ENDGAME

-x-

Three

-x-

All Hell had broken out in the valley. The assembled Orcs vastly outnumbered the small attacking party, but struggled in their surprise to find their weapons and organise themselves before the band of allies hit. The first blows were all from the charging group. Horrible squeals went up as swords, knives and blunt weapons struck Orc flesh. Presto the Dungeon Master – magical energy bristling through his whole body – pushed his way through amongst the enemy and then brought his fists that had been held over his head down again hard, smashing a great ball of energy into the ground, creating a shockwave which sent Orcs tumbling in every direction. A second great crash was heard as the Barbarian's club hit the sheer wall of rock at the edge of the valley, crushing several Orcs with the resulting rockslide.

Amid the cacophony, Kosar got smoothly to his feet, sending his birds flurrying about him. Clutching the Spear of Rameh, he smiled.

'About time.'

-x-

Above the chasm, Hank found himself shivering for the first time that chilly morning. Even though the engine of the tiny, rickety Flying Machine he was sitting in was rumbling away, he could still hear the carnage beyond.

'You think it's cold down here?' Grey grinned, fiercely winding a contraption at the back of Hank's machine. 'Wait 'til you get her airborne!' The inventor stopped winding and wiped his face. 'Keep a foot on that pedal at all times,' he ordered, pointing to a small pedal on the floor, 'and never let go of the steering beam.'

'But I need both hands to shoot,' Hank replied.

Grey shrugged. 'So do I. Steer with your knees. It should be fine.'

Hank almost argued back, but stopped himself and allowed the inventor to run over to crank up his own machine. The noises below filled him with a horrible urgency. He had to get over there and help the others as quickly as he could. He saw Grey hop into his own Flying Machine. Hank took a deep breath and went over all of the instructions he'd been given into how to fly this damned thing. He pushed a foot down on the pedal and the various motors around him began to whir furiously. He gave his Bow one last squeeze to insure it was safely wedged behind his seat before grabbing hold of the steering stick… Jesus, it was as flimsy as Balsa Wood… he pulled the bar out and up. With a noisy splutter and a belch of black smoke, the machine lurched skywards. He pulled up again and the machine jolted another ten feet or so higher. He repeated this series of sickening bunny-hops until Grey motioned from his own airborne machine that they were high enough. He pushed forward on the stick and the machine started to putter towards the canyon, and the battle within.

He followed Grey in dipping downwards a little, and was mildly relieved that none of the enemy began to fire up at them once they were in view. It seemed that Varla was still keeping her word. Keeping one hand on the steering stick he reached behind himself and tried to dislodge his Bow. Great. It seemed that he'd done too good a job of securing it. He lodged the steering stick precariously against his knees and reached back with the other hand to try to free the weapon. With one sharp yank, the Bow was finally released from behind his seat… as was the steering stick from his knees. His flying machine nosedived suddenly, leaving him grappling desperately to regain control while still clutching his unwieldy Bow. With great difficulty, he managed to level off and got control once more.

He looked down at the carnage below. He could see Bobby and Uni holding their own against a tide of Orcs, and although he couldn't see Sheila, there was something making a good dent in the still-surprised enemy… something invisible. He smiled.

'Atta girl,' he murmured. 'Keep that up.'

Further off, Eric and Diana were fighting their way through a fairly loose group of Orcs. There was a figure, bright and tall and confident, striding through the confusion straight towards the Acrobat and Cavalier; a long spear in his hand and great birds wheeling about his head.

Kosar.

Orcs, his friends could take, but Kosar was a different matter. After what he'd heard about how strong Kosar had been made by the Starfall, how invulnerable, and how arrogant – if Kosar felt he had a score to settle, then his friends would need all the help they'd be able to get. Carefully, he balanced the steering beam against his knees again, and was glad to be able to stay level this time. He drew an energy bolt back with his Bow…

Paused…

Focused…

Fired.

As the shot of golden energy flew down towards Kosar, Grey began to let rip with his gun from his own flying machine, spraying a clutch of Orcs which were battling some of the bandits below with rudimentary bullets. A huge number of the enemy stared up at the sky with further surprise at this latest sneak attack, giving the Dungeon Master's tiny army a few more precious moments of confusion to take advantage of.

Kosar had not looked up, and Hank couldn't help but feel a small surge of satisfaction as his energy bolt ploughed into the person below, causing him to stumble against his spear.

'Yeah,' Hank muttered as Kosar stared furiously upwards, 'take that. You broke my best friend's heart, you son of a… uh-oh.'

