(CE/UF HQ)
HP AI: These acronyms are beginning to bore me.
Seth: Shut up!
HP AI: You stopped my evil plans!
Seth: So what?
HP AI: Gah!
Adrien: Could you all shut up?!
Seth: What's the plan?
Adrien: Well, we gotta stop this invasion by the unholy imperium that is the Realm of Evil.
Dei: ~ And how do we do that?
Robogerbil: Natalie Portman will save us!
Dei: *groan* ~ Not again.
(Seth attempts to smack some sense into Robogerbil, which turns out to be quite useless, as Robogerbil is obviously metal.)
Seth: (Clutches hand in pain) Ouch.
Adrien: Well, they gotta have some sort of portal or gateway to their realm.
HP AI: Isn't it obvious you moron?! Close the gate and the invasion will stop!
Dei: ~ It isn't that easy. When we shut down the portal, what's to keep that Dark Army from opening it again?
Robogerbil: Who kills the forces of evil undead the best? Bruce Campbell!
Everyone: Shuddup!
Adrien: We gotta shut down both sides of the gate.
Dei: ~ Won't it be incredibly hard to get into the Realm of Evil, survive long enough to close the gate, and then escape?! And another thing, how will we escape once we close the gate?!
Seth: I have an idea.
Adrien: Yeah?
Seth: Think of the portal not a one gateway, but two.
Dei: ~ What does that mean?
Seth: The passage between the worlds is like a hallway, and at either end is a door, one to each world.
Adrien: I get it, we don't have to enter the Realm of Evil, we can just close their end from inside the portal.
Seth: Well, not quite.
Dei: ~ What do you mean?
Seth: From what I can assertain, the original portal is a one way type deal.
Dei: ~ Then how do the commanders of the Dark Army report to their commanders in the other realm?
Seth: I've seen Nighteye and his like use the power of the original portal make a small gate to their world.
Robogerbil: So let me get this straight, we gotta open a portal to the the evil dimension, go into their portal, close it from their end and get back here and close it from our end?!!
Seth: Basically . . .
Robogerbil: That's why we need Bruce Campbell!
Everyone: SHUT UP!
*knock knock*
Dei: ~ I wonder who that could be.
(Dei opens the door to see a rather large block of explosives attached to a Texas Instruments Speak n' Say circa 1985. A look of horror crosses her feline face when she reads the message.)
600 SECONDS UNTIL DETONATION
Dei: ~ A BOMB!!
Adrien: What?! (Sees the bomb) There's enough explosive to wipe out most of this block!
Speak n' Say: A - Gift - From - Night - eye. See - You - In - Hell - Biz - atches!
= = = = = =
Part 1: Off the Edge of the World
= = = = = =
(Outside Irvine)
aNighteye: Why are you here?!
Zombie: You said put bomb down and - uhhh
aNighteye: I told you to protect the bomb so they couldn't defuse it!
Zombie: I would've gotten blown up.
aNighteye: THAT'S THE POINT! YOU'RE EXPENDABLE! As I shall now demostate.
*ZAP*
(CE/UF HQ)
[600 Seconds]
Adrien: I say we strike now!
Seth: What?!
Adrien: Use the bomb to blow away all the guards outside the main portal. If we can destroy the guards, we can hold the only bottleneck into this world!
[579 Seconds]
Dei: ~ Then we gotta move!
Robogerbil: Yeah! And quick!
Adrien: Thank you Mr. Obvious.
[554 Seconds]
Seth: Um, quick question, what can we use to get away before we get incinerated by the blast?!
(They sit there thinking.)
[496 Seconds]
Robogerbil: I can use my robot strength to chuck the bomb with sufficient force so we will survive the blast!
Dei: ~ You're a robot?! I thought you were just a regular gerbil wrapped in tin foil.
Seth: Yeah, me too.
[485 Seconds]
Robogerbil: Heellloooo! My name is Robogerbil! ROBO gerbil!
Adrien: SHUT UP! We have a ticking time bomb here ready to reduce us to atoms the size of Pauly Shore's acting career!!
Seth: He had one to begin with?
Robogerbil: Before or after "BioDome?"
[452 Seconds]
(Outside the portal.)
aNighteye: (Looking down at the ashes of the Zombie) I kinda enjoyed that. I should roast my own troops more often.
*beep beep* *beep beep*
aNighteye: Huh? (Checks his beeper) Diablo needs me. (He walks into the portal.)
(7 minutes later)
[32 Seconds]
Robogerbil: We've reached the optimum distace to both be safe and catch a damn cool fireball.
[28 Seconds]
Adrien: Throw it! NOW!
[26 Seconds]
Robogerbil: I gotta charge my circuits and valves and um, stuff.
[24 Seconds]
Dei: ~ How long will that take?!
[22 Seconds]
Robogerbil: 30 seconds.
[20 Seconds]
Adrien: 30! We'll dead for ten seconds!
[18 Seconds]
Seth: JUST THROW IT!
Robogerbil: Ahh, what the hell.
[15 Seconds]
(Robogerbil throws the bomb as far as his robotic arm can muster.)
[10 Seconds]
(Too bad his robotic arm was still attached to the bomb.)
Robogerbil: My arm!
[7 Seconds]
(The others watch as the bomb and his arm fly gracefully through the air.)
[5 Seconds]
*thwack*
(The bomb smacks on top of a demon guard, who stands up and his eye widen as he sees what he's in for.)
Speak n' Say: Now -
[3 Seconds]
Speak n' Say: You -
[2 Seconds]
Speak n' Say: Die.
[1 Second]
[0 Seconds]
*KKRRRRAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGIIIIISSSSSTETETEEEERRBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM*
(The explosion rips through the ranks of the demon guards and vaporizes anything in its path.)
Adrien, Dei and Seth: Ooooooh. Ahhhhhh.
Robogerbil: MY ARM!
(They sit back as the smoke clears, and the portal is still standing.)
Adrien: Those things can sure take a whippin'.
Seth: Is it just me, or is that rock moving?
