A/N: Valeria and, in a sense, all of Generation Two embodies my love-hate relationship with Agarest Senki. On my run, I wasn't meticulously following the True End Guide, because, well, I don't believe a game should require fullstop a detailed step-by-step guide just to see most of the story. Well, if you aren't on the perfectly correct path with every decision, a path that the game gives you no indication exists on its own, then you do literally miss well over half of the story and content and character moments. By Generation Two, things were therefore getting bad. I knew I was missing things, and the gameplay had become less fun, with each battle a tougher and tougher grinding slog. I had no clue what to do or how to do better, and the game is not very helpful on that score, at all. I reached the end of Generation Two and then consulted some True End guides, and found an unbelievable wealth of content that I was simply not given because I was on the wrong path.

"So you mean to tell me that I just dragged myself through a hellish experience and constant doubt and annoyance... only to be served about half of the game I paid for?" I could barely bring myself to start a new file, this time aligned perfectly with the True End goal and following a meticulous walkthrough of events. By that point I had about finished actually playing the game. Thus, I decided to focus on the things I did like, and, well, here came the fanfiction.

This chapter contains no smut and no fluff. It embodies more my vision of Valeria and her relationship with Ladius than the True End stuff.

The Honor of the General

Second Generation

Ladius x Valeria

Ladius was about midway through his writing for the evening when Yayoi, of all people, poked her head into his tent. "Ladius-sama, excuse me, but the sentries are calling for you. Somebody has arrived at camp and requests a meeting." He looked up from his paper and saw the young girl. She had been a priestess in the hidden Old Yamato Republic in the great swamps, sworn to become a sacrifice. Unlike his own destiny, however, her sacrifice would have been for nothing, and in gratitude for saving her from such a fate, she had joined his forces and led the way out of the nightmarish terrain.

Although her manner of dress, robe-like garments of red and white, and her speech, with odd words and honorifics, were all foreign to him, she was a good person in her heart. In fact, he often thought that she was too good, and young, and wholesome for his work, but she had proven herself a hero in their battles together. She had even saved his own life on more than one occasion.

"Thank you, Yayoi," He replied, leaning back against his chair and smiling, although he was, as usual, quite tired. "I will be right out." She nodded and, pale cheeks flaring red, quickly ducked back out and returned to her business.

He finished the sentence he was on. "… deployment based upon what can be rallied from the forests to the east," he vocalized quietly to himself, finishing each word in black ink and then setting his quill down. "Alright." A break from the paperwork and messages couldn't be that bad, anyway. He stretched out and then got to his feet, heading out towards the front of the rebel camp that he now called his own.

Whoever he had expected to come calling at his hidden forest encampment, alone and devoid of weapons, was certainly not who was waiting nervously between a pair of stoic peasant soldiers. However, she was unmistakable, with her long, braided fire-red hair and elegantly tailored dress. A flash of pure surprise hit them both as they stood, looking upon each other for the third time in a year.

0-0

If Ladius was as treacherous and devoid of honor as he was accused of being by the nobility, then Valeria knew she would have already been dead. Bowmen and even firelock troops had emerged from the hills, ready to rain death upon her elite guard, but their leader had stayed their arms and come out personally to meet her challenge. "Valeria."

"Even at this hour, it's not too late," She roared at him, eyes burning with her determination, even in the face of being nearly surrounded by her enemies. The only thing she focused on, dead ahead, was Ladius himself. Flanked by his retainers, clad in tempered, worn steel, and dragging his greatsword across the sparse grasslands, he looked every inch a man, so at odds with her childhood memories of him. "Give the word, Ladius, and this will end! I swear to you upon my honor as an officer that you will receive a fair trial this time as soon as we return to the capital."

While she was fire, rage, the very image of war itself, his face showed determination as well as a great sorrow, especially when she looked into his eyes. As he drew closer, she could see from his stance that more than his equipment weighed him down. He did not shout as he spoke. "I saw how much the honor of a general goes for with the nobility, Valeria. So did you."

"What were you expecting? You forced your way out of custody and took three regiments into open desertion with you from the capital! We could have established your innocence, given time-"

He shook his head, leaning upon his sword like a wizard with his staff. "I'm guilty as charged, Valeria. They wanted a slaughter. Those rebels were right, and the nobles wanted me to kill them all."

