A/N: First, let me just say that I know it was a while ago, but I really want to say thank you for the support on the last story. I didn't get the chance to respond to any of the reviews – sorry! – but I really appreciate all the kind words. Anyway, here's the next chapter (finally), and at least it's a long one. It took me some time to get this to a point where I was happy with it. I don't think it's perfect, not by any stretch, but it's good enough, and I'm sick of reading it. On the other hand, there's some good stuff here that I'm genuinely pleased with. You can decide for yourself what you think :)

Oh and for those of you who keep telling me that you can't wait to see Natalya suffer, you might like this chapter. And the next ;)

-Kio

Chapter 22; Fallen

Shangri-La

Natalya ran straight at the horde, sword in one hand, fireball in the other. The Fallen bared their teeth. It occurred to her that there really were quite a lot of them. It would probably have been a good idea to come up with some kind of a plan before running head first into them.

Probably. Bit late now, though.

She let go of the fireball in her hand, sending it straight into the horde. Flames blossomed and danced forward, leaping between formers, devouring the tattered rags hanging from their haggard frames. The creatures screeched and tried to pull back, but already the flames were in among them, spreading fast.

Natalya didn't slow down, leaping straight into the inferno. She reached for the nearest former and crushed its throat. She punched another with enough force to cave its face in. Her sword flashed and claimed a third. She grinned, a demon surrounded by fire. Chaos was everywhere. Her element.

A former came for her, jumping out of the smoke, but she shouldered it into a burning comrade. Two more tried braving the heat; she kicked one away and cut the other clean in two.

The pain from the fire grew harder to ignore and she grimaced. Even as it burned, her skin was reforming, but constant healing drained her like nothing else. If she wasn't careful, she was going to end up disfigured – and what a shame that would be. She didn't want her pretty face getting all melty.

Ducking beneath the swipe of a former, she pushed forward, hunting a moment of respite. The smoke was thickening. She could barely see. Formers tried to block her way but she slashed and kicked, severing limbs and shattering bones. And then she was free, emerging from the smoke and the fire-

-right into another batch of Fallen. Already they were coming for her. Sucking in a breath of clean air, Natalya drew her second sword and stood her ground. She hacked and punched and kicked and danced between strikes, balancing on the edge of what she was capable of. Steel flashed. Bodies broke. And then she stood alone, surrounded by black blood and body parts.

Breathing heavily, she glanced up. The rest of the horde had her encircled. At least fifty sets of glowing eyes fixed on her. Unblinking. But they weren't moving yet. These creatures weren't fearless like the others – they had seen what she was capable of, and they were wary. It looked like they were running thin on volunteers to lead the charge against her.

Finally, she thought, some luck.

But her relief was short-lived. While she was grateful that they weren't tearing her apart – yet – she didn't see how she was meant to break through their ranks, and she doubted she could kill them all before they took her down. As the creatures waited, more formers were arriving at the scene, taking their places in the ring. The horde had to be almost a hundred strong, now, and still it was growing. It was only a matter of time before they were confident enough to strike.

At least she had the horde's attention. Most of it, at any rate. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Artemis and the others taking full advantage of the distraction she was providing, fighting past the stray formers towards the temple. Leaving her behind.

Natalya smiled bitterly and wiped her swords clean. She readied herself.

Artemis kept half an eye on Natalya as he set off with Holly and Butler. His personal feelings aside, there was no denying that she was extraordinary. The Russian girl leapt into her own inferno, dancing through flames with her sword flashing, killing. Always killing.

Holly nudged him as a gap in the horde opened up. "Come on."

Artemis increased his pace. Natalya was managing to draw most of the horde's attention, but he didn't know how long she could keep it up – it made sense to take advantage of the space while it lasted.

A couple of formers blocked their way, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. Holly glanced at Butler, who nodded ever so slightly. Whatever was communicated was entirely lost on Artemis, but it seemed to be enough for the two old soldiers. Holly went left. Butler went right. The struggle was fast, and brutal, and then the way was clear.