Dei: ~ Why, yes. But how?
Robogerbil: My scanners indicate that the rock is moving in a direct line toward the portal.
Seth: (A light turns on in his brain) Dear god, we gotta get outta here!
Adrien: Why, what's going on?
(The portal begins to shudder violently and the members of the Unnamed Faction feel a massive weight on themselves.)
Dei: ~ What is happening?!
(The portal begins to exert more force)
(Dei is lifted off the ground and is sucked into the portal)
Adrien: NO! (Adrien jumps for a nearby tree branch to hold unto, but to was too late.)
(Adrien is next to be thrown into the dark abyss.)
(Seth jumps and grabs hold of a much more stable rock which was embedded in the ground.)
Robogerbil: My stabilizers have given out! Tell Natalie Portman I love her!
(Robogerbil is absorbed into the gateway)
Seth: Goodbye world. I will return.
(He looks into the black chasm)
Seth: I am on the way . . . my friends.
He lets go of the rock and falls into the void . . .
= = = = = =
Part 2: The Darkness Beyond
= = = = = =
Everything was so blurry and really dark. They everything came into focus.
Seth stands up to see a landscape that is like some sort of nightmare, except he was awake. He looks down at the brunt and charred ground.
"That bomb must've so powerful that-"
"Seth!"
Seth turns to see Adrien, who is already up.
"You're still alive!"
"Yep, take more than a portal gone haywire to take me out."
"How are the others?"
"Dei's over there looking at the sky. Robogerbil is scanning the terrain to find out where we are."
Seth turns to Adrien. "Isn't it obvious? We're stuck in the Realm of Evil."
Adrien admitted the truth, no matter how much he didn't want to belive. "Yeah, I know. But where in the Realm of Evil are we?"
"I have no idea."
Robogerbil runs over to the other two.
"My scans are complete," announces the robotic rodent, "and though we are in another dimension, we are still in the same geographic location."
Seth looks to them. "Outside Irvine."
"~Well, how'd we get here and how are we gonna get home?~" asks Dei, walking over to the others.
"I'd say that the explosion warped the overall alignment of the portal."
"~Huh?~"
"The bomb screwed up the portal which sucked us into it." Explains Adrien.
"Why didn't we except this to happen?!" Robogerbil asks, quite miffed.
"I expected that Nighteye would have used a more stable gateway," conceides Seth.
"'Expected?!!!' We're stuck in this god forsaken-"
"~Hold it, Robo. We'll get outta here, I hope."
Adrien turns to the dark and mangled ruins that once were Irvine. "If we find a way outta here, it'll most likely be in there. Let's go."
The members of thr CE/UF walk off toward the foreboding graveyard that was Irvine.
- - - - - -
Meanwhile, in the blasted remains of appears to be Dunkin Donuts, several figures rummage for some lunch.
"Make sure they're mostly intact and recently deceased! I want some internal liquids to dunk my donuts in!" Yells one in an ear wrenching voice. His tone gives away that he is some sort of figure with great authority.
"We're draining 'em as fast as we can!" explains another, fearful his superior.
"Well, um . . . GO QUICKER!"
"Yes, my lord."
A rustling through debris is heard a another figure enters the ruins. This one appears to be a messenger of some sort.
"Master, I bring you news," announces the messenger.
"Is it good news?" asks the one with the most grating voice.
"It depends on your outlook, sir"
"Then out with it!"
"We have newcomers from the other world here and-"
"WHAT?!!"
"Yes, there are 4 of them. A female humanoid cat, a male elf, a lizardman, and a robot that looks like a gerbil."
"Hmmm. These must have been the ones that father told me of. Go now and inform me of their movements. I need to know where they're headed."
"Of course, master." After a mandatory bow, the messenger strolls off.
"Making traps is what I do best."
One of the demons searching the rubble bursts into song.
"o/` Spiderman! Spiderman! Does whatever a spider can! - "
"SILENCE! I HATE THAT SONG!!!"
- - - - - -
The four members of the Chaotic Element/Unnamed Faction walks amongst the burnt, wrecked, and overall destroyed buildings that used to be Irvine.
Robogerbil looks around, then down at the socket that once held his left arm.
He wasn't going to end up scrap, not here anyways. There are still so many more Pokemon to kill and he has to get his love, Natalie Portman.
"How the heck are we gettin' outta here?!" He asks, rather impatient.
Dei'nar'Ys turns to Robogerbil.
"~Isn't it obvious? A high explosive caused this mess. All we gotta do chuck another one into this end of the portal and its reverses itself and we go home."
A happy expression speads across Robogerbil's face. "Of course! All we need to make a bomb! That should be too much trouble."
"If it were only that easy," admits Adrien.
"Whaddaya mean?" asks Robotgerbil, trying not to lose hope twice in one day.
"I'll be blunt when I say this," Adrien turn toward Robo, "It just won't work."
"Wha?"
"I've dealt with portals before, and while I've never seen it, I have heard of portal spells going awry like what just happened to us. In order to reverse the porrtal AND survive, we need to stabilize it."
"~What'll stabilize it?" Inquires Dei.
Adrien thinks aloud, "Well, some spells can, but we'd need to find a very powerful wizard."
"~Any other ways?"
"There are some artifacts, but I suggest we look quickly. This place has an odd feeling to it."
Seth silent so far in the conversation turn to the others. "This place can twist even the most noble man's soul."
Adrien gets a forlorn look on his face. "Well, we must trudge on forward. We have no other choice."
Dei's ears twitch. "~Is it just me, of do you guys also feel like we're being watched.?~"
- - - - - -
Under a blood red sky, is the throne room of Diablo, one of the Prime Evils, master of all he serveys and some that he hasn't. The Nighteye of that world, enters and procedes to his master, who is sitting.
The dark one turns to his disciple.
"You know of what has happened?"
"Yes, my master."
"You do know what I plan to do?"
"No."
"I plan on sending your boy to oversee this. I wish to know his true worth."
"He is of my-"
"One's heritage does not matter! It is deeds that matter."
