Last Bastion

by Rachel Aaron

  Happy she didn't have to worry about such fleshy concerns, Tina just lay on her back, staring up at the painfully bright deep-blue sky. She'd had no healing since the undead had broken through the gates, and her whole body hurt from head to toe. Her shield arm was numb from all the hits, and the muscles in her sword hand burned and twitched even when resting. The only parts of her that weren't throbbing with pain were the parts touching the ground.

  Being flat on the dusty earth felt lovely. This was the first really clean, wild ground she'd encountered since the transition. The dirt particles clung to her comfortingly, as if the ground itself were hugging her. She was fighting the urge to bury herself like a hibernating toad when she felt someone with very quiet feet coming over.

  Tina froze, not even daring to open her eyes as whoever it was sat down in the grass beside her. Then they sighed, and her suspicions were confirmed. Over a mic or live in this world, it didn't matter. Even with her eyes closed, she'd know SB's sigh anywhere.

  "Tina..." he said quietly when it became obvious she wasn't going to look at him. "I--"

  She rolled over, putting the wall of her stonekin's back between them. It wasn't the best reaction, but she was too spent to deal with him right now. Just knowing he was close brought a hot, angry wetness to her eyes, so Tina kept them closed, lying in silence until his presence vanished silently from behind her--and was immediately replaced by NekoBaby's loud huff.

  "Damn, girl," the jubatus healer said. "That was the most ultimate cold shoulder I've ever seen."

  "Don't 'damn, girl' me, cat-boy," Tina said bitterly, curling her body into a ball. "Just go away."

  That earned her a hiss as Neko's puffy tail lashed out to whap Tina in the face. "What the hell are you doing?" the Naturalist demanded. "I voted against you, too, you know. So did Killbox, Frank, Zen, Anders, and Richard, but I don't see you giving any of us the silent treatment. I know you and SB have history or whatever, but for the record, I think this whole blow-up of yours is bullshit. Everyone has secrets. You need to get over it."

  Tina squeezed her eyes tighter. "You don't know what you're talking about, Neko, so please, shut up. I've nearly died like fifty times today, and I can't handle this."

  A weight landed on her shoulder as Neko jumped on top of her. "Look at me, Roxxy," she said, leaning down to shove her face right in front of Tina's. "I might be really bad at romance and women and shit, but I'd have to be stupid to miss this. Anyone can tell you and SB want to doink each other so bad it hurts. Hurts him, hurts you, hurts to fucking watch, oh my god."

  "Don't want to hear it, Neko," Tina said through clenched teeth.

  "No," Neko said angrily, grabbing Tina's face in her hands. "I'm gonna say this, 'cause I owe you both big time, and someone has to take the hit to tell you."

  "Tell me what?" Tina said in a dangerous voice.

  "That you're being an idiot," the cat-girl hissed at her. "I subscribe to your video channel, so I've seen you IRL. You're damn cute, so maybe you've got that hot college-girl thing where you think you can get away with shit like this, but trust me. It's gonna be your fault when he walks away."

  Tina started to shake.

  "Us guys will go through hell and high water to get laid," NekoBaby went on. "SB's more determined than most. He's had it super bad for you for, like, six years straight. But if you keep demanding shit he can't give and pushing him away, he's gonna give up and go chase some other tail. Don't try to pretend it's not gonna hurt like all fuck when you see him with another girl one day. You have to give to get, you know, so cut him some slack."

  Neko finished with a huff, but Tina couldn't even lift her arms to push the jubatus away. She was just so tired, and it hurt so much. She knew Neko was only trying to help, but the jubatus didn't know how brutally unfair those words were. How utterly wrong.

  "That's not it," she whispered at last. "I gave him everything I had, but it still wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough."

  "Huh? What was that?" Neko leaned closer, cupping her huge fluffy ears. "My hearing's good but not that good. Say it again."

  Tina couldn't. Speaking the truth out loud once had already torn back open the wound she'd tried her best to beat closed during the defense of Bastion. If she said it again, she would tear herself to pieces. From the way her body was shaking, Tina wasn't sure she hadn't already.

  "Oh shit," Neko said. "Are you crying?"

