Archive of Our Own

The mountain pass narrowed into a jagged throat of stone, forcing Vox Machina into single file as they climbed higher into the cliffs. Wind screamed through the rocks hard enough to tug at cloaks and send loose gravel skittering down the slopes below.

Ahead, Emon's most infamous band of misfits looked considerably less heroic than the tavern songs suggested.

“Remind me,” Percy muttered, adjusting the rifle slung over his shoulder, “why our bounty always seems to reside in places specifically designed to kill us.”

“Because evil appreciates ambiance,” Scanlan answered brightly from somewhere near the back.

Grog barked a laugh.

Vex rolled her eyes, though Percy caught the faint twitch of amusement at the corner of her mouth. She walked just ahead of him, braid shifting against her bkue cloak as she scanned the ridges above with an arrow already half-drawn.

The job itself had sounded simple enough: track down a rogue mage hiding in the mountains after raiding caravans near the trade routes. Find him. Retrieve the stolen relic. Get paid.

Simple.

Which was exactly why Percy distrusted it.

Vax moved silently along the outer edge of the path, one hand brushing the stone wall as he peered into the fog below. “I don’t like this.”

“That makes two of us,” Percy said.

“No,” Vax replied without looking back. “I mean really don’t like this.”

The twins shared a glance. Then the mountain exploded. A deafening crack split the air.

Stone burst from the ridge above them as purple light flashed overhead. The ambush came instantly after—a blast of magic slamming into the cliffside hard enough to shake the entire pass.

“MOVE!” Vex shouted.

The ledge beneath them lurched violently.

Rocks rained down in massive chunks. Percy barely threw himself aside before a boulder smashed into the ground where he had stood moments earlier.

Above them, perched along the ridge like a vulture, stood their target.

The mage grinned. Another blast hit the mountainside. The world gave way.

The cliff beneath Vox Machina fractured with a sound Percy would hear in nightmares for years.

“RUN!” Pike screamed.

The path collapsed.

Everything happened at once.

Grog lost footing first, the massive goliath crashing sideways into Vax hard enough to send them both skidding across the breaking stone.

Scanlan vanished in a cloud of dust with a very high-pitched shriek.

Pike reached for him—

—and disappeared too as the earth split open beneath them.

“PIKE!” Grog roared.

Percy spun just in time to see Vex stumble as the ground cracked between them.

“VEX!”

She dropped to one knee, rocks sliding beneath her boots toward the yawning ravine opening below.

Percy lunged.

Their hands slammed together—

—but dust and blood and loose gravel made everything slippery. Vex’s fingers slipped from his.

For one horrible second their eyes locked. Percy saw fear. The sudden realization that she was falling.

“No—!”

The ledge beneath her shattered completely. Vex vanished into the cloud of stone.

Percy threw himself forward after her instinctively, but strong arms wrapped around his torso.

“Percy!” Keyleth cried, hauling him backward as the cliff crumbled where he’d been standing. He fought her grip immediately.

“LET GO OF ME!”

Below them came the thunderous roar of the rockslide swallowing the mountainside whole.

“VEX!” Vax’s voice tore through the chaos.

Percy turned sharply.

Vax was several yards away now, barely clinging to a slanted section of collapsing stone while Grog slid heavily between them, trying unsuccessfully to dig his axe into the ground for leverage.

“VAX!” Percy shouted.

Another violent tremor split the pass apart. The remaining ledge cracked like glass.

Keyleth grabbed Percy with one arm and reached desperately toward Vax with the other, vines spiraling wildly from her hands.

“Take it!” she yelled.

Vax caught the vines around his wrist just as the stone beneath him gave out completely.

For one sickening moment Percy thought all three of them were about to go over.

Then Keyleth screamed through clenched teeth and shifted partially into earth elemental form, anchoring herself against the cliff hard enough to stop their momentum. Dust choked the air.

The mountain finally settled with a deep, groaning rumble.

Percy’s chest heaved as he stared down into the endless gray cloud below. No sign of Vex.

No sign of Pike or Scanlan.

Only broken stone disappearing into darkness. Vax ripped free from the vines instantly.

“Vex!” he shouted into the ravine. “VEX’AHLIA!”

No answer came back. Percy felt something cold settle into his stomach.

*******

Scanlan groaned as consciousness crawled back slowly. Everything hurt.

His head pounded. His ribs felt like someone had used them as drumsticks. Dust clogged his throat thick enough that every breath tasted like dirt and blood.

