Emrick almost slipped on the blood as he stepped onto the bridge, barely checking to make sure Isiah had pulled Rina back. Neither of them had spoken about what they planned to do and yet they still knew. There was only one thing they could do, let him fight Jonin and the others while Isiah and Rina got the stone.

Jonin was the first one he went for. Rina was injured and dying because of him. He was the strongest one and needed to go before anyone else was hurt. The door was open, he'd done what he'd needed to. All that was left was to make sure Isiah got his stone and that none of them died while he did. Emrick didn't want to die; he'd promised Isiah that he would stay alive as best he could and he had to follow through with it.

But the Captain wasn't going to let him kill him so easily. He'd dealt with Rina and there was an awful smile under his helmet as he ducked behind his lesser trained knights. If Emrick wanted to get to him, he had to kill the others first, something he wasn't at all fazed by. He would kill anyone who got in his way.

Taking out the first guard in front of him was easy, a quick lunge on the unstable bridge and the man was toppling over the side, a scream ringing out as he fell. Emrick had to be careful fighting on the bridge, but he couldn't let them on the other side. If that happened, they would beat him in an instant. He had to fight them one at a time if he wanted to win.

Jonin was drifting further and further to the back of the swaying bridge, allowing his men to fight and die. He was trying to prolong it as long as he could, considering how close Emrick had come to killing him back at the laboratory. He wasn't after him though, he was after Isiah. Somehow, he had known they would be there, but Emrick couldn't focus on it, not in the middle of a fight.

The bridge was far too rickety for all of them to stand on, but that didn't stop them. If it broke, all of them would die, but he would have broken his promise. He'd rather not die by falling from the bridge, he'd rather not die at all if he had any say in the matter. But he needed to get to Jonin. If he didn't kill the man, then they would always be dealing with him until he eventually killed them.

There was one easy way to get rid of most of the knights between him. The stone's power flowed around him, easy for him to grab, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to after the battle in Maeve. There were so many people between him and Jonin that it would be almost impossible for him to take them all out without injuring himself and jeopardizing his survival. Using the stone could get rid of maybe three, but that was three less people to worry about.

His thinking almost cost him. The blade of another man swung towards him and he jumped back, the thin planks creaking under his weight. If they weren't careful, the bridge would snap. He could feel it happening, the dip towards the centre and the loud creaking of the wood. He had to stay as close to the edge as possible so that he could try to run if it collapsed.

He didn't try to return the blows the knights dealt him, instead he focused on the power of the fear stone. It whispered to him as it delved deep into the minds of the people before him. It could only tell him three before he got overwhelmed by the amount of information it was spewing at him. He had to defend himself while it talked to him, he couldn't let himself get distracted, but it was hard trying to focus on so much.

Instead, he let the power of the stone take him. Those he targeted, the three at the front, would be too scared to let anyone else pass. He could afford not to defend himself for a moment. Deeper and deeper he went, passing the minor fears and straight to the worst, manifesting it in their minds. He'd finally been able to not get himself involved in the visions like he had with Isiah, watching from reality as they experienced their worst nightmares.

The screams that rang out hurt his ears, but he didn't let it phase him. The other guards, Jonin included, stared at the three of them in confusion, trying to get them to snap out of their hysteria, but it wouldn't work. Emrick had control of them and he wouldn't let them go until they were dead. The screams didn't bother him, not even the pleads for help, it was what they deserved for fighting for the sake of fighting, killing for the sake of killing, never questioning why and taking pleasure in it.

Two of them fell backwards, clutching at their chest and unable to stop the rope from giving out underneath them. They fell and Emrick didn't spare a second before focusing all of his power on the third. But she was adamant on staying alive, on facing her fear and Emrick couldn't that happen. He stepped forward and at the last second, dropped the power of the stone. The knight gasped when she saw him, but wasn't fast enough to stop the sword from tearing through her flesh. She dropped with a gurgle and the man behind her kicked her body off the bridge.

