Chapter 7: Battle of Thornridge - Part Two

Markus and Fangs cloak themselves and start heading out of the wide shed room. Fangs slowly and quietly opens the door, it leads into a big hallway of the same wooden manner. They sneak through, trying to be as cautious and quiet as they can. Fangs's ears rise as a faint pair of footsteps are heard. He puts his hand on Markus's head and they both crouch, sticking to the walls, as a troll appears within their sight. They are, however, perfectly blended with the shadows.

The troll is holding a spear. He approaches their position, Markus gets suspicious and a bit anxious. The troll passes by them, Markus, losing it, instantly unsheathes his sword and beheads the troll. Fangs is startled.

"I told you to only kill if necessary!" cries Fangs in a whispery manner.

"He looked at me funny!" whispers Markus in a shouting manner.

"He couldn't even see you! Why would you do that?" whispers Fangs.

"I thought he was going to spot us!" whispers Markus. "Listen, we'll get there in a moment. It's just trolls, I've killed trolls!"

"Mark-"

"Let's stop trying to stealth-mission this stealth mission and just start killing these critters!" whispers Markus.

"No, Mark, this isn't-" Fangs starts to say, before Markus hurries off past him. Fangs sighs and follows him, he's starting to regret this mission before it even begins. "Dammit."

Markus takes a turn into another hallway, Fangs follows, they see two trolls right in front of the exit, thumb wrestling with each other, oblivious to them. Just as Markus is about to run at them, Fangs holds him back.

"I told you to let me kill them, what's the matter?" whispers Markus, turning to him, uneasy and impatient. Fangs points at a crate right next to them, with a blue bell on top of it.

"Magic bell." whispers Fangs. "Instantly alarms the entire army that we're here."

Markus exhales, angered. Fangs sneaks up on them, carefully hiding within the shadows, signaling Markus to follow him. Just two meters away, he waits patiently. The trolls are too focused on their game to notice them. Fangs raises three fingers, two, one - and immediately within a split-second, Markus beheads one as Fangs snaps the other's neck. They carefully lay the bodies on the ground without a noise, and before they exit, Fangs pockets the bell. Markus watches him, confused.

"We might need it later." says Fangs.

"A magic blue bell? What could we need that for?" cries Markus.

"Hey, don't question my pocketing instincts." says Fangs. "I see something cool, I pocket it, simple as that."

They exit the room, and into the town. It is a dark night, everything is barely visible, cloaked in the shadows. A lot of hay stacks and barrels lie around, as well as the horrendous bodies of the slaughtered townsfolk. They could make out the watchtower in their line of sight, just a short walk away. They head straight on, still crouching and sneaking. There are trolls standing in the distance in different places, but not one of them notices them.

As they are quietly making their way, Markus stops as he hears faint, drunk laughter in the distance. He turns and notices two trolls, standing next to a barrel with a magic bell and a lantern on top of it, gathered around the headless body of Prince Tyler Hawk. He is laid in a sitting position as the trolls are taking turns pissing inside him from a distance. He is shocked and enraged, about to explode in anger. Fangs stops when he notices that Markus isn't following him.

"Come on!" whispers Fangs.

"They're pissing in Prince Tyler's corpse!" whispers Markus.

"Do you want it to be your corpse next to it?" whispers Fangs, turning back and approaching Markus.

"Am I supposed to answer that?!" whispers Markus, shocked.

"No, you're supposed to move the shit along! Come. On!" says Fangs, starting to get annoyed, roughly pulling him by the arm. "This is a stealth mission, Markus! You have to-"

"Fuck your stealth mission." whispers Markus, throwing his hands back as he approaches a haystack next to him and picks an axe out of it, enraged. "I'm going to accelerate this mission, or should I say..."

He throws the axe very roughly, and within a split-second, the axe penetrates a troll's skull, killing him instantly. The other troll turns to them, startled.

"You were gonna say something?" says Fangs.

"What?"

"You were gonna say something, right before you threw the axe." says Fangs.

"Oh, was I?" says Markus, turning to the troll that is now sprinting angrily towards him. Markus quickly and quietly chants and shoots an iceball from his hand that immediately freezes his skull and tosses him away, causing him to roughly hit the barrel.

"You screwed the mission, man." says Fangs, shaking his head. "You screwed us."

"We can still make it without anyone noticing-"

Before Markus could continue, the bell drops from above the barrel as it was shaking and onto the ground, sending a loud ring across the town. Murmurs start to rise, and slowly they turn into vigorous cries and screams. Hundreds of trolls start pouring out of every direction, every building and tower, even from covered patches of dirt underground, running at them like crazy. The sky starts reddening upon them, it is almost sunrise.

"Shit!" they both cry, overwhelmed, as they run towards the watchtower. Axes and knives are thrown at their direction, some only barely missing them. Just as they are a few feet away, the watchtower doors fling open and trolls start shooting out. Fangs and Markus retreat a few steps back. Markus unsheathes his sword and starts chanting, engulfing his mighty blade in ice.

"Get ready." says Fangs, before he starts humming and raising his hands, orange mana starting to formulate from all around them.

The trolls increase by the dozens, still coming from every direction. Markus looks around himself, his breathing tenses for a moment.

"Summon an army or something!" cries Markus.

"That would take like an hour or something, I can't do that now." says Fangs.

"Well, maybe you could have done it in the shed!" cries Markus.

