This is it, the beginning of the end. Everybody must face their demons, but together, they can make it through. These chapters are going to be shorter, because I don't want to throw everything at you all at once.
Please review! The reviews are what make me WANT to finish this! Hahah, pleasepleaseplease!
The Final Battle
Sam looked up at the castle as they approached. It looked like a painter had captured the moment in time, there were countless soldiers lined up in front of it, spears and swords and shields held at the ready. There were several ink black dragons circling the sky above, and standing behind it were four massive trolls almost as tall as the building itself.
He took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder at the other soldiers.
"Are you scared?" Rachel asked at his side, her sword trembling in warning of impending danger.
"No." He said.
He'd been afraid for too long. He'd spent too much of his life running and hiding. No, Sam had a purpose, he had a destiny, and it was about to be fulfilled. The King had underestimated him when he decided to pick this battle. Sam was more than just some peasant boy. Maybe long ago, he'd been that carefree individual, but he'd grown. Sam wasn't a boy anymore, he was more than that. He wasn't just a Blacksmith's apprentice either, he was a hero, and he was fighting for something worth fighting for.
He held Rachel's hand tightly and looked at her, watching the fire spark in her eyes.
"Are you?" He asked.
"No." She smiled.
Rachel had spent her entire life; from the moment she was born into the castle, trying to be good enough, trying to be brave enough, trying to be strong enough. Finally, after eighteen years, it was time to take action. She was good, and brave, and strong, and now it was time to prove that those things had been inside of her all along. She'd just needed the right person to come along and show her.
She looked over at Sam, squeezing his hand.
Thanks to Sam, and all of the people that she'd met along the way, she was the woman that she'd always wanted to be. She was living the life she'd always dreamed, not the life of a soldier, or a warrior, but the life of a friend, of a family member, of a loved one. These people had made her the person she was today, and she would fight to the death for each and every one of them.
She looked up at the sky as a shadow drifted overhead and smiled at her brother, who was staring at the sky, straddling the Ice Dragon's neck, eyes transfixed on the dragons circling in the air. He glanced down and caught her eye, smiling and nodding in determination. She nodded back.
Blaine looked back up, eyeing the dark dragons with resigned eyes. He ran a hand through his hair and looked around at the armies below. This was a fight for love; he knew that, just as surely as he knew that he was a soldier of love. He was ready to fight to the death, tooth and nail, for their army, for their cause, for his friends. Each of them...each of them had shown him something, had shown him how to live in such a brutal world, and he was not going to let that go without a fight.
It was time for love to prevail, because they'd lost enough already on this journey, and it didn't always come back. No matter what happened at this castle, he was ready for it, because he had his friends by his side. He wasn't alone on this journey, he knew that now, he'd never been alone. As long as there was somebody there in your heart...you were never alone.
He looked down at Santana, walking on Sam's other side and she looked up at him, catching his gaze. They both flashed back to their first interaction at her barn and she smiled, looking back towards the castle.
Santana had grown from a sheltered farm girl who had never seen the world, to a strong, determined woman fighting to protect it. She knew that this could be her final hour, but she would rather die fighting for a world of hope, than live hiding in a world of chaos. She'd started her journey seeking adventure, seeking a sense of belonging in the world.
She'd found it, here, with these people around her. People underestimated how important a bond could be. People thought too highly of money, and work, and health, but it was people that were most important, it always had been. Each bond you made, each person you met, was like a rope that tied you together. As your friendship grew, the rope became thicker and thicker, until you knew that it wasn't going to break, no matter how long it became, or how far away the other person was, it wasn't going to break.
Yeah, Santana reasoned, ropes got tangled sometimes, but every knot was once straight rope, and if you worked together, you could fix any problem. Only cowards severed the ties completely.
The people around her stood determinedly as Sam halted them all. Each individual's face etched in the same determined line. They were all fighting for something, for somebody. They all brought something to the table, and now it was time to prove that they were a force to be reckoned with.
"This is it." Sam said. "This is our moment."
He turned to face them and saw the faces of his friends looking back at him, giving him strength.
"This is our story." He said. "A story of overcoming the odds even when they're stacked against you, a story of reaching heights you'd never even dared to climb, because you never had somebody there to catch you if you fell, a story of being stronger than you could ever dream. Basically, this is a story of good versus evil, of light versus dark."
Sam pointed over his shoulder at the castle and nodded his head.
"They may outman us, and they may outgun us, but we have them beat in heart!" He said, pounding his chest. "We might not all come back from this battle, but at least we went into it for something worth fighting for. This is the battle that will decide the war, and I know we can do it!"
Rachel took a deep breath and smiled at her fiancé, nodding.
"Because we have bravery on our side." Rachel said, stepping up next to him. "This is a battle for the freedom of all of us, the entire Kingdom! We've all come together, human and animal, to show this King that we are tired of living in the dark! With courage, we can take back the light and make it through this!"
