The Fell War - Chapter 24

Elias tried desperately to fight through the pain and the tears. When Alfre shattered, he’d flown into a rage, sending thunderbolt after fireball after dark beam at the woman who killed her. Spica reacted much the same way, her face cold and unreadable as she rushed their enemy, daggers in hand. Ran and Traveler had not let up the volley of magical projectiles since the fight had begun, and it was all Hadi and Izo could do to keep them all from dying. Beira had disappeared some time ago, unable to remain there without Alfre’s bond. They had no idea where Canus and Abital went, only that they’d vanished at the same time Alfre had.

They all knew, logically, that Alfre wasn’t truly dead. Not in the way Wonderlanders were when they were killed, not in the way she would be in the Real World. But what you knew, and how you felt were often at odds with each other. And right now, all they felt was rage. Rage and sorrow and hopelessness and the driving need to avenge their friend.

Summer didn’t even seem all that phased. Fire magic did seemingly nothing against her. The cuts on her skin looked minimal at best. She was fast. She was strong. She was nearly invulnerable. And, a small army of Fell whose levels either matched or exceeded Elias’ and the others flanked her.

“This is impossible!” Izo sobbed, clutching at a bleeding wound in his side. “We need Ren and the others. We can’t beat her on our own, not with her friends with her!”

“It can’t be impossible!” Ran shouted over his gunfire. “Nothing in this world is impossible!”

“Nothing except your victory,” Summer mocked, slicing through the air with her sword and sending a wave of fire towards them. Hadi threw up a shield, but it soon broke under the pressure of Summer’s power. The damage was halved, at best, and Hadi couldn’t be sure he could keep up with the damage being dealt.

“We’re not giving up!” Spica snarled. “We’re not surrendering. If we fall, we fall like Alfre did. Fighting until the last.”

“That’s right!” Elias agreed. “Remember what Alfre said. Bide and Fecht.”

“The hell does that even mean?” Traveler shouted, desperately reloading her rifle.

“It means,” a familiar voice echoed in the hallway. “Stand and fight!”

Reemerging from the aether as if being pieced back together, Alfre stood in the middle of the hall. Beside her stood the four gods, and in her hand was a new weapon.

“What the hell?!” Summer demanded, whirling on the reborn winter blade. “You can’t be here! I killed you! You should be back in Spade right now! How are you here? What the hell is that sword?”

“That sword is your doom, burning one,” Orli announced, her voice steady and cold. “For that is the Vorpal Blade, legendary weapon of the Fell Queen.”

“The what?!”

“A weapon given only to those Fell who are worthy,” Koseret stated. “Given only to those who would protect not only the Fell, but all of Wonderland with its use.”

“A weapon given only to those who are blessed by all four of the gods,” Canus added, wolfish grin back where it belonged.

“And before you stands that very Fell,” Abital said. He smiled down at Alfre. “Why don’t you introduce yourself, love?”

Alfre grinned wildly, holding the Vorpal Blade out. “I am Alfre the Winter Blade, Commander of the Fell Army, Guild Master of the Alliance of the Frozen Stars, Favored One of the Wilds, Death’s Chosen Champion, Blessed by the Great Druid, Light Touched, Master of the Vorpal Blade. Who the hell are you?”

Summer’s hair erupted into flames, licking at the air wildly. “You know who I am, you stupid bitch!”

“So, I know you say this sword can beat her,” Alfre whispered to the deities that surrounded her. “But I’d really rather fight her someplace where the rest of the gang can hop in and kick her ass…and also someplace where we have more than two healers.”

“The city?” Orli questioned, sounding like she clearly believed Alfre was crazy. “Is that wise?”

“Probably not,” Alfre admitted. “But if I die, we’ll need all of our strongest to beat her, and we left most of them in the city.”

Orli nodded. “Very well. Abital, if you could.”

Summer charged, and in that moment Abital summoned a storm of dark smoke. It swallowed them all – Alfre, her comrades, the gods, and Summer. Alfre clutched at the hilt of the Vorpal Blade, her chest squeezing as the darkness swallowed her. It was too dark. It reminded her too much of her all too recent death. She could feel herself begin to tremble. Her breath caught in her throat.

