"Remind me again why we got sent to the Jungle?" Griffin complained as he batted away plants, "Did they forget that speed and nature don't mix very well?"
"Because this is meant to be us striking back without thought," Nya reminded him, "And our tribes are the closest ones to the Nature Tribe."
"Yes, but Lady Skylar here lives all the way down past the Time Tribe, and she's here!" Griffin pointed to the leader of their pack, "And it just, you know, seems a bit off."
"I'm closer to your territories than I am to the Smoke and Metal Tribes," Skylar called back to him, "Now stop complaining and keep moving."
Skylar stood at the front of a medium sized procession of troops. Beside her walked Alacr, Ray and Dorian. Behind her were Nya and Griffin. Of the original 100 from the three squads, there had been only closer to 60 when all was said and done. Thus, Skylar now had all of the users from the Water, Speed, Nature and Time Tribe. With herself, her three friends, the two leaders and the others, they had approximately twenty people. From the way she had them marching straight through the jungle, it was made to look more like some sort of hunting party rather than a calculated effort.
"Alacr, you saying that you're not hot at all?" Griffin asked, "This is nothing like our home!"
"I have spent many years traveling," Alacr smirked and looked back to his cousin, "And that means I am rather used to being in hot, unnatural places. You wouldn't last a day in the Fire Tribe territory if this is enough to make you sweat."
"That's why we don't go to the Fire Tribe," Griffin muttered, "That place is one giant lava field, I don't know how anybody lives there."
"Is it not unbecoming of our people to speak with such complaints?" Alacr replied back, "We are the Speed Tribe! We will survive, no matter the heat or environment."
Griffin Turner tensed up, looking to Alacr, who was barely hiding a smirk on his face. Ray looked between the two and then rolled his eyes.
"I've been to the Speed Tribe," Ray sighed, "Big white cities, lots of open space... I would say the close quarters of the Jungle is likely the opposite of your people."
"Our cities are built as though they lightly rest on the hills, just as our feet barely touched the ground," Alacr corrected Ray, "We float above the ground in all ways without leaving it."
"But... the Lightning Tribe lives in literal rocks floating in the sky," Dorian mumbled, "I think it has something to do with the metal rocks they built their homes on? We uhm, couldn't get the wagons up there because of that. And, all those home just kinda drift around this big wasteland of, lightning and, all that."
"Focus on the other tribes when we go to deal with them," Skylar turned towards her friends, "Right now we're in this hot miserable jungle, let's just get done with it and let that be that."
"So you do find it miserable!" Griffin protested. Nya just sighed and resisted the urge to retort.
Alacr and Ray both gave Skylar a long look, but did as she asked. Both of them could see behind her large smile, Skylar wasn't thinking about anything other than this mission. Both of them also understood why. They hadn't fought Machia directly, but she'd torn through their squad like a leaf in the breeze. With Vermillion that had previously just been pushover Raiders once now evolving, Machia had taken them down to almost nothing. Very few of their original squad was able to be dispersed to the three temporary ones.
"Lady Skylar," Nya called out, "I would like to ask if you recall the plan."
"First off, I'm not a Lady. I just look tall," Skylar threw back, "And you know the plan. We march out here, find the Vermillion, then we go after them to find their leader," Skylar stated firmly, "And we take them out."
What Skylar said was only partially true; given that there could be someone tailing them, she'd left off the fact they were going to track them upon retreat. Nya gave a small nod upon hearing it. She was content enough that Skylar wasn't angry enough to forget the fact this mission relied upon the success of them playing the part of them going after the Vermillion for nothing more than revenge. Whether or not Skylar could keep it just an act was to be seen.
"Uhm... after this, I think we should go back to my tribe," Dorian spoke up, "We never got the chance to really trade at the Time Tribe, it might be a good idea, right?"
"Hrm... indeed, we could stand to do that," Alacr nodded, then turned to Skylar with a coy smile, "We always keep the majority of our supplies stashed elsewhere. Even if the wagon is damaged, we still have a business."
"Assuming that we still make it back there," Ray muttered, "I hate hunting like this. I mean, Skylar was the one that always wanted to hunt!"
"Mhm," Skylar responded plainly.
"Well... it could work!" Dorian smiled, "We just have to readjust our routes. Nothing too bad. There's a bunch of places we can go! And, we can even take you with us, Skylar!"
Skylar said nothing. Her three companions decided to drop the idea of talking to her.
The jungles of the Nature Tribe were thick and dense. The tribe lay between the Great Ocean, Water Tribe and Ice Tribe. If one climbed the trees, they would be able to see the massive icy plains the Ice Tribe inhabited, and just barely even the beginnings of the large ice spikes they called home. While the Nature Tribe had small territory, it was incredibly dense with life. Their main settlement was in the middle of a large rock formation that had formed from a basin, with waterfalls feeding a large ring of water around the tribe that poured out into one of the larger rivers in the area. Skylar recalled that it was common for boys in the Nature Tribe to leap from the waterfalls into the pool of water and see who could go the longest getting swept by the rivers until they needed rescuing. The challenge wasn't as fun as it looked.
That settlement was to the west. Currently, the group was moving east, towards the Form Tribe territory if she had her bearings right. The jungle became more dense as one moved away from the sea, and "Sir" Bolobo had said it was to protect against the icy winds of the Ice Tribe. How a jungle developed right up against snowy plains was beyond Skylar; the world was a rather strange one, the more that she thought. For now, it just meant that Alacr's speed-enhanced blade was quickly cutting paths that Skylar didn't just snap away, while Nya was doing her best to keep the humidity off them. Regardless of her attempts, almost everyone was soaked with sweat from the heat.
"...So, how long do we keep this hunt up?" Dorian asked meekly, "It's, a large jungle, right? Are, we sure they're here?"
