Delilah stumbled, and was caught from falling by Alice’s grip on her arm. She got her bearings, looking back to see what she’d tripped over. The floors were so smooth, but she’d felt something…
“What is it?” Alice asked, staring back with her.
“Does it… look like the floors are moving?” Delilah asked.
Now all of them were looking around, a wary eye in every direction. The walls, floors, and ceilings were so smooth. But it was Darkness, wasn’t it? The living Darkness now owned the Fallen Bastion, every surface infused with it.
And if the Darkness was alive, and was a part of every single inch of this place…
“It’s… strange,” Maribelle said. “In the corner of my eye, I think I see movement, but when I look, it’s gone. All is still.”
“There’s definitely something funky going on here,” Alice said.
“Are we gonna be okay?” Isabelle asked, stepping gingerly, watching her feet.
“Stay close to me,” Marcus said, tapping his staff on the floor. Three bells chimed, ringing out, but they lacked their usual lasting resonance. Their sound was dull, flat, and faded quickly. Still, the harmonizing tones brought a bit of light to Delilah’s heart, and the top of Marcus’ staff shimmered with a silver glow. “There is a sensation throughout this entire place. It is reaching out to us. I can protect us, but… I’m not certain just how large of a protective field I can create. Or how long it will last.”
“So we gotta hurry,” Alice said with a nod. “You guys holding up okay?” She directed this question at Terevalde and Emmeryn. They were guarded closely by Nekoma and Redmond, the purple and green glows of the Summons bringing out harsh shadows on their faces. Both Terevalde and Emmeryn looked tired, worn, like they’d aged a decade each in the time they’d been here.
“I’m as well as can be expected,” Terevalde said, his voice as clear as ever. His appearance must just be a trick of the light. “Emm?”
“I’ll be better when this is over,” Emmeryn said. She spoke with a hushed voice, her eyes casting about warily. “The Lingering Will has not shown itself. The longer we go without seeing it, or hearing that voice, the more concerned I am. It must have followed us here. Or it will.”
“Isn’t it a good thing if it doesn’t show?” Alice asked. “One less thing to worry about.”
“The Lingering Will’s absence is more of a worry, in my mind,” Terevalde said. “It has been quite some time since we evaded its grasp at the city of the Lost Bell. It must have recovered by now. And in a place as infused with Darkness and despair as this, I believe its power will be even more potent.”
Emmeryn nodded, her expression grim. “We can be assured that it will make a move to stop us before our task here is done. This will be its last chance to take the Key’s power for itself.”
Delilah took a deep breath, turning back to look on down the corridor. There was an opening ahead, a new chamber to investigate. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s hurry.”
They emerged into another laboratory-looking area. A vast network of pipes and tubes webbed its way across the high ceilings. Pedestals and panels suggested what had once been desks and computers, with a great number of monitors and screens to display all sorts of readouts and discoveries.
All dark, now. All dead.
“Three exits,” Delilah said, a hand to her ear. “Tock?”
“You should go —” Tock’s voice started, before being overwhelmed by a burst of static. “— the Pedestal. Delilah?”
“I’m sorry, you cut out for a second,” Delilah said. “Mom? Is that supposed to happen?”
A burst of static came in reply, but eventually, Deirdre’s voice broke through. “— some kind of interference. Just — if we can — moment.” More static continued to break up her reply, so Delilah only caught bits and pieces.
“Interference?” Alice asked. “That’s not supposed to happen.”
“We weren’t supposed to lose contact with Shana and Shias, either,” Delilah said, lowering her hand. She noticed it was trembling, and clenched it into a fist, holding it close to her side. “We were supposed to keep moving that way, right?” She pointed quickly with her other hand, just for a moment, not long enough for anyone to notice it was shaking. “If we hold to that direction, we should be able to find our way eventually. Right?”
“Won’t the Key show you the way?” Isabelle asked. “If you’re close, it should be able to find the Pedestal. Right?”
Delilah smiled. “You’re right!” she said. “If we get close, the Key can show us the way.”
Another burst of static sounded in her earpiece, before Tock’s voice broke through in fragments. “— trying to. If — there’s a — see.”
“Keep trying now and then,” Alice said, a hand to her ear. “But until we get you loud and clear, we’ll just have to wing it.”
“What did you —?” came Tock’s voice.
Alice sighed, lowering her hand. “Great. They can’t hear us clearly, either.”
“We follow where the Key leads,” Delilah said, pulling out the Key, holding it up without taking its chain off from around her neck. It glowed softly, its pearly white surface pulsing faintly with white light. It was warm in her hands, and she could feel each pulse, almost like a heartbeat. She closed her eyes, silently wishing the Key to guide the way forward, but nothing changed. No light burst out, no beacon shone, no new door appeared.
“We may not be close enough,” Emmeryn said. “But that regular pulse is good. Can you feel what it means, Delilah?”
