Summary: It was made out of pure gold. Its brilliance shone out to the hearts of men and women alike. It was called Emperium...and everyone wanted it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ragnarok Online. :P
Author's Note: Another RO fic. :D Sidestory to my main fic, The Ragnarok. Takes place before and during it, with different main characters. You don't really need to read The Ragnarok to undestand this sidestory though.
I also apologize in advance for any strange errors that might have occured when I uploaded this.
Anyways, on with the story! XD
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The War of Emperium
Chapter One: Defend Your Castle
-
Takii hummed a cheerful tune as he reloaded his bow.
"What are you so happy about?" A brown-haired Wizard asked gruffly.
"Nothing. I just like this song," Takii switched from humming to whistling as he sniped down an incoming intruder from afar.
"You sure sound sadistic, shooting down others while singing," Kiet scowled. He cracked his knuckles before preparing for another spell.
"It's my duty," Takii strained his eyes, looking into the vast field from the top of a castle tower. "I just make do with my time."
"Right...Storm Gust!" Kiet conjured up a snowstorm, freezing the narrow passageway before them. "You let one slip by."
"Sorry about that," Takii peered down at the frozen figure. An Assassin suddenly appeared beside the intruder and delivered the finishing blow. "Hey, that was my shot!"
"Too slow, pal," The Assassin flashed an "L" for loser before disappearing into the shadows.
"Lysander is always stealing my shots!" Takii whined while Kiet created another Storm Gust.
"Quit whining and help me out!" Kiet kicked Takii's shin irritably.
"Ow! You didn't have to do that!" Takii howled as he jumped around. In the midst of hopping around in pain, Takii stomped on Kiet's foot.
"You little...!"
"Storm Gust!"
An unfamiliar voice cut through the air and instantly, ice began to encase Takii's body. His entire body froze over in the middle of his hop, causing him to tip right over the edge of the tower. As he made contact with the ground, the ice imprisoning him shattered. Takii immediately jumped back up to his feet. His hawk-like eyes scanned the scene before him to find the intruder. A small coughing noise alerted Takii and his looked down; he had fallen on the intruder, and she was spluttering from the ice that hit her. Quickly, Takii whipped out a Mute Arrow and slashed it down before her, cutting the girl across the forearm. She opened her mouth to retaliate with a spell but found herself unable to speak.
Takii grinned at his handiwork; he had the upper hand, but to his dismay the joy ended early. The Sniper doubled over in pain when the girl unexpectedly threw a hard punch to his chest.
"Grimtooth!" Spikes burst from the ground and hit the High Wizard head on into the wall behind her.
"That's another one you lost to me," Lysander uncloaked himself, smirking. The girl had slumped to the ground, unconscious. "Don't go easy on her just 'cause she's a girl."
"Shut up," Takii groaned, rubbing his chest. "So how many intruders this time?"
"I counted four so far," Lysander pondered a moment before replying. "From that new Oceanic Guild, I believe."
Lysander bent down to inspect the High Wizard's arm. A blue cloth was wrapped around her wrist, brandishing her Guild emblem. "Yep, that's gotta be the Oceanic Guild."
"That should be the last of them," Kiet called from above, as he broke free from his frozen prison. "There are only five members in that Guild. Takii sniped one from afar, so I don't think that one will be coming any time soon."
"Time to bring them to Spades for a little Q and A," Takii returned to his cheerful self, slinging the girl over his shoulder.
"Hey, don't forget the others!" Lysander called to Takii's retreating back. He grumbled curses as he dragged an unconscious Blacksmith and Knight into the castle by himself. "Damn womanizing Takii."
-
A Blacksmith, Knight, High Wizard, and a Priest were seated in the main Council Room, arms and legs all bound tightly. A heavily armored Lord Knight walked into the room, receiving glares from the four prisoners.
"Oceanic, is it?" Spades mused, as he took his seat at the desk before them. "Why did you attack Reprion? We outnumber you by far."
There was silence.
Spades waited a few minutes to let the Guild talk, but the High Wizard of the group only turned her head away in defiance. Her Guildmates followed in her lead, unwilling to cooperate.
