A/N: Special thanks to Amethyst Blade, the other sans, and Freya for your comments last chapter...kind of a lean turnout, which in addition to a heavy workload made this difficult to get done, but here it is!

This chapter is basically a response to my own writing much earlier in the story, which I felt placed too little emphasis on the antagonists, but which I've tried to do better with (especially starting with V).

I hope you all enjoy the chapter, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the comments below! This is a juicy chapter with a lot to discuss, so your thoughts would be very welcome!

The amber haired Scarlet Commander turned to face one of his soldiers who had called his name. He had been busy attending to his duties as a Crusader, and had been nearly so encapsulated in his task at hand that he almost did not hear the woman calling out to him.

The woman was a regular Crusader under his command with blonde hair, one who was more of a veteran than the others he now was tasked with overseeing given their regular losses against the Undead. Of course this meant she was more skillful, and thus more valuable, but not near the level of Mograine himself or the other leaders such as Whitemane.

The woman saluted him before giving him the news she brought with all haste, "We're receiving reports that the Scarlet Monastery is under siege. Should we return to assist them?"

Mograine paused to think this over. He was reckless at heart, and sought any chance to bring himself glory, so what would be more glorious? Carrying out their offensive crusade or save his leader from whatever attack he was under?

Stomping on the fragile skull of a member of the Forsaken before him, Mograine made his decision.

"The Grand Crusader tasked us with eradicating these filth here," the man smiled to himself smugly, "But if they are assaulting our sanctuary, they will pay in their rotted blood."

Brushing his hair back behind his red headband, the Crusader smiled to himself at the sight before him. A former Human town that had been infested by Sylvanas's Undead lay in ruins, buildings destroyed or burning as their populace clamored for safety as their defenders were cut down by the zealous fervor of their opponents. No soul was to be left remaining in their reanimated shells, no matter how life-like they appeared to be. They were living a new existence free of the shackles of the Lich King's Scourge, living much as they had in life, until the xenophobic Crusade came to remove them for the actions of the Scourge and the Burning Crusade that had once controlled those mindless undead.

These Undead were conscious beings like any Human or Elf, but to their persecutors they would forever be mindless beasts that had nearly tore the world to the ground.

"Please...spare us..." a weak voice called as a hand tried to touch Mograine's ankle.

Mograine kicked the civilian Undead across the man's face and beheaded him with the powerful yet casual blow. This done, he forced his foot down through the dead once more man's chest. The magic reanimating the Undead was broken by the damage to their body, shattering the fragile bond to life the corpse once possessed.

"You are a blight upon this world. Every last one of you shall die for your crimes against humanity," Mograine responded once the man was dead. A soldier behind him approached Mograine and handed him a torch, which the Commander took with a sick delight. Lila watched and winced as she saw him prepare to use it on the building before him: a former Church of the Light, now run by the Forsaken despite how the Light hurt them.

"Sir, we must hurry if we are to return in time," Lila urged, knowing her commander would take delight in this and torture them longer than was necessary. This was a slaughter, not a fight among warriors, and it sat wrong in the stomach of some like Lila. Voicing such concerns would lead to their torture and eventual purging though, so the few who had such qualms would quiet their voices. Knowing how to pick her battles was how Lila had lived this long though despite constant warfare and battle, so she let her morals fall by the wayside when there was nothing she could do about them: she would instead opt for this kind of approach, subverting rather than defying.

A few others she knew had similar views, though their youth led them to be blinded in some regards about the righteousness of their cause. Lila had taken to looking after some of the younger soldiers in this way, with one pupil in particular she was growing fond of: Jerid Messa. A hotblooded man who many would expect to perish in his first combat outing with how much of a brute he could be, and whose jerk-jock behavior was unappealing, he had shown to the veteran potential in his training and also a willingness to learn and better himself.

Between Jerid and his close friend Kacricon, Lila felt like she could feel rest assured about their generation of Crusader. Not only that, Jerid had a precocious crush of sorts on her that she was willing to flatter given how he was so eager to learn from and please her. Returning some affection as a reward of sorts, helped by how he genuinely seemed to care for those around him despite his personality. Perhaps with the right fine tuning she could grow him out of his less savory traits entirely and turn him into a more admirable man.

Mograine took her warning about time to heart, not wanting to lose the chance to save the Grand Crusader against some foe, and so with no hesitation he torched the building and all those still within it.

Taking a small detachment of forces including Lila, Mograine left to return to the Monastery while Whitemane would continue their campaign. The light haired Inquisitor wished her fellow officer well, letting a piece of her emotions shine through as she watched him prepare himself for a real fight.

Focused on his duty, Mograine ignored her and left, Lila trailing just behind him as she too thought about her endangered significant other.

Back at the Monastery, the invaders were forced to change from offense to defense far faster than they originally intended. With Trixie knocked out cold in a single, brutal strike from a man whose power emanated from him in a visible aura, Lavitz was left to lead the others in a counterattack. Kael had been healed by a woman wearing a hood as well as Dirge, which meant it was Lavitz, Tony, and Karl left to handle the Grand Crusader. With quick thinking Karl and Tony worked together to knock the majority of their hostages out, since they posed a great threat while their leader was in a dominant position. The one who had healed Kael was left alone though, so that she could continue tending to the damage on his body and removing the poison within.

