Sailor Leviathan immediately dispelled the illusion after the rocks fell. Fortunately for them, they did not die, but it seemed that Sailor Amatheia and Shadow were in terrible trouble.

"Guard What's-Your-Name, I need you to go with Sailor Enyalius and the others and guide them to where Guardian Leviathan and Enoch are. I want to go... but I couldn't face them if I left people behind and I'm no good against these creatures anyway. The planet's counting on you. Go and make sure these idiots don't do anything stupid."

She looked to the others with the best face she could muster. She looked to the rocks and then pointed to where they need to go.

"I'll stay behind with whoever else wants to stay here. Go on ahead, guys. I need you to hurry to the large opening in the largest mountain you can see."

At this point, no one told her that in order to defeat the Chaos Seed on Andromeda, only Sailor Andromeda could destroy it. For all she was concerned, she was a rather pointless member of the party and determined she would be best saving Amatheia and Shadow.

But before she could do that, she noticed someone was in trouble. She frowned solemnly at Ribbon and pointed to her neck. She looked as mellow as she was concerned.

"Calm down, Ribbon. Focus on your gills. Focus on breathing. You have my Blessing, remember? You're protected."

"They're Alive?!" Ribbon exclaimed mentally, still coughing and sputtering in a useless attempt to clear the water from her mouth, but with Leviathan's words she was using her gills again, taking water in and out determinedly as she immediately and clumsily started swimming towards the rocky wreckage; she wasn't strong, she stumbled, eventually just landed on the rocks and scrambled over them in her bare feet, crying out when the sharp edges cut into her feet but continuing on, though she knew not where to go. Had she seen Amatheia there? Or over there? She paused, looking forward, confused, unable to remember exactly where she had seen that pale yellow hair through the falling debris. 

She was panicked. As she looked around in vain, part of her wondered why - she didn't really have many good feelings about Shadow, not since the way he had spoken to her in Castle Charon or the weird looks he was giving her earlier on this planet, and she didn't really know much at all about Amatheia beyond her being strange ripping her fin apart to show legs and being insanely cold - but still... they were human, right? And now they were buried under the rocks, still alive but unconscious; if another earthquake struck, would it rattle whatever was protecting them from being squished and kill them?! Shadow's last words had been about her; had they decided to go up the pass to find her? 

But still, it was hopeless. She looked around, hugging herself; some of the rocks were boulders. The original ground was buried under nearly 20 feet of debris, a weight in excess of tons. Motion ahead of her revealed Sailor Sedna.

She didn't know what to do.

Shadow, too, then. Enyalius grit her teeth. Now when she suggested they leave them behind it could look personal rather than rational. 

She could not sense what Nix was doing, but she felt a change in the current from her right. She glanced over, but saw nothing - neither the Senshi, whom she assumed was still practically invisible, or whatever waited beyond. It gave her pause, and put her in a tense mood; something was going on. 

Leviathan's instructions were an unwelcome distraction; she recognized Leviathan's intent and her reasoning, but she was needed on the attempt against the seed - what was she thinking?! She was about to say as much when, ahead of her, a large mass moved against the darker background.

Dragon wrote:

"I do not know how you go this far, but you shall go no further!" a feminine voice hissed at them from the north.

Dragon ??? uses Current Stream (6MP) on the crowd! 
Did it hit? The group is close together and the attack is wide-ranged!
--It hits!
 Nix, Oberon, Nocturnus, Enya and Achelois, Leviathan and the Guard are thrown backwards!
How much damage?
--8
--CTRL 12
--MP 2
----Total of 22 points of damage to be split!
As the attack is wide-ranged and not specifically aimed, no armor bonus will be deducted.
 Nix, Oberon, Nocturnus, Enya and Achelois, Leviathan and the Guard lose 3 HP (from Oberon's Sheild); Oberon loses 3 hp!

