[three_fourth]
It was quiet in Quinhalla. Around it, however, was bustling with activity.
Crysania, standing in her tower: You know? It used to be a Full House here.
Dandd nods, sadly.
Crysania: Now everyone seems to be Perfect Strangers. Gimme a Break!
Dandd nods again.
Crysania: Where are our Family Ties?
Dandd: Indeed, Family Matters.
Crysania: Yes! I knew there would be some Growing Pains, but this Mystery Science Theater is Out of This World!
Dandd: A Quantum Leap?
Crysania: Yes! The Bare Essence to all this is no Small Wonder.
Dandd: Oh?
Crysania: Spike, Rain, and Angel changed the dynamic of this place.
Dandd awaited the rest.
Crysania: It was a Different World before them. Don’t get me wrong, I like them, but this is no Unsolved Mystery. I mean, we have a War of the Worlds out there! This Wind of War is Too Close for Comfort. The rivalry between Spike, Rain, and Balreth as to who has the best girl is really gotten out of hand.
Dandd sighed: I sense a Mission Impossible coming.
Crysania: Yep. A Tour of Duty is required! This Romance of the Three Factions must stop!
Dandd: Three’s a Crowd?
Crysania: Code Red?
Dandd: Now I’m Thirsty…
A brief chuckle.
Dandd: Ok, so how do we break the stalemate? Execute Order 66?
Dandd could feel the air twitch about him.
Dandd: How about not…
Dandd: So we have Spike and Jora, who are an immensely popular team.
Crysania: Yeah, the numbers would get ugly, but it would be an Amazing Story.
Dandd: Then we have Rain and Lalandra.
Crysania: Nothing like going where everybody knows my name.
Dandd: Cheers. I mean… and third we have Balreth and Angel. The only faction with Two Officers.
Crysania: Angel’s not ready for this scale yet, not exactly Head of the Class.
Dandd: True, but they have the best facility. The Order of the Arrow has ‘turtled’ up pretty well and breaking in would be Double Trouble.
Crysania: Good thing I’m Crazy like a Fox.
Dandd sighed. He knew it to be true.
Dandd: So, you are heading out soon?
Crysania shook her head.
Crysania: I want to put an end to this, but at the same time I’m only vaguely involved. You and I are in a Twilight Zone here, in the middle of these three.
Dandd: I would rather not record Tales from the Crypt. I like my library.
Crysania paused, sighed, then whispered: Code ALF
Dandd: Really?
Crysania nodded.
Dandd understood. He grabbed some henchman and went off.
In the Heat of the Night, Crysania would have to Moonlight as some sort of MacGyver and invent a solution on the spot.
Crysania found Nyx and filled her in on the news. She nodded and headed off too.
“Together We Stand” thought Crysania.
“These Wizards and Warriors aren’t going to be easy, but sometimes they are the Beauty, and sometimes they are the Beast. It’s a Living…” thought Crysania.
Dandd found Crysania: You are going to be the Greatest Hoolequin Hero.
Crysania slapped him on the arm: Stop with this dramatic crap. I’ll be fine. ALF.
Dandd: I know, I know.
Dandd shuffles off, quickly.
Crysania started to head off, but it was too late.
Roars on the disputed border of Spike and The Arrow’s borders erupted, and the sounds of battle quickly followed.
Crysania moved-out quickly.
Spike’s superior numbers were pushing back men into the Fortress of the Arrow.
Rain saw that Spike’s side was winning, and sent many of his men to attack Spike’s camp.
Angel came out of her fortress and started singing. The Siren call affected many of Spike’s men and they wandered towards her, helpless to the slaughter.
Jora saw Rain’s forces approach and was enraged at the opportunistic nature of the move. She was so enraged, that she reminded everyone that the Curse of the Bear HAD in fact been lifted. Her transformed strength led the defenses and pushed Rain’s men back.
Spike’s men began to fire longbow shots at Angel, and one of them grazed her arm – Causing Balreth to join the fight. Balreth was firing back with Sniper but was finding he simply could not cast the spell fast enough to deal with them. Balreth was last seen grabbing his Norn axe and heading into the fray.
Rain, upon receiving reports that Balreth showed himself, departed to take down his elder rival.
Spike heard that Rain AND Balreth were out, so he grabbed his Bow and Fenrir and headed off.
