CHAPTER 10
Alternate Ending 1
With an unholy howl the Baron swung his sword, drawing on its devilish power as he attacked. Mira threw her dagger up, clenching the hilt with both hands, and skillfully blocked the attack. The undead fighters pushed back and forth until they broke apart, each swinging and stabbing in a silhouette of steel and darkness. Bloodbane winced as Mira ducked under a powerful slash and brought her knuckles into his chin. Luckily, the Death Knight easily shook the attack off and pressed forward once again. The Dark Ranger parried a quick strike from her opponent and used her superior speed to dive in for a tackle but at the last second Bloodbane brought the hilt of his runeblade down on the wench's head, her body limply falling to the ground.
Thebis roared and barreled toward Detheroc, flanked by Therashk. The frost wyrm took a deep breath, sucking in the icy air and converting it into magical power. Detheroc focused as much mana as he could into his most powerful spell. Above Therashk a fiery portal opened up, a ring of fire signifying the approach of a powerful demon. Just as the wyrm went to release a breath of frost a flame covered boulder smashed into its back, sending both tumbling to the ground below. Detheroc smirked at his success, but the look was quickly wiped from his face when one thousand pounds of Crypt Lord fell upon him.
Ezzil squared off with the Lich Kel'Thuzad, each sorcerer planning their next move. The Lich moved first, throwing his arms forward, an orb of pure frost forming in his palms and releasing on command. The goblin shaman called to the spirit of the earth, which answered by raising a small shield of rock which intercepted the icy orb. Not phased by his failure, Kel'Thuzad whipped around, casting a new spell. With the wave of his skeletal hand a swarm of icy spears shot forward, rocketing toward their green-skinned target.
At the base of Icecrown, Therashk and the Infernal demon struck the ground, the frost wyrm taking the brunt of the impact. With a draconic moan it struggled to get its bearings as the Infernal rose to its feet, extending to its full height. The demon bellowed an unearthly battle cry and reached down, picking up its fallen undead opponent. With a powerful throw, the Infernal tossed the wyrm into the base of Icecrown. Therashk hit the icy wall of the tower, a few bones shattering on impact and reeled from the damage he'd suffered. Vengeful fire brewed in the wyrm's eyes as it turned to face the behemoth that had just crippled it.
Bloodbane bent down, grabbing Mira by her luscious blue hair and holding her for a moment before beginning to savagely beat her head against the cold, hard ground. Mira awoke upon the initial impact, screaming as her cranium was smashed again and again. The Baron laughed, bathing in the Dark Ranger's pain and suffering. He playfully tossed her onto her back and advanced on top of her, getting right into her face. A sickly purple tongue slithered out of his mouth, crawling over the Ranger's cheek. "How do you like that girlie?" he asked mockingly. Mira spat in the Death Knight's face, brought her knee into his chest and tossed him over and behind her.
Thebis and Detheroc grappled viciously as the Crypt Lord struggled to pin down his smaller opponent. The Dread Lord hissed and spread his wings, using the small muscles attached to them as added strength against Thebis. The small effort only fueled the beetle-like lord further, Thebis bucking into the air and bringing all of his legs down on the demon's chest. Detheroc gasped for air, but Thebis had no intention of giving it to him. With a barbaric claw to the face, the Crypt Lord stunned his prey momentarily, giving him enough time to prepare a spell. Detheroc screamed as a mighty swarm of blood-sucking locusts covered his face and exposed skin. A gut-wrenching moan was heard as the locusts returned to their lord, giving him the power they had absorbed.
Ezzil spun his staff around, drawing on a small supply of magic. The wind whipped around the shaman's staff, easily diverting the course of the magic frost spears and sending them toward the Lich King. The half-human half-warlock simply raised his hand and the icy projectiles vanished. Still spinning his staff, the shaman called on the wind again, sending it howling toward Kel'Thuzad. Assuming that the Lich would find a way to block the attack, he spun around and fired a stream of fire as well. Kel'Thuzad brought up a glacier of ice, which blocked out the wind, but had no answer to the flame. With a ghastly scream, the Lich disappeared in an inferno of flame.
