Hello again readers, old and new! Here is the next update of Boundaries. And look! I managed to get this up before two months! I have been very busy with school and now I have a new spark of inspiration for Fire Emblem fan fictions. I am already in the process of outlining a one-shot and a longer story, but that does not mean I will be quitting in this archive. I will keep the stories coming and maybe all this work will keep me focused on everything. So enjoy this update of Boundaries!
"Lieutenant, straighten your hair."
"But it always looks like this!"
"Stand up straight."
"This is my normal post – Ow!"
A brief argument mixed with a cry of pain interrupted the debriefing, causing all seven of the occupants to look to the door just as an imperial guardsman opened the door to the hall. What they saw was an angry Grand Master Elesis, fist clenched, standing over her brother, Lord Knight Elsword, who was crouched on the floor with his hands on his head.
The elder sibling froze when she realized everyone was staring at them while the younger knight groaned in pain. After what seemed to be an eternity, Alex decided to break the awkward silence.
"Welcome back, Grand Master Elesis. I heard you were badly injured, but it seems that you heal quickly." He scanned her up and down, his eyes pausing only on her left arm, which was in a sling.
"Ah, y-yes sir." She quickly stood rigid and saluted the Supreme Commander, then nudged her brother with her armored foot to do the same. "I apologize for that scene just now, Supreme Commander."
"Not to worry. Captain Helputt was just finishing his report." Alex turned to the white colossus. "I believe the last thing you mentioned was performing landing procedures in the western sea?"
"Yes sir." The now-unhelmed Helputt nodded his head, however, the glare from the lights in the massive room seemed to block out his face. The only thing that could be made out was a head of wild, sand colored hair and a strong chin with a slight bit of scruff. "After firing the last salvo onto the forest, we descended below the island and landed in the western sea to recharge the flight motor. After six hours of idling, The Spirit of Motherwill took off again and returned to Port Lurensia as per the operation plan."
"It sounds like the maiden flight of The Spirit of Motherwill was a resounding success. Now as for the rest of the battle for Altera…" Vanessa nodded in approval and looked to the Grand Master, her cue to step into the debrief and give her report. With a small nod to her brother, who was now presenting himself in a much more professional manner, she and her sibling officer strode in and saluted to the trio sitting in the raised benches before them.
"Grand Master Elesis Seighart, Captain of Red Knight Squad Four reporting."
"And Lord Knight Elsword Sieghart, Lieutenant of Red Knight Squad Four reporting."
"Welcome back, Grand Master and Lord Knight Sieghart. We would have your report on the ground assault." Vanessa's sky blue eyes shifted to the elder knight, who stood slightly more rigid under her gaze.
"Yes, Ma'am. After landing on Altera, I assigned Lieutenant Sieghart to lead Red Knight Squad Four while I utilized the maintenance tunnels to intercept enemy infiltration forces. After dueling the leader of the Night Savers, Erendris, they were forced to retreat as I had assistance from on-site Nasod defense forces. The Lieutenant can give you the details of the surface battle." She nodded to her brother, who shivered slightly at her urging, but he collected himself and cleared his throat.
"As my sis- Captain said, I was left in command of Red Knight Squad Four. I directed them to follow the pre-battle briefing and escorted Aisha, our magic specialist, onto the battlefield. We were engaged by a pair of elves and defeated them but…" His eyes drifted to the floor as he trailed off, remembering Aisha's breakdown on the floating island.
"But…?" Vanessa urged the boy to continue.
"But… With all due respect, military command had no place to assign Aisha to a combat role. She is not even a trained soldier. She was not ready for… the horrors of war." As he said this the sound of a door opening echoed through the room, once again interrupting the meeting. When everyone turned to look, they saw an in-much-better-shape Lowe and a fuming Noah. Though Lowe tried to restrain the Elemental Master, she yanked her shoulder out from under his grasp and stormed before the three officers.
"Who was it that made the decision to send Aisha… my student, to battle? Which one of you?" Her voice was as cold as the ice she wielded as she turned her head to face each of them.
