Chapter 1: Fall of the Lich King
High atop the frigid, jagged spire of Icecrown stood the champions of the Alliance and Horde. Tirion Fordring raised the Ashbringer high and pointed the shining blade at the Lich King. Frostmourne lay shattered at Arthas' feet and countless souls were pouring out of the broken sword.
"NO MORE ARTHAS! No more lives will be consumed by your hatred!" The paladin roared triumphantly as the heroes advanced. Arthas felt the souls angrily assail him as he levitated off the ground and spun in a circle.
However, one soul in particular flew inside of him. It was his own soul; and for the first time in many years he felt cold. The prince's sanity and perception began to come back to him as his life flashed before his eyes. He relived every mistake he had made that brought about this tragedy he called his life.
Time seemed to all but stop as he glanced around at the mighty heroes surrounding him. Many orcs, tauren, and blood elves were prevalent…but he couldn't help but notice the faces of his fellow human paladins and the Forsaken who were undoubtedly once humans of Lordaeron. Tirion's eyes shined with furious might as cold sweat covered his body.
'Am I going to die?' he asked himself as everything continued to move in slow motion. Arthas actually felt a sense of disbelief that this moment was real. 'Maybe I deserve this…for killing my father and my kingdom. But it can't end like this!'
Many spells and weapons flew towards him in a final blow. Time sped up again as Arthas felt every single attack hit him relentlessly until finally a devastating slash from the Ashbringer brought him to the ground. His helmet flew off his head and smashed on the ground at the base of his throne. Arthas rolled over and felt his power draining rapidly as his runic magic receded.
Soon his eyes reverted back to their original green and he felt as if he was moments away from true death. The assault ceased momentarily as the champions slowly advanced. Tirion walked closer and stood over the hunched Arthas who coughed up blood. The paladin raised the Ashbringer one last time high over his head, "Now, the Lich King falls. This is for the tens of thousands of innocent lives you destroyed!"
Arthas was bleeding profusely and he could barely make out the blur of Tirion swinging the shining sword down on him. Everybody gasped in disbelief as Arthas leapt up and grabbed Tirion's wrists squeezing as hard as possible. The paladin barely had time to react before Arthas kneed him in the abdomen and head butted his helmet. This caused even more blood to pour down the fallen Lich King's face as he savagely tossed Tirion to the ground.
The paladin quickly leapt to his feet and charged Arthas only to find that the prince was holding the hilt of his shattered rune blade. Arthas was trembling and panting as he rapidly scanned the champions who raised their weapons against him once more.
"You cannot win, Arthas! Frostmourne is broken, and your power is gone!" Tirion exclaimed angrily as he advanced slowly.
The prince quickly noticed a rather peculiar sight. Many Val'kyr were circling high overhead staring at him. He no longer had control over them, but nevertheless, he was desperate enough to find out.
Arthas slowly backed away as he swung his broken sword back and forth to keep anyone from getting too close. "There's nowhere left to go, Arthas…" a female voice sounded. The prince quickly took notice of Sylvanas who had her bow aimed at him. Behind her stood King Varian Wrynn, Jaina, Darion, Muradin, Saurfang, and Thrall.
Sylvanas didn't waste any time as she released an arrow straight for Arthas' head. Against all odds he managed to dodge it. The banshee queen huffed in irritation as she drew another arrow. "Wait, don't shoot yet…Arthas, I never thought I would see your face again," Jaina spoke up as tears flowed down freely.
He coyly glanced up at the Val'kyr again who seemed to be getting closer before turning his gaze behind him. He looked down towards the very ledge of Icecrown Citadel and thought hard for a moment. Tirion noticed the expression on his face and growled, "Only a coward would take his own life, Arthas!"
"Are you so petty that you would deny me your death by my hands?!" Sylvanas hissed venomously as she readied an arrow and drew her bow.
