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Ironforge

Kel'thuzad and the rest of the Scourge high command have retreated from Silvermoon as per Illidan's instruction. All of the high ranking members have also come with him

"Kel'thuzad, are we sure that we should leave Illidan out there alone?" Anya asked when the lich has already sealed up the Hammer of Khaz'goroth's chamber

"It is as the master ordered." Kel'thuzad reminded her. "Our first priority is to make sure that the Pillars of Creation do not fall into the Legion's hands. We all saw what happened to Azshara when she tried to use it and the kind of power they possess."

"But lich, this is the Burning Legion we are talking about. They very same ones who have conquered and consumed countless worlds beyond our own." Anya argued back. "As powerful as he is, even illidan cannot fight them on his own. Archimonde himself was there. It may also be possible that Kil'jaeden is there."

"You seem very concerned, Anya. Are you sure you're just not jealous of Vashj?" Rivendare teased her only to be forced to duck down when the dark ranger shot an arrow at him

"Rivendare, stop it. This is no time to fool around." Sally reprimanded him

"Whitemane is right." Agatha joined in. "However, Anya has a very good point. Illidan might be powerful but we have no way of knowing how he would fare against Archimonde."

"Perhaps we should think about this like..." Kel'thuzad trailed off. "Illidan wants to be captured." he said and everyone all had a confused expression. "The Legion's greatest weapon is the fact that they would normally be dismissed as nothing but a mere myth and using that to their advantage via deception."

"How does that translate to wanting to be captured?" Drak'thul asked curiously

"If we put ourselves in the Legion's position, what would our number one priority be?" Kel'thuzad asked and got everyone thinking. When no one could come up with an answer, he decided to explain his thoughts. "To get rid of Lord Illidan. The Legion should be aware that Lord Illidan is intimately familiar with how they operate and that it would be a problem if we are ready for them. That is the most likely reason as to why they continued to assault Lordaeron despite them only giving us more bodies. Once the Legion finds out that most of the Scourge is not in Silvermoon, they will be forced to search for us."

"I think I understand." Anya muttered. "So, what you are saying is, to make the Legion spend their time trying to find us because if any of us are still alive, then we still pose a threat just like when you directed Illidan to the Skull. Did I get that right?"

"That makes sense. Now that I think about it, there is also a strong possibility that Illidan might not be expecting to survive this." Drak'thul said. As he expected, everyone was surprised. "I think he expects the Legion to kill him in Silvermoon and he wants Illysanna and the others to finish them off in his place."

"By using the Sargerite Keystone and whatever intelligence they can find to kill Sargeras, who will be too busy with the invasion here." Agatha added. "That is why he wants to fight Archimonde. So that the mortals will have an easier time to fend off the Legion and in turn, buy Illysanna more time to figure things out."

"So, what's the verdict? Are we just to sit here and do nothing?" Rivendare eventually asked

Kel'thuzad thought about this for a while. "Lord Illidan did say that we must ensure that the Pillars do not fall into the Legion's hands and this chamber is hidden." he said before turning to the val'kyr's leader. "Agatha, make sure that our troops will fill the entrance with actual dirt. Considering the nature of the Legion, it is doubtful that they would send high ranking members in the entrance's area."

"What are you planning, Kel'thuzad?" Drak'thul asked

"Agatha and I, along with other liches and some of the val'kyr will remain here and try to do as the master instructed." Kel'thuzad answered and turned to the warlock. "Drak'thul, I want you to head to Kalimdor and aid the mortals. You are free to give any information to them with the exception of what we just theorized on Illidan's intentions unless of course, you cast a spell to make sure that whoever hears it will be the only ones that will."

"What about here? We would just abandon this place?" Rivendare pointed out

"Yes. As of right now, we cannot afford to fight a direct battle with the Legion. I am certain that I am not the only one who thinks that the demons are pouring all of their available resources into this one invasion." Kel'thuzad explained. "Now, if there are no objections, I believe we should get to it. This is one war that we absolutely cannot afford to lose."

