Episode 195: Draugr
Episode 195: Draugr
Adagio had seen this place from a distance, but this would be her first time actually approaching the territory Chrysalis had carved out for herself in Las Noches. Often she’d wondered just why the Second Espada, with her apparent ego, chose to make her home inside a barely lit, carved out rift in Las Noche’s otherwise brightly lit interior structure. The canyon was a dark wound in the sands, with spidery branches that spread from the central rift. The closest thing to a palace or tower was the gnarled structure of intertwined, almost coral-like ivory stone, like a twisted and petrified tree with roots hanging down into the canyon rift. Several elegant looking bridges led to the structure, but Adagio had heard from Thorax that the palace was little more than a glorified front and that the more important areas lay down in the canyon itself, including Chrysalis' real lair. Having observed the canyon rift from far away, Adagio knew the place was usually buzzing with Chrysalis’ army of drones. Which was why the utter lack of noise of movement she sensed set her on immediate edge, causing her to grip her trident Zanpaktou tighter as she landed by the edge of the rift’s southern tip.
Beside her Fenice landed as well, one hand on the hilt of her newly acquired blade, and the other on the medallion that was the focus of her Fullbring.
“It’s way too quiet,” Fenice said, “I’m barely sensing any reiatsu here.”
It didn’t take a strong look through the use of Pesquisa for Adagio to confirm that Fenice was right. Not only was it deathly silent, but there was very little traces of reiatsu that Adagio could feel out. Not gone, she sensed, perhaps better than Fenice, that there were still some spiritual pressures present somewhere down there, but nowhere near as much as she would’ve expected from the size of Chrysalis’ horde, let alone if Chrysalis herself was there.
“Its possible they’re suppressing their reiatsu,” Adagio said, although she wasn’t sure she believed it even as she said it. What reason would Chrysalis have to hide her reiatsu? Yet if she was in Las Noches, this was the place she’d likely be. Adagio hadn’t sensed her anywhere else, at least. “Regardless, I need to find Thorax. Last chance, are you sure you want to follow me in here? You haven’t exactly had a lot of time to rest after dealing with Pharynx”
Fenice cut a sideways look at Adagio, “Didn’t come along just to turn back now. Fluttershy healed me up enough that I back you up if we run into trouble, even if I’m not at a hundred percent. I’m not about to sit on the sidelines any longer, especially if a friend is sticking her head in the spider’s web.”
Adagio twitched a little at the word ‘friend’, but it was nowhere near the sensation of somewhat gut reaction denial she may have once felt over the matter. Instead she breathed out a small laugh, “If we end up having to fight Chrysalis herself, no offense Fenice, it’d have been easier on me if I’d been by myself. Still, not about to say no to free help. Just don’t expect me to cover for you if things get hairy down there.”
“Hmph, I took on Pharynx. I can handle myself,” Fenice said, and Adagio looked Fenice over, eyes lingering on the most noticeable physical changes the human girl had undergone. It was certainly something to get used to, although Adagio did think it quite suited Fenice. The girl was bearing up well, considering the revelations about her true parentage, and Adagio approved of how well Fenice was keeping composed and focused.
“Yes, you can. Just recall that Chrysalis is rather protective of her strongest children, so you cleaning Pharynx’s clock might make her less than thrilled with you. Let’s play this by ear. We don’t know what to expect down there.”
“And here I thought you were the woman who always had a plan?” Fenice said, smirking a little in jest, and Adagio rolled with it, shooting back a quick smile to cover her unease. She'd done her best to prepare and plan for different contingencies, but she had a growing premonition that events were accelerating beyond what she'd prepared for. That's why she was taking this risk to try and get to Thorax, as she heavily suspected he knew something critical.
“I do have a plan. Find Thorax and don’t die. There, perfect plan.”
“Yes, utterly flawless. I can see why you’re the one in charge,” Fenice said with a joking grin as she shook her head and flexed her singular bone wing. She then hopped into the darkness of the rift. Adagio followed after her, letting gravity do the work for a bit before exerting some spiritual pressure to slow her descent and land softly on the cold, stone floor at the bottom of the rift.
There wasn’t much light that filtered in from above, but there were a few places where a faint green luminescence from what looked like growths of black and green resin coated the walls and filled the area with a faint, pale glow. It was enough for Adagio and Fenice to see that there was no sign of life in this place. The walls had numerous honeycomb-like entrances and alcoves built at varying heights, stretching down towards the wider sections of the rift. Presumably these spaces led to where Chrysalis’ horde inhabited, and Adagio did see a few traces of this in the form of some odds and ends of furniture or randomly collected junk that decorated some of the alcoves. Other entrances supposedly lead to tunnels that fed into the Warrens, although Adagio didn't know which ones.
There were also bloodstains, some old, some more recent, but knowing what she did of Chrysalis, Adagio had a feeling her drones found means of entertaining themselves that made such stains seem normal rather than a sign of danger. Well, no more danger than one should feel when entering the lair of one like Chrysalis.
The two walked forward, their footsteps the only sounds to be heard, echoing up and down the steep rift walls.
“This isn’t right...” Fenice whispered, “There should be plenty of those creepy kids of hers popping up to challenge us, but there’s no one here.”
Adagio’s own nerves were winding tighter by the second. Over the weeks she’d made a point of gathering as much intel on her fellow Espada as possible, including a fair idea of the size of their hordes, the number of their Fraccion, the general expanse of their holdings. Chrysalis’ army of drones was the largest in terms of raw numbers, only really rivaled by Torch’s. This place should have been swarming with hundreds if not thousands of nearly identical Arrancar warriors.
Where the hell was Chrysalis’ horde? Even if she had moved them somewhere, would it have been possible to do so without anyone noticing? And where would Chrysalis send them? Adagio’s mind churned swiftly with possibilities, her anxiety rising with each step deeper, towards the looming sight of something shedding a sickly emerald glow beneath the hanging palace above. Thorax had told her that Chrysalis did have a home of sorts here, at the bottom of the spiraling chasm where stone platforms were spaced around the edges, leading ever downward. She and Fenice moved across these platforms as the floor slopped down, leading to the emanation of sickly green light.
It loomed ahead, a jagged structure of resin in the rough shape of a pyramid, while Adagio tried to think.
In her gut, she knew Tirek was planning a large move soon, perhaps as soon as a day or so. She’d seen the evidence of Catrina and Chrysalis’ warriors working together, building up supplies. On top of that, the recent revelation of Grogar’s laboratories and factories in the Warrens, creating monstrous weapons out of captured Hollows and combining them with artificial siren gems, and the massive amount of conduits meant to transfer spirit energy somewhere...
Myself, Torch, and Lament have been cut out of the loop. Even Gilda has been left in the dark, Adagio thought, Now its clear Chrysalis has already sent the bulk of her forces somewhere, and even she wouldn’t go that far without Tirek’s approval, meaning this is a part of what Tirek plans to do. Something neither he or Chrysalis want me to know about, otherwise... Thorax would have informed me. That’s why he’s here. He has to be.
This vastly narrowed down the possibilities in Adagio’s mind. Tirek knew she was gunning for him, but had never seemed to take issue with it. Yet he also knew she still had ties to Equestria. If nothing else, Grogar probably would’ve told Tirek about Adagio’s sisters. Had Tirek planned an attack on Soul Society or the Quincy, there’d have been little reason to cut her out of the loop on such a plan, since she didn’t have the same ties to those places, and had already fought and won against foes from both those factions.
But an attack on Equestria? Even if that had always been in the works, it had seemed like a far off plan, slowed down by the need to go through the Beast Realm. Tirek had even spoken of taking the gate in Everfree to do just that, but what if... he’d been offered a different path?
What if Chrysalis had offered him an alternative method? One much faster, than bypassing the Beast Realm?
Thorax had told Adagio that Chrysalis had kept a secret means of going back and forth to Equestria. She’d assumed that this was all part of Chrysalis’ own schemes involving Starlight Glimmer, and hence separate from anything involving Tirek. Yet Adagio had not heard much of recent events in Equestria, so what if something had happened there that had changed the entire dynamic? Chrysalis was an unpredictable sort, so if Starlight Glimmer had ceased to be a valuable partner...