A faint golden light flickered nearby. Blinking hard, he forced his eyes open.

Rubble surrounded him in every direction—massive slabs of broken stone piled together into what looked disturbingly like a grave. Thin shafts of light filtered through cracks high above, illuminating clouds of drifting dust. And kneeling beside him was Pike.

Her white hair was coated gray with debris, tangled and filthy. Scrapes covered her arms, and there was dried blood near her temple, but warm divine light still glowed faintly between her hands as she pressed them against his chest.

“Oh thank the gods,” she breathed when she noticed his eyes open. “Scanlan.”

He coughed hard before managing a crooked grin.

“So…” His voice rasped painfully. “How’s the hair look?”

Pike stared at him for half a second before rolling her eyes.

“You almost died.”

“So windswept, then.”

A reluctant smirk tugged at her mouth.

“There he is.”

She grabbed his arm and carefully helped him sit up. Pain shot through his side immediately, drawing a hiss between his teeth.

“Ow. Nope. Hate that.”

“You’re lucky that’s all you’ve got.” Pike brushed dust from her armor as she stood. “I think the rocks missed most of your organs.”

“Well that’s where I keep all my best material.”

Pike laughed softly despite herself, relief plain on her face. For a moment she just looked at him, like she needed to confirm he was actually alive.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she admitted quietly.

Something gentler crossed Scanlan’s expression then.

“Yeah,” he said. “Me too.”

Slowly, he got to his feet, wincing as his body protested every movement. He looked around the collapsed cavern again, smile fading slightly.

“What happened?” he asked. “Where is everybody?”

Pike’s expression darkened immediately. She shook her head.

“I don’t know.” Her voice dropped lower. “Everything happened so fast. The mountain split apart and…” She swallowed. “I think I saw Vex fall near us, but after that—I haven’t seen anyone.”

Scanlan’s brows lifted slightly. For once, he didn’t make a joke. The silence stretched a moment too long. Then he clapped his hands together weakly.

“Well,” he said, forcing confidence back into his voice, “let’s start with that.”

Pike nodded immediately.

Together they began picking their way carefully through the rubble, climbing over broken stone and calling cautiously into the darkness.

“Grog?” Pike shouted.

“Vax?” Scanlan added.

Only echoes answered.

The cavern stretched deeper than either expected, twisted with narrow paths formed by the collapse. Loose stones shifted beneath their boots while distant cracks echoed somewhere farther in the mountain.

Pike tightened her grip on her shield.

“You really think everyone’s okay?”

Scanlan glanced at her. The fear in her face was impossible to miss. So he gave her the same thing he always gave when things got bad. Confidence. Even if he had to fake it.

“Please,” he scoffed lightly. “You think a little apocalypse is enough to kill Vox Machina?”

Pike smiled faintly.

The deeper they moved into the shattered remains of the mountain, the quieter Scanlan became.

Their voices echoed endlessly through the cavern.

“KEYLETH!”

“VEX!”

“ANYBODY!”

Nothing answered back except falling dust and distant cracking stone. Then Pike suddenly froze. Her breath caught sharply.

“...Oh gods.”

Scanlan followed her gaze. And felt his stomach drop.

Vex lay several yards ahead at the base of a collapsed slope of rock, half-buried beneath debris. She wasn’t moving.

Her body rested face down against the stone. Her bow had snapped somewhere in the fall, splintered wood scattered nearby.

But it was her arm that made Scanlan pale. It bent wrong. Horribly wrong.

And beneath her head, dark blood slowly spread across the stone.

“Vex!” Pike shouted.

She sprinted forward instantly, dropping hard to her knees beside the younger ranger.

Scanlan hurried after her, pulse hammering in his ears.

“Jesus, kid…”

He reached instinctively for Vex’s shoulder, trying to turn her over—

“NO.” Pike grabbed his wrist immediately.

The sharpness in her voice startled him.

“Don’t move her,” she said quickly. “Moving her could make it worse. Let me look first.”

Scanlan froze. Pike swallowed hard and carefully steadied herself, though Scanlan could see the panic threatening underneath.

“Okay,” she whispered more to herself than him. “Okay…”

Her trembling hands hovered briefly over Vex before she gently brushed dirt and blood from the side of the half-elf’s face.

“Vex?” Pike said softly. “Can you hear me?”

Nothing. Pike pressed shaking fingers against Vex’s neck. For one terrible second she said nothing.

Then—

“She’s alive.”