"I wouldn't need to if you kept the stealth mission a stealth mission!" cries Fangs. Markus shakes his head and brushes him off.

Fangs releases the mana, it starts to take the form of three fierce-looking wolves, much more violent than the ones from Mark's training. They pounce at the trolls and start ripping them apart, flesh from bone. As the trolls start to surround Markus and Fangs, Markus starts to kill them very hastily, trying as violently as he could to slash at their necks. He cuts one troll's arm off, which it regrows quickly.

Fangs starts humming once again. Markus gives him a nervous look, Fangs signals him to keep going, which he does. He turns into a 10 foot tall bear-like creature, as he had before, and starts to fight alongside Markus, ripping off their heads and throwing them as far away as he could, just in case they could walk up and pick them up again. The three wolves are surrounded by the many trolls. Fangs notices them, now even he is starting to feel overwhelmed.

"There's too many." says Fangs. Markus glances at the wolves as the trolls manage to stab them to death, causing them to perish into a poof of orange mana.

They continue fighting, but the trolls continue to grow in their numbers, Markus starts sweating as he tries to fight them off, shooting an arc of ice to freeze a group of them before he is attacked by another group which he starts beheading. He starts tensing up even more.

"I'm going to do it, Eli." says Markus. Fangs turns to him, puzzled. "I'm going to conjure."

Fangs nods, proudly, and continues to fight. Markus, starts humming whilst he is fighting, still nervous and looking everywhere around himself, very cautious for his own life. He hesitates, not knowing what to conjure, but stops for a moment and smiles. Risky idea. He starts humming once again, and after a short while, he creates a gargoyle. Fangs glances at the gargoyle, puzzled.

"What's that gonna do?" he says.

"It's not about the conjuring." says Markus, turning to him with a serious and entitled stare. "It's about control."

Markus concentrates, staring into the nothingness as he continues to fight. The gargoyle rises above the battlefield, almost struggling to fly, as it is being controlled completely by Markus, heading for the watchtower. It continues to fly above the watchtower until it reaches the bell. It flies back for a short moment before it rams its head into the bell. It rings, so loud that the gargoyle is thrown back down, hitting the ground, poof.

The deep and low-pitched ring courses through the town and into the jungle. The trolls momentarily stop fighting as they hear it, and with it the voice of thousands of angry cries coming from the jungle. Fangs laughs, as loudly and victoriously as he could, Markus gives a slight laugh to follow him up, and out of the jungle - many, many armored men with swords, bows, and spears race into the battlefield. The sun starts to rise with them.

The trolls move away from Fangs and Markus and start to go defensive against the incoming army, and quickly, as the cries rise to a deafening volume, they clash, and the trolls are beheaded faster than a dragon setting fire to a jungle town during the summer. What? Too distracting? Sorry.

"Follow me!" cries Markus, as he chants, creating an ice shield around him and Fangs. They both push through the trolls to reach their own army. After a bit of a struggle, they finally arrive and are met by an elegant man in black armor, with a small beard and a confident smile.

"You must be Prince Michael Hawk then, aren't you?" says Markus.

"Prince Markus Wyvern, is it?" says Michael, smiling warmly at him. "I'm surprised we've never met, an excellent warrior as yourself and I, we would make great friends!"

"Sorry for picking you out of your wedding, I know you've been busy." says Markus.

"Oh no! Screw that wedding, dude!" cries Michael. "All the women in the world can't get in the way of avenging my brother!"

"Let's get to it, then!" cries Markus. He chants, re-reinforcing his sword in ice.

"When the history books document the Battle of Thornridge, it must be remembered that we were the victors, not them." says Michael. He chants, dropping a black mask on his face before his sword explodes in flames. "So let's give history a little taste of what the Hawks and the Wyverns can cook!"

Markus nods, excitedly smiling at him, prepared. They both sprint into the battlefield, where trolls litter the ground everywhere, none left standing.

"Oh, the battle is over." says Markus.

"Well, there goes that speech." adds Michael.

The men start to patrol the town in search for anything. Michael looks around, confused. One of the men approaches him, panicking.

"Did you find him?" says Michael.

"The Dark Lord is not in Thornbridge, sir!" cries the man. "He's not here!"

"What do you mean, 'not here'? Where is he then?" cries Michael.

"We don't know, but there is somebody else here!" cries the man, as he points at the door of the watchtower. Around a dozen men stand in front of the watchtower's door, crowding to get in, before they are all thrown back by a man that had been tossed very roughly against them, hitting one of the houses and instantly breaking his skull. Sounds of swift swiping and cutting are heard, followed by screams, as a strange creature makes its way out of the watchtower, followed by many more trolls.

"Dear god!" cries another warrior.

"Hybrid." says Michael, recognizing the creature, his proud smile turning into a vengeful frown.

A gray and pale figure, he looks like an alien, still-eyed, almost like a more sophisticated and humanoid image of the dashers we had seen way back in chapter 1. His personality would mirror that of an introverted boy you'd see in class, but his power makes him the exact opposite, a terrifying, fearless leader. His arms are taking the form of two long, sharp thorns. Markus and him stare each other in the eyes for a moment, still, eeriely.

Hybrid dashes very quickly, gorily cutting through a line of men, almost about to behead Markus, before his hand clashes with Michael's sword, who steps in the right moment to protect him. The hotness of the sword forces Hybrid to back away. Michael walks towards Hybrid, giving him an intimidating stare.

