[endermage]

"This is Justice and Glory, I'm Valor. May I ask where we are currently?" asked Valor politely. Justice coiled back intangibly, circling around the entire group. She would not be able to fight well in this tight space but she hoped that her body wrapped around the group would have an intimidation effect. Glory was less than pleased that the "enemy" was just a pair of Batties. He sighed, shrinking his flame to a smaller size.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She loved being lucky. It was not yet time.

[237] [207] [2]

[Freezair]

"...Jimmy," I said slowly. My mouth tasted heavily metallic.

"Krii."

"Skycutter, if you please."

"And my name's Avani," Avani added. For a moment, she almost sounded fully lucid.

"...Right. You're not on the Criminals List." From somewhere, the blue Batti had produced a notepad, and flipped through it.

"What you 'ere for, then?" the purple Batti asked. She jabbed at us with her spear, though kept its pointed tip well away from our soft, fleshy parts.

"Now, now, Carlita, first things first! Name's Pete," the blue Batti said. He bowed slightly towards us. "Nice to meet you, I think."

"Well, now you told 'em my name; there ain't nothin' left for me to say, now is there?"

"Aww, be quiet," Pete said.

[endermage]

"Ummm...our friend Avani was....called by something down here..." said Justice, her coils and spheres radiating her restrained power and worry. "We don't mean to be a bother."

"Hold up," said Glory,"I'm still not exactly sure where we are. What is this place....."

Valor held his tongue, it was going to get complicated if they couldn't explain why they were here and...if held off too long, Avani might get antsy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She quickly memorized the faces of the group. Her eyes fixed on Krii, Jimmy, and Avani. She didn't know them...but something about them, their auras, was powerful and familiar. The others were difficult to read with aura-sight. They seemed to nothing BUT aura. It was like looking into a sun.

[238] [208] [3]

[Freezair]

"Somethin' down here called her, you say?" Pete tilted his head, swinging his great blue ears around. "That sounds serious. Do we know anyone who sent out a call of some kind, Carlita?"

"Kent say I do," Carlita said. "Though you're always gettin' yer nose into things I don't know about. But if you don't know, I don't know."

"Ahh! But where you are? That I do know," Pete said. "You're--"

"Now wait jus' a second! If they don't know, ought we be tellin' 'em?"

I watched the two Batties feud back and forth. With their giant, expressive ears and flaring wings, it was quite mesmerizing. Krii watched them with vexation, however. He cleared his throat quite strongly. The two Batties looked at him guiltily.

"Well, if our friend was called here... don't you think she maybe has some business here?"

"Ahh!" Sky seemed pleased (much to her surprise) by his quick cleverness. "Yes, he's right." The two guards exchanged interesting looks. In her distant world, Avani smiled, too. Even like this, she knew Krii being Krii for anything.

"Err, well... these are the caves of the Sound," Pete said. "And we're guards. But... I suppose you're not here to do harm, are you? 'Specially not if you're followin' this gal."

[endermage]

"Caves of Sound..." Valor said to himself, feeling like he had heard it before, in a nursery rhyme or some such nonsense, but he couldn't put his figure on it.

"What are you guarding against?" said Glory, his ineptitude for subtly radiating from every word.

Justice, tried to shush him, but it was too late. She sighed and asked, "What are the Caves of Sound?"
---------------------------------------------------
She watched carefully, her eyes fixated on the scene. As soon as they were gone, and the group was alone again, she would reveal herself. She didn't want to get caught by either side yet, she had to remain a neutral specter till the charade was revealed.
[239] [209] [4]

[Freezair]

"Well, it's the Caves where we live, right? I guess you could say it's... bit like a kingdom," Pete said. "All underground. Erm... follow me, please."

"What?" I stared down at him. "I thought you said we were OK!" Krii had the same perturbed expression.

"Prob'ly," Carlita shrugged. "But we need to run it by the Big Guards first," she said. "An' they're this-a-way. Mind the roof in this'ere cleft; it's kinda low." She ducked back through the thin fissure she'd emerged from. Avani complied wordlessly.

"This smells fishy," Krii remarked.

"I concur," Sky said. "But, you know... Even like this, I generally trust Avani's judgement. I think if those two meant to harm us, they would have. And not only are there more of us, we've fought in the war--we could probably take the two of them easily. I think it's worth following them, if only for a little ways."

And if Sky trusted Avani's judgement, I trusted Sky. I followed.

[endermage]

Valor followed calmly, pushing his hair out of his face. It was a subtle signal, but Justice and Glory had been with Valor for so long it was received loud and clear. It was a call for silence, patience, and preparation. Something strange was happening in these "Caves of Sound" and his perception was high. He could feel someone...but he felt that telling the others might be dangerous for them all. He kept his cool, but his left hand still wished he had a crystal weapon in it. Glory and Justice followed silently, the Incarnations seemed as ethereal as a fog.

