.
IV
WHEN TO KILL A CROSSOVER
Chapter 6 – I Want to Play a Game
Was I bold enough?
Was I cruel enough?
Was I cold enough?
How the games get old and tired
If you've lost all time for others ones, then let it be me
I'm folding up, I'm turning around
.
"Turning to Rust" Ciaran Lavery
The following morning, Danika was aching from sleeping on the ground—something she hadn't done since her first adventure with the dwarves who had travelled to Erebor—made worse when faced with spending the rest of the day on a saddle. Already, her unaccustomed bones were protesting the ride from yesterday and the prospect of another hard ride did nothing to lift her spirits.
"You look awful," Bilbo muttered sympathetically as he brought her a bowl of soaked oats. Danika had been bending over to gather her bedroll and was too stiff to raise herself erect, instead letting herself fall to the ground and rolling into a sitting position before accepting the breakfast.
"That was graceful," Kili snorted at her, taking up the blankets and padding.
"Shoosh, you," Danika growled, lifting the bowl to her lips and downing its relatively warm contents.
"Do you think you'll be well enough to travel?" Bilbo winced at her apparent state of soreness.
"I don't have much of a choice, now, do I?" She snapped, slurping up the last of the oats. But she instantly regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth and she clamped her eyes shut, shaking her head and catching Bilbo by the hand before he was able to turn away from her.
"I'm sorry," Danika whispered, "I'm so sorry, Bilbo."
Bilbo patted the hand that clutched at his arm and he smiled with what she assumed to be pity. "You're on edge, I understand."
"That's no excuse." Danika saw in a raw voice that sounded as haggard as she felt. But before she could say more, Kili knelt beside her and took the empty bowl from her hands.
"How's your back?" He asked in a serious tone, looking her up and down.
"I'm fine." She murmured in irritation, but Kili raised an eyebrow at her.
"That's my line." He said without smiling. "So I know how fake it is when you say it like that."
"I don't want to sound like I'm whining."
"It's not whining. I asked; you're going to give me a truthful answer. It's as simple as that."
"I'm sure my back will be fine when I pop it." Danika said stubbornly.
"And you're not going to let me help with that either, are you?"
"I just don't want to bother you with it."
"It won't be a bother," Kili crossed his arms. "I've got, literally, nothing to do except take care of you and I'm going to do that job with everything I've got. The hard part is getting you to accept it."
"Is this how you two carry on when you argue?" Bilbo's disbelieving gaze went from Kili to Danika. "What is the problem? Why do people have such a hard time letting other people assist them? And the worst of them is you two! I don't understand it…" He threw his hands up in a huff, grumbling as he walked away.
"We weren't arguing, were we?" With wide eyes, Danika watched the hobbit leave.
"You were arguing; I was being forcefully kind." Kili laughed, breaking his previously serious composure.
Danika shrugged. "I guess so." She rubbed at the back of her neck. "Could you be forcefully kind to my neck?"
"That's what I was offering before," Kili rolled his eyes at her.
The tired woman shivered slightly as the dwarf's warm hands pulled at her collar to give him better access to her neck and as he worked at the knots and strains, she gave up on an inner battle.
"I'm sorry," Danika said sheepishly, shutting her eyes and relishing in the familiar touch of her beloved's heated fingers. "I'm being pig-headed and I don't need to be. I thought I needed to do all of this by myself, but after last night, I'm realizing I can't."
"Why do you think we're all coming with you?" Kili whispered. "We're not here for the scenery."
"I know." She sighed, comforted partly by the way his thumbs brushed over the bend of her neck and partly by the relief that followed her confession. "Sometimes I can be—"
"Stubborn." Kili supplied with a chuckle.
"Well, I was going to say stupid, but stubborn works, too." She laughed. "I'm not used to this, to being… well, in charge."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm going to be making choices in this game; I'm going to be at the head of it. But… I'm not a leader. I'm much better at helping the person who makes decisions. That's why you and I work so well together, I think. You don't mind being in charge, being the leader, and I don't mind following your decisions. I'd much rather let you take on the pressure of responsibility while I sit under your authority and do whatever needs to be done… Am I making sense?"
"Yes." Kili answered, and Danika could hear the smile in his voice. "I just find it funny—some might take what you said as you being under my thumb."