"We walk until we find them," Skylar replied, "And when we do, we follow them. There's nothing more to it. It's a simple mission."
Dorian fell silent. Alacr gave Skylar another harsh look, but knew it would have little effect. Nya and Griffin both felt a bit of unease watching the daughter of Chen like that. They had both met her back before the war, and more importantly known her anger. This side of Skylar was far more in line with the version of her that Chen had toted around: angry, snippy, and feeling more like a bow that had been drawn taut and ready to fire rather than the more rude but charismatic girl she'd turned into. Nya wished Mage could have been her; he would have stabilized her, she was sure of it.
Alacr stopped moving. The rest of the group stopped as well, sensing what he felt: a presence. Skylar stopped a few feet in front of the group, then closed her eyes. She mimicked the power of mind, reaching out to feel the minds around her. She didn't have enough power with this to alter minds like Neuro or his guards could, but she could at least sense them. She could sense the lives of everyone around her. Everyone, perfectly in line behind her, and the one over-
"There," Skylar growled, then her body turned to shadows as she switched mimicry from mind to shadow. Her body traveled from shadow to shadow of all of the trees present, then reappeared directly in front of a tree off to the group's right. She opened her mouth and then hissed, causing poison to spray from her tongue and onto the bark of the tree. There was a shuffling noise, and Alacr saw a flash of red moving among the plants.
"Dorian!" Alacr drew his blade.
"On it!" Dorian inhaled, then reached out with her power. The flash of red was caught in the effects of slowed time, causing its shape to be fully revealed. In that time, the rest of the group turned their attention to what happened. Dorian held on for a few seconds, giving them enough time to zero in before she was forced to let go. As the red shape took off, Skylar snarled and took off in pursuit.
"Follow her!" Alacr ordered. Quickly, the group began to rush into the trees, weaving around each of the large stems, massive roots and plants that seemed to be growing in every direction and size. No matter how fast any of them ran, however, Skylar's anger focused gaze was leaping fast between and around every tree, never letting the escapee get away from her. Alacr, for a few brief moments, wondered what might happen if Skylar caught their target.
After a minute of intensive running for all those not of the tribe used to such, the Vermillion they were chasing broke the treeline. He darted into a large clearing, with what looked like a small tributary to a river running underneath a large wave-shaped outcropping of rock. The small stream of water ended in a pool underneath the outcropping. The Vermillion, seeing this, doubled his running speed and turned to go around the outcropping.
Skylar shot her hand out, mimicking the power of water. The pool of water underneath the outcropping shot up like spears, slamming into the Vermillion and knocking him to the ground. As he did, he revealed he had been carrying a crossbow when it flew off into the dirt. Skylar rushed up to him and planted her foot on his back, driving him into the dirt. The snakes making him up let out a collective snarl before going limb as he saw the water nearby rising again.
"Skylar!" Nya called out as the rest of their group fell in line behind her, "You... caught him?" It had looked like they were using this warrior to get to the main group of Vermillion.
"I did," Skylar looked up, "Because this is a trap."
Alacr felt the hairs on his neck rise. He turned back to the treeline they had just emerged from. In it, the leaves began to rapidly rumble and shake. Those users they had with them that were unlucky enough to be closest to the treeline suddenly found snakes slithering out and grabbing their legs. Four of them shrieked as they were suddenly dragged towards the thick underbrush, and the likely death that awaited them there.
Alacr, rather than using speed on himself, instead ran forward at normal speed and then threw his sword in a spiral. The blade was engulfed in the telltale streaks of speed, spinning through the air like a large saw. It cleaved straight through the snakes dragging away their fighters, moving until it buried itself into a tree. A second later, Alacr's body streaked over to grab the sword and pull it out of the tree, spinning around and leveling it towards the underbrush. The four attacked users got up to their feet and hurriedly drew their weapons.
From the trees, figures began to rise. Seeing this, Griffin and the other speed users sped up to the treeline. Griffin drew a chain with a metal sphere on the end, spinning it rapidly and threatening all who came close, while Alacr and the others held swords and spears towards the trees. The rest of the group moved to form up underneath the outcropping. Nya, seeing the pool, stood in the center of it, causing the water to start to swirl around her.
"Oh, how wonderful it is for you to join us..." A voice that caused Skylar's eyes to boil sounded from the trees in front of Griffin purred, "I would say I'm shocked that you came to us like this... but that would be a lie."
"Machia..." Skylar's fists tightened, flames flickering out from her palms.
Griffin heard a swipe, then grabbed the end of his chain to block the massive battle axe Machia single handedly wielded. Machia stepped out from the trees, a grin on her face and her snakes writhing as if happy too. The other speed users pointed their swords toward her, and Alacr in particular drew his sword up to his head and pointed it along the length of his arm towards Machia.
"I remember you," Machia, barely paying attention to the struggling Griffin, turned to Alacr, "You were at one of my raids, weren't you?" Hearing 'one of' sent broils if rage down Skylar's spine.
"So a monster like you remembers faces?" Alacr smirked nervously, "I didn't believe that was possible."
"I'm not more of a monster than any of you here," Machia tssked, "Manipulating the world as you do is... unnatural. It is far more simple to raze the world anew, rather than twist what you already have."
"Is that... what you call what you... Vermillion are doing?!" Griffin strained out, still holding back her axe.
"You have not begun to see what the scope of this conflict is," Machia frowned, "It is beyond any of you simple minded beings!"
Machia delivered a punch to Griffin's stomach, causing him to gag out. He stumbled backwards, clutching at the pain her metal covered hand had dealt him. Machia took the chance to swing her axe, knocking Griffin backwards onto the ground as he gargled out in pain. Alacr shot forward, his sword catching the tip of her axe before she could follow up. Feeling just how strong she was, Alacr swung his swords towards the ground, throwing off her balance and letting him spin his blade to swipe at her. Increasing his blade with the power of speed, it just barely missed cleaving through one of the snakes on her head.