Without even a moment's hesitation, Drak'thul nodded. "I understand." he said and turned to the others who were present. "Anya, Whitemane, Rivendare, let's go."

"And make sure you take Valeera with you. She'll be much more valuable with you than here since she might be able to provide more credibility." Kel'thuzad said before they left

Kalimdor

Around half an hour after their preparations in Ironforge, Drak'thul, Valeera, and a group consisting of dark rangers, death knights and val'kyrs arrived in Kalimdor. While the Scourge was normally unable to create a portal into Kalimdor, the Eye of Aman'thul enabled them to do just that. Using what was left of their shades that weren't killed when the demons attacked, they were able to find a specific location with which they can enter without anyone noticing

"Now what? We can't just walk up to the mortals and ask for their help, can we?" Sally asked

One of the val'kyr noticed something off about the air around them. It did not go unnoticed by the rest of her companions

"Kyra, what is it?" Rivendare asked

"It's the magic in the air. It's almost as if something is being built." the val'kyr, Kyra, answered. "We should check it out."

"I can feel it too." Drak'thul said. "The nature of the magic is almost like it's the one used by the Legion."

"Which means that they might be trying to open up another gateway here, under the mortal's noses." Anya said in concern. "Kyra, lead us there." she ordered. The val'kyr nodded and led the way

After a while, they came across a small camp which was occupied by the other inhabitants of the Barrens, which were the centaur and harpies except they were all dead. In the middle of a camp was a dreadlord and a group of demons

"What are they doing?" another val'kyr asked

"They're preparing to summon a demon gate and using the souls of those creatures as the fuel." Drak'thul answered, all too familiar with the process

"But why? Can they actually open a portal from here to the Twisting Nether directly?" Anya asked

"No, they can't." Drak'thul answered and after a while, figured out what they were doing. "It is more likely that this demon gate would lead to the Broken Isles. The Legion may have who knows how many troops but they cannot funnel them all at once. They must want to create another demon gate so they can launch another invasion here."

"Well, if that's the case..." Anya trailed off as she nocked an arrow. "Permission to slaughter these demons." she said rhetorically

"Are you really asking for that?" Valeera asked rhetorically as she followed the dark ranger's lead only she fired her arrow first

"Kill them all." Drak'thul said and shot a large ball of fel fire at the demons. The rest of them followed suit

Too distracted and not paying attention to anything else other than creating a demon gate, the Legion's forces were helpless when the Scourge attacked them

"What is going on?!" the dreadlord demanded after an explosion occured behind him. When he saw the Scourge attacking them, he was about to fight back only for a runeblade to be run through him. He wasn't able to do anything further as a val'kyr flew down and sliced off his head. The rest of the demons didn't fare too well against the ambush and were all killed

"Watch my back while I disrupt the magic left behind." Drak'thul ordered and began casting his spells to destroy the souls of the fallen creatures while the rest raised them into undeath

After a while, some familiar faces arrived. Anya was standing guard outside so she was the first one to see them. Under her instructions, their newly reanimated warriors did not engage the newcomers and went to meet them herself. "Vereesa? What are you doing here?" she asked when they finally met face to face

"Captain Anya?" Vereesa asked in surprise and ordered the rest of her men to stand down. "I could ask you the same thing, Anya. How did the Legion get here?"

While the two rangers were talking, Valeera suddenly walked up to them, getting their attention. "Anya, Drak'thul has..." she trailed off upon seeing Vereesa. "Finished destroying the souls of the local creatures."

Anya looked at Valeera for a few moments before looking at Vereesa suspiciously. "Should we compare notes?"

"Only if you tell me why you are here in the first place." Vereesa countered, herself growing suspicious. 'Is that Valeera? What is she doing with them?'

"Sounds fair." Anya muttered. "The Legion have launched a full scale invasion on Lordaeron. It is completely destroyed now."

