Glow shook himself, trying to stay conscious as the Niox teleported them in bursts across the surface of the moon. Each moment that they reappeared, his arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets. Just as he felt he couldn't hold back the encroaching darkness anymore, they reappeared mere feet above the ground. The massive wall of fire that had been growing closer cast long shadows on the ground.

"Finally," the Niox muttered.

Glow felt himself slowly float down, though he almost wished the Niox had just dropped him. When his feet finally hit the ground, he let out a shaky sigh of relief. Sadly, he only had a moment's respite. The Niox let out a hacking cough, muttering something about Onyxians, before walking forward, forcefully pulling Glow with him.

As he struggled to keep up with the much longer legs, Glow glared at the Niox's back.

You just wait till my Dad finds you!

--

Greldo ripped through the shadows, his mind fuzzy from the effort of pulling two people along with him. It was a good thing neither had as much soulforce resonance as Irwin, or he would have failed even pulling them in. If Dahlia hadn't agreed to remain behind, he'd have had even more trouble. At least the shadowy cave had made the shadows act normal again. If he'd had to do this from the edge of the fire sea… he shivered at the memory of stepping into and out of the shadows there.

I'll be fine, just tired, he replied to Coal's worry. Besides, we are almost there.

The forest flowed around them as he shot toward where he knew their little town would be. He hadn't told Irwin, but the place had started to grow on him, and the idea that the Deadpact Mercenaries had found them made his anger boil. Couldn't they have any place that was safe?

They moved out of the shadows and into the open so fast that he almost overshot the shadows, and Greldo slowed to a stop. Thin trails of smoke were snaking up into the air from behind the walls, and he could hear the dampened shouts.

Dammit, they are here!

His thought came together with a building instability that he felt from his hold on Scintilla, and he rushed to the wall, through a crack, and then into their town. Many of the buildings lay in rubble, and there was fighting happening between and within some of the buildings. The Blademaidens were fighting in twos, mostly against a single attacker, but many fights didn't seem in their favor.

Heartcarded and soulcarded, Greldo thought as he moved towards the nearest fight.

Halfway there, he saw something near one of the smaller exits that made him stop.

Five Deadpact Mercenaries stood with their backs against the wall beside a small flying ship. A pale green barrier hovered between them and a furious-looking Hind. Her armor was ripped apart as if she'd run into a forest of razor leaves, and her face was warped into an angry scowl. A few trickles of thick, coppery blood ran from cuts that had managed to slice through her tough skin.

One of the mercenaries was working on the ship, looking terrified.

You think you are scared now? Greldo thought as he pushed himself and his heavy cargo out of the shadows. The sounds of battle and combat turned sharp and real, and he struggled to remain standing. Movement blurred away from him, and a moment later, Scintilla appeared beside Hind in a burst of blueish fire.

"Are you alright?"

Greldo looked at Zender, still surprised that they were of the same height now.

"I'm fine," Greldo said, his voice more weary than he had expected. "Go and help the others. Coal is checking the situations, and-"

No!

Greldo shivered at the image Coal sent him and forced away his weariness. He stepped back into the shadows, moving instantly. Without the baggage, there was barely any effort, but even that tiny bit was enough to make him almost nauseous. He barely noticed as he reappeared inside Irwin and Scintilla's house. Helm stood before the door, preventing anyone from entering. Sadly, he hadn't been here for all the time, that was clear.

Boohm lay in the center while Ti and Flux were fussing over Soot. The smallest of Irwin's children was sitting on a few pillows stacked against a wall, cradling his arm. His face was bruised, and Greldo could hear his laborious breathing. He stepped out of the shadows on the far end of the wall, keeping an eye on Helm to make sure the powerful Fiz'rin didn't make a rash mistake. As he did, what he feared proved true. There was no sound from Boohm- no heartbeat or barely audible breathing.

Irwin's going to be so upset, Greldo thought, as he remembered the first time he'd seen the bald Onyxian.

Helm hadn't responded when he appeared, and Greldo was about to say something when Zan shouted his name.

"Greldo!"

The young Ignizian girl rushed toward him, her face torn with fear and worry.

"He killed Boohm and took Glow! There was nothing we could do!"

Glow?!

