//------------------------------// // Level 22: In The Future Everything Is Chrom..ie // Story: Equestria Was Merely a Setback! // by Thunderscourge //------------------------------// A/N: Thanks to refferee, SilentMech, Mister E, Ultimate Bromaeda, Jonuts, and nioniosbbbb for your comments since the last chapter. I've been busy with midterms or else I would have released this sooner. Special mention to Jonuts who realized something I have been hoping someone would fully call out but hadn't, but it's finally brought up in this chapter in passing...those who know will get it, others will get it in time. If they had only started reading one chapter later I would appear ingenious, but instead they pointed it out right before I come out with the revelation myself... I hope you enjoy, and please leave your thoughts in the comments below! There was a break in the fighting to give everyone time to recover, time that was extended by an hour from its originally planned hour length because of Kargath’s disruption. After Trixie’s showing in the arena against him the favor of the crowd had shifted entirely, gifting her with an instant idol status amongst those who had witnessed the events. It had to be explained to Trixie afterwards by Lavitz that Kargath was quite possibly the most renowned gladiator fighter in history, and that to survive against him seemed to indicate that Trixie herself was on his level. Trixie’s group knew this was not the case, and that she was simply lucky, but Trixie was not about to dispel the illusions painted of her. The only thing that she minded was that the odds would be given in her favor from here on out, so betting gold on the matches would be less lucrative…something she had done on the last two behind the backs of her companions. She did not take more than her share of course of the money they had available, but since Trixie had gone in quite sure of herself she had decided to take it a step further and not only expand her reputation but also her purse. “Do you like it?” Trixie had just entered the waiting room again, proof of her winnings shown on her with a flowing purple cape behind her and a matching hat atop her head. Each had stars embroidered on them in both the color of her equine form’s fur as well as light yellow. When Trixie had gone out during the break she had decided to invest in enchanted clothing that would add to her dramatic flair, and so while she was speaking to a tailor about having her new robes gifted by Stormwind altered to her specifications, Kael had instead gone shopping for something that would match her style. He felt that her current outfit was appropriate for the first time: Trixie had her robe altered so that it freed her legs below the knees, and her sleeves had been removed as well. She felt excessive clothing was uncomfortable, so freeing up her limbs was already speaking to her. The smile she had on her face ever since she altered her clothing was only made larger before seguing into a blush when Kael returned with a gift for her. Trixie was not used to gifts, so to receive a billowing cape that gave her the appearance of the stage magician she desired to be she could only quietly murmur something before going to change and telling Kael to meet her back at the arena. Now showing the cape off with some twirls and dramatic arm movements, along with her matching hat she found in the same bag as the cape, Trixie finally could face him and smile again, her blush having since faded. “I do. I think I’ll say that a lot if you ask.” Kael bowed, glad that some of his share of the money they all had together was able to distract Trixie, and himself, from the gut wrenching display Kargath had made of impaling her, “I am glad I am able to please you.” Trixie had also had the tailor, a mage like her, fix the bloodstains with a spell that Trixie memorized by watching intently. A tailor would not be with them every step of the way, at least not until Kael could have more practice, so she needed to be able to remove such unsightly things from her person. It was a general cleaning spell and very simple, so Trixie foresaw that it would get a lot of usage in their downtime whenever she had a moment or Kael bothered to learn. Trixie had dispersed the money she had once the matches were over, since it didn’t actually all belong to her, and she was surprised that when their Warrior friend returned it was without any gifts for himself. Surely he deserved a treat as well after everything, right? Even Kael had bought some armor for himself while he was out, though he had yet to use it since it would take awhile to change and he didn’t want to be bothered with it. He was not supposed to be fighting that day anyways, and wearing metal armor with a cape of his own would attract more attention than simply wearing the clothes gifted by Stormwind for the time being (which, while requiring a change, took moments compared to learning how to use heavier armor correctly). “Lavitz, did you want anything new to wear?” The soldier shook his head and smiled to the two. Lavitz did not often earn much at all, though he was used to being paid in large sums after endless time off on the front lines of conflict, so he was able to resist the temptation of using a good sum of his money even when he could, having learned how to handle money well at the sight of other soldiers blowing all their money on nothing. “Thank you, but this suit of armor is a family heirloom. That’s why it is different than normal Stormwind armor.” Trixie smiled and nodded as she realized that he was telling the truth: silver was both in Lavitz’s armor as well as the standard soldier