#Kotlc infection AU

[thesfromhms]

KOTLC INFECTION AU I MADE EARLIER THIS YEAR (i think)

HISTORY/SUMMARY + NOTES:

The infection started with an experiment gone wrong in Kelsers lab. He is the first one to get infected. In hopes to not infect and hurt his family, he ran away into the Wandering Woods. He goes missing for several months. After a bit, someone visited the woods and happened to come by Kelser. But... He wasn't Kelser anymore. He was a hungry and contorted monster. And he's starving... That's how the infection spreads. As said in the canon, most minds break of they commit some form of violence. A lot of elves come and gone just from defending themselves, but some elves (such as The Neverseen, Fitz, and Tam) have a stronger will and are used to violence, hence their minds being harder to shatter. They can fight back easily with their strong minds. The other elves are stronger than the others, and their guilty mind set slower (though, these sorts of elves aren't stronger than the previously mentioned ones). The council, despite the many pleas, are completely silent. They aren't responding or acting out on the situation. This is leading some people to join the Neverseen, just so they can have protection. Though, the Neverseen only take a few people. The Black Swan has been silent as well. No one is answering their imparters. The abilities are useless against the infected, no matter how rare or powerful your ability may be. The infected aren't affected by any ability. Note, Mysterium is currently under quarantine, the only decision the council has made that the public now about. All of the people there are infected. You see, the explosion from the chemicals released into the whole of Mysterium. The virus is technically airborne, but since Mysterium has been under confinement, the virus can only be spread through biting. All of the people in Mysterium are in stage 4, the bubble trapping the gas inside Mysterium is keeping them from rotting. This just makes them more hostile and hungry. Alden and Elwin are assigned to observe and study them, though, they find it hard, considering they cannot come inside without becoming infected or eaten.

Stage one:

—Bloody nose

—Weaker immune system

—Nausea

—Exposed wound not easily fixed with any elixirs or potions

—Shock

—Panic

—Sudden pang of hunger

—Abilities getting weaker

Patient will experience the symptoms the moment they're bitten by an infected one. If they aren't eaten, of course. An infected one usually takes a single bite out of an elf, tearing of their flesh (stage 3-4), but, if you catch them in the early stages, it'll only be a bite mark. They will start getting hungry, despite if they already ate. Normal elvin food should keep them at bay. For now at least

(Duration 1 week)

Stage 2:

—Getting sicker more

—Vomits often

—Snaps a bit easily

—Hunger really starts seeping in.

—Though hungry, they WILL still try to control themselves

—Starts to get a bit more aggressive, but not much

—Paler skin

—Less vibrant eyes

—Panic attacks

—Less energetic

—Wound starts to itch and become more bruised and bloody

—Ability almost useless

In stage 2, noticeable differences can be made. The infected elf will get more and more sickly ad the days go by. You can still approach the elf at this stage, but they'll most likely already be a little violent at this stage. Normal food still tastes the same, but they can't get full.

(Duration: 1 week)

Stage 3:

—More hostile

—More distant towards friends and family

—Can and will bitr your face off

—Almost gray iris, Bloodshot sclera

—Body part where the infected took a bite will start to contort

—Hungry constantly. Starting to crave meat

—Vision starts to blur

—Cannot think straight most of the time

—Ability not workingp

At this stage, their hunger is starting to become stronger. Their starting to become desperate for food. Their sanity is lowering, but they still have enough to distance themsleves from their loved ones. It is recommended to isolate the elf if they are in this stage, as if they're an elf who gets mad easily, they WILL not hesitate to jump at you.

STAGE 4:

—Now very hostile

—Blindness

—Starving

—Will eat itself if not fed

—Wound opens up, revealing bare bone

—Acidic saliva (can infect)

—No sanity, Mind shattered

—Ability gone

—Cannibalism

—Increased stamina and agility

In stage 4, their ability/abilities are completely gone and they will attack literally anyone they see and come in contact in. Their wound starts to open, revealing their bone. These are no longer your loved ones. They're gone. This isn't them anymore. RUN.

A note to telepaths and empaths!!

During stage one, their mind and emotions are a bit haywires. If you probe their mind, it'll be panicked and they'll be craving something to eat a lot. If you sense their emotions, it'll be anxious and shock.

During stage two, their mind starts to get foggy and blurry. Their emotions start to become stronger. If you read their mind, you'll see their cravings start to show. If you sense their emotions, you'll feel the anxiousness and the aggressiveness.

During stage three... You are no longer able to probe their mind. Empaths will become weak within 10 feet of an infected one. They'll become overwhelmed with how much aggression can be sensed. Telepaths are no longer able to read and probe their minds. They're too aggresive. You will die if you approach. If you ARE able to push through the barriers, you'll be overwhelmed. There is nothing to be saved. Get out of their minds

During stage four... Don't. Just don't.

( @imobsessed123 @thishumanformislimiting @multi-fandom-lunatic @siennamakeschaos @innereverblaze @iguessthisismymainnow @kale-of-the-forbidden-cities @myfairkatiecat @ham-cheese-toastie )

[crippling-pages]

me: *writing a fic i said i would write and that i want to write really badly*

also me: *starts a new drabble for the ship i cant get out of my head*

[shadowuserannie]

KOTLC Miraculous AU

So it goes without saying;

Marinette: Sophie

Adrien: Fitz

I know, I know. (prepares to get attacked, holds up shield) BUT THINK ABOUT IT. FITZ BEING FORCED BY ALDEN TO BE PERFECT. FITZ GETTING TO UNLEASH HIS INNER ANGER AND INNER KEEFE AS CHAT NOIR (because YES, let Keefe infect all the people that love him)

This is FANFICTION I CAN MAKE A NONTOXIC FITZ AND DO WHAT I WANT

Besides, I want a character journey where Fitz learns his true personality; not the jaded but joking Detruire (it means destruction in French, I like the name) and not the picture-perfect Fitz Vacker. A guy toeing the line between both. Being pessimistic but not too jaded, learning to let go of the mask of optimism and finding people still like the person underneath. Being sassy but kind and still TRYING HIS BEST BUT NOT PERFECTLY. Let him find who he is!!

So the rest are a little more complicated, but;

Alya: Dex. Let Dex create the Ladyblog and get popular as a result. Let him associate the Ladyblog with being liked and chasing Sophie's secret identity as a result. Let Sophie smack some sense into him and CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TO MAKE HIM A GREAT BESTIE (because it'd be boring if they were all perfect at the start of the story)

Nino/Chloe: Keefe. HEAR ME OUT. Keefe growing up with Fitz because Alden approves of his family, but then Keefe becomes more rebellious and they can't meet up as often anymore BUT KEEFE REBELS. AND GETS FITZ TO REBEL MORE. AND GETS FITZ ENROLLED AT FOXFIRE NEXT TO HIM. Keefe rebelling against Cassius and accidentally becoming a bully because of it. Keefe realizing there's a line between pissing off his parents and hurting others to do it. Because THAT COULD BE GOOD. Keefe canonically goes pretty far in his attempts to piss off his father.

Also a possible Chloe: Stina. Stina got her own half-assed bullshitted redemption (wow Astruc, thanks SM) and DESERVES BETTER.

Oh but fun fact about Sophie; she's actually quick to categorize people as 'good' or 'evil'. So having Stina be mean to her and getting categorized as 'evil' as a result, but that eventually changing over time, would be a good application of her KOTLC character development to this AU.

So ik that on a surface level, Keefe fits Adrien's role better than Fitz-daddy issues, blond hair, et cetera. BUT. I realized that while it would be fun, a story with Fitz would be harder to write and thus more interesting-plus I realized that somehow I have to integrate the other characters PLUS BIANA in, so a wild ride overall! It'd be the same refresh, repeat, if they were all exactly like their roles.

ALSO THEY ARE CANONICALLY DIFFERENT AGES. LEMME JUST-(screams internally)

(@tiana4evahh I am so sorry I got sidetracked reading the KOTLC graphic novel I might just publish the KOTLC human! superhero! AU first)

THIS IS MY FIRST DRAFT/RUNTHROUGH. STUFF MAY CHANGE IN FUTURE POSTS

(or I may also scrap this AU entirely?)

[kamikothe1and0nly]

Do any of you know that mlp infection AUs that have been going around tiktok?

I want that for kotlc!

Give me my apocalypsed kotlc!!

[bookwyrminspiration]

Okay, so I’ve thought about it a bit more, and I have some more thoughts on the messages Bronte and Oralie sent.

So, the first part goes “Secrecy and redundancy compose the toolkit of those trying to hide.” And what strikes me here is the use of redundancy- it’s not usually something you’d think of putting in a normal letter.

Redundancy is the state of no longer being useful, or not necessary, so what are they trying to say? On one hand, it could mean something like “just help us get rid of these monsters and the Neverseen and then you can go and do whatever you’d like”, but that’s too easy, it’s too obvious. There’s gotta be some deeper meaning to it all!

And the secrecy part- well, obviously. If you’re trying to hide, you need to be secretive. But maybe they’re not talking about Sophie at all? Maybe they’re speaking about something else.

This could tie in to the idea they’re referencing some old Council projects or whatnot, that went out of use but might have something to do with the monsters and Neverseen…

And “infectious light”…well, now that I now for sure there is a meaning behind it, I’m never going to be able to stop thinking about it. Does it connect with stellarlune (or whatever it’s called) or quintessence or any other light source we’ve heard of in the series?

And Oralie’s message is even stranger than Bronte’s- “Play a melody for me, and tell me what it says. History will have something sweet to say about you.” What does that mean?

Sophie needs to play a melody, but what does that even entail? Is it something she has on her right now? Something she already knows? Or does she have to dig for the answer? Is the answer buried in one of her memories? And how will a melody help her? Unless it’s a metaphor for something else?

Or maybe it’s the code for whatever secret was buried? And once she tells Oralie, they’ll know she has access to the truth?

Ah, hell, the more I think about it, the more I’m falling into the rabbit hole of this theory. It’s just…brilliant. This AU is brilliant.

- pyro

I don't think you understand how ecstatic I am that you're focusing so much on these messages because they took a fair amount of effort! I was complain about them to my partner as I was trying to figure them out because it was taking so long.

you're right! something that's redundant is something that's not necessary or something superfluous! and there is a deeper meaning to it, not just getting read of these monsters. I don't want to give it away, tho!! I will say that the use of the word redundant--well, redundancy--is crucial to the hidden meaning. it kinda enables everything else to fall into place once you crack the specific way I used it.

and we all know that the council and the elven world in general is just bursting with secrets, so what secrecy they were referring to specifically could be anything! I think the better question is if they're talking about Sophie keeping secrets, or if they're referring to someone else.

and the "infectious light" thing! that part is also important, but I don't want to give away exactly how. well, every part of the message has a second meaning, so that's not really surprising, but I think it stood out because it doesn't sound 100% like Bronte. I can say, however, that it does connect to something already introduced in canon!

