The Hunt Begins (Dark Data)

[Ash Williams]

Ash wobbled from the quake that shook the floor underneath them. They hurry through the basement of the castle to find a way out. This place felt like a maze to them just by hitting dead ends frequently. They also had to avoid stone debris falling from the ceiling. Ash had to detach his chainsaw and put his steel prosthetic hand back on so he could move faster. The two ran down a different corridor hoping that this would be the way out. Suddenly debris fell from the roof and formed a wall between them which was impossible to dig their way through. This wasn't impossible for Celestia though since she focused to charge a meteor and use it to clear the way. The alicorn waited for a few seconds to charge her meteor than fired it upon their blocked path.

It was a successful hit causing a fiery explosion to clear their way out. They moved quickly pass where their path was blocked but, the explosion from the meteor caused more rubble to fall on the spot where they once stood at. Ash couldn't get a clear signal where Revan was at on his gauntlet they got for the mission due to them being underground.

"I can't find where Revan is at!" Ash said loudly over the destruction of the castle.

Celestia heard Ash but that didn't bring down her hope since she knew Revan can do good on his own.

They came to a fork in the road leading left or right but, the two had no time to debate which side to take. The both chose the left and continued running down the dungeon-like hallway. For about couple minutes running down the path, they met a dead end. They both looked at each other with worried looks on their faces until after a second, Ash looked up to see the ceiling cracking.

"LOOK OUT!" Ash cried, tackling the royal alicorn to move her out of the way but not in a harmful way.

The ceiling came crashing down with a big slab slanting and making a ramp for them to escape the maze. Celestia was fine from Ash's action and they got back up to see that an exit was made from pure luck. The liberators ran up the ramp to get into the ceiling and they came across the start of spiral stairs that ascended to the castle. Without time to waste they go up the stairs while debris still coming down. About midway up the stairs, they get stopped by darklings who blocked their path. They sneered at the appearance of the two liberators and attacked without hesitation. Ash was in front of Celestia and the width of the stairs wasn't big enough to move around during fighting situations. The Darkshire defender punched the darkling with his steel hand following a powerful force, causing the creature to be knocked off the stairwell and plummet to it's death.

The second one tried to avenge it's fallen comrade with it's sword, but Ash grabbed the blade of the sword tightly with his steel hand. Ash tugged the darkling with it's weapon toward the edge of the stairs. The darkling didn't pay attention that Ash was trying to make it fall over the edge instead thought that he was trying to grab the weapon out of it's hands. So, the evil dead slayer tricked the creature and made it fall down the pit. They continued up the stairs as fast as possible. One of the steps they came across was cracked and when Ash stepped on it first, it cracked even more from his weight. When Celestia stepped on the steps, it crumbled underneath her almost causing her to fall but she used her wings to get back on the steps along with Ash.

He knew she was ok and they proceeded toward the ground level of the castle. Finally, they ascended the stairwell and made it to the top. They escaped the basement of the castle but they weren't quite done yet. Now the duo needed to get out of the castle before it comes crashing down on them. Where they ended up at wasn't the way they came in but instead a different passage. The two wound up in a wine cellar that held the drinks of the castle. Bottles were placed on the wall and kegs stood atop of the ground. Still, the castle shook from the harmful quakes and began falling apart.

Ash and Celestia continued their journey even hoping to see Revan made it out of the basement in one piece.

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[Celestia]

Ash was evidently concerned about the third, currently absent member of the team.  It was an understandable feeling.  With the maze-like corridors of the fortress crumbling around them, the place was turning into a new brand of deathtrap, one which promised a swift death under tons of falling rubble.

“For what it's worth,” Celestia spoke as they ran, leaving the wine cellar and ascending into an adjoining corridor, “I'm worried as well.  But it won't do any good-” she spotted a loose chunk of the ceiling that made her pause to shout “Split!”  The two of them ran to, then along the walls, narrowly avoiding several large bricks as they fell.  The alicorn picked up her previous thought.  “...Won't do any do any good to fret.  We just-”

Now it was apparently Ash's turn, as he leapt toward Celestia, pushing her to the side as a section of the floor gave way and tumbled into chambers below.  There was a crash, followed shortly by another as basement floors broke in sequence.  Celestia muttered her thanks, but they couldn't stop.  The floor shifted, threatening to collapse, and once more they were moving on.

