GoldieS

"Yes ma'am." One of the officers replied, rendering a quick salute before heading off to redirect the parents, or at the very least, find them. Before Quartz could respond, one of the colts spoke out quickly and frantically. "We'll tell you everything! We're not hiding any secrets, we promise!" "Yah, no secrets, whatever you want to know!" The other added quickly. "We went to the overworld a few days ago, that was the first time, promise. It was... crazy! The ceiling was made out of water, it was so big you couldn't see all the way to the end!" The others nodded in agreement. "The ice wasn't like the stuff in the city, it was all sloshy like sand or gravel, only wet!" He was excited to retell what they had encountered at first, until the next part that is. His ears folded down and he gave Flurry a fearful look. "But... we ran into the... infected... they were fast but, not all that smart I don't think. A bunch of them chased us until a cat bird saved us. After that he took us to an old city that looked a lot like ours, but more spread out and all broken. We ate and stayed there for the night, but when next morning came..." He paused. The others looked at each other nervously. "That's when we saw it... it was like... a MOUNTAIN! A giant monster, with no eyes and a big mouth with even bigger teeth! It smashed through the broken city like it was nothing, no one could stop it! So... we ran as fast as we could to try and find our way back here, but when we got nearer to the entrance we saw like three of them flying around looking for something. When they weren't looking, we made a break for the entrance..." "These things were big!" Chimed in the pup. "Like, crush a building with their hooves big! We're like bugs! What if they figured where the city was and started digging!? What if that's what they're looking for!?"

Storm merely gave a huff in response to Maple's explanation, while Quartz shrugged at not really being able to help with the 'supernatural' thing. "Just don't go crazy on us already... you've only been here like a day!" Quartz joked as they made their way through the village towards the giant lodge in the center. "Don't worry, some ale will make you better. Some real stuff that'll put hair on your chest! Or maybe make it all fall off..." The inside of the lodge was one big open space with an open second level made 'safe' by some flimsy railing. In the center was a giant fire pit surrounded by stone bricks. Some kind of giant menacing looking fish thing roasting over the spit, with numerous other little spikes holding other slabs of meat hanging over the fire. It cast an orange glow across the hall. On the far side was the bar and rest of the open kitchen. Tables with stools were miscellaneously strewn about the room with no particular organization. Everyone was looking and staring in their direction when they entered, or rather, staring at the moving images on the large open space over the door. It was like a cinema theater, though where the images were coming from was not at all clear. It was a battle of some sort, taking place inside some giant city with red rooftops, and old buildings stacked atop more old buildings. The hall was watching with great curiosity and excitement, clamoring and shouting while laughing and enjoying their revelry. "Ha! Glad we could make a battle!" Storm replied with glee jumping at the first open table, just as a bubbly young mare stepped over to their table to offer drinks. The spikes smashed into the earth, causing it to shatter and explode into a shower of rubble, while cracking the surrounding landscape of the plateau. The 'unicorn' didn't move from his position as the fireballs hurled towards him, only twisting his snout in displeasure. The fireballs changed direction mid flight, turning around to come hurdling back towards Woody at the same speed and strength. "It seems I was grossly misinformed. Your brother warned me you were far more powerful than your other siblings, that I would be in peril if I faced you... not that I believed the master of lies..." The Twin Tails scoffed. Just as suddenly as his last attack, the very air around Woody started becoming thicker and thicker. No, it wasn't the air, the gravity was becoming heavier with every passing second. So much so the earth cracked with every step of the Twin Tails as he moved forward, somehow unaffected. "You are correct. I am the Twin Tailed Comet." He affirmed. "Go ahead, I saw you fighting. I know you can manipulate time itself. Do it."

Storm continued to rub his forehead in pain as they continued back towards the little village. Quartz looked confused at Maple's question, giving her back a glance before scratching her head in confusion. "On your back? You mean like... something bugging you?" She didn't seem to understand what she was referring to. "Is that how equestrians say they got something on their chest, you know, like on your mind? Well, whatever it is, you just got to confront it head on! That's how everyone else around here deals with their problems." It was fairly clear she had no idea what the bat was talking about. "A what now?" Quartz replied, rubbing his forhead. "And I don't bark!" "Why? Because I have no interest in fighting your prince." He concluded harshly. "I'm here for you..." Suddenly the world shifted around them. Perhaps not teleportation, not in the traditional sense, it was as if they were on a moving train and the entire world shifted in one direction in the blink of an eye. Everything blurred for that brief moment, until they reached their destination. Woody now found himself in a Tartarian desert, the ceiling still high above. Columns of rock spiraled into the air all around them as they stood atop a plateau surrounded by endless snaking canyons. The terrain itself was a rusted red, just barely lit as if the world had entered twilight just before dusk casting shadows from an orange light somewhere in the distance. "For you and your family's crimes, I banish you to oblivion with your grandfather..." He stated darkly. The unicorn stamped his hoof on the earth, causing the ground to quake before spikes of glowing white light exploded all around Woody, curling inward like claws or fingers, each one thicker around than his own body.