Using the stone made him exhausted and distracted him. While he'd been using it, he'd walked far from the end of the bridge and was standing close to the centre. It was far too dangerous for him to be there, but there was no way he would be able to move back easily. He steeled himself as the man before him lurched closer.

Their swords clashed together, the sound making his ears ring. Emrick gritted his teeth, struggling to push the man back as his feet slipped on the planks. He almost had it, preparing himself to swing again, when the bridge jolted sharply and he stumbled into the rope railing. For a second, he was sure that it had snapped and he was about to topple down into the abyss below, but he stayed standing even as the guards rushed past him.

Isiah stood at the edge, holding the railings. Rina was nowhere to be seen but he had to hope that she was still alive. When Isiah had grabbed the bridge to hold it up, two of the guards had pushed past Emrick and were racing towards the end of the bridge. Emrick ran for them, but a hand on the collar of his shirt pulled him back. He grunted and spun, thrusting his sword faster than his opponent could move. He hadn't protected himself well enough and as he twisted the blade in the knight's stomach, something cold and sharp struck his shoulder.

He cried out in pain and ripped his sword back. Blood spilt onto the planks, dripping onto the falls. With a sharp kick to the stomach, Emrick sent the knight falling, quickly replaced with another of Jonin's followers. Heat flashed behind him and he turned, the remains of Isiah's flames fading as the knight that had been sneaking up behind him jumped away. Emrick lunged for him, their blades crashing together. He threw the man back and turned again, only just fending off a lunge from his other attacker.

Over and over again he twisted between the two knights as others waited their turn and another continued to go for Isiah. Sometimes, Emrick got hit, the swords grazing his sides or his hands or his legs. It stung and ached as the blood-soaked his clothes and skin. He was tiring and it was only a matter of time before he was seriously injured. With every movement, his shoulder flared with pain, but he had to ignore it, had to make sure Isiah stayed alive.

Both knights swung for him at once and he dropped, thinking back to the move he had taught Rina not that long ago. He kicked out at the one closest to Isiah, relief flooding through him when he fell, and impaled him through the chest. The second stumbled back when he stood, growling at him like a dog. Emrick rolled his eyes and feigned moving to the left. His movements were sluggish, but still good enough to trick the knight. They flipped over the rope failing, their throat slashed and blood pouring from the wound.

Before another could take their place, Emrick ran. The one heading for Isiah wasn't paying attention to what was behind him, too busy trying to fend off the flames coming for him. It was easy to skewer him in the back and push him from the bridge. Isiah still stood at the end, feet planted in the snow and blood on his hands, but other than that, he was uninjured.

"Get the stone!" he yelled.

Isiah shook his head. "Not without you," he replied. Emrick could have called him stupid, but all he could think of was the night in the abandoned house, when he'd seen Isiah cradling his body.

"I'll keep you safe," he said and turned back to the knights coming his way. He'd never let any of them touch Isiah. He cried out when he swung, ignored the ache of his muscles and the pain of his wounds, and cut down the nearest person. Jonin was still at the back of them, watching without a single injury. He was letting him tire out so that he could kill him easier, but it wouldn't work. Emrick would kill him for Rina, for Turian, for Isiah and all the people Jonin had needlessly murdered in his attempts to get Isiah.

He tore through the rest of the knights. None of them stood a chance against his anger and the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Every person that dropped dead was pushed from the bridge by the one behind them as if their lives truly had no meaning. Jonin continued to smirk at him even though his group of followers was quickly thinning out. That was what he got for attacking them on a bridge. What else did he expect would happen?

Faster than he had expected, he was face to face with Jonin's hulking form. The man didn't give him a chance to breathe before he swung, his heavy blade cutting through the air with a sharp hiss. Emrick almost didn't move fast enough, lifting his sword sideways to slow the attack. His jaw clenched and he grunted, struggling to push Jonin back far enough to duck away.

His feet almost slipped out from underneath him when he jumped back. He was exhausted, but he couldn't stop. It was only Jonin left and while the man was at full strength, it wasn't going to stop him from killing him. He had to be the better fighter, had to win in order to keep them all safe while they got the rest of the stones.