"Daxia, Daemyn; please throw these intruders back into their cells," He sighed, putting a hand to his head. "I don't have time for them if they won't talk."
"Yes, sir," A Champion and a High Priest nodded. Both darted forward to herd the prisoners to the dungeons, complying with his orders.
"Takii, find Payon and send him up. I need to talk to him," Spades ordered the Sniper. "Kiet and Lysander, you may go back on guard duty for now."
The three boys nodded and left the Council Room.
"Say, haven't a lot of new and little Guilds been targeting us?" Kiet asked, as they strolled down the halls. "There were at least three attacks this month, but they all retreated before we could capture them for questioning."
"Wow, you can count!" Lysander teased the younger boy.
"Seriously man; what is up with that?" Kiet scowled. "It's not like we're the first castle you see when you enter the Geffen fields."
"Must be 'cause all the ladies are attracted to me," Takii joked.
"Ladies? There was only one girl attacking today," Lysander crushed Takii's joke effortlessly.
"...the others are ladies in disguise?"
"Dream on," Lysander laughed, turning a corner to exit the castle. "I'll be patrolling the back for now, Kiet."
"Alright," Kiet nodded. "Have you seen Teela around?"
"Nope; she might be training with Shishkabob and Reeve, though," Takii stretched his arms as they continued walking down the hall.
"Good. I accidentally cleaned out her white potion stock this morning, and she keeps smacking me with her Tablet when she sees me," Kiet rubbed his head, remembering the pain she had inflicted on him.
"Haha, she's gonna be beating you for awhile," Takii laughed at the 16-year-old.
"I hope Dante will stop her," Kiet prayed, mentioning the leader of his division, Black-Fire.
"Nah; I wanna see the day when a Priestess can beat up a Wizard," Takii grinned.
"Thanks for the comfort," Kiet dryly said. He bid is goodbye before heading up the stairs to one of the watch towers at the entrance of the castle.
Takii continued his journey down the halls on his own, peering into numerous hallways and rooms until he finally caught sight of Payon. He was currently locked in a heated battle of arm wrestling with Blades.
Thump!
"And Payon wins again! The score is 5-2 in Payon's favor," Miraka grinned, tabulating their scores.
"Hey kiddies, can I join?" The 17-year-old boy entered the room.
"No way, Takii, you're three years older and three times as strong!" Blades objected, rubbing his sore hand.
"Aw, fine. I guess I'll just annoy Rya, then," Takii took a seat next to a redheaded girl. "How's my favorite little victim doing?"
"I'm doing just fine, Takii," Rya laughed as the older boy ruffled her hair. Takii shared a strong bond with the younger girl, as she was the only other bow-wielding fighter in the Guild besides Vash (who was a Clown). "What are you doing here?"
"Oh right," Takii remembered what his task was. "Payon, Spades wants to talk to you."
"Ah," The leader of the youngest subdivision in the Guild nodded. "I guess I'll see you guys later."
"I'll be waiting for some rematches, ya hear?" Blades called as Payon left the room.
"I'm up for a challenge," Takii grinned, sliding into Payon's seat. "C'mon, I'll even let you use two hands."
"Don't you have guard duties right now?" Miraka interjected.
"They can wait awhile. Kiet and his crew are on duty, and Lysander is too. Reprion's fine without me for now," Takii waved the matter away. "So, what do you say Blades?"
"If I use two hands and lose it'll be very humiliating, so no," Blades laughed.
"Are you chickeeeeen?" Takii teased.
"Takii!" Daxia swung open the door, glaring at the youngest member of her division. Takii gulped; even with her sunglasses on, Takii could see the fire burning in his leader's eyes. "I thought I heard your voice. Hurry up and go on duty with Kiet!"
"Okay mother," Takii groaned, leaving his younger friends.
"If I was your mother, you wouldn't be so careless. And as for your punishment my dear son..." Daxia mockingly began.
"Whaat? Punishment? Just for calling you mother?"
"No; for disregarding your guard duties to play with the kids," Daxia crossed her arms as Takii dragged himself out the door. "You'll be in charge of cleaning up dinner."
