*Another update. Caleb, with Arthas, continues his journey.*

When one thinks about it, it's quite amazing how fast the Argent Crusade evacuated from Ice Crown Citadel and ultimately from Northrend. At least, the bulk of their forces did. A few remained behind to clean up any undead and keep their numbers in check. All of Azeroth now took a breath of relief, having dealt with yet another nightmare. Or so at least they thought. Caleb and Arthas were now walking down the beaten path towards the mining town, now long dead. With most of his armor gone, Arthas was merely in linen clothes and the thundering that he was so used to when he walked was now gone. Gone were the days of the former Lich King. Simply replaced by a new one, a mere shadow of a being with no intention of flexing its full might and with no ambition whatsoever. Just keeping a leash on the damned and nothing more. Nothing.

Damn that Bolvar. Damn that Tirion. Damn that…Jaina. Damn everything and everyone.

"So." Caleb spoke up suddenly, "What of the new Lich King? Surely, there must be one, for the undead would already be upon us like flies on a carcass. Tell me, Arthas."

Arthas, having been distracted from his thoughts, spoke, "An Alliance bastard who goes by the name of Bolvar Fordragon. He was a paladin once, before I broke both him and his pathetic Light. At least I thought I did. Now having been spared death, he took it upon himself to become the new Lich King, knowing he could never return to the world of the living."

"Interesting." replied Caleb, "But that still doesn't answer my question. What does he do, exactly, now that there is no one left to challenge him?"

"Nothing." Arthas replied, repulsion in his voice, "Simply nothing."

"Well, his rule won't last long, anyway." Caleb spoke coolly, "We'll both see to that." And here he winked.

Arthas' pale blue eyes widened a bit as he took in the full implication of this last statement. "And then what? Am I, Arthas Menethil, to take up the role once again just to be struck down by Tirion and his foolish Crusaders?" Here he grew furious.

"That is not what I meant;" Caleb replied cautiously, "What I meant was…" He paused.

"What is it?" Arthas spoke up a moment later.

"My little friend found a way out of her cage…" Caleb replied, restrained fury in his voice. "Let's hurry back to the hideout; I have a feeling it won't take long for the Crusaders to figure out what happened to two of their lackeys."

Both men were now running back to the town. After several moments, they arrived at the hideout. The front wall that served as the entrance was clearly slit wide open, almost as if the night elf had used brute force to open it. Caleb, however, knew this wasn't true for residual arcane energy was left in the opening. He wondered how this night elf could be a mage. He never heard of such a thing. First time for everything though. Caleb bent over and examined the tracks in the snow. They led directly back to the shore form which both he initially came from. Caleb simply smiled at this while Arthas looked on.

"Well, she's no hunter, I can tell you that much." Caleb snickered, "but I should find her in a few minutes. Wait here and keep out of sight."

"Fine." Arthas grunted as he entered the hideout.

Usara was panting as she ran though the dead wood leading to the shores of Northrend. She was only half a kilometer away and decided that she had to summon all of her strength to run the last bit of distance. As a mage, she wasn't really accustomed to running this much, but she had to make do. She looked upon the shores with glee just before receiving an elbow in the face that broke her nose and sent her flying through the air. She regained herself after a while, blood dripping from her nose.

Caleb simply walked towards her and glared down at the night elf. "Well, well, well; what do we have here?" he sneered in a menacing fashion.

"Y-you…" Usara uttered, "I'm not g-going back to that little hellhole you call a h-home. You have no right to keep me as your captive. You c-can rot in Hell for a-all I care, you-"

Caleb reddened at this. "Funny." He allowed a cruel laugh to escape his throat, "One moment, you were in my arms like a whore and now you defy me? I will make you suffer for this."

"Fat chance, red eyes." She yelled. Her mage instincts kicked in and she muttered and incantation, sending a bolt of arcane energy directly at Caleb's face. She was horrified to see that it didn't even faze him. She muttered another spell, this time a bolt of ice hit his torso. Again, no effect. Another spell was quickly drawn up, a ball of fire it was, and she hurled it with all her might at her assailant. After the initial explosion there was a cloud of smoke that lasted for several seconds. Once it faded, Usara went pale upon seeing that not only did the fireball not shake him; it didn't even leave any burn marks. No scars. Nothing.

"What the Hell?" she managed to speak, a wad of blood ejecting from her nose, "…What the Hell are you?"

"Is that all?" Caleb spoke. Usara was taken aback at how clam he appeared. "Is that all you've got? Very well, then; allow me to teach you what true power is…"

Before she could get a chance to protest, Caleb's eyes widened to the point of bulging and the red glow they had grew more intense. Within a split second, Usara flew against a tree, hitting it with such force that it broke several of her ribs. She now lay twitching beside the tree, coughing up some blood as well. The poor thing didn't have any strength left.

"Caleb…" she whispered before passing out.

Caleb's eyes were now glowing at their normal intensity. "Wench." He snarled, "Now I have to heal your wounds all over again."

He decided that he wasn't going to use bandages again. Instead, he used his magic to reconstruct her broken bones. Within a quarter of an hour, she was as good as new. He hauled her up over his shoulder and carried her purple ass back to the hideout. Soon, they arrived back as the sun was setting once more. Caleb felt her body move and realized she had regained consciousness.

"Uh..." she winced as she felt her ribs, "Caleb…put me down this instant…"

"As you wish, milady." He spoke in monotone as he dropped her from shoulder length. She now groaned as her ribs ached even though they were healed.

"That's not what I meant, you son of a bitch!" she screamed.

"Enough." Caleb now glared, cutting of any more of her protests, "I want you to say hello to a friend I just picked up. I think you'll like him." He couldn't suppress a cruel laugh at this.

As both the human and the night elf entered the hideout, the both saw Arthas lying on the bed, sleeping one off. Caleb simply looked on, but as for Usara…Well, let's just say that although she had her experiences of fear (as all beings on Azeroth had); this one caused her to nearly shit her pants. She clutched a wall and tried to stay on her feet as she began to fade out.

"It…can't…be…" she sobbed as tears fell down her face, "It…just can't…no…"

She finally passed out again. The sight of the former Lich King, alive, nonetheless, was simply too much for the night elf to take. To her, the nightmare that had nearly consumed all of Azeroth, all of her friends and family, was now sleeping right in front of her. It wasn't over, and she now feared it never would be.

Arthas, the (former) Lord of the Damned, had returned.

"By the Nether." Caleb was now shaking his head, "How did I manage to find a frightful bitch such as this? Well, no matter. I'll fix that soon enough."

She picked Usara up once more and tossed her onto another bed. Caleb decided he would sleep on the floor. Having sealed off the broken entrance, he took off his trench coat, boots and hat, and finally went to sleep.

Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a show, Caleb thought as he drifted off to sleep, his red eyes closing.

*Well, what do you think? Reviews are appreciated.*