By now they had reached the bottom of the canyon rift, where in the deep, bowl shaped chasm Adagio could now fully see the rough angled, wasp nest pyramid of emerald resin that was Chrysalis' real home. Adagio paused there, Fenice halting beside her as she felt a sudden chill pass down her spine, “Hold on. We’re being watched.”
She hadn’t sensed the reiatsu clearly, but something, multiple somethings, were approaching them. Adagio could taste the sudden bloodlust tinging the air with an acidic intensity. She turned with her trident at the ready, eyes shifting left and right as she sought the source of the rapidly closing spiritual pressures. Yet something was off. The reiatsu was strong, yet constrained in some manner, and Adagio had to focus for a moment with her Pesquisa senses to hone in on the differences she was feeling from these spiritual pressures.
It was as if the energy signature was scrambled in some fashion, making it hard to pinpoint, but also Adagio imagined it’d make it hard to sense the reiatsu from any significant distance.
“You feel the company we have coming?” she asked Fenice, who in response drew her Phantom Blade into her left hand and gripped her medallion with her right, invoking a stream of magma that quickly formed into her Fullbring claymore.
“Three... no, four of them,” Fenice replied, eyes narrowing as she got back to back with Adagio, “They feel weird as hell. I can’t figure out which way they’re coming from, or even how strong they are.”
The question of “where” was soon answered as shadows dropped from the top of the pyramid that the two women had approached. These shadowy shapes landed with heavy impact, indicating their hefty size as they uncurled and each let out warbling growls that hardly resembled what ought to come from a normal throat. The sense of bloodlust in the air intensified along with their reiatsu, which remained oddly scrambled and unfocused, yet Adagio still got a taste of decent strength in this pressure. Then the shapes started to stalk forward, illuminated by the thick emerald glow from the reisin pyramid and Adagio got a good look at what had come to greet her and Fenice.
“Grogar...” she spat, not because it was him, but simply out of general disgust for the twisted Espada’s work, which these things had to be. They certainly were no drones of Chrysalis’.
Each one was different from the other, the clear product of Grogar taking what must have once been a normal Arrancar before being subjected to Grogar’s particular brand of “science”. Huge and mutated flesh left limbs longer and pulsating with muscle fibers that in turn were interwoven with cables of thick cybernetic cable that buzzed with spiritual energy. One of them had nothing but a segmented cleaver for an arm, which Adagio suspected could detach and extend. Another bore grafts of bulbous spheres on its shoulders that looked to contain some vile toxin meant for spewing. The third had its stomach opened and replaced with some manner of metal furnace with twin nozzles that dripped purple flames. The fourth one’s head was covered in a singular steel helmet with a series of crimson lenses bolted on like the eyes of a cybernetic arachnid. Although all were still roughly humanoid as their original Arrancar shape, bearing some strands of hair or physique to denote gender, the combination of bloated mutation and cybernetic enhancement made these poor souls look nothing like what they once were.
And worse still, Adagio could recognize the distinct gleam of artificial siren gems embedded in the Hollow holes these creatures still possessed.
When her people had found Grogar’s lab, he’d talked about “Phase Ones” using Adjuchas. Could these Arrancar-based monstrosities be the “Phase Twos” beyond those that he had also mentioned?
“We running or fighting?” Fenice asked, and Adagio pressed her lips into a bitter phantom of a smirk, raising her trident.
“I’m not leaving without finding Thorax. If Grogar wants to put his sick little toys between me and my goal, then I consider it a pleasure to smash them to pieces.”
“Works for me,” Fenice replied with a nod, looking back at the four modified Arrancar that had moved closer, then halted to stare at the two women. Fenice frowned, “So, do we make the first move, or wait for-”
The one with the flame dripping nozzles in its stomach howled in a piercing cry and threw its arms back. Its whole chest and stomach area flared bright purple as the artificial siren gem gleamed, and then a thick, focused twin beam of raw purple heat blasted out of the nozzles directly at Adagio and Fenice. It was almost like a pair of Cero, yet curled with licks of such unnaturally hot flame that the stone beneath the beam was already melting even as it traversed like a twin laser at the pair.
Fenice wasn’t inclined to dodge, however, and stabbed her molten great word into the ground like a shield and took the twin beams straight on, which impacted with the flat of her magma sword with tremendous heat and impact. Adagio did leap up out of the way, less to dodge and more to go on the attack as she spun her trident and summoned forth the raw, wrathful power of her waters as Fenice and her sword both were pushed back by the enemy’s attack.
Spirals of insanely highly pressurized water curled around Adagio’s trident as she spun around and unleashed multiple condensed streams that cascaded outward like jetting waterfalls. Even as Fenice was pushed back, her sword melting through the floor as the twin beam of purple flames shoved her, Adagio’s water sliced down and cut into the beams, boiling them away swiftly even as other jets of water smashed towards the other Arrancar.
The three Arrancar that had not attacked yet all flickered upwards with Sonido to avoid the rush of water now filling the ground area, but the fourth that had fired the beams of flame was struck dead on in the chest and was sent flying backwards straight into the far wall with a tremendous crack that broke apart chunks of the wall in a great web.
Adagio found the three that had jumped up now surrounding her, all three appearing amid the swift buzz of Sonido. The one with bulbous growths of toxic sludge on its shoulders let out a gurgling cry as it sliced hands of metal claws into the toxin sacks, which burst forth with ugly green fluid. It then sliced its poison coated claws forward multiple times in blinding succession, flinging a series of arcing poison crescents at Adagio with incredible force.
She countered with a spin of her trident, conjuring a swirling vortex of water a dozen meters wide that acted as a barrier against the toxic barrage, which impacted heavily with the water but failed to penetrate through it. However this defense meant Adagio would be open to the other two’s attacks. The one with the segmented cleaver arm howled as it flung said arm forward. There was gross, organic noise of expanding flesh as the segments of the cleaver expanded into a whip, with the inner parts formed for muscle and blood that grew rapidly and glowed with fierce crimson energy as the blade swung at Adagio. The other Arrancar with the steel mask of glass eyes warbled a strange cry as those multiple lenses flared with light and all moved about it’s head seemingly at random until they all disgorged small, thin needles of ruby red energy, like highly focused Balas that then flew out and curved around like homing missiles to converge towards Adagio.
A band of pure light snapped upwards and wrapped around the segmented blade of blood and muscle, halting the attack in place. Adagio glanced down to see Fenice had extended that band of light from her Phantom Blade and with a yank used an impressive amount of strength to pull the modified Arrancar and its extendable blade arm straight down to the ground with a terrific impact.
With one less concern, Adagio focused fully on slipping through the storm of Bala needles with her own swift Sonido, appearing behind the Arrancar with it’s many eye lenses. Those lenses all swiveled around to the back of the Arrancar’s skull to focus on her as she smashed her trident’s barbs into it’s back and pierced the Arrancar’s Hierro, causing a thick, dark red blood to spew forth. She flung the skewered Arrancar into the nearest wall, but then had to dodge as the very Bala needles she had just dodged flickered through the air and came at her from the side.
Had those things just used Sonido themselves!? She’d never even heard of a Bala being able to redirect itself or move independently, let alone with the speed of a Sonido!
She slashed her trident as she dodged backwards, knocking many of the Bala needles off course or shattering them, but several pierced through and struck her limbs. She felt the bite of them, although her Hierro withstood most of it save for a few small wounds. But she heard a loud howl, and her eyes narrowed as she saw the Arrancar with the lens-covered helmet leap from the hole in the wall it’s impact had made. Despite it still bleeding from the grevious wound Adagio had dealt, it ignored the damage and it’s mechanical eyes flashed red, generating more Bala needles.
Meanwhile Fenice had squared off with the Arrancar and its segmented cleaver, her own sword’s binding of light still wrapped around the foe’s weapon. Like someone reeling in a fish, she pulled back on her Phantom Blade, retracting the Gleipnir binding of light to pull the Arrancar at her as she in turn readied her magma blade and sprung forward at high speed. Lava coated the sword as she swung it down, but at the last moment the Arrancar growled and it’s segmented blade did something Fenice hadn’t expected. It broke apart. This freed it from Gleipnir, yet each segment then instantly reattached as blood and muscle grew and formed attached the segments again, and the Arrancar whipped it hard at Fenice’s midsection before her own blade struck.
