Cearbhail: So, these last few chapters will be all sorts of feels and deaths. Let's start with Nakuma..

[Nakuma]

"If we want to get out of this alive…I have a plan."

I swallowed as much air as I could as I dead sprinted through the large patches of battlefield. To my left and right were battlemages still raising shields and flaming swords to small waves of Aedra (no more than five in a group). I wish I could have stopped and helped, but I had to reach the Akaviri Alliance before anything else happened. I could see the Thalmor still holding the shield up…but for how much longer would they continue to stand there without attacking? I didn't know. Neither did the seer.

"Nothing is as it should be…therefore, nothing is as I have already seen it. The past that I know is no longer, and seeing into the future that is brewing is constantly changing. So, we have to be careful. Fiirnar has acted early, so I bet he'll try to trap us inside this bubble forever. Since we can't teleport out…all he has to do is tell his troops to solidify the warding spell. That will make it impossible to for us to leave by walking. We'll be trapped in here forever. If I were a crazy dictator…that's what I'd do." Lilly had told us. Then she smiled. "Luckily for us…he has no knowledge of me yet…or what I can do."

Someone in front of me cried out orders to attack the incoming bombing raid of Aedra. I covered my head as I continued to charge through. Bombs exploded behind me…nowhere near me in fact. Man…that was lucky. Usually explosions happen all around me. Those bombs were so far off that I didn't even have to worry about my head. I heard the Imperial Soldiers returning fire. Distant screams of Aedra sounded behind me. I bet they got at least one more killed.

I glanced up at my head-lace. The tiny purple crystal swayed from side-to-side as I pounded my feet as fast as they could handle. I didn't see Mannimarco, I didn't hear his voice…I didn't even sense his presence. That was good…very good. It was getting very distracting. Of course, he wouldn't dare try to distract me in the middle of a war. He was a part of my body now…so if I died…he died too. I glanced ahead. The Akaviri Alliance tent had to be somewhere nearby. I could see plenty of giant snake people with spears slithering all around me, spitting acid onto the Aedra. Their acid was actually burning the Aedra just as effectively as the alchemist fire did. I wondered if that was how we made alchemist fire… I doubt it.

"So, here's the plan. We need to evacuate everyone. Julanza is already working with the Argonians that believe that the Warlord is dead. He's pulling them out as we speak." Lilly looked over at Nexa. "You go save Vatu. You're the only one that can do it since Primrose is out cold." She turned to Ruulan. "You get your people out of here." He nodded. Then she looked over at me. "Nakuma…go warn the Akaviri. Get them out of here as well. Tell them that the Aldmeri Dominion plans to betray us all. That will drive them away." And then Lilly pointed at herself. "I shall go talk Hans Battle-Born. He will pull out all the battlemages. But…I know he knows that what I say will be true."

I covered my face with my wide mage-sleeve as I slid under the arms of a massive snake-humanoid. The Akaviri was breathing acid on the face of Aedra floating up to fight him. The Aedra wailed in horror its face melted off. I screamed in horror as I pulled my sleeve away from my face. It was burning away. Some of the acid had splashed down on me as I rolled underneath him. I quickly tugged the sleeve off my robes and threw it away. I looked at my pink arm, checking for any splotches of acid. I didn't see any, so I pushed forward to continue…but since I stopped running, my legs folded underneath me.

I cried as I tried to push myself back up, but my stride was broken. My labored breath was catching up to me now and I wanted nothing more than to sit here and relax. The world started spinning around me and my body felt oddly cold and numb.

The Akaviri that accidentally breathed acid on me turned to face me. "Blood-sister, are you ok?"

I shook my head. "No…I need to…inform…" I could barely speak. "Aldmeri…Dominion…is betraying us. Need to…retreat…now!"

The Akaviri's eyes widened. "Are you saying the elves are going to betray us?"

I nodded. "Yes…they killed…War Council. Need to…get out before they….close off warding spells."

