Chapter 9
Xxxxx
"You're quite the defiant little one, aren't you? It is no matter. You will break, because I will break you, just like all the ones who came before you, and all the ones who will come after. And... I... I see... ohh, yes. Now I see, indeed. Well, we can't have that, now can we?"
"What are you..? No! NOOOO!"
Xxxxx
Blackwing Lair was dark. Blackwing Lair was hot. And Blackwing Lair stank like something long dead was slowly decaying.
"Oh, damn. Am I glad he's not moving," Dax said, staring at the bones of some oversized dragon. Around the room lay skeletons of Orcs and smaller dragon-creatures, as well as what looked like the crushed remains of numerous oversized eggs.
Kyle couldn't help but chuckle as she picked up one of the shattered shells. "No wonder black dragons are so bitchy. If they laid big-ass spiny eggs like this all the time, I can only imagine how they'd take it out on the little bastards that hatch."
"You mean..." Matt asked, not really paying attention.
"Yup." Kyle nodded. "They got no love from their mothers."
"You two do realize we're in the lair of a black dragon, surrounded by the bones of those you mock, right?" Dax asked warily.
Kyle snorted. "What's he going to do, haunt me? He's dead. And this time, no server reset is bringing this bad boy back." Crouching down before the scarred skull of the dragon, Kyle smirked and patted the skull between the eyes. "You failed to protect the eggs, Razorgore. Better a team of adventurers bring you low than what you'd receive reporting your failures to your boss."
"You knew this beast?" Dax asks in shock.
"Kid, you ain't seen nothing, yet."
"I know." Dax took a moment to leer purposefully at Kyle's chest, before settling back into a more serious demeanor. "But that doesn't explain how you were on a first-name basis with a black dragon."
Kyle straightened up and pointed at the doorway in the back of the room. "Through that door lies Vael, corrupted red dragon who earlier in his life helped adventurers in the orc-infested spire below. Further we'll find.. more dead... It was a pretty hellish run, back in the day."
Dax digested this bit of information. "O-kay." He turned to Matt and whispered, "she's a spy for the alliance, isn't she? Been here before, watched it all go down, helped with the scouting?" Dax nodded to himself, convinced one mystery was solved. He gave Matt a wink and nudge on his plate armor, "I'd like to get my hands on her secrets, if you know what I mean."
"If you got your hands on my secrets, I'd take you hands off your arms," Kyle muttered, before heading through the door in the back.
"She's been here many time before, yes," Matt admitted reluctantly. "Though not in the way you think. Why do you antagonize her so much, anyway?"
"Because it's fun?" Dax grinned. "And I don't particularly care for either of you, so it makes me laugh if she gets angry. Plus? She's hot when she's mad."
"Well, I suppose that's at least an honest answer."
"I can still hear you two!" Kyle shouted from the next room. "Get a move on!"
Dax moved towards the door with the grin still plastered on his face. "Aww, don't get impatient babe, I know you're eager to form the dragon with two backs. Your stud-muffin is coming!"
There was a muffled thud, followed by a soul-rending shriek of agony from the other room. When Matt passed through the doorway, he found Dax curled up in a fetal ball on the ground, a small puddle of vomit nearby, and the blood elf rolling around crying, holding his crotch.
Matt crouched down next to the weeping man. "Well? Was it worth it?"
Dax shook his head no.
"Then stop griefing our party and get your head back into the mission. We've got a dungeon to raid." Despite Dax's protests, Matt hauled the elf onto his feet and shoved him deeper into the lair.
He was remarkably well-behaved after that.
Xxxxx MEANWHILE, A FEW FLOORS ABOVE xxxxX
"IDIOTS! FOOLS! IMBECILES!" the figure on the crumbling throne shouted at the figures scurrying around the room, "You came running HERE to alert me, leaving the door wide open for them?"
While the few beings below him cowered and quailed in terror, the leader of the Gold Farmers turned towards a chained figure on the wall, smirking to himself at her listless gaze and forlorn appearance. "They come to rescue you, my pet. To what end, I don't care, as they will die, and you shall see that none can oppose the Gold Farmers of Azeroth!"
"You... killed her..." Serenity mumbled.
"Oh, relax. I'm sure you'll be back in that state soon enough."
"You... you..." Serenity was at a loss for words. The grief, pain, resentment, and self-hatred she felt bubbled up within her, and she fought it as best she could, before glaring at her captor. "They will kill you. And I will do nothing to intervene. No matter how precious life may be, yours is forfeit. I promise."
He laughed at her. "Ha! Still some spirit, yet! Stronger than you have threatened me so, yet here I am, and where are they now?" He pointed at a pile of bones in the corner, various tattered bits of armor still clinging to them.
