Story Thread: Operation Stolen Wool

[OCisbestungulate]

Once again, from the RP sector of these wonderful forums, another story has been born. However, this time, as one grand team we have constructed and created a story that was authored by many hooves, rather then one! Therefore, for those who want to see and read what has transpired, and lack the time or desire to dig through the thread in which it is found, we shall post the story here in one convenient thread for all to see and read.

We, the RP sector of the Them's Fightin' Herds official forums, proudly present:

Operation Stolen Wool
​

 

[OCisbestungulate]

The story thus far:​

Not long ago, 6 factions rose to defend the world of Foenum. These factions, each exonerating one of the noble Champions who battled for the right to be the Keybearer, began to fight, and taunt one another. Thus, to bring peace and order, The United Foenum Counsel was founded. A neutral third party in which the factions could meet on equal ground and discuss things like equals. However, there formed another group. A group that served the ancient power known as the Predators. This group, named The Hunters, waited and bided their time. You see, not long after the founding of the UFC, the cows, who honor mighty Arizona, and call themselves Ariz-totzka, were attacked by a nation of giraffe. This conflict, latter named The Battle of Unruliness, saw an alliance of the mighty cows of Ariz-totzka, the brave sheep of The Pom Patrol, the noble Longma of the Empire of Tianhuo, and the powerful pact-makers of The Dark Side, work together to not only being about victory, but gain a new ally as well!

However, it was in this conflict that The Hunters chose to strike. When the chance arrived, they kidnapped the de-facto leader of the allied army (one Prime Minister Fleece, a sheep of some importance), and attempted to turn everyone in that battle into food for their dark masters. Setting their differences aside, all five sides combined together to vanquish the traitorous Hunters, and to free those whom they had taken control of. It was a glorious victory for the UFC, if not all of the heroic factions!

But the victory was bittersweet. While The Hunters were beaten badly, Fleece was still missing, undoubtedly in the good care of the traitors. Knocked out, dragged on the ground, and taken prisoner, he awoke to find himself in a bad situation indeed...

 

[Stunthead]

Spoiler: The Meat of the Matter (Violence Warning)

Who could’ve guessed that the worst torture Fleece would experience during his kidnapping would be self-inflicted?

He had no idea where he was or how long he’d been there. His stone cell was cold, damp and dark. His wool, usually brushed and dry, was now matted and stained with dirt. While he had been fortunate enough to only receive minor cuts and bruises at the hooves of The Hunters, his fight with the giraffes had left him with 2 broken ribs and a broken foreleg, neither of which his captors had bothered to tend to. Fleece was no doctor, but he was fairly certain that if one of your lungs feels like it’s filled with liquid, you’re probably in need of significant medical attention.

And on top of all that, he missed his puppies.

But even the mere thought of what he was about to do was enough to make his stomach turn. He stared at the disgusting pile of bloody meat sitting on a plate in the centre of the room. A sick Hunter had brought it in for Fleece to eat, and told him that he wasn't getting any more grass until he had licked the plate clean.

Fleece regarded the meat with sadness. “What where you when you were alive?" he asked it.

The meat didn't say anything at all.

Fleece sighed, then hesitantly scooped up the meal with one hoof. He wasn't going to eat it. He refused to give The Hunters that kind of satisfaction. But maybe it could still be useful...

Holding his breath, Fleece smeared the freshly-cut flesh onto his wool. Down his chest, around his neck, on his forelegs; it wasn't long before the entire front of his body was covered in the sickening red gore. Then, when he was done, he placed the meat tenderly in the corner of the cell. He felt like throwing up, but he'd eaten so little the past few days that he wouldn't have been able to if he tried.

Fleece took a moment to gather himself. Then, he picked up the now-empty plate and smashed it against the wall. After listening to make sure nobody was coming, he sorted through the pile of broken pieces and pulled out the biggest, sharpest plate shard he could find. Being mindful of his bad leg, he lowered himself to the floor of the cell and turned away from the door. It wasn't much of a plan, but he figured that if it even had the tiniest chance of success, it was worth trying.

About 20 minutes later, Fleece's Prison Warden, a large bull that called himself "Duo the Liger", entered the cell block. As far as Fleece knew, there were no other prisoners being held in this particular block, but Duo still made a big show out of loudly rattling the bars on every cell door he passed. Checking on the "invisible prisoners." His way of letting Fleece know that he was on his way.

"So!" Duo called out. "Howz ya meal, Mr. Prime Minister?" He peered through the bars, a sadistic grin on his face. His smile quickly faded, however, when he saw Fleece's blood-covered figure lying stiffly in the centre of the room, clutching his makeshift knife.

"Aw crap..." Duo muttered under his breath. "Ziege is gunna kill me fer this..."

Fleece heard the door unlock, then slowly creak open. Duo stepped into the cell and made his way towards Fleece's rigid body. "Stupid sheep. It was just a li'l flesh. Nothin' worth killin' yerself over..."

Without warning, Fleece lept to his hooves and swung the plate shard at Duo's face. Caught by surprise, Duo could do little more than wince as the shard was stabbed deep into his cheek. "AH, WHAT THE F-"

Without wasting a moment, Fleece staggered towards the door, ducking under the swinging hooves of the angry bull. His broken leg burned, his chest heaved, his blood-soaked hooves slipped on the stone floor, but somehow the adrenaline boost was enough to get him to the door before Duo could grab him. With a swift kick, Fleece slammed Duo's face in the cell door, causing the bull to stumble.

Fleece knew he didn't stand a chance against Duo in a fight. The only thing left for him to do was run. And to be honest, he could barely do that. The adrenaline had worn off quickly, and the pain in Fleece's chest had started to become unbearable. He sprinted for the exit, but his sprint quickly turned into a hobble, then into a limp. Fleece had barely made it past 5 cells before he heard the thunderous sound of The Liger chasing after him. Fleece knew escaping was a long shot, but at this point he would be lucky if he could even reach the exit without passing out.

As it turned out, luck was against him, as was the uneven floor. One small misstep was all it took to send Fleece tumbling to the ground. And once he rolled to a stop, that was it. His body refused to work any further, protesting every attempt to stand back up with a searing shot of pain.

"Aw, whut's wrong, sheepykins? Feelin' a li'l tired?"

Duo had slowed his pace to a walk. There was no need to run - the most Fleece could do was pathetically attempt to drag his broken body across the stone floor with one hoof. Duo caught up to Fleece, and placed his hoof down on his tail, halting his movement.

"Don' worry buddy, Ah know of a nice place where you can get yerself sum rest." Duo grabbed Fleece's tail with his mouth and begun to drag him back towards his cell. Fleece struggled weakly, but there was little he could do against the tremendous strength of the large cattle. The blood covering his wool left a dark red trail smeared on the floor.

"Oh, an' by the way, this is fer cuttin' mah cheek." Duo lifted Fleece by the scruff of his neck, then slammed his face into one of the metal bars. Fleece could now add "broken nose" to his list of grievances.

Duo tossed Fleece carelessly back into his cell and locked the door. "Pathetic creature." He said, shaking his head. "I don' know why the mind control didn' werk on you, but it certainly wasn't cuz of yer strength. If Ziege didn' still have a use fer you, Ah'd've disposed of you mahself."

With that, Duo the Liger turned and left the cell block, clanging his horns against the bars as he went. Fleece lay on the floor of the cell room, breathing heavily.

The meat didn't say anything at all. Neither of them did.

 

[OCisbestungulate]

The UFC caught wind of this horrid event. Thus, they launched a joint rescue operation to get the dear Prime Minister of the Pom Patrol (who has since retired) out of their clutches. The plan was both simple, and many fold. Guarded by the fierce thunderbird Hurricane and his legion of birds, the UFC knew this would be no easy task.

The Empire of Tianhuo would first fly in and distract Hurricane and his guards.

Next the Ambassadeer of The Proud Nation of Velvetia and the dangerously insane (or was it insanely dangerous?) Fluffy and the demon Zack, a member of The Dark Side, would infiltrate The Hunters' lair by getting captured, and try and rescue the Prime Minister from within.

During this, the UFC itself would intervene by attempting a path of diplomacy. Its leader, the great boar DungeonMiner, would engage The Hunters at the front of their lair and attempt to reason with them; to try and find a peaceful path.

At the same time, a lynx named Weylyn would lead a small team behind lines to scout, and remove, any obstacles that might stand in the way of their rescue mission, should diplomacy fail.

Beneath them, a longma by the name of Gaosung, would burrow a tunnel. Or, more accurately, an escape route from the prison that held Fleece.

And should all else fail, Zero, ambassador Paka Nation, would lead an all-out assault on The Hunters' lair, and free Fleece by force.

What follows is this story, with each part having been written by those who partook in this plan.

 

[0Zero100]

After a long, long, LONG wait here is Operation Stolen Wool.

FAIR WARNING, THIS WHOLE STORY WILL HAVE SOME LANGUAGE AND SOME GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS!

(This first part had to be split up to make it fit.)

Spoiler: Bad Luck Pt.1

It was bad luck, really. One moment Feanor was crawling through the dry grass, cursing those infernal Longma (who she had determined were at least half snake) and doing her best to keep pace while keeping the dirt and weeds out of her coat. The next, something brushed her hind leg and she was flying. A girlish shriek - which she adamantly refused to believe was her own - broke the forest hush, and she found herself hanging by one hoof from a rope, staring down at a patch of roots a bare few feet below her face.

The silence was broken by the hiss of muted cursing from the underbrush ahead. "What happened?" One of the Longma demanded. The senior of the two, with the green scales and permanent limp.

"Exactly what I told you would happen!" The second Longma snorted, "She wandered off. Probably saw something shiny in the grass." He was the one with the beautiful bronze scales, but a pinched, mean face to match his personality.

"Ex-CUSE me. I did not 'wander off'." Feanor sniffed disdainfully, "I simply chose another route."

"You were ordered to follow!" Pinchface growled.

"You were crawling through the mud," she hissed back, "I'm not a pig."

Muted giggling sounded from the forest behind. Feanor’s lip curled in contempt as she saw the stunted little Reindeer whispering, seemingly to herself. The demon was choosing to remain hidden it seemed. “...I think she’s more worried about the dirt than the Hunters, Zack!” She caught Feanor’s cold gaze and bit back a laugh, “Hey, uh. Don’t panic now Fea, but you got a little something…” She tapped her cheek infuriatingly. “Right there.”

"Quiet, all of you!" The first Longma hissed. "Listen!"

Feanor pricked her ears, instantly alert. Silence. Nothing but the gentle creaking of the rope as it swayed slightly from side to side in the rustling breeze and the merry chirping of forest insects, oblivious to the tension of the larger world around them...

Then she heard it. Hoofsteps, and the sound of voices, muffled but growing steadily closer.

"...telling you, I heard something!"

"And I'm telling YOU, you heard one of them birds. That's what they do. Squawk and screech. That and watch everything. EVERYTHING. The damned things give me the creeps, tell you the truth."

"You can explain that to Ziege when one of their scouts gets past us."

The hoofsteps paused.

"Relax! No one's gettin' past us. You know why? 'Cause even if they did, there's nothing on the other side of these woods but dirt, who'd be stupid enough to try that?"

"This is prey we're talking about," replied the first, as though that explained it all. "I'm gonna check it out."

"Suit yourself. I'm gonna take a leak."

The hoofsteps resumed, only one set now though.

Feanor glared ahead, spinning slowly in place. "You all planning to just stare?" She whispered fiercely, cheeks hot with the indignity of it all.

"Cut her down!" Limp said.

"Why?” Pinchface whined, “She got caught, like she's supposed to. I say leave her."

"It's too soon! We stick to the plan."

"This wasn't in the plan!"

"No time to argue! That’s an--!"

A streak of silver cut through the air, whistling close enough that Feanor felt the air as it lodged in the tree trunk with a hollow thunk. She hit the ground at a roll and was on her hooves in a second, landing in a crouch. Her eyes took in the rope - neatly severed - then the knife embedded in the tree trunk. Then Fluffy’s impossibly innocent, frowning face.

“Thank you, Dark One,” muttered the Longma, looking uncomfortable.

“Awww!” Fluffy looked distraught, "But I missed!"

The others had no time to respond, the hoofsteps were rapidly approaching now, close enough to hear the snapping of twigs underhoof. "Who's there?" called the patrol, "Identify yourself!"

Fluffy faded back into the shadows in that way which only she seemed capable of, and the Longma froze, near invisible in their cover. Feanor glanced about desperately, then dove behind the trunk of the tree she had been hanging from moments ago, just as the intruder rounded the bend into the clearing.

"I know you’re there!" He was an ugly one, for a certainty. An Alpake with a patchy brown coat, burned bald in places, and a scar across his face to match the mark on his forehead. His eyes were squinty and bloodshot, darting around the area suspiciously as he approached.

Through the tree trunks where Fluffy had disappeared, Feanor thought she detected the faintest flitting of shadows, but she couldn't be sure. She pressed back into the tree, willing the Hunter to stop. When the voice came again, it was so close she almost jumped. "If this is some kinda joke, it ain't funny! Come out now and have yer laugh, or I'm blowing the whistle!"

Pine needles crunched less than a yard away, separated only by the small space of wood between them. Feanor stopped even breathing. She could see the edge of one leg now, could smell the stink coming off of him, but she dared not shift her position for fear of snapping a twig. “Hurricane, if you’re messin’ with us again, we’re gonna have words with Ziege!”

Her eyes met the pale green ones staring back from the camouflage of the undergrowth. The Longma gave the faintest shake of his head. The Alpake had not made a move for his whistle, then. She waited, every nerve taut - ready. One sudden move - one more step - and she would jump.

It never came. The Alpake made one more scan of the trees, then gave a yawn. "Hearing things again, Tak," he grumbled to himself, "Nan was right, you should never have left the damned kitchens." There followed some strange shuffling noises, and the sound of a pack hitting the ground. Then a sound of trickling water that Feanor couldn't place at first. Then it dawned and she recoiled in horror. Disgusting! Still she couldn't take the risk to move - could only grind her teeth in disgust and humiliation as the Hunter watered the tree roots only a few feet away.

Finally the Alpake stepped back with a sigh of relief. Feanor had never been more thankful in her life. There came some more shuffling as he gathered up his things and turned back. Of all the horrors she had prepared for, becoming a territory post for a filthy Alpake had not been one of them. She scowled daggers at the Longma in the brush, daring them to react. This had better have been damned worth it.

She dared a peek around the tree as the patrol started back, still grumbling to himself. "Stupid birds." The breeze picked up, rustling the pine-needles and tugging insistently at the severed end of... Feanor saw it coming and jammed a hoof to her mouth to stifle a gasp. There was nothing she could do. As though in slow motion, the rope swung, ever so gently on the breeze, to dangle directly into the path of the Alpake's marked forehead. "Guess the old bastard was r--" He froze. Slowly, his head tilted back to follow the rope, “Oh.” He said, dumbly. Then his eyes jerked down to the knife hilt embedded in the tree. "Oh! OH SH-"

 

[0Zero100]

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MAY BE TOO GRAPHIC FOR SOME READERS! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

Spoiler: Bad Luck Pt.2

To his credit, he was fast. Even as Feanor leapt, he was moving, fumbling for his whistle and barreling past the tree, quickly moving out of range of even her impressive distance... And directly into the path of the little black Reindeer. He could not have seen her, pre-occupied as he was with shock and fumbling for his whistle. Even Feanor had not noticed her appearance until the knife flashed in the sun.

The Hunter twisted at the last moment, taking the blade in his shoulder, and knocking the small Reindeer off her hooves. He landed with a grunt, tumbling to his back and losing the whistle beneath him. Instead, he opened his mouth to shout, but Feanor was on him. She landed hard on his chest, cutting short his cry and pinning him down. Before he could recover (or her mind could persuade her otherwise) her hoof was buried in his mouth, gagging him and throttling his attempted shouts.

He fought beneath her, bucking and kicking to throw her off, but she held firm. She had the leverage here. Pain shot through her leg as he bit down, grinding with all his strength. She jammed harder, grinding her own teeth, spitting her rage. The Alpake gave up thrashing to wrap his front legs around her back, gurgling rage as he squeezed her body against him with crushing strength until Feanor felt sure she would snap. So close that she could have nuzzled noses - that she could see every red vessel in his bloodshot eyes and smell the stink of his sweat. Her leg screamed agony but she didn’t relent, slamming his head against the ground, again and again.

Fluffy was on her hooves again, knives ready, a smile forming that was somehow terribly wrong on that innocent face. “Don’t stop!” She grinned, “Make. It. Dead!” In time with each slam of Feanor’s hoof.

The Alpake’s grip began to slacken, and Feanor could breathe again. He pulled one hoof from her back to clutch desperately at his throat, chest lurching as he fought for air. Fluffy approached eagerly, knife raised. Her usually sad eyes were strangely radiant, alive with excitement and even joy.

Suddenly Feanor felt ill. There was something sickening about it, beyond the sticky saliva and sour stink of breath. It wasn't the way his throat and tongue convulsed almost obscenely around her hoof, or how his eyes bulged as he strained beneath her. No, what made the bile rise to her throat were the little sounds that he made as he tried to force air past her hoof to scream. There was something in them far too personal, too real, and all she could think was: Everyone deserves a scream, don't they? He has a Nan. Everyone deserves at least that much. He has a Nan!

"Stop!" The senior Longma had caught up and now approached cautiously. "We don't kill him."

Fluffy's eyes narrowed sharply. She took another step. Zack’s cold blue form materialized to block her path. "Do as he says Fluffy, we are not to kill."

Fluffy stomped in protest, "B-but Zack! It attacked me! It will alert them! I kill."

"Quietly, Fluffy!" The demon hissed. "You will give away our position."

"Yes, yes!" She started forward eagerly, "I kill quietly!"

"Not what I meant..." Zack groaned.

"Enough!" The Longma's tone brooked no argument, "We will take it hostage. Some can be turned back. Deer-kin, subdue it."

Feanor hardly heard. Her eyes were closed, to spare her the sight of the Alpake's struggles. Her focus had turned inward, searching for that wellspring of cold strength. She felt a familiar tingle as her antlers began to glow, then sparkle like glacial ice. A soothing chill like the breath of winter coursed through her veins, and she embraced it desperately, begging for the icy certainty to envelop her.

"Deer-kin?" The Longma repeated uncertainly.

She opened her eyes, and the world was clearer, like a winter dawn. Her breath came in a puff of steam as she gazed down at the writhing creature beneath her and blinked. Tiny crystals of ice fell where her tear drops had frozen solid. With an abrupt jerk, she wrenched her hoof free of the Hunter's mouth, where it dripped with saliva and her own blood. He clutched at his throat, wheezing in breath, but as yet unable to shout.

Some part of her was weeping, but she reached again for the cold place, drowning it out with frigid ice. The air contracted around her, concentrating until the Longma shifted uneasily. Then concentrating yet more.

"What are you doing, Deer-kin?" Pinchface demanded, trying to hide his shivering. "“Move aside. We will take him from here.”

Feanor payed them no heed. The ice sang in her veins now like a blizzard, but her focus was steady. The frigid air pulled in on itself until a tiny pocket of absolute chill formed before her. Sunlight reflected off a single crystal of ice, beautifully latticed and at first as delicate as a fly's wings, but quickly expanding until it reached the size of a dagger.

“Feanor.”

Something in the voice made her hesitate. When she turned, it was the Demon who looked back. He said nothing else, but the knowing sadness in his gaze somehow pierced to where the others could not. Sadness. She turned back to gaze down upon Tak the Alpake, with his patchy fur, and ugly scars, with his Nan, and his past and his future, and all the things he could still be. And her heart wrenched. With a painful effort, she let go of the magic. The air grew warmer instantly, the tension released, and Feanor wailed in silent protest as the cold strength abandoned her.

The Longma nodded cautiously, “We’ll take him from here.” Limp repeated.

Feanor pushed herself to her hooves, careful to be gentle as she removed her weight from the Alpake. The chill in the air had evaporated, replaced by a palpable sense of relief. Only the ice crystal remained, hovering obediently before her. She studied it in the sunlight. Cold and pure, alien to the fear and desperate hope that lit the Hunter’s eyes as he gasped for life.

“Your Nan was right,” she whispered. A part of her cried out as she plunged the crystal downward, but she smothered it forcefully. She was the winter.

"NO!" Limp lunged forward, but far too slowly to stop her. She felt something warm spray across her cheek, and turned her head away almost daintily. Beneath her, the Alpake stiffened, then lay still.

A dead silence fell. The Longma turned to stare at her in horror as Feanor wiped at the blood on her cheek. The senior of the two stepped back from the now still body, eyes blazing with stunned fury. "What was... WHY?! I said to let him live!"

Feanor blinked at him numbly, "Why?” She heard her voice reply as though from a distance “So he could kill more innocents?"

"We would take him hostage! Some of them can still be turned--!"

"How?" She interrupted, frightened at the calm of her own voice. "Once the alarm sounds, you will be either a hostage yourself, or racing for your life to escape. Will you carry him? How will that fare, do you think?"

The Longma fumed, but made no reply. Finally he growled again "I told you to let him live."

Feanor ignored that, stepping toward them. "Best do something about all...this.” She waved a hoof. “We've made enough noise to give us away twice over." The two stepped back to give her a wide berth as she walked past, eyeing her like a plague victim. They stared after her for a long moment, then, numbly, moved to obey.

As Feanor walked away, a sound caused her to pause. At first, she took it for sobbing, and turned in surprise. Then she saw Fluffy, and understood with a rise of nausea. The Reindeer was laughing.

