“I must say,” the Queen Mother remarked through the portal. “Thanks to the masked man opening portals to the Dark Realm with his reality tearing sword, my offspring have a new world to dwell in.”

Van’s body remained still and cold like an ice sculpture. She knew in a hostage situation, any movement would provoke an attack from her captor. She prayed to the Creator for an opening.

But not just us,” the Queen said boasting. “Millions of demons too will prosper in this new land feeding off the souls of the mortals.”

Her thousand bright red eyes squinted like pricks of blood on her snow white body. “Your world, little one, will soon be ours. Oh but I grow tired of gloating. Time to freeze you and devour you in our favorite way...”

The queen opened a mouth full of poisonous green fangs to launch a blast of ice. Van closed her eyes knowing full well this would be her end. There was a manly cry in front of her ears and she stumbled backwards onto the red ice. When she opened her eyes, she saw Antonio frozen in midair in front of her. His body grasped his staff in a protective motion. Antonio’s head faced Van but he turned his eyes upwards towards the Frostula.

“If you didn’t gloat before you succeeded, araña,” Antonio said. “I wouldn’t have had time to block her from your fatal blow.”

“Antonio…” Van said, holding her hand to her pounding heart.

For the first time since her stay in Scum County, she felt a positive emotion towards the rogue.

“Vanessa,” Antonio said as the ice slowly enraptured her body. He spoke duly and with honor. “I am sorry I’ve acted like a clown this whole time. It’s the only way I can protect mi corazon from the sadness concerning mi madre.”

As the ice crept further up Antonio’s breast, he lashed forward and his hair flew dramatically. His chocolate eyes nearly melted from the passion that blazed within them. “But I would rather perish than see the only other woman who matters to me die. Like I said before, Van Montero…I love….yo…”

The ice reached Antonio’s mouth and froze it still. Van’s body shook as a violent mixture of emotions overcame her body. Antonio had professed his love once before after he had tricked her, but she believed fully that it was a lie too. But now she knew he was different. He had given up his life for her. Van felt a swelling in her heart. It was the kind of warmth she once felt over Antonio before he deceived her so mercilessly. He was a self centered, scruffy fop…but she loved him.

Van gasped as she heard a steaming sound coming from her hands. She looked up as the red ice began to shrink around the twirling white blade.

“Child…you’ve…” Teela exclaimed from her frozen place on the wall.

“What have you done!” The spider queen shrieked in horror.

Van stood up and reached her hand into the melting ice, grasping the blade in her hands. Immediately it uncurled and wiggled like a snake, making a cooing sound. With incredible strength, it lifted Van’s whole body into the air and flew around in circles like a long dragon.

“Whooooah! What’s going on?” Van shouted as she held on as tightly as she could.

“The blade is still wild,” Teela shouted. “Issue a command. Tell it, you are its new master…and that you order it to yield!”

“I’ll try!” Van shouted as she flew like an outstretched wind sock.

“What is this charade?!” The spider queen cried. “Children, blast her.”

The many frostulas aimed their mouths at her, blasting many bits of chunks of ice that would freeze her body to the core. The blade’s unorthodox patterns in the air, however, made it nearly impossible for them to hit their target.

“Blade…” Van shouted and the blade pulled harder. “I order you to stoooooop!!! Bad blade! Bad blade!”

“It’s not a dog…” Teela shouted back. “You need to be firm and with resolve. A pure heart never falters. It seeks the goodness in everything.”

Van closed her eyes and concentrated on the three things that made her stand strong: Her master, her friends…and Antonio. She spoke in a stern accented voice. “Blade! Stop this instant. Yield to your master.”

With a squeak, the blade went limp like rubber and Van fell to the ground on her rear. “Oww…” she groaned. “I’m so glad for this rear end armor.”

“Now blade,” she said, returning to her stern gruff voice. “I command you to fight for me!”

Without warning, the blade yanked Van forward, targeting the many spiders like a homing pigeon and it began slicing them left and right. Teela laughed as Van flew past her. “You may have some control issues at first…I forgot to tell you that the blade has a mind of its own.”

“You don’t saaaaaay,” Van screamed.

She knew she would have to tame this blade to properly fight with it, but right now, it seemed to be doing its job. Spider heads and legs flew and scattered everywhere as the Queen Mother exclaimed in horror. “Noooooo! My babies.”

Once Van’s wild blade had done her dirty work, it flew right at the Queen Mother. Van swallowed hard, not knowing if such an average sized blade would be able to do any damage. As the blade approached the Queen Mother’s enormous red eyes, it jabbed at one of her pupils and the Queen Mother roared as green pus seeped from it. Blue gushing vomit spewed from her mouth; it was about to splatter over Vanessa when she screamed, “Blade, pull me out of the way!”

The blade yanked Van’s arm up into the air. It began to twist her arm further backwards. Suddenly, pain enraptured Van’s arm and she heard a crack. “Owww! Ow!” She cried. “Stop! You’re hurting me!”

The blade immediately fell limp and Van crashed to the ground right in front of the Queen Mother. She rubbed her shoulder blade. It felt like it was dislocated. She was fortunate she held the sword in her non-dominant hand, but she was in so much pain she couldn’t sit up.

“Because you have diced up my children,” the queen said with a ravenous look in her eyes. “I will return the favor by tearing you limb from limb.”

The portal slowly moved towards Van as the Queen Mother’s head extended out of it to devour her prey. Van was petrified in fear when suddenly she remembered something the masked man had said to her:

“Swords like these are one of a kind. They have the power to tear holes in reality and they also have the ability to close them.”

“Blade,” Van shouted as she felt the spider’s breath over her. “I command you to close the portal…”

The blade lifted itself up and suddenly, Van could see a pentagram in front of her. She thought for a second before deciding what to do. With her good hand, she traced the pentagram perfectly. It glowed bright green in the air and flew forward into the portal. There was a loud rumbling sound and every one of the Queen Mother’s eyes shook in fear. “W-w-what’s going on?”

The portal quickly closed around the giant spider’s head, decapitating her. The giant head fell to the ground like a boulder causing the whole temple to shake. Van let out a breath of relief as Teela cried, “You are the one! You truly are the one!”

“I’m no chosen one,” Van said. “Just someone who cares for others.”

Van spent the next hour unfreezing everyone. She started with Teela, then Cyrus and Oga, followed by the village of twenty five people.

Cyrus and Oga marveled at their friend’s new sword. As Van’s right arm recovered from being yanked around, she clutched her new blade in her left and watched with amusement as it darted around their faces, seeming to sniff them like a dangerously pointy puppy dog.

“I forgot to tell you that it’s a living blade-a bladeling,” Teela said. “They are sacred creatures blessed by the Creator herself and their magical powers are unfathomable.”

“You could have warned me,” Van said, looking slightly cross. “It’s clearly a handful…”

“Even if you wish to deny it,” Teela said. “Your new role is a handful sometimes. But with its powers you can spare the land from an invasion of demons.”

Van sighed. “I know. I just hope I don’t have to get it neutered.”

“Orc knight,” Oga asked in her little snarly voice. “Aren’t you forgetting Pretty Orc?”

“Antonio!” Van cried and she dashed up the alter.

She quickly slashed the sword at the ice and it melted instantly. Antonio shivered with his hair drenched. It hung over his pretty face like a mop. “Chica, I…I…you…you…really saved me for last…after twenty people…?” he said, shivering.

Van’s eyes grew as warm as her heart felt. A large smile appeared with a pair of rosy cheeks. “I was saving the best for last,” she said and she gave Antonio a big kiss.