Indigo's Owl [Indigo Rewrite]

Chapter 40 - Faultline

"Athira was always there for me when I needed her," said Zoe. "She took everything on herself to try and protect us from it. She's not perfect—she's never been perfect—but she never gave up on me, and I will not give up on her when she needs me the most." Zoe held Talia's gaze. "Let me go, Talia."

Talia's reply was quiet. "After what she's done, you'd still choose her over me?"

"It isn't a choice," said Zoe softly. "You're both imp—"

"Fine," snapped Talia. The stone released Zoe, dropping her hard against the ground. "Go after her. Get yourself killed. I don't care anymore."

"Tal—" began Zoe, wincing as she held her side, but it was too late. Talia Gripped a platform of stone beneath her feet. It rose into the air before it sped off, taking Talia with it. Zoe slammed her fist into the ground and swore before yelling, "Talia!"

"Kione and I will go after her," said Raph quickly, taking a few steps in Talia's direction as Kione muttered a curse and scooped up his half-done Frames. "Shift, go with Zoe. Laser two bursts into the air if you need help."

With that, Raph and Kione left, following after Talia.

Red folded his arms and gave Zoe a sideways glance with a smirk. "Nice team you have here, Yellow. I can see why—"

"You go with them," said Zoe, glaring at Red as she pointed after Raph. "And if anything bad happens to them, I will hunt you down and kill you myself. Understood?"

Red actually took a step back. "I—"

"Go."

To Shift's surprise, Red scowled but obeyed, shaping what looked like a fancy version of a Chromacycle and swinging his leg over it.

"Purple's somewhere in the left building," said Red, jerking his chin towards the most recent smoke cloud drifting into the air. "Wardens lost sight of her in the smoke. Might want to hurry."

"Her name is Athira!" Zoe yelled after Red as he sped away on his bike. She huffed, holding her side. "If everything else wasn't falling apart around me, I swear I'd have beaten that smug, righteous little look off his face by now."

"You okay?" asked Shift. It was strange to see her hunched over.

"Fine," muttered Zoe, scrunching her face as she exhaled loudly and straightened. "Pain is just really inconvenient. Let's go."

Together, they ran towards the earlier explosions near the centre of the Warden's city.

They started cautious, hesitating at each corner to check for Wardens or Elites but with every tremor through the ground, their recklessness grew. There was no sign of anyone anywhere, and by the time they reached the final corner, neither of them bothered to check before turning onto the street.

Chunks of Redresin rubble littered the ground alongside numerous shards of crystal Black. Thick, dark smoke poured out of the side of the building through the multiple holes that'd been blown in its walls, and an acrid, bitter scent that was vaguely reminiscent of lavender wafted through the air.

Zoe stopped just short of the closest entry point into the building — a hole some two metres in diameter that didn't come close to the definition of safe — and cupped her hands to her mouth.

"Thira!" Zoe yelled. "Thira, can you hear me?" When no reply came, she stepped back, her eyes scanning the side of the building. "Red said the Wardens lost her in the smoke. She might still be in there. Come on!"

Shift barely had a chance to open his mouth before Zoe darted inside.

Left with limited options, Shift just muttered a curse and followed her.

Inside, the smoke — not black like he'd initially assumed, but a dark, midnight-purple — smothered the air, growing thicker the closer to the ceiling it rose. Shift was forced to stoop and cover his mouth with an arm to even have a chance at breathing as ahead, Zoe did the same, still calling out for Athira.

The further in they went, the harder it became to see. The smoke made Shift's eyes water, yet despite the ever-growing haze, there was no tell-tale flicker of firelight. There was no blast of heat, just an uncomfortable, creeping warmth that was somehow worse. Redresin didn't burn — not easily, anyway — and Shift wasn't keen to find out what the Wardens had stashed that burned with a purple smoke.

Eyes stinging but locked on the yellow of Zoe's suit, Shift called out to her. "Zo, how far are we going?"

"Until either we find Thira or whatever's on fire!" came Zoe's reply. "She can't be—"

Zoe cut off with a cry as she was shoved to the side by a dark shape concealed by the smoke. Shift aimed a wide laser of shifted Yellow down the smoke-filled corridor, but the burst of light failed to reveal Zoe's attacker as her back was slammed into the wall.

"Thira!" yelled Zoe, grabbing for the dark shape — a Black tendril — spreading over her chest as it lifted her up. The toes of her boots scraped against the ground, but the faintest, Yellow glow still glimmered through the haze. "Thira, it's just me!"

The tendril hesitated, and a second later, Athira stepped out of the smoke.

No — it wasn't just smoke, but Black, misting off her skin. It clung to her in a haze, swirling thick on some erratic, phantom breeze. The Black had bled into her clothes, turning the fabric of her Owling outfit shiny and hard. Her skin had a strange sheen to it, and Shift found himself hoping it was just a combination of the flickering Blue light of her runes amongst the dark purple smoke.

But it was the way she watched them with that cold, detached glint and the considered tilt of her head that sent a chill down Shift's spine.

"Zoe?"

*+*+*+*

A/N - Things are breaking, and the glue of the team might not be enough this time to hold it all together

Next chapter: :)