Austin and Nitesco nervously paced about the throne room, waiting for their compatriots to return. Nitesco stopped, leaned against one of the marble pillars and examined the room. Inferno's throne was rather nondescript, sitting on the back wall, across from the main entrance. On either side of it, two doors allowed a quick exit from the castle, if need be. Brown and yellow banners hung from the pillars, and the floor was a smooth white. Nitesco was sure that Austin would appreciate the simple, yet aesthetically pleasing design if he wasn't working himself into a panic. Gwydion entered the throne room, cradling four swords and a halberd, all newly repaired. Following him were Inferno and Samurai, who wore dire expressions.

"Inferno, Samurai," Austin greeted them. "Are our troops in position?"

"Yes." The king drew a small map out of his side ouch, unfolding it and showing to his co-commanders. They glanced across it; the city was in the middle, and waves of colored lines were drawn around it.

"So, what's the plan?" Nitesco asked.

"We've assigned Crossharese commanders to our legions," Samurai responded. "We felt they'd feel more comfortable taking orders from some of their own. We've taken some of the men who fought at Emberald and put them with your troops, here." He pointed at a particularly dense area of lines.

"The city's defenses are weakest there. I will join you in leading the defense."

"As will I." Inferno stepped forward, already eager for a fight.

"Hold on," Gwydion said. "Celtic's out for your head. The entire goal of this operation is to defend the city, but the people look up to you. Victory will be meaningless if you die. You should stay here, in the castle."

"I concur," Austin said. "You must remain alive, if not for strategic or political reasons, then to show Celtic that we are stronger than he thinks."

Samurai placed a hand on Inferno's shoulder. "It'll be fine. The men won't think any less of you if you stay here, nor will we."

"Very well," Inferno grumbled. "I shall remain behind, but I protest!"

All of a sudden, a scout burst into the throne room, panting and out of breath.

"It's Celtic!" He sputtered. "We spotted some of his forces just outside the vinery!"

"Then there's no time to lose," Nitesco said. "Come, my friends! Today we defend Crosshares!"

When they arrived, the battle had already begun, though it was no more than a skirmish at that point. The Crosshares soldiers were well-entrenched, and volleys of arrows were traded between each side, a show of force rather than a tactical maneuver.

"What's the plan?" Samurai turned to his fellows.

Austin stroked his chin. "There appears to be a small break in between each volley of arrows. They're likely not rotating their archers like we are, and if we can strike within that window, we can inflict heavy casualties."

Gwydion furrowed his brow. "Hold on. Celtic relies extensively on artillery and siege equipment during battles. He's likely moving them around our entrenchments and using the archers as a distraction."

"So we split our forces." Nitesco said. "If we order a direct attack, we can draw some of the forces defending the artillery into the main fields. That will leave the siege equipment vulnerable, and we can destroy both of his forces in one strike."

Samurai nodded. "You wait here. I'll rile up the men."

Samurai stood upon a tall rock, making sure that he was just below the reach of their enemies' arrows before raising his fist in the air.

"Brothers and sisters! Today we find ourselves under attack from the disreputable tyrant Celtic and his sadistic cronies! We cannot allow this city to fall, lest the last bastion of order and peace fall to darkness!" Inspired, the men began cheering.

"Celtic is a vile trickster. He is likely moving his backup forces behind the forests to take the city. On my command, all Villainian and Gunnian soldiers will follow me and my fellow co-commanders through the forests. The rest of you will follow Colonel Antred into the fields. Together, we will drive the tyrant back, and we will show our foes that we are not a nation to be trifled with!"

Another loud wave of cheers. Another volley of arrows narrowly missed Samurai's head.

"We will win this day! Soldiers, follow me!"

He stepped down from the rock and the men, now bloodthirsty and eager, followed behind him. Austin, Gwydion and Nitesco caught up to him.

"Did I do well?" He asked.

"Oh, yes. You were almost as good as me," Nitesco responded.

