//------------------------------// // The temple, Part two: The altar. // Story: The cage inside. // by Sylif Daring Doo //------------------------------// _____*The temple of Trakor, the next day, 6:31 AM*_____ Vinyl yawned as the group of six entered the temple, she looked at Storm with an annoyed expression. "Why did you wake us up so early Storm?" She asked. Storm chuckled and looked around the room in wonder. "Because I wanted to get into the temple before everyone else." He replied simply. The room they were in was ancient, the walls were a dark black with carvings along the walls, four doors were in separate corners of the room, one was the entrance while another was blocked off by rocks, the other two doors seemed to be intact. Storm changed to his scanning eyes and searched the paths, he was not interested in wasting time so he soon started walking towards one of the doors with and sighed as the others followed him in silence. "I leave the squad and this is what I get?....silence?" Storm commented. Quartz shook her head and looked around the room. "It's not something that we should discuss with outsiders." She said while dodging the hidden accusation. Storm rolled his eyes as the group continued their silent walk through the temple, he did notice however that Pinkamena was unusually quiet, he decided to talk to her about it and walked over to the mare. "You ok?" He asked. Pinkamena sighed and looked at Storm. "I don't know, I feel like I shouldn't be here but at the same time something tells me that I was meant to be here.....it's very confusing." She replied. The ex-commando nodded and took a moment to reflect as he walked along the massive hallway they entered. 'If I had acted sooner Sift would be alive, but then.....I wouldn't have met Vinyl, or the doc, or Daring, heck I wouldn't have met Scootaloo.....but still, because of me Surprise' parents are dead.....but then again, now that I think about it, think about all the lives I saved or helped, I helped stop the cybermen and destroyed that hellhole of a lab, I stopped Insanity from hurting more people, and i saved the others from Flash Sentry....and many others.' A groan came from the back of Storm's mind. "Oh my god.....stop thinking about all of these people!....almost everyone you've met has either died or has been changed for life, so stop thinking about it damnit!" Vengeance snapped. Storm rolled his eyes and opened another door which led to a massive rectangular room with statues all around the room and one large altar in the center. "Well doesn't that scream trap?" He commented as he walked into the room. Scootaloo sighed and walked up to the altar. "Why do I feel like this is what we were searching for?" She wondered. The group soon spread out across the room, Vinyl activated her scanning eyes and looked around the room, she noticed that there was a blocked off pathway that led to the altar, she searched further and saw that there was a lever in a far off room, she sighed and began looking for a way to free the pathway without going the distance.....no such luck. "We have got to have the worst luck in the world." She said quietly. Storm however was busy putting his grenade launcher on, he then aimed at a wall. "DUCK!" He shouted before firing a grenade at the wall. The entire group dove down as the grenade impacted on the wall, and then exploded a few moments later. Vinyl looked at Storm in anger. "What the fuck Storm!?" She shouted. Storm looked at Vinyl with a grin. "Oops, must have slipped." He joked in response. Vinyl grumbled and looked at the broken wall, her eyes widened at the size of the hole.....it was at least seven feet wide. 'What did he do to those grenades?' She wondered. Storm walked to the hole in the wall and headed inside. "Come on!" He shouted eagerly. Scootaloo looked at Warp who simply shrugged. "I can't explain him." Warp said simply. "I don't think it's possible." Scootaloo replied. The group then started to search the new pathway, Storm was currently in the lead, searching for anything that would be of use, eventually however, he came across a room. ____*the next room.*____ Storm walked into the room and looked around, it was far too dark for normal eyes to see, but for Storm it was clear as day, the room had a collapsed entrance and was mostly bare, exept for the few crates and the chest in the corner, he walked over to the chest and looked at it. The chest was a smooth black with green runes dancing over it, he knelt down and opened it, the contents was only some old stone carvings, to anyone else, they would be obsolete paperweights, or to archeologists they would be junky finds, but to Storm they spoke in an endless tide of power and meaning, he grabbed the carvings and put them in his bags, he then stood up and activated his scanning eyes and searched the crates, they were all empty so he walked out of the room. "Careful boy, you are treading in ancient ground, there may be traps......and as much as I hate you, I do need you alive." Vengeance reminded. Storm nodded and continued walking. 'Sure thing.' He replied simply. ____*ten minutes later, back at the altar.