Author's Note: Why helllooo Runa! I was very excited to see a lurker come out of the woodwork! Thank you so much for your review, I'm totally flattered! Thank you Sorceress for helping me tackle this beast! To all my readers - Thanks for sticking with me for so long!
The songs that helped write this: "The Battle" (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) by Harry Gregson-Williams and "528491" (Inception) by Hans Zimmer
Sacrifice
Chapter XI
Emmy turned over in bed and looked at Jager sleeping next to her. She was envious of him; since David, Lenne and Torgal's departure she had not been able to sleep. She could not quiet her mind as she worried about her comrades, and she wished more than anything she could be there with them. She had gone to bed, her body exhausted, only to lay there for hours, staring at the ceiling. She knew she would not sleep until they returned.
A noise outside her door redirected her attention. She could hear the familiar, heavy footsteps of Blocter in the hallway. He seemed to stop at her door for a moment, and she listened as she heard him sigh and turn back the way he had come. She was out of bed in an instant, padded barefoot to the door and pulled it open, not caring if she made enough noise to disturb her fiancé's sleep.
She poked her head into the hallway and saw Blocter turn back towards her at the sound of the door opening.
"I'm sorry Emmy, I didn't mean to disturb ya," he said quietly.
"I couldn't sleep, what is it? Any news of them?" she asked, her chest feeling tight with panic.
"No, nothin' yet. But this just arrived," he said, holding up an envelope. "It doesn't say who it's from. Should we open it?"
Emmy stepped into the hallway and took the envelope from his hand and ripped it open. Inside she found a letter two pages long in small, curvy handwriting. As Emmy's eyes flew over the words, her face fell in sadness and remorse. But as she neared the end of the letter, realization dawned over her face.
"Oh no," she whispered to herself as her eyes finally reached the bottom of the last page. The signature there was unmistakable; Marina Sykes.
By the time David and Lenne rejoined Torgal at the base of the rampart, David suspected they had only a few hours until the sun would begin to rise. Their departure from the city had not been slowed by monsters or fires, but instead they had been caught up in the large crowds of people fleeing the city.
"What took so long?" Torgal asked, both in suspicion and relief.
"We got caught in the crowd that's evacuating. We had to walk with them a while down the road until it got dark and could double back. We didn't want to risk being seen moving along the wall of the city," David told him, bending over to reach into the pack that rested at the base of the wall. He pulled out two pairs of leather gloves and handed one to Lenne.
"How's your upper arm strength?" he asked her as he pulled his gloves on.
"Pitiful," she replied, looking upwards apprehensively at the rampart wall. While they had been in the city, Torgal had somehow attached a climbing rope at the top of the wall. "How exactly did you get that up there?"
"Sovani are agile," was all Torgal said in response to her. "David, you first."
David shed his travelling cloak and grabbed the rope, pulling himself up easily. He placed his feet against the wall and began to climb.
"I'm not sure I can do this," Lenne stated, a slightly embarrassed look on her face.
"That's why I'll be behind you. Go on," Torgal said, his tone stern and not very comforting.
They climbed quickly, David having little trouble as he made his ascent. Lenne was not so fortunate, needing to stop multiple times to briefly lean back against Torgal to give her arms a short rest. Torgal was so preoccupied with watching her struggle that he did not notice David stop at the top of the wall. As Torgal and Lenne neared him at the top, they both looked up and saw him lingering there.
"What the hell are you stopped for?" Lenne cried out, her arms shaking.
"We've got company up here," David called back to them, drawing his sword in one hand.
"Just move quickly," Torgal called up to him, and David turned back to lift himself over the edge of the wall. Lenne heard Torgal grunt in effort and suddenly felt the strain in her arms being relieved. Torgal had begun to climb quickly, grabbing her around the waist with his lower arms and pulling them both up with his other two. She continued to hold onto the rope as they went even though it was unnecessary, and they quickly reached the top. As they crested the ledge she saw David's sword flash as it came down upon one of many beasts that were swarming the landing. He cast a quick glance around and then rushed to help Lenne over the edge, Torgal right on her heels. All three drew their weapons as they looked around. They could see at least ten monsters running around the rampart, and a few had noticed the three of them arrive.
"This way," Torgal called, and together the three of them cleared a path towards the area under the window that they needed to enter. After quickly slaying a few beasts, they looked around and saw that for the moment, they seemed safe.
"Hurry," Torgal barked at them, bending over to offer Lenne a foothold in his hands. She put her foot into it and placed her hands on his shoulders. He lifted her easily towards the window, his height helping her close the distance easily.
"Watch out!" she called down to them as she took her dagger from her belt and smashed the butt of it through the glass. It shattered easily and she quickly knocked away the remaining pieces in the bottom of the frame before heaving herself upwards. She tumbled ungracefully into the dark room, swearing as she landed on the shards of glass that pricked at her hands and knees. She quickly got up and turned back to the window, reaching through to help David up. She tugged him into the room and onto the floor before returning to the window, looking back down at Torgal.
"Go, I'll hold out here!" he called up to them, reaching behind him to withdraw two swords from their sheaths. She nodded and turned back to David, and together they crossed the small room to the door.
They pulled the door open quickly and both leaned out, checking to see if the coast was clear. They were alone.
They crossed the small hallway quickly to the door of the room where Elysion had kept its Academy items. The door was made of heavy wood, and Lenne reached out to try to turn the knob. To neither of their surprise, it was locked.
"Stand back," David told her, and she pressed herself against the opposite wall as David laid his hand on the door.
"Spark," he whispered, and the spell easily blasted a small hole through the door. Reaching through the splintered wood, David quickly opened the door from within, and he and Lenne stepped inside.
"You know what it looks like, hurry," she told him, and they moved to different corners of the room, searching for the last piece of the artifact. As the minutes stretched on, David's heartbeat began to thunder in his ears while they looked. In the cold, dim room, they could still hear the faint sounds of battle just outside, and they both worked frantically. After what felt like an hour, but was really only minutes, he heard Lenne call from the other side of the room.