She looked at Sam, smiling.
"And with love." He said, hugging her tightly. He pulled back and looked up at the sky at where Blaine was smiling down at them from his perch on the Ice Dragon. "And friendship!" He yelled. Blaine nodded, thanking him.
"And determination!" Blaine yelled, looking down at Santana. He turned to look at Quinn, sitting atop the Fire Dragon. "And hope."
She smiled at him and thanked him for the acknowledgement.
"And reliability!" Santana cried, reaching over and squeezing Brittney's hand. The blonde girl squeezed back and then looked over her shoulder at Mercedes.
"Compassion." She smiled at her and Mercedes blushed, hugging her quickly and turning to find Puck.
"And strength, inside and out." She held him close to her, treasuring what few moments they might've had left.
Puck looked at Tina over Mercedes's back and nodded politely.
"Faith." He said.
"Trust." Tina added, reaching over and holding Marley's hand.
Marley smiled at her and reached over for Kurt's hand.
"And leadership."
"Wisdom and sincerity too." Quinn said from atop her dragon. "Because Kitty and Finn are here with us, fighting, just like Bruce, and just like everybody else that we lost on this journey. This is a war for the living, and the dead. This is a war we can't afford to lose."
"We're an army of love!" Blaine said. "So let's show them just how powerful that is!"
"Soldiers ready!" Sam yelled and raised his sword in the air.
There was a loud triumphant battle cry as the citizens of Ostvale, Violetedge, Fayhaven and Starryville raised their weapons. Flower the deer stood strong with the Three Bears and several other animals near the wolf pack, and the dragons roared from the air above them.
"United we stand! Divided we fall, but from this point onwards, we are not alone! We never were! This is it! Our final chapter! Let's do this!"
"What are you thinking?" The Queen asked, not nervous, not even intrigued, but cold and calculated as she stepped up next to her husband on the top of the largest battlement atop the castle.
"That this little nuisance is coming to an end." The King laughed and glanced over his shoulder at where Clyde and Fiona stood scowling. "Looks like you might just get to say hello to your offspring once more."
"They won't make it that far." Clyde snapped, glaring out from beneath the scar that had marred his perfect features.
He and his wife stepped forwards, staring out at the oncoming army.
"Dragons!" He roared. "Attack!"
All of the Elite members of the army who stood strong atop the parapets braced themselves as the five black dragons sped past, whipping up a veritable windstorm as they did.
"You underestimate them." Another cold voice drawled, laced with venom.
Clyde whipped around, glaring daggers at the man standing further from the rest of them. Fiona stepped between the two.
"I don't remember anybody asking your opinion Piper." She said coldly.
"Nobody did Fiona. But if you'd rather I left, than I could happily work alongside the children." The Piper said smoothly.
"Whose side are you on Piper?" Clyde snarled.
"My own." He said. "As I see it now, we have power. Power wins war, but those children have some element to them that I don't understand. That I can't seem to understand. Do you know how many escaped me Clyde? Five."
"None escaped me." Clyde scoffed, tossing his hair.
"You also did little more than scare them into becoming better fighters after a band of wild animals sent you scampering away. Tell me, how many scars did you leave on the boy? Did you even recognize your daughter? Your son?"
"Shut up!"
"And how many scars did he leave on you Clyde?" The Piper snarled.
"Enough!" The King roared.
Clyde snapped back into place, but the Piper sent a slow glare at the King before taking a step back as another figure stalked forwards, cackling madly, a crazed look in his eyes and scars creating a hideous mask all over his body.
"I've got a lot to do! Much to do today!" He giggled. "Have to kill her. Finally going to kill her! Thought she could get away, her and her little boyfriend." He stopped giggling abruptly and roared.
"Savannah, control him." The Queen drawled and Savannah snickered, stepping forwards and pulling her brother backwards.
"They are dangerous though, your highness." Savannah said. "Real dangerous."
"I killed one of them no problem." Riker laughed, stepping forwards. "And I'll gladly do it again, just as soon as I get out on that battlefield."
"I killed one too..." The Piper said. "But they are stronger now. Bigger! Braver! Smarter. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose, whereas we have little to gain and everything to lose. We have to be prepared to deal with loss."
"Loss!" The King laughed. "Me, the King! The strongest combatant in the entire Kingdom! You expect me to lose to a child?" He laughed again.
"I expect you might." The Piper said.
The King snapped his jaw closed and looked up at the Piper.
"If you weren't an ally right now, I would kill you myself."
"Do it." He laughed. "Save them the trouble."
"What do you propose than Piper?" The Queen asked, sounding curious for the first time.
"I propose we stay in the castle." He shrugged, turning away.
"What?" Riker shrieked.
