As Celestia and Twilight landed upon the base of the castle, they shivered as the air became chilled. Lucia hopped off of Celestia's back and hid in one of the nearby structures. Twilight eyed the entrance to the castle cautiously, looking for any way to open it. the entrance to the castle was a massive metal gate. it was adorned with several curved spikes, their purpose already made apparent with corpses. Twilight had to keep herself from vomiting as she saw several humans, elves, and even argonians hanging lifelessly on the gates.
"I see that two of you have arrived to my little abode. please don't mind the decoration and the atmosphere, do come in!" Vaermina's voice echoed. as if triggered by her request, the gate slowly opened, revealing the inside to be devoid of any light.
"You think it's okay to trust her? I can't see a thing through that darkness." Twilight murmured, peering into the entrance.
"It would be unwise to do so, Twilight. we should wait until Luna has rejoined us." Celestia answered.
"But how long would that take? even if she's already done with that horde, she'll still have t-" Twilight began. she was never able to finish what she was saying, as a flash of light erupted between the two princesses. the light vanished, revealing princess Luna in it's place.
"Ah, it is good to be back in your company, sister." Luna began, looking around her environment. she looked into the dark entryway, not able to see anything beyond a few feet.
"I take it that this is where Vaermina and Sahrot are?" Luna said. she then notices a young human girl walking towards them.
"Sister, who is that?" Luna asked, pointing to the child.
"Luna, this is Lucia. she is the daughter of our friend, Sahrot Strun." Celestia explained.
"Hi." Lucia said meekly, waving her hand at the lunar princess.
"Sahrot's daughter? she doesn't look to be relat-" Luna began, but immediately realized the answer. "He adopted you, didn't he?"
"Yes." Lucia answered. Luna felt a pang of sorrow for the girl, wondering what could have happened to her to where she ended up being adopted. before she could say anything, however, Vaermina's voice boomed once more.
"I see that Meridia's new pet has arrived. good, now we can start the fun. do not worry, for there is nothing in the halls to harm you." she said.
as if on cue, the halls to the castle were lit with a dim light. the group looked inside, but could hardly see anything, they began to worry, not believing the Daedra's word for a second. they huddled together, trying to formulate a plan on how to deal with the dark god, or at least save Sahrot.
"The best we can do so far is to tear Vaermina's grasp from Sahrot's mind," Luna began. "But it would mean bringing her into the waking world, and I'm not sure if even we can deal with her there."
"I do not think that would be wise, sister. we know very little of what she could do, and I'm not sure you would have anymore power to deal with her, after you cast the spell." Celestia spoke. as she said this, a faint glow was emanating from Luna's side, as the Lunar Princess's head lifted slightly. the rest of the group stared at her curiously, before she looked back at them.
"I was just speaking with our friend, Meridia." Luna stated, pulling out Dawnbreaker. "According to her, if Vaermina were brought out of Sahrot's mind, she would be severely weakened, and thus would have to withdraw back to Oblivion. the only issue, however, would be to locate her connection to Sahrot's mind, and sever it."
"But where could that possibly be?" Twilight asked.
"That would be Sahrot's own conscious being, his very mental projection of himself. Meridia explains that Vaermina will most likely meld his conscious with her own form, thus taking control of his body. we must must act now if we are to stop her in time." Luna explained. she turned towards Lucia, addressing her directly.
"It would be wise for you to wait here, so you would not be in peril." She stated.
"But I want to be with my father! I need to be there with him, we promised to always be together!" Lucia exclaimed, turning towards the entrance. Celestia saw what she was about to do, and moved to stop her.
"Please listen to my sister, child. where we will go is not safe, and I'm sure that your father would not wish to see you harmed in any way." Celestia said, hoping to discourage the girl.
"I can help you though! I know restoration magic, see!" Lucia stated, lifting her hands up. her palms then glowed a shimmering gold, which healed a wound Celestia had not even been aware of until now when she approached her. "Please, I just want to help him. he's helped me when I was cast out onto the streets, now I want to help him back."