"Wait, stop! Arthas is defeated! He's no longer the Lich King, he should be brought before a trial!" Jaina interjected as she blocked Sylvanas from firing her arrow. The Banshee Queen sent a disgusted glare towards her, "You will not deny me this!"
'I need to stall…something to distract them just for a few more moments.' Arthas thought desperately as he slyly examined the progress of the encroaching Val'kyr.
"I'm sorry…" was all Arthas could say as he gazed at the saddened expressions of his old comrades and the champions behind them.
Everybody's jaw dropped when they heard this. Even Sylvanas dropped her bow in disbelief, "W-what did you just say?! You mock us even in your final breaths?!" The Banshee Queen got a lot of nods of approval from many of the champions present.
Thrall frowned as he looked at the sobbing Jaina. She began to walk closer towards Arthas with her arms outstretched as if she wanted to hug him, but was quickly pulled back by Darion and King Wrynn.
"You truly are a wicked man, Arthas…" was all Tirion could say as he shook his head in disgust.
The voice of Arthas' father soon sounded behind everybody, "You must answer for your crimes, my son…this cursed existence you live will never bring you peace."
"I don't want peace…I want revenge! Everything I have done will not be in vain! Val'kyr!" Arthas roared defiantly as he turned and dove off the side of Icecrown Citadel. Everybody could barely believe it as they rushed to the edge only in time to see dozens of Val'kyr fly up from beneath them and carry Arthas away with his shattered blade in hand.
"NO! SOMEBODY STOP HIM!" Tirion screamed in fury as he glanced over at Sylvanas. She quickly drew her bow and fired a barrage of arrows at Arthas. Unfortunately for her, many of the Val'kyr shielded him from the attacks and before long Arthas was out of sight.
The prince was extremely thankful that the Val'kyr were indeed loyal to him. Though he found it slightly unusual since he was not the Lich King anymore. He felt life draining from him as his vision blurred again. He lost too much blood. Maybe he was going to die anyways. That would be quite ironic.
Thankfully, the Val'kyr seemed to realize this as they briefly touched down and channeled waves of dark energy at him. Arthas felt a cold and terrible feeling as his wounds began healing from their magic. The Val'kyr then stood docile and stared at him blankly. He looked up at the nearest one which he quickly recognized as one of their leaders, "I'm surprised you got me out of there."
"Master…what happened to your crown?" the Val'kyr asked concerned as she examined Arthas' bloody face and silvery hair flowing in the frigid winds.
"It is gone…as is my power. Frostmourne is broken and Icecrown has fallen. I am no longer your master," he explained as he glanced at the broken rune blade gripped in his hand.
"You are the death god…you cannot die," the woman spoke assuredly. Arthas glanced away and sighed, "Maybe I should have…"
Just then, he heard a high pitched shriek and turned his gaze to the horizon where a winged, undead steed stood. He immediately recognized his horse, Invincible. The mighty horse proudly galloped towards him and let out another shrill of affection.
He looked at the undead horse for a moment and thought about the first time he got it. Invincible had always been loyal to him and had always loved him. His horse was his only friend left in the world. Arthas wasted no time mounting the horse for the first time in ages much to its delight.
Invincible flapped his wings excitedly awaiting Arthas' command. The prince looked over at his Val'kyr uncertainly and spoke up, "I no longer control you. You're all free to go…thanks for saving my life."
They traded confused looks with one another before one spoke up, "You are the Lich King. The Vrykul will always be loyal to you. King Ymiron himself called you a god. We shall resurrect him and the others to deliver swift retribution to these southern invaders!"
"Northrend is no longer yours…the Alliance and Horde cover every corner of this continent now. Azeroth holds no place for your kind anymore," Arthas said callously.
The Val'kyr leader knelt before him, "We are unworthy to be your servants my king. We failed to kill your enemies and now they have overwhelmed your realm. May I offer my life as tribute for your forgiveness?"
'Sometimes I forget how fanatical these northern people are.' Arthas thought slightly bewildered.