Xxxxx
The party of three passed the bones of Vael, Dax stopping to inspect them before Kyle dragged them further into the labyrinthine lair. Finally, passing a room full of small nests and odd mechanical devises that appeared disabled, they spotted a pair of guards ahead, protecting a dark room.
"Broodlord Lashlayer used to guard that door... If I had to guess, I'd say beyond this point, we'll be fighting gold farmers."
"With no healer?" Matt asked. While normally paladins could put their in-game talents towards healing, it didn't feel like Tannim had done so, instead going towards dealing more damage. And while he could in fact cast a few healing spells, it was no substitute for a dedicated healer.
Kyle frowned. "Looks that way. Considering how our fight outside went, I think we should be okay... if we're sneaky. Dax, take the guard on the left, I'll take the one on the right. Matt, give us a few seconds to get close, then draw their attention."
"Yay. Decoy drone yet again. I have a feeling this is going to be a recurring theme with us."
Briefly letting Jae's memories take over, Kyle felt something like a veil of cloth fall over her, and to Matt's eyes, she disappeared. Almost. There, where she had stood, was a blur, a slight waver in the air, and if he frowned, he could make out Kyle's features, but only because he was aware of where she had been, and where she was. Even as he thought about it, Kyle started to move, and she slid out from under his gaze.
Dax, however, was feeling argumentative. "I want the one on the right!" he hissed, disappearing as well and moving towards his proclaimed target.
Rolling her eyes, Kyle veered to the left, feeling her movement somewhat hindered, as if she was moving under water. Still, in what felt like no time at all, she made it to her target, and moved behind the unsuspecting guard, before glancing over to where Dax should be.
With the two rogues in position and waiting to strike, Matt boldly walked forward towards the guards as if he owned the place, weapon out and resting on his shoulder. The clanking of his armor alerted the guards of his presence long before they saw him, so they had ample time to draw their swords. They relaxed a little when Matt made no threatening motions towards them, but didn't put away their weapons.
"Who goes there?" one asked.
Matt grinned. "Have either of you heard of the benefits of serving Elune? I know she's an elven goddess, but I really think you should really hear me out-"
"NOW!" The Blood Elf shouted, appearing from nowhere even as his daggers slid into the guard's back between the ribs.
Kyle grimaced, before slipping her arm around the guard's neck and tightening her grip. Even as she felt the veil of stealth slip away, she was moving, a sharp twist ending the guard's life, even as a gasp of surprise started to slip through his lips.
As Kyle's target slipped to the floor bonelessly, Dax's twitched and weakly struggled, even as his blood pooled on the floor around him. His mouth moved wordlessly, blood dripping from pale lips, and finally, after steadily slowing, the second guard went still.
"That was just as disturbing as last time," Kyle muttered, doing her best to scoot out of the way of the spreading puddle beneath the body.
"And that's the second time you've let someone live," Dax replied.
Kyle blinked. "Umm... he's dead," she said, pointing at the body she'd created.
Then she ran over to the ledge overlooking the room below and emptied her stomach.
"What's wrong?" Matt asked, concerned.
Turning to look at the body, Kyle shuddered, then turned away again. "I was hoping I could be more nonchalant about it, is all... Not quite so easy." Suppressing another shudder, Kyle straightened up. "There will be more ahead. It should get easier... in time."
Dax scratched his head. "I don't know who trained you, but it never gets easier. You just learn to accept it and move on."
Looking at the concerned rogue with a a little surprise, and even some respect, Kyle nodded. "I see. Well then, He was a bad guy, in my way, who helped those who kidnapped Serenity..."
"You did what you had to, Kyle," Matt said gently.
Kyle just nodded, before moving towards the door. "Lets just... get this done."
The next room, however, gave Kyle pause. Where before, there had been goblins and drakes and odd chemistry devices, the walls and alcoves were jammed with weapons racks, sleeping cots, and a series of portals through which they could see a number of cities, both Horde and Alliance.
Fortunately, there was hardly anyone around a few sleeping Gold Farmers occupying the beds, while a couple of children, one human, one blood elf, wearing manacles crouched, scrubbing the floor and not looking up as they passed.
"Slaves," Dax hissed, watching the two children work for a moment before making his way towards the weapons rack.
"Anything good?" Kyle whispered, even as she shifted through the collection of wood and steel meant to maim, dismember, and kill. Most of it looked fairly generic, however, and with a shrug, Dax moved on towards the next one, then the next, with increasing disdain, before turning away in disgust.
"You'd think a group like this could afford more than the standard crap they hand out to voluntary militias," he muttered, before turning towards the back of the room.
Following his gaze, Kyle and Matt saw a ramp leading up and around a corner.
