An arrow whizzed just centimeters past Kagome's head. Was this really happening? Everything just seemed to move into a blur, the Greil Mercenaries home was being invaded by Daein Soldiers. The country was in being invaded. Everything was happening all at once and Kagome was trying her best not to be swept away by the current of events swirling around her and her new family. She spun around and shot back at the other archer, making him fall to the ground, dead.
"KAGOME! KEEP IT UP! HOLD THEM!" The commander's voice roared to her, keeping her focused. Greil had chosen her to help him defend the rear entrance of the fort while Ike and the others held the front. She shivered as she loaded another arrow into the notch of her bow. She wondered how long they were going to last out here…if there were going to be even more soldiers flooding in to kidnap princess Elincia. Right now she, Rolf and Mist were huddled together inside of the house. She felt terrible for the princess, it wasn't her fault this happened.
Greil cried out once more, the ground almost seemed to shake with the commander's ferocity. The young woman now understood WHY this man was the leader of the Mercenaries. He fought with the strength of hundred men. The mighty axe he swung crushed into Daein mooks like they were paper, clearly they were out matched by the fearsome bear of a warrior.
She launched a few more arrows into the invaders, while she hated to kill, to end another person's life, it was as Oscar told her; To fight to survive. Kill or be killed.
The numbers of men seemed to be thinning out, Kagome almost felt a sigh of relief escape her throat.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!
Then a creature's petrifying call echoed in the night, something that made the girl's blood freeze icy cold. "C-c-Commander, what is that?!" "MOVE! IT'S A WYVERN!" A winged Creature swooped down from the ink black sky, it's scaly hide and bat like wings made Kagome's skin crawl, realization hitting her; The men weren't backing off because they were retreating…oh no…they brought this creature to fight Greil. The creature dive bombed Greil, it's claws fully extended to rip into his flesh. The commander hardly had anytime to block the Horse sized dragon with his axe as he was pushed to the ground.
On the back of the creature rode a Daein Troop armed with his own axe. With a horrifying grin, the man raised his axe, aiming for the downed commander. Even the mighty bear could not lift a fully grown beast off of his body! He was helpless! Once more Kagome felt her body moving on its own, reaching for the arrow, something began to burn within her. The commander was in trouble, she had to save him! A bright pink light glowed from her fingertips as she fired the bolt at the wyvren. "Please….please hit!"
The creature had barely anytime to react as it was evaporated into dust, it's rider, crashing into the ground. Greil sprang onto the man, snapping his neck with his bare hands. "My gods!" One of the men cried, "She's a witch!" Just then a horn blasted into the air, the soldiers looked at one another, their eyes wide with astonishment, " General Dakova's gone... We're being beaten... We... We don't stand a chance. Retreat! Quickly now, retreat!"
They were going…good…it was over...
Kagome dropped her bow in shock, did that…did that come out of her? What was that strange light? She stared at her hands, trembling with revelation of her new found power. Just who was she? Why did this power feel so familiar? She knew it, she could feel it within very fiber of her being. Suddenly, a big hand clasped on her on back, "Kagome…are you all right? Snap out of it!" Greil had reached her, his face full of concern. "W-what….what was that…I-" "Kagome, Listen to me." The man got onto eye level with her, his voice low, the seriousness that was there snapped the girl out of her daze, "We will talk…but right now, take what you have as a blessing. We have to leave here, now. It's all right now."
The girl felt hot tears trickle down her cheeks as she nodded and followed Greil into the fort. Inside, the princess, Mist and Rolf looked unharmed. After checking them, the group quickly made it out to the front entrance, there the rest of the mercenaries still stood, tired but unharmed. Wait, where was Ike?! She inwardly panicked, and frantically looked about for him, until he stumbled out form behind a corner, breathing deeply and wiping the sweat from his forehead. Thank goodness, everyone was all right.
