Last Bastion

by Rachel Aaron

  "If we don't kill the lesser undead, we'll get swarmed under," Tina said. "And if we do kill them, Sanguilar will out-heal any damage we can do to him. He'll be completely unkillable! Which is a problem since he's a five-skull motherfucker who hits even harder than Grel. Worse, unlike these stupid zombies, the Blood General's intelligent, which means I won't be able to tank him any better than I could tank Malakai. If he just decides to go and slaughter the healers, there ain't shit I can do about it."

  "But--"

  "But nothing," she snapped. "It doesn't matter how good or how geared we are. If we fight Sanguilar under these conditions, we are going to lose, then we're going to die. Our only hope is to not fight him at all." She turned around. "ZeroDarkness! Go find the king and tell him time's up. We're pulling everyone in now, and he needs to be ready with the Bastion."

  The Assassin, who was still lying on the ground where he'd fallen earlier, lifted his arm weakly and vanished into the growing afternoon shadows.

  "How the hell are we going to do that?" Frank asked as ZeroDarkness disappeared. "You can tell people to get inside all you want, but we've still got a lot of refugees to move through. They're already running for their lives, so it ain't as if they aren't hustlin'. It just takes time to move that many people."

  Tina looked nervously at the crowd. There were still a lot of people outside the gates, not to mention all the players holding the line to protect them. She'd been hoping they could move in the defenders as the area they had to protect shrank, but a few Dead Mountain patrols had started appearing, mixed in with the normal low-level zombies. A pair of level eighty-two two-skull skeletons had already clawed their way through the Trade Company shield line before Cinco's people had hacked them down, and Tina could hear more screaming in the crowd. If they didn't want to lose all the people they'd just busted their asses protecting, they needed more defenders, not fewer.

  "Roughnecks, move up to reinforce the shield line!" she ordered, her voice heavy. "We can't let them break."

  Her raiders grumbled, hauling themselves off the ground to obey. Tina felt the same way. They'd finally made it to the castle. They were supposed to be done. But they couldn't rest yet. It would only be a bit longer, just until the last of the refugees made it through the gates. After that, they could all fall back and let the Sun or whatever take care of the rest. Until then, there was nothing for it but to suck it up, so Tina pushed her aching body into motion and jogged out to join Cinco on the front line.

  It was terrifying work. Fighting the zombie horde wasn't as hard or as tricky as the bosses had been, but the pressure never let up. The Once King's army was endless and relentless, and now that they'd been in one place for a while, Tina was starting to see familiar faces in the crowd. Men in the armor of the knights and players she'd seen at Camp Comeback were appearing among the dead, their eyes glowing with the blue-white ghostfire. She knew cutting them down was a mercy, but that didn't make it any easier to run her sword through people she'd known--people she'd failed. She was focusing on just holding on when someone shrieked behind her.

  A second later, she saw why. A red mist was rising in the hazy late-afternoon sunshine. It was subtle, but it was growing fast, the red mist condensing on the cool bodies of the zombies like bloody dew.

  "Shit," Tina snarled then chopped down the undead knight in front of her before turning to bellow at the top of her lungs. "Time's up! Everyone inside!"

  The whole square broke into a panic as the defensive lines began to collapse. Fighters and refugees rushed the castle doors together as the undead surged in. Still hacking at zombies, Tina shouted for her people to hold position until everyone else was in. She was still fighting when she felt someone step through her shadow, then ZeroDarkness was right beside her, his face pale.

  "Please tell me the Bastion's about to go up," she begged.

  The jubatus Assassin shook his head. "The king's in position, but the shield was lower than he thought. He's recharging it right now with the Dawnblade and a bunch of Clerics, but he said he doesn't know how long it'll be until..."

  He trailed off, voice going quiet. When Tina looked up from her latest kill, she saw why. Ahead of them, across the now-packed square, the zombie army was parting, making way for an undead elf nearly as tall as she was. He was dressed in gleaming black armor almost as thick as hers, and his skin was as pale as a corpse's. His hair was a red so deep it looked almost black, and his eyes were an even less comforting shade. They were the same vivid crimson as arterial blood, the bright shade made even brighter by the light of the ghostfire flickering out from his pupils.

