A/N: Hmm...let's see...I'm going into a rush, as I haven't made updates in a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time, before now that is. This one's a pretty long one too...as I'm going to try finishing a chapter for a chapter. (Basically make a chapter for each stage of the game). This one's long due to the fact the people Kai mentions are all gathered together, except nobody except the people themselves and the readers know. :P
Sad thing, I got no nameless soldiers to sick Emma's Golems on, so you'll see that they suck here...sniff...Golem smash, not die... ;.;
Whatever, it's just this chapter might be 'packed' or 'weird' compared with my other ones. Well, at least I thought so. Hope you enjoy it! (And if you don't I'll just try and fix it...whatever problem you found with it in the first place.) Emma's protector doesn't get into the spotlight either, only small shots are included with him.
West of the Ribahn River...
"The laguz failed to cross the river. This is their last chance to try. This time, they'll attack with beorc as well." Sothe said, watching the girl before him.
She only held a sad look in her eyes as she spoke. "Sothe, you know what that means. If we end up fighting beorc..."
"I know." He cut in. "We'll probably be fighting the Greil Mercenaries. I'm aware." He sighed. "It's not going to be pretty."
"Sothe. Tell me more about Commander Ike."
This made the rogue raise an eyebrow. "Why? You used to hate it when I said anything about him."
She only frowned. "I only want to know more about the man I'll be fighting against. What kind of a person is he?"
"Well, let's see..." He began to think. "He's generous. He doesn't care about petty things. He holds no prejudice against laguz, nor does he care about the opinions of the nobles. He's a master swordsman. He accomplishes everything he sets out to do. He's a true hero." Sothe began explaining, but it amused Micaiah, as it was more like idolizing.
"I see." She held her chuckle back. "He sounds...quite different from King Pelleas."
"Micaiah, they don't even compare. King Pelleas lacks any leadership or decision-making skills." Sothe said, however harsh it might've sound.
"...That may be, but I believe in King Pelleas. His heart is in the right place. I believe in his virtuous nature and his commitment to being a good king..." She defended.
"Even though he would set you out on a war that doesn't involve Daein at all? A war of bigotry and hate, fighting on the same side as our real enemies? You're smarter than this, Micaiah." Though his face didn't show it, his voice did plenty to show he disliked the whole situation. Who could blame him, fighting for the very scum they despised so much.
Micaiah only shook her head. "Sothe, we've been through this. I know we're about to fight Ike and the Greil Mercenaries, but I..."
"Maiden of Dawn!" A Daein soldier suddenly bursted into the tent, almost making the two jump. "A-A-A general of Bengion is here to meet you!"
"From Bengion?!" She stepped outside her tent, facing a single woman, beautiful beyond words.
"Oh my..." the woman, stepping closer, stared at Micaiah's face with her emerald colored eyes. "Such a pretty face..."
In a brief moment, those beautiful emerald eyes flashed red. "!!" Before she knew it, Micaiah stepped back, away from the woman. "What business do you have?!" She asked, there was some fear hidden in her words. "Wh-what is-?!"
She let out a chuckle. "No need to be so defensive, I came from Bengion under the orders to help Daein fight back the Laguz Alliance." She flung her long, but pale blond hair back. "I am Eve. General Eve of Bengion's army."
"General...?!" Sothe muttered to himself, walking beside Micaiah. The girl suddenly grabbed his hand with her own, and gripped it tightly. Sothe looked at Micaiah for a second, then turning his attention back to Eve. Whoever she was, she was dangerous. He could tell, as Micaiah's hand shook terribly in his.
All while they talked, Emma could only watch from a distance. She too, was shaking.
East of the Ribahn River...Kai and Mei's tent...
"Again?"
"What?!" Mei snapped, growling at Ike. "What the hell is your problem?!" Kai only smacked her across the back of her head.
"Obviously, you'd charge in head first, despite it being a 'decoy' mission." He only sighed, looking back at Ike. "Fine, fine. Can't say I'll keep it together though if you keep watching over me like a hawk."
"As long as you follow my orders, I will do no such thing."
"Good." Ike left the tent, leaving the two behind. Mei only growled in anger, trying her break her arms out of her restraints.
