Secrets of the Past [Event][Private][Completed]

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Conversation coursed throughout the rather small and rundown town as people were busy from going one place to another, not having the time to stop and listen to their own advice to calm down and stop acting so hastily. They were so caught up in their own little world that almost no one would consider looking out for people around them. A small child with a mechanical toy of sorts wandered by, their eyes fixed on the controls to move the toy. Unbeknownst to them, they were walking straight into the path of a monstrous delivery vehicle, but being deaf, the child wouldn’t be able to hear it. Their mother didn’t even notice that their child was missing; too busy haggling across with the lady in front of them to purchase a second toy for their child.

It was too late that the mother noticed their child, and cried out a warning which would literally fall on deaf ears. However, they were a lucky boy. The great black feonix grabbed the back of their shirt, pulling them out of the way of the automatic delivery truck. Their toy shattered beneath the wheels of the machine, and the boy cried out in fear from the touch of something which they couldn’t see. The crowd was too busy rushing over to the crying and deaf boy to notice the great wolf slinking back away and into the shade of the bar. Gently, the wolf pushed back through the door, which swung back into its place to cut off the commotion outside. It quietly walked to the back of the room, to a table in the far corner near an old and antique fireplace. It sat down near the warmth, its gaze towards their owner.

Their guardian bent down and, having noticed that the child was in danger, had send Nithya to race out and pull them away from harm. The silent observer had foreseen the child’s problem before it even came to pass and she praised her little foenix and, in return, he granted her slobbery licks. She groaned, clearing the slobber away from her face as she straightened herself in her chair again. Here, in the somewhat small, quiet and robust town, it was far from an ideal location due to the sheer amount of people in this particular bar. However, Lex praised her wolf, then giving a small word of thanks as a waitress delivered her long awaited drink. It wasn’t too expensive out in this town, and many sorts of people seemed to gather in the rather antique and somewhat ancient local bar. Only a few places showed the advance level of technology which other bars would often show off, only their lighting, tables and the bar stand itself seemed to show any forms of technology.

Sophisticated lights dangled from the ceiling which flickered many different coloured lights across the surface. It was under this light that, at the very least, the silent watcher had observed at least five different transactions, picked up on a few bounties which were being passed between another group three tables away, the bartender serving out twice as many drinks to a particular man in the corner opposite her and at least five different things which she was sure were illegal. Groups of three to seven were gathered around at least seven different tables, and a few scattered around the outside which only had a lone drinker or a pair. She considered herself to as one of the lone people, and her gaze travelled across the people standing near the beer taps, talking quietly with the bartender.

Taking a sip of her beer, she felt the bitter drink almost tear her throat out. I knew I should have paid for the better stuff... Lexia thought in annoyance before she set her glass down again. Her companion whined, and she raised her head again to see him look around at the different sites. Another table seemed to grab his attention, and a slight frown creased on her face. They were dressed rather raggedly, and seemed to all be eyeing off a few particular bounties... Nithya could almost sense the disgust from the people in the corner, which was why he alerted his owner to their distrust. A sudden outside breeze was thrown across the bar once again, a gruff figure striding in with a gun holstered loosely in their belt. Lexia tensed slightly at the sight of this, nervous about the gun, however she didn’t let it show on her face. Sensing her distress, her companion acted accordingly. Nithya flipped from being a happy companion and looked to be on guard, watching them closely as Lexia casually took a secondary long sip of her beverage. Over the top of the rim, she watched them as well, not trusting the sudden change of atmosphere in the air around the bar in the slightest.

Nithya gave a rather anxious whine as Sly shouted for him to follow. The foenix didn’t think that following the funny metallic clockwork wolf was such a good idea, however, when the missiles erupted around him, he gave a small grunt before launching himself forward to fall into suit behind Sly. He growled, jumping to the side as a series of broken and shattered shards of rock flew into his legs. This wasn’t so comfortable for him, and he gave a small growl to Sly. Why did the human insist on telling the foenix what to do. He wasn’t that incapable, or that’s what Nithya had always told himself.

A pillar of dust suddenly threw itself into the foenix’s face and he reeled away, unsure of the meaning of the brown haze. The sound of explosions rang in his ears as it detonated, feeling Lexia’s hand clasp tightly around his mane. How could these two legged things have so much destruction behind them! Nithya would skip the steps, leaping from one rock to another as he clambered up to the second story, then he froze.

As the dust clouds rose, and Nithya’s vision swam. He stood still, his head swinging around from side to side as he tried to figure out where he was. A voice rang from a rather far distance, and Nithya remade his way back to Sly, slowly lumbering through and between the pillars.

Lexia gently stroked his mane, trying to calm her pets racing heart. The last thing she needed was for him to drop her.

Nithya eventually caught up with Sly and Mirage, faltering at the sight of more of the giant metal machines. What on earth were they going to do? He continued to step forward as the first shots rang out around the ruins, the bullets colliding with the bridge. Instantly, Sly noticed, forcing Mirage further and further ahead. How was this mechanical wolf thing so fit! Nithya whined to himself, before pushing himself forward. His legs burned, and he forced himself to mimic Mirage.

That was before the bridge buckled beneath their paws. Nithya howled, rearing backwards as the bridge began to crumble, the railings flicking across and slamming into his chest. He grunted from the force, skidding a few centimetres as he forced himself to stay upright. Sly called out to him again, and he would give a rather vicious growl to him. Just how was Nithya meant to keep calm at a time like this! It was ridiculous!

With a whine, he would refuse to mimic Mirage. It was too dangerous-he couldn’t make the jump the mechanical beast could!

Nithya howled when Mirage leapt, the foenix completely freaked out. The bridge was collapsing under his feet, and he was getting further and further from safety. The so called friend just ditched them! How nice was that! Nithya would whine when he felt a small hand brush through his feathery mane and gently stroke down his side. Of course, he couldn’t freak out just yet.

Biting back his fear, the foenix would make a daring leap. The bridge would fall beyond halfway, and he would growl quietly to himself. Instead of aiming for where Mirage landed, his paws gripped onto the fragmenting bridge beneath his paws before he would launch himself from it. They met a small ledge, which he then would leap himself off again to gain distance and height. His paw went for the next ledge-but he slipped and tumbled several feet. He grunted as he landed, trotting slightly to slow his rather fast decent.

Thankfully, Nithya had felt Lexia grip around his feathers tightly, and had barely managed to stay on him through the transition. The last missile exploded beneath him, sending them forward with a shower of dust, shards and rather large rocks. Mirage instantly took up position behind them, her shields flickering as she summoned them to block the shots. Lexia felt Sly pull her up, to which she was rather grateful as Nithya was exhausted, unable to keep carrying her through the scorching sun and the raining missiles.

Lexia gave Sly a half nervous smile as they entered the building. It wasn't incredibly safe just yet, however, her eye caught the sign of movement through the window. Her eyes widened. Mirage had already collapsed. Nithya was ahead. But Lexia and Sly were still visible through the window.

Moving as quickly as she could, Lexia withdrew from her position next to Sly, before she slammed both her hands into him. She was hoping the force would be enough for him to get out of the range. She had seen on the opposite side of the wall a missile descending towards them. Thankfully, the low standing and basically useless wall took the majority of the force. However, the explosion would catch her off guard and send her tumbling away from them.

Her shoulder cracked against the wall, the stonework grazing across her shoulder and arm. She heard Nithya howl and yelp, making an attempt to run to her-but the ground erupted in puffs of dust as bullets hammered home. Lexia winced, ducking behind the wall and a rather convenient vase to shield herself from the dust.

But the wall hid any chances of her seeing any other explosive devices.

He squeezed at his timepiece, feeling the faint ticks from within. In his mind, he cursed himself. Mirage. It was the only defensive weapon he had, but even it did not have the strength to withstand a few missiles from the helicopters. What could they do now? They were hours away from Xastristan. The people he could contact would find them as corpses by the time they arrived where he was. His mind spun with what limited options he had to get out of here alive. But the only reasonable one he could think of, although rather impractical, was to use his own timepiece.

Before he could ponder any further, Lexia suddenly shoved him to the side. The air screeched against his ears, getting progressively louder. As he struck the ground, a loud explosion boomed against his ears. A heavy gale brushed over his back, carrying with it bits of rock as they danced and scarred over his shirt. The force pushed him away from the impact a little, scraping his already grazed knees against the rough dirt. He grunted, wincing a little, but remained where he was as dust floated all over him. Then it was silent.

Sly coughed, slowly bringing himself back to his feet. Small debris clattered onto the ground around him as they slipped off his back, and he shook his dirt-covered clothing. Lex! He called out weakly before the coughs took over. He tried to take a normal step but almost stumbled, his legs flaring. He placed his hand over a knee and limped, as if he was dragging it forward. The missile opened a huge hole in the wall, a faint silhouette of the beating propellers overshadowed him. He used the lingering dust for a bit of cover as he walked past and pushed aside a few rocks.