Dathrohan was not about to let Trixie's allies rest easily, so he continued his surprise attack without relent by cornering Lavitz. The Warrior parried the Grand Crusader's powerful strike with a greatsword so large that it easily comprised half of Trixie's frame in width, with a length that allowed it also to test Lavitz's long spear.

Since he had a moment to prepare for Dathrohan's attack, Lavitz followed up his parry by kicking at the other man's knee. Dathrohan avoided the low blow and leapt back to avoid the sweeping strike of a spear that came his way. Now on the defensive, he found himself quickly forced to move again to avoid being run through with the same spear. Lavitz was nimble for a stocky soldier, and while not the fastest runner he possessed great striking speed.

The spear strike slid off the Crusader's armor, piercing some of the cloth over the metal that saved the Crusader from what might have otherwise been a fatal hit. With one hit in, Lavitz continued with an upward strike to slash diagonally across the other man's chest. Spear now over his own head, Lavitz spun it in a rapid twirl before bringing it down on Dathrohan's body in a reverse version of his last movement, cutting down across the same area so as to possibly break through the metal.

"Spinning Cane!" Lavitz called out, it being one of his weaker attacks but also one of the only ones he could achieve with his current level of strength.

Unfortunately for him, it was not enough to even faze Dathrohan, who laughed before backhanding Lavitz with his large weapon. Lavitz spun backwards a step and began to regain his footing as Dathrohan went straight for the kill with a slash at Lavitz's gut.

To his surprise, the sword found its mark, but did not penetrate too far into the armor. Lavitz absorbed the hit's impact and slid across the ground on his greaves, still standing but winded by the near-inhuman strength he just felt. After years of fighting and training Lavitz had once possessed even greater power, but for a Crusader past his prime and who was mainly an administrator now to match one of Stormwind's top soldiers former strength...that unnerved Lavitz.

"Your armor is quite formidable. I remember when your father wore it before you," Dathrohan smirked as he slowly approached the now backpedaling Warrior, having grown to respect his opponent and now appreciate the battle. It was not often he was faced with someone he could actually test himself with on some level, and he regretted not facing the Human when Lavitz was at his prime.

The two exchanged blows a few more times with Dathrohan showing an obvious control and dominance more and more with each passing second, though Lavitz fought through the pain wracking his body when struck by his powerful foe. This exchanging of hits continued until Dathrohan got an opening to speak again, at which point he stepped back instead of forward and brought a hand behind himself.

"Unfortunately, it provides no protection to magic, and even your stamina cannot last forever!"

Lavitz's eyes widened as he saw a hammer made of pure energy, a calling of the Light, appear in the Crusader's palm. He tried to sidestep it, but his mind caused him to stop as he came to a realization: Kael and the others were behind him. To not take the strike would possibly harm them, and he doubted many could take as many hits as himself.

The hammer slammed straight into Lavitz, going straight through his armor but not actually damaging it: instead its full power went straight through to him, and he growled in pain as he felt his body ignite in a burning pain.

Pleased by the effectiveness of his attack, Dathrohan repeated his attack. He had noticed how Lavitz was willing to take attacks in place of his allies as well as the hostages, so Dathrohan aimed more at them than at his actual opponent and as planned the attack collided with its intended target. Once again Lavitz took the hit and fought through the pain to continue standing: he was sure that if the Grand Crusader so chose he could finish the battle in a single stroke now given their difference in power, but he would not stop fighting so long as he held breath.

"I will not fall so long as I have my duty before me," Lavitz coughed out to himself as blood rushed to his lips as more Light summoned hammers assailed his body and completely ignored his armor, attacking straight at his very body and life.

Having seen Lavitz's spear deal nearly no damage to the Crusader, Karl and Tony had held back from engaging him since ranged weapons would be of little use. This did not mean however they were not interested in the outcome, as their future riches banked on Lavitz succeeding, so Karl grabbed the hostages they had kept awake and held his crossbow to each of their backs in a forceful way, alternating between them as he jabbed them, "You. Heal him."

Their lives threatened, Dirge and the hooded woman relented and began to cast a ranged form of healing magic on Lavitz. Suddenly empowered again and at full strength, Lavitz stopped letting Dathrohan hi at him from afar and rushed towards him, striking him head on with his spear before twirling around with a tornado of spear strikes.

Dathrohan scoffed even as he was driven back a bit by the hits he was suffering. Was this man actually calling his attacks in the middle of a battle?

Lavitz did not respond, instead continuing to attack, causing Dathrohan to realize he ought to put him down before he got lucky and actually did any damage. With a powerful downward slash of his sword, Dathrohan smashed Lavitz back and momentarily overcame the constant stream of healing the man was receiving, causing Lavitz to nearly die in a single strike before the healing rapidly restored his health.

Irritated by how his own allies were being used against him, Dathrohan moved in for the kill, "I have had enough. Stand and be judged!"