Artemis hurried forward in their wake. Another former leapt at them but Butler snatched it from the air and crushed its skull. They kept moving. The sounds of Natalya's struggle grew fainter.

"Artemis?" called Holly as Butler dealt with another couple of formers. "What happens when we reach the temple?"

Artemis didn't stop moving. "Honestly? I don't know. We'll see."

"Somehow that doesn't fill me with confidence."

Artemis shrugged. "We've got enough explosives to bury this whole place. I'm sure we'll figure something out."

Holly smiled a little. She did like explosions. "Just so long as we don't bury it with us still inside." She glanced back at Natalya. "Well, maybe with one of us still inside."

Artemis didn't reply, but he followed the elf's gaze. Natalya was still fighting, but something strange was happening around her. The entire horde was fixated on her, but none of them looked like they wanted to intervene.

Holly was noticing it too. "Huh," she said. "Looks like they're scared of her. That's new."

Artemis nodded absently, watching the horde completely encircle Natalya. "Indeed."

"I really don't see how she's going to get out of that." Holly shrugged. "Come on, let's go."

Artemis didn't move. Holly had a bad feeling she recognised the side of his thinking expression.

"Come on, Artemis. She did her job. Now let's do ours. This is the best shot we'll get."

Artemis turned back to the temple. Holly was right, there certainly weren't as many formers between them and their destination as there had been. But there were still more than he would have liked. He glanced back at Natalya's predicament.

"They'll kill her."

Holly made a face. "Tragic."

"Indeed," said Artemis patiently. "And then they'll come back for us and we'll be trapped on the wrong side of them. Then we all die. Painfully."

"Ah. Now that is tragic."

Artemis smiled. "Precisely."

"Hey," called Butler from up ahead. "Lovebirds. What are you chatting about? We're on a tight schedule here."

Artemis spotted a passage leading down to the lower levels of the city. He pointed. "Change of plan, old friend."

"What are you thinking?" asked Holly. "How do you want to save her?"

"You'll like it," Artemis told her. "We blow her up."

Holly grinned. She did like it.

Natalya was pacing. It wasn't accomplishing anything, but she preferred it to standing still, and that made it better than nothing. An emotion was hovering at the back of her mind. It resembled fear. Not good. Not good at all.

She glanced behind her, towards the temple, for the umpteenth time in the last few minutes. She still couldn't see Artemis or the others. Maybe they had switched up their route to avoid the remaining Fallen.

Or maybe they were dead.

She hoped not. As far as she could tell, they were still her best chance of survival. Maybe if they killed the hivemind, the Fallen would keel over and revert to being corpses.

Maybe. Hopefully. But maybe not. She was just speculating, really. It was probably more likely that the creatures would just revert to their primal nature and rip her apart immediately. But Natalya could be a glass half-full kind of a girl when it suited her, and she really didn't like the sound of the second option.

Faith in Artemis it is, she thought bitterly.

And what would she do if cutting off the snake's head did destroy its body as well? Get out of there before Holly Short could come back and kill her like she clearly planned to? Go back and kill them all? That was probably the smartest option. She doubted Short would ever leave her alone, and after all, they had left her to die.

Natalya hesitated. She supposed she could give them the benefit of the doubt for that. Perhaps Artemis had reached a similar conclusion to her – that the best way of helping her was to try and destroy the hivemind before the horde decided to kill her.

Yes, she said to herself, perhaps the people who hate you were really just trying to help when they left you to die. Alone. Sounds plausible.

Natalya shrugged. "You never know," she said to no one in particular. "Maybe I'm feeling generous today."

She raised her swords towards the horde encircling her. "And you," she shouted. "Freaks. Pretty sure I'm a dead girl. Who wants to join me?"

The horde growled as one. Natalya didn't flinch.

