Invasion

There was no time.

The Crawler had arrived so suddenly that Milena was forced to use the nearest weapons to her. Luckily, that had included her Shrieking Pilgrim, but Scythe's Warhammer was in the Sanctuary – which had suddenly become inaccessible – so she ended up having to use the Thunderblade which had been hanging in her room.

It wasn't anywhere near as powerful as her hammer, and it felt too light in her hands, but it was the only one close at hand, so it had to do.

Ben, on the other hand, had all of his weapons with him. Being the soldier he was, and after his experience in Mourningwood, he had learnt that you could never be too careful.

As the pair walked out of the front gate, they found Walter, Page and Logan waiting for them, ready for their orders.

"Where is it?" she asked, looking towards the gates on the other side of the bridge.

"About two miles out," Walter replied, "but it's moving fast. It should be at the docks in a few minutes."

Frowning, she chewed the inside of her lip, thinking over what she could do.

"Page," Milena said, "I want you to get to Industrial as fast as you can. You and your men can help the soldiers there defend those who haven't moved to the castle."

The woman nodded and ran over the bridge, turning down the road at the end.

"Logan," she continued, "you take care of the castle."

He frowned, "But I'd be of more use-"

"Your task is the most important of all of ours, brother," she interrupted, "If we fail to keep the darkness out of the castle grounds, you will be the last line of defence before it gets to the people I have sworn to protect. The people who are inside those walls, hoping that we will be able to defeat this threat."

The Prince nodded, though she knew he was gritting his teeth at the thought of being the 'back-up', and ran back the way they had come.

Turning back to the two men left, she glanced at the main gate briefly before addressing them, "Ben, Walter, there aren't any other men I would have fighting at my side."

Giving her supportive smiles, they followed her as she gave orders to some of the men, going back to the castle briefly to give final orders there. When the town bell rang again, she returned to the market.

It took them less than two minutes to get there, but even so, by the time they were passing the stalls of the market, the sky had been completely darkened, the only source of light being the lamps that the soldiers had lit in the streets, and a familiar black ooze was beginning to pool in the cracks of the cobbled street.

The way behind them had been blocked off by a wall of shimmering darkness.

The only way was forward now.

The Crawler's 'children' almost immediately appeared after they had stepped through the grand entrance to the market place, each exactly as Milena had described them to him.

He had never seen such strange creatures before; their thin frames and small wings would have made them look like angels had it not been for the fact that they were shadows, their red eyes promising misfortune to all who came close to them.

Had Ben not have been blinded at the time, he would have seen them once before in the Crawler's 'temple', but as it was, it was his first chance to see the beings that were sent to destroy them.

Suddenly, he felt something brush against his shoulder, but when he turned to find out what it was, all he could see was the bodies of the soldiers who had not been as lucky as him. Turning back to the task at hand, Ben found that this area was clear of any more shadow beings, and he ran to catch up with his Princess.

As they approached the clock tower, another wall of darkness formed, blocking the bridge from their sight. As this happened, the ground shook, and several bird-like machines appeared in the only exit from this courtyard.

"The lightbringers have come," growled an all too familiar voice, "But this is the kingdom of unlight now. This is the kingdom of death."

"Oh Avo, it's here!" he exclaimed, his blood running cold at the thought of it, "It's-"

"Ben!"

Blinking, he pulled himself out of his state of horror, and fired at one of the monsters.

To his surprise, it exploded into shards of cogs and broken metal, but it was not long lived as he took aim at the next. His time fighting hollow men had taught him to never linger on the past whilst in the middle of a fight.

Once again, he felt something brush against him, but this time he was certain he could distinguish the long, sharp fingers that shadowed his skin. Once again he found nothing to indicate that what he had felt had been real, and yet he could still feel the cold trail those fingers had left in their wake.

"Death beats its wings for you," the voice whispered, making him shiver.

It was everywhere. Was there no escaping it?

Grasping his rifle in both hands, he ran after Walter down the small ally way, dodging the great lakes of darkness that seemed to drip up into the sky. As the approached a pile of sandbags, he froze.

"William?"

A young man was sat leaning against the wall on top of the sandbags, a book in hand. It seemed surreal, and yet he didn't seem to be anything but genuinely there. She didn't recognise him, but there were certain aspects about him…

His muddy blonde hair, his lanky figure, the way he held himself.

No. It couldn't be.

"William?"

Ben's strangled cry only confirmed her suspicions.

"Ben, no," she said, holding onto his arm before he could pass her, "It's not real. He's not real. William's dead. Please, remember that!"

"But he's-"

"No!" she cried, turning his head to face her, "That's not him. It's the Crawler. It's trying to trick us."

She could see the pain in his eyes, and she knew it had only been recently that he had discovered his brother had died, but as fresh as the wound was, she couldn't allow him to hope if it was a way for the darkness to take him from her again.

As he nodded, she smiled and kissed him on his cheek.

