Chapter 25: Storming Shadowhaunt
Princess Amentia overlooked the mix of humans, elves, troglodytes and leprechauns that had been placed under her direct command. She had to admit, she never would have expected to be responsible for such a mixed group of people, but it made her happy to see the level of trust placed in her leadership.
She just hoped she could live up to it.
The princess had also put trust in several other commanders, from both Underland and the realms above, to command the other groups. Due to the layout of the cave system, it was deemed too risky to attack only from one tunnel. If the forsaken could just hold them off there, they wouldn't have the necessary impact to distract the undead legions from the infiltration team. Therefore, they had to coordinate and attack from several tunnels at once simultaneously, in order to have enough power to establish a foothold in the great cave that surrounded Shadowhaunt. After that, they would have to improvise. What little they knew of the layout was based on testimonies from Avalon, the group that had been down there to save the pixies and the pixies themselves. It was of course rather vague information, but enough to get a rough idea of what to do.
She cleared her throat as she walked up to the front, spear in hand. "Everybody, listen to me," she said loudly, and the murmuring between the troops ceased. "In a few moments, we will engage in perhaps one of the defining moments of this era. I will do my best to lead us to victory, but the plan we are engaging in is risky, and I do not need a crystal to foresee that many of us who now prepare to move out will not be coming back". She took a deep breath. "I won't say I'm not scared. It would be an indication of suicidal overconfidence if I weren't. But I say, I won't let my fear rule me and I say, I won't let Darkar rule me either. SO LET US MAKE HIM RUE THE DAY HE THOUGHT HE COULD BRING RUIN TO OUR BELOVED KINGDOMS, BOTH ABOVE AND BELOW!" Thunderous cheer erupted as Amentia took a short break, before loudly ordering: "ALRIGHT, TROOPS! MOVE OUT!"
At her command, the troops marched forward, eager to engage their enemies. As they reached the tunnel entrance that would lead them to Shadowhaunt, they could hear the faint echoing of the other armies marching to attack. Amentia allowed herself to sigh in relief. They had managed to time their movements. And then they marched out into the cavern.
Seeing what lay before her caused the troglodyte to conclude that the reports had been kinda understated. As the troops marched in and their torches and lights banished the darkness, they could see hundreds upon hundreds of forsaken, with a thousand different grotesque forms. The air was filled with the fluttering of wings and the cavern walls were so thickly covered in the crawling, slimy bodies of forsaken that the rock underneath them could barely be seen.
Yet there was no room for hesitation. Amentia noted at least two other groups that marched out of the tunnels. One was under the command of Knut, an ogre from Red Fountain. The other was being led by Abrupto, assisted by his wife. The forsaken reacted the moment they sensed the intruders, and rushed towards them in a tidal wave of rotting flesh.
The front-line units linked up, forming a wall of determined soldiers, as support and ranged troops took position behind them and began firing into the approaching horde.
As the lines met and the invaders were forced back several meters from the sheer strength of the forsakens' charge, battle was initiated. Amentia gritted her teeth as she was forced to give some ground, quickly stabbing at the forsaken to avoid getting overwhelmed by the countless numbers. Explosions echoed through the cave as grenades, missiles and enchanted arrows bombarded the horde, killing dozens with every shot.
Amentia looked to one side. Ranks of orange heavies where being forced back, even as their massive weaponry shattered dozens of the undead horde. She could see Onella ward off a forsaken that had tried to push through by forcing her torch through its face. On the other side, Knut lay into the undead with pulverising blows and tore them apart with his hands.
The walls on the sides exploded as tunnel wyrms burst through while roaring, accompanied by reinforcements. The sudden pincer manoeuvre brought relief and disrupted the forsakens' counterattack enough that the princess allowed herself to stop pulling back. She doubted they would be able to advance, but if they could at least hold their position, that would be enough.
Far above them, the ceiling of the cavern crumpled and boulders of stone plummeted through the swarming hordes below. The tunnel wyrms awkwardly hung out of the hole for a moment, before their riders made them pull back in, allowing the Red Fountain eagle to dive through. The moment it was in the cavern, all of its guns started firing while missiles were launched, the powerful explosives scattering the flying hordes.
From inside the cockpit, Musa starred out in horror. "There's so many. They're going to get slaughtered down there".
"They knew the risk," Brandon added solemnly. "We can only respect their sacrifices and do our best to get Bloom out".
"Heck, we have only been here for a few seconds and we've already gotten at least a hundred kills," Riven commented as he pressed the button on his console, launching another set of missiles. "They're fucking everywhere let me tell you".
"Guys, I got bad news," Timmy said from his panel. "Many of the fliers are veering off from our ground support and are coming straight at us".
Cordatorta, who was overlooking the cockpit, commented: "We won't be able to take them all on as we are now. We will have to divide their attention or they will swarm the ship and overrun us. Sky, Timmy, you two take the sparrows. Helia and Riven, you handle the owl".
"I'll do the piloting," Helia said as he popped into the pilot's chair. "You don't seem to dislike the gunning them down part of this".
"Best part if you ask me. Two hundred confirmed kills and counting," Riven replied.
"Alright, vacate the cockpit," Helia ordered.
"Ehm, what exactly is going on?" Musa asked as they left the room.
"Follow me to the secondary cockpit and you will see," Brandon replied as he hurried up a ladder. They ended up in another cockpit, almost identical to the first, though with noticeably fewer panels, where Techna was going through the wiring.
"Please tell me everything is working," Brandon said as he hurried to the pilot's chair. "Because we really need the ship to function now".
"Hey, Tune, are you done?" Techna asked into the open panel.
"Yes, yes, the new wires have been attached," the now dusty pixie said as she flew out. "Also, I recommend that somebody gets this thing cleaned once we're out of here. There were cobwebs in there and that's actually quite the fire hazard".
"Well, in that case..." Brandon said and pressed a couple of buttons. "Sky, Timmy, are you in position?"
"Affirmative," came their voices over the radio.
"Helia, what about you?" the squire asked.
"Ready to go," came the poet's voice.