Machia's locked her axe with his blade in retaliation. When he tried to move his hand again, Machia used her free hand to reach out and grab hold of the hilt of Alacr's sword. Alacr's hands were kept still, forcing him to keep himself pressed into Machia's attack.
"Impressive... you must be a speed user," Machia's snakes writhed, "Unfortunately for you, my snakes see everything."
One of the speed users accelerated behind Machia, shouting as they moved to drive their spear through her back. One of the snakes on Machia's head opened their eyes. From the treeline, a single whistle sent an arrow straight through to strike the back of the assailant. The user gurgled, then collapsed to the ground. Alacr's eyes widened, then narrowed in anger as he shouted, pouring speed energy into his blade to force Machia to withdraw. Both of them leapt backwards, holding their blades out as they took slow breaths.
"My... intelligence says that one there is leyourader," Machia pointed to Griffin, still holding his stomach, "Are you certain that you are not the one we should be after?"
"Sorry, but I'm just a traveling merchant," Alacr grimaced, "I don't have anything to do with leading."
"I see..." Machia nodded, "In that case, I won't need to bother asking for your name."
Alacr sensed something dangerous. He flattened his body down to the ground just in time to see what looked like some sort of gray cocoon fly right where his head had been. The cocoon flew over the group and smashed into the rock outcropping, breaking it open. Knives that had been placed inside went scattering over the group, causing the users to shriek as the blades came down on their heads.
A massive sheet of water flew straight overtop of the group, dispersing the blades' momentum as they clattered down. Nya's eyes had turned fully blue, and both of her hands were out to her sides. The water from the pool she stood in was now in the air, shielding the group. She withdrew the water, instead raising large tentacles of water that spun around her inside the pool rapidly. Machia narrowed her eyes at this, then raised a hand and closed her fist.
Volleys of arrows came flying out from the treeline, signaling more Vermillion still hidden among the trees. The water tentacles shot up into the air and spun, draining the pool's water level as they smacked into the arrows. The force of them being struck sent them scattering off into the air. Two tentacles moved in front of the group, shielding them from the oncoming projectiles. Nya withdrew them all when the volley was over, turning her body to the side to point towards the trees and extend her hand out, warning Machia of advancing further.
"Form up!" Griffin ordered, "Defend Lady Nya!"
The users, all soldiers from the tribes, obeyed. They rapidly moved and formed a simple semicircle around the pond where Nya was, putting themselves between the trees filled with Vermillion. Their formation stretched all the way to both ends of the rock outcropping. Griffin stood in front of them, holding his chained weapon. Alacr, Dorian and Ray moved together backwards to leap behind the formation in front of Nya.
"Get ready!" Griffin shouted. As soon as he did, however, Skylar moved forward and shouldered her way through the formation.
"Skylar!" Ray shouted, but Skylar didn't hear him. She walked out of their defensive line, straight into the middle of the space between the outcropping and the trees. Machia's eyes opened and her lips curled into a massive grin just seeing her. Behind Machia, a row of Vermillion soldiers emerged, each holding swords. They leered at Skylar as she approached. Skylar held her gaze down towards the ground, burning flames in them as she did.
"You..." Skylar pointed her finger directly to Machia, "You killed all of them in that town. They had nothing to do with this," She raised her fiery gaze, "I'll show you that your actions have consequences!"
"You would like a rematch, then?" Machia ran her hand down her blade, "I'm not sure... I generally don't concern myself with those our horde tramples."
Skylar shot both her hands out, mimicking gravity. Machia found herself raised up off the ground and, before she could react, Skylar spun her body around. Machia was flung directly up onto the top of the rock outcropping. Her body impacted with a crash and a cloud of dust. While she didn't break apart, she opened her eyes long enough to see Skylar leap up into the air with lightning bursting from her hands. Machia scrambled backwards just in time not to be electrocuted by the burst of lightning that scorched the rocks. The two stood on top of a large slope of rock that overlooked the formation that the users were frantically taking.
"We have to help her!" Dorian shouted, turning to rush out for her. Alacr's hand stopped her. Dorian turned to him, her eyes widened as she shook her head, "Why?!"
"Skylar took her up there so she couldn't interfere with this fight..." Alacr shook his head, "If she's up there, she can prevent them from getting behind her. We need to focus on what's in front of us!"
As if on cue, the wave of Vermillion that had stepped out at Machia's command rushed forward towards their line. Bursts of water from both Nya and the water users, flashes of weapons from the speed users, and a few concentrated efforts of slowed and paused time from the time users struck back against the wave. What Vermillion weren't stopped by Nya's water constructs smashing into them were thrown back by the wave of weapons standing firm together. Alacr held her sword out and turned towards his companions.
"Dorian! Ray!" Alacr growled, "You two focus on keeping any arrows off of us!" He pointed to the metal tipped arrows on the ground, "Slow them down and shock them out of the sky! I'm going to distract them!"
"Wait, what?!" Griffin turned to him, "You can't! It's too dangerous!"
Alacr didn't say anything, instead just directing Griffin's gaze to the trees. More waves of Vermillion emerged, walking out in organized lines that charged their formation. Nya focused. The straight, glossy fabric she had draped around her body suit suddenly began to suck water into it. Previously unseen tubes in the fabric filled with water, then the entire garment began to spin around her neck. As it did, the water filling those 'tubes' suddenly shot out like bolts, striking Vermillion. While they burst into water on impact, the strikes were enough to knock most of them off their feets. The waves, however, were hardly slowed by the time and water elements being thrown their way
"We're going to outlast them," Alacr stated with fabricated confidence, "Let's see what we can do about those archers!" Alacr inhaled, then he leapt up into the air. Speed carried him forward, making his jump just enough to go over the line and land on the ground. He rapidly ran through the Vermillion waves, his sword cleaving out as he slashed as anyone that he got near. He waved his way around, making his way towards the treeline as best he could.