Oralie's message gave me a bit of trouble, I have to admit. But I think I've kinda worked it out for the most part! it does tie into something we've seen from her before. whether or not it's a literal melody remains to be seen, but so many of the words so far have had double meanings that it makes sense this would be no exception. I think this is one of the details that will make more sense once we actually get to it, whenever that turns out to be. Additionally, the word of the "history will have something sweet to say about you" line has a few key words, which may be why it sounds a little off (at least to me). same as with the infectious light thing. the secret message required some creative use of language that was a little different for them, but they're just hoping she'll figure it out

there's definitely a lot of avenues to explore with their wording since it was so cryptic--which is a good thing!! it's something you're supposed to think about!! we could probably just continue to go down this forever; there's just so much to it!

also thank youuu! brilliant is what i'm going for! i don't want their messages to be easy to figure out, but I also don't want it to just be excruciating and make no sense at all. i think when it's fully revealed it'll be easier to understand, we just need to get there

your thoughts on this are so interesting I'm just ahh !!

[bookwyrminspiration]

Shattered Upside Down

A kotlc wings au: masterpost here

Chapter 13: The Abandoned

word count: 8.8k

chapter summary: Confused, Sophie searches for answers to the mysteries of her friends, but what she finds may be more than she can handle.

warnings: brief descriptions hinting at a place with a bad past, caves and darkness, mention of a rotting skeleton (like one sentence), panicking, swearing, intentional misuse of grammar for dramatic effect, and I think that's everything!

taglist: I’ll reblog with it. let me know if you want to be added or removed

This is one of the longest chapters I've ever written help--but also, enjoy!! It feels like so much happens and yet nothing at all, but I had a lot of fun with this one

ao3 link here or read below the cut

A million little slivers of starlight burned beneath Marella’s skin, marking her position in the sky. Had she not known better, Sophie would’ve thought she was burning alive from the inside out, tumbling through the sky like that.

Brrr, it whispered, rubbing against her leg.

Dumbstruck, she didn’t even register the sensation.

“Where on Earth is she going,” she marveled, watching Marella’s form move further and further away, intention and dedication mirroring her every move.

It was only that crystal clear eyesight that enabled her to pick out the details. Black leggings and a black long-sleeved shirt adorned her body, clearly intending to hide. Yet the dark fabric couldn’t hide the stark shine of her wings against the night, lighting her up like a beacon.

Thudding its head against her leg, the little creature finally got through to her. “Wait, how did you know about this,” she hissed down at it, eyes still tracking Marella.

It didn’t respond.

Hesitating for only a moment, she groaned. “Well, I have to make sure, she’s okay, right?” Her logic fell flat, the all-consuming curiosity and faint betrayal urging her forward. This was justified. She needed to follow her, to be there in case something happened. She couldn’t just go wandering off like that, she reasoned.

Yeah! She was just being a concerned friend, worried what Marella was getting herself into. Nothing more. It was unusual behavior, so Marella couldn’t get mad at her for being worried.

Never mind that she’d done the exact same thing and hadn’t faced the consequences.

“Are you coming, too?” She asked, as if the thing would respond. It just shook itself off, padding beside her as she moved along the platform, looking for a better spot to take off from.

There. Up ahead a bridge lay with open sky above it, free from the dense trees dominating this area. She’d even bet that’s where Marella herself had taken off from. Secluded, away from the rest of them all, easy to disappear; she’d thought this through, Sophie realized.

The clothing, the location--all those questions from before. Something wasn’t adding up.

Taking no more than a few seconds to tie her hair back with a spare elastic on her wrist, Sophie took off at a sprint, pushing off into the night.

Wind rushed past her ears, drowning out several of her thoughts as she ducked low, sticking close to the canopy of trees populating the forest. Marella’s wings kept her from maneuvering as easily down here, so if Sophie stayed low, perhaps she’d be harder to notice.

The thought nearly stopped her short--why was she trying to hide from a friend?

Well, she started hiding things, first, she reasoned, pushing past the guilt and doubts marring her vision, infecting her resolve in her own justification. She never answered the question.

A flickering shadow shivered through her peripherals, the little echo gaining traction ahead of her as it moved through the tops of the trees, silent, like the woods knew it and accommodated its every whim.

Marella stayed clearly visible up ahead, but the further they flew from the village, the more confident she seemed to become in her movements, more determined. Her pace increased, and Sophie nearly crashed into a few particularly crooked branches sticking out as she matched speed. At this rate, she felt as though she could teleport, that’s how quickly the two of them were moving, a chill spreading through her body as lost clothing did nothing against the rush of the sky against her skin, horrid and pulling and unforgiving.

And still Marella appeared none the wiser to her presence.

Trees became fewer and farther between, rocks and tumbling landscape taking over the area in their stead; Sophie ducked even lower to avoid notice--while her wings wouldn’t give her away by sight, the light grey of her shirt might, especially alongside those thick white bandages wrapped around what felt like her entire body; Elwin hadn’t taken them off yet.

Elwin. A flurry of guilt bombarded her, stealing the very air from her lungs. She was digging her own grave with each minute she let him stay, let him learn, let him in. She’d have to take him back eventually, and the world would come crashing down when she did.

What a risky game she loved to play.

Marella’s trajectory shifted without warning, dipping downwards exponentially, ground rushing up to meet her. Far enough away, there was no sound as she made contact with the ground.

Sophie slowed, drifting to the blanketed ground, the buzz behind her fading in the wind as her feet met rock. There was practically nothing out here, just flat expanses of stone and rich moss, the vegetation creeping underground rather than growing upwards like she was used to.

Except for the boulders.

Scattered throughout the place were boulders of deep grey rock, slightly taller than her in height. But it was their unnatural roundness that unsettled her, nearly perfectly spherical in shape.

Marella moved, and with a start Sophie dropped to the ground. Shit. Flat expanses. One wrong move and anyone--Marella--could see her. It’d been so much easier to hide when she’d been along the trees, the foliage, part of a crowd.

Mistakes tumbled into landslides within her mind, cascading down down down as she realized the severity of the hole she’d dug herself into. Not even a ruminating, hesitating thought had passed through her mind before she’d leapt into the sky after Marella, who was currently hastily making her way through the field of rocks, heading for something unseen up ahead.

Scrambling, she darted to a crouch behind one of the nearest boulders in; Sophie tried to think for once in her life.

She had no clue where they were, why Marella was out here, or what she’d find if she carried on, but she knew one thing for certain. She wouldn’t leave Marella alone. Even as she sat there, the rustle of the woods behind her frothed with unnatural sounds, claws tapping against trees, the rough thump of heavy-set footsteps on an Earth not built to bear them.

Holding her breath, Sophie peered around the boulder only to find Marella nearly vanished from view, moving steadily downwards, jutting rock and overgrown foliage blocking her line of sight. But the sound of her moving remained, barely audible over the wind.

Shifting, she leaned her weight forward, intending to press herself up, to maneuver around some of the obstacles atop this otherwise flat expanse, her only defense against discovery.

Losing her footing, her shoulder--still not fully healed--knocked into the boulder with enough force to shift it, a deep grating sound rumbling from the ground as it scratched against rough terrain.

A few pebbles loosened, just enough to unsettle the thing, and with dawning horror Sophie realized it was going to tumble away from her, completely giving her away. Rocks didn’t just move on their own.

Acting on instinct, Sophie dug her fingers in, as though she could somehow keep several thousand pounds of rock still, as though she could hold it back.

It worked.

The noise quieted as she strained, not wanting to breathe but not daring to hold it, a steady in and out as her muscles pulled taught. Eyes wide as they could go, she froze.

Marella’s footsteps had paused up ahead [mention them earlier], now sounding closer and closer with each step. She was coming back.

Sophie didn’t notice. Her attention was focused on her hands, the one’s grasping that boulder like her life depending on it, holding it steady.

She’d clawed gouge marks into its surface.

Each place her fingertips met, an indent caved in, the sheer force of her grasp tearing it apart. She hadn’t even meant to, had just wanted to keep it still, keep it quiet.

It was quiet, too quiet.

A hand clapped over her mouth from behind.

“Don’t move,” they hissed, nails digging into the skin of Sophie’s cheek as she started to struggle. Everything within her fizzled out, replaced by a numb, hollow echo of that panic.

Biana? She asked, reaching her mind out behind her. That voice, she’d know that voice anywhere, the cherry blossom aroma that clung to her skin, now pressed to her face

Her mouth would’ve fallen open were it not held closed as she tried to look around, instead catching a glance at her hands on the rock surface. Or rather, at where they should have been. Nothing occupied the space, as though she weren’t even there.

Biana had vanished the both of them.

“Come to visit, huh?” Marella called out, footsteps growing louder amongst the quiet moss.

Eyes wide, both of their heads snapped to the side, the source of the sound. Could she see them? How?

Only...Marella wasn’t there.

Brrr, the echo mumbled, crawling around from atop the boulder, jumping to the ground. Frozen, she tried not to breathe. Maybe Marella hadn’t noticed the two of them at all.

“You’re going to help me,” she stated, and with a start she realized Marella was coming around the boulder, directly towards them.

Biana shifted behind her, leaning back slightly as she pulled Sophie along, hands pressed so tight against her face she was worried her blood flow would never recover.

Brrr, it said again, rubbing its face against an edge of the boulder as Marella came into view, mere feet away. Biana was shaking against her skin, anxious yet unforgiving with her grip.

Her legs ached something fierce, but Sophie refused to give herself even a moment of reprieve. Any movement could alert Marella to her presence, and she couldn’t figure out the right way to explain this if they were caught.

Marella reached down, and Sophie nearly stopped breathing. A touch of space separated their arms, so precarious she could’ve sworn she felt the shift of the wind with it. Her heart had gotten itself lodged in her throat, the press of Biana’s skin against her own the only thing keeping her lips from quivering.

Exhaling, Marella picked up the creature, hoisting it into her arms, and it went along with it, just sitting there.

Brrr, it postulated, looking very much like a cat with the way it folded in on itself and turned into a liquid as she held it.

Not seeming to bother with anything else, she turned, her face becoming more visible, and Sophie cringed away, frightened by something she didn’t entirely understand.

A feverish light had taken hold behind Marella’s vacant eyes, burning with something that wasn’t quite her. Eyes too wide, smile too flat, limbs too loose, her blood-red wings readjusted themselves a few times as she stood, stirring the air as she began to walk away.

What-- Biana started in her mind, knocked out of some stupor as she tried to understand the friend before her.

Quiet, Sophie hissed back, mental shields reinforcing themselves on instinct. Her focus had slipped more than once recently. With the mindbubble and the proximity, it'd be her luck that her thoughts would be broadcast to everyone when she was specifically doing something she wasn’t supposed to, feet away from someone she was spying on.

Neither of them moved as they listened to the sound of those retreating footsteps, not until they’d been gone for several minutes did Biana’s grip on her face loosen, retreating back a few steps as she stumbled to the ground, sitting with her legs splayed out in front of her.

With precision and more than a little chagrin, Sophie carefully peeled her fingers away from the surface of the boulder, the little craters she’d left behind to decorate it, ensuring it wouldn’t shift the moment she let go.

That was too close, Biana whispered, hands braced on the back of her neck, looking off into the distance. They breathed for a moment, letting the adrenaline calm from their systems, but not to the point of complacency.

