Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

624 - No One Wins Them All

The explosion of noise unleashed by the Sirens’ spells was so violent that it seemed to shake the entire building.

Sonata’s scream was wordless and ringing, combining with the explosion of Aria’s fireball into a cacophony that could be felt as much as heard. But mixed in with both was a third sound, one that Lex had been hoping for: the twisted screech of warping metal. Warbling in a dissonant tone, it quickly reached a tortured crescendo…and then stopped.

That was when the smoke that had hidden the factory roof from view suddenly parted, revealing large chunks flaming wreckage falling toward them.

Lex knew he should have started casting his spell then. If anything, he should have started casting it as soon as Sonata and Aria had begun to sing. There was no telling where the debris would fall, nor how Dark Streak would react, which meant that any window of opportunity had to be seized and acted upon immediately.

And yet he hesitated.

Once he began casting the spell, there would be no chance to stop. If the casting was interrupted, the spell’s structure would collapse in on itself, causing the energy it was imbued with to dissipate without taking effect. If that happened, then there’d be nothing he could do about it; while he had methods for retaining a spell after it was cast, all of them revolved around reservoirs of energy – ranging from the modest repository of power in his circlet to overtaxing his body’s magical channels – that were expended now. He had only one shot at getting this right.

But it was that very knowledge that kept Lex from acting, instead turning his eyes toward the mares around him, needing to confirm that they were escaping. If any of them were unable to make it – if some rubble barred their way, or if their injuries kept them from moving fast enough, or if Dark Streak acted to prevent them from leaving – then their only remaining hope would be for him to make his way over to them (even if the prospect of crawling across the ground seemed like a titanic effort in his current state) and cast his teleportation spell on them both. It bordered on suicidal to wait like that, even if it only required a fraction of a second to sweep his one undamaged eye across the battlefield, but it was the only course of action that Lex could live with.

Fortunately, his caution wasn’t necessary. A quick glance showed that Aria and Thermal Draft were already on their hooves and rushing into the flames. Across from them, Sonata and Nosey were carrying Feather Duster between them, the pegasus’s forelegs across their backs as they hurried away, Sonata managing a single glance back at him as they vanished into the conflagration.

And Dark Streak was diving to his right, wings tucked at her sides as she threw herself forward.

Given that she’d been standing right next to him up until now, that was a bad sign. Calling his teleportation spell to mind, the first syllable was right on the tip of Lex’s tongue as he looked upward…

And saw that it was already too late.

It was sheer instinct that caused him to lurch rightward, somehow finding enough energy to fling himself out of the way of the scorched metal that crashed down onto where he’d been a moment ago.

Although he’d managed to avoid being crushed, the reverberations from the impact were heavy enough that for a moment, Lex couldn’t tell which way was up. It was a condition exacerbated by how his vision was suddenly swimming, the cost of his sudden exertion catching up to him as the tension in his muscles flared, causing his wounds to throb. The bombardment of it all flooded his pain-soaked mind, blotting out all other input as he struggled to fight down the sensory overload that threatened to overwhelm his tenuous grip on consciousness.

As such, he was completely unaware that the contorted knot of metal that he’d barely avoided hadn’t come to a complete stop until it rolled on top of him.

The debris might have been part of the airducts once. But under the twin assaults of Sonata and Aria’s magic – along with the fall it had just endured – it was now little more than a crumpled mass of twisted wreckage. Its surface was blackened and soot-stained. Its edges were crooked and gnarled. And its temperature, after soaking up the heat from the fire, was far beyond anything that was safe to touch.

So when it came to rest on the left side of Lex’s body a moment later, he couldn’t hold back a scream of agony as the superheated metal proved impossible for him to dislodge.

It was enough to shock him back to full alertness, everything else pushed from his thoughts by the new and unexpected pain. Even as he registered that the anguished howl he was hearing was coming from him, he managed to hold onto the thought that he was out of time; that if he didn’t cast his teleportation spell now, he never would. Somehow, he managed to regain control of his voice, again calling to mind the necessary words to chant-

“Aw, don’t stop screaming on my account.”

Only barely able to keep himself focused through the literal searing pain emanating from his left half, Lex couldn’t even manage to so much as move his head in the direction of the voice. But he didn’t need to, as a moment later Dark Streak’s chuckling visage entered his remaining eye’s field of view. “I have to say,” murmured the assassin in a pleased tone, “I wanted to see the look of helplessness on your face as you watched your collection of sluts die right in front of you. But this is almost as good.”

The assassin wasn’t idle as she spoke, squatting down next to him, holding only a single dagger now. But it was her empty talon that reached out idly, one claw flicking out in a quick motion. A clinking sound rang out immediately, and in his beleaguered state, it took Lex a moment to figure out that she’d just knocked one of the floating gemstones free of its orbit around his head, the scarlet and blue sphere coming to land a few feet away from him.

“You know,” continued Dark Streak conversationally, “you’re probably wondering why it is that I’m not really bothered by the heat, even though you snatched the bag where I was storing my fire ward gel.” Out flicked her claw again, and another clinking sound heralded the orange prism being knocked away.

