Draco: Mother. Frickin'. Admins.
Okay, disclaimer. This is NOT the nuclear lily bomb. This is the remote detonator. The lily bomb will not be making an appearance on FFN, because the frickin' admins won't take a good look a fic before they take it down unjustly. Fortunately, my... friend, Aurya has an Archive Of Our Own account and said she would be willing to host Auroran Nightlight on her AO3 page. I just cut off the whole last section of this, so if you're not here for the detonation then feel free to just read this one.
For the full oneshot on Aurya's page: archiveofourown*.*org*/*w*o*r*k*s*/*8*2*6*4*7*1*6
Auroran Nightlight
"Nine, ten, 'leven, guard!"
The weapon in her right hand was lowered, and she raised the defense in her left - a thick buckler that was light enough for her to handle - to block against the flat edge of a much broader battle plate that was swung towards her.
"And thrust!"
Now she raised the weapon - a thin rapier with an edge sharp enough to compensate for the frailty of its blade - and surged it forward. It skimmed faintly across the neck of her opponent, raising a faint red line across the skin alongside so many others that had already been left there; no blood had been drawn yet, but then drawing blood was not the point of this exercise. She pulled her weapon away, careful to keep it away from herself - too far, it seemed, for she was reprimanded with a light slap from the flat of her opponent's weapon.
"Never lower your weapon without raising a guard in its place. Stance!"
She braced her rapier at her side, keeping her buckler low before her - as she had been instructed.
"One..."
At the numeral's call, she swept her sword forward - higher than would bring harm, but low enough that her opponent raised her own weapon to meet it.
"...two, guard!"
Another meet, this one lower; then she thrust her shield forward to catch the attack.
"And thrust!"
The rapier was brought forth again in the opening after her foe's attack; another skim across her opponent's neck, this time just deep enough to draw a bead of crimson.
"Parry!"
She swept her weapon before her, meeting her foe's as close to the hilt as possible; the further up her blade it connected, the less hold she had. The sweep beat the attack aside.
"Three, four, five, guard!"
Two meets, and then a strike from her shield to deflect her opponent's own.
"Six, seven, eight, parry!"
Another deflection; her foe's strike connected with the basket hilt of her rapier, bringing it dangerously close to her skin.
"Thrust!"
This time her offense was just too slow, and her opponent moved to evade; she did so by dropping, however, and the exact delay of the rapier's movement meant it collided with a horn of rose crimson emerging from beneath her hair. A cry echoed through the chamber, rattling the blades across the walls; sword and shield were cast to the earth, and her companion, standing aside, threw her a more familiar weapon - a staff of shining cobalt, its head holding a crystal and filled with cleanest water. The head was held above her foe's head, a few drops falling from it; they connected with the flesh beneath her hair, then dripped down the sides and crossed the red lines at her neck. The wounds patched, and there was a long silence as she lowered her staff.
"I'm sorry, Evia."
Oichi's apology only brought the Auroran Warlord to shake her head assuringly. "It's alright," she insisted, getting to her feet. Oichi tossed her staff back to Jigglypuff, who caught it carefully, before reclaiming her rapier and buckler. The Dragnoran had requested that Evia show her swordplay, such that she could act as more than a healer in battle; but it would be a slow process, and Evia could see the medic was already exhausted even as she raised her weapons again.
With a small sigh - for she was a bit tired herself - Evia sheathed her Warlord Sword. "Let's call it a rest for today," she insisted, hooking the Aurora Shield on her back.
A relieved breath passed through Oichi's lips. She made her way to Jigglypuff's side, where the scabbard for her rapier was waiting; she sheathed the weapon and slipped it into the strap of her buckler before accepting her staff from the singer and starting out of the chamber of blades with her partner and Warlord. The door opened ahead of them, however, and Evia was surprised to see Glaceon stepping in, giving a small cry.
"Someone's come to see us...?"
+x+x+x+
"En garde!"
Weapons were drawn, the twin screams of blade against sheath echoing through the battlefield. He raised his longsword skyward, and dragon mist wrapped its blade; in response, she lowered her own sword at her side, prompting her partner to drape its edge in icy mist.
"Allez!"