The moment he saw her, however, he heard a hiss from the helicopter. His eyes widened, turning towards the shadow, seeing a small mass 'falling off' from it. Lex! Move! Ignoring his legs, he ran towards her. By that time, his voice was already drowned by the screeching object, his hand outstretched as he met her shoulder and pushed her away from the wall. He pushed her with all of strength, losing his balance as he did. Cracks appeared on the wall, permeating light into the dusty ruined tower, then it burst open from the centre. A huge ball of fire expanded, casting rocks in all direction, and flinging Sly back.

He quickly found the ground, but continued rolling until an abrupt stop. A piece of rock jutted form the ground, where he slammed his head into. Before Sly could even howl, something heavy dropped onto both his legs, much like a car running him over. He could not tell if he had screamed. The explosion made his ears rung, and he could not hear anything else but the muffled drums of rocks rolling across the ground around him. Something trickled down his forehead, dripping red when it landed on the ground, and his vision blurred a little.

Lex. He could not tell where she went. But he hoped he pushed her away in time. The first thing he saw when the dust settled was the pair of helicopters. The drivers, behind their visors, stared at his direction before they made a hard turn and left. To refuel no doubt.

Sly looked to a large broken section of a wall resting over where his legs were meant to be. He coult easily push them away, but a small tug was all it took to make his legs flare painfully, like someone set them on fire, that he doubled over. After recovering a bit, he looked around. He coughed out a lungful of dust. Lex... he called in a raspy voice before spluttering.

Lex pressed her back against the wall, unmoving as she remained unable to focus. Dazed, the sounds of bullets and explosions rang through her. Her heart seemed to slow as she cast her gaze up to the remnants of the walls and stone. Her pet danced a wildly, his wails not even reaching Lexia as he was drowned out against the sounds of explosions.

Sadly, Lexia raised her eyes to the marble pillars, the gorgeous stone walls, the mosaic paths that snaked through them. It would have been beautiful once, when the walls still gleamed from their original creation. From when they first formed. Dust stung her eyes as she withdrew to the wall again, hiding slightly behind the vase to stop it from stinging her eyes. Her grazed and bloodied hand shook as she held it against the vase. She was nervous, unable to force herself to move.

However, his voice cut through the fog, reaching out to her. She looked up to him, shaking her head. Angrily, she would make a guesture for him to leave. "Get out of here!" Lexia shouted over the rockets, the sounds forcing her to not really think properly. Stupidly, she forced herself to her feet, trying to shout an objection to Sly. The dust, debris and general things being thrown around prevented her from being able to see the look on his face.

She didn't even recognise the screeching sound.

She had turned to face it, only to feel Sly's hands suddenly hit her shoulder. The force his smaller form exherted in that movement to her was incredibly surprising, but she didn't dwell on it as she stumbled and fell several feet. Her foot clipped the edge of another staircase, causing her to fall a further five feet. The ground rushed up towards her, but a secondary force also threw her back a further few feet. She didn't know how far she rolled from the secondary force, but the sound of the explosion was deafening.

Bricks, stone, everything from where she once stood was sent flying, the great wall she hid behind came crashing down. Lexia landed awkwardly on her legs, toppling over onto her side.

Her ears rang as the dust and fire cleared, Nithya rushing down the spiral stairs to greet her. His mouth opened and shut like he was barking, before he looked back to the wall. She frowned, her bloodied hand raising to her head. Her mind was puzzled, refusing to accept what just happened to them. Lex felt as if she was missing something, but her ears rang, not allowing her to have a moment to think. However the blood chilled in her veins when one word came to her through the head splitting headache that she felt herself having.

Sly.

With Nithya's help, Lexia staggered to her feet again, forcing herself not to double over and be incredibly sick. Her throat felt dry, but she looked around the ruins. She didn't see the scrawny figure, and she frowned, her pulse quickening as she looked. "Sly!" She called, which would only come out as a faint croak. Shaking her head, she swallowed to try and help her throat feel a little less fear. Where was he? Surely he didn't get struck by the wall!

The horrifying thought came to her like a slap in the face. That was why Nithya kept pulling her arm to the wall.

With a newfound burst of energy, Lexia clambered up the broken staircase, ascending the stone stairs quickly. Her heart hammered in her chest when Nithya leapt in front of her, running down the side. That was when she saw him. "Sly!" She shouted, her voice cracking as she skidded to a stop. His legs were pinned, and with one hand gesture, Nithya began to clear the moveable rubble away from him. Any signs of pain would make the foenix stop and whine, and he would offer a lick to Sly.

Lexia felt hot tears sting in her eyes as she placed her hand gently against the gash against his head. She caused this. It was her fault. Biting her tongue, Lexia would use her magic to slowly heal the gashes as Nithya would keep unburying him from the broken wall. "Sly you silly goose, why did you decide to do that..." She mumbled quietly, her hands tearing a section of her skirt away. The steel flask Sly carried which held the water was dented, but within her reach. However, grabbing the flask and healing him proved to be rather difficult when she only used one hand. Removing the lid, Lexia poured a few drops onto it. She would then use this to clear away some of the blood from his face, to reveal small marks of red.

Lexia shook her head as she bit down harder against her own lip, drawing blood. She glanced to Nithya, who had found a little trouble with a larger slab across his legs. Lex would quickly search the place, tears trailing down her cheeks as she did so. Her fingers curled around a steel pole, and she pried it under the slab of stone. Exhaling slowly, she turned to Sly once more. "Sly, I'm going to life the slab holding you down. When or if you can, I'll need you to drag yourself out. But if you can't, Nithya will. Alright?" Lexia instructed, her voice shaking as she did so. From there, if Sly rejected what she said, she would reassure him that it was the only way to get him out. If he had questioned her about the weight of the slab, she would only give a small shrug and say that either it lifted or it didn't.

When he was ready, Lexia would give him to the count of three, before she would push the steel rod down further in between the slab and the ground. With all her strength that she could muster, she would push down against the bar to lift the slab pinning him.

When he was freed, Lexia would slowly lower the slab, before kneeling down next to him. "Can you walk?" Lexia asked gently, her hand gently moving the red pants. She would clear the blood on her skirt, before glancing at his other leg. Lexia quickly began to tear long strips from her skirt as she did so. Using these, she would warn Sly before tying them tightly around anything which allowed blood to flow outside his body.

Afterwards, she would shake her head, raising her own damaged arm to brush away her hair from the back of her neck. She shuddered a sigh and, for a few moments, wished she could heal her own wounds readily. Instead, she let them go, figuring that they would stop bleeding eventually. Besides, Sly had less blood to lose when she compared herself to his situation, so she needed to take care of him first.

Nithya would whine, raising the awareness to the situation they were in. The helicopters weren't there for now, but they would return any moment. "Whatever the hell you wanted in those ruins Sly... I hope that you found it. There's not going to be a thing left at this rate. But we need to move, but there's no way to get out of the ruins with those helicopters on our tail. Nithya can't run any more without putting a giant strain on him, but the only thing between us and the closest exit are pillars and clear grounds. We don't have a chance of getting out that way, and I have no one that I can contact to help us..." Lexia trailed off, her face taking an expression mixed with sadness and despair. Two expressions which she would only show if she were utterly defeated.

They weren't getting out alive.

Spending too much time under the rubble was starting to get to him, the bruising pain crawling up to his stomach, with any attempts by him to remove them were met with intense pain. For a moment, the ruins was silent but the wind and loose rocks succumbing to gravity and rolling off uneven surfaces. He was exhausted, his energy spent trying to keep agony at bay. It was a terribly uncomfortable position he was resting in but there was little he could do. He should have known better that this was far beyond his capabilities. Trying to sneak past a heavily controlled ruins for the sake of an empty hourglass and a badly chipped stone. If they had any magical properties, he thought they would be active the moment he used his timepiece. Especially with Mirage's summoning. Perhaps all of this was for naught.

A voice called from the bits of dust left floating around, followed by a figure climbing over a set of broken stairs. The foenix got to him before she did and attempted to remove some of the rocks. It did not hurt for a while, but it was probably because what was pinning him was a huge slab which was too big for Nithya to carry. Sly's vision blurred again, briefly drowning him in darkness. When he regained consciousness, Lexia was in front of him, kneeling and dabbing something wet against his wound in the head. His flask, dented almost on all sides, laid before him as she cleaned his wound. It surprised him how sturdy this thing was. Though he was not sure about the two artefacts. He would have to check them later.

Lexia then told him she was going to lift the slab and he was to crawl out of it. Sly did not question her. Not that he could anyways. He waited for her to count before he felt the slab gave way. His legs flared again and he suppressed a yell. It was worse than occluding his legs for an extended period of time. He almost wished the slab to be put back on top of him. Something dragged the collar of his shirt, and Nithya pulled him away before Lexia dropped it down.

