Rest Experience 6: Mid-Siege Break
A/N: Special thanks to Bumblebee Tuner, Amethyst Blade, GamerGoddessDin, the other sans, Freya, AdmiralPopeyesBeard and Doctorfoxwolf for your comments last time, and I hope to hear from you again! I was able to bring out this chapter so quickly because of your support, so the more I hear from you all, the more motivated I'll be to bring you out new chapters as soon as possible!
This chapter is our obligatory cooldown chapter after that major battle, which gives us a chance for Trixie to do something she's been meaning to, as well as flesh out our cast a bit.
I hope you all will enjoy, and that I will hear from you in the comments below!
“Are you okay?”
Vanessa blinked as she realized someone had moved beside her. She had been sulking on her own after being appraised of the situation, intent on not letting the others know how she was feeling self-conscious about doing something she knew Trixie would not like: namely, killing someone. Vanessa had known Trixie would be at least opposed given how she acted at the Deadmines, but after hearing that Trixie was forbidding her allies from killing anyone Vanessa felt even worse.
She did not regret actually killing someone, that she was used to by this point, but the thought that she might earn Trixie's ire was weighing heavily on the teenager. She had followed Trixie to repay her for her kindness, as well as out of loneliness caused by losing nearly all of her criminal enterprise. She had nothing else, having burned her old home to the ground in fear that it would cause her own death, so Vanessa was desperate to find a place to be.
Lavitz giving her a concerned look and placing a hand on her shoulder made her feel like she was among friends...but that did not keep Vanessa from trying to push his gauntleted hand away. She wasn't used to people touching her without ill intentions, and those she was used to receiving positive attention from were all dead.
“What do you care?”
The Warrior let her remove his hand, though he did not scram like she had hoped he would. It was obvious to the older and wiser soul that she was feeling hurt, and he wasn't going to just let her emotional state go unattended.
Instead of her shoulder, Lavitz took her wrist in a firm yet gentle manner, holding a tight grip on her without inflicting harm on her because he knew she was going to struggle. Once he had her wrist under control, he turned it over to show him her hands. They showed slight signs of having been burned, likely from when she grabbed her superheated blades and removed them from Kael's fire, though no real harm was done.
Still, that she had harm at all done to her hands was a tragedy in the soldier's eyes. As were the callouses he could see on her hands, born o hard work and battles not befitting someone her age, “A child like yourself shouldn’t have to fight. I became a knight to protect others, so seeing someone your age staining their hands with blood…”
Realizing that, despite possessing magical artifacts that gave her strength on par with the grown man, he was not letting go, Vanessa just looked away from him, hiding her bashful face as she gave in.
“Well...don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
"I would be more inclined to believe you if you had not nearly died the last time I saw you."
Backtalk rose in Vanessa's throat, but she forced it down as she realized he did have a good point. The last time he saw her, she had fallen to her death...either from wounds or from drowning. He hadn't known that Cookie had saved her, and now here she was again in perfect health...fighting with them instead of against them.
His concern actually made her feel guilty. She had held him for months on the brink of death in the Deadmines, but here he was concerned about her own well being? He was the opposite of everything she had come to know Stormwind's forces to be: Lavitz seemed to care too much instead of showing an apathy to the plight of the common people.
Her shoulders slumped as guilt wracked Vanessa's young mind. She had held him captive and treated him like he was any other soldier, not a Human being, but here he was with a level of empathy that far outshone her own, “You tried to save me, even though you were my prisoner…were starved and nearly killed by us…”
Lavitz let go of her and shook his head, “I cannot blame you for not feeding me when you could barely feed yourselves.”
He took a step forward and clenched a fist, an action that only preceded him swinging it at a pillar in front of him by seconds. His strike did not damage it like one of Trixie's may have, but a powerful force could still be witnessed behind it and it made Vanessa's posture straighten out as her eyes jolted open.
Letting his fist unclench, the soldier looked ahead instead of at Vanessa as he began to show a crack in his knightly facade, “The Saldeans were relatives of mine. I cannot forgive you for killing them, but I do understand why you did,” he looked back to Vanessa and stopped. Looking over her, he began to reminisce over a similar spitfire girl he once knew, “My sister once stayed with them for some time due to what could have been a scandal. I owe them a lot for what they have done for my family…but now I cannot repay them.”
“I…they…”
Vanessa didn't know what to say. She had killed them in desperation, of a need to survive, but that did not truly settle the demons within her gnawing at her mind ever since she had committed that unforgivable crime. She only wished that that Hunter had not come...a person so heartless and without scruples that they would have done far worse than VanCleef had. Torture before agonizing death, not to mention harming Katz, Letz, and Kikka.