"Ha! That's what I'm talking about!" Quartz replied, starting off with Maple back towards the town. "We can watch some fights while we're there, heard there was a big one that just popped up out of nowhere down in the mortal world." The three sphinxes, despite being dismissed from any duel, still followed Maple. They didn't look like they were going to be leaving any time soon. Fortunately, she was going for an activity that most around there enjoyed at a level equivalent to ripping each other apart. On the way back storm rejoined them, snatching his belongings and spoils from Quarts while rubbing his neck and giving off an embarrassed look. He glanced back at the string of sphinxes now following Maple and smirked. "Oh hey, you beat the twins too? Ha! Nice one." He commented. The creature on Maple's back held out its staff, and hit Storm on the back of the head. He cringed, angrily looking around in confusion for a moment before rubbing his head completely oblivious. "That gopher gave me a headache..." He commented while cringing to the apparent headache. "But you know, pretty sure I could have taken it if SOMEONE was helping me..." "The one an only my lovely uncle!" The stag replied in delight, clasping his cloven hooves together. He rubbed up against Woody, showing a great deal of affection. The gnoll, on the other hand, rose a brow and twitched one of his eyes. "Prince of debauchery and sinful delight! But, of course, you can call me Itsudatsu... Itsu for short." "Stall them for a little, clean this mess up, oh! I have such wonderful ideas for making this place looking a bit more presentable!" The stag beamed with excitement. "Oh Grim! Where's my kitty?" He started off, prancing towards the front line as a group of pale creatures followed the colorful prince. Half of them appeared to have been shaven or bleached to a pale chalky white, ponies missing their fur but keeping their mains and tails. Some of the others had the privilege of keeping their fur and look, but wore scandalous and clearly ineffective sets of armor and tight clothing. The gnoll continued to grumble, lumbering away as he begrudgingly followed behind Itsu with his own retinue of heavy armored warriors and gladiators. "So that's your plan then?" Someone said from behind woody, his voice young, perhaps younger than Woody's. "To bad you've already lost. You just don't know it yet." Standing behind him was an extremely tall unicorn, perhaps rivaling Luna or Cadence in height. He wore a set of red and white robes, heavy plates sitting over the robes around his torso, flank, and legs. His tail was wrapped and tied with an old thick cloth, concealing it, while his main was completely shaven off. The only part of him showing was his white head and top of his snout, most of his mouth being wrapped in that same cloth as his tail. His voice was slightly muffled by the cloth. Sparkling blue eyes glared at Woody.

The twins gave each other uncertain looks, before looking back at Maple and the other warrior. They both shook their heads no, as did the first warriors, though more vehemently. "That's not how it works!" She snapped. "You'll fight me, alone!" Though, the twins did step up. They were ready to fight too, but it didn't seem like they wanted to fight with the first sword wielding aggressor. There was some odd and confusing dynamic going on, and fortunately, Quartz was there to possibly explain. Maybe... "Bah ah ha! You already lost, cat..." Quartz mocked. "She's said she's not interested in fighting a battle she knows she can win. The only way you could beat her is if you teamed up with someone else. So, you can either wait till you actually can beat her, or get lost!" The sphinx's ears folded down in embarrassment. She lowered her aggressive stance and stepped aside, but remained near Maple and Quartz. The twins, however, stepped forward. It may not have been one on three, but the two on one still drew the attention of a lot of the fighters around the pit once again. They watched with a lot more interest. Quartz leaned in to whisper to Maple. "You're doing good but... you sure you don't need a break or something? I mean, you beat these two once and you got most of the cats here. But if you lose, they're not goanna fight you for a while, and most cat's don't like fighting over one on one. I'm pretty sure you already got a few of them to follow you..." She gestured to the sphinx she had soundle beaten, along with a few others watching in excitement nearby on the benches up the hill. They were less interested in the twins, and more interested in Maple, like they were... fans? "Ah, what?" The stag responded incredulously. "And uhm, why exactly are you trying to make the Twin Tails angry?" The gnoll grumbled something under his breath, poking Woody in the shoulder with one of his rusty swords. The hyena like creature was a massive beast. Not quite as big as grim, but imposing no less, twice the size of an average diamond dog. Along with his red rusty armor, golden jewelry and numerous bleached skulls and bones, he had a hide cap draped across his back. "Saba take over." The gnoll stated. "Grim not smart, sometimes loose." The stag scoffed and shook his head no. "Ha! Funny, how about no. Why don't you go find a doorknob to lick, dog. Our uncle here has specific goals in mind. He doesn't want to conquer! No, he want's a friendly duel, right?" He poked woody with his cloven hoof from the opposite side. "Please, allow me to take command here. Let grim or that dog do it and they'll kill everyone before the Twin Tails shows up. Me? I'm an expert at the theatrical, and I'll drag things out for you." "No!" The gnoll snapped. "Pretty waste time! Only do for slave and money. I kill everything. Get done right!" While those two were arguing Grim had finished his duel in the air and was sitting on a house closer to the cathedral. The warriors hadn't charged yet, but were rallying down the street from the cathedral square where the defenders were gathering in huge numbers. Grim was patiently waiting for his own men to filter into the city, running around Woody and the other two to join their comrades. Many of the newer warriors were spreading out into the rest of the city, trying to surround the cathedral by battling stragglers in the streets, ransacking and burning houses for distraction.