For some reason, Arthas felt extreme humility at this moment. He had just lost everything except for his own life. Yet these minions he carelessly moved around like pawns still supported him. It almost made him feel guilty about it. None of this would have happened if he had valued his minions more. If he hadn't used Darion as bait, then Tirion wouldn't have gotten the Ashbringer and he still would have been the Lich King.
"No…you have nothing to apologize to me for. I am not your god and I am not worthy of anything anymore. There is nothing left in this world for me…so I will leave it behind," Arthas replied distantly. He knew it was the truth. After what he had done, there was no place on Azeroth where he could go.
What possible existence could he hope for now? Was his hollow life even truly worth living anymore? Though at that moment an interesting idea crossed his mind, 'This never would have happened if it hadn't been for Mal'Ganis and his foul kind. Surely he must have been serving a higher master that brought about the creation of the undead. Perhaps I can devote myself to hunting them…the burning legion.'
The Val'kyr were dead silent as they stared at him intensely. After a brief awkward silence, the leader spoke, "Wherever you go master, we shall follow you to the end. It is all we have left."
Arthas smiled for the first time in a long time as he looked over the undead Vyrkul women, "Then let us leave Northrend behind. We shall return one day, but until that time, I will seek refuge in a new world…Outland."
Without another word, Arthas took off on his winged steed. The flight of Val'kyr behind him soon caught up and before long Arthas was fast on his way to the Dark Portal.
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Meanwhile back at Icecrown, a frustrated assembly of heroes stood around Tirion Fordring and the leaders of the assault discussing what to do. "This is outrageous…how could you have let him escape?!" Sylvanas demanded furiously at Tirion.
One of the champions, an orc warrior, answered her, "The Lich King was very elusive when we attempted to deliver a final blow. He was gravely injured, but continued to resist even after Frostmourne was broken. When you arrived Dark Lady, we simply assumed you were going to kill him yourself."
She sent an icy glare towards the orc before looking at Thrall, "Why didn't you do anything warchief?!"
Thrall sighed heavily as he glanced at the Banshee Queen, "Jaina wanted to speak to him and it was as she said…Arthas was no longer in a position to harm any of us."
"Had it been my place, I would have gladly cut off his head and sent his body off the tower," Saurfang chimed in angrily.
Varian Wrynn looked around at several of the champions, "Several of you, mount up and track him down…he couldn't have gotten far."
Several horde champions also decided to follow suit as they noticed many of the alliance champions leaving.
"Darion," Tirion cut in as he turned his attention to the death knight leader, "we saw his powers fade when the crown came off his head, yet for some reason Arthas still commanded the Val'kyr. Do you have any idea as to why?"
The death knight glanced over at the lich king's crown on the ground before sighing, "It makes me think about when the knights of the Ebon Blade broke free of his control. He didn't directly control our minds, but his whispers echoed in our heads. Like a subconscious feeling of obligation. Perhaps the Val'kyr were not controlled the same way as death knights."
Muradin interjected with a nod, "Aye, there was a village in Storm Peaks where they willingly became undead…even the regular Vrykul seemed to have some kind of reverence for him."
"I believe I heard one of them refer to him as a death god in Utgarde keep several months back," a night elf druid interjected.
"Will all of you shut up! I don't care about the reason behind it…we need to go after him now!" Sylvanas demanded as she paced.
Varian Wyrnn sent her a disapproving shrug, "I've already sent trackers after him. He's no longer the lich king, so it's not like there's anywhere he can really hide. He'll eventually be brought to justice once somebody finds him."
"I must be the one to bring him to justice!" she shot back venomously.
Jaina who had been quiet this whole time sobbed sadly as she continued staring into the horizon where Arthas had escaped.
The spirit of Arthas' father soon caught everybody's attention, "Without its masters command, the restless scourge would become an even greater threat to Azeroth. Balance must be preserved. There must always be a lich king."