It was Soren that first spoke out to Greil, still stiff and stern from the battle the tone in his voice was thick with focus "Commander, We've cleared the surrounding area of Daein troops." Ike's father nodded as he spoke out to the others, "We've no time to rest! They will be back here with reinforcements. Pack what you can! Quickly!"
Ike's eyes locked with Kagome, it seemed he too was having a hard time believing what was happening. His face, was wrinkled with worry, uncertainty, his left eye twitching. Kagome just wanted to go over to her friend and tell him it was going to be all right.
Boyd and Oscar took that as their queue and quickly disappeared into fort gathering up weapons and needed supplies. Mist tugged at Kagome's sleeve, "Kagome? We've got to hurry, too! Right, Rolf? Let's go to the mess hall and pack food!" Kagome continued to look over Ike for a moment before following the other two into the mess hall.
Ike worried for that woman, it looked like something deeply disturbed her. During the battle, he could have sworn that he heard a wyvern…as he turned to the noise, a strange light rippled through the night. Somehow, that light…it made him feel Kagome's presence within it much how he could feel Soren or Rhys through their spells…strange.
"Titania! Take Shinon and Gatrie and make sure we have a secure road from here to the great forest. We'll make our way to Gallia through the sea of trees! Rhys, you stay with me. I want you to help me pull essential documents from the library. Everything else we burn!" Greil continued with his orders, getting everyone to evacuate quickly was his top priority. "Soren, I need you to keep a look out, make sure we are in the clear." Finally his eyes turned to Ike, "Ike! You're in charge of the princess." With that he turned on his heel and marched after Rhys.
The young man nodded towards his father and finally looked over at the confused and frightened princess. He couldn't help but feel for the woman, she seemed like she was at a complete loss for what was going on around her. Yet, still, she stood with a sort of strength to her, she even straightened as he walked towards her. "I am going to get a horse for you, Princess. Until then, let's find something for you to do." "P-pardon?" The woman seemed surprised, not offended but more like she was some what excited to be of use.
Ike smiled at her, Elincia was more than what she seemed, "Head to the Mess hall and help Mist, time will go by much faster if you are doing something rather than waiting around for me."
The woman smiled and nodded, "Oh! I understand! I can do that!"
Kagome rummaged through various shelves, grabbing whatever she could find and looking for what could be taken with them that would not spoil. Rolf scurried in the mess hall, tossing bags on to the table. "Here! I got more bags! I'll go find some more!" The young boy dashed out once more, Kagome had wondered if she had ever seen a young man run so fast. As Mist reached up to grab at a sack of rice, a hand reached past her, grabbing it for the shorter girl.
"P-p-princess?!" Mist Squeaked, making the archer look up from her task. The woman smiled at the other two, "Yes…please, let me assist you." Mist looked nervous, this was NOT something you would ask a princess to do, she looked over towards Kagome questionably. The raven haired girl just smiled at Elincia, more and more she seemed to like this girl, "Yes! Help us pack! We have all ready pulled most of the food out, Rolf is gathering the bags."
The women worked in silence for the moment, the tense feeling in the air so thick, one could cut it with a knife. Mist chuckled nervously, "Sorry, this is kind of awkward. Making a princess help with packing…"
Elincia smiled and shook her head at the younger woman. "Please don't worry, Mist. I just hope that I don't end up slowing you down by getting in your way." Kagome spoke out as she shoved a few more items into the pack she was working on, "No way! You are doing fantastic!"
"Yeah! You're so much better at this than I am. It's a big help! Are all princesses as good at this sort of thing as you are?" Mist chimed in, her eyes sparkling with admiration. Elincia lowered her face to the ground, her cheeks flushed with a sweet crimson from the praises the two girls were showering upon her, "I wasn't raised at court, so my life was a bit different than other princesses. I cooked, cleaned, sewed… all sorts of things."
"Really? That's surprising. I would never have guessed that by looking at you, " Mist was astonished but Kagome just giggled, "You know there I think there was this old story from my childhood about this wonderful princess that started out by just cooking and cleaning…she worked hard and everyone loves her story." Elincia hid her face once more with her hands, seemingly getting more and more embarrassed by the moment. It was at this moment Kagome decided it was time to change the subject, "Erm! H-hey what else did you do in the castle?"