Greldo felt a wave of anger and worry threaten to swallow him, and he struggled to contain it. Before he could, Zan had run toward him, and a moment later, she was huddled in his arms, crying softly. Somehow, holding the tiny girl made the sharp anger fade enough for him to take a shuddering breath.

"What happened?" he asked, looking at Helm.

The older Fiz'rin remained at the door, seeming unwilling to move from the only entrance to the room.

"I don't know," Helm said, shaking his head. "When Earila warned me, I rushed over, but by the time I came here, it was chaos. Hind was here, but she hadn't been able to get here in time. One of these bloody mercenaries had a lockdown shield, and he was powerful enough to hold her in place. When she came here, the situation was as you see it. Hind rushed out to release some of her anger, and I remained to guard the kids."

Greldo thought about the thin shield and the group near the flying ship and grunted.

"Hind is near the east wall, glaring at a group of mercenaries that are hiding behind a shield," he said. "Go and help. I'll stay here."

Helm looked at him, his dark, coppery face hard to read. Greldo imagined he might be worried about how weary he looked. A moment later, six of Coal's shadow clones appeared in the room, shortly after followed by Coal himself.

"We will be fine," Greldo said.

Helm nodded, looked at Boohm's unmoving body, then walked out.

Guard the door and warn me if anything comes near it, Greldo sent to Coal.

The enormous hound was already moving, blocking the entire entrance with his massive frame. As Greldo looked at it, then at the kids, he wondered if he shouldn't ask Irwin about getting these kids a card like that. If they were able to move through the shadows and have someone like Coal, things would have been different.

"Alright, what happened?" he asked again, looking at the children and fearing what he would hear.

They all began talking at the same time, but he managed to understand enough to feel a slight bit of relief.

"So, he said he would be heading back?" he asked, looking at Ti, who seemed the calmest of the bunch.

"Yes, but I think he was too fast to agree to Glow," she said, frowning. "He might not have expected all of us, or… well, he looked very wounded. I think Boohm-"

Her voice broke, and Greldo saw her gaze drift to the unmoving shape. If she'd been able to, he was sure tears would be forming in her eyes now. Instead, her hands shook while her face warped with sadness. Zan, who had been huddled in his arms, struggled to get away, and Greldo put her on the ground. The girl ran toward Ti, wrapping her in a hug.

Greldo sighed as he walked to Soot and sat down beside the boy.

"Remind me to teach you how to dodge doors," he said, scanning the boy but finding only bruises. He did hold his arm close, and a quick examination told Greldo it was broken.

"I'd rather have six soulcards and a heartcard," Soot said, glowering at the empty back of his good hand. "Then I could have ripped that stupid Niox's mask off and fed it to him sideways."

Gredo grinned, then remembered the face behind the mask of the one Irwin had killed, and his grin turned into a grimace.

"That'd be easier than you think," he said. "They have pretty large mouths."

Soot looked at him, and a tiny fire of curiosity burned in his eyes.

Greldo looked around, noticing the others were also staring at him, and he sighed.

Anything to distract them for now, he decided.

"Remember those stories we told you about Scour?" he began.

--

Scintilla reappeared behind the two mercenaries in a burst of blue fire, piercing one with Leafbrand and kicking the other. She felt no little satisfaction as the one pierced by the long sword let out a shout of pain, and she ripped it out while angling it upward, cutting through armor, flesh, and bone as if it weren't there.

The second one scrambled up, pointing his hands at her. Three gray daggers were rotating around each of his hands, and they shot toward her so that if she hadn't expected it, they might have pierced her chest and face. Now, she merely used her fire dash to move a foot to the side, the blue flames swirling through the air as she reappeared, jumped, and struck in a single movement. Leafbrand moved through a familiar pattern, blocking a single new knife flung her way before slashing the mercenary's arm, his chest, and then his throat.

With a wet gurgle, the mercenary dropped to his knees.

Scintilla was about to turn back to her sprint towards her home and her children when the man's hands glowed when he pressed them on his throat. A pale golden glow suffused his skin, and the squirting blood rapidly stopped.

Healing card?

She was moving before the thought finished, putting her blade across his neck, causing the man to freeze. His pepper and salt beard was stained with his own ruddy blood, and his eyes were bloodshot and wide.

"You are coming with me," Scintilla hissed. "I might need your skill!"

The man licked his lips, visibly hesitating.

