"The tunnel to the Sanctuary?" I asked, trying to sound enthusiastic. "It's good, it helped me level my territory."

"Tunnel?" He shook back and forth for a moment, but then continued buzzing happily. "No, the rift. We can connect our worlds with a teleportation gate. My people are working on our side of it now."

"Wait, that's an amazing gift." With a link to his world, I could keep growing and have an easy time checking on my family. It was the best of both situations. "What about the beetles?"

"Whatever is coming through the rift will stop once we connect them. I'll need to visit your territory the long way again, to link the two and help build the gate on this side. Your brother and the armor kid should be able to help."

A presence pressed down on me, and Noseen froze. All sound cut off from the dream, and Noseen rippled.

"Something comes…" his voice sounded strange.

A different, booming voice cut across the dream.

"Run!" Echoes of the voice caused the world to shatter, and I jerked awake as Dengu leaped to his feet.

Lenna fired rapid arrows, the tang of her bow string filling my ears.

I jumped up, turning to the field almost in slow motion.

Something walked across the field with a sword in one hand.

[Unknown, Unknown, Forger, Level 98, Predator, Unknown, OFFENDER.]

[An OFFENDER has been detected in your area, with an active bounty. You have been given a temporary boost to stats and abilities.]

[Bethzmu, Exiled Blade, Dance of Blades, Forger, Level 98, Predator, Unknown, OFFENDER.]

Noseen's demand to run bounced around inside my head, making my body twitch as I resisted.

"Retreat!" My call wasn't heard above the firing of guns and explosions.

Everyone needed to leave now, to the lake or dungeon, or fly away on the shuttle.

[Do you want to send a notice to all your citizens?]

Yes, fucking yes. They needed to live.

It appeared to be like the jungle folk, but instead of green skin, it's hide had a deep orange tint. A long flowing overcoat covered most of its body. Horns and orange glowing eyes took most of the attention, though the easy way they carried their blade screamed talent.

Lenna froze, an arrow pulled taunt.

Doc and Mary backed up slowly, away from the white line, then faster at my unseen order.

Bethzmu swung.

The tower that Denver and Cass stood on shook, then tipped over. Dust billowed into the air.

With my senses, I felt the humans retreat, and that it just kept its steady pace forward, regardless. Its eyes locked on Lenna, and it smiled. Its mouth was filled with sharp teeth.

Then Dengu attacked.

"No!"

The dinosaur crumpled to the ground, and I took a single step forward. Then it was next to Lenna, wrapping an arm around her waist. She still didn't move.

"Can it be? I finally found the planet?" His questions danced in the air as he completely ignored me, watching.

This was bad.

Really bad.

"Ikhavu will owe me a reward," he turned and marched back the way he'd come, letting everyone else flee back into the jungle.

Though the fighters didn't go far, and Hawk stayed up in the tower above us.

Bethzmu took Lenna with him as he vanished within the portal, ignoring the fire hitting him that wasn't really doing any damage anyway.

Everything inside me bounced to life. I snatched the crystal at my feet and rushed to Dengu. Blood pooled from where the slice had cut off one of his arms and a shoulder. Energy rushed from the crystal into the dinosaur's body, stopping the bleeding.

His eyes opened.

"Alpha save Lenna."

"Dengu, we will get her back." He needed to live. He had to!

"Please." His yellow eye stared at me, begging.

My heart shattered.

His eyes closed, but he still breathed.

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"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

My heart pounded once, twice, then I backtracked, snagging a bag from the ground.

"I'm sorry, Dad…"

The shuttle buzzed overhead in the distance, flying closer.

"Alex, no!" Hawk's voice rang out over the still battleground as I raced to the rift.

They couldn't find a back way into this place. Not again.

Voices from the recordings in the library echoed in my mind. I'd stolen their knowledge, their histories. At least I could do this. I could pay them back and rescue Lenna.

I moved faster than I thought possible. Into the dark tunnel, I reached the rift in under a minute. The big boom appeared in my hand, and I readied myself to charge it. Then I jumped through the rift.

Power rushed into me like a crystal, as white took over my vision, then I stumbled forward. Purple darkness greeted me, though dim blue lights glowed every couple of feet.

Heat baked my fingers as the bomb absorbed something from the travel and I tossed it into Doc's bag, which had plenty more Big Booms. I dropped it at the bottom of the archway.

Archway?

A stone archway anchored the rift on this side.

"What the…?" growled a voice.

My head snapped up, meeting the eyes of the Forger. Lenna lay at his feet, unconscious.

"Get her!" the horned Bethzmu yelled.

Massive blue people marched around, carrying boxes and herding beetles. All of them turned in my direction at the command.

Lenna, I needed to get to Lenna.

I dashed away from the rift, wishing I knew how long it'd take. The Forger took one step, and somehow that brought him to the bag on the ground.