A warm, comforting hand settled on the small of her back. It reminded her of the weight she felt when Abital hid in her shadow. Another hand wrapped around her shoulder, slightly larger and with a harsher, more protective grip. It calmed her, helped her breath a little easier, to feel these hands. And when the shadows faded and she found herself standing in the cathedral plaza back in Heart, she was unsurprised to find it was Abital’s hand on her back and Canus’ around her shoulder.

The plaza was mostly empty, the vast majority of the players would be defending the wall…if the Granato army hadn’t broken through the gate yet. There was, however, a small medic station set up along the cathedral’s side of the plaza, where Alfre could see Olivia and several other clerics jump in surprise at their sudden entrance.

“Olivia, dear, my friends are in a bit of a bad way,” Alfre shouted across the square. “If you and your fellow clerics could give them a bit of attention, I’d appreciate it.”

“Yes, Commander!” Olivia said, jumping from her seat and rushing over with two other clerics and a druid to help mend the wounds Hadi and Izo had been unable to deal with in the heat of battle.

Summer’s eyes scanned the plaza, amusement tugging at her lips. “You brought me here? Are you stupid? Now that I’m here, once I beat you I can just burn the rest of it down.”

“If you beat me,” Alfre corrected, pointing the Vorpal Blade at her opponent threateningly. “And even if you do, I have a hell of a lot more friends here to help kick your arse than I did in Rubino. As a matter of fact.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the direwolf whistle Canus had given her so long ago. She blew, the sound too high for any human ear.

Not a moment later, Beira came bounding into the plaza, a full-blown pack of other direwolves beside her.

She reached down, running her fingers through Beira’s soft fur. “Beira, darling, be a dear and get the rest of my friends for me. I may need them.”

Beira wuffed and then howled, the other wolves joining in before the lot of them took off into the city proper.

“Ha!” Summer laughed cruelly. “You know you can’t beat me so you have to call on your pathetic friends. Are they all weakling children like this one?”

Her blade whirled about to point at Olivia, and Alfre immediately tensed up.

Summer grinned manically, a cruel parody of Ren’s signature wild grin. “Let’s see if she puts up a better fight than you did.”

The woman with blazing hair turned to charge Olivia, who was still busy tending to Spica’s burns. Alfre felt her heart stop as she bolted forward to stop her. Time seemed to stop along with her heart as she raced across the plaza, each step of hers covering the ground of five. She flew across the cobblestones, begging to be fast enough, desperate to get there before Summer did.

Summer swung down with her black-bladed katana, expecting to cut through the soft flesh of a low-level cleric. Instead, black metal met cobalt blue as Alfre flickered into her path. The look of shock in her golden eyes, in Alfre’s opinion, was priceless.

“I don’t think so, Summer,” Alfre warned. “If you want to get to them, you have to go through me. And I’m not about to let that happen again.”

“What the hell?!” Summer screeched. “You weren’t this fast before!”

“What part about that big ol’ long list of titles did you not get?” Alfre mocked. “I’ve got the gods on my side, ya numpty.”

“Why would they give a shit about you?” Summer demanded, drawing back to swing again. “They’ve never given a damn about the Fell before. Why start now?”

“Well, it all started with Canus,” Alfre explained blithely, blocking Summer’s second swing. “This asshole going by Lokki killed and skinned one of his direwolves. I helped him, and he grew fond of me and did me many kindnesses in return.” She parried another strike, leaving Summer open to attack. She thrust forward with the Vorpal Blade, the sword cutting through the air with a ‘snicker-snack’ sound. The point of the sword burying itself in Summer’s shoulder.

“Then there was Abital,” Alfre continued over Summer’s pained screaming. “We went to his dungeon, seeking adventure as all Fell do. But he just seemed so sad and lonely on his throne that I couldn’t bear to fight him.  So instead I told him a story, and he was so moved by such a simple kindness that he followed me home.”

