Pebblekit: Hello everyone. As I said, I'm trying to update as much as possible. I think Shinon might be a little OOC this time. Please tell me if he is. Also, if anyone thought that the battle for the first chapter was too hard, I'm sorry. I wanted to stick Boyd's awesome move of doom in though. The battles will probably get a little vaguer as time progresses in the story and there are more enemies in each chapter. I decided to update again tonight because I'm going out of town tomorrow for the weekend. Usually, updates might take a little bit longer. Sorry! Now…. On with the second chapter! MWA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! You're in my world now!
Pairings for this Chapter: No one. On that note, I haven't decided who to put with Titania, so for those of you who squint really hard in the later chapters, I'm sorry, but Rhys already has a pairing. Even though he is a bishop… MOVING ON
Disclaimer: This is starting to get annoying already. I do not own anything related or having to do with Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, this includes, dialogue, places, characters, or anything else that can be interpreted as being part of the game.
Prisoner In Reality
Chapter Two: Confusion of the mind
"How did you manage to get a gaping wound like that?"
"Shut up Shinon."
"You had better not let Rolf see that."
"What are you talking about Gatrie?"
It was just after sunrise. Boyd, Oscar, Titania, and Ike had just arrived back at the mercenary fort. They had been met by Shinon and Gatrie as soon as they had emerged from the trees surrounding the building. The group had had to stay in the forest over night because Boyd's wound had been worse than any of them had anticipated. At first, they had tried to get home faster. But that plan quickly failed when Boyd had passed out. Titania said that the fighter had probably lost a lot of blood. Ike and Oscar had then wrapped Boyd up, and decided who would be on guard duty at what time of night. They didn't want to move Boyd until he was ready.
"Rolf." Shinon answered as though that one little name could explain everything.
"What about him?" Boyd was really starting to get impatient.
"He was worried sick about you guys, that's what. He was moping around like it was the end of the world when you didn't come back last night. It was really, really, REALLY irritating." Someone might have said that Shinon was in a bad mood, except for the fact that he always sounded like that.
"Don't get mad at Rolf just because he worries about us." Oscar had the tiniest bit of edge to his voice. Still, he was able to keep his calm.
"Don't worry about Shinon guys," Gatrie said, "He's not really mad at Rolf. He's just jealous because nobody ever worries about him when he doesn't come back."
"You want to say that again?" If anyone smarter than Gatrie was faced with the anger in Shinon's voice, they probably would have turned around and ran in the other direction. However, Gatrie isn't very smart, or at least he doesn't act like he is, so he kept poking harder.
"Not particularly. I don't like to say things twice. I tend to forget what I said the first time so I don't bother repeating myself."
"Is there a reason your trying flame my morels?"
" 'Flame your morels'? What is that supposed to mean?"
"……...Are you really that dense?" Gatrie continued to stare quizzically at Shinon, obviously not sure whether to answer or not, so Oscar decided to step in.
"Gatrie, he's saying that your ruining his reputation by making it seem like he cares whether or not people care about him."
"Well… Don't you care?" Shinon shot Gatrie a murderous look. "Guess not. Why don't you?"
"Why would I? Love, care, affection? Pah. All that junk is crud. No one needs any of it, they only want it to create a light in their pathetic, inferior lives. Other than my paycheck, I happen to like my life just fine without it. I've lived up till now without vying for those stupid emotions, and I don't intend to ask for them now."
"Gee. That sure was deep," Gatrie scratched the back of his head in confusion. "I don't really get it."
"I didn't expect you to." Shinon left the scene without another word. Until….
"Hey! Where are you going?" Gatrie called.
"Why do you care? I do have a life you know. Do I need to tell you what I do every waking minute of it?" No questioned the sniper farther.
"…..So does anyone know what the heck he just said?"
Nobody answered the knight. They just walked off in the direction of the fort leaving Gatrie there to scratch his head again.
Next Scene
Rolf awoke when a knock sounded on his door. Sitting up, the kid rubbed his eyes and vaguely wondered who it could be that wanted to talk to him or Mist. Thinking of which… Rolf looked around at the small girl in the other bed. Mist was still fast asleep. Her pillow was soaking wet. It appeared that she had apparently been crying in her sleep….Or drooling- it was kinda hard to tell.
