Chapter 89: The Resistance

The forest around the rebellion camp had become a battlefield.

Burning corpses littered the treeline.

Black blood soaked the dirt.

The smell of smoke mixed with rotting flesh.

Dozens of nightmare creatures had been driven back, but the survivors remained hidden beyond the darkness.

Watching.

Waiting.

The massive bear captain lowered his revolver.

“That was too close.”

L.W. nodded.

“It always is.”

The defenders began reloading weapons and dragging monster corpses away from the perimeter.

Gene stood beside Selene as the group prepared for another attack.

Selene frowned.

Something bothered her.

Gene noticed immediately.

“What?”

She glanced toward the distant woods.

“I think I can help.”

Gene smiled.

“You already have.”

“No.”

She shook her head.

“I mean really help.”

Gene waited.

Selene crossed her arms.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“That’s usually dangerous.”

She elbowed him.

“The summons.”

“What about them?”

“We can summon things you idiot! Also we have weapons.”

Gene tilted his head.

Selene gestured toward the battlefield.

“I want to try something new, I think I have a new view on fantasy summons.”

Gene nodded slowly.

She wasn’t wrong.

Most of her summons came from fantasy.

Dragons.

Knights.

Magic.

Heroes.

Things that belonged in traditional fantasy.

“But this world isn’t traditional fantasy anymore.”

“No. It really isn’t.”

She looked toward the distant forest.

Toward the darkness.

Toward the nightmares.

“I was wondering if my ideas were missing something.”

Gene smiled.

“The edge?”

Selene froze.

Then pointed at him.

“Exactly.”

Gene chuckled.

Selene closed her eyes.

Thinking.

Everything she’d learned since meeting Gene flashed through her mind.

The Nightmare Hotel.

The Caretaker.

Jesse Belle.

Mother Sarah.

The cult.

The Hollow King.

The Dreamseer world.

The yellow gem.

The corrupted creatures.

Everything.

Most importantly…

She remembered that things weren’t always what they appeared to be.

Heroes could become monsters.

Monsters could become heroes.

Fantasy could become horror.

Darkness wasn’t always evil.

Light wasn’t always good.

The line between them was much thinner than she once believed.

A smile slowly appeared.

Gene immediately recognized that smile.

“Athena. Please open the portable summoning platform.”

She approached the summoning interface Athena projected for her.

Then she began writing.

Not a creature.

Not a summon.

A weapon.

Something uniquely hers.

Something born from fantasy.

Yet touched by horror.

Magic symbols appeared in the air.

Ancient runes floated regally.

Dragon language grumbled roughly.

Nightmarish script spun around her.

Dreamseer glyphs flew out from her back.

All merging together.

The air vibrated as the surrounding area grew thick.

Energy gathered around her.

L.W. stared.

“What is she doing?”

Gene grinned.

“Something incredible… hopefully.”

The symbols grew brighter.

Brighter.

Brighter.

Then with a wet slurping pop, a simple looking staff appeared.

The weapon floated in midair.

Everyone stared.

The staff was simple but also oddly beautiful.

A polished black crystal formed its core.

Silver branches wrapped around its length.

Glowing blue runes floated beneath the crystals core.

At the top sat a crown-like structure surrounding a floating orb.

Inside the orb swirled fire.

Then ice.

Lightning.

Wind.

Shadow.

Light.

Every element rotated together in a line of harmony.

Athena immediately scanned it.

⸻

MASTER’S TWILIGHT STAFF

Classification: Dreamseer Artifact

Capabilities:

• Master Fire Magic

• Master Ice Magic

• Master Barrier Magic

• Master Wind Magic

• Master Arcane Magic

Danger Rating: High

Recommendation:

Do not allow Lilith unsupervised access.

⸻

Gene nodded.

“Good recommendation.”

Selene picked up the staff.

Power surged through her body.

The orb brightened.

She smiled.

“Oh.”

The smile widened.

“Oh this is nice.”

Gene took a step backward.

L.W. did too.

Experience had taught both men something important.

When a woman smiled like that after obtaining massive magical power…

Everyone nearby should prepare for property damage.

Selene aimed toward the forest.

A cluster of nightmare creatures emerged from the darkness.

Perfect timing.

The staff glowed.

A blazing sphere formed before her.

The fireball alone was larger than a carriage.

Several defenders stared.

One slowly removed his hat.

“Go.”

Selene pointed.

The fireball launched.

BOOOOOOM!

The projectile crashed into the approaching monsters.

The explosion flattened trees.

Flames engulfed everything.

Nightmare creatures shrieked.

Some of them burned.

A few of them had melted to each other in a screaming pile of bubbly goo.

Then Selene raised the staff again.

Blue light erupted this time.

An ice storm descended.

The burning creatures froze instantly.

Several became crystal statues.

Others were trapped inside massive pillars of ice.

One creature desperately wiggled inside its ice pillar as it tried to escape.

The fire inside of its body had continued burning.

Most of the frozen monsters began cooking from the inside.

The results were horrifying.

Bodies burst.

Flesh liquified.

Blood boiled.

Chunks of half cooked half frozen meat exploded outward.

The battlefield transformed into a grotesque landscape of steaming gore and the smell of cooked meat.

