"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" Matt yelled, pumping his arms in a notably undistinguished manner as he bolted for the hole.

Inside the hole, the found more grubs, nesting and feasting on whatever prey was dragged in for them. The Vortigaunt pressed on ahead, and throughout the tunnels, they heard the echo of angry galloping from the patrolling Guardian. The rest of the tunnel was connected by these slime-filled "grub chambers," and they'd probably be the only way they could escape the Guardian without being forced to kill it. This they knew when the Vortigaunt tore open the webbing on the other side, only for the Guardian to halt beside the hole, as if waiting, then take off with a growl.

Seeing his chance, the alien bolted across the tunnel, to the next grub chamber, and the two of them made their way through the tunnel, the Guardian hounding them every step of the way--but soon, they came to a small mine shaft that the Guardian could not get into.

"We are safe," the Vortigaunt said to Matt, as the Guardian snarled and struggled to get through the gap in the wooden boards and beams to try and smash them into a fine paste. "For the moment."

Down below, through the floorboards, there seemed to be an expansive chamber, and a scent that Matt's alien companion knew to be the extract. They were close.

"Are you sure I can't just punch it a little?" Matt asked. "It wouldn't be KILLING it, but at least we'd stun it."

"There is no need," said the alien in response. "The scent of ripe perfection beckons. Follow, Willard, while I track it to the source."

The Guardian, knowing it could not reach them, backed out of the entryway and sought another way to reach them, but they'd be long gone before it could return. The Vortigaunt used its energy to blast open a hole in the floor, allowing them into the chamber below. Within was a defunct elevator, and yet more larval combs clinging to the walls. The shrill cries of grubs echoed throughout the chamber as they dropped down into it.

The Vortigaunt approached the disabled elevator, whose engine looked to be missing some large gears, and looked up to where it lead. "This shaft connects to the chamber above, where my kin sustain the Rising Dragon," he informed his human companion. "Once we have the extract, we can rejoin them quickly, provided we can restore elevator function."

"Even if we can't, I'll just get you up there myself," Matt said, pointing up the shaft. "It shouldn't be that hard."

Luckily for the two of them, it was simple enough fixing the elevator's engine and starting it back up. With that accomplished, the Vortigaunt walked over to the gate at the far end of the elevator chamber and jumpstarted its generator, to open it.

"Forward," the alien gestured.

An unusual smell struck the two of them as the gate fully opened, exposing an utterly gigantic cavern chamber. A great deal of its walls were covered in larval combs, most of them occupied by antlion larvae. The Vortigaunt trotted up to a ledge off to their right, one covered in the combs--a huge stalactite hung just over it, it too covered in an antlion nursery.

"Ah! Such quantities of larvae!" the Vortigaunt sighed, breathing in the unusual scent. "Such a heady aroma..."

Matt couldn't see the face he was making, but whatever it was, he was sure it was heavily disgusted and crinkled. "Ohhhhhh, maaaaaaan! I don't even want to know what the hell that is."

The alien stepped over to the comb and lifted his main arms up high, gathering his powers together. "Chur, lung gong chella gurr," he chanted, throwing his hands down upon the hive. As they touched, the whole chamber blasted with blue light as the larvae within the combs began to glow brightly.

"Gom, gom... mmm... lur..."

As the light faded, the fountains of energy began to dwindle throughout the nectarium, until finally, only one remained, glowing brightly within the hive comb beneath the stalactite. "Ahh, excellent!" the Vortigaunt exclaimed. "A bounty of larval extract! This should only take a moment."

The alien clambered up onto the hive and reached into the comb, scooping out the extract with a wet, slimy sound. "Secretions of the finest quality! Let us return now to the Rising Dragon."

He clambered down, holding the glowing sphere close in both hands, and made off towards the elevator chamber at a quick pace. They boarded the elevator and started their journey back up to the top.

"You know, this whole thing could've been avoided if someone kept the elevator at the top."

"The elevator had been broken for some time, and this is not a hunting ground we normally come to," the Vortigaunt explained. The elevator shuddered as it began heading upwards, blanketing the two of them in darkness, with the only source of light being the larval extract cradled gently in the alien's hands. It cast a haunting glow of blue-white light on the alien, making for an unsettling image.

