I'd like to thank lady-yuna7 for giving me the inspiration to start this fic. Thanks so much! :) I don't own Dissidia or Skyrim. I wish I did, but I don't.
She heard the hooves of the horses plodding along the rocky road. Lightning's sight came back to her, blurry at first, but it became clearer in time. She saw the back of an Imperial solider's head and her comrade Ralof sitting adjacent to her. Her hands were bound by rope. She looked around to find Yuna the Stormcloak conjurer, Terra the Stormcloak battle mage, a dark haired man with sunken eyes, dressed in rags and a bound and gagged Ulfric Stormcloak. The trees covered in snow passed by slowly as the Imperial guided the horse onward. Terra's green locks bounced in the wind as the carriage bumped over rocks in the road. Yuna's mismatching eyes wandered the landscape of Skyrim with awe. The dark haired man stared at Lightning's pink hair and Terra's green hair in confusion and then he turned to Yuna, gazing at her single blue and single green eyes.
"Hey Lightning. You're finally awake. So you were caught trying to cross the border right?" Ralof asked.
"Of course. I was there when we were attacked. These Imperials really know more about the campaign than we first thought." she replied.
"We walked right into that Imperial ambush, along with that thief over there." Ralof said and gestured with his head towards the dark haired man. Terra stared down at the wooden wagon and said nothing. Yuna looked around their surroundings and sighed as she tried to break the bindings.
"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't have been looking for you I could've stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell." he snapped at Ralof. He turned to Lightning and sighed. Lightning rolled her eyes at the moody horse thief.
"You three women, we don't belong here. It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants."
"I'm a Stormcloak. Bite your tongue, or I'll cut it out as soon as these bindings are off." Lightning snapped.
"I'm a Stormcloak too. We're only new to the Stormcloaks. But Lightning joined later than Terra and I." Yuna replied and gestured to the moody pink haired woman and the inquisitive green haired Esperkin.
"Never again will I serve an Empire ruled by power hungry men with pointy ears." Terra said with a sigh, wondering if her nemesis was out there, waiting to take hold of her mind again.
"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief." Ralof said, backing up his fellow warriors.
"Shut up back there!" the Imperial solider exclaimed and an air of silence swept over the carriage. Terra stuck her tongue out at the solider and Yuna chuckled.
"Make me, Imperial scum." Lightning uttered with a hiss.
The horse thief turned to Ulfric and stared at him in wonder.
"What's wrong with him, huh?" he asked rudely.
"Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!" Ralof exclaimed. Fire burned in his eyes as he stared the man in rags down with rage.
"Ulfric? You're the Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. If they captured you... oh gods, where are they taking us?" the thief asked.
"Where do you think? I suppose to Solitude, where we will feast on the Imperial's lice infested bodies and drink their putrid blood." Lightning replied sarcastically, making sure that the solider next to her heard her response. The Imperial soldier shook his head and stopped the carriage before turning around.
"Light... Don't. He's scared and you just got yourself into trouble." Yuna said with a sigh. She shook her head at the bitter pink haired woman.
"She's joking. She's just pissed off because she believes that Cosmos left us here to die." Terra said to the thief and the soldier with an assuring smile.
"Is that a Daedra, if it is you will be charged with Daedra worship." The Imperial said.
"No, she is just a goddess who drags pawns into battle against Chaos, another god and his pawns." Lightning replied. Terra sat back up and stared at the trees. She watched the clouds slowly moved across the sky and wondered where Cloud could be in this expansive tundra. The Imperial guard turned around and got the wagon moving again, saying nothing to the pink haired female who insulted him.
"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngard awaits." Ralof replied sadly.
"No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening." the thief said, almost as if he was trying to convince himself not to believe that death awaited him behind stone walls with a heavy and sharpened axe in hand.
"Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?" Ralof asked out of pure curiousity.
"Why do you care?" he snapped.
"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home." Ralof replied sadly. Yuna wanted to reach out and comfort him, but her binds prohibited her to do so.
