Okay guys, it's time for another chapter of Kamen Rider Blade: The Sacred Stones!
Disclaimer: Same thing.
Chapter 10: Revolt at Carcino
As much as we could've helped burn the Grado soldiers' bodies, we had to get going quick, because Prince Innes is in trouble. After quickly resupplying for the caravan, we went on our way to Carcino. For the past few days, the road's been really bumpy true to Eirika's words. I just hope we can get to Innes in time despite the conditions. "Brother, I hope you're alright…" Tana said worried tone as we continued our journey there. Eirika rode next to her.
"Don't worry, Tana. I'm sure your brother would be alright. You know your brother isn't the type of person to fall onto the enemies' hands." Eirika encouraged.
"That's right, Your Highness. With his brilliant mind, I'm sure he'll be able to survive for quite a long time…" Vanessa also encouraged her as Tana looked down for a moment before she perked up in an instant.
"You're right! My brother is just too stubborn to admit defeat to those Grado's army!" Tana said happily before she clung onto my arm, to my surprise. Even on a horse ride, she got no problem doing it… "Besides, we still have Kurogasa to help him out, right?"
"Uh… yeah…" I got out laughing sheepishly. I looked to Eirika and I'm seeing that she's looking pretty jealous, making me sweat drop.
"I–In any case, we better make haste of our destination!" Eirika told us slightly angry before she rode off as the Knights of Renais followed suit to catch up with her, with Tana looking on with a confused look.
"Eirika?" she blinked while still clinging on my arm. "I wonder why she's a bit angry."
"I think I have a pretty good idea why." Amber said mischievously. Ugh… and as always, Amber's timing when it comes to teasing is as bad as ever…
"Yeah… I guess so…" Storm agreed. Since both of them rode on the same horse he let out a few chuckles of his own.
"For the time being, we better make haste! Her brother might be in trouble, after all!" Amber said as we and the caravan began to make way towards our destination; and I just hope things aren't taking turn for the worse…
At Grado Keep, Glen kneeled down before Emperor Vigarde as he was summoned by him at the Throne Room. "General Glen of the Grado Imperial Army, also known as the Sunstone…" Vigarde spoke.
"Yes…"
"Your orders. Capture the leader of the rebel army in Carcino. Capture Eirika." Vigarde commanded. Glen looked at him surprised and in disbelief.
"Eirika… Do you mean the princess of Renais?" Glen asked him, which the king nodded.
"Eirika invaded Carcino. She massacred the citizens of Port Kiris. Then, she fled south. Glen. Go. Crush the rebels who brought ruin to Carcino."
"…Understood, sire." Glen replied before turning around and leaving the throne room. Walking in the hallway, he saw his brother Cormag leaned against one of the hall's stone walls.
"What did the Emperor say, Brother?" Cormag asked.
"I've been ordered to kill the princess of Renais." Glen replied. "Cormag, I want you to remain here in the capital. I'll go alone."
"If that's what you want, Brother, so be it." Cormag replied as he got off the wall. "But you seem troubled… Don't tell me you're concerned about fighting the princess of a ruined land!"
"…Hm… I never was able to slip anything past you, little brother. You're right. This duty falls heavily on my shoulder, more than any other."
"Tell me, Brother, do you know this princess?"
"Yes. When Renais and Grado were still close…" Glen recalled. "I met the girl– I met Eirika only once. We spoke briefly, but I felt she was a woman of great kindness. I cannot bring myself to believe Princess Eirika is evil. I cannot."
"…Glen." His brother began. "The Emperor has ordered–"
"There's the rub, Cormag." Glen pointed out. "That's it exactly. His Majesty has never spoken a falsehood in all the time I've served him. And as a servant of the Empire, I am duty bound to obey his order. But I can see no reason to think Princess Eirika's heart is any less gentle now." As Glen tried to consider the mission he's received and the situation he discussed with his brother, Valter waltzed towards them with a smug look on his face.
"What are these cowardly mutterings?" he stated with such mockery towards the brothers, making Cormag flinch. "It is because you three Generals are weak that we others must work so hard. And yet you get the honor of killing the girl. How I long to do your duty for you!" Valter expressed, leaving Glen to clench his fist tightly as he can't take the mockery of a princess from the man who desired her to be his puppet bride.
"Rrrr! Valter, you treacherous swine…" Glen growled at him, as Valter was amused.
"What's this? Is this how you speak toward your peer knights of the realm?" Valter continued to mock. "Lest you've forgotten, I, too, am a general– the same rank as you!"
"You wretch!" Glen said angrily. "You were cast out from the army for mistreating civilians. What lies have you told to receive pardon and reinstatement at the same time?!"
"Our beloved Emperor felt my skills were needed, and his word is law." Valter told them. "His Majesty has earned my sincerest and most undying gratitude. And then we have you three. Duessel, Selena, and you…" Valter continued as both brothers tried to hold their temper in. "The three of you have proven to be unreliable time and time again. We were brought in to plug the holes, don't you see? You ought to thank me, Glen!" Valter impressed himself, causing Glen nearly explode his anger on him but Cormag stepped forward and glare at Valter angrily.
"Valter!" Cormag bellowed, "If you dare insult my brother further…"
"Come now, Cormag." Valter said, waving a hand. 'What would you do to me if I did? Would you fight me? Here? Would you show such disloyalty to the emperor?" He mocked.
"Peace, Cormag." Glen said through clenched teeth. "We are His Majesty's men. We will honor his commands. Mark my words, Valter: your crimes are neither forgotten nor forgiven." And with that the brothers left.
"Hmph…" Valter smirked.
Meanwhile, inside a fortress, Innes was with his mercenaries which consists of a dancer with long red hair and a mercenary with green hair tied with a bandanna on his head, having a scar running above the bridge of his nose and at the lower part of his left jaw, wearing black sleeveless tight suit with a shoulder pad mounted on his right shoulder, white pants with brown belt wrapped around him and brown boots. As he wrapped his left hand in bandage, he wears his fingerless glove on the other hand as he wields his sword. "Prince Innes. What do you say? Can you continue?"
"Yes, of course." Innes replied before he released another arrow onto the enemy at the window. "Do you believe this is enough to make me give up? I'm surprised you mercenaries haven't turned and fled, though."
"Naw." the man waved off. "You see, Gerik's Mercenaries takes its name from me, Gerik. I'm the chief here." he said while pointing at himself. "If I quit while our employer still fought on, they'd want a new name, you follow me?" he said before getting back to the situation at hand. "So… What's the plan?"
"Same as before." Innes replied. "We remain surrounded. They're not going to allow us to simply walk out of here… I sent a messenger off with news of our plight. However, even on the wings of a Pegasus Knight, Frelia is days away. We can expect no help from them."
"So we tighten our belts and survive, is that it?" Gerik asked. "Or would you rather quit this place and rest in comfort?"
"Surrender?" Innes scoffed. "I'm the prince of Frelia. I don't know the meaning of the word. The fate of the world rides on my shoulders, and I'll make it to Jehanna. Even if I have to crawl there to do it."
"Now, that makes me feel better." Gerik grinned. "If you're so determined, we may all live a little while longer…"
As they continue to protect the fort they stayed in, the dancer noticed something. "Hey, Chief, Prince."
"What is it, Tethys?" Gerik asked her.
"I've got bad news… and then I've got worse news." she informed them.
"What's the bad news?" Gerik asked.
"We've no more weapons and food in reserve." Tethys told them. "What you're holding is what we've got. Once those are gone, there won't be much fight left in us."
"That is bad news…" Gerik sighed. "Well? What's the worse news?"
"They've begun to move." Tethys said. "They're going to attack again. Looks like they're sending up the whole lot of 'em this time." She said as Innes looked out the slit.
"Right." Innes began. "You two, you're done here. Discharged. Fired. Whatever." He waved off. "You can surrender or flee. The choice is yours."
"What?" Gerik asked.
"I'm the one they're after. Throw down your weapons, and you'll walk away alive. I don't need you here. You'll only be in my way. Who knows? You filthy sellswords'll probably sell me out anyway."
"Hold on there!" The woman exclaimed. "That's not true, and you know it!"
"Peace, Tethys." Gerik said. "Hey, Prince. What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to get out of here on my own. I'll break to the south and escape into the mountains."
