***DEADLOX'S POV***
Why? Why are we here, really? What contract binds us to being out here, saving the world? What keeps us held down in this position, putting our lives on the line constantly to save the lives of others? Who are we to be doing this? Why us? Why now? And if not now, when?
We will draw the Wither Worshipers away. We will make them regret ever thinking about rebuilding that portal. We will succeed.
War is now. The four team members on the recon end of the mission have already set out on their journey. They're most likely in the camp now. Nonetheless, we are at war. We have been at war for far too long. We have done far too much in too little time. We have worked ourselves ragged, tired ourselves out, and given more than we can ever ask to receive. That is the cost of war.
I stand near Ashley, Preston, Elizabeth, Woofless, and Nooch. We discuss our end of the mission. Our job is to help with the killing of the Wither Worshipers. Preston's job is to burn the camp, and our job is to kill off any that aren't killed in the fire. It may sound brutal, but we do what we have to do. As a group, the four of us make small talk, trying to forget what our real job is. I just want to go home, to live life like a normal person. I want to go to work everyday, I want to go out to lunch with friends on the weekends. I want to get angry when it rains, not when a friend dies on my account. I want to watch TV and play video games with friends. I want to be normal, for once.
I keep these thought to myself. They are pointless. They serve no purpose. If I succeed, I can be normal again. I can have these wretched wings removed, I can go back to living my normal life, to being happy again.
We wait for an hour or so, and then Jason arrives with a wounded Sierra in his arms. Seto runs over immediately, taking Sierra from Jason's arms and placing her on the ground as he casts a spell of healing on her.
"Jason, report!" Sky calls. Jason salutes. This is a military operation, after all. "Was the mission a success or a failure? Where are the others?"
"Sir, the others were all killed." Jason begins. "Sierra and I collected all of the Intel on anything the Wither Worshipers were planning on doing. Sierra shrunk them with a spell. I have them all on me now, sir."
"Good. Keep them there. Preston, begin your part of the mission. Deadlox, signal NightShroud."
"Yes, sir!" I call, and salute as well. I spread my wings and fly up above the trees, and think hard about reaching NightShroud. Its been getting harder and harder to contact him lately.
We need you, NightShroud, I call to him. Hurry!
I then land and grab Preston by the wrist. "Come with me," I say. "It'll be easier if you're in the air when NightShroud comes to pick you up. The rest of you, assume battle positions! If so much as one Wither Worshiper is left standing after this, I guarantee, you'll never hear the end of it! Go!"
The team falls out, Preston's army in tow, but Seto and Sierra remain. Sierra is coming to, thank Notch, but I don't have time to wish her a good recovery. This is war.
I pick up Preston bridal style, as that's the only way he won't get in the way of my wings, and I take off. I hover in the air, tiring slowly but refusing to show it.
Only about five minutes later, NightShroud appears. The Dragon has something in its mouth, something purple and shiny. He sees me and flies in my direction, then slows down and goes beneath me as he moves close to us. When I hover directly above the Dragon, I release Preston and he falls onto NightShroud's back, as planned. NightShroud cocks his head back, and the item in his mouth goes flying in my direction. It's a sword. I catch it and give NightShroud an acknowledging nod, then call good luck to both Preston and the Dragon.
I then head back to the ground. First things first, I check out our camp. Seto and Sierra remain there, Sierra in Seto's arms.
"How is she?" I ask.
"Unconscious, but she'll be okay." Seto replies.
"Seto, we need you out there. There aren't that many of us leading the army, you know. Your regimen needs you. We need you to heal our people."
"I know, but what about her?"
In response, I walk over to Seto and pull Sierra from his arms. I fly up and place her in the nook of a tree, and then give her some water and food in case she comes to.
"She'll be alright, Seto. Don't worry about her. Now, come on."
"Right," Seto replies. "Let's go."