"Truly, Willard, well done. You bear some traits we thought innate to Vortikind," he praised Matt. "Antlion husbandry was once our ancestral practice. The creatures exude many valuable compounds, but the extract is the most prized by far. It dissolves the false veils that divide the vortessence. All this you will witness when--"

They were nearing their destination, and the alien's keen sense of hearing picked up on voices up above shortly before Matt could. The Vortigaunts up below were speaking.

"No pulse! His heart has stopped!" one exclaimed with alarm.
"He ebbs!" said another, dismayed.
"If we lose him, we lose all!"
"R.D.!" Ileyna could be heard shouting.

The elevator came to an abrupt halt at the mine shaft, just behind the gathered Vortigaunts, who still were trying to sustain R.D. on the table. The gate flew open, and the Vortigaunt quickly strode out to rejoin his kin. He wordlessly handed the extract over to the Vortigaunt across the table, then took his place at sustaining R.D..

"Behold, the extract!" the other Vortigaunt exclaimed jubilantly.
"Miraculous secretions!"
"Join, now, as we imbide the extract!" said the first alien.
"Yes!"
"A human is needed..." said the alien off to the left.
"Agreed."
"Join us, Willard," Matt's companion said, beckoning him over to the table.

Edited by RisingDragon on February 15, 2011 at 10:50:30

Matt glanced over to the others, especially to Alasea and Helena's worried faces. Helena, in particular, hovered near the edge of a full breakdown, it seemed. And why not? The guy almost died once before. If he fucked this up, then R.D. was dead for sure.

No pressure, of course.

With that, Matt joined the Vortigaunts, and got ready to do...something hopefully helpful.

The Vortigaunt holding the extract lifted it high above them, as if in ritual, and then messily devoured it.

"We weave the Willard's life," the companion spoke, "With his."

The one who ate the extract placed his hands together, as if in prayer, and began to glow in an eerie violet color.

"Yeeesss, there is a quickening..."

The glowing Vortigaunt reached over to his comrades on either side, touching them and spreading the glow to them. Those two touched both Matt and his alien companion, and they too began to glow. The room darkened as energy filled it, pulsing through Matt and the Vortigaunts in waves.

"Almost vortal, this bond between you," Matt's companion remarked as they began.

The Vortigaunt who devoured the extract swept his outer arms up and back down over R.D.'s body, and as they neared, the injured boy's body was swept up in a strange anomaly, as if the Vortigaunt's powers were warping his skin and clothing to transparency to see beneath. Lines of violet light could be seen sweeping through R.D.'s body in waves, across his muscle mass and through his veins and arteries. The alien lifted his hands up from R.D., and the body was pulled up into the air by an unseen force. Something felt pulled from Matt, gathered and given to R.D.. Down the hands went, sweeping from torso down his legs, back up to his face, and returning to his torso before pulling back, and something felt returned to Matt, warming him from within. Down the hands went again, the sensation of loss returning, and then suddenly, everything just... stopped.

Light warped, staining everything in a fading gray, and a soft, feminine voice called out from the void to Matt.

"So this is why he trusts you... why you were chosen to take up this task."

"...who's that?" Matt turned around, felt the air lag.

The sense of disconnection that remained in Matt also permeated the chamber, the motion of turning blurring the edges of the room in disconcerting ways. And then light warped again, as a spectral face came into view of Matt's vision, as if overlapping everything else he saw.

It was a soft face, one with feminine curves and a solemn expression. There was no way to tell the colors of her eyes or hair or even her complexion with the light spectrum wavering in disarray. Her eyes looked to be shining, probably never a good sign.

"I know this isn't the... best time for a heart-to-heart, but I couldn't step in until your friends were distracted," she said, glancing off to the side, as if looking over her shoulder at the Vortigaunts. "They wouldn't appreciate my presence."

Even now, Matt decided not to let up his guard. "Excuse me for being rude, but who the hell are you and what are you doing?"

"This won't be the end of it, you know that, right?" the girl said, looking back at him. It appeared she wasn't going to tell him who she was. Even then, despite the disconnection, there was no hostility emanating from this unknown entity.