"...Great," Griffin began to spin his chain in one hand, the ball accelerating with speed as he did, "I'm not going to be outshone by a merchant!" He similarly leapt up into the fray. The speed of the metal ball swinging was enough to cave holes into the armor of the Vermillion he struck. He soon joined Alacr, the two of them weaving in and out rapidly through the Vermillion waves.
As the battle raged below, Skylar snarled and leapt forward into Machia. She had no sword, and instead mimicked metal to turn her forearms into gauntlets to strike directly into Machia's attacks. With a cry of anger, Skylar rapidly began to punch her arms into Machia's defense, causing the wind around them to gather up and blow out with the force of each blow. Machia planted her feet into the ground, twisting her axe to block them or using her own forearms to guard herself. Skylar inhaled, then let out another cry as she sent her strongest punch into Machia.
Machia shot her hand up, grabbing the fist and stopping it. The force sent her sliding backwards several inches. When she looked up, Machia was panting with a grin on her face. Skylar, filled with anger at her attack being repelled, tried to bring her other fist up to Machia. The strike hit Machia's battle axe and, with a screech, broke it straight down the middle. The two halves flew away from them.
"Normally," Machia spoke calmly, "I would have your head for breaking a gift from my masters themselves... but you have been the first true fighter that has ever stood up to my strength before. I commend you for this... and will let that slide. I'll kill you for my own personal enjoyment."
"Glad to know that I'm that special to you," Skylar snarled, "But I'll have to break through that delusion of yours that you're stronger than me!"
Machia took a strong step forward, forcing Skylar to draw her fist back. Machia gave Skylar that infuriatingly calm smile, then let go of Skylar's fist. Skylar swung her body, putting her back into a punch that soared straight beside Machia's head. Machia turned to look at the metal fist that had been aiming right for her head, then reached up with both hands to grab Skylar's arm. Machia, with a laugh, swung Skylar over her shoulder, looking to drive her into the ground.
Skylar, however, mimicked wind at the last second, causing a burst of air right under her head to stop her from impact. It meant the force of Machia's hands crushing her arm came down on her, but the force was enough to stun Machia long enough to get away. Skylar hit the ground and rolled back up to her feet, panting as she did.
"You're pretty strong, for a bunch of snakes," Skylar grimaced as her arm throbbed in pain.
"I was bred from only the strongest and purest of my race," Machia haughtily explained, "There is no stronger Vermillion than I. If there were, I would ensure there is no threat to me. I have bred my own body over and over again to ensure that I have only the strongest of my kind within me. And, unlike you... humans, I can be taken down to my last snake before I am defeated."
"Well then... Skylar chuckled darkly, her hands blazing with fire, "I guess I should work on burning away all the snakes and save one for last then, right?"
"If you are able to, then I would be most impressed," Machia drew her hand over her metal armor, "I would love to see you try."
With that, Skylar flung herself back into battle, her hands moving in to rapidly burn away at Machia's armor. Machia dodged her attacks by leaping back, reaching down to pick up the lower half of her battle axe, turning it to the spike on the end for a weapon. She grinned and leapt towards Skylar, meeting her flaming hands with the point of her weapon. The attack was so fast Skylar moved on instinct, and when she stepped back, there was a cut on her cheek bleeding.
"Come, have your revenge on me, Skylar," Machia laughed, "I will be sure that I inform my masters of how valiantly you all fought against us. Perhaps that will please them enough to let them spare a few more of your people when we have finished conquering you."
"Don't take us that lightly!" Skylar's mind began to flash with memories, "I can't die yet. I know of a lot of people that would kill me if I went and died like that. I can't lose to someone like you... not when I have to make sure that I protect him," Skylar raised her face, "He gave me a chance at this life, I'm not just going to waste it!"
"Then that sentiment will be what you carry to your grave," Machia pointed her fist at Skylar, "Rejoice and fall for the might of the Vermillion."
With that, the two female leaders both clashed once again, causing the entire outcropping to rock below them. As they did, Nya, Griffin and the rest of the users fought as the waves and waves of Vermillion continued to come, pouring onto them and reforming. All they could hope was that Skylar could defeat Machia and force a retreat before their lives were snuffed out by the massive of snakes pouring into them.
"Sir!" A sound user saluted to Neuro, "We believe we've found something!"
Neuro, hands placed calmly behind his back, nodded to the user that spoke to him. He wore almost no armor, instead gray and yellow robes that were tied around his hips and a small crown on his head that looked to be made of quartz and arranged to look like a ceremonial piece. He carried no weapons, instead knowing his mind would be enough. The informant quickly turned to bring Neuro along to whatever he had found.
Over generations of the Flame Mountain -an unoriginal name, in Neuro's eyes- that the Fire Tribe called their own, the land surrounding the south of the volcano had turned into solidified ash atop mud. This created the land the Smoke Tribe called home. The land was notorious for its sinkholes, with the mud underneath the land constantly shifting to cause the rocks atop to fall apart and create a beautifully shaped if not devastating landscape. The Smoke Tribe themselves had built their homes within several of the largest sinkholes, building them up the sides of the massive holes to create a village that was far more vertical than it was horizontal.
In order to navigate such a harsh land of dangerous turns, despite Neuro protesting the involvement of too many parties in this plan, Ash, leader of the Smoke Tribe, had been called out. The man constantly looked like some cross between a fox and a set of sculpted blue-gray armor. His constant grin, with what almost looked like fangs poking from his lips, slicked back and barely contained gray hair, and grunting made him seem dangerous. Neuro had technically allied with his tribe during the war, but that didn't mean he liked Ash.