"Come on!" She spread her arms wide. "I'll kill every one of you undead bastards." There were some more growls, less enthusiastic this time, and a few shrieks, but no movement. "No one? Pathetic."

The horde didn't even respond this time. Natalya laughed and shook her head. "Look at me. Ranting at dead bodies. I really am well-adjusted."

She sighed. It had not been a good few days. And it would be a miracle if she was even alive to see tomorrow.

Shangri-La sprawled downwards just as messily as it sprawled horizontally. Ruined and desolate, the lower levels twisted around the vast supporting columns seemingly without direction or logic.

Holly hopped over a broken wall into what must once have been something like a garden.

"I just can't get my head around this place," she admitted. "It must be as big as Haven. Maybe bigger. And it's almost ten thousand years old."

Artemis spared her enough attention to nod his agreement. She was right – extraordinary didn't even begin to do their surroundings justice. How the People had built the place originally he couldn't begin to imagine. No doubt magic was involved, but he had yet to come across any kind of magic that might facilitate giant underground city construction – and atop a vast lake of lava, of all places.

He shook his head. Yes, it was a mystery. But as much as he liked solving mysteries, they had bigger problems. He heard his manservant catching them up.

"Butler? Are they following?"

"Doesn't look like it. Most of the creatures are focusing on the Russian or milling around the temple entrance. Whatever you're going to do, you should have space. At least, unless there are more of them down here."

"Would we ever be so lucky," muttered Holly.

Artemis ignored her, looking ahead of them. There was a dead body on the path not far from them. A part of him couldn't help but expect it to leap up at any moment, magically alive. Disappointed in himself, he raised his eyes from the corpse and scanned the surrounding city, running some quick calculations in his head.

"Natalya is…" he murmured, raising a finger. "About there."

Holly and Butler followed the finger with their eyes. It was pointing to the edge of a large cluster of dwellings coiled around a support column like a great spiral staircase of houses.

Holly shrugged. "Guess we better get a move on, then."

Their progress was quick as they headed forward, and they remained unharassed by the Fallen. They did pass a few more bodies, though. A distinct, uneasy tension hung between them. The death and suffering that clung to very air in Shangri-La was bad enough already, without the gruesome reminders that littered the streets. Holly even made the mistake of glancing in through the windows of the first house they passed. A family of skeletons had leered at her from the shadows. It wasn't a mistake she repeated.

They approached the base of the giant column. Ahead of Holly, Artemis and Butler suddenly paused.

"Problem?" the elf asked.

Artemis shrugged. "See for yourself."

Holly frowned, and took a few steps forward. She came to just as sudden a halt as the others. The road simply stopped. It was just their luck, really. A good five meters of void separated them from their destination. Holly looked down, through the hole. Miles below them, magma coiled. She tapped a stone with her foot and watched the abyss consume it.

"Ah."

Artemis couldn't resist smirking ever so slightly. "Quite."

Holly didn't return the smile. "I would punch you, Mud Boy, but knowing you, you'd probably manage to fall in. And then what would I do?"

"Suffer intolerably, no doubt," replied Artemis, unfazed. He nodded to the crumbling house to their right. All the entrances were blocked by rubble. "Butler, can you give me a leg up to the roof? I think up and over is our best way around."

Holly snorted before Butler could respond. "I don't think so. You aren't going anywhere before us. You'll get yourself killed. Mark my words."

Artemis rolled his eyes. "Very well. Butler, please give Holly a leg up so she can verify that's it safe."

Butler kept his face straight. "Naturally."

The massive bodyguard went to stand by the house's exterior wall. He reached out a pair of shovel sized hands towards Holly.

The elf sighed. "This would have been so much easier with a pair of wings," she muttered. She put a foot on each of Butler's palms, making sure she was secure. She bent her knees. "OK, big man. Up we go."