-----------------------------------------------
She smiled. "Sensed me huh..." she thought to herself. "No matter, I will reveal myself soon....once those Sound Brats are gone."

[240] [210] [5]

[Freezair]

The two Battis lead us along the narrow passageway. Well, I say "Narrow," but really, it was large enough for the likes of Sky and Glory to make it through. But it was a tight fit for the both of them, and with them crowding around us, I felt tight. Krii was probably the smallest one there, and he skittered about beneath many of our feet, looking for a space with air to breathe.

The Battis slid out into another chamber. The light from the torches was not strong enough to pierce the high ceiling here. It was like night dwelled above us. The flickering shadows off the lights illuminated a pair of great figures against the wall. I craned my head back, and went "Woah."

Two immense Garagnir loomed out of the very rock itself here. They protruded from the walls of the cave into the open cavern we milled about it. I felt fresher-feeling air from behind me, and decided we were in a tunnel. But even that looked too puny for the pair of Garagnir ahead of us. Were they merely statues, carved here in the rock by steady hands over untold decades? Or were they alive?

I couldn't quite make out their eyes, but I felt them staring at us.

Avani, with her cavalier attitude as usual, looked up to the great Garagnir and smiled. "Hello," she said. "We mean you no harm, and none to your kingdom. I kindly entreat your passage. I think... I think we want to go to the old city." She flashed a Paragon smile.

Sky leaned over to the female Batti. "Err... are we supposed to talk to them?"

"Uhh... s'not normal, but you can if ya want," she shrugged back.

"Hey! Garagnir-dudes! Please let us in! We're innocent 'n' all that!" Krii pleaded.

[endermage]

Valor bowed his head silently, he looked behind him, his two comrades go the message and bowed their heads as well. Although Glory did so with heavy hesitance. Valor gave a glare and the Battleheart lowered his head immediately.  If there was anything Valor hated, it was judgement, eyes peering, investigating his intentions, his power, his body. He was polite to these guardians, but what they represented did not fade. He could feel those large, silent unmoving eyes attempting to pierce the enigma of his existence, like scientists.

[241] [211] [6]

[Freezair]

A deep rumble filled the cavern. Stone scraped against stone. Slowly, the two sentinels' wings seemed to move. Their heads craned down, staring at our traveling party. One of them, Tarnished in color and appearance, rumbled at us. "Yoooooouu maaaaay paaaaaaass."

Well, that was kind of creepy.

Avani reached up her nose to the tip of the Garagnir's foot, and tapped it kindly. "Thank you very much, good sir. We will go on with your blessing." She turned to us, slightly more vivid than before. "Thank you all as well, for coming with me. I know this seems strange to you all... But there is something in here for me. I know it."

"Uh, sure," Krii agreed. He looked toward the cleft between the two guardians. "Now what. Do... do we go in there, or something?"

"I think so," Sky said. She nodded to the Battis. "Thank you for taking us this far. We appreciate it."

The blue Batti spoke up. "If you want to go to the old city, you'll have to pass through our part of things first," he said. "But we're nice folks. Don't worry."

"How many of you are there down here, anyway?" I asked.

The purple Batti chuckled. "A darn lot more'n most people realize."

[endermage]

Valor came out of the passage blocked by the Garagnir and was shocked at what he found on the other side. The passage opened into a high ceiling-ed cavern which was, from wall to wall, filled with buildings of multiple sizes. It was an entire underground city, hidden from the world, under their very feet. The ceiling of the cavern was marked with crystals, and one massive crystal in the center. All of them glowed with an eerie light, that flooded the city. It wasn't exactly sunlight, but it was close. It was softer, lighter. Valor was reminded of what it felt like when it snowed at night. It felt strangely energized. The city seemed tense.

Glory was glad to be out of the small enclosure and transformed, his wings spreading wide, stretching. "Well, that's a pretty big city...." he said matter-of-factly. "What do you think they are doing down here?"

Justice coiled and spiraled in the air. "Maybe hiding?" she asked, "I think thats one of the few reasons people move underground...."
---------------------------------------------------------------
"They can already tell...." said the shadow. "These ones are not something trifling."

[242] [212] [7]

[Freezair]

"It ain't hidin' so much as it is wantin' to stay out of the hustle and bustle of everyone else's lives," Carlita said. "Or at least, that's how it started out. We wanted a little autonomy and a little peace from the world above. Maybe a little bit more than that, but we can't remember what anymore. But hidin'... yeah, I guess hidin' has happened."

"Why?" I asked.

Pete shook his head. "Well... we don't mean to trouble you nice people with stories like that. You just go off and do what you need to do, OK, folks?"

Avani spoke softly to herself. The tip of her nose rose towards the great light in the center, with her branches straining towards it as well. They drew themselves toward it as if it were the sun.