"That ain't gonna be easy. How you plan on doing that?"
"I'm not telling you. I've no idea when you'll decide to betray me. Go on. Get out of here. I'd rather do this alone."
"Sounds like you're trying to make sure you're the only one who dies." Gerik chuckled as Innes glared at him.
"Fool. I've no intention of dying. But there can be no false hope of reinforcements riding in to save the day. You and I are not the same. You're a commoner, and I'm Frelia's heir. We of noble birth do not shirk the duties to which we are born." He said as Gerik shouldered his weapon, Tethys crossing her arms. "What are you waiting for? You may go."
"Well played, milord." Gerik smirked. "I've always loved the melodrama of martyrdom… There's no way I can abandon you after that fine performance. I'm staying with you. To the end."
"To the– What are you saying?" Innes asked incredulously. "You dare ignore the orders of the one who's paying you wages?"
"Tethys, I want you to go and surrender." Gerik grinned. "Give my regards to Ewan and Marisa."
"Don't be ridiculous." Tethys scoffed. "I'm not going anywhere. Now would the two of you kindly stop acting like such… men? And you!" She cried out pointing at Innes. "You've already fired us. You can't order us to leave now."
"Unbelievable…" Innes groaned with a face palm. "And you people call yourselves mercenaries. I thought you fought for money, not for duty."
"Yeah, that's one of the rules." Gerik chuckled. "Guess we're lousy mercenaries, eh? Now let's get thinking. We still need a plan to get us all out of here alive. You're supposed to be a good tactician, so I figure I won't die easily. Tell us what to do, Prince. We'll follow your orders."
"Hm. Very well. I'll see what I can do to avoid getting us filled with arrows.'
"Ah… Say, Prince." Tethys began looking through the slit. "If, by some miracle, aid were to come, from what direction would it arrive?"
"…From the north." Innes replied. "But there's little or no hope of that. Even if Frelia were to send us aid, they would not arrive until…"
"This may be good news…" The dancer began. "Then again, it may be more bad news. There. On that northern mountain path… Someone's coming."
After what seemed like a dangerous journey after getting through those lakes and bridges and went through the bridge, we finally managed to get to our destination… and we've seen around the fortress they're attacking, I'm willing to bet Tana's brother is in there… somehow.
"Prince Innes!" Eirika cried out.
"Brother!" Tana followed suit.
"Princess Eirika, the prince is surrounded by the mercenary armies of Carcino. He looks vastly outnumbered. I doubt he can hold out much longer." Seth concluded.
"The longer we're delayed, the more troublesome it will become…" Storm said as he and Amber got off from the horse as the rest moved out of the caravan.
"Oh my… this is quite troublesome…" Melissa–sempai said worried.
"Well, normally we'd think first then act, but since we're kinda on a time limit, we act then think along the way." I said.
"Agreed…" Eirika agreed with me while looking worried over the field.
"I can't believe I have to fight my own country people…" Amelia said worried as Natasha stood next to her.
"I know, Amelia. I had the same feeling as well, but what the Emperor did was wrong and we had no other choice but to disobey his order and run away from them as we know the truth…" Natasha said solemnly.
"Now's not the time to get worried over something trivial… it's time to take down those guys and prepare for our rescue mission." Kurai said as he held his Category Ace in his hand.
"Right," I said as I got off my horse. So let's do this!" I said taking out my card and buckle as the rest of us Riders did the same.
"Henshin!"
TURN/OPEN UP
CHANGE
Seven holograms conjured right in front of us as we dashed forward to don our armors before wielding our weapons and went straight to the landmine. "Come! We must help Prince Innes right now!" Kyle urged before the rest of the group followed suit.
"I'm coming, brother! Just hold on tight!" Tana shouted as her Pegasus lets out a neigh before galloping towards the field.
"Let's get this battle started and hope for the best Lady Luck is on our side…" Joshua told them before getting the caravan moving forward, which consisted of mages, healers and non–cavalry units, heading towards the battle; which caught the enemies' attention.
"Incoming enemies!" A solider yelled. "All units engage the enemy! Kill them all!"
"Not on my watch you're not!" I said. "Remember guys, any enemy healers out there, disarm them, but don't kill!" I said before rousing a card.
MACH
The hologram of Mach Jaguar entered my armor and I went really fast taking out enemies here and there with my Blay Rouzer. I gotta keep my emotions in check though. I'm not gonna have a repeat of what happened last time when I dealt with Binks… I'm not letting it happen! I cannot and will not let it happen!
"Huh?! Where did he go?" one of the soldiers asked as they were surprised by my sudden blur from their view before the knights crashed through their defense with ease. Joshua and the rest of the people in the caravan got down from it and assisted the rest of them in the battle.
"O for heaven's sake, is this what we must endure for the sake of the future?" Artur preached for a moment before he let out a light attack that shone brightly onto their eyes, blinding them before Colm and Joshua dashed forward to make the kill.
"What can we do? It's the only thing we can do…" Gilliam told the bishop before Lute casted an inferno onto the nearby mages that tried to attack them.
"Please forgive me…" Amelia said sadly before stabbing her lance onto one of the mages that was nearby before being approached by Natasha.
"Do not worry. The Light will forgive you for your actions…' Natasha assured her before Glaive and Leangle charged forward and knocked down the priests' that healed them.
"I'm sorry…" Leangle apologized. One of the soldiers saw the opportunity to kill her, before being stopped by Glaive's Rouzer that parried the attack as she had a card on her hand.
"Geez, you know what I hate the most? Someone attacking you from behind!" she said angrily before she roused her card right in front of him, leaving the soldier confused.
MIGHTY
In an instant, her blade was covered in electricity before he got shocked. She finished him off with a cut on his chest, thus killing him in an instant. "Thank you for protecting my back, Glaive." Leangle thanked her.
"No prob!" Mikoto chirped.
FLOAT
DRILL
TORNADO
The three holograms of Float Dragonfly, Drill Shell, and Tornado Hawk entered Chalice's armor.
SPINNING DANCE
"Round and round I'll go, where I'll stop, I'll never know." Chalice said as he spun around and a fierce wind started to pick up. As he ascended to the sky, some of the soldiers covered their eyes from the intense wind. Eventually, what goes up, must come down as he delivered a very fast drilled drop kick towards the group, scattering them into multiple places as he dived down a kick at a general while the rest of the scattered soldiers had their armors slashed, leaving cuts all over before they dropped dead. I soon clocked over to him, reverting back to my normal speed. "It seems like you've grasped control over your anger issue…" Chalice muttered as he stood up from the dent of the general's chest armor.
"I have, but… it may come up again. After this battle is done, maybe you can give me some meditative techniques that could help." I said.
For once, I heard him let out a scoff, but not one of those angry ones… more like an assured one. "I'll see what I can do…" he said before he rested his Arrow on his shoulders as we noticed a group of soldiers surrounded us. "In the meantime, we better teach them whose boss around here…"
As Eirika and Tana break through the offense of the soldiers that surrounded the area with the help of Garcia, Franz, Kyle, Ross, and Seth, Innes noticed the voices that were calling for him and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Brother!" Tana shouted as her Pegasus kicked one of the soldiers off his feet before she dismounted it and ran towards upstairs of the fort. Eirika followed suit while Garcia, Franz, Kyle, Ross, and Seth protected them from letting the enemy get to them.
"We must protect them!" Seth told them.
"Let's take them out, dad!" Ross told his dad.
"Be sure to knock them out good!" Garcia told his son as the two began to engage with the lancers.
"For Renais and the fall of Grado!" Kyle declared before his horse galloped forward and tried to take down one of the horsemen.
Meanwhile, Innes headed towards the door and as he opened it, Tana pounced towards her brother and hugged him tightly, much to his surprise. "Tana?! What? How did… What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"I came with Eirika. Wait here, Brother. It's my turn to protect you." she told him.
"Stop playing the soldier, Tana." Innes admonished. "You will return to the palace at once.
"NO! I will not be left out!" Tana suddenly yelled causing Innes to finally shut up for once. "You, Ephraim, Eirika, and Kurogasa had to go fight for something, while I stayed back home doing nothing! I'm sick of it!"