  Tina pressed her face into the ground, and the Naturalist began to panic. "Craaap," she moaned. "This is why I suck at relationships! Anyway, that's all I had to say, so I'm gonna go hang with Killbox for a bit. He hits on me like a teen boy who's too into rap, but... yeah. Sorry, Roxxy!"

  Neko patted her awkwardly on the shoulder one last time and bolted. When she was gone, Tina slumped into the welcoming dirt.

  She lay there and shook for a long time. How long, she had no idea, but the ground was much quieter when she felt another pair of boots coming toward her across the barren field.

  "Roxxy?" Zen asked softly. "You still awake?"

  Tina considered not answering, but the Ranger only came to her when it was important. The flaming wreckage of her personal life had already dinged her performance as a raid leader enough for one day, so she forced herself to stop shaking and sit up, wiping the dust off her face so she could look at Zen properly.

  It must not have been enough, because the Ranger jerked back. "Whoa," she said softly, then her leaf-green eyes softened. "You want to talk about it?"

  "No," Tina said flatly. "What do you need? Is there trouble?"

  Zen shook her head, her curly green hair bobbing. "Everyone's too tired for trouble. We've been fighting for twelve hours straight. But since we never seem to be able to get rest for long, I wanted to take this chance to talk."

  Tina winced inwardly. "About what?"

  "I just wanted to tell you that, despite the drama, I really respected how you accepted the vote and led everyone out of Camp Comeback," the Ranger said. "I've seen how hard you've been trying to lead the Roughnecks without relying on threats, and I wanted you to know how much that's meant to all of us. Especially me. I know you and I butt heads a lot, but you've never taken our disagreements out on me personally. I know how hard that is to do. I've certainly had some very unkind things to say about you, but I want you to know that after today, I'm glad you're the leader of the Roughnecks. You proved you're still the best for the job, and even if we don't always agree, there's no one else I'd rather follow."

  Tina squirmed uncomfortably at the praise. Then, because she felt she needed to say something nice back, she added, "Hearing that from you means a lot. You're the only officer other than..." She stopped, unable to even get SB's name out of her mouth. "You're the only one I trust to do things without constant supervision," she finished at last.

  "Um, thanks?"

  Tina winced as she realized how backhanded that compliment sounded. "What I mean is I trust you not to do anything stupid or crazy," she amended then winced again. That still sounded awful, as if she was praising Zen for not being an idiot when Tina really just wanted to convey how much she had come to trust and respect the former nurse. "What I'm trying to say is--"

  Zen laughed and leaned over to pat Tina's knee. "I think you're too tired for this conversation," she said gently.

  "It's all coming out wrong," Tina said, covering her face with a sigh. "Can you just spot me this one?"

  "Sure," Zen said, settling down in the dirt beside her with her bow across her knees. "Tell you what--why don't you get some sleep, and I'll sit here and keep anyone from bothering you. Okay?"

  "Sounds great," Tina said, flopping back into the blessed dirt. "Thank you, Zen."

  The Ranger nodded, but Tina was already out, her stone body sinking to the earth as she fell asleep for the first time in three days.

  ***

  "You know," James said, using his Eclipsed Steel Staff as a walking stick as he and Ar'Bati hobbled slowly toward the Naturalist Lodge. "Someday, I'd love t
o arrive in Windy Lake not on the heels of crisis or the edge of death."

  "Pah," Fangs said dismissively. "What kind of lazy life is that?"

  "A lovely one?" James said, looking wistfully up at the sunny sky. "I've been a cat-person for a week straight, and I haven't had one nap in a sunbeam yet. Not one! Or warm laundry. If it does end up that I actually am stuck here forever, I'm inventing the electric dryer just so I can try sleeping on warm laundry."

  "I don't know what an 'electric dryer' is," Ar'Bati replied huffily. "But sunbeams are quite nice in winter. Not that I've ever lazed in one, of course, but I've heard about them. You know, from friends."

  "Suuure," James said, chuckling. He was about to ask if any of Ar'Bati's "friends" had ever tried sitting in a box when he spotted a strange shape on the horizon. His head snapped up so fast his neck popped.