It was Bansha's involvement, however, that put him on edge the most. While Ash simply felt unnerving to be around, he had no idea what to think with Bansha. It was common for him to unconsciously probe the mind of people when he met them to sense their intent, but Bansha's mind was so closely guarded he couldn't even sense that. She had not smiled once since they requested her aide in this. She hadn't said anything about Acronix being injured, which raised Neuro's suspicion slightly. After the way that she'd outed Time Tribe secrets to the Summit, he wasn't sure what to think of her.
There was one encounter with her that he remembered vividly. After the group had gathered in the Summit, she had asked to go and see Acronix. Neuro, having planned to go after her, decided to wait nearby. It had been when searching for the room he'd passed by Bansha inside the room.
"You got what you deserve," Bansha had muttered to him, gripping her fist as she did, "Your brother... he killed him. You stood up for that... that monster. You should never... never have tried to stand up against them. You're weak, just like him. Only the strong should be allowed to rule in this world."
It'd been upon hearing that Neuro had left the area before Bansha could see he was there. Her words had put him off. He recalled how she'd revealed that Krux had been broken from prison to the Summit, as if just to spite Acronix. He had no idea what she was thinking... but he needed to know more, it seemed.
Shade, at least, was a presence that he could trust. The man was quiet, gruff, and didn't speak unless he had to. Neuro respected that. It was one man that he didn't have to worry about. The users from the original three squads that had been distributed to them were made up of many tribes, and he'd come to understand they all were familiar with these 'Vermillion' more so than him. Either way, he had a squad of almost thirty strong.
"Sir," Neuro's attention was snapped from his thoughts as the sound user pointed to a massive sinkhole, "We were using our abilities to look for any of these Vermillion. We found something, strange, when we did."
The guard nodded, and a fire user nearby lit his fist and sent a fireball down into the sinkhole. About halfway down, the hole darkened, and so the flame illuminated it down to the bottom. Before it fizzled out on the bottom, Neuro noticed what he was talking about.
"Are those... tunnels?" Neuro asked quietly.
"Yes sir," The sound user confirmed, "We found similar tunnels in other sinkholes. It looks like the Vermillion have been using these sinkholes to move throughout the territory."
"Hrmm...." Neuro thought for a few moments, "Then that would mean attempting to search for them aboveground would be pointless. They likely would just scatter down into their tunnels upon seeing them. Do these tunnels connect to each of these holes?"
"We haven't tested them yet, but it seems so," The fire user walked over and responded, "It would give them multiple ways to retreat if spotted, and move around quickly. These sinkholes are all over this place."
"Then we have no other choice but to go down there and engage them," Neuro commented, "It will be the only way to ensure we can engage them and force a retreat."
"You want us to go down there?" Bansha's raspy voice sounded as she walked up to Neuro, "I thought the Mind Tribe was supposed to be mindful of walking into your own demise."
"We have searched for half a day here, and found nothing," Neuro gestured to the sinkholes, "This would mean any further effort is futile. We should engage them on their territory and defeat them to prove our superiority."
"That kid took all the earth users," Bansha argued, "None of us are suited for that sort of combat. We'd be at a complete disadvantage."
Neuro narrowed his gaze, "Yes, we would. But we have been at a disadvantage this entire conflict, have we not? It would be best to take this negative now, and then work to ensure we have no further negatives later. We are here to fight, Bansha."
"I agree with Neuro," Shade arrived to voice his opinion, "It's risky, but I'd rather be doing something than waiting for something that might never come. They could easily ambush us, if these tunnels extend all underneath us."
"I'll accompany you a bit," Ash rasped out as he too arrived, "Some of my men are in your 'squad' here. I gotta make sure nothing happens to them. We're all eager to weed these pests out of our lands!" His grin somehow grew wider, which made Neuro stare in confusion.
"We all agree then, Bansha," Neuro turned to her, "That this is our best course of action. Unless you have some sort of reason to say no, then accompany us."
It was a bit underhanded, but Neuro had to at least address his suspicions. It had been a nagging suspicion of his that she might be on the opposite side in this. If she agreed to go down into those tunnels, it would mean she either was confident in her deal, or wasn't with them whatsoever. Either way, it would expose her true nature, while refusing would all but incriminate her, at least in his mind.
"Fine," Bansha growled, "I just don't think this is a smart plan. But if you insist on me going, I'll follow the rest of you down there."
"Mhm," Neuro nodded, "Then let us gather our forces and head down."
It took a bit of time, but all of the group that were searching the area soon formed up. There were a variety of users, but most important to Neuro were the fire and lightning users, as they could both provide light in absence of a Light Tribe member and attack simultaneously. Once they reached the tunnel, he, Shade, Ash and Bansha would move behind the fire and ice users.
The three ice users moved and, steadily, began to freeze a stairwell down the largest nearby sinkhole for them. While Neuro knew Zane could do so in an instant, this took nearly twenty minutes for them to make slow, incremental steps down towards the bottom. By the time they touched down at the ground, the light was all but gone, and all they could see was the disc of white light above them. The fire users summoned flames to act as makeshift torches. The ice users were sent to the rear, and then the group formed up. Bansha looked to the largest tunnel they were to enter with suspicion and worry. Neuro kept his expression calmy, while Shade used his ability to see in the dark -a blessing all shadow tribe users had- to verify they were okay to proceed.
The tunnel was not very large. It forced the group to move in rows of three, and mean escape through them would be difficult. Given the shape of the tunnel and the quantity, it was all but confirmed these were manmade... or snakemade, given the Vermillion's nature. The group proceeded slowly through the tunnel, making their way through the cramped space until they reached another sinkhole. Once more, a disc of white light above them illuminated the fact the tunnels indeed connected the sinkholes.
Neuro put a hand to his head, "I can sense life around us... more than us. It... appears to be in that direction," He pointed a finger towards roughly the north, just slightly off a nearby tunnel entrance, "We should proceed in that direction."