With the other orphans on her mind, Vanessa found a way to continue speaking without losing her voice like before, “There are three orphans who were living with them who now are in Stormwind. Their names are Katz, Letz, and Kikka. Can you see about making sure they are okay?”
Lavitz turned around fully to bow to the teenager in a polite fashion, his voice such that he was making a pact without the other formalities, “I will check on them myself when I return.”
Vanessa looked away from him again, “Thank you...”
Standing up straight, Lavitz smiled and lifted his hand up to touch her chin, his finger bringing it up so that she was looking at him, "You care about them. A telling sign that you aren't as bad as you think you are."
The surprise in her eyes drew his attention to them, and he did not find the eyes of a cold-blooded murderer but rather that of a scared child. She had built up a cold facade and had her soul chilled by the events she had been through, but even then she had been kept from going over the edge by the love and compassion given to her by the Saldeans. She was likely distraught over what she had just done in the last battle, and was probably trying to justify it to herself, but her mind was no doubt casting doubts on her because of how killing someone went against Trixie's wishes.
"In battle you sometimes must take lives, that is unavoidable. Not everyone can walk the path Miss Lulamoon wishes to," a path that Lavitz would walk as well as far as he could until it would cost their lives otherwise. He believed in the duo he had requested to serve under, and even if the path was made more difficult by choosing not to kill he was willing to do just that. Still, having taken many lives in his time as a knight, Lavitz was not about to judge someone for doing the same, "That man died a painful death, but it was partly his own fault. Partly Kael's, and partly your own. But do not blame yourself fully for what happened," the frown that had slowly grown on his face was replaced by a calming smile, "You came here to protect a woman you feel you owe your life, a noble goal, so she will not judge you for what happened despite her own moral trappings."
Vanessa hung her head in shame, not able to honestly say he was wrong or that his intuition was off at all. She blinked as she felt her eyes begin to water, regret finding a new avenue to show itself, "I've lost everyone else...even when I captured her, even when I was fighting her, she showed me empathy. She understood my pain and refused to hurt me because of it. I don't deserve..."
As her eyes began to shut and drip with tears Vanessa found herself being embraced for the second time that day. Her head became buried on the metal of Lavitz's ancestral armor, the boisterous man speaking quietly as he held her, "You have beautiful blue eyes like my sister. The more I look at them, the more I remember her, so don't go and ruin them with tears, okay?"
Vanessa looked up and saw that the man was smiling through pain of his own.
What could have happened to make the friendly soldier's heart ache like this?
After they finished their moment, Vanessa went back over to where Kael and Trixie had been sitting for the short duration since Vanessa parted ways with Trixie. They were nestled together in a way that showed their close bond, with Trixie calming down the previously berserking Kael just by being beside him. He had been infuriated by her having been hurt, but his rage had caused her pain as well, and that conflict of motive and actions had left him broken.
Having been shown compassion, Vanessa decided to return it in some form. She was not really used to doing this, not in any true fashion, so she hesitantly stood beside the two Elves for many moments before awkwardly kneeling down and bringing a hand to touch Trixie's shoulder.
"Are...are you okay?"
Trixie opened her eyes and turned to look at Vanessa. Trixie had been crying for some reason unknown to both Kael and Vanessa, but she was not about to vocalize it, instead turning to Kael and prodding him for how he was doing.
"Kael?" she asked as she put on a falsely happy face.
Kael moved to look at both of them, "I will be..." hugging Trixie tightly for a moment, Kael then turned his attention fully to Vanessa and smiled up at her, "Thank you Vanessa. You saved my life. Our lives."
As to be expected, Vanessa tried to diminish what she had done and make it sound less selfless, despite the immense danger she had undergone to meddle, "If you died, so would Miss Trixie."
It was obvious that she didn't want to be praised, so Kael kept it minor while still continuing, "Even so, I owe you. Thank you."
He brought a hand up to tussle the child's hair, but Vanessa stumbled back and fell down to get out of the embarrassing display.
"W-why are you all so touchy?"
Kael and Trixie laughed as Vanessa tried to crawl away from where they were sitting, "Sorry, didn't mean to offend you..." remembering that they were in the middle of a hostile takeover, he moved to get up before feeling massive pangs of pain in his body. He had burned through all of the energy he had taken in addition to his own, so he was now left with the exhaustion that was to come from such exertion, "I need a moment to recover. Fortunately it doesn't seem like they are about to attack us again, so we have time to rest."
Trixie had also been exhausted by the battle, having had her power taken by Kael by accident, but she had not gone through the physical motions of it and so was spared some of the same pain as him. She managed to rise up to her feet and dust herself off while Kael was left on the ground looking up at her.