"Got it!"
As David turned to find her, he heard a loud metal clang, and saw gold sparks briefly through the gaps of the shelves in the middle of the room. He rounded the corner and saw her circling another chain onto her wrist while moving towards the door.
"Let's get out of here," she said, and he was at her heels as they ran across the hall and back to the window. They saw Torgal still below them, fighting two monsters at once. David went out the window first, lowering himself as far down as he could from the window sill before letting go. He landed on his feet, swaying to keep his balance, before looking back up to Lenne. He saw her hanging onto the window sill with one hand while fumbling with something in the other.
"What are you doing?" he called up to her, when suddenly something caught his attention in his peripheral vision. He turned to look and saw a Jhana lunging at him, its sword hoisted over its head. David took a few hurried steps backward, reaching for his sword, but he knew he couldn't reach it in time. As the beast barreled down upon him, he saw a brief glint of metal in the air, and the Jhana collapsed at his feet. Staring down at it, he saw Lenne's dagger protruding from the back of its neck.
He glanced up at her, trying to catch his breath, and saw her finally let go of the window ledge and fall to the ground. She landed hard and fell forward onto her knees and hands, swearing loudly. David bent forward and pulled the dagger out of the Jhana's neck as Torgal came to his side.
"Did you find it?" he asked, looking David over for injuries before moving to help Lenne stand.
"Yeah," Lenne called, holding up her wrist from which her part of the artifact dangled.
"Come," Torgal said, pushing the both of them towards the rampart edge where their climbing rope was still tied. Torgal began to descend immediately, and as David helped Lenne over the edge he felt his heart begin to race in optimism. As he lowered himself over the ledge, he had no idea that this was the last moment where things would go according to plan.
As soon as he had fastened his grip on the rope, David heard Lenne call up to him.
"David, this storm isn't moving," she said, holding onto the rope and looking upwards.
"Why's that bother you?" He called back down to her.
"It's not natural-" she started to reply, but she was cut off by Torgal directly below her shushing her quiet. She looked down at him and saw his ears were raised in attention as his eyes darted around them frantically.
"Get down! Fast!" the sovani suddenly yelled up at them. As soon as the words left his mouth a deafening rumble filled the air, and suddenly the entire world around them began to shake violently. Lenne screamed as she tightened her grip on the rope, feeling the wall vibrate harshly beneath her feet.
"Go go go!" David called frantically as he began to lower himself too quickly down the rope.
"Be careful! DAVID!" Torgal roared from beneath her, and Lenne's eyes flew upwards. David had lost his footing against the wall and swung out sideways, his hands still gripping the rope tightly. Lenne felt herself being tugged sideways as the rope followed David's motion, and she watched horrified as his shoulder crashed hard into the wall. As soon as he collided with the stone he lost his grip, and she saw him begin to fall, out of reach of the rope and any chance of stopping himself, towards the ground over sixty feet below them.
Without thinking, Lenne pushed herself off the wall and let go of the rope, reaching out to David. She heard Torgal roar in rage and felt his hand brush her boot, but he was unable to grab her. She grabbed onto David's shirt with the hand around which her part of the artifact was strung, and let that mysterious, otherworldly force take care of the rest. A loud clang of metal against metal rang out, and Lenne closed her eyes.
She instantly felt them decelerate, and the ground that had been rushing up at them faded away.
"Hold onto me!" she screamed towards David, pulling his shirt towards her with her eyes still closed. She felt his arms wrap around her shoulders as the compressing darkness that had been so familiar to her surrounded them.
They landed hard on sand, knocking the wind out of their chests. They both rolled over onto their sides, away from each other, the artifact resting on the sand between them. As they pushed themselves weakly to their knees, David began to retch onto the sand in front of him, followed only seconds later by Lenne doing the same.
After their nausea subsided, David wiped his mouth on his sleeve and looked over at Lenne. He had realized immediately upon her grabbing his shirt what was happening; to save his life, she'd risked her own and brought him to the remnant graveyard. Looking down at his shirt, he noticed that his part of the artifact had torn holes through both layers of his clothing to unite with its twin. The chain on which it had hung had broken and been torn from his neck. Reaching up, he felt a thin wound where the chain had dug into his skin before snapping.
Thunder cracked above them, and it seemed much closer than any thunder he'd ever heard at home. He watched Lenne as she wiped her mouth before she reached out and snatched the artifact from sand between them. Her arms were shaking from holding herself up, and she rolled onto her back, clutching the artifact to her chest as she began to chuckle quietly. She glanced at David, who stared at her bewildered.
"It worked," she said, a huge grin on her face. "It transported two."
"Are you completely crazy?" he blurted out, his normal composure gone. His eyes were darting around them, but through dust being blown around in the wind, could barely see past the area where they laid.
"You're bloody welcome," she snapped back at him, shaking her head as she raised herself into a sitting position. David looked back at the area in front of him where he'd just been sick, and moved away from it to her side. They sat in silence a moment, gathering their strength as they looked around the desolate area.
"Was it always so awful? Travelling like that?" He asked her as his breathing returned to normal.
"No, but I've never done it while falling off a building before," she replied, looking sideways at him with an incredulous look.
He couldn't help but release a shocked laugh. They stared at each other another moment before David took a deep breath. "Thank you."
"C'mon," she said, slowly pulling herself to her feet. "Let me show you something amazing."
He stood quickly and moved to her side. "What about Torgal? We need to get back."
She shook her head at him. "Time flows differently here, remember? Barely a few seconds have passed down there. He'll be alright, and we might as well try to wait out the earthquake before we go crashing back there."
"No," David said, refusing to follow her as she had started to walk. She turned back to him, clearly annoyed.