"Yes, move towards danger," Bansha sighed, "I commend you for your bravery, if nothing else."
Neuro decided to let that comment slide and instead continued on. The tunnels wound them through sinkhole after sinkhole, some tunnels going up or down depending on the depth of the next hole they emerged in. The feeling of unease of such a tight space was palpable. It was almost paralyzing, knowing that at any point, there could easily be a Vermillion waiting at the entrance to the next opening. It didn't help that they were walking for almost a half hour in the dark, guided only by firelight and shadow sight.
Finally, the group arrived at the source of what Neuro had felt. They emerged into the largest of the sinkholes yet in terms of width. It wasn't as deep as the first one, but still in need of light to see the ground. The sinkhole had three tunnels going to it, including the one they had just come from. The group entered the space as Neuro pressed his hand to the ground.
"There... is life here..." Neuro shook his head, "Very... abundant life. I can sense, minds. So many minds. But, where are they?" He ran his hand along the ground, "Where...?"
Suddenly, a hand burst from the ground and grabbed Neuro's wrist. Bansha immediately drew a curved green blade from her back and sliced at the arm. The blade struck metal armor, sending a clang that echoed sharply. That hand withdrew, leaving Neuro to scramble backwards. Bansha grabbed his arm and dragged him up to his feet, holding her blade out menacingly.
All around the group more hands began to burst from the ground. The group rapidly formed a sloppy circle as the sight of cupped hands bursting from the mud under foot was caught only by firelight. Mud dripped down the arms as they rose like something out of a twisted nightmare.
Those hands struck the ground, and Vermillion warriors dragged themselves out of the holes they had started breaking with their arms. It appears the 'ground' was just a thin layer of hardened mud, and under that mud was more liquidus. The Vermillion rose from it, drawing their blades as the brown goop slid down their bodies. The number of them that did was massive, counting nearly fifty in the span of thirty seconds. They encircled the ground, blocking off the three tunnels.
"Hah!" A high pitched voice came from one of the tunnels, "Operation Burial Ground was a success!"
The Vermillion that emerged was a bright orange, in direct contrast to his red and brown brethren. He carried a spear for his weapon. He gave the group a long look over, almost like inspecting them, before he nodded again, "Oh yeah, you guys will be great. We need about ten of you alive. The rest of you, well, we don't need you at all."
"Are you the leader?" Neuro shouted, directing his mind power towards the orange warrior.
"I'm General Blunck!" Blunck identified himself, not even flinching as the mind tried to enter his head, "You should remember the name of the one about to defeat you."
While Blunck spoke, Neuro and the other mind users were all probbing at Blunck's head. It became clear quickly it was impossible to get into his head. The sheer number of minds inside of Blunck alone felt like opening the doors to a thunderous opera, rather than the tranquil drip of thoughts. It didn't feel like just one mind... more like thousands of smaller minds, all wound up tightly together. Just trying to probe it was painful for him. Bansha and Shade looked to him, seeing Neuro's features twisting in pain as he pulled back.
"Are you the leader?" Shade asked, covering for Neuro.
"Didn't you just ask that?" Blunck blinked, "Fine! Well! No... that would be her job," Blunck groaned, "And then above her are my masters. They're the real leaders. But you won't get to meet them or her!" Blunck slowly grinned, "Cause this will be your last battle."
"We shall see," Neuro stated calmly, then put his hands to his head again. Once more, he attempted to probe into Blunck's mind, only to feel a mass akin to his entire tribe put together pushing back on him this time. Blunck, having noticed it, simply directed the hive mind to force Neuro out.
"I can feel what you're doing, you know," Blunck grinned, "Heh, sorry, but our minds aren't singular like yours! You'd have to subjugate the entire hive mind if you wanted a go at me."
Regardless of Blunck's words, Neuro kept pushing. He pushed harder and harder, trying to find a way inside. He tried searching, but the more he did, the more it felt like a vast expanse he was hacking away at with only his bare hands. After he grew tired of the feeling, Blunck gave a single push of thought back to Neuro. The sheer volume of the hive mind yelling into Neuro's head was enough for Neuro to scream, then clutch his head and fall to his knees.
"You think you can make my land your hunting ground?" Ash hissed, the malice mingled in with his grin, "You need to be shown who the real hunters are! The Ash Tribe belongs to me!"
"Really?" Blunck cocked his head, "How?"
The Vermillion soldiers suddenly let out a roar together, rushing towards the group. Quickly, Bansha stuck her hands out and formed a cup with them, using her fingertips to compress a wind stream to strike each Vermillion down with what felt like pistons. Blasts of fire and ice shot out, striking back the horde oncoming. Shade disappeared into the shadows around him, moving his body to then appear in one warrior's shade, strike their hand to grab his sword, and then begin cleaving them down one by one.
Ash charged forward right into the snakes. Three members of the Smoke Tribe fell in behind him, forming a perfect formation. Just as two warriors readied spears to take him down, he burst into smoke upon the contact with the spears. The two warriors, thinking they'd gotten him, turned their attentions away with grins. It was then that Ash's smoke formed up and shot straight into their faces. The action caused them to collapse as he all but choked them from inside. As they fell the smoke wisped from their mouths to form Ash, standing on top of them and grabbing both their weapons before they fell. The other three smoke users did the same, reforming after felling their targets around Ash protectively.
Ash spun on one foot and flung the two confiscated weapons at the commander. Blunkc blocked them both with his weapon, only to see Ash coming at him with a strange hiss in the air. Blunck threw up his armored gauntlet, and with a clang he had four massive metal talons in his face. Ash had his arm extended forward and, from a strange looking sheath on his right hand, four massive silver talons had shot out towards him, barely blocked from full extension by the gauntlet.
"W-Woah, I gotta get me some of those..." Blunck muttered, then shook his head, "Oh, no, I shouldn't be fraternizing with the enemy!"