Jonin lunged for him again and he skidded backwards, his arms and legs aching. There were no openings for him to lunge for; all he could do was defend himself until he found something he could use, but Jonin would never give him that chance. Again and again, Emrick stopped attacks that came far too close to killing him, occasionally checking over his shoulder at Isiah, who watched with worry.

As Emrick scrambled backwards, a wall of flames erupted between him and Jonin, blocking them both from fighting. It gave him a moment to stop and breath and figure out what he was supposed to do. His sword was slippery from the blood running down his cut arms, but there wasn't time to fix it. He needed to ready himself and give Isiah the signal that he was good to fight again.

But he never got the chance. The wall of flames wasn't an obstacle for Jonin as his blade came slicing through them. Emrick couldn't move fast enough; he scrambled back on sluggish legs, but the blade still caught him, pain flaring up his arm. When he pulled his hand back to look at the damage, three of his fingers were gone, blood spurting from the ends of them. He almost gagged, but he couldn't afford to be distracted by the pain; Jonin was coming for him.

Fighting off someone far stronger than him with one hand was almost impossible. Isiah yelled out to him as he fell against the planks, the flames disappearing. "You won't kill me," he hissed at Jonin, who scoffed and glared at him.

But there was a high chance he would. Emrick was on his back, barely fending off Jonin's blows. Not even kicking him in the legs did anything, his armour far too thick for him to do any lasting damage. If he was killed, then Jonin would cast him aside and go after Isiah, who would die so quickly. He couldn't let it happen.

There was only one thing he could do. Pushing away another of Jonin's blows, he tangled his leg and injured hand in one side of the rope railing, pulling tight. He would survive his plan, but as soon as he got back to the door, Isiah would kill him. It was the only thing he could do if he wanted them to be safe. He had no other choice.

He twisted when Jonin brought his sword down again. The blade fell into his side and he cried out, but didn't let it stop him. He drove his sword between the planks and brought it up, slicing through the rope holding the bridge together. As if time had slowed down completely, there was a second where Jonin stared at him with wide eyes, before his gaze moved to the tip of his sword, which hung high in the air.

Then he was gone. The bridge tilted to one side and Emrick screamed as Jonin's blade was ripped from his side, still attached to the captain's hand. He dangled in the air as the rope bridge swayed, facing the bottom of the crystal falls. Jonin stared back up at him as a scream burst from his lips. Down and down he went with no way to stop until he disappeared into the mist below.

Jonin was gone, dead. He had to be. There was no way he could survive a fall like that. Emrick let out a loud sigh of relief, tilting his head back. He was still dangling in the middle of the broken bridge, but the danger was gone. All he had to do was climb along the side of the bridge and get Isiah to pull him back up.

"Emrick!" Isiah yelled. He was on his hands and knees at the edge of the cliff. "Are you alright?"

"I am in a lot of pain," he answered as he struggled to put his sword back in its sheath while hanging sideways in the air. "I'll be there in a minute."

He hadn't even untangled his foot from the rope when he heard another creak, not of wood but of rope, and he knew what was coming. There wasn't a chance to get a word out before he was falling backwards, still tangled in the railing. The mist came closer and closer and the last thing he saw before it overtook his vision was Isiah's screaming face.

He slammed in the rocky cliffs on the other side of the falls, the remains of the bridge below him. With a scream of pain, he grabbed a hold of the wood with his free hand and tried to pull himself up. He was still alive somehow. The bridge hadn't broken on the other side, he could still climb up. But everything hurt. He was sure he'd smashed a few ribs when he'd crashed into the cliff and his leg felt broken. He was missing fingers and was riddled with cuts, there was no way he was climbing up without slipping and falling to his death.

For a long time, he dangled there, unable to get enough air into his lungs to speak as the pain washed over him. It was only through instinct that he was able to hold onto the rope, despite the blood and the missing fingers. He choked and vomited, letting it spill down into the abyss below without much thought.

