//------------------------------//
// Volcano Mission 
// Story: Colours of Dusk 
// by AlphatheGriffin17 
//------------------------------//

The island of Dragon's Lair was something of a two-for-one deal. Dragons were straight to the point in many regards, including names. For the sake of ease, the name was shared by both the island and the volcano. This still caused arguments between dragons over which part they were referring to, but this wasn't seen as an issue. Dragons liked a good fight.

The volcano itself towered over a lush landscape. Though it had been inactive for some time, the ground had been left very fertile and in the wake of the dragons leaving had begun to restore. More recent scorches scored the ground, though not from dragon fire. Those looking around would also find heavy impressions in the soil that didn't look like they belonged to any living creature.

The relative quiet was disturbed all at once by a burst of gathered starlight within the trees. The group of six that stepped out of it immediately ran for cover, ducking behind trees and rocks. They remained concealed for a few moments before cautiously peering out. One of them suddenly appeared in their midst, sweeping away her cloak.

"No sign of anything immediately nearby," reported Trixie, the earth rune inside the cloak fading out. "They must be keeping most of their forces inside. I wish we knew more about what to expect."

"As do I," agreed Sombra. "Our plan is not the most airtight, but it's the best one we have with the time we have. Let's proceed to that concealed door then. Ember, lead the way."

"On it." She strode ahead towards the volcano. "Would have been nice if they'd dropped us off a little closer."

"I would wager that Fallen has similar defences to what Twilight and I created that prevent us from teleporting directly inside," said Sombra. "But we'll manage. The walk will get our blood pumping and the air will clear our minds."

Trixie rolled her eyes. "You sound like my old gym coach. 'Oh come on, it's not so cold out.' Maybe not for you in your tracksuit, Mr. Sprint!"

"Perhaps I should track down this Mr. Sprint when we return," said Doom. "Give him a workout he'll never forget."

"Do my ears betray me, brother, or did you offer your equivalent of something nice to Trixie?" asked Dusk.

"I think he did," agreed Trixie. "Aw Doomie, you're just the sweetest thing."

"I'm not nice or sweet!" he barked.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Doom," said Thorax kindly. "Ember was like that too and now she's our friend. We'd all like to be your friends, if you would-"

"Finish that sentence and I will pull your tongue out of your skull and feed it to you."

Thorax immediately clamped his mouth shut. Ember glared over her shoulder at Doom.

"Hey, say anything like that again and we'll see just how much of a dragon you think you are," she challenged.

Doom opened his mouth, but caught a look from Sombra and held back whatever he wanted to say. Satisfied, Ember threw Thorax a smile, which the changeling gratefully returned, flying to catch up with her.

"Thanks for that," he murmured. "I-I've never been much good at being like that. Being tough a-and strong."

"But why? You're plenty tough and strong," she said plainly. "You're here with us and you helped rescue that… you know, that one that hugged me."

"Fluttershy?"

She nodded absently. "Yeah, that one. Plus, you came all the way out by yourself to find your princess when no other changeling would. You're plenty tough, Thorax! So don't go thinking you're not. Got it?"

"I'll… I'll try."

"No, don't just try. Come on, what are you?"

He looked confused. "… I'm Thorax?"

"Not who. What. What you are is tough and strong. So let me hear it. What are you?"

"I'm t-tough."

"With confidence, come on. What are you?"

"I'm tough."

"Louder!"

"I'm tough!"

"And what else?"

"I'm strong!"

"Yes, you are!" She slapped him on the back. "And are they going to knock you down?"

"No, they're not! Because I'm going to knock them down first!" he declared.

"There it is!" she applauded. "Now, you remember that, alright?"

"I will. Thanks, Ember." He beamed at her. "You're a great friend."

Her face tinted red. "Suppose so."

"Oh no. If I need to think I'm tough, you need to realise that you're great at being a friend. And you are." He gave her a sincere smile. "I'm glad you came back, Ember."

She looked away, her cheeks turning even redder. Even so, a slight smile came to her face too.

"Thanks," she said quietly. Then, she frowned. "Hey, were your wings always that sparkly?"

"What do you…?" He looked over his shoulder and saw what she meant. "No, they weren't. Th-They've never looked like that before."

"Interesting." Dusk, who had been nearby but stayed out of their discussion, came over to look. "I wonder why that might be. Actually, a thought's just occurred to me. Are you still hungry, Thorax?"

"Now that you mention it, not even a little bit," he answered. "I didn't even really notice. With all that's going on a-and everyone being so nice to me, it was like I… I stopped feeling it."