“Trixie?”
She smiled down at him genuinely before turning and walking away, “I need to try something while we have time. You stay here and rest.”
Trixie was beginning to get a real grasp of her dreamwalking powers, but she was hesitant to use them on her allies...
She knew, however, that a certain enemy was also capable of being on the receiving end of her powers, so she saw this as a perfect opportunity to test her latent powers and see if she could extract any value from them in the battles to come.
In the woods of the Tirisfal Glades, where both the Undercity with the Undead and the Scarlet Crusade's Monastery coexisted, the team of followers sent by Trixie to distract the garrison of Scarlet Crusaders were succeeding in their mission. They had led them astray and the main fighting force would not be able to return and influence the battle there for quite some time, meaning Trixie and the others had plenty of time to go and lock everything down there.
At least, that's what should have been the case. As the follower's squad leader Sayaka would soon realize as they kept up their pace drawing the Crusaders away from their fortress, there did not exist one sole group of Scarlet Crusaders.
A lone man with auburn hair passed by in a part of the forest nearby them, though he did not seem to notice them at all as he rushed towards the direction of the Scarlet Monastery. His armor signified him as one of their members, but the ornate mace he carried and customized pieces to his armor signified that he was no regular soldier. Such was the speed he was running that by the time they could have intercepted him or drawn his attention that it was already too late for Trixie's followers to do so, but it did warn them that other Crusaders may be coming from the same direction.
Sayaka paused to look, and sure enough a squad of Scarlet Crusaders were coming from the same forest clearing. If they were to get to the Monastery too soon, Trixie and the others might not be ready for them.
"Uh oh," Sayaka spoke to her team as they continued to make way running from the Crusaders tracking them, "We can't distract them all in addition to the force we already are stalling."
If Trixie were to come into any harm, her employer would have her head. As such, Sayaka passed leadership onto one of the other members and began to run in a different direction from them.
"I'll stall them while you guys continue what we're doing."
Getting in their path would be easy...fighting a dozen or so Crusaders on her own would be a challenge in the simple body of a Human.
Given that the leader, whoever he was, was on a rapid course for the Monastery Sayaka thought it best to warn the others. Fortunately they had headsets that allowed easy communication, so she had direct contact, "Boss, you there?"
It took a moment, but the voice that responded was not Trixie but rather Tony's, "They are...occupied."
Not quite sure what that meant, Sayaka decided to use what little time she had left before the Crusaders reached her position to explain what was happening, "Well Tony, you guys got more bad guys headed your way. They are a good three miles away, and do not appear to have mounts. I will try to slow them down for you, but one got by already!"
"Very vell. We'll have to close the gates soon then. Karl!" Tony called his brother, and Sayaka assumed the two were about to prepare to take the gate.
"I'll leave you to it," Sayaka stopped using the communicator when the Crusader group she was intercepting stopped a good twenty feet from her, "You'll stop there if you know what's good for you. I know how to use this thing, for reals!"
Sayaka brandished a blade as if from thin air and held it forward as if to threaten them. The Crusaders looking at this mostly laughed, though the one standing at the front of their group instead took a deeper look at the young blue haired girl.
"You're young, aren't you? What are you doing here?" Lila asked her opponent. She was not averse to fighting anyone who attacked her, but she was confused as to why a kid would be here. Were they in league with the people attacking the base?
"Yeah, so what? I won't let you get past me!"
Lila snarled as she drew her own weapon. This girl stood in the way of them getting to the Monastery, and that was not something Lila was going to easily forgive. She was worried that her comrades were dying there, and that in particular her pupils may be harmed in her absence.
"Sorry kid, but I don't have time for this!"
Jerid, Kacricon, you two better be alright...
Trixie had, by closing her eyes and touching Jerid's shoulder, been able to launch herself into the dreamworld she had encountered in her own sleep. It took what felt like forever to orientate in the weightless place that was the void she was in, but Trixie found herself able to get her bearings straight with what felt like familiarity.
She had done this before...somehow, she had done this in her past before her current memories started. Had she been able to do it as a horse? If so, how? Could she use magic as a horse? And if she could, why would she peer into the minds of others in their sleep? That felt like something someone far more powerful, someone like a goddess, ought to do...
Princess Luna...
That name floated out to Trixie in the darkness she found herself. It held significance, Trixie knew it did, but she could not pin it yet.
"Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
Trixie blinked as she turned and saw a spitting image of her equine self standing atop some kind of stage.
Well, spitting image except that it was smaller than her own body when she took that form...was this when she was younger? What else could cause her to be smaller? She didn't look like a filly though...
An unseen audience let out an "Ooh!" that showed their enthusiasm, and Trixie began to focus the control she held over the dreamworld to get a better look.