Sly carefully rolled onto his back and assessed his legs. His pants were torn up to his knees, bits of fabric stuck to the red and black hue of his bloodied legs. Aside from deep cuts and grazes, he did not see any of his bones, or at least any open fractures. Sly took a moment to take a breath, at least to settle the nerves. The wall busted my legs, Sly said, huffing. Leave it for now. Just carry me forward. His demand went to deaf ears as Lexia ripped parts of her skirt to bandage them. It was not until she tightened the knot that his legs flared up again and he hissed. T-Thanks.

After patching his legs, Lexia reminded him of their predicament. The cuts, bruises and bandages that covered her body were sure proof that they would not last another attack from the helicopters. And it would be pretty soon that they would arrive another load of missiles and bullets. Sly looked down at his legs, then checked his bag. The two items were intact, and he tossed his mangled flask in there as well. He thought about telling her that he got what he needed, but figured he should cut straight to what was important now.

There is one way I can think of that will get us out of here. But I need to get to a large open field, preferably some place close by and a lot of old traps long disabled. Is there a place nearby? He asked her, hoping she could still guide him in this desperate hour. He tried to grab onto a raised pedestal and pull himself up, but his legs would barely budge. He huffed a sigh, heart racing in his chest. Damn it. It looks like I will need some help.

He did not expect either Lexia or Nithya to help him after what he had dragged the two into, but he would have been fine as well if they decided to leave him here and get out as he make a last stand. But if they did decide to help him, he would welcome it just the same. It did not matter who held him up, his next response would still be the same. Just get me to the clear grounds. We are going to get out of here alive, Lex. I will make sure of it.

With a small wince at his sharp hisses of pain, Lexia would quietly sigh to herself. If it was up to her, she wouldn't have done it or gotten them in this situation. But it didn't matter, they were here now and they were apparently going to make it out alive. Lex didn't believe him. But as he had mentioned the clear grounds, she looked towards the second clearing. It was rather large, but it was out in the open... There was barely enough cover for them.

She shook her head, "Stay here. I need to figure out something." Lexia would instruct to both Nithya and Sly. Her pet would whine at her, glancing to Sly, then back to her. She waved her hand to dismiss Nithya's questioning expression and the foenix would lay next to Sly, waiting as Lexia would climb up and over the rubble.

It didn't take long for her to lose sight of the two of them the more she clambered through the ruins. Her eyes scanned through the surrounding area, her eyes searching for a small little difference in the pillars. It took her a few minutes, but eventually, she saw what she was looking for. Carved into the side of eight pillars was a small image, one which almost looked like a dragon to her, but slightly different. She didn't know what it had been a picture of, but she just accepted it.

However, she knew not to go near those areas as the elderly man had told her of countless traps waiting around there. But he also mentioned that when the floods come, they would be dormant, waiting for something incredibly specific to activate them again. One thing that she noted was an incredibly small keyhole at the base of the carving. It was a spherical shape, something that she didn't take too much care about previously, but after seeing Sly's little pocket watch and what it was able to do, she had the feeling that the two were linked.

As she continued to look, she noted that several pillars had been knocked down by shockwaves of explosions. Lexia would be able to use them as cover if she had to, as well as the broken vases. Maybe she could use her spears to cause her own explosions to distract and guardsman that came, but she didn't know. Only time would tell.

Quickly, Lexia descended back to the grounds where Sly was, her eyes sparkling at the new discovery, that they were close enough to the pillars to actually use them. It gave her a sliver of hope, something which she clung to with both hands.

As she was deep in thought, she didn't even realise she had done it until she knelt down next to Sly. "There's pillars over there which can potentially be used by your watch. There's also damaged and disabled tripwires and pressure plates. However, it's incredibly exposed. Once you are out there, it'd be easy to shoot at you. You're going to need something else to cover you or distract them. The pillars are spaced far enough apart for you to be in the center. They form an outer ring, around a hundred meters apart. I just hope that in that space you can do what you needed to do." Lexia commented, gently wrapping her arms under Sly's arms.

Timing it with Nithya, she was able to carefully slid him onto Nithya's back. She began to lead him up the stairs, to the place where he wanted to go.

"I'm going to be the distraction. Understand?" She stated, her tone leaving no room for question. Any objection, Lexia would simply shoot down by saying that he was the only way that they can live and that she's putting all her faith in his word. "Nithya will stay with you permanently, to protect you from anything that gets close. I'll defend from a further distance, I can use my lances and daggers as a ranged weapon if I need to. And, who knows, maybe you might get to see our little trick." She commented, grinning at Nithya.

From there, she would take him into the center of the pillars, edging closer as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. They would be incredibly exposed but, if Sly kept his word or could explain what he was going to do here... They should make it out alive. But Lexia was assuming she wouldn't be killed trying to defend him.

She certainly hoped not. But she couldn't let him die either.

"Also, please, do me a favor. Don't activate the pillars unless you have to, I don't know what they can do."

He crawled up to the nearest pile of rocks, where he could rest his back on and sit himself upright. The plan he had was very risky, but it was perhaps the only one they had. He was not even that sure if his mind could even hold together something much more than Mirage. He never really had to commit to doing something as drastic as well until now. It was not too late to learn.

Sly nodded to Lexia when she told him she would scout around. He watched her climb the rubble, leaving him behind with her foenix. Not that he could follow her anyways, but he could take some fresh air. The helicopters had awoken dormant musty smells of eroded bricks and dead plant life. With how weary he was, he did not have the stomach to take in such scent. It was a wonder how archaeologists could deal with such scent. He tried breathing in with his mouth instead, resting his head against the rocks. For now, he should not think too much about anything. He needed all the mental strength he could get if they were to get out of here.

Before he drifted into a nap, the rocks shuffled over one another, and he saw her skidding down the rubble. The light in her eyes told him she found the clearing. Good news was there were traps around that area. Bad news, the clearing was in a wide open space. They would have nothing more than pillars as cover. It made him stiffen a bit. He needed time to make their escape. They would either be shot or blown to pieces by then. He did not think of this any further when Lex grabbed him by the arm and slung him onto Nithya. Sly hissed a bit, grabbing onto one of his legs that decided to complain. He would have objected to her throwing her own life for a distraction, but he did not want to waste his mental energy any further.

As he sat on Nithya's back, there was some loud static coming from a distance.

"This is Sargent Vince! Come out with your hands up. We do not wish to harm you. Surrender at once and give us what you took. You have nowhere to run."

The message over a megaphone would repeat itself over and over again until Sly grew tired of hearing it. He did not believe them as well. The moment they walk out with their hands in the air, they would take away what artefacts Sly took and put a bullet to his head.

Sly squinted as the light flared over his eyes, and he shielded himself to see the courtyard. This was one of the least popular attractions tourists would go to thanks to constant plundering of gold-seekers. And just as Lexia had said, this place was far too open for his liking. Surrounding them in this rectangular courtyard were rather short walls, with broken columns sitting behind them. When he looked down, the foenix had stepped on a few pressure plates, though they triggered nothing. There were a few spots where there used to be a tripwire, the strings either missing or degraded with age. As Nithya walked past them, Sly focused on his timepiece. A pink and white stream of gears floated around those traps. There, they would improvise and restore them, forming their own strings and mechanisms. He would then use Ephemeral to replace any hidden darts with the marbles already opened to their dagger forms. He was at least happy that most of the trap's structures remained intact so he did not need to replace them with more pieces. Which meant more for whatever he needed to build.

Nithya dropped him off in the centre of the courtyard. At first, he thought it was among the worst spots to be in, but then he knew Oak Hollow forces would converge on multiple locations. After reactivating all the traps he could find, he warned Lexia of where they were and generally the places to avoid until a soldier had walked past there. On the ground, Sly got to work. He still had the true pieces from Ephemeral and a bit of false pieces. It was good enough for him to build two sentries. Standing upon a tripod with insect-like legs, a clockwork crossbow was mounted on top of the base. The two sentries skittled to either side of Sly, well within the ring of columns where most of the traps were.

Then he made a third sentry, but this one was completely black and appeared to be a large snake. Its head had white markings here and there as it moved and slithered up to the top of one of the columns.

In Sly's hand, he forged a blue and silver sidesword. Mirage at her sealed and most basic form. He would need it for self-defence. He would also be building a totem based on her as well, as well as whatever pieces he could gather from the rest of the active weapons. Alright, I have made my preparations. Do whatever you need to do before they arrive. Just hold this position until I gathered enough pieces for our ride out of here. Sly cupped his hand and two different streams of gears circled over his hand. They condensed materialised into two gears. One of them was red and gold, the other white and crystal clear. They both had strange markings etched into them that seemingly glow randomly every now and then. Sly brought his mental energy almost at the very brink of mental break down as he forced additional true pieces into them. When it was successful, his head startled to whirl as a headache settled in.

Here. Take these. They will supplement as your lance and javelins. Use them as much as you can. We will need all the pieces we can gather if we want to make it out alive.

