/AN: Sup guys! Now you're probably wondering why I put the AN at the top this time. Well, it's for two reasons. The first being that I would ike to apologise for the walls of text last chapter, I tried to go back and change it, but it didn't really feel right, you know? Secondly, I would like to briefly warn you guys that yes, there are walls of text this chapter, but not to the same degree. This should be the last chapter where that happens for a while, and my friends and I are trying our best to reduce the likelyhood of them poping up in the future. Now then, please enjoy one of my personal favorite chapters so far! See you in the next chapter!

Chapter 11: Into the Dragon's Tower

Blake's Perspective

We found ourselves in a dimly lit hallway with a closed door at the end. We hesitantly approached the door and slowly pushed it open. We stepped out into the night sky with stars sparkling in the sky and snow gently falling to the ground and landing without a sound. But we weren't above ground; We were underground. The stars were some kind of material I had never seen, the snow was dust and I was completely shocked at what I saw. Large jellyfish shaped things lit up the air at different points around the cavern. A cobbled street led lazily through hills and over small creeks. A small stone house sat in front of us, which was the only one still standing on the street. The only other one on the street was partially collapsed, with a dead Circle-Bot in front of it. Off to our far left was a building with a large spire which reached all the way up to the top of the cavern, and possibly beyond. A rather large building sat near the tall spire, looking like a fort in front of a skyscraper.

"Well, this is not what I expected." I comment, staring at the ceiling.

"I expected this." Weiss scoffed tossing her head to the side, sending her hair swinging after her head.

"None of us can be as perfect as you, Weiss." Yang said sarcastically.

Weiss flipped her hair in appreciation for Yang noticing. We all giggled at her.

We walked past a mounted crossbow on the left corner of the terrace we entered into and continued to the right. Weiss led us down a set of stairs and past the dead Dwarven Sphere. Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, we took a look around and saw that the path went to both our left and right.

"I think that we should go to the left." Weiss commented.

"I don't know, the left is looking pretty populated, so maybe that's the way we want to go." Ruby responded.

"I second what my sister said." Yang chimed in.

"Not to mention that the right is covered in water." I say.

"Left it is then!" Yang exclaimed, walking down the path to the left. Weiss grumbled to herself as we down the path that would keep us dry.

We walked for a few feet to the left before we reached a fork in the road. Straight forward was the spire and to the right was a path that led farther into Blackreach. I didn't think that the Tower of Mzark would be so close to the entrance to Blackreach, but everyone else was celebrating.

"I think we found the Tower of Mzark!" Weiss said excitedly. Ruby and Yang mirrored her excitement, however I did not share in it.

"Guys, Septimus Signus said that the Tower was deep in Blackreach, and this is right near the entrance. Not to mention that the gate is closed." I told them, deflating their festive mood.

"Buzzkill." Yang jokingly said to me. Weiss, however, was serious in her anger against my buzzkilling.

Ruby led us down the path to the right. I took a glance at what was on the sides of the road. Large hunks of a blue-white crystal that glowed with a dull luminescence. Small patches of grass surrounded the crystals like a silent guard. Off to the left was the fort from before, but up close I noticed more things about it. Specifically the two dead Eyeless Creatures, whose bodies hang off the building, arrows sticking out of numerous places on them. At least I know we are going the right way. Directly in front of us on the road was one of the massive robots that we saw in the Cathedral and a very large bug thing laying on an Eyeless Creature.

The bug-thing looked like a… bug. It had the arms of a Praying Mantis with the shape of a wasp. Green horns adorned the head behind the antennae. The back was adorned by small wings, which hardly looked like they could hold it in the air. The wings were held under the scales which clung to the body like a suit of armor. I looked away from the Giant-Bug because we had somewhere to be and I couldn't spend all day staring at a dead insect, no matter how large it is.

Yang stood over one of the giant robots that we saw in the Cathedral. It lay under the jellyfish, which up close look like glowing mushrooms, and at a fork in the road. How many forks in the road are we going to find? The fork gave us an option to go left or to continue straight.

"I think we should keep going straight." Yang commented, looking up from the giant robot.

