ARC 10 - SHOWDOWN

Chapter 79: Assault on the Tower

Perspective: Various

The sun was already well through its path across the sky when the first horn sounded. It was quickly joined by several others, each with its own unique tone. Only minutes before the armies of the Shelter had stood in line almost motionlessly, waiting for their signal. Now, the soldiers advanced towards their adversaries, knowing all too well that many of them would not see the end of the fight.

A small distance ahead of the rest, the Mencur-Besh collective marched, clad in armour made from their signature dark firesteel. The air around them flickered from the combined heat their bodies gave off, even without sending their muscles into overdrive. Dead in their centre walked Fire, only setting himself apart from the others with the flame-wreathed zweihander he carried.

The main force of the Shelter's troops followed not far behind, far less uniform in appearance, armour and weapons ranging from iron to diamond, with the occasional exotic material in between. Some of them had been with the Shelter from the start, through all of its ups, downs and sideways, others had only joined under the reign of the King in Ash, or shortly beforehand. They were led by Tyron, who as the leader of the Shelter also held the position of high command. Close to his diamond-clad form were Amanda and Warnado, wielding crossbow and gauntlet respectively.

Moving in from the left and right of the central forces were the recently recruited soldiers from the Vanilla Craft. They all operated as one army, but were still separated into their own units, resulting in a colourful range of emblems, banners and overcoats strewn across their formation. They were officially commanded by Herobrine, but in practice Tyron would call the shots for the ground battle.

Off to the far left was the flanking force under the command of Kay, consisting of the remnants of his own diehard loyalists, as well as the hunters, who were now all fully armoured and equipped. They were accompanied by a detachment of fierce looking pigmen that Herobrine had set aside to reinforce this army.

In the far back were the artillery regiments, cannons and catapults of widely varied design, operated by an even wider range of people, both from the Shelter's main population and from other worlds. On top of a wooden lookout tower stood Lucy, spyglass in one hand, microphone in the other, fiercely determined to ensure smooth operation.

Mixed into the artillery was Shadow's Coven, some mages tasked with assisting the conventional artillery with hauling ammunition with telekinesis or with spotting targets. At the far back was the coven proper, robed mages and occasional Mencur-Besh arranged in three large circles. Casters in the middle, channellers around the edges. Shadow herself floated above, acting as a one-woman artillery unit, at least until the gates would be breached, then she had a different task.

Finally, high above the battlefield the airships moved in, crewed by Herobrine's troops accompanied by the human Eye-and-Claws members, guarded by a small fleet of majestic dragons. Of these dragons, some burned red, others carried patterns like stars and nebulas on their multi-coloured hides, and one rather small one even had the black scales of the End. The airships were outfitted with quickly bolted-on guns to offer some manner of defence, additionally each airship also sported two mages among their crew to conjure barriers to deflect incoming anti-air fire.

On the other side of the battlefield, the disciplined mercenaries of the Tower held their position, strictly separated into their respective companies. The sheer number of them was staggering, still doubling the Shelter's forces despite the recent reinforcements. Near the middle of the army was General Marcus, the head of the Tower's Command and Control division now acted as military leader in the absence of the Ender and Claw. The sound of the enemy's horns had sent the Tower's army into full combat readiness, final instructions were passed along to soldiers, artillery pieces were hastily crewed, and mages got into position to support their troops.

Behind these cruel ranks, their namesake thrust upwards until it pierced the heavens. Plated with bronze, which glowed orange in the dimming sun, the Tower was tall, and strong and branching, like an almighty tree sprouting from the world, sustaining and overtaking it all at once. Within it were a thousand rooms with a thousand doors, behind one of which the machine lay hidden, which would make all creation a nightmare. And if one gazed up and looked through a telescope at the shattered observatory at the Tower's peak, one might catch a glimpse of a faintly translucent form with a glowing, toothy grin.

The Shelter's armies advanced steadily, until some hundred meters from the Tower's forces they crossed an invisible line. For a split second, absolute silence fell on the battlefield. Then, horns sounded again from both sides, closely followed by artillery fire. The armies charged to clash with each other.

"Charge!" Roared Tyron, raising Kir aloft.

Hardly needing the encouragement, the Mencur-Besh charged ahead of them. They moved as one, it was as if they were not separate beings but one being, replicated thousands of times over. Tyron could have sworn that even their footsteps had become synchronised.

Then, mere seconds after, Tyron's own armies rushed in to reinforce them with all the speed and resolve they had in them. And yet, the second the Mencur-Besh hit the enemy lines they sank right into them, like a stone in water, only seeming to get further and further away.

The yellow-eyed ones arrived first, claws and blades outstretched. Just before they made contact, an orange glow began to rise from between their scales, and they blasted forward like living missiles. Some men died outright, cleanly bisected, others were merely wounded, fewer still stood tall, saved by a clever parry or well-timed dodge.