She barely managed to block with the Phantom Blade, but the impact and her awkward defense angle was such that she was sent rocketing across the ground, rolling and bouncing several times before she managed to right herself and skid to a halt.
“Be careful, young war maiden!” Fenice heard the blade say, “Even if you believe these foes to be weaker than you, they have nasty tricks up their vile sleeves!”
“Thanks for the freakin’ tip, Tyr!” Fenice said while wincing. She hadn’t been cut, but the impact had left a bad bruise on her left hip. And while the cleaver armed Arrancar stalked towards her, the one with the flame spewing torso appeared behind her, flanking Fenice, and she could see the one with the toxic shoulder growths was moving to double team Adagio with its weird needle spewing pal.
Dammit, they’re separating us to make it easier to take us down, Fenice realized, and immediately decided to be uncooperative towards the enemy’s intentions. She stabbed her Fullbring’s sword into the ground and let a massive wave of magma erupted around her, spreading it out like a rolling carpet as she herself went flying straight upwards. Her hope was that the rapidly expanding waves of magma would keep the two Arrancar that were focused on her busy, if not do serious damage to them, while she went to help Adagio deal with the other two... but her plans were dashed shockingly fast.
The Arrancar with the flame nozzles in its body grew a shroud of violet flames around its body that let it wade through the magma, as if the intense heat of its own flames acted a shield against the molten liquid. It then fired a twin jet of its purple fire, but not at Fenice, but rather it’s cleaver bearing companion. The cleaver Arrancar retracted it’s weapon arm, and caught the twin beams of flame with the edge of the cleaver. Yet rather than be burned, it was as if the reiatsu of the two mutated Arrancar synergized together, and it too became shrouded in flames that let it withstand the wave of lava head on.
“The hell!?” Fenice grunted, then had to respond swiftly as the cleaver wielding Arrancar leaped towards her in a blinding snap of Sonido, and it swung the cleaver at her. As the segments extended, the violet flames it’s companion had empowered it with spread across the weapon and jetted with extra force, causing the weapon to move faster and hit harder. Fenice defended herself with both of her swords, having to abandon her attempt to go to Adagio in order to keep the flurry of attacks at bay.
Adagio was similarly finding these modified monstrosities were exceptionally skilled at teamwork, for as the one with the lens laden helmet fired its fresh swarm of Bala needles, its partner opened up its toxin filled shoulders and flung the poison at high speed through the air. Not at Adagio, but rather it coated the Bala needles in the toxins, which fully fused the poison with them as the needles now glinted with vomit green color.
Letting out an irritated “Hmph!”, Adagio slammed the end of her trident down on the air in front of her. She didn’t have time to play around with Grogar’s toy soldiers, even as she begrudgingly acknowledged to herself that these things were stronger than she would have thought it possible for the ugly old goat to create. As her trident impacted upon the air, generating a massive spherical shockwave, she let her own reiatsu burst outward and fill with the resonate power of water. A tidal flood of intensely pressurized water flew from her in a tightly controlled series of ring shaped blasts, with her at the center. Poison or not, none of the Bala needles reached her now, and the slicing rings of water from her attack targeted all four of the Arrancar.
The cleaver wielding one found its weapon sliced through, empowered as it was, and it threw itself backwards to avoid more cutting rings of water. The other three all dodged with swift Sonido’s, although none escaped without cuts upon their bodies, some leaking brackish dark blood while other pieces of their cybernetic alterations sparked or dripped mechanical fluids.
Sensing weakness, Adagio followed up, keeping the momentum going as she flickered down to the cleaver Arrancar whose weapon she’d bisected. It swung the remnant of its weapon, at her, but she twirled aside and dug her trident into the Arrancar’s arm, then brutally kicked out to dislocate its knee and cause it to fall. Even so it knew no pain, only mindless fury as its blank eyes stared at her, half of its face metal cybernetics while the parts that were still even vaguely flesh and blood showed no emotion outside of lethal focus. There was no person inside that mind any longer, just a weapon following a set of instructions.
Adagio felt, deep inside the hole of her Hollow being, the hot spark of empathy... followed by cold rage. This would have very likely been her eventual fate had she not escaped from under Grogar’s thumb. It was the research he’d done on her siren gem that had led to the creation of these poor creatures.
She didn’t truly owe them anything, but the very least she could do was put them to rest.
The Arrancar, even with one knee bent out of place and its arm impaled, raised it’s left hand to try and charge a crimson Cero to blast her. Adagio looked at it with an expression flat as stone, but with a trace of softness in her eyes as she said, “Its over. He won’t hurt you anymore.”
Before the Arrancar discharged its own Cero, Adagio fired hers, an immense rush of power that she’d focused in her trident that she’d buried in the Arrancar’s broken weapon arm, and fired the beam right into the Arrancar’s body at point blank range. The wide beam of scarlet destruction fully consumed the mutant’s body and burned a clean hole across the rift floor until it blasted into a far wall.
There wasn’t a trace left of the cleaver bearing Arrancar save a few pieces of charred metal and slagged cybernetics as Adagio turned to look at the other three, “And I promise, one day soon I’ll make sure he can’t do this to anyone else, ever again.”
The three remaining modified Arrancar had paused, but only for half a second, and less out of shock at the destruction of one of their number and more out of calculation and revaluation of tactics. Clearly now seeing Adagio as the primary threat, the three ignored Fenice and all moved to attack Adagio as a coordinated group.
The one with the flamethrowers leaped upwards, arcing above her, and fired a wider set of its violet flames down in a spread out sheet. The reason for this became clear as the poison user sliced it’s shoulder bulbs once more and flung its toxins into its companion’s attack. The result was that the poison melted in the flames and transformed into a burst of wide spreading gas under the heat, resulting in a thick, toxic cloud that fell around Adagio, who had to hold her breath and close her eyes as the terrible poison stung at her eyelids and nostrils.
With her seemingly distracted and hampered, the one with the lens-covered helmet sent a focused spray of its Bala needles straight at Adagio, but was immediately stopped as its barrage was intercepted by a wall of lava that burst up from the ground.
“Not smart to ignore me like that!” Fenice said, her Fullbring claymore stabbed into the ground and transferring a stream of magma under the stone to shoot upwards not only to block the Bala, but to explode under the Arrancar that fired them. It dodged, but was slow and half of its side was burned to char by the geyser of lava, which left it off balance as Fenice swung her Phantom Blade and shot out a gleaming strand of Gleipnir to wrap around the Arrancar’s head, “Now let’s see you shoot more of those needles like this!”
The Arrancar certainly tried, but not only did the Bala needles utterly fail to penetrate the band of light that was Gleipnir, but they rebounded and stabbed back into the Arrancar’s own head, causing it to spark and burst with smoke as the unfortunate creature ended up offing itself in an attempt to break the seemingly unbreakable band of light that had wrapped its head.
With two enemies down, Adagio burst upwards from the poison cloud. She felt the trace elements of the poison burn where some had touched her nose or eyes, but she’d managed to keep from breathing any of it in. Now with raw speed and power she flew right towards the one with the flamethrowers. The nozzles burned bright and jetted a fresh beam of twin flames down at her, but Adagio spun her trident in front of her and generated a tunneling cone of high pressure water force. This was not unlike the attack she’d used against Luna during the battle at Everfree, albeit at a smaller, more controlled scale without the immense power of her Resurreccion to back it up.
Yet this more focused, controlled version of the water cone had its own uses, and it’s own name.
“Mordedura de Tormenta!” (Squall’s Bite)
Her swirling cone of water pierced the torrent of flames being shot down at her, and Adagio rose through the stream of violet fire like a shark bursting from the ocean. The mutated Arrancar was impacted dead in its stomach, the Mordedura de Tormenta’s spearing cone of water driving through its cybernetic core, with Adagio’s trident following right behind it to gut the Arrancar’s interior and blast the flaming pieces of the broken flamethrowers out its back in a hot, purple blaze. The power of the water cone kept going, acting like a flying drill that Adagio was effectively riding inside as she maneuvered it around, the Arrancar still impaled on the front, and aimed it down at the last of the monstrosities that had been set against her and Fenice.