"Rorikstead. I'm... I'm from Rorikstead." he replied uneasily. The carriage headed towards a stone walkway with a gate underneath. Lightning, Terra and Yuna didn't realise that the other carriages were so close to theirs. The city consisted of stone houses with thatched roofs. It seemed a quiet place to live, but the black and red Imperial banners changed their perception of the small town.
"General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" an Imperial guard exclaimed.
"Good. Let's get this over with!" the general replied gruffly. The thief was praying to the nine divines for help as the wagon was guided into the town. Lightning looked to the sky and wished that this was the war of the gods again.
Villagers stood at the edges of their houses and watched the Imperials bring in the Stormcloak army bound in ropes. The faces of the soldiers in the brown and blue were not fearful, but rather much like Ralof's. An expression of realisation and acceptance.
"Look at him! General Tullius, the military governor! And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves! I bet they had something to do with this." Ralof said with spite. Ralof looked around and recognised the town instantly. He sighed and looked around the town some more.
"This is Helgen. I was sweet on a girl from here. I wonder if Vilad is still making that mead with the juniper berries mixed in. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers made me feel so safe." Ralof said with a sense of nostalgia to his voice. Parents told their children to get inside before their minds were corrupted by violence and bloodshed.
"Ralof... I know what it's like to feel safe with something that governs your day to day life, and then once something changes that you have no control of, they turn against you and you feel so alone. People who you once were friends with won't speak to you anymore. People could sleep better if they knew you were dead. I know what you've been through. And I understand your point of view." Lightning replied with a slight smile. Ralof smiled at her and then continued to survey his surroundings.
The carriages pulled up one by one beside a stone fortress surrounded by many guards. People roamed the streets as the carriage stopped. The citizens surrounded the fortress and watched from their front porches.
"What's going on?" the thief asked with fear.
"What do you think? The end of the line." Ralof replied rather calmly. The captured warriors in the carriage next to them began to stand and file out.
"Let's go. We shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us." Ralof said. The group got up and stepped out without a word. But the thief wasn't going to give up.
"No! Wait! I'm not a rebel!" he exclaimed.
"Face your death with some courage, thief." Ralof replied as they stepped out.
"Don't expect courage from a man like him, Ralof." Lightning said and kicked the man in the ankle. He whimpered quietly as he stepped down from the wagon.
Before the group stood a woman in steel Imperial armour and a man in leather Imperial armour. The armour glimmered in the sunlight as she observed the last carriage of prisoners. Her stern face didn't show any mercy as the warriors were ushered towards the block.
"You've got to tell them I wasn't with you! This is a mistake!" the thief exclaimed. Lightning, Yuna and Terra kept quiet and stood before the guards.
"Step towards the block when we call your name! One at a time!" the Imperial captain instructed. The man standing next to her held a quill and a piece of parchment in his hands.
"Empire loves their damn lists." Ralof uttered under his breath. Yuna and Terra snickered as Lightning stayed silent, watching the headsman approaching the block.
"Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." Hadvar said. Ulfric took one breath of air before heading towards the block.
"It has been an honour, Jarl Ulfric..." Ralof said sadly. Lightning, Terra and Yuna bowed their heads as the leader of the Stormcloak army headed towards the stone block.
"I can get us out of here. Trust me." Lightning whispered.
"Lightning, we lost. There's no escaping our fates. Not this time." Ralof replied and shook his head at the bitter female.
"Ralof of Riverwood." Hadvar called. Terra whimpered. Yuna prayed. Lightning plotted an escape. The townsfolk watched as the man with the paper looked up to see the Stormcloak soldier go towards the block.
"Don't try anything." he whispered to Lightning as he headed towards the block.
"Lokir of Rorikstead." Hadvar said. Fear appeared on the thief's face as his name was called.
"No. I'm not a rebel. You can't do this!" he exclaimed and ran off.
"Halt!" the captain exclaimed. The thief kept running.