Her other self continued to boast in front of the crowd in a showmare's haughty voice, "Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!"
Fireworks and fanfare sounded, though Trixie could only just barely make out the sparks of the fireworks. She was getting better at this, but still this was uncharted territory for her.
A series of dissenting voices in the crowd, overall a minority against the cheering of the fans, caught the ears of both Trixies, and the one on stage appeared to take offense...as she should, given that some ponies were trying to ruin a performance instead of just leave if they did not like it, as was proper etiquette.
"Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience. Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?" the dream-Trixie called the hecklers out, though the actual Trixie shook her head and dispelled the scene from her mind.
She came here to learn how to better interact with other people's minds. She always could tinker with her own mind and powers, but she did not have unlimited access to the sleeping man with some magic potential.
By shoving away her own dream, Trixie found herself suddenly in the one she had intended to enter. She found herself in some meeting room with the same decor of the Monastery, and the details being discussed meant little to her given that this was hardly a reliable source of current troop movements and plans.
During the meeting, however, Trixie listened in on the person remembering these events: Lieutenant Jerid Messa, who had a distinct scowl as he listened in on the auburn haired man giving orders and explaining things to everyone. Sitting in the seat next to Jerid was a slightly older woman (who Trixie would learn was named Lila) with a sandier shade of blonde hair than Jerid's color that matched Lavitz's blonde, and half of Jerid's irritation in the meeting could be chalked up to her: she mocked him for being the "Famous Lieutenant Jerid Messa. Goes out and comes back without doing a thing", mocking him for what Trixie assumed was his battle performance. The other half of his irritation came from likely accepting and being angry at his own failures, so he was paying twice for the same failure.
His responses and actions during the meeting painted him in a way that made Trixie's own dream feel less random: he was smug too, even in the face of criticism.
"This man..." Trixie murmured to herself as she continued to spy in on him. His personality reminded Trixie of the stereotypical jerk-jock, but at the same time she had seen firsthand that he was more than that...the fact that he was not solely a jerk irritated her, as it would be easy to criticize him if that was the case. As it was, he was a smug, self-centered guy who would go berserk if his friends were to come to any harm...
Trixie frowned as she remembered her own haughty moments, such as the recent occasion of being utterly caught off guard by Dathrohan while she was beaming about how great her plan was going, or when she nearly became a killer herself when she saw the Hunter kill Kael...fortunately Chromie had changed the timeline, but Trixie remembered her own feelings of undying rage and need for retribution.
Namely, she was uncomfortable with the parallels she found.
After the meeting ended things began to shift into greater detail for Trixie, with the woman who had been accosting Jerid leaving and him following behind her. She was doing so with the quick pace of a trained soldier, while he had to fight to catch up. She was a quarter down the hallway by the time he left the doorway.
“Hey, wait!”
The blonde woman in the red clothing of a Crusader turned to face him with some disgust, “Oh yeah? Why?”
Bringing his fists up into a boxing pose, Jerid lunged at Lila in the brief opening left by her turning.
Unfortunately for him, she sidestepped him with ease and his fist sailed past her head while her right leg kicked his own right leg while he passed by, “Ah, ahhhhh!”
Lila scoffed as she watched him stumble onto the ground, taking a position now behind him and taking delight out of the foolish display, “Give it up Lieutenant, you’ll never beat me.”
Trixie could tell what was about to happen next before it even played out, and part of her wanted to hide her eyes from it if she was not still feeling out the extent of her powers.
Jerid recovered quickly from his fall and spun around to try lunging again, this time with a lower center of gravity to his attack, but what this resulted in was a jump kick right to the face. Such was her strength that Jerid slammed into the ground and bounced before regaining his footing, displaying the same fortitude that he had when fighting Vanessa.
Thoroughly not impressed, his opponent continued to talk down to him as Lila stood calmly in front of Jerid's bruised body, “Don’t you realize you’re not ready for the big leagues yet? Why can’t rookies get it through their heads that it’s different here on the frontlines?”
Using the wall to help himself halfway up, Jerid stopped his offense to ask her a simple question, “Why is that?”
“Why is what?” she snappily answered.
Jerid clenched a fist as he remained in a kneeling position, not intending to swing it but rather to demonstrate his frustration. Despite his humiliation he had a semi-calm voice that showed he had accepted defeat, though a bit of an edge remained to it because of the situation, “At Tyr’s Hand I trained to be the best, and my ability to adapt was my strong point. That’s why I was able to join the Scarlet Crusade.”
The veteran crusader leaned on one of the hallway's walls, crossing her arms over her chest as she seemed to grow an interest in the conversation beyond just dealing with a nuisance, “Adapting isn’t the same as belonging here.”