"We can't go back from here anyway, we have to get to the transport platform," she snapped at him, placing her hands on her hips. David's stern expression fell from his face as he looked at her, and finally he moved forward to follow her.
"Oh," was all he said, and they began to walk. He looked around as she led him through the graveyard. The dust in the air was strange; although it looked like dust, it was almost as fine as powder, and at times looked like smoke. He was at a loss to see how she could possibly know where she was going.
"How can you tell where we are?" he asked finally, shielding his eyes. She came to a stop next to him and took a hold of his elbow.
"Watch over there," she said, pointing in the direction where they were heading. "Wait for the wind to die down."
They stood completely still, staring into the distance for a few long minutes. David was about to say that he saw nothing when suddenly the wind died for a second. As the dust temporarily settled, he saw the outline of a shape on the horizon; the Valeria Heart.
His breath hitched in his throat when he saw it. His stomach began to summersault as Athlum's lost remnant appeared for a second before vanishing again.
"See it?" she asked him, although she already knew by his reaction that he had. He only nodded silently as she continued speaking. "It was never this windy before. I don't know what this could mean though." With that she continued walking, and David moved to her side quickly.
"You lied," he said, anger suddenly seeping into his voice.
"About what?" she asked, not looking at him.
"About the trigger word. I'm pretty sure I didn't hear you say anything as we were falling."
She arched her eyebrows and cast him a sideways glance. "Had to make you keep me around somehow."
David snorted through his nose in disapproval, but said nothing else. His anger at Lenne died quickly as it was replaced with astonishment. They continued to walk through the strange land, David constantly looking around and hoping the dust would clear. He vaguely saw outlines of remnants as they moved, and his heart skipped a beat every time he saw one.
The dust was creating such a thick cloud around them that when they came upon a remnant only feet from them, it was almost as if it had appeared from nothing. They both looked up at it, and David noted that it was not a remnant that he recognized.
"Don't touch it," she warned him.
"Was this one already here before?" he asked, but did not receive an answer from Lenne. A look of worry had crossed her face, and her eyes were darting around the horizon. "Lenne?" he asked, seeing that she was distracted.
"This isn't right," she said, ignoring his question.
"What isn't?"
"This one shouldn't be here. It's moved."
"What do you mean it's moved?" he asked, his voice rising nervously.
"This one used to be really far off, so far that I never got to make the walk all the way to it…they all seem closer…" her voice died in her throat, and David could see her mind racing.
"What does that mean?" he asked frantically.
"I'm not sure. But I think it's safe to assume they didn't fade away like Rush said."
David suddenly felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Throughout this entire crazy plan and the shock of arriving in the graveyard, he hadn't remembered that Rush was here. His heart instantly began to race.
"Rush! RUSH!" he began to yell as loud as he could. A sense of déjà vu washed over him; he had dreamed this before.
"Shut up!" Lenne shrieked at him, reaching out to clamp her hand over his mouth. "We have to be careful, and if we're going to look for him we have to do it quietly."
"Why?" David burst out, ripping her hand away from his mouth. "How will we ever find him in this storm if we don't call out to him?"
"He's here too. The Conqueror," she said gravely, her eyes boring into his and pleading with him.
"Are you serious?" David exclaimed, trying to keep his tone down. David reached up and rubbed his face with his hands, feeling suddenly exhausted. "Do you think they're even alive?"
"I don't know," Lenne replied, and she reached out for David's arm and began to pull him with her.
As they walked, Lenne told David about what had happened the last time she had been to the remnant graveyard; how she had met Rush, had intended to bring him back, and how he had saved her when the Conqueror had attacked them.
"Is that why you've been trying so hard to get back here? To save him?" David asked.
"Sort of," she replied, but refused to elaborate further. "I think we're close to the platform," she said, unsure of herself since her landmarks, the remnants, had shifted in her absence. They walked a little further, when Lenne suddenly reached out and stopped David.
He turned to look at her, and she had a finger pressed to her lips, signaling him to be quiet. He strained to listen over the wind, and he instantly heard what had her so concerned; footsteps in the sand.
Lenne reached for her dagger at the same time David withdrew his sword, both moving as quietly as possible. They moved closer to one another, glancing around them, before both turned to face the same direction. The footsteps were close enough to distinguish the direction from which they were coming from.
"He doesn't have the powers he had before. He's mortal or close to it," Lenne whispered quietly, remembering the Conqueror's hand, covered in blood that was either his or Rush's, pressed against the barrier as she had fled two years ago. It seemed like she was reassuring herself just as much as David.
They stood perfectly still, poised to attack, when David began to see the outline of a figure through the dust. A man was approaching them, taller and of a bigger build than Rush. David tightened his hands around his sword's hilt as he raised it to attack. The man continued to approach slowly, and David could see him slowly draw a sword from his belt.
David moved first, lunging forward to close the distance and hopefully launch a preemptive attack.
"No!" Lenne screamed at him as realization suddenly dawned on her. As David brought his sword down in an attack on the man, he heard steel clang against steel. His sword had been stopped by another, and David looked into the man's face as they stood with their swords locked together. He was slightly taller than David, with mangled clothes and thick facial hair obscuring most of his features, but as David's eyes met his, he quickly lowered his sword.
"Dave!" the man exclaimed, dropping his sword into the sand.
"Rush?" he asked, bewildered. "Is that you?"
The two men stood gaping at each other. David stood in shock as he took in the sight of his old friend, who now looked much older than the twenty-one years he should be.
"It is you," David blurted out, and he could not stop the suddenly moisture that gathered in his eyes. He dropped his sword into the sand as well as he embraced Rush, gripping his friend's jacket tightly. He bit his lip as he realized it was the same jacket he had given Rush in Athlum, albeit stretched, torn and faded. Glancing a look down, the sword Rush had dropped into the sand was the same one he had used the last time they had faced the Conqueror.