Scanlan let out a breath so fast it almost hurt.

“Oh thank fuck.”

“Barely,” Pike admitted quietly.

Blood matted Vex’s hair near her temple where a jagged cut disappeared beneath golden strands. Bruising already darkened one side of her face, and every shallow breath came unevenly.

Pike carefully examined the twisted arm next.

The second her fingers lightly brushed near the break, Vex made a faint sound. A tiny, pained whimper. Pike immediately softened.

“I know,” she murmured gently. “I know, sweetheart.”

Golden light flickered weakly between Pike’s hands as divine energy began sealing the worst of the bleeding near Vex’s head.

But the light sputtered. Too weak. Pike’s expression tightened.

“What?” Scanlan asked immediately.

“She hit her head hard.” Pike looked sick. “And her arm’s definitely broken. I—I don’t know what other injuries she has yet.”

The cavern suddenly groaned around them. Loose stones rattled from above.

Scanlan looked upward uneasily. “This place is gonna come down again, isn’t it?”

“Probably.”

“Great.”

Pike ignored him, focused entirely on Vex now. Very carefully, she brushed tangled hair from the ranger’s face.

“Come on, Vex,” she whispered. “Please wake up.”

For a moment nothing happened. Then Vex’s fingers twitched weakly against the stone. A tiny sound escaped her throat.

And Pike’s eyes immediately filled with relief.

“There you are.”

Pike shifted carefully, trying to get a better look at the wound beneath Vex’s head.

The second she managed to move enough hair and dirt away, her face went pale.

“Oh gods…”

Scanlan’s stomach tightened instantly. “What?”

Pike didn’t answer right away.

Vex’s right eye was swollen shut, blood slowly pooling from beneath the lid and running down into the dirt beneath her face. The impact against the rocks had torn skin along her brow badly enough that Pike could barely tell where one injury ended and another began.

For the first time since they found her, Pike looked frightened. Not scared. Terrified.

Scanlan crawled closer immediately, kneeling near Vex’s uninjured side. He carefully took her good hand in both of his. It felt cold. Too cold.

“Hey, hey…” he muttered softly. “Come on, hard ass. Stay with us.”

Pike pressed shaking hands near the wound, divine light spilling weakly between her fingers as she tried to stop the bleeding.

Vex twitched faintly beneath the touch. Then Scanlan saw it.

Underneath the closed lid, Vex’s injured eye shifted unnaturally as Pike’s healing magic worked to repair the damage beneath the surface.

Scanlan visibly gagged and looked away for half a second.

“Gods…”

Pike’s jaw tightened but she kept working. The golden light flickered stronger now, sealing torn skin little by little, though blood still stained Pike’s hands.

Scanlan swallowed hard.

“It’s bad,” he said quietly. “Isn’t it?”

Pike hesitated. That was answer enough.

Scanlan looked back down at Vex, suddenly feeling horribly helpless. The ranger’s breathing hitched weakly.

Then her fingers tightened faintly around his hand. Barely there. But enough.

Scanlan leaned forward immediately. “Vex?”

Her lips parted slightly. A soft, broken sound escaped her throat.

“Mama…”

Pike froze.

Scanlan’s expression crumpled for just a moment. Vex sounded small.

Not like the sharp-tongued ranger who could outshoot anyone alive. Not the woman who rolled her eyes at danger and flirted through bar fights.

Just… young.

Hurt. Lost.

Pike carefully brushed sweat-soaked hair from Vex’s forehead.

“You’re okay,” Pike whispered, even if she wasn’t sure it was true. “You’re safe.”

Vex made another weak sound, brows furrowing faintly like she was trapped somewhere between dream and pain.

Scanlan squeezed her hand gently.

“No dying,” he said softly, voice unsteady despite the attempted humor. “Your brother will actually kill us if we let that happen.”

At the mention of Vax, Vex’s face tightened faintly even through unconsciousness.

The cavern groaned again—deep, structural, like the mountain itself was still deciding whether to collapse or hold. But no more rockfall came.

Just that heavy, grinding sound in the bones of the stone.

Pike stayed focused, her hands steady only because she refused to let them shake. Golden light pulsed softly as she finished sealing the worst of the wound along Vex’s face. Slowly, the pressure of divine magic eased.

Vex’s good eye—half-lidded until now—fluttered.

Pike’s breath caught. “She’s coming back.”

Scanlan immediately leaned in closer, still holding Vex’s hand tightly. “Hey. Hey, c’mon,  Stay with us.”