Enyaluis is poisoned! She loses an additional 2 HP
Sedna is poisoned! She loses 2 HP

Callisto turned around just in time for her view of Shadow and Amatheia to be cut off by rubble. They had gone down another path, but had they been caught in the rock slide? Callisto started to regret her decision to go the oppiosite direction. What if they had needed her and she wasn't there? Oberon's confirmation relieved her to a degree. They weren't dead at least, but they were still buried underneath a good amount of stone. 

Sedna motioned for her to join with the rest of the group, and Callisto looked back at the collapsed rock before slowly swimming over it. Shouldn't they try to dig them up? They might have been out of time, but it felt so wrong to leave them...

Before Callisto could bring this up with anyone else, a large something in the water attacked the other group, pushing them back. She swam faster to catch up with them.

"Another enemy?" she asked, ready to use her shield again.

Sailor Leviathan couldn't help but sigh when Ribbon tried to lift the rocks on her own. She went to help her when she was suddenly interrupted by a booming voice and a terrible stream attack.

She winced when she was smacked against the rocks. In the face of a new enemy and Shadow and Amatheia's trapped nature, she could only think of one solution.

Leviathan attempted to use Leviathan Illusion to turn the entire group invisible. They could see through the illusion, which they would perceive as the others being made of foam or bubbles. The intention would be that enemies could not see the group. It was a massive illusion, but it would disappear if the group traveled away from Leviathan.

"Go!" she shouted desperately. "Save the planet! I'm useless at fighting as it is anyways. I'll stay with whoever else will and save the others. We'll figure out how to beat this other brainwashed lizard! Don't worry! Go, hurry!"

She hated trusting the others but she couldn't think of any other way. She wanted to save Enoch and Guardian Leviathan herself out of pride and out of extreme worry.

Oberon’s words echoed in their minds, matter-of-fact and free of emotion. Alive. That certainly made her feel better, but the dilemma of time was still present. Sailor Leviathan said she would stay behind, but… wasn’t this her planet? Nix didn’t know what it took to save a planet from a Chaos Seed but it seemed only sensible to her that the actual guardian of the planet be present for it. What if they needed her?

Before they could talk about it, however, a powerful force threw her and the others backwards towards the opposite rock wall. She felt the effect but did not feel any damage other than having the breath knocked out of her.

From the voice and the type of attack, as well as how it had waited until the last minute to attack them unlike the eel and the squid… She wondered if this could be the mate of the previous dragon. She honestly wasn’t looking forward to icing another one.

Meanwhile though, there was another enemy on this side—the side she was now even closer to—and at Leviathan’s urging, Nix looked into the abyss, wondering if the creature there would soon attack as well. If so, they might be trapped.

There’s just one problem with that plan. There’s something on this side, too.

Quote :

Leviathan uses Illusion (6MP) to turn the party members invisible! 
The party is invisible!

Dragon wrote:

"Brainwashed lizard?!" the dragon replied indignantly, "I believe you won't find this 'brainwashed lizard' that easy to 'beat,'" She moved forward, her beautiful onyx scales glimmering in the faint light of the lumen jellies overhead, "Even if you have made yourselves invisible! Takorah!"

With a low rumble, the beast standing at the eastern pathway shifted, reeling its head back, and blew more water towards them!

Dragon Takorah uses Current Stream (6 MP) on the crowd!
Did it hit? The group is close together and the attack is wide-ranged!
--It hits!
 Nix, Oberon, Nocturnus, Enya and Achelois, Leviathan, Callisto and the Guard are thrown backwards!
How much damage?
--10
--CTRL 21
--MP 2
----Total of 33 points of damage to be split!
As the attack is wide-ranged and not specifically aimed, no armor bonus will be deducted.
 Nix, Oberon, Nocturnus, Enya and Achelois, Leviathan, Callisto and the Guard lose 4 HP (from Oberon's Shield; Oberon's Shield has been exhausted for all but Callisto (and Sedna and Ribbon)); Oberon loses 4 hp!

