JJFATS: Heh, so first chapter finally out. Be appreciative people, I'm writing these fanfics and ignoring some boring lectures up front in class. DelSol, my fellow author and roommate, is constantly telling me to not write in class, but he is ignored =P. Not much time to write these days, plenty of formal assessments happening at the moment. As usual, criticize me, flame me, just as long as you tell me what's wrong. This chapter has many of my own thoughts, beliefs and drabble about parallel worlds. It's my opinion, so its not necessarily true. =D
The underpants joke was something I thought up after listening to an interesting lecture on static electricity. Physics can be so fun!
I do not own World of Warcraft.....Although It is getting kinda bland and repetitive, Blizz!
"..."
"..."
"so......" mumbled the Nellera Brightarc, paladin of the mercenary group, LEGION.
"We came all the way back here hoping to get paid, and taking some long overdue R&R, and now your asking us to make a trip all the way back to Elwyn, go further south, make our way through that cursed tower, Karazhan and take out some blatant, cocky demon who took up residence at the top?"
The man sitting behind the golden oak desk, dressed in a fine black tux and an eye-patch over his right eye, just smiled and nodded, giving the trio that stood infront of him an innocent look. At first glance, people would assume that the human was just some proud and pampered noble whose snobbery knew no bounds, but in truth, he was none other than Viktor Von Krauss, the Head and Grand Master of LEGION. he raised his arms up in a non accusing manner.
"Oh no, my dear, do not misunderstand. I have no intention of making you walk all the way back there. I have secured you a very reliable means of transportation that will get you there no time-"
"Hold it!" the elf cut in. "I hear emphasis you put into the word 'reliable'. Just what kind of transport did you arrange?!"
Viktor shrugged, "Ah, nothing gets past your ears, my dear. (obviously, shes an elf) You see, I have been spending a great amount of investment into our science and research division down in the basement. They have promised me excellent results in developing forms of transportation, and they seem to be on the right track, so I was thinkin-"
"You were thinking, you wanted us to be the lab rats for those psychos down in the lab for their insane experiments? Heck no! I don't want anything to do with those psychopaths!"
"Ah yes, by the way, Master Blackfinger won't be joining you on this endeavor." At this, the hooded dwarf in the corner of the room nodded his approval. Nell on the other hand, squealed her displeasure.
"That makes matters much worse!"
"Relax." said Viktor. "I assure you, nothing will go wrong. After all, when have I ever let you down?"
"Well, there was that one time when you sent us to steal Devilsaur eggs. Oh and the time you asked us to domesticate ogres. There was also that incident where you asked us to assassinate Ragnaros, from the front door! Then there was the time at Onyxia's. And...nevermind, bottom line is there is no way I'm taking any solutions from the R&D division."
The elf stamped her foot down to drive home the point. Viktor sighed, but kept his resolve. Once again he smiled.
"Come now, there has not been that many foul ups in our R&D division. I mean they-"
"Not many foul ups, he says!" Cut in the elf once again. "What about that incident with Golby?!"
This time it was Viktor's turn to cut in and jumped out of his chair.
"Hey, that was Master Golby's fault. He didn't listen when we told him to wear those rubber underpants for insulation!"
Sighing, he sat down once more. Nell simply crossed her arms and give him the 'nothing will change my mind' look. Viktor hated using last resorts, but he knew it was the only way to get the elf to do the job. There was simply no one more suited than the arrogant girl herself. Taking a deep breath, he began:
"Two millio-"
""Done!" yelled Nell, slamming her palm on Viktor's desk, a fanged grin on her lips.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I can't believe I agreed to that." mumbled Nell. Slightly regretting accepting Viktor's offer, due to the horrors that awaited her and Karkon in the depths of LEGION's R&D division.
Karkon Ironfist, Nell's often silent companion walked beside her. They were an odd pair, like a lean wolf walking with a mountain giant. Although not as odd as some other members of LEGION where there were Taurens paired with Gnomes.
"I am against using tha hell ridden technology of the R&D, but if what you say is true, then we may be walking out of this place next week with at least a year's worth of pay." he commented.
Nell raised a curious eyebrow at the Orc. That reminded him of their spendthrift antics.
"A quarter of a year's worth of pay." He corrected himself. The elf shrugged.
"As long as Von Krauss keeps to his word, I'd probably take my chances with anything the R&D provide....probably."