Feanor stumbled, suddenly and violently sick. Her injured hoof gave out so she had to crawl for the trees. She made it only halfway before she was retching, her whole body heaving its protest. And Feanor heaved with it, as though by emptying her stomach across the clearing floor, she could somehow cleanse herself of the deeper stain she felt.

Somewhere, Fluffy’s voice carried happily as she whispered to Zack. “Feel the fur, Zack! Soooo soft. Can we make a pillow? PLEASE!?”

The Longma were efficient, working quickly and silently to hide the scene while doing their best to ignore both of the Reindeer. When they were done, they approached reluctantly to where Feanor had dragged herself to catch her breath once the spasms subsided. Fluffy followed behind. Feanor stared ahead, trying to ignore the fact that they were all staring at her. “What?” she finally rasped, spitting sour bile, “You’re the ones with the plan.”

"The... plan?" Pinchface scoffed incredulously.

Limper shot his companion a cold glance, "She is right." He turned his gaze back to Feanor, and it was laden with contempt, but he nodded nonetheless, "We continue as planned."

"The plan is ruined! How will--?"

Limper slapped him, hard. “Enough, Private! Keep it together!”

"I’m afraid he’s right." A cheerful voice interrupted.

Slowly, as one, the group turned. There - utterly forgotten - was the second patroller, a large bull with horns sharpened to razors. Perched on his shoulder was a very large bird. It cocked its head at them curiously. The groups stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Then the bird looked up, and they followed its gaze to the branches, where dozens more of its kind perched, watching. The first bird looked back at them, then smiled crookedly. "Cuh-caw." It said, and all hell broke loose.

 

[0Zero100]

Spoiler: A snake in the hand is worth a little rough Diplomacy

Men shao crawled through the underbrush, his flames extinguished. His movements were the sinuous slither of a practiced longma scout and he could hear the soft rustle of leaves and twigs from beneath him. Minutes before he would have been able to hear it echoed from all around him, but his brethren had their own tasks to complete. His speckled green scales blended seamlessly with the leaves of the forest, a gift that had marked him from birth for an early upbringing within the ranks of the most skilled infiltrators.

This was no doubt a difficult location to infiltrate, but it was not the hardest he had faced. No, he thought as he glided over a fallen log, the dappled light falling through the leaves briefly catching his scales, the real difficulty was from the... auxiliaries. Not that they were incapable, oh far from it. The deer that had been sent to... accompany them, had shown surprising prowess. The pact-bound one's footsteps carried an eternal silence that was, dare he think it, ominous. And while the other had not shown quite the same skill since their initial appearing act (something he would never admit he was still peeved over being snuck up on) they held a constant aura of solemn, abiding... intent. Yes, they were by far the most qualified civilians he had ever had to escort into or out of hostile territory. The real problem was methods. The vast majority of the individuals he had escorted were longma, and even if they had lacked skill in subterfuge they could follow them with guidance. The longma excelled at sneaking through pathways other races wouldn't think to take, and thus to watch. With practice, an experienced longma could positively flow through a narrow crevice with barely a sound. The deer too excelled at taking unexpected routes, yet their skills lied in graceful leaps carrying them across great distances with a mere whisper. On their own the two groups could have easily been in position minutes ago, but the troubles came from them having to find paths they could traverse together. For despite their skill in stealth, they had less practice in being caught.

It's hard to teach how to be caught properly. Hide yourself too well and you won't be found, be too obvious and it's suspicious. And then once you are found that raises its own set of difficulties. Sandbag your escape attempts? Suspicious. Sneak into an area that leaves you no easy escape routes? Less suspicious, but still suspicious. The proper way to be caught intentionally is best learned by being on the catching end. They were attempting to deceive an aerial observation party, and who better to teach how to fool aerial guards than fliers themselves? All his brethren had to do was escort an auxiliary to their location, and teach them how they had caught spies in the past. Replicate the capture, except from the captured's end, and you have an successful infiltration.

Easier said than done. For the Hunters had really chosen an ideal location. Their cave had once been situated in the center of a thick forest, but they had cleared a large area around their entrance while making it appear natural. Add in their damned raptors and they had perfect monitoring of any approaching intruders. Normally during the briefing their preliminary scouts will give a breakdown of possible hiding locations, and breaking them down into zones. Green zone, any able scout should be able to reach this far without any chance of being caught except by other scouts. Red zone, any attempts to infiltrate this zone would face some risk of being spotted by guards or lookouts. And the rare black zone, any attempts into this zone will undoubtedly be caught without suitable distraction or disguise. The Hunter's cave only had a green zone, the tree line, and a black zone, beyond. Their eyes had been evolved to spot prey sneaking on the ground hundreds of meters away, and their flocking numbers would allow no gaps in their perimeter. Well, he allowed himself a brief smirk, not quite without gaps, thinking of his brethren tunneling somewhere beneath him.

He reached his location at the edge of the tree line and paused, his ears flitting about. He would have loved nothing more at that moment than some birdsong, the movement of woodland creatures, or some other masking noise. But it was not to be had, the rustling of the wind in the trees the only companion to the rustle of his own movement. Any creatures that had not already fled from the presence of so many raptors would have been driven away by the Hunter's dark taint. After a moment's consideration, he deemed the risk to be acceptable, the raptors evolved in sight but lacking similar power of hearing. Positioning himself to be hidden behind the trunk, he paused again, and when next the wind whipped through the trees he sank his claws into the bark with a muffled crack and writhed into the upper branches in the blink of an eye.

He barely had a moment to settle into his destination before a cry went up among the flock overhead. His eyes snapped upwards and a single ear flick betrayed his surprise. But they were not converging on him though, and his gaze tracked to where a funnel cloud of winged predators was beginning to spiral down. Dread began to creep into his chest. That was the first position that was supposed to be "discovered" but it was too soon. Has something gone wrong? Should I retreat before I myself am discovered? No. No, he had to have faith in his fellows. Perhaps they had just seen an opportune moment to reveal themselves that would solidify the deception of an accidental capture further. He did worry for the stealth team though, they would be relying upon their distraction to breach the black zone safely to take out sentries near the entrance, and starting the hunt early would give them less time. Out of the 20 members of the infiltration team, only 6 were meant to be captured. Longma, longma, dark one, longma, Velvetian, longma. A pattern determined by the colonel to optimize the deception and minimize the auxiliaries being recognized. The remaining members would lead them on a goose chase with planted evidence of their presence if all went well after that. Gripping the branch between his claws, he settled in to watch the events unfold.

~~~~~


“Remember, strong, but not off-putting. We are on the field of diplomacy, not battle.” The boar’s voice rumbled in the forested air. A voice typically reserved for bringing order to his beloved halls reverberated through An Hongse’s body.

The mass of skin and muscle, which could almost be mistaken for a cloaked boulder, stood just an inch taller than himself, and he was no small Longma. Of course, no matter how tall he may be, it was his girth that was even more terrifying. The boar with the strange name took the space of two Longma abreast, and Hongse still was not sure how much of it was muscle.

In truth, thinking back on it, he had never seen this Dungeon Miner push anything heavier than a chair, yet the way his tusks gleamed and his eyes glinted from beneath his cowl made him wonder if he wanted to see the Head Councilmen’s full strength.

“Sir, yes, sir,” Hongse replied, with perfect military discipline, as expected of his most honorable kind. His wings, an almost blood red color, burned bright and ready, only seconds away from snapping into flight.

Miner nodded, picking up his olive wood staff. “Good, and pray to the gods this works.”

Walking forward, the two exited the forest, and approached the lone hill where the Hunters had taken refuge.

Hongse, already slipping into his warrior persona, did not like the feeling of exposure that washed over him as he entered the vast, clear field that separated the hill and the forest. His eyes began glancing around him and the Head Councilmen as they passed the stumps of ancient trees, the only mark of the deforesting these predator worshipers had done. “I don’t like this,” he muttered.

If Miner heard him, he didn’t react, merely plodding forward, staff in hoof with a fresh sprig at its head, the mark of Parley.

A lone raven cawed, and black wings flew towards them watching, but never attacking.

Hongse watched the thing as it soared overhead, until the raven wheeled around, heading back for the caves.

Miner gave an amused snort. “Our Herald goes before us.”

Hongse wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were on the flocks that took flight, towards the east. “And there are our first group…”

Miner’s large snout frowned. “Early,” he noted simply.

“It may damage our efforts.”

“We’ll see. Most probably we should deny any knowledge of it. Plausible deniability is the motto today, it seems.”

Any further dialogue between the two halted as they came within earshot of a new figure. A goat had emerged from the cave mouth, his fur a sickly color, and he wore shadow like a cloak. Half of his face was covered in darkness, while the other held a glowing eye.

There was only one ungulate that he could be.

Miner was somewhat surprised to see him, as last he heard, this terror had been injured by the strange bear known as Zero and taken somewhere to rest. Yet here he stood, seemingly unharmed.

Hongse felt his mane flare at the sight of him, and gave an angry snort that sent a puff of smoke into the afternoon air.

Miner stepped forward. At least he would bring his negotiation before the leader. “Ziege,” he greeted.

“Oh, my…” the goat said with a smile. “Looks like we have some guests, perhaps we should have them over for dinner.”

Miner ignored the thinly veiled threat. “Ziege, we have come, on behalf of the United Foenum Council to negotiate the release of the Prime Minister of the Sheeple.”

“Oh, I afraid I’m simply not prepared for this,” the goat said, almost mockingly.

Hongse didn’t like it, and he did his best to keep himself in check. It would not do to burn them all to the ground.

“I believe the one name Hurricane is your negotiator, yes? If you wish summon him here, we will wait,” Miner offered.

“No, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Ziege said, smiling all the way. “You see, we had our heart set on lamb chops tonight.”

Dirt suddenly exploded upward all around them as hidden trap doors were thrown open, revealing six, seven, ten different hunters, all staring down at the two ambassadors.

“But we could always go for a side of bacon,” the goat finished.

Hongse crouched low to the ground, wings flared and mane burning brightly, yet Miner did not move.

His eyes glanced around the group, glinting from beneath his cowl, before he lowered the staff, and bit down on the fresh olive sprig, chewing on it calmly in front of the Hunters.

Ziege raised an eyebrow. “Honestly, I would have preferred the garnish, but I guess I’ll have to make do.”

Miner swallowed, and spoke again. “Am I to understand you wish me and my companion harm, then?”

One of the Hunters, the one directly to Miner’s left sniggered. “What? Is he dense or something?”

“He has to be simple to try and negotiate with us!” another laughed.

Miner raised his staff, and slammed it to the ground, where it stuck, buried in the dirt. “No, I just wanted to be sure.”

And then the boar moved.

The mass of muscle suddenly shifted sideways, closing the gap between him and the Hunter in the blink of an eye, and in the time it took to blink again, Miner’s gleaming tusk had already pierced his throat.

The Hunter went down with a gurgle, clutching his neck as his life slowly slipped away.

And for the first time any of them could remember, they all could see his face.

His cloak's hood had blown away, and a mess of scars and fur, along with his two beady eyes stared at the other Hunters.

They were suddenly a lot less confident in their abilities.

“Because this way, it's self defense,” Miner finished, before the battle erupted properly.

Flames erupted from Hongse as the fight began, transforming into a flurry of hooves and fire.

Miner charged, flipping over hunters and throwing them into the air with his wide, shovel-like nose.

And all the while, Ziege watched, laughed, and clapped.

He knew he liked the boar for a reason.

 

[0Zero100]

(This chapter also had to be split into two.)

Spoiler: Fire and Thunder Pt.1

The sun was just peeking over the trees, which worried Weylyn. He kept thinking about the chances of the stealth team actually being successful. Speaking of the team, Weylyn had paced himself faster than them to have a bit of time to speak with Blue before the mission began, and was waiting at the treeline for them to catch up.

Weylyn muttered to himself “I know that the Hunters wouldn’t have trusted a diplomatic negotiation at night, and the infiltration team looks less suspicious when they get caught hiding during the day, but I don’t think we really thought about how we’re supposed to avoid getting spotted.”

Suddenly, an orb of blue flame materialized, slowly fading to reveal a fox skull looking a bit bored about the subject at hand. It spits back rather nonchalantly “Do you really care if you get caught? I mean, they’re just worthless weaklings that find meat delicious, while you’re a predator born of the hold AND a practitioner of dark magic, you should easily be able to end them even if they see you coming!”

Weylyn asserted “Well, I’m not sure if I should end them…”

A quite surprised Blue responded “Wait, do you mean to tell me this whole time you've been thinking that you WON'T have to kill!?”

“But what if they’re just confused and on the wrong side like I once was?” insisted Weylyn.

A very annoyed Blue remarked “Are you so naive that you believe that, or are you just no longer trying to fulfill your pipedream? Point is, if you’re going to make a world where both predators and prey live together, sooner or later, you’ll need to put down the most defiant of both… and that’s just something you’ll have to face.” Weylyn wanted to object, he wanted to say that she was just trying to say he was hopeless, but she wasn’t, and he knew she was right. Fortunately for him the rest of the stealth team, a sheep and a longma, finally caught up with him at that moment.

“Hey Darkone, what’s the holdup?” asked the dark green longma.

Weylyn responded “Err… not much. Though, we have some time to spare and I prefer to know my packmates, so why don’t we get to know each other before we go start our mission?”

“Actually” the timid sheeple bleated “what exactly are we doing on this mission?”

Weylyn gave the sheep an unamused look, then sighed deeply, “Are you telling me that you came all the way out here with us, and you don’t even know what we’re doing? Did you even read the dossier… also, who are you?”

“My name is Scuddle, and the only reason I came was because I was afraid that you’d keep a grudge and eat me because you’re a pre...dat...”

The sheep slowly stops talking as he notices that the Longma was now giving him a deadly stare. Scuddle’s dogs start barking at him to protect their owner, “Shhh, it’s okay Damsel, Wiggles.” murmurs Scuddle to his two black sheepdog pups. Weylyn makes note of the longma’s possible threat, and decides that they likely won’t get along.

“Well, anyway, my name’s Huǒ Xīn, also known as the Pitiless Slasher! And I infact did read the dossier, so I know that we’re going to smash some prophet damned hunters from the shadows of the woods!” The green longma proudly proclaimed.

“Well, at least you came knowing what we’re doing, but I have to ask you, are you mentally prepared for hunters? They are a pretty disturbing group after all.” asked Weylyn.

Huǒ Xīn exclaimed “You don’t need to tell me about these guys, I know all about them.”

"How do you know about them? A-and for that matter, w-what makes you so qualified?" Asked Scuddle timidly.

Huo Xīn looked over at the sheep and dropped his voice low, "Simple. I have a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career, skills that make me a nightmare for predators. This mission will be no different, I will make them fear the very mention of my name, make them tremble in unadulterated fear before me, I will show them NO mercy, and if they decide to run I will not stop until I find them and end them! And do you know why I'm so confident that I can do this?"

Scuddle stood there, slack-jawed, completely enthralled in the story and shook his head. Huo Xīn slowly crept closer and closer to the sheep until he was directly in front of him. Tilting his head in, his voice but a whisper in the air, he replied, "It's because I already have."

As Huo pulled his head back, Weylyn could clearly see a prideful grin on his face, as well as Scuddle's dumbfounded expression. The longma was clearly getting satisfaction from telling his tale. "B-but there are so many of them, how will you do it!? You can't seriously mean that you can take on all of them."

This gave Huo an idea.

"You are right, I cannot take on all of them, but nukbers have never stopped me before. Once I took down an entire squadron of hunters on my own. Back in my first few years in the military I had received a top secret mission, sneak behind enemy lines, infiltrate their base, and return with the Intelligence. Everything was going according to plan until a small bird spotted me in the shadows. Little bugger gave the call for an intruder and I quickly silenced him, for good." Huo Xīn was delivering his story in such a way that Weylyn could have mistaken him for actually having done these things. The sheep continued to look on in stunned silence, completely immersed in the tale.

"What happened next?" Scuddle asked, slowly, as to not sound too demanding.

Huo decided to humor him, "Well, after the call went out, I had quickly decided that the Intelligence wasn't worth the risk. Eventually I found my way out of the never-ending halls, but by then it was too late, they had already sent out snuff groups. I was surrounded when I emerged from the base. Thinking on my hooves I dove at a cow to my left and wrestled him to the ground, quickly subduing him. I jumped off of its body and sidewinded three more in quick succession. The remaining hunters attempted to overpower me by attacking all at once, but that only gave me inspiration! Maneuvering past all of their attacks, I contorted my body and began to spin in place, creating a vortex, erupting in flames, and picking up nearby debris as well! The tactic gave me enough time to punch a deer, kick two bulls, blast three alpacas, knock a goat into submission, sidewind a pegasus and save the Intelligence!"

"Wait, pegasus, what?? And I thought you left the Intelligence behind?" A confused Scuddle asked.

"Oh, uhh..." he was suddenly interrupted by Weylyn.

“Well, as much as I love a good story, we have a job to do, so keep your heads down and follow me.” They did, and the group passed through the forest without encountering a single patrol.

…

However, they did not expect to find the inner forest around the Hunter’s base of operations to be cut down, and the sun was still high in the sky, about at it’s highest point. This was going to be a problem…

“Hold on, I need some time to think about how we’ll cross this undetected.” ordered Weylyn.

“Can do!” and “umm, okay…” were the responses he expectedly received, from Huo Xin and Scuddle respectively. The response he wasn’t expecting, but knew he should have was “Why stop? Just march forward and smash every dumb, winged rat that flies at you!” suggested the now materializing Blue.

“So… that’s your demon?” asked Huo Xin.

The dark Lynx glanced back at Huo Xin, “Well, I know how bad that see-”

“She’s Feisty! I like her attitude!” interrupted Huo Xin before Weylyn could continue.

“Wait… you’re serious?” All three of them were shocked by Huo Xin’s opinion of Blue.

“Anyway” Weylyn continued “We are not going to charge in simply because you think we can, and that is final Blue!”

“Are you so sure about that? I think you should look up there first, at that peak.” Coyly bade Blue.

He saw at first the electric shimmer that he knew meant the leader of the Hunters’ birds, Hurri, would be up there. Eventually he did spot the blue feathered thunderbird, complete with a red stripe down its chest. What was odd though was that he felt that he had seen that very shimmer before, and for some reason, it was starting to make him seethe with anger.

"Hey, Weylyn, did ya notice that bird up there? You might not know, but he’s the one that led the Devourer to your parents." Declared Blue.

“Do you mean to tell me-” Weylyn tried to ask, but then knew he didn’t have to. Weylyn could see it clearly now, the stormy sky full of thunder, the blue thunderbird appearing momentarily in the sky, then shortly after the Devourer finding them. The realization drove him over the edge.

“Darkone, I had no ide-” Huo Xin started, but before he could get another word in, Weylyn made a mad dash towards the Hunters base, obviously in no mood for stealth. “Hold up, I’ll help yo-”

“Damsel, Wiggles, sic him!” Screamed Scuddle, as his dogs grappled onto Huo Xin’s hooves with their teeth, bringing him tumbling to the ground.

“So ‘Pitiless Slasher’, it’s time for you to find out just what it’s like to deal with a REAL Hunter.” Scuddle, now suddenly full of confidence, and seething with madness, mused as he approached Huo Xin.

“What, you think these puppies can stop me from escaping!?” shouted Huo Xin, a little louder than a stealth mission should permit before he attempted to take into the sky on wings of fire.

“Ooh no, I think I WILL!” exclaimed Scuddle. Just as Huo Xin was about to escape the clutches of the pups upon wings of fire, he felt a much more powerful jaw clench down on one of his hind legs, causing Huo Xin to suddenly slam face first into the ground.

“You are not getting away from me!” Scuddle yells before smashing his front hooves on Huo Xin’s chest. “You know, your story had me almost worried, but after seeing how easy you were to take down, I see you’re just a fraud, and soon you’ll be food for my pups!” Scuddle let out a laugh that’d make Blue jealous.

“Hey, before I die… I want to tell you the end of my story… Come in close.” Gasps Huo Xin.

“Well, I suppose another laughable story couldn’t hurt, so go ahead and entertain me and I might make it quick, prey!” demanded Scuddle overconfidently.

WOOSH!

Flames suddenly swallowed the sheep’s head as Huo’s mouth gaped open, causing the foolish Hunter to reel back in pain. Xin rushed for the safety of the forest, while Damsel and Wiggles barked helplessly, trying to attract attention to their combusted master for help.

 

[0Zero100]

Spoiler: Fire and Thunder Pt.2

Making his way past the dense underbrush of the forest, Weylyn rushed towards his target, the multicolored bird. Panting, sweating, moving at unthinkable speeds, Weylyn zoomed past tree after tree, slowly getting closer and closer to his enemy.

Blue materialized next to him, keeping up, for the most part. “Ohh, taking my advice now, ARE WE?” she mocked.

“I. Am going to KILL him for what he did! Blue, give me everything you've got, more than the last time, more than the time with Zero, just give me it ALL!” Weylyn exclaimed as loud as he could with what little air that wasn't going to his lungs.

Blue stayed silent for a few seconds, shocked that Weylyn would willingly let her give him her all. Needless to say, she couldn't have been happier.

“... Okay, but don't come crying to me when you regret what you've become…” and with that, Weylyn felt a surge of power unlike any other he had ever experienced.

~~~~~

Hurri knew of the intruders long before he saw them. He knew of the ungulates that had sneaked in and split up. He even knew of the obnoxious bear that was watching him from a distance, much to his chagrin. He knew of everything and everyone in HIS woods. The thing he wanted to know was, why had they decided to split up rather than make an all out attack? Surely even that measly council could scrounge up SOME volunteers, but no, they were in small groups, scattered about the area.