"Maybe that ties into it. Our friendship is acting as a supplement to the usual love you feed on," suggested Dusk.

"I'd always hoped that might do something that wasn't just stealing love to feed on," murmured Thorax. "Do you think it could be the same thing affecting my wings?"

Dusk looked uncertain. "I'm afraid I don't know enough about changeling biology to make a good assessment of that. I don't think it's anything bad though."

Thorax looked at his wings again and nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

"Perhaps not right now, but the rest of you had better not start to sparkle too," put in Doom. "Or else we might as well announce our presence now."

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Always the ray of sunshine, aren't you?"

"Alright, it should be up this side of the volcano!" Ember gestured up a craggy incline towards an outcropping a good few feet up. "It'll be quicker if Thorax and I work together to fly the rest of you up."

Sombra nodded. "I concur. All of you, be on guard. We have no guarantee that they don't know about this entrance."

The word had just left his mouth when something glowing missed him by inches. A volley of several more followed in its wake, scorching the ground around them. Sombra barked for them to find cover and they swiftly hid behind other outcroppings and rocks.

Dusk peered out to get a look. He could make out the shapes of what looked like ponies, but were more likely Grace's puppets. Alongside them were metal, pony-sized shapes with rounded bodies and four, spindly legs. Both sorts fired magic, from their legs and single round eyes respectively.

"We can't be pinned down here!" Sombra shouted. "Ember, Thorax, take off and draw their fire! Dusk, Doom, shield in front and start climbing! Trixie, you and I will advance behind them! Use the water rune to help trick them! Go!"

The two flyers took off, causing some of the sentries to take aim at them. The lessening fire allowed Dusk and Doom to jump out of cover, conjuring a yellow shield and wall of darkness respectively. They began to carefully scale the cliff while casting their magic. Sombra gave Trixie a reassuring pat before the pair followed along behind. She cast a layer of mist, conjuring up mirage-like versions of herself which took off a little more heat.

Thorax and Ember performed dives and strafes, keeping the sentries' attentions. Thorax fired his crossbow and Ember spat out fireballs, but the projectiles either missed when their targets dodged or bounced uselessly off wood and metal.

Ember became annoyed at their insistent shooting and angled in for a closer dive. But the sentries concentrated their fire the closer she got. She dodged some, but plenty more landed. She felt the burns, even through her armour and scales and not the good kind either. So much was coming so fast she couldn't aim right and her fireball went wide.

"Ember!" Thorax shot up from beneath her, moving her away from the sentries. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine. Ugh, those things sting." She patted the smoking spots on her and gave Thorax a thumbs-up. "See? Tough."

Thorax's embarrassed laugh became a yelp when a blast missed him by inches, another singing his armoured leg. He and Ember swiftly returned to their strafing runs, not straying too close.

Down on the volcano slope, the advance was moving slowly. It was far from the most stable footing. Combine this with trying to maintain shield spells during an ongoing barrage and the two 'brothers' had a hard time not falling right back down. It was steady, but it took its time.

Trying to lend a hoof, Trixie whipped a firework out of her hat and ignited it. But she couldn't get a good shot and the missile flew off-course, exploding in the sky.

"That won't do any good!" Sombra yelled. "Not while they have the high ground!"

"Excuse me for wanting this to end a little sooner!" she shot back.

Doom glanced down at Trixie when he heard this. He saw Dusk stumble on a loose part of the slope, sliding down a bit. It forced him to match his pace. The flyers couldn't get in close enough and all their party could do was stumble about here. The sentries were starting to realise Trixie's doubles weren't worth shooting at and were refocusing their efforts.

The situation, the constant firing, being kept in a position of weakness. Enough was enough, Doom decided.

He tensed his legs and jumped up the slope, using his shadows to gain purchase against the stone while keeping his barrier. He had to reduce the original one, but that was no matter. He'd be there in no time now.

"Doom! Get back here!" shouted Sombra. "Dusk, watch out!"

With his 'brother' running off without warning, Dusk was forced to put more power into his shield suddenly to shore up where Doom had previously protected. A few shots slipped past before he could, landing dangerously close to Trixie and Sombra. The former threw her cloak around herself in a shriek while the latter ducked, glaring at the wayward stallion who stormed on ahead.

Even with his speed and shadows, Doom still took a few hits. He grunted when they hit his armoured legs and chest, making him falter but not stop. At the final leg, he leapt up with a roar and slammed down on the outcropping. The sentries had to take a moment to turn and face him, allowing him to tear one of the spider-like robots apart. He yelped when a puppet shot his side, but he charged at it.

