-last edited on Jul 15, 2023 18:02:08 GMT by The J
Post by The J on Jul 15, 2023 18:00:42 GMT
"It seems you're a gorilla of many talents, despite not being a fighter," Valum observed. "Many say that excelling in one specialty is better than being decent at several skills," Aether replied, "but ah, well." "Approaching the Gorilla Jungle now," the pilot called back. "We'll be landing in about one minute." Valum tried to think of any more questions he had for the living Gulikovsky specifically, before meeting with the Gorilla King. "Oh," he said at length, "so regarding the Rupture crystals..." He trailed off as he saw Aether's eyes flicking to the gorilla next to him, who was currently looking out the slit of a window on the helicopter's door. "As His Majesty has decreed, the end goal was--is--to capture the Ice Hunters' base and take control of the Rupture vehicles," the white gorilla replied in a stilted tone, "for that was the reason the Gorillas approved of me building those vehicles to a fully functional state, rather than sabotaging them." Valum nodded casually, acknowledging the veiled meaning in the spy's words. Despite having stated to Valum and Vamprah earlier that his aim was to destroy the Rupture crystals, it was clear that there was a discrepancy between his perceived mission, and the official mission ordered by the Gorilla King. So Aether's real intentions are a matter more personal than political, Valum thought. I'll ask him about that when we're out of earshot of other Gorillas, if I get the chance. "Arriving above the Gorilla Jungle," the pilot announced, "prepping for landing in Silverback Meadow--" No sooner had the words left his mouth, than Valum felt the helicopter begin to drop. "MAIN ROTOR HAS STOPPED!" the pilot screamed frantically. "K-KING VALUM--!" Valum nodded back at the gorilla and sprung into action, pulling the box of chi he'd felt behind his feet from beneath his seat and plugging an orb. Remembering in that moment what Icescale had done, he grabbed a second orb and threw it down his throat, not allowing himself a moment of hesitation. He felt the chi power within him multiplying immediately; a strange sensation, but one he had no time to think about. Easily kicking the left door (to his right) off the helicopter and sending it flying with his doubled chi power, he grabbed Aether and the other gorilla in the back by their respective right shoulders, leaping out of the aircraft (and dodging a vaguely blue shape that fell inches away from the vulture's face on his way up) just in time to see the helicopter crash and explode below him. All of this happened in the span of a few seconds. In the next second, Valum realized that the blue shape had been a frozen rotor blade; and one second after that...he saw Icewing, having released her grip from the helicopter, using both the chi she had plugged and what remained of her wings to break her fall as she plummeted into the soft flowers below.
Silverback Meadow, as the late pilot had called it, was a perfectly round, gorilla-made clearing in the jungle's northwest quadrant. It would've been a tranquil area, Valum thought, under other circumstances. Flowers of various types bloomed throughout, though about a quarter of them were presently ablaze with fire or crushed under hunks of metal. Gorillas were already on the move, running out from between the massive trees that surrounded the meadow, and putting out the fire surrounding the crash site before it could spread farther. Valum was impressed by their efficiency; by how quickly they'd surrounded the fire on all sides, water buckets in hand. He also heard the faint sound of a flowing river nearby; clearly a tactful placing of Silverback Meadow in case of a fire... Everything that had happened in the last half a minute was so surreal that Valum had yet to fully process it, instead observing his surroundings in a dreamlike state. But this was no dream; it was as real as the Rupture Incident had been. The smoke from the crashed helicopter still billowed up to Valum's right, and as he heard a cough from one of the Gorillas he held, he was brought back into the moment. The Vulture King descended to the north (his left), gently setting down Aether and the other survivor of the crash near the edge of the clearing...before facing the other present vulture. Icewing had stood up, close to the center of the meadow with Rupture Blade in hand, and was seemingly staring at Valum. He realized after a moment, however, that she was looking past him, and he turned to see the real target of Icewing's glare, Aether, staring back at her. Valum exchanged a glance of his own with the white gorilla, giving him a small nod before drawing his sword from its sheath on his hip. With the fire put out, Gorillas were now cautiously walking farther into the clearing, with weapons drawn on Icewing. "HALT!" Aether roared to the soldiers, and they stopped in alarm. "Gulikovsky?" replied one of the many Gorillas who'd turned toward him. "Sir, this vulture--" "...Represents a matter of interior politics for the Vulture Tribe," Aether finished for him. "This matter has entered our land, yes, but the manner in which the vulture will be arrested and executed is her King's responsibility." As Aether jerked his head to the left, the soldiers gaped upon the realization that the Vulture King was present. Valum stepped forward. "Rest assured, Gorilla Tribe, that I will not let this criminal escape your lands," he addressed the Gorillas, including those too far away to have heard Aether, with his chi-amplified voice. "If she leaves here, it'll be in handcuffs. I must ask that you allow me to deal with her, however. If I need assistance, I would be honored to receive the help of the Gorillas." The soldiers obediently took a step back, keeping their blasters trained on Icewing, but not firing. "Thanks," Valum murmured to Aether.
