When we all caught up with the butt-naked Eyepatch, he was standing at the base of yet another flight of stairs that led to the very top of the castle. He was waving the Stick of Truth around like a wand, confused as to why it wasn't working the way he thought it should.
"Haha…huh UGH!" he yelled, trying to activate the Stick's power, "Er…damn thing! How does it work?!" I sweatdropped. Catching sight of us, Eyepatch ran over to us, demanding, "Show me how it works!"
"Yeah, right!" Stan said bravely, standing tall (as he could) before the madman.
Eyepatch growled in frustration. Then, he paused, looking at the Stick thoughtfully, before finally looking at me once more.
"Dovahkiin…" he began, kneeling before me, "Why should we be on opposite sides? Join me, Dovahkiin. Rule by my side." He held out the Stick to me as he continued to implore, "Join me, and you can have THIS all to yourself, FOREVER."
Everyone looked at me worriedly as Eyepatch continued, "I can offer you ALL! Just get me out of here safely, and you can rule with this once again!"
I looked at the Stick, appalled by the sheer level of his stupidity. Did he seriously believe that this Stick could control the universe? Even if something that powerful DID exist, it would never be allowed to fall into the hands of HUMANS, much less a bunch of kids.
"Sage…" I heard Butters whisper, his grip on my hand tightening. The boys around me had apparently mistaken the silence of my mental ranting for indecisiveness. Rolling my eyes, I held out my other hand, releasing a small burst of energy that sent Eyepatch flying backwards, the Stick still in his grasp. He looked at me angrily as the boys around me burst out laughing.
"You underestimated the character of the fighters of Zaron!" Stan proclaimed proudly, placing a hand on my shoulder, "What binds us is MORE than that relic!"
"And you failed to recognize the character of our alliance!" Kyle added, standing beside Stan.
"Yes! Our friendship is more important to any of us…than even the Stick of Truth." Cartman concluded dramatically. Yeah, because you're totally one to talk about friendship.
Eyepatch glared at us, searching us for any sign of weakness. And he was about to find one.
"It would seem that not all of us are in agreement." I thought as I sensed indecision is one of the fighters of Zaron, who had stood by Cartman's side for so long. That disappeared as Princess Kenny walked over to the madman's side, taking the Stick from him and laughing triumphantly.
"Princess Kenny!" Cartman gasped, actually sounding hurt for once. I glanced at him, subtly probing his mind, and sure enough, there was pain there. Could it be that Eric Cartman actually FELT something for someone other than himself?!
"At least ONE of you has some sense." Eyepatch said, glaring angrily at our group.
"You'd sell us all out?!" Kyle exclaimed in confused disbelief.
"But why, Princess Kenny?" Stan finished, showing the same emotion.
"Kenny, no…" Butters whimpered, hugging my arm in an attempt to find comfort. I patted his hands, watching the scene curiously. My curiosity increased when a strangely familiar voice answered.
"Because Princess Kenny was born a half-orc…"
We all turned to see Morgan Freeman emerge from behind a stack of crates. He continued, "…whose entire village was wiped out by humans and elves."
"Morgan Freeman?" Kyle asked, understandably confused.
"I had a feeling you would show up." I thought, and he nodded in greeting.
"You see, when humans and elves lived TOGETHER in the forests of Hollow Falls, an elven queen fell in love with the orc known as Dandar- the first one to possess the Stick of Truth. They loved in secret and had a child, a beautiful little girl who watched as everyone she loved was killed in cold blood. And that is why she waited…and plotted…all this time. To take back the Stick from you. For Princess Kenny is the true heir to the Stick of Truth." As Morgan Freeman finished his explanation, everyone stared at him, mouths agape.
"Wow…" Cartman muttered, "That's pretty cool." I mentally facepalmed.
Kyle, with his ever-curious nature, spoke up, "Just one thing, Morgan Freeman. How come every time something convoluted needs explaining, you show up?"
"Because every time I show up and explain something, I earn a freckle." Morgan Freeman replied simply as another freckle appeared on his face. I had heard something about that back in the spirit realm, something about the freckles keeping him alive longer than usual, but only if he keeps helping people and providing guidance to those who need it. You know, every day spirit gossip.
Kenny laughed again, running to the top of the castle, Stick in hand.
"PRINCESS KENNY, COME BACK HERE!" Cartman yelled, infuriated. He and the others chased after him, but we were stopped by Eyepatch.
