Rebirth

Theopalu stared hard at Elum as everyone gathered up their arms and armor. The dwarves that had been within the workshop all fled mere seconds after they'd been teleported in here. He wasn't sure how Elum had done it, but he knew that arm had something to do with it. It had grown twice as large as his other arm; not only that, but there was an eyeball set into the shoulder. In all his time, he hadn't seen anything like it… at least, that was what he told himself. Either that was a mutation from his Godling genetics, or it was something far worse. 

He considered killing the boy right there, but that would reveal his true nature. He was supposed to be an old elf, a mortal just like everyone else. He couldn't break character now, not when they had all broken free. He quickly found his cloak, hanging forgotten on a wall above some crates. Good, it was damn cold in that jail and the frost hadn't left his old bones yet. He'd nearly considered breaking character to free himself- but that would only end one way, he never wanted to return to that life again. He'd done it far too many times now.

Theopalu, after re-equipping himself, promptly stole one of the rifles off the many surrounding tables. There were even full magazines nearby, not only that, it seemed to be a near-perfect copy of Hoplite's scoped rifle, scaled down to fit dwarven hands. He bit his lip, damn dwarves and their perfect memories, it was bad enough that they had guns to begin with, but now they had Outworlder weaponry to boot. Copies, yes, but dwarves memorized everything they saw perfectly, these were perfect replicas. He could only assume that they'd also recreated the bullets as well, a nightmare for the surface dwellers, should the Romai return to conquer the world.

He'd not used Outworlder weapons before, but it wasn't the first time Theopalu had shot a gun, he was sure that it wouldn't be so different from his previous experience. He couldn't let the others know that he understood fully how to operate these, that would open up questions he didn't want asked of him. He'd just lie and say that Michael had shown him how to properly use it at some point. If they asked him why, he'd just say he was hungry or something; continue playing the fool as he had been.

They couldn't find out what he really was, else he'd be dragged back into his old life. He'd been scared that the Long Lords would have recognized him, but thankfully that hadn't been the case. He may have had a different body when he'd encountered them last time, but if they'd caught a whiff of his blood that would have outed him immediately.

"You should all grab these guns too." Theopalu yelled, "Your armor won't protect you from bullets, we'll need to use walls and whatever else for cover."

"I had a feeling." Twindil sighed, her blonde hair ratty and disheveled, "It is as simple as flicking the switch near the base, yes?" She asked as she swiped up a copy of Hoplite's shotgun.

"That's right-" Theopalu started before he saw that she was inspecting the barrel as it was pointed right at him, "Point that away from me fool!" He screamed, "You'll blow my head off!"

Twindil blinked, quickly aiming the gun toward the floor, "It should be fine as long as I don't pull that switch? My fingers weren't anywhere near it."

"That doesn't matter, never put anyone before the barrel like that." Theopalu sighed. "At least not if they're a companion."

"So do we load the bullets in through the front tube?" Kid'ka asked with a frown.

"That is not how that is done, Michael showed me the proper way to do it." Theopalu lied, "There's a slot in the side where the shells are loaded in, and look here, that is the pump-"

"Mine doesn't have a pump." Alistair noted, holding up another rifle copy, "Nor a slot."

"This one's smallerist, should I get two?" Kid'ka asked, holding the magnum in a way where it was pointed directly at his foot.

"Point it away from yourself boy!" Theopalu shouted sufferingly. 

Kid'ka then brought the magnum to waist level, barrel pointed directly at Twindil.

"No!" He shouted, clutching his head in his hands, "How many times do I need to tell you people!? Only aim at something you intend to destroy!"

"Oh I didn't mean-" Kid'ka stammered, holding the gun toward the closed exit door, "I'll pull the leveter- lever if any dwafs, dwar- dwarves come in."

"You'd best. Elum, can you move us like that again?" Theopalu asked the Ifrit.

The boy looked in a daze, pinching his nose to stop the torrent of blood seeping from it. He sat with his back against a wall, gray arm limp, "I don't know…" He said, "I don't."

"It might be our only way out of this place, I can only assume that the Romai are on their way to apprehend or kill us, if you can do it, get us to our wagon."

"I don't know…" He muttered, his eyes fluttering, "It hurts."

"I know, but we don't have a lot of options here." Theopalu told him, aiming his rifle at the door.