The spy was back to locking eyes with his former 'compatriot'. The true Ice Hunter's wings were a skeletal ruin, and any feathers that remained were blackened, as though the blue color had become water and completely drained out of them. As Valum walked forward, Icewing's eyes flicked to him, and she finally spoke. "You didn't think I'd be slain that easily, did you?" her voice came out hoarse and ragged, but she'd likely gotten her strength back thanks to her spare chi orb. "Let me guess: you impaled some poor mountain with that sword?" Valum replied, keeping his own voice and tone light in an attempt to throw off Icewing; anyone, regardless of active combat experience, would presumably be shaken after just narrowly surviving a helicopter crash. Any chance he'd get to confuse or deceive the Hunter, Valum would take; since they'd be fighting one-on-one, on the ground and in a smaller area this time, all while one opponent still had a Rupture weapon, the Vulture King was at a clear disadvantage. The only way he could make up for that was with wits. Of course, the Gorillas would fire on Icewing if she looked to be winning the duel, but there was no telling if she'd have time to fatally strike Valum, taking him down with her in the end. "Right on the mark," Icewing confirmed, "and I had just enough of my wings left to fly up and stowaway on the bottom of your helicopter while it was heading out; after I'd put the fire out and regained my strength, of co--" "I don't care about the specifics," Valum cut in bluntly, as he cautiously stepped closer. "Why are you here, Icewing? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you coming to turn yourself in, but you could've returned safely to your HQ...or attacked Vamprah after I sent him back east." "As much as I would love to get revenge on that slimy little tactician of yours for this," Icewing flapped her black wing-remnants and turned to Aether, "I prioritized the now-obvious fact that you were an equally slimy spy, Gulikovsky." Aether nodded calmly. "Correct. I suppose it's not hard to figure out, given the context clues." "I may not have the full picture," Icewing admitted, turning back to Valum, "but it's obvious what's going on here; that's why I stayed my course after noticing that you just sent Vamprah back home, while remaining en route to Gorilla HQ yourself." "This doesn't have to go the way you think it does," Valum made an attempt at avoiding a fight, despite being ninety-percent certain it was futile. "The Vultures and Gorillas will treat you fairly if you surrender...and hand over the Rupture Blade." Valum felt Aether's eyes on him at this statement. "Oh, but it does," Icewing grinned without any joy or humor. "I'm not stupid, Valum. I know you're here to meet with the Gorilla King...and I know I won't be getting out of this meadow alive, but I can at least prevent the Leopards from gaining another ally."
"I'll bet the delegate pushing for this alliance is you, Gulikovsky," Icewing turned to Aether, "just like your father before you, eh? So, the one I'll take to the afterlife with me today will be either you..." she pointed the Rupture Blade at Aether, then at Valum, "...or you." With that, the vulture dashed forward on foot, her speed dramatically enhanced by chi. Valum, however, was even more chi-enhanced at the moment, realizing this advantage as he parried her strike and then knocked Icewing off her feet with a swing of his leg, in two quick motions. Icewing immediately rolled to Valum's right and leapt to her feet, but had to jump backward (and farther away from Aether, as Valum had intended) to avoid a slash that could've cleaved a tree. "Fast...are you?" Icewing growled between grunts, as she parried a flurry of strikes that pushed her closer to the center of the meadow. She doesn't know I've another orb, Valum thought, skillfully swinging his blade like an extension of his arm, and Icewing is doubtless on her last orb. I may not have fire chi, a Rupture weapon, or Vamprah with me...but this may be the advantage I needed. The Vulture King had never seen someone swallow a chi orb until earlier that day; ironically, Icescale may have given Valum the means to defeat his fellow Ice Hunter. Icewing suddenly ducked and swung low, freezing Valum's feet onto the ground as he jumped out of range of the blade itself. This didn't last long, as Valum ripped himself out of the ice with a double chi-enhanced beat of his wings. Soaring high into the air, he dived down with his sword held vertically in both hands, below his beak; a defensive position despite him being the attacker, and another attempt to throw off Icewing. Valum thought that she'd either block his sword with hers diagonally (giving her a 'taste of her own medicine' as her feet were smashed deep into an earthly prison, from the force of Valum's double chi-powered airborne ram; possibly putting her legs or entire lower body into the dirt), or would predict that outcome and be forced to dodge, in which case Valum would swoop back up whilst using the momentum to slash his sword through the ground, sending dirt and flowers flying into Icewing's eyes and rendering her temporarily blind. Unfortunately, neither scenario came to pass. Valum realized too late that the other vulture had hyper-fixated on his wings ever since he'd taken flight, tracking them with her eyes...and she hastened his return to the ground with an immaculately aimed blast from the Rupture Blade. Valum almost dodged in time, but the surprise attack encased the outermost feathers of his right wing in a tiny glacier, and gravity trumped the power of chi once more. The sudden uneven weight pulled Valum roughly down, as if someone had caught his wing with a grapple hook and wrenched it. His only consolation was the ice shattering, freeing him from the cold as it was replaced with the pain of the impact.