0-0

"Ladius…" Valeria spoke first, bracing herself. She didn't quite know what to expect from this meeting, either. After everything that had happened, Ladius had every right to be mad.

He was.

After he recovered from the pure surprise, he balled his hands into fists and his eyes turned hard, staring into hers in a way she had never seen before out of him. For a tense moment, she thought he would step forward and strike her on the spot, but instead, he turned towards one of the guards. "Sergeant, take this envoy to the stockade and hold her until I am finished with business and can entertain a meeting."

The man nodded in acknowledgement and Valeria sucked in a breath, opening her mouth to say something. Ladius was already turning around, though, and the protests, the apologies, the confessions all died in her throat. With a nudge from the second rebel, she followed the Sergeant through the camp and, as ordered, was placed into the otherwise empty stockade building, behind bars.

The guards, before leaving, seemed to recognize her and do something of a double-take themselves. "Weren't you an Imperial general, as well?" The Sergeant asked her. "Why come here?"

"Things have changed," She replied, and after it was clear that was all they were getting from her, the two men shrugged and left to take their post again.

0-0

"You have me at a disadvantage now, but you know I can bring more forces than you can hope to defeat," She shook her head. "You can't beat my army in the open field, Ladius, even in a fighting retreat. Why continue to resist? Your men will die for you."

"The demands of my destiny come before everything else, Valeria…" Ladius looked away, letting out a deep sigh. "Grugund, the men, my friends, myself… even you. I can't allow anything to stop me before I fulfill it." Growing up, she remembered that Ladius had been possessed a certain, unshakable sense of his destiny. As he matured and came into his military training, that sense had turned fatalistic, but now she suspected he was simply mad. What prophecy or foresight could be worth betraying their homeland?

"Maybe they were right about you," She said, rage turning slowly to sorrow. "There were whispers, Ladius, long before Tannus. Have you changed, or was this always your intention?"

He closed his eyes and took a single deep, rasping breath. "Withdraw from the field and let us go, Valeria. We can't march on Grugund even if we wanted to; you know we make for the southern river."

"And from there, where? To Fensarill?" She shook her head. "To our enemies?"

"Fensarill has done me no wrong," Ladius replied. "I can't say the same for our homeland. They can offer my men safety and maybe, even, a chance to live free." Valeria's eyes widened in amazement and her resolve was strengthened. Clearly, he had lost it somewhere along the line, and she'd failed to see it. Now, it was her job to apprehend him somehow and get him back to the capital, where he could get some help.

"I can't forsake my oath, Ladius, and I'll not lose you again if I can help it. To arms!" She readied her partisan, the great spear weapon taller than a man and pointed with razor-sharp steel. While her uniform may have suggested an aristocrat, playing at being a general, she was in fact a deadly adversary, and capable in her fury of terrible feats of strength and agility. The guardsmen around her rushed forward, meeting with Ladius' troops and his small band of loyal retainers and bloodying the eye of the storm.

0-0

She'd been cooling her heels for a while before somebody came by the jails. Valeria had been hoping for and dreading Ladius' arrival, but instead, she recognized the neocollom, Sherufanir. A hybrid with animal ears and a prominent tail, she was still amazingly beautiful, and wore clothing similar to Valeria, if much tighter and more daring in its cut. She was cunning, enough to be seriously dangerous; in their encounters before now, she had tried to be friendly… before busting Ladius out of custody and precipitating a crisis. In a very real way, she was responsible for the events that had wrecked his life in Grugund and ripped Ladius away from her.

"Val, it's been a while," Sherufanir said, locking the door behind her and approaching the bars, a maddening smile on her face. Valeria felt herself glaring at the other woman. "Tell me that you at least appreciate the irony of this situation."

She folded her arms tightly over her chest and, after a moment of consideration, replied, "Are you here to break me out, then?"

The hybrid laughed, leaning against the bars with one gloved hand. "Where did that come from? Have you grown a sense of humor?"

"A rather morose one, after everything that's happened." Valeria was a little off-put by Sherufanir's attitude. She was all smiles, but her keen eyes told a different story. When they had met last, they had been trying to kill each other, and her soldiers' instinct drew her eye to a pair of sheaths at Sherufanir's belt. "Why are you here?"

The elegantly tailored lady seemed to take a moment before replying, glancing back towards the door. "What, I can't come and visit a friend? I know we haven't had much us-time since the imperial capital-"

"We're not friends." Sherufanir looked back towards her and saw, to her chagrin, Valeria's expression hadn't changed. It was still a mask of barely contained rage.