"There isn't a doubt in my mind that those kids won't make it past your army and into the castle. We are this side's strongest warriors, and if we're spread thin throughout the battlegrounds, who will protect the King?"
"I don't need protecti-"
"Then send us out into the fields." The Piper turned back around, locking eyes with the King.
There was a moment of tense silence as the two men stared one another down. Finally, without moving his eyes, the King spoke.
"Spread out within the castle. Let nobody through. If we're lucky, this battle will be over without any of us lifting a finger."
"And if we're not?" The Queen asked, strolling to the side of the battlement and looking down at where a wolf was ripping out the throat of one of their soldiers.
"Let hell have mercy on their souls."
Quinn dug down low on the Fire Dragon's back as he flipped forwards through the air overtop of one of the black dragons. She dug her knees in and let her upper body flip upside down as she whipped her bow from over her shoulder, firing an arrow straight down into the wing of the enemy.
The other dragon roared and clamped down hard on the Fire Dragon's tail. He roared as his opponent whipped its neck around, spinning him haphazardly through the air.
"Hold on!" He yelled up to Quinn, but she was slipping.
"Blaine!" She yelled as she was pitched off of the dragon and through the air.
Blaine pressed tightly to the Ice Dragon's back as they sped towards her.
"Flip over!" Blaine yelled and the Ice Dragon obliged.
Hanging upside down, Blaine locked his knees and held his hands down. Quinn grabbed them and used her momentum to keep spinning letting go as Blaine flew past her again.
"Thunder!" He yelled before the Ice Dragon full body tackled a dark dragon.
"Gotcha!" The Thunder Dragon swooped in low under Quinn and she landed firmly on his neck. Without missing a beat, she fired off another arrow into the mouth of a dragon charging straight for him.
The dragon howled and went down, crashing into the ground and crushing several soldiers beneath its massive body.
"Marley!" Brittney turned, yelling towards the brunette who lay directly in the dragon's path. Marley turned to face the oncoming body, shooting her hands out and sending a wave of power towards the dragon, slowing its path.
She gritted her teeth as several soldiers closed in on her other side and then swung her arms upwards, flipping the dragon's dead body over her head and smashing it into the opponents on her other side.
"Thanks!" She turned to Brittney and she nodded but gasped as Marley suddenly shot her arms out, sending Brittney flying backwards out of the path of the massive club of one of the trolls.
Brittney gritted her teeth and ran at the thing's feet, jumping into the air as it slammed the club down at her again. Brittney landed on top of it and the troll lifted the club into the air. Brittney braced herself, balancing atop it until she was tossed into the air above the large enemy's head.
She raised her sword over her head as it looked up at her, narrowing its stupid eyes. It raised its club and swatted at her, trying to knock her out of the sky, but she twisted in midair, arching her back and then flipping her feet up so that the club sailed past her.
She righted herself and drilled her sword through the fiend's forehead.
Immediately the troll began to fall and Brittney tensed her legs, with no alternative but to jump for safety.
"Quinn!" She yelled as the other blonde sailed past and the Thunder Dragon did a one eighty, twisting around and giving Quinn just enough time to grab Brittney's hand.
"Bring her down!" Quinn yelled and the Thunder Dragon nodded, flying low over the enemy soldiers.
Brittney let go of Quinn's hand and hit the ground rolling. She tucked into her shoulder and used her momentum to push herself back to her feet, sweeping her sword out and clashing swords with somebody.
"Kurt?" She looked at him and he disengaged from her.
"You guys have to get inside!" Kurt told her. "We can handle this! Get to the door!"
"It's closed!" Brittney protested.
"I'll get it open." He told her, ducking under a sweeping sword and following through with a slice through the midsection of the offending soldier.
Brittney nodded and ran off through the throng of battlers, and it wasn't long before Kurt found the others. Rachel and Mercedes were back to back, neither looking particularly worn out. Mercedes looking quite comfortable with the new staff Puck had fashioned for her.
"Get to the door!" Kurt yelled to them, jumping in and forming a triangle with them.
"What?" Rachel yelled back.
"I can handle these guys!"
"There are like, hundreds of these guys!" Mercedes protested.
"There are hundreds of us! I'll stay out here, you guys keep going! I've got an army to lead!" Kurt yelled out.
"The door-"
"I'll handle the door!" He yelled impatiently.
The three of them all braced themselves as Blaine managed to knock one of the other dragons out of the sky and it came rolling down in a heap on the ground. Seconds later the Earth Dragon plummeted out of the sky after it.
"No!" Puck growled, running past them.
Kurt peeled off and raced after him as he sped towards the Earth Dragon's body. A troll lumbered over and raised its club high over his head.
"Fuck you! Not today mother fucker!" Puck yelled, whipping the hook from over his back and throwing it through the air. It caught on the troll's bicep and twisted its arm back over its head as Puck ran beneath his feet, tying it tightly to its ankle.