The two sword-bearers rushed forward, their companions at their sides; the combatants stopped at ten paces, one launching a frozen gale to meet the violent pulse from the other's gaping maw, and the Warlords continued so that they could cross swords. Two met two, and twin shockwaves crossed the battlefield, throwing the logs scattered about to all edges of the battlefield.
"How are things in Dragnor?"
"I have left Ranmaru to tend to matters there."
The Auroran thrust the flat of her shield into Nobunaga's chest, causing him to stumble back; so too did his partner's Dragon Pulse falter, and Glaceon's Icy Wind slammed into Hydreigon with unkind force as Evia struck the Dragnoran's legs with the flat of her blade. Frost began to form on Nobunaga's greaves, but he quickly leapt back as his Dragon floated away; a thrust from his longsword sent a shot of dragon mist at Evia, who could only raise her shield before she skidded back across the battlefield. Glaceon leapt away from another Dragon Pulse, landing at his Warrior's side as she charged forward to cross blades with the Dragnoran once more.
The sound of the door opening brought their spar to a halt, and both of them turned to see Oichi panting at the battlefield entry to the castle, leaning on her staff.
"Brother, Evia, we have a visitor."
Nobunaga raised an eyebrow.
Oichi angled her empty hand from side to side. "Or five."
+x+x+x+
"To challenge you to unite Ransei for no reason but the challenge itself..."
The Warlord Chamber of Illusio Castle held a balcony, which was home to a stunning view. For all the terror that Illusian terrain could strike into travelers, the broken, floating landscape was a wonder to behold. Still more beautiful was the sight when seen beneath a full moon, for the nightlight gleaming off the crystal surfaces gave the scenery a heavenous glow - and so it was this sight, that she had missed during her conquest, that Evia chose to bask in, with Oichi at her side.
The Dragnoran's observation only brought Evia to shake her head. "The power with which to forge a Link brings with it a desire to enjoy battle, for the battle's own sake," she told her beloved. "So many mistake it for bloodlust... but no blood need be shed to sate it."
A smile rose on her face as she slipped her arm around Oichi's waist - which proved more difficult with the additional folds that had formed there. "On the subject of battle," she added, "how does it feel to be on the receiving end of power gathered from the world itself?"
"Oh, Distortion," Oichi exclaimed, setting a hand on her head - and nearly colliding with the arc that circled her upper body. "I have no idea how you held that back. It felt like I was freezing and volted and on fire all at the same time."
"And I have no idea how you held me back," Evia countered, gripping her neck - the healer's attempt to warn that she stay back had inadvertently landed an open palm to the same region that was usually skimmed during their swordplay sessions. "That was a whole 'nother flame."
Oichi set her glare. "Don't try to tell me that's the first time you've felt a burning pain," she reprimanded.
Evia raised an eyebrow at her.
"...In battle," she added.
A chuckle from the Auroran. "A brush of a blade, a shock in the hilt, a kick because I got too close - none of them even compares to a binta from someone mid-transformation."
The Dragnoran laughed at that.
A long quiet; then Evia glanced back at the closed door to the Warlord Chamber. Glaceon recognized the notion and quickly flicked his tail up to lock, shifting the bolt as Evia caught Oichi's hand. "Speaking of fire..."
+x+x+x+
"Three, four, five, guard!"
Mountains are more inclined to peak than arc, and would rather come to a single point than a flat top. As such, Evia had enlisted the help of a few of Ransei's more hardy and hot-headed Warriors to shear the top of a mountain range in northern Ransei to a long, smooth surface. And it was here that she gave Oichi her hardest test of swordplay yet; the two of them dashed across the range, freshly dusted by the merciless blizzards that howled in the higher regions of Nixtorm. How Evia was able to endure this chill in her nightgown and still have the strength to move her shield and sword in accord, Oichi would never know for sure - although she had an few less-than-pleasant ideas.
"Six, seven, parry! Eight, nine, thrust!"
The healer was wrapped in the warmest, most mobile garments in both of their wardrobes, with her buckler and rapier in hand, moving to the every order that Evia gave. Nobunaga had elected to accompany them, and was currently on the back of his Hydreigon as he strafed the mountaintop, watching to ensure nothing... unforseen should occur as they duelled. In one hand was his longsword, although its blade was bare; in the other was Oichi's healing staff, which she had insisted on bringing along in case she should land a blow on her Warlord that she did not want to.
"Ten, 'leven, twelve, parry! Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, guard! Thrust!"
