After Nathan revealed Leina in front of Elina, she went into complete shock that her sister, whom she adored so much, has defected from her family to join the Rebel Army. Unable to continue fighting in her presence, Elina goes down to her knees unsure of what to do.
"Why would onee-chan fight against her own family? Everything we did was for the best for her."
"It is more like it's best for the family instead of others and Leina happens to be with the others. If Leina is on our side, it shows that there is something wrong with your sister's rule."
"Shut up!" Elina attacks Nathan again for criticizing her family, but was easily disarmed.
"If you don't believe me, why don't you tell me why she is with the Rebel Army?"
Elina finds herself unable to answer the question and remains silent for a brief period. Impatient, because of the battle, Nathan decides to further explain Leina's deception.
"Leina didn't believe the one ruling the Continent was the Claudette she once knew. She believed that the Claudette who helped save Queen's Blade and accepted her title honorable is her sister, but refuses to acknowledge the one who abolished the traditional tournament as well as being merciless to her opponents. She and I both know there is something wrong with her, as she would never be like this without influence. Leina can't get through Claudette by herself, which is why she joined the Rebel Army to increase her chances of getting to her. If you really love your sister, you would help her. Are you going to help her cause and fix your family?"
Elina, still in shock, is still unable to answer. Not wanting to put down Elina any further, Nathan leaves her, but not before turning back one last time.
"Your family is at stake. Remember that." Nathan leaves to provide support for the Rebel Army as Elina sits down confused.
Things are not progressing so far between Annelotte and Aldra as the two continue fighting each other with Dogor and Belphe fighting on Aldra's behalf. Despite the number advantage, Annelotte continues holding her own against Aldra due to her new level of control of her demonic powers, which surprised Aldra early on.
"You may have new control over your powers, but it still doesn't mean you have fully mastered it yet." Belphe shoots flames towards Annelotte, but she blocks the flames using her demonic energy.
Wanting to teach Aldra an example of her powers, she mainly focuses on her two helpers to make sure that they don't interfere. Defenseless against Annelotte's strike, the two demons crashed through a layer of the castle walls, incapacitating them from the fight, leaving Aldra to fight on her own. Unable to retaliate against Annelotte, Aldra shows fear at what her next move will be as all she is fighting with is her gondolier's paddle. Annelotte then attacks Aldra and broke her paddle in half, leaving her virtually defenseless. Aldra was then knocked down and soon begins staring at Annelotte's eyes, feeling that there is something familiar about them.
"Where have I seen those eyes before?" Aldra wonders as Annelotte stares at her confused.
She then had a flashback, remembering that she had a baby sister when she was young, whom she was separated from and had been looking for since then. This led her to the Queen's Blade tournament where she became Queen to live a worriless life. The two eyes she was staring at were the same eyes as her sister and finally realize that Annelotte is who she was looking for all along.
"Sister. It's really you." Annelotte becomes silent after hearing Aldra.
"Sister? You said that before, but I didn't believe it. I was born an only child."
"You are wrong. You and I have been separated as a newborn. I recognize you, because not only do you have the same demonic energy, but you also have the same eyes. I have been looking for you since we separated and to finally found you after all these years, I have never been more happy since I married."
Seeing that she was telling the truth, Annelotte withdrew her sword. "I am also happy to know that I have a sister, but also sad at the same time. We are fighting on different sides, what are we going to do about this?"
"I don't know, but even if you are my sister, there is no way I am trading my life with my husband to be with you."
"That is practically the reason why you joined the Queen's Army right? You feared that the Rebel Army would take your husband away and was convinced that the Queen's Army would protect him."
"So you do know me. Another reason why I joined the Queen's Army was because I saw you acting rude towards a girl from my hometown. How could you do that?"
"I did no such thing. I am quite attached to kids myself so it will be impossible for me to do such a thing."
"That is not what I saw. I swear that it was you who committed the act as I still remember clearly."
"There is only one explanation for this. Isn't it possible that there could be a shape shifter in the army? I was told that Mirim fought her before she escaped."
Aldra then remembers that person. "From what you are saying, it sounds like Melona was the one being rude to that girl."
"Even now, I don't even know where you hometown is so I couldn't have done it. Don't you think that it is also a bit strange?"
"It makes sense since I didn't feel the same presence from her. I really have joined the wrong side."
"Then let's make it right again as sisters." Annelotte offers her hand to Aldra, which she happily accepts, although Belphe and Dogor aren't so happy about it.
"There is no way I am going to let you two ruin our plans to eat the summoner." Belphe said after he woke up.
Aldra becomes surprised. "Eating the summoner? You mean me?"
"We have been secretly plotting to eat you since the moment we became your helpers, but seeing that you are taking a different direction, we have no choice, but to rush our plans. Let's see how you taste." Dogor said as both begin charging.