"Alright. Activating eagle disassembling protocol," Brandon said and pushed a button.
The entire vessel shook as its internal mechanisms started. Two hatches on the side of the back end opened up, allowing two very small vessels to be ejected. The front part that Helia and Riven were in loosened from the surrounding frame and dropped out of the button of the eagle, revealing itself to be a fully functional Red Fountain owl.
"Wow, that's cool. Can they also combine into a super robot warrior?" Techna asked delighted.
"No, sadly the current model can only shift between a ship and multiple ships," Brandon commented as he activated the radio again. "Alright, everyone spread out. Look for a possible landing spot and keep hitting them hard".
...
Stormy marched back and forth in the three witches' private quarters. A nervous tick caused her eye to twitch and her unruly hair was even more of a mess than usual, due to her tearing in it and ripping parts of it off, the pieces now littering the carpet.
"Maria, would you please sit down? All that stomping around is ruining my concentration," Darcy requested as she looked up from the books she was studying.
"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM?!" Stormy exploded, forcing the dirty-blonde to shield herself from pieces of spittle with one of the tomes.
"Look, not even I would dare claim to be unaffected," Darcy said calmingly in an attempt to make Stormy cool down while she put the book down. "But wearing yourself out like that is not benefiting anyone".
"I say we pick Sparx," Icy suggested as she put the book she was reading down. "I'm sure I can convince him to move my family over there".
"Do... Don't you two get it?" Stormy asked bewildered. "Don't you get what we have done? What we are responsible for?"
"I do. But at this moment, I fail to see what we can do about it," Darcy replied. "We cannot stop him. Darkar is too powerful, not to mention he is backed up by a supercharged crazy Bloom, an improved copy of Avalon and countless undead berserkers who know neither fear nor pain. Not to mention that he has everything he needs to initiate his master plan, with little to no chance of us being capable of doing anything about it".
"HE'S GOING TO DESTROY EVERYTHING!" Stormy yelled, verging on desperation. As she began pacing back and forth again, she continued with: "All those worlds. All those people. Calling it fucking genocide wouldn't do it justice. Millennia of history and culture will go straight down the crapper. Countless people and animals will disappear from existence, never to return. And that's just from all the worlds that we know off. There's probably dozens of habitable worlds we have yet to find. They'll go too. It's just... I don't think there's even a word for the level of destruction he will wreck if he pulls off what he claims he will".
"And if it is any comfort, I for one do not appreciate the level of annihilation he's going to unleash," Darcy said. "But as I stated before, we can't do anything about it. If we try, we will die and then he will most likely destroy everything, rather than leaving one dimension to be spared".
"And what about you?" Stormy asked, turning towards Icy. "You're fucking crazy, but don't tell me you're perfectly okay with this... This... This utter fucking madness".
"If you're asking me whether I want this or if I ever wanted to be accessory to this, then no," Isabella sighed as she leaned back. "I've never had anything against stepping on others to get what I wanted, best way to get ahead in life, but I will admit, this is excessive. And pointless too. But Darkar is too powerful as he is now and soon he will become even more powerful".
"But... We must be able to do something," Stormy mumbled.
"As we are now, we don't stand much of a chance. The moment we try anything, Darkar will most likely just take the powers he granted us back and then we will stand even less of a chance," Darcy explained. "Our best option is to pick a place that will be preserved and see if we can convince Darkar to let some extra people be moved there before he wrecks havoc upon the multiverse".
"Maybe we could... I mean... If we..." Stormy tried, desperately tugging at her hair as she attempted to come up with anything for how they could stop Darkar. She yelped as another tuft of hair was ripped from her head. She stared at it sadly for a moment, before continuing with: "We should never have joined up with him. We should just have stayed at Lightrock. Everything would have been better then". With a whump she smashed her head into a cupboard and yelled: "WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO KEEP GETTING WORSE?!" while repeatedly punching the wood.
"Stormy, please calm down," Darcy said as she went up to her agitated companion. "Breaking your fingers and skull on a cupboard isn't going to help".
"I just wanted to be important," Stormy sobbed as she hammered her head into the cupboard again. "Someone noticeable. Someone my parents would care about. What the fuck am I going to tell them? 'Hello, mom and dad. Sorry, but I've accidentally helped fuck up all of existence. Is that okay with you?'" She punctuated her sentence by smashing her head into the cupboard again, causing its wooden surface to crack.
"What is that?" Icy asked while looking out the window. "Something seems to be happening out there".
Stormy turned away from the cupboard, a thin stream of blood flowing down from her forehead, as she stared out the window. In the darkness that surrounded the castle, they could see a small vessel flying around, bullets tearing through the flying forsaken. Another, bigger vessel flew the other way around as a detonating missile lit up the air.
"It would seem they have arrived," Darcy mumbled.
"Wait. Maybe if we get their help, we can stop Darkar," Stormy suggested.
"I doubt it. They haven't been able to handle Darkar before," the dirty-blond commented.
"Well, in that case, should we tell him that we're being invaded?" Icy asked.
"Why would you do that?" Stormy asked. "If we want them to even have a chance of stopping Darkar, then we need to pretend we didn't just see them fly by".
"MINIONS! TO THE THRONE ROOM!" Darkar's voice bellowed through the castle.
"Something tells me he already knows," Darcy commented as they headed for the door.
...
Out of one of Shadowhaunt's many doors, the horrid being that was Kerborg slithered forth. The new form it had taken, which consisted of many long squid-like tentacles stretching out from a pulsating core, was not some random choice drawn from a deck of cards. The form it had taken had been chosen very deliberately by its master once he saw that Shadowhaunt was being assailed. The Lord of Extinct Beasts slithered out on an overlooking balcony and eyed the hordes of forsaken that swarmed the area. Then its tentacles stretched into the sky as magic began pulsating forth.