  "He's here!" Tina called to her raiders, readying her shield.

  The undead elf lifted a sleek, wet-looking eyebrow. "As grand entrances go, I was hoping for better than 'He's here,'" Sanguilar sneered. "But it is gratifying to be recognized after so long. I certainly recognize you." His thin lips pulled back in a bloodthirsty smile as he kicked the remaining zombies shambling between them out of the way. "You were the first to kill me in the Nightmare. The only one left in this world who wields my blade." He lifted his sword, which was indeed a perfect copy of her red-glowing sword, right down to the unnecessary serrations that ran down the back. "You are the leader of the army that defeated my poor beast, Grel'Darm. Roxxy, I believe."

  "It's not a pleasure," Tina snarled over the top of her shield. Then--because every second he spent talking was a second he wasn't killing them--she went on. "But I'm happy you remember who killed you. That way, you can't say you're surprised when it happens again."

  The general chuckled. "I think this time will be a little different from our previous encounters in the Nightmare," he taunted. "But if you want a rematch, I'm more than happy to oblige. Loser serves for eternity."

  Before Tina could tell him to shove off, the elf lunged forward, charging her shield with lightning speed. Setting her teeth, Tina braced for impact, crossing her sword behind her shield to give it extra support. But the general's blow didn't force her back as she expected. It took her clean off her feet, launching her into the air.

  She landed three feet back with a crunch that cracked the paving stones, but at least she landed on her feet. Even so, she barely got her shield up before he struck again. She couldn't hold this time, either, but at least she had the presence of mind to tilt her shield down, letting the force of the blow bang her bulwark against the ground rather than launching her again.

  When he realized the same trick wouldn't work twice, Sanguilar went for her shield. But Tina had seen Malakai pull that stunt too many times to fall for it now, and she whipped it out of the way. Crimson eyes flashing even redder with delight at a good challenge, the towering elf stabbed at Tina through the gap she'd created in her defense. But she was ready there, too, blocking his strike with the sword she'd had waiting there ever since she'd first braced her shield.

  Identical crimson blades locked together as she caught his point with her cross-guard in the best parry of her life. Then she turned her wrist, twisting the strike away with every bit of leverage and strength she could muster. The general's blade flew off to the left, and Tina seized the opportunity to snatch her shield back into position. She barely made it in time before the black-armored elf slashed at her again, using a rising strike this time with both of his hands on the sword hilt.

  The added force of both arms sent her tower shield flying upward. Unable to stop it, Tina let the momentum carry her instead, leaping upward to follow her shield with all her strength. The blood general's sword passed through the air under her feet as Tina came back down, crushing her boot into his face as she went.

  The satisfying crunch of his nose breaking under her metal heel was short-lived. She was still digging her heel into his face when the Blood General took one hand off his sword to grab her leg instead. Tina felt as though her whole limb was going to pop out of joint as he snatched her out of the air and slammed her into the ground. He was raising his boot to stomp her in return when Tina pincered his standin
g leg with both her feet and rolled sideways.

  Caught off guard, the Blood General lost his balance and crashed to the ground, scattering zombies. Scrambling back to her feet, Tina was almost glad she'd had to go two rounds with Malakai now. Any less practice against such a Superman-level opponent, and she was pretty sure she'd be dead already. It still pissed her off how, with all of Roxxy's weight and strength, the four- and five-skull bosses could practically juggle her. She was only staying one step ahead of execution like this.

  When the general pushed to his feet, she saw her opening. His eyes were still on the ground as he rose, undoubtedly expecting another trip, so Tina attacked his upper body instead, stabbing her runed blade straight through his sword arm. She swung her shield up to slam the edge into his throat at the same time, driving it down so hard, the wet crunch of his breaking windpipe could be heard even over the din of battle.