Celestia said nothing at first, as she was contemplating on the child's words. her dedication to her father, even if it would put her in danger, touched her heart, and wanted to grant her wish. however, she would be in great peril, especially when they face Vaermina. she did not have time to ponder her decision, however, as shadowy figures were emerging, and the darkness started to envelop the surrounding area.
"I grow impatient of your indecision, fools. either accept my offer, or be one with Quagmire." Vaermina boomed.
"Well, I guess that means you'll be coming with us after all." Celestia stated, drawing the child to the center of the three alicorns. they formed a protective circle around Lucia, and backed away warily from the approaching shadows. they moved away from the darkness, and into the gaping entrance of the castle. once they all stepped foot into the entrance, the massive gate slammed shut, separating them from the outside. the group looked around the room they have entered in, taking in the new environment. it seemed to be some kind of dungeon, complete with several cells, each of them seeming to be filled with blood, and some still had body parts. Twilight shuddered at the sight, hoping to escape this place as soon as possible.
"Stay with me as much as possible, I shall take the lead through this place." Luna said firmly, stepping ahead. the others followed suit, with Celestia taking the back. they continued forward warily, as the environment around them became more visceral and horrifying. as they were moving, an inaudible whisper was heard. each member of the group looked around for the source of the voice, all of them feeling uneasy. the voice of the whispering sounded hoarse and gruff, akin to an aged and battle-hardened warrior. as they moved further, they were able to hear what the whispers said.
"Confound it all. even now, when I am at my most powerful, I am still powerless to stop her. I can feel the bond between us all waning, it won't be long before I completely fade from the mind, and Vaermina becomes one with my body." it said.
"Who are you?" Luna called out. a sharp inhalation was heard, shortly accompanied by the rustling of metal against stone.
"Who is out there? are you agents of Vaermina? have you come to gloat at my peril? answer me!" the voice commanded.
"Please, be calm, we are not any of Vaerminas' lackeys." Luna stated. the voice did not respond, but instead more rustling, and a head that appeared from between the bars of a cell door. the head was that of a male argonian, it's head covered in silver scales, and adorning a set of curved horns. the argonian eyed them for a moment, before realizing who they were.
"Luna? Celestia? Twilight? is that you? how did you get here?" the argonian inquired. he then looked down at Lucia, recognizing her as well. "Lucia?"
"Father?" Lucia began, before Luna took a step forward.
"Sahrot? is that really you in there?" Luna asked, staring at the argonian.
"Well, not exactly. I am merely a small part of myself, a collection of all my knowledge and intellect." 'Sahrot explained.
"But, wait, if this is only a part of you, then what happened to the rest?" Twilight asked.
"Up ahead of me are some representations of my emotions. sadness, fear, joy, all are accounted for except for anger." 'Sahrot' began. "You see, Vaermina is trying to take over my body by breaking my will, and the process is faster without the emotions and mental fortitude in the way. all that stands between her and my being is my anger and willpower. please, you need to free us."
"Do not worry, I will have you freed and united once more." Luna stated, pulling out Dawnbreaker. 'Sahrot' backed away from the cell, as Luna swung the blade down upon the door, cleaving it. the two pieces fell to the floor with a loud clang, and the silver argonian stepped out. 'Sahrot' appeared to be wearing some kind of greyish-white robe, with bits of steel plating on his wrists, shoulders, and leggings. he wielded a staff in one hand, and carried a sword on his hip.
"Shall we carry on?" Luna asked.
"Yes, the emotions should be in the chamber just ahead, at our left side. we must make haste, if we are to stop Vaermina in time." 'Sahrot' said, taking the lead. the others followed behind him, as they neared the door, and entered the chamber. what they saw were several argonians, each a different color, trapped in cells, and even bird cages for the smaller ones.
"So...these are all the aspects of Sahrot's being?" Twilight asked, looking around in awe.