The young one's cringed and tried to avoid looking into the Empress' eyes. Ears folded down and sullen, one was silently crying while the others were trying to hide the tears. Even the dog, though that whole tough unstoppable exterior thing most attributed to diamond dogs was a myth from day one. "We..." One of the colts, an emerald green fellow with an obsidian tail tried to speak, stammering. "We just wanted to see what it was like..." The dog finally looked up, puppy dog eyes inadvertently trying to work their way on Flurry. "I thought... I thought it was just a myth... the over world, we didn't think it was real!"

The other two paused, glaring back at maple as she readied her weapon. The twins both tensed up, preparing for a fight, and clearly itching for one as they bared their fangs as well. The first sphinx, however, growled as she looked back at her companions before stepping in front of Maple's view. "You're going to fight me again! For real this time!" She stated aggressively. At the same instance Quartz was returning carrying a large sack over her shoulder. Storm was nowhere to be seen, but she smiled when she saw the scene of Maple apparently squaring off against the three warriors. Casually the diamond dog stepped beside the bat. "Hey, we're back. Storm ran into a... big gopher, so I'm holding onto his things till he gets back. Guess you got some sphinxes to follow you around eh?" She nudged Maple in a hearty friendly manner. "Now you just got to fight the biggest one around here... ah, but we weren't gone all that long, I'm pretty sure you still need rest..." Grim was up above duking it out with a dragon and several dozen flyers in the sky. He paused mid swing with a smirk before nodding in understanding. The undivided prince would have been fine either way, but he made a gesture with his claws to a sphinx angrily watching the fight from up on the walls. She was elated by the command, and wasted no time. The sphinx grabbed a horn from her belt and turned to face outside the wall to blow it. In an instant a flood of Wolf warriors poured over the wall and through the gate. Sphinxes, giant wolves, gnolls, all manner of terrible creature bursting through and slaughtering any defender still in the crowd as they pushed through to add to the undivided warriors and Serpent's deer and elegantly dressed warriors. The Wolf warriors were ruthlessly efficient, giving off loud obnoxious battle cries. Suddenly someone sent the knight Woody was fighting clear into the crowd. A large hulking gnoll stepped up beside Woody. He was an old beaten looking creature, mangy with no end of scars and torn ears. One eye was a milky white, and his dark grey fur was matted with dried blood stains. His armor was a dark rusted red, and he carried a bastard sword in both paws. "Master say help..." The gnoll grumbled, pointing a sword at Woody and scowling at the draconequus. With the added weight of the new fighters, the chaos army devoured the defenders in the crowd. Their line broke, with only one more volley from the rifles before they began to retreat. They, a few state troops, and the cannon crews were in a panicked retreat, running up the hill towards the cathedral where it was apparent more troops were mustering. A tall and regal looking stag, one abnormally beautiful for someone on the battlefield, gently navigated through the carnage to step beside Woody. He would have given even Equestrian super models a run for their money. "Ugh, no tact..." He sighed, rolling his eyes towards Woody. "Mother was certainly right, do you have any idea what your doing uncle?"

@Fennekin Why of course... several in fact. It's only logical for us sentient creatures to have such regrets. But, hindsight is 20/20 isn't it? Sadly all we can do is attempt to amend our mistakes and continue on. For the good of the hive of course. Learning from them is one thing, but dwelling? Such distractions are unacceptable!

