Chapter 14 Friendship

Some of them stood, most them of them sat. But all of them looked tired, scratches and bruises littered over their bodies from the battle. Brady and Laurent had done all they could for them. Now all they could do was wait.

The sound of the whetstone filled their ears as they prepared for the coming battle. With only thirteen of them left, a truth was very apparent: they were not going to last the night.

There was grim silence amongst all of them, their eyes meeting just briefly before returning to their work. It was so hard to remember what this place had looked like before Grima had destroyed it; even if it was only a few days ago.

It was hard to believe that once, where they stood, was where the castle used to be. It was hard to believe that this was all even happening. Their parents were taken away from them so quickly, one after the other. It wasn't fair. Each of them took turns saying the phrase.

It. wasn't. Fair.

Why did their parents need to die? Why did they leave them here by themselves to clean up a mess that they couldn't possibly even think of cleaning? Their faces were tense with their own reasons of anger, fear, sadness and confusion. How could this all have happened in a few days? Everything they had known, all gone.

Black smoke filled the sky and the air was thick with the stench of blood and rotting bodies of the dead. The silence between all of them was heavy. No one wanted to speak and no one dared to. What would they say? They could barely console themselves, let alone another person. They already knew that this was hopeless.

But Morgan was the first to break the silence. "We can fix this, can't we?" his voice was hoarse from not speaking for so long. He looked around, trying to be hopeful, but not even Cynthia or Owain could muster a smile.

"With what?" Severa snarled at him. Morgan flinched. "We barely lasted the night. What makes you think we'll be able to survive this anymore?"

Morgan looked to his sister who was without an answer. She stared off into the distance with blank eyes. He knew what was she was thinking of because it was what he was thinking of.

What would Mom and Dad do? The question was hard to answer and the more he thought about it, the more frustrated and angry he got.

"Can't we?" Trying to rouse some kind of hope with them, but it was a feeble attempt.

"Look. Around. You, Morgan. Everyone is dead!" Severa snapped at him coldly, her voice heightening in volume. "If you're looking for hope, or some kind of out, there is none. There is nothing that is going to help us. Everyone is gon-"

"That's enough, Severa!" Inigo interrupted angrily.

Severa sharply turned to Inigo and narrowed her eyes. "I'm just saying what everyone is thinking; you know I'm right."

"It's just us now. Our parents, troops and allies have all been wiped out. Even if we last tonight, what about the coming night? Or the night after?" Gerome shifted in his armor and hunched over. His jaw tightened. "Severa's right."

Morgan looked desperately at all of them. He was just as weary but it couldn't end like this. He needed, more than anything, something to believe in. Even if it was just a sliver of hope, he would take it.

"There's nowhere to go. We can't win." Kjelle's voice sounded forced. Her hands clutched her lance with a grip so tight it threatened to snap the base.

Severa looked away. She did not revel in the fact that she was right. There was no victory in being right about this. She gritted her teeth biting back tears. "We're done for."

"Then what are we going to do about it?" Lucina's voice was close to a whisper but everyone heard it and they all turned towards her. She turned towards them. "We're going to let them kill us then?"

"What else is there to do?" Yarne scoffed. "We have nothing and no one."

Lucina looked at all of them, nervous, unsure of herself but still determined. "There is no one else but us. And no one is going to help us now." She agreed softly. "But what are we going to do? We're the only people who are standing between Grima and the world. What would our parents say if we didn't give it our all to stop this?"

"Lucina, we have noth-" Cythia started.

"We have nothing." Lucina looked at Cynthia, her voice growing with intensity. Her hands gripped tightly together. "That means we have nothing to lose. Grima has taken everything from us and who are we to just sit back and let him have it? We are the daughters and sons of the best and we'll be damned if we didn't give it our all. So we fight. Even if it takes our lives we are going to take back our homes!"

There was silence. There was a long silence and then Severa stood up her body tense her hands gripping her blades. Her face said it all. The frustration, the fury that was in her eyes matched nothing Lucina had ever seen.

"I can go with that. For my mom and dad I'll rip Grima's throat out or die trying." She growled through her gritted teeth. "You're right. I have nothing to lose."

"We stand together." Gerome nodded.

"For my mom and dad." Inigo hissed.

One by one they stood up, determination sparking in all of them. Fight to the end, or not at all. Grima was going to die.

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"Fall back!" Lucina screamed as she thrust her sword into an undead soldier. They were swarming them and there was no way they could fight anymore. There was nothing more she could ask of them her team, of her friends. They needed to regroup, that's what her father would do.

"Where to?" Gerome swooped low on Minerva.

"The courtyard!" Lucina screamed. She felt electric sparks and flames fly past her face. "Get to the courtyard now."

They ran, sprinted down, and from the corner of her eyes she could see all of them following her. Lucina could only hope that she was making the right call. For all of their sakes. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized that perhaps this could be futile.

She could feel the undead breathing down her neck. Grima was screaming for their deaths.

They were going to die. She wasn't ready to die. She could see the fear in the eyes of her friends beside her.

Shepherds.

Lucina's head whirled, trying to catch where the voice was coming from. She must have been hearing things. She wasn't used to being called such a thing but they were. They were the shepherds of the world now.

Shepherds, listen to me.

"Do you hear that?" Brady looked at her. Lucina glanced at him, unsure if they were talking about the same thing. "The voice?" He asked like he had read her mind.

The others seemed to hear it as well.

"Who is that?" Yarne asked, gasping for breath. As they swerved into the courtyard they dove into a trench. The Courtyard was now a ghost of what it once was. Holes the size of craters littered the field.

There isn't time to explain. We need to stop Grima, but in your state we no longer can.

"Who are you?" Severa demanded. The undead were biting down on their heels and if they didn't hurry they were all dead. "Tell us now!"

I am Naga. But there is not time to explain. Shepherds, we must stop Grima at any cost.

"Get to the point!" Gerome eased Minerva as she nervously swung her head. Her jaws smoked with flame. They were all nervous Lucina could feel it in the air.

We need to stop this from ever happening. A future where no child needs to see their parents die.

"We can't go into the past, that's logically imposs-" Laurent began.

I've opened the portal but there is no guarantee you will stay together. It is the best I can offer.

Lucina had a split second to make a decision. Their eyes all turned to her, nervous. 'What do you say?' Lucina didn't ask. She didn't have to ask, she just had to look at them. She could hear the soldiers behind her getting closer and closer.

But for a moment everything was quiet as they looked at each other. "We give them hope. So this doesn't happen." Yarne said and then jumped and disappeared behind the portal.

"I'll see on the other side, then." Lucina gave them a flicker of a smile and then they all jumped.

Authors Note

I thought I'd throw in a serious one. Hope you like it though :)

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- Till next time!