Author's Note: So, I've wanted to write this for a long time now but I never got around to it. I got the inspiration for this story while fighting the Black Knight in Radiant Dawn on Part 3: Chapter 7. It's something I always do, so why not make a story out of it? Side plots are something I'm a huge advocate of when it comes to video games and I write them up on a whim sometimes. I'm a writer first and a gamer second, it seems. And besides, I've always wanted to write a Black Knight story! This will probably be two chapters or so. Three tops. Depends on how things progress.

Against the Dark Knight

I

An Outrageous Proposal

Shinon awoke in a drunken stupor, his head pounding in his ears with the loudness of a beating drum. His body was slow to respond as he sat up on his cot, holding his head tightly in both hands. A half empty wine bottle lay next to him, some of its contents spilled out onto the blanket draped across his legs. Shinon gripped the neck of the bottle and emptied the rest of the burning liquid down his throat in one long gulp. He sputtered and coughed before tossing the bottle idly to one side. The bottle shattered as it hit the floor of the tent, shards of pointed glass flying everywhere. Shinon winced slightly at the sound.

He swung his legs over the edge of the cot and rose gingerly to his feet. His legs were weak and felt like mush. Stretching out his back carefully, he thought back on the events of the previous evening. How late had he been up last night? He couldn't even remember passing out during the drinking contest he had gotten into with Gatrie. The knight had downed at least two bottles of wine, maybe three. Shinon couldn't remember exactly. He had passed out before finishing his fourth bottle. The fact that Gatrie's body wasn't sprawled across the floor of the tent told him that the knight must have staggered drunkenly back to his own tent after Shinon had blacked out.

He suddenly felt nauseous and a burning sensation rose up in his throat. His stomach roiled noisily and felt as if it had been turned upside down. Shinon barely had time to dash for the tent flaps before violently retching out the contents of his stomach. Groaning and clutching his stomach tightly in both hands, he pulled his head back in and fell back onto the floor, his head spinning furiously. Never again, he told himself. That was the last time he let Gatrie talk him into doing something that stupid.

If he wasn't awake before, he was now. Shinon staggered to his feet, leaning heavily on his cot for support. While he couldn't tell what time it was, Shinon could only assume that it was late enough in the morning for the army to be stirring. Too early for him, in any case. The bustling of soldiers outside of his tent and the shuffling of feet told him as much. Muffled voices and the clanging of weapons could be heard amongst the rabble, relentlessly assailing his tender eardrums. It wouldn't do him any good to suffocate himself in here, he knew. Slinging his quiver of arrows across his back, he snatched his bow from the side of the tent and held it loosely in his left hand. Before making his way toward the tent flaps, be bent over and pried a new bottle of red wine from underneath his cot. He sighed in frustration when he realized that it was his last. He'd meant to save it, but perhaps a few drinks would help assuage his head and quell his stomach.

He stumbled outside and began to make his way across camp, the blazing sun shining into his eyes all the while. Shinon raised the hand that held his bow against its brightness and squinted his eyes. It might as well have been right in front of his eyes. What he wouldn't give for a cloud right about now. Gripping the neck of the wine bottle, he pulled the cork out with his teeth and spat it aside. He let the warm liquid run down his gullet, its refreshing taste stimulating his sore muscles.

"Shinon!"

Shinon came to a slow stop and turned in direction of the voice. He sighed in frustration. He couldn't see anything, half-blinded by the sun, but he knew that shrill voice anywhere. His eyesight slowly adjusted and Titania, deputy commander of the Greil Mercenaries, came striding up to him. Shinon's face turned sour. What in the hell did that woman want with him this early in the morning anyways? Judging by the disapproving look on her face, Shinon could guess that it had something to do with him, as it always did.

"Shinon!" Titania shouted again. She was standing right next to him and her words pierced his head like knives. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Must you really yell at me?" was Shinon's curt reply. "I'm standing right here, woman!"

"That's because it seems that yelling at you is the only way to get your attention anymore, Shinon," Titania replied.

Her hard eyes focused on him. "And do not refer to me as "woman" again, Shinon," she chastised. "You know better. As I've told you before, "deputy commander" is more appropriate."

Shinon scoffed at the statement. "Then what can I do for you, deputy commander?" he asked mockingly.