@Fennekin Why, glad you asked! A drone elevated to a higher status of course, ones that serve in leadership positions where access to direct commands to our brilliant Queen is unavailable or impractical. We're rewarded for our *ahem* ingenuity and loyalty to the hive. An advanced state too, not like those ugly and garish 'reformed' changelings. Ugh... such traitorous things, wouldn't you agree?

You know, I have no idea what the big deal is about these 'ask' threads, so why not start one? So, feel free to ask me anything from life in a black shell hive, to neuro surgery, to those pesky elements that leave me uncertain after the last season about who actually claims the title as holders. Doesn't mean I'll be able to give you a good answer... XD

The small undead creature, after climbing back up on Maple, didn't acknowledge or respond to her. For whatever reason, it all but ignored her, except for the purpose of riding atop her. On the other hand, the sphinx was to embarrassed to say anything as she began to stand up. She rushed over to her weapon, and despite Maple having turned her back to her, a clear sign of dismissal, the sphinx started towards the bat. Some of the other noticed, clearly interested to see if the sphinx would make such a dishonorable move. Her pride was already broken, so perhaps it wasn't much of a stretch. But, instead of striking form behind, the sphinx caught up to maple and tried to shove her aside to get her attention. Sword finally slung across her back, she glared at Maple. "How did you do that!?" She snapped. "You cheated somehow!" The cat began following Maple, wanted or not. Two other sphinx got up from their seats and trailed behind the two, the cat's friends no doubt, or perhaps other challengers. Both were violent looking claw fighters, no swords or shields, just armored forearms with claws. Brawlers. The rabbit and mage backed off, the rabbit now unable to even carry her weapon. She was horrified about hitting her companion, stuck between the decision to pull him back to tend his wounds or somehow continue fighting. She was broken by the move. However, the knight and witch hunter both recovered. And tried to press forward, the witch hunter thrusting his rapier forward in stabbing motions while the knight tried to shield him. Elsewhere, it looked like Woody's forces were winning, the Serpent's fighters taking up the majority of the group. They were clearly ready for the challenge of not killing Woody hat set forth. And yet, the muskets had backed off and disengaged from the fight, regrouping in formation up the hill just under the cannons. They were preparing to fire once again, this time with clear line of site over the entire crowd. But, the cannons fired first. An artillery officer made a gesture with his hoof. They fired all at once, booming and shattering windows as they hurled giant led balls into the crowd, indiscriminately barreling through some of their own fighters to get to the bulk of the chaos warriors. The first volley was devastating, leaving swaths of fallen warriors in its wake. It was already questionable if Woody's no kill order would work, but now deaths were guaranteed. The company of rifles leveled their weapons at Woody's troops, preparing to fire into the crowd.

@woodchunks66 "Right away ma'am!" The officer replied, before rushing off. By the time Flurry arrived at the station, the military had arrived to secure the area and clear the block of civilians. Down at every intersection as far as she could see, several dozens of troops stood by deploying sturdy barricades. Those near the pricinct itself wore heavy duty environmental gear, EVO troopers. Diamond Chest was one of them, nodding as he escorted Flurry through the cacophony of activity inside the building. Officers were rushing around, soldiers were pushing through and trying to push everyone out. Quartz was in the main booking office talking with the precincts chief when she noticed Flurry enter. There was a flurry of bows and salutes to the Empress, but Diamond Chest wasted no time in the main office. Instead, he pushed past everyone, helping make way for the Empress into the hall that lead to the cells. More EVO dogs stood outside the cells, guarding it while several medics in similar gear examined the three suspects. The dogs sported massive riot shields as tall as they were, parting for the Empress to see the suspects and medics. "Your grace." One of the medics stated, turning around to salute Flurry. "As far as we can tell, none have been infected." Two crystal ponies and a diamond dog, all three rather young and probably still in high school. They looked terrified, still shaking but trying not to look anyone in the eye.

@woodchunks66 "Your grace!! Your grace!" Someone shouted, rushing towards Flurry. There was never a moment of piece for her. Not anymore. Somehow messengers, representatives, and other stuffed shirts always seemed to find her. Didn't matter if she told someone or not. She could be hiding in the restroom and they'd probably barge in to speak with her. The burden of her station perhaps. The guard slid to a stop behind her, panting for a moment in clear distress. "Your grace, they've returned! The breachers- err, smugglers, the one's that dug into the overworld!" "They entered through the secondary entrance in the city, they showed us where but... that's just it, they came to the station to turn themselves in... the came across something in the overworld. They said it was looking for the city..." He gulped, still trying to catch his breath. "Ma'am, I don't know if they're telling the truth or not but... they turned themselves in, and this is a crime that could net them execution. Whatever they saw..." "I- I'm sorry your grace." He said finally calming down to bow respectfully. "Please forgive my informal behavior."