The Akaviri glided past me. "There is only one such word in the Tsaesci language." He looked back at me. "We remember what most don't… 'Never trust an elf with power'." He widened his mouth and bellowed out a loud hissing roar that echoed through the air, slicing it with a powerful force. The Akaviri all around him paused and looked at him, and then looked down at me. They all straightened up and stared bellowing that hiss as well. I watched as more and more Akaviri rose up and stared echoing the word. "The word that I just said has one simple translation… 'Honest elf'." He hissed it at me and then snarled. "We know there is no such thing so we use it when we know there to be a betrayal in action."

The Akaviri reached down and helped me up. "I will take you to our leaders. You may retell them what I have just spread across the entire camp. You may come with us, if you feel up it."

I allowed myself to lean back and catch my breath. I closed my eyes. I did it! I did my part of the mission. I wondered how everyone else was handling theirs.

…

I rode in silence as the Akaviri quickly led me to the giant scaly-looking tent. He wasn't much of a talker, but I was still catching my breath anyway. I wish I knew a spell that would let me become physically fit in no time. That would be wonderful.

"Under the orders of the Warlord…Nakuma Vaqonala…you are to be executed under Order 13 of the Argonian Revised Code." I felt the world come to a stop as I heard a voice I never hoped to hear ever again. At least…I hoped it would never say those words to me.

I slowly turned my head around. There, standing only a few feet away from us...was Ram-ku. He had a sword in a backhand stance and he had a throwing knife in the other. He looked so mad, so…handsome…but mad. And he wanted to kill me.

I looked deeper into his eyes and I felt his body shift. No…he didn't want to kill me. I learned a lot from Mannimarco's journal, the body, the heart…all the energies patterns and the little shifts the body pulls when it wants to resist something. His body was telling me that he didn't want to do it. Maybe I could talk him out of it.

"Ram-ku…why?" I asked.

The Akaviri I was riding on was spinning around, glancing at my old teammate with wide-eyes. He then glanced at me, asking, "Why are blood-brother and sister fighting?"

I nudged my head to Ram-ku. "The elf I told you about killed our Warlord…our war leader…and has impersonated his voice.."

"Shut up, Nakuma!" Ram-ku screamed. "Enough of the lies! Shab! I thought you were smarter than this!" He lowered his throwing knife. He glared up at me, shaking his head. "We had orders, orders!" He pointed his sword at me, stepping forward. "It was simple, it was day one stuff. The Khajiit goes crazy…we kill it. End of story." He shrugged, his face betraying his frantic feelings. "The Warlord told us this from day one! Well now…the Khajiit is blood crazy. Is it hard to believe that the Warlord has finally called in the death order?" He stepped closer to me, putting himself at spell range, but not close enough to kill me. "Just help us kill the bastard so we can clear your name. We can say that you were compelled by the rogue shadowmaster Julanza or something."

I shook my head. "No, Ram-ku. You're wrong this time. I heard it myself…I heard through the Illusion spell. I heard an Altmer's voice, not the Warlord's. The seer has confirmed it…the War Council is dead…the Warlord, the Queen, every world leader. Only the Thalmor survived…that and the Mages Guild Arch-Mage." I stuck out my hand, beckoning him to take it. "Just come with me for a few seconds. I'll take you to the Arch-Mage. If she doesn't tell you what I've told you now…you can kill me."

Ram-ku looked at me for a second, his blade still raised to me. He took a step back. He shook his head. "I can't be seen with you…I'll be a traitor."

"If you don't kill me now…you'll be one anyway." I replied back. I waved him forward with my hand again. I really wanted him to come with us. I was hoping that when he woke up that he'd be in a better mood, but I guess he was still pretty sore over the Shadowmaster knocking him out.

The Akaviri this whole time stood there, looking from Ram-ku to me. The rest of the Akaviri just trudged past us, slithering away towards the tent to go over what was going on.

I looked at the Akaviri that I was riding on and smiled. "Go and tell the Akavir Alliance leaders that the Thalmor have killed the War Council and have seized control of Argonia's forces. Tell them to evacuate and return to Akavir while they still can. Avoid all patrols of Argonians and the Aldmeri Dominion."

