video; un: felix & raddude5000

[heroooic]

[As the battle rages on outside the South Naelor fortress, two network messages will reach all fellow Orbers through their headsets. They come through only several minutes apart.]

___________

video; un: felix

[The POV recording is transmitted through to the network without context save Felix's associated username; dumping viewers immediately into the sight of a beaming Jun Shortaxe. He's standing in a stone-walled room, clapping with arrogant glee as he steps closer into the room.]

--you're wrong about the deal. The king's deal was done the moment the heirloom was taken away from the palace... it told me that itself. [He is facing Felix as he speaks, only turning to address a second unseen person as an afterthought.] Hi, Finn. Made it here like a real hero, I'm proud of you.

[Finn's shattered reply is heard instead of seen, Felix's POV fixed solely on Jun with unerring focus. He is capturing everything; every subtle twitch of his body language, every laughing shrug of his shoulders. It's only when Finn's confusion turns to anger that he comes into frame, stepping between Felix and Jun with sword outstretched in one hand and glowing orb in the other. With a quick toss, the orb is sailing through the air towards Felix. When he snatches it out of the air, viewers are granted a brief but detailed look at the orb itself. Veteran Orbers will recognize the power emanating from it immediately. This was their target.]

Your little act was always a bit too much, just so you know. [Felix drawls, offering his own amused assessment of Jun's betrayal just before pocketing the orb out of frame.] See ya.

[Those watching closely will notice the shadow Felix cast suddenly disappear, indicating that an invisibility spell was Felix's final gambit to leave successfully with the orb. Unfortunately, the ploy is shortlived. Just as Felix's point of view shifts towards the nearest window, Jun's deeply disinterested voice issues a simple command: Do it. Immediately, what could only be described as intense pain pollutes the mental recording with distortion. The crackle of electricity and Finn's scream can be dimly heard through the limited visibility and roaring static.

When the video feed resumes again, Felix is clearly on the ground. Waves of pained distortion still radiate through him, picture flickering as he begins to lose consciousness. From his new position on the floor, only Finn and Jun's legs can be seen. The latter slowly moves towards him as the former seems to freeze, dropping his sword in horror.]

He has about an hour. Being hit by that spell is not a joke... I should know. It was worth it, though. [The voice is unmistakably Jun's, hammered home as he kneels down into frame and reaches out towards Felix and retrieves the orb, which now glows even more brightly in the presence of its partner. He stands, back now to Felix, facing Finn fully. The picture is practically strobing now, capturing only a few frames of every second as it gives into blackness]

I'm sorry, I really did want to help Degar. [The regret in his voice even sounds genuine.] But the heirloom isn't something I can give him. He'd understand. All I'm doing is fulfilling the promise we made as kids--

[If there was any words or violence exchanged between the two of them, it's lost to the sudden grip of Felix's unconsciousness. The feed cuts completely.]

(( ooc: for full context of what Felix's recording captures, please read the npc thread HERE ))

___________

[To those on the battlefield, it will only be roughly eight minutes after Felix's video appears that an earthshaking noise and blinding light erupt from the South Naelor fortress. Rubble rains down from the keep's tower, shattered by the a set of imposing red wings. A red dragon with a single teal scale centered on his chest perches on the half destroyed tower, its origin as inexplicable as it was sudden.

The dragon lingers for a moment, staring at something in the wreckage, before taking wing towards the battlefield.]

[A few stunned moments later, another video appears on the network:]

___________

video; un: raddude5000

[The view is unclear, rubble obscured by dust and smoke and a distant din of battle. Finn’s voice however, is recognizable, and as the video shifts to where he is kneeling, so is the sight of Felix, who was lying motionless, plainly injured and bleeding. The placement and number of his wounds aren't clear, only their severity is obvious. The external distortion caused by Jun's spell is almost as nightmarish as the mental distortion Orbers experienced secondhand.]

We need help in the fortress-- Felix is hurt, bad and I... don’t know what to do. He needs a healer or a doctor, now. Like, ‘ten minutes ago’ now.

[Finn couldn't know how accurate Jun’s 'hour' claim was, or how much leeway there was in either direction. Felix had scarcely moved since going down, and if he was conscious it was only barely. His death felt all too real a possibility. Panic clouds Finn's voice in the face of it, speaking quickly.