The vague response riled Jerid up, causing him to stand and quickly close the gap between them. No longer fighting, Lila did not resist him as Jerid grabbed her shoulder with one hand and forced her closer to the wall, “Tell me, why is that?”
“Right, let go of me,” she complained, though she did not knock him back like she was capable of doing. He stood a head taller than her at an impressive six feet and four inches, but she was the one truly in charge. His grip was not even that strong since he had no intention of actually hurting her, just pressuring her to actually answer him, “As long as you keep acting like a stupid brute you’ll never get anywhere.”
“Huh?" Jerid let go of her and held his hands out to the sides, palms facing up as he tried to defend his actions, "I don’t understand. I always act this way.”
Lila stepped forward and elbowed him in the ribs, forcing Jerid back a step as she chewed him out for his ignorance, “Now you’re getting on my nerves. You always do things in your own selfish way. Why don’t you try and learn to respect other people? If you try to treat me like those girls you go out with, then you’re going to end up regretting it.”
Jerid was stopped by the wall opposite the one she had been leaning on, and the narrow hallway left him still close to Lila despite her attempt to push him away.
Caught off guard by her accusation, Jerid found responding difficult, “I—I didn’t mean anything like that.”
Trixie wanted to laugh at how clueless the man seemed. He probably was as emotionally old as Vanessa was, if not less, whenever this memory took place. He was genuinely clueless, and it was almost endearing. Trixie imagined if she had a blood-sibling it might be something like this, since she was also quite clueless about things now and again on top of the personality similarities.
Sensing that he was being genuine, Lila stopped being verbally aggressive. Instead, she moved to pin Jerid against the wall with an arm over his shoulder, the man cowed by his previous defeats against her to even trying to physically react. Now in a position of physical dominance, Lila sought to get her point through to him since she had his full attention, “With each new partner, each new encounter, each new situation a different response is required of you.”
As she finished Lila stepped back, allowing Jerid to regain some of his comfort and then respond in a questioning manner once again.
“But I thought I’ve been always doing that.”
“That’s what you think. You look, but you don’t see,” Lila commented before turning to leave once again.
As Lila began to leave, a hint of anger made its way into Jerid's voice, “Are you saying that I’m a fool? Or that I can’t see?”
Without stopping, Lila turned her head slightly to talk to Jerid as she left him behind, “Yes to both. Otherwise you would have not lost in Tirisfal Glades to low level Forsaken.”
Once again not having a retort to his past failings or an excuse for them, Jerid looked down in frustration and quickly thought over something. Trixie observed him with interest as he went from surprise at being called a fool and mocked for his failure, to the frustrated thinking of a man not content with just leaving that be.
Trixie knew how she would respond to such a claim: try and outshine the critic and show them their place. So she expected as much from Jerid, leading to her surprise when he did precisely the opposite.
“Then tell me! I have to defeat them!”
Trixie balked. Was he...asking for help from the person calling him out and insulting not only his skill but intelligence? She suddenly felt much worse about herself if someone with a similar personality and a more brutish demeanor could bite that kind of bullet better than her...
Lila was also surprised, though part of it was because she was confused about why Jerid seemed so driven, “But why?”
“Because I—”
Jerid glanced back to the doorway the two of them had come out of, his face contorting in some anger as he was forced to cut himself off. Seeing that no-one was there, Jerid moved down the hallway to get in closer with Lila.
“I have my own goal. I plan to lead the Crusade one day. To do that, I’ll swallow my pride and do whatever you tell me.”
Lila smiled, showing that this was something she was both intrigued and pleased by, but the memory ended there as Jerid shook his head and the entire scene faded away.
“This again…” he looked back and forth at his hands and then the void around him, “Why isn’t this like a normal dream? Why was I thinking of Lila? Is she in trouble?”
His dream dispelled, his increasingly conscious mind began to try and fill in the blanks...namely, it put forth what was on Jerid's mind.
Trixie gasped as the void was replaced by a scene of a brown haired man being consumed by flame after first being stabbed from behind. The man was screaming in pain as his body was incinerated before him, with Jerid watching from the sidelines in complete horror.
“Kacricon!”
Trixie felt the same flash of power she had previously, the sudden switch that could be flipped and suddenly she felt her control of everything become contested by a surge of mana. Jerid looked around in anger in a desperate attempt to find the one responsible for his horrific nightmare. The scene did not end like the previous one, Jerid's preoccupation with the tragedy he had suffered causing it to play over and over as the blonde man began yelling out at the entire world around him.
“Who are you!? Who is doing this to me!?”
