CHAPTER SEVEN:
Dogs and Cats
Fletcher Renn had developed his own fighting style over the time he had known Valkyrie. Basically it consisted of teleporting his opponents high in the air and leaving them there, how high usually depended on whether he wanted them dead or not. If he was fighting multiples or if his opponent was just too good to be let go of, he teleports around the place rapidly, praying that he doesn't teleport into someone and dealing out the most basic punches and kicks. He does that so as to use little energy, while wearing out his opponent.
The problem with that little manoeuvre is that, quite often when he was fighting a group, he was fighting with a group as well and only has a split second to decide if whoever his next punch is aimed at is friend or foe and then decide not to give a fuck 'cause he's gonna hit him/her (he hasn't decided yet) anyway.
Valkyrie Cain tends toward three more simple approaches: hit whoever is about to hit you; hit them first; make sure to throw a couple of kicks in there, too.
It works quite well.
Needless to say she's hit Fletcher many times while practising in a group, on his side or not.
It looked like two armies had chosen this area to fight – which was exactly what it was. It was just pure chance that the sight of this fight happened to be the only place where the lines between this reality and the next were the weakest.
Yeah, right, Valkyrie thought grimly, sitting next to Fletcher and Tanith in the main tent for what had been nicknamed by Valkyrie the Black Army, due to the fact that in chess, white always goes first. Since it didn't have an actual name, Valkyrie's nickname was taking on fast.
Guild had died in the first wave so the leader was non-existent; the position was juggled between the senior members of the sanctuary.
Fletcher, and Tanith were explaining to the latest leader how ignorant he was and what would happen if the portal opened and the Faceless Ones were summoned.
It went something like this:
Tanith. "Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!"
Fletcher. "Years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes..."
Tanith. "The dead rising from the grave!"
Valkyrie cut in. "Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! Now can we stop with the Ghostbusters quotes please? You're giving me a damn headache!"
Gary Lerk was a sweaty, fat little man who very strongly didn't believe in anything to do with the Faceless Ones, he'd seen the Sceptre of the Ancients and believed it was a prank.
Valkyrie continued. "I know I'd be wasting my time by telling you what you don't believe in. Even though it is the truth. Gary, what matters is that, whether I'm a raving lunatic or not, I want my friends skull. If only to bury.
Another thing you should think on, something I think all the time. This question is one of the most vitally important ones ever asked: what if you're wrong? We've just practically quoted Ghostbusters at you and all of that would be true if you're wrong… well, maybe not the parts about the cats and the dogs, but you get the picture don't you?" People had gathered all around Valkyrie and a few had gone off to get their friends. Valkyrie was now standing, her voice rising with every word. "We're on the edge of the end! We can't afford to take risks, even those you don't believe are risks! The chances are that we're all going to be dead in a few hours is very high, especially considering we don't have a leader! We can not afford not to retrieve that skull, because, Mr. Lerk, WHAT IF WE'RE RIGHT!"
Silence blanketed the now crowded tent, Valkyrie had lost sight of Lerk, but she, like the rest of the tent heard his voice when he called.
"I call a vote! The permanent leader of the black army!" The crowd dispersed quickly, spreading the news. Lerk, a very organised man, ordered for a tent to be made for people to take turns voting for five candidates he would select.
By the end of the day the black army would have a leader.