None were fully prepared, however, because next came the red-eyed Mencur-Besh, strong as stone, easily overwhelming the limb strength of blockers, Fire at their fore. Tyron saw him sweep the Entity's zweihander forward, hurling out an arc of flame, then vanish into the melee.

The gap between the vanguard and the main body grew larger still. Tyron watched as the Tower's forces rushed in to fill this vacuum, which was made substantially easier by the arrival of several divisions of furious-looking, black-clad endermen. The Mencur-Besh were fast becoming a rock against which the waves of the sea of Tower troops would crash until it crumbled away. Or, at least, that was what they wanted them to think.

Tyron smirked as he watched the green-eyed Mencur-Besh, larger and bulkier than their compatriots, rally around the vanguard in a living wall. A central body formed within this makeshift fortification, composed of Mencur-Besh of a cocktail of previously unmentioned eye-colours, firing out arrows, potions, and spells. Some Tower soldiers even fell to the sheer heat the mass Mencur-Besh bodies gave off. This would buy Tyron the time he needed. Still, it was a gamble.

He saw as one of the living wall was struck in the chest by a giant with an appropriately large axe, biting through the chestplate and damaging at least one of their hearts. Already wounded from several encounters, the Mencur-Besh simply walked forward and continued fighting, the orange glow between their scales subtly intensifying. They slew the giant who had injured them, then began to make their way through a column of human mercenaries, until an Enderman appeared from behind and plunged a sword into the back of their neck. However, the Enderman's triumph was short-lived, as the glow rapidly intensified into an inferno and the Mencur-Besh exploded, showering everyone in a small radius in flame and shrapnel.

Finally, Tyron and his forces made it to the front, and began to cut their way through to the Mencur-Besh.

Tyron immediately summoned his stone wings and used them to fly forward and send an Enderman commander flying with his outstretched foot. The startled officer landed at the foot of one of the living wall Mencur-Besh, only just teleporting away before a set of bedrock-like claws plunged into its chest.

Tyron ducked the gold blade of a well-armed pigman, reconstituting his stone wing into a fist as he did so. He shattered this new hand against the pigman's face. The pigman's skull buckled under the force of the blow, and he clattered to the ground.

Satisfied, Tyron began to marshal his troops. A division this way to where the fighting was thickest, some combat mages to support them. Two divisions there, where he could see a weak point in their lines. Already they were gaining ground, soon the Mencur-Besh would be able to advance again.

"Look out!" shrieked Kir.

He looked around for the source of the attack, then noticed the pistons pulling the ground away beneath him. He landed on his feet, three blocks down, when he heard the hiss of spiders. Around a dozen of his soldiers had fallen down with him. Red eyes and black legs cascaded onto them, and a flurry of arrows shot up to the surface.

He swung Kir and hacked the legs off one spider, toppling the skeletal rider flying into the ground. He heard the sound of scattering bones. He struck again and shattered a skeleton's bow, sending them out to the surface in a relatively harmless state. A large black mass slammed into him, and suddenly he was pinned to the ground.

Now, he found himself forcing back the mandibles of the largest spider he had ever seen. An armoured skeleton looked intently down at him, its jaw clacking in what Tyron had to assume was laughter. It had a crossbow trained on his head.

In a fit of irony, a crossbow bolt slammed right into the rider's jaw, knocking it straight off. A second shot crushed the skull altogether. Tyron angled to stab Kir into the spider's head, but it kept biting harder, fiercer, and closer to his face. Rathina gave him the opening he needed. She dropped down and slashed the beast's abdomen open, and he thrust straight forward as it reared back, and it moved no more.

He wanted to kiss Rathina then and there, but there was still the horde to contend with. Thankfully, Seth and Warnado rushed forward and began to fight back the spider riders, giving him a moment to think. Seth wielded his diamond sword with mastery, and Warnado had summoned the energy weapon he called a 'chainsaw'. He looked up and saw Amanda firing her crossbow again and again, downing rider after rider, but equally, he saw two combat mages he knew had experience with earth magic. He also noticed a nearby fast-builder he had recently supplied with a large quantity of TNT.

"Hold the line here," Tyron ordered.

"Bold new strategy," said Warnado as he mowed down another spider. "I'll take it under advisement."

Tyron rolled his eyes, summoned his stone wings, and flew up to the two wizards and the builder.

He saw the battlefield. The riders hadn't completely disrupted the Shelter's army, but they certainly weren't helping matters. He saw a lot of dead spiders and shattered skeletons, but also a lot of their own corpses. A similar opening had been created in the midst of the Vanillan lines, And Tyron could see a large shield-wall had been created by the Legion to fend them off. Ahead of the line, he saw the warriors of the Brotherhood and the Vangaardian knights pushing down into the spider's den.

The Mencur-Besh were holding strong, killing at least a dozen Tower mercenaries for each one they lost, but it was clear they were taking heavy fatalities. Somewhere out near the front Fire's zweihander flashed into view.