-last edited on Jul 23, 2023 21:47:20 GMT by The J
Post by The J on Jul 23, 2023 21:47:01 GMT
Aether winced reflexively as Valum hit the ground rolling. The Vulture King managed to get back to his feet quick enough to avoid a would-be fatal strike from Icewing, likely thanks to a mix of adrenaline and the doubled chi power, Aether figured. Valum took a few dizzy steps back, and Aether's hands twitched as the vulture barely ducked below a horizontal slash. Aether wiped sweat from his brow and looked around at his tribe's soldiers, whose hands shook every time it looked as though the Hunter would get in a strike that'd end the Vulture King's life. They all still had their blasters pointed, but as the dance of death took the Vultures in circles, the Gorillas risked shooting Valum instead of Icewing. Aether motioned for them to stand down, and looked back at Icewing. Valum and Vamprah had obviously set fire to her wings somehow when they'd fought her in the Iron Mountains; it was understandable why they thought she'd met her demise. Still, Aether should've guessed that Icewing would be able to save herself from a plummet; he'd caught her slipping a second chi orb into her pants pocket back in the Ice Hunter HQ, after she'd taken just one as Iceclaw, Icescale and Icestrike were leaving. Aether had wondered at the time why she'd done this, and thought perhaps she was beginning to have a falling-out with the Ice Hunters over their notion of assassinating the Vulture King. Ironic... the gorilla thought, realizing that Icewing had now gotten completely on-board with the idea of ending the Vulture-Leopard alliance (let alone the Gorillas' potential involvement in it) by ending Valum. Wait a minute, Aether thought, surely she knows that, even if she somehow takes out both me and Valum, the Gorillas will tell both the Vultures and Leopards what really happened here; even if His Majesty doesn't care about that alliance's internal politics, it'd be a disaster for the Vultures and Leopards to learn that the former's king had been slain in the Gorilla Jungle, without being informed of who his slayer was ASAP. Icewing wasn't stupid; even if her mind was now completely focused on the fight, she must've realized this on the way here, as she hung onto the helicopter's landing skid. Perhaps, then, her only real reason for trying to kill Valum and/or Aether at this point...was revenge. This realization sent a shiver down Aether's spine as he continued to watch the duel.
Valum wiped the remaining dirt out of his eyes just before parrying another strike. His head was still spinning, but he did his best to focus; his life was on the line, after all. Maybe telling the Gorillas to stand down wasn't a good idea-- he began to think, but stopped himself. No, I need to do this...even if it's not her reason for hating me, I did fail Icewing, one of my subjects, by abandoning her on the exact day I succeeded my father. As Vulture King, it's my responsibility, and mine alone...to either bring this vulture to justice, or put her out of her misery.