Butler pushed upwards, effortlessly lifting her, and Holly leapt up, timing her jump with the manservant's boost. For a split-second, she was airborne, then her fingers curled around the lip of the roof. She took a breath and started to pull herself up. Once both forearms were over the threshold, she glanced up.

A pair of yellow eyes were waiting for her.

Natalya stopped pacing. The horde was parting, revealing a creature like nothing she had ever seen before. It wandered towards her, heavy footsteps echoing through the ruins. At least twelve feet tall, it towered above the Fallen. Massive tusks jutted out from its lower skull. Unnaturally long arms dragged behind it, adorned with claws. Slit, yellow eyes burned bright in the gloom.

And then it roared, like thunder from Hell itself.

"And you're their champion?" she called, refusing to allow herself to be intimidated. "A shame. I was hoping for a challenge."

The horde shrieked as one. The creature started stumbling towards her. It wasn't hard to work out what it was.

"You're a troll, aren't you? Or you used to be. Now you're one of them."

The creature didn't respond. It just lumbered forward clumsily, massive and stupid and terrifying. Once it was inside the ring of formers, the horde shifted again, sealing up the gap it had entered through.

"I've never met a troll before," Natalya admitted. "Which means I've never killed one." She winked. "But I'm always up for trying new things."

The former troll growled, deep and guttural, and sniffed the air. It fixed its eyes on Natalya, and began to circle. The Russian girl followed suit. All around her, the horde was still, and deadly silent. Waiting.

Natalya considered her options. Maybe if she killed the troll, the horde would back down. That would be nice. That would be a turn of luck. It wouldn't happen, of course. She didn't get lucky. No, if she killed the troll, the horde would descend on her. Maybe it would descend on her if she just got close to killing the troll. Which, all things considered, wouldn't be ideal.

But then again, if she didn't kill the troll, the troll would kill her. Which also wasn't ideal.

"Well," she said aloud. "Now I'm conflicted. On the one hand, I want to kill you as quickly and violently as possible. On the other hand, I don't think that's really in my best interests." She sighed wistfully. "A real dilemma. What do you think?"

The troll grunted.

Natalya's smile was wicked. "Now that you mention it, I think you're right. Killing you would be the fun option."

Artemis watched in horror as mottled hands grabbed Holly and tossed her from the roof. The elf soared past his outstretched fingers and hit the ground hard, rolled, and disappeared over the edge into the abyss.

"Holly!"

Artemis made to run forward, but another former leapt down from the rooftops, landing between him and the rift. He froze. Behind him, he was dimly aware of the sounds of a struggle, presumably as Butler dealt with more formers. He tried his best to look past the former blocking his path, hoping to see fingers clinging desperately to the edge of the cobbles. But there was nothing. If Holly had managed to grab hold of something, it wasn't visible.

The former growled. Artemis growled back, intellect giving way to baser instincts. Love, after all, had little room for reason or personal safety. He clenched his fists and stepped forward, ready to fight.

He never got the chance. The former was as quick as the rest of them, grabbing Artemis before he could swing his punch and casting him aside. Boy met stone with a brutal thud. Pain was immediate. Eyes watering, Artemis made to pull himself to his feet, but the former slammed into him, sending him to ground once again.

Resisting the urge to cry out, Artemis forced his eyes open, hunting for his attacker. He registered a hand swiping at his face and rolled, just barely avoiding the former's claws. Guessing wildly, he kicked in the direction the hand had come from, and was rewarded with a satisfying crack.

A shriek followed, but Artemis ignored it. He tried making a mental list of things that hurt, but quickly gave up when he realised how long it was going to be. All he could do was push the pain to one side. It could be dealt with later. All that mattered was Holly. Gritting his teeth, he hauled himself up. His stance may have been shaky, but he was upright, and that was something.

A few metres away, the former was picking itself up too. It caught sight of him and snarled, but Artemis wasn't discouraged. He had a measure of his opponent now. Standing his ground, he reached out a hand, pulling free a loose chunk of stone from the nearest house. It felt good in his hand. Weighty.