Light warped, and they were standing a frozen moment within the Eternal Sanctuary, the temple housing the Infinite Chamber towering above them, setting a backdrop for the girl. There were better hints of her this time, light wavering. The loose dress she wore was white, her hair was a dark color, like brown or auburn. Her eyes, still too bright for a normal human, gleaming like shards of Omega Essence.

"Everything you do has unforeseen consequences," she said, a hint of sadness or resignation in her voice. "The end of the Age is coming, but your actions are like a pebble dropped into water. Just like it had in the Eternal Sanctuary. Even if you right the wrongs that happened, it won't end."

Matt didn't much like her attitude, nor the reminders she was giving him through visions of the past. For now she seemed harmless, though. Definitely concerned about something, judging by her words. Definitely regretful.

"If that's the way it's gonna be, I might as well learn to live with it," Matt said, pacing to the right slowly, keeping his eyes on the mysterious girl. "But I'm gonna guess you don't mesh with what I think. I'm guessin' something bad happened to you, something that R.D. was involved in, and maybe you want me to let him die or something for revenge or pity or whatever. If that's what you're lookin' for, do your own dirty work, because I don't swing that way."

She gave him a smile, her eyes closed briefly. "I wouldn't dream of it. I would've thought you'd remember that, but I guess I'm still too naive."

She opened her eyes, her smile fading. The wavering light was gone, but even still her true details were not clear--they were standing on the shores of a silver sea, cast in the dying glow of an impossible sun. "The both of you have already lost so much. Your quest has taken you through so much already.... you've been traveling for so long," she said pityingly, but not unkindly.

Her tone indicated that she spoke of events long before the shattering of the Omega Core.

"How much of the journey do you still remember?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "How much of it have you forgotten?"

"I haven't forgotten any of it. Well, of course, except troublesome parts I choose to ignore." He swept his finger at her. "But you're speaking like we've met before, and since my memory does get a little hazy every now and then, I'm gonna need a reminder."

The girl looked out upon him sadly, the sun beginning to set behind her. "The interval of darkness warps so many memories. I can't be sure of which ones actually belong to me anymore."

Light warped again, and they were in a blackened chamber, upon an octagonal platform that was overlooked by an ominous throne--even with the disorienting disconnection, there was a feeling of wrongness permeating the structure.

"They told me I shouldn't bother watching over him, that he wasn't the one," she said, changing the subject. "I knew better. I knew not to listen. He had so much potential, and you proved that. But now I have one thing left to ask of you."

"What's that?"

Light and location warped for them once more, and they found themselves within the Infinite Chamber. For once, the girl's form was seen clearly--auburn hair fell down her back, and blue eyes looked over the pedestal that had initiated the Omega Core's return. She brushed her hand over it before looking back at him.

"See him safely to the Center, Mr. Willard," she said, smiling briefly. "I wish I could do more than keep an eye on you... but I have to abide by certain restrictions."

Light warped once more, leaving them in darkness, with R.D.'s body suspended in mid-air like he was left on the table. No amount of movement could get Matt near him or the girl standing opposite of him at R.D.'s side.

In the distant darkness, past R.D. and the girl, a figure clothed in a black robe not unlike the one worn by the Chronomancer. The figure's arms seemed held together by the hands, which were obscured by the sleeves of its robes. The robed figure was not, however, watching either of them.

It was staring at Matt.

The girl knelt down at R.D.'s side, brushing her hand over his forehead. "It's time for you to wake up now," she said to him sadly. "Just remember, you need to prepare... for unforeseen consequences."

R.D.'s eyes suddenly opened, and light warped once more, and the vision came to an end, leaving Matt with a sense of disorientation and a lingering feeling that what had happened had been seen and what had been heard had been for his eyes and ears only, and no one else.

The Vortigaunt lowered his arms, the violet glow fading from his body as R.D. groaned. "He stirs," the alien said, looking down on him. The young man's wounds were gone, as were the fragmented pieces of cable that had been jutting from his skin.

"His vortal form has regained integrity," Matt's Vortigaunt companion said.

"We have averted an immeasurable loss."

"Lie still," Matt's companion told him gently.

"Mmmn... oh, God... my head," R.D. groaned, lifting his hands to his head, his eyes clenched shut from an immense headache thudding through his skull. Finally, he opened them and took note of his surroundings--luckily he didn't freak out upon seeing the Vortigaunts, or Matt near them.