Rolf slowly got out of bed, stretching his limbs. He was incredibly stiff. Water welled up in his eyes, and Rolf tried to force his brain to think. The tears started to fall shortly after. I'm crying. Why am I crying? Then the answer came to him. Oscar and Boyd. They hadn't come back last night. Neither had Ike or Titania. Rolf hoped from the bottom of his heart that the group was alright. Somewhere down the line, the child found himself praying to the goddess that this was the case. Please. Please let them be all right. Please.
Rolf was jolted from his thoughts when another knock sounded at the door. Forcing his legs, which felt like lead, to move, Rolf reached for the doorknob. Whoever he had imagined would be on the other side, it definitely wasn't the person who was there.
"Uncle Shinon? What are you doing here?"
"What? No 'good morning'? I came all the way across the mercenary fort to come tell you something and all I get is 'what are you doing here'?"
"I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting you."
"Well duh. I kind of figured that by your expression. Would you stop crying already? You're really starting to tick me off."
With a jolt, Rolf realized that he forgotten to get rid of the tears that stained his face before he had answered the door. He made quick work of wiping them away.
"That's better. Geez, you really are a crybaby."
"I'm sorry uncle Shinon. It's just… Oscar and Boyd… I- I'm worried about them."
"….Why?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you so worried about them? They're stronger than you might think they are. I don't think that either of them could die just by facing a bunch of bandits. ….Maybe get hurt, but not killed." Rolf looked at the sniper in surprise. He hadn't been expecting an answer like that from Shinon. "That was intended as a question you know." Shinon sounded a little impatient now.
"Oh. Well…. I just can't help it, you know?"
"No. I don't know. Why don't you explain it to me."
"…..They're my brothers. I'm supposed to care about them. I- I love them." Shinon didn't answer. He didn't understand. How could one worry so much about someone else? Why waste the energy? He couldn't see any since in it. Rolf shattered his thoughts. "By the way… why are you here? Didn't you say you wanted to tell me something?"
"Oh yeah. That. Oscar and Boyd are back. They were outside a moment ago. I wouldn't be surprised if Gatrie had scared them off by now though." Rolf just stared at Shinon. "Just thought you might like to know." Rolf still just stared. Shinon was staring to feel uncomfortable. "What?"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO?!" With that, Rolf sped off down the hallway. Shinon expected him to run all the way to his brothers, but to his surprise, Rolf skidded to a stop at the end of the hallway. When he spoke, the boy was talking so soft that his voice was hardly audible. "Uh… Uncle Shinon? I think you should know…. I don't just worry about Oscar and Boyd. I worry about you too. I love you just as much as them. You're like a brother to me too." With that, Rolf ran the rest of the way to his brothers. Shinon looked after him until the boy turned out of sight.
A weird feeling was quivering in the base of his stomach as his mind tried to process what Rolf had just said. Rolf… loved him? He thought of him as a brother? He… he worried about him?
"Don't worry about Shinon guys," Gatrie's voice rang out in the sniper's head. "He's not really mad at Rolf. He's just jealous because nobody ever worries about him when he doesn't come back." Shinon slapped his hands over his ears, trying to shut the voice out of his head. After a few moments, he removed his hands from that position.
From somewhere in the base, Shinon heard joyful yelling. It seemed that Rolf had been reunited with his brothers.
"You're like a brother to me too."
This time it was Rolf's voice that invaded Shinon's thoughts. Shinon tried not to think about it, but his brain was being stubborn. "Shut up…. Go away…." Shinon covered his ears again. He tried to focus on something, anything but what the voices in his head were echoing.
"Shinon? What's wrong?" Shinon looked to see Mist in her PJs (PJs Pajamas for those of you who don't know) standing next to him. She looked worried.
"Nothing that concerns you. Shouldn't you go see your brother?"
"What?! Ike's back?!"
"Would I have said anything if he wasn't?" Mist didn't need to be told twice. She pelted off in the direction that Rolf had run in. Shinon thought about what Rolf had said.
Rolf cared about him… Gatrie's words sounded again in Shinon's head. This time, Shinon didn't even bother trying to shut it out. If I can't get rid of them, I'll just ignore them.
