GRIMGNOW

"You see, we can't have someone like you, Vikki, overpowering us when we finally call this hell as our own," Grimgnow stated.

The cave was dark and equally damp, but, to our advantage, it was open enough to allow full vision of everyone else. There weren't too many of them; a minotaur with a hefty axe, an undead lich, a robed wizard, a vertically challenged female assassin, and Grimgnow himself, the short yet sturdy monk.

They didn't seem to pose too much of a threat, well, it was nothing that we couldn't handle anyway.

"Well, I dare say that this poses as I problem for both of us then, because I don't particularly want to be killed to ensure your safety in the matter," she stated. "Nor am I going to be."

He offered a hearty chuckle in reply to Vikki's blasé manner, instead of replying in caution as I'd anticipated.

"I see you haven't changed at all since we last met," he stated.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot, uncomfortable and not sure where this was really leading.

"I got a new pair of boots and grew out my hair, but otherwise, you'd be correct," she replied evenly.

Her white scaled tail lashed about behind her, giving away the anger she felt but didn't express. Her tail had more emotions than she did.

"Tell me, how is this place during summer?" she queried of him. "Being that I'm going to be its new ruler soon, I figure I best get to know my region a bit better."

I told myself that she was joking, but deep down I wasn't too sure.

She wore a smug smirk upon her thin white lips, her pointed eye teeth glistening in the low light.

Grimgnow laughed heartily, turning to his companions who all seemed ready to attack on his word. All the while his eyes never left that of Vikki.

"Dispose of her, but don't be too quick about it," Grimgnow ordered.

I charged ahead instantly, offering a cry of rage as I headed straight for the lich, knowing that it would physically be the weakest yet pose one of the biggest threats. I swung my flail in a sweeping motion, crushing the undead creature's head in one fluid swing.

"Well that one was utterly pathetic," Vikki mocked.

Through the dim of battle I could hear her clearly. Her metallic laughter sending chills up and down my spine that not even the surrounding snow could accomplish.

She slashed at the minotaur with her long, sharp claws; cutting and freezing its flesh with each hit. A smirk was ever present on her deathly pale face as she teasingly cut up the raging creature and side stepped Grimgnow's own blows with ease.

I felt a sudden unanticipated sting of acid hit me in the side, the sudden pain shocking me from my daze of sorts. I followed the line of distilled air to that of the wizard who was casting another spell at me with shocking speed. I gritted my teeth against the pain and charged the robed man.

At first, swinging my flail seemed pointless; my blows rebounding off some kind of invisible shield that surrounded the spell caster. Despite this, I pressed on. As I hit at the barrier between myself and my target, I felt wave after wave of scorching fire blast me head on. It melted away pieces of my armour and welded other parts of it to my skin. I pushed aside the pain I felt and concentrated on what was in front of me instead.

I knew the instant the spell protecting the wizard failed, a large burst of bright white lighting up the cave for the barest of moments. I didn't give him a chance to put up another defensive spell, swinging my flail around and hitting him side-on.

The hit knocked him right off his feet, causing him to fall in a heap of robes and limp limbs. He didn't rise from where he'd fallen.

I offered him no further attention, turning to face that of Vikki who was finishing off the minotaur in a single swipe to its jugular. Its arms were frozen to its sides, despite its great strength, allowing her to go in for the kill without fear of him harming her in the process.

Our eyes on Grimgnow now, we were both caught off guard when a bolt hit Vikki in the upper ribs, sinking in quite deep. She stood motionless for a few seconds; ice encasing the bolt in place and blood trickling slowly form her parted lips. The blood stood out, bright red in contrast to her white skin.

We'd forgotten about the assassin; an amateur, and in this case fatal, mistake.

Vikki fell to her knees, hitting the hard stone floor as the bones in both of them cracking upon impact, the sounded resounding off the thick walls. Her limbs limp, she fell in an ashen heap.

"What do you know, she does bleed," Grimgnow laughed heartily.

He didn't seem off put by the fact that we'd just disposed of three of his companions, and I was still alive and well, prepared to attack him.

He knelt down to her, checking for a pulse hesitantly. His hand, and with it, his arm, didn't encase in a sheet of ice like expected though, this pleasing him greatly. With a smile he looked up at me from under his brow.

"I'd love to stay, but I've got plans to set in place. I dare not waste any more time on you lest someone beat me to my rightful place as ruler of this hell," he uttered smugly.

I growled, gripping my flail tighter than ever and stepping towards him and the assassin.

Before I got the chance to attack the remaining two, however, they disappeared in a laughing flash of red light.

I turned in a full circle, making sure that they were truly gone before kneeling beside my fallen companion and reclasping my flail to its place upon my belt. I rested my fingers on her neck, hoping to find what Grimgnow had not.

I didn't find a pulse. All that I found was that her skin was warmer in death than it had been in life.

The bolt, still wedged between two of her ribs, was no longer encased in ice; it having mostly melted already. With a grim set to my jaw, I reached forward and tugged the dampened bolt free, tossing it aside with disgust.

Once I'd done this I rolled Vikki onto her side. I did this so that I could free her magic bag which I knew held her rod of resurrection; apparently a good investment on her behalf.

I found the rod easily within the well worn and disgustingly ratty bag that was a sorry excuse for a magic item. The rod was one of very few items; the bag being near empty.

I'd never realised how little she owned. She didn't even carry a weapon on her person, making do with her claws and the perks of her white dragon heritage. Hells, even her metal armour was old and worn, offering very little protection. Come to think of it, she hadn't gotten very many magical properties placed onto it back in the Underdark when she'd had my own equipment upgraded.

What did she do with all the money she collected?

I grasped the magic rod firmly within my hands, looking down at the woman before me. The cold, heartless woman whom had turned my whole world upside down; causing more problems than she'd solved in all my time of knowing her.

She was evil, there was no doubt about it; purely and methodologically evil.

Regardless, she had a greater purpose than this; I knew that she had so much unfinished business, only one of which was killing Mephistopheles.

Even she didn't deserve this meaningless death.

Also, selfish as it was for me to think this, I needed her to get out of this hell. After that, I knew that I wouldn't feel too badly about her sudden and brutal passing.

Sighing, I touched the tip of the rod to her pale forehead, immediately hearing the quiet hum of magic as it washed over her.

I watched as a white mist fell back into her unmoving form and her wounds healed before my very eyes. Once they were fully healed, her lids fluttered open, her eyes confused. Eventually, she focused on me, a downwards curve to her eyebrows.

I huffed disinterestedly, standing once more, appraising the room and taking in the three blood smeared corpses that we had left.

Vikki laughed dryly as she stood on unsteady legs, dusting them off when she was sure they could support her weight. As she did this, she looked back at me from over her shoulder.

She offered a small chuckle, and I knew what was to come.

"How long did it take you to decide whether to bring me back or simply leave me?" she asked curiously.

I gave her a small sneer, fighting the smirk that tugged at the edges of my lips.

"My lady," I started mockingly. "Why would you think such a thing?"

She observed the frozen minotaur pointedly, playful cuts littering his entire body. She offered a humourless chuckle, her downcast eyes taking on the appearance of a dark winter snowstorm.

"I certainly wouldn't have brought me back," she stated flatly.

I hid my surprise as best as I could manage, her comment having been completely unexpected, even for her.

But then, I'd come to expect the unexpected with her.

"I'm not like you."

She chuckled bleakly, as if it were all just an ironic joke. When she spoke again, her voice was hollow.

"And that's what makes you, my tiefling, human."

Any and all reviews are greatly appreciated.

~just-passing-time