"Tana…" Innes muttered under his breath after seeing his sister look at him, full of determination for once. In the end, he sighed in defeat "…We'll talk about this later. For now, we join forces with Eirika." he said to her. Tana's expression instantly changed at that.
"Thank you, brother!" Tana said as she tightened her hug before he pushed her away as he noticed Eirika approach him.
"Prince Innes! Are you well?" Eirika asked concerned.
"Princess Eirika… I'm well." Innes told her, as she lets out a sigh of relief.
"We've come to aid you. You must be exhausted. Please fall back and rest. We'll take care of these dogs." Eirika told him.
"I cannot allow that." Innes denied. "I will not run and hide while a woman protects me…" he told her as he took his bow and arrow from a table nearby where Gerik and Tethys are standing at. "We will continue the fight. You can join us."
"If that's how you want it… I won't stop you…" Eirika said before Tana walked next to Eirika. "Come, we must go and defeat them!"
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Tana said cheerily before she ran out from the fort and Eirika was also about to follow suit.
"…Eirika, a moment." Innes called her, as she paused and looked at him.
"Prince?" Eirika asked before Innes suddenly bowed to her politely.
"I would give you my thanks. You, the princess of Renais, came to my aid…" he praised her before he straightened up and looked at her with his usual stoic look on his face. "…I am in your debt."
"N–no, it's alright!" she wavered off before she finally left to follow Tana.
Innes then shifted his attention to his mercenaries. "Gerik, Tethys… reinforcements have arrived."
Gerik smirked as he rested his sword on his shoulder. "Lucky us, eh? Good thing we held out as long as we did."
"Perhaps faith is a good thing. I've never had much before, but perhaps good things do happen to good people." Tethys said to him, as Gerik looked at her confused.
"Good things? I like the sound of that. What do you suppose might come my way?"
"Ha ha… I wonder…" Tethys giggled before Innes walked out of the room.
"Come, we have enemies to take down!" Innes commanded them.
ABSORB QUEEN
Garren and I then slid our Fusion Jack cards through the reader.
FUSION JACK
Our Rouze Absorber were decorates with the Fusion Eagle and Peacock plaques respectively and we were soon dawned in our Jack Form. "What kind of sorcery is that?! I've never witness such a thing before!" one of the shamans gasped as both Garren and I are now in Jack Form; Lance and Larc ran towards our direction before Chalice went out to help Leangle and Glaive.
"Well, look on the upside, at least they knew what kind of a 'monster' they're dealing with… right, big bro?" Garren said to me as Larc giggled.
"Yep. So let's do this!" I said rousing two cards.
KICK
THUNDER
"Right behind ya, big bro!" Garren said rousing two.
DROP
FIRE
Four holograms appeared behind us before it was absorbed into our armor. It then declared the move that both of us were about to perform…
LIGHTNING BLAST
BURNING SMASH
Both of us leaped high to the sky as our wings spread out before we dived down our drop kick onto a bunch of them; Lance rushes forward to cut them down while Larc ran straight next to him, letting out some shots onto their shamans, killing them in an instant. As we landed on the ground next to them, the explosion occurred as we looked back and noticed the fireworks displayed. "Well, that takes care of that bunch…" Larc said before suddenly, a few spikes hit us multiple times. Then something dashed at us and delivered a whiplash attack on me while a strong tackle rammed through us, causing us to fly a few meters away before we landed on the ground, groaning in pain.
"Ugh… what hit us?" Lance groaned as the four of us tried to stand up.
When we did, we groaned in annoyance. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." I groaned. We got two more Undead in front of us.
"Ara? What a surprise, indeed…" one of the Undead said as it had a yellow bodysuit with multiple stripes on her body, having a face that resembled a tiger and a pair of ears of a merman, spiky shoulder pads mounted on both of her shoulders with chains flowing down until it reached its elbows, its right arm consisted of a metal gauntlet and sharp claws as the left part of its arm consisted of a humanoid tiger paw. The lower part of its body has multiple rings that wrapped around its thighs and the lower part of its legs were mounted with steel greaves and boots with a chain attached on its knee buckle. This was Tiger Undead or in humanoid form, Hikaru Jō as she wagged her tail in excitement.
Next to her is another Undead as it looked at us in a stone look on its face; It consisted of turtle head, with shoulders pad with chains mounted on his right shoulder and a spiky turtle shell on the other side of his shoulder. A buckler was on his right arm. He wears a black bodysuit with black patches of leather on it with the lower part of its body consisting of another patch of leather with a rocky surface. This was the Tortoise Undead.
"Great… the Queen of Clubs… if we can get it, Leangle might have her Jack and King Form!" Garren informed.
"We don't have the Kings yet Garren." I told him. "But I am looking forward to the Jack Form." I say that because one time back in my world, I found a picture of what Leangle would look like in Jack Form on the Kamen Rider wiki, since it never showed in the series and it was one of those S.I.C Tamashii line figures. "Alright, Riders you know the drill! Time to seal these Undead!"
With a swing of his sword, life of a sniper that took control of the ballistae ended. Forde looked around, and there weren't many other people guarding around the place. "Well, since there isn't many enemies left, I might as well take a nap…" he said before he got off his horse and decided to lay down under the tree to take a nap.
Up in the sky, Vanessa was scouting around if there were more archers that were aiming for her. She noticed a man resting right at the back of the ballistae. "What's that down there?" Vanessa pondered before she decided to land there, but when a sudden arrow came shooting out of nowhere, the Pegasus suddenly panicked as Vanessa tried to control her landing. "Whoa, Titania! Whoa, girl! Let's stop here!" she told her Pegasus as it tripped upon the sleeping Forde before it gets its footing. "Are you hurt?! Are you all right?!" she asked her Pegasus while looking around to see what caused her Pegasus to stumble a bit and much to her surprise…
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…" Forde was sleeping soundly as if the hit never happened to him at all making Vanessa annoyed and angry.
"You have got to be kidding me! Sleeping while a war is waging?" Vanessa said annoyed before she decided to wake him up. "Bold warrior, it's time to wake up!" she tried first, but he's not responding to her calling. By now she was getting impatient as she tried to wake him up again. "Hey! Lazybones! Get up!"
"Snargleblagh… hmph?" Forde said half awake before he went back to sleep. "Zzzzzzzzz…"
At this point, Vanessa gave up. "Oh, boy… Let's go, Titania. It's clear that Mr. Slug here needs his beauty rest." she said as she mounted back on her Pegasus and soars back to the sky.
Right after that, Forde woke up from his sleep and sat up while he looked around. 'Huh? Did someone say something?" he asked himself before he noticed a group of soldiers from the southeast side appear and they were heading towards Eirika's group. "Might as well follow suit…" Forde muttered before he mounted on his horse and began to make haste.
Somewhere from afar, another group of soldiers walked towards the war zone with a girl as she had purple long hair that reached her back, wearing a black sleeveless leather armor and short skirt with a pink transparent cloth that was wrapped around her waist, brown fingerless gloves and boots and she wielded a Shamsir on her left hand. It is then the leader looked upon the girl.
"Hey! You're up! You're getting paid a lot more than us common soldiers. Time you earned your gold!" he shouted at her.
"I hear you. Where do I start killing?" she asked him.
"Th–That way!" he said pointing where Eirika's group were at. "The Frelian troops! Don't point that blade in our direction!" he told her.
"Hmph…" She scoffed before walking away.
"She's one scary girl…" one of the soldiers whispered to them.
"But she's one of the great swordsmen that has taken down many lives… hence, the reason with her scary face…" another soldier said before they charge forward.
Meanwhile with Eirika, Tana, Innes, Gerik, and Tethys…
As the number of the soldiers attacking them was decreasing, with the additional help from the knights of Renais, they eventually managed to lower the number down with ease. "Well, that takes care of that…" Tana said relieved from it as Innes approaches to her with his usual stoic look on his face.
"…good work…" Innes said to her with his usual look.
"Thanks!" Tana replied until they heard another clash of weapons nearby as they noticed the purple haired swordsman was fighting Eirika with their swords as Seth was shocked to see it.
"Princess!" Seth called out as Eirika was overwhelmed by the skills of the swordswoman before Gerik noticed who she was and was a bit surprised.
"Marisa?" Gerik blinked.
"Chief." Marisa blinked as well.