Their duel had taken them close to the center of Silverback Meadow by then. Flowers were smashed into unrecognizable clumps with every dodge and step. Icewing jabbed forward with a direct thrust, which Valum easily sidestepped. As he weaved to her left, however, he realized what she'd been truly planning to do; the Ice Hunter rotated and then flicked her wrist in two quick motions that together took one second, sending forth a horizontal crescent of ice that would've frozen Valum's left wing, left arm, and probably his left shoulder. This time, though, he saw it coming, having paid close attention to her wrist movement during that single second, and dodged just in time, rolling headfirst through the flowers in front of his opponent's feet. Ever since his 'air raid' tactic had been utterly sabotaged, Valum had begun paying close attention to movements of Icewing's right wrist; she could launch an incapacitating blast of ice with incredibly subtle movements. As he ended his roll and leapt to his feet, transitioning immediately into flight, Valum recalled that moment a decade prior, when he and his father presumed that a specific downward swing movement was required to launch ice from the Rupture crystals; clearly, it was an art that required training to master (and molding the crystals into weapon shapes likely helped as well). Valum resolved himself to stop thinking about anything other than the duel, however, as he dodged a diagonal ice blast with a wing beat to his left. He allowed himself to drop onto one knee, just behind Icewing's right leg, as he attempted to remove that leg. Icewing spun around and jumped backward in time to avoid the slash, but Valum didn't hesitate to immediately lunge forward with a thrust, not unlike Icewing's around twenty seconds prior. Rather than dodge, Icewing took the opportunity to freeze Valum's sword with a direct blast of ice, but this, too, he'd predicted; as the ice spread rapidly down the length of the blade, Valum halted his charge and swung his sword in a sweeping arc, to the right, down, and then left. The ice shattered as the encased sword smashed against Icewing's left leg like a blunt weapon, and she screeched in pain whilst falling to one knee. Again, Valum didn't hesitate, sweeping his now freed sword upright and then to the left, straight for the Hunter's neck. Icewing managed to parry the strike just in time, desperately bringing her right arm up over her head, and pointing the Rupture Blade vertically down. The swords clanged against one another as Icewing pushed Valum's away, rotating her arm into a defensive stance in front of her and standing shakily to her feet. Her leg was likely recovering faster (or rather, being forced up like a puppet on strings) thanks to the chi she had plugged...but Valum saw it start to flicker, as he was sure the one in his harness was doing too. The word 'hesitation' now a distant memory, Valum lunged again and launched a series of unrelenting strikes.
Icewing barely blocked each strike; one over her head, another aimed at her torso, then three more overhead as Valum hammered down without letting up. Valum saw her taking a deep breath in, assuming at first that she was getting worn out...but soon found that it served a practical purpose. With the last of her chi power, the Ice Hunter screeched, blasting Valum back a few feet while also hurling a horizontal crescent from the Rupture Blade. Knocked off his feet and without time to fly up, Valum allowed himself to fall on his back, barely dodging the ice blast. He felt extreme coldness on his head scar for a second, but it quickly passed. The Vulture King quickly stood, keeping his eyes on Icewing and hoping that the Gorillas directly in the blast's path had been paying attention, and dodged in time. As he felt the chi orb in his harness flicker away along with Icewing's, but still felt the power of one orb coursing through him, Valum saw realization dawn on his opponent's face. "You...plugged a second orb somehow," Icewing breathed, doubtless noticing the blue outline of energy that remained around Valum. "That's why you were so fast." "I took a page out of our ancestors' book, when they evolved," Valum shrugged. "But you can thank your fellow Hunter, Icescale, for the idea. I saw him swallow an additional orb back at your HQ. It was how he wiped out two entire squads of innocent Gorillas--" "Innocent?" Icewing spat, turning around toward Aether. "The Gorillas never had to get involved! We would've left them alone, but you just had to--!" "If you wanted us to trust you to leave us alone," Aether's red eyes narrowed, "you shouldn't have become terrorists." "Enough," Valum said calmly, as he felt the chi within him begin to flicker. "It's over, Icewing. This was still a fair duel; I used two chi orbs to make up for not having a Rupture weapon. And even if I hadn't, I've fought you enough now to read you like a book." "...You're right," Icewing admitted as Valum stepped toward her and the soldiers began closing in, "you've bested me, Valum...thus, my goals are aimless at this point. Aside from keeping the Hunters' secrets, that is." At that, before anyone could react, the vulture spun the Rupture Blade around and impaled herself. Valum gawked and ran to her as ice instantly spread from the wound, but didn't make it any less fatal. Icewing pulled the sword out of her shattered chi harness and stumbled briefly, before falling backward into the flowers. Valum skidded to a halt on one knee beside the fallen terrorist, observing the crater made of ice that covered her torso. "Scat!" he bit out in frustration as Aether came to Icewing's other side. "It didn't have to be like this, Icew--" "I won't let myself be interrogated," Icewing breathed. "The Gorillas having had a spy right under our noses was bad enough. I must commend you on keeping your cover for all that time, Aether." The white gorilla silently nodded.