The duo turned several corners and entered a strange contraption. An 'elevator' as the R&D called it. It supposedly transports people or items in a vertical manner, if not for several unfortunate incidents where miscalculations on the R&D side caused several fatalities among the company. It is one of the many inventions that the division has promised to be reworked on.
When they finally reached the bottom and after several more maze like turns, the duo arrived at a giant gear blocking their way. Nell reached out and pushed the big red button on a side wall.
"Who goes there?" came a booming voice, followed by a loud screech as the unstable technology strained to transmit the voice.
Nell and Karkon uncovered their ears from hearing the horrid high-pitched sound and looked at the speakers overhead.
"It's just us Roach, ya maniac. Open up." Nell called out.
"Oh, Mistress Brightarc and Maser Irongrasp, I have been expecting you. Please do come in. Just one moment as I open up the vault.
As if on cue, the door screeched and strained to open, steam poured in from the tiny opening that appeared as the gear started rotating to the left. The gear slowly continued to move out of the way. By slowly, it meant very slowly. Very, very slowly. Incredibly slowly. The perpetual slowness that would make even a snail look like a class S racing horse. After the door had moved about an inch, it stopped a not so pleasant sound was heard from the other side of the door, followed by an uh-oh in Roach's voice.
"Um...we seem to have a problem back here." came the tinkerer's voice through the speakers. "This....might take a while."
Sighing, Nell sat against the wall and crossed her arms across her chest, closing her eyes, she addressed Karkon:
"Hey Lurch, wake me when the door is open." with that, the elf fell asleep.
XXXX 1 Hour 42 Minutes 7 Seconds later XXXX
"We have invented a great and efficient new way to get you to any spot in Azeroth instantaneously without the use of conventional magic portals!" bragged Roach.
Roach was a Gnome. Small creatures, only able to grow to about the height of a human's knee at best. But what they lacked in physical size, was more than made up in intellectual size. Gnomes were natural geniuses, ranging from the most knowledgeable in the arcane arts or the most innovative of engineers. Roach was a little over eccentric, even among his kind, he was easily excited and curious.
As they walked through the large open space occupied with strange, alien like contraptions, Roach explained the concepts of the travel device. The R&D division hall was massive. A large open space with seven wall hanging floors, all filled with tinkerers and engineers and their individual experiments. Many strange devices ranging from the so called 'space rocket' to the tiny magic box that Nell believed, the engineers called a 'computer'.
"First of all," began the gnome. "What can you two tell me about 'Parallel Worlds'?
All he got from Nell was a dull 'uhhhh'. So instead, Karkon spoke up.
"I believe it was a theory, thought up by some scientist. There are more worlds than just Azeroth and Draenor. Worlds that exist in another plane of existence. Different worlds, with different rules, laws, elements and such. Was it now?" said the Orc.
"Exactly." replied the gnome. "I, myself, have come up with a another theory that my travel machine is based upon!"
Nell raised a curious eyebrow, adding a certain amount of sarcasm into her voice. "Oh? Please enlighten us."
"To put it simple, lets use the company as an example. LEGION, as a whole is the universe, you see. It is infinitely big. And we, the individuals who work for our most prestigious group, are the individual worlds. You two, for example, are Nell world and Karkon world. you guys are continuously moving around the base, therefore you would never see each other. But there are certain common areas like the living quarters. When the Nell world and Karkon world meet in the living quarter, a portal opens between to two worlds allowing travel between the two in certain parts of each world, but when the two of you move on away from the living quarters, the portal closes until the two worlds meet ina commonplace again. Understand?"
Nell looked lost but Karkon nodded his understanding and beckoned the gnome to continue.
"Well my device works the exact same way as that theory, but in a much smaller scale. Lets say Lady Nell's left hand is here and her right hand is Karazhan. My machine makes Lady Nell's hands come into contact, opening an instantaneous portal through to each other eliminating the need for mages who must have been into Karazhan to teleport there! Pure Genius!"
Nell just shrugged. "Nope, don't get it. Lets just get it over with.
"Hmph! I knew even the most simplest of explanations would not get through your thick skull!"
"Hey! Whaat th-" Nell retorted, but was cut off as the gnome bolted to his odd looking contraption in the corner. Roach beckoned the duo to stand on the pedestal in the center of it, and so they did.
After flicking a few switches and levers, the machine started to vibrate and glow somewhat eerily. Nell looked a little nervous about standing on the pedestal.
