Luke's head filled with static, but he fought it back as best he could and tried to maintain the contact. Haku needed him, needed all of them, those whose presences he could sense and those who called out to this young man who was obviously their friend.
You can win against this! he thought, not caring if the words didn't make it through--the intent was what mattered. Stretching out to Haku's mind, trying to shore up the young man's defenses against whatever this is that has him captive--mentally and physically--trying to help him remember--
(Remember what?)
Luke stretched back to that Force bond between himself and Mara, the love and life and light that flowed between them, and anchored himself there. And even as he reached out to Haku again, he reached out to where the others glowed in the Force around them. They were all in this together now, and their crewmate needed them.
She doesn't know to apply herself mentally to Haku's defense, or the Force, or anything - she knows that her honored friend is in trouble, and needs help.
Out comes an arrow, knocked to the string. Shooting the . . . black stuff around her friend is too dangerous, but the little hag, nightmare or not, may be vulnerable to weapons. She fires at Yubaba.
Hisk stands up, fanning her wings out a little to maker herself seem a little bigger. She doesn't know what's happening here and is hesitant to get close to Haku or Yubaba, what witchery is this?! Mulan and Luke now have a dragon standing nearby, all tensed up with nowhere to go.
She wants to help. There's nothing else for it here, she can't run away even though that comes to her as the sensible answer here. The enemy is here.
And so, she hesitates. Hisk growls at Yubaba low in her throat, but doesn't attack. It's a bluff to buy her time to think, which... between her lack of sleep and confusion isn't going so well.
The arrow strikes Yubaba like a bird flying through an image projected on smoke, scattering and deforming her face as the hag throws back her head and laughs. The not-Yubaba dissolved, but as she did she cast one leering glance back over the assembled group. No, this was no witch, this was the Nightmare King...and then he was gone.
On the ground, Haku made a sound somewhere between a dragon's hiss and a groan. It hurt, it burned, the taste of it, sliding down his throat, clenching through nostrils and eyes and ears as if by sheer enthusiasm it could breach his defenses. One last furious struggle, and he collapsed, laying on his stomach and then... The boy rose to his feet, as a dragon. An angry one.
Without hesitating, the Nightmare King's corrupted thrall lunged across the distance, mouth open and seeking to tear and devour whoever was closest. Haku was the nightmare, now.
Blue eyes went wide, and Luke dodged out of the way, rolling up to his feet again. His lightsaber wasn't on his belt--perhaps he'd dropped it wherever he lay outside the nightmare, on the ship--but a true Jedi didn't need a weapon. Luke's ally was the Force, and for those who were here to help Haku regain himself, though they might not be able to touch it or feel its effects, they still served it in their own way. He would use it to defend these people he'd been thrown together with, to defend the dragon-boy from himself.
Luke opened himself to it and as he did, realized he'd come up near the other dragon and the young woman, and reached out a hand to both of them, brow furrowed as he put up a shield around them to protect them momentarily. One strong physical hit and it'd shatter--Luke wasn't at his full strength, and even with the entirety of life to draw on there just wasn't any substitute for real rest--but it it'd be something.
"He needs us," Luke said simply. "We need to make sure he doesn't hurt himself in this, and we need to get him out of his dream. I can try that last part, if we work together for the first part." He grinned. "I trust you to know what to do."
Hisk shows her teeth, fanning her wings out a bit more and lashing her tail. She shies back away from the shield slightly, more witchery, but it's guarding them so that's not a bad thing.
"He has me in size," she says, "but 'f I can git my teeth round near his head I might be able t' pin 'im."
For a moment the enraged river-spirit snarled, coiling in on himself like a snake preparing to strike. He turned to face Luke and lashed out in a wide arc with his tail at Mulan and the Jedi both. It contacted the shield in a shower of sparks as power met power.
And then, Hisk made a target of herself.
"Haahhhhsssssssssssssssssssssssss..." Like a dog presented with a rival Haku snapped round to face her. The challenge was clear, in face and posture and as quick as a cobra he lunged. The inside of his mouth was as black and shining as wet pitch, save for the bone-white teeth. He meant to rip out her throat if he could; blood in the water and the waters would bleed. The corruption would nourish the blackness inside him and make it that much stronger.
He'd seen a lot of things in his line of work. Didn't really think seeing two dragons going at it would be added to them, but Han was tired from the last few days and he knew his trusty blaster would probably do very little to their enraged foe.
"Luke, if you have a plan, now would be a good time to tell us!"
Hisk hisses with a sound like monsoon rains on a tin sheet, ducking under Haku's teeth. She hasn't fought in this body in years, but some things never leave you. Her wings flare out instinctively to make her appear larger, though this makes them an easy target for clawing.
She latches her teeth into Haku lower on his neck but above his front legs, growling and trying to push him back and bowl him over, pushing with her back legs.
