Chapter 33

DragonANGL- Thank you for pointing all this out. This is the kind of review I need for this fic as I don't know much about Warcraft lore sadly. I'm trying to learn more of it, but sometimes things get lost or I mess up. I'll have to later go back and fix those errors as best I can. Thank you again for pointing this out. I'll probably need to do some sort of time skip or something to fix that error.

Master Chief

Just before Thalyssra could even speak to what she thought of what her people had to do, Chief pushed her to the ground as Ikit Claw fired his warpfire projector at an incoming Skaven wearing black robes and had two knives in his hands. The Skaven scream out in pain as the warpfire burned him alive. As the corpse landed on the floor, all crispy and charred, Ikit looked at Lor'themar as he brought out his sword, on the alert for any other Skaven assassins. While both were on the lookout for more assassins, Chief was looking down on Thalyssra, having fallen to the ground with her in order to keep her safe.

"Are you alright, First Arcanist?" Asked Chief as he looked down at the elven lady below him. Thalyssra blinked a bit before looking up at Chief and feeling her face heat up a bit at how close his helmet was to her own face.

"I'm quite alright." Said Thalyssra, regaining herself. Upon hearing that, Chief got up and helped Thalyssra up as well. "Thank you for saving me." Chief gave a nod at that before looking over at Ikit and Lor'themar as they scanned the perimeter for any more Skaven assassins.

"It appears that they're gone now." Said Lor'themar as he sheathed his sword. "Still, this means our enemy is getting ready for another attack."

"Agreed. We need to take out their nest now." Said Chief before looking over at Thalyssra. "Are you ready, First Arcanist?" Thalyssra sighed at that. She honestly wished to avoid doing a massive spell while most of her people were recovering, including herself, but it appears they needed to go now.

"Very well." Said Thalyssra. "Let us assemble my people. Hopefully, a sufficient number of my people are capable enough to do the task at hand." Chief nodded at that before following the First Arcanist to where her people were. As they walked Chief spoke.

"I'm sorry that your people have to do this while exhausted." Said Chief, knowing just how poor people can fight if they're exhausted. "If we had the time, I would give them the rest that they need, but we don't. I'm sorry." Upon hearing that, Thalyssra gave Chief a sad smile.

"It's alright." Said Thalyssra as she looked upon Master Chief. "Truth be told, this all reminds me of the War of the Ancients. Little respite was given to people between battles and many of my people had to fight exhausted. Very rarely were people fully rested and capable to fight during the demon invasion." Master Chief hummed at that, reminded of the Human-Covenant War with that description.

"I see." Said Master Chief. "And your people will be fine with all this?"

"I imagine many will not be but rest assured, I will convince them to help, even if I have to use my authority as First Arcanist to make them comply." Said Thalyssra. "Rest assured, we'll be ready to help when the time comes, which is sooner rather than later." Chief nodded at that as he followed Thalyssra to her people, where they were resting and drinking water to rejuvenate themselves.

Meanwhile

Skaven Warlord

"Battle! Cowards answer to me-me!" Yelled a Skaven warlord, the same one that ordered the retreat in the first place. After returning back home, the Skaven warlord began to gather up more soldiers and war machines for another assault. As soon as his fellow rats were gathered in sufficient enough numbers, they'll march towards the Alliance and Horde lines again. However, to rectify his mistakes, the Skaven warlord ordered more assassins to be sent to assassinate the Horde and Alliance commanders. In addition, he ordered what cannons he can muster to focus fire on the flying ships when they appear again. If they didn't appear, then they were ordered to focus on those giant robots that they offloaded as they were quite dangerous to his army, even more so than the mages and wizards the Horde and Alliance have in their possession.

Watching his army march, the Skaven warlord began to think about the riches and spoils that he'll acquire for killing or capturing so many of the Horde and Alliance leaders. He knew that many of them were above, yes-yes, and many were wanted by Skaven warlord's mysterious patron. Why? He had no idea, but the metal-thing paid well in Warpstone for Horde and Alliance leaders. So much Warpstone that his clan can produce as many war machines and rat ogres as they can possibly want and then some.

As he was greedily thinking of the potential rewards, a Skaven assassin came towards him and informed him of what the Alliance and Horde are doing currently. Upon hearing what the assassin had to say, the warlord smiled.