"You're not gonna kill me!" he exclaimed and ran faster.
"Archers!" the captain exclaimed and the Imperial archers shot him down quicker than he sped off.
"Anyone else feel like running?" the captain asked the remaining Stormcloaks.
"Idiot..." Lightning mumbled.
"Terra Branford, court wizard for Jarl Ulfric. Where were you born?" Hadvar asked.
"The Land of Espers." Terra replied as she stepped towards the block.
"Cosmos lives, so will we." she replied quietly to her fellow Cosmos warriors and headed off to the block.
"Yuna of... What was your town name?" Hadvar asked the summoner.
"Besaid in Spira." she replied.
"Cosmos will help us. I know she will." Yuna said to Lightning.
"Don't count on it." Lightning replied quietly. Yuna stepped towards the block and joined Ralof, Terra and Ulfric in what seemed like their last minutes of life.
"Wait. You there. Step forward." Hadvar said. Lightning sighed and walked up to the man with the list.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Claire 'Lightning' Farron of Bodhum." Lightning replied, her steely gaze piercing the air of death around her.
"You're a long way from home I'm guessing. Where is Bodhum?" he asked.
"Cocoon." Lightning replied.
"Captain, what should we do? Her name is not on the list." the man asked.
"Forget the list. She goes to the block." the captain replied with her hand resting on her hip. Lightning resisted the urge to punch her in the face and use the Blazefire Pistol to blow her brains out of her head. But reality struck her as she realised that the Imperials stripped her of her weapons, even the green survival knife that her sister gave her for her birthday.
"By your orders captain..." he said. He turned to Lightning and sighed.
"I'm sorry. We will send your remains to Cocoon." he said.
"Huh, you won't be able to. That planet is not longer accessible thanks to a turn of events. At least I can die and rest with my fellow Stormcloaks. That would be more than suitable for me." she replied.
"Follow the captain prisoner." he said and Lightning followed her. She stepped toward the block and stood next to Ralof and her companions from the war of the gods. The road was very worn and she stared at the Imperial guards, the priest and the headsman before nudging Ralof.
"Wait for my cue. When I attack, you get the others out." Lightning said quietly.
"No. It's best we stay. Unless you want to end up like the thief." Ralof replied and they looked over the thief quickly before turning back to the commotion the Imperials were making.
"Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne." General Tulluis said. Ulfric muttered something that was inaudible to everyone else.
"You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down and restore the peace." Tullius said.
"Asshole..." Lightning uttered. She prepared a shock spell and waited for a chance to strike him with her namesake. Ralof nudged her with his elbow and shook his head at the pink haired paradigm commando. Terra waited for the right moment to turn into an Esper. Yuna tugged on her bindings as she tried to get out. The general turned to Lightning with daggers in his eyes. He reached for his blade and held it towards her face. Lightning scoffed and shook her head.
"Nice sword. Mine's better." she replied with a smirk.
A roar filled the air and everyone looked around to see what it was.
"What was that?" an Imperial soldier asked.
"It's nothing. Carry on." Tulluis insisted before putting the sword away and turning around.
"Yes General Tullius." the captain said and beat her fist against her breastplate.
She turned to the priestess and nodded.
"Give them their last rights." she commanded. The priest lifted her hands into the air and began to pray to the nine divines.
"As we commend your souls to Atherius..."
"Cosmos, hear us. Get us out of here." Lightning said quietly, loud enough for Terra and Yuna to hear and add to her prayer.
"Give us our crystals so that we may not perish here." Yuna whispered.
"Please, we need your help Cosmos." Terra whispered and looked over at Lightning and Yuna with worry in her eyes.
"For the love of Talos, shut up let's get it's over with." an impatient Stormcloak said and marched up to the block. The priest stopped the rites and put down her hands.
"As you wish." the captain replied. The captain stood by his side as he spat commands at her. She stood there with a blank expression.
"Come on! I haven't got all morning!" the soldier said impatiently.
