by Max Jager
"... All of those people are now left with no shelter. They won't be able to survive out there, they aren't trained for this..." Estellese clenched her fist, and immediately went to get out of bed. But before she could move Cora sprang to her feet and placed a hand on her chest, shoving her back down to the bed.
"No. You're staying there." Cora firmly held her in place until she stopped trying to get up. "I'm not letting you go after him, not in your current condition."
"Yep!" Pex chimed in. "You're staying here until you've fully recovered and rested, then me and you will go get 'em together."
Estellese shook her head. "No Pex, I can't bring you with me to fight him, he's become too powerful. Either I or Mendelen will have to handle him, preferably both of us." She explained, then sat up again. "But I do need to go speak with Mendelen, I know he isn't going to take this sitting down. I'm not going to either. I need to know what he's planning, so when I recover we can work together to put an end to this."
" Cora thought about it for a moment, then focused and placed a hand on Estellese's head. A vine with small white tulips on it grew around her neck. "I have other patients to attend to. Do not leave the bunker, or take this off, I will know. I'm trusting you." She stated. "Mendelen should be at the end of the hall, to your right. He is giving a speech to the army he is raising. Please come back to the room when you are done, you're not fully healed."
"I can help heal everyone, and I can heal the rest of my injuries." Estellese insisted.
" Cora shook her head. "No, do not try that. You used way too much of your stamina before, your body needs to rest. No magic until I clear you to use magic." She firmly instructed, pointing sternly down at her as she spoke. "Rest, and save your energy for the next battle with Kaden. You need to win."
Estellese hesitated, then nodded. "Understood, and I won't lose again." She replied.
Cora nodded "Alright, I'll be back to check up on you later." she added as she left the room. Once she was gone Estellese got up and gingerly walked out of the room as well. Pex remained on her shoulder. As she stepped out into the hallway she spotted Fate walking down the hall towards her. Fate was walking with a limp that clearly indicated she was still badly injured.
" As soon as Fate spotted Estellese she looked relieved. "Oh good, you're alive. You got him, right?" She asked.
" Estellese shook her head. "No, he won." She quietly murmured. "He's taken over the world. The human parts of the world at least. He captured every human city."
" Fate didn't take that news very well. "You wouldn't know my group of friends, from before I became a town guard, would you? Are they alright?"
"I'm sorry, I meet so many new people every day, I do not remember the group you arrived with." Estellese replied.
Fate tensed and took a deep breath. "I'm sure they are alright." She reassured herself. "Thank you." She added before limping past Eladienne down the hallway.
"Where are you going?" Estellese followed along beside her.
"To join the Spartans." Fate answered.
"To join what?" Estellese gave her a questioning look.
"The Spartans. It's an army Mendelen is raising to be the resistance against the Moderators. Once he builds up the army, and trains them properly, he's going to go take the cities back and get rid of the Moderators." Fate explained.
"Huh, I wonder where he got the name from." Estellese replied and Fate shrugged. "So why are you joining the military? I remember you joining as a backup guard because you didn't want to fight anymore." She asked.
" Fate took a deep breath, then shook her head. "I saw Sarah get taken down. I saw the destruction within the village. I don't want to fight, and I thought I could be safe within the village, but this has all showed me that that will never be possible. The only way I'll be able to ensure my safety and my friend's safety, is if I actively fight the evil in this world. So that's what I'm going to do."
" 'emThat's exactly what Kaden wanted... To scare everyone into learning how to fight... This isn't right.' /emEstellese thought. As they walked into the main room of the bunker they saw Mendelen standing on a small stage, speaking to a large group of people standing in the big room in front of him. There was drastically more people here, ready to join the military, then she had ever seen joining the city guard or learning to fight in the old villages.
" Fate left Estellese once they entered the room. "Elliott? Snipes? What are you guys doing here? Where is everyone else?"
*******
" Estellese gently hugged Pex back. "Thanks..."
"I could tell you needed a hug, it was written all over your face." Pex replied. She paused for a moment to try and think of a way to carefully word her next sentence, trying not to be offensive. "Are... Are all human males that emotionally daft?"
What?" Estellese couldn't help but to laugh a little at how bluntly that came out.
let her go and took a step back as she resumed talking. "You clearly needed comfort, and I think he did too, but he just walked out. I noticed your guy friends miss emotional cues a lot. What is with them?"
Estellese laughed a little more and shook her head. "Yeah, that's kinda just how human guys are, most of them at least. They tend to prefer hiding and ignoring emotions instead of dealing with them."
"Yeesh, if fairy men were like that I'd only be interested in girls. I couldn't handle that, I dunno how you spend so much time around them." Pex shook her head.
"Well, the three of them are a little worse than normal." Estellese sighed. "I mean, I kinda understand it. I mute my own emotions, somewhat, when around them to not appear weaker. It's a big part of the reason I was so relieved when we became friends. I finally had another girl around who I could be open with."