Trixie opened her eyes to the sight of a black void. After blinking a few times she began to realize that she had some familiarity with this. In trying to move her arm she felt a weightlessness to her body, and after bringing a non-corporeal hand before her face she realized something about her situation.

To be in control while she was asleep...the feeling felt odd, but not wholly "wrong". Like she had done this many times before. Why would she have had such an experience though, she wondered idly.

The void before her was suddenly supplanted by a hazy scene that was almost out-of-focus, like she was looking into a window rather than straight at something. Trixie tried approaching and focusing on it, only to find herself shocked by what she could see.

Kael was standing with a sword in one hand as his other arm lay limp at his side, while someone was standing before him, though partially hunched over due to the fact Kael's sword was run through their body.

The stabbed man's face, stoic even in extreme pain, and his mismatched blue and black eyes made Trixie quickly aware of who it was even if she could not make out many other details about the scene.

Reuenthal was standing in front of someone, shielding them with his body as he stoically stared Kael down. Using a hand, Reuenthal grabbed the sword penetrating him and held onto it with his whole might, at which point he lifted his pistol up to point at Kael and let loose his entire clip of bullets.

This seemed to anger rather than actually harm the Kael she was watching, whose eyes she could tell were disturbed: his clothing was the same as the fiend who visited Silvermoon and massacred his own people, and his eyes identified him as insane to Trixie.

She had stepped into another one of Kael's dreams...no, nightmares. This was not simply about the suffering from the time his people were nearly all slain, but something else. Why was Kael suffering from such dark thoughts as fighting one of his own men? Her own Kael was nowhere to be seen, so in the dream Kael must have been identifying as the monster trying to strike down whoever Reuenthal had protected.

Not about to just let someone shoot him at point blank range, the Kael Trixie was watching let go of his sword and prepared to fire a quick ball of fire at Reuenthal's head, though a hammer colliding rapidly with his face caused his aim to go awry and instead the fire flew away harmlessly.

The hammer belonged to Reuenthal's blonde friend, Mitter'meyer, whose face was one of pure rage as he arrived with a speed so great that it was as if he came from nowhere. He unleashed a quick hail of powerful strikes at Kael before the Elf Prince recovered and summoned with magic a mighty axe that had been laying on the ground and smashed it into Mitter'meyer's gut with such force that it flung the man back.

Trixie gaped as she saw Kael prepare another attack to now kill both Reuenthal and whomever he was guarding with his life, but someone jumped up from behind Reuenthal and at Kael with a murderous intent, possibly whomever Reuenthal was protecting or perhaps someone else.

The person who was attacking was hard to make out given a near intangible appearance they possessed, as if they had been invisible moments before and were transitioning to a state of visibility, but Trixie could recognize the hairstyle and the weapons they were using: in particular, she recognized those daggers.

"Vanessa?" Trixie gaped as the girl, now older than when she died at the Deadmines, began carving into Kael with a fury with which Trixie could not even compare her mental breakdown at the cave.

While he was seeming to finally give in to the various sources of damage being thrown at him by his multiple opponents, Kael fought through it so he could grab her by the neck one-handed and begin choking her. A glow around Vanessa was directly followed by her screaming as the glow began to leave her body and move towards Kael's own.

He was absorbing her magic, and from the look and sound of it he was killing her in a terrifyingly agonizing way.

Trixie felt herself begin to tear up as she tore her sight away from what she was watching, "No...this can't be..."

What had happened to Kael to make his dreams so disturbed? Why was he dreaming of such horrors?

As if she had willed it herself, Kael's dream disappeared and the void befell Trixie once again. She blinked and looked around as the sounds of battle disappeared, leaving her feeling alone. Empty.

Trixie gasped as she heard another voice. She did not recognize it, but after briefly searching in the void she found herself in she came across a man with blonde hair wearing the Scarlet Crusade's armor.

Had she somehow just pulled someone into her own dreamwalk? That was the man she had knocked out, and given that she too had been flung across the room and was likely nearby him, Trixie thought briefly about the implications of having dragged someone into her own dreaming...

"Why is he here?" Trixie questioned to herself in a whisper, not having been noticed by the Crusader yet. Why hadn't she been able to drag others into her dreams like this? She had shared dreams with Kael, so he didn't count, but others had been spared her odd dreams.

Trixie approached him within the void and closed her eyes, trying to use her senses to see if she could feel something. Surely enough, she recognized the power of mana within him, though it was faint compared to even Kael's modest amount. Her query answered, Trixie began to contemplate the situation again.

"This all feels familiar. How is it that I can somehow control my dreams? Be conscious and lucid like this?"

The Crusader seemed to be growing slightly more aware that he was not alone as he looked around in hopes of finding who had him trapped in this dark, desolate nightmare. Even without Kael's dream playing, being trapped in an endless void would be unnerving to most if caught off-guard with it.

"He must be unconscious as well..." Trixie began to hypothesize about how her magic worked, trying to make the best of her situation, "I also feel a hint of magic in him as well. I must be drawn to those with potential..."

This time he heard her and spun around to face Trixie, the tall and lanky Paladin's eyes lighting up with rage as he saw the one to blame for his situation.