Pike glanced at the ruined side of Vex’s face one more time, then gave a short, controlled nod. “We need to cover her eye. It’s not done healing.”

Scanlan didn’t question it. He just fumbled quickly through his bag and pulled out a strip of cloth.

“Got it.”

Carefully, he wrapped it around Vex’s head the way Pike directed, securing it over her freshly healed eye. His fingers were gentler now than his usual theatrics, focused in a way that didn’t leave room for jokes.

Once it was set, Pike shifted her attention lower. Vex’s arm.

The break was obvious even beneath the blood and dust. Pike exhaled once, slow and tense.

“This is going to hurt,” she warned quietly.

Scanlan swallowed. “Yeah, she’s been having a great day so far.”

Pike didn’t respond. She placed her hands carefully along the injury. A brief pause.

Then divine energy flared.

The sound that followed was sharp and immediate—bone and magic snapping back into place. Vex screamed.

It ripped through the cavern, raw and sudden, her body jerking violently off the ground.

“HEY—HEY—” Scanlan dropped both hands onto her shoulders immediately, pressing her back down. “Breathe. Breathe, okay?”

Vex gasped hard, chest rising and falling in uneven bursts. Sweat and blood clung to her brow, her face pale beneath the grime.

Pike pulled her hands back quickly, breathing hard herself. “It’s set. It’s set.”

Vex’s vision swam as she blinked rapidly, trying to focus. Her voice came out broken.

“Vax…”

Silence. That was all it took.

Scanlan hesitated, then squeezed her hand again gently. “Sorry, kid,” he said quietly. “Just us.”

Vex’s expression tightened faintly at that, confusion cutting through the pain. Scanlan forced a small, shaky smirk.

“But hey,” he added, glancing around the collapsed cavern, “pretty sure the others are doing better than we are right now.”

It was a joke. It didn’t land. Vex swallowed hard, breathing still uneven.

“Where…” she rasped. “Where are they?”

Pike looked toward the dark tunnels ahead.

Scanlan followed her gaze.

“No idea,” he admitted. “But we’re gonna find out.”

And for the first time since the collapse, all three of them stayed still for just a moment—listening to the mountain breathe around them, wondering which direction the rest of Vox Machina had been thrown.

Vex suddenly rolled onto her side.

“—Vex!” Pike started to reach in instinctively—

Too late.

She gagged hard and vomited onto the stone floor, barely missing Scanlan’s boots by inches.

“Okay—okay, yep—moving back,” Scanlan said quickly, scooting just enough to avoid the worst of it while still staying close.

Pike was already there, gentle but efficient, gathering Vex’s hair back with careful hands to keep it from sticking to her face or the mess on the ground.

Vex coughed, whole body trembling with the effort. Another dry heave followed, and she choked out a strained, pained—

“Fuck…”

“Yeah,” Scanlan said immediately, as if that was completely reasonable. “That’s the spirit.”

Vex’s head lolled slightly as she tried to push herself away from the ground, but Pike pressed a steadying hand to her shoulder.

“Don’t sit up too fast,” Pike warned softly. “You took a hit to the head.”

Vex blinked slowly, trying to focus. Her breathing was uneven, shallow, like she was fighting to stay anchored in her own body.

Scanlan shifted closer without thinking, lowering himself to her level. “You good?” he asked lightly.

Vex squinted at him weakly. For a moment, Scanlan didn’t joke again.

He just looked at her.

Blood, dirt, exhaustion—pain written all over a face that was usually sharp enough to cut people down without a weapon. And underneath it, something familiar flickered in the way she was trying to stay conscious anyway. Something stubborn. Something he knew too well.

Honestly… he’d always kind of seen her that way.

Not that he’d ever say it out loud, not with the way they sparred with words and sarcasm like it was armor. But it was there anyway, under everything. His expression softened just slightly.

He placed his hand gently over hers. No teasing this time. Just steady contact.

Pike noticed. A small, warm smile crossed her face as she kept Vex’s hair back, letting the moment sit without interrupting it.

Vex’s eyes drifted to Scanlan’s hand over hers.

Confusion flickered there for a second—slow, foggy, like she was trying to place why that mattered.

“...What?” she managed weakly.

Scanlan gave a small, crooked smile.

“Nothing,” he said. “Just stay with us, alright?”

Vex didn’t answer right away. But her fingers—shaking, bruised, barely there—tightened faintly around his hand anyway.