Enyalius, knowing another enemy was down that pathway and connecting that that was the "Takorah" the dragon spoke of, crossed her arms before her face and braced herself, frowning intently; they were bunched up to begin with - she hoped that this time no one would be so unfortunate as to run into any of the blades on her armor. The gust hit, and she was thrown backwards into the jagged wall of rocks created by the rockslide, somehow missing most of the group in the push back.

'Leviathan, you cannot stay behind!' she stated, pushing herself away from the wall and stepping forward towards the pair of dragons. 'It is not confirmed, but you could be the only one to be able to actually defeat this Chaos Seed - we're your backup here! Achelois defeated hers on her planet, Andromeda defeated hers yesterday, it might very well be up to you to save Leviathan. So if you have any plans to get past these two, share them; else maybe Nix could freeze the one in our way and we could try to outrun them.'

As she swam over the debris that now filled the passageway, Eshana felt another stab of pain from the poison, which had been causing her pain in increasing waves, the longer it was in her body. Knowing she couldn't heal herself, but wanting to buy her body some time, she used Ocean's Grace to heal some of the damage that the poison had caused in her body. 

At first she felt her magic healing working, the pleasant buzz she always associated with her magic there. That feeling soon changed, becoming slightly more intense. Eshana felt part of her magic race ahead of the damage left by the poison as if seeking it out itself. Impossible, my healing has never been able to eradicate poisons before. 


The impossible seemed to be happening as the poison was soon cleansed from her body. In her shock, Eshana had stopped swimming, paused close to Ribbon. 

Had her healing ability evolved? She had been using more recently than she had in the near two millennium she'd been alive. Quickly refocusing herself, she joined the group. As much as she wanted to aid Ribbon, saving the planet came first. There was no guarantee that Amatheia or Shadow would be alive under all the rocks and they didn't have that time to waste. 

Forgive me. 

After the rockfall, they learned that both Amatheia and Shadow were buried beneath the rubble, alive but unconscious.  While it seemed some of their group were intent on digging for the two, Achelois felt too well the time pressure and energy limit.  Her earlier decision to separate from all of the emotional drain of the situation, now lead her to believe that they simply didn't have the time.  However before she could even make a comment on it, a blast like the one that knocked back Shadow earlier, was directed at them, and this time it was stronger.  Thankfully they had Oberon's shield take the damage for them, even though they were knocked back.  Although Leviathan attempted to provide an escape, Achelois knew it wouldn't work, there was something else up the other path.  Only moments later, another blast shot at the group, pushing them back again.  Achelois felt the pressure, but thankfully no pain.  However it did seem like Oberon's shield would protect them no more.

Achelois was surprised that Leviathan was trying to stay behind, but it seemed Enya was explaining the concept of the Chaos Seed destruction to Leviathan.  They don't have time to debate with the dragons, and two would be much harder to convince than just one.  Nix do you have the energy to freeze both of them?  If so that might be our only option.

Despite the two layers of invisibility she now possessed, it was clear that the dragons were not so easily fooled. More water hit them and pushed them backwards, further cornering them. Enyalius explained that Leviathan would indeed be necessary for this final task, and she hoped the senshi would listen.

To Achelois’ question, she replied, Yes, I have enough magic to freeze both. If they’re less willing than the previous one, though, the effort may be a bit harder.

Not to mention that she could only do one at a time, and she suspected the other would not just sit idly waiting for its turn while she did that.

Her heart sank. What did Sailor Enyalius mean? She couldn't possibly be the only one who could destroy the chaos seed. Did it have something to do with the fact that she had the spirit of the planet, like Guardian Leviathan had always taught her? If this was the case, then, at least to her knowledge, there was no way Enoch or Guardian Leviathan could have ever defeated the Chaos Seed.