"Huh? Both of you know each other?" Garcia asked as Marisa pulled her Shamsir away from Eirika's neck before she sheathed back her sword and faced her chief.
"Of course they know…" Tethys told him. "They're working at the same group of mercenaries… just like me."
"What a mess… Looks like the guild bungled." Gerik said scratching his head. "They're usually diligent about making sure this sort of thing doesn't happen. But here we are, two people of the same troop, working for opposite sides." He sighed.
"What should we do?" Marisa asked him.
"Aye, well, that's a good question…" he said as he began to recall the rules of being a mercenary. "As a mercenary, your loyalty should always lie with the person paying your wages. You decide." he said while looking at Marisa. "We can cross blade if you want, but I'd rather you retreat. 'Course, if you betray your employer, you'll soil your sterling name."
"C'mon, Chief." Marisa huffed. "What would you like me to do?"
"That's easy; I want you to join me."
"Right. Done." Marisa smirked.
"Wait a minute, that's it? Just like that?" Gerik asked incredulously.
"Why, Chief? Does it bother you?" she asked him.
"You know what this will do to your reputation, right?" Gerik asked her as she just nodded.
"Uh–huh… and I don't care. I just follow your commands and that's what I do best…" Marisa said firmly as Tana and Innes watched the whole thing.
"Seems like it starts off at the wrong foot…" Innes muttered.
"But at least we've cleared out the misunderstandings!" Tana said happily.
"And we got more people to assist us on this mission…" Seth told them.
Gah! Our attacks are leading us to nowhere but pain! Every time any of us try to deliver a blow either on Tiger or Tortoise Undead, they were able to protect each other from harm as Tortoise's strong and durable shell made from stone made it hard to attack it while Tiger's agility and strength really cut our attack with ease from her claws. She delivered an uppercut on Larc, a high scratch with a stab onto Lance, does a backhand scratch attack on Garren and giving me a double fist on my chest before her tail swiped us in an instant. Her actions caused Garren, Lance, Larc and I to fall on our butts.
"Ara… it seems like I attacked all of you too fast…" The Tiger Undead giggled as the Tortoise Undead shot out stone spikes from its turtle pad, hitting us just as we were about to stand up, ending up rolling around a few times. "What's the matter, Riders? Can't catch me with your powers?"
"Darn it… she's too strong… and she doesn't need DarkRoaches to help her out at all…" Lance gritted.
"She is one of the Royal Club after all, big bro…" Garren replied as he slowly stood up as smoke covered our armor.
"Even so, we still gotta beat them." I gritted getting up.
"With that kind of condition? Ara, the chances of you defeating both of us are slim, Blade… I suggest you stay down and let us slice you into pieces…" Tiger Undead said as Larc managed to stand up on her feet and glared upon them.
"I won't… let you hurt them…" Larc said between breaths as she held a card in a hand and it's the Trial B Undead?!
"You're not going to do what I think you're going to do?" I asked her and before I knew it, she roused the common card onto her Larc Rouzer.
TRIAL… B
In an instant, her armor glowed radiantly, blinding both sides and when it dimmed down; all of us were surprised by her transformation. The chest part of her armor has been modified as its color scheme changes into white plate armor with a black 'A' having a pattern outside of the letter that resembled a rib cage. Both of her arms consisted of a half–shield on each arm, which is similar to Kame's shield on Kamen Rider OOO's BuraKaWani Form and I can hear crackles of lightning from her boots. This is Missing Ace – Trial B. Now I see why Lance called it Missing Ace instead of their names… because these Common Cards can be used on any Missing Ace Riders.
"Nani?! What is this?!" The Tiger Undead said surprised as the Tortoise Undead dashed and tried to collide its body towards our direction, only to have Amber guard us in a speed of light closing her arms to form a full shield and miraculously stopped the attack dead on track!
"I will not… let you harm them!" Larc declared before she pushed back, causing the Tortoise Undead to tumble a few steps back.
"Whoa…" I got out.
"The power to protect others from harm… Trial B…" Garren muttered out.
"With improvised defense and speed, this will become handy to her advantage." Lance said as Tiger Undead was surprised from the sudden hidden strength from her.
"You think you're fast enough to stop me?!" the Tiger Undead shouted as Larc roused a card onto her Rouzer.
MIGHTY
In an instant, a hologram appeared before her as her Rouzer absorbed it, aiming at it with the additional charge from the electricity from her powers, the Rouzer now imbued with both fire and electricity. When the Tiger Undead was close enough, at first, she wanted to pull the trigger on it, but as soon as the Tortoise Undead tried to tackle her to her side, she immediately switched target to the Tortoise Undead. She pulled down the trigger to unleash an explosive fire and electric combo onto the Undead, causing it to fly towards a nearby tree before Tiger Undead unleashed a slash onto her, causing Larc to fly and landed next to us.
"Larc!" Garren, Lance and I shouted as she slowly tried to push herself up… but something was wrong.
"Eh…? Nani? Why do I feel like… my strength is being seeped… out…?" Larc muttered before she went unconscious as her transformation canceled out too.
"Amber!" Lance shouted as he rushed to her side to check up on her condition.
"I guess that rider forgot about its side effect…" Tiger Undead giggled as Garren and I looked at it. "Trial B will drain their stamina for impressive speed and defense and from the looks of it, after taking a lot of damage earlier, she doesn't have the strength to continue on after my attack earlier… also, it will drain out their stamina until they collapse…"
"If only she knew before she used it… damn it! I should've used it instead of her!" Lance said feeling regret.
"Lance, take Amber back to the caravan. Garren and I will deal with them."
Lance nodded while carrying the unconscious Amber into his arms. "Beat that thing down for me, okay?" Lance told me before running back to the caravan's direction.
"You got it." I said turning back to the Undead. "Time to cheat a little bit." I then roused a card.
TIME
The hologram of the Time Scarab entered my armor as the Tiger Undead was confused about my actions, but the next thing it knew, all of a sudden, a half sphere was spread out around the area. Leaves began to slow down and Garren was in a stance as if he's not moved a muscle, and the Tortoise Undead's flame was frozen.
"Good now I can finally do this." I said rousing my cards.
SLASH
THUNDER
The holograms of Slash Lizard and Thunder Deer appeared and entered my Rouzer.
LIGHTNING SLASH
My Rouzer instantly changed into the sharpest sword covered in electricity and spread out my wings to fly towards the Undead's direction. Each time I passed by, a cut was delivered onto its body and after a few passed, I decided to finish it off in one big slash as I flew high to the sky. At that time, the Time Scarab effect wore off and multiple sparks appeared on the Undead, causing it to stumble a few steps back and I tried to estimate where it would be stop its tracks.
"Where did he go?!' the Undead demanded as Garren looked up where I was at.
"What goes up must come down!" Garren told it before I cleaved it in half, stunning it before sparks were created and eventually, an explosion occurred, while it flung a few meters away from where I was standing.
"All done." I grinned under my mask as I took out a Proper Blank for the Tortoise and Tiger Undead and sealed them up before the two cards came at me and I caught them. I gave the Rock Tortoise card to Garren. "All right, let's go Garren; we need to give the card to Leangle."
"Yeah! I think everyone else is heading towards the castle over there, big bro! We better move out!" Garren told me before both of us spread our wings and flew to the castle's direction.
On the bridge of the entrance to the castle, an old sage in his 50's, with blue–teal hair and red scarf on his neck, wearing a brown robe with yellow lines at the middle, looked upon the battlefield as he saw the riders and the rest of Eirika's group fighting forth the enemy as he had a displeased look on his face. "No one can withstand the might of Grado… Logic dictates we join now or be subjugated later. I made the rational decision. The only decision!" he said to himself while thinking about earlier today.
Flashback
Pablo walked out from the entrance of the castle as he had a smug look on his face as some of his mercenaries guarded the area and the rest of them are attacking Prince Innes's ford. "Heh heh… My plan to get rid of Klimt has yielded some unexpected fruit. The head of Frelia's Prince Innes will make a fine gift to Grado." he muttered with a smug look on his face as one of his mercenaries walked towards him with a salute.
"Lord Pablo, Prince Innes and his men have taken refuge in a mountain stronghold. Do we have your permission to finish them off?" one of his mercenaries asked him, as his smug went wider than ever.
