Entering Hydra had been a mistake.

But, fuck, Imp didn't see it that way.

It was a big, fat, fuck you to the powers that be.

Charging the Ice Worm? Probably also a mistake.

Imp didn't see it that way, either. He was going to fight, and nothing was going to stop him.

Charging in blind? ...Okay, yeah, definitely a mistake. But fuck if Imp was gonna admit that.

He'd been a troublemaker, at times. Hell, throughout his life. A prankster and a thorn in others' sides. A menace, really. A little shit who laughed at others' discomfort. He'd spent half his life drawing graffiti with penises on it.

And yet, somehow, he was now diving toward an Ice Worm blind, yelling insults at it with all his might-

The impact was, blessedly, stunning. He had been able to hear it, but he couldn't see it, couldn't judge his distance, his speed--and it came up, thrashing in the canyon, and its full hundred-ton weight of plates and bristles had slammed him, knocking him dazed and flinging him hard, concussed, into the rocky wall.

Still blind. The world fell away, the ringing in his ears muffling the shouting but really, he didn't even hear that; he was unaware as the body crushed his, ever-so-briefly, against the stone. He felt the crack of bones--his jaw, he thought, the mandibles shattering on impact with the canyon (and there went any last chance to insult Kalama as he died). There was no pain, in that instant, and then he felt himself falling--the sickening lurch of the sky falling away.

Imp had but a few seconds to come to, to force himself back to consciousness, to spread his wings and fly--or to plummet to the ground, bones shattered, with the Ice Worm to crash down and crush him into nothing.

Cold.

Fuck you, he thought, to no one in particular, the ferocity opening blind eyes. His jaw opened and fuck that hurt, the mangled "FEEYOOO-" that shouted out rather meaningless my mouth-

-and then his wings snapped wide, catching the air and beating, once, twice- and the bulk of the Ice Worm swept by beneath him, so close he felt the rush of icy wind from its passage.

Higher he rose, and higher, shouting.

"III OOO EE AAA?!" he demanded--of everyone, of no one--"III OOOE EH IAH OOR!" And then, wincing--"UHH!"

Quentin was by her side, suddenly, and the little bird felt safe, if only for a moment. The world was ending around them, and they could only hope that they had hid the vulnerable as best they can.

"Quen," Mira chirped softly, shuffling up against his side. "What if the others get snowed in? What if we get snowed in-- okay, we can probably dig out, but the others-- we need to make sure they're okay." And as she was twittering away, aghast at the horrors of the Trial's come crashing down on her doorstep, she tried to hear what was going on, inching back toward the exit of the crack.

And Mirage saw. The giant worm, its life pulse bleeding away-- a great, and horrible death-- and the strangers who she had only just met, one by one being extinguished by the destruction. "Quentin, follow me," she chirped urgently. "There's some nearby that need our help, I can get us to them."

“

i will refuse to break

···

Her consciousness closed in on itself like a cringing child. With only one paw to work off of, she could only scrabble uselessly at the snow drifting more and more into her vision- a whump outside set her panic to rise even more. She could feel the faint trickles of sweat- blood?- from the angry red at her shoulder- a slash had reopened the cauterization, and she squealed further as frozen tears stuck to her fur like glue.

Every breath hurt. She couldn't move her mouth. She was tired. 'Please...' A word echoed silently against her ears.

m for... somewhat graphic descriptions!!

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What-- what was going on? Where... The walls were crumbling around... him, but he didn't... Where was he? Who... What had happened?

One moment the mustelid was filled with certainty, and the next, everything was snatched out from underneath him. He blinked against the blizzard, chest tight and muscles spasming, unable to... Breathe? He gulped air, short, shallow breaths. Something was wrong, something was wrong with him. He was laying down, on his side, blood... Blood, pooling against the side of his face, coming out of his ears. His eyes were filled with hazy spots, and he couldn't...

What was that horrible noise? It was like everything, and nothing, all at once. It was only by the grace of his magic, kick starting his heart, that his body didn't simply cease to be alive. At least his spot on the ledge was relatively safe, too, but this was not the first time he had been struck by his own lightning.

It was the first time he had felt it go through his face, and then promptly, forget who and what and everything else surrounding him.

He noticed the cold on his nose before he felt his forepaws, and even then as he stumbled to his feet, he still felt in a daze. Everything was loud, and yet nothing made a sound, all at the same time. It was just... This horrible, constant screaming. He didn't understand what it was. He stumbled into a snowbank, and then lifted his head again, peering down the chasm at the rest of the Trial goers, blinking blearily against the spots in his eyes.

It's so loud and it hurts so bad.

Virgil heaved as she crumpled to her knees, disjointed - broken leg still stuck in an icy grip. The worm's silhouette rose in a thundering howl of pain, and the ravine seemed like it was on the verge of collapsing.

She needed to get out of here before that worm came down a second time.

A single twist of her leg was enough to have her nearly blacking out, and she just closed her eyes - bracing for impact.

Mirage darted out of her crack and toward the nearest, fading heartbeat she could find. Her wings flapped as she scrambled down the path to where the Crucible's wall had collapsed in on the hiding space-- one that she had told them to hide in. "We're coming!" She chirped, using her long legs and sharp talons to dig through the snow. "Just try to save your strength, and stay calm!!" She hoped the other gembound could hear her.

