What was this place, so filled with darkness, and surrounded in pools of molten rock? She had never been here before, nor had she seen its reflection in any of the memories she'd encountered. Nothing but fallen trees, their ends charred as they hung out over those deep, treacherous lakes of lava, and the rocky overhangs that loomed in the distance, marking the winding trail before her.
Dark and ominous, she had but one road to follow, one path that she hoped would lead her out of this nightmare; and so she started towards the eerie tower, and what may lay beyond it. She was frightened, her stomach rolled up in a ball and hiding in her throat, her words unable to get out, even if she had had something to say.
Towering rocks, smoking ruins, a breeze so warm it could choke the life out of you. This was, for lack of a better word, Hell. Nothing could live here, except the Demons and such that roamed beneath the surface, if there were any...
Up ahead, she could heat the bubbling pool, saw the path that wound around it, and in the distance, the fortress that took up most of the horizon. It was massive, with hundreds of windows with bars covering them, lanterns and torches lighting up the stone bridge that led to the main doors.
The closer she got, the more terrified she became, her heart in a grip like a vice as she pushed herself to move on. There had to be away out of here, there had to be a door, and if this monstrosity before her was where she needed to go...
The bridge was long and wide, covered in a red carpet with black trim, and it passed two pools, or rather ponds, before making its way to the front doors.Looking up she could see the giant stained glass windows, looming high above the big wooden doors, but when she reached for large golden door knockers, the doors seemed to open on their own.
Inside she found pillars covered in torches, lounge chairs surrounding giant bookshelves, and a huge set of stone steps that led to a massive throne. To one side lay a fireplace, just as big as everything else in the room, beside it a set of doors, though she had no idea where they'd lead. To the other side of the throne was a set of stairs, ones that beckoned for her to climb them, a sense of welcome lingering near the top calling her towards it.
She followed the carpet all the way up, making sure to watch out for more bookcases and loungers, potted plants and tables covered in even more books... Whoever lived here, lived in what looked like a library, and she was careful not to disturb anything.
The book shelves gave way to a long hallway, doors lining each side; and at the end of it, another set of stairs. Ascending them step by step, she listened for any form of life, but there was nothing but the sound of her own footsteps.
This was hopeless, there was no one here. No one to help her through this nonsense, no one to explain what was going on... What was wrong with this vision? Why couldn't she leave?
'Because you have not seen what needs to be seen!' A voice laughed out, so soft and innocent, and yet, there was no one there.
'I have always been here, or so I have been told!' It laughed again, and she felt the warm breeze wash past her.
'And where is here?' She asked, her own voice sounding so strange.
'The Null, of course!'
What was The Null? Where, was The Null? How did she get out?
'Those are all amazing questions! Perhaps you can find one to answer them!'
'Can't you, answer them for me?' She inquired, still looking for whoever was speaking to her.
'I don't know! Can I?'
'I don't have time for games!' She blurted out, and then shook her head.
'Then, why are you here?'
'Where is here?' She asked again, rolling her eyes at nothing.
'A better question, would be, when is here?'
'Excuse me?'
'Past, present, and future! It's all the same in here! You will see...'
'I don't want to see, I want to get out!'
'Then leave!' The voice giggled, as if it should have been the easiest thing ever, so, why hadn't it happened yet?
She wanted to leave this place, she wanted to get back to the ship, to Lync...
'But he is not on the ship!' The voice reminded her, 'And your mind, your heart, wants safety. It wants to be where he is.'
'Then where is he? Where is Lync?' She wanted answers. She needed them.
'He's waiting for you, go to him!' The voice replied, but it sounded so, final; fading in to the shadows.
'Where is he?' But there was no reply. 'Hello?'
Where had the voice gone? Where, was she supposed to go now? Go to him, sure, if she knew where he was, she'd go there in a heartbeat... Instead, she took to roaming the halls,opening every door she could find, hoping, searching for a way out.
***
"So, this is your ship?" Kember asked, as she took her seat next to the pilot's chair.
"Yup, it is!" Tanin laughed.
It was small, but efficient, with enough room to house four people comfortably, eight if their was dire need. "Where did you find it?"She blurted out, running her hands over the console.
It was a little too familiar for her liking, looking a lot like the ship tha tshe and... Crap, She and the fake Madrina, had borrowed from Kion. It was of Kalvashian design, but a much bigger version of their little shuttle.
"I won it, in a game of Hida'chi!"