They'd dawdled enough here as it is, he was certain a team of dwarves were outside right now, waiting to storm the workshop with a few Fanged Guard at the helm. Hell, the Long Lords themselves might find this escape important enough that they'd show up themselves to stop it. Theopalu couldn't continue to conceal himself after that…

"I see everything." Elum muttered, "All of it… five outside now, one is a vampire, more vampires coming… Hoplite and Lance are in a cave… Michael and Cat are near the Long Lords… the wagon is empty…"

Theopalu frowned, "In caves? That's great, send us there!"

Elum paused, "Nolvi too…"

The other Pillar-Born's heads whipped toward the Ifrit, "Take us there!" Twindil shouted, "If you can, then please!"

"Too dangerous." Elum shook his head slowly, "She is there too, will kill us… kill us…" He continued to mutter, "He won't let me."

"He? She?" Alistair asked, "What the hells are you talking about?"

Elum didn't reply, "One more time, can't go to them… we can go to the surface but I-" He gulped, "I need time or we'll die. Need a few minutes…" He whispered weakly, his eyes closing before he braced his hands on his knees.

Theopalu drew his lips to a line. A few minutes was too long a time, could they really hold out for that long? If he revealed his true nature it was more than possible, but to do that would be too much. He couldn't return to what he used to do. It hurt too much; to see Pillar-Born die age after age, suffering from their divinity... Why did these people have to hire him on his vacation? Why did they have to be Pillar-Born? How did Godlings always seem to find him, no matter what he was doing?

He grit his teeth, "You heard him, bring some of these tables over here, flip them over, and aim your guns at that door. I'll show you how to reload them- again Michael showed me." He clarified quickly, "We just need to hold out until Elum's ready."

"Very well, let's gather up those bullet-holders and bring them by us." Twindil said, pointing to the nearby tables.

"They're called magazines, and be quick!" Theopalu urged, we don't have much time left before-"

The door exploded outward on its hinges, allowing hot steam of all things to flow into the chamber. Theopalu squinted, seeing the silhouette of a dwarf standing there in the thick steam. He could hear a mechanical whirring coming from the squat figure as he charged into the chamber, leveling what Theopalu could only assume was a rifle. With practiced hands, he raised his gun, sighting the center mass of the dwarf before opening fire. 

The bullet made contact right as the dwarf emerged fully from the steam, clad head to toe in thick plate armor. It pinged off the suit, leaving a sizable dent but not penetrating completely. The four limbs of the suit were being supported by what appeared to be- by the Pillars, those were actuators! He hadn't seen anything like it since the Second Age, those were exoskeletons! Steam emerged from a small vent from the back of the armor, no doubt powering the plate mail the dwarf wore. 

They'd made crude power armor.

"Shoot now!" Theopalu shouted as the dwarf returned fire, a dozen more of them appearing from the steam. 

The bullet passed right by where his head had been, barely missing as he ducked his head out of its path. They moved in quickly, overturning the heavy tables with ease before peaking out to return fire. He cursed, ducking down while keeping his eyes open for any grenades. Just as he had the thought, one landed right between he and Twindil.

The Pillar-Gods had blessed her with quick-thinking, as she immediately swiped up the weapon before throwing it back over the table. He heard dwarves screaming in confusion before an explosion ripped through the workshop, sending his ears into a painful ringing. He ignored the agony, taking advantage of the confusion to return fire, peeking back over to land a shot right on a dwarven skull. Again only a dent appeared in the metal, with the bullet ricocheting off wildly, but the force of the projectile still knocked the armored dwarf unconscious.

However, only his head hung, the armor still kept the rest of his body aloft, slightly vibrating from the suits power-source. If only they could get clear shots on their backs, they might be able to disable the suits with just one shot. However, there was no room to flank them, someone would need to run into no-mans-land and flip over another table. That wasn't going to happen, they were outnumbered and outgunned. However, there was one advantage that they had over the dwarves…

His companions were Pillar-Born. 