"Puck!" Kurt yelled as the other boy began to scale the rope.
"Busy!" He yelled back, upside down.
The troll roared and tried to shake him off, almost succeeding as Puck's feet dislodged but the boy swung back up and began to crawl further towards its head.
"Kill it, then get to the gates!" Kurt yelled up to him.
"Got it!" He responded.
Kurt nodded and turned away, making eye contact with Sam who was fighting nearby.
"You hear that?" He asked.
"What'll you do?" Sam yelled back.
They both paused as another huge thud echoed across the battlefield indicating Puck's success.
"Lead my army!" He responded.
"Okay. Who have you seen?"
"Everybody but the mages, the archers and Santana." He responded.
"I'll get Santana." Sam said, pointing through the throng of enemies at where several were clumped in a circle around her, clearing pinpointing her as a great threat. "Tina went to find Marley like, three seconds ago."
Two wolves leapt into the action near Santana suddenly, and as Sam joined in, they made quick work of the small crowd.
"We're getting to the door!" He told her and she nodded, not questioning his authority, trusting him and the plan completely. "We need to get through. We take out the Elite soldiers, the rest won't matter." He said firmly as they reached the door, where much of the fighting appeared to be taking place.
Santana and Sam broke through the ranks of enemy soldiers and turned to fight alongside Brittney, Rachel, Mercedes and Puck as a third dark dragon fell from the sky.
"How do you know they're inside?" Santana asked.
"Because if they were out here, they would have come for us first." He said.
A thick line of magic shot through the enemies suddenly, forcing a small gap between them. Marley and Tina held hands, pushing the soldiers away as the mages made their way through.
The sky darkened momentarily as two dragons swooped in, criss-crossing past one another as Blaine and Quinn hopped off.
"What's Kurt's big plan?" Blaine asked, coming up behind Sam and shooting an arrow past his ear at a soldier who had gotten too close.
Suddenly one of the trolls stopped, almost directly in front of the door and wobbled, pitching backwards towards them.
"Scatter!" Puck yelled, and they did, watching as the troll's massive head totally annihilated the gate. Kurt stood behind it with several of her men, all holding a thick length of rope. A makeshift tripwire.
"Go!" He yelled.
"They'll follow us..." Blaine realized uncertainly as he backed through the hole, shooting an arrow through at the soldiers who were lurching towards them.
"No they won't." Marley said. "Just keep going, don't turn back, I'll cover the door."
"Marley?" Tina asked, but Rachel grabbed her arm and pulled her forwards.
Marley flexed her hands and let out a ripple of energy that formed a barrier over the hole. She grinned as magic filled her eyes, giving them a powerful yellow colour as she lowered her hands and whipped out her daggers.
"Come and get me." She scowled.
"Keep going!" Sam yelled as they entered the huge lobby. There was a stairwell in the middle leading up to the second story. Sam led the way forwards, the others running in a scattered formation behind him.
"No. Stay." A voice cackled and they all paused as Coal stepped out of a shadowed corner of the room.
"He's mine." Mercedes said stepping forwards and raising her staff defensively.
"Oh, I don't think any of you are going to go much further." Savannah laughed stepping out from the other corner.
"No, Savannah, I think you're right." Riker laughed, slowly descending the stairs between them. "There's a new leader to this team, and you're not getting past me that easily."
Riker paused as somebody tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned and Puck drop-kicked him in the face so hard that he rolled down the stairs.
"It was pretty easy. Actually." Puck snarled, stalking down the stairs towards him.
Puck looked up at the others.
"Go!" He yelled.
"Right." Sam nodded, running past Riker as he scrambled to his feet.
Riker swung his sword through the air as Quinn ran past and she shrieked, but Puck reached his enemy just in time to counter the blow and kick him backwards.
"You killed my sister." Puck said. "And I've got some serious anger issues."
Riker growled, rising to his feet.
"Let's see if we can work those out than, eh?" He spat, wiping blood from his lip.
Puck heard a whistling in his ear and turned, yelling in surprise as Savannah's knives swept across his cheek. She grinned and stalked towards him, licking his blood off of the blade. Puck crinkled his nose in disgust.
"Two against one in this cat and mouse game. Looks like the kitty just became the-"
"Shut up you rat." Tina snapped, turning around on the stairs and sending Savannah flying through the air with her powers.
Savannah shrieked as she hit the ground and slid along it.
Tina turned back to the others, nodding.
"Go. I guess I'll take her on."
"Alright." Rachel nodded, running past Sam and grabbing his hand to pull him forwards.
"Where to?" Blaine called out.
"There!" Quinn pointed towards an open door directly in front of the first set of stairs which opened into a spiral staircase. "Go up, that's where the King will be!"