Sailor Leviathan, if in view of the dragon, would have had an extremely grumpy and awful looking face. Not just one attack but two?! Now she was feeling incredibly awful. She could only imagine what Enoch was going through at this point. He was just a normal humanoid after all. How could someone like him possibly survive this place? Her heart raced with worry.

"Yeah! You brainwashed lizards!" she shouted, knowing from Sailor Nix there was a second one. "I'm talkin' to you, not looking for a fight! It's me, Sailor Leviathan! And I know I'm not respected a lot around here. Really, I haven't done anything to earn that respect, but you better listen now! I'm apparently the key to saving this planet and if I don't get through, you're all dead! Come on! We're in this together! I'm with Enoch and Guardian Leviathan!"

Sailor Nocturnus

Sailor Nocturnus winced as she hit the rocks again. Her long drifting hair obscured her vision, interfering with her continued search for Ribbon. The older woman had left her side after the news that Shadow and Amatheia were buried in the rockslide. Nocturnus feared for her safety; feared for the two trapped party members; feared for their success probability to save this planet.

She felt as though she had lost her rhythm and her momentum before the rocks began to fall and had failed to yet recover it. If she headed towards Ribbon, she wouldn't be of any use digging the others out. The boulders were too large. But could they just leave the others behind? She remembered those who had gone missing in the labyrinth, shuddering. What were they going to do?

Nocturnus frowned, with so many options and none of them good, and tried to swim towards Ribbon--knowing she could get thrown off-course by the dragons or possibly attacked. But she had promised herself that she would protect the pink-haired girl, and that included not abandoning her now.

Knowing that Enyalius was still suffering from the effects of poison, Sedna used Oceans' Grace on the other senshi, hoping that it would remove the poison from her as well.

Voices rang out behind her, echoing through the pass; she turned, her fingers gripping the sides of her dress tightly, to see others in the group be thrown against the wall to the right. She couldn't move. Callisto arrived, zipping past her to get to the scene of the battle just in time for the group to be thrown backwards, completely out of her sight, as a second creature attacked from the eastern path. Sedna paused beside her. Ribbon pulled her gaze away from the scene ahead to look at the tall, dark warrior who was in turn looking in shock ahead of herself, before resuming and swimming quickly and easily back towards the group, to face whatever creatures - dragons, she guessed from mental chatter - awaited them.

She didn't know what to do.

She heard Leviathan's voice ring out, knew now that Leviathan was necessary to the plan to save the planet, but what did that mean for Amatheia and Shadow? She turned back around, looking down at the mass of rocks around her; she didn't even know exactly where they were. She could be right on top of them, or they could be farther south. They could be farther north, they could be east of her, closer to the wall, or west. She didn't even know where to look. 

She stared down at her pale, white feet, noticing their slight blue sheen in the water, and the green effect her red blood had as it swirled around her. Even if she knew where they were, she couldn't get to them. Not alone. She wasn't strong and her EM abilities would only make things worse.

She felt someone coming up behind her and turned around to find Nocturnus; she could barely manage a smile. "What happens when they wake up?" she asked quietly, the last words hiccuped by a quiet sob.

Sailor Leviathan stepped back in fear at the dragon's hiss. She knew of all of the people here, there was no chance she had of defeating these dragons on her own. She was far too weak. Her heart sank, realizing yet again that she was a pathetic guardian to her planet. There were far too many beings that would serve better, the dragons included.

"Would you rather die, knowing you helped save this planet or rot as the entire planet crumbles to pieces?" she found herself having the courage to say. "I don't see a choice here. You will die if you don't let me through. That's a guarantee. But if I do go through, you and whatever hostages have been captured will have a chance to live. It's slim. Stupidly slim, but it's far better odds than the alternative!

"I've already decided to pardon the dragons for any actions taken during these past hours. There is no way I can punish or judge those whose evils are far less than my own. I abandoned you all for months. No, if we're being honest, the centuries of abandonment was worse. Guardian Leviathan never should have been forced to lead you all for so long. She should have never been sent down here in my place."