It had the impact he went for. With their attention divided on three fronts, the flyers dived in. Thorax shot straight down, a green energy building around his front that exploded when he hit the ground, destroying a spider-bot and a puppet. Ember came in flames blazing, torching anything within reach.

Within seconds, the six or so sentries were in pieces and silence settled on the volcano slopes once more. But it was broken again when Sombra rounded on Doom.

"That was foolish!" Sombra bellowed. "Not only did you endanger your own life, but you put the others at risk too!"

Doom snarled while he winced from the shots he'd taken. "It worked, didn't it?"

"That is irrelevant!" he shouted back. "We had a plan and it was working, but you chose to act on your own and we nearly paid the price for it! We are all there is, do you understand? I will not have you recklessly endanger the lives of our friends. Am I clear?"

Dusk could see that Doom was very close to hitting Sombra. His right foreleg twitched and his teeth were gritted. But then Trixie placed a hoof on him, silently imploring him. Doom gazed back at her, then closed his eyes and let out a breath,

"Yes," he muttered.

"Good. Dusk, provide some restorative energy to Doom. Ember, see what you can do about this passageway."

Doom glared when Dusk approached him, but Dusk held it evenly. He didn't stop Dusk when he cast cream-yellow healing magic where he'd been hit, but he didn't thank his 'brother' and shoved past him when was finished. Dusk caught Trixie's eye, who offered a look of sympathy.

"You alright?" she asked.

He nodded. "As well as can be expected. You?"

"Little shaken, but I'll be okay." Her eyes flickered to Doom. "It was stupid, but at least he got us out of it."

"There is that. Looks like we know who's been left on guard duty," he said, nudging a destroyed puppet. "I wasn't looking forward to seeing Ligne Grace again, but never mind."

"And I'll bet that Test Tube was responsible for these," added Trixie, looking with disdain at a smashed robot. "At least these ones seem easier to break than big ones from the city."

"True. Hopefully we won't have to deal with his bigger creations while we're inside the hideout, assuming the tunnels are too small for them." He tried to inject an optimistic note into his voice, but saw that Trixie's gaze had settled on another one of the broken puppets nearby. Her troubled expression was plain to see. "Something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, no, nothing," she said, though still frowning. "It's just… I've heard a few stories about how this Grace's puppets were supposed to be super lifelike, but hearing about it didn't really prepare me for seeing them in person like this. I actually thought we were fighting normal ponies at first."

Despite her words, her tone was anything but one of admiration. Discomfort was more like it. Dusk followed her gaze to the shattered marionette in question, this one bearing an uncanny resemblance to a young mare with curly mane, save for the cold glassy eyes and cracked, splintered body.

Dusk was no artisan, but now that he got a chance to inspect them up close, he still privately admitted that the craftsmanship on these puppets was impeccable… though that didn't make looking at them any less unnerving. Somehow about how closely they all resembled living ponies, from their fake fur and mane down to their realistically accurate proportions, simply rubbed Dusk the wrong way. He couldn't quite explain why, even to himself.

"Come along, you two." Sombra's voice snapped him from his thoughts. "We're in the right place."

Upon looking where he indicated, they saw what he meant. They had arrived precisely where they were meant to be. On the rock face was an inscription that Dusk couldn't read. It looked like it had been carved into the stone with nothing but claws. The claws of what was probably a very prominently sized dragon. Ember cast her eye over it and nodded.

"Just like I thought." She traced the passage with her finger and read aloud. "'The touch of flame will show the way'."

Before any of them could ask what that meant, she held up her hands and breathed fire on them. Dusk winced while he watched them heat up to a ruby glow before planting them both under the inscription.

The impressions left by her claws lingered with the burning glow, one that spread to the words themselves. The orange glow flashed around in the shape of a doorway and with a rumble, it slid down into the ground, revealing a darkened passage within.

"Wow," whispered Thorax. "And only a dragon could do that?"

"Yep. There's nothing in the world like dragon fire."

"Then why post guards on a door they couldn't even open?" asked Trixie.

"They may have discovered the passage itself on the other side," answered Sombra. "I would have done the same, if only as a precaution. Now, Thorax, I believe it's time for you to take the lead."

"Huh? Oh yeah, of course!" He stepped up, letting out an awkward laugh whilst gesturing to the one, long tunnel. "W-Well, I guess we know where we're all going first of all."