*____ The group returned to the room with the altar and looked around again, Vinyl had pulled the lever and Pinkamena found a small statue in the shape of a Minotaur, Warp and Scootaloo only found dust and rocks, while Quartz found a stone carving which Storm took, Storm himself however seemed to be In a rush for reasons unknown, he seemed to be fiddling with the carvings and the altar, Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at this and walked over. "Storm, what are you doing?" Scootaloo asked curiously. Storm chuckled and set up the middle carving. "I'm getting things ready......unless you want to back out now?" He asked in a teasing tone. Scootaloo sighed and leaned in the altar. "Why are we here Storm?.....really?" She questioned. Storm seemed to flinch for a split second but continued. "Well, three reasons." He replied. Scootaloo blinked and looked at Storm with a curious stare. "Such as?" She asked. Storm rolled his eyes and pointed at Pinkamena. "Reason one, to make it so Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie can coexist, unless she changes her mind I'm not stopping, reason two is complete, which is was to reunite the remnants of the Ritual team, reason three is a more recent one......survive against the maniacs that are entering the temple." He replied simply. Scootaloo nodded and closed her eyes......her eyes then shot open in realization. "Shit...." She said quietly. "Just keep them from reaching the altar until I'm done ok?" He requested. Scootaloo ran towards the group and noticed that they were already getting into position. 'Vinyl must have warned them.' She thought as she got ready to fight. Vinyl activated her eyes and slowed her breathing, she could see that multiple assailants entered the temple at once, she saw that there were at least seven Griffins and ten pegasi in the first group, there were also multiple earth ponies and some unicorns, there might have been changelings but they would be disguised, she sighed and pulled out Bullet Bill. 'The second they get in, all hell will break loose, so we need to get them somewhere confined, it would mean a lot if Storm could help, but his attention is on that dumb altar and those carvings.' Warp took a deep breath and set up a teleportation circle, she then looked up at Quartz and nodded, Quartz then ignited herself and flew up higher to keep the smoke from revealing her location. _____*a few moments later.*_____ Vinyl had begun the fight by shooting a Pegasus thug right between the eyes, this resulted in basically every single bad guy charging towards the fighting, Vinyl sidestepped a magic blast and shot one right back at the attacker, which seemed to end his life, or just knock him out. Quartz unleashed a flurry of fireballs at a group of magic casters, all but one of the fireballs either missed or were deflected, she glanced over at Warp who slammed two heads together and rammed another henchman. Scootaloo and Pinkamena fought back to back against a group of henchman, Scootaloo punched one in the side and kicked another in the face, Pinkamena dodged a strike with a strange speed and punched him in the gut, she then engaged another henchman and threw a flurry of punches at him. Storm grumbled as he worked on the altar, he noticed that a griffin was flying up to attack him, he grinned and quickly back flipped before lodging a dagger in his spine, he then rushed back to the altar after retrieving Demise. Vinyl dodged a kick from a Pegasus and killed him with her hidden blade, she then engaged a pair of changelings and a griffin. Quartz and Warp had gone back to back, with Warp continuously phasing back and forth and punching them, while Quartz burned whoever got close. Scootaloo punched one of the assailants in the face but was forced to back off when several more showed up. Storm slowly rotated the statue and soon enough he heard a click, he smirked and quickly spun around and uppercut a changeling right in the jaw, he then looked back at the altar and saw that energy began to form around it, he chuckled and continued his work by examining the markings. 'So, these markings house raw energies and convert them into more focused magic, fascinating!' He muttered. Pinkamena however, was not doing as well as the others, she braced herself as an earth pony assaulted her with multiple punches and kicks, at the end of the barrage, the earth pony gripped her arm and pulled away to break her defense, Pinkamena was then introduced to a direct punch to the face and was knocked back and landed on the floor was a hard crash, she felt the world haze as she attempted to look around, but her daze made everything a blur, she could hardly make out any colors in it all, her head then dropped and she passed out. Storm paused for a moment but soon continued working, he then funneled some flames into the markings before standing up, with a sigh he turned around and opened his eyes. "I'm getting tired of being the one to save you guys." He said as he looked around. Pinkamena was unconscious, Quartz and Warp were backed into a corner by several of