For a moment, she let the illusion subside, just around her, so that the dragons could see her and only her better. Her face again was plastered with salt tears

"I've caused this whole mess and I hate that I'm the only person that can make it right. I'm sorry that I failed you. I'm sorry for everything."

She bowed once again and remained incredibly rigid, either out of embarrassment or fear.

Quote :

The female reared back to face her initial challenge, but remained in her aggressive posture until Leviathan finished. Then she spouted, "Your tears and remorse do little for this situation --"

"Enough, Tulovi," the male dragon finally spoke, cutting off her tirade, his voice calm and low, like the ancient seabed, laced with resignation and exhaustion, "Her tears and remorse do much for me. Mistakes were made in the past, but hanging on those mistakes will do little for the future."

"Takorah," Tulovi breathed in a hiss-like whisper, "We cannot let them through! If she finds out, it will not only be our lives at stake, but those of our families! I have watched too many die today -" her voice cut off, choked with emotion.

"They have already made it this far," Takorah replied after giving the other a moment to compose herself as he moved into the half-light. He was enormous; if Kalenen's body had been comparable to a school bus, Takorah was like a submarine, his wedge-shaped head with elongated snout covered in a whisker-like beard of kelp. "Which means another has believed her story and let her through. I have trust in our people."

"Then trust our earlier decision!" Tulovi plead, "Guardian Leviathan and the other could be enough! It was dangerous to get them into place, it will be even more so for these to enter! They will know we went against our word and will take it out on our kin!"

"Not if you get there first."

Enya had pulled herself out of the pile, pushing off against the rocks and walking back into the open as the two spoke, listening intently to their words and generally piecing things together, folding in what they learned from Kalenen to make a clearer picture in her mind. At the first opportunity, as her mind worked in an attempt to solve both problems - their need to get to the seed, the dragon's need to stop them to protect their families - simultaneously, she broke into the conversation before the female - Tulovi - could continue or the male - Takorah - could respond.

Both dragons looked to her as she stood behind and to the right of Sailor Leviathan, and she continued resolutely, "Let us through, then find whomever is threatening your people and kill them before they can take out punishment on your families."

Dragons wrote:

Tulovi hissed at Enyalius, "Do you think us stupid?! Do you think we just let them in?! We alone are not enough!"

Nix listened to the back and forth, the story of these two dragons sounding similar to that of Kalenen’s. Their kin threatened… but the planet was also in danger. There was no point not letting them through if things were only going to go badly for everyone anyway.

When Enyalius spoke, claiming that they could get to the enemy before the enemy could punish the dragons, Nix stepped forward, dropping her own camouflage though Leviathan’s was probably still in effect. Not that that seemed to fool the dragons anyway, so maybe it didn’t matter.

“But you are not alone now. We’re here to help you. Sailor Leviathan is here for you. Some of us have cleared other planets from the same threats as the one that is currently threatening this one. Please have faith that we can do it again. Especially if you help us. Direct us right to where the enemy is, so we might kill them before they even know we’re here.”

"I'm scared to say who it was to protect their honor. They were concerned for their children, so I would rather not say who exactly they were until this whole mess is over."

Sailor Leviathan's face fell when Sailor Nix began to speak to the dragons. She shook her head and spoke to her in a somewhat loud whisper.

"Nix, I don't think you get it. I'm sort of a joke around here. Saying that sort of thing isn't going to make anyone feel better."

She didn't mean it as a jab, more as a warning. Things weren't the same on Planet Leviathan as they were on other planets. Sailor Leviathan could hardly be called a figure head for her people, much less a leader. She was a mark of embarrassment. She couldn't take down a regular dragon on her planet, much less some kind of great threat.