@Lektra Bolt @woodchunks66 @Denim&Venom Candor dawned a furious scowl as he slowly turned to address the lieutenant. He didn't mind it if his subordinates spoke informally with him, but there were just some things that weren't wise to mention to your superiors under any circumstances. Especially when standing a spitting distance from the Director and the Grand Marshal. "You're what?" He snapped at the Lt. The captain paused, looking around to examine the large highway they currently stood on. The convoy started at the gate, and trailed quite a distance down a few blocks. There were a thousand troops standing around. Everyone was formed up on one side of the highway, while the other was completely empty, save for the small command staff discussing things among themselves and the three higher ups beside them. "Assemble your company." The captain ordered, anger in his voice. "Form up in front of me. Tell them to leave their ruck sacks where they are, just bring combat gear. GO!" He snapped the last bit, waiting for the Lt. to get to it before he turned back to AJ. "That's the attitude of a greenhorn with a fresh commission out of the academy. She's never even been out in the field before, I guarantee it. 75% of being a soldier is waiting. Out of the 24 hours in a day, maybe 30 minutes of that is spent in combat, if it even happens at all. The rest is waiting for battle and remaining vigilant. I don't have a need for someone who doesn't have the patience to wait for orders." Candor chuckled a little bit. "Plus, with her attitude, giving her remedial training won't change her attitude. She doesn't care what happens to herself, that's most good soldiers. But, she might care about what happens to her soldiers. So, we punish her soldiers for her actions. If she doesn't care, then she's not the kind of leader I want in the field with me, and I'll send her back to rear detachment to work in an office while we're out on our expedition." "Normally I wouldn't have to go through so much trouble to weed out good troops to take with me, but they kind of just threw all this at me last minute." He added.

Zephyr only gave a cursory glare at Chrysalis. He tried not to even look at her, or Will for that matter. The praetorian was thoroughly displeased by the current turn of events, and the impromptu continual changes in plans. This was not at all how he planned things to go... not that he had a specific itinerary, but he expected quite a bit less strife and excitement. He got enough of that out in the wildlands. "Very well. Let us proceed." He responded to Lektra as they walked into the building. He looked around curiously, even at the main hall as they entered, getting glimpses of some of the students rushing through the halls. Most classes were in session at the time, but there were always a few going to various rooms for different reasons. His changeling retinue trailed in behind him, two by two with the two fireflies directly behind Zephyr. He paused when Lektra posed the question about grades. The changeling tried to consider what she was referring too... did she mean intelligence levels? House Pisces didn't really have schools in the typical sense... a pod of twelve to twenty grubs were assigned a single caretaker. That caretaker remained with them until the grubs were old enough to be assigned responsibilities and sent off for specialized training. Until then that single caretaker was responsible for teaching them basic concepts, and provide additional teaching to those under their care that shows aptitude or interest in various areas. That meant there was no such thing as school breaks or 'days off', as the process was a daily affair. Colts and fillies, and other young creatures were generally mixed in with the grubs. Zephyr blushed a little, looking back at Lektra with a little bit of embarrassed confusion. "You mean intelligence phases or... age? I suppose I'd like to start at one of the newer uhm, grades." Zephyr reached over, partially using his magic, to pull Will beside him. He lowered his head to whisper to the other changeling. "What does she mean by grade?" he asked with his whisper.