"I worry about you too. I love you just as much as them. You're like a brother to me too."
Shinon listened to Rolf's voice once more, hanging on every word. Love. Wasn't that what he wanted? Shinon immediately disposed of that thought.
"Love? Pah. So stupid. Who needs it?" And with that, Shinon started walking away from the joyous racket coming from the other side of the fort, completely ignoring the part of him deep inside that longed to join in with the celebration.
Next Scene
"Come on Rolf! Let's go pick flowers."
"Why?"
"To celebrate the fact that our brothers got back safely. Let's go!"
"Okay! That sounds like a good idea." Rolf ran off after Mist.
"Could you believe the wound that Boyd got in his chest?"
"No. I also couldn't believe how Rhys was able to heal him so easily. By the way, he's been sick recently, right? Is he better now?"
"I think so, but I can't be sure."
Mist's eyes glittered over with an emotion that Rolf couldn't name. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh… no. I was just thinking about something is all."
"About what?"
"Well… you know how you and I are going to be mercenaries some day?" Rolf nodded. "I've been thinking recently about what kind of weapon I want to use when I get old enough to fight."
"Really?" Rolf turned away. He didn't know how good Mist was at reading expressions, and he didn't want her to suspect that he already was training to use a weapon. He could get in trouble for it because he was so young. He wasn't even allowed in the weapon storeroom at the base. "Well you know, we've got a long time to think before we have to decide anything."
"I know, but I think I've decided."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I want to be a cleric."
Rolf thought about this for a moment. Mist being a cleric. Somehow, the image fit a lot better than her using a lance or an axe. So the look on her face earlier had been longing because he had brought up Rhys healing Boyd. "That's sounds pretty good to me."
"You think so?"
"Yeah."
"So do I. I should probably start now. I don't need to know how to use the staff just yet, but I do want to start to be able to tell one sickness from another, how to cure it without a staff, what herbs are useful where, how to tell if someone is sick… There's so many things I want to know!"
Rolf listened intently to Mist's speech and hoped that she didn't ask him what weapon he wanted to use. However, as soon as they got to a pretty big flower bed and started picking the colorful plants, sure enough, Mist asked the fatal question.
"What weapon do you want to use Rolf?"
"I… I don't exactly know yet." That was a downright lie of course.
"You can always change your mind, we do have a lot of time to decide still."
"….A bow I suppose…."
"A bow? Huh. You know what? I think that would work pretty well!"
"R-really?"
"Really!"
After that, the two children talked a lot about what they were going to do when they were old enough to fight. They got so deeply involved in their conversation that neither of them noticed the scruffy looking man heading their way until he lunged out and grabbed Mist.
Next Scene
Boyd left the infirmary with a scar where the giant wound had been earlier. Rhys had really done a good job despite not feeling very well.
The fighter walked until he reached the main living area where everyone hung out when not doing anything. Oscar and Ike were in there, deep in conversation. Boyd sat down on one of the many chairs strewn across the room. From where he was sitting, he could hear many of the words that were exchanged between his brother and the ranger.
"So Rhys has made a full recovery?" Oscar asked.
"Seems like it. That's good too. I was really starting to worry about him. So where are Gatrie and Shinon?"
"Commander Greil sent them on a mission earlier today. I don't know where they went or exactly what they're doing though."
"I see. I was wondering why Rolf looked so down earlier."
"Rolf?" Oscar sounded as surprised as Boyd was. Neither of them had seen their little brother after he had left to give them time to talk to the Commander about the bandit attack. Apparently, Rolf had left not long after that with Mist. Boyd strained his ears, trying to hear more.
"Yeah. He was walking around alone a little earlier. He looked kinda downcast. Mist noticed as of late that he seems to be getting pretty close to Shinon. Shinon doesn't seem to mind him that much either."
"What?!" Boyd couldn't stand it anymore. He leaped up off the couch. "What do you mean? Rolf's getting close to Shinon?"
Oscar looked at Boyd in total surprise. "You mean you didn't notice?"
"And you did?"
"Yes actually. Just the other day, I saw Shinon take Rolf off somewhere. I asked Rolf what they were doing, and he said that Shinon was teaching him about the different types of trees and how you can tell them apart."