Summer drew back, the Vorpal Blade coming loose from her shoulder. She swung, both hand grasping the hilt of her blade as she fought to ignore the pain. Her swing was met by Alfre’s blade once more, the frustration obvious on Summer’s face. Her hair blaze with more intensity even as the air around Alfre became more and more frigid.

“Koseret came not long after we landed on the shores of Ahmar, preparing for war.” Alfre just kept talking, as if she were having a normal conversation instead of a duel for the fate of the continent. “She saw what we were trying to do, what we aimed to accomplish by kicking Granato out of Heart. She knew we were doing it all for the right reason, and she gave us her blessing.”

She ducked out of the way of a wild swing of Summer’s flaming blade, loosing a few strands of hair in the process. She slashed at Summer’s legs, cutting through the fine leather of her boots. The wounds themselves were shallow, but the frost crawling over Summer’s flesh would mean serious problems for her in a moment.

“Orli was a hard sell,” she went on. “She didn’t want us to fight the Wonderlanders, and she didn’t want to side with us for fear she’d lose her worshipers. But when she realized what you had done, and the kind of threat you presented, even she came around.”

Summer screamed unintelligibly, trying to push Alfre back closer to her friends, perhaps in hopes of putting them in the crossfire. Alfre wasn’t having it, and pushed back just as hard. She thrust forward with a spear of ice, Summer’s fire magic giving her just enough time to dodge the frozen weapon.

“Alfre!”

Everyone’s attention was pulled to the entrance of the plaza, where Ren, Atticus, Lance, June, Hunter, Einmora, Makoto, Briar Fox, Selphie, and the rest of the guild masters stood watching in shocked silence.

“Hey, Makoto, was this the player who was burning everything?” Alfre shouted across the plaza.

“She sure looks like she could be,” Makoto agreed.

“Cool! The gods gave me a cool sword to beat her. But in case I don’t…” Alfre flashed them a wicked grin. “Giver her hell for me, yeah?”

No one moved, save for Ren, who simply nodded, hands clenched by her sides.

“Wicked!” Alfre cheered before turning her attention back to Summer. “So, yeah, basically you don’t stand a chance.”

“Shut the hell up!” Summer roared. “I’m more powerful than you’ll ever be! My level is twice as high as yours! I’ve taken on cities and won! I am the Fell that the game was made for! You’re just a stupid noob bitch who got by on hacks!”

“Wrong,” Alfre argued, her voice cold as her eyes began to glow. “Because this isn’t a game anymore, Summer. It hasn’t been in forever, and I know you know that. I didn’t hack anything. I was kind and true and I was rewarded – no, I was given a responsibility because of that.”

She held up the Vorpal Blade, the sunlight gleaming off the edge of the sword. “This is the Vorpal Blade, given only to those who would use it to protect all of Wonderland. The last person to use it was the first Fell, Alice. She killed the Jabberwocky with it. And, because you pose such a threat to the people of Wonderland, native and Fell alike, the gods saw fit to bestow it upon me.”

“So, what, you’re the chosen one?” The way Summer said ‘chosen one’ was clearly mocking, even over her anger.

“No,” Alfre said, shaking her head. “I’m just a person. A person who saw something wrong and wanted to fix it. I’m sure any of my comrades could have wielded the Blade. Any of them are worthy. Hell, if any one asked me, I would have said Ren is far more ‘chosen one’ than I am.”

“Then what makes you so damn special?” Summer demanded, her anger scorching the cobblestones under her feet.

Alfre simply shrugged. “Nothing. I don’t have to be special. I don’t have to be the strongest Fell in Wonderland. I don’t have to be the chosen one of some prophecy from centuries ago. I’m just…me.”

“THEN WHY DID THE GODS GIVE YOU THE VORPAL BLADE?”

“Because she died standing up for the people of Wonderland,” Ren stated, sounding all the world like she knew the answer. “Because she died protecting the people she cared about. Because she stood up against impossible odds and fought anyway. Because that’s what a good person does.”

“News flash, princess,” Summer spat. “The world doesn’t give out prizes for being a nice person. Or did the real world teach you nothing?”

