Vax, Keyleth and Miel ran down the hall looking for Percy. They were about to turn another way when Miel felt something. A dark feeling coming from another room.
"Wait, this way!" Miel said. Keyleth and Vax stopped and followed her.
They ran into a room where they saw Percy holding a a girl, whom they assumed was Cassandra, who was bleeding out from a cut on her neck.
"Keyleth! Hurry!" Percy cried
Keyleth ran over and tossed her pouch to the elf, "Vax, I need Wanderer's Moss, Flicksilver, and uh, the back that says 'dirt'" she instructed quickly, "need pressure on the wound before the spell can hold"
"Tick-tick. Tick-tock" they heard, who could only be, Professor Anders in the back as he grabbed a bottle.
Percy had a look of worry and horror as he stared at his sister bleed out and cough out blood. Miel had her hands on Percy's shoulders, trying to comfort him a bit, but it wasn't working. Once Vax mixed the ingredients together, Keyleth spit into it and rubbed it together.
"You can do this" Vax encouraged when he saw Keyleth panicking a bit. The Ashari took a deep breath as they placed the mix on the wound.
"The joy in watching a de Rolo child meet a painful end. Cheers" Anders said
"You son of a bitch!" Percy yelled as he pointed his gun at Anders. Miel gasped and let go of him when she felt a powerful, dark wave overflow him.
"We're all sons of bitches, de Rolo!" Anders said as he smashed the glass down, creating a smoke screen to prevent Percy from shooting him, "you in particular, from that bitch that bore you." Anders had gone into another room. Percy followed and reloaded his gun.
Miel was silently gasping from the wave that basically pushed her off of the human.
"..el...Miel!" Miel blinked when she heard Vax call for her, "what's the matter? Percy's gone!"
"I...um..." she couldn't say anything. 'That was a demon. It had to be' she thought. "I-it's the gun again" she whimpered, "something about it..."
"What do you mean?" Vax asked
"I...I think, the gun is possessing him? I don't know, but he has to stop using it. There's a darkness to it" she said
While they were there, they heard shots and clanks coming from the room that Percy went after Anders in. It sounded like more than just two people inside.
"We have to go help Percy" Vax said
"You guys go, I got this" Keyleth said
Miel and Vax nodded and ran to the room. When they came inside the room, they saw a giant suit of armor about to swing at Percy.
"Oi, heads up!" Vax called and threw his dagger, hitting the suit's head, making it miss Percy.
Vax and Miel stood in front of Percy as the elf caught his dagger. "This revenge is mine" Percy said
"Not if you're dead" Vax said, "we're in this shit together"
The suits swung their axes at them and Miel brought up her hand to create a barrier. It held up well, since three axes hit the pink barrier and it still held. But Miel's left wrist was burning.
"Hang on, Miel!" Vax yelled. But soon Miel winced and they all jumped out of the way when she dropped the barrier. "What happened?" Vax grunted as they avoided the suit's weapons
Miel whined silently as she held her wrist. Vax's eyes widened at the sight and he was about to go to her when an axe hit between the two.
"Uh, if you're not dead down there, we could use some help!" Vax called out to the two the stayed at the stairs. In a minute, the two were already there. Vax and Miel were holding their own back with their dagger and Percy was shooting the armor.
"You and you, on the white-haired one" Anders ordered and the suits ran over to Percy, who stood next to Vax and Miel. Their eyes widened and they all jumped away from each other to avoid the axe again.
"Right, um, which one can I kill?" Grog asked Vex
"Literally anyone" she said and ran in. Grog laughed and ran in as well, ready to break the armors.
"Nothing works on these guys!" Miel yelled in anger as she avoided another axe
"There's nothing inside to hurt" Vex said as she shot more arrows
Just the Keyleth ran in, in Tiger form and started scratching at one armor, only for it to kick her away. "Not even a scratch" Vax pointed out.