Alistair roared, his voice matching that of a new, dual-layered voice coming from behind the dwarves. Baomiel had arrived. Theopalu raised his head as the dwarves turned to fire on the angel, shooting at their flanks. He disabled a few dwarves by hitting their steam-backpacks, further flooding the room with hot, hissing steam. Baomiel layed about himself with his massive lower arms, sending the dwarves flying with every blow. The angel did not escape unscathed however. Dozens of holes perforated the creature, bright golden blood flowing freely from the wounds. The upper half of Baomiel grimaced, but still fought, stabbing into the crowd of dwarves with a spear composed of white light.

Twindil, Kid'ka, and Alistair all opened fire as well, but with how untrained they were, only a handful of their shots hit the enemy. Those few connections though were quite effective, Twindil's shotgun was powerful enough to tear through the armor, outright killing her targets. She seemed to take no joy in it however, but could she be blamed? They could all enjoy this brief stint of revenge after they had made it to safety.

He spared a glance at Elum, who was rocking back and forth, knees pulled to his chest as he began muttering incoherently to himself. Whatever it was that he was doing, Theopalu hoped that he'd be done soon. His attention was ripped away from the Ifrit when he heard Baomiel let out a cry of agony. The Fanged Guard had arrived, red eyes glowing through the steam. There were five of them, ripping Baomiel to pieces with their bare hands, clad in intricate crimson plate armor.

Thankfully most of the other dwarves had been killed or disabled, but a few still sat behind cover, taking shots at their group periodically to keep them pinned. Alistair cursed before clenching his fist before him, a ball of Golden Flame appearing above it. He clenched his teeth before punching the air, sending the ball hurtling toward Baomiel and the vampires assailing him. He then guided the ball of fire, aiming it with his hand until it neared the head of one of the Fanged Guards- then he clenched that fist.

The fire exploded, dozens of little motes seeking the five vampires. They all scrambled away from the angel, whose body was torn, bloody, falling apart in gold gory pieces. Alistair cursed again as the Fanged Guard deftly avoided the motes with supernatural speed, but though the attack did no damage to the vampires, he was still able to recall Baomiel, the angel disappearing in a burst of Golden Flame.

"I won't be able to bring him back again for a while." Alistair huffed, ducking back behind cover, "But that at least bought us some time."

"How much longer Elum!?" Kid'ka asked, unloading his magnum wildly at the vampires.

These Fanged Guard must have been alive for over two-hundred years at least, for they were able to dodge the bullets coming their way. Granted, they were bullets being fired from an inexperienced hand, but it was still no small feat. Theopalu pinged a shot off another armored dwarfs head, again denting the helmet and knocking the Romai unconscious. He saw a bullet coming his way, forcing him to duck his head to the left to avoid it. Hopefully his companions would chalk that timing up to luck, nothing else.

"Elum!?" Twindil asked, her back against the table, "How soon?"

"Not much." Elum said sleepily, "Just a bit more…"

"Well 'bit more' faster!" Alistair snarled right as another grenade landed among them. 

Kid'ka this time, he grabbed it in his free hand, hurling it over his head without looking to see where it landed. Based on the resulting scream coming from the Romai side, the grenade had produced results. Alistair took a deep breath before he raised his hand, a bright golden light beginning to glow from over their table.

"Brought up a Foundation wall." Alistair huffed, "It's not as dangerous to them as to the Fiends, but it'll slow them down."

"Good, we need more delays, Twindil, is there anything you can do to add to that?" Theopalu asked, reloading his rifle in one smooth motion.

She paused, "I can try and overwhelm them all with Afina's peace, but expending that much power could singe me, depending on their wills… but it must be done." She then clapped her hands together, "Afina, please bring your peace unto my enemies, that we might all be tranquil together-" She grimaced, "One of them is countering me with the House of Kyria."

"No doubt it's one of the vampires." Theopalu said, "Be ready, if the need arises then you may need to engage them in close quarters."

Kid'ka paused, eyes narrowing as he stared at his magnum.

"An Act of Arrogance…" Kid'ka whispered to himself before laying the weapon down.

"What do you think you're doing?" Theopalu asked, the hairs on the back of his neck rising.

Damn him, the boy had already made his decision. Power only Theopalu could sense radiated out from Kid'ka as he stood, uncaring of the gunfire coming his way. This invisible force subtly redirected the trajectory of the bullets, appearing as if they had merely missed to those without Theopalu's heightened senses. Kid'ka drew his short swords then, pointing them toward the Fanged guard, his features hard.