Ren stepped forward. “The old world didn’t, you’re right. Often times the worst people got rewarded. People got power they didn’t deserve and the world suffered for it. But this world…maybe in this world the good people do get recognized. Wonderland sees them and says, ‘you have done good things, and I have seen you’. Maybe, in that way, Wonderland is better than the old world.”

“God, all you people do is preach,” Summer groaned, rolling her eyes. “No one gives a shit around here if you’re good or bad or whatever. All it cares about is how strong you are. And I’m the strongest Fell in Wonderland! I’ll prove it to you!”

She rushed at Ren, Alfre not two steps behind her. Ren’s golden eyes watched carefully, her fists rising to a defensive position in front of her face. Summer’s blade slashed through the air, aiming to cleave Ren in half.

Alfre eyes widened at Ren started to glow a deep forest green. She dipped under Summer’s attack, righting herself faster than Alfre had ever seen. She struck, her mithril covered fist colliding with Summer’s jaw. Summer’s head snapped back, her footing lost as she tumbled to the ground.

Ren paused, staring disbelievingly at her fists. “What the…”

Canus barked with laughter, drawing all eyes to him. “Did you honestly think snowbird was the only one I like? Let’s face it, sea hawk, you’re just as wild as I am.”

Summer scrambled back from Ren, rage and confusion warring on her face. “Now who the hell are you!?”

Ren tore her eyes from Canus, gold meeting gold as she grinned wildly down at the red head. “I’m Ren, Siren Monk, Queen of the Crystal Moon Kingdom, Lieutenant Commander of the Fell Army, Sea Hawk and – ” she looked to Canus once more “ – Favored One of the Wilds?”

Canus matched her grin. “Not as much as snowbird here, but yeah.”

“Are all of you some kind of pet Fell?” Summer snapped, face flushed with anger and embarrassment.

“Hardly,” Traveler huffed. “Most of us just have gods who like us.”

Orli chuckled. “You say that like you’re not one of them.”

Traveler blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

Orli smiled, holding out an open palm. “Traveler, World Walker, Hero of an Older Age, what makes you think you are not also Light Touched?”

Traveler stared at she too began to glow, a pale lavender light enveloping her. “I…”

Orli’s smiled turned wistful. “I always did like you heroes best.”

Spica shot Traveler a knowing look, only to flinch back in surprise when she too began glowing a deep red color. She looked to Abital, who smiled.

“You’re kidding me,” she said.

“Spica, She the Stars Favor, can Death not have more than one Chosen Champion?” Abital queried, his voice light and teasing.

“I mean, usually not,” Spica argued mildly, though she looked far too pleased with herself to truly argue. “But, I suppose it does make sense. I’m an assassin after all.”

Elias smiled at her, and didn’t even look surprised when he too began to glow a pale blue color. His eyes met Koseret’s, who smiled at him in turn.

However, he asked, “Why me?”

“I live to support the people of Wonderland with fertile soil and healthy harvests,” Koseret explained. “Does it not make sense, White Rabbit, that the one I bless also lives to support others?”

One by one, all those gathered in the plaza began to glow one of four colors: deep red, forest green, pale lavender, and soothing blue. Izo blushed as he began to glow with Koseret’s blessing. Hadi looked at Orli in a new light as he received her blessing. Ran’s forest green glow meshed well with Izo’s soft blue as he reached for the dragonling’s hand. Atticus seemed wholly unsurprised to received Abital’s blessing, and bowed slightly to the God of the Dead, who seemed surprised by the reverence he was shown. Even sweet little Olivia was blessed by Koseret, who welcomed the tiny cleric’s ecstatic hug warmly. All the Fell shown with soft, comforting light.

All the Fell, except Summer. She stared, her confidence fading into fear, her anger only growing as she found herself the only one without the blessing of the gods.

“This…this isn’t possible!” she shouted. “If any one should be blessed, it’s me! I’m the strongest Fell there is! I’ve lead armies to destroy those too weak to belong in this world! I conquered the largest empire in Wonderland! If anyone deserves a blessing, it’s me! The rest of you aren’t good enough!”