"THIS. SUCKS."
"I thought you'd be used to it by now." Kai got a kick across the face. "...Am I wrong?"
Back to Ike...
"It's time. Shall we?" Ike said, looking at the people he chose to battle with him. Despite the fact he was facing old friends, it didn't seem to affect him in any way. (His group was himself, Ranulf, Soren, Titania, Nephenee, Kai, Rhys, Gatrie, Shinion, and Mia.)
"Sigh... Those two are still here." Ranulf remarked, seeing Sothe and Micaiah in the distance. "So much for friendly advice, I guess. Now it's friends against friends... Things are getting crazy around here." Ranulf watched, as Daein soldiers got into their positions. Not to mention his old friends, Mr. Golems.
"So, I'm guessing those are the 'monsters' you were telling us about?" Ike said, seeing about four of them appear, one that looked slightly different from the others stood by Micaiah. His eyes shot open, as he saw two familiar figures also standing by the Dawn Maiden.
"You have GOT to be kidding me." Soren sighed. "Both the Black Knight and Mistrel of Wind?" At the latter, Titania instantly sprinted off in her horse, towards a smaller piece of ground that was not submerged in the waters. "Titania! What are you doing!"
"Hmm?" Eve looked at the red head rushing past her allies, axe in hand. "Oh...." She grinned. "Maiden of Dawn, if you could..."
"Huh?"
"Can you...tell the troops to leave that red one alone?" She licked her lips, her emerald eyes darkened. "She's my prey, you see."
"A-alright..." Micaiah felt a shiver run down her back, as she watched the general dart off on her pegasus. Titania got off her stead, lifting her axe in one hand. When Eve got close enough, she too got off her stead and held her spear in bother her hands.
"It's been awhile Serene, or is it Eve?"
"Serene?" Ranulf repeated, his ears sensitive enough to catch what they were saying. Kai's eyes went wide, but soon returned back to normal after.
"How did that woman know Serene's name..?!"
"What are you talking about?"
"So it's Eve then..." Titania placed both her hands on her killer axe. "Good. I won't regret striking you down then."
"Hmph. Strike me down? Are you dellusional?" Eve laughed, leaping at Titania with her spear aimed at her. She went straight down at the axe weilder, making both dirt and rock fly as she crashed into the ground.
"No. I am quite sain." Eve ducked, as an axe narrowly missed her head, and jumped back before the red head could smash her axe back into the spear user. "I assure you." the two then resumed their duel.
"I have no idea what that woman is thinking!" Soren snapped, obviously agitated. "She's putting us all at risk here!" The tactician then sighed, watching as Titania rushed at Eve, like a mad berserker.
"This is the first time I've ever seen her act so...not calm." Gatrie said, as Eve dodged each swing Titania made with ease.
"Tch! Now's not the time, the soldiers are coming!" Shinion took out his bow, as Daein Wyvern Riders and Soldiers began heading towards them by the river, not daring to intrude the duel that was raging on. The golems also avoided them, slowly trudging through the river towards Ike's group.
Kai stood still, unsure of what action to take.
"Don't hold back."
"!" Stepping back, an arrow bolted right across Kai's cheek, grazing it. "Tch. Fine." He took out one of his guns, pointing it at one of the golems. Muttering some chants, a green circle appeared in front of his weapon, and he fired a bullet through it. The bullet, twice as big and overflowing with the power of the wind, zoomed across the river, pulverizing the golem. "Damn..."
"Hey nice shot!" Mia cheered.
"Not really..." The golem began to glow, then began to regenerate, repairing itself. "Looks like I'll have to blow it up until nothings left." He sighed.
Ike stared at the golem before him, as it attempted to smash its fist on top of the blue-haired warrior. However, the blow missed, and Ike procceded ran up along the golem, cleaving it in half as he swung his sword down right through its body. Soren then used his wind magic to scatter its remains, hoping to stop it from regenerating. Unfortunatley, it did not, but the magic still managed to slow it down considerably.
Kai simply grabbed a rock, and tossed it high in the air above the enemy forces. Shooting at it, he also fired another shot at a nearby Golem. In a flash, the two switched places, and the golem was falling rapidly towards the ground...