"No, we should go left." Weiss said angrily.

"I agree with going straight." I agreed with Yang.

"Well… There's a dead Eyeless Creature on the path straightforward." Ruby said, queasiness poking though as she sadly pointed to the dead Eyeless Creature. Right where Ruby was pointing was a small fort-like building straddling the road. A dead Eyeless Creature lay on the road beneath the bridge across, arrows sticking out of its body. Another had its head and arms hanging off the edge of a archery perch, arrows silhouetted against the wall from the light of a lamp.

We walked under the fort that the two dead Eyeless Creatures were found at. Continuing down the path I noticed the clumps of glowing mushrooms had crystals under them and that the light coming off of them was too bright to stare at for long. The oddest thing about this road we were on was the stream to our right, gently flowing on with silent determination. Shockingly, there was another fork in the road. This decision would be harder to resolve. To the right was a large complex with a massive light hanging over the center of it. To the front was a bridge over the stream and a dead Giant Robot lying by it, in its failed defense.

"Ugh. Another fork in the road. Great." Weiss complained. We all nodded in agreement.

"So which way this time?" Ruby asked.

"Well, judging by the dead Giant-Robot and the two giant bugs on the path, I think it's straight again." I told everyone, pointing at the different dead things.

"Thank Talos for the Dragonborn." Yang said under her breath.

We walked up to the dead Giant Robot and saw yet another fork in the road. We decided to head right because left looked like it would go into nothing important. All these dead things and all these forks in the road… I'm beginning to think that the Dwarves were a bit overzealous in their design of this place. The bridge was simple Thank goodness and the stream quietly gurgled beneath us, giving the whole of Blackreach a relaxing feeling. Ruby and Weiss sprinted down the path yelling about "the tower!" leaving Yang and I to look around at what they would run after. After a moment of looking, Yang's hand grabbed my arm. She silently pointed to a tower in the distance. I looked at her and she was apprehensive as to whether or not it was the Tower of Mzark, but was also excited that we found a tower that was at the end of the dead-thing-gingerbread-trail. Yang hurried after them with me in tow. I saw something odd laying on the path, Ruby and Weiss were standing before it and talking and pointing at it. Once I got closer, I saw that it was the skeleton of a dragon. I definitely did not expect to see that down here. Yang and I caught up to Ruby and Weiss and joined the conversation, but we reached it in the middle, obviously.

"Are you sure that the Dragonborn didn't kill it?" Ruby asked Weiss.

"Kah, of course I'm sure. That weakling isn't strong enough to fight a dragon." Weiss scoffed.

"He did clear all of Alftand and this path by himself. I'm fairly certain that he could kill a dragon." I told Weiss, which only infuriated her more.

"So that's another dead thing that the Dragonborn killed. Wonderful. Now can we please get to the Tower?" Yang said to everyone.

We walked around the skeleton and up to the tower that was, hopefully, the Tower of Mzark. The door sat wide open and a single lever sat in the center of the room. I ran over the bridge and waited with Ruby for Yang and Weiss. They both arrived shortly after I stopped, giving me time to look for the way to get into the Tower.

"So all we have to do is grab the Elder Scroll and run." Yang said, holding the lever. "Can you all do that?" We nodded. "Good. Alright, let's get that scroll!" And with that, the platform sped upwards to the top of the Tower.

Tower of Mzark

A campsite greeted us after we arrived at the end of the Dwarven Elevator rainbow. I started to look around, but the sound of grinding gears in the other room attracted my attention. I motioned for everyone to follow me. I reached a large section of metal that reminded me of the cube that was in Septimus' ice cave. To the right was some rubble, so I led everyone left. After a very short run, I ran into a ramp. I sped up the ramp, but was passed by Ruby, who appeared 20 feet in front of me in the blink of an eye. I ran up and up before I saw the top of the sphere. There was the Dragonborn, standing before the Elder Scroll, his hands out to grab it, but he was frozen at the sound of people showing up as he went to get it. Yang and Weiss showed up, completing the team. The Dragonborn dropped his hands and turned towards us.