"As for your...earlier analysis of me," Icewing turned toward Valum on her left, "about me constantly rationalizing my staying with the Hunters, longer than I needed to; it was...partially correct. What I told you about...Vergere, about her...'unsettling aura'...was true though, I swear. I must ask you to...keep an eye on her, Your Maje--" The fallen vulture erupted into a fit of coughing. Aether backed up, but Valum remained. "I'm still loyal to...Iceclaw, who I owe my life to," Icewing reaffirmed, "but...I believe I was the only thing keeping him from fighting the Vultures...so prepare yourself, Valum." "You're exactly right," Aether said bluntly, "yet you were the one who ended up trying to slay Valum and I; the Vulture King and another non-leopard. Even Icescale was just trying to capture the two of us, and the extraction squad forced his hand when they attempted to take the HQ." "True indeed..." the Hunter acknowledged. "My mind is...all over the place now...I've been stuck between a rock and a hard place...ever since Iceclaw stated that Valum was the key to all of this... At least my husband was already avenged." These last two statements caught Valum's attention. "What do you mean by--?" But Icewing erupted into another coughing fit. Small shards of ice broke off of the mass on her torso and scattered between the flowers. "I could've...stopped after that..." she said in an observing tone, as if she was just realizing this herself, "...but I'd been a mercenary my entire life...and going to war with the Leopards was the first cause that I...truly believed in; the first war I wasn't just fighting for money. I suppose I...latched onto that..." With a shaking hand, Icewing picked up the Rupture Blade on her right, and brought it up to Valum on her left. "This sword was...forged from a crystal your father mined. It was my way of paying tribute to the late King Varn, but...it rightfully belongs to you now." After a moment, the current Vulture King grabbed the hilt of the sword above Icewing's hand, after which she let go and her arm collapsed back to her side. Valum looked at the glowing Rupture Blade, then back at Icewing. "Well, I guess that's it..." Icewing said casually. "My husband...ought to have been waiting...patiently for me on the...other side...being a vul--" And then the only sounds were the faint running water in the stream nearby, and the equally faint whirring of power emanating from the Rupture Blade.
Flashback: 177 BR... Logos crawled through the sea of snow on his hands, dragging his tired body behind him. Though he'd been specially evolved before birth to survive in the Arctic climate without fire chi or cold weather gear, he was still exhausted. Having run for hours straight, first uphill out of the steep Valley of Balance, and then through this knee-high blanket of snow, his chi had long since fizzled out. Still, he kept going, to... Where am I going...? he thought. Right...I have no destination whatsoever. Still, why he was running away mattered more; he kept going, in order to... That's right...to escape from the Leopards. Even now, there were probably several soldiers still on his tail. At least they hadn't had time to get their speedorz for the pursuit, as they would've lost sight of him by the time they got them out of the garages. That was the only reason he hadn't been caught up to; his pursuers were all on foot just like him, if they'd even made it this far. Wait...why am I running away from the Leopards? Logos thought presently. And as his mind became somewhat less fogged, what had happened in the Golden Castle fully set in. What...have I done? thought the Crown Prince, as he blinked snow out of his eyes. I...I went berserk, and...my...father? Was that who he was...? Indeed it was, Logos realized. He'd slain his father, the Leopard King, along with the Leopard Queen and several others. He'd given up on killing Leia so as not to hurt Leodus, since she was his mother...but then he ended up taking Leodus' father from him, so perhaps that was a moot point. His emotions, amplified and mutated by a combination of chi power and his enhanced senses and powers from the experiments, had driven him into an almost completely feral state...a pure, instinctive desire...to hunt. His head spun, but that didn't stop Logos from noticing a blue sheen nearby. Wa...ter...water! he thought instinctively. You became a slave to your emotions, just like Leodus said! a voice in his head suddenly cried, as he reached the 'water'; an utterly frozen pond. You went too far! Look what you've done, this is horri--! No, you were completely in the right! another, separate voice interrupted, as Logos...clawed his way through the ice, trying to get to the water beneath. The Leopard King was just as responsible for your suffering! For your mother's suffering! Just as responsible as Leia; you should've taken her out, too! You were fully justified in your revenge--no, justice! Logos tried to focus entirely on clawing at the ice, yet had no choice but to listen to the two voices, as they argued nonstop. He tried to ignore or shut up one or both of them, but he couldn't...because the voices were him. Each voice was just as much this leopard as the other. In equal parts. Both of them, together; they were him. 'He' realized presently that the 'he' who could shut up either voice didn't actually exist, because there was no third voice.
