Headed by a Snake

Malik pointed a shaky hand towards Tycondrius and the members of Sol Invictus, "A-ananta! I COMMAND you to... to DO something about that!!"

Ananta coiled up her lengthy body and bowed her head deferentially, "Ivory Prince..."

"Lady Ananta," Tycon nodded in acknowledgment.

"Oh!" Ananta gasped, "And you\'ve found my sssssister\'s... toysssss!! ...Is thattttt... PRINCE DROGHAN?! Oh, I LOVVVE Prince Droghan!"

"Hey there, pretty lady," Dragan waved, flashing a sparkling grin.

Quay was pouting. Was he... jealous?

Concerning recent events, the Ranger had easily gained the adoration of one of two females encountered. He should have been content with that.

"ANANTA!!" Malik yelled, "Change the LAWS! IMMEDIATELY!!!"

The Shadow Snake hissed indignantly, "Reversssal of the laws requires the Sssshadow Realm\'s full reimagination, Malik! Thissss one warned you as sssssuch!"

"Oho~?" Tycon grinned. "That\'s... quite interesting to hear."

He was quite surprised that it could be done so easily. They just needed to turn it off and back on again. Unfortunately for Malik, it seemed that such knowledge would not save him from his current predicament.

Malik turned... gulping... "Oh, empty night."

"Sol Invictus, noble friends and glorious allies!" Tycon raised his voice. "On my command! GEEK! THE! MAAAAGE!!!"

⟬ ⌈Lamb to the Slaughter⌋ activated. Support ability. Allies within range are compelled to simultaneously charge the user\'s chosen target. ⟭

"Hur hur hurrrr," Dragan slapped the \'blade\' of Dread into his off-hand, walking forward. "Nice to meet\'cha... pRiNcE MaLLLiiiIiIik~!"

"N-no!!" The Yuan-Ti screamed, "S-s-s-stay back!!"

The Titanblood ran ahead. The fastest sprinter in Sol Invictus, Dragan was just as fast as Tycon remembered... even though the current-him was much younger and smaller than the one he had grown accustomed to.

Dragan grabbed the golden Prince, flipping him upside down. With a majestic leap, he slammed the top of Malik\'s head into the road hard enough to shatter the spine of a weaker man.

BANG! A loud and instantaneous burst of flame from beneath Malik forced the dazed Yuan-Ti to stagger back to his feet.

Zuko appeared at his side in a flash... and struck the side of the cobra-headed man\'s ribs with a domineering punch. Grabbing Malik\'s wrist, Zuko then kicked the side of the mage\'s knee. It bent into an awkward, unnatural angle, with an audible wrenching of bone and flesh.

Quay arrived... much too late. Still, with Malik being held up by Zuko, the shorter elf hooked his forearm around the Yuan-Ti\'s serpentine neck.

The back of the man\'s head underneath the elf\'s armpit, Quay lifted Malik up, simultaneously falling backward. The mage\'s back slammed painfully against the hard ground.

Admittedly, it was the least devastating of the attacks, but Dragan laughed and cheered and applauded as if it were the greatest.

Even Zuko clapped politely.

"⌈Shadowfang Strike,⌋" Tycon used his movement technique to cross the distance... and stabbed his short sword into Malik\'s chestplate. As expected, it offered little resistance... and the Malison\'s heart was pierced through.

...Was a Yuan-Ti\'s heart in the same place as a human?

Tycon wasn\'t entirely certain... and it would be a pain to ask his System about Malik\'s anatomy.

And so... he just began to kick at and stomp upon the unconscious mage\'s skull.

He liked being thorough.

"Uh, want some help, Boss?" Dragan offered.

Tycon hesitated... but only for a moment, "If you\'re offering, yes."

And so... four members of Sol Invictus trampled Malik to certain death.

...

"That wassss very excccciting," Ananta wiggled her snake body happily. "This one knew you would be... victoriousss, Sssssweet Prince."

Tycon smirked, "I appreciate the assistance, Lady Endless."

"Ohh?" Ananta flicked her tongue in feigned surprise, "This one... did nothing of praisssse."

"Hmph, You control this place. You watched me take advantage of your sister and utilize the members of Sol Invictus. And yet... you did nothing to stop me?" Tycon laughed. "Your purposeful inaction was of great assistance."

Malik was woefully blind to the going-ons within the Shadow Realm. Most likely, Ananta had a figurative hand in that, as well.

"Hmmm~ Perhapsss," Ananta slithered her large body around Tycon\'s legs and waist.

"(Then might the Ivory Prince grant this humble one... a boon?)" She said, having smoothly switched to Parseltongue.

Tycon gently stroked the woman\'s beautiful onyx scales. It was quite enjoyable dealing with Ananta, as long as he wasn\'t worried about being cannibalized.