The form Kerborg had taken was that of an illithud, a species of invertebrates who possessed an incredible magical aptitude that easily rivalled modern magi. But their limited minds and powerful magic could not save them from a rampant and magic-resistant strain of flesh eating bacteria, which had brought their species to extinction. But now, wearing their pale-purplish flesh, Kerborg could channel vast amounts of necromantic magic. It directed these energies into the vast hordes below. Rotting muscles began bulging with power. Dark energy coursed through clogged veins. Pale flesh hardened into hide thick enough to serve as armour. As Kerborg kept channelling the ritual, more and more forsaken were empowered by it.
In the Red Fountain owl, Helia tore the controls to avoid the sudden blast of flaming projectiles from the flying forsaken.
"Okay, that's cheating," Riven grumbled as he aimed and fired the ship's gun. "Since when could they shoot frickin' fireballs?"
"Helia, can you hear me?" Brandon's voice crackled over the radio.
"Helia here," the painter replied.
"Good. Listen, something is channelling a powerful ritual," Brandon explained. "It's empowering the forsaken. We've already taken a couple of hits and I don't dare think of what this spell must be doing to our allies on the ground. Keep an eye out for possible landing spots and if you see who's channelling the magic, blast them to pieces".
"Affirmative," Helia replied. His eyes widened as he grumbled: "Dragon's flame, here they come again". He swerved the ship to the side as a storm of flaming projectiles were launched towards them. A few of the projectiles hit the ship, blasting off paint and metal.
In the eagle, Cordatorta was controlling the ship's weapon systems, launching missiles at clouds of forsaken while picking off loners with its gun. "Techna, get another ammo crate from the cargo bay!" he ordered.
"On my way," the scarred girl said and ran out the door, just as Stella and Musa walked in.
"How are things going?" the blonde nervously asked.
"Not good. Something just enhanced all of the forsaken," Brandon reported.
"So that's what we felt," Musa said. "That's a lot of magic being channelled".
"I know. The measurements are crazy," Brandon replied. He pushed a button by the radio and asked: "Timmy. Seen any good landing spots?"
"Negative," came the reply. "Every space open enough for us to land is filled with ground bound forsaken, all of them now capable of powerful distance attacks. If we try to land now, we'll be shredded. I've tried to clear the areas with some flyby attacks, but they get replaced faster than I can gun them down. And they're good shots too".
"It seems the only way we'll get through this alive is if we can find the channeller. Any ideas?" the team leader asked.
Everybody reported in the negative.
"Our magi friends should be able to detect where it's coming from, but with the way we're being bombarded, they'll have a hard time concentrating. In which case we'll need the others to keep our ship clear so they can get the time necessary to track down the source," Cordatorta explained. "Brandon, get them to keep us clear".
"Alright, this is Brandon," the brunette said as he opened the radio channel to all the other ships. "We're going to try to get the staff to locate the source of the spell, but it won't be easy if we constantly have to swerve around these clouds. I'll need all of you to get closer to the eagle and keep us as clear as possible".
"Affirmative," came the reply from the various pilots. Their ships closed in on the eagle and began an intense battle in the air with the swarming flyers and the castle defenders.
...
The three witches hurried into the throne room, where Darkar was preparing the ritual. And then they stopped as they watched the spectacle in the room.
Several forsaken were trudging around with party hats on, occasionally blowing in a party horn or mechanically walking around with a balloon. A great banner with the words 'Congratulations for winning' was stretched across the top of the room. The back end had been cleared and was apparently meant for the eventual ritual.
"Ehm... Isn't this a little excessive?" Darcy asked as she went up to the dark lord himself, who was also wearing a party hat and tie that clashed immensely with the dark colours of his body and armour.
"Nonsense. We deserve to pat ourselves on the shoulder for a job well done," the Shadow Phoenix declared as he turned from the false Avalon, whom he had been talking with. "I was even planning on having a large dinner ready, but with recent events, I decided to cut down on the planned festivities. A shame really, but what can you do?"
Stormy looked to one of the sides. Sitting at one of the tables, grinning and giggling like crazy, was Bloom. When she noted Stormy, she eagerly waved, making the wild-haired witch shiver.
"So, have you found out which dimension shall be preserved?" Darkar suddenly asked. "I need to know before I re-merge with the Great Dragon".
"Eh beh..." Stormy began, before her babbling was cut off by Icy interjecting: "Sparx. But I need my family transported there. Also Stormy's I guess. What about you, Darcy?"
"My family? They're one thing I won't be missing," the dirty-blond frankly replied.
Stormy bit her lip. While every part of her protested the action, she still deferred to Darcy's judgement, and sadly asked: "I have some friends in Cloud Tower. I would also appreciate it if they were spared".
"Yes, yes, it shall be done," Darkar said.
"I also have a request, my lord," the duplicate Avalon added. "I must admit I managed to grow quite fond of the Alfea staff. Especially of Palladium. I humbly ask you that you spare them and bring them to this new world, along with some of the students".
"Alright, I'll add it to the list," Darkar replied impatiently. "It is settled then. Sparx, and everything in its dimension, shall be preserved, with a few people being dropped off there for your sakes".
Stormy stared at the floor as she sadly kicked the carpet. She felt sick and dirty. The witch pondered if the others felt anything like her, when something suddenly lit up in the corner of her eye. She turned towards it and noted that the table Bloom sat by was hastily being devoured by flames, even though Bloom herself didn't look capable of caring less about the conflagration. In fact, it wasn't even clear if she noticed the fire.
"Ehm, Darkar, Bloom is kinda burning things," she commented.
"Ah yes, my darling dark mistress is such a potent magi," a pleased Darkar responded. He eyed Stormy as she shuddered. "Do I creep you out?"
"Yeah. You do," she frankly replied.
"Great. After all, what is a good villain without that uncomfortable edge to add some spice to the tale?" the dark overlord proudly explained, even as smoke began spreading through the room.
"Right, right, hey, Avalon dude. Bloom's setting fire to things," Stormy said, turning her attention to the false paladin.
"Indeed. A testament to my favoured student's new-found strength," he boasted.
The wild-haired witch stared at him, returned her attention to the burning table, which had now collapsed into an ashen pile on floor, before turning her attention to Darcy while tiredly saying: "Darcy. Bloom is setting stuff on fire".
