Levi took a quick glance over his minion sheet to check everyone's health. Lash was the closest to dying, at 21% and still going down, but he was also the most reckless and in the most dangerous position. Levi doubted that Lash would even bother obeying if he ordered the soul-seeker to retreat.

Still, for a moment, Levi began to think this was going to be doable.

Unfortunately, it was then that things stopped going according to plan.

As one, the twin plus harpies launched themselves from their shelf, lightning crackling across their feathers in waves of visible blue light that left a thick, crackling trail behind them as they circled the entire room in opposing directions, swooping up or down, weaving their light-trails over and around the other's.

There it was, the element they'd been hoping to avoid. And unlike the stunning wave style of the solo boss's special attack, this didn't look like something they could evade.

"Stop them!"

Lash immediately rushed to intercept the nearest of the twin bosses. He reached out with his long thin tendrils, grabbing the silvery harpy around the waist. Instead of pulling it out of its path, though, its momentum was too strong. It dragged Lash into the line of blue light trailing behind it.

Nothing particular happened. Whatever the special attack was, it clearly wasn't going to do its Thing until it was finished. But that also meant the two harpies Lash had been fighting were free to follow and continue their assault.

Iris dropped Stunner off on the ledge, then dove into the group of minions spread out on the ground.

A moment later, Skarm went flying past as though launched from a cannon. Two was next, wound up by a rapid spin and hurled with uncanny accuracy, the gremlins slammed into the targeted darker harpy boss one after another, followed closely by Iris herself.

Before the harpy could free itself of the gremlins, Iris grabbed all three in a big shadowy tentacle hug. She wasn't able to snare its wings, but she did provide a stable platform from which the gremlins could slash and stab to their hearts' content.

But nothing they did seemed to slow the steadily building power cycling through the pattern. The harpy bosses didn't slow or stop. They flew in smaller and smaller circles, drawing their weave in a closing net that covered the entire ceiling of the room.

Or, rather, the entire main room.

"Change of plan, everyone get onto the ledge, fast!"

Pierce sprang into action at once, rearing up to plant his front legs on the ledge like a spiky ramp.

Maggie slithered up immediately, hissing gleefully as she took the opportunity to wrap her fiery coils around the harpy Flomper had locked in place.

Firelord hadn't made it, Skarm and Two were up on the boss with Iris, and Lash was... oh. Lash tumbled from the air, his massive single eyeball deflating under the assault and his tendrils going limp as his health reached 0%. He hit the ground in a floppy heap like a popped novelty balloon.

Cen and Centoo scurried up the Pierce-ramp as the attack overhead drew closer and closer to its conclusion.

"Iris! Get them over here now!"

But too late. The harpies had reached the center, grabbing hold of one another's claws they spun around in a tight circle, the power buildup humming and crackling in the air, the hair on Levi's arms standing up straight in the charged atmosphere of the room...

Then the entire disk of energy slammed down with a resounding sizzle with an underlying tone that was almost musical.

It washed harmlessly over the four flying harpies, but Iris, Skarm, and Two were straight in its path. It tore them from the sky, hurling them to the ground with the force of a thunderstrike.

Pierce hadn't even started to pull himself up onto the ledge when it crashed into him with a stunning force even his plus status couldn't protect him against. He convulsed once, flopping sideways, then lay sprawled and twitching on the floor.

Maggie hissed darkly, her coils tightening on the harpy she currently restrained. Her scales shone red hot as she twisted so the spikes down her back stabbed into the unfortunate target of her ire.

Iris lay in a heap of limp shadow tendrils for a moment, then one of the bosses fired a single focused salvo into her main eye-body, tearing away the last of her remaining health. She deflated much like Lash had, falling flat and deformed atop the stunned and unmoving forms of the two gremlins. Levi brought up their minion screen manually, since he couldn't use the focus view with them hidden behind another creature.

Luckily for the gremlins, though not so fortunate for the long term survival of the team, the silver and dark harpy bosses ignored them and focused their full attention back on bringing down Pierce.

The centipede still had 20% of his health, but not for long. Without the ability to deflect the twin bosses' coordinated attacks, the number steadily dropped while he remained stunned and immobilized.

Meanwhile, the standard harpies had regrouped, and while the ledge was a safe location tucked into the wall away from the main room's giant lightning stun-net, it also didn't provide anywhere to dodge or evade. The harpies had them pinned there unless they wanted to risk the jump down - to where the ground still glowed blue and sparked occasionally.

Without Pierce to shield them, this was going to get dicey very fast.

Luckily, they did have one advantage. Namely, the giant magma snake currently crushing their target harpy into submission.

Levi looked around to see what they still had to work with. He glanced at the wall for Frosty, but found her white fluffy form crumpled in the corner of the room. She'd not been safe, swept down and stunned by the overpowering attack like the others.

Levi shuddered to imagine what would have happened if they hadn't been able to get to cover. If they'd all been stunned, it was unlikely any of them would have survived to wake up.

That left him with two currently-stunned but potentially useful gremlins - the lightning on the floor was beginning to subside, - two stone centipedes with under half their health, (106 and 88, respectively; 43% and 33%) and a mirror sprite. Shadevine was still latched onto their target harpy, helping Maggie drain its health as rapidly as possible, and Stunner... well...

Stunner galloped around in a circle on the ledge to build up speed, then launched himself off into space. With a bellow of triumph, he bit down on the nearest of the four standard harpies.

There ensued a momentary scramble, while the harpy screeched and tried to dislodge the semi-solid horse-dragon, while said horse-dragon did his level best to draw up his hooves and entangle his body entirely around the unfortunate target harpy.

The eqralne didn't weigh much, but the harpies weren't lightweight. They could fly, but with an extra forty pounds of dragon-horse hanging off its legs, this harpy was losing the fight with gravity, slowly but surely.

Level 9

(Steelfeather Harpy)

Health 76%

This one had ended up on the wrong end of Lash more than a few times, it seemed.

They were down a significant chunk of their team, pinned down on a ledge constantly peppered with enemy attacks, and all the other enemy harpies remained above 90% health, but it could have been worse.

Maggie and Shadevine had to be getting close. The harpy would be in taming range any minute now.

Levi joined Cen and Centoo at the front, blocking as many attacks as he could swat out of the air with his blades to buy time for those behind him.

And it was enough.

"Yes!" Gordon shouted, and Levi's dwindling hopes rekindled as a moment later their new ally joined the fray.

Jayke: Level 9

(Steelfeather Harpy)

Health 20%