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Firuzeh stared blankly at the carnage unfolding before her, tears and smoke stinging her eyes. She wasn’t sure when, exactly, things had taken a turn for the worse—but, the battle had been lost. Half Moon was burning.
Strong hands grabbed at her arm, pulling roughly. The warrior drew back to claw her assailant when a familiar voice cried out, desperate. “Commander, we need to locate the children and evacuate them now!”
She bit off a sob and nodded, gesturing for her ally to follow. The duo ran through narrow alleys, flames licking at them greedily. An explosion sounded from directly behind them; Firuzeh's ears rang as she was thrown through the air. Her body slammed against a wall and could feel the snap of her arm breaking, although she could not yet register its pain. A larger body collided with her, knocking the wind out of her, and they both fell to the ground.
The commander hissed in pain as the figure scrambled back to its feet, pulling her up with them by her injured arm. Black seeped into her vision. Thick fingers grabbed her chin, forcing her head up to look into the deep brown eyes of Micah Moon. His usually kind face was currently a mix of terror and concern.
“Firuzeh, I need you to stay with me. I need you to help me save the kids.”
The woman grit her teeth and forced herself to stand. “The library. Azar would have taken the children to the library.”
Micah’s eyes widened he again tugged at Firuzeh to follow him. “Then we need to hurry—the library is already burning.”
The sound of battle began to slow; in her despair, it felt as though time, itself had slowed. Finally, the duo reached the final stretch and came into a clearing. Firuzeh cried out upon seeing the building engulfed in flames, as black smoke billowed into the sky. Micah drew a sigil and blasted the heavy door from its hinges, and the they dashed inside. Fire roared and the walls groaned, causing Firuzeh to look up. Smoke hung so thick in the library’s rafters that she could read words in it. Her fur bristled at their omens.
Finally, finally, she heard a small cry and gestured for Micah to follow her to its source. There! In the alcove—Azar and the children—
Firuzeh's vision swam with red and her entire being felt as though it were engulfed in fire as the crackle of electricity ran through her veins. A familiar voice crooned to her, and the warrior was consumed by despair.
“Excellent…Thank you, Commander. You and the King have led me right to my objective. Lord Hordak will be most pleased to have the princess of the Magicats joining his ranks."
Micah roared out in anger and Firuzeh dropped to the floor, barely able to lift her head. Vaguely, she could see dark and light energy dancing off of each other, two sorcerers in a battle of will, until—
The library groaned, and some of the roof collapsed around them, knocking the King prone. Shadow Weaver laughed and Firuzeh could only watch, helpless as the woman floated towards the children, cowering fearfully in the alcove. Azar…Where was Azar?
“Now, child, no need to fight. It will only lead you to more troubles.”
Firuzeh cried out and tried to get up, only to collapse. She had failed. Micah lay still beside her. She could do nothing more than watch as the wretch picked up a sobbing child and begin to draw a sigil. Black flames lapped hungrily from the ground around her, spreading to engulf Micah, until--the witch cried out in pain as a high-pitched yowl sounded, followed by a flurry of activity, just as the flames consumed them.
When they faded, both Shadow Weaver and Micah were gone.