'As we thought. The Legion must have tricked even Illidan.' Vereesa thought. She knew that Anya and Sylvanas were friends even though they were no longer under the same command so she knew that she could trust her, to an extent. "Alright, Anya..." she trailed off when Drak'thul approached them. "Let's compare what we know. Follow me."

'Should we follow her?' Rivendare asked mentally

'Yes. That is what we came here for and this just gave us the opportunity we needed to make contact with the mortals.' Drak'thul answered, making sure all of the Scourge present heard the conversation in their heads

"Alright, Vereesa. Lead the way." Anya said

Some time later, they made it to the draenei's ships where most of the leadership of the Kalimdor inhabitants have gathered in order to plan their next move. They were in the middle of anticipating the Legion's next offensive when Vereesa arrived and with her were Valeera, Anya, Drak'thul and Rivendare

Arthas was the first to notice them and immediately grew suspicious. "What are they doing here?"

"Think you should calm down before pointing fingers, Arthas." Anya said in an irritated tone. "Lordaeron has already fallen into the Legion's hands."

Before Arthas could come up with a snarky response, Jaina put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not even surprised anymore. At any rate, do you have any idea how the Legion got here?"

"And Valeera? What are you doing with them?" Sylvanas asked curiously

Valeera just sighed at this. "Varedis' hunger for magic got so bad when the Twilight's Hammer attacked. Shadowsong offered to cure it." she answered and her former superiors looked at her in disbelief. "Yes, Maiev Shadowsong, the very same one that recklessly chased after Illidan and nearly got all of us in his sights. Even now, I still don't understand why."

"Varedis was your partner, right?" Nathanos asked and Valeera simply nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Was there any reason why they didn't just tell us how to cure it in the first place? And where is Varedis?"

"Nothing. All they said was that it wasn't their concern." Valeera answered and as expected, Nathanos was irritated and for good reason. "According to Illidan, Varedis was taken by the Legion. He was guarding the Broken Isles when the demons arrived."

"Alright, enough. The addiction shouldn't be our primary concern and we can discuss your partner later." Sylvanas finally said before looking at the visitors. "What is the Scourge doing to fight off the demons?"

"At this moment, nothing." Drak'thul answered. "The Legion has launched a full scale assault on Lordaeron and even when they were losing, they still kept coming. It is clear that the Legion fully intends to wipe us out. We will not be able to begin any sort of plans until we have some breathing room."

Thrall however, was unconvinced. "Listen, Drak'thul, is it?" he asked, unsure. "If we are to have any hope of fending off the Burning Legion, then we need to be all on the same page."

"You are right, Warchief. We did come here to tell you what we are doing but we cannot do so recklessly." Drak'thul spoke and the Warchief motioned for him to continue. "If we are to tell you what is going on, then I will first cast a spell that will make sure that not a word that is spoken in here will be heard by anyone outside. Of course, this would also mean that whatever we plan remains with us, at least until we leave this room and have reached a consensus."

Everyone looked at each other and eventually relented

"Alright, Drak'thul. Do it." Thrall ordered and the warlock obeyed

"First off, was there any odd thing that has happened here?" Rivendare asked after the spell was up

Jaina then began explaining what had happened when Turalyon killed Arator before transforming into a dreadlord and that Kael'thas has been aiding them all this time. Thrall then explained about how Mannoroth was back and was the one who attacked Orgrimmar

'So that must be why Alleria is not here.' Anya thought

"Mannoroth? Already? That was quick." Rivendare commented

"'Already'?" Vereesa asked suspiciously. "Did you know about this?"

"Demons cannot be killed as easily, Vereesa." Anya answered her. "According to Illidan, all demons have their souls bound into a realm called the Twisting Nether. If a demonic entity is killed anywhere outside the Nether, their souls simply return to it and their body begins to reconstitute itself." she explained. "But Rivendare is right. Even with that, it seems far too fast for someone like Mannoroth to be back already."