Grog pushed back that same armor, "that's one! That's three! That's 11! All the letters!" He yelled as he blocked its weapon
"Okay, that explains a lot!" Miel yelled from on top of one armor walking toward Percy, trying to get it to turn away.
"As much as I loathed having to teach you, I'll relish watching you skinner alive" Anders said
The armor corner Percy and pulled it's arm back. "No!" Miel grabbed its arm, keeping it from swinging. Right then did Percy see a possible opening. He jammed his gun into the opening between the arm and the shoulder and shot. Breaking its arm off.
"The slats!" Vex yelled as she jumped off one armor and sent three arrows. Before they hit, they multiplied in threes, all hitting the slat joints.
Miel placed her hand on the back of the armor's neck and shot a magic blast through it.
Meanwhile, Grog was still holding back his armor.
"Having trouble there, Grog?" Vax asks smugly from behind him, "cause it looks like you're having trouble"
"Don't you do nothin'" Grog grunted
"Don't get mad, big guy" Vax said as he appeared behind the suit of armor
"Don't tell me what to do, smaller guy!" Vax used two of his daggers to stab through both the arm slats, defeating the last of the armor suits. "I hate your face so much" Grog grumbled, "and you" he pointed to Anders, "you look like you need killing"
"How would you like to kill your friends for me?" Anders said, his eyes glowing silver like his tongue
Grog shook his head and grunted as if struggling with an inner battle. Then he stood stall in front of Vax, his eyes glowing sliver, "at your command"
"He wouldn't..." Vex said
"Kill Vox Machina" Anders and Grog said together
"Uh, Grog, what are you-" Grog grabbed Vax by his head, picking him up.
"Vax!" Miel yelled as Grog threw the rogue against the wall.
"Ha! If I'd known how much fun this was going to be..."
"I'd have possessed this lummox and made him rip you apart right away" Anders and Grog said together
Grog was about to slash Vax, when Keyleth came up behind him and tried to push him away, inly to be pushed away herself. She morphed back to her original form, "Please, Grog! We're your friends remember?" she said, "We love-" Grog swung his axe at her but she ducked on time
"Stay out of his range" Vex said, "there's no reasoning with him while he's charmed"
"Or, you know, ever" Grog then punched Keyleth back to Vex
"We have to disarm him" Percy pointed out
"You go high. I'll go low" Vex said and shot an arrow across the room attached to a rope. Keyleth ran behind Grog and jumped on his back. She placed her hand on his axe and vines grew under his hand, making him release the weapon. Vex ran across the room and pulled the rope, only for Grog to pull her in and kick her back. He then threw Keyleth at her with the axe and the axe landed right above Vex.
Percy then tried to run past him from behind only for Grog to pop out his arm. The he grabbed him and threw him across the room and he hit the wall, breaking it.
"Yes. Don't stop now you giant half-wit" they said together again.
Vax lunged down, ready to pounce, "Didn't want to have to do this to you but..." Vax jumped high and stabbed Grog's shoulder, but the Goliath didn't flinch. Only smirked evilly at the half-elf and headbutted him.
Vax fell back and Grog started running after him. Miel then jumped on Grog's back, hoping to slow him down at least a bit. Just like with the suit of armor, she tried to steer him away, but Grog just continued running after Vax.
"The fuck?" Vax yelled as he jumped up on a furniture only for Grog to break it as he jumped off. "Why is he only after me?! Oh, gods!" he yelled as Grog hit him on the head with a book.
"Faster! Kill them faster!" Anders yelled
"Don't you dare, Grog!" Miel yelled and covered his eyes before he could get close to Vax. He started thrashing around here and there, trying to knock her off. To that Miel crossed her legs, almost choking Grog. He growled and grabbed her wrist, pulling her off. He held her up and glared daggers at her right before he smacked her twice on the floor and finally on top of Vax.