Ignoring his sarcasm, she eyed the wine bottle in his right hand. "I'm talking about that, Shinon. You know that drinking isn't allowed during the daytime. Keep your indulgences for the nighttime hours."

"When last I looked, you didn't hold that kind of authority over me, Titania."

"No, I don't," she replied evenly. "But your commander does. I'm sure that Ike explicitly told you not to drink during the day, especially in front of the other soldiers." She reached for the bottle.

Shinon pulled his hand away and stepped back. "Do you really think I care, Titania? I take orders from that pompous whelp every day and where has that gotten me? I'll do what I please with my own time and nothing Ike says will change my mind. Why should I even give a shit about what he says?"

Shinon turned to go but Titania grabbed him brusquely by the arm and pulled him back. Her eyes flashed with rage. "Watch your mouth, Shinon! I'll brook no disrespect toward the commander. You should be ashamed of yourself. If Commander Greil could hear you now—"

"Well we both know that he's not here anymore, so why even bring it up?" Shinon retorted. Titania's face screwed up in anger and she tightened the grip on his arm.

Shinon smiled squalidly. "Oh, what's wrong, deputy commander? Did I touch a nerve?"

"You go too far, Shinon," she threatened.

Shinon stared her down, forcing back the pains in his head and stomach. "Do I? Perhaps you go too far trying to get me to follow Ike around like a lost puppy, like you and the others so single-mindedly do." Upon getting no response from her, Shinon's smile broadened. "See? You know I'm right. Now, take your hands off of me."

Titania held him fast for a moment longer before releasing him. But she didn't back down as Shinon had expected. "You've got a real attitude problem, Shinon," she said, jabbing her finger into his chest. "If it wasn't for that attitude of yours, you would be an exemplary soldier: a model leader and archer."

"What use is being a role model if it doesn't bring you fame and fortune?" the sniper countered.

Titania shook her head and backed away slowly. "Mark my words, Shinon," she warned, "one of these days your greed and arrogance are going to turn on you. You won't like what you find when that happens." With that, she stormed off angrily, effortlessly resuming her role as deputy commander of the Greil Mercenaries and barking out orders where they were needed.

Shinon didn't give their confrontation another thought and stalked off in the other direction, keeping to the shadows of trees and tents the best he could. He actively ignored cheerful morning greetings from Mia and Brom, barely grunting in response. Why was it that could never walk through camp without someone pestering him, mornings most of all? They weren't the only ones he met along the way, however. The paths between supply carts and tents were choked and infested Gallia's sub-humans and Shinon found it difficult to maneuver around them without venturing too close. His reputation for despising their kind was well-known here, and when Shinon met eyes with a few of them, they glared back at him in hate. Shinon returned their hard stares with abhorrent looks of his own.

"Filthy sub-humans," he muttered in disgust before moving on.

When he reached the center of camp he turned left, heading in the direction of the main supply wagon. Perhaps Muston could scrounge up another flask of wine or two so that he would have something to drink tomorrow evening once they had crossed the river. Goddess knows that he would need a drink after spending an hour, possibly longer, trudging and fighting through the swampy waters of the Ribahn, surrounded by sub-humans and others in the mercenary troop that he hated so much. He made a mental note not to bring Gatrie along this time. He drank better in the darkness and solitude of his tent, anyways.

His thoughts unknowingly drifted back to his argument with Titania. One of these days, Shinon, she had said, your greed and arrogance are going to turn on you. You won't like what you find when that happens. Her words had been cryptic and somewhat thought-provoking, but still they infuriated him. What the hell did she know, anyways? She knew absolutely nothing about his style of fighting or the way he lived his life. The way he did things shouldn't be of any concern to her. She had no right to chastise him for something like that.

Muston's supply wagon rose into view and Shinon quickened his pace. Just a few more minutes and finally he would get some time to himself before the army deployed.

But as fate would have it, Boyd suddenly dashed out from between two of the tents to the left and in front of Shinon, blocking his way to the supply wagon. The warrior turned around wildly in circles, his massive battle axe held loosely in one hand. The oaf was going to hew someone in half if he kept at it. Shinon slunk back away into the shadows to avoid Boyd's wandering eyes. The clumsy and loudmouthed warrior was the last person he wanted to deal with right now.

Too late. Boyd had noticed him and was charging in his direction, pushing aside anyone who got in his way. Whatever he had been looking for, Shinon was sure that he was it. When Boyd had gotten close enough, his face lit up.