“It’s my armor,” she continued, tapping her chest. Now that she wasn’t disguising herself as Feather Duster, Lex could make out some sort of protective covering there, almost invisible due to it being the same black coloration as her fur and feathers. It extended down her chest, over her middle, and around her back, leaving room for her wings before reaching down to her flanks. “Looks like leather, doesn’t it?” she mused, flicking a claw out again. The dusty rose prism circling his head went sailing away then, before clattering to the ground.

“In fact, it’s actually made out of a special substance, ‘amiant’ or ‘amiantos’ or something like that,” she continued. “Alchemically treated to be resistant to heat without sacrificing defense against conventional attacks. It’s not as good as magical protection from fire, but it’s a lot cheaper, and it gets the job done. Especially if you supplement it with the gel.” Another clink, and the pale green prism was lost to him.

Pausing to enjoy another throaty chuckle, the assassin waited to see if he had any response to make. When none came, she shrugged. “Pity you don’t have either. If you did, you wouldn’t be cooking to death right now.” Shrugging, she flicked a claw out again, knocking the last of his floating gems – the iridescent spindle – away. “I bet it’s really pain-, hm?”

Her one-sided conversation came to a halt as Lex drew in a ragged gasp, his lungs now burning almost as badly as his left half was. Without the iridescent spindle’s magic, his need to respirate was no longer suspended, forcing him to draw air into his lungs. But with all of the stress accumulated on his body, that action required more energy than he had to spare. Already, he was becoming lightheaded, and he dimly realized that he’d reached his limit: in a few seconds he’d lose consciousness, never to wake up again.

Although he knew there was no chance Dark Streak would let him finish, he began gasping out the words to his teleportation spell.

The griffon’s eyes narrowed immediately, her grip on her dagger tightening. “Oh no you d-”

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

With his vision already starting to dim, Lex couldn’t place whose voice had interrupted the griffon, nor properly identify the shape that slammed into Dark Streak an instant later. It required his full concentration just to pull in each breath of air while somehow murmuring the necessary words. The spell wasn’t a long one, requiring only a modest chant to activate, but right now each syllable was a monumental task, one that he was rapidly losing his ability to complete.

Each moment the effort grew worse, and after a second he couldn’t parse the yells and pained grunts coming from off to his side. Nor could he clearly recall where he’d been trying to direct his spell toward. It had been…somewhere nearby. Somewhere safe. But the image refused to form in his mind. He knew that was bad; teleporting required visualizing a clear destination. Otherwise it…went wrong. He couldn’t remember exactly how, but he knew that it did.

How many syllables were left? It didn’t seem like many, but he suddenly wasn’t sure anymore. He was still pronouncing them…wasn’t he? He felt like he was, but he couldn’t hear himself speaking anymore. Had he stopped, or was something wrong with his ears? He considered looking up at them to make sure they were working right, but that seemed like so much effort, and he was so tired…so incredibly tired…everything seemed so far away now…

Except the ceiling. For some reason it was getting closer…

That seemed like it was important for some reason.

Then he couldn’t see it anymore. He couldn’t see anything except the crying face of a mare he knew, her lips moving soundlessly. Were his lips moving too? Was he saying something? Doing something? He couldn’t tell anymore. There was no sense of anything now, except…

Danger…something bad was going to happen…he had to…something…help someone…was it the mare he’d seen?

That thought stuck out, for some reason. Help someone…he wanted to help someone…it suddenly seemed really important. Even though he wanted to lie down and rest more than anything in the world, he couldn’t…he knew he wouldn’t be able to unless he tried just a little harder…did just a little more…

Somehow, he managed one last burst of effort. He couldn’t even tell what he was doing…only that the sudden sense of weary exertion meant that he was doing something…

And then there was nothing.

---

Sonata felt like she was going to cough her lungs up as she stumbled out of the front of the factory, Nosey heaving alongside her as they managed to drag themselves – and Feather Duster, still held between them – away from the front of the blazing entranceway before finally collapsing.

“That stuff…” She had to stop, coughing so hard she almost threw up. It was only when she managed to pull in several deep breaths of clean, sweet air that she tried again. “That stuff, the gel or whatever, was totes overrated.”

Looking up from where she was checking Feather Duster over, Nosey nodded. “It kept the worst of the heat away, but it didn’t exactly make us fireproof.”

Groaning, Sonata looked at the unconscious maid. “Is she okay?”

Flopping down onto the ground, Nosey spent a few seconds clearing her throat before she nodded. “I’m pretty sure. Her head was lower than ours since we were carrying her between us, so I think she breathed in less smoke. Her pulse is strong, and she doesn’t have any obvious wounds.”

Still panting, Sonata managed a smile. “Great. Lex would be totes mad at us if we didn’t take care of her.” It took a moment for her to realize that something was wrong, until the obvious question came to her, making her sit up and look around. “Hey, where is-”

She wasn’t able to finish as Aria came galloping out from the front of the building, hacking and choking. She sank to her knees before she managed to get her breathing under control, but when she looked up, her expression was wild. “Where’s Lex?!”

The panicked expression on her sister’s face made a chill run down Sonata’s spine. “He…I dunno, he said he’d teleport out here, but I don’t see him.”