Miel groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head. At that moment she got a glimpse of her wrist and noticed her bracelet was gone. She gasped when she saw it a few feet away from Grog. "The bracelet" she gasped, loud enough for only Vax to hear since he was under her.
"Wait, what?" he questioned when Miel ran for it, dodging Grog's punch, "Miel, don't!" Grog then turned his attention to Vax and started swinging his fist at him and Vax was dodging him.
"Enough of this!" Anders said and looked at Vex, who looked at Keyleth, "if the dumb one can't complete my task, there are many more resources at my disposal" Grog picked up Vax by his cape and looked him in the eye.
Percy groaned as he got up, "pay attention de Rolo." Anders said, "I want you to know how you died. And who did it to you."
"Your friends" they all said. The whole group had silver eyes and theirs set on Percy
Vex released her arrows, but before Percy could do something a black field appeared between him and the rest.
"They're not in control" Miel grunted. Percy looked behind him to see Miel with her hands out and a grey light coming off her palms. Grog threw a display case at the field at the same time Vax threw his daggers. All bouncing off.
"How are you not being controlled?" Percy gasped
Miel looked at him with almost an innocent look, as if she thought she told him before, "I...can't be mind controlled" she said
Miel saw Keyleth extend her hand and she looked down to see a small light come from the floor before a vine shot up. Miel did a grabbing motion and pulled back, the motion pulled Percy close to her and she made the wall circle around them like a bubbled. Keyleth made another vine shoot out and pinned the bubble to the wall.
"No escape this time, welp" Anders smirked
"I owe you an apology, Professor" Percy said as his eyes darted all around the room, "You're right, the de Rolos treated you poorly. My parents never recognized my potential and clearly missed yours as well. A talented mind needs time to cultivate, to think, to work out all the angles." he said and then whispered to Miel, "can you open up a hole for me to shoot through?" he asked and Miel nodded as little as possible so that Anders didn't notice.
"Nice try, de Rolo. But flattery will not prolong your life."
"And yet, it bought me all the time I needed" Percy said as his eyes changed color. Miel felt the change and quickly placed her pointer fingers and thumbs together, making a circle. At the same time, a hole opened up in front of Percy as he aimed his gun out and shot.
The bullet ricochet off an armor, an axe, and then flew for Anders' cheek. The bullet went clean through, shooting off his bottom jaw. Anders fell to his knees as the silver tongue fell to the floor...then it started to slither off.
Everyone's eyes then turned back to normal and Miel released the barrier, no longer being able to handle being inside with Percys' dark aura. They all heard Anders gurgling and walked over to him. They all looked shocked at the moving tongue.
"What.."
"The fuck?"
"Get it I guess?"
At the awkward order, they all tried to grab the slippery muscle, but it kept moving around everywhere.
"Ooh, look at it go" Vax said as it slipped past him. Keyleth reached over a box to grab it, but it slipped away and Vex couldn't see it. Grog grabbed one of Vex's arrows and managed to stab it.
"Got it" he said, and a black barrier formed around it.
"Just in case...it's still wiggling" Miel said in disgust and she shrunk the bubbled until the tongue was crushed completely.
A loud thud made everyone looked over to see Percy with his plague mask on. He had grabbed Anders and pinned him to the wall. Not caring about the amount of blood that was flowing and dripping off him
"We trusted you" they Percy growl, "You were our teacher. We would've done anything you asked." Percy placed the now glowing gun to the roof of Anders mouth, "And you betrayed us when we needed you most. You're the face I saw when murder entered my heart."
"Guys the smoke" Keyleth pointed out
With a single shot, Anders' head was blown clean off and was sent out the window. Miel shivered a bit from the dark feeling radiating off of their human companion.
"Percy?" they heard Cassandra call. At the sound of her voice, it was as if Percy snapped out of it. He ripped off the mask, dropping it and the pepperbox on the floor as he ran for his sister.