"Right." Brittney nodded, taking the lead and speeding forwards. She hit the steps and took them two at a time, not bothering to pause before whipping open the door at the top. She heard the whistling of an oncoming attack and slid to her knees, nose barely missing the cold metal of the Pied Piper's flute as it swung overhead.
Brittney reached up and kicked the villain in the knees, sending him stumbling backwards as the others filed out behind her.
"You again!" Quinn gasped, stepping forwards.
"You?" The Piper blinked at her. "I killed you! She said you weren't dead but I...I know I killed you!"
"Well you didn't do a very good job." Quinn scoffed, stepping forwards, bow firmly in hand. "And this time, I can move."
She half turned to the others.
"Keep going." She said.
"Quinn, the last time we fought him, there were five of us fighting, and we still didn't win!" Rachel hissed.
"Well now I'm here." Brittney said, stepping up next to her best friend. "I'm not gonna let you go through this alone. Not again."
"Shouldn't Blaine stay with her?" Sam asked.
"No...I've got my own grudges to settle." Blaine said.
"Oh yeah..." Sam frowned. "Them."
"Get going!" Brittney yelled, ducking low as the Piper tired of their conversation and pitched his flute at her head. It boomeranged back to him as Santana whipped open another door revealing a second spiral staircase leading further up towards the tallest tower's common room.
"Go, go!" She beckoned them forwards and Blaine went through first, stepping up into the common room and looking around warily. He knew they were close, they had to be.
The other three filtered out behind him and they all slowly stepped forwards, arms on their weapons, making no sudden moves. Two sets of stairs on either side of the room led to a landing, where another set of stairs led all the way up to a trap door in the ceiling.
"You're just being picked off, aren't you?" Fiona laughed, standing atop the landing above them. "'Oh no, Kurt! Marley! Mercedes! Puck! Tina! Quinn! Brittney!' And now what are you? Four useless kids who couldn't stand to stay and fight like soldiers." She laughed. "No matter, this is where you all die."
Blaine saw red and stepped forwards, but Santana pulled him backwards by his shirt as Clyde lunged from the shadows, almost skewering his son.
"Damn!"
"Watch it!" Santana said, stepping up next to him. "You helped me deal with my parents, now I'll help you deal with yours."
"What about me?" Rachel asked, glaring up at her mother as Blaine locked eyes with his father.
Santana turned to her.
"Sam needs you. You've got bigger fish to fry." Santana said.
Rachel nodded and Sam grabbed her hand, pulling her towards one of the landings. Clyde lunged towards them but Santana stepped in the way, elbowing him in the arm and sending his sword clattering along the ground. She swept her sword at him and he back hand-springed out of the way, back towards his sword.
Fiona stepped in front of the pair as they neared the top, but Blaine had sprinted up the second staircase and grabbed her from behind, falling backwards and kicking her up over his head towards the other side of the room.
She screamed in rage and flew at him, literally flew, using magic, but he twisted out of the way and elbowed her in the back sending her back to the ground.
"Get going. End this war." He told them and Sam and Rachel nodded, running up the last staircase and knocking the trap door open.
They could hear the fighting continuing beneath them as they stepped out onto the top of the castle. A massive circular bricked in disk was, for better or worse, where their journey was to end.
The King and Queen stood on the opposite side from Sam and Rachel, looking smug.
"I'm surprised that you've made it this far." The King said. "I honestly had trouble believing a locked gate wouldn't be enough to confound you to death."
"We're not dumb...it's a gate, are you serious? How did you not know we'd get through?" Rachel laughed.
"I suspected my soldiers would be enough!"
"The same soldiers that we've been fighting throughout this entire journey?" Rachel asked. "Yes, we aren't used to them by now."
"Are you asking to die, you insolent brat?" The Queen asked, stepping forwards. "I see why your parents gave you up so easily."
"You were going to try and kill me anyways. And thank God they did, because if they hadn't I would've had to grow up with you." Rachel narrowed her eyes and stepped forwards as well.
"Congratulations my boy." The King laughed. "It seems you have the privilege of first watching my wife destroy yours before I rip you to pieces."
"I'm not going to let her fight by herself." Sam said stepping forwards.
"Unfortunately, that isn't your decision." The King sneered, raising his hands.
A huge beam of dark energy shot down out of the sky, forming a smaller ring within the cement circle of the room, cutting Sam and the King off from their respective others. Sam pounded against the energy wall, but to no avail.
"It's fine Sam!" Rachel nodded, turning to him. "Save your energy. He'll be angry after I kill his wife."
"Enough!" The Queen shrieked. "It's time to die!"
"Yeah." Rachel nodded, turning back to face her opponent. "But it isn't mine."