"….You're not disturbed by the fact that Shinon is hanging out with your littlest brother?"
"Should I be? Boyd, it was kind of obvious from the start that Rolf would take a liking to Shinon, what with him wanting to be an archer and all."
"Well yeah, but SHINON?! Who knows what's he's been drilling into Rolf's innocent brain?! Why, he could even-"
"Everyone! Come Quickly!"
Boyd, Oscar, and Ike (who had lost track of the conversation long ago) all looked around and saw an a man running toward them wearing white robes. He had vivid orange hair.
"Hey Rhys, so how are you feeling?" Boyd asked the sickly priest.
Oscar, however, being as sharp as he was, noticed that Rhys looked a little upset. "What is it? Why are you so agitated?" he asked.
"It's Mist and Rolf… They… they've been taken by bandits!" the priest answered, breathing hard. He had apparently run all the way there.
"What?!" Boyd exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" Ike had entered the conversation.
"The two of them went out early this morning to gather wild flowers… Sure, they're not back yet, but…" Oscar dropped off, unable to finish the sentence. He looked rather uncomfortable.
"Earlier by the gate… a man asked me to deliver a letter to Titania. It was from a group of bandits- kidnappers! What are we going to do?" Rhys was in full panic now. So was Boyd. The innards in his stomach were churning with discomfort.
"Let me see it." Rhys handed Oscar the letter. The priest was still trembling.
"Oh, if only I'd known… He didn't seem like a bad person…"
"Hm. I get it. They're after revenge. They want retribution for the other day at that village… Caldea, was it? Hm. Taking children as hostages? What cowards!" Oscar, for once, snapped and slammed his fist on the table. He was literally quivering with rage.
"Blast!" Ike was fuming as well.
Boyd was angry too. He couldn't believe it! He could just see Rolf, quivering in terror with Mist right beside him. He had to do something… "Wait, Ike! Where… Where do you think they're going?"
Ike didn't seem to hear him though. "I'm going to get Mist!"
"But… No! Titania… She said she'd be right back. You're supposed to get ready and wait for her…" Rhys was trying desperately to calm the brothers down, but to no avail.
"You honestly think we've got time to wait? I'm going now!" Ike stormed out of the room, to where he was heading? No one knew.
Boyd just stood there. The world at the moment seemed oddly muted. Then he saw Rolf. Saw his smiling face. Then he heard in his head what Rolf had said before the first battle that Boyd had ever participated in. "If I lost you... I- I don't know what I'd do."
Boyd thought to himself. If he lost Rolf, what would he do? Would he try to forget? Try to shut if out of his mind for good? Or would he try to get revenge. As he thought this, Boyd realized there was no alternative. He knew what he must do.
He called after Ike, "What do you think you're going to do on your own, rookie? Hold it! I'm going to!" Then he followed the ranger out of the room.
A few moments later, he heard light footsteps behind him. When Boyd looked back, he saw Rhys a few yards behind him. Oscar had just exited the room they had been in as well. Boyd looked back ahead of him and smiled. It looked as though all four of them were together in this. Don't worry Rolf and Mist, we're on our way.
Next Scene
"Stay there 'till your friends come!"
Rolf hit the ground rather hard as the bandit threw him. "Ow." He started to rub his arm, which had that had cushioned part of his fall.
Mist got thrown down next to him. She squealed in pain as she made contact with the ground. "That really hurt."
"Mist, are you okay?"
"Yeah, how about you?"
"I'm fine." Even as he said this, Rolf felt an uncomfortable jolt in his stomach. He was afraid. Scratch that, he was terrified. Mist and he had been kidnapped. "Why didn't I see that guy?" He wondered aloud.
"I didn't see him either." Mist look scared too. Her hands were shaking and she was a bit paler than usual.
Neither of them had anything to say after that point for awhile. Mist was quivering. Rolf felt as though his stomach was turning upside down. After awhile, he decided that he might as well figure out where the bandits had brought them. Looking around, Rolf thought they might be in some kind of storeroom.
There was only one lonely window to the outside world. As Rolf looked outside it, he saw that the two of them were in some kind of shack. Bandits were walking around everywhere outside. With as many as there were, there was no way to escape without getting caught. (Unless you were someone like Volke.)