of his race, but green replaced the blue cloth and decoration, and no gaudy gold was adorned on his armor despite having a higher rank than most. In fact, its simple and standard appearance actually impressed Trixie, as its humble nature was quite like its owner…unlike her, “Well it suits you.” “However, I must ask, how did you get so much gold after two fights? They usually pay out at the end.” It was merely a question born of simple curiosity, however it made Trixie feel abashed all the same given the answer she felt obligated to give: that she had risked it on her victory. Trixie ran a hand through her silver-blue hair and under her hat as she admitted how she managed to make them relatively rich to the common person, “I bet a bit of the gold King Wrynn gave us on me winning. The odds given to me were so great that we should be set on money for quite awhile.” Lavitz nodded, understanding and not really caring: he had taken some bets as well in the past when he was a younger soldier, “No-one thought one unknown Mage could take on two opponents at once and win.” Kael on the other hand was less than pleased with the prospect of Trixie risking their money, but he could not complain with the outcome, “I would complain about you gambling our money away, but it paid off.” A horn was blown outside and cries for bloodshed roared throughout the entire arena. The portcullis did nothing to muffle the crowd’s uproar, and Trixie used this moment to leave the awkward conversation that would follow with their given trajectory. “That’s my cue. Time to show everyone how great I am again.” Trixie moved on her way out and moved her cape so that it was positioned correctly coming off her neck and shoulders. She was half done, and her building reputation would be shattered if some nobody were to beat her in a battle after Kargath did not. Still, feeling slightly guilty over having been given a gift without having something in return, Trixie paused one more moment and turned back to smile at Kael. Compared to her, he was selfless as could be and that made her feel unworthy. “Thank you.” After that small recognition of Kael’s generosity, Trixie dashed outside to the sound of the crowd’s uproar as the portcullis opened and closed for her. This done she basked in the cheers of the crowd, whose fervor was not like anything Trixie had experienced. Something about being in front of a crowd felt familiar, but this crowd was of hundreds of souls all cheering for her… “Hey, girlie, you think you’re so great for surviving against Kargath, don’t you?” Of course, not everyone at the Arena wanted her to win. Namely, her opponents who were exiting their own waiting room on the opposite side. The only way they could win would be to bet on her and purposefully lose, but Trixie doubted they would allow such fraud, but then again she did not know the specifics of this culture and such a thing could be legal. They let the opposite, of betting on oneself, occur, so perhaps such a thing was possible? In any instance, the middle aged Warrior who had called Trixie out, correctly, on her newfound arrogance was one who meant nothing to Trixie, but who Kael in the crowd found himself gaping at. He did not appear to be anything too out of the ordinary, wearing what seemed to be common armor and not possessing any particularly notable physical features, so how could Trixie know he was anything special at the time? To respond to his taunt about her fight with Kargath, Trixie nonchalantly took to looking at her fingernails instead of doing the smart thing and observe more about her foes by actually looking at them, “To be honest it isn’t the first time.” “Well you got no chance against me. I don’t merely survive against legends, I kill them.” Trixie rose a brow, curious as to what he meant as she finally began to look him over, “Oh?” “Team Lulamoon versus—” The man had a cloak made of stitched together Defias masks. They appeared worn and aged, as if they had been worn for quite some time in this form, and Trixie realized something terrible just as the announcer finished speaking. “—the Defias Slayers!” Given that the Defias had been only notably massacred twice, Trixie was certain that this man had something to do with the previous extermination of the bandits. While far from an example of Stockholm Syndrome, Trixie certainly had regrets that things turned out like they had. They were not wicked at heart, and they had deserved a second chance that was above and beyond being thieves of necessity. The Warrior, who had a man in robes as a partner, drew his broadsword and bullrushed Trixie faster than her previous Warrior foes had been able, yet far slower than Kargath, “I’ll kill you in one stroke and take your head as a trophy, just like VanCleef! And I’ll even get paid to do it too, just like before!” This was the man who ripped VanCleef’s head off and drove his daughter to become the damaged teenager Trixie had encountered. Because of this man’s cruelty Vanessa lost her father in front of her own eyes in a most brutal fashion. Vanessa had spoken of an Elf doing the deed, but Trixie doubted the Elf had come alone or else they would be a legend she would have heard about by now for such bravery and valor. Any patience Trixie had for boasts and threats was lost the moment she pieced things together, and the first indication to her foes that they should surrender was the sudden intensity of her glowing eyes as her magic began to boil within her. “Shut your mouth or I’ll carve your tongue out!” Without even using the incantation Trixie hurled a wave of frost at the man in robes, blasting him back with a six foot chunk of ice