Let's Finish This

Blood seeped into the cracks of Vanessa's mouth. She coughed more with tears freezing on her cheeks. Stumbling her way to Logan, Vanessa struggled to keep her balance. The wound she received earlier hadn't fully healed.

The pain caused her to relive the moment of being stabbed with her own bladed every couple of steps. Once near Logan, she allowed herself to fall to his side.

"Sorry," she cried as she brushed Logan's grey hair out of his face.

He coughed back, "You did great".

Lost as to whether it was due to his voice or his recognition, Vanessa chuckled through the pain. Logan was smirking as she had always known him to do after winning a battle. She could only imagine him striking a victory pose with some retro-RPG victory music playing in the background.

For now, his smile was more than enough. She attempted to raise up only to be stopped by his hand resting on her shoulders.

"Relax," he groaned, "We get a break here".

Deeply confused by this "break" they were getting, Vanessa remained by Logan's side watching as he closed his eyes. Seeing him calm and happy gave her warmth that exceeded the cold. She looked down at his wounds on his body noticing the shield inside the back of his shirt. It was now that she realized that his sacrificial attack was rather a plan.

Jeff and Dani rolled Andres over.

Andres grunted, "Yo, go easy".

Seeing his inner flesh caused Jeff to nearly puke.

Dani looked away, "That's so gross".

Andres stared at the sky, "Got anything to make the pain go away"?

Dani shook her head, smirking, "You'll be fine".

Jeff frantically paced the bridge, trying to figure out their next move.

Andres shook his head, "Oh my God... Yo, Jeff! We're at a checkpoint"!

Dani checked Jaivva's pockets for medicine. Kinda funny given her body was already replaced by a dummy.

She slammed the broken medicine containers, "Fuck"!

Leira hand came to her shoulder, "It's okay. You guys did good".

Mina added, "You all can try again next month".

Dani held her forehead, "No. We need to be able to beat level 5 content to make it to pro".

Logan felt his pain slowly easing away as Vanessa's wound was being fully healed. He slid his body up until he was sitting on his butt and stared towards the entrance of the bridge. Vanessa's hand reluctantly let itself slide off.

She rose her head to see what was gaining his attention. Even Andres who was now relieved of his pain slowly stood up to see what was blessing them. It was a small tuxedo cat walking on the bridge.

"I want that cat," said Dani as she became fixated with the little beast.

The kitty pranced through the snow on the bridge. It was a pain in their ass, but the story must continue. Vanessa questioned who the little kitty was, watching as it got bigger the closer it came. The team began huddling closer as a means to address the kitty.

The tuxedo cat was now the size of a lion. The hair on the kitty was brushed smoothly down. Dani herself couldn't resist petting the cat.

"Hello," it said.

Frightened by the oversized cat, Mina shimmied her way over to pet it.

"Who are you?" asked Vanessa.

The kitty answered in a serene voice, "I am the guardian angel of this place, Chris Gristle. I see you all have come in seek of treasure. I will offer you my blessing to bring back Christmas as you know it. But be warned, you may bring about your own destruction".

Chris Gristle sat down firmly, allowing the girls to pet his warm fur. Sadly, Vanessa was quite bugged by what Chris Gristle had said.

"How will we bring our own destruction?" she asked.

"To find the answer, you must look inside and around," said Chris Gristle.

Vanessa turned towards Logan for an answer.

He shrugged towards the forest before fixating on the castle, "This is the end".

Having seen the blessing Chris Gristle gave, Jeff pulled his team in for a prayer. Mina nodded towards Logan and Vanessa while hugging her ferret. This gave Logan the final boost in confidence he needed to believe that he was going to beat the game this month. On the other hand, Vanessa was confused by the final turn of events.

Speaking in the name of God, Jeff said his prayer. He blessed the team with the almighty word that he knew. Sure there was no stat boost nor perk given. But this was a prayer to the almighty entity above all others. This prayer lifted the spirits of many such as Leira, Andres, and Vanessa. Meanwhile, many others heard nothing except mere words by an 18-year-old boy.

Once done, the team walked toward the castle. It was pitch black with purple magical spiral incantations gliding on the outer walls. Tracing down the nabla shaped castle, Vanessa saw the entrance as giant double doors at the tip of the castle.

"Hey, we got this!" cheered Andres as he stepped towards the front alongside Logan.

Dani and Vanessa remained close behind the two boys while Jeff straddled in the back with Mina and Leira. Even the ferret had jumped down to follow Mina's side as opposed to being carried.

Jeff announced, "This is it! There will be no turning back"!

Vanessa gulped knowing there was so much more to this winter wonderland that wasn't explored. Yet she cleared her mind to focus on the task at hand.

Logan, who hasn't been this excited in forever, smirked, "We got this. After all, it's not The Tower of God".

"Let's go!" yelled Andres right before he and Logan opened the doors to Samael's Castle.