After around two minutes, they would hear the distant whipping of helicopters as they returned. One of them shot a canister of red smoke, the object sitting near the entrance to the courtyard, before ropes fell from the side. Soldiers descended from them, landing somewhere behind the columns. They could either appear from them, shooting Sly and Lexia from the raised battlements, or they would rush in from the entrance.

The snake sentry reared a bit and, with a whip of its head forward, spat a black marble at huge speeds towards one of the soldiers behind the columns, impaling and exploding their shoulder. The white sentries did not shoot their marbles at such speed, but they were able to fire a volley of them at a time compared to only one shot before the snake needed to recharge. One white sentry moved closer towards the helicopters and revved up, preparing to shoot.

And so it begins...

[0/5]

The slow clicks and whirring of gears would make Lexia flinch, the noise incredibly foreign to her. Even with both his legs injured, Sly managed to conjure up different objects, the first two being like giant insects. They stood rather tall, positioning themselves either side of Sly, their form looking rather intimidating as they scanned the area around them. She slightly shuddered, turning her attention back to Sly.

If he had the power to create these beings, she was glad that she wasn't opposing him.

A third creature was made, and Lexia took several steps away from it-her feet clipping a broken pressure plate. She watched the snake with wide eyes, it's gears whirling as it turned its white marked head from side to side. Lex watched it like a hawk watching its dinner escape as it slithered and curled up onto one of the giant pillars surrounding them. She shuddered a little. She never liked snakes.

Lexia would frown at the small thing that Sly created, figuring that it was something to do with the wolf as the colours seemed to match. Something that she had noted was that everything almost seemed colour coded for different devices that Sly could create. What they represented or stood for, Lexia had absolutely no idea. It was something that she could only learn with time.

At Sly's suggestion, Lexia gave him a small shrug. "I'm already prepared. My magic reserves are at the maximum they can hold-it'll be enough for several volleys of spears and a few lances or javelins, but they'd only serve as a distraction... I have no weapons to get in close and use against the incoming soldiers." Lexia explained, however, Sly already seemed to be working on a solution to her problem. He handed her two gears, white and red. She was about to question them, but Sly beat her to speaking.

Nodding with understanding, Lexia held both the gears in her right hand, slowly letting out a pent up breath. She wasn't going to lie to herself, she was scared beyond her wits. Sly had three creatures-no, four including Nithya to guard him. Lexia was going to be out on her own. She swallowed hard. Her heart raced in her chest, butterflies danced in her stomach, but she knew that she didn't have much of a choice. Sly needed to be protected.

And that's what she was going to do.

She had turned her back to him, only to spin around and drop down to her knees. Her arms carefully wrapped around him for a few moments. "Good luck, Sly. And in all seriousness, if this doesn't work, or I don't make it out of here alive... Take care of Nithya for me. And it was a pleasure to meet you, even though it's been hell, I haven't felt this alive for over three years. Thank you."

From there, Lexia would get up, giving the command for Nithya to stay with Sly. A smile cracked on her face. Her flames danced at her finger tips as she bit back her fear. An emotionless mask darkened across her face as her eyes narrowed. She calmed her racing pulse, threw away emotions and the pain from her throbbing arm. If she had any chance, she needed to calm down. Lexia quickly made her way to the least trap infested area of the ruins. At the start, this would be the easiest place for people to break through, so it was logical that they tried to strike here. Of course it had to be right near the entrance, of all places.

It was only then that the gunfire started.

She cursed as she didn't expect them to get there so quickly, her flaming daggers forming instantly in her fingertips. Three soldiers descended from the ropes that she could make out, but more figures seemed to move in the red smoke. Straight away, Lexia threw her flaming daggers, aiming for the ground in front of them. She sent three volleys towards them in rapid succession, sprinting straight towards them.

Her mind started to conjure an image of a flaming lance, knowing that she would need it for the close combat, however, the white gear whirled in her hands. Letting go for a split second, it shot out to take the form of what her mind had created. The gears clicked into place, holding fast. Glancing up, she saw two soldiers move to the right to avoid the daggers which she threw and the others there ducked behind the pillars for cover. She grimaced. This was going to hurt no matter what she did. Concentrating at the two who had moved out into the open, she threw the javelin straight towards them. Her aim landed true, sheering through the first persons leg and straight into the person's foot behind them.

Lexia focused then on her lance, the red gear creating the form that she needed. With a leap of grace and poise, Lexia slammed the hilt of the lance into the first victim, causing him to double over in pain. She gracefully twisted herself, putting her upper body strength behind the spear and threw it forward into the second target. The blow claimed his life, piercing his chest.

With startled cries, several other soldiers broke the cover of the pillars, firing out on her. Their aim would have been accurate and true-if Lexia hadn't pulled the still screaming soldier up in front of her to block the shots. His voice was quickly silenced and she discarded the body.

She would then roll forward, ducking behind collapsed pillar to provide herself with cover. On her command, Lexia was a little concerned with how the gears would dismantle their shape and zip back to her, landing easily in her grip.

Playing out the memory in her mind, Lexia pictured where the other soldiers were. The other soldiers near the pillar would probably step out soon, and Lexia peaked over the edge of the fallen pillar. So far, they seemed to be preoccupied with her, and not thinking about Sly. So at least part of the plan was working.

Breaking her cover again at the signs of another two soldiers, Lexia threw out the suddenly formed javelin, striking the one on the left with ease. The one on the right would go to duck behind the pillar-only to scream when Sly's sentry shot their shoulder. Lexia would race forward, her hands pulling the white javelin out of the body, to spin and throw it at the second, or fourth, soldier.

She missed as he ducked, seeing the blow coming. However, he didn't expect Lexia's speed as she closed the distance between them rapidly, the red spear finishing off the fourth soldier. Lexia's chest heaved as she took cover, the bullets reigning down around her. Her heart raced, but the fight for their lives only just had begun.

(Red gear hits: 3
White gear hits: 3
Fatalities: 4
Assuming I can maths at this time of day XD )

(That's fine X3)

He had one more weapon, but could not really see how he could use it. Especially if he could not even stand. Not that he could even conjure it, now that he had no more pieces left on him to create it. He had done all he could to prepare, and now all he had to do was survive. Nithya and Mirage were the only beings guarding him, whereas Lexia barely had any protection on her. She also said she had some sort of trick she could perform with Nithya, and he wondered if she would ever show it. Even then, now would be the best time. They need to throw everything they got.

Near where Sly sat, was another relief, similar to the one he saw behind the throne. Lexia told him not to activate it unless he had no other choice. Not that he wanted to. If memory served, he could not even use his timepiece while it was stuck in there. Sly just rested where he was, a hand placed on his leg as he felt it starting to throb. Mirage was on the other hand, but for now, the soldiers seemed to be concentrating on Lexia than him.

Soldiers poured in from the front, standing upon the elevated platforms that surrounded the courtyard, or pouring into it from the hallway which Sly had passed through. He watched as his sentries emptied their marbles into a few exposed soldiers, the opened knives sticking into their eyes or their necks before they collapsed. With every hit, a glowing stream of the same colour would flow towards the sentries, briefly making them glow as they stored the false pieces they earned through the impact of their marbles.

He sensed some of the tripwires, conjured or mended by Pulse, snap, followed by bloodcurdling screams as a rain of knives shot out from holes within the walls or underground. Though he was gaining pieces from them, it started to worry him that nearly half of the traps were triggered by the first wave of these soldiers. As most of the men concentrated on Lexia, a few decided to point their guns in Sly's direction. A flurry of bullets zipped past him and snapped at the ground around him, and he quickly brought his blue sidesword forward. Mirage 'opened' along the centre of the blade, emitting a fine blue aura that formed a large rectangular shield over him. Sly gritted his teeth. He used up a shield already, and doubted he could conjure another for a few minutes. One of his white sentries stood in between him and the soldiers, offering itself as a meat shield.

Lex! Sly called as he held his hand in a manner as if holding a card. A glowing blue gear would form from his false pieces. If she responded and turned to him, he would toss the gear to her. A shield for you. The gear would not require any commands. If she were in trouble, the gear would burst into a shield that would linger for a few seconds, resetting if it was hit again. If she rejected it, Sly would tell her that it would be useless on him for a while.

He then stabbed Mirage into the ground in front of him, protecting some part of his body as he began to forge a gundagger from the false pieces the white sentries gathered. As for the rest of the false pieces from all structures, including those which Lexia gained for him, he brought them all together in a spot behind him. They merged together into what appeared to be a giant round structure, tapering as it got higher, until it formed a crown. Its head was perfectly spherical, standing no taller than up to Sly's shoulders if he could stand.

The totem was different to the average ones he usually made, as it consisted of a mix of all seven pieces. Its head was blue with a few black markings, which began to sprout silver ears, the wings it also sprouted was red and blazing, supported by white and transparent wingarms, and a body a mix of blue, white and pink.

Even as they nearly dealt with the first wave, Sly could see from afar a larger second wave approaching. This time, trying to swarm in the front half of the courtyard. He backed away a bit, so he could see them all in his periphery, returning fire with his gundagger.

