"Sir, the shields have been activated and we have people on lookout stationed all the places you requested." The young mage reported back to Saracen as people in the Sanctuary scurried to prepare the medical wing.
"Great, just one more thing. Where the hell is my co-commander?!" he shouted as he handed out several notes with instructions to several people who scurried away to do as they were told.
"He's right here, bub." Came a deep growl and the clank of heavy boots on the tiles approached.
"You have got to be kidding me." Saracen breathed as he turned around, already knowing what he would be facing. A taller, more toned version of himself.
"The chief told me I'd be working with you. Lucky me." He drawled as he chewed on a cigar.
"Chief?" Saracen questioned the title.
"Yeah the uptight pretty lady." He shrugged.
"You mean Grand Mage China Sorrows." He sighed. "Anyways, to give you a quick overview of the layout, we have barriers up all around the city and guards on watch scattered over the country to report any activity. Armies from all over the world are preparing and Fletcher Renn - our teleporter – is on standby, ready to transport them over at a moment's notice. We have Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callahan who should be back any minute now from recruiting as many of the magical creatures as they can to brief us on numbers and abilities. I've organized for our energy-throwers, archers and gunmen to be stationed on the bordering wall. Hand-to-hand combat sorcerers are to be ready at all entries to the city should the shield be broken. The medical wing is being prepared to patch all injured soldiers up as we speak. If we are attacked the only plan we have to even have a chance of winning is for a special necromancer, Andena Deandria, to team up with Fletcher Renn and teleport the enemies to the keep where an ambush of our soldiers is waiting. Elder Shade is making a list of eligible mages to be given a powerful acceleration and take on the Unnamed together. You get all that?"
"I got enough of it to know that you have no plan of attack whatsoever and you're playing a major defense card." The Wolverine grunted. "So, we need an attack outside the borders of the city on the masses of the enemy troops. That's where we mutants will come in."
As the two plotted their army strategies Andena searched for Fletcher. She was about to ask for directions for the third time when she spotted him sitting gaunt-faced in the waiting room chairs of the medical wing.
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"I was told I'd find the idiot with the electrocuted hair here. Have you seen him?" she laughed at his limp locks with a mocking grin. Her jester faded when he didn't return her jab with good humoured arrogance. "Elder Wisp told me what happened. I'm really sorry."
"Yeah so am I." he sighed. "Everyone I've known was taken. The people who grew up with me, the people who helped me grow. They were my family. And now they're gone."
"Ellion and I grew up together. I can't pretend to know how it must feel for you. I've lost my oldest friend, but everyone you've ever had is now dead." Andena sat next to him.
"They're not dead. I'd feel it if they were dead. But I know that they will be. I just can't imagine what Hansard is waiting for. Maybe he's torturing them for information. But they'll never break. None of them. The original Dead Men would never tell. Tanith Low would die before betraying her side. And Valkyrie...Valkyrie is so darned stubborn she'd never say anything out of pride." He gave a sharp bark of a laugh.
"You and Valkyrie were pretty close, weren't you?" Andena hesitated, pushing down the unease that roused in the pits of her chest.
"Close is an understatement. We were everything to each other at one point. Then nothing at another point. But I suppose we never really could be nothing to each other." Fletcher said, and her guts twisted as she frowned at her reaction, but the words came flooding out anyway.
"You still love her, don't you?" she spoke rather flatly in a whisper and he looked at her for the first time during the conversation.
"Yes. I do." And she felt a sinking weight inside her, wondering when she'd fallen for this boy. "But not in the way I used to. So much has happened we could never go back to that romantic relationship. But I love her because she's one of my closest friends. She's Val. There isn't anything more or less to it."
She felt hope rise again and sat awkwardly in silence. She was Andena freaking Deandria, since when did she get awkward. "Everyone's preparing for a war we have no chance of winning. We have no real plan other than to defend ourselves. Our last chance at getting rid of the Unnamed was someone with Ancient blood. Alice betrayed us, and Valkyrie is gone. Desmond Edgley was killed. Gordon died years ago. The only brother left is Fergus and he's hopeless. Carol is dead and just a reflection and Crystal is a dumb bimbo. There is no hope left. No way to get out of this and everyone's running around pretending like we have a chance when they know we don't. It's only a matter of time. You know, we could die today. Or tomorrow. Or next week. Or whenever they decide it's time to strike." She found herself spilling all the thoughts that had run through her mind on the way there.
"Or we could die in a hundred years. Or two hundred. Or five hundred. There's always a chance. Always hope. We have to believe that because that's what makes us human." He said. "Yeah, there's a big chance we could die very soon. But there is still always a small chance we might not. We've faced terrible odds before and came out on top. If anyone can do it, it's us."
"There is no 'us' anymore. If we had Skulduggery Pleasant, Ghastly Bespoke, Dexter Vex, Tanith Low, and Valkyrie Cain then maybe I'd believe because you all are a miracle team. But there is no one left. Our only formidable fighters are Saracen Rue, Anton Shudder, and the Monster Hunters. Not much of a crew against a thousand of soldiers and one of the Founders." She groaned.
"We have Fletcher Renn. The last teleporter. And Andena Deandria. The apparent Death Bringer." He laughed softly and nudged her with his knee. He gained a smile from her and suddenly felt a lot better because if he could still make her smile he felt that things were still okay. That was when he realized, looking at this girl, how much she actually meant to him. He noticed how his feelings for her had grown since his slight crush during their ghostly ventures. "But since we could die today, or tomorrow, or next week, or whenever they decide it's time to strike, will you go out with me?" he asked.
Her head shot up in shock. She was not expecting that. Andena couldn't hide the beaming smile spreading over her face as her heart fluttered and she nodded. "Or we could die in a hundred years. Or two hundred. Or five hundred. But, let's make sure we don't waste our time." She took his hand and the two sat there. Together.