After Takii departed, Daxia rounded on Blades, Miraka, and Rya. "And you three should go train in the Guild Dungeon, rather than playing around. The castle may need your help in due time."
The three stared at Daxia as she left the room, closing the door behind her.
"So ladies, how does arm wrestling sound to you for training?"
-
Takii leaned over the edge of the guard tower, snapping his bow string in boredom.
"You're going to break your bow like that," Kiet warned. He looked up irritably at the sound the bow was making from his seat on the ground beside him.
"Nothing a little tape can't do," Takii mumbled as he continued snapping his bow string. He squinted as the setting sun shone brightly into his eyes. "This is boring."
"Well you can't expect the enemy to announce themselves with trumpets, red carpets, and a little dance, can you?"
"That would be a nice warning signal."
"Right; and they'll serve you grapes and other delicacies before willingly allowing you to kill them."
"That would be perfect, but Spades told us not to kill them. Even in times of chaos, we have to show mercy."
"Maybe that's why all these new Guilds have been targeting us," Kiet pondered. "Since we don't kill anyone, they're bound to have a chance of taking over. And besides, we only got dragged into this war because we have a castle for our base. We're supposed to be a mere bounty hunting Guild, not some Guild hungry for Emperium!"
"Everyone picks on the nice ones," Takii sighed. "At least Geffen is more peaceful. Everyone else is mostly targeting Prontera and Al de Baran's castles."
"Too true. For a war zone, we're rather peaceful," Kiet laughed at the strange thought.
"Should we go back yet? We've been here for hours, and it's almost nightfall," Takii shifted from his position on the wall.
"I guess...we can tag the night watch a bit earlier," Kiet agreed as he stood up, stretching.
"Wait, someone's coming," Takii scanned into the distance with his hawk-like eyes.
"Damn, just when I got into lazy mode," Kiet groaned.
Takii and Kiet ducked just below the tower walls, peeking overtop to observe the incoming group. There were four, all female.
"See, I told you I attracted ladies," Takii grinned in triumph. Kiet rolled his eyes at him.
Takii pulled back his bow in defense as the four figures drew closer. With the little sunlight left, he could just make out their facial features, revealing them to be none other than –
"Teela! Hey, don't shoot you dumb ass," Kiet smacked Takii's arm up.
"Do you think I'm stupid enough to shoot them?" Takii asked, as he lowered his bow in the other direction. However, his finger slipped and the arrow rocketed through the air, crashing through a window in their castle.
"...I think you're stupid enough to do that."
"Hey Takii, Kiet," Shishkabob, an Acolyte accompanying Teela, greeted the two at the tower.
"Hello," Reeve, another Acolyte, greeted the boys.
"Hey, you said they were all female!" Kiet hissed once he recognized his teammate. "Reeve's a guy!"
"Shut up, he looks like a girl!" Takii hissed back. He recalled his first time meeting with Reeve; he had mistaken him as Teela's sister.
"Fooling around?" Kaori, a Paladin escorting the three healers, mused, having witnessed Takii's mistake.
"Hello Takii," Teela greeted the Sniper but didn't bother to address the Wizard. Without remorse, she tread past the tower and into the castle.
"You should buy her a new supply of white potions, you know," Kaori said, watching Kiet sulk from Teela's cold shoulder. Shishkabob and Reeve excused themselves to follow Teela.
"Why would a Priestess need white potions when she can heal people?" Kiet asked.
"She's in charge of the team emergency stock, don't you remember?" Kaori answered. "I don't mind so much since I've got my own stash, but Teela had to use her own zeny to buy everything back. Anyways, see you guys inside."
"Shit, I forgot. I don't have that much money either," Kiet groaned, repeatedly hitting his head on the tower walls.
"How much did you use anyways?"
"I ran into her drawer and broke two hundred of them."
"...good luck, buddy."
-
"TAKII!"
The redhead cringed as he heard his name reach his ears.
"Well, it was nice knowing you," Kiet gave a pat on his shoulder before running off, leaving Takii on his own to face a steaming Daxia.