"I can't believe it," Rush sighed, and he slowly raised his eyes to see Lenne standing behind David, watching them. Her face had a smile on it as tears ran slowly down her cheeks.
"Lenne!" Rush exclaimed, reaching an arm out and pulling her into the hug as well.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Lenne mumbled into his chest as Rush crushed her and David against him. Relief flooded through her and made her feel lightheaded as they all stood holding onto each other.
"I'm so sorry it took so long," Lenne said, sobbing quietly as she pulled herself away from him. "How long has it been for you?" she asked, wiping her nose on her sleeve like a small child.
"You tell me, like fifteen years I'm guessing at this point?" he said, turning to face her while still keeping his arm over David's shoulders. As soon as he said it though, shock covered his face as his eyes darted between Lenne and David.
"What the hell?" he said, finally realizing that his two friends had not aged the same as he.
"It's only been two years down there, but time is different here. It's been a lot longer for you. I never got to tell you with what happened last time."
Rush's mouth fell open slightly. "I feel sick," he said, suddenly sitting down.
"It doesn't matter, let's just get out of here. Let's go home," David said, kneeling next to Rush in the sand and reaching out to grasp his shoulder. To David's shock though, Rush shook his head.
"I can't," he said quietly, all the happiness suddenly gone from his voice. He looked up at Lenne, his eyes full of regret. "Lenne, you still got that thing you had last time?"
"Of course," she said, her voice full of apprehension. "Why?"
"I'm gonna need to borrow it," Rush said darkly, lifting himself back to his feet and picking up his sword. A knowing look passing between he and Lenne.
"No," she started to protest, shaking her head. "You deserve to go home."
"I deserve to finish what I started. Listen, I don't know what's been going on down there but up here it hasn't been good. The remnants didn't fade away like we thought they would. They've been gathering strength all these years here in order to invade the planet."
"Invade?" David asked, his eyes widening.
"And the Conqueror is helping orchestrate this whole thing," Rush added, never taking his eyes off Lenne's. "We gotta use that machine. You guys came just in time, they're preparing to launch an attack real soon."
"Well what do we do?" David asked, panic rising in his throat. He could tell that Rush and Lenne had an understanding of something that he did not.
"We won't be doing anything. I'm going to send you two back to the planet and then take care of this," Rush told them as he climbed to his feet.
"No!" Lenne exclaimed. "There has to be some other way. We don't know if there's time to get from the machine to the platform after it's been started."
"I think there will be enough time, and I'm not willing to risk either of your lives."
"And we're not willing to risk yours!" David exclaimed.
"It's too risky!" Lenne protested, taking a step closer to him.
"Listen to me," Rush said, holding up his hand to stop her. "I'm grateful that you came back, and that I got to see you one more time," he said, his eyes moving to David's. "But this has to be done. The world won't survive this attack; the remnants are going to enslave everyone just like they were meant to the first time, like I was meant to help them do. Just like last time, I can't let this happen."
David felt like his heart had stopped beating. He was going to lose Rush again, only minutes after finding him. A pain was swelling in his chest making it hard to breathe.
"Please Lenne. I have to do this," Rush said, holding his hand out to her. She stared at him for a long time, tears running down her cheeks, before slowly reaching out and placing the artifact in his hand. With that simple motion, David felt like she had not only sealed Rush's fate, but his own as well. Rush looked down at the artifact, which was still tied to the talisman his mother had given him. Tears slightly pricked his eyes at the sight, but he quickly blinked them away.
"No," David said to Rush, but the word came out weak and shaky. Rush's eyes turned back to David, and the sadness in them brought tears to David's eyes. "No, Rush."
"Oh Dave," Rush sighed, putting his arm over David's shoulders as he began to lead them to the platform. Lenne followed a distance behind, suddenly feeling like she was invading a private moment. She picked up David's forgotten sword from the sand as they passed it.
"Listen, I'll be right behind you guys, okay?" Rush's voice drifted back to Lenne on the wind, causing a knot to grow in her throat that she couldn't swallow. She could hear Rush's voice beginning to shake. She was hoping that he was telling the truth.
They walked through the desert, Rush leading them towards the platform. Lenne stared at the ground as she walked, no longer wanting to look around. This place where she had spent so much time, which had fascinated her to no end, suddenly seemed cold and cruel. She dragged David's sword through the sand behind her, not caring if it left a scar across the land. She was overwhelmed with a sudden, familiar hatred of the remnants that had been buried for years. She wished she could take David's sword and destroy them all.
"Come on, we should hurry," Rush said quietly, quickening his pace. David let himself be dragged along, unable to think about anything except what was about to happen. He was going to say goodbye again, and somehow this time hurt worse than the first one.
Lenne's heart sank as she saw they were close to the platform. She watched as Rush led David onto the platform and pulled him into another embrace. Her heart sank in sadness and she took a few steps backwards away from them, wanting to give them some privacy. She also couldn't stand to watch them say goodbye. The wind kicked up again and the two men faded from view, temporarily blocked by the dust.
"Lenne?" she heard Rush call out over the wind.
"I'm here," she answered. She looked down and realized she had been fidgeting with David's sword in the sand, and a small hole had started to form.
"It's time to go," Rush replied, and Lenne moved to take a step forward.
"Shh," Lenne heard suddenly in her ear. Before she could turn she felt cool metal pressed against her throat. "Not a sound, foolish girl."
Lenne stood frozen, knowing immediately what was happening, as she felt David's sword slowly pulled out of her hand. Panic flooded through her and she suddenly tasted bile in the back of her throat. God Emperor please, not again... her mind screamed.
"Lenne?" Rush's voice called through the wind.
She felt a strong hand grip her arm and begin to pull her backwards roughly, away from Rush's voice. She felt the metal at her neck being pressed down on, and her skin stung as the sword drew blood. Her eyes were wide with panic as she looked in the direction of the platform; she could no longer see Rush nor David through the dust.
