Fire Emblem: The Unifying War
Chapter 12 Desperate Struggle
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay guys! I've been distracted by the actual Fire Emblem games the past couple of days. Anyways, to war!
Kratos and Mia hurried through the corridors of the castle, racing to find their companions. After several minutes of frantic searching they finally found them, assembled in one of the outlying halls.
"What are we gonna do?" Edaward asked. "I can't believe they're here already!"
"We're going to aid in the defense of the castle, of course," Lyn replied sharply.
"That's not what I meant. What I meant to say was HOW are we gonna help?"
"Well, those of us who are skilled with the blade should go assist on the front lines," Kratos said. "Leonardo, Lute, you two take up positions atop the battlements. You'll have a much easier time targeting the enemy and staying out of range there. Serra, you stay back behind the lines and assist the injured. The more swords we can point back at the enemy the better off we'll be." Everyone gave a sharp nod, and rushed off to meet their assigned tasks.
"Never knew you were such a leader, Boss," Mia said as the four swordsmen ran to join the battle.
"Don't get used to it," he answered quickly. Now was not the time for such drivel, they had a battle to fight. The scene that greeted them as they made it outside the castle walls was akin to something out of the struggles of old. The Knights or Renais had ridden forth from the castle, attempting to drive back the invaders. So far the lines were holding, although Kratos knew it wouldn't last. The men they were fighting now were untrained, lured over to Bern's side by either greed or fear. He knew Bern was merely using them to tire out their foe, so that when the main thrust came, they would be dishelved and ill prepared to turn it back.
Then battle was upon him, and the specifics mattered little. The first opponent came at him, swinging his sword about recklessly. It was a simple matter to step inside his guard and run his sword through the man's chest. A second opponent came, wielding a lance. His stance was a bit more measured, waiting for Kratos to make the first move. He obliged, rushing forward. His opponent thrust his lance forward in an attempt to skewer him, but Kratos spun out of the was and slammed his sword into the lance, causing it to fly out of the man's grip. He then made short work of the unfortunate enemy.
A glint at the edge of his vision caused Kratos to whip around just in time to see another opponent leveling his sword at Kratos' neck. He barely managed to duck back out of the way, but lost his footing and fell. His opponet raised his sword, preparing to bring it down in an overhead strike. Kratos snapped a kick off into the man's torso, causing him to stagger back. Kratos sprang to his feet and slashed the man open. He grabbed at his chest and fell, trying desperately to stem the tide of blood gushing out of him.
Two knights then rode past on either side of him, lances forwarded. They pushed ahead, piercing several enemies as they proceeded. Kratos stepped back, watching as the pair drove the enemy back, working in tandem to cover one another's blind spots. Such coordinated efficiency drew a measure of respect from him. They had obviously performed this manuever many times in the past.
It was then Kratos noticed an enemy bowman lining up a shot at an oblivious Lyn. He looked around quickly and noticed the discarded lance his enemy had dropped before. "Not this time," he thought, grasping the lance firmly and letting it fly. It hit it's mark, digging deep into the man's chest. He probably was never truly aware of what happened to him as the fell into darkness.
The battle was proceeding quite well. The Knights of Renais were driving the enemy back, their lines starting to crumble under the pressure. One man in particular was driving off the enemy in a spectacular fashion, his lance thrusts perfectly timed and measured. General Seth, he decided. If this kept up, they would be ready for whatever Bern had to throw at them.
This thought came to him just as a loud screech pierced the air, prompting Kratos to look up. It was then he was aware of the dozens, no, hundreds of Wyverns and their masters that were converging on their position. "Curses!" He said, falling back towards the castle. For all his training and skill, he was ill prepared to deal with Wyverns. He noticed the others of his group had done the same, unprepared for this new threat.
"I should have known this was coming," Kratos said bitterly. "They intend to fly right over our lines and at the castle itself.
"What are we gonna do, Boss?" Mia asked. "We can't help against those wyverns from down here."
"Hmm..." Lyn muttered, scanning the ground. "Ah!" She ran over and picked up a bow from one of the fallen soldiers. She removed his quiver and strapped it to her back. "Been a while since I've done this, but..." she trailed off, notching an arrow and taking aim. She closed one eye in concentration, her tongue sticking out slightly as she lined up her shot. Kratos scoffed internally. There was no way she could hit anything from way down here.
He was amazed when suddenly he heard a loud scream and one of the wyvern riders fell from his mount, an arrow sticking out of his chest. He flailed about uselessly before impacting with a sickening crunch. "I was a little off," She commented, notching another arrow. "I was looking for a headshot." Kratos and Mia exchanged a quick glance. Just who WAS she?
Their wonderment at Lyn's archery skills soon dissolved as they took another look around the battlefield. Where the Knights of Renais had been pushing back the enemy only moments before, the tide had quickly turned. A force at least five times the size of the original enemy army had emerged, reinforcing their weakened lines. Kratos then knew there was no way they could win this battle.
"Blast! I never expected them to be able to commit this many troops!" Kratos bit out. "If we stay here, we're gonna get slaughtered. There's just no two ways about it."
"Then what do you say we do? We can't just abandon our friends here!"
