The wind whipped Banshee's hair around her visor as she crouched low and shadow shifted on Cryo's back, so high up that the people below looked like little more than multi coloured specks on the starstone below.

She felt secure. Steady. This was familiar territory. Sky, shadows, frost, and a mission that they couldn't afford to fail: retrieve Nereid's Ascended.

Banshee glanced over Cryo's shoulder, easily spotting DragonFae's violet glow some distance below and behind them. To cross the lake with stealth, DragonFae had wrapped her enchanted swing around Golem's stones and was floating the two of them over the rooftops. It wasn't as fast, but the sheer amount of magic it would have taken to negate Golem's weight for Cryo to fly the two elder Luminaries would have left DragonFae drained before they arrived.

With any luck, Wyvern and Skinwalker would have no idea they were coming.

The City disappeared beneath them, leaving the rippled, star-flecked surface of the lower Celestial's Falls lake glimmering below them. Not long after, Cryo drew near the Celestial's Falls themselves, hovering close to the mountain side as he looked for the entrance to the ruins.

Wiping droplets from the waterfall's spray off her visor, Banshee reached out to the shadows, searching for the pocket that was different to the rest. Upon finding it, she leaned over Cryo's shoulder a little further and pointed. Without a word between them, Cryo descended, heading for the pocket of light among the shadows nestled in the mountainside.

A gentle layer of frost swept over the damp ferns tucked into the cracks of the rock as Cryo landed on a narrow ledge. It was higher up than Banshee had imagined, though she supposed for it to remain hidden, it had to be. It was well above any height than any regular civilian bothered to climb, the rocks far too slippery with moss and trickles of moisture to be considered safe.

Banshee vaulted off Cryo's back, glancing down at a solid metal 'U' hammered into the greenish-black rock face by her foot.

Well, apparently not high enough for everyone.

Banshee took the lead. With one hand resting on the sheathed hilt of Grief, she reached back for Cryo with the other and led him into the dark, narrow passage, trusting the shadows to keep them sure-footed. The roar of the waterfall faded as the passage curved to the left, leaving the echoing drip, drip, drip of the water ringing in her ears--yet it wasn't long before the sound of the waterfall returned, even louder than it'd been before.

And with it came the sound of a fight.

Banshee quickened their pace as the passage began to widen out and the shadows thinned. The waterfall was almost deafening, but among it, the sound of Lightblasters and cries of pain echoed off the damp, rocky walls, louder and louder with every step.

The passage ended, not in a hollow pocket of rock as Banshee had expected, but in a large, breathing cavern hidden directly behind the falls.

The thunderous wall of water covering the cavern's mouth plunged into the lake far below, and only a narrow bridge of rock spanned the ravine between the cliff where Banshee and Cryo now stood and the platform across from them--where Skinwalker was making short work of the ten or so Hunters, keeping them away from where Wyvern stood before a blue, glowing section of rock.

For once in its copy-cat life, Skinwalker was fighting in its base form. Its hulking, furred body was weirdly nimble as it avoided the Lightblaster shots, reaching out with those gangly arms while slowly but steadily disarming the Hunters.

No, not disarming. Skinwalker was playing with the Hunters. It was enjoying itself, pretending to be trying, but in the ten seconds Banshee watched, it didn't shift once. It was doing the bare minimum necessary to keep the Hunters away from Wyvern. It disarmed them, only to turn its back on them and allow them to pick up the weapon again.

Banshee glanced back at Cryo, finding her own fire glinting in his gaze as he gave her a nod.

She drew in a deep, steadying breath, and grinned.

Banshee strut across the narrow bridge of stone, one foot elegantly in front of the other, slowly drawing her daggers from their sheaths as she called, "Hey, Skinwalker! You still tired after getting your butt kicked earlier or something?"

Skinwalker threw the Lightblaster in its hand against the wall and turned its void-mask towards where Banshee and Cryo stood. Wyvern spared them a glance and a scowl before continuing to press his palm against the blue, glowing section of wall. The Hunters scrambled--or they tried to.

Skinwalker lashed out, catching a nearby Hunter by the ankle and another by the belt, and without hesitation, threw them both into the ravine.

Banshee reversed her grip on Grief with a twirl and pointed its tip towards the falling Hunters. "Cryo, go!"

Cryo dove, and Banshee charged.

Skinwalker had a third Hunter in her grasp by the time Banshee reached her. Without time to throw its third victim, Skinwalker held the writhing Hunter up like a shield. With half a thought, Banshee grabbed the Hunter by the wrist, pulled them deep into her shadowshift and literally slipped them straight through Skinwalker's claws.

"Easier to fight dirty when you aren't pretending to be someone else, huh?" said Banshee, releasing the Hunter behind her and readying her daggers. "Though, I would say using civilians against me is cheating."