"Yes. I noticed as much," the dirty-blond dryly replied. "Due to her state of mind, she doesn't exhibit any particular amount of control. A worrisome thought".
"Thanks. I needed a sane answer," the wild-haired witch said gratefully.
"Are you okay?" Darcy asked.
"No. Not at all," Maria sadly replied, before coughing. "Dragon's flaming breath. Icy, could you do something before we choke?"
"Alright, I'll do it. Would be too much to hope for that she would end up killing herself with it," Icy grumbled as she moved over to put out the flames.
...
Back on the ground, the frontline was being pressed. The forsaken had received a sudden burst of power and were now tearing ferociously into the attackers. Amentia winced as she saw an orange troglodyte get his chest ripped open by one of the horrors.
Overhead, flying monstrosities bombarded them with deadly bolts of fire, archers and gunners incinerated by the potent explosions. Fortunately, the forsaken were still as mortal as a reanimated pile of flesh sludge could be, even if their shells were tougher to crack. Even as the line was slowly forced back, Amentia managed to kill scores of opponents, driving her spear through their hardened skin and into their soft innards. But the battle was beginning to tax her. Her muscles were sore and as she looked around, she could see how the front began to lose energy. Attacks became slower and more imprecise. The ground was slick with the decaying flesh and fluids of Darkar's minions and yet there still seemed to be no end to them.
In the distance, a tunnel wyrm gave one last cry before it was overwhelmed by forsaken and gruesomely torn apart.
On his end of the frontline, Abrupto was doing his best to keep it all together, crushing his opponents with brutal swings of his club. He had already receives plenty of wounds, dripping blood running in tiny crimson rivers down his chest and arms. He gritted his teeth as he eyed his wife, who was fighting beside him. She wasn't faring much better. In fact, only a combination of skill and luck had kept them both from sharing the grim fate of some of their fellows, whose ruined bodies had already disappeared under the endless tide of forsaken.
"Flyers incoming," his wife informed him as she allowed herself a moment to scout the battlefield.
"TAKE COVER!" Abrupto yelled over his shoulder to the people behind him, even as the fiery projectiles began sailing through the darkness. People screamed as the fireballs detonated, while bodies were flung through the air by the force. Abrupto winced as his back was peppered with hot rocks from the nearby explosion. Even as he narrowly avoided the claws of a forsaken, he began to seriously consider whether he would survive this.
On the other end, Knut roared as he ripped one of the forsaken's arms out of it socket while kicking the creature back, sending it tumbling into the ranks of its fellows. Even when toughened up by the necrotic magic that now permeated the area, the forsakens' hides were still no match for the ogre's overwhelming strength. But even that was not enough to keep the forsaken at bay and Knut found himself giving up more and more ground, as the entire line was repeatedly forced to step back. It occurred to the ogre that killing the forsaken was very much akin to trying to beat a sand dune in a fistfight. Though one had an impact, it never amounted to much and just ended with oneself tiring out.
He eyed the ranks of brave people from all over Magix, who were now giving their lives and health to bring down Darkar. It was a noble gesture, but in the face of the relentless horde of forsaken, the cynical might be tempted to say it was also a pointless one. The line buckled once again and Knut gave more ground to the enemy. If the forsaken broke through their ranks, everything would be over. Only the iron will and determination of the frontline kept the empowered forsaken from annihilating it. And Knut saw that as their comrades died, ripped apart by claws, crushed by teeth or scorched by flames, their will to fight wavered. He couldn't blame them.
"AMENTIA!" he roared, catching the princess' attention. "WE'RE ALMOST AT THE BACK END OF THE CAVE AGAIN! WE CAN'T KEEP THIS UP!"
"WE HAVE TO!" she yelled back. "WE MUST GIVE THEM AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE".
Knut eyed the distant Red Fountain vehicles, still locked in combat with the airborne forsaken. He realised that the time they had left to give them could now be measured in seconds.
...
"Dammit, there's barely any room to manoeuvre out here," Sky reported as he barely managed to avoid a collision with a forsaken. "Brandon, how much longer will you guys need me to play clay pigeon?"
"Give it a little more time. This ritual can take a couple of minutes and any disturbance just makes it harder," Brandon replied.
"So what you're saying is that you're not going to go in there and yell at them to hurry up before we make acquaintance with the cavern floor?" came Riven's voice over the radio.
"That would be most counterproductive," Timmy stated.
"Well, then I'll go back to productively shooting these beasties full of bullets," Sky replied, as he blasted one of the forsaken out of the air. "Give me a call when something actually..." Something hit his ship, causing it to shake and waver in the air. Sky cast a glance out the window and noticed that a forsaken had jumped onto his ship. The undead thing growled while pressing its grotesque face against the glass.
"Would you get off already?!" Sky loudly asked as he tipped the ship. The abominable being slid away from the glass, but managed to grab hold of one of the wings. Sky swore he saw the thing smiled, before it began ripping into it, shredding off pieces of metal. "Dude, not cool! Stop that!" Sky yelled as the forsaken began tearing into one of the engines. "Get off, you're not welcome here!" Smoke began pouring from the engine and Sky could feel the slow loss of control, even as a warning beeping went off to inform him of the damage. "I get it! I get it! The bastard is wrecking the ship!" Sky yelled at the instrument while simultaneously keeping an eye on the creature and fighting to evade the scores of projectiles that were being launched towards his vessel. It dug its claws deep into another piece of metal and ripped it off. At that very moment, Sky tilted the sparrow and the forsaken tumbled off and fell into the darkness below. He tried to correct the ship now that his unwanted passenger had been thrown off, but the left engine sputtered and the whole ship began bobbing in the air as it fought to maintain altitude.
"Oh, shit," Sky hissed as he activated the radio. "This is Sky. Left wing engine is on the fritz and the left wing has been shredded. The ship is going to dump out of the sky any second now". He gritted as teeth as a projectiles hit the back end of the sparrow and tore something off. "AND THESE FLYING BASTARDS ARE NOT HELPING AT ALL!"