What prompted the 'uh-oh' was the sight of at least a dozen giant, ornate birds swooping up towards him at Kosar's signal. In a panic, he grabbed the steering beam, pulled upwards and forced his flying machine to climb. The machine bunny-hopped and burped its way up, but not fast enough, an soon he found himself being buffeted heavily by the attacking birds. Although he clutched at the steering stick with all his might, every hit from a bird almost caused him to lose control, and twice very nearly jolted him from the contraption altogether. He saw Grey as he struggled – the inventor was pulling up along with him, shouting something incomprehensible as he did so. A particularly heavy bird slammed into Hank's flying machine, jolting it so badly that he lost his grip for a moment. Suddenly, Hank wondered if the birds were toying with him – if they had started off jostling him lightly and were just finding out exactly how much effort it would take to make him tumble. He clutched hard to the steering rod as he saw a larger bird turn and start flapping straight towards him…

Only, the bird didn't hit him. Something long and swift shot down at the creature, puncturing its neck. There was a brief spurt of blood, and then the bird simply dropped out of the sky. As he gazed about himself, another bird was shot down from above, and another, and another, until the sky was practically clear. He noticed that Grey was now staring intently upwards, and that a great shadow had rolled in over the valley. He poked his head out of the tiny flying machine and craned his head up as best he could.

His jaw fell slack. A kamikaze midge flew into his open mouth and he barely noticed.

'Oh,' he breathed. 'Oh holy shit.'

-x-

'Holy shit!'

Diana pushed the distracted Eric with her Staff. 'Eyes down, meathead.'

Eric returned his attention fully to the battlefield, slashing his sword out from the protection of his Shield at every given opportunity. 'But did you see it?' he added.

'Course I saw it.' Diana twirled her Staff out at the feet of an Orc still staring aghast at the sky, knocking her enemy to the ground.

'I can't believe you're being so blasé about it!' Eric called to her as they both fought. 'It's a Godammed flying fortress!'

'I know, Eric.'

'I mean, a palace! Flying! In the sky!'

'The sky usually is where things fly.' Diana dared to take another quick glance upwards. Janapurna's White Palace was still floating gracefully over the valley. It looked as though Hank and Grey were now being guided up to land on the sailing citadel's courtyard. Diana supposed, then, that the arrows now showering down on clumps of Orcs were being shot from the Palace's walls rather than from Hank & Grey's tiny machines.

'First it floats, then it flies,' Eric continued. 'Good ol' Janapurna.'

Diana smacked an approaching Orc in the face with the end of her Staff, leaving him stunned enough for Eric to swiftly finish him off.

'You love her so much, why don't you just marry her?'

'Cause I haven't knocked her up,' Eric grinned.

Diana ducked backwards and clotheslined another Orc into Eric's blade. 'Was that your idea of a proposal?'

'Would you like it to be?'

Diana blinked at Eric. 'Now's not exactly the time.'

Well, if not now,' countered Eric, 'when?'

The couple were distracted by one another for just long enough. By the time Diana had seen the speedy, furious juggernaut that was Kosar pushing towards them and drawn breath to warn the Cavalier, Kosar was already on them. In the blink of an eye, Kosar had grabbed Eric by the scruff of the neck and bounded away again into the sea of Orcs.

'Eric!'

Diana dodged two Orc weapons, rolled past a third Orc, dealing him a hard blow to the crotch with her Staff as she did so, and sprang to her feet. She could just about make out the crimson of Eric's cape, and tried to fight her way through in pursuit. She had barely got three steps towards him before something, or somebody, grabbed at her hair from behind, pulling her back. She span around to face her attacker, who landed an iron-hard slap on the side of her face without first letting go of her hair. Diana's assailant gave her thick locks another good yank, and she felt a clump of it come painfully away from her scalp. Finally released, with a throbbing cheek and scalp, Diana was able to get a proper look at her attacker. Zinn curled her red lips into a self-satisfied sneer as she let the handful of Diana's hair flutter to the ground.

Diana brushed the edge of her lip with the back of her hand. The slap had been so hard that it had knocked the inside of her cheek into her teeth, drawing a spot of blood. Still, Zinn smiled. Diana found herself matching Eric's former bride's expression.

'Oh no you didn't, bitch.'

-x-

It was with considerable difficulty that Hank managed to manoeuvre his rickety flying machine over the battlements of the airborne White Palace and land it in the courtyard. He was beyond relieved to finally step out of it, however, in spite of the niggling little voice in the back of his head repeatedly reminding him in various tones of alarm that giant stone Citadels should most definitely not be able to fly. The courtyard was hardly the serene sanctuary that they had left six months before – it thronged with females of various races as they hurried to pelt the battlefield below with arrows and spears. A plump, familiar face greeted him as he stepped out of his flying machine.