"What's up there?" Matt wondered aloud.
"Well, there were three drakes in here, before. Now? Who knows," Kyle replied, looking at the sleeping Gold Farmers with a scowl. "Unsporting though it may be, I don't like the thought of any of those guys sneaking up behind us... and we only have so much rope."
Dax nodded, pulling one of his daggers. "Quietly, Dax," Kyle whispered, even as she made her way towards another sleeping figure.
"If I was a dungeons and dragons paladin I'd have to stop them," Matt muttered to himself. "Luckily, Tannim hates slavers as much as I do. They'll get no mercy from me." Matt took up over-watch position, covering the exits best he could in case anyone woke up and tried to run. He knew it would be pointless to try to sneak around in his heavy armor.
Kyle briefly stopped to tell the slaves to leave, quietly, before pausing to look down at the sleeping figure. Behind him, he heard a muted squelch from where Dax had gone, and winced, even as she raised a dagger over her head.
With a sigh, she let it fall to her side, looking around before turning it around and swinging the butt of it at the Gold Farmer's temple. At least, that's where she aimed. Apparently not sleeping quite so deeply as the others, the Golf Farmer snapped up his arm to deflect the blow, his eyes snapping open to grin at Kyle.
"Word of advice: don't hesitate!" Before she could move, the Farmer had rolled out of bed and was on his feet, hands up and ready to fight. Kyle took a step back, shocked, before crouching as well, knife still held pommel up.
"An interesting choice," the Farmer muttered, before trying to punch the thief. Kyle dodged wildly, and only Jae's training allowed her to avoid the following punch. Then everything started to blur, the two of them trading blows as Kyle watched from within Jae. At first, he was awed at the way she moved, but her training, as underhanded though it may have been, missed some fairly obvious openings the Gold Farmer left undefended during his attacks.
Finally, frustrated at the way they seemed so evenly matched, Kyle took control, feeling the agility and sureness in her limbs disappear as the Gold Farmer pressed his apparent advantage. Which was when Kyle struck. Rushing him as he tried to punch, inside his guard, The outer edge of Kyle's hand flashed out, a wet crunch filling the room, and suddenly the gold farmer was on the floor, kicking and writhing wildly as he clutched his ruined throat.
"What was that?" Dax asked, watching the twitching body slow. He'd not seen what she had done, but was impressed with the results.
"Looks like she smashed in the larynx," Matt offered. At Dax's confused look, he elaborated, "She crushed his voicebox."
"Throat. Groin. Eyes. Knees." Kyle replied with a shrug. "Weak points in all humans... and humanoids. I tend to focus on the throat, but all of them work wonders when incapacitating, or, if necessary, terminating."
Without elaborating further, Kyle turned and headed up the ramp, leaving Dax to look at Matt questioningly.
Matt looked towards Kyle's retreating form. "She mentioned she was in the army. I suppose this is training from that experience." Dax took that explanation at face value, and didn't question it further.
Ahead, the room continued on, more cots and racks adorning the alcoves, except for the last one, which was gated off and guarded. Frowning at the guards, who would have to be taken care of, Kyle felt herself go into stealth, before moving forward. Most of the beds were empty, the racks nearby empty of weapons and items. One figure, however, lie on a bed, coughing fitfully and visibly shivering despite the heat in the room.
"Well, that's one we'll not have to worry about much," Kyle muttered, turning to look at the guards, and whatever it was behind them. Then she blinked. Beyond the guards, resting on wooden manikins, were rows and rows of armor, each one within a bubble of blue magic that shimmered in the faint light of the torches around the room.
Spying the red and black leather outfit she'd coveted back in classic WoW, Kyle felt a smirk grace her face, even as she turned to look at the guards in her way.
"Hmm..." Pulling a dagger free, she turned it around again, running her hand over the blunt end of the handle and wondering if the game was at all relevant here. "Only one way to find out," she muttered, before moving around one guard and letting him have it with the hardest swing she could build up in the stealth-induced slowness.
With a groan, the guard fell to the floor, alerting the other guard that something was up, even as Kyle backed away slowly, still in stealth.
Drawing his sword, the guard looked around the room warily, before moving over to his fallen companion. "Zinnersnip! Get up! What's wrong with you?" He poked his companion with his sword, eliciting no response. Before he could check further, however, he felt an arm snake around his neck, and a feminine voice whisper "goodnight," in his ear.
Kyle held on as the man struggled, his sword arm unable to get the blade moving fast enough to bite past the thick leather, and too close to put the sharp point to use. Of course, with the pressure she was applying, he didn't have that long, and she felt herself smile as his movement became lethargic, the sword clattering to the floor as he weakly tried to pull her arm loose. Finally, he collapsed to his knees, and she held on for a few moments after he stilled just to be sure. When she let him go, she glanced at him and grimaced.