"You ARE sure that it is safe...right?" she asked.
"Of course!" yelled the gnome over the rising white noise in the background. "This baby only failed four outta' five tries!"
"Wait! WHAT!?!"
But it was too late. A moment ago, they were there, and now they were gone.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
All things considered, the teleportation device was a success, albeit a few undesired side-effects. The duo had been teleported into the inner gates of Karazhan, but it left Nell with an overwhelming sense of nausea and Karkon with severe diarrhea. Nell swore to gut the little gnome the minute she got back.
It was an annoying hassle to ascend the tower. The area was crawling with demons, undead and spirits from ages past. soul after soul fell before the pair as they climbed. When Karkon's steel and strength failed him against the ethereal spirits of the tower, Nell's cleansing magic more than made up for it. It was mere child's play for the two, but the sheer number of hostile encounters was enough to beat the breath out of them. After a long trek, the managed to reach a giant space. The whole room seemed wrong, from floating bookshelves, inverted staircases and an endless ceiling portraying the stars. As the duo passed a great door, they heard the anguished moans of a man.
"My son! Where is my son!" the eerie cry resonated through the halls.
Karkon wished to investigate and started towards the door, only to be stopped by Nell. The elf solemnly shook her head and continued on. Karkon looked back for a moment and hurried on as well.
An hour later, the duo had battled more apparitions and demons and played through a very annoying game of chess where Medivh's consciousness, still lingering long after his death, would not stop cheating. The pair managed to outwit the old mage after a very long stalemate and the path was cleared for them. Nell wanted to stay and berate Medivh's spirit, but Karkon dragged the flailing elf along.
The two finally made it to the top, a vast space known as Netherspace. As the duo were surveying the area, they were surprised by a large Eredar dropping from above. The pair quickly dropped into a combat stance, ready to fight off the demon.
"Who dares invade thy space? Who dares enter my domain? The realm of Prince Malchezaar of the Burning Legion! Whose sole purpose here is too-"
Nell had stepped out of her combat stance and whispered to Karkon:
"Oh great. There he goes on one of those evil monologues telling the protagonists his entire diabolical plan. Wanna just wait around until he stops?"
"Agreed." replied the burly orc, who straightened and listened to the Demon's long speech.
XXXXX Several Long Minutes Later XXXXX
"-and so, since you insolent pests are here, I shall destroy you!" finished the Eredar.
"Its about time." yawned Nell, who had taken to lounging about during monologue.
Karkon hefted his axe once more and charged the demon. Despite his blatant title of 'Prince', the eredar was quite skilled in the use of his two menacing axes and began trading blows with the orc. Steel met steel as cuts and slashes were blocked and parried. Nell ran up and jumped on Karkon, using his back as a spring board, the green behemoth having no problem supporting Nell's light frame. The elf leapt into the air, unsheathed her two Adamantium short blades and came crashing down on the demon. Surprisingly, Malchezzar saw it coming and brought one of his free hands parry the blow. Nell landed beside Karkon the duo began barraging the demon with hard swings.
Although he was skilled in the arts of melee combat, the Prince was slowly losing ground to the onslaught brought upon him by the strong, staggering blows from the orc and the quick, graceful strikes from the elf. He decided to even the odds a little.
"You fight not Malchezzar alone, but the legions I command!" boomed the eredar.
As if on cue, flaming meteors began to streak from the endless sky of the Netherspace. Nell and Karkon quickly back-stepped to avoid being crushed. Three meteors landed infront of Malchezzar, leaving smoking craters and three very angry looking Infernal demons.
"Take on the Eredar." whispered Nell. "I'll clear a path for ya."
Karkon gave the elf a quick nod and charged. The infernals clumsily moved to block his path, but Nell was already upon them. Using delicate sword skills and holy magic, Nell hit each infernal square in the chest. The damage was superficial at best, but it was enough to stumble the beasts, allowing the orc a clear path to the eredar. As the orc re-engaged the Prince, Nell turned her attention to finising off the infernals. As one got up, she quickly jumped on it's chest and sent the tip of her main blade into it's skull. She had to leave her weapon there as another infernal came from behind and threatened to send her flying. She ducked under the blow and rolled in-between the huge demon's legs, rising from behind it and driving her off-hand blade into it's back. The demon roared in pain but wasn't quite dead yet. It spun around, swinging it's fist in the process, hoping to hit the nimble elf, but instead, it hit the final infernal, who was charging at Nell. Realizing what it had done, the injured infernal looked around for the elf. It did not notice her retrieving her main weapon and leaping on it's back before stabbing it from behind, between the throat.