Every so slowly, Sophie turned to face Biana. Adorned in what looked like pajamas, soft maroon pants paired with a button up in the same shade, she looked entirely out of place in this rocky landscape. But of course, it was the wings that drew her attention, like always; colorful and splayed wide behind her, their scaled sunset pattern on full display, yet she somehow managed to keep from being dwarfed beneath them. A simple braid kept her hair out of her face, dark with moisture, like she’d just gotten out of a shower.

Entirely out of place was more than a correct description. What are you doing here?

What are you doing here, she countered crossing her arms with contempt from her position on the ground, looking up at her.

Sophie flushed, gritting her teeth, utterly caught. I was concerned for Marella.

And I was concerned for you. Still am, but Marella’s deal seems a little weirder right now, so I’m focusing more on that. Biana leaned forward, starting to get up, wings flapping slightly behind her, flickering in and out of view in time with her body.

How did...how did you find…she trailed off, not even sure what she was trying to say. They didn’t have time for this.

Biana dusted herself off, shaking some of the pollen from Sophie’s skin out of her dirtied pajamas. Sneaking around is my thing, Foster. Can you blame me for being curious when you started moving around the place at odd hours? I mean, you walked right past my house.

Had she? She hadn’t paid very close attention, just trying to puzzle out what the creature was doing--the creature.

Yes, I can. But that’s not important right now. Do you know what’s going on with Marella? she asked, already turning away, hurrying around the boulder and out into whatever lay beyond. The footsteps had faded away, so she’d need to move a little quicker to catch back up, figure out what was going on.

That conversation from earlier today just...didn’t sit right, a ship caught in a whirlpool within her stomach, tumbling down and down and down the hollow waves, dangerously close to capsizing. The questions, the avoidance...the guilt.

Is something wrong? Biana countered, reaching out to lock her fingers around Sophie’s wrists. Enhance me, it’ll be easier. The last part was added on as an afterthought.

Nodding in agreement, she plucked at the strings of her enhancing to release it, an electric hum shivering through her body, traveling into Biana’s skin, the two of them vanishing as one.

I...don’t know. I wanted to check, but I didn’t know how to ask. I tried, earlier today I mean, but it didn’t go well. I pried.

Something indescribable flickered in the forefront of Biana’s mind, but she said nothing as Sophie began pulling her along, impatient and fueled by nerves frying themselves to shreds.

Can you track her? Biana asked, quiet, almost hesitant.

Blinking, she stopped in her tracks. Oh. Yeah. That’s a thing I know how to do.

Closing her eyes to block out all the sensory information she could, she raised both hands to her temples, more a habit than a necessity at this point. Biana’s hand slid from her wrist down her arm, coming to rest on her shoulder, never breaking contact.

Pushing out her mind, she focused on the quiet rage, the pain Marella’s presence always brought, the glimmer of something more always out of sight, but there. Broadcasting her search in pulsating waves, she aimed them towards the direction she knew Marella had gone, the maze of tortured moss and rock, vast and unknowable.

Presences flickered all around her and she shuddered. So many thoughtless, hollow creatures, wandering the Earth yet dead in all the ways that mattered. It was cruel, whoever put them out into the world, to look at something so full of life and choose to unmake it into something of your own.

Faintly, she could feel Biana running her fingers through her hair, untangling a few of the knots she’d acquired over the flight. With each passing second she grew more and more restless, desperate for the feeling of Marella to light up her mind.

Anything yet? Biana asked, sounding a little preoccupied, like she was trying to work her way through a flurry of obstacles to voice the thought.

Frustrated, Sophie gritted her teeth, sending out a stronger push. I can’t--

Heat blossomed in her mind, a few of Marella’s disjointed thoughts exploding into color in the distance.

I got it! she exclaimed, bouncing slightly on her feet, feeling the grin splicing her face spread wider. Wait. Where...where is that.

The exuberance trickled out of them, the momentary victory not enough to explain what she’d found. Marella was...underground. At least, that’s what her mind was telling her, the origin of those echoing thoughts distinctly lower than ground level, and moving further downwards with each passing second.

Well, what are we waiting for? Biana countered, slipping her hand across her skin to interlace her fingers with Sophie, the more powerful energy transfer in her palms making them both jump a little. Here, I’ll help lead the way, just like in Nightfall.

Sophie’s eyes remained closed as Biana took control of Sophie’s physical well-being, helping lead her through various labyrinths of moss and rocks and dead twigs so she wouldn’t trip over them as she went, leaves blown from the forest behind them scattered throughout, only detectable by the crunching beneath their feet.

It feels wetter here, Sophie mumbled into Biana’s mind, a chill lighting her skin, yet up ahead the pulse of Marella’s mind remained constant. Stagnant, she realized, remained the air against her skin. Wait. What’s blocking the wind?

They’d come to a stop, slowing down as Biana pulled back on her wrist, fingers tightening.

Biana hesitated a moment before replying, as though uneasily looking around. I...think you should open your eyes, Sophie.

What? she replied, startled, though her eyes were already opening at the first inclination she should. Oh.

This is…

What am I...what am I even looking at? Sophie asked, utterly bemused.

Before them, a deep depression began, cutting through the land. Rock coated in moisture and dying moss tumbled down the terrain--stairs, she realized. Carved into the form of the area in such a way it took a moment to find, but those were deliberately placed. Reaching down without a rail--unsafe, if anyone asked her--those steps and chaotic rock formations descending downwards, steeper than any she’d ever seen before in her life, leading down down down into the Earth.

A cave. You’re looking at a cave, Biana told her, mental voice a little shaky.

She was right, the vast, looming space beckoning her forward looked like a cave, but--

Why would Marella sneak away to a cave? she asked, because down those precarious steps, into that jagged, leering mouth, was that ever-burning presence moving down down down into its depths.

Biana took a breath before responding. Let’s find out.

Sophie didn’t trust her body to take her down those steps with her eyes closed, so she kept them open for this part of the journey. Biana also let go of her, and she blinked as her body came back into view. Marella was far enough ahead that neither of them were worried about being seen anymore, but they liked to have the option open. Who knew what else was out here and relied on sight to hunt.

Her fingertips grew slick and moist from the moss covering those barely stairs, heart thundering into her ribs as she nearly turned the stairway into a slide, losing her balance badly enough she knew she would have coasted all the way to the bottom and crashed just a few weeks before.

But not now. Now, her wings steadied her, held her aloft with a hum as she regained her footing and continued on, Biana a few moments behind.

I’m ruining these pajamas, she commented, sounding more amused than annoyed.

That’s what you’re thinking about right now? Sophie questioned, bewildered as she turned back to make a face at her. It kept her mind off the way the air became stale. There was something else to it, something more than just stagnation that haunted the scent. It was...metallic.

Biana nodded solemnly, fingering the cuffs of her shirt, which were now dark with water. We should’ve flown. Her wings fluttered slightly behind her to emphasize the point.

I’ll keep that in mind next time we walk down a hidden path into a cave in the middle of the night.

Holding up her hands in faux surrender, like she was giving in just this once to keep her happy, Biana grinned at her. Then flinched. They both did.

It was difficult not to when the steps dropped off so suddenly, a gaping ledge at the edge of the entrance

Just another step and they’d enter the cave properly, not just the depression it was sunken into.

We’re really doing this, Biana whispered, awed.

Sophie just nodded, stealing herself for only a moment, then pressed forward, jumping off the edge into the open air.

The hum as they opened and caught her echoed throughout the space, leering back at her in a mocking imitation of herself. But she didn’t care. Not as she hovered there, back muscles straining as she turned around to look back at Biana, to encourage her to take the leap.

But Biana was already in the air, gaining height and momentum as she soared over Sophie, spinning about in a pretty loop before coming back down to meet her in the air.

Sophie thought she was smiling, but it was difficult to see her in the dark and night vision had never been a strength of hers. See. I told you we should’ve been flying.

Yeah, sure. She rolled her eyes affectionately, but it couldn’t ease the anxiety the dark brought. All the jokes, all the teasing with each other, all it could do was distract from the burning curiosity at the back of her throat, the reckless abandon with which she’d thrown herself into this situation.

Marella had walked into this cave alone, so they could do it together.

They’d put this off too long.

A faint bit of light still shone through from the gaping entrance, the moonlight bidding them one final farewell before they found something they’d never be able to undiscover.

Marella was down here somewhere, she realized with a start. Marella was down here somewhere, all alone.

Sophie cast her mind up ahead to regain that sense of direction she’d lost when opening her eyes, to figure out where the hell in these gaping caverns she’d gone. Her human family had gone to Carlsbad once on a vacation, but that had been a controlled cave with paths and railings, not at all like this uneven, natural cacophony of rock.

That burning spark had moved further and further away, but Sophie had enough of a latch on it now that she was confident they could trail Marella.

That was until her mind vanished entirely, extinguishing like a doused torch.

It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. A few minutes of bumbling their way through the dark, trying their damnedest not to make a noise.

If they could hear the dripping of the water off to their side, ringing through caverns and echoing through the air, then surely the sound of them moving--well, Sophie moving--could be heard up ahead. And with Marella’s mind vanishing, she was taking absolutely no chances.

Go go go go go. It was all she could think to say, desperation pushing her forward. Marella had to be okay. She had to be. There was simply no other option, no other ending Sophie would accept.

She didn’t want to think about why minds went silent.

Sophie--down there, Biana called out, though her sense of urgency was much less panicked and more determined. A fire had been lit behind her eyes, her mind entrenched in lighter fluid catching quick. There was no hesitation in her voice as she angled sharply down, towards the cave floor.

No, not the floor--there was something there.

Right before she slammed into the ground, Biana pulled back up, coming to rest on a small expanse of flat, stable ground half-hidden behind a myriad of other shapes and shadows. Her wings flapped anxiously behind her, at least that’s what Sophie thought.

Sophie followed, coming to a less dramatic landing, but she still nearly lost her footing, unable to see what she’d stepped on in the dark. Catching herself, nearly hitting Biana in the process of regaining what little sense of balance she had.

Frowning, she reached down, feeling along the ground to try and find the thing she’d stepped on, because it certainly hadn’t been rock. No, it had shifted and moved, unconnected to the ground. There, her fingers made contact, and she scooped it into a hand.

What’s that? Biana asked, reaching out blindly in the dark until her fingertips met Sophie’s, pulling the two of them closer together.

Running her hand up and down to try and get a feel for it in the dark, she fumbled about for an explanation. It’s like some kind of...stick. But-- her palms rubbed against something rough adorning the top, and she stopped short.

But what?

Sophie rubbed her fingers together, now oily and slick, the scent emanating from them familiar in an unsettling way. But she didn’t know where she would’ve seen something like this before aside from brief mentions of advancements in her human history classes.

It's...a torch. She mumbled, disbelief coloring the words. Like a rudimentary human torch.

Because those were flammable oils coating her fingers, soaking through the rope crudely tied around the top of the stick. Why would Marella need a torch? Was this Marella’s?