"HEY, SHINON!" he bellowed.

Shinon recoiled as the warrior approached him. The pains shot through his head again. "Damn it, Boyd! Why does everyone keep yelling at me? Do us all a favor and keep your voice down!"

"Sorry," Boyd apologized. "I was just afraid that you hadn't seen me."

"Who could miss you, Boyd?"

Boyd chuckled. "Good point."

Shinon glared at him. "Now what do you want?"

The warrior was literally shaking with anticipation. "Some of the others and I are planning something for the next battle. Something great. We were hoping that you would help us!"

Shinon shook his head. "Forget it. Just leave me alone. Go ask Rolf or something."

But Boyd wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Please, Shinon! You have to help us. We can't do it without you."

"I said no."

"Please, Shinon!"

"All right, fine. I won't do it."

"Great! Hey…"

Shinon turned away. "Go away, Boyd. I'm not going to tell you again. I have things to do."

Boyd pulled him back. "Oh, c'mon, Shinon! It's really important! Gatrie and Haar are already waiting for me. It won't take long!"

"Is it really that important?"

Boyd nodded. "Yeah, it is."

Shinon sighed. Boyd sure was persistent. "Fine, I'll go then. And then you'll leave me alone?"

"Promise!" Boyd let go of him and whirled around, carelessly hoisting the axe over his shoulder. Shinon had to duck as not to get clipped by the enormous blade. "Now let's go!"

Boyd took off at a full sprint, clumsily sidestepping around those who blocked his path. Shinon sauntered after the warrior, keeping his own pace and letting the brute keep his own. He stared longingly back at the supply tent. The wine would have to wait, it seemed. Boyd led him out to the edges of camp, occasionally looking back over his shoulder to see if Shinon was still there. Eventually they arrived at a small ring of tents, a small fire built in the center. As promised, Gatrie and Haar were already there. Like always, Haar was stretched out across the ground with his head propped up on a rock, dozing. Gatrie barely noticed Shinon and Boyd as the two of them approached, his eyes darting around the clearing and spying out any woman that passed by, despite the fact that most of them were sub-humans.

Boyd plopped down next to Haar and Shinon seated himself next to Gatrie, taking a swig of his wine. Whatever Boyd had planned, it might help if he had a little alcohol in his system.

Gatrie gave him a disapproving look. "Really, Shinon? Drinking in the middle of the day?" He grabbed the wine bottle and wrenched it from the sniper's hands. The liquid spilled over his tunic front. "Surely you can wait until this evening!"

Shinon swiped the bottle back. "You're the second person to tell me that. And like I told Titania, I'll do whatever I want. Besides, whatever Boyd has to say might sound a little less absurd while I'm drinking."

Gatrie smiled. "I don't think that it will matter much, Shinon."

"Why's that?"

"Because—" Boyd interjected quickly, but he stopped when he realized that Haar was still asleep. "Haar! Wake up!"

"Huh? What?" Haar jolted upright and rubbed his good eye before spotting Shinon. "Oh, right. Have you told him yet, Boyd?"

"No, I was just about to," Boyd replied. He turned his attention back to Shinon. "Did you hear, Shinon? When we cross the river tomorrow, the Black Knight's going to be there."

Shinon pretended to act disinterested but the news actually piqued his interest. "Yeah, I heard," he said, taking another drink of wine. "What about it? I suppose that you want to tell me that Ike ordered you to stay back and let him handle things?"

"Well, um…" Boyd trailed off. He glanced uncertainly at Haar and Gatrie. Both of them nodded. Shinon could tell by the look in Boyd's eyes that whatever he had to say wasn't going to sit well with Shinon.

Shinon was already growing impatient. "Well, what is it, Boyd?"

"Ike won't be the one fighting the Black Knight," the warrior replied. He let took a deep breath. "We are."

Shinon stared, not quite believing what he was hearing. Surely he had heard Boyd wrong. For a moment, no one said anything. Gatrie and Haar didn't seem surprised at Boyd's proposal. In fact, it appeared that they had expected it. Boyd stared back at him expectantly, waiting for a response from the sniper. Instead, Shinon started to laugh, leaning his head back and only chuckling at first before laughing uproariously. His laughter echoed through camp and many of the soldiers passing by gave him strange looks. Shinon ignored them all, unable to come to grips with Boyd's absurd proposal.