"Or would you rather die now?" she snapped.

"I can only heal myself," the man croaked, his voice clearly not fully recovered.

Scintilla felt the tiny relief at finding a healer die down as her frost-fire seemed to flow back through her.

"That's too bad," she snapped, jerking Leafbrand around.

She was already running to her house when the mercenary's head hit the ground independently of his body. Coal was in the doorway as she reached it, moving away as she approached, and when she walked in, she stopped. Boohm lay unmoving in the center of the room, his arms neatly along his body.

Greldo sat with Soot at the furthest wall while the other children were sitting-

"Glow?!" The cry escaped her as Scintilla walked into the room.

"Mommaheat!"

A multivoiced cry, tinged with immense relief, came as four of her children ran towards her, huddling against her waist as she tried to hug them all. They were all talking at the same time, and Scintilla let them as she focused on Greldo.

A weary headshake was all she got, and Scintilla felt a tremor run through her.

"Easy now, easy now," she muttered, trying to remain calm. She focused on Zi. "Where is your brother?"

--

Glow drew in ragged breaths as he was pulled along by the Niox. His legs were heavy, and even the seemingly bottomless energy his new card had given him had proven unable to keep up with the multiple soulcards of the Niox. Instead, he stumbled a few steps and then got yanked forward by the chain held by the Niox.

"I'm going to need to head back after this," the Niox muttered to himself.

Glow barely noticed. The masked being had been muttering and cursing nonstop, mostly about his bad luck having to deal with some Onyxian that actually had combat cards.

"Shouldn't be long before it stops working," the Niox grunted. "I hope he is permanently damaged, that persistent bald bastard."

Although he heard the words, they didn't register with Glow, as he stumbled another few feet before being yanked forward a dozen. Part of him knew that without his card, he'd have never been able to remain on his feet.

"Almost there, you little brat," the Niox growled. "Then I'm going to rest and perhaps toy with those bigger Ingitzians we caught. If the others left any alive."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

--

Irwin watched the two soulforce signatures close in on his spot. Three Blademaidens sat beside him, each with a fire teleport that allowed them to move from one source of heat to another. Although with a short range, it was the only instant teleport they had.

"Make sure you don't bring him into your soulscape while he has that dampening chain on," Ambraz said, flying nervous circles around Irwin's otherself.

"I won't," Irwin replied, his anger so hot it seemed to have flipped around.

His eyes burned as he watched the weaker of the two soulforce signatures being pulled forward to the larger. The two figures were a hundred feet away, walking through a narrow canyon at the bottom of a massive cave. The end would lead them to a winding set of tunnels that ended up in the secret base. He wanted nothing more than to rush forward and free his son, but from what he had learned from the Niox's cards, he knew that would be foolish. Besides being able to teleport insane distances, he was supposedly able to return to his last teleport point. If he did that, there was a chance Irwin would lose his advantage and inadvertently risk his son's life.

Unless the other one was lying, he thought, the churning and raging anger deep in his mind was bubbling up slightly. His mind replayed what he'd done, and a tiny part of him shivered, wondering if he'd gone too far. Then he looked at the tiny figure, which Ambraz had said was Glow, being pulled behind the Niox that had gone to their tiny hamlet.

"We are ready," one of the Blademaidens whispered, and Irwin looked at them. Each of the three stared at him, waiting for his command. If his mind wasn't in shock by what was happening, Irwin might have wondered about the ease with which they had followed each of his commands. As it was, he focused on the two shapes, waiting for them to be in the middle of the long, narrow corridor.

"Now," he said, preparing himself.

Three soulforce spikes rang out from beside him, and Irwin moved, letting out a rumbling roar. As if in sync with him, the three Blademaidens appeared beside the two figures, but Irwin didn't wait to see if they would succeed in cutting the chain. Instead, he moved across the sound waves.

--

Glow started as something appeared beside him while a roar came from above. The sound was familiar, but it contained such anger that he didn't immediately recognize it. He blinked as something zipped through the air, and then two strikes against the chain caused him to stumble forward before a third slid clean through.

"What!" the Niox's head snapped up, then around as everything seemed to happen at the same time.

"Glow, come!"

Glow blinked as he saw two blademaidens beside him, while another stood between him and the Niox. They began drawing him back when something thudded onto the ground beyond the Niox.