  When she stepped back again, his whole neck was caved in, and his arm was pouring blood, which was enough to make her grin. Without hit points, there was no way to know how much damage she'd actually done, but it looked like a lot. Then again, for all his crazy-overpowered abilities, Tina recalled that the Blood General actually had a relatively small health pool for a raid boss. Maybe if she could just keep tearing him down, they wouldn't be doomed after all.

  But her wild hope was short-lived. She'd barely finished admiring her damage when Sanguilar flashed her a bloody smile, almost as if he was showing it off. It turned out that that was exactly what he was doing, because the blood began to roll back into him before Tina's eyes. As if there were a whole raid of healers throwing spells at him, the Blood General's body put itself back together. The hole in his arm vanished, and his neck popped back into place. Even the bloodstains and the holes in his armor disappeared, leaving him looking exactly as he had before their fight started.

  "You see?" he said, his voice mocking. "Your allies give me strength." He glanced at the battle, which was still raging around them. "It's not as if they can stop dying, and I won't let you isolate me in the corner of my room like you could back in the Nightmare. Like I said, very different, but you seem to be behind the times. I'm trying to have a real fight, and you're still playing nothing but defense. Do you even know how to do anything other than tank-and-spank?"

  To drive his point home, the huge elf whipped his leg up with impossible speed to kick her in the shield. To her horror, Tina let him, leaning back frantically to keep her shield from smacking her in the face. She thought she'd saved it until she realized the kick had knocked her several feet into the air. She was fighting the urge to windmill her arms--which would help her balance but leave her totally unguarded for the attack that was absolutely going to come next--when her fall suddenly stopped. Firm, armored hands grabbed her shoulders, and she looked back frantically to see she'd been caught by the combined effort of Killbox and Frank.

  Seeing them behind her gave Tina a marvelous idea, and a grin burst across her face. "We've picked up a few new tricks of our own, asshole," Tina said as they set her back down on her feet. "Killbox, Frank, we're gonna Grel'Darm this guy."

  The Blood General looked insulted. "If you think I will fall for any of the same tricks as that empty-skulled construct, you have not been paying attention."

  Tina just flashed him another smile. "Get Team Hulk moving over there," she told Killbox, nodding at the tall buildings near the edge of the square where they were fighting, which were already on the verge of collapse. When he nodded, she lifted her voice. "Neko! Can you do that thing James did with the mud?"

  "Yeah!" Neko called back. "I saw him do it! It's just water and earth. Easy peasy, Blood General squeezy!"

  "Great," Tina said. "Wait for my signal."

  "Oooh," the Blood General said, faking a shiver. "Water and earth, so mysterious! What's the little healer going to do? Make me a mud pie?"

  Tina slashed at the jerk to shut him up, but the arrogant elf didn't even bother to parry. He just let her cut him then held out his arms so she could watch the wound heal.

  "Come now," he taunted. "I know you can hit harder than that. What about your damage-dealing players? Surely they want to take a shot."

  "No one else wants to waste their time," Tina informed him, slicing open another wound on his arm. "I'm the only one in a bad enough mood to play with you."

  Sanguilar looked unimpressed. "You know I'm not bound by the game anymore. The only reason I'm bothering to fight a tank is out of recognition for your prowess during the Nightmare. But now I'm starting to find you boring." His smile grew cruel. "I think I might go kill someone else. Just to see you panic."

  "Try it and see," Tina snarled, stabbing him straight in the stomach. It was just going to heal, but getting stabbed in the guts still had to hurt. Especially when she twisted her sword, widening the wound as much as she could. He wasn't mad enough yet. She needed him furious, angry enough to do something dumb. "You're not as hot-shit as you think, elf boy."

  With a sneer, the Blood General reached out to grab her shield again. Tina whipped it out of the way, flicking her sword up to slice off his ear. It grew back instantly but not before he hissed in annoyance.

  "Foul wench!" he said, lashing out at her.

  Tina danced away. "Wench?" she repeated, laughing at him. "Dude, just because you're an ancient elf doesn't mean you have to talk like one. Get with the times!"

  "I will do no such thing!" he snarled. "We are the originals, the celestials! We remember the days before the Sun's betrayal. You are all just twisted shadows of us! You know nothing!"

