Author's note:

Merry Christmas, everyone!

To those of you who don't celebrate it, happy holidays!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update - I've been sick with a really bad case of strep throat and what appears to be bronchitis, so I had to cancel my Christmas holidays. But that means I get to update... more than once today!

Have a good day/evening with your loved ones!

Lunarelle

They ventured farther into Helheim, battling kvaldir, skeletal beings and undead hellhounds that were intent on ripping off their very limbs. On more than one occasion, Faith felt herself slipping, wanting nothing more than to curl up in a ball and allow death to overtake her. She hated feeling this way, as it reminded her of the way she'd felt just after Arthas had killed Sylvanas.

Sylvanas is fine, she told herself. She's fine, she's alive, and you're going to see her again very soon. Just get through this. You can do it, Faith. You can do it.

And part of her knew she could. She'd been through much worse before, and she'd been on her own. This time, she was with friends, with people who wanted to help her. She was queen of Undercity and co-warchief of the Horde.

She could do this.

"Faith, are you all right?" asked Helion.

"Yes," she replied. "Don't worry about me. Are you all right, though? You're looking very pale. So are all of you, actually."

"I'm not feeling really well," he said. "But I'm sure I'll be fine."

The others replied in the same vein and Faith thought for a moment, "Let's try to find a safe place. I have some herbs here, and I can make an invigorating potion for you. Hopefully it'll work and help you feel better until we find the missing pieces of ourselves."

"You really think that a potion will work down here?" wondered Ceven, wiping at his brow. "We don't have any water."

"So I'll make a paste with the herbs I have and we'll try that. Let's make for that ship over there, it should give us some cover as long as nothing nefarious has made its home there."

They found that the ship was uninhabited, probably because it was completely falling apart. Of vrykul design, it was very much like the ones Faith had seen in Northrend.

"I swear I keep having flashbacks," she whispered as they settled against it. She took a small mortar and pestle out of her bag, adding mageroyal and peacebloom petals to it and beginning to grind them into a paste that she scraped out of there with a wooden spoon she carried. "Ceven, I don't suppose you could use the Light on this, could you?"

"Whatever for?" he asked.

"It couldn't hurt. I have no magic to use, and I'm afraid that if I use Felo'melorn, I'll set the whole thing alight or something."

"I'll try, but I can't guarantee results. You have more herbs in your bag?"

She nodded, "I'd rather not have to use more of them, though. We don't have much left."

Ceven reached out a hand, covering the spoon with it without actually touching the paste. His fingers began to glow very dimly, but that only lasted a second before the light subsided. "Sorry, it's the best I can do."

"Thank you for trying," she whispered to him, dipping her finger into the paste and tasting it. It was bitter and the minor spell Ceven had performed on it made it burn her throat, but it was a shock to the system and heightened her senses. "Okay, it seems to be good. Sorry about the bitterness of it."

"How much do we take?" asked Tink.

"A pinch should do it. Everyone should get some. Just put it under your tongue and leave it there for a bit before you swallow it."

They all did as she said, and she took whatever was left. It wasn't much, and she might have hallucinated it, but it appeared that everyone's cheeks took on a little more color after a few minutes.

"That's better," said Havar. "I never thought to mix peacebloom and mageroyal before. I don't feel exactly good, but I'm not feeling as bad as before either. Thank you, General."

"You're welcome," she told him. "We should keep going now."

"How long do you think the effects of this paste are going to last?" wondered Helion.

"Not long, so we should get this over with as quickly as possible."

"Let's get moving then," said Havar. "I will take point."

He started walking and they followed him for a time, not encountering anything other than a few elementals that they quickly dispatched. "Hey, what's that?" asked Ceven after about twenty minutes had passed. "Over there between those two boulders."

Helion peered past Havar, "It looks like a pink ghost… is it shackled to that log?"

"Oh, Faith, I think it's part of your soul, look!" squeaked Tink.

Faith moved closer. The pink "ghost", as Helion had called it, looked exactly like her and was fighting savagely against her restraints, her translucent eyes wild. Nearly laughing, recognizing part of herself she reached out a hand.

Something nearby snarled, and Faith jumped back as a monstrous kvaldir covered in barnacles rose out of a nearby pool of water.

"Faith!" called Ceven.

"Leave it to me!" she cried as the fragment of her soul began to struggle harder.