"I hope you weren't planning on beating all of us by yourself." says Michael.

Hybrid shakes his head, with a cold and expressionless look. A large roar is heard from the sky. Every single man and monster on the battlefield raises his head to the sky, as a giant shadow overcomes the town. Fear instills itself into their hearts, Markus starts gasping for air, in utter shock. Nope, it's not our thunder wyvern from earlier, what soars above our heads is a large reptile-like creature, almost 20 meters long, with spiked scales black as the night and giant wings that block the sun which had only just risen. It is, drumroll please, a Dragon.

The dragon rises over the men on the ground, inhaling deeply, before breathing an arc of fire so large that it incinerates dozens of men beneath it, they struggle to run for their lives, but the flames are vast and destructive, even taking a bunch of trolls' lives with it.

"Dragon!!" cries Michael, as he takes a distance away from the fire, regrouping with his men and starting to chant. Fangs runs to Markus, humming on the way. After a bit of chanting, Michael raises a large elemental shield made of fire to cover the remaining men, as the flames furiously pass right over it. The men inside are sweating profusely from the heat of the dragon's flame, one man even passes out, as the others turn to him, becoming even more terrified.

"Markus!" cries Michael. Markus turns to him. "You and Eli take care of the dragon, I'll deal with the trolls and the ward!"

Fangs reaches Markus just as he stops humming and starts shapeshifting into a large hawk, almost 4 meters long, giving Markus his back.

"Hop on my back." says Fangs.

"W-What's the plan here?!" cries Markus, nervously.

"Afraid of heights?" says Fangs.

"I'm not afraid of heights!" cries Markus, nervously waving his hands around. "I'm afraid of plummeting to my death from a million meters above the ground!"

"So... You're afraid of heights?" says Fangs.

"Am not!" cries Markus.

"You're a Wyvern, man, you set fire to your enemies." says Fangs.

"It's all metaphorical bullshit, you know!" cries Markus. "What is the plan here?!"

"Get your ass up on my back, Mark." says Fangs. Markus frowns and scoffs, then obliges. Fangs takes a step back, before he launches himself into the air and starts to fly.

As soon as the dragon stops breathing fire, Michael stops chanting and lowers his shield, but just in time to parry a blow from Hybrid, who had just dashed behind him. Hybrid's arms are burnt again, so he takes a distance back. Michael starts approaching him, waving his flaming sword around.

"If I'm gonna delay my wedding, then I'm gonna be seeing some good funerals." says Michael. Just as he was approaching Hybrid, swishing noises are heard. Dashers start to surround the men. Michael looks around, angered, but prepared.

Fangs and Markus are taking to the sky, Markus is very anxious, almost not paying attention to anything out of fear.

"You know where we can find a bow and quiver?" calls Fangs.

"W-Uh, what?" calls Markus, still distracted.

"A bow and quiver, Markus! Pay attention!" cries Fangs.

"Uhh, yeah, yeah, the watchtower!" cries Markus. "There's a lot of them up there, for some reason!"

Fangs starts flying towards the watchtower. The dragon notices them, its nostrils start flaring and puffing smoke as it flies towards them. Markus looks back, he holds onto Fangs tighter, fearfully.

"He's catching up! Fangs!!" cries Markus.

"Stop strangling me." says Fangs.

Fangs starts flying faster. The watchtower is within sight.

"I'll need you to jump, Mark." says Fangs.

"What? No, you won't!" cries Markus.

"Listen, you need to leave all that phobic bullshit behind and take a leap of faith." says Fangs. "Cause if you don't jump, all these people are gonna die."

Markus starts trembling in his place, looking at the watchtower. He looks down, noticing the very far distance underneath him, he gets dizzy, and looks back at the watchtower, trying to focus.

"I'm gonna drop you off here, try to lose the dragon for a bit, and I'll pick you up after." says Fangs. "Then we're gonna try shooting the dragon's eyes, immobilize his movement. Sounds good? Yeah, c'mon."

Markus continues to stare at the watchtower. He takes a deep breath, holding on tighter, he prepares his feet for a quick boost at any moment, but before he could even think about jumping, Fangs cries and shakes for a second, almost dropping him, as an axe was thrown directly at his leg. Markus looks down and notices a group of trolls throwing different objects at them, axes and pitchforks and knives and hatchets and eggs and baskets...

"Jump!" cries Fangs, as he starts to pain, struggling to hold on for longer. Markus stares ahead, filled with determination, and stands on top of Fangs's head, launching himself upwards as Fangs starts plummeting to the ground. He drifts in the air, reaching forward to grab the ledge, but he is too far. He tries chanting, but ends up whimpering due to how high he is leaping into the air. He takes a quick breath and crosses his eyebrows, trying to chant as loud as he could. Before he could start falling, a boost of ice shoots out of his feet and propels him onto the ledge, causing him to fall into the watchtower roof.

Fangs hits the ground, returning to his normal form, unwounded, yet fatigued and struggling to get up. The trolls raise their weapons at him, approaching him, the closest troll raises its hatchet and prepares to throw it at him, but a fireball is flung directly into its head and scorches it alive. The other trolls turn away to locate the source of the fireball, but they are quickly scorched by a wave of fireballs. A few dozen mages make their way across the field, flinging fireballs and iceballs and lightning and rocks at them. The trolls start to retreat.

Hybrid notices this. He is still backing up, trying to get away from Michael. The mages start attacking the dashers, breaking the rotating formation.

