Vee lets out a grunt and works to get to her feet as Soul Reaver comes over and places a hand on her shoulder nad healing magic flows into her.  It clearly bolsters her spirit, though Soul Reaver can sense that it seems as if some of the healing seems to not be flowing into her...but into something within her.  She shakes her head slightly.

"Im not entirely sure.  It was as if he ripped something out of me.  If it was in fact a piece of him it...explains some things for certain."

It is at this point though that the combined assaults of Gulgrim, Kitharsis, and Phaerys all collectively strike the barrier surrounding Darkness.  The sandstone swords strike the barrier, richocheting off and spinning through the air as the violent tremors unleashed by Phaerys explosive slam into it alongside the balefire and fists of the enraged Gulgrim.  The barrier pulses and shimmers, seeming to continue to hold, though some faint cracks are visible along the surface.

Meanwhile, the fifth sandstone sword veers off into the inky blackness, zooming towards the hidden swell of power before seeming to collide with an invisible barrier with a loud pinging sound.

Darkness smiles, gazing at Kitharsis.

"You wish to see it? Very well..."

Darkness thrusts his hands out to the side as the surrounding darkness seems to start flowing into him, revealing more of the surrounding area.  The Companions can see they stand on a large platform, a brief glance around and behind would reveal that the platform seems to be in the center of a large city.  Buildings seemingly crafted out of shimmering ebony tower around them, the sounds of battle fainly audible behind them.  Roughly 20 to 30 feet behind Darkness they can now see what could be considered a large circular pool.  Intricate ironwork seems to run around the edge, pulsing runes etched into the metal.  This is clearly the source of tremendous power they felt previously.  Near the edge of the platform, roughly opposite of the pool, lays what looks to be a large golden crystal, cracks visible across the surface and a chunk seemingly missing. They have little time to dwell on it though as Darkness suddenly brings his palms slamming together and the shield surrounding him explodes with a violent wave of force.

"You wish for a fight?  Perhaps she will finally deign to make her appearance."

His human looking form then seems to melt and then a split second later start to reform, growing in size until a figure roughly 30-40 feet tall towers over the Companions.  Four massive arms extend from his torso, two of them (one on each side) wield large scimitars seemingly crafted out of some sort of black metal while his other two hands appear to be empty.  In the blink of an eye both blades swing down, aiming directly for the Warboss as the palms of the other two hands face towards Phaerys and Kitharsis and beams of inky blackness blast towards them.  At the same time Darkness raises his face to the sky and a large black orb fires skyward.  A split second later smaller black orbs rain down from above and towards each of the Companions.

Vee wastes no time seeing all of this, getting to her feet and concentrating for a moment.  Her eyes open and she frowns before clenching her teeth and concentrating once more before 3 more "Vees" appear around her.  Something seems to be off about them though, their appearances flickering and almost translucent.  Raising a hand towards Darkness she fires off a large shard of ice.

Kitharsis is attempting a bit of trickery with his swords.  The fifth sword is seeking out the source of the power behind Darkness.  He is counting on Darkness being distracted by Gulgrim and his other four charged swords battering against the barrier.

The four swords attacking aren't just a distraction.  They are infused with quite a bit of his power, and pack quite a punch.

So much talking. Not enough fighting. Gulgrim's temper is only growing worse the longer his opponents hide behind shields and refuse to join a proper fight. His form continues to swell in size as he loses his usual grip on his scale in his frustration.

"Stoopid. Panzee. Gits. Stop hidin'. And fight! WAAAAAAAGH!" Gulgrim accentuates each phrase with a thunderous slam of force into the shield, green lightning dancing across his frame as he hammers away at the barrier between himself and his foe, Fists like Trukks slam repeatedly against the barrier, and roiling balefire pours from the Avatar of Gork and Mork's maw like a river of emerald hate. Any sense of strategy or or the usual Kunning of the Warboss has been thrown out the window in the face of his mounting frustration at his enemy's cowardice, Brutal Kunnin' giving way to Kunnin' Brutality, Gork's fury transcendent in the Avatar of the twin gods.

In this moment, the task of thinking or making battle plans belongs to others; Gulgrim is a being of pure fury and aggression, unwilling to back down until he has finally drawn his foe into the fight and punished them for their weakness.

Soul Reaver lowers his eyes, takes a deep breath, and then sets his jaw firm.  The stoic mask returns to his face.