Two of the blue people approached me. Each had 4 arms, but I danced back, focusing on my friend on the ground, only a few more steps away.

My fingers reached out to her arm, ready to grab her and run. Somewhere. Anywhere but here.

Then the world exploded.

A notification popped up, but I went flying, twisting in the air as my ears rang. I landed with a crunch on the ground. Pain, so much pain filled me. Something snapped in my chest, and my vision went dark.

###

The small creatures reminded me of the Forgers, but when I used Awareness on either of them, that's not what I saw.

[Alex, The First, Shadowstalker, Level 61, Potential Ally.]

[Lenna Le Dengu, Ranger, Level 50. Potential Ally.]

The first at least could handle our planet, while the second was still a child. If she could walk upright on the dirt, it'd be impressive. Still, we carried them over our shoulders, rushing through the underbrush. We didn't have long before someone realized what had happened.

My brother, Cekta, held a hand up for me to pause, and I stopped, pressing a hand to the torn cloth stopping the bleeding from my lower left arm. Ignoring the pain was easy, my skill Iron Will worked overtime. It let me carry this Alex creature.

Yet, my fingers came away purple with blood.

I let out a shallow sigh and swallowed. Once we found somewhere safe to be, I'd be in a world of hurt.

A slight breeze came from behind us as we fled. The smell of broken ozone and burned bugs filled the air. Flames still flickered in the night sky, though much smaller from here than when we'd been in the midst of them.

At night, the outpost was only manned by slaves and one master, Bethzmu. We needed to be far enough away by dawn that we wouldn't be called back, but given how many bodies of our people were left behind they might not even know we were missing. Fear crept along my spine as the whispering wind continued, but then my brother's hand went down and he started running through the darkness again.

I took off after him, knowing we needed to move faster.

Needles crunched under foot since neither of us were stealthy people. The massive trees hid the outpost, though a massive road reached from the outpost to the Rustlands, the place the Forgers had first invaded.

We hadn't even known they crept into our forest until the beetles appeared. By then, it was too late. They'd discovered an unknown rift and built the outpost. Within a moon cycle, my entire clan was captured, collared, and put to work.

Movement in the upper branches caused both of us to freeze next to a large mushroom. The giant cap hid us both underneath it in its shadows.

Faint, eerie whispers drifted through the area and we both closed our eyes.

We must ignore the call.

The harvesters were nearby.

Native to our world, the Forgers had bound them. Before, they only hunted for food. Now, the six-legged creatures hunted for slaves. The eerie whispers and shimmering light were the only warning signs as they passed through an area.

I resisted the urge to snort.

Years of my clan's work, all gone. We'd almost eradicated the beasts from the forest, and now the Forgers bred them. At least they also hunted the off-world beetles the cursed Forgers had brought with them, no binding able to stop them from attacking such easy prey.

The faint light glided through the forest floor in the distance, rapidly heading toward the flames in the distance. The explosion had blown apart the cages for the beetles. Hopefully, that drew their attention.

After the first, I almost stepped out, but my brother's hand wrapped around my arm first. His head frantically shook, eyes wide.

Another, and another, appeared on our far right, rushing through the trees.

[Harvester, Level 68, Enemy.]

A distant call came from the outpost, and they sped up, almost blurring into a streak as they raced through the dark forest.

Again we waited, as my heart pounded. We had some distance to go before we reached a safe barrow to rest and bind our wounds. Time passed as we again took off through the trees, detouring to a rocky area to reduce potential followers.

From there, we made our way to a tree appearing like any of the others. Near its roots rested a large boulder, again like any other in the forest. A glowing moss covered spots of it, and normally that kept everyone away.

Anything that glowed during the night ate others.

A small flat rock rested on one side, and my brother handed the other creature over to me. The weight of both of them stressed my body, but I kept them off the ground, fearful they'd be tracked as a strange scent.

He lifted the flat rock up and motioned for me to crawl inside.

The area behind the boulder shimmered as I touched it, the rune for safety appearing and then vanishing just as quickly. The tunnel led deeper underground, and I only entered enough to set both creatures on the ground behind me.

The tight fit of the dirt tunnel provided a safety that the open forest didn't. We'd need to carry them in our lower arms as we stooped, but we could do it.

My brother secured the entrance, and we continued in the pitch-black tunnel. My eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness as I carried the Alex creature awkwardly, given my injury.

We passed by several more wards, which let us through without a problem. That was, after all, their purpose.

Then we reached the haven.

Clusters of the cloud mushrooms sprouted from the damp rocky walls. The blue and green tops pulsed gently, illuminating the space with dim light. Dampness filled the area from the pool over on one side. It hid another exit.

"We need to rest and heal our injuries," whispered my brother. "Maybe they will wake soon."

"The little one might not," I added, staring at the green creature. "She should still be in her burrow with her family hiding her. Though, maybe her people are different."

"The forgers have much to answer for," my brother responded, nodding.

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