'Janapurna,' he gasped, 'what a surprise. I didn't know this thing could get airborne.'

'Neither did we,' Janapurna shrugged. 'The old girl just… took off.' She patted a stone wall, lovingly. 'This place goes where it wants to go. It must have wanted to come here, and help you. After all you've done for me, I wasn't about to argue.'

'It isn't just a skirmish down there,' Hank warned, 'it's a war.'

'We know,' Janapurna nodded, calmly. 'We've had a couple of psychics focussing on Zandora for some time now, and she's been able to get into contact recently. She told us everything that's been going on.'

'Everything?' Hank asked. 'You… you know about the things I did to my friends…?'

'And the price you paid,' Janapurna confirmed. 'But what's done is done.' She paused, and offered him a supportive smile. 'Come on. We need every archer we can get to man the battlements.'

As they crossed the courtyard they were met by Grey, lugging his "auto-reloading-gunpowder-propelled-pellet-shooting-turret" to a better vantage point.

'This is incredible,' Grey enthused as he puffed under the weight of his invention. 'Looks like marble. What's keeping it up?'

'Determination,' replied Janapurna, simply.

'Never give up your engineering secrets, eh?' Grey beamed. 'I like her.'

'Most people do,' Janapurna replied. 'See, when I was a baby there was a spell put on me… oh, it's a long story. Maybe it should wait.' She pointed at an unmanned spot on the ramparts. 'We need more firepower there, if you gentlemen wouldn't mind.'

'Sure,' Hank replied.

He hurried forward, but noticed that Janapurna had fallen behind. He stopped, and turned.

'You not coming?'

'I don't have a particularly good aim,' Janapurna admitted. 'Besides…' she nodded at a wooden beam evidently left over from the fire six months ago. Clinging to it miserably was a dry, bewildered seal-like creature.

'Unpronounceables don't exactly take well to the sky,' Janapurna explained. 'Poor Aurore. Somebody has to look after her.'

'An Unpronounceable,' Grey muttered, setting up his invention. 'Thought I'd never see one in real life – last I heard, they were going the way of the Unicorns.'

'Janapurna rescued her,' Hank replied. 'I think she's kinda her pet, in a way…'

Hank glanced over his shoulder as Janapurna scooped Aurore up in her arms, planting a lingering kiss on the creature's snout. Hank's eyes widened.

'Oh! Or… or maybe not.'

'I've seen stranger couples,' smiled Grey.

Hank paused, thinking back to the occasions that he'd met Janapurna. 'Actually, it sorta makes sense, once you think about it.'

'Let me guess.' Grey started lining up the sights on his device. 'You made a play for her once, but she wasn't interested.'

'No!' Hank frowned. 'Well… yes.'

Grey just laughed and went back to his invention. Hank pulled back his Bow, took aim at a group or Orcs below, and began to fire at them once again.

-x-

An arrow whistled past Eric's ear. The archers and spearwomen in the floating fortress above seemed to be doing a pretty good job at only launching projectiles into groups of the enemy… so far. That arrow had been a little too close for comfort. Normally, he'd have complained about it, but at that point it was the least of his troubles. Kosar found a spot in the battlefield that was quiet enough for him to be able to mash Eric's face to a fine paste without being disturbed, and threw the Cavalier down on the ground. Eric just about managed to flip himself face-up, but didn't get chance to draw either his Shield or his sword before he was kicked hard in the ribs. Winded and agonised, it was all that he could do to ready his Shield before the second attack.

Kosar kicked furiously, his frustration at the magical energy of the weapon protecting Eric visibly rising.

'Shrinking away behind that Shield again, Cavalier?' Kosar spat. 'Just like you used to back when we met.'

'I seem to recall,' Eric gasped, 'swinging in, Tarzan-style, to save your bacon.'

Kosar tried to wrestle the Shield from Eric, but the weapon was strong enough to resist where Eric knew he would not. 'I don't owe you anything, Cavalier.'

Kosar stepped back in frustration. Eric saw his window to get back up on his feet.

'Then leave me alone,' the Cavalier replied. 'Let it go.'

Kosar shook his head, spinning the Spear of Rameh effortlessly in his hand. 'I fight with Furnus.'

'Why?' Eric managed to block a lunge from the Spear. 'You're just as powerful as her – if not more. Why bother?'

Kosar lashed out with the Spear again, and once more it just bounced off the Shield's protective wall of energy.

'Stop cowering!' Kosar fumed. 'Stop cringing! Stop trying to persuade me to save your life! You've humiliated me, and you will pay. Both of you. And if you won't fight with me I'll punish her first.'