Some appreciative laughs arose from them, which appeared to bolster the changeling's spirits. They followed him inside, with Dusk casting some coloured orbs to light the passage while the stone door slid shut behind them.

They proceeded as quietly as they could. There didn't seem to be signs of any other sentries in the tunnel, but they were still carefully scanning every inch of wall and cavern floor.

"I trust you know where we're actually going," muttered Doom to Thorax.

He perked up despite Doom's tone. "Oh don't worry. Compared to a changeling hive, memorising the map for this place was a lot easier. I'll get us there."

"So where are we going exactly?" asked Dusk. "I assume that if the Beast Hosts are anywhere, they'll be deeper within the volcano itself."

"That was my thinking too," replied Thorax. "The map showed a pretty large cavern in the heart of the volcano, with a bunch of smaller passages and openings branching off. It was probably where both the dragons and diamond dogs kept their gem stores."

"Uh, just to be clear…" Trixie was looking down with apprehension. "This volcano is definitely inactive, right? Because I'm not in the mood for being roasted today."

Ember waved a hand. "Don't worry about it, it's just lava. Oh wait, you ponies don't deal well with that, do you?"

"Not especially, no," put in Dusk.

"Well, it stopped erupting at least," she said. "By dragon standards, it might as well be dead."

"Wait, you mean there's actually lava still in here?!" Trixie loud-whispered. "And we're just walking around with it right beneath our hooves and getting closer every second!"

"Trixie, calm yourself," said Sombra. "The volcano won't erupt unexpectedly at least and I doubt Fallen will have left his most valuable assets right next to a lava flow."

"R-Right. Of course." Trixie took a few shuddering breaths. "It's fine, totally fine. Sure it is. Don't think about the lava, Trixie, don't think about the lava…"

They kept on walking until they came across another obstruction. A large, metal slab right over the exit to the passage. They looked about the area in front of and around it, but there was no obvious way to open it.

"This won't stop us for long, if we damage it enough." Doom started to coil shadows around him. "Allow me to make a start."

"No, Doom. Brute force won't get us through this," said Sombra. "It would make too much noise and alert any nearby guards."

"Who's to say they're not already alerted by the ones on the slopes?" argued Doom. "And regardless of that, we could destroy them easily!"

"But if the ones outside have a way of alerting the ones inside, that could mean there are more waiting for us on the other side of the door," suggested Thorax. "If we start trying to break it down, they'd know and they could start shooting the minute we get through."

Doom rounded on him. "Nopony asked for your opinion, you little-!"

"Enough," commanded Sombra. "Thorax raises a good point. Either way, we can't simply break it down. We don't even know if we can. There may be a way to open it on the other side, along with seeing if there is indeed an ambush. Dusk, has Luna taught you to travel between shadows?"

Dusk shifted uncertainly. "I've done it a few times, but it's really disorientating and I'm not completely confident with it. Walking through shadow is a different experience to simply using them to conceal myself."

"It is if you don't have the stomach for it," dismissed Doom. "I can move between the shadows without issue. I can accomplish whatever you have in mind, Sombra and without complaint, unlike this one."

Sombra looked between the 'brothers' and nodded."You will both attend this task. Pass through to the other side, determine if there is an ambush and a way to open the door."

"Sombra, I don't need his-!"

"'Without complaint' were your words, Doom. Unless I misheard you?" asked Sombra pointedly. Dusk's former dark side growled in his throat, but didn't argue. "I thought not. If you find a way to open it, do so. If we are to be ambushed, give us warning and then open the door so we might prepare. Don't engage the enemy if they are present."

Both nodded and moved to the darkest patch of wall. Taking a deep breath like he was about to plunge into deep water, Dusk followed Doom inside it.

The water comparison was fitting. The cold dark seeped into him from every angle, pressing down on his whole body. How long had it been since he'd last tried this? Not since he had the magic-enhancing power of his Shadow Spectre outfit and that had long been rendered useless. While he could become a formless shadow like Luna, that was still in the realm of the light. This, however…

He could almost feel Doom's glare on him, even if he couldn't see it. He felt the stallion's presence in the dark and stuck close to it. He had to do this. They were counting on him. Ray was counting on him. This was one step closer to freeing him.

He tried to keep himself centred, but it was all-consuming. Everywhere he looked or stepped was nothing but dark. Luna's warnings about being taken by the shadow swam to his head while he tried to find the way back to the light. Panic was starting to grip him and with it, so did the darkness.