with such strength it carried him back into the now shut portcullis behind him, denting it and freezing him to the metal as the ice shattered around him and frosted the area. She had aimed to the side to keep herself from outright murdering the man who just flared her temper. To Trixie, this man deserved to suffer as horribly as Vanessa had…though she would not grant him death, as even enraged Trixie refused to lower herself to such a level. Instead of being distraught that his Priest ally had been taken out of the fight, the Warrior seemed amused. He finished running at Trixie and swung his sword right at her neck while shouting, “Oh, have I touched a nerve? Does death scare you that much?” “Silence!” Trixie withdrew the small blade the Saldeans had given her in a swift movement that, through brute force, caught the swinging broadsword and then snapped its top half off. As Trixie shouted for him to be quiet though she cast one of her immobilizing ice spells directly at his nearby face, aiming specifically at his neck and jaw. The magic froze everything from his shoulders to his lower lip, though Trixie soon after cast it on each of his feet as well to immobilize him. His arms were shaking from their severe chill and his frozen shoulder joints kept him from articulating his still free limbs all too much, though his eyes were shaking much like his arms: the cause was not the chill of the ice encasing his body, but rather the fear that gripped him as he looked into the bright suns that had become Trixie’s eyes as she stared him down. “How easy is it for you to boast of your slaughter of another man with your jaw frosted over?” The Warrior tried to struggle, but an armor shattering punch to the stomach had him instead on his knees and struggling to breathe. Trixie stood over him with a blank expression, her eyes still wild with magic as she felt herself finally able to let out her anger over how that Hunter ruined everything back at the cavern. This man would pay for his part in making that tragedy come to be. With the power of a horse, Trixie sent a kick into the still armored part of his abdomen and knocked the man over onto the ground, ripping him from the ice she had encased his feet in. She could do as he had planned to and kill him, but she was content just looking down at him as even now she had no bloodlust coursing through her…just pent up anger he was able to serve as a conduit for. “I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, and I am above your kind. I have no need to kill others, and I find outright murderers like you repugnant. Why did you slay VanCleef? For gold? For fame?” Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, Trixie hoisted the man up and stared at him at eye-level. “Whatever you sought, you chose to use force to solve an economic problem. You beheaded a man who sought to protect his own people even if it meant to tear down those who harmed them in the first place. I do not condone his actions, but yours are just as unforgivable!” The man fell to the ground as he felt the ice around him melt. Trixie was suddenly ten feet away from him, once again wielding the dagger that was really just like a broken sword. “However…” she brandished it in his direction and smiled smugly, “Anything you can do, I can do better. If you seek to hold a head in hand after this fight so greatly, I will gladly hand you your own! So come, fight me, slayer of legends, lest you let me go on to become the greatest one this land has ever known!” He recognized that blade: VanCleef had run him through at one point with it, only for it to break after the fight. The fact that this wretch of a woman had the blade served to set his own temper off, as it served as a reminder of the humiliation VanCleef put him through while his Elven ally carried the encounter. Drawing a short blade from his belt, the man who beheaded VanCleef like a butcher tried to re-enact the scenario on Trixie’s head once again. The attack was easy for her to parry, not because she was particularly gifted with wielding her weapon but because the boost in power she had received had boosted her dexterity and ability to wield the blade against his own as if her foe was in slow motion. She did not know why she had such an outpouring of energy, but she wished she had control over it: it was nice, but it seemed only to come out when she needed it or was highly emotional. “Shut up, you moralist bitch!” Trixie diverted her opponent’s attack to the side before scoffing and twirling around behind him as his body carried forth, leaving her in a position to then knock his legs out from underneath him with a sweep of her own leg. Her cape swirled behind her and floated up in the air as she made the fast move, the cloth being carried by the wind. “This is the man who felled VanCleef? Have you been resting on your laurels these years?” Trixie haughtily taunted, knowing that she was in complete control of this fight. Now on his back the Warrior was not any threat, but he was not unconscious, dead, or yielding, so technically they still had a fight to carry out. While she had his attention though, there was something that was really bugging Trixie that she wanted to have answered. “You could not have defeated him, and I know you were not alone at the time. Tell me, what was the name of the Elf who defeated VanCleef for you?” With a powerful stomp on his wrist by Trixie, the Warrior growled in pain and let go of his weapon. He did not care to help out this Elven woman in the least, and if he could he would deprive her of what she sought even if she still would win the match. “Like I cared to know, or would tell