The sphinx only got angrier at the assessment of her combat skills... or lack thereof. She growled for a moment, before looking at where Maple was pointing. She squinted, assuming the bat was referring to some kind of bug or something, before shaking her head in dismissal and growling once again. "Shut up!" She snapped. "Enough wasting my time, you're mine!" Meanwhile, the short creature looked at the sphinx, before looking at the ground in front of him and directly in between Maple and the cat. He took two steps back, stepped to the side, then looked back up at the sphinx. "You won't attack me? Then I'll start us off again!" She shouted, charging forward swinging her sword overhead. The undead creature held his stick out in front of him. Of course, the sphinx still didn't see it... she tumbled forward, sword flying off to the side in a spinning motion. She dove headfirst into the dirt. The little creature put his pointed hand up to his skeletal snout as if stifling a silent laugh, before casually waddling back over to Maple and climbing back onto her back. The sphinx looked up in shock and horror, cheeks red with embarrassment as her tumble drew the laughter of those still in the fighting pit. The group of fighters surrounding Woody among the crowd of warriors battling to the death, despite missing with every blow, fought ferociously as they could. One of them, an earth pony witch hunter in brown leathers and black straps slashed with two rapiers in dancing motions. The rabbit had a short-sword he used like a claymore, spinning and slicing with the best of them. A red and white banner knight tried bashing Woody with his shield. Finally, the mage trying to stay with them used a series of magical swords to dance around Woody in an attempt to keep him contained, but clearly failing in his efforts. Some the witch hunter and banner knight both weren't able to keep their footing. Still, the rabbit and mage maintained the attack on woody. They were desperate, but they weren't going to stop until they were dead or dying. The battle around them was just as one sided. While there weren't many warriors from the Wolf hanging around, especially after the order not to actually kill anyone, the place was flooded by the flashy war dancers of the Serpent, wearing scandalous and skimpy armors with black, pink, and purple colors. They were far more delighted by the prospect of the challenge, slicing off limbs and delivering horrific but survivable wounds. Just like grim, they had a sort of sadistic delight slicing apart their foes. There was no fear on their part, this was what they lived for. Nothing but an insane rage and lustful glee while they carved a path through the crowded streets of militia and state troops. Further up the street, the road rose up a hill towards the cathedral. More troops streamed down into the fray, but among them a row of cannons rolled into position.

Zephyr glared at Will. "I've already released you, traitor. Keep pressing your luck and I'll apprehend you again." He huffed a few times, considering 'Chrisie's' request. He didn't like the idea of helping the former traitor queen though, the very same that helped to destroy her own hive. There was no telling what others might think of him if he assisted both a traitor and the cause for all of those phase zero reformed changelings. Then again... he didn't have to 'help' her. Instead, he could 'clip her wings', figuratively speaking, effectively destroying her more powerful dark magical abilities. Such an act would surely be seen as beneficial, to destroy this new Chrysalis and leave her a shell of her former self by removing the miasma within her. She leaves happily, New Everfree is thankful, and he's removed a dangerous threat from the world. Sounds like a win all around, but he wasn't going to let it be just the one victory. Zephyr sighed. "Fine. I agree to help you... Queen." he said the word begrudgingly, she was still a queen after all. Should he tell her about the other exiles? "Let us continue on our tour. We now have a great deal more to discuss." He closed his shell and relaxed, along with his followers. "Proceed." The praetorian gave a polite tilt of the head in acknowledgement to Lektra.

@Lektra Bolt @Denim&Venom @woodchunks66 The captain rubbed his forehead in dismay. At this point, there was really nothing he could do. Him and his troops were at the whims of three arguing mares, none of which he could try to reason with or offer any suggestions to. As far as they were concerned, he was just some random nameless soldier that just so happened to be standing around. Fortunately, he wasn't the only one. Candor stepped back, pulling AJ and the lieutenant both away from the tyrant trio. "Ma'am, it might be bet if we stay out of this." Candor stated to AJ. "All we can do is wait for them to finish arguing. Not much point in trying to give our two cents. They've already decided in their heads what they want to do." And that was that. Of course now he needed to worry about wasting resources and whatnot, just sitting around waiting for them to make a decision. That's how coin got wasted in the army, just sitting around waiting for superiors to make a blasted decision. Every minute off schedule is another drop of coin in the bucket.

The creature merely stared back at her with its empty eye sockets and natural grin of a bony mouth. It didn't respond to her question, perhaps it couldn't. Or rather, it just didn't want to. Not that anyone else would know. The sphinx looked a little confused, tilting her head slightly as she sidestepped to try and stay in Maple's line of sight as she tried to look at the creature on her back. The cat clearly didn't see it. "What, it's not obvious?!" The sphinx snapped back at Maple, thinking the bat was addressing her. "Rematch, now! I wasn't ready last time!" She unholstered her claymore from her back, swinging it and leveling it towards Maple. At the same time, the undead robed tiny creature on Maple's back changed looked over to the sphinx, staring at her for a good while. Casually, he slid off of Maple's back and took a few steps forward. "I won't give you another chance to ready yourself bat!" The sphinx shouted. His followers gasped. The lord looked ashamed at his utter failure, something he should have expected. It was a foolish mistake, one he wouldn't have accepted form any of his comrades. Yet there he was, bloody with a sword in his back. "CHARGE!!" The rabbit creature shouted, firing her rifle at woody. The entire front line of soldiers fired their musekts into Woody and Grim, along with the chaos warriors behind them. After the first line fired, they crouched to reload while the second row fired. Once their weapons were discharged, a crowd of soldiers with pikes and spears leaped and charged between the gunners and rushed forward, swarming the street and shouting battle cries. They poured from the front, and the many side alleys and side streets. On the rooftops, the rangers, militia, and flyers began raining down fire as well, some jumping down into the fray. In an instant it was complete madness, the city defenders completely surrounding pockets of chaos warriors. Even grim seemed to be having some trouble fighting off the long spears and pikes being jabbed at him from all sides. The group of heroes who had accompanied the Lord charged for Woody and Woody alone, the rabbit creature riding atop one of the heavy troopers with his ornate sword. The mage cast a shield as they charged, trying to smash it into Woody. Other nameless warriors tried to surround Woody, though nervously, leveling their spears and swords as they moved in to attack.