They chuckled, then slowly entered the forest. They crept around the trees, trying to locate Celtic's artillery. Sure enough, on the other side of the forest, concealed from most flanks' views, several soldiers were moving cannons up to the city walls.

Samurai stood, raising his halberd above his head. He paused dramatically.

"Charge!" He howled. The men shrieked like banshees and sprinted down the hills.

They were met by an explosion of a thick yellow gas. In the cloud, he saw the men writhe and gasp for air, contorting on the ground as they clawed at their throats. At last, death claimed them.

The remaining forces stopped and doubled back, trying to get away from the chaos unfolding in front of them. Celtic's men charged through the haze, their faces covered with a thick cloth.

Despite having the high ground, the Villainian soldiers were quickly overwhelmed by the charging Night's Watch forces. Some fled back through the forests, but others tried in vain to mount a defense.

"No! No! Damn that bastard! Damn his tricks!" Samurai screamed, cleaving the arm off of a particularly inexperienced soldier as he did so.

"It's no use!" Austin cried. "We must double back to the castle!"

Nitesco looked at him angrily. "We can't just leave our men to die!"

"If we don't leave, we'll die with them!" Gwydion countered.

"Then die you shall!" a voice exclaimed. Gwydion swung around, fear imprinted on his countenance. Behind him stood Jokey, mask pulled over his face, dressed in sleek black armor.

"You like the new armor? Maker fixed it up for me. Speaking of, she's wanted to meet you in person since you two met at Guns N' Roses." He laughed teasingly and turned his attention away from Gwydion.

"Ah, it seems my friends have arrived."

Three knights slowly advanced up the hill, each holding different, uniquely made weapons but all wearing identical, ornately detailed armor. The leveled their weapons at the commanders.

"And who might these fine gentlemen be?" Austin sarcastically inquired.

"The products of a new program Celtic made, just for you. He calls them the Night Guard. Some of Yukon's private guard, repurposed and trained by yours truly. Each one is more than capable of taking you on." He nodded to them.

"You have your orders. Bring the blacksmith in alive. Kill the rest."

Each one of the Night Guard lunged at a different commander. Samurai whirled around, trying to disable the one going for Austin, but Jokey cut him off before he could do anything. Samurai steadied himself, watching as his friends fled into the forests.

"Aww, your friends have left you to die!" Jokey laughed tauntingly as he charged, but each one of his whirling strikes was deflected by Samurai's broad, sweeping parries.

"I can't tell you how long I've waited for this, my dear friend!" Jokey swept at the bodyguard's legs, but he shifted backwards just in time.

"You talk too much." He struck Jokey in the chest with the blunt end of his weapon, sending him backwards. He quickly lunged back at Samurai, catching his gauntlet on the edge of Samurai's blade as he forced him against a tree.

Up close, Samurai could see the metal workings of Jokey's prosthetic. He looked back at Jokey.

"Nice hand," he taunted him. "Want the other to match?"

"You're welcome to try!" Jokey tried to go for Samurai's throat, but was repelled.

As their duel continued, Nitesco struggled against the Night Guard further into the forest. All of his attempts to close the distance between them were interrupted by his opponent's large spear. If he could just close the distance, he would be in business. But he couldn't close the distance.

The soldier lunged, barely missing Nitesco's eye but taking a chunk out of his ear. He rolled away and recovered, ready to quickly parry his opponent. The Guard, however, had gotten the spear stuck in a patch of thorns, and struggled to remove it.

An idea came into Nitesco's head. He grinned.

The Night Guard lunged again at Nitesco. Nitesco sidestepped it, but instead of rolling away, he grabbed it and yanked it forward. His opponent moved with it, and his stomach found itself on Nitesco's sword. The young commander wrenched it out of his opponent and ran off to help his friend.

Austin was having an equally difficult time. His opponent was a fencer, and every one of Austin's strikes was perfectly deflected. The Night Guard's offense was also impeccable, and the veteran had a hard time keeping up with him.

He felt a searing pain in his hip, finding that the edge of a rapier had struck him there. He stumbled to the ground and saw his opponent raise his blade to finish him off.