He turns the camera back to himself, in part to spare Felix the voyeuristic exposure of capturing what could very well be his final moments on camera. Finn, dusty but uninjured, looks exhausted. The darker blood of the dremnin on the front of his armor and the brighter, fresher blood on his hand from touching Felix were visible as he pushes away a loose lock of hair. Sabriel’s careful braid saved him from complete dishevelment, but only just. He doesn’t quite look in the direction of the video, shoulders held up tensely as he speaks.]

Jun has the orb. He... I mean I think the orb is part of him now. It did something to him, turned him into a... [Finn pauses, searching for a word to describe the beast. There were no creatures like it from his world, where dragons were something else entirely.] I dunno, a dinosaur or something, and he’s heading your way now. You need to--

[His voice stops short, cut off in his throat by some kind of impossible emotion. A desperate part of him still wanted to implore some kind of leniency from them, some kind of mercy or understanding... but he holds it back. What mattered right now was everyone’s safety. If there was anything left to save of Jun Shortaxe, he couldn’t prioritize it right now. Not over everyone else.]

You need to stop him.

Comments

action; open to those coming to the tower to help

[heroooic]

[After sending the message, Finn sinks down by Felix's side in a daze. The dragon had covered ground so quickly now, its intentions as murky as Jun's had been. Finn swallows before reorienting his focus back on Felix.]

Please don't die. [He begs, allowing himself a moment of vulnerability he knew Felix would hate. Were it not for the Felix's questionable consciousness, Finn wouldn't dare.] Please.
___________

[The first set of approaching healers who scale the rubble will find the pair in this position when they arrive. Latecomers will find only a livid Felix and a coterie of rescuers.]

action; for finn (open to threadjacks)

[swordandshield]

[There was a thirty second delay wherein Finn had all the time in the world to worry about whether Felix had finally succumbed to death's sweet embrace.]

Ow.

[A piece of stone fell gently to the floor as Felix shifted a leg just enough to cause the rubble to move. The tiny sound of pain had been uttered through barely moved lips but it was unmistakably from Felix as he lay there. His eyes fluttered briefly but didn't open fully. And his breathing became more obvious again as he choked on the debris, coughing sporadically until a bit of blood and dust oozed from his mouth, then settled back to a slow rhythm.]

Just five more minutes, Locs, I swear...

action;

[homeostatic]

( it takes time he and Marta don't have to evade the teeth of the Dremnin and climb safely over the uneven terrain of rubble, but they make it together as quick as they can.

in the low light, the slow spreading pool of Felix's blood looks like ink, wide enough to make McCoy pull in a sharp breath. they've had close calls in the past – his own hasn't been far from his thoughts here, a year later – yet this is certainly one of their worst. )

Finn. Scooch up a bit, let him see you better, ( enough to make room for both healers, because like fuck is he gonna push the poor kid away right now. )

action;

[naloxone]

[ it takes both healers seconds to assess the situation, and marta a second longer to push the quiet curse out from under her breath. as mccoy addresses finn, she moves forward to sink down to her knees on one side of felix, already holding out her hands to begin the hasty prayer for healing she'd taken on as a cleric. borrowed magic glows from her palms, warm like an embrace, but it's her experience that guides it. focus on the organs, the major arteries— if they can stabilize him first, then they can worry about repair. ]

video, un: Ambus

[legalcy]

[Minimus looks up at the mythical, powerful creature. One whose appearance he has seen before in legends and in the eggs he helped to hatch. Even with only the context of Felix's video, he has a strong feeling that Jun is responsible for that dragon joining the fight. If Jun wished for glory, why wouldn't it give him a beast to battle?]

A dinosaur?! What kind? Are you safe?! [So now there's a dinosaur with Finn and Felix and a dragon outside?]

Video;

[heroooic]

I don’t know what kind, man! It just flew away! [ Finn snaps the response, the high stakes stress of the situation getting to him. He shakes his head, recentering with a deep breath.] We’re safe, I think. There’s no one else in the fortress now.

[It felt like a stretch to call Felix’s situation safe, but that clearly wasn’t the point of the question. Minimus certainly hadn’t missed the urgency.]

Video;

[legalcy]

[Minimus looks up. The dragon's still here, as menacing as ever. He directs his video feed up to the beast.]

You refer to the dragon?

[He starts running towards its location, the image shaking with each step.] I'm on my way to him. Keep watch over Felix and direct the medics to your location. Understood?