"They're armed and willing." Skinwalker leaned forward, claws gouging the stone beneath it. "And two Luminaries against one is fair?"

Banshee launched herself forward, slashing out with Joy. Skinwalker avoided the blow as Banshee had expected, leaving its antlers at the perfect angle for Banshee to grab onto and swing herself onto its back.

"Who, little old me?" said Banshee, dancing around Skinwalker's attempts to swipe her off. She was well aware Skinwalker was only playing at distraction. Whatever their goal was, Wyvern trying to get into the ruins was at the centre of it. "Not all that long ago you were falling over yourself to tell me how utterly useless I was. Change of heart?"

Unable to detach Banshee, Skinwalker shifted, melting her antlers and fur into the crisp, clean uniform of a Hunter. Banshee backflipped off, using her foot to shove Skinwalker off balance.

"Yes," said Skinwalker, picking a fallen Lightblaster up off the ground and aiming it at Banshee. "I significantly underestimated how annoying you were."

"Don't worry!" said Banshee with a grin, easily dodging three shots in rapid succession. "Everyone does that!"

A few metres away, Wyvern slammed his hand against the rock. The blue glow appeared to be coming from hundreds of lines etched into the stone, but it was unlike anything Banshee had ever seen. "I can't get this blasted door open! Skinwalker, bring Banshee over here--we'll get her to open it."

Skinwalker dropped the Lightblaster, ducked under a Lightblaster shot from a Hunter, and launched itself towards Banshee. Shifting mid-swipe, Skinwalker's arm doubled in length as it returned to its base form. Its claws passed straight through Banshee's shoulder as she shadow shifted through it and rolled, then lashed out with a solid leg at the back of Skinwalker's knees to send it toppling forward.

Skinwalker shifted completely back to its base form. With the same momentum from its stumble, Skinwalker anchored its claws into the stone below and rammed Banshee with its horns. Once more, Banshee attempted to phase herself through Skinwalker's body, but Skinwalker's antlers snagged on her shadows and ripped her straight out of the shadow shift.

Banshee's back struck into the wall with Skinwalker's antlers driving into her ribs. The gasp of pain stuck the waiting Scream in her throat. Banshee swept up with Joy, slicing the edge of the dagger straight through part of Skinwalker's antlers pinning her shoulder, even as she brought her knee up and slammed it into Skinwalker's mask.

Skinwalker reeled back with a sound that made the hair on Banshee's neck rise. Blood dripped from the small piece of antler Banshee had removed, matting Skinwalker's fur as it dripped onto its shoulder.

The Scream was ready in Banshee's throat, just waiting for Skinwalker to charge once more, when Cryo's icy winds swept over the platform.

Skinwalker immediately shifted into an almost-perfect copy of Banshee's current transformation, with a large gash across its arm marking the only difference.

The 'Panshee' grabbed its arm with an all too real sounding whimper of pain and ran towards the edge of the platform, right as Cryo appeared with the two Hunters, shaken but unhurt.

"Cryo!" called Skinwalker. "Hel--"

Banshee was not about to do this again.

She opened her mouth and she Screamed.

Skinwalker's clumsy attempt to avoid it wasn't enough. The Scream dropped Skinwalker to the ground clutching its head. The copied skin it wore flickered back to fur and bone. Yet, even as the Scream left Banshee's throat, a sharp pain lanced through her chest. She choked on the Scream, doubling over and dropping her daggers, crossing her arms over her sternum and digging her fingers into her shoulders.

She felt rather than saw Cryo's presence beside her with the world still piecing itself back together. "Banshee? Are you okay?"

Banshee sucked in a breath, the pain passing just as fast as it'd come on. "I'm okay. Just--weird, not sure what that was."

She straightened, finding Skinwalker caked in a thick layer of ice that pinned it to the floor. The Hunters were descending on Skinwalker, various starstone gadgets being efficiently passed between them per the instruction of a green-uniformed Hunter with amber hair pulled into a tight braid.

"Get the Skinwalker secured," said the Hunter with the amber hair, her words clear despite the fabric covering the majority of her face. She directed a nod towards Banshee and Cryo, then with her Lightblaster drawn, turned to Wyvern. "Give it up, Wyvern. Back it up and stick to the plan."

"Screw the plan!" said Wyvern. "Skinwalker's here, the plan doesn't matter anymore!"

"The situation is salvageable," said the braid-haired Hunter, lifting her Lightblaster a little more. "Give it up and surrender, Michael."

Wyvern only backed closer to the wall, one hand clutching a bag close to his chest as the other remained flat against the surface of the glowing stone. Despite lacking a handle and any noticeable hinges, Banshee guessed it was the door to the ruins.