"...It's just like Lohe described it," she whispered.  

"Lohe?" Krii hopped to the ground beside her. "You mean Lohe Roheline? He's been here?"

"Yes!" For once, in her trance-like state, she glanced back at Krii. "Lohe brought back with him the... the feel of this place. I... I think I remember this place!"

"Well, we've been down in Craiss before, but you were just a baby then," I reminded her. "I don't think you'd remember that... and even so, we never came... well, here."

"No, not then. I remember this... from some other time. As if it were a dream. I feel... connected to this place. This city!" A smile briefly crossed her face. But then it faded.

"But... not this city. There is something about this place... it seems to be there, in my memory, but... it's like trying to fit the wrong piece of the puzzle into a spot." She blinked away the dream from her mind. "I still feel... drawn. I'm drawn... that way!"

And with that, Avani sprinted off down one of the streets, barreling directly through a street full of pets who all yelped as her tail lashed past.

"Oh, no!" Sky shouted. "After her!"

"Not again!" I sighed, and charged down the street. I stood out even more than Avani did--there were no other humans there, besides myself and Valor. And "human," when it came to Valor, was arguable. "After her!"

((Valor and company have my permission to do things to try and reign in Avani. Jus' lettin' you know.))

[endermage]

Glory sighed. "Let's get after the big crazy dragon."

Valor started barking orders to the Incarnations; he was deeply concerned about Avani's well being. He knew the risks of mental connections and that if severed improperly or if the connection became too intense, Avani's brain would be scrambled. "Glory! Get ahead of her! We can't lose her. Try to keep her from going into the places that seem densely populated. We don't want her hurting anyone." "Got it." said the Battle Heart, taking to the air, accelerating towards the ceiling of the cavern,  and then back to the ground attempting to get ahead of the Paragon.
"Justice! Use your spirits to control the crowd and keep them safe as she moves through the city! Create barriers, keep her from getting too far away. Don't engage directly, just protect civilians."

"What are you planning Valor?" said Justice as she started to float above him,"We don't want to see you get hurt either. I know you still can't summon any of the Crystal Arsenal. I saw you training the other day....something is wrong with your abilities."

"Well, I don't plan to use the Arsenal. But I'm gonna need Sky's and Jimmy's help. You guys okay with that? We need to catch Avani together." he said, curling his fingers in his hair.
---------------------------------------------------------------
She shook her fur, this little excursion was proving to be a perfect opportunity. She just needed to get Avani alone.

[243] [213] [8]

[Freezair]

"Saddle up, cowgirl!" Sky shouted. I didn't need urging. I loped my legs over her back, and she took to the air. We held over Valor and company. "Awaiting your orders!" Sky said. I just offered a salute. But I think my frown showed through. I heard them talking. Something was wrong with Valor's crystal weapons? Not that I expected he would need that kind of firepower to capture Avani, but it was still a worrying statement. If there was... something doing this to Avani, and we didn't have his strength backing us up... well, it could be trouble, was all I was thinking.

Krii rushed ahead of his old pal Justice. Where she could offer up barriers to keep people safe, he had a booming voice. He lead the charge, screaming to people: "OUT OF THE WAY! WE'VE GOTTA CATCH THAT LOONY PARAGON!" Sky and I fluttered after him, loosely, but as I did, I noticed a few things about the city. Valor and I were the only two humanoid-looking people in sight. Everyone down here was animal-formed, and a number of them looked at us with suspicion.

Some whispered their doubts, but others bellowed. "It's some kind of Fury disruption!" one yelled. And from another side, "That Paragon must be some kind of Fury spy!" The people edgily looked toward the sky, and a few of them traced Avani's flight. She flew past the immense artificial light, towards the darker edge of the cavern. The buildings over there looked less... charmingly rustic. Here, businesses flourished and homes grew. I didn't want to think about what was flourishing and growing over there.

"Waiting on your ideas, Valor!" I urged. I hoped he didn't think I was pressing him when he was... sick, or whatever causes an Incarnation to lose access to his Crystal Arsenal.

[endermage]

"Well, first things first, I need to be on Sky as well." Valor said very matter of factly, "I can't really...fly."

Glory was cornering Avani,trying to push her away from the tense civilian population.

Justice was floating high in the sky, her translucent barriers creating a cage to house the Paragon. It was like playing a giant board game, moving and shifting the walls to find the right configuration.

Valor looked at Jimmy, his eyes were full of worry, concern, but above all else was a feeling of desperation. "Jimmy, here's my plan. I'm going to use the Null Configuration and when we get close enough to Avani, you are going to need to channel all your feelings of Avani, that you care about her and what she means to you. And then I'm going to fire the Null Configuration through you to create a web to restrain Avani. It's got a lot of risk, but I think it's the only way we are going to stop her without hurting her or her mind."

[244] [214] [9]