Seeing Aldra defenseless, Annelotte awakens her demonic powers and kills Belphe and Dogor with one strike of her sword, saving her sister.
"Trust no full-blooded demons Aldra. They will only turn against you eventually." Annelotte warned, which Aldra agrees.
With Aldra on her side, the two sisters head back into the castle to support the Rebel Army.
Meanwhile, Mirim and Ymir continue their own battle with neither gaining the upper hand.
Ymir becomes impatient with her desire for Mirim to activate her armor. "Why aren't you activating your armor? It is the only way for you to beat me."
"I was told to believe in my own strength. This armor gave me powers, but I can't function as effectively if it starts vibrating. I won't let you win."
"Then I will activate my own armor and see how you deal with it." Ymir's armor soon starts vibrating, but because of the intensity, she is not able to fight back as well as she hoped.
Seeing Ymir incapacitated by her own armor, Mirim charges and attacks her, gaining the upper hand as Ymir desperately tries to defend herself. After knocking down Ymir, Mirim saw that she wasn't able to get back up.
"Can't take this anymore. I've got to leave the armor." Ymir suddenly shape shifts away and reveals to Mirim for a second time that Ymir was actually Melona, who tied up the real Ymir as she wanted the prototype armor to herself, but was unable to handle it.
"It looks like I have to retreat for now." Melona tries to escape, but not before being confronted by Airi and Nanael.
"Don't think that you will be able to escape the same way twice." Nanael said as she tosses away the unconscious Laila.
"Airi, you are still my friend right? Could you please let me get out of here?" Melona begs to Airi.
"Don't worry, they will only punish you, rather than kill you, for all the wrong that you have done. I am done siding with the wrong people." Airi tells Melona off, shocking her.
"No way." Melona said, as she becomes frozen from Nanael's Holy Milk and was brought up to Heaven once again to report her capture.
With technological advantage of the Rebel Army, they soon began putting the Queen's Army on the defensive, pushing them back into the castle as they make their way through.
Before the Rebel Army could make their way through, Claudette pushes them back as reinforcements came behind her, but was not enough to get them out of the castle as fighting intensifies. Before Claudette can do some real damage to the Rebel Army, the now awakened Leina and Nathan confronted her.
"I see that you have returned Leina. It's hard to believe that you would turn against your family for these fools who are trying to destroy it."
"They are not trying to destroy the family. That job has been accomplished by you, because of your tyrannical rule."
"It is thanks to me that the Vance family lives at the highest position of the Continent. In order to maintain it, I had to abolish the Queen's Blade tournament or the same thing will happen again."
"You just wasted almost the entire tradition of the continent in hopes just to keep your family name alive? Many people had that dream and all you did was demolish it. What happen to your honor and nobility?" Nathan asked Claudette.
"You should know that I would never choose anything else over my family, but Leina chose you guys. It looks like I have no choice." Claudette uses her lighting to attack the duo, but Nathan blocks the attack with his sword as Leina attempts to strike her, but was blocked.
As the two were battling Claudette, they sensed an evil presence around her, confirming that something is indeed influencing her from her usual self. Legolas takes notice and immediately recognizes the presence as he stares at her ring finger.
"Nathan! Leina! Claudette is wearing the One Ring! If someone puts on that ring, they will give in to the worst side of themselves unless it can be removed!"
"You heard the man. We have to remove the ring now!" Nathan charges again, but Claudette evades his attempt as well as Leina's.
"Like I will ever let you remove something so powerful." Claudette said as the ring continues to unleash her dark side.
Legolas attempted to get the ring himself from Claudette, but she unleashes her lightning to create debris, separating the three from Legolas as well as the rest of the Rebel Army. Alleyne questions Legolas about the ring.
"I thought the One Ring was destroyed in your world. How did it end up in the Queen's possession?"
"The Orcs must have made it in an attempt to revive Sauron, but Claudette must have gotten after it was finished. This would explain why the orcs were raiding the towns here. They want the ring that she has. We have to get it or else she might even have the power to control the orcs." Legolas shot down two more enemy soldiers.
"If it is the ring you want, leave it to me."
Alleyne begins jumping on top of the debris and manages to reach Leina and Nathan and sets her eyes on Claudette. Alleyne throws her spear towards Claudette, but was easily knocked off by her blade. She then attempt to restrain her from behind, but one of her soldiers attempted to shoot an arrow to Alleyne, ehich she dodged, but gave Claudette enough time to strike Alleyne away, sending her crashing down to the floor.
"Instructor!" Nowa screamed as she tries to reach her, but was too preoccupied by enemy forces.
Realizing the desperation of the Rebel Army to get the ring, Claudette loses consciousness and allows the ring to consume her completely. When her eyes open, she begins speaking in a menacing male voice and immediately recognizes Legolas.