Despite the surge of mana, Trixie inserted some of her own to remain in control. Stability achieved, she then overrode the dreams being brought forth by the person's mind she was visiting, instead forcing the original state of darkness, like that of outer space, upon everything. Kacricon's burning form disappeared, and Jerid was left with nothing left to look at except Trixie herself.
Balling his fists up, Jerid's mental projection growled and prepared to leap at Trixie, “You…you’re that woman!”
Trixie did not move as Jerid sailed straight through her own projection. These were imagined things, not true bodies, and so in this non-corporeal state Trixie doubted much harm could be done. Perhaps if she had greater control she could have actual "physical" confrontations, but for now those were kept within dreams where the physicality was remembered rather than created.
As Jerid floated in the area behind Trixie in an awkward and weightless manner, Trixie saw fit to finally introduce herself, “My name is Trixie Lulamoon. I’m not here to hurt you,” she paused as Jerid caught and righted himself, “I’m sorry about your friend. If I had been conscious, I would have stopped him.”
Jerid's blue eyes sparkled as they grew wet with tears, his fists still balled up because of his anger, “Yeah right! That brat killed him without a second thought!”
Trixie paused as she thought about what he was saying. He was referring to Vanessa, and Trixie had recognized the weapons stabbing Kacricon's back as daggers...Trixie had been a bit out-of-it at the time, so she had not been a direct witness, but she was aware of it.
The death of someone in what was an attempt to save Kael and by extension everyone else. If Vanessa hadn't done that, they all could have died, and so Trixie had a difficult time blaming her...but for his friend, who had to see it happen in person? That made Trixie feel terrible. This reminded her of when Kael had "died" before time changed, and so she could not fault her enemy for being so furious.
What the killer of Edwin Vancleef was to Vanessa, Vanessa now was to Jerid.
“Vanessa isn’t evil at heart. She lost her father and has had a tremendous burden placed upon her shoulders,” Trixie half-heartedly said, understanding why Vanessa did it but also why someone could still be angry. Trixie approached Jerid where he stood and tried putting a hand on his shoulder, or at least pretended to do so since she could not actually touch him, “He meant a lot to you, didn’t he?”
Still furious, Jerid tried to swat her hand away and growled out, “Get out of my head!”
Realizing that there was little left for her to do since the entire dreamwalking process had broken down, Trixie decided to bow out before she inadvertently caused him any more harm.
“Lieutenant…”
Trixie regretted that the practice of her powers had brought him pain, but her mind was distracted also by something she had noticed about him.
He was self-absorbed. Smug. Kind of a jerk to those he didn’t know…but he cared about his goals, and he cared about his friends.
While less violent, Trixie had to say she saw some of herself in the enemy soldier who was somehow susceptible to her powers. He possessed a magic to him that she had sensed when she woke, one which greatly outweighed what he possessed before he was overcome with a drive for retribution. He was a different kind of Paladin than the more serene Mitter’meyer, though dangerous in his own right.
Perhaps, Trixie thought, if she had grown up differently, been born in a world of warfare and destruction, she would have taken to a path like the Lieutenant had…a path born of ambition, something she knew quite well. She wouldn't be at the Monastery if she did not know ambition.
She would use this dream power on Kael when this battle was over. She had to find answers, and now that she had practice doing it of her own volition it should prove easy enough.
What she would find though, Trixie was unsure of…and she was also not sure if she truly wanted to know.
In the real world only moments had passed by, and it felt to Trixie like she had only just shut her eyes by the time she opened them again.
Trixie jolted away from the unconscious man she had been next to. Jerid was severely wounded, possibly critically, and it reminded Trixie that there was more to tend to than just her own forces. She glanced back to see that the Grand Crusader was laying limply in one of the room's corners, where Kael's magic had blasted him back. He too might be dead, though given how powerful he had been Trixie doubted he would stay down.
Because of the personal need to save life, Trixie approached the Priest she had encountered on the road, Dirge. The man seemed gloomy after the battle, having spent his time kneeling by where his friend had died. No trace of Kacricon remained, but the sight had seared itself in Dirge's eyes and he remembered quite well the specific place it happened.
Since she hadn't been able to convey her sorrow well to Jerid, Trixie decided to give her condolences to the other man who appeared to be saddened by the loss.
"Dirge...I am sorry about your friend."
Possessing a calmer personality, Dirge accepted it even though it belonged to his enemy, "Thank you," he glanced over to Jerid and then to the others who had come as reinforcements, "And thank you for sparing my comrades. You did not need to do that, but you did...I guess it makes Kacricon dying all the more..."
Trixie nodded and put a hand on his shoulder like how she had kind of done with their friend, "We did not ever intend to kill anyone here, but it seems things got out of hand..."