The former rushed him. Artemis didn't flinch. All he had to do was time his swing correctly. Like cricket, or baseball. Granted, he hadn't ever played either of those sports, and would probably have been dreadful if he had. Also, if he missed, he would likely die, and so would Holly. Assuming she wasn't already.

Probably best not to think about any of that.

The former was about to reach him. Aiming for its forehead, Artemis swung with whatever force he could still muster. He missed, catching the edge of the creature's chin instead, but it was good enough, and a damn sight better than he was expecting. Bone shattered. Blood erupted from the wound. The former stumbled backwards, stupidly gesturing at thin air as its cursed life deserted it, and then it collapsed. Artemis looked at it, lying there in the road, pitiful and broken. The lower half of its face was missing. He dropped the rock, now covered in black blood, and smiled slightly to himself.

"Home run," he muttered. Then he remembered Holly, and ran to the edge of the road. She had to have caught hold of something. She had to have done. This was Holly Short, after all. It would take more than a fall to make someone like her give up. She was the kind of person who could survive fatal wounds through sheer stubbornness.

Sure enough, the elf was clinging on for dear life. The road was thick – at least half a metre – and mounted on what looked like a metal lattice, connected to stone supports on each sides. Holly had lost her helmet in the tumble, but had just barely managed to hook the tips of her fingers over the metal beam directly beneath the edge Artemis was stood on. It was already buckled and twisted; by the looks of things, it was a miracle it had supported her weight this long. Seeing her alive, Artemis couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief, though the danger was hardly over.

"Artemis," the elf screamed, eyes wide. "Help me!"

Artemis crouched down by the edge, trying frantically to think, without much luck. Relief was already starting to give way to panic. He didn't see an easy way to hoist the elf back up himself, and he didn't have anything as useful as a rope to give her to hold.

And then something shrieked behind him. He spun. The first thing he saw was Butler in the background, surrounded by the bodies of already defeated enemies, struggling with a last few formers. Then he registered the former fairy sprinting straight at him.

His body moved before conscious thought had time to set in, diving to the side. He felt the creature brush against his legs as it went careering into the void. He heard Holly scream as it fell past her, narrowly missing colliding with her and sending them both into the fiery abyss.

Sucking in breaths, Artemis glanced down. The former's shrieks had long since faded by the time the sheer heat of the magma set it alight. He switched his attention back to Holly. One of the elf's hands had lost its grip on the beam when the former had almost hit her, and the other looked like it was about to follow suit.

"Artemis!"

The truth hit Artemis hard. She was going to fall. Not maybe. Not later. Now. He didn't have time to come up with a solution. He had to act or she was dead. He dropped, lying down on the cobbles, getting as low as he could. He reached out a hand. Steps echoed off the road behind him, but he ignored them. They didn't matter. Nothing else mattered now.

"Take it!"

Holly grimaced. With the last of her strength, she swung her free hand upwards as her other arm finally gave in. Artemis wrapped his fingers around her wrist and she wrapped hers around his. His heart fluttered, thinking that maybe she might live after all, but then she lost her grip on the metal beam and he was the only thing stopping her falling. His arm jolted painfully as it registered the elf's full weight and then he was slipping. He gestured frantically with his free hand, desperate for something – anything – to grab onto, but there was nothing, and then he ran out of road and there was nothing beneath him but Holly and lava and death and-

-and then something caught his free hand and they came to sudden halt, Artemis suspended just over lip of the road, Holly hanging from his arm, swinging in the void like a marionette in a thunderstorm. Artemis looked up, looked at Butler's massive form towering above them. The manservant grunted and hoisted him upwards. Once Artemis was safe, Butler grabbed Holly, pulling her back over the threshold too.

Finally back on solid ground, Holly collapsed, overcome by exhaustion and relief. Artemis joined her and the two lay there on their backs, side by side, breathing hard.