"This isn't your battle, Hybrid." says Michael. "Leaving you here, to us, all alone... I don't think the Dark Lord really loves you, does he?"

Hybrid dashes at Michael and clashes with his sword, which once again burns through his skin. He starts to very rapidly rotate around Michael and slash at him, but Michael continues to parry his blows. Hybrid finally reaches an opening behind him, but he is quickly hit in the neck by a fireball. He screeches, turning to see the mages approaching him. We see that the mages are led by a very old mage with a large white beard and a very large light-green robe, who surrounds himself by a large green magical shield as he walks to protect his mages, chanting in a very majestic and soothing voice.

Markus stands at the end of the roof, with a bow in his hand and a quiver on his back. He looks down and notices Fangs struggling to stand up, as the old mage waves his hands around him and green mana starts emitting from both of them. Fangs starts humming, turning into a hawk once more and taking to the skies, approaching Markus.

"Fangs!" calls Markus. "I got the bow! Come on!"

As Fangs approaches Markus, the dragon returns once more and starts orbiting the watchtower. It sounds a menacing roar, so loud it almost knocks Markus to the ground. He is terrified, but still focused on the task at hand.

"Come on, Fangs! Faster!" calls Markus. The dragon stops in front of the watchtower and starts inhaling deeply. Markus quickly gets on top of the ledge and jumps off it right before the dragon scorches the roof with its flames. Markus very luckily lands on Fangs's back, as they start to soar once again. The dragon grunts in anger and frustration as it follows them.

"You know how to use the bow, don't you?" says Fangs.

"Oh, piece of cake! Just fly and watch the arrows fly!" says Markus. He chants as he grabs an arrow from the quiver and nocks it. He draws. His arrow, and all the others in his quiver, start glowing with a light blue glow, as cold starts emitting from them. He aims at the dragon's eyes, the dragon approaches them very quickly as they are heading out of town.

"Be faster, Mark!" cries Fangs.

"Shush!" cries Markus, as he concentrates. The dragon starts inhaling once more, preparing to breath fire. After a few seconds, Markus finally releases his bow and his icey arrow is fired, flying across the sky and penetrating the dragon's left eye and breaking its concentration, causing it to roar in pain. He quickly nocks another arrow and draws his bow, as they are both returning to town. He quickly releases the other arrow, hitting the other eye and causing it to roar once more, clearly struggling to stay in the air.

"We did it!" cries Markus. "Now what?!"

The dragon instantly releases its flames, startling both Markus and Fangs, but only a second before the flames reach them, and while they are losing focus of their way, they crash into the watchtower and start falling down. The dragon, unable to see in front of itself, also crashes into the watchtower and plummets to the ground, causing the watchtower to lean to the side from the power of the collision.

Markus, Fangs, and the dragon all lay on the ground, struggling to regain their consciousness, they've been knocked quite bad. Markus is the first to wake up, he starts panting, almost panickedly, before he sees the dragon laying on the ground, unconscious. He quickly runs to it and unsheathes his sword, approaching its head.

"Die, you foul beast!" cries Markus, as he raises his sword high, panting from exhaustion and panic. "Annoying fucking lizard!"

He drives the sword through the dragon's head. It doesn't even get through his scales. The dragon merely whimpers, barely half-conscious. He drives it again, and again. He pants harder, getting enraged, his nerves popping off his forehead. He screams as loud as he could, stabbing it again and again, until it finally starts to penetrate through the scales. He continues to stab the beast as it cries for mercy and tries to get up.

"Fucking die! Fuck you!!" cries Markus as he continues to stab the dragon, this time cutting through the bone. Blood starts to pour out of its head in a small stream. He stands on top of the dragon's head and starts thrusting it even harder. He gives a loud chant, almost a cry, and reinforces his sword in the thickest of ice, as he drives it one final time, making the beast finally go quiet. The other men watch the prince, in awe, respect, and shock, almost fear. He very heavily pants, gazing into the distance, dropping to the ground. He lays his sword down, resting for a moment, closing his eyes.

After a moment, he opens his eyes, as he hears a body drop to the ground near him. He turns to see that it is Hybrid, his body is covered in burn marks and slashes, Michael frowns, giving him a deathly stare as he approaches him. Hybrid tries getting up to escape, but he is quickly surrounded by an arcane barrier. He turns to look at the old mage who is chanting it in. Markus gets up and approaches Hybrid, and so does Fangs, who had already reverted to his original form. They are all very angry and quite exhausted, while Hybrid is still expressionless and cold.

"Where is the unholy creature who killed my uncle?!" cries Markus.

"Where is the beast that killed my brother?!" cries Michael.

"The asshole who slaughtered my hometown, where is he?" says Fangs.

"Where is the Dark Lord?!" shouts Markus, staring him in the eyes, as they all start to approach him.

Hybrid gives them all an eerie look of stillness, not knowing what to do. A moment later, he starts very rapidly digging with his thorn-shaped arms, and within two seconds, he is gone underground. They are all stricken with shock.

"He's bloody gone!" cries Markus.

"What a bitch." says Michael. "Well, at least that's done. Did you get the dragon? Is he coming back?"

"No, he's not." says Markus, rubbing his face out of exhaustion, trying to muster some energy to walk home. "Not unless he can come back from the dead."