With that the spirit dissipated leaving the heroes in silent confusion as they traded uncertain glances. Tirion walked over and picked up the crown and gazed deeply upon it, "The weight of such a burden…it must be mine, for there is no other.."
"Tirion! You hold a grim destiny in your hands brother, but it is not your own."
"Bolvar?!" the paladin said unbelievingly, "by all that is holy…"
"The dragon's flame sealed my fate. The world of the living can no longer comfort me. Place the crown upon my head. Forever more, I shall be the jailor of the damned," Bolvar spoke assuredly.
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After a long week of travel, Arthas and his company of Val'kyr had finally arrived at the Dark Portal. He was quickly surprised to see a wide assortment of guards covering the entrance. 'Damn, there's no way I'm going to slip by them without alerting the entire world that I am going to Outland. I need a distraction…something to get me inside.'
Currently, his Val'kyr perched high atop one of the nearby cliffs keeping a low profile while he surveyed the area. It had been a long time since he had done this kind of gritty grunt work. Part of him almost enjoyed it since it brought him brief moments of joy from his past. Though that was quickly replaced with anger and despair whenever he thought about his old friends and family.
He dismounted Invincible and quietly crept closer towards the portal to get an idea of the guard layout. Many hours passed as he watched for patterns. 'It would probably be best to wait for nightfall. They shift every four hours.' A cold tickle caused his exposed neck to twitch. There was a blade at his throat. Wasting no time he immediately shot up and spun around to disarm his would be assassin.
It was a blood elf rogue. He quickly kicked the rogue to the ground and drew his broken sword, "So some of you finally caught up to me?"
"You didn't honestly think you could outrun the horde?" another voice sounded. Arthas let out a heavy sigh as he turned his attention to a large band of the horde champions from before. There was roughly a dozen of them.
The blood elf rogue jumped to his feet and made a swift jab for Arthas, but only met with a powerful spiked bracer backhanding him to the ground. The former Lich King gripped his broken blade tighter as the horde circled around him.
He immediately recognized one as a death knight who was wielding a very menacing axe. He raised his brow curiously at the orc, "I'm surprised Tirion would allow you to create something so similar to Frostmourne."
The orc laughed at Arthas' remark, "Like I care what some human paladin thinks…Darion is the only one of your kind I actually respect."
"Look at you…would be wielder of souls. Does your axe have a name death knight?" Arthas chuckled mockingly.
The death knight growled, "Shadowmourne…and I have come to feed it your soul!"
"Wait, Raze, the warchief ordered us to capture him…not kill him," a troll warrior cut in calmly.
Raze sent him a nasty glare, "To what end?! I don't care for all the jaw-boning nonsense anyways. Whether he dies now or later…he's still going to die! It might as well be by my hand!"
A forsaken mage shook his head in disapproval, "The dark lady has promised punishment to anyone who steals the glory of his death away from her."
An female troll shaman huffed in irritation, "Why should we listen to her mon?! She does not outrank da warchief!"
The blood elf rogue who Arthas initially disarmed, laughed, "I agree with Raze…he's going to die eventually. We might as well get the glory for ourselves. I mean we did all of the damn work in defeating him!"
Arthas immediately saw the opportunity to sabotage their unity. "I imagine your leaders would take all the credit for themselves. I mean after all…Tirion was helpless most of the fight anyways. Sylvanas wasn't even there until after you had already beaten me. Why should their names be immortalized and not yours?" Arthas added coyly.
This caused the horde champions to eye him suspiciously. "He's right! Where was the war chief or the dark lady when we were fighting him!? Where were they when we advanced through the citadel?! The glory is rightfully ours!" Raze roared.
An orc warlock sent a sharp glare towards Raze as she began to channel fire in her hands, "I will not allow you to go against the warchief's wishes. Thrall is more honorable than that!"
"Watch your tone, woman…" Raze hissed venomously.
