneasily. “I... I don't...”

“Scythe.” Pinkamena muttered, and Aphrodisia brightened after a moment before she turned around and picked this up. Then the demon simply spun and slammed the scythe downwards, sinking it into one of the runes that made up the circle, and the glowing symbols sparked violently before cracks ripped through the floor.

Pinkamena arched her back, then let out a long sigh of relief before she climbed to her hooves, cracking her neck loudly and grinning slightly. “Good work, kids. Go and free the Destroyer, I'll get Sleipnir.”

“Is Daddy okay?” Aphrodisia asked worriedly, but Pinkamena only reached up and ruffled her mane gently, and the younger demon smiled faintly up at her mother, nodding a few times as she bowed her head forwards. “Okay, Mommy.”

Antares gave his own nervous look towards Sleipnir, but Aphrodisia quickly nudged him and picked up the scythe as she hurried over towards Morning Glory. After another moment of hesitation, Antares followed, and Aphrodisia used the scythe to again disrupt the circle. At this, Antares frowned, looking over his shoulder just in time to see Pinkamena using one of the stakes that had bound down a now-loose chain to stab into the circle around Sleipnir, destroying one of the runes and causing the entire trap circle to stutter out.

He turned his eyes back to Morning Glory, who stirred only slightly as Aphrodisia stepped forwards and grabbed one of the stakes buried in her body... then she yelped and drew hurriedly back, her hoof smoldering just from touching the clearly-blessed metal. Antares winced at this, then he bit his lip before his horn glowed brightly... but then only grimaced as he felt faint recoil twist along his horn, and the stakes refused to move even an inch. Blessed silver and magic-resistant...

The stallion reached out and grasped one of the stakes hesitantly, and when it didn't burn him, he took a breath before yanking upwards and ripping it free. Morning Glory's eyes snapped open, but she didn't cry out, only looked up at him and gave the smallest of nods, and Antares shivered before he continued to remove the dozen or so stakes stuck in her flesh, wincing at every spurt of demonic blood.

Behind him, Pinkamena had smashed the lock on the cage, and Tender Trust had opened the door for her: it was wrought iron, just strong enough of an anti-demon measure to make it hard for her to work with. Sure, if she had been stuck inside, she could have probably smashed her way out... but right now they needed delicacy, and Tender Trust was all too glad to help.

The half-Phooka carefully unscrewed the rods from the clamps, one-by-one, while Sleipnir only continued to breathe softly and regularly. There were six of them, their placement precise and surgical: close to organs, but never through them. In dangerous, but not lethal positions. But the pain even without moving... Tender Trust imagined it must be excruciating.

She undid the clamp on the sixth rod, then stepped back: that was one side down. The half-Phooka slipped away from the cage, meaning to do the other, but then Sleipnir's eyes opened and the earth pony coughed once before murmuring: “Hello, friends. Give me but a moment.”

Sleipnir carefully stuck both his hind legs out through the open door of the cage, then reached up and grasped the edges of it before grunting as he hauled himself forwards and shoved backwards at the same time. And with a thin splurt of blood, he tore free and threw the cage backwards at the same time, bouncing forwards once on his rear with a grunt as the cage flew into the wall with a loud bang.

The enormous stallion wheezed loudly for breath, then he smiled wryly and shook his head out quickly, murmuring: “Thou hast my thanks, sweet phoenix, and thou as well, Tender Trust. Once more I find myself questioning my sister's spectacular power of foresight, though... and I suppose I must be equally-thankful for thy sense of mischief and determination, sweet little Phooka.”

Tender Trust smiled faintly up at the stallion, before Aphrodisia bolted across the room and threw herself at her father. He swept her up and hugged her fiercely despite the faint wince of pain at the wounds in his body, and then he firmly kissed her forehead as she trembled and buried her face against him, whimpering weakly and unable to even form coherent words.

As her parents soothed Aphrodisia, Antares ripped the last stake free from the Destroyer's body, and the demon grunted as she climbed to her hooves. Antares smiled lamely up at her, and the demon looked moodily down at him before the Destroyer simply shook herself, and her mane and tail burst outwards as her eyes glowed with rage and metal plates slid back into place over wounds that were already healing. “I do not like being taken for a fool. It's time to hunt.”