Something took hold of his shoulder. He struggled against it but it was too strong. It was pulling him along towards somewhere. He'd never find his way out of here. He'd be trapped, lost in the dark and Ray would never-

Light flooded into his vision. He opened his mouth to cry out, to breathe but the same thing that gripped his shoulder clamped hard over his mouth. A guttural voice hissed in his ear.

"Be quiet or you'll get us both killed!"

Dusk could see the black fur covering the foreleg which clamped his mouth. Swallowing down the yell in his throat and breathing through his nose, he managed to calm himself down enough for Doom to release him.

"Truly pathetic," he snarled quietly.

Dusk chose not to rise to Doom's bait, simply being grateful to be back in the light. He turned his attention to the sight in front of them, peering from the darkened corner he'd concealed them in.

Thorax had been right. There was indeed an ambush. A dozen puppets and more spider bots waited for them, weapons trained on the door. Bright lights illuminated the heavy metal door, plastered with yellow warning signs. And there, on the right, was a control panel with a lever marked 'open' going up and 'close' going down.

"Well, that's nice and simple. Aside from the multitude of guards," said Dusk.

"The two of us would be more than enough," grumbled Doom. "Primarily myself, you could mop up whatever's left."

"Against all of them? I don't think so. But they do present a problem with getting to that lever."

"Then please, brother, enlighten me: how do we go about this feat?"

Dusk went quiet to think. Too many for the two of them to handle. If they tried anything to pull the switch, they'd undoubtedly notice. If their opponents were flesh and blood, he could have tried a mental suggestion (even if he didn't like using them).

Then, another thought occurred. Dusk wasn't the only one with those powers present. Their enemies may not be 'alive' in the traditional sense, but…

Twilight's words from the strategy room, her theory about Grace, echoed through his mind as he observed the puppets standing guard. Thinking about it rationally… disregarding whatever kind of abomination Grace himself was, for all of these puppets to be manually controlled at once would have been absurdly draining on any unicorn's reserves of magic, especially if the one controlling them wasn't close by. But the puppets clearly weren't like Tube's robots, which meant something was animating them. Just maybe, Dusk thought, the golem theory might extend beyond Grace himself. And if that were the case, then…

"Do you still have powers of mental manipulation and control?" asked Dusk.

Doom shifted in place. "Of course."

"I had to ask. It's just occurred to me that I haven't seen you use them since you controlled my body last time," said Dusk.

"I simply…" Doom shifted again, his expression looking troubled. "I simply haven't seen fit to use them."

"But why haven't-?"

"My answer is sufficient," Doom growled. "Why do you waste time in asking? Such a thing wouldn't work on these lifeless things."

"Not the robots, no. But Grace's puppets…" Dusk looked at one of them. "They are just that. Puppets. It's only magic of some kind keeping them going."

"Yes, I can see that." Doom glared at the one Dusk looked at. "Disgusting. But how does that help us?"

"They must be able to follow basic commands without him being present. Without Grace being here, maybe there's a chance you could influence it to do what we want with magical commands," Dusk said. "Your power was always stronger than mine in that regard."

"And if you are wrong, they will become aware of our presence and attack," argued Doom.

Dusk returned his challenging look. "Do you have a better idea? The area around the switch is too brightly lit for us to use the shadows without them noticing and they'd also notice any attempts to operate it with magic. At least this way, there's a chance our efforts might go unnoticed enough for us and the others to get the drop on them."

Doom quietly seethed in response, but added nothing else.

"Then we're agreed. Go and tell the others. They need to be ready as soon as the door opens."

"Since when do you give me orders?" growled Doom, but he stepped back into the shadow regardless. Moments later, he returned. "Let's get on with it then."

Doom selected a puppet, one near the back of the group so its behaviour would have less chance of being noticed. Dusk saw his horn glow as Doom spoke, channelling his magic into the words:

"You will open this door."

A sliver of shadow left his mouth, flittering towards the puppet. It vanished into its head. The head cocked to one side, but it didn't move.

"You will open this door," he repeated.

Once again, it cocked its head to the other side. It took a single, hesitant step forward. Then, its head swivelled in complete reversal. Its empty, lifeless eyes swept around it. Looking for them.

"This isn't working," hissed Doom. "We have to act, now!"

Dusk pressed a hoof to him. "Let me try too! Together!"

"As if your diluted version of my spell would work!"

"What other choice do we have?"

The puppet was turning its body, keeping its head fixed on its reversed position. The wood of its hooves echoed as it stepped towards the darkened corner. Towards where they hid.