Celestia finished her thought as they reached the end of the hall.  “We just need to have a little faith in our friend, and we'll see him again.”

The pair found themselves at a fork, and looked around quickly.  To one side was another corridor, leading toward what looked to be a large hall.  To the other was a spiral staircase, which made up the centre of a tower.  Knowing they needed to make a choice quickly, Celestia was already moving up the stairs as she spoke.  “If we could get higher up, we might be able to-”

She never got to finish the sentence.  Several heavy steps from above them fell down, shattering the staircase.  Celestia brought up a shield, in time to deflect the falling rocks, but the shield shattered and she was knocked backwards from the blow, to be caught by Ash, who helped her back upright.  They both looked at the staircase.  “I think that one's out of order,” Ash said, before turning.  “But there's still the hallway!”

No sooner had they turned toward the corridor than they heard a distant noise, followed by the upper half of the toward slamming into the corridor.  It formed a barrier that, while not impenetrable, would take them too long to easily get through.  Looking back the way they came showed that hallway having  collapsed past a certain point, and the chasm was growing closer by the moment.  They both instinctually backed away, until they hit the wall.

Celestia had a thought.  If this was, or used to be a tower, that should be near the edge of the keep at least.  Even if that didn't lead outside the grounds entirely, beyond it should be open air, which would be out from under the falling ceiling and on open ground where there would be fewer obstacles.  There was a wall between them and said open air, true, but that wall was rapidly weakening.  She had a hammer meant to knock down even heavy, sturdy individuals.

Celestia turned around, wound back the hammer which glowed faintly, before slamming it into the wall.  In her weakened state, the effort took the wind out of her, but the wall fell open, bricks scattering onto the ground beyond.  “An exit,” she muttered out between panting breaths.

Ash nodded, before helping Celestia through the hole.  He practically pushed her through, but there was no time to be worried about politeness, and it got the job done.  They likely weren't out of the danger, but they had made it outside.  They had only a moment to catch their breath, before they were off again.

667 words

[Revan Noctis]

Revan had gotten himself lost in a shaking crumbling labyrinth where the stone walls continued to collapse in on him and his paths. He saw darklings charging down hallways in complete terror. Clutching his abdomen where a deep cut in his armour had been revealed and having his sword sheathed he pushed forward at a slow yet steady pace. The sound of machine legs on the stone floor once more caught his attention as he glanced back at his stalking foe. Three pointed legs tapped along the ground, the skeleton inside the glass seemed to be watching him despite its lack of eyes. Whatever this thing was it seemed to care little about the earth quaking beneath its legs or the old stone supports coming down around them.

He turned back believing himself able to easily move faster than this enemy, after a few beginning steps he was moving in the direction he hoped would be an easy exit. Two darklings burst from the shadows with clear expressions of desperation as they threw themselves in his direction. Blocking the first blow he spun around piercing the creature from behind. To his surprise the other darkling attempted to retreat in the direction of the mechanised horror but was quickly grabbed by its long outstretched claws and mercilessly torn apart as a wash  of corrupted blood poured over the machine dripping down over the glass case staining it red and black shielding his vision from the pile of human bones inside.

With a new found burst of energy from now desperately running for his life had him desperately searching for any possible means of escaping the castle. A large stained glass window leading outside in an elegant living room filled with chairs and tables. A small statue of Doctor Psyche stood on a small wooden table staring at him with a merciless grin but it was nothing compared to the giant snickering stained glass picture of the doctor looking down at him as he stomped over the most beautiful rug he had seen in ages with flowers and grass now ruined forever. 

Picking up a small wooden chair he desperately swung it at the glass, the glass was too thick and unaffected by the simple blow.
glancing up he found a large and majestic candled chandelier which gave him an interesting idea for escape until he looked around to see the ever oncoming phantom machine still with claws ever reaching for him.
Revan jumped onto the lounge and lunged at the chandelier, his blow caused it to fall halfway to the ground before he tugged it back waiting as the creature approached. The chandelier was now good for a swing but his plan was not yet ready as moved across the room toward the glass window waiting for the creature to approach him closer.