Looking back over to the Grand Crusader, Trixie hoped it was not too late to save him as well. While he seemed like a bad man, and her head still kind of hurt from him hitting her, she didn't wish death upon him.
"Is he alive?"
"Just barely," a voice behind Trixie said, causing her to turn around. A woman wearing a face concealing hood was the one to have spoken, and something about them put Trixie off a bit.
Glad to hear that the Grand Crusader was alive, evidenced by him slightly moving, Trixie decided that the half-healer Dirge to tend to him while assigning the woman to do the rest of the healing, "Dirge, you heal him. You heal the others."
Dirge glumly went to do as told. He would be able to stabilize Dathrohan, Trixie believed, but not make him fully fit to fight, while Trixie bet this woman could heal a bit better than the man who admitted he was a healer, but it wasn't his main specialization.
Trixie had a sudden idea as the woman began to leave, though she fully doubted it would amount to anything, "Is it possible to...revive Lieutenant Kacricon?"
The Crusader turned to face Trixie, shaking her head and speaking in a sad tone, as if she expected to be asked something like this and was disappointed she could not give a different answer, "Some are powerful enough to revive the dead, but to preserve the original soul and life and not just animate the corpse is a power beyond what we possess. High Inquisitor Whitemane might be capable if there were a body, but she is fighting elsewhere."
This said, the woman walked over to the bleeding Jerid and began to heal his many wounds. She seemed to know the man, which given his propensity for being injured Trixie was not too surprised, and so handled him with familiarity and a friendliness of sorts.
"We will take care of the wounded. I and some others come from the time before the Crusade, leftovers absorbed into their campaign to remove the Undead, so you need not worry about me turning on you."
Something about the woman's voice seemed...familiar. Trixie narrowed her eyes and tried to figure it out, but not being able to see their face kept her from being able to complete the mystery.
"Do I...know you?"
She was curious, but Trixie had a duty to carry out so she could protect the others. Ignoring her would be inquiry, Trixie began setting things back on track.
“Karl, you and Tony go and handle the gate. Slip by their forces while we make enough of a racket to draw their attention.”
The brothers accepted their assignment, though they waited by the doors leading out to the courtyard due to a heavy enemy presence gathering there.
"The Courtyard is filled with soldiers..." Trixie murmured as she joined the two brothers along with Kael, Lavitz, and Vanessa.
"Kael, you know how to ride a horse well enough, right?"
Kael gave Trixie a sideways glance, not sure what she was getting at.
"Yes, but why—"
Trixie stepped forward and removed something from her bags she had not needed for some time now: pepper.
"Outside we have an advantage they do not: not one of them can keep up with me, the poor bipeds."
"Are you sure you want to do that?"
Trixie shook her head and spoke in a resolute tone, "We are ending this before any more die. I will triumph over the quest placed before us, and I will do so in a way that is told about across the world. We will take them out with speed and cunning, as we do not have their strength."
Stepping out of the Cathredral and into the light of the courtyard, Trixie inhaled and then let out a mighty bellow.
"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon! This Monastery is now under my control, and any who disagree may come and face me!"
Her challenge issued, she breathed in the pepper she had in her hand.
With Kael on her back and with her speed, what chance did they have? Trixie would trample anyone in her way and Kael would blast any threats with his magic. All they had to do was try and not kill their foes, as Trixie did not wish to inflict any more tragedy into the world.
She had lived through someone else's nightmare just moments ago. She wasn't going to force others into such a fate if she could help it.
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I'm still extremely bothered by Trixie "No Death".
It feels like Batman and Joker...I like Batman and Joker as characters, but, I also hate Batman because he didn't kill Joker or many other vilians, leading to shit load more tragedies and more deaths.
It just come off as selfish and cowardly.
6914508 I couldn't possibly agree less. I prefer for someone in Batman's position to not indulge in unilateral executions. Capital punishment is difficult enough to get right even when you have a serious trial-and-appeals process. Giving a vigilante carte blanche to kill folks is a good way to end up with a bloodbath, because you won't be able to limit it to just the Joker no matter how hard you try.
6914580 It wouldn't have mattered if you do your job right.
see on her hands, born o hard work and battles
1. Umm... I think you mean To.
Looks like Trixie is done horsing around and wants to finish things as quick and cleanly as possible. If there was foreshadowing, I didn't see it. Yet. It'll probably click later again but like you said, subtle. Save for the mention of Jerid during the dreamwalk scene.
Now I'm honestly just wondering how the other soldiers will react to a talking pony who challanged them and the elf riding her. And how she plans to carry out her plan with Karl being near magically exhausted to do his bigger spells. She ain't going to just ram them and conjure a shield in the process is she?
