Another chapter. I know it's a bit short, but my life has been more hectic than usual lately.

I know, excuses, excuses… You don't need to tell me twice. I just know that I'm sick of my life being so stressful, and barely getting any time at all to myself to write. Even as I write this, I'm sitting at the kitchen counter, and my kitchen smells like Italy. :D I love it.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to one of the greatest friends I've had in many years, Leah. *clobberhug* So, thanks to the girl who is probably the only one of the female gender I know who can really kick my butt in a one-on-one fight. *toasts* Here's to multiple ties in wrestling matches, chica. And if you're reading this, please know that I can't wait to visit you in college! Happy late 16th birthday!

Also, before I forget, as most of you are aware, I've changed my username to Juliet'sReplacement, as my Warriors things never took off, so I saw no point in keeping the name.

Responses… as per the usual…

Thunder of Life: Thanks for being a repeat reviewer! *hug* And there's only romance when you use a MICROSCOPE. Really, a magnifying glass, what are you thinking? Though, it should need no more than simple eyeglasses from here on out. X3 Still, thank you so much.
And GODDANGIT, I've STILL not managed to beat When. -.- Whenever I do, when the loading scene thingymabob comes up, it says "ERROR" and I LOSE ALL INFO. Bottom line, that bastard's hard to beat. -_- See ya next time!

Well,I've blabbered on too long. Let's get to the story, yeah?


The fight against the seemingly endless army of Entropic Soldiers was… brutal. It was vicious, harsh, and terrible. It was, in short, everything that made one want to avoid a battle, not to mention simply messy. Only four short minutes into the battle, I was nearly coated in monster gore (Skeletons and the like didn't have blood, so there was a reason I was clean yesterday), and my heart rate was almost dangerously high as I cast light spell after light spell at the creatures. And moments after, they seemed to bulge oddly, and either exploded or imploded.

Usually exploded.

Hence why we were coated from head to toe in… undesirables.

We fought for hours. And gradually, my Mana was dangerously low again, and we were provided that brief, almost nonexistent (yet still welcomed) break between waves. I took the opportunity to plop down on the grass, soaked and messy with monster blood and such. My robe's already ruined enough; this won't make much of a difference, I reasoned bleakly. I reached into one of the few small pouches at my waist, and felt around for a moment before withdrawing a small bottle, its shape identical to the shape of a health potion bottle. However, the liquid in this bottle was a dark bluish-purple color, and the consistency was similar to that of honey, whereas health potions were as liquid as you could get. Wearily, I tugged at the cork before putting the bottle to my lips and downing it in one go. I grimaced as the Mana potion raced through my system. The aftereffects of the Mana potion versus the health potion were vastly different, with the follow-up of the Mana potion being far less pleasant.

I glanced over at my companions as I rested for a minute on the ground, and found that they were no better off. Rolith was taking advantage of the few minute break we had to rest as I was, and kneeled on the soaked grass, wrists crossed as they rested on the handle of his enormous hammer. I knew my best friend would never admit it, but if truth be told, he was almost as tired as I was. I knew Rolith's tells; he too was worn down.

We can't take much more of this, I realized despairingly, and turned my eyes to Krieger. The Paladin was sagged against a large rock that stood nearly level with my shoulder, sword still out in one hand, while his other metal-gloved hand was halfway run through his copper-colored hair. He looked as done-in as I felt, and he was in much the same state as Rolith and I—bruises on what skin was visible, scratches and abrasions almost everywhere else, and it almost seemed to me that Krieger might have been favoring his right leg. Then I remembered seeing him nearly lose his balance when an Entropic Soldier had attempted to sweep his legs out from under him. I shook my head helplessly at the state our little group was in.

"There can't be many more of these things," I murmured hopelessly, dropping my head into my hands, allowing my staff to fall lightly to the ground beside me. I felt a metal-fingered hand rest gently on my right shoulder comfortingly, and by the weight of the hand, it didn't feel like Rolith. But… Krieger was trying to be friendly, at least, and it would feel wrong to shrug it off, I realized with a pinch of annoyance. And I so badly wanted to move away from his hand, yet at the same time, I didn't want to hurt his feelings.

What the hell is this? I thought furiously, inadvertently tensing slightly. Conflicting emotions was not something I was accustomed to. At once, the hand was removed, and I heard Rolith grimly say two words that made my heart sink.

"They're coming."

In one movement, I was on my feet, my staff gripped tightly in my left hand. I bared my teeth at the oncoming Entropic Soldiers.

It seems I might have picked up a trick or two from Kai.

The wave this time was much, much bigger than they had previously been; enough to send a bolt of pure, black fear through my heart. It looked almost like half of the original number had been resurrected, and all were coming towards us at once. I let the tip of my staff fall in despair, and my eyes widened.

"Krieger," I said in a perfectly level voice, my tone hiding the way I felt right now (as I usually did), "If we ever get out of this… Lore, you owe me several damn big favors." I heard a sort of slightly strangled chuckle from behind me, just a little to my left, and recognized it as Krieger's. "And trust me when I say, I always collect."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Do you have much other choice?" I questioned dryly, lifting my staff again. I started to reach for the magic again, only to stop when the line upon line of Entropic Soldiers halted about twenty five yards from where my companions and I stood.