you!” Trixie moved her foot to his collarbone, just below his neck, and began to press down with increasing intensity, “Do you have a choice?” “You don’t like murder…” he coughed as he quickly became short of breath. Trixie nodded and stopped crushing him beneath her foot, “You’re right…” she knelt down and lowered her dagger to a soft spot in his arm’s armor, “But a maimed man is not a dead one. I would care to keep you from murdering others, even if I have to lower myself to some brutality.” With an explicit threat given, the man quickly began to reprioritize, and he began spilling his metaphorical guts even as Trixie thought to herself about how she would never actually spill any of his real ones. He didn’t know that though. “He wore armor…silver colored I think…” the man coughed up as the damage he had incurred began to catch up with him, “Had a gun, and a pet eagle…bastard’s eyes were…were…” In a fit of pain and fear the man passed out, leaving Trixie the only one still standing in the arena. Trixie sighed as she regretted how little info she got from the man, info she could not even consider wholly reliable given the source and the conditions it was received, but it would have to do. She stood up and dusted herself off, repositioning her hat and cape as she did so. “I think we’re done here.” The crowd was cheering even before the announcer said the obvious. “The winner is Team Lulamoon!” Seeing as how her two opponents were not in great positions to remove themselves from the arena, some workers of the facility came to move them instead. Trixie gestured to the beaten and bruised Warrior when they came for him, actually kind of concerned if she had hurt him too much. “Get him medical attention.” The worker did as they were told as it was already their job to do so, but insisting on it made Trixie feel better. She was sickened that she had met yet another sociopath like the Hunter, and each time one of them had spelled the doom of the Defias and the group’s leader…only, unlike the Hunter, this Warrior was ruthless and unskilled rather than skilled because of how ruthless they were. “Trixie, Trixie, Trixie, Trixie!” The sound of her name being called pleased Trixie, who took to the center of the arena to bask in their exaltation. One more match and she would be done, her reputation boosted and her pockets lined for the immediate future. “The crowd adores me. I would hate to be my next opponent. I can’t wait to get started—” “Then let’s start.” Trixie spun halfway around to where the voice she knew all too well came from, and surely enough when she was done doing so she caught sight of the last team in the tournament. The Elven Hunter who had given them chase was alive and well, along with at least three of her cohorts, and all of them were coming out onto the field to join Trixie there as the previous combatants were removed. The Hunter already had their bow drawn and arrow nocked, prepared to shoot and kill Trixie the moment she was allowed to do so without causing a scene. “Three on one. I will enjoy humiliating you in front of a crowd as I defeat you and force you to tell me where that fake Sunstrider is.” Trixie glanced at the woman and at her companions, who Trixie was partially fortunate to only have to face two of out of their three members, “I…” Her surge of power had died down with the end of the fight…meaning that unless it came back, she was perhaps equal to the Hunter in terms of overall power. But the mercenary in gritty green armor who had the opportunity to kill her and Kael but chose not to? The bald Warrior with them who did not seem as arrogant as the previous few? Trixie did not think she would be able to handle them, at least not while also handling the Hunter who sought her head along with Kael’s. “No need to look for me. Here I am.” Who, speaking of which, had rushed from the crowd to join Trixie on the field. He had taken a closer position this match given what happened with Kargath, the risk of his identity being found not equaling his worry for his haughty friend. The Hunter snorted as she turned her bow to face Kael, now having who she actually wanted dead right there with her, “So you’ve survived. Good. I think the real Kael’thas will enjoy having your head on a pike.” Kael narrowed his eyes at the Hunter as he took Trixie’s arm and began to pull her further and further away from the team of four who stood against them currently, “Yes, among other things, such as killing innocents. What makes you so sure you are correct in your assumptions that he is your true Prince?” “He holds the power and reigns, so he is right. Might makes right,” the cold woman explained without a hint of care for the innocent lives the other Kael’thas had taken in his sacking of Silvermoon City. The announcer, not to be forgotten, spoke up over all others with his amplified voice, “Before we begin, we should settle the matter of who will fight on each team!” The Hunter glanced back at her allies, who included the mercenary, the old Warrior, and a Priest in similar robes to the ones Trixie had just defeated moments before, “You three, decide which two of you will join me.” Trixie did not like facing this group even two on three…in fact, if the odds were reversed she still would not be comfortable, and because of that she was even more reluctant to have her partner with her to share in what might be a deadly defeat, “Kael…” Kael moved his hand from her arm to her shoulder, which he patted gently, “We’ll get through this.” “We don’t have a third person, and I think this time we might need one…” The announcer seemed to realize the issue as well, though it was more amusing