The forsaken mage from earlier backed her up as he raised his staff against Raze, "The Dark Lady deserves the kill. You would dare to defy her?"
"HA! What's that stupid undead elf bitch going to do to me?! Kill me?! HAHAHA!" Raze cackled.
Arthas began to laugh as well causing everybody to turn their attention back towards him. "Why would he take orders from a Forsaken? Didn't you all betray the horde at the Wrathgate?"
This caused Raze to nod in approval, "The human is right…you and your dark lady are in no position to make demands of me!"
One of the Tauren druids instantly saw where this scene was going and jumped between the two, "Calm yourselves…I will not allow horde champions to fight amongst each other."
"Sarkon, don't get in my way…" Raze said threateningly as he gripped Shadowmourne tighter.
"Stop it all of you! Can't you see, that the human is just trying to turn us against each other? Only a simple minded fool could fall for something as simple as this…" A blood elf priest interrupted. Her arrogant and condescending tone caused some of the others to send her nasty stares.
A tauren warrior immediately backed up Raze as he growled menacingly at the woman, "I dislike your arrogance, elf! Raze led us to victory time and time again! You have no place to judge our commander!"
"They're right," the blood elf rogue agreed as he stepped in front of the priest, "you have no place to talk down to anybody here."
Sarkon sighed, "I fear this recent campaign has turned many of you bitter. We did not survive Naxxramas, Ulduar, and Icecrown together just for all of you to fall apart now. I believe we can compromise here. Bring the human back to Orgrimmar where the war chief can commemorate our accomplishments and the leaders can execute him."
"Hey, Raze, I remember you now. You were Darion's little side kick back at Acherus were you not? Tell me…what happens once I'm dead? What will you do next?" Arthas asked.
This caught everybody's attention again. Raze eyed him curiously, "What do you mean?"
"I mean what's a death knight like yourself going to do without a purpose? I myself have contemplated on what I could possibly do if I managed to escape," Arthas continued.
Raze snorted, "Obviously, I will continue to battle the alliance for the horde."
"Really? So you're nothing more than a tool for your war chief then? Your life will be no different than when you served Darion and myself. You will endure for generations as your friends age and die…you will never know peace, happiness, or comfort. Eventually, you will go mad with grief and end up like me…" Arthas explained.
This caused many of the champions to trade strange glances with one another. Raze himself seemed bewildered by this revelation. He had never really thought about the future until just now. It's not like a death knight could really fit into regular society. The commoners in Orgimmar were already suspicious and fearful of death knights…his life could never be what it once was.
"NOOOOO! I will never end up like you, human!" Raze roared defiantly as he charged Arthas with Shadowmourne in hand. Arthas timed his reaction just right and barely managed to deflect an overhead cleave from the axe with his broken sword.
Raze continued to flurry the weapon angrily in an attempt to hit Arthas, but unfortunately, he soon found himself being pinned down by magic from several of his allies.
"STOP IT! Release me! I will kill him!" Raze howled as he slowly continued towards Arthas despite the magical chains and resistance put on him.
"Don't listen to him brudduh, you are an honorable commander. Da horde recognizes strength mon." A troll intervened in hopes of calming him down.
The blood elf priest narrowed her gaze at the orc death knight and shook her head in disgust, "You're pathetic for actually letting him get to you…he doesn't even have any power anymore and he's still manipulating you."
Raze was finally stopped in his tracks when a blood elf paladin stunned him. She then kicked the orc back before turning around to face Arthas, "Your venomous voice whispers foul poison. Don't mistake my inaction for stupidity. I can see right through your little scheme, human…mark my words, you won't be alive for very long once we get to Orgrimmar!"
"I didn't realize elves could become paladins…unless you did it unnaturally. You must be one of those blood knights," Arthas taunted. Her threat seemed to ring ineffective against him as he had a disinterested look on his face.
She grimaced, "We CAN become paladins! Through the restored sunwell and Mu'ru's magic. I'm more of a paladin than you ever were!"