"*Crackles* Stupid Horde-things and Alliance-things think they can stay-stay in one spot." Said the warlord with a smile. "We make them wrong-wrong. We kill-slaughter them. Make them slaves-food. Yes-yes. Get many weapons and warpstones from metal-thing for them. Yes-yes." With that all in mind, the Skaven warlord began barking orders towards his fellow rats.

Meanwhile

"Alright, we're clear to go." Said Jack as he got on board the Pelican just before it took off. Looking inside, he saw a dozen or so Nightborne mages inside along with the rest of Team Sigma. There weren't enough seats for everyone, so a few were standing up, including Thalyssra and Valtrois. "So tell me what the plan is Chief?"

"We're flying up to one of the main craters and guard the Nightborne while they're performing a magic spell to kill off the Skaven." Said Chief over the Pelican's intercom.

"Combining our powers, we can flood the Skaven tunnels with arcane energy." Explained Thalyssra to Jack. "That should kill most of them, making the Skaven a more containable threat, yes?"

"Yes." Said Chief, having heard all that. "And to make things easier for the Alliance and Horde as well as ensuring the Skaven aren't a threat, we'll collapse their tunnels. That'll ensure that they can't ambush us as easily as before in this region."

"And how do we do that?" Asked Courier as the ship flew.

"Locate the main hub for the entire network and destroy the entire thing." Said Chief simply as they soon arrived at the main crater.

"Yeah, I get that, but how are we going to do that?" Asked Courier. "I'm not sure we have the explosives necessary to pull that off."

"Trust me, we do." Said Chief plainly. "Cortana is bringing it here soon."

"Really? Can it do the job?." Said Courier, curious. Before Chief can answer that, the Pelican landed and the bay doors opened. With that, Chief exited the cockpit and stepped out of the Pelican.

"Cortana, any hostiles in the immediate vicinity?" Asked Master Chief as he scanned the perimeter.

"There's nothing on any of the scanners, Chief." Said Cortana. "I triple-checked everything. You're in the clear but keep your guard up. No doubt those Skaven have something up their sleeves if they're not here to stop us." Chief agreed to that and motioned for everyone to leave the Pelican, but to do so cautiously. Once everyone got out, Thalyssra walked up to John and spoke.

"This is where you wish for us to use our magic, yes?" Asked Thalyssra as she looked down the hole, specifically the one that sunk the Alliance camp.

"Yes." Said Chief. "Can you fill the entire network with magic?" Thalyssra looked down at the hole, examining it's depth, before looking at Chief with a smile.

"Yes, however, to do so will require a ritual." Said Thalyssra. "And I doubt that my people can completely cover the entire network. There are only twelve of us and many of us are rather exhausted from the previous battle."

"That is why we're going to scan the entire area first." Said Chief before explaining the plan fully before explaining the plan. "Cortana is bringing another Pelican that's loaded up with scanning equipment. Equipment that'll help us scan the entire network, allowing us to maximize the effectiveness of your magic. After that, my team will go back in and destroy the tunnel network with explosives that Cortana brought with her." Upon hearing all that, Thalyssra nodded her head before speaking up again.

"So, my people will remain here while your people are conducting the attack on the Skaven tunnels?" Asked Thalyssra. She was worried that this would be a disastrous plan as they still had no idea how many Skaven there are underground.

"No, Cortana will take you all back to the Alliance and Horde camps, where you'll be safe after your part is over." Said Master Chief. "We'll handle the rest."

"That doesn't ease my worry." Said Thalyssra as she looked at the Master Chief with increased worry. "You'll still be significantly outnumbered by our foes, regardless of how many my people kill off. Take one of my people with you. You'll need the magical support." John just nodded at that. There was no doubt that he and his team could really use the magical support. Though Ikit Claw was a magic-user according to him, his magic required a specific resource called the Winds of Magic in order to be used and without them, he can't cast any magic. So, his team was in serious need of magic, and given what he witnessed from Thalyssra and his battles in Azeroth so far, it was a valued commodity on the battlefield.

"Which is why I'm asking you to withhold one of your people so that they can assist us in our objective." Said Master Chief. "We'll need their magic expertise if we wish to succeed." Thalyssra was relieved to hear that and instantly agreed with them.

"You'll need an expert to travel with you." Said Thalyssra. "It will not do to offer you one ill experienced in the arts of battle." Chief nodded at that.

"Any possible choices?" Asked Master Chief. Thalyssra considered who to pick amongst those with them and found only two possible candidates. One was Valtrois, but, much like every other Shal'dorei baring herself, held no actual experience in facing off these Skaven and that could end very poorly for all involved in this operation. That left only one person and she wasn't sure if she was happy about it or not.