Above the Daeins.
"Micaiah, look out!" Sothe leaped at the girl, hoping to protect her. As the golem was about to crush the rogue, a single blade of energy was shot right through it, the force reduced it into nothing but dust.
"Sir Black Knight!" Micaiah watched as the knight suddenly disappeared, reappearing in front of Ike.
Ike scratched the back of his head, sighing. "...Somehow, I knew it wasn't over yet."
"Of course it wasn't over. You were a boy trying to live up to the memory of the greatest swordsman in history." The Black Knight said.
" And yet, I was the one who walked out of the castle that day." Ike countered.
"You have your father to thank for that. When you told me that he had crippled himself, I realized that I had never fought him at all, merely his shadow."
"What are you getting at?" Ike scowled.
"I saw immediately that you were not your father's equal, but that one day you might be. So I did the only thing I could to keep you alive..." The Black Knight let out a chuckle. "I let you win."
At first, it was a look of anger, but then, Ike simply looked...calm. "...You did, didn't you?" He shook his head. "I've relived that fight so many times... How could I not have seen it before?"
"You were not yet capable of seeing it. But I had to let you live, so that you could continue to train and perhaps one day be worthy of Gawain's legacy. My armor's blessing is gone; let us see if that day is today."
Ike then grinned. "I promise you that it will be. Begin." He leaped at the knight, hitting iron with iron.
"Commander!" Titania took a second to look back at her leader. Bad mistake. Eve had used this chance to rush in and stab the gold knight right through her left shoulder. Titania flinched, as the weapon was pulled out, leaving her to fall on her knee clutching the wound with her other hand.
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Never take your eyes off your enemy, Titania." Eve shook her finger in front of the red head. "It's not really a smart thing to do."
"...!!"
"I'm disappointed though. I thought you'd be better than this." The general sighed. "Oh well, you are only human after all."
"Rgh! Eve!" The woman only smiled, as she stabbed through Titania's right arm. "Ugh!" The attack knocked Titania right over.
"Now, now..." Stabbing it to the ground, Eve used this chance to grab Titania's own axe. "This'll be quick and painless. You should be glad. I don't normally kill my enemies this way. Good thing you were an old friend now isn't it?" The gold knight gritted her teeth, as she struggled to get the spear out of the ground. It was no use, as her left was left motionless, while her right was pinned to the ground by the spear. She was stuck. "Goodbye."
"Heeyah!" Mia suddenly jumped in the fray, knocking the axe out of the pegasus knight's hand with her sword. Eve only smirked, as she leaped back avoiding the trueblade's attacks. "Now Gatrie!"
"I know!" The general quickly took the spear out of Titania's arm, and began to carry her back to rest of the group. Rhys, his staff in hand, began to heal the gold knight's wounds, before they became ireversable.
"Now, now, interrupting a duel?" The spear, that Gatrie had just stupidly tossed aside, flew back into Eve's hands.
"Yeah, but the duel's been cancelled for later." She looked back. "SHINION!!" A few arrows flew in above, only to land in front of Eve. The woman only raised an eyebrow at them, then saw the true blade running as fast as she could away. And without any warning, the arrows glowed, letting out a 'poof' sound and plenty of smoke.
"Those smoke bombs sure work like a charm!" Mia remaked, the marksmen beside her sighed.
Ike panted as he stepped back dodging the Black Knight's blade. Though the Black Knight had lost the blessing on his armor, his sword didn't. And that's what made fighting him the more difficult. Charging, Ike side stepped from a blade of beam the Black Knight sent towards him, and slashed the Black Knight across the side.
(SNAP!)
Only to see his word snap in two from the heavy, hard armor. "Tch!" He jumped back, looking at his sword. "Of all times..."
"Ike!" The mercenary leader looked up, seeing Janaff and Ulki in the distance. "The main force has crossed the river. You did it!" the latter said.
"What?" He turned around, seeing the Black Knight had vanished once again. "Damn. Everyone, push through! Let's meet up with the main force!" He shouted. But he was angered by the fact he had lost his sights on the Black Knight, unable to continue their battle. Though...he knew for certain that he would meet him once again.