A dozen spells came to her mind, but she was incapable of using them, and so did the only thing she could think of, unsheathing Felo'melorn and slicing it through the air, catching the tips of the kvaldir's fingers. It roared as two of its fingers were cleanly amputated, spouting green blood everywhere, and lashed out with its other hand. Faith rolled away, barely avoiding the blow and bringing the point of her blade down onto the kvaldir's naked foot.

Bellowing in pain and rage, the kvaldir kicked her hard, wrenching her sword out of the kvaldir's foot and sending her barreling into the log where the fragment of her soul was shackled. She reached out a hand, touching it.

Her body convulsed once, almost as if lightning had coursed through her. Her fists opened and closed and she bit her lip against a scream that was threatening to be wrenched out of her.

The kvaldir approached her, meaning to hit her while she was down.

"Oh, I don't think so, buddy," she said, laughing and feeling much more like herself. She caught the kvaldir's first in her hand, matching his strength and executing a complicated move she had learned from Halduron years previously. A moment later, she had gotten behind the creature and thrust her sword into his back.

The kvaldir slowly fell to his knees, spraying blood from his mouth and onto the log.

"By the Light, Faith! How did you do that?" cried Helion as he watched the kvaldir die.

"I got a heck of a power boost when I got part of my soul back. It was my fighting spirit, I think."

"You mean to tell me that my spells are so weak here because my soul is fragmented?" asked Ceven.

Faith looked at him, "That's what Ashildir said to us. It's why we've been feeling so weird. It's not just the fact that we're in Helheim."

Ceven rubbed at his temple, "Right. I'm sorry, I feel like my mind is a sieve right now. I'm forgetting things."

"It's okay, Ceven," she told him, squeezing his shoulder. "We'll all feel better once we're whole again."

Whole again.

None of them had ever really understood the meaning of that sentence, not even Faith, and not until all of them had found the three missing pieces of their souls, which had been scattered all over Helheim.

Each of them had been fragmented according to their strengths. Faith had nearly completely lost her sense of valor, her fighting spirit, and her compassion. Only small traces of them had been left within her, just like Havar's courage had been severely depleted along with Tink's strength.

It had taken them over a day to get all the pieces of their souls back, refusing to give up until all the members of their little party had been reunited with every part of themselves.

It had been anything but easy, as they had all fought the guardians of their souls alone, with the others standing by to offer support in case things went horribly wrong. But somehow, it had all had worked out, perhaps for the first time since they had arrived in Helheim.

They were back near the portal, telling the other people on the hill what they needed to do in order to get out. Some of them, all members of the Horde, had gone on their own adventure to get their souls back, but several others had been too far gone to do anything but fall into a deep stupor where they were.

"Do you think we should wait for the ones who went looking?" asked Havar. "Before we attack Helya's champion, I mean."

"We can give them a bit of time," answered Faith. "I don't want us to get out and leave our people behind."

"But what if our souls get fragmented again?"

Ashildir stepped forward, "I do not think that is likely to happen. You have pieced your souls back together, showing an extraordinary amount of resilience. You would not have managed it if you were doomed to stay here forever, believe me."

"What about the Alliance soldiers?" asked Tink.

Faith looked at them, disliking the way some of them were glaring at her, "I told them what it is they need to do. If they refuse to do it, I can't force them too, and I'm certainly not going to help them with it. If we can, we'll send forces against Helya, but by then it may be too late."

"What do you mean?"

"If their souls are consumed, we may not be able to recover them."

"I have no desire to listen to the co-warchief of the Horde," said the woman. "I don't care what the whore says. She deserves to die a thousand deaths for what she did to King Varian."

"I have a feeling you'll die before I do, girl," said Faith to her calmly before settling down to wait for the ones who had gone on their quest.

They returned some time later – Faith lost track of time – looking much better than they had when they'd first left. Much more energetic. Stronger.

"Looks like you were able to do what you set out to do, everyone!" she said, looking at them proudly.

"Thank you for the advice, Your Majesty," said a Sin'dorei with short-cropped brown hair by the name of Perion. "It's good to be back."

Faith smiled at him, "I'm glad to hear it. We should get going if you're not too tired."

"Are ya kidding, mon? I think I could defeat Sargeras himself with da way I feel," cried a troll, raising a wicked-looking spear.