"Any chance, Nyx was on the losing end?" Kember laughed, hoping for a bit of normalcy, as Tanin took to the controls, and the ship lifted off the ground.
"Who?" He replied, his eyes darting from screen to screen.
"He's a Demon, with a bad ass attitude." She sighed, and rubbed at her eyes. "He loves Hida'chi!"
Bloody hell! She was so homesick, she was taking a liking to the Demon himself, and she hated the bastard on a good day.
"I don't hang with Demons!" Tanin told her, "They're too...aggressive!"
"But you'll hang with The Insid?" She laughed, and sat back in her seat as they passed through the clouds and dust, and made their way out into space.
It was beautiful out there, but chaotic as ever, knowing that the Insidian cruisers wouldn't be too far off. "I don't hang, with anyone!" He replied,and she could feel the longing in his voice.
"No teven your lover?" She asked, feeling guilty the moment the words left her lips.
"What? Where..?"
"The other male,he said something about your lover..."
"Oh yeah!" Tanin sighed. "My lover..." He paused, as if thinking twice about telling her anything.
"I too, miss a lover!" She grinned, hoping to take some of the anxiety off his shoulders.
"It must be rough." He replied, with a scowl on his face.
"It is!"
"Where is he?"
Did she really want to answer that? Could she? She had no idea where Kion was, or if, he was even alive.
"I don't know!" She told him.
"I see! I don't know where mine is either, but it's because of him, that I joined the Insidians."
"Is he one of them?"
"He?" The male looked shocked, and then afraid.
"I'm sorry, I just assumed that your lover was a he, when the other male... I shouldn't have said anything." She added, and remained quiet.
It was awhile before the silence broke, and she was surprised that it was he who broke it; sailing past the stars as they made their way towards Pentar's outer moons.
"You have assumed correctly!" He sighed, "I do, love another male! If you would look down upon me now, I understand..."
"Shut up!" She laughed, and wanted to slap him silly. "Are you for real?"
"I would assume..." He started, but she cut him off.
"Nah-ah! You assumed wrong!" She laughed. "I have had many lovers, both males and females alike."
"Then you, have..."
"Probably done it all!" Kember grinned, "Your lover is lucky to have you!"
"Is he thought?" Tanin let out, and then the scowl grew more intense, and his fingers flew across the screen.
"What's wrong?" She let out, noticing the anxiety building within him."Tanin, talk to me!"
"The moon... " He mumbled, and shook his head.
"What about it?"
"It's not there!"He replied.
***
Trapped in a maze of never ending hallways, she tried hard to remember the way she had come. So many doors, so many bedrooms, and nowhere, could she find that voice. Down. She had to go, down, the stairs. She had been going up, each time, she had to start going down.
The first flight seemed like nothing more than a few steps, but then there was another, and another, each one winding down to a lower level. Down she went, past more bedrooms and studies,always a bookshelf, always a desk and chair covered in materials that someone had read; and yet, that someone, wasn't anywhere to be found.
The place seemed deserted, yet lived in. Where was everyone? What was, this Null?
'Are you still here?' The voice had returned, and with it, a figure, dressed in black.
'How am I supposed to leave? There is no door!'
'Then make one!'
'How? I don't even know where I am.'
'I told you, this is The Null! Or what it was, that is!'
'What do you mean, used to be!' She was so confused, this dream was becoming chaotic to the extreme. 'What is, The Null?'
'A prison!' The figure giggled. 'A prison in which you have locked yourself in.'
'I, locked myself in? How? I don't even know how I got here?'
'Usually, one must die to find themselves here.' The figured sighed, 'But in your case, I think you will be brought here...'
'I will be? But I thought you said this was an image of what had been?'
'That was then, Navina, and this is now!'
'How do you know my name? Who are you?'
'I know lots about you... Navina!' The voice had changed,taking on a more feminine tone, not so much childlike, but... 'Follow my voice, Navina!'
With each word, the voice changed again,each time it said her name, it became more familiar, more...
'Follow my voice, my love!' He spoke, as if he were truly there, and she waited for them to change again. 'Navina, listen to my voice...'
She was listening, but the only thing she could see in this demented monstrosity of a banquet hall? Was the figure before her.Tall, dress in a dark cloak, with markings that glowed an eerie shade of amber... But the voice, it was his.
'Navina, my love, follow my voice...' He called out again, and the glow grew brighter.