"Yes. Flush the prince out and cut him down. We'll find Klimt later and roast his old bones as well. Heh heh heh…" he told them chuckling, making them salute to him before heading off towards the battle.
At that time, an old scholar in his late 50's, having a grey hair and beard, wearing a yellow robe and red shirt inside looks upon the battle with a worried look on his face. At this time, one of his men entered his chamber room. "Lord Klimt, Pablo's troops are moving toward the stronghold. It looks like they're planning on chasing down Prince Innes and his men."
"Pablo, you mad, reckless imbecile…" Klimt cursed. "If Prince Innes dies here, the bond between Carcino and Frelia is sundered forever. Carcino will be nothing more than a vassal paying tribute to Grado…" he said angrily tone before looking at his soldier. "We must find some way to aid Prince Innes."
"Wait, my lord Klimt! Pablo is after you as well. If you reveal yourself here…" the soldier began, making Klimt reconsider his actions, as his face turned sour once again.
"Ahh… May fortune, keep you safe, Prince Innes…" Klimt prayed.
End Flashback
As Pablo pondered back into his earlier actions, Leangle, Chalice, Glaive, Joshua, Colm, Vanessa and Neimi continue to press onward while Natasha was riding on Vanessa's Pegasus. "We're just a few kills away from getting to the leader!" Joshua mentioned while taking down another mercenary with his blade.
"Just a little a bit more and we can get through this!" Colm said.
"Then let's." Leangle said as she roused some cards.
BITE
BLIZZARD
The holograms of the Bite Cobra and Blizzard Polar entered her armor.
BLIZZARD CRUSH
She thrusted her Rouzer forward, creating a blizzard onto one of the mercenary knights, causing his horse to be surprised before she leaped high and delivered a devastating scissor kick, courtesy of Bite Cobra. The kick connected, and the man on the horse immediately flung to other infantrymen on the ground, knocking them out cold.
"Oh my… I didn't know I can do such a kick before…" Leangle said surprised.
"Wow! You go girl!" Glaive cheered.
"P–Please… don't praise me for something like that…" Leangle wavered off as Chalice stepped forward to slash down another knight.
"Yeah, because our target is just right ahead of us. Maybe you can show him that lovely kick of yo–"
*STOMP*
"Iteee!" Chalice cringed in pain as his toe got crushed again by Leangle's Rouzer. "Why is it that I always get a different treatment from others?!"
"Ah! Sorry, Kurai… it's just that… my muscles acted on its own…" Leangle apologized.
"Really?! You could've fooled me!" Chalice snapped.
Leangle got quiet as she emitted a black aura from her back, which in turn got Chalice to be quiet. "When I say I apologize, I meant it… do you understand?" she said in somehow, a dark and warped voice, causing him to take a few steps back.
"Y–Y–Yes ma'am…" Chalice stuttered.
"Good!" Leangle said and the aura diminishes in an instant, causing her to return back to her motherly self. "As expected from the person that I love the most…" she said before she looked forward and charged towards the castle gate. Colm followed suit by riding with Neimi to get to her destination, followed by Vanessa and Natasha on her Pegasus, leaving Joshua and the terrified Chalice behind.
"Wow… that's some woman you got there, Kurai…" Joshua said impressed.
"You have no idea…" Chalice shuddered.
Garren and I have been flying for a while now and from what I can see, most of our group began to rendezvous towards the big castle. And it looks like Eirika's group, has gotten Innes out of there along with three other people I haven't seen before. "Hey Garren, meet up with Leangle and make sure she gets that Queen card, I'm gonna go meet up with Eirika."
"Really? Are you sure about this, big bro?" Garren asked me which I confirmed by handing him the Queen of Clubs, the Absorb Tiger to him.
"Yeah, Eirika got herself some new allies and I wanna meet them…" I said to him before both of us parted ways and headed to our destination. "Eirika!" I called out.
Tana looked at the sky and saw me as she waved her hands happily. "Kurogasaaaaa~~~!"
"Kurogasa!" Eirika said happily before as she noticed the purple haired girl getting into a stance once I landed on the ground. "Wait, Marisa, he's an ally!"
"An ally?" she asked as she looked at me sternly.
"What kind of a fighter is he?" the red–haired girl asked confused as she looked closely on my armor from afar.
"Yeah, never see one like this before…" the scarred man replied.
"Are you all okay?" I asked as I approached them undoing my transformation, surprising the three new people.
"Oh, you three don't need to be surprise about it. You will all be accustomed to it… just like us when we first met them." Garcia told them.
"Yes, Kurogasa. We've managed to save Innes on time…" Seth informed me as Forde and Kyle closed in.
"It seems like we've taken care of the last spearmen running inside the forest…" Kyle told them.
"Yeah, it turns out the man who hired these guys are none other than Pablo…" Forde pointed out.
"Just as I expected…" Seth said worried.
"That no good man! How dare he attack me and cause this kind of mess! The one in charge of this country would suffer my wrath!" Innes said angrily as we heard another neigh and it turned out to be Ross bringing along the caravan to our spot, as well as Storm and Moulder leading the carriage, which I presume he's done his part.
"Tell me… are you the only one who has this… 'magic' in you?" the scarred man asked me.
"Oh there's about six more like me." I answered.
"Six?!" the dancer asked surprised.
"C'mon! We got a castle to siege and people to save here!" Storm shouted.
"Oh, right! We better get going!" I said taking my Change Ace card and putting it in the buckle. "Henshin!"
TURN UP
A hologram ejected out from my belt, surprising the three of them as it slowly drew back and passed through me, making me don my armor. "Such magic…" the dancer said in awe while impressed.
"The boy's right! We still got work to do! Come, Tethys, Marisa! Let's finish this job, so we can show our group's strength, Gerik Mercenary, to them!" Gerik commanded.
"Right behind you~" Tethys chirped happily.
"Yes, chief." Marisa followed suit as everyone on foot got on the caravan and all of us headed towards the castle. Time to meet the heart of the troublesome mess!
Pablo waited patiently as he continued to look at the horizon with some guards accompanying him. "Hm… just how long does it take to finish the job?' he asked himself.
"I'm sure they're handling it as we speak." One of the guards said.
"Really. Then why is it taking so long?!" Pablo shouted, to which the guard flinched at.
"Because of us." A voice said. Pablo looked to see Chalice, Leangle, and Glaive accompanied by the others. "Your time's up." Chalice said. "Surrender, and I may let you live."
"Tch… like I'll follow orders of strange warriors like you! Get 'em!" Pablo commanded as the remaining soldiers advanced forward.
"Minna! We'll take over from here!" Glaive said happily while holding her Rouzer tightly as Chalice, Leangle and herself dashed forward towards the battle.
"It's time we wrapped this up!" Chalice said rousing some cards.
CHOP
TORNADO
"Don't leave me out!" Glaive said cheerily rousing her card.
MIGHTY
"Please forgive me." Leangle said as she roused her cards as well.
RUSH
BLIZZARD
POISON
The instant the cards have been roused, six holograms projected behind their backs before being absorbed into their armor.
SPINNING WAVE
The gust of wind swirled around Chalice as three soldiers tried to stab him with their lances, causing their vision to be disrupted and losing their focus. With the opening he found, he immediately lashed a chop onto them, making them fly to the lake below them.
"Don't be 'shocked' from what you're about to feel here!" Glaive giggles before she started to dance around them with her Rouzer held downwards as they tried to stab her with their lances. She kept dancing happily as she lashed out a cut onto each of them, cutting away their armor and eventually leaving cuts all over them. As she stopped her dance and give the final bow, the sparks on them suddenly increased rapidly, causing them to drop down on the ground and stayed motionless, as their bodies formed an 'A' around her.
BLIZZARD VENOM
Leangle swung aside their attacks before crushing their toe with the hilt of Leangle Rouzer, causing him to bump onto another soldier at his back as he tumbled down to the lake. The said injured man suddenly got stabbed on his gut as Leangle used all of her strength to throw him back to Pablo. The sage was surprised when he saw the man suddenly turn into a block of ice. "Wait, wait, wait!" Pablo begged as Chalice looked at him with an annoyed look under his helmet.
"What? Begging for your life now? What an eyesore…" he muttered.
