The Auriga Corporation Fanfic Files

Note: This is a collective work created from an RP. I would like to thank the other Rpers Bakura Millennium Keeper, Ryastarling, Jaesai, Dunames Dark Witch, pinkdreamer, Emerald Jyoushiko, and Yami Celestea for working along side me to make this amazing story possible.

Auriga Corporation Fanfic Files
Chapter 2 – Trouble In Ice Paradise

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Starlight awoke in a two by four cell with lasers surroundings her body. Chains were connecting her body to the wall and she was pretty sure the room and locked with a counter spell to hold her magic at bay.

She smiled without a doubt and then laughed silently to herself.

”Everything is working as I planned,\" She whispered, “Soon the youngest of the council shall be laying it their own blood dead and I shall be the executioner… I wonder if Bree is alright I hope no one tries to feed her…\"

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Morning came, and Monique walked confidently through the Hague, the click of her pumps echoing through the halls. \"Perhaps I should see about our prisoner beforehand, since I have a little time.\"

She took the elevator to the lower floors, where the holding cells were located. A guard stood up, immediately frazzled. \"Miss Dufour! G-good morning.\"

Monique nodded gravely. \"Where are they keeping Starlight?\"

\"I\'ll take you there personally, ma\'am.\"

\"Very well.\"

Rya watched with eager eyes as the guard opened the cell doors. The youngest of the council Members Dufour stepped inside.

Rya knew who this young member was and that was an important count in the passing of many laws and documents in the council discussions and she usually came into final vote. She saw them vote before when she had snuck into the council room and tried to kill the head council member before, but then when her actions were foiled her eyes gazed upon Dufour in hate. Her entire race was wiped out because of what the council did and her family, her friends everyone she ever knew was gone and that was a very long time ago but the hate for the council still loomed inside her heart since that day.

”I have a visitor\" Rya smirked, “What\'s up kid, Council members being rough on the little baby girl?”

Monique just looked at Rya with a maddeningly emotionless stare. \"I wouldn\'t be saying things like that in your position, Miss Starlight. You\'ve made quite the messes these past few months. I\'d be shocked if they didn\'t lock you up and throw away the key.\"

She came slightly closer. \"But I didn\'t come here for niceties. If you cooperate and tell me what I need to know, I might be able to make things easier on you.\" Her eyes bored into Rya\'s. \"What are your reasons for all this? Do you have any accomplices?\"

\"I do it because I hate the council,\" Rya said, \"I’m the last of my kind, the council wiped out the rest of the tribe... I’v been hating them for over a hundred years now.\"

Rya eyed the youngest of the council straight into the eyes, she wouldn’t look away, she was no coward.

Monique sighed. And here was another case of misguided emotions... \"You do realize that even though you\'ve lived on, those council members who you have a vendetta against are dead now? I can\'t speak for people who lived a hundred years ago, and I can\'t pretend to understand what happened. However, your bitterness does nothing but cause trouble for yourself and others. It would be wiser to let it go.\" She turned to go. \"But I will keep my word. I\'ll see what I can do with your case.\"

\"I don’t want your help,\" Rya snapped, \"I want a deal.\"

Monique stopped. \"A deal, you say?\" What presumption...but it intrigues me. \"I\'m listening.\"

”You let me go and I’ll work for you,\" Rya said, “But you have to help me find a person... his name is Emerald.\"

Monique\'s eyes twinkled in amusement. \"You must have quite the confidence in your abilities. And who is this Emerald person?\"

“He\'s the one who ordered the death of my family,\" Rya said, “and yes he\'s still alive.\"

Monique raised an eyebrow. \"I\'m guessing he isn\'t completely human, then.\" She placed a manicured finger on her chin. \"I know if I let you out and help you find that man, you\'ll kill him, and that would result in a nasty amount of paperwork. On the other hand, we\'re rather understaffed with this rash of monster sightings...\" She smiled. \"This might very well be doable, Starlight. Now, tell me everything you know about this Emerald person...\"

“He use to be on the council,\" She said, “He personally killed the leader of my tribe, I can still remember how he tried to kill me. My own brother...\"

Monique\'s eyes flickered at that. \"Interesting.\" She smiled. \"Well, this\'ll be a tall order, but I believe I can manage to get you out of here by the end of today. I\'ll have you starting in freelance Warrior work immediately...while I hold up my end of the bargain and get my best people working on Emerald\'s whereabouts. How does that sound to you?\"