“Fenice, immobilize the other one!” Adagio shouted, and Fenice didn’t hesitate, bringing her claymore to bear on the toxin spewer.
The final Arrancar dug its claws deeper than ever into its shoulder bulbs, and with a hissing cry ripped them clean open. Rather than a mere drip of poison, the thick fluid sprayed out in a set of streaming geysers, laced with crackling green energy, almost like a Cero fused inside the toxic liquid. The air filled with the horrendous stench of it. Fenice moved with breakneck speed, twisting to bend beneath the spraying ooze before swinging her Fullbring and Phantom Blade both. The light band of Gleipnir shot out and wrapped around the Arranar’s legs, while a thick and fast wave of magma rolled forth and encompassed its body, surrounding it like a prison.
It’s skin burned, but not fast enough, and its shot its poison everywhere, forcing Adagio to dodge in flickers of motion, using Sonido even as she kept her water cone spinning around her. More water formed, spheres of it around her body that then shot down and impacted with the modified Arrancar. The magma encasing it boiled and hissed as the water rapidly cooled the lava into hard rock, further immobilizing it, and also coating its shoulders to halt its poison.
A bare millisecond later, Adagio rammed herself, her water cone, her trident, and the body of the flame thrower Arrancar into this last foe. The impact was loud enough to sound like a peal of raw thunder as the ground cracked apart and Adagio drove her enemy into the floor and grinded it along at high speed, cracking ever more stone until she slammed Grogar’s creation into the wall with a further impact of thunderous force. Adagio flipped backwards as rock fell down from the cracked wall, further crushing the bodies of her enemies. When she landed with grace, she kept her eyes locked on the pile of rock and crushed cybernetics and organic bits, breathing a little hard, but more out of emotional stress than physical.
When it was clear nothing was left alive to move, she let out a long breath and turned to Fenice, “Any injuries?”
Fenice was catching her breath, and slowly shook her head, “Nothing serious. Don’t want to think about what that nasty, toxic crap might’ve done if it got on us.”
Adagio frowned and examined a few of the small wounds she’d taken from the Bala needles, “I think I was hit by a little, but not enough to slow me down much. Just unpleasant.”
“Looks like we lucked out, then...” Fenice said, feeling the strain and aches more from her fight with Pharynx than anything else, “Those things weren’t weak. Is this the crap Grogar makes in his spare time?”
Adagio’s own expression turned bitter, “I’d say these were more than just a side project for his own twisted fun. We might have beaten them, but I’m much stronger than my Espada number indicates, and you’ve recently gotten quite the boost yourself. If I’d sent Di Roy and Gaw here...”
“We’d both be down two friends,” Fenice agreed, “How many of these things has Grogar made?”
“He has four less, now,” Adagio declared with a steel edged tone, “And he wouldn’t have left them here if they weren’t meant to keep people out of Chrysalis’ lair. Which Chrysalis normally wouldn’t require, which means she, and her whole damn horde, truly isn’t here.”
“Which is downright unsettling,” Fenice said, “Figured I could back you up in a fight, but somehow the queen bitch herself being ominously out of town with her whole army is... way worse than if she’d been here and we just had to have it out with her.”
“Took the words right from my own mouth,” Adagio replied, although she gave Fenice a quick half-smile of approval, “Rather glad you came along. You’ve adapted to your new form rather quickly. Keep this up and eventually you’ll give your counterpart a run for her money.”
A swift scoff flew from Fenice’s mouth as she laughed and shouldered her Fullbring claymore, “Yeah right. Don’t need to blow smoke up my butt, Adagio. I saw Sunset Shimmer fight Tirek. I’m not getting to that level anytime soon, but damned if I’m not going to try and keep pace with you at least.”
“That may take even longer,” Adagio replied, flipping her hair with a pleased smirk, glad to let the tension building in her gut out a little, “I intend to surpass Tirek himself, after all.”
“Huh...” Fenice cocked her head and Adagio frowned.
“What?”
“Just... now that we’re talking counterparts... do you have one?”
Adagio blinked. She had rarely, if ever, thought much about the notion of her or her sisters having counterparts in the human world. There did seem to be an unusually concentrated number of counterparts between the world of Earth and the world of Equestria that had positions of prominence in the various factions of the spirit realm’s conflicts. After a moment she simply waved a hand at Fenice as if waving off the idea itself.
“Who knows? If there was another me, she’s certainly avoided the spotlight, which doesn’t sound much like me, so if I have a counterpart she must be either dead or boring. Not sure which I’d prefer. I imagine the same applies to my sisters’ counterparts. If they’re around, they must be living boring, humans lives somewhere. Really, I can’t imagine it even mattering at this point. Come, we’ve spent enough time catching our breaths. We must find Thorax.”
Fenice nodded slowly, and started to follow Adagio into the opening leading into Chrysalis’ inner lair. Her curiosity was still present, but she imagined Adagio was right. It’d just been a passing fancy in her head, wondering what Adagio’s human self might have been like, but Adagio was likely correct about them either not being around anymore, or just living a normal life somewhere, blissfully unaware of all the craziness currently going on...
----------
Ofridir was known as many things and for many things. Some in the cold white wastes of Niflheim called him the “Thousand Wails of the Dead” for the way his violin, in the throes of battle, could mimic the sounds of an army of damned souls. He was certainly known for his dreaded power to control the corpses of his enemies, and even pull the strings of the their very souls. In the warmer climes of Alfheim during the height of Jormungandr’s war to bring death, and peace, to Yggdrasil, he’d earned the name “Lifebane” after he’d reaped a toll of death upon the entirety of two Clans and their Thanes sent against him.
The titles were amusing, but Ofridir preferred to spin his own tales rather than bask in the infamy others with lesser imaginations cast his way. He liked his own, personal title, chosen when he’d taken up the mantle of Einherjar to lord Jormungander.
Dirge Singer.
For what is life if not a celebratory song? And what is death if not the final crescendo of that very song, the most poignant and beautiful part of the soul’s own music? Nothing gave the fossegrim greater joy than creating a greater appreciation and awareness of that beauty, as any artist should. He was a killer, true, but he saw battle as no brutal display of power like G’nash, or a puzzle to be solved like Amaru. It was music at its purest, most visceral state, and each death he ensured would be as memorable and bombastic as it should be.
And his music was so good he’d learned to make the very dead themselves dance in joyous celebration of his fine work. Granted, not all dead were the same, and not all appreciated an artists’ performance with the same fervor as all of his adoring fans. Yet sometimes in art a little bit of creative conflict was inevitable. One needed the right instruments to bring out the best performance possible, after all, even when those instruments could get... unruly.
Jormungandr had forbidden him to make such instruments from those loyal to Niflheim, or rather to Jormungandr. Ofridir imagined his lord could forgive the slight loophole that those he chose to make use of now weren’t technically Jormungandr’s people, bur rather they had once been servants of Leviathan.
Running water was rare in most places within Niflheim’s frosty expanse, yet there were still a few spots where glacial melt translated into freezing rivers that flowed with chunks of ice, cascading in waterfalls down peaks of arctic mountains slicked to glittering blue with frost. Icicles dangled like the teeth of a thousand hungry sharks along the roof of an overhang near one such river waterfall, the roar of the misty waters all but deafening as Ofridir approached a particular stretch of smooth glacial wall.
His dark, fur covered hand scraped away ages of frost to the near transparent ice within... where three forms, dark and muddled by the ice, were locked.
The fossegrim’s eyes glinted with dark mirth and his lips showed a deeply amused smile, “So long have I waited for the right stage to place you three lovely singers upon. Even as my enemies, I was enamored with you all. The only ones in all of Leviathan’s army to give the Dirge Singer the fight of his life, the performance of a century, and nearly the death even I would not have felt chagrined to accept, had you come out on top. Alas, my tune was the stronger, my fair ones, and your bodies, your souls... ohoho, have I longed to make you all dance and sing once more to the tune I play for you!”
With motions akin to a reverent prayer he brought forth a stream of water from the river, and from its depth was crafted from his Anima the form of his black violin. His soul resonated with the magic of elemental water, and the primal tunes in his spirit as his hand took up his instrument... and he began to play.
