Author's Note: Maybe I should read "To Kill a Mockingbird" some day. I'm watching the movie right now, and it's really cool. So I came to the conclusion that, since the book is always a thousand times better than the movie, the book must be really REALLY cool. Anyway, here's the chapter! My mind's still recovering from the General White thing from Monday's chapter, because right now I'm writing from a parallel time in which today is actually last Friday, but… aw well, what can ya do? Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Corruption

Enter Abby:

I stepped across the field, destroying the creature that stole Daisy from me the first thing on my mind.

"Hey!"

I spun around and held up my sword, ready to fight whatever shouted at me. A strange creature that looked like a fish on two thin legs ran toward me.

"You… you must… be the one… who took… the… sword…" the fish thing panted. In response, I held the tip of my sword an inch away from his face.

"Tell me why you're here or I fight," I growled.

"My name is Gl'Chyroth, and I've come to stop you!" he said.

Stop me? From saving Daisy? That made him an enemy. I swung my sword down at him, but he rolled out of the way in time.

"WAIT, STOP!" he said.

"I won't let you or any of your monster friends keep me from Daisy!" I snapped, slamming my sword down. A black flame shot out toward the fish creature, and he cried out in pain as he was launched back.

"I don't want to keep you from whoever that is!" the fish said as I ran toward him. "I came to warn you of something!"

I paused. Part of me wanted to hear what he was going to say, part of me, the one full of anger, wanted to just end him right there. It took a minute, but I forced myself to put my arm down and stop trying to strike him.

"You have thirty seconds to talk," I told him. He shakily stood up, wincing from the pain of the burn I just inflicted on him.

"Drop that sword," he told me.

"…what? No!" I shook my head, irritated. "It's the only thing I have to defend myself!"

"I think it's safe to assume that I'm in no condition to fight you even if I wanted to," the fish said. "Plus, look around. Other than me, do you see any monsters?"

I turned my head to see that there really were no monsters around.

"…alright," I finally said. My hand didn't seem to want to let go of the sword, but when I finally made it, my mind cleared and my anger faded.

"Whoa…" I staggered on the spot, my head light. I finally realized what I had just done and ran to his side, bending down.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" I asked, looking at the burn I caused.

"I'll be fine…" the fish said. "…you see, though? The difference you feel?"

I thought for a minute, finally realizing what he meant.

"…that sword makes me angry?" I asked, looking at the dark thing. The grass around where the sword laid was grey and dying.

"Aye," the fish nodded. "…I mean yes, sorry for the old accent."

"I don't mind, but… how in the world?" I asked.

"Well I'm a prophet, so most of my prophesies are given in an old-"

"Not THAT! I'm talking about the sword!"

"Oh… right," sighed the fish. "Well, you see… it's the most powerful unholy weapon in this world."

"…what?" I asked. "Unholy? You mean… it's magical?"

"Well let's see…" the fish said. "You found it in a dark cave, I'm guessing. It makes you angry when you hold it, it's killing the grass around where it sits, and it can create walls of black flames at will."

"Alright, you don't have to be sarcastic…" I muttered, looking over to the sword. "So it just… makes me angry?"

"We've been over that, yes," the fish nodded. "It's designed to draw on the anger of whoever holds it. The more anger you have bottled up, the worse you are when you hold the sword."

"…" I looked down. Yeah… I had some bottled anger, I'll admit.

"Of course," the fish continued, "the angrier you are, the more powerful the sword is, as well. But that's not the point! You should not use a sword that turns you into a raging psychopath!"

"Well…" I rubbed the back of my head. "Isn't that better than going in without a weapon?"

The Fish looked appalled. "Don't think like that!" he begged me. "Nothing good can come from drawing forth your rage!"

"…alright," I nodded. "But then, what do I do with it? What if someone else picks it up? I can't just leave it here."

"Here?" the fish looked around. "No one in their right mind crosses these plains, usually."

"Alright," I sighed. "That's good-wait, what? What do you mean by that?"

"Well," the fish said, "these plains are located around the same place as the home of the Orcs."

"Orcs?" I jumped back in alarm. "The ones from Lord of the Rings?"

"Lord of the what?" the fish asked. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

"Just… never mind," I sighed. "Can we get out of here without running into any monsters?"

"Well…" The fish turned north. "I came from that direction. There were a few monsters along the way, but nothing I couldn't hide from. Plus, he was heading north… not very many monsters rest there…"

"He?" I asked. "Who's he?"

"Another one of your kind," the Fish said. "He was wading through the lake when I appeared."

"Another one?" I asked, eyes widening. "So they landed here, too! You said he was north?"

"Yes," the fish nodded. I turned to go, but I paused.

"…but what about Daisy?" I asked.

"Hm?" the fish asked. "Daisy?"

"My girlfriend," I explained. "A monster took her and flew off that way."

I pointed in the direction the monster carried Daisy off to.

"Oh," the fish said. "She must have been taken to the castle, then."

"Castle?" I asked. "You mean… there's a kingdom here?"

Before the fish could answer, a loud, beastly growl came from close by. We turned to see a group of Orcs running forward, carrying blunt weapons and axes.

"We have to run!" the fish said in a panic. He tried to run, but his legs gave way under him, making him drop on the ground in pain.

"G-Go!" he said when I bent down to pick him up. "Save yourself!"

"…" I stood there, looking between the fish and the Orcs, then my eyes fell on the dark sword sitting on the ground.

"…don't do it," the fish warned, seeing where my eyes fell.

"I have to," I finally said, bending down to the sword.

"No, you DON'T!" the Fish said. "Don't touch that sword! It will corrupt your mind and your body!"

His words fell on deaf ears as I gripped the handle of the sword. I could feel the power flowing up my arm and into my body as I stood up and turned to face the Orc army.

"Come and get me…" I muttered. I ran directly toward the army, holding my sword behind me. We soon met, and the first Orc swung his heavy axe at me. I sliced it clean in half with my sword before stabbing the Orc in the gut. I charged up the dark power, then released it in a wave, tearing the Orc apart and knocking back the Orcs standing around it. I pulled my sword out of the corpse and slashed three times in front of me before stabbing the ground. The areas I slashed turned into walls of flames, which shot out and burnt the Orcs. I pulled the sword out of the ground before running forward, now gripping the handle with both hands. I jumped into the air, used the head of an Orc as a platform, jumped up, and stabbed down at the ground, sending off a shockwave of dark energy. I pulled my sword up, forcing the Orcs close with an almost magnet like effect before finally spinning with my sword held out, slicing them all in half.

"…no," the Fish whispered, staring wide eyed at the pile of corpses that lay at my feet. "DROP THE SWORD!"

"…no," I said, grinning at the sword in my hand. I've never felt so… free. The anger that coursed through me… I didn't have to hold it back anymore. I could just let it run. "It feels… good. I like this power."

I turned in the direction of the castle. "So… it looks like I'll be seizing a castle."

"Don't do it!" the fish warned, but I stopped listening to him. I dashed toward the castle, the sword held out behind me.

One way or another, someone was going to pay for taking away my Daisy.

Author's Note: Nooooo, not the corrupted power of anger! Well anyway, did you know that I exist in a different plane of time when writing this? It flows in strange and mysterious ways. For example, I started this chapter Friday, and now it's Monday! You can't explain that now, can you? Well, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!