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A pair of bright yellow eyes peered through the shadows of an alleyway, watching a certain ‘hotel’ closely... It was early afternoon but ‘the girl’ had yet to come out of the hotel…

A pair of tight blue faded jean shorts and a white short sleeved tank top with a little black kitten and the words ‘Puuurrrfect’ adorned a sleek yellowish body with black spots… A long ponytail of blond hung to the lower back where a long feline tail with a black tip waved back and forth…

“Ahhh, here she comes now... Come closer, said the spider to the fly…” whispered an almost purring voice as a certain onyx haired woman, with a single white braid, walked out of the hotel and towards the side of the street where the alleyway was…

Luna stretched her arms and released a contented sigh, there was nothing like a good nights sleep after you\'d vanquished a demon. The work out had done wanders for her already nice figure, like she noticed her figure half the time. Her crimson top was currently missing, as she\'d replaced it with a spare silver one she\'d been carrying in her backpack. She needed to wash the blood out of the other one, even though it was crimson in colour.

She was heading towards the edge of the alleyway when she heard an unusual rustling sound. She narrowed her eyes; no creature of the night would dare show its face in the daytime. Not unless they were stupid or incredibly brave.

\"Who\'s there?\" she asked aloud, not afraid of whatever may be waiting for her as she stopped by the mouth of the alleyway.

\"Come out right now, or if I have to come in there you\'ll get a butt whooping,\" she threatened.

\"You are so no fun Luna,\" came a playful purring voice as the pair of yellow eyes pierced through the darkness... A moment later, a young girl in her early 20s, with baby blue eyes, a long blond ponytail, a white tank top with a kitten on it, and blue faded jean shorts walked out of the alleyway...

\"I almost had ya too. So, did ya miss me?\" the girl asked, smiling at the other girl... They\'d met during a mission for Auriga about two years ago and had been fairly close friends since... Most people knew this fun loving blonde as Shanra, but those close to her in Auriga knew her by her real name, Cheetara...

She\'d come from another dimension through a dimensional rift when she was a child and was found by Auriga members when they thought she was a cat demon... They brought her back to the Takaishi CLAN headquarters where Katsu-Michi decided he\'d take her in and raise the little cheetah girl as his own...

It wasn\'t till her mid-teens that she found the ability to transform herself into a human and had spent most of her time on earth in the base... With her new ability, she became a warrior, at the age of 16, and soon went up the ranks to be the Takaishi CLAN leader...

\"Oh it\'s you Cheetara,\" Luna breathed and the tenseness in her body disappeared. \"I haven\'t seen you in ages, and may I say you don\'t look any different.\"

Getting a short and quick thank you from the other girl, Luna continued, as she brushed her single silvery braid back behind her ear.
\"So, what have you been doing with yourself?\" she asked curiously.

\"Not all that much actually... This is my first time off in a long while... things are getting pretty hectic in Takashi CLAN. I\'m starting to wonder if the underworld is planning something big...\" she stated as she motioned for the other to walk with her...

\"How\'s it been around here? I\'ve heard Antarctica is fairing even worse then Takaishi is... I knew something would go wrong with that Warrior Vord taking the Council role... You have to admit... he\'s no politician...\" Shanra said as they rounded a corner.

\"The night world is falling into madness,\" Luna motioned when Shanra had finished what she was saying to her. \"The monsters are braver than normal, especially the one I faced last night.\"

And she proceeded to explain to Shanra what had happened the night before.

Luna and Shanra walked for a little while longer, both quiet. Luna was only the talkative type when she was spoken to. It was simply the way she was, a choice of her own. Her braid of onyx black hair swung lightly behind her, whilst the other smaller silver braid just hung there, occasionalyl being blown by a gentle breeze.

\"So,\" Luna began, breaking the silence. \"What are you doing here in London?\"

Shanra shrugged slightly, \"I\'ve taken some time off, and I just wanted to get away from there for a while. This was the first place that came to mind... or should I say, you were the first person who came to mind to go and visit...\"

She smiled at the other as they stopped at a small bookstore. Shanra glanced at it before turning to Luna, \"Guess I can go in and say hi... but if anyone asks me to help with anything, i\'ll shoot them...\"

\"You do that,\" Luna laughed lightly. \"I\'ve been in the spotlight for so long that they\'re sick of me.\" She laughed and turning on her heal, walked across the road, giving a short wave to Shanra as she went.

