Neverending Nights: The Beginning

(The plan for a three part fanfic. No longer updated.)

Episode Zero Alpha

- Dean the Dragon monologues for a moment about the danger of the Crimson Draco Legion and the even more dangerously loss of PAT (refered to as 'the Sword').

- Dean summons three knights under his command his aid: Kabewse, Gariff and Simons (their older, wiser, more kick-arse brother) wearing not armour but yellow robes, blue robes, and boxers. Dean tells the three that the time is at hand (being deliberately generic) and to 'awaken' Peter and Grayson to their destiny. The knights set out.

- Meanwhile, Mother speaks telepathically to Andrea to stop Peter and Grayson from being awoken at all costs and even more importantly to GET THAT SWORD. She sets out.

- Peter and Grayson are in the bar, getting drunk and helping out Uncle. They set out (the cutlery).

- Knights reach the city of Neverending. Simons goes to talk to Peter and Grayson. After some generic persuasion, he convinces the two they must visit Imahore, the Inappropriately Named Oracle (pronounced: I'm a whore).

- K&G, on guard, see Andrea enter the city. They interrupt the conversation to tell P&G to flee the city. They, being cowards, do so.

- Andrea, needing assistance, grabs the nearest person in the bar (Alan the Astounding), both bribing gold and threatening death if he does not help her. Alan, being drunk and not really getting her death threats anyway, agrees.

- Andrea ambush P&G&Knights near the city gate. The knights leap forward to attack Andrea, and much kickarsery begins. P&G and Alan stand by watching for a while, cheering for their side, then Alan gets bored and starts casting fireball everywhere. Peter counters with his own animal-companion-summoning magic and summons three goblins (yes, THOSE goblins). The goblins look and dart around terrified and with no particular sentience whatsoever. Oh, and they just happened to be holding THE SWORD (The comment by the knights later being that P&G are already connected to the Sword by mysterious means...) (And which, btw, is not glowing at all. It just looks like a normal sword, except for magical runes on the blade that trap PAT inside it.)

Episode Zero Omega

- The goblins are scared by the flying fireballs from Alan and run in terror. Pawl the Dwarf emerges from his shop, confused at the noise going on outside. Seeing the scene his mouth drops to roughly the shape of, oh, a tree trunk. He hides behind a barrel.

- K&G flee with P&G to go to Imahore. Simons breaks off and tries to grab the Sword from the goblins, but their high agility, dexterity, and apparant dancing prowess means they manage to avoid him.

- Peter dismisses the summoning as he leaves, the goblins vanishing just as a fireball from Alan crashes down where they stood. He runs like crap.

- Andrea, frustrated, tells Alan that they need to leave to Goblintown (The More Appropriately Named Town) where the goblins were likely to have come from. She leaves.

- Pawl emerges and asks Simons wtf is going on. Simons tells him to stay, and chases after Andrea. Pawl can see that (plot twist) Alan is being magically enslaved rather than acting of his own free will, and since the two were old drinking buddies he chases somewhat more slowly (you know what it's like with those stubby little dwarf legs) after Simons.

- Back with P&G, K&G reveal the Oracle can only be reached using magic which neither of them know, so they stop at a nearby city to hire a magician. They find Daniel. K&G are extremely reluctant to hire him, because of his Mysterious Dark Past(tm) but once Daniel overhears there conversation he declares it would take a miracle and/or a pint of ale to stop him now.

- Meanwhile, a certain red dragon takes flight...

- Daniel happily casts the magic needed to enter the Oracular Valley. P&G talk to the Oracle, who informs them they are heroes destined to save the world from a dark evil (read: Mother). He quotes the prophecy (which, in actual fact, is the lines from the promo vid), explaining that a 'traditional' hero would never achieve the task because his methods would be destined to fail, because THERE IS NO SUCH F***ING THING AS A HERO THAT PERFECT. Only the flawed such as P&G could manage to stumble their way through to the final victory.

- Andrea and Alan reach the Goblintown (an abandoned town that was taken over by goblins once the previous elven inhabitants were killed in a completely unrelated plot), hacking, slashing and fireballing their way through to find the three goblins still clutching the Sword, as if in a trance. Andrea orders Alan to bring the sword to her.