A chord of long, drawn out mourning hung heavy in the air. With each stroke of the bow, the violin painted a picture in sound of denied desires and the horrid waiting for rapturous release. What began as a slow cry of regret and patience longing then grew in pace, a tempo of ever increasing, heated defiance. Ofridir’s hooves moved upon the ice, a dance to accompany his music, each step a meaningful provocation of growing energy as the music rose to a feverish pitch of awakening. The snow at his hooves melted, steaming, water streaming around him in waves of radiant blue. Power pulsed with each note, and runes carved themselves in azure frost fire upon the ground with his steps and drew growing concentric circles in the air around him.
Faster and faster he played, the violin strumming a growing storm of awakening might and a call to action, no longer mournful, but demanding and binding, calling out to the world.
And there was certainly power in this music, for streams of it poured into the glacier, and the ice fell away like dew under a summer sun. The three forms, once locked within the ice, were exposed to the air of Niflheim for the first time in uncounted years. Rather than fall dead to the ground, these three corpses floated forth, surrounded by streams of glowing water and runes from Ofridir’s near frenzied playing. Soon the music rose to a roaring climax of screeching notes, like the final bells to awaken the dead themselves.
And the dead did thus awaken. Corpses preserved by Ofridir’s magic, prevented from decay or the loss of one iota of reishi. Souls, contained and not allowed to pass on, locked deep within and now filling their bodies once more with animate unlife. To awaken the corpse of a passed soul was a rare power, but not unique to Ofridir... however the power to ensure even the soul remained trapped in the body, kept suspended until awoken, that was a power only his Anima granted him, and why he was most feared as the Dirge Singer.
Approaching the three bodies as they set down upon the melted snow, he shouldered his violin and smiled like someone greeting old friends, “Open your eyes, my dears. It’s been too many ages since I’ve heard your voices.”
The middle corpse was the first to open her eyes, once magenta, now turned ice blue by the revival magic that turned her into a “draugr”, or bound undead. An athletic but voluptuous body was covered in fine scales of bright orange, visible around her shoulders and midriff where otherwise she was clad in a fine set of rune etched steel armor, the bracers and shoulders of which were coated in molded fins that matched the organic crest of a fine the graced her head. A magnificent mane of orange and yellow striped hair was woven into thick braids down her back, interspersed by threads of golden silk. A beautiful face that was mostly human, but bore the distinct, fine fish scales as the rest of her body and a set of gills on her neck took one look of Ofridir... and turned into a snarl bearing pronounced fangs.
The seeming fish woman sprung at Ofridir with shocking speed and force, reaching a hand up to thin air with power snapped into the form of a jagged edged scythe who’s blade looked to be forged from obsidian glass and its long, curved shaft wrapped in shark skin. Water, like a buzz-saw edge, flowed around the scythe at high speed so fast it created a piercing whine in the air as the woman sliced at Ofridir’s neck. The blade stopped a mere inch form him, and the woman’s eyes widened as she tried to force her weapon further, but to no avail.
“You... sick, ugly goat!” the woman growled with such venom, yet her voice held a lyrical quality to it even in its anger, “What have you done to me!?”
Ofridir sighed in clear pleasure, “Adagio, your voice sounds as lovely as the first time I heard it. Hah, and I see your viscous streak remains beautifully intact. Haven’t laid eyes upon me since our duel so long ago, and so eager to pick it right back up again.”
“Ugh, Odin’s hairy ass, did this tiny balled bilgesucker turn us into draugr?” said the woman on the right, who bore a similar stature to her sister Adagio, but with a more toned and well muscled form. She wore no steel armor, but thick leathers clad around the shoulders with a cloak of skin from what looked to be a manta ray. Her hair was dark purple streaked with teal, and mostly shaved into a warrior’s mohawk save for a long preserved tail wrapped in black leather. She cracked her neck and gave Ofridir and Adagio a look of equal scorn, reaching to her belt covered in various, long fangs to withdraw a huge blade from it’s sheath. It was something like a cutlass, but with a longer blade and a jagged back edge, and a split at it’s tip like teeth.
“Let me guess, we can’t cut the bastard down? Will you stop trying to press your scythe to the dumbass, Adagio? You look stupid like that.”
Growling, Adagio pulled her weapon back and rounded on the violet skinned woman, “What would you have me do, Aria!? Have a pleasant chat with the bastard that killed us, and now has us in this ungodly state!?”
Aria just looked at Adagio with a bitter shrug, “I’d have you act with some damn sense and stop embarrassing yourself. Hey, Ofridir, how long have we been dead?”
The fossegrim cracked a grand grin, “Quite some time. Quite some time indeed, and... oh, where’d Sonata go?”
The third woman had vanished from sight, but a mere moment later Ofridir felt clammy blue fingers around his eyes, not attacking, for it was impossible for these women to attack him while under his power, but there was a dangerous edge to the playful tone that spoke from behind, “Guess who Ofri!
Ofridir chuckled and turned, brushing the slighter build of the three sisters off his back and looking her over, “I see death changes little for you, Sonata.”
While there was an aggressive warrior aspect to Adagio and Aria’s appearance, there was an unassuming air about Sonata that Ofridir knew from personal experience only hid the deadly lethality of the third Nereid sister. Her blue skin and scales matched with her hair, two shades of darker blue that was cut short in a wild, spikey mess around her head. She wore no armor, but rather a silk robe of ocean green that wrapped her slim frame, with dainty boots of furred mastodon leather. Her hands, now pulled from Ofridir’s eyes, made a waving motion of playfulness in the air, producing a fan of wave pattern daggers that she juggled with glee, “I was soooooo sad when you cut us down, Ofri! I felt all my blood splat, splat, splatting out of my body, and it made me think I’d never get to stab you or anyone else ever again! So I’m kinda happy you brought me and my sis’s back for some fun!”
Adagio groaned out a frustrated noise, “Sonata, he’s made us into draugr! We’re bound corpses, forced to serve this bastard’s whims! Do you not understand the indignity and violation of this!?”
“Tch, lighten up, Dagi,” Sonata said, flipping a dagger past her sister’s head at supersonic speed, a swirl of snow and wind seeming to enhance the dagger’s velocity as it left a trail of spiked ice in the air behind it. Sonata’s eyes had dilated pupils as her voice quieted, “I don’t care if I’m alive or not, as long as I get to have fun. Ofri killed us fair and square, and we know how his music is. So stop complaining, because I wanna know what kind of games Ofri brought us out to play.”
Aria clapped a hand on Adagio’s shoulder in an almost comforting manner, although the woman still looked surly, “I don’t like it any more than you do, Adagio, but Sonata’s got a point. We can’t do much about this, so we might as well find out what the dungsucker wants from us. Who knows, might be fun? Better than sitting trapped in ice at any rate.”
With a grunt of relenting, Adagio shouldered her scythe and glared at Ofridir, “I am not doing your bidding out of anything other than necessity, and you’d better hope your Anima holds true, for the moment I find any weakness in it, I’m taking your head.”
“I expect nothing less from you, my watery angles of death,” Ofridir said with a bow, “The three Nereid who’s voices brought tears to even the eyes of the fire giant Surtur, who’s war ballads conjured storms and commanded tides! You were Leviathan’s finest, and it was my greatest performance the day we clashed and I brought you such gorgeous ends. Now, lord Jormungandr reigns as High Chieftain of the Sea Tribe, and has new enemies to challenge him.”
“Hmph, so the so-called ‘mighty’ World Serpent needs the aid of the dead to do his dirty work,” Adagio spat, “I’m not impressed.”
“Relax, Dagi, who cares who’s in charge of what anymore?” said Sonata, “Ol’ Levi got the axe, and Jorm’s on the throne. That’s how wars of succession work, right? So spill it, Ofri, who’re we gonna kill, hmm, hmm? If I can’t slit your throat, I at least want some good warm up targets. Giants? Dragons? Behemoths? Gotta be something nasty to get Jorm sending you on the job!”
“Ah, while there’s a few denizens of our Beast Realm among our dance partners to be, you’ll find the majority are Midgardians,” Ofridir said, which caused all three Nereid sisters to look confused.
“Midgardians? Really?” Aria said.
“Of all the things to be forced into this ignoble state for,” Adagio blanched, “You want us to hunt down mortals?”