Meanwhile, as discussed, Kay had skirted around the edge of the Tower's main body and gone straight for the wall. He had two fast-builders attempting to construct a large stone staircase up the wall with considerable success. Unfortunately, their efforts were being diverted by a large detachment of defenders who had taken notice of them and decided they didn't like that plan one bit.

"Shadow, we need a sunbeam!" Tyron heard Kay roar into the leadership channel.

One of Shadow's scryers responded: "We see you, Sunbeam coming up in fifteen seconds, brace!"

Tyron landed and saw the mages he needed. He waved over Amanda and the fast-builder.

"You two, with me, we're closing this trench." The mages, one man and one woman saluted and awaited further instructions. "Amanda, take the fast-builder and protect him while he sets up some TNT. Drop the charges just as we set up the plug."

Amanda took the builder by the arm, equipping her axe and striking at any opponents who crossed their path. Off near the wall, the Sunbeam plummeted from the skies, slamming right into the heart of the force attacking Kay. Tyron was momentarily awestruck by the sudden flash of light and immediate rise of smoke, even stronger than it had been at the Battle of the Hill, then turned his attention to the pit spitting spider riders onto the battlefield.

A spider had bitten Seth on the arm, but he kept fighting just as fiercely. Rathina continued to slash away with her daggers. And, just as a spider knocked Warnado back, dissipating his chainsaw, a flash of deep, purple demon-fire shot forth from his gauntlet, consuming both steed and rider immediately. But despite their efforts, the arachnid cavalry just kept coming.

A quick glance confirmed that the builder had set up a row of TNT and that he was ready to light it at any second. So, Tyron and the mages channelled their will and collectively began to shift the earth to seal up the opening.

Warnado, Seth and Rathina backed away as a thick wall of stone began to push through dirt and pistons, attempting to put a literal lid on the spider jockeys. The charge began to halt, and some riders began to quickly scurry up the wall and attempt to escape. However, whenever they made it to the topside they were quickly slain by volleys of arrows.

Just before the opening was completely closed, the builder lit their row of charges, sending them tumbling into the depths. The stone lid reached the surface just in time for a white flash, a smell of sulphur, and several consecutive booms to escape.

With the immediate threat neutralised, Tyron ordered a renewed advance. However, just as he did so, he noticed that the Mencur-Besh were also moving forward, more slowly and deliberately this time, straight towards General Marcus' honour guard.

Rose leaned back as much as the flagship's crowded cabin allowed. Right behind her the motor driving the propeller gently hummed, a far cry from the smoking and sputtering motors she knew from her home. It wasn't her first time flying, she'd been on a couple of aircraft when travelling to acquire occult artefacts for her employer. Once, she'd even infiltrated a pleasure-cruise blimp to eliminate some high-society thorn in her employer's side. It was, however, the first time she'd been part of a fleet, and it definitely the first time she'd been in a fleet escorted by dragons, creatures that her world only knew from myths.

Of the cabin crew she only knew three. The mages Pallas and Danann, Shadow's direct subordinates, were posted to make sure the ship managed to get close enough for Rose to cut open the Tower's walls. The third one was Brad and knowing was a bit of a stretch for him, she'd talked with him during the preparations but other than that they were strangers. The blond man was currently standing near her, eyeing the engine to make sure it ran smoothly.

Beneath the airship the battle had begun to rage, while the individual soldiers shrunk to the size of ants, the sheer masses were still impressive. Rose was not used to large-scale warfare, but that's why she was up here, not down there. The Tower soldiers' artillery had already started firing but were still well out of range of the airships, so instead they concentrated on shelling the ground troops. Most projectiles were intercepted mid-air by a spell, but some still made it through.

Rose looked to her side towards Brad. "So, you're one of Fire's closer friends in your world."

Brad nodded. "You could say that, not many friendships endure for millennia."

Rose replied: "In my world immortality is this rare thing, guarded jealously by a select few, it seems to be given out far more generously in yours."

"Oh, plenty of mortal people in my world too. The only reason we have immortals at all is because we built the world they exist in, it's not quite real, but real enough."

Rose pulled one of the diamond daggers Fire had given her from its sheath and looked at her reflection. She'd forgone her usual assassin's garb in favour of actual armour, which sadly made her whole pre-battle routine moot, no point in half-measures.

She asked: "So, how did you two meet in the first place?"

A fond smile of remembrance flashed across Brad's face. "Oh, it's quite the story. Fire has done a lot of things in his life, and at one point he was a pirate. Pirate King even, but that came later."

Rose snorted with laughter. "A pirate, really?"

"Yes, really. In the early years in my world, I took to sailing, which eventually led to the trade ship I served on to being captured by pirates, not Fire's pirates, different ones. They recruited me onto their crew, well, press-ganged technically, but I was up for the change of pace. A few years passed until our captain retired and the crew was left looking for new employment."