"I am the Son of Zodd! I challenge you to Tomah!" He shouted before leaping over the table.

"Kid'ka don't!" Twindil shouted, attempting to raise her head over the table. 

Theopalu struggled to force her back down, his own head peeking out dangerously over the table as he was nearly forced to stand with her. She had gotten too strong already, he had needed to tap into his true power to keep her down. 

"He's made his choice, this Act of Arrogance will empower him-" He stopped.

Twindil stared, "How do you know about that?"

Theopalu didn't answer, instead looking back over the table to see Kid'ka advancing quickly toward the Fanged Guard. A large wall of raw Foundation had erected itself before the dwarves, but the Fanged Guard had managed to pass through unscathed. Only two mortal dwarves remained on this side of the flame-wall, aiming their guns right at Kid'ka as he approached, dual blades held in a reversed grip. He took aim at them, but he wasn't fast enough. The two dwarves fired their rifles- but Kid'ka, with casual ease, dashed out of their path. Theopalu's eyes widened, was this Act of Arrogance so potent that it already propelled him to that level?

He returned fire on the two dwarves, knocking them both unconscious with well placed shots to the helmet. Now it was just them, the Fanged Guard, and the Foundation wall flooding the doorway. Kid'ka sped toward all five vampires, blades drawn as his red cape billowed behind him. Alistair and Twindil followed suit, diving over the tables with guns in hand. Theopalu took aim at the monsters, waiting for his opportunity to fire.

Just one bullet to the head wouldn't kill them, but they still had to regenerate the damage to the brain in order to function. He'd need to wait until he had a clear shot, else he may hit Kid'ka or the others. The Pillar-Born met the vampires head-on, the combatants all becoming a blur as they fought at speeds exceeding mortal limits.

To Theopalu's eyes however, he could see the fight clearly. Kid'ka met the three vampires in the middle, leaping up before attempting to kick one in the head. The blow was deftly avoided by the vampire, who backpedaled before it could connect. Kid'ka landed gracefully, ducking to avoid a powerful punch by another Fanged Guard as the second went in to tackle him. Kid'ka circled the charge before bringing his blade down toward the vampire's neck. The first one that he'd tried to kick intervened at the last instant, catching the blade between his finger and thumb before it could connect.

Kid'ka headbutted the Fanged Guard holding his blade, the blow caving the creatures skull inward with a sickening crack. As all this happened, Twindil and Alistair collided with two Fanged Guards. Twindil brought up the shotgun, aiming it straight at her opponent and opening fire. The vampire dodged with a curse, some of the shot puncturing his breastplate. Black blood seeped from the wound, but that didn't seem to slow the Fanged Guard much, for it lunged forward, fangs bared to bite.

Now. 

Theopalu pulled the trigger, aiming for where the vampire would be… and the shot connected, blasting a bloody hole through the temple. Twindil dodged backward as the thing collapsed before her, twitching as the hole struggled to seal itself. No doubt seeing this, Twindil brought her armored boot down upon the skull, crushing it flat in one clean stomp.

Alistair's foe wasn't making things easy for the son of Draoi, keeping the Pillar-Born on the defensive with a flurry of powerful blows. Alistair was forced back from the vampire's barrage. Theopalu saw a ball of Golden Flame appear on his back, rapidly expanding out to cover him completely. Foundation Armor? He'd not seen someone use that spell in millenia, did Alistair do that by instinct? 

Now wrapped in Golden Fire, the vampire took a step back, clearly hesitating. Alistair approached with his hammer, the Flame now engulfing the head, giving the surrounding steam a golden glow. The Fanged Guard answered in kind, a purple energy now engulfing his clawed hands. Alistair swung his hammer with both hands at the same time his opponent slashed with an open palm, looking to rip the Pillar-Born's throat out with one smooth motion.

The hammer proved to be mightier than the claw, for the warhammer smashed into the wrist, snapping it easily before Alistair brought up the flat of his weapon. The impact knocked the vampire skyward before it landed on its back, scrambling away as Alistair went on the offensive.

Looking back to Kid'ka, the Tongue of Zodd was in between a flurry of blurring fists and claws, darting this way and that to avoid being struck. He lashed out with his blades, but unfortunately they didn't seem sturdy enough to slice through the creature's armor, bouncing off ineffectually. Seeing this, he dropped the blades, right before landing a spinning back kick on the one behind him. The blow dented the breastplate, black blood flying from the Fanged Guard's mouth as it flew in Theopalu's direction.