The battle was amazing. The Walls of Quinhalla were being torn down by three rival factions – none gaining a large advantage other the others.
The Women ensured not a soul got anywhere near the capital of their territory. Their respective ferocities were to be admired.
The three ‘generals’ had found each other. No words were shared, and were all too busy killing each other’s henchmen. Finally, they agreed to move the fight to the Range – No henchmen.
There was no warm-up period. There were arrows, fists, and fire thrown everywhere. The Battle raged on, and they gradually moved towards the Menagerie.
Nyx tried to stop them, but they would not listen. Nyx quickened her pace, resuming her previous task.
They moved towards Death Valley, eventually at the Skid Row entrance.
Balreth was going to knock Rain down Skid Row and handle Spike one-on-one.
Balreth activated blazing speed and shoulder blocked Rain, down the hole. Spike, though, had seen such a tactic coming and very quickly knocked Balreth in afterwards.
Then Spike went pale, for Balreth tumbled down the brief Skid Row and when his enchantment expired he set Rain on fire. The problem, though, is that Balreth also ignited the fumes in Spike’s Alchemy Lab. The resulting explosion leveled the Library, and also knocked over Crysania’s Tower – onto The Fortress of the Arrow.
The fighting had stopped. Nyx and Dandd were reviving people. When all the officers had gathered where Crysania’s Tower used to be, they found no trace of her. They found all of her stuff, what little there was, but no body. As the sun set, they looked around. They had destroyed Quinhalla, burnt it to the ground. The era of Quinhalla Factions was over, Night had Fallen on the Ruins of what was. The Night Court had deemed them Partners in Crime.
Lalandra: Dood! That’s our Bread and Butter we just @#$%ed with.
Spike: Uhh…so now that we’re all drawn together, let’s go on a never ending quest to save our guild leader!
Balreth: Never Ending?
Rain: Save?
Spike: …ok fine, let’s go on a probably short quest to find our guild leader…
Dandd: No need.
He had everyone’s attention.
Dandd: When I last saw her, she said Code ALF
Nyx: Me too.
Lalandra: ALF?
Dandd: Yep. “All Located Forward”
Angel: Forward?
Dandd: Yep. She had me move the library to Paradise City.
Nyx: The Menagerie too.
There was a feeling of loss. In their own ways, everyone became aware that she saw this coming, and prepared for this destruction.
Dandd: so, for this quest… Who’s the Boss?
Everyone immediately pointed Fingers at everyone else.
Balreth to Lalandra: you’re the senior officer here.
Lalandra back to Balreth: no YOU’RE the SENIOR officer here.
Rain grins and puts his hands in the air: I’m not even an officer.
Angel takes a step back: I’ve never even been there before.
Dandd sighs and thinks to himself “You did it, Crysania. You united all of them. United them in not wanting to be party lead…”
Spike, strangely sober: What if she’s not there?
The argument stops.
Lalandra: THAT’S not funny.
The thought of Crysania not waiting for them in Paradise City helps them organize and move out.
“Prophecies had built Quinhalla, Factions had destroyed it. What does Nightfall have in store?” Dandd thought to himself, shuddering with pessimism.
Spike, suddenly, yelled: YOUR MOM!
“Huh?” in surround sound.
Spike: A good way to end any 80’s related conversation…
There was much groaning as they began to leave the ruins behind.
[/three_fourth]
[one_fourth_last]
Episode (34)
15 Nov 10
Notes: Order 66 would come back again. Bye, Crysania!
References: TV Shows [Full House, Perfect Strangers. Gimme a Break, Family Ties, Family Matters, Growing Pains, Mystery Science Theater, Out of This World, Quantum Leap, Bare Essence, Small Wonder, Different World, Unsolved Mysteries, Winds of War, Too Close for Comfort, Tour of Duty, Three’s a Crowd, Code Red, Amazing Story, Cheers, Head of the Class, Double Trouble, Crazy like a Fox, Tales from the Crypt, Alf, In the Heat of the Night, Moonlight, MacGyver, Together We Stand, Wizards and Warriors, Beauty and the Beast, It’s a Living, Greatest American Hero, Night Court, Partners in Crime, Metalocalypse, Drawn Together, Who’s the Boss]
H.G. Wells [War of the Worlds]
Luo Guanzhong [Romance of the Three Kingdoms]
Mountain Dew, Star Wars, Guild History
[/one_fourth_last]