In a panic, Trixie threw herself back from him and tried to put distance between them, but something automatically clicked in her brain and suddenly she was looking as if through a window again: this time into what seemed like a barracks of the Monastery she was currently invading, given the similar ascetic and the arrangement of things.

The Crusader seemed aware of the sudden change, and he stumbled around as he tried to find the now-gone Trixie: Trixie could look in at him and his dream, but he could not see outside of his own dream.

His inquiry ffaded away as the general unconsciousness of being in a dream washed over him, and he came to accept his situation in a heartbeat despite previously being aware about its odd nature. This came to a head when he recognized someone who materialized in the barracks, and the man rushed over to the other person with obvious familiarity and warmth.

The other man, a stockier yet similarly tall man who possessed short brown hair, turned and faced his seeming friend with a similar warmth.

The two men exchanged a formal handshake, not seeming to be the touchy-feely types, and they quickly formed a close stance that showed Trixie that these two went a long ways back. While previously not so close minded as to assume they were all evil, seeing them display a normalcy in interaction even she didn't have with many others interested her.

Jerid smiled as he continued to greet his friend's appararition, "Did you hear? Dirge is coming to visit us since we need reinforcements."

"I heard!" Kacricon nodded as he moved a hand to rub the back of his head nervously, "Unfortunately I am going on leave soon to visit my wife Amelia, so I'll only get to see him a couple days."

Jerid nudged his friend's chest with an elbow as he took the spot next to him, "I didn't know you had a girl waiting for you."

"Yeah, while you were off on your last campaign under Mograine I had time to visit one of the villages under our protection. Once the reinforcements have come and settled in I'll be off for a little while."

The two men began to talk about trivial things that went over Trixie's head, giving her time to contemplate what she was seeing. These people were just like many of the others she had come across...they had feelings, they had families, they had friends who they would light up simply by seeing. Trixie got the feeling that the instant joy she felt when she saw Kael after being separated was similar to how these two displayed their own bond, though she was sure Lavitz would argue there was more to her own bond with Kael. She'd deny any such silly notion, but she was still sure Lavitz would bring it up.

Unlike the Hunter, Trixie actually felt similar to how she had with Vanessa before: empathetic. While she did not like what these people did, or even who they might be as people, she could understand that they indeed had souls that were not as simple as "zealot crusader". Everyone had their own story, and she felt inwardly grateful for the chance to see that.

"They're living beings too..." Trixie began to say to herself as the scene before her shifted, Jerid's dream transforming to one by the front gates of the Monastery. Now instead of being with Kacricon he was standing with a blonde haired woman who he towered over in size, but who Jerid seemed completely cowed by merely being around. He wasn't grinning or smug like he had been with Kacricon, he was quiet and perhaps even nervuos as Trixie watched him flagging the woman's attention, for she seemed like she had been intending to leave.

"Lila..." Jerid paused as he tried to collect himself, "When you get back, do you want to..."

Trixie blushed as she realized she was watching her enemy ask a woman he liked out on a date.

The woman reacted quite well in comparison to Trixie, taking the awkward question in stride as she turned to face Jerid with a small smile, "Since you asked so nicely, sure."

Jerid looked as if the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders and he smiled to Lila, "It's a date then."

Lila nodded and waved as she departed with a group of other soldiers Trixie did not recognize, nor who had much detail to them since Jerid must not have been paying much mind to them when this event happened in his past, "Just remember what I've been teaching you and you may yet be a real man and soldier."

The scene began to fade until Trixie could no longer even see Jerid, leaving her to wonder to herself about what she had been looking at. While Kael's dream had been a complete nightmare, Jerid's had been about past events...much like Trixie was familiar with in previous outings.

No. Trixie shook her head. The idea that she had been witnessing Kael's own past was something she refused to contemplate.

Her Kael was a good man who put her and those he cared about before everything else, even his life. He was not the fiend from Silvermoon, who she had most definitely seen in that dream.

Kael must be suffering from an identity crisis and think himself to be that villain they were all hoping to one day confront and defeat...

With this in mind, Trixie found herself drifting more and more away from consciousness and into actual sleep, now detached from the control she was exerting on the world around her.

Not remembering what he had just seen in his sleep, Jerid opened his eyes groggily and began looking around the room he was in slowly. A strange warmth was washing over his body as he did this, and it was not long before his eyes caught sight of someone kneeling down beside him.

That voice was his old training friend's, Kacricon. Good, now he was here to greet Dirge too...they had been training together at first before Jerid continued his martial training, Kacricon began to focus on logistics, and Dirge on his magical abilities. They all still remained close outside of that though, and Jerid and Kacricon had been fortunate enough to end up at the same garrison.

The sound of metal clashing jolted Jerid to what was actually happening. He had come to greet Dirge, who was acting weird, and then the woman who Dirge had brought inside had attacked Jerid. Beyond that it was all a blur, and his head was in such pain he did not even want to try and make sense of it, so he decided to let Kacricon do it for him.