She hoped they weren't too late. She dug, and dug, but more snow kept falling down wherever she scratched, and her talons were starting to numb with the cold. She missed the sun, and the heat, and her cozy warm den with Quen where nothing bad ever seemed to happen (even when scorpions and spiders came creeping around...), but she would never forgive herself if she let that get between her and saving the life of this total stranger.

Even if they were self-mutilating, terrifying cultists. They were still living gembounds. "We're almost there!" She promised, praying that they wouldn't succumb. She could feel the heartbeat fading fast. No, she pleaded, not yet. Don't go.

Ivory shook herself, blinking, pushing back up again.

She was shaking, now--she was fairly sure the worm had thrown her, on impact, a second time, and-

Virgil-! Her eyes, passing over the group, caught Virgil stumbling, thrown-...

She lurched into motion, a slow stagger breaking almost instantly into a full, snow-throwing gallop, her muscled neck shoving forward for the brief surge of momentum.

Hooves battered the rock, snow flailing up behind her, and she threw herself, as she drew close--threw her full weight forward, into Virgil--unsure if she'd make it in time, if she'd knock them both far enough-...

She shut her eyes at the last second, for the impact--turned her head--and felt the smash of bodies, the breathless theft of the air from her lungs, the thud of flesh and fur against muscle, bone-... She felt her legs go out from under her, felt herself airborne, if only briefly, felt Virgil, already unbalanced, thrown before her.

She felt the shuddering crash as the Ice Worm smashed down just where Virgil had been.

Ivory cowered, for a moment--trembling--and then pulled herself onto her chest, opening her eyes to blink around.

Blood in the snow. The worm's twitching body sinking against the rock. Gembound--some still, some in motion.

Snow, falling.

She let out another exhale--slow, shaking-... but it was an exhale. She was alive.

Ivory looked to Virgil, to confirm-... yes.

They were both alive. And Shida, too-... there Shida was.

They had survived--and she hoped that now, at last, it might be over.

Gatto hit something with a sickening thunk, that kicked the wind right out of them. They were lucky in that they didn't have the time to process the fact that they probably broke a rib or five, but they didn't hit the ground. The ground seemed to be fall on top of them, promptly trying to suffocate them.

Thankfully, they had been blessed by the sandworm last go around, so with all the grace of a drowning animal, they struggled against the landside as everything continued to tumble around them. Everything was happening so fast that they could only hope that they could get out before they were lost in the destruction.

Something heavy crunched into their face-- a chunk of ice or stone-- a strangled scream breaching the avalanche. Blood filled their already snow-choked maw, as they feebly tried to breach the surface. They thought nothing of death, only of survival. Escaping. Reaching the surface.

They didn't even know which way was up. Their wings were pinned down by the weight of it, and while it was hard to breathe with their ribcage smashed, it was a lot harder to breathe when they were trapped under a landslide, choking on their own blood and spittle. They cried out again, a wordless, hopeless plea.

This was the Trial, their brain told them in the darkness, no one will save you.

Things were happening fast--very fast.

He'd found himself just agile enough to survive, and it was more than he could've hoped for. A gallop in. A dodge out. A rearing back, just at the right instant, to avoid foot-broad bristles crashing yards before him.

Things happened with such blinding speed that he couldn't quite, afterward, put them into their sequence. Someone cried out. Someone else shouted. There was falling, and ice. Silver-blue blood, and smoke, drifting down, and--someone crushed, falling, close by.

Blinking, Warrior turned and galloped for them, rushing straight in. He hoped that Oleander--wherever she was--was safe; but he had to try to help this one, now.

The drift of snow and rocks, and ice, was thick, but Warrior skidded to its edge nonetheless, pawing at it with his hooves--hoping that his magic would guide him to the one he'd seen trapped beneath.

His magic game strong, a sharp pulse of red in his vision, and he arrowed in, angling to it. Hooves swept away ice and rock, and he called out.

Can you hear me? Are you down there? Are you--alive?" They were alive--he knew that, he could sense it-... but would they be, for long? Were they conscious, even?

His magic powerfully guiding him, he swiftly excavated the former-and-current Champion of Hydra, knowing only that here was someone who needed his help.

His deep breath was rattling. He had to keep it in. "We'll be fine," he spoke softly, nudging his head into the feathers that made up Mirage's neck.

But, he couldn't be blind to the sounds outside. Not anymore. Mirage was already set into motion ('Did she see someone?') and Quentin was right at her tail.

"Show me the way." His words were quick and held the same urgency as hers did. Claws tapped on the rock, sloughed through the snow, carried him closer to death ahead.

His own heart leapt to his throat as Mirage called out. "H-Hang on!" He reared up to utilize his paws, digging frantically alongside her. "C'mon, c'mon..."

His paws were running ragged, and his efforts seemed futile with each pull. These guys may be... Probably very wrong, but they didn't deserve to face Hydra's nastiness alone! Just barely- JUST barely could he make her out, but he couldn't do anything with her barely living, barely breathing...

She could go at any time.