"I know that! Give me a minute to think..." he replied quickly. After a moment, he had it. "We must relay the message to the twins that this battle's over. Then, we marshall our forces and try to punch through their lines at a single point. It's the only chance of us getting out of here alive."
"But if we abandon the castle, won't Bern get their hands on..." Edward began.
"Yes, I know, but it's either that or we stay here, die, and they get them anyway," he explained. "Edward, you go tell the twins. I'll go to General Seth and request he begin making the preparations. Lyn, you and Mia stay here. See if you can't pick off a couple more of those Wyverns." They acknoledged, and then Kratos was off to find the General.
He found him preparing to meet the latest advance. "Hold steady," he said, pointing his lance forward. "We must not falter!"
"General Seth!" Kratos yelled.
"What?" he said, looking around to find the source of the voice. "What do you want?"
"It's useless to meet the enemy in this fashion, there's just too many of them. They'll overrun us and kill us all."
"Then what do you suggest?" Seth replied curtly. He knew he didn't have time for this nonsense.
"That we think of survival, living to fight another day. They've won this round, Seth. Look around you. Do you honestly think to prevail against such odds?"
"The odds of my survival are irrelevant. All that matters is that I defend my sword liege lords. If I must lay down my life for such a cause, then so be it."
"If you die here, your sacrifice will be meaningless. They'll simply overrun the castle and kill them anyway." He noticed a flicker of hesitation in Seth's demeanor. "So what I suggest is this: we gather what forces we have remaining and force our way through a single point in their lines. If we can manage to get away, we can regroup and meet with our allies. From there we can plan an operation to retake Renais."
The General took a short breath. His words did ring true enough. But to simply abandon Renais to those monsters...he then took another look at the enemy. Their forces had completely encircled the castle, closing in slowly for the kill. He knew then that Kratos was right. "Very well," he conceded. "We shall do as you suggest. Men, prepare to ride forward!" The Knights acknoledged grimly. They knew that many of them would not survive this manuever. They were joined moments later by the defenders that had been positioned within the castle, along with twins themselves, mounted on the purest white steeds. There was a tense few tense moments of silence as they prepared.
"FOR RENAIS!!" Seth declared, leading the charge. The others all joined in his battle cry, pushing forward with all their might. Kratos joined them, he and the others of his group fighting with all their might to get through what seemed to be an endless sea of crimson clad soldiers. Magic and arrows filled the sky as the group pushed ever forward. The Knights were taking heavy casualties, but their spirit remained undaunted. Forward...forward...they had to keep moving forward...
And then suddenly, they were through, a clear path laying open before them. They fled quickly, desperate to put as much distance between themselves and Bern as they could. Fortunately for them, Bern seemed more interested in securing the castle than pursing its fleeing inhabitants. The pursuit force that had been dispatched to follow them was less than adequate, and the weary fugitives were able to dispatch them with ease.
OOOO
It wasn't until late that night that they were finally content to rest, convinced that they had put enough distance between themselves and Bern for one day. Bewildered by the day's events, Kratos sat down by the campfire, drawing his arms in close. There was an unusual chill in the air. Moments later he was joined by his closest friend.
"I can't believe this keeps happening to us," Mia said, sitting beside him and stretching her arms towards the fire. "I'm getting tired of being a fugitive."
"You won't get any argument from me," Kratos agreed, blowing on his hands. "This whole buisiness with Bern is becoming quite the headache. The days of being a simple mercenary seem like a lifetime ago, while in reality it's only been a month at best." He let out a sigh. He knew that it wasn't likely going to be over anytime soon either. Bern had nothing less than world domination on their minds. It seemed terribly cliche, but at the same time he knew it was very serious.
"Why is it so cold?" Mia asked, rubbing her hands together. "Where are we anyway?"
"Hmm...if I didn't know better, I'd say we were getting close to Ilia," he replied. "But there's no way we covered that much ground so quickly..."
"Well, we did flee north, if I recall correctly. But you're right, there's no way we're all the way to Ilia." The pair sat pondering the question for a moment. The true answer eluded them, though, so they decided to drop the point.
"It doesn't really matter at this point," he said. "What matters is what our next move is. We're running out of places to run to. Eventually we're gonna have to stand and fight against them."
"Yeah, you're right. There's only so many times we can concede before they'll have complete control. So, what do you think?"
"Me? I've given far too many orders for one day. What do YOU think we should do?"
"What?" Mia was taken off guard. "Coming up with plans and stragtegies ain't what I do, Boss. Besides, you're much better at it than I am. You're the one that came up with the plan that got us out of there after all."
"How about I tell you in the morning?" Kratos answered, yawning. "For now, what I need is a good night's sleep to clear my head. So much stuff happened all at once, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it all."
"Fair enough," she conceded. "Well, pleasant dreams then, Kratos," she said, reclining back and attempting to get comfortable.
"You, too," he said, following suit. The chill in the air shook him to his core, but not enough to dissuade him from the fact that she had called him by name again. What did that mean?
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sorry if things seemed a bit rushed. I promise I'll tie up all the loose ends from this one next chapter. Thanks for reading everyone! Without you all, I'd have no reason to keep on doing this.