" "Glad I could help." Pex smiled a little. "They're only making themselves weaker by doing that. You'll never gain control of your emotions if you don't express them freely. No matter how strong you act, you're not strong if your emotions control you."
" Estellese nodded "Yeah, that sounds about right. I really should take that advice myself and drop the tough act around my friends. I should have proven myself by now."
Pex started to laugh. "Act? What act? Have you seen yourself fight? You are scary as hell on the battlefield, far tougher than any of your friends. You just keep your more gentle, compassionate, and emotional side hidden in day to day interactions." She pointed out. "Just don't hide it, be you. Like you were when you were living with me."
" Estellese smiled a little. "I'll think about it."
"Don't think. Do." Pex replied. "And I've made my decision, this upcoming battle means a lot more to you then I thought. I'm going to be there to support you, even if it's dangerous. I'd be a terrible friend if i didn't."
Pex, no." Estellese started.
"I'll be fine. I've gotten a little better with magic, and if I just stay on your shoulder and support I can help while minimizing the danger I'm in. I might be an airhead, but I'm not dumb. I can do this." Pex replied.
stellese's smile widened a little and she nodded. "Thanks Pex. It means a lot." She replied.
Pex grinned widely. "And I've cheered you up!" She clapped her hands together once as she spoke. "Just to make sure you're all cheery and feeling better, let's make the day extra special, eh?" She reached into her bag and pulled out a smaller bag full of candies, then she handed it to Estellese.
" Estellese took the bag and looked into it. Inside was a strange looking fairy candy, which she knew to be similar to a sweet and sour human candy. "My favorite, you remembered." She laughed lightly and smiled a little, quickly taking one and eating it.
"What kind of a best friend wouldn't remember?" Pex laughed as she took a small bag of her own candy out, a type that was extremely sweet. "I had brought it to give you one once in a while to cheer you up, but... it's been a rough day, and tomorrow will be tough. So let's just have the whole bag."
Estellese couldn't help but to laugh again as she sat beside Pex. "You just want an excuse to eat
your whole bag of candy." She teased.
"Noooo... Of course not." Pex looked away.
Pex." Estellese pressed her.
p data-p-id="44593b1e4a503f45a0e1f26f6a9fd79e" "Maybe..." Pex tried to reply in a serious tone, but in the end she couldn't and just started to giggle. "It's good candy though! Almost as good as pure sugar."
Estellese also started to giggle and shook her head. "Well, I think I can let it go for today. I could go for a whole bag of candy, and fairy candy is really good."
p data-p-id="5690e5c638e500982ba51fe8c6aae2b0" "I know! I don't know how you live without it all the way over here." Pex laughed.
The two of them talked for a couple hours, until Pex was sure Estellese was in a better mood. Then they both started preparing for tomorrow.
When they woke up the next morning Estellese stepped up to lead her own small army. She crossed paths with Zanath along the way, who gave her a brief "Good luck." as he moved to lead his own forces.
Once Mendelen and his army began moving, she began leading the way to Oline city. The air was tense, it was eerily quiet. As they approached the city everyone was on edge, waiting for the battle to begin, waiting for a Moderator to pop out of hiding and strike the first blow.
Chapter 27: A clash of Green and Black
Chapter 27: A clash of Green and Black
Mendelen silently lead his group through the forest, marching towards the ruins of Belle village. He walked in the front while his group of eight elite fighters trailed behind him. His own personal group consisted of Fate and her friends, along with Drake and Maya from his previous battle against the dragon and Andrew, a brown haired spearman.
Everyone was tense as they approached the ruins, they were all on edge, expecting some sort of ambush or something. But there was none. They walked right to where the center of the village used to be. By now, the village had been completely destroyed. The entire area was nearly flat again, with nothing but rubble and ash everywhere.
Waiting in the center of the area was Kaden, George, Vincent, Zadar, and Damion. Mendelen took a deep breath and took note of the fact that most of Kaden's best fighters were over here, not on the other two battlefields.
Tensions immediately rose as soon as Fate and her group saw Damion. They all immediately grabbed their weapons and were about ready to kill him. Damion himself seemed to be angered by Fate's presence, and was ready for a rematch.
Fate moved to stand closer to Damion, "When the fight breaks out, leave him to me."
"No." Elliott growled as he walked up and gently pushed Fate aside.
"He's out of your league. I beat him once in the battle of Belle village and I'll do it again." Fate insisted.
"Not a chance." Elliott declared. "After everything he did, after what he did to Carley, this is personal. We got this."
"Hold up." Mendelen called out. "Don't fight them if you don't need to. These people are among the strongest beta testers in the world, we won't walk away without casualties if we try fighting them. Especially him." He gestures to Damion.