"Let's see, I also rode horses, practiced sword fighting-" Elincia's eyes drifted off to Mist, something seemed to be glowing from inside her shirt, something that was attached to a necklace around her neck, "Mist? What's that around your neck?"
Suddenly the girl snapped upwards, clasping her chest, or at least something underneath her clothing. The glow from underneath seemed to get brighter and for the first time, Kagome's senses locked on to the object. The two women stared at the younger one, their eyes full of questions. Mist whimpered, she was even more troubled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" The princess said in almost a guilty manner, she liked the two girls here, she didn't want to make them uncomfortable. Kagome could feel immense power from whatever the girl had…why had she not sensed it before? Was it because she hit her head? Or did Mist have a power of her own?
"…I guess I can show it to you two, " Mist could see the concern on both of her friend's faces and she figured she could show them. Slowly she pulled out a strange medallion from her clothing. It was bronze, blue in color…many pointed angles on it made it resemble a compass. Kagome could feel the energy from the glowing trinket even more now. Chaotic…she had felt something similar to it before…it was right on the tip of her tongue…Shi-shikon no-
"Oh! It's a lovely-no-incredible medallion, isn't it? I wonder what that light is, " Elincia's voice brought the archer out of her thoughts. Mist caressed it gently a thoughtful expression on her face, "It used to belong to my mother. It's all I have to remember her by. Though…I don't know where the light comes from. It wasn't like this before. A while back, it just started glowing."
"The world is full of mysteries, isn't it? One thing is clear, though…It certainly is beautiful, " The princess uttered in a soft tone, all most full of wonder. In Kagome's mind, Elincia seemed to be under this thing's spell…she had seen something like this before. She didn't like enchanted items. Quickly she walked over to Mist and put her hand on her shoulder, her blue eyes focusing on the young Cleric, "Hey! Let's get back to work! I am sure your father will be wanting to leave soon!"
"Oh! Let's!" Mist chirped happily as the light from the medallion faded, hidden once more underneath her blouse. As soon as that happened Elincia began to hurry with the packing. Rolf soon returned, carrying a familiar yellow backpack. "I couldn't find anything else but Kagome, um…erm…I found your bag. It's that you have to remember your past with right? Don't leave with out it!"
The archer's eyes widened as she patted the young man on the head, "Rolf…thank you…" He was such a kind young man, he really didn't have to go out of his way for her…still….
Elincia kept silent as she watched the two speak, her interest spiked. She had remembered Ike talking about how they had taken the archer under their wings, how she had injured her head and forgotten who she was. The very thought was dreadful, she would have hated to lose the precious memories of her family. Kagome stared at her bag….then walked over to an empty chest, and dumped the contents. "K-kagome?!" Rolf squeaked with disbelief as Mist ran over to her side, "What are you doing?!"
"This bag is nice and strong. It can carry a lot. Let's get more food into this!" "But, that's everything you own!" Mist shrieked grabbing her shoulders, "I am not going to let you-" "It's ok Mist, You are all more important than some items. Quickly! Let's fill this guy up!" The three ran over to the makeshift working station, filling the big bag with the smaller bags and items. Elinica's heart broke, she and Kagome both had nothing but the Greil Mercenaries.
She walked over to the chest, and moved to close the lid when something caught her eye. A book sat on the top of the pile of items, a picture of Kagome, an older woman that looked very much like her, a young man and an older man sat on it's cover. Not even thinking twice, Elincia took the small book and placed it into her tiny side bag. She shoved the chest into the empty fire place, praying that it would still be there for Kagome if she ever came back to this place. The princess then ran over to the others, there was no more time to waste.
Ike had his hand on his sister's back as she cried softly. The fort was now in flames, burning whatever trace that they had been living there away. It had been their home for many years, now it was gone. Ike wasn't sure what the future had in store for their family, he just hoped that they would make it out safely.