"Let's not get carried away, you guys. I think we're going to need our wits about us to defeat Helya's champion, and I have a sneaky feeling it's not going to be a walk in the park."

"You've got that right," whispered Ashildir. "Just wait until you see him. I bet you've never seen a thing like him."

"Sounds delightful," said Faith.

It was with some trepidation that they began to walk toward the Eternal Battlefield, which was exactly what it sounded like. A field where the unworthy souls of Helheim battled constantly for rewards they would never attain, all for Helya's enjoyment.

Sword hilts stuck out of the ground at odd angles, surrounded by the bones of the defeated, a stark reminder of what awaited them.

Faith felt her anticipation rising as she stepped onto the field, Havar right next to her and Helion behind her with Ceven. The darkness dissipated, and they saw Helya's champion for what it was: a towering horror that was over fifteen feet high, its body stitched together from various vrykul parts.

She began to laugh. "A flesh giant? Helya's champion is a flesh giant?"

"You've seen some before?" asked Ashildir.

"Yeah, in the frozen wastes of Northrend," said Tink. "Lovely creatures, really."

"So you can defeat it?"

"Faith could," answered Ceven. "If her magic weren't an issue."

"Greymane really messed you up when he poisoned you, didn't he, Faith?" asked Tink.

Perion turned his green eyes towards her, "You're admitting to the fact that it was Greymane who attacked her?"

A shrug, "I heard some Gilneans talking about how their king had dealt a blow to the Horde without anyone able to do anything about it. I don't know whether they were talking about that."

"But it's a safe bet," said Havar. "Damn him."

Faith bit her lip, "Fascinating as this conversation is, I wonder whether we might be able to get back to the problem at hand. We have a flesh giant here to take care of, and since I can't use my black fire, we're going to have to find another way to defeat it."

"What about the Light?" wondered a goblin. "A few good spells could finish it off. He's a priest, isn't he?"

Ceven chuckled darkly, "Yes, I'm a priest, but I guarantee you that my spells won't be enough to bring that thing down."

"What do you mean?"

Faith spoke up, "He means that we would need about ten priests to kill that thing with the Light, although paladins would be better in my estimation." She glanced at it, "But since we don't have that, we're going to have to find another way to handle it."

"We could just attack it," said Helion. "From behind."

"That is a good idea," said a vrykul with them. "But how do we get behind it?"

"We need a distraction."

"What kind of a distraction?"

"Me," said Faith. "Okay, I'll go in first. Once its back is turned, you attack together. Use everything you have. That thing is big, so remember to target its legs. Once we get it down, it'll be much easier for us to get rid of it."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Just get ready."

Bracing herself, Faith stepped closer to the behemoth, who saw her right away but evidently didn't figure her for a threat, being as it didn't move. She walked around it carefully and it followed her with its eyes, seeming a little curious. Faith could only imagine what she looked like to it, a small creature with toy weapons, one that couldn't possibly hurt her.

She fired her first arrow, aiming for the flesh giant's left eye, pleased when it embedded itself directly in its eyelid and exploded in a shower of arcane sparks before flying back into her hand.

The giant gave a scream that sounded more like the opening of an ancient crypt door, conjuring up all sorts of bad memories for anybody listening. Turning its entire body around to face Faith, it gave her its full attention, wiping at its face with a huge hand and smearing blackish ichor over the remains of its eye.

"Now!" cried Faith. She fired another shot, which the giant batted away while trying to stomp on her. Catching the arrow again as it came back to her, she nocked it and fired a third time, catching Helya's champion in the same injured eye. The arrow stayed where it was, and Faith said a quick spell, hoping that it would work.

Her world tilted crazily as magic rushed out of her, causing her to fall back in such a way that for a moment, she thought the giant had actually hit her. But it was bellowing, beating at its own face as small orange flames began to lick at its eye socket. It stomped, hard, and the entire field began to shake. Looking towards her companions, Faith saw that one of the vrykul lay dead, crushed by the giant's foot. She winced, but had no time to feel sorry for him, rolling away and getting back to her feet.

She fired another arrow and another, hitting its cheeks, nose, ears, lips, and any other part of its face she could. Ceven joined her, using his spells to hit its face. Its bellows doubled in intensity.

