Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 610: Looming Threat

"What are you talking about?" Leviala asked with confusion."Nothing, continue. What happened next?" Zac said, not wanting to make any decisions before hearing the whole story.

Seeing the outsiders conspiring with their old enemies the Lunar Clan had, unsurprisingly, agitated the people of Clan Cartava, especially after they had extended an olive branch through the plaque. It was at moment time a man named Yvian stepped out, saying that he and Leviala were betrothed, but had kept it secret as to not distract from the more important matters at hand. He vowed to get his fiancé back, even if he had to battle both the "insidious outsiders" and the Lunar Tribe.

Apparently, Yvian was the heir of the second branch of the Clan and the second-best candidate for future Clan Leader after Leviala herself. He and his faction quickly turned the clan against Zac's people and immediately rerouted the scouting parties to

However, no one in Zac’s group cared about Leviala’s opinions, all instead turning toward Zac. He turned toward the subdued captain who had already woken up by now with the help of a few zaps from Kenzie's drones. His eyes were a bit glazed over after Zac's punch, but he seemed to have been able to follow what was going on.

"You can all return to your clan. Take that body and these roots with you, it's the proof of what I've said is true. But tell your elders this; We didn't come to this godforsaken place for fun. We came here to save our planet, and we are willing to lay our lives on the line to do so. Force our hands, and we will walk over the ruins of your clan to get the job done," Zac said, his killing intent almost dense enough to become corporeal. "I know the allure of the outside world is strong, but don't lose it all by acting hastily. I'm coming back to get our people soon enough."

The soldiers looked extremely unwilling, but no one offered any rebuttal, instead looking down with their fists clenched. Zac could only pray that his threat would cause make the elders hesitate about their plans, slowing any plans to break out. He couldn't turn back now. His instincts told him to push forward, and Ogras' words of warning about Divine Guidance were the last push he needed to make his decision.

“We’ll keep going," Zac said as he turned to his group.

"What... What about me?" Leviala hesitantly asked.

"You're coming with us," Zac said as he formed the same chair made out of chains as before. "I know that you're not happy with how things turned out. But the quicker you help us get where we need to go, the quicker we'll be able to return and prevent any bloodshed."

“Fine," Leviala sighed as she dragged herself onto the chair, the links quickly turning red from a few wounds reopening.

"Let's hurry," Zac said as he left the soldiers where they were, the other three silently following in tow. "We'll speed up. I'll deal with any spatial tears."

"Spatial Tears are the least of our worries where we're going. If it was just that we'd long have looted the Inner Layer. There are alarms, sentries, mechanized guards, traps, and who knows what else," Leviala warned.

"Good thing we brought you then, girl," Ogras grinned.

“The last stretch is through a long stretch of tubing according to the maps. Surely the base wouldn't have any alarms there," Kenzie added.

"You... How did you do that before? You simply took all our drones like they were yours," Leviala asked with a slightly fearful look.

"Well, they mine now," Kenzie smiled, ignoring the question. "Spoils of war and all that."