"Give it to me," he breathed in her ear, his voice deep and raw.
"Lenne!" she heard David begin to call to her as well, his voice sounding further away that Rush's now.
"No," she hissed, trying to steady her voice and be strong, but the effort was useless. She began to struggle against his grasp to try to distract him; she knew as soon as he realized she didn't have the artifact, she was as good as dead.
The Conqueror chuckled quietly in her ear. "I can't believe you were foolish enough to bring it back to me. Even without it, we would have been able to return to the planet. But now, you've brought a much easier way. A way that will let us all return to the planet at full strength."
"Why? To enslave everyone?" she asked. She tried to keep him talking, not only to stall him from killing her, but in a vain hope that her friends could hear him.
"Enslave? Don't make it sound so cruel. We're only returning to our rightful place; complete dominance."
Over the insane ramblings of the Conqueror, Lenne had heard a shift in the sand nearby. She began to openly cry, sniffling and sobbing as loud as she could. Hurry, she pleaded silently with David and Rush in her mind.
After what felt like eternity, her prayers were answered.
There were suddenly heavy footsteps behind the Conqueror, and she felt the cold metal leave her neck. He shoved her forward onto her knees, and she heard metal strike metal behind her. She clawed her way through the sand, trying to put some distance between her and the Conqueror, before standing and withdrawing her dagger. She spun around on her heels, and saw Rush and the Conqueror squaring off against each other. The Conqueror too had aged, but Lenne could see beneath his shabby clothes that he was still as large and as menacing as before.
"C'mon old man, it's three against one. Shouldn't fight battles you can't win," Rush taunted him. As Lenne approached them David appeared at her side from the dust.
"Where's my sword?" he breathed in her ear.
"I don't know, he took it from me," she replied, and both their eyes flew to the Conqueror's hands. He was not wielding David's sword, but again had called the Valeria Heart to fight at his side. A vicious anger began to burn in David's chest at the sight.
"Conqueror!" David yelled out to him. The man did not turn to face him, but kept his eyes on Rush while speaking.
"Marquis," the man growled at him. "I'm pleased to see you here. I shall enjoy watching your death most of all."
At the Conqueror's words, Rush charged forward at him, an angry scream escaping him as he lifted his sword into the air. Lenne ran forward from David's side at the same, clutching her dagger tightly in one hand. Before she could reach him, Rush's attack was deflected and Rush staggered sideways, losing his balance. The Conqueror then spun around to face Lenne, and he easily knocked her weapon from her hand. Lenne didn't have time to react before she felt his fist collide with her nose, and tears instantly ran down her face from the pain. Reaching up as she staggered backwards, she felt a trickle of blood begin to run from her nose.
"Lenne!" Rush screamed, and she forced her eyes open. As Rush ran forward to attack the Conqueror again, through a blur of tears, Lenne saw David move towards him from behind her. She blinked furiously as she heard another loud clash of metal. Rush and the Conqueror had locked their swords together, both fighting for the upper hand in the battle, and Lenne suddenly saw a slight glimmer in the air. David had found his sword.
Thunder cracked loudly above them, hiding David's footsteps, as he lifted the sword and plunged it into the Conqueror's back. For a few seconds none of the three men moved, seemingly frozen in this moment; Rush and the Conqueror's swords locked together, their faces only a foot apart, while David pushed his own blade further into the Conqueror's chest.
Rush was the first to break the spell. Seeing the blade protruding from the Conquerer's ribs, he pulled his sword back, and the Conqueror's fell forward towards the sand. Rush took a single step backwards to steady himself, before raising his sword and swinging it sideways, aimed at the older man's neck.
Before steel could meet skin, the Conqueror lifted the Valeria Heart one last time. He drove it into Rush's stomach as momentum carried Rush's sword toward the Conqueror's neck. The older man collapsed instantly, his hand still gripping the Valeria Heart. The blade slipped from Rush's abdomen into the sand as Rush swayed on his feet.
Both Lenne and David screamed into the wind. David was at Rush's side in an instant, slowly lowering his friend to the ground. Lenne scrambled towards them and fell to her knees in front of Rush. She grabbed Rush's jacket and the shirt beneath it and pulled them upwards. The sword had left a wound almost three inches long, and blood had begun to flow freely from it.
"No, no!" David cried out. "Hang on Rush, hang on!"
"David, your shirt," Lenne said, something in her mind shutting out the panic that was welling inside of her. "Give me your shirt!"
David did not hesitate before reaching up and pulling off his outer shirt. "Rush stay with us," David said, reaching back down to cradle his friend's head on his legs. Lenne pressed the cloth against the wound with both of her hands. Rush grimaced in pain.
"Is he going to die?" David asked her, his face covered with fear. She did not look at him, but looked up to Rush's face. He was growing pale. She looked back down at the cloth she had pressed against him. It was now soaked through with blood.
"Is he?" David screamed at her.
"I don't know!" she screamed back at him, feeling fear begin to creep into her mind.
"What do we do?" David pleaded with her. She had no reply for him. Her eyes darted back down to her hands, and she lifted the bandage slightly to look underneath it. The bleeding did not seem to have slowed at all. Something caught her eye though – from Rush's pocket, twinkling slightly through the blood that covered it, was a chain.
She reached down and grabbed it immediately, yanking it from Rush's pocket before pressing the cloth back onto the wound.
"I have an idea," she said breathlessly as she began to work quickly. She grabbed Rush's hand and placed it over the cloth. "Rush, try to hold onto this okay?" His grip felt weak beneath her fingers, but he gave her a small nod.
"What are you doing?" David asked weakly.
"Help me get him to the platform," she said, standing and taking hold of Rush's feet. David scrambled to his feet and slid his arms under Rush's and lifted. They shuffled through the sand as fast as they could, almost tripping several times, before they finally reached the platform. They placed Rush gingerly on the cold metal, and Lenne saw the cloth had slipped from his fingers. Blood was still flowing from the wound.