"Listen to my offer!" Pablo bargained. "With your three strange powers, I would like to offer your service! You're all mercenaries, right? Just give me an offer and help me conquer this place! With your strength and my brilliance of tactics, we might even rule this whole Magvel as well! What do you say?" Pablo begged.
"How about NO!" A voice yelled from the sky. Everyone looked up to see Garren coming in for a landing. "OI~ Minna!" Garren as he came down, but then he realized that he was coming down too fast!
"Eh?! Garren! You're descending too fast!" Glaive shouted at him as without a warning…
*CRASH*
Garren ended up landing on top of Glaive due to his bad landing, as both helmets are now close to each other. As a result of that, the card flew towards Chalice's hand and the transformation canceled out in an instant. What came next is what the two weren't expecting at all. As Akira and Mikoto slowly opened up their eyes, they noticed they are looking at each other very close and most importantly, when the two tried to speak, they felt their lips were somehow… warm. It was then they realized both of them were kissing by accident. Akira, being the alert one, suddenly backed off with a blush on his face. "Wah~! G–Gomenasai, Mikoto–chan!"
Mikoto pushed herself up and was a bit stunned while touching her lips with her finger while having her own blush.
"Wow, aren't you bold." Joshua smirked raising an eyebrow.
"Hmph…" Chalice muttered.
"N–No! Big bro, I can explain!" Akira denied while panicking.
"My first… kiss…" Mikoto muttered under her breath as she was practically in her own world right now.
"Chalice, what is that card you're holding?" Leangle asked as she approached him.
Chalice looked at the card. "Queen of Clubs. Absorb Tiger."
"Why do I feel like I'm being ignored here?" Pablo asked himself.
Akira soon returned back to reality as he looked at Leangle and approached to her quickly. "Big sis! You can use that to get to your Jack Form!" He informed her.
"My Jack Form?" Leangle asked confused by the term as Chalice handed her a Rouze Absorber. "Kurai?"
"I had one in my pack when I first reached this world… and heck, I thought I could get myself a Jack Form… but it seems like I don't have to since you need one…" Chalice told him as she took it and placed it on her arm.
"Ano… how do I use this?" Leangle asked.
"Place the Absorb Tiger into the Rouzer and slide the Fusion Elephant across the reader on the side like you would with a credit card." Leangle nodded and did the first thing.
ABSORB QUEEN
A pulsing noise was heard surprising Leangle a bit before taking out the Fusion Elephant card. "Here goes nothing." She said then looked away, her eyes closed behind the mask as she slid the card across the reader.
FUSION JACK
With the sound of an elephant trumpeting as a sign of the confirmation, the plaque of a gold club suit with an elephant on it bordered by purple can be seen on her Rouze Absorber. "E–Eh?! W–What's going on?!" Leangle panicked due to her inexperience with Kamen Rider stuff as a golden silhouette ran around before it crashed to Leangle's armor, causing a bright light to blind anyone who witnessed it. When it dimmed down, everybody and even Leangle herself was surprised.
"Sugei~!" Akira said in awe. The transformation of Kamen Rider Leangle – Jack Form has been revealed.
While her lower part of her body and helmet remained the same, the upper part of her chest armor was a completely different story. Leangle gained a chest plate with an engraved clover suit and is adorned with orichalcum tusk shoulder pads. Not only that, she also had arm bracers that resembled Gorilla's arm bracers from Kamen Rider OOO's SaGoZo form, only in golden colors. On her hand, she wielded a stronger and more decorative version of her Leangle Rouzer. "W–Why do my arms feels heavy? Why do I wield a larger staff in my hand?" Leangle asked confused for a moment as Natasha got worried.
"What happened to Melissa? She looks… different." Natasha asked.
"Yes, I want to know as well…" Vanessa added.
"Everyone… you're looking at Leangle in Jack Form." Akira said.
"Since you've declined my offer, it's time for you all to say goodbye! Elfire!" Pablo casted a spell as an inferno headed towards their direction and Leangle was right in the middle of it.
"Leangle!" Chalice shouted as Leangle covered her hand in defense, which to Pablo's surprise, the attack was stopped right on track!
There was a pause of silence as Leangle lowered down her guard and she looked at her large bracers and found out the large inferno was nowhere to be seen. "Funny… did I just stop it myself?" she asked confused as Pablo was in disbelief.
"That can't be! There's no way someone like you alone can stop my strongest inferno!" the sage said shocked.
"She just did…" Chalice deadpanned.
"Now then… it seems like you need to be taught a lesson…" Leangle said as she rotated her Rouzer around before making a run towards the sage. Due to her low speed, Pablo attempted to cast another Elfire again and charge it up to maximum before unleashing it towards Leangle. She anticipated it and retaliates with a punch at the core of the Elfire, causing the attack to reflect back to Pablo. Another explosion occurred in front of him and he took a few steps back leaning against the wall. Leangle tried to go for the kill by thrusting her Rouzer towards him, but the sage was able to evade it and he gulped down after seeing the head of the Rouzer penetrate through the brick wall.
"Urrgh… N–No. I cannot die when there is such wealth to be had…" Pablo said shaken as a shaman runs next to him with a berserker as well. He had no choice but to do one thing he can do. "Re–Retreat! Mercenaries, to me!" The shaman casted a teleportation spell, as it engulfed the surviving Pablo and his mercenaries, thus disappeared from their view.
"Well, that takes care of that…" Leangle said as every Rider canceled out their transformation.
"But he got away…" Akira pouted.
"There's always next time kid." Kurai said.
After a while, eventually, we managed to get to the castle on time and before we knew it, another group managed to defeat their leader as that sage made an escape. What I want to know is why is Mikoto sitting down with a slight blush? "You're late…" Kurai told me while crossing his arms.
"Well, sor~ry! If it wasn't for those extra mercenaries that appeared out of nowhere, we could've reached here faster!" Tana retaliated as she stuck a tongue at him.
"Please, you two. Stop fighting…" I heard a tone as Leangle tried to calm the air down and boy, am I surprised to see it firsthand.
"Whoa, so that's what you look like in Jack Form." I said.
"Yes. My arms are starting to feel heavy though." Leangle said as she removed her belt and canceled out her transformation. Tethys was surprised when she saw who it was.
"Wait a minute, I know you. You're that sister I met at Serafew along with that other one." Tethys gasped.
"You know her?" Gerik asked Tethys.
"Not much, but I was a bit surprised when we first met." Tethys explained.
Melissa noticed the woman as well as she had a surprise of her own. "Oh yes, you're the dancer we met at one of the houses, correct?"
"Melissa, you know her?" Natasha asked her.
"It's someone that we met during the hostile situation as we were hiding before you, Neimi, and Joshua regrouped with us." Colm explained.
"Hey you're right!" Ross recognized her.
"W–What are you doing here?" Neimi asked.
"We're hired by the prince here to help them out in this mission… until we got fired by that lad…" Gerik explained.
"And if it wasn't for your help, we wouldn't know how long we would last…" Tethys added.
"Yes, and if Chief wasn't there to convince me to join on his side, I would've killed you all in an instant…" Marisa said stoically, making everyone shudder, and she doesn't seem to mind at all.
"But now that we have sieged the castle, now is a good time to get ourselves an explanation from that guy!" Innes said before he marched into the castle.
"Brother, wait!" Tana said trying to stop him, which he completely ignored her, much to her frustration. She then took my hand and dragged along with her. "C'mon! We gotta go and stop him from doing some nonsense stuff!"
"Oi, c–chotto matte o!" I said, as I looked back to Eirika, who was jealous yet again.
"C'mon, let's just go in and face him…" Joshua said before some of them entered the room.
"Right…" Eirika said slightly angry before she followed suit.
"I'll be waiting outside, just in case if we need to get on a move again…" Storm told them, as Ross and Garcia also accompanied him since Amber is still out and resting up.
Unknown to the rest of the group, Valter and his men were stalking them from afar as he noticed her entering the castle. "…I've found you, Eirika. Seems you're as skilled as reports say. This is going to be fun. Yes, yes, yes. I do so love strong women." Valter said having a sinister look on his face as he looked at them from afar. "And even those Riders are improving as well…"
"Shall we attack, General Valter?" one of the Wyvern Riders asked him, as they are prepared for the attack while the group was still worn out after the attack earlier.