"You won't see me in that light," Ash laughed out, "I heard those that go through fights come out as brothers in arms! But since you're a snake, I guess you'll have to come out in ribbons!"
Blunck threw Ash off, but he wasn't fast enough to do so completely. Soon, he was locking blades right again with Ash. The smoke users each extended out a single claw from gauntlets on their arms, using them like blades to leap in when Ash was knocked back. Blunck soon had his hands full dodging the four of them, all lunging straight at him in an endless barrage.
As the sound of their slashes clanged through the dim light, Bansha dropped down and put her hand to Neuro's head. Neuro, through bleary eyes, looked to her, then winced as the pain of the mental scream filled him once more. Bansha looked to the Vermillion marching towards them, then down to Neuro still on the ground.
"I'm not going to have to carry you out of this, am I?!" Bansha snarled, "I told you this was a dumb idea!"
"The... the snakes..." Neuro gasped out, "Waiting for us... knew we were coming..."
"Let's worry about that latter," Bansha stood up drawing what looked like an dagger filled with holes, "Right now we need to-"
Neuro cut her off by grabbing her arm, "No... this is, this is important. If they... they knew we were coming then... that means they knew this would happen..."
Bansha gave Neuro a grumble. Then the gears in her mind started turning. If they'd somehow figured out this was a calculated response, that meant they knew they were using the squads like this. And if that was the case, then they had to have known something else. So many things would have to fall into place, and that could mean...
"Let's survive this so we can tell them later," Bansha snarled, holding her knife backwards, "Because right now, it isn't looking too good."
The first wave of Vermillion had already begun to reform. The mud caked, darkly lit, crazed beings rushed the group of encircled warriors once more, hacking away at them. As Bansha swung her knife, the light of their battle could only barely be seen by the flames the fire users produced from above the hole, all while the group did all they could to fight for their lives.
"Karlof think Dragon Lord do something about Vermin!" Karlof shouted, letting out a scary yowl as he struck a warrior apart with his metal gauntlets in a single swing.
Mage's squad was having a bit more luck than the other two. Just as they'd predicted, the Vermillion were still hanging around inside the Metal Tribe territory. To protect the people, Karlof had sent an order before he left his village to stay within the mines until he ordered otherwise. While it raised some suspicion, it meant that the group were able to fight without worry of any of the mining settlements being threatened by their battles.
Rather than needing to track down the Vermillion, Karlof had received information that several mines had been shut down due to the presence of monsters inside. With how close the mines were to the settlement that was attacked, it didn't take much thought to determine who was behind it. To navigate the rocky lands the Metal Tribe relied upon, the remaining light, earth, shadow, gravity and metal users were distributed to his squad. So far, having them was turning out to be invaluable, as the Vermillion had holed themselves up inside of a massive cave mouth that was currently being used to mine iron. When they'd arrived, all of the equipment, including any carts or railings, had been ripped up and arranged as a barricade over the cave's entrance.
Karlof's punches had just been sent into a large portion of the metal barricade through the body of the warrior he'd just struck. While the large haphazard structure shook, it was far too large to dismantle effectively while under pressure from the Vermillion flinging things down towards them. Karlof grunted and gave Mage a long look, which Mage acknowledged with a smile.
"It's fly time!" Mage rushed backwards towards the other four gravity users. Together, they all leapt into the air, floating to levitate over the wall. While the four were only able to keep it up long enough to land on top of the platform the Vermillion were attacking from, Mage went further and then summoned earth in his fist to strike the ground behind their barrier with a massive shockwave. The entire barricade rumbled with the impact.
Vermillion that weren't knocked down charged him, and Mage raised his fingers and snapped. By amplifying the power of sound, it sent a large crack that stunned the sensitive hearing of the snakes around them. Mage wasn't one to waste his chance. Bursts of water and earth from the cave around them struck warrior after warrior. As some tried to back into the darkness to gain an advantage, Mage flashed light at them, further stunning them to attack.
"Hey, hey he can't do that!" A deep orange Vermillion, holding a large staff with a vibrant red blade on the end, pointed towards Mage, "That's cheating!"
"Sorry!" Mage reached his hands out and gripped Raggmunk's armor with metal, "But you cheated first!" He threw Raggmunk off the barricade with a loud shout of shock from the stunned general. Mage hung from the lip of the platform, ready to leap down and pummel Raggmunk further.
One of the gravity users on the barricade had his knife knocked away and was thrown down, nearly about to be taken out. Mage, seeing it, diverted part of his attention to creating a tiny earthquake to rumble the warriors on the barricade. That action gave Raggmunk enough time to take control of one warrior, who rushed over to knock Mage's hand off. Mage did a flip in the air to land safely on the ground, but Raggmunk had already gotten his footing again.
"Vermillion!" Raggmunk raised his hand to his head, "Form up behind me, we have someone behind our defenses we need to take care of!"
Vermillion on the barricade turned to start jumping down to help. Then there was a series of three massive punches. The first rattled the wall; the second dented it; the third broke a large twisted hole into it that Karlof's fist stuck out from. The Vermillion on the wall were rattled hard enough they were sent to the ground. Raggmunk's eyes widened as the rest of the squad moved in behind Karlof.
"ATTACK!" Karlof shouted, roaring as he burst in. Raggmunk could see what looked like a tank coming straight towards him, and upon realizing from his armor that he was likely of the tribe Machia had attacked, he knew this was a losing battle.
"Retreat!" Raggmunk shouted, "C-Cover our escape!"
Hissing in agreement, several Vermillion suddenly moved and lifted up their crossbows. The tips were on fire. Mage saw that they were pointed towards something smeared across the ceiling. He looked down to see that several cases of blasting gel, the primary method for mining for the Metal Tribe, were emptied around. It didn't take a strategist to see what was happening.
"F-Fire!" Raggmunk shouted, turning to flee.