"What are you doing?" David asked again.
"We need to get him to the surface," Lenne replied, standing from Rush's side and stepping off the platform. David leapt to his feet and followed her the few steps down back into the sand. Lenne turned around to face him, her face suddenly grim and exhausted.
"Get back on the platform," she said to him, her tone serious. He opened his mouth to argue with her, but she cut him off. "He said there would be enough time."
David stared at her, at a loss of what to say. He knew Rush well enough to know that his friend had been lying; he wasn't sure there was enough time.
"David, trust me," Lenne said quietly, her tone softer than he had ever heard it before.
"I trust you," he replied, the response automatic and honest. His heart was racing in his chest and his pulse thundered loudly in his ears. "But you can't-" his voice died as he heard Rush grunt in pain behind him.
"He doesn't have much time," Lenne said, looking around David to the platform behind him. "You need to go. I'll take care of it."
Thunder cracked over their heads as David turned back to face her. Her face was absent of any fear, and her determination was etched into her features.
"This was what I set out to do. Destroy them," Lenne told him, taking a step closer to him. She heard Rush moan in pain behind David, and her eyes flickered between the two men.
"Go. I'll be right behind you," she echoed Rush's words. She reached out for David's hand, and their fingers intertwined easily. She pulled him onto the platform, his hand squeezing her's tightly. She looked at David, biting her lip in nervousness, before pulling her hand out of his and reaching down to Rush, placing her fingers lightly on his neck. She could feel his pulse, weak and slow, beneath her fingers. David kneeled on the platform at Rush's side, taking his friend's hand.
"Hold on to him until you reach the surface," Lenne said quickly, stepping off the platform and reaching into her pocket. David looked up to see her raise the artifact in front of her, and suddenly a thin sheen of gold appeared between he and her. It glittered lightly around the platform, instantly silencing the thunder and shielding them from the wind. The floor beneath him began to vibrate slightly, and he heard a hum of energy that he had not heard in years. The sound of a remnant.
His eyes met hers as the humming grew louder. He called out to her over the noise, unsure if she could hear him through the barrier.
"Why?" he screamed, his voice echoing loudly in his own ears. He watched as her eyes darted away from him and down to Rush before she raised them slowly back to David.
"Ask Marina," he heard her call back, her voice distorted as if she were speaking underwater. The hum in the air reached a deafening level as the vibration in the floor became almost violent, and David reached a hand out against the barrier to steady himself, keeping his other hand clasped tightly around Rush's. Rush's hand was limp in his own, and David looked down to his face. His eyes were closed and his lips were slightly parted as if he were asleep.
David looked back to Lenne and saw her looking at his hand pressed against the barrier. Slowly, she reached out and pressed her hand against it from the opposite side, and David felt his chest tighten when he did not feel her skin press against his. And suddenly, David knew what he wished he had said to her that day in her room.
"I wish this had been different," he called out to her, barely able to hear his own voice over the sound of the machine. She did not react to his words, and David watched as her eyes slipped closed.
David instantly felt the floor give out from beneath him. He turned and grabbed desperately onto Rush. They were freefalling through the air within the golden barrier, and David could feel heat instantly envelope them. He pulled Rush to him and wrapped his arms around his chest. As they descended Rush's body began to feel smaller in his arms.
No, please, David pleaded in his mind. Don't let him fade away again.
Lenne closed her eyes and willed the platform to return David and Rush to the surface. Almost instantly she felt the warm, invisible barrier disappear beneath her fingers, and she opened her eyes. The empty platform stood before her. They were gone.
She lowered her hand, still clutching the artifact tightly, and turned away from the platform. She began to run through the sand, her head turning constantly to watch for landmarks through the dust. She had not gone more than a few hundred feet when the dust cleared suddenly, and she skidded to a halt in the sand. More remnants had moved closer to the area, but her heart skipped a beat when she looked down at the ground. Where normally there had been vast, empty desert, a large hole was beginning to appear in the ground. It stretched over fifty feet across, and Lenne could see now that the remnants were converging around it.
"They're preparing to launch an attack," Rush's words filled her head.
"The storm," she said aloud to herself, suddenly remembering the unnatural storm that had seemed to settle over Elysion. She took off at a run again towards the cavern with the machine inside, a renewed panic hastening her feet.
Torgal looked up the rampart wall as soon as the earthquake hit. He'd sensed it before it had started them, a rumbling coming from deep within the earth. He watched now as Lenne held onto the rope desperately, adrenaline and fear giving her strength she had lacked only a moment ago. Beyond her, David was calling down to her to keep going, when suddenly his feet slipped out from under him.
"DAVID!" Torgal had roared as he and Lenne watched David swing from the rope and collide with the wall. He watched as David began to fall, and Torgal sensed Lenne leaning towards him precariously. Torgal released the rope with both of his left arms and reached out towards David, and he felt the rope being jostled again. Lenne had let go completely and dove outwards, reaching for David. Torgal had snatched frantically after her, his hand gliding briefly over the slick leather of her boot. A feral roar escaped his throat as the air was filled with a loud clang. Lenne and David vanished instantly, leaving a shower of gold sparks behind them.
Realizing what had happened after a few seconds of sheer panic, relief flooded through Torgal at knowing that David had been saved. He gripped the rope again tightly and climbed back to the top of the rampart, the earth beginning to tremble more violently with every passing second. He lifted himself over the top and braced himself against the lip of the wall, when suddenly something in the distance caught his eye. On the open plains beyond Elysion's walls, the land shuddered and then suddenly gave way. It began to crack and crumble as a wide open fissure formed, smoke and dust rising from it.
Squinting to try to see better in the dark, Torgal saw movement briefly from within the crack in the earth. His eyes focused intently on where he'd seen it, he watched as a monster he had never seen before climbed out of the fissure. It was large, at least a few feet taller than Torgal, and its skin shimmered strangely. To Torgal, it looked as though a travelling fire was contained within its skin, moving from limb to limb as it lumbered on all fours towards the city.