Vex pushed herself up slowly, every movement deliberate like her body was still arguing with the idea of staying upright.

Her breath came hard and uneven. Pike immediately shifted closer, ready to steady her if she toppled again, but didn’t force her back down. Scanlan stayed where he was, one hand still loosely near hers in case she needed it.

Vex blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog from her vision.

Then she looked up. The angle made her wince instantly.

“...Gods,” she muttered under her breath.

Pike frowned. “What is it?”

Vex didn’t answer right away. Instead, she went still—too still. Like her body had gone quiet so something else could speak.

Her ears twitched once.

Then again. Her expression tightened.

“We need to move,” she said abruptly.

Her head tilted slightly, as if she were listening past the cavern itself.

“The rocks,” she said again, slower this time. “They don’t sound right.”

Pike and Scanlan exchanged a look. That alone was enough to make Pike’s smile fade.

Because even like this—bruised, bloodied, barely sitting upright—Vex’s intuition rarely missed.

If anything, it sharpened when things were wrong.

Scanlan exhaled quietly. “You sure?”

Vex shot him a tired look, but there was something steady behind it now. Focus cutting through the pain.

“I’m always sure,” she said, voice rough.

Pike hesitated, eyes scanning the surrounding rubble. The cavern had settled, yes—but not in a way that felt stable. Every so often, faint creaks echoed through the stone like distant pressure building somewhere out of sight. Even Vax didn’t hear things like this first.

That thought alone made Pike shift. Scanlan noticed it too.

“…We are really letting the half-dead ranger call the shots, huh?” he muttered.

Vex’s mouth twitched faintly, almost a smile, but it didn’t last.

“Move,” she repeated, more firmly.

Pike nodded once.

“Alright,” she said quietly. “We move.”

Scanlan tightened his grip under Vex’s arm carefully, helping her balance as she got her feet under her again.

“Easy,” he said. “If you collapse again, I’m charging you by the minute.”

“You’d die broke,” Vex rasped.

“That a girl,” Scanlan replied automatically.

Pike glanced at both of them again, something soft and uneasy in her expression, then looked toward the darker stretch of cavern ahead.

The same direction Vex was already staring into. Like she could hear something coming before the mountain even admitted it.

They barely made it into the narrow opening before the mountain finally gave up pretending it was stable.

A sound like the world tearing in half ripped through the cavern behind them. Then came the roar.

Stone collapsed in on itself with violent force, a fresh wave of rock and dust detonating through the tunnel they’d just crossed.

“DOWN!” Pike shouted.

All three dropped instinctively. The shockwave hit a heartbeat later.

The ground bucked beneath them as debris thundered past the entrance, swallowing the passage they’d just escaped. The air turned into a choking wall of dust and shattered stone.

Pike threw her hands out immediately, golden light flaring in a protective dome around them. The divine glow caught falling debris, slowing it just enough to keep the worst of it from crushing in.

Scanlan reacted without thinking. He pulled Vex closer and turned his body over hers, shielding her as heavier fragments pelted the light around them. 

“Yeah—nope—absolutely not getting squashed today,” he muttered through clenched teeth.

The roar faded into a grinding collapse deeper in the mountain. Then, slowly, silence returned. Dust still drifted through the air like ash.

Scanlan lifted his head first, coughing once. “Holy shit,” he said, staring at the blocked passage behind them. “Vex was right.”

From beneath him, Vex made a weak, offended sound.

“Mm… I’m always right,” she rasped.

There was a pause. Then, very quietly—

“And I’m going to throw up again.”

“—Oh come on,” Scanlan groaned, immediately shifting so she had space. “We just survived geological murder. Can we get like five minutes without bodily betrayal?”

Pike lowered the golden barrier slightly, keeping it stable while she knelt closer. “Vex, breathe. Slow breaths.”

Vex tried. It didn’t fully work.

She turned her head just enough to avoid Scanlan’s boots this time, clearly not thrilled about it, and gagged again—barely managing it.

Scanlan winced. “Yeah. That’s fair. Mountain tried to kill us, I’d puke too.”

Pike gave him a tired look that said she was absolutely not amused, even if she was relieved they were still breathing.

A sudden sharp buzz cut through the chaos in Scanlan’s ear. He froze.

“…Oh thank the gods,” he breathed.

The earring was working again.

Static cracked, then Vax’s voice broke through immediately—tight, frantic, barely holding together.

“Scanlan? Pike? Anyone—answer me!”

Scanlan didn’t waste a second. “Hey! We’re here! We’ve got Vex!”