than dire in their perspective, “Will anyone serve as the substitute for Team Lulamoon, or will we see them continue their unprecedented feat of defeating larger teams with their superb skill?” The three allies of the Hunter argued amongst themselves who would fight in the battle, and thus who in turn would get paid for the match, before the green armored mercenary shook his head and rose his hand. He stopped leaning on one of the walls and started to approach Trixie and Kael. “Aye, I’ll stand with the Elves.” The Hunter was tempted to shoot him in the back, but she had hired him because he was quick and also because he was as ruthless as her. If he didn’t die from the shot, he would be a difficult foe to take down at such a range. As such she just watched as he approached the Elves, and decided that to defeat him she would first take care of the others and then focus on him three versus one. “Damn mercenary. I should have known you would turn traitor.” Kael welcomed the turncoat with a nervous smile. The man was quite intelligent for a sellsword, and he remembered how their “fight” had gone…namely, Kael remembered how outclassed he was when put up next to him. Having that on his side was not something he was going to complain about, except maybe the having to pay the greedy mercenary part. “Thank you for the help, but how much was she paying you?” Now standing beside his new allies, the mercenary shrugged as he took his place next to them, “Not enough. You want me, you’ll pay me a third of what you win today.” Trixie and Kael looked to each other and the former nodded, “That is quite fair.” “Thought so,” the mercenary grinned in a roguish manner, possessing charisma despite the darkness of his black eyes and the ease of which he abandoned employers, “Now, let’s go show the rotten bitch a thing or two.” “Perhaps if she lightened up a bit and grew a heart she wouldn’t be so bad,” Trixie suggested in a half-joking manner, but in reality she wished it would happen. Not only would it make their lives easier, it would keep a whole lot of people from not dying if the Hunter ever decided that a conscience was something she desired. “Ehhh, there’s no cure for being a cunt,” the mercenary sighed before pointing to the bald Warrior across from them, “I’ll get the guy on the right. He’s a bit more experienced than either of you. The missy and…” he paused as he tried to remember what the name of the Priest, only to realize he didn’t care a moment in,“Sir whosit of who cares are all yours.” “Team Lulamoon versus Team Noxious…begin!” The moment the announcer finished his sentence, an arrow tore through the air and then through the shoulder of Kael, who grunted as he moved to rip it from his body. “Kael!” Trixie gasped reflexively, distracting her from the fight as she worried about if he was wounded or not. “I’m fine,” he grunted as he set fire to the arrow in palm, his mind quickly setting on paying the Hunter back for that. Fortunately for him she was not firing rapidly and actually seemed content to take her time, only just then nocking another arrow. “My bullet wounds tell me that I still owe you for what your bastard of a lackey, Odd Eyes Reuenthal, did to humiliate me,” she growled as she prepared to fire again, “And for escaping thanks to that child. I hope she enjoys Hell like her father.” While not on the same level as her previous match, the anger sparked a rapid gain in Trixie’s power which she used to fire off a powerful bolt of frost right at the Hunter. Unfortunately for Trixie this sudden magic casting had been accounted for by her opponent and it missed completely as the Hunter strafed to the side and prepared more arrows. “I saw you fight Kargath, I saw you fight that idiot in the last match, I know that you have power within you that is not apparent on the surface. I will not be caught off guard like them!” Kael was slinging magic back and forth against the Priest, who was like the Priest who had tormented Mitter’meyer in that his magic was dark instead of light. Kael’s movements and reaction time were slowed by the dark magic he had not been on the receiving end of yet, and he found the pain unbearable for his head felt as if it was splitting in two every moment the Priest channeled his magic on him. Despite that, the Priest made the error of not moving as he continued combat, and so it was easy for Kael to cast his magic across the ground beneath the man’s feet. The patch of fire forced the Priest to throw himself away from the deadly flames, and thus gave a reprieve to Kael for the moment. He looked around to find that their hired mercenary was engaged in a brutal melee with the Warrior, who was very nearly killing the mercenary with every attack but not actually connecting with any of them. It was a battle of speed versus strength, with the mercenary serving Trixie and Kael having lighter armor and a smaller blade while their opponent hacked away with strength empowered by his glowing blade which held some obvious magical presence. Kael next turned to see that the Hunter had done something unexpected: Trixie had managed to freeze their quiver and arrows, so the Hunter had rushed in to engage them in a melee. Trixie was doing her best to avoid being cut down, fear overpowering her anger as she teleported away from one strike only to find herself quickly put on the defensive again as the Hunter gave instant chase. Trixie’s retreat brought her back to where she had originally stood next to Kael, though she was facing the other direction as she prepared another spell to use as the Hunter came in with a machete that had an unnatural and sickly sheen to it. “Trade!” It