Hello everybody! I am back quickly with another short chapter. They are a lot easier to write and get done regularly, but I want more out of each one, so I will either need to take longer per chapter to dedicate more time to them, or figure out how to make multiple shorter chapters on the same situation without breaking it up awkwardly. Transitions can be a pain. But, as always, enjoy the chapter, and please let me know what you think! Any guesses what's going to happen next?

Disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft or any of the associated properties or subsidiaries. That falls to Microsoft now. Let's hope they don't Diablo Immortal it.

Dustwallow Marsh, Theramore City

Jaina's Tower

26 ADP, 2.5 Weeks Before The Battle of Light's Hope Chapel

"Absolutely not.", was not quite the reaction I had expected. I had been hoping for a "let's go kill some Scourge!" or even just an "I have a duty to help reclaim Lordaeron", but I would have accepted a "Well, I suppose I could help.", not that Jaina would have used those exact words, but I did not expect her to outright deny me the moment I asked.

"Er, absolutely not?", I asked.

"That's right. My people abandoned everything they ever had to get away from the Scourge the first time. Family. Homes. Lands they had tilled since the time of Arathor, and careers they spent years training for. What was left was wiped away by the Scourge. They escaped it once. Why would I ever subject my people to that danger again?"Jaina queried, eyebrow raised.

"Uh…" I started to realise that diplomacy and ambassadorial missions were not really something I was ever prepared for. I had never been a very eloquent speaker. "Well, from our intelligence, we believe that the Scourge is preparing to launch a major offensive in the plaguelands to wipe out the resistance there, but that they will also try to send shipments of tainted grain to Orgrimmar, Stormwind, and here."

This was complete bullshit of course; while the Lich King would end up sending shipments of plagued grain to those cities, neither the Argent Dawn or anyone else had any idea that it would happen. "Besides, the Scourge and the Lich King are a threat to the entire world. They may be focused on the plaguelands now, but how long will it be before Scourge incursions occur in Kalimdor?"

"You still have not answered my question." she said coolly. "There are many problems and threats besieging us. Demons across the continent. Warbands of quilboar striking out from Mulgore. A hostile Tauren tribe in the northern marshes. Waves of murlocs and naga beset us from the sea. Did you know that a contingent of my soldiers crossed the planet to defend the Dark Portal, and went to fight in Outland?"

I shook my head mutely.

She got more and more angry the longer she spoke.

"A whole battalion of good men, with families and friends. Some of our best, many veterans of the Second War among them. Do you know how many returned unharmed, of nearly two hundred men? Thirty four. Five in every six of my men that returned were badly injured or dead. OVer half of those casualties were deaths, many of which could not even have their bones returned to their families to bury. We had other priorities than returning the bodies of dead men, I was told. Nothing for me to offer their loved ones or explain why they died. So again, tell me why I should spill the blood of my people for problems being fought in dead lands devoid of people on the other side of the world?"

"My lady,", Fitz began, "They are relatively weak now, but I can assure you that the Lich King's army is only growing-"

"Because it is your fault." I said unflinchingly.

This better pay off.

Jaina turned back to face me, her face a stone mask. "What did you say?"

"I said that it is your fault. You should help us because you had a part to play in the creation of what the Scourge is today."

She stared at me quietly, not moving.

At last, Jaina turned to Fitz and very quietly said "I suggest you take your lieutenant here back to the Eastern Kingdoms, now, lest I put him in chains and let you report what occurred here." Fitz blanched.

Right, time to turn up the pressure.

"The Scourge only is what it is today, Quel'thalas and Lordaeron only fell, because of Arthas. If he had not returned to King Terenas's court as a death knight, the Scourge would have been wiped out in Lordaeron. Not immediately, not without many more deaths and sacrifices, but their success there can be placed on the fact that Arthas betrayed Lordaeron.", I stated.