"Boyd, you're such an idiot!" Shinon finally said, still unable to control his laughter. He put a hand to his aching sides. It hurt to laugh but he couldn't help himself. "Ha…honestly…I expected to hear something stupid from you but nothing…of this level! You can't be serious! The Black Knight? Ha!"

Boyd looked angry. He obviously hadn't expected Shinon to find his suggestion very humorous. "Don't mock me, Shinon! This is serious!"

"He's right, Shinon," Gatrie said, taking Boyd's side. "If you just listen to what he has to say, you might agree with him. If we hope to cross the river tomorrow, the Black Knight must be brought down."

Shinon jumped to his feet and looked at the knight like he had lost his mind. "Don't tell me that you're in on this too, Gatrie! And you as well, Haar?" The other two nodded in return, their expressions serious.

For once, Shinon was at a total loss for words. The wine bottle lay forgotten at his side. "You can't really be serious…" He trailed off, not sure what to say next.

"We have a chance, Shinon," Boyd said confidently, clenching his fist for emphasis. "We can beat him together."

"Do you really practice being this stupid, Boyd?" Shinon demanded. His laughter had faded away entirely and was replaced by anger and disbelief. "This is absurd! We're nothing more than a band of mercenaries! The Black Knight is probably the greatest swordsmen to walk the face of the earth. No one man, let alone an entire army, can kill him. I'm not going to die out here. Not in this place. I don't want to die for no reason at all! And that's exactly what will happen if we go up against the Black Knight. Tell me, Boyd, what chance do we have?"

To his surprise, it was Haar that answered. "A better chance than you think, Shinon," the wyvern rider said. "Sit down a minute and listen."

Shinon locked gazes with the wyvern rider, suspicion mirrored in his eyes. Then slowly his anger and frustration cooled and he sat back down next to Gatrie, more than slightly embarrassed at his emotional outburst. Shinon wasn't one to let his emotions get the better of him, but Boyd's proposal had caught him completely off guard.

Haar leaned forward, his sharp eye glittering. "It's true that we might not be anything more than a destitute band of mercenaries, living solely by our weapons in order to receive our pay, that we have nothing significant to threaten the Black Knight with. It is likely that the Black Knight sees us the same way. But that is an illusion we can use against him! You're right, Shinon. The Black Knight is the greatest swordsman alive. Only Ike has ever bested him in combat and that still wasn't enough to bring him down for good. What can we, four ordinary men, possibly do to bring him down? The Black Knight is without peer. He sees us as nothing. I was around him a few times during the Mad King's war and he was about as arrogant as they came. He believes himself invincible. But if we can combine our collective strengths and use that against him—"

"We'll topple him where he stands!" Boyd finished, slamming his left fist into his right palm. "He won't even know what hit him!"

"We'll have the element of surprise," Gatrie added for emphasis.

Shinon couldn't believe his ears. Here he was, still half-drunk from last night, surrounded by a bunch of lunatics talking about pulling off a job that not even General Skrimir himself would attempt, let alone that insufferable General Zelgius that they were fleeing from. The three of them had an obvious death wish, as if their dying was going to happen whether they took out the Black Knight or not.

"This is our one chance, Shinon," Haar said. "Defeating the Black Knight gives us an assured chance of crossing the river. If we can't at least force him to retreat, every single one of us will be killed. You said so yourself, Shinon. You don't want to die in this place."

"I still hate this entire idea," Shinon replied. "You're all making it sound so simple! Thing is, we can't kill the Black Knight even if we get close enough to hurt him with our weapons."

Boyd's body stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Shinon's anger returned. "I mean that even if you lie in wait for him, catch him by surprise, you still can't kill him fast enough! He's encased from head to toe in black armor with essentially no weak points at all! Oh, you could take a strike at his neck or go for a weak spot under his arm, maybe even hit him hard enough and force him to fall back slightly. But that won't do any good! Before you've even taken two strikes, the Black Knight will have you. He'll cut you down like wheat in a field. And then you'll all have died for nothing."

The sniper's voice hardened. "Besides, you're still overlooking the most obvious thing of all. Don't tell me that you've forgotten the Black Knight's armor is completely impervious to damage. Only Ike with that sword of his could even scratch it. Do you have something like that to attack him with, Boyd? I sure as hell don't. Even if by some miracle we can ambush the bastard and land a blow or two, we can't even put a chink in his armor. What can you possibly do about that?"