She was sure it was the Demon beneath that cloak, his marking aglow, just like before... but his words.
'Who are you?' She called out, but the figure neither moved, nor replied. 'What do you want?'
'Navina?' He called to her once more, 'Listen to my voice, follow it! Please, Navina? Follow my voice...'
'I'm trying, but I can't see you! Lync?'
***
"What the hell is that?" Kember asked, peering over Tanin's shoulder as the screen.
"Shit, that hit the fan!" He replied, trying to get a closer look at the wreckage before them.
It had been hours since they'd first discovered that the moon furthest from Pentar, had actually, moved. It just, wasn't there anymore. Where it had gone, no one seemed to know, not Tanin, not Kember, not even that damn instruments, the scanners... all of it, dead.
Debris floated past them, in all shapes and sizes, tons of it, charred and broken from being blown to shit. "Was that..." Kember started, "... a ship?"
"I think, it was a fleet of ships!" Tanin shook his head, "Though I can't tell if they were friend or foe! There's barely anything left! And nothing's given off a signature..."
"Everything is tagged, Insidian, Kalvashian, every ship... There has to be one!"
"If it was there, it's been destroyed, I can't even find traces of life pods...." He stopped short, as something flashed across the screen."Shit!"
"Don't just say shit, and then nothing else...."
"Okay, Shit! Four o'clock!" He laughed, and then went to flip a few switches.
"What, is at four o'clock?"
"Death, destruction. Pick one!" He laughed again.
It was as if the Kalvashian male was humored by what was happening, as if, he lived for this sort of thrill. She watched as he maneuvered the ship, trying to get whatever was at four, before it got away, and then... shit hit the fan.
"There's a whole lot more of them..." Kember told him, taking a peek at the secondary view screen. "Where the hell did they all come from?"
"They, are Insid, and this, is not good!" Tanin mumbled,jumping from his seat and into another.
The chair itself began to rise, as even more monitors slid down around him, encasing him in colorful screens that flashed and beeped. He looks amazing, all rugged and handsome behind a few thousand pounds of ship, making it glide through space like threading a needle. It was clear that he knew what he was doing, control the beast as it carried them past the enemy that had lay in wait for them?
Left and right, pulling full on spins to get in the right position, and then the bridge lit up as the ray shot forth and the ship exploded before their eyes.
"Fuck, me!" Kember let out, watching as the sparks flew like a fireworks show.
"A little busy at the moment, and I'm sorry to tell you this..." He paused, taking aim once more and demolishing yet another enemy fighter. "You're not my type, love!" He finished with a grin, and turned the ship on the next ship in view.
A good twenty fighters remained, no cruisers, nowarships, just the fighters, so far away from their own homes..."Something's not right!" He called out, taking in what he saw before him on the screens. "Where are the other ships?"
"What other ships?" Kember inquired.
"Those are fighters, fast and ruthless, but they couldn't get this far out,without a ship to carry them! They're not..." He paused again, taking aim at a third and fourth fighter. "They're not equipped for long journeys..."
"They how did they get out here?" She groaned, sitting back in her seat as he spun them again, going after a fifth fighter.
Six through thirteen ended their runs in a big bang, as a missile Tanin had launched, took out two and the other eleven went haywire, their fighters spinning out of control and slamming into the nearby debris.
"Seven more..." He grinned, and shot her a look. "We may just survive this if their hive doesn't rear its ugly head first! It should have been here..."
"Well let's thank the Gods, that it wasn't here! Two o'clock!" Kember shot out, glancing over at the small blip that seemed to be engaging in a suicide run.
"You mean eleven!" He corrected her.
It turned out, they were both right, and one quick maneuver, and Tanin and Kember watched as the bright light filled the space around them.
"Okay, so a co-pilot is always a good thing!" He smiled at her, brushing his long black hair away from his face.
He was handsome, for a Kalvashian, his blue skin shimmering beneath the flashing lights, just like Kion's did....
"Five more..." She smiled back. "But where, did they, go....?" She was busy focusing on the monitor when the alarm sounded. "What the fuck is that?" She asked, the sudden fear ripping her guts to shreds.
"Nothing good!" He replied, his fingers darting across the array of screens before him.
Whatever it was, it was big. Like, bigger than their ship big, bigger than Kion's ship even, and it was heading straight for the.
"Nothing is registering!" He started, "No life, no power, no... nothing!"
"But, what, is it?" She asked again.