"Captain Noah, you must understa-"
"What I understand is that my student had a nervous breakdown in the middle of a battlefield. If Lowe and I did not intervene when we did, she would have died. I spoke to her on the shuttle on the way back. The girl was muttering 'They're dead. They're all dead. I killed one.' She said this over and over until she passed out from exhaustion. Do not tell me to… understand where you are coming from. From where I stand, you may have just scarred a little girl for life." Noah cut-off her compatriot, Vanessa, and let her rage spew forth as she stared down the woman with an icy stare that could kill.
"I requested that she be assigned to the battle, Noah. And do not tell me that you did not expect this to happen eventually. You know full well that your station places you and your possessions, including your students, under military command." Now it was Alex's turn to return the death stare with a vulpine glare of his own, causing the Ice Princess to take an unconscious step backwards. "While I know it may not have been the most morally correct decision, her presence there helped us gain victory. Do not question my judgment again. Are we clear?"
"But-"
"Are we clear, Ice Princess Noah?" Noah's tiny hands balled into fists and she bit her lips so hard they nearly bled. Of course she knew the consequences of taking on a student, she told Aisha herself before she went off to battle. But she was so sure she would come out the other side the same optimistic and energetic young girl she came to adore, not a babbling mess. She was so infuriated, but she was in no position to make demands of military command so all she could muster was…
"Yes."
"Good. I will take Lowe's and your report later. Lieutenant, continue please." The Commander now shifted his focus from the defeated Noah to Elsword, who stood at attention the moment his eyes were on him.
"Y-yes sir. After Aisha's episode we were ambushed by two…" He continued his recounting of the terrible events of Altera; The massive number of wounded and dead, the plan to pay respects to the elves, and Raven's disappearance…
"Well, go on."
"You first."
"No way. Knowing you, Long-Ear, you probably poisoned it."
"How could I poison it without you noticing? Your head was practically on my shoulder the whole time! Not to mention I still don't trust this thing you call jerky. It looks so… dry."
"It's supposed to look like that. And I started ahead of time so I could make sure you don't pull anything."
"Do you humans understand the meaning of personal space?"
"We do, except when we are at risk of being poisoned."
"…"
"…"
"On three?"
"… Fine. One"
"Two."
"Three." Simultaneously, the unlikely pair of Rena and Raven delved into their supper. Raven was slurping a tannish liquid from the open skull of a Fire Komodo, while Rena was struggling to get a piece of her jerky separated with her teeth. The result…
"… This… is not that bad. And this is just from a bunch of roots and leaves? Once I kill you, I will have to pick your brains to see if I can get the recipe." The Reckless Fist scoffed. Not hearing the usual vehement retort of his partner, he looked to her to see the elf's eyes shining with tears. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Meanwhile, in Rena's mind, the Grand Archer was wailing. Why did this meat taste so good? She swore a vow to never consume the flesh of the creatures living in nature, and now her faith in that belief was shaken to its core.
It was so good! The saltiness and firmness stimulated her tongue in ways she never thought possible. It was so good!
"Hey. Are you having a crisis of faith or something? You look like you are about ready to cry." Finally, the human's words reached her ears and she jolted back into reality. Realizing that she looked like she was actually enjoying it, she tried to throw away the meat in her hand, but her fingers seemed to ignore her commands.
"What about you? You seem like your world was turned upside down. Your eyes are as wide as a dinner plate." The archer countered and the warrior quickly looked back to the soup.
"My eyes always look like this, Long-Ear." The man growled as he begrudgingly took another sip of the soup. They continued to feast in silence, the occasional slurp and grunt interrupting the still air.
Solace was just beginning to drop below the canyon face, casting dark shadows on the rocky ground. A chilly wind swept its way through the maze of stone and granite, sending shivers up the spines of the human and elf.
"Better warm up. Here." Raven scooped some more of the warm liquid out of the bowl-like stone and held out the filled skull to the Grand Archer. Rena was reluctant, to say the least, to now desecrate the remains of living creature in addition to eating its flesh. But another freezing breeze crept over her and she grasped the makeshift bowl and hesitantly slurped its contents.