Delilah nodded. “It knows it’s… home,” she said, her heart catching in her throat. There was a sudden pang of longing, of heartbreak, of despair, and it came from the Key. It could see what had become of its home, could feel how things had been devoured by Darkness.
It brought Delilah back to when she and Chelsea had finally brought Isabelle back to her home at the Library of Solitude. Finding the place in ruins, the little girl had asked a simple, heartbreaking question: “What happened to my home?” That ache, that pain, was what Delilah felt from the Key now.
“But we don’t know which direction to go, huh?” Alice asked.
“Perhaps if we get closer to each exit,” Terevalde said. “If the Key reacts differently to each one, that may provide clues.”
“Let’s try it,” Delilah said, starting forward.
A moment later, she was sent flying, tumbling to the side. At the same time, almost sounding like it came after for how sudden and fast it came, there was a high-pitched whistling, followed by a cacophonous explosion, a shattering of stone. Delilah rolled to her feet, dazed, and looked up to see…
A nail. A massive black nail, twisted and gruesome, had impaled the stone where she’d been standing just a moment earlier. And standing just beside it, almost impaled by it herself, was Alice, arms outstretched towards Delilah.
She pushed me out of the way.
“Dullan!” Maribelle cried, brandishing Takina, eyes blazing with fury. There on a high platform, Dullan emerged from a corner of shadow, as if emerging from the Darkness itself. Before Dullan could reply, Maribelle had already leapt up to the platform, going on the offensive. Dullan blocked her sword once, twice on his wicked black scythe, and then began to retreat, withering under Maribelle’s assault.
“Don’t leave me out of this,” Alice said in a snarl, her silver rapier appearing in her hand. “Anyone who tries to kill my sister is dead.”
But before she leapt to join the attack, a new shadow emerged behind her, rising from the floor as if it was a shadowy pool, not solid ground. Delilah cried out, and Felix darted in, twin rapiers raised to block the spear of Darkness that thrust for Alice’s spine.
Alice whirled around, and with Felix’s help battered away the attack. The shadow retreated, then swirled, becoming a solid form: Jormungand.
“Okay, scar-face gets it first,” Alice said, twirling her sword. “You guys help out Maribelle.” She glanced at Delilah, eyes white, a fierce grin on her face. “We’re taking this guy down.”
“Don’t stray too far!” Marcus said, taking up a position between Alice and Maribelle. “The farther you go, the weaker my protection becomes.”
“I’ll help protect you guys,” Isabelle said, pulling Teddy out of her backpack and tossing him in the air. He grew to a seven-foot-tall fluffy warrior, taking up a position to defend Terevalde and Emmeryn as they stayed close to Marcus. Delilah kept Nekoma with them, while Redmond and Reginald darted off to back up Maribelle.
Alice, Delilah, Rabanastre, and Felix stood to oppose Jormungand.
Jormungand sneered, his scar twisting in a gruesome manner. “I am more powerful than ever in this place,” he said. “What threat could you possibly be to me?”
“Let’s find out,” Alice said. She dashed into battle, Rabanastre on one side, Felix on the other. Delilah hopped aboard a Mobility Disc, floating up a dozen feet in the air, watching the fight carefully.
The Furies and the Lingering Will are still unaccounted for. We should take this opportunity to try and defeat Jormungand and Dullan as fast as possible, but we also have to keep our guard up in case the others show up.
That could be her job. She wasn’t a direct fighter. Delilah’s role was as Overwatch, watching over her teammates as they did the fighting.
The first thing she noticed was how Alice and Rabanastre had bounced back. After her own Summon had tried to attack her, things had been rocky between Alice and the burly white rabbit. When she’d learned that he was afraid that she’d abandon him, since she’d been channeling the Darkness to empower him for so long and was now choosing Light, they’d started to mend their relationship.
And now, they were in better sync than they’d ever been before. Alice hopped up onto Rabanastre’s outstretched palm, and then he tossed her high. While she arced into a balletic, pirouetting flip, Rabanastre landed a vicious punch on Jormungand’s chest. Jormungand slid back, just the right distance — he was directly underneath Alice as she came diving down, thrusting with lightning speed. Her sword pierced him through the shoulder, and she ripped it back out, blocking the retaliatory attack that Jormungand launched at her. Then Rabanastre was right there with her, and the pair punched, kicked, slashed, and thrust forward. Joined by Felix, they ably overwhelmed Jormungand, who fell back under their relentless assault.
But he wouldn’t be vanquished so easily. He spun, turning into a swirling shadow, and that shadow shot up in a high arc…
Straight towards Delilah.
Delilah let her Mobility Disc vanish beneath her, dropping a dozen feet to the ground. She landed, her knees buckled, and she turned her fall into a forward roll, coming up on her feet and running. Jormungand landed right behind her. A shockwave burst out in his wake, and Delilah was sent sprawling. She rolled, coming up to face Jormungand, and found a pair of shadowy hands grasping for her. Close, too close! She couldn’t get back!
But she didn’t need to.