their attackers, Scootaloo was surrounded by several others, and Vinyl was on the ground, beaten and bruised. As Storm looked around, he noticed a unicorn walk up and look at him directly. "Enough of this, surrender now and your friends will be spared, only you will die." He stated calmly. Storm chuckled and walked down the steps slowly. "And why would I do that?.....I don't see the reason, how exactly do you plan to kill me?" He wondered curiously. The unicorn blinked and channeled his magic for a brief period, he then pointed up at the ceiling. Storm used his magic and looked at the ceiling, seeing that there was several magical bombs tied to the roof, he sighed and looked at the unicorn. "Bored now." He said in a monotone voice. The unicorn went to activate the bombs as Storm moved rapidly to him. Storm's eyes glowed red, he then pulled out Demise and threw it at the unicorn's head, he had tried to throw a shield up, but the dagger broke right through it and lodged itself in the unicorn's skull, killing him instantly. All of the attackers moved at once, most charged at Storm, but the rest attacked the others, intent on keeping them from assisting the colt. At that moment, Storm's eyes went completely black, he ignited himself in a cloak of black flames, the flames then shot out, attacking the thugs and incinerating them quickly. Storm then focused his attention on the rest, the flames moving to them and setting them on fire, their skin burnt off instantly, the bones and the rest, soon followed. Storm then focused his attention on the last thug, he was holding a knife to the unconscious Pinkamena's throat. "You really think that will help?" He wondered. The thug grinned. "Then I guess it wouldn't matter if I mentioned that should any of you move, I kill her?" He countered. Storm didn't move, he changed his eyes to green but that was all. The thug made sure to keep an eye on everyone as he backed towards the exit, once he made sure that everyone was in the room, he quickly flared his horn, he waited a few moments before smirking and slicing Pinkamena's throat. Everyone moved at once as the thug ran off, Storm quickly flew up to Pinkamena's body along with the others. Storm was speechless, not to say he wasn't expecting it, but it was still shocking, he tried to pick the mare up but just then, the bombs exploded, he looked up along with everyone else, but he couldn't act, he just sat there in shock as the pieces of the ceiling fell down on them. Vinyl quickly threw up a magical barrier to protect everyone, she threw all of her power into it as the rubble fell down on the shield, blocking all light. ____*unknown time, The ruins of Trakor.*____ Vinyl coughed as the dust filled her lungs, she tried to illuminate the area with her magic, but it only shot a jolt of pain to her head, her shadow magic couldn't help and she already burned out her eye powers, she looked around the area but only saw darkness. She heard more coughing, it was coming from a few feet away, Vinyl attempted to move, but she only felt pain and the telltale sign of grinding stone. 'Crap.' She thought. "Hey, who is it?" She asked weakly. "Quartz." Replied a shaky voice. Vinyl coughed and gritted her teeth as her head rang with pain. "Can you move?" She asked. There was no reply at first, just some coughing, and then. ".....No, I can't......w-what about you?" She wondered. "Nope, I can't even use my magic......can you see anyone?" She asked. Quartz coughed. "Pinkamena......she's right next to me, but she doesn't seem to be moving." She answered. Vinyl then heard more coughing, but this time it was getting closer to her, she saw a faint magical aura surround whatever it was on top of her. A dim light entered the area next, and then she saw an unfamiliar pony. "Trixie has found more of them!" A prominent voice declared. Vinyl couldn't shield her eyes right away, but the slim stature, blurry light blue fur and mane, glowing horn, all indicated that it was a unicorn mare. "Who are you?" She asked quietly, unable to fully hear yet. An orange figure then showed up next to Vinyl, the figure then proceeded to pick Vinyl up and pull her out. Vinyl coughed again as she was pulled out of the rubble, she then felt herself get set down on the ground, she grunted and her eyes started to adjust to the new light, she was in a clear area around an enormous pile of rubble, she slowly sat up, still feeling weak from before, she shivered and gritted her teeth again. Soon enough, Vinyl watched as the two pulled both Pinkamena and Quartz out of the rubble, Vinyl identified the Orange one as Scootaloo, but she couldn't make out the other mare's name. "Are you alright?" Asked a familiar voice. Vinyl looked over her shoulder and saw Warp walk over. "I'll live, if that's what you mean." She answered. Warp knelt down and examined Vinyl's wounds, she sighed at this. "All I can do right now is help you to hold yourself together, other than that, not much I can do, I'm no medic." She said before standing up again. Vinyl shivered from an oddly cold breeze. "Where's Storm?" She asked. Scootaloo sighed. "We