A beat of silence.

Then Vax again, sharper. “Is she—”

Percy’s voice cut in over him, closer than expected. “Is she alright?”

Scanlan glanced down. Pike was still carefully supporting Vex, who was trying—very unsuccessfully—not to choke on her own nausea. Her face was pale, sweat and dust clinging to her skin, her breathing uneven.

Scanlan swallowed once.

“Well,” he said carefully, “she’s alive.”

A pause.

Then, more honestly, “Could really use some help getting the fuck out of here, though.”

There was another silence on the line.

Percy spoke again, but his voice had shifted—still controlled, but thinner around the edges. Younger, in a way Scanlan didn’t hear often. Scared.

And that did something unpleasant in Scanlan’s chest.

Jesus.

He realized it then—these weren’t just adventurers to him. Not really.

They were kids who kept surviving things they shouldn’t.

Without saying anything else, Scanlan lowered the earring carefully and pressed it near Vex’s ear.

“Hey,” he murmured. “It’s lover boy.”

Vex blinked slowly, trying to focus through the fog. “...Percy,” she corrected weakly.

On the other end, Percy went still.

Then immediately: “Vex? Are you alright? Where are you injured? Are you—”

Vex tried to answer, but her voice caught as another wave of dizziness rolled through her. She swallowed hard.

“I’m…” she started.

Cold. That was the first thing. Tired. So tired it felt like her bones were heavy. Dizzy. Nausea still curling in her stomach.

Her grip on consciousness kept slipping in and out like loose thread. She exhaled shakily.

“…I’d be better,” she whispered, voice softening, “if you were here, darling.”

The line went utterly silent for half a second.

Then Percy’s voice broke through again—strained, sharper with worry he was trying desperately to contain.

“I’m coming to you.”

Pike glanced at Scanlan, then at Vex, and quietly tightened her grip as if bracing for whatever came next.

And somewhere deep in the mountain, Vox Machina started pulling themselves toward each other again.

Keyleth’s voice crackled through the earring again, sharper now with urgency.

“Can you send anything? A signal? Anything at all—we’re trying to reach you!”

Scanlan looked up instinctively at the broken ceiling of the cavern.

“I’ve got… less lute and more regret right now,” he muttered, patting himself down once as if the instrument might magically reappear from the collapse. “So unless you want me whistling heroically—”

He glanced at Pike. Pike hesitated.

The cavern had already proven how unstable it was. One wrong surge of magic could bring the whole section down on top of them.

But Vex coughed suddenly beside them, her body curling slightly as Pike immediately moved a hand to her back, rubbing slow circles to steady her breathing. That decided it.

Pike exhaled once.

“Alright,” she said quietly. “Just one.”

She stepped forward, raising both hands. Golden light gathered—soft at first, then brighter, stronger, focused into a single narrow beam. Then she released it.

A beacon of divine light shot upward through the cracks in the mountain, piercing dust and stone dust like a guiding flare into the dark above.

For a moment… nothing. Only silence.

Scanlan shifted uneasily. “Yeah. Great. Love a good ‘no immediate explosion’—”

Then Vex coughed again, weaker this time, and Pike steadied her carefully. Minutes passed. Then more. Vex’s breathing was shallow now, her head tilted slightly as she fought to stay conscious. Pike kept a steady hand on her shoulder, grounding her.

“Stay with us,” Pike murmured softly.

Scanlan crouched nearby, watching the tunnel above.

Then—

A shadow cut through the light. Fast. A black blur dropped from above like a falling arrow.

“—WAIT!” Scanlan shouted—

Wings snapped open at the last second, air screaming as the figure arrested his fall and landed in a controlled skid through dust and broken stone.

Vax.

He froze instantly when he saw her.

“…Vex.”

For a heartbeat, he just stared. Then he was moving.

“Gods, Stubby—” he choked out, dropping to his knees beside her without hesitation. “Hey—hey, look at me.”

Vex’s head turned slightly toward the sound, foggy-eyed but recognizing him immediately.

Her expression softened in a way that only ever happened with him.

Pike immediately leaned back just enough to give space. “Be gentle,” she warned quietly.

“I am gentle,” Vax said automatically—already lying through his teeth.

Carefully, he pulled her into his arms. The moment he did, something in Vex seemed to unclench all at once.

The tension in her shoulders eased. Her breathing steadied—just slightly. She let herself fall into him.