"Of course, master."
"I've sent a messenger to him. If he succeeds, he is worthy to continue as one of my servants. If he fails . . ."
"I know, master."
"Excellent, I expect nothing less but absolute victory of you and so shall I expect the same from your son."
"Of course, master."
- - - - - -
Two red eyes watch the members of the CE/UF stroll thought the broken city.
Who am I?
One of the few left.
Why am I still here?
I don't know.
Where am I headed?
Straight to Hell.
- - - - - -
A red sky, a blackened city, a dead land.
Adrien beheld at what appeared to be the typical image of a ruined world. Such things have been chronicled in stories for ages, but this was all too real.
Dei'nar'Ys had a sad look on her face and staring down at her feet walking on the ground.
Robogerbil was gazing at his 8x10 glossy of Natalie Portman.
And Seth just looked into the remains of Irvine, his eyes cold from the terrible things he's endured and done.
"My foot!"
Adrien walks to Robogerbil.
"What is it?!"
"My foot! It's stuck!"
Robogerbil lifts his foot and some strange goo is clinging his feet to the ground.
"What is this stuff?"
"Some sort of spider web, I would believe."
Seth runs over and he hears a squish. He looks down to see his feet are now also stuck.
"Wait a sec. ITS A TRAP!" Exclaims Adrien.
"Quite right you are!" Says a terrible grating voice. "BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
Robgerbil looks at the two glowing eyes hanging in the shadows.
"Oh crap."
= = = = = =
Part 3: Facing a New World
= = = = = =
Beneath the red stained sky, the creature laughed at the poor souls caught in his trap.
"You really think you could come into our domain unnoticed."
"You know," Seth remarked, "You're voice sounds kinda familiar. Have I killed you yet?"
The creature turns to Seth. "You've met my father."
A bell goes off in Seth head.
"Nighteye."
"Correct. My name is Cralagh."
"I see the family resemblence now. You know, both being hideous monsters and all. Atleast good ol' dad has the common sense to wear a hood ALL the time." Seth retorts.
"I'll have to make sure that your death to far more painful than the others."
Robogerbil waves his stump. "Um, question. If we're stuck here, just how are you gonna get us to your dungeon of evil or something like that?"
Cralagh got a strange look on his face. "Hmmm. Well, I was- Nah. Or how about- Nope."
"You didn't put much thought into this, did you?" Asked Adrien.
"Well, I . . . No." Cralagh admitted sadly.
Everyone is kinda suprised and Dei just falls over.
Robogerbil looks at Dei, whose left foot is hanging in the air, twitching. "Your anime tendancies are kicking in again."
"Its gonna be one of those days." Groans Cralagh.
"I'll just have to end it for you then." Seth states, rather confident.
"I got it!" Exclaims Cralagh. "I'm going to saw your feet off at the ankles!"
"You just had to threaten the scary spider demon, DIDN'T YOU?!!" Robogerbil scolds Seth. "I'm already missing one limb! I don't want to lose anymore!"
"Hardly. If he gets near any of us, I'll chop him into bite size chunks." Says Seth, bandishing his blade at Cralagh.
Cralagh looks around. "Hmmm, I'm going to need a saw. I'll be right back". Cralagh skitters away to find a saw.
Dei stands up and looks at her feet. "~Hey, guys. I'm not stuck in that sticky spider webbing stuff!~"
"We must think of a way to get out of here before our friend returns." Says Adrien.
Seth turns to his comrades. "I have an idea." He takes his halberd and chops off Robogerbil's other arm.
"Agghhh!" Robogerbil screams. "Why the heck did you do that?!"
"Simple." Seth calmly explains.
Seth takes Robogerbil's arm and uses it as a lever to pry his feet from the sticky ground after which he jumps to safe ground. He tosses the limb to Adrien who in turn does the same.
"Let's get outta here." Adrien says bluntly.
"What about my arm?!" Asks an angry Robogerbil.
"We've got bigger problems. Much bigger . . ."
"Indeed you do. Indeed you do." Says an unfamiar voice.
"Who goes there?! Come into the light and show yourself!" yells Adrien.
"I'd rather not. I am a friend. Is it true that you are of next world?"
"If you mean the world currently under siege, yes." answers Seth, "Who are you?"
"I am the one who has seen it all from the beginning."
"How are you untouched by this land's evil?" Inquires Adrien.
"Who says I'm untouched?" The cloaked figure walks into the light. A hood shrouds the being's face. Two glowing red eyes are easily visible.
"~What are you?~" Asks Dei.
"What I am is not important. Do you wish to go home?"
Robogerbil stands up. "Dear God YES! I wanna go home."
"I see."
"~Can you get us back?~"
"I can. Take this." The figure Adrien a metal cross with some weird writing in it. "Throw this into the portal. It will fix the portal for 30 seconds, then destroy it."
"But what is your name?" Says Seth.
"You do not need to know my name. Please trust me."
"This could be just another trick from Diablo." warns Adrien. "We must test him. But how?"
"I got it!" Announces Robogerbil. "Answer this question: Name all the members of Nsync!"
"Um, I don't know! They suck!"
"He's clean." Concludes Robogerbil.
Adrien looks at the figure. "I'm satisfied." The other nod in agreement.
"Now can we go home?" Inquires Robogerbil.
"Yes, finally." Says Adrien. "Now let's go."
5 minutes later . . .
"NOOOOOOOO!" Screams Cralagh, waving a hacksaw in the air.
On the way to the portal . . .
Dei turns to the figure. "~Thank you~"
"You are very welcome. So, what's a pretty little kitty like you doing in place like this?"
"~Great now the locals are hitting on me.~"
"Heh. I'm just joking. I already have a family."
"Must be though in this world." Says Seth.
"It is my home. I will defend it until I draw my last breath."
"You are a brave soul." Adrien looks ahead to see the portal. "I guess this is when we go home."
"I hope we meet under better circumstances." Seth says.
"You are most kind. Before you leave, I must tell you this. Stop Diablo. Keep your world from turning into this!" The figure gestures to the horrific scenery.