Episode Zero Ultima

- Alan's lust for power and the fame is so wishes he had is so strong he breaks Andrea's enchantment and attacks her. Andrea is caught of guard and badly wounded, effectively paralysed. Alan goes for the goblins next but to his surprise they break from their trance and speak to him!

- The red dragon attacks the Oracle just as he was about to perform the awakening of P&G. Daniel, at first sight of the dragon, hides himself behind a magical shield (and a tree). K&G attack the dragon, but are too late to stop it BBQing the Oracle. The awakening rites are ruined.

- The goblins explain how the constant whispers and insults from the Sword (or, rather, PAT) combined the magical strength of the sword have granted them a sort of sentience. The goblins work together and attack the (STILL drunken) Alan. Alan fireballs, but with their agility they avoid them. Hating themselves for being sentient and so different to all the other goblins, they cast the Sword aside and leave (to the nearby Stonemountain Caverns, where they may dance in solitude).

- K&G fight the red dragon, but, to make a long story short, get owned and BBQed, burning and scarring them horrifically. P&G flee. The dragon, rather than finish off K&G, follows P&G into the forest.

- Andrea makes an attempt to grab the Sword, but Alan blasts her with incredible amounts of magic (all that he can summon). Naturally, he misses and hits the Sword. The Sword absorbs the massive energy due to the magic runes, becoming far more powerful and obtaining a magical glow (which, incidentally, hides the runes completely). This is seen by Simons and Pawl who just arrive at the scene, a touch too late.

- Back at the Oracle, K&G are rescued... by Dean! Dean has grown weak though, and can only carry the two of them (who are unconscious and thus unable to warn him about, oh I don't know, P&G being in mortal danger). Dean flies off. Daniel nervously emerges from his tree and talks to the Oracle. The Oracle tells him he must find Andrea, it is vitally important that he finds her and then- and then he dies before explaining that he actually has to STOP her.

- Pawl talks to Alan, attempting to stop him from taking the sword. It works for a moment, giving Simons the chance to make a break for it. He grabs the Sword but the power still on it blasts HIM and he is left wounded and paralysed, similar to Andrea. Alan, realising what he has done, begs forgiveness and vows never to drink again. Then he trips over a rock with a THUMP (subsequently forgetting the whole episode).

- The red dragon stops in front of P&G. They make a lame attempt to fight it, but get whacked aside with one claw swipe. The dragon leans in for the final blow...

- Pawl gingerly takes the Sword, now that the residual magic on it has dissipated (although mostly onto Simons...) (although the sword still glows). Simons quickly takes a magical scroll and reads it, sending the Sword far away to Ronald (who was also under Dean's command and had prior been given instructions to sell it cheap ONLY to P&G), but as he does so Andrea attacks, killing him with a single blow just a moment too late.

- The dragon, as though suddenly aware of the Sword's movement (implied as though it was telepathic communication with Andrea) leaves. Peter comments on anticlimax.

- Andrea, having an idea to stop P&G ever finding Dean, whips out a potion and stuffs it down Pawl's throat. He collapses unconscious (and with lost memory). She then grabs a scrap of paper and scrawls a completely f***ed up map on it, stuffing it into Pawl's hand. She laughs evilly, then departs on her new quest to find Ronald and get the sword.

- Back with P&G, they are completely lost (aduh). As they stop for a rest Mother appears (hiding in the shadows or some such that her identity is not revealed). She explains the potion Andrea used - one gulp will knock you out, two gulps will wipe your mind, three gulps would kill you. Mother magically (or perhaps just with rope?) detains P&G, forcing the potion down for one gulp... two gulp...

- And then K&G burst in on the scene, attacking Mother. She curses and retreats. The two knights take P&G unconscious bodies to the city of Neverending and leave them their, shamed to be seen themselves and knowing someone will find them and assume them drunk.

- Later, the K&G talk to Dean, who says prophecy and mysterious way of working out despite all circumstances. The knights don their full body armour, mourn the loss of Simons, and leave to watch over P&G...

The Beginning...