Rhiow heard the pained hiss in a familiar voice as she limped, bruised and battered, through the city - her head whipped around, her ears pinning back hard against her skull, and ran as well as she could on only three legs. I thought we already dealt with this - how can he still be under influence - we banished it, right?
She skidded to a halt near Luke, breathing hard, feeling the very edges of her reserves. She had expended just about everything she had in that battle, but... she also knew Haku's true name, and what he really was, and - maybe - how to stop him. "I think I may be able to do something," she said, looking up at Luke with her eyes wide and her tail lashing. "I can contain him, maybe, for a moment - it'll probably knock me out, though, I don't have much energy left."
Static saw the commotion around Haku from the air, chasing after the avatar. He already knew he wasn't going to be much use there; Aang didn't know him, had no reason to trust him, and had the ability to bend water, which would severely hamper Virgil's style. But, Haku he could deal with... Haku was his friend, and a friend in need.
So he dropped his team off to deal with Aang and left to try and do some good.
"The hell is going on!?! What've I missed?" He called out as he flew over.
They are joined by a being whose form now resembles the dragon in a way, at least outwardly. Tobias is slightly larger than the horse-sized reptilian, at seven feet, but the other dragon is bigger than him. The main difference between he and they are his many blades, and his ability to walk only on two legs. He also cannot fly, not in this body.
His snakelike neck and head watch the dragon closely, his bladed tail held ready behind him. It's not the slicing fury that's an Andalite tail, but a Hork-Bajir tail is still something to fear when it's coming at you.
He lashes the tail toward the enemy dragon, hoping for a decent strike He takes care not to hit the dragon with the girl riding it.
Haku opted not to resist Hisk's pressure, instead setting his teeth into her shoulder and pulling. He had neither the bulk nor the balance to shove against her weight and so brought his hindclaws up to rake across the inviting targets her wings made. Fly on this, will you?
And then Tobias' tail-blade hit him with a dull thunk, like an axe into wood; a solid hit. He screeched, high and loud in a way that quickly petered off into the hypersonic range, inaudible to human ears. It was enough to get his fangs out of Hisk's flesh, at any rate, though now he was struggling to get free of her own, scrabbling hard with his forelegs and thrashing like an angry fish. His own tail was a whiplash, striking out randomly as he thrashed.
It was desperation, an attempt at escape. The fragment of nightmare that oozed inside him had sensed the death of it's greater self, and knew he was losing the fight.
Is there anything at all she can do here? She is not a mighty dragon, nor does she have spectacular abilities. She can only shoot her friend . . . and even seeing him in this state is not enough to make shooting him easy.
The point of Mulan's arrow weaves in her focus. She pulled it on reflex, a good, well-trained soldier, but she can't use it. For one thing, it probably wouldn't do anything. For another, if it did, she could not possibly forgive herself.
"Haku, my honored friend," she shouts, trying to reach him over the sound of the fighting. "You brought me out of my nightmare. You reminded me to fight it. I am reminding you of the same now! We are friends! You must remember that!"
Rhiow's ears were pinned flat to her skull as she crouched on the ground, eyes narrowed, piecing together the spell in her head.
It was one she had used before - one she even had on hand - but it needed more than a few modifications before it would do any good on Haku, and the power requirements... Rhiow licked her nose as she mentally slotted in the amount of energy required to hold even a lesser power.
The spell was complete. Another snarl echoed from overhead and she flinched, took a deep breath, and began to read. "This is a localized-specific neural component inhibitor meant for use on Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi-" she had to pause, gasping, as the full spoken version of Haku's name in the Speech pulled more energy out of her than she had anticipated. The working silence of the spell pressed in around her ears and she shook herself, continuing, coming to the power requirement and hesitating only a moment before the syllables spilled off her tongue.
The spell took in a rush, leaving Rhiow weak and trembling. She looked up - even raising her head took effort now - and saw Haku suddenly stop moving, falling through the air as his body stopped doing what his brain told it to.
Then the Whisperer hissed a sharp warning in her ear - if she held it much longer she'd pull her life into it - and Rhiow gasped the release words before she collapsed unconscious in a small ball of black fur.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
You can win against this! he thought, not caring if the words didn't make it through--the intent was what mattered. Stretching out to Haku's mind, trying to shore up the young man's defenses against whatever this is that has him captive--mentally and physically--trying to help him remember--
(Remember what?)
Luke stretched back to that Force bond between himself and Mara, the love and life and light that flowed between them, and anchored himself there. And even as he reached out to Haku again, he reached out to where the others glowed in the Force around them. They were all in this together now, and their crewmate needed them.
no subject
Out comes an arrow, knocked to the string. Shooting the . . . black stuff around her friend is too dangerous, but the little hag, nightmare or not, may be vulnerable to weapons. She fires at Yubaba.
no subject
She wants to help. There's nothing else for it here, she can't run away even though that comes to her as the sensible answer here. The enemy is here.