Apparently, she'd held him too tight, and the capillaries in his face had burst, leaving red splotches on his nose, cheeks and forehead.
"Impressive," Dax muttered, fading into view nearby.
"Not really. That won't last lon-" Kyle winced as Dax put his dagger to use, ending the two guards' lives just as easily as he had earlier.
"Doesn't get easier?" she asked with a frown.
"Knowing those two wont be coming after me tonight, or tomorrow, or next month or year? It had to be done. Reports from the Horde back me up. It's messy work... but it needed to be done."
Without saying more, Dax stepped into the room beyond the guards bodies and whistled appreciatively.
"My thoughts exactly," Kyle replied, stepping forward to stand before the Bloodfang Armor set. Dax watched her for a moment, enjoying the view as she shifted from foot to foot before the armor, and glad her attention was so caught by the armor that she didn't notice his gaze.
Finally, Kyle turned, causing Dax to turn his head so quickly he almost lost his balance. "What do you think, preservative or security?"
"What, the spells? Probably security. This is a rather expensive collection... I'm surprised they don't outfit their people with these," Dax replied.
"You don't give mooks good gear. That just supplies the enemy," Kyle replied.
"Judgment Armor, right? You showed me a picture of this. Yeah, the robe is a bit like a dress, but I have admit this hood is simply bad-ass. Not to mention the daggers ornamenting the shoulders! That and the red, gold and black color scheme is choice."
Kyle looked over and saw that Matt was already putting on the finishing touches of his new, vastly superior armor. The old set was sitting in a half-hazard pile next to him, and as he put on the hood a pair of glowing white eyes sprang into existence to complete the effect.
The paladin turned to his companions and asked, "Be honest: does this robe make me look fat?"
Unable to resist, Kyle buried her face in her hands with a heavy sigh. Then she began pulling the armor off the manikin, before pulling it on as quickly as she could get the generic leather gear she was wearing off.
After pulling on the black-and-red pants, she turned to the stunned Dax, who was staring at her with wide eyes. "Quit staring and change, unless you don't think this gear is an improvement!"
"I... I don't..." Dax started to say, before a Mannequin slammed into it, some of the leather armor on it falling to the floor at his feet.
As he tried to change and watch Kyle, he managed to get both legs into one leg of armor and fell painfully onto his face. While that was going on, Kyle quickly switched leather chest pieces, enjoying the improved flexibility even as she slid on the bracers and gloves and admired the way she could move her fingers and hands as if there was nothing on them at all.
Finally, she pulled on the hood, frowning as she fed her ears through the openings provided, and grinning as she felt her face disappear into the shadow the design granted her.
"Oh, now this... this is something else," Kyle said, flexing her hands and looking at them.
Dax finally got his own armor on, grumbling about how he had missed the best part, and finally, the three stepped out of the armory, feeling a little more confident than before.
"It's too bad we can't get some worthwhile weapons. I remember that some good ones were found here, but it's unlikely we'll come across any of the originals."
"I think this is a pretty good find itself," Dax replied.
Kyle shrugged. "True. We've got one big room full of weird grinder things on the walls.. the Chromaguss' Lair, then Neltharion's throne room. Want to bet the leader of these Gold Farmers is in there?"
"My life for Auir! Wait, right company, wrong game..." Matt muttered to himself. "I'm going to need a proper battlecry if we're going to be doing this right. Spoon? Nah..."
As they made their way further in, Kyle paused in shock. Unlike the piles of bones seen earlier, the corpse of Chromaggus lay where it had fallen, not looking as if any time had gone by at all. The deadly wounds that had brought the two-headed dragon/dog low still leaked fluids, and its dull eyes stared at them in silent, unending accusation.
"Why isn't it decaying?" Dax asked, poking the corpse with his dagger tentatively.
"I would imagine Nefarion's tinkering with the Bronze Dragonflight caused this... it's like he's frozen in time, at the exact moment of his death," Kyle replied, wondering whether or not Nozdormu, the keeper of time and leader of the bronze dragonflight would care that the blood of his brood had been used to create this abomination; and how it affected it still. Probably not. Turning to look at the raised portcullis, Kyle nodded towards it. "Through there is where we'll probably find the leader of the Gold Farmers."
Kyle turned to look at Matt, finally catching the paladin's attention after a few more moments of internal deliberation.
"Aha! I've got one!" Matt nodded happily to himself. "I'm ready when you are."
Kyle motioned towards the door. "By all means."
Matt drew his sword and muttered blessings over his, Kyle's, and Dax's weapons. They all glowed softly with a faint hue, and the two rogues stepped back, Kyle disappearing into invisibility. Before fading, Dax glanced back the way they had come, scowling a moment before slipping into stealth alongside the night elf.