It skidded across the ground, metal grinding on concrete sending sparks flying before if finally came to a stop near Twindil. He quickly shot it in the head before it could rise, Twindil following up with her blade to completely decapitate it before she rounded on the one facing Alistair, moving in to help him finish it off. Kid'ka then lashed out with his own fists, countering with his own hand-to-hand capabilities. He was better than he thought he'd be, but it was still two on one. If just one of them scored a hit on him, that would be the end of the fight.

The tempo of the battle shifted into something more frantic as the remaining combatants grew more frenzied. It was getting harder for Theopalu to get a clear shot on anyone, not with his companions being so close to their opponents. 

"How much longer boy!?" Theopalu yelled to Elum.

"Soon." He replied simply, "Almost done."

He heard Kid'ka curse as one of his foe's grabbed his cape, pulling him backward onto the ground with it wrapped about his neck. Theopalu took aim again as the other vampire went to hop on top of Kid'ka, but the Pillar-Born ripped the cape off before that could be done, freeing himself from the strangulation. He rolled away quickly, but the two Fanged Guard followed after him, attempting to stomp him as he went. 

In contrast Alistair and Twindil both had their vampire on the backfoot, the monster doing everything in its power to avoid Alistair's hammer as well as Twindil's blade. Alistair then quickly formed a Foundation ball in his hand before throwing it right at the vampire's head, who avoided it with ease. However, it appeared it was never Alistair's goal to make direct contact. As he had done earlier, Alistair snapped his fingers, the ball bursting into a dozen miniature motes of fire. These mini-fireballs then sped toward the Fanged Guard, who was forced to dodge straight into them as Twindil swung for its head. 

As the motes made contact, they spread across the vampire's frame, covering it from head to toe much as Alistair himself was. The blonde huffed, clearly near to singeing himself, even if Theopalu couldn't sense it. He snapped his fingers again, the Golden Flame seeming to solidify around the vampire's body, entrapping it in a crust of gold. Alistair fell to one knee, his Foundation Armor vanishing as he did so.

Already the golden crust was beginning to crack, but Twindil didn't allow the vampire his freedom, rearing back her blade before cleaving the statue in half at the waist. Black blood fountained from the two halves as the top fell to the stone, Theopalu firing off another shot into its skull. Good, that was three incapacitated, only two vampires remained, battling furiously with Kid'ka.

The boy fought well, slapping away wrists or darting away from lunging bites, but he wasn't prepared for the Fanged Guards other tricks. One darted back, a purpled light appearing in his hand before it elongated, coming to resemble a whip. Distracted by the vampire in contact with him, Kid'ka couldn't react to it in time. The light whip wrapped around the Pillar-Born's ankle before his foe tugged, sending Kid'ka crashing to the floor face up. 

Seeing this opportunity, the other vampire lunged forth, fingers together to form a hand-spear. Theopalu fired, but the shot was intercepted by the light whip restraining Kid'ka, flicked up by the wielder. The bullet bounced off, ricochet off the ceiling, before puncturing the back of one of the unconscious dwarves. The dwarf's armor then exploded violently, sending his ears into ringing agony. As this all happened… The vampire that had lunged for Kid'ka made contact, driving his hand straight through the Pillar-Born's chest.

"No!" Twindil shouted, darting forward with reckless abandon.

Alistair attempted to rise as well, but found his efforts fruitless as his legs buckled under him. Theopalu took aim at the vampire over Kid'ka, but the creature ducked his head away from the bullet right as its companion swung its light whip at Twindil, keeping her at bay. Kid'ka coughed up a fountain's worth of blood as the Fanged Guard withdrew bloodied fingers, a look of satisfaction on its wrinkled features.

However, Kid'ka caught the things wrist, a look of hard fury coming over the young man, "Do you think," He huffed, "That's enough to kill a son of Zodd!?" He shouted, driving his own hand straight through the vampire's breastplate.