When the older Finn sibling suddenly burst into flames, she could feel him flinch under her fingers, but he remained by her side, though his eyes remained fixed on the hideous scene.

Once they had passed it, Ben relaxed considerably, but he was still tense, ready for their next bout.

Passing through the courtyard once more, Milena watched helplessly as the children killed those few who hadn't been able to get to the castle in time. As their bodies fell motionless to the floor, she could swear that their eyes were staring at her, blaming her for their fates.

"Dead fingers talk," the Crawler growled at them, "dead fingers whisper…"

"Leave us alone!" Walter shouted into the darkness as more creatures appeared.

"…dead fingers claw at one million eyes."

Ben fired at the last shadow, and it exploded into mist, "Does it have to be so damn dark?"

She could feel the anger rising inside her as she passed the tailor's shop, ignoring the hurtful words the Crawler whispered into her ear, ducking away from the shadow crows that flew from the windows, revealing images of her, and then finally a skeleton held up by chains. Was that to be her future? Is this what it had in store for her?

Running past, she vented her rage into the swings of her sword, watching with grim satisfaction as yet more enemies fell before her blade. However, for every foe she vanquished, she saw a dead ally, soldier and citizen alike, lying in the gutters or in some obscure corner of the path. It was probably meant to scare her, but it only made the fire inside her burn all the more brighter.

When she heard that monster thanking her for the fearful screams and cries of her people, she knew then that the only way she was going to end this madness was when it was dead.

As the last of the armoured children were destroyed, she made her way towards the bridge.

As Milena ran on ahead, Ben shivered when he felt those fingers touching him again.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to see their source, he followed on behind her as close as he could, though it took him a while to get past the shadows that had blocked her from his path. Luckily, Walter was there, and they were able to make it to her before she was overwhelmed.

With the bridge cleared, they started to make their way towards the courtyard next to the front gate.

There it was again! But this time it came from in front of him. It was almost as if it was teasing him, taunting him into doing something he knew he would regret.

Suddenly, he found himself facing a clear pathway directly into the courtyard, and, being too tired to think why that might be, he ran straight through it, leaving Milena and Walter to stare after him, confused as to why he'd lost his sense of caution.

Vaguely aware of the Queen's cries, he stopped just inside the archway and turned to face her.

At first, she just seemed worried, but then her eyes moved past him, and they grew wide with horror and started to run towards him.

Frowning, Ben turned back and froze.

Dear Avo…

It was the Crawler, stood right in front of him.

"Ah," it growled, "The lost sheep returns to the flock." It pulled its hand up to his face, but he squatted it away, drawing his pistol and pointing it at the monster, but it was too fast and moved his arm as he fired, pulling him in further and forcing him lower, "No one ever leaves the darkness behind."

Using its other… hand, it pulled back his head, forcing his mouth open.

And then it plunged its fingers down his throat.

"No!" Milena cried, but it was too late. The Crawler was inside him.

Walter yelled in frustration. He was trapped out of the courtyard by a wall of darkness, so he had to stand and watch the scene at a distance.

When the creature had crawled inside of the Major, Ben almost immediately fell to his knees, dropping his Dragonstomper on the ground, and he looked as though he was going to throw up, but then a strange cloud started to form around his body, and he stood once more.

Milena gasped when she saw what he had become.

His eyes had once again become blackened by the darkness, and his face was distorted into a maniacal grin. As he drew his rifle and cutlass, she knew she'd lost him.

It laughed, Ben's voice mixing with its own, making it sound all the more horrifying, "Such power!" it cackled, "I can feel it running through his veins!"

She shook her head in disbelief, "Ben… no…"

The Major's vacant eyes snapped back to her, and he smirked, "Do you see? Do you see what you have allowed?" it asked, pointing the cutlass at her, "Do you see the shadow I have become?"

Suddenly, the steel of his blade burst into dark flames, the tongues of fire reaching out into the air, though they left their wielder unharmed.

"Please… You have to fight it!"

Milena barely dodged the strike the Crawler made, though his movements were hitched and slow, rolling out of his reach before he could strike again, but then she had forgotten he still had a rifle.

She felt the bullet tear through her sleeve as she rose, though her skin remained untouched. Returning her gaze to the possessed man, she was surprised to find a look of frustration and rage on his face.

Why would he… Oh.

Realisation dawned on her. Ben never missed what he was aiming for.

Relief swept through him when he saw that she was unharmed. Even though Ben didn't have total control of his body any more, he could still influence certain actions. He had already made it difficult for the creature to move, and making its aim sway was, although painfully difficult, the most logical thing to do, but he remained unable to communicate to her in any way than to slow the monster's attempts to kill her.

He could feel its anger rising, and could feel its grip on him tighten, but he continued to struggle against it, refusing to give up.

As the battle wore on, Ben could feel his grip on reality slowly wearing away. It was then that he knew that there was no chance that the Crawler would ever relinquish him while he was still alive. He could feel its blind panic when it discovered its children were gone, defeated by the soldiers of Albion no doubt, and he saw his opening.