Through the oversized entrance Matt strode, armor glinting in the evening light as it streamed in through one open side of the chamber. The glint, however, was diminished somewhat by the unnaturally large piles of gold coating the floor across from the opening in veritable mountains of gold coin.
With the opening on one side, and the gold on the other, there existed a corridor down the length of the chamber from the entrance that lead up to an impressive stone throne.
And on that throne sat a man... a human; and one that was unsettlingly familiar to Kyle.
Dax, not recognizing the figure, focused his attention on the twelve or so guards and gold farmers stationed around the room, some looking forward to the one-sided assault on the three trespassers, others looking warily at Matt and obviously unaccustomed to combat.
Not one to waste a perfectly good battlecry despite already holding everyone's attention, Matt bellowed, "LEEEEROOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEENKIIIIIIIINS!" as he charged the surprised group, seemingly alone in his mad rush against what appeared to be a superior force. After a few moments the people who looked like they knew how to fight unsheathed their weapons with a knowing smirk and engaged the interloper.
"News flash! You're standing on holy ground! Consecration!" Cracks formed in the floor where holy magic sprang up from the stone floor and spread out in a circle roughly seven feet in all directions. This severely annoyed the people immediately surrounding Matt by causing them slight pain, but otherwise did not do much damage. It did its job, though, by keeping the attention squarely on him.
Kyle watched Matt engage the crowd, and knew the odds were definitely stacked against them. As the paladin was surrounded, Kyle made her way to the throne, enjoying the way the shadows hid her presence, until she reappeared beside the leader of the Gold farmers, dagger held against his throat.
"Stay your blades!" She called, hoping that was the right thing to say at a critical juncture such as this.
"How sad," the leader said with a slight sigh.
Kyle blinked. That wasn't how it was supposed to go. "Excuse me?"
The leader turned his head to look at Kyle, and suddenly the dagger in her hand went flying, Dax appearing with his foot out, having just kicked it from her hands. "Did you really think..." the leader elaborated, Dax taking up a position behind him, "honestly believe, that I would just let you waltz in here, uncontested?"
Kyle frowned, even as she felt the tip of a sword at her back. "Umm... we didn't get in here uncontested. And I take it Dax is yours? He killed a few of your men."
The Leader shrugged, turning to Dax. Dax nodded. "It's true. They were inattentive and weak. Better off dead than guarding something potentially valuable."
Kyle scowled at the by-play, before crossing her arms defiantly. "So... who are you? You look just like him, but he's dead."
"Your knowledge of human history is quite good, if you recognize me. I chose this face to mock his memory, honestly. He failed in his task, and as I was always referred to as his lesser, I felt it only fitting," the smiling face of Victor Nefarius said.
Kyle nodded. "You took his lair for your own devices... is it safe to assume more Golf Farmers can be found in Onyxia's Lair, as well? The Lady Prestor may be dead, but surely you've not put all your eggs in one basket." Kyle glanced at the piles of gold, before shrugging. "So to speak," she amended.
"Oh, very good, little mortal. I think I shall have to tear all you know from your little purple skull before I finish you off."
"Oi! Piss-for-brains. Forgetting someone?" Matt waved his sword for effect.
Dax sneered. "He knows nothing. A high-elven paladin of Elune. This night elf is the brains."
The being disguised as the previous lord of Blackrock Mountain frowned. "And yet, they come all this way for a third... one whose bearing is even more regal that this one is self-assured," he replied, waving a hand at Kyle.
"Whatever she may be, your plans are too far-reaching for any of these to interfere. Best to do away with them," Dax hissed.
"Remember your place, little thief. This one has knowledge. And I see it become mine before she draws her last breath."
"Funny, Sartharion said something similar, right before he was ambushed in the Obsidian Sanctum."
The leader of the Gold Farmers drew back as if physically hit. "WHAT!?"
"Oh, yes. Below Wyrmrest Temple in the Dragonblight of Northrend, your brood's next great plan is already nothing more than a memory. But what can you expect from the addled minds of Deathwing the Deranged's demented brood."
"How dare you. HOW DARE YOU! The Black Dragonflight will rule this world, and all the lesser beings shall know their place, or die defending the lie that is their freedom!"
"Tell it to your brother, you half-witted lizard," Kyle replied, ignoring the hard poke in the back she got for that.
"..." The dragon in human-form opened his mouth to shout a response, before pausing. "You shall die. But only after watching all you hold dear to you suffer. BRING OUT THE WENCH!"
From behind a pile of gold, a pair of guards emerged, dragging a tattered and weakly-resisting figure between them. Kyle felt her face pale as she recognized it. "Oh, Goddess no... Serenity!"