A wave of black mana starts hovering around the dragon, making a loud and whimsical noise. They turn to see the hole in its head slowly starting to clot up as its head starts moving, the blood pouring from it disappearing.

"You gotta be kidding me!" cries Markus, very frustrated, rubbing his head and pacing in his place.

"Why's it not dead yet?" says Fangs. "Man, what's going on?"

"It appears to be an immortal dragon." says the old mage. "A never-dying relic possessed by the Dark Lord for over a century."

"A what?" says Markus.

"So nobody can kill it, is that what you're saying?" says Fangs.

"Somebody can." says the mage. "But not us."

Markus starts thinking for a moment, he looks around himself, feet tapping vigorously. Fangs approaches him.

"Come on, I'm gonna turn into a hawk again and you can hop on my back-"

"Fuck off!" cries Markus in a fit of rage. "I am not doing this again! Never!"

"We need to act-"

"You go act! Let me think for a moment!" cries Markus. As the men are standing, watching the dragon, a sword is driven through the neck of one of the men, killing him instantly. The other men turn and raise their swords, it seems the remnants of the troll army had resurfaced. They start to clash once more.

"You better think of something fast." says Fangs. "We won't get another chance to knock it down."

Fangs hums while running towards the new battle, as he starts shapeshifting back into a bear. The dragon starts very hardly trying to rise, as it growls and struggles to open its still frozen eyes once more. Markus looks around, very frustrated, biting his lip, thinking, harder than he had ever thought before. He notices the slightly leaning watchtower, sudden realization just hit him. He slowly approaches the dragon while humming in a quiet manner. The dragon's eyes turn to slits as it threateningly growls at him. A mouse is summoned at Markus's feet, which starts running towards Fangs.

Fangs, who is now fighting the trolls with the others, notices the mouse, which climbs on top of him and whispers into his ear. Fangs, startled, turns to Markus, and then takes a glance at the watchtower. Markus turns to him. Fangs nods, then turns to the others. He knows the idea is crazy, quite possibly mad, but mad enough to actually work.

"Prince Michael, Grandmaster Oaklyn, gather up!" cries Fangs. "We need to help Mark!"

Markus unsheathes his sword and starts to orbit the dragon. The dragon suspiciously turns to him, following his rotation. He starts chanting, moving closer. The dragon struggles to inhale a gust of air. He raises an ice shield just before the dragon releases a very weak arc of flame only barely living up to the smoke that preceded it. Markus continues to reinforce his shield as he moves closer, trying to keep the dragon in place whilst still orbiting him.

Fangs starts running towards the watchtower, still in bear form, until he clashes into it. He pushes the watchtower with all his strength. Michael joins, pushing alongside him. They both struggle to exert any effort. Suddenly the watchtower starts glowing with different colors, from green to red to blue to yellow to orange, as the mages start unanimously chanting and magically pushing the tower further, the old mage, Oaklyn, joining them. The tower starts very slowly leaning further and further.

At the other end of the watchtower, Markus continues to reinforce his shield, as the dragon blows another, fairly stronger gust of flame. Markus struggles to fend it off, sweating profusely and fighting to stay on his feet. As the dragon stops, Markus rolls out of his shield and starts hitting the dragon at the feet with his sword. The dragon, unharmed by it, attempts to swipe its tail at him, but he rolls over and continues the onslaught. The tower continues to lean forth, Fangs and Michael are shouting, out of a combination of exhaustion and excitement, the sheer adrenaline rushing through their veins. The tower is almost 30 degrees down from its original angle.

"Get away from there now, Mark!" cries Fangs.

"Get out! What are you doing there?!" cries Michael.

"Dangit!" cries Fangs.

Markus rolls back into his shield, as the dragon attempts to bash it with its claws, not even leaving a scratch. The chants from the mages mixed with Markus's chants start to harmonize, forming a loud song of chants, as the tower finally starts falling on its own, detaching itself from the ground. A giant shadow overcomes both Markus and the dragon as the watchtower falls towards them. The dragon, barely able to move away, turns to the tower and screeches as loud as could be heard, but the tower very swiftly smashes into the ground, crushing them both underneath it. Complete and sudden silence. Fangs and Michael stare at it in shock, they quickly run towards the tower. Fangs, not even taking a breather from his absurdly exhausting task, starts digging in the soil right next to the tower with his claws.

"Markus!" calls Michael, worried. "Prince Markus, are you alright?! Are you alive?!"

Fangs continues to dig in until he disappears into the soil. Michael turns away and finds that the trolls have all been killed.

"Cut their heads off!" cries Michael. "They better not come back or I'm putting you all on cleaning duty!"

The men oblige and start cutting the heads of the few trolls that haven't had their heads cut off. Fangs comes out of the soil with Markus in his hands, still surrounded by the mana that remains from his shield. Markus is shedding tears, silently whimpering.

"Are you alright, Mark?" says Fangs.

"Yes.. I'm f- I'm fine..." says Markus, as he closes his eyes and aches in pain, falling to the ground in such a manner as if his bones were jelly and speaking in a shaken whimperish tone. "I think I uh... I think I broke my knees... Bloody hell, it hurts."

"Take him to the sanctuary immediately!" cries Oakley. "Immediately, I repeat! If you wait too long, it's over!"

"Why immediately?" says Michael, confused.