The man shrugged as he took a glance at the far side of the room where the sound of metal striking metal could be heard, "Some fools are trying to take over the Monastery. They have Dirge and the other healers hostage right now," Kacricon gripped his fist at the thought of their friend being in danger, "The Grand Crusader is mopping the floor with them though. This will be over soon enough. If they weren't being healed by their captives it already would be."

With healing on the mind, Jerid realized Kacricon had been healing him, which is what woke him up. Seeing as how Jerid was still in pain, it meant his friend was as poor at it as he had been back at training.

"Kacricon..." Jerid smiled weakly up at him, the bones in his face beginning to feel an ache in them as well, though he was guessing it would have been far worse without his friend's aid, "You never really good at healing."

"I suppose that's why I'm a quartermaster and not a Priest," Kacricon shrugged as he looked back to Jerid and returned the smile given to him, "You took a nasty hit. Your jaw was broken as was your cheekbones. The impact against the wall probably didn't do your body any favors either, so take it easy."

A flash of light caught the attention of every conscious soul in the room, and soon enough the sight of Dathrohan beating down on Lavitz was replaced with Dathrohan being thrown back by a powerful blast of magic.

Dathrohan tried recovering, only for another flash of light to blast him back from where he attempted to stand, "Who dares—"

Now standing up from where he had been laying with the hostages, Kael narrowed his eyes at the Grand Crusader. The Elf's body was glowing with magic that seemed to trail off to elsewhere in the room, and so empowered were his attacks that despite attacking with fire it had been so bright as to nearly blind those watching it.

Lavitz took a knee and listened to Kael's advice. Despite being healed at every given moment he had nearly been torn apart at every single moment of his fight, always near death only to then be brought back to full health.

Dathrohan finally was able to stop himself and avoid Kael's third attack, a searing strike of fire that flew past the Grand Crusader and into the back of the room, "Kael'thas Sunstrider, in the flesh..." he grinned as he came to realize just what caliber of foe he ought to be facing, even if it made little logical sense given how he knew Kael'thas was in Outland, "How is it that there are two of you now? A most interesting question..."

Unlike the Grand Crusader, Kael did not recognize his foe, nor did he care. While normally his magic would have no effect on someone so powerful, Kael was not thinking and was acting as if on instinct, stealing power from around him to bludgeon his powerful opponent with magic just good enough to do its job, "I do not know who you are, but I will end what my allies have started," Kael waved a hand around the unconscious healers and a stream of mana began to pour from each of them. In his sleep he had remembered just how to steal magic: he had once taught his race how to take mana from others, and now he was remembering how to himself, "And to do so I will call upon every ounce of power that I can."

Dathrohan could see what Kael was doing and his eyes widened briefly before he came to a decision: Kael could increase his power the more time he was given, so it was vital to kill him as soon as possible. No toying around like with Lavitz.

Kael lifted his own blade up before him as the Crusader began a charge. The sword Kael had taken from the Stormwind official he had found so useless, originating first from the Wrynns, burst into flames as Kael channeled his magic over it. The enchantments and inherent magic in the weapon kept it from melting at the searing energy pressed over it from the hilt onwards. With his weapon now possessing power similar to his own, Kael threw himself into a charge to match that of Dathrohan.

The Grand Crusader, used to Lavitz's defensive manner of fighting, expected to trade blows with Kael as the two met—only for Kael to surge past him and for his blade to slice through the side of Dathrohan's armor. The Grand Crusader's own weapon cut across Kael as well, the Prince having chosen for them both to be harmed rather than for them to cancel out eachother's attacks.

Dathrohan turned as they each finished their charge, coming to face Kael who had turned around as well. Despite the immense pain each felt, neither let it show on their faces. Dathrohan was surprised to the point of actual anger that he had been wounded: no-one had wounded him in some time, and for reasons no others would understand this infuriated the Crusader.

He threw a hammer of light at Kael with far more power and speed than he had with Lavitz, only to then catch a fireball the size of a person right in the gut. His attack struck Kael as well, but Kael ignored it as he prepared another attack.

Having sensed Kael's power when he first arrived, Dathrohan began panicking mentally as he realized that Kael's power was increasing with each moment. While he could have killed Kael with a simple hit originally, now the man was standing after multiple hits that would have killed him outright before many times over. With each passing second an aura was growing larger and larger around Kael, one which possessed a fiery quality that was beginning to singe the floor and nearby structures in the room from the wall to the pillars keeping it all up.

With a snap decision, Dathrohan charged at Kael again and threw far more than his weight into this attack: his own aura intensified with a power Kael had not felt before, but the singularly focused Prince did not care: he would defeat this man who had harmed his companions, and he would save them with this power he was taking from everyone around him even without thought. The flow was tied seemingly to his rage, which while repressed beneath an icey exterior was going wild within, as he had caught sight of a wounded Trixie upon awakening, quickly followed by seeing Lavitz's near-death wounds inflicted over and over. He was growing madder, and with it his ability to steal the magic and power around him was increasing, causing him to grow even hotter in rage as his fire magic surged.

