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CHAPTER 4: RETURN TO WRAITHMARSH
The next morning during shooting practice, Will hands the king a set of new pistols, even larger than the dual .50 caliber revolvers he has used. "Here you go your majesty, I got something that'll make hamburger outta anything you hit." claims Will "Holy shit. That's one big gun." says the king "That ain't even half of it, son. You can keep your .50's but you pull this little son of a bitch out, son those demons will bow to the king." adds Will. The king tests the monster handgun and buys it and all the ammo the king can carry. After practice, the king needs to get to his chambers for a short rest. After a nap the king feels rejuvenated. He washes up and goes outside to view the team trainer.
As the King watches his team he gets a call from the precinct. Dyson, Kenzi and Bo need the king to help track down a fugitive underfae with the ability to incinerate anyone by touch. The king inspects the evidence. "A Cherufe, responsible for the annihilation of Pompeii. Something that powerful is bad news. Iceman you're definitely coming with us on this job." says the King as he marches down to the communications room where Fiona is already tracking the Cherufe. "Alright Fiona, have you found this thing?" asks the king of his chief communications specialist. "Having a lot of activity around the British Isles. Wait, the scanner is picking up a reading. The Cherufe is in Albion. Oh god, it's operating in the ruins of Oakvale." says Fiona. "Wraithmarsh, damn it." the King says as he starts getting angry.
"No one goes anywhere until we get fully prepared to fight this thing. I'm not trecking the team through a ghost filled swamp after a demon of that size unprepared." orders the king. "Dyson, Hale, uses all of your contacts to find out more about this fae. Theresa and Reaver, get back to Albion and rally the townspeople and guards and any remaining heroes. We'll need them. Avoid the marsh at all cost. Bo, Kenzi, Trick and Lauren, talk to the Ash. See what resources he may have to go up against the Cherufe. If needed talk to The Morrigan. I know that this is the queen of the Dark Fae, but I want all the resources I can get on this one. Dawn, Faith, and Spike, Go out into the field with the Warehouse agents. I got a tip on several artifacts that could be useful. Giles and Angel, aid anyway you can in the research of exactly what this thing is and what it can do. Adam, you and the build team build more of your supped up fire extinguishers, stronger that what you built for the 'fire vs. ice' experiments. Rest of your help anyway you can" The king goes into town flanked by his escorts and armed guards. He sends Trish and Amy into the banks to clean them out as Velvet and the guards rob the stores and restaurants.
The king is at the center of town preparing to lay down the law to the people. "People, as commander of this state, I hear by draining all remaining resources by robbing all banks and businesses within the county. I do not wish to have to do this, but I need to finance a critical mission that will definitely need extra funding to buy and build the necessary armaments to fight a new threat. More dangerous than any of us have seen before. My people are in town scouring for anything that will prove useful. I implore you all, stand with your king, fight with me. Offer your hand and you will be given the tools and power to defend yourselves. JOIN ME!" The crowd erupts in a raucous roar of applause and cheers. The townspeople come up and stand by the king, offering themselves to the king. The king casts a spell that transforms people into vampires instantly. They bow down at the kings feet. "Go, my people. Take the fight to the Masked Man. THE PHOENIX WILL RISE AGAIN."
King finishes his speech and the crowd cheers, and dozens line up to have the king to turn them. Soon the king has a whole new army of thralls. The King's escorts and guards return the money and valuables to the castle and the king follows with his new army. At the castle the king pulls out maps of Albion and Wraithmarsh to study the region. "All the reports of the creature seem to be coming from near or in the cemetery on the edge of the village." says Fiona over the intercom. "Tell Theresa and Reaver to return. We have to make a plan together and go after this thing." orders of the king. The whole of the team gathers in the war room. Maps are laid out on the table along with files filled with witness reports, images and accounts of damages the Cherufe has caused.
The king gathers his strongest fighters and goes through the plan until he seems convinced it will work. The team raids the armory and head out to the back lot of the property where the king has a Cullis Gate set up. One by one, they stand on the Cullis and are transported to Albion, they take a minute to figure out that they are on the shore of Bower Lake, an ancient and historic place that once was the sight of the Guild of Heroes, Albion's training school for heroes. Theresa stresses that the Cullis Gate to Wraithmarsh is atop Brightwood Tower. So the King allows Theresa leads them through the woods beyond Bower Lake towards the entrance to Brightwood. After a few miles the king spots the tower. They climb the tower until they reach the Gate near the top. The Gate teleports them to the haunted ruins of Oakvale. The king leads his troops through the marsh keeping alert for the Cherufe. They pass the remains of the Shadow Court and take the path on the other side going up towards the cemetery, where all the reports were originating from.
The King is on the bridge and looks down and out over the region scanning for the Cherufe. Through the fog, he sees the flames and smoke and leads his team down to the site. Through the swamp, weeds and forest the team track the Cherufe, following the obvious trail of destruction. The team tracks the monster to a huge tomb. Juggernaut charges the door of the tomb bursting it open with his head. The team searches the tomb looking for clues, evidence or anything else useful. Suddenly they hear screams and they follow them deeper into the crypt and find several villagers trapped by the Cherufe. Nightcrawler quickly teleports them out back to safety as the rest of the team move in to combat the monster.
Storm turns the crypt into an ice cave to chill down the Cherufe. The monster roars and tries to flee but Iceman puts up a wall of ice over the exits. Faith shoots a frozen bolt from her crossbow into the Cherufe's chest, then everyone armed with a gun shoots the creature with frozen ammunition, further weakening it. King and Reaver both land a shot each in the Cherufe's head, then Iceman blasts the creature with a blast of ice freezing it solid, allowing Black Whirlwind to hack the Cherufe into nothing with his axes. The team celebrates the victory as Zedd and Pyro melt the ice so everyone can leave.
The King leads his team out of the crypt to the cheers of the Albion people. They leave the continent by the nearby Cullis Gate back to Castle Phoenix to rest after the mission. King showers then goes to relax on the couch. "Holy shit that was a pain in the ass. Next time the damn place just gets bombed. No more going through a marsh or haunted tomb" yells the tired and frustrated king. The next few days letters and gifts to flood the king's mailboxes from the grateful Albion townspeople including several offers for marriage from almost every girl in the land. The king responds to the letters stating he is through with marriage but appreciates the offers and the gratitude and affection. The king realizes how late it is and retires to his chambers for the night. He takes his bed and quickly goes into a deep sleep to rest for a further day and a new mission.