was a simple command, but when Trixie felt Kael lock one arm with hers she instantly understood what he meant. They spun around with arms locked, causing the Hunter to sail by harmlessly, and each of them unleashed their attack on their opposite opponent. The Priest had one of his arms frozen over while the Hunter narrowly avoided having her back burned through by a powerful flame, the woman having pitched herself forward into an evasive roll the moment her attack failed to connect. Once she recovered, the Hunter tore an arrow from her slowly defrosting quiver and dipped its remaining ice in the flames nearby her, “Nice try.” Instead of use her bow, which was on her back, she held the arrow that now had a flaming tip in her hand as she moved in to attack again. Using her sword hand she tossed something in Trixie’s direction while aiming right at Kael with a jab of the arrow, which he dodged narrowly as he had his attention distracted by what was thrown at Trixie. It was a metal contraption of sorts, but he could not pay it much mind as he had to use his own blade to stave off the Hunter, who proved far faster than him. He would swing and she would dodge it much like his mercenary ally was doing elsewhere on the battlefield, but she was managing to nick him bit by bit through the damaged leather armor he wore along with some of the new material Stormwind granted him. Realizing that he was not going down anytime soon, the Hunter changed her method and turned her attention to Trixie once again. Because Trixie was struggling to fight off the Priest’s mental attacks she had not budged from where she was, and so she had not fallen into the Hunter’s trap by good fortune. To fix this the Hunter hurled her blade at Trixie’s lower legs, intent on tripping her up and causing her to fall into the set trap. Instead, the blade buried itself in Kael’s shin as he knocked Trixie down and out of the way, instead finding himself stumbling into the trap set. Trixie watched in horror as the metal clamped over his leg and blood spurted out from the wound, only to then get worse as the limb began to show the same signs of frosting over that Trixie’s magic gave off. Had the Hunter gotten the idea of a freezing trap from her? As Trixie got up, she was assaulted by the Priest who now was on his last legs in terms of fighting. Trixie had taken advantage of his lack of movement to freeze him again and again in increasing quantities, but he had summoned a shield of sorts to ward off some of it so it had not been easy for her. Still, he had enough fight left in him to prevent Trixie from interfering as the Hunter approached the now immobile and kneeling Kael. He moved to swing his sword, but his movement was made sluggish by the extreme pain of having an artery cut into by the metal contraption. The ice on his leg was not pure white or blue, but rather tainted red by the blood that was pooling inside the ice. Fortunately for him the ice seemed to be numbing some of the pain, but Kael still could barely focus as his sword was caught and then knocked from his hands. Taking her sword from the ground, the Hunter looked him over with seeming confusion, “You would die for a nobody like her?” Kael snorted, not even raising his head to look at her. He was in too much pain to speak clearly, and so he held it all in. Taking one last glance at Trixie, who he smiled to, he then lowered his head and accepted his fate. “So be it.” The Hunter impaled his chest and twisted the blade before kicking him over onto the ground. The damage done to his chest resulted in something falling out that did not appear to be an organ, but rather a round green orb that caught the Hunter’s attention as Kael’s body fell down lifelessly. The moment it had left him his body lost any trace of life, further drawing the Hunter’s attention to the object, whatever it was. “What is this?” Trixie was stunned completely at the sight and felt herself twitching as she rose to her feet. “Ka…Kael?” Having witnessed Trixie’s anger giving birth to explosive power, the Hunter quickly threw herself to the side as the entire area she had just stood disappeared in a flash of light. Trixie angrily continued to throw out every last ounce of energy she could muster though, forcing the Hunter to continue running, always just barely outrunning the ensuing explosion for in her anger Trixie was not aiming where the Hunter was going but rather where she was. The pool of energy could not last forever though, and Trixie was already worn down by her many fights that day. When a hyperventilating Trixie finally stopped her rampage she fell to her knees and let tears stream down her face, utterly distraught over the loss of her friend. The Hunter, however, did not even seem particularly elated that she had succeeded. She was catching her own breath as she took her bow out and prepared to nock a new arrow, her quiver having melted its frost to the point of usability by this point, “I…expected that reaction.” Arrow ready, she lifted it up and pointed it at Trixie, intent to put her down as well. “You’ll join him in Hell soon enough.” Even exhausted, Trixie still had it in her to grow furious at that statement and she balled some more energy in one hand, ready to take this woman out with her if need be. “Ki…” For Trixie, time stopped. Everything moved in slow motion before coming to a complete halt. She blinked as her power faded from her, confused as to what was happened. No-one else was moving. The Hunter was standing completely still instead of firing her arrow, the bald man and the mercenary were still locked in combat though it was no longer in motion, and