"We shall do our best." Confides Adrien.
"May this speed you on-
"You're not going anywhere!" Screams a familiar voice.
"I'm surprised it took him this long to find us." Jokes Adrien.
"Your witty banter will not save you now!"
Robogerbil turns to Adrien. "I wouldn't call it 'witty" as much as I would-"
Everyone turns to Robogerbil. "SHUT UP!"
"That's it! You all die now!"
The figure turns to the CE/UFers. "I shall hold him off! Save youselves!" The cloaked being hurls the metal cross into the portal, which then turns into nice shade of blue. "GO NOW!"
Robogerbil is the first to jump in followed by Dei.
Adrien takes out his bow. "I shall repay in a small part, my debt to you." He pulls back and releases his shot. The arrow flies straight through Cralagh's arm.
"Grrrrraaaaaagggggggh!"
Adrien jumps into the portal. "May we meet again."
The figure takes out a halberd. "I SAID GO!"
Seth gets an surprised look on his face, he then turns around jumps through the portal.
The spider demon, clutching his arm, turns to the figure. "Its is now just you and me, fool."
The figure turns to the flickering portal. It wavers then collaspes.
The figure looks at the demon. "I will be back." He takes a small scroll out and recites a few words.
"You will not leave my grasp!"
A blue gateway appears, much smaller than the other one. The figure jumps it, after which it prompty closes.
When that portal closed, Cralagh could only imagine what would happen to him. He had failed. The chance that he would survive this were slim to none. He felt terrible.
- - - - - -
(Outside the portal: CWAL Prime)
Seth: We back?
Adrien: Yeah.
Robogerbil: My other arm! (He looks at his charred arm and pick it up with his intact arm, hanging by a few wires since it got ripped out.)
Dei: *yawn* ~ I'm tired. I need a nap.
Robogerbil: Why, you're a cat! You already sleep 18 hours a day!
Adrien: Let's go home.
- - - - - -
Meanwhile, in the Realm of Evil . . .
A blue portal opens inside a cave somewhere. The figue walks out and lights a touch to see.
A distant voice comes from inside. "Who's there?"
The figure answers. "You know who."
A second figure comes out into the firelight. It is Treid. The figure takes his hood off, it is Seth, or rather A-Seth.
"You miss me?"
"Yeah."
Two little red lights appear behind them.
"Hey there."
"DADDY!" The red lights came closer along with the sound of little feet.
"That's my boy." A-Seth lifts his son into the air snd he thinks to himself "This is why I fight. For the ones I love."
The End...
Author's note: This is not so much a story in itself as a healing of continuity rifts so that I can go ahead with the finale. What I'm basically doing is rearranging part of the timeline so it fits together like I need/want it to. I hope no one takes undue offense at this.
And now, on with the show...
"What I ask now, we must do for the hopes of a better tomorrow. Not for us, but for those we love. For them to have tomorrow, sacrifices must be made today."
-Emperor Fron I, "Omega Factor"
Clouds rolled over the broken land of Inferno. Occasionally, flashes of bright white sheet lightning illuminated the land below. Twisted trees and scrub brush dotted the craggy hills. Once thick mats of vegetation had hugged the verdant sides. Now, the acid rains of Inferno had killed all but the hardiest plants, and the overbearing presence of Evil was beginning to warp and twist those that survived into hideous, malformed shapes.
One could almost feel the pulse of the Evil. Born so long ago that its beginnings were lost to memory, the Evil had fought its Good counterpart for eons for control of this planetoid. Played on the realm of mortal lives, the two fundamental forces vied for control, neither gaining advantage over the other for long.
Until the end. The vanquishing and subsequent reanimation of Brighteye, the Hero of Light, had cascaded across the globe like a tidal wave, knocking the force of Good askew.
It never recovered from that blow. Feeding on the despair of those who witnessed Brigheye's fall, the Shadowlands spread rapidly outward. City after city, country after country, it advanced, felling each in turn. For a brief handful of months, all the nations of the world united against the common threat. It might have been enough to defeat the forces of Evil. United, the nations of Earth had enough force to expunge the expanding Shadowlands forever.
Except that the union was one based on fear. Fear of the Shadowlands held it together like glue, and that was its downfall. Using that fear as an inroad, the unfocused force of Evil slowly twisted the nations to its side even though they continued to bomb its forces with impunity. When the eastern border of France was glassed over by nuclear bombs despite the millions of civilians still present, they came into its grasp. When the bombs spread their contagions across Africa, they sank even lower. By the time it was down to the Americas, desperation became such that the generals adopted their enemy's tactics of sending thousands of men to die just to hold onto a little more land. Conquering the last few million square kilometers was mere housecleaning; Despair had already given Evil a firm grip on them.
Not everyone fought in the armies, though. Refugees from the world over escaped into the wilderness, fleeing from the tatters of civilization in the hopes that lone individuals would be unnoticed among all the vast, corrupted land.
They had not learned the lesson: Evil cares nothing for hopes.
One by one it hunted them down, mindlessly, automatically. Wherever a tiny speck of Goodness remained, Evil gathered like a moth to a flame. The weak ones went insane, driven mad by the constant pressure of blackness on their minds. The strong ones, the ones that would not give up, had to be dealt with in other, more direct methods...
Lightning crackled overhead as the blue line appeared in the air. It rotated sideways, opening up an ellipsoid tear in reality. The magical energies rippled within it like waves in a pond, then fled sideways as a booted foot stepped through. It crunched on the rocky hillside, and the rest of the being followed. He was just under two meters tall, dressed in a black cloak that had seen better days. The back of his hands, the only part of him visible besides the red eyes, consisted of overlapping green scales.
His hood darted quickly around, searching for any intruders. He spotted none, but that only meant no overtly obvious ones were nearby. The solid weight of the halberd in his hand gave him some reassurance. Eyes alert for any movement, the being known as Seth walked forward.