Turning to Biana, she held it out tentatively. Was this what you saw down here?

No, she replied, the faint sound of moving air accompanying her shifting wings. That was.

Frowning, Sophie took a breath. She’d need to work on her night vision in order to get through the next few minutes. Concentrating, she started off into the darkness, letting the little flickers and the knowledge that there was light somewhere in this cave guide her, her eyesight shifting just enough that everything became just a tad bit clearer. No longer was the world made of shadows, it was only haunted with them.

Blinking, she saw Biana’s arm extended, pointing to something, heart thundering in her chest and seeming to echo through the cavern.

Sophie turned.

And her heart stopped dead in her chest, stuttering through the next few beats as the burst of adrenaline hit her system.

They needed to find Marella and they needed to find her now.

Because her mind had found just enough light to discern the details in the cave wall, the claw marks gouged into the side, the spacing belonging to something much larger than she’d ever seen before.

But it was what she saw above it that gave her such pause, breath catching in her throat.

There was a symbol carved into a solid metal door, sitting agape in the shadows.

An eye, the same one that had been haunting her all those years ago and come back with such vengeance when her back was turned.

And a chain, intertwined throughout.

Sophie was through the door before she’d even decided to open it, Biana pressing in right behind her. It was left ajar; whoever had last passed through here hadn’t the time or the care to shut it. And for that she was grateful, because as she wrapped her fingers around it to push it open she realized it was several inches thick, complete with a complex latching system that had just been abandoned to the elements.

Stepping forward, several balefire sconces leapt to life along the walls, but their placement was scattered, as though multiple were missing or broken. Retreating, they winked out, only the vague shapes she could pick out on her own accompanying her. Testing, she inched forward, letting those lights ignite once again, illuminating the next few dozen feet.

The walls were solid cold stone, matte rock curving into carved pillars reaching off towards the ceiling alongside the length of the hall. It was all deep slate with a perfectly smooth finish.

Except for the claw marks gouged into the stone. Every few feet, another set could be seen, same as those outside.

Something terrible had once roamed this place, maybe still did.

Biana slipped her fingers between Sophie’s, squeezing tight as she exhaled in one big breath beside her, rhythmic, as though she were counting.

Ugh, what is she doing, Biana groaned with faux annoyance, but it couldn’t hide the tremor upsetting her mind. Sophie didn’t have time to be anxious, each passing second her heartbeat growing louder.

Questions later, she deadpanned, squeezing Biana’s hand back as she started off down the hallway. A rush of something unsettling devoured her skin, and in the flickering cast of those balefire sconces she realized could no longer see herself.

Drifting around them as they moved, the air had an...unnerving quality that she couldn’t put her finger on. It wasn’t stagnant, but it tasted almost...sterile. Too clean, artificial in a way that brought back childhood memories she’d rather forget.

As they picked up speed, fires kept igniting in front of them, more and more sconces reaching infinitely ahead, the patterns repeating themselves again and again. Pausing, she looked around, trying to see if there was anything in this hall. It couldn’t just continue like this, right?

Looking over her shoulder, only pitch black space met her. Apparently, the lights went out once you got far enough away.

Sophie Foster and Biana Vacker stood in a puddle of light in the middle of an eternal hallway, unseeing of anything on either side.

Look--the claw marks, Biana noted, her hand materializing in midair just long enough to gesture to the walls.

Tilting her head to the side, Sophie stepped a little closer, trying to see what Biana was noticing. Five deep scratches had been carved into the wall, but they weren’t humanoid in any way.

Materializing again for a brief second, her disembodied hand pointed off to their left.

Another scratch in the walls, the same five tears into that stone finish. Sophie didn’t need any direction to note the third instance, this one off to the right. Like Clockwork, every few sections of wall separated by those pillars were gouged out and cracked, having been torn through by something much bigger than the two of them.

But what does it mean, she asked herself, reaching her free hand out to finger the marks. Her fingertips were still slick with that oil, and she left glistening fingerprints on the walls every crack she touched.

The wall gave beneath her caress, something clicking in a way that would’ve been silent to anyone except her and that new hearing.

Biana pulled her back with a start, fingers tightening as her other hand came up to rest on Sophie’s chest, protective. But it was too late.

Moving on silent mechanics, the wall began to depress, sliding back and folding in on itself, curving around like some scene from Labyrinth to make an opening in the wall.

A doorway.

The hall wasn’t just infinite off into eternity--they’d been passing by doors the entire goddamned time.

Ecstasy lit her up inside like a switchboard, the stark relief that there was something something something and they were making progress.

Poking in her head, just to take a brief look around, she felt Biana pulling slightly ahead, moving into the room in its entirety. Sophie chose to stay closer to the door, just in case it started to close behind them. And maybe she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of just walking into a room underground without a backup plan to escape.

A few scattered flames flickered into existence, triggered by something they didn’t understand just like all the others. The light cast the room into uncertain shadows, but it was enough to see by. Tables, long a slender, wrapped around one half of the room, the other--

Her heart stumbled in her chest, a deep, instinctual fear telling her to run run run to get out while she still could.

It hit her then, what childhood memory this place reminded her of. The smell.

A hospital. It smelled sterile and stagnant like a hospital, like too much antiseptic and clean metal, like overhead lights buzzing in your ear and the crinkle of plastic and paper--easy to dispose of.

This is a facility, she choked out, stumbling out of the room, pulling Biana with her. She still couldn’t see her, but she could feel the tremble of her fingers in her hand, could hear the way her heart had picked up a beat, smell the sweat slicking from her palms.

There’d been several smaller facilities, hidden places scattered around the world, but none had been as fearsome as that original one. The one where everything had gone so wrong.

But that didn’t mean places like this one didn’t exist, offshoots to make sure not everything was localized, keeping animals and monsters and poking around with them or whatever they did.

Because that was a cage on the other side of the room, thick bars bent and twisted and unfurling themselves from the walls. Whatever had been kept there no wanted to be kept, had let itself out. She just hoped it wasn’t still somewhere within these walls, this hall.

That explained the symbol outside, at the very least.

Breath quickening, Sophie moved to the opposite side of the hall, pressing her fingers to about the same spot, moving her hand around until that same click sounded, the wall unfurling into a door revealing more of the same desolate decor, the sterile air.

In this room, though, there were spilled vials of various colorful liquids spreading all over the table. Deep red crusted the edges of notebooks and papers littered on every surface and floor, wrinkling and warping their appearance. Jagged and elegant, she couldn’t understand the runes written on the papers.

That wasn’t the worst thing in the room, though. No, she realized, as Biana let out a little squeak, grip tightening in Sophie’s like all that stood between the end of the world and the world itself was the two of them.

Rotted and crumbling, a skeleton sat behind the bars of this room, curling in and out of itself, sprawled in the corner, some parts a polished white and others coated in dried sinew and lingering skin. Inhuman in every sense of the word, but there was something in the back of her mind that couldn’t help but recognize the thing, to see it and understand it on some level.

Biana pulled her back out of the room. We have to find Marella--now.

I know. I know. But I don’t know how! she groaned, reaching a hand up to brace on the top of her head, like there was just some answer she could find to make this all fix itself. She’d fixed too many of the world’s problems before, but now this was personal.

Are you sure you can’t track her?

Grimacing, she dropped her hand back to her side. I can try again.

Opening her mind once more, she sent her consciousness rocketing in each direction for Marella, for a hint of anything. Any hint of a spark, any trace of a tail to follow. Again and again, her power shot out of her mind like shock waves, powerful enough Biana shifted in discomfort.

Nothing.

Panting, Sophie lowered herself to the ground, letting go of Biana’s hand to press both of her own to her temple.

“She has to be somewhere,” she croaked, throat raw from the stress coating every inch of her insides, the tension littering her muscles.

One more time. One more minute, and then they’d tear the entire place to pieces to find her--she’d call everyone else to come look, too. It didn’t matter that they’d scold them later for running off alone, for spying on a friend. As many eyes as they had would be on this area as soon as possible if she couldn’t find anything in one more try.

Gathering everything within her, she sent one last desperate, searching wave into this hall, searching for an end, searching for a lead, searching for a friend.

Nothing.

Groaning to herself, she dug her fingers into her scalp. Nothing nothing nothing again and again, the silence as deafening as it had been back when--

Wait.

A dozen moments flashed across her mind, testing and comparing and questioning.

Sophie sat up straighter, and Biana glanced side to side, like there was something she’d be able to see in this darkness.

Dark and numb and quiet. That’s what this place was, that’s where Marella’s mind had gone.

“Of course,” she hissed, jumping to her feet. “Don’t let me bump into anything.” The last part was directed at Biana, who was looking at her with hesitant hope.

“You found her?”

“No, but I think I can. I have to find my blind spots.” She explained, closing her eyes as she reached out again, searching for the center of that emptiness her voice had vanished into.

Biana hesitated for a moment, processing. “What?”

Sophie waved her arms in a brief explanation that didn’t explain anything. “Quiet. Monsters. Marella. It makes sense.”

Because it did, and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t put the pieces together sooner.

Marella’s mind had become undetectable, and every since then she’d been unable to find any mind other than Biana’s within this emptiness, but if she was right, that would disappear soon as well. She hoped she was right.

That day, just a few weeks ago, had she not made the same realization? Neither her nor Fitz could pick up on that mind approaching, and they’d burst into the wrong room without realizing there were swaths of people behind it.

Monsters were quiet. They made everything quiet, casting a thick blanket of emptiness over those near them.

Marella must’ve been near one, one powerful enough to snuff out a mind she knew so well, to hide it from her at her most desperate.

So she’d follow the emptiness, the silence. She’d follow it to it’s core as it got louder and louder until she found Marella. Searching for her like a blind spot, just like she’d said.

She just hoped her realization didn’t come too late.

Turn upon turn, rooms and stone and doors merging upon themselves and melding into a maze she couldn’t understand. How do you find a blind spot? She couldn’t see it, her eyes shut tight as they were.

Biana held her hand the entire way, the creaking grinds off opening passages and the overwhelming power of rot and rubbing alcohol and ruin pressing against her face as they moved.

MARELLA, she called out, desperate. It echoed into the emptiness pouring into her mind, as though the further she went the deeper and thicker the water grew. Wading through tar would’ve been easier than transmitting to Marella. But that’s not what she was trying to do.

It vanished into the murky fog, but with direction. Casting it all about, there was a direction where it became muddiest, traveled the least.

That’s the direction she indicated to Biana, letting her handle the doors and the moving, Sophie concerned with keeping that hold, that single gleam of hope amongst an otherwise bleak existence. Because at the other end was Marella. It had to be. There was nothing else she’d accept.

Again and again she called out, keeping them on the right track, though it was difficult with all the twists and turns. Ignoring how difficult it would be to get back out, Sophie furrowed her brow further.

But they’d stopped moving.

Biana’s arm was pressed against Sophie’s middle, holding her back. “Um. Sophie. I think you need to see this,” she whispered, breath trembling as she exhaled oh so slowly.

Sophie opened her eyes. Sophie let her hands fall to her sides.