Sherufanir pouted. "After everything we've gone through, you'd say that right to my face…"

0-0

The rest of the army, freshly arrived upon the plains of Nagigahara, began to break their ranks and charge as they saw their general in trouble. The deserters were ready for the attack, and the ranged forces, led by the expert marksman Winfield, ripped through them with deadly precision and accuracy. Halberdiers and spearmen moved forward and huddled into a tight line, ready to meet the charge and stop it cold; when the two great masses of men met, many were speared instantly.

Ladius' loyal men were a cohesive fighting unit, and although he was now tied up in a personal confrontation, they moved as one. The spearmen took five steps backwards and broke their ranks up to permit the swordsmen to charge, straight into the stalled and chaotic mess of the enemy.

Valeria wasn't focused on any of the combatants aside from Ladius himself, rushing forward and weaving through several engagements until she reached him. He knew her well, though, and was not surprised by the speed of her attack. His greatsword was drawn and ready for her, and he swept her point aside and forced her to veer off.

Four times, the Grugund troops pushed forward, struggling to reach their general, who had extended herself far past the front line and straight into the maw of the deserters. Each time, their massed charge had brought them closer to the furious melee, paying with their blood for every inch. Soldiers that had served together for years were now put against each other over personal loyalties, and in the press of the battle, everything was like a nightmare.

The two of them, since they were kids, had sparred many times, but Valeria felt wind as Ladius' blade passed less than an inch from her neck, a killing blow, were the heavy weapon to strike true. As odd as it seemed, nothing before now had quite impressed upon her how serious the fight was, until just then. She reacted with lightning speed, dropping to her knees and swinging her spear like a bat, smashing him right in the gut with every ounce of force she could muster.

That was quite a lot of force. Even through his padded armor plate, Ladius stumbled backwards and coughed from the wooden impact, barely keeping hold of his sword. She sprang to her feet and brought her spear around for a charge, directly at him, but something hit her in the side. A wave of magical energies tossed her like a ragdoll and she tumbled onto the dirt and grass, landing on her side.

0-0

"I wasn't there for the first time, of course. Ladius told me about it, though. Ladius has told me a lot of things." Sherufanir reached for a nearby chair and took a seat, folding her legs and adjusting herself to avoid squishing her tail. "Not necessarily fondly, of course. When I passed by his tent he was about ready to put you to the block." Her eyes flashed even as Valeria felt, once again, a sickeningly familiar pang of jealousy. "I calmed him down a bit."

"Do you want me to thank you for that?" She asked, still standing, looking down upon the hybrid.

"It would be polite," Sherufanir admitted. "Then again, you always did have problems with your attitude, hm? And your temper, of course. I remember that second battle, out upon the river pass, with Grugund's army to your back… and Fensarill's to ours." Her smile faded. "You called us traitors, then."

"That's the definition of treason, pretty much," She replied without missing a beat.

"Well, then… what's the word you would use for when your country betrays you? It's funny how Grugund doesn't really have a word for that concept." She produced one of her knives, an intricately carved weapon, sharpened lovingly and detailed with precious metals. Sherufanir was convinced that her knives helped account for her uncanny luck. While she spoke, she twirled it idly.

If intimidation was her goal, Valeria wasn't going to let her get it so easily. She acted as if she didn't notice the deadly implement in her hand. "When I said I had to speak with Ladius, I meant it. Things are different now."

"Apparently," Sherufanir agreed. "If it was just a message, you could have let some private take care of that. You know we wouldn't kill a messenger with Ladius in command. But if the messenger was you… a risky proposition." The knife stopped, and she grasped it by the blade. "So then, why?"

Initially, she was going to tell her to fuck off; what she had to say was for Ladius alone. However, the neocollom didn't look like she would be taking no for an answer. Perhaps enlightening her would prevent anything unfortunate from happening before the general could get here for their parlay. "I returned to the capital after my second clash, and the marquis was not impressed. The nobles quickly assigned blame for the defeat at the most logical place; me. I was relieved of command and confined to my estate, indefinitely."

Sherufanir was brought up short by this revelation, nearly dropping her knife on her own foot. "No," She shook her head, beginning to quake with laughter. "You must surely be kidding." No, the hybrid knew that she was serious; one look at her face could tell her that. Her laughter only increased when Valeria, trying to be stoic, blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, by the Gods!" When she was finished laughing, she leaned against the bars of the cell and took a few deep breaths. "Life is very quickly turning into a very bad play, Val."

