Chapter 21: Rose, Moon, and Sky
Saphira awoke to a smiling man kneeling over her from her left side. She was startled, and tried to scoot back, but was swiftly reminded that she had been wounded in her Duel with Shadow. The man was obviously concerned.
"It's a good thing you woke up, Miss. Just lay back. You're safe." He said.
"Who the hell are you-my God, what is that overpowering scent of death?!" She asked, gagging at an overpowering scent hitting her nose.
"Hmph. It's probably from him. He frolicks in fields of wild roses for hours like a little girl."
"Kain!"
"It's the truth, Cecil, and you know it." Kain said coldly.
"You know, you don't have to be quite so blunt about it, and I do not frolick! I look at them for inspiration!"
"For what-your next painting? We are not here to play, Firion. We are at war." Kain said sarcastically.
"Look, if we fight amongst each other, it's only gonna make them stronger." Saphira pointed out.
"Agreed. And our foe is of a caliber unlike any other." Kain added.
"Tell me about it. I've got a million gashes that agree with you there."
"How did you get hurt this badly?" Firion asked.
"Turns out that some of their Duelists can make damage real, and I was attacked by one of them. Tch, it certainly smarts…" Saphira replied, hissing as she shifted into a sitting position with assistance from Firion.
"Yes… but with the extent of your injuries, you must've faced someone pretty strong." Cecil pointed out, sitting next to Saphira.
"I think she was one of the Four Fangs. She called herself Shadow."
The three of them looked at each other, and then back at Saphira. The looks that they gave her were a bit different, in correspondence to each other their personalities, but they all conveyed the same message. That message was "are you insane?!"
"Shadow?! Don't tell me she's referring to the Shadow of Emptiness, the second strongest Duelist in the Four Fangs?!" Firion exclaimed.
"It's a miracle that Shadow didn't kill her!" Cecil added.
"It's no miracle. Look at her arm." Kain said. The two looked at her arm, and were shocked.
"The Conduit of Light?!" Both exclaimed.
"Exactly. Because of that, they need her alive. But in what state, I couldn't tell you."
"They need me? For what? There's no way in hell I would help them!" Saphira said angrily.
"That's the point. We don't know what their ultimate objective is. That information is kept close to the vests of the Four Fangs and their twin leaders."
"Twin leaders? Great, just what I wanted to hear. That's going to make taking them down even harder."
"That's certainly true. More than likely, Shadow's orders were to knock you unconscious. They need you alive because whatever they need from you, they can only get it while you're alive. More than likely, they would torture you in order to get it."
"Torture..? Wait, how the hell do you even know these things?!"
"...They enslaved me. Although it weighs heavily on my heart, the information I remember from the time of my enslavement would prove useful… if anyone here had the damn courage to fight them."
"There ARE people here that are trying to fight back, Kain."
Kain turned around to see the source of the voice.
"Lightning…? But how… The War of the Cycles is over…"
"It's all thanks to Saphira. We're partners, along with several other capable warriors. What about the others? You know, Laguna and all of them?" Lightning asked.
"...I know not of everyone's fates. I know that the child and the Cloud of Darkness were both killed in battle. I have yet to see Vaan or Gabranth. Cecil found Firion after a bloody battle with that callous Emperor. We were teleported away by Golbez, before he fled back to his own world-what's wrong with her?" Kain replied, noticing that Saphira's eyes had suddenly gone swirly.
"Must've fainted from confusion. Even for someone like her, all of this is a lot to process. Come on, let's get to the resistance's base." Lightning said, picking up the now-asleep Saphira. Firion and Cecil nodded, and, after a few seconds, Kain relented. They walked on, following Lightning. No one knew of the heavy weight on Kain's heart.
FLASHBACK
Kain bore the signature mark of The Dragon's Fang army. He was nothing more than a puppet to them. They were about to capture a village of Duel Monster Spirits, and Kain's proficiency with a lance meant that the job was done quick. Unknown to him, this had not gone unnoticed.
"KAIN!"
He kept on walking, the spell having complete control of his mind.
"Kain! Explain to me why you're here! Why did you do all of this?!"
The questions remained unanswered. Two figures leapt down in front of him. An old friend, Cecil Harvey. A friend that Cecil had made during the War of the Cycles, Firion, was with him. Firion's eyes widened.
"Cecil, look there!"
He pointed to the mark on Kain's armor. Cecil was horrified.
"No… he's being controlled by them! He can't hear us!" Cecil said in horror.
"Then it looks like we've got no choice. Cecil, can you fight?" Firion asked, making sure his sheer variety of weapons was ready. Cecil swallowed.
"Let's set Kain free!" Cecil replied, readying his lance. The enslaved Kain spun his lance in a sloppy and unprofessional manner, so unlike the Kain they knew. This only served to harden both Cecil and Firion's resolves.
"Let's go!"
And with that, the three clashed…
END FLASHBACK
Kain shuddered as the painful memory came back to him. He tightened his grip on his lance. Although it could not be seen because of his helmet, he closed his eyes for a moment, and made a silent vow.
You shall not win, members of The Dragon's Fang. Even if I must take you all down by myself, I will not let you succeed in your dark goals, whatever they may be… I swear it on my lance!
He reopened his eyes, and looked into the full moon.
Shadow… You will pay dearly for enslaving me… Even if it costs me my life!