"Yes of course your grace!" Quartz bowed respectfully in response. The canine was finally put at ease around the Queen Empress. For whatever reason, most were still a little timid and afraid around her. Not that her mother was a tyrant, or she herself. It was the position of power, the authority both held, if nothing else the pure magnitude of their title. It didn't help that most of the Imperial Guard were a bit more stern than the rest of the legion. They were quite thorough when screening those who would see and speak with her. "I'll have a 24 hour heavy guard on the current entrance and we'll find the second, if there is one. I mean... if we look for it here in the city... I imagine it would be much easier to spot it from the overworld. If it wasn't contaminated of course!" She chuckled nervously. "I mean, I'm sure our Evo commandos could handle it, but why take unnecessary risks." She looked up at Flurry hopefully. It was an exciting prospect after all... to see the outside. Few could actually grasp what it was like out there, since most alive nowadays had never seen anything outside of the giant city cavern and the adjoining underways. Though, she wasn't going to say so directly of course... "Yes of course your grace!" Quartz bowed respectfully in response. The canine was finally put at ease around the Queen Empress. For whatever reason, most were still a little timid and afraid around her. Not that her mother was a tyrant, or she herself. It was the position of power, the authority both held, if nothing else the pure magnitude of their title. It didn't help that most of the Imperial Guard were a bit more stern than the rest of the legion. They were quite thorough when screening those who would see and speak with her. "I'll have a 24 hour heavy guard on the current entrance and we'll find the second, if there is one. I mean... if we look for it here in the city... I imagine it would be much easier to spot it from the overworld. If it wasn't contaminated of course!" She chuckled nervously. "I mean, I'm sure our Evo commandos could handle it, but why take unnecessary risks." She looked up at Flurry hopefully. It was an exciting prospect after all... to see the outside. Few could actually grasp what it was like out there, since most alive nowadays had never seen anything outside of the giant city cavern and the adjoining underways. Though, she wasn't going to say so directly of course... "Yes of course your grace!" Quartz bowed respectfully in response. The canine was finally put at ease around the Queen Empress. For whatever reason, most were still a little timid and afraid around her. Not that her mother was a tyrant, or she herself. It was the position of power, the authority both held, if nothing else the pure magnitude of their title. It didn't help that most of the Imperial Guard were a bit more stern than the rest of the legion. They were quite thorough when screening those who would see and speak with her. "I'll have a 24 hour heavy guard on the current entrance and we'll find the second, if there is one. I mean... if we look for it here in the city... I imagine it would be much easier to spot it from the overworld. If it wasn't contaminated of course!" She chuckled nervously. "I mean, I'm sure our Evo commandos could handle it, but why take unnecessary risks." She looked up at Flurry hopefully. It was an exciting prospect after all... to see the outside. Few could actually grasp what it was like out there, since most alive nowadays had never seen anything outside of the giant city cavern and the adjoining underways. Though, she wasn't going to say so directly of course...

The creature clung to Maple's back, though with some clear difficulty. He almost flung off on several occasions, but the little creature had certainly done something like that before. It was utterly silent though, and it oddly enough, barely weighed anything at all. In fact, if she had not seen him or felt his tiny little pointed hands, she might not have even noticed him. Some of the warriors gave her some odd looks. A few others tried to avoid looking, as if her actions were unusually cringe worthy. The little creature waited for Maple to calm down, clinging tightly with legs straddled around her back and arm wrapped halfway around her neck (neither were really long). "Hey!" Someone snapped. "Rematch!" It was the sphinx from before, the one she had just slayed. Despite just dying, she didn't look all that worse for ware, claymore slung across her back as she stood with a clearly aggressive stance staring at Maple from behind. The cat snarled, nose scrunched up and like the others, not even seeming to notice the little creature on Maple's back. The lord was just as surprised when Woody let him go as when he had picked him up. At first he was confused, looking between the blade and Woody with uncertainty, then suspicion. Still, he slowly and hesitantly picked up the sword. The rabbit creature from before, sporting a powder rifle reached out to stop him, along with protests from several more of his companions. He pushed them aside and stepped forward towards Woody, weapon at the ready. Grim watched with clear delight and interest. At the same instant, many of the chaos warriors began filling in behind him and Woody on the wide street. A few more city defenders showed up, filling in the gaps between the more elite looking groups. These were a ragged collection of civilians armed with whatever they could find, those that hadn't fled for their lives. Suddenly, but perhaps predictably, the lord charged Woody.