Vax buried his face briefly in her hair, his voice dropping to something rough and shaken.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”

Not far behind him, another shape came into view. Wind and light twisted together as Keyleth arrived in full Air Ashari form, hovering just above the rubble.

And on her back—

Percy.

He didn’t wait for her to land properly. The second his boots touched stone, he was already moving.

“Vex’ahlia!”

Keyleth lowered him carefully, and Percy broke away immediately, dropping to his knees beside Vax and Vex in one sharp motion.

His eyes flicked over her injuries in an instant—blood, bandaging, bruising—jaw tightening as he took it all in.

Then he looked at her. And the tension in his shoulders broke.

“…You’re alive,” he said, voice barely holding steady.

Vex swallowed, exhausted, still half-fogged but visibly grounding herself more now that they were there. She managed a faint, crooked look up at him.

“Mm,” she murmured weakly. “Barely.”

A pause.

Then softer, almost teasing despite everything:

“…You were worried.”

Percy exhaled sharply through his nose, like he didn’t trust himself to speak for a second.

“Yes,” he said simply.

Vex’s fingers twitched slightly where she was held between Vax and the ground.

And for the first time since the mountain fell apart, she let herself stop fighting quite so hard to stay upright.

Vex shifted slightly in Vax’s arms, still leaning heavily against him but turning her head just enough to see the others.

Her vision swam for a moment before it steadied.

Scanlan was still there, a little dust-covered, a little worse for wear, hovering like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to relax yet. Pike stood close beside him, hands stained faintly with blood and divine light still dimming at her fingertips.

Vex swallowed. Her throat was dry, her voice rough when she spoke.

“Scanlan.”

He looked up immediately. Vex lifted a shaking hand away from Vax and reached out toward him. It wasn’t far—just enough that Scanlan could meet her halfway.

He did. Their hands connected.

She held on for a second, like she needed to make sure he was still there too. Then her gaze flicked briefly to Pike, softer.

“I'm alive,” Vex said quietly. Her eyes drifted back to Scanlan as her grip tightened faintly around his hand. “Thanks to these two.”

Scanlan blinked once, caught slightly off guard.

Then he gave a small, crooked smile that didn’t quite hide how relieved he was.

“Yeah,” he said lightly, though his voice had gone gentler than usual. “Well. Try not to make it a habit. I’m not great under pressure.”

Pike let out a quiet breath—half laugh, half relief—her shoulders easing just a fraction.

Vax tightened his hold around Vex instinctively, like he still didn’t trust the mountain not to take her again. Percy didn’t speak right away. He just looked at her hand in Scanlan’s. Then at her face.

Then finally, softer than before:

“Stay with us,” he said.

Vex’s fingers twitched faintly around Scanlan’s hand again.

“I am,” she murmured.

Pike’s eyes swept the rubble slowly, her expression shifting as the realization set in.

“…Wait,” she said. “Where is Grog?”

That simple question made everything pause. The air felt heavier again, like the mountain itself was holding its breath.

Scanlan opened his mouth—then closed it.

Vax tightened slightly around Vex.

Percy’s gaze flicked toward the darkened tunnel behind them.

Even Keyleth looked uncertain.

For a long second, there was only silence.

Then—

A shriek echoed from somewhere deep in the cavern. Followed immediately by a roar that sounded entirely too excited.

“VICTORY!”

Everyone barely had time to turn before a body was flung out of the collapsing passageway and skidded across the stone at their feet.

The mage.

Before anyone could react further, a second shape dropped from above with terrifying momentum—

Grog.

He landed heavily right behind the mage with a thunderous impact, stone cracking under his weight.

“AHAHA! VICTORY!” Grog bellowed, throwing his arms up triumphantly.

He froze mid-celebration. Slowly, he looked around. Pike, kneeling and bloodstained. Scanlan crouched and exhausted. Keyleth still in partial elemental form. Percy tense and rigid. Vax holding Vex carefully against him.

And Vex—

covered in blood, pale, injured, barely sitting upright. Grog blinked.

“…Why is Vex all bloody?” he asked, suddenly much quieter.

A weak groan came from the mage as he tried to crawl backward across the stone. Scanlan pointed immediately.

“That one.”

Grog’s head turned.

Very slowly. The cheerful expression drained off his face, replaced by something much more primitive and focused.

“Oh,” he said.

The mage tried to scramble away. He didn’t make it far. Grog lifted his axe.

The others collectively tensed—

Pike flinched slightly. Keyleth looked away. Percy’s jaw tightened.