The Auroran's orders echoed across the Nixtorm mountain range, such that Nobunaga - who could make out the Warlord but nothing on her person - heard them loud and clear. Glaceon was dashing at one side of their sparring ground, and the newly-evolved Wigglytuff was struggling to keep up with them on the other. As their swords crossed, it was clear that the girls were no longer aware of their surroundings, only of the duel they were locked in - a state Nobunaga had been in often before.
And he knew that such focus on a battle had its consequences.
"Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, guard, parry! Nineteen, guard! Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, guard! Parry! Twenty-three, twenty-four, thruuuuust!"
The mountain range of Nixtorm was not endless, and Evia had underestimated the pace at which she would test Oichi. They had reached the edge of the sheared grounds, and she found herself struggling to maintain her perch. Oichi noticed her Warlord's disbalance a moment too late; attempting to avert her blade's edge only meant it left a nasty gash on the Auroran's shoulder. Hydreigon began to near the mountain range as Nobunaga glanced around, observing the mountain's slope.
Enough to gain speed, but not so much as to endanger them.
He turned to Glaceon, who had noticed Hydreigon's approach; the Eeveelution gave the Dragnoran a glare as though to say "Don't you dare".
A smirk rose on Nobunaga's face.
Hydreigon opened his maw and blasted a Dragon Pulse at the mountainside, just below where the two swordswomen were struggling to remain, and bringing the mountain into a violent avalanche. Glaceon quickly lashed forward, a chill beyond the blizzard taking form as Evia and Oichi began to fall. Solid, flawless ice appeared below them, forming a sliding slope that began to extend towards the base of the mountain. A moment's pause as she realized their lives were not in danger as she had thought; then Evia managed to get to her feet. It took some brief doing, but she managed to stand upright as she slid down; then she pulled Oichi to a like stance, confusing the healer to all Distortion.
"What are you-?"
"Guard!"
The Aurora Shield moved, and by reflex Oichi thrust her buckler to meet the edge of the battle plate. There was a brief moment after the connection as Oichi wondered if this was part of her Warlord's plan - but then that moment ended as the next order came; "Parry!" Their swords collided with one another, and Nobunaga only directed his Hydreigon to follow the rapidly-forming slope; Glaceon was doing everything in his power to keep the bottom of the slope ahead of the girls as they continued to duel.
"Twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, parry! Thrust! Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thrust! Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, guard!"
She did more than that; as Evia swung her battle plate, Oichi struck it with her buckler, putting enough force behind the blow that it knocked the Aurora Shield from her hands. The Warlord could only watch as the shield was knocked into the falling snow, vanishing beneath the flood of white.
"That was my best shield," the Auroran complained turning to Oichi.
She was caught off-guard when the tip of Oichi's rapier was set against her nose - with such caution that it didn't even pierce the skin.
A smirk lit Oichi's face.
Evia returned it with her own; then she lashed her Warlord Sword against it, beating it aside.
"One, two, guard!"
+x+x+x+
"What a beautiful sight..."
All seventeen kingdoms had been joined under the Auroran banner once again, and Nobunaga had asked that Evia accompany him to the peak of the Tower of Infinity. Oichi had elected not to join them, insisting the tower still held unpleasant memories - and neither of them had made any attempt to convince her otherwise - but Evia had acquiesced the request.
And Nobunaga's words rang true - for atop the Tower of Infinity, all of Ransei was visible, and it was a wonder to gaze upon.
"You've shown the world..." The Dragnoran shook his head, correcting himself; "You've shown us all that people should aspire to great things. That they should not content themselves with being weak. I too, believe this to be true." He sighed heavily. "And we must continue to believe. I shall do my utmost to show the same to all whom I should meet."
His words carried a meaning hidden none-too-well, and Evia turned to him, her horns - now a shining gold - catching sunlight unmasked by the clouds that lay below them. "Where do you intend to go?" she inquired.
"I cannot say," Nobunaga insisted. "But we cannot restrict ourselves to Ransei. I shall cross the oceans, and spread your message to all the lands I encounter."
There was no force to his voice, but Evia could see there was no convincing him otherwise; she fell quiet for a moment, gazing back over Ransei again. "For now," she offered, "would you accompany us back to Aurora?"
Nobunaga nodded, a smile on his face. "I believe I shall."