"And that's where you met him?" Rose assumed.

"Exactly, and what a first impression that was. He just sailed into the port with the most magnificent ship I'd seen up to that point, and from that point onward to be honest. It was carved whole from a steelwood tree, the last ship of its kind. Those trees went extinct after a quake collapsed the caverns they grew in. 'Lich Queen' it's called, and when it sailed into the port it was running on a quite literal skeleton crew. Of course, reanimated bones can't replace actual breathing, thinking crew, so I signed on."

Rose's only experience with pirates was, as with many professions, having killed a few on the travels her employer sent her on.

She asked: "So, I imagine you accumulated a lot of plunder in all that time."

Brad seemed to notice something about the engine, adjusted a few valves, then answered.

"More than that, we controlled the trade, had our own fleet, and even built a thriving pirate town. Fire even managed to domesticate a breeding pair of krakens, which cemented his position as Pirate King, pretty difficult to win a naval battle if your enemy has titanic creatures on his side. Very exciting times."

Before Brad could spin Rose more tales of his roguish past, a sudden movement went through the soldiers on board of the airship. It originated from Pallas, who now stood with his arms outstretched as a translucent barrier formed around the airship, only to be struck by artillery fire moments later.

Brad yelled: "Battle stations! Man the guns!"

Rose steadied herself on the deck as the airship's pilot began swerving to avoid being an easy target. Several Tower mages had also levitated closer to the airship and were beginning their own assault. Rose grabbed hold of the nearest gun and looked out for targets.

A mage with burning eyes had taken a course straight for the airship, jets of flame shot from his palms as he approached. Rose took aim and pulled the trigger, firing a barrage of lead at the mage. The first few bullets missed, but once Rose corrected her aim, several struck true. The mage plummeted towards the battlefield below, his torso torn apart by the impacts.

More mages followed, most more careful than their fallen comrade. Shards of ice shattered on a shield projected by Danann, fireballs were scattered as Pallas conjured gusts of wind. A bolt of lightning struck the engine, but that only seemed to make it more eager to propel the aircraft forward.

Other airships weren't faring quite as well, not all of them had mages of this level of competence defending them, and luck also played a role. However, overall, it seemed like they were going to get through.

Rose fired at a whole squadron of mages that came floating up, looking more coordinated than the earlier ones. She recognized several of the white gowns of the Tower's elite mages among this group. The gun wasn't going to do her much good against their shields. Instead, she channelled her own occult gifts. A barrage of steel needles shot forth from her outstretched hand, each imbued with supernatural piercing power.

Three mages took the brunt of the attack and were instantly torn apart as the needles pierced their passive shields. The elite mages redoubled their shielding efforts and now turned their attention towards Rose's airship. They began charging a spell of their own, but before Rose could wonder what the spell would do, a huge, winged form slammed into the mages from above. The dragon Glowstar had joined the defence of the airships, the other dragons following closely after, swatting the mages out of the sky with their bulk or biting them in half.

Now with the dragons in the mix the Tower's mages were less eager to attack and instead floated downwards to support their own troops. The airships were quite close to the Tower now, it was time for Rose to fulfil her part of the plan.

She spoke into her radio: "I'm ready for Drake to pick me up."

Only seconds later, the black-scaled fledgeling dragon pulled up next to the airship, Jennifer already seated on his back, waving Rose over. Rose took a look behind her for a second, Brad gave her an affirmative nod. Rose vaulted over the railing and landed right behind Jennifer.

Jennifer yelled over the high winds: "We proceed as planned, I'll get you close to the walls, you tear open holes for our ships to unload."

Rose moved into position behind Jennifer and held on as Drake accelerated forward with rapid flaps of his wings. As they closed the gap to the Tower, Rose could see that some of the windows had opened, barrages of arrows came flying out.

Drake swerved to avoid the first volley, then resumed the approach course. Rose meanwhile shot volleys of sharpened metal in the direction of the archers, more than a few hit their targets. As they got closer, more and more arrows showered them, most either missing or glancing off armour and scales. A few managed to get stuck in Drake's flesh, eliciting an angry roar and a blast of purple breath directed at the offending archers.

Jennifer spoke words of encouragement to Drake, but Rose was honestly too focused on killing archers to concentrate on what exactly she said.

They had finally come close enough to the Tower for Rose to begin her work. Drake circled tightly around an outcropping to avoid incoming arrows, then Jennifer steered him on course to the first breach site. Rose concentrated, pushing occult energies into her right hand and the dagger that resided in it. Just as Drake passed a large section of Tower wall, Rose let loose.

Three arcs of pure sharpness rushed towards the bronze exterior of the Tower, cutting a triangular shape into it. This opening was promptly used by the non-bisected Tower archers to get a better angle on Drake, landing a few more painful hits.