"Yeah. We know." Fate growled. "One of our friends tried to face him alone a while back and saw first hand that he was incredibly powerful. He was barely human back then, I can't imagine how powerful he is now." She then shot a glare at George. "And I don't know why the hell you're with them. What is wrong with you?"
George shrugged.
Since Elliott and the others were intent on facing Damion, Fate moved over to stand closer to George while Drake and Maya lined themselves up against Vincent and Zadar.
Mendelen shook his head. "Not now. Don't fight if you don't need to." He turned to Kaden. "Just you and I are fighting, are we not?"
Kaden nodded "Yep."
"So what's the army for?" Mendelen questioned.
"Because you have an army." Kaden pointed out. "Plus, I'd be a pretty sucky villain if I didn't have some henchmen follow me around."
"So then let's move out, further away from them and get this over with." Mendelen gestured to a big open area that was mostly cleared of rubble a good distance away.
Kaden looked over at it and noticed that the location was up on a hill and out of earshot from everyone else."Alright." He answered simply. He didn't take a portal over to this new area, he instead started to walk.
"You're going to face him alone?" Fate questioned.
"Yeah. The plan is to minimize casualties, do not fight them unless you have to." Mendelen instructed, then he started walking alongside Kaden.
"So, what's up my friend?" Kaden questioned as they walked.
"Why do you bring up us being friends in every conversation we have?" Mendelen questioned him back.
"Because you've forgotten." Kaden answered. "Why did you come?"
Mendelen gave him a look. "To end this. You've hurt and killed so many people, it has to end now."
"Did I?" Kaden questioned.
"Kaden! Look around you, a couple hundred people died here, because of you. Nevermind the other cities and everyone who died trying to survive in the wild." Mendelen pointed to the ruins around them. "And don't even try blaming that on me or Estellese. You, and you alone did this."
"So I did." Kaden replied simply.
"Have you no remorse for all the people you killed?" Mendelen demanded.
"Why would I?" Kaden asked. "Do you?"
"Because YOU killed them. You murdered all of those people, and you feel nothing?" Mendelen couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And yes I do feel remorse and guilt for all of the people who died under my care. It was my responsibility, and I failed them. I never would have expected this to happen." His voice lowered for a moment. "Estellese is emotionally crushed, she's hiding it but I can tell she is blaming herself. And to some degree, I am too. You seriously don't feel ANY remorse for killing all of those people?"
Kaden shrugged. "I have no reason to feel any remorse."
Mendelen clenched his fist and lowered his head a little. "Then there is nothing more to gain from talking." He said as he drew his new magic chained katars. He then waited for Kaden to draw his own weapon. "As your friend, I'm going to put an end to this."
"How?" Kaden questioned again.
Mendelen didn't answer. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then pulled five gemstones out of his pocket. Each one had an elemental trapped inside of them, struggling to escape. Mendelen began to focus, and within seconds hundreds upon hundreds of his special clones began appearing everywhere on the battlefield, and four of the elementals died from having all of their energy drained from them. In an instant Kaden was completely surrounded, the massive crowd of clones, all wearing green armor, encircled Mendelen and Kaden leaving the two of them facing each other in the center.
Kaden looked a little uneasy when all of the clones appeared. "You're using trapped elementals? Dude, what the hell? Estellese would be pissed if she knew that, that's… Wrong."
"And everything you did isn't wrong?" Mendelen stated. "It may be wrong, but it is a necessary evil. This will stop you, and will save more lives then it will cost the elementals."
"Come on dude, the whole evil villain act is my thing. You're supposed to be the hero, you can't be doing crap like this. Stop trying to steal my thunder. You're torturing those things." Kaden countered, looking more and more uneasy as he looked around and realized just how many clones there were.
"I don't need a lecture from you Kaden, you've done far, far worse." Mendelen states.
"No, I haven't." Kaden shook his head.
Mendelen sighed, and with a brief gesture to the clones they all started moving in on Kaden.
Kaden immediately opened a portal and stepped through it, stepping out of another portal a short distance away from all the clones that had been surrounding him. But before he could close tot portal Mendelen quickly threw one of his katars through it. The katar stuck into the ground on the other side, and the chain connecting his two katars forced the portals to stay open. Mendelen then quickly rushed over to the portal, and before he w
alked through he had one of his clones move to stand halfway through the portal, to keep it open.
Kaden was a little surprised when Mendelen locked his portals into place, he hadn't known anyone else knew about that little flaw. He took a defensive stance and prepared for whatever attack was about to follow.
Once his clone was in place, Mendelen calmly walked through the portal and picked up his katar, then turned his attention back to Kaden. "It's over Kaden."
"We'll see." Kaden replied. He focused for a moment and suddenly, his entire half of the battlefield was cast in a dark shadow, making it near impossible to see. Kaden quickly cast a simple spell that let himself see in the dark so he wouldn't be blinded by his own shadow spell. But when he looked up he spotted Mendelen pulling out a scroll to cast the exact same spell on himself.
