Peacock: So this is something new for me to try out. I really don't know why but I got the urge to play an old RPG game that originally came out on Sega Genesis (it's one of the staple games from my childhood) and well, I was playing the GBA remake of Shining Force when I suddenly reached the battle in the desert outside of Manarina. I accidentally sent Khris ahead (oops!) and since she was almost in range of some giant flying bats, I had Gort come in and kill off the bat closest to her (while getting hit by the same bat). Well, Idk why but i imagined Gort had hung back to protect the army from behind (or rather he was guarding the magic users and archers) when Khris ran up to try and heal one of the other characters who were in trouble, and he immediately swooped in to protect her from a Giant Bat. That's how this cute one-shot came about. I'm not promoting a Gort/Khris romance or anything of that sort. This is clearly about an old warrior protecting one of his younger comrades from an enemy in the heat of battle and the start of a father/daughter-esque relationship since the two are with the Shining Force, far from their families and homes and there's no telling when they'd be seeing their loved ones again. The two characters may be a bit out of character and I don't claim anything as canon since this is all my interpretations from my own playthrough and how I placed the characters. So with that said, I don't own Khris, Gort, or anything else related to Shining Force. Thank you and enjoy the story.

Quick Note of Thanks: I just want to note that thanks to a reviewer (possibly the only one as of me adding this little note), I fixed up some errors and edited this one shot a little. Thanks for letting me know. Maybe I'll flesh this idea out a little more or just kinda add more brief father/daughter-esque scene between Gort and Khris. Like I said, I may do more one shots like this in the future.

Oath of Friendship

The enemies appeared out of nowhere. The Shining Force were on their way to see a sage in Manarina, but an army of zombies appeared out of nowhere with the intended goal of preventing them from reaching the said city of mages. While Max and some of the others rushed ahead to cut a path through the zombie and the few demonic snipers that accompanied them, Khris hung back with the others, just in case they needed some healing. They were barely a few steps into the desert when the Kyantal girl heard one of her companions crying out in pain.

Khris, with worry and fear in her heart, quickly gripped her heart ran towards the heart of the battle, where all of the action was. From close by, Gort had just killed off a nearby sniper, one that was aiming its arrow at one of the other members of the Shining Force. He had just pulled his axe out of the demonic sniper when out of the corner of his eye, he saw her running into the battle, she was headed for Max. It was no secret that ever since she had met Max in Alterone, Khris sort of became fond of the army's slightly naive but brave and kind leader.

"Damn it, Gort, you were ordered to protect the healers and mages." The Dwarven Warrior muttered to himself and he immediately set off after Khris. "Wait, Lass!"

She heard another cry from Max as the zombie he fought made a hard swipe at him.

The undead being barely clipped the swordsman's arm with its poisonous claws. It was a good thing Max wore that steel gauntlet he bought in Alterone. Still, Khris couldn't help worrying about him.

As she passed under a nearby tree, the girl was unaware of a giant bat creature hanging off the highest branch of the tree. But Gort, having learned to be alert at all times, even when outside of battle, was the first to see the Giant Bat taking flight.

"Khris, look out!"

Khris looked up at hearing the warning, but when she did, she finally saw the Giant Bat swooping down on her. The sight of the monster made fear swell up in her heart, keeping her in place as she stared, unable to keep her eyes off the thing. Just as the bat was within range, she heard a loud battle cry. She saw Gort leaping in front of her to protect her as he raised his axe to in time to deflect an attack from the Bat's wing. Of course, one of the claws grazed his arm a little but that didn't matter.

"Mr. Gort!" Khris said in surprise as the old dwarf struck the Giant Bat with his axe once more, rendering the cursed beast dead, the giant bat dropping to the ground from the wound that had been inflicted upon its neck.

"Good riddance!" Gort muttered, feeling out of breath. He suddenly turned on his feet to face Khris. Compared to the healer, Gort was a bit shorter but still, his dark eyes glaring at her and his lips pulling back into a frown as he held his axe tightly in his right hand made the old dwarf look intimidating to the young girl "Don't you ever run ahead into battle like that again! You need to be aware of your surroundings!"

His loud voice ran through the blonde, making her jump in response.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Gort, I-I wanted to make sure that Sir Max wasn't healed." Tears shone in her eyes and Gort immediately cursed himself for yelling at her. Of course she wanted to rush to their leader's side. A healer's job was to heal the wounds of others, but at the same time…

As Khris stood there, sniffling, trying to keep herself from losing her composure anymore, Gort let out a sigh, guilt eating at him already.

"There, there, lass. I didn't mean to yell at ya," He said softly, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. His voice was a lot softer, more gentle as he spoke, "Just the next time you feel the need to rush to someone's aid, at least wait for someone to come with ya. We can't afford to lose any of our companions."

Khris's ears perked up and his words seemed to make her smile as she wiped her tears with the sleeve of her tunic, "Of course! I promise to be more aware and to have someone with me! Thank you, Mr. Gort."

Although she couldn't see it, Gort blushed a bit at her cute smile. It reminded him so much when his granddaughter was her age. Gods, did she have that adorable smile.

The warrior immediately cleared his throat and returned Khris's smile with one of his own, "What do you say we go help out our friends?"

With that said, the two stuck close together as they rushed back into the battle.

Peacock Whispers: Sorry if this is an abrupt ending but I honestly didn't know how this should end without it seeming so awkward. As I said, this came from me imagining what an interaction between Gort and Khris would be like in the heat of battle in my playthrough of Shining Force on the GBA. But I hope you enjoyed this little one shot. I may do more one shots like this in the future.