Lot to Lose, Lot to Gain (Rewrite)

Chapter Nine

As the sky fighters retreated, Yün landed among her comrades. She laid eyes on their leader, running to her side.

"Cora!" she shouted.

"Yün!" Cora called back, fighting off a Wither Skeleton with her katana.

"We got some dragon girl out of the cells, but Fireheart has her swords. She said the swords have the ability to nullify any magical abilities from anyone they come in contact with," Yün reported.

"Then I guess we gotta get them back," Cora replied calmly, using her katana to decapitate two pigmen.

"Heads up!" a voice called from behind them just before a wither angel fell from the sky.

"Watch it, Jorge! Don't let them kill us after they're dead!" Cora shouted with a laugh.

"They're already dead, Cor! I'm just killin' them again!" Jorge shouted back from his perch.

"Dammit, watch your back, Jorge!" a woman shouted as a fireball blew a wither angel out of the sky behind the sniper.

"Inorra, I am not an idiot! I had him!" Jorge shouted in frustration.

"Sure, whatever," the witch replied, sitting down next to him. He took another shot, killing another angel.

"Thanks for watching my back, though," Jorge chuckled.

"Hey, lovebirds! Focus on the mission!" A woman with a blazing sword and hair colored to match leapt over them, slicing through two wither skeletons that were climbing their perch.

"Shut up, Allison! I'm not beyond shooting you!" Jorge yelled.

"You are unless you want Cora to have your head on her mantle!" Allison yelled back, cutting through more skeletons.

"Will you all focus on fighting?!" Yün shouted.

"Yün's right! We have bigger things to worry about!" Cora agreed.

"Much bigger, Cor! Two giants coming through the lakes!" Jorge reported.

Sure enough, two giant wither skeletons were coming through the lava lakes. Most of the Nether Horde had retreated, and the Frostbourne army was now focused on their new giant adversaries. Archers were already firing at the giant that was closest, but it just shrugged off the arrows as if they were just gnats buzzing around it. Most of the archers scattered once the giant got to the land, but several were unlucky enough to be crushed under the massive skeleton. Soldiers on the ground fled, and the other giant was getting ever closer. Rain and Stella were trying to get the Knights and their armies out of the Nether, but Cora knew that things wouldn't go well if those giants were to keep bearing down on them.

"We need to distract the giants! Mercenaries, focus fire on those behemoths!" Cora ordered.

Jorge and Inorra immediately began firing on the giants with bullets and fireballs. Allison, Cora, and Yün began trying to cover the distance to the giant that was on land, which had now turned to them.

"Allison, they aren't fire resistant when they aren't in lava! Yün, help Allie set the netherrack on fire, it'll slow them down!" Cora called out.

Yün and Allison nodded. The elytra-equipped girl picked up Allison, and used a firework to launch them into the sky. Yün propelled them around as the Quartermaster dragged her flaming sword along the ground, setting the netherrack beneath it ablaze. Yün flew them in rows, until a vast wall of fire blocked off the giants. The hulking skeletons still marched through it, but the fire slowed them to a crawl. It wasn't long before the Frostbourne were evacuated, and Cora turned her mercenaries back to the portal. As soon as they were through, Zeganirn ripped obsidian from the portal, deactivating it and trapping the giants on the other side.

"A close call," Ceris said.

"Too close, but we got out, thanks to Cora and her mercenaries," Rain agreed.

"Doing what we were hired for, sir. I would much like to work alongside you again. Maybe even free of charge this time," Cora chuckled.

"Always good to have a few extra hands to fight alongside us," Stella said.

"How is your Grandmaster?" Allison asked.

"Still unconscious, but he's stable. I expect he'll pull through after all," Stella replied.

"And the Matriarch? She didn't look so good," Inorra jumped from a perch on top of the portal.

"She'll be fine, she's tough. And Inorra, you got lucky. The Coven is gone," Stella said bitterly.

"I don't recall you helping either, Stella," Inorra spat back.

"I was... I was helping my people!" the Enchantress attempted to defend herself.

"And guess what? So was I. So according to you, that is not even a good argument!" rage was clear in the Coven Witch's eyes.

"That's enough, Inorra! Lady Stella is our ally, and I'm going to ask you to set aside whatever is getting in the way of you seeing that," Cora stepped in.

"Yes, Chief," Inorra said, backing away.

"Hey, Nora? I never blamed you for anything," Stella said softly, walking over to the younger girl.

"You... you didn't?" Inorra looked up.

"You're a kid, Nora. I can't blame you for being curious," Stella patted Inorra's shoulder.

"Thank you, Stel..." Inorra smiled.

"No need to thank me," Stella replied, smiling back.

Inorra smiled, walking back to Jorge's side. The sniper slung his rifle over his shoulder before picking up the smaller girl and setting her on his shoulders. Inorra giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, a smile on her face. Cora chuckled, looking at the two.

"Just admit you two have feelings for each other and get it over with," she said.

"Shut it, Cor. Admit yours for Allie first," Jorge shot back.

"S-Shut it, Jorge!" Cora replied.

"Is our fearless leader embarrassed?" Allison walked up next to the Winter Knight.

"Not at all. Now, we should be heading to the Dreadfort, we need to get settled in," Cora said, regaining her composure.

"Of course, Cora," Jorge responded, suddenly turning serious.

On full agreement from all members of their team, the Frost Mercenaries began walking towards the massive fortress ahead of them, followed soon after by the Frostbourne, minus Rain and Stella. The Dragon tamer continued to stare at the broken portal, and the Enchantress looked on, unsure whether or not she should help. Eventually, she walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her, a mix of anger and sadness in his eyes.

"What's the matter, sir? You clearly are not well," she said.

"Abigail. The Angel brought something up while we were out searching for the Coven, and I haven't been able to drop it," Rain replied.

"And that was?"

"Abigail and I were lovers. I mean, back before all this started. But now, I see her as barely more than an advantage over the opposing armies. Is that wrong?"

"Do you still love her, Rain?"

"No, not anymore."

"Do you love anyone?"

"Yes."

"If I may... who?"

"You."