There was only the regretful, guilt-ridden Logos, half-brother of Leodus and Crown Prince of the Leopard Tribe; and the vengeful, borderline-feral hunter continuing his ice-clawing in an attempt to quench his literal thirst (the chi orb he'd swallowed having fizzled out by then), while still thirsting for more 'justice'. It was a clear-cut binary; either what he did was right, or it was wrong; justified, or not; a good act of justice, or an evil act of revenge. The snow leopard would've wondered why it was as black-and-white as his fur coat; had he been capable of wondering this, he would've realized that it was due to his stating to Leia and Leodus, over and over again, while in a state of decreasing control over his actions, that his 'king's justice' was an absolute good, punishing absolute evil. But he wasn't capable of wondering this, because, after all, there was no third voice. 'He', this snow leopard, was now both Logos and the hunter; yet he was only them. Out of the corner of his eye and for just a split second, Logos could vaguely see a figure to the left side of the frozen pond (northwest, unbeknownst to the directionless leopard). However, the hunter, the mind currently in control of the body, didn't notice, and kept up his ice-clawing. The hunter presently became impatient, and started slamming his forearms on the ice; once, twice, thrice, four times, before the cracking surface shattered. Still in his downward-slamming momentum, the hunter fell forward into the freezing cold water with a splash. He and Logos could hear the sound of a nearby yell before their ears went under the water; and as water began to fill their mouth, as their vision began to cloud and their shared consciousness began to slip away, they felt the fur on their back being grabbed, and their body being wrenched back up to the surface from behind...
157 BR... While Valum, Vamprah and Aether were fighting Icescale in the Ice Hunters’ HQ, another battle was about to begin. Iceclaw and Icestrike crept up the mountain path that led to the Leopards' new outpost. Where we'll find Leia, Iceclaw thought, almost salivating at the thought of slaying the doctor. Two towers came into view around a curve in the path, built on the sides of two mountains, with a thick stone bridge connecting them. "That's it," Icestrike whispered, pointing the Rupture Drill at the outpost. "Obviously," Iceclaw whispered back, scanning the area with his eyes. Out of the Leopards standing around and atop the towers, he didn't see any that matched the description Icescale had provided. 'An older woman wearing a suit of Phoenix armor, a lab coat, and a monocle'. "Are you sure you saw her?" "I'm positive," the white bear insisted, as Iceclaw gestured for him to follow off the side of the path. They deftly slipped between boulders and began climbing closer to the eastern tower (built onto the mountain where they were) while remaining hidden. "She was standing on the bridge when we came here before. I guess she went inside one of the towers." "Hopefully she hasn't left," Iceclaw grumbled. "I don't think so," Icestrike replied. "She seemed to be giving the other Leopards orders. I think she's the one in charge of this out--" The young bear stopped as he stared at the top of the west tower in the distance; the Hunters' view of the farther tower had been mostly obscured by the east tower until they got closer. "What is it?" Iceclaw asked immediately, following his gaze to see a shape atop the tower that looked strikingly similar to a Vulture Tribe helicopter; which, the two Hunters swiftly realized, it was. "The Leopards now have aircraft, thanks to their chums, the Vultures..." Iceclaw hissed. "It's only a matter of time before those bald birds teach them how to build their own. Ending their alliance is imperative. "I'm believing more and more that you had the right idea, Icestrike: taking out Valum and framing someone else." "Icewing seemed really opposed to it," Icestrike pointed out sheepishly. "I actually kind of feel bad for proposing it now--" "She'll come around," Iceclaw interrupted confidently. "That is also only a matter of time. I'm sure she'll realize why Valum has to go, especially after we tell her about the heli...cop...ters..." Iceclaw trailed off as he saw a leopard rise into view atop the east tower, presumably from a staircase that opened to the roof. The leopard was female, looked to be in her fifties, wore a white lab coat...and sunlight glinted off of her monocle and phoenix armor. The snow leopard trembled in a sort of primal rage, struggling to control himself. Icestrike, clearly noticing his visceral reaction, quickly spoke. "U-uh, let's not be reckless--" "We may take the outpost, we may not," Iceclaw stated coolly.
