Chapter Twelve: One Day Later
The base camp buzzed with life as numerous soldiers rallied here and there to perform their assigned functions. Those without current functions were put to training, and so on and so forth. Colonel Jeff and the Dragoons were in the largest tent, to discuss a matter that grieved them all.
"That battle yesterday was only a skirmish," Jeff said, laying out a map and several black and white bars. "The black is the enemy, we're the white."
Along a valley stretched out over the land they were situated in, there were three large masses of black bars, with the center group containing the largest bar.
"What's that?" Sean asked.
"That, recon reports is an enormous skeletal beast ridden by some kind of demon that no one can identify," Jeff said. "Now, we'll split up our own forces to combat the oncoming three battalions, and send air support and cavalry from this base camp," Jeff said, placing white bars to meet the black bars, but Sean stopped him.
"That enormous beast is something none of you can handle, we have to face it alone," Sean said. Jeff looked to his advisors, and eventually they nodded. Sean grabbed several bars from the middle section of the defenders, and spread them out evenly over the other two groups. "We'll take ourselves to this place and fight with them."
"Alright, sounds good," Jeff said. "Do you know who this guy is?"
Sean nodded. "All too well."
"Okay, I sense a time deepened hatred, so I'll just be safe and let you have your way with that, then. I'll accompany the Eastern troops to ensure that you won't be flanked, and our best will go to the right, to flank them," Jeff said.
"This is going to be a fight for the history books," Ben said.
"Kid, this is the stuff statues in town square are made of," Jeff said, lighting a cigar. "All we have to do is make sure there's a town square to admire us."
They all laughed uneasily, and left the tent, one by one, until Jeff and Robert were the only ones left inside. Robert leaned on the table, looking away to hide the wide smile on his face, while Jeff was putting the map away.
"So...You're...Colonel Sanders?" Rob finally said, fighting with all his might not to burst into laughs and tears at the irony. This of course, all occurred before Jeff put a gun barrel to the back of Robert's neck.
"Son, no one, not even my own men, so I mean NO ONE, calls me that. I'll warn you once, don't ever call me that, EVER," he said, and put the gun away, and left the tent.
The Dragoons decided to go for a walk outside the base camp, never had they been in so public a place, and stared at so much for being what they were, the secret would be out when this little war was over.
The sun had set below the hills a few moments earlier, so the orange glow still kept the scene visible. The Dragoons sat down in a small dry patch where no Mayfil soil burdened the ground.
"This is kinda strange," Mike said. "Everyone knows who we are now."
"Yeah, I don't think they'll handle it the right way when this is all over, though," Sean said.
"How could they treat it a wrong way?" Rob asked, smiling. "We'll have fame, fortune, all the gratitude we've been earning for ten years behind the scenes. We'll be friggin celebrities!"
"I don't want that, do you see what fame does to some people?" Ben asked.
Christie nodded, as did Sean, Melissa, Brittany and Brad.
"But…well then we'll just go somewhere out of the way," Rob said. In his heart he didn't desire the attention, he knew it wouldn't end well, right now he just wanted to act like nothing was wrong.
"Right," Mike said with a chuckle.
They continued laughing, until suddenly a bright white light appeared in front of them, taking up a large area of their private gathering.
When the light went away, there were fourteen Winglies floating on their magical wings of light, gowned in shining armor littered with symbols of protection and strength. Their silver hair stopped bobbing as they set onto the earth and walked towards the Dragoons.
Everyone recognized them but Sean. These were the masters of the elements, and the arms men that had trained the Dragoons.
"Greetings, Dragoons," Said the foremost, a Wingly with a red flame painted to his breast plate.
"Halonorie, how's it goin?" Ben said.
"We know about the battle yesterday, and if this is a war to save Endiness, the leaders in Ulara decided that we Winglies must do our fair share for the small bit of it we still hold as our own," Halonorie said.
"No way!" Ben said, pumping his fist into the air. "This is awesome!"