Tanin didn't reply, remaining focused on the task at hand; evading this monstrosity at all costs. "No lights, no audio, no one is responding to hails... Looks like a ship..." He sighed, sliding out of the chair and towards the big bay windows. "Looks big..."
"It looks like the ship hit the asteroid!" Kember laughed.
"Hit it, and then got lodged inside it!" Tanin chuckled, but then stopped. "Shit!" He added, running back to his chair and pulling the screens back in front of him.
"What? What is it?"
"I thought they were joking around! My balls are bigger than yours, sort of deal..."
"Who?"
"Karnal, and the others!They were laughing so hard, comparing the assignments they had been given..." He stopped short, his fingers still dancing across the keys. "Karnal made a jest about being sent to the mines, they needed workers to hollow out..." He stopped again, and looked at the image he had magnified on the screen.
"Hollow out what?"Gods, she hated it when someone did that; just stop in the middle of a sentence, and let the other person hang by a thread, waiting to hear more.
"Pretty sure it was a moon. I didn't believe them though, how the hell would they manage to hollow out an entire moon?"
"Pentar had three moons, and the furthest one away, was tiny as shit!" Kember reminded him, "It's gone, and we're left with that..."
"But that's way too small to be Pentar's moon! That's maybe an eighth of what it was... I giant hunk of space rock!"
"That looks like it hit the mosh pit with a cruiser! Maybe it wasn't ready yet? Maybe they fucked up and abandoned it."
"The Insid are scavengers, the cities they've built..."
"You mean the caverns?"
"No, I mean cities! Full on, apartment condos and little cafes and all! Underground, deep, underground!"
"But everyone knows, they live in caves!" Kember laughed, "They're Ogres for fucks sake!"
"On the surface maybe! But you go down deep enough, you'll find huge cities, crawling with the fucking bastards! Trust me, the training center for new recruits was in such a city."
"But they... And we..." She stopped, looking at the monitors again,"They built a city inside that moon?"
"I could have sworn they were joking!"
"And you didn't make sure to check up on it?" Kember shot back, the anxiety flaring through her.
"I never saw Karnal again! It was said he was killed inaction..." Tanin almost growled at her. "I did, ask about him! I'm not a total ass!"
"And you knew nothing of this... thing?"
"A mass moon city floating through space? No! Pretty sure they would have kept that a secret! But by the looks of it, someone had to know they were out here, those are scorch marks!"
Sure enough, the closer they got, the easier they were to see. Giant, flared markings covered what could be seen of the interior. The rugged rock surrounding the jagged edges, crumbling and floating away as the current of space and time, carried them off. It had been much bigger, Kember could see that now, peering out the big bay window as they circled what was left.
She could count twenty or so, distinctively separate floors, and then there were those that looked as if they could have been another level, but the wreckage was just too great. Charred metal, broken piping and wires, protruding from both dark walls and rock; and at the very bottom, that resembled a large dome, cracked and missing a shit load of pieces. "What happened here?"
"I would assume, they were attacked?" Tanin sighed, glaring at the monitors.
"By what?" Kember let out, her curiosity taking over as they made their way back up towards the top of... the base? The city? What was left of it, that is, the thing, moon, whatever it had been, was now destroyed. What could have done something like this?
"You know, there's something eerie about all this!" Tanin chuckled, as if trying to settle his nerves.
"No, really? What was your first clue? The death from above, or the death from below? What about the sides? And the insides? That place looks like it was crushed, and then blown out from the inside!"
"I was going to add... something Godly!"He laughed, "You should relax!"
"Of course, because relaxing is what you do, when your life is in danger, and you have no idea what is about to happen next!"
"Wow!" He sighed, and turned back to the monitors. "Anyhow..."
"What do you mean, Wow? If you didn't act like a half-wit, I would have to be so damn cocky!"
"Alright then! Well I'm not seeing any more fighters..." He grinned, changing the subject, but Kember just stood there with her arms over her chest, peering out the big bay window. "You should probably sit down!"
"Why?"
"Because we need to get out of here! Whatever, did that..." He paused, pointing at the mass on the screen, "...might still be lurking around."
"And where exactly, are we going to go?"
"Vash!" He told her, flipping a few more switches. "Should take us a few days, but I know a few people who..."
"Vash is a forbidden planet! You of all people should know that!" She rolled her eyes.
It was true. He was Kal-Vashain. Kal-Vash, New-Vash....