"Wait, if Mannoroth is back and based on what you said..." Shandris trailed off. "Does that mean...?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Archimonde is back and he was the one who destroyed our stronghold in Lordaeron." Drak'thul answered her, much to their disbelief. "Illidan has chosen to remain in Silvermoon and face down the Defiler in a duel while the rest of us were forced to scatter and plan a counter attack."

"Then we must take advantage of that. If Illidan is fighting Archimonde and he sent his forces here, that means you have a way to close the gateway, right?" Sylvanas asked

"It's still under research. We found some artifacts that could be used to close the portal but as of right now, Kel'thuzad is still trying to use it for a different purpose. Instead of simply closing the portal, he is trying to use it to turn the portal's energies on itself and cause massive damage to whatever is on the other side, if that's even possible in the first place." Drak'thul answered

Sylvanas thought about this for a second before turning to her younger sister. "Vereesa, what did you find?"

"The Legion were trying to create a demon gate here in Kalimdor, at least according to him." Vereesa answered while glancing at the orc warlock, who then explained the rest of his thoughts

"If I may..." Velen interrupted them. "Illidan is planning to fight Archimonde, right?" he asked and the Scourge members nodded. "If that is the case, I do not believe that Archimonde should be our primary concern. It should be Kil'jaeden. I think he is the one who orchestrated this entire invasion."

"What makes ya say dat, Velen?" Vol'jin asked

"Archimonde, Kil'jaeden and myself were once the rulers of a world called Argus. Out of the three of us, Kil'jaeden was always the most cunning and decisive." Velen answered him. "I think that when Illidan invaded Outland, that was exactly what Kil'jaeden wanted. I do not know how, but I do know that this is exactly how he operates. Kil'jaeden works from behind the scenes and manipulates everyone to do things that would ultimately benefit the Burning Legion."

"If that's the case, that still does not explain how the Legion got here." Arthas pointed out

"And that still doesn't matter." Sylvanas said reprimandingly. "We need to find a way to get to the Broken Isles and close that gateway. If the Legion went through all that trouble to invade Lordaeron, then that means their first priority is taking out the Scourge and, in all honesty, I would probably do the same. If the Scourge has truly scattered, then they must put resources into finding them otherwise Illidan's forces would just sabotage this whole thing. This should provide us with an opening to fight the Legion before they turn their full focus on us."

"But Sylvanas, we still lack the resources to move all our remaining forces especially after the recent invasions." Jaina pointed out

"Perhaps, but we do." Anya offered and none of the Scourge really objected

"Won't we need the necropolises to travel our own forces there?" Rivendare asked

"I think Anya has a point." Valeera said. "Illidan and the demons hunters should be the Legion's top priority and even if we lose Lordaeron and Silvermoon, we still have other strongholds which would continue to pose a threat for the Legion. If we can get enough necropolises here, we might be able to sneak up on the Legion while they are occupied in the Eastern Kingdoms."

"I have to agree. We also don't necessarily need the necropolises." Drak'thul added. "The Scourge can also use the very same method of attack that the Legion tried to use and that is the use of portals. If we can manage to secure a foothold back in the Broken isles, then we might be able to create a portal for which Kel'thuzad can pass through and bring what we need."

After thinking about it for a while, Sylvanas looked at Thrall, waiting for his thoughts. Even with Arthas having regained consciousness and Kael'thas' betrayal, she was suggested to be the Alliance's main leader since she is much better at managing her emotions than the prince. Thrall merely nodded as a sign that the Horde was willing to play it however she likes so she turned to Velen, who did the same

"Alright, we seem to have reached a consensus and I don't think that the Scourge is with the Legion this time otherwise we'd be dead already." Sylvanas announced, waiting for any objections. "Drak'thul, how do you plan to transport your necropolises here?"

