CW: iron poisoning, lot's of pain, people being knocked out violently (they're hunters, don't worry), violent deaths (once again, all hunters), and decapitation (you guessed it, a hunter, also it's not too gory and mostly implied)
"What was that?!" Morgan shouted, pulling the knife away from Virgil. The fairy was dropped to the ground, crying in pain as he hit the concrete, but the hunters ignored him as he did his best to curl up.
None of the hunters answered him either, all straining their ears to try to figure it out. Slowly, there were loud sounds of shouting coming from outside as a fight clearly started.
Elliot looked around, trying to figure out if they should do something as they hugged Cynthia closer. They looked over to Virgil, who was barely moving as he tried to curl in pain, and Griffin who slowly nudged closer to him.
"Well, what are you idiots waiting for!" Morgan shouted, walking over to the cell door. "Leave them here! Move it!"
The hunters started to rush to the cell door, but Elliot got up the moment they did. The witch grabbed one of the hunters rifles, pulling it out of their grip before swinging it to hit them in the head.
The other two hunters that were holding their guns went to shoot them, but Cynthia tackled one and Griffin jumped on the other, both holding them down.
Morgan closed and locked the cell door as Elliot pointed the rifle at him. He ducked out of the way as the witch pulled the trigger, running down the hall. Elliot cursed before dropping the gun and going to help Cynthia, who was starting to lose their grip. The hunter that was being held down by Griffin didn't dare move, he possibly passed out from fear or hitting the back of their head on the ground.
Elliot managed to pull the hunters gun away and hit them on the head to knock them out.
"Go help Virgil," they told her. "I'll get us out of here."
Cynthia made a small whining noise, looking over at the lock.
"I know he took the key, I'll figure something out. Just check on Virgil."
The siren nodded and rushed over to the fairy. She sat down in front of him and gently put her hand on his shoulder, earning more whimpers from him. She quietly shushed him and moved him so he was sitting up, grabbing his shirt that was still folded on the ground.
"St-s-stop..." he whimpered, making her hesitate. Small tears slipped out from his closed eyes as he trembled in pain.
Cynthia whined again, looking over to Elliot in desperation.
Elliot pointed the rifle at the lock and blasted it away. They tossed the gun aside before rushing over to help. "It's okay Virgil, we're gonna help."
"R-Rom-man... I-I w-wa-want..." He let out a broken sob, trying to move, but it was getting harder. He could feel the witch, it felt like he was closer but he wasn't sure. He was angry about something, but also worried.
"We know, everything's going to be okay, just hold on." Elliot reached over and picked him up as carefully as possible, but the movement was enough to make Virgil cry in agony.
Cynthia pulled the iron bars to open the cell now that the lock was scrap metal. Griffin was the first to go out, but waited as the others cautiously stepped out. Other prisoners looked over at them in hope, and Elliot felt panic over the time restraint rise.
"Okay, Cynthia I want you to take Virgil and Griffin and get out of here, can you do that?" they asked, walking in front of her to give her the half conscious fairy.
The siren nodded and held out her arms for Virgil, letting him be gently placed in them as he was adjusted to lean against her chest. She watched with worry for a moment as Elliot went back in the cell, picking up a rifle and grabbing bullets from the knocked out hunter's bags.
The witch looked up to see both Cynthia and Griffin looking at them in worry. They sighed softly before reassuring them, "I'm going to be fine. Griffin, protect the two of them, can you do that?"
Griffin purred softly, nudging Cynthia's side as tears started to gather in her eyes. She let out a small sob as she turned and started to head down the hall.
Elliot took the rifle and made their way to the first cell, behind it a blinded basilisk slithered around nervously. Well... time to attempt to communicate with an animal with no magic.
~~~
Cynthia was breathing heavily as she ran, tears running down her cheeks and falling into the baby feathers on her neck. She hoped Elliot would be okay, they had to be okay, they were like a parent to them as the two of them went through this Hell together. They had helped her when she first arrived and took out her voice box, and every time she came back to the cell after they plucked all of her feathers.