[It's the war again. Minimus is doling out commands to the Autobots under his command, keeping a calm face, because if the symbol of justice panics, all else fails.]

What intel do you have on Jun's new form?

Video;

[heroooic]

Dragon? [ Is that what it was? He tried to think back on all the times he’d spent idly flipping through his copy of the local bestiary, killing time; but whatever it had said on dragons, he couldn’t recall, and overall it had been scant on illustrations. ] Yeah, I guess so.

[He glances at Felix, nodding at Minimus’ instructions as he listens. The calm clarity of his words were something of a relief. At least someone knew what to do.]

Intel? [He wracks his brain, trying to sift through the shock and emotion of everything that had happened for information.] There’s…there’s not much. The orb was talking to him I think, but only he could hear whatever it was saying. His bargain with it, I guess.

[Finn swallows, thinking back. It had felt like, for a moment there, maybe he was getting through to Jun. Was that helpful? Was it even real? Had it merely been wishful thinking, projecting what he wanted to happen onto someone who was lost long before they’d ever even gotten here?]

I don’t know if this is what he wanted, Minimus. Right before it happened…before the orb turned him into that dragon…Jun said “wait”. But I think it was too late…

not here…

[lest]

〈 …though not terribly far, either—being as they are in the forests of gha’har—helen turns toward her companion, one nie huaisang, and queries, 〉 What is a dinosaur?

video; un: redgrave

[shishkabob]

[Vergil all fucking over again, right down to the goddamn transformation. He fucking knew it. But Dante keeps that to himself as he calls back, the video shaky because he’s just come out of combat and looks it, armor scuffed and face bruised.]

We’re on it, kid, swear it. I’m—sorry.

[That this happened. That he trusted someone and then they turned around and repaid him like this. That he had to learn the hard way. Finn doesn’t deserve this, Dante knows that too well.

But I’m sorry has never solved any problems in Dante’s life. That’s what his sword’s for. So he gets down to business right away:]

What kinda dinosaur are we talking about here? Might be a demon, might be something else.

Video;

[heroooic]

[Finn’s whole chest felt hollowed out, a strange fatigue starting to set in now that the most immediate danger was out of sight and he was stuck doing his least favorite thing; waiting. Dante’s words don’t solve much of anything right now…but they don’t hurt either. Finn nods quietly in answer.]

Looked kinda like a big red lizard, with uh, bat wings? [ Not a very specific description, but how could they miss it? It seems like that might be all he is going to say, before continuing in the last moment:]

You guys have to make it worth it. Don’t let anyone else get hurt…

[shishkabob]

Yeah, that’s a dragon, not a dinosaur. Saw one just now—so that’s what Shortaxe turned into, huh? [Dante scrubs a hand over his face, and should Finn listen closely, he’ll catch him mumbling just like Vergil.]

We won’t. Only people getting hurt will be us—nobody else is gonna get caught up in this.

[He falls silent for another moment. Then:] What about you? You’re safe for now, right?

[heroooic]

[There's a brief huff of frustrated air as Finn reacts to the correction, too antsy and stressed by the evolving situation to care. He may have even snapped something to that effect, if Dante's mumbled name didn't capture his attention.

He'd heard that name from Dante before. Suddenly, the memory of their bet winds itself around his gut, squeezing tight. It wasn't how Finn would've chosen it to happen, but he can't help feeling like he understood Dante better now than those few days ago.]

I'm fine. [He answers his question stiffly, quickly moving onto the thing that concerns him most:] And I don't want any more of us to get hurt, either.

[Maybe a petty thing to wish for in the face of how many were already hurt already, but Finn can't quite help expressing it.]

Jun--the dragon, it has a blue scale. I think it's the orb.

[bindsthedead]

Finn! Finn, are you all right? There's a- a dragon just appeared out of nowhere.

[How are they going to fight a dragon? The monsters they're already facing are bad enough, and Sabriel doesn't remember any discussion of special weaknesses for dragons in the bestiary.]

Jun- The orb... merged with him?

[And Sabriel's reminded, for an agonized moment, of So-yeon, and how the orb hollowed her out from the inside.]

[heroooic]

[Now fully informed of the dinosaur-dragon disconnect, Finn comprehends her meaning immediately. At least Sabriel was alright. For now, anyway. Augh, that was a thought-addendum Finn really didn't appreciate his brain for having.]