The axe came down with a heavy, final impact. Silence followed.

Grog straightened, exhaling once like it was done. Then he turned back toward the group. Blood on his face.  And a wide, proud grin like nothing had happened.

He stepped closer to Vex, leaning down slightly.

“Better now?” he asked.

Vex let out a long, exhausted breath while still tucked safely in Vax’s arms. Her eyelids fluttered heavily, but there was the faintest hint of relief in her expression now.

“Yeah,” she muttered weakly. “Much better.”

A pause. Then she added, voice rough but steadying:

“…But I would really like to get out of here now.”

Grog nodded immediately.

“Good plan.”

Scanlan let out a tired laugh. “Seconded.”

Pike exhaled in relief and glanced around the group. “Let’s move before the mountain changes its mind again.”

Carefully, slowly, they gathered themselves together—injured, exhausted, but alive.

Later that night, the mountain finally stopped trying to kill them.

The worst of the collapse had settled into a jagged silence, and Vox Machina had carved out what shelter they could in a shallow alcove away from unstable stone. A small fire crackled low between them, its light flickering across tired faces and dust-streaked armor.

Vex had been the priority. She was propped carefully against Percy, who sat rigidly upright despite the exhaustion pulling at him like a weight. His arm was around her shoulders—not quite holding her, but refusing to let go entirely. Every so often, his head dipped before snapping back up again, like he was losing a quiet war against sleep.

Vex, for her part, was finally still. Breathing steady. Asleep.

Vax sat nearby for a long while, just watching her. Making sure. As if looking away might undo the fact that she was still here.

Eventually, footsteps approached. Scanlan lowered himself down beside him on the other side of the fire.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The fire popped quietly between them. Then Vax broke the silence.

“Thank you.”

Scanlan glanced at him. “For what?”

Vax didn’t look away from Vex.

“For taking care of her.”

Scanlan followed his gaze across the fire. Vex’s head was tilted slightly against Percy’s shoulder. Percy looked half-asleep himself, eyes barely open, still stubbornly watching her like he could will her to stay safe through sheer refusal to blink.

Scanlan huffed a quiet breath. “Eh. I didn’t do much. Mostly Pike.”

Vax shook his head once.

“That’s not what Vex said.”

That made Scanlan pause. He looked back at Vax fully now.

Vax’s expression stayed calm, but there was something underneath it—something tight and worn down around the edges. Like the mountain hadn’t just injured Vex.

It had carved something into all of them.

“She said you kept her awake,” Vax continued quietly. “She wouldn’t admit it… but she was scared.”

Scanlan’s gaze drifted back toward Vex. For once, there wasn’t a joke ready. He leaned back slightly on his hands, eyes still on her sleeping form.

“…Yeah,” he said after a moment. “Well. Somebody had to.”

A beat passed. Then, softer—almost like he didn’t mean for it to leave his mouth:

“Pike did most of the saving. I just made sure she didn’t give up in the middle of it.”

Vax finally looked at him then. Properly. And after a moment, he gave a small, tired nod.

“Still,” he said. “Thank you.”

Scanlan shrugged lightly, like it didn’t matter. But his eyes stayed on Vex a little longer than necessary.

“…Yeah,” Scanlan murmured. “Don’t mention it.”

Vax rose quietly beside Scanlan. For a moment, he didn’t move. Then he spoke, voice low enough not to carry past the fire.

“For the record…”

Scanlan glanced up. Vax’s eyes stayed on Vex.

“If she'd give you the chance, your daughter that is," he said, “I think she’d find you'd make a pretty good dad.”

That landed differently than anything else had that night.

Vax finally looked at Scanlan then—just briefly—and gave a small, almost tired half-smile.

A pat landed on Scanlan’s shoulder.Then he turned and walked off without waiting for a response, disappearing into the dark beyond the firelight.

Scanlan stayed still. The fire snapped once.

Across the camp, Vex shifted slightly in her sleep, her head settling more securely against Percy’s shoulder. Percy adjusted instinctively, never fully falling asleep, still watching her like stubborn willpower alone could keep her safe.

Scanlan let out a slow breath.

“…Huh,” he muttered.

He glanced toward where Vax had gone, then back to Vex.

“Pretty good dad,” he repeated under his breath, like he was testing how the words fit.

Then, quieter still, almost to himself:

“Yeah. Maybe.”

And for a long moment, he just stayed there by the fire, keeping watch with the rest of them while the night settled in around Vox Machina.