"Can you get back to the eagle?" came his squire's concerned inquiry.
"Negative. I wouldn't be able to land with the way this thing as shaking," Sky reported. "I'll try to hit the lake. Maybe if I'm lucky I can swim away before I become chow for the beasties".
"I have another idea," came Riven's voice and Sky could see the owl fly closer to his vessel while blasting attacking forsaken to pieces. "Sky, we're going to grab your sparrow with the grappling claw and drag you into the ship".
"Great. There's no way hauling my ship in with cargo equipment could go wrong," Sky replied. "Well, it's not like it can get any worse," Riven argued.
"Point. Let's give it a shot then. I'll try to stay beneath you, but it's getting harder and harder. I think it tore open a fuel line or something," the blond prince reported.
"On it," Riven replied, before turning to Helia and asking: "So will you take full control or should I?"
"You handle it. You're the better gunner and getting Sky on-board will be hard enough without us being blasted," Helia said as he jumped out of the pilot seat. "Good luck".
"Likewise," Riven replied as he switched from partial to full control.
Helia hurried through the ship and ran into the cargo bay, where he opened the hatches. The sound of rushing wind echoed through the air. Then he hurried into the cargo crane control seat, activated the system and extended the crane. A camera mounted on the tip gave him a birds-eye view of the proceedings. He noted Sky's ship, held his breath as he began timing the situation and pressed the button to lower the claw. The crane whirred as the metallic appendage was lowered. But as it was about to grab onto the sparrow, the damaged engine gave off a small explosion and Sky's vehicle wavered crazily through the air. Instead of the claw grabbing the middle part as Helia had intended, it instead closed around the side, and not particularly well either. The black-haired artist could easily see that the moment he tried to pull the sparrow in, it would slip off. Even now, it was shaking as its grip loosened.
"Crap, left engine is completely gone. I'm only being held in the air by my right engine and that claw," came Sky's voice over the radio
"Sky, the claw is not properly attached. It will slide off if I try to haul you in now," Helia reported.
"Dammit. If that thing lets go, I'll fall right down," Sky replied.
"You better do something. We're getting a lot of attention. And it's not the good kind," Riven reported.
"Look, just let me go. I can see the lake from here. I'm pretty sure I can make it," the Eraklian prince requested.
Helia took a deep breath as he thought it through. "Riven, can you control the grappling claw from the cockpit?"
"Sure, I have full control of the ship now," the magenta-haired warrior responded. "Why?"
"Because I'm about to do something really stupid that I'll regret in a few seconds," Helia responded as he jumped out of the seat and rushed towards the open hatch. He grabbed a wrench that was lying on a table in the corner, before leaping for the stretched line that connected the ships. Helia screamed as he slid through the rushing wind and darkness, the cargo crane's wire acting as a zip-line and the wrench taking the brunt of the friction. He slammed into Sky's sparrow and he could feel his ribs bend from the impact against the metal.
"ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?!" he could hear Sky yell over his earpiece, though he didn't respond, mostly because the rushing air would muffle anything he could respond with.
Clinging to the ship for dear life, he slowly began to move individual points of the claw, giving them a firmer grip. "RIVEN! NOW!" he yelled as loudly as he could.
"I couldn't quite hear that, but I'll assume you want me to fish you back up," Riven responded. The cargo crane began its grinding noise as the sparrow was hauled back in. Helia kept a sharp eye at the claw and hurried to beat it back into place any time it looked like one of the crane's digits was about to slip off. Finally, though rather clumsily, the sparrow was hauled into the cargo hold, which closed behind them. Sky hurried out of the ship and stared at Helia, who had gone completely pale. "Dude, how are you feeling?"
"I can't feel anything," Helia weakly but honestly responded. The cold rushing air had made him rather numb.
"Do you want to come down now?" the Eraklian prince asked him concernedly.
"No. I'm good," the artist squeaked. "I'll just stay here for a moment. Entertaining myself. With speculations. Speculations about what I'm doing here and why anyone would ever want to do this full time".
"Okay. You do that. And thanks man," the blond prince said gratefully.
"Kinda surprised his massive titanium balls didn't overload the crane," Riven joked over the intercom. "Sky, while Helia takes a moment to rest, could you come up here and pilot this thing? I can only control the main gun while piloting and we need more firepower".
"Coming," Sky responded as he hurried through the ship.
...
"And so our story comes to a fantastic conclusion," Darkar said, before downing a glass of wine he had readied for the occasion. He had decided to hold a short, but very generic speech before starting the ritual.
Applause broke out from the assembled, mechanically from the forsaken, enthusiastically from the false Avalon and Bloom, and barely audible from the three witches.
"Now, Bloom, come to my side and together we shall enter Relix," Darkar said and the giggling redhead skipped up to him. "Now then, as for the rest of you, I'll need you to defend the castle. Our enemies are at the gates and I will not take my victory for granted".
Darcy thought about the Shadow Phoenix' orders for a moment, before she asked: "Then why didn't you just do the ritual immediately?"
"Because our efforts deserved a proper send-off of course," the Shadow Phoenix replied.
Darcy gave him a couple of seconds. She knew a proper explanation would follow.
"Also, setting up the necessary rituals, transforming Kerborg and preparing some extra defences took a lot of energy and I wanted to be back at full strength before doing this, just in case," came the follow-up explanation. "Now, Avalon I want you to take this". He handed a strange card to the imitation paladin. "It is from my collection of extinct creature cards. It has been enchanted so that if they manage to destroy Kerborg's current form, you can grant him a new one. This should help keep those meddling heroes out of my castle".
"It will be an honour, my lord," the doppelgänger said as he gratefully took the card.
"And as for you, my three minions, you shall assist Avalon and Kerborg in the defence. Do everything you can to stop the heroines," Darkar ordered as he turned his attention to the witches. "Or failing that, do your best to delay them. I do not know how much time I will need to reawaken the Great Dragon".
"Yeah, about that, there's something I've thought about," Darcy stated. "If you reawaken the Great Dragon and merge as a part of it, won't that essentially kill you?"