"Who are these guys?" Sean asked.
"They're the Winglies that trained us with our weapons and magic while you were gone. These guys are amazing, they're just as good as a Dragoon, with that many more years of experience," Ben said.
"Really now," Sean said, he shook Halonorie's hand, and said hello. "Welcome to our resistance."
"We are proud to play our small part in it," Halonorie answered.
"Come back to the base camp, we'll tell the humans, if they're anything less than thrilled, we'll see to them," Ben said, laughing.
The humans treated the Winglies, hmm….well Ben did not have to "see to them," as he had put it.
The Winglies were given large tents to sleep in and their centuries of wisdom was of a great aid in the planning of the battle to come. Finally at ten o'clock they called it a night and the encampment went to their rest.
The morning was a nervous one, so many couldn't stomach their breakfasts, but ate them anyway. The Dragoons left early to join a recon team to see where the army was. They crept up a hill, hearing the uproar on the other side. The Dragoons were startled to see the force they volunteered themselves against.
The army covered every inch of visible land, to the horizon, and there stood their leader, their king-for they were all dead-Zachwell, mounted on a giant skeleton, or half skeleton. The legs were gone, as was the hip; only the torso, arms and head remained. A shrill cry erupted from his cracked, evil lips, and the army answered, eight arrows fired out and the Dragoons jumped back as they struck the dirt just before them. Each arrow had a note attached to it, with a different Dragoon's name on each one, under the name, it read:
Come to me, I am yours, my name is Demise.
Sean crumpled up his letter and threw it to the ground. "Let's get back to camp, it's time."
The Dragoons had the alarm raised, and the soldiers got in their legions, Colonel Jeff had lit another cigar and began firing out his commands at a volume few other humans could reach.
Within 15 minutes, they were ready, and a force of equal size to the invaders marched to confront them.
"I'd like this height advantage," Jeff said to Sean as they stood staring down upon the army before them. The battle was seconds away, and adrenaline rushed through the veins of every human being for miles. "I'd like it if guns did any good, anyway."
Sean nodded. "Yeah, well you can still have explosives, and by all means use them, all the help we can get, we'll take."
"Oh, I'm way ahead of you there," Jeff said. "Bring it in!" Two soldiers walked in, with a large case in each hand. They set them on the floor and Jeff opened them and marveled. "Stingers, eight of them. Oh, I love a good explosion." He picked it up and loaded the first missile.
"WANNA MESS WITH MY CONTINENT NOW?" Jeff bellowed and fired the missile into the mass before him, the very front line. Twenty fell, at least, and by the time Sean was done counting that, Jeff had fired again and again, a little too happily.
"You like explosions?" Sean asked, Jeff nodded, breathing heavily. Sean chuckled. He turned to his own comrades, and spoke.
"How about holding off a charge? One by one, let's see those new attacks you guys have been talking about," Sean said, but Ben shook his head.
"Can't do it, we'll be wiped out magically AND physically," he said. The others agreed with him. However, Halonorie stepped up, and put forth a hand to interject.
"I'd like to back Sean on this, it would greatly reduce their number, and I count they have thousands more than we do, each more capable than an average human. Diminishing their numbers could be the first step to a victory. I know you all are relatively young with your newest abilities, so before arriving here our greatest potion makers derived this," he said, and with his other hand revealed a vial that appeared to contain a swirling liquid of ever elemental color, with a white and orange light in the center.
"What is that?" Sean asked.
"We call it Moon Fog," Halonorie answered, "It's a hybrid of a Moon Serenade, and a Healing Fog. The compositions are very unfriendly towards each other, and we could barely create eight, but it is an advantage to have them, nonetheless."
"No kidding it is!" Rob shouted, he graciously took one from the Wingly that had taught him his newest attack, and flew into the air. The army was beginning to advance.