0-0

She locked eyes with her new attacker, the high elf girl, Ellis. She had been, in many ways, a mother to Ladius as a kid. She had the appearance of youth, even though she was at least twice Valeria's age, and her long, pink hair was striking and even beautiful. Even now, she stood loyal to him, her staff burning with blue power and her eyes smoldering with rage, pointed straight at her.

Without exchanging a single word, the two women came to understand each other, and Valeria got to her feet just in time to dodge a second impulse wave, which carved through the dirt beside her and nearly broke her partisan. She had no means of retaliation, but, in the heat of the moment, she let out a cheer as one of her elites got behind Ellis and slashed her. In a flash of red, the girl went down, and a part of her reacted in horror. That was a small part of her, though; in battle, the human soul could find little traction. She was just glad the threat was over.

Focusing on Ladius wasn't too hard, though; he charged for her now, suddenly transformed by rage and screaming as he rushed for her. She didn't have time to grab for her weapon, bracing herself for the impact and feeling herself pushed backwards. It was like trying to stop a steam train's advance, and she backed off, only to lock up with him again in a grapple.

She held against him, though; she was no wilting violent or pampered noble, and she often won their little sparring contests, especially when Ladius was getting soft. There was nothing soft in him now, and they stared at each other for a moment.

"Now," Ladius bellowed, and before Valeria could untangle her arms and dodge, a fireball slammed into her back and enveloped her in magical flames. Her armor, suitable mostly for stopping stabbing or bludgeoning, was ill-equipped to resist the flames, and it quickly burned away and revealed her flesh.

Valeria screamed in pain, weakened for a moment, and Ladius gave her a headbutt that sent her reeling, followed by a kick to her chest. She went down, rolling and writhing in an attempt to put out the blaze even as she felt the agony of her own skin being cooked. Her hair had also been caught aflame by the attack, and she struggled to remember her training and put it out.

She saw Ladius rush back, grab his sword from the ground, and heft it over his shoulder, turning towards her with a slow, deliberate, lethal intent. Despite her pain, she knew that she had to get up and find her partisan. When she wheeled around to face him, though, she found him slowly backing off. Many of her honor guard had died in the fracas, including the man who had nearly sliced Ellis in half; those who remained were withdrawing to protect her, and Ladius and his retainers were also backing off. Several of them were badly hurt, but none had fallen; a great, dark figure was cradling Ellis and staunching the bleeding as she watched.

It didn't take long to figure out why. The deserters were all beginning to pull back, finally pushed from their hasty defensive positions by the massed fury of her army. Their advance quickly caught up to her, even as the rebels began a relatively orderly retreat, southwards.

0-0

"I am sorry, I forgot how easy it is to provoke you to anger, Val," Sherufanir apologized, still wiping tears from her eyes after her fit. Indeed, in their fight, Sherufanir had taunted the red-haired Valkyrie until she was a blind berserker driven by hate. It hadn't been difficult; she had mentioned, among other things, how close she and Ladius had become on their relatively short journeys together. The monthly episode, for instance… To her shame, she may very well have listened to reason, and the doubts she had harbored even then, if Sherufanir hadn't goaded her into a murderous fury.

There was a knock at the door, and Sherufanir slid over, opening it up to reveal Ladius himself. Now was the moment for the meeting, apparently. "Ladius, I wasn't expecting you yet," Sherufanir purred, voice as smooth as silk. "Just catching up on things with Val here."

He nodded. "Please, give us some privacy." Instead of what she would usually do, insert a wise-crack about old times, she nodded and took her leave. Soon, he closed the door behind him, and they were alone.

Moments of silence passed between them, and Valeria wondered if he was going to say anything, or just sit there forever. Eventually, she spoke up first. "So, how much of that did you hear?"

"Enough," Ladius replied calmly. Much of his outward anger had gone, and now he was collected, folding his arms over his chest. "Enough to know what happened to you, to bring you here." He reached for one of the chairs sitting against the wall and had a seat, immediately slumping forward and losing much of his good, military posture. "What do you have to say to me?"