\"See ya around girl.\" That said she was gone.

Shanra waved at the other girl and watched her as she walked out of sight... She then turned towards the bookstore again and walked in calmly... She was soon heading towards the back of the store and slipping into the backroom...

\"Ok... now how do I get in again???\" She asked herself for a second before turning and glancing at a shelf of old books... She rolled her eyes as she remembered how to get in and pictured some of the old movies she\'d seen as she pulled down a book which was really a lever and the shelf opened up to reveal a stairway...

\"Good thing everyone hates physics...\" she chuckled as she glanced at the lever... She headed down the staircase and heard the door close behind her.

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Vord sat impatiently under the awning of some fancy restaurant Monique had picked as their meeting spot. Apparently, it was to attract less attention if they met in such an inconspicuous place. Vord was fully armed, with his heavy claymore strapped across his back, his katana behind his waist, dual Desert Eagle .50 AE handguns holstered on his thighs, along with a Colt M4A1 Carbine assault rifle hanging from a shoulder strap at his side. He was also wearing magically enhanced Kevlar armour, and had several grenades (stun, flash, and smoke varieties included) hung on his belt. With a flechette gun up one sleeve and tazer up the other, he was confident that he could escape any trap the Council could have possibly set for him. Even if they cornered him... Vord fingered the teleportation spell in his pocket, the only one not crammed with fresh clips. It wasn\'t very strong (otherwise it wouldn\'t be stored in a single slip of parchment), but it would be able to take him to the outskirts of the city.

Granted, he was attracting some attention, but nobody looked at him twice. Apparently being a walking arsenal was enough to discourage prolonged stares. Vord made sure for the fifth time that all his guns were fully loaded, with the safety off, and that his swords could be easily drawn.

Satisfied, he sat back slightly, as much as would be permitted by his weaponry, and waited.

\"I chose this location because it\'d be inconspicuous, Mr. Slaybreaker,\" said a voice behind Vord. It belonged to Monique, whose eyes betrayed a small bit of amusement. \"You seem a little tense.\"

\"A little?\" Vord laughed. \"Please, Miss Dufour, don\'t take this personally. I\'m here to discuss matters of state, and I prefer to handle my own security. And I\'m pretty sure you know my destination after this.\"

They waited in silence as their waiter brought their orders. Vord spoke first.

\"The Wyvern Bat has been exterminated. Single-handedly. I don\'t know by who, but the unit dispatched to destroy it reported that they weren\'t the ones who killed it.\"

He watched Monique carefully, to see whether she had any more information about the incident than he did.

Monique\'s eyes flickered almost imperceptibly. \"My concern is if the creature is exterminated or not. When it comes down to it, it doesn\'t really matter who does the exterminating, now does it?\" She smiled. \"Though I\'m surprised you don\'t know who did it. He\'s one of your people, if my sources are correct.\" She brought her glass to her lips, then peered at Vord. \"But you know I didn\'t arrange this meeting to talk about the Wyvern Bat. My constituents are worried about North Pole security, Mr. Slaybreaker.\"

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Rya, meanwhile, had just returned from a mission Miss Defour had given her immediately after their agreement was made, and the girl was covered from head to toe in dirt and blood.

”Urg,\" She growled, “I hate doin the dirty work.\"

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Vord sipped from the glass he was holding. \"You\'re well aware, of course, of the assault force of demons occupying the North Pole.\" He took another sip. \"I have deployed the entire contingent of paladins in Antarctica into the North Pole. They\'re experiencing difficulties, but are on the whole wiping out masses of them. Which is why,\" he added emphatically, putting his drink down, \"I\'m going up there to help.\"

Monique twirled her glass slowly in her fingers. \"And if you were to be killed or otherwise incapacitated, what would happen to the Council? This may sound cruel, but some of us have to fight and some of us have to make the rules.\" Monique\'s eyes flickered. \"I\'m keeping in mind you haven\'t been with the Council long, and that this was thrust on you, but you\'ve been making some rather grandiose decisions lately which have had less-than-desirable outcomes. You should know I\'m not the only one in high places who\'s... concerned.\"

