With the energized fragment being towed behind them, the group carefully made their way through the supernatural darkness, hearing things slithering around in the darkness, things they knew they would never see in the light. Strange plant-like growths slithered just out of sight, hiding in the ground when the light came too close...but swallowing whole anything that got too close in the dark.
The entire group traversed in silence, one of them keeping guard over their primary comet shard while the others grabbed every illuminated fragment they came across to restore energy, moving swiftly but carefully to get away from the shadowy things that hungered, and knew neither mercy nor compassion, and sought only victims to slake their feral need, to feed on agony as much as flesh. So intense had the fear the group was feeling became that they took no notice of their surroundings beyond the circle of light in which they traveled, and opened fire instantly on anything that entered that circle from the outside, taking no time to identify, only struggling to survive and escape the dark.
Scattered throughout the shadowy land were more points at which the energy of the comet fragment could be fully recharged, and gave off light itself to push the darkness back. Each point stood out as a beacon, guiding the group from one to the next as they made their way through. Twilight stayed close to each light source and the comet fragment, loath to leave, seeming terrified of what the darkness might do to her if she dared enter.
Finally, they reached a new mechanical point, where a strange device came down and collected the comet fragment, conserving its light and lifting it slowly towards somewhere unknown. Twilight looked to be on the verge of panic as the group was forced to follow the path up slowly, waiting long enough for the light to make the lethal shadow creatures withdraw, but not so long that the light left without them. Eventually, Qwark scooped her up and carried her over one shoulder rather than leave her in such a state, letting her curl up and hide from the darkness.
"Is she going to be okay?" Alister asked worriedly.
"The darkness holds great fear for her...with good reason," Qwark explained simply. "I wish I could do something for her..."
"Maybe you should eat a comet shard," Nefarious suggested. "It might make your body glow with light to push back the darkness."
"You think it'll work?" Qwark asked dubiously.
"Can you think of a reason it wouldn't?" Nefarious countered.
"Umm...what if the comet fragments have something to do with the weird energy Nevo was experimenting with that we speculate to be somehow sentient and evil?" Qwark queried. "Might there be...side effects?"
"...I suppose so, now," Nefarious grumbled, having hoped Qwark's 'believe and it's so' aspect would let that work.
"Maybe you could try punching the darkness away?" Alister suggested jokingly.
"Good idea!" Qwark proclaimed as he grabbed a comet shard. "Kagayaku Ken!" he proclaimed loudly as he thrust his clenched fist forward, crushing the shard as he did so.
The light of the shard launched forward in a wave, illuminating the entire path and forcing the dark things to withdraw.
Nefarious' jaw dropped. After stooping to pick it up and reattach it, he turned to Alister. "Good job!" he complimented, giving him a thumbs up.
"I was being facetious..." Alister whimpered as he managed to keep up, relieved to see Twilight more or less back to normal, once more walking on her own, though staying close to Qwark.
"Yeah," Twilight pointed out laughingly, "Mom and Dad learned long ago that doesn't work well with us-"
"I can't believe I messed that up!" Qwark yelled out suddenly, clutching his head. "Can I get a do over?" he pleaded.
"What in heavens name are you talking about?" Nefarious demanded angrily.
"I should have cast Magic Missile!" Qwark wailed out.
Alister stared at him like he was crazy. Nefarious and Twilight, however, burst into laughter not moments later.
With the entire path illuminated, chasing after the charged fragment proved both easier and far more relaxing, something the entire group needed after the harrowing trek through the dark plains. However, it quickly became clear they weren't quite done, as the strange device deposited the comet fragment at the top of the sloping path they'd just followed. However, now that they knew another way to safely illuminate the path, they took advantage of it while still towing the fragment along, if only in case it proved useful later on as a power source.
When the illumination Qwark had initially provided began to dim, he once more got a chance to do over, and this time he did indeed, 'cast Magic Missile', making Twilight giggle and Nefarious roll his eyes.
The field itself ended at a deep pit, with a bridge crossing into it a short distance. A screen displayed another video segment, describing the area as the start of the crater where the comet itself impacted so many years ago. When they reached the end of the bridge, an inactive Guardian bot rose up, a hole in its chest perfectly sized to receive the device that had been holding the comet fragment.
"So...should we load it in?" Qwark asked curiously.
"Not just yet!" Nefarious warned. "First, I need to reset its programming matrix so it doesn't boot up in murder mode! Just let me at the head, I'll take care of the rest!"
"Not without me, you don't!" Twilight squealed happily.
Alister chuckled softly as he leaned back against the platform. "Here we go again..."
I want to see a movie made from this when it is done...
Could it be that they'll be getting another bot added to the "family" now...? because you just know that whatever Twilight and Nefarious do to it while tinkering will somehow make it sapient, in addition to whatever over powered upgrades they manage to cram into its chassis...
Quark is OP. Plz nerf.
7475895 You and me both.
Another enjoyable chapter. Great job.
Silly Quark, there's only 1 spell you need.
Owark if u did that ud run right into the Elf!
Qwark punching the darkness was the highlight of this chapter, with the Magic Missile reference coming in second.
7475931
Bad idea. Rewatch "Winter Wrapup". Twilight is afraid of snakes.
WOOT! Qwark rolled a Natural 20 to make me laugh!!!
Very good idea. Now is this a mech they can ride in or will it be a robot ally????
7475921 not sure if serious or just joking.
also Quark is fine the way he is, Quarks weakness is Ironically the same as his strength. you make him believe he's not strong enough to hurt or stop you and you win.
7476136 Joking. Not really clear with just text, is it?
7476177 nope.
Whyyyy can i see Neffy and Twi turning the Guardian into a Gundam?
Also, obligatory story idea tiem.
Starlight Glimmer and the The Legend of Spyro trilogy. Spyro is the rare purple dragon born only once every ten generations. I wonder if a little sister unicorn could go along with that? A notable ability he learns in the second game is 'Dragon Time' which allows brief time manipulation...
"I cast magic missle"
"But there's nothing to attack."
"I attack the darkness"
7476341 I believe, and Tats will probably correct me on this, that he's already said there won't be one about Starlight as she fails to meet his criteria. In this case as I recall the failed criteria is "The Author Must Like The Pony".
7475921
wait until he hears this song while someone tells him to do as it says
Why does this whole 'complete darkness' thing make me think that The Crawler is going to pop out?
7476390 Oh dear god. Karina Quark is unstoppable!
"What the... Well if you were hungry, why didn't you say something?!"
... Am I the only one that desperately wants Qwark to come across a Gazebo? Not only would he try to recreate the joke, but his power could legitimately turn the Gazebo into a Dread Gazebo! XD
7476024 Knowing those two.
The power of imagination that defy logic as long as he don't know it's impossible.
7480158 The campaign story has always been pretty flimsy, but zombies has a story arcing across every single game it has been in.
Knuckles would have done that, too.
7476843 Similar to Aphelion, I presume?
7477480
Technically you can tell him it's impossible but if he doesn't believe you he'll do it anyway to prove
Yet another reference I don't get that I've read in a few fics. Could someone please explain this to me? Aside from this being a D&D reference I've got nothing.
9523670
There ya go. It's D&D memetic.