"Good job, Ceven," said Faith. "Keep it there. I'll use Felo'melorn on its legs." She ran towards the giant's feet, fully aware that she was putting her life on the line by doing this. Unsheathing her sword, she drove it, point first, into the soft flesh of the tendons right above the giant's heel. She then gave a swift yank, severing muscles and ligaments as she did so.

Helya's champion stumbled, falling to one knee.

"Keep going!" she called. She moved out of the way and started rummaging in her bag until she found what she was looking for, a length of rope she'd had the presence of mind to put in there before she'd left Dalaran. It looked small, but was magical in nature, lengthening and strengthening when necessary. She hoped it would do the job. "Havar! Catch this on the other side!"

Attaching a heavy rock to the rope, she aimed and threw it, somehow able to pass it around the giant's neck. Havar caught it deftly, holding onto it with both hands.

"Pull down!" he cried.

Faith did, and felt Helion coming to her aid along with several others just as a flash of Light hit the creature's head.

It toppled backwards, falling to the ground with an earthshattering crash.

"Finish it off!"

All of them leapt on the giant, attacking it in every way they knew how. Ichor flew in every direction along with bits of flesh as those of them with a blade began to slice at it as though it were ham. The few of them who had magic depleted its strength with various spells, until finally, the giant lay still. Dead.

"Oh, thank the High Tinker," sighed Tink, sitting down with a small thump. "I didn't think we were going to get out of that."

"How did you know to use the rope?" Havar asked Faith.

"You know the magnataur in Northrend?" she asked, wiping blood off the side of her face. "A lot of people brought them down that way. I figured it was worth a shot."

They all looked at her in what might have been awe, but she was busy gazing towards where she knew Helya to be.

"Come on. Let's get out of this place."

She led the way to the heart of Helya's lair, and the kvaldir who had been fighting let them through without trying to stop them. Apparently defeating the flesh giant was more of a big deal than any of them had thought.

"They should stay here and lead us," she heard one of them say quietly.

"Shh!" hissed another one. "Do you want her to hear you?"

Faith paid no attention to them, but part of her felt sorry for the souls trapped within Helheim. Had they really been so bad in life that they deserved to be there in death?

"Not all of the souls belong here," said Ashildir in a low voice, reading Faith's thoughts correctly. "Some of them were stolen away from Odyn, who would have gladly taken them into the Halls of Valor. They are the ones here who keep fighting no matter what."

"That's not fair," said Faith. "They lived a valorous life, and for what? To end up here, locked in an eternal and futile combat without being able to give their souls a rest?"

"I'm afraid that we can't help everyone."

Faith glanced at her. No, she couldn't help everyone, and it frustrated her to bits. "I've been told that before. And I know that we can't help everyone. It would just be nice if whatever we did made a difference, you know?"

"Faith, look at everything you've done," said Ceven as they crested a hill. "You've given people here hope. I don't think that's something that's happened often in this place."

"You've saved my life twice," said Tink. "I know I'm just an Alliance gnome, but I really appreciated you getting me away from the Scourge. Thanks to you I was able to go to Mount Hyjal to help the druids there against the Twilight's Hammer. I even worked with Hamuul Runetotem."

Faith smiled, "Now there's a good soul," she said fondly. She looked up, and the smile was wiped off her face.

Helya was before them, murder in her eyes. She was so angry she was shaking, causing a frigid wind to sweep over them.

"You dare to come back here after killing my champion?!" she thundered.

"We dare," said Ashildir calmly. "You told us that we would be free to leave if we defeated your champion, which we have now done. You are therefore obliged to let all of us go."

"I will do no such thing. You will never get out of here. You might have pieced your souls back together, but that will not last. You will forever be mine! And when the time comes, I will use all of you to make another champion, one who will be worthy of Helheim!"

Faith suddenly felt herself beginning to rise from the ground. Around her, she saw that her companions were doing the same, levitating right with her.

"What are you doing?!" cried Helya, outraged. "No! You can't!"

Faith started to laugh, "It seems as though even you have to honor the bargains that you made, Helya. You promised to set us free if we defeated your champion, and so we are free."

Helya screamed incoherently.

"It was a pleasure to be your guest. Good luck with whatever you're trying to do as you betray Sargeras!" She tried to say something else, but an incredible force was dragging her so hard through the air that it made it impossible for her to do anything all of a sudden. She couldn't think, couldn't feel. She thought she heard someone screaming, and then…