The first step back here had been a shock. He had thought that the Evil presence seemed to be getting stronger around their home, but he had no idea how strong until he had been away at Irvine and then come back. Stepping out of the portal had felt like stepping into a deep, cold, boiling ocean. They would have to move, soon. He did not know what the increase in blackness meant, but he knew it could not be good.
After several minutes of scrabbling up a rocky hillside, careful to leave no trail, he made it to the mouth of a cave. With a final, darting glance around, he stepped inside.
"Who goes there?" came a quiet voice from within.
"You know who," he answered. His voice was deep and resonant, strong despite the world that seemed arrayed to defeat them. He stepped inside, careful to move slowly just in case his identification was not enough. Lit by the flashes of lightning outside, the cave appeared small and barren. It could have been untouched for centuries, the way it looked. About halfway through, the figure slowed down. The air shimmered around him, washing him over with refreshing cold. And then he was through the magical barrier.
A small fire sputtered in the middle of the cave. Protected by the illusory wall and dozens of magical wards, this small section of Earth shut out the evil beyond. He felt a great pressure ease from his mind as he stepped into the firelight. A figure detached herself from the shadows at the cave's edge and moved forward, solid black eyes intently watching him. She was just shorter than he, with flowing red-black hair and pale red skin with an armored look about it. Her khaki clothing was more patches than cloth, and a beat-up fedora perched on her head. Barely noticeable in her hands were the small, poisoned blades ready to be flung at the flick of a wrist.
He slowly reached up and slid the hood back, revealing a face covered in green scales with two red, faintly glowing eyes. Treid visibly relaxed at the sight.
"You miss me?" he asked her.
"Yeah," she replied, stepping close and giving him a quick kiss. Suddenly a small pair of red eyes appeared among the shadows, then jumped forward. He smiled. "Hey there," he said warmly. The little figure ran forward, arms outstretched. "Daddy!" it cried.
"That's my boy." He bent down and scooped the little child up. A strange amalgam of races, Loni looked almost human, except for the glowing eyes and hair that seemed an unnatural shade of red. He tossed his son up in the air, then caught the giggling child. He looked deep into his son's eyes, and suddenly feelings of bittersweetness washed over him. "This is why I fight," he said to himself. His voice was quiet, weighed down by two years of continual struggle. "For the ones I love."
Treid must have noticed the glistening in his eyes. "All right now," she said, taking Loni from his father. "Daddy's back; time for bed."
The child sulked, but one stern glance from its mother sent him tromping back to the far end of the cave, where he pulled some tattered blankets over himself and closed his eyes. With a final glance, Treid turned back to her husband.
"Are they...?"
"Yes, I got them out safely."
"And the portal?"
"Destabilized and destroyed."
She gave a sigh and sank against his chest. "So the Evil is trapped here. And so are we." The last words were a whisper that he could barely make out, but he knew their sentiment. For a split instant he had considered not throwing the crucifix, saving it for when he and his small family could steal through. And then he thought of his counterpart, their counterparts, just meeting in that other place. And he knew that no matter how much he wished it to be otherwise, their lot was here, on Inferno.
He brushed aside a lock of her hair. "I know. But if I didn't then I would have been helping the darkness spread to that other world. I could not live with that."
"I understand." She leaned against him, and he knew she that she meant what she said. What were three lives compared to billions? As much as he wished there was another way, they would have to eke out an existence here, for however long they could. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, seeking solace in her warm embrace.
It was while they were thus locked that he felt the first ground tremor. The earth shuddered slightly, a mere vibration, but it was enough. He drew back from his wife and listened carefully. Earthquakes were becoming increasingly common, and a strong one could collapse the entrance to the cave. "Stay here," he said. Drawing his hood back on, he stepped through the magical barrier.
Several things hit him at once. First was the incredible, pressing force of the Evil. It seemed stronger, far stronger than it should feel simply for coming from within the sphere of magical protection. Next came the cacophonous thunder, as if the air were splitting apart just above his head. The ground shook beneath his feet. Not much, but harder than it had inside their protected cave. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling onto him, bouncing off his hood. He crept forward to the cave's mouth, always on the alert for a moving shape or a slight ripple in the air.
He stepped carefully out of the cave's mouth, ignoring the crashing roar as best as he could. The ground regularly lit up with bright white flashes that coincided exactly with the deafening thunder. He turned, and his eyes went slightly wider in surprise. Every few seconds a bright bolt of lightning leapt from the swirling gray-green clouds above and impacted on the hillside, sending superheated rock chips flying through the air. And the lightning kept hitting the exact same place. In fact, if he thought about it, it looked like...
His heart went cold. Directly under the strike zone was their little zone of protection. Lightning was not unusual, but if a patrol somewhere spotted this, it might be enough to arouse what little curiosity the demons had. With one backward glance, he stole into the cave, not even slowing down as he passed the magical barrier.
"What is it?" Treid asked.
"Grab Loni. I'm not sure what's happening, but we need to leave, now. I'll grab the supplies." He hurried over to their small stack of tools and provisions and quickly bundled them up. After almost two years on the run, they had learned to pack light. Loni's quiet protests for being woken up so rudely were quickly silenced. The boy had gone through this enough times to have the routine down well.
A mere minute later and they were ready. The fire was out, its ashes scattered across the ground. Every one of their meager possessions rested on either Seth's or Treid's back, including Loni, strapped in a makeshift harness. Seth gave the cave a once-over, then nodded to Treid and they walked out of the magical barrier together. The shimmering wall of coldness brought no comfort this time, only apprehension and dread. The sound of cracking thunder echoed through the cave, making the ground quake slightly with every burst. Seth whispered a few magic word at the invisible wall, then they turned and headed out. The wall and protection within would decay over the next few hours, leaving no trace that they had ever existed.
Seth watched the ground for hostiles. Nothing moved in the light, though the shadows cast into eerie shapes. They would have to make it a hundred yards down the rocky hillside before they were out of range of his magic's teleport negation. He wished he could just destroy his magic at a stroke, but anything that strong would shine a beacon for any magically-attuned being within fifty kilometers.