Puck, Mercedes and Tina shifted their weight back and forth as they stood in the front foyer, staring evenly at Riker, Coal and Savannah. Tina held her daggers at the ready, channelling her power into her fingers. Mercedes pulled her new staff off of her back and held it firmly in her hands. Puck trembled with rage, gripping and re-gripping his sword as he stared down his sister's murderer.
"Hey Puck, why didn't your sister come to the battle?" Riker asked, clearly hoping to rile him up.
"Oh she did." Puck said evenly.
Riker's cocky grin faltered.
"I killed her."
"Shut up!" Tina said tensely.
"No, it's okay." Puck said, stepping forwards and locking eyes with Riker. "He thinks it makes him strong to overwhelm an innocent human being. He thinks it makes him brave to take the life of good people. He thinks it makes him a hero!" Puck raised his hands extravagantly and turned his back to Riker. "But it doesn't-"
"-make you a hero at all." Quinn stared the Piper down as Brittney stood at her side, sword drawn, bouncing from foot to foot.
"What are you talking about?" The Piper took a nervous step backwards. "This isn't an issue of right or wrong! This is an issue of the strong and the weak, and darkness holds true power!"
"You're wrong." Brittney shook her head. "Darkness-"
"-holds power, you're right. But there's nothing true about it." Blaine shook his head, glaring at his parents.
"Then do tell, son." His father spat. "What is true power?"
"Light." Santana answered for him.
"Light?" The Queen barked a laugh. "You think the sun can help you here?" She raised her hands to the sky.
"Not that light." Rachel shook her head. "Light is made up of bravery, and love, and friendship and determination and everything else that we stand for. It is everything that is good in this world, and good always triumphs over evil. And you know what that means for you?"
Riker lunged forwards to stab at Puck's exposed back, but Puck whipped around and countered the blow.
"Death." Puck finished.
Savannah screamed in frustration and threw her sword at him but Tina reached out and grabbed the sword with her mind, twisting it around and sending it flying back towards the crazy woman.
Savannah's eyes widened and she ducked. When she rose, she was immediately forced backwards as Tina stabbed towards her with her knife. Savannah cried out as a cut opened up on her cheek.
"Coal!" She cried and her brother turned towards her, tackling Tina to the ground. The two of them rolled a considerable distance before he ended up on top, raising his sword into the air to stab through her stomach.
Mercedes arrived then, drop-kicking him in the gut and stepping over Tina towards him with slow, methodical malice.
"Stay away from my friends." She snapped.
"You can't talk to me that-"
Mercedes drop-kicked him upside the face.
"Coal, shut up."
The Piper turned in a slow circle, looking around at Quinn and Brittney as they circled him slowly, eyeing him like he was a piece of meat. The looks in their eyes, it wasn't the same look that he was accustomed to from soldiers, these were looks of fire, not fury, of compassion, not anger, and honestly...nothing had ever looked more powerful.
Quinn fired an arrow at him and he ducked, snapping back to his feet just in time to stagger backwards out of the line of fire from Brittney's sword. He felt Quinn's foot connect with his back and he rolled along the floor, raising his sword just in time to deflect Brittney's sword as it came down towards him.
The Piper jumped to his feet and ran for one of the walls, jumping onto it and planting his foot on it, flipping over Brittney's head. She turned around and gasped as the Piper cracked his flute into her jaw.
They all paused as the Piper's magic set in.
Only...it didn't.
"What?" The Piper backed away.
He gasped as Quinn's arrow buried itself in his back.
"Marley told you already, love is stronger than any dark magic. Our love, our light, is so strong, that your power won't do a thing." Quinn said. She reached out and grabbed his flute in her bare hand, then turned and pitched it out the window, watching as the glass shattered.
The Piper growled and grabbed her, shoving her towards the broken window. She yelled and reached out to steady herself, but the glass cut deeply into her left arm. She turned, grabbing her arm and panting hard.
"Hey! That's not okay!" Brittney turned and launched her leg forwards, kicking the Piper's legs out from under him. "You're done."
With that, Brittney twisted around and roundhouse kicked the Piper across the face, snapping his neck, and ending their battle.
Rachel ran at the Queen preparing a sideswipe, but the woman raised her arms into the air, taking Rachel with her. She was fighting a mage, she realized with a start.
"Rachel!" Sam yelled as she began to free-fall, but Rachel had it handled.
She dropped her shoulder to the ground as she hit and popped right back to her feet, lunging with her sword and managing to cut the Queen's forearm deeply. With a cry of shock, the Queen fired a bolt of what appeared to be dark energy directly into Rachel's face, sending her flying back into the barrier.
She hit it hard and gasped as she slid down the side. Sam ran up to the side, as close to her as he could get.
"Come on! You can do this!" He said.
She knew that the woman had burnt her neck with her power, but Rachel didn't care. She staggered right back to her feet.