“I couldn't agree more.” Pinkamena muttered, and the demon glanced back and forth before grinning at the sight of her axe resting against one wall beside Sleipnir's breastplate and the rest of their removed equipment, striding over the blade and hefting the massive weapon easily in one hoof. Her eyes flicked to the side, and then she gestured at the pile of stakes, saying mildly: “Might wanna grab those, just in case.”

Antares nodded awkwardly after a moment, turning to gather them up as Morning Glory rumbled slowly in her throat, pacing out of the broken demon trap before her eyes flicked with interest towards the scythe beside Aphrodisia. Her horn glowed, lifting this up, and Aphrodisia growled moodily around her father. “Hey, that's mine!”

“You killed the reaper with its own scythe?” Morning Glory asked curiously, and when Aphrodisia finally slipped out of the safety of her father's embrace to nod firmly once, the Destroyer gave a quiet laugh. “Then yes, it is yours, little girl. These weapons leech the spirit of what they kill. The reaper's mind was destroyed with its body, but the life force remains in the weapon, intact... you should offer it a little bit of your own blood and spirit. It might bond with you.”

Aphrodisia cocked her head curiously at this, and Pinkamena growled... but strangely, didn't seem to entirely reject the idea. Sleipnir, however, only gave a calm smile and said quietly: “That is a matter reserved for later discussion, and when blood does not run so hot. Now, my mind is calm, but my body sings with anger and the need for vengeance. I agree with the counsel that we should hunt down this foe immediately, before it sees us again... but what of Avalon, and of thee, first? How do we all fare... and speak true, friends. 'Tis no time for bluster.”

Morning Glory rolled her shoulders calmly, her cold smile enough of an answer as Aphrodisia snatched her scythe out of the demon's telekinetic grip with a moody rumble before she nodded a few times, as if in answer. Antares gave a faint smile, and then he gestured towards Avalon, murmuring: “I had to take her down pretty hard. Dislocated her wing, and I'm not sure if she's gong to wake up still brainwashed or okay. And I don't know what happened to Meadowlark...”

“I didn't see her while we were being controlled. It's possible that she was out of the maci-manitow's range of sight.” Tender Trust said quietly, before she glanced slowly up. “I do not sense it stirring, either. I can almost feel its mind, with how it tried to connect us. It is an evil feeling.”

Sleipnir nodded with a grimace before he asked quietly: “So thou knows where the creature dens? I was only aware of... light, and sound. I have felt such power before... trapping our minds so it may ensnare and puppet our bodies. 'Tis powerful evil indeed.”

Tender Trust nodded calmly, and then Antares said softly: “It uses an... 'Eye,' Tender Trust called it, to increase its powers. But Psukhikos told me she was going to... to 'take a nap' and then deal with us. I think she might still be regaining her strength, so if we can get to that Eye...”

“Aye, 'tis the best course of action, agreed.” Sleipnir nodded again firmly, then he smiled at his daughter, saying gently: “Numb thy friend, just a gentle nip though, Aphrodisia. Dearest phoenix, will thou check her over? And if all is well, she shall be tucked safe and comfortable in one of my carry-bags, 'twill work well and fine enough.”

Antares nodded in agreement at this plan, smiling faintly as he finished gathering the stakes into his empty saddlebag before standing up and glancing over the others. He studied them, then closed his eyes and bowed his head forwards before saying without even knowing why: “I'm going to get us through this. I promise all of you that, okay?”

Sleipnir smiled and nodded as Aphrodisia blushed a little, then hurried to her task. Pinkamena only grinned as Tender Trust looked at him softly, and Morning Glory rose her head, studying him silently for a few long moments... then she simply nodded slowly. And Antares nodded back, feeling his resolve strengthen, and that he would make this promise truth.

Author's Note:

Vs. Avalon: The Offspring - Half-Truism

Comments

[Vendable Sheik]

And I don't know what happened to Meadowlark...”

*First thought when reading that* Oh hell no! This is not turning into Prestige 2.0! I am not having Antares be screwed over twice!

*Later*

as he saw Meadowlark leaning down through the hole in the skylight above.

Ok, nevermind. I'll put the torch and pitchfork away.

[Koekelbag]

Either this will all turn out to be another trap of Psukhikos... or Psukhikos is extremely dumb.

Also:

blood dribbling out of one ear, one eye, and one large, ugly wound torn through her scalp.

...Eyes aren't supposed to bleed. While you can argue that Avalon didn't suffer that much because of her small size... I'll find it hard to believe if she can still fight after this.

[Revan]

Truth and lies...