Eric scowled. 'You leave Diana alone. She waited for you all those years – it's not her fault you turned into the biggest creep in the universe. You broke her heart!'

'And I suppose you think you were able to fix her.' Kosar jabbed fruitlessly again with the Spear.

'I can make her happy,' Eric retorted. 'And I'll always be there for her, unlike some.'

'She'll never stay content with you,' Kosar goaded. 'Do you really see her as a potential wife? Mother to your children? That won't happen.'

'It already has,' Eric blurted.

Kosar stopped knocking the Cavalier's Shield. His face fell into a faint frown. 'What?'

Eric locked eyes with Kosar. He almost felt sorry for the big jerk. He knew what it felt like to have a gargantuan ego crushed to the size of a raisin.

'She's pregnant with my kid,' Eric told Kosar, softly. 'We're keeping it, and I'm gonna marry her. I'm sorry, Kosar. It's over. You lost her.'

Kosar blinked slowly, casting his gaze away from Eric's, and for a second it seemed as though Kosar was about to break into tears.

He should have seen it coming. He should have known that it was a trick, but Eric let his guard down for just an instant…

The Spear sailed in a long arc towards him, knocking the Shield from his hands. Before Eric could retaliate, he'd been thrown to the ground again. Kosar towered over him; ready to slam the spear into his chest, but Eric managed to knock the weapon to one side. Still, Kosar bore his weight down on the prone Cavalier, in an attempt to press the Spear sideways on onto his throat and choke him. Eric caught hold of the Spear's handle in both hands, but it was all that he could do to just about keep the weapon from crushing his windpipe.

'I know you're angry,' Eric managed, 'but if you love her so much, why can't you just let her be happy?'

'Love?' Kosar hissed. 'After the way she betrayed me – leaving me for somebody like you…?'

Kosar jolted the Spear a little. Eric was losing his grip.

'She told me about all those other men back on your homeworld,' added Kosar. 'If you truly are all she needs, why did she crawl into all of those other beds back then, when yours was available?'

'Her heart was broken,' gasped Eric, 'she went into self-destruct. She's better now…'

'She's a harlot,' Kosar retorted. 'She always was, and she always will be. And she'll make a fool of you the way she tried to do with me.'

Eric managed a defiant grimace. 'I'm a fool already.'

'Not for much longer.'

Kosar pushed down again, but Eric noticed that the other man's hands were beginning to tremble. Again, Eric concentrated on Kosar's face. There was something else in his expression – something more than fury and damaged pride. Eric renewed his effort into pushing back the Spear, and found that it was slightly easier to resist than before.

'So I'll die for her,' Eric replied. 'Wouldn't you do the same?'

'Don't be ridiculous.'

'But you love her,' prompted Eric, 'don't you?'

Kosar faltered. The pressure on the Spear grew weaker still.

'She's a whore,' retorted Kosar. 'A base, mortal, animal whore, impregnated with the seed of an imbecile. She isn't worth dying for, you stupid little man.'

'You do love her.'

'I do not love that woman.'

Eric felt something spark across the Spear. It was now or never. With all of his remaining strength, he clutched at the weapon, twisting it around. Kosar was able to keep a grip of the Spear, but in his surprise lost control over it. Eric pulled the Spear around so that the pointed tip was aimed at Kosar's chest, and lunged.

'Liar.'

Kosar's eyes widened as the Spear plunged into him. His expression was not one of pain; more shock, turning quickly to indignation.

Kosar choked a little, still clutching the Spear that had skewered him. 'You idiot. I'm an immortal!'

Still beneath Kosar, Eric shook his head apologetically. 'Not quite, Kosar. Not quite.'

'You tasted this Spear yourself,' Kosar gasped, 'and you survived.'

'Wasn't my lie that powered it when I was stabbed,' Eric explained. 'It's only fatal to the one who told the lie. It was used by Rameh in early court hearings – murder trials. The accused would be made to swear on it – if they'd done the crime, they'd be found guilty and executed at the same time. You owned that thing all these years and never even read up on its history?'

Kosar set his teeth furiously and pulled out the Spear. Sparkling, crystal fluid began to flood from the wound – the Child of the Stargazer was bleeding to death. He cupped the wound with his hands, watching his shimmering blood pooling between his fingers in disbelief. He looked back across at Eric.

'I'm sorry,' Eric breathed.

Kosar continued to stare at him, oddly.

'You will never leave.'

'What?'

'You will never go home,' Kosar repeated, calmly. 'You will be consumed by Evil, and neither of you will ever go home.'

Eric narrowed his eyes at Kosar. 'You're not exactly in a position to threaten me, you know.'