don't know, we need to find him yet, if it wasn't for Trixie here." She pointed at the mare. "We wouldn't have been so lucky as to get free." She answered. Vinyl stood up and took deep breaths. "Ok, we need to find Storm, any ideas?" She asked. Just then, a loud crash was heard nearby, everyone except Pinkamena blinked. "Found him." They said in sync. As everyone headed headed to the source of the crash, they found Storm beaten, bleeding and with one severed wing, and one broken wing. "A little help here?" He asked weakly before falling to the ground. Vinyl watched as Warp ran over and knelt down, she watched as the mare checked Storm's wounds. "Good news, he'll be fine in a few hours." She stated. Storm chuckled and looked up at everyone. "Sure.....I'll be just fine, but Pinkamena....not much chance for her is there?" He wondered. Quartz looked at Pinkamena, and she immediately knew that Storm was right, the mare was going pale, and her heart rate was decreasing steadily. "We need to get her some medical attention." She said. "Won't work." Storm quickly pointed out. "By the time you find something or someone to patch her up, it will be too late." He said. Scootaloo looked at Storm. "Then what?.....your talking like you have an idea." She asked. Storm nodded. "The altar, if we can get Pinkamena to the altar, we have a shot at bringing her back, however......" He went silent. Vinyl held her chest as another shot of pain coursed through it. "What's the catch?" She asked. Storm looked at his mother with a small smirk. "We have to sacrifice someone......we do that, we can revive her." He then looked over his shoulder and saw rubble moving. "And I think I found our sacrifice." He mentioned quietly. Everyone looked at where Storm was looking, and they saw the exact same thug who collapsed them in, and who slit Pinkamena's throat, Warp quickly teleported over and knocked the guy out. Storm chuckled and fell back unconscious, exhausted from the whole ordeal. 'Maybe a little sleep will help.' He thought to himself. _____*later.*_____ Storm opened his eyes and sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "How long was I out?" He asked, not that he was totally fine, he still had an enormous headache, but it was bearable now. Vinyl knelt down next to him. "We found the altar, but it's smashed up, we need you to get back up and help, seeing as you know how to use the damn thing.....somehow." She said before walking off. Storm stood up and looked around, apparently, everyone except Pinkamena had been hard at work clearing the area around the altar, the entire area was in ruins, and some of the trees were inside the ruins now. Storm noticed that the altar was missing a statue, but he eventually sighed and walked over. After a while of working on the altar and such, Storm began to chant at the altar with Demise on it along with Pinkamena and the thug behind him. Storm felt extreme pain course through him, but he continued to chant through it, after a few moments of chanting, two streams of magic flowed out of the altar, they flickered for a moment, but Storm forced them to hold together, the magic streams enveloped the thug and Pinkamena and they rose into the air. Demise then rose up as well, soon enough, it aimed directly at the thug, it then flew it him and pierced his heart, it then pulled out and impaled him in the head. Storm continued to chant, and as he did, the streams of magic strengthened, the one then began to work its magic.....literally, it drained all remaining life from the thug and then channeled it to Pinkamena, Storm continued to chant, soon, Pinkamena lowered to the ground and landed on the broken altar, completely healed. Storm stopped chanting, he opened his eyes and looked at Pinkamena, he sighed sadly as the mare changed back to how she was before, her hair went back to its normal puffed up state, and her coat reverted to its normal bright pink. Storm looked away, he didn't see Vinyl pick the unconscious mare up with her magic, he didn't even see the altar completely colapse. 'Looks like I couldn't even do this.......how did this go so wrong?' He wondered. He heard Vengeance speak. "The mare was dead anyway, the altar simply did what it could by bringing the other side of her back, that's all. Storm looked up at the now darkening sky. 'I know that......but i wish I could have done better, if I hadn't been so hasty, we could have killed them all before something happened.' "These are the consequences of your actions, you must live with them, no matter what." Vengeance reminded. "Now get up, we have to get going.....after all, I have a plan in motion, and you WILL follow it." He ordered. Storm blinked and stood up. 'Fine, but don't even think that I'll let you kill my mom, or that I won't kill your friends.' He pointed out. Vengeance only laughed quietly. "Go ahead and think that, after all, it will only be a matter of time before something else pops up that you need to intervene." He mocked. For some reason, Storm didn't seem bothered by this, instead he smiled for a brief second before following the others out of the ruins.