  Fangs was even quicker, baring his teeth in a hiss as his arm shot out to point at the huge shadow flying down from the north. "What is that?"

  James put his hands over his eyes to block the sun. "I think it's Xthr."

  "The Bird?" Fangs cried, panicked. "What's he doing here? I thought his favor was spent."

  So had James. "We'd better warn the king."

  Ar'Bati nodded, and the two of them bolted toward the lodge. They'd just finished climbing the wooden steps when Gregory himself came out through the curtain door.

  "Your Majesty!" James cried, pointing at the shadow in the sky, which the rest of the town was now starting to notice.

  "I know," the king said, giving James a tired smile. "Don't worry. He's here at my behest. He's not free of his ancient debt until he saves Bastion, and while we are all here, there's still one very important aspect my kingdom cannot be said to be whole without."

  Before James could ask him what that was, the king strode away down the dirt street toward the front of town. Scowling, James and Ar'Bati jogged after him, sticking close to the king as he walked out of the yurt city and into the grasslands that swept around the lake itself.

  They made it just in time to see Xthr land. The giant Bird swept in like an aircraft carrier, his beating wings whipping the blue waters of the Windy Lake into foot-tall waves, and in his claws, clutched as delicately as an egg, was a glowing golden crystal as tall as Gregory.

  James's eyes widened. "Is that...?"

  "Yes," Gregory said, his face showing his relief in the crystal's shimmering light. "Removing the Bastion from Bastion is a sacrilege that will stain my name for all of history, I'm sure, but I couldn't leave it to the Once King. At least here, I can use its power to defend Windy Lake. After it's recovered, of course."

  That struck James as a very practical way to go about things. He just hoped Xthr didn't crush the Bastion before he set it down. From the look on his monstrous face, the Bird was definitely considering it. In the end, though, all he actually managed was a disgusted sigh as he dropped the Bastion in the grass beside the king.

  "I truly regret granting your ancestor that favor now," the old Bird rumbled. "All these years, I've dreamed of crushing that hateful bit of sunshine, and now I find myself its savior." He huffed a blast of purple fire high into the air. "I told you fate had a sense of irony."

  "I am glad of it," Gregory said, bowing low. "Thank you, Great Bird. In our darkest hour, you honored your vow. All that truly matters in Bastion has now been saved. Your debt is now paid in full."

  "Such careless words," Xthr boomed, lowering his huge head to glare at the king with his purple-faceted eyes. "You're lucky that I am a creature of the Moon. If my magic weren't so rooted in cycles, I would have betrayed you."

  The king grinned back. "That is why my forefathers trusted you," he said. "And why they taught me to call on you in our time of need. But our alliance doesn't have to end at one favor. You and the Once King have been enemies since the dawn of time. If you wished to continue--"

  The ground shook as the giant Bird laughed.

  "Never!" Xthr cried. "I've already made myself a laughingstock, helping your doomed kingdom as much as I have. But I didn't get this old by throwing myself in with lost causes. Bastion may have escaped, but the Once King still has the upper hand. His lichs are already reanimating Bastion's dead, using your own troops to replace what you have killed. Once they have sufficient reinforcements, the Blood General will march down here in pursuit of you. Vanguard units were already departing when I left."

  The Bird reached out to tap a giant claw against the Bastion. "You saved what matters most, Buffoon King. I'll give you that. But it will not save you. I shall be sorry to see your end, but in the scope of my long, long life, it makes no difference at all. The Quiet Moon will protect me if the Once King seeks more than just your annihilation, which is all that matters to me." He lifted his head back up with sad smile. "Farewell, Bastion's Last King. May you have a painless death."

  The king's shoulders slumped as the giant Bird spread his wings, but it did not return to the sky. Instead, Xthr's enormous body slid into the Lightless Realm, leaving them standing alone in the grass beside the ruffled lake.

  "Well," Gregory said, shoulders slumping, "that didn't go entirely as I'd hoped."

  "At least we have the Bastion," James said optimistically. "That's not nothing. But can I ask you a question about what Xthr said? It was very close to something the Grand Schtump said as well, but I don't know enough about this world to understand it."

  "I will try to answer as best I can," the king promised. "What troubles you?"