Now with the first opening made, one of their biggest airships approached, holding their vanguard breach force. Rose had no opportunity to observe the boarding since the next targeted section of wall was coming up, three more cuts and another opening was made.

The archers gradually became less organized as more and more airships approached the Tower and Shelter troops now stormed through the hallways, cutting them down. Rose cut again and again and again, until an entire side of the Tower was riddled with holes.

Now that her primary task was done, it was time for Rose to join the fighting inside. Drake brought her close and she jumped off, landing with a quick roll, throwing a barrage of knives at her immediate opposition.

The part of the Tower they were in now was mostly used for storage of the Entity's bizarre collections, which was why it had been chosen as their entry point. They'd be able to take over the branch quickly, then push out from there. Behind Rose, more and more airships fell out of the sky, their crew having left them behind to fight in the hallways. It was a risky one-way trip that relied on the success of the ground army, but really, at this point what was a bit of extra risk?

Fire pushed himself off the ground forcefully. At the apex of his jump his flaming wings erupted, and immediately propelled him forward, his zweihander held low, ready to strike. Like a comet he descended on the Tower mercenaries' ranks, sending a wave of scorching flames forwards with a swing of his zweihander. Dozens of enemies fell before him, but before anyone could retaliate, Fire was already halfway back to the relative safety of the Mencur-Besh. He had been doing hit-and-run attacks on the Tower forces ever since they established their position, attempting to strike a balance between offensive effectiveness and his own safety.

A Sunbeam impacted off in the distance, and not too long after muffled explosions rang out from further back. Fire settled back into the Mencur-Besh masses, joining their mages in slinging spells onto the Tower soldiers.

He spoke to the joined mind: "How are our numbers?"

The mind replied: "I lost nine-hundred-thirty-six bodies."

At this pace they would be wiped out before getting through to the Tower, but Fire had known that from the start. Their plan had not been to win through annihilation, they had a concrete target in mind: General Marcus, the Tower's acting military leader. He and his personal guard stood near the back of the Tower's army and the Mencur-Besh were steadily approaching his position. Hundreds of soldiers fell before their blades and claws as they moved through the sea of bodies.

"Requesting several Rockbursts, targets designated through mental link." One of the joined mind's bodies spoke through the radio.

Only seconds later, large spikes of stone erupted from the ground below a Tower artillery piece, its guarding mages having flown up to harry the Shelter airships, a mistake that cost them dearly. More spikes erupted all over the backlines, disabling more and more unguarded artillery.

Shadow replied through the radio: "Targets eliminated, circles one and three need to recharge, circle two is on disruption duty. We won't be able to follow up on target designations for a few minutes. I will personally give fire support in the meantime."

A blindingly bright disintegration ray impacted in the midst of the Tower army, still carrying enough energy to outright kill several soldiers, even at the extreme range Shadow was casting from.

Fire flew up again, this time he'd need to go further. He accelerated towards the Tower, remaining at a low altitude. As he flew, he bombarded the Tower's troops with a barrage of fireballs. They had wisened up, arrows were shot in his direction. Fire avoided the barrage with a swift roll, pushing additional energy into his wings to scorch any soldiers below him as he did.

Fire was close enough to be able to see Marcus' face under his visor, which was still a moderate distance due to his superhuman vision. Before he could approach closer, eight white-garbed mages rose up around Marcus, ready to defend him with their lives. Fire made a sharp turn and flew back the way he came.

He spoke through his radio: "Marcus has elite mages in his personal guard, too many for me to safely take him out on my own."

Instead of going back down into the Mencur-Besh's ranks, Fire remained afloat above them. He channelled his life force and bathed the area in front of the Mencur-Besh in flames, allowing them to advance towards Marcus at a faster pace.

Tyron's voice came through the leadership channel: "We fully neutralized their trapdoor ambushes, coming to join up with you, Fire."

Not a minute later, Tyron had swooped over the Tower's soldiers on his stone wings. They both landed to discuss matters.

Fire said: "Marcus is retreating, we have to get him now."

Tyron nodded. "Agreed."

Fire weighed his options, he couldn't directly assault Marcus' position without placing himself in significant danger, and the Mencur-Besh couldn't advance quickly enough to catch up with Marcus' retreat.

Fire spoke into his radio again: "Shadow, how long until we can get another Sunbeam?"

Shadow replied: "Two minutes at least. What do you need it for?"

Tyron seemed to have picked up on Fire's plan, he radioed: "It's for Marcus, we absolutely need to get him now or he just goes back into the Tower."

Fire asked: "What about using circle two?"

Shadow seemed to deliberate for a few moments. "Circle two is charged, but also responsible for stopping enemy artillery. If you think it's worth it, I can give the order."

Tyron spoke again: "Jennifer, status of air assault?"