Framed on either side by a once-extravagant curling arch, the world reoriented itself in her mind. The balefire sconces on either side tried desperately to illuminate the vast, unending cavern before her, but it simply couldn’t reach far enough. It would never be enough.

Mouth agape, Sophie stepped forward, moving through that arch and into the end of the world.

Wet and craggy, the smooth polish of the floors turned to rough rock, dropping off into an edge like the side of a cliff only a dozen feet in front of her.

A cave, vast and eternal. This was a true hollow beneath the earth, unending. A few wrong moves and she’d get lost in this molten black with no way back, stranded.

Because it was pitch black, the ceiling practically non existent it was so far away--when had they gotten so deep underground?

A cough rang out behind her, and she turned to see Biana’s arm pressed to her face, her eyes watering from the putrid rot and mold growing everywhere they could touch.

What had this facility been hiding down here?

Cautiously, Sophie reached out her mind. Nothing. As far as she could reach she sensed nothing, no one, nowhere. It wouldn’t do her any good to just go rushing off into the dark. She was reckless but she wasn’t that reckless--that was something Keefe would do, which meant she absolutely shouldn’t do it. Taking a single moment to get her bearing and solidify an approach could be the difference between life and death later. That didn’t mean she liked the wait, though.

“We have to find her,” she whispered, wings humming to life at her back, turning to look over her shoulder one last time to meet Biana’s eye.

But Biana wasn’t there.

Whirling, she turned back around, squinting out into that darkness, that open cavern with no boundaries. She could’ve sworn she saw a hint of the void grinning back at her. Perhaps Biana had flown off ahead of her, had moved when Sophie had frozen. But if she had, she was vanished and Sophie couldn’t detect a trace of her, not even the slight flapping of her wings in this dead silence.

Brr.

Sophie flinched, muscles all jumping to high alert at that single noise. She knew exactly what that noise meant.

A light exploded into existence in the distance like a beacon.

Fire.

Marella.

Found her.

How strange it was that concern for another could be so powerful any thought for yourself would vanish like an extinguished candle, hardly a puff of smoke to remember that self-preservation by.

Sophie was in the air and she didn’t know how she’d gotten there.

Heavy nothing pressed against her eyes, none of the shapes she knew existed registering in her conscious mind. It was too dark.

But that flash of flame--such a brilliant red-- had shot so high, so bright. The cavern had been illuminated for just long enough she’d been able to burn the image into her mind, knew there was nothing but open open space ahead of her.

She forced herself to think over the rest of the image, the cracked floor and frozen trickle of water that marred its surface. But she was in the air, so that didn’t matter. Why was she thinking of it?

“Marella!” she called out, desperate, hoping hoping hoping for another burst of light, a hint of direction. Her mind had become useless, the heavy lull of the presence of something keeping her suppressed, unable to reach out or track her any further.

Wait.

The presence of something.

Lead filled her heart, choked her lungs, tore her to pieces. So desperate, she’d been, to find Marella, to figure out where she was. She’d even made the connection between here and that first facility. The monsters, the blanket over her mind, the dampening of her ability.

There was something here.

And Marella was near it.

“MARELLA,” she called, listening to the echo back at her. If only Tam were here, maybe he’d be of some use in this environment. Some shade trick, some sleight of hand acquired from those bat wings of his.

A puff of flame answered her call, and her focus narrowed in.

No hesitation crossed her mind as everything became that one spot. She didn’t even register what that brief light illuminated, the marks on the ground, the curls of smoke that smelled faintly of burning sugar.

Towards the back of this cavern, or perhaps it was the middle, an outcrop of rock jutted into the sky, raised a bit higher than its surroundings. That’s what she’d noticed with that light in that moment.

Brr.

There. The sound came from so close she could’ve sworn she could see it, touch it. Something unfamiliar rippled through her body, coursing hollow electricity through her mind as her skin shuddered against her will. Air rushed past her mind, echoing further and further away, her ears ringing.

Wet rock and moss slammed against her, sending her crashing to her knees on the ground, hands splayed before her. What? That wasn’t possible--she hadn’t been close enough yet, hadn’t reached where she’d meant to be.

Stifling a yelp, Sophie pressed to her feet, and the wobbling of her mind told her if she could see the floor it would be swimming before her, undulating and curving in an unnatural way, nearly sending her to her knees again. Get it together, she scolded herself, trying to shake the feeling away.

Exhaustion pulled at her eyes, a deep desire to calm down and let all her worries fade away, nearly undoing all the effort she’d put into this trip.

Brr.

Just ahead of her, that’s where the noise came from.

“Oh? What are you hissing at?” Marella. That was Marella’s voice saying those words. Why?

That creature, that little echo. She’d taken it. Taken it and vanished into the earth.

Hissing? It wasn’t hissing, couldn’t she hear? Was it not clear the casual deference in its sound, as though bored with this whole ordeal.

But Marella. That was Marella, safe and alive and whole and so so so close. Where was she--the darkness remained relentless, impenetrable. Even if she’d had her sense of balance she doubted she could force her way through this empty smog, not this deep in.

She didn’t have to.

Brr.

The sound--behind her, it was behind her so she whirled, wings steadying her with a hum as she staggered into position.

It blinked at her. A pair of eyes, pure white, a ripple washing down its body as each of those white stripes she’d caressed not so long ago burst to light, incandescent, a beacon. Tumbling down and around and flooding the air, specks of dust turned to glitter rain and the wet rock beneath her feet shivering into life.

And it was as that light burst from it’s little body, curling through the air and guiding her, that illuminated Marella. It was still in Marella’s arms, but she was facing away from her, dragon wings draping down her back, falling around her as she looked off off off into the darkness that wasn’t so dark anymore.

And it was that light that killed her and left her to rot. Curling through the air, rippling through the world in waves, that light was bouncing back, bringing something else out of the dark and into the light.

That pure light turned into a deep red, glinting off claws and leather flesh and dripping dripping dripping into the ground.

Marella stood in front of a dragon.

There was nothing more beautiful, more alive in this world than being afraid. A pounding heart reminded her of all the blood she could lose, the tremble of each muscle a gentle threat of all the power she could be, the potential she could hold if only she was willing to throw her head back in the wind and embrace it as her.

This moment was beautiful in that Sophie Foster’s lungs moved too quick for her to count, in that Marella was oh so close to that thing and the thought of it set her alight.

She didn’t say a word, didn’t need to. Nothing more than a silent observer, Sophie feared.

As though the light against its scales were sparks hitting tinder, a warm glow burst to life beneath its skin, illuminating like a forge in its belly, lighting it up from the inside out as it raised its head, burnt sugar scented smoke leaking from its mouth as it exhaled oh so slowly.

Sprawled on its side, its appearance became visible: deep ruby scales to match the ones at Marella’s back, eyes a hollow white, the right one marred through with several deep scratches still fresh. Its body wrapped around itself, forming a crescent on top of this raised dais. A crescent Marella stood in the center of, that echo held tight in her arms, no hint of fear to be seen.

“Will you let me approach, now?” Marella whispered, not looking at it.

What are you doing, she called out with her mind, desperate, but she could feel it fall flat. It didn’t stop her from trying. A heavy silence pressed over this place, stole her breath, and she feared if she spoke it would be the last time she did so.

Her mind was unreachable despite such close proximity, guarded and elusive enough it may as well have been that of the dragon.

Whatever kept Marella safe so close to that creature, she did not dare disturb further.

What next and what to do? Look look look at me the answer said and yet she could not find it, saw only the glint of scales and the hollow of this chamber and the nothing nothing nothing on all side.

It was nothing.

The answer.

Do nothing.

Sophie stood frozen as stone as Marella stepped forward, closer to that dragon.

Its head turned towards the sound of her approach--it couldn’t see. It was relying on sound and scent and everything in between but it could not see. That slash through its eye must’ve blinded it.

It exhaled in a snarl, great bellowing curls of smoke adding to the miasma.

Marella did not flinch and Sophie could only watch stare fear as it pressed closer and closer and closer, the ground beneath them rumbling as it started to shift to its feet.

The shift allowed it to press its head right up beside Marella, head nearly half the size of her.

Slowly, determined, Marella’s hand moved from the echo in her arms, reaching out out out, skin meeting scale as she exhaled, the palm of her hand glowing with that same burning light that came from this beast’s throat, shining through as it puffed a lick of flame against her face.

Like calls to like.

The saying popped into her mind, but its origin eluded her.

Marella’s head bowed as she moved closer, resting her forehead against that of the dragon, encased in smoke. Each breath they took, they took in tandem.

A faint grinding sound, something ancient, snapped into place and their heartbeats synced; Marella’s existence could barely be heard over the cacophony of the dragon, its thunderous presence.

Whatever this was, it would pass. It had to. Sophie would get Marella, find Biana, and get them both out of here. Whatever was happening, she’d fix it. Everything would be okay. She just had to wait it out, see it through.

Something screamed.

From way off in the distance.

Wretched and wet and echoing.

The dragon’s head snapped up, huffing.

Marella turned, quick as a whip.

Her eyes were lidded and vacant, her breathing rhythmic.

But that’s not what caught Sophie’s attention.

It was the glow, the heat, emanating from those eyes. Alive. Marella was burning alive from the inside out.

The intensity of that gaze had her stumbling back, unnerved. Her hand flew to press against her sides, searching instinctively for those pockets, those missing pockets. Throwing stars, there were supposed to be throwing stars on her person, but there weren’t any pockets in her clothes because these weren’t meant for fighting.

She was. What devastating, effervescent beauty, to be born to fight. A fury in her soul refused to quiet, the remnants of her haunting lull on the battlefield never content.

Her pain would not be tamed.

Sophie’s hand slipped into a pocket; something pressed against her fingertips.

Unthinking, she withdrew it.

Her imparter cast a murky light into the growing smoke, the fog, but it remained devastatingly legible.

A cascade of messages had come through in the past few minutes alone.

Fitz had sent question after question, out of his mind with worry. Why couldn’t he reach her? Where was she? Was she hurt?

But there was another message from someone unexpected. Maruca had reached out, one sentence. But those three words may as well have slit her throat for the way she choked.

Linh’s gone missing.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Shattered Upside Down

A kotlc wings au

summary:  When the world begins to crawl with unnaturally made monsters, the Keeper crew continue to fight like they always have. But a wrench is thrown in those plans when they themselves become less than human.

Chapter 1: The Descent

Word count: 7k

warnings: mild fantasy violence (nothing more than in canon), swearing

taglist: listed at the end beneath the cut, but let me know if you want to be added or removed

!!! Y’all!! It’s finally here!!! And you might be thinking, Quil they don���t have wings. To which I say: be patient!! this is a multi-chapter fic! this is just the groundwork <3

ao3 link here

or read beneath the cut

It was comical, really, just how quickly their security had crumbled into unbridled, ravaged chaos. They had relied on the extravagance of the Neverseen, always too brash, too bold, too eager for attention. They were self-sabotaging. They revealed their plans a moment too soon, wanting the world around them to see the cunning, the thought, to know which moments were their last.

And they’d played the part so clever, it hadn’t crossed a single mind that they were gracing more than one stage. That even when they weren’t putting on a show, they remained ingenuine.