A look of shock came over the creature then, it's victorious air fading quickly as Kid'ka sat up, blood still fountaining from the gaping wound in his chest. With his free arm, the Pillar-Born quickly wrapped it around the waist of the vampire before jerking his embedded limb upward. Kid'ka's arm carved through flesh and metal as if they were air, exiting at the Fanged Guard's shoulder, covered in black ooze. The two sides of the torso hung in opposite directions, the vampire's eyes bulging before Kid'ka's fist made contact with its forehead. 

The skull cracked inward like an eggshell, the crimson eyeballs popping straight out as the vampire was sent flying toward the far wall. Kid'ka roared as he stood to his feet, red smoke beginning to emerge from the hole in his chest as it sizzled shut. One of the blessings of Zodd manifest, would he have the Steel Flesh as well?

Kid'ka dug his foot into the concrete to brace himself, the floor spider webbing where it made contact. Then he darted toward the last remaining vampire, still busy holding off Twindil with his light whip. Pillar-Born met vampire as Kid'ka tackled it to the ground with a snarl, pinning it beneath him as he brought a flurry of fists down onto its face. Blood stuck to his leather gloves, pulling black strings back with every blow. Even after the head was completely gone, Kid'ka did not stop, pounding the concrete beneath the body with a wrathful scream. The backs of his gloves were torn away, tearing the skin of his knuckles clean off as the leather was destroyed. The skin of his hands sizzled with red smoke as it repaired itself, sealing over the bare bones beneath.

"Kid'ka stop!" Twindil cried, sheathing her sword as she ran to him, "You've won, it's over!"

Kid'ka didn't appear to hear her, as he only continued his barrage. She seized his arms, but she barely managed to slow him down.

"Let go!" Kid'ka shouted, "It's not done yet!"

"Be in Afina's peace." She told him softly.

After a few seconds, Kid'ka froze, blinking the fury from his eyes as clarity returned. Twindil released him, huffing and puffing as she helped him stand to his feet. Even Theopalu himself felt the effects of Afina's peace, wanting nothing more than to lay his weapon down and take a nap. He shook his head, shielding his mind with the House of Kyria as a counter. Nap time would have to come after they got out of here.

"I'm ready." Elum nodded slowly.

Theopalu let out a sigh of relief, time to get the hell out of here-

The thought was cut off when he noticed the Foundation wall dissipating… standing right behind it, one of the Long Lord's themselves.

"Now!" Theopalu screamed, "Do it now!"

"Too strong already." Telegad shook his head, "Look at what you creatures have done to these purest of dwarves… I will wreak great vengeance upon you, it was a mistake to leave you alive for as long as we did, an error I will correct personally." He finished, raising his fingers as he floated into the workshop.

Silver flame then engulfed Elum, who let out a blood-curdling cry. Tendrils of this fire shot out, wrapping around Alistair, Twindil, Kid'ka, and Theopalu-

A thin beam of dark red light shot out from Telegad's fingers, speeding straight toward Theopalu. His eyes widened in shock, the Strength Seeker!? He had no more time to think as the flame and beam both made contact at the same time. A hole burnt its way through his skull, drilling through his brain before the Silver Flame tore him away from the underground.

His lifeless body collapsed on stone as their surroundings shifted, the open sky stretching out in all directions before them. Blood seeped out from the burnt hole in his head, pooling around his twitching corpse. New Romai had been left behind, a vast dead spiralling forest in its place.

"We're out!" Alistair shouted, ecstatic before he sighted Theopalu's corpse.

"By the Pillars…" Twindil whispered to herself, clamping hands over her mouth.

Kid'ka just stared, clearly shocked while Elum was simply unconscious, laying flat on his back, barely breathing. 

Theopalu himself inwardly groaned. His brain was too destroyed to summon up Foundation to heal… leaving him with only one option. He was going to be voracious after this, but it was his only option if he wanted to live. Unfortunately, this would leave him in a vulnerable position… questions would arrive and he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to deflect them.

Oh well. Theopalu's corpse then began to twitch violently, every limb shaking so furiously that his body bounced off the corrupted soil of the Fiendwood, almost as if it were levitating. Twindil's eyes widened as Theopalu's torso began to tear open at the center, a geyser of blood sprouting up from the body as it continued to thrash. Alistair leaned back on his palms, jaw dropping as Theopalu crawled out of his old body, his wrinkles gone, hair long and dark, albeit matted down by blood.

He sighed as he stood over his old corpse, naked as the day he was born.