'It isn't a threat,' Kosar replied. 'It is what shall be.'

Kosar reached out a hand, covered in his sticky, sparkling blood, and pressed it hard against Eric's forehead.

Eric knocked the hand away. 'What was that? Was that a Hex? Did you just Hex me?'

Kosar gave no reply. He slumped to the ground, amidst a growing lake of glittering blood, and there he stayed.

-x-

The mournful cries of Kosar's remaining few birds could mean only one thing – the Child of the Stargazer was dead. Even though Kosar had ended up on the side of his enemy, Presto couldn't help but feel saddened by his passing. He determined to meditate on the fallen star's soul later on… if, that was, there was to be a "later on". He battled towards Furnus. For the first time that he could remember, the Fire Demon's whereabouts were completely clear to him. Perhaps it was because she was so physically close, or perhaps… just perhaps, his powers were finally growing to match hers.

She was only a few metres away now. He brought another blast of magical energy down upon the Orcs surrounding him, topping them like bowling pins… and there she was; the Nemesis that had been so elusive to him for so long. She towered over Presto – a grand figure of flickering light and heat – but, Presto noted as he regarded her, she was no bigger than Venger. Her back was turned to him with her arms outstretched – it appeared that she was halfway through opening up a portal to her homeworld of fire and brimstone. Presto bunched his fists, feeling the magic crackle down through his arms. Furnus turned her head, and seemed surprised to find him there. She tried to hurl a bolt of magic at Presto, but as her concentration was still largely focussed on the portal, it was weak, and Presto was able to easily deflect it.

The portal was big enough already for a trickle of Fire Zombies to squeeze through, and Presto could see two large Fire Dragons waiting on the other side for the entrance to grow large enough for them to pass. He raised his own arms and concentrated on closing up the door to the other world at the same time that Furnus was trying to open it. The only physical experience he could liken it to was arm wrestling… although since he'd never even been able to beat so much as Sheila at an arm wrestling match in his life, the analogy didn't exactly fill him with confidence. This time, however, he was managing to put up a Hell of a fight. Furnus grunted with effort to keep the portal from closing and twice shrieked with fury, throwing spheres of weakened magic at him in attempts to make him stop. After a moment of stalemate, she turned her head around – 180 degrees around, in fact, to address him.

'This is pointless.'

'For you, perhaps,' Presto replied, still concentrating on the portal. 'This ends today, one way or the other. We have the element of surprise, we have better weaponry. We're beating your Orcs, and Kosar has already fallen. Leave this world now, and never come back, or you'll be destroyed too.'

'I know the Child of the Stargazer has fallen,' Furnus sneered. 'He was a silly, spoiled youth, who allowed himself to be bothered by the whims of a mortal female. That he is gone is of no inconvenience to me. As for your flying fortress and your clever weapons… they are nothing on what's to come.'

'Your Fire Dragons may have claimed Whitewood's life,' Presto retorted, 'but they don't frighten me. They won't even get through this portal.' He pooled his energy and pushed his hands together. The portal began to slowly close, despite Furnus' struggle.

Furnus smiled a bright, terrible smile. 'I did not mean the Fire Dragons.'

Presto frowned. He felt his concentration weaken. 'You don't mean…'

'I felt it was time,' grinned Furnus, 'that He became involved.'

'No,' Presto breathed, his grip on the portal growing ever weaker. 'You wouldn't…'

'If I am victorious today,' Furnus explained, 'He will be pleased. And if I am defeated, He will bring vengeful destruction.'

'He could destroy the world!'

'How does that concern me?' Furnus asked. 'It is not my world.'

Him. Him! He was coming. No matter whether this battle was won or lost, He had been summoned, and nothing now could stop His arrival. Presto lost control over the portal. Furnus speedily opened the doorway to the other world fully and, before Presto could retaliate, curled into herself and disappeared, literally into a cloud of smoke.

He was coming. He was coming.

For a moment, the battlefield span in front of Presto's eyes. Fire Zombies were pouring now from the rip in reality, and two large, bright creatures were pounding towards him, fast.

What difference did it make? He was coming. It was over.

He stared down at the ground and re-oriented himself. He'd think of something. Somehow. They'd faced off No-Name before, and… well… it seemed He'd gotten bored and wandered off. Maybe they could make that work a second time.

Maybe.

First, he had to get through this in one piece. There was still, after all, a battle raging about him. There was heat above him – extreme heat, not far from his head, as though somebody were dangling a bonfire right above him. He had lost his concentration. The portal was open. And that meant…

He looked up. Two huge Fire Dragons hung over him, their jaws parting into open snarls.

'Oh, great.'

-x-