"I was thinking of granting one to your charming younger sister... I\'m certain you are aware that I could have broken out with my own power... but my recent experiences have been admittedly enjoyable."

"Suka will be... mosssst pleased~" Ananta nodded.

"...However, be advised: I will not entertain a binding request... nor a sexual one. Hah," Tycon scoffed. "She is still a hatchling."

"She will growww..." Ananta rested her head over Tycon\'s shoulder, "We too... (We were hatchlings once.)"

Tycon nodded with a sigh... "From here, my Guild Letalis will seek to repair any damage the Snake Cult has wrought. May I ask of your plans?"

A thrum emanated from the bottom of the Shadow Snake\'s jaw... "(This one will... return home... and she will take Suka with her.)"

"And if I tried to convince you to join my faction?" Tycon smirked.

"...Then thissss one would have to *beg* for forgivenesssss," Ananta sighed. "(The gods whisper to their pawns. The humans tightly grasp their weapons of war...) Malik was not the one she sought, to die ssssssooooo easily."

"Hmm..." Tycon guided the upper half of the Shadow Snake\'s smooth, shimmering body close, "There is always a world-ending prophecy, Ananta. Look at the humans. They think the end times have arrived once an epoch, if not more often."

"Sssweeetessssst Princcce..." Ananta slithered full-circle around him, rubbing gently against his body, "(They appear in greater number and with much more frequency than in epochs past.) Nyctis, Queen of Shadow strengthenssss her defenses... Even Queen Rylania does the sssssame...."

"Again," Tycon shrugged. "In times of peace, our militaries train for the war that may or may not come in their service."

"Our sssservice is eternal..." She whispered, narrowing her eyes... "The dragons will return in our lifetime, Ivory Princcce."

Tycon hmphed... "They will try."

...

With a heavy heart, Tycon approached the members of Sol Invictus. They were sitting about, talking about something stupid, but quieted as he approached.

"So... you headin\' out, Boss?" Dragan grinned.

"Yes," Tycon responded simply.

"I\'ll see you sometime," The Titanblood shrugged.

"Don\'t bother me for anything unless it\'s important," Zuko muttered before turning away.

"I won\'t," Tycon chuckled.

Gobsuke pulled down the cloth covering his mouth, revealing his pointed teeth as he spoke, "If it\'s appropriate, I\'d like hazard pay for what happened here."

"Not a chance."

"...Was worth asking," The goblin shrugged. "Take care."

Quay wore a radiant, annoyingly-bright grin, "Tycon."

Tycon took a deep breath, "Yes, Leader?"

"Tell him I\'ll be waiting..."

"How ominous," Tycon hmphed... "Very well."

...

⟬ Some time earlier. ⟭

Barza Keith, the Lone Shadowdark pursed his lips as he turned to Raphael of Cannes.

"Hey... Raphael, you\'ve been an adventurer for awhile, right?"

Raphael kept his torch high and his eyes to the shadows of the catacombs.

"Yes, Lord Ranger," He pursed his lips. "What of it?"

"I was wondering... is it... normal? To be able to punch ghosts?"

There were more zombies and skeletons than there were ghosts. Lone and Raphael dealt with the former two pretty easily.

Athena, Tanamar, and Zenon were with the others... and their magic was definitely effective on ghosts. And then the gunners were with them-- and their rifles worked on the spooky, scary creatures, too, for whatever reason.

But who they had fighting ghosts was... well...

Korr had grabbed two different furious spirits... by the head... with her palms. They wailed in pain, the pitch so high it hurt his ears. The Knightress let out a light, metallic grunt... and both ghosts collapsed with their heads crushed into shimmering glops.

She turned towards the two scouts, as if she was going to say something...

She didn\'t. Instead, she waved lightly-- like she was shy.

"Non," Raphael grimaced. "I do not suggest you or I try to match Lady Korr\'s methods."

"A-alright. Just checking." Lone nodded hesitantly... "Thank you, Korr."

Korr nodded, "[LET ME KNOW IF YOU GET POSSESSED AGAIN.]"

"...I will, thank you."

Again? What did she mean by \'again\'?

"Seven hells," Raphael suddenly stopped, staring up at a blank wall. They had reached a dead end in the catacombs. "There\'s... nothing here."

Lone furrowed his brows... "No... No! That can\'t be right!

He hurried to Raphael\'s side, then dropped to the floor and pressed his ear against the cool Dungeon stone. "This is definitely the right place... There\'s running water-- right underneath us!"

"What can we do?" The Bravo shook his head, "We must find another way. The collective is counting on us to lead them out of this place..."

Lone sprang up, "Nah. I got this. Sergeant Salt!"

Salt jogged over, "Lord Ranger."

"Give me all your Khyber crystals!"

The Sergeant tilted his green helmet, "Eh? A-all of them, Sir?"

"YEAH! Come on, I have an idea."