"Brother…!"

"Together, Doom, come on!"

Hoping he'd follow his lead, Dusk tapped into his own magic and spoke:

"You will open this door."

He overheard Doom say it too. A wisp of colour joined Doom's shadow, flittering towards it. They slithered into its head and the puppet froze. One leg was suspended mid-step. They both held their breaths, watching.

Then, amazingly, it turned back the way it came. It was shaky, like the puppet was fighting every step of the way. For good measure, they repeated the command and forced it on. It practically fell on the lever, forcing it upward.

The other puppets and robots tensed, their magical weapons thrumming to life. They didn't fire, but they were locked on the opening door. But there was nothing there.

Then Trixie appeared with the sweep of her cloak, the texture of the rock she was camouflaged against fading.

"My dazzled audience! Witness and behold!"

The fire rune flashed and four fireworks whistled from behind her, detonating against a few targets whilst disorientating others. Dusk and Doom leapt from the shadows, the latter setting on them with his bare hooves while the former plunged his sword into a puppet. Ember blasted them with fire, Thorax pounced from his disguise as a rock and Sombra cut them to pieces.

The attack was so quick and sudden, the puppets and robots barely had time to react. Some shots were fired, but none found their mark and within seconds, the waiting ambush had been thwarted.

"Excellent work, the pair of you!" praised Sombra. "I knew you would find a solution."

Dusk nodded humbly, while Doom only huffed. Even so, Dusk could tell he was satisfied by this.

"Much as I like being the centre of attention, I feel our attack could have been a little quieter," said Trixie. "There's no way they didn't hear all that."

Sombra made a dismissive gesture. "The ambush being here already shows they know of our presence. Let's be off before they have time to recover and send reinforcements. Thorax, lead on and quickly!"

The changeling nodded and buzzed down the tunnel, the rest of them following along quickly. Sombra's prediction was correct. They could already hear more wooden hooves and thin metal legs clunking and skittering from other tunnels. Dusk couldn't tell if it was just the echoing of the caverns, but it sounded like dozens.

They kept on running. Left, right, above, down, down again. But no matter how far they ran, the sound of approaching guards was getting closer. The last of Sombra's group around the corner would only just avoid a couple of stray shots, more than once.

"How much further?" called Sombra, ducking under another blast as they rounded a bend.

"Just a little closer!" answered Thorax. "Only a few more turns!"

"Then you all need to get going!" Ember skidded and faced back the way they'd come. "I'll hold them off!"

"Ember, no!" Thorax cried. "You can't just-!"

"There's no time! I'm a dragon, I can take them!" she shouted back. "GO!"

Sombra hesitated a moment, then nodded. She returned it while they hurried towards their destination. The sounds of fire blazing and magic firing echoed down the cavern path seconds later. They all tried not to think about what was happening.

"There! Up ahead!"

Thorax pointed to a large opening on the right. They pushed themselves to run just a little faster. Though the sound had lessened, they were still being pursued. But once they were inside they could dig in, try to fortify against them while Sombra did his work.

An array of burning colours met their vision when they entered. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust. It felt like all of the colours were competing for their attention, each trying to outshine the other. The source came from six, large formations of crystal, set against the far wall. Each crystal burned a deep, iridescent hue - green, black, yellow, blue, orange, red. They could make out different forms silhouetted inside them, including…

"Ray!"

Dusk's joy at seeing his friend was mingled with horror. Within the formation of crystal, His face was frozen in an expression of pain and rage. The blood-red colour that permeated his crystal seemed to be seeping outward from Ray himself. The same for all the others. The colours themselves seemed to roil and strain within inside their confines, as though trying desperately to escape. Dusk was about to step towards them, when he realised something.

Ray and the other Hosts, they seemed to be… flickering. It was only when he realised this that whatever was projecting their image faded away.

"No…" Sombra tensed, glancing back the way they came. "We have to go, before…!"

He trailed off when a new sound came. The music of a pipe organ. Like they had just turned out for a day at the circus.

The colours were still there, but this time, they came from stage lights. Bright, piercing stage lights that turned to illuminate the whole room with their multi-coloured glow. The wooden clatter of puppet hooves and the skittering of spider robot feet echoed all around them. The silhouettes were splayed across the cave walls, showing them to be surrounded on almost every side.

"Ah good, you're all here!" Ligne Grace stood on a raised platform against the lights, the flair of a showpony in every step. "Now, the show can truly begin."