"One of the artifacts we have possesses the ability to create portals anywhere on this world. We can use them to send some of our acolytes here and they can begin the process to summon the necropolises." Drak'thul explained, not yet mentioning how they used the Pillar to open a portal to Legion territory

Sylvanas nodded at him. "Do that and make it quick. For now, Jaina, Khadgar, Thrall, Vol'jin, I need you to to do whatever you can to see what the Legion's defenses look like, if they even bothered to at all." she ordered, looking at said individuals. "Velen, do we possess ready means to fight their gunships?"

"That would depend on how many they even have however, transferring some of our defensive artillery on board a ship would not take that long. The time it would take mounting them on a necropolis would depend on the design." Velen answered and looked at Drak'thul to see what he has to say

"Our necropolises possesses its own weaponries. After Illidan became the Lich King, he ordered that all necropolises' weaponry be similar to a Legion's gunships. In the time between his ascension and the invasion of Outland, some of our resources have been used in that particular task. We were able to succeed but the devastation is not on the same level as a gunship since that would require we scrap the original design." Drak'thul said

"I can back that up." Shandris said. "A necropolis aided us when we retook Ashenvale from the Emerald Nightmare and it had similar capabilities."

Vereesa, Thrall and Vol'jin backed up the night elf's statement since they were present themselves

"There is just one problem with this whole plan." Jaina said. "If we fail, then the Legion will pretty much conquer this entire world."

"She has a point. Are we really willing to risk it all in one assault?" Arthas asked with uncertainty

"Well, based on how things are progressing, the Legion seems to be doing just that." Anya answered. "Back in Lordaeron, the Legion kept attacking even though the battle was going in our favor. Their forces were just getting reanimated but they targetted our defensive artilleries so that Archimonde can arrive unhindered."

Velen listened to this and eventually asked the question that was on his mind ever since the Scourge arrived. "Is Illidan really willing to just close the portal?"

That was a question that even Drak'thul was not certain of the answer. "I am not entirely sure to be perfectly honest. I do know that Illidan was planning to invade the Legion's worlds when the Old Gods were dealt with but now, I am not sure how that would even play out." he explained and since everyone present seems to be willing to work together, he decided to tell it. "He has sent the demon hunters deep into Legion territory based on a lead we found in Outland. Kel'thuzad thinks that while the Legion is focused on invading here, the demon hunters would go behind enemy lines and take them out." he said and everyone was completely stunned at what they heard

'Did I hear that right? Did Illidan just send his forces into enemy lines in the middle of an attack like this?' was all Sylvanas could think. Out of everyone present, she was the one with the most experience in a commanding the military and she knew that if she was in his place, she would never even have considered such an action. Thrall, Arthas and even Velen shared Sylvanas' own thoughts

"Is Illidan seriously taking that kind of risk?" Jaina asked in disbelief

"I think he is." Valeera answered her. "Even I have a hard time believing it myself. I think he knows that by the time he and the Legion next crossed paths, the entire fate of Azeroth would hang in the balance."

"How would you even coordinate with the demon hunters anyway?" Vereesa pointed out

"I'm not sure if that's what Illidan intended. I think he just wants us to distract the Legion enough for the demon hunters to land the finishing blow. Either way, Kel'thuzad should be able to, at the very least, close the portal." Rivendare answered

"If that is the case, then will the demon hunters be able to open a gateway that would connect this world to Argus?" Velen asked

"Probably. At the moment, they are on the search of the key to the worlds under the Legion's control." Drak'thul answered

"I understand. In that case, then the draenei will aid you in ending the Burning Legion for good." Velen said and his allies just waited for his explanation. "Argus was once our home and we have a duty to liberate in from the Legion's control, if that is still possible anyway."