[1/5]

Lexia glanced around the ruins as she heard more shouting and gunfire slowly starting to appear, spreading further and further around the grounds. The walkways seemed to be crawling with them as they approached, their guns blazing against the dust around her. However, what made her more concerned were the bullets kicking up dust around Sly. She'd have to get to the problem later, but she would be no good to him if she allowed herself to be killed by the other five soldiers closing in on her.

The javelin formed in her right hand, the spear in her left. However, they were slightly smaller than the other two she had previously used, but that was mainly due to the fact she wouldn't be able to put as much force behind them as she used both at once.

She waited until she could almost hear their steps, voices muttering to each other as they wondered if their bullets connected. One soldier knelt by their old friend, the one Lexia used as a meat shield. Three of the others turned to look, the fourth keeping watch. When his gaze passed from her hiding position, Lexia jumped up again. He managed to make a startled cry of warning before the javelin struck his abdomen. He staggered back, collapsing on two of his comrades. Lexia would quickly summon another volley of her fire daggers to throw at the other two, causing them to at least look away to ensure that their faces didn't get stabbed by the daggers.

She finished the five off quickly with her red lance, dropping them like stones.

Lexia only managed a brief few moments before the ground at her feat erupted with dust, bullets grazing next to her shoe. Instinctively, she jumped backwards, before taking cover behind another pillar. She pressed her back to it, looking to Sly. His shield was up already, one of the sentries protecting him with its body. She gritted her teeth, she needed to get over there, but the bulk of the soldiers were closing in on her.

He must have seen her pause, trapped behind the pillar as he shouted out her name. She turned, only to have a third gear be thrown to her. She grabbed it in her free hand, looking at it questioningly. At the mention of a shield, Lexia would nod slightly before slipping it under one of the two flimsy arm guards she wore. At least it wouldn't fall off her person while it was there.

However, her attention was still on Sly, he was pinned, unable to get out of his position easily. He couldn't defend himself either. With a defeated smile, Lexia shouted one single word out as loud as she could.

"GO!"

The signal wouldn't have meant much to anyone or anything really paying attention, except for a rather large and protective foenix that was standing guard near Sly. Hearing her voice on the other side of the pillar, the guards quickly made their way around as Nithya had also heard the command.

With the grace of a predator, Nithya would growl, before slinking off into a nearby group of soldiers closing in on Sly. Lexia calculated that she would barely have enough energy for her small trick, and she closed her eyes. It was a dangerous move in her current situation, but a risk which needed to be taken. Focusing on her pet, lightning flared from her hands, solidifying into a trident. She felt the power dancing across to he companion, charging his claws for his next attack.

Lexia and Nithya would strike their opponents at the same time, the wolves fangs and claws tearing apart their victims, with the occasional friendly fire as the soldiers tried to kill the midnight foenix. He moved with the true fury of a predator, so fast that they didn't have the time to even aim properly before his thunder claws or his deadly fangs ripped into them.

Lexia for her part would use the trident and impale the white javelin into it. She wanted to try something, and it would only work once. Lexia forced the javelin to split, forming ten smaller little pieces. She then commanded them to pass through the thunder spear she had made, splitting the power between the ten of them. Taking a deep breath, Lexia broke her cover and threw the javelins to their appropriate soldier counterparts, striking each one with ease and finishing them quickly.

As soon as the energy was spent to kill them, Lexia fell to her knees, her heart pounding painfully as she gasped for breath. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead, her arms shaking. The shield activated, spreading partially to block three soldiers gunfire as they opened fire against her. The small javelins stayed in place as she couldn't find the will to move, the magic drained her of her strength. Shards of rock and stones cast themselves into her eyes, and she flinched.

The shield flickered and she forced herself to her feet. A small round object was thrown towards her, a command shouted out as the soldiers that she attracted drew behind cover. She cursed, breaking into a sprint to try and gain enough distance from the explosion that she knew was coming. Lexia felt the flames and heat hit her back, the sound stopping her heart momentarily.

She then turned, the javelin forming in her hand once more as she ran back through the heated air. It caused her to feel her hair curl, almost burning from the temperature. Her skin reddened, but she pressed through the smoke and heat, using the last amounts of magic to cast one more volley of fire and javlines out to block and strike her foes. To ensure that they didn't see her straight away, she dived behind a vase to her left, wincing as shards and rocks scrapped into her skin.

Nithya for his part would continue to defend Sly, preventing any soldier from coming close, a silent predator hunting his prey. He would switch his forms accordingly, if he needed to move fast, or if he was needing to be pure strength. For now, the black foenix was able to keep them at bay.

But no one knew how long it would last.

( 5 red lance/spear hits.
11 white javline hits.
Again, if I can math right XD )

He fired a couple of shots from his gundagger, unsure if he had struck one or not. The weapon then clicked, the mechanism not firing any more marbles. Empty already. Sly let it drop onto the ground, huffing a sigh. He tested his legs again, but they still met him with pain. Mirage still needed to recharge, the blade still remain rooted in the ground, a few bullets ricocheting off the gleaming surface. A few more traps were sprung. They served more of a warning to how close they were to him. A look at the totem told him it was making progress, but at a very slow rate. For a moment he sat there, staring blankly at the soldiers rushing in.

It did not take long for him to suddenly jump out of his daze when Lexia let out a scream. Immediately her foenix responded, the loyal beast suddenly revealing his aggressive nature. With a growl, and blinding speed, he darted across the courtyard. With every soldier he passed, they reared with a scream, a fountain of blood bursting from their necks or chest. Sly blinked. The soldiers started yelling at one another, trying to shoot at the foenix. But then they would have their backs turned to Lexia or the sentries. Lexia was creative with her javelins, combining her powers of electricity with the floating javelins and firing them at the soldiers. But it seemed to have drained much of her energy, as Sly watched her slump behind a fallen column to take a breath.

Only Nithya was actively running around, striking from the shadows while the soldiers looked around in confusion. But Sly knew they could not keep this up forever.

Then, the soldiers seemed to be a bit brighter as they recollected and started to group. A small, heavy sphere bounced and rolled next to Sly, the surface looking like a pinecone. His heart leapt to his throat, eyes shooting wide. Grenade! Sly immediately rolled off the mound, the object exploding and pushing him down faster. His legs repeated struck the ground, flaring up again, but he held his tongue. Another white sentry was in his way and stopped him half way. Sly remained on the ground, coughing. Slowly he got up, looking at his body. There were no shrapnel or any visible bleeding. But then he was even further away from Mirage. A dance of bullets pattered on the ground in front of him, and he quickly rolled to a sitting position, his back against the leg of the sentry. The structure chimed and clanged as bullets bounced off it, flinching a bit when one bullet hit a critical joint.

He looked up to where his totem was. It was no longer the same pawn as it was before. Instead, it was starting to take shape of a horse's head and neck. Mirage. Sly closed his eyes, but did not find the mental strength to bring it to him. Keeping low and trying to suppress his grunts, he crawled himself back up onto the mound. It was not that far. He would stop and press against the ground, hands over his head, when another round of bullets zipped overhead. The white sentry moved along with Sly, until another grenade was thrown under it.

Sly curled when it burst, and the sentry started to groan. It staggered around a little, shrapnel sticking to the joints and paralysing its movement. Until it lost balance and simply toppled onto the ground, half shattered. Sly gritted his teeth. He was far too exhausted to dissociate and rematerialize it. Two of its legs were still working, the other a mess of pieces below it. Still it would find any targets it could reach and fire.

Sly grabbed Mirage's hilt and shuffled closer to the broken sentry, trying his best to lift it back upright. He let the structure stood its broken leg on his hip. But just as he did so, a loud shot rung out. Something in his mind snapped, and he sensed Spade was in trouble. He looked up, but the snake sentry was no longer there. With a metallic hiss, the sentry fell onto the totem and shattered completely, the black pieces immediately returning into the timepiece.

He quickly turned to Lexia and yelled at the top of his lung, SNIPER!

The moment his voice ended, another shot echoed across the courtyard.

[2/5]

Nithya tore through the soldiers near Sly. His fangs dripped with blood, his breathing heavy. However, the cry from the human drew his attention. The foenix let a group stray too close to Sly. Shifting down into his smaller size, Nithya bolted towards him, the creamy coat blending in with the dust and sandy grounds around him. The second he found the group that lobbed the small object, he shifted again.

With a roar, his fangs found their mark, making quick work of the group. A few soldiers killed each other through friendly fire, and Nithya felt only one bullet skim across his hind leg in the exchange. Six members from one attack seemed with it to him. The foenix shifted once more, edging to the next closest group to satisfy his need to kill. The need to protect the one who his caretaker demanded that he defended.

Lexia groaned, the gunfire ringing in her hears. The sounds of metal colliding with metal. The sounds of something screeching against something, the falls. Something wasn't right. It wasn't meant to end this quickly. It couldn't, could it?