Boyd looked as if he had been expecting the question and answered quickly. "That's not true, Shinon," he said, a smile spreading across his face. "I don't think that the Black Knight's armor is still blessed."

"What makes you so sure?" Gatrie asked.

Boyd shrugged. "I'm not saying I'm sure at all. But I asked Ilyana about it earlier and she told me that when she fought next to the Black Knight at Daein Keep, she noticed something strange about his armor. It was cracked and split in almost a dozen places. She said that the magical "aura" she had felt around the armor in the Mad King's War wasn't present. This gave her reason to suspect that the armor's blessing is gone. It could have been a result of the Knight's battle with Ike or Nados Castle crashing down on him or something. But we won't know for sure unless we try."

Shinon was obviously skeptical. "This is ridiculous! Boyd, are you really stupid enough to take the word of Ilyana, a girl who can't even see straight half of the time because she's so hungry, over your own common sense?"

"You know I would—" Gatrie started to say.

"Shut up, Gatrie," Shinon cut him off. "We all know what you would do."

Haar had heard enough. "Enough of this, Shinon." His face was hard as Shinon turned to face him. "You act as if there's some kind of divine intervention or unstoppable magical power that's needed in order for us to pull this off. There is nothing difficult about what we are being asked to do. The Black Knight will be there when we cross the river; he must be forced to retreat. We don't have to slay him. If we can, all the better. But the keys here are cunning and cleverness. If we can't at least distract him, draw his attention away from the main force, all hope is lost. Once we take him out, we can easily run down the remaining soldiers and push through. All that's being asked of you is that you take the first shot. If it turns out the Black Knight's armor is still blessed, that's all there is then. We'll pull back and devise a new plan for getting across the river."

Shinon turned his anger toward the wyvern rider. Twice now he had been scolded. Haar was doing exactly what Titania had done to him earlier. They both thought they knew him better than he knew himself. Where did Haar, Titania or anybody else have the right to chide him like this? His anger boiled up and it was all he could do to prevent himself from drawing an arrow from his quiver and ruining Haar's eyesight for good.

"We have to try, Shinon," Boyd said quietly, breaking the tense silence.

"This is insane, Boyd," Shinon said, shaking his head. "There's no way we can pull this off."

Then suddenly Gatrie found their ace in the hole. "But Shinon," he said softly, his eyes focused intently on the sniper. He almost sounded desperate. "The Black Knight murdered Commander Greil. Don't pretend like that doesn't bother you anymore. I know that's why you drink so much, buddy."

Shinon said nothing.

Gatrie pressed forward. "Wouldn't you like to get at least one shot against the Black Knight? In the name of Commander Greil?"

Shinon cursed his horrible luck. Fantastic. He had effectively backed himself into a corner. Gatrie knew him too well and Haar and Boyd were too stubborn to let this whole thing go. The three of them had essentially decided that they would die tomorrow whether or not they fought the Black Knight. A shimmer of hope remained if they didn't, however. They would need all the luck in the world if they were to come out alive tomorrow. Needless to say Shinon didn't care. Death was death, pure and simple.

Shinon sighed. If this was the way things were going to be, so be it. Better to die sooner than later, he supposed.

He turned to Boyd. "Just the four of us, then?"

Boyd nodded vigorously, realizing what this meant. "Yes."

"Nothing but ordinary weapons against a monster?"

"Yes."

"More people and weapons will only complicate things," Haar added. "Even Ike must remain in the dark on this."

"He never would have agreed to it anyways," Gatrie said. Haar and Boyd nodded in agreement.

"I only ask one other thing," Boyd said as the other three eyed him curiously. "Don't tell Oscar about this. He would freak out if he knew what we were up to!"

"All right then," Shinon said, finally conceding. "Fine, I'm in. But you'd better have a damn good plan, Boyd. One mistake and we'll be food for the crows."

Boyd smiled triumphantly. "You might be surprised, Shinon. Gatrie and I have something really great planned!"

He gave things over to Haar, who began mapping out the terrain in the dirt and explaining the possible strategies they could use. Shinon listened intently, looking for any flaws, but still one thought was in the forefront of his mind.

What have I gotten myself into now?