Although he was scared to think it, he knew it was a moving, living remnant.
Ever muscle in Torgal's body became tense and on alert. The shaking of the earth began to die as he saw another creature just like the first emerge from the fissure, only to be followed by another. As he watched they began to flow freely out of the earth, swarming over the land and destroying every living thing in their path; both people and beasts.
Lightning cracked through the air again, and Torgal turned his head to look above him. The storm that was lingering over the city had begun to form a distinct area of calm directly in the center of it. A hole, like the eye of a hurricane had formed, and Torgal blinked several times in disbelief. As he stood momentarily to watch, he swore he could see it growing in diameter.
"It's not natural." Lenne's words echoed in his mind.
Suddenly something caught Torgal's eye, and he straightened himself up completely to watch it. A spark of gold had appeared in the clouds above him, and it was gradually growing larger. It streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind it, and Torgal involuntarily raised his arms to shield himself as it approached. He felt an immense heat wave sweep down his body, then he heard a loud impact beneath him.
Throwing himself back to the rampart's edge to look over it, Togal's eyes widened in shock at the sight at the bottom. Amid a cloud of dust, smoke and golden sparks, David laid on the ground, coughing and gasping for air, next to Rush.
Torgal's eyes darted upwards beyond them. The horde of beasts that had emerged from the fissure was looking towards the two men, their attention drawn to them by their sudden arrival. Torgal did not hesitate before grabbing hold of the rope and leaping over the wall. He lowered himself unnaturally fast to the midpoint of the rope, skinning his palms as he went, before pushing away from the wall and letting go.
As they descended towards the planet, David clung to Rush, his friend's body lifeless and unresponsive. Seconds passed that felt like years before David suddenly felt Rush lift his arms and wrap them around him in return. Relief flooded through David, and he thought he heard Rush try to say something, but his voice was lost on the wind. They fell away from the dim, overcast light of the graveyard and into the darkness of night.
David opened his mouth to yell to Rush to hold on, when suddenly they crashed onto the surface of the planet. They both crumpled to the ground, and the wind was knocked out of David for a second time. He tried to roll over, gasping for air as he fought the urge to be sick again, and reached out blindly for Rush. His fingers met cloth and he felt a warm arm beneath it. Opening his eyes, he saw Rush –young, alive and seemingly unhurt – lying next to him on his stomach.
A furious roar filled their ears, and both of them lifted their heads towards the sound. In the dim light they could see a crowd of beasts, their skin fiery and unnatural, charging towards them. David began to scramble to his feet, pulling Rush with him, and his hand flew to his waist. His stomach sunk with dread as he realized he had left his sword, forgotten in the chaos, embedded in the body of the Conqueror. Rush too was realizing he was unarmed, and the two men began to scramble backwards. Their backs collided with the stone wall behind them, and David looked around frantically. They were surrounded.
The beast at the front of the pack, eyes wild with hunger, closed the distance easily, and David and Rush dove sideways to try to dodge its reach. They heard a thud and a sickening crack of bones breaking as Torgal leapt downwards, landing on the creature's back. Torgal balanced himself on the its shoulders as he reached up and plunged two swords between its ribs. The beast roared in pain before collapsing beneath the sovani's feet.
"Torgal!" David exclaimed as the sovani leapt down and pulled his blades from the carcass. He quickly handed one to David while tossing one through the air to Rush, who caught it easily and spun it in his hand. Another of the beasts from within the fissure lunged towards them, and Torgal and Rush both swung at it. Torgal drove his sword deep its side while Rush leaped forward and slashed at its neck. The creature staggered backwards before collapsing.
"Where's Lenne?" Torgal yelled over the sounds of chaos around them. Neither Rush nor David answered, they only cast brief glances up at the sky. As Rush's eyes travelled upwards his mouth fell ajar.
"Dave!" he called out, pointing upwards. David threw a quick glance upwards before lowering his eyes again towards a creature that had lunged at him.
"Is that a remnant?" David called out, reaching down to withdraw his sword from the fallen beast before looking up again. His question caused even Torgal to look upwards.
In the clearing of the clouds, which had now grown to encircle the entire city of Elysion, another layer of clouds and dust could be seen. The sun had not yet risen over the planet, yet these clouds were dimly lit. The hole in the storm was creating a passage to the graveyard. On the edge of the cloud line, the glistening outline of shapes could be seen. The remnants had gathered around it, and almost seemed to be looking down on the planet through the storm.
"What's taking so long up there?" Rush asked aloud before returning to the fray of battle.
Lenne reached the cavern with the machine after a time that felt like hours. She had run through the desert as fast as she could, but navigating the graveyard had been almost impossible since the remnants had moved. She had stopped after a few minutes, her throat burning from the dust in the air. She raised her arms and covered her mouth with her sleeve, trying to catch her breath. Her eyes stung, dry and irritated, but she forced them open as she looked around frantically. The sharp rocks of the cavern were nowhere to be seen, and after only a few seconds she began to run again. Her eyes darted around frantically, searching for that familiar shape, when suddenly she saw something in her peripheral vision.
She skidded to a stop in the sand and raised her sleeve back to her face, greedily breathing in the slightly cleaner air that filtered through it. She stood, chest heaving as she gasped for air, and watched intently in the direction where she thought she had seen something. The wind howled in her ears and wiped more dust into her eyes. Tears were beginning to track down her face in an attempt to clear her eyes, and she blinked furiously, keeping her vision trained forward.
Seconds stretched into minutes as she stood staring, waiting for a break in the wind. When it finally came, her patience was rewarded; the cavern stood in front of her only a few hundred yards off. She ran towards it, trying to keep her sleeve at her face as she went. Her legs burned in protest, pleading for rest, but she ignored them as the cavern came into view. She flew across the sand and onto the stones which paved the path inside. Her footsteps were loud and heavy and echoed throughout the cavern, and as she entered it the wind died instantly.