Lexia forced herself up, she couldn't give in. Sly needed her, and so did her loyal companion. The red gear formed her familiar lance, and she let out a long sigh. "Either way, Sly and Nithya have to be protected." She muttered senselessly to herself, the gear from mirage shining as it prepared the shield for her again. Thankfully, the clouds of smoke from the granade hid her still, and the soldiers hasn't made out her position.

Lexia took the long way around, looping far to the left to approach the people from their backs. Her lance struck home, silencing members before they knew what was going on. One dropped, laying in a pool of blood. A second. A third. A fourth managed to hear the drop of his friends and turned, raising his gun. Lexia lashed out, the white gears creating small javelins which struck home, then forward and into the backs of two more men. She smirked. It was nice to have the advantage for once.


The thought was cast out from her mind as she heard a metallic screech, the giant snake that Sly formed crumpling down the pillar, dispersing itself. Her eyes widened, and she froze for a few moments in shock.

"SNIPER!"

Lexia turned to Sly, her eyes locking with his form for a few moments before hearing the gunshot ring across the field. Mirage's shield had formed instantly-but it was no match for the force behind this gun. The shield faltered and broke. In that same moment she felt the bullet lodge itself in her side, causing her to cry out in a bloodcurdling scream in agony. The bullet tore through her.However, it's design was cruel, causig it to inflict as much damage as it could. The bullet would fragment and split as soon as it hit the target.

If she were to look at her back, she would simply see something alike to a giant network of a shrapnel blast on her. Like a giant red weeping spider web. She collapsed to her knees, her spear clattering to the ground as the blood freely flowed from the mass of wounds on her back and side. Her flames faltered in her hands when she instinctively pressed them against her wounds, her mind clouded with pain. It didn't take long for Lexia's vision to falter, the ground suddenly rushing up to meet her.

He wished the shot would hit him instead. When he finished giving the warning, the shot forcing a shield to form behind Lexia. Her back burst red and she quickly fell onto her knees. Time seemed to have stopped, seeing the last flicker of light in her eyes before she craned her head to the skies. The snapping and whistling of guns and bullets, muffled, as his mind fixated and what was before him. Lexia was shot. No doubt by an explosive round.

Something bit his ear, and then a powerful ring drowned all sound from one of his ear. Sly shook from his thoughts and forced himself down the mound, his legs skidding across the dirt as he dragged Mirage down with him. Lex! He screamed. Sly grabbed her by the arm and tried to shake her a bit. She was still alive, but barely. Hang in there Lex! He said, dragging her to the nearest fallen pillar. It was a bit difficult, using nothing but his other hand to crawl to safety. He had his gundagger with him, now fully reloaded, and whenever he could, he would stop crawling and fire with his dagger. One soldier came around the corner with a scream, the butt of his rifle ready to slam into one of the two. Sly sent a marble into his forehead. Then shot another who just came around from the other side.

They were getting far too close. This was really going to become their last stand. Sly's remaining white sentry that could move stood on top of the fallen pillar, like some brave hero or saviour that would save them. If only that were true. He was still down to the last sentry. The other white sentry leaned at an awkward angle, firing only a few marbles. Sly huffed a sigh. The last trap was sprung, and still it was like Oak Hollow sent a whole country after them.

He promised Lexia he would get her out of her at least. Sly repeated the promise in his head. The promise quickly became a prayer. While he was in his thoughts for a moment, the chipped stone rolled out of his bag. Sly's eyes trailed it until it rested in Lexia's uncurled hands. Next to it was Nemesis, the lance which it once was dissipating and turning back to the tiny gears it was made from. Nemesis and Apotheosis. Now that he thought about it, he traded his mental energy for additional pieces so Lexia could made the javelins and lances. She had done so much already.

Sly 'refunded' the pieces for what little mental energy he could muster. With it, he dissipated both the totem and the broken sentry and rematerialized them next to him. He repaired the broken sentry with the false pieces he gained from his gundagger. The totem changed yet again, this time looking like a Bishop chess piece. They were never going to make it. Sly was by himself, crippled and fatigued. Nithya was perhaps still out there. He needed to protect him at least, but the foenix was everywhere. Only Lexia knew the commands to bring him here.

Sly squeezed the gundagger in his grip, Mirage in another, her shield charged and ready. Then he looked down to Lexia. She needed it more than he did. He took the blue gear which he gave her, or what was left of it, and traded it with the sidesword, resting it beside her. Recovering Nemesis and Apotheosis, Sly conjured the familiar blazing rapier. Then he activated Apotheosis. A large white and transparent rapier floated before him. With a brief glow, it would slowly split into 10 additional rapiers.

They hovered higher above him. Obviously they would reveal their position, but so would the sentries anyways. More helicopters arrived from above, and Sly did all he could to make his last stand. Another soldier broke through the defence of both sentries and the floating blades, but Sly easily sunk Nemesis into his stomach before throwing the corpse off to the side.

Sly gasped for breath, but nothing would quell his racing heart. He was starting to sweat profusely. If anything, he needed a miracle. Another familiar loud shot boomed and the pillar, just inches from his head, exploded.

[3/5]

It was becoming harder for Lexia to focus, but something grabbed her arm. Sly's panicked voice cut through the thick layer of fog, demanding her to stay alive. But why would she? The peace that beckoned her forward was nice, a silent retreat from the explosions and gunfire, the feeling of pain. She was barely aware of Sly dragging her to a pillar for shelter. Her eyes faintly took in the black shapes of the helicopters as they slowly came forward, their shapes becoming more defined as they drew closer.

Her blood stained the sandy ground, and she groaned quietly as the ground scratched at her back. It was a small price to pay. It would be over soon...

Lex felt something touch her hand, it's warmth instantly connecting with her cold fingers. It seemed to hum to her, a slow buzzing of energy just beneath the surface. Her fingers instinctively coiled around it to keep it close to her, pressing it into the palm of her hand. For some reason, the contact with the stone comforted her. You awaken me early... But I can sense your need. A voice called, and she felt the stone slowly sink into her hand. Her throat choked as the stone literally dissolved into her hand, a muffled and pained gargling sound came from her, caused by the blood from the injury she sustained. She didn't think the bullet had struck her lung. But it probably had knowing her luck.

However, Sly was most likely too busy reconstructing to notice the sudden change. The noises were incredibly loud, and he was trying his best to defend them.

Lexia fell still, her breathing faltering as the stone formed something around her wrist, taking portions of blood and energy from itself and Lexia to force the object to be made. The stone also managed to use its energy to block the blood dripping from Lexia, and also seemed to grip the nerves around the damaged portions of her skin. Surprisingly, it cut off the pain completely. Go~ have fun exploring your new gifts~ I'm sure that you'll enjoy them. Maybe. If not, I can always make you be the one to torture everyone you know-oh wait. It seems like you know no one. Well. Hmm... There goes that plan. Maybe I'll do something else to you~

Lexia groaned, raising her hand to press it against her head. She just wished the voice would shut up and stop giving her a headache. She didn't notice the black bands and blood red stones wrapped around her hand.

The gunshot just missed Sly's head, and her heart caught in her throat. "Get down Sly!" She shouted, one single blood stone breaking instantly. She suddenly felt a rush of energy course through her, her hand lashing out in an arc around both of them. Instantly, a semi-transparent dome wrapped around them, covering their exposed front, the side facing the sniper as well as to the right. The next shot from the sniper fired-but disappeared into the shield. Gunshots also from the right fizzled out. Lexia fell back, her actions causing her head to spin as the chipped stone hadn't exactly restored the blood she had lost. Her eyes shut tightly as she slowly exhaled, her heart racing as her head felt light.

Lexia wheezed, groaning as she forced herself to bend forward with a hiss of pain. If Sly would try to stop her, she would simply glance at him. However, she would make no further attempts of moving. But even the action of bending forward would surprise the sniper and make him reveal his position. It was too bad a certain foenix was watching and decided to take quick care of him.

At the appearance of the black wall, the soldiers seemed reluctant to step forward. For only a few moments, Lexia and Sly would receive a momentary respite.

During this time, Lexia would look to Sly, her face taking an expression of confusion and disorientation.

"Why... Did you drag me here?" She asked, "Why did you save me, I was as good as dead..."

He placed a hand against his ear, the scattered rocks cutting him against the skin. Mirage was held close, and he thought about peaking out over the fallen pillar. He waited for a volley of bullets overhead to cease before sneaking a split second glance over behind him, ducking just in time to avoid another one. Soldiers were descending from the elevation and had entered the courtyard. Looking up at the sentries, he knew they were overloaded with far too many targets and distracted by too many bullets bouncing off of them. If any grenades were thrown in here, he would force himself to hurl it back out. The totem was just past the halfway mark, rising as high as Sly's head if he could still stand. He wanted to activate this thing now. Get them out of here before they swarm in from all sides. Still he had to be patient. Activating the totem now would only paint a huge target on its fragile body.