The woman glared at her, sweeping her hands through the air and sending out literal blades of dark energy towards the younger girl. Vertical, horizontal, angled in between, two at once.
"Nobody can best the power of the darkness child! Give up while you can!"
Rachel turned to look at Sam nervously but gasped as a blade sliced through her shoulder, taking a gash of skin with it and sending blood spilling down her arm.
"The blades are real?" She blinked and swallowed nervously.
It was time to do or die, and Rachel had no desire to die.
Puck twisted away from Riker's sword and kicked him in the stomach. Riker grabbed Puck's leg and twisted, but Puck used the momentum to bring his other foot up, kick Riker's gut again and then land it when his opponent fell backwards.
Riker jumped to his feet and spun around swinging his sword at Puck's head. He twisted his neck out of the way but the blade sliced along his cheek, digging a thin line out and causing blood to spill down his face. Riker then pulled his sword back and stabbed it towards Puck's face.
Puck took advantage of the moment to lunge towards Riker's middle, but both men managed to just barely avoid the stabs, resulting in deep cuts along Puck's shoulder blade and Riker's stomach.
Riker was panicking internally. He'd never been matched before, and he wasn't sure he could come out of this on top in a fair physical fight. The only way for him to win was through mental warfare.
"You know, your sister didn't even scream when I stabbed her to death." He taunted, taking a few steps back.
"Shut up Riker." Puck warned him, stalking forwards.
"Then she tried to be a hero, and look where that got her! Dead on the bottom of the ocean. How was that funeral? Good luck finding that body!" He laughed.
A sudden cry of pain caused him to turn his head.
He watched as Savannah slid off of Tina's dagger and onto the floor. Tina sheathed her weapon and collapsed to her knees, blood trickling from a stab into her thigh and a wound on her forehead, but looking very much alive.
When Riker turned back to Puck, the other boy was inches away.
"I know you thought it was smart, to make me mad." Puck hissed, flicking his wrist, slicing across Riker's hand and sending Riker's sword clattering along the ground.
"I know you thought it'd screw me up." Puck shoved Riker to the ground and the red haired man stared up at him, suddenly nervous.
"But it wasn't. That doesn't surprise me though, because you're an idiot."
Riker narrowed his eyes and sprang at Puck, grabbing his shoulders and sending them both tumbling to the ground. Riker flipped over Puck's head, and then Puck flipped on top of him. Riker used the last of his strength to push himself on top once more, grabbing Puck's neck and slamming his head into the concrete.
Puck winced once in pain but then smiled up at Riker.
"See? An idiot." On that, he stabbed his sword straight up through Riker's stomach.
Blaine glared at his mother. She fired another fireball at him and he jumped up another stair, firing an arrow back at her as the fire sizzled against the ground beneath him. She waved a hand through the air and the arrow veered off to the side.
"You can't dodge me forever." She snapped, summoning two fireballs and sending them flying towards him one after another. He dodged one but the other one hit him in the arm and caught his left sleeve on fire.
"Ah!" He yelled as it burnt his skin. He grabbed the fabric and ripped it off, dropping it and staring as the skin on his arm burnt. He turned to face his mother and yelped as another ball of fire almost hit him in the face but he bent backwards.
He gasped in pain as his mother's dagger stabbed into his right thigh and he bolted upright again, grabbing the hilt and ripping it out again, almost collapsing to the ground.
"You can't match my power." His mother smiled, and soon your friend will be finished as well. She turned to look over her shoulder but gasped as one of Blaine's arrows stabbed into her chest.
"I'll finish you in a second." He said, running past her down the stairs.
Mercedes smacked her staff against Coal's face again as he clambered backwards up the stairs.
"How are you still moving?" He gasped.
She was covered in blood. Literally. There were small scrapes covering her body, but nothing had hit deep. Coal's aim was off, he was too wild, too erratic, and it was proving to be his undoing.
"Give up Coal." Mercedes said. "You can't win this."
"I'll never give up to somebody like you," He eyed his sword lying on the steps just behind her.
And then he used the N word.
Mercedes blinked.
"Oh no you didn't."
She turned around to look at Puck and Tina.
"Oh no he didn't."
Coal lunged for his sword and Mercedes whipped around, swinging her staff at his face. His neck snapped back and he fell to the ground, sliding down the stairs, dead, once and for all.
"Yeah..." Puck scratched the back of his head. "He did."
"What are you going to do now little girl?" Clyde snapped, glaring at Santana. She was panting, and bleeding down her right arm. Her biceps felt like lead, and she could barely stand, she was so tired out. Clyde was bleeding down the side of his face and she'd cut him pretty good up the leg, but otherwise he was fine.
"You should know better than to mess with the big boys. The battlefield is no place for a woman like you." He grabbed her around the throat and shoved her into the wall. She felt the back of her head connect with the concrete. Her swords clattered to the ground and Clyde grinned evilly.