“Hmm, now why would they do that, unless... they're trying to draw our attention from something else. Ohoho clever, but not clever enough! Now where is tha-" Hurrri didn't get to finish his thought, as something suddenly started coming towards him, fast. “Ah, so this must be the start of the play then, hmm? Go ahead, wow me!”

Sensing the disturbances in the air currents, Hurri easily dodged an oncoming energy ball by flying into the air. His stand however was not so fortunate, the tiny spire of rocks exploding until there was nothing left but dust.

“Hmm, interesting, but could use some more finesse.” Hurri thought to himself. He continued flying until he was situated on top of another spire, this one being much bigger and much higher up. “I really don't think you want to do this boy!”

~~~~~

Weylyn's body felt as if it had been injected with the power of the sun. He had vowed to NEVER allow Blue to give him everything she had, not after what happened with J-he paused. No, now was not the time for that. Now was the time for action, now he needed revenge.

Finally breaching the treeline, Weylyn ran through a plain that was devoid of any cover whatsoever. This little detail not even registering with the lynx as he lobbed an orb of pure darkness at the bird.

“Ooo, we haven't been this bonded since the day we met! Why don't you keep going and we can see just how close we can really get!” Blue cooed, egging Weylyn into going even further down the road he had chosen.

Weylyn was furious when he saw that the bird had dodged his attack.

“Ohh, don't be discouraged sweetie, I'm sure we'll get him with the next one,” her voice sounded almost motherly, almost. You could easily hear the underlying tones of insincerity spewing forth, her intentions and words conflicting with each other. “Try again, and don't miss this time…”

“I really don't think you want to do this boy!” the sudden remark alerted Weylyn to the whereabouts of his prey. All the commotion he had caused attracted most of the flock, who now sat perched on every tall object in sight, ready to try and strike him down at the meer command from Hurri himself. Weylyn kept charging, obviously unfazed by how sheerly outnumbered he was.

“Ooh well” sighed Hurri, “Birds, take him down!” A murder of crows nearly blotted out the sky, several already diving down to meet the intruder.

The battle had begun.

~~~~~

“AAAAAAUUUGH!!!” Scuddle screamed at the top of his lungs, mentally cursing the longma for his actions. “DAMSEL, WIGGLES, FIND THAT LIZARD AND END HIM!”

Huo Xin, still within earshot of that blasted sheep, ran further and further into the forest, but then he stopped…

“I think I lost him… but I have to go back! If our team was infiltrated, then the darkone is in trouble! How could such a wimpy looking sheep be so diabolical!?”

All of a sudden he started hearing the howls and footsteps of his attacker’s hounds. They were dainty, fast and gaining on him. He could practically feel them crawling on his back.

“OhHHhhHhh, Prophet, Prophet, Prophet! Gotta go, go, go, go, go!!” exclaimed Huo Xin as he dodged, ducked, dipped, dove and dodged through the various vines and branches of the forest.

~~~~~

Weylyn grew more and more angry the closer he got to Hurri, his blood pumping through his veins at blinding speeds. Ravens dove at him but were quickly dragged to the ground by crimson tendrils that poured out from the ground Weylyn walked on.

“Crows, do not attempt to destroy this intruder, I’ll handle it. One of you go warn the others and the rest watch on at my victory.” Ordered Hurri.

“I wonder what we're having for dinner?” Blue said sarcastically.

“NOT NOW BLUE!” Weylyn shot back. His patience for the fox’s antics practically non-existent at this point. “If you want to make yourself useful then help me get this feathered monst-" his words were cut off as Blue appeared beside him.

“Yeah yeah I’ll help defend, but I find revenge is best if you end them yourself.” Blue interrupted.

“Why are you even fighting me?” Asked Hurri the thunderbird. “I’m not responsible for bringing in that sheeple of yours.”

Had Hurri lowered his guard, he would have gotten hit by an orb of dark energy for his trouble.

“YOU HUNTED MY PARENTS LIKE MERE PREY, AND FOR THAT YOU MUST DIE!” Screamed Weylyn as he was preparing another attack.

Only this time, Hurri had decided to go on the offensive and strike Weylyn down with a bolt of lightning, causing him to go into a tumble. To Hurri’s surprise, as quickly as he fell, Weylyn was back on his feet charging once again.

“Ho ho! I’ll tell you one thing boy, if I did do as you say, they weren’t nearly as memorable as this!” Squaked Hurri.

Suddenly, Weylyn stopped as a book previously concealed in a linen bookbag, floated out in front of him, opening as it did. The book itself was bound in various furs and shone with black energies as Weylyn chanted. Before any attack could be launched, Blue had floated ahead of Weylyn and created a defensive shield around the Lynx. But something had felt off to Blue, something about how the bird was flying…

“Wait, WEYLYN, STOP!” Panicked Blue, but it was too late. Weylyn finished the spell and lobbed it straight at Hurri, passing him as he dodged and hitting the rocky wall behind him, making it give way. The subsequent rockslide engulfed everything in it’s path, including a shocked Weylyn, burying him under metric tons of stone and rock.

It was deathly silent after the dust had settled, one could see that Blue was staring at the pile of rocks, wordlessly holding out a spectral tendril in Weylyn’s direction.

“...”

Blue slowly turned her head in Hurri’s direction, eyes wide and mouth tightly shut, before she broke the silence in a bloodcurdling scream. Her eye sockets, jaws and face were suddenly consumed with blue flames. Fire spread further and further back, eventually taking new form.

~~~~~

Huo Xin was fast approaching the wreckage, dodging low-hanging branches and burning birds which swooped down to try and stop him. He could already tell that there was something wrong, for all he could see was a figure draped in blue flames and the large blue bird above. The strange new figure had at least five burning tails flowing out from behind it. He could only assume the worst, and that they had ended Weylyn, but he would avenge him! Huo Xin continued his mad dash towards the light and bird, stretching to dodge the birds as they dive bombed him, the ever-growing urge to flee altogether made itself more apparent the closer he got.

“Whoa, ahh, no, no, no, no, no nooo! I don't know which is gonna hurt more, having my pride damaged from being beaten by a lowly sheep, or getting beaten by whatever it is I'm running towards,” Huo thought as he leapt over a bird, getting steadily closer to the light. “Almost there!”

As soon as he entered the arena, Huo Xin dove directly at the fiery figure, catching it off guard.

“Take that you filthy Hunter! I’mma take you down as revenge for the Darkone!” Boasted Huo Xin, shortly before collapsing to the ground as his injuries suddenly become much more excruciating than they were a second ago.

The burning figure turns to him and utters from it’s fox skull slowly and deadly. “I. Don’t. Have. Time. For. This.” Blue then returns her gaze to the large thunderbird, this time surrounding herself with a circle of foxfire to halt any unwanted intrusions. Despite his pain, Huo Xin tried to stand back up, and got about on his knees before he passed out.

~~~~~

Blue, single in purpose and goal, didn’t even realize the Longma behind her tried to stand at all. “I am BLDCLW TH§ ¿AV§GE?, and if you don’t avert your attention elsewhere, I will use every ounce of power I bestowed to Weylyn with The Book of Relentless Fury to end your pitiful existence!” Threatened BLDCLW.

“Tell you what, this battle was interesting, if not a bit undeserved. If you admit I’m the winner, and bow to me, I might let you and your master live.” Chirped Hurri.

BLDCLW felt a sting at that. She could never bow to an inferior weakling like him! But, then again, it WAS her fault for making Weylyn irrational in this fight by making him think this bird helped the Devourer. Weylyn’s life was very much on the line here. “You insolent little cret- Fine, you’ve won this battle…”. BLDCLW muttered as she bowed in a way that was surprisingly graceful, with only a hint of disdain shown for the action.

“Hhmm, as much as I could do this all day, I really DO have to get to stopping that invasion, please show yourself out the door as soon as possible… this will get ugly.” Commanded Hurri.

As soon as the blue thunderbird gets out of sight BLDCLW dropped the flames, including the fiery body. “This is bad, this is really, really bad!” panicked BLDCLW. “What am I gonna do!? I can’t dig up all this rubble! Wait, I’ve gotta find the bear... thing! He can fix this!” She realized what she needed to do. “I know, I’ll get Huo Xi…”

She turned around and realized that she had knocked him unconscious… “Crap, I’ll just have to do it myself, like old times!” She silently chanted a quick spell and created a shadow of herself. One that does not need to be in close proximity to the Libro Sanguine Luxuriae, that is the book of Unrelenting Fury to survive. “I have to find the bear, Weylyn needs him!”

 

[0Zero100]

Spoiler: Burning in the Darkness

Far below the action, in the bowels of the earth, Gaosung was making steady progress. His part of the plan had started before any of the others because of how long it would take, but now he was getting close to his objective. The packed dirt, half crumbling and half melting under his heat, was being replaced by solid rocks as he was getting closer and closer to the Hunter's den. Soon he would be able to hear them through the ground and he would have to move quickly to find the cells in which the others were kept prisoners. Thankfully rock is bad at transmitting heat, but he would still be a hot spot, most of the Hunters were pretty dimwitted and/or crazy but even they might notice that something was weird after a while if the cold stone of their cave suddenly started to heat up for no reason.

"Or you could just blast through and roast your enemies on their feet." The crackling whisper of Tzng was almost covered by the sounds of the stone breaking up as it expanded before melting, but the demon knew how to be heard. "Mmmm... I can imagine the smell filling the tunnels... If I was alive my mouth would be watering right now. Have you ever tasted meat that has been cooked by smothering? It takes some works but it's so much tastier..." The floating skull shivered, reminiscing his past pleasures.

Gaosung tried to ignore him, he had to draw on the demon's power for his fire to be hot enough to burrow in the earth and even thought there was no one around it really wasn't the time to lose control. The flame he was using right now was so hot it was almost solid, the power of a whole inferno concentrated in one place, a claw made of heat, just putting it close to the rock was enough to make it glow red and making contact instantly turned it into magma. Gaosung himself had never felt such temperature, the heat and the concentration he had to maintain were making him dizzy. Maybe he was lacking fresh air? The entrance of the tunnel was far away now and his flame was greedily gulping down most of the oxygen. Another reason to move fast. So he stopped for a moment, his ears listening attentively.

At first he could only ear the sound of the stone expanding in front of him and cooling behind him, the rocks grinding against each other or breaking as they expanded or retracted. Then, he heard a faint, muffled voice. Then another. A conversation somewhere underground. Turning in the direction of the sound he started to burrow again, more slowly, keeping his ear up to gauge the distance separating him from the noise. Time was of the essence, so it really wouldn't do to waste it by rushing without thinking. He needed to be close enough to guess the layout while at the same time staying far enough not to get caught.

"Still giving me the silent treatment eh? That's alright, I love talking without being interrupted" Tzng was in a good mood these days, he'd been like that since the big battle in fact. Apparently some predator or other had tried to mind control an ungulate adept at the dark arts during the big ritual, accidentally linking his own mind with those of all the demons present. Tzng's happiness probably meant that the predator had suffered a horrible fate. The demon had spend the two days afterward very enthusiastically explaining to him how to properly cook a prey when its fur is long enough to get in the way.

Gaosung did his best to shut him out, but the demon's talk made it harder to concentrate. He could understand part of the conversation now but Tzng's speech was constantly covering it.

Suddenly the demon stopped, going silent for a moment before growling a laugh and saying : "Ohh that'll be interesting." before turning his empty eye sockets toward Gaosung and the longma had the unpleasant impression that the flaming skull was grinning. Or well, grinning more than usual. He would have asked what was so funny but at this moment a terrible noise filled the tunnel as the earth shook around him.

As soon as it started the landslide stopped but the young longma quickly felt like he was choking, the tunnel behind him had collapsed, cutting off the already meager air supply. Tzng let out a crackling cackle "It's too bad nobody is going to find your corpse before it rots, smothered meat is so tender... what a waste..."

He could have held up a few minutes by holding his breath but then his fire would have consumed all the air, killing itself and with no fire there was no way out. In this situation he had not choice but to do something rash, and do it fast. He gathered the claw of solid fire and shot it forward, hoping, praying, that he was close enough to get into the cave.

The instant dragged on like an eternity of dread, seeing his fire diminishing by the second as the oxygen was getting rarer. But then, his flames flared up and he knew he was saved; in front of him the wall was destroyed, melted, and the cool air of the cave rushed into what was left of the tunnel. Gaosung walked slowly to the entrance, there was no doubt about the fact that his cover was blown, the only option left was to act calm and collected, as if he had acted exactly like he'd meant to.

In front of him in the dim light, a crowd of Hunters watched him go out of the hole in the wall.

“Looks like I'll be part of the assault team after all.” Thought the longma, remembering the discussion while they had been hashing out the details of the plan.

The Hunters stayed silent for a little bit, apparently waiting, then a dirty zebra spoke up, "Is that it? One longma? Really?"

Goasung did not answer. He stretched his neck, even though he'd been walking and moving up until now, the tunnel had been kind of cramped, and staying focused on one point in front of him had given him one hell of a sore neck.

A big bull was the next to let his voice be heard, bellowing a laugh, quickly followed by the other Hunters. But once he was done he spoke more seriously, "Come on, you're outnumbered, why not join us instead? You're part predator, eating meat should come easily to you..."

Tzng chimed in, "He's got a point you know" a tongue of red fire licked the skull's sharp teeth while looking at the bull "I really could go for some well done ribs right now..."

Gaosung ignored his words, drawing on his power once again but limiting himself a lot more than previously. Slowly the fire on his body turned red, and started spreading over his body. He could have gone faster but he wanted to take it slow to make it more impressive.

"My name is Gaosung, I am the dark one bound to the Crimson Flame, but before all, I am a longma. My honored Father is the Stallion, my honored Mother is the Dragon. I have the strengths of both the prey and the predator." As he talked the fire had spread over his whole body, and then it started expanding, taking shape.

"You. You rejected the strength of the preys, and you cannot achieve the might of the predators. You lie to yourself, pretending and parading as if you were stronger than the prey, calling yourselves hunters. But you are no hunters, you are no predators, you are no prey. You are beneath all. You are insects." He was talking louder and louder, speaking over the roars of the fire, as if the growl of the flames was only there to give more power to his words.

The crimson inferno finished taking the shape of a huge dragon of fire around him, it filled Gaosung's half of the room. It's huge wings licked the ceiling of the cave, the dirt under its claws smoldered, framing his body of red flames with black smoke, and it's neck, fully extended bridged the gap between the longma and the Hunters, looking down on them.

"One is more than enough to crush insects."

In truth the Crimson Dragon was mostly for show, the fire wasn't even that hot, but it had the benefits of obscuring his real position and looking impressive. And right now he wanted to look threatening, to cause confusion and panic. He knew he would have to fight, but his mission was still to free the prisoners.

 

[0Zero100]

Spoiler: Zero One Pt.1

The ground rumbled beneath the paws of the newly appointed Alpaca representative. He had once served the sheep, but after the last joint UFC operation, things had changed. But that mattered little right now. Right now, the ground shook even harder. He looked up from the ground, towards the base that his comrades had descended upon.

In the far distance, he saw a contingent of Longma engaged with a swarm of birds. Around him were the reserve troops that the UFC had given to him should negotiations turn sour. Granted, the UFC itself didn't have an actual armed force, but it was made of those ungulates from the factions who agreed to storm the base should the need arise.

You see, it was determined that his rather surprisingly destructive power was best put to use leading troops into battle, rather than subterfuge, or diplomacy. Nevertheless, it was their hope that such would be unneeded. The Hunters may have betrayed them once before, but perhaps, just perhaps, they could be reasoned with.

A sudden explosion that rocked the ground made Zero suddenly doubt that.

Just over the trees, he saw the top of a tower blow into pieces, and a giant bird took flight, diving below the tree-line. He was pretty sure that meant that something had gone wrong. Moments later, he heard the battle cry of a huge boar, and pain filled screams of several ungulates.

Okay, clearly something had gone horribly wrong.

What finally sealed the deal, was the sudden appearance of Blue. Given that he was on guard when she showed up, he should have not been surprised. As it was however, he had taken the chance to turn around and face his troops.

“It sounds like things went south guys! Guess that means we gotta go in and save The Prime Minister the hard wa-” he shouted, but stopped when Blue's unmistakeable aura of evi- power, yes, power filled the air behind him. He turned around amid the excited cries of the troops.

“I can't wait to knock some heads!” a large bull shouted.

“Blue?! What ar-” Zero started to say.

“Gonna baaaash some sense into their crazy heads!” three sheep bellowed.

“Bea-!” she tried to say.

“I've been itchin' for a good fight!” a scrappy-looking alpak exclaimed.

“What?!” Zero yelled, but in vain.

“BASHY BASHY GOOD GOOD!!” a huge, and rather dim, pact-bound hippo whooped.

“HEY! BE QUIET!” Zero roared, turning around to look at the troops. A sudden silence filled the air, and Zero paused a moment to see if anyone would say anything else. Satisfied that no one was gonna say anything, he turned around once more.

“Bear! Weylyn-trouble-help!” Blue's panicked voice was rather unnerving to hear.

“Wha-” Zero started to ask, but was interrupted as Blue suddenly lashed out at him, and yanked him towards her.

“HURRY!” she cried as she darted off, nearly dragging Zero along.

“OKAY, OKAY!” he shouted back, then turned to face the army again. “HEAD TO THE DIPLOMACY TEAM! GO!” he bellowed as he vanished into the trees. The troops threw him a salute, and then charged off towards the base.

“Hurry-rubble!” Blue's voice carried, disjointed and almost panicked through the trees. Zero's legs carried him as swiftly as they could, but it is hard to keep up with someone who can just float through trees.

“What happened?!” he bellowed as he plowed his way through.

"Weylyn-fight-rubble-explosion-trapped-help!” she shouted, her voice becoming distant as she swiftly out-paced him.

"Slow down! I can't just phase through trees you know!” he slammed into a rotten stump, shattering it and launching debris everywhere.

“HURRY!” her shrill cry pierced through the woods.

“I'M TRY-” Zero started to say, but was unable to finish because he suddenly had a sheep in the way.

“WHA-” the sheep said, as the large bear-like creature bowled over him, tripping, and caused both of them to go tumbling several hoofs before coming to a stop. Both of them muttered words of pain for several moments as they lay there, before untangling themselves.

Zero was the first one up and on his paws. “Hey, are you oka- wait... don't I know you?” he asked.

The sheep looked at him in surprise for a moment, then nodded. “Uh, yeah!” he said, his voice timid and afraid, “I-I'm Scuddle! Help! You gotta help! I was on the stealth team when suddenly that longma and p-p-p-predator tried to eat me! They're still out there! You gotta help me!” he pleaded, his knees and body shaking with panic.

Zero glanced him over. “I'd be inclined to believe you, if it wasn't for the fact that I know Weylyn, and I'd trust him with my life. So I really doubt he'd try and eat anyone on his team. Soo, yeah. Plus, your Hunter mark is kinda showin'. Just sayin'.” he shrugged. It was true. He and Weylyn tried to kill each other once before, but that was due to … outside … influences. Since then, they'd more or less made good with each other, and laughed it off. Good times, good times.

“Huh? W-what are you talking about? I'm not a hunter! I-I'm just a sheep!” Scuddle protested, shaking his head vigorously.

"Riiight. And what do you call that thing on your forehead? You know, the thing that's glowing all bright and red?” he asked, pointing at the very visible mark upon the sheep's scorched head. Had it not been for the fact that his hair had been burnt away by something, Zero guessed that his little brand would have been hidden by it.

“W-What brand?! I don't know what you're talking about!” he said, throwing his foreleg over the spot in question.

"ZERO!!!!” Blue's hysterical voice came loud and clear as she suddenly shrieked through the woods directly at him, “HURRY! WEYLYN'S GONNA DIE!” she screamed.

“WHAT?!” Zero bellowed, then swatted the sheep aside, “LET'S GO!”

Well, that's how things were supposed to turn out. However, when the sheep heard Blue's panicked explanation, a large grin crossed his face, and he let out a sharp whistle. And when Zero had swatted him to the side, he had actually jumped over the massive paw, and kicked the bear in the face.

“What th-” Blue's surprise was cut off as two dogs bounded up behind her and jumped at her. She turned in time to ignite a small ball of foxfire in the face of one, sending it back with a loud whine, and narrowly avoiding the other one. “ZERO! GET RID OF THEM!” she shouted as she hovered away from the two hounds.

“DAMSEL, WIGGLES, GET THE FOX-SKULL-THING! I'll handle the bear!” the sheep grinned as he hit the ground.

Zero looked at him for a moment. “You do realize that I took out your boss, right?”

“Baah!” Scuddle scoffed. “He's basically a ghost. Not hard to beat off a ghost there buddy.”

“Nice way to talk about your bo-” Zero began to say, but stopped as the sheep lunged at him. This time, Zero expected him, and the sheep got a face full of bear paw. Zero closed his grip around the sheep's face, and simply tossed him in the air, and let loose several non-lethal bullets into the airborne ungulate.

Blue, for her part, was doing well fending off the two hounds that had begun chasing her around the forest. Granted, it was difficult to avoid both of them at once, but thankfully, she had magic and they didn't. Foxfire after foxfire hit them in their savage faces, disorienting, and even causing one to crash into a tree full speed. It hit hard, then fell limp to the ground. Blue laughed as the second one lunged at her, but stopped when the hound's body wrapped itself in dark magic. She threw another foxfire in its face, but watched in surprise as the aura around it simply absorbed it.

As the sheep hit the ground, limp, Zero began running towards Blue. He stopped however when he suddenly felt a surge of magic fill the air. A surge of magic, and bloodlust.

“You think that's all I've got?” came a deep and sinister voice from Scuddle. “Don't you know how this works?”

“Yeah!” Zero shouted as he turned and let loose several salvos of ammo at the sheep. No way in The Hold was he gonna let him pull some kind of dark magic thing out of his sleeve!

Had Zero not been so quick on the draw, he would have seen Scuddle lift off the ground, though still limp. He would have seen him wrapped in a dark shadow, and he would have heard the savage cry of a wolf. But, as it was, Zero wanted to give him no time to do any of that. And, to a degree, he was successful.

However, from behind him, a hound jumped at his head, and sank its teeth into his left ear. The hound jerked down, and swung around, forcing Zero to lose his balance and unleash a magical salvo into an unsuspecting forest. He let out a cry of surprise, caught himself, then body slammed into a nearby tree, using the hound to cushion the impact. The beast let out a cry and dropped to the ground. He turned, and blinked a couple of times. There, where a meek yet completely insane sheep stood, was the wispy outline of a savage wolf made of darkness.

“The Masters give us power in exchange for our service. Power enough, to hunt!” the form howled, and charged. Zero unleashed a salvo of bullets, but the dark form simply absorbed them. Zero dove out of the way, but was too slow. The beast sank its teeth into a rear paw, and flung him into the air.

“Zero!” a voice said in his head as time suddenly seemed to slow to a crawl. “We don't have time for this! Let me posses you!”

“WHAT!? Are you kidding me?! I trust Weylyn, but YOU nearly got us both killed! You tried to get us to kill each other!” he said to Blue, who was very much in his head.

“Yes, I admit that I might have made you go berserk to make Weylyn act like a proper predator and unleash my full power, BUT HE IS GOING TO DIE IF YOU LET THIS PATHETIC WANNABE SHEEP IN WOLF'S CLOTHING WALK ALL OVER YOU!” she shouted into his thoughts. “Look, I really don't want Weylyn to die, and I can't take this guy by myself, and it looks like you can't either! So just trust me for a split second, okay?”

Oh heck no! There was NO way in The Hold he was gonna trust her to JUST posses him. “Can't you just like, I don't know, power me up or something?” he asked.

“WE DON'T HAVE TIM- UGH, FINE! JUST GET RID OF THIS STUPID SHEEP!” she screamed into him. Time suddenly rushed forward to normal, and he found himself suddenly surrounded by green fire. The wolf bounded into the air, and opened its mouth wide. Zero saw in the darkness of its mouth and around its long, sharp teeth small tendrils of shadow quivering in anticipation. Sadly for them, their day would not come!

 

[0Zero100]

Spoiler: Zero One Pt.2

Zero, suddenly faster than he'd ever felt himself before, slammed the wolf’s mouth to the side, and grabbed it by the chest. He rolled, turning over, and smashed into the ground with the wolf under him. He rolled off, stood, and unleashed yet another salvo. His bullets, also covered with the same fire as his body, hit the shadow and caused the form to sizzle and hiss. It stood, but was swiftly kicked to the ground once more as Zero and Blue closed the distance and struck it. Then, at the last second,Zero raised up an elbow, and dropped directly onto the monster's face.

It let out a painful cry, and then an unholy scream that made Zero's faux-fur crawl. The monster bent, if not broke its host's legs as they bent the wrong way, and Zero felt large claws sink into his head. Then with speed and power he had not expected, was flung off the creature, and into a large bolder.

"Ohh, you're going to PAY for that one!" Howled Scuddle as he sprung to his paws. He then turned and ran into the forest.

Shaking his head to clear it, Zero began casting his glance in every direction; waiting, watching for any subtle movement in the trees, he kept alert. The battlefield had suddenly grown quiet, devoid of sound save for the battle happening in the distance.

"Where could you b-" Zero began, but was cut off as a shadow suddenly barreled through the foliage to his left. He dropped, turned, reared up on his front paws and kicked behind him, bucking the creature square in the face, or so he thought.

"Over here!" Came a shout from the opposite direction the shadow came from.

"Wha-" was all Zero could get out before he was tackled by Scuddle and subsequently sent flying into several trees. However, Scuddle didn't stop there and followed the bear into the thick of it.

As he continued to barrel through the trees, Zero had a sudden, and very loud, thought. Or, to be more precise, Blue yelled in his head, "GET UP AND FIGHT!!"

Moving with extreme agility, Zero grabbed the closest tree branch and spun himself around until his momentum died down. Landing on solid ground would have been ideal, but Scuddle had other plans. As soon as he had let go of the tree branch, Zero could see Scuddle headed straight for him. Quick on the draw this time, he raised his left arm and fired round after round of bullets into the beast.

Scuddle easily weaved his way through the slow projectiles, and Zero saw that his eyes were full of hunger. Darkness collected around the monster, and a barrage of dark magic howled through the air at the bear. It was only by hairs that Zero evaded the attack, which easily pulverized the tree behind him.

"This.. is gonna suck.." Zero thought before he made a mad dash toward the forest, "Ugh. I need the high ground, got any ideas Blue?"

"Hmm.. do you still have grenades?" Blue asked in a tone that was a bit unsettling to have in your head.

"Yeah, have an idea?"

"Follow my lead bear!" Blue shouted.

"What are yo-" Zero asked, just before his body began moving on its own accord, "Son-of-a- Blue, I thought you said you wouldn't do this!"

Wasting no time in her new position, Blue suddenly made Zero come to a screeching halt. She turned him around and took on a defensive stance, preparing to duke it out with the wolf. Scuddle's evil smile only intensified as he caught sight of them from a distance.

"Now you're mine furball!" Scuddle screamed as he only moved faster and faster towards his fluffy destination.

"Blue! What are you doing, we can't take him head on, Blue!?" Zero yelled in his own mind, but received no response.

Scuddle was fast approaching, his paws slamming into the ground, shaking the ground and filling the air with the sounds of an earthquake. His breathing turned ragged from all the excitement, and Zero could see his eyes erupt with a crimson light. Scuddle was not just going to eat him, he was going to FEAST!

"Blue!!!" Zero yelled before Scuddle lunged at him with everything he had, maw gaping, and teeth as dark as the body around him.

"NOW," Before he knew what was going on, Zero had raised his arm and summoned his grenade launcher, primed and ready, "FIRE!!!"

Zero put two and two together and aimed at Scuddle's wide open mouth, then fired all of the grenades he had left. They all came out covered in green fire and went flying.

Time seemed to slow down again as Zero asked Blue a very important question, "So how exactly am I NOT going to be caught in my own attack?"

"Like this." Blue said simply.

Time resumed its regular pace as Zero felt his body dissolve but still stay solid at the same time. He naturally cringed as Scuddle involuntarily swallowed his grenades, and with a loud *Gulp* from Scuddle, Zero closed his eyes.

"You're missing the best part!" Blue shouted in his mind and opened his eyes for him.

Zero saw an array of color before him, some mixing into colors unseen by ungulate eyes, others clashing in a battle for dominance, but all the same, a brilliant and beautiful explosion. That is, if you could call an ungulate that was corrupted and trying to eat your face off that was now exploding beautiful, then, by all accounts, it was absolutely breathtaking.

Zero stood up and looked down at the poor creature. Scuddle looked barely alive. His skin was taught, and his muscles twitched as his eyes seemed to come in and out of focus. Zero cast a glance over at his second hound, and saw it fared little better.

“Yeesh.” Zero said, looking at them, “why in Foenum do these crazies work for the predators? I mean, look at that! That can't be healthy!” he leaned over to get a closer look at the poor lamb.

“YOU DUMB BEAR! MOVE!” Blue screamed into his ears as she separated herself from him, and flew off into the woods. Zero, pausing only a second out of surprise, chased after her. He cast one last glance at the nearly unconscious Scuddle. The last thing he saw, before the trees broke his line of sight, was the first hound walking slowly over to the pathetic ram while licking its lips...