Treid finally calmed Loni down, scared as he was because of the incredible thunder. One more glance at the way down, and then he motioned for Treid to follow him.
Their descent was rough, but uneventful. Halfway down the lightning mysteriously stopped. Seth turned and looked, but saw nothing where it had been. Even so, he urged Treid faster. She slipped once on the loose rock, and he just managed to catch her before she and Loni tumbled down the sharp rocks.
Finally they reached the area where he felt his negation fade away to nothing. "Keep watch," he whispered to Treid. The command was unnecessary; she too had grown used to the routine. He focused on the air, visualizing it as it was, then changing that to how he wanted it to be. His fingers drew small magical signs as he whispered the words. Suddenly a glowing blue line split the air, then rotated sideways into a shimmering oval. He breathed a sign of relief. Done.
"Seth!" He heard the cry just before the bolt of red energy flew past him and slammed into the portal. Red wrapped about the blue ripples like a strangling python, leaping about faster than the eye could track. Suddenly it gave a tremendous squeeze, and the portal blew outward in an explosion of magical energy.
He whirled around, the Bleeding Stone Halberd at the ready. Treid was already in a crouch, staring at a ridge a few hundred yards away. On the ridge stood several black shapes, silhouetted against the sky. As he watched, half a dozen red portals flashed into existence, then disappeared, leaving behind more black shapes. A knot of ice settled in his stomach.
"Treid, stand back." Keeping his eyes on the hellspawn, he reversed his grip on his halberd to point it towards him. In the corner of his eye, Treid cringed. Before he could give himself a chance to think it over, he plunged the knife-like tip into his stomach.
Pain flared as steel bit into flesh. Flowing white tendrils of energy whipped outward from the Bleeding Stone. They wrapped themselves around him, grabbing him in a white-hot embrace, then surged into his being.
Instantly the pain vanished. The energy spread throughout his body, changing his skin from green to shining white. When they faded, he straightened up, staring with crimson eyes at the shapes on the hill. The energy filled him with wondrous radiation, buoying up every cell in his body. But the transformation was costly. After a score or more minutes, the strain of supporting it would wear on his body, sapping strength where before it had given it.
He hoped he lived long enough for that to happen.
Treid, meanwhile, had doubled over, finally allowing the Slayer Rush have full sway over her body. Only a slight whimper escaped her lips as pain tore through her. The Rush would act like a beacon for any force of evil nearby, but desperate times required desperate measures. They would deal with these demons first, and worry about more later. If there was a later.
Breathing heavily, Treid straightened up and drew her scimitar in one fluid motion. The instant she was upright, the shadows on the cliff face spread black, leathery wings. It was almost as if they had been waiting to take down their foe at full strength. As if they knew even that would not be enough. Silently, the shapes gave a jump and glided downward. Only the slight whistle of wind betrayed their passage. Had it not been for the occasional lightning, they would not have been visible at all. For several seconds they simply circled above the three, daring them to strike. Seth knew better. Focus on one and another would get you from behind. Instead, he and Treid kept their backs to each other, slowly circling so as to leave no side unwatched.
The shadowfiends quickly grew tired of their game and landed in a circle with their quarry in the center. Half-Slayer and Chaos Soldier faced off, weapons at the ready. Though the black, leathery faces of the shadowfiends bore no expression outside the red eyes, he could feel their joy at having such easy targets. Well, he would see about that.
Quickly he jumped forward and sliced the halberd horizontally. It left a faint white trail as it glided through the air, then went through a shadowfiend with equal ease. The two halves of the demon fell backwards, the red eyes dark. Before they had touched the ground, the two fiends to either side jumped forward, ebony claws swiping through the air. He blocked one with the halberd's shaft, the force of the blow nearly ripping his arm out of socket. He dodged the second demon, but not before its claws raked across his shoulder. Grimacing, he swung the halberd up and over, ripping the tough flesh of both demons. They fell back in pain, but he knew it would not last. He stabbed the point of the halberd forward, burying it deep into dark flesh. A pulse of white light sped down the shaft and exploded into the demon, vaporizing it in an oily puff of charred flesh. He turned to the second, who was even now advancing on him at a full run. There was no time to bring the halberd up for a stab. Seth jumped sideways, grimacing as the creature's shoulder slammed against him. Ignoring the pain, he plunged his hand into its back. The demon howled in pain as Seth forced his clawlike-fingers through the knotted flesh until he found the knot of muscle at the creature's core. Taking a firm grip of it, he wrenched it sideways. The demon arched in pain, then fell down, dead.
Seth let his hand drop, slick with black blood. He whirled around, just catching a shadowfiend as it was about to impale him on its claws. Flesh hit hard metal and forced it sideways. Seth just managed to duck under the swipe, the swung the halberd sideways and cut deep into the demon's stomach. An upward stroke halfway through cleaved its chest and severed the central knot, dimming the red eyes just before it fell backward.
No time to waste. He whirled around. Typical of the demons, they had ganged up on the weaker of the two fighters. Treid moved with every bit of Rush-enhanced speed and just managed to keep five hellspawn at bay. Their claws came dangerously close to her, always kept just out of reach by the curved blade. By Seth's count, she must have taken down at least two already. Wasting no time, he stabbed forward with his halberd and skewered a shadowfiend through the chest. It bellowed in rage and then fell silent as he wrenched his weapon out. One of its companions lurched around and slashed a razor-sharp claw at him. He blocked it with the shaft of the halberd, then spun to swing it upwards only to find that the demon had grabbed hold of the wooden shaft in a crushing grip. Seth grinned; these things were getting dumber all the time. A glow of white energy formed around his hands.
"Seth!" He heard the warning cry just in time to duck, disrupting his spell and keeping his neck in one piece. A growl of disappointment came from the second shadowfiend. Seth tried to wrench his halberd away again, but the first had an iron grip on it. The demon lunged at him again, and he was forced to release his hold. He rolled a few feet and stood, daring the fiends to try for him.