“Oh, lass,” Alfre sighed, and Summer scowled at the pity in her voice. “Nobody’s gonna bless a rotten apple.”

Summer roared, the insult breaking whatever patience she had left. She charged at Alfre, blade at the ready. The Vorpal Blade flew through the air with a snicker-snack sound, sparks and frost flying as the two swords met. Alfre pushed back against Summer’s reckless attack, the point of her rapier dragging across the thick leather armor the red head wore.

Summer pulled a small dagger out from seemingly nowhere, hurling it at Alfre’s leg. The shorter woman cried out at the pain as the blade embedded itself in her thigh, flinching down and away from Summer’s second attack with her katana. She pulled the dagger from her leg, tossing it aside. She could feel the warm, comforting feeling of healing magic, catching a glance of Olivia’s raised staff out of the corner of her eye.

Alfre ducked under another potential decapitation from Summer, twirling around her to cut at the back of Summer’s legs. Summer shrieked, feeling the cold creep up from her new wounds. Alfre frowned; disappointed with herself that she hadn’t managed to cut Summer’s hamstrings. Summer’s eyes flew open wide, snapping towards those still watching.

“Who’s debuffing me?” She demanded furiously. “Who the hell is debuffing me?”

Elias tipped his hat towards her with a small smirk.

“Stay the hell out of this!” Summer shrieked. “This has nothing to do with you!”

“I think you’ll find it has everything to do with all of us,” Elias argued calmly, and his lack of anger only seemed to anger Summer more.

“You know what, he’s right!” Ren said cheerfully. “So why don’t we all get involved. I’d quite like to punch her again.”

“We could,” June agreed, her forest green glow flickering as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. “But watching her fall apart under Alfre is very entertaining.”

“Save your energy for the rest of her friends,” Atticus ordered. “Best let Alfre take care of this. It wouldn’t be right to steal her spotlight after she got such a cool sword.”

Ren groaned dramatically. “Ugh, fine. You’re right.”

Alfre mostly ignored the conversation going on around her, her focus on dodging and parrying Summer’s wild attacks. She managed to get a few hits in on Summer, whittling her health down. Summer didn’t seem to notice, her rage blinding her to everything else.

“I’m going to kill you!” she screeched. “I’m going to kill you, take your precious Vorpal Blade, and burn this town to the ground! I’ll kill your precious gods too! See how much their blessing is worth when they’re dead!”

“You know you can’t actually kill any of us,” Alfre reminded her coolly. “We’ll be back eventually. And the gods don’t actually die. Or did you forget that Abital is literally a dungeon boss? You can’t win, Summer. We’ll keep coming. We’ll keep fighting you. Eventually you will lose. But I think I’d rather you lose here and now.”

With that, Alfre pour her magic into the Vorpal Blade, elongating the blade with a fierce shard of ice. Summer bellowed, her blade slashing through the air in yet another attempt to take Alfre’s head. Alfre ducked under the attack, thrusting out with her blade.

This time, it pierced through Summer’s armor, straight through her chest.

Summer froze, staring down in disbelief. “I… I…”

Alfre withdrew her blade. “You know what they say. Off with her head.”

The Vorpal Blade went snicker-snack, and Summer’s head rolled across the cobblestones before shattering along with the rest of her body. The only thing left behind was her black-bladed katana.

A heavy silence fell over the plaza, no one quite sure what to do. Finally, little Olivia spoke up, clinging to Koseret’s skirts.

“Is…is it over?” she asked in a tiny voice.

Alfre shook her head. “Not yet. We still have the rest of the army to deal with.” She looked to the tree-covered cathedral. “Will that hold her?”

Koseret nodded firmly. “Of course it will.”

She nodded and turned to the entrance of the plaza. “Good, because we have other problems to deal with. Let’s go!”

She leapt atop Beira, the direwolf howling as it took of towards the gate. There were hoops and hollers behind her as the others followed, some hoping atop the other direwolves and others simply letting their feet carry them.

As they neared the wall, Alfre shouted up to the players and Wonderlanders atop the ramparts. “Open the gates!”

