Ender stared in astonishment at the board. He paced his square, almost unable to believe Takhisis was no longer there. But he had to make his own move.
Do what they least expect...
Very casually, he walked back to the square he had come from.
"Okay, Jonnard, go up one," the strange rook commanded.
"Jennifer, come -"
"Jennifer T," she corrected him.
"-up," Ender quickly realized it would not work to say "in front of me." He didn't want to give the illusion that he needed protection. "next to Anakin."
She jogged onto the designated square.
"Vader, move diagonally to your left one."
"Why are you in charge?"
"Because I headed the revolution and beat that king there." The pieces turned their attention to Voldemort, who was standing in the king's square. He looked almost like a zombie, there, but not there.
"Alright ..." Darth Vader marched over to the square, ending with a twirl of his shoulders and cloak.
Ender nodded approvingly, "Left one, Melinda."
"Hold on, let me save..." she pressed a button and moved.
"Move up two, Thread." The strange things had a hard time moving; they had eaten a hole in the wood they were standing on.
"Oh why not," Ender sighed. "Jennifer T," He emphasized sarcastically, "up two, over one."
She did, attacking four opposing pawns at once.
"Thread, up one more." It left another hole in its wake.
Meg shivered at the blobs.
"Up one more, Meg," Ender tried to say reassuringly.
"Thread, another one." We really don't need to get back into the holes...
Jennifer T. looked back at Ender, "Please?"
"Sure."
Sprinting past Meg, she landed on Thread's square.
"Kill them with fire," Maddoc said. "but only one, or you die!"
"What are you helping me for?"
"You need to take them, so I'm just making it so it works. I don't have all day. Hurry up now!"
"Jimmy ... Blake ... person? Do you have two baseball bats I could rub together?"
Jimmy stared out at her with an expression that said "one of us is an idiot."
Luckily, Melinda was able to press buttons that created a dangerous, if entirely pixelated fireball. The fireball, though great on the computer screen, never reached the Thread.
"Reboot?" suggested Selenity.
"We need to kill these things," Jennifer T grew impatient.
"Hurry up, we haven't got all day!" Maddoc complained.
"Co-secant theta ..." Selenity muttered. "Sir ... whoever you are? Could you reflect light off you shield and light a fire?"
"I'd rather use flint!" he produced a slab.
Jennifer T resisted using some very choice language as she knelt down and worked. Soon one of the blobs caught fire and the rest disappeared to their first hole.
"Vader, move four to your left diagonally. Then say check."
"Check," he boomed.
Ender stepped forward next to Anakin, who was examining Vader with curiosity.
"Goyle, up one!"
Goyle bowed and walked forward.
Ender walked to Noren's right and tapped his fist nervously.
"Hulls, go up one too."
Riding their horses, they complied.
"Okay," Ender took a deep breath. "Selenity. Over one."
Backing up his files, he did so.
"Tigerstar, to the right one and up one."
"Mrwll!"
"Jennifer T, back to where you were."
"But Melinda's there."
"I mean to Meg's left."
"Oh, okay." She went.
"Dragons, up one. They can't talk, so I'll say check for them."
Ender's tongue hung out from his mouth as he thought. When he came up with a move, he pulled it back in. "Noren. Up."
"Why?" came the predicted response.
"Be... why not?"
"Because they can attack there."
"So?"
"So I don't want to be attacked."
"You shouldn't have come here."
"I didn't choose to be your pawn."
"I didn't choose to be your king."
Noren moved.
"Wolfjackals. Up two."
"That was stupid..." Jennifer T rolled her eyes.
"Please don't turn into Rachel," Ender clenched his teeth, whether in anger
at Jennifer T's ignorance or Maddoc's intelligence it was impossible to
tell.
After a pause, he squeezed his eyes shut. "Meg? I'm s-certain your best move
is to face those dogs again."
"Then you're a moron," Noren said offhandedly.
"Thanks."
"It's too late to be defensive."
Inwardly, Ender admitted Noren was right. "Okay," Ender said. "Jennifer T... go ahead." He pointed towards the sisters.
Arrogantly, she marched to their square and spat at them.
A red dragon came forward, but it didn't look the same as the ones from the dragon square. It was bigger, and had spikes on its head and knee joints.
"To destroy the sister, you must get through me!" it roared.
"Jimmy ... baseball bats?"
He shook his head.
Jennifer T concentrated and tried to scamper behind the dragon. The dragon disappeared. Jennifer T. pounded a sister with her fist and all three disappeared. A square in front of her, two of the sisters reappeared.
"Wolfjackals, can you take the pawn to your right?"
"Grrr!"