"Kill me!" he shouted, "Or we'll never be rid of it!"

Shock played over Milena's face at his comment. He saw the turmoil that was playing in her mind written clearly in her features, even as she moved in for the final strike.

In its confusion, the Crawler didn't register what was happening until it was too late, and the cold steel of Milena's blade was sliding though his ribs.

She felt his chest tighten in his quick gasp against her shoulder, and his fingers found their way onto her shoulders, his weapons having fallen uselessly to the floor. They squeezed weakly as he slowly pulled himself away from her, her grip on her sword destroyed in that moment of astonishment.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she watched him struggle to breathe, but she dared not come any closer, as the shadow that had surrounded him still clung to his frame.

Soon, though, the shadow shrank away, pouring out of his wound and through his fingers, only to form the monster she knew to be the Crawler, its face a picture of rage.

Finding herself unarmed, having lost her rifle during the fray, she looked around, desperate to find a weapon, knowing her will power wouldn't be enough to defeat his foe. As her eyes fell upon Ben's cutlass, resting on the cobles between them, she threw a fire ball at the monster's face and flung herself at the sword, landing heavily on the stones as her hand curled around its scabbard.

With a yell, she swung blindly up at the creature, hoping she would hit her target.

An ear bursting shriek filled the air, but it was almost immediately silenced as Milena's stroke severed the Crawler's head from its body. As it fell to the ground, it dissolved in the wind, turning into ashes and smoke, leaving nothing behind to show that it had been there; the shadow disappearing from the city, and the whole of Albion.

She had done it. The creature was dead, and Albion was safe once more.

But at what cost?

Not like this. No. He wasn't going to… not like this…

Ben grasped the handle of the Thunderblade and gritted his teeth. He was not going to die with a sword still imbedded in his chest! No! He was not going to let that happen. Taking a deep breath he changed his grip.

Ready? One, two…

He yelled as the blade cut through his flesh, but he didn't stop pushing, forcing himself to continue his task. When he was finally free of the damned thing, he suddenly felt a bout of dizziness settle about him.

Probably the blood loss, he thought coolly as he stared at his red hands, I've lost more than enough to kill me.

As the world began to turn sideways, he became aware of the softness of the ground behind his head. It had an amazing similarity to…

Moving his gaze from his hands, his eyes locked with Milena's brilliant chestnut ones, the flecks of gold hidden within a distant yellow in her tears. It felt as though his heart would tear in two at the sight of those tears, but there was nothing to do about it. He was slipping away.

"Oh, Ben," she cried, teardrops falling onto his face.

"Sh now Princess," he murmured, reaching up to wipe away her tears, only to replace them with bloody smears, "don't cry. You did the right thing."

"But… you…" she sniffed, "I can't lose you Ben!"

He smirked, "How could you lose… a man like me, huh? I'm far too handsome a man to lose."

She giggled quietly, smiling through her sorrow.

Good. At least he made her smile one last time.

"I love you, Ben."

He froze. Surely she didn't just…

"I love you," she said again, coming closer to his face.

He could feel the familiar sensation of electricity running though his body, but there was something more this time.

She loved him! She really loved him! How fate liked to toy with him. Only when he was dying was he allowed to know this. Only now, when he could do nothing about it.

As they parted, he grinned at her, "I love you too, Milena… though I wish I'd said it sooner."

He tried to laugh, but he ended up coughing and slipping even further into the oblivion that awaited him.

She noticed.

"Please. Please, don't go."

"I don't think I have much of a choice, love."

For a moment, he just lay there, staring up at her, but as he felt death's fingers giving him the final warning, he knew he had to distract her.

"Do you… do you remember our first kiss?" he asked.

She nodded, "It was on the bridge outside of Brightwall, at sunrise. You had just told me about what you did in the library all those years ago. How you had left your home to find work, and how you and Samuel had become friends. I loved those stories." She laughed a little, looking off somewhere, "I especially liked the one about you and that girl in the stacks, and how she thought that you…"

It was pure bliss, listening to her voice. He barely noticed it when it stopped, the oblivion finally taking him in.

He was going to miss her more than anything else, but now he was powerless to stop this fate he had been given. There was so much he had wanted to do, but was now unable to. He was going to leave her in this world, though not alone. He only wanted that chance. That chance to be part of her life.

If only.

If only…

"Wish Granted."

AN - ...Wow... I can't believe I just wrote that...

That was probably the most monumental thing I've ever written in my entire existence; that one small phrase at the end. And at the end of the most tension filled chapter ever! Gawd...

Well, I loved writing this chapter guys. Sorry it took so long, but I've been caught up with family and opening an account on deviantart (same name if you wanna check it out).

This week, the song is 'Send me a Song' by Lisa Kelly from Celtic Woman (don't forget, it's not exactly inkeeping with the chapter's mood).

I bet you're screaming at the computer screen now. things along the lines of "What the hell?" and "Who was that at the end?". All in good time my friends. All in good time.

Anyway, as always, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and until next time!