Rolf was starting to feel queasy with fear. What could he do? There was no where to go, and Mist was stuck here too. "Oh…sniff..." Rolf was trying to keep calm in front of his friend, but that plan sort of failed when tears started to roll down either side of his face.
Mist looked uncomfortable. "Keep you chin up Rolf. Boys aren't supposed to cry."
"But… I'm so scared… Aren't you even a little bit scared, Mist?" Rolf looked at her shaking form. He needed reassurance, to know that he wasn't the only one that was terrified.
"Of course I am, but…" Mist looked for the right words to say. She wished that she could tell what people wanted to hear as easily as Oscar could. "Listen, we'll be fine!" My brother will definitely come rescue us."
Rolf had a mental image of Ike, rushing to their rescue. Then he pictured Boyd and Oscar doing the same. Somehow, the thought seemed to make a lot of sense. "Mm… yeah. Your right! And I'm sure my brothers will be right there with him."
"I'm sure they will, too! So no more crying! Got it?"
Rolf nodded and wiped his eyes. He felt a lot better now. His stomach had already stopped tying itself in knots.
Suddenly, there was commotion outside, then someone screamed.
"That… that sounded like Rhys!" Mist ran over to the window and looked outside. "Rolf! They're here! They came to rescue us!"
Rolf ran over to the window and peeked out as well. It was true. Oscar, Boyd, and Ike were all fighting their way through the bandits that blocked their path to the shack while Rhys healed from behind. A few minutes later, Titania rode up on her horse and exchanged a few words with the mercenaries. Rolf couldn't make out her face, but her gestures showed that she was irritated.
In a few moments, the group had fought their way through all the bandits except the leader, whom they charged at as a team and stabbed, poked, and sliced in many different places. Rolf's knees nearly buckled when the group got closer. Oscar was bleeding pretty badly and Rhys was trying to heal him.
"They beat them! We're saved!" Mist looked excitedly at Rolf. But, just then, the door burst open and a bandit hobbled in.
"Come' ere ya." He grabbed Mist by the arm.
"Ah! Let go! Rolf, help!" Rolf felt anger inside of him overshadowing his fear as he saw the man carry Mist away.
"Let go of her!" Rolf ran at the bandit and tackled him. Mist dropped to the floor and turned to slap the bandit. Sadly though, the guy had in ax and Mist and Rolf, who were empty handed, were overpowered relatively quickly.
"Ya'll get what ya deserve." The bandit said as he picked up Mist again and grabbed onto Rolf's collar. He took them both outside and threw them down in front of the shack. Both of the children stood up, ready to charge the bandit again. But he held up his ax menacingly. "Move, either one o' ya, and yer friend'll be the one ter git it." Both of them looked at each other in worry at this point. When neither one of them took another step, the bandit looked disappointed. "Ah, well… I suppose I could do with o' little o' fun…" The bandit walked toward Mist, ax raised.
"NO!" Rolf would have lunged forward, but the guy was practically on top of Mist and Rolf didn't trust him to keep his ax at bay if he was tackled again.
"EEEK!!!" Mist screeched, trying to push the man away from her. "Please, let us go! I said let us go!"
"Mist!" All three of them looked over and saw Ike running towards them.
"Brother! Everyone! You came!" Mist looked just about ready to explode with happiness.
When the bandit had made his "Move either one 'o ya," threat, Rolf had lost all confidence. The fear had started to well up in him again. "Oh… I'm scared."
"Rolf!"
Rolf looked up and saw Oscar, no longer bleeding profusely. "Oscar? Help us!"
"Rolf! I'm here too!" Boyd yelled.
They had come… for him. Rolf was so happy that he nearly ran and threw his arms around one of them. But he remembered once again, that Mist's life may depend on whether he moved or not. This prospect made him really sad. "Boyd? Wa….waah!"
"Stop crying! You don't need to worry! We'll get you out of there!" Boyd was trying to be reassuring, and for once it was working.
"That's right! Buck up buddy!" Oscar joined in.
Somehow, seeing their faces, and hearing their voices was making Rolf feel better. "Uh… I'll try!"
"You! Harm either one of them, and I'll see you dead!" Ike yelled.