At the last moment, Nitesco drew his blade across the Guard's throat, and he collapsed in a heap. Austin breathed a sigh of relief.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?"

"I was a little busy too, you know." Nitesco extended a hand and helped Austin up.

"Do you know where Gwydion and Samurai are?"

Austin shook his head. "No." He winced.

"Are you hurt?"

"Not severely. Come, we must find the others."

They found Gwydion in combat with the last Night Guard. She swung wildly at him, two short blades keeping him off-balance. Despite this, he never let his guard down, receiving only glancing blows from his opponent.

Gwydion ducked under another swing and backed up against a tree. An idea suddenly struck him, and he reached for his hand cannon.

He brandished the weapon at the Night Guard, who visibly flinched and staggered at the sight of the weapon. Instead of firing it, he swung his sword upwards, lopping off her arm. She collapsed to the ground.

"Wow," said Gwydion, looking at the now-severed arm. "Looks like my weapon really came in handy."

The Night Guard groaned in agony.

"You know, you should consider yourself lucky. Not many people get to witness my signature dis-arming technique."

The Night Guard groaned even louder, writhing in both physical and mental pain.

"I'll give you credit, though. This has probably been one of the most challenging fights I've been in, hands-down—"

"Please," the Night Guard begged, "just kill me already."

The blacksmith obliged, ending the fight with a clean stab to the heart.

Gwydion looked up and around. His friends ran, or in Austin's case, limped, down the small hill, weapons out. Nitesco frowned, disappointed. "Pity. I thought we were going to save the day."

Austin grimaced again. "And now, I suppose, we'll go find Samurai?"

"No. I'll take you back to the entrenchments," Gwydion said. "Nitesco will go help Samurai." He turned to Nitesco.

"Are you alright with that?"

He was already gone. Gwydion shrugged, looped Austin's arm around his neck and began the trek back to the city's defenses.

Nitesco sprinted through the forest, finding that Samurai had held his own against Jokey. Both seemed weary, their movements slow and the pauses in the fighting somewhat lengthy, but they carried on.

The young Rosian howled and rushed at Jokey. Jokey cartwheeled away, but Samurai knocked him to the ground. The assassin stood again.

"I take it my minions have been dealt with?" He coughed, the raspy sound amplified by the mask he wore.

"More or less." Nitesco tauntingly grinned. Infuriated, Jokey swung at him, but his tonfa was knocked from his hand.

"I see we did a number on you at Guns N' Roses. The Jokey I saw before would have never let that happen."

"Don't get too cocky, kid." Samurai wheezed, amused and exhausted. "I softened him up for you." He turned to Jokey.

"Shall you finish him, or shall I?" Samurai asked.

Nitesco shrugged. "You did the work. I say you should do it."

Beneath his helmet, Samurai smiled. "Very well. I shall- hey."

Jokey had taken the opportunity to retrieve a small firework from his pouch and light it. He wheezed triumphantly and let it go, watching with satisfaction as it exploded and illuminated the cool evening air.

"A little trick I learned from Peter Nachbar. Reinforcements should be here any second now."

Jokey didn't even finish his sentence before soldiers came bounding through the trees behind him. He collapsed against the tree, prying his mask off as he did so.

"Say hello to Inferno for me."

The two were off, sprinting away as fast as their legs could carry them. After some time, they reached the entrenchments, which were now filled with several bodies.

Austin was sitting down, his would being attended to by a combat medic while Gwydion paced nervously to and fro. Upon seeing Nitesco and Samurai, he brightened up.

"My friends! Were you able to defeat Jokey?"

They shook their heads sadly. Gwydion resumed his pacing.

At last, Austin stood, his wound stitched up as best as the medic was able. "We must get back to the castle. We fight a losing battle."

Samurai looked around and sighed. "Very well. Follow me. There are a few secret passages into the city."

The four moved with haste towards the castle, prepared to mount a final, desperate defense.