An anguished scream from above got him moving again. As carefully as he could, he felt for his sword and his stone, both of which were still firmly on his person. His voice would not come to him, but it was only a matter of time. He was still alive. Against all odds, he had survived. All he had to do was let Isiah know. His scream echoed in his mind, filled with grief and pain. He thought he was dead.

"Isiah," he gasped, but his voice was barely loud for him to hear it, let alone Isiah. He needed to let him know that he was still alive, had to stop the awful screams. "Isiah!"

It took a moment for him to hear anything. "Emrick?" Isiah cried and he could hear how choked it was.

"Isiah! I'm alive! I'm alive!"

"You're alive! Are you alright?"

"No!"

Hysterical laughter drifted down towards him and he smiled through the pain. Another voice joined in, faint but familiar and he knew that Rina was alright. The sigh that escaped his lips made his chest scream with pain and his grip on in the bridge loosened.

"Rina got me the stone! I can heal you! Don't worry!" Isiah yelled and Emrick almost cried with joy. It would really be that simple. He didn't need to worry about the pain, not when the healing stone was there. "It's... It's not working!"

Another scream almost tore from his throat. "What do you mean, it's not working?"

"I can't feel anything!" Isiah yelled back, sobbing afterwards. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Don't be sorry, it's going to be alright. Give it to Rina," he said and pressed his head against the blood-stained planks before him.

A long moment passed before anything happened, but as he waited, a strange feeling spread through his body and he would have fallen from the bridge if he hadn't tangled his limbs in the rope. His pain began to alleviate, almost as if he were too tired to be sore. There was a moment where he was sure that he was dying, but as a cut on his wrist sealed back up like it had never been there, he figured out what was happening. Rina was using the healing stone.

It was slow going and his limbs grew tired as he waited on the vertical bridge. Watching his fingers grow back in the span of half an hour was the worst part. It was gory and disgusting, but at least he was getting them back. His ribs healed and his leg stopped screaming with pain, he wasn't going to die, all thanks to Rina.

Even as his body healed, he climbed up the rope ladder his mistake had created. It was terrifying and being so far from Isiah meant that it was freezing. If he slipped once on the blood that ran down the bridge like a waterfall, he would fall. Every time he grabbed a plank, his knuckles turned white; he wouldn't let himself fall, not when he was so close to living.

Climbing was even slower than healing. It was a matter of tangling his legs in the rope and pulling himself up with his arms over and over again, but it was working. Isiah talked to him the whole time, making sure he was still alive. His voice was choked from tears, but he was alright, all three of them were. Somehow, even though he was dangling off the side of a cliff and Rina had been impaled, they were alright.

He used one of the posts to pull himself up onto solid ground, collapsing face-first onto the ground with a groan. "Are you alright?" Isiah called from the other side of the falls. He was standing again, watching him unhindered by the mist.

Sighing, he rolled over and stared at the sky, his feet still dropping off the edge. "I'm alive," he muttered before sitting up to face Isiah and Rina. They stood together, Rina behind Isiah, but both of them completely alive. "I'm alright!" he yelled and ran a hand through his hair.

"We need a way to get to you!" Rina replied, concern lacing her voice.

As far as he was aware, there was only one path down and it was on his side of the falls. He said as much to them. "You find another way down the cliffs and I'll find another way across," he said.

"Emrick..." Isiah replied but he couldn't see his face clearly.

"It's going to be fine!" he said, wishing he could reach out and hold him. "I'll meet you there. The island near Ziya, remember? I'll catch up to you. I won't be long."

He had no idea if it was the truth, but there was nothing else they could do. They had to keep moving. Jonin might be dead but there was still a war on, they needed to concentrate on that. He still had the fear stone, which they would need to get the last stone, but he would catch up to them before they reached the Sanctum of Teremtys. There was nothing to worry about.

He collapsed in the snow again, sighing and revelling in the feeling of the cold, something he'd been certain he would never feel again. "I'll catch up to you," he whispered to the sky. "I promise."