"We were forced to leave, the elders spoke of quakes and the mountains that threatened to spew the red fire..."He paused a moment, studying her, contemplating. "But then, that's not what happened, is it?" He finished with a glare. "Your Gods, wanted a whole new world to play with, so they destroyed ours and rebuilt it anew, forced my people across the universe, close to the Insidian borders, and oh, look what happened!"
"If you really believe that, then you're as delusional as they are!" Kember shot back. Lady Ellaria would never..." But she had to stop. Had she just...
"Lady Ellaria?" He let out, cocking a brow. "So she does have a name! Though not what I would have expected!"
"Uh, what? What did you expect for an omnipotent being trapped in a mortal's figure?"
"Not a Lady, that's for sure! I've heard the stories, we all have, the elders used to speak of them when I was younger, before I met..."
In the silence that followed,it was clear to Kember that Tanin suffered, not even able to say his lover's name, he would hang his head and mumble beneath his breath.
"It is okay to speak of him, I hold no ill will in hearing his name, or of the love you shared. Two males, two females, one of each,three of each... What matters is the love you share, and whether it is good, or evil!"
"Listen to you, all holier than thou!"
"And would you think me capable of destroying an entire world, for my own pleasure?" She cocked a brow at him. "Would you go to war, over me?"
"You're a runt!" He let out with a laugh, and ushered her back to her seat, "Seriously, sit down female."
"You say your elders spoke of a God who plundered their world, and forced them from their homes..."
"That was the story!"He grinned, "A female so fierce, her will alone brought the mountains to their knees, dried the rivers and seas, and turned the land upside down with her anger."
"Then would you believe,that your Goddess of Rage, would be the same female, who taught me that love, is what matters? That if it were not for her, many, in the universe, would think like that asshole you shot, back on Pentar! They would mock you for it..."
"They don't mock me for it." He grumbled, and returned his focus to the screens before him."Because they don't know!"
"And you would rather hide in the shadows, that live in your love? For that is what your so called Bitch-God, would preach against. And for the record, she is not a bitch, well she can be, but come on... Lady Ellaria is like five foot four, and the appearance of an Angel, fuck, she created them!"
"That's not what I heard!" Tanin grumbled back.
"Really? And what did you hear?" Kember mocked him.
"I heard she had streak of darkness running through her, that her demeanour could light a thousands worlds on fire, and her anger a thousand more. She hunts with a pack, she feeds on the blood of those she slaughters. She is the Destroyer of Worlds, she is the Mistress of the Dark. Her amethyst colored eyes can see into your soul..."
"Her what?" Kember cut in.
"Her eyes, dammit! And her hair, the color of light and dark, whipping in the wind as she reigns her wrath upon the lands..."
"Hold on! Back it up! Say that again!"
"Purple eyes, black and white hair, reigning terror on the lands... Which part?"
"Lady Ellaria, had long white hair and blood stained tips..."
"Wears a long black cloak..." He started again, but Kember shook her head, the laugh building in her throat.
"No..." She squeaked, barely able to hold it in. "White!" She let out again, the tiniest hint of amusement crossing her lips. "She, wears, white!"
"Fuck off! Not the same female then!"
"Oh, Lady Ellaria, the Lady of, Light..." She let out with a giggle, "Now she, was said to return Vash to the winds, its people, far too advanced for the planet to handle. You had corrupted yourselves, your greed ran thick through your veins... Of course she would return it to new, and story has it,she gave your people ample warning! It had to happen, to restore the balance." And that was it, she let it all out, and had to hold her stomach as the laughter kept coming. "Black and white hair, purple eyes, destroying of worlds..." It kept coming and coming. "Oh my Gods! Oh wait until Madrina hears this!"
"Madrina? She was the one we were searching for?" Tanin cut in, seemingly annoyed at her humorous outburst.
"No, you were searching for me! That, thing back there, Lornah, was it? She was attempting to be, Madrina, so I would help her!"
"The soldiers feared her."
"For damn good reason! Madrina, is Lady Ellaria's daughter. One of three..." Her laughing began to simmer. "Your destroyer of worlds, is her sister, Euphamia. And she, wasn't even born when this all happened. So, your elders, are wrong! They're telling you all lies."
"I didn't say they were right!" He chuckled, "I'm just glad that he's fighting for a good cause!"
"And I don't know the whole story, but..." She paused and cocked a brow at him. "Wait, what? Fighting for what cause?"
Kember was confused. Who was fighting what now?