"DAD!"

Glow had never been so glad to see someone in his entire life. Then he saw Irwin's face, warped in a mask of fury as he glared at the Niox.

"He killed Boohm!" Glow shouted.

His father's eyes focused on him for a short moment, but it was enough for Glow to take a step back in shock. He had never seen his father truly angry. Annoyed, yes. Faking being angry many times. But as he saw the unbridled anger and fury in his Dad's eyes, he shivered.

It had some effect, though, as Irwin stepped forward, glaring at the Niox.

"How did you get here?" the Niox grunted, audibly stifling a cough. "Never mind, I'll grab you now, and that will be the end of this mission."

He barely finished his words when Irwin vanished and reappeared almost in his face, two hands wrapped around his neck. The Niox grabbed the wrists, a grunt of effort as the muscles in his pale, hulking form bulged out.

Glow wanted to say something, but the words stuck in his throat as his father yanked the massive Niox from his feet and slammed him into the wall as if he weighed nothing. Flames and fire licked around his copper-colored hands, lighting up the previously dark area and returning color to the shades of red that had been all Glow had been able to see before. The flames rippled up and around Irwin's arms as the temperature surged, going from okayish to nice to energizingly intense.

The sound of shattering glass came from the rocks all around as cracks and finger-thick fissures appeared. Thick plates slid down from higher up, crashing into the ground and tossing up dust and debris that swirled through the air.

Glow raised his hands as dust billowed into his face, and he felt bits of rock tick on his head and body. With narrow eyes, he looked through his fingers to see the skin around the Niox's neck turn from pale white to gray to black- patches flaking off and burning to a crisp in the raging storm for fire.

"We've gotta go!"

Glow felt himself being pulled up by one of the Blademaidens, and the next thing he knew, the world changed into a swirl of red, similar to when his Heatmother teleported him around. A moment later, he reappeared in a place that was far colder and darker.

"Where's dad?" he asked, swaying on his feet as the shock of everything slammed into him.

One of the Blademadens -his mind wouldn't come up with her name- lowered herself to his feet and smiled warmly. "Don't worry, Glow. You are fine. Those Niox scum can't get to you, and your Dad… well, he's just making sure that specific one is very sorry for doing what he did."

Glow nodded, though he shivered as he recalled the burning rage in his father's eyes. Part of him was ecstatic that his father was there to make the Niox pay, but some of him feared the unbridled fury he'd seen. His father had always been a calm, kind, and mostly gentle person… at least that's what he had thought.

"What if he can't control himself…" he whispered, shivering.

"Little one, don't worry," the Blademaiden said as she lowered to the ground and put her arm around him. "Your father will be fine. His fury burns bright, but it won't consume him."

Glow leaned into her, nodding as he heard distant explosions and felt shivers run through the ground.

"Where are we?" he asked, suddenly recalling the Blademaiden's name, Klazi.

"A little distance from the Deadpact Mercenary base," Klazi said, looking up at the other two. "The others are there, and we will go to them after your father is done."

Glow nodded, and as he leaned against the Blademaiden, safe and secure, his eyelids began drooping.

"Glow, what happened back in our base?" Klazi asked him.

Glow felt a weary sadness, and he shook his head. "They attacked us, and Boohm tried to stop the Niox, and he killed him," he said sadly, not noticing the shock that ran across the three Blademaidens' faces. "The others were fine when I left, and I think the mercenaries were losing…" Glow yawned widely, blinking. "He threw a door at Soot, but he was still alive…"

His voice trailed off, and slowly, his breathing eased up.

"He's asleep," Klazi whispered as she looked at the boy, who had his arms wrapped around her. She smiled at the cute face, so different from all other Ignitzians except his brothers, and wondered if one of her embers would ever turn out like that.

"He's not wrong," one of her Bladesisters whispered, looking into the distance from which they could hear Irwin's rampage. "His rage was something to behold."

"He'll be fine," Klazi said, shaking her head as she stroked the boy's hair. "Scintilla told me some stories about him and how he has reacted in the past. He'll get over it."

"I hope you are right, sister."

--

Irwin sat on the rock as the steep walls continued to crack and crumble. He'd stopped his heat a few minutes ago, but the cooling seemed to have as much of an effect as the heat had before. Not that he really noticed it, nor the stone dust and debris that billowed around him, settling on his shoulders.