She pushed him down to the ground and used her foot to push him onto the block. Lightning closed her eyes and focused her power into a furry of shock barrages. Yuna stopped trying to undo the ropes and prayed. Terra tried to get her Esper claws to rip the bindings off of her hands. Lightning opened her eyes and prepared to strike. Ralof whacked her with his bound fists and shook his head.
"My ancestors are smiling at me. Can you say the same, Imperials?" the soldier asked. The headsman brought the axe down on the Stormcloak solider's head. It rolled off into the basket and blood soaked the block. The captain stood back as the blood splattered back on her and she kicked the body away from the block. Lightning winced and shook her head. The whole town was in an uproar. The citizens exclaimed their cries either mocking the Empire or the Stormcloaks.
"You Imperial bastards!" a female Stormcloak soldier exclaimed.
"I could've saved him..." she said quietly.
"Lightning, there's nothing you can do. He rests with Talos now." Ralof replied sadly in the midst of the town's screaming voices.
"Justice!" a man from the village called.
"I hate you, Imperials!" Terra exclaimed. So much built up rage inside her wanted to burst into her Esper form and eat the hearts of every member of the Empire.
"Death to the Stormcloaks!" a female citizen exclaimed.
"I'll pray for you..." Yuna whispered, tears threatening to wet her face in sorrow.
"As fearless in death as he was in life..." Ralof said and hung his head.
"Talos, guide him to Sovngard." Lightning added and looked over at a glassy eyed Yuna and a vengeful Terra.
"Next! The Stormcloak from Bodhum." the captain called. The same roaring from before echoed through the mountains. Everyone looked up into the sky and then looked at each other.
"There it is again. Did you hear that?" an Imperial asked.
"I said, next prisoner!" the captain exclaimed.
"To the block prisoner, nice and easy." Hadvar said. Lightning scoffed and strutted up to the captain and got on her knees. The captain pushed her onto the block so that she looked at the figure masked in black, wielding the axe of death. She saw the blood staining the hay that was littered around the block. The roaring came again as a large figure flew over the mountains just as the headsman raised his axe.
"What in Oblivion is that?!" Tullius asked.
"Sentries! What do you see?" the captain asked.
"It's in the clouds!" the sentry replied. A large dragon landed on the fortress behind the headsman and knocked him down. The dragon was as black as night and its wings almost covered the entire town in darkness. Lightning stared at the beast in awe.
"Dragon!" a female Stormcloak exclaimed. Swords were drawn out of their sheaths as they prepared to fight off the dragon. The dragon roared and everybody fell to the ground as the clouds swirled around the gigantic beast. Tullius barked commands at the guards as Lightning stood up from the block. Terra and Yuna rushed to her side and the Cosmos warriors watched the dragon reek havoc on Helgen. The houses were burning and the entire place smelt of burning flesh and hay.
"Hey! Come on, the gods have given us another chance!" Ralof exclaimed.
"This way!" he exclaimed and led them to a fortress behind the block. Lightning, Yuna and Terra followed him into the fortress as he shut the door behind them, leaving the town to burn. Their fellow Stormcloaks sat on the ground, either grasping their wounds or tending to their wounded allies.
"Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true?" Ralof asked the unbound Jarl of Windhelm.
"Legends don't burn down villages." he replied. The ground rumbled as the dragon continued to assault Helgen. The dragon roared again and everyone looked up at the ceiling.
"We need to move. Now!" Ulfric exclaimed.
"Up through the tower, let's go." Ralof exclaimed. Panic filled the room as they scrambled up the stairs.
The dragon burst in through the wall of the tower and crushed a Stormcloak trying to help Ralof get everybody out alive.
"Everybody get back!" Ralof exclaimed and everyone stumbled backwards as the dragon released flames into the building. The flames burned down into nothing and the four warriors stood at the edge of the crevice that the dragon had caused. Below them was a burning inn with shrapnel covering it, helping it burn. The ground rumbled as the rest of them approached the edge.