Danika snorted. "That implies that you have a heavy thumb. You don't; you're no tyrant. I'm happy to be 'under your thumb', especially when it feels like this." She moaned happily, feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders.
Kili was silent for a moment and Danika wanted badly to know what he was thinking, but she held her tongue and waited for him to speak his mind.
"I'm glad you see it that way," He finally said, brushing his lips over one of her shoulders. "Please don't think I'm being chauvinistic, but it makes me proud that you think of me that way." His hands left her shoulder and he helped her to stand, looking determinedly into her face. "And like I said before, you don't have to do this alone. Eomer and Wren seem to know what they're doing on a chess board and I doubt even the powers of Voldemort will keep them from standing close enough to shout advice in your direction."
"What about you?" Danika slipped her arms around his waist.
"What about me?" Kili sent her a half-grin.
"I want you close-by, too."
"If we could manage it, I'd be on the board with you."
"Hell to the no!" Danika screeched, pulling away from him. "I'm not making you a pawn in that game, so don't even think it."
Kili held his hands up to signal he wouldn't push the subject further, but Danika's heart was still pounding from her knee-jerk response. Walking away from him, she blew out a steadying breath and strode to where the horses had been tied, willing herself to calm down—there was no way she was putting her husband in the middle of the evil wizard's game! But whatever peace she'd bought with those few seconds was lost when she realized she'd have to figure out how to mount their horse on her own…
"Erm…" She swiveled around and looked at Kili, who had followed her with their bedding, handing it off to another rider.
Kili fixed her with a mischievous and expectant grin, crossing his arms and shifting his weight to one leg. "Need some help?"
"Maybe…" Danika turned back to the horse, refusing to meet Kili's eyes out of irritation. But the more she stared at the saddle was the more she realized there was no way she could do it alone. The irony of asking for help after talking about the necessity of asking for help was not lost on her…
"Urgh," She growled. "Kili, I need help mounting." There. She technically hadn't asked. Danika wanted to stick out her tongue.
"I'd rather you didn't say that until we're alone," He grinned, wagging his eyebrows at her.
"Megalopolis" Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Kili had asked Danika to ride behind him on the second day of travel, knowing that it would be a little easier on her sore muscles. But after a midday break to eat, he switched her to sit in front, positioning her as though to ride side-saddle and propped her head against his shoulder. Telling her to sleep, he was surprised when her answer wasn't an argument, but a light snore. It couldn't have been very comfortable, he admitted, but the poor woman was suffering from what he could only describe as "jet lag". Having been born into this lifestyle, Kili only had to re-attune himself to the world around them, but Danika had only dabbled in it for a short while before being returned to her own world and then thrust back to this one with him again. It was enough to drive anyone to madness.
That evening was filled with more chess lessons, more debate over possible game-pieces, and more coaxing her to eat when she said she couldn't stomach much.
"Optimus Prime." Danika answered Bilbo's question beside the fire. "I'm not sure how well he'll hold up against the pieces Voldemort is choosing, but I think he's a good place to start."
"That's not a bad choice at all," Bilbo smiled at her, but Eomer looked confused.
"Eomer…" Danika bit her lip and looked hesitant to speak to the horselord, but she raised her eyes to look at him. "Do you remember other stories you might have been in? Other universes?"
The King of Rohan eyed her dubiously. "There are shadows in my mind; perhaps they are memories of other lives, but all are rooted in Middle-Earth."
"Even though you're part of the Star Trek universe?" Wren spoke from beside Thorin on the other side of the campfire.
"I beg your pardon, but I don't understand what that means," Eomer tilted his head to look at the red-headed healer.
Thorin raised his eyebrows. "Even I can remember that universe—and you were in it, sir." But still Eomer shook his head.
"I wonder why that is," Bilbo looked into the fire, his mind working over something. "Why do we remember some of the other stories we've been in while others are forgotten or blocked?"
It was slow, but eventually everyone's heads turned to look in the direction of the standing Doctor, who had refuse to sit while everyone else sat.
"It's, er, complicated," He scratched at the back of his head. "I mean, it makes perfect sense to me, but—"
Danika rolled her eyes and Kili chuckled at her disgruntlement. "Anyway," She turned her head back to Eomer, "I was only asking to get more ideas."
"What about Spock?" Wren offered. Thorin whispered something in her ear and she playfully smacked his shoulder.
"If I can't think of anyone else, I'll consider it," Danika said, yawning widely.