"You two," muttered Butler. "Have a truly unparalleled ability to almost get yourselves killed. I swear it ages me just being around you."

"Hey," protested Artemis. "It's not my fault. She's heavier than I thought she would be."

Holly made a dangerous sound. "Artemis. If you ever try and blame us almost dying on my weight again, I will drag you back to this godforsaken hellhole and throw you down that pit myself. Do you understand?"

Artemis glanced at her, saw the steel in her eyes, and wilted. Various retorts retreated back down his throat. "I'm sorry. Although I really didn't mean it like that. I just meant… well, you know, that I can't hold onto you forever. Just in case you're thinking of pulling another stunt like that."

Holly pulled herself to her feet and dusted herself off. "Firstly, that was not my fault. Secondly, if you can't lift me, why don't why don't you try going to a gym?"

"Exercise doesn't agree with me," mumbled Artemis.

"Wow, a real revelation," Holly shot back, but her heart was no longer in it. She was too relieved at being alive to stay mad at Artemis, and she knew she wasn't really being fair. "So, are we saving the psycho girl or not?"

Artemis was helped to his feet by Butler. "That's the plan." He glanced at the bodies Butler had left strewn about, then at the roof that Holly had been attempting to climb. "Shall we try that climb again?"

The Fallen troll charged. Natalya drew her swords and broke into a run. When she was about to collide with the troll, she slipped to the ground, sliding beneath its legs. The moment she was clear, she was back on her feet, smiling to herself.

Too easy.

She made to strike, but the troll was faster than she would have thought possible, lashing out blindly behind it with a clawed fist. The devastating blow caught Natalya squarely in the chest, lifted her into the air and sent her crashing to the ground.

Or not.

There was a series of audible cracks as Natalya's ribs reassembled themselves. She winced, pulling herself to her feet. Her torso was a mess of cuts, and her top was torn and bloody.

And now the troll was charging again.

Natalya rolled, inhuman speed the only thing saving her from being impaled on the troll's massive tusks. She spat a curse and danced away from another swipe of the troll's claws, fighting to put some space between her and her adversary without getting too close to the horde of formers surrounding them both. This wasn't going as well as she had hoped.

The troll lumbered towards her and raised its giant fists, aiming to crush her, but she sidestepped, letting the blows slam into the cobbles. Stone cracked. The street shook. Roaring, the troll tried again, but Natalya was starting to get a measure of it now, and she wasn't keen on getting hit again. She wasn't sure how many more blows like that she could survive.

Growling its frustration, the troll stomped its feet and tried another charge, but Natalya easily dived out of the way. It reached out for a clumsy grab, but the Russian girl was already out of reach.

Natalya grinned, gripping her swords. "Come and have a go," she taunted. "If you think you're hard enough."

No charge this time. Maybe the troll was learning. Instead, it stumbled forward more carefully, wary of Natalya's nimble footwork. Once she was within range, it swung a hand in a rapid, horizontal arc, hoping to catch her with its claws as it had at the start of the fight.

No such luck. Natalya stood her ground until the last possible moment, then ducked under the swipe. In the heartbeat it took the troll to recover from its failed attack, she fired a brutal kick into what looked like a knee. Something cracked and troll staggered back, howling.

Ever merciless, Natalya was already following up, burying one sword in the now injured leg, and the other in the troll's torso. At least, that's what she was aiming for. But troll skin is tough, and though she managed to pierce the leg, her second strike bounced uselessly of the creature's chest.

She almost realised her mistake in time to compensate. Almost. But almost isn't enough in a fight to the death, and a colossal fist smashed into her side, sending her skidding across the makeshift arena. Magic was the only thing that stood between her and instant death. Pain exploded in her mind, instantly reducing reality to background noise.