"Is that so? I'm surprised you even knew I was a paladin. Normally you elves were too busy frolicking in the woods while Lordaeron was being plagued," Arthas stated. He was simply trying to provoke her now.
"Everybody in Quel'thelas knows who you are…the traitor prince of Lordaeron who killed his father…the only good king you humans had." she shot back.
Raze who had just now recovered broke free from his restraints, "How dare you stun me, Valerica! Know your place! He is mine!"
She turned back and looked at the orc begrudgingly, "You're the one who's overstepping his place!"
"ENOUGH! This arguing ends now!" Sarkon shouted as he stomped his heavy hoofed foot on the ground.
Everybody went silent as they turned their attention towards him. "I never thought I'd see the day where you would all forsake discipline and logic. The human is coming with us to Orgimmar alive…does everybody understand?!" the Tauren druid demanded as he paced heavily.
As everybody's attention was on Sarkon, Arthas saw the perfect opportunity to act and grabbed Valerica from behind and pressed his broken blade against her throat. She tried to resist, but immediately felt a heavy weight keeping her legs from moving.
"Make one move and she dies!" Arthas laughed as he pressed the blade even tighter causing a small amount of blood to trickle down her throat. This change of pace caught everybody off guard as Arthas backed away slowly.
"Drop your weapons or I'll kill your friend…" Arthas said again; this time his voice was much more serious.
Valerica tried to cast a defensive spell, but found it ineffective as Arthas pressed the blade even closer, "You would be dead before that shield could even form."
She reluctantly gave up on that idea.
Many of the champions slowly lowered their arms. Everybody except for Raze that is. The orc simply stepped closer without a care in the world, "Go ahead and kill the stupid bitch. Not like I care anyways."
Arthas let out a loud, piercing whistle, and soon the horde found themselves surrounded by Val'kyr. Arthas backed away closer towards the ledge where Invincible was already waiting for him. The blood elf paladin in his grip seemed furious by the situation, "You're a damned snake! How did an elusive coward like you ever become the Lich King?! I hope you know that justice will be delivered! Without your power, there's only so long you can keep us at bay."
"You must feel so proud and powerful threatening me while you're my hostage…" Arthas stated sarcastically.
She cracked a fist and hissed, "I should have killed you back in Icecrown…you were defenseless."
"Like you are right now? Or perhaps Zul'Drak when I decided to spare your life?" he responded.
This simply caused her to get even more flustered.
"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE BY MY HAND, LICH KING!" Raze roared as he charged. The death knight immediately felt a strong force pull him back as he was ripped back to his companions' location. He quickly turned to the blood elf priest and recognized she was responsible.
She was quick to voice her disapproval, "If you attack he'll kill my sister! If that happens, then I'm going to kill you!"
"ARGH!" Raze howled as he tried to charge again, but this time Sarkon rooted him with his nature magic. The Druid made sure to channel excess magic to prevent him from moving.
Many of the other champions anxiously watched the circling Val'kyr expecting an attack at any moment.
"So, Valerica…should I let you live this time?" Arthas asked her coolly.
She bit her lip in frustration. The woman did not like this helpless feeling. How could Arthas still put her in this position even without his power?
Arthas quickly sidestepped as several arrows whizzed past his face. The alliance champions had finally arrived and were quick to advance. Sarkon looked over at them and yelled, "Wait! Stop! He has a hostage!"
"Forward, champions! The king demands Arthas be brought to Stormwind immediately!" A human paladin ordered.
A tauren warrior got up and blocked the alliance who were approaching Arthas, "Wait, just a minute! Arthas has one of our friends hostage. There are Val'kyr all over this place…just wait for a minute."
The human paladin looked closely and saw Arthas holding the blood elf woman, "This doesn't require tact…Arthas cannot be allowed to escape no matter what the reason."
Raze was channeling his full runic power in an attempt to break out of Sarkon's roots, "NO! HE'S MINE! GO AWAY ALLIANCE DOGS!"