Kael and Dathrohan moved to collide once again, but this time the magic surrounding them prevented either from drawing too close to the other: their swords, infused with magic, could not penetrate the visible auras around each of them. While Kael was surrounded with a purple glow, Dathrohan had the green and black coloration of fel magic surround him as he unleashed his full potential and tried to burst Kael down.

Across the room, Kacricon and Jerid had become concerned with their superior's performance. This was someone who could defeat the most powerful of warriors and he was struggling against this upstart Elf...just who was he? They had not heard what Dathrohan had been saying, and they along with the other Crusaders Kacricon had brought with him had stayed back so as to not interfere with their superior's battle he had previously seemed to enjoy. At this point though, it was more of an equal struggle, and it was becoming less so with each passing moment as the air around Kael burned hotter and hotter as he sucked the magic from every mana-filled person in the room, including Dathrohan and the already weakened Jerid.

Kacricon placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "It seems like the Grand Crusader might need a little backup after all. Mind if I take the glory of defeating them and avenge your loss, as well as Dirge's capture?"

While he wanted to prove himself after his humiliation earlier, Jerid could barely walk with the damage he had taken in addition to his energy being sapped now by Kael, "Go ahead. It's not like I'm much help like this..."

Kacricon stood and ran up to where the battle was raging. On one side Dathrohan was fighting to hold his ground, trying to force his blade through the rush of power bursting from Kael, while on the other Kael was trying to advance step by step and cut into Dathrohan's own aura that was protecting him.

Nearly knocked off his feet just by being near it, Kacricon summoned a divine shield upon himself, protecting his body from the power that was trying to sear him and blow him away. Dathrohan realized that he had someone to help him now, adding to his chances of winning, and saw that Kacricon had decided to come from behind Kael.

If the man could strike Kael and disrupt his slow advance, Dathrohan could seize the opportunity and cut his foe down in a single blow, or so he believed. As a result he called out to his soldier and encouraged his plan, "Lieutenant Kacricon, the aid is welcome. Finish him!"

As ordered, the quartermaster began making his way towards Kael, who could not turn his attention back lest he twist the focus of his magical barrier from his true opponent who was waiting for the perfect moment to upset the balance and end things. As Kacricon began his approach, slowed by the constant pressure trying to force him back and the rapidly increasing heat of Kael's burning magic, Jerid noticed that his friend's shield was just barely holding against the constant bombardment it was going through.

Jerid tried getting up, only to fail due to his wounds, and so he lifted a hand up instead as he called out about his fears, "Wait, Kacricon, you'll burn if you get too close!"

His friend, usually the more pragmatic and intelligent of the two, was blinded by the chance of glory for saving their leader from such a powerful foe. All it would take was one strike, and the battle could be turned, so Kacricon called back out to his friend, "Sometimes in battle you have to take risks to succeed, Jerid!"

The back of his summoned shield had been the least powerful, with it having been like a second skin that was thinnest right there, and so when a pair of daggers collided with Kacricon's back he instantly faltered given how easy it was to break through his magic: he had been trying to not be killed by the man in front of him, leaving his back open, similar to Kael himself.

The daggers did not remain in place for long, as a quick figure leapt through the aura, onto Kacricon's shoulders, and kicked off them while ripping the blades from the man's back. After sailing over the entire magical display in an acrobatic display, Vanessa landed herself and threw off the blood now coating her blades. She turned back to see if she had succeeded, not having had long to do what she was doing lest she befall the same fate the man she stabbed was going to.

Kacricon's shield broken, Kael's aura began to show its power on the man. His body lit up in flame as he tried futily to finish his advance, only having had a few more feet to do, and he began to scream as his body burned away. Kael spared the man a glance as he began to incinerate before them all, both regretting that it had come to this but also not caring because he had not made the man attack and risk his life.

Eyes tearing, Jerid forced himself onto his knees so he could try and reach out towards his friend, "No!"

With the thought of his wife on his mind, Kacricon's body disappeared in the light surrounding Kael, no trace left behind as it burned away.

While previously nearly disabled by his wounds, Jerid threw himself to his feet and began to charge towards the battle: his eyes were focused only on Vanessa, who had come around to take a look at the hostages, one of whom she had recognized.

"Murderer!" Jerid cried out as he pulled out a blade of his own. Its blade began to glow with magic as well as his holy power let itself out through it, his rage and desire for retribution granting him strength beyond his natural limit.

Vanessa sneered as she saw the soldier she had fought previously run across the long room, "You can still stand, can you?" preparing her own blades out again, Vanessa ran to meet him in battle, "Here, let me help you with that!"

Jerid's attack was wild, yet stunningly accurate, as he swung his sword widely with enough power that when it hit a nearby pillar it carved through the part of the structure struck and continued on to his next swing. Vanessa had narrowly avoided it by sliding beneath it and across the ground, giving her a perfect chance to take a slash at his leg.

Gritting his teeth at the pain, Jerid continued his swing to strike at where Vanessa had slid to, though instead he damaged the floor as she twisted herself out of the way. They were on completely different levels, but this was unlike before when Vanessa had been restraining herself against him: whereas she could have easily killed him in the kitchen, his blinding anger actually was nearly unnerving her with how vastly he increased in power.