“Oh no!” Frantic, Aria staggered to her hooves, her pigtails whipping around as she looked every which way. “Oh no no no no no!”

“Did something happen?” asked Nosey sharply. “And where’s Thermal Draft?”

“She went back!” Aria didn’t look at the other mare as she answered, still trying to find Lex.

The reply made the other two gape. “What?!” they chorused, before Nosey kept speaking. “Why?!”

“Because she heard Lex scream, that’s why!” snapped Aria, almost hysterical.

If Sonata had felt a chill before, her blood was practically ice water now. “…what?”

The question made Aria turn to face her sister, her expression incredulous. “You didn’t hear him?!”

“She and I were shouting directions at each other, trying to find the way out,” answered Nosey, her face pale.

But Sonata was less interested in explaining herself than in what had happened. “You heard Lex scream, and you didn’t go back to help him?!”

Aria whirled on her immediately, her face contorting into rage. “I couldn’t! Everything kept collapsing! Whatshername had wings, so she could fly back, but all I could do was…all I could do was run…”

Her scream of anger puttered out then, turning into a choked sob, making Sonata’s anger immediately dissolve into guilt. “Aria…”

The other Siren shook her head, rubbing a foreleg across her eyes. “She went back to get him. If something happened, I’m sure she’ll be able to carry him back here.”

Nosey bit her lip at that, looking back at the burning building. “The gel we were wearing kept evaporating as it absorbed heat. There’s no way it’ll last long enough for her to-”

“No!” Sonata stomped a hoof. “Aria’s right! Drafty’s absolutely going to bring Lex back! Or, you know what? I bet he’ll teleport the both of them out. In fact, I bet you that they’ll appear right…now!”

She flung a foreleg out dramatically, indicating a spot in front of her.

But as the seconds passed, nothing happened.

Swallowing, she repeated the gesture. “Okay…now!”

Still nothing.

“Okay, for realsies…now!”

“Sonata…”

The mare in question spun around, glaring at Nosey. “NO! Just no, okay? This is what Lex does! He pulls off these big super-dramatic last-second wins! And everyone always gets all weepy and worried thinking he’s not going to make it, only for him to pull through just when it seems like it’s over, so that’s what’s going to happen…now!”

This time, when she flung her foreleg out, something did happen.

But not what she’d expected.

Instead, there was a tremendous crash as the roof of the factory, finally heated past the point that it could withstand, collapsed inward. Instantly, the flames inside the building leaped higher, fed by the sudden rush of fresh air. Windows shattered, smoke billowed up, and a plume of fire erupted from the front entrance, causing all three mares to cry out and back away.

And when Sonata lifted her head up a moment later, there was still no sign of Lex and Thermal Draft.

Nor had they reappeared by the time the fire brigade showed up.

Nor when the dawn finally broke, hours later…

Author's Note:

As the battle finally ends, there's no sign of Lex or Thermal Draft!

Did they make it out? If so, where are they? And what happened to Dark Streak?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Depends where Lex rolled and wat he got, he couldve ended up with a plane shift if the random destination was critical enough?

[Alzrius]

10928025 Well, the spell he was trying to cast was dimension door, which doesn't really have the power to go to other planes. Of course, that's actually something of an oxymoron, since any spell of the teleportation sub-school technically skips through the Astral Plane anyway to get you from one point to another. Likewise, spells that aren't cast correctly are simply supposed to fail to go off...though mishaps aren't exactly unheard of, as Twilight Sparkle knows well.

[Not so New Brony]

Best guess is that the teleportation spell was botched or rather with no destination in mind, Lex probably teleported both him and Thermal Draft somewhere else though given the distance as he specified, it is likely nearby but after reading the details of the dimension door spell, I can't help but worry that they're hurt due to the spell's backlash/safeties.

Still, I am impressed that Thermal Draft managed to save Lex on her own. I suppose she had help by transforming into a stronger form to fight Dark Streak but even then, the odds weren't in her favor though the fact that Lex didn't die immediately says she either won or at least fought off Dark Streak long enough to get to Lex and live up to her name.

Added:Though this does leave Dark Streak's fate ambiguous along with Lex and Thermal Draft's

[Alzrius]

10928431 While teleporting in the d20 System is safer than in previous editions of D&D. In those old games, if you teleported into a solid object, you were simply dead, with no check to save you. There was a spell called teleport without error which explicitly removed the chance of dying in this way, moving you to a safe space automatically if you'd end up inside a solid object, but you paid for that by it being a higher level than simply teleport. (By the by, that distinction can still be found under the d20 System, with the spells teleport and greater teleport (scroll down).)

As it is, the d20 System does away with the "instant death" provision, instead building in safeguards in the form of "you take some (relatively minor) damage, but get moved to the nearest safe place" for all spells of the teleportation sub-school. While the hit points lost for a botched dimension door spell aren't too big of a deal for a character of Lex's level, in his current state they could very well be enough to kill him. And for that matter, potentially severely injure Thermal Draft also, or worse if she's lost some hit points in her last-second tussle with Dark Streak (the details of which remain unknown...as does the fate of the assassin herself, as you noted).