"Well, this is quite the surprise, now isn't it?" The Dragonborn asked, his slightly shocked face becoming a bit more calm.

"We kind of followed you…" Ruby admitted.

"Did you now?" He paused to pick up the scroll and secure it to his back. "Seeking an easy path to Dwarven riches?"

"Not entirely." Yang replied.

"Well, then why are you here exactly?" The Dragonborn asked.

"The scroll." Weiss pointed at the Elder Scroll.

The Dragonborn's face changed from the calm we had been seeing to a stern, stone-cold one. "And why would that be?"

"We want to get home." I say, in the place of everyone else.

"And what makes you think this scroll will get you there?" The Dragonborn asked.

"It got us here, didn't it?" Yang asked angrily.

"This scroll holds the key I need to defeating Alduin and saving all of Nirn, I'm positive this isn't the one you seek." The Dragonborn said, his tone of voice growing harsher.

"But what if it is?" Weiss asked him.

"I understand that you wish to return to your world, but by trying to take this scroll from me, you put all of Nirn at risk. I cannot allow that. And while I pray it doesn't come to this, if the only way for me to keep this scroll is to kill you four, then so be it." The Dragonborn said, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"So, what should we do?" Yang whispered to us.

"I think we should go for it." Weiss said.

"I think we should let him go and get it when he's done." Ruby told us.

"And while we were talking, he tried to sneak away." I said loudly.

"I guess we fight for it then." Yang said regretfully.

Almost as if we rehearsed it, Ruby dashed over to the exit hallway, blocking the Dragonborn from leaving. He held his head low after that, and after a moment of silence, he spoke.

"So, you four have made your decision then?"

The only one of us to respond was Ruby, who shook her head up and down. After another moment of silence, the Dragonborn leaned in and whispered something to Ruby. I put some minor thought into guessing what he could've said when Ruby gasped, causing me to refocus my attention to her. The Dragonborn had grabbed her by the shoulders in what looked like a tight grip, and Yang was quick to react, making her way over to them. But she wasn't fast enough. The Dragonborn slammed Ruby into the pipe next to them, causing us to stop dead. He then threw a sharp knee to her gut, causing her to cry in pain. We watched in shock and horror as he then picked her up by her collar, and kicked her past Yang.

"Ruby…" Yang's voice cracked.

She turned to the retreating figure of the Dragonborn and succumbed to her anger. Flames erupted around her as she yelled "Oh no you don't!" and launched herself towards the Dragonborn. He turned and immediately put up his shield, wide-eyed at what Yang had become. But it wasn't enough, because for the first time since we got here, Yang fired Ember Celica, and the Dragonborn was launched down the hallway. Yang followed suit immediately, only to be knocked back into the machine in the center of the room by a "Fus… Ro Dah!" .

She quickly leapt up and ran back to pound him again. Blow after blow landed on his shield, her shots heating the iron to the point that it was cherry red. When she made a slower attack with her left hand, he bashed it aside and went to stab her when she was off balance. She backhanded him, knocking him onto the floor. He lifted his shield as more attacks rained down onto it. He shakily grabbed a potion from his pocket and drank it, yellow smoke trailing around him. "You coward!" Yang yelled at him, pouring on the assault. With punches that would make her last ones look like they were half-hearted, she dented his shield and pushed him along the ground. He looked like he had enough of being on the defensive, and tried for an attack. He punched with his shield, knocking Yang back momentarily. In that time, he went for an attack. Yang saw it and shot at his shoulder, burning it. Now back behind his shield, the Dragonborn was on the defensive again. The Dragonborn stared at his shield like a man with no options left. He rolled his legs back to his shield and used them to kick Yang hard. Yang staggered back, but stayed on her feet. She sent out another shot, which landed on his shield, setting it on fire. But this did little for phase the Dragonborn. He got up to his feet and took a deep breath. Yang lowered her arms out of confusion. Her guard would have no weight to what was about to happen, much to the surprise of all of us. The Dragonborn stopped breathing and let it out as one large shout. "Faas... Ru Maar!" Once the blood red Thu'um passed over Yang, it looked like she became crippled by fear. She was wrapped in a red glow and a red smoke followed her when she moved. She grasped her head with both hands and stared at the floor. After a moment, she let out a blood curdling scream which echoed in the room, making it seem like numerous Yang's shouted at different times. And with that, she ran from the Dragonborn, but not before getting slashed along her back. She fell to the floor after getting cut and crawled over to the Dwemer Machine. She was helped along by a kick that was placed in a very bad area. He's going to pay for that. Yang collapsed on the glass flooring, bleeding and pale from fear. I knew I had to avenge her, but I didn't know when to.