~~~~~

Miner’s powerful hooves slammed down onto the back of the reindeer’s head, knocking the buck out cold. The ambush was nothing he nor the Longma were unprepared for, but he would be lying if he said that this line of action didn’t sadden him.

A young calf, barely a bull, leapt onto Miner’s cloaked back, attacking with teeth and horns. He desperately tried to bite the massive hog, but could not get past his thick cloak. The horns, on the other hoof, easily pierced the cloth, but the knotted, scarred skin of Miner’s back barely felt a thing.

An was a firestorm of...well, fire, and the smell of burnt flesh and fur wafted from every corpse he left behind. An bit and clawed, attacking in a devastating combination of vicious brutality and efficient discipline, and between his onslaught and Miner’s own barrage of attacks soon decimated the Hunter forces.

Things were moving quickly, and hunters were hitting the floor fast, many sporting gaping wounds and burns that only a longma could leave, well, a longma and his own tusks.

Throwing another hunter to the ground, Miner then turned to the laughing goat. “It seems dinner has been delayed, Ziege.”

“So it seems,” he said, smiling, his wild, glowing eye staring at him.

“Now, will you talk? We came for a negotiation.”

An stood behind him, breathing heavily, but otherwise silent, which suited the warthog fine. An seemed a little...distracted at the moment, and Miner wasn’t sure he could be trusted to think clearly at the moment.

“Well, I might as well listen. It should certainly prove entertaining.”

“I have tried, time and time again, to convince you to act civilly. You have refused. I invited you into my home. You scoffed at the invitation, and yet came in anyways. I have offered you peace and yet you call for war.”

“Of course,” Ziege replied. “We are at war.”

“And if you win, you will die,” Miner snorted. “We will fight you until there is no one left, and then there will be nothing left. Your masters would have simply traded one prison for another, and then they will turn on you.”

“I’m not terribly concerned,” Zeige said.

“And why not!” The hog demanded. “Why aren’t you worried about your own life!”

Ziege regarded his visitors for a moment, before smiling. “Well…” he began, before the earth shook beneath them. Ziege blinked, before smiling again. “It seems I’m needed elsewhere,” he said, before the goat ran inside.

“Ziege!” Miner roared, starting for the cave.

“Miner, wait!” An cried, recovering from his outburst and laying a hoof on the warthog’s massive shoulder. “That sounded like an explosion,” he said, before gasping. “The whole cave could collapse.”

The hog knew it would. He had dug enough tunnels to know. The earth was shaking and unstable. It would crack and collapse at any moment.

“Then we best hope our friends escape.”

//WARMING! THIS NEXT PART MAY BE TOO GRAPHIC FOR SOME READERS! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!\\

A few had fled immediately at the sight, but most had stayed, or rather, tried to stay. Most had changed their mind rather quickly as the fake dragon swiped its huge claw through the crowd, the fire was spread too thin to have any tangible impact, but starting fires in their furs was enough to make them reconsider some of their choices.

That left him with only the too confident, skilled or mad, to care. The bull, who had dodged the fire in a surprisingly limber way given it's size, the zebra singed but not hampered, and a crazy-eyed ram, whose whole coat had caught fire. The longma wasn't surprised in the slightest when the mad hunter charged blindly into the fire, screaming - Out of pain? Rage? Both? - the whole way.

The twisted sheep had no chance from the beginning, Gaosung had retreated to the ceiling as soon as the flames had finished obscuring him. Seeing his adversary below him, the young longma kicked the roof to give himself a boost and plunged toward the ram like a falcon, his hoof wreathed in dense flames. The hit almost nailed the sheep to the floor of the cave, its life of madness over in an instant.

The berserk rage of a mindless hunter was no threat to a trained fighter and user of the dark arts. Gaosung was more worried about the other two, who seemed more competent. It was time to go on the offensive, before they mounted a coordinated assault.

The longma grabbed the ram by the horn and, with a grunt of effort, threw the body at the zebra before charging the bull, explosions of flame sparking under his steps as he rapidly gained speed.

Gaosung wasn't the strongest longma but he had gone through most of the training soldiers received, and as a firm believer in balance, he took the principle of a healthy mind in a healthy body seriously. Besides bulls weren't supposed to be the ones being charged.

However, this one turned out to be a quick thinker. As the young longma emerged from the dragon of fire, dismissing the beast of flame as it was now useless, the bull grabbed a bench and knocked Gaosung aside. He landed on his back, right by the zebra, who had just dodged the body of its former comrade.

The striped hunter reared, intent on slamming its hooves down on the dark one and beating him to a pulp. But something in the dragon-horse's mind moved, millennia-old instinct kicked in and Gaosung's neck snaked up, his fangs snapping on the zebra's throat.

Time seemed to stretch as the taste of iron filled his mouth. Then the longma opened his mouth and breathed fire point-blank into the zebra's flesh, finishing him off. Pushing the body aside Gaosung stood up, facing the bull. The ox smirked, a twinkling of cunning madness in his eye.

"See? That wasn't so bad after all, now was it? It just.. feels so right.."

Gaosung didn't gratify the taunting with an answer, he just inhaled deeply and threw his flame breath as strongly as he could. As the bull dodged out of the way the dark one felt his demon drawing on his power. But there was no collateral damage to be done here, not with so little power, Tzng was just amusing himself by twisting some flames to put the furniture on fire. Gaosung had other preoccupations.

As he turned his flaming breath once more toward the last hunter, his target kicked a table in front of him, shielding himself from the fire. Gaosung kept on firing, thinking the bull had just pinned himself until the horns pierced the tabletop and the ox charged him, holding the table in front of him as a protection against the inferno.

The bull was going to squish him against the wall. The table was too large to dodge, he wouldn't be able to burn through the wood in time and an indirect attack wasn't going to stop the bull.

So instead Gaosung jumped, giving a flying kick to the side of the table, forcing the bull to twist his neck right before the impact. For an instant Gaosung was pressed against the wall, air knocked out of him, his body almost crushed by the pressure..

And then was released as the bull went limp, his neck broken, having failed to brace properly before impact.

Gaosung gasped for air as he hit the ground. Between the fires and this ordeal he was certainly feeling out of breath. Tzng looked at him smiling, his skeletal face surprisingly expressive.

"Not to rush you or anything, but you really should get going." He was speaking so sweetly that the cackling accompanying his voice almost felt like a purr. He was happy and when Tzng was happy that usually meant Gaosung had reasons to worry.

"What? Did you do something? I was keeping an eye on you!" He quickly got on his feet as he talked. Giving him a warning wasn't in Tzng's habits. There had to be something serious going on.

The demon laughed out loud. "Please! Just because you outsmarted me once doesn't mean you're the cleverest. You know how to wield fire magic, but that doesn't mean that you know the secrets of fire. Quite frankly, you wield it like a hammer. Your more subtle uses are like barely sharpened blades. And now you should really go. And close the door behind you."

The longma took off running, slamming the door behind him, suppressing all of his magic even though he knew that Tzng wouldn't have warned him if he could do anything to stop what had been set in motion. "What have you done!?"

"Well you could either stay and find out or run away. Find out and live long enough to understand.."

Behind them in the burning room gas suddenly expanded with no escape as the temperature got high enough for the burning charcoal and the white powder in the cave's walls to interact. Pressure accumulating rapidly in the cave until the door was ripped from its frame accompanied by a loud bang and hot air rushing through the tunnel.

Gaosung slowed down, uncertain. "Was that it?"

But Tzng just laughed even louder. "Technically yes, but you really should keep running."

And then the cave, already weakened by a landslide and a tunnel going through it's foundation, started to collapse.

 

[0Zero100]

Spoiler: Bad Blood Pt.1

Another convulsion shook the earthen ceiling overhead, knocking loose bits of dirt and muffling the distant cries and sounds of battle. Feanor pursed her lips, flicking a bit of stray dirt off a polished hoof. "Well, this is rather droll, isn't it?"

Fluffy didn’t look up, nudging a pair of polished dice between her hooves idly.

"What?” Feanor complained, “We can't have a simple conversation?"

She was nervous, Fluffy noted, studying her from the corner of her eye. Most ungulates got quiet when they were scared, but with some it seemed to just build up until they had to let it out, some way or another. They got restless, they paced or got the giggles, some she had known to vomit, and others got angry. Feanor was a talker.

Many on the Council would say she just liked to hear the sound of her own voice, but that wasn’t true. Feanor talked because it distracted her from her own fear and doubt, because by acting as though things were normal she made them feel a little less out of her control. She told herself it was to keep those around her calm - that she was being a leader, but it was a lie. Fluffy knew this. In the same way she knew the dice would fall to floor if she tossed them in the air. It was just obvious.

She had always been different that way. She just wasn’t like others of her kind. Or any kind, she had come across. Sometimes it was like the whole world spoke a language she couldn’t fully understand - that perhaps she never would - and they knew it. Many even hated her for it. She was strange to them, so they feared her. No one understood… no one except Zack. But she understood them. She wasn’t like them, but times like these she knew she saw them more clearly then they saw themselves.

It was normal to be scared. She was buried in a cell deep below the ground, cut off from the grass and sunlight and open air that was life to her kind, surrounded by creatures who would gladly boil her for dinner the moment she ceased being useful. She was also trapped with Fluffy: a monster, in her eyes. A killer. So let her talk. All said it wasn't the worst trait in the world, everyone had their own ways of dealing with it. Still, it was making Fluffy's head hurt worse. She had her way of dealing, and right now she didn't want to talk. She wanted to stab something.

She returned to gazing at the dice gloomily. She had managed to snatch them off the Warden, when he had done his final search before throwing her in here. She had been hoping for something more useful. A key, perhaps. Or a weapon. She sighed. "My knives..."

"I'm sorry?"

Anger flared in her chest, "THEY TOOK MY KNIVES!" Fluffy’s scream echoed off the cell walls, so loud and sudden that she almost jumped herself.

"Ahhh." Feanor smiled thinly, trying to cover her alarm. "Tragedies happen. But seeing as we are prisoners..."

"Not for long!" Fluffy stomped her hoof, remembering the feel of rough talons in her fur, searching, plucking... She had fought them, even managed to give one of them a cut that would keep him out of the air for a good while, but then something had hit her over the head like a sledgehammer and she had woken lighter by several pounds of steel and with a stampede in her skull. Someone must have recognized her, because they had been thorough with the searching. She felt unnaturally light without the weight of all those blades, and vulnerable, naked almost. She touched a hoof to her coat and felt the reassuring cold of metal against her skin. Not thorough enough.

"I'll show them," she growled, "When I get outa here, they'll wish they never touched my knives. I'll give them more knives than they can--!"

"'EY! Shuddup in there!" There came an awful clattering at the bars, and the filthy, smelly cow that called himself Duo glared through at them, "What I say about talking?"

Feanor's lip curled in disgust. "You again?"

"Happy to see me, Pretty?” He grinned, “Yer starin’ again. See somethin' you like?"

Feanor smiled sweetly. "Well, since you ask, it's just that that hole in your face flaps grotesquely every time you speak. It's a bit appalling, actually. You should have it fixed."

The bull’s smile faded, "Careful, Pretty. Duo can forgive alot for a pleasant face... But don't push it." he put a hoof to the crudely stitched stab-wound on his cheek, "Besides, I already did. Medic lady put stitches in it, and somethin' stingy too..." He grinned again, "So I put stitches in her."

Feanor rolled her eyes, "Fascinating. But I wasn't referring to that hole."

"Huh?" The bull frowned in confusion, touching his other cheek, then his mouth as understanding dawned. "Oh, you got a smart mouth don'tchu?"

"And there you are doing it again. Atrocious."

The bulls already-narrow eyes narrowed alarmingly further. His hoof raised toward the key dangling from his neck.

Fluffy’s heart beat faster. It was working! Feanor had promised she could get the bull inside the cell if Fluffy could do the rest. Fluffy hadn’t believed her. Her eyes followed the progress of the bull’s hoof, a familiar feeling of joyful excitement building as she shifted to a position she could better lunge from. He reached the keychain, then paused. Slowly, his glare turned to a smile, then a laugh.

"I see what yer doin' now." He tapped his head knowingly, "They didn't make Duo warden for being stupid."

Feanor raised an eyebrow, "Oh, deer. It took more?"

Duo ignored her. "Think I'll just waltz in through those bars, don't ya?" He put a hoof to the wound on his cheek, "I won't be falling for that one twice. Yer Prime Mincer already pulled that one on me.”

So much for their plan. Fluffy felt a stab of disappointment. The excitement faded, leaving her glum and annoyed.

“Minister.” Feanor said dully. Perhaps there came a point when it wasn’t even worth poking fun anymore. Or maybe she was trying to smooth things over, already paving the way for Plan B. They had talked about it earlier. Well, Feanor had talked, mostly. Fluffy had been too embarrassed at the idea to say much.

“Huh?” Duo looked confused.

“It’s Prime Minister, not Mincer. That sounds… Barbaric.”

“Minster?” Duo scoffed, “What kinda title is that? That ain’t gonna strike fear into his subjects!”

“It’s not supposed to strike--” she sighed wearily, “You know what? Forget it.”

Duo smirked, obviously assuming he had won the argument. “Don't fret though, there'll be time for us later, Pretty, once we've dealt with your friends." He paused, "If you are lucky, that is. You see, I don't mind a little feisty, but..." He turned to Fluffy with a toothy grin, "It's the cute ones that really get me."

Fluffy blinked back, uncomprehending. Why was he staring at her? She glanced to Feanor, only to find her staring as well, furiously mouthing something from the corner of her lips. Huh? She hissed something, covering it with a fake cough. It almost sounded like... Plan B?

Oh. OH! Fluffy recoiled in surprise. But Plan B was to… She gulped. This wasn’t supposed to be her part! "Oh! Um, you mean me?"

Duo laughed, "And modest too! Take some notes, Pretty."

Fluffy felt her cheeks beginning to burn. Suddenly she wished Zack was here, he would know what to do. The demon was choosing to remain hidden though, keeping his presence a secret from their captors as long as possible.