Inferno sat in his throne room, staring out the window into the night. The only sources of light outside were the last rays of the setting sun and the fires in the fields started by wayward flaming arrows.

The palace was deathly silent. Most of his private guard were either on the front lines or manning the walls. The rest of the guardsmen, either too old or inexperienced, were posted near the passageways out of the city, ready to guide the people out of harm's way.

He heard footsteps outside his door. A single pair. Was it one of his friends returning with news of the fight? Was it one of Celtic's men, sent here to assassinate him? He stood up, ready to greet whoever entered.

The door opened. It was Nachbar.

"Hello, Inferno." The scoundrel said.

Inferno responded by drawing his sword. Peter held his hands up in an effort to placate him.

"Easy, easy. I didn't come to kill you. I just came to pay my respects, to thank you."

"Thank me?" Inferno asked, incredulous. "What reason do you have to thank me?"

"Because of you, Celtic cannot kill me. Before, I was nothing but a tool to him, something to be discarded when no longer needed. But you, you have inspired dissidence in an entire Subreddit. You have created zealots, rebels and insurrectionists. And your sacrifice will galvanize them. Celtic will need a scoundrel like me, a spymaster, to root out these dissidents. Because of you, I am indispensable. Because of you, I get to live."

Inferno sighed, a little sadly. "Is that why you approached me in White Rose, to turn me against Celtic?"

Nachbar nodded. "I was also the one who warned ANGQ at Pollination. I incited them so that you would turn on Celtic. My sincerest apologies for that." He shrugged, an empty gesture of contrition.

Inferno sighed again. He felt no malice, no spite, no sadness. Just resignation. A strange emptiness. The room fell silent once again as he returned his gaze out the window.

"You know you have the power to flee at any time, right?" Nachbar pointed out the obvious.

"Yes. But this is my home. My people. My responsibility. I love my homeland, and I will fight to the death to keep it safe."

Nachbar smiled, somewhat smug but also a little sad. He walked over to the door next to the throne, through which he could escape into the city.

"Very admirable, Inferno. But also foolish."

Inferno turned to look at him. He scrutinized Nachbar, absorbing every detail he could.

"I would not be so quick to judge, Peter. You too, will die protecting what you love."

Nachbar laughed darkly. "We'll see about that."

He vanished, and Inferno was left alone once more.

Gwydion, Austin, Samurai and Nitesco entered the throne room, sweating and short of breath. "We've got reports from the battlefield," the blacksmith said.

Inferno nodded. "What's the situation?"

"It's dire across the board. Our platoons are slowly being overwhelmed. The enemy's numbers are too great. I estimate that we've got an hour before the first section of defenses is routed. It'll all be downhill from there."

"No good news? Advances? Opportunities?"

"None, except that our scouts report that the enemy still hasn't discovered the secret passages out of the city."

The room was filled with uncomfortable silence for a moment before Gwydion spoke. "Listen, guys, I hate to say it, but I have to recommend that we—"

"I know what you're going to recommend," Austin interrupted, "and I have to agree. We need to save what we can." He sighed. "Organize a retreat. We're going to pull our forces and as many civilians as possible out of the city. If our information is good, we can make an escape."

Another second of silence.

"Damn it!" Nitesco shouted. "I'm so sick of losing!"

"This is all we can do," said Austin. He turned to Inferno, whose face had taken a stoic expression.

"So, this is it then?" said Inferno. "You're leaving?"

"We don't have a choice. I'm sorry, Inferno. We can't hold Crosshares. Believe me, under normal circumstances I'd defend the city to the last man. But we've lost too much already, and there's too much at stake."

Inferno sighed and placed a hand on his hand. "I understand. You have to do what you have to do."

Samurai stepped forward and placed a hand on his liege's shoulder. "Will you come with us?"

Inferno chuckled bitterly. "No. No, I can't run anymore. I'll have to face them eventually; there's no sense in delaying the inevitable. Better to do it here, in my home, on my terms. It ends here, today."