Much of the next day passed the same as the day before, but the mountains to their left and the great white city before them caused them all to sigh with relief. The White City of Gondor. They'd made it!
The dwarves were scrutinized by onlookers as they passed through the gate and road upward through the streets, but with prejudice or surprise, Kili didn't know. He only knew that he was determined to get Danika in a better state than she already was, sagging in his arms on the saddle before him with a growling belly. It wasn't that their rations hadn't been enough during the long ride there, but her decline in appetite was beginning to worry him.
While the horses were seen to, the weary travelers were shown to rooms overlooking the fields of Pelennor, a daunting sight under the coming rainclouds that fluttered over the field in an unnatural mist. The dark wizard was preparing his board…
"You and Me" You+Me
"You need to eat." Kili insisted, bringing a small tray to the bed where Danika was sitting and wringing her hands together. A hot bath hadn't calmed her nerves, but had eased the pains of riding horseback for days. Kili would take whatever victory he could get. "Stop being so difficult."
"I'm not trying to be difficult." Danika said with a small sniffle. Kili's eyes shot up to her face. Having fussed over finding ways to get her to relax, he'd forgotten to pay attention to her personally. How ironic…
Kili sighed, frustrated with himself. "Scoot over, love."
With downcast eyes and a quivering lip, Danika shifted to permit Kili to come alongside her on the bed. Leaning against the headboard and pulling her into his lap, Kili wound his arms around her shoulders and pressed her head against his shoulder, cradling her.
"Are you afraid?" He whispered, running his fingers like a comb through her drying hair.
Danika sighed. "Not really. I know I'm as prepared as I'm going to get. I know I'll have Eomer and Wren there to help me strategize. And I know that you and the Doctor have been cooking something up since you read through the rules."
"There's nothing left to worry over." Kili breathed into her hair, inhaling the scent of whatever soap she'd used.
"I'm not worried." Danika repeated grumpily. "I'm… it's going to sound so stupid."
"And yet, you know I'm going to ask anyway."
"…I'm upset that everyone's had to put us up." She pressed her face into his chest, the words coming out in a comical blur. "They've had to feed us, clothe us, give us horses to ride—I don't like being a burden to people!"
"Is that seriously what you're stewing over?" Kili raised a brow, trying to bite back the laugh in his throat. "Danika, of all the—you're ridiculous. I'm sure they don't mind all that much." And finding a subject to distract her, Kili poked her in the ribs. "Let's talk a bit; we need to figure out what to do when this is all over."
Her head slowly rose and she looked at him in disgust. "What does that mean?" And cocking her head to the side, she added, "You're trying to distract me."
"No, it's an honest question. If we play wizard's chess—"
"Amended wizard's chess." Danika corrected with a roll of her eyes.
"—and then we drive Voldemort out of Middle-Earth and all is happiness and sunshine once again, where do you want to live?"
Danika's face fell and Kili thought she almost looked disappointed, though he couldn't figure out what she could be thinking. Brushing a strand of blonde hair out of her face, Kili stared into her blue eyes and tired face, trying to determine just what was going on in her creative imagination.
"I don't know." She answered honestly. "I could point out the pro's and con's of living anywhere, but I just don't think I care anymore. I'm tired of all this moving around and I'm tired of getting into these strange situations. What I really want now…"
But her words stopped and Kili almost groaned in frustration, feeling robbed. After a moment, though, she looked at him inquisitively and something in the back of his mind clicked.
"Uh-uh." He shook his head at her. "I'm not going to tell you where I want to go just so that you'll agree with me. It's your turn, this time."
"It isn't so much of a 'where' as a 'what'." She answered non-committedly.
"Blast you, woman!" Kili lunged forward and pressed her body underneath him, looking her in the eye and pinning her arms down on the mattress. "Out with it."
"You're not much of an interrogator," She laughed, trying to wriggle from his grasp, but finding him too strong to escape from.
"Why does it have to be an interrogation?" He groaned, resting his forehead against hers in mock exasperation. Her foot was slowly sliding up and down his leg.
"It's more fun that way." Danika giggled, pressing her hips up into his. Her distraction was working, sending all other thoughts to the wayside as his need for her steadily climbed to unbearable. The distractor had become the distractee.
"Please," He begged, calling on the last remnants of good sense remaining in his hazy brain. "Just tell me what you want."