Sounds of fighting came through the radio, then Jennifer replied with ragged breath: "Two thirds of our surviving airship crews have boarded or are boarding the Tower, just the flagship and a few others to go."

Fire and Tyron looked at each other, then silently nodded.

Fire gave the order: "Maximum power Sunbeam on Marcus, have circles one or three take over disruption once recharged."

"Fifteen seconds." Shadow simply replied.

"Fourteen, thirteen, twelve…" Kir chirped methodically in their minds.

Both Fire and Tyron took to the skies again. They both counted down the seconds along with Kir. A glaring light erupted from the sky above Marcus' position moments before the Sunbeam came crashing down. The moment it made contact, the smoke of burnt bodies and scorched earth obscured their view. This smoke was quickly blown away by a sharp gust of wind conjured by one of the Mencur-Besh mages to reveal…

In the midst of the devastation stood a figure, cowering below a three-by-three block configuration of red-hot obsidian. Marcus was a fast builder! Without exchanging a word, Fire and Tyron flew forwards.

As they closed in, Fire yelled into his radio: "Shadow, dome us!"

Not a second later, a transparent, light-blue wall rose up from the edges of the scorched earth, quickly curving upwards and closing them in. The dome was spacious but not big enough to keep flying. Marcus stopped his frantic retreat and turned to face his attackers. On the other side of the dome, Tower soldiers began hacking at the barrier with their weapons, sending ripples through it. They saw two mages in singed white robes exchange a nod with Marcus and begin their incantations. The implications were clear, they needed to kill Marcus before the dome came down.

Fire went on the offensive first, sprinting towards Marcus with his zweihander ready to strike. But before he could come anywhere close, Marcus had made several hops onto freshly placed obsidian blocks and was now standing on a pillar.

As Tyron re-assembled his wings, Fire shot a jet of flame upwards at Marcus, only to have it harmlessly deflect off yet more obsidian. Fire let the zweihander disappear into his inventory, the orange glow between his scales turned bright yellow as he used his excess life force to supercharge his muscles beyond what was normally possible.

In a single bound Fire leapt up to the top of the pillar, where he was immediately greeted by a sudden flood of water. Once he had his footing, Marcus had already built an obsidian bridge halfway across the dome and was now ducking behind low cover with a bow in hand.

Tyron came barrelling in from the side. Marcus turned towards him and shot several arrows, not even bothering to properly draw back the string. The enchanted projectiles hit Tyron in rapid succession and launched him backwards, smashing him into the dome. Just before Fire was able to reach him, Marcus had already hopped off his bridge, onto a series of shorter pillars he was rapidly building below himself. Fire had to admit, Marcus was good at stalling, which was sadly all he needed to do.

Fire jumped after him but now it was his turn to be ragdolled through the air by Marcus' arrows. As he got back to his feet, he saw Tyron narrowly avoiding the bucket of lava Marcus tried to dump on him. A quick glance aside told Fire that they were running low on time, the dome's integrity had suffered greatly.

Marcus had once again gained height. His obsidian staircase went all the way up to just under the dome. He now seemed to be building himself a fortification. Fire sprinted up the rough stairs. The dome could fail any second. Fire materialized his zweihander from his inventory again. It was now or never.

With a cry of effort, Fire channelled even more energy into his muscles. The glow between his scales turned white-hot and flames wreathed the zweihander, time slowed to a crawl. The dome shattered into thousands of pieces just as the blade made contact with the obsidian. The solid volcanic glass shattered as Fire cleaved a large gap into the wall Marcus had built. Marcus was in the process of winding up an ender pearl throw. The tip of the zweihander grazed his chestplate, severely slowed down by the obsidian wall, but still forceful enough to throw Marcus off balance.

The ender pearl slid from Marcus' hand mid-throw, still well on course towards safety.

"I'll give you credit, kid, you're strong," said Marcus. He grinned. "Claw is stronger."

He threw himself off the obsidian platform.

However, unbeknownst to Marcus, Tyron had flown after the pearl and used Kir's flat side to bat it back to where it came from. Marcus reappeared prone on the platform he had just jumped from. Above him was Fire, zweihander raised like an executioner. The blade came down on Marcus, before he could properly realize what position he was in, his obsidian chestplate had already been shattered and his torso bisected.

Fire quietly said: "It seems that this sword's destiny is to cut down overconfident generals."

Fire reached down to grab the top half of the fresh corpse, holding him up so that all the Tower's mercenaries could see: Their leader had fallen.

The second Marcus' corpse came into view, chaos erupted on the battlefield. It was as though a great whirlwind had sucked up the intentions of the Tower's army and scattered them every which way.