Darkar's face changed into an expression no one had ever seen on the dark lord's face before. It was the face of sombre acceptance and dignified resignation.
"In a way, perhaps you could say that it will. I will cease to be Darkar and I will cease to be the Shadow Phoenix," he quietly said. His ashen lips formed a sad smile. "But that is how things must be, Darcy. After all, t always ends tragically for the villain".
"My lord?" the false Avalon questioned with worry.
"Do not fear, my loyal servant. When I return, I will return as a part of something bigger. Something grander," Darkar said, his enthusiasm returned. "But for now, I must go. Come, Bloom. Relix and the Great Dragon awaits".
"Yay!" Bloom exclaimed.
Darkar placed an armoured hand on her head and focused. His magic seeped into her, her twisted mind readily giving him access to her power, and he could feel himself connect with her dragonflame. He stretched out his other hand towards the end of the room he had cleared for the purpose of the ritual and focused on the metaphysical instructions from the Codex.
A moment of silence passed, the faint and muted sounds of battle echoing through the castle. With a strange noise, the air itself was torn open as a shimmering portal manifested. Behind it was a strange sight, a ruined temple behind which bright streams of colourful light curving through the skies.
"Oh, pretty," Bloom said approvingly.
"Come. You still have an important part to play, my dear," Darkar said as he led her through the portal. It wavered and collapsed in on itself, cutting off the connection between dimensions.
...
Amentia grasped her shoulder as she stumbled back, blood seeping through her fingers. One of the troglodytes by her side reacted immediately and smashed the horror that had wounded the princess, before she returned her attention to her own attackers. The line shifted again, as the diminishing attackers were forced to give more and more ground, stepping over the scorched remains of the fallen. The tunnels behind them were almost clogged with activity as medics scurried to get the wounded out of harm's way.
The troglodyte princess gritted her teeth as she hoisted her spear and got ready to attack again. The throbbing pain in her shoulder made her arm shake and her aim waver.
She yelled as she stabbed forward, the point digging through the armoured hide of a forsaken's shoulder. She winced. She had intended for the attack to hit its head. Amentia cursed under her breath as she ripped the spear free, almost unbalancing herself, before she stabbed forward again, this time piercing the horror's core and felling it. It was with much exertion she managed to forcefully pull the spear out of the dead abomination again. Her breath was ragged and her every limb burned. The constant struggle with the forsaken was taking its toll. If nothing else, they would win through sheer attrition.
She heard yells to the right and allowed her attention to wander. Some of the soldiers from Red Fountain had been overrun and the line looked like it would break. Then there was a roar and Knut charged in shoulder first, breaking the forsaken's attempt to get through. The ogre had previously fallen back to nurse his wounds, not that he would allow the medics to carry him off, but now he was back at the front and shattering the forsaken, even as his many wounds were being ripped open again by his actions.
On his end of the frontline, Abrupto managed to catch a break from the action and he turned towards Amentia and yelled: "PRINCESS AMENTIA! WE HAVE TO FALL BACK! OR ELSE WE WILL ALL DIE!" He too carried many wounds from the battle, crimson blood staining his orange scales.
Amentia found herself chewing on her tongue as she eyed the situation. The line had grown thin as the warriors had been brutalized and now the front constantly buckled. Their support had been decimated, either too wounded or too dead to continue to assist. The people were tired, wounded and drained, while the forsaken fought with as much determination and as little care for themselves as they did from the start. And there was no sign of their ranks being diminished. Darkar had stuffed the cavern with thousands of the reanimated dead, almost all of which were now trying to crush them.
It was with a heavy heart that she allowed herself to admit that Abrupto was right. They could not win this fight. But she also realised that if they just fell back, it would be a slaughter. The medics would need time to clear the tunnel entrances and the line would have to split so the attackers would not get stuck trying to get everyone away through a single tunnel. They needed something to keep the forsaken's attention while everyone scurried to safety.
She knew how. The forsaken were predictable if nothing else. And she knew how she could get their attention away from the retreat.
"SOUND THE ORDER FOR THE COMMANDERS TO RETREAT!" she yelled to be heard over the constant noise of battle. A blue troglodyte behind her nodded, before blowing into a horn. The echoing sound reached the other commanders.
"MEN! FALL BACK!" Knut yelled and immediately, the Red Fountain soldiers began pulling back, keeping their weapons towards the enemy. As they began the retreat, closing in on the tunnel they had originally marched out off, the ogre noticed something. And he began to realise why the troglodytes had a couple different signals for retreating.
Amentia was not falling back and neither were her troops. The signal had only been for the others to fall back.
Though he didn't know if she would see it, he gave her a salute from his homeland before following his troops into the tunnel.
Amentia gritted her teeth as the forsaken began to surround her and the troops that had stayed with her. The undead monsters were as predictable as always. Told to guard Shadowhaunt, they would mechanically go for the greatest threat. And Amentia and her remaining troops seemed to them a greater threat that the dozens more retreating soldiers. She and her men began fighting with all they had as they were encircled by the undead. Flesh was slashed and bones were shattered as clubs were swung and axes struck true. But for every forsaken that fell, three more were ready to take its place. Around her, Amentia could hear the screams of her dying soldiers, as one by one the forsaken overwhelmed them and ended their lives. Amentia herself summoned every ounce of power she had left in her body, stabbing her spear into the abominations time and time again. When it finally wore out and broke, she pulled her scimitar and slashed the forsaken, cutting flesh and limbs, staining the blade with the forsakens' foul fluids.
She yelled as she swung her blade again, but the sword struck a forsaken's hardened shell and was knocked back. Amentia found herself stumbling back a step as she fought to regain her balance. She heard a strange tearing sound and felt a dull, throbbing pain spread in her body. Time seemed to slow as she looked down herself. A forsaken's spear-like appendage had gone straight through her chest. She coughed, specks of blood flying from her lips. She felt dazed and began looking around. She was completely encircled by forsaken, every single one of her guards lying trampled beneath their feet. She slowly returned her attention to her attacker. Its dead, white eyes glared balefully at her. An eternity seemed to pass as they stared at each other. Then it lifted its other hand, which was shaped like a crab's pincer, and closer it around her head.