"See the inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going." Ralof said and pointed to the burning wreck beneath them.
"Go! We'll follow you if we can!" Ralof exclaimed. Lightning, Yuna and Terra jumped onto the burning wreck and the roof began to cave in on them. They jumped down the hole in the floor and made for safety.
Lightning placed the middle of her bindings on a burning stick. The rope broke and Lightning picked up a lone iron sword before cutting Terra and Yuna free. She discarded the sword and kept shock spells ready at all times. Three Imperials had their swords out to fight the dragon. The huge scaly beast sent fire hurdling towards them and they jumped out of the way. Lightning prepared to cast shock as Terra prepared Holy Combo and Yuna picked up a stick, praying that it will do as a weapon. The town collapsed around them as they ran towards the keep. The houses burned as Stormcloaks and Imperials banded together to defeat the beast. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as they ran past the stone archway and met Ralof at the door to the keep.
"Come on! Into the keep!" Ralof exclaimed. They ran into the keep and shut the door behind them, just in time to avoid the dragon's fiery breath.
They stopped at the red carpet and sighed as they found a fellow soldier dead. Ralof stopped by the body and knelt down.
"We'll meet again in Sovngard, brother." Ralof said and stood up to face the Cosmos warriors.
"Looks like we're the only ones that made it." Ralof said. Terra and Yuna exchanged worried glances as Lightning stared at the ground with both anger and hidden sorrow.
"I just hope others made it out." Yuna said. Terra nodded.
"That thing was a dragon. No doubt. Just like the children's stories and legends. The harbingers of the End times." Ralof said.
"So, that thing out there is a dragon?" Terra asked.
"What did you think it was? A fire-breathing clown?" Lightning asked Terra in reply. Terra shuddered.
"Sorry Terra. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just angry." Lightning replied.
"We better get moving." Ralof said.
"Agreed." the three women replied. Terra looked around the room and found an unlocked chest. She walked over and opened the wooden box. She pulled out her rapier and tied the sheath to her material belt. She picked up Yuna's summoning staff and placed it in the ground before taking out Lightning's Blazefire Saber and her survival knife. Terra found a quiver of iron arrows and a long bow and picked that up too before closing the chest. Terra picked up the weapons. She gave Yuna her staff and Lightning her weapons before handing Ralof the bow and quiver.
"Thanks Terra." they all said as Terra handed them the weapons. Lightning put her knife into her pocket and nodded to the others.
"I'm going to see if I can find some way out of here." Ralof replied and went looking around. Terra nodded and Yuna grasped her staff tightly. Lightning whipped out her Blazefire Saber and held it securely, poised to strike at any given time as she waited for Ralof.
"Find anything?" she asked.
"This one's locked. Let's try the other one." Ralof said with a disappointed sigh. They walked over to the other door and examined it.
"Damn, no way to open this from our side." Ralof said.
"Then I'll burn it down." Lightning replied as the dragon roared outside. Imperial soliders appeared on the other side and made a lot of ruckus.
"It's the Imperials! Take cover!" Ralof whispered. They hid from the Imperials with their weapons drawn. The Imperials pulled at the chain and the gate blocking the path retreated into the ground. Lightning commando rolled out of hiding and shot the guard in light armour and slit the throat of the Imperial captain. Blood poured out of the two bodies but Lightning didn't care in the slightest. Ralof stared at Lightning in shock. Yuna looked like she was going to be sick as Terra patted her shoulder.
"Guess I'm on a lucky streak." Lightning said and placed her hand on her hip. She walked over to the captain's body and shook her head.
"Lightning, what in Talos' name did your weapon just do?" Ralof asked.
"Ralof, we've fought together before. You know exactly what my gunblade does." Lightning replied.
"Sorry, I'm not used to it." Ralof said. Yuna laughed at Ralof's response.
"I hate that wretch." Lightning said and sheathed her gunblade before kicking the captain's dead head.