"No, we'll pass dessert for now." Valter sighed longingly. "Allow them to escape. We're leaving. A fine wine requires time you know?" He chuckled as he guided his wyvern into the air, his men following him.
As we entered the castle, the recovered Mikoto skipped forward while looking around as Innes had that stoic look on his face, soon ending up approaching towards the throne room. Meanwhile, as Tana stayed close to me, Eirika couldn't help but keep our distance further as she was slightly annoyed about it. "This castle is quite a decorative place indeed…" Melissa–sempai commented.
"Yeah, big sis. I know what you mean…" Akira replied.
"Oh, Prince Innes!" A voice said as we heard it. An old man appeared at the door near the throne as he approached us. "Thank goodness, you're unharmed!"
"Who are you?" Eirika asked him.
"Oh, where are my manners? I am a member of Carcino's Council of Elders. My name is Klimt." the man introduced himself.
"A council member?" Eirika blinked.
"So you're one of the traitors who ordered–" Innes began, taking his bow from his shoulder.
"P–Peace, please!" Klimt cried out, waving his free hand. "I have no intention of opposing you or quarrelling with you. I, too, have been marked for death by Pablo…"
"What is this all about?" Eirika asked as Innes gripped his bow but drew no arrow.
"It's a shameful tale." Klimt sighed. "Carcino is a nation divided. As you know, Carcino has no king but is ruled by a council. But now the council has broken apart into factions mired by discord…'
"Should've seen that one coming." I muttered.
"Factions, huh? Looks like some areas of this place have taken sides, huh?" Kurai asked him, which Klimt nodded.
"Correct. The moderate factions prefer to preserve our alliance with Frelia. Pablo's faction wishes to endear us to Grado, to surrender us to their armies." Klimt explained as rubbed his forehead in a tiresome manner. "Once Pablo realized he couldn't ply us with bribes, he began to have us assassinated. Those of us who remain have taken refuge underground. We oppose him where we can. If you hadn't shown up, I'm not certain I would still be breathing…" he told us.
"I do recall enemy troops combing this area when I arrived…" Innes recalled. "They were searching for you, is that it?"
"Eh?! Really?" Tana asked her brother.
"It's true, prince… Pablo has usurped rule of the council. We had no choice but to hide. Not all of Carcino's council has gone over to Grado's side, though…" he explained. "You must believe me– the whole of Carcino does not believe as Pablo does."
"…I see." Innes said softly.
"Lord Klimt… I understand the hardships you've endured." Eirika said. "I am pleased to hear all of Carcino is not our foe."
"I will depart at once for Frelia to explain our circumstances to the king." Klimt said with a smile. "I think it is best if you return to Frelia as well. Pablo has considerable wealth, and he commands a vast mercenary force. I'm sure he'll send more of them this way as soon as he is able."
"The problem lies with our forces then." Eirika sighed. "We cannot turn back, not when we've missions to complete. But this is the second major conflict we've had in such a short time. My troops need rest before they can march…"
"I see…" Klimt sighed. "Well, you're welcome to use this manor as you see fit."
"Prince Innes." Gerik began as he, Eirika, Tethys, and Innes were with him. "Tethys and I are staying with you. Is that gonna work?"
"Yes, I would appreciate the help." Innes replied. "Starting now, you've got a new contract, though– the pay's double. If the two of you hadn't stayed with me back there, I would not have survived. Gerik, Tethys… Thank you. You have my gratitude."
"Tell me something, Prince." Tethys began. "Did you get… er… hit on the head during that last skirmish?"
"…That's unkind." Innes sniffed. "My neck is not so stiff that I cannot show gratitude. I would ask for your continued support in the days ahead."
"We both ask for your help." Eirika added with a nod and a smile.
"We've got a deal." Gerik said with a grin, extending his hand. "Let's keep each other alive." He added as Innes shook his hand.
Soon we gathered the bodies that were slain by us, and after Artur and Moulder gave the Last Rites, we burned the bodies. Amber was taken into the castle, resting on a bed. Storm was with here the whole time. Dinner was soon served courtesy of Tana, and I have to admit, Tana's cooking might rival Amber's. After dinner, I talked with Kurai about the meditative techniques that he uses and after a while of talking, I did some meditation, and I have to admit, it did help. As of now, it was late at night in my room and…
*BOOM!*
It was raining and thundering… Oh joy…
"Great… I'm not gonna get any sleep with this going on…" I muttered tiredly as I slowly got up sitting on my bed, rubbing my eyes.
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK*
"Who's knocking on the door now? It must be Storm wanting to take a pillow or something…" I muttered out as I walked towards the door and much to my surprise, it was Eirika… holding a pillow.
"U–Um… Kurogasa… is it okay… if I sleep with you?" Eirika stuttered, which led me to a huge blush. She then realized what she just said as she tried to clear up the misunderstanding. "I–It's not what you think! It's just that… well, I'm actually afraid of thunderstorms…"
*BOOM!*
"EEK!" Eirika squeaked suddenly hugging me.
I was a bit surprised from her sudden hug and she was shivering badly after hearing the boom of the thunder. She was about to get teary too. "Why didn't you ask for other girls' help?"
"It's because… their room was already full and… the girls are sleeping peacefully." Eirika got out stuttering. "When I want to go to Amber's room… Storm was there." I guess that's the reason why she pretty much ended up going to my room, since she trusts me a lot.
"I guess… it's okay…" I muttered.
"Kurogasa, why is your heart beating so fast?" Eirika asked me as I noticed she had her head resting on my chest. "Are you… afraid of thunderstorms as well?"
"U–Um… no it's not that. Please… come in…" I got out blushing.
"R–Right…" Eirika said as she entered the room with the pillow she hugged and sits on the bed. Upon closer look, I noticed she's wasn't in her armor anymore. Instead, she was in a long pink dress with a ribbon on it, and I must say, she really looks cute in it. "What are you looking at, Kurogasa?" she asked me with a slight blush.
"Um… uh…" I got out. Dang it, what do I say?! What do I say?! WHAT DO I SAY?! "Um… you look… pretty in that nightgown of yours…" I got out. Crap, why did I say THAT?! Now she's totally weirded out! Nice going, Kurogasa… you just made a fool out of yourself.
"Ah… yes… thank you… it was my mother's nightgown when she was young…" Eirika said as she looked away blushing. At least she accepts my compliment in a good way…
After we sorted out the awkwardness, both of us shared on the large bed with a pillow to separate the line, with our backs to each other so that I won't accidentally go to the other side and not do anything silly… and it still felt awkward. I mean, come on, how do you feel when there's a cute girl sleeping next to you, while you're trying your best not to take advantage of her?! "This sleeping dress… was my mother's memento she left behind…"
"Memento?" I asked her.
"Yes… whenever she goes to sleep, she would always wear this dress, as her youth was still as young as I can remember…" she said. "When I was young, mother was always there to comfort me when there's a thunderstorm and she makes me feel safe. But… when she passed away, Ephraim was there to comfort me during that time. Ever since then, whenever there's a thunderstorm, I always held onto mother's nightgown, hoping that one day, I would be able to wear it as her warmth is still there…"
"I see…" I said.
*BOOM!*
"EEK!" Eirika squeaked again as she turned around and suddenly hugged me yet again. When she hugged me, with a pillow to cover our bodies from uh… you know what I mean; I can tell she's really scared whenever there's a thunderstorm crashing down here and her hug was really tight, as if she's hanging on for dear life… the only thing I can do to assure her that everything would be okay was to put my arm around her, which surprised her. "K–Kurogasa?"
"It's okay… I'm right here…" I smiled gently. Eirika looked at me for a moment before she nodded with a smile as I continued to comfort her in any way I can. The rain started to lower down and eventually the storm lowered down after 30 minutes, when I looked at her to tell her the storm has gone, she was already asleep with a smile on her face, while her hand held onto mine for comfort. After seeing her sleep peacefully, I don't have the heart to wake her up or even let go of her hand, because she might wake up. In the end, I just let it be the way it is and rested my head on a pillow. If you think about it, this feels like we're newlyweds for some reason…
…okay, I wasn't expecting THAT at all…
The next morning, the sun shined brightly as the light shined through our room. As I was the first one to open my eyes, Eirika was still sleeping peacefully as ever and when the sun hit her skin, she really looked beautiful, I'll admit. "Seems like you two had a good night together…" A voice said behind me. When I turned around… oh crap, Amber is there! "So, what did you two do last night while I'm out?"