Blowing out a soft sigh, Danika relented in a small voice that was barely audible. "I'd like to start a family."
Kili's eyebrows rose. "Oh," was the only response he could muster.
"If you don't want to, yet, I understand—"
"When we can make it through all of this unscathed," He interrupted, "I don't see why not."
Her timid grin turned into a beaming smile, lighting up her face in a way that made Kili's heart swell.
"Radioactive—Live London Sessions/2013" Imagine Dragons
The next morning…
Danika would rather not have ridden just before playing—her stomach was already unsettled—but Eomer and Kili assured her that she wouldn't want to walk the distance from the White City's walls to the chess board out on the field. Wren didn't seem to care either way, slipping her hand through the loop of Danika's arm once they were dismounted and patting her forearm comfortingly.
"You're going to be playing two games," The red-headed healer said. "While the chess pieces are moving, Voldemort will be trying to unsettle you by other means."
"Poker. He's going to be playing poker and chess." Kili murmured from Danika's other side.
Wren peered around Danika to look at the dark-haired dwarf. "Essentially, yes."
"So I have to keep my focus on the game and not him." Danika closed her eyes and nodded, each step bringing her closer to the massive board. Kili's fingers played with hers a moment before pulling her from Wren's arm and embracing Danika in a tight hold, crushing her to his chest. The four of them were silent as Danika finally pulled away, approaching the chess platform with wide eyes.
She was amazed at the size of the board.
Behind them was the White City of Gondor, its splendor apparent even in the overcast morning; in front of them was the grassy fields of Pelennor, where the War of the Ring had been fought years beforehand. It was here that the Kingship of Rohan had passed into Eomer's hands after the death of his uncle, Theoden. And it was also here that he'd found Eowyn's limp form, thinking her dead when he had clutched her in his trembling arms, only to learn that she and Merry had hidden among the men to fight alongside the Rohirrim. Danika wondered if he hated these fields as much as she was beginning to.
It only took Danika a single step to raise herself to the smooth surface of the chess platform—it was covered with alternating black and white tiles big enough for a person to stand in. Part of Danika's active mind wondered how her Optimus Prime pawn was going to fit.
On Danika's side of the board were her principle players, all standing on rounded discs that hovered lightly above the chess squares, and where the King piece should have been was a disc with a small stone chair. Danika squinted across the board to see that Voldemort was already sitting in his King-piece chair, surrounded not only by his principle players but also his pawns. She noted the players in the eight pawn positions:
Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Carribean
Rorschach from The Watchmen
Subzero from Mortal Kombat
Godzilla
The Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz
Darth Maul from Star Wars
Moriarty from Sherlock
The White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia
Danika turned to look back at the only other people to join her on the fields of Pelennor: King Eomer, Healer Wren, and her husband, Kili. As long as they were there, she knew she could manage…
"Please, take your seat so that we can begin." The dark wizard said calmly, his magic causing his voice to carry to her side of the board.
Looking once more to her husband's face, Danika moved toward the King seat. Kili nodded at her encouragingly, standing beside Wren and Eomer at the edge of the board, just close enough to talk to Danika, but far enough not to touch her.
"You must choose your pawns, my dear." Voldemort whispered passively from his seat, his menace obvious even in the playful hiss of his deep voice.
"All right then," Danika sat in her stone King-piece chair, elbows resting on her knees as she rubbed her hands together. "Eight pawns: Captain Jack Harkness from Doctor Who. V from V for Vendetta. Ice-man from X-men. Optimus Prime from Transformers. The Incredible Hulk from The Avengers. Thor from The Avengers. Spock from Star Trek. And lastly, Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy."
As she said their names aloud, each of the players appeared on the eight empty discs on her side of the board, filling the ranks and freezing as they faced the direction of her opponent.
"Excellent choices, all." Voldemort clapped, though Danika doubted he really meant it.
"When do I get to see your Queen-piece?" Danika shouted with cupped hands.
"All in good time—you must come against my her to reveal her identity. Don't worry," Voldemort jeered. "She won't be shy."
Danika's hands were trembling from frustration and nerves, but she was more than prepared for this game to start.
Voldemort seemed to sense her readiness. "Shall we begin?" And with that, he made the first move…
"We Came to Smash – In a Black Tuxedo" Martin Solveig - Please, please, please listen to this song while you read this section!