Kael…remained where he had been. Despite this, Trixie could move, and began to look for some cause of this development. What was it with this tournament and interruptions? “W…what the Hel?” Trixie looked up to the sky and finally found what she believed to be her answer: a dark scaled dragon with sinister blue eyes that had most certainly not been there a minute ago. “Interloper!” it bellowed in a disturbing voice that made Trixie quiver. Its mouth formed a bright flame that Trixie could tell was intended for her, only for a figure to leap onto its back and impale it with a pair of weapons Trixie could not make out at this distance. The Dragon roared and began to spiral towards the ground, only for the person on its back to steer it forcefully to a landing outside the arena. “Woah there! That was a close one, am I right?” Trixie looked down to find a blonde Gnome standing beside her with a big grin plastered on their face as if they just did something amazing. Seeing the utter confusion on Trixie’s face, the Gnome giggled and offered a hand out to her. “Hi, I’m Chromie. Long story short, you messed our timeline up somewhere along the line. Don’t know if it’s backwards or forwards chronologically, but these guys want to erase you so you can stop messing with their plans. They want to control all time, and you kind of messed everything up. I gotta fix a couple things while I’m here, but I the Infinite Dragonflight are never up to any good. If they want you dead, I want you alive!” Trixie had no idea what the Hel any of this was, and given her emotional state she was not able to really verbalize her feelings except to complain. “Why does everyone have to try and kill me or kidnap me?” Chromie shrugged and laughed again, not seeming to understand the position Trixie was in that had been interrupted, “Dunno Queenie, maybe it’s the time thing, maybe it’s the Sunwell, maybe it’s the residual power of whatever brought you here, but boy are you like eight kinds of ‘should not be here’!” Trixie gave the Gnome another weird look of confusion and then Chromie cursed to herself as she realized that perhaps this wasn’t when she should talk about those things, but rather a later time would be when such matters would be discussed. “Oh. Not sure you knew about the Sunwell yet. Damnit, how will knowing change things?” Ignoring the mutterings, Trixie looked back to the immobile Hunter and then back to Kael. The sight of him just laying there with blank eyes made her tremble in both grief and anger. She had not been able to protect him, and he died because he took an attack meant for her. Yet, despite it all, there was apparently a time traveling Gnome trying to decide what was and was not okay to say to Trixie. It felt so surreal to the in-shock Trixie that she just let it be without questioning it, instead just wanting to get back to what she had been doing before yet another entity tried to kill her. “You are one crazy Gnome…Can I go back to fighting? My only family just died and I want that woman to bleed.” Chromie looked over to what was distracting Trixie and felt a pang as she realized she had not come in time to fix things, “I’m sorry about what happened…just gimme a minute.” Trixie blankly watched as Chromie blasted some smaller black dragons that were circling the area, driving them off and clearing the sky. This done, she turned to Trixie with a sad smile. “Okay, that should be that. I don’t like doing the actual fighting, usually get a few guys together to do it for me, but those guys are really wrecking us these days.” Done with vanquishing her foes, Chromie began to channel another spell, one that caught Trixie’s interest because it was rejuvenating her…while also causing the things around them to take a step back in time, the fighters in the arena moving in reverse to how they had as Chromie spoke. “Now, keep in mind, things are going to revolve around you for awhile, so strange things might happen now and again! I’ll try to keep things from going any more off the rails, but I’ve really got to see about fixing the Wrynn issue…” Trixie scrunched her brow confusedly, not getting what could be wrong about the Human King while also trying to not show how excited she was getting given that they were going back in time, “Wrynn? What is wrong with him?” “He’s kinda not supposed to be here. His son should be in charge, with Bolvar Fordragon acting as leader in the kid’s place, with that bi—” Chromie cut herself off with a nervous laugh, “I mean mildly unpleasant person wholikesherbrothertoomuch Lady Prestor aiding him. Don’t tell anyone I said that though, okay?” The reversal of time stopped and Trixie noticed that things were back before Kael’s death, as she had hoped they would be. Desperate to play things out differently this time, Trixie prepared to once again engage her opponent. She had not been forcibly moved like the others, and so she was standing tall and ready for this instead of on the ground like before. “Can I go back to fighting now?” “Yes, fine, fine! Here, I think you’re supposed to win and you’re getting your butt kicked, so try to do better this time!” Chromie pulled a small blue vial out and tossed it to Trixie, “Here, drink this! It’ll give you more mana. And remember, we were never here! I don’t have time to mind wipe you, so just keep quiet about this okay?” Chromie began to cast another spell, her hands glowing as she prepared to start time’s flow up again. “And try not to mess anything else up, little miss Queenie! You give me enough grief as it is down the line, I don’t need some now as well!” She disappeared in a flash, and Trixie found herself experiencing time