Friday, May 10, 2013

Deleted Scene: Take 12 - In Another Castle (Part 6)


6 ~ Inescapable Fate

The band of misfits made their way up the stairs of the dark tower, wondering how they would ever rescue their long lost friend and defeat the unstoppable Empress Shard.
“Are we there yet?” Christina asked as she sluggishly dragged her feet along in fatigue.
“You asked that five minutes ago,” Misty replied. “Why don’t you just zap us there like you did Jack and Jill?”

“Jester and Anna,” Lui corrected.
“That’s what I said, Joker and Jenna.”
“We’re both right next to you,” Anna mumbled in annoyance. After a sigh, she turned to Jester and asked, “So what’s it take to get their memories back? Or even their normal personalities back…”
“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it will be resolved once we save Hanna.”
“Pretty sure?” Lui asked with a hint of worry.
“42 percent sure.” Noticing Anna’s frown, Jester added, “Don’t sweat it. You got me with you!”
“That’s so reassuring.” Anna’s sarcasm went unnoticed. She suddenly stopped in front of two big, red doors. “Oh hey, we’re here.”

“Do we have a plan?” DJ inquired.
“Find Hanna,” said Lui.
“Defeat Shard,” said Anna.
“Find the exit,” said Misty.
“Save the world,” said Jester.
“Make a giant cupcake out of unicorns and rainbows!” exclaimed Christina. Mixed expressions of confusion, shock, and fear made the following silence slightly uncomfortable.
“Well that escalated quickly.” Anna pointed at the doors. “Maybe we should just go inside and see what happens.”

Christina nodded with a very serious expression and said, “That is either madness or brilliance.”
“It’s remarkable how often those two traits coincide,” a mysterious voice said. Shard stepped out of the shadows of the stairwell.

“SHARD!” Anna drew her sword and Jester’s created balls of electricity in each hand.
The empress made no sudden movement, only walked ever so gracefully through the group and to the doors. Frost formed on the doors and they gently swung open. Raising an eyebrow at the motley crew, Shard asked, “Well aren’t you going to come inside?”

Christina was the first to walk through the entrance with a big grin on her face. “Thanks a lot, you’re not half as mean as they say you are!”
Misty was the next to walk through. “Mighty kind of you,” she said as she passed Shard.
DJ walked through with Lui close behind. DJ gave a nod toward the empress while Lui hid behind his original. Shard smiled politely to all her guests. Once only Anna and Jester were left, the doors slammed shut and froze over.

 “Now that the pleasantries are behind us…” Shard’s polite smile disappeared. She stretched her neck until it popped and cracked her knuckles. “I am pleased you made it through the last challenge where I pretended I was going to kill you by chucking you out a window. I am very happy for your success. I’m throwing a party in honor of your tremendous success. All your friends are invited and there will be cake. And flooding.”

“LIES!” Jester shouted as he attacked Shard first. Sending bolts of lightning at Shard, the electricity hit only to fizzle out. Anna followed with a quick downward slash, which Shard stopped by dropping a block of ice on her attacker. Jester threw a ball of flame at Shard only to watch it get devoured by a wave of water.

“Look,” Shard said calmly. “You’re wasting your time. And believe me, you don’t have a whole lot left to waste. What’s your point anyway? Survival? Well then, the last thing you want to do is hurt me. Not that you can. By the way, your friends are slowly drowning on the other side of those doors. So this isn’t brave. It’s murder.”

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