"Fly, my pretties!" Called a high-pitched, cackling female voice. A swarm of flying monkeys appeared above her, swooping down onto a roaring green monster.
Danika was sitting at the edge of her seat on the King-piece throne, having called out to the pawn directly in front of Voldemort's moving pawn-piece—and now the Incredible Hulk was defending himself against the minions of the Wicked Witch of the West.
A large green fist shot up into the air and caught one of the winged creatures by the leg, shaking it in his hand before the Hulk savagely tore it apart. No matter how many horror films Danika had seen, nothing could compare to the carnage before her. Monkey after monkey dove at the Hulk, but he swatted them away easily, growling and swearing with garbled words.
Finally, the Hulk turned toward the witch. Her servants lay in a heap about the board, some missing their wings and others their arms and legs, and she looked momentarily frightened before putting on a sneer that would have made Danika whimper if it had been aimed at her.
"Smash!" Hulk shouted, bringing his fists down on the Wicked Witch of the West, pummeling her down into the ground. A heap of white smoke whirled around her flattened remains and the deep, low ring of a large bell sounded in the distance.
Voldemort leaned forward in his chair, peering at Danika across the distance and smiling to himself before commanding another pawn to move forward. It wasn't a threatening movement, but Danika wasn't comfortable with leaving her part of the board vulnerable in that spot, and so she called on the pawn closest to Voldemort's piece.
Just as Danika had predicted, Voldemort called to the pawn—the White Witch of Narnia—and shouted an attack against Danika's Ice-man pawn. The X-man immediately created a shield of ice and a sword and ran toward the witch, but her long spear-like wand struck out at him, causing him to leave his side undefended as he ducked away from it and she turned him to stone before he could compensate. The bell rang once more.
Danika gaped—that match had been over far quicker than she expected—but called herself back to focus when she saw that Voldemort was moving the White Witch closer to her ranks.
"Thor!" Danika called out. "Stop her!"
The Thor pawn-piece raised his hammer to the sky, causing darkened clouds to gather and collect until a single, powerful lightning bolt came down upon his hammer. The son of Odin threw his hammer against the ground, sending out a ripple that jarred the entire board, and fixed his gaze on the Witch of Narnia. The rumble of the board caught her off-guard, just in time for Thor to throw his hammer toward her, colliding with her middle and sending out currents of lightning across her cold, white skin. The Witch evaporated under the hammer's power and the bell tolled again.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Danika watched as Thor and the Hulk grinned at each other. The god of thunder's platform had brought him side by side with the green monster when he'd been positioned against the White Witch—Thor raised his hammer to bump against the Hulk's raised knuckles. It was the strangest 'fist-bump' Danika had ever seen, but she took encouragement from it. Maybe she had a chance of winning after all…
Voldemort's pawn Rorschach was fighting against Danika's V for Vendetta pawn, but she was momentarily distracted by Eomer as the horselord took a moment to advise her, picking up on a few of the strategies Voldemort was using and determining what to do next. She was surprised when the low hum of the bell drifted through the air, marking a winner—Rorschach!
"Ugh," She groaned to herself, but Eomer heard it and questioned her. "Sorry, I kinda wanted to see that…"
"Watch his rook," Eomer warned her, pointing across the board.
Voldemort's Maleficent was moving. And there was only once piece in position to go against her.
Danika knew she was taking a risk, but she shouted to her Green Lantern piece. The green-clad superhero created a tank with his Ring, riding toward Maleficent slowly, but powerfully. The horned enchantress crossed her arms and raised a brow at him, unimpressed. Immediately, Green Lantern fired against her, but she dodged the round quickly and tapped her staff against the armor of the tank.
"Are you so dishonorable that you will not come against me yourself?" She mocked in a sing-song voice.
The tank rippled and disappeared, replaced by Green Lantern wearing emerald armor and wielding a long sword.
"My turn," Maleficent smiled with one corner of her mouth. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a massive, black dragon and her wide jaws descended on the hapless Green Lantern, swallowing him whole. A mound in her great, scaled neck traveled downward toward her belly until finally she let out a loud belch.
Danika smacked her forehead just before she turned slowly to look at her husband, who stood at the edge of the chess platform with crossed arms.
"You were right," Danika sighed in exasperation. She then turned her attention back to the board and moved her Captain Jack Harkness pawn, hoping to pit it against a certain pawn, when Voldemort made it evident he had other plans.