This time the wolfjackals were more controlled, and only ate Noren's heart before leaving him to rot.
"Check," Maddoc yelled.
Ender solemnly moved another square forward.
"Jonnard, up one. Say check."
"Check," Jonnard said in a bored voice.
Ender continued his trek up the board.
"Malfoy, Up two and one to the left. Say check."
"Check."
Ender moved onto the sixth rank, next to Jennifer T.
Maddoc himself moved over three.
"Check!" he exclaimed.
Meg sat down on her square. Ender ignored her and stepped diagonally up and to the right.
"Malfoy, up one, to the right three. Say check." Maddoc pronounced in a very bored manner.
"Check," Malfoy whispered hoarsely.
Ender stepped backwards and right without turning around.
"Vader, up two, right two."
He marched ahead.
Ender instinctively prepared to move out of check, but then realized he wasn't in it. "Jennifer T, up next to the cat and say 'Check'." She obliged.
"Dragons, up one."
Ender paced the square edgily. All he had was the element of surprise...
He hopped onto Jonnard's square. He hit Jonnard on the back of the head, and the boy fell over. As he hit the floor of the square, he disappeared. Two squares in front of Ender, a thin, muscular cat wearing a chain of dog's teeth appeared. "Mrrl!" it yowled.
"Hello Bloodstar," Maddoc greeted. "I'm sorry, but I can't move you now, but you'll help. Thread, move up one. I'll say it: CHECK!"
Ender walked forward again.
"Malfoy, two in front of Thread. Say check."
"Check," he yawned.
Ender backed up and to the right, skirting the hole Thread had made. Suddenly the dark's pale king lurched forward as though pushed. Drool dribbled down his chin and his eyes were out of focus. Then he continued going until he was on the left of the two sisters.
"Anakin, go in front of the kni – the nice guy you're next to."
Laughing, he did.
"Dragons, take the play-knight."
"How dare you call me-"
A red dragon lunged at him and broke his neck. The knight disappeared.
Ender rolled his eyes. "Won't miss him. Melinda, in front of those dragons."
She slid over and waved to Selenity. He grinned back.
"Vader, go back to your right one." He marched into place.
Ender whirled on Lucius and kicked him in the shin.
"OW!" Malfoy yelled. He clutched his leg to his chest. Ender stepped back and aimed for the groin. "YOUCH!" Malfoy let go of his leg to hold his crotch and fell to the ground. He disappeared. In the square next to Maddoc, an evil-looking man appeared carrying a short sword.
"Dragons, take the rook" They moved forward, a blue dragon zapping Selenity on the way. "You are now a queen. Congrats, fellows!"
Melinda tapped feverishly at her terminal. "I thought you said it would work!"
"Left, Melinda," Ender said.
She moved, and immediately began grabbing the spare drives that scattered the square. She threw one at the dragons. It hit a small green one with a stunted wing in the head. The entire body of dragons disappeared, and forty-nine of them appeared on the square next to Jennifer T.
"Take the knight now," Maddoc instructed the newly crowned queen. They moved forward with new rage and tore into her body.
"Up one, Meg." Ender stated coldly. She had lifted her foot when he said, "No, never mind. Melinda, over..." he counted, "Four squares and check."
"Dragons, move diagonally three so you're in front of the king, but up three squares from him." They flew to the spot, now that the crippled green was gone.
"Take them, Meg."
Meg pushed Gruf toward the dragons, hoping he could bite one.
"Whatcha pushin' me for?" The wolfjackal inquired.
"Go k-kill one of the dragons," she stammered.
"Fine, since I'm stuck here ... anyways ..." He lunged forward and grabbed a red by the throat. They both hit the ground and the dragons once again re-appeared on their beginning square.
"Now over one, Dragons."
A white rolled its eyes and the group walked over.
"Meg ... ah, never mind. Anakin. Go on the other side of the dogs, a square away from Meg." He walked over.
"Dragons, back to where you were. I made a mistake." They charged over. "Check," Maddoc said.
Ender nodded decisively. "Now, Meg, you can go up."
She stepped forward nervously.
"Take the pawn, Dragons." They moved in and a blue snapped Meg with lightning.
"Check," Maddoc whispered.
"Melinda, take and give check."
"What's the point?" But she did, anyway, hurling a wet power cord at the dragons. It hit a black full in the face. It roared, and they moved back.
"Take the rook now." A blue shot lightning at Melinda and she fell over backwards. "Check," Maddoc said hoarsely.
Ender paced sideways.
"Take the bishop next to you." Darth Vader shouted "NOOOO!" just as a black sprayed gas in Anakin's face.
"Che..." Maddoc trailed as a blue light flashed.