After seeing Yang treated by the Dragonborn as she was, Weiss unsheathed Myrtenaster and motioned for me to do the same. I slung Gambol Shroud off my shoulder and we charged at the Dragonborn. I heard him sigh as he hefted his shield. I struck down at his shield, while at the same time Weiss glyphed behind him. The Dragonborn looked slightly confused for a second, but looked like he had a plan. He kicked at me while turning his shield to block Weiss' attack. It was a very well planned attack, but he didn't have very strong armor on his legs. I slashed his leg as I was struck by his kick. He cried out in pain and blindly slashed at me. I easily parried with the scabbard of Gambol Shroud. He quickly swung his shield behind him to block Weiss' attack, leaving him open to a strike from me. I slashed at him, but he parried with his sword. I settled for jabbing him with the end of Gambol Shroud. Weiss and I lined up for a strike, but were stopped by a gunshot. The sounds of fighting stopped and the only sound we could hear is the sound of Ruby clearing the chamber of Crescent Rose. Her shot punched a hole in the Dragonborn's shield. While we stood in awe of what just happened, Ruby picked up Crescent Rose and joined the fight with us.

Ruby lifted Crescent Rose to strike the Dragonborn, but he had other plans. "Fus… Ro Dah!" Ruby tumbled through the air and landed on her back. She was slow to get up, but was mostly unhurt. Seeing how successful Ruby's shot was, I morphed Gambol Shroud into pistol mode and took a shot at the shield. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed when the bullet bounced off. I morphed Gambol Shroud back to sword mode and pushed the attack again. Weiss shot down from the ceiling, distracting him from me. I got a small cut on his armor, but was stopped by the metal of his chestplate. I leapt back as Ruby swung Crescent Rose down at his head. He made a small noise that sounded like shock and put all his weight behind his shield. Her strike knocked him back and punctured his shield. Not thirty seconds after his last shout, he began to shout again. "Fo… Krah Diin!" Ruby was covered in ice and moving slowly. Weiss took a stab at the Dragonborn in retaliation. He parried with his sword. I tried to slash, but met his shield. Ruby was still moving slowly, but was lining up a shot at him. Weiss attacked him, drawing his attention from Ruby and I. Upon blocking Weiss' attack, a gunshot rang out again. Blood splattered the Dragonborn's leg after Ruby shot his foot. He yelped in pain, but held strong. I switched to pistol mode and shot the same foot. I missed, which left me open to a strike. It came in the form of a slash to the abdomen. I got hit on the left side of my stomach and it carried over to cut my arm about midway between my wrist and elbow. I staggered back in shock, staring as my blood dripped down my arm and onto the floor. My stomach didn't fair any better. My light armor was torn along the slash, showing my skin and lacerated areas as well. I wanted to get back into the fight, so I looked for the scabbard to Gambol Shroud, which I dropped after I got cut. I found it and picked it up, throwing myself into the fight. Ruby had mostly worked the ice off of herself and was knocking the Dragonborn around, but not doing any major damage. Weiss was adding attacks to the mix here and there, but was otherwise out of the fight, preferring to watch for an opening. I ran up and slashed at the Dragonborn, rage from getting wounded making my strike hit harder. He blocked it with his shield, turning his attention back to Ruby, who was the biggest threat currently. He realized how his odds faired, so he unleashed another shout. "Su… Grah Dun!" It was as if the Dragonborn's arms gained new life. When Ruby moved to strike, he parried her lifting the scythe. When Weiss shot down from the heavens in a mad strike at him, he knocked her sword aside and kicked her away. My strikes and jabs fell upon steel and iron before they even got close to him. Even when Ruby got a hit on him, it did little in the way of impeding him. If this keeps up, we might lose… We went all out to counteract his newfound skill. I swung Gambol Shroud at him. Clang. Ruby launched Crescent Rose. Thud. Weiss shot down from the ceiling. Clang-thud. After we all struck at almost the exact same time, I was staggered, Ruby was out of breath from the swing and Weiss was behind me on the floor. It appears that the "clang-thud" that she got was a parry and shield bash that dislodged her from her place as the one who lies in wait. She stood up and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, a green thing appeared in her hand. She clenched her fist and thrust her hand upwards. Almost instantly, Weiss was covered in a very pale blue, almost white, aura. She then fearlessly charged the Dragonborn on foot, charging Myrtenaster with dust. Naturally, the Dragonborn blocked the attack, but because of the dust charge, he got a face full of fire. Out of rage, he swung his sword, from low to high, knocking off the spell that Weiss had cast on herself. She remained unharmed. But on the return strike, his attack met flesh. His sword caught her in between breasts and went to the left side of her rib cage, ending where it did. Weiss staggered backwards and fell on her bottom. She was clearly stunned that her spell had failed her. "Skyforge Steel will beat Ironflesh every time." The Dragonborn commented as Weiss staggered backwards. Ruby attacked the Dragonborn while his back was turned. He moved his shield to block it in time, but nowhere near as fast as it was after the shout. When Ruby's strike met the Dragonborn's shield, he was staggered. "Su… Grah Dun!" Rang out as he regained balance. Here we go again. Out of the corner of my eye, Yang showed up. She was moving slowly and grimacing with each step. She pulled a green bottle out of her pocket and drank it, her whole body glowing green. With that her motions became faster and she didn't look as tired. But she wasn't done with potions yet. She pulled out a red one, which I could tell instantly was a health potion. Yellow tendrils of smoke spun around her as she downed it. She pushed herself off the wall she had been leaning on for support. "Got room for one more?"