Vord gave a bark of laughter. \"You all know perfectly well I\'m not cut out for this job. The decisions I made before my continent fell into massive debt due to incompetence on the part of the budgeting committee and embezzlement were perfectly sound, or at least neutral, not likely to cause problems.\" He kept his left hand on the handle of his katana. \"Well, as they say, drastic times call for drastic measures. I\'ve done everything I can under the circumstances to stop Antarctica from falling into complete chaos. And unfortunately for me, the best I could do just isn\'t good enough for you suits.\"

He chuckled lightly. \"I put in a measure to stop anarchy. Unorthodox, perhaps, but removing the entire population of an already relatively deserted continent is an effective antidote to the problem of panicked plebians getting in the way. Maybe that\'s not how most of you Council people would have done it,\" he reflected, picking his glass up again, \"but I\'m a warrior. It\'s how we do things. Someone, something\'s in the way, we cut it down.\" He put it down again. \"Of course, now your seventh continent exists in name only. I wouldn\'t be surprised if some other army swept in through a rift in the time-space continuum,\" he commented dryly.

\"It may have been my duty to stop that from happening,\" he added, leaning a little further back. \"But I have more pressing issues to deal with. So that\'s my explanation for my actions. I\'m not trying to justify myself, or pleading innocence. I\'m just telling you what I did and why, so I can get the hell out of here and help my comrades out.\" He folded his arms stubbornly. \"Is that all?\"

“Uh Miss Defour?\" A voice asked and the two turned towards the a man who’d spoken, “Uh, Miss Starlight has, uh, returned from her mission Ma’am.\"

”Yea, and I’m not happy kid,\" Rya said walking straight past the man, “I wasted my time so you could get rid of some half rate criminals? Please, I could kill people like that faster then you could pass a vote.\"

Monique sighed. \"We made a deal, didn\'t we, Starlight? This is what scheduled briefings are for- to voice any complaints.\" She gazed at Rya. \"Although if I were in your position, I\'d be counting my blessings. No matter; I\'m almost done here anyway.\"

She turned to Vord. \"It\'s as I said...warriors just aren\'t suited to be politicians, and vice versa.\" She waved at him tiredly. \"Go, then. How would I look if I kept you from helping your comrades? Just keep this in mind- the areas under your jurisdiction are Earth\'s first lines of defence. If either Antarctica or the North Pole falls, people will be screaming for your blood, regardless of your explanations. That\'s the trouble with being in positions such as ours: the people expect us to do everything perfectly, and they don\'t care about reasons.\" Monique smiled thinly. \"I just thought it best to warn you: certain higher-ups won\'t hesitate to make you the scapegoat to keep their comfortable positions. But I\'m sure you\'re aware of that.\"

“Trouble in the icy lands?\" Rya asked and chuckled, “Well actually, I think you\'d find this interesting, I found them in the house those idiots were holding up in,” she said as she handed her a folder of documents.

”I’v already read them... it seems my brother\'s higher then I thought.\"

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\"Miss Halliwell. Are you positive you are alright?\" Asked Lorettia.

\"I am fine.\" Celi answered impatiently, with an equally impatient hand gesture. \"Why do you ask?\" She raised a single scarlet eyebrow.

\"You were… engaging in certain nightly activities again, Miss.\" Answered Lorettia, looking rather abashed and hanging her head.

\"I was?\"

\"Yes.\"

There came a groan. \"I suppose I was getting my hopes up.\"

\"That\'s not all…\"

Celi looked at Lorettia sharply, \"It isn\'t?\"

\"No, Miss. There was another murder attempt near Venus beach.\"

\"That\'s it. We need an emergency meeting. It is all getting out of hand.\"

\"When?\"

\"As soon as possible. Contact the other council members, schedule a meeting at the Empire State building, top floor.\"

\"Very well, Miss.\" With that Lorettia pulled out a phone, whilst escorting Celi to the awaiting limo with Lakura.

Across the road, the same black figure from the night before sat watching from the bushes of the house. When Celi had stopped outside her limo he took aim with his gun. Unfortunately for him, Lakura stepped into his line of fire at the last minute. He cursed softly and lowered the weapon.