"Either way, the main goal is to kill Leia!" Icestrike nodded dutifully, which pleased the Ice Hunter leader. If he was to claim his rightful title of Leopard King, Iceclaw needed to be able to induce loyalty. He found himself thinking about Vulture King Valum again. Valum must be quite good at that, to maintain the Vultures' trust in the Leopards after the Rupture Incident. His mind then went to Icewing again. He didn't know how long her attempted negotiations with Valum had taken. She'd flown back south at noon the previous day, and it'd been dawn by the time she got back to Ice Hunter HQ; it likely took her half a day to fly to Talon City on her own wings, without an aircraft, and then a full night for her to fly back. By now, the sun had fully risen...but it was still morning, and the Phoenix's birthplace was in the east, at Iceclaw and Icestrike's backs. Thus, long shadows would be cast in front of them, revealing their locations to any observant Leopards at the outpost, unless they obscured those shadows behind the rocks. We can't stay hidden forever... Iceclaw thought in frustration, knowing that they'd reveal their presence when they ran across the barren, open cliff face to the east tower. There was no getting around that, and Iceclaw felt...tense. Is this...fear? he thought. No. Impossible. I fear nothing, except for dying before achieving my goals, and only a fool wouldn't have that fear. I fear nothing else; I'm not the cowardly personality--! That's why you'll get us killed, you feral beast! another voice within him (though it sounded exactly the same as his voice) interrupted. Trying to attack this outpost with just yourself and Icestrike is proof of how much you overestimate yourse-- SHUT UP! I took down the Leopard monarchs and the brown-cloaked one with the hidden dagger! Iceclaw roared internally, remembering the first formidable opponent he'd fought other than Leia and Leodus. The brown-cloaked fighter had been in the throne room with the King and Queen, likely a high-ranking leopard of some division or another. He'd caught Iceclaw off-guard with a knife swing to protect the monarchs, but the future Ice Hunter had been fast enough to dodge it with his doubled chi power, and struck back accordingly with his own knives. He hadn't heard Logos in a while, but now the Craven Prince was attempting to shame him out of attacking the outpost; as pathetic as ever. I was the one who ensured our survival, clawing through the ice with my own strength to get us water! he continued. He hadn't meant to engage Logos in another argument, but after the provocation, the words came spilling out...internally. Yes, it's true that I began my existence as the 'primitive' personality; as a feral hunter, but I evolved into something greater; into a leader worthy of respect and loyalty! He glanced at Icestrike. Into a father figure, even, for the son of-- You say that, yet you're still driven by emotion and anger! Logos shot back.
That's why I alone am worthy of the name 'Logos', while you're nothing but a monster! Iceclaw, what a fittingly simple and vicious name--! "Enou--gh!" Iceclaw exclaimed, stuttering as he realized that he was saying this aloud. "Boss?" Icestrike whispered in alarm, glancing from the outpost back to the snow leopard; luckily, the soldiers hadn't heard his brief outburst. "What's wrong?" "Uh, n-nothing." Iceclaw reassured him. He wasn't sure what else to say; his arguments with Logos had never spilled outside the confines of their shared mind--at least, not while in the presence of others--until now. Logos was being more aggressive than usual; seeing Leia for the first time in twenty years, and being reminded of the past in the process, probably played a large part in that. Another reason to eliminate her, Iceclaw thought resolutely, as he finally moved out, motioning for Icestrike to follow. The white bear still seemed puzzled, but didn't hesitate to dash out from behind the rocks in his leader's wake. The Leopards saw them, of course, especially after they both plugged chi. No sooner did one demand that they identify themselves and raise his blaster, then Iceclaw removed the hand holding that blaster with a quick downward slash from his Rupture Claws. A block of ice instantly enveloped the leopard's wrist. Probably dulls the pain a bit, eh? Iceclaw thought, but his enemy's scream said otherwise. The snow leopard grinned in satisfaction at the sound, but soon cut it short when he introduced the four long, jagged blue 'fingers' of his left gauntlet to the sentry's neck and upper chest. A leopard a few feet behind, at the east end of the bridge, frantically brought a horn to his mouth. The low note of alarm that would've reverberated through the mountains never came, however, as the sentry was frozen in place where he stood. Iceclaw's glowing blue eyes were wide as moons, remaining locked on the leopard's. "Wh--wha--?!" was all the sentry managed, before Iceclaw lunged forward with a Rupture Claw uppercut below the paralyzed jaw. A second later, the gauntlet was pointing to the sky, and its victim was far below, falling gently between the mountains. As easy as slicing through paper, Iceclaw thought, with a hint of disgust. This hunt wasn't the most satisfying; he'd need stronger and faster opponents for it to be so. He'd likely get that in the form of Leia, assuming the years hadn't dulled her senses (Iceclaw suspected they hadn't, thanks to the experiment powers Leia gave herself). Iceclaw turned to see Icestrike, having already plunged the Rupture Drill into the doorknob on the east tower's only ground floor entrance. Splintered wood went flying in all directions (Iceclaw froze the pieces coming toward him with ice blasts, causing them to drop straight down from the weight rather than fly into him), as the blue drill spun and spun, controlled by a trigger on the young bear's baton, and fueled by the chi he'd plugged.