Coming to a stop she leaned forwards and braced her hands on her knees. Her lungs greedily took in the clean air as she caught her breath. She reached up to wipe her eyes clear and felt a gritty layer of sand over her skin.
Looking up, Lenne saw the machine still sitting dormant, just as it had two years ago. Her stomach began to flutter nervously as she reached into her pocket for the artifact. When she withdrew her hand, she saw it, along with Rush's talisman, splattered with dry blood. The chain on which the talisman had hung was snapped at one place, and she realized it must have happened when she and David had travelled to the graveyard.
"It's always helped me when I needed it," she heard Rush's voice from two years ago in her mind.
"It's worth a shot, right?" she said aloud, echoing Rush's words. Her eyes darted back up the machine as she stepped forward slowly. It towered over her, at least thirty feet tall, and she suddenly felt very small in comparison. The fear that she had blocked out when she sent David and Rush back to the planet began to creep back into her mind. She knew that Rush had no way of knowing what would happen to whoever used this machine, but she also knew the consequences of not using it.
Slowly, she raised her trembling hand up towards the machine, clutching Rush's talisman and the artifact tightly. The machine's core, an orb exactly like the artifact's, began to glow from within, and the rings around it slowly began to turn.
As Lenne's eyes slipped closed, she pushed that growing fear within her aside. She focused on destroying the remnants, on keeping the planet safe. She focused on what had set her on this path three years ago; before Rush, David, and the Rebellion.
Rush and David's swords fell through the air at the same time, both working together to bring down another monster. Torgal was a few feet away from them, fighting a monster of his own, when suddenly they heard it. A deep rumbling sounded from the air above them, and the land was suddenly illuminated by a strange, purple light. The air began to vibrate with energy around them, causing even the monsters from the earth to stop and look around. Rush chanced a look upwards and saw that up in the remnant graveyard, the clouds that had covered the sky above him for fifteen years were collapsing inward. The storm clouds above them were suddenly alight with lightning, bolts flashing constantly across the sky.
"Rush!" David called out to him, and Rush felt someone grasp his arm. "Get down!"
Rush allowed David to drag him to the ground, and after a second he felt Torgal's body hovering protectively over them. Lightning was flashing down and striking the walls of the city, sending shards of stone flying through the air.
"They're coming!" Rush yelled out, and David and Torgal looked upwards. They could see the shapes of remnants descending through the clouds.
Lenne, David thought. Where are you? He suddenly felt Torgal press him closer to the ground as the air began to pulse loudly around them. He heard the sovani grunt in pain as a piece of the rampart wall crashed into his shoulder, but he held his protective stance over them. As chaos erupted around them, David felt Rush reach out for his hand.
Just then, Lenne answered.
David felt the air around him suddenly become still, and he turned his head to look upwards. Everything fell eerily silent, and as he watched, the hole in the clouds above them began to close. The entire storm collapsed inward on itself, lightning and clouds condensing to a single point before suddenly exploding.
Spreading in a perfect circle, a ring of energy and light flew outwards, reaching the horizon line in seconds. It cleared behind it all signs of the storm and the graveyard, and a furious, unearthly screech filled the air. Night became day as a bright flash followed, temporarily blinding David. The ground began to shake more violently than ever, and David pressed his face to the grass, covering his head with his arms. Dirt and heat swirled around them, and he heard Rush scream Lenne's name.
As quickly as it began, everything once again fell silent. The earth beneath them settled into stillness for the final time, and David hesitantly lifted his head.
"Rush? Torgal?" he called out, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the changes in light. The darkness of night had returned as soon as the energy wave which had cleared the skies crested the horizon.
"I'm okay," he heard Rush reply next to him.
"Torgal?" David asked again, panic rising in his stomach.
"Here," he heard the sovani respond from behind him. The quake had caused Torgal to lose his balance as he tried to protect them and tossed him a few feet behind David. A section of the rampart wall had crumbled away, and Torgal's leg was partially pinned under large piece of stone. Rush and David both crawled to Torgal's side, and quickly began to push it off of him.
"I think it may have broken a bone," Torgal growled through clenched teeth as the two men rolled the boulder that was resting partially on his ankle leg.
"It's alright, we'll get you out of here," Rush said hurriedly, throwing one of Torgal's lower arms over his shoulder. David quickly followed suit on the other side and they lifted the sovani to his feet.
"We have a pack with medicine along the road, hopefully it's still there," David told him as they began to walk, supporting Torgal, away from the city. As they crossed the field near the fissure, they saw that the beasts which had spawned had somehow been burned severely, their charred carcasses littering the ground. The smell was overpowering, and David had to breathe through his mouth to keep nausea from overcoming him.
"What about Lenne?" David asked when they had travelled only a hundred feet from the city. Rush looked upward and stopped immediately in shock. David and Torgal followed his gaze upwards.
"Oh," David sighed in awe.
The night sky had been completely cleared of all clouds, revealing more stars than David had ever recalled seeing before. Across the darkness streams of colors shimmered faintly, changing between shades of purple, blue and green. Although beautiful, the sky lacked the one thing David had hoped to see; a smoke trail leading back to the planet.
He looked at Rush, his mouth slightly ajar with the unasked question, but Rush's face confirmed his fear. She had not made it back.
"We should keep moving, we can't be found here," Torgal said, grimacing in pain from his leg. David and Rush began moving forward again, supporting Torgal, a sinking feeling growing in their chests as they went. As they travelled slowly through the early morning and midday hours towards Athlum, David could not stop remembering the last time he saw her; hand outstretched towards his, a sadness that he feared he would never understand in her eyes.
Thank you so much for reading! The epilogue will hopefully answer any lingering questions you have. See you soon!