The Akaviri nodded. I jumped off his back as he started slithering away. He looked back at me, his eyes betraying some sort of emotion. He glanced at Ram-ku, taking note of his armor and his weapon. "Do you need my assistance, blood-sister?"

I shook my head. "No, I need to convince him to come with me, and it may take a while. A while is something we might not have…so go warn your leaders." The Akaviri nodded and began slithering away at a fast pace, one that would have made me sick to ride on. I guess he was crawling while I was on him. This was like watching a sea serpent flying through waves, only this was dirt and not water.

I turned my attention back to Ram-ku. He was still standing there. "Come on, Nakuma! If you help me hunt down the rest of Shadow Squad…I won't have to kill you."

I almost started laughing. "Ram-ku…we both know that you won't kill me." I started walking towards him, my hands out in plain sight. Ram-ku started shuffling backwards, his sword still pointing towards my throat. I finally glided up to place my throat up against his sword. "If you believe that for a second that you're right and I might be wrong…that there is not even the slightest chance that our Queen is dead…then push that sword in. Because I'm not moving from this spot until you come with me."

We both stood there for a few seconds. Ram-ku kept glancing between the tip of his sword and my eyes. I could see that he wanted to believe that I was right. He didn't want to kill me anymore than I wanted to have him kill me. Oh and I was not calm through his whole thing. My entire body was shaking really bad. My hands felt so clammy and tight, my breathing had almost come to a panting stop. I kept swallowing over and over, which made my throat push against the blade every time I did so.

Finally, Ram-ku started lowering his sword. During this second of winning, his eyes never left mine. He was breaking down. He was struggling between orders and what felt right. I always did what felt right, but I wasn't a shadowscale. When he started to buckle his arm and I felt that blade leave my throat, I heard someone screaming at us.

"Good job, Ram-ku!" I heard Meesei call from my left. I snapped my head around to see her flashing up to me.

I was instantly taken off my feet as she crashed into me. I hit the ground pretty hard and I didn't have much time to react. All I saw was Meesei and her always angry eyes bearing into me. I felt something sharp pierce my ribs. I lost all my breath. I looked down to see a dagger shoved into my chest. Meesei wasn't holding onto it anymore. She was reaching for her giant collection of knives on her knife belt. She pulled out two more and stabbed me through my ribs with those as well. I felt pain explode inside me. I felt my body grow numb as two more flew in on the other side.

I cried out in bloody murder as Meesei laughed maniacally at me. She reached down and grabbed my head, pulling me by my feathers. She made me look at her, where her twisted eyes waited to scan me for my last moments of life. "I always wanted to kill you, from the first day I saw you. I'm just glad I had the honor to do it." She looked back at Ram-ku. "Good job on getting her away from that Tsaesci. I knew you'd do it." And then she winked at him. "And playing on her heart…so devious." She cooed to him before turning to look at me. She scanned my eyes for a second before breaking out into laughter. "Oh…you thought he liked you." She said, dropping my head. She pulled out another knife and found a place for it somewhere in my body. I couldn't tell where anymore. Everything was in pain…well, numb now. I was only hanging on with my magic at this point. She stood up and walked over to Ram-ku. She reached in for his neck and pulled him forward, kissing him on the lips. She turned to look at me. "No, he's been with me since day one." She winked to me before crossing her arms. "I've hit all your main arteries. Now, it's just a waiting game. Of course, I kept the knives in so you couldn't heal…and so that you wouldn't bleed out too fast."

So, I lied here on the ground. My vision was darkening; my heart was throbbing with pain that I didn't know existed. I found myself crying inside while my mind whirled over Ram-ku betraying me…and for Meesei. It hurt more than it should have. I began choking on blood and that's when I thought I was going to vanish. If I couldn't breathe, I couldn't create magic. But…then I remembered that I could breathe underwater…and blood was mostly water so…I wasn't really drowning in my own blood, just breathing it…oddly enough.

Meesei got bored after…maybe six seconds of watching me die. She walked over to my head, looking at my forehead with interest. "Nice headband…mind if I take it?" She said as she plucked my headband off my head. I tried to protest her, but my squirms and eyes going wide only encouraged her. Oh no…I could already feel Mannimarco waking up.