With another swing of her daggers from her spot on the floor, Vanessa damaged his other leg and managed to trip Jerid as he tried to turn and face her. She sunk her blade into his thigh, missing his artery because of how he twisted and tried to throttle her. Just barely escaping his melee attempt, Vanessa launched herself to her feet and then kicked his severe leg wound.

"How's it feel to be the one crawling now?" she taunted, though when she caught sight of his eyes she froze for a moment.

Jerid was looking at Vanessa with the same hatred fueled eyes she would when she was fighting those responsible for her father's death. He was driven by grief the same way she was, and he was so furious that he was fighting past his limits to enact the revenge his soul craved to make up for the loss he felt. She had slain the close friend he had who had helped mentor him and grow these past years, and he would fight to the death to avenge him.

Thrown off for a second by her sudden realization, Vanessa felt a hand grip her shin, and suddenly she was being swung into the nearby pillar as if she were a weapon.

Ever the schemer, Dathrohan had begun observing the melee between Vanessa and Jerid in case things went his way. His slight distraction allowed Kael to press forward and nearly break through the man's now faltering barrier of energy. While Kael's was an explosion of the magic his body could simply not contain as it grew ever more powerful, the Grand Crusader literally possessed a barrier similar to Kacricon's that was beginning to crumble despite having been vastly more powerful.

"Keep your eyes on me, Crusader!" Kael yelled, not wanting the man to perhaps interfere with Vanessa's fight, since Kael was quite sure the man could overpower her easily, and her current opponent was actually keeping her on her toes.

Dathrohan grunted as he realized he was about to be overcome, not understanding how he was losing to someone he should be able to beat given the low power he sensed. There must be some well of magic Kael was drawing from, as this was surely not magic from the Crusaders in the room, a well of magic so deep and powerful that Kael could transform it directly into his own fighting strength without thought, "This strength...are you tapping into your own power or—"

On the sidelines Lavitz had noticed something across the room, and after limping across it tiredly he had come to realize his fears were true: every time Kael drew power, every time he used his magic, and with each passing second, Trixie began to writhe in greater and greater pain. So hurt by it in fact, Trixie had gone from consciousness to unconsciousness to consciousness again multiple times during the battle, magic being ripped from her body at a far greater rate than she could handle. The magic that let her contest a legend such as Kargath was now coupling with what else Kael could steal to defeat Dathrohan. So focused on his fight, Kael had not been paying mind to those on the sidelines and had completely lost track of Trixie during it.

"Kael, stop it! What's the point of defeating him if you kill Trixie in the process!?" Lavitz cried out in worry, panic stricken that the Prince might not hear him.

Fortunately for Trixie, Kael heard Lavitz, and he turned to look just as he broke through Dathrohan's barrier, his sword slashing across the man's chest and sending him flying back with such speed that he left a crater in the wall he struck. Now free from his immediate threat, Kael focused on what Lavitz was saying, and when he saw that it was true his face paled.

Seeing that he was getting through to him, Lavitz continued to yell, "You're draining power from everyone with access to mana, but you're taking from Trixie the most! She'll die if you keep this up!"

Looking down at his own hands and then around the room. Kael could see multiple streams of magic flowing towards him. While he had regained his ability to steal power, he had no true control over it, and his rage was causing him to use it on a level far beyond what he ought to be.

Ripping himself from the impact he made on the wall, Dathrohan gasped for air and tried to steady himself as he turned his gaze to where Kael was looking, "So that worthless Elf is your source of power?" he coughed up blood as he formed a ball of black-green magic in his hand, "She'll die first then!"

Kael, forcing himself to stop stealing magic, still had enough left in him to throw himself in the way of the shadowy bolt aimed at Trixie and then return fire with a powerful blast of magic himself. His hit slammed back the Grand Crusader again, though he remained on his feet this time.

"This power..." Dathrohan gripped his chest as he felt the damage inflicted by Kael, felt the magic that had struck him and what it reminded him of, "No, the Sunwell's energies are with another. But it is so similar, can it be..."

His pondering was cut off by Kael unleashing a torrent of flames that washed over the entire corner of the room Dathrohan stood. Intent on murdering the man for trying to harm Trixie, Kael threw more and more of his remaining power into his attack as he let loose all self-restraint concerning Trixie's aversion to killing.

"Damnit, I underestimated you all, but I will not be defeated!" Dathrohan called out as he tried to fight back against the fire, albeit to no avail. He began to collapse within the fire thrown on top of him much like a flamethrower might, but that did not stop the Elf from continuing his attack. While Trixie was kind and took the moral path in fighting, Kael was pragmatic and willing to do whatever was necessary to win, and he would not allow someone this dangerous to just go.

In a single moment his attack stopped. Two arms had wrapped around his stomach, pale skin nearly burning as his superheated armor touched the soft flesh now wrapped around him.

Burying her face into his back, Trixie clutched her partner tightly as she spoke in a calming tone, "It's okay...I'm okay..."

So lost in his anger, Kael could not even respond. A part of him had gone a place he had not known he possessed: a cold blooded killer had emerged, and it made him scared of himself as he realized how close he had just come to not only killing his opponent, but also Trixie in his anger.