And so, she hesitates. Hisk growls at Yubaba low in her throat, but doesn't attack. It's a bluff to buy her time to think, which... between her lack of sleep and confusion isn't going so well.
no subject
On the ground, Haku made a sound somewhere between a dragon's hiss and a groan. It hurt, it burned, the taste of it, sliding down his throat, clenching through nostrils and eyes and ears as if by sheer enthusiasm it could breach his defenses. One last furious struggle, and he collapsed, laying on his stomach and then... The boy rose to his feet, as a dragon. An angry one.
Without hesitating, the Nightmare King's corrupted thrall lunged across the distance, mouth open and seeking to tear and devour whoever was closest. Haku was the nightmare, now.
no subject
Luke opened himself to it and as he did, realized he'd come up near the other dragon and the young woman, and reached out a hand to both of them, brow furrowed as he put up a shield around them to protect them momentarily. One strong physical hit and it'd shatter--Luke wasn't at his full strength, and even with the entirety of life to draw on there just wasn't any substitute for real rest--but it it'd be something.
"He needs us," Luke said simply. "We need to make sure he doesn't hurt himself in this, and we need to get him out of his dream. I can try that last part, if we work together for the first part." He grinned. "I trust you to know what to do."
no subject
He seems to be the one in charge, so sir it is. "What's your idea?"
no subject
"He has me in size," she says, "but 'f I can git my teeth round near his head I might be able t' pin 'im."
no subject
And then, Hisk made a target of herself.
"Haahhhhsssssssssssssssssssssssss..." Like a dog presented with a rival Haku snapped round to face her. The challenge was clear, in face and posture and as quick as a cobra he lunged. The inside of his mouth was as black and shining as wet pitch, save for the bone-white teeth. He meant to rip out her throat if he could; blood in the water and the waters would bleed. The corruption would nourish the blackness inside him and make it that much stronger.
Besides, Hisk had asked for it.
no subject
"Luke, if you have a plan, now would be a good time to tell us!"
no subject
She latches her teeth into Haku lower on his neck but above his front legs, growling and trying to push him back and bowl him over, pushing with her back legs.
no subject
She skidded to a halt near Luke, breathing hard, feeling the very edges of her reserves. She had expended just about everything she had in that battle, but... she also knew Haku's true name, and what he really was, and - maybe - how to stop him. "I think I may be able to do something," she said, looking up at Luke with her eyes wide and her tail lashing. "I can contain him, maybe, for a moment - it'll probably knock me out, though, I don't have much energy left."
no subject
So he dropped his team off to deal with Aang and left to try and do some good.
"The hell is going on!?! What've I missed?" He called out as he flew over.
no subject
His snakelike neck and head watch the dragon closely, his bladed tail held ready behind him. It's not the slicing fury that's an Andalite tail, but a Hork-Bajir tail is still something to fear when it's coming at you.
He lashes the tail toward the enemy dragon, hoping for a decent strike He takes care not to hit the dragon with the girl riding it.
no subject
And then Tobias' tail-blade hit him with a dull thunk, like an axe into wood; a solid hit. He screeched, high and loud in a way that quickly petered off into the hypersonic range, inaudible to human ears. It was enough to get his fangs out of Hisk's flesh, at any rate, though now he was struggling to get free of her own, scrabbling hard with his forelegs and thrashing like an angry fish. His own tail was a whiplash, striking out randomly as he thrashed.
It was desperation, an attempt at escape. The fragment of nightmare that oozed inside him had sensed the death of it's greater self, and knew he was losing the fight.
no subject
The point of Mulan's arrow weaves in her focus. She pulled it on reflex, a good, well-trained soldier, but she can't use it. For one thing, it probably wouldn't do anything. For another, if it did, she could not possibly forgive herself.
"Haku, my honored friend," she shouts, trying to reach him over the sound of the fighting. "You brought me out of my nightmare. You reminded me to fight it. I am reminding you of the same now! We are friends! You must remember that!"
It's worth a try?
no subject
It was one she had used before - one she even had on hand - but it needed more than a few modifications before it would do any good on Haku, and the power requirements... Rhiow licked her nose as she mentally slotted in the amount of energy required to hold even a lesser power.
The spell was complete. Another snarl echoed from overhead and she flinched, took a deep breath, and began to read. "This is a localized-specific neural component inhibitor meant for use on Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi-" she had to pause, gasping, as the full spoken version of Haku's name in the Speech pulled more energy out of her than she had anticipated. The working silence of the spell pressed in around her ears and she shook herself, continuing, coming to the power requirement and hesitating only a moment before the syllables spilled off her tongue.
The spell took in a rush, leaving Rhiow weak and trembling. She looked up - even raising her head took effort now - and saw Haku suddenly stop moving, falling through the air as his body stopped doing what his brain told it to.
Then the Whisperer hissed a sharp warning in her ear - if she held it much longer she'd pull her life into it - and Rhiow gasped the release words before she collapsed unconscious in a small ball of black fur.