The warm liquid soothed her throat and allowed her muscles to finally relax, but it did not do any wonders for the conversation. The elf and human pair continued their supper with nary a word and not even eye contact, though they did shoot each other wary glances when the other was not looking.
"Can I ask you a question?" The silence was finally broken by the human. He did not get verbal consent, but he assumed that the slight nod of the blonde's head was an affirmative. "Why are you fighting in this war? You don't seem to be the patriotic or religious zealot type."
The elf seemed to freeze and gave the man a look like he had another limb growing out of his head.
"Why the sudden curiosity, Demon? You know what, never mind." She set down the make-shift bowl and leaned back until she was staring at the waning daylight. "During the Demon War, I was still in training, working to become a Grand Archer. I still remember the bodies that came through the portals daily. I felt so helpless, I wanted to help my people and protect them, but I was not strong enough."
She paused for moment as she took in a deep breath, her eyes now closed as the memories flowed from the well of her sub-conscious. She continued a few moments later as the stars began to shine in the sky and Ebalon started to peek over the cliff face.
"That was when I heard we were going to war with the humans. They had attacked and killed a peace envoy that had traveled to ruined villages to administer healing aid to those in need. At this point, I had grown much stronger and I volunteered to protect my people. I was given freedom to pick my own squad due to my reputation in training. After that… you know the rest." Her eyes focused on Raven and narrowed into hateful slits at the last part, earning her a snort from the human.
"You mean I killed them? I was doing my job. I was told there were elven raiders in Ruben Forest and they wanted me to take care of them." He bit into a piece of jerky as the fire between them set his golden eyes aglow. He continued to chew the meat and the elf decided it was a good time to keep the conversation going, despite her sudden urge to blast this man with her magic.
"What about you? What purpose do you have to fulfill in this conflict? You don't look like a regular soldier. A mercenary, perhaps?" She asked, but when he did not answer she looked closely at the warrior. The shadows cast a fearsome shadow on his face, making it hard to discern his expression, but she could tell that he was… quivering?
In a flash, the man leaped over the campfire and onto the unsuspecting elf, his hands on her throat. Rena never expected him to attack her like this and couldn't begin to fight back until he was already on her. Her concentration was in tatters as she tried to conjure a spell to blow her attacker off her, but the most she could muster was a pathetic breeze from her hands.
Her vision was beginning to blacken at her peripherals and she tried to pull Raven's hands from her neck, but her strength was not enough even budge the man's powerful fingers. The fact that her arm had just finally fully healed was not helping either. Her green eyes whipped to his face and saw the most terrifying visage of rage she had even seen.
He was angry. No… He was beyond angry.
The Grand Archer, desperate for air, launched as powerful of a kick as she could muster into the Reckless Fist's abdomen. This finally propelled him off of her, though his claw, now mostly repaired, carved small gashes into her neck as it separated from her throat. The elf took in haggard breaths as she attempted to fill her lungs with precious air and scrambled for her bow. When her good hand gripped the weapon, she brought it to the ready and had an arrow prepared to fire the moment she aimed it at her assailant.
But she did not fire. She was waiting for him to make the next move. And the move he made was not the one she was expecting.
"I am involved in this war… because I want to kill you elves." He spoke, and the hatred in his voice was so palpable, it could be cut with a knife. "You damn long-ears… You claim to be proponents of peace, and then you turn around and murder innocent people just because they are…"
He gritted his teeth before he could say more and exhaled explosively from his nose. He looked back at her with a look so full of hate Rena almost released her shot from the shock. But she could see something else behind those fires of rage. She could almost see the vestiges of intense sorrow and pain.
For the first time the elf asked herself: What happened to this man? What could make him hate us so?
That was when her ears picked up a rustling in the brush nearby. She whipped to the source and saw a shadow dart away at inhuman speeds behind a rock formation and fade from sight.
"Put out the fire, now. We have company." She heard the man's voice from behind her, now calm but with a hint of urgency. She quickly complied and sent a chilling breeze at the flames, dousing them and plunging their camp into darkness. Now their only source of light was Ebalon, which shone serenely overhead and illuminated the Reckless Fist's sable blade as he drew the weapon. "Can you tell how many there are?"