"I think that's the point though," she said solemnly. "I think they know Guardian Leviathan and my friend aren't enough to destroy the Chaos Seed and are fooling you all into stopping me from getting there. The solution has likely got something to do with my Sailor Crystal. Other planets have been attacked and apparently the only way they were able to save them was to send the planet guardian to the center of it all. I'm super scared to do it but I'm the only who can."

But then Sailor Enyalius started to badger the dragons more. They then revealed that there was a person or group behind this. It wasn't just a Chaos nightmare placed in the middle of the planet. Who could do something so evil to so many people?

An image emerged in her mind. It was a woman in golden armor with eyes like all consuming flames. She twitched and scratched at her one wrist and was shocked to see that there wasn't a golden bracelet. It was one of those visions again, a "nuisance" as Guardian Leviathan called them. She said they were something to be ignored. But now, she felt she had to face reality and she prayed that whatever was attacking the planet didn't have anything to do with her past.

"Who is she?" she asked seriously. "Who are the people who did this to us?"

Two attacks in and now they were speaking back and forth with the dragons, Oberon taking this small break - that he hoped wouldn't cut their time left too much - to calm down. He could feel how the empty links were making him restless, slightly more sensitive to everyone's emotions. His eyes went, not to the dragons, but to Ribbon and Nocturnus that were further from the group than was careful, but he knew why, he understood why.

Would those to be able to keep fighting if they were to leave two of their own behind? Ribbon was emotional, that much he could tell since he connected everybody together and Nocturnus seemed young... guilt was a crippling emotion.

He shifted slightly to be able to keep an eye on them while everyone else's attention was kept by the dragons. There was nothing he could do for this conversation, but if anyone chose this time to attack both girls, they were vulnerable.

Sailor Nocturnus

She looked at Ribbon, reaching out for the woman's hand. Her dark eyes shined softly with the hope she still felt inside, although it be tempered with sorrow.

"We'll be back for them," she replied, hoping that Ribbon understood how much this miserable turn of events squeezed her own heart.

If they had left the dragon behind, knowing they had to complete their mission and save the planet for him, now there were even more lives depending on them. It pained her that she was unable to help their trapped comrades right now. Even if she and Ribbon joined forces, accepting that they were the pair least-useful to the others as the group continued forward towards the Chaos Seed, they wouldn't be effectual in freeing Shadow or Amatheia from the unfathomable rocks.

But if they strayed too far from the group now, they might never rejoin the others.

Dragons wrote:

"One is like an eel," Tulovi stated passionately, though she choked on her what she would have said and continued, "She stands in the den with the earth-shaker. The other is like a clam, our kin like her pearls!"


"Ferocity will do no good at this time, Tulovi," Takorah interrupted sternly; he was apparently on their side, willing to make an attempt, and seeming willing to even forgive Leviathan for her past transgressions against his people. "The pair landed together and... coerced us into aiding them with their scheme. We were able to place Guardian Leviathan and young Enoch into the den without their notice before we were forced to our current positions." He paused, thinking back on what had been said by Nix, "You would aide us, then? Some of you would go forth to deal with the eel while others would come with us to destroy the clam? The pair of them are able to communicate simultaneously; an initial attempt at betrayal of the eel was immediately met with actions by the clam; we could not wait for you to finish your deelings within the den."

She held Nocturnus's hand tightly, keeping her other arm wrapped around her torso as she continued to stare down, imagining she could see them far below her feet. "But what if we don't come back in time?" she asked quietly, "What if another earthquake happens? What if whatever is stopping them from being crushed shifts out of alignment? What if the stress on the system increases?"

She turned to Nocturnus, "What if we come back too late to save them?"

Sailor Nocturnus

Ribbon's fears were not unfounded. Nocturnus knew this, but she also understood that there were limited options available to them. She may have been young, but she had experienced several moments that clearly illustrated the need to make decisions, even if it was impossible to determine which option was the right choice. If not, they would have failed so many times before.

But how to explain this to someone else?