“Tell him what he wants to hear!” Feanor hissed under her breath, not-so-subtly gesturing toward the Warden. This was supposed to be her job, not Fluffy’s! But Duo was looking at her, and Fluffy knew she had to do something. She searched desperately for something positive to say about the big, ugly, stinking bull in front of her.

"You’re really, uh... Large." She heard herself say.

She caught a wince from Feanor out of the corner of her eye, and Duo took a step back in surprise. "I... Well darn. No one's ever told me that." The bull rubbed his head awkwardly, looking genuinely pleased. "I mean, I've always known it, o'course, but no one ever thought to tell me that before. Thanks."

Feanor gaped, but Fluffy pushed on, encouraged. "Really? No one?" She looked down at her hooves in un-feigned embarrassment, "No one ever tells me I'm cute either. At least, not after they find out who I am." She frowned, "They don't usually say anything at all after that..." She really wasn't good at this.

Duo didn't seem to notice, he was nodding avidly. "It's true! The world just ain't fair for us. You think it's easy being the Warden? I do my best to keep the prisoners happy, I don't hurt 'em much, and I remember to give them food and drink most days. What do I get in return? A knife in the face." He shook his head sadly. “Then there’s the others. They’re jealous of me, all of them. They think I cheat at dice, and they laugh at me when they think I can’t hear. Then sometimes I hurt ‘em when I’m not supposed to, and Ziege gets angry…” He gave an aggrieved sigh.

Fluffy gasped. "That's just like me! Zack is always saying I should think more and stab less!"

"Exactly! It ain’t fair! I mean.... Wait, who is Zack?"

"Oh, just a friend. He's my..." She paused. My demon. She had almost said it, but that wouldn’t do, would it? She thought rapidly, came up empty, "My mouse." she finished lamely.

"Oh." Duo seemed confused, but also relieved. "That's...nice. I had a mouse once. He died..." He cleared his throat.

Fluffy shifted uncomfortably. The silence was beginning to drag. What should she say next? Feanor was the talker, not her. She wished Zack would appear, but the demon was determined to keep his presence hidden until necessary. Her hoof touched on something hard and cold. Two things, actually. The dice!

"I'm sorry about your face. I don’t think it looks bad, though. Better, really!” That didn't come out right. Duo frowned, obviously trying to sort what to make of that, and she quickly continued, "I have something for you! Well, something of yours, actually." She gave a sheepish smile as she produced the polished wooden pieces.

The Warden's eyes widened. "My dice! Where did you get those? Give them to me!"

Careful, Fluffy. She studied the warden behind a mask of innocence. All trace of good humor had evaporated, and his greedy eyes flicked suspiciously between the dice and the two Reindeer.

"I found them." She glanced around, remembering Feanor's advice. Tell him what he wants to hear. "One of the guards dropped them, outside our bars… so I--"

"I KNEW it!" He exploded, before she could finish, "Those bastards have been scheming for my dice for months! Think they’re loaded! I bet they're laughing right now. Oh, I bet they're laughing their tails right off! Well, we'll see who laughs in the end!"

Feanor, who had been affecting an air of disgusted disinterest spoke up, "I believe he said he won them off of you in a fight." She smirked, "Is that true?"

"A-- A fight!?" He spluttered, eyes bulging, "I'll KILL 'EM! Who was it? WHO!?"

Fluffy cast a nervous glance at Feanor, but she only blinked. They had only been here a short time, and most of that she had spent staring at the floor and mourning the loss of her knives. Some shapes had passed, but they hadn't paused to talk, (besides Duo) and she couldn't call anyone to mind. She thought MAYBE there had been a Longma... She opened her mouth to say so, but Duo seemed intent on making this easy for them.

"Was it Crook?! I bet it was, ugly Sheep-kin bastard! Or was it the Longma, that lying bastard is all over this-- WAIT!" An expression of hateful certainty dawned on his beaten face, "TAK! It was him wasn't it!? The stick-necked Alpake monster! TELL ME!"

Fluffy could feel the spit all the way at the back of the cell where she was chained. She pretended not to notice. She didn't think she'd seen an Alpake, but the name sounded strangely familiar, and Duo seemed set on it anyway. Tell him what he wants to hear. Feanor seemed to be trying to get her attention, but she didn't dare look.

"Yeah, that was him! Big Alpake, with a big mouth! I knew he must be lying, anyway. No way he could have beat a big strong bull like you!"

It didn't have the effect she hoped. Duo looked at her strangely. Too calm, and with none of the pride or outrage she had hoped for.

"Yer right about that,” he said. “No way in a thousand years. Partly 'cause he’s my friend, and I'd mop the floor with his body if he ever tried, but mostly 'cause..." He paused, "Tak ain't here. He's dead. One of those cowardly prey cut him open on patrol duty." He smiled, but there was no humor in it, "I told you Duo ain't stupid."

"Oh…” Oops. “I must’ve--”

"Shut up! I don't need to hear any more from you, I've heard it all before. Let's play a trick on the big dumb cow, hardee har har! Well Duo ain't as stupid as he looks! Keep, the dice, I'll have 'em back soon enough anyway." He turned to walk away.

An ominous rumble went through the cave at that moment, and the ceiling shook again, harder this time. Somewhere, a rock fell from the ceiling to roll down the corridor outside. Fluffy watched in silence until it came to a stop. Feanor shot her a nervous glance. Even Duo was frowning now, grumbling something about damned miners.

Their chance was walking away. Fluffy stared desperately after him. She had to do something!

"Duo, wait!"

He ignored her, kicking the rock to the side and starting to walk away.

"Please!"

He didn't listen. In desperation, she tossed the dice toward the cell door, where they bounced off and clattered to a stop inside. Duo stopped.

"Take them back. I'm sorry."

Slowly, he walked back to the cell door. He cast a suspicious glance at them, then reached a hoof through. His shoulder caught an inch short, and he cursed, glaring at her. "Another joke?"

She scrambled to her hooves hastily, walking to the middle of the cell, as far as the chain around her ankle would allow, and stretched until her front hooves cupped around the dice. She scooped them into a hoof, and stood, studying the Warden's face. His glare hadn't changed; his expression was a mask of suspicion and anger. But Fluffy could see more. Beneath that, he was hurt, and it occurred to her that he had been telling the truth. This was NOT the first time someone had made a fool of the Cattle-kin. He was plainly not the shiniest oat in the bag, and with his size, it was only natural that he would be a target for mean jokes and tricks. The big, ugly bull with the slow wits. His childhood must have been hell.

A pang of something unfamiliar stirred in her, and it scared her. She didn't know a word for it, only that it brought back painful images and half-memories from her own past that she preferred buried. She pushed it away, focusing on the pain and resentment in his gaze. She could see the wall of contempt and anger he had built to mask his hurt as plain as daylight. But how to get through? There was only one thing she could do.

 

[0Zero100]

Spoiler: Bad Blood Pt.2

She looked him in the eye as she held out the dice. "I'm sorry, Duo. I'm sorry I tried to trick you. It was me who stole the dice.”

His expression softened, but only the slightest fraction, and only for a moment. Then he snorted. “Fine of you to admit, after yer lie was already exposed. Give me the dice or don’t, but don’t bother with yer games.”

Fluffy took a deep breath. All or nothing. “Yes, I lied - but it wasn’t a game. I stole them because I was desperate, and because I could. But I lied because… because you were nice, and I didn’t want to ruin it!” She looked down at her hooves.

Duo squinted at her, but she had his attention now. “Ruin what?” he asked, suspicious tone at odds with the concern on his face.

Fluffy looked up, meeting his eyes before turning to point a hoof at Feanor. “She killed you friend.”

“What?!” Feanor gasped, “What are you doing Fluffy?!”

“Shut up, Pretty!” Duo roared, “What are you talking about? Tak?”

“Yes, the Alpake. I was there. We were scouting, and got caught and she… she…” her voice broke, “We told her to let him go but… she choked him with her hoof and then she cut his throat… and--” she shivered, “Then she laughed about it!”

“That is a LIE!” Feanor shouted, leaping to her hooves, “Fluffy, have you gone mad--?”

“I told you to shut yer mouth!” Duo growled in a warning tone.

Fluffy sniffed, looking back to the Warden pleadingly. “I don’t want to do it anymore. They say you are the monsters but…” she shot a black look at Feanor, “I have seen what monsters look like. And after you were so nice…” she sniffed again, looking down at her hooves, “I just didn’t want to ruin it. And now I have, with my first friend…”

There was a long silence, punctuated by Fluffy’s sniffs. Then Duo laughed.

“If Ziege could hear you now... “ He laughed harder, snorting “He’d probably eat you on the spot, or something worse. Hunters don’t HAVE friends, Reindeer. Friends are weakness. We have pack-mates, and feeding-brothers. Friends are for cowards and weaklings and prey.” He shook his head, “Good thing Ziege ain’t as smart as he thinks he is. He is so blind with power he forgets that we aren’t all as crazy as he is. Maybe some of us, but not all.”

He reached through the open bars, and she tentatively placed the dice in his waiting hoof. He smiled, then leaned against the bars to place his other hoof under hers, cupping it. “Well Duo ain’t crazy yet, and I say we can be friends...” He paused, frowning “After…” he raised one hoof to touch her forehead gently in the spot where his own held the burnt outline of the Mark.

Fluffy’s whole body protested at the touch, and it took a great effort not to jump in revulsion. “Will it hurt?” she whispered.

He looked down, eyes suddenly haunted, “Like you wouldn’t believe possible.” Then his expression cleared, “But afterward… Not all of ‘em go crazy…” He sounded thoughtful, almost as if he was talking to himself, “Maybe… Yes, I think we can be friends.” He smiled, but it was not a convincing one.

“Okay,” she said, nodding bravely. She pressed the dice into his grip with one hoof, her other moving ever so slowly to the thick fur of her ruff. He was so close, his face pressed between the metal of the cell bars, as close as she could hope to get.

His hoof fell from her forehead to rest against her cheek, and this time she couldn’t stop the shudder. He didn’t seem to mind, his expression was eager, his exposed neck pulsing almost within reach. If she stretched…

“It’s okay,” he said.

Her hoof found the cold metal concealed in her fur.

“I know yer scared. I was scared too.” He caressed her cheek with a gentle stroke, the gaps in his teeth showing as his smile widened. She could smell the stench of his breath - like rot and death - as he stroked her, and suddenly she couldn’t stand it. She groped for the knife, and…

The room exploded in a flash of blue light. There was a cry of pain, and Duo tumbled backward, clutching his burnt hoof in shock. Shouts of alarm carried from down the hall, and Zack lunged toward the fallen Cattle with a roar. He made it less than a yard before he slammed into something and rebounded hard into the cell. A hiss of pain and surprise escaped him as he stared at the cell door. It was not the bars, his ethereal body should have passed through as easily as air. It was something else.

The Warden’s wide eyed stare followed the demon’s to the floor at the entrance. Strange markings covered the floor, letters or symbols that Fluffy did not recognize scrawled in chalk across the stone. It could have been the scribblings of a fawn, if not for the precision and smooth curve of the protective arc around the cell. The Warden smiled grimly, and the demon growled a deep, angry growl.

Two hunters - a Longma and a Goat - arrived to help the Warden to his hooves. “What happened, sir? Are you injured?”

“I’m fine!” He snapped, shoving them away roughly. “Everything’s fine. Just fell is all.” As he spoke, his eyes never left Fluffy’s, and in that look, she saw more than anger or hatred. She saw the promise of death.

“Are you sure? We heard something, and the Daemon-barrier…” They cast nervous glances at Zack.

“I said everything is under control!” Duo roared, “Are you deaf!? Now get back to your cells before I have your asses barbecued for dinner!” He shouldered between them, limping on his burnt hoof as he went. He cast a final look at the cell and Fluffy before he disappeared through a doorway.

The two guards stared at each-other for a long moment, then retreated in the direction they had come, casting nervous glances over their shoulders at the Demon as they went. A heavy silence fell in the cell.

Feanor was the first to break it. “What in the Hold just happened?!”

The demon brushed it off with a contemptuous sniff, still glaring at the marking on the floor.

Fluffy took a step toward him, “Are you okay, Zack? Did that...thing hurt you?”

“Fine.” Zack seemed uncharacteristically upset, “It would take more than the scribblings of an amateur to cause me harm.” He did not meet her gaze.

“It did the job well enough,” Feanor snapped, “Or am I missing something?”

The Demon turned its cold gaze on her, but Fluffy stopped him with a hoof. “Zack… Why?” She held out the knife toward him, “I had him!”

Zack growled quietly, “I had to. He had his hooves all over your face! He was touching your forehead, he could have…” he stopped, “I had to.”

Feanor laughed coldly, “He didn’t have the power to do it, and you know that as well as us. Better than us.”

Fluffy shot her a glare, then she turned back to Zack. Still he refused to meet her gaze. He was embarrassed, she could tell that. But there was more. He had been worried. For her safety, yes - Zack had always been protective of her - but that was not all. That was not what hurt her - the thing he tried to hide.

“Zack?” she pressed, “Did you really think I would turn so easily? Don’t you trust me?”

She heard Feanor scoff in disbelief at the mere mention of that word, but Fluffy ignored her, focusing on Zack. He turned his frown to the wall, refusing to look at either of them. Then quietly, he said: “No one touches my Fluffy like that. No one.” Then he was gone.

There was silence again, and again Feanor broke it, laughing hoarsely. “Oh, that is rich! The daemon and the murderess. How romantic, I think I’m going to cry!”

Almost before she knew what she was doing, the knife was out of Fluffy’s hoof, whistling across the room. Feanor leapt back barely a split second before it struck. The knife trembled in the floor, a patch of fresh cut hair sticking up from where the blade had embedded in a crack between the stones. Feanor stared at it, then back up at Fluffy. She started to open her mouth to say something , but must have seen something in Fluffy’s eyes, because she shut it again.

The tension hung in the air between them, thick enough to cut. That knife had not been a warning, and they both knew it. If Feanor had not been so quick to jump, it would have taken more than just the fur from her neck. Fluffy could read it plain in her eyes, they blazed with an almost unnatural intensity that made her hesitate. Suddenly she realized that the temperature had dropped, her breath steaming in the suddenly close air. Her hackles raised. Feanor wasn’t just shocked or angry, she realized. For the first time since the mission’s start, the air of coiled tension between them had given way to the threat of true violence.

Fluffy shifted, following Feanor’s gaze to where the knife stood between them, handle facing up. Then she looked up, and their eyes met. In that moment, Fluffy was certain she would attack. Her heart hammered with excitement at the idea. Then Feanor closed her eyes. When she opened them, they had calmed, and the chill fled the room, along with the immediate danger.

“He is using you, Fluffy,” she said, with an air of knowing sadness, “Can’t you see that?”

Fluffy felt a moment of burning frustration. She didn’t understand! How could she? How could anyone who had not lived what Fluffy had lived? Seen what she had seen? Fluffy would not be here, alive at this moment if not for the demon. She wanted to force that knowledge into the other Reindeer’s mind, to physically make her understand. But there was no point arguing, Feanor would never trust the demon. She had made up her mind, and nothing Fluffy could say would change that.

“Just stay out of it,” she said, “I’m warning you.”

She walked back to her spot without waiting for a response and flopped down, careful to keep Feanor in her view. Violence may have been avoided this time, but things had changed with that knife throw, there was no mistaking it. She would have to be careful. She returned to staring at her hooves, watching Feanor from the corner of her eye. Her thoughts were confused and even more gloomy than before. She was angry at Zack, and between her cell-mate and the Warden, now had at least one more ungulate who wanted her dead. So much for Plan B.

~~~~~

Miner and An stood outside the cave, keeping their eyes on the open cave, hoping for a sign of their allies.

There was none.

The only thing that they found was the shaking earth and the open, empty cave.

“I hope the tunnel goes well,” Miner said.

“If it does not, then we have a long fight ahead of us,” An replied.

A second of silence passed between them.

Miner had retrieved his staff, and gathered his cloak back about him, a handful of wounds oozing blood. An was covered in his own fair share of scratches, all cauterized shut by his own flames.

Another second.

The ravens, crows, and blackbirds all began to gather behind them in the sky, and An’s sharp eye was quick to notice the flock.

“It seems we will not be let go so easily.”

Miner sighed. “Such is my luck.”

And then came the thundering of hooves.

Both boar and Longma turned behind, and saw the stampede. A wall of glinting teeth and gleaming eyes began to close in from behind them.

“It seems to be getting worse,” the boar said, gripping his staff.

“Such is my luck,” An replied.

 

[0Zero100]

Spoiler: Sympathy for the Flame

Fleece awoke with a jolt as another convulsion shook the earthen ceiling overhead. He had fallen asleep lying on his back, and the shaking had caused loose dirt to fall into his eyes. Slowly, he pulled himself upright, and leaned against his cell wall. Ever since his failed escape, he wasn't exactly on speaking terms with Duo... normally, he wouldn't mind, but it had been a while since he had talked to another ungulate, and he could feel himself getting desperate.

"Well, this is rather droll, isn't it?" asked a snooty voice in his head. Fleece didn't remember his thoughts sounding so... pretty? Feminine?

Fleece paused and listened. "Is someone there? Or have I just gone crazy?" He thought to himself. The voice did seem familiar, and... was that fighting he could hear in the distance?

"What?” The pretty voice said again. “We can't have a simple conversation?"

Fleece suddenly felt very rude for not answering the voice. He tried to say something, but his mouth was dry and covered in soil. He swallowed hard and took a few shaky breaths. One of his lungs was definitely heavier than the other, and Fleece had long since come to the conclusion that it was full of blood. One of his broken ribs must have poked a hole somewhere it shouldn't have. Not that Fleece could think of anywhere in a chest that should be punctured.

"My knives..." came a new voice. It was also pretty, but Fleece had already called the first voice the "pretty voice" so he decided to come up with a new name for-

"THEY TOOK MY KNIVES!" The scream caused Fleece to jump slightly, and he stepped back on his bad leg. He winced, then with a soft sigh, he lowered himself to a sit. The pretty voice sighed too.

"Ahhh. Tragedies happen. But seeing as we are prisoners..."

"Not for long!" declared the angry voice.

"Okay, so they are prisoners" Thought Fleece, who still hadn't built up the courage to add his own voice to the mix. "And by the sound if it, they're about... 10 or so cells up from me..."

"I'll show them," growled the angry voice, "When I get outa here, they'll wish they never touched my knives. I'll give them more knives than they can--!"

"'EY! Shuddup in there!" This was a voice Fleece knew well. Duo The Liger (The Cow) had come into the cell block and had made his way over to the other prisoners. "What I say about talking?"

"You again?" Asked the pretty voice with a hint of disgust. Fleece decided he liked the pretty voice. The pretty voice was his favorite.

"Happy to see me, Pretty? Yer starin’ again. See somethin' you like?" Hearing Duo also call the prisoner "pretty" made Fleece uncomfortable.

"Well, since you ask, it's just that that hole in your face flaps grotesquely every time you speak. It's a bit appalling, actually. You should have it fixed." Oh. That. Fleece had been trying not to think about what he had done to Duo's face. At the time he didn't care, but after being recaptured, Fleece realised that it would probably scar Duo for the rest of his life. As bad as Fleece's injuries were, none of them looked like they would leave a permanent mark. Well, maybe his broken nose. He couldn't really see it.

Duo's voice came again. "Careful, Pretty."

"Stop calling her that."

"Duo can forgive a lot for a pleasant face... But don't push it. Besides, I already did. Medic lady put stitches in it, and somethin' stingy too... So I put stitches in her."

Oh heck. Fleece felt his blood boil. The idea that his actions had caused someone else pain, even indirectly, caused something to stir in his conscious. This ungulate nurse, that Fleece had never met and likely never would, was hurt because of something he did. For a moment, Fleece wanted, more than anything in Foenum, to tell her that he was sorry. Then he realised that she was probably a Hunter, and he quickly changed his mind. Fleece realised he had tuned out of the conversation, and he began to listen again. He heard Duo laugh.

"I see what yer doin' now. They didn't make Duo warden for being stupid."

"Oh, deer. It took more?" The pretty voice had sass.

"Think I'll just waltz in through those bars, don't ya? I won't be falling for that one twice. Yer Prime Mincer already pulled that one on me.”

"Damn it. So not only have I hurt the nurse with my failed escape, but I've also screwed my new friends out of their shot at freedom. Wonderful. Hmm... can I really call two ungulates I've never met before my friends? Eh, why not... wait, are they talking about me?" Fleece listened to the conversation once again and, sure enough, they were talking about him!

“Don't fret though, there'll be time for us later, Pretty, once we've dealt with your friends."

"Friends! So there's more of them! Is that what the distant yelling is about? Am I being rescued?"

"If you are lucky, that is. You see, I don't mind a little feisty, but..." Duo paused. "It's the cute ones that really get me."

"The cute ones? Who? Angry voice?"

"Oh! Um, you mean me?" Said angry voice cutely. Now that Fleece thought about it, her voice was rather cute, and she no longer sounded angry. Fleece didn't know what to call this voice anymore.

The pretty voiced hissed something. Then the... cute voice spoke again. "You’re really, uh... Large."

"I... Well darn. No one's ever told me that." Said Duo. "I mean, I've always known it, o'course, but no one ever thought to tell me that before. Thanks."

"Wait, are they FLIRTING?"

They were indeed. To Fleece's surprise, Duo and the cute voice had begun a lovely chat about their feelings. Duo talked about how he was bullied by the other hunters (which only made Fleece feel worse about stabbing him), the cute voice mentioned her talking mouse named Zack, then they started arguing about dice. Fleece couldn't believe it.

"Aren't they supposed to be saving me? What exactly is their plan? Unless... oh no." Fleece remembered what the cute voice had said earlier, about them not being prisoners for long. They were tricking Duo. And based on the cute voice's attitude towards knives, they were probably planning something worse than a cheek scar.

"Yeah, that was him! Big Alpake, with a big mouth! I knew he must be lying, anyway. No way he could have beat a big strong bull like you!" The cute voice said. Now that he was listening for it, Fleece could swear he detected a hint of malice behind her words. He held his breath and waited for Duo's response.

"Yer right about that. No way in a thousand years. Partly 'cause he’s my friend, and I'd mop the floor with his body if he ever tried, but mostly 'cause... Tak ain't here. He's dead. One of those cowardly prey cut him open on patrol duty. I told you Duo ain't stupid."

"He... he isn't going to fall for it..." He heard Duo stepping away, as the ceiling rumbled yet again. "They're not going to kill him! But... but that means I'm stuck here..."

Fleece was conflicted. After everything Duo had said about being mocked and abused by the other Hunters, Fleece didn't want him to die. But at the same time, he didn't want to die himself, and he certainly didn't want his new friends to die. Fleece was torn. But it seemed as though the decision had been made for him.

"Duo, wait! Please! Take them back. I'm sorry!" called the cute voice. Duo stopped. He turned. He began walking back to the cell.

"No, you idiot!" Fleece stepped forward and pressed his face against the bars. He peered down the hallway as far as possible, and he could just make out Duo's figure, standing in front of the occupied cell... with one hoof sticking inside!

"You big dumb cow! Can't you see you're playing right into their hooves?"

"I'm sorry, Duo. I'm sorry I tried to trick you. It was me who stole the dice.” said the cute voice. The cute, angry, malicious, murderous voice.

“Fine of you to admit, after yer lie was already exposed. Give me the dice or don’t, but don’t bother with yer games.” Duo turned his head slightly, and Fleece could see his big dumb cow face and his big dumb cow eyes. He could see his poorly stitched scar and The Mark on his forehead. It was at this moment Fleece realised just how little he knew about his captor. Was Duo once an innocent calf who was captured like he was? Taken away from his mocking peers and his dead pet mouse and forced to be this cruel, deluded psychopath? What about his mum? And his dad? Everything he feared and everything he loved? His past - heck, his future. Fleece knew nothing about any of it. Fleece couldn't bare to look at him any more. He stepped away from the bars and stood in the middle of his cell.

The cute voice spoke. "She killed you friend.”

“What?!” gasped the pretty voice, “What are you doing Fluffy?!” Fluffy. Fleece now had a name to go with the voice.

“Shut up, Pretty!” Duo roared, “What are you talking about? Tak?”

"Stopping this would be so easy." Fleece thought. "All I have to do is say something. Just give him a warning. If I don't, I'm as guilty for his death as they are... aren't I?" Fleece thought about the nurse again, how his actions caused someone else pain, how the consequences of his decisions extended far beyond what he imagined. But what was the alternative? Screwing over his rescuers a second time? Depriving them of their one shot at freedom and putting their lives at risk?

Duo laughed. "If Ziege could hear you now..."

This was all too much for the young sheep. He could feel his heart beating faster, and the pain in his chest flared up. He stood up and looked through the bars once again. Duo's face was pressed right up against the other cell, and he was undoubtedly within touching distance of the prisoners inside.

“Well Duo ain’t crazy yet, and I say we can be friends...”

Something caught in the back of Fleece's throat. "Shout! Call out to him! Warn him! Save his life, you useless coward!" Fleece felt physically ill. He pulled himself away from the bars, closed his eyes as tight as he could and put his hooves over his ears. It didn't do much good. He could still hear their voices echoing through the cellblock.

“It's okay. I know yer scared. I was scared too.” Duo muttered in a tender, caring voice. Fleece couldn't stand the tension any longer. It was now or never. Fleece opened his mouth and yelled.

"HEY-"

His voice was cut off by an explosion, a bright flash, and a scream. Fleece heard Duo fall. Hard. A deep growl pervaded through the air. Fleece opened his eyes. "...What happened? Was I too late? Is he..."

Fleece could hear the cellblock entrance swing open, and the sound of guards running into the room. “What happened, sir? Are you injured?”

"I'm fine! Everything’s fine. Just fell is all." Duo snapped. He wasn't dead. Fleece took several deep breaths and lowered himself to the floor.

“Are you sure? We heard something, and the Daemon-barrier…”

“I said everything is under control!” Duo roared, “Are you deaf!? Now get back to your cells before I have your asses barbecued for dinner!” With that, the large bull stormed out of the room, followed soonafter by his fellow Hunters. Everything went painfully quiet. Fleece felt like he could cry.

The silence was broken by the pretty voice. "What in the Hold just happened?" Hearing the pretty voice cheered Fleece up a bit. He had no idea what caused the explosion, but he was glad the two prisoners weren't hurt.

“Are you okay, Zack? Did that...thing hurt you?” said Fluffy.

"Zack? Her pet mouse?"

“Fine.” Boomed a deep, hostile voice. “It would take more than the scribblings of an amateur to cause me harm.” This was no mouse.

“It did the job well enough,” said the pretty voice, once again turning up the sass. “Or am I missing something?” The three prisoners argued for a bit. Fleece tried to figure out who this new voice was and why they hadn't said anything until now, but his head was swimming, and he didn't have the mental energy left to figure it out. His question was soon answered for him by the pretty voice.

“Oh, that is rich! The daemon and the murderess. How romantic, I think I’m going to cry!”

"Well, that was a little uncalled f-" His thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of sharp metal slicing through fur. Fleece felt his stomach drop. That was a knife. There was no mistaking it. Fluffy had just thrown a knife at her cellmate. Fleece dared not make a sound. The other cell was completely silent too, and Fleece could swear he felt a chill in the air. After several painful seconds, the pretty voice finally spoke once again.

“He is using you, Fluffy. Can’t you see that?” A wave of relief washed over Fleece, and his breathing returned to normal.

“Just stay out of it,” Fluffy responded, “I’m warning you.”

Fleece had no idea who these rescuers were, but something told him that they needed as much help as he did.