Austin opened his mouth to object but couldn't find the words he needed. He looked to Gwydion and Nitesco. Gwydion stood somberly. Nitesco wouldn't meet his eyes. Seeing an attempt to dissuade Inferno from going down with the ship would be fruitless, Austin resigned.

"Very well," he said. "Gwydion, gather some men and organize the retreat. Nitesco, you're with me; we'll see if we can do slow the advance of Celtic's forces. And, Inferno…" he paused.

"I'm sorry for the grief I've caused you. I hope I can make up for it someday."

Inferno gave a small grin. "You can make up for it by protecting my people and murdering Celtic, in that order," he said. He motioned toward the door. "Godspeed, ANGQ."

Austin nodded. He gave the order to move out and held the door open as everyone exited the throne room. As ANGQ left, Inferno grabbed Samurai's arm.

"Samurai. Wait."

The bodyguard turned to Inferno, who was looking rather sadly at the ground. He looked up, tears in his eyes.

"Thank you. You've been at my side through everything that's happened in this war. I am glad that, through everything we've suffered and everything we've lost, I've had you at my side."

Samurai choked back tears. "The feeling is mutual, my liege."

"Please, Samurai. No matter what happens, don't remember me as your liege. Remember me as your friend."

"That I can do." He shook Inferno's hand, a final sign of brotherhood, before turning to leave.

"One more thing, Samurai," he said. "Tell them I went down fighting. I want them to know, to remember me that way. Tell them I went down fighting."

"As you wish, my friend," said Samurai. With that, he exited. The door closed with a bang, and once more Inferno found himself alone in his throne room. There were no courtiers, no citizens, no patricians, no guards. Just him and the seat of his kingdom. At least, what was left of it.

For the next hour, Inferno sat on his throne and waited in quiet thought. He went through a flurry of emotions. Inferno felt sadness for the fate of his nation, regret for his failure to save it, and pride for what he had done and what he was about to do. And as he thought of the army currently working to save as much of Crosshares as possible, he also felt something unexpected: hope.

He detected somebody's presence outside the door to his chamber. Was this it? Had his time finally come? He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to face his doom.

The sounds of distant fighting grew closer. When roughly an hour had passed, it practically stopped. Inferno sat in dead silence. Soon, that silence was broken by the sound of his door being crashed open.

Celtic himself, flanked by his elite guards, entered the throne room with weapons drawn. In response, Inferno rose and drew his sword.

From behind Celtic, a familiar face revealed itself. Grand General Chaos Vulpix of Arkos and Nuts and Dolts. Upon meeting Inferno's steely gaze, he averted his eyes.

"Inferno." Celtic growled. "Your judgement is at hand."

"So it seems," Inferno said placidly.

The tyrant turned to Vulpix.

"Say your piece and let us be done with this."

Vulpix looked up at Inferno. They locked eyes. Inferno's stoic expression softened. Vulpix blinked and looked away.

"Nothing needs to be said, my liege."

Celtic brandished his axe. "Very well. Come, Inferno. Let us finish this."

Inferno complied. He jumped into the fray, blocking and swinging and dodging and stabbing. A few of Celtic's guards fell.

Celtic prepared himself, raising his axe overhead to finish his rival off. Inferno saw an opening and poised to strike.

He felt a blade enter his stomach. He looked down, trailing up a red-robed arm until he met a familiar pair of eyes.

A tear trailed down Vulpix's cheek. Inferno sputtered and collapsed into his arms. The general held him on his back.

"I'm sorry," he choked. "I'm sorry." Inferno met his gaze one last time, and choked out his final absolution:

"I forgive you."

And in Vulpix's arms, he expired.

A silence passed over the hall. What remained of Celtic's guard stood and looked at them. Vulpix could barely hold himself together.

Celtic walked over to Inferno's body. He stared at it, as if to make sure he was dead.

"Good riddance." He spat on Inferno's corpse and walked out of the throne room, his guardsmen close behind.

The general picked up Inferno's body, walked over to the throne and set it there. He bowed his head, a final respect, and left.

And once more, silence fell over the empty hall.