With a wordless cry of unbridled fury, Matt charged towards the guards, breaking free of the circle of men previously surrounding him by sheer surprise. A few feet away from Serenity he lunged towards her, but another pair of guards barred his path with surprising strength, strength that was made understandable as their human forms twisted and stretched until a pair of Draconic centaur-like beings stood in his way. The other armed guards shifted form as well. Matt continued to struggle despite the change, to no avail.
The Leader chuckled. "Well well well, It seems we have a set: The heart of the group," he motioned towards Serenity, "the brains," he nodded at Kyle, before turning to smirk at the restrained Matt. "And the muscle."
Kyle ignored him. "Oh, Serenity... what did they do to you?"
Serenity's red-rimmed eyes met Kyle's for a second, her mouth opening to say something, but before she could, she shuddered, eyes watering up again at the thought, and she felt her legs give out, the two guards holding her supporting her weight as she went limp in their arms.
Turning her gaze back to the Leader, Kyle's voice dropped a few octaves. "You. You will die."
The Leader laughed, the mirth echoed by the various Gold Farmers around the room. "Me? Die? I fear you're gravely mistaken. Gravely mistaken, indeed." As he spoke, his voice grew deeper, even as his form wavered and stretched. Where before a human had stood, now there sat a huge black dragon, wings wide enough to span the room from entrance to throne, and reptilian yellow eyes the size of dinner plates focused on the night elf who stood before it before he continued.
"Know that your death was brought to you by Kcalbanihc of the Black Dragonflight, and all your useless gestures to stop me were for naught!"
Matt finally stopped struggling against his captors as an idea occurred to him. It wasn't a very good one, but just waiting around to die didn't sit well with him. "Um, hey, don't you want to explain your evil plan before you kill us?" 'And buy us a few more minutes to figure out how to defeat you?' he thought but didn't add. Though that was admittedly looking pretty hopeless at the moment.
The dragon rumbled. "I know that trick, mortal. But I suppose there's no reason not to play with my food... even as I play with my food."
Kyle blinked, unsure what to make of that. "What?"
Instead of responding, Kyle suddenly felt the world around her twist, and a rather intense pain in her chest as the black dragon's tail slapped her hard enough to send her flying right out the side of the mountain.
"Ha! I love this game!" Kcalbanihc cried, diving out after her. "Look at this world, Mortals!"
Kyle was too busy trying not to pass out from the pain of multiple shattered ribs and impending death by 'sudden-stop-at-the-end' to appreciate the view. At least, she was, until a new pain flared up in her legs.
Kcalbanihc had caught her in his teeth, and now plowed through the air back towards his throne room, intent on prolonging her suffering. Spitting the elf out on the floor towards her friend, he continued. "Azeroth is divided by you petty mortals into ridiculous kingdoms and factions... and all of them desire one thing."
Groaning, Kyle tried to sit up, large holes in her left thigh making that difficult, even as the shattered ribs from earlier made it impossible.
"Can't have you bleeding out," Kcalbanihc muttered, before snorting and sending a jet of flame to cauterize the wounds. It was enough to make Kyle scream in anguish, even as she felt the world fade. Only to be pulled back by something hard poking her and making broken bones grind. "Don't die just yet, little one. Your friend asked what my plan was, and I can't have you dying until you hear it, now can I?"
With that, he pressed down on her foot, smiling toothily as he felt the bones shift, then creak, before snapping and sending her screaming in anguish again. "Ahh, that's better. I have your attention again, I hope? As I was saying, all those factions, all those insignificant mortals killing each other all seem so interested in this," he waved his hand at the piles of gold, "this useless metal."
He sat back, watching his captives as he continued. "From the earth they dug it up... it is only fitting that the brood of the earthwarder give them exactly what they asked for."
"You... pay them?" Kyle asked between gasps. Nothing in Jae's memories could have prepared him for the beating she'd just taken, and Kyle's own memories had only one painful incident to draw from, which didn't hold a candle to the blaze of anguish this dragon had so casually dished out.
"Pay them? To kill each other? Of course not. They'll do that regardless of gold. Horde versus Alliance. Human versus Elf. Dwarf and Troll... without their beliefs, I bet even the allies would fight each other. Humans certainly did before the Orcs came. No, I intend to do much worse."
Despite his distance, and the pair of dragons currently holding him fast, Matt did his level best to heal Kyle with what spells he could bring to mind. They apparently didn't care or notice, as no one made move to stop him. "Worse? What's worse than this?" he muttered darkly.