6914508 As noted by another, there's reason to not take justice into one's own hands. Trixie doesn't want to kill people if she can help it, but everyone around her realizes this can backfire and they only are going along with it so long as it is feasible. Trixie would prefer not to shed any blood, but even she would not judge the others if there was no other way. She's a pony in a world of war: where she comes from problems are solved with magic and friendship. Where she is, they are solved with murder and warfare. Her aversion to killing is an intended idiosyncrasy because she's so different from every other regular person in Azeroth.
It's not cowardly, it's just a completely different set of morality that is exaggerated by being placed next to people who would kill others in a heartbeat.
6914580 Pretty much correct overall, though not why Trixie in particular is averse to killing: she's just a pony from MLPFIM that is in a world of warcraft and killing. Where she comes from problems are solved with magic and friendship, and where she is things are solved with murder and war. In her land she's kind of a jerk, in Azeroth she's a near saint in terms of morality: if being vain is your worst quality there, you are quite the superb person. She doesn't mesh with the morality of her setting, and is trying to forcefully change what she can to match her own vision of how things should be.
6914919 Actually, I meant "of". Born of hard work and battles.
Trixie is just about to start horsing around
Foreshadowing lays within a few parts, though the most obvious is the mention of blue eyes twice in the chapter. What do you think you saw in the Jerid dreamwalk bit you mentioned, for I am curious if you are on to anything?
Trixie is like the energizer bunny and has had a bit to rest, along with Kael. They'll be able to keep fighting given occasional breaks (much like the rapid health/mana regeneration in-game. Here I just justify it with an actual reason). Interestingly enough, she thought of the possibility of using magic as a Unicorn, but does not know yet that she can do that, so she still has that to blunder into.
6920532 stupid for plot reason i would call it...but then again...
6920808 I'm sorry, I suppose all ponies should be mass murderers out the gate of Equestria. If not, then it's not stupid, and you're fussing over nothing: it's acknowledged as a severe handicap and bad from a tactical standpoint in-universe, but more moral than the pragmatic option of killing opposition. Whether you agree with Trixie not wanting to be a murderer or not, both viewpoints on the issue are presented and are having their own effects.
6920843 There is nothing pragmatic with Trixie's approach.
Also...Do you even know the real meaning of murder?
Murder=/=Kill
The ponies are no stranger to violence...They are just less aggressive.
6920970 I specifically stated that the alternative, AKA killing people, is more pragmatic than leaving everyone alive.
However, as shown by one person she spared helping her out later, there are benefits to be had.
Going into someone's base and killing everyone would be murder. Having someone at your mercy and choosing to kill them could be considered as such as well. But play word games, it doesn't make your point any better: Trixie not only comes from a society that isn't anywhere near Azeroth's in terms of violence and killing, but also is making a conscious decision not to.
Stop trying to pick a fight over nothing. As I've said, it's discussed in-story and there are both good and bad aspects. Whining over it not being absolute grimdark gorefest won't change anything. Trixie's not a born killer: everyone else is.
6921004 >.> You're the one who develop this conversation into this level...
MY own moral is very different from yours it seems.
I'm hovering around the grey area.
And mercy? Hah! You need to determine if they deserve mercy in the first place...If they would just use that mercy and keep going with their evil way then mercy is not an option.
Going into the base and kill everyone? Do you even Military?
If every single one are combatants and fight back without serrendering then it is all fair game...
Well, we should stop here. This conversation has gone on long enough. Anymore and we will start throwing insult like artillery bombardment.
6920571
I'm glad it wasn't taken with any offense. I did my best to word it in a way that meant finding a corner in a circle might not be impossible.
6920553 The only part that clicked with me in the dream sequence was on how Trixie marvelled at his potential for magic and her own parallel drawing to herself basically. If Kael isn't careful, he might have some empathetic competition.
6921389 True, Trixie might have to share her empathy a bit, but it may end up mitigated by how Trixie sees herself in Jerid, while she has a higher opinion of Kael than herself. Using her dream powers she is going to find new connections with those around her, but overall her emotion will be invested in poor Kael for how nicely he treats her and how tortured he is on the inside.
Basically, she can empathize quite well with others who share traits with her, but Kael's still the center of her attention: she literally was practicing her dreamwalking on someone else so she could get it right with Kael
6921954
Yeah, I'm not exactly breaking new ground.
6926894 Ehhh, that one was a little weak
I do like the Inception reference though.
I take great relief out of the fact that Trixie is treating her defeated foes well. It's good policy.
It is so much easier to kill with honor than not at all. This is causing some issues. And, well, they will definitly need to kill Kael.