"I'm afraid that the logical choice would be me." Said Thalyssra. "The rest of my people have no experience in dealing with such foes as the Skaven. Granted, I myself do not possess much experience as well, but it's better than nothing, yes?" Master Chief nodded at that before asking a question.

"Are your people capable of operation without you?" Asked Master Chief before looking at Valtrois coming towards them. "Can your friend Valtrois handle command?"

"Yes, I can." Said Valtrois, not understanding why the Master Chief would ask such a question when it suddenly occurred to her why. Widening her eyes in shock, Valtrois looked at Thalyssra before speaking up. "Thalyssra, you do not intend on going with them against these rodents, are you?" Thalyssra sighed at that before speaking up.

"They need magical support, Valtrois." Explained Thalyssra, knowing how her friend would react to all this. "You and I both know that. Their chances of succeeding and survival will increase exponentially if they have a mage with them. Besides, most, if not all, of our people will be exhausted from conducting the spell that we intend to use. While I myself will also be exhausted, I'll still be the one that'll have the most energy left out of all of us." Before Valtrois can argue further, Courier showed up.

"Hey, don't want to interrupt, but if you all want to take a break before the main event, the time to do it is now." Said Courier as he butted into the conversation. With that, Thalyssra told Valtrois that the matter was over and that she promised to be careful. Still not satisfied, Valtrois nonetheless complied with Thalyssra and thus, reluctantly, left to speak with the other Arcanists and mages. Once she was gone, Thalyssra turned to the Master Chief and spoke again.

"After all this is over, shall I invite your entire team to furlough within Suramar? Your people have done so much for all of Azeroth. It would be unfair to not offer them some respite for all the work they've done." Said Thalyssra. John had to agree with that. His team had to do a lot of work without much respite and while he could handle it all without much complaint, they couldn't. Thus, he accepted Thalyssra's offer.

"Very well." Said Master Chief. "If my team is able to after this is over, and if no one else requires our assistance, then we'll gladly spend some time in Suramar." Thalyssra smiled at that before leaving to go tend to her people. With that done, the Master Chief looked at the Skaven crater.

Meanwhile

Talador

In his personal quarters, Garrosh was sharpening his ax, awaiting the call to arms by his father. After a few more minutes, Garrosh observed his ax, satisfied with how sharp it was. It was a replacement for the loss of Gorehowl, the weapon that his father used in his timeline and the one that he used when Thrall bestowed the weapon upon him. To his shame, it was one of the greatest moments of his life. To be bestowed the weapon of his father, the one responsible for freeing all Orcs from the demons. It was a great responsibility to wield the famous weapon and it showed Thrall's trust within Garrosh at the time. And now he lost it and he was ashamed of himself for it. Shame that was intensified when Thrall took it from him and told him that he wasn't worthy of his father's legacy, causing Garrosh's own hatred with Thrall to intensify more. At first, Garrosh respected Thrall. Now, he saw him for what he truly was. A weakling.

He had thought he was a worthy Warchief. They had fought many times, many of which Garrosh started because of his aggressive nature, but Thrall still trusted him and mentored Garrosh, something that Garrosh believed he should be respected for that at least. But then Thrall left him command of the Horde while he tried to save the world. Garrosh, taken aback, tried to reason with him, but Thrall insisted, saying he was both capable of being a Warchief and that the others leaders of the Horde will be by his side. Eventually, Garrosh relented and became a temporary Warchief while Thrall left to save the world. That was when Garrosh started to spiral down the path that he was in.

Despite his best efforts to help the Horde not only survive, but thrive, the other Horde leaders fought back against him, accusing him of trying to ignite a war between them and the Alliance due to his aggressive taking of Alliance resources and lands, eventually culminating in all of the other Horde leaders not trusting him at all, thus causing him to take even more drastic actions against both the other races within the Horde and the Alliance for there was no one around that can temper his rage and his want to secure the Horde's survival in Azeroth, which lead to him eventually wanting to have the Horde become the one and only dominant force on the planet with Orcs as the head. For why should he care about the other races when all their leaders have done is question his ability to rule while he tried to ensure their survival as well?