"Imagine all of this gold, spread to everyone, and each piece cursed to drive its holder into a bloodthirsty frenzy defeated only by death! Imagine children murdering their parents in their beds, parents turning on confused children and choking the life from them, friend slaying friend, strangers tearing others apart... and then suddenly realizing what they've done! The few unaffected will be left with no other choice than to put down those who were affected. And those who survive will take their own lives in grief."
The dragon chuckled. "Oh, it is far far beneath me to waste my time killing you stupid mortals by the cartload. So you can do it to yourselves, and then we, the dragons, Proper rulers of Azeroth, can take back what is rightfully ours."
"Horrible," Serenity said, looking at him with eyes large with shock and revulsion. Despite her own turmoil, she couldn't help but fear the situation this beast had so casually described.
"How..." Kyle coughed, wincing at the blood that came with it, before continuing, "...how can you expect to curse..." her voice failed her, but Kcalbanihc got what she was trying to say. Or really, Dax did.
"Oh, that would be my part."
"You!?" Matt spat with obvious venom while still trying to treat Kyle's injuries. "Your part?!"
"Indeed. Who would suspect the magekiller, the rogue, to be a magician?"
"You... mage?" Kyle asked, incredulous.
"I'm sorry, did I fool you? Not that I didn't mean to, but it was a pretty good job, wasn't it?" Dax smiled at them, before shrugging. "You Mortals. So quick to believe your eyes."
"Another dragon?" Matt asked, frowning.
"Indeed! Daxglaucous, at your service!" Dax paused, before shrugging. "Or at his, at any rate."
"Blue," Kyle hissed.
"Indeed! Lord Malygos has had it with you lesser beings and your blatant disregard for the magics of the world. If Kcalbanihc can remove the majority of you from the equation, then it is my duty to assist him in whatever way possible!"
As the world grew dark, Kyle smiled softly. "Malygos... fails."
Incensed, the blue dragon in blood-elf form stepped forward, before stepping on Kyle's broken foot, drawing a blood-flecked scream from the wounded Night Elve's raw throat. "What do you mean by that, worm!"
Kyle's eyes narrowed as the blinding agony from her foot settled to a dull agony. "In the Eye of Eternity atop the Occulus, yes? Saphiron still..." Kyle shuddered, "still has a key. Malygos falls."
"That's... that's not possible!" Dax cried, though his pale features and furtive glances at nothing in particular gave Kyle's words far more credit than a simple dismissal would.
"The Life-Binder helps," Kyle said, with a small nod.
Dax howled, "NO! She cannot interfere!"
"Calm yourself, Mage. This little one cannot possibly know the future," Kcalbanihc said.
"Calm yourself, Black! I've got to report this to Lord Malygos at once! I will return to poison this gold, but this information must be brought to my master now."
"You cannot leave! Not now!" Kcalbanihc roared.
"I must!" Dax replied, making his way towards the edge of the room and transforming into an oversized blue drake.
"Kill them, Kcalbanihc. What they know..." Dax didn't bother to finish, merely pushing off with a flap of his scaly wings and disappearing.
"Well now," Kcalbanihc muttered, turning towards the two intruders, then at his earlier captive. "I had plans for you, but it seems you're all now too knowledgeable to use... you know what that means, don't you?" The question rather rhetorical, he brought his head down to look at Kyle, scaly lips pulled back to expose foot long teeth in a mouth big enough to fit a horse with room to spare.
Kyle just rolled her eyes and turned her head, suppressing the groan the motion caused. Matt's healing had actually started to help, but with that mouth her next destination, she wasn't in the mood for any more banter.
"Let them go!" A voice called out from the entrance, before a throwing blade sunk into the flesh of the dragon's neck with a meaty [chunk] Unfortunately, it was far too small to be anything but a minor annoyance to the fully-grown dragon.
"WHO DARES?" Kcalbanihc roared.
"I do, as does all of Stormwind, and the Alliance behind it." A man replied, his voice carrying without shouting.
"And who are you, to presume you speak for the Alliance, little man?"
"Mathais Shaw, of SI:7. I'll say this once: let them go, and you'll have enough time to try to escape before you're brought down, dragon," Shaw announced. The Leader of SI:7, Stormwinds network of spies and assassins, he wasn't willing to show fear to anything. At least, not to anything that could die.
"I see," Kcalbanihc said, nodding. "But... you seem to have forgotten something."
"And what is that, foul beast?" Mathias said, raising a brow inquisitively.
"An army with which you may try to defeat me!" he shouted, rushing forward and spreading his jaws to finish the impudent human with one bite.
As he was about to reach his target however, something large and heavy slammed into his head from the direction of the window, a harsh shriek in his draconic ears even as sharp claws scratched at his scaly hide.