Suddenly, one by one, the Vermillion aiming for the gel were disarmed. Raggmunk stopped running with the Vermillion behind him to see the leader Paleman, having just appeared behind the Vermillion and holding many of their bows. He threw them aside and then disappeared again. Before they could be recovered, Karlof had raced towards the stunned archers and struck one so hard they went flying past Raggmunk.
Raggmunk, stunned at the turn, watched Karlof let out a roar and began to go after the Vermillion that hadn't retreated already. The feeling of several Vermillion tugging at him was enough to make Raggmunk snap out long enough to give the order to the hive mind again and quickly race down the tunnel. As Karlof and Paleman continued to take out soldiers, Mage turned to them and made eye contact. Paleman, eyes not visible due to the nature of his body, gave Mage a nod.
With that, Mage inhaled and turned into smoke. When using smoke, he couldn't breathe since he technically had his lungs made of smoke. He used this to disappear into the darkness of the cave, following Raggmunk at a distance. The air became thinner as he did, forcing him to stop occasionally to use wind to fill his lungs. The Vermillion continued down deeper into the cave. Soon, the sounds of battle had long since drifted behind them.
After a good five minutes of running, Mage saw them take a side tunnel. As soon as he passed through it, he was forced to turn into smoke to let a fire arrow pass through him. More of the gel from earlier must have been smeared on the walls, for the tunnel entrance was completely sealed by falling rocks. Mage breathed a small sigh of relief at the Vermillion that fired the arrow not seeing him.
The tunnel led upwards rather than down, and soon from the half-finished tracks it became apparent this was likely a failed side entrance. What made that more apparent was that soon he could start to see more around him, forcing him to melt into the shadows using shadow to not be spotted. Before long, they were at a half-crumbled entrance, and then out into the sunlight. Raggmunk and the others rushed out across them, having moved a fair bit of distance away from Karlof's assault.
Mage reappeared behind an outcropping of rock near Raggmunk. He gasped hard, finally getting non-stale air back into his lungs. His entire body was trembling as he forced himself back together and held himself there. He leaned his back against the rock, trying to focus long enough to get moving again.
"Why didn't they tell us they could use all those powers?!" Mage heard Raggmunk's voice coming faintly. Rather than using smoke, he instead focused and turned into shadow, moving himself along the ground towards the sound.
"They're going to get me for this..." Raggmunk whimpered as Mage edged closer to him. From where Mage stood, it looked as though he was talking to a simple Vermillion warrior who wasn't even focusing on him, "I don't wanna go back into the Iron Doom! I didn't manage to capture even one of them! They're so strong! If Blunck were here, we'd have an even better operation name, and a better operation!"
Mage slid his way to another outcropping and stopped, panting as he caught his breath from the exertion. He dared to peak over the outcropping. The snakes had mostly reformed into their warriors, and those that weren't were carrying the armor like a sort of living mass. Raggmunk continued to lament to his warrior as the snakes moved quickly across the mountainside.
"I gotta think of a way to spin this..." Raggmunk muttered, "Maybe, maybe say the sun was in my eyes? No, no that didn't work last time. Wait! No, I'll tell them that the little kid was using more than one element at once! They'll be impressed I fought him and survived!"
Mage couldn't help but get a little sense of satisfaction hearing from the enemy they thought he was powerful. Raggmunk remained quiet as the Vermillion continued to move along. As Mage soon found, the snakes didn't all take one path, and instead diverged and took strange, winding roads around the hills and rocks in a general direction forward. It explained how they were able to get away so effectively before. Mage decided to follow Raggmunk and the warrior he was with, figuring they would be the best target.
"Heh, sure glad they haven't figured out we know they were expecting this," Raggmunk chuckled, "They'll never figure out we were tricking them to attack that build-GAH!"
Mage froze solid as he heard those words. He summoned the element of light with yellow eyes to bend the light around his body to make himself appear camouflaged into the rocks around him. Raggmunk had stopped dead and was rubbing his head, almost like he'd heard a loud noise.
"Agh! Okay, okay!" Raggmunk whimpered, "Do you have to hurt me like that to make your point?!" Mage wasn't sure why, but it looked like he was talking to... himself?
"Define... capture," Raggmunk asked. He shouted and doubled over again.
"Y-Yes, Commander Machia..." Raggmunk stumbled forward, right towards the camouflaged Mage. Mage stayed perfectly still as Raggmunk gripped the rock not more than six inches away from his own hands, "I'll get there right away."
"Of course, of course," Raggmunk shifted his hand even closer to Mage, "Uh... where's the Summit again?" Mage froze.
"Geez, calm down, Machia!" Raggmunk sighed, "I'll get there right away. Heh, don't worry. We got that other guy leading that attack. We'll have this world at our feet in no time!"
Raggmunk began to walk away from Mage, but Mage was frozen stiff. He didn't move, not even when Raggmunk began to run alongside the warrior he had with him. Mage was processing what he heard, specifically what he heard with the Summit. It wasn't until they were long gone he managed to drop the element of light.
They were attacking the Summit right now? Did they know about the plan? If they were attacking the Summit, then that meant his new friends were in danger! All of his friends were in danger! Did they wait until they were drawn out like this to attack? What was going on? Any doubts he had about whether or not what Raggmunk said was true were dashed by fear. He had to go and help the Summit! Especially if they were attacked by surprise!
But, he had to follow Raggmunk. He had to figure out where they were going. He had to, so they could stop the Twins. But, the Twins, were attacking the Summit. The others probably had no idea it was happening. He had, he had to make a decision here. He had to do something. He had to...
It wasn't even a choice. The plan wouldn't matter if those four were in danger. Mage turned around and focused, his eyes going white as he gathered up all of his energy. With a massive burst of speed, his body turned into a blur as he began the massive race across the World back to the Summit.