"Shut up! Shut your stinking trap! If you want these two alive, you'll throw your weapons down. If you don't, I'll start with the girl…." The bandit moved closer to Mist, ax raised.
"Eek! NO!" Mist looked terrified.
"Stop," Ike made to run forward, but Titania held him back.
"Wait."
"Huh?" Ike was utterly confused.
"Yeah?" The bandit fixed his eyes on Titania.
"I'm putting my weapons down. See?" Titania dropped her ax and lance.
"Heh… heh, heh. Smart move wench." The bandit sounded happy now that Titania was unarmed.
"Deputy Commander…" Rolf couldn't read Oscar's expression.
"We're here to save them. Now all of you back off." Titania said.
"Okay…" Oscar dropped his lance.
"Dang!" Ike put his sword down.
"This stinks!" With a dull thud, Boyd's ax also fell to the ground.
"Heh heh heh… All right, so now you're all unarmed." The bandit smiled horribly, revealing all of his broken teeth. "Which means… all you can do is watch while I gut this whiny brat like a fatling pig!" The bandit turned away from Mist, and instead ran at Rolf.
Rolf's stomach churned as he saw the mad- ax- man running at him.
"Ah!" Ike yelled.
"No!" Mist screamed.
Rolf closed his eyes, his knees buckling again, waiting for the ax to bite into his skin.
Next Scene
"Hurry up Shinon! Mist and Rolf need us!"
"Me? Hurry up? You're the one that's about five yards behind me."
"It's not my fault that I have to wear this armor everywhere! It slows me down more than you think!"
"If you're going to complain about armor, than don't be a knight! That's common sense!"
Shinon and Gatrie raced along through the forest, willing them selves to be faster in order to get to the bandit hideout. Titania had come to them during there job earlier and explained to them that Mist and Rolf had been kidnapped by bandits. She had told them to head as fast as they could to the bandit hideout once their job was over in order to help retrieve the children.
Shinon's chest tightened with every step he took. The words that Rolf had spoke to him earlier that day had not faded from his mind. Shinon could just picture Mist and Rolf cowering in terror. Gatrie was left far behind at this point, and Shinon was rather happy at his absence. The sniper really didn't want to face Rolf right now. Not right after the kid had told him that he thought of him, Shinon, as an older brother. But, for some reason, Shinon was angry. If any thing had happened to Rolf before he got there…
If anyone hurts Rolf, I'll make sure they pay.
Shinon couldn't figure out why he felt the way he did. His stomach did nervous back flips as his legs brought him closer to the location he needed to be with every step.
"You're like a brother to me too."
No one had ever told him something like that before. Never.
Shinon nearly tripped when a scream sounded through the trees. "Eek! NO!" That was Mist's voice. Shinon ran faster. He hadn't heard Rolf yet. Shinon heard several dull thuds. Those idiots! Surly, they didn't throw their weapons down!
Shinon finally reached an area in the trees that was thin enough to see through to the bandit stronghold. The sniper stopped and looked to the scene below. His heart gave a leap when he saw that Rolf was okay. What the… Why in bloody blue blazes am I so happy?! Shinon was disturbed from his thoughts when Ike and Mist screamed. A bandit was running straight at Rolf, his ax raised.
Shinon quivered with anger. He quickly raised his bow and notched an arrow. The bandit was almost on top of the kid-
"You're like a brother to me too."
Those words echoed through Shinon's head as he released the arrow. The bandit fell down dead. Rolf's knees gave way and he sank to the ground.
Strangely, Shinon was relieved when he saw that the kid was unharmed. But why? Why did he have these emotions? What was the purpose of worrying about someone else? Why bother?
What… What is happening to me?
Author's note
For those of you who thought that Shinon was OOC, I'm sorry. I wanted to start making the move toward the change he faces in the latter part of the game when he has his first support with Rolf. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to do it too. Please tell me if this upset you. Also, I can't fit much humor in here until Mist and Rolf decide to fight. Please forgive me. Gatrie was serious for once. But I think that that just because of the heat of the moment. Please tell me if there is anything in particular about this fic that is bothering you, please? Otherwise, it will remain the way I am writing it. I still looking for pairings by the way.