Lex! Stay with me. His gundagger was fully charged and he broke from cover behind the pillar, shooting at any soldiers he could reach behind him. He only got two marbles out before a flurry of bullets scared him back down. Dropping back down awoken his legs, and he doubled over, hissing and rubbing the better part of his thigh. Damn them! Another gunshot hit the pillar near his ear, and this time he ducked and fell on his side to the ground.

Lexia's voice roared above the gunfire, telling him to get down. Before Sly knew it, she was upright and swinging her arm forward. A dark semi-sphere formed in front of them, covering their entire front in some strange shield. Sly frowned as the bullets that rippled into the barrier quickly dissolved into nothing. Another sniper round was heard but did not affect the shield. Anything trying to pass through it was quickly turned to dust. Sly dared not to touch it.

Then, Lexia slumped forward, groaning in pain. Her back was like a small crater of red and black, tears of blood trickling down her bare back and staining that strange tattoo she had on. For a moment, gunfire ceased, and the sentries held their fire as well. The totem collected what few more pieces the sentries gained, changing shape once again into what looked like a tower belonging to a castle. They were nearly there, but it did not seem the sentries could take anymore beating from the soldiers. The gears that assisted in movement were heavily worn and scarred by bullets and shrapnel, and one of the legs was about to break apart. They were in great need of maintenance, done by simply dissipating them and letting Ephemeral recover naturally.

However, his floating rapiers still seemed okay. A few of them had bits of blood dripping from the tip as they hovered around him, an indication that some soldiers had gotten far too close already. Still, if he relied solely on them, they would have no ranged counterattack left. Sly did not know how much Nithya had left in him, and he would not be surprised if he came back to them panting heavily.

Lexia, in the rather awkward time, asked him why he saved her.

Sly did not even give a glimpse to her as she asked. His head spun left and right, and he was still shocked with the sudden appearance of this barrier. The soldiers thought of what Sly would do, and they began to yell orders, telling everyone to start circling around. I promised to get you out, he answered.

Another muffled bounce over the ground, coming from the edge of the barrier, and Sly saw another grenade, directly next to the white sentry.

Look out! Sly bent forward, stretching his arm over Lex as he acted as a body shield for her. The grenade burst, a wave of heat blasting over his back and neck, but no shrapnel buried itself into him. Some of them missed him entirely and lodged halfway into the pillars. Behind him, after the explosion, Sly heard shattered glass, tiny pieces dancing onto the ground, followed by a hollow groan. His sentry, at least the half still intact, leaned awkwardly, standing on two legs with only a large portion of its body and a broken crossbow left. Very quickly it fell to its side and shattered into numerous of pieces.

As it crumbled, Sly stared at the heavily worn structure fading. Until he was staring at the small mound. Right before him, was the same slot that he saw earlier. Sly bit the bottom of his lip. Lexia warned him not to activate it. Not unless they needed to. By now, Sly only had a few options left. He needed to buy a bit more time for his totem.

Wait here, Sly said before making a slow crawl up, leaving Mirage with her. He was leaving the safety of the dome and exposing himself to the soldiers who managed to walk around without a pair of fangs sunk into their necks. When they started to shoot towards him, Sly pressed the floating blades mentally to strike, letting them spin above him in a form of a dance before locking and impaling into any nearby enemies. Some of the blades began to disappear, reappearing further away and pointing at an enemy each before speeding into their backs and necks, disappearing again and repeating the process. There were still too many. One bullet grazed over his arm and over-shot grenades hurled shrapnel over his face and sliced his shirt.

It did not take long before he finally reached the top. Rolling onto his back, he slammed his timepiece into the relief, and prayed his climb up here was worth it.

[4/5]

Lexia couldn't really be blamed for her bad time with asking questions, she was just saying exactly what she thought at the time. Sure. It was HORRIBLE timing, but she asked nonetheless. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, her blood still dripping slowly from her back. However, her thoughts were broken as Sly shouted out, before the explosion rang out. She was half deafened again, the blast ringing in her ears. However, she would move first to check to make sure that Sly hadn't been blown to pieces from the grenade. With a sigh of relief, Lexia saw that he wasn't dead from it.

Sly told her to wait there, but she opened her mouth to object. She would have said that he can't leave there, that it wasn't safe. To let her do it. However, gunfire and explosions would drown her voice out, and she bit her lip. Her back flared as she craned her head slightly to watch Sly, the shield still protecting them both for a few moments. After them, it was only protecting her. The rapiers over Sly would vanish, striking foes which Lexia couldn't see. But one thing that she noted was the helicopter.

How did they not see it get so close!

Scrambling to her feet, Lexia would at first fall, shouting out a warning to Sly. Right at the same time he placed the timepiece into the slot.

The reaction was instant, a shockwave was sent out from the base of each standing pillar. Gunfire ceased momentarily, cries of warning and shock coming from the guards using them as cover. They were covered in dust and rock, and Lexia would shout out a single word to call Nithya back into the circle of pillars. Lexia watched in horror as the pillars would slowly shake, before one toppled over. The weight and momentum behind it was enough to trigger the next to fall, but on a slight angle. The pattern would continue for the rest of the pillars, before the final one would fall.

Lexia scrambled out of its way before it collapsed, the last of the eight to form a ring of stone around Sly, herself, and whoever was left in the area. The pillars were perfectly rounded, impossible to climb over as soldiers for the first few moments would try to climb over it.

Lexia dragged her feet, making her way painfully over to Sly, before dropping down beside him. He was bloodied, injured and Lexia felt her heart in her throat. I'll admit, that was the last thing I expected." Lexia commented nervously, but the sounds of screaming and shouting soldiers broke her attention. She looked up to them as the crawled over the walls desperately, but the ones the furthest away from them. But why?

Nithya made his way to the two of them, his body shaking with every effort to move. He was exhausted, his hide dripping with crimson from his countless victims. He collapsed down next to Sly, feeling Lexia pat him. He weakly gave a whine, licking her hand as she patted him reassuringly.

But Lexia's eyes turned skyward, her heart hammering in her chest. "You have got to be kidding..." She mumbled, watching as the helicopters compartment opened. She glanced down to Sly, her heart in her throat. There was no way that they could make it out of here with another screaming bomb. That's exactly what it sounded like as the bomb was dropped.

Her heart raced as she listened, the sound becoming louder every single second that passed. She could try to drag them away from the initial blast zone, but it would be pointless. They would still be caught in the blast!

You know what you need to do, and you'd better do it for all your sakes. I'd hate to see the ground become beautiful with your blood.

Lexia shuddered at the voice, but she frowned as her hands seemed to move on their own, picking out another one of the stones from the bracelet. She would look at it with a frown for only a moment, before crushing it in her hand. The familiar rush of energy overcame her again, and she looked to the bomb. It was incredibly close-but so was the helicopter. With a smirk, she joined two of her fingers together, drawing what she saw in her mind.

Instantly, the power left her and she stood for a few more moments. The air opened in a giant black rift of around four feet wide. The bomb sank into it. And appeared on the other side of the helicopter. A orange and white glow blossomed on its back, spreading rapidly out around it. The helicopter broke and melted from the impact and intense heat, it's fuel combusting from the temperature. Then it exploded into smaller pieces and one main section, falling rapidly to the ground. During this time, Lexia felt her blood drain from her head due to her movements and would quickly throw mirage to Sly, and she prayed that it had enough strength left to protect them from the blast and falling debris. But Only Sly would really know if it did.

In case it didn't, Lexia threw herself onto Nithya, her back to the blast as she held her pet. Initially, her form was stiff to protect Nithya, before it slowly weakened. Lexia wouldn't know the outcome until several days had passed as the realm of the unconscious claimed her in powerful chains.

The ground shook once, a muffled pop echoing across the courtyard. His timepiece glowed, but only for a split second, and he could still pull it out. The sentries and the totem was still standing. Before he could ponder further, the pillars stirred, groaning and crumbling as they started to sway. The soldiers also seemed to notice. Confusion riddled their expressions as they stepped back from them, then they scrambled and ran. One of the pillars gave in and collapsed, sending another powerful ripple over the courtyard. All the soldiers lost their footing and stumbled, and it was fatal for a few as another pillar came down and crushed them. The ground continued to ripple with every drop of the pillars, and Sly could only hold onto the ground.

One final pillar was to drop on top of where Lexia was, but she moved out of its path in time. The sentry was just as confused with what was happening, but the pillar just scraped against its leg, and joined Sly, Lexia and Nithya inside. They were trapped. The fallen pillars formed a giant ring around them, their bodies incredibly thick, making it difficult for anyone to crawl over it. Sly dissipated the totem and brought it back on top of the mound, gasping for breath. His whole arm was covered in dust, dirt and blood, with some occasional stings that he just felt after realising how wounded he was.