I'm fine! I'm totally fine. [As far as Finn was concerned, that was the absolute truth.] And yeah--you can even see it, Sabz. This teal scale in the middle of all the red ones. That's the orb, I know it is.

[bindsthedead]

Right.

[Sabriel's still frightened- the dragon is huge and she's not sure how much of Jun's mind is still in there- possibly not much. But there's no use panicking, they just have to deal with the situation.

But she remembers the post discussing one of Ellia's spells. One that would undo any magical effect- and turning a man into a dragon certainly sounds like magic to her.]

Ellia made a spell- one that cancels any magical effect. She shared it with Joe. And a magic user was able to partially seal an orb before- it might work on Jun!

[heroooic]

[This was Finn’s first time hearing about the spell, and he feels his heart beat a little faster as she describes it, a remote but very real glimmer of hope in what felt like a very hopeless situation. It could be what they needed to get out of this.]

Is that something you or someone in our group can use, right now?

voice. | un: stardust

[shadysided]

That fucking asshole!

[Ziggy wishes she could jab her short sword under the stupid oversized lizard's fingernail — before shocking the unholy hell out of him. But for now, the tiefling will have to try to make do with what she can in the middle of trying not to get killed outside of where the dragon flies.

She seems to be talking to someone outside of Finn, forgetting she'd opened this line specifically to reach out to him and make sure he was okay (she'll get around to it, but-):]

I should've known he was too good to be true! Prick!

[The whole dazzling knight act, leading them across the lands, and for what?!]

[heroooic]

[Her crescendo on the word asshole -- a word he now associated almost exclusively with Ziggy -- makes Finn wince. Ow. Who knew your brain-ears could ring?]

The orb's making him go nuts, Z. [Well, not totally. Finn could understand her anger; he was angry too. Though seeing the man as a child, playing with that wooden sword and dreaming of a heroic future, managed to complicate those emotions.] He just--I don't even know where it stops and he starts. I don't know if he knows, anymore.

[Not that it matters now.]

Look--Ziggy, he's coming right for you guys, you gotta get safe somewhere ASAP!

[shadysided]

It doesn't matter where it stops and starts, Finn! He's a terrible person now. Why do you think it was so hard for us to get here? All those weird obstacles, the poison monsters, the hallucinations... He wanted as many of us to die before we got here as possible.

He just didn't realize we're tougher than we look.

And I'm not going to run off and hide. We've got to fight back.

[heroooic]

[The assertions felt unsettlingly accurate, sending Finn's mind reeling a moment. Even after everything Jun said, the idea that all of this had been some sort of... plan, to wipe out Degar's new crew -- Jun's largest threat to the orb? The pieces didn't click into place until just now.

Would he even have known about their mission's goal if Finn could have kept his big mouth shut?

He feels his balance wobble and steadies himself against the rubble he was climbing down, Jun's sword still clutched in his grip.]

Okay, okay! I hear you! [Fresh anger covers over Finn's anxiety. Ziggy wasn't the only one who could yell.] At least tell me where you are!

text; un: felix

[swordandshield]

Yeah. He is. Called it. Old news.

Could you do me a favor and keep it down? Everything hurts and the battle's loud enough out there...

[shadysided]

Says the guy who is covering my vision with text while I'm trying to stab a monster in the face!

[But it seems even Ziggy has enough sympathy for rumored Local Asshole to relent:]

You're not going to croak on us, are you?

[swordandshield]

Hey, it's not my fault your settings are shit.

[Felix, this isn't your set of armor with it's personalized HUD on the screen...]

And the doctors told me not to talk. :(

I dunno. Hope not. But apparently magical healing isn't as absolute as it is in the movies. This is slower than I'd like... and more painful.

[He misses the days when he got shot and two hours later he was walking just fine. Why is this world so cruel to him? Because he deserves it.]

not here.

[dragonmount]

[ rand al'thor sees a full-grown dragon for the first time.

it is enormous. it is terrible. the sheer noise of it, as it collapses the tower, is nearly enough to jolt him out of his skin. seeing finn's message on the network is as much relief as fear; that he lives and is well enough to follow up on the earlier message, that his face is grim and his news grimmer.

rand listens to the harried conversations, puts together a picture of what happened to jun shortaxe, remembers asking alina not so long ago if she didn't know any stories about dragons who weren't destroyers. he thinks of men who touched power too great for them and wrought suffering in their wakes.

he listens, and he says nothing. ]