The creature swung at him with a claw and though he blocked it the other three arms were tougher to avoid and one scatched him across the back as he pushed past. Sword secured, he grabbed the chandelier with all his strength he had left and pulled it back toward the rooms exit before he charged the creature lifting himself up and his legs forward his boots struck the creature in the glass as it and his own body went arcing into the stained glass window shattering the picturesque image of the doctor into a thousand pieces as he and the machine tumbled from the castle window.

As the machine hit the ground below its glass case smashed open and the skeletal remains tumbled out onto the grass as the machin now lay in defeat. Revan landed as well as he could on the grass as his vision blurred and the sound of the castles rumbling collapse began to fade.

“Revan are you okay!” Came a voice that sounded familiar to him.

“You look banged up pretty bad.” Came another.

Before he could protest he was being lifted up and shaken as his vision focused upon the image of Ash’s face who seemed to be desperately trying to force him back to reality. Looking to the left was Celestia’s concerned face as she was caught between concern for her friends condition and the consequences of what would occur if they remained so close to what had once been a castle.

“I’m not sure what that undead looking bag of bones did to you but we have to move.” Said Ash who smiled a bit when Revan responded with a nod.

“Don’t worry I’m not dead yet.” Revan replied determined to see to it they all escaped.

“Let’s go.” Said Celestia as they began moving away as the pile of stones imploded.

“We just have to reach the portal.” Revan hoped there would be no further surprises until then.

800 words

[Nebula]

Hope kept hearts aloft as the liberators hastily scampered away from the crumbling edifice. None could see where the prisoners had wound up, though they hoped that the poor souls had managed to make it out alive. Psyche’s darkling forces were fortunately themselves also attempting to flee with their lives, so that lended the escapees a slight advantage. The real concern was the enraged madman that the liberators had left immolated in his laboratory. Could tons of stone and metal put an end to the nautilus?

“Is...is he dead?” Ash inquired, heaving labored breaths as he sprinted full-tilt toward the portal. “Guy like that must have some kind of Plan B.”

“I think we’re about to meet it,” Revan replied.  The swordsman stumbled abruptly as the earth beneath him began to buckle and heave, wide faults beginning to split the soggy soil. The Liberators braced for an assault as an all-too-familiar roar rang out over through Nebula Space.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the steel-fisted slayer exclaimed, fumbling for his shotty. “We watched that thing die!”

Seconds later the Liberators felt the earth beneath them fall away as they were tossed airborne. Celestia spread her wings wide and flapped hard as she fell, the flightless appendages managing to provide her with enough momentum to grant her a midair about-face. “Necromental!”

Clods of dirt and debris rained down upon them like a blizzard of muck as they landed miraculously on what must have been the main path back to the portal. Under any other circumstance, they might have shared a few words of encouragement, but the threat of the veritable force of nature at their heels did not allow them such a respite. They could not even reach for their weaponry, they could only run.

The unfathomably enormous mass of fetid earth and flesh rampaged down what remained of the path, pausing every now and again to slam down a vehicle-sized fist of stone and bone or release a horde of undead from inside his hulking form to give chase to his foes. What remained of Psyche's willpower coursed through its form, imbuing it with a single thought: destroy.

“I can see the portal!” Ash cried out over the deafening boom of the terrestrial titan at their backs. “GO!”

The liberators beat feet down the remainder of the path, lungs burning as they swallowed shallow breaths and pushed their beleaguered limbs to their breaking point. The end was in sight.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

They scampered across the remains of Judgeman’s courtroom and leapt through the portal just as the necromental threw its weight forward and buried the courthouse beneath its bulk.

Seconds later, a world away, a trio of half-dead saviors tumbled into quite a different courthouse as a portal snapped shut behind them.

And that's a wrap. Congratulations, you survived! The Pale Moors is complete. The darkling in charge here is destroyed, and the verse is liberated. Well done.