Therashk blew a breath of pure ice at the Infernal, encasing it momentarily in a coffin of frost. The flame-bodied Infernal easily burned through its prison of ice and charged into the frost wyrm again. The two titans grappled and desperately clawed for dominance. Seeing an opening, Therashk blew another breath of frost into the Infernal's face, stunning it. Seizing the moment, the wyrm tackled the demon to the ground and began savagely tearing at it with tooth and claw. A roar of bestial rage leapt from the wyrm's lips as the Infernal threw him to the side and both giants rose to their feet once again.
Bloodbane rolled with the momentum and easily found his footing once again as Mira sprang to her feet as well. The two charged each other once again, but this time the Ranger got the best of the Knight. With a swift duck and sweep, Mira kicked the Baron's feet, tripping him. With inhuman reflexes, the Ranger pounced her opponent, raking vigorously at the Death Knight's face. Bloodbane screamed in agony as patches of his skin were peeled off, revealing a purple ooze-like substance beneath. The Baron fiercely fended off her attack with a few swings of his runeblade, but had suffered significant damage already.
Thebis cackled maniacally as power from the Dread Lord swept through his body, giving him a euphoric feeling. Detheroc groaned weakly as he tried to push the Crypt Lord off of him. Thebis easily overpowered the drained demon and pinned him down with one claw. He brought the other up into the air, threatening to cleave the Dread Lord's head in two. In a dying gambit, Detheroc focused the last of his magical power into a simple spell. A horde of bats engulfed the Crypt Lord, tearing and biting with their fang and claws. Thebis swatted them away quickly, sustaining practically no damage. With an insect-like smile the Crypt Lord brought his claw up once again, and this time there was no escape. A hideous crunching noise signified the end of the demon's life.
The flames subsided as the fiery spell began to wear off, revealing a charred Kel'Thuzad. The Lich painfully took another icy breath and continued on, summoning some strength for a final spell. The Lich King himself shuffled his throne backwards some, trying to get out of range of the onslaught that would befall the shaman. Ezzil confusingly summoned another gust of wind, but not even a powerful blast to the gut could break Kel'Thuzad's focus. The Lich flashed his fangs in a vampiric smile, making Ezzil shudder as he realized the Lich's plan. "Die you fool!" Kel'Thuzad bellowed, Ezzil desperately scrambling to escape. A wave of black energy swept all around the Lich in an unholy aura of Death and Decay. Everything the black magic touched rotted and withered away, stopping when it washed over the goblin shaman. Ezzil screamed horrifically as he watched his body fester and rot away. He moaned as his arms broke off, the flesh and bone too weak to hold them up. A final defiant roar was the only thing that came out of Ezzil before his head rolled off his body.
Therashk panted, small particles of ice flaring from his undead nostrils as he prepared for the oncoming demon. The hulking beast of rock and fire advanced toward the wyrm with great haste, Therashk readying a defense. The frost wyrm shot a breath of ice into his opponent's eyes, knocking the Infernal off balance, and dove into the demon's mid-section. As the ice began to melt Therashk poured another avalanche down on the demon's wicked head. Continuing to keep the Infernal frozen, Therashk pounded down on the glazed over demon's head. A glass shattering noise rang out as the Infernal's floating head of rock and fire split into a hundred pieces. In a scream of fire the demon disappeared into the netherworld.
"Enough!" the Lich King roared. Bloodbane and Mira both halted their actions, paralyzed by the King's voice. "The Scourge has prevailed," the King said, pointing below, "see for yourself you wench." Mira followed the Lich King's gaze, looking below and watching as hordes of Scourge-bred fighters overwhelmed the remaining allied forces. "Your time here is over my dear," the Lich King said, "now die!" With the wave of his hand, the half-human sent a wave of howling black magic at the Dark Ranger. Mira accepted her fate, holding her arms out as the magic engulfed her. A loud slurping sound filled the air and moments later nothing but a few drops of blood remained where the Ranger had once stood. Bloodbane watched in awe as the King of the Scourge stood and walked over to the edge of Icecrown, looking below. "Friends, brothers" the Lich King said, his voice echoing throughout the mountains, "a new era has started. Now that we have crushed the Forsaken and the goblins we will claim the rest of this land. All hail the Scourge!"
"All hail the Lich King!" the undead warriors below returned.
A/N: Yay! I did an alternate ending! It's been a while, but I couldn't deny my fans at least one last victory for the Scourge. Now review it!