A sharp shriek pierced the air, then cut abruptly short. He whirled, already knowing what he would see.
Treid dangled from a demon's claw. She struggled for a moment, then slumped forward. Lightning cracked, illuminating the crimson blood dripping down her chest. The shadowfiend tossed her body aside, still holding something in its hand. The others had all stopped moving. They all watched him, all except the one that held his screaming son in its claws.
Loni writhed in the fiend's grip, small sparks of magic searing its flesh. The fiend gave a deep growl of amusement at this; the child had nowhere near enough control to hurt it. As Seth watched, frozen to the ground, the demon traced a claw over his son's chest, then stabbed downward. The boy's cries fell suddenly silent.
Something snapped inside him. The world went red, and the next thing he knew he was right in front of a shadowfiend, punching through its leathery skin to get deep into its body. The central knot broke, and he lunged at the next one, heedless of the odds.
This one was ready. As Seth grabbed ahold of the demon, it sunk its claws into his side like fiery daggers. The pain meant nothing. He channeled white-hot magical energy into the fiend, which screamed in rage, then was torn to shreds. Turning, Seth spied the fiend with blood on its claws. Rage making his eyes glow crimson, he jumped.
He never saw the claw that hit him from the side, but he felt it slide deep into his chest, severing arteries and slicing organs in a burning symphony of pain. The force of his lung carried him forward, ripping the claw out through his back in blinding agony. He hit the cold, broken rock of Inferno, and then the darkness claimed him.
The being known as Durial fell to his knees, his head arched back in a silent scream. Images and memories flooded his mind, searing into his consciousness like molten lead. Sights and sounds, feelings and impressions, they all whipped by like leaves in a hurricane, scouring his mind down to nothing, a sand grain in a tempest. Seconds seemed to stretch into hours as he knelt there, the blinding pain submerged beneath the tidal wave of memory...
A building flashes before his eyes, its monstrous structure seemingly made of haphazard parts thrown together. Across the street stands another building, fortress-like and seemingly impregnable. Sounds of chaos come from within the first, small explosions and occasional screams. And yet, it holds the feeling of warmth, of belonging...
He is one of a dozen attacking a large demon. The bodies of his companions lie strewn about. For some reason it does not bother him. He makes a strike at the demon, inelegant but making up for it with sheer enthusiasm, like all his companions. As he jumps out of the enemy's reach, he notices that all of the corpses look exactly alike...
A man of stone charges at him, sharpened glave at the ready. He jumps and focuses, and the stone man's shoulder shatters in an orange explosion. The stone figure did not even look at the broken stump as it charged forward, scythe-like blade swinging...
The air whips past his face as he scans the blasted, blackened land below, searching for a stone mausoleum where his Master has directed he go. His Master's energy courses through him like a thing alive, driving him onward, ever onward...
Fire flares on his cheeks and he ducks his head, instantly regretting this but too far in to pull out now. "I...er, that is...I mean...Want to go see a movie? His cheeks grow hotter, burning into him. After everything he has gone through, after facing demons and flensers and pretty much anything else the Universe cared to throw at him, he was tongue-tied in front of her. And then the bemused, unexpected words: "Sounds like fun..."
He laid her broken and bleeding body within the small crystal chamber. He felt, just faintly, her breath stir. Short and ragged, barely detectable, it would not last much longer. His fingers lingered against her warm flesh as he let go. Not daring to wait a moment longer than necessary, he activated the field, flooding the cave with a soft cyan light...
Gradually the images faded, leaving him gasping, collapsed on the stone floor. Thoughts still clamored for attention, whirling around in a giant carousel of impressions. But one held the forefront, the image of the woman he had released those two years ago, when the world went mad. The image of the woman, drifting motionless in the blue glowing field before him. Two years of stasis had preserved her perfectly; the wound through her back appeared black through the blue light. Nothing moved within the glow; nothing would, not until he released her from her prison. And that would only happen when he could heal her.
And when he could bring her back to a world worth living in, a world that tolerated love.
He stood and placed his hand against the protective blue. It felt warm against his hand. He stared at her face, calm in unconscious repose.
"I will come back for you beloved...once this world is rid of the evil that plagues it."
He spun on his heel, and only then noticed the sword. It had to have been there the whole time, yet he had missed it, called by the power he had not understood. The sword had a strong, solid look about it, the perfect tool to batter an opponent. Someone (no, that was him, he remembered) had embedded it almost a foot into the solid stone. A soft blue corona surrounded the blade, just barely visible in the darkness. So the magic still functioned, after all this time. Even with a world combined against it, it still worked. There was hope in that.
He reached out a hand and laid it on the hilt. The cool metal felt solid, familiar, almost loving. He smiled. "Guard her well friend." He patted the hilt and felt the metal tremble beneath his touch. Perhaps he had put more into the blade than just magic...
He shook his head. Too long here and he would never leave. He straightened and marched toward the cave exit, never looking back. The next time he saw this place, it would be in a world cleansed of evil. He swore it.
Once outside the cave he replaced the massive boulder that guarded the entrance, straining his reanimated flesh and artificial arm to the limit. When it was back, he watched the crudely carved magic on the stone glow a faint blue, then fade back to darkness. The lock was in place; only he had the key. She would be safe until he came again.
Turning, he walked away. He had not taken four steps when a flash of crimson flame erupted from the ground in front of him. When it faded, there stood Lord Nighteye, red eyes gleaming in a face of blackness.
"So this is where you hid her," he said, stepping off the now-charred granite. He moved slowly, patiently. Like a snake playing with its next meal.
"How did you find me?" said Durial. It held more threat than question.
"Is it beyond your meager reasoning that the creator could know the whereabouts of his creation at any given moment?"
"You did not create me, you only twisted me to your will, and now, that is over."
"Yes, I noticed that the little enchantment that kept you from doing harm to me has been undone. But that is of no consequence now, as your time is at an end."