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Katsu-Michi, the dark haired Asian council member, was currently going over the latest news on the Antarctica problem and sighed to himself. He\'d been sure that Vord would be able to take care of things but it seemed he was wrong. If they lost Antarctica they would loose their biggest line of defence.

Antarctica was currently the only known area with a dimensional rift. He, as well as many other Auriga members, was sure that there were more, but those others had yet to be found.

His mind also wandered to the news of the Wyvern Bat\'s destruction. He couldn\'t possibly imagine any single human being with the ability to take out one of those massive creatures on his or her own.

Of course, it didn\'t matter who killed the creature, as long as it was dead, and as long as it hadn\'t already fulfilled its purpose. Wyvern Bats had forever been known as the messengers of the underworld. This particular bat was the third one they\'d located in the past two months, which was rare and a cause for concern.

His thoughts were interrupted, however, as the phone rang. He glanced at the phone for a few seconds before answering, \"Hello, Council Member Kaito speaking.\"

\"Hello Mr. Kaito. This is Lorettia, secretary to Council member Halliwell. I would like to inform you that she would like to have a meeting of the council members at the empire state building at a convenient time,\" the voice on the other end of the phone said.

\"Very well, I will fax you my schedule for the next few weeks,\" Katsu-Michi stated calmly.

\"Thank you very much sir,\" the woman replied.

\"Is that all?\"

\"Yes sir, thank you. Goodbye.\"

Katsu-Michi waited for the click as the woman hung up then hung up the phone himself. He sighed for a moment, \"What could Celi be so worried about that she needs to call a council meeting so soon after our previous one?\"

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Monique looked over the documents- and sucked in her breath sharply. \"This can\'t be right...that would mean...\"

“It means that someone on the council is a double crossing you,\" She said, “And working with my brother behind the scenes.\"

Vord yawned. \"Interesting. I\'d love to stay and listen to this, Miss Dufour, but I\'m guessing you need to deal with this as soon as possible. So I won\'t hamper you any longer.\" He stood up, and saluted smartly. \"There\'s an easy way out for me, if you think about it,\" he kidded. \"Just die in battle. Blaming me won\'t hurt me then, eh?\" The sound of a helicopter descending became apparent at that point, and a strong wind whipped up. The black chopper hovered about twenty feet above the ground, dropping a rope ladder. Vord grabbed it, and as he rose, fired off a parting shot.

\"Good luck in your traitor hunt, Miss Dufour, Starlight,\" he called out, smiling nonchalantly at the politician and the criminal. The chopper soared higher, then headed north, off to the lands of ice.

“Well do you have any ideas Defour?\" Rya asked.

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Luna made her way towards the station; she was due to return to her home just outside of London soon. She had a few things to take care of there.

She walked down, paid for a ticket and went to wait for the train. Looking around she spied the train coming. Just in time, she thought with a smile. Although I really should make sure I don\'t keep appearing just in time for things. It was another habit of hers, to turn up just in the nick of time for something. Her superiors found it annoying, but as long as it got the job done, who cared?

She stepped onto the train and sat down, dropping her bag beside her, before she pulled out a crossword book and began working on it.

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A day later, the roar of battle rang out over the frozen plains of the Arctic ice cap. The paladins of Antarctica clashed with the demon army of the Abyss. The Abyssal troops far outnumbered the brave paladins, who were still putting up a great fight. Swords clashed, providing a cacophony of sound, music for the slaughter. Arrows were loosed without particular targets, simply raining down on both sides. Spells were being unleashed willy-nilly, clearing out whole regiments of demons. But they kept coming.

The clamour of war was suddenly punctured by the sound of a rotor, just as a paladin was punctured through the lungs by a pair of arrows. He fell to the bloody ground, gurgling in death.

Drake had suffered a slash to the head. Wiping off some more blood and blinking through the haze of red, he saw a familiar figure jump out of the chopper and into a gang of demons. A burst of bullets confirmed it. \"Vord! Vord Slaybreaker!\" he yelled in joy, whirling his broadsword like a windmill, cutting down demons by the half-dozen.

Vord grinned cockily. \"Behind you!\" He dropped his rifle and, whipping out his dual Deagles, blew the brains out of a pair of demons that had been sneaking up on Drake. Emptying the clips in a trice, he sheathed his guns and drew his claymore. \"Let\'s give \'em blood \'n\' vinegar! Chaaaaaarge!\" he roared, thundering into the fray. The paladins, their energy renewed by the presence of their leader, instantly began to decimate the enemy, rank after rank.