What's going on?

The sound of calm, measured footsteps came to my ears. As we waited, tense beyond belief for whatever was coming, a feeling of depression, loss, misery, and in general a desolate air settled over me, and by the faint shifting of the Captain and Paladin behind me, it had affected them as well. I set my jaw, determined not to be intimidated by whatever—or whoever—was coming.

At last, the monsters we had been fighting for hours parted, and a tall, slim, pale figure came into view. My first impression of her was not one I like to remember, with my entire being screaming 'BITCH!' So yeah, I often judge people by their first impression, sue me.

The woman was very tall, rather taller than my five foot eight. She appeared to be nearly six feet (if she wasn't already), even without the pumps. She had startlingly pale skin, and sleek violet hair that was pulled back, though a loose strand still swung into her face. The woman had the kind of body that many of my gender would quite literally kill for, with a tiny waist, thin long legs, and a… noticeable bust. Actually, with what she was wearing, it was kinda hard to miss. She wore a dark red strapless outfit, and black leggings that couldn't have been closer to her legs had they been her very skin.

In short… a woman that at first glance, I would lump in with a bunch of prostitutes.

...What? I can't help that I judge books by their covers. And seeing as how she appeared to be the very woman commanding this army… well, I was given a little freedom with judgment, wasn't I?

I curled my lip, feeling more feral than anything right now, just about ready to get physical with her. Which was saying something, since I wasn't typically the physically violent sort, and I had little to no muscle to begin with.

"Why do you fight?"

The words fell from her lips carelessly, and to me at least, it sounded utterly bored. I had to fight to keep a hiss back, but any thought of it just vanished faster than it had appeared at Krieger's stuttered word.

"…Vayle!"

Despite my general instinct to never turn my back on the enemy, I whirled to face Rolith and Krieger, and my eyes flew wide in astonishment. Not even looking at her now, I whipped an accusing finger up at the woman.

"You know this sl—this woman?" I demanded, fury dimming for only a moment at the shock before coming roaring back, only a thousand times worse. And I wasn't just angry at the woman—Vayle?—either. For some inexplicable reason (just like usual), I was angry at Krieger again.

He knows her, evidently well enough to recognize her in this completely exhausted state we're all in, and he doesn't even try to do anything to stop her? That… that... A growl slipped out from between my clenched teeth as he just nodded, wordless in amazement.

"Vayle," he said again, but this time it… sounded different. He sounded happier, like he hadn't been fighting the endless undead army for more than six hours. And… it made me angry, for no reason I could name. I swung around again, lifting the end of my simple oak staff, ready for the battle to resume, when she lifted something in her hand. It was a skull, it appeared, one of the ones from a Skeleton we had dispatched yesterday. Almost immediately, my defenses were up, and I warily prowled (for lack of a better term) backwards a few steps until I was once again even with my companions. A giant, floating pink jewel drifted from behind her, and instantly flared. The eerily sinister magenta light reflected off all of our faces, including the recently known Vayle's. The partially destroyed skull promptly shattered into a dozen or more bits and pieces of bone, and began to whirl in a circle above Vayle's right hand before she caught them in a fist and tossed them on a section of the ground not far from us. No sooner had the small fragments of what used to be a skull hit the ground than they turned a frightening shade of red, radiating a sort of scarlet aura shortly prior to sinking into the gore-soaked ground.

A horrible rumble that nearly knocked all of us off our feet shook the ground, and from where the chunks of skull had landed, the ground seemed to explode upwards in a terrifying show of dark power. When the light faded, there stood something simply… huge. This thing that had risen from the ground on command from its master was something that could only be described as the creature which is known to haunt the nightmares of the innocents.

Of course, the other optional description was an Undead Goliath. Not that it mattered much, though—long story short, the creature was simply huge, and even without it having been raised by a master Necromancer, I would have tried my very hardest to kill it anyway. I may have been jugemental of it, yes, but cruel I was not. However, this creature wasn't alive. It would do its very best to kill any living thing it set its eyes on, and that was reason enough for it to die a second time.

Grimly, I tensed my sore, almost nonexistent arm and shoulder muscles, managing to set the base of my staff forward a few inches. I don't exactly know how, but… I was ready to fight again. Even as my mind and body both screamed at me, 'No more! NO MORE!' I couldn't stop. I could never stop fighting, even if I knew the end result lay in my defeat.

This was one of those times.


. . .

I did tell you it would be a short chapter, did I not? I believe I did.

*ahem* Commence with the bricking, fans… no new chapter until the pure insanity of my life wears off… even a little bit.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it, as that is the point of all this.

Oh, and a quick little side note! Those of you who have played through all of Artix's quests in the Necropolis, and know of the whole storyline with Vayle and that huge pink jewel… Things aren't gonna go as planned. At least, things aren't going to happen in this story the same way they do with the storyline, cause I make my own stuff. ;D

If you've been on Youtube and seen Artix vs The Undead, this is where I got the little action scene from... with a few twists.