The Fallen Ascending 01 -- Rebirth
Out of the Darkness

When the ground finally settled and quit shaking, Mongo staggered and unsteadily staggered to his feet. Glancing around, everything had happened all at once. They were charging their way towards the pyramid. The dead was getting thicker and more resistant to their assault. And then the earth itself swallowed them up and trapped them.

Moments after that, Crystal screamed out as if she was in some sort of unspeakable agony, and then she collapsed in a heap and the ground shook, tossed, and rattled them around inside their dome, like dice being tossed inside a cup before rolling them. His armor had protected him once again – a testament to the might and craftsmanship of a Heartstone original – but Tiffany and Jess were moaning, groaning, and bruised all over.

As for Crystal, she was a crumpled heap on the ground, and he didn’t know if she still lived or died. “Tiff? Jess? You guys going to be okay?”

“In a few moments,” Tiffany assured him, her hands already giving off a faint glow of life magic. Jess simply nodded, holding her lightstone up to illuminate the area. It’d been some time since the stone was last charged, and the glow was starting to dim considerably.

“What about Crystal? She still with us?”

“I’m checking,” Jess mumbled, kneeling down to work a little magic. Looking up, she had a puzzled expression on her face. “She’s not hurt, as far as I can tell. Her body’s fine, but I can’t wake her with my magic. I don’t know what’s happened.”

“Do what you can for her; we have to find out what’s happening outside.” Slowly walking over, Mongo bent and picked up Heartblade from where it lay on the ground. A slow, rhythmic heartbeat seemed to pulse through the hilt, and a warmth slowly spread into the palms of his hand. “My apologies, my lady, but I need to borrow this for a while.”

Walking over to the edge of the stone dome, he began to hack and slice an opening to the other side. For several long moments, Mongo worked at cracking an opening in the dome; expecting to be swarmed by the dead once more as soon as the way was opened. What he found on the other side however made his jaw drop open in shock – it was almost like he’d been cast to a different world!

The rough stone floor and cavern were simply… gone.

Lush forest was all around, rich with trees, vines, and shrubs of all types and sizes. The rough stone flooring that they were walking and fighting upon before was now perfectly flat and smooth, with moss and grass growing over it in thick, rich layers. They were still inside the cavern, but the top had been ripped open and the night sky was visibly shining down from high above.

The pyramid was gone. Vanished as if it’d never existed. The giant slide which Michael had created that reached high into the cavern was only half left, and it now leaned and titled to lay up against one of the walls, halfway up the side of what was now a chasm instead of a cavern. As for the dead, there were none. Not a single skeleton, zombie, or lizard-like leaper was anywhere around. The cavern was now eerily lush and green, but also just as eerily silent.

When Zippy curiously fluttered down, Mongo wanted to cheer and hug the little creature. Though its light was weaker than he’d ever seen it before, it was still much brighter than what their ever dimming lightstones were producing.

“Michael! You out here somewhere?!” Shouting, Mongo stepped on out of the crack he’d carved in the side of the dome and yelled. Only the echo of his own voice answered him, though Zippy did change colors several times and flutter about excitedly.

Tiffany was the next to back out of the crack, and she was tugging Crystal’s limb body; well, at least her shoulders and torso. Jess apparently had her by the legs, helping carry her, and he just couldn’t see it yet. Glancing about once more, there was still no sign of any dead, so Mongo finally stuck the tip of Heartblade into the ground and walked over to where Tiffany was struggling.

“Here,” he told her gently, “I’ll get her. You get my sword from inside and Crystal’s from the stone there. I don’t know where Michael is, but I don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to. Who knows when the dead will return to swarm us, and we’re in no condition to fight right now.” Taking Crystal from her, he gently carried her in his arms and moved back to clear out of the way for the girls.

After a few moments, Tiffany and Jess were both out of the dome and Mongo let out a deep sigh. He’d sworn to himself that he was never going to be a leader again, and yet here he was, taking the reins once again. He didn’t want to, but he had no choice.

“First order of business,” he declared, “we’re going to find Michael; and then we’re getting the hell out of here.” Zippy immediately began to flash and spin several times and started to float off in one direction before stopping and flashing several times again.

“I think he wants us to follow him,” Tiffany said, with a half giggle. “He might know where Michael is!”

“Then lead the way Glow-bucket.” Carrying Crystal in his arms, Mongo followed the little light as it led them through the vegetation and finally stopped in front of a small grassy knoll. After a moment, it fluttered down close to the ground and began to zap and burn the grass.

“Here?” Tiffany asked, excited. “Is there something here?” Zippy fluttered up and circled around her enthusiastically several times, changing colors repeatedly.

“I think it’s another egg like we were trapped in!” Excited, Tiffany rushed forward and began awkwardly slicing at the ground with Heartblade. Even with her lack of strength, the blade was sharp enough that it sliced deep ridges in the ground with each hack into it. Sighing lightly, Mongo sat Crystal gently down on the grassy floor and then strode over to the base of the knoll. “Give me that,” he ordered gruffly. “You tend to the patient. I’ll take care of this!”

Giggling lightly, Tiffany leaned and kissed him once gently upon the nose before handing the sword over and then bouncing to check on Crystal. How the hell she could be so cheerful and energetic after all they’d seen and been through, Mongo had no clue. He was simply just grateful to have her light shining by his side.

Several long moments of hacking revealed that the small hillside was indeed hollow, much like the dome which they’d been trapped inside. Cracking it wide enough revealed a body inside, and once the gap was wide enough to pull it out, Mongo was shocked to find that they’d unearthed Ghost instead of Michael! Pale, naked, feverish, and covered in dirt and grime, it was unmistakably Ghost, with her small frame and ivory white hair!

“Tess! Come quick!” Mongo was so excited that he somehow blurred Tiffany’s name together with Jess – but no one seemed to mind at the moment. Rushing over, both healer girls began working their magics and muttering amongst themselves about what was wrong with her.

Heading back to the hole he’d carved and pulled her out of, Mongo willed his large head and shoulders inside, to make certain that Michael wasn’t in there as well. Unfortunately, the rest of the small cavern inside the gill was empty.

“Can you wake her?” Mongo asked, grimly.

“I don’t think she’s going to wake for several days,” Tiffany told him, sounding somehow both happy and sad at the same time.

“Then Michael’s just going to have to find his own way out of here, I’m afraid. With two people down, there’s no way we can search for him. I don’t even know if we can manage to get out of here with two people down,” Mongo muttered grimly.

“We’ll find a way!” Tiffany told him, brightly. “We’ve come this far, we’re not going to stop now, are we?”

“Not at all,” Mongo laughed, truly grateful for her bubbling enthusiasm and encouragement. Looking around, he began to cut branches and vines from the newly grown forest and tie them together to make a wide gurney which he could pull the girls out on. He didn’t know how the hell they were going to do it, but Tiffany was right; they were going to do it.

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