“Oh, I think you’ll find these particular mortals will be far more of a challenge than you imagine, my dears. Let’s just say that they are not precisely typical, and are warriors of extreme capability and fierce power to make even the Dragons serving lord Jormungandr tremble. You should prepare yourselves for the fight of your unlives, for even now these mighty foes are somewhere in the Beast Realm, likely making the land tremble as they pass...”
----------
“Goddangit Dash, will ya git offa me!?” Applejack said as she tried to keep her friend at arm’s length. Rainbow Dash, in the meantime, had a glazed look in her eyes as she nibbled on Applejack’s hair, mouth watering.
“Mmm, your hair tastes like cornflakes and happiness. Hehehe.”
“Why’d ya hafta eat them mushrooms, ya dang fool?” Applejack groused, managing to push Rainbow Dash off and spin the girl around to sit her down on one of the growths of sparkling, green crystal growing from the ground at the base of the rocky hill the group was camping at.
“Stomach wanted snackies, so I went for the munchies! Mushroom munchies!” Rainbow declared, wavering back and forth as she let Applejack set her down on the makeshift crystalline bench, her eyes staring up at the ceiling as she held up her hands and gasped, “And the sky is made of rocks! Which I can’t eat! Why can’t I have hair like yours, Applejack? It’s so pretty, and nice, but don’t tell Applejack I told you that, because she’s not supposed to know I think that, hehehe.”
“Oh, good lord preserve me,” Applejack said, taking her hat off and fanning herself with it as she looked over at the sound of Sunset approaching, who’d just come from deeper in the forest of towering mushrooms the group was moving through, “Tell me ya found them herbs Simurgh said would help with gettin’ Dash sorted out?”
Sunset gave Rainbow a mixed look of concern and amusement before holding up a collection of pale red leaves the size and shape of starfish, just as Simurgh flew over from the other side of the camp to examine them.
“Ah, yes, these should do nicely,” Simurgh said, scooping up the herbs from Sunset using her rather dexterous talon, “I shall brew these into a tea that shall clear young Lady Dash’s head of the confusing fog induced by ingesting the Prismcap mushrooms. Truly, I should have warned you Midgardian folk about what to look out for, but I just never imagined you would get so hungry, so fast.”
“We’ve been here a full day already,” Sunset said, licking her lips as her stomach rumbled, “Most of us are kind of used to three square meals a day. Granted, still not Rainbow’s smartest move to snack on a few mushrooms without asking about if they’re safe first. Just glad it wasn’t actual poison and just...”
“Whoa! My hair looks like a rainbow!? Why didn’t anyone tell me!? Nom! Ugh! This doesn’t taste like Skittles at all!”
“Uh... that,” Sunset finished, shaking her head and giving Applejack a grateful look, “Just glad you could look after her while everyone else is busy securing the area and rustling up some actual grub.”
“Speaking of which, incoming down below,” came Shining Armor’s voice as he landed from above, carrying over his back what looked like some manner of immense trout, but with scales that gleamed almost golden. Beside him Cadence landed, having flown in beside her fiancé, and was carrying a large collection of what looked like a juicy purple fruit wrapped up in the mantle of her Quincy uniform, which she’d removed.
“Asena told us these were edible,” Cadence said, gently setting the fruit down by where a fire was already set up in the center of the camp area, “Hopefully this should be enough to keep us going a day or two.”
“Looks pretty good ta me,” Applejack said, and she eyed the big golden trout sidelong, “Ya need a hand guttin’ an’ cookin’ that up, fancy Quincy fella? Done it plenty o’ times myself while campin’.”
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at her, “I’ve gotten my hands dirty a few times, and Quincy survival training covers basics like cleaning a catch. But you’re welcome to help, if yout want. Assuming your friend isn’t going to wander off in a stupor.”
“You talking to me you big, creamy white marshmallow!?” Rainbow Dash said, trying to stand back up, but wobbling and sitting back down, “Yeah, that’s right, you just stay over there, with your wavy wonkiness, talking marshmallow man.”
Simurgh cleared her throat and sat down beside Dash, and started to grind down the herbs Sunset had brought, “I’ll look after her until the tea is ready. Why don’t the rest of you get settled. Everyone else should be back soon.”
By that she meant that Asena, Spike, and Clover had also gone scouting, getting the lay of the land, while the others, including Wallflower, remained in the camp area. The day’s journey had been a long and trying one, if only because Svartalfheim was a far more immense and somewhat disorienting place than Sunset Shimmer had imagined it would be. Because not all of their number could fly or move at immense speed, they had to pace themselves somewhat. Wallflower had mostly ridden on Spike’s Gunwolf, while Asena had offered to carry Cadence on her back so the pregnant Quincy didn’t have to expend as much energy. Despite a few protestations, Cadence had relented to the kindness, also allowing Simurgh to check her wounded face, re-dressing the bandage once they’d made camp.
The climb down the cliffside had not been too bad, although Sunset had kept a close eye out for any sign of more insanely huge and potentially dangerous wildlife like that skyscraper sized centipede. Thankfully nothing quite that large had appeared again, but that didn’t mean there weren’t plenty of sights both aweing and concerning. During their travels, Sunset had spotted a large set of conical shaped stones to what she thought was the west, noting the truly giant and glittering strands of spiderwebs big enough to catch jetliners. More than once they’d spotted various insectile creatures of varying kinds roaming the landscape, including a whole herd of black and yellow striped pill bugs the size of Earth bison that rolled past their path by the dozens. Mere hours before they found their campsite a butterfly as big as a helicopter had landed atop a large stalagmite less than a hundred yards away, its wings glowing purple, blue, and shimmering silver, and Sunset had watched with fascination, then surprise, as the butterfly swooped down upon an unsuspecting group of hopping, dog-sized mice and snatched one up in a spearing proboscis that literally sucked its prey dry into a dead husk within a few seconds.
Asena and Simurgh assured the group the collective spiritual pressure that they all exuded would keep most of the land’s predators at bay, at least for a time. It still left Sunset a tad worried about the length of the journey ahead. They’d passed through a fairly smooth, rocky plain until the area had become thick with hills and winding ravines, alongside an ever denser patch of forest consisting of mushrooms of incredible and unusual size. According to Asena, they were making good time north, towards the fortress they’d spotted from the top of the cliff earlier, which the female wolf was ever more convinced was a stronghold of the “Dwarves”. Sunset had no idea what to expect from that, and figured once everyone was settled she might ask.
As Applejack went to help Shining Armor prepare to cook the trout, and Cadence started to organize the fruit, Sunset strode over to where she saw Wallflower sitting with her back up against the stock of one of the mushrooms surrounding the camp area. Upon seeing Sunset come towards her, Wallflower pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, scooting over a bit so Sunset had space to sit down.
“Looks like we won’t be starving for much longer,” Wallflower said, and Sunset nodded as she sat down.
“Figure Spike and Asena will bring back water, too, since apparently there’s a lake or river with fish in it. So yeah, guess we won’t be dying of thirst or hunger,” Sunset said, chuckling dryly, “I mean, after all the stuff me and my friends have been through, that’d have to be the lamest way possible for any of us to go out.”
A soft noise that might have been a laugh came from Wallflower, but it was a weak one, and Sunset looked over at the girl, “Guess this’ll sound stupid to ask, but you managing alright so far?”
“You don’t have to worry. I won’t slow you down,” Wallflower replied quietly.
“Didn’t ask if you were going to slow us down, I asked if you were doing alright?”
If anything, Wallflower bunched up even more into herself, hair falling across her face, “No. Not really. I wanted answers about who I was. Why my memories were all screwed up. Now I have those answers and I’m more scared than ever. I know who I am even less than I did before. I mean... Hel? I’m Hel? That’s so insane I can’t even put into words how crazy it is. A few days ago I was just a confused girl living what felt like a normal life, even if some things about it didn’t add up to me. Now I have to... what, accept that I might not even be real? That my whole personality is some figment of a crazed ancient goddess’ own broken mind? So... no, not alright, Sunset. Not alright at all.”
All Sunset could do was nod in understanding, leaning back against the tree-sized mushroom stalk, “Yeah, don’t blame you. I wouldn’t be alright, either. Had to ask, because I want you to know you’re not alone here. I might not be able to fully understand everything you’re going through, but I do promise I won’t make you go through it by yourself. And... I wanted to say I’m sorry...”