"Where do you think you're going, Dovahkiin?" he growled menacingly, "You and I still have a score to settle."
Butters, his desire to protect his boyfriend, as well as his anger at what the man had done to me, boosting his confidence, stepped forward.
"Now you listen here, mister!" he barked, the malice in his voice shocking everyone, "You're the one who hunted and tried to capture Sage three years ago! You're the one who gave him that scar on his eye! YOU'RE the one who caused him so much pain, even though he did nothing to you, so YOU have no right to keep challenging him!"
I looked at my boyfriend proudly, and it seemed that even Cartman couldn't help but admire Butters' loyalty to me (like hell he'd ever admit it, though). Eyepatch growled, narrowing his eye.
"Is that so, little one?" he snarled, looming over my boyfriend, which led me to step in front of him slightly, "If he didn't do anything to me, then where do you think this came from!" He then tore off his eyepatch, revealing a scar not unlike my own. He then laughed. "Although, I really should be thanking you, Dovahkiin! Thanks to you, I now have more power than any human ever could, even without that stupid Stick!"
I growled as the man opened his right eye. Everyone gasped in shock and fear as the glowing red iris stared down at them before focusing on me, burning with hatred and a deep-seated desire for vengeance.
"I may have been just a weak mortal when first faced each other all those years ago, but not anymore!" my pursuer laughed maniacally, "When you gave me this scar on my eye, you transferred some of your power to me as well. I've been saving this power, letting it build within me all these years, so that now…" His eye lit up, his bloody rage overwhelming him as a pair of obsidian wings sprouted from his back, a tail equal in color and shade accompanying it.
"WE FIGHT AS EQUALS!"
He then unleashed a shriek that was not of a human or an angel and took off, disappearing into the dark, stormy sky.
Stan whistled, looking up at the human-turned-demon. Everyone else was shivering, with Butters and Kyle clinging to me and Stan, respectively. I looked at my friends and, when I had their attention, pointed toward the top of the castle, where Kenny had fled.
"Wh-What?!" Butters squeaked, his fear of the demon outweighed only by his fear for me, "Y-You want us to go fight Kenny?! But what about that…" He gestured toward the sky, where the demon was waiting, not really sure what to call him, before giving up. "What about you?! You want us to abandon you?!"
"No way, dude!" Kyle said forcefully, glaring at me (although he still clung to Stan's arm), "We only got this far because of you. We're not letting you take on any more enemies alone."
I shook my head, gently prying Butters off of my arm and walking over to where the stack of crates was. On cue, Morgan Freeman again appeared, just like I had asked him to.
"You cannot help the Dragonborn in this fight." he said, looking at all of them with passive sympathy, "It is a grave crime for a human to steal an angel's power, and in order to right this wrong, the angel whose power was stolen must deal with the demon that is born from that power."
"D-Demon?!" several of the boys chorused.
"That's right. Demons have many origins, and one of those origins is when a human gains the power of an angel and is corrupted by it. Normally, the angel would simply capture the demon and send it to Hell, where Satan and his minions would give punishment. However, when the Dragonborn's power was stolen, it linked the injury he inflicted with the injury that had been inflicted upon him, which is why, every time the Dragonborn's power is activated, the scar on his eye reopens. In order to stop this from happening, the Dragonborn must deal the ultimate punishment to the demon, so that he can regain his full power once more."
The group, once again, stared in awe at Morgan Freeman.
"Wow…" Cartman muttered, "That's really cool."
"So…" Butters whimpered, looking at me, "We can't help you, Sage?"
I shook my head sadly before nodding in thanks to Morgan Freeman, who gained yet another freckle.
"Anytime, Dragonborn." he said, turning to the group once more, "Right now, you need to retrieve the Stick of Truth, so that Princess Kenny will come back to her senses. Leave the demon to the Dragonborn."
The group nodded as Morgan Freeman walked back behind the stake of crates, disappearing soon afterward. As my friends got ready to pursue Kenny, they all looked back at me. I closed my eyes and nodded to them. They all gasped in shock as my eyes reopened, glowing blood-red with determination. Then, my own obsidian-black wings extended from my back and I took flight after the demon, whipping my tail in a circle to draw the storm clouds around us, cutting us off from the rest of the world. Maintaining awareness of my friends, who were finally facing off against Princess Kenny, I focused on the deranged former human in front of me, glaring at his typical demonic arrogance.
Humans can be such a pain…