The guard tower was comprised of a hastily fabricated platform, a clearly premade chest-high half wall, a metal roof, and a ladder that had clearly seen better days. Two lookouts conversed in low voices as they scanned the area.

Neither noticed the faint yellow glow of a soul-seeker desperately covering his one giant glowing eye in his shadowy tendrils as he skulked across the ground separating the compound from the surrounding village.

Neither noticed the shadow-wreathed cat teleport silently onto the roof above them.

Becca crouched low against the roof, keeping her silhouette hidden. Her tail flicked anxiously. Lash was... not very sneaky. He was doing his best, but all it would take was one of the two chatting guards to spot the impossible-to-hide glow.

As the soul-seeker reached the fence below the watchtower, Becca finally relaxed. He was below their line of sight now. In position and ready.

Dropping from the roof, she reached out with one paw, claws extended. A faint shriek of metal, and both guards turned sharply to see what had caused the noise, but she'd already teleported above them.

Lash rose behind them like a vengeful god, unfurling his lower tendrils to let his golden light shine out within the confines of the watchtower. At the sudden light, the guards turned again, only for the first to be helplessly snared in the soul-seeker's nightmare gaze.

The second didn't even have time to open his mouth before Becca landed directly on top of him, crushing him to the ground and smothering him in shadow-coated fur.

Becca dug her claws deep into this one's back, carving through armor and flesh alike. Though it cost her more stamina than she'd expected, right now any cost was justified.

And, sure, Levi technically wanted them to leave as many alive as possible, but Lash and Becca really weren't the taking-prisoners sorts.

As soon as her lookout went still, Becca casually licked the blood from her paw, then padded over to the one Lash still held restrained.

These humans may be high level for humans, but they were still only human.

Stunner ran in the still cold night of the foreign desert, air flowing through his liquid edges and sending lightning sparking off in all directions. He disliked the slowing chill, and even more disliked the dryness. The dry wanted to diminish him, and he didn't like being diminished.

But Stunner wasn't here to contemplate the weather. He had a job to do. Many targets in three buildings, and more out in the grounds.

He ran at the fence and surged through, his body parting and rejoining fluidly. Each tiny brush against the fence's metal links sparked its own inner lightning. Stunner called out to it, drew it in, and the fence's power flared up and surged in to join with his own lightning. Stunner snorted softly in happiness at his own expansion. If left to himself he'd have run up and down this fence until he could absorb no more, but there was no time to waste. Soulbrother was counting on him.

Things started to go wrong almost immediately. Stunner hadn't crossed half the distance to the first building before a loud shriek stabbed through the air, vibrating harshly through Stunner's liquid body, and his targets started to rouse. Small-stabbing-gremlin arrived then, breaking open the first window for Stunner to enter through.

With a quick nod of thanks, Stunner hurled himself through the gap, his body compressing and expanding by turns as he slid through, landing inside with a soft splash.

Six targets. He didn't slow. Stunner pushed himself into a run and circled the room, flowing over and around the shouting targets. The overcharged lightning in his chest sparked and hummed as one by one his targets fell. The sixth took five passes to succumb. Stunner stomped on that one an extra time for good measure, his sparking hoof leaving a scorched imprint on the target's back-covering, then turned back to the window to make his escape.

By the time Stunner reached the second building, small-stabbing-gremlin had already opened the window and was working on the third. Stunner leaped inside, ready to repeat his circle attack, but his targets had already roused. They had grouped together, holding weapons ready in all directions.

Stunner let out an involuntary roar of triumph, plunging into the group, taking three of them out in the first seconds of the fight.

But he paid for his reckless advance. The remaining targets raised weapons and fired.

Stunner felt the sharp-dry slice into him, rending fragments away. His roar became one of anger and pain. He reared up, sharpening his hooves to stomp the nearest offending target into the ground, knocking it from its feet before returning to liquid and lightning and flowing over it. This time, it twitched and did not get up.

The other two continued to attack, turning to track Stunner's movement. He flinched and shivered as the attacks continued to tear at him, breaking off pieces, but he had a job to do and he wasn't going to give up until it was finished.

Whirling he raced at the two targets, then drew up to a sharp stop the moment he reached them, twisting to envelop them both and prancing in place. It twisted him uncomfortably to keep something so large within himself for so long, but these targets had proved they were worth the discomfort.

One fell. The second drew out a blade, ready to rend Stunner in half, and the eqralne sprang away just in time. The glowing weapon bit down on his tail, tearing out a section of his substance, but not as much as it would have if he'd remained in place.

Five was enough. Stunner couldn't do anything more here without risking more than he could afford to lose.

He jumped back outside and ran to the third building, but by now the doors had been opened and the targets were spread out across the yard. More had come from elsewhere, gathering, and they lined up to fire their sharp stabbing weapons at Stunner relentlessly.

They should have known better than to line themselves in a simple formation. Stunner ran at the line, flowing down it from one to the next, leaving half of them falling in his wake.

Still they attacked, unshaken by their comrades' fall.

Stunner lost pieces of himself with every moment, the tiny shredding missiles continuing to hit, his erratic speed insufficient to throw them off. And they had blades, too many of them had blades. If this had been any less important, he would have fled. But this was heartsister's prison, and to free her was more important than life itself.

Stunner ignored the tearings and ran on.

The targets were spreading out now, aware of his power, aware now of his ability to knock them out all at once if they stayed together like they had, adapting quickly to the new information.

This was all part of soulbrother's plan. They needed to be scattered and unsure. It didn't matter how many targets Stunner took down. But he wanted to get them all. His pride as an eqralne was on the line here. If he wasn't even able to complete this much, what use would he be when things got harder? He knew things would grow harder. It echoed in soulbrother's every thought and action. Only preparations. Not enough. More. Need more.

And the ache for heartsister. That was the strongest of all, right now, strong enough that Stunner screamed in grief and rage as he ran through a single target, then spun to charge down another.

Pieces flew from him as they continued to attack, and he knew the air was the least of his concerns. He would be diminished entirely before this was done. Already he felt himself shrinking, condensing, struggling to maintain cohesion. He could have stood chest-high to the targets' heads when he first arrived, now their noses were even. His lightning churned, eager, and he leaped through another target, shrieking in triumph even though it did not fall.

He knew the plan was working, felt the confidence and happiness in soulbrother. The hope.

That was good enough.

Stunner whirled and rushed back at the target he'd just failed to fell, and this time it dropped, twitching with his lightning.

Another target leaped down from above, out of Stunner's sight, its blade slicing clean through his body from ear to tail. Stunner whirled to bite that target's arm, leaving a sparking imprint even as his storm escaped into the open air and his body began to collapse.

His part in this was done. It was up to the others now.