"Easy Light." Yuna said and Ralof stood beside Lightning to see the path ahead. It was dark and dusty. Ralof inspected the bodies and found a key. He used it to open the locked and rusty gate.
"Let's go." Lightning said and led the party down the mossy stone walkway. As they walked down the walkway the dragon roared and Ralof pulled Lightning back.
"Watch out." he called as the pathway collapsed in front of them.
"Damn, that dragon doesn't give up easy." Ralof said and Lightning shook her head, hoping that the dragon knows that she was not amused by its actions.
"It looks like the dragon from the war of the gods. Shinryu, was it?" Terra asked.
"Yes, it was. I believe you're right." Yuna replied with a nod. They heard the mumbling of Imperial soldiers behind the door. Yuna summoned the ice queen, Shiva. The Aeon gave her conjurer her cloak of ice. They drew their weapons and Yuna sent Shiva in to fight for her. Shards of ice flew all around the room as Terra sent fire spells plummeting into the chest of an Imperial soldier. His back hit the wall and he fell to the ground with an almighty thud. Lightning swung Gagnrad around and sliced off the heads of the remaining two soldiers. Blood stained the stone floor as the bodies collapsed to the ground. They sheathed their weapons and continued onward. Terra picked up a cast iron pot, just in case she needed it later.
"This way." Terra said and pointed to a flight of mossy stairs. They followed the green haired Esperkin down the stairs.
"It's a torture chamber." Terra said and placed her hand on her rapier. Ralof walked towards Terra and shook his head.
"By Talos, it is a torture chamber!" Ralof exclaimed. His voice alerted the Imperial soldiers at the bottom of the stairs. Lightning drew her gunblade, prepared a few shock spells and ran into battle. She cast shock on her opponents. They yelped in pain as she quickly flipped the blade into gun mode and shot them down. Ralof still couldnt get over the strange blades Lightning always wielded. She put her blade away as the others came down the stairs. Yuna ran down first and inspected the cell with what looked like a dead Mage locked in. She found a knapsack on a small wooden table. She searched through it and took out the lock picks that were inside.
"Can I have a dagger?" she asked. Ralof picked an iron dagger that he found next to the knapsack and handed her the dagger and she tried to pick the lock. The lock clicked and she opened the door.
"Great job Yuna." Terra said with a clap. Yuna took the gold and the potions in the cell and followed the other three out of the torture chamber and into a huge cavern filled with water and bridges.
The Imperials turned to find Lightning, Ralof, Terra and Yuna coming into the cavern. Terra ran ahead and went into her trance to awaken her Esper self. She growled and ran up to the guards before slashing at them with her elegant purple claws. Strips of flesh landed on the ground with a squelch that made Yuna feel even more sick than before. Terra jumped onto an Imperial and ripped chunks out of his neck without hesitation. She glided over to another solider and cast Meltdown twice, slamming the soldier into the wall. Their screams of pure terror echoed through the cavern as Terra's bloodied claws ripped their hearts put of their bodies. Terra's Esper form disappeared and the green haired woman appeared again. She stared at the bleeding hearts in her hands and whimpered before throwing them into the lake and shaking the crimson off of her hands.
"I see why you were appointed court wizard." Ralof said with wide eyes. Terra laughed and nodded. They continued into the caverns. The wooden floors became gravel and dirt. The trail crunched under their feet as they continued down into the caverns. The ground shook as the dragon roared again. The rocks began to fall down on the frame of the cavern behind them. Lightning pulled Terra and Yuna away as Ralof dived onto the safety of the gravel. He got up and dusted himself off as Yuna, Terra and Lightning coughed the dust out of their lungs.
"Looks like we can't go back." Ralof said and led the women further into the caverns in hopes of finding an exit. The caverns smelt of old leather and rotting flesh. Terra wrinkled her nose with disgust.
"Smells really bad in here." Yuna said. Ralof complained about the smell as Lightning took point. They walked into a cave filled with large spiderwebs covering every rocky column supporting the ceiling.
