Welcome to Gaia! ::

For as unwelcoming as the Hall of the Ancients was inside, outside was worse. Made of sleek black stones, the fortress was an ominous figure. It was tall and imposing, and each spire and sharp curve looked like it was ready to slice through the sky. It could have been considered beautiful, once you got past how intimidating it was. From the outside, it was difficult to make out the stained glass. Once, gold and gemstones decorated it. Now, what the lightning hadn’t charred, the storm had battered and chipped away.

The clouds were knit tightly across the sky, and while the lightning occasionally flashed in the distance, the thunder was only a quiet mumble. When it echoed, it sounded like whispers. Scheming. Preparing.

The ground was saturated with water and every step felt like standing on a sponge. The grass was brittle, but it wasn’t slippery. A great stone wall encircled the Hall, with plenty of room to spare. Watchtowers lined the wall at regular intervals, and though they didn’t offer much defense, their primary purpose was to protect the lights he’d installed. Fire burned brightly behind thick glass to protect against wind and rain and shadow, but spotlights had been installed. They looked out of place, but they were practical.

Outside, the clouds hung low; they were dark and it was difficult to make out what time of day it was on Alastor.

Within the walls, towards the North, was a grassy field. In the center of it, a massive oak tree with black bark, and specks of gold inlaid. It had no leaves, but that wasn’t surprising given the weather. To the East, a waterlogged, withered garden, and a wall that looked like it had been recently damaged. The sound of the rushing river was loudest there. To the South, an underground storage chamber. To the West, the front of the Hall, and the path to the gates that led outside. The forest, distant and dark and the greatest source of Chaos, was just past here.

But, there were other locations, radiating chaotic waves.

A grove of trees to the southwest seemed to be a stronghold for it, something underground near the southern storage chamber in the Hall, to the East, directly across the river, and another to the SouthEast, where there seemed to be some obstruction to the flowing river. Further up the river, lurking in some ruins, another one.

Voyager, Squire of Pluto, Tanais, Knight of Mars, Rainier, Page of Mercury, and Super Sailor Acrucis, Senshi of Prayer have been tasked with guarding the East Wall. From here they can see The Garden and can hear the rushing of the river from just beyond the wall. The stairs have been blown out and they’ll have to work from the ground; a large crack has formed on the wall. The torches that were burning have blown out, and the flood lights have been crushed but some still flicker on and off helplessly.

The damage here is clearly recent, but there’s no indication of what caused it. They’ve been warned about shadows trying to scale the walls or break in through the cracks; their task is to install fresh flood lights here to to defend the wall from whatever might be trying to get through.

The clouds swirled around them and the storm seemed like it might break again soon. They’d been sent with packs of waterproof lights, but the sky is darkening–quickly.

They didn’t have much time to prepare.

Rainier, Page of Mercury

Rainier watched warily as the Knight of Mars (Tanais) casually tossed the lantern she had been given.

Due to their hasty departure, they were unable to properly prepare and likely should have brought more than what they each carried. “Since, of the four of us, I’m the one without any magic, I almost wonder if it would make more sense if I hang the lights up.” She offered when the broken light was tossed to the wayside.

“Not saying that I won’t do my best to have your back, but I know my limits out here.” The worse fight she had been engaged in to date was the Blight that overran the underground station with the primary Source sending waves and waves of those monstrosities at them. One after another in groups of three with no time to breathe and even less time to rest. A harrowing experience but one that was overcome only because a Princess was born… created…

Truth be told she really didn’t understand how that worked since she had been at the edge of the fighting and had not actually seen what happened.

Either way, the state of Alastor, the world they were trying to heal, seemed to be in a much more grievous state. If she was tired and sore in the aftermath of the last invasion, then this- not to worry Acrucis, but Rainier was not going to fool herself into thinking she might not make it back to Destiny City alive if only because she chose to stay instead of going back when she was offered the chance.

“Plus, you look like you’re geared up and ready to punch something in the face.” Rainier offered a half smile in friendly jest.

Acrucis’ assumption that the light would protect them was at least partly accurate–the light would help ward off the shadows. Unless they were taking all of this seriously. Unless it was too important for them to let themselves be chased off.

But, the clouds were going to tear open soon. It was darkening, and the humidity in the air peaked. The rain began to fall–slight, now. Enough that it was only a few drops here and there.

The new light Tanais had installed would give them some defense, but how much was yet to be seen. Especially because she might be able to make out the way the shadows seemed to stretch towards them. The river’s current was fast, and picking up–and the team headed across it was making their best effort to get across it without getting swept away. So far, they seemed to be doing well enough, but there wasn’t much time to focus on them when she needed to focus on her team. As the strongest one, no doubt Tanais had a lot of responsibility to look out for them and make sure they weren’t overwhelmed.

Thunder shook the area; lightning had struck nearby. A strange pulse of energy shook the ground. The crack in the East Wall grew, and for a moment it felt like something had slammed into it. The lights swung, the torches flickered. A few bits of debris tumbled to the ground. A small hole had appeared in the crack.

It wasn’t wide enough to stick more than a hand through, but after a few seconds, something moved.

It looked like a shadowy, wiggling worm, stretching up from the ground on the other side of the wall, inching its way through the opening. Even from her perch, Tanais wouldn’t be able to see what it was; it seemed like it was coming from underground. Trying to get in.

The wall shook again; another impact, from some unseen source.

Hopefully Rainier was right–Tanais might look geared up and ready to punch something, but the time was soon coming that she might have to.

Something was attacking the wall.

Something was slithering in.