The forsaken were not sadists. They did not have the capacity for sadism. They would always follow their orders as efficiently and as quickly as possible.
The troglodyte princess breathed out and relaxed, accepting her fate as the claw began tightening its grip.
There was a brief moment of intense pain, followed by darkness.
...
"Brandon, I got bad news," came Timmy's voice over the radio.
Brandon sighed and asked: "What now?"
"Our ground forces just had to fall back. All the forsaken are now coming for us. Please tell me the teachers got something," Timmy explained.
"Great, as if it wasn't hard enough to pull this off with half an army trying to blast us down," Riven complained. "Now the rest of those bastards are gunning for us too. Brandon, get them to hurry up. We can't keep this up forever. I'm already getting damage reports from several parts of the ship".
At that moment, Cordatorta's voice could be heard over the radio saying: "They got a location. Uploading the data now".
"Alright. Everyone, follow me," Brandon ordered as he began tracking the coordinates. "So, what is the plan, sir? We're out of missiles, but we still have plenty of bullets".
"No, it's too risky. That thing could easily damage the ship even more, not to mention you might have to do several strafing runs," Cordatorta replied. "Me and the others are going to drop out of the back end once we're close. While we engage it, fly to these coordinates and force your way into the castle. If we fail to defeat this monster, you'll have to do whatever it takes to get in and stop Darkar, up to and including crashing the ship through the walls".
"Understood. Best of luck, sir," Brandon reported as they approached Kerborg's hiding spot. As they closed in, he could feel the ship shake as the hatch opened.
Protected by Avalon's bubble and guided by both Griffin and Faragonda, the group flew through the air and landed hard on the balcony below, squashing a couple of forsaken. The moment the bubble faded, Cordatorta and Saladin were ready, laying into nearby forsaken with overwhelming force. In the span of fifteen seconds, the landing zone had been cleared. The staff turned and faced Kerborg, who barely had time to realise that the glowing bubble hadn't merely been a projectile fired at its location. The hideous beast roared in a challenge and got ready to fight as the staff quickly closed in. It slacked a little on the spell, allowing the forsaken to weaken a bit to give itself some energy to fight with. It charged its essence, binding raw heat into the magic as it prepared to incinerate the staff.
Avalon stopped his charge and concentrated his own magic. The moment Kerborg got ready to scorch them the paladin finished his spell, undoing the beast's magic, causing the energy to harmlessly fizzle out.
Before Kerborg could prepare another spell, Saladin's flying blades closed the distance and chopped through the tentacle it had used to cast the spell.
It howled angrily and lashed out with one of the meaty appendages. Cordatorta stood his ground as the combined force of the creature's attack and his own stabbing forced his weapon deep into the creature's flesh, before unloading a powerful jolt of electricity. Kerborg howled as it ripped the damaged appendage back, further injuring it as the wound was ripped opened by the sudden movement. It prepared to attack again, magic charging through its limbs, but several chunks of masonry smashed into its head, hurled by Faragonda and Griffin. Now dazed, it tried to slither back out of range, but both Avalon and Cordatorta closed in and mercilessly kept attacking its quivering flesh. It roared desperately as it lashed out, but its soft skin was no match for a group of veteran warriors. The ritual it was channelling destabilized as Kerborg raged against its attackers. One tentacle hit Avalon and knocked him back, but his shining spell-armour protected him from harm.
A spear guided by Saladin was flung through the air and dug into one of Kerborg's eyes, popping the sensitive organ and sending a stream of fluids down its purplish skin. The creature shrieked as the intense pain hit it and the spell broke. All around Shadowhaunt, the forsaken slowly burned up the last of the spell's energy and returned to their prior forms. Kerborg tried to focus again, but Faragonda directed a stone pillar towards it and the object pierced all the way through its soft body, sending it flying backwards. Dark fluids stained the ground and Kerborg realised this fight was over. As the teachers closed in, the form of the illithud exploded into a dark cloud, briefly obscuring the area as Kerborg, now back to its original form, dove over the edge and out of sight.
"Well, we did it," Palladium stated, having spent the fight eliminating the forsaken who tried to come to Kerborg's aid. "Though it saddens me we couldn't do this sooner. I am sure our friends suffered great loses".
"We did everything we could, Palladium," Griffin offered in comfort. "And we can't expect any more than that from ourselves. Now at least, Darkar's forces have lost a lot of power and the others should be able to land safely".
"On that note, we should probably look for a way in ourselves," Avalon commented. "I do not doubt that they shall require our aid soon enough. Darkar will undoubtedly have more in store for us".
"Your duplicate is probably in there," Saladin said. "As are the three witches most likely. And that is just what we know. No doubt he will have other tricks and traps ready to kill us".
"Indeed," Cordatorta said as he eyed the pillar that moments before had been stained with dark blood. He rubbed his chin as he began pondering.
...
Griselda rubbed her eyes. Her head was pounding, she had trouble focusing and her eyes were getting itchy. Spending hours starring at vague symbols while trying to combine them into something useful would do that to somebody.
But now, she finally had something. Having received the notes that Nimfea had worked on, Griselda had, together with the remaining three guardian fairies, managed to decipher the text of the Codex. And the deputy realised that her premonition had been justified.
"Well? What does it say?" Athena asked impatiently, sitting on a small pillow on the table, the two other guardians sitting beside her.
"The text on the Codex is both a story and a set of ritual instructions," Griselda told them. "Apparently, very long ago the paladin Lyonesse found a dimension, which was filled with dragonflames and dragonshades. She was utterly convinced that this place, filled to the brim with magical power, was the true graveyard of the Great Dragon and that the great amount of energy was what remained of the deity's body. However, after constructing a ritual to open the way to this dimension, her and her fellows were attacked by the Shadow Phoenix. Though they eventually managed to ward of the creature by destroying its host, they failed at defeat the Phoenix itself and it escaped after wrecking great havoc. Lyonesse realised that though she would have loved to make the Great Dragon's graveyard a spot for pilgrims and true believers, it was too dangerous. So, devising a powerful ritual, she sealed off the entire dimension so that only her ritual could ever open it again, the key being a dragonflame that did not come from the deceased deity itself. The reason for why she created the spell so that the dimension could be unlocked is apparently that she was convinced that there would be a time when we would all be ready to face what remained of our progenitor, but that would not be while the Shadow Phoenix was lurking around to misuse the power within the dimension now known as Relix". Griffin finished surmising the story and looked up at the others.