"The beast soldiers are behind us! We're being attacked from behind!" A Daein soldier said, kneeling before Micaiah.
"The Gallians?! How did they cross the river?!" Sothe asked.
"It's not just the beasts! There are hundreds of hawks, as well!" The soldier began to panick even more.
"Even the hawk tribe is here? The Begnion army never told us that they had moved out..." Micaiah began to feel light-headed, but ignored it.
" ...They got us." Sothe clenched his fists. "Commander Ike's force was just a decoy."
Micaiah began to think for a moment, then sighed. "Staying will only increase casualties. Let's retreat."
"No, Maiden!" Another soldier stood to her. "We can still fight! Please give us your orders!"
"I have." Her voice was much more strict. "We shall retreat! I will not let all of you die in vain!"
"But..."
"General's orders. We kept our losses to a minimum. That's enough for this battle." Sothe cut the soldier off, glaring at him.
"Yes, sir!" The two of them quickly left to spread the order.
"Micaiah, I'm surprised. This is the first time you couldn't predict the enemy's movement." Sothe looked at the girl, then grew pale.
"...You're right." Instantly, the rogue rushed to her side, catching her just before she collapsed. The bird, Yune, who was perched on her shoulders took flight, chirping.
"Micaiah?! What's wrong?!" Sothe grew more worried as he watched the girl grow cold in his hands.
"Sothe, don't..." She began, placing a hand on his face. "Just act...normal. Everyone...is watching..."
Some distance away from the battlefield...
"Emma. That's enough." The same 'protector' from before appeared from behind the summoner. "Emma! That's enough!" The summoner let out a bright yellow light, as several appeared in the air above her and was embraced by her arms. As the light faded, Emma slowly fell back, only to be caught in the same manner Sothe caught Micaiah. "You idiot!"
"Ha...sorry." Emma coughed. "I...guess it was a bit...much?"
"Stupid...!"
"Good thing...the battle's over..." Emma laughed weakly. "I wouldn't...be able to keep up. Glad...Micaiah suggested...me to stay back. Otherwise...I'd be...a sitting duck to the enemy..."
"Emma..."
"Ha ha...ha..." She began to shake. "Away...from the enemy...from her..." She began to shake, and her 'protector' could do nothing but hold her tightly in his arms.
Road to Seliora Castle, Bengion...
"How's she?" Ike asked, watching Rhys heal the gold knight.
"Well...thankfully, I managed to heal her arms before the injuries would expand causing her lose the use of each. And her life's not in any danger." The saind explained. "But it will be some time before she can safely go on the battlefield."
"I see...at least she's alright for now." He concluded. Still, it was a mess. Having both that crazy Bengion General on the battlefield and the Black Knight appear was both incredibly unlucky and bad. Thankfully, not many were injured in the battle, but Ike had lost his favorite sword, and Titania was out for the count.
"You're serious?!" Mei glared at Kai. "You idiot! Emma gets hurt when the creatures she summon suffer injuries!"
"What was I supposed to do? Ike and his allies were there and I couldn't hold back." He snapped. "Keep your voice low, they'll hear us if you screech like that."
"..."
"You think I enjoyed doing that?" Kai's voice was quiet, and sounded full of sorrow. "Emma's already physically weak. If her summons are destroyed, worse case is she'll be killed from the pain she experiances mentally." He sighed. "Luckily, the golems from today were ably to heal themselves, lessening the pain she suffers, but if..." He shook his head. "No...I have to get my bearings straight. My mission comes before anything."
"Damn...damn! Not Emma! She doesn't deserve to be in pain like this!" Mei growled, glaring at Ike who was chatting with Soren about their next strategy. "It's all your fault! When the time comes, I'll slit your neck and make you experiance true pain!!"
"Ike..." Ulki fly near the mercenary leader.
"Hmm? What is it? Enemy soldiers?"
"Yeah right! I can see them fine, they're still back at Daein." Janaff butted in, only to be pushed back by the other hawk laguz.
"Them." The hawk pointed at both Kai and Mei. "It appears they know who commands those giant creatures from before."
A/N: Uh-Oh! BUSTED!!!!! Yeah, sadly, Kai and Mei don't know about Ulki's super hearing. Italics always means thoughts!