Wallflower glanced at her, “What for?”
Sunset was all too familiar with the sensation of guilt, as it was a leaden weight she’d felt in her heart all too often over the course of her short life, “For getting you into this whole mess. For encouraging us to screw with the Memory Stone, which I should’ve been smart enough to leave it alone until Twilight could’ve been around to help. Maybe if I’d been more patient, less cocky about our ability to handle things, we’d have found a safer way to access the stone’s memories, or keep it from going haywire inside you.”
“You couldn’t have known how things would go,” Wallflower said, sighing heavily and resting her chin on her knees, “And it’s not like you forced me. I went along with it, because I wanted to know the truth, too. Not your fault the truth turned out to be... way worse than I thought it would be. Heh, terrified as I am, some small part of me is almost... relieved? Like, it can’t get much worse for me, now, can it? I’m not even a real person. No parents, no family, no friends, no future...” another quiet laugh, closer to a sob, “I don’t have to worry about anything, anymore, right?”
Sunset reached out to put a hand on Wallflower’s head, somewhere between a head pat and a bonk, “Stop that. You’ve got friends. Me, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike. And if we’ve got anything to say about it, you’ve got a future, too. We’ve just got to reach for it, past all of this BS we’re stuck in the middle of.”
“H-hey, quit mussing up my hair,” Wallflower said, “It’s messy enough already... heh...” she took a deep breath, steadying herself, “Um, thanks. I just hope you’re right. I don’t know when Hel is going to, you know, get back behind the wheel in here.”
Wallflower tapped her head, and Sunset nodded, “Can you feel her in there?”
“Kind of. I think she drained herself a bunch when she was in control, but I can feel her getting stronger. I don’t know when she’ll wake up again.”
“Well, we’ll just have to move as fast as we can, and if Hel takes control, I promise you we won’t let her run off or do anything crazy with your body,” Sunset promised, to which Wallflower tried to muster up a grateful expression.
“It’s kind of her body, too, but thank you. Seriously, you don’t got to spend all this time checking up on me. I’m going to take a nap for a bit, just let me know when food is ready.”
“Will do,” Sunset said, getting up and giving Wallflower a reassuring smile before turning to do a walk around the camp’s perimeter, mostly just to let herself walk off the nervous energy building inside her. She wasn’t fooling herself into thinking she didn’t still have plenty of reason to be worried about Wallflower. Hel could crop up at any time, and there was no way to guarantee they could ensure any level of separation between the goddess’ mind, and the personality that was uniquely Wallflower’s.
And one apology wasn’t going to so easily shuck off the guilt and, more importantly, the responsibility Sunset felt for creating the situation they were all now stuck in. Jormungandr wouldn’t have even found Hel if Sunset hadn’t released Hel’s memories from the Memory Stone. They wouldn’t now be stuck in the Beast Realm, separated from half of their friends.
Have I grown at all, from that arrogant filly that ran away from Equestria, and Celestia? I thought I’d learned to balance my pride with temperance and a little humility where it counts... but feels like I got sloppy, when now, of all times, I have to be on my A-game for everyone.
She felt a faint, burning pulse of spirit energy from her Zanpaktou, and Sunset touched the hilt of Hokori no Hikari. Closing her eyes, she felt for the sensation of the twin spirits in her blade. They were calling to her, one voice demanding, the other urgent but soothing. It felt like it was high time she delved inside both herself and her Zanpaktou for some much needed spiritual training.
“Soon...” she said. She wanted to make sure they were in a stable spot, at least, before rendering herself potentially immobile and unconscious for awhile. Where were Asena, Spike, and Clover? It shouldn’t be taking this long just to scout the area, should it?
She paused by the campfire, ignoring the rather delicious smell of the cooking trout, and glanced at Shining Armor and Cadence, who were sitting and resting together, now that the fish was cleaned and cut, set up on various sticks to cook.
“Did either of you spot the others on your way back from food gathering?”
The pair looked at each other, then Cadence said, “Last I saw of them they were going west, checking something that Spike picked up on his robot’s sensors.”
“Okay, but that was, what, nearly half an hour ago?” Sunset said, frowning, “Doesn’t take that long to take a quick look at something, not at the speed they can move at.”
She saw Shining Armor focus for a moment, his eyes closing, “You’re right, but I’m not sensing any spikes of reiatsu out there. If they were in trouble, we’d feel it.”
Sunset couldn’t deny the logic of the statement. She spread out her own spiritual senses and couldn’t detect any signs of raised spiritual pressures that would indicate a battle taking place. She had a hard time buying that anything could easily get the drop on them without them being able to put up a struggle. Not unless they were completely ambushed... but Asena was with them, and she was a local. Sort of. Well, Asena was a local of the Beast Realm, but how familiar she was with Svartalfheim itself...
“Simurgh,” Sunset said, causing the tall bird of blue and green radiance to perk up. She’d just finished feeding Rainbow Dash a piping clay bowl of brewed tea, and Dash was now half snoring and dozing next to Simurgh.
“Yes, Lady Shimmer?”
“Is there anything in this neck of Svartalfheim that could cause a problem for Asena, let alone her alongside Spike and Clover?”
Simurgh tail feathers bristled a little as she swept a wing over her beak in a thoughtful gesture, “Nothing normal, to be sure. Nothing that wouldn’t cause quite the loud commotion. Unless... well, no, that’s quite unlikely...”
Sunset grimaced, getting a sinking feeling about the way her and her friends’ luck tended to go when it came to ‘unlikely’ things. “What is it?”
“Well, we’re near Dwarven territory, so it should be rather uncommon for their rivals to stray so close to a Dwarf fortress, but there is a species common to Svartalfheim that specializes in stealth, and has several abilities that suppress spiritual senses, and are quite good at ambushing unsuspecting travelers,” Simurgh explained, “But they only are interested in shiny things. Treasures, gems, great works of art. It's why they always fight with the Dwarves, or Dragons, who hoard such treasures. Even if these creatures did risk a hunting party so close to a Dwarf stronghold, our scouting party has nothing...shiny...”
Simurgh’s eyes widened, and Sunset found herself rubbing her head, “Spike’s Gunwolf.”
“Oh my, I didn’t even think of that...” Simurgh said, and by now Applejack, hearing the conversation in full, rose from where she’d been watching the trout cook, and crossed.
“So yer sayin’ some treasure obsessed varmints might’ve bushwhacked our folk? Varmints that’re good at hiding, ambush, an’ concealin' spiritual pressures?”
“It’s possible...” Simurgh admitted, and Sunset sighed.
“What are these things called, anyways?” she was already looking west, getting ready to take to the air and start leaping in that direction as fast as she could.
“Their Clans call themselves various names, but the general term most others in the Beast Realm refer to them to is Diamond Dogs.
This caused Sunset to swiftly tilt her head in recognition, mind reeling back to her school days in Equestria. She remembered several classes discussing some of the varied species ponykind shared their land with, and Diamond Dogs had been a notable topic during one such class. From what she remembered they were a subterranean species of bipedal canines with remarkable digging capability, and a fascination for gems. At least, that covered the scattered groups inside Equestria’s borders, but she did recall there were records of a related surface kingdom somewhere in the far south... Caninia, or something like that?
But she couldn’t imagine she should rely on any knowledge of the Diamond Dogs of Equestria, for if these were inhabitants of the Beast Realm then who could even imagine what differences might exist? They’d likely be as different from their Equestrian counterparts as Arrancar were from living humans.
“Right, Diamond Dogs. Ambush skills aside, how powerful are they? Should we expect a serious fight? Assuming there’s a fight at all, which I guess is still a big if,” Sunset said, already trying to decide who she should bring to go check on the scouting party. She couldn’t afford to leave the camp unguarded, especially with Wallflower here, who was right now looking with wide, worried eyes at the conversation taking place.
Simurgh’s avian features weren’t the easiest to read, but the droop of her crest feathers seemed to suggest unease, “Difficult to say. I have little experience with them. They have warred with the Dwarves for many years, and that is no small feat. No doubt their Thanes possess strong Anima to support their talent for stealth. It would be unwise to treat them lightly.”