Nighteye took a step back and ignited the Darksaber. With a snap-hiss a rod of pure darkness grew from his hands, sucking in the light like a greedy vacuum. Giving Durial no time for thought, he jumped forward, slashing the weapon downward for a killing strike. Reflex responded, and before Durial even realized it his spear was out and swinging to parry the blow.
CRACK!
Both combatants stared at the spear, amazed. It held against the Darksaber, a weapon reputed to be able to cut through anything. And then the realization struck: Nighteye had given him the spear; Nighteye had imbued it with his own magic. Durial smiled fiendishly. "A weapon of darkness cannot destroy another."
"Be that as it may, I can still best you, worm!" Nighteye drew the saber back and struck again, fast as lightning. Durial brought the spear around and knocked the blow aside. Before he could get his own in he was forced to parry another, and then another. Adrenaline flooded his system, giving him the speed and strength to block the blows. But nothing more. He was fighting a defensive battle, and that would be the death of him if he let it continue.
Lightning cracked in the sky above as the weapons met again, and again. Durial felt himself tiring, knew he had to end it soon. The next blow he let go, jumping back several paces instead of parrying. Nighteye's swing met air, and then he charged forward faster than should have been possible. Unthinking, Durial brought the spear up and jammed it into the Dark Lord's shoulder. Metal pierced flesh, and Nighteye fell back with a cry of pain. The move bought him valuable seconds, but a charge at Nighteye would still be suicide. He would have to try something more desperate.
He sheathed the spear and began drawing energy into himself. Using techniques learned both before and after his reanimation, he drew on the magic energy fields and channeled them into himself, storing them up for one monstrous blast. If he hit, the world would be less one Dark Lord. If not...
There was no "if not." He would hit. He had to.
The muttered words of a healing spell came from Nighteye, who then straightened up, bringing the Darksaber to the fore. The Sith glared at Durial, obviously curious as to why he faced him unarmed. He must have felt the magic gathering, for his eyes narrowed, and then he lunged.
Lightning crashed above, sending the landscape into stark relief. Durial brought his hands up. Now or never. A sphere of orange, crackling energy formed between his palms. He channeled every ounce of magic he had into it, building it into a miniature nova, and then released it.
He had just a moment to enjoy the widening of Nighteye's eyes before the lightning struck. The globe had not even left his palms when the bolt of searing energy hit him dead on. White-hot pain flared through his body, accompanied by orange brilliance as he began losing control of the magic. The magical and electrical energies fed off each other, multiplying in a fraction of a second to uncountably high power. Pain seared his mind to nothing, and he lost control completely.
Orange-white light exploded outward in a shockwave of released energy. Nighteye flew threw the air, the brightness burning his skin before he hit the ground. After a few seconds, the light died down, leaving him to painfully open his eyes. His skin was cracked and bleeding, and purple afterimages danced in his eyes. He managed to croak out a healing spell, and grimaced as the burning spread throughout his body, painfully repairing damage as it went. Finally that, too, subsided, and he pushed himself to his feet.
Of Durial there was no sign. Only blackened, charred rock where he had stood. Thunder rumbled in the sky above. Painful as it might have been, that lightning strike had saved his life. He supposed he could have withstood that magic blast, but afterwards he would have been in no shape to defend himself against his rogue soldier. But that was done with now. It was time to go home and recover his strength. He was just about to open a portal when lightning stuck again, a score of yards away. The thunder was deafening and the light blindingly painful to his skin, but far enough away for him to simply grimace. Ignoring the pain he summoned up a mild shield around him. It dimmed both light and sound to tolerable levels, which was fortunate, for within a matter of seconds another bolt struck the ground at almost the exact same spot. Soon after came another, and then another.
Nighteye's curiosity rose. Inferno was covered by perpetual thunderstorms, but he had never seen anything like this. He glanced up at the sky, and his eyes widened slightly. Instead of the slowly-roiling grayish clouds he expected, these ones formed a spiral pattern, swirling inward to a focus directly over the cave where Durial had hid his love. As Nighteye watched, lightning arced down from the center and struck the rock again, chipping stone away in red-hot chunks. And this time he felt something, a soft magical echo. A shield of some sort, flaring in response to a threat. So that was how it had remained hidden all this time. He decided to stay and watch. Though the lightning was probably doing little damage to the shield, the echoes he felt yielded valuable information about its construction. Not that he was against simply battering it down. It was just so much more elegant to pick it apart a piece at a time.
Lightning struck again, and the echo seemed to grow a bit louder...
Inside the cave, the ground shook as another bolt sent rock flying. The blue glow around the sword glowed brighter than before as it strained to keep the magical shield intact. Something was wrong; natural lightning should not have been able to put this much force against it. But the sword just kept straining, countering each stronger stroke with a stronger shield, getting ever closer to the breaking point.
Suddenly the lightning stopped, and the clouds above rumbled angrily. The clouds churned and roiled past each other, the ominous quiet covering the landscape as a blanket. Not a murmur of thunder came; only the soft sigh of wind. And then the spiraling clouds flared white, and a dozen bolts of white-hot energy raced downward, slamming against rock and sending drops of molten stone flying. The sword's corona flared vibrant blue. The shield began to fail. Imbued by the last instructions of its master, the sword used what little magical abilities it had on a last-ditch tactic.
A bright blue glow flared throughout the cave as the shield collapsed. If lightning struck again, there would be no protection. The sword worked quickly. The magic fields spun outward in a protective sphere, and then it twisted.
Nighteye watched the cave collapse on itself. It looked as if the lightning had finally broken down the structure enough for it to fall. He nodded; there was no magical echo now, and the storm above seemed to be dispersing after that one monstrous bolt that had hurt even through his protection. He would come back for the woman later, if her body survived the collapse. As he turned to open the portal, he caught a glimpse over the rubble of the inside of the cave. It almost looked as if someone had cut a whole section of rock away, leaving a mirror-smooth surface behind. He shrugged; he would look into it later, after he had rested. He chanted the words and a red line split the air, then rotated into a portal. With a final glance at sky, he stepped through.
Above, lightning flashed between the gray-green clouds, the thunder cackling through the sky.
And then there were two...