~~~~~

Gaosung swore as he faced yet another passage blocked by fallen debris.

"Damn you Tzng!"

The longma spirit didn't have shoulders to shrug but he did a good job of making his lack of concern felt.

"You do remember that I'm a demon right? I'm basically damned by default."

"If I get buried under here, I hope my body never gets discovered, so that you'll have to sit there and rot with me until the end of times." Muttered the young longma as he frantically searched for another way out.

"Oh stop it you drama queen. Just make a fire portal and we'll be out in no time."

"I don't really feel like visiting the fiery planes of hell right now, I can still help here." but he was considering it. If the cave finished collapsing while he was still inside, he wouldn't have any other way out after all.

"Oh that's right, I forgot that you only know how to make inter-dimensional ones" snickered Tzng.

"Shut up" Gaosung said as he stopped at an intersection. "That was the last path. There are no more escape routes."

"So? There was only one entry befo-" But the longma interrupted his demon.

"Why do you think I'm telling you to shut up!? I need to concentrate!"

He was going to have to get out the same way he had gotten in, by making his own way. However, he was pressed for time. On the other hoof, he did not need to be discreet now. He stood up on his hind legs letting his fire out, but instead of letting it spread, he forced it to concentrate as much as he could before he started ascending, spinning as he raised through the air to meet the stone roof.

The spin was a firedancer technique, not very useful usually but it allowed a longma to fly completely surrounded by his fire and it made it burn brighter and hotter. It was certainly beautiful to watch them fly in formation.

Gaosung was no firedancer, he only knew the theory, but his fire had a lot more power than a normal longma's, he would have to hope that it was enough. As he barreled upward, the stone gave way before him, half melting and half cracking under the pressure of its own dilatation.

Maybe he would be able to make it to the surface before running out of air...

 

[0Zero100]

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A FEW GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS

Spoiler: Saving our blood from the Dark

The world was one of pain, and passing time. Weylyn had no idea exactly what had happened, for his mind was a blur and his touch with reality was thinning with each passing moment. He faded in and out, his mind both aware of the world around him, and painfully divorced. He could feel that something was wrong; that something had gone terribly wrong. Yet, he could feel so very little. He was aware that he was dying, for he could not feel much of his body, and what parts he could, when he could, were filled with unbearable agony. At the very least, if he was not dying, some part of him wished he was.

That was the thought that ran through his head when he was aware. When his mind drifted away however, he was barraged with memories, distant voices, and even fragments of dreams. They blurred into and out of each other, confusing him, and yet providing uncanny clarity.

In short: Weylyn was messed up.

His mind drifted to something of a memory, a bird. A giant bird, thunder, screams. His mind drifted, he was in a camp, there were so many things around him, darkly glowing. He was-Blue? Yes, he remembered when they … gone. His mind drifted again, pain. He was pinned, pain. Once more he drifted, his mind lost like a feather caught in a storm. Nothing made sense. How long had it been? He had no idea. His mind drifted to a memory, a warm one. What was it? What was this memory? It was, pleasant, peaceful. Forms, faces, all indistinct.

Something slid, pinning a new part of his body, yanking him out of that unknown memory and back into the world. He was not aware of it, but a painful cry had escaped his lips.

“I HEARD HIM!” a panicked voice screamed, “HURRY!” Something else slid, pinning something else. Another cry. “YOU IDIOT!” the voice cried.

“I don’t see YOU lifting huge boulders, Blue!” another voice cried back. “See if you can get Huo Xin up, would yo-” the words were cut off as Weylyn’s mind drifted away from this place. He remembered a great hall, with strange faces all around. He remembered faces, some friendly, some suspicious. Who were they? He couldn’t quite recall.

A shrill scream split the air, though none of the faces reacted. He could hear someone, a female, screaming his name. The world around him shifted once more, blurring into and becoming the next. He was in a field. He could see grass all around him, and feel a slight wind. Near him stood a figure that he both knew, and was alien to him. He looked at it, but for some reason, he simply could not make sense of it.

“Weylyn!” it shouted at him, its voice was oddly familiar.

He knew that name. “Who, what?” he looked at it confused.

“By the so-called Prophet, snap out of it!” the figure moved towards him, leaving a wake of a darkly colored fire in the grass behind it. “Please! Everything’s gone south, and open war has broken out and you’re here too busy dying!” the figure got rather close to him, leaning into him. “Snap out of it! They’ll need my help, and the bear isn’t gonna do!”

Try as he might, its words made no sense to him. “Who, who are you?”

Silence hung in the air for several moments. The figure shifted several times, and he could feel the air around him shifting in kind. He could feel emotions that were not his surrounding him, and encasing him. He felt shock, horror, anger, and even fear.

“W-Weylyn?” the figure said, moving back a few paces. “It is you, right? This isn’t some kind of pathetic hunter trick is it?” the figured turned left and right as if looking, then back at him. He could feel it staring at him, as if trying to figure something out. “No, this is you alright. Fine. Rather than waste time being shocked, I’ll give it to you straight. You are Weylyn. I am BLDCLW, but you call me … Blue.” the figure shuttered slightly. “You are my thrall, and I give you powerful magic in return. An important prey, something YOU are supposed to eat (but don’t for some forsaken reason), was captured by a group of fakers, and now you’re helping rescue it. Now get your head in the game, and wake up!” the figure moved directly into his face, and deep within it, he saw something that looked back at him.

Weylyn blinked a few times, rather surprised by all of this. Yet, it sounded oddly familiar. “Wake up? How?” he asked.

The thing that stared back at him rolled its eyes. “Like this!” it said as the figure surrounded him, and then entered him.

To say that was the least unpleasant thing that he immediately experienced would be a bit of an understatement. Not only did it feel as though fire had pushed itself under his skin, but it also yanked him mind, rather forcefully, from his world of blissful non-existence to the living world.

That was when the pain finally kicked in. Well, what pain he could feel anyway. After all, he could only really feel about 60% or so of his body. 61%, if you now count his screaming vocal chords.

“Weylyn!” Zero cried, nearly dropping the poor lynx on the ground out of surprise.

“DON’T DROP HIM! Don’t you have a first aid kit or something like that?!?” Blue yelled at him.

“For the seventh time, no I don’t!” Zero shot back.

“Don’t you snap at me, bear!” Blue threatened.

“Look, I know it looks bad, but he’ll be alright! All we have to do is get him back to HQ, and I’m sure someone can fix him u-”

“HIS LEGS ARE BENT IN ALL THE WRONG DIRECTIONS!” Blue shouted over him. “And you see his tail there? Yeah, that long thing? I’m pretty sure IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE 7 BROKEN JOINTS!”

Weylyn’s howl of pain had finally concluded, and he tried to speak, but found that his voice did not work. Or, rather, it was too hoarse to be of any use at the moment.

“I know, I know!” Zero shouted back, “I’m trying to move as carefully as I can here! Kinda hard while I’m holding my buddy with two arms while trying to balance a sleeping longma on my back!”

“Oh like you would know anything about that! You don’t even have a heart!” Blue snapped.

Zero glanced over at her. “Yes I do! I care a lot about my friend here, that you ver-”

“I’m not talking about that! I doubt you even have real lungs! How in Foenum can you possibly even relate to your so-called friends when you’re just an oversized toy!? Do you even feel pain?” she asked, her eyes burning intensely as she stared at him. “Can you even comprehend how Weylyn must be feeling right now? Look at him! His side is torn open! His hind legs are broken and bent! And I don’t even know if we can save that front one! And do you have any idea what kind of scars he’s likely to have on his face and body after this? Do you!? Can you even begin to comprehend how he could be feeling right now? The only reason he’s even alive right now is because I’m holding him together!” her eyes burned with anger, never breaking contact with Zero’s, as silence fell between them.

For several moments Zero carried on in silence. Even in Weylyn’s broken state, it was clear to him that there was much he wanted to say, but for one reason or another, remained silent. Though, it was clear that Blue’s words had a left a wound. While it was true that Zero was more machine then mammal, such words still left their painful mark.

“Blue...” Weylyn finally managed after some time. Blue turned in shock and looked at him with wide eyes, and Zero jumped a little. “Zero … is a friend. He’s … just trying … to help. Cut him … a … little slack, would ya?”

Blue, perhaps out of surprise, or stun, said nothing in return. Zero, however, glanced down at the broken lynx in his arms. “Thanks buddy,” he said quietly, “but she’s kinda right.”

Weylyn, with great effort, turned his head as best he could to look at Zero, but found that his neck either couldn’t or wouldn’t respond. “It doesn’t matter.” he breathed. “It’s not like … any of us … are normal anyway.” he tried to grin, but found that his mouth wasn’t quite able to.

Zero smiled slightly, “Yeah, I guess so, huh? A bunch of crazy misfits trying to save a single sheep.”

“And by the looks of it, failing!” Blue piped up.

“Blue,” Weylyn rolled his eyes in her general direction, “just … shut up.” She looked at him once again with surprise, but said nothing in return. “We … pulled it out last … time. We … can … do it again.”

Zero nodded as the four of them barreled through the forest. It wouldn't be long until they reached the front, where the two forces had begun clashing. “You know, Blue, I really don’t think we should be taking Weylyn into battle like this!” he shouted as the last line of trees swiftly began approaching.