Lexia was standing, but just barely as she made her way up to Sly. She looked just as worse as he was, added with the fatal wound in her back. She finally collapsed beside him, commenting how him activating the pillars was not something she would expect. To be fair, it was not something he expected as well. Sly forced a small smile, still trying to catch his breath. You said not to activate them until I really need to. He looked over to the foenix. It had long discarded the ferocity it demonstrated and was back to its loyal and somewhat friendly nature. His tongue lulled out, gasping for air as well, and his pelt looked as if he took a dive in a pool of blood. He could not determine which was Nithya's, but he seemed well aside from exhaustion.

Then Lexia looked to the skies. Sly followed. A helicopter flew above them, opening one of its compartments. A missile fell very briefly, before it started to whistle as it burned its fuel to propel itself towards them. He stiffened at the sight. Mirage! He looked around for it and noticed it was on Lexia's person. The weapon still had its shield charged up. He doubted he could completely block the entire blast, but he had no other choice. Sly was about to reach for it, until Lexia moved her hand and...hold on, where did she...?

Immediately she drew hand signs in the air. A black line sliced across the air, in between them and the missile. Like an eye opening, the air 'opened', revealing complete darkness behind it. The missile went straight into it and disappeared. In that instant, the same rift opened again, but this time, right next to the helicopter. Emerging from it, a missile. Sly shielded his eyes as it made contact against the propellers. The helicopter's motors wheezed, the spinning blades breaking off as the vehicle spiralled out of control. Black smoke poured from its body and, before it could even meet the ground, the whole thing bloomed into another explosion. The entire cockpit burst, splitting into many metal pieces, with the larger pieces coming in towards them.

Something falling onto his arm woke him from the awe. Mirage. His heart flared and rammed against his chest as he fumbled for the hilt and shakily brought the weapon in front of them. Squeezing his eyes shut, he triggered the inner mechanisms of the weapon, and it expelled its aura out and around them, encasing them in a giant dome. The remains of the helicopter bounced against the surface, causing a slight tremor as well as large ripples to form from the point of contact like a stone thrown into the pond. Sly felt the impact generate a small force against his already bruised arm, and he collapsed next to Lexia. Still the shield lingered, the tiny flaming scraps dancing against the surface and sliding off.

The ruins fell into silence. Except for the crackling fires of the burning wreck next to them. Then the yelling of soldiers behind the pillars. Sly slowly turned his head as his shield dissolved away. Lexia was holding Nithya in an embrace, her eyes closed but very relaxed. She was not moving, but Sly could tell she was still breathing. On the other side, he thought he saw a few flies coming in from the sun. But as it got bigger and closer, he could hear the whipping of their propellers. His white sentry locked on them and vainly shot its load of marbles. The knives which they opened into bounced across the surface. If anything, Sly would need Spade to penetrate it, but he was exhausted from all the pieces he could spare.

Then, something glowed behind him. Sly rolled carefully onto his belly, staring back at the totem. It had grown rather large, and the glow of numerous colours indicated it was ready. As the glow grew stronger, his vision started to blur and fade. When he came to, the totem started to open up on all sides of the structure. Rather quickly its body started to stretch and elongate, the gears and other pieces shifting about to give it form. It had a pink, white and blue body of what looked like a snake, except large and powerful legs took shape, the metallic talons slamming against the ground and sending just everywhere. Two front legs also doubled as arms, and large white, red and gold wings formed on each of the four limbs, the 'membranes' or 'feathers' becoming translucent as Sly followed them to the ends. Its neck and head finally took shape. A wolf's head situated on a lengthened neck, but with a reptile's snout replacing its mouth. Two pairs of blue and silver wolf-like ears formed at the back of its head, and it rather sleepily opened its blue eyes, the two glowing as it was now fully summoned. Overall, it was a spirit of an oriental dragon, but with a wolf-like head and had two pairs of wings, standing over 4 times the height of humans.

Oak Hollow soldiers yelled to one another, and opened fire at the beast. The bullets did little, bouncing off its glistening surface as the final details of its body refined and finished. The beast looked down rather casually at the soldiers and, pulling back a little, released a powerful screech, its ears standing out to make it more menacing.

It is done, come on, Sly said to Nithya, shuffling closer to them and grabbing Lexia's arm over his shoulder. The beast turned and moved its snout curiously at Sly and the group. After a brief moment of studying them, it lowered both its front claws and gently made a cup underneath them. Like a motherly embrace, it carried the group up and seemingly press them against its chest, which opened up. The gears and pivots parted, opening a compartment of some sort, where the beast safely deposited them inside before its chest closed over to protect them. Inside, Sly could see the numerous glowing gears at work, all functioning to fulfil some specific purpose for the beast.

Not even the helicopter's missiles could dent to the great beast, as it spread its magnificent wings, illuminating the grave and broken courtyard in a brilliant light. It only took a few beats of its wings before its claws started to leave the ground, completely oblivious to the swarming huge number of soldiers trying to send a bullet into its core.

After gaining enough ground, the beast pushed and soared through a line of helicopters. The vehicles were no match and were easily knocked aside, spinning off and crashing into some parts of the ruins. Sly watched where the beast was headed from the chest as he tore off the better portion of his shirt and used it to stop her back from bleeding out any further. A storm of bullets continued to chime across the back of the beast to no avail, and a few missiles suffered a clean miss as they suddenly appeared in front of the beast, hitting nothing but trees or the plains. A bit of manoeuvring and they escaped the ruins. The soldiers appearing no more than ants around a nest before they disappeared behind a standing tower of the ruins, and gunfire quickly ceased.

We did it Lex, Sly said weakly, trying to shake himself off from falling unconscious. The beast could act independently of Sly's control, but still he needed to know when they were close enough to Xastristan before having to dissipate the spirit. Let me take you to Xastristan to get you patched up.

Nithya would whine, slowly pushing himself to his feet as Sly called for them. The great dragon overhead would protect them from the reigning bullets, and Nithya tried his best to help Sly move Lexia and himself closer to the giant construct. His legs almost dragged behind him as he was completely devoid of all energy he previously had. The guardian was exhausted, struggling not to just collapse into a giant ball of fluff and feathers to sleep. His mattered and mangled hide didn't help, the blood dried together. Only the parts mixed with his own black blood were darker, an indicator that he had been struck. But he still wasn't as injured as either Lexia or Sly. Not by a long shot.

As they came closer to the draconic structure, Nithya would gently nudge the unconscious Lexia to try and wake her. How he wished that she could see! It was beautiful! The gears whirred and ground as it moved, making noises that tinkered and softly touched together. It was a graceful creation, which slowly bent over. The geared arms and paws were outstretched towards the trio, and it scooped them up in its hands. It's chest opened up and its hand would deposit the three of them in its chamber inside. As the timepiece would stray further from the ruins, the sentry would disassemble and flow back to the pocket watch.

He would sit silently for a few moments, before moving closer to Lexia and Sly, flicking its feathered tail around to lay across the both of them. He laid behind them to act as an extra source of body heat before he got to work licking and cleaning away the blood stuck to his hide. He started with his paws first. Nithya would shiver a little when the bullets and missiles bounded harmlessly off the dragons hull, deflecting and protecting them from what was trying to happen. Bullets rebounded off the hull as well, nothing able to penetrate the dragon so easily. Nithya felt a little sick when the dragon decided to fly, breaking through the lines of helicopters with ease.

Nithya heard Sly speaking gently to Lexia, and he would gently nuzzle Sly to help him stay awake. His words were that of reassurance, something which Nithya wouldn't be able to understand. Nor did he understand the name of the place Sly declared they would go. But for now, the three of them were safe. To Nithya, that was all that mattered.

---

They would arrive at Xastristran in the early hours of the morning, to which Sly took her straight to the hospitals. There, they patched Lexia up as best they could and treated him for his injuries, providing Sly with a pair of crutches to aid him in walking. They would heal Lexia's back as best they could, but still an angry inflamed crater would remain on her back, to which only time would heal. They gave Sly and Lexia a few bottles of pills to aid with their recovery, and to ensure that Lexia's wound would heal and be completely scarless.

But that would take time.

Nithya wasn't incredibly wounded, just several cuts and gashes across his hide. They didn't need any medical attention. When Lexia was stable enough to move, Nithya had noted that she seemed... Odd. More distant. Like something was on her mind. But it was to be expected that something like that would happen due to the conflict they just endured. In an attempt to lay low, Lexia would suggest a backwater hotel for them to stay at, and until they were discovered and had to leave, that was where they would stay.

Oak Hollow, however, wasn't so impressed with them. They filed a report, stating a significant bounty for their heads. However, no matter how hard they looked, they could only find an old picture of Sly, and absolutely no record of Lexia. For her, they would use a black silhouette for when they needed to put their image on the media. When they did, it would release the bounty hunters who were in need of a bit of cheap money. Blood money.

The media also obtained a bias view of the report of the ruins, reporting the two as dangerous, armed, and blamed them for destroying the future tourist site. They would label and shout out that they were criminals, completely destroying their names. Soon, news of their actions would spread. They would spread through papers of low-income towns, go on the news in other cities. Including the hotel that Lexia and Sly would stay at.