The markings she'd noticed earlier were actually hundreds of individual runes arranged in patterns. An outer circle that marked the edge, another circle mid-way from edge to centre, and one smaller circle looped around the largest rune in the centre. Lines of runes ran from the central rune to the edges, with larger runes that sat at each intersection of the lines and the circles. The spaces between were filled with a bunch of smaller runes, but if you took them away... it looked a lot like the City from above.

Wyvern turned his wild gaze on Banshee and Cryo. "One of you needs to open this door right now, or I'm going to Manifest and make you. All you have to do is--"

A violet glow broke through the waterfall and illuminated the cavern.

"--of course," muttered Wyvern, then yelled loud enough to make the shadows flinch. "If anyone does anything except open this damn door for me, I'll Manifest and force it!"

DragonFae reached the edge of the platform. She lifted her swing, allowing Golem to place his feet steady on the stone. Then, she untangled her swing from Golem's body, and the two of them strode forward, advancing on Wyvern with a perfect kind of precision.

"Didn't you hear me?" screeched Wyvern. "Open the door, or I'll Manifest!"

A deep, indigo light flickered through DragonFae's violet glow. There was something more... tangible to the light, like static in the air buzzing just outside Banshee's hearing. "Manifest if you want, Wyvern. It won't matter. Give us the Ascended."

Wyvern's gaze flicked over DragonFae, following the trails of indigo in her aura. He snorted. "And how long have you been delving into your magic to have that confidence, DragonFae?"

"Five days," said Golem quietly. "So give it up, Wyvern."

"Five days?" said the Hunter with the amber braid. "How reckless can you--"

"Quiet," snapped DragonFae, flicking a hand towards the Hunters. Purple sparks drifted between them, though doing what, Banshee couldn't quite tell. Upon noticing Skinwalker, now attempting to break free of the solid ice enclosing it, DragonFae swept her other hand across it. Bands of indigo light melted through the ice and bound Skinwalker's limbs tightly together. "It was a necessary risk, given the state of this City. I do only what I must to protect it."

Banshee glanced at Cryo. It explained DragonFae's slightly erratic behaviour before. Before using their ultimate ability, a DragonFae could delve into their magic to increase its potency. It was risky--more than one DragonFae in the past had gone crazy after just a single day of delving--but delve long enough, and it was speculated that a DragonFae could change the fabric of reality itself.

Wyvern knew that. Banshee could see it in his eyes as he calculated the risk, the chances of winning against a five-day DragonFae delve--and she pinpointed the exact moment when Wyvern's stubbornness won out.

"You'll have to invoke if you want me to give up Kael," said Wyvern slowly. "I'm not giving up on him so easily. I will take him to the heart and heal him if it's the last thing I do."

The violet-touched air around them crackled.

DragonFae raised her hand, drawing in the magic around her in one, long exhale that would expel the word and trigger her ultimate.

Wyvern's grip tightened on the bag, the determination in his eyes as fierce as ever, and something caught in Banshee's chest. Maybe it was the sliver of the Song she'd heard, that one, obstinate line of melody that absolutely refused to yield to something so common as death--but Banshee stepped forward and placed herself between DragonFae and Wyvern.

"There's another heartstone," Banshee said quickly. "Inside the Core chamber. The one inside Skypillar is corrupted. If you heal Kael with that heart, he'll be corrupted. We can find a way into the Core Chamber. We can use that heart."

Wyvern's squinted gaze slid over to Banshee with something almost like regret. "And if we can't get into the Core Chamber? If none of you are willing to take the risk, to enter the ruins and heal Kael upon the heartstone within there, corrupted or not?" His mouth set in a thin line. "No. This is happening now, while I can be sure that Kael at least had a chance."

"This is insane!" said Banshee. "There's no point! What if something happens to Kael--to you?"

Wyvern's eyes dropped to the bag in his hands. "As long as Kael is healed, nothing else matters."

Something clicked in Banshee's head.

Kael was the one, real friend that had stuck by Wyvern for the last twenty years. The one person he hadn't kept secrets from. Family, friends, Harpy--he'd been alone, slowly eaten away by poisons of his own making without anyone knowing he'd ever needed an antidote.

Alone, except for his Ascended.

"If you heal Kael with the heartstone inside, Kael will be corrupted," said Banshee slowly, taking another step closer. "You'll be corrupted! You can't want that for--"

"Then DragonFae had better open this door and save her Invoke to cleanse that corruption after I heal my Ascended!" Wyvern whirled around to face the other Luminaries and roared, "Open the door now, or I'll Manifest and make you!"

DragonFae just raised her hands, two fingers bent on each hand as she crossed them over her chest, palms facing outwards and said one word.

"Invoke."

*+*+*+*

A/N - HERE.WE.GO.

Honestly I hope you guys are ready because I 100% wasn't when I was writing it. 

;-;