Alessio turned at the shouting and looked down to see Alfre riding towards him. “Alfre! You’re back!”

“Open the gates!” she shouted again, and Alessio could see the small army of guild masters and their lieutenants just behind her.

Alessio nodded, turning to his soldiers. “You heard the Commander! Open the gates.”

The soldiers scrambled to obey, and the gates slowly swung open. Alfre and Beira charged the opening, Spica, Elias, Traveler, and Ren just behind her on their own direwolf steeds.

“One, two! One, two! And through and through,” Alfre sang as she rode towards the oncoming army of Fell and Granato knights, her voice carrying farther than expected. “The Vorpal Blade went snicker-snack! She left them dead, and with their heads, she went galumphing back!”

Her words held true, the Vorpal Blade beheading the first Granato soldier she encountered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ren leap from the back of her direwolf and into the fray, her fist slamming into the face of an enemy gunner. Druid trees sprung from the broken cobblestone streets, tossing the enemy army into the air as Koseret and Izo unleashed their magic. June and Spica darted into the trees, shooting down opponents with arrows and poisoned needles. Alfre could feel the warmth of Elias buffs even as the magician sent several Granato clerics running with a series of fireballs. Shots rang out as Traveler and Ran fired upon the enemy from the ramparts, clearing the way for Atticus, Einmora, Makoto, and Silver to cut down the survivors. Canus ran through in wolf form, tearing at ankles and throats in equal measure, his pack following his lead. Abital swooped in with a cloud of black smoke, bolts of dark energy flying this way and that. Orli came in just behind him on blazing phoenix wings, the white holy fire burning all who neared her.

“What the actual hell?” one of the enemy Fell shouted. “I thought Summer was supposed to kill you!”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Alfre shouted, her grin wild and dangerous. “The Vorpal Blade went snicker-snack! I left her dead, and with her head, I went galumphing back!”

“You…you killed Summer?” the Fell, a samurai, gasped at her. “But you can’t kill Summer! She’s the strongest Fell in Wonderland.”

“She’s been ousted,” Alfre replied shortly, stabbing the samurai through with a spear of ice.

“I’m gonna say this only once!” Alfre shouted over the din. “Your leader, Summer, has been defeated. Those of you who surrender peacefully will be treated with dignity and respect. Those who continue to fight will be shattered.”

At the news their leader had been shattered, several Fell dropped their weapons. The Granato knights, however, who had no real loyalty to Summer, continued to fight, as did many of the Fell.

“Koseret!” Alfre called. “Get those who have surrendered out of here! Tell Alessio what I said about them being treated fairly.”

Koseret nodded, gathering up the surrendering Fell with vines and carting them off the battlefield.

“And the rest?” Canus asked, coming up beside her.

“You heard me,” Alfre stated coldly. “The rest we shatter. Let them see Summer in the cathedral, and know she fell before me.”

Canus barked with laughter. “Ha, ‘fell.’ I like it.”

Alfre made to smack him on the flank, but he took off and her hand just barely missed him. She shook her head and turned to an oncoming Fell knight. She dodged his lance, stabbing at the wooden shaft and allowing ice to splinter and break the wood. With his weapon all but useless, Alfre went for the knight’s weak spots. She stabbed at the joints in his armor at his elbows and the gaps between his torso and his legs at the hips. Frost crawled over his body, slowing his movements and eating away at his hit points.

“There’s no way you beat Summer!” he screamed at her. “Summer is the strongest! She’s gonna make this continent for us! The ones who have played Wonderland since it launched! We were here first, all you others who got into it only because it was popular are just posers! You will not replace us!”

“Listen, you bampot, I didn’t want to play the game in the first place,” Alfre argued. “I won it in a dumb little contest. But even if I had gone out and bought it for myself, I don’t understand the notion that more people playing is a bad thing? That means the thing is good and it’s drawing in more people who want to have fun with it. You mean to tell me you joined a Social Darwinist army because you didn’t want other people enjoying the thing you enjoy? What kinda logic is that? You’re all daft.”

Before he could argue with her, she removed his head from his shoulders and let him shatter.

She sighed. “Daft idiots.”