She didn't wait for an answer before throwing herself fist first into the fight. The Dragonborn moved into a further defensive than before. But, luckily for him, we had to conserve our dust, so Yang stopped firing Ember Celica. This made defending for the Dragonborn that much easier, but it wasn't enough to make up for the fact that he is fighting an extra fighter, and a good one at that. Yang threw a punch, which bounced off the Dragonborn's shield, but not without a massive force transfer. The Dragonborn responded with a shout aimed at Yang, Ruby and I. "Yol… Toor Shul!" A large ball of fire flew towards us, passing over with blazing heat. My clothes were instantly set ablaze by the heat and I collapsed to the ground and rolled around trying to put it out. By the time I rolled once, the fire immediately stopped. I heard a cry of pain and saw that Ruby got slashed as she tried to put out the fire, but she was patting herself. Another shout of pain slammed my ears. Yang had tried to hit the Dragonborn in retaliation for slashing Ruby, but was cut as well due to her state of incoherence. Ruby went wide-eyed when she held up her hand which was covered in her own blood. Yang freaked when she saw Ruby bleeding and threw herself back into the fray, much to the delight of the Dragonborn. I shot at the Dragonborn's shield to distract him momentarily while Yang went in for the strike. The punch connected, throwing the Dragonborn back a bit. He got to one knee and said "Is that it?" Yang bristled with anger in response. "My turn now." He said, preparing to shout again. "Krii… Lun Aus!" Although it was aimed at Yang, I instantly felt my wounds hurt more and all the energy flowed from my body. Blood flowed from body at an increased rate, causing me to lose focus on the sword swinging overtop of my head. Yang kept trying to fight the Dragonborn, but only ended up getting herself more and more wounded. Her yellow clothes were stained red from her blood. Weiss fell from the ceiling in a heap, all the energy she had given to holding herself up was exhausted. I crawled over to Ruby, who was still staring at her bloodied hand. I grabbed her right shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze partnered with an attempted smile. A shout made me turn to the fight that was still going on. "Faas… Ru Maar!" Yang didn't even had the energy to run away this time. She fell to her knees and fell to her left like a sack of potatoes. Ruby crawled over to Yang and hugged to try and comfort her while she was filled with fear. Ruby's tears splattered Yang's bloodied shirt. It seemed like seconds after the shout that the Dragonborn stood before all of us while we were cluttered on the floor. "I'm sorry it had to end this way, but Tamriel needs this scroll." He said to us as he prepared another shout. This one was new. "Iiz... Slen Nus!" I fell unconscious from the instant chill.