Felix came darting in, slicing through one hand, and Alice dashed in from the other side, slicing through the other. A cry of pain sounded from the shadow, and he leapt back, reforming into Jormungand. Blood, dark and thick, dripped from his hands and his shoulder. With a grimace, he tilted his head back, and then his whole body… rippled. It was a sickening sight, as if, for a moment, he was melting wax. And then he was solid again.
And his wounds were gone.
Alice clucked her tongue, glaring. “Didn’t think it’d be that easy,” she said.
“You’re fighting the wrong fight here, Dark Eater,” Jormungand said, stretching out his hand. “And surely you see how weak you are now that you’ve rejected the Darkness. Come back —”
“Oh, screw you!” Alice snarled, dashing forward. Her sword flashed, perfectly in sync with not just Rabanastre as he came in punching and kicking, but also with Felix, who matched her speed and precision with his twin rapiers. The trio left Jormungand reeling, and when he morphed into a shadow and retreated once more, they cut off his escape. A moment later, he was surrounded, dripping blood, gasping for breath.
“You think I’m weak?” Alice asked. “You think, because I’m not what you made me to be, that I’m not good enough? You’re an idiot. I’m a Paladin, and I’m not alone, either. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. And before you open that stupid mouth of yours again,” she held up a finger as Jormungand started to reply, “don’t bother. I know what’s really happening here. You’re the one who’s scared. Because Light’s stronger than Darkness. And when someone like me accepts that, you’re afraid of just how powerful I’ll become.”
“Pretty speech,” Jormungand said, sneering. “But I know no fear.”
“Don’t you?” Alice asked. She smirked. “Okay. Let’s see what we can do about that.” She looked up at Rabanastre and raised her right hand, her middle finger against her thumb. “Rabanastre… let’s kill this guy.”
She snapped her fingers.
Rabanastre’s fur rippled, the same way it always had in the past when he’d transformed into his black rabbit form. But his fur didn’t turn black this time. It blazed with a brighter light, the white of his fur purer, brighter, clearer. His black eyes turned white as well, burning with a white fire that trailed from them as he leaned forward into a fighting stance. Alice grinned, saluting Jormungand with her sword as she took up a fighting stance beside Rabanastre.
Jormungand stared, eyes wide. “You…” he started.
He never finished what he’d planned to say.
Alice and Rabanastre charged forward, two streaks of white light. They slammed into Jormungand, ripped through him, sent the shadows that guarded and clothed him scattering. Jormungand turned, hand raised, weapons of Darkness forming in a desperate final attack…
But Alice was faster. She turned back, thrust with her sword straight through Jormungand’s heart. When the silver blade pierced Jormungand’s chest, it blazed with white light.
For a moment they stood frozen like that. Alice fully extended, her sword shining all the way through Jormungand’s chest and out his back; Jormungand poised to attack in kind, hand held high, Darkness swirling in preparation.
Then, the Darkness stopped. It vanished. Jormungand’s hand dropped to his side.
Alice ripped her sword free, and Jormungand fell, landing on his back, gazing lifelessly at the ceiling. A soft breath sounded through the chamber, one final gasp of the shadows that Jormungand had commanded.
Alice let out a sigh, twirling her sword once. Then she looked up at Rabanastre, still bright, eyes still blazing. She raised a hand, clenched into a fist, and Rabanastre reached out, bumping his fist against hers.
And then Alice turned, dismissed her sword, and raced to Delilah. She wrapped her in a hug, such a sudden, tight embrace that Delilah was caught off-guard for a moment. Then Delilah was hugging her back, holding her tight, and they were both laughing, crying, flooded with relief.
“I did it,” Alice said, her face buried in Delilah’s shoulder. “He’s gone for good.”
“You did it,” Delilah said.
For a moment, they stood like that, filled with light, and warmth, and the sweet relief of this triumph.
But then Isabelle cried out in alarm. Delilah and Alice let each other go, wheeling around to see what the danger was.
Both of them stared in shock and disgust.
Beneath Jormungand’s lifeless body, the floor rippled, then opened up. Not a pit, not a pool, no.
It was a mouth. A fanged maw of Darkness opened up, and Jormungand’s body was sucked in. The mouth snapped shut.
“No!” Alice cried, dashing forward. Rabanastre and Felix ran with her, as she conjured forth her sword and screamed a battle cry. The mouth chewed twice, then seemed to smile.
A sudden shockwave exploded from the mouth. Alice, Rabanastre, and Felix were flung back, and even Delilah, much farther away, was sent sprawling. In that shockwave was a voice, a voice unlike any Delilah had ever heard. It came from all around, an otherworldly, all-encompassing rumbling declaration: “ALL BELONGS TO DARKNESS.”
Delilah pushed herself to her feet, staring. The floor, the walls, the ceilings, all rippled, shuddering, twisted. In the wake of that voice, a low, dark laughter echoed through the entire space. The Fallen Bastion was alive, a massive, living agent of Darkness.
And she was in the very heart of it.