Kepler lowered a spyglass from his eye.
"My starrs and garrterrs..."
He placed his spectacles back on and blinked heavily at the upper twilight. Off in the distance, three conjoined specks were struggling to outfly a giant, belly-flopping behemoth.
"I do believe they have angerred it."
Seraphimus was likewise squinting at the scene from where they both stood at the wagon. "I cannot help but wonder, wyvern, if your penchant for stating the obvious is some poorly-constructed defense mechanism."
"Ha-HAH!" Kepler nodded without looking. "That you should choose to give psychiatrric advice!"
Seraphimus pointed with two bound wrists. "They're almost here."
"Surrely, you jest!" Kepler looked over at her. "They arre a good thrree minutes away—at least—even at top speed!"
SWOOOOSH! A heavily-sweating Ariel touched down clumsily with a limp Flynn. "At last!"
"Gaaah!" Kepler hopped in place, nearly losing his spectacles.
Seraphimus calmly glanced his way. "I was referring to them."
Ariel threw Seraphimus a look of surprise. "So you did survive."
A dull sigh escaped the former Commander's throat. "A pity to disappoint you."
Ariel frowned. Clenched her teeth. Shook. "... ... ...Whatever." She twirled to face Kepler. "What do we have left to work with?"
"Mirraculously, most everrything!" Kepler gestured at the wagon. "Only one crrate was lost, and we've scavenged most of the materrials!"
"Cool." Thwump! Ariel unceremoniously threw Flynn's groaning body into the wagon and began rummaging about. "Any narrow blades? Swords?"
"What forr?" Kepler craned his neck. "Does ourr unicorrn frriend need a tracheotomy?"
"No!" Ariel spat, searching frantically. "To stab that friggin' wyrm, ya sky monkey!"
"Have you gone mad, frriend?!" Kepler grimaced through his tusks. He waved a nervous claw towards the interrupted horizon as the rumbling drew closer. "Even the entirre arrsenal of Rrohbredden's finest couldn't pierrce that abominable manifestation's hide!"
"I beg to differ," Seraphimus grunted.
Ariel rolled her eyes, then looked at Kepler. "I just saw—with my own eyes—Rainbow and Wildcard making the damned thing bleed with just a sword and a metal fist!"
"Ach..." Kepler nodded nervously. His glasses reflected a fresh column of debris and ash rising in a line towards their general vicinity. "...and quite a fine job it did of slowing the crretin down, too."
"Yeah... well..." Ariel gulped, donating the distorted horizon a worried look. "...have you any bright ideas?"
"Indeed." Kepler coughed. "We could outrrun it on the wagon..."
"Uh huh—"
"...for apprroximately half a minute beforre it crrushes us to a pulp underr it's monumental weight."
Ariel cringed. "Any... brighter ideas?"
"Absolutely!" Kepler gestured. "We glide towarrds it so that the suspense won't last as long."
"Keps!" Ariel's voice cracked. "What gives?! You're supposed to be the optimistic one!"
Kepler bore a bittersweet smile. "All things must eventually rrun out, my dearr."
"Cheese and bacon," Flynn slurred, eyes shut. Ariel's tail swatted him in the face. "Pffffft!"
"Well... guh..." Ariel looked again, wincing. Her twitching blue eyes caught sight of Rainbow, Wildcard, and Logan in the far, far distance. "We c-can't just give up! Not after all we've accomplished to get out of that stupid thing's clutches!"
Seraphimus cocked her head to the side. "Do you not possess an ample supply of alchemic materials?"
Kepler blinked. He looked at the crate.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Ariel fidgeted.
Seraphimus breathed in deeply, frowning slightly. "Such concoctions did wonders to my fellow soldiers back at the Edge..."
"It... simply isn't enough to thwarrt a monsterr of this magnitude," Kepler said in a sober tone. "I doubt it could even singe the crreaturre's outerr shell."
"Then perhaps if you had some blighted tool to magnify the chemicals' effect?" Seraphimus suggested. "You all pretend to be soldiers... warriors, yes?" She cocked an eyecrest. "Such tenacity requires a certain degree of... improvisation in the field. But I can't expect you to know that."
"Kepler..." Ariel whispered, as if to hide the fact from Seraphimus. She leaned towards the wyvern. "...the lunar runes."
"...!" Kepler looked at the crate chock-full of heavy moonstones.
"Could a Midnighter spell amplify some of your alchemy?" Ariel hissed.
"I... think therre might be a rrelevant command orr two that could be employed," Kepler thought aloud. "But... it could rrisk immolating all fourr of us and ourr arrriving companions in the prrocess."
Ariel bit her lip.
The earth rumbled.
The stars quivered as the beast approached.
"I'm all for that," Seraphimus droned.
"Hrmmmmm..." Flynn smiled and drooled. "...buttered toast."