The Black Swan had thought them comical storybook villains, all talk and poise. And then they’d slip, underestimating you and letting you swoop in last second, tossing wrenches in their gears and bringing them up short. A hero. Classic and overused, but a hero nonetheless.

It had been ludicrous to entertain the notion they could be capable of anything greater, anything deadlier. That they wanted to be stopped again and again. That they wanted to build the Black Swan’s confidence in themselves, wanted to be broken and bruised and battered and defeated again and again and again.

Because then who could consider them a threat?

Who would look for them, frail and scattered as they were?

They had all been lured into a false sense of security, taking the first deep, fulfilling breaths they’d had in years. And each day it came easier. Every passing second without disturbance relaxed their bodies and eased their minds. It had been months and months, long enough they felt safe. Actually safe. The idea was laughable now, but it had been true. The Neverseen were gone, dead and buried.

But villains work best from the grave.

The Ruewens noticed the shift first, although if you asked either of them they wouldn’t be able to tell you quite what it was. The subtle gleam gracing the teeth of each new animal they took in, each creature becoming more violent and vocal, tails thumping just a touch harder against the ground.

It was only a coincidence that seven times in a row the creatures were “uncharacteristically rough and wild for their species.” It only became worrisome when the docile creatures began to growl at anyone’s approach, even the ones that had already been tamed.

Then it all went to shit.

Absolute

fucking

shit.

You wouldn’t have been able to tell from the outside; it was surrounded by one-way glass. Look through and all you’d see were splotches of amorphous green, running streams, sunlight soft and secure. But the view from inside was a completely different story. From inside you could see the creeping mold and blood caked along the sides of streams, the marks in the trees and the torn roots, ash where the sun had burned too bright, rusted mist raining down.

What a nightmare they’d made of paradise.

Except, somehow, the Lost Cities themselves had ended up on the outside of the glass, content to pretend the creatures roaming the hills were only a problem if they were near you, which they weren’t. So what a pack of rabid unidentifiable beasts attacked? They hadn’t been here, so it wasn’t a problem.

Then it became a problem.

The creatures moved closer, working their way through the land, ravaging their way towards the Lost Cities. The elves blinked and they were surrounded. Crystal castles tumbled into sand, stone pavement was ripped from the ground, trees torn and shredded, dripping with infection.

They’d had no choice but to leave it all behind. There’d been backlash of course, despite it being in everyone’s best interest. Those who were so attached to what they had, what had remained a constant in the past millennia of their lives that they were fully willing to risk themselves for it. There was no doubt though, that had they been allowed to remain they would’ve regretted it the moment those creatures came to their door, the ones they’d refused to believe were their problem.

So they’d all moved below ground, deep enough they couldn’t be reached. Every inch of surface available to them was dangerous, so they’d gone beneath it. The dwarves had graciously worked to hollow out living space for them all, creating entire kingdoms beneath the sand. And now they were much more powerful, carried more weight with each step, the responsibility they’d risen to clinging to them and eating them respect no one could deny.

They’d all be dead without them.

Not everyone was in one place, a few spots underground scattered throughout the world and it nearly impossible to travel between them. Light leaping didn’t work underground, and it was an incredible risk to brave the surface for a single leap. Once everyone had been settled, they’d stayed there. And they were still there.

I mean, what else could they do?

It had taken them a bit to work out just where these volatile creatures had come from, the ones now spanning the entirety of the world--although the humans were still unaware. Something about the pollution and overall vibe of the forbidden cities kept the monsters away from them.

A few had suggested moving to the forbidden cities as an alternative to living underground, but the disgust for the places quickly killed that idea.

The Black Swan was adamant that somehow the Neverseen had to be behind this. The organization had been the only enemy they’d ever had--and they were right, in a way. Despite months of silence, of nothing, of security, they must’ve done something.

But how, was the question.

Perhaps it would’ve been better had the question never been answered, if they’d all remained ignorant of what had been hidden right beneath them. Certainly, there would’ve been more resistance had every single elf shoved underground been kept in the dark.

But alas, illumination came tied with a silver ribbon.

One of the smaller creatures, really not much larger than a candle, had slipped into the residences, stirring up a ruckus in its frantic attempts to escape as it realized it was trapped below ground. It had been caught in a corner, hunched over away from the lights. The entirety of its body had been shaded by the large mushroom cap covering its head. It was only on closer inspection they realized the red, dripping mushroom was attached to its head. The rest of its body was disproportionately small and warped, grooves scorn into the skin.

They had been taking it back towards a small air vent--so they could release it onto the surface--when they’d seen the small clasp. It was imperceptibly small, silver in color, piercing the underside of the mushroom cap. It was a tag. An identification tag complete with a pin number.

If that hadn’t been enough proof that the creatures had been intentional, the symbolic eye entwined with a sturdy chain would’ve been enough. Their hearts stopped dead. That eye was unmistakably the Neverseen’s symbol, but that chain…

It was clearly another symbol, the two mixed. But--

Fuck. The creature in their hands had grown panicked and impatient, the space they’d thought was its body leering open to reveal rows upon rows of stubby teeth, all sharp edges and imperfections. They’d nearly dropped the creature in their panic to shove it into the air vent, closing it quickly behind as the sharp, tiny stomps faded as it climbed further and further away.

That creature had been created intentionally and the Neverseen had been a part of it, that much was certain. But there was someone else. Another force out there with enough influence and power to corrupt the entirety of nature’s balance, able to rewrite the story of evolution, and they were represented by a chain.

But who was it?

No matter how shallow her breaths, the overwhelming stench of musk and mold continued to coat her tongue and turn her stomach sour. Sophie exhaled slowly; it would do no good to dwell on what she couldn’t change. The rest of them weren’t faring much better, but the thin cloths over their faces provided a sliver of relief.

Sophie, Fitz, Keefe, Biana, Dex, Tam, Linh, Marella, Maruca, and Wylie. More people than they’d usually risk bringing on a mission, but it was a necessary risk for one of this magnitude.

She assumed the thick scent was coming from the swaths of unidentified plant life gorging it way up the sides of the tunnel, clinging to wet, crumbling rock and glowing faintly blue in the light. At the very least it provided slight illumination of the tunnel ahead, along with the branching pathways they occasionally crossed that likely led to collapsed rooms and dead ends. Mere months ago she would’ve been anxious over the thought that the ground above her would give way and crush them all in moments. Now, however, months living underground had made the ground above her a comfort more than anything. If there was enough soil between her and the surface, the creatures that roamed freely couldn’t get to her.

Although that didn’t exactly apply when they were heading straight into the breeding facility; the heart of the creatures, their origin, where they still poured out in lucrative amounts, a constant supply keeping the surface a hazard.

We’re only about a half-mile away, Dex informed them. He spoke into their shared mental space, kept in place by Sophie and Fitz’s combined efforts, eliminating the need for out-loud conversation. Some of the creatures--especially the ones that liked the dark--had particularly keen hearing, and the closer they got, the riskier any noise would be.

Her head snapped to the side as Biana skidded for a moment on a patch of gravel, sucking in a sharp, silent breath as she caught herself. They all winced, pausing to listen if the sound had caught the attention of anything nearby.

Biana didn’t bother to apologize, they all knew it was inevitable and unavoidable--and it couldn’t be undone.

Remember the plan? It was Fitz’s voice echoing through their heads this time, although it felt like he was trying to whisper despite it being mental. They all nodded in response, and Keefe patted his pocket, bulging with the same explosives they all carried.

Sophie cleared her mind, running through the plan--which she’d done so many times by now the exact words were likely permanently etched into her brain. At the end of this system of tunnels--which Dex was navigating them through--was the breeding facility. This breeding facility was where the creatures on the surface were created, and where they were still coming from. Old and new types alike. Sophie had a basic outline of the facility--it had been difficult enough to find the location, buried deep beneath the earth, getting specifics was impossible--and the areas they were to hit. Everyone had a stash of explosives, black cubes small enough you could wrap your fingers around them. They’d get in, set up the devices, get out, and detonate them once they were a safe distance away.

It was supposedly simple, but everyone had their own speculations about what could possibly go wrong; the most likely was that they would be caught in the act.

The tunnel began to widen, opening into a large cavern; but, as they looked up, they realized it hadn’t always been. Pillars rose around them towards an arching ceiling, carved designs gracing the stone. It appeared this place had once been a grand room, almost reminding her of Victorian castles, but the floor had collapsed into rubble, green vegetation covering nearly every inch.

Linh rotated her hand as she fluttered her fingers, seemingly almost absentmindedly. The leaves rustled faintly, in response to her call. She said nothing for a moment, and Sophie’d almost forgotten about it when Linh spoke up.

I wonder how these plants are able to flourish so far underground, seemingly on their own. A memory from only a few seconds ago flashed through the mindbubble--Keefe’s nickname that had stuck-- and as Sophie watched it she could feel the body memories of Linh tracing the water through the roots of the plants and into the ground, trying to find a source large enough to sustain this vegetation.

Linh shook her head, nodding to herself and to assure the others she remembered their goal, their mission. The reason they were here.

Adrenaline hummed through Sophie’s veins as she began to survey the walls, the bases of which were a good ten feet above her head. She could sense the rest of the group doing the same, but it was Tam’s searching shadows that found the entrance.

It was nearly buried in a corner, obscured by mounds of rock and swaths of green, but it was there.

Sophie briefly sent out a wave of consciousness into the mindbubble, assessing her team and assuring they were all prepared. They seemed to be, although Linh still seemed to be ruminating on the water in the room, fingers rubbing together rhythmically.

Releasing a slow breath, she crawled into the hole, small enough she couldn’t have even sat up comfortably. If Dex’s directions were to be trusted, this hole would lead into an old ductwork system in the back of the facility, and from there they could drop down and continue as planned. The ground was jagged against her palms, but at the very least her hands were slightly protected by her gloves--the same black everyone was wearing now. They must’ve donned them before crawling in behind her-including Linh.

It’s dead ahead, she said, having spotted the reflection of the ductwork up ahead. She couldn’t imagine it led to anywhere particularly important in the facility, as the air it would’ve brought in was absolutely foul. Whatever glistening substance coated her hands and soaked her knees was going to linger.

She came to a stop at the edge where the rock gave way to rusted metal, but a moment was all she allowed herself. Bracing, she slowly lowered her hand and weight onto the ductwork, hoping it would remain silent.

A small thud resounded as the metal bent, but that was it. She gave the clear to the group and continued forward, already wishing this part were over. The duct was significantly smaller than the already cramped tunnel, but at least the tunnel had glowing fungus to light the path. This was pitch black and tiny, requiring them to shimmy on their elbows with only the light of their pendants to guide them. She wasn’t good enough at night vision for it to help, and she wasn’t going to waste energy trying. She needed to save everything she had.

The group continued forward with bated breath as they searched for an opening in the pathway, everyone eager to escape this claustrophobic nightmare. It’ll be over soon, she reminded herself, but when Biana echoed back, Soon, she realized she’d spoken into the mindbubble. Her cheeks flushed for a moment, but it was quickly put out of her mind when she saw a change in the lighting up ahead.