"Psch..." Storm scoffed, waving his claws indifferently. "Fine... whatever... well, I'm gonna go find some moles and groundhogs holes. Oh! Can you go grab some cheese and stuff to go with them? Maybe some red cider too..." "Yah, we didn't get to fight like you..." Quartz replied with a smirk. "Why don't you go back to the village and grab some stuff and we'll meet you out in the fields?" The two started walking down a path leading away from the small fighting pit and up the surrounding hill. A small, strange creature passed by them, but they didn't seem to notice it, or care at least. It didn't really give them any attention either, the little beast walking on to black toothpick legs. It was completely at odds with all the other creatures beating each other senseless around it. For that matter, it didn't fit in with the Wolf's followers at all. It wore a watery blue robe, kept together with stitches and patchwork repairs. In one of it's toothpick black arms it carried a stick with a lantern, blue flame swirling inside. Sticking out of the cowl of its robe was the dirty skull of some snouted creature for its head. Two ears poked out from the top of the cowl, both covered by more patchwork cloth. The tiny undead creature continued on its path, completely invisible to the warriors around it. Without hesitation, it stopped beside Maple, climbing up onto her back without so much as a word. The lord struggled as he began to rise in the air, panicking but trying to keep his demeanor. "H- he let you in here for one reason and one reason only!" The pony shouted. Many of his followers from earlier were present, standing behind (now below) him with weapons at the ready. Even the rabbit from before was sporting a rather large rifle, the ragtag group of Imperial adventurers in red and white colors ready for whatever came next. "SO THAT WE COULD KILL YOU!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. More fighters popped over the edges of the rooftops. They weren't the average soldiers. One group sporting various bows were deer rangers, the same kind one might find in the Everfree, draped in cloaks of grass and leaves with wooden armor. There was a blue dragon in gold armor, and more yet assorted adventurers and mercenaries. Grim merely gave a chuckle. "We'd rather die than let you hurt a single innocent creature in this city!" Shouted the lord, quite unable to really back up his bravado himself.

Zephyr was caught off guard by her sudden response, not quite expecting her to grab onto his head and essentially hold him down. The two fireflies moved to respond, but some signal sent by their commander put them at ease. Well, somewhat at ease, they remained uncomfortably close to Lektra, snarling in preparation to do the deed if need be. Of course, they held themselves at bay for the time being. Zephyr channeled his magic, both pincers on either side of his head glowing purples and pinks. Just as Lektra let go and tried to step back, the changeling shoved her back even further. Fortunately, as annoyed as he looked, he wasn't all that perturbed by her entirely physical response. The others were though... "Is that so?" He rose a brow, finally looking towards Chrysalis and Will. "So the traitor queen, the one that abandoned her hive when they needed her most, one that appears interested in hiding behind whatever facade she's created and unwilling to accept responsibility for her actions?" He huffed. It was clear he didn't fully grasp, or perhaps not even believe what Chrysalis or 'Chryssy' was saying. Likely the latter... her tale was a cautionary one told to his kind, a reminder of how thinking oneself superior to those around them could result in utter destruction. What made all this worse, was that both the traitors were in the same place, hitting it off relatively well all things considered. Perhaps his emotions really did obscure his judgement this time, letting will go that is. It didn't matter to him if she was 'reformed' or phase zero as his kind called it, more the point her person was there. "Help?" Zephyr replied incredulously as he stared at Chrysalis, before giving a suspicious look to Lektra. "Not only have I convinced my superiors to suspend any possibilities of hostilities between our two nations before even meeting you, I've also released a known traitor into your custody as a sign of good will. Now you and that... thing... are asking for my help? Doing what exactly, removing the miasma from her being? And what incentive do I have for doing such a thing?" "I would have much rather not been brought here under false pretenses..." He growled to Lektra. Zephyr then shifted his focus back to Chrysalis. "Even if I did want to help it, I would need additional Praetorians, and perhaps even a hexapod to amplify my abilities. I am very hesitant to bring a weapon of such magnitude and value anywhere near your city at present... current events notwithstanding."