I came to and saw an endless tunnel. My arms and legs were slow to respond and even then they hardly worked. Pain shot through the places where I got cut. I saw the lever in the center much like the lifts that we went through. Blood from all of us coated the floor. The Dragonborn stood over our unconscious bodies, but I didn't have the energy to do anything about it. He opened his mouth and I braced for the shout, but he didn't shoot out a Thu'um at us.

"So, the four of you are still alive? Good."

"What's it to you?" Yang said weakly, but the anger still bled through.

"Because I was worried that I sent you four on an early trip to Sovngarde." The Dragonborn said.

"It would take more than that to send Yang to Sovngarde." Ruby responded.

"Considering what I did you you four back in the Tower of Mzark? All of you were a breath away from death. So consider yourselves lucky." The Dragonborn said, sternly.

"You were serious about the 'even if I have to kill you' part." I commented.

"Now then." The Dragonborn paused to remove the Elder Scroll from his back and hold it in front of him "This scroll is the one that you think will return you to your world, correct?"

"Yeah." Weiss said, certain that she was right.

"Well then, it appears that even in your near death state, your stupidity still reigns supreme." The Dragonborn said, harshly.

"Wha-" Weiss said, uncomprehendingly. "I am sure that this scroll will take us home."

The Dragonborn heaved a sigh "You realize that there are numerous Elder Scrolls, right?"

"There's what?" Yang asked, angrily as she stared at Weiss.

"You heard me." The Dragonborn said, re-securing the scroll to his back.

"That would've been nice to know, Weiss." Yang said, false stability to her voice.

"So, now that we've got that cleared up, I've got to get going. It's a long trek to the top of The Throat of the World." The Dragonborn said.

"Yeah, whatever." Yang said, waving him off in spirit. She continued to tear into Weiss until she used up all of her energy.

"So, I guess no matter how many outworlders I face, none of them can surpass me, even in groups…" The Dragonborn said under his breath.

We all ignored the Dragonborn and left him to inflate his own ego, because we all know that we weren't at full strength at all.

"Even the others couldn't do anything...interesting…" The Dragonborn said, under his breath.

The Dragonborn quickly pulled the lever and used a shout to get out before it would be impossible to leave. "Wuld… Nah Kest!" The platform picked up speed as it rushed to the top. Everyone else is unconscious. I need to drag them to safety. In my condition? No way. They would do it for you. Of course they would, but I am just as bad as them at this point. No, you aren't. You only have a few cuts on you. Those "few cuts" are bleeding heavily. Not as bad as Yang's or Ruby's. My inner argument was interrupted by the platform coming to a stop. Now. Go open the gate and drag them out. I pulled myself onto my stomach and crawled over. Black spots danced before my eyes and my head felt lighter than air. I am going to pass out. But not before I pull the lever. I finally made it to the lever and pulled it down. The gates swung open with mechanical perfection. My eyes were squinting now as I forced them open so I could continue to help my unconscious teammates. I looked at them and they seemed to be so far away and getting further. They blurred into random colors againt the brass color of the gates. I can't make it… I turned to face out of the door, but only my head responded. There walked four figures. I knew them, but I couldn't place where they are from. None of them looked like Brynjolf or the Dragonborn, so I didn't know who they could be. One of them saw me and pointed me out for the other three. Almost as if rehearsed, they all ran towards us. I raised one hand and motioned for them to come before my head and hand hit the ground as my energy ran out. My eyes closed as the four figures arrived. I could only hope I was in good hands, but somehow I knew I was.