There’s something coming up, she transmitted, hushed. Don’t know what though. There was palpable hope in the air; they were all wishing it was the opening they’d been waiting for, but no one wanted to be let down if it turned out it wasn’t.

Sophie attempted to maintain the quickest pace she could without making sound, but in her urge to get to that possible opening, she nearly kicked the side of the duct. The person behind her--likely Marella, she hadn’t looked--sucked in a breath as everyone froze.

After only a moment's pause, she began forward again, now at a much more reasonable pace as the shift ahead was confirmed to be a vent.

She came to a stop before the slits of the vent, peering down into the room below, sending out a sweep of her consciousness to see if she could hear any thoughts indicating people nearby. Determining it was clear, she slipped the small multipurpose tool from where it’d been stored in her sleeve and began to undo the screws. It made an awful groan when she tugged off the grate, and she gripped it tight in one hand as she gently slid out face first, catching herself and levitating the rest of the way down.

The ground was surprisingly further than she’d been expecting, a good thirty feet from the vent in the ceiling to the dusty ground. Her landing left footprints in the dust, but if everything went according to plan the place would be crumbling long before that would become a problem.

The rest of the group slowly drifted to the ground, emerging from the vent one-by-one in a way that almost made Sophie want to laugh. The fear curdling her blood was enough to keep it in her throat, though.

There didn’t seem to be anything in this room besides storage, discarded crates stacked surprisingly aligned, towers reaching up towards the ceiling. Brushing her fingers over the top of a nearby crate, she saw it had a label.

Curious, she tried to read it. Unfortunately, it was either written in ancient elven or some sort of cipher she didn’t understand. Still, she not only wanted to know what was inside, she needed to. If this was something that could be used to create more monsters, it needed to be destroyed.

As she set about opening the case, the others assumed their positions. Dex was already working on something in the corner, hacking the security system so they could monitor the cameras and place them on loop. Biana was near the door with Fitz, who appeared to be mentally scanning the nearby area for thoughts.

She grunted as she pushed the lid open, bracing it on her shoulder as she peered inside. Her stomach squirmed uncomfortably, and she very quickly closed the crate before anyone else could peek inside. She didn’t want them to see that.

This room has got to go, she whispered into the mindbubble, and while she could feel their curiosity, they didn’t push the issue. Wylie only nodded, removing one of his explosives from his pocket and wedging it between a few crates near the center of the room.

We’re clear to move ahead, Fitz said, and Dex seconded him, holding up his modified imparter. It appeared to connect directly into the camera feeds, where he could switch between different cameras and assess their surroundings.

As we move I’ll be placing the cameras each group is near on a loop, but try not to linger; it’s not a guarantee. Sophie nodded, and Dex passed his imparter near the door, which clicked unlocked.

The door pushed open, presumably by the now-invisible Biana, and they all filed out into the hall. It seemed to hit them all then, that this was truly happening; this was high stakes. At any moment they could be caught, but if they succeeded the entire place would hopefully fall on top of itself, burying these horrors permanently.

The halls were all the same murky, metal grey, as though trying to imitate the stone it had been carved from. Faint gouges could be seen in the walls, and the lights were flickering balefire, every few feet another ball of flame was placed, providing inconsistent illumination.

Sophie went left with Biana, Linh, Dex, and Maruca; Fitz went right with Keefe, Tam, Marella, and Wylie. They’d done their best to disperse abilities across the groups, but it still left each one lacking key assets. But that was unavoidable.

Biana--with Sophie’s help--ensured that their group remained visibly undetected, and she was grateful they had practiced moving in sync back home, otherwise, everyone would’ve tripped over each other. Systematically they made their way through the facility, not actively trying to hide evidence they’d been there but not going out of their way to make it obvious. The intention was that the plan would be executed and the place would be falling long before anyone would notice anything, so speed was their true ally.

Each explosive placed had the lump of anticipation in her throat rising steadily higher. This was truly happening. She kept reminding herself that in just an hour this would be over. However it ended, it would be over.

Footsteps sounded off to the side, and the group froze, pressing themselves into the corner of the room. Similar to all the others, it was stacked high with crates and racks of vials nearly up to hip height, organized this time by color. Sophie had placed her explosive underneath one of the vials, clearly visible to anyone who walked into the room.

Now they could hear voices as well, murmuring sharply as they came closer and closer to the room. Sophie could hear Biana’s pained gasps in the mindbubble, exerting extra energy to keep all five of them expertly hidden. Her fingers were clamped around Sophie’s own, nails digging into Sophie’s skin as she shook with the exertion.

There was a window in this particular room, so even a moment's slip could reveal them to the figures they watched stop in front of the glass. She memorized their faces, and could feel the others doing the same. A man with curling black hair and light brown skin, talking to someone much shorter than him, who looked to be no more than a child in a frilly gown, hair tangled and red. They were clearly having an argument of some sort, the girl stomping her foot dramatically.

Please don’t come in here. She wasn’t sure which of them had said it, but they’d all been thinking it. Biana would’ve if all her energy wasn’t going into keeping them invisible.

Is something wrong? Their anxiety must’ve been enough to send the message throughout the entirety of the mindbubble, not just their group, and Keefe’s concern echoed throughout their heads. When he got no response the others started chiming in, which at least meant they weren’t in any immediate danger if they had the luxury of checking in on them.

The nails dug further into her skin as the man outside the door sighed, swiping a keycard and unlocking the door, shoving it open with his shoulder as he continued to scold the girl.

“Absolutely you may not--” he began to say, one foot through the door frame, yet he still hadn’t looked, eyes on the girl. The voices in her head went silent, the adrenaline flooding her system drowning her alive until it was only that man and the explosive on the table, ever so visible.

He began to turn, eyes moving inside the room, door fully open as he stepped in.

The girl screamed. She screamed in frustration and stomped her feet and darted down the hallway, barely avoiding tripping on her elaborate gown.

The man’s attention whipped after her and he snarled something incoherent, stalking briskly after her, the door thudding shut behind him.

He left behind a thick silence, and it took a full thirty seconds before Biana’s grip on her loosened, a faint panting coming from the empty space near her as Biana swayed slightly, leaning heavily on whoever was next to her.

They lingered only a few more seconds, just barely enough for Biana to regain her composure. It was imperative they move on as quickly as possible; they had no clue when that man would be back, but it was certain he would return before they'd blown the building.

As they left she took a brief moment to hide the explosive, somewhere that wouldn’t be so easily visible for when that man returned. It would buy them time, hopefully.

Work quickly, Sophie transmitted, sending the message echoing towards the others. That had been much too close, and her urgency must’ve been obvious because she could feel the others perking up.

She could see her group’s minds lingering on that little girl, the one who’d thrown a tantrum and saved their lives. They’d known, theoretically, that there were people in this building, not just supplies and serums and whatever else created monsters, but they’d reasoned their way through the guilt. Anyone in the building was actively harming the planet and helping produce those creatures in some way; they were all complicit, so the world would be better if it were rid of them. That was something they could deal with if it saved their families, their friends stuck underground as the world above was ravaged.

That little girl was just that: a little girl. She couldn’t have been older than five; she played no part in these deadly games, yet she’d pay the same price.

Sophie hauled them through the hallways, ducking into a particularly shadowed corner away from the balefire light, the rest of her team slightly dazed. Someone's memory of that feisty girl lingered in the mindbubble, a silent question, hesitance. She could feel the other group somewhere else in the facility stop dead at the sight of her, dread tightening their stomachs as their minds cycled through the possibilities. How many just like her were hidden somewhere within these walls, unaware of the horror and grief surrounding them, coating the floors and washing through the halls; how many?

There’s nothing we can do about that right now, she transmitted to everyone, desperately trying to return them to their senses. They couldn’t do anything with everyone in such a state, clouded minds and stumbling limbs, and her panic alongside her upbringing fraught with human horror gave her enough lucidity to be the leading voice of reason. Perhaps they’d abandon the mission--although that was a last resort. They’d already gone to so much trouble--but they couldn’t do anything just standing about, practically begging to be caught.

Their minds sharpened, and someone gave her arm a reassuring squeeze, telling her they were there and they were okay. She exhaled quietly, glancing around anxiously to double-check they’d remained undetected.

Sophie was almost certain she could feel the heavy, fluttering pulses of her friends reverberating through the air as they continued on, jumping at each faint sound. Their near disaster had sombered the group, and they all appeared infinitely more aware of their surroundings, expecting someone to appear any moment.

They weren’t communicating exactly, but when they’d gotten down to their last two explosives she mindlessly reached out into the mindbubble, searching for Fitz and the others. She could feel rather than hear his response, although he seemed to be just as distracted. The others in her own group placed the last two as she scanned the surrounding space for thoughts; they made their way through the halls, peering through windows into the rooms--which were surprisingly abandoned. Apparently, the storage units were not a priority when it came to security.

Or they were guarded by something much more sinister than mere guards. The gouge marks in the walls seemed to leer at her, more ominous than they’d been a moment before.

It turned her stomach, thinking about just how expansive the facility was. It appeared infinite, spanning several stories above and a few below them, each floor impossibly tall and wide. They’d made their way down about two flights, targeting the structural supports of the building so everything would be crushed in the downfall. She intentionally kept herself from thinking about that little girl.

There’s the rendezvous room, Dex said, and Sophie shook herself internally, pulling the group forward. When they’d first come up with the plan, they’d intended to retrace their steps and exit the way they’d come, but it was deemed too high of a risk to sneak back up through the floors of the facility, and they had instead designated the room ahead as a meeting spot. It, too, had large enough vents to crawl through, which eventually made their way to an opening that should allow enough sunlight down for them to leap away with; although, if that didn’t work, they could always work their way through the vents until they’d completely retraced their steps.

Like electricity jolting through water, Fitz reached out to her, giving her a direct line to him to allow her to track his location more easily. The tether between them led to just around the corner up ahead. They were coming from opposite sides, and if you knew exactly what you were looking for you could see a large shadow creeping unnaturally against the wall, so crisp it was practically imperceptible despite her knowing where to look.

Sophie’s group made it to the door first, and Dex’s hands shook slightly as he crouched down to fiddle with the lock. He swiped his imparter across it, but nothing happened. She watched him work through his own eyes, peering through the mindbubble as he let them in. The tension grew as the others caught up to them, Tam’s shadows spreading over them slightly, enough so that Dex could disconnect from the chain, lighting the strain on Biana.

She could see him gnawing slightly at his lip as he tapped on his imparter in quick succession. Someone began breathing deeply and slowly, and she started to scan their surroundings again. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t let them be caught off guard.

Marella shook out her hands, sparks flickering between her fingers, growing with each passing moment that door refused to open. The veins in Wylie’s hands shone for a brief moment as he clenched his fist, the shimmer fading as he relaxed his fingers, glancing around.

There’s a different lock on this door, Dex mumbled, mental voice sounding faintly panicked, as though he were putting effort into sounding in control.

Yeah, no shit, Keefe grumbled, but there was a tension lacing the words that shouldn’t have been there.