"U–Urusei yo!" I hissed softly, while blushing, and glaring at her. "It's not what you think!"
"Not what I think?" she replied while crossing her legs on her chair and crossing her arms with a mischievous grin on her face. "The view, from what I'm seeing, tells the story already. And besides, it must feel really good to have someone you care the most sleep next to you, huh?" she said while letting out a giggle, clearly enjoying this view.
"You're lucky I'm still holding Eirika, otherwise I'd–"
"What? What would you do?' Amber said smugly. Dang it, if Amber was a guy, I'd try to beat the crap out of her, but she's a girl, and I don't hit girls…
"Look, she came into my room she was scared of the thunder last night, alright? Nothing else happened." I gritted.
While we were arguing, I heard Eirika groan as she slowly sat up and rubbing her eyes before she looked at me. "Good morning, Kurogasa…" she said with her sleepy smile on her face, and then, when she noticed Amber in the room, she was surprised for a moment. "Amber! W–What are you doing here?!"
"It sure feels good to sleep while holding his hand, huh?" Amber said cheekily as Eirika looked down and still noticed that she's still holding my hand. In the end, she pulled her hand away from mine and looked away with a blush. "I–It's not what you think, Amber!"
"Ugh, could this day get any worse?" I asked myself.
"Kurogasaaaaa~~~!"
"Ugh… me and my big mouth…"
Tana ran into the room and immediately tackled me down off my bed, much to Eirika's surprise as Tana clung on to my arm and kept holding it tightly, much to my dismay.
"T–Tana!" Eirika said shocked as Amber chuckled.
"I was so~~ scared last night! The thunderstorm was so loud I ended up hiding under my blanket! Oh, I really wish you were there to comfort me, Kurogasa!" Tana complained childishly.
Oh… what did I ever do to deserve this?
In the afternoon, the group decided to head out to the nearest village to pile up on our stocks as the journey to Rausten would be a dangerous one. While the group began to pile on some of food for the journey, Eirika approached me as I noticed she had that blush on her face. "Kurogasa… thank you for last night… I was able to sleep peacefully with your company…" she stuttered before I got my own blush after listening to her compliment.
"Um… sure, no problem." I got out.
"Oh my, what's this I'm hearing?" Melissa–sempai asked surprising both of us as she popped out from the caravan.
"Melissa! What are you doing in there?" Eirika asked.
"I was just waiting for Natasha and I overheard the conversation between you too. But I have no ill intentions as it was all but pure accident. Do you believe me, Kurogasa?" Melissa–sempai asked while she looked at me with her neutral look.
"Um… sure, of course." I said.
"It's good to hear that…" Melissa–sempai smiled as she giggled. "My, you've grown up to be a good man, Kurogasa." she complimented me, as I scratched the back of my head, a little embarrassed. Melissa–sempai turned to Eirika. "So, tell me, princess. Have you found the answer to the question that you've asked yourself?"
"Um…" Eirika said while looking down thinking.
"It's okay, dear. Just take your time. I'm sure you'll find it eventually." Melissa–sempai assured her, as Eirika looked at her with a smile and a nod.
"I will…" she told her.
Meanwhile, a young pupil who had red hair, wearing a headband, a brown shirt and grey shorts, a cyan cape and brown boots, running around the place as he noticed a person that he was looking for and immediately hugs her in an instant. "I've found you, sister!" the boy cried out happily, causing the dancer to be surprised.
"Ewan!" Tethys cried out. "How is it… What are you doing here?" She asked before walking up him, giving the boy a hug. "I told you to wait in the inn and behave yourself, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but you always run off and disappear." Ewan replied with a grin. "It's not fair. I want to have adventures, too."
"You are such an imp…" Tethys sighed. "I am not out here running about having fun, you know?"
"I know." Ewan said. "That's why I came to see you. I can help." He said, before pulling out a fire tome. "My teacher finally got around to teaching me some magic. Check this out."
"H–Hey!" Tethys cried out as Ewan focused, a ball of flame appearing in his hand. "Knock it off. You shouldn't be using magic here!"
"Well, I just thought maybe I could help you work is all." Ewan sighed, closing his hand and putting the fire out. "I can protect you now, Sis. Come on, take me with you. I don't wanna stay in that inn anymore."
"Oh… all right." Tethys sighed. "I'll go speak to the Chief and Princess Eirika. Besides, I need to see about something anyway. Don't wander off while I'm gone."
"Yahoo!" Ewan cried out, pumping a fist in the air.
After a while, they decided to wait outside the city at a nearby forest while Tethys was still nowhere to be seen. "I wonder where she go." Amelia asked.
"Beats me… she usually has a mind of her own…" Gerik explained.
Amelia then looked at the quiet Marisa. "What about you, miss? Do you know where she might be?" she asked her, but there was no reply.
"Don't worry about her. I'm sure she'll come by. I'm sure of it!" Franz assures her, which Amelia nodded in agreement.
On the other hand, Natasha noticed Mikoto all quiet to herself as she shook her a little bit. "Mikoto, are you alright?"
"Ah!" Mikoto got out breaking out from her trance while looking at Natasha with her usual big smile of hers. "Of course I'm alright! What makes you say that?"
"Oh… it's nothing. It's just that you've been quiet to yourself since last night…" Natasha said worried as Melissa–sempai joined while Joshua was resting on the horse, taking a nap.
"If there's something that bothers you, maybe you can tell us?" Melissa–sempai asked her, which Mikoto tried to avert with a big smile.
"It's alright! I'm fine!" Mikoto replied as Melissa–sempai and Natasha let out a sigh.
"Such young love…" Melissa–sempai sighed.
Meanwhile, Prince Innes, Princess Eirika, Seth, Akira and I were having a discussion of our own as we planned out on what would be our next move. "Princess Eirika, Prince Innes." Seth spoke. "I think we should follow the advice we've been given and return to Frelia. Continuing on through Carcino like this is too great a risk to your safety."
"What?! After getting this far, we have to go back?!" Akira asked in disbelief. "B–But I thought we've already discussed this matter…"
"I know that, young man. But from the looks of it, it seems like we have to reconsider the situation…" Seth said.
"Hey, I've got an answer." A red–haired boy said, walking over. "I know a way that leads over the mountains straight to Jehanna! Want me to guide you?"
"Huh?" We all asked.
"Ewan!" Tethys cried out as she ran over. "Shush! You know better than to interrupt people when they're talking." She said, setting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. Please let me take my brother out of the way. Come on, Ewan. Let's go."
"No, no– wait please." Eirika began. "Do you really know a route through the mountains?"
"That's what I said." Ewan replied with a grin. "At the top of that mountain, there's a village named Caer Pelyn. That's where my teacher lives. I'm sure he'll lead you through if you ask him nicely."
"What's your teacher's name?" I asked.
"My teacher? His name is Saleh."
"Saleh…" Innes mused. "I've heard that name on the lips of Frelia's spy network lately."
"Is he gonna be a problem?" Akira asked.
"Quite the contrary." Innes replied. "He's a powerful wielder of magic who has been fighting bandits and monsters. The spies mentioned something about a Caer Pelyn, if I remember."
"What do you think?" Eirika asked.
"Hm…" Innes mused. "If my spies are accurate, this Saleh is someone we can trust."
The rest of us pondered on this before Eirika stepped forward. "Very well, Ewan. Will you take us to meet your teacher?"
Tethys was surprised from the answer as the boy was ecstatic. "Are you sure you can do this, Ewan?" She asked.
"Not a problem!" Ewan grinned. "All right, everyone. See if you can keep up!" Ewan said as he ran towards a direction, catching us off guard.
"Ah! Wait, Ewan!" Akira said surprised from the Ewan's reaction.
"That kid's a firecracker." I commented.
"We better hurry! He might face some trouble along the way!" Eirika told us as we began to mount on our horses and Akira and Tethys rode on the caravan. We then headed our way to where Ewan would leads us…
Alright, there you have it! Hope you enjoyed it! Review!
Spades: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q
Diamonds: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q
Hearts: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, J, Q
Clubs: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, J, Q
Trial: A, B