They ran with out torches, or any thing to light the way safe for the moonlight, the possibility of them being caught was too high, and they were exhausted. Kagome was holding the rear, the rather large pack on her back was filled to the brim with much needed supplies. Everyone else was carrying something important for their survival. The group did not speak to one another, instead they focused on escaping. As Dawn approached, Kagome could feel the air thicken. It was starting to become dreadfully humid. She gazed upwards, to see a massive, nearly endless expanse of trees just up ahead.
Kagome had never seen shut a massive ocean of forest before in her life. Her head began to throb as memories slowly ebbed back into her mind. "We are all most there! Quickly!" The commander's voice urged the group on, pushing their bodies too the limit. The tree line was soon seen ahead, the group made a break for it, nearly diving into the brush. They had made it. What now?
"We go further in before we take a break. We can still be tracked if we stop now!"
Deeper, Deeper and deeper still did the small group venture into the vast forest. The air got hotter, humid…Kagome could have sworn that this was starting to feel more like jungle. She had traded in her skirt for a pair of pants, she was tired of being called "Skimpy" by the resident sniper, and she was starting to regret it. Sweat began to form on her forehead as the heat intensified.
It was awhile before the group slowed to a pace where they could catch their breath. Everyone looked as though they would topple over. Fear and anger kept their feet moving.
Shinon cursed under his breath, he was not happy with this HORRIBLE weather and even more so for the fact they were heading into Laguz territory. His eyes flicked to his friend Gatrie, who looked a bit more worse for wear. With the Knight's thick armor, the heat had to be killing the man…yet strangely…he seemed more focused than normal.
"Hey…you ok there, Gatrie?" The male archer mentioned to his friend. "HUH?!" The poor man looked as though he was going to pass out, "Sorry, did you say something?" Shinon rolled his eyes and repeated his statement, "I was asking if you were all right."
"No…but…" The blonde man's eyes drifted ahead to the raven haired woman before them, his fingers tugging nervously at his collar, "It's almost tolerable when a vision walks in front of you…"
Shinon was about to make a snarky remark at his friend when he noticed just WHERE his friend's eyes were. Kagome normally had simple skirts or dresses in her fashion, but today, TODAY the wench choose pants…form fitting ones…he didn't know that those billowy clothes she wore before hid the "assets" she was so impossibly endowed with. It was almost WORSE that she chose to be something other than Skimpy. It pissed him off.
THWAP! Shinon smacked the back of his friend's head.
"OUCH! W-why did you do that?!" Poor Gatrie looked like a puppy who just had his toy taken from him.
"Eyes ahead, Moron! This is not the time for that," Shinon looked a bit more irked than usual. Possibly all the night's events were starting to get to him.
"I was just looking! That's not a crime! Besides it's so damned hot here…I am trying not pass out from the heat! Heck, If we weren't being chased, I'd strip off this armor here and now!"
Gatrie's voice was now loud enough that the rest of the team could hear him. Titania scoffed as she turned her head towards the knight, "Then I'm almost glad that we ARE being pursued. I suppose you'll have to grin and bear it, won't you?"
The puppy pout returned on the blonde warrior, "I guess I do…." The amazon sighed as she regained her composure, "See to it that you that you do….Still…" The red headed woman brought a hand to her forehead as she wiped the sweat from it, "This heat is all most unbearable…."
Shinon brought out an arrow and twirled it in his fingers as he grumbled, "Dense forests such as these are not made for us delicate humans. The sub-humans love them, though."
Kagome turned her head towards the other archer, curiosity over coming her fatigue. There was that word again…sub-human. What would be so terrible about them that they would be not looked at as human? As if Ike had read her mind, he spoke up, "Are these Sub-humans really so different from us?"
"Seriously?! You've never seen a beast man before?" The male archer was somewhat stunned, but not at all truly surprised. Ike was a bit spoiled by the Commander in his opinion. The swordsman shook his head, inquisitiveness still there, "No, never."