As the final infernal fell, Nell cast a glance at her partner. Karkon was holding his own against the Prince rather well. The orc kept advancing on the demon with vigor and rage while the eredar was tiring out. Nell decided it was time to end this petty drabble. She sheathed her two short blades and unholstered the gigantic obsidian sword on her back. Muttering a quick prayer, she held the sword up as it split into three floating blades, held together by a phantasmic blue glow being emitted from the hilt. She sprinted towards the two struggling figures, the tip of her sword leading the way.
Karkon saw it coming and leaped out of the way. The Prince crossed both his axes in an attempt to block the charging elf, but the sheer power from the blade the elf wielded caused both of the axes to shatter, causing the sword to impale the demon.
"Nooooo!" roared the eredar as blood ran down his chest. He was engulfed by green flames as he slowly immolated to death, crying out in pain.
Nell quickly jumped back to avoid being engulfed by the flames as well. Karkon had rarely seen the elf use her two handed sword. It usually hangs from her back, never soiled with blood. Only on rare occations, when fighting the agents of the Burning Legion, did she use the monstrous weapon. And as witnessed, it had a potentially fatal effect on the demons.
With their job done, the duo holstered theur weapons, caught a deep breath and prepared to descend the tower, expecting the huge reward that was promised to them when they reach the bottom. But of course, nothing goes as these two plan.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Halt! In the name of the king!" boomed an authoritative voice, full of confidence and spite.
Karkon and Nell have been through hell and back together. They learned to expect the unexpected. This time though, they did not expect to see an entire Alliance warband, covered in the heraldry of Stormwind, waiting for them at the entrance of Deadwind Pass. Nell raised a curious eyebrow.
"And you are?" she addressed the man at the head of the small army.
"I am Tobias Grandt. Captain of the 5th regiment of Stormwind guard. I have been searching for the likes of you two for a while now." he replied.
"And why is that?" this time it was Karkon who spoke up. The orc was not on very good terms on humans and wanted to know why an Alliance army would confront members of a neutral group.
"Because, you two are abominations! You mercilessly slaughtered men and even cut down those whose will to fight were broken and were fleeing. As an honorable man, that is the worst of all taboos. I am here to exterminate you." with that, the captain drew his sword. His fellow soldiers took up arms as well.
Karkon tensed. His hand began moving instinctively towards his axe, only to be stopped by Nell.
"Lets have a little duel then, my good captain." she suggested with a wry grin on her face.
"A duel you say?" queried Grandt. "What trickery do you have up your sleeve?"
"None whatsoever. To put it simply, if I win, you let us go. Or you cold attack us and we slaughter every one of your men. I assure you, we wil enjoy it."
Some of the men began to shift uneasily. Several audible gulps could be heard as well.
"If you win however," Nell continued. "We will surrender unconditionally and avoid needless bloodshed."
The captain pondered on the offer. She did make a good point. Many of his men were still green, having not done enough in life to be sent to die. After considering the offer for several long minutes, Grandt finally accepted the offer. With a satisfied nod, Nell unholstered her short-blades and took a combat stance. This surprised the captain.
"Why do you not use your great sword, elf. Are you mocking me?" he said with a snarl. Nell merely shook her head.
"No. It is just not meant for you." she replied.
The captain obviously took it as an insult. He tensed up and without warning, he charged the elf. Nell was grinning when he brought his sword down on her. What he did not expect was the fact that he did not feel an impact. Not even the clash of steel if she had managed to parry the blow. When he looked up, the elf was gone and so was the orc.
"Where did they go!" he demanded, but his men were just as dumb founded as theur captain.
"Curse your foul magics, you beasts! I will find you! There will be no remorse next time!"
Grandt let out a roar of anger and cursed the two. His voice resonating through all of Deadwind Pass.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
What really happened was that Roach's teleportation machine had moved Karkon and Nell from Karazhan back to the R&D division in LEGION's headquarters. The immense nausea and disorientation reminded Nell about her promise to kill the gnome when she got back. Nell intended to keep that promise.
In the end, Nell and Karkon only received half the payment they were supposed to. The other half had to be taken to repair the damages caused by Nell to the R&D division. No one in Azeroth had ever seen an angrier elf since that day.
End