"Are you alright?" he asked
"I think she's going to be okay" Keyleth answered
"Come on" Vax called, "clear the house. Look for anything useful, and make it quick" with that, everyone gave the de Rolo siblings time alone.
While they looted the guards out by the front door, Vax walked up to Miel. "Hey" he called
Miel looked up at him and dropped the body she was looking through, "Hi, did you find anything?" she asked
"I found this" he brought his hand out to show her the bracelet she's been wearing. Miel gasped out of happiness and was about to grab it, until Vax held it up high, out of her reach. "What is this? And where did you get it?" he asked
"I-I've always had it" she lied with a nervous smile.
"Miel, we've been together for over a decade. I would've remembered something like this"
Miel sighed in defeat, "Gilmore sold it to me before we left the city" she admitted and smiled, "it lets me do any magic I want" she explained
"So all everything you've done before, it wasn't even your own magic?"
"No, I've been casting them"
"But it's not your magic"
"Vax, if I wanted to, I can make Scanlan's Hand" she smiled
"But it's not your magic" he repeated, "Miel, you've been overusing this thing. Look at your wrist, you've almost burned the shape to it" he said as he grabbed her left hand
"B-but I can help more now...I'm not a walking hazard now" Miel said quietly
"You're not" he said, "but how are you supposed to grow, when you're using someone else's magic?" Miel looked at him, "Just now, you were able to protect Percy and yourself without this. You need to grow with your own magic, otherwise you'll be stuck in the same place." he said as he gave her back the bracelet, "I don't mind your magic, it's yours. You choose how to use it." he said and gave her a quick peck on the forehead before walking off to search the rest of the house.
"Well, how am I supposed to use it now that you've guilt tripped me?" Miel deadpanned looking at the bracelet
"That's up to you" Vax chuckled, "personally, I think you're doing just fine as you are"
"Apparently Anders' only valuable possession was in his mouth" Vex said as they all regrouped in the study room. "However, I did find this" she said and rolled out a parchment.
"Oh! Hey, is this one of them connect-a-dots?" Grog asked
"It's a star chart, Grog" Keyleth corrected, "these symbols show the sky at a specific time and date. The Solstice"
"That's five days from now" Percy said
"Why would they have this?"
"We need to signal Archie" Vex reminded them, "Let him know that Cassandra is safe"
Keyleth smirked and walked over to the door, "I might have something for that" she said as she walked out. They all followed her out of the building. "I've always wanted to try this" she said as she raised her hand and her staff to the air. She started swirling her hands back and forth. Everyone could feel the wind stir and when they looked up, they saw the clouds move. When she cleared the sky, they all saw the de Rolo crest with the full moon.
"Kind of terrified. Kind of impressed" Vex complimented
Miel looked down at her bracelet and sighed as she placed it back on. Vax looked at her from the corner of his eye, knowing that was feeling a bit jealous of Keyleth.
They walked through the streets of whitestone, waiting for any rebels to show up.
"The rebels should be gathering" Percy said, "If they saw the signal"
"I don't think there a person in Whitestone who didn't see that signal" Miel said
"Maybe we shouldn't have announced ourselves with such...flair" Vex wondered
"Well, we wanted the people to know the resistance is still alive, right?" Keyleth asked
They all suddenly heard panting and looked up to see Scanlan running at them with a look of panic on his face.
"Ay, oh! Scanlan, oh, you fuckin' missed it!" Grog said "I got arrowed a bunch, I had two voices in my throat, I stabbed a stupid tongue in the face. Oh shit. Hey, are you even listening to me?"
Scanlan had his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He looked up at them and wheezed out, "There's a hor...hor...there's a hor..." he tried
"Yeah, not really the time for one of your whorehouse stories" Vex said
"No" he wheezed, finally catching his breath enough to say, "A horde of undead!"
"Horde of wha...?" Miel freezed up
They all looked at where Scanlan came from and noticed a horde of undead walking their way.
"Oh! Horde. Got it" Vax said