[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Nexus || Tony

The golden hue of the thread glinted between the vicious claws that held it, and for a moment Nexus' trained eyes were mesmerised despite himself. The only sound that echoed was the eerie chanting of the cultists, somehow watered down by the acoustics of the chamber to sound far away, and Nexus assumed the domed shape of the room was to focus all energies - including those sound-based - into the channel at the dome's apex.

Tony's steady, quiet breathing was all he could sense of him, and he glanced at him to see Tony's eyes scanning the room, looking for a way through that wouldn't take them into the ring.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Nexus scanned the walls himself; on the one hand, he would probably have no problem scaling the walls around the chamber, his gecko-like ability to climb being the core of his initial success as a master criminal. On the other, he did not know if touching the walls themselves would break the cultists' concentration, or draw their attention, or disrupt the ritual in some way - considering his earlier theories of the dome's shape and usage, it may very well be that a foreign object present further into the room in any capacity would cause a disruption. He glanced over to his right-hand man again, noticing the expression on his face as he sniffed the surrounding air.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"It seems to be getting danker in here, boss." An almost-silent murmur, yet for a moment Nexus was tense, waiting to see if it would disrupt the ritual in front of them. He eased slightly as the cultists continued undisturbed, but kept his guard up for any sudden attention.

He sniffed the air, confirming Tony's statement; it seemed as even the air around them was being drawn into the centre of the room, pulling the stench of the sewers in around it.

Tony's skills were invaluable, and Nexus frowned as he realised he would need to leave Tony behind if he scaled the walls as he had been planning - Tony was the muscle of the organisation, and although he had brains and resourcefullness he did not have Nexus' dexterity or abilities.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Nexus scowled, and jerked his head at Tony, beckoning him to follow. Whatever it was that was being drawn in from the sewers, he didn't like the look of it, and his self-preservation instincts were telling him that that thread, no matter how shiny, was not worth whatever they were doing to it.

"Boss" Tony's voice was almost silent, barely more than a whisper, yet Nexus felt it echo through him as if he had shouted. He glanced over, tearing his eyes away from the cultists in the room, but the glow of the runes left imprints in his vision and he blinked to try to erase them.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Tony wasn't looking at him, or at the runes - he was studying the vents in the ceiling, and the pattern of light shafts they let into the room.

"Light's shifting" he murmured, knowing Nexus would hear him, even though the breath barely left his lungs. "Patches of darkness, 'specially round the walls. Could sneak by, maybe, if we time it right. If I time it right."

Nexus squinted to look up at the ceiling; if Tony could make his way around the edge unseen, that would free him to scuttle around the roof - assuming nobody looked up, at least. He wondered idly how long this ritual would take; the thread itself didn't seem to be getting any shorter.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

As he watched, the shafts of light seemed to dim, as if a cloud were passing overhead, and the runes glowed more brightly though the light didn't quite reach the edges of the room, instead causing the thread to shine as it was woven.

"Go" murmured Nexus, scaling the wall, and Tony slithered forward into darkness as the light patches vanished altogether. Nexus could feel his heart beating like it did on a poker night, and he forced himself to be calm, lest he draw attention to himself.

He glanced at the shine coming from the cultists' claws as he skittered around the upper third of the wall, just before the dome began to curve more strongly.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Nexus was no stranger to a fight - there were scars hidden under his fur that were almost as old as he was - but he knew when odds were so out of his favour it wasn't worth the risk, and right now he worked to avoid dislodging so much as a pebble.

Even Tony wouldn't be able to take them on alone, and though they were both armed, he wasn't sure what use their supplies would be in a fight if magic was involved.

Soon, however, the light shafts began to show again, and he paused wreathed in shadow where none of them could reach, catching sight of Tony huddled into another pool of darkness as he waited for another chance to move.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

[Prompt 2 starts here]

Nexus glanced at Tony as the huge rock rolled towards them, and cursed loudly as he noticed the tilt of the stubborn man's jaw. There was nowhere for him to run - the rock took up almost the whole of the tunnel, save for a small space on the roof, and Tony wouldn't be able to reach there.

