We bring all three together - Dash, Catrina and Aleena! (Along with NPC's Katlana and Jake.)

Check out the story as it unfolds. This one focuses on setting up AIL's third season. Just hinting at what happens until . . .

 
Warning: Strong language.

As Sebastian Dash and the Honourburg hero Jake met up with Catrina, Jake cursed. "Whatever's going in, the feedback is giving me a killer migraine.. Speakin' of headaches, here he is."

Jake gestured to Dash with one hand, holding his sore temple with the other.

Dash ignored the comment. "Here I am, Catrina. What's going on?"

That was the question going through the lioness' head at the moment as well, and Dash could tell something was up with his friend as she stood there, eyes shut tight, turning her head from side to side and holding her temple, her ears flat back.

"Ugh…. dunno… got a weird feeling in my stomach and… does anyone else smell that? Like a hundred lightning storms just passed through…"

"Yeah," Jake agreed, holding his head. "Whatever is going on, the energy is all.. off.. like something's being ripped open up there."

Katlana nodded. "Urgh.. starting to wish I never switched to energy powers."

"I wonder if this is tied to what Aleena said," Dash wondered openly.

"I.. I wouldn't know since I have no freakin' idea what she said." Catrina growled, though not because of anything that Dash said. The feeling that she had was making her.. edgy.

"When she got rid of the glaive," Dash started. "Oh, by the way, she got rid of the glaive. Gone forever."

"Good riddance," Catrina whined, an uncharacteristic sound for her to make, mostly because this feeling she had was starting to worry her.

"I still have no idea what's going on with the glaive," Katlana pointed out. "I assume it had something to do with why we came here."

"It's a long story," Dash said. "I'll fill you in later if you want.. But it is a very powerful and evil artifact which Aleena got rid of.. tossed into a black hole. I don't expect we'll see it again. Thing is, right when she got rid of it, there was a really weird disturbance right around here. I'm guessing that's related to..."

"This pain in the ass," Jake interjected. Katlana just nodded.

Catrina managed a chuckle- if forced. "Rather have it there, instead of in my head.. Goddess! Feel sick…" The usually white lioness was starting to look a bit green.

Dash sighed. "We should probably get a group together and go about clearing out survivors from around the tower. Whatever's going down, it's about to fold anyway. And even the evil groups deserve a fair warning."

"Great," Jake said, annoyed. "So you want us to go towards that big mess of energy?"

Dash nodded. "Yup. If you're up for coming. I could do it myself."

Katlana stared. "That's either crazy or stupid. Either way, no."

Catrina whimpered again. It was really getting bad but Dash was right, even the guys they'd been fighting deserved fair warning of this.. Whatever it was.

She didn't reply to Katlana or Dash, she just acted, moving as she had been taught, moving faster than she'd ever moved going between the groups scattered here and there. Moving so fast that it felt to her as if she returned before she left even as she stopped and said a one word command, pointing in a direction away from where she felt the danger lay.

"RUN!"

Meanwhile Dash took Katlana and Jake to the nearest group of Contessa Gray's Council of Gray. They weren't in any mood- or condition for fighting. With the two behind him, Dash kept his sword ready to attack- but in a non threatening position.

There were half a dozen of them, ready to fight. Dash addressed the highest ranking thug there, the one that looked like a cross between a scientist and a soldier. "Relax, we're not here to fight. We're not here to take you in. But I'm sure you've sensed the disturbance by now. I think it'd be in our best interest if you were to move away from the tower. And get whoever will listen to you to go with. Something bad's about to go down."

"And spoilers," Jake added, barely able to see from the energy disturbance. He kept that little factlet to himself. "You don't wanna be here. No one in their right mind would.. Not sure that applies to you.. But do yourselves a favor.. Help us clear out the area."

"Or we might come back," Katlana said in an icy voice. Without taking their eyes off the Council, they turned and retreated to a safer distance. They repeated the process with a hero band, only in a friendlier manner.