Some battalions with young, idealistic officers found renewed strength in vengeance, and charged forward in another attack on this Mencur-Besh flank, or that phalanx of the Legion. Others instinctively threw their weapons to the side and began to plead for their lives to mixed degrees of success, just as they had done when the late General Marcus had bested their own rulers. To the far left and right flanks, some experienced mercenaries simply saw the bisected Marcus as a contract torn up. His blood was just coin spilling out of a ruptured purse. They quickly moved to evade their Shelter attackers, only fighting so far as it was necessary to get away from them. Only the Endermen seemed unshaken, keeping up their harrying attacks, weaving between Shelter lines and spreading death all around.

But for the majority of the army, encircled by the Vanillans to the left, Kay's flanking force to the right, and slammed into by the Mencur-Besh and Shelter forces from the front, the only way was back. Back the gate, then beyond that to the Tower. What would they do when they got there? Retreat into it and fight on? Rush past it and flee into the fields beyond? They would decide that when they came to it. The gates opened, and they slowly pulled back through.

And as the Tower ebbed backwards, the Shelter surged on. At the fore of their army, Tyron and Fire fought onward, sending out jets of fire and shards of ice. And just behind them the Mencur-Besh continued their onslaught in looser formation now that they were on the offense.

Seeing the retreat, Shadow gave an order for the circles of her Coven to disperse and relocate closer to the Tower itself. After brief consultation with Fire, Lucy, blonde hair gleaming in the setting sun despite the clouds of artillery smoke around her, marshalled the artillery onward. They moved slowly, trailing behind the rest of the army but sustaining a barrage on the Tower's walls.

No longer made stationary by the need for powerful spells, Shadow and some of her most loyal acolytes soared upwards in a v-formation, blasting Tower mages out of the sky as they went. The tiny, white-haired mage was a whole arsenal unto herself, surrounded by an ever-replenishing ring of magical orbs which periodically shot out and broke the shield of a nearby mage, then blew a hole through their heart. Occasionally she'd also use her disintegration ray on particularly stubborn opponents, though always careful not to hit anyone behind them.

On the right flank, relieved by the departure of some of the grizzled mercenaries previously mentioned, the forces under Kay Mandy, the disgraced general, managed to complete their makeshift staircase and swarm onto the wall. Hunters threw spears with terrifying accuracy. Pigmen swung gigantic golden swords to break their opponents' guard, then clamped vice-like jaws down on their necks. These forces began to fight their way towards the gate to place further pressure on the enemy retreat.

A third detachment of this army turned away, towards the nearest gun emplacement. Of these, most wore red scarves, and fought with a uniform brutality. With swords they slashed for the face, then when their enemies were disoriented, struck out with heavy, sharp gauntlets. Every open wound would be targeted. Every exhausted man momentarily losing poise would be thrown to the ground and trampled, friend or foe. Their strategy was all momentum, all the time - a single, continuous punch to the nose of their opponents.

At the very front of their lines was the General himself, orbited by the three members of the Remaining. Kay fought with all the savagery of his men, punching this man across the jaw so hard his teeth flew out, and hacking that man across the leg and leaving him, bleeding, to the wave of men in his wake.

And the Remaining matched his energy easily. Lupe kept direct pace, dodging every arrow and blade which came her way, killing opponents with ease. Even the teleporting Endermen couldn't give her pause. They would appear and, as though she had been waiting for their arrival, find her sword raking across their scales. Not far behind, Kami's spells and Clarke's flames rained death upon the Tower's forces.

Finally, they were just before the gun. Kay drew back. After much screaming into his sleeve and fiddling with buttons, Kay convinced Shadow to swoop down and cleanly divide the gun's defenders with a blast of heat. A retreat was sounded, and Kay turned his attention to the now-abandoned artillery piece.

"As we discussed," he said to Kami.

The mage stepped forward and closed her eyes. She stretched out her palms, and a look of intense effort came over her face. A sound like the roar of some great beast filled the air and the cannon began to lift from the ground, drifting slowly out over the battlefield. Kami, with teeth gritted so tightly they looked as though they might shatter, rotated it until that barrel pointed directly at the Tower troops filtering through the gate. A great many had made it through, but those who remained had solidified into a tightly packed shell that even the Mencur-Besh were struggling to pierce.

Seeing the pain it caused her, Lupe put a hand on her comrade's shoulder.

"Just one good shot," she affirmed.

Nodding, Kami clenched her fists and the cannon's firing mechanism slammed into action. The TNT shell slammed directly into the centre of the retreating army, killing several men, but scattering and wounding a good few more. More importantly, it set a massive crater in the middle of their path to safety.

"C-can I put it down, now?" shivered Kami.

"Sorry, just a few moments more," Kay said. He mounted the nearest battlements and glared down at the gate's defenders. "They need to believe we'll fire again."

"Kay, you know she can't do that," Clarke growled.

"But they don't," Lupe conceded with considerable reluctance.

After what felt like an eternity, a white flag rose from the midst of the defenders, and they began to throw aside their weapons. The Mencur-Besh shunted past them, already moving on to their next targets. The Vanillans and the forces of the Shelter followed suit, leaving behind a small detachment to round up the surrendering forces. Kami let the artillery drop, and the General thanked her stiffly.