It wasn't long before the drill went all the way through the gaping hole, pulling half of Icestrike's arm in with it before the boy eased up on the trigger. He pressed his forearm and the Rupture Drill onto the door from the inside of the building, and pulled his shoulder back, wrenching the door open with a triumphant roar. Iceclaw glanced to his left before proceeding through the doorway, but he saw no Leopards; those in the west tower must've been unaware of the battle that'd just begun. Iceclaw had been quick to dispatch the two watchmen outside, after all. Without further delay, he dashed into the open doorway, Icestrike following. On the first floor there were provisions, but the two Hunters barely looked at them; they couldn't afford to be distracted. Perhaps they'd loot the place after they were certain all the present Leopards were slain, Iceclaw reasoned. No sooner had they come up the winding stairway to the second floor, than they were met by the outpost's defenders. The Ice Hunter leader ducked under a slash, and delivered one of his own in return, stretching a 'finger' of his right Rupture Claw to its full length; a hunter's strike, indeed. The leopard's upper body would've fallen atop Iceclaw if he hadn't dashed to the left, though he tripped over his former opponent's lower body in doing so, as the now frozen waist slid across the subtly tilted floor of the steep tower. Icestrike covered for him as expected, leaping to block downward strikes with his drill as Iceclaw rolled below and got back to his feet. He was about to give a nice hug with the Rupture Claws to the nearest of the Leopards blade-locked with Icestrike, when the white bear shouted, "One at eleven o'clock!" Iceclaw turned and struck, but this leopard was smart enough to halt his charge and bring up his shield. The Rupture Claw raked against the rounded steel, creating four long gashes across the surface. Iceclaw's moment to marvel at his work was cut short when the soldier suddenly pushed forward and slammed the shield into his snout, sending the snow leopard sprawling. A smart one indeed, Iceclaw thought as his head spun and he failed to get to his feet, but probably not expecting... as the soldier leapt forward with an overhead slash, Iceclaw grinned, ...this! Still sitting on the floor, Iceclaw threw a crescent of ice from his left Rupture Claw at the leopard, turning his head into a glacier. The leopard stumbled, dropping both sword and shield in alarm as he clawed at the ice encasing his head and throat, half-conscious and unable to scream. Iceclaw's grin vanished as he stood. No, wait...I'm not a monster who makes others suffer slowly, like Leia. The hunter quickly leapt forward and delivered a slash to the leopard's chest; his opponent crumpled to the floor. A true hunter, let alone the True King, delivered mercifully swift ends to his prey whenever possible, Iceclaw thought in satisfaction. He smiled again, at his good deed.
"...We've not seen any of these 'Ice Hunters' today, either," the Commander finished. He was sitting across from Leodus at a round table in the meeting room of the outpost's west tower. The room itself was round, and rather small, but Leodus was used to small spaces. He and Leia had traveled to the outpost at noon the previous day, just after his meeting with Valum. They stayed overnight, the King in the west tower's barracks and the Doctor in the east; the fact that neither of them were woken during the night proved that the shadowy figures weren't seen again...but not that they weren't there. "Perhaps they've shifted their eyes to the Vultures," the Leopard King proposed, remembering that two of the group had brazenly gone into the Great Desert to meet with Valum the previous day. The letter from the Commander requesting Leia and Leodus' presence in light of the figures stalking the outpost had been written the day before that, despite not yet arriving until minutes before the meeting. The letter had been brought to the Golden City by speedor, the rough mountain and valley terrain slowing the messenger's journey even in the famously fast vehicle; and while the Leopards did have access to the relatively new (and expensive) long-distance communication devices known as 'radios', the very few they could afford to produce thus far were reserved for the King himself and Leopard Intelligence (a decision that the military divisions' leaders had been disappointed by, but Leodus had assured them that the devices would change hands very quickly, should another war break out). One of the helicopters given by the Vultures would've also gotten the message delivered much sooner, but, as with the radios, Leodus had deliberately limited the usage of the aircraft to a select few individuals and scenarios (such as the King's journeys to and from this outpost); even the smallest details of how the Leopard King and his army carried themselves needed to be carefully considered, Leodus knew. The Sabertooth Tigers and Mammoths, along with the mixed breed 'White Lions' who'd lived with and fought for the former tribe, had been residents of the Iron Mountains before their exile. This put the Leopards, Tigers and Rhinos in a tense position; to say that the southern tribes, other than the Phoenix and Vultures, had become more wary of the mountain kingdoms following the war was an understatement. The Sabertooths had proven just how tactically advantageous the high ground could be, their air force swooping down in unfathomable numbers to rain fire on the Lion's flat plains that were the heart of the south, before returning comfortably to the near-impenetrable mountaintop strongholds from whence they came. Yet those hangars and castles, along with the signature biplanes they housed, were literally blasted into the Arctic in the end; a deadly force thought to be unstoppable, defeated in an instant by the power of the Illumination.