A pitiful heap on the cobbles, Natalya screamed, clutching what used to be her shoulder. There were tears in her eyes. She couldn't stand. She couldn't even see. The pain was exquisite. The horde shrieked its glee, but she couldn't hear, couldn't summon the will to remember that anything existed beyond pain.

Sobbing, she reached desperately for her magic, craving a reprieve from the pain that she was so unused to being subject to. But this was no simple matter of a few broken bones; her entire shoulder was demolished, and more besides. Shards of bone poked out of the mess of blood and pulp that used to be flesh.

A single thought cut through the pain, tugging her back towards reality. The troll. It would be coming for her. To finish her. That wasn't acceptable. She'd flirted with death at New Dawn, and decided that it wasn't for her. She had come too far to die here, alone in this unholy city, at the hands of an abomination.

Whimpering, Natalya forced her head up from the ground and opened her eyes. A dark shape was lumbering towards her, blurred by her tears. She realised had lost her other sword when she had been hit. She needed to do something immediately or she was dead.

An echo of magic called to her. Her powers were finally starting to recover from the herculean effort of keeping her vital organs mostly intact when the troll had struck her. Her entire body screamed out for her to use the spark of magic to dull the pain, just for a moment, but she resisted, tyrant in her own mind.

As the troll grew nearer, she summoned the spark into the hand of her still usable arm and ignited it. She didn't have the strength to throw fireballs, not yet, but maybe a fistful of flames would be enough to make the troll at least think twice about coming any nearer.

Sure enough, when she waved the flames at the troll it stopped advancing, growling at the hated fire. Indescribably grateful for the eventual turn of luck, Natalya forced herself shakily to her feet. She swayed slightly, only just managing to remain upright. But already the effort was costing too much concentration, and she had allowed the fire in her palm to go out.

Blinking to clear her vision, Natalya tried to take stock her situation. The troll was advancing again, but it was limping, and she could tell that it was hurt badly. Her sword protruded from its leg, and the surrounding fur was matted with black blood. A glance at the troll's eyes made it clear that it was in extraordinary pain. Maybe even as much as she was.

Good.

She sharpened her focus, calling forth what magic she could. She allowed her battered body to siphon off a few sparks to dampen the pain – just enough to keep her sane – and poured the rest into her palm, igniting them once again. Flames coiled into a sphere, sucking in oxygen to feed their growth.

"Eat this, freak," Natalya spat, sending the fireball right into the troll's chest. The flames didn't catch, but they sent the troll staggering back, bellowing its rage. Natalya smiled. Black sparks danced along her ruined arm, beginning to heal the damage.

The troll stomped its feet and made to run at her, but with its injured leg, a pathetic stumble was all it could manage. Natalya laughed and sent another fireball its way. This time the troll wasn't so lucky, and the fire took hold in its matted fur. It bellowed again, this time at a higher pitch, and tried to beat out the flames, succeeding only in clawing open its own flesh. It howled and stumbled backwards, stupid and scared.

The horde wasn't screaming anymore. The formers looked agitated, as though unhappy that Natalya was rewriting their script. The troll tried to back away, but reached the ring of formers, and was pushed back into the area.

Natalya advanced. Trapped and hurt and about to die, the troll made a pathetic swipe at her, but it was slow and weak and predictable and she didn't even have to think to avoid it. Taking her time, the Russian girl poured all the magic she could muster into her hand and slammed a fist that could shatter stone into the troll's chest. Bone caved, and the troll collapsed.

Natalya turned, scanning the makeshift arena for her other sword, the one she had lost hold of when the troll had hit her the second time. There. She reached out her good hand, focused her magic, and the sword flew into it. Smiling, she hefted the blade. It felt good in her hand. Reassuring. There wasn't a creature on earth that could best her when she had a good sword.

She turned her attention back to the troll. It lay there, pitiful, making a sound not dissimilar from a whimper. She could leave it there. It wasn't a threat to anyone anymore. But that wasn't the way she operated. Instead, she grabbed one of the creature's tusks, holding its head in place, and placed her sword underneath its chin.