  "You're a has-been," Tina said. "Just another farm-status raid boss. The only thing you've ever been good for was giving us a world-first kill and being a loot sack."

  Sanguilar bared his bloody teeth at her, and Frank gulped.

  "Are you sure it's smart to piss this guy off?" he whispered from Tina's side. "I know taunting is our tank thing, but he seems a bit unstable."

  "He's mega-unstable," Tina replied in a loud voice, keeping her eyes on the Blood General. "The dude's older than dirt. He's gotta be senile by now, especially since he's undead. You know zombies all have worms for brains. I bet the Once King's even more degraded, not that he was very impressive to begin wi--"

  "Enough!" Sanguilar roared, pointing his sword at her. "You shall not defile my king with your ignorant opinions! I'd hoped you'd be a worthy challenge outside the Nightmare's bounds, but now I see that the heroes of this banal age are beneath even my lowest expectations. Killing you so that you may know the glory of service to the Once King's ghostfire is a privilege you do not deserve!"

  "So you're not going to try, then?" Tina shrugged. "That's cool, man. I don't mind if you give up and let us hack you to--"

  The Blood General charged her with a roar, his red-runed sword swinging for her head. Even knowing it was coming, Tina still only dodged it by inches, jumping back out of range to force the enraged Blood General to follow her. When her back hit the crumbling front of the old guild registration building, she knew she was in the right spot.

  "Now, Neko!"

  Magic surged behind her and landed just as Sanguilar lunged forward to continue his attack. As his boot came down on the ground in front of Tina, though, a slick of soupy, wet mud bubbled up through the cracked paving stones to meet it. With no traction in the slick mud, the towering elf's foot went out from under him, sending him to the ground. He was struggling to get back up when Tina and Frank both turned and started sprinting all out toward the castle gate.

  "Killbox!" she yelled as she ran. "Drop it!"

  At her order, Killbox and all her other Berserkers stepped away from the crumbling building she'd pointed at earlier, the one whose foundations they'd been hacking at with their axes the whole time she'd been taunting the Blood General. At this point, the whole edifice was held up only by the Berserkers' monstrous strength. The moment they stepped away, it started to fall. Killbox gave it a kick for good measure, collapsing three stories of limestone and hea
vy timber construction directly on top of the still-scrambling Sanguilar.

  "Great job, guys!" Tina said.

  "You know it!" Killbox called back, flexing as the rest of his Berserkers cheered and gave each other a round of high fives. "One problem, though. This guy's not a giant like Grel was. I can't even see him buried under there. How the hell are we going to hit him through all that rock?"

  "We're not," Tina said, her grin growing wider. "The dude's unkillable, remember? Fuck him. He can rot under that building for all I care. We're going inside."

  "Hell yeah!" NekoBaby cheered, making an obscene gesture at the rubble pile the Blood General was buried under. "See ya, sucka!"

  "Roughnecks, retreat!" Tina called, pointing her sword at the castle gates. "Everyone inside!"

  Bashing the remaining zombies and skeletons out of their way, the whole raid turned and charged the castle gates. The guards inside had already closed the heavy doors nearly all the way, but a squad of heavily armored former knights had stayed out to guard the Roughnecks' retreat. They were nearly bowled over for their trouble as all the players rushed inside at full speed. Tina was the last one through. She walked in backward, fending off zombies with her shield and sword the whole way until, at last, she crossed the threshold. She planted her feet there, blocking the last gap in the door with her shield as teams of men pushed on the gates to close them. They were almost done when Tina spotted something moving through the sea of zombies throwing themselves frantically at the gates.

  It looked like an armored hill--a big, arched brown shape with scuffed metal plates nailed to its surface. Squinting at it through the narrowing gates, Tina realized that was wrong. It wasn't a hill. It was Butamon, the giant undead boar boss from the Dead Mountain Fortress courtyard. The monster pig looked even bigger across the field of zombies, its empty eyes flaring with ghostfire as it squealed and started to charge, plowing through the zombies like a freight train headed straight for the castle gate.