Meanwhile, the retreating Tower force had split up upon reaching their namesake structure. The main entrance was only large enough for so many of them to fit through, so some attempted to reach the other entrances to the left, right and on the far side. Others took up positions among the storage and energy generation buildings, readying to launch hit-and-run attacks on the conquering army as they came, ready to repay Fire for his own tactics. Bowstrings stretched, and as the Mencur-Besh passed them, the arrows were let loose. Still, even as some of them fell, they advanced undaunted, and their formation proved almost unbreakable.

Overhead, the last few airships began to fall away, as the dragons and mages continued their frenetic dogfights. Here a red-scaled dragon's jaws would crush through the shield of a frightened mage. There, the Tower's forces regrouped and shot down a dragon or a transport.

Only one airship remained undocked, the largest of them all. A tree with a burning sword through it loomed on the side of its balloons. This was the flagship, carrying the wizard Astro, the adventurers Steve Brine and Jennifer, and Herobrine himself. Finally, after several attempts, an opening large enough was made, and it slammed its hull forward, a complex series of pistons designed by the Eye-and-Claws readying to open it up and allow its troops to charge forward.

This went almost unobserved on the ground, however, as the falling airships were redirected by Shadow and her mages to crash into Tower holdouts. The balloons slowed their descent and limited the damage they would do to the structures themselves, but their size made them intimidating enough that even many of the boldest officers relocated further back just to be safe.

The Mencur-Besh reached the massive staircase up to the main entrance and began methodically clearing through the remaining defenders. They were soon joined by the Shelter and the Vanillans, and this united force pushed firmly up the stairs. Now, the charge was led by Fire, Tyron, and Kay, battling fiercely through this last line of defence. With every step, and every successful swing, their sense of triumph swelled, forcing them onwards. And yet, simultaneously, their trepidation seemed to grow greater and heavier, as they realised that inside would be a harder fight still. Miles of endless rooms and corridors, each packed with crueller traps and fiercer defenders.

At the top of the stairs, a small swarm of mages lay in wait. They had their shields clustered around a white-robed witch as she attempted to fuse the colossal, metal doors together.

Fire, Tyron and Kay came face to face with this group and readied to square off. Kay flourished his sword and drew a dagger from his flank to accompany it. Tyron formed a spike of ice around one of his fists. Fire ignited the blade of his zweihander in a continuous inferno. And the mages in return fortified their shields, summoned spectral weapons, and prepared mighty bolts of lightning.

They heard a clanging noise. A metal cylinder clattered onto the ground between them. Immediately recognising this, Kay and Tyron covered their eyes, and Kir warned Fire to do the same, though he already seemed to know what was about to happen.

"Flash out!" a voice shouted from above.

The cylinder exploded and the top of the staircase was consumed by blinding light. The mages were completely blinded and deafened, leaving them open to attack, and the Shelter's three commanders weren't in much better condition despite their last-minute precautions. They heard a light thud as someone landed in front of them, then the snap of a crossbow being fired. A sound like glass breaking followed, and the mage nearest the centre dropped dead.

Fire's eyes cleared just in time for him to see it. Warnado, a fiery purple warhammer held over his head, landed where the dead mage had once stood. The white-robed witch turned with tears streaming from her still-dazzled eyes and raised a shield. With his red eyes gleaming, and his teeth bared in a wild grin, Warnado brought the hammer down. There was another intense flash as the hammer made contact. Deep, purple demonfire swept out in a circle, overpowering the disoriented mages completely. The fire dissipated and Warnado stood alone, leaning against the door and tapping his foot.

"So, are we cracking this baby open or not?" he asked.

Tyron and Kay walked up and inspected the door. It was pretty clearly fused together, but with enough force it would buckle. They returned and took up their positions to the left and right of Fire respectively. Warnado and Amanda stood just behind Fire, momentarily allowing their hands to touch.

A glance back revealed many noteworthy faces. Seth and Rathina trash-talked each other, hyping up their competitive spirit before the battle. Lupe examined her sword as Clarke and Kami did stretches. Ryan, administrator of the Vanilla Craft, twisted his staff in his hands. Tauto Chrone of the Brotherhood muttered his mantras beneath his steel mask. Wolfric the mage thumbed through his spell book for one last incantation he might need.

Far behind them, Lucy rallied the Legionnaires and the artillery corps into a rear-guard. For the moment, the hit-and-run attacks had ceased, but between the buildings flashes of movement could be seen as the Tower forces regrouped.

Fire stood before the gate, waiting for his sister to arrive. She was essential to finding and disabling the machine, which lay somewhere deep beneath their feet. There was no point attacking until she was there. Finally, she drifted down from the sky and came to rest before him.

"Ready?" Fire asked.

Shadow nodded. "Let's go save the multiverse."