He pocketed the Moon Fog and tore upwards, above the clouds. There, where he was in the center of the enemy's body, he pulled his spear close to him, hugging it to his body, with the blade pointed downwards. He beat one wing furiously, and let himself fall. The spinning motion was soon so great that it pulled the very clouds down with him. Twisting and turning, frightening everyone, but the hardest part for Rob was yet to come. He saw in a flash that he was close to the ground, and put the spear out in front of him. Then, just as his feet touched down, he smacked the spear head into the earth with his full physical and magical force, the air became a vacuum, and the soldiers were pulled in a giant ball surrounding Rob. He felt his skin tearing, as if the Jade Dragon had possessed him and was tearing through his final outer layers of flesh. His eyes bulged and glowed bright green, and finally, he let all his power go, in one gigantic burst.
"TEMPEST!" He cried. The boom was deafening, and enemy soldiers flew at incredible speed in every direction. Rob fell to his knees, with his vision blurring slowly and blackening around the edges, with final thoughts of desperation, he grabbed the vial and downed it quickly. It tasted horrible, but just as quickly as the last drop touched his tongue, he was himself again. He flew back to his comrades.
"How was that?" he asked, he slapped Mike's hand, "I like yours, go on and give it a shot."
Mike shrugged. He'd never been magically dominant before, and performing this attack took a greater toll on him than any of the others, but with this Moon Fog, he was promised it would work, so with a trusting heart, he flew to a thick region of soldiers.
He took up his axe and held it high, filling it with his magic. When it was glowing a vibrant gold, he gathered up all his might, and threw it, spinning into the earth. When the glow stopped, a small earthquake began, and fissures tore under the feet of dozens of undead men. Mike then flew downwards, into them, and through them, to find his axe. When he grasped it finally he willed his element to embrace him, hug him around his being.
He flew upwards, and pulled rock, dirt, and molten magma with him, upwards to ground level, and then fifty feet more, the ground sunk around him, and the soldiers fell into the rut. Then, when he was high enough, he let loose physical and magical fury, and in a blast, threw the boulders of earth down on his enemies. "TITAN'S TEARS!"
He quickly let himself fall to save energy as he drank his potion, and just as he felt revived, he pulled up and rejoined his friends. He looked to Brittany, and laughed, "can you even pull yours off here?"
She put her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't you pay attention in elementary geography? Water's everywhere." She said and flew away. She felt it, in the clouds, in a sea nearby, under the ground, and she called for it. Water from every non living thing was torn from its place and pulled to her, and soon a gigantic bubble surrounded her, filling up the sky, with a shining shadow cascading on the ground. Suddenly, as if it were in an invisible container, the water began to spill over near the enemy. As it fell, it began to freeze. Suddenly Brittany tore out from inside it and bellowed "FROZEN TORRENT!" And with that the entire stream of falling water became ice, falling just in front over her. It struck the ground and shattered into thick, pale blue chunks, yet as Brittany pulled up, the boulders of ice followed her, tumbling over numerous individuals unlucky enough to have not escaped.
She finally let go, and the ice thawed and melted, and she drank her potion while she let the water return to the places it had previously been. Drenched now, she returned to her friends.
Melissa volunteered to go next. Sean sat back, wanting to see how hers went. Her attack would only last as long as she let it, and it took an amazing amount of energy. She did not have to fly far, however, over her friends would do. Feeble arrows flew through the air, but a weak Rose Storm from Robert prevented anyone from being even scratched. The enemy charged, but Melissa had already begun. She closed her eyes and envisioned the solar system as far as the earth. With all her effort she placed a black bubble around it, she heard gasps of shock, and knew it was working. She then pulled it inwards, trapping all light, and enclosed it just past Earth, not wanting to endanger the sun.
Suddenly everything was deathly cold. Sean spun around, hearing a growl, something inhuman was behind them, snarling, but walking by, passing them. Then he heard Melissa's voice. "DEMONS OF DARK, UNLEASH!" The moderately silent "demons" beside the Dragoons bellowed now, and thumped forward, soon cries were heard from the ranks of the undead army, fear and agony as some were ripped to shreds. But this lasted only a moment. The strain on Melissa's body was tearing her apart from the inside out, she drank the potion just as she let the spell fade, and avoided passing out. She floated safely down by Sean's side.
