Of Good & Evil

XIV. The Holy Warrior

With Scopes and Fantasma rescued from the holding cells of Golden Specter, their focus shifted from a rescue mission to revenge. They weren't certain why the guild had decided to steal one of their members, but they were determined to make them pay for it.

They crossed the dome, Scopes being helped with one arm over Hardy's shoulder, walking through the plants as they headed toward the hallway that lead to the next area. Just before they reached the hallway, Passion looked toward Fantasma and asked, "Hey, you're with Shadowfall, right?"

Fantasma had a somewhat surprised look on her face as she looked to Passion and replied, "Yes, but how do you know that?"

"We found a console that told us where to find the prisoners here, and it said you were in there with Scopes," she replied, "It said you had water powers and were associated with the Shadowfall guild."

"I see," Fantasma said, "Yes, I'm with Shadowfall."

"Then how did you end up here?" Hardy asked curiously.

"I'm not sure," she replied, "I went to bed, then woke up in the holding cell."

"Aren't they coming for you?" Xenon asked, confused.

"Not likely," she said, "In Shadowfall, you either take care of yourself, or you're considered worthless."

"What a terrible way to run a guild," Passion said, thinking of their own guild who dropped everything to rescue Scopes.

"Is that not how guilds are supposed to treat their members?" she asked, seemingly genuinely confused.

"No way," Time said, looking to Scopes, "When we found out Scopes was missing, there was no question. We packed up and came here without hesitating."

"That's foolish," she said, "You thought it was wise to sacrifice everyone in the guild to save one person."

Passion shook her head and said, "It's more like... we weren't willing to give up on him."

"Besides, we're not dead yet," Xenon said, still grumbling.

Fantasma let out a small chuckle, "Well, even if you don't die, I still think you're all foolish."

They laughed and left the dome, leaving behind the battle-scarred aviary, some of the bars missing from the ceiling, the plant life torn up in several spots, and a blast mark where Time had gotten to the latch leading to the holding cells.

They stepped through the doorway into the next hall. This one looked a bit more familiar. This hallway kept the same lavish theme as the one they walked down when they broke into the building. White floors, walls, and columns lining either side, all accented with shining gold. The only difference between this and the halls before it was the carpet and the size. A navy blue with gold accents rather than the previous rugs which had all been black. This hall was also much longer and a little wider than the previous halls. Where the previous halls had been roughly six feet wide and fifty feet long, this hall was nearly double the width and about three times the length.

Before they could reach the next dome, a young man, seemingly just a few years older than Xenon, stood in front of the doorway. He was clothed completely in white, but his hair was jet black. He had a long coat covering what appeared to be a white suit vest. Dangling from his neck was an ornate cross made of gold.

He looked up at them as the group stopped. The man spoke saying, "You've reached me after all. I suppose that means the others have fallen."

"Took 'em out with no problem," Hardy said proudly.

"Unfortunate," he said, bowing his head slightly, "but not unexpected."

Passion had a look of deep confusion and asked, "Aren't you troubled that basically your whole guild has been wiped out?"