"That should do the trick," Katlana said. Jake ran his hand over his nose, leaving his hand smeared with a trail of deep red blood. Katlana turned to him. "You need to get some distance between you and the tower."

He looked her over, frowning. "So do you."

"I won't be far behind you. Go," she ordered. Jake started to protest, but shrugged, accepting she was right.

"You're right," Dash said, turning to Katlana.

Katlana nodded at her ex husband. "This is bad, Dash. I'm not going to be able to hang much longer."

"We'll clear out and catch up with Jake," Dash said. "But first, I need you to cover me while I get in touch with Aleena. I don't want to be left vulnerable, and I feel like time is running out. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course." She shrugged. "I'll do my best."

Dash smiled weakly. "It's always been good enough."

With that, he turned his attention to contacting Aleena.

"Sebastian." Aleena's voice came through as though she were standing in front of him, before she appeared. She stepped forward as though from a cloak of invisibility, her image present only in Dash's mind.

Dash shook his head, looking around. "Whatever's going on, it's screwing with Catrina and the lovebirds here. We've done our best to get the tower cleared. You don't need to be a scientist to know whatever's going down, that's the black heart of it."

"We do not have answers for you as yet, Dash. We have a satellite around your world, but it is not equipped to perform the necessary measurements. I've commissioned a science vessel to visit you, but these things take time."

"Understood." Dash paused. "So there's no updates yet?"

"Sorry, no."

"Alright. Thank you Aleena." Dash paused. "If anything happens, you can expect an update soon after."

Dash's concentration, and therefore his connection with Aleena, was broken as Catrina suddenly popped in beside him and grabbed his arm.

"Dash, We've got to move!"

"Her first." Dash turned to Katlana but closed his eyes. "Brace yourself. Standard speedster dri..."

He'd finish the sentence, but miles away from where they had started as Cat grabbed Katlana and moved them to a place where she felt the effects of whatever was coming less. Hopefully enough less to matter.

Meanwhile, Dash took a moment to review a note from the Morlencir network which the nanites had picked up, not even realizing they'd moved.

Dash fell to his knees, disoriented. "Ahh.. do you seriously have any idea how disorienting that is when you don't know it's coming, Catrina?!"

Catrina helped him back to his feet, not looking at all sorry for her move.

"It's disorienting whether or not you know. That's why I had to do it now and not come back for you later."

She turned to look at where they'd been, straining as if to see what she expected to see now.

"I've never told you how it feels to go to Master Sliver's. He has always kept his place separate from here. I've even forgotten how it feels myself, it's become second nature to have my senses jumbled by the travel.

"But, when I was warning the others it hit me. This…"

She waved at the horizon- at where they'd just been.

"This feels just like that… only a whole lot worse! It's …. I can't really describe it.. Catt would know what I mean but.. If these two feelings are the same then… I have a feeling something BIG is about to come through!"

Katlana started to say something then doubled over and decided against talking for the moment.

"Come through how?" Dash asked, doing his best to stay on his feet.

Catrina managed a smirk, even as her tail thrashed with the growing feeling that the feeling was… well, growing. Were they far enough away?

"I've never seen how I show up. One minute I'm walking from Sliver's house, then my insides get all twisted up and then I'm here."

A bright flash blinded many of the people for a mile around the tower although Dash's sight, oddly, started to return almost instantly. He started to regret it as he looked up- although he had no idea what he was looking at.

He saw a rift in space and time itself, hovering over the ruins of the Kadlin-modified Farnsworthy's Tower. With an impossibly big, metal bugbear that seemed to be trying to claw its way through the rift.

Dash could only hope it was an hallucination.

Cool huh?

It put Catrina, Dash and the guest heroes in a very tough and different spot, and I'm happy with the payoff. I feel like I should say more here, but I'm rather tired IRL. It's always nice being joined by Aleena and Catrina in a post, though. And like I said, this was a big one.

Next up, we're back to Sassy Snake! She made such a strong showing in this mission.