Regardless of his justifications, Garrosh was dead set on his path, and nothing was going to stop him. He already changed the future of this Draenor and these Orcs by revealing the events of what will happen if they accept the demon's gifts. He helped create the Iron Horde and he helped them invade Azeroth. All these events meant that he cannot turn back his path now, not when he had accomplished so much already. Nor did he want to for he truly believed that his way was the correct way and that Thrall's way of doing things was doomed to fail. That the Alliance and Horde will forever be at war with each other, no matter who was in charge. There was simply too much blood between the two powers to ever make peace an acceptable alternative.

Moving on though, Garrosh was wondering what to do if Ner'zhul failed again. His father gave the tribe leader another chance to wipe out the Draenei, but he also tasked Garrosh to be ready if Ner'zhul and the Shadowmoon clan failed again. If they failed, then Garrosh will take Warsong clan, his and his father's clan, to finish what the Shadowmoon clan could not do and wipe the Draenei off the face of Draenor. As he was thinking about how to do so, he suddenly heard a noise and he instantly growled. Someone was here and his instincts told him that they were not an ally. Raising his weapon, he roared out a challenge and ordered whoever was in the room with him to reveal themselves. For whatever reason, the intruder revealed themselves to Garrosh, revealing themselves to be the Spartan affiliated with Twilight Hammer.

A bit taken aback at the armor that the human was wearing, Garrosh nonetheless glared at them.

"You dare to face me alone, human!?" Demanded Garrosh as he raised his ax towards the human-like being, who simply stared down Garrosh.

"Yes." Said the human before bringing out a gun that Garrosh had never seen before. It didn't match anything the Dwarves or Gnomes made. It was blocky and wasn't as long as their guns. "I'm here to capture you for someone that has certain desires for you." Upon hearing that, Garrosh laughed at that, finding the idea absurd. This human wanted to capture him by itself. The idea was laughable to him.

"You must have a death wish, human." Said Garrosh as he looked at the human with arrogance. "Far stronger foes have tried to capture me, but they all failed. You will be no different."

"We shall see." Said the Spartan before firing at Garrosh with his gun. Going into action, Garrosh jumped to a nearby table, but the Spartan simply turned his gun quickly to where Garrosh jumped to, earning a few hits to his left leg. Giving a grunt, Garrosh looked at his leg and was infuriated to see that it was bleeding.

"You'll pay human!" Yelled Garrosh before getting up and charging at the Spartan, who sheathed his gun before readying himself for close-quarters combat. Knowing that it would be ill-advised for him to allow Garrosh even a single hit, the Spartan dodged Garrosh first swing with his ax before counterattacking with a punch to his gut, his spartan armor enhancing his strength. The punch made Garrosh gasp out loud in pain and forced him to take a moment to recover. Once he did, he roared out in rage at the spartan before trying to bisect him in two by going for an overhead swing. The Spartan was ready for it, however.

Dodging again, the Spartan gave him a roundhouse kick to the face, breaking his nose, before following up with a backhanded fist to his damaged eye, causing Garrosh to scream in pain. As blood spilled from Garrosh nose, the Spartan used Garrosh as a springboard to deliver his elbow to the back of his head, tacking him straight down to the ground and creating cracks on the ground as a result of the attack. As Garrosh groaned in pain, the Spartan quickly left the Orc in order to grab something close by that he stowed away safely. Pushing aside from barrels and crates, the Spartan revealed his item. It was the weapon that he was given by the Skaven to capture Garrosh, his father, and any other person of importance in Draenor. Wielding the weapon and adjusting to its weight, the Spartan looked at Garrosh as he recovered. Glaring at the Spartan, Garrosh yelled at him while charging.

"You will die here for this whelp!" Yelled Garrosh, ready to rip the human in two for everything he did so far. He never got the chance as the Spartan aimed his gun at the charging Orc and fired, unleashing a blast of green energy at Garrosh that completely engulfed him, but didn't kill him. Screaming out in rage, Garrosh tried to break free, but couldn't. Instead, he could do nothing as he was phased out of existence. With him gone, the Spartan looked at the cube inserted into his weapon and pulled it out as he was told that it was the thing that would hold the captured person in place that his weapon was shot at. Upon observing it, he saw that Garrosh was held inside it, screaming out in rage and glaring right at him, seemingly frozen in time.

Amazed at this technology, the Spartan replaced the cube back into its slot before leaving with his prize in tow. He'll give his team the cube before he went back to take care of Grom Hellscream and with him gone next, he'll go and take Gul'dan as well. For his master's mysterious benefactor.