Especially if they did manage to capture Clover, Spike, and Asena without any of them being able to escape back here to warn us, Sunset thought with an extra sense of urgency.
“We’re goin’ after ‘em, obviously,” Applejack said, already summoning her Fullbring armor onto her body in a golden rush of light. Sunset looked at her friend, then at the insensate Rainbow Dash who remained snoring under the influence of Simurgh’s tea.
“Yeah, but I’d rather you keep an eye on things here, AJ, especially with Dash out of commission.”
Applejack glanced at Rainbow Dash and frowned, “Ya ain’t thinkin’ o’ goin’ alone, are ya?”
“Of course not,” Sunset agreed, turning to Shining Armor, “What do you say? A Quincy might spot something a Soul Reaper would miss.”
Shining Armor’s lips quivered in an almost smile, “Oh, playing to Quincy ego? That a trick Twily told you to use? Well considering it’s Spike who’s in trouble, I was going to go anyway, whether you asked or not. He’s part of the family.”
He squeezed Cadence’s hand, who looked back at him with a grateful smile, “Agreed, I’d never be able to look Twilight in the eye again if we lost her best friend. Go, Shining, I’ll be fine here and make sure that food’s ready for when you bring everyone back.”
“Here’s hoping it won’t take long,” Sunset said, leaping up into the air, joined by Shining Armor as the pair stood above the camp, “With any luck, there isn’t any problem at all and they’re just running late. Or found something interesting.”
“Be wary, regardless,” Simurgh told them, “And if that silly wolf has turned out to have simply gotten herself distracted, give Asena a solid smack upside the head for me.”
Sunset smiled, despite her anxiety about the situation. Nodding to those still in camp, and giving Shining Armor one last confirming nod to ensure he was ready, the pair swiftly departed, leaping upon the air in wide streaks of motion as they headed west towards the last known location of their wayward friends.
The mushroom forest passed beneath them like an uneven carpet of cloud, each cap glinting with different colors and spots. In some ways it gave Sunset the impression of leaping across a child’s finger-painting, with random colors splashed every wish way in random clumps. She kept her spiritual and physical senses sharp, seeking every little trace of reiatsu, sound, or motion she could. The forest was hardly quiet, buzzing with the noise of countless insects and the croaking and warbling of dozens of different species that all rolled together in a steady background chorus of lively sound. Really the more she thought about it, this area was the ideal terrain for ambush predators, or sapient people who relied on getting the drop on unwary prey.
If the Diamond Dogs could hide their presence, then even relatively powerful individuals like her friends could still be vulnerable. Super powers only did you so much good when someone got the drop on you. And she still had little understanding of how Anima worked. A well timed ambush, using strange powers, could be devastating to those who weren’t prepared for it.
Which meant she and Shining Armor were just as vulnerable, even knowing that they were potentially moving into dangerous and unknown territory. Her right hand clenched tight around Hokori no Hikari’s hilt, the Zanpaktou’s earlier sensations of desiring training now replaced by the spirits’ sharp focus on the task at hand.
Shining Armor kept an easy pace with her. They couldn’t afford to move too fast, or risk not spotting any clues that might pass below. Westward, up ahead, Sunset could see a rising ridge of rock that to her eye was shape somewhat like a hand of stone, grasping at something, but only in that vague way one imagined shapes in the shapeless.
“There’s a river that passes by that rock formation, turning north,” Shining Armor said, “That's where we caught the trout. Asena wanted to check on the other side of the ridge, so that’s the last place me and Cadence saw them heading.”
“Right, let’s get to the top of the ridge, then. Might be we’ll spot them if they’re still moving around in the air,” Sunset said, trying to be optimistic. It’d be nice if this did just turn out to be a false alarm. They had enough trouble on their hands already without kidnappings slowing them down. For all she knew Jormungandr already had servants scouring Svartalfheim for them.
At the top of the rocky, vaguely hand shaped ridge she and Shining Armor landed and paused to survey the area. On the west side of the ridge the mushroom forest terminated in a steep slope and wide, rolling basin of what looked like a small off-shoot lake that was attached to the passing river. The water was still and dark, and little moved that Sunset could see. Further beyond a shorter ridge of rock, like a long, winding spine, had multiple dark openings spaced around it... clear cave entrances.
“Well, those aren’t suspicious at all,” Sunset said.
“They’re not the only ones,” Shining Armor said, nodding downward. Sunset glanced down the length of the taller ridge they stood on, and noticed there were at least a couple of open slits that looked as if they led into the ridge itself. Her eyes narrowed, scanning.
“No signs of a fight. No blast marks from Kido or the Gunwolf’s weapons. Even ambushed, I have a hard time believing neither Clover or Spike would have gotten off a shot or two...”
“Let’s take a closer look,” Shining Armor said, raising his left hand and in a spark of blue reishi, he formed his bow. Sunset followed suit by drawing her Zanpaktou as the pair leapt down to the bottom of the ridge, near one of the cavern entrances.
She couldn’t see very far into the cavern itself, but there were growths of smaller mushrooms she could see near the entrance, and hangings of strange, somewhat luminous red lichen that looked like it continued deeper in. But she saw no tracks or any other sign of activity near the cave, so she instead turned her attention to the slope heading towards the lake. She and Shining Armor took a few minutes to examine the area, and she paused once she spotted a trace of red fur, barely more than a miniscule tuft, attached to a small rock closer to the lake.
Sunset paused and caught Shining Armor’s eyes with a raised hand, putting a finger to her lips for silence and nodding towards the tuft of fur. He saw it, and slowly nodded. Same color as Asena’s. The pair moved slowly, eyes alert and scanning. The stone was too hard for any tracks, but Sunset soon spotted another tuft of fur, even closer to the lake than the last one.
Once they were close to the dark, still waters, Sunset knelt down as she reached out to pick up another bit of red fur, this one slightly wet from the lake waters lapping against it gently.
Shining Armor kept his voice to a quiet whisper, bow at the ready, “They must have stopped here for water. I can’t imagine they’d bother going in the lake.”
Sunset thought it unlikely as well, but it was clear they’d been here, at least. Could they have decided to gather water to drink, and been ambushed then? Watering holes did tend to make good spots for such attacks. But the lack of any battle signs was concerning.
“We’ll head to the other ridge, check those caves. Maybe they-”
Her words were cut off mid-sentence as the glossy dark waters, still as glass just an eyeblink earlier, suddenly exploded as something pale, enormous, and made of flashing teeth and scales that stank of death came surging from the lake and right at Sunset Shimmer.
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Hopefully the Nereids can break free of Ofridir's control soon. You really don't skimp on the cliffhangers. Can't wait to see how Sunset beats this. Keep up the great work! First!
Boy, I don't think I've thought at all about the dazzlings' counterparts since way back when I first started reading this story years ago.
Honestly I want to see a Nerid X Siren showdown
Grogar's new toys are concerning. If left to his own devices he could really turn the tide of the war.
It's really that big? Always thought his group is more into quality than quantity. Always thought Guto's army is most numerous. And Adagio's but only recently.
This must be highest Rainbow has ever been.
Where were
Diamond Digs
Though, 'digs' also fits for Diamond Dogs.
Damn, Gaw and D Roy were said to be stronger than Gilda so Grogar can now make Rank 10 Espada lvl threats. That or I misread and 2 are worth a 10th Espada which is still pretty impressive.
11698289
Granted I've never really broken down numerically each Espada's forces, but strictly speaking Torch's is large because as long as an Arrancar warriors has a spine, fights hard and loyally, then they're allowed in. Torch is less concerned with maintaining a elite force as he is with ensuring his horde are tough and have the right mindset. Guto on the other hand is all about pushing his warriors to be elites, with a fair amount not making the cut. Yet even so Guto's horde isn't that much smaller than Torch's by comparison. Still neither got the numbers Chrysalis has just be shear ability to spawn drones.
11702137
Ahh, I see.
Things are really heating up in Hollow land, meanwhile Sunset and pals have found more trouble to get into. They're good at that.
An understandable response. It's impressive how awful Grogar is. Vex really did a great job making him the most unlikable character ever.
But seriously, I wasn't expecting other Dazlings to show up in the Beast Realms. I wonder how similar, and how different, they are to the ones we know.