His presence came back with surprising calmness and clarity. He appeared in front of me, looking down at my body, clutching an imaginary version of his own journal. "Chapter 23, paragraph 7. Remember…Blood Magic? Properties: the energy inside the blood can be used as a last resort for all necromancers. It can be tapped into when the body is in duress and on the brink of bleeding to death. By accessing its power, one can…push projectiles like arrows out of one's body while the energy begins sealing and healing wounds…push all blood back to the original vessels, healing any internal bleeding…and…" He looked at me and smiled. "This one is my favorite. Can summon one very powerful spell that can not only ensnare hostiles far above one's current level, but dominate the inner workings of their bodies…." He bent down to look at me. "Like stopping their hearts."

My head started whirring. That was right! I remembered writing that chapter, of all the research Mannimarco put into learning how to control the blood and the sacred energy found inside it. The Soulic energy! I knew how to tap into it now. I closed my eyes, feeling around for anything that could resemble that now. I felt my entire being quake with a loud wail, like it was crying out to me this whole time and trying to get me to listen. My soul was crying out to me to use it…to fix what was damaged. I nodded and willed my Soulic energy to save my life.

As if on cue, I felt my body explode with energy. The knives placed in my body shot out of me, the holes that were supposed to bleed out sealed immediately. The blood in my throat wasn't a matter to me anyway, but I swallowed it so that it could return to its proper place. I felt as new blood started to replace the blood that had already leaked through my robes.

I opened my eyes to see Meesei staring at me with disbelieving eyes. She could not believe that I just threw her knives out of my body so easily. She screamed and unsheathed her serrated katana. She came charging at me, but I stuck my hand out. Without a charge or anything, a giant fireball shot out of my hands, slamming her in the face. It exploded with enough force to throw her away. She landed a good twenty feet away, grabbing the right side of her face in pain. She writhed on the ground, rubbing dirt on her face.

I took this time to stand up and glare at Ram-ku. He was shaking his head, almost smiling in amazement that I was back up. He nodded to me as he started walking towards me. "Nakuma…"

I slapped my hand towards him and a solid block of air slammed him in the face so hard that he hit the ground. He was out cold. I'd deal with him later. I caught my breath as I stumbled over to Meesei, who was still rolling on the ground, trying to put out the magically-created fire on the right side of her face. When she finally found a pool of Aedra blood to dip her head in, she pulled her head back out. Half of it was charred black and the scales were peeling away. She growled at me before shuffling away from me. "I'll get you for this!" She cried.

I stuck out my hand. "Give me back my headband and I'll let you walk away." She looked like she was about to turn and run, but when a giant wall of fire brew up behind her, she knew she was caught. She looked over at me, my arm still outstretched. "Just give it back and you leave."

She looked at my headband and then back at me. She threw it at me and turned around, sprinting away. I let the fire drop. I watched as she ran away. I sure hope I never saw her again. I didn't want to kill her. Killing is not something I ever want to do.

As I bent down to pick up the headband, I felt Mannimarco walk up behind me. He clapped his hands slowly, gazing at me with sarcastic eyes. "Well, done. You have successfully become a hypocrite. You've tapped into the 'oh-so evil' energy that necromancers use. And you did it for selfish reasons."

I paused before I grabbed the headband. "You only saved me so you wouldn't die."

He shrugged. "Someone needs to make sure the Soul Capacitor works. If you're dead…who will save the world from the Aedra?" He stopped and looked down at the headband. "If you ever need help…you know how to call me."

I nodded, smiling to him. "Thanks…Mannimarco." Never thought I'd say those words. I nodded towards Ram-ku. "Any suggestions for him?"

Mannimarco looked at Ram-ku. "Cut out his heart and make him into a sex thrall?" He shrugged, looking back at my eyes. "Oh…not your idea of a first date?"

Cearbhail: Ok, I lied...no one died. Expect Billy the Imperial Soldier. He died in the air raid that Nakuma didn't have to worry about. Oh.. and did everyone love what I did there? With the whole love-push thing between Nakuma and Ram-ku? Be honest... how many people saw that coming?