"Fuck…you…" Santana spat blood in his face and he scowled and wiped his hand against it.
Clyde wiped his hand against the wall to rid it of blood and started to answer, but his face suddenly contorted and he screamed in pain. Santana turned her head to see an arrow sprouting from the back of his hand.
"This is no place for a woman? Then how about you fight me? Man to man."
Clyde turned to look over his shoulder, glaring furiously. Blaine stood poised, another arrow already notched in his bow, eyes aflame with carnal fury.
"How sweet, trying to protect your girlfriend?" Clyde punched Santana in the stomach and she crumpled to the ground as he turned to face the new arrival.
"Santana doesn't need me to protect her." Blaine smirked dryly. "She's pretty much done your worthless self in already. I'm just speeding the process up."
"Worthless?" Clyde's voice rose several disbelieving octaves.
"Worthless." Blaine spat. He and Clyde circled one another, stepping slowly and deliberately. "You're nothing but a pawn that the King uses to get what he wants."
"I'm his right hand man!" Clyde roared.
"You know what that makes you?" Blaine narrowed his eyes. "The best of the worst. You still suck."
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about you stupid child!" Clyde growled. Blaine smirked.
"Did I hit a nerve?" He asked.
Clyde shrieked angrily and charged. Blaine sidestepped and unleashed another arrow into his father's shoulder. He bellowed in pain and wrenched it out, blood spilling out into his heavy clothing. He opened his mouth to scream something but Santana's swords both suddenly appeared through his chest.
"Ope, no I think that was a blood vessel." She said as he tumbled to the ground. "No place for a woman my ass..."
She reached down and drew out both of her swords, turning at Blaine's side to look up at where his mother was standing on the staircase, looking stunned and, for the first time, afraid.
"You should've killed me when you had the chance." Blaine whispered harshly.
"I tried." She whispered honestly.
He drew an arrow and she raised her hands shakily to defend herself. He fired it and she moved to block it but it stabbed through her hand instead.
"What?" She shrieked.
"Your fear is making you panic. You lived your life without learning to deal with pain, and grief." Santana said. "Now that you're not on top. That you're the underdog. You have nothing. You relied on power, we rely on heart."
Blaine drew another arrow and fired it towards her. She didn't have time to put her hands up this time. She was dead before she hit the ground, just like his Nurse had been.
Rachel braced her feet against the ground taking off towards the Queen. She dove into the air over one beam, then landed, rolling under the next. She rolled to her feet and cartwheeled sideways to squeeze between two more beams and then hand-springed over another horizontal attack.
"Wh-what?" The Queen stammered. "I'll kill you!"
She refused to let up sending a volley of dark energy blades at her. She ducked and weaved through them and ended up panting and glaring through her bangs at the older woman.
"Even if you do, there are hundreds of men and women down below that will kick your ass for me." She prepared her sword and rolled forwards under a beam, sweeping the blade out and catching the Queen's shin. The woman howled in pain and fury.
"You're dead!" She yelled, face turning several shades redder, vibrating in fury.
"Not yet I'm not." Rachel said seriously, standing and lunging with her sword. It missed her head by inches, ripping a small chunk out of her ear.
The Queen lunged at her, sending a dark slash her way before following it through with a lithe sword that she'd stashed in her belt loop for emergencies. Rachel leapt over the slash and rolled under the swing of the sword, swinging her leg around and tripping the woman with her feet.
"I'm faster than you are. I have more training than you do. I have more to live for, than you do. You'll have to do better than that." Rachel snapped, stabbing her sword down at her. The Queen hastily rolled out of the way, barely avoiding a headshot. She lunged with the sword and caught Rachel by the lower arm. She wrenched her arm away in pain and hastily unleashed another stab into the Queen's sword arm.
Rachel stepped away but the Queen reached out and grabbed her ankle, wrenching her to the ground. Rachel's chin hit the cement hard and she felt her teeth rattle. She kicked the Queen hastily in the mouth and rolled out of the way as her opponent buried her sword in the ground beside her head.
Rachel pivoted and grabbed her sword, throwing it through the air at the Queen. It sunk into her stomach and the royal woman stared up at her in shock before falling to her knees. Rachel stepped forwards and roundhouse-kicked her across the face, before the older woman collapsed to the ground.
"Sam!" Rachel turned towards him. "I did it!"
"Rachel look out!" Sam pointed and she turned. A huge burst of power caught her all over her body. She resisted it for only a moment before the sheer ferocity of the attack sent her flying off the castle.
The battles are almost over, and the only thing standing in the way is the King. It's time to nut up or shut up, but with Rachel gone, how can Sam find the courage to keep going? It's Sam against the King, and coming up is one of the most heart breaking scenes you will ever read. Review!