"And?" Her eyes pierced into mine, two chips of cold ice rather than their usual ocean blue. I could see her daring me to say it, declaring 'say it and I will be free to obliterate you in your chair, and the chair too.'.

I mentally prepared myself to try to throw up a mana shield, even though I had never done one before. It likely wouldn't make a difference anyways. "And, Arthas would not have become the Lich King if it were not for you abandoning him at Stratholme."

That seemed to shock her from her murderous rage. "Stratholme?! What do you know about it?! About any of it? You think it is my fault that Arthas turned into what he is because I refused to help him murder 25,000 innocent people!"

I stared her straight in the eye, dead serious, and said "Yes." Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Fitz inching his chair away from me and Captain Evancane shifting his hand to the sword at his hip.

Jaina said nothing, too shocked for words.

"Arthas chased the dreadlord Mal'Ganis to Northrend", I continued firmly, "because he felt there was no other choice of action. Purging stratholme was the right choice. An easy one? Not a chance in hell. But a completely objective commander, which is what you and Uther should have been, would have known that the people of Stratholme had mere hours, if not minutes before they started transforming into Scourge and created an entire undead army in the middle of Lordaeron. Such a force would have killed or turned all of eastern Lordaeron before news even reached Capital City of what was happening. Prince Arthas was left, alone and forsaken, having just sacrificed his every belief and sense of self, to do nothing but chase down Mal'Ganis. In his eyes, returning to Capital city would have just meant his arrest and the chance for another Stratholme to occur. He had to end the threat. And only you or Uther could have changed his course of action, or prevented him from doing anything to stop Mal'Ganis." I changed to a softer tone. "Like seeking out a powerful runeblade as a weapon against the dreadlord, not knowing it would consume his soul and enslave his mind like any of its victims."

The others sat in silence, stupefied by my reasoning. It wasn't an original idea of mine, but I agreed with it. Arthas chased Mal'Ganis, driven by rage and pain thinking he had lost all he cared about and just wanting it over, and was consumed by Frostmourne and later, the spirit of Ner'Zhul. Nothing was left of Arthas but his soul inside the blade itself, and that could only be freed by breaking it.

"You came here as a diplomatic envoy", Jaina finally said, slowly. "To request help, and instead have spent this whole time insulting me and blaming me - and the greatest paladin of the Silver Hand - for the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. By all rights, I should throw you into my dungeons and have you torn apart by angry elementals."

Captain Evancane left his standing position by the doorway and slowly approached the table from behind Jaina, hand tightly gripping the hilt of his sword. When he was a few feet away and I was preparing for a fight I couldn't win, Jaina raised her hand to stop him, still staring at me unflinchingly, eyes full of emotion.

"I should." she repeated. Hope bloomed in my heart.

She lowered her hand and the captain relaxed. "But I won't.", she admitted. "You have not been in such a situation, so do not think to so lightly judge me for my choices. We could not know at the time what would happen, and you describe a possible future despite such an exercise being merely theoretical." She turned to look at Fitz, who with his short stature barely had his head above the table surface and with his pasty face full of fear was rather comical, before turning back to face me. "I won't kill you. And I will not send any of my men to fight the Scourge, who do not want to go, knowing full well the likely consequences of their actions. But," she held my gaze, "I will come and I will fight, as a day may come when my people fight the undead on these shores, and on that day," she emphasised, "so will your Order of the Argent Dawn come to help us."

"My lady!" The captain protested, "you surely cannot-" Jaina raised a hand to forestall his objections, not taking her eye off of me.

I paused for a long moment, assessing whether she was telling the truth. But no matter how much she may dislike or even hate me, Jaina Proudmoore would not lie about being there to help us only to cause my despair when that help did not arrive at all.

I nodded, acquiescing. 'You and me, we don't get to hide', I thought to myself. How appropriate.

The deal was struck.

Dustwallow Marsh, Theramore City

The negotiations were over, and I had managed not to get myself killed despite my, frankly, stupid stunt. Although, now that it was over, Jaina's threat to have me torn apart by elementals reminded me amusingly of a certain Orc character from Skyrim who said something similar about damaging the books in his library and angry atronachs.