"WHAT?" he roared, turning to look. A gryphon, ridden by a dwarf, circled the room, and suddenly the room was full of figures, knights in armor streaming in through the entrance, as gryphons flew in through the open wall to deposit their riders.
"How DARE you! Insects!" Kcalbanihc cried, as a wave of fireballs impacted his thick flank.
Matt felt arms pulling him away from Kyle, and suddenly realized he was surrounded by robed figures wearing priestly garb and already going to work to heal his wounded friend. They were quickly relocated to the alcove behind the Throne, where Kyle's healing progressed rapidly.
Serenity, who had been dropped by her minders when the alliance forces had rushed the room, was lead over to them, and a pair of priests went to work on her as well.
"You seem to know quite a bit, your rogue." Kyle looked up into the stony eyes of Mathias Shaw, wincing slightly.
"It would seem, Mathias, that I merely knew enough."
The rogue leader matched her gaze for a moment, before barking out a quick laugh. "That you did!" There was a moment his smile lingered, before it faded. "You've wounds to heal, and I have a dragon to slay. But after, we must talk. The King should know what you know."
"And I suppose you should know, before him?" Kyle asked, grinning even as she felt bones shifting back into place.
Mathias nodded, pulling a pair of curved daggers from his belt. "Aye, you've the right of it." he said before leaving to join the fight.
After a moment of relative quiet while Kcalbanihc was attacked, Kyle turned to look at Serenity, who, despite looking healed physically, was still an obvious emotional wreck.
"Oh, Serenity... what did they do to you?" Matt asked, all traces of mirth in his voice gone.
"I... he..." Serenity paused, taking a ragged breath before closing her eyes. "I no longer have to fear for my little one... she's been taken from me," Serenity explained, doing her best to sound professional. Despite that, however, her voice was shaky, and she cursed herself for showing such weakness before others, especially after what she'd seen Kyle go through.
"Oh, Serenity... highness... I'm so sorry," Kyle said, shocked. Usagi was... dead? What did that mean for the Silver Millennium?
Matt slammed the ground with his gauntleted fist. "Fuck!"
"I... No. After what you just went through, I'm not... I can't..." Serenity broke down, then, unable to contain herself anymore. Kyle, still somewhat broken inside, ignored the pain and the protests of the priests around her and pulled Serenity into a hug, suppressing a wince as every sob jostled broken bones slowly mending, and knowing that the pain was far more transitory than her distraught friend's.
The whisper of sword on stone alerted those in the immediate area of Matt rising to his feet. "Excuse me. I need to take care of something." He turned his back on the two women, and placed his focus squarely on the black dragon currently fighting for its life.
"YOU WILL DIE!"
The cry echoed through the hall even as Matt ran towards the beast. He chanted every damage-boosting, pain-inflicting spell Tannim's memories could supply him with, and when those failed he settled for severing the major tendon of Kcalbanihc's front left leg as he reached the creature
Without support where once he expected it, the black dragon fell onto his side, nearly crushing Matt and half a dozen attackers. They were all agile enough to escape the descending beast.
Kcalbanihc struggled to stand again, despite his numerous wounds. He muttered to himself in astonishment through the haze of pain. "What? This isn't... How is this, can this..?"
"I'll TELL you!" Matt shouted as he ran towards where the head now lay. In his obvious rage other, more seasoned warriors stepped away from the fight to let the figure glowing with righteous fury pass. "You don't. Mess. With FAMILY!" Matt punctuated his statement by reaching the head of Kcalbanihc's draconic form and stabbing him in the eye that was currently looking at him with surprise.
In his pain, Kcalbanihc lifted his head from the ground, taking Matt and his sword with him. The weapon dug deeper into the soft flesh near his brain as the paladin stubbornly hung on, attempting with every fibre of his being to angle the sword just right for the killing blow. Something struck a nerve, and a final toss of Kcalbanihc's head threw both man and weapon from the dragon. The dragon fell back down to the ground with a heavy crashing of scale on stone, and did not rise.
Matt's brief moment through the air terminated when he impacted the far wall and was accompanied by a pained grunt. He fell to the floor in a heap. As the world spun and grew dark around him, Matt shot the convulsing form across the room a final glare, and muttered "...too quick a death for that one..." before letting the darkness engulf him.
-------------
Author's Notes for Magus: I'm tired. This chapter was brought to you by General Motors, the Letter 'F,' and the Mass Effect 2 Trailer, which was epic enough to inspire me to write. I'm sure Matt is glad (Tannim: I am!) I got off my butt and did something. Stay tuned for more.
Author's Notes for Tannim: We hope you've enjoyed the ride so far. ^_^
so all i can asked now is where are they of to next? oh and by the way is time consistant across the dimensions? if so i wonder whats been happening in the moon kingdom since serenity's disapearance.