"You and Aragorn always try to have me killed, but I now I am alive consuming the host I am controlling right now. Once her body is consumed completely, my original body will be restored again and thus reborn once more."
"Sauron…" Legolas said.
Leina turns to Legolas. "Legolas, do you know what is happening to Claudette?"
"Sauron has taken over her body completely and the ring is consuming her! Once that happens, Sauron will revive completely! The ring must be removed now!"
"I don't think so." Sauron raises his sword and a sound was heard.
"That doesn't sound good." Nathan said the obvious.
The Rebel Army outside of the castle begins feeling vibration on the ground, signaling that a large army is approaching. Realizing that the orcs are coming from the forest, Legolas alerts everyone.
"A large orc army is coming! Nathan, have your gunners turn their weapons around before they reach the castle!"
"Understood. Gunners, turn your weapons the other way! It is only a matter of time before the orcs show up!"
The gunners did as they are told an attempted to turn the medium guns around. As the orcs came into sight, the gunners desperately attempted to shoot through the army and despite taking out many, they were not able to secure their position as the orcs begin scattering them.
"It looks like we were too late. We have to continue fighting or we'll be trapped in this castle." Alleyne said.
"We have to scatter now!" Nathan disbands his group and has the first platoon to defend the castle from the orcs despite being heavily outnumbered.
The Queen's Army, on the other hand, was relieved to have back up and decided to put the Rebel Army on the defensive. With no way out, all of the Rebel Army decides to fight to the death, killing as many as they can before they themselves are wiped out.
"What is the army strength of the orcs?" Nathan asked Legolas.
"About 10,000, making the enemy forces three times the size of our own. It looks like Sauron is using his entire force." Legolas responded as he shoots down another orc.
"Looks like we are really going to die here, but there is no way that I am going down without a fight. You thinking the same Legolas?"
"We will fight till the end."
After one hour of heavy fighting, the Rebel Army slowly find themselves overwhelmed as they begin to lose more of their soldiers. Desperate to turn the battle around, Risty attempted to collapse the castle walls surrounding some of the orcs and uses an explosive Nathan gave her. The plan only worked halfway as many of the orcs are crushed by the falling debris and cuts them off from the main forces, but the Uruk-hai used explosives of their own to get through them, similar to the event in the Battle of Helm's Deep. This only causes more casualties to the Rebel Army soldiers who were caught in the explosion.
"Looks like my plan backfired. If fighting to the death is the only way, then I will stick to it." Risty immediately knocked out three orcs and two soldiers of the Queen's Army in a matter of seconds.
When a Rebel Army soldiers was about to kill a Queen's Army soldier, she was saved when one of the orcs stabbed the enemy soldier with a spear, killing her. As she attempts to get up, much to the Queen's Army and the Rebel Army's surprise, the orc kills the injured soldier. Many begin questioning Sauron.
"The age of man will fall, including the Queen's Army. With both armies weakened, I shall conquer them both." Sauron responded as he kills his interrogators.
"But you are our leader! How could you turn against us like this?" Another Queen's Army soldier continues to question him.
"I am a leader of no man. The Queen you know is nothing more than a tool for my resurrection. Once I am revived, no man shall live the day to see this world."
With Claudette's body being consumed by the armor of Sauron, he begins getting involved in the battle, killing soldiers from both sides and only allying with the orcs. With no other option, the rest of the Queen's Army allied themselves with the Rebel Army to fend off Sauron and his orc army. This prompts Elina to snap out of her confusion and fights alongside Leina once again. With both forces combined, the army is no longer on the defensive as they find themselves pushing the orcs away from the castle before they are surrounded. This resulted in another long period of fighting as neither seemed to gain the upper hand. Despite the differences, the Rebel Army has been shown to be protective of some of the former enemy soldiers.
"You okay?" Risty asked Elina after taking down some of the orcs overwhelming her.
"I am fine, but we have to protect the castle." Elina leaves Risty behind to continue fighting.
"You ungrateful brat!" Risty said as she knocks down another orc.
Sauron watches the battle and does not appear fazed as he continues fighting. "What a futile effort the enemy is showing."
The orcs numbers begin to catch up to them and both forces are finally surrounded with no place to run to.
Annelotte turns to Nathan. "I hope you got other plans Nathan or we will all die here."
"I already used up all of the ammo in my head. The only option left is to keep fighting."
"This is the end." Sauron said as he approaches the two leaders.
I am not good at writing fanfiction that involves war since there are many sides to look at in a battle. I have one more chapter to go and once this is done, I am retiring from Queen's Blade fanfic for a while, as it is clear that this isn't as developed as its predecessor, but it was fun. Remember to please vote in the polls for my next project after this.