Cross's breath was ragged as he dragged himself across the floor, a thick trail of blood in his wake. Reaching Makina he collapsed beside her. His hand trembled as he gently pressed his fingers against her throat.
He felt nothing.
"You better not have died on me you little brat." Cross forced himself onto one knee. He leaned over Makina, putting his ear near her mouth. She wasn't breathing. "I won't let you."
He placed his hands on her chest and pressed down. Spears of agony went through his broken arm but still he pressed down again and again. His vision went blurry as he tilted her head back and pressed his mouth over hers. Makina's chest rose as air filled up her lungs. Cross's hands returned to her chest as his vision continued to fade.
"Not yet."
He lost count how many times he repeated the action, his eyes almost completely dark when he finally heard it.
A short gasp that just reached his ears.
His hand moved to her neck and he felt it. The steady thump thump thump of her heartbeat beneath his fingers. A surge of relief passed through his body he crashed to the ground.
He felt someone kneel down beside him. Even without seeing her he knew who it was.
"Lex."
Cross..."
"She's alright," Cross sighed. He tried and failed to push himself back into a sitting position. Lexi caught him before he hit the ground, letting his weight rest against her.
"What about you, though," Lexi said softy before turning her head towards Banksy, who as already working his way through the room and to the double doors. Pulling two rings free from his necklace, he pinged them against the door before fiddling with the lock.
"Alright, that should keep anyone else from getting in." Banksy said after a moment as the door let out a series of loud metallic clicks. "That is, as long as they don't just break it down... Which is a very real possibility."
"So... now what?" Romeo asked, rubbing his head with the gilded handle of his newly acquired cane. He glanced down at Makina the gears in his head slowly turning. "So, she really was telling the truth then and Cross isn't a big sap? I'll be honest, up until now I was pretty sure we had done this mostly for the hell of it. Cross, this is crazy, right?"
"Shut up, Romeo," Banksy sighed as he continued to fiddle with the door.
Cross didn't answer as a strange sensation formed in his mind, pulling his attention to the nearest pillar. He stared at it for a long time before forcibly pulling his eyes away and down to the bolt that was still stuck in his leg. He reached down and gently tugged at it. It did not so much as budge but the pain still nearly caused him to blackout
"Lex."
Lexi hesitated for a moment before nodding. One of her hands found Cross's before she grabbed onto the exposed end of the bolt and pulled it all the way through his leg. Cross clutched at the wound and warm, sticky blood coated his already bloodstained fingers. His stomach twisted and for a moment he was sure he would vomit.
Even through the pain, the incessant feeling, now more urgent, refused to be ignored and Cross's attention was once again on the pillars. Releasing Lexi's hand, Cross leaned over and snatched Romeo's cane and used it to prop himself to his feet. He ignored Romeo's protest as his blood stained the trophy.
With effort he limped over to the nearest pillar, his broken hand unconsciously lifting up to touch the glowing stone.
It was warm to the touch, almost uncomfortably so.
Magic pulsed thickly through it like a beating heart.
"Hey!" Banksy took a step towards Cross. "Maybe you shouldn't touch that, we don't know what kind of spell it is yet."
"It's alright," Cross breathed as he dropped the cane, to the disdain of Romeo, and lifted his other hand to rest against the pillar. "It won't hurt me."
"Cross." Lexi called a warning, but he barely heard her, staring intently up at the pillar.
"What do I do?" Cross murmured. His voice was almost silent. The pull tugged at him relentlessly, becoming a pounding in his head that felt like nails being driven into his skull. It became so strong he could do nothing but move closer, leaning his throbbing head against the pillar "Help me."
Without warning, the pounding moved to a sudden and constant pressure. It was worse than anything Cross had ever felt before, easily eclipsing the pain from his other injuries. He grit his teeth and pressed harder against the stone, rolling his head from side to side in a vain effort to find relief.
"Help me, please." His fist slammed uselessly against the stone.
Banksy tugged anxiously on his necklace and was about to say something when something slammed against the doors he had just locked.
"Shit," Romeo reflexively reached for a bomb, but there was nothing to find and his fingers grasped empty air. "What do we do, Lexi?"
Lexi's dark eyes scanned along the room. There was nothing to use as a barricade. There was nowhere to go. There was only the way they had come and the doors that continued to rattle as the men on the other side fought to break in. They were too injured to run and they would not survive another fight, not without heavy casualties.
Her eyes fell on Cross.
His fingers curled against the stone, nails racking uselessly against the surface. His vision blurred and he began to tilt to the side, unable to bear the agonizing pain any longer.
"Please." Darkness ate away Cross's vision and he began to fall. "I swore I would save them."
"Cross." Lexi's voice cut through the darkness and he felt her strong, small arm wrap around his waist and her cool hand rest on the back of his burning fist. Slowly, she interlaced her fingers with his, opening his tight fist up and letting it lay flush against the pillar as she supported his falling weight.
A sudden flash of nothingness burned through Cross's mind and his head snapped back with a gasp as he finally broke through the pain and connected with the Void. As his body began to shake, Lexi only tightened her grip, supporting her guildmate as he fought against the unrelenting weight of the Void. With another gasp, Cross's body went absolutely still and for a moment, Lexi was not sure if he was still conscious.
"Thank you," Cross suddenly breathed as his eyes flicked open and he sharply began to move the hand Lexi still held onto. The blood staining Cross's hand violently traced out an intricate rune on the stone, his movements ordained by the Void.
Lexi felt a tingling in her fingertips as Cross worked. Traces of shadow trickled through the connection, swimming through the bloodstain rune. Lexi let the magic flow from her body, her grip on Cross growing even tighter as the effort threatened to topple them both.
Cross's movements came to an end as he pressed his hand flush against the stone and the purple glow abruptly faded away
There was a moment of absolute silence before a large crack appeared in the stone, stemming from the bloody rune where Cross and Lexi's hands still lay at the center. More followed suit as the fissures continued on, spider webbing across the entire surface, the stone popping loudly with every crack.
Energy completely spent, Cross began to slip back towards the ground as chunks of masonry began to rain down around them, booming against the ground and showering them in thick dust. Lexi adjusted her grip and dragged Cross back as more and more of the pillar broke free until the entire structure was nothing more than a base.
A base occupied by an extremely large individual.
Stepping free from the pillar with unstable steps, the giant threw his arms back and let out a horrible roar. He stood a good three heads taller than Romeo, and was at least twice as broad. Thick muscles rippled under his dark skin as he turned his fiery eyes on the guild members. Without thinking Romeo and Banksy took a step back.
"You!" The giant bellowed, turning his attention to Cross. Lexi positioned herself between the two, her hand resting on Nightmare's hilt. The giant took no notice, storming right up to them. He stared down at Cross before moving with uncanny speed and picking Cross up from the ground... and enveloping him in a bone breaking hug.
"I never imagined Makina would return," he yelled happily, as Cross tried, and failed, to keep from crying out in pain. "You have saved us!"
"Uh, who the hell is this?" Romeo called from a safe distance. Banksy stayed silent, unsure if he should laugh or run. Behind him the door continued shake.
"I am Rah! Spirit God of Fire!" he said as though this fact should have been obvious, still holding on to the weakly struggling Cross. After one more deadly squeeze he finally released the clairvoyant. Lexi caught Cross and lowered him carefully to the ground as Rah ambled over to the still unconscious Makina. Reaching out with one large hand he pressed a single finger against her forehead, an orange glow emanating from the point of contact.