Just give me...a...little longer. I think...I’ve got it.

Each pause was accentuated by a small tap as he lost his train of thought, fiddling with the locks. Cold dreaded settled itself in the center of her stomach, reaching dripping tentacles about and curling them around her insides, squeezing tight as the oxygen levels in the room seemed to dip-- and the problem didn’t appear to be the kind she could fix with a few deep breaths.

There was virtually nothing they could do but wait for him to finish, and it was agony to sit there, eyes frantically pacing the gouged walls hoping no one was approaching. Fitz’s mind reached across the mindbubble towards her, and she let him in, pooling their energy together to send pulsing waves of consciousness out around them, searching the nearby areas.

With each pulse that passed over them, the thoughts of their friends flared for a moment before dimming as it passed, but there was no one else nearby. No other flashes of thought near them that they could identify.

Wait.

There.

Fitz made a muffled sound of distress, and she could see the others’ heads snap up towards the both of them.

Shit, they transmitted. Opening their minds, they showed the others what they’d found--or rather, what was about to find them. A few halls away were thoughts, approaching quickly in their direction.

Holy shit they’re close, Biana breathed. And she was right. Normally, they’d be able to detect someone this close clear and simple, but there was a haze over their thoughts that she’d never seen before. It was as though they’d made their thoughts invisible, and she’d only barely been able to see through the deception.

There was nothing to be done about it, however, except fervently hope Dex could open that goddamn door before that person walked around the corner and saw the conglomeration of shadows and a door opening on its own. Which would happen in approximately...thirty seconds.

C’mon, I’m so close, Dex strained, mental voice shaking.

Footsteps echoed just a few moments away, and she began to bounce in place, squeezing her fingers so tight she was surprised the bones didn’t snap.

GOT IT, he cried, wrenching the door open as the lock unlatched. It was a race as everyone scrambled into the room, the footsteps and their hidden thoughts growing closer and closer each second. She couldn’t even think through the adrenaline, her arms shaking so badly there was nothing but the colors in front of her and her goal.

The door clicked shut behind them, just as the person rounded the corner.

They’d made it. Her breath came out in harsh pants, and none of the sounds around her made much sense, but she just couldn’t take her eyes off that door.

FUCK, Tam yelled, and as a force field flickered into place around them, Sophie finally turned around.

To find a room full of various guards, all of whom were staring back, malice and shock glimmering on their faces. But what was even worse were the caged creatures behind them.

Viscous pale syrup dripped from vats spread throughout the room, pulsing with thick spiderwebs of veins and mucous. Her stomach dropped as she tilted her head back to see them more fully, vaguely humanoid but distorted. Limbs stretched out like sticky candy, skin close to wreaking, appendages ending in blunt bone creeping its way out of the body. Hair floated around them in the thick substances, matted and black and shining.

They seemed dormant, but their appendages twitched in time to their thunderous heartbeat, sending waves throughout their liquid enclosures.

That was all she had the chance to see before the guards closest to them pulled out their melders.

Everything seemed to be moving at twice the speed it was supposed to be, throwing her completely off her rhythm.

Maruca stood in front of them, arms spread wide as she held a force-field around them all, Biana had let go of her, choosing to spend her energy in a fight rather than vanishing them, and it was as they broke contact that she realized just how much of her energy Biana had taken.

She swayed on her feet for a brief moment, casting out her mind and trying to get a sense of how many there were in this room that appeared infinite.

Rows of vats spread farther than she could see, although not all seemed to be occupied. None of them should’ve been. They’d gone out of their way to ensure they’d stay far away from any creatures, no matter the potential benefits. There was nothing that could be done against them.

Maruca grunted as pangs clattered against the force field, trying to find a way through. Sophie’s breathing quickened as she realized she couldn’t feel the presence of anyone in the room. It was although she was entirely alone. She couldn’t feel Fitz next to her, or anyone under the force field, and she couldn’t detect anyone outside of it.

There was an ominous silence, despite the shouts of the people around her. Security personnel were murmuring into communication devices, alerting others of a “disturbance in sector 34, room B12.” But no one in her group said a word. They’d learned not to. They spoke in the mindspace however, hysterical and screaming.

This was not the room they were supposed to be in.

There was nothing they could do as warning lights began to flash around them, strobing effects searing her eyes as alarm bells tolled, shrill and vibrating.

It couldn’t have been more than five seconds since they’d walked through that door.

She steeled herself, drawing on that knot of power she kept stored beneath her ribs, feeling the energy channel from her chest towards her head, building and building until almost painful. But she couldn’t release it. She couldn’t attack through the force field, and Maruca couldn’t drop it because then those melders would hit them head-on and they couldn’t withstand that.

Everyone else was in a similar predicament.

Then it got worse.

She didn’t think it could get worse.

How could it get worse?

The creature in the tank seemed to be reacting to either the lights or the sounds--it didn’t really matter which. What mattered was that it was moving; it was opening its gaping maw and screaming within that tank, air bubbles shooting their way towards the ceiling and lingering, a never-ending stream as its body began to buck and thrash sporadically, sharp limbs colliding with glass.

The cylindrical vat cracked, a spiderweb of broken veins spreading from the point of impact, growing with each collision as it began pounding against the glass.

The muffled sounds it made were absolutely horrible, and she slapped her palms over her ears, grimacing. But what truly stopped her heart was the sound of falling glass, wet and raining down, clattering about and bouncing off the force field.

Because now the creature was loose.

The figures who had been attacking them now swore, looking back and forth between each other before darting out of the room; their weapons still raised despite them being little threat beneath their bubble.

The door latched behind them, and Sophie seemed to come to the horrifying reality at the same time as the others.

They had no way out of this room.

SCATTER! Maruca screamed as she dropped the force field, and everyone complied, darting around the room, trying to get out of the way, hoping hoping hoping that creature wasn’t the exceptionally violent kind, and that it would leave them alone.

All of the creatures they’d encountered so far had been aggressive in some way or another--some simply left you alone unless you got close, others would attack on sight. They’d started a notebook to keep track of all the kinds they knew about, but this one was entirely new.

The only solace that could be found was that it seemed to be the only one that escaped its tank, the others appearing undisturbed.

Watching it from behind a stack of crates, Sophie could see it growing more and more agitated, banging its appendages against what seemed to be its head in distress, a warbled screech piercing the air as it began to flail about.

She ducked at the distinct sound of tables and boxes being crushed as the creature stumbled, tearing at the ground. She began to frantically search the room, looking for something--anything--that could help them at all. There had to be another exit, there had to be something they could do.

Her eyes met Keefe’s across the room, and for the strangest moment, she wasn’t concerned about the creature killing them all, or the guards capturing them and holding them hostage, or their explosives going off when they were still in the building. She was just worried he could feel her panic and it would be too overwhelming for him to concentrate.

Wait.

That was it.

Her mind clicked the pieces together and she sank to the floor, pressing her back against the shelves embedded in the wall behind her, putting her fingers to her temples. The creature was overwhelmed and overstimulated, and it was reacting poorly. She’d never tried to communicate with or inflict on any of the creatures before...but she’d never had a reason to.

She just hoped it would work.

Using that gathered energy, she reached out towards the creature, a mental hand fumbling in the dark. But it appeared she couldn’t...find it. There was just...nothingness...wherever she reached.

Opening her eyes slightly, she squinted up at the creature, which was still stumbling around in response to the overstimulation. The visual helped her narrow in on its mind, and as she reached for it she began to realize... its mind was the silence. She hadn’t been able to detect the mind of the people in the room or her friends because this creature’s mind was so incredibly silent; it broadcasted a blanket over everyone nearby.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING, someone hissed into the mindbubble. But she was so far gone that it barely registered as more than a gentle, far-off whisper.

Desperately trying to control herself, Sophie began bringing forward peaceful, calmer memories; she had to reach further back than she’d expected; life hadn’t been particularly relaxing as of late. Finally, when her head seemed to overflow with calming vibes, she sent them out like a shockwave around her, a ripple in the empty.

Anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention could identify the exact moment the wave hit the creature. Its spine went rigid, snapping straight as its head jerked up, their gazes meeting. Each noise fizzled out in the same instant. No one dared breath in that poignant silence, the space almost empty now, and for the briefest moment, she wished that it weren’t so empty, so quiet.

Her wish was answered.

There was no warning as the creature’s head cocked to the side, staring her down with those empty, glistening black eyes, no warning as it lunged towards her.

Well FUCK, was the only thought in her head as it careened towards her, stumbling as though it’d only learned to walk that day, which it might have.

Its movements were uncoordinated, but that didn’t make them any less violent as the tables around them crashed into each other as it crashed onto all limbs, moving with such speed it could cross the room in less than a blink.

She couldn’t move. She couldn’t think. Her friends were screaming, but she couldn’t make a sound. Her eyelids were fluttering shut as that suffocating silence pressed in closer and closer.

The creature was charging straight towards her and she couldn’t think. It lost its balance, coming down hard on top of her, but its limbs were too long to crush her, and instead, it was crashing into the shelves behind her and crushing glass and breaking rock and its own bones and she. Couldn’t. Think.

Crystal shattered behind her as the shelves were wrenched from the walls, the creature desperately trying to right itself, shrieking that inhuman sound. Vials began to rain down behind her, crashing on the hard floor.

The noxious scents of the spilling bottles began to flood the room, visible gases blooming from where the colors mixed, sizzling and bubbling on the floor. The creature bucked its head, scrambling away, limbs bashing the floor as it dashed far, far away into the hollows of the room.

The silence was back, but this time it was accompanied by fumes and watering eyes as everyone pushed to their feet, stumbling and coughing.

We havetoget...Dex began, eyeing the frothing liquids….out ofhere. He was standing so far away. How had he gotten there? She might’ve been nodding her head, agreeing with him, but without the adrenaline, everything was...so slow...and the floor seemed liquid and plush.

She couldn’t see who began coughing, their whole body wracked in a fit as the vapors became so thick she couldn’t see. It occurred to her too late to try holding her breath, her eyelids fluttering as she stumbled a few steps, but she didn’t actually know where she was going.

A thud sounded behind her, and she turned, the room seeming to lag as she did so. Biana. It had been...Biana. She’d made the sound. Her body was crumpled on the ground, unconscious. That should’ve sent a spike of alarm through her, telling her to move. To go. Get out.

But she couldn’t think. And the others quickly followed, a series of thuds echoing throughout the space as one by one, they succumbed to the fumes.

Sophie was still standing, and she briefly made eye contact with Dex--why was he so far--watching him fumble with his imparter. An explosive rumbling sounded in the distance, growing stronger and closer with each moment her eyes remained open. She was upright only long enough to see Dex fall before she felt her muscles give, and she crashed down hard.

Wings AU Taglist:

@loudnerdfest @rainbowtay-11 @cadence-talle @pyrokinetic-loser @ahecktonoffandomsinoneblog @itstiger720 @loverofallthingssmart  @cowboypossume @jolieharkness @wings-of-hell-and-beyond @shellyseashell @blossomjenniie  @imaramennoodle @booknerdddddd @akotlcblog