CONGRATULATIONS!

The loud shout that felt like it was directly into my ear made me stumble and almost fall into the gutter of Theramore's street. And it may be a well-planned city, and thus have a decent sewer system to keep shit out of the streets, but I can assure you those gutters are not clean or comfortable looking.

Straightening, I glanced around to see who had said that, but aside from Fitz and Stephens staring at me oddly, there was no one there.

It's Madrigal, your old buddy, your pal, your provider of ultimate power and patron of a thousand heroes greater than yourself!

"Uh, hi?" I whispered lamely. "How is it exactly that you are talking to me?"

"Did'ja say something lieutenant?" Stephens asked me. I shook my head in response.

I'm in your head, numbnuts. Just think about what you want to say and push outwards.

Following that terrible and totally incomplete set of instructions, it took me several minutes to figure out how to project my thoughts to him. I almost walked into multiple market carts and nearly bowled over an elderly gentleman shouting about varieties of cheese (which was rather scary to eat in this day and age, with no real quality control or safety practices to make sure it was just cheese and didn't have bugs in it; I had never had artisan cheese before, and the stuff here did not have an expiration date or nutrient label), but I managed to get it down eventually.

"Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?"

Why yes it is my dear friend, my chosen hero, my saviour from the lower gambling rings. So…how'ya doin?

"Just great." I fumed. "I've been almost killed a dozen times, was chased by ghouls for almost twenty miles, alienated Jaina Proudmoore, and am set to change canon in a major way within a fortnight."

That sounds great! You forgot 'was almost obliterated by the powerful first sorceress I angered', but I suppose that's a decent summary.

"Wait, so, you were watching?"

Of course! I did tell you this was for entertainment after all. Your viewership has really picked up since that argument. My bookie tried to claim my bets since you were so close to death, but you managed to wrangle your way into survival! Most impressive.

"Thanks…I think. So, why are you contacting me?"

Oh a couple of reasons. The rest of your viewers are having an ad break right now, so I had a chance to talk to you. I have decided, most magnanimously I think, to double down on you after that nice showing! Well, not quite double down as I really did use up almost all of my credits outfitting you, but I have a bit more to spend after proving your greatest naysayers wrong! They thought you would die to those ghouls I put you in the path of back when you first arrived, but they were wrong. That earned me a bit more to help you with!

"But…I thought the only time we would be in contact was before I came here. I thought that was the deal."

Oh it is, and if I am caught I will be tortured for quite a long time and you will be sent to a nightmare universe to be devoured by one of the thirsting gods of madness. Hmm, maybe Slaanesh this time. So, you better be quick. Anything you need on your mind?

Panicked, I shouted "Sword skills!" out loud, once again making Fitz and Stephens stare at me strangely, although Stephens was really just a hanger-on sent to even out the delegation to more than just two people, so I don't care about his opinion. It seems like Madrigal is a filthy cheater who not only dumped me in dangerous territory to get me killed, but was also trying to get me eaten by an eldritch abomination.

Ha, that was awkward. But yeah, that'll work. And…done. When you wake up tomorrow you'll have better combat instincts and be a bit better with that hunk of steel you call a blade. You should really get a new one, you know! I have to go, the commercials are ending, but stay sharp and good luck!

Well. That happened.

In the words of a great rabbit, that's all folks! So, Jaina will be there for the upcoming battle. And Helios managed to royally piss her off, but not so much that she refused all help. Next chapter we will be seeing a short meeting, Helios departing back to the Dawn, and mayyyyybe a perspective change. Still debating that. Canon is changing! This story will not stick to the established narrative and things will only get more different from here! From what I'm imagining I am probably going to have to extend the timeline between when WotLK starts and Cataclysm starts. My war will likely need more than a year to finish. Take care everyone, and be ready for anything!