He tried to lift himself up, propping himself up on his elbows after some effort. "I thought for sure that I..."

"The battle against the Secret of the Dragon Tribes caused traumatic injury," the Vortigaunt who had devoured the extract said with a gesture of one of his three hands."

Groaning, R.D. fell back onto his back, more resigned than in pain.

"We knit shattered bone and restored circulatory integrity," Matt's companion said, causing R.D. to look at him.

"Yet, it was the Willard who retrieved your vortessence," said the one standing by R.D.'s feet.

"... my what?" R.D. muttered, bringing a hand to his head.

"I have no fucking idea," Matt said. "But you ain't dead, so that's good enough for me."

"How long have I been out?" R.D. asked wearily, rubbing at the inner corners of his eye with one hand.

"A matter of hours," came the reply of Matt's companion. R.D. froze at the statement, his mind reeling, and then looked at the back of his right hand.

Gone was the unusual, shifting and indecipherable symbol that indicated Lumiya's repair. In its place were five different symbols that, when he thought about it, looked as if they would mean something when they were complete.

Confirming that yes, Lumiya had indeed finished repairing itself. And that his captivity had been far longer than he had feared. "Fuck," he muttered to himself as he tried to get up. "We can't stay here."

"A moment longer," the alien reprimanded gently.

"But... we can't stay here for too long, they'll--"

"No fear," Matt's companion eased. "We will put you on the right road. Now... try carefully to rise."

Nodding, R.D. turned and tried to get to his feet, and nearly collapsed for his troubles, only catching himself at the last moment. "Whoa. I don't know what you did, but I get the feeling I'm lucky to be here."

"Don't push yourself," Hugo said. "You took a hell of a beating."

"Yeah, well, you were mind-controlled and I had to defend myself and all that," Matt said.

There was no jibe or remark back. R.D. just looked downwards a bit, his expression downcast. He remembered every vivid moment of the fight, and his utter incapability at stopping it. "Yeah," he murmured. "Yeah, you did."

R.D. stood up all the way, getting his balance back. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to see the girls quickly approaching. Alasea reached him first, almost tackling him as she wrapped her arms around him. He didn't catch the tears in her eyes.

"Idiot!" she yelled at him, weakly pounding his chest with a fist. "You are such an idiot!"

Frowning in guilt, he wrapped his arms around the girl. "Sorry, Alli," he said pathetically.

"It's not his fault," Helena said, stepping up to Alasea's side. "Take it easy on him. He's been through a lot."

"He's still got a point, though," Hugo said, looking up at the Vortigaunt that Matt escorted. "We're in danger and we need to keep moving."

"Come then," the Vortigaunt replied. "I will get you on the path to sanctuary."

After a moment, Alasea nodded and stepped back from R.D., wiping her eyes. She took R.D. by the arm to help him into the elevator as the Vortigaunt opened it, and they all boarded it to head back up to the surface with the alien as their guide.

"Farewell," one of the Vortigaunts remaining behind bid.
"Go safely!"
"Travel well."

"Bye!" Ileyna waved goodbye down to the aliens. The elevator continued up to the top, and admitted them entrance into one of the surface facilities.

"Good people," Matt said. He folded his arms and looked over to Helena. "What's wrong?"

She sniffed, covering her face with her claw. "Nothing. I'm just...getting a bit emotional right now. What with everything that's happened."

"I think I can walk on my own now," R.D. said, waving Alasea off. "Lemme give it a shot."

He stepped off the elevator and stretched--his entire body felt stiff and sore, and no wonder, considering what had happened to him. "Yeah... stiff, but I think I'm okay."

They walked into the corridor, which seemed to be part of yet another mine shaft, with various support beams stacked against the walls. When they reached the corner of the room, however, something heavy smashed into the wall, growling and snarling, causing R.D. to stumble a bit from the sudden shock and the girls to elicit little shrieks of surprise.

The glowing Guardian snarled beyond the damaged wall--it seemed it hadn't forgotten Matt and the Vortigaunt, or their actions within the nectarium. "What the hell is that!?" R.D. demanded, staring at the creature as it galloped back down the tunnel.