They formed a carousel of slaughter, forming a ring, revolving around as they hacked through the enemy. Archers stood in the center firing arrows in a hail of death. It was also a convenient place for paladins to drop in to cast a quick healing spell before charging back out to fight some more.

Drake stumbled into the ring, bleeding profusely. Sticking his sword into the ground as he tried to stem the blood flow with a spell, he groaned in pain. Jess, another skilled paladin, sidled in through a small gap in the ring, which was quickly closed as it continued to revolve and tear through the enemy.

\"You okay?\" asked Jess, wiping gore off her double-headed battleaxe, exactly her height and twice her weight.

\"Yeah,\" grimaced Drake. Resignedly, he picked his broadsword out of the ground. As he prepared to charge back out though, a longbow archer named Eagle popped in, nursing a arrow in his shoulder. Ripping it out, then applying a spell, it healed instantaneously.

\"How goes the sniping?\" asked Jess dryly, using a shard of ice to hone her axe blade.

\"Not too great. They\'re firing back with more force now, and their crossbows have about the same range as our longbows. And I\'m out of arrows,\" he added, indicating his empty quiver. \"Half of us are just using these now,\" he said, pointing to a spear sticking out of the ground. Picking it up and hefting it, he hurled it with considerable force way up into the air. It came down like a thunderbolt, snuffing out the life of a snarling demon, who squealed and hissed as its life ended.

\"Good shot,\" panted Vord as he dropped in to reload his guns. Few paladins had adapted to the modern world and used modern weapons. Then again, Vord wasn\'t exactly like everyone else. He didn\'t care a whit about what people thought, guns were effective weapons and he had a natural hand for them. Sliding his clips in, he got ready to go back out.

\"Wait!\" called out Drake. \"Sir, I think we\'re taking too much damage. We won\'t last much longer at this rate.\"

\"You\'re right. It\'s a good thing you guys chose to have this party in a deep valley.\" He mumbled something under his breath, and his claymore glowed light blue. He swung it in a slow, wide arc.

A wave of energy emerged, rolling over the battlefield, washing over the paladins, energizing them and healing them of all wounds, while at the same time, inflicting severe damage on the demons, who shrieked in agony as the wave sliced through them. The Bright Wave spell broke down over a few hundred feet, but by then, the paladins were already fighting again.

Vord fired carefully, making every bullet count. When he emptied his last clip of bullets into a demon\'s spitting face, he threw off his guns, and gripping the heavy claymore with both hands, crashed into the thick of the battle, sweeping it up and over, down and around, and in wide circles, causing mayhem and heavy injury.

The demon ranks, now heavily diminished, screamed in fear as the paladin leader came bulling through them like a ball through ninepins. What began as the pride of the Abyss was now no more than a whimpering force that the paladins were destroying with ease.

\"We\'re gonna win!\" exulted Vord as he hacked through three demons simultaneously.

\"Not yet we ain\'t!\" yelled Eagle as he sent arrow after arrow from his last fresh quiver into the hearts of their foes. Firing off his last one, he slung away his quiver and bow and grabbed a long sword from the clasp of a dead companion. Fencing off several swords, he countered furiously, giving as good as he got, slaying several demons. \"See that chap over there? The ice elemental? Trust me, this definitely ain\'t over \'til he says it is!\"

\"He can\'t be that tough!\" shouted Vord as his blade extinguished a few more panicked faces. \"There were a lot of \'em before I arrived, and it seems y\'all put paid to the rest!\"

\"You shoulda seen how many people we lost when we jumped \'em!\" Eagle struck with great force, straight into the gut of a growling demon. \"It took at least fifteen of us to even bring one down! And I think this last one\'s the toughest of \'em all!\" Vord gave the elemental another look.

Made completely of clear blue ice, with razor sharp claws and spikes protruding from his lower arm and shins, and feet the size of banquet tables, standing two stories tall, the ice elemental made a fearsome sight. Its humanoid face had murderous fangs, no nose to speak of and tiny, pitch black eyes that resembled little black stones that children placed on snowmen, creased in a permanent glare. The thick ice that acted as armour looked as though it could survive a wildfire.