"So Darkar is after the power of the Great Dragon. Great," Discordia flatly stated. "That won't end horribly at all".
"The Shadow Phoenix could cause serious damage with a dimension full of dragonflames and dragonshades at its disposal," Concorda commented. "Anyone could, as a matter of fact. Does the Codex say anything else? Perhaps a way to stop Darkar from entering?"
"No. There's just details about how the ritual was designed and how to do it," Griffin replied. "But wait... There is something about this..." Her brows furrowed as she forced herself to focus on the metaphysical instruction. Her eyes began to water as she strained them to understand what she was reading. "We need to contact the others. Now," she stated.
...
The eagle's guns roared as they opened fire, bullets shredding the flying forsaken and turning them confetti.
"Alright, we got a momentary reprieve. Preparing linking protocol," Brandon said over the radio.
"Alright, we're coming in," Riven replied. The owl glided in under the larger vessel and mechanical parts descended and pulled the crimson ship back up into the eagle.
"Alright, you've been relinked. Now it's your turn, Timmy," Brandon said as he pushed some buttons. "Landing platform is ready".
"Alright. I'm coming in," Timmy responded. The small sparrow vessel gently landed on the platform that had extended from the eagle's side, before being pulled into the ship.
"What about the teachers?" Techna asked.
"They'll join with us later," Brandon replied. "For now, we need to get into the castle. Cordatorta gave me directions for what he deemed the best entry point. Now that the forsaken on the battlements have lost the ability to fire at us, we should be able to land without much trouble".
He directed the eagle around the castle towards a large platform that lay not far from a set of large wooden doors. The ship's guns turned and sprayed the defenders that remained near the platform with bullets, splattering them across the stone floor. With the area now clear, Brandon directed the great vessel and smoothly landed, were after he activated the intercom and said: "Alright, we gotta get a move on. The forsaken are coming towards us and even weakened they will be an issue".
"Alright, then I just need to get some stuff from the cargo hold," Techna said gleefully as she jumped out of her seat and hurried for the ladder.
"Wait, you brought something in the cargo?" the squire asked. "What did you bring?"
"It's a surprise," was the cheerful answer the scarred girl gave before she disappeared down the ladder.
Minutes later, both the boys and girls had left the ship, with Techna bringing up the rear while driving a middle-sized crate with a hand truck. Helia was still pale as snow and constantly shaking, though it seemed to help a bit when Flora patted him on the back and praised him for his bravery.
"So, this is it, I guess," Musa said as she gazed up the great structure of Shadowhaunt. "It is so much more impressive up close when you don't have a swarm of undead trying to blast your ass off".
"Most things in life are," Riven commented.
"Right. Let's go save Bloom and stop Darkar," Sky sat as he stomped up to the great door, which he then dramatically kicked. Then he jumped around on one foot while cradling his now sore other foot, all the while bellowing a series of not safe for kids profanities.
"Great. Now, if you're quite done playing action hero, maybe we can do this professionally," Brandon admonished as he walked up to the door and tried the handle. "Locked. Should we bring in a barrier buster?"
"I'll handle this," Glim stated as she fluttered up to the door. She touched it for a moment, before declaring: "There. It's unlocked".
Brandon tried to open it and the great wooden door opened with nary a sound. "How did you do that?"
"Magic," came the pixie's reply. "Locks and keys are part of my knack".
"You have the ability to unlock doors?" Stella asked. "Why, like, haven't you told us? I tots could have used that when I accidentally locked myself out of our cluster".
"Didn't ask," Glim answered with an uncaring shrug.
"Look, can we discuss that later when we are not about to invade the lair of a dark lord?" Flora asked.
"I can't believe you managed to say that with a straight face," Musa commented as the group entered the now opened door.
They entered a dilapidated hallway with lots of signs of rudimentary repairs. The carpet under them was filled with holes and dirt-marks, with cobwebs filling up the corners.
"Lovely place. Wonder if he's got a couple of ghosts hiding in the closets just to complete the stereotypical ruined castle setting," Riven snarked.
"Wouldn't surprise me, to be completely honest," Timmy added.
"Halt," Brandon suddenly said as he stopped up. "Did you guys..."
The wall in front of them exploded and dust filled the hallway as the group stepped back. A massive being lumbered into view. It was at least four and a half meter tall and of humanoid built. It had thick, leathery grey skin, much like an elephant, with bony nubs protruding from its shoulders. Its head was covered with a large executioner hood, through which its orange eyes could be seen. And it its hands it wielded a two-handed axe that matched the creatures size.
"It would have been so much better for you if you just had stayed back at your school and waited for this to play out," false Avalon stated as he walked out of the hole the giant had made. "And you're too late, by the way. Bloom has already gone with Master Darkar to Relix and soon they shall usher us all into a new and glorious age".
"I think I'm going to call you Blight Knight, because I do not like you one bit," Techna flatly added.
"Get out of our way, or we will cut you down," Brandon warned the two, drawing his blade.
"Oh really. You think you can take on all of us?" the false Avalon asked as the three witches stepped out, though not even Icy could manage to look particularly enthusiastic. "With the five of us against all of you, you will be wiped out. You will regret ever setting foot in my master's domain".
Suddenly, the sound of exploding masonry echoed again, as one of the walls between the two groups crumbled.
Clad in shining armour, Avalon trotted out of the hole, followed by the other teachers and staff. "We will never regret risking our lives to bring down your vile master," the paladin said as he pointed his blade at his doppelgänger. "But surely you shall regret ever entering his service, for today you shall pay for you depraved treacherousness".