"Then we proceed into the maw blindly.  It would not be the first time."

He hefts Blooddrinker in both hands and heads for the portal after Jharm.  His Daemonic troops fall in line behind him without him even having to utter a word.

When he arrives, he witnesses Gulgrim bashing away against Darkness' shield.  He starts forward in alarm when Darkness seizes... something from Vee's chest, but he is too slow to stop him.  Whatever it was, it must have been painful indeed, judging by the way she was grasping her head.  After her disappearance, Jharm, too, is banished.

Sensing power building within Darkness, his first instinct is to charge into the fray, but he holds himself back.  He had to check on Vee first.  They couldn't well afford to lose another warrior, and Vee might know what it was Darkness had stolen from her.

Keeping his eyes on Darkness, Soul Reaver sidles over toward Vee, quietly whispering words of magic to help anchor himself to this place in this Plane - he did not want to find himself simply banished form the room like Jharm had been.  The Daemon troops fan out around the periphery of Darkness' shield, hanging back slightly to give Gulgrim room, but ready to strike once ordered.

Soul Reaver arrives next to Vee and lowers himself into a crouch.

"Vee, what happened to you?  What did Darkness do?"

His brow furrows as he places his gauntleted hand on her shoulder.  Healing magic flows into Vee, trying to find any damage that may need repairing.

As Gulgrim charges through the portal all he sees before him is the 3 Shaiton leaders and a shadowy form standing in front of them, seemingly devoid of any features other then being of human height.  The Orkish avatar barrels forward directly at the 4 figures.  Calmly the shadowy form raises a hand, aiming its palm at the barreling Warboss.  A shield of shadow surround the 4 shaitons as the Companions on the other side can sense a serious flux of power.  Gulgrim slams against the shield, the purplish surface flickers and pulses as it absorbs the phenomenal power behind the rage-filled attack.

"Ahh I was hoping you might be the first one through.  You and your kind intrigue me greatly.  Such power and strength but sadly seemingly without much direction.  With said direction you could be almost unstoppable, even more powerful then my Shaiton."

The three Shaiton look at Darkness, slight confusion flickering over their faces at this statement.  It is at this time though that Vee comes through the portal, followed by Jharm and then the rest of the Companions. Darkness chuckles as he gazes at Vee and then Jharm and then the others.

"Ahh and the rest of them finally decide to arrive. Seraphim, it has been quite a while since we last...met."

His gaze then locks onto Vee.

"It is as I thought.  It was faint and hard to detect for some reason but now this close it is clear.  You have something of mine and I demand it to be returned...at once."

Darkness extends a hand in the direction of Vee.  A faint tendril of shadow extends from his palm and flies directly at the woman, striking her in the chest.  Her body shakes and quivers as she unleashes a howl of pain.  A sound like something tearing is heard through the area as Darkness pulls his hand back firmly, a orb seeming to slip out of Velgeims chest and flies into Darkness' palm and disappears into him.  Inhaling deeply he lets out something akin to a pleasureful sigh.

"Ahh there it is...the last bit of me finally back where it belongs. So love..."

As he is speaking he pauses mid-sentence as two orbs, roughly where a humans eyes would be, flare bright red and Darkness grabs his head.

"What....what is this?  S...such images, such sensations!"

After a moment he seems to steady himself, his "eyes" still glowing bright red as he gazes at the Companions.

"Ahh...I see it all now.  The truth of things."

Venagon raises a hand towards Darkness.

"My lord, is all well?"

Darkness lets out a chuckle, a grin appearing over his shadowy face, glowing bright red like his eyes.

"Well?  Oh yes...more then I would have expected.  There is little need for foot soldiers in this fight nad whats to come.  See to the fight outside...all of you."

Bringing his hands up a shadowy orb surround each fo the 3 Shaiton and Jharm and with a gesture all four disappear.  A moment later Jharms voice is heard in each fo the companions minds

"My friends, I have no idea what is going on but I am alongside my troops outside the fortress.  At this moment there isnt much I can do directly.  Fight on and should the chance arise I will join you as soon as I can."

Darkness simply lets out another laugh and gives a beckoning gesture towards the remaining Companions, Vee now laying on the ground and clutching her head.

"Now....Companions...show me your all and die...or side with me and we shall remake all anew."

The Companions can feel massive power flowing into Darkness from somewhere a distance behind him.