Two pawn platforms met, but not the ones Danika was intending.
"Captain Jack against Captain Jack?" Danika wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, I mean, I can understand my Jack, but the drunk pirate…?"
"This is going to be over quickly." Kili murmured to Eomer, who looked at both of the pawns as though they were useless.
"Captain Jack Harkness." The time-travelling man introduced himself to his opponent. He held his hand out, but the pirate made no move to shake it.
"Erm," Jack looked around in confusion. "Captain Jack Sparrow." The pirate gave a clumsy bow and Jack Harkness looked at him skeptically.
"Why are you wearing eye-liner?" Jack Harkness cocked his head at the burping Captain Sparrow.
"Doesn't everyone?" Jack Sparrow looked around as if to find someone who would confirm this statement, but the pirate only swung around so quickly that he had to take a step to steady himself. "Hmm, I guess not. Still, you've got to admit…" Jack wagged his eyebrows seductively. "It holds a certain charm, does not it?"
Danika's jaw dropped open as she watched Jack Harkness laugh and cross his arms, eyeing the pirate with a playful expression. "That, I won't argue. Not everyone can pull off a look like that, but you seem to have a –"
Clearing her throat, Danika called out, "Listen, you two can talk over coffee later, but we kinda need to keep focus right now."
Jack Harkness nodded relentingly, putting on a serious face and lifting up his gun to aim at the other man, but Jack Sparrow only looked at him with fear, eyes begging for mercy. "No, no—listen, mate—" The pirate held up his hands in surrender.
"Sorry," Jack Harkness brought out his pistol. "Work before pleasure, love."
And with that, he pulled the trigger and a round went into Jack Sparrow's midsection, sending the pirate to the ground on his back.
Captain Jack Harkness shook his head again and turned away, as if shooting the pirate had been wasteful, but the man swiveled around again when a cough erupted from Jack Sparrow's mouth.
"Oy, mate, there's better ways of killing a man, ye know?" Jack Sparrow said as he rose to his feet. There was a wide hole in his middle, black char lining his shirt around the edges, but it was smoky instead of bloody. From where he sat in his King-piece chair, Voldemort threw out a hand and from his wand a ray of light—revealing Jack Sparrow to be nothing but bones and tattered cloth.
Jack Harkness' eyes went wide as he watched the pirate approach him.
"Like this." Jack Sparrow cackled, thrusting the blade of his sword into Jack Harkness' belly. The man cried out, looking at the swaggering drunkard in shock. But then they both stood upright, assessing each other as though for the first time.
"You can't die, can you?" Jack Sparrow said with an upturned lip and raised brow.
"Nope," Captain Harkness gurgled, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he removed the blade from his body, throwing the reddened weapon to the ground and putting his hands on his hips. "I'm guessing it's the same with you?"
"Aye," The pirate looked impressed.
Danika's hands were on her face in front of her mouth. "What the…?" She turned to look behind her at her advisors, but Kili only shrugged at her. Eomer looked confused, as he had for most of the game, but Wren was explaining to him that both of the players were such that they couldn't be killed.
The two Jacks were busy shooting and stabbing at each other, more out of humor and curiosity than in an attempt to be victor, all the while exchanging flirtatious banter. Danika could see that this was going to be a long turn…
Eventually, pieces of Jack Sparrow began to fall from him, and Jack Harkness got a gleam in his eye, dismembering the other captain as quickly as he could manage while the pirate protested. Soon Captain Jack Sparrow was nothing but a pile of bones which occasionally twitched and jerked, but Harkness seemed to take that as a win.
"Technically, he can't fight back anymore." Captain Jack called to the dark wizard, whose head was ducked in frustration as he nodded, waving a hand at the bones of Captain Jack Sparrow.
Captain Jack Harkness swiveled around on his game-stand and bowed theatrically to Danika, who clapped in enthusiastic appreciation.
Eventually, the pieces on the board had met and fought, hours passing quickly.
Voldemort's Godzilla fought against Danika's Optimus Prime, with her piece winning before it was taken out by Q, who had so far been undefeated.
Subzero fought against Captain Jack Harkness, who was forced to admit defeat when Subzero froze him and was unable to fight against the martial artist, adhering to the same rule he'd applied to Jack Sparrow beforehand.
But Dr. Manhattan was the piece that Danika had the most confidence in, eliminating Subzero, Rorschach, and Darth Maul before any of them could respond.