Gene winced as he looked at the chaos.

“Wow.”

L.W. nodded.

“Remind me never to upset that one.”

“Same.”

The nightmare creatures continued advancing.

Hundreds at first.

Soon there were thousands.

An entire tide of darkness.

Selene planted the staff into the ground.

The orb blazed bright with a rainbow of colors.

Ancient runes erupted outward.

The earth trembled.

A massive dome of shimmering energy formed around the rebellion camp.

The barrier expanded.

Larger.

Larger.

Larger.

Until the entire camp sat protected beneath a glowing shield.

The nightmare army slammed into it.

Nothing happened.

They attacked again.

The shield didn’t budge.

Again.

Nothing.

The creatures began roaring in frustration.

L.W.’s eyes widened.

The giant bear captain looked genuinely stunned.

“That’s…”

His voice trailed off.

The barrier held.

The nightmare army couldn’t even scratch it.

Then a whistle echoed through the forest.

A strange sound.

Sharp.

Piercing.

Every nightmare creature froze.

The whistle sounded again.

Immediately the monsters turned.

Without hesitation.

Without protest.

The entire army vanished quickly into the darkness.

Just like that.

Silence returned.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

Finally L.W. laughed.

A deep booming laugh.

“We survive to fight another day!”

The bear captain nodded.

The defenders began cheering.

Some collapsed from exhaustion.

Others laughed hysterically.

A few cried.

Selene finally released the staff.

The barrier remained active.

Athena informed her it would continue functioning until dawn.

The rebellion members quickly approached.

L.W. offered a respectful bow.

“Thank you.”

The bear captain followed.

“You saved a lot of lives tonight.”

Selene blushed slightly.

Gene grinned.

She still wasn’t used to people thanking her.

The giant bear stepped forward.

“Speaking of introductions.”

He pointed toward the others.

“We never properly introduced ourselves.”

The woman carrying the sniper rifle adjusted her hat.

“I’m Maid Marian.”

Gene immediately blinked.

“The Maid Marian?”

She smirked.

“The one and only hun.”

Gene looked delighted.

“Robin Hood?”

She groaned.

“Please Don’t start.”

The others laughed.

Apparently this happened often.

Next stepped forward the woman wearing the crimson cloak.

Gene paused.

Something felt familiar.

Then he remembered.

“Wait.”

He pointed.

“Crimson Hood?”

The woman smiled.

“That’s me.”

Gene blinked.

“Did you lose a journal.”

She nodded.

“Im guessing you found it in the town.”

Selene looked surprised.

“You wrote it?”

Crimson Hood sighed.

“Back when we still had a town.”

Silence followed.

The loss still hurt.

Gene changed the subject.

“Were you related to Red Riding Hood?”

The woman burst out laughing.

Several others joined her.

“No.”

She shook her head.

“That was just my nickname when I was younger.”

The woman patted his shoulder.

Next came the armored pig.

The massive warrior stepped forward proudly.

“Babe.”

Gene froze.

The pig crossed his arms.

“Co-captain of the Pig Legion.”

Gene immediately looked around.

“Pig Legion?”

Babe nodded.

“We used to have two captains.”

“What happened?”

Babe smiled.

“Still do.”

He pointed north.

“Wilbur’s currently scouting Hearts Crossing.”

Gene immediately laughed.

Of course.

Babe and Wilbur.

Naturally.

The final captain stepped forward.

The scarecrow tipped his hat.

“Just call me Scarecrow.”

Gene nodded.

“Simple. I like simple.”

The introductions completed, the group began moving.

The rebellion camp wasn’t actually the base of the rebellion.

Merely an outpost.

L.W. led them toward a hidden bunker concealed beneath tangled roots.

Massive steel doors opened.

The group descended underground.

The bunker stretched surprisingly deep.

Concrete tunnels.

Steel walls.

Generators.

Storage rooms.

Radio stations.

Sleeping quarters.

Entire sections filled with weapons.

Gene whistled.

“You’ve been busy.”

Babe grunted.

“We’ve had a few years to expand.”

As they traveled deeper underground, voices echoed through the halls.

Radio chatter.

Constant radio chatter.

Reports came in, Reconnaissance updates, and death toll updates.

Then one message cut through everything.

Static crackled.

A frightened voice spoke.

“Home base! We have confirmation!!”

The bunker went silent.

The operator continued.

“The Queen has left the castle.”

Several people froze.

Others immediately started moving.

Running to their assigned stations.

Preparing for… something.

L.W.’s expression darkened.

The bear captain cursed.

Marian loaded her rifle.

Gene exchanged a glance with Selene.

Neither liked the reactions they were seeing.

Not one bit.

Finally Gene spoke.

“Who is this Queen?”

Nobody answered immediately.

That alone was concerning.

Eventually L.W. sighed.

Then he looked toward Gene.

Toward Selene.

Toward the distant tunnels leading deeper into the bunker.

“She is one of the worst nightmares in this entire world.”

The room became silent again as the radio crackled.

Another frightened report came through.

“We have visual confirmation.”

Pause.

Then:

“She’s heading your way. I repeat! She is heading your way!”

Nobody spoke.

Nobody laughed.

Nobody moved.

The members of the resistance looked utterly afraid.