Shinon growled with disgust as he began to explain, "Well, I have. They're a hairy bunch, I'll tell you, AND ugly as sin, too. Their faces are all fangs and whisker. Their claws are like daggers, razor sharp and deadly. Even though they can speak our language, they're beasts through and through. Freaking savages, all of them."
Kagome grumbled some how, all this talk was getting her more and more angry, "They can't be THAT bad can they? Shinon, I think you are just exaggerating!"
Shinon grumbled under his breath, he remembered the picture he still carried with him. The girl may have not remembered it…but she used to hang out with a beast man. He remembered how she looked at the subhuman…so much affection in her eyes, what was their relationship? What was worse was that he thought she was starting to get that look when ever she looked at the Commander's idiot pup. He shouldn't have been getting so irritated. She was just a stupid girl.
"You can't even remember where you come from, Skimpy! You'll be sorry when you see one for yourself."
"Stop calling me that!"
Ike still looked completely lost. He really didn't get the answer he was looking for and Kagome was a bit more vocal about her disbelief. He sided with her, he'd have to seen one for his self before he could come to a conclusion.
It was Soren that spoke up next. He elaborated since Shinon had not, his crimson eyes searching about the forest as he spoke, "The ones Shinon calls "sub-humans" can be divided into three groups, each one named for its physical characteristics. First, the beast tribe, next, the bird tribe, and finally, the dragon tribe. They are traditionally called "laguz." The laguz tribe residing here in Gallia is the beast tribe, who possess those feline qualities of which Shinon spoke."
"D-d-dragons? You mean like what those Daein Soldiers ride?" Kagome could still remember the terrible shriek of that creature by the fort and shivered from the memory.
"No…those are wyverns. Hardy big old lizards! They are a lot more bulky than pegasi. They don't breath fire and are kinda tiny compared to a member of the dragon tribe," Gatrie finally spoke up. Afterall, this was an interesting conversation to the heavy suited knight. Kagome gulped, so that creature…it wasn't a dragon at all.
"To the south are the islands where the bird-men live. The dragons are in Goldoa. It's something every mercenary should know. Skimpy here I can understand, since she's got a nasty bump and all." He smirked at Ike in all most a mocking way, " But you? Looks like you know even less than I gave you credit for, Ike, my boy."
If Shinon was trying to rile the swordsman, he really wasn't doing a very good job. Ike just looked even more curious, "Hmm…perhaps."
Kagome? No. She was riled up to the tee, she gnashed her teeth in a hateful manner, her cheeks puffed out in an irritated way as she glared daggers at the red haired marksman. She just wanted show him some manners! If only she had an enchanted necklace or something!
Ike could not help but smile at the woman's antics. Surely, if she had more energy she'd be screaming all her frustrations out at Shinon. He was fairly stoic, even he could not deny this, often bottling in things when something bothered him.
Kagome was the complete opposite. She was loud, she was not afraid to speak her mind when she felt she needed to. She wore most of her emotions on her sleeve…she was an honest person. In some ways she reminded him of Soren, both could be unapologetic when prompted. It was refreshing.
Ike didn't say anything, but handed the woman a water bottle. "Huh? Oh! Thank you, Ike!" Kagome's anger instantly melted as she graciously took the water jug and gulped the liquid to soothe her parched throat.
"There….look," Soren pointed to the wide landscape just barely seen in the gaps of the trees before them, "…A little farther, and we'll be out of these trees, Ike."
WOOOOOOOOOO! It's been awhile! I have not forgotten about this story.
So what happened? Long story short…
A MMO….
I have been taking a break from those to play through my Fire Emblem games…My inspiration for this story has returned! (I got Ike in HEROES! He's my main!)
Thank you all for your patience….and….erm…I think the older chapters are in dire need of a rewrite.
This will probably be the last time I use dialog from the game as it is starting to take it's own spin.
Also I feel the need to rewatch some of Inu Yasha…I miss mai waifu, Kagome.