"The higher sanctuary serves as a teleportation device, but it also completely heals the user in the process." says Oakley. "Broken knees are serious. If you don't take him there before the connections in his legs are completely severed, you won't be able to heal them ever again... and you'd need a reincarnation to bring them back. I'm afraid I've completely run out of mana so I can't be of help- what are you waiting for?! Run!!"

"Aight aight let's go!" cries Fangs, as he helps Markus on his shoulder and bolts off.

Michael joins, helping Markus from the other side. Markus turns to both of them, barely able to see from his pain, his eyes heavily shutting and slitting. He notices Tyler's headless body near the edge of his sight.

"Wait... I need to get... Tyler..." utters Markus.

"Listen, Markus, I'll take care of this mess, you just concentrate on getting back home and getting better." cries Michael. "You did much more than anyone would've hoped, you killed a dragon - twice! An immortal dragon, too! ... You are becoming a great man, a legend even, at a very young age. The gods were right to bestow you upon us as our chosen one, you are our true hope."

Markus slightly smiles, almost laughing as he whimpers and struggles to take a clear look at him. They finally reach the shed where they came from.

"We hope to see you again soon, but for now, please get well-" Michael says, but is interrupted by a man screaming as a hatchet is launched into his skull. Michael turns, frustrated. "Oh, stop that!"

Another group of trolls with hatchets and axes emerges from the jungle, screaming and crying at them. The men unsheathe their weapons for, like, the billionth time.

"Just how many trolls are there exactly?" says Fangs.

"Just a hopeless attempt to reclaim Thornridge." says Michael. "Their dragon is down and their leader is gone, they have nothing. Just go, get the prince to safety, and once again, thank you for your aid. The Hawks will forever be in your favor. Oh, and by the way... you guys are invited to the wedding! Especially you, Markus, I better see you there!"

"We'll be there." says Fangs. He takes Markus inside, they make their way through the few troll corpses in the passage and back into the main room.

"How are they feelin', your knees? Can you.. feel them?" says Fangs.

"Uh.. uh huh.." utters Markus.

He takes Markus and lays him into the sanctuary and stands next to him. In a few seconds, the sanctuary shines in a blinding white light as they perish.

---

They reappear at the library, Markus drops to all fours and starts hyperventilating. Fangs comes to his side and holds his shoulders, concerned.

"How are you feeling?" says Fangs. "Mark?"

Markus stops breathing and sits on the floor, putting his hand on his head, paining.

"Better?" says Fangs, after a moment of silence and rest.

"Uh... I'm..." Markus starts to say, before he leans to the side and profusely vomits on the ground. Fangs is startled.

"Shit, shit!" cries Fangs, turning to the door. "Hey, we need help here! Help! The prince is not feeling well!"

The three gentlemen from earlier stand up and shush him, angrily. Fangs loses his calm and starts grabbing books from the nearest shelf and launching them at the men. They panickedly start to cover their faces and run out of the library.

"I'm good, I'm good.." says Markus, getting back up and taking his breath, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Let's go talk to dad."

They exit the library and start walking across the hallway. Markus holds his head again, closing his eyes and very obviously paining. Fangs notices him.

"You sure you're good?" says Fangs.

"Ah, he'll be fine." says another voice from behind, which appears to be Emit, who is just now joining them. "Just a bit of regeneration sickness, happens with these sanctuaries when you heal from severe injuries too fast, it's a bloody mess."

"Commander of Police himself is joining us?" says Fangs. "What, fixed all the problems in the kingdom? Are the crime rates bordering on zero already?"

"Oh no!" laughs Emit, patting Fangs on the shoulder. "I haven't been assigned yet, I just thought I'd check on my friends! How was it? Anything to report? How was the peril?"

"It was perilous." says Fangs.

"Lay off them, Emit, they've been through a fuckton." says Jon, who has just now joined them. They are all walking together now, heading towards the throne room. Markus looks at them, smiling, though still tired.

"Great to see you guys again." says Markus. "I thought for a second that I might not make it back."

"Don't be an idiot." says Jon, bumping him on the shoulder, laughing. "If you ever die out there, I'm gonna fucking kill you."

They all laugh, but they stop to a halt as Markus stops in his place, closing his eyes and holding his head tight. They turn to him and start to exchange worried looks. He stays still for a moment, before he roughly shakes his head and looks back up.

"On second thought, let's postpone the... talking to dad, just for a while." says Markus, struggling to keep his focus.

"You should get some rest, at least for an hour or two." says Emit.

"What? Aw man." says Fangs, disappointed. "We were gonna walk up to the king all together, like y'know, make a power entrance and shit."

"We can just wait in the glass room until he's all healed." says Emit. "It won't be long."

"Yeah, actually, you guys can go wait in there." says Jon. "I need to get home and... have a talk, with someone."

Jon walks to the exit. Fangs hastily follows, slightly grabbing him by the shoulder and bringing him into whispering distance.

"Hey, listen." whispers Fangs. "If you need any help with the issue, I got you."

"What issue?" whispers Jon, puzzled.

"Y'know, I've had some adventures in the past where things could... go wrong, know what I'm sayin'? Y'know-"

"I don't know," interrupts Jon, "you're not making any sense."

"-Y'know, the diddy daddy kind-"

"What?"

"The 9 month kind of problem-"

"No, Fangs, no we've... we've literally been... living together for..."

"Three months now?" whispers Fangs. "C'mon, you're delaying the inevitable."

"Fuck off." says Jon, as he walks off. Fangs catches up.