like normal. “You would die for a nobody?” Kael looked to where Trixie ought to be laying, but instead she was standing. He opened his mouth to voice his confusion, but he was cut off by both the Hunter and Trixie speaking at the same time. “So be it—” “Kikoho!” Instead of impaling Kael, the Hunter found herself enveloped in a bright blast of light that knocked her away from him. The force of the attack nearly took her off her feet, but she managed to remain standing after stumbling a few feet. “What the—” Kael watched with a mixture of awe and surprise as Trixie continued to blast away again and again at her foe, knocking the woman further and further away from Kael with each attack. Given that each one was larger than the last, Kael found himself grateful that he was on Trixie’s good side rather than her bad side. When the Hunter stopped moving, Trixie shot one final blast at her and then collapsed down to her knees from the extreme exertion. She had just managed to chug down the mana potion when things started up, and even then it had not given her as much energy as she needed to carry out the entire attack: Trixie was sure that if she did not already have silver hair a few of her hairs would have grown silver from the stress she put on her body in that vicious assault. Still, it was worth it to her, because as she collapsed Kael was on the ground next to her still with a heartbeat. “Are you okay?” Kael asked as he ran a hand over her face and cheek. Trixie smiled to him as she rolled over onto her back. She could lay here all day and it wouldn’t even be enough rest with how she felt… “I think so,” she rolled her head over to look at the other fight happening in the arena, which she had lost track of during her own encounter, “Mercenary, how are you holding up?” The mercenary on their side had come out on top with a mixture of skill and speed, but he seemed dazed from a powerful blow he had taken. He was busy making sure the Priest was no longer able to fight, IE kicking the man while he was frozen in place, when he heard Trixie’s voice. “Been better,” he turned and noticed that the Hunter had been blasted all the way over to him, her body bleeding and her armor destroyed. Given that his sword was already hanging by where she lay, the mercenary moved it towards the unconscious woman’s body, “Shall I?” Trixie bit her lip as she considered what he was offering. A huge part of Trixie wanted to just end the constant threat, to kill the woman who had so harmed Kael…but she also could not currently stomach doing any more harm to her defeated foe. She was not a cold blooded killer unlike the Hunter, and the thought of just killing someone did not sit right with her. The mercenary seemed to read Trixie’s expression correctly as he responded with a piercing question. “If she lives, she’ll kill more people. Probably some you might consider innocents or undeserving.” Trixie shook her head weakly, “That would make us as bad as her. Leave her. We’ll have the guards arrest her so she can do no more harm…” The conversation ended there as once again another voice interrupted the happenings of the arena field. “What can I say folks? That match was breathtaking! Once again, against all odds, Team Lulamoon are the winners!” Trixie felt a hand grip hers and begin to drag her to her feet. She grinned as she felt Kael pull her up and then support her on her feet. She was too tired to stand on her own, but having a living crutch wasn’t so bad either. “Trixie! Trixie! Trixie!” Trixie brought a hand up to wave at them all, though her faintness made it difficult. However, moment by moment she felt her power rushing back to her, as if simply being next to Kael was restoring her strength. Was that what that thing was? Some magic life orb? It would explain why Kael died instantly after its removal… Trixie shook her head as she felt the last of her faintness fade away. This wasn’t the time for that. She was a champion, and she had hundreds of people cheering her on as if she was a new idol. She had a plan. “Thank you, thank you.” Taking a step forward from Kael’s grip, Trixie gave a showy bow and decided to try and tip things in their favor. “And, for my next act, I will be invading the Scarlet Crusade’s own stronghold and bringing it to heel. Kargath wants a good fight? I had best get some practice in.” Gasps and shushed voices filled the stadium in the place of the cheers from before. Trixie hoped they would react well, but it was possible that her invitation would bomb… “If anyone cares to join the show, we depart immediately,” Trixie continued. After a moment of pause, cheering began again and Trixie smirked. Given how things were going they might have some additional backup for the trials yet to come, and she would be able to use this coming success to spread even more tales of her greatness. They would help her actually succeed at the task, and they would spread her fame as a result of it actually succeeding. It would be a win-win scenario. Trixie glanced down and saw that Kael’s leg was still bleeding but that the frost had disappeared from it. He would need immediate medical attention, but first Trixie wanted to check something…just in case. “Hey Kael, did you see a Gnome during the fight?” “A Gnome?” That confirmed it. He was dead and not a part of the time stop. Trixie sighed and shook her head. “Never mind. Must have just been me.” Why was this world so screwy? And what did Chromie mean about the Sunwell? And Trixie knew both ended in “ie”, but her name was Trixie, not Queenie. She would have to teach the vertically challenged, kooky midget something about manners the next time they met.