Huge Frostbite spiders came out of their dark hiding spaces and spat poisonous webs at the Stormcloaks. Lightning dodged the attacks as Yuna cast a barrier on everyone so that they could fight without getting poisoned. Ralof raised his axes over his head before bringing them down onto one of the spiders. Dark crimson fluid sprayed everywhere and stained his blue and brown cuirass. Terra sent a fire spell travelling across the ground and when it hit the spider, the overgrown insect flew up into the air and Terra used her Holy Combo followed by an Ultima attack. The spider crashed into the ground and failed to get up. Lightning attacked the spider with her gunblade and pulled out the swords of her Eidolon. She whipped Gagnrad around gracefully and powerfully. Sparks flew around the room and hit some of the other spiders surrounding her. Red rose petals littered the ground and the insect's blood splattered onto the petals, tainting their delicate beauty and finesse. Yuna sent Shiva back to the Farplane and called on Ifrit. The beast burst out of the ground with fiery light and caught the falling Yuna and placed her on the ground before roaring at the remaining spiders. The spiders were almost blown back by the force of his monstrous voice.
"Show your flames!" Yuna exclaimed and held her staff in the direction of the spiders. Ifrit roared again and slammed the ground before pulling the rock up from underneath him and pulled three columns of fire out of the ground. The spiders were burnt to a crisp and Yuna sent the fire demon back into the Farplane. The Stormcloak warriors sheathed their weapons and continued deeper into the dark cavern.
The cavern grew darker and smelt of musty moss. Ralof squatted down and pulled the girls back. Yuna looked at Ralof in confusion.
"Ralof? What's gotten into you?" Terra asked the blonde male.
"Quiet! There's a bear over there!" he exclaimed quietly and pointed to the bear sleeping in the distance.
"Let's try to sneak past her. You can fight her, but I'm not too fond of fighting a bear at the moment." Ralof said. Lightning drew her gunblade and advanced slowly towards the bear.
"Anything's better than fighting manikins all day!" Lightning replied and ran into battle. She jumped onto the bear's back and switched the gunblade into gun mode before shooting the bear in the back of the head. The bullet pierced the bear's skull and bloody brains slid out of the wound. Lightning jumped down from the bear's back and walked back to Terra, Yuna and Ralof as they snuck around the back of the bear. Despite seeing Lightning shoot many of her enemies with her Blazefire Pistol, the weapon still baffled him as he couldn't comprehend how it works.
"Lightning, you're crazy." Ralof said and shook his head. The other three warriors stood up and joined Lightning in their quest for a way out.
"Maybe using the gun part of your gunblade wouldn't be a good idea from now on. People around here aren't used to the technology." Yuna said.
"I guess you're right..." Lightning replied with a shrug.
"You'll still use it, won't you?" Terra asked the pink haired woman.
"Of course." Lightning replied with a smile.
"We made it! That's the way out!" Terra exclaimed and ran ahead of the others. Lightning jogged to keep up with her and the others hurried to keep up with the Esperkin and the l'Cie. As they exited the cavern, Ralof sighed with relief as the sun beat down on his face. Rocks and grass covered the landscape and in the distance, a forest of trees stood and towered over everything in sight. Terra and Yuna gazed up at the sky and smiled. Lightning placed her hands on her hips and chuckled. They almost forgot about the dragon that terrorised Helgen as they enjoyed their freedom. The dragon roared and flew overhead.
"Get down!" Lightning exclaimed and pulled her fellow Stormcloaks down behind a large rock. The dragon flew right past them and Lightning stood up when it was safe.
"Is it gone?" Yuna asked. Lightning nodded and the others stood up.
"Thanks for the heads up." Ralof replied.
"Welcome." Lightning said.
"So, where to now?" Terra asked.
"Windhelm. We need to be in safety's hands before the Imperials find out that we escaped Helgen." Ralof replied.
"Sounds like a plan." Lightning said. They walked down the stone path and headed towards the snowy city of Windhelm.