The archer focused on her ears, tilting the appendages as she tried to pick up any sound. She could hear the scuttling of scaly feet on stone and the scrapping of wood on rock. And the worst part was…
"I can't tell how many there are, but I can say this; we are surrounded." She whispered to the man as she edged towards him, her wariness from his earlier attack a fleeting memory.
"Great… Got any ideas?" She felt his back press against hers and his voice was just as quiet as her own.
"Apart from staying alive long enough to kill you myself, not really." She smirked and she heard him let out a small chuckle.
"Good, at least we can still agree on that…"
The debriefing finally ended and the nasod empress was allowed to leave. As she stepped out of the room, followed by Mastermind, she stole a glance outside the window.
"Looking for someone, Eve?" The all-too-familiar tone of the scientist reached her ears, causing her to sigh in exasperation.
"What does it matter to you, Add? The debriefing is over, leave me."
"Aw, I thought we might take some time to look at your code, but I guess I can wait a bit longer." She could hear his voice getting closer to her and the closing steps that rang behind her indicated that he was closing the distance between them. She spun on her heel to see his grinning face not two meters from where she stood.
"Add, please leave." She looked stared straight into his pinkish eyes with her golden globes and the Mastermind gave a small shrug. Finally, he turned away from the Code Empress and began to walk away.
"I will get what I want, eventually. It is only a matter of time, so be ready when the time comes. I will see you later, Your Majesty..." He sent one last crazed grin in her direction before striding down the hall and out of sight as he turned the corner.
Finally free of the madman's presence, Eve let out an explosive sigh as she felt a great burden was lifted.
"Is everything alright, Your Majesty?" A new voice, but still familiar rang out and Eve looked to see a pair of concerned cerulean eyes gazing at her from across the corridor.
"Ah, yes. Everything is fine. I will not need an escort tonight, Chung." She raised a hand as a sign of reassurance, but the worried eyes did not waver.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I can call upon Oberon if need be, and Ophelia should be returning soon." What followed was a long pause as the Iron Paladin continued to stare at the empress, likely to check if she was being honest.
"As you command, but please be careful. Especially with that… scientist around." He finally gave in and shot a cautious glance at the corner that Add turned.
"I will. I will see you tomorrow, Guardian Seiker." Without giving Chung a chance to reply with a farewell, Eve turned down the hall and made her way to the guest tower. Here, she had a temporary lodging for her use while she stayed in Velder to oversee The Spirit of Motherwill.
As she turned the knob on the oaken door, she let out a small sigh of relief. The Grand Master's report had eased her mind. Her kingdom was safe, thanks to the efforts of the humans. That was one thing she did not have to worry about anymore, but there was still one last matter to attend to.
The Code Empress pushed open the door, stepped over the threshold and locked the entrance. Her room was rather different from the other lodgings; a state-the-art nasod hibernation capsule was set up in the room for her to rest in and there were a variety of glowing, blue holographic interfaces lined up along the wall. But none of these features concerned her.
Only the mechanical maid standing in the room did.
"Ophelia, did you find the target?"
"Yes, My Queen." The nasod assistant curtsied as she directed Eve to the lit consoles. It seems she was able to get an image and uploaded it onto the drives before Eve arrived.
"Good work, Ophelia. You may return." Eve began to dismiss the maid and then she had a thought. "It has occurred to me that Oberon needs to be trained in standard tea handling procedures. Be sure to impart your experience onto him by any means necessary."
"Of course, My Queen." With that, Ophelia disappeared in a flash of white light, leaving the nasod empress alone. She now turned to the console that Ophelia had set up and swiped her hands over the controls. The display switched from sleep mode to active mode in seconds and the image that appeared caused the Code Empress to gasp.
"What… How… That arm… That's not possible…"
"Looks like you are done for today, son. I still have another meeting to attend so I will see you tomorrow."
"Alright, Father. Have a good night." Chung bowed his head respectfully to Helputt as he stomped, unintentionally, down the corridor. He always had a problem being subtle. Chung was now free to return to his quarters, so he turned and walked the opposite direction of his father .