"You broke a window and you ruined my book!" Daxia waved a book with an arrow stuck through it in front of Takii's frightened eyes. "Young man, this calls for further punishment for your reckless behavior!"
"But I'm already cleaning up dinner, and that's a bitch," Takii groaned. All the Guild members were currently residing in the castle and it was a hassle to clean plates for so many.
"You'll go without dinner, and you'll be entertaining our prisoners tonight," Daxia ordered, ignoring Takii's protests.
"I like entertainment."
"...just go."
Takii trudged past Daxia to head for the prison cells.
"And don't forget to pick up their food!"
Takii's stomach growled as he balanced four trays of food in his arms. He walked slowly and steadily down the steps into the lower levels of the castles. The air began to cool once he neared the prison cells. Takii shivered on impulse; he hated the dungeons. He felt unsafe, as a spell had been cast over the prison cells, disabling anyone from performing any spells or tricks. Even the Wings Armada members had to rely on their physical strength alone, and Takii particularly hated it if a Knight was being held prisoner. They always bested him in strength. The prison cells were also completely uninviting; Takii had often suggested on redecorating it and turning the furnace up, but his request was frequently overlooked.
"Food for you, food for you, food for you," Takii slipped a tray underneath a small slot underneath each prison door.
"And food for you," Takii said, as he delivered the last tray of food. It was the High Wizard he had first encountered, and she seemed to be the leader of the group. "So, what's your name?"
The blonde girl merely glared at the boy, refusing to touch her food.
"It's not poisoned. And you know, the faster you talk, the faster you'll get out of here," Takii pushed the tray further into the cell.
The High Wizard pushed the food back towards him.
"Eat something," Takii persisted, pushing the tray back.
"...I don't want any," The girl finally spoke up. Takii was a little shocked; from the way the girl was glaring, he expected her voice to be rough and dripping with hate. Instead, the girl's voice was rather collected and sweet.
"Then you won't mind me eating some?" Takii took a slice of bread from the tray. "Daxia wouldn't let me eat dinner."
The girl remained still, but curiously watched Takii eat the bread in silence. "You know you want to eat some. I hear your stomach growling."
Silence.
"At least drink the soup. It's warm," Takii urged. The girl finally gave in and took his offer.
"...did you make it?" The girl suddenly asked.
Takii laughed. "As if. I can barely make a pizza without burning it."
She stifled a laugh. "I knew it. I have yet to meet a boy who can cook well."
"Is that a challenge?" The Sniper grinned. "Just you wait. I'll make you the best pizza you've ever had."
"By that time, I'll be long gone from this dinky prison cell."
"Why did you attack us anyways?" Takii questioned, as the girl finished her soup.
"None of your business," She suddenly snapped. Her once demure air turned into a dangerously angry once.
"C'mon, you can –"
The girl plunged her arm through the prison cell bars and pulled Takii by the collar of his shirt, pressing him to the bars. "Tell you anything? What are you trying to do, soften me up? Cause it won't work; I'm here to take this castle by any means."
The girl shoved him back and kicked the tray of half finished food back to him. "You'd better watch your back if you want to keep this castle."
Takii rose, dusting himself off.
"Thanks for the warning," He remarked dryly, as he picked up the unfinished tray. He walked towards the exit, and picked up the other trays of her comrades. Unlike hers, they were finished.
-
"That girl is infuriating!" Takii threw the trays into the kitchen sink. "All I ask is why she attacked us, and she gets all riled up! Girls are complicated!"
"I concur," Kiet agreed, sporting a black eye.
"Whoa, what happened to you?"
"I tried to apologize to Teela again, but this is what I got," Kiet nursed his sore eye. "I can't find Shishkabob or Reeve anywhere to heal it."
"Help me clean the dishes and I'll help you look for them," Takii bargained.
"Hell no, I'll just go look around the castle again," Kiet backed away from the towering stack of dishes in the sink.
"Some friend you are!" Takii hollered as Kiet abandoned him yet again. He sighed as he turned to face the dirty dishes. It was going to be a long night.