  James looked up at the clear blue sky. "Xthr spoke of being born of the Moon, but FFO has no moon. So far as I know from the wiki, it's never had a moon, so what are they talking about?"

  Gregory sighed and ran a hand through his tousled red hair. "I know and I don't know, I'm afraid. I wish I had some secret to tell you, but the only gods I know of are the Sun, the Wind, the Water, and the Moon, the same as everyone else. I've read that we are all descended of the celestial elves, children of the Sun, but other than as pertains to the Birds, specifically Xthr, I've never heard of the Moon as anything other than a myth or legend. Frankly, I presumed it was a long-dead god of the Lightless Realm, but I have no evidence of that." He looked hopefully at James. "Are you familiar with the word?"

  "It's a pretty big thing in our world," James said, scrubbing his hands through his fur. "But I'm not sure that means anything here, and we've got too many problems on our hands to go adding new mysteries. I was just hoping you had an easy answer."

  "Sorry to disappoint," the king replied. Then he looked at the Bastion. "I seem to be doing that a lot, but we must make use of today's sacrifices to ensure our future. If the Once King is coming here, then we must be prepared."

  "Prepared for what?" an old voice asked. "To run or to fight?"

  James and the king both turned around to see Grey Fang watching them. More specifically, she was staring at the Bastion, her eyes filled with wonder.

  "I heard what the Bird said, but I put no truck in the cowardice of Lightless creatures. The Once King used betrayal to destroy Bastion the city, but now that we have the Bastion itself--and its king and its armies and the players--he will not find us such easy prey."

  That struck James as an extraordinarily optimistic way to view their situation, but at least it perked Gregory up.

  "Then shall we plan our strategy?" the king asked.

  "In the morning," the old cat assured him, shooting a pointed look at the king's bloody armor and tired face. "With respect, Your Majesty, Bastion is five hundred miles away. If the enemy is coming, it will not arrive tonight, and you and your armies need rest. Tomorrow, at dawn, we can discuss how to turn back this invasion, but for now at least, you should rest."

  Gregory didn't look as though he wanted to rest, but Gray Fang's grandma voice seemed to be universal. When she said, "Go to bed," even kings listened.

  "If that is what you feel is wise, then we shall adjourn for the evening."

  "An excellent choice," the elder said, nodding back at the L
odge. "You shall have our best room."

  Gregory nodded, then to everyone's shock, he turned and picked up the Bastion, carrying the giant crystal with him like a lover all the way back to the Naturalist Lodge.

  "That is a sight I never thought to see," Ar'Bati whispered.

  "Me, neither," James said, eyes wide. "It's the heart of his kingdom, though, and he is super strong. Makes sense."

  Ar'Bati could only blow out a breath at that. James was about to suggest they follow when Lilac ran up to tell them they'd found tents for the players.

  ***

  The rest of the evening was spent distributing supplies. Eager to show off their hospitality to the king, Windy Lake had turned itself upside down, finding food, blankets, fresh clothes, and medical supplies for the remaining population of Bastion. As the only one who was both a player and a member of the tribes, James was often called upon to act as an intermediary. He was delivering tents on behalf of the Water Born clan to the masses of low-level players when Flameboyant found him.

  "There you are, James!" the Sorcerer said, running up to him.

  "Flame!" James said, grinning. "I was worried you hadn't made it through the portal. I'm sorry I wasn't able to find you."

  "It's all good," Flameboyant assured him. "I'm not here to scold or anything. I just wanted to say thank you for everything."

  "Everything?" James raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you're leaving."

  The elf nodded, his face sheepish. "If you don't mind, I'd like to join the other low-levels. I'm just too under-powered for all the fighting that's going on, and I think my chances of survival are higher if I stick closer to my own level."

  "Of course," James said. "You don't need my approval. It's not like you're my retainer or something. I'm just happy to know you'll be safe."

  Flameboyant looked at the ground. "I knew you'd say that," he muttered. "But I still feel like I'm bailing. I still haven't paid you back for saving my life."

  "Dude," James said. "You jumped through a window with me to crash the king's war meeting and shoved a bag over Malakai's head. That has to make us even. I might even owe you now."