Nexus grabbed his shoulder roughly. "Grab on as if we were grappling" he yelled, turning away so his back was towards Tony and gritting his teeth as he noticed the slight raising of Tony's eyebrows. He hated being touched, even by those he considered - if not close, at least as close as anyone was allowed to get to him, and Tony was the closest of them all.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The rumble echoed through the cavern as the rock rolled closer towards them, and Nexus bared his teeth at the man beside him.

Tony was torn - he was known for being fearless, and his stubborn nature made him want to try to stand his ground, but it wasn't as if his opponenent would even understand - and the rock would crush him without mercy if it reached him.

More than that, however, he was loyal, and he knew how much his boss hated to be touched - but above all, he was obedient, and he nodded as he stepped closer to Nexus and wrapped his beefy arms around his tall frame.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Nexus scowled as he grabbed onto the wall and felt Tony's legs wrap around him for better grip, but he shimmied up the wall as fast as he could, as the rock rolled ever closer to them. His fur stood on end, but he'd be damned if he left Tony behind - he was loathe to admit it, but he depended on the man a great deal and refused to let either his stubborn nature or a large boulder remove that resource from him.

The sweat dripped down his face, and his arms and legs trembled from exertion; Tony was heavy, and he wasn't used to dragging so much weight with him while climbing.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"Don't you dare let go" he snarled through gritted teeth, as he felt Tony begin to loosen his grip.

Tony frowned but complied, tightening his arms again around his boss. He was well aware Nexus was going through a lot of pain and effort to save him, and only his unwavering obedience to his boss prevented him from releasing his grip to relieve him of the strain of carrying him, despite the certain death that would befall him if he did so.

Nexus gripped the wall harder, and shook his head; they were still too low for the boulder to pass them by, and it was almost upon them, the rumbling echoing in his ears.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He finally reached the roof, and flattened himself as much as he could - with Tony behind him, it would be a tight fit for the rock to pass under them, and he forced himself to ignore the intruding images of Tony being pulled off of him, or even taking him down with him, to be crushed by the rock below.

"Boss-" Tony began, mindful that his mouth was right beside Nexus' sensitive ears.

"Shut up and lie flat" Nexus snarled, turning his head to look at Tony over his shoulder. "This boulder will not be the death of us."

Tony shuffled a little, and flattened himself out as much as he could, tucking himself around Nexus like a blanket.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

He tried to keep the grunt to himself as the boulder scraped his back, but Nexus' keen hearing was too strong, and they were too close together for him to miss it. They both breathed a sigh of relief however, as the boulder rolled on, the rumbles getting quieter and an almighty crash echoing down the tunnel to signal it had met the entrance at last.

"Looks like we need to find a new way out" Nexus muttered, beginning his slow climb down the wall. The adrenaline was wearing off, and the burning of his arms and legs had slowed his movements a lot - he would need to rest before they moved on.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

When they reached the ground, Tony released his hold and stepped back, feeling a little awkward yet grateful for his Boss' actions.

"Turn" barked Nexus, leaning against the wall to relieve his shaking legs. Tony complied and he inspected the damage; his shirt was a write-off, but the skin seemed to only be grazed beneath it and he had lost some fur.

"Boss-" Tony began again, but Nexus wasn't in the mood for heartfelt emotions.

"If what you're going to say has anything to do with what happened, keep your mouth shut and go ask our little friends over there what lies ahead of us."

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Tony's mouth clicked shut and his jaw tightened, but he nodded his obedience and made his way over to the two trembling Hydrolisks who seemed to have been too frightened to run. It was a poor choice on their part.

He smiled, but it was a cold smile, and it caused his nose to wrinkle whilst showing far too many teeth for what a smile should do. He grasped both of them on the shoulder, and pulled them in close to face him, with his back turned towards Nexus.

"You two and me are going to have a little chat" he murmured, loud enough that they would hear him but low enough that his voice came out as a low, rumbling growl."

Nexus smirked; those two little fools had no idea what they were up against.