"If we stay and try to find them now, we'll never make it. If we don't find and destroy the Chaos Seed, this planet will be destroyed. All of these creatures—the dragons, the people in the city, and... us," she said slowly, trying to choose the right words. "Nothing will survive."

She sniffled slightly, feeling the tears rise to her eyes even though adult sailor soldiers didn't cry. She wouldn't admit how awful this was. How unfair it was. Nothing she could do would make it any more fair. Real life was not like fairy tales, and she was so small and powerless.

"I want to help them. I want to help them right now," Nocturnus said, struggling to keep her voice from shaking. "But I don't have that kind of power. I have to do the things that I can do."

Achelois was surprised that she hadn't tried talking to the dragons before telling Nix to freeze them.  Wouldn't she normally offer those ideas?  Didn't she like the peaceful resolutions over the violent ones?  Normally yes, but this latest thinking, her calm demeanor, it was reminiscent of how she acted on planet Achelois.  Let nature take its route was her belief.  Don't step in, don't try to change it.  So what was she doing here, what was she doing running from planet to planet trying to alter their fates?  Would they ultimately fail, is fate something that's decided beforehand?  She didn't know, she tried not to think about these things when she was out adventuring with Enya, focused only on her time with her companion and the problem immediately ahead of her.  

Now Enya was the one getting the dragons to help them out.  Certainly it was a good idea and would save them time and energy.  She should be delighted.  "Yes we would split to take out both enemies," Achelois responded to Takorah.  Then, her voice a little softer and warmer, "We do not want harm to come to your families."  Achelois thought loudly for the others to hear, Leviathan, Enya and I should go for the chaos seed, Enya how would split the rest?  There was nothing to think about right now, just keep focused on the goal.  Save the planet, stop the seed.

"Eel? I wonder if it's like anything like the one we fought before. That aside, thank you for getting Guardian Leviathan and Enoch in. I know that was a huge risk for you. I can only hope now that they're OK. Guardian Leviathan is strong but Enoch..."

Sailor Leviathan dispelled the illusion covering the group and sighed deeply. There wasn't much hope that Enoch was still alive at this point.

She perked up when she heard the dragons' plan. She nodded and clenched her fists to try and stay brave.

"I agree. I think that Sailor Enyalius should lead half of the group to the eel. She's the toughest of all of us physically and, as much as I hate to admit it, she's  A small number of us can then go with you to seek out the clam."

But then there was the issue of Sailor Amatheia and Shadow. Sailor Nocturnus brought up her despair at not being able to help them.

"You're right, Nocty. This isn't something you can do, but we have the power now to get them out."

She approached the dragons once more and looked up at them shyly. She was incredibly intimidated. If they changed their minds at any point, she was scared the party might become dragon food.

"If you could, our friends are trapped under these rocks. If we are able to assist them and heal them, we'd have two more allies to help us. One of them, Shadow, has assisted our planet before and risks his life now to do so again. If he's still alive, we should try to save him."

Ribbon heard Nocturnus sniffing, and felt her helplessness increase. They had to do the things they can do. 

Ribbon lowered herself to her knees and hugged Nocturnus tightly, putting one hand on the back of Nocturnus's head to draw her into Ribbon's shoulder, wrapping the other around Nocturnus's waist to pull her in close. She couldn't lift all these rocks. She couldn't melt them. She couldn't guarantee they wouldn't fall in an horribly crush the people trapped and unconscious below. She couldn't save Amatheia and Shadow, but she could try to make Nocturnus feel better about how they couldn't do anything for them.

"We'll come back for them, then," she stated, her voice stronger and more sure than she could have ever felt.

Battle wrote:

Sedna uses Ocean's Grace on Enyalius and removes her poison and restores... 13 hp!