After turning a corner or two, he was not really counting, he heard a pair of voices coming from around the next bend.
"Please take care not to break anything while we are here. We are already under enough scrutiny already."
"I will be careful! Just watch, I will be so- WAH!"
Chung did not realize that they were so close until he rounded the corner and the last thing he saw was a blur of sable and a pair of wide, orange eyes. Next thing he knew, they were gone in a blur of motion and then he heard a rather large crash. He winced at the sound and the clattering of steel armor plates reached his ears.
"Ara! What did I just tell you!?"
"Uweh… I am sorry, brother…" The one yelling was a tall man of fair complexion with long, flowing black hair that was tied at the bottom with a band of gold. His golden eyes were filled with annoyance and his attire was certainly not anything the Iron Paladin had seen before. He wore a set of regal white robes with golden trim that was held together with a crimson sash. The sleeves were long and wide, and carried intricate patterns of what appeared to be tiger stripes on them. As the man turned around to hide his embarrassed face, Chung could make out the image of a golden dragon emblazoned on the back of the man's robes and a fearsome saber of ebony on his waist.
Now taking the moment to look at the source of the crashing sound from before, Chung turned to his left and felt himself staring in awe at the catastrophe. Whoever it was, they must have spun to avoid running into him and ended up colliding with one of the decorative suits of armor in the hallway. What was left was a chaotic mess of metal plates strewn about the floor and a pair of legs sticking out from the wreckage.
"Uh… Are you okay?" Chung began to move towards the mess of flesh, armor and cloth and heard an embarrassed moan eke out of the helmet. "Here, let me help you."
He bent down and lifted the helmet from the head of the perpetrator and was greeted again by the same orange eyes that he saw moments ago, but this time they looked to be on the verge of tears.
It was a girl. Her round face exuded an air of careless youth and a dusting of rose on her cheeks indicated her embarrassment.
"Thank you, kind sir." After a minute or two of clearing away the fallen armor pieces, the cannoneer pulled the girl to her feet. Her outfit consisted of a white and black tunic with a floral pattern on the bottom and covered in a robe of white and gold. At first, Chung thought her legs were bare, but now that he saw the color of her skin, it was clear that she was wearing darkened leggings. On her feet, she wore a set of white tabi and her long, sable hair was done in a similar style to the man's, but had an orange bead instead of a gold band.
She was quite beautiful, had she not almost run into the Iron Paladin, he might have been too tongue-tied to speak to her. He then saw a regal spear of gold and crimson lying amongst the destroyed armor and figured it was hers, seeing as it was out of place amongst the dull grey.
"Is this yours?" He picked up the weapon and held it out to her, earning him a nod from the girl.
"Yes. Thank you, sir. I apologize for the trouble I caused you." She avoided his gaze as she took the spear from his grasp.
"Not to worry. No one was hurt. But are you unharmed, my lady?"
"Yes, I am fine." Finally, she looked at the young boy and gave a small smile at his concern for her wellbeing.
"If you are done causing trouble, Ara, we need to get to the hearing. I don't want to be late." The man from before sighed as he started to walk in the direction Chung came from.
"Ah, I am sorry, Aren! But the armor…" The girl quickly looked from the fallen armor and the man and Chung, conflicted if she should stay to clean up the mess she made. Chung gave her a smile and a nod.
"It's okay, you seem to be in a rush. I will take care of this." He reassured her as he bent down to start collecting the pieces.
"Ah, are you sure, sir?" Her eyes lit up at his kindness, but she was still hesitant to leave.
"Don't worry about it." He sent her another smile and she bowed to him.
"Thank you very much, good sir. I will remember this deed you have done for me." With that she darted off in pursuit of the man she was with, leaving the Iron Paladin with the ruined armor.
"It looks like things are going to get lively around here, huh?" Chung mused to himself as he got to work reassembling the armor set…
And there you have it! One update of Boundaries. Now we finally got to see Ara enter the picture, exciting is it not? Anyways, I will be working on my Fire Emblem novels for a little bit, but I do not plan to leave you all hanging for too long. So please Read and Review, and give my new works some love. Thank you all for your support. Until next time!