"Yes, and we must free them, so I can become whole once more, thus hindering Vaermina's attempt to take my body." Sahrot explained, before moving to one of the cells. it contained an argonian wearing a yellow tunic, his scales a sickly gold hue. he looked up worriedly at 'Sahrot', but the fearful expression lessened to a degree once he realized who it was.
"Oh, Knowledge, it's you. thank goodness." the argonian said, sighing.
"Do not worry, Fear, I have come with reinforcements to aid us in our peril." 'Sahrot' replied, ripping open the cell door. he casually tossed away the door as Fear stepped out. he was relatively shorter than the silver argonian, as well as thinner.
"Wait a minute, so all the names of the aspects are based off of what they represent?" Luna asked. she may have known many things about the mind, but sentient aspects were not what she expected.
"Yes, of course, I am Knowledge, and he is Fear. come, let us free the others." Knowledge explained, moving to another cell. the others followed suit, Celestia and Luna working on the rest of the cells, while Twilight and Lucia reached the ones hanging in bird cages. Twilight grabbed two cages with her magic and cautiously pulled them down from the ceiling. two argonians were revealed inside the cages, each a foot shorter than Twilight. they seemed to be nearly identical, save for color, as one was orange, and the other, purple.
"Hey, good looking, what's your name?" the purple one asked, looking over the alicorn.
"Umm, Twilight?" she answered, not sure how to respond.
"Twilight, huh? nice to meet you, my name's Lust, and let me tell you, you have some very beautiful eyes." Lust said, taking her hoof and kissing it.
"Uhumm, yeah, nice to meet you too." Twilight said awkwardly, backing away from the small argonians.
"Lust, stop messing around with Twilight and get over here. and take Greed with you!" Knowledge yelled, apparently able to hear him.
"Fine, whatever. come on, Greed, lets go." Lust said, before turning around and finding Greed wrestling Lucia for her necklace.
"Really, Greed?" Lust said with a sigh, before tearing Greed away from the young girl, who looked worried.
"Don't mind Greed, he just has trouble keeping his hands to himself." Lust explained, tugging away a disgruntled Greed along with him. as he passed by Twilight, he gave her a playful wink, before moving along. Twilight stared at the argonian for a minute, before shaking her head, and walked with Lucia towards the rest of the group. after two full minutes of freeing them, they all gathered around a large door, all the other aspects freed. Twilight took a moment to observe them. she already met Fear, Lust, and Greed, so she looked at the others. the one that stuck out the most was a tall argonian, even taller than Knowledge. he was wore simple clothing, which was a navy blue, along with his scales. what she noticed the most, though, was the somber expression that he wore.
'So he must be Sadness.' Twilight mused, feeling rather depressed looking at the figure. she then noticed a bright green argonian that was just as tall as her bouncing around merrily. 'And that must be Happiness.'
before she could further analyze the other aspects, Knowledge, with the help of the princesses, slowly pushed open the door, revealing a wide, empty chasm of a room. from where they stood, the faint sound of screaming could be heard from the void, and it was truly dreadful. as the screams continued, crying out for it's pain and suffering to stop, peals of laughter are what answered it's cries, as it's master worked away at the hapless victim.
"That would be Willpower, and judging by the screams, Vaermina is winning in her struggle for Our body." Knowledge said with a heavy sigh.
"If that's the case, the-" Luna began, but was cut off by a mighty bellow that echoed throughout the room. it was filled with such a baleful malice that it shook everyone present to the core.
"Fortunately, Anger seems to be able to hold her off. how is he doing that, there's no way even hi-" Knowledge stopped speaking when a realization hit him. "Oh no."
"What? what's going on?" Twilight asked, worried by what the silver argonian was saying.
"I will explain later, right now we must aid them before it is too late! come, hurry!" Knowledge exclaimed, before running headfirst into the void, disappearing into the darkness almost instantly. the princesses looked at each other in worry whilst the other emotional aspects hurried after him. then they followed behind, with Lucia taking the back, as they plunged into the abyss.