“Don’t you worry about that! Take us in there, and I’ll take care of the details!” she shouted confidently. Zero cast her one last look, one that said she was crazy, but charged forward all the same right through that last line, and directly into the maelstrom…

~~~~~

A spot on the floor of the cave became hotter, then the rock started to crack and become red until finally Gaosung emerged, spraying some scalding hot stone fragments around.

The situation was confusing, ungulates were fleeing everywhere. It seemed like these were mostly escaping prisoners though, he recognized them. After all, it had been his mission to save them originally. Among them were his fellow council members, the same who were meant to save the Prime Minister. It was good to know that even if he had failed in his mission they were safe.

He ran with them, toward the cave's exit, keeping an eye out for any hunter trying to sneak out with them or attempting to stop them.

 

[OCisbestungulate]

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER (and its parts) CONTAINS VIOLENCE, DEATH, AND SOME STRONG LANGUAGE

Spoiler: Bad Blood 2, Part 1

Another tremble shook the roof overhead, and a shiver went down Feanor’s spine. They were coming more frequently now, and stronger. She could feel the weight of untold tons of stone pressing down upon them - the hoof of some horrible giant, eager to crush them all like so many insects. If that happened, no power of winter would save them, nor anything the Dark One could muster. The vaunted powers of daemon and ungulate kind, equally humbled in the face of a giant rock. The thought had a depressing kind of cheer to it. What would happen to the daemon then?

Her eyes were drawn again to the insidiously unremarkable ornament, looped around Fluffy’s neck. Just like any ordinary necklace. Or shackle. Clutched in a brace of plain silver hung a sphere of smooth stone, so perfect and utterly black that it seemed more an absence than an object. It made her skin crawl just looking at it. It seemed to swallow the light greedily and draw the eye hypnotically to its cold depths. Nor was it the crisp, clean cold of her homeland, which heralded the change of seasons and a new cycle for life. This was a lonely, empty sort of cold - devoid of meaning or purpose. Or maybe it was all in her head. Maybe she was just projecting her own fears and hatreds onto an inanimate object.

She shook herself, wrenching her eyes from the thing. There was undeniable comfort to the idea of that malignant metal being buried under a mountain of stone for all eternity - a comfort only slightly soured by the knowledge that it would be her own bones keeping it company. It was enough to make her physically ache for the memory of green grass and daylight.

Was it still daylight? It had been early afternoon when they started out on this mission, what now seemed a lifetime ago, but Feanor had been unconscious since then, and she had no idea for how long. Her dreams had been fragmented images of being buried alive, clawing her way through earth and rubble toward a tiny window of light she could never reach -the stones collapsing beneath her whenever she got close. She had jolted awake with a shock of adrenaline and the looming certainty that something was wrong. When she blinked around the room, Fluffy was staring at her. It had been long minutes later when Feanor had realized what was missing. The knife which had been buried in the floor between them was gone.

Fluffy. She was a problem. There was blood between them. Bad blood. Any kinship or pity she may have once felt for the creature was dead. It had been buried in the frozen earth with a family of oat farmers beneath a lonely northern moon; buried by the light of flames which still gnawed at the husk of what had once been the family’s home.

What kind of monstrous joke had seen a Reindeer like her saddled with a name like that? Every instinct screamed mistrust and hatred toward the outcast who had murdered Feanor's kin - had tried to murder her. And yet, for all that, the mad Dark One might well be her only hope for escape.

Feanor had one last plan, and it scared her more than she cared to admit. If she had misjudged the Dark One, or made one mistake… Best not to consider that. She glanced at Fluffy, who was muttering and giggling at something under her breath - seemingly unaware of the situation. A chill raised the hairs on her neck.

“What’s so funny?” It came out sharp and nervous sounding, which just added to Feanor’s annoyance. The Dark One didn’t seem to share her fears in the slightest, and Feanor despised it.

Fluffy looked up, startled. “Huh?”

“Who are you talking to?” Feanor couldn’t repress a sneer, she already knew the answer.

“I- I don’t know what you’re--” Fluffy stammered, caught off guard

“Don’t play stupid with me. It’s in there now, isn’t it? In your thoughts--?”

“Stop!” The shout interrupted them, followed by a wheezing string of coughs that was painful just to hear.

Was there a guard still here after all? The hall outside appeared empty, and now that she considered, the voice had not sounded right at all. Not gruff and angry, but weak, desperate and somehow very familiar…

“Please, stop fighting! I can’t… can’t…” the voice devolved into another fit of coughing.

Feanor gasped, lurching to her hooves. “Minister!? Fleece! Is that you?”

She was answered by more weak coughing, and then shallow breathing. Could it be? She had never met the Sheep Prime Minister directly, only seen him about the Council halls on official business, but the voice had sounded familiar…

“Yes…” the reply finally came, sounding like he wished it wasn’t true. “Yeah, it’s me. So you can stop trying to kill each other. Please.”

This whole time! Feanor hadn’t dared hope they would be so lucky as to end up this close to their target. This made things simple, there would be no need for a search if they escaped then. No. Not if, damnit - when. She stretched toward the bars, peering as far down the hall as her restraints allowed her in the direction of the Prime Minister’s voice.

“We are with the Council,” she hissed, “We are going to get you out of there, but you have to help us. Do you have anything that could serve as a weapon?”

“A… weapon?” he sounded confused, like he didn’t know what the word meant, “No, I… I lost it,” he said it like an apology.

Not much of a loss, Feanor suspected. She couldn’t picture this Sheep as much of a fighter. Still, they needed every advantage they could get. Her mind continued to race.

“What about your dogs? Are they being held somewhere here?”

“I don’t know,” he moaned miserably, “I haven’t seen them since the battle. Poor Tushie...”

The subject was clearly one he had been trying not to think about, he sounded close to tears. This was not a time to worry about feelings though, so Feanor pressed on. “What about an exit, do you know which direction will take us out?”

A pause. “I think… Maybe it was... wait, no. Maybe… I don’t know! I’m sorry! I’m useless…” it devolved into another fit of coughing.

Feanor sighed. “Minister we don’t have---”

“I think that’s enough, cold one.“ Zack’s voice cut her off, coolly.

Feanor whirled, tripped on the chain and scrambled back to her hooves. She had not noticed the daemon appear behind her. A foolish mistake.

Zack did not even spare her a glance as he moved forward to hover at the front of the cell, though Feanor noted that he kept a prudent distance from the runes scrawled across the floor.

“Are you injured, Sheep-kin?” he asked.

It was a long moment before the Sheep caught his breath, and another before he replied hesitantly. “I think I’m okay,” his voice came weakly, “It’s just a couple ribs. They haven’t done anything serious yet.” More coughing: wet, ragged, and very much serious sounding. “Well, anything deadly I guess.”

Feanor’s cheeks grew suddenly warm. Now that she payed attention, the Minister did sound awful. In the quiet, she could hear his breath coming in wet wheezes, and the effort of talking to them seemed to have exhausted him already. She had assumed he was just being weak. Wallowing in self-pity like the coddled politician he was. Assumptions. How long had he been down here in this horrible dark dungeon before the rescue was even prepared? She felt the shame turning to anger at the thought of the abuse he must have suffered at the hooves of the filthy, violent hunters. It was a welcome distraction from her thoughts.

“What did those filthy creatures do to you?” She demanded.

“It was my own fault, really.” The Prime Minister sounded embarrassed, but also - could she be imagining it? - a little pleased. “I shouldn’t have tried to escape like that. Or stabbed that warden in the face...”

Fleece had been the one to leave that nasty scar on the Warden’s already-ugly face? She had pictured some bloody battle wound, or a scrap with some Hunter monstrosity. Again with the assumptions. Perhaps there was more to this Sheep politician than met the eye.

“But I didn’t think they’d send a rescue just for me…” He coughed again, managing words in between “My fault. Poor nurse…”

Feanor had no idea what he was talking about now, (she suspected he was feverish) but he was starting to sound sad again, and that wasn’t helping anything, so she reached for her own inner politician, “Nonsense! Fleece the gate-smasher? The hero of Giraffe Plain?” she scoffed, “Of course there was a rescue!”

She did her best to keep the irony out of her tone, but Zack shot her a cold glance nonetheless. She glared ice of her own back at him. She would not be judged by a daemon. Besides, she hadn’t been making it up entirely. She had caught bits and pieces of many a tall tale about the Prime Minister’s exploits in the aftermath of the battle, (mostly from the sheeple, granted) though she was not fool enough to believe any of them. Everything from leading a heroic, sacrificial charge, to the Minister demolishing the gates with a roar and riding the backs of an army of Sheeple to challenge the Giraffe leader to single combat.

For his part, Fleece didn’t seem to have noticed any sarcasm.

“Oh no…” he sounded mortified. “They aren’t really saying that are they? Please say no.”

“The day was won.” Zack replied seriously, “And your efforts played no small part. By all accounts you displayed exemplary leadership. But there are greater battles ahead of us--”

As if on queue, another crash sounded from somewhere outside. Through the ringing in her ears, Feanor heard a slam from the door at the end of the hallway, then a shriek.

“-- in the Hold did you think you were goin’?” Growled a familiar voice. Duo.

Hooves scrambled on stone, “N-Nowhere, sir!”

The Longma guard.

“I was just going to check on the kitchens! The prisoners haven’t had any--”

“The HOOF you were!” Roared Duo, “I toldja there ain’t gonna BE anymore food, and the kitchens are the other direction, sheep-brain! You’ll stay here until I say you can leave, got it?”

“B-but sir!” The guard pleaded desperately, “The place is collapsing, we’ll all die down here!”

“Thank the masters if you do. What do you think Ziege’ll do to you if his precious prisoners escape? Better this than the Door…”

A grim silence followed. The Door? What were they talking about? Feanor felt she had heard it somewhere before, that she should know the answer, but it eluded her.

“Guess yer right, boss.” The guard actually sniffled. The two were blocked from view by the edge of the cell wall, but it sounded like the Longma was crying. “Sorry, boss. Just… just tell my--”

“SORRY?” Duo spat, “You think I want your sorry?” Another thump and the guard sprawled across the floor in front of their cell, followed by the leering warden. “Get back to your post, you sniveling rat, or I’ll do for you right now and save Ziege the trouble!”

The Longma scrambled away, leaving the warden alone in the corridor. Duo looked even worse than the last time Feanor had seen him, if that was possible. His fur was disheveled and one eye was swollen mostly shut by an ugly bruise, the other had a wild, suspicious look to it as he glared after the guard. Abruptly he turned to go, muttering curses under his breath. At the last moment, his eye caught the Reindeer staring at him, and paused. For a long moment, they stared at each-other in silence, then the warden grinned. It was not a pleasant thing to see - not the slightest trace of amusement, just cold hatred and cruelty.

“What?” He asked, “Nothin’ to say all the sudden?”

 

[OCisbestungulate]

Spoiler: Bad Blood 2, Part 2

The stink of him was in the air, rotten teeth and unwashed sweat. His open eye stared malice at her. Feanor said nothing. His behavior unnerved her. Before he had been mean, even cruel perhaps: but a simple, stupid kind of cruel she could play along with - easily amused and easy to predict. She didn’t know how to respond to this. The Duo before her seemed wild and hateful, and beyond any hope of amusement. Fluffy, what did you do to him?

He laughed suddenly, harsh and forced. “You’re all dead, you know that right?” His gaze shifted to Fluffy, “Or worse. No matter what happens up there.” He jabbed a hoof to the ceiling, “You win, I’ll make sure no one leaves these cells alive. Count on it. You lose? Well... It’s only a matter of time before Ziege gets bored and takes you to his door, sings you a little rhyme and....” His hoof smashed down suddenly, hard enough to echo through the entire cell block. “Then you’ll wish you were dead.”

She stared back at him silently.

“No more jokes? C’mon Pretty. Make me laugh.” He turned to Fluffy, “No more tricks?”

“Fine.” Feanor said flatly, “You win. We’re out of ideas. We are at your mercy…”

“Finally starting to see it straight. What’s next, an apology? ‘Fraid it’s a bit late for that sweetheart.“

“No apology. You know what we are now. We came here with a mission, and you were another tool for that mission. We tried to use you, and we failed.” She shrugged calmly, “The mission failed. All we have left now is our lives, and we will do anything to protect that. Anything.”

“That so?” Duo moved closer, “Would you betray your own kind then? Everything you have ever known? Will you sell your brothers and sisters to the Masters for a few more miserable hours on this dung-pile?”

Feanor didn’t hesitate. “Anything. Maybe that makes us no better than you. Maybe all ungulates are the same when the chips are down.” She shrugged, “But we don’t want to die down here,” a meaningful look, “Any more than you do.”

“Me? What makes you think I’ve got anything to worry about? I’m not the one in the cage, Pretty.”

“Aren’t you? Then leave.”

Duo didn’t move, just glowered at her with hatred in his one open eye.

“That’s what I thought. You said it yourself, better to die than be the one to fail your ugly goat.”

“So I should let you out... why? To save Ziege some trouble? If it comes to that I’ll find my own way.”

“I hold a spot on the Council, I know secrets that could turn the tide of this war. And Fluffy, she hears whispers from the Dark Ones that would make your Goat-lord slobber. All of it can be yours. You could be the Masters’ greatest asset!”

Duo snorted, “You’ll spill your secrets to us either way, prey. I’ve seen it a hundred times. When they are through with you, you’ll have coughed up secrets even you didn’t know you had. Then I’ll be next.”

“Then why not leave?”

“And go where? You can’t hide from them, even if I didn’t have this.” He jabbed a hoof at the mark on his forehead.

Fluffy stood suddenly. “You wouldn’t need to hide. Not if you have some place to go...”

Duo’s eyes flashed hatred at the smaller Reindeer. “What, with your kind? I’d take the Masters’ mercy over those monsters.”

Fluffy’s stare didn’t waver, “They’ve taken in Hunters before. Weylyn was--”

“I know ‘bout that coward,” Duo spat, “He’s got it comin’ to him, mark my word. Ziege has plans for that one.” He leaned in close, eyes dripping venom, “I’ve done some things. Things I reckon I’d rather forget, maybe. But I ain’t no demon. My hooves might be red as the walls of the Hold, but at least I still got my soul. I’d stroll right through The Door whistlin’ before I’d become one of you.”

He spat the last words like he was spitting razors, face all contorted and mean. Feanor felt a peculiar chill climb her spine. Those were her words. Not exactly, maybe, but close enough as made no difference. How many times had she spat her own venom like that, so righteous? Suddenly everything seemed all wrong. It was only a fleeting glimpse, but for a moment, just a moment, it was like seeing her own face in some hideously distorted mirror. Then Duo turned back to her, and it was gone, quickly as it had come.

Her heart beat seemed to thud loudly in the sudden silence. The shadows on his face danced with the flickering candle-light.

“Then what do you want?” she said quietly. To her own ears her voice sounded strangely dull. Defeated. “You wouldn’t still be here if there was nothing…”

“Think yer so smart dont’cha? It ever occur that maybe I just like to watch you squirm? Maybe I want to see the look in yer eyes when you realize that no matter who you are out there,” he jabbed a hoof at Feanor, “Or how clever you think you are,“ to Fluffy “You still die just the same as the rest of us.”

Feanor ground her teeth, but said nothing. She had run out of things to say. She turned to Fluffy, and the Dark One’s eyes held no answers. There was nothing left to try. Nothing except…

The Warden laughed abruptly, “Or maybe… just maybe,” he gave a sickly grin that showed all of his yellowed, unnaturally sharp teeth. “There could be something.”

“What?” She managed to sound both eager and desperately reluctant at the same time, “What is it?”

Duo narrowed his eyes, glancing suspiciously down the hallway toward where he had sent the guard, then leaned in toward the bars and beckoned.

Feanor hesitated. The calm look on Duo’s face was somehow more disturbing than all his rage. Then his smile started to evaporate, and she hurried forward. She stopped just short of pulling her chain taut.

Duo licked his lips, “Yeah I reckon there’s somethin’.”

“Whatever you want,” Feanor murmured.

He leaned in further, beckoning.

She frowned in annoyance, stepping forward as far as the chain would allow. “What? What is it?”

Duo’s hoof touched her chin gently, forcing her to meet his grinning stare. “Just one thing,” he said sweetly. He moved faster than Feanor would have thought possible, his hoof slamming upward with a hollow smack. The walls tilted crazily and then the floor reached up to smack her in the back.

Twin Duo’s leaned in against the bars, eyes avid with hate, “Die slowly.” They said, then the world went dark.

 

[OCisbestungulate]

Spoiler: Bad Blood 2, Part 3

When the world returned, something warm and salty was filling her mouth. Two wide eyes stared down at her above a moving mouth, but the noises were meaningless to Feanor. She rolled over and immediately regretted it as pain pulsed through her head like a sledge-hammer. She opened her mouth and a small river of red trickled out.

“-- just bit her tongue. She’ll be fine.”

The words reached her from a great distance. They sounded disappointed.

A giggle. “No I don’t think she bit it that hard. It would get a lot quieter in here though… Oooh, and it would make a nice toy!”

Feanor recoiled as the words registered, and Fluffy’s face filled her vision again. She blinked several times before realizing the Reindeer was holding out a helping hoof.

She hesitated. Her head was beginning to clear, and with it alarm was setting in. She jerked her gaze to the bars to find… Gone. Duo was gone. But that meant… Her heart was beginning to beat faster, and her head pounded with it. They were almost out of time. The cell opposite their own was gone. Simply gone. In its place was a massive chunk of stone where the roof had caved in, smashing right through the bars and jutting out to block half of the hallway.

She whirled back to Fluffy, rage and fear finding an outlet, “YOU!” she slapped the offered hoof aside with all her strength and stumbled to her hooves unsteadily. “This is your fault! You just let him walk away?!”

Fluffy stepped back in surprise, then her eyes narrowed. “See? Definitely still has the tongue.”

“Don’t!” Feanor spat. It came out in a spray of red, but she didn’t care. “Don’t you dare!” She was done caring. Time was trickling away like water through their hooves, and Fluffy was joking and playing like a child.

“Don’t what? You’re spitting.”

“That was our last hope that just walked away. Don’t you even care?! How can you speak that way right now? Or is it that monster in your head? Do you even know anymore?”

Fluffy’s eyes flashed. “You don’t know ANYTHING! You can’t know! Because you’re too cold to understand, like a block of ice!”

Feanor advanced a step, “I know this much. There are three of us in here, but only two lives hinge on our plan…” she let it hang in the air for a moment, willing Fluffy to understand. “That thing will just be found by some other poor creature. Some other slave--”

“I AM NOT A SLAVE!” Fluffy screamed. “Why can’t you accept that? What happened that froze you dead inside?”




“What’s going on?” Fleece’s voice carried worriedly down the hall, but Feanor ignored him.

“Because I know what it is to be a slave!” the words were out before she even knew she would speak them. Some barrier was broken, and now the anger poured through uncontrollably.

“I am NOT--!”

“You ARE! And you can’t even see it! But I can. I have lived it! And I will DIE before I let that happen again - to me, or anyone else!”

“Die then!” Fluffy growled. In the dying torch-light, silver metal flashed. “I can always use more hooves…”

“Stop it guys! If we fight each-other, they win…!”

It was too much. Whatever control she had left shattered at the memory of those corpses, neatly lined up for burial, bloody stumps left where hooves should have been. She reached, and the winter answered. There was no calm control here, the blizzard raged in her veins, and she let it pour forth.

Fluffy leapt aside, and a shard of razor ice crashed against the wall where she had been standing a moment before. Feanor lunged, but Fluffy was already on her hooves, a smile on her face and that wild light in her eyes. She shifted at the last moment, and Feanor’s momentum carried her forward. Her chain yanked hard on her hind leg, and she hit the floor.

“Stop!” Fleece kept screaming, “Please stop it! Someone help!”

Feanor hardly heard. She tried to roll, but something landed on her back, pinning her. Warm breath brushed her neck. She twisted violently, but Fluffy clung on like a leech. Mother, was she laughing? She twisted again, and a stabbing pain shot through her shoulder. With strength born of desperation, she bucked hard one more time, and this time Fluffy tumbled off - dancing away as Feanor found her hooves.

Fluffy smiled at her, “That one’s for the oats.”

Feanor followed her gaze down. The handle of the knife jutted from her shoulder, warm blood trickling from the wound to drip to the floor. All that metal in her flesh, and she could hardly feel it. There was only a dull, numb ache. She ground her teeth, letting the cold seep in, turning the oozing blood to red ice.

“You really shouldn’t have done that.”

With that she leapt, forming blades of ice as she did. Fluffy leapt aside again, quick as a snake, but this time Feanor was ready. She hurled her ice mid leap to intercept the Dark One’s course. At the last moment, Fluffy’s necklace flashed red, and the ice shattered before her, sending stinging crystal shards across the cell. The blast was enough to hurl the smaller Reindeer against the back wall, where she fell to the floor - stunned.

Feanor was on her in a heartbeat. In some part of her mind, she registered the pounding of hooves outside their cell.

“Help! Somebody!” Fleece was still shouting, voice growing weaker and weaker. “They’re killing each-other!”

Feanor brought her front hooves down with all her anger behind the blow. Fluffy rolled out from under the kick and sparks flew as Feanor’s hooves hit the stone where she had been. Her legs were knocked from under her, and then they were rolling - a spitting, biting, whirlwind of kicking limbs.

“What in the Hold is all this racket Sheep?!” Someone was bellowing, “I thought I told you to shut your---” The voice stopped abruptly as it reached their cell, “Oh crap!”

Feanor found herself on her back, Fluffy’s face snarled down at her and she slammed her forehead into the Dark One’s chin. They rolled again, and she caught a glimpse of the Longma guard pounding on the bars of their cell, shouting threats she could not understand. Feanor came up on top this time, and slammed a hoof into Fluffy’s face. She raised it again, but Fluffy was too quick, with a scream she lurched up, and Feanor felt teeth clamp onto her neck. She tumbled backward, hissing in pain as fur tore away from her flesh. If not for the thick fur of her ruff…

“I said stop dammit! Stop or you’ll pay for it!” From the corner of her eye, Feanor saw the guard reach for his key, hesitate, then stomp. “Damn you crazy prey!” He dashed off, shouting for Duo.

The distraction cost her. Fluffy lunged, spitting fur from her mouth and growling like a wild creature. Feanor hopped back, but was pulled up short again as her chain caught. Fluffy hit hooves first, knocking the wind from Feanor’s chest, and sending lances of fire through her shoulder. She fell hard, only barely managing to twist out of Fluffy’s reach as she hit the floor.

Her pulse pounded in her head like a sick battle drum, her shoulder pulsing trickles of hot agony with every beat. She reached for the cold place, but it seemed to recede before her like a wave on the shore. No… She had to focus! Fluffy was behind her… any second now. She tensed in preparation, but nothing happened. With an effort, she managed to roll over.

Fluffy seemed to be frozen in mid step, a look of almost comical puzzlement on her face. Then she saw what had happened. Their chains were twisted together, holding them both taut. Their eyes met for a moment, then Fluffy moved. She rolled once, uncrossing the chain, then back under, freeing another knot.

Feanor kicked weakly, trying to stop her, but she lacked the strength. She was beginning to feel faint. Not yet! She pushed herself to her hooves, but her shoulder gave out, and she fell again. Her vision swam, and it hit her with a sickening feeling. She couldn’t stand. How could she fight if she couldn’t even stand?

Fluffy moved with the horrible patience of a cat, deftly untangling the chain, twist by twist. When she had enough slack, she began to crawl.

“ENOUGH!” The roar came muffled to Feanor’s ears, but she recognized the Warden’s voice through the fog. “You idiot prey! Stop right now or yuh give me no choice!”

Fluffy didn’t even seem to hear. Feanor could only watch with a detached helplessness as the Dark One approached, an eager, hungry look in her eyes.

“Sir?! What should we do?” came the panicked voice of the guard.

“DO?! Get in there and stop them you sheep-brained prey lover!”

Fluffy was almost on top of her now, her smile perfectly, horribly innocent - like a happy child.

“Me?!” the Longma’s voice broke with terror, “We-- I can’t! What about the Dem--”

“AHHHG! You bloody coward!” A hollow crash as the Longma was hurled against the bars, “I’ll do it myself!”

Fluffy batted aside her weak kicks easily, pinning down one leg, then the other. With the last of her strength, Feanor reached… and found a breath of the Winter still in her veins. With every ounce of will she could muster, she began to form a shard of ice, hidden behind her shoulder. In another world, a lock clicked open.

“Any last words?” the Dark One said.

Tiny bits of moisture in the air coalesced with agonizing slowness, taking the shape of a spear, point finer than any razor. Just a few more seconds...

Feanor spat, spraying blood right in Fluffy’s smiling, disgustingly innocent little face.

The Dark One flinched back, pawing the blood from her eye. Over her shoulder, Duo’s huge form closed. Fluffy turned back, and their gazes locked.

“NOW!” Feanor screamed, and drove the spear forward. At the same moment, Fluffy wrenched the knife from Feanor’s shoulder with her teeth and leapt back to meet Duo’s charge. The room exploded in a flash of blue light, and Zack was there in his full form. Great claws wrapped around the Warden’s body, wrenching his great bulk from a full charge to a dead stop in one bone-snapping wrench.