Vord grinned. He had faced tougher than this in a raging volcano. \"Leave this to me, mates!\" With a somersault, he landed right in front of the elemental. \"Well now, what do you say to a battle \'twixt me \'n\' you, eh?\" He slowly drew his sharp katana, lethal like death\'s shadow. \"I challenge you to a duel! Winner takes control of this bloodbath. What do you say?\"

With a roar that sounded like the wind whistling through frozen caves, the elemental charged. It moved blurringly fast for a beast of its size. It was on Vord before he knew it. He had only time to slam his claymore into the elemental\'s chest before he was engulfed in a numbing cold grip. He was hurled twenty feet and crashed into a heap of snow. Getting up unsteadily, he faced the elemental.

With huge sweeps of its claws, it would have ripped Vord open if he had not dropped to the blood-encrusted ground and rolled out of the way. Whipping forward with the katana, he severed one of the elemental\'s arms, and then with a swift flurry of slashes, turned it into fine powder. His excitement at this was quickly stifled when the elemental simply grew a new one. With a lightning fast move, the elemental had snatched Vord\'s katana and snapped it in two. Throwing it aside, with Vord\'s claymore still buried in its chest, it jumped at Vord.

Vord dodged with a hairsbreadth to spare. A clip fell onto the ice as he landed awkwardly. Grabbing his assault rifle, he loaded the clip and opened fire on the creature, blasting bullet holes and leaving black marks over its crystalline body. It merely roared in rage, then with a gust of icy wind, froze the gun solid. Disgusted, Vord threw it aside, and was forced to jump out of the way as another gust of wind threatened to turn him into an ice sculpture.

He suddenly remembered something. Before leaving Antarctica, he had filled his armour with octane fuel from his plane. It was hollow, and useful for carrying things. This time, he had attached a hose to it, which ended in a spray nozzle: a makeshift flamethrower. He needed to buy himself some time first, however. Pulling out both tazer and flechette gun, he hurled himself at the beast. Blowing holes through its left arm rendering it cracked and useless from the triangular metal darts, he ducked around the behemoth and slammed the tazer into the small of its back. The electric shock delivered was so strong that it left a smoking hole through the creature, and it stumbled forward in pain.

Vord whipped out the nozzle and pulled the trigger. The octane fuel ignited immediately, blasting out a spray of intense flames, which completely engulfed the creature. Vord felt slightly self-satisfied as he watched the dark shape in the flames disappear. Suddenly, he heard a slight click as his fuel supply went dry and the flames shut off. Worse, the ice elemental had barely been touched. Raising its head and glaring at Vord with its beady little eyes, the elemental roared again, and blew out a storm of snow. Vord threw himself flat to avoid the attack. His mind raced to find a solution.

Suddenly, he remembered his bomb. He had a block of C4 plastic explosive planted in his armour. If he detonated it, this thing would be history. Quickly, Vord frantically pressed the buttons, setting it for a minute. He had to time this properly, or the bomb would blow, killing him and wounding some but nothing else. Waiting a few seconds, when he judged the attack had stopped, he jumped up, and dodging around the giant beast, Vord used its arm as a step, bouncing off the ice limb and landing on his back. Gripping the slippery and cold surface tight, he had to hold on until his bomb detonated. \"Get back, everyone!\" he yelled as a warning. The beeping of the bomb cut the cold dry air clearly.

\"No! Vord, don\'t!\" yelled Drake. He started forward, but a group of demons intercepted him, and he was forced to fight them first.

30 seconds to go...

\"Vord!\" yelled several other paladins as the ice elemental bucked wildly, trying to throw him off.

\"Stay back!\" he said with effort. Holding onto this thing was hard...

20 seconds to go...

\"Vord!\" bellowed Eagle and Drake at the same time. Jess screamed as she crashed through the demons to try and get to Vord. All the paladins were running toward him.

\"No!\" Vord blasted a spell quickly that tossed them all back about 100 feet. All the remaining demons hit the ground. The beeping was speeding up.

15 seconds to go...

Well, this was it.

10 seconds to go...

A concerted scream: \"Vord!!!\" The beeping of the bomb was now at a fevered pitch.

5 seconds...

Vord wondered dimly if the Council would remember this... well, even if they didn\'t, he\'d have a spectacular death. He smiled.

3... 2... 1...

Goodbye, world.

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