"You need to think for a moment," Eomer came close-by to whisper into Danika's ear. "He's gaining on you."
"Voldemort's got one pawn left," Danika objected, pointing over the board.
"It's not a game of elimination, though," Wren said, coming to Danika's other side. "He's trying to distract you—look at where his Knight is."
Sure enough, when Danika squinted in the distance, there was King Leonidus of the Spartans, gripping his sword with surety and narrowing his eyes at her. Her Raven rook was being defeated by Voldemort's Sarumon bishop, but Danika was trying to figure out what her opponent had up his sleeve…
"That's enough of that," Danika murmured to herself, finding the opportunity to put her Dr. Manhattan in front of Voldemort's Q. "Let's see what you think of this!"
Oddly enough, the match was over in a few moments, each of the pieces glowing until they were too bright to look at before Q had disappeared entirely, leaving Dr. Manhattan the clear winner.
But that King Leonidus piece…
"What's he doing?" Danika whispered to herself as much as the Rohan King who was pacing behind her.
"Send the Knight to your left." Eomer growled, looking over the board as though he wanted to run onto it and challenge every piece on it.
"Maximus," Danika called and pointed to the Spartan King. "Take him out!"
"Gladly." The gladiator unsheathed his sword and stood still while the platform beneath him came to connect with the platform of the warrior king, who set the bottom edge of his shield on the ground while leaning his elbows on the upper tip of it.
"I have no quarrel with you, slave," King Leonidus said calmly, looking over the man with condescension.
"That matters little," Maximus answered. "I don't like the way you've been looking at my King."
"That slip of a girl does not deserve your allegiance." Leonidus said simply, a bored expression playing over his face.
"And the evil sorcerer doesn't deserve yours." The gladiator said.
Leonidus smiled, cocking an eyebrow and turning his head to look at the wizard behind him. "That's true enough, but I take it you're fighting for the same reason I am."
"I'm no mercenary." Maximus growled. "I fight for something better than myself."
"Think what you will, but you'll meet the same end no matter what you fight for."
Danika's attention was held captive by even the smallest twitches of the two warriors, sensing that rather than talking, they were measuring each other's abilities. It was a dance of the tongue which would mimic the style of their weapons and minds.
"I concede that you might best me," Maximus held his shield up defensively, "but my last breath will be drawn after I deliver a killing blow, a relief earned by the surety that my sword will end you, even if it is slowly."
The King of the Spartans was amused by this, but it was a martyred smile, and if Danika read his face correctly, he looked as though he believed what the gladiator said. The King nodded. "It is an honor to come against a man with an equal heart to mine."
With an answering nod and a click of his sword against his shield, Maximus readied himself for the fight.
.
Longest chapter ever...
But I didn't want it to be said that everything that happened before the game was a filler.
It isn't. At least, not to me. Those terrifying moments before a big event are important
to me, so I couldn't help but include them. Game's not over yet! And believe me, things are about to get insane.
I haven't really checked over this chapter- again, I was so anxious to get it out quickly for you to read- so if you
see any typos or any mistakes (or just have any questions) please send me a PM and I'll fix it!
Next chapter coming in a few days!
.
By the way, the reference I'm using for the previous Eomer/OC relationship is one of my favorite stories- Heart of The Horselord by rynogeny. Please be sure to give that story a read, it's fantastic!
.
Want some Thorin/OC romance/angst? Try JEWELS AND DAGGERS
Just as Thorin becomes engaged to be married, the dragon attacks Erebor and all is thrown into chaos! Men with wicked intent take captive some of the wandering dwarves- will Thorin, Frerin, and Dwalin be able to rescue the enslaved dwarves, including Runa, Thorin's beloved?
.
Want someKili/Tauriel romance/adventure? Try STARS AND HAMMERS
Fluff, Drama, Romance, Hurt/Comfort - This is a compilation of one-shots following Kili and Tauriel's one-year adventure as they accompany Bilbo back to The Shire (after the Battle of Five Armies) and then return to Erebor.
.
Want some Fili/OC romance/adventure? Try GOLD AND FIRE
Fili and Nur marry in secret just before he leaves for Erebor, but what is a lonely wife to do while her husband is braving life and death for their future? Covers the Battle of Five Armies and afterward.Explanations for some of the actions within the movies as well as some behind the scenes! A sequel to GEMS AND POISON