Enyalius paid attention as the conversation unfolded, her idea gaining momentum; the male dragon - apparently older, or higher in hierarchy than the female - seemed to be for it. Achelois backed her, projecting her question, and Enyalius had to think things over before answering; during her consideration, going through what she knew of the rest of them while ignoring the sharp pain in her chest, Leviathan brought an addendum to the deal that she hadn't considered, but wasn't sure she would back just yet. "There is a time limit associated with the enemy we face," she warned; she had felt that countdown since the beginning, the pain in her chest increasing as the time ran out, but she had been unable to keep track of time. If both plans needed to happen simultaneously, they might not be able to afford delaying, even with the dragon's help. "How long has it been since the first earthquake?" 

As she waited for their response she did some quick mental math, putting together what they knew and what Leviathan and Shadow had provided. Guardian Leviathan and her team had left just over 24 hours before they arrived; the crone had said they had 7 hours; so long as it had been less than 31 hours they were not in danger yet; the closer they were to 31, however... 

Dragons wrote:

"Since the first?" Takorah repeated, thinking.

"Nearly 29 hours," Tulovi replied, her voice harsh and a bit suspicious, "What is the time limit?"

"31 hours," Enyalius supplied, her attention now beyond Takorah; how long would it take them to sneak in and handle the threat? 

Perception Check:

... could the dragons' rebellion distract the eel? Pull its attention away from the seed long enough for them to destroy it and take away that countdown, giving them more time to work with? She didn't like endangering them, using them as a red herring to the attack on the Seed - could she even suggest that? Could she go through with it? 

Were similar choices being made on Enyalius, or had the chaotic forces there already won and were simply awaiting the germination of the Seed?

She wouldn't let this seed mature. She wouldn't let her planet's sacrifice be in vain, no matter what that meant. 

Dragons wrote:

"It would take even we some time to work through those rocks, even if we knew exactly where to dig." Takorah replied, "We will not let you move forward until we, and those of you coming with us, are on our way to our kin that our attacks happen simultaneously. If you insist we dig up your companions before we start our combined attacks, we will agree, but that is our stipulation in return."

"Will you be able to retrieve them with time to spare?" Enyalius pressed, "How long would it take?"

Dragons wrote:

"Too long!" Tulovi hissed in return. "We will return for them when we have saved our people."

"If we split our forces further," Takorah began, "We can send another back to dig them up while we fight; if luck is on our side, they might find them before the fight has ended."

Oberon was looking at Nocturnus and Ribbon, though attentive to the conversation going on with the others. If Leviathan tried to speak to the dragons about their unfortunate companions, Enyalius and the dragons were quick to try to dissuade them from it. He looked at all of them, a frown settling on his eyebrows. He could feel his magical strength not as strong as it was before he connected them then tried to protect them. Worrying, but he could survive. His powers were made to serve everyone else. They were never meant for himself.

If we leave them behind, which is as logical a solution as we can afford right now with how little time we have left, but it cripples us. We are down one warrior and one magical fighter. It is not a small loss. I can assure you this link we now share will last the distance, even if I am to be unconscious, though not if I die, but our forces will not be split equally.

He pointed out calmly, patiently, no reproach, panic or disagreement in his voice. These were facts, again. No sentiments behind it.

'What do you propose we do then?' Enyalius mentally returned, 'We are down a warrior and magical fighter regardless; I would rather not split up, but unless we are willing to take the time and energy to defeat these two rather than treat with them, I do not see another way.'

Splitting up the group would be a bad idea. I wonder if that's what they want us to do. She was still unsure about the dragons. She had gotten the impression from what they had said earlier that they were responsible for allowing the Chaos seed onto the planet and where it currently lay. 

Was it possible that the dragons were lying to them, that if they agreed with the dragons plan that they would be leading them into a trap? Not wanting to loose anymore members of their group, she reached out with her empathic abilities towards the dragons. 

They were being genuine. 

Our only option may just be to freeze them and make a run for it if they don't cooperate, we can't afford to loose any time and their emotions tell me that what they are saying is genuine - their kin would be in danger.