”That’s not a bad idea!” Tanais called from her perch on the wall when the page spoke. It might have been faster if they all worked on it, but having someone to keep guard was also a good strategy. Which meant that having Tanais do it was also sound reasoning. Not only was she more powerful than the others, just in ‘rank’, she was built for it. She gave the others a cocky, crooked smile and was about to jump down when she felt the wall beneath her shake. Like something very large had struck it from the other side. Dirt and small stones rained down from the crumbling edifice to patter on the packed earth. Alarm flared inside of the knight, and with it came excitement. It was time, wasn’t it?

The dark haired woman dropped from the wall to land with a thump and rattle of armor, her red eyes sharp and fixed on the new hole the wall had gained… and the thing that seemed to be trying to come through it.

“I’m Tanais!” She called over her shoulders as she flexed her hands, locking them into metal-wrapped fists. “Good idea to keep one of the lights. Dunno if we’ll have time to get the others up… might as well try though. We’ll see if we can keep this b*****d on his side where he belongs while you work.”

Half turning her head, she gave the mercury page a jaunty wink and a grin.

“Up you get, Lovely. We’re counting on you.”

Another slam shook the wall, lights bouncing to send beams dancing, and Tanais settled into a ready stance, her fists up and her eyes trained on that hole again. Watching. Waiting. Ready.

Slam after slam, over and over, the wall shaking and more of that darkness squeezing through the cracks. Tanais practically vibrated with readiness, with the tension before the first strike. She was ready... and when it came, she watched with grim fascination as it grew and shaped itself into something vaguely human. It rushed them and she responded, lunging forward to meet it with swinging fists...

And it bowled her over, shoving her back and engulfing her in darkness that writhed all about her. She felt her gorge rise and fought it back, throwing about elbows and knees in an effort to clear space for herself. The stink of it was overwhelming... rotten eggs and earth, coating the inside of her nose and mouth. She felt like she was drowning without being under water...

And then someone shoved a hand through the gunk and grabbed her by the arm, hauling her up and out. She coughed and sputtered as her head broke the surface of the blackness and she thrashed, trying to free her arms and legs.

"Come on!" Shouted a deep, male voice. Familiar, but utterly unexpected and out of place here. "You have to fight harder!"

Tanais stared at the towering form of Gehenna with confusion but grabbed for his offered hand anyway, kicking against the sucking darkness.

"How the ******** you get here?" She yelled back, her voice weirdly muffled. Every sound they made didn't seem to go far... but that was a background worry. Getting free was far more important right now.

"Same way you did!" He grunted as he hauled on her, straining and making precious little headway even with both of them working at it. "I can't get you out... you have to try harder!"

Tanais strained, but it was like moving through molasses or tar. Even with Ghen helping... she felt it pulling her back. They weren't strong enough... whatever this stuff was, two knights of Mars were struggling.

Although dangerous, the task was simple. All Rainier needed to do was replace the last remaining lanterns with the ones they brought then this area would be secured.

At least- that’s what she had convinced herself as she affixed the first one without much difficulty. The second one, however, was without its challenges as the sky opened up and water dampened the stone beneath her hands and feet. With gloves on she, she still had a decent grip. But maintaining a good foothold was near impossible when the foundation she held onto began to quake beneath her.

The crack webbed along the edges and from these small fissures, an inky black tar pooled.

Rainier tried to ignore what was happening around her, and let the others handle what was attacking the wall. But then the sulfuric smell assaulted her sense and regretting enough turned to see where the putrid smell was coming from just as a monstrous form slammed into her

For a moment all was consumed in darkness and then-

A voice.

One that would have been lost to time if it wasn’t for the videos saved on her phone that she listened to on occasion just to remember the sound of her fiance’s laugh.

“Jordan…”

Rainer should have felt elated when he pulled her free from the darkness. Should have thrown her arms around him and held him close as she wished she could have done just one more time…

Instead her tone, her expression, they twisted into one of horror and confusion as a chill raced through her. “This can’t be-.” Rainer reached out to touch his face, dark skin handsome and left without a scar as it had been before his death. “How…?” Her voice cracked as grief and sorrow filled her heart in knowing that this could not be.

Jordan’s expression was gentle, kind even. He almost looked as if he were going to laugh, but he couldn’t right now. He pulled as hard as he could and–

She slipped free. Tumbled into his arms. He held her in a tight, desperate embrace, like he could protect her from anything. He was out of breath, but he was breathing. He was alive.

“You believe in magic, don’t you? And you’ve always believed in me. So believe in this,” he insisted, and pressed his forehead to hers. “Believe in us. I’ve missed you, so much. I don’t ever want to let you go.”

-

The woman before Acrucis raised a brow, incredulous but firm. “How is this possible?” she repeated, as if she doubted the question. “You really don’t know anything, do you?”

But, she had pulled Acrucis free. She had saved her.

“You’re hardly a senshi at all. How have you survived this long? What have you been doing?”

Acrucis, Super Senshi of Prayer

Acrucis should have been thankful for the help, should have said or done something to show her appreciation for it. But all she could do was stare at the woman with an incredulous expression.

“If you have to ask those questions then you and I are not the same…” They may share the same face but their paths and achievements were entirely different. Perhaps this version of herself was pulled from a parallel world much like the one she dreamt about years ago; the one that fought beside General King Benitoite and died by the blade of a General Queen for it.

“If we were then you would know that I have been trying to preserve life without depending on magical means. That I have spent countless nights, tirelessly trying to save people affected by this war.” Were powered individuals the only ones deserving of healing aid? “If I’m wrong in what I’ve done, then you can take my place. Do right by them if I’m at fault here.”

Acrucis pulled her hand free and took a step back. Knew that by doing so she may very well fall into darkness again but so long as she, the version of herself that radiated strength and confidence, was here then the rest of her group would not fail. Surely that was why she was brought here.

“I will be my own light-” she cast her Renew on the lantern knowing that the glow from her magic would eventually fade and took another step away from her stronger self.