Drak'thul studied the prophet for a second. "As of right now, I cannot guarantee anything. We would need to see where we stand when we reach the Broken Isles. But, if things are favorable, I will gladly accept your offer." he said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will need to inform Kel'thuzad of what we have discussed." he said and left, the rest of the Scourge following him, including Valeera

"I guess we better get to work ourselves." Sylvanas said

Silvermoon

It was right around dawn when the Legion finally began their assault on Quel'thalas. All of the Scourge's outer outposts were destroyed not by the gunships but by Archimonde himself using the same spell he had used to destroy Dalaran in the last invasion. The Defiler was furious at how Illidan had turned the tables. The Legion had spent a whole lot of resources to capture Lordaeron and the demon hunter just blew it in their face. Silvermoon however, was much better protected. It was the Scourge's greatest stronghold and using just magic to destroy it wasn't going to work

It was at times like these that Archimonde was irritated that Illidan was once a member of the Highborne. However, that wasn't going to sate the Defiler's need to sate his thirst for revenge. On board his flagship, he finally gave the order. "Deploy all forces on the ground and rain down hell on that fortress!" he yelled when they got close

A very large number of demons dropped down from the gunships upon Archimonde's order. Their own aerial forces ready to fly up at a moment's notice. When all the ground forces were finally on the ground, the gunships began raining down fire. Their weapons caused damage to the lower levels which destroyed huge holes in the large wall surrounding the fortress. However, the fortress itself soon fired back with weaponry as powerful as the gunships' own. Some of the gunships were immediately shot down when they took a lot of hits and even Archimonde's flagship was under heavy fire

"Lord Archimonde, our shields are breaking. The fortress will shoot us out of the sky at this rate." an eredar said

"Did that damn demon hunter create this fortress specifically with our gunships in mind?!" Archimonde raged when he finally saw many other gunships going down. "To hell with Stormrage. Attack that fortress and destroy anything that moves!" he ordered and all of the Legion's forces began attacking

At the fortress' peak, Illidan observed the battle that was raging down below. 'It would seem that the time has finally come.' he thought as the Legion was trying to burst through the defenses. He was more surprised that Archimonde himself joined in on the first assault. 'Is Archimonde still furious when I destroyed Lordaeron?' he thought with a smirk before a val'kyr walked up behind him

"Lord Illidan, the Legion has already breached the perimeter. Our forces are holding them off but Archimonde is making it difficult for us to reanimate the fallen warriors." the val'kyr said

"I see." Illidan simply responded before continuing to observe for a few more seconds. He finally turned around to face her. "Vardmadra, go destroy the Sunwell."

"Pardon, my lord? Are we not to use the Sunwell to fend off the Legion?" Vardmadra asked

"No. If we lose, then we would just end up handing it over to the Legion. It is better if we destroy it." Illidan answered before moving to the very edge. "I will face Archimonde." he said and jumped down

Left with no other choice, Vardmadra gathered a small group of other val'kyr in the lower levels before they finally went to the Sunwell itself

In the meantime, Illidan quickly killed an entire group of demons upon landing. Summoning Dusksoul, he continued to kill demons before a large ball of fel fire was headed his way. He was able to block it rather easily before he finally came face to face with his enemy

"So, you finally revealed yourself, Stormrage." Archimonde said, summoning his own sword to his hands. "At least you are not your brother who lets mortal girls do his dirty work for him."

This caused Illidan to smirk. "And here I thought you would sit this one out considering how badly you were beaten the last time you were here."

Well, a new alliance is forged. I've always found it funny how in the canon, the Alliance and Horde bicker like children but the moment the Legion arrives, they basically run to each other for help. What I found even more funny is that the moment the Legion was defeated, both sides immediately went back at each other's throats. It's actually why I never bothered to read too much into BFA. I was just hoping that Azshara would wipe out everyone because I was getting bored by those squabbles. Shadowlands is a different story but since I have to read about BFA to fully understand it, nah

Not really too much fighting in this chapter. Just a couple skirmish here and there since the initial assaults are over by now. I did take a note from WoW Legion canon where nearly everyone allied with each other against the Burning Legion

That's about it for now since there really isn't too much to explain here