She had actually been going over what she was going to say in her mind on the journey through the woods. Finding the rebels had been far easier than actually hiking through untamed wilderness to get to them, and she'd had days and days to contemplate. Keeping her mind focused on now helped with the whirlwind of emotions sweeping through her, but now, she couldn't help but recall every detail of the past; their happy childhood as well as the pair of tumultuous, hateful battles.

Grugund's proudest and strongest general wanted, more than anything at that moment, to apologize, to beg for Ladius' forgiveness. After everything that had happened, though, she still couldn't bring herself to that point. She wasn't wrong, she hadn't screwed up, she just… "Was it still worth it, Ladius? Everything that's happened because of Tannus, and the investigation…"

Ladius cast his eyes down to the floor and, to her surprise, didn't answer right away. When he did, his voice was slow. "You remember what the Duke used to tell us both; thinking that way doesn't get you anywhere. It just gets you buried in doubts." That wasn't all, though; "Well, he's dead now, as dead as I am… or you, apparently. I have, in fact, wondered often whether or not it would have been better to rot in that cell, or just follow my orders in the first place, and wipe out the rebel forces."

"And?" She asked, now finding herself leaning slightly against the bars.

"It was worth it." He looked back up, meeting her eyes. "I've walked the length and breadth of this continent, and witnessed horrors and miracles. I have fought, endlessly, spilling our blood or spilling theirs; just as I learned all my life. I thought I would fight alone, though; but I never have. Friends and comrades have stood with me, every step of the way, carrying me when I fall and fighting alongside me. Many have died so that we could reach this point in history, and that I could advance towards my destiny. They stood with me, where you would not."

Valeria found herself wishing that Ladius had come in fists-swinging, because a fight was a much easier and simpler proposition than whatever this was. "Where I could not, Ladius! My oath was to Grugund, and you left her behind to follow your damned destiny! Without our military, our rival states will crush us and conquer our people!"

"Yet now you come to my camp, after everything… you're no messenger, Valeria. You're a warrior and a general. You wish to join us, now?" She had never known Ladius to be particularly sharp when it came to academic matters, but something had definitely changed in his demeanor and his intellect since he had left her. The old Ladius would have needed more than a few hints to figure any of this out, really. Betrayal, war, and intrigue had sharpened him as much as his blade.

She nodded. "I am placing my hopes in you, Ladius, the man who I loved, and then I swore to kill..." He again looked away from her, staring at the floor and letting out a deep sigh. "Because I have little else to believe in, now. I know your plan is to overthrow Hailzen and his friends in the nobility… I just hope that your rage does not end up toppling all Grugund." What an odd thing to say, coming from somebody notorious for a temper. She smiled slightly, in spite of the situation.

Ladius nodded. "Yes, that makes sense, I suppose. Your other option was to sit in your manor forever and watch the world go on without you… and that was intolerable." He knew he certainly couldn't have stomached it, especially now. "I couldn't very well refuse you on the eve of our attack, could I? You know more than anybody in the world about the capital's defenses and military condition."

Forcing down a sense of relief for that much, at least, she pressed on. "I do actually have messages to deliver, as well. Relays from the lords Hykezatt and Messina, as well as their allies." Those names struck a chord of recognition in Ladius, as well they should; they were the only two highly placed nobles to argue against his imprisonment and, in general, were regarded by the people as steadfast and incorruptible leaders. Even with a man-made darkness choking Grugund, it would have been hard to suppress those two without an all-out civil war. "They have had enough of Hailzen and his tyranny." She reached into a pouch on her armor and produced a folded and wrinkled note, etched with ink and scribbled in small, neat handwriting.

He accepted the note and read it quickly. "A gift, to show your good intentions now," Ladius murmured, nodding. "Were it any other from Grugund I would dismiss this thing as a trap, and an insulting one, at that. However, from you…" He seemed to slump deeper into his chair. "I cannot deny it." He looked up, once again, but instead of any happiness, she saw something deeper, and more sad. "They will be great assets in the struggle to come… as will you."

He slowly got to his feet, and produced a key from his pocket, unlocking the cell door and pulling it open. "We make for Neiva Forest in the east, starting tomorrow. We must rally more forces, and train them to readiness, before we march on the capital. I don't believe I need to ask for your parole. Understand, though, that forgiveness is not something deserved, nor something earned… it is given. And some people may never find it within themselves." They stood in silence for a moment, and then he took a step backwards, turning his back on her. "You're dismissed."

Childhood friends, together again, at last.