"Please, just wait another minute…" the Tauren pleaded again. This time the paladin nodded his head, "Very well, everybody hold your position and wait!"
Valerica, was still holding her sword Quel'delar, and saw an opportunity to break free. She quickly head butted Arthas with the back of her helmet while he was distracted and ducked back narrowly missing Frostmourne. She spun around and attempted to behead him, but was shocked when he grabbed her wrist mid swing. She grimaced painfully as he squeezed it tightly.
This caused her to drop her blade. Arthas leaned in closer and whispered, "Thanks for saving my life, Valerica. You were a 'pretty' good hostage. Here's your reward."
She soon found his deathly cold lips meeting her own. This caused widespread confusion amongst all of the champions present. The paladin herself could not even believe what was happening until Arthas pushed her to the ground and mounted Invincible. A barrage of arrows and spells flew towards him, but he dodged them all as weaved around the sky. His Val'kyr followed behind in a defensive position blocking all missiles from their master. The men guarding the Dark Portal looked horrified when Arthas and his flight of Val'kyr flew overhead and into the portal.
Meanwhile, back with the champions, everybody was surrounding Valerica. Raze paced with fury as he eyed her suspiciously, "You dropped your guard and brought about this whole mess! I almost had him!"
"Thanks to you, Raze, now we have to compete with the alliance to capture him…" Sarkon sighed annoyed. The human paladin, who was clearly their leader walked over towards Sarkon, "What happened exactly? How did she become a hostage? And…did he just kiss her?!"
Sarkon shrugged, "You're not really catching us at our best moment, human…we couldn't decided whether to capture or kill him and this whole mess broke out."
"It figures the horde would try to pull a fast one on us," A night elf priest interrupted. She clearly didn't like them.
Sarkon shook his head, "I am not in the mood to trade insults today…"
"Did Arthas really kiss her? Why did he do that?" an inquisitive draenei joined in.
The tauren druid didn't even bother responding as he looked away annoyed.
"Valerica! What on Azeroth did he say to you?!" the blood elf priest demanded worriedly.
Valerica was still in complete shock as she felt her lips in disbelief. 'The Lich King just kissed me…'
"If it hadn't been for all of you getting in my way, he would have already been dead!" Raze shot back furiously.
The orc warlock shook her head, "I clearly remember him easily blocking your attack…"
The forsaken mage shook his head in disbelief, "Arthas was always a genius tactician in his youth…I served under him when I was still alive ten years ago. Even without his power, he's unpredictable…that is why we should have brought him before the dark lady."
"I have heard enough about your damned 'Dark Lady!' You have constantly sabotaged the horde, undead…first at the wrath gate and now here!" Raze stated angrily.
"I find that ironic coming from a death knight. An orc death knight who disobeys his warchief at that," the forsaken mage noted.
It seemed full scale conflict was about to break out until Valerica stood up, "Just shut up!"
Dead silence followed her shout causing many to bite their tongues. "Just stop arguing over nothing…we all started this together…alliance and horde. We might as well finish it together. Let' go hunt him down and finish the job!"
The human paladin leader nodded his head in approval, "Well said, you all fought well during the battle of Icecrown. We all deserve to see this through to the end."
"So we are going to kill him then?" Sarkon sighed again.
"As long as I can make the killing blow! Let's go hunting! Lok'tar Ogar!" Raze roared.
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Well I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed this. This was my take on what should have happened at the end of Wrath. The way Arthas died at the end of Wrath just pissed me off. He was always so good at coming out on top back in WC3...so I wanted to do an alternate universe where he gets away and does his own thing. I tried to write this in a way to where all the WOTLK stuff still happened, except for him getting killed.
Now that he's in Outland, things are bound to get interesting. I hope you all enjoyed the interaction between him and the champions. How will they fare when they chase after him? Let me know if you like it…next chapter: Reforging Frostmourne!