Not caring about the heat she felt, Trixie continued to hug him in her attempt to calm him down. When he had stopped forcefully taking her power she had used a scrap to teleport beside him, not sparing a moment when it meant she could save him from himself. Save him from being like the person in their shared dream.

With that, Kael fell to his knees and stopped moving completely except for bringing a hand to touch Trixie's own. Having succeeded, Trixie smiled sadly and moved so she could see his face.

Bringing a hand to his face and gently stroking it, Trixie tried to smile and make him feel better, "You have the capacity for great things, Kael...but don't let your willingness to sacrifice yourself make you into the monster you try to fight."

Giving him another hug, Trixie stood up and took another glance around the room. One corner had a fire spreading, which she solved by throwing a series of ice spells on it, while in the center Jerid was fighting...Vanessa?

After having been caught off guard by him and having received a few hits from the Paladin Crusader, Vanessa had regained the upper hand given Jerid's already wounded status and she had begun to wound him more and more, limb by limb, causing him to be in a barely-living state as he continued to get up and try to fight.

Having satiated her anger towards the man, Vanessa decided it was time to put him out of his misery. She approached him and drew an arm back to prepare a stab, "You're tough, but like this you're no threat," forcing her arm forward, Vanessa yelled, "Die!"

The attack did not land because Vanessa's arm was grabbed by Trixie, who had teleported beside her. Surprised by this, Vanessa twisted around to face the person suddenly touching her as Trixie tightened her grip and refused to let her go, "Vanessa, stop!"

Realizing that it was Trixie, the reason she was here and the reason she had leapt into a dangerous battle to protect, Vanessa calmed down and averted her eyes. Using the bottom of her weapon, she bashed Jerid across the face and let him collapse on the ground instead of finishing him off.

Pleased by what Vanessa chose to do, Trixie smiled at the teenager, "We did not come here to kill them," she glanced over to the exit of the chapel to see that Karl and Tony had taken care of the other Crusader reinforcements and were looking to her for orders, "We're done here. We have more territory to claim in this Monastery, so leave them. Karl, you manage the hostages. Tony, we'll get you to the gate so you can make sure no reinforcements come."

Her job as boss in a dangerous operation complete for the moment, Trixie turned back to Vanessa and gave her a big smile as water began to form in the woman's eyes. Surprising Vanessa yet again, Trixie pulled the girl into a tight hug that was made tighter by Trixie's massive strength, though not suffocating because of Vanessa's own strength.

"Vanessa, you're alive," Trixie sobbed as she gripped the girl she thought she had caused the death of. Seeing the misguided, hurt child alright made a selfish part of Trixie feel better.

Vanessa, on the other hand, was shocked as Trixie forced their bodies together so tightly, embarassed by the display of affection, "Hey, knock it off!"

Trixie loosened her grip and smiled down at the younger girl, "You're a strong girl, but that doesn't mean others can't care about you," she paused before realizing something that made her smile more, "Did you come to help us?"

Vanessa shrugged nonchalantly, trying to downplay what she had done, but Trixie was not about to let her go just like that.

"Thank you," Trixie brought a hand to tussle Vanessa's hair, "Don't worry about this setback, we'll win in the end. We just need to maintain control long enough for it all to come to fruition."

"I poisoned their food, so it should be easier," Vanessa offered as a piece of information, though it made Trixie glare at her.

Seeing that she was being judged, Vanessa blushed as she became defensive of her actions, "Don't worry, its diluted. I had too many bastards to poison with only a small bit of poison, but it should knock them down a few pegs compared to how they would have been."

Glancing around and seeing that Kae had not moved at all yet, Trixie decided that she ought to go tend to him again. She let Vanessa go and pointed her over to Karl and Tony, "Good job then. Talk to the others about the plan, I have to talk to Kael about something, okay?" Vanessa nodded and began to go on her way, but not before Trixie could whisper, "I'm glad you're alive."

He had not moved at all because of how stricken with grief he was. Lavitz was right. He had nearly killed Trixie, and he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he had.

Taking a seat beside him, Trixie brought her arms around him. He had begun to cool down now that he was not literally bursting with flames, "I am now..."

Leaning her head against him, Trixie showed affection when Kael expected fear from her. She did not judge him for his actions because of how he had been trying to protect her, unaware that he had been hurting her.

Shocked by her forgiveness, Kael turned to face her finally while showing his surprise on his face, "Trixie?"

Instead of answer what he was thinking, namely 'how could you forgive me', Trixie changed the subject in his eyes, "Do you remember what you were dreaming about?"

"This time?" Kael tried, but his state of intense emotion had stricken him of what little he could have possibly recalled from it, since it had been the last thing on his mind when he woke up, "No...why?"

Trixie looked ahead, deep in thought, for a half minute before shaking her head and then turning to face Kael with another sad smile. Taking his hand in her own, she spoke softly.

With her best friend next to her, Trixie for the first time began to truly doubt what she kept saying about them being only friends.

Equestria Was Merely a Setback!

by Thunderscourge

Level 27: Victim of Your Own Creation