"I'm just sayin' y'know, I know a guy that-"

"Eli, fuck off." says Jon, as he starts leaving the room.

"Okay, okay!" cries Fangs, backing away, laughing uncomfortably. "Pshh! You didn't have to 'Eli' me, man... but hey, good luck! Eli's a great name for a boy, by the way, just putting it out there!"

---

Jon gets back home, just barely a few steps in, before he is tightly and suddenly taken into a hug by Rose.

"Oh Jon, I'm glad you're alright!" cries Rose, restless from worry. "I've heard news about the Battle of Thornridge, are you hurt?"

"I wasn't with them." says Jon, coldly. "I was at the castle, actually, attending to other matters relating to the... I'm good, Rose. Great, actually... We won."

"I'm glad." says Rose, joyful as she moves back, but then her expression darkens for a moment while her eyes meet his. He looks away and then back at her, hesitant.

"Listen, about that talk-"

"Hit me, I'm ready to hear it." Rose interrupts. She knows she's about to hear something she won't like and she's been preparing all day.

"I found your family." says Jon. Rose is shocked, she becomes even more restless, all whilst her face lights up.

"Y-You did?!" she cries.

"I've been sending men to investigate for the past few months." says Jon. "Your parents are at the Tefermorian capitol. Your mother is a librarian at the royal castle."

"And my father?" she asks, with a pleading and happy look on her eyes. Jon's expression darkens, he looks around and takes a deep breath. She starts to grow anxious. How can he put this?

"He didn't make it, I'm sorry." says Jon.

"Oh." she says, looking at the ground, you could swear that she was preparing to break into tears, but she just stays still and silent, then looks at him again.

"I've sent for your mother." says Jon. "From what I heard, she was overjoyed when she learned that you were alive. She's sent an escort for you, it should be here to take you back in an hour or so."

She nods, staying silent for a moment. The silence almost lasts too long, she looks away, then back at Jon, with tears in her eyes, yet still calm.

"Hey, Jon," she says, smiling, taking a breath, "are you doing this to push me away? I'm sorry... No offense but... Are you?"

"I've already told you, Rose, it's not safe for you here." says Jon.

"I... I don't care if it's safe or not." she says. "I don't want to be with my family, I want to be with you, you are my family-"

"It's not. Fucking. Safe, Rose... Gods!" shouts Jon, losing his temper. "I'm trying to save you here!"

"Why?!" she cries, coming closer, almost angrily.

"Because I like you!" cries Jon. "I like you, more than a person would normally like another person... I-"

"You love me? Just say it, if you really do." she says.

"I fuck with you!" he cries.

"You fuck with me?" she says, slightly laughing, angrily. "That's convincing."

She holds her head, almost about to cry, but desperately trying to hold it in. He takes a deep breath, thinking for a moment, before he walks to her and takes her in with a warm and heartfelt hug. She closes her eyes and starts to tear up, crying in a very subtle manner. He holds her head closer with his hand and kisses her on the forehead, before he brings her back to a distance where he could speak to her.

"I've been chosen as a mentor to the chosen one. Mentors don't live past their prophecies." says Jon. "As soon as I'm finished with my job... That's it, I'll be gone, that's how these things go. I can try to fight it, run away from it, or even leap towards it as a means of challenging its integrity, but in the end... it's not going to change, what's meant to happen will happen. It's either me or the world, and if I choose me, I'd still die with the world... which is sort of funny now that I think about it but... You don't have to trap yourself in this with me. You're in love with a dead man."

She stands still, shocked. She looks away and dries up her tears.

"A terrible war will befall Nexonia City and I don't know if I can protect you from it." he says, shaking his head and looking her in the eyes. "I'm old and I have one leg, you're young and beautiful, and perfect, and you deserve to live a happy life, away from all this."

They hear wheels stopping outside, she looks out and sees a cart waiting.

"That's your escort." says Jon. She looks back at him, almost prepared to cry again. "It's been great, you've been great. Maybe in another life we would have been... great, together."

She bites her lips, restless, looking him in the eyes with an expression of grief and sadness. He shrugs, smiling at her.

"Fuck your prophecy, and fuck another life." she says, as she starts heading out, startling him, as this is probably the first time he's heard her curse. "I'm seeing you again soon, whether you like it or not."

She stops in her way as she passes him, hesitating for a moment, then she turns back to him and grabs him by the shoulders and turns him towards her.

"You should go before it gets too late." he says.

"It's never going to be too late." she says, as she slowly lays her lips on his, kissing him intimately for a long moment, tears rolling down her cheeks, and a single tear rolling down his. She backs away, smiling at him, before she bolts off, leaving and shutting the door behind her. Jon stands there for a moment, not knowing what to do after this interaction. He walks to the window and watches as the cart starts to set off. Rose looks at him through the window and waves at him before the cart disappears from his sight. He stands by the window, deeply saddened. This went... well it went. At least they weren't attacked by a dragon, that's all I have to say.

---

The oracle and his two frog companions, who had been walking in the middle of the forest for a while now, finally arrive at a lonely old wooden house. The oracle knocks on the door, and a pair of froggy eyes peak out.

"What's the pickle?" says the eyes.

"It is what it is." says the oracle.

"No, the other one." says the eyes.

"Oh uh... 'We die for what is ours.', I guess... Just open up." says the oracle.