And to the battlefield we go, our regimens of the army following us. The sword NightShroud tossed me is probably the coolest thing imaginable. It's made of Niobium. When I use it, I guess my aura flows into it or something, because it glows and wreaks havoc on those I target with it. I feel so, so powerful fighting with it. With Seto by my side and the army at my back, I fight. As regimens, Seto and I kill hundreds, maybe even a thousand Wither Worshipers. No matter how many we beat, they keep coming. It doesn't matter, we refuse to tire. Seto fights hard, too. He uses his magic and casts curses I didn't know existed. He takes out tens of foes at a time with his spells, though I'm a bit worried I might lose him again. I check on him constantly, but each time he shoots me a grin or winks, letting me know he's okay. Occasionally, I would see NightShroud fly overhead, Preston on his back. The two of them destroy the camp with flames and spells, executing their end of the mission perfectly. Preston's army is incredibly skilled, fighting off the Wither Worshipers with precision and speed. Without them, we'd have been royally screwed. Knowing this, each slash, each stab, is more and more powerful. Our regimens clash with the Wither Worshipers, but almost every conflict is resolved in our favor. The Wither Worshipers are dropping like flies, and we are prevailing.
As I bring my sword into the chest of one of my foes, I get hit with a spark of emotion.
"I'm sorry," my dying enemy says. "We're wrong, I see that now." His eyes close and I pause, shocked by his final statement. I realize I am killing people, that I am taking the lives of human beings with personalities and friends. It's saddening, but it's what war does do you. It's beautifully depressing, really, that that's what war makes one do.
We fight for hours, but when it's finally over and the bodies of our enemies are at our feet, the camp in which they lived now burning, we know that we have won. If any of them got out alive, which I doubt, there is no way for them to get back at us. We have the information we need, and we no longer have any substantial enemies to fight.
We did it.
We won.
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We all met up at the camp again, and there we make our report. There were only about one hundred and fifty deaths in Preston's army, which was hardly even five percent of its total. We also found that there were only three casualties on our end. Those were Solace, Quentin, and Ssundee. He died while protecting Mitch and Jerome, who were fighting side-by-side, from a rush of three Wither Worshipers coming at them with enchanted gear. Ssundee killed them all, but in the aftermath, was brought down with them by some sort of potion or enchantment.
The deaths of the other two occurred during the recon mission, before the real battle began. Solace died while trying to distract the Wither Worshipers from the recon team. He was killed by an arrow right through the eye. A swift and painless death.
Quentin, on the other hand, was not that lucky. He was killed slowly, from what I heard. He jumped in front of an incoming sword that was heading right for Sierra, and the sword went entirely through his body and still hit her, but with much less force. She was wounded by the sword and knocked unconscious, rendering her unable to heal Quentin. He bled out on the battlefield alone.
Nonetheless, we have won.
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All information on Nether Portals and anything related to them is archived at SkyBase. Only commanding officers are aware of its location in the base or anything it entails. Ashley and I are returned to our normal selves, and we promptly move in together. Seto and Sierra are revealed to the public, and they are met with open arms. Preston and Elizabeth become the Nether's Overworld Ambassadors, or the NOA's. They remain in the Overworld and communicate with Lydia -- the current ruler of the Nether -- via fire magic. The other Nether portal that Preston's army entered the Overworld through is destroyed, and one is built inside SkyBase HQ. It's currently the only active portal in existence, and Preston, Elizabeth and I often go through it to visit there. Jerome and Mitch openly come out and they too are widely accepted among the public. Those who had died have proper military funerals and monuments built in their honor. They were, and still are, heroes. In time, Sky met a girl, too. Her name is Alesa, and she is by far one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She and Sky are very happy together, and they are living together as well. NightShroud lives in his cave, ready to call upon me whenever a new crisis arises, but I still come to visit him occasionally. I miss his company, really.
So after all of this, I've realized that I'm never going to be normal again, for the following reasons.
1) My eyes are purple
2) I'm still a dragon-demon at heart
3) I saved the world
4) I've killed too many people to count
5) I've changed so much since the Enderlox story began that I can't even think of ever being "normal" again
Being normal doesn't matter, all that matters is that, as a person, you are happy.
And to be honest, I've never been happier.
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Remember, every time you vote, an ole gets a sombrero, and every time you comment, an annoying light stops flickering. So take the time to make the world a flickering lightbulb free place today! See you later my wonderful rhombuses!
Stay Classy,
Gweesto
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