"Wow," Sean said. He gave her a kiss, "Amazing."
"Thanks, you're so sweet," she said in a child's tone. Sean laughed and watched Christie step up.
"Thanks a whole bunch, Melissa, you pent up the sun's light, now it's got an even bigger urge to push outwards. This make's my spell all the easier," she said.
She took to the skies as well, drawing her bow. She drew an arrow of shining pure light, and pointed it up towards the sun. She drew it back, and as she pulled, not only the arrow, but the bow itself was engulfed in light and increased in size. Soon, from tip to tip the shining bow was at least fifteen feet in length. Christie's wrists hurt from the effort of holding the arrow, which struggled increasingly harder to be released.
She finally felt it was ready, and to herself she whispered. "Send the sun a message, we need him here." With a loud, low twang the arrow let loose, flying into the sky, and yet it seemed it merely grew longer. A rope was attached to the light.
Finally it stopped, and Christie grabbed it, and yelled. "PURIFYING LIGHT!" She pulled down hard on the rope, and instantly an intense light shined down on the enemy army, blinding everyone, and scorching some on the edges. They cried out in agony, in unison, even Zachwell, who was weakest against this element.
When the shining finally stopped, his vile veins pulsated, including one on his temple, as his anger rose. "ENOUGH! REGROUP! HIT THEM NOOWW!" He roared, and the soldiers angrily tore up the hill.
"Uh, might wanna get the rest of those attacks out quickly," Sean said as Christie returned. Brad stepped up.
"Ben, get yours ready, I'll hold them off with mine." He said. Ben nodded and took to the skies. He curled into the ball, and as his concentration hardened, the symbols on his armor began glowing with heat.
Brad got in a side-stance, and faced the oncoming attackers. He put his left hand over his spirit, and pulled it away, an electric current soared with it, then his right hand followed the same procedure. He threw both bolts into the sky, they grew and arced over the army, but Brad kept them distracted with smaller bolts, taking out several soldiers. Then he rose up his hand, and he bellowed. "MAXIMUM VOLTAGE!"
The electricity in the sky changed color, and suddenly, struck the earth in a thousand different rays of violent energy. The shockwaves knocked every soldier to the ground, and even Zachwell's beast fell to an elbow.
Everyone looked to Ben, whose heat could be felt from twenty feet away now. His attack required the most time, because fire was not found just anywhere. But he felt he was ready. The skies darkened, until it was nearly evening-dark over both armies. Orange lightning cascaded through the thick black clouds, and rumbled loudly, filling the armies undead hearts with fear.
Ben threw his limbs out, and his spirit was shining, white hot now. Silence literally engulfed the entire plain, seeing this light. Nothing was heard until the strange skies began coughing, and then Ben's voice filled the battlefield, and miles beyond it. "RAIN OF FIRE!"
Gigantic balls of flame tore down from the black clouds, burning as they fell, and as they struck the dirt. Dozens of soldiers perished as each sphere of flame hit and the field was set ablaze.
"Holy-"Sean began, but the remainder of the profanity was cut off by the booms.
One particularly large one was heading straight for Zachwell. But he merely waited until it got to him, then he jumped up. "HAAA!" He yelled, and with a great effort, smacked it down onto his own forces. His hand was charred, and black, yet with some concentration, it healed before his eyes.
"I see why you are second in command once again," Zachwell said, watching Ben fall from the sky.
Christie fed his vial to him, and the soldiers of the Defense of Endiness charged forward, and cleaved their way into the frightened undead forces, the battle could only go one way now, or so they all thought…
Authors' Note: Hey y'all, sorry about the wait, it is TOTALLY Spike's fault, he's busy with the county fair in our area and all the hecticness is over, so here's another chapter, we hope you aren't mad, please review, ciao!