"We die for what is ours." he repeats, as he opens the door, letting the three of them in. It is a very crude and dusty house, with barely anything but a few cobweb-ridden tables and chairs and some other old furniture, dust flying around the place and being made clearer with the bright morning sunlight. The person who let them in is a frog person in a black cloak. He watches them both, waiting.

"Your services are required." says the oracle.

"Anything for the grand frog." says the cloaked person.

"Do you have enough mana for a trip to the Nexonish capitol and back?" says the oracle.

"Oh, I have enough for ten trips." says the cloaked person, confidently. The oracle and his two companions exchange looks, he nods to them and returns to the cloaked person.

"Well, you know the drill." says the oracle. "What, do I need to cue the end of our interaction? Take us away!"

---

The glass room, a large chamber with comfy couches, elegant wine glasses arranged at every corner, shelf, and even layering the floor, almost thousands of them. Fangs, Emit, and Jon are seated. Jon seems to still be affected by earlier, pondering, within his own thoughts, a combination of nostalgia and worry, while Fangs and Emit are just waiting, bored.

"What's the point of this room, anyway?" says Fangs.

"Well, when his majesty, King Harry, started implementing the plastic cups... He thought it'd be a waste to get rid of the old glasses," says Emit, "and since his majesty is an artistic man with an artistic vision, he decided to turn this room into something that... well, something that looks cool, I guess."

"It does kinda look cool." says Fangs, looking around. "What was this room anyway?"

"It was a housing chamber for old people." says Emit. Fangs turns to him, surprised. They are interrupted by Markus, who walks into the room. They get up to greet him, sighing in relief.

"Finally!" cries Fangs. "Are we doing the power entrance or what?"

"Are you alright, Mark?" says Jon. "You look like you've just been hit by a horse!"

"Yeah, I'm fine... Are you alright?" says Markus. "You look like... you've just been hit by a bloody train... are you alright, though?"

"Yeah, no, don't worry about me." says Jon. "Ready to talk to dad?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, let's go." says Markus, as they follow him out of the glass room.

They continue to walk through the hallways until they reach the throne room's door. The two guards stationed at the door start chanting as they see them, causing the door to start opening itself slowly. They enter the throne room, where the king is seated on his throne, wearing his eyepatch on his right eye.

"I've been waiting for you." says the king.

"Yeah, sorry we were late, the prince needed a break to cry his eyes out from the trauma." says Fangs, immediately being punched on the shoulder by an annoyed Markus.

"Is your... eye good?" says Jon.

"Yes, why?" says the King, genuinely confused.

"It's been a victory, your majesty." says Markus. "We won, the dark army has retreated from Thornridge, the town was restored, and I have personally, and proudly, killed the Dark Lord's immortal dragon. Well, not exactly killed him but... well, he's not coming back any time soon."

"What about the man himself? Is he dead?" says the King.

"The Dark Lord, you mean?" says Markus. "He got away, your majesty, but we will defeat him soon."

"Hmph." blurts the King, sitting still and pondering for a moment. "I guess this is a victory we could celebrate, at least. Guards! Fetch the cups over here!"

They rejoice, exchanging a few looks, joyously, before two guards enter the room and start distributing cups to them and spilling wine. The king smiles, raising his own wine bottle up high.

"For Nexonin, and all of Nexonia!" cries the King. They all cheer. "Today, all of us shall drink, even those of us who swore not to! I'm your king and I command it!"

Before they could even start to drink, a spark strikes in the room, as the oracle and the cloaked frog person appear in front of them. They are startled, Emit is shocked.

"Bloody hell, they are real!" cries Emit, staring at the frog people.

"I have come to relay a message from the grand frog." says the oracle. "The link is within your kingdom, be wary, and be wise."

They disappear just as they came. The others start exchanging looks and murmurs, for a few seconds until they reappear again, forcing their concentration back to them.

"Okay, I relay a new message from the grand frog." says the oracle. "The link is no longer within your kingdom. Goodbye."

They disappear again. The others start to exchange looks, silent...

What?

---

The Alijonian soldiers and men are rebuilding, back in Thornridge, lifting rocks and logs and cutting and repairing and so on. Four soldiers surround the watch tower and attempt to lift it, struggling and failing to even raise it an inch above the ground. Prince Michael notices them, and quickly rushes to stop them with all the strength he's got in him.

"Don't even think about doing that! Back off from that!" he cries, causing them to stop in their places and back off. "There's a dragon under that thing, and we don't know if it's dead or alive!"

"What do we do, your highness?" says one of the soldiers.

"Open a new door, use it sideways, or build a statue on top of it, I don't know." says Michael. "Just don't lift it!"

The soldiers bow and salute him. Michael turns and moves away, overseeing the rebuilding and the reparations. He stops in the middle of the town, where a statue had just been erected, an iron statue in honor of the fallen Tyler Hawk, raising his sword to the sky, which had been set aflame as a torch. He admires the statue, then takes a deep, melancholic breath, wearing a broken smile, of grief, but also hope.

"We have lost one black-mask, but hear me out, brother - I will birth nineteen more to take your place! ... Not that they would, obviously, but a man must try!" says Michael. "It's been an honor having you as a brother... Fear not, for your death will not be in vain, it will serve to fuel hundreds of Alijonians' angers against the Dark Lord, and I'll be the first of them."

He turns back and looks into the sky, the sun is setting and the stars are starting to show.

"They are watching us, always, and they will guide us to victory." says Michael, smiling at the stars, hands behind his back. "They will."