"Kid…"

Irwin shuddered as he looked at Ambraz, perched on his shoulder. The Ganvil's mouth was a tight line.

"You okay?"

"I don't know what happened, and I can't get back fast," Irwin whispered. "What if the others…"

"They are fine," Ambraz hissed. "Glow only said they killed Boohm, nothing about his brothers or sisters!"

Irwin's shoulders sagged as he pictured the burly, loudmouthed Onyxian. He felt the embers of the raging anger stir before fading again, and he glanced at the burned-out husk that was the Niox. He'd planned to capture him. Ask more about who was behind... All of that was out of the question now, and he'd have to hope the other one would live after what he'd done to get the few answers he now had.

"Kid, you did good! Maybe you went a bit overboard just now, but who can really blame you?" Ambraz said, flying up and, in a first, landing atop Irwin's head, causing him to blink in surprise. "This disgusting piece of Udugtaur dung was with the Deadpact Mercenaries! For all he's likely done, including killing Boohm, he deserves to die... Yes, it would have been better if you'd asked him a few questions first, but we still have one alive!"

Irwin blinked, staring at the burned corpse, the neck cracked and crumbled, the head having rolled a bit away. He knew he was procrastinating and that he should rush to Glow, but he was afraid of what he might hear. What if something horrible had happened or was happening, and he was stuck here? As he watched it, he saw a tiny gleam among the ash and stone dust.

"What…"

He slowly got up, moving to the corpse and wiping away the filth to reveal a yellow card.

"Did it drop this? But… he had soulcards," Irwin muttered, shaking his head.

"Probably had it hidden somewhere," Ambraz said.

Irwin frowned, examining the corpse, then shook his head. "Where? He only had pants and a mask," he said.

"Perhaps… take the mask," Ambraz said.

Irwin's curiosity overcame the lethargy that suffused him after his unbridled rage, and he grabbed the mask. It was slightly cracked but had held up better to the heat than the rest of the Niox, and as his fingers touched it, some of the previous pale white bone was revealed. The Niox's face was burned to the skull, which had barely any resemblance to that of a human. Ignoring it, Irwin inspected the mask and blinked in surprise. Three more cards were nestled against the inside, covering a dense network of tiny runes. An empty spot showed where the fourth card had likely been.

"I think it's the cards he expected to use for his next heartcard," Ambraz muttered. "All of them are surprisingly well-made body improvement cards. Strength, constitution, hardiness. Simple, but effective…"

Irwin nodded as he rose, staring at the card.

"I think I prefer just living a quiet life with my family and smithing," he said as he stared at the burned husk and recalled the overpowering feeling he had just felt. Even now, it took all his self-control not to rush off and see how the others were doing.

"You and me both," Ambraz grunted. "Sadly, until we figure out what the hell is going on, the chances of something chasing you are too large."

Irwin growled as he turned and walked along the rubble and debris-filled path.

"I'm going to figure out who is behind all this and make them regret it," he grumbled before taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself. "Let's go and see Glow."

With a loud click of his tongue, he shot up along the sound waves.

It took a few teleports to reach the three Blademaidens, and when he did, he saw that Glow was fast asleep, huddled up against one of them.

"How is he?" Irwin whispered as he lowered himself to his knee beside his son, quickly examining him.

"Bit banged up, bleeding wrists, probably bruised shoulders," one of the Blademaidens said softly before looking at the others and shrugging. "A bit worried, but should be fine soon."

"Did he say anything about what happened?" Irwin asked.

"Boohm is dead," one of them whispered, looking at the ground. "I'm almost sad you killed that bastard 'cause now we can't."

"Glow said that Soot got hurt, but the others seemed fine."

Irwin grimaced, deep worry for his youngest growing.

"Let's head back to the base," he muttered. "One way or another, Greldo should return soon."

As he put his hands under Glow, he gently lifted the boy. As he cradled him to his chest, Glow murmured something.

"What?" Irwin whispered, but the boy was still asleep.

"He said something about the Niox and something about permanent damage," Ambraz rumbled.

Irwin blinked and, for a moment, wondered if he should wake Glow. Then he decided that whatever it was could wait. If it was happening back in their temporary home, there wasn't anything he could do.

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