It was all over in a matter of seconds. A grunt of surprise, the hiss of steel, and a sickening crunch. When Feanor mustered the energy to open her eyes, Duo hung limp in the Daemon’s embrace, twin blades buried in his chest - one of steel, the other ice.

In the sudden calm, the only thing to break the silence were the sounds of Fluffy’s quickened breath, and the Warden’s wet groan. He stared down at the weapons protruding from his chest with an expression of hurt bewilderment.

“But…” he looked up, eyes wide. Fluffy approached until she stood only inches from the dying bull.

She didn’t want to see this, but somehow she couldn’t look away. A quiet hiss as Fluffy pulled the blade from the Warden’s chest. The Dark One leaned in close enough to kiss.

“Die slowly…” Feanor heard her whisper, soft as a lover.

“I’m not… supposed…” his voice trailed off into a rasping sigh, then silence. A thump as his body hit the floor.

A jingling click broke the silence.

“Ahhh crap! Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap…”

All eyes turned as one to the Longma guard. He was fumbling for his keys, which he must have dropped in his rush to close and lock the cell again. He froze when he saw them all staring, visibly trembling.

Zack’s roar split the cell as he charged the cowering Longma, and the guard fled with an incoherent scream of terror. The daemon pulled up short, a hint of grim amusement on his face. Or maybe Feanor was imagining that, she was no expert on reading daemon expressions.

Right then, she wanted nothing more than to shut her eyes and sleep. The stone floor felt softer than any feather mattress she had ever slept on, but Fluffy was approaching now - knife in her mouth. Zack moved to stand protectively at her side. Feanor stared up at them, too tired to be defiant.

The long silence was broken as Fluffy abruptly dropped the knife to wipe at her cheek. The blade stuck in the floor only inches away as Fluffy examined her hoof.

“You spit on me.” She frowned.

Was that humor? Or something else?

“You stabbed me.” Feanor replied flatly.

Fluffy’s mouth twitched. “Well, you did say to be ‘authentic’...”

Feanor sniffed. So much balanced on her next words, maybe even her life. Everything between them hung in a sort of uncertain limbo, only waiting to be established.

“You’re a traitor and an abomination.” She said.

“And you’re a cold-blooded monster.”

Fluffy held out a hoof. It was an acknowledgment of grudging, mutual respect; but also a clear message - the score was not settled. And like that, it was over. The tension fled, replaced by a relief so strong that even Feanor couldn’t repress a smile. She could have kissed Fluffy right then, despite everything. She took the hoof, and against her body’s screams of protest, dragged herself to her hooves. Her left shoulder was a mass of pain, and could bear almost no weight, but she could stand. Could even walk if she was careful. Blood still trickled from the open wound, but it was sluggish and beginning to clot.

“Ungulates…” Zack’s tone was somewhere between amused annoyance and sheer bafflement. “I will never understand you.”

Feanor ignored him. She wobbled on her hooves, just focusing on breathing in and out for a moment, trying to steady herself.

“So what now?” she asked finally.

“Now?” Fluffy reached down and plucked the keys from around the Warden’s neck, jingling them, “We save the day.”

Feanor looked at her dumbly, then nodded. “Right. Of course. The Minister…”

 

[OCisbestungulate]

Spoiler: Bad Blood 2, Part 4

Stepping outside the cell felt surreal, so much so that she wondered if she could be dreaming all this. Maybe she would wake up to find that horrible chain around her ankle, and Fluffy staring down at her…

“We have to do something about that ward.” Zack said, scowling at the runes scrawled around the cell.

Feanor looked at Fluffy. Or we could leave him behind, and never look back… Her eyes said, but she didn’t voice the words. It was part of their silent agreement. She sniffed instead.

Whatever the Hunter’s had used to draw the runes proved infuriatingly stubborn, and it took precious minutes of scraping and scratching with a sharp rock before Zack was satisfied that the spell was broken. Feanor almost considered just shutting the door and leaving it, but Fluffy had been careful to keep the keys safely round her neck, and they still had to get Fleece out.

Fluffy bit her lip as she stepped through, but there was no flash of light or rebounding force: only a faint crackle of energy around the necklace as she passed over. Zack followed, and Feanor didn’t even try to hide her disappointment when he slipped through unharmed.

“Shall we?” she gestured impatiently toward the Minister’s cell. Trembles still shook the walls and ceiling sporadically, but they had been spared any more collapses for the moment.

They approached the cell cautiously. The Minister hadn’t spoken a word since the end of their fight, and that was disturbing to say the least. In his frail state, what if…

“Mother have mercy…” she gasped as they reached the door.

The Minister looked far worse than she had feared. Worse even than she felt. Dried blood was smeared across his face, his chest, his legs - he was red with it from head to toe. On top of that, his nose was badly smashed, and one of his forelegs bent at an unnatural angle. He was sprawled on the floor in the manner of the dead, or those soon to be - his eyes more closed than open as he blinked up at her.

“Hurry!” she gasped, “let’s get him out of there!”

Fluffy was already working at the lock, muttering under her breath. The walls trembled, groaning ominously as the door finally creaked open. Zack stayed back to watch the corridor as they slipped through.

Inside, the smell of rotting meat was overpowering. A pile of the stuff sat marinating in a corner and it was all Feanor could do to keep from gagging.

“What have they done to you?” she hissed.

Fleece frowned. “Well, quite a few things really…” he croaked after a moment.

“But all of… all THIS!” She gestured at his gore-stained coat.

“Oh, that.” he waved it off weakly, “Not mine… the food. It was a dumb plan.”

Feanor raised an eyebrow at Fluffy. This sheep was definitely more than he appeared.

He flopped his useless leg, “Not sure when this happened, but it was before they tried the whole mind-control thing. I know ‘cause they stomped on it when I tried to fight... “He shivered at the memory. “I don’t remember much after that. It didn’t work though. The ritual. Or something went wrong...” He reached up to brush his forehead absently with a hoof.

Fluffy let out a hiss, and Feanor took an involuntary step back. There was no mistaking the blackened lines burned into his fur; they were the same ones which Duo had worn, and many of the other Hunter’s they had seen as well. It was The Mark.

Feanor exchanged a glance with Fluffy, but Fleece didn’t seem to have noticed. He clearly didn’t realize the hideous thing he carried on his forehead. Or else he was doing a damned good job pretending. Could this all have been a trap?

“Nose was my fault,” he was saying. “Warden did that when I tried to escape.” The look he gave her was strangely sorrowful. “Duo-- The Warden, is he…?”

“He won’t torment you again. Nor anyone else.” Feanor said firmly.

Fleece closed his eyes, then nodded. No satisfaction. None of the hatred she had expected. In fact, he looked more upset about it than anything else she had said. Any doubts she had faded. This was the same daft, kind-hearted Sheep from the council.

Another crash in the distance. Screaming, the sounds of panic.

“There will be time for chatting later!” Zack growled from outside.

“Can you walk?” Fluffy asked, kneeling beside Fleece.

“I’ll try.”

He draped a hoof over her shoulder and tried to stand. It was obvious immediately that it was not going to work. His broken leg dangled uselessly, and he almost passed out when it bumped the floor.

“Come on,” Feanor said, kneeling on the Minister’s other side. Between the two of them, they were able to support most of the ram’s weight until he could half-walk between them.

Feanor cringed as the blood and dirt streaked fur smeared against her coat.

“Sorry,” Fleece muttered, embarrassed. “I tried to clean it off…”

With dirt? She almost said it, then her earlier insensitivity hit her, and she bit back her words.

“Quite alright,” she forced a smile, “A little gore will be just the thing to help us blend in, no doubt.”

Fleece looked grateful, and Feanor couldn’t help but feel a little pleased with herself. What say you to that, daemon?

If it was possible for a floating demon-head to look impatient, Zack was managing it. “Come along,” he said brusquely as soon as they exited the cell, already starting for the door at the end of the hall.

“W- wait!” Fleece gasped suddenly, pulling to a stop.

All eyes turned to the ram.

“What is it?” Feanor tried to keep the impatience from her voice.

“My pups… I have to check.”

“They aren’t here. We would have heard them.” Fluffy said, “Unless they’re already dead.” She finished bluntly, despite the pained look on Fleece’s face.

“I have to know.” he said.

Feanor caught herself gnawing her lip, a nervous habit she detested. “Fleece… This place could collapse at any moment, don’t be a fool!”

“I know,” he groaned, “But I have to. You guys go without me. I’ll… I’ll catch up.”

They stared at the Minister in silence, awestruck by the sheer absurdity… before she knew what she was doing, Feanor laughed. She looked at Fluffy, and the Dark One smiled back. Then they were both laughing, and Feanor couldn’t have stopped it to save her life. It came out in an undefiable release of pent up stress and tension that racked her entire body.

Fluffy fared little better. Together, they gasped in breath between peals of mirth that echoed derangedly in the empty cell-block. It was all Feanor could do to keep from dropping the Minister on his head.

“What?” Fleece sounded hurt, “What’s so funny?”

Feanor gasped in air to respond, inhaled saliva and started choking. That only seemed funnier, and she laughed harder. Tears streamed from her eyes until she couldn’t tell if she was laughing or crying anymore. Did it matter?

“Minister…” she gasped, between sobs of laughter, “Fleece. Do you really think we came all this way… endured all of this,” she waved a hoof toward their cell, “Risked everything…. Just to leave you behind when we escaped?”

“I don’t want anyone to die because of me...”

“Then we’ll have to make this quick, won’t we?” Feanor wiped tears from her cheeks, still suppressing random spurts of laughter.

Zack growled impatience as they turned back the way they had come, moving down the cell as quickly as Fleece’s injuries and Feanor’s limping allowed.

“Tushie!” Fleece called weakly, “Burn? Can you hear me?” He tried to whistle, but his lips were too cracked and bruised.

Feanor took pity. “What are their names?”

“Fighter, Burn, Puck and Tushie,” he said sadly.

“Fighter, Burn!” She called sharply. “Tushie, Puck! Here!”

Fluffy put a hoof to her mouth and let out a whistle loud enough to leave Feanor’s ears ringing. The echoes faded, answered only by dead silence. One by one they approached each cell, Fleece peering into the darkness with a mix of eagerness and desperate reluctance.

“We have to go.” Zack called gravely as they reached the last cell.

“Wait!” Fleece pleaded, “Puck! Burn!” he leaned forward, trying to move toward the door at the opposite end of the hall from the demon, the one that led to another cell-block.

Feanor put a hoof on his chest. “Fleece,” she made him meet her gaze, “They are gone. We have to go.”

Fleece stared back, unmoving. He seemed frozen in place, unable to reconcile the choices before him. Feanor could see the conflict raging behind his eyes. Leave, and abandon his loyal pups to their fate? Or stay, and risk killing them all.

“Fleece,” she said “Listen to me. We aren’t giving up. They might be holding them somewhere else, we will come back after this is over. We’ll come back, and we’ll find them, one way or another. I promise. But right now we have to go.”

For another moment he just looked at her silently, searching her gaze for… something. Then he took a breath and nodded. “Okay.” He made a valiant effort at a smile. “Okay. Let’s go.”

A splitting crack jolted them from their silence. Above, stone screamed as it split down the center, raining pebbles and dust upon them. When it finally stopped, a jagged crack split the ceiling of the corridor from end to end. The last torch on the wall had been snuffed out, leaving the place in almost total darkness. The only light now came from the doorway where Zack waited at the end of the hall.

“Go!” Feanor hissed. They rounded toward the exit, hurrying now - moving at a clumsy loping trot. It was oddly surreal in the darkness - the rumbling of stone like distant thunder over their heads, their hooves leaving prints in the layer of dust and ground stone that carpeted the floor - like the tracks of some hideous, nine-legged beast.

When they burst through the door, they found themselves in another corridor which continued on in the same direction, with a second hall crossing it a short distance ahead. More than one Hunter rushed past, hurrying in different directions with panicked speed as they watched. None of them took heed of the three ungulates or the demon standing uncertainly in the midst of the hall.

 

[OCisbestungulate]

Spoiler: Bad Blood 2, Part 5

Feanor looked one way, then the other. “Which way?”

“Left.” Fluffy replied immediately.

Feanor shot her a questioning glance, “Left? Why left?”

A shrug. “Why not left?”

Feanor opened her mouth, but found no argument. Fluffy was already moving in that direction anyway, so she followed suit with a shake of her head. A huge rock had fallen to block most of the hall, but there was enough room on one side that they could probably squeeze past. A fat goat was doing just that as they approached, but the moment he saw the group coming toward him, his eyes widened and he stumbled back the way he had come, shooting terrified glances over his shoulder.

The hall came to an abrupt end only a short distance later, but on the side a stairway opened, leading up and around a corner. The reindeer shared a hopeful glance. Up had to be good, even if the sounds carrying from above were not entirely encouraging. Shouts of rage and pain, and the clamor of many hooves. Feanor glanced over her shoulder at the fallen rock and caved ceiling. Couldn’t be worse than this.

The stairs were a dozen steps of pure agony. Having one useless leg was bad enough, but the added weight of supporting the Minister made each new stair a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Her legs trembled like jelly beneath her, but they made it. She wasn’t sure how, but after a period she measured in pain rather than time, she found herself gasping at the top of the steps.

The scene beyond was madness. Stones and fallen weapons littered the floors. Hunters of every description dashed about or fought one another in small groups. At one end of the hall, a doorway led into nothingness where the floor had collapsed into the next level. At the other, an armored Longma was stomping and roaring over the chaos - brandishing a bloodied knife. He seemed to be trying to organize this madness into some kind of ranks. He looked like an officer. For now, he was being largely ignored, but they couldn’t wait to find out if that would last. Behind the officer was a doorway.

Zack glanced at her, and she nodded.

“Be swift.” he said, and vanished into the air.

Stop! Her body screamed at her, stop and rest!

“Go!” she whispered, “And keep your head low.”

Fluffy frowned, then her eyes lit with understanding as she looked at Fleece. “Right!” she said. Then, as Fleece started to comply “Not you Fleece, keep your head up.”

“Why--?”

They were already moving. As quickly as they could, they limped toward the door, dodging fallen rocks and confused hunters. They were almost there when the shout rang out over the clamor.

“Stop! Where do you think you’re going?!” It was the officer. He was barring their path to the doorway. This must be the way out then!

Feanor froze, trying to look without raising her head.

“We’re carrying wounded,” she snapped, trying to sound Hunter-ish, “Or dead meat if you keep us much longer.”

The officer gave a snort, “Good! We can always use more of that. Leave him here, or make yourselves a roast - either way, you ain’t gettin through this door.”

Feanor tasted blood, and realized she was gnawing her lip again. She spat, a helpless rage starting to form in her chest. What the hoof were they supposed to do now? She started to look up…

“Not this one.” Fluffy sounded cold and sure of herself, “This one belongs to Ziege. He’s a boss of sorts among the prey. Got information the Goat wants.”

At the name, the officer swallowed visibly. He scratched his head, leaning in to look at Fleece more closely. He saw the Mark. “Ahhhh crap! That IS the damned sheep. Alright, but be discrete. We ain’t lettin’ anyone else through these doors ‘till I get orders to march. Not gonna have a stampede on my watch. Go! Before I change my mind.”

They hardly needed the coaxing. They were already stumbling toward the exit before he had finished speaking. The door opened on a wide room that looked like a mess hall, except the table had been smashed by falling stones and there were corpses scattered all around. Exits opened in several directions.

“Which way?” Feanor hissed again, desperation rising like bile in her throat.

“Right.”

“Why right?!” she demanded, almost pleaded “How do you know?”

Fluffy shrugged. “Right is always right.”

They went right. They trampled something that might once have been a Sheep on their way through the door, and ran smack into an Alpake heading the other way. Fluffy’s body cushioned Fleece’s landing, but Feanor wasn’t so lucky. Sharp pain ripped through her wound, and she felt hot blood again start to spill.

The Alpake found his hooves, cursing. “Are you maggots blind!? Watch where in the Hold you’re…” he trailed off, eyes narrowing as he looked closer at them. “Wait a minute… Haven’t I seen you?”

Fluffy eyed him, “Yeah we met. You took my knives. But you left before you could meet my friend…”

“What?”

“He’s behind you.”

The Alpake whirled, just in time to be slammed face first against the wall by a silent Zack.

“Hurry!” he said, already moving down the hall.

Fluffy leveraged Fleece onto her back, now carrying the Prime Minister entirely. Even still Feanor was outpaced. Her shoulder was agony, her hooves heavy as stone bricks, her vision swimming with every step. She had lost too much blood. They rounded another corner, now fleeing openly. Another hallway, then another. They came to a flight of stairs, and Feanor took it without slowing, ramming fingers of ice into her wound to numb the pain. She dodged a Hunter charging the other way, pushed past a body sprawled at the top, and fell gasping on the floor of a narrow passage.

A dead end. Ahead Fluffy and Zack were kneeling before a massive stone that had fallen from the roof to block the passage. Feanor crawled to them, unable to muster the strength to stand.

“Is it enough?” Zack was asking.

Fluffy wriggled forward, peering into a small space where the rock was propped off of the ground. She rolled onto back, her head disappearing underneath, then her shoulders, until only her back legs and tail stuck out. She popped out a moment later, scratched and smeared with dirt.

“It will have to be.” she said. “You first, Fleece.”

The Minister swallowed, but gave a nod as Fluffy set him down before the tunnel. Feanor leaned in to get a closer look. The space was so tiny, it seemed impossible that they could fit through there, but it did reach the other side. She knew because she could see the base of a doorway on the other side, and beyond that… Her heart pounded faster. Could that be daylight?

“Almost there,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. “Almost home…”

It took agonizing minutes for Fleece to slip through, with all of his injuries, but with some boosting and prodding from Fluffy, he finally made it. There was a tense moment as Fluffy slid under when another tremble shook the walls, but it settled quickly and she slipped out the other side. Zack simply vanished, appearing on the other side a moment later.

Now it was just her. Feanor took a deep breath and crawled into the horribly tiny space. Inside it was black as pitch, only the faintest glow allowing her to see ahead. She felt like a snake, wriggling from side to side to avoid putting weight on her injured shoulder. Any wrong move pinned her legs against the stone, sending claustrophobic panic through her. It was only a few short steps of distance, but it seemed like an eternity before her head finally popped out the other side. The others were waiting, and beyond them… Feanor closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. A breeze of fresh air carried from down the tunnel, just around the corner.

“Darn,” Fluffy reached out a hoof, “You made it.” She smiled as she said it though, and Feanor took the offered hoof to help pull herself out.

She opened her mouth to reply, but she never got to speak. A deafening crash roared from somewhere behind them, followed by a shockwave that shook the entire passage. Cracks raced through the stone of the walls and ceiling like sprouting veins, sending arrows of stone shrapnel spraying. The others threw themselves to the ground for cover, and Feanor shut her eyes tight, waiting for it to pass. It didn’t.

“We have to go!” Zack roared.

The trembling only grew worse, and - horribly - Feanor felt the stone begin to shift against her. So slightly that she could have just imagined it, but it was enough to make her heart drop out of her chest. Desperately, she wriggled forward, ignoring the pain from her shoulder now.

“Fluffy!” she called, but her voice was drowned in the rumbling. She yanked hard, and her chest came free, then her stomach. The stone shifted again, this time there was no mistaking it. She kicked herself forward, and she was free up to her back legs. So close! One more wrench and she would be free! The daylight seemed so close now that she could touch it. She pulled with all the strength left and her legs slid forward… then stopped. She pulled again, but nothing happened. Her hooves were stuck fast, the hole had closed up tight. She could feel the pressure against her legs, not enough to crush them, but too much to move.

“No,” she whispered. “No, no, no, no…”

“Come on!” Fluffy called.

“She can’t!” Fleece shouted back, “She’s stuck!”

A chunk of ceiling detached, crashing to the floor almost within hoof-reach. Fluffy jumped forward to grab hold of Feanor’s hooves.

“We don’t have time, Fluffy!” Zack was calling.

Feanor grabbed on, and they both pulled, straining with all of their strength against the stone. They may as well have been trying to pull an oak tree from its roots. The stone was tons of immovable granite, they were nothing against it.

Fluffy lost her grip and fell backward, barely dodging another falling stone as she rolled to her hooves. Zack was beside her now, roaring at her over the deafening noise.

“We have to go Fluffy! We are out of time!”

Fluffy hesitated, meeting Feanor’s gaze, then she started to back away, eyes wide.

She was going to die here. The realization was at once startlingly clear, and impossible to grasp. She should tell them to leave. If she didn’t they would all die too. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t speak the words. A tear trickled from her eye, hot and strange feeling.

“No!” Fleece shouted, “We can’t leave her!”

“If we stay, all of us die!” Zack growled back.

Fleece ignored him, focusing on Fluffy. “Fluffy, remember what you guys said back there! We didn’t come all this way just to leave someone behind! What good is your mission if we just leave her to die!?”

“The mission was not suicide!” Zack roared. “Fluffy, let’s go!”

Fluffy stood frozen, still staring at Feanor with wide eyes. Her fate now rested in the hooves of this Dark One… and her daemon.

How had she put herself in this position? Could she truly have volunteered for this? What madness had driven her to such a suicidal gamble? But she knew the answer, it was the madness of ambition. She wanted to spit. It had all been so easy from the cozy safety of the council chamber; to stand before the Ungulates she presumed to represent, to speak those words and set her own life on the line for the cause she preached. Oh, how righteous it had felt! How noble! How brave! How… meaningless. What had any of that to do with the horrible reality of the cold stone that pressed down on her? The terror that lurked like a living creature within her even now?

She was not brave. If she’d had so much as a glimpse of the face of true fear, she would have sealed her own lips with ice before stepping up before that council. Not the heart-pounding thrill of ghost-stories or sneaking out after dark, but the ugly, primordial visage of her own death, robbed of all trappings and ceremony, in all of its shameless, bowel-curdling and vomit-inducing terror. Bravery wasn’t the Ungulate who leapt into the river to rescue the drowning victim. No, it was the one who, sinking beneath the black water, watching light and life disappear forever as the river filled her lungs, could truly say that she would not take it back given the chance.

Feanor would take it back. Mother, just give her one chance and she would fall to her knees before the whole council, weep and beg if that’s what it took for someone else to take her place! Let her be remembered as a coward. Anything was better than being buried and forgotten here. She was not brave, and she didn’t want to be brave. She wanted to live.

Her vision was swimming again, and things were starting to fade, becoming distant and dreamlike. She closed her eyes, and found them too heavy to reopen. Fluffy’s wide eyes, still frozen in indecision danced in her mind.

Hooves closed under her front legs, pulling hard. It was enough to drag her back to consciousness, away from the warm place. She blinked, and found Fluffy’s face over hers, expression determined.

“You don’t get off that easy, Fea. You still owe me for those oats!”

Beside her, blue light glowed as Zack hurled his weight against the stone in full polar-bear form. Even Fleece had crawled over to lend what support he could. Above, the roof trembled, hurling pieces of stone against the walls and floor. Fluffy deflected one with a burst of dark magic, and Zack swatted another from the air. Still the stone did not budge.

It was hopeless. “Go…” she tried to say, “Just go.” but it came out a croaking whisper, too quiet to be heard. Or maybe she just hadn’t tried.

Near the entrance, the roof sagged, then crashed in, blocking out the light in a cloud of dust. Stones rained all around them now as Zack gave a mighty roar, and hurled himself one more time at the stone, blue light flashing. It was only a nudge to the mighty granite, but it was enough. It shifted the barest inch, and Fluffy pulled with all of her strength, tumbling backward with Feanor in tow. She tried to roll off, but her body no longer obeyed her. The world was fading fast, everything taking on a fuzziness that was not altogether unpleasant. She blinked, and Fluffy was on her hooves, helping Fleece to stand. She looked up, and Zack was standing over her. His claws reached out and their touch was like ice as he lifted her into the air. The last thing she saw as she lost consciousness was the tunnel entrance, and beyond, through the rock and dust, the faint glow of daylight.

 

[0Zero100]

And with this, we put an end to six months worth of work and waiting and writing. I can't say it wasn't an enjoyable ride, but it had its fair share of ups and downs. I'd like to thank everyone for their patience with us and this story, this happened because of you guys and we couldn't have done it without you. All of you. So here it is, the conclusion to Operation Stolen Wool.


Operation Stolen Wool: Final Frontier