The troll froze, finally giving up its struggle, as though aware of what was about to happen. Not that Natalya cared. She rammed the sword forward, the softer skin of troll's throat easily giving way to the metal. The troll convulsed, and Natalya twisted the blade, noting with satisfaction the pain registering in the creature's eyes. It spasmed again, more weakly this time, and then its life was gone, spent. The fight was over.

Natalya ripped her sword free and turned to the horde of formers. She still couldn't use her right arm, but her magic had at least managed drive the pain back to the point where it was tolerable. And even with one arm, she was still one of the most dangerous people on the planet.

"So, what are you waiting for?" she asked the horde. "You aren't still scared of me, are you? It's not like I'm immortal." She showed them all her ruined shoulder. "See? I'm vulnerable."

A pair of formers broke ranks, approaching her warily. She smiled and stood her ground. The first former leapt at her. She cut it in two. The second swiped high and she ducked, kicked its leg, followed up by taking its head.

A footstep behind. She spun. Two more creatures coming for her. One was easily dealt with, but the other was fast, and managed to land a glancing blow on her injured shoulder.

It wasn't hard. But it was enough.

Natalya cried out and staggered back, making space, sword up to fend off further attacks. It was all the invitation the rest of the horde needed – not only could she be hurt by the troll, she could also be hurt by them. At least ten formers ran forward immediately, and Natalya did the only thing she could: she took the fight to them.

Her sword flashed. Two dead, then a third. A fourth swiped at her but she dodged, firing an elbow into its chin without looking back. A fifth lost its head. A vicious kick took another out of action. But already more were getting involved, and Natalya was running out of space. She whirled, killing anything in range, but they were closing in. This wasn't sustainable. She was going to be overwhelmed.

Natalya dropped her remaining sword, freeing up her hand. Flames flared and she hurled the fireball at the nearest target. Three formers went down, and already there was fire in her palm again. A pair of formers came for her but she swiped at them with a fistful of flames and they leapt back, snarling.

Natalya made to turn and repeat, but something crashed into her from behind, sending her staggering. She lashed out behind her with a blind kick and shattered a former's leg. Something moved next to her and slammed her burning fist into another former, but then fingers clawed at her ruined shoulder and she screamed, made to retaliate, but another former was holding her leg. She tried to pull it free but had to duck a swipe at her throat.

The pain in her shoulder intensified as the former increased its pressure and Natalya screamed again, turned it into a growl part way through, and reached out her good hand. She crushed the creature's throat and the pressure on her shoulder eased up – thank God – but then a fist slammed into the side of her head. She spat a curse but another former collided with her before she could react, sending her stumbling once again.

Hands grabbed her and threw her to the ground. She made to scramble up, but caught a kick with her stomach, staggered, and was grabbed again. The former in question headbutted her and she cried out, lights exploding in her eyes. Something else hit her and she went down. Fists and feet reigned down. Hands clawed, tearing what skin wasn't covered by her clothes. A kick caught her injured shoulder. The pain was excruciating.

Natalya tried curling into a ball, tried absorbing the blows, but she couldn't even move. Her magic was spent. What little energy she had left was rapidly running out. Everything hurt, and still the creatures kept attacking. She closed her eyes, and reality melted away. She could almost hear her last seconds ticking away.

Tick.

Tock.

And then the world erupted in fire.

A/N: Not so invulnerable now, are we Natalya? Still, she's pretty impressive. Until now, Butler was the only person to take on a troll in single combat and win. But even the most powerful among us can be overwhelmed. Will she survive the Fallen and Artemis's "rescue"? Is he even aiming to help her? Or will our heroes be left to face Opal alone?

In the meantime, you might as well leave a review. I'll try and actually respond to some of you this time. Unless you don't want me to. Which is understandable. I'm not sure I'd want to receive a message from someone like me, either.

-Kio