She heard loud bangs coming down the hall that they left. That must be Elliot destroying the locks, the witch had too big of a heart. Of course they wouldn't be able to leave the rest of the prisoners, they had to free them, Cynthia understood. But she really wished they were with them, because she was too scared to do this on her own.
They reached a part where the hallway split in three. They could go straight, left, or right. It sounded like there were several people coming from the right, so they had to go straight or they could be caught.
However, they weren't able to run straight for more than a few seconds since a group of hunters turned towards them from another corner, Morgan in front. Several rifles were pointed at them. Cynthia turned to see if she could reach the corner behind them in time, but another group of hunters blocked their path.
A small whine left her throat as she backed towards the wall, Griffin crouching low and growling at them. They were trapped and the hunters slowly closed in, careful to make sure no one made a move.
"I hope you know that this behavior won't go unpunished," Morgan warned. "Stand down, or we open fire."
Cynthia tried to control her breathing, she grunted slightly and Griffin looked over. She shook her head, and he whined, but lowered his head in defeat.
"Good, just like that, little pets. Now let's-"
Morgan was cut off by some screams, and then a loud roar from behind them. The group that blocked the way to the cell turned around, several shots were fired but it seemed to do nothing as the group was torn apart. A dragon came into view, along with several other creatures.
Griffin jumped in front of Cynthia and Virgil as the siren went to the wall, crouching as she folded herself over the fairy. The other group opened fire, but there were several screams coming from the back of that one.
Several hunters were lifted into the air as wood grabbed them and moved them to the walls. A large metal fox jumped onto Morgan and... well... Let's just say fear wasn't the only thing that made him lose his head.
"Cynthia!" Elliot shouted when the commotion died down, running over to her. She looked up, only to quickly look down to make sure Virgil was okay. He was still breathing, albeit weakly, and he seemed to be unconscious.
"Virgil?!" another voice shouted, making them look over.
Griffin stood in front of them defensively as Cynthia and Elliot looked up to see a stranger standing next to the metal fox. He had a red cloak, but what made them relax were his red eyes.
"Griffin, it's okay," Elliot told him.
The fox shrunk down into a normal one as he ran with the witch, the two rushing over to Virgil's side. Darrell got that first, but Cynthia pulled the fairy closer to her chest to protect him. Elliot put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"Oh stars, Virgil," the witch groaned when he saw the fairy. He slowed his pace down as he got closer, putting his hands up to show he wasn't a threat.
"Who are you and how do you know his name?" Elliot asked.
"I'm a friend, a witch. Virgil and I are close, my name is Roman-"
Cynthia gasped the moment he said his name. She grabbed Elliot's arm and shook it excitedly.
"Yes, I know," Elliot cooed, putting their hand over hers. They looked up at Roman and gestured for him to come forward.
Roman wasted no time in getting there, falling to his knees. He put a hand on Virgil's forehead, the fairy whimpering still. "Oh Vee... what did they do to you?" His eyes traveled to the wings, wincing at all the bandages that covered them. "Stars, we should have been faster."
"What's going on up there? What was that explosion?" Elliot asked.
Roman looked up, his face hardening. "We're fighting the hunters, we came here to get Virgil back and free any other prisoners. Is this everyone?" He looked around at the group of creatures.
Elliot shook their head. "I didn't think I would have time to get the rest, I had a feeling that these guys were in trouble."
"Okay, we'll get the others. Rascal!" The moment he called, the possum suddenly appeared next to him, making him jump slightly. He sighed to calm himself down before saying, "Go find my brother, tell him that we found Virgil and are heading back. Tell him that there are others down here that need to be freed."
The possum chittered in response before becoming invisible again, scurrying off to find her witch.
Roman looked back to Elliot, frowning slightly. "You're a witch?"
"Was, I-I lost my core a long time ago."
The other nodded in understanding. "You're still a witch, even without magic. I'm going to take you all outside and to our camp, it's mostly humans but they're good and came to help. Once we're there and I'm sure Virgil will be okay, I'm coming back here to destroy this place. Do you want to help?"